ã€ŠLegend of the Great Sageã€‹


 Chapter 1 â€“ The Black Ox Speaks

    Under the pitch-black sky, an uninterrupted chain of mountains lay there like a huge beast, quietly awaiting the break of dawn.

    A hamlet sat below a small hill shaped like a crouching ox.

    ¡°Li Er, get up and get to work!¡± A loud shout broke the silence. A middle-aged farmwife with a somewhat wide waist yelled at a cowshed.

    Within a pile of straw in the cowshed, a skinny young man immediately jerked awake from his dream. He wondered in a daze, Where am I?

    He had that dream again. In the dream, he lived in a city filled with towering skyscrapers; he would play with a mystical object called a computer, and the place had monsters of steel running amuck in the streets.

    Finally, a monster called a BMW would run over him one day.

    Afterwards, he jerked awake. That was right, he had transmigrated.

    Over a dozen years later, the matters of his past life had seemingly become a dream.

    Looking around the dirty cowshed and sensing the itch from mosquito bites, this clearly was not a good place. Probably no transmigrator was worse off than him.

    Speaking of which, fifteen years should have passed already!

    His parents of this life were the most ordinary of farmers in Crouching Ox village. Both of them had passed away when he was young, and his older brother had raised him. His elder brother was Li Da, so he was Li Er.1

    The village was not very sophisticated, so many villagers would spend their entire lives without a proper name. He only managed to give himself a proper name thanks to his knowledge from his previous life. He was called Li Qingshan.2

    ¡°Must you be buried in your place of home? Sufficient are the green mountains overgrown.¡± Since he had transmigrated, he needed to live a good life, no, a better life than his last. Only then would he not waste his second life.3

    At this moment, he thought back to his childhood. He had recovered from the fear and confusion from his recent transmigration, and the grand ambitions of a transmigrator filled him. However, he soon discovered that he was hungry and had not eaten.

    His brother and sister-in-law only treated him as a deadweight. They left all the tiresome and dirty work to him. He always ate the worst as well. They did not treat him like family at all.

    At such a young age, he had nowhere to go. He could only attempt to behave like a child prodigy, but the local witch deemed ghosts to have possessed him, so she filled him with purging water against his will. Consequently, he never dared to act like that again.

    As a result, the villagers continued to refer to him as Li Er. Li Qingshan was just a joke.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sister-in-law shouted for a while. Upon noticing the lack of reaction, she rushed in and began swinging her bamboo stick, striking him mercilessly. ¡°Lazy bones, why don¡¯t you keep playing dead? Why don¡¯t you keep playing dead!¡±

    Seeing how the child from before was already a head taller than her, sister-in-law Li became slightly afraid. However, she remained as imposing as before. ¡°Alright, Li Er. We¡¯ve raised you after so much difficulty, yet you still want to be unreasonable! I¡¯ll wait for your brother to get up. He¡¯ll deal with you. If you don¡¯t work, you can¡¯t eat!¡± With that, she turned around and left.

    After she left, Li Qingshan tossed aside the bamboo stick and sighed heavily. He arrived by the trough and said to a black ox, ¡°Brother ox; oh, brother ox. I¡¯ve already grown up. I don¡¯t want to stay here any longer. However, I just can¡¯t part with you.¡±

    Before his parents passed away, they had split up the family property. His elder brother and sister-in-law had forcibly taken away the cottage and field. Now, he only had this black ox left.

    Thanks to the ox, he could often help out the landowner, which was just enough for him to receive a full meal. If he only ate the pitiful remains from home, who knows how thin he would be. As a result, not only was he reluctant to treat it as simply an animal, he even referred to it with respect as ¡®brother ox¡¯.

    The villagers all knew that Li Er could go without his big brother Li, but he could not go without his big brother ox.

    The black ox had a glossy hide and was sturdily built. The care that Li Qingshan had given it was evident. However, it also seemed a little old and sickly. It was missing a horn as well, and the surface of the breakage was extremely smooth. It was like a sharp knife had cut it off.

    The black ox looked at Li Qingshan with its moist eyes before standing up with vigour as if it could understand him. Li Qingshan mounted the ox in a proficient manner, and the black ox slowly made its way towards Crouching Ox hill.

    Atop the ox, Li Qingshan raised his head. The many stars shone brilliantly with resplendence that the world lacked. Like an ordinary cowherd, he began playing a loud, clear reed flute.

    The sounds of the flute echoed through the morning mist. Behind him, the village gradually woke up from its slumber.

    Below Crouching Ox hill, the vegetation was lush and vibrant, and the green grass covered the ground like a mattress.

    Using the first glimmers of daylight in the east, Li Qingshan looked west. The mountains rose and fell in an unending fashion, and the myriad mountains stood in the distance. It was said that not only were there wolves, tigers, and leopards, but there were even spirits and monsters. Even hunters dared not enter too deeply.

    Li Qingshan had never seen a proper map in the village, so he was clueless of the geography of this world. He only knew that the mountains and valleys were towering, and the rivers and waterways were vast. Danger would fill these places, but there was also a great new world out there waiting for him to explore.

    Li Qingshan had already made up his mind. He wanted to leave. In the end, he patted the ox¡¯s back.

    ¡°Brother ox; oh, brother ox. You¡¯ve grown old. If I sell you, they¡¯ll definitely butcher you for your meat. The world is huge, so you should go. There are many wolves and tigers in the mountains, so do be careful.¡±

    At a time like this, the smartest decision would be to sell the black ox and gather some money for travelling. He would have something to rely on once he arrived at Qingyang city. At the very least, he would not just starve to death on the streets. However, he refused to do that.

    Any farmer would laugh if they heard such an immature decision, but he insisted on doing so.

    ¡°You call me big brother, so how can I bear to part ways with you?¡±

    ¡°I can accompany you for a thousand kilometres, but there will always be a time¡­ when we must part¡­¡± Li Qingshan answered instinctively, but his voice gradually trailed off. He looked at the black ox with widened eyes as he felt all the hairs on his body stand up. He took a step back. ¡°Monster!¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid; I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    They had spent all these years together after all. Li Qingshan was not particularly afraid; he was just temporarily unable to take in this surreal situation. However, when he thought about everything he had been through, he calmed down. He probed with a frown. ¡°Are you really brother ox?¡±

    The black ox nodded in approval when he saw how Li Qingshan had calmed down so quickly. ¡°Truly someone with innate knowledge.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s innate knowledge?¡± Li Qingshan immediately raised his guard. He did not want anyone to know that he had transmigrated. He could put up an act before other people, but he was not as cautious around the black ox. His behaviour that contradicted his identity and age at certain times must have caught its eye.

    ¡°Amongst the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, beings that retain the memories of their past lives appear from time to time. That¡¯s what innate knowledge is. You and I both have the memories of another identity. We¡¯re not a regular farmer and ox. For us to be able to meet can be regarded as a form of destiny.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Li Qingshan eased up slightly inside. He had heard of something like this before, but at least the ox never exposed his identity as a transmigrator. ¡°I never thought that this world would actually have monsters, and to think that I¡¯ve raised one for over a decade. Why didn¡¯t you talk in the past?¡±

    ¡°There wasn¡¯t anything to talk about. I¡¯ve never asked about where you come from, so don¡¯t ask me where I come from either. All you need to know is what I can give you.¡±

    ¡°Give me¡­ what?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of superhuman abilities before?¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could ask anything, the black ox continued, ¡°These so-called superhuman abilities are the mighty abilities of demons and gods, ranging from moving mountains to filling seas to picking the stars and moon from the sky. Those who seek longevity can attain longevity, while those who seek eternal life will attain eternal life. Moreover, things like glory, wealth, money, and women can be brought to you with a simple flick. Does that interest you?¡±

    The two words, superhuman abilities, basically encapsulated the desires of all living beings. Li Qingshan was only one of these living beings, so how could he not be interested?

    His deeper feelings included disbelief; he was like someone who had spent over a decade blind before suddenly opening his eyes. Everything before him was so dazzling; all of it just seemed so surreal.

    Li Qingshan restrained his excitement. ¡°Brother ox, what kind of superhuman abilities do you want to teach me?¡±

    The black ox shook his head. ¡°You still don¡¯t have the right to learn as of now.¡± He changed the topic. ¡°If you want to practise superhuman abilities, you need to eat meat first!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan doubted his ears. He felt that it was absurd. Why would the great abilities that could move mountains, fill seas, and pick the stars and moon from the sky be related to something so ordinary?

    ¡°The first step to cultivation is ¡®refining vitality into qi¡¯. You have to refine the vitality in your body into true qi. With how sallow you are right now, is there any vitality to be refined?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. It was impossible for anyone with a childhood like his to grow up to be strong and sturdy. Was it not a joke for someone who even struggled when lifting a bucket of water to talk about moving mountains and filling seas?

    ¡°May I ask where the meat will come from?¡± It was not like Li Qingshan did not want to eat meat. Compared to those imaginary immortal pills and spiritual medicines, the taste of meat had been firmly embedded in his head. It was enough for him to think of it in his dreams, and he still cherished the memories even now.

    However, for a poor kid who could not even stuff himself with coarse grains, where would the meat even come from? He could not help but stare at brother ox¡¯s sturdy body, subconsciously carving it up into tenderloins, t-bone steaks, ribs, and all the different bits and pieces. His eyes shone green with gluttony.

    The black ox smacked him over the head. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± He extended a hoof boldly at the myriad mountains in the west. ¡°The meat is right there.¡±

    Li Qingshan became alarmed instead of joyful. Being a hunter in this world was no easy job. None of the wolves, tigers, and leopards in the mountains could be trifled with. Additionally, with the black ox being a living example, the legends of supernatural creatures did not seem to be all tall tales. If he accidentally came across one, his life would basically be over.

    However, the black ox only told him to not worry, telling him to go home and wait before running off and vanishing.

    Li Qingshan made his way down the hill by himself. He was still unable to calm himself down from all the excitement. This was actually such a bizarre, colourful, and dazzling world. If he really could practise cultivation and attain enlightenment, traversing the entire world with all of its mountains green, the name he gave himself would not be wasted.

    Li Qingshan returned home. His big brother had already gone to the fields, leaving his sister-in-law leaning against the entrance and eating melon seeds. She rolled her eyes a few times upon seeing him. The wives of other people would all begin the household chores or do some weaving to cover the costs of basic necessities when their husbands went out to work. However, she was renowned within the village for being a lazy wife. She tossed all the chores to Li Qingshan, and she had never touched a loom before either.

    Li Qingshan just ignored her and directly entered the house. He lifted the lid of the pot to have a look. Let alone a hot meal, there were not even cold leftovers.

    The sister-in-law said dripping with ambiguity, ¡°Our house has no rice to spare for idlers. Why don¡¯t you take the ox with you to caretaker Li for work?¡± Suddenly, she noticed that the ox was not present and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the ox?¡±

    1. Li Da basically translates to Li the First or Li the Older and Li Er to Li the Second or Li the Younger. A slightly more formal way of referring to them would be Li Dalang and Li Erlang, but it means the same.

    2. Qingshan means green mountains.

 Chapter 2 â€“ Cultivating by Eating Mea

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    ¡°I lost it,¡± Li Qingshan replied in a detached manner as if he had just been pulled out of a fantasy world to a cruel reality.

    ¡°Then go look! If you lose our ox, it¡¯ll be a miracle if your brother doesn¡¯t beat you to death when he comes home, you wastrel of a thing. If the ox is gone, you can go too!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my ox!¡± Li Qingshan strided out from the house. If he still did not leave, he would probably fail to hold himself back from teaching this woman a lesson. However, if he really did that, he would no longer be able to remain in the house. As such, he could only yield.

    It was not until dusk did he return to the cowshed in exhaustion. His eyes shone as he looked around the empty cowshed before gloominess overcame him again.

    Aside from letting the ox out to graze and cleaning, Li Qingshan¡¯s daily job was to lead the cattle to the landowner¡¯s home to help out so that he could cover the expenses of some necessities.

    Without the ox, he could only work like the other farm hands today; this was work that even adults found tiring, let alone a growing child like him. He had not even eaten breakfast.

    Compared to his exhaustion, the insults and scolding from the farm head only seemed like an insignificant daily matter. Falling into the straw head-first, he no longer wanted to think about anything else, but his belly began to rumble.

    It was obvious. In an environment like this, any aspirations he had would have been worn away completely, only leaving behind the instincts needed for survival.

    Just when Li Qingshan was bleary-eyed, the thud of something heavy hitting the ground sounded. He opened his eyes and came face to face with something strange with a pair of long, white tusks. He could not help but jump in fright. Only when his head cleared up did he see that it was a wild boar. It had died recently, so it still emitted warmth.

    The black ox crouched down before the trough and ¡®smiled¡¯ at him. Li Qingshan could already distinguish the expressions of the black ox to some degree.

    Night fell. In the house, the sister-in-law grumbled to Li Qingshan¡¯s elder brother, ¡°That little bastard is completely hopeless. He actually managed to lose such a large ox. No, he must have sold it secretly. Nope, we have to split the property and break up the family. If this continues, he¡¯ll bring ruin upon us.¡±

    The elder brother was in his thirties. He had a large build and was known for being unreasonable and insolent in the village, but he was extremely submissive to his wife. ¡°But if we do split, all that good land had been allocated to him before the village elders.¡± He had used Li Qingshan¡¯s young age and inability to farm as an excuse to claim the land. He had no plans to return it, but if they planned on breaking up the family, they would be forced to.

    ¡°But what if he doesn¡¯t want to go forward with this?¡±

    ¡°Starve him for three days. Will disagreeing still be an issue then?¡±

    As the two discussed, the sister-in-law suddenly sniffed. ¡°Do you smell something?¡±

    ¡°How fragrant! Seems like someone is cooking meat!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no festival right now, so what¡¯re they cooking meat for? It seems¡­ it seems to be near us.¡±

    The two of them followed the smell and arrived inside the cowshed. All they saw was a propped up pot inside with a bonfire below. The pot bubbled as a delicious smell permeated the surroundings.

    The fire flickered about in the darkness, projecting Li Qingshan¡¯s shadow onto the walls.

    The sister-in-law gulped. ¡°Brat, where¡¯d you steal the meat from?¡± Not only was she lazy, but she was even gluttonous as well. Looking at the pot of meat soup, she even forgot about how Li Qingshan had offended her. She went up and picked up the ladle, stirring the soup.

    On the other hand, the elder brother had sharper eyes. He immediately spotted what Li Qingshan was sitting on and cried out, ¡°A wild boar!¡±

    Wild boars could be described as extremely dangerous amongst the creatures that roamed the mountains. Their hides were so thick and tough that they were difficult to wound even with blades. Even regular hunters would avoid them like the plague upon encountering them, so capturing one went without saying.

    ¡°When I was looking for the ox, I came across it at the foot of the mountain. It was injured, probably chased to its last breath by hunters,¡± Li Qingshan answered with the story he had prepared beforehand. He had to keep the black ox¡¯s intelligence an absolute secret. Otherwise, once news of a daemon ox made its way out, who knows when the forces of heaven would come knocking.

    The elder brother was half-convinced. He also began to smile. ¡°Brother, you sure have a fool¡¯s luck. Once I take this boar to the market, it¡¯ll definitely fetch a good price. We¡¯ll stow it away for when you get married.¡± He also took note of the black ox. Thinking to himself, Perhaps there is no need to be in such a hurry to break him off from the family. The ox can do some farm work, right?

    Li Qingshan saw the sister-in-law stir the pot in a manner where she only wanted to try a piece of the meat. His good mood from cooking the meat immediately vanished. With a smack, he knocked away the sister-in-law¡¯s hand. ¡°Don¡¯t fiddle around.¡±

    The sister-in-law backed away while clutching her hand. She wailed, ¡°Look at your younger brother. I said that he would harass a woman like me while you¡¯re not home, and you didn¡¯t even believe me. Now that it has all happened right before you, you¡¯ve clearly witnessed it all.¡±

    Harass you? Li Qingshan only felt his stomach lurch. If your surname is Pan, I guess I could be worse off.1

    The elder brother¡¯s face immediately sank. ¡°Is this how a brother-in-law¡¯s supposed to act?¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his head. ¡°I have my plans for this meat. I¡¯m not young anymore. It¡¯s time for us to separate.¡± This was something he had been considering while cooking the meat. He no longer wanted to yield in the face of constant abuse just to keep a roof over his head.

    The elder brother never anticipated Li Qingshan to mention this matter before he could even bring it up. He was stunned at first before anger overcame him. A simple farmer like him was not a person who could hold back his anger. He clenched his fist and made his way up, planning to beat up Li Qingshan and drag away the wild boar before making any further decisions.

    Sensing his hostility, Li Qingshan stood up as well. He was stern, but he felt rather afraid inside. His body had yet to develop completely, and after a day of tiresome work, he had not eaten. How was he supposed to face off against an adult man? He glanced at the black ox, but the bull only watched on like it was all a show, displaying no intention of helping out.

    Just as he felt pained inside as he prepared himself for a beating, the elder brother stopped in his tracks and looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand.

    His large, rough hands held a similarly crude knife. Since it was filled with impurities, it would still seem dull even if the blade was polished with care.

    This was a knife that Li Qingshan had bought from the market with the money he had pinched and scraped together through the years. It had many uses. Earlier, he had used it to cut the meat.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood that his elder brother was nervous. He was not nervous about himself but the knife. Before this moment, he had never realised that the low quality knife in his hands actually had the power to deter people.

    Li Qingshan was only the average student in his past life. While he had been involved in a few fights before, they were merely disputes with fellow students. Even in his two lives combined, he had never pointed a weapon at someone.

    Understanding this, Li Qingshan tightened his grip on the knife and purposefully waved it around like a wild beast baring its fangs; he did this despite being afraid of using it.

    The elder brother immediately took a step back, and the sister-in-law stopped wailing about. In the end, the two of them actually backed out of the cowshed in great disappointment. They cursed him outside before returning to the house to discuss their ¡®grand plan¡¯.

    Li Qingshan turned a deaf ear to it all. He even forgot about the smell of the meat. He only stared at his knife in a daze, which reflected a blurry face back at him. This piece of cheap junk that had cost him a few pieces of silver had just saved him from a physical beating. It had protected him from a series of humiliation and had protected his spoils.

    While this was a principle that was as clear as day, he made him feel enlightened.

    The black ox crouched before the trough and smiled at him.

    The fire swayed, and a huge figure stood with a knife on the wall. At that moment, a youth had understood the exact value of strength.

    Quite a while later, Li Qingshan sat back down and scratched his cheek in embarrassment as he looked at the pot. ¡°Just how much longer does the meat need to cook for?¡± He had always been a person who liked meat with his meals. The past few years had really been tough for him. When their parents were still with them, he could get a few mouthfuls whenever there were festivities. Ever since their passing, he could only forget about it. The amount of meat they had was not even enough to feed the sister-in-law alone.

    Even if a bottle of immortal pills were placed before him right now, it would not make him care as much as the pot of meat.

    The boar was rather large. The pot of meat took half the night to cook.

    The rising flames, the permeating fragrance, the hissing sounds, and the absorbed teenager formed an extremely simple and primitive scene despite the absence of a sentimental and poetic nature.

    In the end, there was not even a grain of salt, let alone other seasonings, but Li Qingshan wolfed it down so fast that he almost swallowed his tongue. Without the slightest care about how fatty or lean the pieces were, several pounds of meat entered his belly. Finally, he even polished off the meat soup completely.

 Chapter 3 â€“ An Insulting Separation

    Li Qingshan lay in the straw in complete satisfaction. He spread out his arms and legs, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

    He did not dream of his past life that night.

    In the house near the cowshed, the couple tossed and turned under the torment of the smell of meat. They only fell asleep in the dead of the night.

    The next morning, as soon as the roosters had crowed thrice, a short fatty in emerald-green silk garments arrived at the edge of the fields. He was none other than the greatest landowner in the tiny Crouching Ox village, master Liu. He was also the caretaker Liu that the elder brother and sister-in-law had mentioned. He had worked as a caretaker for a wealthy clan in the past. Eventually, he was excused due to his age, returning home with wealth.

    However, he still wanted others to refer to him as caretaker Liu to stress his vastly different status and identity compared to these bumpkins; he also used this title to differentiate himself from the regular landowners. At the same time, since he had used various methods to swallow up most of the land in the village, he gained another elegant name, Half-village Liu.

    If Half-village Liu had any ambitions, it would obviously be becoming Whole-village Liu. However, the matter could not be hurried. As his old master in the city would have described it, this ambition required gradual scheming to fulfil. He believed that he could complete this dream in the remaining years of his life. By then, everyone in the village would be his workers, and he would be the local despot. He would be able to do whatever he wanted.

    However, caretaker Liu currently felt rather displeased. There were not a lot of workers on his land right now. He waved his plump hand. ¡°Why¡¯re there only these people? Where are the others?¡±

    A worker wore a smile. ¡°Caretaker Liu, they¡¯ve gone to help Li Er build a house.¡±

    ¡°Li Er? Which Li Er?¡±

    ¡°That cowherd!¡±

    ¡°Of course I know who it is. Where¡¯d he get the money from?¡±

    ¡°The kid¡¯s got dumb luck. He just came across a huge wild boar. He¡¯s giving a huge chunk of boar meat to everyone in the village who¡¯s willing to help him build a house. They¡¯re at the bottom of Crouching Ox hill right now. It¡¯s quite the news currently.¡±

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve fallen out with him in the past,¡± the worker said in an embarrassed manner. He regretted this deeply. That was meat, for god¡¯s sake! When did he normally get to eat meat?

    Caretaker Liu twiddled his mustache. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s take a look as well.¡±

    After waking up, Li Qingshan began to busy himself with the matter of separating from the family. The priority right now was to build a proper house for himself. He could not depend on others anymore.

    Below the Crouching Ox hill, the willow trees offered shade, and the flowers bloomed brightly. It offered wonderful scenery. In his previous life, such a place would either be a tourist attraction or part of a wealthy person¡¯s estate. He would never be able to claim it for himself. Moreover, this place was far away from the village, so it was suitable for him to keep secrets here. He could converse with the black ox at ease.

    Li Qingshan stood within the crowd of people and directed them around. He felt an indescribable sense of joy. He slightly understood why the black ox had told him to eat meat. It was not just to strengthen his body.

    If an impoverished person had to busy themselves all day long just to fill their bellies, how could they still be interested in doing anything else, much less seek enlightenment?

    Caretaker Liu stood in the distance and glanced at it all. He muttered to himself, ¡°That means the brothers are separating.¡± He happened to see the Li couple watching from afar. As they watched their own family build a new house, not only did they show no joy, but even they ground their teeth in resentment instead. As a result, caretaker Liu came up with a plan and walked over with a smile.

    In just a dozen or so days, a new house was built, and everyone dispersed with their boar meat.

    Li Qingshan looked at his new house in satisfaction as he stood within the small courtyard surrounded by a fence. It was just a regular mudbrick house with a thatched roof, but this was both his new home and his first step to settling down and pursuing his interests in this new world.

    In the past few days, he ate meat everyday, recovering a healthy glow. He felt more confident just by standing there. It had only been around half a month, but he seemed to have grown by a few centimeters.

    Just as Li Qingshan felt delighted, a grey-haired and wrinkled old woman strolled into the courtyard. She said as if she were leaping in fright, ¡°Li Erlang, your house is badly built. It¡¯s highly ominous!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. This person was the local witch. When he was young, she had filled him up with purging water. She would act in a mystifying, deluding manner all day long to deceive the ignorant and unsophisticated villagers. He had never felt any goodwill towards her, but she held great prestige in the village. People would ask for her fortunes for events that happened in the village such as funerals and weddings. Obviously, there would always be many offerings to the gods when she did divine for them.

    Li Qingshan did not want to give her the cold shoulder either. He bowed towards her. ¡°What brings you here?¡±

    The witch did not even look at him. She glanced around the house¡¯s interior and said, ¡°There¡¯s yin qi. There¡¯s evil in there. Fortunately, I¡¯ve come prepared.¡± She held a clay jar of water in one hand and a willow branch in the other. She dipped the willow branch in the water and sprinkled it through the house and courtyard randomly as she called out a mess of things, ¡°Begone, begone¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan was unable to stop her, having no other choice than to let her do her thing. He was already convinced about the existence of ghosts and gods, but he highly doubted the existence of some yin qi or evil here. After all, there was an actual daemon with him. If something were wrong, the black ox would obviously tell him. There would be no need for her.

    After sprinkling the water, the witch acted like she had just helped Li Qingshan tremendously, babbling a great deal once again. She went on about how Li Qingshan was fortunate enough and all of this had been granted by the god, and how now was the time to send the god off. As for the best item to offer to the god, it was obviously the huge head that had remained from the wild boar.

    Only then did Li Qingshan understand the reason for her appearance. ¡°It¡¯s probably not to feed the god but to feed you, right?¡±

    The witch flew into a great rage over Li Qingshan¡¯s snide comment. She straightened herself up and said in a different voice, ¡°Li Qingshan, ignoring the advice of this god will bring calamity unto you.¡±

    Li Qingshan knew this was her act of inviting a god to possess her body. When regular villagers were met with this move, even the brave ones would pale in fright and kneel down and smack their heads against the ground. Even the Li Qingshan of the past dared not take her lightly, but it was all different now. He crossed his arms like he was looking at a joke. ¡°Everything, whether good or bad, is brought on by man himself. What¡¯s it got to do with gods? Please leave!¡±

    Seeing how this move of hers was actually ineffective, the witch awkwardly turned back to normal. She said sinisterly, ¡°Just you wait!¡±

    Soon after the witch¡¯s departure, calamity arrived as expected.

    A villager came to tell Li Qingshan to pay a visit to the ancestral hall. The village was small, but it had many rules. In order to separate from his brother¡¯s family, he needed to go to the ancestral hall to split the property before the village elders. However, that would only happen when one side proposed separation. Did his elder brother beat him to it?

    Li Qingshan felt slightly uneasy, but the black ox had vanished off somewhere. He could only go with reluctance.

    The so-called ancestral hall was just a small room at the end of a very long entrance, but it was one of the few masonry structures in the village. It enshrined the memorial tablets of the ancestors of the Li and Liu families.

    A few elderly folk sat to the two sides of the pitch-black house. The one in charge was the village head of Crouching Ox village. He was in his sixties and was completely hunched over. He was also a member of the Li family. In terms of seniority, Li Qingshan even had to refer to him as grandfather.

    The couple had already been waiting there. As soon as they saw Li Qingshan, they glared at him viciously, as if he would be afraid of them, with a slight pleasure of payback.

    Li Qingshan ignored them, only greeting the various elders. Afterwards, they began to divide the family property with the village head presiding over the process.

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought that all he had was a black ox and some land. However, the matter was far more complicated than he had imagined.

    The village head was solemn and impartial, issuing Li Qingshan with many miscellaneous items. It was so elaborate that it came down to a single spoon, a pair of chopsticks, and so on.

    Whenever an item was mentioned, the sister-in-law would twitch painfully, and her gaze towards Li Qingshan would grow more and more vicious.

    Li Qingshan remained unfazed and composed. These day-to-day objects could all be used. It would save him repurchasing them all.

    After a whole hour, the village head finally stopped and looked at both sides with his cloudy eyes. ¡°Do you have any issues with this?¡±

    The elder brother and sister-in-law both agreed to it, but Li Qingshan felt that something was off. ¡°Grandfather, what about the bit of farmland?¡±

    ¡°What farmland?¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. When his parents were about to pass away, they had been crystal clear about this right in front of the village head, as they were afraid that his elder brother would harass him. They wanted this elder of high prestige in the village to ensure fairness.

    The sister-in-law had already started explaining it all, ¡°You were young, so you didn¡¯t know. The two old fogies borrowed money without returning it. It has been given away as compensation a long time ago.¡±

    Li Qingshan was enraged. ¡°What did you just call my parents? Why don¡¯t you say it again?¡± His feelings for his parents were not particularly deep, but they were still the parents who had given birth to him in this life. How could he allow someone to insult them casually in public?

    However, the elder brother had already shielded the sister-in-law, and a few men had walked in from outside too. Clearly, they had made preparations beforehand.

    Li Qingshan noticed that these men were all scoundrels and ruffians of the village. Normally, they would just mess around, harassing men and seizing women. They were not people who would value their ties as fellow villagers. They would show no mercy if they took action.

    The village head secretly cursed the stupid woman and sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve already checked the promissory note.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the note?¡±

    The elder brother said, ¡°We¡¯ve already burnt it after taking it back.¡±

    ¡°May I ask who the money was owed to?¡±

    The sister-in-law said complacently, ¡°The village¡¯s caretaker Liu. If you¡¯re brave enough, go ask for it. I would like to see whether caretaker Liu will skin you alive or not. That¡¯s right, I just want to harass you, you little ungrateful bastard.¡± The bit of land was good farmland. It sold very well, basically making up for them not getting any boar meat. She had made up her mind. She would buy a chicken to eat as soon as she got home.

    Li Qingshan shook all over from anger. His nails dug into his palm.

    With his experiences across his two lives, how could he not know the inside story? Farmers treated their land as their lifeblood. Why would they give it away as compensation so easily? Their parents had lived off the land for their entire lives, so why would they have to borrow money?

    They were clearly working together against him. Having lost the land, he could only go work on caretaker Liu¡¯s farmland if he wanted to be fed. No matter how furious he became, he had to endure it. It was truly well-schemed.

    At home, Li Qingshan was treated coldly by his elder brother and sister-in-law, but at most, he was just slightly worse off for food and clothing. It was still acceptable, but it was nowhere near as twisted as right now. In his past life, he frequently browsed the internet and thought he had seen all the darkness society that had to offer. He even fumed and cursed over it. However, now that it all happened to him, he truly found it incredibly indignant.

 Chapter 4 â€“ Drunken Murder

    The atmosphere in the ancestral hall grew tense. The village head¡¯s expression sank. ¡°What, Li Erlang, you¡¯re not satisfied with my arrangements?¡± The ruffians began to rub their hands, eager for action, while the leader with patchy hair held a woodcutter.

    The other elders either closed their eyes or tried to persuade him, ¡°Xiao Er, don¡¯t act rashly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re no match for them.¡± ¡°Caretaker Liu is permitting you to keep helping out with work on his land. He¡¯ll pay you a little more. Won¡¯t you still be fed?¡±

    Li Qingshan responded vaguely and left the ancestral hall somehow. As left, he was even tripped by the patchy-haired leader, almost falling over and leading to a roar of laughter from behind.

    Along the way, he came across the witch. She smiled complacently. ¡°A calamity, a calamity. It¡¯s still not too late to give offerings to the god right now.¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his new house below Crouching Ox hill and lied down. He felt no happiness at all.

    The sun set in the west, and the sky darkened. The crows of chickens and the barking of dogs gradually died down, and the village recovered its peace.

    The black ox strolled in from outside. Li Qingshan sat up, and just when he was about to speak, the black ox said, ¡°I saw it all, but I didn¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to help me. I don¡¯t care about that bit of land either. It¡¯s just that I¡­¡±

    ¡°Just can¡¯t let it go?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°There are plenty of matters in the world where right and wrong are twisted and distorted. Let alone the indignation that you, a mere mortal, experiences, even immortals, buddhas, and great sages of tremendous power will have times when they feel wronged and insulted. How can your little bit of anger be compared to theirs?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to just take it lying down.¡± He suddenly thought of the knife again.

    The black ox stared at him silently for quite a while before suddenly laughing aloud. ¡°Good, good, good. As long as you can¡¯t accept it. When a real man goes about his matters, he is clear with his debts of gratitude and revenge. Even the debt of a single meal must be returned, while the grievance of a hostile glare must be resolved. I originally thought your resolve had been worn down through the years, but you actually still have some manliness. And only like that are you worthy of me teaching you.¡±

    Li Qingshan was dazed. ¡°You were testing me?¡±

    The black ox sniffed. ¡°That¡¯s a test? I just wanted to ask you which path you wanted to take.¡±

    ¡°Which path?¡± Li Qingshan was

    As Li Qingshan listened to the ox go on about paths, he felt overwhelmed. Are you trying to sing that ¡®path path path¡¯ song to me? Reaching there, he interrupted the black ox, ¡°I seek my own path!¡±1

    The black ox was taken by surprise before being overcome with joy. ¡°You actually understood. That¡¯s right. Among the myriad paths, you must seek your own path.¡± He pulled out a large gourd from somewhere, and it flew into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands by itself. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to take things lying down, I will teach you the way to not take things lying down.¡±

    Li Qingshan only felt his hand droop. There was some sort of liquid sloshing around inside. After opening the gourd, the smell of alcohol assaulted him.

    Li Qingshan smiled wryly. After eating meat, was he supposed to drink? This sequence of events seemed perfectly reasonable, but was there anyone who cultivated just by relying on these two items? If people could become immortals by eating meat and drinking alcohol, all the wealthy people in the world would have become immortals already.Were immortals all just useless gluttons?

    The black ox only said eight words, ¡°Meat strengthens the body. Alcohol gives you courage.¡±

    Li Qingshan made up his mind and tilted his head, gulping down all the alcohol. It was just unfiltered alcohol from the village. However, with the gourd of alcohol in his belly, he felt the world spin around him. He stared at the black ox in a daze. Did the ox want him to drink away his anger?

    ¡°Go kill someone, and I¡¯ll teach you how to cultivate.¡± The black ox said flatly, acting like it had just mentioned something insignificant. With that, it crouched down.

    Li Qingshan only felt a chill rise up from his back. He suddenly realised that before him was not a diligent old ox who had ploughed the land across all these years with him, but an actual ox monster. It would not be guiding him on a tranquil, peaceful path of immortals and buddhas, but a malicious, brutal path of daemons and demons.

    Before it had even taught him any great abilities, it wanted him to eat meat, drink alcohol, and kill someone.

    Was he really supposed to go kill someone? Faces flashed before him. He hated these people, to the point where he wanted to kill them, but he knew that he was not brave enough to do so. The black ox had seen through this, which was why it made him drink to gain courage.

    Was this to demonstrate his loyalty or a formality for accepting him as a disciple?

    Recalling what had happened today, a sense of tipsiness swelled up and anger flowed out. Li Qingshan raised his head and took in a deep breath. He lowered his head. ¡°Kill whom?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your problem. Let me just say this first. I won¡¯t help you, nor will I save you. I am just an ordinary ox.¡±

    The moon was bright that night, scattering a frosty light on the ground. Li Qingshan walked under the moonlight alone, only to find that the moon was dazzling. He would much rather it be shrouded by a dark cloud.

    The village was quiet. Li Qingshan swayed about in the village as he felt at a loss.

    Arriving before a run-down house, he heard a hubbub from inside. Li Qingshan recognised them clearly. They were the ruffians from the ancestral hall today. He quickly pressed against the wall and crouched down, eavesdropping on what they were saying.

    ¡°Today¡¯s alcohol came far too easily. We just stood around in the ancestral hall and caretaker Liu rewarded us with so much.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately recognised the voice. Patch-haired Liu was a renowned ruffian in the village. He would loaf around and be up to no good everyday. He had a vicious and twisted personality, often carrying a woodcutter around with him. The villagers were all rather afraid of him. Even when they found him stealing things, they were afraid to do anything to him. The other scoundrels followed him as their leader.

    ¡°This is all thanks to your might, big brother. Didn¡¯t you see that kid¡¯s face? He even turned pale from fright.¡± A roar of laughter rang out from inside.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how he looked back then, but he was definitely bright red now. The tipsiness mixed with his anger and rushed to his head.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that the coward didn¡¯t try to pick a fight. I haven¡¯t used my arms and legs in a long time. Originally, I planned on using him for some practise. That kid never takes me seriously.¡±

    Having experienced two lives, Li Qingshan was not as afraid of him as the ordinary villagers were. He had never thought that it would lead to hostility.

    ¡°Big brother, if you want to beat him up, it can¡¯t be any easier. That idiot built his house outside the village. We can throw something over his head and give him a bashing. How simple is that? We might as well lead his ox away and sell it on the market. We¡¯ll be able to get some money for drinking too.¡±

    The other scoundrels all played along and agreed.

    Li Qingshan let out a breath of alcohol and grasped the knife in his bosom.

    Patch-haired Liu had been filled up with alcohol. He came outside to take outside, but he did not return inside afterwards. Instead, he made his way south of the village along a path.

    Li Qingshan found this to be strange. He immediately followed along and saw him arrive before the house of the renowned widow Liu of the village, calling out for her to open the door. Only then did he understand what he wanted to do.

    The door remained firmly shut, and not a single lamp had been lit up either. She was clearly afraid of him. There were a few cottages nearby, but everyone actually ignored him.

    Under the influence of alcohol, patch-haired Liu let loose a great string of profanity and kicked the door viciously a few times. His swearing led to a series of dog barks around the village before he finally turned around and left.

    The widow inside eased up a little and silently peeked outside through the door slit. As expected, patch-haired Liu had left, causing her to finally relax. Suddenly, there was a flash right before her, and she saw a figure following patch-haired Liu closely. It was dark, so she was unable to make out the figure¡¯s appearance or attire. She only thought he was one of patch-haired Liu¡¯s followers, but she could feel that something was rather off.

    Li Qingshan followed patch-haired Liu to a remote area. Making up his mind, he yelled out and suddenly lunged forward.

    Patch-haired Liu turned around in surprise, but all he saw was a dull knife stab towards him. He immediately became half-sober. He wanted to escape or fight back, but his arms and legs were powerless. Normally, he only used a blade to scare some villagers and would get involved in some scuffles. When did he truly experience an actual battle for his life? The assailant was just a teenager, but when his killing intent and determination flooded over, he was like a wild beast from the mountains.

    Without any obstruction, the knife plunged into his body. Even Li Qingshan himself had never expected patch-haired Liu who swaggered around daily to be so useless. Looking at patch-haired Liu¡¯s terrified, begging expression, he seemed to become even more drunk. His eyes shone with a dim redness as his head seemed to stop working. Only his hands continued to move constantly.

    The sheen of the knife and the colour of blood danced about in the darkness.

    By the time that Li Qingshan had calmed down, patch-haired Liu had already collapsed in a pool of his own blood. He could not be more dead than that. The heavy smell of blood under this moonlit night was slightly chilling.

    Li Qingshan forcefully composed himself and left in a hurry. He ran all the way to the stream below the Crouching Ox hill in one breath before stopping. He looked at himself in the reflection of the water and could not help but leap in fright. ¡°Is this still me?¡±

    The water reflected a bloodied teenager, his mouth tightly shut and his eyes wide open with an undispersed sense of murderousness. It was extremely terrifying.

    Li Qingshan cupped the cool stream water and washed all the blood off himself before returning to the cottage. He did not pay any attention to the black ox beside him. Instead, he directly collapsed on his bed.

    Only now did his hands begin to shake; they were suddenly covered in cold sweat, drenching his clothes. He had completely sobered up now.

    The black ox asked with a smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to run away?¡± It was as if it were not the reason why Li Qingshan had gone and killed someone.

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°I need to run away after killing someone like that?¡± He had not chosen patch-haired Liu on impulse. He was utterly wretched in the village. No one would stand forward for him. If no one reported the matter, there would be no investigation. As long as he did not leave behind any evidence that was far too obvious, nothing definite would probably come up over the death of such a person.

    The approval in the black ox¡¯s eyes deepened. Finding a common person who killed once angered was very easy, but finding someone who knew who to kill, who not to kill, and how to remain safe while killing was not. Moreover, even if his current composure were all fake, it would only demonstrate his willpower.

    Li Qingshan could not hide his trembling hands from the black ox, but in its eyes, there was no shame in this. There were plenty of people who were so fierce and cruel that murder was nothing in their eyes, but to be able to suppress this nervousness and fear until now was truly impressive.

    Quite a while later, the black ox asked, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    The black ox chuckled. ¡°Get some sleep. There¡¯s a lot to do tomorrow!¡±

 Chapter 5 â€“ Nine Oxen and Two Tigers

    The black ox did not reply. Instead, it closed its eyes.

    Li Qingshan laid flat on the bed. He remained calm on the surface, but his emotions were surging uncontrollably on the inside. As a result, he was unable to fall asleep even till the early hours of the morning. However, once his heart that had been stretched tight by excitement finally eased up, he felt even more exhausted than after working an entire day on the farm. He immediately sank into a deep sleep.

    That night, he dreamed of becoming the enemy of thousands, killing until mountains of corpses blotted out the sun and seas of blood swallowed the stars.

    Waking up, his dream receded like the tides. Sunlight poured in brilliantly. It was already late in the morning.

    Patch-haired Liu¡¯s death was like a droplet of water to a pot of oil. It caused a great disturbance in the village. He had always been making trouble in the village, and now, he was finally dead. Basically all the villagers clapped and cheered, saying that it was retribution.

    However, they then began to speculate about the person responsible for this. There were many people who had grievances with patch-haired Liu, but there were not many who were bold enough to settle it. There were no secrets in this tiny village. As soon as the villagers thought about what had happened in the ancestral hall the day before and how the person in question did not come to check out such a major event, they only became further convinced about their speculation.

    ¡°Li Erlang has committed murder.¡±

    ¡°He seems quiet most of the time, but he actually possesses such bravery.¡±

    ¡°He has probably fled already.¡±

    As the quiet discussion continued, the elder brother and sister-in-law turned pale-white, while caretaker Liu and village head Li had sunken expressions. The scoundrels became so frightened that they were weak in the knees. If they had been the one who had gone out last night, wouldn¡¯t they be lying there right now instead?

    Someone called out, ¡°Li Erlang is here.¡± The crowd automatically parted to form a path. Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Li Qingshan strode over to patch-haired Liu¡¯s corpse. He could not tell last night due to the darkness, but looking at it now, he also felt that patch-haired Liu had suffered a horrific death. However, he showed none of it on his face. All he said was, ¡°Good riddance.¡± He glanced around at the crowd.

    They all felt that Li Qingshan seemed to have become a completely different person overnight. He had become rather fearful. Everyone his gaze brushed past felt a chill run down their spines, while those who had been directly involved with him leaped in fright.

    Village head Li said, ¡°Tie up Li Er and take him to the ancestral hall.¡±

    There was a disturbance among the crowd of villagers. Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. ¡°Who dares to?¡± Even without a weapon in hand, he possessed the deterrent of the murder, so he was like a drawn sword, shining with a cold edge.

    Not a single villager stepped forward, and it was not only because they feared Li Qingshan. All people had a concept of right and wrong, and the thoughts of the villagers were simple. Village head, you¡¯ve been colluding with tyrants to harass the kind-hearted, so what right do you have to order us around? We¡¯ve all watched Erlang grow up as well. He even calls you grandfather, yet you can still bring yourself to do this. Patch-haired Liu deserved to die. Erlang has gotten rid of a menace for us.

    ¡°Patch-haired Liu drank too much and tripped to his death. What¡¯s it got to do with Erlang?¡± The speaker was Zhang Wuge, who had a grievance with patch-haired Liu. Patch-haired Liu had tried to harass his wife while he was in the fields. Back then, he was tempted to throw his life at patch-haired Liu, and he only stopped under the bitter pleadings of his wife. Now that he saw this fellow¡¯s corpse, he felt an indescribable sense of delight.

    Someone added immediately, ¡°Yeah, yeah. He fell to his death. This is heaven¡¯s retribution.¡±

    There was a hubbub of agreement as they echoed the sentiment that patch-haired Liu¡¯s death was purely accidental. They completely ignored patch-haired Liu¡¯s constricted pupils. Additionally, their gazes towards Li Qingshan bore some respect now.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt rather moved. This was the so-called will of the people.

    Village head Li knew that if this continued, his authority in the village would be heavily affected. More importantly, he was truly afraid of Li Qingshan¡¯s revenge. If he had known that this kid was so vicious, he never would have twisted his words for a few pieces of silver. Currently, none of the villagers heeded his order, while the other scoundrels were even worse than the villagers, having secretly slipped away already.

    He could only glance at caretaker Liu. Caretaker Liu should have been able to order around the servants and workers of his home, but he pretended to not notice. It was the sister-in-law who insisted on selling the land to him anyway, and he was never directly involved in the matter either. He had a lot of matters to attend to, so why would he go up against such a vicious and brutal person over such a small affair? Moreover, it would be his loss if he accidentally aggravated the villagers.

    Unknowingly, he had already begun treating Li Qingshan as a vicious and brutal person.

    ¡°Possessed by demons, possessed by demons. I¡¯ve said so before, I¡¯ve said so before.¡± The witch suddenly pointed at Li Qingshan and began wailing.

    Her words fazed all of the villagers, causing them to move away from Li Qingshan involuntarily.

    Li Qingshan went up and kicked her to the ground. ¡°You old hag, how much longer are you going to falsely accuse me? If you utter another word, I¡¯ll rip your mouth to pieces.¡±

    The witch uttered an ¡®Ouch¡¯ before shutting up. She only stared at him in resentment.

    Li Qingshan was composed and unafraid. ¡°If you truly possess supernatural abilities, then you better get those gods and ghosts to come look for me. Let¡¯s see whether I¡¯ll be afraid or not.¡± With that, he left the crowd with his head held high. After he arrived at an area without any people, his imposing manner finally deflated. He only felt his heart thump heavily, but he knew that he had made the right move.

    If he hid at home due to fear and gave village head Li time to mobilise the villagers, people would probably come for him before nighttime had even arrived. With his current stature, he was truly in no shape to take on a few adult men. He could only truly be safe and sound by making a risky move, overwhelming the others in terms of presence and swaying the public opinion to his side.

    Returning to the cottage, the black ox had already been waiting. It examined Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan also noticed the strange atmosphere. He went up and bowed politely, raising his head and asking with a smile, ¡°Brother ox, do you still want to hold a banquet for the acceptance of a disciple?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Hasn¡¯t all of your wine and meat been acquired by me? Yetyou still want to hold a banquet for the acceptance of a disciple.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you harvest some tender grass instead?¡±

    The gaze of the black ox darkened. ¡°Let¡¯s stop kidding around. You have the heart to kill, which is why I will teach you the art of killing. In the future, you¡¯ll have to contend and fight against a lot of people, so you won¡¯t get another day of peace. If you aren¡¯t skillful enough and end up getting killed instead, then you¡¯ll only be able to die with no objections.¡±

    ¡°The strong prey on the weak. It¡¯s the same no matter where you go. I can¡¯t say no objections, only no regrets.¡±

    The black ox replied, ¡°Well put, no regrets. Since you¡¯ve made up your mind, I will pass onto you the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. Once you attain the strength of an ox and have established a foundation, I¡¯ll then pass onto you the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. By practising them together, you will be able to attain a supernatural ability from daoism, the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers. By then, you will be able to wander the world unopposed.¡±

    ¡°The Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers?¡± When Li Qingshan first heard that, it seemed like nothing special. What was so extraordinary about nine oxen and two tigers? They were just the most ordinary of livestock and wild beast, yet they were worthy of being called a supernatural ability, enough for him to wander the world unopposed?

    However, after further thought, he felt shocked. He had tended to an ox for more than a decade, so he understood just how strong an ox was. A bull had the strength of ten fit men. As long as he achieved the strength of an ox, he could don a suit of armour, and with a weapon in hand, he could charge onto the battlefield and earn the title of a valiant general.

    There was nothing extraordinary about nine oxen and two tigers, but if all of their strength were gathered on a single person, the person¡¯s every single action would bear the weight of thousands of kilograms. Would there still be anyone who could stop him? Even if L¨¹ Bu was reborn and Li Yuanba was still alive, they would also struggle to block a gentle punch of his.

    ¡°But since it¡¯s a daoist ability, why¡¯s there ¡®ox demon¡¯ and ¡®tiger demon¡¯ in the name?¡±

    ¡°The ability originated from times of antiquity. It has already been lost now.¡±

    Li Qingshan became excited after hearing the ox mention times of antiquity. Based on his knowledge, any kind of pill, medicine, esoteric manual, or treasure that had anything to do with that phrase would be unmatched.

    However, the black ox¡¯s following explanation disappointed him greatly, as the ability had been lost due to being too hard to use. It had been replaced by other abilities and skills created by later prodigies and masters. In other words, it had fallen obsolete.

    The wise men of antiquity were impressive, but the people who came after them might have been just as great as them. Besides, they would be standing on the shoulders of these wise men of antiquity.

    ¡°Cultivators of the current age focus on practising qi and neglect practising the body. They even call their bodies vile skin-bags. This ability that pursues brute strength will obviously be looked down upon.¡±

    ¡°Heh, but there¡¯s no need for you to be too disappointed. The ability I¡¯m teaching you is no longer the original version. Instead, it has been improved by an almighty daemon, which is why it has ¡®ox demon¡¯ and ¡®tiger¡¯ demon in its name. The ox demon refines its body, while the tiger demon forges its bones. You will be entering cultivation through demonic means. Just like how the righteous grows by a foot while the demonic grows by ten, it¡¯ll be much more powerful.¡±

    ¡°Are there any side effects to practising this ability as a human?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, as nobody has tried it before. You might suffer from cultivation deviation and become a daemon or demon.¡±

    The black ox said it easily, but Li Qingshan could only smile wryly. If it were just practising a long lost ability from times of antiquity, then so be it. At most, he would just be a freak and be laughed at by other cultivators. However, practising this ability that had been modified through daemonic methods might turn him into a monster. He might end up getting purged.

    However, now was not the time for him to be picky. After a while of consideration, Li Qingshan inhaled deeply. ¡°Please teach me this ability, brother ox.¡± If someone could understand his desire to change his fate right now, they would understand that even if a demon gave him an offer, he would have accepted it.

    The black ox explained the essentials of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength to him in detail, and Li Qingshan immediately began to practise it. He tried every gesture and motion, exercising his body and moving his limbs around.

    Under the dazzling sun, there was an old ox and a young man under the swaying tree shade. The old ox crouched down leisurely and gave guidance as the young man remained solemn and respectful, listening quietly and attentively.

    Although the black ox was unable to personally demonstrate the moves, its every single sentence would always hit the mark, enlightening Li Qingshan and deepening his understanding of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. His movements would grow more vigorous as a result.

    The black ox seemed unconcerned, but it was very satisfied with this disciple¡¯s comprehension ability. He was truly a person with innate knowledge. Someone like him would never remain in the underbrush for long. He was unfortunate to be born in a village deep in the mountains, which was quite a mishap. He was a dragon in shallow water, a tiger in the plains.

    If he had been born in a prosperous city, his talent for both martial arts and literary pursuits would have demonstrated itself already. He would have become a man of outstanding talent, without the need to be indicated by a few foolish villagers.

 Chapter 6 â€“ Settling a Small Grievance

    Who knows how many so-called prodigies of startling talent the black ox had seen before. Every single one of them would be naturally endowed with talent and divine fortune, but only a handful would actually achieve something in the end. Instead, many ordinary, nameless folk would spring into prominence overnight, making themselves known through the world as they reached the pinnacle of this path of cultivation.

    Throughout these years, it had purposefully stood aside and watched on coldly, letting Li Qingshan be strengthened through hardships. It had only spoken out at the most crucial moment. It was like a blacksmith, slowly refining and tempering its material. Only then could a supreme weapon be forged.

    Ordinary people cared about foreign aspects like talent, fortuitous encounter, and so on, but the ox looked at a person¡¯s willpower. If you were someone with a weak will, even if you were given a colossal fortune, could you bear the weight that came with it?

    So and so, one was willing to teach and the other was willing to learn, so they obviously made rapid progress. In under two hours, Li Qingshan gained a rough understanding of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. He had vaguely grasped its essentials.

    Although the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength was a set of punching moves, it focused on forging the muscle and the bones, the skin and the flesh, strengthening the body. The actual way of punching was secondary. There were only three forms, which were ¡®The Ox Demon Butts its Horns¡¯, ¡®The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves¡±, ¡°The Ox Demon Forges its Hide¡±. They were all the foundational forms of the fist style, able to unleash complexity with its simplicity and lead into countless moves.

    Of course, grasping it was one matter, while practising it was something else. If he wanted to achieve something with it, he would need an accumulation of practice over time. As for the two basic items required to practise this ability, Li Qingshan had already seen them. They were meat and alcohol.

    Regardless of the ability or technique, it was impossible to create something from nothing. It could not grant people with tremendous strength and might for no reason. There had to be a process of absorption and conversion, whether it be through gathering the essence of the sun and moon or by absorbing spiritual qi of the world. Once a profound level was attained, they would be able to feed off the wind and dew and stop eating. It would be replacing normal food with the spiritual qi of the world.

    Li Qingshan was just a mortal, so how was he supposed to connect with the spiritual qi of the world? He could not find immortal pills or medicines either, so he could only start with the most ordinary of items to rapidly replenish and refine his vitality.

    Enduring until midday, he felt like he had been starved for three days. He wolfed down all of the remaining wild boar meat in a single stroke. His appetite was actually even greater than when he ate the boar meat for the first time.

    He was not allowed to lie down and rest at midday either. Instead, he had to meditate and nurture his vitality, sensing for some feeling of qi that was supposed to exist. He did this until his body had mostly recovered. After that, he would practise the fist style again. He repeated this several times. By dusk, Li Qingshan was utterly exhausted. He did not even have the willpower to lift another finger.

    Three figures secretly stumbled their way to the outside of Li Qingshan¡¯s house. Li Qingshan heard the activity and made his way out, only to see the three scoundrels who frequently messed around with patch-haired Liu. He was afraid that they had come to avenge their brother, so he could not help but groan inside. Currently, he was completely spent, so how could he take them on? Even if it were some other time, he would not be able to match three people working together.

    However, he never expected the three of them to react like rats to a cat as soon as they saw him. They all lowered their heads and exclaimed, ¡°Spare us!¡±

    This surprised Li Qingshan. It made him ask, ¡°Why have you come here?¡±

    He had never imagined that the three rascals would be utterly frightened after witnessing patch-haired Liu¡¯s corpse. They were afraid that Li Qingshan was still not satisfied after killing patch-haired Liu and wanted to come for them tonight, which was why they had reluctantly come to explain themselves. They said that all of their actions had been urged and impelled on by patch-haired Liu, so it was all his fault as the leader. They also added that caretaker Liu was behind it all.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Say no more. I already know all about this.¡± That night, he had heard it loud and clear, but of course, he could not admit he was patch-haired Liu¡¯s murderer.

    The three scoundrels shivered inside. Thinking of how this fiend was right outside the window that night, they felt more and more afraid.

    Li Qingshan could understand why these three were so afraid to a certain degree. In his past life, there had once been an escaped murderer on the loose in the small city he lived in. Various rumors sprang up everywhere, scaring everyone from staying out at night. He had now gained the influence of a murderer.

    There were different levels to bad people too. The three scoundrels were just ¡®small evils¡¯ who committed theft. Against a ¡®great evil¡¯ like him, they could only follow him around obediently and submissively. His expression remained the same, but he felt rather strange inside. He had yet to gain any supernatural abilities. However, from a few mental changes, his status in the village had undergone an overwhelming upheaval.

    These changes had all been caused by the black ox. Perhaps this was changing the bad for good as well!

    Li Qingshan ignored them. He barely managed to go through the entirety of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength once more. This time, the three of them were present, so he practised especially diligently. He knew that he was only putting on a bravado right now. Once people discovered that he was at the end of his rope, the consequences would be inconceivable.

    The three scoundrels watched on from the side carefully. In all the years they had spent in the village, they had never heard that Li Qingshan knew martial arts. In the setting sun, Li Qingshan¡¯s movements were valiant and filled with force, so he clearly was not fooling with them. They could not help but think about what the local witch had said. Perhaps a demon had truly possessed Li Qingshan.

    They watched the sky grow darker and darker, becoming so frightened that their calves twitched from fear. They wanted to leave, yet they were unable to bring themselves to mention it. They were afraid Li Qingshan would suddenly reveal his true form and swallow them all in a single gulp.

    Li Qingshan finished practising and ordered, ¡°Come with me.¡± He made his way out of the courtyard by himself. The three scoundrels looked at each other and had no other choice but to follow him.

    Right now, there were many villagers eating at the entrance of their houses. Those who were familiar with Li Qingshan greeted him carefully, while those who were not fled back into their houses in a hurry to hide. Even though they had protected Li Qingshan during the day out of righteous anger, there was not a single person who did not feel fear when they faced this murderer.

    The three scoundrels usually hung out with patch-haired Liu. Patch-haired Liu used his cruelty to earn some respect in the village, but they were disliked by all, so when had they ever been so imposing before? They temporarily forgot about their fear and instead became complacent. If they could follow Li Erlang, they would have far more glory than before.

    There were also old people who sighed. Although the scourge patch-haired Liu was gone, there was probably an even greater scourge now. At least patch-haired Liu had not claimed the life of someone. Everyone had not been as afraid of him.

    Li Qingshan experienced an almost novel feeling as well as he walked down this path he had taken countless times in the past. He had clearly realised that he was no longer the Li Qingshan of the past. Arriving before a cottage, he thought about how he had been frustrated by poverty right here just a while ago, and emotions temporarily overcame him.

    Inside, the elder brother and sister-in-law pressed against the door as they shook in fear. The elder brother held a thick stick, while the sister-in-law held a kitchen knife. How could they not fear the same thing that the scoundrels had been worried about? However, compared to the scoundrels, they held the money from selling the land. If they yielded to Li Qingshan, the money would no longer be theirs.

    As a result, they did not even do farmwork today. They only remained home and discussed between themselves for the whole day. In the end, it was still the elder brother who made the decision. ¡°He¡¯s just a single person. Are we supposed to be afraid of him? If he comes, I¡¯ll eliminate this vile spawn for the sake of the Li family.¡± However, soon after he uttered those bold words, he saw Li Qingshan arrive with the three scoundrels, and he immediately fled back into the house to hide.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Drag them out.¡±

    The three scoundrels were frightened by his might, so they dared not disobey him. They had plenty of experience in harassing ordinary people like them. They barged in and made a ruckus, and the couple immediately laid down their weapons and surrendered. They did not dare to fight back. They only ended up becoming ashen from fright as they trembled uncontrollably.

    ¡°Brother, brother, what are you trying to do?¡± The elder brother forced out a smile that was even uglier than weeping.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t come for you. He said to the sister-in-law, ¡°You accursed bitch, I can turn a blind eye to how you insult me normally, but how dare you insult my parents yesterday? You won¡¯t be spared today.¡±

    After he glared at her, the sister-in-law¡¯s legs shook like jelly. She lost her usual impudence completely. ¡°Xiao Er, I was just blabbering nonsense. I¡¯ve looked after you for all these years. We¡¯re a family.¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°A family? It wouldn¡¯t have mattered if you hadn¡¯t mentioned that, but now that you have, we still have debts to settle. Let¡¯s talk about the rubbish you said yesterday. What should we do about that?¡±

    A skinny, monkey-like scoundrel sucked up to him. ¡°Is there any need for big brother to personally take action? I know exactly what to do.¡± As he said that, he rolled up his sleeve and swung his hand toward the sister-in-law¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan caught the scoundrel¡¯s arm. He was truly tempted to do this in the ancestral hall yesterday, but looking at them tremble, he was slightly unable to bring himself to. He thought about how the two of them were still his elder brother and sister-in-law after all. How could he let them be harassed by the hand of a scoundrel?

    However, what had to be done, had to be done. He came up with a good idea and said to his elder brother, ¡°Weren¡¯t the people she cursed your parents as well? Don¡¯t you know that you should teach her a lesson?¡±

    The elder brother came to a realisation. ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah!¡± Afraid that Li Qingshan would be unsatisfied, he slapped his wife a few times viciously with enough force. The sister-in-law¡¯s cheeks immediately began to swell.

    Li Qingshan instead felt that his elder brother took great satisfaction in hitting her. Perhaps he was using this opportunity for revenge. Anyways, most of his anger had subsided. He asked, ¡°You say we¡¯re a family, so let me ask you, where is the money from selling the land?¡±

    The sister-in-law¡¯s face that had become red from the swelling immediately paled, while the elder brother fell silent. That money was their flesh and blood. Li Qingshan was slicing away at their flesh this time! Compared to returning the money, they would much rather suffer a beating instead.

    The sister-in-law suddenly became unreasonable and tried to make a scene. ¡°Just beat me to death. If you beat your sister-in-law to death, I would like to see whether the government will come for you or not. I don¡¯t know what this money is about. If you want it, go ask caretaker Liu for it!¡±

    Li Qingshan roared. ¡°Do you really think I would be afraid to do so?¡± He was no longer putting on an act. The murderous aura from killing patch-haired Liu last night seemed to have returned to him with nightfall. The bloodied, wide-eyed teenager in the reflection of the stream had already become part of him.

    The three scoundrels on the side only felt a chill and could not help but take a step back. They looked at Li Qingshan fearfully.

    Having to face the roar directly, the couple were petrified. They had never seen someone so terrifying before in their lives. They struggled to imagine that this was the Li Erlang who had lived with them for over a decade.

    In the end, a bag of silver pieces was handed to Li Qingshan. He weighed it in his hand and looked at the ghastly pale couple. He sighed inside. Just for the sake of this pitiful amount of silver, Li Qingshan ended up coercing his own brother so much. He turned around and left, and the three scoundrels followed him in a hurry.

    Just when the sister-in-law wanted to sob painfully, the bag of silver flew through the air in an arc, landing before them with a thud.

 Chapter 7 â€“ Swearing a Great Oath

    With the silver recovered, the couple was pleasantly surprised. The sister-in-law even ignored the pain from her face and stuffed the bag of silver into her clothes in a hurry.

    The three scoundrels looked at one another speechlessly with faces of admiration. That was quite a lot of silver, enough for them to squander for quite some time, yet it had actually been tossed aside so easily. Originally, they had only felt fear, but there was now much more respect in their gazes towards Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    Previously, they had thought a real man who kept his debts of gratitude and revenge so clearly distinguished was only something storytellers had cooked up. They had never thought they would actually be able to witness someone like that. He was able to do this despite being at such a young age, so he would definitely become a great man in the future. Their feelings of despisal towards Li Qingshan due to his young age had completely vanished now.

    Li Qingshan strode at the front. As the sun set in the west, the green mountains stood alone. He felt extremely relaxed and at ease, as if an invisible burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Energy filled his body out of nowhere such that even his exhaustion disappeared. He could vaguely feel that if he practised the Ox Demon¡¯s Strength of Fist right now, it would definitely flow much smoother than usual.

    In reality, this was not a mere feeling. Whether it be abilities of daoism or regular martial arts, it had to conform with the practitioner¡¯s mood. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Strength was a cultivation method of being unencumbered. It required a clear mind, requiring him to advance courageously and diligently.

    Li Qingshan had settled this debt in a satisfying manner, so it no longer cast a shade over his heart. Evidently, it had coincided with key aspects of the cultivation method.

    Returning to his house, Li Qingshan looked at the three scoundrels with shining eyes. ¡°Thank you for earlier.¡± If it were not for the pressure from the three scoundrels, his elder brother and sister-in-law would have never yielded so easily. If they began to use violence with the stick and the knife, there really would not have been anything he could have done. He might have ended up suffering instead.

    He came to a realisation. He had never thought that his trip would be so successful, and he also understood the benefit that came with a numerical advantage. Even the Ox Demon King needed six sworn siblings, let alone him! Of course, the three scoundrels were not worthy of becoming his sworn brothers.1

    The three scoundrels replied hastily, ¡°How can you say that, big brother? You are the bigger man, not bickering with us. We cannot thank you enough. Patch-haired Liu, that ungrateful wretch, deserved far more than just death. When we followed him in the past, we were so offensive¡­¡±

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s word of honour, the three scoundrels all felt at ease. Ideas began to spring forth in their heads, and they all began to fawn over him. They became emotional to the point that they went on to say they basically wanted to burn a few blades of grass with him and become sworn brothers.

    Across both of his lives, Li Qingshan had never been sucked up to and spoken so highly of like this. Although it all came from the mouths of three scoundrels he looked down on, he could not help but feel flattered and proud of himself. However, becoming sworn brothers was impossible. After averting their requests in a perfunctory manner, he sent them off.

    The black ox that crouched to one side asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you agree? They¡¯re willing to follow you as their leader. You can form your own group, and the village will only become safer and safer to you. If anything happens, there¡¯ll be people who¡¯ll report to you as well.¡±

    Within small villages, strength in numbers was key. Most of the time, people would tend to avoid harassing families with more siblings. As a matter of fact, these siblings could go and harass others.

    Li Qingshan said proudly and boldly, ¡°Even if the friends that I, Li Qingshan, make are not the outstanding heroes and figures of the world, they will be men with backbone who value their bonds and ties of friendship. How can I be associated with people like them?¡± His voice was resonant, such that it disturbed a few roosting crows, making them fly around among the trees.

    The black ox remained silent. It looked at how high-spirited and enthusiastic Li Qingshan was and sank into its thoughts.

    Li Qingshan felt embarrassed. He rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Brother ox, you must be laughing at my bold and boastful words, but that¡¯s how I feel inside. I¡¯ve only told you as well.¡±

    The black ox pulled out a gourd of alcohol from somewhere once again and tossed it to Li Qingshan. ¡°If you¡¯re even afraid of saying some bold words, you might as well go back to farming. What other bold things do you want to say? Let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    Li Qingshan removed the stopper deftly, tilted his back, and gulped down a few mouthfuls. He casually wiped his mouth and grinned. ¡°I want to travel through all corners of the world, across the entire universe! I want to taste all of the delicacies and drink all of the finest alcohol the world has to offer! I want to practise the fiercest abilities, fight the strongest foes, and sleep with the most beautiful women! Only then will this life not be a waste! Brother ox, do you think my dream can come true?¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be counting on that!¡±

    The youth¡¯s great dream resounded through the tiny courtyard. Perhaps right now, he did not take it seriously at all, but a spark had already been embedded in his heart, ready to become a roaring fire some day.

    Using his high spirits from drinking, he practised the three forms of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength once more. In a drunken stupor, he had no idea whether his movements were correct, swinging his arms and legs however he liked it. The black ox drank to the side, saying nothing.

    In the end, Li Qingshan collapsed on the ground due to intoxication.

    The next day, through the three scoundrels, the news of Li Qingshan returning the money to his elder brother and sister-in-law spread through the entire village very quickly. In regard to his choice, some people felt admiration, praising him for his extraordinary spirit. There were also others who mocked him. How was he supposed to eat without the land? He would still be forced to work for caretaker Liu. Would he still have any spirit then?

    However, they were afraid of saying it so openly either. Unbeknownst to most people, Li Erlang had already begun to establish a reputation in the village.

    Caretaker Liu experienced a mix of joy and worry because of this. He was obviously joyful that Li Erlang would no longer bicker with him over the piece of land, but he was worried over how closely he kept watch over his debts of gratitude and revenge. Perhaps he was only biding his time, waiting for a time for revenge. After all, patch-haired Liu had been acting under his orders prior to this.

    If Li Erlang came looking for trouble right now, he would be better off instead. He personally had a myriad of ways to deal with him if that did happen, but he could not afford to remain on guard every day and night. It was just like the saying, ¡°Better to harass the old than the poor but young.¡±

    As caretaker Liu considered this in a hall, a hunched old man arrived in front of the gate under the support of a young man. The guards there stopped them.

    Caretaker Liu immediately went to receive them. His chubby face formed a smile. ¡°Village head Li, what brings you here today?¡±

    Village head Li said sternly, ¡°Since when did you have guards here? May I ask what you are guarding against?¡±

    Caretaker Liu smiled awkwardly. He was a landowner, but this was only a small mountain village afterall. It was obviously impossible for his family to hold as much status as the large clans in the cities. Normally, he only had an old attendant. He never had anyone guarding the entrance.

    Although he had done everything he could to possess the land in the village, it was still mostly done through legitimate transactions. Even if it involved coercion, he was coercing people who could not fight back, so he did not have that many enemies. He was obviously guarding against Li Qingshan right now. In his eyes, the kid was originally someone who could not fight back, but his response in the end had taken him by surprise.

    The two of them went inside to talk. Village head Li cut right to the chase and said, ¡°Caretaker Liu, you are someone who has seen the world. Tell me, how do you plan on dealing with Li Erlang?¡±

    His eyes were completely bloodshot. The villagers were afraid of Li Qingshan and so was he. As people grew older, their fear towards death would increase. Last night, he had laid in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. Any disturbance would make him sit up in a hurry, afraid that Li Qingshan had snuck in to take his old life. He basically did not catch a wink of sleep.

    He rose from bed early in the morning and made up his mind. If he did not eliminate this potential problem that haunted him, he could not live properly anymore. As a result, he came to caretaker Liu.

    Caretaker Liu spread his hands. ¡°How do I deal with him? Everyone in the village respects him as a brave man. Besides, there¡¯s no evidence that he killed patch-haired Liu.¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he be the murderer? It¡¯s basically written on his face,¡± said the young man beside the village head. He was the village head¡¯s son, Li Hu. He had also been a dominating fellow of the village, but he now paled in comparison to Li Qingshan. He was unwilling to accept it.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you would be able to read it even if it were written across his face.¡± caretaker Liu shot a glance at him. Just a brat like you wants to try to act tough in front of me? He glanced at village head Li and slowed down. ¡°Do you know what he did last night?¡±

 Chapter 8 â€“ Attending a Feast of Treachery

    Caretaker Liu said, ¡°But he has to eat.¡±

    Liu Hu said, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t have to eat?¡±

    Just like how sophistication came with age, village head Li had yet to grow senile. His eyes lit up. ¡°You mean?¡±

    ¡°If he wants to eat, he has to work. Is there still anyone in the village who can afford to employ him? If he works for me, then wouldn¡¯t I be able to make whatever arrangements I need to make?¡±

    Caretaker Li saw the admiration on the father and son¡¯s face and felt complacent. Food was the most basic necessity of people. It was impossible for food to rain from the sky. It all had to be grown from the ground. Controlling the land was equivalent to grasping the lifeblood of people. Even a brave man would be reduced to a wimp if he went three days without food.

    Caretaker Liu had already come up with a countermeasure. There was actually no need to kill Li Erlang. He only needed to deal a blow to him and see what would happen. If he became usable after that, it would not be a bad outcome.

    Li Qingshan woke up from a dream. He had no idea about these schemes. All he saw was a water deer lying in the courtyard. He chuckled. Without even thanking the black ox, he skinned and boned the water deer. This time, he had prepared salt to preserve the meat, just in case he could not finish it all before it went off.

    After doing all that, he arrived by the side of the stream, washing his face and rinsing his mouth before beginning a day of cultivation.

    For the next few days, he woke up when it was still dark and only went to sleep when it was pitch-black. He basically did not take a single step out of his home, completely cutting himself off from the outside world. He would be utterly dead beat from the training everyday such that he did not find it boring.

    He was working hard for his dream. With every step forward he took, with every bit of progress he made, a whole new world seemed to be unfolding before him.

    Over a dozen days passed, and Li Qingshan just happened to have finished the water deer when the village head had run out of patience. He had not managed to get even a single night of proper sleep in the past few days. Every night, he would have his two sons keep watch over him by his bedside, and only then would he barely be able to catch some sleep. At such an advanced age, there was no way for him to endure all of this. He was close to developing a serious illness, so he quickly went to discuss matters with caretaker Liu.

    Caretaker Liu had become terribly worried from the waiting as well. He would send his guards to Li Qingshan¡¯s house to check on him. The first guard reported back that Li Qingshan had been drinking and eating meat everyday, and he had even started practising martial arts. He originally was not convinced but several other guards reported the same news. Afterwards, no one dared to check on him anymore.

    Seeing how village head Li was close to breaking down in tears, caretaker Liu frowned and made up his mind. ¡°Invite him to a feast. If he comes, then he¡¯s a brave man. If he doesn¡¯t, then he¡¯s just a coward putting on an act.¡±

    An invitation card was delivered to Li Qingshan. He fiddled around with the large, red invitation. In a small village like this, marriages and funerals were normally notified of by sending a person. Rarely would they ever send a formal invitation like this, so he could not help but find this to be rather novel.

    He sank into his thoughts. Nothing good could come out of this feast. If he went, he would be essentially walking head-first into a trap. He had only practised for around a dozen days. He had benefited greatly, but it was still difficult to take on multiple people with just two hands.

    However, if he did not go, the reputation he had established after so much difficulty would all go to waste. If other people mentioned him, they would definitely talk about how he was afraid of going to a mere feast. It would ruin his name.

    Once he showed weakness, the blows to him would be endless. Caretaker Liu¡¯s move was truly well-schemed, forcing him between a rock and a hard place.

    The black ox asked, ¡°Are you going?¡±

    ¡°I just happened to have run out of food to eat. There¡¯s someone treating me to a meal, so why wouldn¡¯t I go? Armed with a single blade, Guan Yunchang attended a feast alone. Am I supposed to be afraid of attending this village feast?¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud as a heroic spirit developed within him.1

    ¡°Who¡¯s Guan Yunchang?¡±

    ¡°Just a hero I¡¯ve heard of.¡± Li Qingshan stood up and poured his strength into his two arms, performing the Ox Demon Bucks its Horns. At the same time, he began to exhale deeply, gently emitting a sound similar to the moo of a cow from his lungs. He was like a huge water buffalo swinging its horns, ready to confront an opponent in battle.

    The black ox nodded in satisfaction. Li Qingshan¡¯s Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength had already touched on the correct path, and he had been progressing with amazing speed the entire time. If he carefully evaded this bit of danger now, it would definitely be detrimental to his cultivation.

    ¡°I just happen to have some existing debts to settle with someone, and the matter still encumbers me. Now¡¯s an opportunity.¡± Ever since the day Li Qingshan settled his debts with his elder brother and sister-in-law, he had indeed made rapid progress with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, which proved his guess was not just a feeling.

    Summer was about to end, but the sunlight was still dazzling. Under a few elm trees in caretaker Liu¡¯s courtyard, tables had already been set up for the feast.

    A group of men in their prime occupied a few of the tables, gulping as they stared at the tables of alcohol and dishes. Only caretaker Liu could afford to hold a feast like this! However, even with how simple-minded they were as farmers, they knew this feast would not be held for free. Caretaker Liu had already explained many things beforehand.

    Something¡­ something to do with smashing a cup as a signal? They did not understand too well anyway. They only knew that once caretaker Liu suddenly turned hostile, they would have to begin using their fists.

    Although they were somewhat reluctant to fight Li Qingshan, they were all caretaker Liu¡¯s farmworkers. They could not afford to offend this person they relied on to make a living. Li Erlang was only fifteen anyway, so how could he take on so many people? As a result, all the workers who could come came, occupying several large tables.

    Even for some of them who could not bear to lay their hands on Li Qingshan, they could only just do it with slightly less force to play along. After that, they would get Erlang to kneel before caretaker Liu and apologise so that they themselves could suffer a little less.

    The cicadas buzzed weakly in the trees as everyone became rather impatient from the wait. With such great alcohol and food placed before them that they could not touch, it was quite a test for them. The discussion drowned out the cicada cries,

    ¡°It¡¯s about time. He¡¯s afraid. He won¡¯t come. Let¡¯s just eat!¡±

    ¡°But when it comes to you, you wouldn¡¯t be afraid. Not coming is the right decision. He¡¯d be an idiot if he did.¡±

    Caretaker Liu seemed to turn a deaf ear to it all. He only smiled as he thought to himself, As long as he knows he¡¯s afraid. He¡¯s still just a half-grown kid at the end of the day.

    ¡°He¡¯s here! He¡¯s here!¡± A young walker jogged into the courtyard, covered in sweat. ¡°Li Erlang is here!¡±

    As if everyone in the courtyard had been grabbed by the neck at the same time, all of them fell silent. The cries of the cicadas seemed to grow resonant at that moment.

    Li Qingshan stood in front of caretaker Liu¡¯s gate. His nerves were also on the edge. Everything was always easier said than done. The courtyard of white walls and black tiles seriously seemed like a tiny lair of danger. If he were careless, he could end up losing his life inside there.

    He began to consider retreating. He thought about how it was never too late for a real man to take revenge, whether it be a day or ten years. With his current rate of progress, as long as he had some time¡ªone year, no, half a year, or maybe even three months¡ªand managed to achieve something with his Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, he would have no need to fear anyone in the courtyard.

    He suddenly jolted his mind and dismissed those thoughts. He questioned himself, ¡°Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan, were you just talking nonsense with what you said before? Only bold enough to turn against those weaker than you? Then even if you attain abilities of paramount might, you¡¯re really just a coward inside.¡±

    All of these thoughts occurred to him in only but an instant. Li Qingshan inhaled deeply and clenched his fists. His gaze became determined as he entered the courtyard with resolve.

 Chapter 9 â€“ The Rage of a Common Person

    The gate closed behind him. Li Qingshan looked around as if he had not noticed the tense atmosphere in the courtyard. Instead, he made his way over to caretaker Liu¡¯s table. It was located right before the hall, located under the largest elm tree in the centre of the courtyard. It was the main table, and everyone who sat at that table had status in the village.

    To caretaker Liu¡¯s left and right were village head Li and the witch. They were the three people with the most authority in the village. There were also some elders of the village seated there too, with the only young people being village head Li¡¯s two sons, Li Hu and Li Bao. They were both broad-shouldered and stalwart. They glared at Li Qingshan.

    Caretaker Liu¡¯s gaze shifted away slightly. After just a dozen or so days, Li Qingshan seemed to have become a different person. Caretaker Liu was unable to pinpoint exactly where Li Qingshan was different, but he was simply different from before. He just had an additional aura about him.

    Village head Li remained dignified but his gaze was hostile, while the witch was filled with undisguised hatred.

    Normal villagers would no longer be able to remain within the village if they had offended any single one of them, let alone all three at the same time. Their only choice would be to lower their heads and apologise. However, Li Qingshan would never lower his head.

    There were many rules to a feast within the village, stressing everything from seating arrangement to sitting posture. Li Qingshan saw how the other tables were full and only this table had some room, so he sat there boldly. He said, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating? Have you all been waiting for me?¡±

    No one answered him. Li Hu and Li Bao squeezed over from the left and the right, each grabbing one of Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders and pressing down on it.

    Although Li Qingshan was young and had a tall stature just like the two of them, he was skinny, nowhere near as wide as the two of them. If it were in the past, just one of them could have easily dealt with him. Even now, Li Qingshan would only be able to handle one of them at a time, with two being potentially too difficult.

    Li Qingshan frowned and grabbed their wrists. He tore them off his shoulders while using the Ox Demon Forges its Hide. Like a huge water buffalo stretching its muscles and bones, he moved left and right.

    Li Hu and Li Bao only felt an intense pain from their wrists before they collided with Li Qingshan. They immediately lost their balance and fell off the bench.

    The two of them were furious from the humiliation. They did not even care about the dust on them as they leaped to their feet.

    Clang! A knife had been stabbed into the table, and everyone¡¯s movements halted as well. Under the sunlight that filtered through the leaves, the blade of the knife flickered with a hazy light.

    Li Hu and Li Bao immediately became afraid of approaching him. They were both sons of the village head, and they were pampered because of that. They could use their personal strength to harass the meek, but it was not worthwhile for them to risk their lives.

    Li Qingshan gripped the knife with one hand as he rested a foot on the bench, leaning forward and looking at caretaker Liu as he chuckled. ¡°Caretaker Liu, that¡¯s not how you receive a guest. Even if there are any grievances of life and death that must be settled, it¡¯s not like it can¡¯t be settled after being fed. Don¡¯t waste this table full of food.¡± When he reached there, he actually stopped feeling nervous.

    Before caretaker Liu could respond, the workers at the tables in the surroundings all agreed with him. To them, eating was obviously the most important matter! If they began fighting, who knows how many dishes and bottles of alcohol would go to waste. They did not believe the stingy caretaker Liu would prepare another table of food and wine for them.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Caretaker Liu, we haven¡¯t even eaten breakfast yet! We¡¯ve been utterly starving since a long time ago. Where would we get the energy to fight?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even get to eat last night. If I don¡¯t eat some now, I won¡¯t be able to last any longer.¡± As a worker added as he gulped forcefully.

    The tense atmosphere immediately became rather strange. Even Li Qingshan had no idea how to react. He started to wonder why he had been afraid of these people.

    Caretaker Liu became bright red. He had set up this feast for two reasons. First, to stun Li Qingshan, and secondly, to give some benefits to the workers just in case they would not exert themselves.

    He was determined to replicate what the stories had detailed, planting five hundred armed men and signalling them to take down Li Qingshan at the smash of a cup. However, he forgot that the people at his command were not disposable guards or soldiers, but farmers down to the very core.

    Li Qingshan looked at caretaker Liu with a happy smile. ¡°What a coincidence! I happened to have not eaten anything last night either, so I¡¯ll just be candid now.¡± He grabbed a roast chicken and began eating.

    Ever since he began practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, his appetite had become astonishing. He only used around a dozen or so days to finish off a water deer that weighed over fifty kilograms. The black ox had not even managed to catch something new in time.

    The roast chicken disappeared into his mouth in the blink of an eye. With him at the lead, the workers could not care anymore. They all lifted their chopsticks and buried their faces in the food. For a moment, the only sound left in the courtyard was the sound of eating.

    Village head Li was both furious and afraid. He trembled all over as he shot a glance at caretaker Liu. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be very clever? Hurry up and come up with something.

    Was there anything that caretaker Liu could come up with? He only shot a glance back. If I get the workers to act right now, they would hate to put down what is in their mouths right now. If Li Qingshan charged over and attacks me first with his knife, what am I supposed to do? Your sons look pretty tough most of the time, so why¡¯d they become so soft now?

    On that table, they only had caretaker Liu and a group of old people, so they could probably all be knocked over by a single kick from Li Qingshan. They felt like they had suddenly become stranded on a lone island, forced to face this vicious person alone. They were all trembling in fear.

    With the rage of a common person, blood splashes five steps away.1

    Li Qingshan behaved like there was no one around him. He enjoyed the jug of alcohol all by himself. The village alcohol was weak in the first place, so there was basically no taste to it. As a result, he called out, ¡°Bring me a big bowl!¡±

    However, no one answered him. Li Qingshan produced a displeasured ¡®hmm?¡¯ and caretaker Liu quickly ordered someone to bring a big bowl. Li Qingshan filled it up and downed the whole thing in one stroke, ¡°Satisfying!¡±

    When the workers saw how he drank so brazenly, they admired his courage, so there were actually quite a few cheers for him.

    Li Qingshan had eaten quite a lot of oily and greasy food in the past few days, so now that he downed this scorching booze, he felt extremely satisfied. He did not stop, drinking three bowls in succession.

    When the third bowl of alcohol flowed down his throat, the courtyard had already been filled by loud cheers, causing quite the ruckus. It was as if caretaker Liu was not the one who had invited them, and they had instead come to cheer Li Qingshan on.

    Li Qingshan let out a drunken burp and clasped his hands at everyone. ¡°Everyone has eaten and drunk well, so don¡¯t forget about caretaker Liu¡¯s kindness. Any grievances can be settled after eating. Even if you end up on the path to the netherworld, you can¡¯t be a starving ghost.¡±

    Afterwards, his gaze turned into a glare, and he looked at the people on the main table. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± With the rush of drunkenness, his killing intent was roused as well. If people kept looking to make things difficult for him, he would no longer have any peace in the Crouching Ox village. He might even fall for a plot concocted by them sometime. As a result, he might as well kill a few of them now, seize some of their belongings, and travel far away. There was probably no one in the village who would be bold enough to stop him.

    Originally, Li Qingshan was only risking his own life to come to this banquet. There was even some bravado to this, yet he ended up calling caretaker Liu¡¯s bluff and bravado. He had temporarily reversed the situation in his favour, altering his intentions drastically in the process. He could not help but think of what uncle Lei Feng had said, ¡°Difficulties are like a spring. They are strong when you are weak.¡± He also thought of what the founding ancestor Mao had said, ¡°Imperialism is all but a paper tiger.¡± Yep, landowners were all but a paper tiger.

    While caretaker Liu was rather bad at scheming, he was good at reading people. As soon as he saw Li Qingshan¡¯s expression, he knew that the young man was ready to kill. He could no longer maintain his act of shrewdness and sweat began to cover his forehead.

    A few of the village elders were utterly terrified. They did not want to be glutted ghosts either! They explained to Li Qingshan in a hurry that regarding the family separation, all they did was show up as a formality. They had no idea about the inside story. Some of them stood up trembling, wanting to bid farewell and leave.

 Chapter 10 â€“ There are No Gods Watching Over Up Above

    The elders all sat back down while trembling. Li Qingshan buried his face in the food and alcohol, eating and drinking to his heart¡¯s content. In the past few days, all he had to eat was river deer meat, which he had gotten tired of as well. He wanted to change up his diet, so he polished off the entire table of alcohol and dishes. He rubbed his bulging belly.

    ¡°Everyone in this courtyard is technically my elders. It wouldn¡¯t even be an exaggeration if you said some of you watched me grow up. However, some people give no consideration to this, harrassing me for the sake of a bit of land. If you don¡¯t give me an explanation today, I¡¯ll give you an explanation instead. Even if it costs me my life, I won¡¯t hesitate.¡±

    As Li Qingshan spoke, he picked up the knife. ¡°Caretaker Liu, village head Li, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Caretaker Liu was determined to avert the imminent danger. He yielded and said, ¡°Erlang, if you want to farm on the land, take it then!¡±

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want the land. You bought that by spending your own money. I have no interest in taking advantage of you. I just want justice. You do whatever you want in the village, but never forget that the gods are watching over up above and justice lies in the heart of people.¡± Towards the end, he had become harsh in both tone and expression.

    Awkwardly enough, caretaker Liu had no idea how to respond. Village head Li responded in his stead, ¡°This was our fault for believing in your brother¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not my brother.¡± Li Qingshan interrupted coldly.

    ¡°Li Da and the others have been talking nonsense. They were blinded by greed, which was why they managed to commit such stupidity. These days, I haven¡¯t been able to catch a wink of sleep. I¡¯m just afraid that once I pass away someday, I wouldn¡¯t be able to bring myself to face your parents.¡± When the village head reached the end, he had already broken down into sobs as tears streaked across his face, but he was thinking about how he had suffered these past few days.

    Li Qingshan then turned to a few elders. ¡°Then do you think that I deserved a share of the land?¡±

    ¡°You did, you did!¡± Was there still anyone who dared to say ¡®no¡¯ right now?

    Li Qingshan managed to get everything he had come out for. He tilted his head back and laughed aloud. ¡°So there¡¯s still justice in this world!¡± His laughter suddenly halted; he lowered his head as his expression changed constantly. He was stern at times and relieved at others. There was a hint of indescribable sorrow among all of it. He looked at the knife in his hands. ¡°Turns out, justice lies here.¡±

    He furrowed his brows and muttered, ¡°There are no gods watching over up above. Justice lies within the knife. There are no gods watching over up above. Justice lies within the knife¡­¡± He could not help but let his voice grow louder and louder. Eventually, it boomed through the entire residence.

    The workers had enjoyed a free fast, and they had just seen a good show as well, so they dispersed in satisfaction. All of them talked about Li Qingshan with faces filled with admiration.

    Caretaker Liu wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. He knew that if he still wanted to gather people to deal with Li Qingshan, it would be extremely difficult. Even though he possessed land, the workers were not his slaves. They could not be ordered around by him. Even if they were slaves, they could rebel. If he aggravated all the workers into opposing him, it would be absolutely terrible.

    Fortunately, Li Erlang was a person who held clear debts of gratitude and revenge. Since he had mentioned it all today, he would not be scheming for revenge anymore, so caretaker Liu could get some peace at the very least. While the feast was not a success, he had managed to achieve his objectives. He saw village head Li¡¯s two sons help him to his feet. While the village head still felt embarrassed, he seemed relieved as well, probably thinking of the same thing as him.

    The two of them made eye contact and both felt awkward.

    Li Hu refused to leave the matter like this. ¡°Father, why don¡¯t we get elder brother to come back? With his martial arts, I refuse to believe that he can¡¯t handle Li Erlang.¡±

    Li Bao added, ¡°Uncle Liu, isn¡¯t brother Liu in Qingyang city?¡±

    Village head Li just happened to be fuming, so he said viciously, ¡°All of you shut up! How did I manage to give birth to people as useless as you?¡±

    Meanwhile, Caretaker Liu said nothing. They had both been through quite a lot, so they understood the benefits of playing it safe very well. They would never take this risk for the sake of just their pride.

    ¡°You bunch of useless people, the gods have already become furious. His days are numbered,¡± the witch who had remained silent the entire time suddenly said with an air of malice and mystery.

    Despite being right underneath the sun, many people could not help but shiver. In this day and age, everyone revered ghosts and gods, and the witch was the person communicated with the gods. Li Qingshan had actually just said that there were actually no gods watching over up above, so he really might have infuriated the gods.

    Some people even thought of how there was once a child in the village who had fallen ill, and his family had sought out the witch to cure him. The witch said that the child had been possessed by a monster, so she burnt him with fire and drowned him with water before smothering him with blankets, saying that she was forcing out the monster. Yet in the end, she had smothered the child to death.

    The witch only said that the kings of hell wanted to see him, claiming that no one could save him. However, the parents of the child refused to accept this. The child¡¯s mother would shout abuses outside the witch¡¯s home everyday, which severely damaged the witch¡¯s prestige in the village. However, after just a few days, the child¡¯s mother suddenly passed away from an illness. Her death was quite baffling.

    All the witch said was that the child missed his mother in the netherworld. After that, nobody ever dared to disrespect her again. By kicking and shouting at her in public, Li Qingshan had already offended her completely.

    ¡°Caretaker Liu, this child is one of the unavoidable calamities in your life. Now that the gods have removed this calamity for you¡­¡±

    Caretaker Liu quickly ordered some people to pack some incense, candles, alcohol, and food for the witch. The witch then looked at village head Li. He also produced a small piece of silver reluctantly, sending the witch off with that.

    A worker carried these items and followed closely behind the witch, afraid of uttering anything unnecessary. They arrived in front of a house with black tiles. Aside from caretaker Liu and village head Li, she was the only person in the village who could afford a house of brick and tiles.

    There was an altar table and an incense burner in the hall. The air was filled with incense smoke. It was both a residence and a shrine.

    ¡°Xiao An, Xiao An, granny is back,¡± the witch suddenly croaked. Her wrinkly face formed a mysterious smile. It was anything but amiable.

    The worker knew the witch did not have any grandchildren, so he was frightened out of his wits. He placed everything down in a hurry. Suddenly, he felt like someone was tugging his pants, but looking back, there was no one there at all. He cried out, ¡°Mother of heaven!¡± and scrambled away. Sharp laughter rang out behind him.

    ¡°Xiao An, granny is speaking to you. Someone has harassed granny.¡±

    No one answered her in the empty hall.

    ¡°What? How dare you not listen to granny¡­¡± The witch¡¯s face suddenly became vicious, and she launched a series of insults and scolds. She shook a bronze bell in her hand.

    A cold wind immediately arose in the room.

    A long time later, the witch became gentle once more. ¡°Good, that¡¯s more like it. Granny doesn¡¯t want to hit you either, my good grandson.¡±

    From the beginning till the end, she had only been talking to herself.

    Li Qingshan returned to his house. He had no idea where the black ox had run off to. It had probably gone to hunt for him again.

    Using his high spirits from drinking, he began to practise the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength again. He had already become as familiar as he could with the basic stance of the three forms, so his body moved automatically. He thought about everything he had gone through today. Something that seemed so terrifying was actually so flimsy. If he had fled out of fear when he was in front of caretaker Liu¡¯s house, how was he supposed to realise the fa?ade of the entire situation.

    Regarding this matter, his true opponent was not caretaker Liu or village head Li, but the fear in his heart. What was true strength? The Dao De Jing had already provided an answer to that question. ¡°Those who dominate others are strong, but those who overcome themselves have strength.¡±

    ¡°The courageous are fearless!¡± Li Qingshan roared out these four words as if he had overcome an invisible barrier. His movements suddenly gained an indomitable aura. No matter what difficulties or dangers lay ahead, he would overcome them with his head held high. He would never lower his head and retreat.

    There are no gods watching over up above. I am the god. Justice does not lie in the hearts of people. It lies in my hands.

 Chapter 11 â€“ Haunted by an Evil Spiri

    t

    His courage increased his power, and his power increased his courage. It was a positive feedback loop.

    He trained until sunset and actually felt hungry again. Right now, he was still very skinny, nowhere near as wide as Li Hu or Li Bao. Only he knew that none of the essences from the water deer meat had gone to waste. It had all merged with his body.

    His body was like a bottomless hole, draining and absorbing all the alcohol and meat greedily, converting it into power.

    After training, Li Qingshan sat down on the spot, closed his eyes, and settled down, feeling all the changes to his body. Overexerting his muscles and bones was extremely painful. He could still remember how he almost could not get out of bed from the pain on the second day of practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.

    On that day, the black ox had not urged him on either. He had forcefully endured the pain and gotten up to train. Only after a dozen or so days of consecutive training did it get slightly better. No, it should be that his tolerance had increased. Logically, his body should have gradually grown accustomed to it all after making it through the first few days, but the pain he experienced did not lessen at all. He still felt like he had only begun training every day.

    Every single change his body went through was reflected in his heart with great clarity. Unfortunately, he could not sense any of the so-called qi. According to the black ox, only when one sensed the flow of qi and produced a trace of true qi would a grasp of the basics for any ability or technique be achieved. He had been cultivating for far too short a period.

    At this moment, he suddenly felt a chill. It moved about behind his neck like a cold breeze.

    However, there was no breeze at all, much less a cold breeze.

    Is this the so-called qi?

    Li Qingshan was elated. He concentrated on the cold sensation, but he gradually felt the chill penetrate his skin and enter deeper and deeper, reaching his bone marrow and even his soul. It was extremely cold and very unpleasant.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He stood up and practised a little more. The chill dispersed slightly, but it pestered him once again when he sat back down.

    He had no idea what went wrong, so he went to the stream by his house to wash himself. The moon shone brilliantly that night. When he glanced at his reflection in the water, he saw a pale-white child with a stiff expression perched on him.

    Even with his increased courage, he became covered in cold sweat from fright. Immediately, he thought about a movie from his past life called The Grudge.

    However, the child only moved its head. The surface of the water rippled at this moment, and the reflection of the child vanished. However, the chill clearly remained.

    Li Qingshan did his best to remain composed. I¡¯ve run into a ghost. Why is this little ghost haunting me? I have to wait for brother ox to return so that I can talk to him. Fortunately, I won¡¯t be losing my life anytime soon.

    However, he felt no confidence, only feeling fear. The coldness ate away at him faster and faster, so he began practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength again in a hurry. Only then would the cold sensation vanish. However, he was not a machine that knew no fatigue. He still needed to sit down and rest, which felt especially tormenting whenever it happened.

    This lasted until the middle of the night, a time when yin qi was the heaviest.

    The cold sensation had already invaded most of Li Qingshan¡¯s body. He felt no obvious pain. However, his arms and legs gradually grew numb, and his senses felt blurred.

    An intense sense of danger made him wrack his brains as hard as he could.

    He had heard that all people possessed yang qi, which could restrain creatures of the dead. He thought about how his blood vessels swelled as blood rushed through them when he practised the ability, which was why the little ghost had been afraid of approaching him. As a result, whenever he meditated, he did his best to replicate the feeling of when he practised. He closed his eyes, used his thoughts, and tensed his muscles. As expected, it was somewhat effective, allowing him to barely stop the attack of yin qi.

    He lasted the night like that. His mind would be clear at times and sleepy at others, which was a vicious exercise on his mind and willpower. This situation continued until his willpower was close to collapsing.

    With a rooster¡¯s crow, the sun began to rise, and Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes snapped open. Sunlight landed on his face through the trees, which was rather dazzling. The coldness on his body had vanished. The black ox looked at him from nearby with great fascination.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Where¡¯d you go, brother ox? Did you know what I came across last night?¡±

    ¡°I came back a long time ago. Isn¡¯t it just a little ghost on you?¡±

    ¡°And you just watched on?¡±

    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan grimaced and said nothing. The black ox had told him a long time ago. ¡°No matter what danger you come across, you better not rely on me, as I¡¯m not even going to lift a finger to help out.¡± Right from the beginning, the ox had never given him the opportunity to rely on it. Li Qingshan glanced at the gazelle by the ox¡¯s foot, which prohibited him from complaining even more. The black ox had already provided him with the most crucial assistance. He could not rely on the black ox for everything.

    Under the warm sunlight of the rising sun, Li Qingshan stood up and loosened up. ¡°Fortunately the little ghost won¡¯t come out during the day, as I really can¡¯t last much longer than that. Brother ox, I¡¯m practising a daoist ability after all, yet I can¡¯t even deal with a mere ghost?¡±

    ¡°If it were not for the ability you practised, you wouldn¡¯t have even been able to last through the night. Once you achieve the strength of one ox, you¡¯ll be brimming with vigour, and you obviously won¡¯t be afraid of a mere ghost.¡±

    ¡°Then how much longer do I have to wait?¡±

    ¡°Apart from that, I have another idea.¡±

    ¡°What idea?¡±

    ¡°Ghosts are afraid of murderous and vicious auras the most. If you claim a hundred or so lives with your hands, I¡¯ll guarantee you that anything evil will avoid you like the plague. That little ghost won¡¯t even be able to get in a range of ten steps from you.¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°Am I supposed to massacre the entire village?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like that¡¯s impossible. What, you want to try it?¡± The black ox sniggered.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I butcher you into steaks first!¡± Li Qingshan ignored it. He dealt with the gazelle first. After eating breakfast, he tossed this matter aside for now and ignored his fatigue before applying himself to another day of cultivation.

    However, as soon as he began cultivating, he felt that it was rather different from before. A thin, weak sliver of ¡®qi¡¯ flowed through his body. He would have never discovered it had he not been careful.

    The qi was not like the true qi mentioned in those wuxia novels, stored within the dantian and flowing along the meridians. Instead, it flowed freely like a fish, passing through every part of his body. Whenever he punched out hard, the sliver would flow through his arms and into his fist. All of it would happen in a single moment.

    His mind eased up, and the sliver flowed off somewhere. It was like a misbehaving child, basically beyond his control. He told the black ox about this.

    The black ox was not surprised. Instead, it said meaningfully, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to that little ghost that you were able to sense the existence of qi so soon. You can say that it¡¯s a blessing in disguise.¡±

    On the edge of life and death, Li Qingshan had used everything that his mind and willpower could offer to fend off the yin qi. The little ghost had departed, but the willpower lingered, turning into a trace of true qi.

    ¡°So this is true qi?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at his palm. ¡°What exactly do you use true qi for?¡±

 Chapter 12 â€“ A Long Blade in Hand

    Li Qingshan felt like the black ox was not telling him everything; it was as if it were hiding something. However, he could not be bothered thinking too much about it in his joy. He immediately began to practise again, sensing the uses of this true qi.

    Indeed, he found a knack for it before long. Today, he practised the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength more smoothly than ever before. He was like an old machine that had been freshly lubricated. It was indescribably satisfying.

    Additionally, his strength recovered much faster than before. At a glance, this seemed insignificant. However, normal people would never be bold enough to use their full strength in their attacks when they fought. They would always hold back a little. After all, if the opponent dodged the attack, they would seize up momentarily and leave a huge opening.

    He did not have to worry about that. In the time that others would take to throw a punch, he could throw three punches at full strength. It would be impossible for them to match his power either.

    After all these days of hard cultivation, he finally achieved a sliver of result. He could not help but feel overjoyed. He felt like he was another step closer to his objective.

    However, when he remembered the danger and difficulties he went through last night, his face turned cold. ¡°But I do want to know who gave me this blessing.¡±

    The black ox said seemingly carelessly, ¡°Everything, whether good or bad, is brought on by man himself.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. This was what he had said when the witch had come for the boar¡¯s head. The little ghost was definitely haunting him for a reason. Upon closer thought, he immediately found some clues.

    He had been born and raised in this tiny mountain village, so he did know a little about the few major matters that had happened in the village. In such a remote, little village, major matters barely ever happened in the first place.

    One of these included the ruin of a family in the village due to a child¡¯s death a few years ago.

    Back then, Li Qingshan was a child as well. He even knew the child, Xiao Mao. He had never thought the child would actually die because of this, and this was also the reason why Li Qingshan had ¡®turned back to normal¡¯ after drinking the purging water, afraid of revealing any surprising aspects anymore. It was also when he had developed his great abhorrence towards the local witch.

    The death of Xiao Mao¡¯s mother was very fishy. She had died all of a sudden one night for no particular reason.

    Originally, Li Qingshan had believed she was unable to endure the grief of the loss of her son. However, looking at it now, she had clearly been killed by the yin qi. He suddenly stood up; a cold light flashed through his eyes. ¡°I see. I can¡¯t spare her!¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Then go kill her!¡±

    The local witch was not a ruffian like patch-haired Liu. Not only did she possess great status in the village, but she even had some renown in the local region as well. Non-locals would often come to the village for her fortunes.

    He could only flee the village after killing her. It was even possible that he would be reported to the government and be deemed as a fugitive. He had no evidence or witnesses either, so he could not jump to the conclusion that she was behind everything. Most importantly, since she could control the little ghost, who knows whether she had other things that she could use against him.

    The black ox did not chip in from the side, but it approved of him very much. If Li Qingshan wanted to use his might from yesterday and confronted the witch in a rash manner, all of the painstaking effort he had gone through would have gone to waste.

    Rarely was anything perfect in the world. Courageous people would often be rash and careless, while clever people would often be hesitant, lacking resolve and courage. To have the courage of a swordsman and the heart and patience of a zitherist¡ªnow that was rare.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind and made his way over to the village.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Erlang. Have you eaten? If you haven¡¯t, you can come to my house.¡± At the entrance, an old man plowed a vegetable garden with his hoe. He greeted Li Qingshan warmly as soon as he saw him.

    What happened yesterday in caretaker Liu¡¯s courtyard had already spread across the entire village. The unrecognised second son of the Li family had already become someone famous. Both the young and old felt some respect towards this young man.

    Li Qingshan responded to all the greetings he received. He passed through most of the village until he eventually arrived before a small yard that had a few willow trees planted in front. A small, old man in rags leaned against the tree. He was already as drunk as a fiddler despite it being the morning, which surprisingly, made him seem a little like a great hermit beyond worldly affairs.

    Li Qingshan knew that this was no hermit. He was an ordinary farmer and Xiao Mao¡¯s father. His name was Li Fugui. He was actually still in his thirties, but he seemed like he was in his fifties or sixties already. Ever since his wife passed away, he had basically stopped doing farmwork. He would drink away his sorrows everyday and act in a deranged manner.

    Seeing Li Qingshan approach him, Li Fugui slurred, ¡°Come, drink, drink.¡± The stink of alcohol assaulted Li Qingshan¡¯s nose.

    Li Qingshan frowned and grabbed Li Fugui, dragging him into the courtyard. Without a single word, Li Qingshan scooped up a ladle of water and poured it into his mouth, which choked him into a coughing fit. He leaned over the threshold of the door and vomited.

    Li Qingshan studied the courtyard and the house. It was a mess everywhere. Spider webs covered all the window lattices. It was truly run-down. In the past, Li Fugui¡¯s family had been renowned in the village for their wealth, and the amount of fertile farmland in their possession was second to only caretaker Liu¡¯s family. He had lived up to the name his parents had given to him.1 The whole family lived happily.

    However, who could help that the world was unpredictable? It had all been reduced to this after sudden misfortune, which made Li Qingshan sigh emotionally. The mere happiness of ordinary people was just too fragile. However, with his unswerving determination and great ambitions, he despised people who sank into depravity and dejection and let themselves go the most. As a result, he was not particularly kind to people like this either.

    Li Fugui was furious. ¡°W- w- what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Uncle Li, are you sober?¡±

    Li Fugui saw Li Qingshan¡¯s hostile gaze and shivered all over. He was not blind or deaf. He knew exactly what Li Qingshan had done in the village over the past few days. He was a real person of misfortune. ¡°W- what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Do you know how Xiao Mao¡¯s mother died?¡± Li Qingshan got straight to the paint.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I know nothing.¡± Li Fugui paled from fright as soon as he heard that, making his way out quickly.

    Li Qingshan grabbed his skinny wrist. ¡°Is this what your wife would have wanted you to become?¡±

    Li Fugui halted. ¡°Erlang, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell you. That¡¯s trouble that you can¡¯t afford to get involved with. Do you want to just lose your life for nothing?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want trouble either, but the trouble has already come knocking. If I have to live like you, I would much rather lose my life. I just want you to tell me what happened in the past.¡±

    Li Fugui was startled by that. ¡°What? It has already come knocking?¡± After quite a while of hesitance, he exhaled deeply and began narrating.

    ¡°After Xiao Mao¡¯s mother shouted abuses in the streets outside the witch¡¯s home, she came home and went to sleep. She was unable to get up the next day. Her body became cold and blue. So many strange things happened that night, a- and I saw¡­¡±

    ¡°What did you see?¡±

    ¡°A child!¡±

    Li Qingshan finally confirmed that the murderer really was the witch.

    Moreover, the witch had even said to Li Fugui sinisterly that not only did Xiao Mao miss his mother, but he also missed his father as well. It scared Li Fugui into giving a huge offering.

    Li Qingshan slammed the wall with his hand. ¡°She has gone too far. Haven¡¯t you ever considered avenging your wife?¡±

    Li Fugui reddened from frustration due to the contempt in Li Qingshan¡¯s voice. He rushed into the house and pulled out a long, wrapped package from the bottom of a great big wooden box.

    He opened the package and inside was a blade, a well-made blade of steel.

    Li Qingshan drew the blade from its sheath and a certain coldness flooded out. The blade reflected his face perfectly.

    The hilt was around a foot long, slightly curved and wrapped in black silk. It felt extremely pleasant in his hand. The single-edged blade was around two feet long and four inches wide. Compared to Li Qingshan¡¯s knife that was only a foot long and had been made with shoddy craftsmanship, this blade was far superior.

 Chapter 13 â€“ Seeing Ghosts with an Oxâ€™s Tears

    Li Fugui said, ¡°This is a blade forged from hundred-folded steel I bought from the Arsenal of Arms.¡± He was not an idiot. How could his wife¡¯s death not affect him, and how could he not develop any hatred for the witch? This blade was evidence, evidence that he was still a man.

    However, he was still a regular farmer at the end of the day. One side was alcohol and the other side was a blade, but he never managed to make up his mind to lift the blade. Instead, he passed each day drunk and dejected. In the end, he discovered he even lacked the strength to wield the blade. However, he had always kept it. He never exchanged it for alcohol.

    Li Fugui thought of the past and became covered in tears. ¡°I don¡¯t have the courage to sell this blade, nor do I want to sell it. If I sell it, I have nothing.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s emotions surged, but he showed none of it. He silently sheathed the blade again. ¡°If you trust me, then give the blade to me. I will definitely settle this matter.¡±

    Li Fugui turned around and waved his hand. Li Qingshan made his way out of the courtyard and walked rapidly. He was tempted to just go up and cut down the witch. Only when he returned to his house and practised a little did he manage to calm down.

    ¡°What level of ability do you need to control ghosts? How does it compare to my Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers?¡±

    ¡°The powerful can be revered by a myriad of ghosts, claiming the title of emperor of ghosts, able to associate with gods and demons. The weak can only harass some ordinary people, not only bringing no benefit to themselves, but even bringing detriments instead. Yin qi will eat away at their bodies, leading to a clouded mind and eccentricity.¡±

    ¡°The witch is obviously the latter.¡± Li Qingshan eased up. Such a situation was what he had been anticipating as well, or the witch would have never taken so long to seek revenge after he kicked her to the ground.

    ¡°But don¡¯t underestimate him. A ghost you cannot see can easily catch you off-guard.¡±

    Li Qingshan came up with an idea. ¡°Brother ox, I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s possible to see ghosts if you drip the tears of cows into your eyes. Is it true?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. This old ox has never shed any tears before.¡±

    ¡°They say a man sheds no tears, but that¡¯s only when they¡¯re not grief-stricken. Brother ox, haven¡¯t you ever been grief-stricken before?¡±

    The black ox turned away its head and began to ignore him.

    Li Qingshan knew that brother ox truly possessed the stubbornness of an ox, so he did not say anything more. Over the past few days, they had conversed quite a lot. He could sense the black ox¡¯s intentions to a certain degree. It did not want Li Qingshan to rely on it. He had his own path to walk. He had to handle his own matters.

    Li Qingshan opened the bottle and looked inside. There was a transparent, bluish liquid inside. He realised what it was and smiled brilliantly, thanking the black ox while looking at its back. He dipped a stalk of wormwood into the bottle and carefully dripped the liquid into his two eyes.

    He felt nothing at the beginning, but afterwards, his eyes became hotter and hotter, swelling and becoming burning-hot. If it were not for the difficult training he had gone through in the past few days, he basically would have cried out in pain.

    In a house of brick and tiles covered in smoke, a group of outsiders who had come to have their fortunes told watched in stupefaction as a piece of talisman paper flew up in the air before suddenly lighting on fire. It even burned with blue flames.

    What they could not see was a pale-faced child holding up the talisman paper strenuously. All they did was lower their heads and hand all of their silver and money to the witch out of fear and awe before backing away.

    The witch carefully accepted the money, and her expression suddenly twisted. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why is Li Er still alive? Have you been slacking off when you handled it? Do I have to teach you a lesson?¡±

    The child¡¯s stiff and blank face revealed fear as well, and he shook his head desperately.

    The witch suddenly lifted the bell in her hand, and the child rampaged through the house in pain with gusts of chilling wind, dispersing the curling smoke.

    Only after quite a while did the witch place down her bell. ¡°Good, listen to granny. Granny would never treat you badly.¡± She handed an embroidery needle that was as thin as a strand of hair to the child. ¡°Take this and stab out his eyes.¡±

    The child held the needle with great difficulty and flew towards the Crouching Ox hill with the night wind.

    In the gathering darkness, Li Qingshan continued to meditate with his eyes closed in the courtyard.

    The child walked over and lifted the needle, slowly stabbing it towards Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. An ordinary person would only see a needle flying through the air. Moreover, with how thin the needle was, it was almost impossible to see it during the day, let alone during the night.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense something, and his eyes snapped open. He ignored the needle that was only inches away and stared into the child¡¯s pitch-black pupils with his sharp gaze. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± His eyes shone brightly like two balls of flames.

    Around nightfall, just as Li Qingshan was in pain, the strand of almost non-existent qi suddenly began to flow. It flowed to his eyes, and the pain immediately lessened significantly.

    By the time the scorching pain had vanished, a cool sensation filled his eyes, which he found to be extremely pleasant. It was also at this moment that he suddenly experienced an omen of warning, so he opened his eyes. He happened to see the little ghost from last night, holding the needle right in front of him.

    He was also surprised, experiencing some lingering fear from what had happened yesterday. Originally, he thought the witch would just use some evil schemes and that she would never confront him directly. It was not like the little ghost¡¯s yin qi could harm him, so he could afford to be careless and underestimate this opponent. However, if it were not for the fact that he could suddenly see ghosts, he might have fallen for the sneak attack and lost his eyes, which would have made him worse off than just trying to kill her off nice and early.

    The child was even more surprised. Having been glared at by Li Qingshan, he trembled all over and dropped the needle, drifting far away to avoid him.

    Li Qingshan studied the little ghost carefully and discovered that he was only six or seven years old. His facial features were extremely delicate. If it were not for his overly-pale face, he really would have seemed pure and innocent. He wore robes made from silk, which should have been his attire before death. He did not seem like a ghost under control; he looked more like a little young master of a large clan.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan could actually see him, the child immediately became afraid of approaching him, but he was also afraid of failing the mission and being punished by the witch, so he dared not leave. He froze up there.

    Li Qingshan no longer felt any fear. Invisible things were always the most terrifying. Now that he could see it all clearly, he discovered that the little ghost was even more afraid than him. As a result, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name? Where do you come from?¡±

    However, no matter how he asked, the child never replied with his dull face. Li Qingshan thought of something. ¡°You can¡¯t speak?¡±

    The child hesitated for a while before nodding.

    Li Qingshan thought about how this child was only being used by the witch. He had passed away unfortunately at such a young age, and perhaps the witch was behind his death as well. As a result, Li Qingshan felt rather sympathetic, and his tone warmed up slightly.

    ¡°You stuck to me so close last night, so what¡¯re you hiding for now? Come over here. There are things I want to ask you.¡±

    The child saw how his expression was no longer as frightening and took a few steps forward like a timid little animal.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Since you can¡¯t speak, then you can nod or shake your head to answer me. Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±

    The child nodded.

 Chapter 14 â€“ Bursting Through the Door

    Li Qingshan asked many questions, and the child answered all of them as if he did not know how to lie. He either nodded or shook his head, but he could only answer simple questions. Complicated questions would only leave him dazed.

    When Li Qingshan asked for his name and where he came from, he shook his head for both of them. When he asked whether the witch was still hiding any tricks, the child stood there blankly.

    Despite that, Li Qingshan managed to understand many things. The witch really was behind the child¡¯s death after all, refining him into a little ghost to serve her. Originally, he could speak as well, but the witch had fed him a bowl of medicinal soup that turned him into a mute.

    Li Qingshan guessed that the witch had abducted this child and was afraid he would blabber along the way, so she had turned him into a mute. However, whenever he mentioned the witch, the child¡¯s face would become filled with fear.

    Li Qingshan said gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t harm you. I will kill that old hag and set you free.¡±

    Unknowingly, the child had approached Li Qingshan, and there was now attachment on his little raised head.

    Li Qingshan revealed a comforting smile and wanted to touch his head, but Li Qingshan¡¯s hand passed through his body, and he immediately froze.

    The child became depressed, lowering his head and silently crying.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt sorrow well up inside. He roared at the sky. Why were there so many injustices in the world? When humans harmed each other, they were no less brutal than demons and monsters.

    On the other hand, the child was stunned, looking at Li Qingshan in surprise.

    Under the moonlight, the young man with unswerving determination actually had something sparkle at the corner of his eyes.

    Li Qingshan mocked himself. ¡°Looks like men really shed no tears unless they¡¯re grief-stricken. I¡¯ve embarrassed myself.¡±

    The child stood on his toes and extended his hand to touch Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He removed a tear droplet and cradled it in both hands. It seemed rather heavy to him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t take that!¡± Li Qingshan turned red and suddenly understood the black ox¡¯s difficulties slightly. How could the tears of a man be handed to someone else so casually?

    He thought of what the ox had said again. Weak ghosts were incorporeal. Only when they had cultivated to a certain degree could they gradually become tangible and lift real objects. With how weak this child was, he must have only been able to carry extremely light things.

    The child only lowered his head and gazed at the transparent liquid in his hands.

    Li Qingshan was helpless. He looked around and felt rather strange. Why had darkness descended at such a late time tonight? The landscape around the house was somewhat gloomy, but things were still clearly visible.

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°Brother ox really is a monster. His tears even have such miraculous usage.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s late. I need to go to sleep. Because of you, I wasn¡¯t able to rest up properly last night. I still have things to do tomorrow. I need to recover my strength.¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his house to sleep, while the child crouched down at the entrance. Under the moonlight, he was half-transparent, just like the tear droplet in his hands.

    Li Qingshan slept extremely heavily that night, only waking up when the sun was well and truly up. The child had already left, probably unwilling to move about during the day.

    He washed his face and rinsed his mouth before practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength a little. Then he picked up the thick steel blade he had received from Li Fugui, went through his thoughts, picked up a few pieces of gazelle meat, and left through the door.

    The three scoundrels were currently sitting together with worried looks. With patch-haired Liu¡¯s death, their group had lost its backbone. Their time in the village became tougher and tougher, and they were basically detested by everyone as lowlives.

    They wanted to copy patch-haired Liu¡¯s brutality or Li Qingshan¡¯s viciousness, but how could they manage? Even filling their bellies became an immediate problem, let alone drinking alcohol and eating meat. They could only work for caretaker Liu and barely earn a meal to eat. They were nowhere close to having it as easy as before.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly visited them. The three scoundrels went up to welcome him in a hurry. He had come with a frosty look, a blade in one hand and meat in the other, naturally giving off an aura of might. No one would look down on him just because of his age.

    The voices of the three scoundrels eased up slightly as well, highly praising Li Qingshan¡¯s actions during the day before yesterday.

    Li Qingshan ignored these attempts to flatter him and put down the meat. ¡°There is something I must trouble you all with. The meat is the compensation, including for what you did last time.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be rude of us to accept it. Erlang, just say a word, and we¡¯ll do anything to carry it out.¡± That was what the scoundrels said, but they accepted the meat in a hurry.

    Just like last time, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Come with me!¡± He turned around and left, but this time, there was no bravado. It was an absolute order.

    The three scoundrels did not to dare hesitate, following right behind his steps.

    Li Qingshan borrowed some hoes and shovels from a nearby farmer¡¯s home first before going to Li Fugui¡¯s house.

    It just happened to be noon, around the time when the villagers had just finished their morning farmwork and were tidying up. They were all about to go home to eat. They saw Li Erlang, who just happened to be at the height of his fame in the village, leading three scoundrels to borrow tools. Who knows what he planned on doing, so they all followed behind him curiously. With that, basically the entire village had been alarmed.

    They watched him arrive in front of Li Fugui¡¯s home and wondered whether he was going to punish that drunkard. How had the drunkard offended him? They all found this to be rather shameless. He was using his advantage in numbers to harass a pitiful man who had descended into depravity. This was a complete opposite to when he faced the village head and caretaker Liu in caretaker Liu¡¯s home. One was defying oppression, while the other was harassing the weak.

    However, the three scoundrels were very happy. ¡°I could tell a long time ago that this old drunkard is utterly worthless.¡± They even slapped their chests and volunteered. ¡°I¡¯ll drag him out right now.¡± It had been a long time since they could hold their heads up high. They were going to be making an example out of Li Fugui this time, beating him up in front of the crowd.

    Li Qingshan glared at them and called out, ¡°Are you coming or not?¡±

    Just as everyone felt confused, Li Fugui rushed out of the house and gritted his teeth, ¡°I am!¡±

    His face was surprisingly sober, which astounded all the villagers. In the past, Li Fugui had always remained in a drunken stupor. Unbeknownst to them, after Li Qingshan left Li Fugui¡¯s house, the man had not taken a single sip of alcohol. He thought about and longed for what Li Qingshan had promised, but he never thought that Li Qingshan would come on the very next day.

    With that, the villagers felt even more confused, and their interest was piqued as well.

    Li Qingshan nodded. He walked at the front with his head held high, leading the group of people to the witch¡¯s brick house. He saw that the main entrance was tightly shut. Clearly, he had alarmed her already. Seeing this, he ordered the three rascals, ¡°Smash it open!¡±

    The three scoundrels immediately became timid. There was not a single person in the village who did not fear the witch. Even when patch-haired Liu was around, they were never bold enough to offend her, and the house of brick and tiles that also served as a shrine had a mysterious, holy air around it. They had already lost count of just how many times they had heard of strange things happening there.

    The other villagers saw how he was actually making trouble for the witch, and all of them erupted in an uproar as well.

    Someone tried to persuade him, ¡°Erlang, don¡¯t mess around!¡±

    There was also someone absolutely terrified. ¡°Your disrespect to the gods will lead to retribution.¡± He was a devout believer of the witch. If it were not for his fear of the blade in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, he might have come up and tried to reason with him.

    Li Qingshan said nothing. With a bang, he kicked open the wooden door. The door panels that were as thick as an arm snapped into pieces, producing quite a loud sound and startling the villagers into silence.

    Li Qingshan looked back and ordered the three scoundrels, ¡°Keep guard outside. Don¡¯t let anyone in.¡±

    The three scoundrels obliged reluctantly. At least they did not have to go in.

    Li Qingshan stepped over the door sill and strode into the courtyard. He arrived before the entrance to the hall and was about to kick through the door.

    The doors opened by themselves. It was clearly noon when the sun was dazzling, but it was a black mess inside. A cold, gloomy breeze blew over.

    The witch wore brightly-coloured robes and sat on the altar, speaking with a different voice, ¡°Li Erlang, do you know your crimes?¡±

 Chapter 15 â€“ The Witchâ€™s Death

    The witch extended her finger, and a clump of black mist surged forth. Many vicious faces of agony could be vaguely made out in the mist.

    This was the witch¡¯s trump card, called Ghost Mist, created by combining heavy yin qi and resentment. She usually kept it in an urn, which she buried underground to absorb yin qi. She would only use it when she absolutely had to. Moreover, since this Ghost Mist lacked intelligence and only possessed resentment, it was extremely difficult to control. It could end up backfiring from the slightest of carelessness.

    She had only used it in a hurry when she saw how Li Qingshan had come with great fury. However, the might of the Ghost Mist was extraordinary as well. Once ordinary people became enveloped by it, they would immediately fall unconscious, and the most vicious part about it was that it was just like ghosts, between tangible and intangible. Ordinary people could not see it at all.

    If Li Qingshan had not opened his eyes with the ox tears, he would have fallen for it. The effects of all these days of strenuous practice finally showed itself. He moved to one side and dodged the Ghost Mist, continuing his charge at the witch.

    The witch had never expected Li Qingshan to actually be able to see the Ghost Mist, so she immediately panicked. She hurriedly waved a bell. ¡°Xiao An, Xiao An! Get out here! Kill him!¡±

    The child called Xiao An crouched in a corner. His face was in pain, but he clutched his head without moving.

    In an instant, Li Qingshan used the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves and stamped the ground heavily. He left behind a deep footprint as he flew up into the air before swinging down with his blade.

    With a flash of cold light, blood splattered everywhere. Li Qingshan had forcefully chopped off the bell-wielding hand that was as spindly as a chicken¡¯s foot along the wrist.

    Li Qingshan did not even have the time to examine the effects of his slash before sensing an attack of yin qi from behind. Smelling living people, the Ghost Mist was like a wild beast that had just smelled blood, surging over under the control of its resentment.

    Li Qingshan did not dare to stop. He charged forward, but he felt that the Ghost Mist did not follow him over. Instead, he heard a miserable wail from behind. Looking back, he saw the Ghost Mist envelop the witch as the ghost faces chomped away at her body.

    Even Li Qingshan had failed to anticipate something like this.

    As it turned out, the witch had lost control over the Ghost Mist due to the pain, immediately leading to it backfiring.

    There was no hatred without a cause, no debt without a creditor.

    All of this evil had originated from the witch, and she was the one to reap what she had sown. Her whole body twisted as her flesh withered away as a visible rate.

    Li Qingshan watched on in delight as he laughed aloud.

    People covered the walls and entrance outside as they all looked into the house. It was impossible for the three scoundrels to stop them once they became curious. They could only let them be and claim the best viewing spot at the entrance for themselves.

    They watched Li Qingshan enter the house and rise up into the air, cutting off the witch¡¯s arm. Afterwards, the witch collapsed on the ground and wailed in agony as Li Qingshan laughed like a madman. It gave them all goosebumps.

    Many of them had fallen off the walls from fright, and the three scoundrels fell back on their bottoms as their legs gave way as well. They thought about how they had once mocked and insulted Li Qingshan in the past. Now, they felt extremely regretful. Someone like him was not a person they could afford to provoke.

    Li Qingshan watched the Ghost Mist gradually disperse. Once its resentment had all been vented, it would stop. As for the witch, she lay on the ground on her last gasp. She had actually survived, but she was clearly close to death. She must have practised some kind of cultivation method, which was why she had managed to hang on.

    The witch extended her remaining chicken claw towards the child in the corner. She seemed like she was pleading, but it was also like she was expressing her resentment as she called out, ¡°Xiao An! Xiao An!¡±

    Xiao An looked at her in confusion and fear. Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you off!¡± He stabbed down with his steel blade.

    Caretaker Liu and village head Li rushed over after receiving the news. They just happened to see this, and the witch had taken her last breath before they could even yell out something like ¡®Spare her!¡¯. They looked at each other and both became covered in cold sweat. They thought about how the witch had boldly claimed that Li Qingshan¡¯s days were numbered just the day before yesterday, yet today, she had lost her life.

    Fortunately, they had not crossed the line with Li Qingshan that day, or who knows what would have happened.

    This was the second time Li Qingshan had killed someone. Compared to his panic in the darkness during the first time, he felt extremely composed under the light of day. The improvement of his mental state had even surprised himself slightly. He wondered, Has my demonic nature been roused by the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength? Or should I say, this is who I¡¯ve always been?

    In his past life, in that current society that blurred the line between right and wrong, who knows how many people were forced to hide their true nature, only able to go with the flow and complying with everything that happened to them. Let alone an adult in his thirties or forties, but even children and youths lacked enthusiasm and ambition. He had only been one of the many people out there, no different from the ordinary person.

    Having experienced life and death through transmigration, it instead agitated his lofty aspirations, making him reluctant to live another life of mediocrity. Yet, he ended up being stuck in this tiresome life in this tiny mountain village for fifteen years. Finally, he had obtained a chance. The moment his lofty aspirations were set free, they rampaged like mad demons, never able to be locked up again.

    Li Qingshan stopped laughing and turned his head. ¡°Please don¡¯t panic. This old hag asked for all of this herself, and this all only serves her right. I still need you to uphold justice.¡±

    You charged in and commited murder in the light of day, yet you still want us to uphold justice. These words only crossed their minds as thoughts. Obviously, no one was brave enough to say it aloud.

    Suddenly, a person charged out from the crowd and arrived in front of Li Qingshan. He smacked his head against the ground three times with a series of thuds before raising it. ¡°I killed her. It¡¯s got nothing to do with Erlang! That damned hag destroyed my family. Xiao Mao, I¡¯ve avenged you!¡± After saying that, he broke into tears and laughter. It was Li Fugui. The great burden that had pressed against his chest for all these years had suddenly been lifted. He felt like even if he died right now, he would be content.

    There was not a single person in the village who did not know about Li Fugui¡¯s tragedy. They could not help but remain silent.

    Only caretaker Liu felt awkward and afraid. It was exactly because of this tragedy that Li Fugui began to exchange his fertile farmland for alcohol to drown away his sorrow, which was also why caretaker Liu had gained the glorious nickname of Half-village Liu. If Li Qingshan suspected that he had been collaborating with the witch, then he would be screwed.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I always bear the consequences of my actions! I have no need for you to bear the blame. Please come with me!¡± He called out to the three rascals as well as a few respected elders of the village. They arrived at the witch¡¯s backyard.

    Li Qingshan looked back. His gaze landed on the area below the eaves of the building before he nodded. Everyone followed his gaze and looked over, but there was nothing. Xiao An was currently hiding in the shade, pointing at an area.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s order, the three scoundrels began to dig. They were all under Li Qingshan¡¯s watch, so they all dug as hard as they could, afraid of slacking off. Before long, they had excavated a pit and dug out a skeleton.

    Li Qingshan went into the pit and collected the remains. He glanced back below the eaves and ordered, ¡°Keep digging!¡± These were not Xiao An¡¯s remains.

    Under Xiao An¡¯s guidance, Li Qingshan had them dig around some other places, and they excavated a few more bones. Everyone in the surroundings was shocked. Why were there so many skeletons buried in the witch¡¯s backyard? Moreover, all of them seemed to belong to children.

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised as well as his expression grew sterner. He knew that these were victims to the evil arts the witch had been practising. The cluster of Ghost Mist filled with resentment must have come from here. He only regretted giving the witch too easy of a death.

    At this moment, there was a ding like they had hit something. They carefully dug it out, only to find a porcelain jar. It was tightly sealed.

    Before Li Qingshan could stop them, the three scoundrels scrambled to open the jar. A small cluster of black gas rushed out and squirmed into the mouth and nose of a scoundrel as if it were afraid of sunlight.

 Chapter 16 â€“ White Bone and White Silver

    The two other scoundrels paled and became immobilised with fright, but the items in the porcelain jar immediately blinded their eyes. Pieces of glistening silver filled the jar. They had never seen so much money in their lives. Even caretaker Liu and a few village elders who were on their last legs were visibly moved.

    Li Qingshan pushed them away, and they almost flew into a rage. No matter how cowardly people were, they would be tempted by wealth and could become vicious for it. However, when they saw it was Li Qingshan, they were afraid of doing anything.

    Li Qingshan was in no mood to care about their thoughts. He placed the jar aside. A tiny skeleton laid below the jar. Blood and flesh had already rotted off from the skeleton completely, revealing a greyish-white colour. Who knows how long it had been buried there.

    Xiao An finally nodded, and Li Qingshan sighed gently. He looked around and tipped out all of the silver in the porcelain jar before storing the skeleton inside.

    The silver pieces rolled onto the floor and formed quite a pile.

    With that, everyone¡¯s eyes became glued to the pile. They even stopped caring about the remains.

    Caretaker Liu was someone experienced and knowledgeable, having gone out and seen the world. He roughly estimated that there were several hundred taels of silver there. Even he became green with greed, let alone the others.

    In a tiny mountain village like this, that was truly a tremendous sum.

    Li Qingshan had never expected the witch to have managed to extort so much silver over the years either. As the saying went, wealth tempts people. He was not an otherworldly immortal who had transcendent worldly affairs, so he was also affected by the sum. After all, there were plenty of aspects where he would have to spend money in the future!

    Just in terms of meat, he did not want to continue relying on the black ox. Since the black ox wanted him to be independent, he wanted to show it just how independent he could be. Moreover, he wanted to change up his tastes. Maybe he could go to the market and buy some good alcohol as well.

    However, he also understood the principle of ¡®The wages of avarice is death¡¯. If he took all of the silver with him, these people would be afraid of saying anything due to fearing his might, but they would definitely resent him, which would bury quite a large seed of misfortune. Even the death of the witch might not be able to pacify them.

    ¡°Village head Li, you are the person of the highest prestige and respect in this village. Let¡¯s hear if you have any plans regarding this silver.¡± Li Qingshan wiped off the blood from his steel blade and stowed it back into the sheathe. He seemed to be letting village head Li take charge, but he stressed the words ¡®highest prestige and respect¡¯ when he mentioned it.

    Li Qingshan looked around, and all those he saw nodded in a hurry. ¡°You decide, Erlang!¡± Only then did he nod slowly. He did not mind sharing some silver in exchange for peace, but if there really were someone ignorant enough to decide what to do with his spoils of battle, then they would have to ask whether the blade in his hand agreed to it or not.

    Every single person in the crowd was much older than Li Qingshan, yet they had to follow the arrangements of a fifteen year old. However, none of them felt unhappy with that. The current Li Qingshan was no longer the Li Qingshan of the past. His viciousness and decisiveness that came with drawing the blade and committing murder had stunned them.

    Li Qingshan sat down to split the silver. He pressed one hand on the porcelain jar that held the white skeleton as he leaned on his blade with the other hand. The adults and old people all lowered their heads and listened to him closely.

    However, the first person to receive a share of silver surprised all of them slightly.

    ¡°Uncle Fugui, the witch destroyed your family, so you deserve compensation. You better take this silver. Don¡¯t drown yourself in alcohol anymore. Only then can you console the dead.¡± Li Qingshan used the sheath of the blade and parted some silver from the edge of the pile.

    ¡°H- how can I accept that!¡± Li Fugui had never expected Li Qingshan to say that. He was at a loss as for what to do.

    ¡°Take it!¡± Li Qingshan actually did this more to thank and praise him for his courage of standing forward and trying to bear the blame for the murder.

    Li Fugui accepted the silver in gratitude and bewilderment.

    Next, Li Qingshan called over the two scoundrels. ¡°This is for you.¡± He glanced at the dead scoundrel on the ground. ¡°And him too. Take him back and bury him. Work and earn a living properly in the future. Don¡¯t continue doing underhanded things like stealing, or you¡¯ll probably end up suffering the same fate.¡±

    The two scoundrels were both surprised and overjoyed as they collected their silver. When Li Qingshan mentioned their companion, they became rather pale, but they did not seem particularly anguished. Who knows whether they could purposefully shell out money to have their companion buried.

    In the end, Li Qingshan clasped his fist at caretaker Liu, village head Li, and the group of village elders. ¡°In the past few days, I have offended you all. Please take this silver as an apology. I hope you can forgive me for my ignorance. However, if there are any more people who disrespect the old, harass the weak, or other fellow villagers¡­¡± That was how he put it, but he did not seem apologetic at all. Towards the end, he even became stern.

    ¡°That¡¯ll never happen! That¡¯ll never happen!¡± These people said together.

    Li Qingshan nodded and split out a pile of silver for them to share between themselves.

    ¡°What about the other villagers?¡± Village head Li received his own share of silver and looked at the large pile that remained. Since even a victim like Li Fugui had received a share, there were plenty of other victims in the village. It could be said that every family had given the witch offerings before.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him. ¡°Does anyone have any objections?¡± He sympathised with the villagers who had been deceived, but he had no plans on compensating others for their stupidity. If he had not killed the witch in such a swift manner, it might have even been possible for their fear towards the witch to impel them to turn against him.

    Moreover, how was he supposed to split it? Who was supposed to receive more and who was supposed to receive less? It was impossible to be fair, and in the end, it was very possible that not only would he receive no benefits from this at all, he would even become resented by many instead.

    The village head had realised this as well. He wanted this youth, who was at the height of his influence, to hit a stumbling block. At the end of the day, what did the interests of the village have anything to do with him? Instead, the person right before him threatened his authority in the village more and more. Who knows, maybe a few years later, when Li Qingshan truly became an adult, he might even end up losing his position as village head.

    However, he never expected Li Qingshan to be so meticulous with his thoughts despite his age. The glance that seemed to have pierced through his thoughts made him tremble with fear, afraid to say anything more.

    Li Qingshan wrapped up the remaining silver. ¡°Then please explain this matter to the other villagers. If any of you run your tongue carelessly and it reaches my ears, hmph!¡±

    Everyone agreed to that. They were standing right in front of a weapon, and they had all received benefit from this incident as well, so none of them would just blabber.

    Under village head Li¡¯s lead, everyone arrived outside and provided an explanation to the villagers, commending Li Qingshan tremendously for eliminating a menace. Some of the devout believers of the witch originally refused to accept it, but when the skeletons were carried out one by one, all of them shut up. There were so many remains buried in her backyard, so how could she be any good?

    No one was willing to offend a strong and vicious character like Li Qingshan for the sake of a dead person, not to mention the group of ¡®respected and authoritative¡¯ elders.

    Li Qingshan did not make an appearance himself. Instead, he picked up the bronze bell in the witch¡¯s severed hand. He could vaguely sense the spiritual nature that made it different from regular items. He asked Xiao An, ¡°Did she use this to control you?¡±

    Xiao An nodded and gazed at the bell extremely nervously.

 Chapter 17 â€“ The Umbral Yin Ghost Control Technique

    Xiao An was both happy and confused.

    Li Qingshan searched through the witch¡¯s house again. Xiao An stuck right behind him before suddenly extending his small hand and tugging at Li Qingshan¡¯s trousers, pointing at a particular place.

    Li Qingshan found a secret compartment in the wall. It contained a stack of paper, consisting completely of silver notes. He could vaguely recall that there were also private banks in this world, but this was the first time he had seen proper silver notes.

    The witch must have buried the pieces of silver when she was still fit. Afterwards, as her strength declined with her age, it became impossible for her to continue digging. As a result, she had exchanged her earnings in the past few years for these convenient silvernotes. There were roughly several hundred taels in the secret compartments. She was so wealthy, yet she had actually fallen out with him over a single boar¡¯s head, consequently dying in the end.

    Li Qingshan finally found what he was looking for at the very bottom of the secret compartment. It was a single leaf out of a book, covered in tiny writing. He glanced through it roughly, and it was a technique to refine souls and control ghosts. The edge of the page was uneven like it had been ripped out of a book.

    Li Qingshan practised the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and had barely managed to witness the path of cultivation, so he was curious about other techniques as well. He had never thought that the witch¡¯s strange techniques would actually come from a single page of a book. If she had possessed the entire book, he probably would have lost his life here today.

    However, if the witch had the entire book, it was unlikely for her to hole up in the Crouching Ox village for half her life. The witch was not a part of the village originally, having suddenly settled down here several decades ago. No one knew her origins. As for how she had obtained this page, Li Qingshan was at a loss as well.

    However, below the page was another silver note. It actually amounted to a thousand taels. The silver note was extremely yellowed; evidently, it had quite some age to it. She had definitely received it before coming to the village. It also made the witch¡¯s origins even more confusing.

    Li Qingshan asked Xiao An, ¡°Do you recognise this?¡± He felt like this might have some connection to Xiao An¡¯s origins.

    Xiao An remained dull and silent, neither shaking or nodding his head.

    Li Qingshan knew that the question had already exceeded the limits of what the child could answer. Obviously, Li Qingshan kindly accepted everything in the secret compartment without holding back at all. When he was about to leave, he felt Xiao An tug his trousers again.

    Xiao An nodded and Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then you can keep me company!¡± As he said that, he opened the porcelain jar. He knew that Xiao An was afraid of moving about under the sunlight.

    Xiao An smiled bashfully and flew into the jar.

    Li Qingshan returned to his house with the jar. After burying the jar behind his house, he made a small burial mound.

    The black ox returned and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve succeeded?¡±

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about dealing with an old hag?¡± Afterwards, he showed the ox his spoils of battle this time. He took out the page, gave it to the black ox to take a look, and asked, ¡°Is this also an ability? Can I practise it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an incomplete piece of paper, so obviously it¡¯s nothing much. However, this page originates from an ability called the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique. Who knows how she got her hands on this. However, practising something incomplete like that probably won¡¯t bring about any benefits. Haven¡¯t you ever heard of biting off more than you can chew? You better achieve something with the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers first!¡± The black ox glanced at him and stated the origins of the page.

    ¡°Then which one is better, the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers or the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique?¡±

    ¡°If it were the original version of the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, that¡¯ll be difficult to say. Although the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique does not focus on personal cultivation, it can amass a great deal of ghosts to overpower opponents with numbers. It¡¯s an ability for battle. If you can¡¯t defeat the caster in a single stroke, it¡¯s extremely easy for you to be swallowed up by a sea of ghosts.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the strength of the ox demon and tiger demon that I cultivate?¡±

    ¡°It obviously outclasses it.¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan settled down and no longer hesitated. He casually stowed the page away.

    His other spoils were nothing more than silver. Originally, Li Qingshan thought the black ox would not care about these worldly objects of white and yellow, but he never expected the black ox to firmly say after hearing him, ¡°Good. Compared to that piece of torn paper, this is what matters!¡±

    He looked down on an ability, yet he placed great focus on the silver. Even for Li Qingshan, who had undergone the black ox¡¯s teachings of eating meat and drinking alcohol, he could not help but feel shocked at a time like this. Brother ox sure was grounded to the secular world.

    The black ox could tell what he was thinking. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of the four words, wealth, companionship, method, and environment? They¡¯re the crucial requirements to cultivation, and wealth ranks first amongst them.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°No matter what I do, I need a financial foundation.¡± If the ox had not been providing the most important element so far, food, he would have no way to cultivate even if he possessed the secrets to a divine art right in his hands. ¡°Though, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to spend too much money!¡± A sum of over one thousand taels of silver was a tremendous amount. If he only bought alcohol and meat, it could last a very long time.

    The black ox said, ¡°You¡¯ve always been asking me just how long you¡¯ll need before you¡¯ll be able to achieve something with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but you always refuse to tell me.¡±

    ¡°I can tell you now. At the rate you¡¯re cultivating currently, if nothing unexpected happens, it¡¯ll probably take you ten years before you reach the first layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, giving you the strength of an ox!¡±

    ¡°Ten years!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth hung open in surprise.

    ¡°And that¡¯s towards the shorter side of things. If you come across a bottleneck, it¡¯ll be even more difficult to say. The stronger the ability, the harder it is to practise. Do you really think daoist abilities are a peasant¡¯s tricks, where you can achieve something just by some slight practise then proceed to dominate the world? You¡¯d better wake up!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like a cold bucket of water had been poured over him. All of his joy from killing the witch vanished. ¡°In other words, if I want to complete the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, I¡¯ll need one hundred and ten years at the very least?¡± He could not imagine how he might turn out to be after a hundred and ten years.

    ¡°Wrong. Abilities get more difficult the further you practise. It¡¯s nothing surprising if you don¡¯t complete it even in a couple hundred years. However, you don¡¯t have to worry too much. With each layer you achieve, your body will be consolidated, and your lifespan will obviously increase.¡±

    ¡°Then what am I supposed to do!?¡± Li Qingshan personally believed he had extraordinary willpower, able to endure practise everyday without stopping. However, if he had to last like this for a few hundred years, he felt like he would go crazy just from the thought of it.

    The black ox was just about done with its psychological blows. It donned a smug expression of ¡®Kid, do you know how powerful it is now?¡¯Then the ox said, ¡°If you want to reduce this time, the simplest method happens to fall on the word, wealth.¡±

    Despite Li Qingshan¡¯s strange expression, a list flew into his hands. The list stated several dozen medicines. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°To be used to make soup and alcohol. It¡¯s all tricks that even mortals know. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re missing any medicines from the list as long as you¡¯re not missing the most crucial one.¡±

    ¡°Ginseng!¡± Li Qingshan already saw the medicine listed at the very top.

    This was probably the most common and most easily obtainable spiritual medicine in the world. It was known as the King of Herbs, able to replenish vitality tremendously. In Chinese medicine, there was a soup of revival that would allow people on the brink of death to regain enough of their strength to leave behind their wills. In reality, it was ginseng soup.

 Chapter 18 â€“ Scholar Tree Wood Nurtures Ghosts

    ¡°Then there doesn¡¯t really seem to be a difference between me and regular practitioners of martial arts?¡±

    ¡°Of course there is a difference. Due to their frail constitutions, regular people often cannot intake overly strong or nutritious medicines. Not only will it bring no benefit, but it¡¯ll even be detrimental instead. I didn¡¯t tell you this from the beginning because your body was still frail. It would have been useless if I told you anyway.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been slowly fixing this over the past few days, and you managed to refine a sliver of true qi. As such, you¡¯ve basically fulfilled the basic requirement. I just happened to be thinking of ways for you to make money, but I can save some of that trouble now. However, this amount of money probably won¡¯t last you for too long.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood the differences as well. He could eat more ginseng than regular people without having to worry about developing ulcers or nosebleeds. His body was like a cauldron. He would use his ability to refine and absorb all the vitality that went into his body so that nothing went to waste.

    This also meant that Li Qingshan needed to buy a tremendous amount of ginseng. However, regardless of the day or age, ginseng would always be an expensive medicinal herb.

    However, he needed to eat ginseng like carrots. He would probably run out of money no matter how much he had.

    Just how much ginseng could he buy with the silver that amounted to a little over a thousand taels? He could not help but consider this problem!

    After lamenting, Li Qingshan had to admit that this was not bad news. The rate at which his strength grew would reach a whole new level.

    For a single breakthrough in strength, regular people would need to search for rare spiritual pills and wondrous medicines, which might not necessarily be effective in the first place. However, all he needed to eat was easily found and obtained, and his strength would constantly grow. Who knew how many people would be envious of him if they knew, so how could he be dissatisfied?

    As for the gold and the silver, there would always be a way. Once he was powerful enough, would money still pose an issue?

    ¡°This little ghost is pretty interesting.¡± The black ox arrived behind Li Qingshan and used its round eyes to stare at Xiao An, who hid behind Li Qingshan. He had always been hiding there, quietly sticking out his head to study the black ox out of curiosity.

    Xiao An was frightened into hiding once again, afraid of facing the talking bovine. Although the black ox did not possess anything terrifying like a murderous or a vicious aura, he basically avoided it out of instinct.

    ¡°She used an incomplete piece of paper, yet she actually managed to refine a ghost slave. Moreover, it is a ghost slave that can wield objects. Unbelievable. Either this old woman is a genius at refining ghosts, or this little ghost¡¯s spiritual constitution is rather special. However, seeing how the old woman had been refining for all these years and sacrificed so many experimental subjects with only one case of success, it must be the latter.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at Xiao An. What was peculiar about him? Though, a little ghost was something extremely bizarre in the first place.

    The black ox said, ¡°This might be your best spoil from that battle. Why don¡¯t you accept him as a ghost slave? This child might be of great use to you in the future.¡±

    ¡°What ghost slave? He¡¯s just a kid. I¡¯ve already promised him his freedom.¡± Even during the most difficult of times, Li Qingshan would never betray his morals. For example, he had refused to sell the black ox to cover his travelling expenses. It was even more impossible for him to do so now.

    The black ox felt like he had spoken too much, so he yawned. ¡°Whatever you want. However, now that he has lost his master, and there¡¯s no one feeding him, he¡¯ll run out of spiritual qi before long. Subsequently, his soul will disperse.¡±

    Soul will disperse! Xiao An blinked his eyes in confusion.

    ¡°Ghosts aren¡¯t pets or livestock, so why would they still need to be fed?¡±

    ¡°The dead cannot remain in the living world. Even extremely powerful ghosts cannot withstand mere sunlight. Even a strong gale can destroy them. If every single dead person would leave behind a ghost in the living world, who knows how many ghosts there would be in the world after all this time?¡±

    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±

    Around dusk, Li Qingshan strode through the forest with an axe on his shoulder as a transparent little ghost roamed around him.

    He would run far away to the side of the stream and study a fish curiously at times, or fly into the branches and touch a bird at others. However, before Li Qingshan could call for him, he would return to his side like a gust of wind, staring at him eagerly.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and smiled back. He had developed a slight sense of responsibility for this child.

    However, behind them, the flying bird would seize up and fall from the branch, while the fish in the water would float to the surface with its belly up, indicating that this was not an ordinary child; instead, he was a dangerous ghost.

    Li Qingshan combed through the forest carefully and finally stopped before a huge scholar tree that could only be embraced by a dozen or so people. He picked up his axe and began chopping.

    He did not know any axe style or blade style, but the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength included the most basic and profound ways of using his strength. He could handle any weapon in his hand skillfully.

    Every swing of the axe landed at the same location heavily.

    Wood chips flew, and the huge tree fell.

    Li Qingshan paid no attention to anything else. He only cut out a tiny piece of the pith from the very centre and presented it to Xiao An.

    Xiao An extended his hand and touched the pith before delight flooded his little face. In the end, he turned into a slight breeze and entered the piece of wood.

    Li Qingshan smiled. This was something the black ox had taught him. He had to find an ancient scholar tree that was over a hundred years old. Scholar tree wood could naturally attract yin spirits and were highly beneficial to ghosts. Now that he had tried it, he found it to be true.

    As a result, he no longer needed to worry about Xiao An dispersing.

    Returning to his house, he sat down on a large rock in front of the entrance and carved the pith into a wooden tablet. After polishing it carefully, he carved the word ¡®An¡¯ onto it before wearing it on his waist. His yang qi as a living person could slowly nourish Xiao An¡¯s soul.

    He could also borrow Xiao An¡¯s yin qi to practise controlling his own qi.

    In the small courtyard, Li Qingshan sat on the ground and constantly called out, ¡°Xiao An, the neck!¡±

    Xiao An hugged his neck, and under the stimulation of the yin qi, the sliver of true qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body began to move, flowing to his neck.

    ¡°Right arm!¡±

    Xiao An quickly moved himself and hugged Li Qingshan¡¯s arm. Although his delicate face was still pale, an innocent smile covered it. It was like this was an extremely fun game.

    Only when the moon had risen beyond the trees did Li Qingshan stand up. At this time, Xiao An backed away reluctantly.

    Under Xiao An¡¯s assistance, the sliver of true qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body became much more docile. On the other hand, Xiao An¡¯s eyes became brighter, no longer as dull as before.

    Li Qingshan thought that it probably was not just because of being nourished with yang qi. No matter how clever and sensible a child was, once they were taken away from their parents and abused and beaten freely, they would probably all become dull like that.

    Now that he was free, and his life had gradually returned to normal, the liveliness in his heart had begun to sprout.

    Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan eagerly. He still could not speak, but his eyes clearly dictated. ¡°Again!¡±

    ¡°Enough. This isn¡¯t a game. We¡¯ll stop here for today. Maybe tomorrow evening!¡±

    Xiao An nodded obediently. He would never be as mischievous as a regular child, but he was unable to hide his disappointment.

    Li Qingshan felt utterly helpless against that. ¡°Fine then. Again!¡±

    Xiao An smiled bashfully, but his ears immediately pricked up.

 Chapter 19 â€“ The Might of the Ox Demon

    Time passed swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, autumn had arrived. The maple leaves in the mountains gradually reddened as the golden ears of rice swelled up bit by bit.

    An ox cart slowly rolled through the path between the fields. No one controlled the black ox that pulled a cart covered in a thick layer of hides. Atop the hides was a young man with a piece of straw in his mouth, resting on his arms leisurely as he looked at the sky. Tied to his waist was a blade and a wooden tablet. He was Li Qingshan.

    Currently, he was heading to Cypress Stream town more than five kilometres away with over a thousand taels of silver on him. In such a remote mountain hamlet, trying to spend money was really difficult.

    If he wanted to make purchases, he could only go to larger towns or cities. Qingyang city had an abundance of goods, but it was simply too far away, and it definitely would not be cheap.

    He could only fall back on his second choice and go to the town. At a set time every month, the town would hold a large-scale gathering. When that happened, the people of the nearby villages would all go to the town for the market and buy, sell, or exchange items. This was the best time to buy ginseng. He had gathered quite a number of beast hides as well, so he could use this opportunity to get them off his hands.

    Originally, Li Qingshan did not want the black ox to pull the cart anymore, but the black ox did not mind continuing being an ordinary beast of burden.

    When he arrived at Cypress Stream village, the sun had only just risen. The small town was bustling with people shuffling about. Many small pedlars called out loudly to sell their goods. It was an extremely lively sight.

    Li Qingshan found an empty place and spread out the hides on the cloth canvas he had prepared beforehand. He did not copy others by calling out; instead, he simply sat by the side and meditated. He did not let this opportunity to cultivate pass by.

    The sliver of weak qi in his body had already become much larger. He was like a child who just loved playing around, constantly controlling the sliver of true qi to move through his body.

    He did not move, but this was extremely exhausting. Li Qingshan would open his eyes from time to time to answer customers who had come to ask for the price.

    He possessed a tremendous sum on him, and he did not have any plans to make a lot of money from the hides. He only wanted to get rid of them as quickly as possible so that he could buy ginseng. As a result, the price was extremely cheap.

    Although he was resistant to bargaining, business was still extremely successful. It was almost winter, and Li Qingshan himself had first-hand experience of the agony of biting, cold winds. There was not a single normal person who did not want a set of leather shoes or a coat, so a great group of people gathered around him before long.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. ¡°What do you require of me?¡± His insight was no longer the same as before. He could tell with a single glance that these people were difficult to deal with.

    Although all of them were young and none of them seemed particularly vicious, they all possessed a vigorous aura of murder. If patch-haired Liu was only a mangy dog that barked about, they would be vicious watch dogs. Any single one of them could easily kill patch-haired Liu.

    A short, valiant man with a short beard asked, ¡°Where did you get your hides from?¡±

    His companions extended their hands and played around the hides and discovered that it really was just like the rumours. The hides did not have any arrow holes or any other traces of damage. They were rare hides of superior quality, but they were being sold for even less than regular hides.

    ¡°If you want it, then buy it. If you don¡¯t want it, then leave. Don¡¯t block the sunlight.¡± Li Qingshan could not be bothered to make up a lie and answer for these strangers. He shut his eyes again and continued to cultivate.

    The people in the surroundings had already backed away, but they did not leave. Instead, more and more people gathered over. There were various discussions, but all of it was clearly audible.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they hunters from the Drawn Reins village?¡± ¡°He¡¯s actually bold enough to look down on people from the Drawn Reins village. How many lives does he think he has?¡±

    Drawn Reins village! Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Even with how he lived under a rock, this place still reverberated through his ears like thunder. This was one of the villages near Cypress Stream town. It was located extremely deeply within the myriad mountains. The people that dwelled there were all hunters of several generations. No wonder they possessed such an aura.

    Compared to a village that mainly focused on agriculture like Crouching Ox village, the people of Drawn Reins village were much fiercer. They would face off against wild beasts within the mountains every day. They even practised martial arts that had been passed down by their ancestors. Not only were they beyond the government of Qingyang city¡¯s control, but they never even paid taxes either.

    There had once been people from Qingyang city who had tried to launch a punitive expedition against the village. However, before they could even reach it, they fell for countless traps and ambushes. By the time they arrived at the village after much difficulty, they had already lost half of their men, and their morale was at an absolute low. The leading general could only draw in his reins before the village and flee back to Qingyang city in dejection.

    As a result, the original name of the village had been forgotten by people, being changed to ¡®Drawn Reins village¡¯.

    As a result, it was obvious just how proud the people from there would be for being part of a village that could repel an army. If a half-grown teenager wanted to stand against them, it would be utterly hopeless without a doubt.

    The short young man said furiously, ¡°You can¡¯t sell these hides here!¡±

    ¡°How come?¡± Li Qingshan opened his eyes; light seemed to flash through them.

    It made the young men think of the beasts in the mountains. The shining eyes in the dark made them raise their guards instinctively, but they were not afraid. They were hunters who fought against such wild beasts. At the same time, they saw how Li Qingshan was dressed as a farmer, so they looked down on him even more. ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you to!¡± He extended a hand and tried to flip over Li Qingshan¡¯s canvas.

    A large, coarse hand clamped down on the young man¡¯s hand like a metal lock, actually causing him some pain.

    The young man was surprised. This guy is strong. However, his reaction was not delayed at all, and he directly threw a punch with his left hand at Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    His companions showed no intentions of interfering, only watching on from one side. They seemed extremely confident, and they even smiled with contempt.

    Speaking of which, this was the first time Li Qingshan had actually fought against someone. Patch-haired Liu was unable to put up any resistance at all when he was drunk, while the witch had died when the Ghost Mist backfired.

    The punch pierced through the air, giving him no time to think. However, he had not been cultivating all these days for nothing. Li Qingshan twisted his head to one side instinctively, stamped with his right foot, and twisted his body forwards.

    Using his spine as his core, the muscles throughout his body pulsed, and his shoulder slammed towards the young man with tremendous force.

    A shoulder slam was an extremely common move among fist styles. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength included it as well. He also fused the three forms into it when he used this move.

    The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves consolidated his footing and allowed him to draw strength from the ground. The Ox Demon Forges its Hide toughened his body such that he was immovable. The Ox Demon Butts its Horns allowed him to use his body as a horn to butt his opponent. He completed all of this in one stroke.

    The black ox was crouching on the ground behind and nodded in satisfaction.

    However, the young man paled in fright. He felt like he had been struck by a charging bull. His chest ached as he was thrown away, falling into the crowd. He felt like all of his bones had become dislocated.

    The discussions within the surrounding crowd were silenced, while the young man¡¯s companions were stunned. They attacked him furiously.

    Li Qingshan grew stern. Fighting a single opponent and taking on many at the same time were two completely different matters altogether. Unless the difference in strength was tremendous, it was difficult to take down several people with just two hands. Once a bull became encircled by a group of vicious hunting dogs, the only fate that awaited it was being ripped to pieces and dying.

 Chapter 20 â€“ Slight Renown

    In all likelihood, this was not just the power of the true qi but the wondrous effects of the black ox¡¯s tears as well.

    He ducked and dodged a punch. With the Ox Demon¡¯s Butts its Horns, he punched out with both hands and knocked over another young hunter.

    However, at the same time, a hunter had already arrived behind him, punching at the centre of his back viciously. The two other young hunters grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s waist from left and right, pulling him down to the ground fiercely.

    They spent their entire time hunting in the mountains, so they knew the technique of surrounding their opponent. They were not brawling ruffians. Even if Li Qingshan could defeat any single one of them individually, he immediately lost the upper hand now.

    Seeing how it was too late to block, Li Qingshan completely focused on his back, and the sliver of true qi flowed there just as he wished. The muscles at the centre of his back wove together and tensed up vigorously, producing a slight bulge.

    The heavy punch landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s back, but the attacker felt like he had struck the tough hide of an ox instead. The force of the punch collapsed as the muscle eased up. Apart from shuddering all over, Li Qingshan was fine.

    At the same time, the two hunters who had grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s waist felt like his body was rooted into the ground, unable to be moved at all. The three of them had used up their strength, and their might immediately declined.

    Finally, Li Qingshan managed to catch his breath after taking on three heavy attacks. With a bellow, his two elbows dropped down.

    The Ox Demon Butts its Horns from the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength was about using his whole body as horns apart from his fists and legs. Elbow strikes were the horns with the greatest power.

    The two hunters only felt their backs ache, wanting to choke up blood as they collapsed on the ground helplessly.

    Li Qingshan suddenly turned around and lunged at the hunter who had attacked him from behind. He punched him in the chest and knocked him over.

    The people in the surroundings were dazzled by this. All they saw was the disadvantaged young man swiftly and cleanly knock over five good men from Drawn Reigns village. All of them were speechless.

    Li Qingshan looked at the five hunters who groaned in pain on the ground before looking at his own hands. It was like he struggled to believe that he was the one who managed to do all that. His strength had already reached such a level unknowingly.

    However, before he could celebrate, a large group of hunters suddenly rushed over. They drew their hunting bows and hunting knives, surrounding Li Qingshan as they eyed him with hostility.

    They saw how they struggled to sell their own hides and heard how someone else was selling hides for cheaper, so they had all rushed over here to make trouble for Li Qingshan. However, they had never thought that before they could make any trouble for him, they would be taught a lesson instead.

    Obviously, the seniors would not just turn a blind eye to it all. They responded very quickly, surrounding Li Qingshan. Faced with over a dozen drawn bows and the might that had suddenly erupted, Li Qingshan felt like he was a beast who had fallen into a trap. His fate lay in the hands of others. It actually made him feel despair.

    Compared to this, caretaker Liu¡¯s ¡®feast of treachery¡¯ was child¡¯s play. His heart was tense like the bowstrings. He suddenly realised who they were. They were people who made a living through hunting. Punching was not their speciality. The hunting bows in their hands were. His Ox Demon Forges its Hide could block punches, but it could not block sharp arrows.

    In the face of danger, he calmly drew the steel blade at his waist. He looked around, looking for a way to escape. He had never thought that selling some hides would lead to a mishap like this. He was reluctant, but he might need to resort to killing in public so that he could kill his way out.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± A sickly man in his prime asked with a booming voice as he carried a huge bow on his back and stood at the centre of the hunters.

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°I did!¡±

    The man studied Li Qingshan in some surprise. Normal people would all become powerless from fright if they encountered such a situation. This kid was so young, yet he could remain so composed. Such a mentality was something that completely surpassed the youngsters of the village.

    He asked the short hunter who had been sent flying by Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder slam. ¡°Xiao Hei, what happened?¡±

    ¡°Hunting chief, this kid has probably destroyed our business!¡± Xiao Hei stood up with difficulty.

    The crowd descended into an uproar. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the hunting chief of Drawn Reigns village-¡± ¡°It¡¯s Huang Binghu!¡±

    The so-called hunting chief was equivalent to a village head, but it was different from Crouching Ox village, where authority came with seniority. The people who became the hunting chief in Drawn Reigns village were all the strongest men within the village. They directed all of the hunting operations of the village.

    As for Huang Binghu, he was the current hunting chief of Drawn Reigns Village, someone of great renown. Li Qingshan had heard of him a long time ago, but he never thought it would actually be the sickly man in front of him. He basically understood where his nickname of ¡®Sickly Tiger¡¯ came from now.1

    A person¡¯s fame was like a tree¡¯s shadow¡ªthe larger it was, the more influential it was. Li Qingshan obviously experienced tremendous pressure, but he was no longer the same Li Qingshan as before. He sneered and said, ¡°You said nothing at all and tried to flip over my canvas. Now, you sling mud at me, saying how it¡¯s me who¡¯s destroying your business. The Drawn Reigns village really is high-handed!¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s face sank. He yelled out, ¡°Why don¡¯t you all get back on your feet? You couldn¡¯t even beat a single person with a group of you, yet you still have the face to groan in pain on the ground. Are you still worthy enough to be the men of Drawn Reigns village?¡±

    Li Qingshan knew that his attacks earlier were not light, but under Huang Binghu¡¯s command, the five young hunters actually all managed to stand up. Apart from being sturdy in the first place, it was due to their extremely deep respect for Huang Binghu.

    Huang Binghu raised his hand, and all the hunters stowed away their blades and bows. ¡°We were wrong in the first place, but kid, you shouldn¡¯t have been so heavy-handed!¡±

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been heavy-handed, I would probably be the one lying there now.¡±

    ¡°We leave the mountains for once to sell some hides and herbs. The necessities of the entire village have to be covered. It¡¯s fine if you just sell according to the market price, but the way you sell right now messes with the price and costs us severely.¡±

    Li Qingshan was silent. He had never imagined that this would happen. Obviously, he could say that he was allowed to sell it however he wanted to. However, even with Huang Binghu¡¯s renown, he had admitted his mistakes in the face of public, reasoning with him instead of using his advantage in numbers to oppress him. As a result, Li Qingshan was reluctant to argue with him and pester him endlessly.

    However, if they wanted to fight or kill him, he would not just stand down either.

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°I¡¯ll buy all of these hides!¡± A hunter came up to pay and collect the hides.

    Everyone in the surroundings admired Huang Binghu¡¯s moral character. Li Qingshan was rather surprised and glanced at the bag of money that was handed to him. ¡°No need!¡± He turned around and began packing the ox cart. He did not rely on these hides to earn a living in the first place. Huang Binghu had been so generous and straightforward with him. As such, if he made a fuss over this, he would be looked down upon instead.

    The admiration in Huang Binghu¡¯s eyes grew deeper. He watched Li Qingshan disappear into the sea of people as he asked the crowd, ¡°I fancy this kid. Does anyone know where he¡¯s from?¡±

    A farmer answered carefully, ¡°It seems like he is Li Erlang of the Crouching Ox village.¡±

    Many people in the surroundings had actually heard of him. They all said, ¡°No wonder!¡±

 Chapter 21 â€“ Buying Ginseng and Being Ambushed

    Li Qingshan arrived at the finest establishment for alcohol in the town and bought over a dozen jars of fine alcohol, filling up the ox cart. Afterwards, he followed the detailed list the black ox had provided him with and bought most of the necessary items from the medicine store. However, the most important ginseng could not be bought there.

    Within the largest inn in Cypress Stream town, a group of people with large bamboo hats and medicinal baskets on their backs drank tea quietly. Even when they were in the inn, they did not take off their hats or baskets.

    From time to time, the shopkeepers of the larger medicine stores would enter the inn and open the baskets to take a look. Afterwards, they would put their hands into their sleeves and haggle prices with these people. If they were successful, they would take a packet of ginseng that varied in size from the baskets.

    These people were ginseng foragers from the Ginseng King village. Similar to the Drawn Reins village, they resided deep within the mountains, but they made a living off gathering ginseng in the mountains. Obviously, they sold ginseng for the lowest price.

    Li Qingshan parked the ox cart in front of the inn and looked around before striding to the corner. He said to the ginseng foragers, ¡°I want to buy ginseng!¡±

    The ginseng foragers saw how young he was and how he was dressed in tatters, so they scorned him. None of them actually answered him.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He took out his remaining thousand or so silver notes from his clothes and placed it on the table, ¡°I want to buy ginseng!¡±

    With that, all of the ginseng foragers raised their heads. They were stunned. They had never expected Li Qingshan to be able to produce so much money. They looked at one another and finally, someone asked, ¡°How much do you want?¡±

    Li Qingshan already knew the price of ginseng, so they agreed on a price in the end. As such, he left with a huge bag of ginseng.

    The ginseng foragers said quietly, ¡°Should we just finish off this kid?¡±

    ¡°Searching for the spiritual ginseng is more important. That¡¯s a treasure worth a tremendous amount of gold. Regular people can prolong their lives if they eat it, while practitioners of martial arts can immediately become a first-rate master. Even overcoming the obstacles and reaching the innate realm won¡¯t be anything difficult.¡±

    ¡°The spiritual ginseng is great, but there is only one of it, and we have to deal with that sickly bastard from the Drawn Reins village as well. A bird in one hand is better than two in the bush. Whoever is willing to do it, come with me.¡±

    Seven or eight of them stood up, grabbed the blades on their waists, and left by taking a detour.

    Near the entrance, a person was hiding behind a post. He saw this before leaving silently.

    They arrived in a narrow valley, and the black ox suddenly stopped. He glanced back at Li Qingshan. ¡°Your trouble is here.¡±

    With that, seven or eight figures appeared on the two ends of the path leading through the valley.

    Li Qingshan identified them from afar with his eyesight. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ from the Ginseng King village?¡± These people all clutched the blades at their waists. They were clearly planning on killing then robbing him.

    I still ended up underestimating the vileness of human nature! He could only sigh inside. He did understand the principle of keeping wealth hidden, which was why he had immediately set off with the ox cart to return to the village after buying the ginseng without remaining there for a second longer. However, he never expected these people to be so bold; they were actually trying to rob him in broad daylight.

    It was rumored that these people who spent all day clambering about on cliffs, harvesting ginseng and other herbs, were extremely fierce and brutal with their attitudes and customs. Moreover, they all possessed martial arts. They could be as light as a feather and as nimble as a squirrel.

    ¡°Kid, there¡¯s something we want to discuss with you!¡± The leader said calmly as his eyes shone with derision. It was as if he were looking at livestock for slaughter. ¡°Leave behind everything, and you can leave.¡±

    His calmness was not an act. They moved through the mountains frequently. Whenever they encountered lone travellers, they would just kill them and take their belongings. It was common practice to them, but after they were done, they obviously would not leave anyone alive.

    The ginseng foragers sniggered as they surrounded him.

    Seeing the danger approach, Li Qingshan suddenly shook the reins, and the black ox glanced at him. He was cooperative, charging forwards with the ox cart.

    ¡°You¡¯ll wish you had accepted that request in the first place!¡± The ginseng foragers called out and dodged to the sides quickly. A blade flashed from each side, swinging towards Li Qingshan on the cart.

    The black ox twisted its head, and its only horn followed a strange trajectory. The leader saw the horn approach him, but he was actually unable to dodge it. It pierced his stomach viciously, nailing him against the rock face.

    The ginseng forager¡¯s eyes remained wide open as blood spurted from his mouth. He refused to believe that he would die to the horn of an cow despite his martial arts.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan leapt off the cart and dodged the two swings. His hand landed on the hilt of his steel blade.

    The black ox drew out its horn and thought, From the perspective of an ox, I¡¯ve already outdone myself. The rest is up to you.

    The ginseng foragers cried out, ¡°Big brother Geng!¡± This ¡®big brother Geng¡¯ was the one with the best martial arts out of all of them, but who would have thought that he would die in such a bizarre manner? They never would have imagined that the black ox was a monster.

    Afterwards, they said viciously to Li Qingshan, ¡°Kid, do you know what you¡¯ve done? Originally, we planned on giving you a quick death, but just you wait now! We¡¯ll slice off your flesh piece by piece and feed it to wolves!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered, ¡°Just with you lot?¡± However, he was extremely stern as he drew his blade slowly.

    He had never thought that he would encounter two fights in a single day, with each time being more dangerous than the last.

    As expected, it was easier to attract trouble now that he had martial arts. If he were just a helpless farmer¡¯s boy, he would have never been able to take on the people from the Drawn Reins village, nor would he have so much money to buy ginseng.

    This was the most dangerous battle of his life so far. Even with a supernatural ability, he could not say that this would be a piece of cake. The black ox¡¯s words from the past flashed through his head.

    Thoughts flashed through his head; a great battle was about to erupt at any time.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± There was a swift breeze and four blades wove into a net, engulfing Li Qingshan from behind.

    The Ox Demon Forges its Hide was unable to block such blades, so Li Qingshan quickly made a judgement call. He did not even look back, charging forward instead and lunging at the three ginseng foragers. His mind was not focused on this dangerous battle right now. Instead, he constantly recalled the horn that the black ox had unleashed earlier.

    The black ox would never help him repel the enemies. Otherwise, killing this group of ginseng foragers would have been a piece of cake given its power. Its horn held other meaning.

    In the face of life-threatening danger, his understanding and comprehension had all been forced out. His eyes suddenly lit up. The Ox Demon Butts its Horns was about using every part of his body as an ox¡¯s horns, while a weapon was just an extension of one¡¯s body.

    His perfectly straight, steel blade suddenly seemed to jump alive, travelling around a parrying blade.

    With a spurt, blood sprayed into the air from a ginseng forager¡¯s neck as he fell backwards.

    ¡°Lao Cheng!¡± ¡°This kid knows martial arts!¡± A series of cries rang out. The ginseng foragers looked at Li Qingshan; they were no longer as relaxed as before.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s two arms received two wounds as well, but thanks to the toughness granted by the Ox Demon Forges its Hide, they failed to cut all the way through. Instead, it agitated his viciousness, and his eyes lit up like burning fire. ¡°Come!¡±

    The thicket on one side of the valley hid a group of people. They were only a few dozen meters away, yet no one in the valley managed to discover them even under the light of day.

    Only the black ox glanced at them.

 Chapter 22 â€“ The Secret of the Spiritual Ginseng

    Li Qingshan¡¯s steel blade claimed yet another life. Although a blade had also struck him in the back, the wound was not deep, and his skin contracted around the wound. As such, he did not bleed much.

    At the same time, a blade stabbed diagonally into his lower abdomen. He grabbed the blade firmly and cut off a head filled with surprise and fear.

    His vicious and tough aura struck fear into the hearts of people.

    Originally, Xiao Hei was reluctant to accept that Li Qingshan was stronger. All he knew was that Li Qingshan had won against them due to a sneak attack. He had been searching for an opportunity to redeem himself. However, he was covered in cold sweat now. Li Qingshan¡¯s skill with the blade and his viciousness when it came to killing startled him.

    This wild beast was not prey an amatuer hunter like him could take down. Fortunately, they were in the market earlier, which prevented them from actually drawing their blades at Li Qingshan.

    A while later, seven corpses lay in the open as Li Qingshan knelt on the ground on one knee, supporting himself with his broken steel blade. He had over a dozen injuries, and his clothes had become dyed red with blood from both himself and others.

    Fear and craziness filled the last ginseng forager¡¯s face. Although he had murdered and robbed many people before, he was just harassing the meek. He had never witnessed such an intense slaughter before. ¡°Y- you madman!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was like a tough rock. In the face of life and death, he outdid himself with every single strike and move, unleashing the potential hidden in his body. However, this took a great toll on him as well, so he became utterly exhausted after a while.

    So this is the path that I chose? It really is bloody!

    The black ox stood to one side in no hurry as if it were asking, Do you regret it?

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± The ginseng forager roared out as he charged over.

    Out of strength, the blade fell towards his neck, and the coldness made all of his hairs stand on end. Li Qingshan roared out, ¡°I don¡¯t regret it!¡± All of the qi in his body flowed into his hand. He gripped the steel blade firmly and swung it to receive his opponent.

    Thock! Swish! A bowstring ripped through the air and launched an arrow, nailing the last ginseng forager dead into the ground.

    Li Qingshan raised his head in surprise. A few stalwart figures made their way down from the rock face. They were hunters from the Drawn Reins village. They approached Li Qingshan carefully before lunging forward to grab his four limbs.

    However, Li Qingshan had already used up all of his strength in the moment before. He was carried up the valley by them.

    ¡°Kid, nicely done!¡± Huang Binghu stowed his large bow away and praised him before falling quiet. He waved his hand, and the hunters set up an ambush again on the two sides of the valley.

    ¡°Release!¡± Under Huang Binghu¡¯s order, arrows rained down from two sides of the valley.

    The ginseng foragers immediately drew their blades, but unless their martials arts were significantly better than the archers, it was impossible for them to stop the arrows. A series of miserable cries rang out.

    Huang Binghu wielded a huge bow and stood on a protruding boulder, purposefully targeting the ginseng foragers that tried to escape. He would hit his target with each shot, not wasting even a single one. He was basically a god of death.

    Li Qingshan sat up and watched. He also felt shocked, shocked by how intense the battle between the two great villages would be. The power of the bow and arrow also stunned him.

    He cultivated the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, so his strength was the part that grew the fastest. If he could draw a long bow, wouldn¡¯t he be able to kill people like lambs to the slaughterhouse?

    When Huang Binghu launched his fifth arrow, the cries below had stopped. Only weak groans remained barely audible.

    ¡°Huang Binghu!¡± A ginseng forager, who had his thigh pierced by an arrow, bellowed out hoarsely.

    ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Huang Binghu leapt off the boulder and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the spiritual ginseng? If you¡¯re straightforward, I¡¯ll give you a quick death!¡±

    ¡°H- how do you know?¡±

    ¡°I still know a little bit about the matters that happen on this side of the myriad mountains. The spiritual ginseng has appeared in the mountains near the Drawn Reins village. Ingesting it can cure all kinds of diseases and prolong life, right? I originally thought it was fake, but I¡¯m rather convinced now by your expressions. If you think you can steal from the jaws of a tiger, you¡¯re overestimating yourself too much.¡±

    ¡°You want to use the spiritual ginseng to cure your illness, but you¡¯d better stop dreaming. You have no idea how to capture the spiritual ginseng. Just you wait. The Ginseng King village will never just leave this matter be!¡±

    ¡°You want to stand up against the Drawn Reins village with just your divided village?¡±

    ¡°Hehehehe, if this news makes it out, who knows just how many powerful people will gather in your Drawn Reins village.¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Can you bring yourself to do that?¡± Seeing how he could not get any information out of them, he waved his hand, and all the hunters stepped forward, finishing off the surviving ginseng foragers. Afterwards, they gathered all of the ginseng forager¡¯s belongings before tossing the corpses into the valley.

    In the blink of an eye, they had completely cleaned the ground covered with corpses. Only some traces of blood were left behind to demonstrate the intensity of the battle before. After some rain, nothing would be left behind.

    At certain times, the lives of people truly seemed as worthless as an ant¡¯s.

    The hunters then looked at Li Qingshan. There was admiration, praise, and undisguised killing intent.

    Li Qingshan had just heard a huge secret. The people of Drawn Reins village would never just let him leave. The simplest method would be to kill him then and there. Next, they could toss him into the valley with the ginseng foragers.

    It was a pity that the black ox would not help, letting him waver between life and death. Through this trip, he had learnt that his strength was much greater than before, but he had also realised just how weak he was right now. Perhaps this was the black ox¡¯s intention.

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Little brother, are you willing to pay a visit to the Drawn Reins village with me?¡±

    ¡°What if I¡¯m not?¡±

    ¡°You ingrate!¡± ¡°Kill him!¡± The hunters were furious.

    Huang Binghu waved his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t kill the innocent. If you don¡¯t want to, then you can leave! I believe you¡¯re not one to blabber.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not too convinced by that. With how formidable of a person Huang Binghu was, he would never be soft-hearted when it came to killing people. Perhaps he would not do the killing, but his subordinate hunters were all teeming with killing intent.

    Moreover, he did want to pay a visit to the Drawn Reins village. Perhaps he could learn some hunting techniques or archery. Then he could truly become independent, no longer requiring the black ox¡¯s support. His personal strength would increase drastically as well. As for the spiritual ginseng, he was not bold enough to think too much about it.

    ¡°Then I might as well.¡±

    Huang Binghu smiled and sent people to fetch medicinal paste to spread over Li Qingshan¡¯s wounds, but he discovered that the skin had contracted around the injuries, so he was not bleeding profusely; this left Huang Binghu amazed.

    Li Qingshan ignored the pain and arrived before the ox cart, taking out his newly-purchased ginseng and chewing on it slowly. He also removed the clay seal on a jar of alcohol, filling himself up with several gulps.

    The alcohol diluted the ginseng, and a wave of heat rose up from his belly. Immediately, he felt much more energetic, which surprised everyone as well.

    Li Qingshan climbed onto the ox cart and stopped paying attention to the others, sitting there and meditating. Recovering his exhaustion and wounds was secondary. He needed to use this opportunity to go through his successes and failures in this battle.

    First, he could no longer afford to count on luck. He had heard people talk about how dangerous the jianghu was, and he had basically experienced it first hand today. A careless step could cost him his life. The lives of people in this world were just too worthless. It was impossible to constantly receive help from others, nor could he rely on outperforming himself on the spot. He still needed to treasure his wonderful life.

 Chapter 23 â€“ Distant are the Roads of Jianghu

    As the heat spread through his body, the sliver of qi became lively as well, flowing near his wounds and producing a numbing itchiness.

    Huang Binghu sent out a few nimble hunters as scouts as the group traveled into the depths of the mountains around the ox cart.

    They walked all the way until dusk without stopping, entering deep into a mountain. There was no trace of human activity at all in the surroundings.

    At the foot of the mountain, Li Qingshan saw the legendary Drawn Reins village.

    A tall, wooden wall was erected around the village. Watch towers stood at each corner. It did not seem like a village and was more like a military base. They had to approach it, signal the people in there, and only then would the gate open up. It was nowhere near as informal as the Crouching Ox village.

    Li Qingshan was the only outsider, so he attracted everyone¡¯s attention. He seemed unaffected on the surface, but he became nervous on the inside. This was the legendary lair of danger that had managed to make a whole army draw their reins.

    Huang Binghu did not seem to be harbouring any ill intentions, but he needed to handle this carefully. Otherwise, he could lose his life without even knowing. His steel blade had already been taken away. However, even if he still possessed it, the damage it had received during that battle was already beyond repair.

    Huang Binghu arranged a small, empty courtyard for him. Although he did not send anyone to watch over him, he did tell him to not wander around before leaving in a hurry.

    In the most central building of the village, the most influential hunters gathered around a circular discussion table under the light of a few lanterns.

    ¡°For the sake of harvesting ginseng, the Ginseng King village has been building up grievances with us. Oftentimes, people of the village randomly die in the mountains, which they¡¯re probably responsible for. This time, they¡¯re even trying to get the spiritual ginseng from us. It¡¯s a perfect opportunity for us to deal a blow to them.¡±

    The two villages were only a few mountains apart with no clear boundary. The ginseng foragers made a living by harvesting ginseng, while the hunters would frequently move through the mountains. Ginseng was one of the few herbs they could recognise, so they obviously would not let it pass if they came across any.

    As a result, there were many disputes, and the villagers tended to resolve them using their blades. As they were far away enough from one another, a large-scale battle had not occurred so far.

    However, they recently met again, this time on the Bailao peak closer to the Drawn Reins village on a mountain path. They discovered a legendary spiritual ginseng that had already assumed a humanoid form and could even leave this place.

    ¡°Hunting chief, we can¡¯t afford this matter being divulged. Let¡¯s deal with the kid!¡±

    ¡°That kid has got some skill, and his temperament suits my tastes as well. Killing him would be a pity. I want him to remain in the village and lend us his strength.¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s still an outsider.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. I will test him properly. If he¡¯s unworthy, I definitely won¡¯t be soft-hearted,¡± Huang Binghu said firmly before breaking into a coughing fit.

    In the pitch-black house, Xiao An emerged from the wooden tablet and looked at Li Qingshan in concern. He extended his hand to touch Li Qingshan¡¯s wounds that had already scabbed over.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m fine for now!¡± Although he could tell that Huang Binghu admired him, the feeling where his life laid in the hands of others was still horrible. He could only take charge of his own fate if he became stronger.

    He immediately followed the black ox¡¯s advice and placed the ginseng into the alcohol to make medicinal wine. He stopped to rest just now, looked at his handiwork, and felt delighted.

    The next morning, Li Qingshan rose nice and early and practised the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. Suddenly, he felt a gale of wind from behind as if a vicious tiger were lunging at him.

    Li Qingshan turned around and threw a punch, but it missed. Huang Binghu brushed past his arm and shaped his right hand into a claw, grabbing towards his throat.

    He wants to silence me?! A thought flooded Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. He actually did not try to block at all, instead facing the attack directly, as if he wanted to deliver his vital point to his opponent. He closed both hands like a bear hugging a tree, unleashing his great strength.

    He practised an ability of great strength, not normal martial arts. Even though he had yet to achieve the strength of an ox, the power of the hug was still not something a body of flesh and blood could endure.

    Huang Binghu suddenly pulled back his claw strike and made his way behind Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh no.¡± Just when he wanted to maneuver himself, he felt that Huang Binghu had stopped attacking him, only looking at him in approval.

    The claw earlier would have been completely unleashed if he had retreated. It would have ripped out his throat easily. However, he had advanced instead, limiting the strength of the attack while using a desperate move. Not only was he able to react to the changing circumstances, he was even rather courageous as well.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his neck, and there were five bloody traces there. Huang Binghu¡¯s skill was impressive. Even if he were not injured, he would still struggle against him.

    ¡°Where did you learn your martial arts from?¡± Huang Binghu asked. Apart from being brave and quick-witted, Li Qingshan¡¯s martial arts were extraordinary as well. Even if normal people could react fast enough, their strength would not recover in time. Moreover, when his five fingers came in contact with Li Qingshan¡¯s neck earlier, it felt like he had struck the tough hide of an ox, not a soft, vulnerable part of the body.

    Li Qingshan could not say that he had learnt it from an ox, or people would probably treat him as an idiot. He just said that he met a great master several years ago. The master saw how he was an honest boy, so he taught him some moves. However, the master had also ordered him to keep his appearance and identity a secret.

    ¡°A few years ago?!¡± Huang Binghu was speechless. He was not particularly surprised by the fact that Li Qingshan was reluctant to state his master, but he had originally thought Li Qingshan had practised martial arts since a young age. The most crucial part about him remaining in Drawn Reins village would be finding out about his master.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan was perplexed.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you begin learning martial arts from a young age?¡±

    ¡°He used just a few years to guide you to such a level. That¡¯s truly unbelievable. It seems like this great master really is a great master.¡±

    Li Qingshan sweated profusely inside. Fortunately, he had just casually said a few years ago and not a month ago. Otherwise, he would have probably frightened Huang Binghu to death.

    At the same time, he gained a better understanding that supernatural abilities and the martial arts of mortals were things of two completely different levels. He was not Huang Binghu¡¯s opponent right now, but only because he had practised for less than two months. Huang Binghu, on the other hand, had probably spent twenty or thirty years of effort to get to his current level.

    ¡°May I ask for the reason for your visit, hunting chief?¡±

    ¡°Kid, would you be interested in settling down in the Drawn Reins village?¡± Although it was a question, it felt like he left no room for refusal.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan agreed straightforwardly, which surprised Huang Binghu instead. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any attachments to your home?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t agree, will the hunting head let me leave here safely?¡± Li Qingshan said with composure, ¡°And, I¡¯ve heard of a saying before.¡±

    ¡°What saying?¡±

    ¡°Home is wherever I am. Whether it be the Crouching Ox village or the Drawn Reins village, there¡¯s no difference to me. I might even be able to learn some archery for hunting here. Do you understand me, hunting chief? My ambitions don¡¯t lie in these mountains and forests.¡±

    ¡°With your mediocre martial arts, wandering on the roads of jianghu will only lead you to your death. At most, you¡¯ll just be a shrimp that follows those disciples of large clans and sects around. How can it be compared to the freedom of the mountains and forests?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Hunting chief, aren¡¯t your skills enough then?¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Huang Binghu could be regarded as famous in this region.

    ¡°You can laugh if you want, but my skills with the bow and arrow are passable, and I¡¯ve made a name for myself in the jianghu before. However, the jianghu is filled with powerful people. Even if you practise martial arts for several decades, a kid in his teens can still slaughter you like killing a dog. I suffered tremendously. It¡¯s fortunate that I could return alive.¡±

 Chapter 24 â€“ Searching for the Spiritual Ginseng

    Huang Binghu knew that he had not taken him aback enough psychologically, so he added, ¡°Your blade style and fist style requires you to be unencumbered, so you probably practise external martial arts. These types of martial arts lead to quick results. However, if you don¡¯t have superior internal martial arts technique supporting you, allowing you to go from external to internal and thus achieving dual practices, it¡¯ll probably be difficult for you to become a first-rate master. Naturally, becoming an innate master will be impossible.¡±

    ¡°First-rate master? What rate am I? And what are innate masters about?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked a string of questions, which actually convinced Huang Binghu slightly that his moves all came from a great master who happened to pass by. If he had a proper master, it was impossible for him to not know this. ¡°Qingshan, with your skill right now, you haven¡¯t even reached third-rate.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s just mediocre!¡±

    ¡°You were able to defeat those ginseng foragers, so you¡¯re already an adept. You¡¯re still young, so there¡¯s no need to be too dejected. As long as you practise properly and become a third-rate master, you¡¯ll be able to roam through an entire region unopposed. With your talent, Qingshan, it won¡¯t be an issue for you to reach such a level.¡±

    Huang Binghu was afraid of going too far and dampening his determination, so he comforted Li Qingshan out of goodwill. However, he had no idea that the target the black ox had given Li Qingshan in the first place was to be able to roam through the entire world unopposed. The so-called internal martial arts he mentioned was even more of a joke.

    ¡°It¡¯s even more mysterious for innate masters. They have to open up all the meridians in their bodies first and pass through the entry hall of life and death, converting their inner force into true qi. This true qi can flow through their bodies without any inhibitions anymore. Once true qi becomes powerful enough, it can even be freely projected out of one¡¯s body to injure others.¡±

    Hold on. I think the qi in my body right now can move about uninhibited. However, I can¡¯t project it out of my body. It must be because it¡¯s too weak.

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood that right from the beginning, his starting line was different from other normal people. The path he took was something regular practitioners of martial arts could not imagine.

    ¡°Hunting chief, I will definitely become an innate master.¡±

    Huang Binghu praised him for his aspiration, but he did not believe it at all. Innate master? When he heard of this the first time, he also held the same, noble aspiration, but how was it that easy?

    Li Qingshan noticed something. ¡°Hunting chief, you don¡¯t seem to be too well.¡±

    ¡°I was born frail, and the physician originally said that I would not last for very long. However, my mother refused to believe it, managing to raise me after tremendous effort. I refused to believe that I was worse than the other kids in the village, so I forced myself to practise martial arts. However, my foundation¡¯s were still weak at the end of the day. I¡¯ve often been in pain in the past few years, so I probably don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    Li Qingshan truly admired the man in front of him slightly. Even though he did not have any great abilities or techniques, his will power and determination were enough for Li Qingshan to hold him as a role model.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, hunting chief. We just have to find the spiritual ginseng, and you¡¯ll definitely be cured.¡±

    ¡°Yep. Although it¡¯s an almost non-existent possibility, it¡¯s still a chance for me. We have to take advantage of how the Ginseng King village has been weakened to enter the mountains to search today. Do you want to come?¡±

    ¡°My wounds have yet to recover completely, so I probably won¡¯t be able to lend any help.¡± Of course, Li Qingshan would not agree. Huang Binghu had only put it like that. It was impossible for Li Qingshan to actually trust him.

    ¡°Alright. Once you¡¯re healed, we can clash again. I will arrange for people to teach you archery.¡± Huang Binghu patted his shoulder.

    After Huang Binghu left, Li Qingshan immediately questioned the black ox.

    The black ox said with contempt, ¡°What first-rate second-rate? Do even ants have to establish who¡¯s stronger or weaker? Though, if you can get your hands on that spiritual ginseng, it¡¯ll be highly beneficial to your cultivation.¡±

    Li Qingshan could only look at it helplessly.

    ¡°I am very relieved that you can learn hunting and stop relying on me. I can finally rest up. From today onwards, you better take care of yourself!¡±

    As expected, the black ox stuck to his words and would never help him out. Li Qingshan had not properly planned on relying on him either. As for stealing from the jaws of the two villages, he felt even less confident. He would probably just lose his life for nothing, so he sighed a few times and discarded the thought. He chewed up another ginseng and began to meditate, only going to sleep deep in the night.

    A wisp-like ghost rose up from the wooden tablet, turning into a child with delicate facial features. He glanced at Li Qingshan before seemingly making up his mind, entering the mountains with the night breeze as he opened and closed his pale lips.

    If someone skilled at lip-reading were present, they would be able to tell that he was muttering ¡®spiritual ginseng¡¯.

    The black ox opened its eyes and glanced at him before closing them again. Xiao An flew out of the Drawn Reins village and into the stretch of mountains. He moved through the forest freely, but he would have to avoid stronger mountain winds from time to time. He saw a speck of firelight in the distance and only saw hunters from the Drawn Reins village resting by a bonfire with their weapons. Huang Binghu was discussing battle tactics with a few hunters quietly. Xiao An circled around them a few times and listened for a while before riding the wind to Bailao peak. He carefully inspected every stream and rock he passed by. Of course, he would get carried by some small animals he came across from time to time and lose focus of his original objective. However, he would always return to the objective very quickly, continuing to search. Only a single thought existed in his head, I must, must find the spiritual ginseng. I can help him that way. Early in the morning, the ginseng foragers launched a night attack, but they were repelled by the prepared Huang Binghu. Neither of them found the spiritual ginseng. It was the same for Xiao An too. Using the time before the sun had risen, he returned to the village exhausted, basically rather tired of it all. The minds of children would always wander, never able to remain focused for long. Moreover, such work was simply too lonely for him. He had already experienced enough loneliness. However, when he saw Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeping face, new motivation suddenly flowed through him again. He clenched his fist and dove into the wooden tablet, going to sleep.

    Early in the morning, a stern-looking old hunter woke up Li Qingshan. ¡°The hunting chief sent me to teach you archery!¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed that his left leg was slightly lame, but he only glanced at it from the corner of his eye to remain polite. However, he never thought the old hunter would notice it and say nonchalantly, ¡°It was mauled by a wolf. Come with me!¡±

    On the empty land to the west of the village, a group of half-grown children were already waiting. The older ones were around the same age as Li Qingshan, while the younger ones still had snot running down their noses. However, every single one of them carried a hunting bow on their backs. They all looked at Li Qingshan rather warily with gazes of hostility.

    ¡°Grandpa Zang, will he be with us?¡±

    Grandpa Zang nodded slightly and did not try to explain anything. He directly said, ¡°Draw your bows!¡±

    The group of children immediately stopped talking. They drew their hunting bows and aimed at the target in the distance. Grandpa Zang corrected their forms one by one and explained the essentials of archery, leaving Li Qingshan standing on one side.

    Li Qingshan did not find it boring. Instead, he listened carefully. This continued for an hour before grandpa Zang ordered everyone to rest. He finally spoke to Li Qingshan, ¡°Go train your strength first!¡± He pointed at the stone dumbbells on the side.

    Li Qingshan went over and grabbed the stone dumbbells. Compared to a teacher like the black ox who did not even care for his safety, the level of dismissal right now was within a range he could tolerate.

    Grandpa Zang was rather surprised. He did not like Li Qingshan, but he could not disobey Huang Binghu¡¯s orders. As such, he purposefully gave Li Qingshan the cold shoulder, basically to train his temperament. He never expected Li Qingshan to show no anger at all, completely different from what he had originally expected. He thought to himself, No wonder the hunting chief favours him so much!

    ¡°Kid, where are you from?¡± The group of kids could not help but approach him in a provoking manner.

    ¡°The Crouching Ox village.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just a farmer, but you do have some ox-like strength. I heard you brought an ox with you. We don¡¯t need cows here, so let¡¯s butcher it!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not stoop to their level and pick a fight with them, but he could not let them simply insult him either. His arms suddenly erupted with strength, and he tossed two stone dumbbells several dozen kilograms in weight high into the air.

    ¡°Mother of heaven!¡± The group of children scattered frantically. If one of the dumbbells fell onto them, their heads would crack.

    The stone dumbbells fell down heavily. Li Qignshan did not try to avoid them. Instead, he maintained his concentration, grasping the timing to grab the dumbbells. He turned around to nullify the force and smiled at them.

    The group of children were dumbfounded. They all gulped. Just how much strength was needed to raise the two stone dumbbells? Most of them could do that, but it was impossible for them to toss them so high in the air, let alone catch them.

 Chapter 25 â€“ Drawing the Bow and Shooting Arrows

    Grandpa Zang was finally shocked. ¡°Natural superhuman strength!?¡± Then he shook his head. ¡°I forgot. You practise external martial arts, so it¡¯s nothing out of the ordinary for you to have slightly greater strength!¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to shoot arrows with just strength. Take it.¡± Grandpa Zang removed the hunting bow from his back and tossed it to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°This is grandpa Zang¡¯s ox horn bow. It has the force of a stone!¡± Grandpa Zang was purposefully making things difficult for this kid. Drawing a bow was different from tossing some stone dumbbells.

    A stone was sixty kilograms. Regular hunting bows did not pursue power but greater accuracy and dexterity. Bows with such a heavy draw weight were rare. Even if a heavier draw weight came with greater power, the accuracy and shooting speed of the bow would be horrible unless the archer could control it properly.

    If they came across a vicious beast in the mountains, they would miss their first shot. Before they could fire their second, the beast would have arrived already. They would only end up dead. However, all the hunters who could handle a bow with such a heavy draw weight were marksmen. It was nothing difficult for them to hunt tigers or leopards in the mountains.

    Li Qingshan weighed the bow in his hands. This was a superior oak wood bow, wrapped in beast hide and then silk. Its bowstring was made from cow sinew, so it was light yet extremely powerful.

    He followed the method that grandpa Zang had described, sinking down with his hips into a horse stance. He drew the bowstring in one swift motion, and his muscles and bones rippled with it.

    To grandpa Zang¡¯s surprise, his form was actually very proper. Then he remembered that Li Qingshan had been watching on from the side earlier. Grandpa Zang guided him a little more with the essentials and Li Qingshan absorbed it all. In just a while, he seemed like he had already put in three months of hard work.

    It was difficult to learn archery with a bow that was too heavy. People usually started with a lighter draw weight and would shoot many arrows to practise, gradually correcting their form. Only then would they increase the weight of their bow.

    Grandpa Zang directly gave Li Qingshan his ox horn bow in an attempt to set him back mentally. Sure, you have a lot of strength and you can draw it, but it¡¯s useless if you can¡¯t hit anything. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s performance surprised him once more.

    It had nothing to do with whether Li Qingshan was actually better at learning than other people. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength taught him the most basic principles to using his qi and utilising his strength. Regardless of the weapon, as long as he grasped the essentials, he would be able to master it very quickly.

    This sure is a good way to train my strength. Although it¡¯s also very tiring when I practise punching, the punches aren¡¯t hitting anything. I need to buy a heavy bow in the future for the purpose of training my strength. It¡¯ll definitely be very beneficial to me.

    ¡°Alright. Aim at the target and shoot an arrow for me!¡± Grandpa Zang ordered.

    Li Qingshan placed down the bow and rested up slightly before picking up an arrow and drawing the bow once more. He aimed at a target fifty paces away.

    ¡°Settle your mind. Don¡¯t fire in a hurry. Look at the target!¡± Grandpa Zang guided from one side.

    Li Qingshan stared right at the centre of the target, and his eyes suddenly lit up. However, as it was daytime, no one noticed it. Under his full concentration, the target seemed to expand, no longer so unreachable anymore.

    In the legends, ancient marksmen trained their archery by tying a louse to a string before staring at it day and night. They would see the louse gradually expand. At first, it would be as large as a cartwheel before growing to the size of a mountain, filling up their view. Just by firing a single arrow, they would pierce the louse.

    Currently, Li Qingshan felt such a sensation. He knew that it was probably due to the ox¡¯s tears, which allowed him to see the fast slowly, the far close, and ghosts clearly.

    Hit! A thought flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s head, and the arrow left the bowstring, flying towards the target.

    Thud! The arrow became deeply embedded in the wooden target. It did not hit the centre but the edge instead. He had barely hit it.

    Li Qingshan felt slightly embarrassed. ¡°It missed the centre, but it still hit.¡±

    However, the people in the surroundings were left speechless from surprise. During the first time he had ever shot an arrow in his life, he had drawn a bow with the weight of a stone and struck a target fifty paces away. Even a village that relied on shooting prey for generations had never seen such a person.

    Just what are the origins of this guy?!

    Grandpa Zang barely managed to remain composed. ¡°Just keep practising in the future.¡± As an old and experienced hunter, he knew the best that Li Qingshan was unable to estimate the falling trajectory of the arrow and the effects of the wind because he was shooting for the first time.

    ¡°But I feel like this bow is still not powerful enough!¡± Just like how people should always aim above and beyond, Li Qingshan wanted a powerful bow that would take all of his strength to draw.

    Grandpa Zang said nothing in reply. He took the bow from Li Qingshan and aimed it at the target in the distance. His cloudy eyes suddenly became as sharp as a hawk¡¯s.

    His right hand moved rapidly. Out of everyone present, only Li Qingshan saw it clearly. He had shot three arrows consecutively.

    Thud! The three arrows formed a single line, striking the centre of the target, but there was only one sound.

    The surroundings fell quiet before erupting into a string of cheers.

    ¡°Rapid fire arrows!¡± How could Li Qingshan not recognise this bow style? He had read about it in books in his past life, but he had only treated it as an interesting act.

    However, now that he had witnessed it first-hand, he finally understood that it was truly a killing technique. He thought to himself that unless it was a close combat situation, it would be difficult for him to evade this bow style. On the other hand, if grandpa Zang decided to ambush him, he would be dead for sure.

    Grandpa Zang saw how Li Qingshan had stopped talking, while Li Qingshan had already understood what he was trying to say. If he could not unleash something like that, there was no point to aiming above and beyond and using a bow he could barely draw. It was not like grandpa Zang could not draw a heavier bow. Rather, he had chosen a bow that suited him the most. Li Qingshan went up and bowed courteously, saying sincerely, ¡°Please teach me archery, grandpa Zang!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re part of our Drawn Reins village now, so I will guide you with everything I have even if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it. As for how much you can learn, that¡¯ll be up to you. However, I¡¯m confident that your skill with the bow will exceed mine in the future.¡± Grandpa Zang was happy inside, and his expression eased up amiably.

    He did not take a liking to Li Qingshan originally, but the talent and strength that Li Qingshan had demonstrated shocked him. Moreover, there would be times when he would drop his pride to seek guidance. As a result, grandpa Zang¡¯s attitude turned around completely, not only acknowledging Li Qingshan¡¯s identity immediately, but also appreciating him very much.

    Grandpa Zang¡¯s evaluation shocked everyone. Grandpa Zang was the best with the bow in the village; this was a publicly accepted matter. Even the hunting chief Huang Binghu¡¯s skill with the bow came from his personal guidance. Such an evaluation would probably shock the entire village.

    The youngsters, who were originally very hostile towards Li Qingshan, gathered over once more. They talked to him all at once, showing some attachment to him. They were not intentionally fawning over him. Instead, they just admired the greatest at their age.

    Perhaps some of them felt envy and wanted to reject him, but they were no longer bold enough to slight and provoke him. The atmosphere actually became harmonious. Li Qingshan came to a realisation that in order to get others to acknowledge him, a clever tongue was not enough. Instead, he needed to demonstrate sufficient strength.

    If he did not possess this strength and wanted to achieve the current result diplomatically, not only would it take a very long time, he would have to bow and scrape to them as well, twisting his conscience.

    He practised until the evening, and Li Qingshan could already land every single arrow he shot on the targets. However, he needed preparation with each arrow; he was nowhere close to being able to fire them at will like grandpa Zang, much less achieving rapid firing. However, to the eyes of others, this was already unbelievable enough.

    In the next few days, Li Qingshan devoted himself to practising the bow, making progress with each passing day. Although he did not stop with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, he progressed extremely slowly.

 Chapter 26 â€“ Sparring Again

    A heavy wave of warmth surged in his stomach. He immediately got up and began practising in the courtyard. Only when the warmth had vanished completely did he exhale deeply and stop.

    Normally, he would feel tired after practising for so long, yet he was brimming with energy today. As expected, the medicinal alcohol made from ginseng was much more effective than simply eating meat.

    Moreover, the true qi in his body seemed to grow slightly. It was very weak, but it was growing properly.

    Medicinal alcohol made from ordinary ginseng is already so effective. I wonder how it would be like if I used the spiritual ginseng instead. He had thought of this before, but then he considered the difficulty in obtaining it, followed by the consequences that came after, so he could only give up in the end.

    In just a few days, several hunters were carried off the mountains, either dead or injured. Clearly, the ginseng foragers were not easy to deal with. Although Li Qingshan had agreed to join the Drawn Reins village, it was just a measure to deal with his circumstances. He did not actually want to become involved in the dispute between the two villages.

    In the blink of an eye, it was the fifteenth of the eighth month, the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the forested mountains, Huang Binghu gazed at the exhausted faces beside him. In the past few days, he had been moving through the mountains with his hunters, remaining alert at all times despite possessing the upper hand and basically slaughtering the ginseng foragers to a point of disarray.

    However, it was impossible for him to remain unscathed, so it was difficult for him as well. Meanwhile, the spiritual ginseng only existed within the legends. No one had seen it with their own eyes, so these sacrifices became meaningless.

    Huang Binghu let out a deep sigh and ordered them to return to the village. Xiao Hei said in a hurry, ¡°Hunting chief, you can¡¯t give up. Your body is-¡± Huang Binghu cut in and said, ¡°The village takes top priority!¡± Not only was it the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for families to reunite, but it was almost winter as well. The village had to prepare for the change in seasons.

    In one corner of the Drawn Reins village, within grandpa Zang¡¯s courtyard, Huang Binghu asked with a smile, ¡°Grandpa Zang, how¡¯s the kid?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a natural marksman. His archery will definitely exceed both yours and mine in the future, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°His mind is not with the Drawn Reins village. Even if we¡¯ve gotten him to join the village, it¡¯s all useless. We¡¯re hunting dogs that guard the mountain, while he¡¯s a wolf, and a lone wolf at that. There¡¯ll be a time when he goes off on a long journey!¡±

    ¡°You really plan on making him the hunting chief?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll depend on his skills.¡± Huang Binghu smiled.

    ¡°Qingshan, has it been satisfactory for you here?¡± Huang Binghu entered the courtyard and greeted him straightforwardly.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, hunting chief. I¡¯ve been doing very well here.¡± Ever since the news of Li Qingshan killing seven ginseng foragers spread through the village, everyone had warmed up to him. However, this also meant that he had become complete enemies with the Ginseng King village. The ginseng foragers were not benevolent folk, so he had to rely on the Drawn Reins village in order to survive.

    However, could he really just accept an arrangement like this?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hunting chief, I want to try sparring with you again!¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s surprised gaze met Li Qingshan¡¯s confident eyes.

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s see the fruits of your training from the past few days.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Li Qingshan did not wait for Huang Binghu to pull away from him, suddenly rushing forwards. He threw a straight punch without any fancy tricks, striking towards Huang Binghu¡¯s chest viciously. It gave off a slight whoosh from the rushing air.

    ¡°Not bad, kid!¡± Huang Binghu blocked using his arm, and with a smack, he staggered back three steps before stopping, shaking his arm in pain. Then he revealed a rather surprised expression. What great strength! Although he did not clash with Li Qingshan in brute strength last time, he could estimate that his strength back then should not have been so great.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Check out this move now!¡± He immediately rushed over and launched consecutive attacks. His fists rained down on Huang Binghu¡¯s chest, launching a storm-like barrage, pushing the unencumbered force in his punches to the limit. His aura became extremely violent as well.

    Careless, Huang Binghu lost the advantage and the upper hand, but it also roused his spirit. I refuse to believe that you can defeat me in terms of strength. His inner force began to circulate, flowing into his arms through his meridians. Welled up with inner force, his arms seemed to grow thicker as he received Li Qingshan¡¯s punches.

    For practitioners of martial arts, all of their martials arts depended on this inner force. He was using his true strength by doing this.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Their arms intersected as they fought fire with fire. Whenever they clashed, they would produce a loud sound of collision between flesh and bone; it was like two beasts mauling one another. It was extremely rough and brutal.

    Huang Binghu was still the one with richer experience at the end of the day. He grasped the timing and threw a punch at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    Li Qingshan did not try to block or dodge, returning a punch at Huang Binghu¡¯s face.

    Huang Binghu thought to himself, I¡¯ve trained my inner force diligently for all these years, so the force of one of my punches can even kill a young calf. Even if you practise external martial arts tough on the body, you¡¯ll still be injured. As for Li Qingshan¡¯s punch, he ignored it completely. His punch would land on Li Qingshan first, and he would definitely seize up momentarily.

    With a thud, the punch landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. As expected, Li Qingshan seized up, but he immediately recovered, completely unaffected. Huang Binghu was taken aback and used a roll in a hurry. The first brushed past his cheek, causing a slight ache.

    Li Qingshan chuckled and remained where he was, choosing not to pursue him.

    Huang Binghu stood up. ¡°You¡¯re actually fine?!¡± He understood the strength of that punch the best. Even if Li Qingshan used his external martial arts to block the force of the punch, he would not be able to stop the inner force imbued in the punch. However, it actually had no effect on him.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chest. ¡°It hurt a lot!¡± A stream of qi seemed to penetrate his skin earlier, directly entering his body. However, it was immediately nullified by the true qi within him, basically failing to cause any damage at all. Afterwards, he immediately recovered his strength and almost landed a hit on Huang Binghu.

    If it were explained as Huang Binghu would have explained it, this was the difference in quality between acquired inner force and innate true qi.

    Huang Binghu had no idea how to respond. The punch that he was so confident in actually only received an evaluation like that. However, all practitioners of martials arts were competitive, seeking to prevail over others. He yelled out, ¡°Then eat a few more of my punches!¡±

    The two of them began fighting once more. This time, Huang Binghu no longer held back, using everything that he had. He became much swifter. As a result, Li Qingshan struggled to handle his attacks. Li Qingshan became peppered with punches.

    To the untrained eye, Huang Binghu was overwhelming Li Qingshan, possessing the upper hand.

    However, the two of them each experienced completely different thoughts. Li Qingshan only felt like Huang Binghu¡¯s movements had slowed down, no longer as difficult to capture as before. Even if punches would hit him, it would only ache slightly, so he might as well just ignore them and focus on attacking. He was like a rock in a storm, remaining firm and unshaken.

    However, Huang Binghu felt more surprised the more he attacked. Li Qingshan¡¯s speed, reaction, and strength were all much greater than last time. He was basically like a completely different person. He was no longer able to attack Li Qingshan¡¯s vital points so easily, but striking other places was completely useless.

    And as the battle went on, Li Qingshan¡¯s attacks became more and more orderly, throwing one or two extremely ingenious punches from time to time, forcing Huang Binghu into danger. It took him the experience from all these years of fighting to deal with. The fierce gale swept up with each of Li Qingshan¡¯s punches told him that as long as a single punch landed, he would be done for. They grew closer and closer to one another rapidly.

    As a result, a strange scene appeared. One of them was constantly struck by punches, yet he did better the more he fought. The other was uninjured, but he grew weaker as the battle continued.

    Sweat began to sprout from Huang Binghu¡¯s forehead. As exhaustion set in for him, Li Qingshan remained just as calm and unagitated as before.

    The ox had always been an animal of great endurance. The further he cultivated, the more obvious the difference between supernatural abilities and martial arts would become.

 Chapter 27 â€“ The Spiritual Ginseng Appears

    Li Qingshan exhaled deeply. ¡°How satisfying!¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s arms trembled; this was the result of clashing with Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. He studied Li Qingshan from afar as he felt perplexed. ¡°Just how did you train?¡± He was basically a monster to advance at such a rate.

    Originally, he valued Li Qingshan¡¯s willpower and martial arts. He had thought he had found a diamond in the rough and wanted to polish him. He wanted to see whether he had the right to accept the position of hunting chief. However, he discovered in the end that he had underestimated Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan considered the question. ¡°Recently, I¡¯ve been drinking medicinal alcohol made from ginseng. It¡¯s a formula my master left behind.¡±

    Huang Binghu hesitated. ¡°Can you let me see it?¡± Originally, the rules of jianghu forbid him from just casually inquiring about things like this, but he was just too curious about what was happening.

    Li Qingshan said frankly, ¡°No problem!¡±

    Huang Binghu had asked about the formula, so Li Qingshan told it to him truthfully. Huang Binghu nodded. ¡°This formula is ingenious, but the strength of the combination is just too much. You¡¯re using too much ginseng as well, so you can¡¯t drink too much. Just a small cup a day will be enough.¡±

    Aside from that, it was no different from ordinary medicinal alcohol. He even specially went to Li Qingshan¡¯s room and tasted it, but he reached the same conclusion. He refused to believe that just drinking medicinal alcohol made from ginseng could lead to such rapid improvements in martial arts. Otherwise, the Ginseng King village would basically be filled with supreme masters.

    However, it was far too inappropriate for him to probe any further. He could only hold in his doubts. However, he never considered that it was all due to Li Qingshan¡¯s martial arts. After all, out of all of the external martials available, none of them were so impressive to the point of being some sort of unmatched, divine art.

    Obviously, Li Qingshan could not tell him that he drank the medicinal wine by the bowlful, and he would down several every day at the very least. He had basically finished it all off now.

    ¡°Oh right, how are my martial arts now?¡±

    ¡°It has barely made it into the third-rate.¡± Huang Binghu could still remember some time ago when he said that it would pose no difficulty for Li Qingshan to become a third-rate master. In the blink of an eye, it had come true. He felt like he was dreaming.

    ¡°Only the third-rate?¡± Li Qingshan said in dissatisfaction.

    Huang Binghu shot a glance at him. Anyone whose martial arts had reached the third-rate could be regarded as master, yet this kid was actually still unsatisfied. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that his own martial arts were ¡®only at the third-rate¡¯?

    There was another reason. His sickness was already close to becoming incurable. Although his name was Binghu, Sickly Tiger, he deemed the word ¡®sickly¡¯ as the highest taboo. He would never use it as a reason.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been working hard on rapid fire arrows lately. I can already shoot three of them in rapid succession, but I¡¯m still much worse than the hunting chief. Please give me some guidance, hunting chief.¡± Li Qingshan had personally witnessed Huang Binghu¡¯s archery, so he obviously would never take it lightly.

    You can shoot three arrows in rapid succession!? Didn¡¯t you just start learning archery a month ago? Huang Binghu only felt like he had experienced a little too much mental shock today. He waved his hands. ¡°Go ask grandpa Zang for guidance tomorrow. I need to go back and eat a reunion dinner with my family.¡±

    He understood inside that perhaps this kid really did have the talent to wander through the jianghu, so he put the matter of hunting chief aside. If he himself had advanced so rapidly in the past, he would have never returned to the Drawn Reigns village.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the Mid-Autumn Festival again!¡± Li Qingshan looked at the newly-risen full moon in the sky, but he had no relatives to reunite with. However, he did have a daemon and a ghost by his side, so he could still have a reunion meal with them. He went back and began preparing.

    He prepared some grass for the black ox, some alcohol and meat for himself, and some incense sticks and joss paper for Xiao An.

    He carried out everything smoothly, but he could not find Xiao An. ¡°Brother Ox, where did Xiao An go?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°This little ghost has gotten carried away with playing lately. He doesn¡¯t even bother to cling to me anymore. How strange. I think we should wait for him!¡±

    The full moon rose slightly and all was silent on Bailao peak.

    The brilliant moon scattered its light from high in the clouds.

    A few people with large bamboo hats lay in a region of dense vegetation, gazing at the highest cliff on Bailao peak as if they were waiting for something.

    ¡°We¡¯ve expended so much painstaking effort, lost so many people, and fallen out with the Drawn Reins village completely, yet we haven¡¯t even seen a hair of the spiritual ginseng. Now, even the people from the Drawn Reins village have retreated down the peak to unite with their families, yet we still have to watch over here. What is the chief thinking?¡±

    ¡°What would you know? The spiritual ginseng is an item with intelligence. It has been alarmed by the presence of so many people, so it would obviously remain hidden. However, tonight¡¯s a night with a full moon, so the spiritual ginseng will definitely appear to absorb the essence of the moon. The chief has been expecting this, and he has planned for it too. As long as we get the spiritual ginseng, our chief¡¯s strength will increase drastically. By then, will we still have to be afraid of the Drawn Reins village? When that happens, we¡¯ll trample over the Drawn Reins village, plunder all of their food and wealth, and play with all of their women. Then we¡¯ll have our revenge.¡±

    ¡°Quiet! Don¡¯t mess up the chief¡¯s plans!¡± A person scolded them with a subdued voice.

    The conversation immediately died out, only leaving the soft chirping of autumn insects that were close to dying. The round moon rose high into the sky.

    A small person a foot tall suddenly emerged from the ground, hesitating as it made its way to the highest cliff that received the most moonlight. At a closer glance, it was not a person at all but a ginseng instead. It only barely possessed a humanoid form, so it looked like a small person in the dark. It seemed as light as a feather as it walked, moving like it was floating.

    The ginseng foragers hidden in the bushes immediately held their breaths, afraid of making any sounds. This was a wondrous spiritual herb. They had never seen anything like it despite gathering ginseng for all of their lives.

    The spiritual ginseng looked around as if it were confirming that no one else was here. It drifted to the highest cliff and settled down there. The essence of the moon wrapped around its body.

    ¡°Do it!¡± With the order, the ginseng foragers moved together. A net descended from the sky, falling towards the spiritual ginseng.

    The spiritual ginseng was submerged in the essence of the moon. As such, before it could react, it had become caught in the net and lifted from the ground. The net was woven from the tendon of cows, so it was impossible for it to break free.

    The four ginseng foragers were utterly overjoyed, approaching it and studying it carefully.

    ¡°There are a lot of cliffs on the Bailao peak, and they¡¯ve all had people assigned to them, yet the spiritual ginseng just happened to fall into our hands. We¡¯re blessed by the heavens. When we get back, we¡¯ll be able to get some soup to drink at the very least. Maybe we can become masters.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you can become an immortal if you eat the whole thing!¡±

    The four of them laughed together. One of their faces suddenly stiffened, and the snow-white tip of a sword emerged from his throat. He struggled as he tried to look back.

    The sword was drawn from his body, and he immediately collapsed on the ground. All he could vaguely see was a black shadow as he fell down.

    The other ginseng foragers all responded, drawing their blades as they roared out furiously and swung at the black shadow. The sword swept past their throats like a clever snake and some droplets of blood splattered in the air.

    In a single instant, the four ginseng foragers were murdered, yet they could not even launch a single attack back. The assailant¡¯s skill was evident.

    ¡°I never thought that the rumors would be true. Hmph, why would a group of mountain villagers like you be worthy of using something like this?¡± A young man in luxurious robes stowed his sword away in an elegant manner. At the same time, he extended his hand and reached towards the spiritual ginseng. He struggled to hold back his excitement as well. As long as he obtained it, his martial arts would advance drastically.

 Chapter 28 â€“ The Promise of â€˜Southâ€™

    The man was surprised. He only saw the spiritual ginseng levitating in the air. He panicked and used his movement technique, reaching towards the spiritual ginseng, but it directly flew off the cliff. He could only watch as it vanished into the darkness. He was so depressed that he wanted to spit blood.

    ¡°No, I have to get the spiritual ginseng. I¡¯ll get father to send people over to search the mountains when I get back.¡±

    The man only thought it was a wondrous property of the spiritual ginseng, but if his eyes had been awakened, he would have seen the spiritual ginseng being firmly clutched in a pair of small, pale-white hands. He had stalked his prey, but he was unaware of being stalked himself. A ghost he could not see had remained hidden in the dark the entire time.

    At the bottom of the cliff, Xiao An used everything he had to hold onto the spiritual ginseng, drifting towards the Drawn Reins village along with the night wind. He was so happy that he wanted to explode in joy. It was all due to the nurturing he had experienced when he resided in the scholar wood tablet that he possessed the strength to grab something so heavy.

    In the courtyard, Li Qingshan yawned. His eyes suddenly lit up when he saw Xiao An drift over from afar. ¡°Little ghost, where did you run off to?¡±

    Xiao An bit his lip sternly, suppressing the joy he felt inside as he laid the spiritual ginseng in his hands in front of Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this? Ginseng?¡± Li Qingshan took the spiritual ginseng and sniffed it gently. A strange, faint fragrance entered his nose, and he immediately felt his mind shudder. The true qi in his body seemed to become much livelier.

    Li Qingshan suddenly thought of something. ¡°This is¡­ the spiritual ginseng!¡± He experienced quite a lot of disbelief. The spiritual herb that had turned two villages against each other as absolute enemies and claimed several dozen lives was currently in his hands.

    The black ox chewed the grass lazily. ¡°Why else do you think the little ghost runs off every night?¡±

    Li Qingshan checked Xiao An. As expected, he was exhausted, but he also felt endless joy. He even used his small hand to point at his mouth as if he were telling Li Qingshan to eat it.

    For the past few days, Xiao An would leave when it was dusk and only return when it was close to dawn, no longer communicating with him as much as before. Li Qingshan had thought the little ghost yearned for freedom and wanted to leave him. Only now did he understand that all of it was his sake.

    ¡°This kid!¡± Li Qingshan felt his nose tingle, as he was on the verge of crying. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier!¡±

    Xiao An smiled bashfully before pointing at his mouth again.

    The black ox said, ¡°The spiritual ginseng is a rare, innate object of nature. The spiritual qi it contains is beneficial even to ghosts. However, if you use it for yourself, you can easily achieve the strength of an ox. Can you bring yourself to share it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Why can¡¯t I? The spiritual ginseng came from Xiao An in the first place, so Xiao An should use it. I can just slowly practise my ability.¡± The way he approached matters had not changed due to the temptation of the spiritual ginseng.

    Xiao An immediately retreated and waved his hands.

    ¡°Enough. I will appreciate your kind intentions, so just take it.¡±

    All Xiao An did was shake his head. In the end, he turned into a wisp and dove into the wooden tablet.

    ¡°Oi, get out here. If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯m going to throw it away.¡±

    The black ox suddenly called out, ¡°Since he wants you to have it, why must you be so persistent and act like a little girl? Won¡¯t you be able to find something that¡¯s a hundred or a thousand times better than the spiritual ginseng for him?¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside and nodded. ¡°Brother ox is right. I¡¯ve been obstinate. Alright, come out. I¡¯ll use the spiritual ginseng.¡± Xiao An immediately flew out.

    ¡°However, you do deserve a share of this. I can¡¯t use it all for myself. If you decline again, I¡¯m going to get angry.¡±

    Only then did Xiao An agree.

    Li Qingshan waved the spiritual ginseng in his hand. ¡°Brother ox, how do I use this?¡± Xiao An was a ghost, so he was unable to eat anything.

    The black ox said, ¡°Go find a needle and extract a droplet of ginseng juice.¡±

    Li Qingshan abided, finding a needle before stabbing it into the spiritual ginseng. The spiritual ginseng trembled in his hand, but he obviously would not become soft-hearted against a plant. A droplet of ginseng juice oozed out, gathering on the tip of the needle.

    The black ox said, ¡°Alright, drip it onto his forehead!¡±

    ¡°Forehead? Xiao An, raise your head!¡±

    Xiao An raised his head in a hurry, and the droplet of ginseng juice dripped from the needle, landing between his eyebrows. His body trembled like a ripple of water as the ginseng juice suddenly shone resplendently in his body.

    Xiao An shut his eyes firmly. His expression was sometimes of pain and sometimes of joy. He only calmed down after the light had subsided, and he slowly opened his eyes. There was now something extra in his eyes. Two tear streaks ran down his face.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°He must have remembered something.¡±

    ¡°Really? Xiao An, do you remember who you are and where your home is?¡± Li Qingshan knelt on one knee in a hurry and looked into his eyes.

    Xiao An hesitated for quite a while before pointing in a direction. The south.

    Li Qingshan asked rapidly, ¡°Your home¡¯s to the south? Which city is it? Is it far from here?¡±

    However, Xiao An was unable to answer these questions. He only shook his head in confusion.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan drew his hunting blade and began carving the scholar wood tablet. Wood shavings fell down, and the word ¡®south¡¯ immediately appeared on the blank side. He lifted it up in front of Xiao An.

    Under the moonlight, a young man knelt on the ground on one knee and promised seriously to a child. ¡°No matter how many dangers, difficulties, obstacles, and hardships there are, there will be a day when I send you home.¡±

    The child stared at his figure blankly, never able to forget this, just like the red mole that had formed between his eyebrows where the droplet had landed.

    Li Qingshan hung the wooden tablet on his waist again before asking Xiao An whether he felt any differences. He wondered whether the spiritual ginseng was useful or not.

    Xiao An leapt into the air and flew around the courtyard like a whirlwind. He lifted up Li Qingshan¡¯s hunting blade and swung it about in the yard.

    If it were someone else, all they would be able to see was a blade dancing about by itself, moving as if it possessed its own consciousness.

    Not only had Xiao An become much faster, but he could even carry heavier objects. He had become stronger. If he launched a sneak attack or an ambush, even masters within the jianghu would be doomed.

    ¡°Brother ox, am I supposed to use it like that as well?¡±

    ¡°That would be too big of a waste. The best way to ingest the ginseng is to combine it with other spiritual herbs and refine it into a pill, but you don¡¯t have that option. You can treat the spiritual ginseng like ordinary ginseng and soak it in alcohol. That way, the spiritual ginseng won¡¯t wither, but its spiritual qi will permeate the alcohol, turning it into spiritual alcohol. You¡¯ll be able to absorb its effects slowly. Oh also, you can¡¯t mix it with any other medicines.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea!¡± Li Qingshan knew it was impossible for him to digest the spiritual ginseng in a single stroke. If he did try, it would either lack great effect, or he would just explode. ¡°However, for a treasure like this, I just don¡¯t feel safe unless I carry it on me.¡±

    When he said that, a wine gourd flew towards Li Qingshan. He caught it. ¡°Thanks, brother ox!¡± He placed the spiritual ginseng inside the gourd, filled it up with strong alcohol, before hanging it on his waist.

    He crossed his arms, standing with his powerful body and the large gourd by his side. He was still young, but he gave off an uninhibited, heroic air.

    ¡°Xiao An, don¡¯t you think I look more and more like a person of the jianghu?¡±

    Xiao An smiled as well, but then his expression changed. He became worried. However, he could not speak, so he panicked slightly. Suddenly, he thought of something, crouched down on the ground and began drawing.

 Chapter 29 â€“ Autumn Hunting in the Mountains

    Li Qingshan asked in a hurry, ¡°You¡¯re literate. Did you remember it just now?¡±

    Xiao An nodded and made Li Qingshan look at what he had written.

    From Xian An, Li Qingshan learned that someone else had originally butt in to try and take the spiritual ginseng, and their martial arts was very powerful. Since they had seen this, they would never give up. They would definitely find a way to look for it.

    ¡°It looks like I need to be careful. I have to keep everything hidden. However, once I take a step further with my ability and develop the strength of an ox, there¡¯ll be no need for me to be afraid of anyone.¡±

    The spiritual alcohol would not become better the longer the spiritual ginseng remained in it. If it became too strong, Li Qingshan would not be able to digest it. As a result, he had his first sip of the spiritual alcohol after waiting for just a few days.

    A special fragrance expanded through his mouth. The taste was not heavy and was rather faint instead. Extremely pure spiritual qi permeated his body.

    He did not waste any time, utilising the ability to digest the spiritual qi. To his surprise, a sip of spiritual alcohol basically resulted in better effects than drinking a whole jar of alcohol made from regular ginseng.

    The true qi in his body became twice as powerful. Although regular ginseng could replenish vitality, they were just regular objects of mortals, unable to affect true qi too much. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength focused on practising the body and not practising qi, so his true qi had never grown particularly quickly.

    The spiritual ginseng was a true, innate object of nature, best at replenishing spiritual qi, which was why it had such effects. If this continued, he would be able to release his true qi beyond his body before long. By then, he could call himself an ¡®innate master¡¯.

    ¡°Brother ox, I once swore that I would drink all of the finest alcohol the world has to offer. It looks like I¡¯m mostly done now!¡± After drinking the spiritual alcohol, he would only find normal alcohol tasteless now.

    The black ox only responded with a sneer.

    At this moment, a racket started outside, along with a lot of barking. Huang Binghu had arrived in front of Li Qingshan¡¯s door with the hunters from the village, inviting him to participate in the autumn hunt with them.

    Autumn was a great time for hunting. Not only did people have to prepare food for the winter, but the animals had to as well. Every single one of them would have stuffed themselves until they were plump. As such, the autumn hunt was an important gathering for the Drawn Reins village.

    Many large clans would hold large-scale hunts during this time, not to hunt prey, but to train their descendents, complementing the desolation of autumn.

    Li Qingshan considered it, but he declined in the end. ¡°Thank you for the offer, hunting chief, but I want to hunt alone.¡±

    Before Huang Binghu could say anything, the other hunters began expressing their thoughts.

    ¡°What? Alone? Not only have you not learnt how to hunt before, but you don¡¯t even have a proper hunting dog.¡±

    ¡°You really aren¡¯t afraid of the vicious beasts in the mountains?¡±

    Although they admired Li Qingshan¡¯s skill in being able to kill seven ginseng foragers, they could not allow their forte to be looked down upon.

    Huang Binghu tried to persuade him. ¡°Hunting is not just about having some decent archery and skill.¡± Suddenly, he thought of grandpa Zang¡¯s evaluation. A lone wolf!

    Li Qingshan continued to shake his head. He only wanted to learn archery so that he could kill enemies and protect himself. As for hunting, it was unnecessary for him.

    ¡°If he wants to be alone, then let him be alone. Let¡¯s see what he can catch in the end.¡±

    ¡°I think he won¡¯t even be able to catch a rabbit.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled without contributing to the conversation.

    Suddenly, someone said dripping with sarcasm, ¡°You¡¯ve already freeloaded in the village for so long, yet you still refuse to oblige to some arrangements. Do you really plan on freeloading forever?¡±

    In the days he had spent in the village, all of his food and drink had been delivered to him under Huang Binghu¡¯s orders, which definitely used up some of the village¡¯s resources. He had a large appetite as well, so some resentment was natural.

    Huang Binghu immediately scolded that person, ¡°Qingshan is also a part of our village. How can you bicker with him over some food and drink?¡±

    Li Qingshan became stern. He clasped his fist. ¡°Hunting chief, there¡¯s no need for you to feel troubled over this. I, Li Qingshan, draw a clear line between my debts of kindness and grievances. I will never profit at another¡¯s expenses. I will definitely return everything I¡¯ve consumed in the village these days twofold.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, there¡¯s no need to¡­¡± Huang Binghu was utterly furious with the person who had spoken. I¡¯ve been working my heart out to rope him into the village, yet you¡¯re going to push him out over a bit of meat.

    Li Qingshan did not want to become a part of any place. There was neither the need nor the interest. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the village will hold a competition for the autumn hunt each year to see who has hunted the most prey, where the winner even gets some prizes. I¡¯ll participate this year as well.¡±

    Huang Binghu struggled to persuade him otherwise. Li Qingshan made some slight preparations and entered the mountains with a regular hunting bow as everyone looked at him like he was a joke.

    The hunters went to the mountains in the north. Li Qingshan did not want to be with them, but the west was the myriad mountains. He had gained an understanding for the mysteriousness of this world, so he did not want much risk at all. Yet, to the south was the place of trouble, the Bailao peak, which was why he could only go to the east.

    On Bailao peak, a group of people in the same uniform, all carrying swords, gathered together.

    The leader was the young man who had killed the ginseng foragers that day. Back then, he had almost obtained the spiritual ginseng.

    ¡°Search! Even if you have to flip the entire mountain peak upside down, you have to find the spiritual ginseng!¡±

    ¡°Yes, young master!¡± The group of people responded and used their masterful movements techniques, shooting off to various places on Bailao peak.

    Li Qingshan ventured deep into the mountains. He did not know how to distinguish the tracks of birds and beasts, nor did he know how to hide his own tracks. He did not know how to set traps either, and he was not working with other hunters. He did not even have a hunting dog with him.

    If someone like him said they wanted to hunt, any hunter would laugh their heart out.

    However, he was in no hurry at all. He began meditating among a pile of deadwood in the mountains. Only when it was dusk did he open his eyes and smile. ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    There was a gale of chilly wind between the trees. A while later, it returned.

    Li Qingshan stood up and walked between the trees. Before long, he discovered a deer that had fallen dead. There was not a single mark on its body.

    Ever since Xiao An¡¯s strength had increased, his yin qi had grown heavier as well. He discovered that the deer had only run into him before it immediately fell unconscious and dropped dead.

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°As long as you¡¯re here, Xiao An, there¡¯s obviously no need to learn any hunting skills. It¡¯s a waste of time. They were actually looking down on me. Let¡¯s catch a lot to show them.¡±

    Ever since the Mid-Autumn Festival, Li Qingshan no longer let Xiao An run free like before, keeping him in check a lot more. Now, when he used him, he did it without holding back at all. To people close to him, there was obviously no need for so much courtesy.

    Xiao An nodded excitedly before diving into the trees as a gust of wind again.

    The animals in the forests and mountains were vigilant, but they could not be vigilant about an invisible little ghost. They all dropped dead, waiting for Li Qingshan to come and collect them.

    Li Qingshan had nothing to do, so he practised archery, shooting at the startled birds in the forest. Shooting moving objects was much more difficult as expected. Out of every three arrows, two would miss. However, as he gradually became accustomed to it, he missed less and less.

    By dawn, a few hunters had brought their prey back to the village. However, most of them remained in the mountains, working together to hunt.

    In an empty piece of land at the centre of the village, the respected grandpa Zang was responsible for counting the prey. He revealed a smile on his usually stern face. ¡°Not a bad haul. It¡¯s a good omen.¡± Afterwards, the women and children remaining in the village would deal with the prey, tanning the hides and preserving the meat.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Li Qingshan returned yet?¡± There were already people eager to see Li Qingshan make a fool of himself.

    ¡°He entered the mountains to hunt alone, so why would he return so soon?¡±

    Right after that, a person called out, ¡°Li Qingshan has returned.¡±

    ¡°W- what¡¯s that?¡± Several people looked in the direction of the voice, but the first thing they saw was not a person, but a hairy monster that formed a pile. It was just like a wild man mentioned in the legends.

    Li Qingshan bent his waist back and carried water deer, milu deer, and so on. There were many large prey, amounting to several hundred kilograms. Additionally, plenty of pheasants and rabbits hung from his waist. The journey off the mountains had even made him sweat profusely. He said with difficulty, ¡°Oi, Xiao An, it¡¯s too much! It¡¯s too darn heavy!¡±

 Chapter 30 â€“ Chasing a Tiger to its Death

    With a rumble, Li Qingshan placed all of the game before grandpa Zang. ¡°This should make up for the food I¡¯ve eaten during the time I¡¯ve spent here!¡±

    There were gulps in the surroundings. In particular, the hunters who had just returned were dumbfounded. They had set off with a large group of people, working together in cooperation with careful preparation, yet the prey they had caught was still less than Li Qingshan¡¯s hoard.

    Even more to his surprise, grandpa Zang discovered that there were not even any wounds on many of the game. ¡°Just how did you hunt?¡±

    This was the question everyone present wanted answered. Li Qingshan considered it before replying, ¡°With my hands!¡±

    Everyone was taken aback in admiration, but they could not bring themselves to question him further.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the prey the hunters had brought back from the mountains. ¡°You¡¯ve caught so much as well. You¡¯re almost going to catch up to me. No, I have to put some more effort into it, or I can¡¯t win.¡±

    Grandpa Zang was unable to explain to him that the prey would be split between each hunter. On average, there was not even a prey for each hunter. Li Qingshan had basically won already after the first day of hunting.

    Li Qingshan ate before returning to the mountains.

    The hunters returned to the mountains in the north and told everyone what had happened in the village.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡±

    ¡°You must have drunk in the village!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. There really was that much game.¡± They explained in a hurry.

    ¡°This kid!¡± Huang Binghu exhaled deeply and called out, ¡°All of you put your back into it. Don¡¯t fall behind him. If even all of us combined can¡¯t match him alone, we¡¯d better kill ourselves in shame!¡±

    The hunters agreed loudly, and their morale swelled.

    Huang Binghu secretly held back a series of coughs. He looked at the centre of his hand and saw some dark red blood.

    On a path in the mountains, a convoy moved slowly. At the centre was a sedan chair carried by four men, and over a dozen guards and servants were gathered in the surroundings.

    A fat man lifted up the curtains of the sedan, revealing his chubby face. He asked, ¡°Advisor, how far are we from Qingyang city?¡± It was clearly late autumn, yet he was still drenched in sweat as he sat in the sedan chair.

    A person dressed like a caretaker said, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s still quite far away. If we can arrive by tonight, we¡¯ll be doing fine.¡±

    The fat man placed down the curtains and muttered to himself, ¡°Despite all of my knowledge at administering affairs, he actually sent me to such a remote place to be a district magistrate. Sir prefect really is befuddled.¡±

    ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t say things like that. It¡¯ll be bad if it makes it to the prefect.¡±

    The fat official snorted and said nothing more.

    Rwaar! A roar rang out from the thicket beside the mountain path.

    The sedan chair fell to the ground with a thud, shaking up the fat official. ¡°W- what¡¯s happening? Is someone trying to murder me?¡±

    ¡°S- sir, i- it¡¯s a tiger!¡± The advisor fell to the ground and pointed ahead with his trembling finger.

    A magnificent tiger leapt down from the slope, landing on the mountain path. It glared at the sedan chair viciously as it stood there majestically. The tiger had a ¡®Íõ¡¯ pattern on its head.

    ¡°Huff, tiger? What? A Tiger! S- somebody come quick and deal with this beast!¡±

    The advisor was close to bursting out into tears. ¡°T- they¡¯ve all fled.¡±

    The fat official lifted up the curtains of the sedan chair to look around. As expected, the chairmen, guards, and servants were nowhere to be seen, having all fled for their lives. They had reacted as soon as the tiger¡¯s roar had rung out. As working people at the bottom of society, they were constantly vigilant.

    As the saying went, people would pale from the mention of a tiger. There was not a single common person who did not fear tigers in this day and age. Tigers eating people was nothing out of the ordinary.

    ¡°My advisor, you really are loyal. I haven¡¯t favored you for nothing!¡± the fat official said emotionally.

    The advisor responded automatically, ¡°Thank you for your praise, sir. Even if this one becomes torn to shreds, I¡¯ll never be able to reciprocate even one ten-thousandth of the kindness you¡¯ve shown me.¡± Meanwhile, he cursed inside, Fucking hell, I- I can¡¯t move!

    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ll go get reinforcements!¡± The fat official emerged from the sedan chair with great agility, about to flee for his life.

    The advisor grabbed the fat official¡¯s leg and clung on for dear life. ¡°Sir, don¡¯t abandon me!¡±

    Looking at the plump pile of meat, the vicious tiger¡¯s eyes seemed to light up. Just when it was about to lunge over, its ears suddenly perked up, and it pulled back, facing the forest.

    The vegetation moved about, and the rustling grew closer and closer. It gave off a much greater disturbance than when the tiger had appeared earlier.

    ¡°W- what¡¯s that now?¡± the advisor murmured.

    A figure flew out from the vegetation. It was a young man. His young face was not exactly handsome, but his expression was elated. He landed on the mountain path powerfully and nimbly, facing the tiger and grinning. ¡°Now that¡¯s a good, rare prey!¡±

    As if the tiger knew he was difficult to deal with, it bared its fangs and brandished its claws to threaten him, but it ended up being useless. With a lunge, it threw itself at Li Qingshan with a roar.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s legs remained rooted as he grabbed the tiger¡¯s two paws with his arms, facing the tiger¡¯s mouth that brimmed with sharp teeth. A foul air attacked his face. He bellowed out, and his true qi surged violently. Channelling strength through his arms, he tossed the tiger several hundred kilograms in weight onto the ground, leaping and mounting its back.

    He had never fought a tiger before. He had only read about Wu Song slaying a tiger from Water Margin, so he copied it, grabbing onto the tiger by its back and randomly pounding it with his fists.

    The tiger roared out wildly in pain. It bucked its back suddenly, and Li Qingshan shot off. He thought to himself, Reality really is different from the books. He forced his true qi downwards and landed firmly, remaining alert against the tiger.

    However, the tiger only glanced at him and growled before turning around and fleeing.

    Before this moment, the fat official and the advisor had been stunned by the sight in front of their eyes. Only now did they return to their senses. They were overjoyed.

    ¡°Young hero, brave warrior, I am the prefecture magistrate of Qingyang. You¡¯ve chased away the tiger, so I will reward you handsomely!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan did not even glance at them. He yelled out, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± With that, he rushed off, grabbing the tiger¡¯s tail that was like a steel cord. However, it was slippery, making it difficult to get a grip on it.

    How could Li Qingshan be willing to let such a good prey escape from right in front of him? He rushed off in pursuit.

    The fat official and advisor only recovered from the surprise after quite a while. They looked at each other.

    The autumn hunt had ended, and a joyful atmosphere filled the Drawn Reins village.

    Li Qingshan also returned to the village. There were several wounds on his body now. As such, he seemed to be in quite a sorry shape. However, everyone looked at him in reverence, not because of his wounds, but because of the prey on his shoulders.

    He was carrying an adult tiger on his shoulders.

    He had chased the tiger for a whole day and a whole night through the forest. He had only managed this feat through the endurance that the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength had granted him. If it were not for Xiao An, who helped him follow the tiger¡¯s trail, he would have come close to losing it many times.

    However, Xiao An was unable to get too close to this king of the mountain. Tigers naturally possessed an aura that could subdue ghosts. As a matter of fact, tigers that had become tiger monsters or tiger daemons could even turn the people it had eaten into subservient ghosts.

    The children from the village ran around Li Qingshan as their eyes shone with admiration.

    Huang Binghu personally came out to welcome him back before declaring him to be the winner. No one in the village dared to object. Not only were tigers extremely terrifying beasts to ordinary people, hunters felt the same about them. Ordinary hunting bows were unable to kill tigers and would instead rouse their viciousness, while facing a tiger in close combat with a hunting knife would only lead to death.

    Li Qingshan had killed the tiger, so he seemed to possess the might of a tiger.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything valuable, so this Stone Splitter bow can serve as the prize for this autumn hunt!¡± Huang Binghu suddenly removed the huge bow from his back.

 Chapter 31 â€“ The Stone Splitter Bow

    ¡°Hunting chief, you mustn¡¯t!¡± The other hunters quickly tried to dissuade him.

    Li Qingshan felt surprised as well. He actually wanted to give him his personal bow. The implication of this was much more than just giving away a body, so he objected, ¡°Hunting chief, good men will never take a beloved item of others. I can¡¯t accept this prize. Please treat all of this as a joke of mine!¡±

    Huang Binghu rubbed the bow gently and said regardless of the objection, ¡°The Stone Splitter bow has accompanied me for many years, and it¡¯s convenient to use. It has also helped me make a name for myself in the jianghu. Now that I don¡¯t have much time left, I want to choose a good master for it.¡±

    ¡°I heard you disliked grandpa Zang¡¯s bow because it was too light. The Stone Splitter bow is a metal composite bow. It has a draw weight of three stones. Even normal practitioners of martial arts can¡¯t use it. Here, don¡¯t dilly-dally.¡± Huang Binghu pushed the Stone Splitter bow into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands.

    Li Qingshan held the bow, which felt heavy in his hands. He thought about how Huang Binghu stood atop the boulder before and killed people effortlessly.

    Yes, this bow was not suited for hunting; instead, it was made for fighting on the battlefield. It was truly a weapon for killing people.

    He fiddled around with the bowstring with his finger. There were metal strands within it, so it was extremely sharp. Normal people would need a ring to use it, but it was not a worry for him thanks to his Ox Demon Forges its Hide.

    It was somewhat like Huang Binghu was entrusting his child to someone else. Although he had not mentioned it like that, everyone present could tell. However, no one objected to it. This was not only due to Huang Binghu¡¯s power and influence, but also because Li Qingshan had demonstrated his strength to everyone.

    Whether Li Qingshan possessed the capability of leadership or whether the villagers would accept him as their leader was not an issue. Yielding to the powerful was an instinct of people, just like in a wolf pack. The Drawn Reins village was a wolf pack, while Huang Binghu wanted Li Qingshan to take over the position of wolf king.

    He had only decided this after long, careful consideration. The Drawn Reins village was disliked by the government, and they had completely fallen out with the Ginseng King village. They seemed awe-inspiring, but they were actually facing danger from everywhere. Although there were outstanding talents in the village, none of them possessed the ability to control the situation. Only Li Qingshan could manage it.

    Li Qingshan held the Stone Splitter bow as he felt like he was dreaming. Just a few months ago, he was the most inconspicuous and lowly cowherd in Crouching Ox village.

    There was a commotion with that. Everyone felt that Li Qingshan was far too unappreciative. Even if Huang Binghu knew about his strength and potential, turning down the offer before so many people would still make Huang Binghu look bad.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to take it for free.¡± He returned to his house and took out a small bottle of alcohol, handing it to Huang Binghu, ¡°This is the medicinal alcohol my master left me in the past. It might be able to cure your illness.¡±

    ¡°D- do you really think so?¡± Now that he faced a chance for survival, Huang Binghu became rather excited. The other people stirred as well.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try it.¡± This was the spiritual alcohol made from the spiritual ginseng. He did not possess any medicinal skills, but he did understand Huang Binghu¡¯s sickness slightly. He was born frail, and the years of practising martial arts had used up the source of his life. He completely relied on his inner force to remain alive.

    This was a terminal illness that all physicians, no matter how divine, would struggle to cure. It was a natural, innate deficiency that could not be made up for with ginseng or lingzhi ganoderma. However, the spiritual ginseng possessed this innate energy, which could save Huang Binghu¡¯s life.

    Huang Binghu drank it all in a single gulp before sitting down to meditate. A while later, white mist rose from the top of his head, and his waxy, sallow face recovered some redness. He opened his eyes after quite a while.

    ¡°Hunting chief, how do you feel?¡± the hunters all asked.

    Huang Binghu touched his chest in disbelief. ¡°Much better.¡± It was not just much better. It was better than he had ever felt before; it was as if he had regained his youth.

    There was a cheer. Many hunters even shed tears. Many of the people who were originally hostile and had feelings of rejection towards Li Qingshan changed their sentiment completely. They held his hands and thanked him endlessly as tears of gratitude flowed.

    Li Qingshan waved the Stone Splitter bow. ¡°Then it would be rude for me to turn down the bow now.¡±

    Huang Binghu reddened slightly. ¡°About that¡­ Li Qingshan¡­ Could I switch the prize¡­¡± Having evaded death, he immediately became reluctant to part with this ¡®old companion¡¯.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Li Qingshan declined firmly. ¡°The words of men of the mountains weigh heavily just like the mountains. How can you just take it back so easily?¡±

    ¡°Then fine!¡± Huang Binghu said with a long face, which led to a roar of laughter in the surroundings. It was rare to see their hunting chief like that.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, will you be coming back?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to the Crouching Ox village to take a look. There are still some matters I need to resolve there. And, I want some peace to myself so that I can practise my martial arts. I want to see if I can make a breakthrough.¡±

    After drinking the spiritual alcohol these days, Li Qingshan felt like he had already touched on a critical juncture of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. He planned on going on a retreat alone to achieve the strength of an ox. Once that happened, there was no longer a reason for him to hide in the mountains and forests. He would be able to go and check out the outside world.

    He remembered the fatty he saved yesterday, who seemed to refer to himself as some district magistrate of Qingyang. He wanted to complete his promise to Xiao An. He had no idea just how far south Xiao An was referring to, but he had to take a first step.

    ¡°Another breakthrough?!¡± Huang Binghu had sensed long ago that the current Li Qingshan seemed completely different once again compared to a few days ago. His aura and energy had changed drastically. His rate of improvements was simply alarming.

    Yet, in the blink of an eye, he said he was going to make another breakthrough. Huang Binghu could not help but think about what Li Qingshan had said before, where Li Qingshan told him he wanted to become an ¡®innate master¡¯. Back then, Huang Binghu had only shrugged it off with a smile, but now, he suddenly felt that perhaps he might truly achieve it.

    ¡°But what about the prey that you caught?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s haul from the past few days could almost rival the entire village¡¯s haul.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really care about the others. I just want the bones of the tiger. And, please collect some more tiger bones for me. I want to brew some medicinal alcohol with it. I will buy it according to the market price.¡±

    The reason why he had chased the tiger relentlessly was not just to look good before the village. Instead, the black ox had told him that once he had attained the strength of an ox with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, he could begin practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, which required another type of medicinal alcohol. One of the central materials to it was similar to ginseng, valuable and rare. It was tiger bones.

    Hunters treated tigers as their arch nemesis. Individual hunters were afraid of tigers, but once a tiger created too much of a disturbance, there would definitely be a large-scale search of the mountain. They hunters would obviously set down many traps. Wild beasts were vicious, but they were still unable to defeat humans. There should have been quite a lot of tiger bones accumulated in the Drawn Reins village.

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Is it also a formula that your master left behind?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Are the men of our Drawn Reins village supposed to be stingy while you¡¯re so generous? I can make the medicinal alcohol for you, but could we use your two formulas as well?¡±

    Huang Binghu secretly tested Li Qingshan¡¯s formula, and the medicinal alcohol he brewed was much better than the medicinal alcohol the village originally used. Moreover, there was no need to purchase the items that went into making it from other people. The village could gather all it by themselves. If he used it to nurture the future generation, the strength of the Drawn Reins village would reach a whole new level before long.

    Li Qingshan found no reason not to. The two formulas only created medicinal alcohol that went overboard. They were not particularly valuable, so it was no issue even if he gave it to someone else. It would also save him the trouble of making the medicinal alcohol himself, so it was perfect.

    He gave the formulas to Huang Binghu before taking the Stone Splitter bow, mounting the ox and riding off slowly.

    Only when Li Qingshan¡¯s figure disappeared around the corner of the mountain path did grandpa Zang whisper to Huang Binghu, ¡°Hunting chief, why didn¡¯t you make him stay earlier? The spiritual ginseng is most likely on him, and the alcohol you drank was most likely steeped with spiritual ginseng. The spiritual ginseng is probably in the gourd on his waist.¡±

    Li Qingshan never mentioned the matter of the spiritual ginseng, but in the eyes of this experienced, old hunter, there were just far too many aspects that gave it away. Meanwhile, to Huang Binghu, who had once roamed through the jianghu, these aspects only appeared clearer and easier for him to understand.

    Huang Binghu gazed at the mountain path that Li Qingshan vanished on. After a long moment of silence, he turned around and said, ¡°At the end of the day, we¡¯re different from those ginseng foragers, aren¡¯t we?¡±

 Chapter 32 â€“ Uncompromising

    Grandpa Zang showed much admiration. Many of the mountain villages were the same as the Ginseng King village, especially the hunting villages. After all, hunting people was much easier than hunting beasts. Coming across a lone traveller, taking them out with a single arrow and taking their things was simply too easy.

    Ever since Huang Binghu became the leader of the Drawn Reins village, he restrained the villagers strictly, so this had never happened.

    On the mountain path, the black ox said to Li Qingshan, ¡°With how you gave away the spiritual wine, there are at least two people who managed to tell you possess the spiritual ginseng.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I know!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very likely for them to turn against you such that you will remain in the Drawn Reins village forever.¡±

    ¡°I know that as well.¡± As a person of two lives, Li Qingshan was not an ignorant teenager. He did know about the many dark sides to human nature.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m willing to take that risk. Living in the world, if you always have to be careful, untrusting of others, untrusting of yourself, what¡¯s the point to it all even if you achieve supreme abilities?¡±

    He already possessed some estimate of his personal strength. He was confident that even in the worst-case scenario, he could kill his way out. And, he believed that his strength could act as a deterrent to others.

    I receive them so enthusiastically while I silently press against my sword. Would you call that being mature?

    Li Qingshan sighed slightly inside. He gently rubbed the wooden tablet with the two words, ¡®south¡¯ and ¡®An¡¯, carved into it. At least, there was still a person, er, ghost he could wholeheartedly trust and believe in.

    He travelled along the rugged mountain path slowly. The maple trees along the way were as vibrant as fire, ranging from red, orange, yellow, and green. It was beautiful.

    Li Qingshan produced his reed flute again and began playing it. The clear flute sound rang through the autumn mountains.

    ¡°You still can¡¯t find it?¡± The young man regarded as ¡®young master¡¯ by all the swordsmen asked rather anxiously. He had led a group of people to search Bailao peak for many days now. He even expanded the range, but he did not even catch a glimpse of the spiritual ginseng.

    ¡°Young master, we¡¯ve already trampled the Ginseng King village. The spiritual ginseng definitely isn¡¯t in there. They said that the Drawn Reins village must have it. Should we trample the Drawn Reins village as well?¡± a swordsman asked.

    Not a single person from the jianghu dared to take bows or crossbows lightly. Even first-rate masters would suffer in the face of a wave of arrows.

    ¡°Wise be the young master. It looks like we can only wait until the next full moon.¡±

    The young master felt rather proud of himself as well. Suddenly, he heard something. ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡±

    ¡°Seems like a flute.¡±

    ¡°A flute? The closest places to here are only the Ginseng King village and the Drawn Reins village. Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±

    The black ox suddenly stopped. Li Qingshan also saw them using his superior senses. There were over a dozen people, stepping on treetops and boulders lightly as they made their way over from the distance. Every single one of them carried a treasured sword. They were extremely elegant.

    ¡°Are those movement techniques?¡± Li Qingshan sighed in surprise before immediately thinking of the person that Xiao An had mentioned, causing him to raise his vigilance. However, he should have been quite far away from Bailao peak.

    The young master arrived before Li Qingshan first, and his subordinates all praised loudly, ¡°Impressive movement technique, young master!¡±

    Li Qingshan saw the young master. He had red lips and white teeth, quite a handsome appearance. After being praised by his subordinates, he smiled arrogantly. If it were not for the calluses on his sword-wielding hand, he would seem like the son of a noble.

    He studied the young master, but the young master did not study him, only glancing at him slightly. ¡°You¡¯re from the Drawn Reins village?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I am. May I ask who you are, sir?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think you have the right to ask for our young master¡¯s name?¡± A tall, skinny swordsman with an unhealthy complexion saw how Li Qingshan was seated so boldly on the ox and drew his sword in a flash, launching a straight stab at his face. ¡°Get off there!¡± He purposefully wanted to frighten him off the ox so that he could make a fool of himself.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face turned frosty. He moved to the side slowly and waited for the swordsman to overextend. He grasped the timing and his eyes shone, quickly extending a hand and grabbing the blade of the sword.

    The tall, skinny swordsman sneered inside, You actually grabbed my sword? This is a sword forged from fine steel that the sect gave me. I just need to twist it, and I can chop your hand off.¡±

    However, when he twisted the sword, not only did nothing go to plan, but the fine, steel sword even became twisted like a rope. The blade of the sword remained stuck in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands without the slightest movement. The strength of his entire arm could not even match a few fingers from Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan was infuriated. They had no ill feelings at all, yet from the slightest disagreement, this person wanted to disable him for life. These jianghu people were just too vicious.

    With a clang, the sword snapped. The tall, skinny swordsman¡¯s face darkened and paled. A little-known nobody had actually broken his sword, so how was he supposed to hold back his anger? He grabbed his broken sword and tried to rush Li Qingshan.

    The young master scolded, ¡°Chi Da, get back here. Your skills are poor, so stop embarrassing our Dragon¡¯s Gate sword sect.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am useless. I will seek punishment from the disciplinary hall when we return.¡± The tall, skinny swordsman by the name of Chi Da was afraid of refusing, so he backed away. However, he glanced at Li Qingshan extremely viciously.

    The young master was rather interested. ¡°I never thought that I would come across a master of external martial arts so deep in the mountains. You do have the right to learn my name. Listen up, I am Yang Jun of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sword sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Never heard of it.¡±

    ¡°You ignorant countryman. The swords of our Dragon¡¯s Gate sword sect can¡¯t just be broken by anyone. I won¡¯t make it difficult for you. You just need to leave your hand behind!¡±

    ¡°Then which hand do you want, may I ask?¡± Li Qingshan was furious. He was tempted to cut down Yang Jun on the spot. Originally, he believed that even if practitioners of martial arts did not have a strong sense of justice, they would be somewhat cultured at the very least. However, looking at it now, he was completely wrong.

    The good and evil of human nature was all up to a single thought. Once a person possessed the power to be able to play with the lives of others in their hands, just how many people could retain their so-called nature and not take whatever they wanted, doing whatever they wanted?

    However, this group of people could not be compared to the ginseng foragers who knew some martial arts. They were actual practitioners of martial arts. The Ox Demon Forges its Hide could block punches, but it could not block fine steel swords embedded with inner force. And, they all possessed movements techniques, so even fleeing would be difficult.

    Yang Jun said, ¡°But seeing how young you are, you have quite the aptitude to be able to practise your external martial arts to such a level. If I disable you just like this, it would be quite a pity. Why don¡¯t you serve me instead?¡±

    That was his true objective, as most practitioners of external martial arts were honest and frank. They did not think as much as practitioners of internal martial arts, so they were quite literally people who had muscles for brains. As a result, many jianghu masters had practitioners of external martial arts as their retainer.

    He had always wanted to be like the nobles and recruit a person like this. He took a liking towards Li Qingshan as soon as he saw him. Wasn¡¯t this exactly what he wanted? He wanted to deal a psychological blow to him right now. All he needed to do in the future would be give him some slight benefits, and he would be able to raise a loyal hound.

    ¡°Young master, you mustn¡¯t!¡± Chi Da tried to dissuade him in a hurry. If the kid really did become the young master¡¯s retainer, his status would only rise.

    Yang Jun shot him a glance, and he immediately shut up.

    Another swordsman said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you quickly agree? Our Dragon¡¯s Gate sword sect reigns over Qingyang city. Even becoming a menial disciple is difficult. The young master has now chosen to promote you, and you can achieve instant glory as a result.¡±

    ¡°I, Li Qingshan, will never serve as a retainer for anyone!¡± Li Qingshan stressed each word. He came from another world. He possessed the same feelings of love and hatred as the people of this world, but there was one difference. He pledged no loyalty. He would not pledge himself to anybody, no matter how kind-hearted, noble, righteous, or terrifyingly powerful they were.

 Chapter 33 â€“ A Battle at the Peak

    If they were alone, the current Li Qingshan possessed the confidence to defeat or even kill Jun Yang within ten moves.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ll wish you had accepted my offer immediately!¡± Yang Jun was about to issue an order for his men to capture Li Qingshan. Even if the Drawn Reins village could not be trifled with, there was no need to worry about anything being divulged if the corpse and all the traces were destroyed considering that they were so deep in the mountains.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body seized up. He planned on going straight for the leader to destroy the group. He could endure a strike from the sword and capture Yang Jun before deciding what to do.

    Someone suddenly said, ¡°Young master, he seems to be carrying the Stone Splitter bow on his back!¡±

    ¡°What? The Stone Splitter bow!¡± Yang Jun stopped and studied the great bow on Li Qingshan¡¯s back. Even he possessed some understanding of the renowned weapon of the figure who had made a name for himself near Qingyang city. ¡°Where did you get the bow from?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously a gift from the hunting chief,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    Yang Jun became uneasy. He would hear and see things in the sect, so he had learnt everything he should know. To be able to receive this weapon, he was probably Huang Binghu¡¯s successor, the next hunting chief of the Drawn Reins village.

    If someone like him died, the Drawn Reins village would never let the matter rest. They could find out they had been moving about in this area without much effort at all. If they truly tried to avenge him with everything that they had, their sneak attacks and traps would be difficult to handle. He could not afford to cause something like that because of his momentary anger. He waved his hand. ¡°Kid, don¡¯t let me meet you again.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, all of them were gone. Once again, only Li Qingshan was left on the mountain path. He was not a mind reader, but he could guess that they probably feared the might of the Drawn Reins village.

    When strangers see you, they are never looking at just you. Instead, they look at your influence, strength, and wealth. Although Li Qingshan was no different from a third-rate master, he had only evaded the dangerous situation prior because of the bow on his back.

    He was fuming as he thought to himself, I swear I am not a man if I don¡¯t repay this debt. I won¡¯t accept anyone who purposefully makes things difficult for me, nor will I live relying on the names of others.

    Originally, he disagreed with the black ox¡¯s philosophy that even the slightest grievance, such as a hostile glare, had to be resolved. He felt that as a man, he should be slightly forgiving. Only now did he understand that many great grievances often developed from just this hostile glare, evolving into life or death struggles.

    The two pairs of eyes met, and they both became surprised.

    ¡°Li Fugui!¡±

    ¡°Erlang!¡±

    ¡°What are you doing in my house?¡±

    ¡°Erlang, you¡¯re alive?¡±

    Li Qingshan saw how even though he had been gone for over a month, there was not a speck of dust in the house. Then he realised that Li Fugui was not stealing anything. Rather, he was cleaning his house for him.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m alive. Why do you say that?¡±

    Only with that question did Li Qingshan find out the story. When there was no more news of him after he left Cypress Stream village, combined with how villagers had seen him in conflict with the people of the Drawn Reins village, they had all said that he was done for.

    Li Fugui even burnt some joss paper and cried for him.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to react. ¡°Aren¡¯t I alive and well? Hunting chief Huang of the Drawn Reins village invited me to their village as a guest, so I stayed there for a few days.¡±

    Li Fugui never imagined he could enter a place of danger like the Drawn Reins village and still emerge alive. As for hunting chief Huang¡¯s invitation, he did not believe it much at all. In his eyes, Li Qingshan was powerful. However, he was still nowhere close to someone like Huang Binghu. He did not know how to respond, so all he did was repeat, ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine, as long as you¡¯re fine.¡± It did touch Li Qingshan a little. He had not chosen to help the wrong person before.

    However, Li Fugui¡¯s expression suddenly became worried. ¡°You¡¯d better go. Don¡¯t let the people from the village know that you¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°What has happened now?¡±

    ¡°The first son of the village head has returned. He said he¡¯s looking to make things difficult for you.¡±

    ¡°Li Long!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not find the name of the village head Li¡¯s first son, or Li Hu and Li Bao¡¯s elder brother, unfamiliar. Instead, his name had been mentioned so often in the village that Li Qingshan¡¯s ears were about to fall off.

    TL: Li is the surname. Long means dragon, Hu means tiger and Bao means leopard. They¡¯re all named after ferocious beasts.

    Li Long was only a few years older than him, but it was said that when he was playing around outside, a noble had taken a fancy to him. As a result, he had been taken to Qingyang city to learn martial arts. He would only return whenever there was a festival. He had seen the cowherd Li Qingshan a few times, but they had never even held a conversation before.

    In the eyes of the villagers, he was an important figure of excellence who had managed to leave the village and reach Qingyang city. The daughter of every family in the village longed to be engaged to him. Along with caretaker Liu¡¯s son, little caretaker Liu, they were known as the ¡®Two Talents of the Crouching Ox¡¯.

    Of course, after Li Qingshan¡¯s sudden rise, perhaps it should be known as the ¡®Three Talents of the Crouching Ox¡¯. However, Li Qingshan had never gone out and seen the world. He had never gone to Qingyang city before, so regarding him as the ¡®third talent¡¯ seemed a little far-fetched.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Am I supposed to be afraid of him?¡± Not only was he not afraid, but he even wanted to check him out. He ignored Li Fugui¡¯s efforts of dissuasion and took off for village head Li¡¯s home.

    In the village head¡¯s house, a young man with a buzz cut lectured village head Li, ¡°Even any old person is bold enough to harass us. You really are letting your lives worsen instead of bettering it.¡± Then he pointed at Li Hu and Li Bao. ¡°And look at you two grown men, you¡¯re just letting others harass us as much as they want?¡±

    He had basically grown up in Qingyang city, having experienced and witnessed a great abundance of things. As such, he already treated himself as a person of Qingyang. He was looking at what happened in the village from the perspective of a ¡®city folk¡¯ right now, so he automatically developed a sense of disdain; it was not just to Li Qingshan, but to everything that had to do with the village as well.

    He was not young, but he had yet to marry. His household had once frantically searched for a partner for him, but he readily rejected it all. A village girl was no longer worthy of him.

    The village head, who had been so mighty in the village, could only serve as a yes-man now. ¡°Don¡¯t be irritated, my son. That kid is dead anyway.¡±

    ¡°He provoked the Drawn Reins village, so that¡¯s him bringing about his own death. It¡¯ll save me the effort of teaching him a lesson.¡±

    Li Hu shrank back and agreed to his every word, but Li Bao said, ¡°Big brother, you are not allowing us to join the Iron Fist school to learn martial arts, so of course we¡¯ll be harassed in the village.¡±

    Li Long shot a glance at him. ¡°That¡¯s because both of you are unworthy!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan is not dead! Li Qingshan has returned!¡± Someone called out suddenly from outside.

    Li Long leapt to his feet.

    If that piece of news only caused a ripple in the calm village, then the message of ¡®Li Qingshan is going to village head Li¡¯s house!¡¯ would be a roaring wave, causing the entire village to set out once more. They wanted to see the battle at the peak between the first talent and the third talent of Crouching Ox village.

    Under the scorching sun, Li Qingshan and Li Long gazed into each other¡¯s eyes. The villagers all held their breaths as if they were afraid of disturbing them.

    Li Hu and Li Bao stood beside Li Long to add to his presence. Li Long waved his hand and sent the two away. ¡°Li Erlang, long time no see. You¡¯ve already grown this big.¡±

    He had completely spoken in the tone of a senior to a junior, but the villagers believed he had that right. They whispered,

    ¡°Erlang is in big trouble this time.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, Li Long can¡¯t be compared to those scoundrels like patch-haired Liu.¡±

 Chapter 34 â€“ The Martial Arts Society of Qingyang

    Even a sick Huang Binghu gave Li Qingshan a feeling akin to a tiger. His very essence, his bones, would remain standing even if he were dying. His might would never collapse, making him extremely dangerous. During their spar last time, Huang Binghu had made a mistake in his battle tactic, taking him on in a close combat brawl. He fought with his weakest aspect against Li Qingshan¡¯s strongest, so it was natural for him to struggle. Otherwise, even without Huang Binghu using his archery, Li Qingshan would fail to defeat him even with a weapon in hand.

    Li Long said, ¡°I heard you wanted to see me?¡±

    Li Long had some judgement as well. He thought to himself, This Li Erlang has got an aura of level-headedness. You can tell from a single glance that he practises martial arts; he is unlike a regular ruffian. Moreover, the presence he gives off is a little like master¡¯s.

    Immediately, he shook his head. He found this connection he had made to be funny. Who was his master supposed to be? How could he be compared to someone like Li Qingshan?

    ¡°You were bold enough to harass my family while I wasn¡¯t home. Don¡¯t you know how the word ¡®death¡¯ is spelt?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I would like to learn how it¡¯s spelt.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished talking, Li Long erupted with a roar and launched an attack. Using his move ¡®Sago Palm Pierces the Clouds¡¯, he attacked Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    There were a series of cries from the surroundings. Li Fugui called out, ¡°Be careful, Erlang!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood without moving, perhaps unable to dodge or simply petrified from fright. Li Long felt contempt inside, Turns out it¡¯s all just an act. You¡¯ve made me overestimate you.

    With a muffled thud, the punch landed on Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan used the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves, and his feet seemed to be rooted to the ground. He did not move at all, ¡°Considering we¡¯re from the same village, I¡¯ll give you a handicap of three punches.¡±

    Li Long was stunned. He had only used thirty percent of his strength in that punch. Even among his seniors and juniors, there was not a single person bold enough to receive it forcefully. However, some unknown junior had received it like that now. Just as he was taken aback in surprise and doubt, he became even more furious from Li Qingshan¡¯s words. He was actually so arrogant.

    In the blink of an eye, the second punch was thrown. He used seventy percent of his full strength and thought, You can¡¯t blame me for not showing mercy this time! The punch struck Li Qingshan¡¯s body with a swift gale.

    Li Qingshan trembled and said, ¡°You still aren¡¯t using your full strength, right? Hurry up, it¡¯s your last move.¡±

    Taking the punch head-on, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure wavered before finally taking a step back. His face reddened as well as his body surged inside. ¡°That punch had some strength, but now that you¡¯ve used up your three punches, it¡¯s my turn.¡± He raised his hand and threw a punch.

    ¡°Iron Chains Across the River!¡± As the fierce punch whistled over, Li Long paled in fright. He crossed his arms and used the strongest defensive move the Iron Fist school had to offer. Afterwards, he felt like a charging bull had struck him, the chains falling apart in the raging river flow. He was blown away uncontrollably. Even when he landed on the ground, disbelief still filled him. I was actually defeated in a single move! How can he possess so much strength!?

    ¡°The second punch!¡± A black shadow filled his vision and instantly blocked the sunlight. Li Qingshan had already appeared in front of him.

    Li Long wanted to block, but his arms were in so much pain that he could no longer raise them.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s punch descended from above, striking Li Long¡¯s stomach like a pile. Li Long immediately curled up like a prawn and vomited.

    ¡°The third punch!¡± It directly flew towards Li Long¡¯s face.

    The villagers cried out; this unexpected turn of events left them astounded. The greatest talent of the village that they had mentioned constantly, Li Long, had actually been defeated in an instant. Moreover, he had been defeated in such an overwhelming manner.

    Li Hu and Li Bao found this even more difficult to believe. Their elder brother that they always admired was actually so flimsy.

    Village head Li yelled out hoarsely, ¡°Show mercy!¡±

    There was a gust of wind but no pain. Li Long opened his eyes slowly and saw Li Qingshan¡¯s fist, which had stopped right before his face. Li Long could feel that he was already drenched in cold sweat.

    In that moment earlier, he felt like he was facing his undefeatable master, only able to shut his eyes and wait for his doom

    Village head Li threw himself at Li Qingshan, grabbing the latter¡¯s arm with his skinny hands. ¡°Erlang, Erlang, for the sake of your departed parents, spare my little Long!¡±

    ¡°Father, move. He has come for me!¡± Li Long struggled to his feet.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll save this punch for now considering how you have some filial piety.¡± He was rather satisfied with his moves earlier. He was not taking pride in his strength but his tactics.

    Li Long had practised martial arts for over a decade, which was not for nothing. He was much more experienced in battle than Li Qingshan. If they had a proper battle, Li Long would have never engaged in close combat with him, forcefully taking on his blows. Li Qingshan would need to expend quite the effort to win.

    As a result, Li Qingshan just let him throw three punches first. Blocking punches like that was his forte. He would focus on wherever Li Long punched, and the true qi in his body would flow to that point.

    After throwing the three punches, not only was Li Long taken aback mentally, but his physical strength had declined drastically as well. He could not dodge, only able to endure Li Qingshan¡¯s punch, which led to his loss. Li Long stood up under the support of Li Hu and Li Bao. ¡°Are you really Li Erlang? This is impossible!¡± He only had an extremely blurry impression of Li Qingshan, besides him being rather unsociable. He was not a person of any importance. Even from his father¡¯s description, Li Qingshan was just a hot-blooded youth who had been forced into suddenly responding violently. He had seen this frequently before. He had never thought Li Qingshan would actually know martial arts.

    This scenario was just like a child who had ventured out of the mountains and toiled about. The child finally established himself, succeeding and making a name for himself and returning home with glory and riches. Just when his fellow villagers worshipped him, an unremarkable country kid suddenly appeared and was even richer than him. The dejection he felt inside had reached the very bottom and anger soon followed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not Li Erlang. I¡¯m Li Qingshan!¡± Since he no longer had an elder brother, Li Qingshan did not want to be some Erlang any longer.

    Li Long said viciously, ¡°Then do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do!¡±

    ¡°Then do you know who my master is?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The current master of the Iron Fist school of Qingyang city, known as the Iron Lion by the people of the jianghu, old hero Liu!¡± Suddenly, caretaker Liu emerged from the crowd and interrupted with an elated tone of admiration.

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°Never heard of him.¡± What Iron Fist school? What old hero Liu? It all sounded like third-raters, but he forgot that he himself was a third-rater as well.

    ¡°Ignorant. You actually don¡¯t even know my master¡¯s name. Looks like you haven¡¯t heard about the four great masters of Qingyang, the ¡®Dragon, Tiger, Lion, and Bear¡¯!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the Dragon is you!¡±Li Qingshan glared at him. This was the second time he had been called ignorant today. All he knew was that in the wuxia novels of his previous life, any person who used an animal as a nickname was an insignificant minor character. Whether it be wolf, tiger, leopard, or so on, none of them were any good.

    Only people who used directions as their nickname were true, peerless masters, like Eastern Heretic, Western Venom, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar.1

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Li Long wanted to laugh from exasperation.

    In Qingyang city, within the government office, the advisor held a small book and introduced to the fat official,

    ¡°Sir, apart from the local aristocrats and landowners, there are four other people in four places that you can¡¯t afford to offend.¡±

    The fat official said in irritation, ¡°I might as well offend nobody in the entire Qingyang city!¡±

    The advisor ignored his feelings. ¡°These four places are a school, a sect, a village, and a stronghold.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean by a school, a sect, a village, and a stronghold?¡±

    ¡°The school is the Iron Fist school, the sect is the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, the village is the Drawn Reins village, and the stronghold is the Black Wind stronghold. The ¡®Dragon, Tiger, Lion, and Bear¡¯ are the respective leaders of these places. Sir, if you offend the local aristocrats, you¡¯ll be chased out of Qingyang city at most and lose your position as district magistrate. However, if you offend these parties, you might end up losing your life unknowingly.¡±

 Chapter 35 â€“ The Startling News from the Black Wind Stronghold

    As it turned out, the people on the mountain path earlier today were from the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, and the haughty person was the young sect master. No wonder he was so arrogant.

    Li Long was surprised. ¡°You know the ¡®Sickly Tiger¡¯?¡± Afterwards, he obviously saw the bow on Li Qingshan¡¯s back. As Huang Binghu rarely ventured out to Qingyang city, he was unable to confirm if this was the Stone Splitter bow.

    Li Qingshan nodded and said nothing else.

    Li Long said, ¡°Then your martial arts are probably from¡­¡±

    ¡°No, and you don¡¯t need to worry about it. If you want revenge, just come at me.¡±Li Qingshan did not want to use Huang Binghu¡¯s tiger hide as a flag to scare away enemies. He did not want to assume the might of someone else as his own.

    Li Long¡¯s expression changed as he thought to himself, Li Qingshan¡¯s martial arts already makes him a third-rate master, so what kind of person is his master supposed to be like? He has connections with Huang Binghu as well. I only had a small dispute with him, so even if I end up killing him, it¡¯ll bring me no benefit. It is better to resolve this grievance peacefully instead of deepening it.

    Li Long made up his mind, and his expression suddenly changed. He smiled slightly, even though the smile was slightly forced. ¡°Erlang, we¡¯re all from the same hometown, so are there any great grievances between us that have to be settled violently?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised at this response. Originally, he thought the development of this matter would be angering the senior after beating up the junior, so the whole hornet¡¯s nest would chase him to the end of his road. Subsequently, he would achieve something with his ability and slaughter them all.

    He had never thought that although Li Long seemed rash, he was actually highly flexible and rather thick-skinned; he was actually able to change his attitude. Li Qingshan had basically witnessed the practical shrewdness of people of the jianghu.

    Li Long smiled. ¡°And I threw three punches in exchange for two from you. I¡¯ve basically gotten the better end of the deal.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to improve your end of the deal even further.¡± Li Qingshan saw how he wanted revenge but only changed his mind after hearing Huang Binghu¡¯s name. When he thought about how this was the second time he had relied on this to avoid trouble, his feelings became very mixed.

    He hoped that one day, he could be just like that, just like Huang Binghu. No, we wanted to be better than Huang Binghu, where even from a thousand kilometres away, people would show deep respect when his name was mentioned, afraid of slandering him.

    The villagers looked at one another. The outcome had truly exceeded their expectations, but since Li Long had dismissed them, they did not dare to stay. However, in their minds, Li Qingshan had quietly replaced Li Long as the greatest talent of Crouching Ox village.

    Since Li Long had humbled himself, Li Qingshan could not reject him. It was just like what he had said. There were no particularly great grievances between them, and he wanted to learn about Qingyang city. In particular, he wanted to know more about the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect.

    Under everyone¡¯s fearful and admiring gazes, Li Qingshan was invited into village head Li¡¯s home. Unlike the nervousness he experienced when he attended the banquet at caretaker Liu¡¯s home, he was relaxed and completely at ease now. In the eyes of others, he seemed supercilious. This was a change in his mental state and aura as a result of his strength.

    ¡°Qingshan, you have such impressive martial arts, so have you ever thought about holding a position in Qingyang city? Our Iron Fist school welcomes all exceptional people from across the world. With your martial arts, my master would definitely take a liking to you.¡± Li Long tried to rope him in right from the beginning.

    ¡°But I already have martial arts. Can I just join the Iron Fist school like this?¡± Li Qingshan admired Li Long¡¯s tolerance, but he was clueless of Li Long¡¯s internal conflict before he made this proposal. Although Li Qingshan had hit him with two punches, they did not have any particularly severe grievances. If Li Long could rope him onto his side, helping each other as fellow countrymen, it would benefit his status in the school.

    ¡°There obviously needs to be a guarantor, but don¡¯t worry, I can be your guarantor! Our Iron Fist school is expansive, such that our influence and power is not limited to Qingyang city. The main branch is established in the Clear River prefecture. As long as your fists are hard enough and you have sufficient merit, your future development won¡¯t be a problem. Women and money will be in easy reach too¡­¡±

    Expressions of extreme jealousy were plastered across Li Hu and Li Bao¡¯s faces. They could only blame their elder brother for not serving as a guarantor for them. As a result, they could not enjoy the women and money in the city.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. My son, Liu Neng, serves as the caretaker of old hero Liu¡¯s estate. He¡¯ll be taken care of like that in the future as well.¡± Caretaker Liu followed them in as well. Fortunately, he had not offended Li Qingshan too much in the past. Who would have thought that the mere cowherd from before would become so powerful in a mere few months.

    As Li Long continued, Li Qingshang gradually understood that although the Iron Fist school accepted disciples into its school, they were more like a gang or sect that resided in the city. That old hero Liu with the nickname of Iron Tiger should be the leader of a side branch or a side school.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Please pardon my question, but may I ask what rate old hero Liu¡¯s martial arts would be within the jianghu?¡±

    ¡°If you had asked someone else, they might not be able to answer you. My master has trained his Iron Fist to great mastery. He¡¯s a second-rate master.¡±

    ¡°Then how does he compare with me?¡±

    ¡°That¡­¡± Li Long had never thought that Li Qingshan would compare himself to a figure who stood at the very peak of Qingyang, his master, as soon as he spoke. He felt rather displeased. ¡°I¡¯m not exaggerating, but while your martial arts are impressive, Qingshan, you¡¯re only at the top of the third-rate. You¡¯re nowhere close to being my master¡¯s opponent.¡±

    ¡°Then may I ask how these rates are determined?¡±

    ¡°My master has said that a practitioner of martial arts who has gained a basic grasp can take on three to five adult men, while a skilled adept of the jianghu can take on three to five pratitioners of martial arts. It¡¯s determined like that. It¡¯s not a measurement of absolute accuracy, but it gives a general idea. Once you go past that number, you¡¯ll just end up being outnumbered.¡±

    ¡°However, that¡¯s only for open confrontations. If it¡¯s about maneuvering and sneak attacks, a first-rate master skilled in movement techniques can strike utter fear into the hearts of several dozen second-rate masters, but a few dozen trained archers or crossbowmen can also kill a first-rate master.¡±

    Li Qingshan gained a rough understanding of his strength. The ginseng foragers were practitioners trained in martial arts. As such, he was a skilled martial artist back then, which was why he had only managed to eke out a miserable victory.

    After some training, he barely managed to make it to the level of third-rate masters. Only after drinking the spiritual alcohol did he truly become a third-rate master. Li Long could be considered to be adept at martial arts, but he was not a master. As a result, he was not Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent.

    ¡°Apologies. I¡¯ve already promised hunting chief Huang of the Drawn Reins village to join the Drawn Reins village, so I might not be able to accept your invitation.¡± He could not help but think of the past. Back then, he could not even find peace when sleeping in the cowshed, treated as a thorn in the side by his elder brother¡¯s family. They had wanted to find a way to chase him away. Now, there were people trying to invite him to places.

    Li Long was not surprised, as he had been expecting this. He said in pity, ¡°The Drawn Reins village cannot offer a lot of benefits. Out of the four places of Qingyang, our Iron Fist school still enjoys the most freedom. They¡¯re cooped up in the mountains, so how can they be compared to the bustling world we¡¯re right next to? Whatever. If you ever change your mind, come to Qingyang city, and you¡¯re more than welcome to come to the Iron Fist school to look for me. You just need to state my name.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but smile. As expected, there were not a lot of people who roamed the jianghu to uphold justice and help the weak. He asked a lot more questions, and Li Long answered them with everything he knew. Li Qingshan saw how generous Li Long was and knew that he was a sensible person, so he showed some additional respect. ¡°Brother Li, today is not a festival, so why have you returned?¡±

    Li Long suddenly whispered, ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t ask me, I would have told you anyway. I¡¯ve returned this time for a major matter that endangers the Crouching Ox village. The Crouching Ox village might have become a target to ransack for the Black Wind stronghold.¡±

 Chapter 36 â€“ All of You Will Die

    Caretaker Liu stuttered, ¡°S- surely not. The Black Wind stronghold is so far away from us. They¡¯ve never come here before¡­¡± He had the largest household in the village, so the Black Wind stronghold would come for him first.

    ¡°I heard that the villages near the Black Wind stronghold have all strengthened their defences and erected walls. That¡¯s why they¡¯re travelling further away. Now that it¡¯s almost winter, they also have to stockpile food. Caretaker Liu, your granaries must all be full!¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t the government do something about it?¡± Only now did Li Qingshan understand something; as it turned out, mountain bandits also had an ¡®autumn hunt¡¯. To the hunters, autumn was when the wild beasts were plump. On the other hand, to the mountain bandits, autumn was when the villagers who had just harvested their fruits of labor were the plumpest.

    ¡°Hmph, the government collects money every year, saying that they need it to deal with bandits, yet it¡¯s never settled properly.¡±

    Caretaker Liu said, ¡°T- then, what do we do? Sonny, why didn¡¯t you bring more people back with you?¡±

    Li Long glanced at him unhappily. Why wouldn¡¯t he want to bring back more people? However, he was only one of his master¡¯s disciples, not the master of the school. He could get along well with his brothers normally, but it was impossible for him to make them face off against the bandits of the Black Wind stronghold.

    However, he was only accepted under the Iron Lion¡¯s tutelage due to caretaker Liu many years ago. With that in consideration, he could not just rebuke him. All he could say was,

    ¡°I alone am sufficient. The master of the Black Wind stronghold is definitely not leading them this time. It should be one of the bosses at most. As long as I state my master¡¯s name, he should show me some respect. However, I do need some people on my side to match them in aura. Qingshan¡­¡± Li Long looked at Li Qingshan anxiously. If a master like him remained by his side, he would have a bit more confidence.

    Li Qingshan deeply doubted whether this could work. The bandits would travel so far just to come here, so were they supposed to retreat after simply hearing a name? However, he would not allow people to ransack the small village where he was born and raised. He clasped his fist. ¡°It will be my duty.¡±

    After Li Qingshang gave his word, Li Long¡¯s heart eased up. With a third-rate master as a helper, he would have much more confidence in dealing with this matter. This was an extremely crucial part of why he had conceded to Li Qingshan so much.

    Village head Li and caretaker Liu arranged for some workers and guards to make preparations, and they even equipped them with weapons. Although the news had been locked down, the atmosphere immediately became tense.

    Caretaker Liu said as he trembled, ¡°Sonny, should we just seek shelter elsewhere temporarily?¡±

    Caretaker Liu let out a long sigh. He was unable to avoid this calamity. He could leave, but his property could not.

    They waited quietly in the house. Li Hu and Li Bao dripped with sweat out of pure fright as they held onto their weapons. They could not help but think about the various terrifying rumors they had heard regarding Black Wind Mountain.

    Li Long glanced at his brothers, and then he glanced at Li Qingshan, who sat there composed with his eyes shut. Li Long sighed inside, If you were even just half as brave as him, I would definitely take you to Qingyang city.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Before night had even fallen, the clanging of metal suddenly filled the village. This sound came from the scout posted outside the village. He was a quick-footed lad with sharp eyes and ears that caretaker Liu had chosen.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± Li Long said.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes snapped open. How bold of these mountain bandits to actually come ransacking under the light of day.

    The clanging suddenly stopped.

    A few people hurried to the entrance of the village, but all they saw was a cloud of dust approaching from the distance. In the blink of an eye, it had arrived. There were several dozen people, but regardless of their statures, whether they be tall or short, fat or skinny, every single one of them had vicious faces. The leader rode a pony that could move through the mountains, and he held a bloody head in his hand.

    ¡°Little Six!¡± Caretaker Liu called out. The head belonged to the lad that he had sent out for scouting, but the bandits had actually killed him. Caretaker Liu¡¯s legs almost gave way from fright as he looked at Li Long. Didn¡¯t you say that they wouldn¡¯t kill without good reason?

    Li Long¡¯s eyebrows furrowed into a mess as he whispered, ¡°They¡¯re killing to establish their might.¡± Afterwards, he clasped his fist and said loudly, ¡°I am Li Long of the Iron Fist school. May I ask which boss of the Black Wind stronghold has come?¡±

    ¡°This is our third boss. If you¡¯re clever, hand over your money and food. Don¡¯t make things difficult for I, your grandfather, or I¡¯ll burn down your entire damn village!¡± A mountain bandit called out, and the other bandits bawled out with him. They brandished their weapons with sneers plastered across their faces. It was like they were looking at a group of lambs for slaughter.

    The third boss had a full beard and a fierce appearance. He tossed the head to the ground, which rolled to Li Long¡¯s feet. ¡°The Iron Fist school? If the Iron Lion was here, I would leave immediately without any objections, but who are you supposed to be?¡±

    When Li Hu and Li Bao saw the cloud of dust, they became ashen from fear as their legs trembled. Now, their legs gave way, so they collapsed on the ground.

    The mountain bandits laughed aloud. ¡°How impressive of you, third boss!¡±

    Li Long¡¯s expression changed, and he gasped. It was rumored that out of the many bosses of the Black Wind stronghold, the third boss was the cruelest. His mood constantly changed, and he could do anything, from raping to kidnapping. In the eyes of the villagers near the Black Wind stronghold, he was even more terrifying than the stronghold¡¯s master.

    However, since he had asked who Li Long was supposed to be, it demonstrated that he was still fearful of the Iron Fist school. He wanted to find out about his relationship with the Iron Lion. With no other choice given the current circumstances, Li Long could only hold back his anger. ¡°I am my master¡¯s final disciple. I knew that the third boss would be coming, but I wouldn¡¯t want you to return empty-handed. As such, I¡¯ve prepared a small gift. Please spare the Crouching Ox village for my master¡¯s sake.¡±

    Caretaker Liu offered up an embroidered box as he trembled. With a flick of his horse whip, the embroidered box flew into the third boss¡¯s hands. He had demonstrated rather powerful martial arts.

    Opening the box, all he saw was fine, glimmering silver, but his face gradually darkened instead. ¡°A hundred taels. Are you trying to satisfy some beggars with this?¡±

    ¡°G- great king, we¡¯ve done everything that we can.¡±

    ¡°Before nightfall, I want to see a thousand taels and half a tonne of grain. Otherwise, hmph!¡± The third boss suddenly licked his lips when he reached there; he smiled nefariously. ¡°My brothers also want to borrow a few women. Don¡¯t worry, this isn¡¯t stealing, only borrowing. Once we¡¯re done, we¡¯ll return them to you next spring.¡±

    The mountain bandits all smiled wickedly as one of them said, ¡°It¡¯ll be a blessing to the women who can become the stronghold mistresses of our third boss!¡± Another bandit added, ¡°By spring, perhaps the women themselves would not want to return.¡±

    However, Li Long knew that not a single woman who had gone to the Black Wind stronghold had returned. They had all been raped to death. He said loudly, ¡°Third boss, will you really give no consideration to the Iron Fist school?¡±

    Meanwhile, caretaker Liu was absolutely stunned by the numbers. He had blanked out, unable to say anything.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me wait too long!¡± The third boss did not even glance at Li Long. Looking back, he ordered his subordinates, ¡°Urge them on!¡±

    Over twenty mountain bandits made their way around Li Long¡¯s group and entered the village. They hammered the door of each household in the village, and they would force their way into the houses of those who were afraid of opening up. Over a hundred villagers were herded out like sheep, gathering together in complete fear. The barking of dogs and the sobs of women and children immediately merged to create a mess.

    The third boss laughed aloud as he looked at this. ¡°We¡¯ll rest in the village tonight!¡±

    ¡°The child was only fourteen. He was still so young. He hadn¡¯t done anything wrong at all.¡±

    Suddenly, an extremely calm voice rang out, so calm that it did not fit in with the current scene. However, the calmness seemed to contain suppressed but uncontrollable killing intent.

    Li Qingshan picked up Little Six¡¯s head from the ground and gently closed his eyes.

    The third boss squinted. ¡°Who are you?¡± He had not noticed Li Qingshan. From the start when he had tossed the head to the ground, Li Qingshan had lowered his head, trembling all over. The third boss had thought that he was afraid.

    But now, Li Qingshan no longer trembled at all. He said slowly, ¡°What a good, clever child. His parents must have loved him dearly.¡±

    The third boss yawned, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

 Chapter 37 â€“ A Man of His Word

    The mountain bandits laughed aloud as if they had just heard an extremely funny joke. However, the third boss sensed something terrifying from Li Qingshan and could not laugh.

    The head fell to the ground, and the bowstring was fully drawn.

    ¡°Die!¡± Li Qingshan attacked in an instant. His furious roar could not drown out the thrum of the bowstring as it trembled. The arrow shot towards the third boss along with his surging anger.

    With a flash, a tremendous force launched the third boss into the air slightly. Afterwards, he hit the ground heavily.

    The force of a three stone bow was startling great. Li Qingshan had completed all of his movements in a single stroke. At such a close distance, only second-rate masters and stronger experts had a chance at dodging it. Clearly, the third boss was not one.

    The noisy village immediately quietened down. The eyes of the mountain bandits all widened as they struggled to believe what they were seeing. A half-grown kid had killed the mighty third boss.

    Meanwhile, the villagers all looked at Li Qingshan like he was a god. To them, these mountain bandits were terrifying fiends, while the third boss was the leader of these fiends. Li Qingshan truly seemed like a god to them since he could instantly kill the third boss.

    Despite the reversal of the situation, Li Long showed no delight; there was only fear.

    ¡°Third boss! Third boss!¡± A few bandits gathered around the third boss. The third boss coughed up a mouthful of blood and pointed at Li Qingshan with a vicious expression. ¡°Kill him!¡±

    He was a third-rate master after all, so he could react instantly. Although he failed to dodge the arrow, he had managed to prevent it from hitting a vital point. The arrow pierced his right arm, shattering all the bones nearby. His right hand was basically crippled. As a result, his eyes were bloodshot; he wanted to swallow Li Qingshan alive.

    The bandits responded and drew their blades, spears, swords, and halberds. All of them charged at Li Qingshan as they yelled out crazily.

    There was a swift breeze from behind him, and a javelin fell towards the back of his head. He did not even look back, tilting his head slightly to the side and grabbing the javelin. He turned around and threw it back. The javelin returned with ten times the speed, nailing the bandit who had launched the sneak attack to a door.

    A square halberd1, a broad blade, and a red-tasseled spear stabbed at him simultaneously.

    Li Qingshan gripped the poles of the spear and halberd and tugged. The two bandits lost their balance and fell towards him in fear. A pair of iron-like arms awaited them and struck their chests like hammers. With two deep groans, the two bandits were both knocked away as blood spurted from their mouths.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s two palms slammed against the ears of the blade-wielding bandit. When he lifted his hands from the bandit¡¯s head, the bandit crumpled to the ground like he had lost his soul, slowly bleeding from all of the orifices of his head.

    Li Qingshan strode towards the third boss, but the battle cries around him had already become deafening. With a flick of his foot, he kicked up the halberd and held it in his hands.

    There were no moves, no consideration. He only swept it.

    The wild gust kicked up a semi-circular cloud of dust, rushing towards the bandits.

    The tip of the halberd snapped, spinning through the air and stabbing into the ground.

    A few weapons were knocked into the air, and a series of cries followed. Some people had tried to block, but they were unable to stop the devastating halberd.

    The dust dispersed, and four bandits collapsed on the ground. Only a shorter bandit had his face slashed through, dying on the spot. The three other bandits had their chests cut open, so they all wailed out in pain. Blood scattered on the ground like it was worthless, the rich color flowing everywhere.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the broken halberd and thought, What a horrible weapon, before tossing it aside. However, he had no idea how many sturdy bones and how much steel he had just forcefully cut through in the moment prior. It was impossible for ordinary weapons to endure such wear.

    In the blink of an eye, eight bandits were dead or incapacitated. The bandits behind all stopped in their tracks as they cried out, holding their weapons. They were afraid of advancing forwards. The horrific sight of that instant had stunned them. The ordinary youth seemed to become a terrifying god of slaughter.

    Li Qingshan continued towards the third boss. His face was emotionless as his eyes flickered with red light that even he himself failed to discover.

    Meanwhile, he rapidly analysed the situation. He had not lost himself to anger. Here, only the third boss was a third-rate master, so he had heavily injured him with his first attack, removing the greatest threat.

    There were a few martial arts adepts among the other bandits, but most of them were on the same level as the ginseng foragers. They had only practised some martial arts, which was enough to harass ordinary people, but it was definitely not enough to rival him.

    I- I¡¯m going to die here! The third boss endured his injuries and shifted towards the back, fearfully looking at Li Qingshan as he made his way over. Li Qingshan seemed like a demon in human form as mentioned in those legends, where he could suddenly transform and reveal his vicious fangs. No matter how many people were by his side, they could not save him.

    ¡°If I die, the entire Crouching Ox village will be buried with me. Don¡¯t you know who my elder brother is?¡±

    Li Long¡¯s expression became even uglier. He went up and grabbed Li Qingshan. ¡°Qingshan, don¡¯t be rash!¡±

    The third boss used this opportunity to climb onto his pony, grabbing the reins and riding off at top speed. Even without his orders, the other bandits all followed behind him. They even left behind the injured bandits.

    Li Qingshan broke free from the grip and grabbed Li Long¡¯s throat firmly. He lifted him up. ¡°Do you want to die as well?¡±

    Li Long struggled. ¡°Y- you can¡¯t kill a boss of the Black Wind stronghold. Have you heard of Under Elm village?¡±

    ¡°Under Elm village!¡± Caretaker Liu, who had collapsed on the ground and had been frightened half to death, suddenly cried out.

    ¡°What Under Elm village?!¡± Li Qingshan loosened his grip.

    ¡°Under Elm village has a custom of practising martial arts. Their villagers are all fierce and brave, and they managed to kill a boss of the Black Wind stronghold. But before long, the master of the Black Wind stronghold personally arrived with the five other bosses and slaughtered the entire village, a population of several hundred people, regardless of age or gender. There were so many corpses that it formed a hill. The master of the Black Wind stronghold had brought the other bosses to hold a memorial service for their deceased brother. Do you want something so horrific to happen to the Crouching Ox village?¡±

    ¡°Then are we supposed to just let them tread over us?¡± Li Qingshan growled.

    ¡°Qingshan, I understand how you feel, but we are all helpless given the current circumstances.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll become even stronger!¡±

    The expressions of all of the villagers changed. At this moment, all they heard was an extremely vicious promise the third boss left behind from afar. ¡°Just you wait for the Crouching Ox village to be massacred!¡± Some people collapsed on the ground in fright as the cries and sobs began once more. There was no joy from repelling the bandits.

    An injured bandit clutched his chest and smiled viciously. ¡°All of you will die with me!¡±

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Li Qingshan released Li Long and kicked the broad blade near his foot. The tip stabbed through the mountain bandit¡¯s throat, immediately taking his life. ¡°I never go back on something I¡¯ve said.¡± Li Qingshan finished off the other injured bandits and turned back to the villagers. ¡°Nothing will happen. I promise!¡± Afterwards, he strode off in the direction that the bandits had fled in without looking back.

    The sun fell in the west, and the last ray of light vanished from the sky. Darkness descended on the mountains.

    Around a roaring bonfire, two bandits helped the third boss pull out the arrow. The third boss groaned in pain, slapping a bandit away. ¡°Can you be a little more fucking gentle?¡±

    The bandit¡¯s mouth bled from the slap, but he faltered, afraid to talk back.

    The other bandits were all dejected. With the infamy of the Black Wind stronghold, it had already been a very long time since they had experienced a failure like this. They had already grown accustomed to gazes of fear and flattery. They were used to taking silver and women whenever they wanted to.

    ¡°All of you fucking liven up. We will have our revenge. Once I get my hands on that kid¡­¡± The third boss smiled viciously.

    ¡°We¡¯ll cut him to pieces!¡± a bandit immediately answered.

 Chapter 38 â€“ Sparing None

    ¡°Who? Who did that?¡± The third boss roared out. Although he was injured, he still possessed his skills. Who could possibly be capable of killing under the gazes of so many bandits?

    Thud! Another bandit had his throat slit, collapsing on the ground. He was the one who had answered the third boss first and had suggested cutting Li Qingshan to pieces.

    A terrifying demon seemed to be hidden within the dark mountains and forest, and the frightening shade immediately engulfed all of the mountain bandits. None of them saw the attacker or knew how their companions had died. None of them knew whether they would be the next one to die. The fear of the unknown was the most terrifying.

    In the chaos, the third and fourth bandit collapsed on the ground as if the scythe of the god of death had claimed their lives.

    In the cold, night wind, a fine hunting blade slid through the tall, dried grass like a venomous snake. The blade was smeared with deeply-coloured juices from the grasses, so it was not reflective.

    It was a moonless night.

    Li Qingshan stood in the dark forest on a hill and watched over everything. Only he could see Xiao An wielding the hunting blade as he moved in between the mountain bandits. Fury filled his face.

    The words of the mountains had completely infuriated him. His heart that had grown numb and withered away for so long experienced intense emotion once again. He wanted to kill all of these people.

    Li Qingshan saw Xiao An attempt to approach the third boss several times, but he was forced back every time. The vitality of third-rate masters was extremely vigorous, enough to suppress ghosts. Xiao An could only try to approach him because Li Qingshan¡¯s aura as a living person had nurtured him daily.

    ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± Along with two cries, another two bandits were killed. The third boss was not useless. He called out, ¡°Everyone get over here! Gather together!¡± All of the bandits packed around him; the third boss wanted to guarantee his own safety first.

    With the vitality and living auras of so many people gathered together, they seemed to become a huge fire that Xiao An was afraid to approach.

    Li Qingshan took a sip of the spiritual alcohol in his gourd. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength was not about speed, nor did he have any so-called movement techniques. He had purely relied on his ox-like endurance and the replenishment from the spiritual alcohol to catch up.

    He replenished his energy and lifted up the Stone Splitter bow. Now, it¡¯s my turn!

    A thrum pierced through the pitch-black night. From the sound alone, it was possible to tell that the string of an extremely heavy bow had been released. It was swift and crisp, containing a sharp force capable of cutting through air.

    By the time the bandits heard the release of the bow, they had already been struck. The bandits had experienced something like this many times in the past, but none of them actually managed to react in time. The third boss knew that the arrow was faster than sound, so the archer must be an adept at archery. In all of Qingyang, there was probably only a single person who could shoot such arrows.

    No, it can¡¯t be that person, or I would be dead already! The third boss glanced at his wounded right shoulder and remembered the kid who had forced him into such a state. Originally, he thought he had simply been too rash and careless, which was why he had fallen for the sneak attack. However, he never imagined that the kid¡¯s archery would be so terrifying.

    In reality, Li Qingshan¡¯s archery was still not particularly accurate, especially when abruptly using a heavy bow like the Stone Splitter bow from so far away. The bandits were gathered together, so there was no need for him to put any effort into aiming. He only had to shoot at the centre and his arrow would land.

    ¡°Third boss, it¡¯s the kid from before. He has chased us all the way here.¡±

    ¡°H- he wants to kill us all!¡±

    ¡°The arrow is from that direction. Let¡¯s all get him!¡±

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t. Once we separate¡­¡±

    As they argued, a second arrow pierced the chest of another bandit. The faces of all the bandits became twisted from fear. They were as frantic as sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

    The third boss ordered, ¡°This is all because of that kid. Let¡¯s charge over and kill him!¡± Along with the other bandits, he charged towards the hill as they let loose battle cries.

    Li Qingshan remained where he was, unfazed, continuing to fire arrow after arrow.

    He fired an arrow from the taut bowstring. It whistled through the darkness, piercing through three dead leaves as it spun and plunged into a bandit before passing through a layer of flesh. Finally, the arrow embedded itself into bone. Only then would it stop spinning.

    The tremendous force of the arrows did not even give the bandits the time to cry out. A bandit on the side stopped and looked over in horror. Before his fear could even subside, he felt a piercing pain from his head then nothing else.

    The interval between the arrows was actually so brief. The bandits¡¯ charge fell apart as they looked for cover in a hurry. However, before they could even catch their breaths, the mysterious, bloody wounds began appearing on their necks once more. It was even more accurate and terrifying than the arrows.

    Someone died at every moment. Their morale that had erupted due to fear collapsed once more. By the time they had returned to their senses, they discovered that the third boss had already mounted his pony and was riding towards the Black Wind stronghold hastily. All of them scattered immediately upon that realisation.

    Li Qingshan carried the Stone Splitter bow on his back as he felt his arms ache. The force of a three stone bow truly was extraordinary. However, after shooting over a dozen arrows in succession, he felt like he could not last much longer. Taking in a deep breath, he took another sip of the alcohol.

    ¡°Xiao An, we¡¯re chasing them!¡±

    The villagers were still uneasy and in fear back at the Crouching Ox village. Li Long had ordered people to collect the corpses and lay them to rest.

    ¡°A¡¯Long, why has this happened?¡± An old, dignified voice rang out from the darkness.

    Li Long shuddered. ¡°Master, why have you come?¡± He was the master of the Iron Fist school renowned in Qingyang city, the Iron Lion Liu Hong.

    ¡°I was afraid you couldn¡¯t repel these mountain bandits, so I came to have a look.¡± Liu Hong emerged from the darkness. His eyes shone brightly as he naturally gave off a dignified aura. He wore a set of large, luxurious robes. He was awe-inspiring like a mighty lion. He looked at the corpses of the bandits. ¡°You¡¯ve fallen out with the Black Wind stronghold¡­ Hmm? It¡¯s not you. What great force. Tell me, what happened?¡±

    Li Long could only tell him everything in full detail. When Liu Hong heard about the third boss¡¯s words and actions, he snorted coldly. ¡°To think that you would look down on me and the Iron Fist school so much. If I were present, I would¡¯ve personally taken his life. I would like to see whether that bear would be bold enough to turn against me.¡±

    When he heard about Li Qingshan¡¯s actions, he praised, ¡°How daring and skillful. How old is the Li Qingshan you speak of?¡±

    ¡°Around fifteen.¡± Li Long himself was rather surprised as well. Only when he mentioned it himself did he remember that Li Qingshan was only a teenager.

    ¡°What? Only fifteen!¡± Liu Hong was shocked. He was an experienced member of the jianghu. Let alone fifteen or sixteen year old third-rate masters, he had even seen first-rate masters at such an age. However, there would always be the shadows of large clans or sects behind these talented youths. At the very least, they would have a master of great martial prowess.

 Chapter 39 â€“ The Path of Daemons and Demons

    Li Long pointed in a direction, and Liu Hong strode off. The Iron Fist school did not focus on movement techniques, but he could cover a distance equivalent to seven or eight ordinary steps with each stride. His sleeves shook in the air as he travelled quickly. Before long, he had arrived at the location where the Black Wind mountain bandits had stopped to set up camp. Only a few corpses remained there, with a few wolves tearing away from them. Upon their arrival, the wolves raised their heads and growled.

    Liu Hong snorted coldly and thunderously, scaring away the wolves as they howled. Liu Hong inspected the corpses. ¡°This really is the might of the Stone Splitter bow. Huang Binghu has actually given away his famed weapon. Is he a disciple taught by Huang Binghu? It can¡¯t be. With that sickly old tiger¡¯s martial arts, he can¡¯t have raised a disciple like that.¡±

    ¡°But he has even given him the Stone Splitter bow, so Huang Binghu probably wants him to take over as hunting chief. No wonder he¡¯s not afraid of the Black Wind stronghold. As long as he returns to the Drawn Reins village, the Black Wind stronghold won¡¯t be able to do anything to him. Are they supposed to destroy the entire Drawn Reins village?¡±

    ¡°Does Li Qingshan really plan on killing them all?¡± Li Long trembled a little as the smell of blood stung his nose. He had practised martial arts for over a decade, and fighting was commonplace for him. However, with the Iron Fist school¡¯s might within Qingyang city, he had never been involved in a battle to the death. At most, he would punish some ignorant street punk or passing wanderer of the jianghu. He had never seen so many dead people before.

    ¡°Since he has fallen out with them completely, of course he has to kill them all. A¡¯Long, it has been too peaceful within Qingyang city. Originally, your martial arts should be much greater than right now given your talent.¡± Liu Hong found it completely reasonable, teaching his disciple a lesson.

    Li Long muttered something, unable to find a proper response.

    Liu Hong continued to inspect the corpses. ¡°Hmm? This wound is very strange!¡± He discovered a bandit who had his throat slit.

    ¡°What¡¯s so strange?¡±

    ¡°This bandit died in a group of people. Look at his expression and posture when he died. It¡¯s like he failed to react completely.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡± Afterwards, Li Long discovered many other bandit corpses with the same wounds. Li Long imagined the strange sight that happened back then and shivered. He could not help but look around, wondering if the dark mountains and forests were hiding monsters. He only eased up when he looked at Liu Hong.

    He followed the traces left behind on the crowd and searched through the depths of the mountains. The bandit corpses were as obvious as guide posts.

    There were bandits who had collapsed from arrows, as well as people who had died from having their throats slit.

    Li Long had grown completely numb. He recalled Li Qingshan¡¯s earlier words. ¡°Today, all of you will die.¡± Originally, he only treated it as something Li Qingshan had said out of pure anger, but now, it actually seemed like a declaration. Back when Li Qingshan had grabbed him by the neck, he had not felt particularly afraid, but he felt a lingering sense of fear now.

    They discovered the corpse of another bandit. Li Long said, ¡°All of the mountain bandits are dead. It¡¯s just the third boss left now.¡± Afterwards, they discovered a pony frothing from the mouth, collapsed on the ground.

    Before long, Liu Hong stopped and looked below a large tree. Even this experienced member of the jianghu became extremely shocked. Blood flowed very far away. The reeking, sanguine smell was even heavier than the scent beside the bonfire where the most bandits died.

    Li Long only caught a single glance and could not help but vomit as if he wanted to puke up all of the horrors he had seen tonight.

    For the entire night, the third boss felt like he had been trapped in a nightmare he could not wake up from. The people beside him died one by one as the god of death inched closer to him, step by step.

    The third boss used his movement technique and fled towards the Black Wind stronghold desperately. His movements were nowhere near as graceful as the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, but he was not actually slow, perhaps due to the danger that he faced.

    The chilling winds revolved through the surroundings, sticking to him closely such that he was afraid of stopping at all. Only when his inner force was completely depleted did he stop below a large tree, gasping for air.

    Looking down from the hill, he could already make out the shape of the Black Wind stronghold. Just when he began to smile.

    Thud!

    A feathered arrow whistled through the air, piercing his thigh before deeply embedding itself in the tree bark. Dead leaves fell down slowly like rain.

    The third boss ignored the pain and looked at the terrifying figure emerging from the woods. He was smiling like a hunter who had caught the prey he had been tracking for a very long time. The string of the great bow in his hand still vibrated.

    ¡°That¡¯s it, third boss!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit that I was in the wrong today. The jianghu is constantly changing, so there¡¯s no harm for us to get acquainted. Argh!¡± In this moment of danger, the third boss actually tried to deceive Li Qingshan, mentioning some conventional phrase from the jianghu. However, before he could finish his words, an arrow pierced him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mention that word; you¡¯re unworthy. Come, tell me. Tell me everything about the Black Wind stronghold. How many people are there, how many bosses are there, and how are the martial arts of the first boss?¡±

    ¡°If I tell you, will you spare me?¡± The third boss was drenched in sweat, feeling both pain and fear.

    Li Qingshan considered that question. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve said before that all of you will die today. I will give you a quick death!¡± He did not even try to lie, telling it straight to his face. I¡¯ll kill you, whether you tell me or not.

    The third boss said, ¡°Fucking hell, if you want to kill me or do something to me, come at me. I won¡¯t even bat an eye.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled coldly. ¡°Just as I had wished!¡± Red light flowed through the depths of his eyes, but even Li Qingshan himself failed to discover it.

    Li Long barely managed to recover, but he averted his gaze away from the corpse beneath the tree as much as he could. ¡°Master, do we keep on chasing?¡±

    Liu Hong waved his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need. Now that there¡¯s a bringer of misfortune like him, the jianghu is going to be rowdy.¡± He had seen many brutal people from the jianghu. The third boss could match them all.

    However, for someone to be so vicious and merciless right from the beginning, now that was rare. Almost everyone would vomit a few times at the beginning. Only after going through many trials of life and death would their hearts gradually harden.

    Li Long said, ¡°He¡¯s just a third-rate master. He used a sneak attack to heavily injure the third boss. Master, why do you treat him with such importance?¡±

    Liu Hong said, ¡°I¡¯ll just tell you that people like that emerge endlessly within the jianghu, and every single one of them are powerful. Any martial arts in their hands can be unleashed to extraordinary degrees. You can¡¯t afford to become enemies with them for no good reason.¡±

    ¡°How come?¡± Li Long did not understand. Would their martial arts be powerful just because of their cruelty and mercilessness?

    ¡°The essence of martial arts is slaughter.¡±

    However, the person Liu Hong had labelled as a person of misfortune, Li Qingshan, was currently kneeling by a small stream as he vomited. He hurled to a point where tears streaked down his face.

    In the end, the third boss was not as tough as he had acted. He told Li Qingshan everything he wanted to know, pleading for death.

    After finishing off the third boss with his blade, the red light in his eyes had dimmed. He seemed to have just realised what he had done¡ªhe had used an extremely brutal method to torture a person, a living person, but that was nothing. The most terrifying part about it was that he found great joy doing so.

    Just what is wrong with me?

    The hoof of an ox stepped into the stream, and Li Qingshan raised his head. The black ox stared at him, speaking with a seemingly approving yet mocking tone, ¡°You seem more and more like a demon!¡±

 Chapter 40 â€“ Renowned throughout Qingyang

    The black ox said, ¡°Do you want to continue? Don¡¯t blame me for not warning you. You really might become a demon or daemon.¡±

    ¡°As long as I have a clear conscience and do whatever I want, I will have no objections or regrets even if I become a daemon or demon,¡± Li Qingshan said with his head held high. The black ox¡¯s words had instead consolidated his willpower, plucking him out of confusion.

    The black ox could not help but reevaluate him once again. Even cultivators with great willpower and determination would feel fear and repulsion when they heard that they had descended into demonic practises and would turn into daemons.

    Originally, it was prepared to exhort him patiently, but Li Qingshan was largely unaffected, still persevering with his choice without any sign of wavering. It was truly rare. However, this was good too. If he were the type of person to be troubled by something like this, he was not worth worrying over.

    In his former life, Li Qingshan lived in an age of information explosion. As a nerd, he mentally fed off various movies and novels day and night. He understood numerous ideologies and had witnessed the most terrifying and grandest of sights.

    Barraged by all of this information, his ability to accept and understand was probably unmatched in this day and age. He would not be trapped by any traditional ideologies. This advantage and edge he possessed was slowly showing itself, playing a role that could not be replaced by any ability or treasure.

    No matter how great Li Qingshan¡¯s talent for cultivation was, it would be difficult to pique the black ox¡¯s interest. However, his unique character was completely different. The black ox placed great importance on it. ¡°Come with me!¡±

    An ox and a man advanced through the bends of the pathless mountains.

    The black ox did not say where they were going, and Li Qingshan did not ask either. After learning about the Black Wind stronghold¡¯s strength from the third boss, he immediately knew that he was not the Black Wind stronghold¡¯s opponent right now. He had to become even stronger.

    After walking for who knows how long, something suddenly sounded out from the forest. As they travelled further, the rumbling sound grew closer and closer, eventually becoming thunderous in the end.

    It was an enchanting sight. The space in front of them suddenly opened up. Off a cliff several dozen meters tall flowed a waterfall. It landed in the pool like a jade dragon, kicking up snowflake-like spray. A large whirlpool revolved at the center of the pool constantly; there were many smaller whirlpools around it.

    Li Qingshan stood before the waterfall. Even with his mental fortitude, he felt like the wonders of nature had taken his breath away. ¡°Brother ox, what¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°A waterfall.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I know it¡¯s a waterfall. Why have you brought me here?¡±

    ¡°To cultivate, obviously!¡±

    Li Qingshan gasped. ¡°In there?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°This is the fastest shortcut to attaining the strength of an ox. Whether you want to take it will be completely up to you.¡±

    As soon as it had finished talking, Li Qingshan leapt into the deep pool below the waterfall resolutely. As he fell through the air, he thought about the information that the third boss had told him.

    The Black Wind stronghold had around three hundred people overall and a total of seven bosses. Of course, this number was six now. Five of them were third-rate masters, while the first boss, who was known as the Black Bear among the people of jianghu, was a true second-rate master. His name was Xiong Xiangwu, and he could easily take on all the other bosses together.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s current martial arts was only at the peak of the third-rate. If he did not use any ambushes or sneak attacks, he could probably take on two bosses at the same time at most. His defeat would be certain if there were three. In such a scenario, he could only flee, so facing the master of the Black Wind stronghold was obviously impossible. He was a colossal figure that Li Qingshan could not defeat right now.

    The only good news was that once winter arrived, snow would seal the mountain. If the Black Wind stronghold wanted to engage in any large scale operations, they would have to wait till spring at the very least, which gave him time. He needed to become even stronger in order to stop the Black Wind stronghold and save the Crouching Ox village. He wanted to complete his promise.

    Many thoughts flashed through his head. As the water grew closer and closer, Li Qingshan¡¯s valiance was demonstrated. All of his nervousness and fear was immediately pushed aside, and his mind cleared out. He quickly adjusted his falling posture, took in a deep breath, and smashed into the water.

    The black ox muttered, ¡°I wanted to tell you to progress gradually and start by meditating under the waterfall.¡± It immediately experienced a sense of resentment. Xiao An glared at him. The black ox felt slightly unnatural. ¡°Little ghost, don¡¯t look at me like that!¡±

    The violent flow of water battered Li Qingshan. He felt like a tiny boat within a storm, with no control over himself. He could collide into rocks at any time and sink.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s reasonable ability to swim was completely useless right now. He used the Ox Demon Forges its Hide to alleviate the pain from the rapids. However, before he could catch his breath, a black mass pressed over.

    The raging water pushed him towards a boulder. The huge branch from earlier served as a warning for his potential fate. Even with the Ox Demon Forges its Hide as a means of protection, he could die from all of his bones shattering. Using the body of a human to contend against the forces of nature was simply too difficult.

    ¡°The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves!¡± True qi sank into his dantian, and Li Qingshan¡¯s body seemed to grow heavier, suddenly sinking down. Stamping the tough bottom of the pool, he left behind two deep footprints in the rock.

    However, at the bottom, the direction of the flow changed once more, pulling him towards the largest whirlpool. He used everything he had to anchor himself firmly to his location, resisting the flow.

    He used up his air very quickly. A feeling of suffocation grasped him firmly. In such rapids, it was impossible for him to swim out. As long as his feet left the bottom, the flow would take him away.

    His mind blurred very quickly. Even the deafening rumbling seemed to grow distant. Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation on his chest, and his true qi reacted automatically.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind cleared up. He saw Xiao An pressing his hands against his chest anxiously, using his yin qi to stimulate the true qi.

    In the face of death, the true qi suddenly revolved much faster, rushing to his mouth and nose. The feeling of asphyxiation vanished as the innate true qi replaced his air. Li Qingshan had never expected true qi to have such a wondrous use. He nodded at Xiao An in gratitude before gritting his teeth and unrooting himself, letting the rapid flow take him towards the large whirlpool.

    Xiao An circled around the whirlpools for a while before suddenly making up his mind and making his way back up the edge of the pool. He knelt down on the ground and lowered his head at the black ox.

    The black ox asked, ¡°You want to help him?¡±

    Xiao An nodded firmly.

    Liu Hong and Li Long returned to the Crouching Ox village, comforting the villagers before returning to Qingyang city once more.

    The hamlet seemed to recover its peace, but the atmosphere of fear and unease lingered. The Black Wind stronghold weighed on their heads like a terrifying mountain. Many of them wanted to flee from the village.

    However, the promise Li Qingshan made before he left gave them all hope. At such an important time, the talent of the village, Li Long, was unable to protect him. The important figure from the city, Liu Hong, had only arrived afterwards as well. Only Li Qingshan stood in front of all of them and protected them alone.

    Afterwards, the government soldiers of the legends appeared. They took away the heads of the third boss and the several dozen bandits before returning. Qingyang city was shocked. There was actually someone bold enough to anger the Black Wind stronghold. People on both sides of the jianghu, the righteous and the unrighteous, all learnt a name¡ªLi Qingshan.

    In the government office, the fat district magistrate ordered the advisor, ¡°Quick, report these meritorious deeds to the prefect. A group of bandits and ruffians have been destroyed the moment I set foot in Qingyang city. Will there still be anyone bold enough to call me useless? Hang the heads of the bandits on the city walls. Let the citizens of the city understand my power. And, go find that Li Qingshan. I want to thank him in person for saving my life. Also, give him a great piece of wealth!¡±

    The advisor said, ¡°Sir, we definitely should report back to the prefect, but there¡¯s no need to hang up the heads. The Black Wind stronghold should not be trifled with. As for that Li Qingshan, he¡¯s probably done for.¡±

    Indeed, in the eyes of many, Li Qingshan was already a dead man.

    Although they praised and admired Li Qingshan¡¯s viciousness and martial arts, no one believed he was the Black Wind stronghold¡¯s opponent. In Qingyang city, Black Bear Xiong Xiangwu was a figure used to scare children so that they would stop crying. He had been infamous for longer than Li Qingshan had been alive. They were on two completely different levels.

 Chapter 41 â€“ The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty

    The advisor could only oblige. The district magistrate¡¯s desire for silver had already surpassed his fear towards the Black Wind stronghold. It was impossible for him to change his mind through persuasion, and the Black Wind stronghold was probably not bold enough to openly kill a government official.

    The fat magistrate¡¯s mighty aura suddenly subsided, and he whispered, ¡°It¡¯s not like I killed them. The master of the Black Wind stronghold shouldn¡¯t come looking for trouble with me just over this, right?¡±

    The advisor fiddled with his thin mustache. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t, but just in case, seek help from your younger sister. Get the prefect to send reinforcements.¡±

    The fat magistrate said, ¡°Yep. He might be the prefect, but he¡¯s still my brother-in-law. We¡¯re one family. As long as he sends a single Hawkwolf guard, we won¡¯t need to be afraid of anything.¡± The official had a fat and coarse appearance, but his younger sister just happened to be as beautiful as a flower. The prefect chose her as a concubine and deeply adored her. The fat magistrate¡¯s status rose with this, and he had pleaded with his sister to pressure the prefect into giving him a government position.

    However, the perfect disliked him, so he assigned him to the distant Qingyang city as the district magistrate without much thought. The prefect gave him no chance to abuse his position and sent him away from his sister. It was two birds with one stone.

    The advisor thought, How can the Hawkwolf guards be sent over so easily? We would be fine even if we just had some guards from the prefect¡¯s estate. ¡°Then what about Li Qingshan?¡±

    The fat magistrate considered that and replied, ¡°At the end of the day, he¡¯s still my savior. When I see him, I¡¯ll give him some silver and send him off elsewhere. The Clear River prefecture is so large, so where can¡¯t he go?¡±

    In the Drawn Reins village, Huang Binghu received the news. At first, he was surprised, but then he laughed aloud. ¡°Nicely done!¡± Ever since he drank the spiritual alcohol, his sickliness had vanished. Now, he was filled with vigour and emitted a healthy glow. Not only had his martial arts recovered, but he had even made great progress.

    ¡°Hunting chief, he offended the Black Wind stronghold like this, so isn¡¯t it creating trouble for the Drawn Reins village? He carries your Stone Splitter bow. You shouldn¡¯t have given it to him in the first place, and now he has vanished. He has probably fled now.¡±

    Xiao Hei felt unhappy inside. Although he was afraid of seeking revenge for himself after suffering under Li Qingshan¡¯s hands in the market, he still felt some resentment. He was supposed to be one of the best of the best among the younger generation, but Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival had completely overshadowed him. Now that Li Qingshan was receiving so much attention, he felt jealous.

    As a result, ¡®Descended Tiger¡¯ became Li Qingshan¡¯s first nickname.

    When the several dozen bandit heads were hung up on the city walls, Li Qingshan¡¯s name spread as far as possible.

    Large flakes of snow fell from the sky. In the middle of the night, a dark shadow moved across the top of the walls and removed the third boss¡¯ head. Subsequently, they rode back to the Black Wind stronghold hastily on a horse, delivering the head to the master of the stronghold, Xiong Xiangwu.

    Xiong Xiangwu was just like his nickname. Not only was he abnormally big, but he was also covered in dense, dark hair. From afar, he seemed like a black bear. It was possible to tell with a single glance that he had been born with natural strength. He stood up and looked around. Whether it be the bosses to his sides or the bandits in the surroundings, no one dared to emit a peep of sound.

    Bang! His huge hand that seemed like a bear¡¯s paw slammed down, crushing both the head and the heavy rosewood table to pieces. ¡°This is the fate that the useless suffer! This is also the fate of those who are bold enough to provoke me!¡±

    Wood shrapnel shot into the surroundings, piercing the faces of the bandits nearby, but none of them dared to make a sound.

    The second boss waved his folding fan. Surprisingly, he was a middle-aged man dressed like a scholar. Despite the current weather, he only wore a long gown, which demonstrated his dense inner force. ¡°Master of the stronghold, the third boss was heavily injured by a sneak attack using the Stone Splitter bow, which was why that kid managed to defeat him.¡±

    ¡°The Stone Splitter bow? Huang Binghu!¡± A sliver of vigilance appeared in Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t he seriously ill?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said that he has recovered!¡± Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s forehead wrinkled together as he sank into his thoughts.

    On Bailao peak, Yang Jun asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t you found it yet?¡±His anger twisted his handsome face. He was a wastrel in the first place, so he never had much patience.

    ¡°Young master, I¡¯ve heard of some news recently!¡± Chi Da said.

    ¡°Huang Binghu of the Drawn Reins village has recovered from his illness!¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Yang Jun said impatiently.

    Chi Da secretly cursed him as useless. ¡°It¡¯s said that his illness is chronic and can only be healed with the spiritual ginseng!¡±

    Yang Jun¡¯s eyes lit up. He was tempted to rush to the Drawn Reins village immediately and get to the bottom of this, but he was not crazy. With a sunken face, he said, ¡°Go ask my father to come here. The spiritual ginseng can¡¯t be digested so easily. Even if he has eaten it, I¡¯ll get him to spit it back out!¡±

    As the world experienced such a clamour, no one noticed that the area behind Li Qingshan¡¯s house had been dug up, and the porcelain jar of white bones had vanished.

    As snow fell heavily, the water of the pool became bone-piercingly cold but showed no signs of freezing. Li Qingshan climbed out from the water with blue lips before lying down on the dried grass. He looked at the grey sky beyond the white waterfall, and his breath turned into white mist.

    This form of cultivation was basically fatal, but Li Qingshan would only climb out and rest for a bit once all of his strength and true qi had been depleted.

    Only after taking a sip of the spiritual alcohol did his body recover its warmth, and the dried up true qi surge again.

    A wild beast was roasting on the fire, giving off a heavy fragrance. Xiao An crouched by one side like a professional barbecuer, turning the wooden prong as he sprinkled on the seasoning and cooking alcohol he had brought back from home. He was engrossed in the process.

    Seeing Li Qingshan emerge, he sliced off a large chunk of meat with a wave of the hunting blade before delivering the meat to Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. Only when he watched Li Qingshan wolf it down would he smile.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth became all oily before he suddenly became surprised. ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of fire?¡± Xiao An was afraid of sunlight as well as fire. He was restricted by many things, so it should have been impossible for him to just crouch beside the fire so carelessly. Although today was a gloomy day, Xiao An would still normally hide within the scholar wood tablet, unwilling to come out.

    Xiao An faltered, unable to answer.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What ability did you learn from brother ox? It¡¯s not easy to get him to give you something. Why¡¯re you hiding it from me?¡±

    Xiao An hesitated before taking out a porcelain jar from the bushes with difficulty. Li Qingshan opened the lid and a sanguine smell surged froth. Inside was a small, white skeleton, dripping with bright red blood.

    The two colors of red and white were extremely dazzling and distinct. It gave off an evil, bloody aura.

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Xiao An was like a child who had done something wrong, standing there silently with his head lowered.

    ¡°The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty!¡± The black ox suddenly appeared and stated those eight words.

    ¡°Is this also an ability?¡±

    ¡°Ghosts don¡¯t have a body. They seem to be free, even able to avoid the senses of ordinary people, but when it comes to cultivation, they suffer from natural deficiencies. In addition, they¡¯re afraid of fire and light. They¡¯re suppressed by many techniques.

 Chapter 42 â€“ The Strength of an Ox

    Li Qingshan breathed in deeply. ¡°The White Bone Bodhisattva! The demonic path again!¡± Although he was clueless about the greatness of an eminent monk of buddhism who was about to attain the fruits of bodhisattva, he did know that this was probably a supernatural ability that surpassed his imagination.

    Li Qingshan said sternly, ¡°This ability is probably difficult to cultivate, right?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Yes. An ability like this involves all of life, death, and fortune. Not only does it require the cultivator¡¯s soul to possess extraordinary talent, but it also needs to be refined with the blood of creatures on the brink of death, enduring the scorching of blood and qi to extract tremendous amounts of essence and vitality. He¡¯s just using the blood of beasts as a substitute right now, but the best material for refinement is obviously human blood, particularly blood from practitioners of martial arts with vigorous vitality.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. Anyone who heard about this cultivation method would only think of it as an evil art from the demonic path. And, in any legend or story, every single person who used human lives for their practice were antagonists, suffering horrible deaths in the end.

    He could not help but ask, ¡°Why are you practising this?¡±

    Xiao An paled in fright. As he gradually recovered his intelligence, he too knew that this was a demonic path of extreme evil.

    The black ox said, ¡°Obviously, it is to help you. Heh, is this perhaps the superior way to control ghosts?¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered, unable to say another scolding word. He lowered his head, only able to smile bitterly. ¡°It looks like we¡¯ve both chosen the wrong master. We¡¯re destined to walk to the very end of this demonic path.¡±

    Only with that did Xiao An ease up and smile shyly.

    A spotted deer moved through the forest quickly, dodging the chilly wind that tailed it like a shadow, but in the end, a hunting knife slit its throat. Before the spray of blood could even hit the ground, a porcelain jar caught it. As soon as the steaming hot blood fell inside, a chilling gale swept up a set of white bones that soaked in the blood.

    The set of white bones sat with its legs crossed like an old, meditating monk. It actually gave off a mysterious aura that merged holiness and evil. If a monk were present, they might have been able to comprehend the buddhist truth of the impermanence of glory and decay, the passage and arrival of life and death.

    However, all Li Qingshan saw was Xiao An possessing the bones, refining the blood and qi. The blood and qi rose up like blood-red tongues of flames. Xiao An furrowed his brows as his soul trembled, enduring tremendous pain.

    Li Qingshan clenched his fists firmly. He only felt like flames were burning in his heart, so scorching that it was unbearable. The pain that Xiao An had experienced from the witch was probably not even a hundredth of what he currently suffered. Li Qingshan wanted to extend his hand to stop him.

    The black ox said, ¡°It¡¯s not just for your sake. You have things you want to do, dreams you want to fulfill. He does too. This is his freedom.¡±

    ¡°His dream?¡±

    ¡°Yes. His dream is to help you.¡± The black ox could not help but begin laughing due to the corniness, but he stopped when he saw how Li Qingshan did not smile at all. ¡°You have no idea just how happy the little ghost was when I agreed. And he¡¯s very happy right now. As long as you can do what you want, you will have no objections or regrets no matter what you do. Isn¡¯t that what you said?¡±

    Only after quite a while was all of the blood and qi refined, fusing with the white bone. The white bone gained a faint but dark red sheen.

    Li Qingshan took out the spiritual ginseng and extracted another droplet of juice, dripping it between Xiao An¡¯s eyebrows. Xiao An closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

    Li Qingshan turned around and leapt back into the icy-cold water. Only like that could he calm his mind.

    The days passed swiftly, and the myriad mountains was reduced to a beautiful, white landscape due to the snow. Li Qingshan entered the water to train everyday, basically only returning when he was covered in wounds. If it were not for his extraordinary physique and the constant nurturing of the spiritual alcohol, his body would have collapsed long ago.

    Xiao An constantly hunted wild beasts. In the beginning, he only used the blood of small, herbivorous animals like wild hares and gazelles for his cultivation method, but afterwards, he used carnivorous animals that were very vigorous and fierce in nature like tigers and leopards.

    The two of them seemed to be competing, desperately practising their abilities. The taste of the spiritual alcohol made from the spiritual ginseng became fainter and fainter.

    This continued for a month. The waterfall continued to surge deafeningly as the whirlpools in the pool spun endlessly. A figure could be barely made out from the largest whirlpool in the centre as it moved through the water.

    Against the raging flow of water, as if he were facing countless enemies, Li Qingshan used the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. Every single move and form he used was exactly the same as it was on land, without the slightest error. Instead, it was filled with a heavy and consolidated strength.

    The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves stabilised his body, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide blocked the water flow, and the Ox Demon Butts its Horns attacked the whirlpool.

    His true qi also revolved like the whirlpools, forming tiny vertexes. It flowed through his entire body, moving faster and faster.

    The water in the pool surged ten times more violently than usual.

    Li Qingshan threw a punch.

    The water exploded with a thunderous boom as a terrifying aura rose from the water, startling countless birds and beasts.

    Xiao An¡¯s heart leapt inside. It was as if some terrifying wild beast had just been unleashed, far more terrifying than any wolf, tiger, or leopard. He stared at the surface of the water. The water surface recovered its calm, while the large whirlpool that never stopped spinning actually vanished.

    The black ox smiled with his eyes.

    A large figure leapt out from the deep pool, landing on the rocks. Li Qingshan¡¯s bronze body was as sturdy as an ox¡¯s. He seemed like he had been chiseled out of rock. His every muscle was filled with explosive power.

    He punched the rock below his feet, causing a thud. It did not sound like flesh colliding with rock; instead, it seemed more like rock against rock.

    After a moment of silence, there was cracking. The huge rock that had been worn away by water for countless years cracked open before shattering.

    Before the rock shattered, Li Qingshan had already leapt ashore. Looking at his hands, he murmured, ¡°This is the strength of an ox?¡± He felt like his body possessed endless power. His whole body felt like it had just been remoulded. If he came across a third-rate master like the third boss again, he would only need a single hand to crush him to death. It would be impossible for a third-rate master to even touch a hair on him.

    The black ox said, ¡°You¡¯ve finally gained a basic grasp.¡±

    Li Qingshan picked up the Stone Splitter and drew it, bending it into the shape of the full moon. The stiff, metal composite bow was now as soft as an ordinary wooden bow.

    Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! Li Qingshan drew the bowstring in succession. He actually unleashed rapid fire arrows with a three stone bow. With his consecutive shots, the bowstring exploded loudly as the vibrating string seemed to be capable of cutting through air.

    Li Qingshan felt like he still had remaining strength, so he did not stop. Roaring out, he shot up, down, left, and right¡ªeverywhere.

    Strength, endless strength. It was as if as long as he wanted to, he could do anything and defeat everyone. Now this was the feeling of an ability. It was not like any martial art that belonged to mortals.

    Xiao An watched on from one side in great admiration.

    ¡°Xiao An, it¡¯s time to leave the mountains!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the porcelain jar and travelled away from the mountains. He was not going to the Black Wind stronghold; he was heading for Qingyang city.

    The sound of the waterfall grew further away. The water in the pool surged once more, and the whirlpools spun again.

 Chapter 43 â€“ The Vicious Tiger Descends from the Mountains

    Li Qingshan did not return to the Crouching Ox village. At least right now, the tiny village would still be safe. The Drawn Reins village was also ruled out. Bringing other people into his problems was not his wish. He did not venture directly to the Black Wind stronghold either, even though he had fallen out with the Black Wind stronghold completely, and they would probably mobilise as soon as spring came to destroy the village where he was born and raised.

    He sneered inside. You treat me as an enemy, so why wouldn¡¯t I treat you the same? I¡¯ll definitely kill my way into the Black Wind stronghold and claim the head of the renowned master of the stronghold. I will make him pay for his crimes with a horrible death. Only then would Li Qingshan be delighted.

    Why had he worked so hard on his ability? It was precisely to kill all of his enemies. However, before that, he needed to make some preparations.

    He did not even have a suitable weapon with him. He would suffer too much if he went bare-handed. Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, not to mention that the two hundred bandits of the Black Wind stronghold were not two hundred rabbits. Every single one of them were murderers and extremely fierce.

    Once he charged in there, it would no longer be a skirmish of the jianghu. It would almost be a struggle on the battlefield. If he were too cocky and careless, something would be wrong with his head.

    The Arsenal of Arms in Qingyang city was an extremely famous armoury. He planned on going there to have a look, but he needed money to buy a weapon. Right now, not only was he penniless, but he did not even have a proper set of clothes.

    His clothes were in rags, and his chest was bare, attracting the attention of passing people. Wouldn¡¯t he freeze to death dressed like that in this weather?

    Li Qingshan trained within the icy pool on a daily basis, so why would he be afraid of this slight chill?

    However, no one treated him like a beggar, as he did not possess the look of someone penniless. Such a look would consist of misery and inferiority, but he exuded great confidence. It was as if he could deal with any problems that came his way with his two hands.

    He looked around as he walked, admiring the city of classical design. He did not purposefully try to hide the truth of being a country bumpkin.

    A horse carriage suddenly rushed over, and the driver called out as he waved his whip, ¡°Move! Move!¡± As he watched the pedestrians avoid the carriage frantically, he laughed out complacently.

    Looking at the carriage that rode away, everyone was furious, but no one dared to say anything. The carriage belonged to a major aristocrat of Qingyang city. Let alone scaring away people, even if the carriages of the Zhang estate killed someone in a crash, they would just have to cough up some money at most.

    People called out to warn him as well. Just when the carriage was about to run over the beggar, the beggar twisted to one side and dodged it by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    Before the carriage driver could even react, the carriage came to a sudden halt, and he flew off into the air.

    The interior of the carriage descended into a mess, and a woman¡¯s scream followed.

    The two fine horses pulling the carriage reared up, while the carriage seemed to be under a spell as it froze there. There were creaks, but it did not inch forward at all.

    The driver stood up with a kick up. He was actually a practitioner of martial arts as well. Just when he was about to curse aloud, he saw the pedestrians on the two sides of the street staring at the back of the carriage dumbfoundedly.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the frame of the carriage with one hand. His feet were deeply rooted in the ground without moving at all. If he did not move, the carriage obviously could not move either.

    The driver gulped. What kind of strength was that?

    A young man in embroidered robes, reeking of alcohol, leapt out of the carriage. ¡°Laifu, what the hell are you doing?¡± However, all he saw was Laifu pointing at Li Qingshan, so he cursed, ¡°You damned beggar, get away from my carriage. I¡¯ll cut your hand off if you touch it!¡± He was drunk, so he missed the fact that Li Qingshan was grabbing his carriage.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a beggar. I¡¯m Li Qingshan.¡± Li Qingshan stated his name, wanting to punish this wastrel and his haughty servant.

    ¡°What Li¡­ Qingshan!¡± The young man¡¯s eyes were lost and filled with disdain, but when he reached the end, his tone suddenly changed. It was as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. He sobered up as well. ¡°W- which Li Qingshan¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan asked in bewilderment, ¡°You know me?¡±

    The driver wailed, ¡°Young master, i- it¡¯s the Descended Tiger!¡± His flushed face suddenly became pale-white.

    ¡°Descended Tiger? What¡¯s that?¡± Just as Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, the young master dropped to his knees with a thud. ¡°This young master, no no no, this lowlife has offended you. Please forgive me, young hero!¡± Afterwards, he removed the money pouch from his waist and offered it up with both hands. ¡°Please take this money as my compensation to you!¡±

    The bystanders had never seen the young master of the Zhang family behave in such a degrading manner. They all looked at one another, but when they heard the two words, ¡®Descended Tiger¡¯, they immediately changed the way they looked at Li Qingshan. Their gazes contained fear and admiration.

    Li Qingshan weighed the money pouch. There really was quite a lot in there, enough for him to buy a proper set of clothes, eat a filling meal in the best restaurant in the city, and get some proper sleep in an inn.

    But it really was strange. It¡¯s not like I planned on killing anyone. I¡¯ll just punch you gently once or twice. I won¡¯t even use strength, so why¡¯re you so afraid?

    His instincts told him that all this fear did not originate from the skills he had demonstrated from stopping the carriage with a single hand. However, when he saw how the young master had been frightened out of his wits, he lost interest in teaching the fellow a lesson. He left with the pouch of money.

    Only when he saw Li Qingshan walk away did the young master climb to his feet as his legs trembled. He glanced at the intersection in utter fear. That Li Qingshan was actually just standing right in front of him. He was a terrifying figure who had killed several dozen people. No matter how arrogant he was, he would never act up in front of such a person.

    His face reddened from the mocking smiles of the bystanders. He turned around and saw the driver hiding to one side, so he became even more infuriated. He went up and kicked the driver. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re bold enough to hide? Why don¡¯t you keep hiding! So much for driving properly!¡± Although the driver possessed martial arts, he did not dare to avoid the strikes. He only grovelled and apologised quietly.

    Li Qingshan carried the pouch of money and felt even more at ease inside, even though the money had come rather strangely. Suddenly, he remembered that the priority right now was to investigate and understand if anything happened involving the Black Wind stronghold. He just happened to have a fellow villager in Qingyang city who was also a member of the jianghu, so after asking several people, he arrived in front of the Iron Fist school.

    At the entrance were two large, bald men who stood like iron towers. Their arms were as thick as the thighs of normal people. They watched people pass by with shining eyes. Even before pedestrians had gotten anywhere close to the entrance, they would downright avoid it, walking on the other side of the street. This was the might of the Iron Fist school.

    As they watched a ¡®beggar¡¯ in rags arrive at the entrance, one of them said rudely, ¡°Move. This isn¡¯t a place for you to beg!¡±

    The other man stopped his companion and studied Li Qingshan. He mocked, ¡°Kid, you do look like a practitioner of martial arts, so how did you end up like this?¡± He could see that Li Qingshan¡¯s body was sturdy and unaffected by the cold.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone. Please help me pass on a message. His name is Li Long. You can tell him that I¡¯m from the same village as him and that I¡¯m Li Qingshan.¡±

    The two men were originally unconcerned, but they only grew prudent when they heard ¡®Li Long¡¯. He was the beloved disciple of the school¡¯s master. Once they heard ¡®Li Qingshan¡¯, both of their faces changed drastically. ¡°The Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan!¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan understand that he was the ¡®Descended Tiger¡¯. He grumbled inside, What kind of nickname is that! The people of the jianghu were uncultured. He did not want to be lumped together with those wolves, tigers, and leopards.

 Chapter 44 â€“ Master of the Dragonâ€™s Gate Sec

    t

    Xiao Hei said, ¡°Hunting chief, your health!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. Have the people from the Black Wind stronghold and Dragon¡¯s Gate sect left?¡±

    ¡°They still aren¡¯t leaving. They demand to see the hunting chief.¡±

    ¡°Tell them I¡¯m severely ill, so I can¡¯t meet them. If anyone tries to force their way, don¡¯t be kind. Shoot them to death!¡± Huang Binghu placed both of his hands near the fireplace. People were supposed to hide away for winter in the first place.

    ¡°How bold of you, hunting chief! Do you even want to shoot me to death?¡± A voice suddenly rang out from outside. The door shattered, and a fierce gale rushed in. A scholarly-looking, middle-aged man with a sword on his waist stood at the door. His gaze was as sharp as a sword, and his eyes shone. He was not as gentle as he seemed on the surface.

    Huang Binghu did not neglect him, leaping to his feet and clasping his fist. ¡°Sect master Yang, long time no see!¡±

    Within a radius of fifty kilometers, there was only a single person who would call himself a sect master. The person who had just arrived was the sect master of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, Yang Anzhi. His Dragon¡¯s Gate sword style was renowned, and his movement technique was masterly. In terms of martial arts alone, he could claim the title of best in Qingyang.

    If there were any descendents of wealthy and powerful clans who wanted to learn martial arts, they would all be sent to the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. With all of these sons and daughters of aristocrats gathered together, it was impossible for them to not swagger about haughtily. At the same time, the sect was an extremely large organisation. Speaking of which, it was basically a part of the righteous faction of the Qingyang jianghu.

    Yang Anzhi studied Huang Binghu. ¡°You really have recovered. No wonder you won¡¯t even meet the elders of my sect. I¡¯ll cut to the chase. Where¡¯s the spiritual ginseng?¡±

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen some spiritual ginseng. Sect master Yang, do you plan on taking my Drawns Reins village lightly because we are fewer in number?¡± Several dozen hunting bows pointed at Yang Anzhi. All of the hunters of the village had reacted already.

    Yang Anzhi said, ¡°If you have your Stone Splitter bow, you might be able to prevent me from leaving. Why don¡¯t you try that, hunting chief Huang?¡±

    Huang Binghu squinted. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    Yang Anzhi said, ¡°Stronghold master Xiong is right outside. Your Stone Splitter bow killed his third boss. Do you plan on taking on both of us?¡±

    Anger flashed across Yang Anzhi¡¯s face. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, but the sound of tightening bowstrings in the surroundings made him stop. He threatened coldly, ¡°Hunting chief Huang, you might not be afraid, but if we really start fighting, how many people from this village do you think will survive?¡±

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten the spiritual ginseng. Sect master Yang, no matter what threats you throw at me, you won¡¯t be able to get it.¡±

    Yang Anzhi said, ¡°The spiritual ginseng really is in your hands. Don¡¯t try to fool me. The spiritual ginseng can¡¯t be digested over a short period of time, nor can it be eaten by a single person just like that. You¡¯ve used it for so long already, so it¡¯s time for you to hand it over. For your sake, I might even be able to help you repel the Black Wind stronghold.¡±

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°I¡¯ve said I¡¯ve eaten it, so that means I¡¯ve eaten it. If you don¡¯t believe me, feel free to come and take it!¡±

    Bows were fully drawn and swords were unsheathed. A battle was about to erupt.

    Xiao Hei, who stood to one side, suddenly said, ¡°We¡¯ve never seen some spiritual ginseng before. Our hunting chief recovered because he drank some alcohol from Li Qingshan. If you¡¯re looking for someone, go look for him!¡±

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s eyes lit up, while Huang Binghu flew into a rage. He shouted, ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    Xiao Hei rebutted, ¡°Hunting chief, he¡¯s just an outsider. He gave you the spiritual alcohol, but he also took away the Stone Splitter bow. We don¡¯t owe him anything, so why must you protect him so desperately? I¡¯m also thinking for the village¡¯s sake!¡±

    Yang Anzhi smiled. ¡°I see. So I¡¯ve wrongly accused brother Huang. No wonder that kid¡¯s martial arts have been advancing so rapidly. Farewell then.¡± He drifted away with his movement technique. If Li Qingshan were present, he would be able to tell that this person¡¯s movement technique was ten times more skillful than his son Yang Jun and that group of disciples.

    Without any orders, the hunters would never simply fire their arrows. Yang Anzhi left behind a message from afar. ¡°Hunting chief Huang truly is skilled in managing your subordinates. The people of the village are constantly considering the bigger picture.¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s expression became even uglier. The leader of any organisation would always possess absolute authority. As long as they had made a decision, regardless of whether it be right or wrong, they could not allow their subordinates to ignore it so easily.

    ¡°Li Qingshan saved my life. Despite the risks, he took out the spiritual alcohol. That¡¯s because he trusts me. Otherwise, no one would know he possesses the spiritual ginseng. You¡¯ve crossed the line. You¡¯ve made me an ingrate who returns kindness with trouble.¡±

    Xiao Hei knelt down. ¡°Xiao Hei is willing to accept his fate!¡±

    The group of hunters gathered together and tried to persuade Huang Binghu. ¡°Hunting chief, Xiao Hei only did that for the sake of the village!¡± ¡°After all these days, who knows where Qingshan has fled to. There¡¯s no reason for us to take them on forcefully at all.¡±

    Li Qingshan watched the man scramble away to report back before looking at the man who trembled at the entrance. He sighed. ¡°Am I really that terrifying?¡±

    The man who remained there could only blame his legs for being too slow, letting his companion beat him to it. As for the question about whether he was terrifying or not, the man would never have the bravery to answer it. He only knew that the young man before him had personally killed several dozen mountain bandits. He had even received inside news that he had tortured the infamous third boss of the Black Wind stronghold to death. If he was not terrifying, who was?

    One of them was a powerful, fierce-looking man of the jianghu in his thirties, someone that any regular person would fear, while the other was just a fifteen-year-old teenager who still had an air of immaturity about him, without the slightest hint of fierceness.

    However, when the former saw the latter, he was like a mouse that had seen a cat. It was perplexing. Li Qingshan suddenly understood that his name had already been established. Although he was starting off with the ¡®Descended Tiger¡¯ that was not a particularly pleasant nickname, it possessed sufficient deterrence.

    A while later, Li Long came to receive him at the entrance. When he saw Li Qingshan, his heart skipped a beat. He was afraid of making eye contact with him. He thought about the bloody sight in the mountains from a few days ago, and an irrepressible fear rose up from his heart.

    He forced a smile. ¡°Oh, i- it¡¯s Qingshan! The master of our school welcomes you!¡±

    Li Qingshan followed him through the door, passing around the screen wall that had ¡®martial¡¯ written on it. He passed through the yard and arrived in the training grounds. He saw bare-chested, able-bodied men forming two rows as they welcomed him, but their faces were filled with hostility.

    The master of the Iron Fist school, Liu Hong, sat boldly on an armed chair. He asked with a heavy voice, ¡°Are you the Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned because of both the attempt to strike fear and his nickname. If someone told him right now that as long as he killed a certain person, he would earn a better nickname, he would rush over and finish them off without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡°The master is questioning you!¡± The man closest to Liu Hong yelled out loudly like a gong. He was rippled with muscles and covered in tattoos. His temples bulged slightly, clearly a master who practised both external and internal martial arts.

    Li Qingshan estimated that this person was stronger than the third boss, so it was no wonder that he was bold enough to talk to him in such a manner. To be able to dominate in Qingyang city, the Iron Fist school really did have something for show.

    Li Long said hurriedly, ¡°Please calm down, first senior brother. Qingshan is from the village. He¡¯s not well-versed in etiquette.¡± Then he tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Why don¡¯t you greet my master?¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands carelessly. ¡°Greetings, old hero Liu!¡± However, he did not show much respect at all. Liu Hong frowned, and the disciples of the Iron Fist school on both sides were angered.

    Li Long blamed him for not knowing any better. You¡¯ve already offended the Black Wind stronghold. Only if you get my master to stand by your side and get Huang Binghu of the Drawn Reins village to come forward will you have a change at resolving this. Master is a mighty second-rate master. Isn¡¯t that enough for a bow from you?

    ¡°This is our first senior brother. The people of the jianghu call him¡­¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand and interrupted. ¡°There¡¯s no need for me to remember the names of small fry.¡± He was not an impolite person. However, the first senior brother had been rude to him first, so there was no reason for him to be polite.

 Chapter 45 â€“ A Trade of the Flesh

    ¡°Calm down, first senior brother! Calm down!¡± Li Long attempted to stop his first senior brother, but he grabbed him from the shoulder and tossed him aside like he was trash. He swung his fist at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Stop, Wang Lei!¡± Liu Hong called out. The first senior brother¡¯s punch stopped firmly before Li Qingshan¡¯s face as he called out, ¡°Master, just let me teach this insolent kid a lesson!¡±

    Li Qingshan found this irritating. ¡°Originally, I only wanted to ask about some matters, but since you¡¯re all so busy, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± If there was anything they wanted to say, they could spit it out. What were they putting on an act for?

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ll probably lose your puny life soon.¡±

    As expected, Li Qingshan stopped. ¡°Oh, how come?¡±

    Liu Hong said, ¡°The people of the Black Wind stronghold are searching for you everywhere. You¡¯ll be fine if you hid away, but now that you¡¯ve shown yourself in public, you¡¯re dead for sure.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°And if this unfolds as it is supposed to, I¡¯m supposed to ask you for guidance as for how I can get out of this alive?¡±

    ¡°As long as you agree to join the Iron Fist school, I have my ways to save your life.¡± This was Liu Hong¡¯s objective. The Iron Fist school was a gang, not a sect. It did not require all the members of the gang to be disciples of the school. With the talent and strength Li Qingshan had displayed at such a young age, it was enough for any person from the jianghu to be interested.

    However, as an experienced member of the jianghu who had made a name for himself a long time ago, Liu Hong would never plead for Li Qingshan to join. Instead, he might attempt to strike fear into Li Qingshan and take him down a notch; this would let him understand the immensity of the world. Then he would offer advice out of good will, so Li Qingshan would understand the glorious future of joining the Iron Fist school. In the end, he would willingly ask to join.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s rudeness peeved him. ¡°But now, I¡¯ve changed my mind.¡± Do you really think you¡¯re a big deal just because you¡¯ve killed a few dozen bandits and a boss from the Black Wind stronghold?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then that¡¯s fantastic! If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Liu Hong had finally been spurred on. He was fine if he did not act, but when he did, he was like a furious, roaring lion. With just a single step, he landed in front of Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs all pricked up like he was under the attention of a ferocious wild beast. He instinctively raised his guard as he smiled gently, ¡°You¡¯re still a member of the jianghu in the end. When words don¡¯t work, you try force.¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    ¡°What, you¡¯re afraid?¡± Liu Hong growled.

    ¡°Immense be master¡¯s martial prowess!¡± The first senior brother, Wang Lei, called out as he raised his fist. He looked at Li Qingshan with a mocking gaze.

    The other people called out as well, ¡°Immense be master¡¯s martial prowess!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I once let Li Long throw three punches first!¡±

    Liu Hong squinted as he gave off a dangerous killing aura. ¡°That¡¯s because my useless disciple has poor martial arts. What, do you want to give me a handicap of three punches too?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Before Liu Hong¡¯s expression could even ease up, Li Qingshan added, ¡°In consideration of your elderly age, I¡¯ll give you a handicap of ten!¡±

    This is an unforgivable insult! Only those five words appeared in Liu Hong¡¯s heart. Now, he was truly ready to kill. ¡°Then come!¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°What more do you want?¡±

    ¡°Old hero Liu, you¡¯re a figure of the jianghu who has made a name for yourself a long time ago, so I can¡¯t give you this handicap for nothing!¡± Li Qingshan considered it. ¡°Ten taels of silver for each punch. That shouldn¡¯t be too expensive!¡± I have no ill feelings towards you, so if I fight you, I won¡¯t get any benefit, not even a copper coin, even if I win. Instead, I¡¯ll just end up with a strange grievance for no good reason. I just happened to be lacking money for a weapon, so I need to find a way to make some. After thinking long and hard, all I¡¯m skilled in is this ability.

    His words completely infuriated Liu Hong. It was basically throwing him in the same pile as street performers of the jianghu. He laughed out of pure anger. ¡°Alright, alright, alright. I¡¯m just afraid your life is insufficient for this exchange!¡±

    Li Long went up in a hurry to stop them. He had witnessed in person Liu Hong punching through rocks with his iron fists. If such strikes landed on a person, wouldn¡¯t they be reduced to meat paste? ¡°Mas-¡±

    But it was already too late. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The flurry of punches was like a charging, armoured horse, swift and heavy. Five punches immediately landed on Li Qingshan. Before Li Long could even utter the second half of ¡®master¡¯, the fierce gale from the punches had forced the people nearby to shut their eyes. Someone stepping up and stopping them was obviously impossible.

    The punches had come quickly and left quickly as well. Just when everyone was still entranced by the might within the five punches, Liu Hong was already standing with his arms by his side. He sighed gently. ¡°Alas, I¡¯ve killed once again today!¡±

    Li Long was stunned. He could not even utter the words of ¡®show mercy¡¯. The first senior brother, Wang Lei, was the first to respond. He called out, ¡°Immense be master¡¯s martial prowess!¡±

    ¡°Fifty taels!¡± Li Qingshan said suddenly. Liu Hong¡¯s eyes widened, but all he heard was Li Qingshan¡¯s praise. ¡°What heavy punches, just as expected! I almost couldn¡¯t withstand it!¡±

    His complexion remained normal, nowhere close to being unable to withstand it. Instead, he seemed more like a dishonest merchant, tricking his customers into buying more.

    Reality was like that as well. After achieving the strength of an ox, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide underwent an overwhelming transformation. The original Ox Demon Forges its Hide only seemed like a tough, external martial art for the body, but now, it truly demonstrated the might of a supernatural ability.

    A tough, thin film had formed between his skin and flesh. When the heavy punches that could split rocks landed on his body, it was like someone striking rubber. All of the force had been nullified, and the heavy inner force imbued in the punch would be nullified by true qi once it entered his body. The fists of a second-rate master could no longer harm him.

    Just like that, as easy as pie, he had made fifty taels of silver in a second. Even robbing the rich would not result in wealth so quickly! And, unless he had no other choice, he did not want to engage in activities like robbery or thievery.

    Though, does this count as engaging in a trade of the flesh?

    However, before he could think too much about it, the Iron Lion roared out and lunged over. Just how many years had it been? Ever since he returned to Qingyang city for retirement, he had never been humiliated so much, and it was in front of so many disciples as well.

    The heavy fists rained upon Li Qingshan, drowning him completely.

    ¡°Eighty, ninty, a hundred! Hmm? You¡¯re still hitting! Three hundred! Five hundred!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice emerged from the storm-like barrage clearly, constantly triggering Liu Hong. The people of the school had already become dumbfounded from this scene long ago.

    Liu Hong started off vigorously, but he had become elderly after all, resulting in a decline in physical strength. Before long, he had run out of breath and was sweating like bullets.

    Li Qingshan could not bear to watch much longer. He wanted to say directly, ¡°Uncle, you can¡¯t get through my defences!¡± However, when he thought of the greater plan of making money, he could only hold back his kindness and let him continue.

    From the name of the school alone, the Iron Fist school, Li Qingshan was at an overwhelming advantage. This did not mean that fists were completely inferior to weapons. As a matter of fact, to masters of martial arts, the fist was easier to use with inner force. They could shatter the organs of enemies with a single punch.

    Moreover, it could shake up the enemy and be used in close combat. As long as they gained the upper hand, they could easily kill their opponent. However, Liu Hong just happened to be matched up against a freak like Li Qigshan. Liu Hong did not lose because of inferior skills, but because he practised martial arts while Li Qingshan practised a superhuman ability.

    Liu Hong huffed and puffed, landing punch after punch powerlessly at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That should be enough!¡± He glanced at Li Long.

 Chapter 46 â€“ The Weak are Impolite

    I practise an ability that I¡¯ve just gained a grasp over. Li Qingshan could not say that, so he answered politely, ¡°It¡¯s only a form of crude martial arts for enduring beatings. Then¡­ old hero Liu, you punched me over a hundred times earlier, so I¡¯ll just take a thousand taels of silver.¡±

    His tone was much more polite compared to before; it was the politeness of a shopkeeper treating the customer as king.

    The others were still submerged in shock. They suspected they were dreaming. ¡°You-¡± Just when the first senior brother wanted to yell at Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan glanced at him, and he immediately shut up. Instead, he glared at Li Long, Didn¡¯t you say he was a third-rate master?

    Li Long also felt embarrassed and aggrieved. Back then, Li Qingshan truly was a third-rate master. Had he been hiding his strength? That was the only explanation now. He would never be able to believe that Li Qingshan had reached his current level from recent hard work.

    Liu Hong waved his hand. ¡°Bring the silver!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    Liu Hong handed a silver note worth a thousand taels to Li Qingshan. ¡°I was rude earlier. Young¡­ hero Li, please forgive me. Please accept this money as my apology.¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He had never thought that Liu Hong¡¯s tone would change so quickly; he was truly Li Long¡¯s master after all. Originally, Li Qingshan had thought he would become enraged from the humiliation.

    ¡°Young hero, you are extraordinary and possess impressive martial arts. If you remain in the underbrush like this, wouldn¡¯t that be a waste of your talent? Why don¡¯t you join my Iron Fist school instead? You won¡¯t be disappointed. As for the Black Wind stronghold, I¡¯ll help you talk to them, and that Black Bear should respect what I say. Why wouldn¡¯t people die when they¡¯re roaming the jianghu? Why is it that only a boss of yours is allowed to kill people? As the saying goes, just mind your own business¡­¡±

    Liu Hong rambled on. His mighty aura vanished completely, instead making him seem like a benevolent old man who was concerned for a junior.

    The disciples had never even imagined that such a side to their master existed. All of their eyes widened.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan realised that he was now on equal footing to Liu Hong. He was even slightly higher than Liu Hong, unlike when he arrived here. At the time, Liu Hong had looked down on him. This change was all due to the impressive ¡®martial arts¡¯ he had displayed.

    Liu Hong now treated him with courtesy, so he returned the courtesy. ¡°I was the one who was rude earlier, having offended old hero Liu. The money was just a joke of mine, so please take it back!¡± Only after both of them tried to concede the money to the other did Li Qingshan accept it. Li Qingshan eased up.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°The Black Wind stronghold was established all those years ago, so how can they be uprooted so easily? I¡¯m confident that I¡¯m not weaker than the Black Bear, but if I took on the Black Wind stronghold alone, it would be certain doom for me. The battlefield is unlike individual matches. Just my stamina alone is insufficient.¡±

    In the jianghu, not only did people fight with martial arts, but they also fought with influence. He recognised Li Qingshan¡¯s martial prowess, but he was still just a loner with no influence.

    Li Qingshan shook his head slightly, ¡°I have my plans.¡±

    Liu Hong could not persuade him otherwise, so he told him everything that had happened recently in the jianghu and near Qingyang city in detail.

    Li Qingshan heard that the Black Wind stronghold had gone to make trouble for the Drawn Reins village. ¡°Old hero Liu, I have a request. Please spread this piece of news as much as possible, that I, Li Qingshan, am in Qingyang city, and I haven¡¯t run away. I will be responsible for my own actions. I will never get others involved.¡±

    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s just like the saying, great men are made during their youth. I believe you won¡¯t need to fear anyone if you remain in Qingyang city!¡± Liu Hong said, ¡°Also, the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect has sent many people to the Drawn Reins village in a bid to see hunting chief Huang. Who knows what they¡¯re trying to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it and understood it was for the spiritual ginseng, but he also remembered that he had an old debt to settle with the young master of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. He could not help but sneer. ¡°Thank you for the advice, old hero. I still have some matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Liu Hong sent Li Long to accompany Li Qingshan. Afterwards, his face suddenly changed, and he smashed a wooden training dummy with a punch. ¡°If anyone even says a word about what happened today outside, you better not blame my fists for showing no mercy!¡±

    The first senior brother Wang Lei cried out, ¡°Master!¡± But he said nothing else.

    Liu Hong saw how the other disciples were all aggrieved; they refused to accept this. The disciples all felt ashamed from how Liu Hong transitioned from arrogance to humility.

    Liu Hong sighed. ¡°You all feel that I¡¯ve tried to flatter and please him far too much earlier, don¡¯t you? However, we really were rude to him in the first place.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ didn¡¯t you order us disciples to¡­¡±

    ¡°If he were just a third-rate master, I would never say we were in the wrong even if I killed him just then from how arrogant and rude he was. However, he¡¯s not. We¡¯re the ones who had underestimated him. To treat a master who is even beyond the second-rate like this, we¡¯re the ones who were rude and offended him. This is why slaughter never stops in the jianghu.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t fighting and dying because of such foolishness? In the jianghu, the strong is respected. If I didn¡¯t know that, I wouldn¡¯t still be alive right now. You¡¯ve all had it far too easily by staying in Qingyang city. Even when there are passing masters, I¡¯m the one who comes forward and takes care of them, protecting you. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t even understand such a simple principle.¡±

    If Li Qingshan were present, he would definitely burst out with laughter. As it turned out, the weak would always be impolite. Not only would they be impolite, they would also be unreasonable and powerless as well. Compared to attempting to discern the right from the wrong with everything in the world, this was much simpler and more practical.

    However, this was the principle of an experienced member of the jianghu. He could not pride himself as a veteran. He had to yield whenever he needed to. It was exactly because of this principle that he managed to retire peacefully.

    The disciples all lowered their heads and accepted the teachings. They also thought about the reason behind Li Qingshan¡¯s renown. With his powerful martial arts and cruel methods, none of them were bold enough to say that they could make it out of this courtyard if they really did fall out.

    Liu Hong nodded in satisfaction. He had protected the dignity of the school. In the end, he summarised, ¡°Within the jianghu, no matter how great your martial arts are, you won¡¯t make it far if you always try to act tough and abuse your strength. Someone is going to be out of luck this time.¡± He spoke ambiguously. Who knows whether he was talking about the Black Wind stronghold or Li Qingshan.

    Under Li Long¡¯s lead, Li Qingshan directly arrived at the Arsenal of Arms. With the silver on him, he was filled with confidence as well. As soon as he stepped through the door, he said, ¡°Boss, I want to see the weapons!¡±

    The shopkeeper was chubby and had a fair complexion. He was around forty years in age. He had a shrewd appearance. He glanced at Li Qingshan and then at Li Long, and his face immediately warmed up drastically. He placed down the book of accounts in his hands and clasped them. ¡°So it¡¯s young hero Li from the Iron Fist school. You¡¯ve bought your friend to have a look at the weapons. Everything outside is inferior goods, so come in, come in, come in. Come inside!¡±

    If he wanted to set up a shop and do business here, it was impossible for him to not deal with the local tyrant, the Iron Fist school. Li Long was someone of some prominence in the streets of Qingyang city such that even the shopkeeper had to treat him politely.

    Stepping in, various weapons appeared in their sights. Whether it be blades, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle axes, hooks, or tridents, all of them were present. It truly did live up to its name as a large armoury.

    ¡°May I ask what kind of weapon this young hero is skilled in? Is it the blade or the sword? We have fine blades and swords of folded steel, fitting to all sizes. If you aren¡¯t satisfied with the selection, you can even have an item be made to order.¡± As the shopkeeper introduced the weapons to them, he ordered people to bring the superior weapons. Every single one of them gleamed brightly, possessing extraordinary exquisite design.

 Chapter 47 â€“ The Four-meter-long Spear

    The shopkeeper was stunned. I can tell you¡¯re somewhat a person of the martial arts society, going for something heavy instead of choosing a weapon that suits you. However, he immediately smiled. ¡°We do, we do, we do!¡± I don¡¯t care about your requests as long as I can sell these weapons.

    This was something Li Qingshan had planned and prepared for carefully. If he wanted to destroy the Black Wind stronghold, he would face a true slaughter on the battlefield. The only way for him to unleash his strength to the limit was to use the heaviest and longest weapon available; this would help him overcome the numerical advantage his enemy possessed.

    A sturdy assistant brought over a heavy broadblade. The shopkeeper said, ¡°This blade weighs seventeen and a half kilograms and is five feet three inches in length. It is razor sharp. Does this satisfy the young hero?¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed the hilt and waved it around a few times as it shone with a cold gleam. The broad blade was as light as a feather in his hands. ¡°It¡¯s too light. Give me something heavier.¡±

    The shopkeeper and the assistant were speechless. Just how much strength does he have?

    Two assistants brought over an azure dragon halberd1, and the shopkeeper said, ¡°This halberd weighs thirty-one kilograms and is eight feet two inches in length. Look at that crescent blade. That¡¯s something that can only be forged by skilled, experienced blacksmiths.¡±

    Li Qingshan flicked the tip of the halberd. ¡°This is nice, but it¡¯s too easy to snap. And, isn¡¯t there anything heavier?¡± He could still remember how the halberd had snapped and flew apart from a single sweep back then.

    Of course, that was probably because he did not know how to use a halberd and had used it incorrectly. However, he was not dealing with just a few enemies this time.

    The shopkeeper¡¯s eyes widened. For Li Long¡¯s sake, he did not rebuke the fact that the weapon had just been labelled as ¡®too easy to snap¡¯. He thought, Just how on earth do you plan on using the weapon!? He wanted to embarrass Li Qingshan, so he waved his hand. ¡°Come with me to the armoury. There¡¯ll definitely be a weapon that you¡¯ll like.¡±

    Li Qingshan became curious as well. He followed the shopkeeper to the back courtyard, passing by many testing grounds to try weapons before arriving at the armoury. The array of weapons in there was even more dazzling, covering an even larger variety. However, what stood out the most was the huge, dark, metal spear at the very centre.

    The spear seemed to be forged out of solid metal. The tip and the pole seemed to be one piece. It did not even have a tassel. There was only a tiger¡¯s head sculpted at the connection point, with the tip emerging from its mouth. The weapon gave off a crude but generous sense of domination.

    ¡°Alright, this one!¡± Li Qingshan went up and grabbed the Tyrant¡¯s spear. A cold, heavy feeling weighed at the centre of his hand. With a shake of his hand, the spear writhed like a dragon, producing a thrum.

    The shopkeeper and assistants were left speechless once again. Being able to lift it was one matter, but being able to use it was another thing altogether. If he could barely move when carrying the weapon, he would just make people laugh. However, since he could shake it, it meant he had the strength to use this spear. Just how much strength was that!

    Li Qingshan believed that this weapon suited him the most. With this weapon, he could give the bandits of Black Wind mountain a surprise. He could show them what growing stronger with each inch meant.

    However, he had no idea how to use the spear, so he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the spear manual?¡±

    The shopkeeper said, ¡°Young hero, are you certain about buying it? It¡¯s not cheap. Even if we ignore the efforts of the craftsman, just the amount of metal that went into it¡­¡±

    Li Long said, ¡°Cut the bullshit. How much is it? Just spit it out? Do you plan on asking for more?¡±

    The shopkeeper extended five fingers, ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that, young hero Li, I¡¯ll just try to make back my cost. Five hundred taels.¡±

    Li Long immediately yelled out, ¡°What!? Five hundred taels!? Have you lost your mind trying to get rich? Is there anyone else who can use this black metal rod apart from my brother? It only gathers dust here, so I think it¡¯s not even worth a hundred taels.¡±

    The two of them began haggling over the price, while Li Qingshan looked around the armoury. A glow caught his attention. In the dark armoury, the faint flow was extremely eye-catching; it was as if the object in question did not want to be buried in the dust.

    Li Qingshan looked around at the people but noticed that none of them seemed to have discovered the glow. He knew his eyes were different from other people¡¯s. He walked over as if by accident and arrived before the weapons rack, picking up a wooden box.

    Opening the wooden box, he found a delicately crafted small knife lying inside. It was only around a foot in length and was enveloped in a faint, blue light. He asked, ¡°Shopkeeper, how much is this?¡±

    The shopkeeper was surprised. ¡°Impressive insight, young hero. That¡¯s the treasure of our store. A descendent of a great clan in distress left that knife here. It¡¯s extremely sharp. I spent around one hundred or two hundred taels of silver to buy it back then.¡±

    Li Qingshan ¡®carelessly¡¯ placed the knife back in the casket and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s a pity it¡¯s too light and small.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that. Exactly because of its size and weight, the knife is easily hidden. At times of need, it can be used to protect yourself!¡±

    Li Long said, ¡°You¡¯re bullshitting again. Any weapon we pick up will turn out to be the treasure of your store. Just throw in the knife, and I won¡¯t haggle with you over some measly taels.¡±

    ¡°How can I do that!?¡± The shopkeeper cried out as if he had just been stabbed.

    In the end, they settled on four hundred taels for the big and the small, the spear as well as the knife.

    The shopkeeper gave the items to them as if he were in pain, but he was delighted inside. He had finally sold off these two pieces of trash. It was obvious with the Tyrant¡¯s spear. It was forged such that absolutely no one could use it, wasting all that metal for nothing. Reforging it would be too much of a pity as well. He had cursed his heart out at the blacksmith in the past because of this spear. All of it would be in vain if it were reforged.

    However, the origins of the knife were true. A young man in dejection had come to him with this knife before being sent away for ten taels of silver. However, the shopkeeper soon regretted his purchase. The knife was indeed a good knife that could cut through metal like mud, but it was just too short and small. No wonder he tried to sell it to people for a few dozen taels of silver as a throwing knife.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to use a spear, so the Tyrant¡¯s Spear style was delivered to him very soon. As expected, it was the most ordinary and generic spear manual in the jianghu. However, the names of the moves sounded extremely mighty, like Sweeping Away All and the Tyrant¡¯s Parry.

    Li Long only glanced through it before stopping.

    Li Qingshan instead read it from the beginning to the end, studying it carefully. He arrived at the testing grounds and practised it move by move.

    As it turned out, the spear was much more difficult to use than the blade, but after achieving the strength of an ox, the changes he experienced were not as simple as an increase in strength. His control of his strength and even his understanding of martial arts had deepened.

    The weapon was just an extension of the body!

    Li Qingshan started off very slowly, but he moved faster and faster before long. The huge spear danced around like a black dragon, coiling around Li Qingshan and kicking up a fierce gale on the testing grounds.

    Li long retreated back a distance of several dozen steps. He was left speechless by the might of the spear. Li Qingshan seemed like an unmatched, valiant general, able to fend off thousands on the battlefield alone.

    Wherever the spear pointed, cold light shone, bloodiness spread and a ghost-like howl rang out. Although he had not been present when Liu Hong lectured his other disciples, he understood why his master had suddenly shown Li Qingshan respect. At such a young age, he already possessed such startling martial arts. He only read through a spear manual, yet he could already utilise all of it skillfully. Coupled with his extremely vicious and cruel methods, someone like him would definitely become renowned throughout the jianghu as long as he did not die. His future lay beyond the level of second-rate masters. Perhaps he really could become an innate master, a realm he could not imagine.

 Chapter 48 â€“ The District Magistrate Returns the Kindness

    If Li Qingshan knew what Li Long was thinking, he would definitely praise his insight. Li Qingshan was a proper innate master, except for the fact that the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength did not focus on practising qi. Moreover, he had cultivated for far too short of a period, so he could not show it.

    His mind had completely submerged into the spear techniques. With his interest piqued, he flicked his wrist and produced seven blurs that blossomed like flowers. It was extremely dazzling, shaking up and thundering through the air.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan drew back the spear, and the violent gusts of wind stopped with the weapon. His muscles relaxed. ¡°How satisfying!¡±

    He was not a master of the spear, but it was almost impossible for him to rival true masters of the spear who had devoted several decades or even their entire lives to the art; this was regardless of his talent or how mysterious the superhuman ability was.

    However, not a single master of the spear was his opponent. As long as it was a clash of weapons, the seventy-one kilogram Tyrant¡¯s spear coupled with his ox demon¡¯s strength could knock away anything. Splitting the webbing between their thumb and index would be a light wound. Shattering their hand or even their entire arm was possible.

    This was the reason why he needed to find a heavy weapon; it would allow him to take on ten times as many martial artists with his strength alone.

    After trying the spear, Li Qingshan was still not satisfied. ¡°Shopkeeper, I need two more things. I need arrows and armour. You don¡¯t seem to have either of those here.¡±

    He had already decided on unleashing his full advantage. Although the Ox Demon Forges its Hide could block the punches of second-rate masters or even blades and swords from ordinary people, it probably could not stop the weapons of third-rate masters imbued with inner force. Blunt and sharp weapons were two different things in the first place.

    With his strength, he would not feel burdened even when equipped with several dozen kilograms of armour, but his defences would increase significantly. Once he charged into the nest of bandits, there would be even less of a reason for him to fear their numbers.

    The shopkeeper was troubled. ¡°That¡¯s all military equipment, not regular equipment. Normally, you can¡¯t just buy it. Probably only the city¡¯s arsenal has it.¡±

    Actually, that was not the primary reason. Most of his customers were people of the jianghu. Was there anyone who roamed through the jianghu with a set of cumbersome armour on? As for arrows, there were even fewer people in the jianghu who used bows. Otherwise, with how the business was bent solely on profits and the Arsenal of Arms¡¯ colossal backing, there was not a single thing they would not sell as long as they could make money.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Fine then. That¡¯s all then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve come to Qingyang city, so of course you haven¡¯t seen me before.¡±

    ¡°The Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan!¡± The shopkeeper was startled. How could he not know about this figure who had caused quite the ruckus recently?

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and became determined to change the nickname. Then he visited the clothing shop to buy a nice set of clothes before settling down in the best establishment that the city had to offer.

    Li Qingshan washed his face and rinsed his mouth before changing into his new clothes. When he emerged again, Li Long praised him. ¡°Nice!¡±

    He had changed into a set of navy warrior¡¯s robes, revealing his wide chest and smaller waist. He seemed extremely valiant. This was just the clothing accentuating his features. After going through the killing and tough training, his aura was elated, like a treasured sword gradually being polished.

    His bronze face was still not particularly handsome, but his facial features were chiseled like they were sculpted from rock. He really did match his nickname of Descended Tiger a little, radiating majesty without the slightest tolerance for slander.

    At this moment, two guards from the government suddenly visited. They greeted Li Qingshan in a hurry as soon as they saw him. They were even afraid to look at him directly. They said without the slightest trace of the arrogance they would show to normal people. ¡°May we ask if you are young hero Li? Our district magistrate invites you to visit. The carriage and horses have already been prepared.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He had no idea why the district magistrate had summoned him. Was it to reward him for killing the bandits? He immediately agreed. Since it was the district magistrate, they would have the responsibility of repelling bandits and ushering peace to the people. If he could get the magistrate to give him some people, he would be even more confident.¡±

    He entrusted the Tyrant¡¯s spear to Li Long, and Li Qingshan arrived at the entrance of the government¡¯s office with the guards. A plump figure came to receive him, grabbing Li Qingshan by the hand and studying him all over. He marvelled at him.

    Li Qingshan drew back his hand uncomfortably. ¡°Sir, is there a reason why you¡¯re looking for me?¡±

    ¡°My little saviour, have you forgotten about me? In the mountains that day! The tiger!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly remembered. ¡°So that was you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Ye Dachuan. I¡¯ve searched for you for a very long time. Please come in!¡± Ye Dachuan led Li Qingshan to the guest hall behind the government¡¯s office, and his expression changed. ¡°Why are you still strolling through the city?! Run quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Why do I have to run?¡±

    The advisor said, ¡°Do you really not know what¡¯s best for you? The people of the Black Wind mountain are searching for you everywhere. Not only do you not hide your tracks, but you¡¯ve even appeared in Qingyang city. Someone will come knocking tomorrow to take your life.¡±

    As he said that, he shoved a bundle of money and items into his hands. ¡°We¡¯ve already prepared a horse for you outside. You are welcome to rush to the Clear River prefecture. Don¡¯t stop at all along the way. Here¡¯s a letter. Take it to the prefect¡¯s office and just hand it to the district magistrate¡¯s¡­ Ouch!¡±

    Ye Dachuan stepped on the advisor¡¯s foot. ¡°That¡¯s what I was going to say. I¡¯ve already gotten my younger sister to put in a few words to the prefect, so you¡¯ll be guaranteed a wealthy future. No matter how powerful the people of the Black Wind mountain are, they won¡¯t be able to chase you there.¡± Then he sighed. ¡°Originally, I wanted to keep you around as a sheriff so that you could assist me and quash out some more bandits. Cough cough, the reinforcements that I¡¯ve requested for never arrived. They¡¯ve probably been delayed on the way. It¡¯s just too remote here.¡±

    The advisor thought, The prefect probably wants you dead for good, so why would he send you anyone?

    Originally, Li Qingshan found this funny. Ye Dachuan was short and fat, and he wore a large set of official¡¯s robes. He was extremely similar to one of those wretched officials portrayed in novels and operas. Out of all of these characters, the better ones would just be mediocre people, while the worse ones would harass the kind-hearted.

    However, seeing how he eagerly paved a path for him, he was touched. No matter how many crafty crooks there were in the world, there were still people who knew to return the favour.

    When he came down from the mountains, all he thought of was how to uproot the Black Wind stronghold and slaughter them all before settling the debt of insult with the young master from the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. The face reflected the mind, so he was teeming with a murderous aura. If this went on, his cruel, murderous side would definitely possess him completely.

    However, Li Long constantly assisted him due to being from the same village, while Ye Dachuan earnestly tried to return the kindness of saving his life. Whilst these two people were not particularly good or righteous, both just the most ordinary people among the crowd, it was exactly them that allowed him to see that human nature was not all evil.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you for your kindness, sir Ye. There¡¯s no need for you to refer to me as saviour. You can just call me Qingshan. However, I haven¡¯t come this time to run away!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not running?¡± Ye Dachuan was furious. ¡°Kid, you have no idea how anything works. Do you know how much risk I took on for you to get a government position?¡±

    The advisor tried to persuade him as well. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d better run quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°I can run, but the Crouching Ox village can¡¯t. And sir Ye, you can¡¯t run either, can you? Since I¡¯m brave enough to remain here, I have some confidence in myself.¡± He opened the bundle and saw some silver pieces inside. He picked them up and crushed them leisurely.

    The eyes of Ye Dachuan and the advisor widened as they watched the silver ooze out from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand like mud. They were not people of the jianghu, so how could they have seen martial arts before? Their evaluation of Li Qingshan immediately climbed even higher. Ye Dachuan hesitated. ¡°With your skills, perhaps you really might be safe as long as you remain in the city. I¡¯ll go see a few other people for your sake. Let¡¯s hope the Black Wind bandits won¡¯t attack the city.¡± He wanted Li Qingshan to stay very much. Once that happened, if any aristocrat dared to look down on him, he could send Li Qingshan to beat them up. By then, he could ask for whatever amounts of silver he wanted.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sir, you said you want me to be the sheriff?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Ye Dachuan smiled from ear to ear. He had already begun imagining the power and prestige he would possess in the future when he ran about freely with Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 49 â€“ In the Qingyang Restauran

    t

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ambitions completely stunned Ye Dachuan. He had always wanted to protect Li Qingshan¡¯s life from the threat of the Black Wind stronghold, and it would be the best if he could use Li Qingshan. However, he never considered mounting the offence and provoking the Black Wind stronghold. He wanted to persuade him to stop dreaming. The money I collect isn¡¯t for subduing any bandits but for filling my own pockets. When the time comes, we just need to frighten those aristocrats and accept the money. Everyone will get a share.

    However, he saw the determination in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Although he still had a hint of immaturity that had yet to fade away, he was filled with high-spirited, self-confident righteousness. As a result, Ye Dachuan was unable to bring himself to try and dissuade him. The youth possessed the power to spur others on.

    Ye Dachuan hesitated and struggled for quite a long while before suddenly slamming the table. ¡°Alright! If you really have the confidence, I¡¯ll take this gamble with you!¡±

    ¡°Sir, you mustn¡¯t! We can¡¯t afford to offend any of these people or places!¡± The advisor rushed up.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Move. I have some guts in me as well. I¡¯ll offend exactly what I can¡¯t offend!¡± He seemed to possess righteous ardour, but he thought rapidly in his head, Li Qingshan managed to kill twenty or thirty people and a boss from the Black Wind stronghold alone. The Black Wind stronghold has around two hundred people, so that¡¯s around ten times the quantity. Am I supposed to recruit a hundred and sixty or seventy people?

    It had to be mentioned that this official Ye, who had neither wandered through the jianghu nor fought wars, was really quite naive. However, once a person had been carried away by their thoughts, they could no longer care.

    If the Black Wind stronghold was destroyed, just who would still be bold enough to call him a country bumpkin who only managed to get his position through nepotism? Just who would still ignore his demands for money? And afterwards, he could get his younger sister to pressure the prefect a little. Perhaps he could get promoted, leaving this god forsaken place. And most importantly, the Black Wind stronghold had pillaged and plundered this region for all these years, so they must have accumulated quite a lot of wealth. Maybe they had five thousand, no, ten thousand taels of silver.

    Thinking about the shining, white piles of silver, magistrate Ye was unable to maintain his appearance of righteous ardour any longer. He almost drooled.

    Despite dusk nearing, the largest and finest establishment in Qingyang city, the Qingyang restaurant, was still blazing with lanterns. All of the tables of luxurious delicacies, over a dozen of them, had left Ye Dachuan feeling pained. He had invited the various important figures of the city. It was a banquet of the aristocrats and the wealthy.

    As a result, he sat in the host¡¯s seat, and his expression was slightly ugly. Li Qinghan stood beside him like a guard, willingly standing out. He saw Ye Dachuan¡¯s slightly twisted face, and he smiled. ¡°Sir, there¡¯s no need to be pained over the money. Haven¡¯t I covered it for you already?¡±

    Originally, official Ye really was unable to take out that much money in the end, so it was Li Qingshan who paid. Li Qingshan was not a petty person. As long as he was treated politely and with sincerity, he was easier to get along with than anyone else. He had a sense of extravagance that treasured moral uprightness over wealth.

    However, if someone acted haughtily, trying to do something like strike fear in him and take him down a notch, then they had better forgive him for his bad temper.

    Ye Dachuan said awkwardly, ¡°Once I collect money, I¡¯ll definitely pay you back!¡± As the district magistrate, he had been shamed like this. He was only afraid of this powerful subordinate mocking him.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°This is you helping me as well, so don¡¯t mention the money ever again.¡±

    The advisor stood downstairs, welcoming the aristocrats as the wooden stairs constantly drummed. Every person would come up and greet Ye Dachuan, referring to him politely as ¡°Sir Ye.¡± Afterwards, they would glance at Li Qingshan deeply and clasp their hands. ¡°You must be the Descended Tiger who cut down several dozen mountain bandits. Your name has been reverberating like thunder, like thunder I say!¡±

    They were all extremely well-informed, so they knew very well who the person of focus would be today. It would not be Ye Dachuan, who basically had no means or foundations about him, but the young man who had killed several dozen mountain bandits.

    They were not afraid of Ye Dachuan. They were not even afraid of Li Qingshan. However, once they combined their influence and power together, they would be a rather troublesome combination to deal with. Perhaps it would never be like the past again, where they all looked down on district magistrate.

    Heavy footsteps rang through the building. Before the person had even arrived, the advisor had already called out loudly from below, ¡°Old hero Liu of the Iron Fist school has arrived!¡± Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered at the stairway. As a matter of fact, there were even quite a few people who stood up. The amount of respect they showed could not be compared to what they showed to an empty husk of a district magistrate like Ye Dachuan.

    The Iron Lion Liu Hong made his way up the stairs with his two disciples, Wang Lei and Li Long. He truly was proud like a lion.

    The aristocrats all gathered over. Depending on their age and status, they constantly referred to him as ¡®old hero Liu¡¯ or ¡®brother Liu¡¯. Even his two disciples beside him were rained with praises.

    Quite a few aristocrats did that while glancing at Li Qingshan as if they were saying. We know the master of the Iron Fist school. You might be fierce and tough, but even you can¡¯t be unruly in his presence! In their eyes, Li Qingshan was powerful, but a great difference still existed between him and someone who had made a name for himself a long time ago within the jianghu like Liu Hong; this was what they relied on.

    Li Qingshan had never thought the important figures Ye Dachuan wanted to introduce to him would include Liu Hong. However, he realised with just some thought that even if no one took Ye Dachuan seriously, they still had to hold a welcoming ceremony as important figures of the city to receive him as the new district magistrate. Otherwise, they would be looking down on the prefect¡¯s decision. The largest local power obviously could not be absent from an event like this.

    Li Qingshan saw the awkwardness on Ye Dachuan¡¯s face as he hesitated over whether to stand up or not. Li Qingshan placed his hand on his shoulder and got him to sit still.

    At this moment, a shocking sight happened. Liu Hong broke away from the group and arrived in front of Li Qingshan. He smiled. ¡°Young hero Li, we meet again.¡± His attitude was so warm that it made them wonder whether he was still the Iron Lion they knew.

    Wang Lei also bowed awkwardly, no longer able to make trouble for this person who was younger than him.

    Ye Dachuan was just about to introduce Li Qingshan. Seeing this, he was surprised as well. ¡°You know each other?¡±

    Liu Hong patted Li Long¡¯s shoulder. ¡°He¡¯s from the same village as my youngest disciple. They¡¯ve been acquainted since young. Today in Qingyang city, it was even Li Long who took him around to purchase what he¡¯s wearing right now.¡± Ever since he arrived on the floor, he immediately saw Li Qingshan. He saw how he was dressed in navy warrior¡¯s robes, standing with his arms crossed by the window. He towered like a lone pine tree on a cliff, distinguishing himself from the common crowd and drawing attention. Even with his animosity towards Li Qingshan, he could not help but have his eyes light up as he secretly praised, What a valiant youth. The good men of jianghu did not particularly like men who were too handsome. Instead, Li Qingshan¡¯s looks formed the standard for them.

    Li Long could be considered as naturally endowed. He had been chosen by Liu Hong as his final disciple from the first glance, where he felt a great liking towards him. However, compared to Li Qingshan, he was like mugwort to a pine tree. Just which sharp-eyed, insightful person unearthed this fine piece of jade? Why hadn¡¯t I seen him when I visited the Crouching Ox village before?

    Never had he thought that when he accepted Li Long as his disciple, Li Qingshan was still wrapped up in swaddling blankets. Li Qingshan had changed drastically due to the supernatural ability, but his talent was never bad in the first place. Coupled with his knowledge that came with living two lives, he would have been chosen by someone a long time ago, and he would have quite the achievement if he had not reincarnated in the wrong place and was born somewhere as remote as the Crouching Ox village.

    Although great men were not afraid of being born into lowly statuses, no one could deny the importance of birth status.

    The hearts of the aristocrats immediately sunk completely. Originally, they wanted to rely on Liu Hong¡¯s power and influence to deal with Li Qingshan, but they never thought that Liu Hong would be even more familiar with Li Qingshan than them, vaguely treating him as someone on equal footing. When they looked at Li Qingshan again, there was much more caution in their gazes.

    However, Ye Dachuan was utterly overjoyed. ¡°So the guards had received him from you. Qingshan once saved me from a tiger¡¯s mouth, and I finally found him today. I¡¯ve asked him to become the sheriff.¡±

    Originally, Liu Hong found this strange as well. Why would Li Qingshan be in contact with district magistrate Ye as soon as he had arrived in Qingyang city? Only now did he understand. ¡°So Qingshan is the young hero the district magistrate mentioned, who chased a tiger to its

    death. When sir Ye recruits people of wisdom and valour, age doesn¡¯t bother him. It¡¯ll only be a matter of time before you make a career out of Qingyang city.¡±

    Li Qingshan was neither humble nor pushy. ¡°You are too kind, old hero Liu. I just want to borrow sir Ye¡¯s power and do some things for the people of Qingyang. I want to eliminate a cancer of the city.¡±

 Chapter 50 â€“ The Dragonâ€™s Gate Sect Attacks

    It was time, and all the guests were present. Ye Dachuan stood up to make a toast, starting off with a bunch of civilities like ¡®It is my great honour for all of you to be here¡¯. Afterwards, he cut to the chase and said with a face full of fury and sorrow,

    ¡°I¡¯ve invited you all here today regarding an important matter that relates to the survival of our Qingyang city. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the cancerous tumour of the Black Wind stronghold. The Black Wind bandits are vicious and have behaved outrageously, committing so many sins that cannot be forgiven. They¡¯ve stolen so much money¡­ Sigh, and who knows how many people they¡¯ve killed.¡±

    He did feel absolutely livid over the fact that these bandits were richer than him, the district magistrate. The advisor kicked him from underneath the table, so he quickly moved on after a gentle cough.

    ¡°Now, they want to massacre the Crouching Ox village. As the official of Qingyang city, if I tolerate this, they¡¯ll basically be free to do whatever they want. You must all have heard about the person beside me, the Descended Tiger! Li Qingshan!¡±

    He placed extra stress on the renowned nickname of Descended Tiger, which made the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitch.

    ¡°This young hero is also my sheriff of the entire Qingyang city now. Not only did he personally kill the third boss and several dozen bandits from the Black Wind stronghold, but he also wants to destroy the entire nest of bandits as well. I implore you all to contribute money and effort for this matter. Only then will it not go to waste, and only then can you live up to the kindness the world has shown to you.¡± With that, he drank the entire cup of alcohol.

    Qingyang did not have a single soldier or general that the district magistrate could order around. Even the guards of the government office were the old, weak, sick, and disabled trying to earn a living. However, these larger clans all had huge courtyards wrapped in tall walls; they also had many guards. As a result, the peace of Qingyang city was actually mostly maintained by local gangs and organisations like the Iron Fist school. If he wanted to recruit people, he could only borrow people from these aristocrats. As long as every household sent four or five people, they would basically reach the number that magistrate Ye had been expecting.

    However, none of the aristocrats could drink to that. They all looked at one another. The magistrate was going to be serious this time?!

    It was normal for them to ask for money. Were there any previous magistrates who did not ask for money? However, asking for people was not normal.

    Apart from the first few magistrates who would take a group of people into the mountains after receiving the money to put up an act, the later magistrates did not even try to put up an act. They would only say that the time was not right. As for when the time was right, only the heavens would know.

    None of them knew where the Crouching Ox village was. What did its destruction have to do with them? It was not like the Black Wind stronghold was coming for them. Why would the deaths of other people affect them?

    A seemingly influential aristocrat in his forties or fifties said, ¡°Sir Ye, We all understand your care and concern for your people. We can¡¯t just watch on either. We need to contribute as well. However, getting us to send you people will be impossible. Even if we agree, the guards won¡¯t oblige.¡±

    He explained his stance very indirectly. Considering how you have power right now, we can gather some money for you to make a gesture. But once you take the money, just stay put obediently. Don¡¯t make trouble for us.

    I¡¯m actually going to receive money! Ye Dachuan found this rather difficult to believe in. He really wanted to pinch his thigh and see whether he was dreaming or not. Ever since he became the district magistrate, he had been asking around everywhere, but no one took him seriously. He had not even received a single tael of silver.

    Success would always come suddenly. Ye Dachuan calmed himself down and glanced at Li Qingshan. He began to consider whether it was time to just accept this and pull back.

    Li Qingshan frowned, but he could not blame these aristocrats for their selfishness. Ordinary people were all like that. Coupled with the actions of the previous district magistrates, it was already surprising that they were willing to contribute money. Since he could not borrow their strength, there was no need to force them. He said, ¡°Then I must thank you all¡­¡±

    ¡°Father, don¡¯t give him money!¡± A young man stormed up the stairs loudly, glaring at Li Qingshan viciously.

    Li Qingshan immediately remembered him. He was the young man who had been drifting in the carriage before kneeling and giving his pouch of money to him. Why had he suddenly become so brave? Was he relying on the adults here?

    ¡°Don¡¯t mess around. This isn¡¯t a place you can come. Go back down!¡± A middle-aged aristocrat scolded.

    The young man did not yield. Instead, he said with a face of arrogance and complacence. ¡°My senior brothers have come!¡±

    ¡°The people of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect have come!¡± Another aristocrat called out in pure surprise and delight.

    ¡°My son learns martial arts there!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so does mine!¡±

    The aristocrats all beamed with joy as they whispered to one another. They were rejoicing over the fact that someone would stand up for them, and they would not have to pay the money.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s face suddenly became frigid. The insults he experienced on the mountain path that day crossed his head again.

    A group of people rushed up the twisting stairs. There were young adults as well as teenagers, every single one of them in white clothes and carrying swords. They all gathered together. All of their faces were supercilious, truly giving off an austere aura.

    Their leader was the young master of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, Yang Jun.

    ¡°Sir district magistrate, you¡¯ve invited everyone, so why have you only excluded the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect? Do you look down on us?¡± Yang Jun¡¯s gaze circled around the room. He nodded at Liu Hong as soon as he saw him, which barely formed as a greeting. When he saw Li Qingshan, his eyes lit up instead, before erupting with fury. ¡°You really are here! You¡¯ve really made us search!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been looking for me?¡± Li Qingshan instead found this perplexing. From Yang Jun¡¯s expression, it seemed like he had deeply offended him. However, since Yang Jun had come knocking today, he would never just let him go so easily. It was a pity the great spear was not on him. Otherwise, who knows how many would be injured or dead from a sweep of the weapon.

    ¡°I only regret that I didn¡¯t just cut you down back then. Today, I¡¯ll make you spit out everything you¡¯ve eaten.¡± Yang Jun looked at Li Qingshan like he was his arch nemesis. After learning that the spiritual ginseng had been taken away by Li Qingshan, he immediately burst out in anger.

    The spiritual ginseng had brushed past him, ending up with this bumpkin instead. Although it was impossible to digest the spiritual ginseng that easily, a great amount of its potency would be depleted after such a long amount of time. Otherwise, how was this bumpkin supposed to possess enough strength to kill the third boss of the Black Wind stronghold? Moreover, the spiritual ginseng belonged to him in the first place.

    In his eyes, Li Qingshan was an extremely despicable and wretched thief, stealing what belonged to him, so why wouldn¡¯t he hate him to the very core? He wanted to cut Li Qingshan to pieces.

    Ye Dachuan stood up in a hurry. ¡°Young hero Yang, calm down. We can talk through this. Qingshan is my sheriff, so why must you confront him with such hostility?¡± He could tell that the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect had come looking for trouble. Every single one of them were armed, so his confidence immediately dispersed. There was a saying that it was difficult to fight a battle outnumbered. If a stray sword came his way, how was Li Qingshan supposed to block it, no matter how great his martial arts were?

    Yang Jun said with a sunken face, ¡°Sir magistrate, this person has stolen an extremely important item to our Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. We¡¯ve come to apprehend him today, so please don¡¯t get in the way. You have to be careful, considering the fact that swords can cut anyone.¡± Without even waiting for his reply, Yan Jun ordered, ¡°Seize him!¡± He was as haughty as they came. Then he smiled viciously. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him. I will slowly interrogate him for its whereabouts.¡± Over a dozen people rushed over, and the aristocrats dodged to the sides quickly, while the magistrate and the advisor fled. Around the large, round table, only Liu Hong remained seated, leisurely drinking his alcohol.

    Out of everyone present, only Liu Hong understood Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. As for the relationship between the Iron Fist school and the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, Yang Jun¡¯s attitude towards him had revealed quite a bit. The Iron Fist school mingled with the lower classes, freely accepting disciples from anywhere. However, the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect mingled with the higher classes. All of their disciples came from wealthy and influential families.

    They were not on utterly bad terms, but neither of them had ever found the other pleasing to the eyes. As a result, Liu Hong would never say anything as a warning. As a matter of fact, he could only wish that some more people from the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect died here, that haughty Yang Jun who disrespected him in particular. However, he was also guessing at what this ¡®important item¡¯ was. He seemed to have heard of some things before.

 Chapter 51 â€“ Sweeping up the Dragonâ€™s Gate Sec

    t

    Li Qingshan only stood tall and alone near the window; it was as if he did not see the disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect that rushed towards him.

    The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect knows I have the spiritual ginseng, so who told them? Huang Binghu? So much for saving your life.

    The fury from betrayal slowly rose up through him, but his mouth curled gradually instead, revealing his pale-white teeth. Liu Hong¡¯s heart leapt up when he saw this from one side. What heavy killing aura!

    Swoosh! He raised a foot and kicked the heavy, square table in front of him. The table was both wide and huge, able to seat ten people at the very least. It was made from jujube wood and was at least a hundred kilograms in weight. He had sent it flying with a single kick, and the table smashed into the disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect extremely swiftly and forcefully.

    Chi Da charged at the front. He had never even considered such an attack, so he could only watch on in shock as the table smashed into him. His reaction was fast, immediately abandoning his sword and launching his hands at the table with all the inner force that his body could muster.

    A futile effort! Li Qingshan sneered.

    Chi Da¡¯s arms snapped at the same time, while his chest caved in from the collision. Blood spurted out from his mouth violently as the cracking of bones rang out at the same time.

    The table did not stop with that. It took seven or eight disciples with it before ramming through the railing and falling down the stairs. A great bang followed.

    There were customers below. Originally, they had been wondering who¡¯s luck had run out today when they saw the disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect rush up the stairs in a threatening manner, brimming with a murderous aura. All of them stuck their heads over to watch the show, but suddenly, they were met with a table and seven or eight disciples falling down the stairs. They all scrambled away as they screamed.

    Only when the table hit the ground did they gather over, still shaken. They saw Chi Da winded and dead, while the other disciples only managed to survive because Chi Da had blocked some of the force for them. However, their bones were still broken and fractured, causing them to moan in pain endlessly.

    Every single customer was stunned. When had they ever seen the disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect in such a state? Just who was upstairs?

    For some reason, Li Qingshan thought of bowling. The disciples in their white clothes were just like bowling pins. It was just a pity that he did not knock them all down.

    The remaining five or six disciples had not been ¡®knocked down¡¯ due to being further out to the sides. However, they were drenched in cold sweat from fright. They stood there blankly, actually clueless as to how to react. These sons of wealthy clans practised martial arts, but they had never truly been in battle.

    Only Liu Hong managed to see Li Qingshan¡¯s actions clearly. He thought to himself sternly that if it were him instead, would he be able to block or avoid it? However, the conclusion he reached was worrying, which made him furrow his brows more and deepen his sneer. He seemed to have recovered a lot of the pride that he had lost to Li Qingshan earlier today.

    Li Qingshan ignored the others and strode towards Yang Jun.

    Yang Jun currently laid on the ground. Li Qingshan had kicked the table at him earlier, but with the disciples of the sect in the way, he had enough time to react. He dove onto the ground head-first in a hurry, avoiding the disaster.

    Even now, he struggled to believe that it was all real. The people he had brought with him were all powerful disciples within the sect. There were three-third rate masters among them, and the others were all impressive adepts at martial arts, yet over half of them were dead or incapcitated from a single move. His public attempt to seize and punish Li Qingshan had instead become a huge joke.

    Watching Li Qingshan approach him, he suddenly remembered the several dozen bandits that died at Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. He remembered the terrifying nickname of the person before him and how his martial arts were nowhere near sufficient. He drew his sword madly. ¡°Kill him!¡±

    A sword stabbed towards Li Qingshan. At the same time, five other swords flashed with cold light and stabbed towards him from the front, the back, and the two sides. The stunned disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect managed to return to their senses as well. They were seniors and juniors who spent most of their time together training. They did not have much experience in actual battle, but they worked together rather well.

    The attacks moved at exactly the same speed, enveloping Li Qingshan in a net of swords.

    ¡°Be careful of the sword formation!¡± Li Long warned loudly, but it was already too late. The six swords stabbed Li Qingshan at the same time.

    The owner of each sword was both surprised and delighted as if they had never imagined success would be so easy. The sword formation of our Dragon¡¯s Gate sect really is extraordinary!

    An expression of either mockery or pity appeared on Liu Hong¡¯s face. You¡¯re too soft. You¡¯re far too inexperienced with battles in the jianghu. You were guaranteed victory, yet you gave your opponent the perfect opportunity to surround and attack you. You¡¯ve dug your own grave.

    However, with the death of every young genius, aside from pity, experienced members of the jianghu like him would always feel some ease. They would always be tempted to say complacently, Look, the older ones are still tougher. The strongest might not necessarily survive till the very end.

    The swords pierced an inch into Li Qingshan¡¯s skin before their advance stopped. The delighted expressions of the swordsmen were replaced with shock. They pushed as hard as they could, but it only bent their tough swords into curves.

    Liu Hong was alarmed. Don¡¯t tell me his external martial arts for toughness has already reached a level where he¡¯s impenetrable to weapons. Not to mention that fine, steel swords imbued with inner force could not be compared to regular weapons. The surprises this young man gave him were far too much.

    Li Qingshan said slowly, ¡°No wonder people say it¡¯s difficult to fight a battle outnumbered. This combination attack is no weaker than a full-powered strike from an unmatched master.¡± A demonic, red light that was indiscernible with the naked eye flowed through his pupils. ¡°Though, how are you supposed to harm me with such weak, powerless swords?!¡±

    His body exuded true qi, and the swords all shattered. All of the swordsmen were knocked away as they spat out blood. Only faint, white marks were left behind on Li Qingshan¡¯s skin.

    Yang Jun felt extremely turbulent true qi rush into his body. The inner force that he had gathered after all these years of bitter training was actually completely useless. The true qi rampaged through his body, ripping apart his meridians.

    Just when he was about to fall down the stairs, there was a flash, and a figure arrived behind him. With a great wave of his hand, Yang Jun landed on the ground safely.

    Li Qingshan became slightly stern and vigilant. He saw the person¡¯s movements, but he was unable to physically follow his movements techniques. While his defences were utterly startling, his speed was his weakest link.

    Yang Anzhi felt Yang Jun¡¯s pulse, and his face became frosty. Yang Jun¡¯s meridians were a mess. His martial arts had been crippled.

    Yang Jun called out, ¡°Father.¡± before fainting. Yang Anzhi looked at Li Qingshan, and his eyes shone with terrifying killing intent. He no longer seemed anything like a scholar. His heart was overwhelmed with hatred and regret. He had arrived at the restaurant a long time ago, but he thought Yang Jun and his group of disciples would be sufficient to seize Li Qingshan.

    If he saw Liu Hong, it would be a rather awkward position for him to be in, so he remained hidden in the restaurant the entire time, ready to respond at a moment¡¯s notice.

    However, he had never thought everything would happen so quickly. Ever since Li Qingshan sent the table flying and cleared out half of the disciples there, he had wanted to interfere, but he then saw Li Qingshan fall into the sword formation, which would guarantee his fate.

    Even Liu Hong, someone who had witnessed the power of Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡®tough, external martial arts¡¯, thought Li Qingshan would be dead for sure, let alone him. As a result, Yang Anzhi stopped himself, and it all became too late with that halt.

    Liu Hong chuckled. ¡°Brother Yang, long time no see. Why have your people suddenly made such a great disturbance? Just what is it all for?¡± Li Qingshan could tell that Yang Anzhi and Yang Jun¡¯s appearances were slightly similar. Followed by what Liu Hong said, he deduced who this person was. He was the master of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, the greatest among the martial arts society of Qingyang.

    Yang Anzhi had roamed through the jianghu for many years after all, so he had an unswerving will. He immediately let go of his son, without even looking at Liu Hong, speaking to Li Qingshan, ¡°Originally, I wanted to just persuade you to hand it over obediently. I had no plans to hurt you, but I¡¯ve changed my mind now. My son has never done anything to you, so why have you been so cruel to him?¡± Towards the end, he could no longer hold in his raging fury. His face twisted viciously.

    Li Qingshan laughed instead when he heard this. ¡°No plans to hurt me? Never done anything to me?¡± If he had been a little weaker, who knows how much torture and humiliation he would have gone through if he ended up in Yang Jun¡¯s hands. He would probably end up losing his life as well.

    Back on the mountain path, the condescending threats and humiliation from the powerful shouldn¡¯t be considered as a grievance, right? Yang Jun might have been extremely wronged too. Yeah, I only said some things to you. It¡¯s not like I actually cut off your hand.

 Chapter 52 â€“ The Might of a Spiritual Artifac

    t

    The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was arrogant and overbearing, but in the eyes of the people right now, Li Qingshan was ten times more arrogant and overbearing than them. He had tried to determine the fates of two major organisations of the jianghu that had resided around Qingyang in a single sentence.

    However, there was no longer any anger on Yang Anzhi¡¯s face anymore. He had recovered the calmness and rationality that belonged to a swordsman. With his instincts, he had discerned Li Qingshan as one of the few, powerful enemies he would have in his life.

    However, he had absolute confidence in himself. His agile, graceful movement technique was the bane of Li Qingshan¡¯s tough, external martial arts, just like how Li Qingshan was the bane of Liu Hong¡¯s iron fists. No matter how much strength he had, it would all be useless if he could not land a blow. Li Qingshan could block the swords of regular disciples, but he could not block the sword of a mighty second-rate master like him.

    Li Qingshan recognised this as well, and he could clearly sense that Yang Anzhi¡¯s sword was not like the fine, steel swords wielded by the regular disciples. Against an opponent like that, it was impossible for him to flee. He could only confront them head-on.

    As the two of them faced off against one another, the restaurant suddenly felt quiet. The killing aura was suffocating.

    Clang!

    Yang Anzhi drew his sword from his sheathe. It shone coldly as it swept towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. The sword actually possessed a dim glow as well, just like the knife he had purchased today.

    People had names and so did swords. This was a renowned sword that everyone knew about within Qingyang city.

    The Soaring Dragon sword, the treasured swords passed down through the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. Only the sect master had the right to wield it. People with nicknames were powerful, and swords with names were sharp! Even in the hands of ordinary people, this sword could cut through steel like clay. If it ended up in the hands of an actual swordsman, it would be a true tool for killing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a spiritual artifact!¡± Returning to before the banquet, the black ox said as he stared at Li Qingshan¡¯s knife.

    ¡°What¡¯s a spiritual artifact?¡± Li Qingshan played around with the knife. ¡°Have I really found treasure?¡± He had seen many novels written like this in his past life, casually strolling through the market, finding a supreme artifact of the gods and from then on, becoming unstoppable.

    The black ox sneered, shattering his imagination. ¡°This thing has barely been embedded with a layer of spiritual qi. It¡¯s not even a low grade spiritual artifact. It was probably created as practice by some weapon forging apprentice. However, at your level, you can consider it as a treasure!¡± The black ox¡¯s sneer grew heavier and heavier.

    Li Qingshan stowed the knife away carefully. This was the first, err, spiritual artifact he had obtained. It held great sentimental value. After all, it was something rare, wasn¡¯t it?

    However, he had never thought that in the blink of an eye, he would see another. Moreover, it was in the hands of his enemy.

    The shopkeeper of the Arsenal of Arms was among the aristocrats. As the other aristocrats fled frantically, he gazed at the Soaring Dragon sword in infatuation.

    If this sword belonged to the Arsenal Of Arms, he would never sell it even if Li Qingshan offered up all of his silver and kneeled on the ground to beg him.

    The sword arrived. Just as everyone thought Li Qingshan would just charge straight into it like an unstoppable beast like earlier, he instead rolled on the ground and avoided the edge of the sword, arriving at a corner of the restaurant.

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s reactions were even faster. With a twist of his wrist, the sword became like a shadow, pursuing Li Qingshan closely. It was just a few feet away, such that the coldness of the sword sent chills through Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    The aristocrats all fled and screamed when the two approached. They had thought they would be used as meat shields.

    Li Qingshan was not enough of a scoundrel to do that. He reached out and grabbed a square table, wielding it as a weapon.

    The huge table seemed weightless in his hand. He kicked up quite the gale, making the candles waver.

    Yang Anzhi ignored this completely. Wherever the sword flashed, the table was cut to pieces like jello. In the blink of an eye, only a table leg remained in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands.

    As if he were at his wit¡¯s end, Li Qingshan threw the table leg viciously. Perhaps he was frantic, as he had even missed with it, and it flew past Yang Anzhi¡¯s head.

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s sword seemed unstoppable, while Li Qingshan¡¯s back was pressed against the wall, unable to retreat or dodge.

    The restaurant suddenly plunged into darkness. The table leg that Li Qingshan had thrown snuffed out the final candle.

    ¡°You want to escape? It¡¯s too late!¡± Yang Anzhi yelled out, but he failed to see the smile appear on Li Qingshan¡¯s face when the darkness descended; there was no panic.

    Bang! Li Qingshan brought his hands together. In the hair¡¯s breadth between his hands, he had caught the Soaring Dragon sword.

    Yang Anzhi sneered. I possess the momentum from lunging forward, so you better stop dreaming about trapping my sword with your strength! The sword suddenly darted forward, rubbing against Li Qingshan¡¯s palms. It actually produced the ear-splitting sound of scraping of metal.

    When the tip of the sword was only three inches away from Li Qingshan¡¯s throat, Yang Anzhi¡¯s expression suddenly changed. A chilling wind attacked the back of his head, which made him feel life-threatening danger that he had not experienced for several years now.

    That¡¯s impossible! That was his first thought.

    Although he could not see, his senses still remained. Someone had approached him from behind, so how had he failed to sense it? Just how great of a movement technique was that? Or was it a hidden weapon?

    If the lanterns were still lit within the restaurant, everyone would be able to see a knife stab towards the back of Yang Anzhi¡¯s head. It really was like a hidden weapon. However, if there were people present who had awakened their eyes like Li Qingshan, they would see the knife being grasped in Xiao An¡¯s pure-white, little hand, fitting snugly.

    Ever since Xiao An began practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, he had refined himself in fresh blood everyday, so he no longer feared vitality at such a level. He could approach masters of martial arts now, but he still lacked a suitable weapon.

    If he continued to use a normal hunting blade, it would only bounce away from Yang Anzhi¡¯s body due to his protective inner force even when he did not practise external martial arts. Xian An would struggle to deliver any fatal wounds.

    But it was different now. The spiritual artifact knife in Xiao An¡¯s hand was not a piece of a trash, but an extraordinary weapon for assassination.

    Li Qingshan used himself as bait just to draw Yang Anzhi here. He had never prepared this beforehand with Xiao An. He had not even spoken to him about this. There was only great trust, and Xiao An did not disappoint him. Their cooperation was seamless.

    Yang Anzhi was impressive as well. With just a hair¡¯s breadth left, he lowered his head and dodged. The knife basically shaved his scalp. He was surprised, but he did not panic. He only continued to push. Once he killed Li Qingshan, he could handle the assassin behind him with composure.

    The knife suddenly twisted and stabbed down.

    It¡¯s not a hidden weapon!

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s head was immediately thrown into disorder, as even now, he had not detected the presence of any person behind him. A cold sensation rose up in his heart. Without caring anymore, he tried to pull back his sword and block.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s palms gripped the blade of the sword firmly as he snickered. It¡¯s easy for you to stab, but the one that¡¯ll get run through first will definitely be your head. You want to pull back now? Don¡¯t even think about it!

    A person never parts with their sword. This was probably a lesson every swordsman had gone through, let alone the fact that the sword in question now was a treasured sword passed down through the generations.

    The sword remained in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, but the person flew away with an extremely graceful movement technique. However, the person was no longer graceful anymore. He was dishevelled, in an utter mess.

    This had all happened within a single instant. From when Yang Anzhi swung his sword, to forcing Li Qingshan to the wall, and then to the assassination attempt from behind, only a few seconds had passed.

    The aristocrats were still panicking, yet to return to their senses. Only Liu Hong sniffed with his nose. He had discovered the scent of blood. He was shocked. Was Yang Anzhi injured? How did this kid injure him?

    In the final moment, Yang Anzhi had abandoned his sword decisively, but he had paid a severe price. Xiao An dragged the knife through his back, leaving behind a wound that was over a foot in length. Blood flowed out rapidly.

    Li Qingshan felt some admiration for his decisiveness. This was the first time he had experienced those emotions mentioned in the books. Even for arch nemeses who would do everything to claim each others¡¯ lives, they would still feel shock for the skills displayed by their opponent in battle.

    However, he obviously would not let himself be entangled with these emotions or anything related to the morality of the situation. Since they were enemies through and through, they were supposed to do everything they could to kill each other.

 Chapter 53 â€“ The Master of the Black Wind Stronghold

    The Descended Tiger!

    Suddenly, Yang Anzhi thought of the nickname that he had originally shrugged off completely. The Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan. Currently, the thing lunging at him was not a human, but a wild beast with fangs and claws.

    Having lost his treasured sword, he was like an infant, completely vulnerable. He retreated backwards quickly.

    The chilling wind appeared behind him once again, ready to take his soul.

    Without any qualms anymore, Li Qingshan could use his Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength freely and unencumbered. His fists whistled through the air, forcing Yang Anzhi to dodge everywhere. Xiao An, who flew around in the darkness, did not spare a single opening. He was vicious.

    The two of them, one hard and rigid and the other quick and flexible, one yang and one yin. Together, their combination was flawless.

    Yang Anzhi was impressive as well. He was injured, but he used his extraordinary movement technique to maneuver and dodge. However, he still gained a few more wounds as the blood flowed faster from his back.

    The smell of blood was so heavy that even ordinary people could smell it.

    ¡°Where is Li Qingshan?!¡± Suddenly, a bellow exploded from downstairs. It contained a powerful inner force such that it was deafening.

    Over a dozen torches rose up, illuminating upstairs.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind halted, and he signalled at Xiao An. The knife immediately flew back into his sleeve. He did not plan on letting anyone know this secret right now.

    Only now could everyone see Yang Anzhi¡¯s figure. They were all speechless at his appearance. Before the darkness, Yang Anzhi seemed unstoppable, about to kill Li Qingshan. That also matched their expectations. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, Yang Anzhi was still one of the best of the best of the martial arts society of Qingyang.

    However, in the blink of an eye, Yang Anzhi had actually been defeated, and he had been defeated so miserably.

    Yang Anzhi recovered his sight and retreated to Yang Jun¡¯s side. His face was pale, and his expression was twisted. It was like he wanted to tear Li Qingshan to shreds. He picked up Yang Jun and burst out a window.

    Li Qingshan thought about how it was a pity, but he did not mind it too much. He placed a foot on the window sill and looked down. ¡°Li Qingshan is right here!¡±

    He saw a figure that was as tall and sturdy as a black bear¡¯s at first glance, while the black bear saw him as well. They made eye contact and sparks flew.

    ¡°Xiong Xiangwu!¡± Liu Hong cried out. Although he was based in Qingyang city, he had met this vicious bandit before.

    ¡°The Black Wind bandits have entered the city!¡± someone called out. At first, the aristocrats upstairs fell into chaos once again and shouts from the distance followed.

    However, Xiong Xiangwu looked at Yang Anzhi in shock as well. The two of them had heard the news together and rushed to Qingyang city simultaneously. One wanted revenge, while the other wanted the spiritual ginseng.

    The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect used its superior movement technique to arrive first. They wanted to retrieve the spiritual ginseng immediately and avoid any potential accidents. On the other hand, the Black Wind stronghold would kill off Li Qingshan. As a result, when Yang Anzhi said, ¡°I had no plans to hurt you,¡± it was all just bullshit.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s strength seemed to have exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations.

    Yang Anzhi said, ¡°The kid¡¯s martial arts aren¡¯t any worse than mine, and he has a trick up his sleeve. Be careful, master of the stronghold.¡± Originally, he did not want to have much to do with the Black Wind stronghold, but now, all of Li Qingshan¡¯s enemies were his friends.

    ¡°The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect has been working with the Black Wind stronghold to attack Qingyang city! You¡¯ve all witnessed it!¡± Li Qingshan used true qi to widely broadcast his voice.

    Yang Anzhi shuddered and ground his teeth. ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s single statement had dropped the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect from its glory of being a righteous sect to the ranks of bandits.

    ¡°If you could do it, don¡¯t be afraid of being condemned for it! Good, good, good! Stronghold master Xiong has come himself. You¡¯ve saved me the trouble of coming to look for you.¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand and seemed to wrap his fingers around Xiong Xiangwu. With his might from defeating the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, he radiated with valiance.

    ¡°How bold of you!¡± Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s expression changed, and he leapt up, flying towards Li Qingshan. Despite his huge size, his movement techniques were actually not bad at all.

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to attack, a figure flashed past beside him. Liu Hong used his ¡®Charge of the Heavy Cavalry¡¯ and forcefully received Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s attack in the air.

    Xiong Xiangwu landed heavily on the ground, while Liu Hong used the force from the clash to land back in the building. Blood gushed through their heads.

    Xiong Xiangwu was furious. ¡°You!¡±

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Stronghold master Xiong has come to Qingyang city to make trouble, so isn¡¯t that far too disrespectful to me?!¡± Just like how wild beasts were territorial, people of the jianghu valued their territory as well. Sometimes, they were even more territorial than wild beasts. They would not allow the careless intrusion of anyone. The Black Wind stronghold¡¯s actions had displeased him, the local boss of the area.

    Of course, if Xiong Xiangwu had mobilised so many people for some ordinary people, Liu Hong might not have been willing to stand forward, but Li Qingshan had already demonstrated enough strength for him to help out.

    The second boss, who was dressed like a scholar, said sinisterly, ¡°Doesn¡¯t it concern you that the Iron Fist school might be destroyed by becoming enemies with our Black Wind stronghold?¡±

    Liu Hong called out, ¡°Where be the disciples of the Iron Fist school?¡±

    With that, swathes of people surged out from the streets and alleyways, surrounding the restaurant completely. They were all disciples of the Iron Fist school. They had gathered over when they heard Liu Hong¡¯s call. Liu Hong had rallied hundreds of people, making him even mightier than Li Qingshan.

    The reason why the good men of jianghu could be rampant in their territory was not purely because of their martial arts but also because of the powerful force behind them. Even if Xiong Xiangwu and Yang Anzhi worked together, they would have to carefully consider this aspect.

    Yang Anzhi suddenly called out, ¡°Master Liu, don¡¯t you know exactly what we¡¯ve come for this time?¡±

    Liu Hong raised an eyebrow as if he was interested.

    Li Qingshan frowned instead, but he could not stop Yang Anzhi from continuing.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the spiritual ginseng that appeared near Bailao peak. Practitioners of martial arts only need to absorb part of it, and their martial arts will advance drastically. It can also provide a very good opportunity at reaching the innate realm. This item is in his hands right now, which is why his martial arts could advance so rapidly.¡± Yang Anzhi pointed at Li Qingshan with a vicious expression.

    Wealth would lead to ruin from others¡¯ greed. He had disclosed the existence of the spiritual ginseng before over a hundred people, so the news would definitely spread like wildfire. Once that happened, countless people of the jianghu who desired the spiritual ginseng would gather over like wild beasts that had caught the scent of blood. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, he would still be ripped to pieces.

    Everyone could not help but look towards Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan only looked down, without any confirmation or denial. He knew any attempt at rejection would be useless. His progression with martial arts only served as evidence for Yang Anzhi¡¯s accusation.

    The worst situation he worried about had happened, but he did not feel frantic at all. Instead, he felt surprisingly calm.

    ¡°I¡¯m already at such an advanced age, so I have no interest in any major advancement in my martial arts or in dominating the martial arts society!¡± That was what Liu Hong said, but his gaze searched through Li Qingshan. Clearly, he was not speaking his mind. There was not a single person of the martial arts society who did not want major advancements in their martial arts.

    ¡°The spiritual ginseng can also lengthen lifespans. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t care about that either, school master Liu? All you need to do is give a single order and capture this kid, and you¡¯ll get the spiritual ginseng without even lifting a finger. Stronghold master Xiong and I only seek vengeance, so if that happens, we will never fight over the spiritual ginseng with you. Moreover, it¡¯s not like we can get it even if we try.¡± Yang Anzhi demonstrated the terrifying aspects of being the master of a sect aside from his martial arts. As expected, Liu Hong was very interested, while Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s eyes shone as well. Who knows what he was thinking to himself.

    In the blink of an eye, it was Li Qingshan against everyone else once again. His eyes were serene, but he searched for a way to break out of this situation in his head. He did not believe Liu Hong would show any loyalty of friendship towards him. Wasn¡¯t the reason why he ended up like this exactly because he believed in the loyalty of friendship?

    Of course, he was not at the end of his rope. As long as he gave up the spiritual ginseng, he could obviously get out of this situation easily. However, he would never do that unless he had no other choice. The Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers did not focus on practising qi. The spiritual ginseng could be his greatest safeguard to ensure that he could become a so-called innate master.

    The stalemate was broken very soon. Xiong Xiangwu bellowed out and flew up the building once more.

    Liu Hong lowered his head as if he was contemplating something. He did not move. At most, he would just stand by, and making things worse for Li Qingshan was rather possible as well.

    Yang Anzhi also used this opportunity to apply some medicinal powder to his wounds and stabilise his condition. He was ready to strike.

    Watching as Li Qingshan was about to face the combined attacks of two great masters of Qingyang, Yang Anzhi¡¯s entire body was tense, ready to take part at any time.

 Chapter 54 â€“ Armouring Up

    Xiong Xiangwu knelt on the ground on one knee; he was in miserable shape. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at the top of the restaurant. A large figure stood there with the string on his bow still trembling. It was not as great as the Stone Splitter bow, but it was still a rare, steel, composite bow.

    His eyes narrowed. ¡°Huang Binghu!¡±

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Stronghold master Xiong, that arrow was just a greeting. I hope you know when to retreat in the face of hardship, or you can¡¯t blame my arrows for being merciless!¡±

    Xiong Xiangwu was covered in cold sweat from surprise. He knew Huang Binghu was not boasting. If Huang Binghu had launched that arrow earlier with his full strength in an attempt to kill, it was extremely likely for him to die on the spot as he was in the air. A hidden marksman with a geographic advantage was simply too terrifying.

    Yang Anzhi said, ¡°You¡¯re actually coming forward for this kid!¡±

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°It¡¯s true that Li Qingshan found the spiritual ginseng, but I¡¯ve already consumed it, and it has healed the chronic illness that has plagued me for all these years. Sect master Yang, you have the wrong person.¡± Behind him stood over a dozen hunters with over a dozen powerful bows.

    The four great figures of the martial arts society of Qingyang had appeared together for Li Qingshan alone, either for him or opposing him.

    The disciples of the Iron Fist school were in wonder, while the nearby residents also mustered up the courage to spread open their drapes slightly, watching this rare sight quietly.

    The torches danced around in the cold wind, which made Yang Anzhi, Xiong Xiangwu, Liu Hong, Huang Binghu, and Li Qingshan¡¯s faces flicker. However, they all seemed to be frozen, without moving at all. Every single one of them had their own qualms and considerations. They were all connected to one another through various ties. No one dared to act carelessly.

    Li Qingshan suddenly laughed aloud. His laughter rode the cold wind and spread afar. ¡°Stronghold master Xiong, this is your only opportunity to kill me, so why don¡¯t you do it? Once I personally take your life here, the group of monkeys under your command will still have a chance to flee. If you miss your opportunity today, I only have to come knocking in the future, and your Black Wind stronghold will be uprooted completely, without a single person left alive!¡±

    Arrogant! Everyone present found his words to be arrogant boasts that were jarring to the ear.

    Yet now, Li Qingshan actually said he would destroy the Black Wind stronghold alone. Even with their impressive evaluation of his martial arts, they found him to be overly conceited.

    Xiong Xiangwu felt more anger than anything else. He seemed more and more like a black bear. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be waiting for you. If you don¡¯t come, I¡¯ll leave no one alive from the Crouching Ox village.¡± In the end, he tossed out a vicious threat. ¡°No matter who helps you, I will massacre their entire family!¡± Afterwards, he left in a hurry with his men. The disciples of the Iron School sect opened a path and did not obstruct them. This group of mountain bandits actually treated the entire Qingyang city as nothing. They were utterly lawless.

    Yang Anzhi also used his movement technique and vanished in the night. He voice rang out from afar, ¡°Just you wait, Li Qingshan. You will gain more and more enemies. Your day of death draws near!¡±

    Liu Hong clasped his hands at Li Qingshan before leaving with his people, while the aristocrats willingly offered ten times the amount of silver for subduing bandits. They hoped for him to spare these disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, and they wanted to avoid getting involved with the entire matter.

    The messy restaurant had become empty. Only Li Qingshan remained on the window sill, holding the Soaring Dragon sword he had taken from Yang Anzhi.

    Huang Binghu arrived with his people, and Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°Hunting chief Huang, I want an explanation.¡±

    Two hunters brought over Xiao Hei, who had been tied up firmly, and Huang Binghu said, ¡°Kneel and speak!¡±

    Xiao Hei told the whole story from the beginning to the end before ending with, ¡°Just kill me. I don¡¯t regret it!¡±

    Huang Binghu said with difficulty, ¡°I¡¯ve watched Xiao Hei grow up, so you can only blame this on my incompetent guidance. Please spare him.¡± He drew the hunting blade on his waist and held it in a reverse grip, stabbing it into his own shoulder.

    ¡°Hunting chief!¡± Xiao Hei called out in a panic.

    ¡°Xiao Hei, there are some things that you just cannot do. I, Huang Binghu, have killed countless people in my life, but I have never been an ingrate to the kindness that has been shown to me, much less return kindness with ingratitude.¡± Huang Binghu extended his hand, and a hunter behind him passed another hunting knife to him in deep sorrow. Huang Binghu stabbed it into his left shoulder.

    Xiao Hei¡¯s face was tear-stricken. He was filled with both shame and regret. Ever since a young age, he had admired and looked up to this man, even more than his own father. Yet, right now, he was bleeding for his sake.

    Huang Binghu stabbed a hunting blade straight into his chest.

    The punishment for an unredeemable mistake, a life for a life. This was the explanation that a man of jianghu could give.

    A hand grabbed Huang Binghu¡¯s wrist firmly. The blade could no longer be thrust down.

    Li Qingshan was stunned at first before feeling relieved. ¡°Did the hunting chief plan on shouldering the matter all alone and then end it all with death? That¡¯ll be useless. Even if they¡¯re uncertain, they¡¯ll still come to find me.¡±

    Huang Binghu sighed heavily. Having roamed through the jianghu himself, he knew just how terrifying this matter was. A single martial arts manual or a single treasured sword could kick up a sea of blood in the jianghu. The lives of first-rate masters or even those beyond the first-rate would be taken away like they were worthless.

    The red light in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes vanished. He actually smiled. It was not a crazy smile or a wide smile, but a candid one like that of an ordinary youth¡¯s. ¡°But I¡¯m not afraid of them!¡± He said these words straightforwardly and with confidence. Before Huang Binghu could warn him, he continued, ¡°Have you prepared my tiger bone wine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have someone deliver it tomorrow!¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing more. He still took the stairs down and arrived outside the establishment. Suddenly, he felt a cold sensation from his face. Looking up, the pitch-black sky was filled with snowflakes.

    A transparent figure emerged from the scholar wood tablet, flying beside him.

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of enemies. I¡¯m afraid of betrayal.¡± All he saw was Xiao An staring at him blankly. He could not help but smile. ¡°You won¡¯t understand even if I explain it. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll betray me anyway, right?¡±

    Perhaps Xiao An did not understand what the ¡®betrayal¡¯ Li Qingshan spoke of meant, but he understood what he was expecting. Xiao An nodded in a great hurry.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. Tonight is still not done!¡± Flames lit up in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes as if they could even melt this world of ice and snow.

    Old Knickers sipped on some alcohol and tended to a charcoal fire in the stove, staving off the piercing coldness of winter.

    He never had a woman in his life, having spent several decades of his life guarding the armoury. Even his neighbours had forgotten his name, only remembering his surname Zhang. They all called him old Zhang or the old armoury guard. Afterwards, the children living close to him somehow came up with old Knickers1 and that name stuck, adding a sense of degeneracy to the old man who had been alone his entire life for no reason.

    It was already very deep in the night, but he had yet to sleep. Just like usual, he would recall his life, extracting the most glorious parts of his memory as if he were ruminating the past. He would mull over it while he felt tipsy. As for the truth to these memories, they were just like his name. Not only was it the case for other people, but even he himself could not discern them.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound interrupted his recollection. He opened the door slowly. ¡°Who is it? It¡¯s so late!¡± Afterwards, he saw a teenager standing at the door, smiling apologetically at him.

    ¡°District magistrate Ye has allowed me to take some items from the armoury. Here is the paperwork!¡±

    Old Knickers shivered. Although many parts of his memories were exaggerated or made up all together, there was at least one part that was true. He had truly been a soldier in the past and had fought in wars. He had witnessed the real thing, actual scenes of slaughter. The youth before him was very young and very polite, but he gave off an aura that he found to be familiar¡ªmurderousness.

    The murderousness lingered without dispersing. This was a feeling that only brave and valiant soldiers who had claimed several dozen lives with their hands would possess. If he came across an enemy like this on the battlefield, he would definitely avoid him and get as far away as possible.

    He did not even check the official paperwork properly when he retrieved the keys while trembling. Holding a lantern, he opened the gate to the armoury.

    The gate of the armoury stood several meters tall and was forged out of pure metal. A total of thirty-six door nails were arranged neatly, and they had a pair of tiger heads carrying metal rings in their mouths.

    Old Knickers pushed hard a few times, but the gate did not budge at all. He said awkwardly, ¡°It seems to be frozen.¡± All he saw was the youth placing his hands on the ice-cold metal gate and pushing gently, and the metal door swung open. He stepped into the armoury alone.

    Old Knickers pulled in his body as he waited outside. This was the first time someone had come to the armoury to take something out in the past few years. What is he taking? And what does he want to do with it?

    As he wondered, a clinking sound drew closer and closer. A figure emerged from the armoury. The dark armour wrapped around his robust body, giving off an icy-cold, austere presence. The thigh guards swung around with his movements.

    Old Knickers¡¯ breathing halted, and he fell back on his bottom. He recalled the terrors of the battlefield and those callous, fierce figures once more. It felt like in just the next moment, the person before him would swing his blade and kill him.

 Chapter 55 â€“ Who Said I Have Nothing to Wear?

    1

    Li Qingshan patted the three quivers on his waist and carried the Soaring Dragon sword and Stone Splitter bow on his back. Meanwhile, he had the frighteningly heavy and extraordinarily large Tyrant¡¯s spear on his shoulder. He vanished into the snowy, windy darkness, leaving behind a long trail of deep footprints in the snow.

    In the district government¡¯s office, the advisor said to Ye Dachuan, ¡°Sir, Li Qingshan is not listening to you. There¡¯s nothing we can do!¡±

    As it turned out, Ye Dachuan saw how none of the aristocrats were willing to help him anymore under the threat of the Black Wind stronghold and was certain one against two hundred would result in defeat, so he tried to convince Li Qingshan to remain behind and come up with a long-term plan instead. However, Li Qingshan would never listen to him. He forcefully demanded for the paperwork and left.

    Ya Dachuan constantly paced around in the room before suddenly stopping. He stamped his foot. ¡°Go gather men and horses for me!¡±

    The advisor said with difficulty, ¡°Do we have any men and horses?¡±

    Ye Dachuan said frantically, ¡°Those aristocrats were actually daring enough to attempt to get their descendants to kill me right in my face. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect is a great nest of bandits as well. Tell them that any clan that doesn¡¯t send any people is a traitor to the city.¡± He had thought it through. If Li Qingshan died, then there was no point in him remaining as the district magistrate. It was even possible that the Black Wind stronghold and Dragon¡¯s Gate sect would vent their anger on him.

    The advisor said, ¡°Please reconsider, sir!¡± If he did that, he would be offending all of the aristocrats of Qingyang.

    Ye Chuan kicked him in the bottom with the sole of his foot. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you going!¡±

    The advisor could only oblige. As soon as he made his way out of the hall, over a dozen pitch-black figures blocked his way. Who knows when they had entered the government office. The advisor was startled. He looked over using the weak lantern light from inside the hall and saw all of them carrying bows and arrows. ¡°S- so it¡¯s the- good men of the Drawn Reins village. M- may I ask you why you¡¯ve come at such a late hour?¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s shoulders were wrapped in white cloth, but his bearing was as composed as before. He patted the advisor¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Sir Ye, Huang Binghu of the Drawn Reins village is willing to assist you.¡± After Li Qingshan left, Huang Binghu and the others had found an inn to rest in, but before they could even fall asleep, they received the news that Li Qingshan had left the city clad in armour.

    Huang Binghu obviously did not believe that he was running away, so he stood up suddenly. ¡°I¡¯m going out. While I¡¯m not here, Xiao Hei is in charge of everything.¡±

    ¡°We must think for the village!¡±

    Xiao Hei said, ¡°The Drawn Horse village hasn¡¯t gained its name through compromising. We¡¯ve fallen out with the Black Wind stronghold, so there won¡¯t be any long lasting peace. We can only gamble on this person. If I were in charge, that¡¯s what I would do.

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Good. Those two stabs today weren¡¯t in vain!¡±

    Qingyang city, which had just quietened down, became noisy once again.

    In the Iron Fist school, Iron Lion Liu Hong had not slept either. Instead, he was pondering and thinking over everything that had happened today. Li Long stepped into the room and dropped to his knees with a thud. ¡°Master!¡±

    Liu Hong frowned. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Li Long said, ¡°Please save the Crouching Ox village, master!¡± The Black Wind stronghold had not massacred the village because they wanted to capture Li Qingshan first, the main culprit behind it all, and also because of the village¡¯s ties to the Iron Fist school. That was why they had not acted so quickly. However, they had all fallen out with one another after tonight, so the Black Wind stronghold would definitely madly seek revenge. They would definitely go forth with the massacre.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°You can go bring your father¡¯s family and caretaker Liu¡¯s family over!¡±

    Li Long continued to kneel. ¡°Please save the Crouching Ox village, master!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you disliked it there?¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s still my hometown!¡±

    Liu Hong sank into his thoughts for a while as if he was considering the various costs and benefits with his decision. Suddenly, he stood up afterwards. ¡°Go, gather the disciples!¡± He had already considered Li Qingshan¡¯s spiritual ginseng and the wealth of the Black Wind stronghold.

    Li Long beamed. ¡°Thank you, master!¡±

    Ye Dachuan used his position as the district magistrate and borrowed Li Qingshan¡¯s renown and the might of the Drawn Reins village to order the aristocrats to send people. However, there were still some aristocrats who refused to obey, reluctant to send any people.

    Just as Huang Binghu frowned as he considered whether he should kill someone to set an example, Liu Hong strode over and clasped his hands. ¡°Hunting chief Huang, I¡¯ve heard many things about you.¡± Afterwards, he said to the resisting aristocrats. ¡°Today, Liu Hong swears he will remove a great threat for Qingyang city. If you are willing to assist me, I will never forget it.¡± What he was implying was. ¡°If you don¡¯t assist me, I will never forget it.¡±

    Given these circumstances, the aristocrats finally became afraid of resisting. They sent people over reluctantly. Although they were unwilling, they did send everyone they could spare. Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s words lingered in their ears. If they did not eradicate them this time, what they faced would be vengeance, so they could only unleash everything that they had!

    And, with the two masters, Huang Binghu and Liu Hong, watching over, they all felt that there really was a chance for them to destroy the Black Wind stronghold. In reality, the carnage that the Black Wind stronghold created did have something to do with them. Just like caretaker Liu¡¯s nickname, Half-village Liu, most of the land in and around Qingyang city had been purchased up by them. When the Black Wind stronghold pillaged and plundered villages, most of it was their resources. As for the ransom money they had paid in the past, who knows how much it was really. Otherwise, they would have never paid taxes willingly to the previous few district magistrates for eradicating bandits.

    Xiong Xiangwu would have never imagined that his threat would instead result in the aristocrats turning against him completely.

    Ye Dachuan gazed at the mass of people gathered there in disbelief. It had completely exceeded his original expectations. There were actually four to five hundred people. With his identity as the district magistrate, he watched over in the centre as Huang Binghu and Liu Hong controlled and ordered the people around. He had never done something so heroic. The courage in his heart that had been blinded by fame and wealth was actually set ablaze as well.

    The advisor was utterly stunned. He thought of a phrase mentioned in books that he was originally nowhere close to, ¡®With a public call, followers converge, and the world is upheaved.¡¯

    Perhaps the world only needed a single warrior, a single hero to stand forward, and it could turn the impossible into the possible, leading the masses and completing a so-called miracle.

    However, this leading hero would normally not meet a good end.

    Old Knickers opened up the armoury with his trembling hands, removing sets and sets of armour and equipping this group that was setting out to eradicate bandits. With the clinking of armour, they set off on their journey.

    Huang Binghu through to himself, I hope we can make it in time! They had wasted too much time gathering everyone.

    Liu Hong thought, Kid, just last a little longer, but if you die, I¡¯ll avenge you!

    Li Qingshan advanced quickly through the darkness. He carried one to two hundred kilograms of equipment, but not only did it fail to tire him, but it instead made him feel delighted over being able to use his strength.

    The metal armour was cold, but his blood became hotter and hotter. He walked faster and faster. In the end, he was basically sprinting through the wilderness. His heavy footsteps were like war drums, thumping out loud!

    Who knows how long he had traveled for though the mountains and forests. He came to a sudden halt, and his gaze pierced through the wind and snow like a sword as he looked right into a gully. A stronghold stood in the darkness with a few lanterns vaguely lit.

    The Black Wind stronghold was right before him.

    Li Qingshan did not rush up. He removed the alcohol gourd from his waist and drank it all. His depleted strength immediately recovered, and a wave of heat rampaged through his body like a wild horse.

    Suddenly, he thought of a part from a Chinese opera and called out, ¡°Look at that black hole ahead, it must be that bandits¡¯ nest. Once I head over there, I¡¯ll slaughter them all!¡±

 Chapter 56 â€“ Into the Black Wind Stronghold Alone

    The gathering hall was ablaze with lights. The leaders of the stronghold all gathered together, discussing the matter regarding Li Qingshan.

    ¡°First boss, what do we do now? The kid is hiding in Qingyang city, and he has Huang Binghu¡¯s protection.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, Yang Anzhi has disclosed the news about the spiritual ginseng, so who can protect him? He¡¯ll meet an untimely end before long.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be dying in the hands of others. We won¡¯t be able to regain the domineering influence of our Black Wind stronghold like that. Moreover, the spiritual ginseng will end up in the hands of others.¡±

    As expected, Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s eye twitched. His desire for the spiritual ginseng was no less than anyone else¡¯s.

    ¡°Did he say he would come himself? When that happens, I¡¯ll crush him into meat paste.¡± The seventh boss was a bald fatty. He swung the huge mace in his hand barbarically.

    Everyone looked at one another and snickered. ¡°Seventh brother, you¡¯re the only one who thinks he¡¯ll come.¡± No one with the slightest bit of intelligence would actually believe he would rush into their Black Wind stronghold alone.

    ¡°If he won¡¯t come, we¡¯ll force him to come. Although the snow has sealed up the mountains, preventing us from mobilising a large number of our forces, we only need to send a single group, and that¡¯ll be enough to massacre the Crouching Ox village and regain our might. When we do that, we just need to find a few family and friends close to him and hack them to pieces before delivering them piece by piece to him. I refuse to believe he¡¯ll still be able to stay put.¡± The second boss stated his insidious scheme.

    All of the bosses applauded him, all agreeing to it. The second boss smiled boastfully as well.

    Thunk! There was a blaring sound, and the entire stronghold seemed to shake. A bandit rushed in. ¡°Oh no! T- there¡¯s someone banging on the stronghold gate, bosses!¡±

    In front of the stronghold, over a dozen bandits guarding the entrance stared at the gate in shaking fear. The huge gate nailed together from several large, thick logs no longer provided any sense of safety to them.

    Thunk! With another loud noise, the logs trembled as wooden splinters flew everywhere; it was like a huge beast was trying to force its way in. Under the constant ramming, large parts of the stronghold gate cracked.

    Boom! Huge pieces of splinters scattered, and a piece of it struck a bandit in the chest, immediately causing him to collapse onto the ground and spit out blood.

    However, the bandits were in no shape to care for their companion. Instead, they stared at the entrance blankly. Within the wind, snow and dust, a large, tall figure stepped into the Black Wind stronghold.

    Li Qingshan lifted the Stone Splitter bow and said nonchalantly, ¡°I know!¡±

    Before the dust had even settled, the bandits discovered that standing before the gate was not an army or a colossal beast, but a teenager clad in metal armour, wielding a huge bow. The fear in their hearts immediately eased up drastically. Someone waved his blade and called out, ¡°He¡¯s alone! Everyone get him together and kill him! The stronghold master will reward us handsomely!¡±

    Over a dozen mountain bandits wielded various weapons and charged over with battle cries.

    Li Qingshan calmly removed three arrows from a quiver and notched it on the bowstring. He immediately drew the bow to its full capacity, and a series of thrums rang out. The sharp arrows pierced the three bandits at the very front with enough force to pierce clouds and split rocks. They collapsed on the ground, dead, like puppets that had their strings cut.

    Li Qingshan drew the bow like it was a spring and fired arrows. He consecutively killed twelve bandits.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± There were still four bandits who managed to approach him, swinging their weapons at Li Qingshan¡¯s head as they roared out. Li Qingshan stowed his bow away and continued forwards like he had not seen them at all.

    A whirlwind swept through his surroundings with a sharp edge. Blood spurted from the necks of the four bandits at the same time, and they all collapsed on the ground. One of the bandits had some skill and saw the tiny knife. He tried to parry with his blade, but the knife cut through his weapon like it was cake.

    Li Qingshan made his way over the corpses and continued forwards. Afterwards, he stopped in the empty centre of the stronghold. He saw bandits rush out after receiving the news from various buildings. They all held torches, which was extremely eye-catching in the darkness.

    He drew the great bow and fired off arrows rapidly. He became faster with each arrow.

    The effects of the spiritual alcohol gradually came into play within his body. He felt slightly tipsy, but every single arrow he shot seemed like a result of divine intervention. Not a single missed.

    The gathering hall was located at the highest point of the Black Wind stronghold. The bosses all hurried out of there and looked down from a platform. The bosses all cried out together, ¡°He¡¯s actually bold enough to come?¡± Moreover, he came so quickly too.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan found that the bandits had stopped changing over, instead retreating in an orderly fashion. He raised his head and saw Xiong Xiangwu with a single glance, and he laughed aloud. ¡°Stronghold master Xiong, a guest has come, yet as the host, you take forever to welcome him! I couldn¡¯t wait any longer, so I killed a few dozen of your lackeys to kill my boredom. You can¡¯t blame me for this!¡±

    True qi surged out and projected the laughter to five kilometers away. His words reverberated through the mountains, drowning out the sound of wind and snow, booming through the ears of the mountain bandits like thunder. Those who were closed and asked immediately collapsed on the ground, moaning as blood trickled from their ears.

    ¡°Oops, I¡¯ve killed a few more.¡± Li Qingshan covered his mouth and produced a drunken hiccup.

    The bandits were shaken from fright, while Xiong Xiangwu was close to exploding with anger. The strength of Li Qingshan¡¯s inner force was beyond his imagination, and it was even more refined. He was not like the rumors, which said he was just a master of tough, external martial arts. It must have been the effects of the spiritual ginseng.

    ¡°The same day next year will be the anniversary of your death. No, I want to keep you alive and torture you for seven days and seven nights!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°I don¡¯t have the time or boredom to deal with you like that, so they up and come meet your maker!¡± He raised and drew his bow, and the smile on his face suddenly vanished. His right hand turned into a flurry as he fired the arrows like a machine.

    Seven arrows formed a single line. He had used the rapid fire technique he had learnt from the Drawn Reins village to fire away at the platform.

    ¡°Dodge!¡± Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s warning was too late. A person fell from the platform with three arrows in him. He had only managed to dodge the first four arrows.

    ¡°Sixth boss!¡± the mountain bandits cried out.

    Li Qingshan reached towards his waist. The three quivers of arrows were all empty, so he tossed them aside with the great bow.

    ¡°He¡¯s out of arrows!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to fear him! Kill him!¡± The bandits riled up their morale and surged forth as a black mass. They surrounded him completely and layers upon layers of figures and weapons swallowed up Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan kicked up the Tyrant¡¯s spear by his foot and placed it on his shoulders with a clang. He swung around like a whirlwind, and the seventy-one kilogram, four-meter-long Tyrant¡¯s spear danced like a black dragon, thrumming deeply as it swept through the air.

    Five bandits were blown away simultaneously, either with their heads cracked open or their chests crushed to dust. They could not be more dead. With this weapon in hand, anything Li Qingshan touched would die. No one would survive.

    He also managed to smash the bandits further away together, causing them to moan and cry out. Li Qingshan looked at the platform. ¡°Don¡¯t send your lackeys to a pointless death. Hurry up and get over here and fight me.¡± Xiong Xiangwu looked at the dead and injured, but he had no intention of fighting. He sneered instead. ¡°Fight you?¡± He could clearly see it from his vantage point.

    More than ten mountain bandits in special uniforms blended in with the crowd, approaching Li Qingshan. They did not hold their weapons high like their companions, instead letting it droop.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. Terrifying killing intent appeared like a venomous snake revealing its fangs, but all of the masters he had to take seriously were clearly on the platform.

    Before he could consider it carefully, these special bandits raised their arms and called out, ¡°Move!¡±

 Chapter 57 â€“ Trampling Through the Black Wind Stronghold

    The crossbow bolts tore through the air. They were not much weaker than even the Stone Splitter bow. They pierced the metal armour with a series of clangs, stabbing into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. He immediately halted.

    Xiong Xiangwu sneered. ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re worthy enough to fight me with just you alone? You¡¯re being let off easily by dying like this!¡± He had only obtained these crossbows after tremendous effort. Moreover, he had spent an extensive amount of time to train these crossbowmen. They were the true trump card of the Black Wind stronghold.

    He had committed far too much evil. All of the other organisations in Qingyang city viewed him as a thorn in their side, so if he did not take any precautions, it would have been impossible for him to sleep at night. Even first-rate masters would probably be doomed once these crossbows launched a sneak attack.

    ¡°And then?¡± Li Qingshan, who should have been dead, suddenly raised his head and asked. The crossbow bolts pierced the metal armour, but it failed to pierce his fascia. He had also become drenched in cold sweat. If it were not for the metal armour that nullified much of the force, it would have been impossible for him to block the crossbow bolts with his Ox Demon Forges its Hide. However, although he was mostly unscathed, it took him quite a while to recover. Bows and crossbows were truly divine tools for killing masters.

    ¡°Protect the crossbowmen. Fire again!¡± The second boss ordered loudly. The bandits charged up, and the crossbowmen hurriedly reloaded. Crossbows were easy to use, but they were nowhere near as fast as bows, so it was extremely easy for the crossbowmen to be injured. However, with the second boss¡¯s orders, they could unleash their greatest killing power. He had managed to command the group of mountain bandits like an army.

    ¡°Sweeping Away All!¡± There was no reason for Li Qingshan to want to remain as a living target. He targeted the area where the bandits were most packed and used the Tyrant¡¯s spear style. He charged over like a war chariot as the spear swept about, sucking up over a dozen bandits. It was just like a black dragon eating its prey. When it spat them out again, they had all become corpses.

    How could these measly people stop him?

    One of the crossbowmen had his chest pierced all the way through before he could even draw his crossbow. The spear flicked up his entire body, and his corpse smashed another crossbowman to death in the distance.

    Li Qingshan was unified with his spear as he rampaged through the crowd, only attacking without the slightest defence. The weapons that landed on him would immediately be knocked away by the metal armour, unable to harm him at all. However, when he swept out with the huge spear, he would be piercing chests and heads. Not a single person would be left alive.

    One of the bandits tried to launch a sneak attack from behind. All he did was turn around and glare at him, red light shining in his eyes. Before he could even launch a counter attack, the bandit¡¯s face suddenly darkened. He had actually been frightened to death on the spot.

    Xiong Xiangwu watched on as he felt both a heartache and fury. Even if he won this battle, he would suffer a crippling loss. The faces of the other bosses were ugly as well. Li Qingshan¡¯s martial arts were so great that it had basically exceeded all of their imaginations.

    The second boss said, ¡°Boss, don¡¯t worry. Li Qingshan is clad in armour and wielding a huge spear. He seems invulnerable and unstoppable, but he¡¯s burdened with a weight of over a hundred kilograms. No matter how great his martial arts are, he can¡¯t last too long. There¡¯s no reason why we shouldn¡¯t keep on waiting for him to tire himself out and then strike. We can just recruit more people in the future to make up for our losses.¡±

    There were almost no battles amongst masters that lasted for three days and three nights. As a matter of fact, there were very few that even exceeded ten minutes because of the danger of the attacks. Landing a single attack could determine life and death. Practitioners of martials arts needed to erupt with their physical strength and willpower in a single instant, defeating their opponent in a single stroke.

    Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s heart settled down. He thought that even if it were himself, he would not be able to last for very long after firing the Stone Splitter bow several dozen times and then charging into battle equipped like that. Even if a person possessed unfathomable ability, once they were exhausted, they were lambs to be slaughtered. This was the terrifying aspect of the battlefield. Ants swarming an elephant to death was not just an idiomatic phrase.

    However, never had they thought that not only would Li Qingshan continue on tirelessly, but he would even become fiercer the more he fought. The potency of the entire gourd of spiritual alcohol he had drunken was just too startling. It burned within his body, providing him with endless strength. The Tyrant¡¯s spear danced as a flurry in his hands, moving about according to his will. He killed to his heart¡¯s content as he became drenched in blood. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength he practised could not be compared to the martial arts of mortals. Oxen were renowned not for their strength but their endurance.

    As more and more bandits died with corpses strewn about, with the encirclement close to collapsing, sweat covered the second boss¡¯s forehead. ¡°Why is this happening?¡±

    The snow fell heavier and heavier. Huge snowflakes fell towards the ground, covering all of the mountains.

    As they fell towards Li Qingshan, the violent gales of his spear would immediately sweep them away. A bandit had been sent flying, and when he landed on the ground, he dyed the snowy ground red with blood. The remaining bandits did not have the slightest fierceness anymore. They all retreated frantically, and Li Qingshan¡¯s spear paused. ¡°What heavy snow!¡±

    Xiong Xiangwu ordered decisively, ¡°Do it!¡± Together with the other bosses, they all flew down, and the morale of the bandits was immediately riled up.

    The seventh boss swung his mace, which whistled through the air. Even before it had struck anything, it had whipped up a wild gale. His might was startling and utterly outrageous. He had been born with natural strength, enough to slay tigers and bears.

    The second boss said, ¡°Don¡¯t confront him directly!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally come!¡±

    Li Qingshan used the ¡®Tyrant Carries the Cauldron¡¯, and he raised the Tyrant¡¯s spear upwards.

    With a clang, the spear and mace collided. The mace was blown back, smashing into the seventh boss¡¯s head, spurting with brain fragments.

    Using this opportunity, the fourth boss¡¯s three-section staff struck Li Qingshan¡¯s waist. The fifth boss swung his broad blade at his back, while the second boss concealed himself among the attacks and used his metal fan to venomously strike the unprotected back of Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    However, the most dangerous attack out of all of this was Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s hand that extended towards Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    Even if Li Qingshan endured these attacks with his Ox Demon Forges its Hide and the metal armour, the force would cause him great pain and make him pause, which would make it very easy for him to lose his life.

    He finally understood why even an experienced member of the jianghu like Liu Hong would change in expression and refuse to believe him when he said he would destroy the Black Wind stronghold. The dangers involved were unimaginably great.

    ¡°The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves!¡± He came up with an idea and channeled all of his true qi into his right foot, stomping down heavily. He created a minor earthquake within a few metres of him, causing the ground to crack and sink as the tremor shook up the surroundings.

    Martial arts were about drawing strength from the ground, deeply rooting themselves on the ground. As long as they had yet to become gods or immortals capable of flight, they would not be able to leave the ground. The attacks of these bosses were fierce like the wind, but their feet were still rooted to the ground.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s stamp immediately threw them off balance. They only felt a tremor invade their feet, and their heads span as they felt an urge to vomit blood. Their attacks became powerless as well, barely able to achieve any effects upon landing on Li Qingshan. Only Xiong Xiangwu managed to maintain the might of his strike because he was the strongest among them.

    Li Qingshan chuckled aloud, and he retreated quickly, avoiding Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s strike to his face and forcefully colliding against the fourth boss behind him. At the same time, he thrusted the spear at Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s chest.

    The fourth boss wailed out as all of his bones were shattered. He had been knocked away. Xiong Xiangwu withdrew his hand and twisted his body, avoiding Li Qingshan¡¯s dragon-like spear.

    The fifth boss had the weakest martial arts, so he had yet to recover. Li Qingshan released the pole of the spear, grabbing him by the head and pushing him to the ground. With a crack, he splattered like a watermelon with white and red. Then, Li Qingshan scooped up the Tyrant¡¯s spear again and placed it across his body, using the Tyrant¡¯s Parry.

    He had tore through the attacks of the Black Wind stronghold in the blink of an eye and killed four bosses. Third-rate masters were as vulnerable as infants before him.

    The remaining bandits were stunned, frozen in place. They had never thought that their own stronghold would be so feeble; it was as feeble as the villages they had pillaged and plundered before.

    The snow became heavier as it fell. The ground had been dyed red with blood before being covered and frozen up by snow, forming a horrific sight that blended red and white together.

 Chapter 58 â€“ The Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings

    Li Qingshan kicked aside the corpse near his foot and grinned. ¡°It¡¯s much cleaner like this. Come, stronghold master Xiong, I¡¯ll give you a fast one!¡± He turned his head slightly. ¡°And the one behind me, I¡¯ll take both of you on together!¡±

    The second boss, who was dressed like a scholar, no longer possessed any refined bearing at all. His scholar¡¯s hat had fallen off his head, and he was drenched in cold sweat. He had managed to survive against Li Qingshan thanks to sheer luck and his impressive movement technique, but he was utterly frightened. When Li Qingshan glanced at him, he staggered backwards like he had been struck by lightning.

    ¡°Stronghold master, I don¡¯t want to die here. I can¡¯t just let my resourcefulness go to waste like this!¡± After saying that, the second boss fled. He seemed as light as a feather, reaching the gate of the stronghold with just a few strides. The other bandits scattered with him, fleeing towards the gate.

    ¡°Trash will always be trash!¡± Xiong Xiangwu swore aloud. If it were not for Li Qingshan, he would have been tempted to personally execute these deserters.

    Just when the second boss was about to escape from the stronghold, an inky-green knife silently slid past his throat.

    He did not have Yang Anzhi¡¯s skill, and he was utterly terrified. Only the thought of escaping occupied his mind, so how was he supposed to guard himself against a tiny knife in the darkness? Blood spurted as his eyes dilated. Even when he died, he did not know who had killed him.

    The other bandits who tried to flee suffered the same fate as him. The pitch-black gate seemed like the boundary of death.

    Xiong Xiangwu was unable to see what had happened at the gate. All he heard was a few heavy thuds, so he knew those people were probably done for. He shivered inside. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he confessed, ¡°I obviously killed them!¡± Ever since Xiao An began practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, he no longer feared the vigorous vitality of masters. However, Xiao An was only able to circle around the surroundings, unable to approach the battlefield during the slaughter prior due to the surging killing intent. Nonetheless, it was the perfect opportunity for him to set up an ambush.

    The bandits who fled blindly in the darkness were basically the best prey. They were completely helpless before him, their necks basically bare for the executioner¡¯s blade.

    Xiong Xiangwu felt like exploding in anger. Everything he had built up over the years had been destroyed just like this, destroyed in the hands of a kid. All of the bandits had committed atrocious sins, but now, all that was left was him. At that moment, the colossal stronghold had turned into a domain of ghosts from the slaughter, with just the whistling of wind and snow remaining.

    Li Qingshan held his spear in a horse stance. ¡°Come!¡±

    Li Qingshan could clearly see the bright flow around the paper talisman, and he shivered inside. His spear shuddered, and true qi surged into it. He used the final move of the Tyrant¡¯s spear style, as well as the most powerful move, ¡®World Domination¡¯. The spear pierced through the air in an unstoppable manner.

    Xiong Xiangwu bit the tip of his tongue and spat on the paper talisman before sticking it on his chest. A glow erupted and enveloped him. He roared out, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    Clang! There was the screeching of metal. A layer of golden light blocked the unstoppable Tyrant¡¯s spear, preventing it from advancing even an inch further. Originally, Xiao An wanted to assist Li Qingshan, but under the illumination of the golden light, he was unable to take a step closer to the battle.

    Xiong Xiangwu grabbed the tip of the spear, and all Li Qingshan felt was a huge force that was actually no weaker than his own strength. He almost lost his grip on the spear. He immediately used the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves, and his feet plunged into the ground. Determination flooded his eyes as he refused to back down at all.

    The two of them engaged in a contest of strength. The metal spear that was as thick as a person¡¯s wrist was twisted into an exaggerated curve.

    They gradually drew closer. Five steps, three steps, one step.

    Xiong Xiangwu lifted his hand suddenly and swung it at Li Qingshan¡¯s head. His hand was alarmingly big, the same size as a bear¡¯s paw. It was completely disproportionate to his body. Now that the light enveloped it, it seemed even larger.

    Even before the slap had landed, the fierce gale sucked away Li Qingshan¡¯s breath. He released the Tyrant¡¯s spear and retreated quickly. The attack brushed him, and his set of thick, metal armour was ripped off like paper. His chest ached. It was even more powerful than the swing of a sword or blade.

    Bang! As if Xiong Xiangwu was unable to control his strength, he slammed the ground and produced a great rumble. The ground sank deeply, even more than when Li Qingshan used the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves earlier.

    Li Qingshan finally could not help but cry out, ¡°What is this?¡±

    Xiong Xiangwu would never explain. He roared out, ¡°It¡¯s your death!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings. As if you¡¯re protected by the guardian kings, possessing limitless strength!¡± The black ox emerged from somewhere and explained indifferently.

    A talking ox! Xiong Xiangwu was immediately astounded.

    ¡°Brother ox, what brings you here?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Hurry up and kill him. You still have things to do!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed the damaged armour on him and ripped it off. He strode towards Xiong Xiangwu. ¡°What protected by the guardian kings? Just you watch as I shatter your tortoise shell!¡±

    Xiong Xiangwu swung his huge hand and thought, You¡¯re walking to your death. The true qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body surged violently as the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength rose up from below, striking out with his full strength.

    The palm and fist collided, producing a great boom. The ground below Li Qingshan collapsed, and the rock shattered. The bones throughout his body creaked painfully, while his muscles ached with numbness. However, he ignored it all, and he shouted out, ¡°Again!¡± He threw another punch.

    Boom! Struck by another huge hand, Li Qingshan sank into the ground a little more again.

    Xiong Xiangwu wanted to knock Li Qingshan away and break him to pieces, but Li Qingshan was like a piece of metal, allowing his attacks to forge and temper him. He became braver and braver as he fought.

    They clashed over a dozen times, and Li Qingshan¡¯s calves had already sunken into the earth completely. Blood oozed out from his nose and mouth, but he became more and more determined.

    At the end of the day, Xiong Xiangwu was borrowing power from a foreign source. His strength was tremendous, but there was no way he could recover his strength after each attack as quickly as Li Qingshan. He finally revealed an opening, and Li Qingshan would never just let the opportunity slip by. He threw a punch, but the glow nullified it once again.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless! You can¡¯t touch me!¡± Xiong Xiangwu laughed madly.

    ¡°I would like to see how many punches you can block!¡± Li Qingshan did not give his opponent any time to catch his breath. He erupted with all of his true qi and powered his fists, throwing several dozen punches consecutively.

    The light trembled under the attacks, constantly fading away, while Xiong Xiangwu staggered backwards as well. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, the light was unable to nullify the entire force of the punches. His body was still shaken up.

    Xiong Xiangwu collapsed on one knee from all the attacks. He called out in fury and refusal, ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡± Li Qingshan drew the Soaring Dragon sword from his back and filled it up with true qi. The sword thrummed, and a streak of light over a foot long emerged from the tip. He swung down as hard as he could at the light around Xiong Xiangwu. It moved sluggishly for a while before sliding in smoothly. A human head fell and rolled on the ground. Its face was still filled with shock and fear.

    Li Qingshan lifted up the sword and said, ¡°The master of the Black Wind stronghold has been beheaded here! The Black Wind stronghold is destroyed!¡± Afterwards, he flicked the sword. ¡°What a good sword!¡± He did not use this sword from the very beginning, instead using his fists to waste away the light from the talisman. Otherwise, if he had used the sword when the light was the strongest, not only would he have failed to kill Xiong Xiangwu, but he would have destroyed the sword as well.

    Although the black ox had said it was an inferior counterfeit of a spiritual artifact, at least it was much more useful and suitable for him. He asked, ¡°Brother ox, what did you want me to do?¡±

 Chapter 59 â€“ The Initial Achievement of White Bone

    Li Qingshan thought of what the black ox had said in the past. Xiao An was only using the blood of beasts due to the circumstances for practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. If he wanted to practise it properly, he needed the blood of humans. He needed blood that was still warm from corpses that had just died. The more vitality it contained, the better it would be.

    These mountain bandits were the great material the black ox was speaking about. Although Li Qingshan did not readily agree to this method, he did not mind too much. He moved the corpses over and formed quite a pile on an empty patch of land. The sight was extremely horrific and terrifying, and the sanguine smell was so heavy that it was overpowering. Even Li Qingshan himself felt rather shaken up. He could not help but ask himself, Was it really me who did this?

    However, he immediately composed himself. This was retribution. If the bandits had not suffered such a fate, the world would be unfair. As long as he had a clear conscience, there was no need for him to feel regret over anything he had done. Afterwards, he followed the black ox¡¯s orders and placed the porcelain jar that held Xiao An¡¯s skeleton upside down on the pile of corpses.

    Xiao An flew around rather nervously on the side. He only turned into a wisp and entered the jar when he heard Li Qingshan say, ¡°Go!¡±

    The piles of corpses trembled. The blood that dripped downwards suddenly flowed into the jar. The jar also began to tremble violently as the smell of blood became fainter and fainter.

    A while later, there were cracking sounds, and the jar became riddled with fractures as red light seethed out. It was like coagulated blood, eye-dazzlingly red.

    Li Qingshan frowned and held his breath. This seemed far too much like some kind of terrifying, evil ritual. It seemed like they were summoning some demon.

    Bang! The jar exploded, and a tiny, blood-red skeleton remained seated on the pile of corpses. Two balls of blood-red flames blazed within its eye sockets. It was clearly an extremely mysterious and terrifying sight, but the little skeleton just happened to be sitting quietly with his hands together like some old monk meditating. It gave off a sacred feeling of enlightenment and seeing through life and death. The horrific, frightening pile of corpses vaguely seemed like the lotus pedestal that buddhas meditated on. Those pale, extended arms seemed like the pure-white petals of the lotus. It was extremely strange.

    Li Qingshan probed by calling out, ¡°Xiao An?¡±

    Li Qingshan was immediately left at a loss as for how to react. All he saw was Xiao An sitting on the ground, shaking his head, as if he had failed to control his speed.

    Xiao An stood up and looked at Li Qingshan. In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, Xiao An saw his current figure. As if he had suddenly realised he was no longer a ghost, he lowered his head to look at his thin, bony hands before looking at his body. Afterwards, he began to tremble violently, squatting down and covering his face with his hands.

    There was not the slightest sound, but Li Qingshan could clearly sense that Xiao An was weeping. As a ghost, at least he had a human form. Not a single person who had been turned into such an inhuman, terrifying state would be able to remain calm. Not to mention that he was still just a child.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart ached. His heart that had grown as tough as steel from the slaughter immediately softened. He rubbed his stinging nose and squatted down with a smile, rubbing Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. Aren¡¯t you pretty cute like this? In the past, only you could touch me. I couldn¡¯t touch you. Now we¡¯re fair.¡±

    Xiao An raised his head, and the blood-red flames in his eye sockets became slightly brighter. He extended his hands and hugged Li Qingshan gently, laying his head against Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. Li Qingshan opened his arms and embraced him tightly.

    In the snow and wind, below a pile of corpses, a half-grown teenager and a small skeleton hugged one another, relying on each other. It was as if they could both feel a certain warmth from each other¡¯s icy-cold bodies.

    The black ox watched on quietly from one side, but his gaze was missing his usual mocking sneer.

    At the end of the day, Xiao An was still a child. He cheered up very quickly, experimenting with his new body curiously. He would wander around at times and pick up a fallen bandit¡¯s blade and play around with it at other times. He would even leap several meters into the air before helplessly falling back down to the ground with a clatter.

    Li Qingshan went up in alarm, afraid that his thin bones would shatter from the fall, but all he saw was Xiao An turning over and standing up. Xiao An scratched his head and remembered he was no longer a ghost, so he could not fly anymore, but he was not disappointed at all. He took off in the wind and snow once again.

    Li Qingshan relaxed. He smiled. Perhaps due to how love would extend to everything related to it, he really did not find Xiao An horrifying at all. With the various childish actions that the small skeleton performed, Xiao An instead seemed strangely cute. However, other people definitely would not feel the same way.

    He turned around and asked the black ox, ¡°Will Xiao An be like this forever?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with it. There are plenty of people who worship gods and buddhas, wishing that they could become like this, yet they can¡¯t! Though, normal people would never even be able to imagine that a ghost could gain a physical body. Although it is an ability of the demonic path, it can¡¯t be restrained with buddhism or daoism. With it, you can progress rapidly and achieve extraordinary power. If this ability had been public, I can guarantee you that the consequences will be a million times worse than the spiritual ginseng you possess. Whether it be people of buddhism, daoism, or daemons and demons, they would all come for it.¡±

    If someone provided you with a feast, could you still blame them if they didn¡¯t provide you with cutlery? Li Qingshan could only smile bitterly. ¡°I knew it. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty sounds much more powerful than the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers.¡±

    Not only was he so fast that even Li Qingshan struggled to react in time, but when he looked back, he saw Xiao An grabbing the seventh boss¡¯s huge mace that weighed over fifty kilograms, waving it about madly. Afterwards, due to his hand being too small, he lost his grip on the hilt, and the mace flew over fifty meters away, smashing into a wall. The current Xiao An could slaughter the entire Black Wind stronghold alone, and he would definitely complete the task with much greater ease.

    Moreover, the talisman that the master of the Black Wind stronghold had somehow obtained could rival his strength of an ox. If the leader of a group of bandits like him could obtain it, it definitely was not some impressive, high quality item. As a result, he could not help but begin to doubt his Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers.

    ¡°He has absorbed the essence blood of over a hundred people, so of course he wouldn¡¯t be weak. If you want him to recover a human form, it¡¯s actually not that difficult.¡± The black ox sniggered and changed the topic of conversation, ignoring Li Qingshan¡¯s doubts.

    As expected, Li Qingshan put this matter behind him too. ¡°Really? How?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°The first way is to cultivate the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to a certain level, and then you¡¯ll be able to conjure a myriad of different forms. You¡¯ll be able to turn into anything you want.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°When buddhism says even great beauty will rot away into white bone upon death, it holds the meaning of seeing through falsehoods. However, this probably can¡¯t be achieved overnight, and it¡¯s just conjuring after all.¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°There¡¯s a shortcut, which is to use the essence blood of people to form a foundation. With this method, you¡¯ll be able to make tissue grow from white bone, regaining your flesh and blood and rebuilding your body of flesh before long.¡±

    Li Qingshan was shocked. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean Xiao An will be alive again?¡±

    The black ox shook his head. ¡°Neither living nor dead. Neither dead nor living. However, from the perspective of mortals, it¡¯s no different from resurrection.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan was in high spirits.

    ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon. It¡¯ll still be up to you to complete this troublesome task. You can¡¯t expose him before everyone or leave behind too many traces, or people will come for you in the name of purging evil. Don¡¯t blame me for not warning you.¡±

 Chapter 60 â€“ Coming Across a Spiritual Artifac

    t

    The black ox said nothing more. Only when Li Qingshan turned around did he say, ¡°When you return, you can begin practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. If you practise the ox but not the tiger, it won¡¯t be an ability.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body paused, but his feet continued onwards. No matter where this path would lead him, he would go down it without looking back. It was for his own sake as well as for the child in front of him.

    The black ox placed all of his focus on Li Qingshan. He taught Xiao An the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty because of Li Qingshan and because it was convenient. Was the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers that he taught Li Qingshan really just an inferior, mediocre ability?

    Li Qingshan searched through the Black Wind stronghold for his spoils of this battle. Xiao An followed behind him with clattering steps. Very soon, Li Qinghshan found a granary. All of the grain in there had been plundered from various villages, prepared for the winter. Who knows just how many ordinary people would freeze or starve to death because of this.

    Afterwards, he found a store room filled with miscellaneous items; he also found an armoury. The store room was filled with items like alcohol, meat and salt, while the armoury stored regular weapons as well. None of them could match the Soaring Dragon sword in his hand, so he did not take special note of them either. However, no matter how he searched, he was unable to find the most precious treasury. However, he did find quite a lot of silver and silver notes in the rooms of the various bosses.

    The Black Wind stronghold had remained in the region of Qingyang for many years, so who knows how much treasure they had accumulated. There might have even been talismans. Xiao An was still the one who was the more attentive of the two. He discovered an extremely well-hidden mechanism in Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s room. After activating the mechanism, a secret door appeared.

    Upon opening the secret door, the glittering shine from gold and silverware almost blinded them. A wooden box contained a stack of silver notes, amounting to over ten thousand taels. However, the most precious items were probably still the paintings, calligraphy, and antiques that he knew nothing about.

    Even Li Qingshan felt rather dazzled. He casually picked up an item, fiddling and admiring it for quite a while, exposing him as an ignorant bumpkin. He had never seen so much gold, silver, and treasure even across his two lives. However, after looking around, he failed to find another talisman, much to his disappointment. He thought of how Xiong Xiangwu would probably keep something as good as that by his side as a trump card if he really did have another and not leave it in a place like this to grow all mouldy. He could not help but feel slightly disappointed.

    Li Qingshan huddled over, but he saw that these paintings and calligraphy either depicted elegant scenery of mountains and water, or flowers, birds and people, or they were written in some kind of strange penmanship. He would struggle to recognise most of these words. They were all in an ancient, classical style anyway, so he was unable to distinguish between them.

    Suddenly, he realised that he was basically illiterate in this world. He neither had the opportunity nor the need to learn in the mountain village. He probably could not even read most of the words in this world. He had to properly make up for this shortcoming when the opportunity arose. However, he felt very surprised inside. ¡°You understand it?¡±

    Xiao An nodded. Although he could not talk, he gestured to Li Qingshan, and Li Qingshan understood very quickly. As it turned out, Xiao An had remembered many more things after attaining an initial achievement with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and turning into a skeleton.

    Li Qingshan clicked his tongue. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll be able to remember your home very soon. You already understand paintings and calligraphy at such a young age, so you must have had an extraordinary education. Perhaps you aren¡¯t even from an ordinary wealthy clan.¡±

    Xiao An instead became lost with what Li Qingshan said. Even if he were naive, he knew he was currently unpresentable. Even if he found his home, could he meet his family?

    Li Qingshan comforted him and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a way. You¡¯ll become nice and good very soon. I guarantee you that you¡¯ll be no different from other children.¡±

    Xiao An immediately cheered up. Although he did not know what Li Qingshan¡¯s method was, he trusted him instinctively.

    The black ox heard that from outside and snickered internally. How could he be from an ordinary wealthy clan? The little ghost¡¯s soul had clearly been refined and strengthened with great power, which was why it had such tenacity. Even with the witch¡¯s amateurish refinement, his soul had not dispersed; instead, he could even wield objects.

    Li Qingshan might not have known just how strict the requirements of talent to practise the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty were, but the black ox did. When Xiao An managed to reach initial achievement successfully, even he was rather surprised. This was probably not due to only talent and intelligence. Instead, Xiao An probably had his spiritual intelligence awakened with some kind of spiritual medicine or technique.

    Xiao An unfurled another painting scroll, and the room suddenly became filled with light. It outshone all of the gold and silver.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He felt an extremely sharp sword qi attack him. It was actually ten times more terrifying than the killing strike from Yang Anzhi back in the restaurant. He instinctively grabbed Xiao An and pulled him behind to protect him.

    The painting scroll fell to the ground, but it did not launch a terrifying attack like he had expected. After staring for a while, Li Qingshan carefully picked up the painting scroll, but he discovered that it was not a painting at all but calligraphy instead. The penmanship was vigorous and lively and extremely sharp. He truly could not recognise a single word.

    It looked like a cursive script, yet it also did not. The entire calligraphy did not form a character at all. Instead, it was just messy, containing ascending and descending diagonal strokes. However, it just happened to penetrate the paper with vigour. It was extremely powerful. Every single stroke seemed like a slash a supreme swordsman had left behind on a cliff, leaving behind an impression that even time could not wear away.

    The black ox said, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re quite lucky. You¡¯ve actually found a true spiritual artifact!¡±

    ¡°A spiritual artifact!¡± Li Qingshan was overjoyed. He fiddled with the painting scroll in his hands as his heart was filled with delight. He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s skull. ¡°What a good Xiao An!¡±

    Xiao An saw that Li Qinghshan was happy, so he lowered his head with the same amount of happiness.

    ¡°How do I use this?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Try channelling true qi into it.¡±

    In his great battle against the Black Wind stronghold, Li Qingshan primarily used his physical strength, so he actually did not exhaust much of his true qi. Most of it remained. However, when he tried channeling his true qi into the scroll, the true qi leaked out of his body madly. All of his true qi had been sucked into the scroll.

    Only when his body had run dry of true qi did one of the calligraphy strokes on the painting light up. With a flash, a descending diagonal flew out and swept past a box of gold and silver, landing on a stone wall of the secret room. It did not produce any startling disturbances, but a while later, the treasure box split open.

    Only then did Li Qingshan return to his senses. He went up and took a look. All he saw was that the diagonal stroke had split all of the gold and silver in half with clean, smooth cuts. Then he inspected the heavy, stone wall and discovered an extremely thin and deep mark.

 Chapter 61 â€“ Murder and Arsony

    Li Qingshan finally understood why the black ox looked down on the glowing knife while not even sparing a second glance at the Soaring Dragon sword that regular people treated as a divine weapon. Compared to true spiritual artifacts, they really were inferior, substandard items.

    If Xiong Xiangwu had used this spiritual artifact, he would have been the one who died today. However, it was impossible for regular practitioners of martial arts to see this glow. The unsophisticated Xiong Xiangwu did not collect the antiques, paintings, and calligraphy here. The second boss dressed like a scholar had gathered these. He could tell that the calligraphy was rather extraordinary, but he failed to pinpoint exactly where.

    Even if he managed to pinpoint exactly where, it was impossible for regular practitioners of martial arts to use spiritual artifacts with their inner force. Xiong Xiangwu managed to use the talisman because he had bitten the tip of his tongue and powered it with his essence blood. Moreover, when the scroll was rolled up, it did not emit any glow at all, so it became easy pickings for Li Qingshan.

    The black ox said, ¡°This spiritual artifact does not seem complete. Instead, it¡¯s only a fragment.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at it. As expected, many of the strokes were severed along the edge of the scroll as if someone had cut it off.

    The black ox¡¯s insight was extraordinary. ¡°This spiritual artifact doesn¡¯t seem like it was purposefully created. Instead, it¡¯s more like it was casually written, imbuing the strokes with sword qi and sword moves, allowing them to be activated. If you want to, you might be able to comprehend a set of sword moves from the calligraphy. And, ordinary spiritual artifacts will all be destroyed once they¡¯re split up. The person who wrote this really did have some skill.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood the black ox. He was as arrogant as oxen would be, so describing the person as ¡®having some skill¡¯ was already an impressive evaluation. As a result, Li Qingshan studied the calligraphy with even greater care in an attempt to comprehend some sword moves.

    Originally, he believed Shi Potian had managed to comprehend the Ode to Galantry that the entire martial arts society struggled to understand as an illiterate, so he should have possessed some advantages as an illiterate as well. However, no matter how he looked at it, he failed to find anything. He only found it more and more impressive the more he looked at it. He could only give up.

    Xiao An stared at the painting scroll, and his blood-red flames danced around. Suddenly, he picked up a painting scroll from the ground and began swinging it around. Wind whistled through the treasury as the scroll blurred, piercing through the air with a series of swishes as if the item in Xiao An¡¯s hand was not a painting scroll but a real sword.

    What illiterates learn martial arts more quickly? It was all nonsense!

    The black ox glanced at Li Qingshan and clicked his tongue. ¡°That¡¯s what you call comprehension!¡±

    Li Qingshan personally believed his comprehension was not too bad. He had progressed rapidly with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, and he even earned the praise of the black ox. If there was nothing wrong with him, the only explanation was that Xiao An¡¯s talent for comprehension was just overwhelmingly high. Of course, perhaps it was due to the fact that he understood calligraphy.

    Xiao An finished the final move and drew back the sword resolutely. The painting scroll became riddled with cracks before turning into fine powder. Afterwards, he looked at Li Qingshan. Although he could not make any facial expressions, his blood-red flames clearly flickered with an emotion of ¡®Quickly, praise me¡¯.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his skull. ¡°How clever!¡±

    Xiao An immediately beamed. Seeing how Li Qingshan¡¯s pride had been hurt, he wrote in his palm. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Alright then. It looks like there¡¯s still a lot of things I need to learn. However, let¡¯s find you a new home first!¡± He found a heavy, porcelain jar from all of the antique vases and considered it. ¡°Seems a little too small.¡±

    Xiao An disassembled into a series of bones again and flew into the jar with a series of clatters, making Li Qingshan leap in fright. He looked inside the jar and discovered a small skull and a pair of blood-red flames staring right back at him brightly.

    Fine then. I originally thought nurturing a little ghost was already strange enough, but it seems to be getting even stranger now. He said, ¡°Good night!¡± and placed the jar lid on.

    Li Qingshan picked up the jar, shoved the silver notes into his bosom, and only took the painting scroll with him before sealing up the secret room again. In the end, he found some oil and doused the various buildings apart from the granary and store room with it. He set it all on fire.

    Ever since the ancient times, murder and arsony had always gone hand-in-hand.

    Even despite the wind and snow, the flames spread rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it became a roaring fire, turning Li Qingshan¡¯s face completely red from the light.

    Then, Li Qingshan poured oil onto the pile of corpses. Who knows if anyone would find anything wrong with these corpses that had their essence blood extracted by Xiao An, so he just burnt it all.

    On the mountain path, the group who had come to subdue the bandits finally approached the Black Wind stronghold after a difficult night of travelling.

    Just when Huang Binghu thought they were too late, a red glow suddenly filled the entire horizon. He was startled, Don¡¯t tell me? He ordered immediately, ¡°Move faster!¡± After crossing over a ridge, Huang Binghu became stunned. Liu Hong became stunned as well, and everyone who had crossed the ridge with them became speechless.

    The infamous, indomitable Black Wind stronghold was currently burning, roaring with a sea of flames.

    Don¡¯t tell me that person did this alone? Everyone thought of the same question inside.

    After recovering from the shock, the group rushed down the ridge as quickly as they could, arriving before the Black Wind stronghold. They passed through the broken gate with hesitance before witnessing a sight that they would never be able to forget.

    Within the sea of flames, the snow on the open area had been dyed red by blood and fire, covered in various, broken weapons. Li Qingshan sat in the middle, resting. Right behind him was the burning pile of corpses.

    The entire group, four or five hundred people, stopped. Huang Binghu and Liu Hong were no exceptions either. The young man gave off an unapproachable aura like a demon god.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± The flames reflected in his clear eyes, but it seemed like the fire arose from within him.

    No one answered him!

    Li Qingshan had murdered, burned, and tried the spiritual artifact, so all of his strength and true qi was truly sapped. As soon as he sank down, he felt a deep wave of exhaustion, so he just began meditating. Within this sea of fire, the best place for him to rest was the empty piece of land where he currently sat. Even he himself had never thought he would form such an impactful sight.

    As an ordinary person, Ye Dachuan had not gone through as much as Huang Binghu and Liu Hong. He went up and asked, ¡°D- did you do all this?¡± However, he was unable to look directly at the pile of corpses behind Li Qingshan. The scorching sensation and the smell of burning flesh made him dizzy.

    Li Qingshan nodded and leapt to his feet. ¡°Li Qingshan has destroyed the Black Wind stronghold here and now. I¡¯ve completed my promise to the people of the Crouching Ox village, to sir, and to myself!¡±

    However, Huang Binghu and Liu Hong noticed the crossbows among the weapons scattered on the ground. They knew the terrors of these weapons the most.

    Just what martial arts had granted him such strength!? Liu Hong personally believed he could not achieve what Li Qingshan had done. Even if the bandits stood still, forming a line for him to beat them, he would still run out of stamina, let alone the fact that they were wielding various weapons and being watched over by several masters.

 Chapter 62 â€“ Killing Intent Hidden Everywhere

    ¡°Thank you all for your reinforcement!¡± Li Qingshan thanked Ye Dachuan, Huang Binghu, and Liu Hong. No matter what they were thinking when they came, help was help, and they would be paid back with the granary, store room, and armoury that remained from the Black Wind stronghold.

    As for the treasury, it was extremely well-hidden in the first place. Now, the heat from the fire had even broken the secret door. If they wanted to get in there again, they would be forced to clear the ruins and find its precise location, forcefully breaking their way in.

    Among the army, everyone smiled from ear to ear. They had eased up. Originally, they were riddled with worry, believing that they would be throwing their lives at the bandits of Black Wind mountain. Now that they had managed to attain victory without even drawing their swords and only needed to carry the spoils of the battle without any injury, it was simply fantastic. They could even boast to others when they returned.

    Ye Dachuan, Huang Binghu, Liu Hong, and Li Qingshan stood together, watching everyone move the items. They seemed to follow Li Qingshan as their leader.

    Apart from the alcohol gourd on his waist and the Soaring Dragon sword on his back, he had gained a new porcelain jar on his waist and a painting scroll on his back.

    The jar obviously carried Xiao An. He had absorbed so much essence blood from the bandits in a single stroke, so he needed time to digest it. As for the scroll, it was the spiritual artifact he had obtained. Since it was calligraphy and could emit sword qi, he named it the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    These two items raised Ye Dachuan, Huang Binghu, and Liu Hong¡¯s attention, but none of them mentioned it, nor did they tactlessly ask about it. No matter what these items were, they were his spoils of the battle, objects that others could not encroach upon.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Hunting chief, are your wounds alright?¡±

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I was precise when I stabbed myself, so it won¡¯t affect me.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback before bursting out with laughter. ¡°You really are an experienced member of the jianghu.¡± People were complicated. They would be spurred on by emotions, and they would change with their interests. There was truth within falsehoods and falsehoods within truth. It was impossible to clearly distinguish between right and wrong, kindness and grievances, nor was there a need to. Coming across each other by chance, a smile could dissolve debts of kindness and animosity.

    Huang Binghu laughed aloud as well before suddenly stopping. ¡°But the hard part has yet to come!¡±

    Xiao Hei walked up and performed a great bow towards Li Qingshan despite their similar ages. ¡°I¡¯ve let you down.¡± Everything that happened today had shocked him deeply. If someone like him became the enemy of the Drawn Reins village, just how terrifying would that be?

    A ray of light emerged from the east, shining from beyond the red clouds. The great fire gradually subsided.

    Li Qingshan suddenly stopped. ¡°Oh right. Hunting chief, did the nickname of the Descended Tiger come from you?¡±

    ¡°Maybe?¡± Huang Binghu had never thought he would ask that.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Could you change it?¡±

    Huang Binghu was surprised before smiling bitterly. This nickname had already spread among the people of the jianghu. The circumstances just happened to be right when he came up with it, so why would he have the right to change it now?

    Li Qingshan still did not know that he would have a new nickname very soon.

    The Black Tiger. The Black Tiger, Li Qingshan.

    Ye Dachuan felt deep regret over the fact that he failed to find the treasury of the Black Wind stronghold in the end, but he showed none of it. His gaze would meet the advisor¡¯s from time to time, and they were both ravishing in joy. It¡¯s a great piece of merit! It¡¯s a great piece of merit!

    Although Li Qingshan had completed it all alone, Li Qingshan was still the sheriff Ye Dachuan had recruited, so he had his share of contribution as the district magistrate. He could already imagine the expression of the brother-in-law he was undeserving of who looked down on him when he received this news.

    ¡°Hahahaha, there have been several district magistrates who had failed to destroy the Black Wind stronghold, but I¡¯ve done it!¡± Ye Dachuan laughed wildly as he patted Li Qingshan shoulder. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s all your contribution, sheriff Li. I will definitely report this to the prefect, who¡¯s also my brother-in-law. You will be honoured, earning you promotions and wealth. Hahahaha.¡±

    Sheriff Li? Only now did Li Qingshan remember that he still held a position in the government. He smiled. ¡°Then I must thank sir Ye.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem; it¡¯s no problem at all!¡±

    The army set off once again to return to the city. Li Qingshan had nothing to attend to, so he just travelled slowly with the army. Along the way, everyone discovered that he was not as terrifying as they had imagined him to be. They gradually gathered around him, calling him all sorts of names, such as sheriff or young hero.

    Li Qingshan felt extremely delighted by this treatment as a hero he had never experienced before. Compared to the mediocrity of his previous life and the frustration he experienced in the Crouching Ox village, this was how a real man was supposed to be treated like. He would never fake some reservedness, acting like fame and wealth meant nothing. Not only did he like fame and wealth, but he also liked alcohol and meat and beautiful women. He liked drinking. He had lust. He liked wealth. He had pride. He had all of the various desires that everyone else had.

    Huang Binghu bid Li Qingshan farewell, returning to the Drawn Reins village to retrieve the tiger bone alcohol the latter wanted. Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you have ginseng as well, feel free to bring it too. I¡¯m willing to purchase it at good prices.¡±

    After settling this matter, he could truly begin practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. Although the black ox never mentioned a word of it, Li Qingshan felt this ordinary-looking ability hid secrets he had yet to touch upon.

    And, even if it were just an ordinary ability, there were not any martial arts that could rival it. It would still be extremely important to him. He liked fame and wealth, but he had not been blinded by them. He did not forget his circumstances. The luxury right now was only just the calm before the storm. Even more, greater challenges laid ahead. If he did not make preparations beforehand, he would be defeated and broken.

    However, not only did he feel no fear, but he even felt slightly excited. He was just a shout away from asking the storm to come fiercer. This was the life he had chosen.

    Although it was easier to travel on the path during the day, they transported a large number of items with them, so they were unable to speed up either. Only when dusk came did the group arrive before the city gates, and they heard the roaring gongs and firecrackers.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s the festival today?¡±

    Liu Hong said, ¡°No, they must be welcoming you. The district magistrate had sent people back first and passed on the news.¡±

    As expected, a wave of warmth flooded over as soon as they entered the city. Despite it being winter, the streets were filled with people.

    Everything that happened last night had shocked everyone in the city. Even after the night was over, every single person was still absent-minded, taken away by their thoughts. The entire city fell into an uproar when they received the news.

    Li Qingshan smiled and received everyone, but at the same time, he could sharply sense a few hostile gazes from the tea house on the side of the street. He thought, They¡¯ve come so quickly!

    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s a frog in a well. He has just destroyed a bandit¡¯s stronghold. Senior brother, when do we get him?¡± In the tea house, a lady in blue with surging arrogance despite her ordinary appearance asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. Let¡¯s keep waiting!¡± Before her sat her senior brother. He was a horse-faced man in his thirties. He carried almost nothing on him, but his hands were slender. Something bulged from his waist as his eyes shone. An experienced member of the jianghu could tell with a single glance that he was a master of hidden weapons with powerful internal force.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been fortunate. If the news spread even further, who knows how many people would come to steal it. Why don¡¯t we strike first?¡±

    ¡°He slaughtered two hundred bandits alone. I personally believe that even I cannot achieve that. The might of this Descended Tiger just happens to be flourishing. He¡¯s difficult to deal with.¡± The horse-faced man shook his head. It was a pure coincidence that they were in Qingyang city, so they wanted to take advantage of these easy pickings.

 Chapter 63 â€“ The Tiger Demon Forges its Bones

    ¡°We still have to be careful when we roam the jianghu. You would rather go without the spiritual ginseng than place yourself in danger. There are other people here, so let¡¯s have them probe him first!¡± The horse-faced man instructed earnestly, but it only made the lady in blue scorn him.

    ¡°Master said that you have to listen to me when outside!¡± The horse-faced man became furious as well. If you¡¯re looking to die, you¡¯re more than welcome to, but don¡¯t drag me into it as well. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you¡¯re master¡¯s daughter, I would have abandoned you a long time ago.

    He had experienced the many dangers of the jianghu. Even if he managed to get the spiritual ginseng, the slightest of carelessness would lead him to his death. If this Li Qingshan was a clever person, he would immediately offer it to someone, or he would be dead for sure. No, even if he did offer it up, the person on the receiving end would definitely silence him with death in order to avoid the news spreading, stopping others from hunting them down.

    The horse-faced man looked at Li Qingshan in the crowd like he was a dead man. He sipped his tea. Even if he could not obtain the spiritual ginseng, watching this lucky, young talent die to the dangers of the jianghu was a wonderful matter as well.

    In the same restaurant he had fought the night before, Li Qingshan sat down and received the terrified gazes of the aristocrats and cups of wonderful wine. Just when he was about to drink the alcohol, he suddenly stopped and looked at the rippling liquid.

    With his halt, the restaurant quietened down as well. An aristocrat asked carefully, ¡°Sheriff Li, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nonchalantly, ¡°The wine is poisoned!¡± He casually splashed the alcohol onto the ground, and a white mist immediately rose up. It only demonstrated the toxicity of the alcohol. The poison was odourless and traceless as well. If it were not for his awakened eyes and his caution, which allowed him to see the peculiarity of the wine, he probably would have been poisoned already.

    The aristocrat became sheet-white. He had passed this cup of wine to Li Qingshan earlier, so he waved his hands frantically. ¡°It¡¯s not me!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt to his feat. Just when the aristocrat wanted to cry for help, he saw Li Qingshan look at a waiter on the side. ¡°You¡¯re the one who poisoned it!¡± This was his almost beastial instincts, his sharp senses towards killing intent and hostility.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen him before. He¡¯s not a waiter of this establishment,¡± said an aristocrat.

    The waiter panicked and cried out for the injustice. Suddenly, he saw a fist hurling towards him. Before the punch had even arrived, the gust of wind had sucked his breath away. He could not afford to hide any longer, so he slid a knife out from his sleeve and stabbed it viciously at Li Qingshan¡¯s abdomen.

    Li Qingshan treated it like nothing before turning around. ¡°Let¡¯s keep drinking!¡± He knew that this could not even be considered as an appetizer for what would be coming next.

    But was there anyone who was still in the mood to drink?!

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sir Ye, the sect master of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect has publicly attacked a government official, and he has slipped away. Have you considered putting out a warrant for his arrest?¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. I will definitely mention this matter in my official report to the prefect.¡±

    ¡°A nest of bandits like the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect cannot remain. As the sheriff, I am willing to suppress the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect and bring back Yang Anzhi. What do you think, sir?¡±

    The aristocrats were horrified. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was probably going to follow in the steps of the Black Wind stronghold. Fortunately, they had summoned their descendents back immediately.

    Ye Dachuan looked at the sun in the sky. ¡°Isn¡¯t it too late?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for your concern, sir. I will be right back!¡± Since he could not drink, he needed to find something to do. He would never spare the cause of all of this, the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. He would never give his enemies an opportunity to rest.

    Comrade Lei Feng once taught us that we must treat our fellow comrades with the same warmth of spring, while we must treat our enemies with the same cruelty and mercilessness of harsh winter.1

    The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was located on the Dragon¡¯s Gate mountain five kilometers from the city. Li Qingshan left the city gates and did not travel on the main road. He found the direction and traveled straight for the mountain. When he left the city, two black shadows tailed behind him, but they were not the senior brother and junior sister.

    They just happened to be people of the jianghu who were close to Qingyang city and happened to hear the news regarding the spiritual ginseng. The waiter who poisoned the drink was their companion. They had been waiting downstairs the entire time, waiting for Li Qingshan to die of poison so that they could immediately flee with the spiritual ginseng. If it did not go to plan, they would attack Li Qingshan together.

    However, their waiting was met with the waiter¡¯s corpse thrown out of the restaurant, followed by Li Qingshan leaping out the window as well, rushing out of the city. They looked at each other and thought, He¡¯s escaping. They could not help but pursue him.

    Although it was five kilometers as the crow flew, it involved crossing mountains and ravines, so it was not just five kilometers. Li Qingshan took great strides, leaving behind a deep footprint with each step. Whenever he came across any obstacles, he would have to slow down or stop.

    As it seemed, there was a reason why he had been labeled as clumsy. It was all because the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength focused on practising the body and not qi, so there was nothing that focused on movement. As a result, he could only run along like how he would normally, circulating his true qi in his feet so that he would speed up slightly.

    But right now, his situation was rather different. His spine twisted in a strange manner as he constantly altered his posture as he ran; it was like he was stretching. His neck constantly twisted as well, and he gasped heavily through his mouth. His heart pounded thunderously as white steam rose from his body. It was actually vaporized sweat.

    It should have never been so strenuous for him to run. He actually seemed like he was carrying a huge burden, but his steps moved faster and faster. As each step fell, it seemed lighter. His body was bent forward with his arms dangling down. He looked like a wild beast in human form as he ran through the forest, moving faster and faster.

    In the dark forest, the vegetation rapidly approached him before being rapidly thrown behind him.

    Suddenly, a steep mound over ten meters in height appeared before him. Originally, he would definitely stop and think about how to detour around it or climb up it.

    But now, not only did he show no sign of stopping, but he even rushed towards the mound instead. As soon as he arrived below the mound, his body retracted, and he kicked off with his feet. Leaping off the ground, his arms extended forwards, grabbing two protruding rocks. With a tug, he leapt onto the mound.

    He completed the entire motion in a single stroke; he was just like a vicious tiger crossing through the mountains. This move was the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain from the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging.

    The black ox had already passed the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging to Li Qingshan. He had been studying it the entire time when he travelled back to Qingyang city. With his practise from the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, it became much easier, so he grasped the method very quickly. As he ran, he experimented with the three most basic forms of the nine forms of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, the Tiger Demon Flexes its Spine, the Tiger Demon Stretches its Back, and the Tiger Demon Rubs its Head. These were the basics to training the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. The other forms built off this foundation.

 Chapter 64 â€“ The Tiger Demon Digs out the Hear

    t

    However, an increase of the burden on the body was not an issue at all for the current Li Qingshan. Instead, it was fantastic. Although the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength had granted him extraordinary strength, endurance, and defence, he felt like he wasted it most of the time.

    He had great strength, but if he were slow, it would be useless since he could not land an attack. This was why he had been in danger when he faced Yang Anzhi.

    Even if he could last for lengthy amounts of time with great endurance, battles of life and death were about critical moments. Anything could happen in the next instant. If he failed to kill in a single strike, the opponent could flee far away. Nobody would give their opponent the opportunity for a battle that lasted three days and three nights.

    With tough defence, he could harass some masters who used their fists. However, if he came across wielders of sharp swords and blades, it would just be like how a needle could pierce leather. He might not be able to endure it, and getting beat up was always worse than beating someone up.

    However, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging solved these issues from the very source, allowing him to instantaneously erupt with his strength and granting him significant speed.

    Apart from the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging had two other forms for movement, the Tiger Demon Leaps over the Ravine and the Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain. These forms covered all of the movements of leaping up and down and pouncing forward and retreating. He would be just like a vicious tiger travelling through the forest, moving like wind.

    Li Qingshan stopped, allowing his pounding heart to gradually settle down. He closed his eyes to comprehend the sensation from before as well as to wait.

    The movement techniques of the two black figures were actually rather impressive. A while later, they emerged from the forest. Borrowing the bright moonlight, they spotted Li Qingshan on the mound with a single glance. At the same time, they felt a fierce, dangerous aura.

    Li Qingshan stood up with his hands on his hips. ¡°You¡¯re just two third-rate masters, yet you¡¯re still bold enough to chase me? How brave. Since you¡¯ve come, you might as well leave your lives behind!¡± Before the two people could say anything, he immediately twisted and leapt down.

    ¡°The Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain!¡±

    The Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan! The two people immediately thought of Li Qingshan¡¯s nickname. Li Qingshan was not the only one who found it to be awful. When the two of them heard it for the first time, they found it hilariously unsophisticated. However, as the black shadow approached them, neither of them could laugh anymore.

    It was already too late for them to flee.

    ¡°The Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart!¡± Li Qingshan formed claws with his hands and plunged them into their chests. With a grasp and a pluck, he dug out two, blood-red hearts that still thumped.

    Aside from the three basic forms of training strength, Tiger Demon Flexes its Spine, the Tiger Demon Stretches its Back, and the Tiger Demon Rubs its Head, and the three forms for movements, the Tiger Demon Leaps over the Ravine, the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain, and the Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging had three other forms purely for killing and injuring. They were the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart, the Tiger Demons Rips up the Lamb, and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar. It was countless times more brutal than the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.

    ¡°Come, Xiao An!¡±

    The porcelain jar opened, and Xiao An flew out. The blood-red colour all over him had faded, only leaving behind a hazy red. He had basically recovered his appearance of a white skeleton. Li Qingshan squeezed his hands and blood dripped out, landing on the white bone and immediately seeping in.

    This was the so-called blood from a living person¡¯s heart. This kind of cultivation method was as evil and horrifying as it could get.

    However, Li Qingshan actually felt no discomfort doing this, and it was not only because these two people wanted to kill him. There was no mistake for him to kill them. He sniffed the heavy smell of blood and cruel delight welled up from the bottom of his heart. The red light in the depths of his eyes became dazzling.

    From a normal person¡¯s perspective, oxen were always rather simple and gentle creatures. Even if there were times when they were irritable, they could never be compared to tigers that hunted and fed on prey. The two fist styles named after these two beasts were the same.

    If the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength could only strengthen his courageous nature, then the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging would be completely agitating the vicious and murderous nature within him. Those who were good at fighting liked to fight, and those who were good at killing liked to kill. That was how the world worked.

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head with his bloody hands and said gently, ¡°Come out and get some air!¡± Although he had no idea how a skeleton was supposed to get some air, Xiao An still climbed onto Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder happily.

    Li Qingshan took off, but he had no idea that soon after he had left, another two people arrived. They were the horse-faced man and the woman in blue from the tea house. At the end of the day, they were still people who roamed through the jianghu regularly and could not be compared to the pampered sons and daughters of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. Even the woman in blue only paled slightly at this sight.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s the three evils of Yao. Even these three pieces of trash want to get their hands on the spiritual ginseng. Senior brother, he has left the city to rampage through the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. This is a great opportunity for us. Once both sides are exhausted, we can strike and leave as soon as we get the spiritual ginseng. No one will be able to¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The horse-faced man crouched down and inspected the corpses. He heard the woman¡¯s scheme and interrupted her with a darkened face. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s go right now. Let¡¯s get as far away from this place as possible!¡±

    The woman called out, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Although the three evils of Yao aren¡¯t any particularly impressive figures, they have some skill with their martial arts. Even if we ignore the fact that the third evil is skilled at poison, the first evil and second evil possess decent martial arts. If they work together, it¡¯ll take quite the effort even for us to fend them off. However, right now when they were on guard, they could not even fend off a ¡®Black Tiger Digs out the Heart¡¯, getting their hearts dug out and dying because of that. This Li Qingshan is not someone we can handle. The rumor regarding the Black Wind stronghold is probably true,¡± the horse-faced man said calmly, but his voice trembled slightly. He could imagine just what end he would meet if he had been spurred on.

    ¡°We use hidden weapons to launch sneak attacks in the first place. Why would we confront him directly? As long as we maintain our distance with our movement technique, we¡¯ll be completely fine. Senior brother, you¡¯re far too cowardly. With risk comes reward. If we get the spiritual ginseng¡­¡± The woman chattered on, and her eyes lit up when she mentioned the spiritual ginseng.

    Smack! There was a crisp slap across her face. The woman in blue clutched her face in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯ve actually hit me?!¡±

    The horse-faced man said, ¡°If you want to die, go by yourself. Don¡¯t pull me into it. You¡¯re more than welcome to tell this to master. Let¡¯s just see whether master punishes or praises me!¡± He turned around and left as soon as he finished his words.

    The woman was momentarily taken aback, but she still ended up chasing him. ¡°Senior brother, how can you be like that!?¡±

    The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect towered over the ground. The mountain terrain was precipitous. Three sides were vertical cliffs; in particular, the east side seemed like it had been carved out with an axe. The cliffs several hundred meters in height were completely vertical. Even monkeys would struggle to get a footing and climb up them.

    However, at this moment, on the dark, eastern rock face, something rapidly flew upwards as it flickered with sparks.

 Chapter 65 â€“ Climbing High and Seeing Far

    After killing the three evils of Yao, Li Qingshan rushed through the forest, no longer hindered by anything. If he came across a river, he would cross it. If he came across a mountain, he would traverse it. His usage of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging became even more ingenious. He arrived below the eastern rock face of the Dragon¡¯s Gate mountain in under two hours. The tall mountain stood like a sharp sword before him. After a moment of consideration, he sped up and rushed towards the rock face.

    Since he was several hundred meters in the air, fierce wind whistled in his ears, but he ignored it completely. His eyes narrowed as he nervously searched the rock face for something he could grab. Even if it were the slightest protrusion, he could use it for grip, and when there was nothing for him to grip onto, he would just viciously grab at the smooth surface.

    If the precipice was rotated ninety degrees, then Li Qingshan would have his back hunched and all four limbs against the ground, just like a tiger. Aside from that, it would seem like he really was on flat land, moving about freely and easily. Only he knew that he was basically treading on thin ice, facing constant danger. Even the slightest mistake would make him fall from several hundred meters in the air. Even with his tough muscles and bones, his body would still shatter. This was no less dangerous than when he had rushed into the Black Wind stronghold alone.

    However, he was fearless. Instead, it got his blood pumping. The extreme danger squeezed out all of the potential in his body. His mind, his willpower, and his might had reached unprecedented levels.

    He finally understood the joys of the mountaineers who risked their lives to scale great cliffs, and he realized why people would like extreme sports. Challenging difficulties and dangers to achieve what others could not achieve had always been the nature and instincts of hot-blooded men.

    He ignored the constant signals of exhaustion from his body, as well as the creaking of his bones from overwork. He overburdened his body, which instead gave him a delight similar to releasing his soul. He felt like he was flying.

    Suddenly, a ravine appeared before him. He leapt as hard as he could, and only when he saw the various structures did he realise that this was not a ravine, but the peak of a mountain. The world tilted in his eyes once more, and he landed on the cliff on his knees. He stood up and back. The mountains were as numerous as beasts in a herd.

    The tiny Qingyang city was located in the embrace of the herd as if it were constantly in danger of being ripped to shreds. This was not a world where people could live peacefully. It was filled with unimaginable danger.

    Only tonight did he suddenly find the answer, severing his last shred of doubt. Spreading his arms as if he were hugging the world, he said, ¡°This is the life I want! Here is the wonderland of adventurers!¡±

    The chilly winds buffeted the teenager¡¯s clothes. On this cliff, he brought an end to the matters of his past life and the old dream that haunted him for fifteen years.

    I am Li Qingshan, the Li from wood and child, and the Qingshan from sufficient are the green mountains overgrown.1

    Xiao An also crawled out from the porcelain jar and stared at Li Qingshan blankly. Although Xiao An did not know what he was thinking, he seemed to be able to feel Li Qingshan¡¯s resolve. He thought to himself, No matter which path you take, I will walk to the end of it with you!

    Li Qingshan turned around with resolution and made his way towards the structures. That was where the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect resided.

    It was already quite late, but lantern light still illuminated the Soaring Dragon hall of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect.

    The sect master, Yang Anzhi, sat at the front, and beside him was the pale-faced Yang Jun who was filled with resentment. The elders and core disciples formed two rows on the sides. All of their faces were sunken, and none of them uttered a word.

    Even the roaring flames of a forge could not warm up their hearts.

    Li Qingshan had destroyed the Black Wind stronghold. This piece of news weighed on everyone¡¯s chests like a boulder. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was still rather impressive. Li Qingshan had only returned to Qingyang city at dusk, and by night, they had already received the news. It was fast.

    Yang Jun roared with a twisted face, ¡°This is impossible! It must be a rumor! It has only been a day. It¡¯s not like the Black Wind stronghold is made out of paper! How could they be destroyed?!¡±

    ¡°Jun¡¯er, don¡¯t say anything more. It¡¯s Qingyang city that raised an army, and Liu Hong and Huang Binghu worked together, so it¡¯s no surprise that the Black Wind stronghold was destroyed. However, I never thought it would happen so quickly!¡± Yang Anzhi truly lived up to his position as a sect master. Despite the major news, he managed to maintain much of his composure.

    An elder said, ¡°Never had I thought that Liu Hong and Huang Binghu would work together to help this kid. Senior brother, what do we do now? Many of the aristocrats have summoned back their descendants.¡±

    ¡°What help that kid? They did it for the Black Wind stronghold¡¯s wealth and treasure. They¡¯re not going to spare the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. This is basically an unprecedented disaster for our Dragon¡¯s Gate sect!¡±

    The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect had been established for many years. Although it had never been a large sect of the jianghu, it possessed a very deep foundation in the region of Qingyang. The combination of martial arts and authority formed the absolute power for domination. Right now, it was like the local tyrant who had it easy had suddenly received the news that the world was rebelling against them. It felt like the world was ending.

    ¡°Senior brother, I¡¯ve been saying since a very long time ago to restrain our disciples; we needed to prevent them from running freely. This will end up provoking powerful enemies sooner or later, leading to a great disaster for our Dragon¡¯s Gate sect.¡± Although the disciplinary elder was speaking to Yang Anzhi, he looked at Yang Jun. The others showed resentment as well.

    ¡°You old coot, what the hell are you saying? Your stupid son raped someone¡¯s wife and daughter, and when they came knocking, who was it that stood up for him?!¡± Yang Jun was aggravated. Normally, he would have never spoken to his seniors like this, but now that he had suddenly lost his martial arts and the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect that had always protected him might be done for, his mindset changed. He no longer cared about the consequences.

    ¡°You!¡± The disciplinary elder¡¯s face became bright red.

    ¡°All of you shut up!¡± Yang Anzhi¡¯s voice reverberated through the hall. His inner force could not be underestimated. ¡°Is now the time for us to bicker between us? No matter what has happened in the past, the priority right now is for us to handle this crisis. I¡¯ve already sent disciples to guard the mountain path and to spread news by lighting beacons. If anyone launches a large scale attack on the mountain, it¡¯ll be impossible to hide from us. If we really can¡¯t stop them, then we can only retreat through the secret tunnel in the ancestral hall first with our belongings, abandoning the Dragon¡¯s Gate mountain and conserving our strength.¡±

    At the end of the day, the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was still a sect that had remained for many generations. Apart from the young masters of those aristocrats, they had many other loyal disciples who would serve them with devotion. However, these disciples never would have imagined that their sect master was already ready to abandon them.

    Abandon the Dragon¡¯s Gate mountain! Everyone in the hall was shocked. They had already thought of this worst-case scenario, but now that they had suddenly heard it, they found it difficult to accept.

    ¡°I¡¯m only talking about the worst-case scenario, and it¡¯s a temporary measure. I¡¯ve already sent messages to all of the other fellow practitioners of martial arts in the martial arts society, whether they are righteous or evil. Everyone knows about the spiritual ginseng already. Before long, Qingyang city will be filled with people of the jianghu. Not only will that kid be dead for sure, but it¡¯s likely that Liu Hong and Huang Binghu will meet an untimely end as well. We only need to conserve our strength, and before long, we¡¯ll make a comeback.¡±

    ¡°Impressive planning, sect master Yang!¡± Li Qingshan pushed open the heavy doors and stepped into the hall along with the frigid wind and snow. His gaze stabbed straight at Yang Anzhi. ¡°I had thought you would flee, but I don¡¯t have to worry now. It doesn¡¯t matter whether I¡¯m dead for sure, but you sure are.¡± It was as if he treated the hall full of people as lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

 Chapter 66 â€“ Instantly Slaughtering the Dragonâ€™s Gate Sec

    t

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s expression changed drastically. He actually failed to sense Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival at all. When Li Qingshan raised his feet and took a step, there was no longer any clumsiness like before. Instead, it was light and gentle like a feline creature¡¯s steps.

    The other elders were still wondering who he was. Yang Jun roared out, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Everyone stood up and drew their swords at the same time. All of them tried to get in a word in a messy manner. ¡°What are the disciples on post doing?¡± ¡°How did you get here?¡± ¡°Who else is there?¡± ¡°All of you, come out!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about how I got here. I¡¯ve come alone today!¡± Li Qingshan looked around and saw many people he did not recognise, so he said, ¡°I¡¯ve come today just to deal with the chief culprit. The others are welcome to leave the hall. I¡¯ll give you ten minutes.¡± He turned to the side and cleared the way out of the hall, but what answered him was a series of swishes from drawing swords from sheaths. The cold gleam of the swords flickered constantly.

    The disciplinary elder said, ¡°You really are looking for your own doom, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯ve actually infiltrated the mountain alone. Do you really think our Dragon¡¯s Gate sect can be trifled with that easily?¡± He was responsible for punishment and was known for his coldness in the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. He looked at Li Qingshan like one of the disciples who had ended up in his hands.

    ¡°Kill him! He¡¯s the great enemy of our Dragon¡¯s Gate sect!¡± ¡°If it weren¡¯t for him, the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect wouldn¡¯t be like this right now, yet he has actually delivered himself to us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t spare him so easily. I want to cut off his arms and legs.¡±

    The people who were just about to turn against themselves banded together over the appearance of the ¡®source of trouble¡¯, Li Qingshan. They wanted to vent all of their anger on him, tempted to cut him into pieces and tear him to shreds.

    In their eyes, Li Qingshan, who had come alone, was already on the chopping block, allowing them to cut or torture him however they wanted.

    Only Yang Anzhi remained silent, clasping the hilt of his sword firmly as he sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s changes. Li Qingshan seemed like an iron club before, possessing great strength but lacking flexibility and sharpness. However, Li Qingshan now seemed like he had gained an edge, completely exhibiting his edge to make people look away.

    Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°Then the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect will be the next Black Wind stronghold!¡± Killing intent roused in his heart, and an aura of murderousness flooded from his body, rushing towards the people of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect.

    What a heavy aura of murderousness!

    Everyone shivered inside. They felt the temperature in the hall abruptly plummet by a few degrees, while the crippled Yang Jun almost fainted on the spot.

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, never using its advantage to blabber to its enemies.

    The disciple never thought that Li Qingshan would strike so suddenly. Stricken by fear, he could not use any of his martial arts at all. He only watched as Li Qingshan¡¯s hand plunged into his chest and dug out a blood heart before tossing it aside casually.

    Xiao An leapt up and caught the heart, absorbing the essence blood from it. Ever since Li Qingshan found out there was a chance for him to recover Xiao An¡¯s body of flesh and blood, he dedicated himself to this task like it was a holy ceremony.

    The flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets danced around, sweeping past the people in the hall. As long as he killed these people, he would be a step closer to his objective! No matter what the price was, he wanted to appear before Li Qingshan in a body of flesh and blood once again.

    Originally, the people of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect returned to their senses the moment Li Qingshan attacked and killed the disciple, but they came to a sudden halt once again. They stared at this strange sight in horror. Beside the wavering candlelight, a skeleton held and ate a human¡¯s heart. Only a single word appeared in their heads. D- Demon!

    Since Xiao An no longer possessed the ability to hide himself, there was no need for him to keep hiding. Li Qingshan drew the treasured sword that had been passed down through the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, the Soaring Dragon sword, and stabbed it into the ground. ¡°I¡¯ve long heard that the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect is known for their sword techniques. Xiao An, why don¡¯t you learn from them?¡±

    Xiao An tossed the heart aside and grabbed the Soaring Dragon sword. The sword was just a little too long for him, but as soon as he grabbed the hilt, his bearing changed completely; it was like he was a supreme swordsman. The tip of the sword pointed at the ground diagonally as every single person in the hall felt like they had been enveloped in the sword moves.

    The disciplinary elder was pale. He no longer possessed the confidence from before. As a sword sect, no matter who it was, they still understood the sword.

    The person who left behind the sword moves and sword intent in the painting scroll could draw out a spiritual artifact. He was someone that the black ox had praised. Even when Xiao An had only comprehended part of a set of sword moves from it, it surpassed all the sword moves that a second-rate sect like the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect possessed.

    The marble tiles under Li Qingshan suddenly shattered. He had already vanished from his previous location. He used the Tiger Demon Leaps over the Ravine again, ignoring everyone else in the hall and going straight for the sect master, Yang Anzhi.

    Yang Anzhi bellowed out, ¡°Kill him!¡± His voice jolted everyone back to their senses. They were all swordsmen who had trained with the sword for many years, so they would never be truly stunned. They knew that this was a moment of life and death, so their eyes reddened as they unleashed their full strength. Over a dozen swords stabbed mightily towards Li Qingshan who was in the air, stuck on a fixed path.

    Li Qingshan did not try to dodge. He did not even glance at the swords. His eyes narrowed completely like a brutal wild beast¡¯s as he stared right at Yang Anzhi.

    Yang Anzhi finally drew his sword. It was actually another glowing, treasured sword. Although it was worse than the Soaring Dragon sword, it could still cut through rock and metal with ease. He produced seven swords, erupting with seven blurs that flew towards Li Qingshan. Even if other swords could not even penetrate Li Qingshan¡¯s skin, this sword could definitely claim his life.

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to attack, Xiao An suddenly rushed over from below. The Soaring Dragon sword also transformed into seven swords, unleashing seven blurs that collided with Yang Anzhi¡¯s attack, producing a series of clings and clangs.

    Behind Xiao An, the group of elders and disciples all froze like they had become statues, maintaining their postures of stabbing towards Li Qingshan. Blood spurted wildly from terrifying wounds on their necks, chests, and foreheads at almost the same time as they collapsed on the ground.

    In the moment that Li Qingshan had moved, Xiao An had moved as well with the Soaring Dragon sword in his hand, sticking close to the ground instead and moving through the hall. Just when everyone unleashed their full-powered attacks at Li Qingshan, he took advantage of their huge openings and instantly killed all of the elders and disciples before receiving Yang Anzhi¡¯s sword.

    He was not a child but a demonic cultivator who practised an ability from the demonic path. The Soaring Dragon sword was not a toy either but a terrifying weapon that could claim lives.

    Li Qingshan had once said that he probably could slaughter the entire Black Wind stronghold alone when Xiao An reached the initial achievement of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Only now did he witness just how powerful Xiao An had become after comprehending the set of sword moves from the spiritual artifact whilst wielding a weapon like the Soaring Dragon sword. ¡°This kid!¡±

    Both of their strengths gradually surpassed the level of second-rate masters. Now this was the jianghu. Before absolute martial might, additional numbers basically did nothing.

 Chapter 67 â€“ Assassination of the Flying Sword

    Yang Anzhi looked at the hall full of corpses. The legacy of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect had actually ended in his hands in the blink of an eye.

    This was because Li Qingshan had only been a weakling in his eyes that day. Against weaklings, it was not called provoking but making things difficult for them. However, today, he had become the one who had things made difficult.

    Clashing with Xiao An, Yang Anzhi had instead managed to evade death, allowing him to avoid Li Qingshan¡¯s full-powered lunge. Otherwise, if Li Qingshan managed to unleash his move, he was confident of seeing just what colour Yang Anzhi¡¯s heart would be. As for Xiao An, he had instantly killed over a dozen people and repelled Yang Anzhi¡¯s sword, so he was spent as well. He was unable to pursue immediately.

    ¡°Father, save me!¡± Yang Jun looked at the two ¡®monsters¡¯ that were inches away and no longer possessed any of his haughtiness anymore. He extended his hand towards Yang Anzhi for help in complete fear.

    However, Yang Anzhi showed no intentions of stopping. He shot towards the back of the hall in a flash. He could have more sons, but he only had a single life. He cut his losses decisively in an extremely vicious manner.

    Despair immediately overwhelmed Yang Jun. He closed his eyes and only felt a gust of wind blow past him, but he felt no pain. He opened his eyes again, and all he saw was Li Qingshan and Xiao An ignoring him completely, shooting past him and chasing after Yang Anzhi.

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s movement technique was impressive. Once he managed to get far away, catching up to him would be difficult.

    Spared, Yang Jun immediately moved his feet, running madly towards the exit, completely disregarding his heavy clothes that had become drenched in sweat. He constantly chanted inside, I have to get revenge! Revenge!

    Spurt! A bone hand stabbed his back and pierced him all the way through. Yang Jun looked at his chest in disbelief before staggering a few steps forwards and collapsing with a thud.

    As it turned out, Xiao An had seen how Yang Jun wanted to flee. With a swing of his left arm, his arm had shot out like a hidden weapon, killing him.

    The bone arm dislodged itself and flew towards the back of the hall as if it were drawn along by some invisible force.

    The back of the main ball was the ancestral hall of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. Portraits of the past sect masters were enshrined there. The first sect master¡¯s portrait was the largest, almost three meters tall. It detailed a life-sized swordsman, wielding the Soaring Dragon sword and overlooking the entire ancestral hall with an indifferent expression.

    However, he probably never imagined that something like this would happen today. No, perhaps he did imagine it. The secret tunnel of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was located behind the altar below his portrait. As long as Yang Anzhi could make it in there, he would be able to pass through the heart of the mountain and flee for his life from the hidden exit. That was his objective.

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s confidence in his movement technique shattered with the whistling of wind that constantly drew closer. All he needed was a single moment, and he would suffer the same fate as the elders and disciples in the hall.

    Perhaps he had lost his mind due to the fear, as he actually called out, ¡°Save me, founding ancestor!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately pulled back the claw that reached towards Yang Anzhi¡¯s back. He was worried that Yang Anzhi would be similar to Xiong Xiangwu, possessing a trump card that completely surpassed regular practitioners of martial arts. From his experiences so far, the items within the boundary of spiritual artifacts or techniques such as spells were rare in the world.

    These techniques could be very weak, or they could be very strong. It was impossible for him to gain an accurate estimate.

    As expected, a tiny sword enshrined on the altar suddenly lit up brightly after Yang Anzhi spoke and stabbed towards Li Qingshan.

    The tiny sword glistened with golden light, but it was possible to tell with a single glance that it was a wooden sword with golden paint. The startling light it had erupted with illuminated the pitch-black ancestral hall as it turned into a golden streak of light.

    When the sword was still several meters away, Li Qingshan felt a prick on his forehead and developed the feeling that no matter how he dodged, he would be unable to avoid the assassination of the sword.

    Yang Anzhi¡¯s heart eased up slightly. This was a secret that had only been passed down between the sect masters. When their founding ancestor passed away, he did not leave behind a corpse but instead this tiny sword. It was extremely similar to the ¡®armament liberation¡¯ of daoism. Before he had passed away, he had ordered his first disciple, who was also Yang Anzhi¡¯s ancestor, to consecrate and pray to the tiny sword daily, without missing a single day. Once a powerful enemy attacked, they could call upon it for assistance. It would definitely stave off the danger, but it could only be used once.

    Although Yang Anzhi had also prayed to it for several decades, he never believed in this rumor. He had inspected the tiny sword before. It was just an extremely ordinary wooden sword. Any metal sword could cleave it in half.

    However, he dared not deny this rumor outrightly either. He had also considered how he was supposed to use it in the past. However, he considered that the Iron Fist school and the Drawn Reins village would definitely launch a large-scale attack on the mountain with the people from the district magistrate, so how was a sword that could only be used once play any sort of decisive role against several hundred people? He had waited until this moment of life and death before finally giving it a try, regardless of the consequences, and it actually worked.

    Li Qingshan was aware that he could not confront it directly, so he twisted his body in the air. The tiny sword seemed to be intelligent, making a turn in the air and producing a sharp swish, shooting towards Li Qingshan with lightning speed once again. The sensation on Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead deepened as a chill flooded his face.

    Suddenly, a sword shot out and stabbed the tiny sword. Xiao An had interfered in an attempt to rescue Li Qingshan. However, not only did his strike that could pierce metal and rocks fail to cut through the tiny, wooden sword, but he instead felt a tremendous force rebounding back through his sword. The tough Soaring Dragon sword cracked into pieces and fragments shot out everywhere. Xiao An had been knocked away as well, slamming into a pillar.

    However, the tiny sword¡¯s glow dimmed, pausing slightly before stabbing towards Li Qingshan again. As long as he was still alive, it would never stop.

    Li Qingshan had already retreated to a corner of the hall. Using the time that Xiao An had earned him, he grabbed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and unfurled it, channelling his true qi into it desperately.

    At this critical moment, a descending diagonal stroke lit up and shot out. It collided with the glimmering, tiny sword.

    There were no tremendous explosions. Instead, a ring of light expanded from the centre of the hall like miniature sun that had suddenly risen up.

    However, Li Qingshan experienced a thunderous sound. His ears rang and blood flowed from them.

    The light dispersed very quickly. The portraits of the sect masters had all turned into dust, floating in the surroundings. Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes had suffered the same fate. At a closer glance, the walls and ground were peppered with thousands of thin, sword strokes.

    The tiny sword had unleashed thousands of sword qi that were thin like rays of light when it shattered, silently penetrating everything in the hall.

    Even Li Qingshan could not help but become stunned by this might. The power of the flying sword had left a deep impression in his heart.

    Yang Anzhi had been standing near the secret tunnel. Seeing the assassination fail, he immediately turned around and leapt into the secret tunnel. As long as he entered the secret tunnel and activated the mechanism, a huge rock of tremendous weight would seal the entrance. No one would be able to chase him anymore.

 Chapter 68 â€“ A Quick Trip

    As soon as Yang Anzhi had taken a step, he collapsed on the ground like lightning had struck him, and he trembled all over. Blood oozed out from every single pore of his body. Before long, he had become drenched in blood.

    The sharp sword qi did not distinguish between friend or foe. Li Qingshan remained unscathed because of the true qi protecting his body. Yang Anzhi had only practised inner force, which was qualitatively different from true qi, so it was unable to stop the sword qi.

    The entire ancestral hall began to creak. Dust and wood chips drifted down. The sword qi had destroyed the entire structure, so it was about to collapse.

    With tonnes of wood and earth falling down, even Li Qingshan was afraid of biting off more than he could chew. ¡°Xiao An, leave quickly!¡± However, he directly charged towards Yang Anzhi.

    The violent collapse of the ancestral hall could be heard from over five kilometers away. Dust blanketed the entire Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, immediately alarming all of the disciples standing guard. They all rushed up the mountain and made their way over.

    The main hall at the front was shrouded in dust. Li Qingshan¡¯s figure appeared, holding a heart.

    Xiao An lowered his head in shame. If it were not for him, who had forcefully received Yang Anzhi¡¯s attack earlier, he would have never had the chance to flee to the ancestral hall, and Li Qingshan would have never risked so much danger.

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± He was just like a father spoiling his child, an elder brother doting on his younger brother.

    The two polar opposite bearings of brutality and warmth appeared on him simultaneously. It was extremely conflicting yet also making perfect sense.

    With the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart, he had retrieved the hearts of over a dozen masters of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. After Xiao An absorbed them, the flames in his eye sockets became much brighter. Whether it be his strength or his speed, they had both increased substantially. He progressed so rapidly that it truly lived up to its name as a superhuman ability.

    Li Qingshan removed the spiritual artifact sword that was slightly worse than the Soaring Dragon sword from the beam. However, it was also much smaller and shorter than the Soaring Dragon sword, so it was more suitable for Xiao An to unleash the power of his sword techniques.

    Next, Li Qingshan searched through the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect and found a set of clothes to wear. However, he did not find a treasury like in the Black Wind stronghold. After all, the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect would not accumulate so much gold and silverware for no reason. The Black Wind stronghold only had so much because they were bandits. Stolen goods were difficult to sell, which was why they had stored it in the treasury.

    However, his greatest gain came from the body of the young master, Yang Jun. It was a stack of silver notes, worth several tens of thousand taels. Yang Anzhi had already been prepared to retreat, so he brought all of his possessions with him, handing it to his only son to take care of, just in case. However, he never expected Li Qingshan to come so quickly and so ferociously.

    The disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect all arrived. When they saw how the ancestral hall had collapsed, they looked at one another speechlessly. ¡°W- what has happened?¡±

    They rushed into the main hall and immediately became stunned by the horrific sight. Corpses laid around with a hole in each of their chests. Only a single figure stood there with his back towards them.

    A disciple gathered the courage to shout, ¡°Who are you!?¡±

    Li Qingshan patted the porcelain jar, comforting the fidgeting Xiao An. He turned around and said, ¡°I am Li Qingshan. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect has already been destroyed. Please all scatter!¡± With that, he made his way out of the hall.

    The bandits of the Black Wind mountain were sinful, so he had to kill them all, while the people in the main hall had already treated him as an enemy, wanting to take his life, so they could not be spared either. However, these regular disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect had only been used as sacrificial pawns. Even if he wanted to help Xiao An recover his body as soon as possible, he could not go around killing the innocent.

    Of course, if there were any disciples who dared to draw their swords and attack him, he would show no mercy. Swordsmen had to be ready to die by the sword, while murderers had to be mentally prepared for being murdered as well.

    Li Qingshan passed through the several dozen disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. They all moved aside, forming a path for him.

    Just when Li Qingshan was about to reach the door, someone drew their sword with a swish and roared out, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± They charged at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan glanced back at him indifferently, and the disciple halted. The gaze filled with killing intent was like a sharp sword, stabbing into his heart. The sword in his hand dropped to the ground with a clang, and he collapsed on his knees. He said, ¡°You¡¯re not a human, but a demon, a demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not pay too much attention to it and made his way out easily. He took in a deep breath; this was the end to another grievance.

    On the lone peak, the group of disciples followed behind Li Qingshan as they trembled. Li Qingshan arrived before a cliff and leapt off, vanishing into the snowy, windy darkness.

    There was a saying that it was easier to go up a mountain than to come down from one. Compared to climbing the mountain when he came, Li Qingshan¡¯s path down was even more dangerous. He used the form of the Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain and controlled his entire body. He carefully used every bit of strength within him. If he used a little too much or a little too little, a fate of a shattered body would be awaiting him.

    However, with his experience from last time, he managed to climb down the mountain safely. He became more familiar with the usage of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. Just as Li Qingshan was having the time of his life, his stomach suddenly growled loudly. An intense feeling of hunger attacked. He had covered so much ground the night before when he rushed to the Black Wind stronghold and fought for such a long time, yet he had not been as hungry as now.

    He sprinted wildly along the ground once more, returning to Qingyang city. He was met with shut city gates, but with a leap, he scaled them and returned to the restaurant.

    The restaurant was well-lit, and the banquet had yet to disperse. Everyone drank their alcohol tasteless as they chatted out of boredom, waiting for Li Qingshan¡¯s news.

    Li Qingshan suddenly appeared before them. Everyone even wondered whether he had gone to the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect at all, as he had left and returned in less than two hours. That was not even enough time for regular people to make it to the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect.

    Although Li Qingshan had used snow to clean off the traces of blood on him, the sanguine smell was so heavy that it would not disperse.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Please remain seated, sir. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect has already been destroyed. Yang Anzhi, Yang Jun, and the group of criminals have all been cleaned up. I¡¯ve let the other disciples scatter by themselves.¡±

    Everyone in the restaurant gasped. If they had not been deterred by Li Qingshan¡¯s might, they basically wanted to question whether he was telling the truth at all. What kind of speed was this? When he went to destroy the Black Wind stronghold, the journey to and back had taken an entire day and night.

    Ye Dachuan exclaimed, ¡°So quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. Although it had only been a day, he had already become much more powerful. First, he had the powerful support from Xiao An, who had achieved something with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Secondly, he himself had begun practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, which converted his strength into killing power.

 Chapter 69 â€“ A First-Rate Master

    Originally, Liu Hong was still very reluctant to accept his defeat to Li Qingshan. He felt that Li Qingshan was harassing him because he did not use a weapon. Liu Hong knew how to use the blade too. Only when Li Qingshan destroyed the Black Wind stronghold alone did he truly accept his defeat, but he only treated Li Qingshan as someone talented and slightly better than himself. After all, Li Qingshan did receive help from another master.

    But now, he had a feeling that as long as Li Qingshan wanted to, he could take his life in a single move. Let alone fighting back, Liu Hong would not even have the opportunity to flee. This was the instincts of an experienced member of the jianghu. It had helped him avoid danger many times, and it would not be wrong.

    Did he become a first-rate master already!? That¡¯s impossible. It has only been a day. However, he could not deny the reality presented before him. He wondered whether reporting the matter of the spiritual ginseng to the main branch of the Iron Fist sect in the Clear River prefecture was the correct decision or not. The main branch leader would definitely send people over. Everyone knew the value of a spiritual ginseng.

    However, even if he did not do that, the news would spread to the Clear River prefecture very soon under Yang Anzhi¡¯s attempts of dissemination. The people of jianghu would gather here very soon.

    Li Long had also attended the celebration banquet. Looking at the teenager who had emerged from the same Crouching Ox village as him being daring and filled with energy, respected by all of these aristocrats, even he himself was unable to describe whether he was feeling admiration or envy. His emotions had become a complete mess.

    However, he could closely sense the changes to Liu Hong¡¯s expression, so he asked, ¡°Master, are you alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan heard this as well, so he toasted, ¡°Old hero Liu, I¡¯ve left in too much of a hurry earlier, so I¡¯ve destroyed the drinking mood. Please accept this toast as an apology.¡±

    Liu Hong stood up in a hurry. ¡°Sigh, Qingshan, are you ridiculing me? What hero? Only the old part is true. The jianghu belongs to you youngsters. Xiao Long, get up, quick. You two share the same hometown, so you should drink more with each other. I¡¯ll have to trouble Qingshan with my disciple in the future. Please take good care of him.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expressions became strange. The Iron Fist school was widespread across the entire Clear River prefecture. They were truly a large organisation, yet he wanted an outsider to take care of his own disciple.

    Li Qingshan was surprised as well. He smiled. ¡°Sure!¡± and drank all of his alcohol. It was clearly an extremely ordinary decision, yet it made people cheer loudly.

    Li Qingshan coped with the situation, and his stomach grumbled. Many people smiled before quickly hiding their smiles again.

    Li Qingshan had no idea what Ye Dachuan was thinking. Right now, all he could see was the table full of alcohol and dishes. He truly cared for nobody else. At the start, he maintained his basic dining etiquette, but after eating a few mouthfuls, he could no longer care that much. He just spread his cheeks and began munching. He truly wolfed it down.

    With a stroke of his chopsticks, a dish would become empty. This was also due to his ingenious use of his martial arts. Ordinary people could not achieve that. At the same time, he ate with great meticulousness. He would chew and grind any food that ended up in his mouth to pieces. He was even more effective than people who chewed their food carefully and swallowed slowly.

    In a single bite, almost half of a roast chicken vanished. He did not even spit out the bones, grinding them up and swallowing them with everything else. In just a short while, an entire roast chicken was gone.

    Everyone watched on dumbfoundedly. They had never seen someone eat like that in their lives.

    Before long, Li Qingshan had finished half the table of dishes and alcohol, but he did not feel full at all. His stomach was like a bottomless furnace, digesting and absorbing the food rapidly and converting it to energy before delivering it to the various parts of his body.

    A series of cheers even gradually arose in the restaurant. ¡°Young hero Li sure is valiant!¡± ¡°What young hero? It¡¯s sheriff. With a hero like sheriff Li protecting us, do we still have to be afraid of any bandits or criminals?¡±

    A single person ate while a group of people watched and cheered him on. Even Li Qingshan himself found this to be rather strange. He knew his table manners were nowhere close to being any good. Before these aristocrats, who lived lavishly and emphasised on appearance, he could definitely be labelled as a ¡®country bumpkin¡¯ or a ¡®starving ghost¡¯.

    However, most of these praises were actually sincere. If an ordinary person had eaten so much, they would have been drowned out by gazes of scorn a long time ago, but Li Qingshan was no ordinary person. Instead, he was someone powerful who had rampaged through two major organisations of Qingyang. Everyone¡¯s evaluation of him immediately underwent a one-eighty, describing him as magnanimous and domineering.

    Li Qingshan stuffed himself as the alcohol and dishes were delivered in a constant stream. Only after three tables of food did he finally stop.

    It was late, so everyone dispersed. There were people who automatically arranged a dwelling for him. He had been allocated quite a large courtyard within Qingyang city.

    Even he himself had no idea how much alcohol he had drunk. With his body size and alcohol tolerance, he felt rather drunk. As soon as he returned to his courtyard, he collapsed on the bed and mumbled, ¡°Xiao An.¡± before falling asleep. He slept extremely soundly. If it were not for Xiao An¡¯s presence, he would have never been bold enough to drink and sleep so freely. He would be forced to be on his guard constantly.

    This was the terrifying aspect after becoming a target for everyone. If this continued for long periods of times, no matter how great your martial arts were, your mind would deteriorate and become exhausted, making it even more impossible to practise abilities or martial arts.

    Xiao An carefully took off his shoes and clothes, placing him in bed and covering him with a blanket as if it were a holy procedure. After, he held onto his sword as he sat by the bedside like a guard. Perhaps Li Qingshan¡¯s actions that night managed to scare away a lot of people, or perhaps there were still gazes observing in the darkness, but Li Qingshan slept soundly that night. Not a single tactless person disturbed him.

    He slept all the way until late morning. Only then did he truly recover from his exhaustion from constant battling and slaughter. He sat on his bed in a daze for a while, thinking back to the dream he had that night. It was no longer a dream that reminisced his past life, but a new dream. As for the details? He could not recall any of it.

    As he sat there in a daze, Xiao An placed a pan of water before him. Li Qingshan thanked him before lowering his head and looking in the pan, ¡°Hmm? I seem to have gotten skinnier!¡± Touching his face, he had indeed grown skinnier. He had been eating constantly in the mountains, and after achieving the strength of an ox, his body had become visibly sturdy. His face had filled up as well, no longer as thin as before. He had been brimming with energy and was as fit as an ox.

    Was it because I exhausted myself too much over the past two days? He muttered to himself inside. He plunged his head into the water and drew it out again, and his mind immediately cleared up. ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s time to train!¡±

    The courtyard¡¯s location was rather remote, so it was very quiet. And, it was expansive as well, so it was suitable for practising martial arts. It suited Li Qingshan¡¯s tastes very much. When he walked out from the building, he discovered that the snow had already stopped at a certain time while he slept. The winter sunlight landed on the snowy ground, shining brightly.

    Li Qingshan arrived beneath the sun after treading through the snow and yawned. All he saw when he looked back was Xiao An remaining within the shadows, afraid to take a step out of the door.

 Chapter 70 â€“ A World of Ligh

    t

    Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan. Under the sunlight and the reflected light from the snow, he seemed like a halo surrounded him. His smile was so dazzling that it was impossible to look at him directly. He basically seemed glorious. His hand seemed to be an invitation to the world of light.

    The pain from sunlight burning him remained in his heart, but he was unable to control his hand that extended outwards. The skeletal hand, devoid of any flesh or blood, was like a moth drawn to a flame. Even if the sunlight would burn him to a crisp, he was unable to turn down the invitation of that hand.

    His index finger crossed the boundary between light and darkness first. The sunlight did not burn him, instead feeling extremely warm, rising up from the depths of his soul. He had almost run out of patience during this process, placing his hand in Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan held the pale-white, skeletal hand that might have been rather terrifying to ordinary people.

    Xiao An stepped out of the building, crossing the boundary between light and darkness, bathing in the sunlight.

    Li Qingshan lifted up Xiao An with a great smile. ¡°How does it feel?¡±

    Xiao An nodded happily. It felt fantastic. He had never felt so wonderful before.

    Sunlight did not only subdue ghosts. Instead, it could suppress everything evil in the world. The black ox had not been lying to Li Qingshan. The reason why Xiao An was not afraid of sunlight was not because he was powerful enough, but because he had never exactly been an evil or demonic being in the first place. He even possessed the holy, solemn aura of buddhism. This was how powerful the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was, a demonic superhuman ability a great monk of buddhism created. With life and death blurred, buddhism and demons were one.

    On such a big day, Li Qingshan was unable to come up with any good ideas as for how to celebrate for Xiao An. Xiao An could neither eat or drink. Was he supposed to go out and dig out a heart or two?

    As a result, he swung his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s build a snowman for you!¡±

    As expected, Xiao An became as happy as an ordinary child.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t told you, have I? My ability at making snowmen even surpasses my supernatural ability.¡±

    Xiao An immediately showed admiration, while Li Qingshan was complacent. With a chuckle, he squatted down and rolled the thick layer of snow into a great ball before making a smaller ball and placing it on the larger ball. He glanced at it and was very satisfied with the perfect shapes of the two balls. He went back inside to find some things for the nose and eyes.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°D- did you do this?¡± This was no longer making a snowman, but a snow sculpture!

    Xiao An nodded and looked behind Li Qingshan curiously.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Li Qingshan yelled out, turning around and launching a kick. He shattered the two perfect snowballs, making Xiao An leap in fright. He said, ¡°Haha, that¡¯s just practice. I¡¯m going to be serious now.¡±

    Xiao An completed the snow sculptures of a large Li Qingshan, a medium-sized Li Qingshan, a small Li Qingshan, and various birds and beasts.

    ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Li Qingshan also destroyed his ¡®masterpieces¡¯, collapsing on the snowing ground in exhaustion. ¡°Fine then. It looks like my ability at making snowmen is slightly worse than my supernatural ability.¡±

    However, looking at how much fun Xiao An was having, he had basically reached his goal!

    ¡°Someone is here!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Hearing the footsteps, Xiao An immediately hid back inside the building. After a few thumps on the door, Li Qingshan opened the door, and he was met with the advisor.

    The advisor smiled from ear to ear. ¡°Sheriff Li, how was your sleep last night? The magistrate invites you to visit the government office. They¡¯re holding a trial today.¡±

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An to hide well. He tidied himself up slightly before arriving at the government office. Ye Dachuan personally invited him to the back hall before ordering someone to retrieve a set of clothes. It was the sheriff¡¯s uniform, and it came with a standard issue Wind-entwining blade.

    Obviously, he could not turn down the goodwill of others. And, this identity as the sheriff was rather useful to Li Qingshan as well. The government of this world did not appear to be particularly powerful, but since he had a legitimate status, it would definitely come with its benefits. He temporarily needed this identity.

    Li Qingshan went to a wing of the room to change into the clothes before equipping the Wind-entwining blade. When he emerged, his bearing changed once more. The black sheriff¡¯s uniform was not as ugly as Li Qingshan had originally imagined it to be. Instead, it seemed very much like a uniform. Wearing it, he lost some of his free, unrestrained aura as a person of the jianghu and gained a more solemn and upright bearing.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Originally, I wondered whether it was a little small, but I never thought it would be a perfect fit. Although it can¡¯t be compared to the legitimate Black Wolf uniform, you really do seem even more awe-inspiring than actual Hawkwolf guards.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought to himself, It really wasn¡¯t a false impression. He really had become thinner. It was not because he had overworked himself in the past few days, but probably the effects of practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging.

    ¡°The Black Wolf uniform? Hawkwolf guards?¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Hmph, that bunch of arrogant, ruthless, and greedy wolf pups. Don¡¯t worry, their influence can¡¯t reach here. In Qingyang city, you and I possess the most power!¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan had asked without much thought, but he instead began to care now. The underlying meaning to what Ye Dachuan had said seemed to be that if the influence of the Hawkwolf Guard did reach here, they would no longer possess the most authority. However, Ye Dachuan had witnessed his martial arts before. As it turned out, maybe the imperial court and government of this world was not as weak as he had imagined them to be. The weak must have been this official Ye right in front of him.

    He had been trapped in a mountain village for most of his life, and as soon as he made it out, he ran around fighting and killing. He did not have the leisure to properly understand this world at all. Even right now, it was no different. He needed to practise the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging quickly so that he could handle the possible events and dangers that might appear.

    ¡°Sir Ye, sheriff Li, it¡¯s time to attend the trial,¡± said the advisor.

    Li Qingshan stood there purely for a ceremonious purpose before bidding farewell and leaving. When he returned to his courtyard, he discovered the doors to be open, so his heart lurched. He rushed through the door, but all he saw was Huang Binghu standing in the courtyard, studying the snow sculptures. ¡°What a sophisticated interest, Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. He could not refute him, ¡°Hunting chief, you¡¯ve returned so quickly. Are these?¡± There were eight, large jars of alcohol and two bamboo baskets in the courtyard. They stood out very much.

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously the tiger bone alcohol you asked for!¡± Huang Binghu opened a jar, and the heavy fragrance of alcohol permeated the entire courtyard.

    ¡°So much!¡±

    ¡°We dug up everything we had for this.¡± Huang Binghu smiled as he studied Li Qingshan, ¡°That¡¯s quite a handsome outfit. If you really could join the Hawkwolf Guard, you won¡¯t have to worry about others trying to steal from you.¡±

    The Hawkwolf Guard again? Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hunting chief, is the Hawkwolf Guard really that powerful?¡± Huang Binghu had left Qingyang city before. He had gone to larger places like the Clear River prefecture, so Li Qingshan obviously wanted to seek advice from him.

 Chapter 71 â€“ Drinking and Practising

    Li Qingshan thought to himself, Perhaps this is the true strength of the government. But it only makes sense like that. Since when was there ever the principle of the weak ruling over the strong? Anyone who gains power would strive for greater authority. How are ordinary people supposed to rule over the people of the jianghu with their powerful martial arts?

    The Hawkwolf Guard must have been an important force of the government. Just like how there would be more peace to cultivate in the government, joining would save a lot of trouble. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t have a chance.¡±

    ¡°I believe you can do it!¡± Huang Binghu still thought he was considering joining the Hawkwolf Guard. He had already learnt that Li Qingshan had destroyed the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect last night in just two hours. However, as opposed to others, he had experienced a feeling of ¡®just as I had thought¡¯ when he received this news, apart from the usual shock.

    Ever since he had met Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan had been rapidly growing at an unbelievable rate. He could not help but think about what Li Qingshan had said back then, ¡°I will definitely become an innate master!¡± Originally, he treated it not too seriously like something a child had said, but he believed it now. As long as Li Qingshan did not die along the way, he would definitely become such a master.

    Li Qingshan decided on temporarily throwing such a distant matter to the back of his head. ¡°Apart from the tiger bone alcohol, are the bamboo baskets holding that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s ginseng!¡± Huang Binghu opened the bamboo baskets. They were actually filled with ginseng.

    When Li Qingshan had purchased ginseng with his huge sum of a thousand taels of silver, the amount was probably not even a tenth of the quantity contained in the bamboo baskets. It made sense with how much tiger bone they had, but the Drawn Reins village was not a village known for foraging ginseng. He could smell blood from Huang Binghu¡¯s body. It was extremely faint but very fresh. If it were not for how sharp the smell of blood was, he basically would have doubted himself and wondered if it were his false impression. Did his nose become more sensitive after practising the superhuman abilities?

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°We just removed a danger for the Drawn Reins village, and the ginseng was an unexpected spoil of that.¡± After he ingested the spiritual alcohol, not only had his body recovered, but his martial arts had also progressed further. Spurred on by the murderousness and sanguine nature of when Li Qingshan destroyed the Black Wind stronghold, he had immediately led people to attack the Ginseng King village as soon as he returned.

    Li Qingshan fell silent momentarily. Although he had grievances with the Ginseng King village, they were still a village after all. They were not a nest of criminals like the Black Wind stronghold. However, he also understood that if the Ginseng King village possessed enough strength, they would have done the same to the Drawn Reins village.

    Once a grievance of life and death had been developed, it basically could not be nullified peacefully. The only way about it would be to do everything to defeat the opponent. If he wanted to protect his friends and family, he needed to kill the friends and family of others. Only standpoints existed. There was no good or bad. Once he entered the jianghu, there would be no way out. There would be enough alcohol for him to never finish, enough enemies to behead for him to never get around to.

    ¡°I just happen to be in need of these, so thank you, hunting chief. The ginseng is worth quite a lot, so I can¡¯t take it for free. Hunting chief, why don¡¯t you give me a sum?¡±

    Huang Binghu did not hold back. ¡°I knew your trip to the Black Wind stronghold would be extremely worthwhile. As for the amount of silver, give me whatever you want.¡±

    Li Qingshan handed all of the silver notes he had obtained from the Black Wind stronghold, over ten thousand taels, to Huang Binghu. The price of the ginseng would probably be worth more than that, but due to buying in such a great quantity, there had to be discounts. Li Qingshan neither took advantage of Huang Binghu, nor did he take a loss in this.

    Huang Binghu felt delighted as well. As long as he had the money, the strength of the Drawn Reins village would definitely increase even more through the formulae Li Qingshan gave him. ¡°You have to be careful these days, just in case someone is plotting against you. If the need arises, just give me a call. However, I have a feeling that you won¡¯t lose.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for your optimism, hunting chief!¡±

    After Huang Binghu left, Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts for quite a while before suddenly seeing Xiao An sticking his head out from inside, looking at him with a ¡®shining¡¯ gaze. He could not help but smile calmly. He wanted to protect this child. There was no question about his determination.

    The circumstances of his life had suddenly changed, constantly dwelling in blood and slaughter. It was not like he had experienced confusion and pain. If he were the same person from his past life, he definitely would have lost his spirit already, but now, he wanted to stand up tall, without showing the slightest hint of weakness, as that child was looking at him. If the abilities and strength granted him confidence, then his desire to protect and his responsibilities steeled his heart, turning him into a real man.

    The medicinal alcohol and ginseng had been delivered at the perfect time. The tiger bone alcohol went without saying¡ªit was extremely helpful to practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. The ginseng was just as crucial too. The spiritual ginseng would require several days to produce a gourd of spiritual alcohol now, and the taste of the alcohol was no longer as heavy as before.

    Li Qingshan dismissed his thoughts and formally began practising the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging also had a total of nine layers. Li Qingshan¡¯s current objective was achieving the first layer. According to the black ox, as long as he achieved the first layer, he could combine it with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and erupt with the true power of this ability.

    Li Qingshan lifted up a jar of tiger bone alcohol first and took a few sips. He moved around in the courtyard, performing the fist style form by form. His feet moved faster and faster, and before long, only a blur was left in the courtyard, rushing around with quite a gale.

    He digested and absorbed the medicinal alcohol very quickly, so he stopped and drank more. He repeated this process constantly, and by noon, he felt a starving sensation once more and felt like he had overworked his mind, about to injure his vitality.

    However, the effects were extremely obvious. In just a single morning, he could clearly sense his movements becoming slightly faster once again, with even greater explosive power compared to before. All of the bones in his body had become tougher as well, able to support him to perform even more violent movements and actions. He would no longer experience the feeling of coming close to fracture like when he climbed up the Dragon¡¯s Gate mountain last night.

    Li Qingshan felt extremely exhilarated. He arrived at the restaurant nearby, and when the manager saw him enter, he went up to receive him in a hurry. ¡°Sheriff Li, what brings you here? Welcome, welcome! Please come in!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not hold back. He ordered a whole table of food and alcohol, wolfing it down like there was no one else around. However, he could clearly sense that the restaurant had a few additional people of the jianghu, carrying blades. These people also studied him carefully, but since they did nothing to him, Li Qingshan could not be too bothered by them. He finished eating and settled the bill.

    ¡°Manager, give three, no, four meals a day with the same quantity, regardless of the dishes in the future. Deliver it to where I¡¯m staying, and include some more meat with bone in.¡± He no longer had the time or energy to go hunting anymore, and he had grown sick of just eating roast meat or boiled meat a long time ago. Now that he had money, of course he had to eat better dishes and drink better alcohol. The culinary skills of the restaurant¡¯s chef completely surpassed his half-assed cooking.

    Just when the manager was paining over the losses of today, he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s words and almost fell over. ¡°Sheriff Li, we¡¯re a small establishment making small profits!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not pay too much attention when he let out that questioning interjection, but the manager¡¯s heart almost stopped beating. He cursed himself for being too greedy, Why did I have to provoke this calamity just for some money? Am I really that sick of living?

 Chapter 72 â€“ The Black Tiger Leaves its Den

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Sheriff Li is a great hero, a great man. You would never take advantage of my mere establishment. It¡¯s me who has acted like a snob.¡± The manager was overjoyed, immediately stowing the silver away and replying with respect.

    Li Qingshan turned around and left through the door as a few people of the jianghu whispered among themselves.

    ¡°Is that the Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan? Turns out that he¡¯s just a kid.¡±

    ¡°What kid? He personally destroyed the Black Wind stronghold and the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. And, I heard he¡¯s skilled in a move called the ¡®Black Tiger Digs out the Heart¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°What so special about the Black Tiger Digs out the Heart? I know it as well. Who doesn¡¯t know how to use it in the jianghu?¡± To the people of the jianghu, this was basically the most generic move out there.

    ¡°Shut up, don¡¯t interrupt me. Every person he killed has had their hearts dug out. Could you do that?¡±

    The table of people collectively gasped. ¡°What brutal methods!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why we have to be as careful as we can this time.¡±

    A few days passed, and more and more people of the jianghu appeared in Qingyang city. The attacks that Li Qingshan had been watching out for never actually happened during this time. Everyone watched and observed silently. The infamy that came with killing people and digging out their hearts really did have an extremely great effect. And, the more people of the jianghu there were, the more careful and vigilant they would be. They were afraid of stalking their prey but being unaware of someone else stalking them.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed that no one disturbed him. He could concentrate entirely on training. He would become slightly stronger with each passing day. However, his figure rapidly thinned down as well. He was basically close to returning to his original size.

    However, this was different from the frail thinness of before. The current him was like a piece of steel, constantly being hammered and tempered. His volume decreased, but he became denser and denser. Simply by standing there, he was like a javelin, glimmering with a deterring edge.

    At the very beginning, Li Qingshan had never thought the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging could forge the body to such a level. Moreover, this form of forging took an extremely great toll on his body.

    Now, aside from eating food, he ate ginseng. That¡¯s right; he did not drink the medicinal alcohol steeped from ginseng but ate it directly instead. Whenever he felt exhausted from training, he would eat wild ginseng several decades in age like snacks.

    The snow fell at times and stopped at others. Over half a month passed by.

    Li Qingshan was currently practising in a horse stance. Suddenly, he felt a gust behind his head, and he did not even look back, leaping up and slamming his head backwards. He seemed like a human spring.

    His headbutt sent the assailant flying, slamming against the stone wall.

    The eleventh. This was already the eleventh person who had attacked him recently. Although most people chose to watch on from afar, there were still quite a few who wanted to try their luck. Unfortunately, their luck was not particularly great.

    Li Qingshan stood up and sensed the gazes that spied on him from the surroundings. He growled and said, ¡°All of you, get out!¡± His voice that he had infused with true qi made the tiles rattle. Those who had weaker martial arts immediately felt like they had been struck heavily in the head. They vanished in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan did the same as he did with the others, killing the person and taking the heart before tossing the corpse over the wall. Feeling his own body, the strand of true qi that was only like a hair in the beginning had become extremely powerful now. It raged through his body like a river.

    He had finished all eight jars of tiger bone alcohol, the two bamboo baskets of ginseng, and the pills for training he had obtained from the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect.

    He had finally achieved something with the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, but he was still quite a bit off from the first layer. He was uncertain if it were because he had not trained enough or if the time was just not right.

    He stood up and discovered that his nails had grown long once more. As they brushed past each other, they produced a metallic sound of scraping. He grabbed at the stone table beside him gently and four deep marks were left behind. If he used a hand like this to unleash a vicious technique like the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart, the results would be obvious.

    He was confident that he could slaughter all of these people spying on him, but he did not do that. As long as they never attacked him, he was reluctant to kill them. However, his patience vanished bit by bit. As his cultivation of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging progressed, his vicious and brutal nature grew heavier.

    He was like a vicious tiger trapped in a cage, agitated to swing its claws and bare its fangs. He had realised he had changed like this.

    If masters of the jianghu were being spied on so outrageously, they probably would have massacred them all already. Have I made myself seem like someone who¡¯s easy to walk over? This thought constantly resounded through his head, and it grew louder and louder. However, he did his best to restrain himself.

    Xiao An held Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist with some worry. Out of the eleven people Li Qingshan had killed during these days, the latter nine were all second-rate masters. Their vitality was much stronger than regular people. Xiao An¡¯s strength had been growing endlessly like there was no bottleneck.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go out and take a stroll!¡± He put on the Black Wolf uniform and equipped the standard issue Wind-entwining blade before making his way out. He made his way towards the largest establishment in Qingyang city. Most of the people of jianghu were gathered there. He wanted to make them understand today.

    As soon as he left the courtyard, a piece of news spread across the entire city. ¡°The Black Tiger has left its den!¡±

    In the Iron Fist sect, the Iron Lion Liu Hong currently faced a pale-faced, middle-aged man with a thin beard and mustache. Liu Hong said courteously, ¡°Hall chief, that is what has happened so far. Li Qingshan is a real piece of work. It is difficult to take the spiritual ginseng from him by force. And, Qingyang city has become crowded with masters now. First-rate masters have already appeared, planning to use the spiritual ginseng when they make the push to the innate realm. Even if you get the spiritual ginseng, it will be difficult to ingest it.¡±

    Hall chief Wu lectured, ¡°Liu Hong, you have spent far too much time in retirement in Qingyang. You have become more and more cowardly. Since when has our Iron Fist school feared masters? If Li Qingshan really is someone with a brain, getting him to hand over the spiritual ginseng and join the Iron School sect would not be treating him unjustly.¡±

    Li Long stood to one side. When he heard how his master was directly referred to by his name, he felt that it was very disrespectful. He refused to accept it inside, With the way you act, you might not necessarily be able to defeat Qingshan. Once he digs out your heart, you¡¯ll know just how powerless you really are.

    Liu Hong obviously knew his disciple. He was afraid Li Long would say something inappropriate, so he grabbed his shoulder and said to the hall chief, ¡°Hall chief Wu, my disciple has got some talent. It is quite a pity if he remains in Qingyang city. Do you think you can take him with you this time so that he can go out and see the world?¡±

    Hall chief Wu glanced at Li Long. ¡°Regarding that, considering your contribution this time for providing the news, it is not out of the question for me to take a person or two away with me.¡± The Iron Fist school had established a branch in such a remote in the first place because they wanted to look for people, so completing this favour that came at no extra cost to him was possible.

    Liu Hong was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, hall chief Wu. Xiao Long, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and thank hall chief Wu.¡±

    Li Long could not let down his master with all the pains he had gone to. Although he was reluctant, he showed none of it on his face. He thanked the hall chief obediently.

    Smack!

 Chapter 73 â€“ The Hawkwolf Guard

    It was dark right now. The person was standing in the corner, and his black clothes seemed to fuse into the darkness. Liu Hong had paid much attention to him since the very beginning, as when he was not looking at him, he actually failed to sense his existence at all.

    Hall chief Wu said, ¡°Branch leader Liu, I¡¯ll introduce you to an important figure.¡± He continued to refer to the much older Liu Hong arrogantly, directly calling his name. When he mentioned the person in black, his gaze immediately became more flattering and complacent. He felt delight over how he could establish ties with such an important figure. ¡°This is sir Feng of the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    The Hawkwolf Guard! Liu Hong¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he gulped. How couldn¡¯t he have heard of the renowned hawks and hounds of the government? It was no wonder that hall chief Wu acted like this. Even the leader of the main branch of the Iron Fist school, Tie Buyi, had to entertain such a person cautiously. It was no wonder why branch chief Wu was so confident as well. Who would ever be bold enough to make him spit out something he had taken when a Hawkwolf guard had personally come forward?

    Sir Feng said nonchalantly without even looking over, ¡°You are too kind, hall chief Wu. Our commander has drunk with your master Tie in Jiaping city a few times, which was why he agreed to help you. I still have matters to attend to when I return to Jiaping city, so I can¡¯t afford to spend too much time here.¡±

    Jiaping was a large city over fifty kilometers away from Qingyang city. Not only did a major river pass through it, making it an extremely important port, but there were mines as well, so it was much more prosperous than a small mountain city like Qingyang. The Iron Locks hall that hall chief Wu came from was located there. The hall controlled seven branches, including Qingyang. An office of the Hawkwolf Guard was located there too.

    Hall chief Wu said, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. We won¡¯t cause you any trouble at all. Branch leader Liu, why don¡¯t you get that Li Qingshan to come over immediately?¡±

    Liu Hong was afraid of ordering his disciples to handle this. He ordered Li Long to wait there as he personally went to go find Li Qingshan.

    Li Long had heard Liu Hong mention the Hawkwolf Guard in the past before, but that was just far too distant from the world he dwelled in, so he did not pay too much attention to it. He never thought he would personally see a member of the Hawkwolf Guard today, so he could not help but worry for Li Qingshan, Qingshan is probably going to lose the spiritual ginseng this time. If he insists on keeping it, I need to try to persuade him otherwise.

    Within the city, there was no one who was more informed than Liu Hong. He found Li Qingshan very soon and said, ¡°Qingshan, hall chief Wu of our Iron Locks hall has arrived. He wants to meet you. He has something to discuss with you.¡± He thought rapidly as he spoke. He tried to come up with a way to tell Li Qingshan what would happen as smoothly as possible, but he was also afraid of making it too obvious and scaring away Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°But there¡¯s no need for school master Liu to personally come fetch me.¡±

    Liu Hong felt awkward. In the gang, the ranks were clearly divided. Hall chiefs were existences at a higher level than branch leaders. Every single person who could occupy a position like that were first-rate masters, so they obviously could order branch leaders like him around.

    ¡°Your nuisance of a hall chief must have come for the spiritual ginseng as well, right? I was just planning to make this clear in the Qingyang restaurant. You should get the hall chief to come take a listen too!¡± Li Qingshan did not stop. He crossed through streets and alleyways, travelling towards his destination.

    Liu Hong followed beside him with quick strides. ¡°You can¡¯t do that, Qingshan. I¡¯m doing this for your sake.¡±

    The two of them passed through a narrow alleyway. Suddenly, a large monk with a black buddhist staff appeared at the alleyway entrance, looking at Li Qingshan and sniggering. He had a fierce look in the first place, and he had a vicious scar across his face, so he only seemed fiercer when he smiled.

    Liu Hong cried out, ¡°The Mad Monk, Void Butcherer!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the shining buddhist staff. It was another spiritual artifact. As expected, the so-called spiritual artifacts were not particularly rare in this world.

    Liu Hong was afraid of looking at Void Butcherer. He whispered, ¡°This person was once ordained at the renowned Baolin temple of the jianghu, but due to his fondness for drinking and killing, he broke the rules of the temple and was expelled. Under the influence of his madness, he used the one hundred and eight forms of the Mad Demon staff style and slaughtered the entire temple. He changed his dharma name to Void Butcherer and roamed the lands, killing people and taking their possessions. No matter where he goes, he leaves none alive. It¡¯s said that he has reached the level of first-rate masters a long time ago, and he¡¯s only a step away from becoming an innate master.¡±

    Many people of the jianghu paid attention to this secretly. They muttered to themselves, ¡°It really is Void Butcherer. I never thought he would actually come.¡± ¡°Sigh, looks like we all have no chance now.¡± ¡°Shut up and go. If he discovers us, none of us will be left alive.¡± He was truly infamous.

    Void Slaughterer said, ¡°Kid, hand over the spiritual ginseng, and I¡¯ll leave you with an intact corpse. I¡¯ll expiate your dead soul and burn joss paper for you every year.¡± He was not wildly arrogant. As a peak first-rate master, he could sweep away anyone he came across as long as they were not innate masters.

    ¡°Regarding the spiritual ginseng, I will explain it in the restaurant. If you want it, then you better come listen.¡± Li Qingshan pinched his nose. He could clearly smell the odour of alcohol, oil, and blood from the monk. He continued on his way.

    The staff suddenly swung down, and the metal rings produced a series of clangs.

    Li Qingshan finally stopped. The staff paused right before his nose, only inches away. The gale swept up by the swing buffeted his hair.

    ¡°Master Liu, please go back first!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice seemed calm, but he was actually a volcano about to erupt. His blood that had settled down for quite some time now began to boil.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s disregarding attitude completely infuriated Void Butcherer. He unleashed the one hundred and eight forms of the Mad Demon staff style with his full strength. The black staff turned into a flurry of shadows as it whistled through the air before rushing over like waves.

    The alleyway was narrow. There was no room to dodge at all. Li Qingshan clenched his fist, and his bones crackled and popped. He did not retreat at all against the flurry of staves. Instead, he advanced.

    Liu Hong would never try to get involved in a battle between the two. He turned around and fled towards the other side of the alleyway. He heard the clashes and whistling of wind behind him. The two of them had begun an intense battle.

    Li Qingshan weaved through the blurs. This was the first time he had witnessed the terrors of a first-rate master. Not only were the moves powerful and heavy, but they were ingenious and careful as well, without producing the slightest opening. Void Butcherer firmly stopped Li Qingshan from three steps away, giving him no advantage to approach.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    In the narrow alleyway, Li Qingshan¡¯s space for dodging was highly limited. His fists collided with the staff, producing a string of metallic sounds.

    Void Butcherer felt rather shocked inside. Just what martial arts did this kid practise to be able to block his Mad Demon staff with his body? However, it only roused his vicious nature. Pouring his entire body¡¯s strength into it, he directly swung down with the staff from above. It caused an extremely shocking disturbance. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw a slight opening, so he took advantage of it and rushed forward. He turned his fists into a claw, directly reaching towards the centre of Void Butcherer¡¯s body. However, he suddenly saw a sly smile on Void Butcherer¡¯s face that conflicted with his coarse appearance completely. He felt alarmed inside. Oh no!

    Void Slaughterer suddenly changed his move. The staff went from a vertical swing to a horizontal sweep. The move before was actually a feint. The narrow alleyway restricted the move, but the staff moved anyway. Pieces of rock flew from the tall walls, unable to stop the staff in its path.

    Bang!

 Chapter 74 â€“ Killing Void Butcherer

    Void Butcherer showed complacency in succeeding with his scheme, but his expression soon changed. Li Qingshan knelt in the rubble on one knee, gripping the buddhist staff firmly with his left hand. No matter how hard Void Butcherer pulled, the staff refused to budge.

    It seemed like the staff had blown Li Qingshan away, but he had actually extended his hand and grabbed the weapon at a critical juncture before slamming into the wall with the staff. Even if regular second-rate masters could react in such a manner, they would still suffer injuries. However, Li Qingshan was virtually unscathed thanks to the toughness of his body.

    Although he lacked battle experience, he was a true battle genius. His reaction and tactics in battle were all the best of the best.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡± Void Butcherer sniggered extremely viciously.

    Li Qingshan felt a powerful inner force emerge from the staff, rushing into his body wildly.

    A battle of inner force was the most dangerous trial of strength people of the jianghu could go through. The person who could not last any longer and drew back their inner force first would have inner force assault the interior of their bodies, bursting their danitan and ruining their veins and meridians. It would only end in death.

    Void Butcherer was confident that the inner force he had cultivated through several decades of strenuous effort was not something Li Qingshan could oppose. In his eyes, Li Qingshan was just a conceited idiot. Li Qingshan had already surprised him quite a bit by not spurting blood and dying in the first moment, so he increased his input of inner force.

    In terms of strength, Void Butcherer¡¯s inner force did indeed exceed Li Qingshan¡¯s. Li Qingshan felt a stream enter his body. This stream was much more impure than true qi, so Li Qingshan knew it was inner force. However, within the impurity was a sliver of clarity. Void Butcherer had almost reached the innate realm. He was only a step away from converting his inner force into true qi.

    However, the issue was that Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi was not stored within his dantian. He had not even focused on any of his veins or meridians before. As a result, this true qi devoured the inner force very quickly, turning into his own energy. Not only was there no harm, but it even benefited him instead. Li Qingshan did not plan on counter attacking immediately. He allowed Void Butcherer to channel his true qi into him.

    Cold sweat seeped out of Void Butcherer¡¯s forehead. Why is this kid so strange? Is this the effect of the spiritual ginseng? He became even more afraid of letting go now.

    At this moment, a black shadow lunged over from the eaves of the wall, directly reaching for the gourd on Li Qingshan¡¯s waist. Someone had grasped the timing and wanted to go all in and take advantage of the situation.

    Void Butcherer suddenly saw the extremely strange skeleton, and he became alarmed. The circulation of his inner force slowed down slightly. The strike that was on par with a full strength blow of a first-rate master had frightened him out of his wits.

    Sensing how Void Butcherer had withdrawn his inner force and wanted to abandon his staff to dodge, Li Qingshan would never let such a great opportunity simply slip by. All of his inner force went from being a dam to a wave, surging up and through Void Butcherer¡¯s body.

    The true qi was not powerful, but it was extremely sharp. It sliced through the inner force Void Butcherer put up to defend like a knife through jelly, rampaging through his meridians, dantian, and organs.

    Blood spurted from Void Butcherer¡¯s mouth wildly as he was knocked backwards. He smashed through two walls and became buried in the rubble.

    Li Qingshan stood up, but his gaze remained fixed on the rubble. He ordered, ¡°Xiao An, silence them!¡±

    Xiao An immediately entered the shadows, and three cries rang out from three directions in just three seconds. Aside from the fellow from earlier, there were others around who wanted to take advantage of the situation. They saw Xiao An¡¯s appearance.

    Boom!

    The rubble flew everywhere as Void Butcherer stood up once more. He tottered about as he looked at Li Qingshan viciously. He fished out a porcelain bottle from his bosom.

    Great, just what I need! Li Qingshan could clearly see the resplendent glow from the bottle after Void Butcherer removed the stopper. Since a second-rate master like Xiong Xiangwu could produce a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings, then first-rate masters with even stronger martial arts who had travelled far and wide would also have a trump card or two that was not related to martial arts.

    Void Butcherer removed a fire-red pill and crushed it in his mouth. Immediately, his body swelled up like he had been pumped full of air. His arms became twice as thick, riddled with bulging veins and muscles.

    The Body Eruption pill!

    In order to receive this bottle of pills, Void Butcherer had paid his entire fortune and robbed thirteen wealthy clans on top of that, killing more than a hundred people in exchange for just three pills. These pills could be used for neither training nor healing. Ingesting it would only bring about detriments. However, it could instantaneously unleash the potential of the human body, allowing one to possess almost supernatural strength.

    Void Butcherer roared out and charged towards Li Qingshan like a war chariot.

    Li Qingshan exhaled. He did not choose to take him on, instead reaching towards the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    There was a diagonal stroke of sword qi.

    Li Qingshan emerged from the tiny alleyway that had been reduced to ruins, brushing off the dust and dirt on him. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that I can neither leave you with a full corpse nor expiate your dead soul, nor do I have the time to burn joss paper for you.¡± Behind him, the alleyway had already been reduced to crumbling walls. A vicious man for his entire life, the Mad Monk Void Butcherer¡¯s corpse lay in twain, eyes open and unable to find peace even with death.

    He told Xiao An to silence everyone not only to hide Xiao An, but also to hide the spiritual artifact he possessed. He had a feeling that if an observant person spotted the calligraphy, it would probably lead to an even greater storm than the spiritual ginseng.

    Li Qingshan carried the buddhist staff in one hand. Although the black ox had said that spiritual artifacts that were just glowing weapons were all mediocre spiritual artifacts not worthy of a grade, it was still a spiritual artifact after all. He was reluctant to just throw it aside. In his other hand was a porcelain bottle that contained a single pill. It was the pill that Void Butcherer had ingested.

    ¡°Turns out that is all there is to first-rate masters! But I shouldn¡¯t be an innate master yet, either!¡± Li Qingshan thought curiously. He was confident that he could defeat Void Butcherer with his martial arts alone, without relying on foreign objects. However, if they wanted to play around with trump cards, his trump card would not be weaker than anyone else¡¯s either.

    Li Qingshan carried the buddhist staff as he continued on his way to the restaurant. The people of the jianghu who had been keeping an eye out in the dark for this battle were currently in silent shock. The battle between the Mad Monk and the Black Tiger was a battle between a renowned peak first-rate master and a junior who was still wet behind the years. No one would have thought that the Black Tiger would win, and that he would win so easily.

    Liu Hong hurried back to the Iron Fist school and reported to hall chief Wu and sir Feng.

    ¡°The Mad Monk Void Butcherer! He has also come for the spiritual ginseng in an attempt to break through to the innate realm. The kid is probably done for. He is probably dead already.¡± Hall chief Wu frowned. Even if he were matched up against the Mad Monk Void Butcherer, he would struggle to attain victory. Obviously, he was not worried about Li Qingshan¡¯s fate, but the spiritual ginseng. ¡°Sir Feng, what do you think?¡±

    Sir Feng said, ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look. I¡¯ll handle the monk. He made it onto the list of the Hawkwolf Guard a long time ago. It¡¯s just that the higher-ups have never been able to spare a hand to deal with him. Since we¡¯ve run into him today, it¡¯ll be his death day.¡±

    As soon as the three of them left the Iron Fist school, they received the news that the Mad Monk was dead.

 Chapter 75 â€“ Innate Master

    Hall chief Wu rejoiced. Fortunately, he had not gone alone. He desired the spiritual ginseng even more now. As long as he ingested the spiritual ginseng and broke through to the innate realm, the Iron Fist school would gain a protector, protector Wu. Even if he faced sir Feng of the Hawkwolf Guard again, he no longer needed to behave so submissively.

    Sir Feng smiled. ¡°He has got some skill. This kid is only fifteen?¡±

    ¡°Yes. He will be sixteen once the new year arrives. He must be going to the Qingyang restaurant right now.¡± Liu Hong had made some investigations himself. He was afraid of infuriating sir Feng, so he did not directly tell him that Li Qingshan had refused to come.

    ¡°All of the masters should be gathered there right now. Interesting.¡±

    Li Qingshan had already entered the Qingyang restaurant. The entire restaurant no longer had a single customer. It seemed to be divided into a few groups that opposed one another.

    Even though the entire restaurant had heard the news that he had killed the Mad Monk, they still felt utterly shocked when they saw him carrying the Mad Monk¡¯s renowned weapon, the Mad Demon staff.

    Li Qingshan looked around. There were only four people that he paid attention to.

    They were a one-armed old man who carried a large blade on his back, a middle-aged madam with a sunken face, a chuckling wealthy man, and a sickly-pale scholar who carried a sword.

    If someone who frequented the jianghu was present, they would definitely pale in fright if they were in Li Qingshan¡¯s shoes.

    Don¡¯t tell me that Wan Hao is the sect master Wan Hao of the Wild Blade sect? He is known as the One-armed Blade King in the jianghu, and he killed the Eighteen Cavalry of Fierce Wind with a single arm and a single blade, making a name for himself in Xiasha city. And that Wei Dandong, he must be the Wei Dandong who originated from Humble Maple academy; he is known as the Life-taking Scholar within the jianghu. His Thirteen Swords of Life-taking has attained perfection.

    As for that Chu Xin and L¨¹ Tingrui, they¡¯re even more impressive. The Smiling Ghost Chu Xin, the Hornet Sword L¨¹ Tingrui. Are any of them not figures that even first-rate masters would struggle to deal with? All four of them are some of the greatest first-rate masters in current existence.

    All of their weapons glowed. None of the weapons they used were ordinary. Were they similar to Void Butcherer, all possessing terrifying trump cards?

    Aside from Wei Dandong, all of them were surrounded by people, with countless disciples under them. Aside from them, none of the people of the jianghu could claim a seat in the restaurant.

    Of course, there was one more person now.

    Just like his nickname, the Black Tiger!

    Li Qingshan sat firmly and stabbed the staff into the floor. ¡°Serve the dishes!¡±

    The waiter brought up a tray with a pair of trembling hands. He spilt alcohol all over the tray.

    ¡°Your alcohol has been spilled, so let me give you another!¡± Wei Dandong picked up the cup on the table and tossed it over.

    The cup whistled through the air, but not a single drop of the alcohol inside spilled out.

    This was just the most ordinary method of probing out someone. They wanted to probe out Li Qingshan¡¯s martial arts. If everything happened according to plan, Li Qingshan would also display his superior skills to shock the people present. Everyone looked over.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the cup shattered. Wei Dandong became even paler, while the others wondered to themselves whether Li Qingshan had been injured in his battle against Void Butcherer.

    ¡°I have my own alcohol!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the gourd, removing the stopper and tilting his head back, gulping the contents down. A while later, he said, ¡°And it¡¯s spiritual alcohol!¡±

    Everyone became enticed. Every single one of them were poised, ready to strike at any time. Not only did they take everyone else into consideration, but they were also deterred by the black, heavy staff.

    All Li Qingshan felt was the true qi within him being fully replenished once more. ¡°That¡¯s right, the spiritual ginseng is with me!¡± He caused another commotion in the restaurant.

    Chu Xin said, ¡°What are your demands for it? How much silver do you want? Name a price! We can negotiate a price!¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his head as if he were considering the offer.

    ¡°Kid, do you know the nickname of this fatty in the jianghu?¡± L¨¹ Tingrui said in a hurry when she saw how Li Qingshan was interested.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°The Smiling Ghost. He seemed very amiable, but he treats people most ruthlessly. He can promise you thousands of silver taels, tens of thousands of silver taels, but you can¡¯t trust him.¡±

    Chu Xin remained jolly. He fished out a stack of silver notes and slammed it on the table. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. When I do business, I never cheat anyone. Is the silver enough? If it¡¯s not enough, treat it as a down payment.¡± He was not buying the spiritual ginseng, but an opportunity at becoming an innate master. As long as he became an innate master, he could make back all of the silver he had spent.

    Wei Dandong coughed heavily a few times. ¡°I need the spiritual ginseng to save my life. If anyone wants to fight for it with me, you¡¯ll be trying to take my life. I can only throw my life at you!¡±

    Wan Hao said, ¡°I don¡¯t have much time to live either. There¡¯s nothing to pity.¡±

    Li Qingshan fiddled around with the gourd and smiled nonchalantly. ¡°There are four of you here. Who should I give the spiritual ginseng to? You can decide among yourselves!¡± Since he was bold enough to come, it definitely would not be bravado. Instead, he had foreseen this, and he had come up with an idea to end this entire matter.

    Chu Xin chuckled. ¡°We better not fall for his scheme of turning us against one another. Are we supposed to kill each other? That¡¯ll really be a huge loss then. Why don¡¯t we work together and get this kid and split the spiritual ginseng into four shares? It¡¯ll be a guaranteed profit. What do you think?¡±

    Wei Dandong said, ¡°It looks like it¡¯s still an old ghost like you who¡¯s good at calculations. But if we really start fighting, at least three of us will die. Who can say that they¡¯ll be the last one alive?¡± With that, he coughed a few times more.

    Wan Hao and L¨¹ Tingrui were tempted.

    Li Qingshan thought, They truly are experienced people of the jianghu. They won¡¯t be led around by others, and their reactions are fast enough too. Seeing how he was about to become everyone¡¯s target soon, he placed his hand on the gourd, prepared to carry out his plan.

    His plan was very simple. It was eating the spiritual ginseng in front of everyone. The spiritual ginseng had been steeped in alcohol for such a long time, so its spiritual qi had already become extremely thin. He should be able to endure it.

    Of course, this might end up infuriating these first-rate masters, causing them to work together in an attempt to kill him. However, Li Qingshan personally believed that escaping would not be an issue. There was an even greater possibility that these people would do nothing. Without the temptation of the spiritual ginseng, these experienced people would never be willing to risk their lives.

    If he chose to flee or secretly eat the spiritual ginseng, the troubles would be endless, and it could even multiply. The only choice he had was to spread the news that the spiritual ginseng had been eaten before these renowned figures of the jianghu, ending the matter once and for all.

    Not only did the idea rely on his intelligence, but it relied on his strength as well. If he were a second-rate master, there would be no point in trying anything. It was exactly because he was a first-rate master, and he possessed the strength to kill the Mad Monk Void Butcherer, that he made these people wary.

    At this moment, more people entered the restaurant, and everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn over.

    In front was sir Feng. He wore his dark, Black Wolf uniform that had a shimmering wolf embroidered on it. It was only visible from a special angle. The wolf bared its fangs, moving as his clothes rippled as if it were alive.

    He carried a green scabbard made from sharkskin, holding a Wind-entwining blade with a golden guard embedded with a green cat¡¯s eye gem. The triangle eye tilted upwards slightly as if it constantly looked down on everyone.

 Chapter 76 â€“ The Might of the Hawkwolf Guard

    ¡°A Hawkwolf guard!¡± L¨¹ Tingrui cried out. Chu Xin finally stopped smiling, while Wei Dandong¡¯s face became sheet-white. Wan Hao¡¯s straightened back seemed to shirk back slightly.

    Only then did Li Qingshan notice sir Feng¡¯s attire. As expected, it was much more majestic than the fakes that he was wearing. The part that stood out the most was indeed the iron wolf tablet that hung on his waist. It was just like the wolf on his clothes. The tablet was not large, but it shone brightly. It was ten times more dazzling than the staff stabbed into the ground.

    Liu Hong and hall chief Wu followed behind. Looking at the restaurant full of people, they all felt surprised. In just half a month, so many masters had been drawn over here. Qingyang city had never been so busy before.

    Liu Hong gazed at the staff deeply, once again confirming that the news he received was not fake. He thought, Li Qingshang, oh Li Qingshan. You are impressive. Unfortunately, a Hawkwolf guard is here today. Even if you¡¯re a dragon, you¡¯ll have to stay coiled. Even if you¡¯re a tiger, you¡¯ll have to remain crouching.

    Wan Hao said, ¡°Even the Hawkwolf guards plan on interfering with a conflict of the jianghu like this?¡±

    Chu Xin smiled bitterly. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re already an innate master, so why must you contend with us? What did this hall chief Wu offer you? Feel free to state it. I won¡¯t bargain at all.¡±

    Before L¨¹ Tingrui and Wei Dandong could say anything, sir Feng spoke. His voice was high-pitched and sharp, but his words were even sharper than his voice. ¡°All of you, piss off!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. A storm seemed to be brewing in the entire restaurant from his single sentence.

    Hall chief Wu added by borrowing the Hawkwolf guard¡¯s might, ¡°Sir Feng wants you to piss off. Haven¡¯t you heard him?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned as well. How arrogant of this Hawkwolf guard. With his eyes that had been awakened by oxen tears, he could tell that while this sir Feng was stronger than everyone present, he was not unfathomably powerful.

    If these first-rate masters worked together, using their trump cards and sacrificing all of these disciples as cannon fodder, it was extremely likely that they could kill him on the spot. And, these first-rate masters all had their own territories. They were all people who could raise a clamour with a flip of a hand, and they all could kill without batting an eye. Now that someone had insulted them before so many of their own disciples, how was it possible for them to endure the humiliation?

    Swish! The four first-rate masters all leapt to their feet before leaping out the window without saying anything. They had actually all ¡®pissed off¡¯. Their vicious threats before were absolutely nothing. It was like they had raised their hands and viciously slapped themselves across the face, producing a clear and crisp smack.

    Their disciples followed behind them in dejection, all of them vanishing with the pitter-pattering of footsteps. The huge restaurant became empty in the blink of an eye, only leaving Li Qingshan standing where he was before, stupefied.

    ¡°Stunned is the jianghu by sir Feng¡¯s presence!¡± Hall chief Wu sucked up in a hurry.

    Sir Feng¡¯s expression eased up slightly. He became rather complacent, very satisfied with the results. He did not even walk over, gesturing at Li Qingshan and saying, ¡°Offer up the spiritual ginseng!¡±

    He could get four first-rate masters to piss off with a single sentence, so there was even less reason for him to be polite against Li Qingshan alone. Li Qingshan should have succumbed to his might as well, handing over the spiritual ginseng obediently. As for what the Iron Fist school wanted, that was a whole different matter.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head. His expression was actually rather melancholy. Something called his romanticised wuxia dream had shattered.1

    Hall chief Wu said impatiently, ¡°Hurry up!¡± It was as if he was not taking something from someone, but taking back something that belonged to him.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Qingshan, quickly. Hall chief Wu has already agreed to let you join the Iron Locks hall. All you have to do is nod, and you¡¯ll immediately become an important figure of the Iron Fist school. You¡¯ll be able to go to Jiaping, or even a great place like Clear River. I can only be envious of your opportunities.¡±

    Li Long also muffled his voice, ¡°Qingshan, just agree!¡±

    ¡°Who is it? Who dares to make trouble in my great Qingyang?!¡± Ye Dachuan rushed over with a few officers.

    Hall chief Wu said in displeasure, ¡°Who are you?¡± He completely ignored Ye Dachuan¡¯s attire as an official. He could tell with a single glance that he did not possess the slightest trace of inner force or true qi, so he thought to himself, To think that any old person is bold enough to butt into matters these days!

    Ye Dachuan said with his head held high, ¡°I am the district magistrate of Qingyang, the brother-in-law of the sir prefect.¡± Then he studied sir Feng and glanced at the tablet on his waist. ¡°A Black Wolf guard! You must be the reinforcements sent by the sir prefect. You¡¯ve come well. I will report your merit back to the prefect.¡±

    When he heard there were a group of jianghu here, he even became afraid to show himself, but when he heard a Hawkwolf guard had arrived, he immediately stuck out his chest and rushed over. As he spoke, he even patted sir Feng¡¯s shoulder.

    Right now, Li Qingshan really did find Ye Dachuan¡¯s courage quite admirable.

    Sir Feng frowned and moved his foot, dodging Ye Dachuan¡¯s hand. He gripped his Wind-entwining blade with his right hand, but he was still fearful of the two words, ¡®sir prefect¡¯, so he did nothing. ¡°I have official matters to attend to, so please step aside, sir.¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°What official matters? Oh, you¡¯re talking about Qingshan. He¡¯s the sheriff of my district. Technically speaking, he even outranks you. Hahaha!¡±

    The structure of the Hawkwolf Guard included hawk commanders and wolf commanders. The hawk was primary, while the wolf was secondary, leading the pack of wolves. The hawk commander would often hold the post of sheriff as well. This was why Li Qingshan¡¯s uniform as a sheriff was a simplified version of the Black Wolf uniform. At the same time, Jiaping and Qingyang were technically both districts, so Li Qingshan obviously outranked an officer as the sheriff.

    As if he had been utterly humiliated, sir Feng drew his standard issue Wind-entwining blade with a swish. It erupted with two feet of light, leaving a slash seven feet in length on the ground.

    Ye Dachuan staggered backwards in fright and tripped on the door sill. He rolled quite far away with his round body. The officers called out, ¡°Sir!¡± They wanted to stop him, but they were knocked over to the ground instead.

    Whether it be authority or status, you would be run over by others very quickly without strength, tearing down your authority and shattering your status.

    However, at the end of the day, it was still Ye Dachuan¡¯s government position that saved him. If anyone else had spoken to sir Feng in such a bold manner, they would be cut down even if they were first-rate masters.

    Sir Feng decided to not waste any more words on Ye Dachuan. He directly said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Hand over the spiritual ginseng. Don¡¯t make me say that a third time.¡± The shining blade in his hand surged with light and chilling murderous aura.

    Li Qingshan could not help but be amazed. So this was an innate master. He considered it and said, ¡°Fuck off!¡±

    Sir Feng doubted if he had misheard. He became stunned for an entire second. There was a burst of laughter somewhere, and sir Feng became utterly infuriated. ¡°Die!¡± His blade swept through the air. He wanted to kill Li Qingshan first, and then kill the person who had laughed at him secretly.

    With the blade several inches from his face, Li Qingshan felt a chill, sealing off all possibilities of dodging. He grabbed the staff beside him and directed it towards the blade.

 Chapter 77 â€“ Scarlet Wolf Commander

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright!¡± Sir Feng said, ¡°I won¡¯t kill you today, but I will sever the tendons of your arms and hands and take you back to the Hawkwolf gaol for ¡®treatment¡¯!¡±

    The Hawkwolf gaol!

    Even hall chief Wu, who had come with sir Feng, shuddered when he heard these two words. The Hawkwolf gaol was the in-house jail of the Hawkwolf Guard. They used it for interrogating confessions out of criminals. It was rumored that they possessed a hundred and eight different methods of torture, and not a single person had managed to survive more than ten. Even the tough men of the jianghu would have their minds crushed to pieces, kneeling on the ground and begging them for a quick death.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hand reached towards the Cursive Sword Calligraphy on his back. He was already ready to use force. Everything had happened suddenly, and with how arrogant sir Feng was, it would be useless even if he ate the spiritual ginseng now.

    With his Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he might have an opportunity to kill this person here and now. He had seen a few spiritual artifacts so far, and none of them could compare to the one he currently possessed. However, he was not completely confident. Even first-rate masters had their own trump cards, so what kind of trump card would an innate master who originated from a major organisation possess?

    ¡°Governance of Legalism¡ªBlade Aura of the Death Sentence!¡±

    Sir Feng¡¯s bearing changed. He raised his blade over his head, and the light on the blade condensed into a blade aura three feet in length.

    The death sentence referred to execution as well as the penalty of death.

    Before the blade had even moved, a bearing, a desolate aura that had transcended martial arts struck Li Qingshan¡¯s mind violently. He felt like he was a person on the death row, having reached the end of his path, kneeling on the execution platform with his eyes closed and waiting for the blade to fall and take his life. He was unable to even muster the will to resist.

    Even if regular first-rate masters could maintain their willpower before the blade, their martial arts would still be drastically weakened. They would probably be done for. However, what kind of person was Li Qingshan? Red light shone in his eyes as his demonic nature, his murderous nature, immediately obliterated this influence.

    ¡°The Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar!¡± All of the true qi within him surged violently. With his bellow, all of the jars of alcohol stored within the restaurant exploded at the same time.

    ¡°The Ox Demon Butts its Horns!¡± The straight buddhist staff in his hand stabbed towards the blade along a profound path.

    If sir Feng¡¯s blade was the executioner¡¯s blade about to take his life, then he was a criminal beyond the law.

    Sir Feng roared out in anger and surprise, ¡°Who is it?!¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He was also shocked. However, when he looked at what had knocked away their weapons, he was left even more speechless. They were not some divine weapon used by gods, but peanuts. They seemed like ordinary peanuts, yet they maintained their complete shapes after knocking away the blade and staff.

    ¡°You! You¡¯re called Feng Zhang, right? If you spent the same amount of time on cultivating as you do with harassing children, you wouldn¡¯t still be a second layer Qi Practitioner.¡±

    The voice floated through the surroundings from everywhere, making it impossible to discern its origins. Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head and looked at the beams above the restaurant. He caught a glimpse of light.

    ¡°Get down here!¡± Feng Zhang followed Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze and pulled out a talisman from his sleeve, shooting it at the beams.

    The talisman tore through the air, transforming into a fireball that flew even faster.

    Even when he was standing on the ground, Li Qingshan could feel the startling heat. If the fireball had directly landed on him, his fate would be obvious. These were the methods of innate masters. There was no need for them to resort to such desperate measures like Xiong Xiangwu had, biting through his tongue. They could directly activate the talisman with true qi, and from how easily Feng Zhang had used it, he clearly possessed more than a single talisman.

    A figure leapt down from the beams. He extended his hand and grabbed the fireball. Landing on the ground, he crushed it in his hands easily.

    As if he had done something not worthy of any attention, he looked at Li Qingshan and said, ¡°That¡¯s strange. You¡¯re just a first layer Qi Practitioner, yet you can see me?¡± He was able to tell with a single glance that inside Li Qingshan¡¯s body was not inner force, but true qi.

    Only now did Li Qingshan see the person. He seemed to be twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His eyebrows were like crescent moons; his eyes were like stars in the cold night sky, and his face was like jade. He was wrapped in spiritual qi that was similar to flowing water, which made him seem like a beacon in the darkness, allowing Li Qingshan to spot him.

    The scarlet clothes he wore were similar to the Black Wolf uniform in design, but they were much larger than the Black Wolf uniform. They were also embroidered, detailing a scarlet wolf howling at the sky. He carried a similar tablet on his waist, but it was made out of scarlet bronze.

    ¡°S- Scarlet Wolf commander!¡± Hall chief Wu had never seen one before, but he had heard about them before. Among the Hawkwolf Guard, scarlet bronze was a rank higher than black iron, while wolf commanders led the pack of wolves. Within the entire Clear River prefecture, only a few people possessed more authority than him. He stood above thousands of people and was a person of great authority who could decide the fates of people with a single word.

    ¡°Commander Hua!¡± Feng Zhang, who had been so arrogant before, was now like a rat that had seen a mouse. He was filled with so much regret that he was tempted to slap himself in the face.

    He could not be blamed for being rash. He was young, and he had joined the Hawkwolf Guard, so he had become complacent due to his age. He had grown accustomed to being arrogant on a daily basis, so when he came to a tiny city like Qingyang, he did not take anyone seriously. He had forced four first-rate masters into retreating with a single sentence, so his conceit had reached the utter limit. Li Qingshan¡¯s refusal to comply had taken him by surprise, so he attacked out of fury, but his attack failed.

    He was just about to use his special technique to redeem himself, but he had been interrupted, losing the weapon in the process. Obviously, he would not think too much about it. No matter how unbridled the person was, could he be more unbridled than the Hawkwolf Guard? However, never did he think of a Scarlet Wolf commander. It had to be mentioned that regular Scarlet Wolves would never leave the Clear River prefecture even if they had the time to spare. He felt like he had suddenly come across a huge shark in a tiny pool. He was filled with disbelief and panic.

    ¡°Do you still remember me? We¡¯ve only met once!¡±

    ¡°This subordinate would never dare to forget commander Hua. It¡¯s surprising that commander Hua remembers me.¡± Feng Zhang bowed his head politely.

    Every single new member of the Black Wolf guard in the Clear River prefecture would report to the prefectural city and meet the two commanders. Feng Zhang was no exception either. He obviously could not forget about his boss¡¯s boss, Hua Chengzan or commander Hua.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you assigned to Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s command in Jiaping city? Why are you here?¡±

    Feng Zhang thought rapidly. His nervousness and alertness had even exceeded when he clashed with Li Qingshan. He gathered his thoughts and assembled something, but just as he was about to answer.

    Hua Chengzan waved his hand and said, ¡°Forget it. Old Wang is here too. You better come see him!¡±

    Old Wang!

    Feng Zhang¡¯s heart shuddered. Hua Chengzan obviously was not talking about a certain neighbour called old Wang1, but the chief personnel for upholding the law, the Scarlet Hawk commander Wang Pushi. Due to his name, people gave him the nickname of ¡®old Wang¡¯, but there were not a lot of people who were bold enough to call him that. The people of the jianghu had a saying, ¡°You would rather meet the king of hell than old Wang. Once you meet old Wang, you would be meeting the king of hell.¡±2

    The silent hall chief Wu felt like his brain had just exploded. He just wanted to steal a spiritual ginseng from a junior, yet he somehow managed to get such important figures involved? Let alone him, a mere hall chief, but even protectors or even the master of the Iron Fist school had to be careful around them, smiling and obliging to everything that they said. Why would they appear together in a measly city like Qingyang?

    Hua Chengzan then said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Kid, come. There¡¯s someone who wants to see you!¡±

    1. A certain neighbour called old Wang is an allusion to a popular Chinese joke. Basically, this neighbour might be your wife¡¯s secret lover, might be the actual father to your child, or he might be the person you vent to, or he just might be the butt of a joke. You can say that old Wang is just as obscene as it sounds in English.

 Chapter 78 â€“ White Hawk Commander

    Li Qingshan could only follow him. Turning him down right now would just be inviting humiliation. Before absolute strength, no one could say ¡®no¡¯. However, in the meantime, he rapidly thought about everything he had seen and heard just now. What are second layer Qi Practitioners about? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be the innate realm? The people I¡¯m about to see are also important figures of the Hawkwolf Guard, but why do they want to see me? Is it for the spiritual ginseng as well?

    His mind was filled with questions that could not be answered. The strength of the government had exceeded his imaginations as well. He would be better off saying that the powerful had created the government and ruled over the world than saying that the government had used wealth and glory to recruit powerful people to serve them. With great power comes great responsibility was just a twisted concept of American movies. The reality was that with great power comes great authority.

    As he thought, the three of them made their way out of the city. Hua Chengzan was at the very front, advancing as if he were almost floating. He moved faster and faster, passing by without leaving a single trace.

    Feng Zhang utilised all of his true qi and worked hard to follow behind him. Although he was nowhere near as graceful as Hua Chengzan, his movements did seem similar.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan was nowhere near as elegant as any of them, leaping and bounding about. He would cross several dozen steps with a single step, moving like a wild beast rushing along the ground, utilising every single bone and muscle in his body. He possessed a form of primal, coarse extravagance, but he actually managed to keep up with them.

    Among the three of them, Hua Chengzan and Feng Zhang used their qi, while Li Qingshan used his strength. A difference between them immediately appeared.

    Feng Zhang thought, If this kid flees with his full strength, I really might not be able to keep up with him. It looks like he isn¡¯t as simple as regular first-rate masters. Once I see commander Wang, I¡¯ll rat him out and get his martial arts crippled first. Let¡¯s see then.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s insight was much greater than that. He also secretly evaluated Li Qingshan. A first layer Qi Practitioner. His true qi is still very weak, so it must be due to the effects of the spiritual ginseng. He¡¯s also practising some sort of method that focuses on the body, so his vitality is very powerful.

    Feng Zhang mustered up his courage and asked, ¡°Commander Hua, may I ask why you¡¯ve come here with commander Wang? Just what crucial matter requires both commanders to be mobilised?¡±

    Hua Chengzan glanced past the two of them with a smile. ¡°Boss Gu has come. As for the details, even I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Li Qingshan became even more curious. Who was this ¡®boss Gu¡¯? Hua Chengzan had said someone wanted to see him earlier and not ¡®old Wang¡¯ wanted to see him. Was it perhaps this ¡®boss Gu¡¯?

    Outside Qingyang city in a silver world of ice and snow, a rectangular dining table had somehow been set up beneath a lone pine tree. It was a small table made from narra wood. On the table were a few delicately-crafted drinking vessels. On the side was a small, red-clay stove that heated a small tripod.

    Two people sat before each other, savouring alcohol and admiring the snow. They were so refined and graceful that they seemed like they were from out of this world.

    One of them was the Wang Pushi who possessed paramount authority over the law in the Clear River prefecture. He was actually in his eighties already, but due to practising qi, he only seemed to be in his forties. His face that was renowned for being stern was currently overflowing with smiles like it was springtime.

    A hawk had delivered a message, summoning him from over a thousand kilometers away from the prosperous Clear River city to this tiny, remote, backwater city of Qingyang. However, he was not mad at all. Instead, he felt honored.

    ¡°Old Wang, your cultivation has improved again. Before long, the Clear Water prefecture won¡¯t be enough to contain you.¡±

    Not everyone could call Wang Pushi by this nickname. Even when vice commander Hua Chengzan called him old Wang, he would receive glares. However, he felt even more honor when the person before him called him that. He bowed his head. ¡°I am willing to serve sir as a wolf.¡±

    ¡°Originally, I wanted little Hua to take over your position, but he¡¯s just.¡±

    ¡°Little Hua is far too much of a disappointment. He has let down sir¡¯s expectations. Oh, they¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°Big boss Gu, I¡¯ve brought the people!¡± Hua Chengzan smiled before making his way over and reaching towards the tripod. ¡°Old Wang, is the wine ready yet?¡±

    Wang Pushi knocked away Hua Chengzan¡¯s hand and glared at him. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. Sit down obediently. The wine needs to be cooked for forty-five minutes. Only then will it be flavourful enough.¡±

    Hua Chengzan inhaled through his nose, sitting down with crossed legs as he covered his hand. ¡°Old Wang, you¡¯re far too heavy-handed.¡± He said to ¡®boss Gu¡¯, ¡°Do you know how he harasses me usually?¡±

    With his awakened eyes, Li Qingshan spotted the two people below the lone pine tree from afar. If Hua Chengzan¡¯s spiritual qi was like flowing water, then Wang Pushi¡¯s would be like frozen ice. It was heavy and consolidated. Every move of his could invoke the energy in the surroundings. It was filled with an indescribable profoundness.

    However, when Li Qingshan arrived below the pine tree, all of his attention became focused on the ¡®boss Gu¡¯. No matter how profound or wondrous Wang Pushi was, he was unable to shift his gaze.

    Her set of pure-white clothes were large and graceful, gently laying on the table as if they were a part of the white world.

    With her alluring appearance, she looked at Li Qingshan with a faint smile; she was as elegant and as beautiful as snow, yet she also hid startling talent and ability.

    Originally, Li Qingshan did not believe in love at first sight. He originally believed he would never experience this so-called breathtaking feeling ever again, as he had steeled himself in his previous life under the barrage of countless beauties from the internet.

    But now, he believed in love at first sight, and he believed in the existence of happiness that his previous life could not provide. His heartbeat sped up, basically unable to keep himself in check.

    He had once sworn after drinking that he would ¡®sleep with the most beautiful woman¡¯. Originally, that was just a joke he made after getting drunk, but now a strong desire bloomed within him. He wanted to take her as his wife!

    However, Feng Zhang¡¯s reaction was the exact opposite to his. He only took a glance before lowering his head. It was as if the person in front of him was not a great beauty, but a dreadful monster.

    Hua Chengzan glanced past Feng Zhang with contempt before looking at Li Qingshan with a smile. However, there was a smear of sorrow in his eyes. Only the most arrogant, the proudest of people would be bold enough to look directly into her eyes before being immersed by them and losing control over themselves.

    ¡®Boss Gu¡¯ coughed gently and wrinkled her nose. ¡°How many days has it been since you showered?¡±

    The voice was as pleasant as the gurgling of a mountain spring, but her words immediately dumbfounded Li Qingshan. A certain image of perfection collapsed in his mind. He was very tempted to scream out, ¡°You can¡¯t say something like that!¡± In his mind, even if she could not make flowers bloom, her words filled with sweetness, like in the fairytales, at least it should have been much more poetic or aesthetic in nature.

    Hua Chengzan could not help but burst out in laughter.

    ¡°I¡­¡± Li Qingshan was momentarily left at a loss as for how to answer. Although he spent everyday training, that did not necessarily mean he smelled! However, all thanks to that, he managed to recover from his state of infatuation.

    Only now did Li Qingshan notice that a small, silver hawk hung from her waist. It was exactly the same as the one on Wang Pushi¡¯s waist in terms of design. Under the reflection of the snow, a white hawk could vaguely be seen stretching its wings on her white clothes. Every single feather was meticulously embroidered, just like real plumage.

 Chapter 79 â€“ Gu Yanying

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. May I ask for your name, big sis?¡± Originally, he wanted to call her young miss, but while she was noble, she was unlike the young misses of large clans who had secluded childhoods. As a result, he wanted to call her lady, but while she was young, it did not match her, or he should say that they were unworthy of her.

    Perhaps fairy was the best choice. Although he felt nothing towards this word before, he just felt like he was lowering himself somehow if he called her that. In the end, he could only unawkwardly refer to her as ¡®big sis¡¯, just like Xu Xian who met the White Maiden on the West Lake.1

    Hua Chengzan really did find Li Qingshan to be rather admirable. For him back then, he could not even string out a proper sentence after seeing her. This kid from the mountains really did have quite the courage.

    ¡°I¡¯m Gu Yanying. Do you know why I¡¯ve called you here, little bro Qingshan?¡± Gu Yangying gently swung the delicate, jade folding fan in her hands. She smiled in a rather joking manner, but her gaze was distant.

    Little bro Qingshan!? Li Qingshan would much rather be called the Descended Tiger by the people of the jianghu for the rest of his life than that. However, after thinking about it, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old. In her eyes, perhaps he really was like a little brother.

    The sorrow in the depths of Hua Chengzan¡¯s eyes grew heavier.

    Wang Pushi frowned deeply. Li Qingshan was in no way worthy of being called little bro by her, but he knew she was unrestrained and willing to go along with many things, so he could not say anything. Upon further thought, if she were not like that, he would have no right to sit at the same table as her.

    Li Qingshan thought about what he possessed that other people knew about and that he was able to part with. There was only the spiritual ginseng. ¡°Have you come for the spiritual ginseng as well?¡± If that were the case, he could only hand over the spiritual ginseng, not because he had been charmed, but because his strength was insufficient. Although he felt love, he was not blinded by it. He would not easily throw aside his morales and dignity because of it. If Gu Yanying really had come for the spiritual ginseng, his impression of her would plummet significantly.

    Wang Pushi broke into laughter, while Hua Chengzan had already collapsed from laughing.

    Gu Yanying found it both vexing and amusing. She curled her lips. ¡°Who would want something that your saliva has already gotten all over?!¡± In the eyes of these first-rate masters of the jianghu, the spiritual ginseng was a treasure worth just as much as their lives, yet in her eyes, it was just something coated in saliva.

    The heavy fragrance of alcohol permeated the air, and the surrounding snow rapidly melted and receded. The pine tree next to them clearly stretched out as that happened, becoming even more verdant.

    Li Qingshan sniffed the fragrance, and he felt all of his muscles and bones lighten slightly. The true qi in his body immediately became lively as well. He could imagine what would happen if he drank the wine. The alcohol would be countless times better than the spiritual alcohol that he had simply steeped with the spiritual ginseng.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face reddened. He really felt like an ignorant villager right now, guarding his chunk of preserved meat and treating it like the greatest delicacy in the world. He was utterly embarrassed, so embarrassed that he wanted to vanish on the spot. As a matter of fact, he even wished that they had come for the spiritual ginseng instead now.

    Gu Yanying sniffed gently and smiled. ¡°Hundred-year Bodhi Brew! You¡¯re far too kind, old Wang!¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°I know you like drinking, commander, so I managed to get my hands on some from old brother Tian. Out of the hundred schools of thought, the agricultural school is still the best at making alcohol.¡± Afterwards, he personally poured the wine into a jug and glared at Hua Chengzan. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you pouring the wine?¡±

    Hua Chengzan stood up and filled up two cups. Wang Pushi said, ¡°And yourself?¡± Only then did Hua Chengzan giggle, pouring himself a cup as well.

    Gu Yanyin smiled. ¡°Fate has brought us together! Little bro Qingshan, you should taste some too!¡± However, she ignored Feng Zhang on the side.

    Feng Zhang¡¯s ears perked up. Sniffing the fragrance, his heart felt like it was on fire. If the spiritual ginseng was not particularly tempting to him, then the Bodhi Brew would be enough for him to lose his life over for.

    Just one cup! One cup, and he would be able to break through the second layer and become a third layer Qi Practitioner. However, no one mentioned him. He was afraid of blaming Gu Yanying and the other two, so he could only grind his teeth at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head silently, but Hua Chengzan had already poured a cup, shoving it into his hand forcefully. ¡°Come, come, come. Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re lucky. Even I can¡¯t normally drink something as good as this.¡±

    Li QIngshan lowered his head and looked at the golden-yellow alcohol in the cup. He knew that if he tried to turn it down now, he would just appear to treat himself with far too much humility. As a result, he tilted his head backwards and drank all of the alcohol in the cup.

    ¡°Oi!¡± Hua Chengzan wanted to stop him, but it was already too late, while Wang Pushi had never looked at Li Qingshan properly the entire time. He only just wondered why Gu Yanying had called him over and had given him the precious Bodhi Brew to drink.

    Gu Yanying showed no intention of stopping him. Instead, she just smiled like she was watching a show.

    Before Li Qingshan could even taste the wine properly, a ball of hot spiritual qi exploded in his body, rampaging through him. His spiritual qi failed to stop it at all.

    Oh no. The wine contained spiritual qi, and it was far more than he had imagined it to be. The glow and fragrance only divulged the very surface of the drink.

    Feng Zhang was delighted inside. Bumpkin! The Bodhi Brew was supposed to be tasted and ingested slowly. If it were drunk too quickly, the powerful spiritual qi would destroy the dantian and meridians like a flood breaching through a dam.

    However, Li Qingshan did not explode, as he had never developed any meridians or a dantian. His entire body shone as he mobilised all of his true qi to devour and convert the spiritual qi, while his body absorbed the spiritual qi like a sponge, gradually making the violent spiritual qi settle down.

    Gu Yanying stared at Li Qingshan. Her eyes were just like a hawk¡¯s as she quickly played around with a bronze coin with the tip of her fingers on her left hand. As her gaze focused on him, Li Qingshan experienced a chilling feeling where even his soul had been seen through.

    A while later, Li Qingshan completely digested the spiritual qi in him, and Gu Yanying¡¯s gaze parted from him, looking away as if she were thinking of something.

    Hua Chengzan let out a sigh of relief. As it seemed, training the body was not completely useless.

    Wang Pushi instead found this rather strange. The spiritual qi within the Bodhi Brew was so powerful that it would not even be strange if it directly elevated someone to a third layer Qi Practitioner, but Li Qingshan showed no signs of breaking through. He remained at the first layer, but his true qi became much more powerful.

    If it were not for the fact that he had drunk a cup as well, he would have doubted the Bodhi Brew to be fake or having not reached maturity.

    Li Qingshan exhaled and clasped his hands towards the three people. ¡°Many thanks!¡± He had never thought that not only would he keep the spiritual ginseng, but he would even get a cup of wine to drink as well. However, he felt somewhat uneasy for some reason.

    ¡°What do you think? Do you still think I¡¯ve come for your spiritual ginseng? Little bro Qingshan?¡± Gu Yanying purposefully touched on a soft spot in a mocking manner. Li Qingshan was so young, yet he acted so solemnly. He was very amusing. Li Qingshan said with his chest held high. ¡°I¡¯m just a kid from a mountain village, so it¡¯s not like I can avoid being ignorant. However, I don¡¯t understand that since your sirs from the Hawkwolf Guard are so impressive, why has the Black Wind Stronghold pillaged and plundered freely for all these years, without anyone to deal with them?¡± He seemed to be questioning them, saying that they enjoyed all their benefits while they neglected their work.

 Chapter 80 â€“ A Frog in a Well

    Wang Pushi¡¯s expression was rather ugly. Qingyang also fell under his region of control, but how was he supposed to know what the Black Wind stronghold was?

    Hua Chengzan said after thinking about it. ¡°I think this place is on our list, but it¡¯s just far too low. We haven¡¯t had the time to handle it in all these years.¡±

    Only in the distant future would Li Qingshan find out that the entire Hawkwolf Guard would possess a list, ranking people according to their strength, their crimes, their influence, and the benefits from their deaths. The Hawkwolf Guard would send powerful people to kill them one by one from the top to the bottom. This was the blacklist that the people of the jianghu feared deeply. If you could make it onto the blacklist, then it demonstrated you were powerful enough, but it also meant that you were close to dying. However, due to various figures constantly making it onto the list, a place like the Black Wind stronghold would basically never raise any attention.

    ¡°You talk too much,¡± Wang Pushi growled.

    Feng Zhang saw how Li Qingshan had gotten on commander Wang¡¯s bad side, so he thought the opportunity had presented itself. He mustered up his courage and said, ¡°Commanders, this kid stole the spiritual ginseng and killed innocent people. He has slandered the might of our Hawkwolf Guard¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying to me?¡± Gu Yanying interrupted. She was not asking him, but exclaiming in surprise as if Feng Zhang had done something very unbelievable.

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t¡­¡± Feng Zhang wanted to quibble, but when Wang Pushi gazed over with a darkened expression, he immediately felt like he had been grabbed by the neck, unable to utter another word.

    ¡°Our Hawkwolf Guard may not be composed of kind-hearted people, but there¡¯s no reason for us to stoop to such a low level, led around by the people of the jianghu and stringing up these lies.¡± Gu Yanying shook her head and no longer paid any more attention to Feng Zhang. Instead, she said to Wang Pushi, ¡°Old Wang, have you brought a map?¡±

    Feng Zhang¡¯s expression basically seemed like he had been stabbed by a knife. He was sheet-white, without a shred of blood, as he sweated profusely. Anyone who had cultivated to his level would be able to control their own bodies, so his behaviour only demonstrated just how shaken up he was.

    ¡°I have!¡± Wang Pushi pulled out a large map from a pouch on his waist.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes widened. A spatial pocket!

    The thick map that was made from the leather of some animal was unfolded on the small table. Its surface shone as well, clearly not an ordinary map.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Inject spiritual qi into it and think of the two words, Qingyang city.¡±

    Gu Yangying said, ¡°Now think of the Clear River Prefecture.¡±

    With another thought, over a hundred specks of light lit up simultaneously. They were like a galaxy. Every single speck was a city, while Qingyang city¡¯s speck was basically the dimmest out of all of them. The brightest speck in the centre was the Clear River city.

    A hundred and seventeen cities spanning a region of one thousand five hundred kilometers across; this was the Clear River prefecture.

    Li Qingshan already knew that this world was vast, but he never expected it to be so big. He had heard stories from the elders of the village in the past, but he only treated them as exaggerated tales. He never thought they would actually be true.

    He suddenly understood why the prefect would just casually give Ye Dachuan the position of district magistrate despite his ignorance and incompetence, as a small city like this was absolutely insignificant compared to the entire prefecture. Meanwhile, the Black Wind stronghold was even more insignificant. Unless the Black Wind stronghold directly raised a flag and decided to revolt, any news about them would struggle to reach the Clear River city that was over a thousand kilometers away.

    Not only was the government of this world powerful, but they were terrifyingly powerful. Only because the land was just too vast did they give the government official autonomy with their reign over their region. However, autonomy did not mean freedom.

    Whether it be the Black Wind stronghold or the Drawn Reins village, no matter how great of a mess they created, they would only be doing it in a tiny region. If the mess was too great, they could just send a Hawkwolf guard or two to crush them to death. They would not be able to shake the foundations of the government at all. The government¡¯s reign was basically more rigid than any other nation or empire he had known before.

    ¡°I watch over the Ruyi commandery, which contains nine prefectures. Half a year ago in the Yuecheng prefecture, the White Lotus cult sacrificed an entire city in order to refine an arcane treasure. That was around two hundred thousand people.¡± Gu Yanying tilted her head back and drank the cup of wine while Hua Chengzan filled it up again for her.

    Two hundred thousand people! In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, the Black Wind stronghold¡¯s actions of slaughtering villages was already an act of evil, but who would have thought that there would be people thousands of times worse than that.

    Li Qingshan instinctively searched for the Ruyi commandery on the map, and almost ten times as many specks lit up. However, from the map, the disappearance of a single speck only seemed like a small matter.

    The Ruyi commandery spanned over ten thousand kilometers.

    Although Li Qingshan did not have a particularly strong sense over geography, he still understood that this was larger than all of China from his previous life. At that moment, Gu Yanying was clearly right in front of him, yet she seemed to be up in the heavens, in a realm beyond his reach.

    It was like a frog in a well, looking at the glory of a hawk in the sky. All it had was the strength to look up at it.

    The hawk circled in the sky, searching for larger prey, so why would it look into the well and pay attention to the battle between a few critters? It had only stopped by the well today out of pure coincidence, spotting a special frog.

    Wang Pushi asked carefully, ¡°Commander, have you come this time for the sake of the White Lotus cult?¡±

    The White Lotus Mother was a demonic cultivator at Golden Core. She was a terrifying figure he could not afford to provoke. Getting involved in a conflict like that would lead to nothing good. Commander Gu had led five encirclements against the White Lotus cult already. Although it would be a complete victory every time, just the number of White Wolf guards they lost would amount to over a dozen. With his strength as a Scarlet Hawk commander, he was only on par with White Wolf guards.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Then why would I come alone? The White Lotus Mother is injured and has already gone into hiding. I¡¯ve only skimmed the surface of the Six Trigrams Divination, so I can¡¯t find her. And, it¡¯s not easy to kill Golden Core cultivators.¡± When she reached there, she looked at Li Qingshan again. She sighed inside about how her mastery over the Six Trigrams Divination really was insufficient. She could not even see through the person right in front of her.

    Since it was not for the White Lotus cult, there really were not a lot of people within the Ruyi commandery that were enough for her to take action. Everyone looked over in confusion. Gu Yanying placed down the cup in her hand and paused slightly. She became pained. ¡°It¡¯s the Dark Queen. She has lost her cat. She wants me to find it.¡±

    Looking for a cat! Li Qingshan was stunned. He had originally thought she had extremely important matters to attend to, looking to capture some terrifying figure. He had never expected that she would cross thousands of kilometers and come to the tiny city of Qingyang just to look for a cat.

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°I would rather go fight the White Lotus Mother.¡±

    However, Wang Pushi and Hua Chengzan understood what ¡®Dark Queen¡¯ meant. They became extremely cautious, afraid to probe into the matter any further. This probably touched on the conflicts at the very top of the Green province. It was not something they could interfere with.

    Gu Yanying continued to ramble, but her mouth remained busy between the words, downing cup after cup. When she reached there, the tripod of wine had already been emptied, and she developed a slight flush, just like a flower blooming in spring. She was utterly enchanting.

 Chapter 81 â€“ Great Ambitions

    Wang Pushi glanced at the bag of spiritual stones. ¡°Commander, t- that¡¯s far too precious.¡± His Bodhi Brew was not even worth a tenth of that. Gu Yanying had clearly called him here to give him these spiritual stones. He was unable to describe the gratitude he felt.

    ¡°If I want you to take it, just take it. Am I supposed to be lacking such a measly amount of spiritual stones?¡± Gu Yanying said before turning to Hua Chengzan, ¡°Little Hua, what you lack right now is not spiritual stones. Don¡¯t just tell others to spend their time cultivating instead of harassing children. You don¡¯t enjoy yourself enough, spending most of your time cultivating. Out of the eighteen commanders under me, only you¡¯re still a Qi Practitioner. You have to understand that if you can¡¯t undergo the heavenly tribulation and establish a foundation, you¡¯re still just a mortal.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought that it was no wonder that Gu Yanying knew Feng Zhang was lying. Just by sitting there, she had heard everything that happened in the city. In the eyes of ordinary people, this was truly an ability that only gods could possess.

    Hua Chengzan giggled. ¡°Yes, boss Gu. I will definitely throw my life away at cultivation.¡±

    Only at the very end did Gu Yanying turn to Li Qingshan. ¡°Little bro Qingshan, I¡¯ll give you this map, along with a saying, ¡®The Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner.¡¯¡±

    With that, she took off. Her wide sleeves ruffled in the wind, like a brave hawk unfolding its winds.

    Before Li Qingshan could even return to his senses, the figure that was even whiter than snow had disappeared into the horizon already.

    As it turned out, flight really was possible!

    He muttered the saying from Gu Yanying. He understood that if he remained in Qingyang city, he would probably never meet her again in his life.

    In the cold winter, Feng Zhang was drenched in sweat as if he had just been scooped out from a pool of water. Now, he felt like he had just survived a disaster, so he inhaled deeply.

    Wang Pushi¡¯s expression became stern once more, immediately radiating with great pressure.

    Li Qingshan suddenly noticed that the person right before him was an impressive, terrifying figure as well. Under Gu Yanying¡¯s radiance, he seemed as ordinary as an uncle next door, but once Gu Yanying had left, his terrifying aura flooded over like lava from a volcano.

    Li Qingshan instinctively felt fear and danger as if a blade was against his throat, about to behead him in the next moment. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, allowing the aura to crush him however it liked without moving at all. Under the tremendous pressure, his iron bones seemed to creak.

    Feng Zhang fell onto his knees with a thud.

    ¡°Leave behind your wolf tablet and piss off!¡± If he came across this situation at some other time, he would just scold Feng Zhang at most, but he really could not afford to humiliate himself like this in front of Gu Yanying. He was truly as furious as he could get inside. This bastard had actually thought he could fool Gu Yanying with his lies.

    Although Gu Yanying had not directly stated it, nor did she become angry, just her single exclamation of surprise had determined Feng Zhang¡¯s fate.

    ¡°Commander!¡± As if he had been struck by lightning, Feng Zhang cried out.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s ears, it sounded like the final cry of sorrow before a bird would let out before it died. He thought, He¡¯s just making you resign, that¡¯s all. Why¡¯re you acting like your parents died? That¡¯s not manly at all.

    He had no idea just what this meant to Feng Zhang, nor did he understand the difficulty in joining the Hawkwolf Guard. Various martial arts and cultivation methods that rarely ever appeared in the jianghu could be freely viewed in the library of the Hawkwolf Guard. No matter where he went, even when he came across people stronger than him, they would all have to treat him politely. His entire clan prided itself over this identity of his. Once this identity was taken away from him, he would just be a so-called ¡®innate master¡¯ of the jianghu.

    However, Wang Pushi was known for his heart of steel. He would never take back something he had said. If Feng Zhang insisted on refusing, perhaps he could even lose his life. He placed the wolf tablet on the table with trembling hands and glanced at Li Qingshan.

    Just what kind of glance was that? It was filled with resentment, enough resentment to skin him alive and eat his bones. Regular people would struggle to sleep for several months after receiving a glare, but Li Qingshan was no regular person. He glared right back without any fear or qualms. Having gone through all these matters, his willpower could no longer be compared to before.

    In the end, it was Feng Zhang who shifted his gaze first, taking off and leaving in a hurry.

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Take it!¡±

    Li Qingshan went up to collect the map of the Green province carefully. Although this item could not be used for cultivation or killing enemies, it widened his horizons the most. It allowed him to learn the vastness of the world and his own personal insignificance in this world.

    However, no matter how insignificant he was, there would be a day when he would prove that a frog would not remain a frog forever. He would definitely leap out of this well, unfurl his wings and fly towards the nine heavens, pursuing that unfathomable figure.

    His experiences from this failed to shatter his confidence. Instead, it strengthened his ambition and heart, setting an even further goal.

    Hua Chengzan only smiled on one side, but only three words existed in his mind. Ignorance is bliss. There will be one day when you understand just how distant you are from her, so distant that it cannot be made up by any fortuitous encounter, talent, or hard work. Even if you pursue her like this, you¡¯ll never be able to get a step closer.

    ¡°And this.¡± Wang Pushi narrowed his eyes at the wolf tablet.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He picked up the wolf tablet, and a cool sensation filled his palm. He felt pleasant all over.

    Not only was this forged from Black Ice Iron, but it could even consolidate the mind and prevent the wielder from suffering from cultivation deviation so easily, making cultivation much easier. It also came with many other wondrous uses.

    Li Qingshan did not know about this, but he knew the item was significant. However, everything had happened so quickly that he had no idea how to react. In under an hour, he had become a Hawkwolf guard that the people of the jianghu feared so much, and all of this came from how Gu Yanying had treated him.

    Wang Pushi stowed the table, stove, and tripod into the pouch on his waist. He stood up. ¡°You¡¯re still not a Hawkwolf guard yet. Go report to Zhuo Zhibo in Jiaping city!¡± He took out a metal baton and tossed it in the air. The baton swelled in size in the wind, becoming three meters long. As it hovered in the air, Wang Pushi stepped on it.

    Hua Chengzan patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and looked at him with an expression of praying for his wellbeing. He said a single word, ¡°Run!¡±

    The metal baton tore through the air, leaving behind a glowing trail.

    ¡°Oi, old Wang, wait for me!¡± Hua Chengzan crossed over a dozen meters in a single step and mounted the metal baton, vanishing into the night sky in the blink of an eye.

    Before Li Qingshan could even become amazed by these methods that belonged to immortals, an intense aura of murderousness flooded over. He spotted Feng Zhang¡¯s twisted face in a single glance as the fellow rushed over like a mad dog. He decided to follow Hua Chengzan¡¯s advice for now and not confront the crazy Feng Zhang. He used the movement technique of the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain and bounded up the mountains.

    As soon as he leapt up, a wind blade passed by his previous location, cutting the huge pine tree in half. Its trunk slowly slid down, collapsing loudly on the ground.

    Li Qingshan glanced back and was startled by this. This probably was not purely due to Feng Zhang, but also due to his Wind-entwining blade. The benefits that came with joining the Hawkwolf guard really were impressive. It could not be compared to the mediocre spiritual artifacts used by first or second-rate people of the jianghu.

 Chapter 82 â€“ Sheltering from the Snow and Wind in a Mountain God Temple One

    Li Qingshan grabbed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy on his back. After drinking the Bodhi Brew, not only was his true qi filled to the brim, but his condition was even better than it had ever been before. As such, it was enough for him to power the spiritual artifact again. It would definitely be much sharper than the Wind-entwining blade.

    However, he did not have complete confidence in being able to kill Feng Zhang with a single strike. His spiritual artifact was probably several grades higher than the Wind-entwining blade, making it a real treasure. If he failed to kill his enemy, news would spread, and he would probably attract people greater than just first-rate masters. There would be innate masters as well, or rather, Qi Practitioners.

    And, he was still unable to control this spiritual artifact very well. Once he used it, it would drain all of his true qi, so if he failed, both his physical strength and speed would decline significantly. He would basically become a sitting duck.

    The dark clouds shrouded the sky once more. In the pitch-black night, a person fled as another pursued. Li Qingshan used his extraordinary sight to constantly bound through the mountains, purposefully looking for rugged terrain. He climbed up cliffs and leapt over valleys. His surroundings constantly receded around him.

    Feng Zhang chased him wildly with eyes red from rage as if he could also see through the night, but his vision was nowhere near as great as Li Qingshan¡¯s. After all, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes had been awakened by the black ox¡¯s tears. If they were on flat ground, perhaps Feng Zhang would have been able to catch up.

    Unfortunately, they were in the mountains. The effects of Li Qingshan¡¯s three forms of movement from the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging were basically amplified, making him unbelievably fast. And, with the rise and fall of the terrain, Feng Zhang could no longer locate Li Qingshan anymore after a few twists and turns.

    Li Qingshan widened the distance between them. Like a hunting tiger, he hid in a snowy crevice below a cliff, clasping the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in hand. He even called out Xiao An. As long as Feng Zhang came over, he would go out. Even if he failed to kill him, he would wound him at the very least. They were deep in the mountains, so it gave him enough room to catch his breath. He would be able to chase Feng Zhang to his death; this really was quite the scheme.

    With a great bellow, Feng Zhang¡¯s resentful voice echoed through the mountains. ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll skin you alive and cut you into pieces! I will never spare you!¡± It was so loud that the accumulated snow collapsed in small avalanches.

    After he received the map, he finally learnt the name of the myriad mountains he had stared at from afar for a decade. They were the Boundless mountains.

    Vast without end, without bounds, was known as boundless. A broad, open mind was also known as boundless.

    It was a good name!

    He made his way up to a peak and gazed at the mountains stretching into the distance once more. He no longer felt lost inside. He saw structures in the distance and only when he hurried over to it did he discover that it was no village, but an abandoned temple for a mountain god. Aside from the main hall, most of the other structures had collapsed. However, it at least provided him with a place to shelter from the wind.

    He was not afraid of the biting cold, but remaining in a world of ice and snow did sap his true qi significantly.

    Under Xiao An¡¯s assistance, he found a bear¡¯s den. The bear was still hibernating for the winter, so it was not awake. As a result, Li Qingshan went up and killed it with a punch, carrying it back to the mountain god temple.

    Due to the different ability he practised, Xiao An¡¯s five senses were not as sharp as Li Qingshan¡¯s, but he was extremely sensitive to living auras. Even Li Qingshan failed to discover the bear¡¯s den under the snow immediately.

    The main hall was empty. Even the altar table and plaques were missing; the villagers who lived nearby must have collected it to burn as firewood. However, Li Qingshan did discover a mighty mountain god that stood over three meters tall with a blue face and protruding teeth. It was actually a solid, wooden statue, standing on an altar as a whole piece. It was only covered in traces left behind by time. The villagers must have been afraid of blaspheming the god too much.

    However, Li Qingshan was not worried by this. He had been spending time with a monster, and both he and Xiao An practised the abilities of daemons and demons, so there was no need for them to worship any ghosts or gods. He went up, and with a few easy strokes, he smashed the statue to pieces. He lit a fire in the main hall before skinning and deboning the huge bear. He did not need any tools at all. Just a simple swing of his nails would pierce through the tough bear skin and bear meat like paper.

    The bear heart went to Xiao An for his dinner, while the bear skin was laid on the ground as a mat. The bear meat was placed on the fire.

    It truly was speak of the devil. The black ox that Li Qingshan had been thinking of appeared right in front of him.

    Li Qingshan jokingly thought that it was basically like the police in the movies, only appearing at the very end.

    The black ox glanced at the statue in the crackling fire and nodded as if he were greatly satisfied. He asked, ¡°How do you feel today?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I feel like I know nothing, and I¡¯ve been laughed at by others for no reason. You¡¯ve never explained it properly. Even if I really achieve the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, can I really defeat other people? And those Qi Practitioners and Golden Cores, what¡¯s that all about?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°Isn¡¯t your understanding right now much deeper than if I tried to explain it to you? You will know very soon whether the ability I gave you is useful or not. As for those Qi Practitioners and Golden Cores, that¡¯s a human way of dividing and labelling.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Aren¡¯t I a human?¡±

    The black ox only smiled, which irritated Li Qingshan. He grabbed the bear meat and began wolfing it down. Many parts of it were still not thoroughly cooked and still bloody, but he actually did not find it to be disgusting at all. Instead, he felt it had a particular flavour to it. Before long, he had picked the bear clean.

    He also felt he was a little inhuman, but as long as he could drink and eat, there was nothing wrong with that. After eating, he began exercising, practising his ability. He discovered that after drinking the cup of Bodhi Brew, only a film separated him from reaching the first layer of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. However, he was unable to break through.

    He asked the black ox for the reason, but the response did not surprise him at all. The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength was steady and firm, requiring bitter practice, while the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging advanced through slaughter.

    Slaughter! Li Qingshan lowered his head in thought.

    In the pitch-black mountains, a single ball of light could reach very far away. Li Qingshan laid down on the bear skin, holding the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his hand. He made Xiao An hide away as he quietly waited for his prey to bite the hook.

    He heard steps and snapped open his eyes, emerging from the mountain god temple. However, he did not only see Feng Zhang. There were five other people beside him. Hall chief Wu, Wei Dandong, Chu Xin, L¨¹ Tingrui, and Wan Hao¡ªfive-first rate masters¡ªsurrounded the mountain god temple, preventing Li Qingshan from fleeing.

    Countless more shadows flickered about. They were all their disciples, with plenty being second-rate masters. Even the weakest were at the third-rate.

    Li Qingshan had never thought that as he waited for Feng Zhang to bite the hook, he would draw so many people here. As it seemed, Feng Zhang had lost his mind to anger, but he was not an idiot. He knew to borrow the strength of others.

 Chapter 83 â€“ Sheltering from the Snow and Wind in a Mountain God Temple Two

    Wan Hao and Wei Dandong¡¯s expressions were rather unnatural, but Chu Xin chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s all just business, so why would it have anything to do with humiliation?¡± He played around with the metal abacus in his hand, creating quite the rattle.

    L¨¹ Tingrui drew a thin, glowing sword and said, ¡°Hand over the spiritual ginseng, and we¡¯ll leave immediately!¡±

    Feng Zhang had managed to get them to come by promising that everyone would receive a share of the spiritual ginseng that Li Qingshan possessed. Although the hall chief was rather dissatisfied with this, he would never be bold enough to object when he saw Feng Zhang¡¯s darkened face.

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He fished out the spiritual ginseng from the gourd, tossed it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed it. He clapped his hands. ¡°It¡¯s gone!¡±

    The eyes of the masters rapidly dimmed as soon as they had lit up. Their expressions varied. There was despair, there was fury, and there was disappointment, but none of them had anymore interest in fighting.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s fundamental solution to this situation really was reliable, effective, and vicious.

    Feng Zhang said, ¡°I have spiritual pills that are even more effective than the spiritual ginseng. As long as you fight, you¡¯ll still be able to achieve what you want. However, anyone who doesn¡¯t fight will become an enemy of I, Feng Zhang. I will hunt down every single member of your family in retribution.¡±

    The masters all changed in expression, while Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°Do you really believe this person who threatens you with your family at every turn? Why don¡¯t we work together and kill him instead and see if he really has any spiritual pills or not? We can split it between us. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a Wolfhawk guard anymore, so we don¡¯t have to worry about retribution at all.¡±

    The masters all wavered. With a shwing, Feng Zhang drew his Wind-entwining blade. ¡°Who dares to do that!?¡± He saw how his constant threats and unruly behaviour was working against him, so he added, ¡°And the spiritual pills aren¡¯t on me.¡±

    If Li Qingshan were slightly stronger, perhaps there really was a chance for him to turn his enemies against one another. However, these masters could clearly distinguish who was easier to kill amongst the two of them, so they made their decision.

    Watching them approach him, Li Qingshan thought to himself, After splattering the Qingyang restaurant with blood, is it time for sheltering from the snow and wind in the mountain god temple?1

    Perhaps the heavens could read his thoughts, as snowflakes began to drift down from the sky again.

    ¡°Blade Aura of the Death Sentence!¡± Feng Zhang raised his Wind-entwining blade and attacked with them.

    Li Qingshan parted his legs and spread his arms. He let out a roar at the sky. It was not a human¡¯s voice, but a tiger¡¯s roar. ¡°Rargh!¡±

    The spiritual ginseng in his stomach came into effect. True qi flowed out like the tide, pouring into the roar. He used a move from the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging he had never used properly.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar!

    Within a range of a hundred meters, all of the snowflakes vanished. Looking down from the sky, a semicircle rose up from the ground.

    Feng Zhang charged at the front. His Blade Aura of the Death Sentence immediately became disturbed, while the five masters stopped together. They all felt like a metal nail was being hammered into their heads.

    They gazed at Li Qingshan in disbelief. His fierce aura stunned them. Was he really just a first-rate master?

    The other second and third-rate masters suffered even more. They all clutched their ears as they rolled on the ground. Two streaks of blood flowed down their heads. Their eardrums had directly ruptured. Some of the weakest people there had even died from the roar.

    With the tiger¡¯s roar in the forest, all beasts retreated. Li Qingshan faced a hundred people alone, yet he gained the upper hand.

    The roar reverberated through the surroundings, making the mountain god temple tremble gently. Not a single flake of snow could fall on it.

    Feng Zhang endured the roar and bellowed out, ¡°What are you all waiting for?¡± With a flick of the blade in his hand, he launched another wind blade.

    Li Qingshan stopped roaring. He did not try to dodge or avoid the attack. Gathering his true qi, he channeled it to his hand, and his five fingers shone like the claws of a tiger, grabbing the wind blade viciously.

    The wind blade shattered and kicked up a fierce gale. Li Qingshan glanced at his palm and saw the shallow, bloody mark left behind. He extended his tongue and licked it, smiling viciously before arching his back. He seemed just like a tiger in human form.

    His killing intent roared as his demonic nature resonated.

    The killing moves of the five masters arrived at the same time.

    Wei Dandong¡¯s sword, L¨¹ Tingrui¡¯s thin sword, Wan Hao¡¯s steel blade, and hall chief Wu¡¯s iron fists all shone with light. Even hall chief Wu was wearing a set of spiritual artifact gloves. They sealed off all of Li Qingshan¡¯s paths of retreat, whether it be front, behind, left, or right.

    The eighteen abacus beads that shot over like crossbow bolts completely severed Li Qingshan¡¯s last sliver of hope. Chu Xin stopped smiling as well.

    The five masters worked together, launching a killing blow. They did not even need Feng Zhang to take part.

    Li Qingshan ignored the others. He took a step forward and reached towards Wei Dandong¡¯s shoulder. A life for a life.

    Before the claw had even arrived, a whistling sound pierced his ears. Wei Dandong valued his life so much, so why would he be willing to die here? He immediately withdrew his sword and retreated.

    With his retreat, Li Qingshan advanced, utterly frightening Wei Dandong. He wielded his sword such that it formed a tight flurry before him. He only wanted to delay Li Qingshan so that the others could kill him.

    A sword stabbed over. Xiao An, who had remained hidden the entire time, finally appeared. He saw how Li Qingshan was in danger, so he used his strongest move, enveloping three of them in the process.

    Unpredictably, a blade blocked his move. Feng Zhang raised his Wind-entwining blade and stopped Xiao An.

    The blood-red flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets roared. He watched helplessly as a blade and a sword landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s body, causing blood to spray. Xiao An was tempted to tear Feng Zhang to shreds.

    Wan Hao¡¯s blade landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, while L¨¹ Tingrui¡¯s thin sword stabbed into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Although they leapt in fright at the sight of Xiao An, they were still first-rate masters after all. Their willpower was extremely great, so their movements were unaffected.

    Li Qingshan had already utilised his true qi to protect himself. The two unstoppable spiritual artifacts actually failed to penetrate Li Qingshan all the way through, but even with his tough body, he immediately became injured. However, he ignored all of it, focusing on advancing. He clung onto Wei Dandong.

    The eighteen abacus beads landed on him, but it only made Li Qingshan halt. He was completely unaffected. Chu Xin¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief.

    Hall chief Wu was the most careful. He attacked Li Qingshan from behind. When he saw how his back was completely unprotected, he was overjoyed. He threw a punch as hard as he could at Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    Li Qingshan thought, Thank you. Out of everyone here, you¡¯re the person I fear the least. He borrowed the force, and his arms extended forward, immediately grabbing Wei Dandong by the shoulders. With a powerful rip, he roared out, ¡°The Tiger Demons Rips up the Lamb!¡±

    Before Wei Dandong could even use his secret arts or his various underhanded methods, he had been ripped in half. Blood and organs scattered across the ground. There was truly no need to fear a powerful opponent, but one had to fear incompetent allies.

    Under the pincer attack of the five masters, Li Qingshan forcefully killed one of them. He was truly as fierce as he could be, sending chills down everyone¡¯s spines.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the two halves of the corpse and threw them at Wan Hao and L¨¹ Tingrui. The two of them were afraid of Li Qingshan¡¯s desperate counterattack injuring them and leading them to follow in Wei Dandong¡¯s footsteps, so they immediately retreated.

    Martial arts only made up a part of a clash between masters. Might was more important.

    His opponent¡¯s might weakened, while Li Qingshan¡¯s might grew like a river breaching a dam. He was unstoppable. He completely ignored the people around him, rushing forward like a crazy tiger and killing the second and third-rate masters.

    A swing of a fist, a stab of his claws, and a butt of his head. Before him, no one could stand a chance. Every time he struck out, there would be deaths and injuries until corpses lay strewn on the ground.

 Chapter 84 â€“ Sheltering from the Snow and Wind in a Mountain God Temple Three

    The first-rate masters were utterly furious. They had raised all of these disciples through great difficulty. Many of them were their descendants, so they charged over without anymore care.

    Just as Li Qingshan was slaughtering to his heart¡¯s content, Wan Hao swung his blade over again. Without even looking back, Li Qingshan grabbed a third-rate master in front of him and blocked his back.

    Spurt! Wan Hao did not even bat an eye, cleaving the person in front of him in half and continuing his swing at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan took advantage of the delayed attack and used the Tiger Demon Leaps over the Ravine to lunge towards another second-rate master. However, he did not avoid the attack unscathed, having received a faint mark on his back. He thought, This old man is so vicious.

    ¡°One-armed Blade, why do you kill my people?!¡± However, L¨¹ Tingrui refused to accept it. Ignoring Li Qingshan, she stabbed at Wan Hao. He had killed a beloved disciple of hers. He was extremely handsome, and she had always liked him.

    Wan Hao blocked the thin sword. ¡°He was caught. It¡¯s not like he¡¯d survive. I only gave him a quick death. You sure are noisy, woman.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re turning against each other at a time like this. Do you all want to die here?¡± Feng Zhang roared out. His blade shone brightly as he forced back Xiao An. ¡°What kind of monster are you?¡± His right arm trembled. Not only was Xiao An¡¯s sword style masterful, but his strokes were heavy as well, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

    ¡°Xiao An, kill him!¡± Li Qingshan said. He did not slow down at all, reaching towards the chest of a second-rate master with a whistling claw. His hands were soaked in blood, so a horrifying aura sprang forth. It frightened the second rate-master, mentally reducing him to just half of the strength he possessed.

    A few abacus beads shot over. Chu Xin struck out once more, but he no longer targeted Li Qingshan¡¯s acupoints. Instead, he went for his eyes and crotch, vital parts of the body.

    Hall chief Wu landed another punch on Li Qingshan¡¯s back. His punch earlier failed to do anything, so his reaction was the same as Liu Hong¡¯s. He was filled with disbelief, so he came up to try again immediately.

    Li Qingshan suddenly halted, making the abacus beads miss. He forcefully turned around like a vicious tiger looking back. He threw a punch. ¡°Have you had enough?!¡±

    The fists collided. Hall chief Wu¡¯s arm produced a gentle crack, and he flew over three meters away. Before he could even get back on his feet, a streak of light descended from above, dazzling his eyes.

    As it turned out, Xiao An had immediately understood what Li Qingshan was saying. He leapt up to over thirty meters in the air and combined with the sword, plunging down on hall chief Wu.

    There were a series of clangs. Fortunately for him, his gloves were also spiritual artifacts, so the sword did not shred his arms.

    Xiao An borrowed the force to fly up once more, and a wind blade flew past beneath him. Feng Zhang caught up once more with the Wind-entwining blade. Xiao An no longer entangled with him, shooting into the crowd using his agile figure and unleashing a massacre on the second and third-rate masters.

    Having escaped death, hall chief Wu collapsed on the ground and breathed heavily. His arms ached painfully, especially his right arm that had clashed with Li Qingshan¡¯s punch. It felt like mud. All of his bones had shattered. His right arm was done for.

    Li Qingshan wanted to rush up to him and give him a stomp, but there was nothing he could do about the fact that Feng Zhang had rushed over again. Wan Hao and L¨¹ Tingrui had temporarily set aside their differences and pincered him from both sides.

    Within those few seconds, hall chief Wu produced a glowing pill from his bosom and ate it. He actually stood up again. Not only had his arms healed, but even his inner force had replenished completely.

    Pills? I have them too!

    Li Qingshan crushed the porcelain bottle in his bosom and tossed the Body Eruption pill he had taken from Void Butcherer into his mouth. He no longer cared about its side effects. He had to survive this encounter first!

    Thump! Thump thump! Thump thump thump!

    His heartbeat suddenly sped up, firing off at high speeds like a motor. Li Qingshan¡¯s thin body immediately swelled up as he became a huge man. His true qi erupted at tenfold, bursting out of his body.

    The true qi blocked both the blade and thin sword as if they had sunk into mud. Wan Hao and L¨¹ Tingrui were startled. This was clearly innate true qi. He was not a first-rate master, but an innate master.

    ¡°Blade Aura of the Death Sentence!¡±

    ¡°Break!¡± Li Qingshan threw a punch. The iron fist condensed from true qi landed on the blade aura.

    Li Qingshan possessed tremendous strength in the first place, so after ingesting the Body Eruption pill, his strength was unstoppable. He shattered the blade aura with a single punch, throwing Feng Zhang high into the air. While in the air, he cried out, ¡°If you still don¡¯t use your trump cards, we¡¯re all going to die here today!¡±

    Wan Hao, L¨¹ Tingrui, hall chief Wu, and Chu Xin, the four first-rate masters, all looked at one another. They all possessed trump cards to protect their lives, but their value was no less than a quarter of the spiritual ginseng. None of them were willing to use it unless that were in the face of death with no other choice. However, when they witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying figure, they could no longer afford to treasure their trump cards.

    ¡°So be it, so be it, so be it. I¡¯ll make a deal at a loss today then!¡± Chu Xin sighed. He took out a talisman, and the three others actually did the exact same thing as him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. He could not allow them to use their trump cards so easily. Just as he raised his foot, he felt a terrifying gust from behind. Suddenly, he looked back and saw that a second-rate master who he had almost finished off in a single strike had pulled out a talisman at a certain time as well, sticking it on his blade. The blade immediately gained a sharp glow like an aura before the second-rate master swung it towards him.

    Li Qingshan could sense that even with his tough body, he would be cut in half if the blade landed.

    Li Qingshan had underestimated this second-rate master just too much, as the man did not possess a spiritual artifact. Normal weapons would never be able to penetrate his Ox Demon Forges its Hide, but he never thought this person could do something like that.

    He wanted to dodge, but it was already too late. The second-rate master could already see his attack succeed; he would soon avenge his fellow seniors and juniors. Delight flooded his face, but a flash suddenly swept past his neck, and his head was thrown high into the air by the gushing blood.

    The corpse collapsed forward with its momentum, revealing Xiao An behind. Blood had already dyed his white bones red, while behind him, several dozen second and third-rate masters were littered across the ground, dead. With a sword in hand, his efficiency at killing people exceeded even Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and conveniently picked up the large blade that had been strengthened with a talisman. They stood back to back, facing all of the enemies around them.

    The sky was pitch-black like ink, and the night of slaughter continued.

    Using this interval, the four first rate masters all bit through the tip of their tongues and activated their talismans.

    ¡°Swift Breeze Talisman!¡± L¨¹ Tingrui stuck the talisman on her legs, and a ball of air wrapped around them. Her movement technique had always been very impressive, completely surpassing Yang Anzhi of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. After using the talisman, she seemed even more like a ghost. She immediately drifted to Li Qingshan¡¯s side. ¡°It¡¯ll be your honour to die to so many precious talismans. It¡¯ll be your monster¡¯s honour too!¡±

    She stabbed over. As soon as Xiao An tried to block it, she drifted to the other side.

 Chapter 85 â€“ The Cursive Sword Calligraphy

    ¡°Metal Talisman of Sharpness!¡± Wan Hao stuck his talisman on his blade and condensed a blade aura three feet in length. It would no longer be possible for Li Qingshan to survive a swing of his blade now.

    Meanwhile, hall chief Wu directly stuck his talisman on his chest. A golden figure rose up from his body; it was just like what happened with the master of the Black Wind stronghold, Xiong Xiangwu. It was also a Talisman of the Guardian Kings. However, the colour was much deeper. He rushed up and launched a heavy punch.

    Feng Zhang just stopped. He sheathed his Wind-entwining blade and watched Li Qingshan like he was looking at a dead man. Let alone Li Qingshan, even if he ended up in an encirclement like that, only death would await him.

    Even if there was just one of them, Li Qingshan would struggle very much. He stomped the ground heavily, causing it to sink and form a great pit. The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves sent shockwaves into the surroundings, and the four first-rate masters all paused.

    However, he would never be bold enough to use this opportunity to launch an attack. Instead, he used his full strength and leapt into the sky at the same time with Xiao An.

    Everyone raised their heads with differing expressions. If Li Qingshan had elected to forcefully confront them, he might have had a chance at surviving, but now that he had leapt into the sky, he had ended his own path. In the air, there was nothing he could push off of, so it was impossible to dodge. Once he fell down, he would die.

    Li Qingshan reached the highest point. Just when he was about to fall back down again, he suddenly unleashed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. A descending diagonal stroke, an ascending diagonal stroke, a horizontal stroke, a vertical stroke, and a hook lit up. Li Qingshan had already grabbed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy secretly before the three people had surrounded him, channelling all of his true qi into it.

    Ever since he obtained the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, his true qi had been constantly strengthening. Not only had he ingested the Bodhi Brew today, but he had also ingested the entire spiritual ginseng as well. He had even eaten a Body Eruption pill earlier. The true qi in his body had reached unprecedented heights, so he pushed the power of the spiritual artifact to unprecedented levels as well.

    The moment he unfurled the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, Feng Zhang¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°A mid grad spiritual artifact! No, it¡¯s a high grade spiritual artifact! Run!¡± However, he felt no surprise. Instead, he was overjoyed. If he could obtain a high grade spiritual artifact, it would be worth it even if he had been expelled from the Hawkwolf Guard.

    A descending diagonal stroke, an ascending diagonal stroke, a horizontal stroke, a vertical stroke, and a hook flew towards the five people.

    Even without Feng Zhang¡¯s warning, these alert first-rate masters of the jianghu sensed an extremely terrifying killing intent the moment Li Qingshan unfurled the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. They responded instinctively.

    Wan Hao raised his blade at the sky, defending by launching an attack. He precisely sealed off the direction that the killing intent originated from. However, before absolute strength, all of his moves were useless. The vertical stroke fell straight down, shattering the blade aura along with the blade itself, immediately piercing through his head. He blanked out and collapsed on the ground.

    Hall chief Wu crossed his arms and used the Iron Chains Across the River. Combined with the Talisman of the Guardian Kings, he formed the strongest defence, but the hook still claimed his head by surprise.

    Two first-rate masters who had used their trump cards were killed off instantly, demonstrating the terror of the high quality spiritual artifact.

    L¨¹ Tingrui used her impressive movement technique and fled into the distance as quickly as possible. Chu Xin had always been standing the furthest away, and his reaction was the fastest as well. He immediately rolled to one side with his circular body.

    The ascending diagonal stroke and horizontal stroke swept past, and there were two flashes of red light. The two of them collapsed on the ground, losing a leg and an arm. They were heavily injured.

    However, the strongest and brightest descending diagonal stroke flew towards Feng Zhang.

    Feng Zhang sank into a horse stance and used two talismans consecutively, sticking them on his blade and his body.

    The Wind-entwining blade erupted with a blade aura five feet in length while a golden bell condensed around his body. If the Talisman of the Guardian Kings could be used to kill, then the Golden Bell Talisman existed to protect.

    As a second layer Qi Practitioner and a past Hawkwolf guard, the resources he possessed were much more than the trump cards of all these first-rate masters added together. However, he purposefully saved them, sending these first-rate masters to risk their lives. It would be best if they all died, as he would not have to give them the pills he promised. He truly was a cruel person.

    However, when he saw the high grade spiritual artifact Li Qingshan possessed, he immediately felt that everything was worth using.

    At that moment, light erupted and dazzled everyone. Even the thick layer of snow accumulated in front of the mountain god temple was swept away.

    The blade shattered, the bell broke, but he survived.

    The situation that Li Qingshan worried about the most happened. Only the hilt remained from the Wind-entwining blade in Feng Zhang¡¯s hand, and his clothes had been reduced to tatters, covered in tiny slashes. However, he smiled very complacently, looking at Li Qingshan in the air.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank completely. The whistling of wind rang out from behind.

    Chu Xin¡¯s eyes were red with rage as he used his remaining hand to unleash a metal storm.

    Li Qingshan pushed Xiao An aside as he waved his blade with difficulty in an attempt to block the attack. However, his body had been drained of true qi, and the side effects of the Body Eruption pill had arrived at the same time, causing him agony all over.

    Xiao An extended his hand helplessly, watching as he was blown away by the storm of metal. In that instant, who knows how many hidden weapons had struck him. He fell through the roof of the temple, landing in the bonfire.

    The head of the mountain god statue rolled to one side. The charred head smiled fiercely, as if it were mocking Li Qingshan for overestimating his strength.

    Xiao An landed on the ground and directly charged towards the mountain god temple. A slender sword stabbed over diagonally. L¨¹ Tingrui stood on a single leg as she said in resentment, ¡°I¡¯ll kill this monster!¡±

    Feng Zhang did not pursue Li Qingshan. He pulled out another talisman and shot it into the temple.

    A great ball of fire erupted in the temple. The mountain god temple that was close to collapsing in the first place immediately fell apart. Firelight rose into the sky, so bright that it was visible even from five kilometers away.

    Feng Zhang felt that Li Qingshan was hiding far too many secrets. He was afraid that he possessed more killing moves, so he was reluctant to take any further risk. He directly used a talisman to finish him off. It was not like high grade spiritual artifacts could be destroyed in a fire like this. When the time came, he could just go fetch it from Li Qingshan¡¯s ashes.

    The fire roared. The flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets blazed bright like blood. He charged at L¨¹ Tingrui wildly, ready to throw his life away.

    L¨¹ Tingrui dodged to one side, but all she saw was Xiao An going straight for the mountain god temple, wanting to fish Li Qingshan out from the sea of fire. She could not help but mutter, ¡°Monster!¡±

    Chu Xin attacked again. The hidden weapons barraged Xiao An¡¯s body with a series of clings and clangs, causing him to stagger and fall onto the ground. However, he immediately climbed back up again.

    Feng Zhang sneered and swung his hand. True qi surged as he sent Xiao An flying. Standing in front of the fire, he was like a mountain, separating Xiao An from Li Qingshan.

    He growled and said, ¡°You two idiots, why don¡¯t you kill it? Don¡¯t let it escape.¡± However, he was considering silencing them with death. He could not allow anyone else to learn about the high grade spiritual artifact.

 Chapter 86 â€“ A Daemonâ€™s Awakening

    But now, the dead were dead, and the crippled were crippled. They could no longer oppose Feng Zhang. At the same time, they were afraid that Feng Zhang would turn against them mercilessly.

    Xiao An did not flee. He knelt on the ground. Currently, all of his bones were riddled with cracks. Looking at the sea of fire, two streaks of bloody tears ran down from his eye sockets. He opened his mouth, but not a single sound was emitted. However, everyone could sense that he was sobbing.

    Feng Zhang turned around as a sunken smile stretched from ear to ear. ¡°At the end of the day, it looks like I still need to do it personally!¡±

    His smile suddenly froze. A terrifying feeling appeared from behind him, as if a terrifying beast was awakening in the fire.

    A wild roar pierced the sky.

    It was not a sound a human could make. Feng Zhang turned around and saw a black figure rise up from the fire, shaking off the flames. It was ten feet tall with a pair of horns that stabbed towards the sky.

    Two specks of red light suddenly lit up!

    Li Qingshan laid in the fire without moving at all. Before the danger of death, things went as he anticipated. His Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging had finally broken through to the first layer!

    There was not a surge of strength like he had imagined. He felt his body undergo an extremely strange transformation. Everything ripped apart, transformed and remoulded. The flames gradually stopped being as scorching and discomforting as before, but he was still afraid of opening his eyes.

    The words of the black ox rang through his ears once more. Only when you reach the first layer with both fist styles will you truly be regarded as having learnt this ability.

    Although his eyes were firmly shut, he seemed to be able to feel the small skeleton rush over through the flames. He seemed to be able to hear his sobs.

    Xiao An!

    An indescribable feeling rose up in his heart, turning into a roar at the sky.

    Li Qingshan stood up in the fire and snapped open his eyes. The shining red light was no longer hidden in the depths of his eyes. Instead, it was completely exposed now. He took a step forward, and an iron hoof crushed the mountain god¡¯s head.

    Under the invisible pressure, the flames bloomed in the surroundings like a lotus flower. He emerged from the sea of fire, step by step.

    All those still alive on the mountain peak held their breaths as their eyes widened.

    The colossal figure was as tough as a steel tower. The pitch-black skin seemed to be forged from black iron, and mysterious patterns extended from the top of his head to his four limbs. His feet had turned into iron hooves, while his hands had become sharp claws.

    Daemon qi surged into the air. The legend began here.

    Feng Zhang reached into his bosom. A violent gust of wind swept past him. The scarlet hair had even brushed past his face, making him seize up as his teeth chattered and his body trembled.

    He no longer possessed the intention of resisting. Only a single thought remained, Run! A daemon, even a low grade daemon beast, was not something a second layer Qi Practitioner like him could fend off. Apart from the standard issue Wind-entwining blade that came from the Hawkwolf Guard, he did not possess another proper spiritual artifact to support him in a battle against a daemon.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s target was not Feng Zhang. When L¨¹ Tingrui saw Li Qingshan emerge from the fire, she turned around and fled without the slightest hint of hesitation. The effects of the talisman remained, so she actually moved extremely quickly.

    As she was mid-air, a huge claw reached over from behind and grabbed her head. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Tell me, who¡¯s the monster!¡± His voice was deep and hoarse like the thrum of metal. It was filled with cold killing intent.

    His sharp, protruding teeth were pale-white as the red light in his eyes shone!

    L¨¹ Tingrui opened her mouth, but she discovered that the only sounds she could let out were mindless gibberish. She had been a first rate-master who had roamed the jianghu for quite some time now, but she had never seen a real daemon before. She felt like a mouse in a cat¡¯s paw, having come across her natural nemesis. Under the weight of endless fear, what she felt was even more terrifying than death.

    Cling clang! Countless hidden weapons landed on Li Qingshan, creating a series of sparks. Li Qingshan turned around and said, ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The sound wave that had been infused with daemon qi was like the strike of a heavy hammer. Chu Xin was launched over twenty meters away. His head tilted to one side, and he could not be more dead than that.

    A second-rate master who laid on the ground suddenly leapt up high into the air. He stuck a talisman on his sword, coating it in a layer of sword aura. Originally, he had been playing dead, but now, he wanted to use this opportunity to launch a sneak attack against Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan was just about to turn around, but a tiger¡¯s tail swept through the air like a steel whip, basically cleaving the second-rate master in half by the waist. Li Qingshan looked back at his own tail in surprise. Suddenly, he discovered that he had gained additional functions. His reactions were still faster than his head.

    Li Qingshan closed his hand easily, and the head was crushed like a watermelon. In the next moment, he vanished from his current location.

    He appeared beside the remaining second and third-rate disciples one by one and unleashed a massacre. In just a few seconds, not a single person was left alive on the mountain peak. The only one left was Feng Zhang, who was furiously fleeing down the mountain.

    Li Qingshan bent his knees slightly. The ground cracked wildly, and he had already rushed into the air.

    Feng Zhang was currently fleeing for his life as a black figure descended from the sky, landing on him with the weight of several tonnes.

    Feng Zhang¡¯s cultivation was impressive, but before Li Qingshan¡¯s absolute strength and speed, he actually did not have the ability to fight back at all. Blood spurted from his mouth as he cried, ¡°Daemon, you¡¯re a daemon!¡± He gripped the ground with his hands, but there was no way he could oppose Li Qingshan¡¯s current strength. Even if Li Qingshan lifted his foot, his organs and bones had all been crushed already. He only remained alive because of his innate true qi.

    Li Qingshan bent down and growled. ¡°I want to rip your limbs from your body, one by one.¡± The red light in his eyes was like blood. Possessing the hatred and fury of humans, he was much crueler and more brutal than regular daemons.

    Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. He casually tried to slap him aside in a violent matter. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Seeing Xiao An, a sliver of rationality flashed through his mind, and Li Qingshan suddenly stopped his hand. The gust of wind he had kicked up had almost blown away Xiao An. He looked at Li Qingshan with surprise and fear as well as uncertainty.

    ¡°Xiao An, I¡¯m sorry. I-¡± Li Qingshan covered his face as the red light subsided between his fingers.

    Xiao Man approached him again, grabbing Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, or perhaps claw would be more accurate.

    Li Qingshan held back his various savage thoughts and crushed Feng Zhang to death with a stomp, giving him a quick death. He looked at his two hands that had become the claws of beasts as various wild thoughts rampaged through his head. He knelt on the ground and let out a wail at the sky.

    The sky was pitch-black. The layered, dark clouds obscured the stars and the moon.

    However, above the dark clouds were a sea of drifting clouds, stretching as far as the eye could see. Under the illumination of the moon and stars, it was tranquil like a paradise.

    A white figure stood alone above the sea of clouds. Her clothes buffeted in the wind; she was just like an otherworldly immortal. Gu Yanying lowered her eyes as her dark pupils suddenly narrowed. They shone with golden light, piercing the clouds like the eyes of a hawk and landing on Li Qingshan.

    Her feeling was right. When she met Li Qingshan below the pine tree, the smell he gave off was not because he did not shower. Instead, it was legitimate daemon qi. However, it was just too weak, so she was uncertain, which was why she made Li Qingshan drink the cup of Bodhi Brew. As a result, his true qi lost control immediately and amplified everything. Only then did she confirm her suspicions.

 Authorâ€™s Word

    Some Explanations for the Recent Plot (From the Author)

    First, there have been many people who have complained about falling in love at first sight. In reality, I myself had considered that part for a very long time as well. I wrote it, deleted it before adding it back.

    Because I know there will be some readers who dislike it. I can understand their feelings very well. Compared to loving someone, being loved is still easier and makes people happier. Out of the novels I¡¯ve read, just how long has it been since a main character has taken the initiative to love someone? The fixed trope is that the main character won¡¯t love anyone. They¡¯ll demonstrate their charms and attract all the beauties to them, and then there¡¯ll be arcs of romance.

    Let¡¯s not talk about whether this pattern is reasonable or not. After all, just by existing, it¡¯s reasonable. However, after hesitating for a long time, I still ended up adding this part, breaking out of this trope, because what I want to write is a person of exceptional ability, a great sage, someone who possesses great ambitions, or should I say wild ambitions, that exceed ordinary people. Just like how Xiang Yu saw the emperor of Qin on tour and looked him straight in the eye and said, ¡°I can replace you.¡±1

    Regarding what many people have mentioned, that Gu Yanying¡¯s description was insufficient, I think this is the most direct description there is. If you see her and you don¡¯t fall in love with her at first sight, you can¡¯t call her a beauty of startling talent and ability. And if you do see a beauty of startling talent and ability, but you don¡¯t have the wild ambition of conquering someone like that, you wouldn¡¯t be a great person of exceptional ability and ambition.

    All I want to write is some relatively ¡®normal¡¯ feelings, as there are many novels, perhaps due to the influence of real life, where liking a woman seems to be groveling to them, falling head over heels for the woman and willing to do anything for them. However, with Li Qingshan¡¯s resoluteness, how would that be possible? When he faced Gu Yanying, who was countless times stronger and more noble than he was, Li Qingshan only wanted to take her as a wife on equal footing. Instead, you¡¯ve all placed yourselves on a pedestal that¡¯s far too low right from the start.

    Next is the battle of the mountain god temple.

    I feel like I¡¯ve already written it clear enough. Li Qingshan still hasn¡¯t joined the Wolfhawk Guard yet. Wang Pushi only gave him a promise. He clearly dislikes Li Qingshan very much, which was why Hua Chengzan told Li Qingshan to run. That¡¯s because they could all foresee this battle happening. Even Gu Yanying could foresee this. She wanted to probe out Li Qingshan¡¯s true form. There¡¯s also another detail that many people might have missed. Wang Pushi told Li Qingshan to report to Zhuo Zhibo in Jiaping city, yet it was exactly Zhou Zhibo who had sent Feng Zhang here.

    The last issue has to do with the levelling system.

    I¡¯ve said before that this is only a tool, but not a tool that¡¯s absolutely necessary. I have considered making my own system before, which wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. All I have to do is come up with a few names. However, I¡¯ll definitely have to make many complicated introductions when I do so. I¡¯ve hesitated over this for a long time. This system that platinum author Wangyu2 created was just perfect. It was concise, and it got to the point. There is no point, or should I say, no need to give up on the tools readily in my grasp and go create a set of tools that don¡¯t suit me.

    However, I¡¯m not copying outright. I¡¯ve adapted and added a lot of things myself, making it more suitable for this novel. These aspects will all be presented one after another later on. If there are readers who dislike the names, I can only request you to set aside your prejudice. I don¡¯t plan on turning this into a mortal stream fantasy novel.3 This will be a completely new story.

    You can count this novel as my work where I seek novelty and change. Many problems will arise with that, so I welcome you all to point it out. However, I do hope you can accept and understand as well. At the very least, I¡¯m writing this novel with great sincerity. So far, the change has been successful. Compared to my previous novel where it became more strenuous the more I wrote, I have absolute confidence and motivation right now because the fascinating parts have yet to come. A magnificent world, a touching story and charming characters are waiting for me to write them.

    There are many parts where it¡¯s my fault for not explaining clearly. However, I want to make my writing as succinct as I can, with less explaining for me to do. It¡¯ll mostly be expressed through the details or the actions of the characters. The way Li Qingshan treats Gu Yanying in the future will obviously show he¡¯s not someone who loses his mind at the sight of a beautiful woman. And as the world expands, it¡¯ll obviously demonstrate whether I¡¯ve been copying or not. But what can you do about the fact that this is webnovel? I can only take one step at a time. I¡¯ve decided to avoid explaining so much in the future. Those who will understand will obviously understand.

    1. Emperor of Qin refers to the first emperor of China, who united the lands of China for the first time in history. Xiang Yu refers to this historical figure.

    2. Yes, Wangyu, as in the author for Record of a Mortal¡¯s Journey to Immortality. The author is deriving his cultivation system from RMJI.

 Chapter 87 â€“ Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration

    Against daemons and demons, the first thing that regular cultivators would think of would be purging them. Gu Yanying definitely possessed the strength to do that as well. Although Li Qingshan¡¯s strength and speed had been greatly amplified after daemonifying, he was still not the opponent of a Golden Core master.

    But right now, she showed no killing intent at all. She even lost her usual, carefree smile, now possessing a tinge of sorrow. Under the illumination of the moon, she seemed like a jade sculpture.

    Then she discarded these emotions, sighed gently, and smiled freely.

    ¡°Little bro Qingshan, from today onwards, only the mountains and forests will be your home. We probably won¡¯t meet ever again unless you cultivate to Daemon General or even Daemon Commander. However, once that happens, we¡¯ll probably be enemies. Take care!¡±

    She muttered to herself and even clasped her hands, completely ignoring the fact that Li Qingshan could not hear or see her at all. Lifting her arms, her sleeves fluttered as she flew off like a white hawk. Only when she reached over five kilometers away did the gust of wind she create form a canal in the sea of clouds.

    The white hawk landed on the edge of the well and saw what she wanted to see. A special frog added an amusing story to her life.

    However, no matter how amusing it was, a frog was still a frog. At most, it would just become slightly more powerful. There were matters that outweighed this completely waiting for her to complete. If she could not find that damned cat, a battle between the two great sects of the Green province, the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect, would likely erupt. A great fire would burn through the back courtyard of the provincial lord as well.

    However, what she failed to sense was that as she observed Li Qingshan, a black ox gazed at her through the darkness on the ground. This was something utterly inconceivable to a Golden Core master. Her spiritual senses were so sharp, and she knew some techniques for divination as well.

    However, if she really could predict the future, she would know that the frog would not remain a frog forever.

    Li Qingshan wailed wildly for quite a while before barely managing to calm himself down. Xiao An remained by his side, doing his best to comfort him. He glanced at Xiao An.

    Only now did he truly understand what Xiao An felt when he became a skeleton and just how great of a mental blow it was to turn into something else as a human.

    The black ox emerged from the darkness as a smile stretched across his face. He looked at Li Qingshan and studied him in wonder, like an artist appreciating a masterpiece he was extremely satisfied with.

    The black ox said, ¡°It looks like the effects aren¡¯t bad at all!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly lunged at the black ox, swinging his right claw viciously. His sharp claws were like curved blades, shining in the darkness.

    The black ox did not try to dodge at all. It continued to smile. Xiao An tackled from the side and knocked Li Qingshan away.

    Li Qingshan trembled all over as his claws dug into the ground. ¡°Sorry, brother ox. I don¡¯t know what has happened to me.¡± He felt like his heart was packed full of explosives, where even a hint of anger or dissatisfaction would set it alight, making him want to kill.

    Although he had his suspicions that the black ox had screwed him over, he had been mentally prepared for this a long time ago. It was just like the legend with those people who made deals with the devil. They would gain power at a cost. It was brutal, but it was fair. There was no reason for any complaints.

    And, the black ox had demonstrated that the ability it had taught to him really was not some common thing he could find anywhere. Just with its effects of refining the body, the ability had managed to reach an inconceivable level, using just a few months to push his body to unbelievable toughness.

    The black ox said, ¡°Your mind is not strong enough to overpower your demonic nature, but you¡¯ve already surprised me a lot by being able to do this. You¡¯re right. Although this originates from a body refining superhuman ability of daoism, the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, this is not actually that.¡±

    ¡°There is no superhuman ability that can turn a human into a daemon! What am I supposed to do now? How do I recover my human form?¡± Li Qingshan did not want to spend the rest of his life in these remote forests and mountains.

    ¡°It¡¯s very simple. All you have to do is undergo the first heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon General, which is Foundation Establishment for humans, and you¡¯ll be able to take a human form.¡±

    ¡°How long will that take?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re fast, a century!¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes glowed red. ¡°I can live for a century?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once you¡¯ve transformed into a daemon, your lifespan will be greatly extended!¡±

    Li Qingshan ground his teeth. He was just about to give into the killing intent surging in his heart.

    The black ox said, ¡°However, it¡¯s not like there aren¡¯t other ways!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There are other ways?¡±

    The black ox said, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you another ability. Oh right, you¡¯re not actually completely a daemon right now.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°So I¡¯ll become a complete daemon once I practise this ability?¡±

    The black ox only smiled. Li Qingshan knew the only option he had was going down this path completely.

    The great fire continued to burn. Li Qingshan made eye contact with Xiao An and said, ¡°Alright, now neither of us are humans, and only you won¡¯t loathe me!¡± They really were brought together by their ill fates. Neither of them could mock the other.

    Xiao An nodded furiously, expressing that he did not loathe Li Qingshan at all.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop here. Let¡¯s get practising!¡± He made Xiao An use the corpses on the mountain for cultivation and recovering his wounds. At the same time, Li Qingshan searched through the corpses.

    He found a bottle of pills that had not been completely consumed on hall chief Wu. He tilted his head back and ingested them all, immediately recovering from his injuries. He found a talisman on Wei Dandong, the sickly scholar¡¯s body. It looked exactly the same as L¨¹ Tingrui¡¯s, so it should also be a Swift Breeze Talisman that increased speed. He found another talisman on Chu Xin, similar to the one he had used. As it seemed, he really was wealthy.

    L¨¹ Tingrui¡¯s slender sword was still in one piece, and it shone very brightly. On the other hand, Xiao An¡¯s sword had become extremely dim after the battle. It could not be used anymore, so this was a perfect replacement.

    In the end, he found a total of four talismans on Feng Zhang. They were all the kind that could unleash fire. There was also a bottle healing pills, and from their glow, they seemed much better than hall chief Wu¡¯s, so he stowed it away carefully.

    Li Qingshan tossed all of the corpses into the sea of fire. Seeing how the fire did not burn vigorously enough, he tossed out a fire talisman without any hesitation at all. The fire talisman floated through the air and landed on the ground. It had not been activated.

    The black ox said, ¡°Daemon qi cannot activate talismans and spiritual artifacts unless you refine them.¡±

    Then Li Qingshan tried it with the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. As expected, there was no reaction at all when he injected it with daemon qi. It refused to accept it. Without a doubt, he did not possess the ability to refine it right now, so he could only put it aside for now.

    Xiao An had recovered from all of his wounds as well. His bones became white again, but they were no longer pale-white. Instead, they glistened slightly like jade. He had progressed with his ability yet again.

    Watching the flames weaken, Xiao An suddenly opened his mouth and sprayed out rolling, blood-red flames. The blood of the corpses were like oil that had been set alight, surging with blood-red flames that were several meters tall. It even drowned out the orangey-yellow fire, completely destroying all traces of the corpses.

 Chapter 88 â€“ The Spirit Turtleâ€™s Method of Sea Suppression

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh in amazement. Now, regular first-rate masters would never be his opponent. He truly was progressing rapidly with no bottlenecks. As long as he had sufficient time and sacrifices, who knows just how powerful he could become.

    The blood flames incinerated all of the corpses, circled through the air, and returned to Xiao An¡¯s mouth. The flames in his eye sockets became even brighter. It was as if the blood flames had absorbed all the blood and vitality of these people.

    After dealing with everything, Li Qingshan called Xiao An, and he leapt onto his shoulder. The two of them disappeared into the mountains.

    Li Qingshan rushed through the forest. The tall trees now seemed so short and small. Sometimes when he came across fallen logs blocking his way, he would not even try to go around it. He would directly smash through it, reducing the dead wood to splinters and forcefully carving out a path through the forest.

    His strength and speed were not the only things that had changed. His five senses had never been so sharp before either. Everything in the forest was so clear and vibrant. Even though it was the middle of winter, it was still a touching colour.

    All sounds became so clear. He could even hear the breathing of a wild rabbit deep below the snow and soil. The world was filled with life.

    He felt like a caveman who had returned to ancient times, celebrating all of nature. It was like the sweetness of nectar had filled his heart. It seemed like this was the world, the wonderland, that belonged to him,

    When his body changed, his mind seemed to change as well. He suddenly felt like being trapped and embraced by the forests and mountains was not necessarily a bad thing.

    However, when he looked at Xiao An on his shoulder, he immediately recovered his mental clarity. He still had many promises to complete. Li Qingshan had to help Xiao An regain his human form and send him home.

    Xiao An also looked back at Li Qingshan in confusion.

    Li Qingshan smiled, thanking him inside.

    After the black ox taught Li Qingshan a new ability, he vanished once more.

    Li Qingshan travelled without stopping, but he silently comprehended the mysteries of the ability inside.

    The name of the second ability was the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, but it was exactly the opposite to the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers. It was an ability that purely focused on practising qi. It also had nine layers, and as long as he achieved the first layer, he would be able to return to human form and hide his daemon qi, allowing him to return to the human world.

    He did not know what the black ox¡¯s objective was, but it did not seem like he had any ill motives. This did not originate from only his trust in it, but also because he understood his own insignificance. There was probably nothing worth the black ox developing any ill motives over.

    As soon as Li Qingshan comprehended something regarding the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he would stop and meditate. The chaotic daemon qi gradually withdrew, circulating along a certain pattern. Even his restless sea of consciousness seemed to calm down during the cultivation process, which differed significantly from the wild and savage nature amplified when he practised the ox demon and tiger demon¡¯s fists.

    Suddenly, he understood something. The various abilities influenced his mind. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression was for nullifying the effects of the ox demon and tiger demon.

    The spirit turtle was a divine beast among the legends. Its four feet were as colossal as pillars that could hold up the sky; they were like four stabilising poles, able to calm the waves of the oceans, subduing the billows. Although spirit turtles possessed tremendous power, they had extremely gentle natures. Just like old, meditating monks, they were extremely patient and never tried to attract attention.

    As long as he reached the first layer, he could withdraw his aura like spirit turtles, concealing his daemon qi and suppressing the ox demon and tiger demon. That way, he could become a human again. However, speed with practising this ability was just like a spirit turtle¡¯s nature. Progress was extremely slow. He estimated that if he wanted to reach the first layer with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he would be working with years at the very least. Even a conservative estimate would be around a decade. It was even possible for him to take up to two or three decades.

    Although it was much faster than undergoing the heavenly tribulation and becoming a Daemon General, it was still depressing. However, what could he do? The cultivation of daemons would always be calculated using centuries. If you had not even been cultivating for a few hundred years, it would even be awkward to meet people. Given his current circumstances, all he could do was prepare for a long battle.

    Water crashed thunderously. Li Qingshan and Xiao An returned to where they cultivated last time, standing before the huge waterfall that fell several dozen meters. He planned on cultivating here quietly for some time. Since it was called the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he obviously needed water.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ear twitched. He could vaguely hear singing.

    He squinted his eyes. Through the white mist, there seemed to be the charming silhouette of a woman with her back to him. It seemed like she was bathing.

    Will I have a romantic encounter like this as well?

    As soon as Li Qingshan thought of that, he felt extremely strange. The waterfall was so loud. Even if regular people yelled at the top of their lungs, their voices would be drowned out by the crashing, yet the singing was just like a needle, piercing through all the noise with great clarity.

    The force of the waterfall was so tremendous that even he could not directly stand below it in the past, yet the smaller figure moved through it easily as if she were showering. Her feminine stature faded in and out within the mist. It was quite the sight.

    Li Qingshan was never about resisting temptations. He had to take a proper look since something so strange had presented itself to him. However, it would guarantee he would not have that great of a romantic encounter. He took a single step forward.

    The singing suddenly stopped, and the young lady looked back, revealing a pair of jade-green pupils. She vanished into the waterfall.

    Li Qingshan experienced an ill omen. He leapt forward recklessly, and only then did he feel a swift breeze behind him, along with a few stabbing pains on his back. His impenetrable skin had actually been sliced through.

    Just as he was mid-air, about to fly into the waterfall, a slender hand grabbed his tiger¡¯s tail and yanked hard. ¡°Come back!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal figure was wrenched back. As it seemed, there were also times when additional functions were a bad thing.

    Looking back and seeing the person clearly, he could not help but blank out even with his willpower. The person that had grabbed his tail and pulled him back was actually a young lady, around fourteen or fifteen years of age, dressed in green clothes. She was now dressed, but with her large, startlingly green eyes, there was no doubt that she was the bathing lady from earlier.

    He was not taken aback by her age or strength. Instead, there was an actual pair of cat ears on her head. A black, cat¡¯s tail danced around behind her.

    At that moment, his spirit as a nerd that had fallen silent for all these years actually broke through its seal, about to awaken once more. If he met this ¡®thing¡¯ as soon as he had transmigrated into this world, he probably would not have turned out like this.

    If the feeling that Gu Yanying gave him could be described as dream-like beauty, then she was dream-like cuteness.

 Chapter 89 â€“ A Catâ€™s Pe

    t

    The cat girl looked at Li Qingshan as well. ¡°What kind of daemeown are you? How strange!¡±

    Xiao An leapt up; he arrived behind the cat girl and sprayed out his Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration. The white crescent moon imprint on the cat girl¡¯s forehead unleashed a streak of light and nullified the flames. ¡°And what kind of daemeown are you?¡±

    The cat girl grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s tail with both hands. Using herself as a pivot, she swung Li Qingshan into Xiao An before throwing both of them.

    Together with Xiao An, Li Qingshan smashed towards a rock face. Li Qingshan adjusted his posture and kicked off the rocks, landing safely with Xiao An. His perfect dream vanished completely as he gazed at the cat girl cautiously.

    She was very powerful, at least as powerful as that Scarlet Hawk commander Wang Pushi! Thinking of Wang Pushi, he thought of Gu Yanying again.

    Don¡¯t tell me the cat she¡¯s searching for is this! What kind of pet is this? It¡¯s clearly an extremely terrifying cat daemon!

    The cat girl did not keep attacking, as if she was not mad over being peeked on by Li Qingshan. Her jade-green eyes flickered as she said with pure curiosity, ¡°Both of you are so strange!¡±

    Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡±

    The cat girl said, ¡°You also have a human form, so you should have undergone a heavenly tribulation already, yet you¡¯re so weak! How strange! I¡¯ve never heard of a skeleton that can spit out fire either! How strange!¡± Although Li Qingshan had daemonified, which made his voice louder, his body and appearance were still roughly humanoid.

    Li Qingshan shook off the dust and soil on him. ¡°We¡¯re just passing by, so please continue!¡± Without any hesitation, he turned around and left! He was rather reluctant, considering how something so moe that could only exist in his imagination had appeared right in front of him, but with his great wisdom and willpower, he immediately destroyed his heart as a nerd and made up his mind. He could not afford to be involved with this cat daemon. It was something he could not deal with just yet.

    However, he learned very soon just how terrifying a cat that had its interest piqued, and a cat daemon at that, was.

    ¡°Stop! You¡¯ve watched me bathe, yet you still want to run?¡± The cat girl hissed.

    Li Qingshan ran immediately. He ran very quickly, sprinting away at full speed. However, he forgot about a certain warning. When he came across wild beasts, he was supposed to stop, or he would definitely be chased.

    The forest receded rapidly as a blur. Li Qingshan did not dare to stop at all. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a bell by his ear. He turned his head, and all he saw was the cat girl running steadily by his side. A bell jingled on her waist.

    ¡°Meowhahaha, why don¡¯t you keep running?¡±

    The cat girl stopped as well. Her jade-green eyes swiveled around as if she were coming up with an idea. She circled around Li Qingshan. ¡°Why don¡¯t you be meowy pet!¡± She smiled from ear to ear in an extremely complacent manner.

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan doubted his ears. Was she sick of being a pet and wanted a pet instead now?

    ¡°Big Blacko, how does that sound?¡± The cat girl leapt gently and landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s head. She grabbed one of his horns and rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°And you can be Li¡¯l Whitey!¡± She moved extremely quickly, leaving behind a string of blurs. Her thoughts changed extremely rapidly as well.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡± As a proud transmigrator, he would be embarrassing all transmigrators in the world if he were to become a pet, and a pet¡¯s pet at that.

    The weight on his head suddenly increased. The cat girl¡¯s light body suddenly became as heavy as a mountain. Li Qingshan was pressed into kneeling on one knee, lowering his head.

    ¡°Big Blacko, I¡¯m not negotiating with you.¡± The cat girl continued, ¡°If you agree, you will receive countless benefits. I won¡¯t treat you badly, but if you don¡¯t agree, hehe, I don¡¯t mind seeing how you taste.¡±

    That alone demonstrated all of the ferocity and nature of daemons. She definitely was not as cute as she seemed on the surface.

    Li Qingshan bared his fangs in a sneer. ¡°What benefits? Cat food?¡± Before he could finish talking, a glowing pill fell into his mouth before being converted into surging spiritual qi in an instant. It filled his entire body to the point of almost exuding out.

    Even with his body as a daemon that was countless times more powerful than before, he actually felt like he was unable to contain all of the spiritual qi. Li Qingshan used the mental cultivation method of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression in a hurry, absorbing the spiritual qi and making gradual progress with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. All of a sudden, he had shot through a portion of it. The spiritual medicine was so powerful than it was even several times stronger than the spiritual alcohol steeped from the spiritual ginseng.

    ¡°Did you steal all of these from your master?¡±

    ¡°What? I would never steal meowster¡¯s things. These were all given to meow by meowster. I still have a lot more. What, are you interested?¡±

    Li Qingshan finally understood how the rich could be so wealthy to the point where they were wasteful. He wondered who the Dark Queen was, as she even used these spiritual pills to feed her pet. She was basically as wasteful as people could get. However, if he really did have the support of such spiritual medicine, he would definitely be able to succeed with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression very quickly and regain his human form. Then he could return to the world of humans.

    It had to be mentioned that with reward and force combined, just like a carrot on a stick, it had quite the effect on no matter who used it and no matter who it was used on. Most importantly, he did not have the right to choose at all.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    The cat girl did a backflip and landed gently in front of Li Qingshan. ¡°That¡¯s meowre like it. You¡¯re meow pet, so of course you¡¯ll do whatever I want you to do. Right now, I want you to take me away from the Green province!¡±

    For a frog in a well who had never even left the surrounding regions of Qingyang city since birth, Li Qingshan was immediately stunned by this great ambition. ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±

    ¡°To the Dragon province!¡±

    ¡°How do we go there?¡± Li Qingshan was rather perplexed. And where is the Dragon province?

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know this? Follow the Boundless Meowntains all the way north. You¡¯ll just need to cross around a few thousand meowntains.¡± The cat girl gazed into the distance, and her gaze suddenly became extremely distant. Her tender, cute face now possessed a romantic and weathered expression that only travellers had.

    She was no longer anybody¡¯s pet. She was as free as the wind.

    Li Qingshan actually felt shocked. He took in a deep breath. ¡°But you¡¯re pointing south.¡±

    ¡°Shut up. Your meowster knows!¡± The cat girl became furious from shame, leaping up and kicking him.

    Li Qingshan raised his arm to block, but it still ended up stinging. After a moment of consideration, he looked at the cat girl. ¡°I can help you reach the Dragon province. You only need to pay me back with spiritual pills.¡± Although he was rather worried about Gu Yanying¡¯s search, he currently had no room to decline at all. He could only attempt to benefit from the situation.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ll feed you. Oh right, what does Little Whitey eat?¡± The cat girl behaved like his master, acting like there was nothing wrong with it at all. Then she studied Xiao An with a strange gaze as if she were trying to guess what a skeleton would eat.

    Feed? Li Qingshan decided to not haggle over these small details. ¡°Oh right, and I¡¯m not your servant.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not meowy servant. You¡¯re meowy pet!¡± The cat girl rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s cheek with a smile.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body froze up. He breathed in deeply. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯ll be the deal between us. What¡¯s your name?¡±

 Chapter 90 â€“ A Cat of the Provincial Lordâ€™s Estate

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense his behaviour. He asked, ¡°Xiao An, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Xiao An only shook his head in confusion.

    Only then did Li Qingshan ease up. ¡°Alright, Xuanyue. Tell me right now why you can¡¯t go to the Dragon province alone. Bringing me with you will only weigh you down.¡±

    ¡°Call me meowster! I¡¯m being chased, so I need to hide away from them.¡±

    And you have no sense of direction. Obviously, Li Qingshan could not say that. Her answer was exactly what he was expecting. To be able to send Gu Yanying to search for her cat, Xuanyue¡¯s master, the Dark Queen, definitely possessed extremely great authority. Gu Yanying would not be alone in the search. However, since it was searching for a pet and not catching a criminal, the mission would seem safer. Even if she failed, nothing bad would happen to her. And, since this cat was bold enough to run away, she should have some grasp over the situation. In short, it was worth a gamble.

    Li Qingshan was straightforward. ¡°No problem, Xuanyue. However, I feel like we should tidy up first and come up with a proper plan before setting off.¡± He had an extremely deep impression of Gu Yanying¡¯s terrifying senses. Perhaps she was observing him from the sky right now. Now that he had become like this, she might end up purging him as soon as she saw him.

    A vein popped out from Xuanyue¡¯s forehead. ¡°I said to call me meowster!¡±

    ¡°Did you, Xuanyue?¡±

    ¡°Meow!!!¡± Xuanyue¡¯s tail straightened out. She finally lost her temper.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Xiao An who was about to fight back and let her kick and pound him. He just gritted his teeth. He discovered that while she was extremely fast, her strength was not particularly great, so he could endure her kicks and punches.

    Xuanyue vented her anger, but she was not heavy-handed. After all, she still needed to depend on Li Qingshan for many matters, so she just said coldly, ¡°Come with me!¡± She led Li Qingshan back to the waterfall before grabbing him and charging at the waterfall.

    They passed through the curtain of water and were about to hit the rock face. However, just when Li Qingshan thought he was going to crash, the thick layer of rock ended up being an illusion. He passed through it harmlessly.

    It was actually hiding something, an extremely large cave. Looking at the traces of chipped rock, it had clearly been dug out recently. As it seemed, she had been hiding here.

    The place that the black ox chose for Li Qingshan to cultivate was truly a wonderful spot.

    Xuanyue pulled out a small banner from her bell. Her cat bell was actually a storage bag.

    Are you doraemon? Li Qingshan was dumbfounded. And from how the small banner shimmered with light, hiding most of its wonders, it was clearly an extremely rare spiritual artifact.

    Afterwards, she removed many more things from her bell. First, she pulled out a thick mat made from the furs of some unknown animal and laid it down. Subsequently, she pulled out a small table, followed by some delicate utensils sculpted out of either ivory or jade.

    She could evidently see in the dark, but she just had to pull out a lantern. The lantern did not glow from fire, but from a fist-sized pearl. With its hazy glow, it illuminated the entire cave, but it was not dazzling at all.

    In the end, she pulled out an incense burner shaped like a crane, which gradually released a wondrous fragrance.

    All of these items glowed. Under the illumination of the pearl, even the circulation of Li Qingshan¡¯s qi became slightly faster. When he caught a whiff of the fragrance, he felt his mind ease up, and his head became much clearer.

    Not a single item here could be measured using money. She was no pet. She was basically a princess. So much for being a refugee, she had actually prepared to such a level. She was just too extravagant.

    Xuanyue sat down on the thick mat and pulled out a thick, snowy-white fillet. ¡°It¡¯s time to eat!¡± She did not even use the delicate utensils, directly using her hands and burying her face in it.

    Li Qingshan watched in utter shock. Even the fish fillet glowed brightly.

    Xuanyue glanced at him. She thought about how she was always very capricious in front of her master, but her master would always be very tolerant of her. Thinking about how she herself had been elevated to her master¡¯s level now, she probably should learn from her own master, so she said in a reserved manner, ¡°Big Blacko, I¡¯ll give you this to eat.¡± Forgiving Li Qingshan¡¯s capriciousness with great tolerance, she felt proud of herself once again.

    Big Blacko? Can¡¯t I have a proper name for once? Li Qingshan thought. However, he did not want to reveal his real name either in his current state. So be it, Big Blacko it is! He accepted a piece and began eating as well.

    He did not stop at all during the process. Although the fish fillet was raw, it was extremely delicious. It would melt as soon as it touched his tongue, surpassing anything he had eaten in the past. And when he swallowed it, his daemon qi would gradually grow. It had the effects of spiritual medicine.

    Originally, he could eat an entire deer, and he would often not feel particularly full. However, from just the piece of fish today, he felt his stomach swell. ¡°Just who is this Dark Queen? Doesn¡¯t she treat you well?¡±

    Xuanyue glanced at him in contempt first before saying with great reverence, ¡°There¡¯s no one in the world who will treat Yue¡¯er better than meowster. She¡¯s beautiful, noble, and powerful. When I first met her, I was not even a daemeown. She was the one who fed me so meowny, so meowny spiritual pills and meowdicines.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re still running away?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me!¡± Xuanyue glanced at Li Qingshan in displeasure. Her eyes widened to a surprising level as she propped up her cheek. ¡°But, she¡¯s just too clingy. She hugs meow all day, without even letting me go when she sleeps. Tell meow, how can I endure that?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, If the Dark Queen is as noble and beautiful as you have described her to be, I¡¯d be utterly overjoyed if she treated me like that. Then he glanced at Xuanyue. I can even accept you.

    ¡°Forget it. Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t understand. I can tell you¡¯re quite smart, not as dumb as regular daemeowns, but you won¡¯t be able to understand such deep and complicated emeowtions. Freedom, do you understand that word?¡±

    Xuanyue muttered to herself with no intention of letting Li Qingshan reply. Her cat ears perked about.

    Li Qingshan still managed to find the information he was searching for from the narcissistic monologue. In the entire Green province, probably only the wives of the provincial lord had the right to be referred to as a queen. She was a queen of the Fierce King of Chu.

    The authority of the provincial lord spanned all fifteen thousand kilometers of the Green province. Xuanyue had escaped from the provincial lord¡¯s estate, so all she could do was flee to other provinces.

    Li Qingshan recalled the map of the Green province. ¡°The provincial¡¯s lord estate is in the south. Why did you come to the north and not travel further south?¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°What would you know? The Mist province in the south is all wilderness. Am I supposed to go there and starve? The Dragon province is the good place. That¡¯s where the imperial court resides. There are pavilions and palaces, extravagant luxuries that a country bumpkin of a daemon like you can¡¯t even fathom.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Even if there are those things, no one will give them to you.¡± Do you think you¡¯re a panda, where you can survive in this world just by acting cute?

 Chapter 91 â€“ The Soaring Dragon Elder

    Li Qingshan curled his lips. He had almost been fooled by her. What seeking freedom? She was clearly just indolent, seeking an even more extravagant life. When he wanted to ask about the Nine-tailed Fox Empress and the Ten Daemon Kings, she had already changed the topic, returning to how cute she was; this was the reason why the Nine-tailed Fox Empress had chosen her, inviting her to the Dragon province. Xuanyue forbade Li Qingshan from interrupting her.

    She continued until she became sick of it. ¡°It¡¯s quite late now. Time to sleep!¡± She pulled out a huge cat¡¯s basket that was filled with a thick layer of crane down. She curled up inside it comfortably.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s still daytime!¡±

    Xuanyue waved her hand and extinguished the pearl. ¡°Daytime is for sleeping. We¡¯ll set off at night.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at her sleeping figure. Her long lashes layered upon one another, and her delicate nose was slightly raised from her face. Her lips were closed. Curled up, she seemed even smaller and more petite, lacking her usual rudeness and capriciousness. She seemed so delicate, rousing an urge to protect her.

    He shook his head violently. Now was not the time to appreciate beauty. She was not someone who needed his protection, nor was she someone he could pursue. From a certain perspective, she could even be regarded as an enemy. How could he be captivated by her? He needed to raise his guard!

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief and made eye contact with Xiao An. He felt that everything he went through today was far too weird. He glanced at the girl in the cat¡¯s basket before making his way over to a corner of the cave to meditate, continuing his cultivation of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Xiao An also sat down beside him to meditate.

    Xuanyue tossed and turned in the basket and said suddenly, ¡°Big Blacko, sing me a song.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to!¡± Li Qingshan replied firmly.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of keeping you around!?¡± Xuanyue opened her eyes.

    ¡°Then let me go!¡±

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll teach you.¡±

    Li Qingshan facepalmed, but before he could reply, Xuanyue began singing all by herself. ¡°Little kitty, good kitty, go to sleep¡­¡±

    The gentle singing filled the cave. Although it was extremely pleasant, Li Qingshan curled his lips. This was clearly a lullaby to coax children, so he thought the Dark Queen was probably some cat lover who treated a cat as her child. However, when she sang it, it was extremely beautiful, with a gentle, soothing feeling.

    When Xiao An heard it, the blood-red flames in his eye sockets pulsed as his heart surged. Yet, there just seemed to be something blocking him, preventing him from understanding where this feeling came from.

    ¡°I¡¯m done singing! It¡¯s your turn!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so simple, yet you can¡¯t remeowmber it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m a country bumpkin of a daemon. I¡¯m dumb and stupid, so of course I won¡¯t understand. I can¡¯t remember anything.¡±

    Xuanyue sang it again with no other choice, but it was just the same as before. Li Qingshan still could not remember it. Xuanyue wanted to throw a tantrum, but after a moment of inspiration, she held a spiritual pill with her two fingers and smiled. ¡°If you sing, there¡¯ll be spiritual pills to eat!¡±

    ¡°Little kitty, good kitty, go to sleep!¡± Li Qingshan immediately sang at the top of his lungs. Why wouldn¡¯t he sing if there were benefits? He was just selling his artistic talent, not his body. Just like what the great leader had said before, the workers were the most glorious. However, his voice was deep, heavy, and hoarse, like resonating metal. Coupled with how he was singing at the top of his lungs, the lullaby ended up sounding like rock-and-roll.

    ¡°Stop singing! You¡¯re so noisy!¡± Xuanyue tossed the spiritual pill into Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth.

    Li Qingshan sniggered. He swallowed the pill and continued to meditate and practise. He did not know the name of the pill, but every single one of them felt like they were able to remould his body completely. The effects were unbelievable. To ordinary people or even cultivators, these pills were probably extremely rare treasures. Now that he could get them from just yelling at the top of his lungs, it was basically a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

    Xuanyue lost all interest in sleeping from the ruckus he made. She asked curiously, ¡°Just what is up with your appearance? Let me guess. Your meowther was a tiger and your father was an ox?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not answer. It just sounded like cursing him no matter how he tried to interpret it, but thinking about it, she was an animal as well, so he endured it.

    ¡°Then your father is the tiger and your meowther is the ox?¡±

    Li Qingshan reluctantly answered with a ¡®yep¡¯.

    Xuanyue said, ¡°It¡¯s just like what I said. It¡¯s no wonder you can transform when you¡¯re so weak. So your parents are both daemons as well. They should be rather powerful daemons too. Oh right, where did they go?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered calmly, ¡°They¡¯re dead.¡± However, he was thinking of the parents of his current life.

    Xuanyue fell silent for a while. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± After another moment of silence, she said, ¡°Me too.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked over in surprise. Xuanyue said, ¡°Sleep!¡± With that, she turned her back to him and no longer spoke.

    Li Qingshan sighed gently and suddenly began singing softly, ¡°Little kitty, good kitty, go to sleep¡­¡±

    Xuanyue¡¯s cat ears perked up, and Xiao An listened quietly as well. For that moment, there were no other sounds in the cave.

    Over fifty kilometers away, an old man with a sword on his back descended from the sky, landing on the Dragon¡¯s Gate mountain. He looked at the ruins and frowned.

    His peppered hair was tied up into a bun, and he possessed a neatly-trimmed beard. He had a pair of shining eyes, but their brilliance was hidden away, concealing his vitality.

    His appearance was actually rather similar to the Soaring Dragon Swordsman consecrated in the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, but he had stopped being the penniless swordsman of the jianghu a long time ago. Instead, he was the Soaring Dragon Elder of the Sword Collection palace.

    He closed his eyes to sense the surroundings, and his frown grew deeper. The Peachwood Prayer Sword he left behind had actually failed to kill the enemy?

    The Peachwood Prayer Sword was a secret technique of the Sword Collection sect. It required a peachwood sword to be offered incense and candles constantly, without missing a single day. Over days and years, it would gather a tremendous amount of power of thoughts and belief. It would be unstoppable once used.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder decided to put this matter aside for now. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect was only a legacy he had left behind out of pure coincidence when he roamed the world of mortals back then. In the blink of an eye, a century had passed already, and he did not care too much about it either. He could just deal with the important matters first and then find that person and end his life with a stroke of his sword.

    Just when he was about to set off, his eyes suddenly narrowed. He gazed over swiftly and saw a white figure descend from the sky.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Soaring Dragon Elder, long time no see.¡± However, she was not smiling inside at all. The Sword Collection palace had actually sent out a Golden Core elder. The matter truly was a little troublesome. The two queens of the Green province, the Dark Queen and the Light Queen, had become complete enemies now, and the Light Queen originated from the Sword Collection palace. Whenever they would get the opportunity, they would never let the other have it easy.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder said, ¡°So it¡¯s commander Gu. Why have you come to such a remote place?¡± He was also wary. Out of the various White Hawk commanders of the Green province, she was the most difficult to deal with, and she had a close friendship with that ghost woman, the Dark Queen. However, her backing just happened to be powerful as well, so he could not afford to simply fall out with her.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°I¡¯ve come to handle a small matter under the Dark Queen¡¯s request, but I never thought I¡¯d come across the Soaring Dragon Elder. I¡¯d like to invite you to a drink.¡± She made up her mind with a single thought. As long as she could keep this old man busy, she would just let that cat escape to the Dragon province. Over all these years, the cat had already made more than enough trouble for her. She really did not want to see her again.

 Chapter 92 â€“ Northbound

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the leisure, but thank you for the offer, commander Gu!¡± The Soaring Dragon Elder was about to ride away on his sword.

    With a flash, Gu Yanying blocked his way again. Her smile had already vanished. ¡°Soaring Dragon Elder, you¡¯re already so elderly, so why must you be so vicious against a cat? Ever since the Dark Queen lost her child, she has comforted herself with the cat. Does the Sword Collection palace really plan on waging war against the Umbral Yin sect?¡±

    ¡°Every single generation of our Sword Collection palace has had the mission of purging demons and daemons. All demons, daemons, ghosts, and monsters deserve death!¡±

    The Soaring Dragon Elder said resolutely. He had come to kill the cat daemon, which would destroy the willpower of that ghost woman. And, the cat daemon should be carrying a large quantity of spiritual pills on her; she might even have arcane artifacts. It was tremendous wealth, so how could he simply let this opportunity slip by?

    Before he had come, he had made the Divining Elder perform divination. The divination told him that it would all be smooth sailing, and he would be able to settle a grievance through this as well. He basically had complete confidence in succeeding with what he had set out to do.

    At the end of this, the provincial lord himself would come out to mediate the two parties. The Umbral Yin sect did not necessarily have the resolve to wage war against the Sword Collection sect either, and why would the two human sects start a war over a single cat daemon?

    Gu Yanying¡¯s expression changed. There was a flash of golden light in her eyes, and she sneered. ¡°Since the Sword Collection palace is so impressive, why don¡¯t you go dragon slaying in the Ink sea and go kill the greatest Daemon King of Green province? You all just harass the weak while fearing the strong.¡±

    The Soaring Dragon Elder said, ¡°Our palace master has his plans for that.¡± Before he had even finished talking, he fused with his sword and shot off as a streak of light. He pierced through the air, moving as fast as lightning.

    The golden light in Gu Yanying¡¯s pupils vanished. After hesitating, she did not end up interfering. She only sighed gently. The sword techniques of the Sword Collection palace pursued the utmost limits of the path of the sword and nothing else. Their offensive power was extraordinarily refined. Their strength greatly exceeded what regular Golden Core cultivators could handle.

    Unless she had run out of choices, she really did not want to clash with him. Now, all she could do was find the cat before him. She could only hope that her Six Trigrams Divination would work a little, and that Mo Yu could help her out.

    In the Boundless mountains, she would know as soon as possible whenever a daemon spotted the cat, so finding her faster than the Soaring Dragon Elder should not be a problem.

    The waterfall thundered right beside him through the moist air and moonlight. It also seemed strangely tranquil at the same time.

    He called Xiao An and made his way out, passing through the curtain of water. A shining moon hung in the sky. Xuanyue sat on a boulder as she looked at the moonlit night. She was enveloped in moonlight as the crescent moon on her forehead glimmered. She suddenly looked back and smiled. ¡°Big Blacko, you¡¯re awake! Let¡¯s set off!¡±

    Li Qingshan blanked out and nodded. Afterwards, she suddenly appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s head. Her afterimage remained where it was without dispersing even after quite a while.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± This could not be achieved with speed alone.

    ¡°It¡¯s Shadow Displacemeownt, you dumbo!¡±

    The voice originated from the top of his head, but when Li Qingshan looked at his reflection in the water, he failed to see her. ¡°And this?¡±

    ¡°Moon Concealmeownt, you dumbo!¡±

    Li Qingshan abruptly understood. It was no wonder that she could flee so far away despite the encirclements, pursuits, obstructions, and interceptions. With instantaneous movements and concealment combined, not a lot of people could catch her. ¡°Can¡¯t you just hide yourself and head north alone?¡±

    ¡°Once I use daemeown qi, I¡¯ll be discovered. Otherwise, why would I take you with meow? Are you going or not?¡± Xuanyue said impatiently.

    Li Qingshan leapt out of the water, gaining his bearings before heading north.

    The Boundless mountains were like a huge dragon, stretching from the south-west to the north-east. It spanned thousands of kilometers, and it was filled with dense forests and dangerous cliffs. It was a restricted zone to humans.

    Li Qingshan had gazed at this mountain range for over a decade, yet this was the first time he had ventured so deep into it. The vegetation was thick. Towering trees spanned as far as the eye could see. The crowns that reached towards the sky wove together firmly, hiding the sky. Only because the trees were bare from the winter that some rays of moonlight managed to make it through them. It seemed even more serene and quiet.

    As he was afraid of making too great of a disturbance and being discovered, which would affect their plan of escaping, Li Qingshan did not walk particularly fast. However, due to his enlarged size, he would easily traverse several meters with each step, so he was not particularly slow either.

    Although he was a nerd who had remained holed up indoors in his previous life, he had yearned for the life of a traveller from time to time. In his current life, this dream finally came true, even though it was rather strange how it came true. He admired the scenery of the mountains as he travelled, so he did not feel bored.

    He was not bored, but Xuanyue was bored out of her mind. She constantly mumbled to herself, ¡°You¡¯re so slow! You¡¯re so slow!¡± She would leap from the top of his head to his left shoulder, and then to his right shoulder, squeezing on with Xiao An and teasing him.

    Xiao An disliked her behaviour very much, so he also fled from her on Li Qingshan. The two of them were very light, but to Li Qingshan, they still felt like two monkeys dancing around on him. After a while, he lost his patience. ¡°Both of you, settle down!¡±

    ¡°How dare you talk to your meowster like that! Xuanyue smacked Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan roared out and suddenly sped up, rushing forward with startling speed.

    ¡°Dumb Big Blacko, forget about it. I won¡¯t bully you anymore.¡± Xuanyue rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head and giggled. Her bell-like laughter rang through the forest.

    When she was bored, she would search all over Li Qingshan. Very soon, she discovered the Cursive Sword Calligraphy hidden in his thick, scarlet hair.

    Before Li Qingshan could stop her, or perhaps any attempt at stopping her was useless anyway, she had unfurled the painting scroll. There was a flash of light, and Xuanyue leapt in fright from the sword moves and sword intent. She patted her chest to calm herself down and played around with the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. She was just like Li Qingshan when he originally found it, also confused by it. ¡°You even have something like this! This is a spiritual artifact that only humeowns can use! You¡¯re pretty meowsterious.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s mine.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s yours is also meowne. Speaking of which, who would ever want a low quality thing like this? You have no idea how meowny arcane artifacts and treasures your meowster has seen. It¡¯s just a spiritual artifact.¡± Xuanyue returned it to Li Qingshan with a swing of her hand before playing around with the scholar wood tablet. The edges of the wooden tablet had already become burnt, so it did not seem very special at all. ¡°And what¡¯s this? It doesn¡¯t have any spiritual qi at all? And the craftsmeownship is so bad as well. South An, what does that meowan?¡±

    Since when did she grab it!? Li Qingshan checked his waist, and as expected, it was empty. Before he could even say anything, Xiao An had already extended his hand to steal it back. Xuanyue would never let him succeed, so she dodged him with a slight twist. Xiao An did not give up, so Xuanyue immediately dodged Xiao An a few more times.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t become so frantic even when I grabbed that spiritual artifact! Tell meow what this is for, and I¡¯ll give it back to you!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped Xiao An. ¡°That¡¯s a promise.¡±

    ¡°What promeowse?¡± Although Li Qingshan was reluctant to tell her, he knew she would never give up until her curiosity was satisfied. ¡°I promised to send him home. His home is in the south.¡±

    Xuanyue was surprised. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but you¡¯re quite nice to your pet!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not my pet!¡±

 Chapter 93 â€“ The Depths of the Boundless Mountains

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Li Qingshan knew that his pair of ox horns were even tougher than steel. Now that they Xuanyue carved at them, he felt all of the bones in his body shake. It was both numbing and itchy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Xuanyue said.

    As a result, Li Qingshan moved like his life depended on it. He even extended his hand towards his head to grab her, but she was extremely agile, so he could not grab her at all. A while later, she said, ¡°Alright!¡± Afterwards, she took out a bronze mirror and shone it at Li Qingshan.

    All Li Qingshan saw were two characters engraved on his left and right horns, ¡®North¡¯ and ¡®Moon¡¯.

    ¡°I¡¯ll add some colour and meowke it stand out a bit meowre. That¡¯ll be our promeowse!¡± Xuanyue snickered.

    ¡°You can go die!¡± Li Qingshan was utterly furious.

    When the sky began to light up, they found a natural cave to rest in.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand with a cold face. ¡°Spiritual pill!¡±

    Xuanyue smiled. ¡°Be good, don¡¯t be angry. Here, open your mouth!¡± She held a spiritual pill between her fingers, refusing to place it in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    The two of them stared at each other. A while later, Li Qingshan opened his mouth and suddenly bit at her hand. His long, pale-white teeth were sharp like knives. Let alone her slender wrist, he could even bite through steel.

    Xuanyue reeled her hand back, but all Li Qingshan bit down on was the spiritual pill. Afterwards, she rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head. ¡°How vicious!¡±

    Li Qingshan ate the spiritual pill and meditated by himself, continuing the cultivation of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Aside from that, he would hold the mirror and examine the two words etched onto his horns, constantly groaning and sighing to himself. He wondered whether he could remove it.

    Right now, he had no idea that the two engraved words did not represent just a promise, but the name of a great Daemon King.

    As a result, for the next few days, the three of them rested during the day and travelled at night. Whenever she was bored, Xuanyue would take joy in toying around with Li Qingshan. Although Li Qingshan resisted, it was useless. He could only accept it in the end.

    As long as his source of spiritual pills never rang out, his cultivation would grow day by day anyway. Was he supposed to be afraid that there would not be a day when he would reverse the situation?

    During these days, Li Qingshan had also learnt a lot about daemons from Xuanyue. Daemons who had yet to condense a daemon core usually had low intelligence. They could only be regarded as powerful wild beasts known as daemonic beasts. Only when they condensed an inner core could they be regarded as daemons.

    The ten Daemon Kings all ruled over their own regions, and they had countless Daemon Commanders and Daemon Generals under their command. Although the division of their territory was slightly different from the human administrative divisions, there was some resemblance. The Daemon King of the Green province was the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    Xuan Yue was a daemon who had reached Daemon General. She had already become so powerful despite having just stepped into the domain of the powerful in this world. Li Qingshan struggled to imagine just how powerful Daemon Commanders and Daemon Kings who were even greater than her would be. His heart felt like it had been set alight. Whether he be a human or a daemon, he just wanted to be the strongest. Only then would he avoid being tread on by others.

    Currently, Xuanyue hummed to herself as she stood on Li Qingshan¡¯s head, holding onto his two horns and looking into the distance.

    Li Qingshan could not help but imagine a sight where he held her in his hand and listened to her gently refer to him as ¡®master¡¯. His lower abdomen was set alight once more, but it was not all fighting spirit.

    With his lofty ambitions, Li Qingshan was surging with the flame of desire. Just as he was in the middle of his fantasy, a fishy gust of wind swept over from the treetops. A huge mouth lunged towards him, but Xuanyue, who was currently hidden away, was directly in its way. She casually swung her hand. ¡°Your reaction is too slow!¡± She produced a silver arc in the air.

    A snake head the size of a water jar fell down, and blood sprayed everywhere. It was actually a huge python hidden in the woods.

    Li Qingshan avoided the blood and raised his head to see the snake¡¯s body coiled around the tree. It was several meters in length and coloured just like the bark. He would have never discovered it if he had not looked carefully. He felt like he was living through the movie ¡®Anaconda¡¯. Although he had seen many strange things in the past, he still could not help but sigh in amazement. The world actually possessed such strange, terrifying creatures. If it made it to a human village, it could easily slaughter all of them.

    Li Qingshan could sniff daemon qi from the snake¡¯s body, so he knew this was a so-called daemonic beast. He had read his share of wuxia novels in the past, so he immediately climbed up the tree to retrieve the snake¡¯s gallbladder. Only then did he discover just how tough the snake¡¯s skin was. Even without the support of daemon qi, it took him quite some effort to get through it. He could imagine just how terrifying this daemonic beast was when it was still alive. Unfortunately, it had chosen the wrong target to attack, which was why it was slain in a single stroke by Xuanyue.

    Grabbing the dark-coloured, fishy gallbladder, Li Qingshan swallowed it in one gulp with his eyes shut, ready to accept the pain of cultivation. Xiao An watched on with a shocked gaze.

    ¡°Why are you eating the venom sac?¡± Xuanyue asked in confusion.

    ¡°What! The venom sac!?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. His darkened face turned even darker. His heartbeat sped up as the venom attacked his heart. Basically, Li Qingshan had never done something like removing a snake¡¯s gallbladder even with his two lives combined, so how was he supposed to learn everything all by himself, becoming a survival expert just from transmigrating?

    ¡°Meowhahaha!¡± Xuanyue collapsed on the group in laughter when she saw how Li Qingshan collapsed on the ground from the venom. Then she fished out a round ball from the snake¡¯s body and shoved it into Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. ¡°Here. That¡¯s the gallbladder.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s entire body had already seized up. He swallowed the gallbladder with difficulty, and the venom only eased up slightly. Xuanyue took out a pill from her bell. ¡°Here¡¯s a Detoxifying pill!¡±

    Li Qingshan laid there for a while, waiting for the effects of the pill to gradually kick in. Only then did he sit up. He said to the worried Xiao An, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Xuanyue took out another pill and gave it to him. ¡°Here¡¯s your reward!¡±

    ¡°What reward?¡±

    ¡°Because it was just too funny. You need to work harder in the future and make your meowster happy.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan accepted the pill with a darkened expression.

    Xiao An spat out the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration and burnt the huge python very quickly, basically avenging Li Qingshan.

    The blood flames burned away all of the python¡¯s flesh, only leaving behind a set of bones. It circled through the air and returned to Xiao An¡¯s mouth. The vitality of these daemonic beasts was powerful and vigorous. Even the vitality of a hundred people could not match a single beast¡¯s, so it was extremely beneficial to his Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Xuanyue was stunned by the sight. ¡°So that¡¯s what you eat, Li¡¯l Whitey!¡±

    Li Qingshan saw all of this, so he thought of finding more prey for him.

    As they ventured deeper into the Boundless mountains, the trees grew taller. Li Qingshan actually felt insignificant very frequently despite his stature that towered at ten feet.

    The daemonic beasts they encountered along the way increased as well. Various types that had only appeared in legends and his imagination would be presented right in front of him.

    Huge birds with wingspans of over thirty meters flew in the sky while wind and lightning crackled around them. Spiders as large as tables with a skull on their backs would spin webs as large as soccer pitches between over a dozen trees.

 Chapter 94 â€“ Innate Ability

    In a situation like that, Li Qingshan was reluctant to make trouble, but all of the daemonic beasts that were bold enough to attack Li Qingshan all possessed startling strength. Xuanyue became more and more cautious as well, no longer helping out so easily. She carefully concealed her daemon qi. Li Qingshan would often have to go through a difficult battle before he could head off again.

    After the rounds and rounds of slaughter, he grew more accustomed to battle as well. Against these terrifying daemonic beasts, there were not a lot of moves or tricks. Most of it involved using strength against strength, forcefully beating them up.

    However, they came across many daemonic beasts that were difficult to handle as well. It was all thanks to Xiao An¡¯s Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration that performed outstandingly time and time again, burning many daemonic beasts to death. He was even fiercer than Li Qingshan. In the beginning, it was not obvious, but as time went on, the strength of the flames became clear.

    Moreover, after burning several daemonic beasts to death, the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration became more and more vicious as well. Wherever it passed by, it was unstoppable, overcoming the strong despite being weaker time and time again. It also made Xuanyue look at him in surprise again and again. She wondered what ability or technique he practised that was actually effective against all creatures of blood and flesh.

    However, Xiao An could not speak, so she was unable to get anything out of him. Li Qingshan only said that he knew it right from the beginning. However, Xiao An was unable to remould his body from all of this. It actually seemed like he required humans as sacrifices, so there was nothing they could do about it. They could only wait until Li Qingshan had recovered his human form.

    However, they never came across Daemon Generals or daemonic beasts with daemon cores along the way. It was not because of Li Qingshan¡¯s luck. Most of the time, Xuanyue would suddenly order him to stop or change directions.

    Daemons were similar to wild beasts. They had their own hunting zones, something regular people could not sense. Xuanyue could closely sense the changes and strength of daemon qi, which allowed them to avoid some dangerous regions. They would basically be travelling along the boundaries of the invisible territories many times. As for Li Qingshan, he handled the rough direction they had to travel in.

    Of course, what prompted his cultivation now was not just in order to assume a human form. It was also the sight of getting a certain cat to call him master. Just like the principle of how braised meat within reach would always be better than a white crane beyond reach, he obviously moved down the priority of making Gu Yanying his wife. Moreover, Xuanyue was not just braised meat. She was basically a foodie¡¯s feast. If the two of them stood right before him to choose, he would truly be troubled. He compared them to each other countless times, but he still had no idea how he would decide in a situation like that.

    Just as the frog was still leaping along on the ground, it had already begun contemplating which crane was tastier, and it was even considering twelve different ways to eat a crane. As a result, Li Qingshan held high hopes for the future with these outrageous, lecherous thoughts.

    Before he knew it, several days had passed. On this day, Xuanyue suddenly whispered into Li Qingshan¡¯s ear, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped in a hurry. He concealed his aura according to the guidance of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. A series of heavy steps rang out from nearby. An enormous lizard, the size of a dinosaur, passed by in front of them.

    If it were an actual dinosaur, Li Qingshan would not have been so afraid. However, the enormous lizard breathed out cold air as it walked, and wherever it passed by, the vegetation would be reduced to frozen statues.

    What heavy daemon qi. Li Qingshan had learnt quite a lot as well. For example, he now knew how to use daemon qi to discern the strength of his opponent.

    Once the ice lizard had passed by, Xuanyue asked in fascination, ¡°How did you do that? How did you withdraw your aura so completely? Was that your innate ability? But you haven¡¯t condensed a daemeown core yet, have you? Are you supposed to be a spiritual beast?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can do it just from holding my breath.¡± Li Qingshan had already understood that daemons did not pursue various kinds of techniques like humans. Instead, they constantly developed their natural strengths, practising innate abilities. Although it lacked flexibility and change, it would usually be extremely powerful.

    Innate abilities did not come with birth. They would only be awakened when a daemon core was condensed, and they would grow with the daemon¡¯s personal strength, which could even lead to awakening even more innate abilities.

    Shadow Displacement and Moon Concealment were Xuanyue¡¯s innate abilities. They were extremely rare abilities for movement and hiding. She probably was not a regular cat daemon either, but some sort of spiritual cat.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s insincere answer was not worth her attention. However, she never tried to probe any deeper either. Daemons were usually reluctant to tell others about their innate abilities. However, in her eyes, Li Qingshan became more and more mysterious.

    Suddenly, a streak of light shot through the sky, and a gaze as sharp as a sword swept past the ground.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s sharp vision, he saw the figure in the light with a single glance.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder also saw Li Qingshan on the ground. ¡°A Daemon General? But its daemon qi is far too weak!¡± Humanoid daemons were relatively more rare. ¡°But what¡¯s that?¡± He saw Xiao An beside Li Qingshan as well.

    Li Qingshan made eye contact with the sharp gaze. He felt both afraid and startled, as if a sword was hovering right above his head, about to behead him in the next moment.

    That¡¯s a sword immortal!

    Even though he had already seen Gu Yanying fly before, he was still filled with shock when he saw a real sword immortal of the legends. Was there anyone who had not dreamed about the freedom that came with riding a sword and soaring through the skies?

    Afterwards, he suddenly remembered his current identity and appearance. He was a daemon. If the sword immortal descended from the sky, how was he supposed to respond?

    Only when the streak of light passed by without stopping did Li Qingshan sigh in relief. The Soaring Dragon Elder believed he had more important matters to attend to, so he was reluctant to spend time on a ¡®mere daemon¡¯.

    Xuanyue had even held her breath earlier. Only now did she speak. ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s from the Sword Collection palace. Fortunately, my Moon Concealment is powerful enough, or I¡¯d be done for. Of course, you played a small part in all of it as well, so I¡¯ll reward you a spiritual pill later.¡± She rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head. If she had been travelling alone, she would have been discovered.

    ¡°What Sword Collection palace? He¡¯s coming for you?¡± Li Qingshan felt an ill omen. This mission was even more dangerous than he had imagined it to be.

    Xuanyue did not hide anything, roughly explaining the conflict between the Dark Queen and the Light Queen. Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became even uglier. Even when he held the spiritual pill, he could sense how thorny of an issue this was. That was an important figure, renowned through the Green province. For someone as insignificant as him, even if he had several lives to spare, they would not be enough if he was dragged into such a vortex.

    Xuanyue tried to raise his morale. ¡°Don¡¯t be so worried. As long as we make it to the Dragon province, he won¡¯t dare to come for us even if he had twice the courage. Once that happens, the sky will be the cat¡¯s limit! We¡¯ll be able to do as we please! Meowhahahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not as optimistic as her. However, he had already embarked on a path of no return, so no matter how dangerous it would be, he could only gamble on it.

 Chapter 95 â€“ Accidentally Trespassing a Ratsâ€™ Cave

    ¡°You¡¯re shitting me. Is that something a person can say? Would you mind having a bit of conscience? Aren¡¯t masters supposed to protect their pets?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a person in the first place. What¡¯s conscience? Is it edible? Hehe, you¡¯ve finally admitted that I¡¯m your master!¡± Xuanyue grinned from ear to ear and coughed gently. ¡°As long as you cry out, ¡®Save me, meowster.¡¯ I¡¯d definitely protect you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯d rather die than say that!¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°That¡¯s not cute. You¡¯ll be abandoned by your master.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then please abandon me quickly!¡±

    They returned to their journey as they bickered, but Li Qingshan felt like a shadow had enveloped his heart. He became more and more careful with his movements, travelling through the denser parts of the forest as much as possible. Whenever he came across any daemonic beasts, he would avoid them to the best of his ability. He did not want to fight at all.

    As his Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression progressed, his ability to hide his aura improved as well. Daemonic beasts with sharp senses would walk past him frequently without discovering him.

    Xuanyue was glad that she had made the correct choice. She generously ¡®fed¡¯ Li Qingshan her spiritual pills, but due to her extravagant methods, Li Qingshan had a feeling that she wanted to plump him up so that he could serve as a better meat shield.

    In short, they travelled peacefully for many more days. Xuanyue said, ¡°We¡¯re close to the Dragon province now.¡±

    Daytime descended, and the three of them found another natural cave to rest in. It was not sealed off, instead extending indefinitely into the darkness, blowing with cold wind. Who knows where it led to.

    Xuanyue laid in her cat¡¯s basket to rest, while Li Qingshan and Xiao An cultivated together.

    A series of rustling sounds came from underground. It became denser and closer.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. Xuanyue had already gotten up, with her two ears perked. Clearly, she had heard it as well.

    ¡°There¡¯s daemon qi!¡±

    Countless eyes lit up in the darkness, all packed together. A series of soft, crunching sounds accompanied them. It was chilling.

    There were daemonic beasts emerging from underground, and there were more than one!

    Li Qingshan had already grown accustomed to this. He raised his guard with Xiao An, while Xuanyue concealed herself instinctively.

    Rats emerged from the depths of the cave like a flood. Even with all the daemonic beasts Li Qingshan had seen, he still frowned heavily at this sight. However, this was only the beginning. The rats that emerged from the cave became larger and larger. Even the small ones were the size of dogs, while the large ones were like bears.

    Li Qingshan remained composed and unafraid. The arch nemesis of these rats were right here, but afterwards, he actually felt Xuanyue tremble slightly behind him. He mocked with a subdued voice, ¡°You¡¯re actually afraid of rats?¡±

    ¡°T- they¡¯re disgusting! What kind of place did you choose!? H- hurry up and kill them!¡± Xuanyue had never seen something like this in the provincial lord¡¯s estate.

    Li Qingshan said sinisterly, ¡°Aren¡¯t they your favourite food? They¡¯re perfect for dinner! Hurry up and eat them!¡± If he had grudges, he wanted revenge. If he wanted grievances, he wanted to return it. As for where he did it, he probably had no choice in it. The size and strength of these rat daemons had completely surpassed regular rats. They had probably riddled the entire region with rat holes, so no matter where he went, it would still be an entrance to their home.

    ¡°I¡¯ll eat you first!¡±

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished talking, he felt an ache from his ear. Xuanyue bit his ear, but aside from the sharp pain from the teeth, he could feel her gentle lips and tongue. It was actually quite the experience.

    Hold on, I don¡¯t have interests like that! Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Xiao An, unleash the fire!¡±

    Xiao An had been waiting for this moment. He leapt down and sprayed blood flames everywhere, burning the rats.

    The rats all squeaked sharply. The weaker, regular rats were reduced to ashes in a single instant, and their flesh and blood helped grow the fire. The larger rats were wrapped in flames as they lunged and tried to bite Li Qingshan. This only demonstrated the strength of their vitality.

    However, the stronger their vitality, the more vigorously the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration burned. With countless rats as fuel, the blood flames surged into the air, forming a fire snake in the cave that opened its mouth and bit at the larger rats.

    Xiao An became more and more skilled with the use of his techniques. He had basically taught himself everything. Seeing their natural enemy descend, the rats all fled in fright.

    Li Qingshan still felt lingering fear. It was all thanks to the strength of Xiao An¡¯s technique, or they would have been swallowed up by all these rats, which would have come at a cost. In particular, the steel teeth of these rat daemons clearly could not be trifled with. Even if he won the battle, it would be utterly disgusting.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Xuanyue released Li Qingshan¡¯s ear and whispered into it. All Li Qingshan felt was a warm breeze, but before he could even enjoy the sensation, powerful daemon qi appeared from the depths of the cave.

    Swish!

    With a flash of yellow light, it penetrated the fire snake and struck Xiao An, launching him away.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan caught Xiao An in a hurry, but he saw how Xiao An had become riddled with cracks. Ever since Xiao An began practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, his body had become even tougher than steel, which only demonstrated just how terrifying the attack was!

    The yellow light seemed to be alive, making a turn in the air and shooting towards Li Qingshan. It was extremely fast such that it was impossible to respond in time.

    Xuanyue extended her hand easily and caught the yellow light. She studied it and found it to be a round, yellow pearl. ¡°A daemon core!¡±

    The assailant was a daemon that had condensed a daemon core. With a great rumble, a rat the size of an elephant rushed out of the cave. Its eyes shone; clearly, it had developed intelligence. It stared straight at the ¡®daemon core¡¯ that something in the air had trapped before charging towards Li Qingshan with a squeal.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had clashed with a daemon who had condensed a daemon core. He immediately sensed its terror. His body basically sent him warnings constantly out of instinct, reminding him that he was not its opponent.

    With a flash of yellow light in the rat daemon¡¯s eyes, an earth spike suddenly burst from the ground below Li Qingshan¡¯s feet. It happened right below Li Qingshan¡¯s nose. The spike moved both swiftly and quickly such that Li Qingshan was unable to react. Xuanyue grabbed Li Qingshan and leapt into the air. After reaching over three meters, the spike finally protruded out completely. Li Qingshan gazed below him. He had already become covered in cold sweat.

    Xiao An used the rolling blood flames to attack the rat daemon again, but the yellow light blocked it, preventing its advance.

    The rat daemon squeaked a few times. In the air, the daemon core trembled more and more violently as the rat daemon desperately tried to take it back.

    ¡°Hold onto it!¡± Xuanyue casually tossed the daemon core to Li Qingshan. He grabbed it in a hurry, but he never imagined it would be so powerful. Even when he used all of his strength, it was close to escaping from his grasp. Even just now, the rat daemon¡¯s ability had been so fierce and stealthy. If it managed to take back its daemon core, it would basically be unstoppable.

    The spirit turtle suppresses the seas, suppressing all evil!

    Li Qingshan suddenly began to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. His daemon qi circulated furiously through his body, firmly suppressing the daemon core in his hand. Seeing how it had failed, the rat daemon charged over with a squeal. Its colossal, elephantine body moved as fast as lightning, without any sluggishness at all.

 Chapter 96 â€“ The Great Rat King

    With a clang, the teeth and horns collided, like a clash of metal.

    Boom! The entire cave shook.

    The rat daemon pushed Li Qingshan against the rock wall, and his legs plowed two deep tracks in the ground. Even with his strength that he took pride in, he was not the rat daemon¡¯s opponent at all. Daemons with inner cores and daemons without inner cores were two completely different things. The ill omen in his heart peaked. He saw the rat daemon¡¯s eyes shine with a crafty light as another spike protruded out from the wall, stabbing at the immobilised Li Qingshan.

    Xiao An wielded his sword with both hands and swung it at the rat daemon¡¯s neck, but its long tail swept him away like a steel whip.

    Xuanyue attacked again. Her sharp claws produced four streaks of sharp light. Under the terrified gaze of the rat daemon, she easily pierced through the protective daemon qi around the rat daemon. The previously unstoppable rat daemon was cut to pieces, dying on the spot.

    No matter how tough it seemed, it was still puny before Xuan Yue, a Daemon General that had undergone a heavenly tribulation.

    Li Qingshan kicked aside the rat daemon¡¯s corpse, and the daemon core in his hand no longer moved. He touched the wall behind him, and a part of it had already protruded out. If Xuanyue had acted slightly later, he would have suffered heavy injuries even if he survived.

    ¡°You¡¯re far too dumb!¡± Xuanyue evaluated.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, why would I have come to a place like this?¡± In total, Li Qingshan had only been cultivating for half a year so far, while the rat daemon was over a century old at the very least. Before absolute strength, it would never be easy for him to triumph against a stronger opponent.

    Just when Xuanyue wanted to refute him, she suddenly sensed something. Her expression changed. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We need to change where we stay!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not sense anything, but seeing how stern she was, he immediately grabbed Xiao An and left.

    The cave trembled. The entrance that was originally several meters wide seemed to become alive, rapidly retracting together. As such, the cave was sealed off completely, where not even a ray of light could make it in anymore.

    Xuanyue said softly, ¡°Withdraw your daemeown qi. Then she concealed herself again.

    Li Qingshan withdrew his daemon qi and listened as hard as he could. Sounds appeared from the depths of the cave again.

    A huge rat emerged. It was actually standing on two feet. It did not even look at Li Qingshan, yelling out as loudly as it could with a strange voice, ¡°The great rat king has arrived!¡±

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded. Not only did the fact that the rat could talk surprise him, but how orderly they were surprised him even more.

    On the carriage was a great big fatty. He even wore a glistening crown on his head, just like a king. However, he had a thievish, shrewd appearance, and there was a rat¡¯s tail beside him.

    Behind him were two female rats who seemed like maidservants, each holding a large fan.

    Xuanyue found this hilarious, but Li Qingshan was unable to laugh at all. Having assumed a human form, this fatty was a Daemon General at the very least. And, the daemon qi that the rat daemons carrying the carriage gave off even surpassed the rat daemon from earlier.

    The rat king said lazily, ¡°Who has intruded upon my Black Rat mountain and killed my great general Whitefang?!¡± He completely ignored Li Qingshan who stood at ten feet right in front of him. If it were not for his overly-shrill voice, he did seem rather like a king.

    A rat who seemed to be a eunuch cried out, ¡°Great king, it¡¯s him!¡± The rats all said together, ¡°Wise be the king.¡±

    As if the rat king had just spotted Li Qingshan, he studied him. ¡°What kind of daemon are you?¡± He saw Li Qingshan¡¯s humanoid appearance and became wary. Normally, only Daemon Generals who had undergone a heavenly tribution could achieve that.

    However, he failed to sense any daemon qi from Li Qingshan at all, so he could not help but become even more careful. The mutilated body of the daemon rat on the ground seemed to prove his strength as well.

    Li Qingshan could closely sense the changes in the rat king¡¯s expression, and he suddenly understood why Xuanyue made him conceal his daemon qi. He could not help but admire her quick thinking. He said boldly, ¡°I am the Old Daemon of Black Mountain.1 Your great general Whitefang was far too reckless. He actually launched a sneak attack against me, so I¡¯ve already killed him. Now that you¡¯re blocking the way, do you want a fight to the death against me as well?¡± He even took a step forward as he said that.

    It had to be mentioned that Li Qingshan¡¯s stature as a daemon was extremely imposing. His ox horns were like spears, while his sharp claws were like blades.

    The rat king shrank back, living up to the simile of as timid as a mouse. If Li Qingshan were a regular daemon, it definitely would have leapt at him and gnawed him to pieces, but he suspected Li Qingshan to be a Daemon General, so it immediately shrank away, giving up on avenging his subordinate. ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! May I ask which Daemon Commander do you serve?¡±

    Li Qingshan never thought daemons would follow such a strict hierarchy, and they would even be protected by the daemon they served. Xuanyue gently whispered a name into Li Qingshan¡¯s ear.

    Li Qingshan said immediately, ¡°I serve sir Mo Yu. He has specially sent me to the Boundless mountains to deal with some matters.¡±

    The rat king showed deep respect, even leaping off his throne. ¡°So you¡¯ve come from the Ink sea. You¡¯re an envoy of sir Mo Yu. Is it regarding that cat daemon?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised inside, but he nodded on the surface. ¡°Yes!¡±

    The rat king said, ¡°Haven¡¯t we received orders already? As long as we see it, we will definitely capture that cat daemon. We won¡¯t make sir Mo Yu disappointed.¡± Meanwhile, he thought to himself, No wonder he sent this person. He can hide his daemon qi so well, so he is suitable for tracking down someone.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitched. No wonder Xuanyue would be so careful deep in the mountains, constantly maintaining her Moon Concealment. As it turned out, it was not just humans. Even daemons were looking for her. As expected, she did not have anyone to rely on at all in the Green province. The dangers of this mission had completely exceeded what he originally imagined.

    If she revealed herself right now and engaged in a chaotic battle, she would alarm all of the daemons in the Boundless mountains even if she were triumphant. They would all hunt her down, which would result in her escape attempt ending in complete failure.

    Li Qingshan became more careful inside. He casually slighted him. ¡°How ironic. You¡¯re a rat, and she¡¯s a cat. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being eaten?¡±

    Xuanyue pinched Li Qingshan from behind. Why would I eat something so dirty?!

    The rat king said to the eunuch rat who was responsible for announcing his presence. ¡°Tell me, what is this king¡¯s nickname?¡±

    The eunuch rat said, ¡°The Cat-eating Mouse!¡± All of the other rats said again, ¡°Wise be the king!¡±

    Xuanyue gritted her teeth angrily as she made a full twist with her pinch of Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    The rat king laughed complacently. He saw Li Qingshan¡¯s face twist. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth. ¡°Nothing! Keep an eye out. I have more important matters to attend to, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡±

    The rat king waved his hand, and the cave returned back to normal, allowing sunlight to pour in.

    Li Qingshan turned around and left. The rat king stroked his whiskers. ¡°Why do I feel like something is off? This is the Black Rat mountain, so shouldn¡¯t I be the Old Daemon of Black Mountain?¡±

    The rats cried out, ¡°Wise be the king!¡±

    Li Qingshan left the Black Rat mountain and travelled several dozen more kilometers.

    Xuanyue said, ¡°I¡¯ll have those group of damned rats fried in oil sooner or later!¡±

    Li Qingshan growled, ¡°Get off me!¡±

 Chapter 97 â€“ The Ice Sword Cliff

    Xuanyue widened her eyes and said, ¡°How dare you treat your meowster so rudely!¡± Her eyes only grew larger.

    Li Qingshan stared at Xuanyue. ¡°You¡¯ve never mentioned this before. You clearly hid it from me.¡±

    Xuanyue avoided his gaze. For some reason, she felt frantic inside. She avoided the main point. ¡°Haha, have I? You never asked!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat and crossed his legs. ¡°This is it.¡±

    ¡°What? Why don¡¯t you say that again?¡± Xuanyue extended her claws and threatened him.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You have tremendous abilities. When you come across danger, you can use your Shadow Displacement to just walk away from it, but we¡¯ll most likely die. If you want to kill me, then kill me. I don¡¯t want to be used by you anymore. As long as Xiao An can leave safely, I don¡¯t mind anything you do to me.¡±

    Xiao An grabbed Li Qingshan by the sleeve and shook his head desperately.

    Xuanyue said, ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t?¡± She swung down with her claws, as swift as lightning. Li Qingshan had decided on not trying to avoid it. His hide was no tougher than that rat daemon¡¯s.

    The claws stopped near Li Qingshan¡¯s neck, only a millimeter away. Xuanyue¡¯s chest heaved up and down. She turned around and said, ¡°Hmph, I can¡¯t be bothered killing you. If you want to leave, then leave! Do whatever you want!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at her deeply before turning around. He was just about to leave.

    Xuanyue grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s little finger and said gently, ¡°The Dragon province is close. We promeowsed!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around. All he saw was her looking elsewhere and not at him. The sunlight fell on her eyelashes, casting a shadow on her eyes that were as clear as lakewater. She seemed melancholic and fragile, which tugged at Li Qingshan¡¯s heart.

    After a long moment of silence, Li Qingshan answered her, ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll send you off one last time, just to complete our promise.¡±

    Xuanyue immediately cheered up. She stuck out her tongue and smiled craftily. ¡°How easy to coax!¡± She did not seem melancholic and fragile at all.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head, and his expression immediately darkened. Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan rather sympathetically.

    ¡°It¡¯s a promeowse! A promeowse!¡± Xuanyue leapt around Li Qingshan complacently before jumping onto his head in the end. She urged him, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan glared at her viciously before continuing on his way.

    It had been quite some time since he had travelled under the sun. The sunlight in winter was warm. Before he knew it, a very long time had already passed. He had grown completely accustomed to his body as a daemon now.

    Xuanyue said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to feel ashamed! There¡¯s nothing embarrassing about losing to my ultimeowte move!¡±

    ¡°Ultimate move?!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°But in the end, you still left.¡±

    Xuanyue said complacently, ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m rather cold-hearted!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s not something you should be proud of! If you¡¯re coldhearted to others, they¡¯ll be cold-hearted to you too.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    On the Black Rat mountain, the rat king laid on the ground with his head completely buried in the earth. The quiet sounds from five or even fifty kilometers away reached his ears. Li Qingshan and Xuanyue¡¯s conversation obviously failed to escape his ears.

    Most of the innate abilities awakened by daemons were for attack or defence, but he knew the extremely rare ¡®Earthen Auditory¡¯, matching his prudent personality that was as timid as a mouse.

    Suddenly, he pulled his head out of the ground and said with a face full of soil, ¡°Something really is off!¡±

    The rats said, ¡°Wise be the king!¡±

    ¡°Cut the rubbish. Go chase them!¡±

    Xuanyue¡¯s ears suddenly perked up. ¡°Oh no, they¡¯ve come chasing. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his legs and took off in a wild sprint. He would leave behind a deep footprint whenever he took a step before landing several dozen meters away.

    ¡°You¡¯re too slow!¡± Xuanyue found him to be too slow.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you carry me and try?!¡±

    Xuanyue fished out a spiritual pill and tossed it into Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth before taking out a talisman. The talisman was not yellow as he had seen it before, but scarlet red.

    The pill dissolved, and a light sensation rose up through him. Li Qingshan felt like his weight had halved. The talisman shattered, and a whirlwind wrapped around Li Qingshan. He felt weightless now.

    Li Qingshan took a step and shot up into the sky. The sky was a dazzling blue, while the ancient forest stood below him. The mountains in the distance rose and fell as a curve. He felt like he was flying.

    He looked back, and as expected, there was a cloud of dust rushing towards him. When he landed back on the ground, he had already adjusted his posture. Leaning forward, he took off in a straight charge. He would cross several hundred meters with each step. These hills no longer posed an obstacle to him. He would just leap over them.

    Xuanyue laughed aloud as she stood on his shoulder. ¡°Charge! Meowhahaha!¡±

    The rolling cloud of dust swept over, moving with startling speed. Within the dust, the person at the front was the rat king. He stood on a wave formed from countless rats and spotted Li Qingshan immediately. He shouted out, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Xuanyue knew their cover had been blown, so she no longer tried to hide. She pulled a face. ¡°Only an idiot would stop! You dumbo! Dumbo!¡±

    Yellow light flashed through the rat king¡¯s eyes, and a series of earth spikes stuck out from the ground. Whether it be their speed or strength, they were far more vicious than the rat general. Every single one of them would emerge when Li Qingshan was about to step on the ground.

    Li Qingshan zig-zagged about, constantly changing directions. As soon as he had avoided a spike, there would be activity below his feet again. He roared out, ¡°The Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves!¡± and stepped on the spike that had just emerged, pushing off it and taking off into the sky.

    His foot ached, but fortunately, his feet had already turned into tough ox hooves, or his leg would have been crippled.

    He reached an altitude of several hundred meters. The blue sky dazzled his eyes, and he no longer cared about the pain from his foot.

    Xuanyue pointed at the horizon. ¡°Big Blacko, Li¡¯l Whitey, do see it? The Ice Sword cliff is right in front of us!¡±

    An imposing ice cliff that spanned over a thousand kilometers crossed through the Boundless mountains as if a celestial had used an ice sword to split the dragon-like mountain range in half.

    This was the boundary between the Green and Dragon provinces.

    Hope suddenly sprang forth in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. He was like a traveller seeing his final destination, even though he understood that distances would often be underestimated. He knew that the Ice Sword cliff was still very far away.

    However, he just had a feeling that if he could cross that ice cliff, he would definitely reach a place he had never set foot in.

    When he lowered his head, all he saw was that the tough rock he was about to land on had turned into a region of quicksand that spanned several hundred meters. He sank heavily into the quicksand.

    The quicksand spun like a vortex with a great suction force as if countless hands were pulling Li Qingshan into the ground. He felt like a declawed tiger. Even if he possessed tremendous strength, he was unable to use it at all now. The more he struggled, the further he sank.

    The rat king used this opportunity to catch up in a single stroke. He laughed aloud. ¡°You¡¯ve fallen for my trap! Since you¡¯ve looked down on me, I¡¯ll make you all remain here forever!¡±

    ¡°Wise be the king!¡±

 Chapter 98 â€“ The Sword Immortalâ€™s Arrival

    ¡°Great king, it¡¯s a cat!¡± The rats were all shocked. All of them immediately wanted to burrow into the ground and flee for their lives frantically.

    The Cat-eating Rat, the rat king, had finally found the cat he had been looking for. He considered things carefully. If a regular cat could eat regular mice, then a Daemon General cat could obviously eat a Daemon General mice. Afterwards, his legs began to tremble, and he said with a sense of composure, ¡°T- turn around!¡±

    ¡°Wise be the king!¡± The rats said, immediately burrowing away.

    As a result, the great group of rats that had arrived mightily immediately fled upon seeing the cat, Xuanyue.

    Xuanyue chuckled with a series of meowhahahas again.

    Li Qingshan was stunned. ¡°What cowardly rats.¡± The terrifying suction from the quicksand immediately vanished, and he leapt out of the pit of sand.

    Xuanyue¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Our tracks have been exposed. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan looked back. At the extremely distant horizon in the south, a streak of light shot over. Just from looking at it from afar, the sharp aura seemed to stab at his eyes. How could he afford to stay put? He charged towards the Ice Sword cliff.

    The landscape around him rapidly receded. Li Qingshan felt like he was as fast as the wind, but whenever he looked back, the streak of light would grow closer. A while later, it had already closed the distance to fifty kilometers.

    Li Qingshan said to Xuanyue, ¡°This can¡¯t continue. You should go first!¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°What are you saying? We¡¯re almost there.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If this continues, he¡¯ll catch up to us. You should go to the Dragon province by yourself!¡±

    Xuanyue glanced at Li Qingshan and nodded heavily. ¡°Then be careful, Big Blacko. Don¡¯t be killed by that person!¡± In the next moment, she vanished. Who knows where she had moved to.

    Li Qingshan immediately withdrew his aura and changed directions, rushing towards the east.

    He was not planning on sacrificing himself for the Xuanyue¡¯s sake. The sword immortal was so powerful that he had no chance at opposing him at all. If he caught up, the sword immortal probably would not spare him either after killing Xuanyue. He would be purged as well. Was he supposed to argue to the sword immortal that he was actually a human as well when that happened?

    As a result, all he could do was let Xuanyue go first. It was very likely that the sword immortal would choose to hunt down Xuanyue first, so he could use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to withdraw his aura. Perhaps he would be able to survive. There was no need for Xuanyue to be dragged down with him. This was the best decision for both of them.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder had originally been patrolling through the skies when activity in Black Rat mountain alerted him. However, as conflicts between daemonic beasts were common among the Boundless mountains, he did not pay any special attention to it.

    ¡°Daemon General!¡± The powerful daemon qi that only a Daemon General could possess surged, and only then did he take note of it. He concentrated on his senses, and a while later, an even more powerful daemon qi surged into the air. He immediately responded, piloting his sword in pursuit.

    Conflict between daemonic beasts were common, but battles between Daemon Generals were extremely rare. And, Daemon Generals that had undergone a heavenly tribulation were relatively intelligent. They all technically served the same Daemon King, led by various Daemon Commanders. Conflict would never arise so easily.

    If it were just like what he was expecting, the cat daemon he was searching for should be there.

    As expected, he locked onto the daemon qi from several hundred kilometers away, and beside it was actually the strange daemon he had seen before. He could not help but become furious over the fact that he had almost been fooled. Originally, he believed that the cat daemon would travel carefully and alone, and he had never thought it would have a helper. No wonder he struggled to find it after all these days.

    As he rapidly drew closer, the cat daemon suddenly vanished from the shoulder of the mere daemon, while the mere daemon travelled east.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder hesitated. He chose to ignore Li Qingshan, continuing towards the Ice Sword cliff. He had to stop the cat daemon from leaving the Green province. Once it reached the Dragon province, it would be troublesome.

    When the sword-like gaze scanned Li Qingshan, he felt like his blood had stopped flowing through his veins. Only when the streak of light continued north did he let out a sigh of relief. He ran another five kilometers and found a deep ravine, diving head first into it. Hiding below a cliff, he concealed all of his daemon qi firmly.

    He exhaled deeply. He had survived at last!

    Li Qingshan estimated his gains from this. He had received several dozen spiritual pills from Xuanyue, where every single one of them were even more effective than the spiritual ginseng, allowing his Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to advance rapidly. Currently, he still had over a dozen pills he had yet to consume, stowed away carefully in a porcelain bottle. If he finished off the remaining pills, he would probably be close to the first layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Once he worked hard on cultivation a little more, he would be able to turn back into human form and return to human society, and he would be able to shake off that damned cat daemon who claimed to be his master. It was two birds with one stone.

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head with a smile. I¡¯ll be able to complete my promise to you very soon.

    Li Qingshan did not move at all, allowing time to trickle by. Suddenly, he felt the earth tremor; it vanished very soon, and another tremor followed.

    The sky gradually darkened, filled with dark clouds. It began snowing heavily with fierce, whistling winds, enveloping the entire sky.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart eased up even more. In such weather, it would be even more impossible to find him even if the sword immortal tried, and Xuanyue should have been able to flee easier! Thinking of her, he actually missed her slightly, but she must have reached the Dragon province already. She would be able to live freely just like she had wanted very soon! The mountains would remain the same, while the rivers would keep flowing. They would see each other in the future again if fate permitted it.

    ¡°Myriad Sword Technique!¡±

    In the snowstorm, a voice basically scattered the wind and snow like a thunderclap, interrupting his thoughts.

    Boundless killing intent enveloped him.

    Oh no! Li Qingshan grabbed Xiao An and leapt up. He looked back mid-air, and all he saw was countless strands of light weaving and criss-crossing in the wind and snow, grinding where he had been hiding to pieces. The ravine collapsed with a rumble.

    Li Qingshan threw himself onto a small, dried stream. As soon as he raised his head, a shining blade pointed at his forehead, only three inches away.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder wielded the sword in his right hand as he stood on a boulder. He looked at Li Qingshan coldly. ¡°Speak. Where has the cat daemon fled to?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the Soaring Dragon Swordsman?¡± Li Qingshan immediately became stunned at the sword immortal¡¯s appearance. The portrait from the ancestral hall of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect flashed across his mind again. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect had been passed down through several generations, so it was a century old at the very least. However, the Soaring Dragon Swordsman only seemed slightly older compared to the portrait. And, if he considered the possibility that the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect had purposefully depicted him to be a little younger out of respect, he basically had not changed at all. Apart from the word ¡®immortal¡¯, there was nothing else that could describe him.

    However, it was exactly this terrifying immortal who was pointing his sword at his head.

 Chapter 99 â€“ Stars Fall Unfortunately

    Li Qingshan secretly cursed his wretched luck, and that the arrangements of the heavens were mysterious and unpredictable. He felt like there were a pair of hands controlling everything, as well as karma. He destroyed the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect, yet now he met the founding ancestor of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect in such a place under such circumstances. However, when he heard that the Soaring Dragon Elder had failed to find Xuanyue, his heart eased up for some reason. At least they were not completely annihilated.

    As a result, he said calmly, ¡°I am the one responsible for the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. The Dragon¡¯s Gate sect ran amuck in the region, doing whatever they pleased. In order to steal my spiritual ginseng, they tried to harm me and kill me, so I destroyed them. It¡¯s absolutely fair.¡±

    The Soaring Dragon Elder was slightly surprised. Li Qingshan spoke with great proficiency, which was rather unexpected to him. He was not as dumb as regular daemons. However, when the elder listened to the end, he raised an eyebrow.

    There was a flash of the sword, dazzling Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Only when blood spurted out from his shoulder did he realise that the sword had already injured him. It left behind a terrifying wound extending from his shoulder to his chest.

    ¡°You¡¯re a mere daemon, yet you still dare to claim fairness?! A spiritual item of the world is not something a daemon like you is worthy of. Only purging daemons and demons is the fair.¡±

    Xiao An sprayed out with the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration. Before it could even approach the Soaring Dragon Elder, his spiritual qi forced it back.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder glanced at him. ¡°What a pity with your impressive constitution, but you¡¯ve fallen into the demonic path as well. I will send you off to hell.¡± Then he said to Li Qingshan coldly, ¡°Cut the bullshit. Hurry up and tell me where the cat daemon is, and I¡¯ll give you a quick death so that you can enter sa?s¨¡ra. Don¡¯t be a daemon again in your future life, or your soul will definitely disintegrate for good.¡±

    He traveled north in pursuit, but he lost track of Xuanyue¡¯s aura. He used the Myriad Sword Technique to grind up several dozen mountains, causing utter turmoil to the Boundless mountains. Unless there were great Daemon Commanders, no one could stop him.

    However, he still failed to force her out. Xuanyue¡¯s two abilities were simply far too suited for hiding.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s mood became horrible. Since the Divining Elder said the mission was a guaranteed success, and he would be able to settle a grievance, it all had to do with the weaker daemon.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Before he could even finish talking, blood spurted out from his right shoulder. He lowered his head and clenched his fists, crushing the pebbles in his hands to dust.

    The sword shone brightly and swept over horizontally, slicing towards Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. Once again, Li Qingshan did not even have time to react. Even if he had countless abilities, he would not be able to use any of them in time.

    There was no endless monologuing. When he moved, he did it cleanly, sharply and mercilessly. This was a sword immortal.

    A streak of silver light descended from the sky, shooting towards the top of the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s head. The light was so tranquil and holy that Li Qingshan gained a false impression; it was as if a crack had appeared in the dark clouds in the sky, allowing the moonlight to slip through. However, it was just a false impression. The dark clouds remained as thick as ever as the snow fell even harder.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder instead smiled in surprise and joy. He abandoned Li Qingshan, and with a twist of his hand, his streak of light shot towards the sky, colliding with the silver light. The sharp light from the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sword shattered the tranquil, silver light, causing it to fall straight down and leave behind a deep, crescent-shaped hole in the ground.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder turned into a streak of light and flew away. Li Qingshan raised his head, but all he saw was a rather small figure at the very top of the ravine, located in the endless wind and snow. The silver light had originated from the crescent moon on her forehead.

    ¡°Meowhahahaha!¡± The familiar laughter pierced through the wind and snow, landing in his heart.

    Immediately, something indescribable surged through Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. However, he said, ¡°Idiot, why did you come back? Go to your Dragon province!¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to talk to your meowster like that!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve said this before, you¡¯re not my master.¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°But I clearly heard you yell out, ¡®Master, save me.¡¯ just now!¡±

    ¡°No you didn¡¯t!¡±

    Xuanyue laughed aloud. ¡°I must have misheard. Maybe you were crying that out in your heart.¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. Indeed, he had cried for help in his heart, seeking help from someone, but it was not this cat daemon. After all, even if she was here, it was useless!

    ¡°Cat daemon, you had an easy way out, yet you chose to come back!¡± The Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s voice rang out in the sky.

    Xuanyue stuck her tongue out at the Soaring Dragon Elder and pulled an eyelid, making a face at him. ¡°Damned old man, come chase me!¡± She turned around and vanished. The light had already cut up the cliff she had been standing on. Her daemon qi vanished once again.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder said, ¡°One Sword into Countless, the Rain of Myriad Swords!¡± The sword in his hand multiplied, doubling, tripling, before turning into thousands that reached towards the horizons.

    Swish, swish, swish! Countless streaks of light descended from the sky like a storm, enveloping the entire ravine.

    This was the terrifying wrath of an immortal! Before such a horrifying move, daemons were no different from pigs or dogs, while mortals were no different from ants.

    All tricks were useless. All resourcefulness was futile. Li Qingshan raised his head and looked at the streaks of light that glimmered like the stars. He was unable to stop it. There was only death.

    The sword rain pierced and shattered everything, but Li Qingshan did not die. A petite figure appeared in front of him with the use of Shadow Displacement. The crescent moon on her forehead shone with silver light, blocking all of the sword rain.

    Under the howling of the snowstorm, the silver light and the sword rain clashed violently, illuminating the dark ravine like it was daytime.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder said, ¡°This must be the card that the ghost woman, the Dark Queen, gave you to save your life! I¡¯d like to see how much longer you can last!¡± He formed a seal with his hand and pointed down.

    The sword rain seemed endless, while the silver light retreated and withdrew constantly. Xuanyue gritted her teeth and endured it.

    Li Qingshan looked at the petite figure and cried out, ¡°Go! Go and hide! This is useless!¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°Shut up! How can a meowster not protect her pet!?¡±

    ¡°Since when were you my master!?¡±

    ¡°Meow! I¡¯m not negotiating with you!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the silver light had been pressed to the thickness of an inch. It was about to shatter.

    Even higher in the sky, a huge, white dragon several hundred meters in length twisted its body, descending as it roared angrily.

    At a closer glance, it was not actually a dragon, but a tornado. It tore up the snow and flew towards the Soaring Dragon Elder.

    On the other end of the tornado, Gu Yanying had already unfolded her jade fan. It shone resplendently. ¡°Soaring Dragon Elder, you better stop!¡±

    The Soaring Dragon Elder made up his mind. He completely ignored the tornado behind him. Changing his hand seal, the sky full of sword rain withdrew and violently condensed together. With dazzling, blinding light, it formed a ball that was like an extremely bright star, illuminating the pitch-black sky.

    ¡°Countless into One, Starfall.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Be careful!¡± However, her voice was still slower than the descent of the colossal sword.

 Chapter 100 â€“ Climbing the Ice Sword Cliff

    Li Qingshan caught her. His mouth was open, but he was unable to say anything.

    The tornado roared furiously, slamming into the Soaring Dragon Elder and smashing him into the ground, firmly pressing him down. It spun downwards like a drill, destroying and shattering the tough, icy ground and kicking up clouds of dust.

    The tornado went from being a white dragon of snow to a black dragon of earth.

    Boulders collapsed in the ravine as soil was thrown around.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s face was completely sunken. She had rushed over here as soon as she received news from the rat king of Black Rat mountain, but she had never thought she would still be a step too slow. She stared firmly at the ground that the tornado drilled into. ¡°Take her away!¡±

    It was impossible for Golden Core masters to be killed so easily. She was confident she could take him on easily in an individual battle, without losing the upper hand at all, but protecting the two of them would be basically impossible.

    Light emerged from the deep hole the tornado created. Several dozen streaks of light immediately tore the tornado to pieces. The Soaring Dragon Elder rose up, enveloped in a ball of protective light.

    ¡°Gu Yanying, you can¡¯t stop me!¡± A sliver of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. As it seemed, forcefully enduring the attack was quite painful. However, the resolve in his eyes was like a finely forged weapon. It was unstoppable.

    ¡°Quit boasting!¡± Gu Yanying was infuriated as well. ¡°Heavenly Dance of a Hundred Dragons!¡± With a swing of her fan, a hundred tornados surged over from various directions and various angles, all heading towards the Soaring Dragon Elder.

    Everything that blocked the tornados were torn to shreds. They left behind deep markings on the ground and rock faces. The trees that were as wide as several men would be completely uprooted, sucked into the tornados and ripped to pieces.

    At that moment, sand was swept into the air as mountains collapsed, and the ground cracked. It seemed like the end of the world.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder became even more determined. Biting the tip of his tongue, he sprayed a mouthful of blood onto his Soaring Dragon sword.

    The master of the Black Wind stronghold, Xiong Xiangwu, could use his blood to power a talisman despite being a mortal. He managed to unleash strength that completely exceeded his own, so just how terrifying of a move would it be if a Golden Core master needed to do that as well?

    Covered in blood, the sword immediately twisted like it was alive. Under the blinding light, it transformed into a golden dragon several dozen meters in length. It did not just look like a dragon. It was an actual dragon, claws and all. Waving its tail, it charged towards the tornados, actually taking all of them on alone without losing the upper hand at all.

    The golden dragon smashed through the tornados, while its own glow gradually dimmed.

    The Soaring Dragon Elder took out a talisman from his sumeru ring1. ¡°The Divine Elder had already calculated that there would be some obstacles during this mission.¡±

    ¡°A violet talisman!¡± Gu Yanying became even sterner. Among talismans, yellow were low grade, scarlet were mid grade, and violet were high grade. Their powers differed tremendously between the various colours. Only Soul Nascence cultivators could create them, and they were consumables. They were extremely rare to Golden Core cultivators, who would treat them as life-saving talismans. He was actually willing to use it.

    ¡°World Cage, seal!¡±

    Li Qingshan carried Xuanyue and leapt out of the ravine, making his way north. He charged towards the icy cliffs.

    Xiao An followed closely behind him. Li Qingshan roared to him, ¡°Go away! Don¡¯t follow me!¡± If Gu Yanying could not stop the Soaring Dragon Elder, and he managed to catch up to him, Xiao An would die with him.

    Xiao An chose to follow him, refusing to leave. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Are you deaf?¡± He swung his hand and knocked him several meters away.

    Xiao An stared at him blankly. Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°Go hide somewhere. Don¡¯t come out!¡± He left resolutely.

    Li Qingshan carried Xuanyue and advanced towards the Ice Sword cliff. Even though he was already five kilometers away, he could still feel the flash of light behind him. Under the fierce gale, his hands became moist as the colour of blood deepened.

    Xuanyue said weakly with a pale face. ¡°I¡¯m a good meowster.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Shut up! Stop talking!¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°I¡¯m still your master after all. Can¡¯t you just be nicer? You always get mad and make things difficult. You¡¯re even more capricious than me.¡±

    He had no idea how long he had run for in the snowstorm. It might have been a moment, or it might have been a year. Suddenly, he raised his head, and an icy cliff blocked his way. He had finally arrived.

    It was already a breathtaking sight from afar, so now that he was standing right beneath it, he was basically stunned by the uncanny craftsmanship of nature. Raising his head, he could not see the top. He had no idea just how tall it was. It seemed like it was going to fall on him.

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and extended his hands. Touching the icy cliff, a chilling coldness permeated his bones. His sharp claws that could tear through steel like paper only left behind a shallow mark on the ice. This was not ordinary ice.

    Xuanyue opened her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re finally here. Legend has it that the Ice Sword cliff is the divine sword of a god that fell down. Since the day it appeared, it has not melted at all, instead rapidly freezing the surroundings and expanding. It¡¯s very difficult to climb. You won¡¯t be able to make it up.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Shut up! Hang tight!¡± He placed Xuanyue on his back, making her grab him by his neck. Afterwards, he extended his sharp claws and hooked onto the ice face. Just when he was about to raise his feet, he discovered that they were no longer the feet of humans, but a pair of iron hooves.

    The ice cliff was harder than steel, and it was flat and smooth. It was more difficult to scale than anything else in the world. Without his feet for support, it would be impossible to climb!

    ¡°Meowhahaha!¡± Xuanyue laughed heartlessly, just like when she usually harassed Li Qingshan. However, her laughter became weaker and weaker, easily drowned out by the snowstorm.

    Thunk!

    Li Qingshan punched the cliff heavily and knelt on the ground.

    He had arrived here after so many trials and hardships, yet he was unable to take another step forward. The Ice Sword cliff really was like a gigantic sword, severing all of his hope.

    I refuse!

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression circulated through his body madly. Almost like a miracle, his feet actually turned back. Although they were larger than ordinary feet, and the toenails were long and sharp, they were truly a pair of feet, not claws.

    Originally, he could only recover his human form after reaching the first layer, but he had used willpower alone to forcefully change his feet back.

    Xuanyue said in surprise, ¡°Impressive!¡±

    Li Qingshan was in no mood to celebrate. He leapt onto the cliff face. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    In the snowstorm, Li Qingshan carried Xuanyue on his back, climbing up step by step. His sharp claws locked firmly onto the ice.

    The coldness constantly permeated his body, freezing his bones. He was unable to see the sky, nor was he able to see the ground. It was as if only the two of them were left in the world, working bitterly.

    ¡°So what¡¯s great about the Dragon province? Is the Nine-tailed Fox Empress beautiful? Even more beautiful than the Dark Queen?¡± Li Qingshan said endlessly. He, who had constantly wanted Xuanyue to shut up, now actually chattered on and on, as he needed to do everything he could to stay awake. He needed to avoid being overwhelmed by the cold, to avoid collapsing from despair.

    This was because Xuanyue¡¯s body gradually grew colder. She gradually fell silent. She closed her eyes, hanging onto Li Qingshan¡¯s back, trying to make conversation. ¡°Of course¡­ they¡¯re beautiful¡­¡±

    Her voice might have been just too weak, causing the snowstorm to drown it out.

    ¡°Hold on. I will definitely, definitely take you to the Dragon province,¡± Li Qingshan said constantly.

    ¡°I still haven¡¯t heard you call me master, have I?¡±

 Chapter 101 â€“ The Black Ox Departs

    Li Qingshan did not even have the strength to answer anymore. The path ahead of him was filled with wind and snow. It seemed endless. He could only cling onto a single thought and continue climbing upwards.

    Xuanyue suddenly whispered in his ear, ¡°Sorry, meowster has dragged you down.¡± Her arms let go powerlessly, falling towards the snowy, windy abyss. Her eyes were firmly shut, and she was at peace. She even smiled slightly.

    Li Qingshan extended his right hand instinctively, grabbing her icy hand.

    He could not let go. However, having lost his right hand, he was unable to advance any further up the icy face. The coldness invaded his body now that he had stopped, and his blood flow gradually slowed down.

    He was several thousand meters from the ground. Even for him, falling down would shatter every bone in his body.

    In the violent snowstorm, he finally let out a mad, hysteric howl, like a beast trapped in a hopeless situation.

    Within the snowstorm, two specks of light drew closer. A figure climbed up quickly.

    Xiao An leapt up and grabbed Xuanyue, clinging onto Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    There was no need for them to talk. Li Qingshan¡¯s lips had already become frozen. With his right arm freed, he continued to climb up.

    The top suddenly appeared to the seemingly endless ice face. As it turned out, he was only a few dozen meters away from the top now.

    A large hand grabbed the edge of the cliff firmly. Li Qingshan pulled himself up with everything he had. His body had already run out of strength. He forcefully propped himself up and touched Xuanyue¡¯s face with trembling hands. They were ice-cold.

    There was no heartbeat in her chest.

    She was already dead.

    Li Qingshan suddenly burst out into tears. A streak of light pierced through the snowstorm, and the Soaring Dragon Elder appeared on the top of the cliff. His face was pale, and his clothes were in tatters. When he saw Xuanyue on the ground, it only confirmed his suspicions. His Starfall was not something an ordinary Daemon General could withstand.

    But just in case, he still rushed over regardless of the consequences. The items stored in Xuanyue¡¯s bell could make up for his losses, and the daemon core of a Daemon General was very precious as well.

    Li Qingshan wanted to throw his life at him, but he did not even have the strength to accomplish that. He asked, ¡°Why? What did she do wrong?¡±

    ¡°Because she¡¯s a daemon. You¡¯re no different. That¡¯s all that¡¯s wrong.¡± The Soaring Dragon Elder lifted his Soaring Dragon sword. He did not even look at Xiao An who blocked for Li Qingshan, swinging down.

    His stature could only be regarded as large and tall. He did not give off a terrifying aura, but in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, his back was even more imposing than the Ice Sword cliff below his feet.

    His skin was enveloped in a deep, dark blue that was almost black. His defined, sturdy body did not seem to possess any unnecessary part. Instead, he was like a peak that stood among the mountains, having been exposed to the elements for countless years such that every part of him reached harmony with nature, condensed from endless power.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan saw the pair of ox horns on his head. One of them was broken. He could not help but call out, ¡°Brother ox!¡±

    The Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s pupils contracted. Every inch of his soul screamed out with warning. He had fought in countless battles and had experienced countless dangers in his life, but even if all of them were combined, they still could not match the danger he currently faced.

    He wanted to roar out. He wanted to swing his sword. He wanted to use all of the abilities and techniques he had learnt throughout his life, unleashing all of his strength and trump cards. However, he just could not even move a single finger. All he could do was gaze at the man with widened eyes and ask with a warped voice, W- who are you?¡± How could such a terrifying figure be behind two measly daemons? The Divining Elder had never mentioned it, nor did the divination give any indication either. No, I won¡¯t die here.

    The black ox did not answer his question. Instead, he continued, ¡°I¡¯m killing you because I want to kill you!¡± He raised his right hand. The Soaring Dragon Elder disappeared from this world.

    Yes, he disappeared. There were no prior signs, nor were there any powerful moves, no terror or daemon qi. An elder of the Sword Collection palace renowned throughout the Green province, a Golden Core cultivator, had been slain in such a straightforward manner.

    ¡°Brother ox¡­¡± Li Qingshan opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say. He had considered the black ox to be very powerful, but he never expected him to be so terrifying.

    The black ox looked back, extending his hand before Li Qingshan. A ring lay in it quietly. It was the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring. ¡°I¡¯ve turned you into this without your permission, so take this as an apology! I¡¯ve left something in there for you.¡±

    It was the wealth that a Golden Core cultivator had accumulated over his entire life. Its value was enough for many desireless cultivators to become blinded by greed. Even if an ordinary person offered everything they owned, they would not be able to exchange for a single item from it.

    ¡°I know you have a lot of doubts but believe me, the answers you find yourself will be much greater than anything I can give you. You can even call them priceless. It¡¯s just like how I could give you the power to wander this world unopposed, but I didn¡¯t, because the power you can find yourself is far beyond what I can provide, countless times greater. Now, it is time for us to part.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My existence has already been detected by someone in the heavens. In the future, you must walk your path by yourself. The time we spent together was short, but very pleasant. Remember, don¡¯t lower your head to anyone, to anything. You have once ridden on me.¡±

    As he said that, the black ox¡¯s figure gradually faded. His voice was like a great booming bell, thundering through the mountains and shaking up Li Qingshan¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand, but all he grabbed was the ring.

    The black ox vanished like he had never existed before, as if all those years, all those days were just a dream. However, his last message constantly resounded through Li Qingshan¡¯s heart.

    I await for you beyond the Nine Heavens, for the time when you stand beside me.

    The top of the Ice Sword cliff was empty. There was no vegetation at all, only ice and snow. The layer of clouds pressed down above his head, with huge flakes of snow falling down before they could form beautiful crystals. The wind whistled, like it was sobbing.

    On the boundary between the Dragon province and the Green province, people sometimes felt like they had nothing apart from a distant, unreachable dream. There would only be an icy-cold body in their arms, tears frozen and the heart numb from the severe cold. The loneliness of the entire world would surge into their hearts.

    Something touched him gently. He looked back and saw Xiao An. The two balls of blood-red flames burned even in the endless wind and snow, wanting to give him some warmth, telling him that he was not alone.

    Gu Yanying emerged from the snowstorm and said in surprise, ¡°What happened?¡± She also used a violet talisman, breaking out of the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s World Cage and rushing to the icy cliff. However, right before she arrived, the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s aura completely vanished. It was wiped from the world cleanly.

    Li Qingshan held Xuanyue¡¯s cold corpse. He did not answer. He did not know how to answer.

    Gu Yanying even felt tinges of fear. A Golden Core elder had just vanished without reason. This probably could shake up the entire Green province.

    Did that person from the Umbral Yin sect interfere? No, it couldn¡¯t be. Even if Soul Nascence cultivators had the ability to kill Golden Core masters, it was impossible for them to do it so silently. Even an ant knew how to put up a struggle, let alone a Golden Core cultivator.

    Was it related to him? Gu Yanying glanced at Li Qingshan before shaking her head, as Li Qingshan was just too weak. If he had a terrifying background, why was his cultivation still like this, still a daemonic beast who had yet to condense a daemon core? Among Qi Practitioners, he would only be at the fourth or fifth layer.

    Even with her extraordinary intellect, her brain was in a mess. Everything that happened tonight was just too strange.

    ¡°You should give her to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I promised that I would take her to the Dragon province.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°That¡¯s no good place to take her. It¡¯s better if she returns to her master¡¯s side.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s her final wish.¡±

    ¡°Final wish? But she¡¯s still alive?¡± The corner of Gu Yanying¡¯s lips twitched.

    ¡°What!¡± Li Qingshan was shocked. He checked Xuanyue¡¯s pulse in a hurry, but there really was no pulse. He looked at Gu Yanying in doubt.

    Gu Yanying swung the fan in her hand at the sky, and a tornado rushed into the sky. The tornado pierced a great big hole in the thick layer of low-hanging clouds. The silvery-blue moonlight, just like a waterfall, seemed like a beacon that fell from the sky.

    It landed on the Ice Sword cliff, on Xuanyue¡¯s body. The surroundings continued to roar with wind and snow, but that small region became tranquil and serene.

    Her body shone with a silvery-blue light. Gradually, it became brighter and brighter. Her eyelashes seemed to tremble.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s shocked gaze, Xuanyue slowly opened her eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s this?¡± Blinking them, she looked around. ¡°This is¡­ the Ice Sword cliff!¡±

    Li Qingshan could feel her body gradually regain some warmth in his arms. He was taken aback. ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°The nine-lives cat daemon¡¯s rubbish innate ability.¡±

    Xuanyue said, ¡°Gu, you¡¯re the rubbish!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°In a state of death, it¡¯s impossible to put up any resistance at all. Even ordinary people will butcher you and extract your daemon core. If it¡¯s not rubbish, what is it? This time, it was all thanks to¡­ this person.¡± She was uncertain whether to refer to him as Li Qingshan. He had transformed like this, so he might not want other people to know about his human name!

    Xuanyue said, ¡°Big Blacko, did you really bring me up here?¡±

    Big Blacko? The corner of Gu Yanying¡¯s lips curled up.

    Li Qingshan fell silent for a moment before roaring out, ¡°You bastard, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier!?¡± You made me heart-broken for nothing for so long!

    Xuanyue said, ¡°Meowhahahaha. Didn¡¯t I tell you? I won¡¯t die.¡±

    Li Qingshan exhaled deeply. He did not want to pay anymore attention to her, but he felt indescribable joy inside.

    At this moment, Xuanyue noticed the two crystalline, frozen tear streaks on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Her heart was tugged as she extended her hand and touched his face. ¡°Big Blacko, you cried?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t flatter yourself. It¡¯s just snow.¡±

    Xuanyue moved closer to Li Qingshan¡¯s face. ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t be so embarrassed. It¡¯s very normal for a pet to cry for his meowster. Oh right, you¡¯ve agreed to call me meowster, so call me that! Call me that!¡±

 Chapter 102 â€“ Starting Over as a Human

    Li Qingshan checked his hand. There was a bottle of spiritual pills.

    Gu Yanying only acted like it had never happened, kicking up a whirlwind with a sweep of her sleeves and taking off into the sky along the rays of moonlight with Xuanyue.

    Xuanyue looked back and glanced at Li Qingshan again. Her smile had vanished now, and tears emerged from her lakewater-esque eyes.

    ¡°Wait for me! I will definitely be there!¡± Li Qingshan roared at the sky as loudly as he could.

    Xuanyue suddenly looked back. She heard him yell something, but the snowstorm drowned out his words. However, she could read his lips. She saw the three words, wait for me.

    Gu Yanying showed surprise as well. The clouds closed below their feet.

    On the Ice Sword cliff, the last ray of moonlight disappeared. Li Qingshan remained in the same posture as when he roared at the sky. His roar was a promise to the black ox, to Xuanyue, and to himself.

    I will definitely reach beyond the Nine Heavens. I will definitely take you to the Dragon province.

    I will definitely find the answer. I will definitely possess strength.

    Under the mist, Li Qingshan stood before the waterfall once again. He no longer had the arrogant black ox beside him, nor was the girl bathing in the waterfall before him anymore.

    He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. At least you¡¯re still by my side.

    Without Xuanyue leading the way, he had to rely on his rough memory to return along his original path, coming back to this place. Although he could conceal his aura, he still encountered countless dangers along the way. Only after all of that did he finally return to this waterfall.

    Winter had already passed. The world was beginning to bloom.

    It felt like an entire lifetime had passed.

    In just three short months, someone had told him that the Green Province spanned fifteen thousand kilometers, someone had told him that their objective was to leave the Green province, and finally, someone told him that they were waiting for him beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and smiled. He said to Xiao An, ¡°Let¡¯s see just where I can reach!¡± After that, he leapt into the pool of water.

    The first thing that Li Qingshan did in the water was not cultivate, but summarise his accumulated experiences and the lessons he had learnt.

    The advantages and the disadvantages, his gains and his losses.

    A tiny shrimp being involved in a battle between sharks would rarely result in anything good. Just the flecks of meat that slipped between the teeth of the sharks could allow the shrimp to strengthen significantly, but it would probably end up dead as well.

    He had survived completely due to the protection of a great sea monster, the black ox. However, this sea monster had already left him, giving him the goal of similarly becoming a great sea monster.

    Not only did he have to possess the unswerving determination of an ox and the boldness of a tiger, but he also needed the depth and tolerance of a spiritual turtle. This form of tolerance was not lying down in the face of humiliation, being a coward and afraid of everything, but maintaining lofty ambitions, enduring what others could not and achieving what others could not.

    Perhaps the reason why the black ox had not wiped the Soaring Dragon Elder from existence right from the start was for him to understand this. Anyone could state the great principles of life, but only by experiencing it would they truly understand it and embed it in their heart.

    If he had not experienced the despair he felt when he roared out on the sheer cliff face, how was he supposed to understand the value of strength and the point of friends?

    He desired even greater power.

    There was no concept of time in the mountains. The buds turned into verdant leaves, and the flower buds bloomed into flowers.

    The water from the waterfall also flowed more vigorously and became louder compared to during winter.

    Li Qingshan sat beneath the waterfall. All of the sounds and all of the changes in the surroundings were picked up by his ears, but they did not cause his mind to waver at all.

    Between extreme stillness and extreme motion, he was not just training, but also comprehending the activity and changes of nature. Or to him, the two had always been together.

    He ingested the spiritual pills one by one, turning them into raging spiritual qi, but to him, that was not everything he used.

    Even in an absolute state of meditation, he could still sense the existence of the tremendous spiritual qi in the surroundings. It was omnipresent, ruling over all of the activity and changes in the world.

    He was like a spirit turtle, hidden deep in the sea, having forgotten about himself, and the spiritual qi would no longer reject him, naturally fusing into his body.

    It was just like what was mentioned in the daoist canon. ¡°Humble your minds, fill your bellies, weaken your pre-existing beliefs, and strengthen your backbone.¡± It was also like how the black ox had originally taught him¡ªfill your body, strengthen your body, and only then will you have a foundation for everything. Only by humbling his mind and weakening his pre-existing beliefs could he be free from distracting thoughts and truly reach unity with nature, sensing the existence of the spiritual qi of the world.

    To humans, this could only be achieved once Qi Practitioners had overcome the first tribulation and reached Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, it would require great luck and comprehension.

    However, to daemons, this was a natural instinct. In the eyes of humans, the birds and beasts of the wilderness were foolish without a doubt, copulating and feeding, multiplying and propagating based on instincts alone. However, they were a part of nature, so they could naturally sense things that many humans could not. Spiritual qi was one of them.

    At the same time, while humans possessed intellect, they lost their ability to harmonise with nature. They required various methods to cultivate in an attempt to lengthen their lifespans. Yet, the lifespan of any daemon would be much longer than a human of similar power.

    With gains came losses. Perhaps this was the fairness of nature.

    The black ox had once told him that Li Qingshan could only count as half a daemon, as even though his body had become a daemon¡¯s, he still had the mind and heart of a human, so he was unable to sense the spiritual qi of the world.

    There were countless techniques and arts in the world. Who knows how many there were that could turn people into monsters. However, they were only monsters, not daemons. If that was all, there would have been nothing special about the black ox¡¯s plans. However, it seemed like he had already prepared everything for Li Qingshan.

    With the progress of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, Li Qingshan was able to temporarily put aside his intelligence as a human, along with the distracting thoughts that came with intelligence. He began to truly daemonify, looking at this world through the eyes of a daemon and comprehending this world with the mind of a daemon.

    After an unknown amount of time passed again, the many flowers began to droop and fall.

    Tremendous amounts of spiritual qi gathered towards Li Qingshan. The place that the black ox had chosen had always been rich in spiritual qi.

    Having consumed all of the spiritual pills, the daemon qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body surged like tidal waves before being suppressed by the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, rapidly being condensed and concentrated.

    Xiao An, who was playing by himself on the side, suddenly raised his head, gazing at the waterfall and the pool of water. In the past few days, he had always been waiting quietly, playing around by himself and never leaving this area.

    The spirit turtle suppresses the seas!

    An invisible power had flattened the turbulent pool, becoming a flawless mirror of water. The water that crashed down from above no longer managed to create any more splashes.

    Li Qingshan had finally reached the first layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. At the same time, there was a great boom through his soul, and his body increased in size once again, nearing six meters. The aura he gave off pushed aside the falling waterfall.

    All of his daemon qi condensed into a sphere around the size of a little finger!

    He had finally completed the most important step of becoming a daemon, condensing a daemon core.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and looked at the mirror-like water surface. He gently rubbed his pair of ox horns. The two words on them, north and moon, no longer seemed so obvious. Instead, they seemed to have fused with the groovings of his horns, becoming irremovable.

    He thought of Xuanyue again, recalling that promise he had yet to complete. He closed his eyes. Wait for me, I will definitely free you from your cage and send you to the Dragon province.

    Suddenly, he opened his mouth, and his daemon core flew out. It revolved around him as if some invisible force was leading it around. With a thought, the daemon core shot off, immediately piercing several boulders in the water. It was basically indestructible, more terrifying than any hidden weapon out there.

    Daemons did not know how to refine pills, so they were born with the knowledge of how to absorb spiritual qi. Daemons did not know how to forge weapons either, so the daemon core was their strongest weapon.

    Although releasing the daemon core came with the danger of having it taken away, that required an absolute difference in strength to achieve. As a result, this kind of danger was not really any danger at all. After all, even if he did not use his daemon core against such an opponent, he would still be finished off, losing his daemon core.

    It was just like when human cultivators fought against each other. If the opponent could easily take away the flying swords they unleashed, there was no point to fighting anymore.

    Li Qingshan looked at the daemon core hovering before him. He thought, Even if I say I¡¯m a human right now, no one would believe me.

    At a closer glance, he discovered the daemon core was not completely spherical. Instead, it was composed of countless tiny hexagons, and it seemed rather different from regular daemon cores. It was probably due to the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. However, he had only seen one other daemon core before, so he could not be certain.

    Li Qingshan extended his right hand and transparent ripples gathered in his palm, forming a ball of water that subsequently turned into various other shapes. If he were described using the five elements, he would be a water daemon, possessing the powers to control water spiritual qi.

    He casually tossed the ball of water aside and gulped down his daemon core. He yelled out, ¡°The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡± A turtle shell did not appear on his back. Instead, a spherical, glowing barrier appeared. Upon closer inspection, the barrier was just like the daemon core, composed of countless hexagons.

    The cascading waterfall landed on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. Not a single drop of water could land on Li Qingshan now.

    This was the innate ability he had comprehended after condensing his daemon core. However, that was not all.

    Li Qingshan stood up and took in a deep breath. He raised his head and let out a fierce roar. Daemon qi formed sound waves, kicking up a fierce wind that rushed towards the horizon. The waterfall was blown away and deep, circular cracks appeared on the rock face.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar seemed powerful, but it could only create a shockwave and be used against weaker opponents. Against enemies of similar strength, it was basically useless. Although his roar had decreased in range now, it could pierce through rock. It was truly lethal.

    This was the second ability he had comprehended. He named it the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar.

    ¡°The Ox Demon Tramples!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt back into the water, landing heavily at the bottom. The rocks that had been washed by water for countless years shattered loudly as a circular shockwave spread into the surroundings. Wherever it passed by, the rocks would crack loudly.

    It was as if countless explosives had been blown up on the bottom of the pool, sending all of the water into the sky and completely shattering the area.

    The ox, the tiger and the turtle. Three creatures, three innate abilities. In the instant that Li Qingshan condensed his daemon core, they had all awakened at the same time.

 Chapter 103 â€“ Returning to Human Society

    The pool water fell as rain. Under the illumination of sunlight, it formed a rainbow.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes firmly. He seemed solemn. Inside his body, his daemon core withdrew all of his aura, constantly sinking down. It was like a spirit turtle withdrawing into its shell, sinking into the abyss of the seas and entering a millennia long slumber, unknown to anyone such that its existence became a mere legend.

    When Li Qingshan opened his eyes again, he leapt out of the pool and arrived in front of Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan had turned back into the original Li Qingshan. Actually, such a statement was not completely correct.

    That was because he no longer possessed his well-defined muscles, nor did he have a sharp bearing. Everything had been withdrawn. He seemed like an ordinary teenager from a mountain village, no longer possessing any special features. However, the depths of his eyes were just as deep and calm as the deep sea.

    He looked at his human hands and suddenly remembered that he was already sixteen.

    When he existed as a daemon, his concept of time became blurred. Only after turning back into a human did it abruptly clear up once more.

    It had been sixteen years since he arrived in this world. Everything that happened in the last half a year was more fascinating than the first fifteen and a half years combined. He had gone from a human to a daemon, and then back to a human.

    All of his daemon qi had been withdrawn into the daemon core, without the slightest bit seeping out. Even other cultivators would not be able to tell he was actually a daemon. It was funny now that it was mentioned. When he comprehended the true path of a daemon, he had instead recovered everything human.

    There were countless creatures in the world, so just why weren¡¯t humans able to become daemons? Speaking of which, when cats became daemons, they were called cat daemons. When tigers became daemons, they were called tiger daemons. What were daemons that were originally human called? Human daemons? Transvestites?1

    Li Qingshan felt a chill. He decided to never consider this question again. He signalled to Xiao An. ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait for so long. We can set off now!¡±

    The colour of joy lit up in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets as he leaned up close to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan took out the sumeru ring that the black ox had left to him. He had no idea what it was made of. It was crystalline, yet it did not shine. Now that all of his true qi had been converted to daemon qi and withdrawn, he could not open it at all. Although he was curious about just what the black ox had left to him, he could only be patient and slowly come up with a way to open it. He strung the ring up as a necklace, hanging it on his neck and hiding it in his clothes.

    He would not speak any words of gratitude. He only allowed this sentiment to silently compact in the bottom of his heart. Moreover, their relationship and bond had already surpassed mere gratitude.

    He looked at the rainbow and figures flashed through his head¡ªthe black ox, Xiao An, Gu Yanying, and Xuanyue. He would achieve and complete all of those expectations, all of those promises, and all of those wild ambitions one by one.

    Peace returned to the mountains. The pool no longer had any vortices. Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi had completely subdued it.

    The sixteen year old who possessed the characteristics of both daemons and humans set foot in human society once again. Just how many dangers could he survive and how many storms could he weather?

    Li Qingshan arrived at the ruins of the Black Wind stronghold with Xiao An, but he could not help but frown.

    Since he was about to return to the world of humans, he obviously required quite a lot of gold and silver to pave a path for himself. All of the silver notes on him had been destroyed in the fire during the battle at the mountain god temple. They could no longer be used.

    As a result, he thought about the wealth that remained in the Black Wind stronghold. He was glad that he had the foresight before, so he came here to have a look, but he discovered traces of excavation and digging everywhere.

    As expected, the secret room below Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s room had been unearthed as well. Everything inside was obviously gone.

    Li Qingshan breathed in deeply. ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to be? Grave robbers?¡±

    In Qingyang city, Ye Dachuan furiously kissed a transfer order in great joy. ¡°Haha, I can finally leave this damned place!¡±

    The destruction of the Black Wind stronghold and the merit he received from treating the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect as a local evil organisation had been reported to the Clear River prefecture. After a series of checks and confirmations, it was delivered to the prefect¡¯s table.

    Even the prefect was rather surprised by Ye Dachuan¡¯s achievements. He could not endure the coaxings of his beloved consort either, so in the end, he sent a transfer order, transferring Ye Dachuan from Qingyang city.

    Of course, returning to the clamour of the Clear River prefecture was impossible. However, he had still been relocated several hundred kilometers away, sent to the prosperous Jiaping city. As such, it was something for Ye Dachuan to rejoice about.

    The advisor said, ¡°Congratulations, sir! Congratulations!¡±

    Ye Dachuan celebrated for a while before saying gloomily, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity with what happened to my brother Qingshan!¡± At least he had not forgotten the person that made this all possible.

    The advisor sighed. ¡°Please cheer up, sir. This is all just fate. No one can do anything about it!¡±

    Ye Dachuan considered it and emerged from the gloom very soon. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to burn some more joss paper before we leave so that my brother Qingshan can bribe the lords of hell and have it a little easier and be reborn into a good family.¡±

    ¡°Reborn into what good family?¡± Li Qingshan leapt over the wall with a strange expression and landed in the courtyard.

    ¡°Of course it would be a great, wealthy¡­ a ghost!¡± Ye Dachuan replied absentmindedly, but his voice gradually slowed down. When he saw who it was, he finally cried out, hiding behind his armed chair swiftly.

    The advisor said, ¡°Sir, calm down, calm down. Under the light of day, why would there be any ghosts? Sheriff Li has returned!¡±

    Ye Dachuan studied Li Qingshan. He saw a long shadow being cast below Li Qingshan¡¯s feet from the summer sun, and only then did he ease up. He emerged from behind the armed chair and grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. ¡°Brother Qingshan, you¡¯ve finally returned. Where have you been all this time?¡± As he said that, hot tears began to well up in his eyes.

    Li Qingshan drew back his hand. ¡°I suffered some injuries and went into seclusion in the mountains for a while. Did you think I was dead?¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°As long as you¡¯re alive, as long as you¡¯re alive!¡± Afterwards, he told him the entire story. As it turned out, the news of Feng Zhang bringing a group of first-rate masters with him to encircle Li Qingshan had spread like wildfire, and in the end, everyone vanished in the mountain together.

    Over the past few months, quite a few people had entered the mountains to search, but all they found was a burnt down mountain god temple. The remains there were completely unrecognisable, so rumors arose from everywhere.

    Some people said Feng Zhang silenced everyone with death after he got his hands on the spiritual ginseng before subsequently hiding away. There were also some who said that other masters interfered and killed everyone.

    However, regardless of the rumour, Li Qingshan was dead. No one believed that he could survive such a situation, so everyone treated him as dead. However, they had never thought that Li Qingshan would actually emerge from the mountains in the end. Moreover, he was the only one to emerge.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re back. You can come to Jiaping with me. What do you think?¡± Ye Dachuan gestured at the transfer order complacently as his eyes vanished under his wide grin. He was happy from the bottom of his heart that Li Qingshan could return. Li Qingshan was his bringer of good fortune.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the transfer order and said in confusion, ¡°Vice magistrate? Aren¡¯t you being demoted?¡±

    Normally, smaller districts did not have vice magistrates. Only larger ones did, and at most, there would be two or three. They remained under the district magistrate¡¯s command, so they obviously did not have as much authority as a solitary magistrate.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Now this is something that you don¡¯t understand. You¡¯d much rather be a beggar in a city of gold than a king among a pack of dogs. What kind of benefits can a run down place like Qingyang city provide? Even if I make money, there aren¡¯t even any decent parlours for me to dine at with prostitutes¡­¡±

    As Li Qingshan listened to district magistrate Ye talk about his indulgences, he could not help but break into laughter. At least it felt slightly more realistic that he had returned to human society. It did sound primitive, but weren¡¯t these the exact things that humans pursued?

    The two words, Jiaping city, made his heart skip a beat instead. He touched the Iron Wolf tablet in his bosom. The Scarlet Hawk commander ¡®old Wang¡¯ had once told him that if he managed to survive, he could go to Jiaping city and report to Zhuo Zhibo to become a Hawkwolf guard. However, he had yet to consider the matter completely, so he still could not make up his mind.

    The Feng Zhang that he killed might have old colleagues or acquaintances in Jiaping city. Zhuo Zhibo, who sent Feng Zhang here in the first place, might not have a good impression of him either.

    The advisor truly did live up to his position of advisor. He did not know much of the inside story, but he still managed to think to such a point. He reminded Ye Dachuan, ¡°The haughty Feng Zhang came from Jiaping city, but now, his whereabouts are unknown.¡± The reason for his disappearance was obviously Li Qingshan. They could not be certain whether the Hawkwolf Guard would investigate this matter or not.

    Ye Dachuan¡¯s expression changed as well. ¡°Yeah. Brother Qingshan, you have to be careful. If you want to, you still can run. I¡¯ll just treat it like I never saw you return.¡± With his identity, he was still unaware that Wang Pushi had expelled Feng Zhang. The disappearance of a Hawkwolf Guard was a significant matter.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for your concern sir, but you don¡¯t need to worry about this. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask about.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Who dug up the Black Wind stronghold?¡± With the amount of work involved, it was impossible to be completed without raising any disturbances. No matter where he went, he needed money. There was a price that had to be paid for stealing from the mouth of a tiger.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°I- it¡¯s the Iron Fist school. Qingshan, don¡¯t be rash.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be rash over. I just want to get my money back. Will they be bold enough to turn down my request?¡± Li Qingshan was rather confused by Ye Dachuan¡¯s reaction. He had destroyed both the Black Wind stronghold and the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. Was the Iron Fist school bold enough to make things difficult for him?

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Recently, a protector arrived in the Iron Fist school. He seems to be investigating the whereabouts of that mealy hall chief. Liu Hong excavated these items to give to him as presents. I also heard he¡¯s an innate master. He might be difficult to deal with.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I will be careful.¡± With that, he vanished over the wall again. Leaping over numerous tiled roofs, he arrived in the Iron Fist school. However, he was in no hurry to show himself. Instead, he eavesdropped.

    Having withdrawn his daemon qi and assumed a human form, his senses were not as sharp as when he was a daemon, but they still surpassed the senses of ordinary people. Within a range of a thousand feet, he could even hear the buzzing of mosquitoes, so he immediately located Liu Hong.

    Over a hundred children currently stood neatly on the martial arts platform under the brilliant sun. They all stepped forward one after another.

 Chapter 104 â€“ Knocking on the Door for Deb

    t

    A brown-robed old man with a goatee checked their pulses one by one. He would shake his head at times and nod at others. Sometimes his eyes would shine, and at others, he would inspect the child before him. To his left was the master of the Iron Fist school, Liu Hong, and behind him was Li Long, who constantly refilled the old man¡¯s tea cup.

    The disciples of the Iron Fist school formed a human wall, blocking many people outside who seemed to be the relatives of these children. They all looked at their children nervously. If they saw the old man nod, they would light up with pleasure, but if the old man shook his head, they would become dejected.

    This was an important figure who had come from the Clear River prefecture from over five hundred kilometers away, a mighty protector of the Iron Fist school who possessed extraordinary martial arts. If they could gain his recognition, their children would truly skyrocket to greatness.

    Li Qingshan saw the old man with his first glance. The old man¡¯s aura was heavy and condensed, slightly stronger than Feng Zhang¡¯s. He was truly an innate master, but he was not anyone dangerous. If he daemonified, he was confident about killing the old man in a single strike. Even if he maintained his human form, there would not be too much trouble. It would just take some effort.

    He was just curious as to what this was all about.

    Liu Hong sat beside the old man. Both of them were elderly, but even the naive children could tell who was more imposing. Liu Hong sighed inside. Recently, a lot of impressive figures have come to Qingyang city.

    Ever since he came to Qingyang city for retirement, it had been many years since he last saw protector Yan Song. But speaking of which, with his status as a second-rate master, he never saw protector Yan much in the past either. The last time he saw him was during the birthday banquet of the leader of the main branch. Back then, he was still in his prime, and protector Yan was already like this. Now, he had already become an old man, but protector Yan seemed like he had never changed.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Protector Yan, you should take a break!¡±

    ¡°Please try the tea!¡± Li Long filled up the cup with tea in a hurry. Although the hall chief had died to unnatural causes, and his plan to leave Qingyang city was cancelled, he felt happy inside. He never liked that hall chief Wu. He was rude to his master. Now that he was dead, it only served him right. In the blink of an eye, another one, protector Yan, had come. Not only were his martial arts even greater, but he was much more level-headed as well. He was proud, but he never showed it, and he could directly take Li Long to the Clear River prefecture.

    Yan Song stopped and took a sip of tea leisurely. ¡°I¡¯m old. My body is failing.¡± He just let the children stand beneath the sun.

    Liu Hong asked, ¡°What about the leader of the main branch?¡±

    Liu Hong was overjoyed. ¡°Then thank you, protector. What do you think about these children?¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°There are a few promising ones among these children. Although I don¡¯t know if they can practise qi, they¡¯re at least more than enough for practising martial arts. If this was the prefectural city of Clear River, the children with better talent would have all been scooped away already. Even just a single promising kid would take some fighting to obtain. You¡¯ll never be able to just pick them leisurely like this.¡±

    Liu Hong said, ¡°It¡¯s all due to the main branch leader¡¯s wisdom.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    At this moment, Yan Song raised his head and saw a hole in the wall formed from the disciples of the Iron Fist school. A teenager walked towards him. However, after glancing at him, Yan Song said, ¡°Send him out. He¡¯s too old.¡± Moreover, he was too ordinary. He had nothing worth noticing.

    However, the disciples of the Iron Fist school did not try to block the teenager as ordered. Instead, they parted to the sides in fear. Yan Song was rather confused. All he saw was Li Long and even Liu Hong¡¯s eyes widening. ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    The crowd burst into discussion. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Li Qingshan?¡± ¡°The Black Tiger, Li Qingshan!¡± ¡°I heard he¡¯s dead, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°How¡¯d he return?¡± Li Qingshan could be regarded as famous in Qingyang city now.

    Li Qingshan walked up and waved his hand with a smile. ¡°School master Liu, long time no see. And this protector something, I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you!¡±

    Yan Song raised an eyebrow. He remembered the other reason for his trip. Wasn¡¯t it exactly for this teenager?

    Liu Hong said awkwardly, ¡°Y- you¡¯ve returned!¡±

    Li Qingshan got straight to the point. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll have to play the role of an unruly guest this time. School master Liu, please return a few items to me, or just exchange it into silver notes. I¡¯d rather you do that actually. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy for you to excavate it all.¡± The current Li Qingshan seemed very gentle, without any sort of imposing or vicious bearing.

    Liu Hong looked at Yan Song. Yan Song said nonchalantly as he sipped his tea, ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan? You¡¯re still bold enough to return? Right now, I¡¯m going to ask you questions, and for every question, I expect a reply. If you don¡¯t reply, I¡¯ll smack you across the face once. How did hall chief Wu die?¡±

    He did not even stand up. This was not a person worthy of standing up for, and Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡®rudeness¡¯ had irritated him slightly. He was out of his mind for trying to ask for items from him. And, there were various traces that proved that hall chief Wu¡¯s death was clearly linked to this person. Obviously, he had no reason to be polite to his enemy.

    Li Qingshan is hiding his strength? Maybe! But even if Li Qingshan is a first-rate master, or even an innate master, having become a Qi Practitioner, what can he do? With his strength as a second layer Qi Practitioner, there were not a lot of people he had to take seriously.

    Li Qingshan was familiar with this kind of behaviour. It came from possessing absolute confidence in personal strength. They believed they could hold their ground, and that everyone had to listen to and follow their arrangements, allowing them to do whatever they wanted.

    However, when Li Qingshan compared Yan Song to the figures he had seen soaring through the skies, he found it absolutely hilarious. He was like a toad croaking loudly, ordering a group of flies around while believing that he was a king.

    As a result, Li Qingshan laughed. At least I¡¯m a frog, not a toad, and a very strong one at that.

    The corner of Liu Hong¡¯s mouth twitched. After several months of not seeing him, having returned from a trip, Liu Hong had thought he would become a little more reserved, but he never expected him to remain exactly the same. He seemed amiable on the surface, but he was as arrogant as he could get inside.

    Yan Song¡¯s expression became frosty. ¡°What are you laughing about?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°When I see something funny, I¡¯ll obviously laugh!¡±

    Yan Song slowly stood up. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to laugh again?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s get to the point. You gobbled up all of my things. I want you to spit it all out now.¡±

    Without any prior signs, Yan Song crossed several meters with a single step to arrive before Li Qingshan. He raised a hand and swung it viciously. He wanted to slap Li Qingshan to the point where he would not be able to laugh again for the rest of his life. He wanted Li Qingshan to know the price of provoking the Iron Fist school.

    Smack! There was a clear slap.

    Yan Song¡¯s head turned to one side. A ripple flowed through his cheeks as his eyes were wide open. A tooth fell out. He felt disbelief. He clearly did not sense any inner force or true qi within Li Qingshan, yet his movements were swift and violent. Was he a Body Practitioner? However, he did not possess the special characteristics of a Body Practitioner at all.

    Li Qingshan saw how Yan Song had tried to slap him. He did not feel irritated at all inside. Instead, it was mostly weariness. The swift movements now actually seemed so slow in his eyes, to a point where he suspected his evaluation of Yan Song might have been wrong.

    As Yan Song had underestimated his opponent, he revealed many openings. Li Qingshan obviously would not let the opportunity slip, and he smacked Yan Song across the face. He continued to smile. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to spit it out, I¡¯ll beat you until you spit it out.¡±

    ¡°Protector Yan!¡± Liu Hong was dumbfounded. The indomitable protector Yan had actually been slapped across the face before so many people. He was even more surprised by how powerful Li Qingshan had become. His rate of growth was simply far too terrifying.

    The crowd gasped as well. The reason why they had brought their children today was because Yan Song had demonstrated real martial arts. He had destroyed a log of over three meters wide with a single punch, which was basically divine in their eyes.

    Li Long could not help but rub his eyes. Was this really the young cowherd from the Crouching Ox village? He felt like he knew less and less about this fellow villager.

    Yan Song was furious inside. He took a step back and adjusted his posture. His true qi surged into his fists.

    Smack!

    As soon as Li Qingshan saw his stance, he decided to give him no chance to strike out at all. He walked up and slapped him across the face again.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s strength was tremendous. Yan Song felt the world spin around him after being smacked, and the true qi he had just gathered collapsed again. He gathered it once again as he was unwilling to just accept this. He wanted to kill Li Qingshan.

    Smach! A third slap landed. This was how bare-handed close combat was like. It was very difficult to turn the situation around after losing the upper hand from a single move.

    Smach! Smack! Smack! The slaps were loud and clear, resounding through the martial arts platform. Aside from the sounds of slaps, there was nothing else.

    Whenever Yan Song showed signs of counterattacking, Li Qingshan would slap him mercilessly. The reason why he chose to slap was not just to return the favour. It was also because he had no interest in killing him, so he could not use too much strength. However, he still needed to ensure he maintained the upper hand. As a result, hitting the head was the best choice. Slaps were not fatal, but they could shake up the head of his opponent, interrupting Yan Song¡¯s actions. This was the optimal way to approach the situation.

    Yan Song staggered backwards as Li Qingshan advanced.

    Thud! Yan Song sat back down on his armed chair, shielding his face and calling out, ¡°Stop hitting me!¡± After being slapped a few consecutive times, he finally recovered from his anger. It turned into fear. Li Qingshan could kill him. As people grew older, they valued their lives more and more.

    As expected, Li Qingshan stopped. ¡°Return my things!¡±

    Yan Song¡¯s complexion fluctuated between paleness and redness. He roared, ¡°Liu Hong, what are you standing there for?¡± As he said that, he secretly reached into his bosom. He also had a talisman that he treated as a trump card. He had been humiliated so much in front of so many people, so if he did not get revenge, he would never be able to redeem himself.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯d advise you not to use it!¡±

    Yan Song¡¯s hand trembled.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You wanted to slap me, so I slapped you. If you want to kill me, then I can only kill you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was calm and composed. He did not even stop Yan Song from fishing out the talisman. Yan Song held the corner of the talisman as his expression fluctuated violently. He was unable to make up his mind.

 Chapter 105 â€“ Winning People Over with Force

    Li Qingshan smiled silently. He neither confirmed nor denied it.

    Yan Song said, ¡°Did the Black Wolf guard Feng Zhang die to your hands as well?¡± Originally, he refused to consider such an absurd possibility. A Black Wolf guard, five first-rate masters, and a great group of second and third-rate masters would actually die to a little known kid. However, he believed it somewhat now.

    Li Qingshan still did not answer.

    Yan Song drew out his hand. He was not holding the talisman anymore.

    Li Qingshan smiled, ¡°We¡¯re not continuing to fight?¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°You¡¯re dead already. There¡¯s no point for me to waste something like that on a dead man.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh? How come?¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°You kill a Black Wolf guard. Do you think you can still live?¡±

    Li Qingshan dodged the question. ¡°That¡¯s something you don¡¯t have to worry about. Please return my items!¡±

    Yan Song paled. Liu Hong pulled Li Qingshan to the side and pleaded, ¡°Qingshan, I didn¡¯t know you would return alive, which was why I dug up those things. If you want silver, I¡¯ll give it to you, alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s what I was asking for in the first place.¡± He wanted to reason with Yan Song, but what could he do when Yan Song was unreasonable? He was forced to talk through his fists.

    Liu Hong shot a glance, and the disciples of the Iron Fist school dispersed the crowd. The large martial arts platform emptied out.

    At this moment, Ye Dachuan arrived in a carriage. After looking at everyone¡¯s expressions and seeing the redness that had yet to fade from Yan Song¡¯s face, he gained a rough understanding as to what had happened. He found it satisfying. In the past few days, he had been holding banquets and inviting Yan Song, but all this shitty protector did was look down on him. The protector finally knew what was what now!

    He put on an act and coughed twice. ¡°Protector Yan, do you have misunderstandings with sheriff Li? As they say, it¡¯s better to resolve grievances than to deepen them. I¡¯ll play the host for lunch and serve as a mediator for the two of you.¡±

    Yan Song interrupted him. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I have nothing to say to a dead man!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that again!?¡± He had been defeated, yet he was still so arrogant. Do you really think I won¡¯t kill you?

    Yan Song sneered, but as expected, he was no longer bold enough to keep talking. There was nothing he could do given the current circumstances.

    Ye Daochan asked in surprise, ¡°What dead man?¡± After hearing the whole story, he began to worry for Li Qingshan as expected.

    Li Long whispered, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯d better go!¡± He received a cold glare from Yan Song.

    Li Qingshan sneered inside, Do you really think I¡¯m done for? He said nonchalantly, ¡°I¡¯m about to go to Jiaping city to join the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    ¡°What a joke! Just with- hmph!¡± Yan Song sneered. Originally, he wanted to say, ¡°Just with you.¡± but then he remembered that Li Qingshan truly possessed the necessary strength, so he could only sneer in contempt.

    Ye Dachuan asked, ¡°And what¡¯s that about?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The Scarlet Hawk commander, old Wang, wants me to report to Zhuo Zhibo in Jiaping city.¡±

    Yan Song cried out, ¡°How is that possible? You killed Feng Zhang! You¡¯re an enemy of the Hawkwolf Guard!¡±

    Ye Dachuan asked, ¡°I- is that true?¡±

    Li Qingshan took out the Black Wolf tablet and waved it around. ¡°Feng Zhang has already been expelled from the Hawkwolf Guard. I¡¯m basically replacing him!¡±

    Discreetness was a wild beast lying in ambush, waiting for a critical moment to kill its prey. It was not about allowing some scoundrel to despise and look down on him. It would only lead to trouble in the end. That was not called remaining discreet. That was called stupidity. If you lowered yourself all the way to the ground, you could not blame others for treading on you. Demonstrating enough strength and might was the only consistent method for reducing trouble.

    Liu Hong and Li Long looked at each other. Both of them were speechless. What kind of luck was that? Half a year ago, Li Qingshan was just a kid from the country. All he could do was face off against some scoundrel from the street. Yet now, he had already joined the fearsome Hawkwolf Guard. He was basically rising through the world.

    Li Qingshan remained calm. Yan Song refused to believe it, but he was forced to believe it. After arriving in Qingyang, he had made some investigations of his own. He also knew that the person who took away Li Qingshan that day in the restaurant was the Scarlet Wolf commander, Hua Chengzan, taking Feng Zhang and him to see Wang Pushi.

    He simply could not understand why the two of them would come to such a horrible place. However, the outcome was very clear. In the end, Li Qingshan returned, while Feng Zhang died from an unnatural death. The two of them did not help their own subordinate, Feng Zhang. The reason for this was definitely thought-provoking, but it was very clear now.

    Wang Pushi had actually expelled Feng Zhang on the spot, and Li Qingshan was actually bold enough to call Wang Pushi ¡®old Wang¡¯. Did he have some kind of relationship with Wang Pushi? When he looked at Li Qingshan, his gaze at him had already changed.

    Originally, he thought that even if the Hawkwolf Guard would not search for Li Qingshan, he would still have to come up with a way to seek revenge. However, he could not help but dismiss this thought now. In this world, only the Hawkwolf Guard dealt retribution to others. There was no one bold enough to deal retribution to the Hawkwolf Guard.

    After further thought, he regretted his rash actions. Li Qingshan was so young, yet he was already so strong. Moreover, he could survive in the face of such danger. There might have been someone backing him. How could he actually treat him as an ordinary kid?

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Ye Dachuan was overjoyed. ¡°I was originally worried that you couldn¡¯t go to Jiaping, but we can go together now.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m still considering whether to go or not.¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you go? Joining the Hawkwolf Guard is awesome. You don¡¯t even need to pay the entry fee when you go to brothels or gambling parlours.¡±

    Li Qingshan sweated slightly. Is this the benefit that comes with joining the Hawkwolf Guard? If old Wang was present, he¡¯d probably kill you with a swing of his baton.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°It¡¯s not early. Come, come, come. Let¡¯s talk and eat.¡±

    Liu Hong would never let Ye Dachuan make the arrangements. He had already made his disciples prepare everything. Yan Song¡¯s expression changed several times, but he eventually sat down as well. He no longer said anything along the lines of ¡®I have nothing to say to a dead man.¡¯

    Afterwards, under the mediation of Ye Dachuan and Liu Hong, Yan Song drank a few cups of alcohol and used the tipsiness to set up a situation for himself. He clinked cups with Li Qingshan and said awkwardly, ¡°Y- young hero Li¡­¡± He no longer pursued the matter regarding hall chief Wu. Even their main branch leader would scold him for offending a Hawkwolf Guard over a single hall chief.

    Li QIngshan smiled. ¡°Protector Yan, I¡¯ve offended you earlier. I¡¯ll drink three cups in atonement to you.¡± He finished off his current cup before drinking another three. There was no reason to, nor did he want to develop grievances with others. If he could resolve it, it would obviously be for the best.

    There were a series of praises from the table, and Yan Song¡¯s complexion improved drastically.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°We¡¯re all people of the jianghu, and we all have short tempers. There¡¯s nothing strange about getting into conflict, but it¡¯s just like what they say, it¡¯s better to resolve grievances than to develop them. You¡¯ll never get to know each other unless there are disagreements, right? With an additional friend comes an additional path, while an additional foe leads to an additional wall. I¡¯ve lived for so long. My martial arts are nothing special, but that¡¯s what I¡¯ve relied on to live until now.¡±

    Ye Dachuan added, ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah! It¡¯s just like that!¡± He secretly praised Li Qingshan for knowing when to stop. He knew how to use his strength, but he did not harass those weaker than him. His conduct did not make him seem like a sixteen-year-old at all.

    Both of them were experienced. They were both great at leading the atmosphere. With Li Qingshan¡¯s apology, the atmosphere mellowed out as they talked to one another. Yan Song asked Li Qingshan about his relationship with Wang Pushi shamelessly. This was also something that everyone else was curious about, so they all fell quiet, only looking at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan did not want to strut about in borrowed plumes. ¡°So this old Wang is called Wang Pushi. I¡¯m not close with him.¡±

    Everyone became disappointed, but Yan Song refused to believe it. Wang Pushi doesn¡¯t know you, yet he treated you like this, expelling Feng Zhang for you?

    As a result, he asked again, ¡°Even in the Clear River city, the two of them usually never show themselves, so what brought them to Qingyang city?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not try to hide anything. He roughly explained the matter regarding Gu Yanying, but he avoided the topics of the Dark Queen and the cat daemon.

    ¡°White Hawk commander! Bodhi Brew!¡± Yan Song gulped. To him, that was a figure of the legends. Both her strength and authority had reached a level he could not even begin to imagine. And, there had been the renowned Bodhi Brew as well. Only their main branch leader was fortunate enough to drink a cup of it. Many of his suspicions were completely dispelled now. He could totally imagine just how furious he would be if he tried to suck up to the main branch leader, yet an insensible subordinate dragged him down instead.

    ¡°You¡¯ve caught commander Gu¡¯s attention! Qingshan, your future is limitless!¡± His resentment and discontent from being slapped in the face earlier immediately vanished. When he looked at Li Qingshan now, there was even some respect in his eyes.

    He was like a small bureaucrat who had heard that a fellow bureaucrat had met the leader of the country and even conversed warmly with him. Consequently, he was unable to help himself but to develop feelings of respect and admiration. There was no point clinging to these small grievances anymore.

    ¡°Perhaps!¡± Li Qingshan discovered that the entire Iron Fist school, regardless of status, knew how to handle situations very well. However, his feelings were rather mixed. That extraordinarily carefree woman in clothes even whiter than snow had only invited him to a cup of alcohol, yet it could completely change how an innate master treated him. It also made him realise the difference that existed between the two of them.

    Ye Dachuan gasped. ¡°That¡¯s the three major pillars of the Ruyi commandery!¡± He had spent most of his life in Clear River city. Although he possessed neither intellect nor martial might, he was very familiar with the rumors and gossip on the streets.

    Li Qingshan asked out of curiosity, ¡°What do you mean by the three major pillars of the Ruyi commandery?¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°The Marquis of Ruyi Jiang Fu, the White Hawk commander Gu Yanying, and the great general Han Anguo. They come from the schools of Confucianism, Legalism, and the Military respectively. Jiang Fu handles the government affairs, leading the nine prefectures. Gu Yanying leads the Hawkwolf Guard, responsible for upholding the law. Han Anguo controls the army of the Han family and the military power. Every single one of them is a figure of utmost authority. On the streets, they¡¯re known as the three pillars of the Ruyi commandery. I¡¯ve heard that out of them, commander Gu is the most renowned.¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Even if you ignore their backgrounds, the Hawkwolf Guard is responsible for monitoring the army and the officials. This commander Gu is also the last person that people are willing to offend. Li Qingshan, seeing how you received preferential treatment from her, you can rise up in a single stroke immediately.¡±

    Li Qingshan silently remembered this information. As it turned out, the Hawkwolf Guard originated from the school of Legalism. The two from the schools of Confucianism and the Military probably were not a mere scholar or soldier either. How could they be ordinary if they stood on par with Gu Yanying? The depth of the world truly was unfathomable. But of course, most people would never get the chance to come into contact with any of these three in their entire lives.

    At the same time, he felt like his decision to reconcile with Yan Song could not be more correct. Although an additional friend would not always lead to an additional path, he definitely knew many things that Li Qingshan did not since Yan Song came from the Clear River city. News was extremely important to Li Qingshan. It would even influence his decision on whether to go to Jiaping city or not.

 Chapter 106 â€“ The Ten Layers of Qi Practitioners

    Li Qingshan gained a better understanding of the structure of the government. This should have been the separation of powers! Although it seemed very rough, the encompassing area they had to govern was simply too large, so it was impossible for them to have any finer methods of governance.

    Out of them, the Hawkwolf Guard resembled the imperial guards and two bureaus of the Ming dynasty1. Their authority even seemed slightly greater than that. Li Qingshan could not help but say, ¡°So the Hawkwolf Guard is quite impressive.¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Yeah, so don¡¯t hesitate anymore. A great future is awaiting you.¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°And indulging yourself for free is not even the main point. It¡¯s not like you lack the money to do that. You don¡¯t seem like the person who would indulge in power and influence either, Qingshan. However, the Hawkwolf Guard has many spiritual artifacts, spiritual stones, pills, medicines, and cultivation methods. There¡¯s probably not a single Qi Practitioner who wouldn¡¯t be interested in that.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Qi Practitioner? Then what are these innate masters all about?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked with an open mind, and Yan Song gradually eased up. He was willing to serve as a guiding lantern for him. Moreover, these matters were all common knowledge in the first place.

    As it turned out, there were extremely few people in this world who could practise true qi right from the beginning. These people were Qi Practitioners. However, the demand for talent to become a Qi Practitioner was extremely high, so most people did not take this path. Instead, there was another path available, which was cultivating inner force. Inner force basically had no strict demands on talent. As long as someone was not an idiot and was willing to put in the effort, basically anyone could develop inner force.

    The internal martial arts that ordinary people practised were equivalent to simplified versions of qi practising methods, lowering the need for talent and making it easier to achieve. As a result, basically everyone could practise it. However, the inner force developed through this process would never be as great as true qi. And, as they never truly opened their meridians, the inner force would be restricted to the meridians; it could not nourish the organs or be released externally.

    However, as long as they cultivated their inner force to the limit and subsequently broke through, they could convert it into true qi and become a Qi Practitioner, which was commonly known as innate masters.

    The path of practising qi was divided into ten layers.

    However, regardless of the cultivation method, the path of practising qi was about opening the eight extraordinary meridian channels, which were the Yang Heel meridian, the Yin Heel meridian, the Yang Linking meridian, the Yin Linking meridian, the Girdle meridian, the Penetrating meridian, the Conception meridian, and the Governing meridian.

    The eight extraordinary meridians did not directly connect to the internal organs, nor did they link the outside with the inside, which was why they were called the extraordinary meridians. Every single one of them covered the entire body, connecting several major acupoints. With each one opened, their true qi would grow slightly stronger, and that was a layer. Completely opening all eight extraordinary meridians would be reaching the ninth layer.

    Reaching the tenth layer would be even more difficult. It required the complete opening of the twelve standard meridians, which were the three yin meridians of the arm, the three yang meridians of the arm, the three yin meridians of the leg, and the three yang meridians of the leg. These twelve standard meridians criss-crossed with one another, linking the hands and feet to the internal organs and five elements. It was extremely easy to suffer from qi deviation and injure the organs, but once one broke through, they would be able to reach the tenth layer, the realm of completion, reaching the peak of Qi Practitioners.

    However, Li Qingshan had not opened any meridians at all, as he walked the path of a daemon, so there were completely no meridians to consider. There were countless different types of daemons that shared very few characteristics with humans. How could a snake or a bamboo possess meridians?

    But when he thought up to this point, he suddenly came up with an idea. After suppressing the ox demon and tiger demon with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he was an actual human. He had recovered his original form, so was he really unable to practise qi? As it seemed, he needed to find a method of practising qi and try it. Unknowingly, he embarked on an even stranger and more unique path with that thought.

    Reaching there, Yan Song even grumbled about how their status as people who started off as martial arts practitioners was just too low. After all, by the time he reached the innate realm and could practise qi, he was already quite old. Although he used the true qi he had converted from his dense inner force to open the Yang Heel meridian, breaking through to the second layer, he was unable to take another step forward. He could not open the Yin Heel meridian and break through to the third layer.

    Everyone comforted him. Yan Song said, ¡°Body Practitioners are powerful, but it¡¯s still not the orthodox. Qingshan, you¡¯re very young, so you must be able to reach the third layer, or even the fourth or fifth layer. If you can open your Girdle meridian and develop a sea of qi, reaching the sixth layer, you¡¯ll be able to get promoted to a Scarlet Wolf guard and take office in the Clear River city. It¡¯ll all be worth it if that happens.¡±

    Yan Song was sharp-sighted. He could tell that it was impossible for Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi to have reached the second layer. The reason why he was able to defeat him so easily was because he walked the path of a Body Practitioner. From a certain perspective, the external martial arts of the jianghu were a simplified version of Body Practitioner methods. However, Body Practitioners were the same as practitioners of external martial arts in the jianghu. They were powerful at the beginning, but they had no future. It would be very difficult to reach a higher realm, so it was not a favourable path to take.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for your warning, protector Yan. I will keep an eye out for it in the future.¡± But as a daemon, it was basically impossible for him to not be a Body Practitioner.

    However, with Yan Song¡¯s explanations, he felt everything clear up drastically. He wondered what layer of Qi Practitioners he could take on when he was daemonified. Zhuo Zhibo of Jiaping city was probably around the level of a weaker Scarlet Wolf guard as a Black Hawk commander. His strength was probably around the sixth layer, having developed a sea of qi.

    He had no idea which was more powerful, the sea of qi of humans or the daemon core of daemons, but they must have been around the same. Even if the daemon core was weaker, he could just run away. As a result, he made up his mind to visit Jiaping city. Similar to how the government could provide for people, the resources they could offer did interest him.

    Li Qingshan then asked, ¡°May I ask if you have any methods of practising qi, protector Yan?¡±

    Yan Song said awkwardly, ¡°The methods of practising qi are usually unique to various sects and schools and are not openly offered to outsiders.¡±

    Li Qingshan also understood that his question was rather abrupt. He had just reconciled with Yan Song, and now, he wanted a method for practising qi. It really did seem rather inappropriate, so he smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve been rude.¡± He drank a cup of alcohol and no longer said anything more.

    Yan Song considered it with some difficulty. ¡°But, if you really do want it, Qingshan, I can try to see what I can do.¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed, and he toasted a few more cups to Yan Song. Ya Dachuan and Liu Hong also congratulated him for his great luck. Li Long showed great admiration and thought about how the world really was ruled with power. Li Qingshan slapped this old man in the face a few times and ended up receiving a method for practising qi in return.

    After the meal, in a quiet room, Yan Song passed a method of practising qi to Li Qingshan.

    The name of the method was the Innate Method of Practising Qi. There were also nine layers, but reaching the ninth layer was only equivalent to achieving the third layer of Qi Practitioner. It was not some impressive superhuman ability.

    Yan Song had also explained this point to him calmly. ¡°The Innate Method of Practising Qi is just for establishing a foundation. With your talent, Qingshan, you¡¯ll definitely be able to find an even better method to practise in the future.¡±

    Methods for practising qi could be described as very valuable, enough to make many people shed blood and lose their lives over one. However, they could also be described as not valuable, with this Innate Method of Practising Qi in particular. Among Qi Practitioners, basically everyone knew about it, and most of those who did not know about it had a better, stronger method for practising qi right from the beginning.

    The most valuable part was not the method, but the person who could practise the method. Basically, as long as you possessed the talent to practise qi, countless people in the world would be willing to pass this basic method onto you. As long as Li Qingshan joined the Hawkwolf Guard, he could obviously receive the same method as well. Yan Song could see how Li Qingshan had great future prospects lying ahead of him, so he did not mind doing him this favour that did not cost him anything.

    ¡°Thank you, protector Yan!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s main objective right now was to see whether he could practise qi or not. The quality of the method was a lesser concern. And, such a basic method might not offer much of an increase in power, but it probably had the unique characteristic of being easy to grasp, so instead, it became the most suitable one for him.

    He wondered about other things. Were all abilities and methods divided into nine layers? Currently, all of the abilities and methods he practised followed this standard. He even asked Xiao An, and his Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was the same.

    Yan Song bid farewell and went back to picking disciples, leaving Li Qingshan to cultivate in the quiet room.

    Calming incense burned in the room. Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed, and his eyes closed gently as he quietly comprehended the wondrous truths of the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    He had experience with practising qi. He even managed to develop true qi of quite some strength, but it was all for the sake of converting it into daemon qi, turning him into a daemon in the end. It was not a proper method of practising qi.

    Only now did he truly come into contact with a human Qi Practitioner¡¯s cultivation method for the first time. After comprehending it slightly, he discovered that it was much easier than the abilities that the black ox had taught him. In particular, the first three layers did not require any meridians at all. It was all about how to gather true qi.

    It was just like a high schooler taking the classes of a primary school, completing the exercises of a primary school student¡¯s physical education class. It was extremely easy. In under two hours, Li Qingshan refined a new strand of true qi, which only demonstrated his talent once again. At least he had the right to practise qi. If he was born in Clear River city, he probably would have been accepted as a disciple by someone a long time ago, embarking on the path of a Qi Practitioner.

    However, before he could even celebrate, the daemon core sucked in the strand of true qi and converted it into daemon qi.

    Li Qingshan could not help but become dumbfounded. Was he wrong? Afterwards, he began practising the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. With an unwavering mind, he absorbed the spiritual qi of the world, and after six whole hours, the daemon qi in the daemon core approached a state of saturation. Of course, even if he practised for another sixty hours, it was impossible to actually saturate the daemon core with daemon qi.

    Li Qingshan practised the Innate Method of Practicing Qi again and condensed true qi. It was swallowed by the daemon core again, converted into daemon qi, but a portion was left behind for him. However, this still made him ravish with joy. It proved that his thoughts and choice were correct. He really could practise qi like a human.

    The sky gradually darkened. Li Qingshan persevered with his cultivation, gradually gathering true qi bit by bit through great difficulty. He was like a labourer working under the cruel exploitation of a bourgeoisie, where most of his hard work and fruits of labour would be deprived from him.

    Of course, this bourgeoisie was actually Li Qingshan himself. None of his efforts went to waste.

    During this time, Li Long had come to knock, inviting him to eat. However, Li Qingshan was completely submerged in this masochistic form of cultivation, possessing no other interests and was unaware of anything else.

 Chapter 107 â€“ The Sumeru Ring

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Qingshan is cultivating. Don¡¯t disturb him!¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°Little Long, you have to work hard on martial arts as well. Although you don¡¯t have the talent to directly become a Qi Practitioner, you just need to break through to the innate realm, and your inner force can be converted into true qi. You¡¯ll break through to the second layer with great ease. You won¡¯t be worse than anyone else.¡±

    Li Qingshan had finished hall chief Wu, so Liu Hong asked Yan Song to take Li Long to Clear River city. He would head to the main branch of the Iron Fist school to learn martial arts. If it were not for that, Liu Hong would never have gone to such great lengths to suck up to Yan Song.

    Li Long said with respect and caution, ¡°Yes, protector!¡±

    The three of them gazed at the door of the quiet room. They were all thinking different things.

    With the crow of a rooster, the day lit up again. Only after an entire night did Li Qingshan open his eyes. He silently sensed the true qi flowing through his body as he felt relief. He had finally achieved the first layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    This did not mean he could complete the cultivation method with great ease. Any cultivation method would grow in difficulty as one progressed. The amount of time and energy it would take would increase exponentially.

    It was a pity that he had consumed all the unknown spiritual pills Xuanyue gave him back then. Otherwise, he was confident that even a single pill would have been enough for him to complete the first three layers of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. It might even be enough to open the Yang Heel meridian, allowing him to break through to the second layer.

    The path of cultivation remained closely attached to the four words of wealth, companionship, method, and environment. Wealth ranked first, but the wealth here was not referring to gold and silver, but spiritual medicines and herbs. Regardless of the ability or cultivation method, they were all basically a process of gathering spiritual qi. If he wanted to practise martial arts, then he needed to be well-fed. If he wanted to cultivate, then he needed to ingest qi. The products of external alchemy would provide essential assistance.

    Although a person¡¯s talent and comprehension were very important, it was impossible for one to achieve instantaneous enlightenment and immediately make drastic progress unless they had spent a lot of time building up their foundations beforehand.

    However, even the puny true qi was of great importance to him. He took out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and channeled true qi into it. As expected, the spiritual artifact accepted the true qi. Although it failed to even launch a stroke in the end, it was still great motivation for him.

    This was the formidable aspect of humans. Li Qingshan had to take advantage of this as much as possible. And, if he wanted to open the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring, he needed this power as well. He meditated again and recovered his depleted true qi.

    He fished out the ring and wore it on his finger, channeling true qi into it. Although he knew it was basically impossible for him to open it, it was still worth a try.

    True qi flowed into the ring like water, circling through it before flowing back into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Obviously, the ring showed no signs of opening. However, to his astonishment, most of the true qi he had produced after so much difficulty vanished in the blink of an eye. It had not been depleted like when he channelled it into the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, which he could still recover. Instead, it had cost him progress.

    He had been forced out of the first layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi again. However, the remaining true qi became extremely pure and clear; it was like a great, muddy river turning into a clear stream. Although the quantity had decreased, the quality had increased significantly. It circulated at a much swifter rate as well.

    The more impure one¡¯s true qi was, the more difficult it was to break through. True qi of greater impurity made it very easy to get caught on bottlenecks. Many Qi Practitioners would have to be patient with bottle necks, gradually refining their true qi like they were hammering metal. However, the sumeru ring directly helped him change his crude iron into fine steel, saving some time and effort. This was a treasure that countless Qi Practitioners or even cultivators of higher realms could only dream of.

    Li Qingshan had never thought the sumeru ring would have such a use aside from storing items.

    But was this good news? Li Qingshan instead smiled bitterly. Had it been easy for him to refine that little bit of true qi? His daemon core would swallow most of the true qi, which the ring would subsequently refine. It was an utter nuisance. He felt like he had laboured for several decades, only to return to the times before the War of Liberation.1

    Li Qingshan sighed heavily. He knew that this was the correct choice. If he spent a little more time now, he would be able to save a lot of time later. Most people did not spend most of their time on cultivation; rather, they became stuck at bottlenecks, unable to advance any further.

    For example, protector Yan had reached the second layer a long, long time ago, but he could not break through to the third layer no matter what he tried. He was stuck there. Over all these years, he naturally wanted to refine his true qi, but he was helpless. His true qi that had been converted from inner force was just too impure.

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes and began cultivating once again. However, he did not remove the ring this time.

    Yan Song had already picked the disciples and was ready to leave, but even after waiting till the dead of the night, he did not see Li Qingshan emerge. Even when they knocked a few times, no one answered.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Perhaps something has happened?¡± However, he was wondering inside whether protector Yan had purposefully given Li Qingshan a method of practising qi with issues that would make him suffer from qi deviation.

    Yan Song frowned. He did not know what was happening either. If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s extremely long and steady breathing within the room, he basically would have suspected that Li Qingshan had died from qi deviation.

    Practising qi was similar to doing anything else. It was about a combination of work and rest, knowing when to cultivate and when to rest. It was not about just wasting away time, or there would be no benefits at all, only detriments.

    He did not warn Li Qingshan about this, as he should have been able to understand such a matter as he cultivated. As time went on, the effects of practising qi would grow weaker and weaker, while his mind should have become more and more exhausted. Moreover, true qi was extracted from the vitality of the human body, which needed replenishing through food and drink. Otherwise, he would be creating something from nothing.

    Li Qingshan encountered a similar issue, but he just switched to the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Spirit turtles could sink into the depths of the seas and sleep for millennia while absorbing and releasing spiritual qi of the world. To Li Qingshan, meditation was not something that exhausted him. Instead, it was more like sleeping and resting.

    With a thought, he switched back to the Innate Method of Practising Qi. In the beginning, the process was extremely difficult, and he would leave his state of meditation with the slightest bit of carelessness, pausing his cultivation of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. However, he gradually grasped the trick and made the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression into an automatic behaviour; it became like breathing for a sleeping person. This had nothing to do with Li Qingshan¡¯s intelligence. Instead, the ability was simply too profound, much more than what he could imagine.

    Afterwards, he would practise the Innate Method of Practising Qi in this state of semi-consciousness, using both a human and a daemon¡¯s method at the same time.

    Li Qingshan discovered that the daemon core would not be as greedy as before under such a state, saving him much more of his fruits of labour.

    In this state, his rate of practising the Innate Method of Practising Qi reached an unprecedented high as well. His vitality was extremely powerful. Going several days without food or drink posed no problem to him at all.

    For three whole days and nights, Li Qingshan did not sleep, rest, eat, or drink. He was completely submerged in cultivation. Finally, when he opened his eyes again, he had forcefully pushed his way back to the first layer with the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    He exhaled deeply as he felt pangs of hunger. He took out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy again and channeled the extremely pure true qi into it. Before his true qi had even run out, a calligraphy stroke lit up, and a strand of sword qi shot out.

    Earlier, his actions were akin to tossing moist, green wood into a furnace. As such, he struggled to even light a fire. However, what he used now was high quality charcoal, which was extremely easy to set alight and could also provide large amounts of heat.

    The two disciples of the Iron Fist school that guarded the entrance suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. They looked at each other. ¡°Don¡¯t you feel a bit cold?¡± ¡°I really do a little. So much for summer.¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed away the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and took off the sumeru ring, hanging it around his neck again before standing up. He opened the door, and the sunlight dazzled him.

    ¡°Young hero Li, you¡¯ve finally emerged!¡± one of the disciples said while the other went to report the news.

    Before long, Yan Song and Liu Hong had arrived.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve emerged? I even thought something had happened to you. There were almost a few times when I wanted to burst through the door.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Apologies. The cultivation method from protector Yan was just too profound. I got carried away with comprehending it, and I forgot about the time.¡±

    Protector Yan said, ¡°Were you really practising qi? What layer did you reach?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I just reached the first layer.¡±

    Yan Song said, ¡°That¡¯s not slow at all.¡± However, it definitely was not fast either. The first layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi was the easiest. He had personally witnessed talented children complete the first layer within two hours. Obviously, Li Qingshan was not fast.

    However, spending three days on practising qi in a single sitting during one¡¯s first time was unheard of.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve made you all wait. We can set off now!¡±

    Liu Hong took out a wad of silver notes and gave it to Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan had originally come to collect his debt after all.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°School master Liu, you¡¯ll be looking down on me if you do that. Protector Yan has been so generous, so how can I be stingy? Let¡¯s not mention the matter of money again.¡± He never liked to owe anyone anything. Only when he was debt-free could he find peace. Although the Innate Method of Practising Qi was nothing outstanding, it was extremely important to him. Even just getting his hands on it earlier than usual was better than nothing.

    Liu Hong was delighted. Obviously, he could not make Yan Song return the money he had given to him. That was his savings for retirement.

    Yan Song developed a good opinion of him as well, turning down a sum of over ten thousand taels of silver casually like it was nothing. It would be nothing surprising if he came from a wealthy clan, but he was a teenager from the mountains, so such an attitude was very rare. This child has been born with extraordinary magnanimity. It¡¯s no wonder that people would appreciate him.

    Only after a series of declinations out of courtesy did Li Qingshan accept two thousand taels to cover travelling expenses.

    When Li Qingshan arrived outside the Iron Fist school, all he saw and heard were a series of deafening drums and firecrackers where it was normally cold and cheerless. There were even lions and dragon dancers that completely crowded the surroundings of the Iron Fist school.

    Four children with red eyes were delivered before Yan Song. They were the children that he had picked. They had the opportunity to leave this tiny Qingyang city and enter an even vaster world, but they would have to leave their homeland and their relatives.

    Li Qingshan watched on from one side with folded arms. Suddenly, he heard someone call out his name. Turning around, he saw village head Li and caretaker Liu in the crowd as well. Beside them were the two brothers, Li Hu and Li Bao, and behind them were a few people from the Crouching Ox village.

 Chapter 108 â€“ Homeland Far Away From Home

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Are you here to send off Li Long?¡±

    Caretaker Liu said, ¡°F- for you as well. Er- Qingshan. You really have achieved success. I hope you can forget about what happened in the past.¡± The current Li Qingshan was an indomitable figure of importance in his eyes. Even when caretaker Liu spoke, he struggled to string words together.

    The other villagers came up to congratulate him. They even carried their own produce, which all of them shoved into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands.

    Looking at these familiar faces, Li Qingshan became filled with emotions, actually momentarily forgetting how to respond. Ever since he was born, he had been constantly longing to leave the Crouching Ox village, but all of a sudden, every single house and every single strand of grass from the village seemed to flash past his eyes vividly.

    At that moment, the deep well that had trapped him for over a decade that he had constantly wanted to leave, the mud and lichen that he found disgusting, all seemed so familiar. Village head Li hugged Li Long as tears streamed down his face. The surroundings were in a noisy clamour, but everything suddenly fell silent when it reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears.

    Li Qingshan even discovered his big brother and his sister-in-law among the crowd. They were both jittery, cowering from the wealthy people of the city. They looked at Li Qingshan, wanting to come up to say something, yet too afraid to approach him. At that moment, they were filled with regret. If they had not fallen out with Li Qingshan, who knows how much glory they would have received because of him. They saw Li Qingshan look at them, and rays of hope erupted in their eyes.

    However, Li Qingshan immediately shifted his gaze. What should be severed had already been severed. They could not cry over spilt milk. It was not that he could not forgive them, but because they were already worlds apart now. Moreover, they failed to understand that there was an even higher chance for them to be targeted and subsequently killed compared to wealthy people simply by being his relatives.

    Yan Song passed an order, and everyone parted to the two sides. A large, horse-drawn carriage rushed over. Both horses were extremely well-groomed.

    Li Qingshan, protector Yan, Li Long, and the four children boarded the carriage together. The carriage moved slowly, stopping in front of the government office. Ye Dachuan and the advisor boarded the carriage in delight. With the protection of these masters, it would be impossible for them to come across any danger along the way.

    In a pavilion five kilometers from the city, Li Qingshan saw the master of the Stone Splitter bow once again.

    Huang Binghu said, ¡°Congratulations, Qingshan, on making progress with your strength yet again.¡± He discovered that he could no longer see through this teenager anymore. However, he was very well-informed as well. The only person who could defeat an innate master in an open confrontation was another innate master. He had achieved the goal he stated in the past, and he only used a few months.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Hunting chief, you haven¡¯t wasted any time either.¡± He could tell that Huang Binghu was extremely close to the level of first-rate masters now. After a few toasts of farewell, he set off again. Finally, Qingyang city completely vanished behind him. It was no longer visible.

    Li Qingshan said to himself inside, Farewell, my homeland!

    He had already thought it through; whether it be dying and becoming part of the dirt or soaring through the sky, he would never return again. From today onwards, wherever he was would be his hometown.

    They travelled during the day and rested at night. After travelling through the mountains for three days, the surroundings suddenly opened up. Vast plains laid ahead of Li Qingshan.

    The golden fields of wheat spanned as far as the eye could see, and the summer breeze kicked up ripples among them. Various villages and towns were interspersed among the fields, with smoke rising up into the sky. It differed from the Crouching Ox village very much.

    Yan Song said, ¡°We¡¯ve left the boundaries of Qingyang city. If we travel for another three or five days, we¡¯ll reach Downstream port. We¡¯ll be able to switch to ferries and directly ride down to Jiaping city, or even the prefectural city of Clear River.¡±

    Li Qingshan took out the map that Gu Yanying gave him. With a thought, a speck of light lit up. Downstream port was only a few dozen kilometers from their present location.

    Yan Song said in surprise, ¡°A mental map, and a mental map of the Green province at that; this is worth quite a lot. Qingshan, where did you obtain it?¡±

    Usually, the greater the region a map covered, the less detailed it would be, while the smaller the region, the greater the detail. However, mental maps could cover thousands of kilometers and remain extremely detailed, condensing thousands of kilometers into a single square inch. Although it was only a low grade spiritual artifact, it was very valuable, let alone a mental map that spanned the entire Green province.

    Li Qingshan said suddenly, ¡°Protector Yan, sir Ye, I¡¯ll be parting with you here!¡± He had already gained a rough understanding of the jianghu and this world from the two of them over the past few days. At the very least, it was information they knew, so when he travelled alone, he would no longer be completely clueless.

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°What? Didn¡¯t we agree on going together?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I plan on travelling by myself and going out for a spin. I¡¯ve made you wait three days for nothing, so my sincerest apologies.¡± The reason why he chose to set off with them perhaps might have only been due to a certain fear. He was a person who had remained in a village for over a decade, but was now suddenly going to see the outside world. Such a matter was basically like entering a large city. He would always have some fear about this, even going as far as relying on these two people who were not as powerful as him, just so that they could look after one another along the way.

    Every single person had an urge to roam, and urge for freedom, but when a boundless, free world was actually presented before them, every single one of them would feel fear and be left at a loss as for what to do. Li Qingshan was the same.

    But now, it was time for him to throw these emotions aside. When he left the mountains and saw the vast plains, the glistening fields of wheat and the limpid, gurgling river water, the faint markings on the map all flashed across his mind. They were so beautiful and vivid, yet he had not even covered one ten-thousandth of the area depicted in the map.

    They looked at each other, uncertain as to how to convince him. Suddenly, they heard Li Qingshan spread his arms and say to the vast plains, ¡°I want to travel through all corners of the world, across the entire universe! I want to taste all of the delicacies and drink all of the finest alcohol the world has to offer! I want to practise the fiercest abilities, fight the strongest foes, and sleep with the most beautiful women! World, I¡¯m coming! Hahahaha!¡±

    His voice grew louder as he spoke, such that his laughter became thunderous. When he mentioned it, it did sound like a stupid declaration. Was it foolish? Perhaps. The ox that had listened to his foolish oath was no longer here, but he no longer needed to ask anyone, ¡°Will my dream really come true?¡±

    He did not need anyone to answer him. He did not need anyone¡¯s recognition. And obviously, he did not care about other people¡¯s gazes either. The answer was already in his heart.

    After agreeing to rendezvous in Jiaping city, these people watched Li Qingshan¡¯s large, tall figure travel off into the distance from the hill. As they watched him enter the golden plains, he seemed like a large child rolling through the wheat, vanishing very quickly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s choice originally seemed rather ridiculous and childish, but in their minds, they all thought of a few phrases together. Dragons swim through the vast ocean. Tigers enter the depths of the mountains.

    Li Qingshan did not follow the main path, running madly through the open fields. He arrived at a small speck on the map very soon. It was a city that was much more prosperous than Qingyang city. He did not bother to remember its name. Instead, he directly rushed to their largest establishment and ordered a table of the best food. Every single dish was a local specialty. He had not seen or even heard about many of them before. Every single jar he ordered was fine, aged alcohol of twenty years. Although they were not as great as the spiritual alcohol, they had their own unique taste.

    The shopkeeper saw how he was a major client, so he personally came to receive him, even drinking a few cups with him. He suddenly smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no fun in drinking alone. Young master, would you like a few beauties to accompany you?¡± From how Li Qingshan acted, he seemed like a wastrel who had managed to escape from his clan after quite some difficulty.

    Li Qingshan was surprised at first before smiling. ¡°Of course! Why wouldn¡¯t I want any? I have plenty of money!¡± He acted like the most vulgar upstart there was.

    He wanted to work hard on cultivation. He wanted to travel beyond the Nine Heavens. However, he did not plan on being an ascetic. He had sworn that he wanted to marry a woman like Gu Yanying, but before he actually took the oath of marriage with a woman, he had no plans to act like an ascetic monk.

    Living in the world was not suffering. Otherwise, people would be better off dead. The distant dream planted seeds of hope in his heart. There was no point to turn it around against him and cause torment.

    As a result, around a dozen seductively-dressed women, wonderfully adorned, sat beside him. They giggled as they spoke to him, constantly referring to him as ¡®master¡¯ or ¡®young master¡¯. They boldly extended their hands into his bosom.

    At first, Li Qingshan felt rather unnatural and was teased by a few of the escorts, but he relaxed very quickly. He hugged and touched them without minding it at all, smiling from ear to ear. However, his eyes remained as clear as water the entire time; he was just like a child playing an extremely new and interesting game.

    However, it was very easy for children to become bored. He did not actually plan on doing anything. It was not because he had any disdain towards these escorts, but because it was extremely easy for him to grow sick and tired of a game-like thing after having seen the almost perfect beauty of people like Gu Yanying and Xuanyue.

    He did not know before, but only now did he understand the meaning of ¡®When she smiled she was an extremely charming female. By comparison, all other bower maids became pale.¡¯1

    Bang!

    Suddenly, someone flung open the door to the room and yelled, ¡°Can you quieten down!?¡± He was a young man in expensive clothes, carrying a treasured sword and wearing a treasured head ornament. Just as the saying went, three women made quite the chatter. It was impossible for dining with a table of escorts to be quiet.

    Behind the young master was a charming woman. She looked at Li Qingshan in disgust.

    Li Qingshan raised a finger to his lips and let out a long hush before yawning and standing up. He casually fished out some silver notes and placed them on the table. The escorts immediately ignored him, scrambling for the silver notes.

    Li Qingshan walked past the young master and studied him. The young master placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was arrogant, but he did have the power to back up his arrogance. Li Qingshan could tell that he was already an innate master, no, he should have been regarded as a talented Qi Practitioner. The woman behind him was the same. With two Qi Practitioners, they obviously had the right to look down on everyone. In their eyes, Li Qingshan was just a regular wastrel. Cutting him down with a stroke of his sword would be nothing special at all.

 Chapter 109 â€“ Demons Come Knocking

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Please let me through!¡± Afterwards, he squeezed past the young master and looked deeply at the woman dressed like a scholar. He shook his head. She was a beauty. In his former life, he would struggle to make her smile even if he used everything he had. But now, his target was much higher. With the small joys of his own, private dream, he walked past her and conveniently caught a whiff of her fragrance. Dreams were the source of happiness.

    The woman¡¯s frown deepened, perhaps due to the smell of women on Li Qingshan, or perhaps due to Li Qingshan¡¯s fearless gaze. Maybe Li Qingshan shaking his head at the end was the reason why she was so furious.

    The young master wanted to draw his sword, but the woman shook her head. She allowed Li Qingshan down the stairs as she showed contempt in her eyes.

    Li Qingshan did not leap up and fight back immediately like a cat that had its tail stepped on. He definitely possessed the strength, but he realised that as long as he held back momentarily, he could avoid a lot of trouble. Of course, he had not lost his temper either.

    However, the person who had just evaded trouble was about to go make trouble for others now. He made his way down the stairs and shook off the smell of women on him. He wanted to try it, so he had tried it now and no longer cared about it. He knocked the jar on his waist. ¡°Xiao An, let¡¯s go kill some bad people!¡± He did not choose to part with protector Yan and the others just for the sake of hanging out with some women.

    The jar thumped back in response, and Li Qingshan sniggered. He strode away, walking towards a dark alleyway. Only when he entered the darkness did he feel the gaze on him completely vanish.

    ¡°Rongzhi, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The scholar called Rongzhi said, ¡°I saw that his steps were level and steady. He seems to have practised martial arts before.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just a practitioner of some external martial arts at most. If you hadn¡¯t stopped me, I definitely would have taught him a lesson.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just someone insignificant. Even if you kill him, you¡¯ll just dirty your hands, so what¡¯s the point? We better eat quickly instead and travel quickly tomorrow so that we can get to Jiaping city early.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s rare for the Hawkwolf Guard to be recruiting new members. We can¡¯t miss this opportunity.¡± The man¡¯s eyes blazed. As long as he joined the Hawkwolf Guard, he would be on a completely different level compared to the jianghu, becoming a man among men. No one could resist such a temptation, so he was determined to obtain this position.

    ¡°It probably won¡¯t be that easy. This time, all of the masters within a range of five hundred kilometers of Jiaping city have been drawn over. There might even be third or fourth layer Qi Practitioners, and the number of places are limited as well. There¡¯ll definitely be a tough struggle.¡±

    However, unbeknownst to them, Li Qingshan heard everything they said loudly and clearly. His auditory senses had already reached the level of daemonic beasts, so as long as he wished, he could clearly hear anything within a range of five kilometers.

    The Hawkwolf Guard had actually begun recruiting people; this was probably the position that had cleared out due to Feng Zhang¡¯s expulsion. Probably even Wang Pushi would have never imagined he would be able to survive and actually fill in the spot! Obviously, he did not care if his appearance would crush the hopes of these people. He did not have too much time to think about it right now either.

    That was because a few dark, shady figures had already begun to block up the alleyway he was in. The small city was more prosperous, but there were not too many outsiders. And, there were even fewer people who attracted as much attention to themselves as Li Qingshan. The news that a teenager with a tremendous sum of money spread very quickly, and he had actually walked into this world of darkness himself. It would make no sense if he was not robbed.

    Li Qingshan whispered, ¡°We¡¯re pretty lucky!¡± He knocked the jar. ¡°It¡¯s time to eat!¡±

    ¡°Hand over your money!¡± A person pulled out a shiny dagger, but what answered him were the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration that shone even brighter. Basically unable to let out any sounds, the people had been swallowed by the flames. Their flesh and blood turned into pure energy, becoming part of the fire.

    A lantern lit up the darkness, bringing light to an old man¡¯s dumpling stand. Although there were no customers, only moths fluttering about, he did his best to remain open.

    A young man strode over and said loudly, ¡°Senior, give me a bowl of dumplings!¡±

    ¡°Alrighty!¡± The old man began moving dexterously, and very soon, some dumplings were floating in some clear water.

    ¡°It¡¯s so late, so why aren¡¯t you resting? You¡¯re elderly now, so shouldn¡¯t you be enjoying your time in retirement?¡± Li Qingshan chattered casually. The old man sighed away his complaints. It was all because of his unfilial children. His wife and he had no proper source of income; this was all part of the most ordinary bleaknesses of the world.

    Li Qingshan sat beside the stand, eating dumplings as he comforted the man with a smile. He actually found this much better compared to dining with escorts in a fancy restaurant. He preferred sitting in the corner of the darkness, eating simple food and talking to a weathered old man. How strange.

    ¡°Little brother, you don¡¯t seem to be a local. Forgive me, but you better quickly return to your inn after you¡¯re done. It¡¯s not very safe here at night.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Are there bad people?¡± Afterwards, he heard even more woes and grumbles. Every single place had them, procuresses who forced women into prostitution, wretched loan-sharks and jianghu gangs that harassed the weak while cowering before the strong.

    Li Qingshan listened and memorised it all quietly. He casually asked for the names and addresses of these people, eating four or five bowls of dumpling as he did that. He left behind all of the silver he found on the ruffians who just tried to rob him before standing up and bidding farewell.

    ¡°T- that¡¯s too much!¡± The old man astounded, but when he raised his head, Li Qingshan had already vanished. There was a night breeze. He thought about the stories of monsters and ghosts he had heard before. He decided to close up for the night immediately.

    On that night, demons came knocking, upholding justice and helping the weak, ridding the cruel and bringing peace.

    There were no evil abilities or techniques in the world, only evil people. If I were to kill every single bad person in the world, I would be a man of great benevolence.

    Before the sun had even risen for the day, Li Qingshan had left the small city. He began practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength in a region of wilderness. He had consecutively killed over a dozen people last night. He felt at ease, throwing fists like beating drums that boomed through the air.

    Xiao An sat by one side, refining the essence blood of the people. The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration constantly flowed around him, assuming various shapes such as wild beasts and venomous snakes. In the end, it actually became a lotus pedestal that lifted him up from the ground. It hovered in the wilderness, sometimes higher and sometimes lower in quite an imposing manner. Wherever it passed by, the verdant wild grass would immediately wither and die, leaving behind a trail of death on the ground.

    Xiao An could kill second layer Qi Practitioners like Yan Song as easily as a piece of cake now. Li Qingshan felt both admiration and awe. He was definitely stronger than Xiao An right now, but he could not fly. However, Xiao An was still nowhere close to the level where he could rebuild his body. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was terrifyingly powerful, but it was difficult to practise. It required even more sacrifices.

    Although Li Qingshan had not purposefully tried to gather money, his wealth had easily reached several tens of thousand taels after the slaughter last night. If those people were lamb-eating wolves, then he was a wolf-eating tiger. Suddenly, he discovered that to Qi Practitioners, the currency of ordinary people no longer held much significance at all, as they all possessed powers that surpassed ordinary people. Even through the most underhanded methods of stealing, they could easily gather a sum that ordinary people would struggle to accumulate through their entire lives.

    To Qi Practitioners, the true treasures were spiritual pills and spiritual stones that could increase their cultivation. However, it was evident that these resources would remain in the hands of powerful organisations. Ordinary people would probably never even hear about it in their entire lives. If he wanted these items, joining the Hawkwolf Guard was the best choice.

    He signalled to Xiao An and continued on the way. Regardless of day or night, he travelled and stopped whenever he wanted. He casually destroyed two or three nests of bandits, and after three days, he finally arrived before a river and stopped.

    The river was Clear river, as well as where the name, Clear River prefecture, came from. It flowed for thousands of kilometers, directly to Clear River city. The river was five to ten kilometers wide. Even with his two lives combined, he had never seen such a mighty river before. Looking at the rippling, reflective water, he immediately felt his mind open up.

    Li Qingshan arrived in a large town on the banks of the river. It was called Downstream town, originally developed due to the Downstream port. It was only a town, but it was much busier than Qingyang city. On a horse, he saw a sea of heads, jostling about in the streets with quite the noise. Suddenly, he thought of something. If he killed all these people, would Xiao An be able to reconstruct his body immediately? But afterwards, he shook his head. Wouldn¡¯t he just be a mass murderer then?

    There were countless vessels on the river bank as people hurried to and fro from the port. It was extremely busy, and there were obviously many ferries travelling south. Li Qingshan immediately saw huge, dragon ships of several stories high, constructed from beautifully carved beams and painted rafters. They seemed like luxurious restaurants and hotels built on water. He immediately gave up on the thought of hiring a smaller boat and boarded a large, dragon ship instead.

    The room at the very top of the dragon boat offered the best views, but it was also the most expensive. It actually cost several thousand taels of silver. Obviously, Li Qingshan was not lacking silver, so after fishing out a few silver notes, the manager of the ship immediately smiled from ear to ear before ordering some maidservants to take him to the very top. Before they left, he even gave ambiguous hints for them to take care of his needs as much as possible.

    The room was extremely large. Even if there were several dozen people there, they would not find it crowded. Its decor even exceeded the best establishment Li Qingshan had visited along the way here in terms of extravagancy. He opened the window and looked down at the port and Downstream town. He wondered when Yan Song and the others would arrive, but he ended up seeing two familiar figures. It was the pair he had come across in the restaurant three days ago.

    ¡°What? The top room is already booked, and we have to stay below?¡± The man was displeased.

    The manager said awkwardly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do. Young master, the next level down is very luxurious as well, so please just make do!¡± A person who could spend several taels just to board a ship obviously did not need money. Even if you offered them several tens of thousand taels to switch rooms, they would never agree to it out of pride.

    The woman said, ¡°We¡¯ve never had the habit of making do. Please find a way, manager. Money isn¡¯t an issue.¡±

    The man frowned. He raised his head and saw Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 110 â€“ Countering a Night Attack

    As a result, the two of them appeared before Li Qingshan once again. The man cut straight to the chase, tossing a wad of silver notes before Li Qingshan. ¡°Take the money and go downstairs!¡±

    Li Qingshan slapped the wad of notes back into the man¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯d better ask someone else instead!¡±

    The woman stopped the man who wanted to lose his temper. She introduced with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m Qian Rongzhi. This is my elder brother, Qian Rongming.¡±

    The manager interrupted them in shock. ¡°Are you perhaps from the Qian family of Ancient Wind city?¡± Ancient Wind city was a relatively larger city. The manager was a person who travelled around on ship, so it was impossible for him to not have heard about the great clan that could produce Qi Practitioners.

    Qian Rongming snorted proudly, while Qian Rongzhi nodded in a reserved manner. She continued towards Li Qingshan, ¡°I¡¯d advise you to accept it. When my elder brother loses his temper, he ends up killing people.¡± Since they came from a large clan, they had to take the image of the clan into consideration. They could not afford to lose their bearing at any times, and she preferred scaring away the enemy instead of fighting straight away.

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms. ¡°Really? That¡¯s something I¡¯d like to see actually.¡± This was the second they had come for him. There was a limit to his patience.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expression changed slightly. Originating from a large clan, she was born with the talent to practise qi. Moreover, she was beautiful, claiming the title of greatest beauty of Ancient Wind city. She could be described as a woman of influence and talent. Since she was young, everything she mentioned would end up happening one way or another. In particular, those stinky men were willing to toil about like beasts of burden for her. She had never been turned down before. Compared to the patience she showed on the surface, the arrogance in her bones even exceeded her elder brother, Qian Rongming. She said coldly, ¡°You¡¯ll be refusing a toast only to be drinking a forfeit.¡±

    ¡°I like drinking, so I welcome both toasts and forfeits!¡± Li Qingshan looked at her face seriously, wanting to see how a young lady from a large clan would react. It was as if he was watching some kind of show.

    Qian Rongzhi sighed deeply and took a step back. She said nonchalantly, ¡°To think that a person of the jianghu who has just practised some external martial arts would be bold enough to be unreasonable to Qi Practitioners. You¡¯re as reckless as they come. Even if you remain alive, it¡¯s redundant for idiots like you. Killing a few won¡¯t matter at all.¡±

    Qian Rongming smiled viciously and took a step forward. The manager sighed. He had already prepared people to collect the corpse. Confronting the people of the Qian family was far too foolish of a choice.

    ¡°What Qian family of Ancient Wind city? Are you supposed to be very impressive?¡±

    ¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡± Qian Rongming was furious as he walked over, but he was stopped by Qian Rongzhi once again. She looked over cautiously. ¡°May I ask who you are, sir? And what do you plan on doing?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. It was another Qi Practitioner, and one that had reached the third layer. It was no wonder that he was bold enough to look down on the second layer siblings.

    The man with a darker skin tone mocked them. ¡°If it¡¯s just the two of you, you¡¯re nowhere close to joining the Hawkwolf Guard. Why would you waste time going to Jiaping city? You¡¯d better get off the ship and go home quickly!¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand that this person was not standing up for him, but because the positions open in the Hawkwolf Guard were limited. He managed to read the siblings¡¯ purpose of travelling, which was why he had come to launch a verbal blow against them.

    Qian Rongming and Qian Rongzhi looked at each other. Although the difference between their strength was a whole layer, they might still have a chance if they worked together. However, they would definitely use up their precious talismans and lose their opportunity to contend for a position in the Hawkwolf Guard.

    ¡°Just you wait.¡± After a moment of hesitation, they threw behind a threat before leaving in a hurry. However, those words were not solely directed to the small, skinny man. They also glared at Li Qingshan viciously.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for helping me out. May I ask for your name?¡±

    ¡°Kid, you better not think that you can fool around just because you have a bit of money. There are far too many people you can¡¯t afford to provoke in this world. I¡¯d advise you to leave the ship as soon as possible!¡± The man said coldly before slamming his door shut.

    Li Qingshan shrugged; this was just how weaker people were treated.

    The ship moved slowly. It steadily broke through the waves on the river, moving with the flow and gliding towards Jiaping city.

    There were just a few cabins at the very top of the ship, and all of their doors were firmly shut. Only Li Qingshan paced around on the deck, admiring the scenery from the two banks. With too much to see, he immediately put the incident from before to the side.

    Night descended on the ship. Currently, Li Qingshan was meditating and practising in his room. Right now, he possessed four cultivation methods, the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, and the Innate Method of Practising Qi. All of them had nine layers, and he had attained the first layer with every single one of them. The former three were daemon abilities, which would become more difficult the more progress he made. The amount of time they would consume with each subsequent layer would multiply as well.

    Instead, he made much more rapid progress with the Innate Method of Practising Qi, as it was the lowest grade and was a human cultivation method. In order to obtain the items in the sumeru ring, Li Qingshan had devoted great effort into practising this technique as well. With his powerful body, the rate at which he refined his vitality into qi was startling. After just a few days, he was close to the second layer.

    Xiao An did not practise. Instead, he crouched in a corner of the room, holding and reading a book. There were two bookshelves in the room, which held many books of songs and poetry for leisure, as well as some common buddhist scriptures and books from the daoist canon. Xiao An was reading a buddhist scripture.

    Although the eminent monk who tried to attain the fruit of bodhisattva fell into the demonic path, and the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was also an ability of the demonic path, its essence still originated from the buddhist dharma. Naturally, Xiao An had to comprehend it. The blood-red flames in his eye sockets illuminated the words of the book, forming a rather strange sight. Suddenly, he raised his head.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes as well, looking at the door. They had both sensed it. One of them used their senses towards living creatures, while the other used their powerful senses as a daemon.

    A figure silently made it to the highest floor of the ship, arriving outside Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Killing intent shone in his eyes.

    Qian Rongming believed he had not produced any sounds or given off any aura at all. Obviously, he was not worrying about Li Qingshan. Instead, he was guarding himself from the neighbouring Qi Practitioner. He only wanted to kill Li Qingshan tonight. He thought viciously inside, I should have killed him the first time I saw him.

    As for the Qi Practitioner next door, he had already come up with a plan to deal with him. When they sparred to become a member of the Hawkwolf Guard, he would definitely use his trump card against him to show him what was what. Alternatively, he could become a member of the Hawkwolf Guard, and there would be no need to hurry his revenge if that happened.

    The heart of the dark-skinned man neighbouring Li Qingshan skipped a beat as well. He also sensed Qian Rongming. However, he had no plans to interfere. In his eyes, Li Qingshan was just someone insignificant, and he had blindly confronted a Qi Practitioner, ignoring his warning. Even if such a person died, he would have deserved it.

    He considered if he could derive any benefit from this issue, killing Qian Rongming while he was alone. The people of the Qian family from Ancient Wind city should possess some good things on them. Afterwards, he could go down and kill Qian Rongzhi, which would increase his chances at joining the Hawkwolf Guard. His lips curled into a smile as he stood up silently.

    The door opened by a crack, and Qian Rongming entered in a flash. He saw Li Qingshan on the bed and raised his right hand, Utilising his true qi, he delivered a palm strike, resulting in a soft thump. Qian Rongming smiled in delight.

    ¡°What are you smiling about?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes and red light shone in them.

    Qian Rongming was shocked inside. His muscles seized up. He wanted to follow up with another attack, but his body slackened again. He gazed at his chest in disbelief. A sword had pierced his heart.

    He was unable to believe that someone had dealt a sneak attack to him. Even more terrifyingly, he had yet to feel the existence of anyone behind him even right now. It was impossible for them to have no presence at all, unless they did not breathe or have a beating heart. Afterwards, he turned around with difficulty; the last sight of his life was a skeleton with rolling flames in its eye sockets. The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration permeated his body and converted him into a part of it.

    This was not because Qian Rongming was far too weak or far too careless, but because Xiao An¡¯s current strength was on par with third or fourth layer Qi Practitioners. Before absolute strength combined with a sneak attack, it would be strange if he had not been slain in a single stroke.

    Li Qingshan sighed slightly. ¡°It was just a slight disagreement, so why must you go as far as to try to kill me? Were you far too haughty, or was I far too discreet?¡± Even back then on that day in the restaurant, Li Qingshan possessed the strength to kill this person. However, Li Qingshan did not attack him; it was not because he was afraid of trouble, but because he did not want to kill indiscriminately. He would only be a ruffian if he attacked and killed over the slightest disagreement. When he killed, he wanted a good reason for doing so. However, others might have different thoughts. Perhaps in their eyes, everyone really were ants, to be squished whenever they felt like it.

    He casually searched through his spoils, but he failed to find any talismans or pills like he had been expecting. All he found was a black, embroidered pouch, which seemed rather familiar. It was very worn out and dim, where even many of the stitches had broken. It formed quite the contrast for appearing on a young master like Qian Rongming.

    With a thought, Li Qingshan channeled his feeble spiritual qi into the embroidered pouch, and suddenly, a wondrous space opened up in his mind. It seemed like he was looking into a small, virtual box that held all sorts of things.

    There were obviously plenty of silver notes, as well as a few small bottles and talismans. With a thought, the items inside appeared in his hand.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. As it turned out, this was the legendary hundred treasures pouch. In the past few days, he had asked Yan Song many things about the common knowledge of Qi Practitioners. He learned that sumeru rings were items that only truly powerful cultivators could use, and these rings possessed extremely vast spaces. As for just how vast, Yan Song had only heard about it before. He had never seen one with his own eyes. It was rare for regular Qi Practitioners to even possess a hundred treasures pouch.

    The reason why he found this embroidered pouch familiar was because he had seen one the Scarlet Hawk commander, Wang Pushi, before. However, Wang Pushi¡¯s hundred treasures pouch was much more impressive than this, and it must have had a much larger storage space as well. Without much thought, he knew Qian Rongming¡¯s hundred treasures pouch was just the standard, inferior version. It could not even hold a longer weapon.

    However, even an inferior hundred treasures pouch was extremely rare. At the very least, a second layer Qi Practitioner like Yan Song did not possess one. He really did live up to his background. He was quite impressive.

 Chapter 111 â€“ A Great River and a Great City

    The three unknown yellow talismans were probably the trump cards Qian Rongming had referred to. He had learned about this from Yan Song as well. Talismans were divided into various grades. Although the three talismans were all yellow, they glowed much more brightly compared to the talismans on Li Qingshan right now. They were low or mid grade at the very least. His insight regarding talismans was still insufficient to determine it precisely.

    Most of the talismans and spiritual artifacts that ordinary people of the jianghu could get their hands on in exchange for money were inferior goods; people who had just learned how to create artifacts or talismans created them. Even if ordinary people could get their hands on talismans and spiritual artifacts that actually had a grade, they would struggle to use them. At the very least, they would struggle to activate a low grade talisman even if they bit their tongues and spat out blood.

    There was finally no more need for him to carry his random objects on him. Apart from keeping the sumeru ring on him, Li Qingshan placed everything else he owned inside the pouch. After checking his money and the silver Qian Rongming had been carrying, he had a total of seventy or eighty thousand silver notes, several talismans, and three bottles of Qi Gathering pills. He did not take smaller items like healing pills into consideration.

    However, the most precious item on him after the sumeru ring was not these items, but a daemon core. He had removed it from the rat general in the Boundless mountains. Xuanyue obviously had no interest in it, so she gave it to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to consume it, nor was he bold enough to eat it directly, which was why he kept it. He had stored it in a small bottle the entire time. He took it out again to admire it before placing it in the hundred treasures pouch as well. Finally, he placed the hundred treasures pouch in his bosom.

    His drastic increase in wealth brought about quite a nice feeling. Li Qingshan¡¯s murderous nature had been roused, so he wondered whether to go all the way and find that Qian Rongzhi, uprooting this potential problem once and for all. It had to be mentioned that killing and robbing people was addictive. Why did humans constantly wage war? That was because stealing from others would always be easier than creating for themselves.

    However, he quickly suppressed this thought, not because he was benevolent, but because he was worried. Once he did that, his murderous nature would rise up, and he would even kill the neighbouring dark-skinned man to steal all of his belongings.

    Even with the suppression of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, his primitive instincts that were no different from that of daemons almost prompted him into taking action. However, acting based on his instincts was not the path he wanted. As he rapidly gained strength, he rapidly learned how to control this power so that he would not lose himself to it.

    At the same time, he also realised something else. He realised just how terrifying people could become after obtaining great power. That was probably how Qian Yongming thought. He could easily kill Li Qingshan, and it would come at no cost at all, easily venting his anger just as naturally as eating or drinking.

    The dangers of this cultivation path within the human world probably surpassed the Boundless mountains. Li Qingshan dismissed his random thoughts. If Qian Rongzhi did not try to provoke him, he would let her be, but if she tried, he would kill her as well. There was no need for him to expend any additional thought on it right now.

    He wrapped up the bones on the ground with the clothes and arrived outside, about to toss them overboard and destroy all traces of this ever happening. However, he saw the neighbouring man¡¯s face of disbelief as soon as he made his way out; the man was looking at the bones in his hands.

    ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised, greeting him with a smile before going around the man and tossing the bundle into the pitch-black river. He was at so much ease that it did not seem like he was dumping remains, but admiring the night scenery. This had nothing to do with whether he was actually smarter than the ordinary person. Instead, it was composure that came with his confidence in his strength.

    The man stiffened up. He clenched his fist before easing up again. As he looked at Li Qingshan, there was no more contempt at all anymore. Instead, his gaze was filled with caution and even a sliver of fear.

    He had been waiting in a dark corner outside the entire time, ready to grasp the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. However, the person who emerged from the door was not Qian Rongming, but Li Qingshan who he thought of as dead. There was no need to ask who the pale-white bones belonged to. However, even if he launched a sneak attack against Qian Rongming, he would struggle to kill him in a single stroke. The person before him was not prey, but a Qi Practitioner countless times more vicious than a predator.

    He was very tempted to ask Li Qingshan how he managed to do that, but he was unable to say anything as he looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s smile. Even more terrifyingly, he still could not sense any presence of qi on Li Qingshan. It was just like how the unknown would always be the most terrifying.

    After casting the remains overboard, Li Qingshan said to the man, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The dark-skinned man no longer looked down on him. He answered cautiously, ¡°Diao Fei.¡± He felt that the current Li Qingshan was rather different from the one during the day. The teenager seemed to be hiding something terrifying on him, but of course, it might have been a false impression.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Are you going to Jiaping city to join the Hawkwolf Guard as well?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence! Me too!¡±

    Diao Fei¡¯s heart tightened, ready to receive any attacks directed at him.

    However, Li Qingshan clearly did not plan to take such actions. He continued to talk with him, ¡°How many people are the Hawkwolf Guard recruiting this time?¡±

    ¡°Three.¡±

    ¡°So few.¡±

    Diao Fei remained silent.

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to get some more information from him, but he saw how Diao Fei was extremely cautious, so he shrugged and returned to his room.

    Diao Fei suddenly asked, ¡°Sir, may I ask for your name?¡± After arriving at Jiaping city, this teenager might end up becoming a powerful competitor.

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡±

    As if he had heard this name somewhere, Diao Fei pondered it for a while, but he struggled to remember where he had heard it. He also returned to his room, but he did not catch a wink of sleep that night, remaining vigilant the entire time.

    As soon as Li Qingshan returned to his room, he felt something and opened the window, looking out into the distance. All he saw was a figure leaping off the ship while the vessel was closer to the shore, landing on a sandy bank and quickly vanishing into the thicket. From the shape of her body, he could tell that she was Qian Rongzhi.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh that the woman really was quite impressive with her thinking and resoluteness. She must have realised something was wrong when Qian Rongming did not return. She did not try to investigate the matter, nor did she question anything, directly leaping off the ship and fleeing.

    Shaking his head, Li Qingshan tossed this matter to the side. He took out a bottle of Qi Gathering pills and opened it to take a look. There were only three pills in there ,and each one was the size of a longan. He took one out and ate it, beginning to cultivate.

    As expected, with the assistance of the products of external alchemy, his rate of cultivation sped up slightly. The medicinal effects filled up his true qi, which circulated through his body. As he inhaled and exhaled, time passed rapidly, and very soon, he had absorbed a Qi Gathering pill. Li Qingshan took out another Qi Gathering pill and ingested it.

    If other Qi Practitioners saw this, they would definitely be stunned. How could pills be eaten like candy? Although pills could drastically increase the rate of cultivation, that did not mean a person could easily become a master just because they possessed some pills and medicines. They all required talent, hard word, guidance, or even luck.

    And, there was a limit to the pills that could be ingested. It was not as simple as eating as many as one could before turning it all into energy. Otherwise, all actual alchemists would be supreme masters. The nine Qi Gathering pills from Qian Rongming were originally a quantity to be consumed over three months. He would eat a pill every ten days and slowly refine its effects.

    And, this was for Qian Rongming, someone who was favoured by the clan and could consume pills relatively faster. The usual speed was a pill every half a month to ensure that none of its effects would go to waste. No one ate them like Li Qingshan.

    This was all because it was impossible for a mere Qi Gathering pill to remain in Li Qingshan¡¯s body for ten days. He had to convert it into true qi desperately. If he were any later, it would be stolen by the daemon core and forcefully converted into daemon qi. As such, it was guaranteed that not a single bit of it would go to waste.

    Li Qingshan was obviously unaware of this. He even felt pleased that it really would be faster when consuming pills while cultivating. When he ate the seventh Qi Gathering pill, he successfully reached the second layer with the Innate Method of Practising Qi. Due to the sumeru ring refining his true qi, he did not come across any bottlenecks at all.

    He stood up and sensed the extremely pure true qi raging through his body. His entire body seemed to become much lighter.

    He stowed the last two Qi Gathering pills away. He could hear with great clarity that a clamour was ringing out from the distance. The ship also became noisy. He could vaguely hear many people say, ¡°We¡¯ve reached Jiaping city!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way out in a hurry to take a look. The lower deck was already filled with people. On the other hand, the river itself had come across a great mountain that it looped around.

    After making it around the bend, a grand city sat between the mountains and the waters, unfolding before Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. More accurately, it could not be called a city, as it was not walled at all. It seemed more like a modern metropolis.

    This was where two great rivers met, where the Yi river merged into the Clear river. Jiaping city was developed on the banks of the two rivers. Rows upon rows of houses, buildings, towers, temples¡ªboth daoist and buddhist¡ªsprawled out in all directions, followed by boundless, golden fields. Large flocks of birds flew freely in the blue sky above the city.

    Li Qingshan had never seen any ancient cities before, but he believed that this city was even grander and more bustling than the places renowned throughout history for their prosperity, like Hangzhou or Yangzhou. The absence of city walls demonstrated the absolute confidence of the ruler here. They did not need to rely on an earthen wall to protect themselves.

    Only small cities like Qingyang required the existence of walls to protect themselves from the attacks of bandits and the like. There was not a single truly large city with city walls. This was a city that Qi Practitioners ruled, so if there really were enemies that could threaten the city, they would not be people that a stone wall could stop. It would instead affect the city¡¯s development.

    Li Qingshan finally understood why Ye Dachuan had been overjoyed when he was transferred here as a vice district magistrate. Even if he was just a junior scribe here, he would be much better off than remaining in Qingyang city. So, just how prosperous would the Clear River city that ruled over the entire Clear River prefecture be? He was unable to imagine what the commandery city of Ruyi would be like.

    Everything before him made him understand that this was not simply a world of the ancient times. The existence of Qi Practitioners heavily affected everything in this world, making it seem like a legend, adding a layer of wonder to it all.

 Chapter 112 â€“ Setting Foot in the Hawkwolf Guard

    On a mountain peak to the north of the city, a hawk forged from black iron unfurled its metal wings that were several dozen meters in width. It stood on a stone altar more than a dozen meters tall, looking over the entire Jiaping city. It was not hidden at all, as if it were boldly broadcasting that the Hawkwolf Guard watched over and protected this city. Whether you were a person of the jianghu or a Qi Practitioner, you were all under the careful gaze of the hawk.

    Li Qingshan disembarked from the ship and went straight towards the mountain peak. There were a series of structures below the iron hawk and that was the Hawkwolf Guard. Only after he had left did Diao Fei disembark and follow behind him. His eyes were filled with determination once more. No matter how well Li Qingshan hid his strength, it was not enough to shake Diao Fei¡¯s determination to become a member of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Li Qingshan followed the neat, stone steps. The two sides were filled with dense shrubbery, almost blotting out the sky above. The mountain peak was not very tall, only several hundred meters. It was nowhere close to the height of the great mountains of the Boundless mountains. However, when he looked back at the city below his feet, it gave him quite a lofty sensation.

    At the end of the stone steps was a stone archway. The two words, Hawkwolf Guard, were written on it in a bold, obvious fashion. Past the archway was a large square, and at the centre of it was the huge iron hawk. From afar, it did not seem too special; only from up close did he get a feel for the imposing aura of the hawk. In particular, the hawk¡¯s eyes seemed to pierce right through people like it was alive. Below its feet were twelve large words written in a similar fashion, ¡®The Hawk Gazes Over the World, the Wolves Watch the Nine Provinces.¡¯

    The gazing hawk was obvious. It needed no explanation. They were similar to the bold hawks in the sky, watching over the land. However, watching wolves described a certain posture. Normally, when people were called by their names from behind, they would definitely look back. However, they would only turn their heads and not their bodies. This was the posture of watching wolves, and those who were like that tended to be crafty and suspicious.

    Not only were the twelve words teeming with extravagance, but they also described the function of the Hawkwolf Guard perfectly. Li Qingshan did not know calligraphy, but even he could tell that the twelve words here and the two words on the archway were written by the same person. They possessed an irreplicable imposing aura, dominating and sweeping up the world. Compared to the huge hawk statue, it was even more stunning.

    Before Li Qingshan could even study it carefully, a young man came up. ¡°You must be here to enlist in the Hawkwolf Guard!¡±

    The envoy in black studied Li Qingshan in doubt. Seeing how he remained composed, he said nonchalantly, ¡°Come with me!¡± He led Li Qingshan to a large hall. ¡°Go in. Everyone is waiting inside. You need to record your name and cultivation once you go in.¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped into the hall, and immediately, many gazes landed on him. Every single one of them were like knives.

    Li Qingshan saw over twenty people within the hall. There were men and women, old and young. Some stood in groups of three or five, while others meditated alone. Every single one of them were Qi Practitioners. Most of their gazes at Li Qingshan were hostile. Some mocked him with raised brows, happily pointing and discussing with their companions, while some showed disdain, immediately shifting their gazes. There was also a person or two who showed doubt.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had seen so many Qi Practitioners. He felt rather indescribably excited. He had finally come into contact with the cultivation groups of this world.

    In reality, he had already experienced some brutal contact with this world through Xuanyue, but most of those people were monstrously powerful. As such, the only feelings he experienced were admiration and despair. It was far too great of a difference and was surreal as a result. Only when he saw these people now did he treat them as equals or even look down on them.

    Li Qingshan saw several dozen wooden tablets hanging on the walls of the hall with a name on each. He glanced past it before arriving in front of a long table in a corner of the hall. An envoy in black leaned on the table and scribbled away. He said without even looking up, ¡°Name, background, master, and cultivation. Remember, don¡¯t hide anything, or once you are caught¡­¡±

    The envoy did not continue, but the threat was obvious. Only now did Li Qingshan understand why these people remained here. They wanted to learn about their opponents.

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to take out the Black Wolf tablet and go see the Black Hawk commander Zhuo Zhibo, allowing him to directly join, but he did not see a single proper Hawkwolf guard here at all. There were only a few envoys in black receiving them, so he gave up on that thought. He just happened to be interested in taking a look around. He would come across the person he was searching for in the end anyways. He refused to believe that Zhuo Zhibo would miss such a great event.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, first layer Qi Practitioner¡­¡± Li Qingshan said.

    As soon as Li Qingshan stated his cultivation, he heard a few sniggers.

    ¡°Even a first layer Qi Practitioner is trying to enlist in the Hawkwolf Guard. This kid is stupid!¡±

    ¡°Go home and drink milk! You shouldn¡¯t have come.¡±

    ¡°Is he really a first layer Qi Practitioner? He doesn¡¯t seem like it. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s lying!?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be far from death if you falsely report your cultivation.¡±

    The people in the hall were second layer Qi Practitioners at the very least. If people possessed the innate talent to practise qi, most of them would work hard on cultivation. They would only come out after they had broken through to the second layer. As for those who practised internal martial arts and reached the innate realm, they would use their converted true qi to forcefully break through to the second layer. As a result, very few first layer Qi Practitioners wandered the world.

    Even the envoy responsible for recording the information raised his head. ¡°Is that true? Non-Qi Practitioners are forbidden from enlisting.¡± Although he was not a Qi Practitioner, he remained within the Hawkwolf Guard most of the time, so his insight was rather impressive. He could tell that Li Qingshan did not seem like a Qi Practitioner at all.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan understood a bad habit of his. After experiencing the dangers of the Boundless mountains, withdrawing all of his aura with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression had become almost an instinct of his. Even after developing true qi, he maintained the same habit.

    Obviously, he had to firmly suppress his daemon qi, without allowing even a single sliver to leak out. However, there was no need for him to be so cautious with his true qi. Wearing his identity as a Qi Practitioner around could save quite a lot of trouble at times.

    As a result, his aura completely changed. His true qi was no longer withdrawn and suppressed, now released naturally. He displayed the strength of a first layer Qi Practitioner.

    However, it led to a roar of laughter in the hall. Even the gazes of doubt pulled back, no longer taking Li Qingshan seriously. The unknown was terrifying, which was why a donkey could scare away a tiger. However, once the donkey displayed everything it had, that was when everything would be over.

    The envoy placed down his brush and also smiled. ¡°I can see that you¡¯re young. It¡¯s not easy for you to possess this talent, so why don¡¯t you go home and cultivate for a few more years? You can come once you break through to the second layer. The competition this time will be dangerous.¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored the laughter and thanked the person for his kind-hearted warning. Afterwards, he said confidently, ¡°I have confidence in myself!¡±

    The envoy said nothing more, continuing to write.

    No clan, no sect, no master. These were Li Qingshan¡¯s details.

    In just a short while, the envoy completed the records. He raised his head. ¡°The competition begins in three days. You can go. There will be people who will arrange accommodation for you. You are welcome to stay here as well.¡±

    Another envoy picked up a wooden tablet and hung it at the end of the wall together with everyone else¡¯s names. There obviously was not any particularly complex information on it. On the front, there was his name, while on the back, there was his cultivation.

    It amazed Li Qingshan. To a Qi Practitioner, background and masters were both useless. Strength was the only calling card, the only thing that people were wary of.

    When he turned around, he instead looked at the Qi Practitioners like they were trash before shaking his head. In particular, he said to the people who mocked him, ¡°Trash.¡± Arrogance was his nature, while mocking a whole crowd was his talent.

    ¡°Who are you talking to?¡± said a Qi Practitioner angrily. He was the person who told Li Qingshan to go home and drink milk earlier.

    ¡°I¡¯m talking to whoever that answers me!¡± Li Qingshan said. The people who had not badmouthed Li Qingshan obviously would not feel like he was cursing at them.

    The Qi Practitioner arrived in front of Li Qingshan in a flash. Suddenly, he raised his head, and true qi gathered. The envoy who recorded their information said, ¡°Those who fight on the mountain will be executed without mercy.¡±

    The Qi Practitioner¡¯s hand trembled a few times before finally putting it back down.

    The rules of the Hawkwolf Guard were no joke. In the very beginning, when the Hawkwolf Guard recruited people, they never provided any accommodation to these people. All they had to do was arrive on the day of the competition, but then many people were unable to.

    Qi Practitioners stayed in Jiaping city to eliminate rivals, using everything that they had, whether it be poisoning, encircling, or ambushing. Often, it would end before it had even begun. This was why the rules were changed later on, where the people enlisting would all stay on the mountain, and any form of attacks against one another were forbidden. If they fought, they would be executed without mercy.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Come bite me, you idiot!¡± Just how did that go again? My discreetness is not a reason for you to walk all over me. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. That was the principle he lived by. You know how to curse, but my mouth isn¡¯t dumb either!

    The Qi Practitioner laughed out of anger. ¡°In three days¡¯ time, I¡¯ll let you know what being better off dead than alive means.¡± Some other Qi Practitioners sneered as well.

    At this moment, Diao Fei entered the hall. He glanced at Li Qingshan before looking at the wall. He let out a sigh of relief. As it seemed, Li Qingshan really was a first layer Qi Practitioner, only concealing his cultivation using some sort of method. He sure had frightened him. However, it was still a mystery to him as to just how Li Qingshan had killed Qian Rongming. He dared not be careless.

    The other people in the hall immediately shifted their attention from Li Qingshan when they saw Diao Fei. A third layer Qi Practitioner was a powerful contender for the competition this time. They needed to observe him carefully. Compared to him, Li Qingshan was just a clown. His death was near, and he deserved no attention.

    Li Qingshan did not remain in the hall. He left the hall, and another envoy brought him up the mountain. He walked past the well-tended plants and the wonderful gardens. Having been managed by master gardeners, the scenery would change with every few steps. There were simply far too many beautiful things to take in.

 Chapter 113 â€“ Pearl Dew Pill

    Li Qingshan entered his room and ingested and absorbed his remaining Qi Gathering pills. However, the Innate Method of Practising Qi also grew more difficult with progress. After ingesting the two pills, he could feel that the amount of growth was not particularly obvious. Of course, it had to be mentioned that this was after the daemon core had gobbled up most of it, and the energy had undergone the sumeru ring¡¯s refinement. However, unbeknownst to him, Qian Rongzhi also arrived in the hall after he left. She lowered her head as soon as she saw Diao Fei, hiding the resentment in her eyes before recording her name as well. She thought Diao Fei had killed Qian Rongming. The people that could kill Qi Practitioners were obviously even stronger Qi Practitioners, but she did not probe into the matter.

    Diao Fei felt aggrieved, but he made no attempt to explain himself. If he did, he would only seem to be afraid of her.

    At noon, Li Qingshan arrived at the back hall. It was basically filled up with people already. The rosewood tables were so smooth that they were reflective; the faint smell of flowers permeated the place from a certain location. The windows were all open, depicting the picturesque scenery of the garden outside. It was an extremely beautiful and refined sight.

    Delicious dishes were served up one by one, filling the long tables, allowing them to serve themselves. It was similar to the buffets of Li Qingshan¡¯s previous life, but the quality of the dishes were fantastic, similar to the legendary emperor¡¯s feast. After leaving Qingyang city, Li Qingshan had eaten quite a number of dishes made by so-called skilled chefs. However, they basically seemed like they were made by apprentices compared to the dishes of the chefs of the Hawkwolf Guard. The dishes made from various precious materials were all placed on the long table.

    Li Qingshan gained an even better understanding as to why many Qi Practitioners wanted to join the Hawkwolf Guard. Let alone the other aspects, just the food was enough for people to eat like an emperor. He was utterly satisfied by the food, but he also attracted many eye rolls. Many Qi Practitioners came from sects and clans, so they obviously would not be as inexperienced as him. Even when Li Qingshan controlled his appetite to eat like a human, a bunch of people still secretly sneered to themselves, calling him a starving ghost.

    Just as Li Qingshan ate a dish made from some sort of fish, there was a flash in front of him, and Diao Fei sat down opposite of him. He thought through what he was going to say. ¡°Your qi concealment technique is very impressive. I couldn¡¯t tell in the beginning.¡± Perhaps he believed that no one would be bold enough to ignore the rules of the Hawkwolf Guard, as he seemed much more relaxed now, without much caution or vigilance.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s probably just because I¡¯m too weak!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°By the looks of things, this shouldn¡¯t be your first time!¡±

    Diao Fei said, ¡°Impressive. This is my second time.¡±

    Then there was silence.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°By the way, do you have Qi Gathering pills?¡±

    Diao Fei said, ¡°Of course I do. What do you need them for?¡± Qi Gathering pills were the most common pills for Qi Practitioners. They were obviously very precious, but they were very common as well.

    Li Qingshan wiped his mouth and pushed his utensils to the side. ¡°Can you sell some to me?¡±

    Diao Fei said, ¡°If you¡¯re offering silver, you better forget it.¡±

    It was just as Li Qingshan had been expecting. To Qi Practitioners, the gold and silver that ordinary people treasured held no great significance.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s not silver. It¡¯s talismans.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Diao Fei was shocked. There was not a single Qi Practitioner who did not carry at least a few talismans with them. In order to take part in the competition this time, he had made ample preparations. They were the trump cards of Qi Practitioners, or even a second life to them. Selling talismans before the battle was like selling away your weapons right before charging onto the battlefield. It was basically unimaginable.

    Li Qingshan immediately removed all of his talismans from his hundred treasures pouch and laid them out on the table. He was very confident in the security of the Hawkwolf Guard as well. He asked, ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±

    Immediately, everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn over, not just Diao Fei¡¯s.

    Diao Fei¡¯s breathing halted slightly. Aside from two inferior talismans, the others were all low grade at the very least. Even rarer, there was actually a mid grade talisman, the Lightning Strike talisman. That was a treasure that could turn the tables in a battle at a crucial moment! Even third layer Qi Practitioners could be heavily injured or directly killed off if they were careless.

    ¡°One Qi Gathering pill for one.¡± Diao Fei immediately extended his hand towards the talismans. As long as he had them, he was guaranteed to win.

    Li Qingshan scooped up all of the talismans. He smiled. ¡°That seems a little low.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll offer you fifteen Qi Gathering pills for the whole lot.¡± a Qi Practitioner in black to the side said suddenly. He was young, but he was dressed in nice clothes. He was clearly from an aristocratic clan.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand towards Diao Fei. ¡°Look, someone has raised the price.¡± The reason why he did this in the eye of the public was because he did not know the proper price.

    However, before the Qi Practitioner had even finished what he was saying, someone else added, ¡°I¡¯ll give you fifteen Qi Gathering pills for just this one talisman.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised as he looked at the talisman. Although it had the densest spiritual qi, he had never thought it would be worth so many Qi Gathering pills.

    Many Qi Practitioners gathered over. All of their eyes shone. Li Qingshan believed that if he had not been in the Hawkwolf Guard, he would have been surrounded and attacked already, but now, no one was even bold enough to speak ill of him. Even two of the Qi Practitioners who mocked Li Qingshan earlier gathered over shamelessly.

    The Qi Practitioner who had directly fallen out with Li Qingshan instead cursed under his breath with an ugly expression. ¡°Idiot.¡± However, he became even more vicious inside, Without those talismans, I¡¯d like to see how you die.

    He had no idea about Li Qingshan¡¯s plans. Li Qingshan did not plan to take part in the competition in the first place. With Wang Pushi¡¯s guarantee, he would be out of his mind if he did not use it. And, Li Qingshan had enough trump cards on him. The talismans were nothing compared to them at all. Exchanging them for pills and rapidly converting it into his own strength was what mattered the most.

    Li Qingshan stood up and said loudly, ¡°Everyone please quieten down. I¡¯ll be selling all of these talismans, but only to the highest bidder. We¡¯ll exchange the goods at the same time, so it¡¯s fair for everyone. First up, this Swift Breeze talisman¡­¡± He assigned a grade to his talismans according to the strength of their spiritual qi, and he actually began an auction on the spot.

    The envoys in black within the hall all looked at one another, but no one interfered. However, they really had never seen anyone sell talismans here.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay one Qi Gathering pill,¡± someone responded immediately.

    ¡°Two.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Are there any higher offers?¡± Only after asking for a while did someone offer three. Afterwards, no one contended anymore. As it seemed, inferior talismans did not interest Qi Practitioners much at all. He accepted the three Qi Gathering pills and handed the talisman to the Qi Practitioner.

    In reality, the talisman had been sold for much more than usual. Normally, it would be very difficult for him to even get a single Qi Gathering pill for it, as everyone knew that pills for increasing personal strength mattered much more than external objects that offered temporary boosts.

    But at a time like this, the situation had been reversed instead. No matter how many Qi Gathering pills they had, they could not increase their strength immediately, while with each talisman, even if they were inferior, they could immediately boost their strength slightly, giving them some more confidence in the upcoming competition. If they did not buy it, it was very likely for their contenders to receive it instead, becoming a tool for defeating or even killing themselves. Even inferior talismans of the lowest grades could become the blade of grass that broke the camel¡¯s back.

    On one hand, there was the wonderful future that came with joining the Hawkwolf Guard, while on the other hand, there was the miserable fate of defeat or death. They had no choice but to spare no effort.

    When Li Qingshan reached the low grade talismans, the atmosphere gradually heated up. The number of Qi Gathering pills began to break five for each one now. When Li Qingshan sold everything apart from the mid grade Lightning Strike talisman, he had already gathered almost fifty Qi Gathering pills. He discovered that the size of the pills varied. Many of them were only the size of peanuts, so a single bottle could hold over a dozen of them.

    As it turned out, the pills that alchemists refined were not originally pills, but pastes. The alchemists would then follow a standard and make them into pills. Alchemists of poorer abilities would produce pastes of lower efficacy, so in order to guarantee the same effects, the pills they made would be slightly larger according to the standard of Qi Gathering pills.

    Many Qi Practitioners never participated in the prior bidding. Only when Li Qingshan took out the final mid grade talisman did their eyes suddenly light up.

    ¡°Ten Qi Gathering pills.¡±

    ¡°Twenty.¡±

    ¡°Twenty-five.¡±

    The price immediately broke the record from before. This talisman was the actual talisman that could turn a battle around. It was also when Qian Rongming relied on when he confronted third layer Qi Practitioners. Whoever obtained it in the end would increase their chances by thirty percent at the very least. Many Qi Practitioners were determined to get their hands on it.

    Li Qingshan smiled from ear to ear. With these Qi Gathering pills, it would be extremely easy for him to break through to the third layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. He suddenly turned around and saw Qian Rongzhi standing at the door, gazing at him in resentment. She obviously knew what talismans Qian Rongming possessed.

    Li Qingshan sneered slightly. Tha fellow failed when he tried to harass him, so he tried to kill him. Qian Rongming completely deserved death. If this woman was not sensible, he could send her off to see Qian Rongming as well so that he would have a companion on the path to the afterlife.

    ¡°I¡¯ll offer you one!¡± Diao Fei said suddenly after remaining silent for so long. He was currently filled with regret. If he had made a deal with Li Qingshan back on the boat, there would be no need for him to come to this point.

    The surroundings fell quiet. Everyone looked at Diao Fei. The highest bidding Qi Practitioner said coldly, ¡°Are you joking with me!?¡± He was also a third layer Qi Practitioner, so he viewed Diao Fei as a powerful contender.

    Diao Fei took out a bottle with great reluctance. ¡°I¡¯ll offer you a Pearl Dew pill!¡±

    ¡°What, a Pearl Dew pill!¡± The Qi Practitioners descended into an uproar. As it seemed, the Pearl Dew pill had quite a name about it. Li Qingshan was curious. He had no idea that a Pearl Dew pill was worth far more than a mid grade Lighting Strike pill.

    Qi Gathering pills definitely were not a particularly good type of pill. The only reason why it had become widespread was because its materials were easier to gather, it was easier to refine, and its effects were more stable, becoming a necessity to the cultivation of most Qi Practitioners, who demanded cheap but good products.

 Chapter 114 â€“ A Stretch of Clouds and Mountains

    Diao Fei originally planned to keep it for opening the Yang Linking meridian, saving it for when he would break through to the fourth layer. However, he could not allow his rival to obtain this Lightning Strike talisman no matter what, so he could only bear the pain of giving it up.

    Li Qingshan said to Diao Fei, ¡°Let me see it!¡±

    Diao Fei poured the Pearl Dew pill into his palm. A small pill, transparent like a droplet of dew, shone brightly. All of the Qi Practitioners in the surroundings struggled to hide their greed. A pill of superior quality could play a great role at crucial times when it came to breaking through. Qi Gathering pills could not be compared to it.

    Li Qingshan suddenly regretted the fact that he did not finish off both of them back on the boat very much. My demonic thoughts, oh my demonic thoughts! He smiled. ¡°Not too bad.¡±

    Not too bad? Diao Fei was very dissatisfied with this evaluation. This is a Pearl Dew pill! Have you seen better pills before? The other Qi Practitioners all thought Li Qingshan was putting on an act as well.

    Little did they know that not only had Li Qingshan seen better, but he had eaten many better as well. Only now did he realise just how nice Xuanyue had been to him. Although he had no idea what the name of the pills that Xuanyue had fed to him were, just a single one of them was countless better than the Pearl Dew pills that these Qi Practitioners desired so much. Sigh, speaking of which, I wonder how she is doing?

    Achoo!

    Over five thousand kilometers away, a black spiritual cat laid in a deep, blue embrace and let out a sneeze. A slender hand gently rubbed her smooth fur, as silky as moonlight.

    A gentle voice said nervously, ¡°Yue¡¯er, have you caught a cold?¡± At the same time, she tightened her embrace, pulling in Xuanyue tightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m a cat daemeown. Can cat daemeowns fall sick? Please use your head, meowster!¡± Xuanyue struggled hard, but she was unable to break free.

    ¡°As long as you aren¡¯t sick. Your body is far too frail. Here, eat a pill!¡± Her slender fingers held a spiritual pill, delivering it to Xuanyue¡¯s mouth. Its glow was hidden inside. It glistened and was transparent, just like a crystal. Compared to it, Qi Gathering pills were like mud balls, while Pearl Dew pills were like rocks.

    ¡°No more! No more! No more!¡± Xuanyue swung her head around, struggling even more.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. No more, no more.¡± She stowed the pill away. Her voice was filled with helplessness and doting, like a mother looking at the child she loved the most. It was as if even being capricious was a good thing.

    She suddenly thought of that tall, wide figure, carrying her on his back while climbing the icy cliffs in the snowstorm, shedding a pair of translucent tears for her. I¡¯m not a good pet!

    She was just like a child who only realised her parents¡¯ care and concern after having her own child. Only after trying did she understand that none of the things she possessed came so easily.

    ¡°Meowster, let me tell you a story!¡±

    ¡°Alright! I love hearing Xuanyue¡¯s stories!¡±

    Outside the windows were a stretch of clouds and mountains. Two mystical beasts pulled a beautiful carriage, treading through the air.

    Back to Jiaping city, Li Qingshan had already returned to his room. He laid on his bed idly as he calculated his earnings today.

    Around fifty Qi Gathering pills were enough to support his cultivation for three days; he could break through to the third layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. As for the Pearl Dew pills, it would be used to break through the fourth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, which was going from the first layer to the second layer as a Qi Practitioner, opening his first meridian.

    As a result, Li Qingshan shut himself in his room, entering secluded cultivation once again. His behaviour was common. There were many Qi Practitioners who would use these three days to make some final preparations, remaining in their room for the entire time.

    He ingested the Qi Gathering pills one by one. Most of it was converted into daemon qi, while a small part of it was converted into extremely pure true qi. Although he could not revert to his original form to check, Li Qingshan believed his current daemon form would be even taller and studier. If he remained in the mountains, he would struggle to reach this level even if he spent day and night absorbing spiritual qi of the world. It was true. The cultivation speed of daemons was nowhere near as fast as humans. This was their natural disadvantage, but Li Qingshan did his best to use the methods of humans to make up for this disadvantage.

    Although external pills were beneficial to cultivation, it would lead to an accumulation of impurities in true qi, leading to impure true qi. Apart from absorbing their effects, regular Qi Practitioners would also find ways to purify and refine their true qi, which would obviously take up quite a lot of time. However, with the assistance from the sumeru ring, Li Qingshan was saved from this part of the process, basically saving him a lot of time. It instead sped up his cultivation.

    Li Qingshan meditated in his room quietly. Three days passed swiftly. He had ingested a year¡¯s quantity for many Qi Practitioners, twenty-four Qi Gathering pills, in a single sitting, and only then did he break through to the third layer of the Innate Method of Gathering Qi. He originally wanted to continue cultivating, but unfortunately for him, it was time. He could only stand up and leave. He discovered that it had begun drizzling at a certain time while he was cultivating.

    Under the lead of an envoy, he arrived at the location of the competition, which was a stone square. The rules were extremely simple. Qi Practitioners would go up there and fight or kill one by one. The victor would advance, while the loser would be dropped from the competition. The final three people would become Hawkwolf guards.

    At the end of the square was a vermillion pavilion with layered eaves. Its colour was rather gloomy due to being wet from the rain. There were several figures vaguely visible in the pavilion. The pitch-black of Black Wolf uniforms was a colour that Li Qingshan was familiar with. After three days, Li Qingshan finally saw the people he was looking for.

    Aside from the Hawkwolf Guards, there were a few people in informal wear, leaning on the handrails and chattering between themselves while at great ease. Beside them were fruits and snacks. It basically seemed like an audience watching a show, or perhaps it was a party for gambling.

    This was because Li Qingshan could clearly hear them discussing the strength of the Qi Practitioners, telling one another how much they had wagered. It was so relaxed that it seemed like they were gambling on horse-racing or dog-fighting.

    A Black Wolf guard with a bulbous nose held a list, which detailed the names and cultivations of the Qi Practitioners. ¡°There¡¯ll definitely be these two third layer Qi Practitioners in the top three. The only thing worth gambling over is just who among the second layer Qi Practitioners will emerge victorious.¡±

    The Black Wolf guard beside him leaned on a column and said nonchalantly, ¡°I¡¯ll gamble on that woman.¡±

    Bulbous nose looked at the list. ¡°Qian Rongzhi? Why? She¡¯s not exactly powerful.¡±

    ¡°Just a feeling.¡± The Black Wolf guard smiled like he was keeping a secret, but he looked towards the interior of the pavilion.

    Bulbous nose seemed like he suddenly realised something and smiled understandingly.

    The Hawkwolf guard suddenly said, ¡°Oi, look at that kid. The one looking at us. That first layer Qi Practitioner. Why don¡¯t we gamble on when he¡¯ll die?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll wager the first round.¡±

    Two men sat before each other in the pavilion. They could see through the gauze curtains easily and see what was going on outside. There was a jug of green tea on the table, which wafted with a faint fragrance. Two beautiful attendants stood to the side.

    One of the men was slightly chubby. He wore the dark-coloured Black Hawk uniform. He was the Black Hawk commander of Jiaping city, Zhuo Zhibo. He squinted his eyes as he smiled. ¡°Sir Zhou, why don¡¯t we have a little gamble of our own, huh?¡± He seemed to still be middle-aged, but his actual age had surpassed sixty at the very least. However, due to opening the four major meridians of yin and yang along with the Girdle meridian from practising qi and condensing a sea of qi, he seemed much younger.

    Sir Zhou, on the other hand, seemed even younger. He only seemed to be in his thirties, dressed like a scholar. He had a long thin beard, which made him seem more solemn, just like a refined scholar. He waved his hand with a smile. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m not going to gamble. I¡¯ll just be asking to lose if I gamble on your territory.¡± However, he did not smile at all inside. This bastard wanted to demonstrate his martial might to him again. How wretched.

    Within Jiaping city, there was obviously only the district magistrage of Jiaping, Zhou Wenbin, who could stand on equal footing with Zhuo Zhibo. There had never been a place where two people of equal authority got along with one another. However, they each had their fears of the other and had different jobs. As such, they could maintain peace on the surface without invading each other¡¯s territories. However, whenever a chance arose, they would want to demonstrate their strength to the other.

    Under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s repeated request, Zhou Wenbin finally picked up the list. Afterwards, he saw a name, and his interest was piqued. ¡°Commander Zhuo, there¡¯s even a first layer Qi Practitioner enlisting this time?¡±

    ¡°There are reckless people every year.¡± Zhuo Zhibo had noticed this outlier a long time ago as well, but he did not pay too much attention to it. He had no chance. The difference was far too great. Although Wang Pushi had scolded him before because of Feng Zhang and had told him that someone new would be reporting to him, he basically never mentioned Li Qingshan¡¯s name to him. Perhaps even Wang Pushi did not believe Li Qingshan could escape from Feng Zhang¡¯s hands with his puny life given his skills. Moreover, that was several months ago.

    Zhou Wenbin stopped smiling. He did not have Zhuo Wenbin¡¯s might in Jiaping, but as he originated from the prefectural city of Clear River and had attended the Academy of the Hundred Schools, he had many more connections and was better informed. His memory was rather impressive as well. He could vaguely remember a friend from Clear River city mentioning something interesting in a letter to him. He mentioned a name that seemed to bear the surname of Li.

    The White Hawk commander Gu Yanying, the woman who possessed the greatest authority and power in the Ruyi commandery, was the dream lover of all men. There was not a single man who had not been interested in her upon seeing her. Although all they could do was covet her, unable to approach her, everything related to her would be an interesting topic of conversation, just like the celebrities from Li Qingshan¡¯s previous life.

    And, his old friend Zhuo Zhibo had even been scolded by old Wang of the Clear River prefecture exactly for this matter, which only made the matter even more memorable.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wager ten spiritual stones on this kid. He definitely has something to rely on for enlisting as a first layer Qi Practitioner. He¡¯ll be able to rise up and become a Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s eyes narrowed. He smiled. ¡°To think you just said you don¡¯t gamble. Aren¡¯t you even more interested in gambling than me?¡±

    With a group of people above, they gambled on the fates of the people below. With a group of people below, they became the tools for gambling to the people above. The human past time of gambling did not change because of practising qi. Fighting and competing was an instinct of primitive creatures, but it was also present within humans. It was only presented in a different form.

 Chapter 115 â€“ Directly Passing

    The Qi Practitioner who had directly confronted Li Qingshan before walked past him as he sneered. He whispered, ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you die. You better pray to the heavens that you don¡¯t match up with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I trust that I won¡¯t be matched up with you.¡± Afterwards, under the gazes of all of the Qi Practitioners, he made his way through the square and arrived below the pavilion. Two envoys stopped him. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored the envoys. He raised his head and called out, ¡°May I ask if commander Zhuo Zhibo is present?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s he trying to do?¡± ¡°Is he sick of living?¡± The group of Qi Practitioners were stunned, and the Black Wolf guards in the pavilion were surprised as well.

    Bulbous nose mumbled, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m wrong. The kid is going to die before the competition even begins.¡±

    ¡°Chase him away!¡± Zhuo Zhibo frowned. Was his name something a little Qi Practitioner could refer to directly?

    Swish!

    Two Hawkwolf Guards outside the corridor drew their swords conveniently, while the other Hawkwolf Guards remained the same as before, keeping the attitude of watching a show.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wager that he¡¯ll be able to endure three moves at the very least!¡± Bulbous nose¡¯s words immediately made his two colleagues with the drawn blades slightly more serious. One of them even replied, ¡°Then let¡¯s gamble!¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said suddenly, ¡°Hold on! Commander Zhuo, that¡¯s the person I¡¯ve gambled on. I can¡¯t accept the losses if he dies. He might be seeking you out for actual matters. Why don¡¯t we see what he has to say?¡± The smile in his eyes grew deeper. He stood up and made his way to the corridor, while Zhuo Zhibo followed along. He felt slightly uneasy inside.

    Zhuo Zhibo looked down on Li Qingshan from above. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Commander Wang Pushi sent me here.¡± There was a dark flash in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, which shot up the pavilion.

    Zhuo Zhibo extended a hand and caught it. It was a Black Wolf tablet. The matter from several months ago suddenly crossed his mind. He raised his head and looked at Li Qingshan. ¡°Are you that person?¡± He had never thought that the kid who had caused Feng Zhang to be expelled and earned him a scolding from Wang Pushi would actually still be alive. Moreover, he would actually be bold enough to show himself before him.

    Li Qingshan spread his hands and shrugged. ¡°In the flesh.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin smiled due to the success of his scheme. ¡°Commander Zhou? what¡¯s this about?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said with a sunken expression, ¡°Sir Zhou has schemed well, so why must you ask despite knowing the answer?¡± He had always taken pride in his intelligence, but he had fallen for Zhou Wenbin¡¯s scheme today, so he was in a horrible mood. As he looked at Li Qingshan, he was tempted to smack him to death.

    The sixth layer, Qi Practitioners who had split open a sea of qi, were roughly similar to daemons who had condensed a daemon core. With how long daemons needed to cultivate for, it did not come without benefits. Their bodies were tough and their daemon qi was heavy, so they were much more powerful than humans of the same level. They basically possessed a one-sided advantage. Humans could only barely maintain a stalemate against them with spiritual artifacts and talismans as weapons. In the end, they would have to rely on intelligence and numbers to defeat daemons.

    With the assistance from Xiao An who practised the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, Li Qingshan was obviously filled with confidence due to his strength. Since he knew it was impossible for Zhuo Zhibo to take a liking to him, and he was not a person who would bend over backwards to get people to like him, he would just go with the flow. However, in the eyes of onlookers, he seemed rather arrogant.

    There was not a single person in the Clear River prefecture who was bold enough to say that Wang Pushi¡¯s word did not count. At the very least, Zhuo Zhibo was not one of them. His expression changed a few times before recovering his composure. He even smiled a little, tossing the Black Wolf tablet back down. ¡°Li Qingshan, you are now a Hawkwolf Guard. Wait down there.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for accepting me, commander Zhuo!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands, but he became even more cautious inside. People who could control their emotions were like venomous snakes hiding in the grass. They were even more terrifying than furious lions or tigers.

    With that, the observing Hawkwolf Guards could not help but be taken aback, while the enlisting Qi Practitioners were thrown into an uproar. Just like that, the three positions had become two. The clown who was supposed to die in their eyes had actually passed directly using such a method, so the Qi Practitioners immediately felt that it was unfair.

    ¡°This is unfair! Why doesn¡¯t he need to take part in the competition?¡± The Qi Practitioner who had confronted Li Qingshan and wanted him dead called out.

    ¡°He¡¯s just a first layer Qi Practitioner. Even people like that can just join the Hawkwolf Guard?¡±

    Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi looked at Li Qingshan from afar. They were filled with surprise and shock, no less than the people around them. They said nothing. How could a measly Qi Practitioner change the decision of a Black Hawk commander? They wondered to themselves just how he was able to force Zhuo Zhibo into directly accepting him. Did he possess a powerful backer, Wang Pushi? Who was that?

    Wang Pushi¡¯s nickname, old Wang, had spread just too much, which instead made many people forget about his real name. However, as two well-informed, quick-witted people, they immediately realised it. Was it the legendary Scarlet Hawk commander, old Wang? It couldn¡¯t be. He was a figure who watched over all Qi Practitioners in the Clear River prefecture, one of the three rulers over this expanse of one thousand five hundred kilometers.

    However, aside from him, there was no one else who could force Zhuo Zhibo into making this decision despite being absent in person. Then they looked at Li Qingshan and felt that the regular sixteen-year-old now had an aura of mystery about him. If that really was the person behind him, he would be a figure that they could never afford to provoke.

    Diao Fei thought about just how he had managed to establish a tie with a figure like that. It only seemed to make sense now that he could kill Qian Rongming without even batting an eye.

    Zhou Wenbin looked at the clamorous surroundings with a smile and said to Zhuo Zhibo, ¡°I was only just joking with you earlier. As I¡¯ve said, I don¡¯t like gambling at all, so please forgive me, commander Zhuo.¡±

    ¡°That may be true for you, but my word has always counted. Sir Zhou, are you perhaps looking down on my wager?¡± Zhuo Zhibo smiled sunkenly. He picked up a walnut from the platter of fruit and nuts on the table.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt a terrifying aura of murderousness. Out of everyone present, there were only three people who could clearly sense it. Li Qingshan was one of them.

    The walnut shot off with enough force to pierce rocks, flying through the air. It smashed through countless droplets of rain, leaving behind an empty tunnel in its trajectory before slamming into the forehead of the second layer Qi Practitioner.

    Bang!

    The walnut shattered, and so did the skull. The Qi Practitioner¡¯s expression remained furious as his head was thrown into the ground. His neck snapped as he collapsed in a twisted manner.

    All of the Qi Practitioners shut their mouths, as if someone had grabbed them by the neck at the same time. Every single one of them were prodigies in their hometowns, standing above all. They held power over the lives and property of the people of the jianghu, let alone ordinary people.

    Yet right now, a Qi Practitioner that was just as noble as them had his life taken away in such an easy manner; it was as simple as slaughtering a chicken. Moreover, the person who just died could have been any one of them. He was just unlucky, which was why he was chosen and made an example out of.

    They looked at the cause of all this, at Zhuo Zhibo who stood in the pavilion. His short, chubby stature suddenly seemed wide and tall. They all suddenly realised something. This was Jiaping city, the place with the most and strongest Qi Practitioners within a region of several hundred kilometers. Currently, they happened to be standing in the territory of the Hawkwolf Guard, which possessed the most and strongest Qi Practitioners in the city. They were afraid of even uttering an extra word. Even their dissatisfaction vanished.

    Li Qingshan exhaled. This was the reality.

    A great disparity existed between each layer for Qi Practitioners. If second layer Qi Practitioners wanted to defeat a third layer Qi Practitioner, they could rely on a numerical advantage or a powerful talisman to achieve victory. However, against a fourth layer Qi Practitioner, they could only pray to the heavens that they could escape. Up against a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, it would be certain death.

    And, the difference between the fifth and sixth layers was even greater than the previous differences; it was just like how it was impossible for a daemonic beast to defeat a daemon that had condensed a daemon core. For a sixth layer Qi Practitioner who had split open a sea of qi, killing a measly second layer Qi Practitioner was even easier than eating or drinking. Let alone fleeing, they could not even react in time.

    Normally, Zhuo Zhibo would have never been so intense with his punishment. After all, every single Qi Practitioner held great influence in the places that they came from, or they originated from clans or sects. He did not want to develop grievances for no good reason. However, he was furious right now, so he could no longer care. They were just a mere Qi Practitioner, so if they died, they died. Was someone supposed to come avenge them?

    Zhuo Zhibo glanced past Li Qingshan nonchalantly. Li Qingshan could feel that the person he actually wanted to throw the walnut at was himself. However, he only returned his gaze with a smile. Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s frown grew deeper. Normal people would be utterly frightened when they witnessed unstoppable power, and if that person was hostile to you as well, it would lead to severe mental pressure as well. As time went on, it could even drive people insane.

    However, he saw no fear from Li Qingshan at all. Instead, he remained extremely calm and composed. Either Li Qingshan was an idiot who knew no fear, or he had something he could depend on. The answer was clearly the latter.

    Zhuo Zhibo obviously did not believe Li Qingshan¡¯s confidence originated from his personal strength, so it had to be due to his backing. However, Wang Pushi had never explained his relationship with Li Qingshan to him. He only told him about Feng Zhang¡¯s expulsion and Li Qingshan¡¯s offer without much thought. He seemed very unconcerned when he did that. Zhuo Zhibo could not help but look at Zhou Wenbin. This bastard had a lot of ties to Clear River city, so he must have known something.

    Zhou Wenbin cleared his thoughts. ¡°Commander Zhuo, I heard the White Hawk of the Ruyi commander met with this kid and even invited him to a cup of alcohol, getting officer old Wang to give the mental map of the Green province he carried around to him.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s heart shivered. A name resounded through his mind, along with the white figure that he could never forget about even after catching just a single glimpse. He was rather well-informed as well, knowing that commander Gu had once appeared in a small, remote city. He even knew that Feng Zhang had gotten unlucky, embarrassing old Wang in front of commander Gu, which led to his direct expulsion.

 Chapter 116 â€“ An Extraordinary Mindse

    t

    Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s gaze towards Li Qingshan became cautious. He frowned deeply. Li Qingshan¡¯s casual attitude only seemed to verify his thoughts.

    By now, the dead Qi Practitioner had already been carried away, and the order of the rounds were rearranged. A Black Wolf guard personally hosted below.

    Although the Qi Practitioners were envious, jealous, and resentful of Li Qingshan, they were afraid of saying anything about it. From today onwards, he was a Hawkwolf guard. He was no longer an existence they could provoke.

    The Black Wolf guards in the pavilion experienced various thoughts. They gazed at Li Qingshan with either disdain or curiosity. Regardless of the ground, an arrogant newcomer was not well-liked, let alone the fact that Li Qingshan had basically replaced their old colleague, Feng Zhang. Moreover, his strength was only at the first layer, which led to even more disdain. Many people wondered just how they would teach a lesson to this ignorant kid from the mountains.

    Li Qingshan just stood below the pavilion, gazing at the platform. He was even more relaxed than the gambling Hawkwolf guards, ignoring all of the gazes on him. He discovered that it was indeed better to stand to the side and watch people fight for their lives instead of being involved as tools for gambling.

    Two Qi Practitioners arrived at the centre of the square, standing ten steps away from one another.

    The one to the left wore green casual wear and was in his twenties. He had fairer skin and no facial hair. His hands were empty, without a weapon. Li Qingshan could still remember that he had purchased two talismans from him, one inferior and one low grade. He clearly had some background, probably from an aristocratic clan, born with the talent to practise qi.

    The person to the right was much older. He was in his thirties or forties at the very least, and he wore grey, tighter-fitting clothes. He had an extremely prominent red scar on his face. He gave off a sense of fierceness. There was a sword at his waist. If Li Qingshan had guessed correctly, he should have started off as a martial arts practitioner, having converted his inner force into true qi.

    Both of them were second layer Qi Practitioners. Li Qinsghan was unable to determine just who was stronger or weaker. The Qi Practitioner in green definitely possessed quite a few powerful talismans, so he had an advantage in resources, but his battle experience would definitely be insufficient. Even if he had any, it would just be overpowering people weaker than him.

    However, the Qi Practitioner in green had slaughtered his way out of the jianghu. His battle experience would definitely be plentiful. And, Yan Song had mentioned before that among lower Qi Practitioners, those who were originally martial arts practitioners tended to be stronger.

    The Qi Practitioner in grey moved. He turned into a grey flash, charging towards the Qi Practitioner in green. He conveniently drew the sword from his waist. The entire motion was smooth and fluid, completed in a single stroke. In the moment prior, he was ten steps away, but in the moment after, the shining, a cold sword had already stabbed towards the Qi Practitioner in green¡¯s throat.

    Li Qingshan cheered inside. He really did begin as a martial arts practitioner.

    The Qi Practitioner in green spread his arms in no hurry, retreating backwards like a gliding bird. True qi circulated through his body, and he separated his hands. A fist-sized fireball flew out.

    A technique!

    Li Qingshan immediately gathered his attention. He had heard from Yan Song that true qi was not as simple as a stronger version of inner force. Aside from being able to make people faster and stronger, it could also be used to unleash various wondrous techniques. Talismans were basically all techniques that had been sealed within talisman paper, allowing them to be used at any time.

    The rain vapourised from the heat of the fireball. Even the soaking ground dried up, teeming with white steam, which only demonstrated the power of the fireball. If a person was struck by it, they probably would end up becoming a human torch.

    The Qi Practitioner in grey seemed extremely fearful as well, but he did not become frantic. He used a profound series of foot steps, moving left and right and actually brushing past the fireball. Although his hair and eyebrows were singed, he did not slow down.

    The Qi Practitioner in green panicked. He had clearly underestimated the willingness of Qi Practitioners who originated as martial arts practitioners to risk their lives. He wanted to force back the Qi Practitioner in grey, so he stopped his retreat. The true qi in his body had yet to settle down either, so he was unable to use a technique in time. He made up his mind and fished out a talisman, slapping it on himself. A breeze sprang up below his feet, and he immediately became much more agile.

    Li Qingshan learned that while techniques were powerful, they could not be used particularly quickly. If he were against Qi Practitioners similar to himself, he would be fine, as their reaction speed would be limited as well. However, against Qi Practitioners who started off with martial arts, he would struggle.

    The Qi Practitioner in green pulled away. He unleashed fireballs and large swathes of steam rose up from the surroundings. Suddenly, one of them flew towards Li Qingshan. Just when he planned on dodging, a wind blade pierced through the air, cutting down the fireball. A hot wave of air surged over hime, causing his clothes to ruffle.

    Li Qingshan raised his head. A Black Wolf guard stowed his blade away and saw him look over, sneering in disdain.

    Within the swathe of steam, the Qi Practitioner in grey was dishevelled. He was covered in burn marks, but none of them were fatal. He was both vicious and cautious, sticking close to the Qi Practitioner in green.

    The Qi Practitioner in green had instead panicked due to wasting true qi. The length that an inferior talisman lasted for was extremely limited, so the breeze below his feet gradually dispersed. He took out a low grade talisman this time.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. The outcome had already been determined. Unleashing strength that could crush the opponent right in the beginning was the correct decision. Being indecisive would not work. However, he could also understand that talismans would vanish with each use. The more he used at the beginning, the smaller the chance of victory later on. In the end, it was very likely that he would not gain anything at all, ending up wasting the invaluable talismans.

    A vicious light flashed through the eyes of the Qi Practitioner in grey. No one knew when, but he was also holding a talisman in his left hand now.

    The talisman shattered, transforming into a flash of white light, blinding everyone. The Qi Practitioners on the side all looked away.

    However, as Li Qingshan was further away, he saw it clearly. The talisman was just an inferior good. Aside from being able to dazzle people, it could do nothing else.

    However, the Qi Practitioner in green was dazed. Due to fear, his body paused slightly.

    A battle between masters would be determined in a single instant.

    The light subsided, but a sword also flashed past. The Qi Practitioner in green produced meaningless gurgles. A glowing metal sword had pierced his throat. His eyes were filled with regret. He still had so many talismans he had yet to use. If he used them right from the beginning, he would definitely be the victor. Two streaks of tears fell from the corner of his eyes. He had been drowned out by regret and death.

    The envoy announced loudly, ¡°Victory to Liu Yiming!¡± He did not even mention the Qi Practitioner in green¡¯s name. They would either make a name for themselves out of nowhere, or they would die nameless.

    Rich battle experience and decisiveness became critical points to victory. Li Qingshan also realised that whether it be talismans or techniques, it was completely up to how the person used them. Even if sheep had the claws and fangs of wolves, they would still be sheep.

    However, unfortunately, Liu Yiming failed to make a name for himself. He was matched up against a third layer Qi Practitioner in his second round. Fortunately, he was swift enough with forfeiting, saving him from losing his life pointlessly.

    Droplets of rain fell from the gloomy sky. Round after round passed in the competition. Not every round would result in a corpse. Those who were outmatched could forfeit, and their opponent could not force them to keep fighting, which was basically an attempt from the Hawkwolf Guard to reduce injuries and death.

    However, whether it be the spiritual artifacts or the techniques Qi Practitioners employed, they were all just too powerful. Basically every single one of them had stronger attacks than defences. Most of the time, there was not even the opportunity to admit defeat. Once they were struck by an attack, they would be dead. Victory and defeat, life and death depended on a single moment.

    The second round of the competition ended, and four corpses were now placed at the edge of the square. These noble Qi Practitioners just laid in the muddy water, dead. Li Qingshan suddenly fought it to be all so foolish. They had originally obtained everything already, everything that an ordinary person could not obtain throughout their entire lives, yet they risked their lives for more, for better, only to lose their lives.

    However, he suddenly realised that he was no different. He could not say that he had a grand dream, while everyone else just had wild ambitions. He could not help but shake his head in self-mockery.

    However, he had no plans to change his mind. The saying of knowing when to be content is happiness was just a way for weaker people to comfort themselves. It was the belief of people who had lost their motivation to live and the spirit to forge ahead. Men had dreams far and wide. If they died before achieving their dream, how could they say that knowing when to be content was happiness? Constantly advancing through struggle was the only source of happiness. Even if they died as failure, it would not be a waste at the very least.

    He dismissed his unaccommodating thoughts before looking back at the square. He no longer had any mockery and self-mockery in his eyes anymore. Instead, there was appreciation, appreciating the Qi Practitioners for unleashing all of their intelligence and strength to face off against their opponent, searching for victory in the danger of defeat, searching for life in the shadow of death. The vigour they demonstrated made death seem insignificant. They were flowing with battle intent and fighting spirit.

    Zhuo Zhibo had been paying attention to Li Qingshan the entire time, clearly sensing the powerful fighting spirit from Li Qingshan and his gaze of almost admiration for the competition. This was not usual. The Black Wolf guards in the pavilion were afraid of mocking and making a ruckus due to his anger, but they were still haughty, acting like they were watching a battle between caged beasts. Even though they had also emerged from the same cage, only Li Qingshan admired the battle, desiring the battle.

    Zhou Wenbin also paid attention to Li Qingshan. This youngster, no, man had an aura that heavily differed from normal people. He would usually hide it all and seem normal, but once an opportunity presented itself, it would all emerge from him and display itself.

    However, no matter how special he was, it was all useless if his cultivation and strength were insufficient. A first layer Qi Practitioner in his teens could be regarded as rather talented in Jiaping city, but across the entire Clear River prefecture, it was nothing special at all. He would probably spend his entire life at the level of the Black Wolf guards. If he could split open a sea of qi, then he would be lucky. Zhou Wenbin then glanced at Zhuo Zhibo and shook his head. It would be difficult for even that wish to come true under this person¡¯s command.

 Chapter 117 â€“ Killing a Qi Practitioner

    In the competition this time, there was no doubt that the strongest were Diao Fei and the other third layer Qi Practitioner. However, the person who attracted the most attention was Qian Rongzhi. There were many female Qi Practitioners, with quite a few attending the competition, but there were not many who were born with beauty like hers. Beautiful women would attract gazes no matter where they went.

    However, out of the three positions available, Li Qingshan had already claimed one. The last two positions seemed to be in the grasps of the two third layer Qi Practitioners. As long as they did not meet in the competition, the other Qi Practitioners basically stood no chance.

    The competition advanced very quickly. Many of the victories would be determined in a split second. Consequently, they reached the fourth round in less than four hours. Only four people remained in the square. It seemed like the two third layer Qi Practitioners could become Hawkwolf guards after defeating two more second layer Qi Practitioners, but the situation suddenly changed. The envoy read out the matches, but it was second layer against second layer and third layer against third layer.

    The expressions of Diao Fei and the other third layer Qi Practitioner changed slightly. However, the two second layer Qi Practitioners suddenly erupted with hope. One of them happened to be Qian Rongzhi. She remained calm as if she had been expecting this.

    When Qian Rongzhi made her way to the centre of the square, Li Qingshan looked down. The outcome was already determined. Since Qian Rongzhi possessed a mid grade talisman as a trump card, she vaguely surpassed her opponent in both cultivation and status. That was that.

    As expected, Qian Rongzhi immediately took out a talisman as soon as the match began, but to Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, she did not activate it immediately. Instead, she said to the Qi Practitioner gently, ¡°Young master Zhang, you should be able to tell that my mid grade talisman possesses tremendous power. However, I don¡¯t want to harm you, so please forfeit!¡±

    ¡®Young master Zhang¡¯ could not help but hesitate. He had witnessed Qian Rongzhi¡¯s strength before. Coupled with the mid grade talisman, his chances of victory were less than thirty percent.

    Qian Rongzhi made full use of her advantages as a female. The drizzle drenched her clothes, sculpting out her beautiful figure. Her eyes were just as misty as the rain. She did not seem like she was threatening, but begging. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to become your enemy unless I have to. If the day comes, Rongzhi will definitely serve you well if you visit the Ancient Wind city.¡±

    In the pavilion, Zhou Wenbin smiled. ¡°Commander Zhuo, is that allowed too?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it? The competition is not just about cultivation in the first place. It¡¯s also about intelligence.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi also crossed through the square, arriving below the pavilion and standing beside Li Qingshan. She even smiled at Li Qingshan. ¡°I underestimated young master a few days ago. If I have caused any offence, I hope that you can forgive me.¡± Vaguely, she seemed to demonstrate awe, as if Li Qingshan was not Qian Rongming¡¯s murderer, but a talented young man who made her heart throb.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had been referred to as ¡®young master¡¯, but he only felt a chill run down his spine. He replied with a soft ¡®yep¡¯ and stopped paying attention to her. Regardless of whether she was truly unaffected by Qian Rongming¡¯s death or she hid the resentment deep inside, she was a terrifying beauty of viciousness like a snake or a scorpion. Her cruelty probably originated from the education of the large clan she came from. No matter how beautiful a woman like that was, he would never be interested.

    Not only did Qian Rongzhi ignore Li Qingshan¡¯s coldness towards her, she even tried to start a conversation. ¡°Who do you think will win?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned and directed all of his attention to the square. The clash between the two third layer Qi Practitioners would be the headline match of the competition, but it was not as intense as imagined at all. They fought against one another warily.

    After a few attempts at probing out the opponent, Diao Fei used the Lightning Strike talisman he had purchased from Li Qingshan. With a flash of scorching white light, a bolt of lightning as thick as a pillar descended from the sky, easily piercing his opponent¡¯s protective true qi and charring him.

    The traces of the lightning only vanished from the opponent¡¯s face after quite a while. It was so powerful that even Li Qingshan was taken aback. Lightning was the punishment of the heavens. Even if he daemonified, it would still injure him.

    The light in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°This young master Diao grasped a good time.¡±

    All techniques were about circumstances. Today, the clouds had constantly been rumbling with thunder; the Lightning Strike talisman was almost as effective as a high grade talisman during this rainy summer weather. It was not something weaker Qi Practitioners could fend off, becoming an absolute trump card.

    Diao Fei also walked over to Li Qingshan¡¯s side. Although he did his best to remain calm, he was unable to hide his joy. He even thanked Li Qingshan quietly. It was as if he no longer cared about the Pearl Dew pill.

    Two mid grade talismans had become the determining factors of victory. The three people had become the final victors, basically building off what had happened on the boat earlier. However, the three of them definitely were not friends.

    Zhuo Zhibo said from the pavilion, ¡°Come up!¡±

    ¡°I refuse to accept this!¡± Suddenly, someone called out boldly. His face was twisted due to jealousy. He had become rather crazy due to his failures. He looked at Li Qingshan resentfully. ¡°How can a piece of trash like you, a first layer Qi Practitioner, surpass me¡­¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo did nothing. Instead, he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°You¡¯re already a Hawkwolf guard. When someone offends you, they¡¯re offending the Hawkwolf Guard. You should know what to do!¡± It was as if he did not realise a difference existed between first and second layer Qi Practitioners at all. The other Hawkwolf guards all watched on with interest, waiting for Li Qingshan to be defeated. They wanted to see if he would still be able to stand there after that.

    Li Qingshan turned around with ease and walked towards the Qi Practitioner. He learned that this person¡¯s name was L¨¹ Hui during the competition earlier. He had insulted Li Qingshan in the beginning before being labelled as trash. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Since you want to die so much, I¡¯ll give you what you want.¡±

    To everyone else, that just sounded like boastful words.

    ¡°What¡¯re you trying to do? You¡¯re just a first layer Qi Practitioner!¡± L¨¹ Hui watched as Li Qingshan gradually approached him. For some reason, he actually felt deep fear. Now that his head had mostly cleared up, he regretted his earlier words.

    When he was twenty steps away, Li Qingshan stopped. He leaned forwards and bent his knees; he was like a tiger in the forest, stalking its prey and about to pounce. His temporarily condensed power suddenly erupted as he leapt forth.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were calm and composed like a young beast king who had gracefully leapt out of the forest. There was no ruthlessness or fury, only calmness due to confidence. It was enough to make people¡¯s hearts shudder.

    L¨¹ Hui looked at the emotionless eyes and felt pressure that took his breath away. When Li Qingshan stopped, he had already begun circulating all of his true qi. However, due to Li Qingshan¡¯s sudden acceleration, all he saw was a blur sweep past him. Li Qingshan moved just too quickly, to the point that it gave L¨¹ Hui the false impression that only after quite a while did the gust of wind that the motion produced arrive. It slammed into L¨¹ Hui¡¯s face with the cold rain.

    The figure in front of him vanished, and he felt agony in his chest. Lowering his head, he saw that his chest was empty. When he looked back with difficulty, all he saw was Li Qingshan clutching a bloody heart. He opened his mouth, but before he could even say anything, he had already collapsed face first into the ground.

    The entire square immediately fell silent. Suddenly, the sound of the rain became incredibly clear. Everyone was shocked; even Zhuo Zhibo and Zhou Wenbin were fazed. They yelled out at the same time, ¡°Body Practitioner!¡±

    A second layer Qi Practitioner had been killed in a single stroke, and it was not through a sneak attack or a talisman but in a direct confrontation. Everyone felt a heavy, cold sensation. The Qi Practitioners looked at Li Qingshan like he was a monster. Was he really a first layer Qi Practitioner?

    The Qi Practitioners present no longer grumbled about Li Qingshan avoiding the competition. Instead, they felt extremely fortunate. If he had taken part, there would probably be a few more corpses to the side of the square, which might have included them. As expected, he was not an idiot. He was bold enough to rip them off with talismans before the battle because he possessed absolute confidence in his strength, yet others actually still mocked him. Fortunately, none of them were like the idiot from before, actually stepping forward and antagonising him.

    Even the Hawkwolf guards who had watched the competition unfold leisurely looked at Li Qingshan in shock. Originally, they felt much disdain towards this kid who openly joined the Hawkwolf Guard through the backdoor using his connections. But now, their opinions of him had completely changed. This kid was not someone they could just teach a lesson to.

    The shock that Li Qingshan created even surpassed when Zhuo Zhibo killed the Qi Practitioner in a single move. The latter had used his overwhelming strength to crush his opponent, which only made sense, while the former still managed to crush his opponent despite being weaker in cultivation. Such a matter was simply extraordinary.

    Li Qingshan tossed the heart aside and caught his breath. Earlier, he had instantaneously erupted with his physical strength and true qi. The outcome of the combination even surprised him a little. However, he was absolutely confident in himself when he launched the attack.

    The Tiger Demon Leaps over the Ravine. The Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart. Ever since he became a daemon, these moves seemed to have fused into his blood, becoming a part of his instincts.

    Even when he did not have a sliver of true qi, he had used his physical strength and an opening to defeat Feng Zhang in a single stroke. Ever since then, he had been cultivating daily, and the daemon qi converted from several dozen Qi Gathering pills only made his body stronger. His true qi had almost reached the peak of the first layer as well, and it was as pure as it could get. As such, his strength changed in an overwhelming fashion.

    As for L¨¹ Hui, he was the opposite. He had just been through three rounds of battles, so he was at his weakest in both true qi and physical strength. With the disparity in conditions, the outcome became extremely clear-cut.

    Li Qingshan reevaluated his strength. In human form, killing a third layer Qi Practitioner in a direct confrontation should pose no difficulty. He had yet to see any fourth layer Qi Practitioners, so he was uncertain about them. Of course, this was given that his opponent did not have too powerful of a trump card. However, in terms of trump cards, just how many people could surpass him?

    Li Qingshan returned to Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei¡¯s side. Both of them shuffled back slightly in an unnatural fashion. The terrifying power to injure and kill that Li Qingshan had erupted with caused them tremendous pressure.

 Chapter 118 â€“ Fantastic Benefits

    Even the hands of the third layer Qi Practitioner, Diao Fei, became covered in cold sweat. Within a range of three steps, he would not even have the time to activate a talisman against such an opponent. He felt extremely relieved that he had not fallen out with Li Qingshan. Under the guidance of an envoy, the three of them climbed the lengthy stairs, with Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi following behind Li Qingshan instinctively. Afterwards, they crossed through a long corridor. Over a dozen Black Wolf guards parted to form a path for them. Li Qingshan clearly saw that there were both men and women among them. There were young twenty-year-olds, but there were also many middle-aged or even elderly people.

    Li Qingshan studied them. Under the gloomy weather, their various faces turned into blurs in Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. He did not try to remember them. He only silently estimated their strength. There were many third layer Qi Practitioners, with a few second and fourth layer Qi Practitioners. He did not see any fifth layer Qi Practitioners. The conclusion he reached was that he did not need to take special note of any of them.

    Strength was the best calling card for Qi Practitioners. Before he knew it, Li Qingshan had also learned how to judge a person based on their strength. Only when Li Qingshan arrived before Zhuo Zhibo and Zhou Wenbin did he take special note of them. Their auras were so powerful that they could not be ignored.

    Zhuo Zhibo scanned past the three of them, with his gaze pausing on Li Qingshan slightly. He smiled kindly. ¡°Congratulations. From today onwards, you are a part of the Hawkwolf Guard. You¡¯ve all done extremely well¡­ In a moment, there will be a welcoming banquet. Little Ge, go take them to collect their items.¡±

    ¡°Yes, commander!¡± answered a short but powerful Qi Practitioner. He had a bit of a baby face, but he had a mustache. Additionally, he seemed rather funny but also very likeable.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Commander Zhuo, I won¡¯t be disturbing you any further then. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± He did not even mention the matter of the spiritual stones, as he knew that Zhuo Zhibo would have the spiritual stones delivered to him once he returned. If he demanded for them before so many Black Wolf guards, it would be rather humiliating for Zhuo Zhibo and overbearing on Zhou Wenbin¡¯s part.

    Zhuo Zhibo urged Zhou Wenbin to stay with no sincerity at all before politely accompanying Zhou Wenbin down the stairs. Before Zhou Wenbin left, he said to the three of them, ¡°Oh right. Don¡¯t forget to report to the district government.¡±

    Although he directed that to the three of them, anyone could tell that he was specially speaking to Li Qingshan. District magistrate Zhou was very interested in him.

    Under the lead of ¡®little Ge¡¯, Li Qingshan finally entered the depths of the Hawkwolf Guard. The exquisite, extravagant buildings and pavilions made it seem like a royal palace rather than a government office. The envoys they came across along the way no longer possessed any arrogance at all. Instead, they were humble and polite.

    ¡®Little Ge¡¯ was very good at making conversation. He introduced the names and purposes of the structures along the way, mentioning stories or anecdotes with great ease. He also constantly asked Li Qingshan how he had managed to accomplish what he currently possessed.

    ¡°It was all by chance,¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He had already learned that ¡®little Ge¡¯ was actually called Ge Jian, and he was actually past thirty years old already. The reason why he was so polite was directly connected to the strength Li Qingshan had displayed earlier. Although Ge Jian was cautious of him, being treated as an equal was still a comforting fact.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of people who practise that now. The body practising methods in the library are even close to getting moldy with how seldom people view them. However, I never thought the power would be so great. Even I want to try it out now. You¡¯ll need to teach me well when I do try.¡±

    He was just making conversation. Although Body Practitioners sounded like they were equals to Qi Practitioners, that was just Body Practitioners blowing their own trumpets. It was not some hidden, powerful path that people could take. It was just like the daoist ability of the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers. Most ancient cultivation methods were lost because they could no longer keep up with the times.

    Compared to the powerful strength in battle, there were many disadvantages to the method of training the body. Every path was composed of the summaries of the countless lessons people before had learned. However, Li Qingshan was not a ¡®person¡¯, so he obviously had no need to follow the same path as these ¡®people¡¯ before.

    Soon, they arrived at the depths of the mountain peak and entered a stone building carved out from the mountain. Ge Jian took the three of them through a series of stone doors. Every stone door was engraved with inscriptions. Even spiritual artifacts would not be able to blow them open. This was the armoury of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    To the Hawkwolf Guard, there was not a single piece of gold, silver, or treasure worth protecting unless they were spiritual.

    Ge Jian took out two Black Wolf uniforms for each person from the armoury first. Li Qingshan gently felt the smooth fabric. Through Ge Jian¡¯s introductions, he learned that it was made from dark silk; it was both fire and waterproof and was tough enough to stop crossbow bolts. This was the best piece of clothing he had ever worn even with his two lives combined. However, he did not care too much about it. With his Ox Demon Forges its Hide, he had never been afraid of any crossbow bolts in the first place.

    If that was all the benefits the Hawkwolf Guard had to offer, it would just be disappointing. However, Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi showed no signs of disappointment at all. They held the uniform like it was a treasure as they were distracted by their thoughts.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s thoughts included both resentment and joy. If she wore this uniform and returned to Ancient Wind city, those old coots would have to show some respect to her. Everyone who had once offended her, who had looked down on her, would have to pay.

    Her hatred towards her family was actually dozens or even hundreds of times more intense than the feelings of someone like Li Qingshan who had cut off his family.

    What Ge Jian took out next attracted all of their gazes. Even Li Qingshan showed anticipation. They were three delicately-crafted hundred treasures pouches, completely different from the ragged versions they possessed.

    Ge Jian handed the three hundred treasures pouches to the three of them. ¡°The items inside are all a welcoming gift.¡±

    Li Qingshan channeled his true qi into it and sensed that the space in the hundred treasures pouch was the size of a box. It was ten times larger than the ruined hundred treasures pouch he had obtained from Qian Rongming. It could easily hold a larger weapon, and he could finally store his Cursive Sword Calligraphy away.

    There was a bottle of pills in the hundred treasures pouch as well. Despite its size, it held thirty Qi Gathering pills. Every single one of them was only the size of a soybean, but they were perfectly round and translucent, teeming with spiritual qi. Their effects surpassed regular Qi Gathering pills. There were also three low grade talismans.

    It amazed Li Qingshan. The Hawkwolf Guard truly were wealthy, truly a government office of authority of the best of the best. The benefits that came with a position were just so good. There really was a reason why so many Qi Practitioners would risk their lives desperately to join them.

    To his side, Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi also showed surprise and joy when they took their hundred treasures pouches.

    However, that was not all. Ge Jian then took the three of them into the armoury, opening three stone doors. When the third stone door opened, a brilliant glow flooded out, dazzling Li Qingshan.

    The large armoury room was filled with various types of weapons. Whether it be blades, spears, knives, glaives, axes, hooks, or tridents, it had them all. Light flickered in there like stars in the night sky. Every single one of them was a spiritual artifact.

    ¡°How are there so many spiritual artifacts here?¡± The spiritual artifacts Qian Rongzhi currently saw was more than she had seen throughout her entire life. She had grown up in Ancient Wind city, so she believed the Qian family was one of the largest clans in the world, a tremendous existence that could not be shaken. Yet, when she came to the Hawkwolf Guard, only then did she realise she had just been experiencing tunnel vision.

    Ge Jian explained, ¡°Over all these years, we¡¯ve killed many enemies, with many Qi Practitioners among them. Since we obtained their weapons that we have no use for, we offered them up as contribution, which ended up being stored here.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s contribution?¡±

    Ge Jian explained patiently. As it turned out, Hawkwolf guards were not always busy with their duties. They just needed to deal with a few cases every month, and they would be permitted to use their other time freely. They could practise qi on the mountain or have fun outside, all depending on their preferences. They had great leisure.

    Within the Hawkwolf Guard, strength was everything. No matter how hard a person worked, they could not be promoted if their strength was insufficient. As a result, in order to motivate people to work, they set up a contribution system. Whenever a case was completed, they could receive a corresponding amount of contribution, which could be exchanged for pills, talismans, or spiritual artifacts.

    Moreover, the Hawkwolf Guard did not pay their salaries with silver. There was no silver on the mountain at all. Instead, they would give each member ten Qi Gathering pills for their cultivation.

    A great salary, great benefits, and high amounts of freedom. When I work, I even receive bonuses, and I get respected wherever I go. Apart from the fact that the commanding officer doesn¡¯t seem to like me, it¡¯s basically a perfect job. But even if the commanding officer does dislike me, he¡¯ll have to live it with. Who told him to send someone to come steal my things? Serves him right. If he develops spite against me because of this, then he¡¯d better be careful when he goes out at night, just in case he falls into the hands of daemons.

    Li Qingshan smiled subconsciously, which made Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei shiver.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Everyone pick one as your weapon. If you don¡¯t have confidence in your insight, I recommend that you choose a standard issue Wind-entwining blade. Be quick, because I still have to take you to your residences.¡±

    The three of them immediately began picking eagerly. Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to choose a heavy weapon, the heavier the better. He had already chosen a long battle-axe, but he changed his mind and directly went to the rack to the west, choosing a Wind-entwining blade. He drew the blade from its sheath; it was covered with a cloud-like pattern, shining with cold light. He could tell from a single glance that it had not been used before, brand-new. There were inscriptions on the hilt so that as long as true qi was channeled into the blade, it could unleash wind blades. It was basically a well-made low grade spiritual artifact.

    Ge Jian extended his thumb at him, praising his choice. Li Qingshan replied with a smile. He was extremely satisfied with the Wind-entwining blade as well, but he did not choose it because he was unconfident in his insight. Weapons all depended on circumstances. The current him no longer needed to go trample through the Black Wind stronghold.

    An overly-large or long weapon could not be stored in the hundred treasures pouch, so it was difficult to carry around and unwieldy. He had begun with the blade at the very beginning, so it was perfect for him to return to the blade now. And, he currently lacked a way to launch long-range attacks. He could not just use the Cursive Sword Calligraphy against anyone and everyone. The Wind-entwining blade was imbued with the Wind Blade technique, so it suited what he was looking for.

    Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi also chose their respective weapons. Diao Fei also chose a Wind-entwining blade, while Qian Rongzhi chose a Water-splitting barb.1

 Chapter 119 â€“ Hidden Killing Inten

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    There were many small, two-storeyed buildings on the mountain, sparsed between the exuberant vegetation. It was a quiet and tasteful set up. These were the residences allocated to the Hawkwolf Guard. A few had already been cleaned out for the three of them to choose from, which added to Li Qingshan¡¯s understanding of the benefits that the Hawkwolf Guard provided.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Once you have chosen, please clean up and change your clothes. When it¡¯s noon, I will come to receive you again.¡±

    Li Qingshan chose the residence that was the quietest and closest to the edge. After bidding farewell to Ge Jian, he walked over.

    There were flowers and shrubs planted at the front, which had now bloomed. Li Qingshan was not skilled in this area of knowledge, so he had no idea what they were called. However, they did form an assortment of colors, which was quite beautiful. Butterflies floated around them, drinking nectar while there was a break in the rain.

    Li Qingshan stood there and admired the area for a while before using his key to open the door. A dangling bamboo curtain split the antique style room into two parts. The front was a room to receive guests, while the back was a quiet tearoom.

    The jar on his waist trembled. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Come out, Xiao An. I¡¯ve kept you in there for too long!¡± Opening the jar, a skull flew out. The various bones connected into a skeleton, standing in front of Li Qingshan. It shook its head at Li Qingshan, expressing that it was fine.

    Those who practised the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty were neither alive or dead, neither dead or alive. They existed in a wondrous state, carrying the profound truths of buddhism. In terms of concealing auras, even Li Qingshan, who practised the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, could not be compared to him. After all, dead people had no auras.

    Xiao An ran over to a wall and admired the antique paintings there before nodding at Li Qingshan, expressing that they were all the real deal.

    Li Qingshan held the railing and ascended up the stairs. Xiao An followed behind him in a hurry, climbing up the stairs with a series of thumps.

    On the square table, wisps of smoke curled up from a crane-shaped incense burner onto a rosewood screen. The decor and items in the room were extremely luxurious, but not overboard. With a single glance, Li Qingshan could tell that a master had designed this. Any item there was worth far more than what an ordinary person could afford in their entire lives.

    Li Qingshan opened the window and looked out. His gaze passed through the treetops as he looked towards the entire sprawl of Jiaping city. The buildings were layered together neatly like matchboxes. A blue band of water glimmered at the centre of all of that, passing through the entire city. It was the Clear river.

    The bloody slaughter in the rain immediately grew distant. Xiao An tilted his head and looked at Li Qingshan as the flames in his eyes flickered. He was also happy for him.

    Li Qingshan called Xiao An, sitting down in front of the square table. Like a miser, he poured out the contents of the two hundred treasures pouches, looking through it carefully again. He smiled from ear to ear as he rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°Once I formally take my post, I will definitely work hard and help you achieve your ability as quickly as possible, okay? Perhaps you¡¯ll be able to practise qi by then as well? I¡¯ll have to work even harder then and earn some more Qi Gathering pills.¡±

    Xiao An nodded firmly, expressing agreement. He guessed at what ¡®taking post¡¯ meant.

    A big monster and a small skeleton planned their lives in a serious manner like this. They were like the most ordinary people in this aspect. Work hard and make money! Make money and get married! So on and so on.

    In the end, he stored everything back into the new hundred treasures pouch before giving the old one to Xiao An. ¡°One each! You don¡¯t have anything, so I¡¯ll keep the larger one. But don¡¯t worry, I will definitely find a better one for you.¡± The one hanging from Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s waist seemed quite nice. Li Qingshan could not help but wonder to himself, Should I be hoping that you come for me? Or should I be hoping that you don¡¯t come for me?

    Obviously, Xiao An had no objections to this. He accepted the hundred treasures pouch and stored the scholar wood tablet in there.

    Li Qingshan had a comforting hot shower and changed into the Black Wolf uniform, equipping his Wind-entwining blade. He told Xiao An to watch over the house before making his way out.

    A banquet was held in a large hall.

    Zhuo Zhibo sat in the primary seat with over a dozen tables to his two sides. Two people sat at each table, arranged according to their cultivation.

    Ge Jian patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll just have to bear with it!¡± As he was a first layer Qi Practitioner, he had the weakest cultivation in the Hawkwolf Guard, so he could only sit at the very end. However, everyone knew that when it came to fighting, his strength was probably no less than third layer Qi Practitioners.

    Li Qingshan expressed that he did not mind. As soon as he sat down, he caught a whiff of fragrance. Qian Rongzhi actually sat right next to him, telling him in a charming manner, ¡°I¡¯m technically the weakest. It really is unfair for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan wondered whether this was really like the legends, where the colder you were to a beauty, the more the beauty became glued to you? However, this thought vanished in a flash. He could not forget this woman¡¯s expression when she achieved what she wanted. If he really could accept her actions from before, that would not be called lenience, but having something wrong with his head. Trying to put on an act now was already too late.

    However, since she had spoken to him in such a friendly manner, he could not lose in this aspect. He replied nonchalantly, ¡°Looks like strength is what groups people in the world. It¡¯s the same everywhere.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi did not seem to hear his sarcastic remark, continuing to smile. She seemed to be in an extremely good mood after having joined the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Zhuo Zhibo came very late. After saying some conventional greetings, he congratulated the three of them before introducing the Hawkwolf guards present to them one by one. Including the three of them, there were a total of thirty-one Hawkwolf guards in the region of Jiaping. Aside from the few who were in secluded cultivation or out on missions, everyone was present.

    Under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s lead, everyone raised their cups and congratulated the three of them on joining the Hawkwolf Guard. No matter how cold and arrogant they were before, they were all colleagues now, so they obviously could not argue or bicker. At the very least, they could not make their disagreements and conflict too obvious and had to focus on staying united. Of course, Li Qingshan¡¯s vague backing played quite a large role here.

    Otherwise, people would have begun provoking him a long time ago. It was very impressive when Li Qingshan instantly killed a second layer Qi Practitioner, shocking everyone very much, but after some thought, the Qi Practitioner who died had already lost half the battle from the beginning after being frightened by him. Li Qingshan was just a first layer Qi Practitioner, at the lowest level among Qi Practitioners. There were plenty of third and fourth layer Qi Practitioners present, so they were not afraid of him.

    If a regular newcomer had been so ¡®arrogant¡¯, someone would have definitely stepped forwards and taught them a lesson. However, Zhuo Zhibo had suggested to everyone to not act recklessly, but when he said that, he seemed rather cold and seemed like he was in thought.

    As a result, Li Qingshan did not sense any hostility from Zhou Zhibo at all. The exact opposite happened instead. Just when he was drinking to his heart¡¯s content, this great commander of Jiaping even walked over to his table personally.

    Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi stood up in a hurry, but Li Qingshan remained seated, which formed quite the contrast. He could take the initiative to repair his relationship with people who had been defeated by his hand, such as Yan Song and Liu Hong, which made him seem extremely wise.

    However, against a powerful opponent like Zhuo Zhibo, he instead held his head up high. He did not believe that he could change Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s opinion of him if he yielded now. And, he knew extremely well that these Qi Practitioners had a twisted sense of pride. If they were smacked in the face by those stronger than them, they would just pass it off as bad luck or that they deserved it. However, if they were provoked by those weaker than them, someone had to die.

    Just like on the ship, he had only turned down Qian Rongming¡¯s rude request, and that was enough for Qian Rongming to try and kill him in a sneak attack at night. Was Zhuo Zhibo any better? He had no confidence in that. Someone with authority like Zhuo Zhibo would probably only become even more twisted.

    The peace on the surface right now was only due to a veil that Gu Yanying¡¯s name had cast down. However, this veil would vanish very soon. He was not Gu Yanying¡¯s subordinate, although he did hope very much that Gu Yanying could become his one day.

    With his experience from his two lives, Li Qingshan understood his current position and their relationship extremely well. As a result, he made the choice that seemed the most appropriate to him. He did not feel that his current situation was all a fluke.

    In the story of the ¡®Exhausted Tricks of the Donkey¡¯1, the tiger had only become afraid of acting recklessly because of how composed the donkey was. He did not mind learning from this donkey, bluffing his commanding officer a little. At the very least, he would be able to get a few days of peace. Once the truth was revealed, he would like to see who was the donkey, who was the tiger, and who had exhausted all of their tricks.

    Zhuo Zhibo continued to smile just like before, but the killing intent in his heart only grew. He personally clinked cups with Li Qingshan and mentioned many personal things.

    ¡°Qingshan, this must be the first time you¡¯ve left home!¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry at all. All you need to do is treat the Hawkwolf Guard as your family. If you have any questions, fire away. Everybody here are your siblings. I¡¯m your eldest brother, so it¡¯s my responsibility to take care of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered inside when he was pulled aside by Zhuo Zhibo like this. He could tell that Zhuo Zhibo was trying to probe his relationship with Gu Yanring.

    Li Qingshan directly stated that they had only met once, but it only made Zhuo Zhibo even more doubtful; this was Li Qingshan¡¯s intention. Clever people would definitely overthink, and he welcomed Zhuo Zhibo to continue doubting like this. He knew just how quickly his strength grew. Once Zhuo Zhibo reached the bottom of this, just how much more powerful would he have become?

    Diao Fei was extremely jealous of the treatment Li Qingshan received. Zhuo Zhibo basically had not even cast a second glance at him. He had no idea about the twisted truth behind all of this.

    Zhuo Zhibo cast a glance at Qian Rongzhi before returning to his seat. Qian Rongzhi became even more enthusiastic towards Li Qingshan, acting as if she wanted to mend her relationship with him. As a matter of fact, she did not even wait for the female attendants, personally filling up Li Qingshan¡¯s cup with alcohol. She had drank quite a lot herself, so she was utterly charming, causing quite a few Black Wolf guards to look over enviously. However, when they glanced at Zhuo Zhibo, they all looked away.

    Li Qingshan did not hold back at all. He downed the alcohol as soon as it was poured, enjoying her treatment with indifference. His senses were so sharp such that he had realised a long time ago that Qian Rongzhi had some filthy ties with Zhuo Zhibo.

    As it seemed, she had been busy during the three days he spent cultivating in seclusion. As expected, unspoken rules would be present everywhere. He only found her to be even more shameless. However, he could not care too much about other people¡¯s matters. They could do whatever they wanted. The only thing he considered was whether these two hidden enemies would work together against him.

 Chapter 120 â€“ The Parlour of Clouds and Rain

    Although he had absolute confidence in his strength, he did not want to be an idiot with no brains and all brawn. He answered all of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s attempts to probe him out with a bunch of lies.

    The banquet ended, and everyone dispersed.

    On the highest point of the mountain peak, within the Black Hawk commander¡¯s special residence.

    Zhuo Zhibo asked, ¡°How did your investigations go? Just what relationship does this kid have with commander Gu?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi sat on Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s leg as she ground her teeth. ¡°He constantly went in circles, unwilling to tell the truth.¡± Just as Li Qingshan had expected, Qian Rongzhi had already established a relationship with Zhuo Zhibo during the three days on the mountain.

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Then let¡¯s wait a little longer and see. I will get to the bottom of this. If he really is a person that she favors, you might as well forget about your revenge.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi suppressed her hatred and extended her index finger towards Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s face. She smiled charmingly. ¡°My revenge is not significant at all. I have far too many siblings anyways. What matters is your face and your pride, great commander Zhuo, which you only have one of. You¡¯ve seen it all today with the kid¡¯s attitude towards you.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°If she really does stand behind him, it doesn¡¯t matter even if he drags all of my pride through the mud. However, if that¡¯s not the case, hmph, hmph!¡± He smacked Qian Rongzhi¡¯s bottom. ¡°You don¡¯t need to urge me on. Even if he is favoured by her, I have my ways of dealing with him. Even if he¡¯s a hero, I can reduce him to a piece of trash. Let¡¯s see whether anyone takes him seriously then.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi grumbled in a flirtatious manner and wriggled around in Zhou Zhibo¡¯s arms, which aroused him. However, he then asked out of curiosity, ¡°Since you don¡¯t mind him killing your elder brother, why do you insist on vengeance?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Because he looks down on me. Everyone who looks down on me will pay the price.¡±

    If Li Qingshan were present, he definitely would be dumbfounded. Not only was the result of his behaviour unlike the legends, making him steal the heart of a beauty, but it had even led to deep hatred. As it seemed, legends were only legends.

    Zhuo Zhibo gazed at Qian Rongzhi deeply. He did not judge her. With how old he was, he had played around with many women before, but there were very few female Qi Practitioners. Even if he had, they would not necessarily be beautiful. As a result, Qian Rongzhi caught his attention at first glance. Qian Rongzhi also wanted to use the opportunity to elevate her position, so they were drawn together naturally. Their relationship developed into a sexual one as time went on. His body was currently declining, so it was no longer possible for him to make any more progress with practising qi. Enjoying himself was his greatest objective.

    Li Qingshan was currently submerged in a sea of books. The library of the Hawkwolf Guard was filled with various martial arts and secret manuals that they could freely view. It covered everything, whether it be fist styles, kicking styles, blade styles, or sword styles. Many of them could lead to a battle if they were tossed into the jianghu, yet they were like garbage here. They were placed around carelessly, with only an old man guarding it.

    However, Li Qingshan failed to find any cultivation methods for Qi Practitioners. Just when he wanted to climb up the stairs, the old man stopped him. ¡°Ten points of contribution for two hours. Credit is not taken.¡±

    Li Qingshan could only give up on that. However, just these martial arts manuals had inspired him quite a lot. He stayed there for two hours before becoming afraid that Xiao An would worry about him. As such, he returned to his residence.

    Afterwards, he continued his rather boring cycle of cultivating, eating pills, and practising qi.

    However, just when dusk had fallen, Ge Jian knocked on Li Qingshan¡¯s door and said in a mysterious manner, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to a good place.¡± He even purposefully told him to change his clothes and leave his blade behind.

    Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re trying to mess with me? That was what Li Qingshan thought, but he agreed readily. They would come sooner or later. He just needed to remain vigilant. At most, he could slaughter them all. He made Ge Jian wait for a bit as he returned to his room and brought Xiao An with him.

    Arriving below the archway, he discovered that Diao Fei had already been waiting there.

    Li Qingshan asked curiously, ¡°Where are we going?¡± There was no need for them to kill Diao Fei as well, right?

    Diao Fei said, ¡°Brother Ge said he wanted to take us on a stroll so that we can see Jiaping city at night. Speaking of which, why don¡¯t we bring along Qian Rongzhi as well?¡±

    ¡°A place like that isn¡¯t suited for women.¡± Ge Jian let out a smile that all men could understand.

    Li Qingshan and Diao Fei glanced at each other. Neither of them said anything. It was difficult to turn down something like this in the first place, not to mention that it was good will from a fellow colleague. Li Qingshan personally believed he was a ¡®man who had dined with beautiful women¡¯ before, so he did not mind it too much.

    Ge Jian could not help but smile when he saw their reactions. He thought about Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s orders again, to take Li Qingshan out for fun regardless of the cost. Make him play to his heart¡¯s content, the more the better; it was best if he would toss aside cultivation or practising qi altogether.

    Li Qingshan had no idea that Zhuo Zhibo had already moved against him. There was no need for any violence at all to destroy a person through other ways. Many a times, sugar-coated bullets were even more terrifying than torture or beatings. Luxury and indulgence could easily wear away a person¡¯s willpower, making them descend into their most basic joys.

    Zhuo Zhibo believed that Li Qingshan was just a bumpkin from the mountains, so how was it possible for him to endure such temptation? Even if Li Qingshan had truly been favoured by Gu Yanying, it was not like it was Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s fault at all. The only person that could be blamed would be Li Qingshan for being useless. This was a vicious scheme he had come up with through his great grasp over human nature. It was utterly silent, but it was devastating.

    Jiaping city was illuminated completely. Even though it was night, lanterns blazed brightly, making it drastically different from Qingyang city. It reminded Li Qingshan of the large cities from his former life again. Under Ge Jian¡¯s eager guidance, the three of them entered the well-lit place, entering the most dazzling and busiest area.

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    This did not seem like the name of a brothel, but not only was it a brothel, but it was even the largest, most luxurious brothel within a range of several hundred meters.

    From a certain perspective, this was the grandest structure Li Qingshan had seen so far in his time in this world. The pagoda-shaped building had a total of seven storeys, and the lantern light seemed to set the entire place ablaze.

    Large numbers of people moved in and out of its huge entrance decorated with lanterns. It was even busier than the markets.

    Before they had even entered, a steamy, exotic fragrance surged over. Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s just a brothel.¡± Although it was quite extravagant, it still paled in comparison to the skyscrapers and neon lights of his former life.

    Ge Jian said mysteriously, ¡°You¡¯ll know once you go in. This isn¡¯t an ordinary brothel.¡±

    Before the three of them had even entered, a person came out. He had been tossed from the third floor, hitting the ground like a sack of potatoes.

    A homicide case? Li Qignshan shivered inside. In a certain sense, the Hawkwolf Guard were the police of this world. He had never thought he would have a case as soon as he officially took his position. However, the passers-by in the surroundings all hurried off with their own matters after being surprised in the beginning, acting as if nothing had happened at all.

    As for the person on the ground, he actually stood up with a groan and cursed aloud while rubbing his waist. Even louder curses replied to him from the parlour, ¡°What gang leader or branch leader? If you don¡¯t have money, you¡¯d better get out of here! If you¡¯re not going to leave, we¡¯ll cripple your martial arts and keep you around as a eunuch!¡±

    The man tossed out from the third storey was actually a first-rate master, which was why he was uninjured. However, just how powerful was the person who managed to casually throw out a first-rate master?

    That seemed to have shut the man up. He cursed beneath his breath a little more before joining the flow of people as if nothing had happened at all.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Here, even the Hawkwolf Guard has to pay. It¡¯s best if we don¡¯t make any trouble.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°They¡¯re just a brothel, so how are they so haughty?¡±

    Diao Fei said, ¡°The Sect of Clouds and Rain is renowned throughout the Clear River prefecture. They¡¯re skilled in dual cultivation, and they¡¯ve established parlours of Clouds and Rain in various large cities. This is only one of them, though it is my first time.¡±

    Ge Jian smiled. ¡°It looks like Diao Fei is the one with knowledge. Qingshan, you know what dual cultivation is, right?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just that?¡± Li Qingshan truly felt like his horizons had been broadened. Sure, there were violent organisations and government systems composed of Qi Practitioners, but there were actually even brothels run by Qi Practitioners. He could not help but let his opinion of Qi Practitioners crumble slightly.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Dual cultivation is just like ingesting pills and herbs. They¡¯re both ancient daoist methods, focusing on the unity of yin and yang. However, you¡¯re right as well. It¡¯s that, also known as sexual practices. Think about it. The women raised by a sect that specially studies sexual practices¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re harvesting yang to nurture their yin!¡± It was no wonder that Zhuo Zhibo wanted him to go out on the top of a woman. It would be far too hilarious.

    Ge Jian laughed. ¡°How could that be? If that¡¯s really the case, why would there still be so many people? Anyways, you¡¯ll know once you try it.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I think we should forget about it.¡± He did not feel like this was a good place.

    Diao Fei wanted to leave as well. He would not have minded if it were a regular brothel. He had heard about many rumors regarding the Parlour of Clouds and Rain before. No matter when, pursuing pleasure would never benefit a Qi Practitioner¡¯s cultivation.

    As a result, Ge Jian flapped his gums and rambled, ¡°It¡¯s so tiring to practise qi, so shouldn¡¯t we reward ourselves?¡± ¡°Only a combination of work and play will benefit cultivation. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s just once or twice.¡± ¡°You¡¯re men, so stop being so indecisive. Just enjoy yourselves. Are you supposed to be afraid of women as men?¡±

    He diligently played the most common role in the world, a vile, silver tongued person with ill intentions. A vicious friend was even more terrifying than an impressive enemy.

    Under his persuasions and urging, he basically dragged the two of them into the brothel. A hubbub of noise erupted in their ears. Many men and women embraced one another with ruffled clothing, forming a scene of ecstacy. In such a bizarre atmosphere, no one cared anymore, releasing their desires. It was just like the scenes of indulgences in the legends, such that even Li Qingshan became rather dumbfounded despite being a modern transmigrator.

    ¡°Master Ge, you¡¯ve made the girls wait quite a bit. You¡¯ve booked the best room. Please go upstairs!¡± A plump woman covered in makeup received them. She saw Li Qingshan and Diao Fei. ¡°Hmm? Little brothers, you seem unfamiliar.¡±

    Li Qingshan saw true qi flow through the lady. She was actually a Qi Practitioner.

 Chapter 121 â€“ Smacking the Courtesan

    Li Qingshan knocked her hand away rudely, but Ge Jian said, ¡°If you want us to take care of you, that¡¯ll depend on what you have!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s all the best. Lady Furong is currently waiting. Today, she¡¯s not receiving any customers other than the three of you. You have no idea how many people we¡¯ve offended because of this.¡±

    At this moment, as if it was an attempt to prove what she said, a skinny man grabbed the procuress¡¯s hand as he sobbed. ¡°Mother, I have to see Furong tonight. I¡¯ll give you anything you want.¡± Afterwards, two sturdy guards who were second-rate masters at the very least rushed over, grabbing him and throwing him out.

    All of the men there showed envy and eagerness when they heard the three of them would be received by Furong. Even Diao Fei, who remained cold and indifferent most of the time, became curious.

    The procuress rambled as she flirted with Ge Jian, ogling at him. Diao Fei would listen in at times and look at the men and women in the hall at others; there was too much to take in. He had spent most of his time cultivating in his sect, so he obviously had not seen something like this before.

    Li Qingshan instead raised his head and looked up. The Parlour of Clouds and Rain was designed with a hollow centre, so he could see the very top right from the ground floor. It was covered in paintings of dancing and floating women. The corridors of each floor stretched upwards as rings, and the sounds of songs and musical instruments filled the entire place. The customers were most numerous on the ground floor as they spent time with pretty women of the lowest class. The burning aura of lust seemed to gush through the roof.

    Absent-mindedly, Li Qingshan seemed to see the women in the paintings move. Their eyes revolved, charming all people. But at a closer glance, they seemed to turn back into paintings. Was he mistaken?

    The best room was on the top floor of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, specially prepared for esteemed customers. Three Qi Practitioners from the Hawkwolf Guard were obviously the most esteemed customers they could have.

    Under the lead of the procuress, they climbed up the stairs, passing by many rooms. Through his extraordinary hearing, Li Qingshan clearly heard the sounds of love between many men and women, which was enough to make people heat up.

    They sat down on extravagant cushions woven from golden threads as the music from several instruments rang out from the curtain behind them, forming an atmosphere capable of taking their breaths away. Suddenly, a group of orchid-like dancers came up and performed a dance. They only wore thin veils, which exposed their graceful figures as their feminine features moved about.

    Among the dancing women, the figure of a lady faded in and out, performing a fast and disorderly dance. She seemed like the moon in the night sky, surrounded by stars. As she was partially hidden, they would only be able to catch fleeting glimpses of her, only to see a face shrouded by a veil. Who was she? Was she Furong?

    The pitch of the music from the instruments suddenly rose to the very top, and the dancers dispersed. The woman appeared before everyone, leaving her as the only one present dancing fervently. Li Qingshan and Diao Fei watched with so much concentration that they even failed to notice Ge Jian¡¯s departure.

    In the corridor outside, Ge Jian said to the procuress, ¡°This is something arranged by our boss Zhuo. You can¡¯t afford to neglect it, okay?¡±

    The procuress smiled. ¡°How could I? Our Parlour of Clouds and Rain does not plan on closing up in Jiaping city. Whether it¡¯s Incense of Enchantment, Dance of Charm, or Sound of Decadence, I¡¯ve used it all. I can guarantee you that the two of them will be utterly bewitched.¡± She glanced at Ge Jian¡¯s crotch. ¡°Master Ge, have you come as well because you couldn¡¯t resist it any longer? Would you like our Furong to¡­¡±

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Shut up!¡± However, his face clearly was unnaturally flushed. He had lost control of his emotions slightly as well. Clearly, these three things had affected him as well. However, Zhuo Zhibo had purposefully ordered him to never touch that woman. Quite a few Qi Practitioners had been destroyed while they were on top of her, with even more regular people of the jianghu. The most terrifying part of all of this was that none of these people actually regretted it at all. They would still be willing to give her everything they possessed.

    At this moment, the veil hit the floor in the room as if it was a slight accident during her fervent dancing. Furong stood there, at a loss as for what to do, and the music stopped conveniently.

    The two men were stunned together. Li Qingshan felt incredibly amazed once again, but he was unable to accurately describe the woman¡¯s appearance. It was hazy, like there was a layer of mist that separated them. Within it, he vaguely saw Xuanyue and Gu Yanying, or even going to an even more distant past, to his first love of his past life. His mind was lost, and his heart was enchanted.

    Diao Fei stared straight at Furong as he murmured, ¡°A¡¯ning!¡± The wine in his cup had already spilt all over the floor, but he was not aware of it at all. Many memories flooded through his head, along with the unforgettable feelings of pain and happiness. He wanted to protect her, to have her all to himself.

    Furong sneered inside with the success she experienced. This was basically a piece of cake to her, as easy as it could get. And, her target this time was only the teenager, which made it even easier. She had already begun thinking about how she would use him and how she could get some more pills. She had heard the treatment that Hawkwolf guards received was rather impressive, so she should be able to squeeze quite a lot out of him. However, he was only a first layer Qi Practitioner, so she probably could not squeeze him for too long. However, the other might be able to make her break through once again with her cultivation, reaching the third layer.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! A few, gentle sounds rang out from the jar on Li Qingshan¡¯s waist, which jolted Li Qingshan back to his senses. Xiao An was extremely clever. He would never make anything difficult for Li Qingshan, so he had always been extremely quiet when he was in the jar. This was the first time he had made a disturbance while in the jar.

    Li Qingshan immediately sensed that there was something wrong with his body. He began practising the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, and the turtle shell-shaped daemon core in his body began to revolve and glow, suppressing everything. Whether it be his restless true qi or disorderly thoughts, all of it had been suppressed.

    His mind suddenly cleared up. Spiritual qi gathered to his eyes as he looked at the lady called Furong again. The layer of mist on her face immediately dispersed, and her enchanting beauty suddenly faded away into mediocrity. She was not even as beautiful as one of her accompanying dancers or the female attendants sent to receive them. Even her facial expression seemed extremely fake, nowhere near as touching as before.

    This felt like when a certain beauty on the internet from his former life took off her make-up. It was basically a travesty. However, this was much smarter than that. She could actually influence the senses of people, utilising the most beautiful components of the women he had seen before so that he would enchant himself.

    None of these people had come to see this woman. They clearly only wanted to see the woman in their minds. This woman was shamelessly using the most wonderful memories of these people.

    Was this an art of charm just like the legends? Li Qingshan frowned. He was not an idiot. He immediately understood the twisted, vile nature of this. Originally, he believed that while he could not wander through Jiaping city freely with his current strength, there were no opponents he could not handle, which was why he entered the Parlour of Clouds and Rain fearlessly. He was confident that as long as he kept himself under control, no one would be able to harm him. However, the various tricks and tactics of this human world had surpassed his imagination.

    It was said that during the process of cultivation, various external demons would appear for cultivators, disturbing their minds and destroying their cultivation. Wasn¡¯t this it?

    Then he looked at Diao Fei beside him. He was basically bewitched as he stared at Furong. However, Furong looked at Li Qingshan in surprise. She had never thought that anyone would be able to break free from her charming arts. Under his pressing gaze, she could not help but take a step back.

    Slap! There was a loud and clear smack.

    Ge Jian and the procuress looked at each other. When they rushed into the room, all they saw was Li Qingshan standing up. On the other hand, Diao Fei was on the ground, having been sent flying by a slap. The clear outline of a hand remained on his face. A sliver of blood oozed from his mouth, only demonstrating the force of the smack.

    Diao Fei was just about to fight back out of anger, but a hand clamped down on his neck. A terrifying murderous aura made him freeze. He felt like as long as he moved slightly, his neck would be snapped.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted him before Furong. ¡°Look carefully!¡±

    Diao Fei had already begun to circulate his true qi subconsciously. Fury and fear broke him out of his prior state. Furong seemed to have forgotten to continue using her charming arts after being taken by surprise, so Diao Fei experienced the same thing as Li Qingshan earlier. He saw the surprising difference and immediately became stunned. That was not his A¡¯ning. A¡¯ning was no longer a part of this world.

    The procuress cried out, ¡°W- w- what are you doing?¡±

    Ge Jian yelled out in a righteous manner, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan let go. ¡°His manner from before was disgusting, so I couldn¡¯t help myself but to smack him.¡±

    Diao Fei collapsed on the ground and only said after quite a while, ¡°Thank you!¡± Originating from a sect, he knew much more about charming arts than Li Qingshan. He knew just what would happen if he fell for it. Once people had fallen too deeply into it, even their own family would not be able to wake them up from the enchantment.

    Li Qingshan pointed at Furong and said to the procuress, ¡°Get this ugly woman out of here, or I won¡¯t be able to help myself against her either.¡±

    Furong screamed out, ¡°Just by you?!¡± She even had a deep, husky voice. She was used to controlling men in her palms through her charming arts, so when had she ever been treated like that? In particular, being called ¡®an ugly woman¡¯ infuriated her. However, her face became even more twisted and uglier as a result.

    The procuress said angrily, ¡°Master Ge, isn¡¯t this newcomer of yours a little too unruly?¡± How could a measly first layer Qi Practitioner be so rude to her? If it were not for his identity as a Hawkwolf guard, she would have attacked him already.

    Li Qingshan suddenly vanished from his location, appearing in front of Furong. He raised his right arm and lashed out viciously.

    Within ten steps of him, he was even more terrifying than having a whole country as an opponent.

    Li Qingshan used his powerful body and followed through with what he said. Although Furong was a second layer Qi Practitioner, she was not skilled in battle, as she focused on charming techniques. It was as if she had never imagined Li Qingshan would stoop as low as to hit a woman before so many people.

    You bring me a fucking sham, a fake woman, to fool me, and you still have the nerve to call me unruly? You¡¯re not in a good mood, but I¡¯m in an even worse mood. The fury from being fooled had almost turned into anger out of humiliation. It put him in a horrible mood.

    He responded with his actions; he turned his hand into a blur, forcefully dragging it through the air as it cracked like a whip, slapping Furong in the face. She spun around a few times where she was like a spinning top. Half her face bulged up, two teeth flew out, and she fell back on the ground as the world spun around her, dazed!

 Chapter 122 â€“ Splattering the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with Blood One

    As for men, they all worshipped Furong like dogs. She would never even dream of a man giving her a slap across the face!

    The procuress struck out in anger. Her chubby hands were filled with true qi as they struck towards Li Qingshan. Not only was Furong the head courtesan of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, but she was also her disciple. But to her surprise, Ge Jian blocked her. The procuress forcefully pulled back her hands. ¡°You!¡±

    Ge Jian said coldly, ¡°Are you trying to attack a Hawkwolf guard?¡± He was stuck between a wall and a hard place as well. As long as Li Qingshan was still a Hawkwolf guard, he could not afford to just stand by and watch. This was about the pride and dignity of the Hawkwolf Guard. Most importantly, he doubted the procuress could defeat Li Qingshan with her strength.

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain gifted a large number of pills to Zhuo Zhibo every year, as well as offering various types of women. He received a share of it as well as Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s errand boy, so he obviously did not wish to see the Parlour of Clouds and Rain suffer.

    The procuress¡¯ breathing heaved a few times before she replied with, ¡°Fine!¡± She pulled up the dazed Furong and made her way out.

    Li Qingshan instead returned to his seat. He said, ¡°Hurry up. I¡¯m waiting for the next part. Your Parlour of Clouds and Rain must have more than someone like that, right? Brother Ge, I¡¯m waiting!¡±

    All he heard were shrill, hoarse screams from Furong. She had finally returned to her senses. ¡°I want to kill him! I want to kill him!¡±

    Ge Jian looked back, and the sunkenness on his face had vanished. He smiled helplessly. ¡°Qingshan, if you don¡¯t like her, then you don¡¯t like her. Why must you hit her? There aren¡¯t a lot of women skilled in the arts of charm. It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t try them from time to time.¡± He made it sound like Furong had been wronged that even Diao Fei wondered whether he had made this happen on purpose or not.

    ¡°She¡¯s just a whore, so if she has been hit, then she has been hit! There¡¯s nothing you can do about it!¡± Li Qingshan leaned onto a soft cushion without minding much at all. He raised his chin, and a female attendant to the side hurriedly picked up a grape, feeding it into his mouth carefully. He seemed just like a scoundrel.

    This damned brothel was actually bold enough to work with Zhuo Zhibo against him, so he wanted to copy garrison major Lu, demanding five kilograms of lean meat, minced finely without a speck of fat in there, then demanding five kilograms of fat meat, also minced finely without a speck of lean meat in there, and finally, demanding five kilograms of cartilage, finely minced and without a speck of meat in there.1

    ¡°Let me go check on them!¡± Only after Ge Jian had stepped outside did he show his anger. He never thought these ultimate moves of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain would actually fail to conquer a country bumpkin of a kid from the mountains. However, it was still not time for him to fall out with Li Qingshan. As long as Zhuo Zhibo had yet to get to the bottom of Li Qingshan¡¯s relationship with Gu Yanying, Zhuo Zhibo would never be bold enough to fall out with him, and as long as Zhuo Zhibo was afraid of turning against him, he would be afraid of turning against him.

    Most importantly, he was worried that even if he did turn against Li Qingshan, he would not be the kid¡¯s opponent. Ge Jian had leapt in fright from the slap earlier. Within a range of ten steps, Li Qingshan could move as swiftly as a tiger or a panther if he suddenly wanted to attack. Even he was uncertain as to whether he would suffer from something like that. Were Body Practitioners really that powerful?

    In less than fifteen minutes, Ge Jian had returned. Behind him was the procuress, who smiled from ear to ear as if nothing had happened at all. Who knew what Ge Jian had said to her. She even brought seven or eight young women with him, every single one of them with a great figure regardless of their differences. The eldest was only sixteen or seventeen, while the youngest was only fourteen or fifteen.

    ¡°Little brother, it seems like you don¡¯t like mature women. Here are some women we¡¯ve recently groomed. They¡¯re guaranteed to be clean, so why don¡¯t you pick a few to take back with you as maidservants? Their price is very negotiable.¡± The procuress pinched the cheek of a young lady beside her as she introduced them to Li Qingshan.

    The women all looked at Li Qingshan, and many of their gazes were eager. Being sold and taken away before they had received any guests was the good fortune they were all hoping for, not to mention that this was an upright and sturdy young man, not some pot-bellied merchant or some bony old man.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°I think you should have a person or two to serve you on the mountain. With how big your bed is, it¡¯s a waste if it¡¯s just for one person.¡± Seeing how he could not complete Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s mission, he came up with another plan. He saw how this kid seemed like a person who placed great emphasis on his ties with people. As long as an additional burden appeared beside him, they could use it to threaten him.

    Looking at the young women who were lined up and waiting to be chosen, just like livestock, Li Qingshan suddenly felt sadness. He looked at the fat procuress again and felt even more disgusted by her. He was really tempted to just cut her down right here. However, he also knew that in a day and age like this, brothels were proper businesses. Many people who had daughters and were reluctant to raise them due to favouring males, or were unable to raise them, would send them here. It was basically a path for them to survive.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Did you get into all of this willingly?¡±

    The young women looked at one another before finally lowering their heads and saying yes.

    Li Qingshan lost his interest in them. He stood up. ¡°That¡¯s it for today. I want to go home and sleep!¡± He made his way out, but when he walked past one of the young women, she shoved a piece of paper into his hand.

    Qing Xiu looked at that tall, wide figure with eagerness. Ever since she had been abducted and brought here, many years had passed already. She had sunken into despair a long time ago, but the slap from Li Qingshan earlier made her recover a ray of hope, enough for her to take such a great risk. He was different from other men. If it were him, perhaps he would report it to the authorities and save her, as well as her siblings. It was said that the district magistrate was a good official, the best of the best. He would definitely help them.

    However, she saw Li Qingshan suddenly stop, just unfurling the piece of paper there. Afterwards, he asked her, ¡°Did you give this to me?¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes immediately gathered on that one woman. In particular, the procuress managed to catch a glimpse of the words written on the paper. There was some killing intent in her eyes.

    Qing Xiu lowered her head deeply as if someone was staring daggers at her. She thought about the fates of the sisters who had tried to escape or betray the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Despair flooded her face. She was filled with deep regret. Inside, she wholeheartedly resented Li Qingshan. Are you an idiot? Don¡¯t you know how powerful they are in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain? I¡¯m done for because of you!

    Li Qingshan stowed the piece of paper away as he patted the young lady¡¯s shoulder with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m asking you. Why aren¡¯t you answering me? You could have just mentioned it earlier.¡± I¡¯ve bid my time for ten years! I¡¯ve been filled with an urge to enforce and uphold justice a long time ago, just waiting for injustice!

    He felt like he had spoken very amiably, but Qing Xiu only grew paler.

    The procuress could already tell that Li Qingshan was a troublemaker. She immediately pulled Qing Xiu behind her. ¡°She has lost her mind. Don¡¯t take it seriously.¡± Qing Xiu had always been a clever and obedient girl. She never opposed anything that she was told to do, so the procuress thought she was just about done with her grooming, which was why she took her out to see Li Qingshan. However, she never thought that in such an important moment, she would actually do something like that. The procuress would definitely beat her to death later on and make an example out of her.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want me to choose someone? I¡¯ll choose her!¡±

    The procuress said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you take her away?¡± Then she turned to Li Qingshan and smiled. ¡°There are plenty of girls in our parlour. It really would be wrong of us to let you choose one who has lost her mind!¡± She bickered in a babbling manner.

    Immediately, two powerful guards took Qing Xiu away.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Li Qingshan raised his foot, about to chase them, but the procuress blocked him with her plump body in an agile manner. He wanted to make his way around her, but Ge Jian grabbed his hand. ¡°Qingshan, where are you going? She¡¯s just a whore, that¡¯s all!¡±

    This was what Li Qingshan had just said to Ge Jian, but Li Qingshan immediately turned around and answered. ¡°You¡¯re a whore! Let go of me!¡± He shook his arm. Ge Jian was no opponent of Li Qingshan¡¯s great strength, so he was immediately forced to let go. His face changed. ¡°What did you say?¡± He was a mighty Hawkwolf guard, yet he had just been labelled as a whore, so he could not help but lose his temper. He could not be bothered about holding back anymore.

    The guards both possessed martial arts. They seemed like they were just walking, but they moved extremely quickly. In the blink of an eye, they had left the room, merging with the crowd.

    Li Qingshan paid no attention to Ge Jian, taking a step forward, but what he ran into was a pile of fat. The procuress felt like she had just been struck by a rampaging elephant, smashing through the window and corridor railing behind her as she flew towards the hollow centre of the building. She directly fell down from the seventh floor.

    She screamed out along the way down, ¡°Stop him!¡± With a palm strike, true qi surged out, and her plump body moved horizontally, landing in the corridor of the third floor.

    Li Qingshan had already rushed out using the path that had been cleared by the procuress. All he saw was a crowd of heads. He could not see Qing Xiu at all, but he sniffed with his nose and caught a smell.

    Out of his senses, the one that exceeded ordinary people the most was his sense of smell. The vision and hearing of ordinary Qi Practitioners would become extremely sharp as long as they practised true qi and opened their meridians. They could see mosquitos and hear ants walking from hundreds of meters away. However, their sense of smell would not grow by much, not even becoming on par with a stray hound on the street. This was due to their innate restrictions.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s sense of smell had become much stronger than a dog¡¯s a long time ago. He pursued as he followed the trail that the smell left behind.

    ¡°Where are you going, little brother?¡± A few beautifully dressed women of the brothel rushed over from somewhere, filling up the corridor and entangling with him, grabbing his arms and legs.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Piss off!¡± He did not have any intention to go soft on women at all. With a spurt of true qi, he sent the women flying.

    As he quickly descended down to the sixth floor, a valiant guard in yellow seemed like he had heard the procuress¡¯ cries, so he rushed out from his room. He immediately spotted Li Qingshan and blocked his way rigidly. From his aura, he seemed like a first-rate master.

    The guard had just thrown a first-rate master out today, so he was quite full of himself. When he saw Li Qingshan stride over, he could tell that he was a Qi Practitioner, but only at the first layer. As such, he was confident that he could take him on or even defeat him. He had always looked down on these people who directly practised qi due to their better innate talent. With the same voice he used when he scolded customers, he yelled, ¡°Stop!¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s just frail women, so be it. They¡¯ve just been used by people. However, for a good man like you to help the bad, you deserve death!¡± Li Qingshan said. He continued without stopping, and he had already drawn out the Wind-entwining blade. The shiny blade flashed.

    The guard in yellow was just about to attack him, but his neck felt a chill before flying up into the air. The world spun around him such that he almost saw his own body. A few more guards wanted to rush over, but when they saw their leader¡¯s head knocked into the air by the spurt of blood from his neck, their legs immediately seemed to become rooted to the ground as they became afraid to even take a step forward.

 Chapter 123 â€“ Splattering the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with Blood Two

    Li Qingshan raised his foot, kicking the headless corpse off the floor.

    While the men and women on the floor below were still confused by the procuress¡¯ scream, a bloody corpse landed loudly before them. After a while of silence, someone cried out, ¡°Murder!¡±

    The lower floor immediately exploded. Their fleeting joy had shattered from shock. Li Qingshan laughed aloud at the sight. He looked around, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the emerald green of Qing Xiu¡¯s clothes. She had already been taken to the fourth floor on the other side.

    Li Qingshan leapt out; he was like a tiger lunging at its prey, like a hawk swooping down for a rabbit. He leapt across the opening in the centre of the building.

    Just when Qing Xiu was about to sink into despair, there was a rush of wind, and Li Qingshan arrived in front of her. He stowed his blade back in his sheathe, while the two guards who had seized her sprayed with blood, falling backwards.

    ¡°You-¡± Qing Xiu stuttered that single word for quite a while, unable to say anything else. He was actually bold enough to kill people in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. She had never seen such a reckless person before. This was completely different from what she had been expecting originally.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you¡¯ve received any ill treatment at all, feel free to tell me!¡±

    The building was in chaos. Guards surged out from everywhere, coming out from every corner of the building.

    Qing Xiu complained in a hurry, ¡°I- I¡¯ve been abducted by them. I didn¡¯t get into this willingly. If I don¡¯t oblige, I¡¯ll be beaten and even starved! I even have to practise martial arts! If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll also get beaten and starved.¡±

    ¡°You bitch, shut your mouth!¡± With a boom, the procuress directly smashed through the floorboards and arrived on the fourth floor, but she only received Li Qingshan¡¯s murderous gaze.

    ¡°Perfect timing!¡± Li Qingshan yelled out. The Wind-entwining blade produced a wind blade in the air, directly flying towards the procuress¡¯s face.

    The procuress had never seen someone so vicious before, directly trying to kill her without saying anything else. She spent most of her time welcoming guests and seeing them off. She could not even remember the last time she had to personally fight. She could not even utilise half of her true qi properly anymore, so with a scream, she fell back down to the third floor.

    Looking up, all she saw was Li Qingshan appearing in the hole above, wielding his blade with both hands and directly swinging down. She did not even have time to pull out a talisman from her hundred treasures pouch, perhaps due to being stupefied. She dove onto the ground instinctively and rolled away like a ball.

    There was a flash of red, and the Wind-entwining blade sliced off a great piece of her bottom. The procuress squealed like a pig, losing all will to fight.

    Before Li Qingshan had even landed on the ground, he kicked off the wall and flew over, catching up to the procuress. He stomped down on her back as he smiled viciously. ¡°You old hag, let¡¯s see where you run off to now!¡±

    Whenever the procuress tried to struggle, she would feel the foot on her back crush down like a metal log, breaking all of her bones. A shiny blade was poised by the side of her face such that she became frozen.

    A sharp sword stabbed over from behind. Before it had even arrived, green light surged three feet from the sword. Furong grasped the spiritual sword viciously as she directly stabbed at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Good!¡± Li Qingshan was not surprised, but overjoyed. Shifting his body slightly, he let the sword pass by. Even the third layer Qi Practitioner procuress was not his opponent, let alone the second layer Furong. He turned his left hand into a claw and reached out, grabbing Furong by the throat and dragging her in front of him.

    With one below his foot and one in his hand, he had killed two birds with one stone.

    Li Qingshan directed his Wind-entwining blade at the procuress. ¡°As a Qi Practitioner, you stand above most, leading an extravagant life, yet you still do such heartless things. Even if you¡¯re dead, there¡¯s nothing to regret.¡±

    The procuress squealed loudly, ¡°Spare me, good sir!¡±

    ¡°You cannot be spared!¡± Li Qingshan was just about to swing down with his blade.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Two voices rang out at the same time. One came from Ge Jian; the other was not Diao Fei, but a middle-aged man in sapphire-blue robes. He drifted down to the third floor like a falling leaf. He was actually a fifth layer Qi Practitioner with delicate facial features. He said in a sunken tone, ¡°Sir, you seem to be very unhappy with our services.¡±

    He was the true master of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, Zhao Liangqing. Usually, only the procuress received guests, while he remained behind the scenes, using these women as human cauldrons for his cultivation.

    If Zhuo Zhibo wanted to deal with a newcomer, he obviously would not ask for his permission, which was why he managed to set up the whole scheme. However, Zhao Liangqing did not mind it too much either. Catching the eyes of a vulture like Zhuo Zhibo would never lead to anything good. And, he thought it would be a piece of cake for Furong to deal with this person as well, but he never expected something like this to happen.

    Li Qingshan thought about how if he did not use his daemon qi, he could easily defeat second layer Qi Practitioners, and he would have great confidence against third layer Qi Practitioners as well. However, it would be difficult to say against the fourth layer, while victory would be impossible against the fifth layer.

    He called out loudly, ¡°Ge Jian, go get our big brother Zhuo! I¡¯ve found a nest of bandits who force women into prostitution! How can our mighty Hawkwolf Guard be afraid of some brat like you!¡± His voice was imbued with true qi. It shattered a few cups nearby and made the ears of many people ring.

    Big brother Zhuo!? Ge Jian reeled back, almost falling over. He had personally witnessed how arrogant Li Qingshan had been to Zhuo Zhibo, so why did he call him big brother Zhuo now? He was clearly pulling in Zhuo Zhibo and the Hawkwolf Guard to protect himself.

    Zhao Liangqing frowned heavily. Although Li Qingshan had demonstrated strength beyond what regular Qi Practitioners possessed, he was confident that he could kill him. However, he was afraid of doing so.

    This was not only due to the two hostages in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession, but also because of his identity as a Hawkwolf Guard. The Hawkwolf Guard was not invincible. It was the exact opposite actually. Due to various dangerous missions, their death and injury rate was quite high. If they died during their missions or were assassinated, and the culprit could not be found, nothing much would happen, and it would just be treated as a cold case.

    However, if he killed a Hawkwolf guard in the eye of the public, he would be challenging the authority of the Hawkwolf Guard. Consequently, he would be hunted down. Even Zhuo Zhibo would not be bold enough to spare him. He would instead be the first one to try and kill him so that he could clear his own name and any doubts that came with it. If Zhao Liangqing was an independent cultivator, perhaps he would have the courage to kill upon being angered, but with such a large business behind him, he became more and more terrified of the consequences.

    Li Qingshan sniggered. As expected, this wolf¡¯s hide was quite useful. Only an idiot would serve as the hawk and wolves of the government and not make use of that identity. Since Zhuo Zhibo wanted to be his elder brother, then he would welcome him to.

    Zhao Liangqing said, ¡°Please release the people of my Parlour of Clouds and Rain!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve committed crimes of forcing women into prostitution and harming young girls. They cannot be released. Oh right, you can¡¯t leave either. As a Hawkwolf guard, I will be investigating you. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.¡± Li Qingshan had no idea what to say, so he just spouted some nonsense he had heard from his past life. He completely ignored Zhao Liangqing¡¯s great strength as a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Zhao Liangqing¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Force women into prostitution? Do you have any evidence?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I have a witness!¡±

    Zhao Liangqing said in a sunken manner, ¡°Where¡¯s your witness?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. Two guards had grabbed the dejected Qing Xiu.

    Zhao Liangqing grabbed Qing Xiu by the chin. ¡°You do have quite some beauty. No wonder he¡¯ll lose his temper over you. You can release the people now!¡±

    Qing Xiu¡¯s eyes teared up as she stared right at Li Qingshan. We really are done for now!

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s a lady of your parlour! What¡¯s she got to do with me?¡±

    Zhao Liangqing said, ¡°Oh, fair enough. We can¡¯t keep a troublemaker like her around!¡± He put his hand on Qing Xiu¡¯s shoulder. Before he could even use any force, Qing Xiu let out a miserable scream.

    However, it was immediately drowned out by an even more miserable squeal, frightening Qing Xiu to the point where she closed her mouth. The blade in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand fell, cutting off one of the procuress¡¯ arms. He said with glowing, red eyes, ¡°Why don¡¯t you try to touch her again?¡±

    Those heroes who surrendered after being threatened with a hostage were all idiots. Li Qingshan would never do something like that. You might be vicious, but I¡¯ll be even more vicious!

    Ge Jian finally gave up on resolving this matter by himself. This brat had a kind of fierceness and unruliness that came from the mountains and forests, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Everything today was a counterattack against the scheme Zhuo Zhibo had set down, but the entire situation had already developed out of his control. He crushed a talisman, which was used to call for reinforcements among the Hawkwolf Guard; he used this to alert Zhuo Zhibo of the critical situation.

    Zhao Liangqing glared at Li Qingshan. He had not done anything, nor was he bold enough to do anything anymore. He could clearly tell from Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze that if he were bold enough to kill Qing Xiu, Li Qingshan would be bold enough to behead the two women. This would be an almost irrecoverable loss to him. On one side was a mere lady who had just been groomed, while on the other side were two important helpers of his. It was obviously as clear as day to him who was more important.

    The light in his eyes flickered as he circulated his cultivation method. Before everyone¡¯s eyes, the rather feminine master of the parlour suddenly changed. He became extremely terrifying, like the horrifying demons or ghosts from those legends. An aura of brutality and cruelty crushed down on their hearts. The legs of the guards almost gave way.

    He basically roared out, ¡°I said, release them!¡± Within the Sect of Clouds and Rain, they could use their arts of charm to become as beautiful as ever, enchanting anything and everything, but they could also use it in the exact opposite fashion, turning into demons or ghosts and frightening all people. It was a technique that could directly shake the souls of people. With that, the noisy Parlour of Clouds and Rain immediately fell into silence. Everyone felt like a great horror had descended; they even became afraid of drawing too much attention just from breathing, let alone screaming and fleeing. Even Ge Jian was afraid of looking at Zhao Liangqing¡¯s face. How was Li Qingshan, who had been in the face of it all, supposed to cope with this pressure?

    However, Li Qingshan only smiled gently. ¡°I said, release her!¡± He was a daemon in the first place, and his cultivation had surpassed Zhao Liangqing¡¯s. The reason why the arts of charm were effective against him was because his body was powerful, and his desires were stronger than regular people, requiring the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to suppress them. However, when it came to frightening people, Zhao Liangqing was basically trying to teach a fish how to swim. He did not even need to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression against it. You¡¯re trying to scare me? Would you like me to revert to my original form and frighten you to death!?

    Zhao Liangqing saw how it was useless, so he could only give up on it. He stared straight at Li Qingshan. If his glare were a sword, it would have pierced Li Qingshan all the way through already.

    ¡°What are you looking at? If you keep looking at me like that, I¡¯ll dig your, no, their eyes out.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his blade against the procuress beneath his feet.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at Qing Xiu. ¡°I want my witness!¡±

 Chapter 124 â€“ Splattering the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with Blood Three

    The procuress squealed, ¡°Save me, sir!¡± She really was a Qi Practitioner after all. She actually managed to remain conscious despite the pain.

    Furong saw the bloody scene and heard how she was next. She screamed, ¡°Save-¡± But before she could even finish her words, the grip around her neck tightened.

    ¡°Stop! Release lady Furong!¡± The Parlour of Clouds and Rain was thrown into an uproar again.

    It was not just the people below. Even the railings from the higher floors were filled with people. Seeing such a rare disturbance, they all began discussing among themselves.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Hawkwolf Guard backers of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain? Why have they turned against each other today?¡± News would always make it out one way or another. With how the Parlour of Clouds and Rain ran amuck in Jiaping city, they would have been closed down a long time ago if it were not for the Hawkwolf Guard¡¯s protection. There were plenty of discerning people in the world.

    ¡°The kid hit Furong!¡±

    ¡°What! He could actually bring himself to do something like that?!¡± Many people ground their teeth furiously. They all treated Furong as a goddess from their dreams. Even if she could not be theirs, they would never let someone else just abuse her.

    ¡°Look, that¡¯s Furong! She is being held by the neck by that kid!¡± It led to public anger. In their eyes, Furong was furrowing her brows from pain. Her beautiful face was filled with misery, enough to shatter their hearts. It caused pain to many of them.

    ¡°A¡¯ning!¡± Even though Diao Fei had been smacked awake by Li Qingshan earlier, he was still captivated when he looked at Furong¡¯s appearance. He had to bite his tongue viciously to return to his senses.

    Furong¡¯s cry for help spurred many practitioners of martial arts to save her. Those who did not know martial arts cursed furiously as well. Throughout the entire parlour, similar aggressive threats crashed down on Li Qingshan like a tidal wave. ¡°Release lady Furong, or I¡¯ll make you wish you were dead!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you bunch of idiots!¡± Li Qingshan sneered. He did not speak loudly, but it easily drowned out the threats, booming through everyone¡¯s ears.

    He only looked at Zhao Liangqing. ¡°Are you releasing her or not?¡± He had already placed his blade across the procuress¡¯ neck.

    Zhao Liangqing released Qing Xiu with trembled arms. Qing Xiu rubbed her shoulders and jogged over to Li Qingshan¡¯s side, carefully avoiding the puddle of blood on the ground. As she looked at the procuress¡¯ state, she could not help but feel sorry for her even though she knew about her various evil deeds and how all of her sisters had died to her hands.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you doing!?¡± Zhuo Zhibo rushed over furiously with Qian Rongzhi and five or six other Black Wolf guards. When they saw what the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had descended into, they were all shocked.

    Zhuo Zhibo personally believed that the perfect part about his scheme was that even if Li Qingshan did not take the bait, he would not be at fault at all. I¡¯ve sent someone to take you to a brothel entirely out of kind intentions, so how can you say that I¡¯m in the wrong? Even if he really did have a connection to Gu Yanying, it was not like he could say to her, ¡°They took me to a brothel and screwed me over.¡± If Li Qingshan fell for it, he was dead, but if he did not, he could only put up with all of it silently. It was truly flawless. It was perfect.

    In reality, if it were not for the tiny, unforeseen message from Qing Xiu, the only choice Li Qingshan would have had was to let this go after slapping Furong across the face, biding his time for revenge in the future. However, now that the opportunity had presented itself, he wanted to make a big mess to show Zhuo Zhibo. If he¡¯s bold enough to set a trap, I¡¯m bold enough to make a mess out of it!

    Zhao Liangqing said, ¡°Commander Zhuo, is this how your Hawkwolf guards handles matters? I can forgive him for not paying after visiting, but he¡¯s even making trouble!¡±

    ¡°Is that what happened? He has gone too far!¡± ¡°The Parlour of Clouds and Rain has done everything they can already, so what are you trying to do now?¡± ¡°Release lady Furong! If you even touch a hair on lady Furong, I¡¯ll cut you to pieces!¡±

    Not paying after visiting? What a great crime! If that became a part of his reputation, there was no way Li Qingshan could remain in Jiaping city any longer! Zhuo Zhibo also said sternly, ¡°Qingshan, is that the truth?¡± It was as if he was not behind Li Qingshan¡¯s visit at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s not. It¡¯s them who¡­¡± Qing Xiu argued loudly from behind Li Qingshan, but she was drowned out by the sounds.

    Li Qingshan spoke with his actions. With a spurt, his blade stabbed into the heart of the procuress. After that, he pulled the blade back out. There was not a trace of blood on it.

    If you curse me, I¡¯ll beat up the procuress. If you beat me up, I¡¯ll keep beating up the procuress. If you slander me, I¡¯ll kill the procuress.

    ¡°You-¡± Zhao Liangqing flew into a fury, but Li Qingshan placed his blade across Furong¡¯s neck casually. He muttered to himself, ¡°One is dead, but there¡¯s still another!¡± He kicked the procuress¡¯ heavy body off the floor as well. One killed was one dead.

    Everyone in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain knew the procuress. They all knew about the fat woman¡¯s slickness and viciousness. She had managed the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in Jiaping city for many years. She was responsible for receiving and seeing off all guests, so she could basically be described as famous. Now, she had been killed with a single stab, reduced to a corpse.

    Silence descended. Everyone wanted to ask, Just who is this teenager? How is he so fierce?

    As if he never thought Li Qingshan would actually be bold enough to commit murder right before him, anger rose through Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s mind. If only he did not have to worry about her. Qian Rongzhi suddenly experienced a hint of fear. The teenager who could kill so easily that he could do it while holding a friendly conversation was not like the men she had seen before. He was definitely not an easy person to deal with.

    When Li Qingshan lifted up Furong, Zhao Liangqing finally lost his temper. ¡°How dare you?!¡± That was his money tree. The foundation of the entire Parlour of Clouds and Rain was basically with her. If the procuress died, he could find another, but if Furong died, the entire Parlour of Clouds and Rain would collapse.

    Li Qingshan said to Zhuo Zhibo, ¡°Commander Zhuo, the Parlour of Clouds and Rain has committed a multitude of sins. They¡¯ve forced women into prostitution. The young woman beside me is a witness. Please judge them with impartiality!¡±

    Zhao Liangqing looked over as well as if he was trying to say, I give you so many pills every year.

    Zhuo Zhibo felt like he was at his wit¡¯s end. Out of everyone present, he was the one afraid of consequences the most. He still wanted to use the authority he possessed to live out the rest of life wealthily. He would never be able to bring himself to take the risk of killing Li Qingshan. However, if he agreed with Li Qingshan, he would basically be slapping himself across his face, severing his source of wealth.

    Li Qingshan targeted this mentality of his and viciously checkmated him. It had to be mentioned that the reason why he was bold enough to take such a great gamble under the threats of two powerful Qi Practitioners was directly connected to his personal strength.

    Even if the worst-case scenario happened, he could use his hiding abilities to escape. Just by releasing some daemon qi, he could easily escape from here. However, he had clearly been overthinking now.

    Zhuo Zhibo said earnetly, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve been far too rash. Judging people is the district magistrate¡¯s job. It¡¯s not up to me!¡±

    Zhao Liangqing looked at Zhuo Zhibo in disbelief. Exactly because of you, so many of my people have died, yet all you say is he has been too rash?

    However, Zhuo Zhibo immediately glared back at him, which made Zhao Liangqing remember the difference in their strength, as well as who actually had a say in Jiaping city. He could only hold in his grievances. Impressive, Zhuo Zhibo!

    ¡°This magistrate is right here. What¡¯s the case? Please do tell me!¡±

    At this moment, Zhou Wenbin stepped into the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with his vermillion official robes with embroidered snakes.

    ¡°Sir Zhou!¡± ¡°Sir Zhou is here!¡±

    There was a great rustle that came with the movement of clothing.

    Within the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, whether it be the common people downstairs or the valued customers upstairs, they all knelt for this man. There was not just fear for authority in their eyes, but also great admiration and respect. They all knelt willingly, from the bottom of their hearts.

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand just what kind of prestige Zhou Wenbin possessed in Jiaping city. Only now did he realise that maybe Qing Xiu had given him the piece of paper to pass onto Zhou Wenbin to seek help from him.

    Just by himself, Zhou Wenbin received far more respect than Zhuo Zhibo and his Hawkwolf guards combined. He said in a gentle and cultivated fashion, ¡°Please stand, my people.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin glanced at Zhuo Zhibo before glancing at Li Qingshan. When something major happened in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, he found out immediately. Not only did he find out about it, but he even understood the exact cause for it all. He even saw through Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s scheme. He glanced at Li Qingshan and thought, This kid is a genius at making trouble. He had taken a small gamble only to win something huge. He actually managed to force Zhuo Zhibo into an awkward situation.

    Zhuo Zhibo said coldly, ¡°Sir Zhou, you¡¯ve sure come in a timely fashion!¡±

    Zhou Wenbin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no problem, no problem at all!¡± With a wave of his sleeves, he floated up and arrived before Li Qingshan. He asked despite already knowing the answer, ¡°Qingshan, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°She has grievances. I originally wanted to take her to see you, sir, but I never thought there would be some vile people trying to stop me. I thought about how our mighty Hawkwolf Guard was righteous, purging evil in an awe-inspiring manner and speaking for the people, so how could I be afraid of these vile people? As a result, my hand slipped, and I killed a few of them. Please investigate the entire matter, sir.¡± Li Qingshan pulled out Qing Xiu from behind him and handed the piece of paper to Zhou Wenbin.

    His idiomatic saying made Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s eyebrows leap up as he cursed furiously inside. He was tempted to just cut down Li Qingshan then and there.

    ¡°My name is Qing Xiu. I come from the Fishes¡¯ Gully. Seven years ago, I was playing around near the river and I was abducted, brought here¡­¡± Qing Xiu knelt and lowered her head in a graceful manner. Her speech became much more orderly. Clearly, she had thought through this countless times in her head already.

    Zhao Liangqing said, ¡°Sir, we¡¯re being wrongly accused! We originally bought this girl for twenty taels of silver. I have a deed for proof. She just wants to run away, which was why she spun these lies to fool you, sir.¡±

    Qing Xiu tried to justify herself, ¡°No, I¡¯m not! You¡¯re the liar¡­¡±

    Zhou Wenbin raised his hand and stopped their argument. ¡°I will definitely get to the bottom of this case. There won¡¯t be a single innocent person convicted, nor will there be a single guilty person spared.¡±

    With an order, over twenty guards from the government entered. They were not Qi Practitioners, but they all possessed powerful martial arts. Under Qing Xiu¡¯s guide, they went to save the other girls. However, they returned a while later with nothing. Clearly, they had been moved away already.

    ¡°Please check, sir!¡± Instead, Zhao Liangqing sent a male servant to retrieve a deed. The matter of Qing Xiu being purchased by the Parlour of Clouds and Rain for twenty taels of silver was clearly written on there.

    Qing Xiu immediately teared up anxiously. ¡°Sir, I haven¡¯t been lying!¡±

 Chapter 125 â€“ Suing the Parlour of Clouds and Rain

    Over these years, Zhou Wenbin had invested millions of taels of silver into Jiaping city, easing the burden that came with taxes and costs to help the city achieve its current prosperity. As the magistrate of the district, not only was he not greedy, refusing to take bribes, but he even spent much of his own money into this place, governing Jiaping to a point where there was not a single beggar on the streets.

    It was exactly because of that that he had been received with such reverence as soon as he came to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Of course, he did not do this because of the doctrines of great scholarly sages, or because he wholeheartedly wanted to be a good official where the people came first. Instead, he had deeper concerns to consider as a Qi Practitioner.

    However, it was exactly under these circumstances that very few people were willing to sell their daughters into this pit of suffering. To a brothel, if they did not have a fresh and abundant ¡®supply¡¯, they would obviously go to great lengths and do everything that they could.

    The Parlour and Clouds and Rain had never been too worried about this district magistrate; they relied on their relationship with Zhuo Zhibo and their backing from the Sect of Clouds and Rain. They would just slight him from year to year. Zhou Wenbin had his worries as well, so he was reluctant to stir up trouble, ignoring the Parlour of Clouds and Rain that had been so popular with the people. However, now that someone had served as the vanguard for him, he obviously would use this opportunity to benefit himself in one way or another, placing some pressure on the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Of course, he would just be applying some force to them. It was impossible for him to destroy them in a single stroke.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He had been expecting this. If the Parlour of Clouds and Rain could be uprooted so easily, they would not be around still. Probably even the investigations at Fishes¡¯ Gully would be pointless.

    Anyways, a person saved was a person saved, while a criminal killed was a criminal dead. He did not plan on destroying the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in a single stroke either, but even if he could not destroy an evil organisation like this immediately, he wanted to deal a blow to them. However, it was still not enough right now.

    Zhao Liangqing smiled with a sinister, complacent smile. ¡°Sir Zhou, if there is nothing else, please punish Li Qingshan for murdering the innocent. And, please get him to release our head courtesan, Furong.¡±

    What he said at the end actually led to a chorus of agreement from the entire crowd.

    Zhuo Zhibo managed to force something out from his gritted teeth. ¡°Master Zhao, these are all small matters, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t bicker over them anymore.¡± He had to bide his time until he got to the bottom of Li Qingshan¡¯s backing. It was obvious just how he would erupt when he found out that Li Qingshan had no proper connection to Gu Yanying at all.

    How could Li Qingshan waste such a perfect period of time? Obviously, he would screw him over whenever he had the chance. He would take advantage of him as much as possible first.

    Zhou Wenbin said to Li Qingshan, ¡°You should release that woman first!¡±

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Sir, we can¡¯t release her! Here¡¯s the evidence! I have grievances to settle! I want to sue the Parlour of Clouds and Rain!¡±

    Veins popped out from Zhao Liangqing¡¯s forehead, while Zhou Wenbin almost broke into laughter. You utterly crushed the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in a slaughter; you even killed off the procuress, yet now you actually have grievances, wanting to sue the Parlour of Clouds and Rain!

    After coughing gently twice, he held back his smile. ¡°For what do you want to sue the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted up Furong. ¡°I want to sue the Parlour of Clouds and Rain for offering fake commodities. They¡¯ve falsely labelled what they were offering, cheating the common people out of what they paid for. They¡¯ve deeply hurt my feelings!¡±

    Zhao Liangqing held back his intense urge to curse aloud. True qi surged from the centre of Li Qingshan¡¯s palm, and Furong immediately fainted. Having fallen unconscious, she could no longer use her arts of charm. Even ordinary people could see her true appearance. Li Qingshan lifted her high up.

    ¡°Please look, everyone! This is the true appearance of the head courtesan, Furong. Why don¡¯t you ask yourselves whether I was right earlier or not?¡±

    Basically everyone rubbed their eyes at the same time before becoming stunned. Their dreams shattered. W- was this really Furong? Was this really the woman they dreamed of? Why had they gone as far as to spend every penny they had just to see her? They questioned themselves and realised that they really were idiots.

    Regurgitation. Many people directly began vomiting This tremendous disparity between reality and their fantasies made them feel even sicker than eating a hundred flies. Filth poured and flowed through the magnificent Parlour of Clouds and Rain as if this was its original form.

    There were also people who refused to believe it, perhaps due to falling too deeply into the arts of charm. They knelt on the ground as they wept bitterly while crying out, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! That¡¯s not Furong! It¡¯s all fake! It¡¯s all a lie!¡±

    Zhou Liangqing flew into a fury. He took a step forward, and true qi crushed down, A large part of the floor collapsed. However, two auras that were even stronger than his immediately locked onto him. One came from Zhuo Zhibo, while the other came from Zhou Wenbin. They were two sixth layer Qi Practitioners who had split open seas of qi.

    Regardless of their reasons or intentions, they could not just stand down as Zhao Liangqing attacked Li Qingshan. The two of them were the symbols of law in Jiaping city, the presentation of the authority of the government. They could not allow the law and authority to be defied or broken. Li Qingshan seemed arrogant, but he stuck close to the word ¡®reason¡¯.

    Li Qingshan did not even glance at Zhao Liangqing. All he said loudly was, ¡°You spent astronomical sums of silver just to see this. Tell me, hasn¡¯t it been unjust?¡± Afterwards, he casually tossed Furong to Zhao Liangqing, ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask for her. If it¡¯s something like her, I don¡¯t want her even if you¡¯re giving her to me!¡±

    Furong gradually woke up and saw how everyone¡¯s gazes towards her were different now. She instinctively used her arts of charm, but it was very difficult for them to be enchanted again after the mental shock from earlier unless they possessed particularly weak willpower.

    She screamed hysterically, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you all? Don¡¯t you like me? I¡¯m Furong!¡± However, she was stopped by Zhao Liangqing, who ordered, ¡°Send her to her room.¡±

    Of course, as time went on, the memories of many people would blur, and perhap her arts of charm would regain the upper hand. However, who knows how long that would take. These techniques that could affect the minds of people did not just depend on the user, but also the environment. Since sounds and smells played a part, the verbal agreement of people could also affect it. When everyone said you were a great beauty, you would be a great beauty, but if the exact opposite happened, it would only make things more difficult.

    Li Qingshan had basically destroyed the many years of painstaking effort from the head courtesan Furong and the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. It was no wonder why Zhao Liangqing would react so violently.

    Zhou Wenbin smiled as he stroked his beard. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve basically agreed and accepted her out of your own free will with prior knowledge. It would be inappropriate for me to judge this.¡± If he agreed to Li Qingshan, probably half the men in all of Jiaping city would want to sue.

    Afterwards, he said to Qing Xiu, ¡°Lady, please return to my office with me. That¡¯ll be the end of today!¡± He had already sent a guard of the government to travel through the night to Fishes¡¯ Gully for investigations. Although it would probably lead to nothing, it was still worth a try.

    In the end, he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°You were involved in this case too, so you must pay a visit to my government office tomorrow.¡± Clearly, he had something he wanted to tell him, but it was inconvenient before the eyes of the public. As such, he reminded him again.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I understand, sir.¡±

    Qing Xiu tidied up her clothes and thanked him, but Li Qingshan said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you.¡± It made Qing Xiu¡¯s eyes widen in confusion. However, at least she managed to escape from this abyss of misery, which was fantastic. Sir Zhou really is as rumored. He is a good official. I will definitely expose the Parlour of Clouds and Rain and save my suffering sisters.

    Zhou Wenbin left with his guards and Qing Xiu, while Zhuo Zhibo departed with his Hawkwolf guards as well. Li Qingshan followed behind them obediently and even added, ¡°Thank you for taking charge for me, commander Zhuo!¡±

    The customers all dispersed as well. Many of them were utterly depressed or filled with indignation. They swore they would never come again.

    But that was how matters were. They would be equal. Whenever there was someone unhappy, there would be someone happy. To the pleasant surprise of many dissatisfied housewives of Jiaping city, they discovered that their men had actually returned, no longer wallowing in the joyhouse constantly now. They were thankful that Li Qingshan had made a mess out of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. The men also discovered that compared to Furong, their own wives were all the greatest of beauties. As a result, they reconciled with their wives, and what happened next would go without saying.

    Li Qingshan was in a good mood as well, so as a result, in the exact opposite fashion, Zhao Liangqing stared at the empty parlour and roared inside, I will make you wish you were dead.

    It was quite a coincidence, as Li Qingshan was thinking of the same thing as well. He witnessed injustice, and if this source of all of it was not eliminated, it would never be over. You resent me, but I haven¡¯t forgotten about you either!

    However, it was inconvenient for him to assume his original form and kill Zhao Liangqing. They had just fallen out with each other, so if Zhao Liangqing was dead the next day, people would probably suspect him. He still wanted to save this valuable opportunity for Zhuo Zhibo.

    Trump cards would only demonstrate their greatest strength when hidden away, unleashed in the final moment. Unless he ran out of choices, he would never resort to it. Right now, increasing his apparent strength on the surface was his priority. Right now, he could try his luck even when he came across fourth layer Qi Practitioners, so he believed that as long as he made it to the second layer of Qi Practitioner, he could match them evenly.

    Along the way, Zhuo Zhibo and the Black Wolf guards all remained silent. Their gazes towards Li Qingshan became more hostile.

    Li Qingshan was delighted by the peace he received. He directly returned to his residence and said to Xiao An, ¡°It was all thanks to your warning today, or I would have fallen for their trick. How did you know I had fallen for the charming technique?¡±

    Xiao An used his finger to write on Li Qingshan¡¯s palm.

    As it turned out, he could see through the thin walls of the jar with his fiery eyes, seeing Furong. The so-called white bone and great beauty was about seeing through all illusions such that the mind was just as clear and pure as ?ar¨©ra, unaffected by any illusions of appearance. Let alone these mere arts of charm, even impressive illusions would fail to fool his eyes.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty completely surpassed the cultivation methods of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. It even far surpassed most of the cultivation methods of this world. The remaining portion of cultivation methods were not equal to it either. They could only be said to be a little closer to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Li Qingshan spent an entire afternoon submerged in the library. He did not only look at the martial arts manuals, but he also gained a rough understanding of the cultivation methods of this world. There was no need for him to go to the second floor. There were plenty of informative books on the ground floor.

 Chapter 126 â€“ Encompassing Vows and Obsessions

    First of all, cultivation methods were not split into detailed grades like spiritual artifacts or talismans, but their grades were instead more clear-cut than spiritual artifacts and talismans. The limit on cultivation determined the grade of the cultivation method.

    For example, the Innate Method of Practising Qi that Li Qingshan practised would only amount to a third layer Qi Practitioner if he reached the ninth layer, which only illustrated that the cultivation method was not very great. It was basically the lowest, more rudimentary cultivation method in the cultivation method. He would have to find a new cultivation method to practise in the future.

    There were many great cultivation methods that could directly allow Qi Practitioners to cultivate to the ninth layer, or even undergo the first heavenly tribulation, reaching the legendary Foundation Establishment realm. The books he read were ambiguous over whether there were even greater cultivation methods than that. All they said was that they definitely did exist, but they went into no reason as to exactly why. Clearly, the writer¡¯s knowledge was limited in this area.

    However, they did indeed exist. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was one of them. As for the very limit of the cultivation, the black ox had told Li Qingshan since the very beginning. It was bodhisattva.

    By bodhisattva, he meant attaining bodhicitta and swearing four encompassing vows1¡ªthe boundless creatures, I vow to save; the endless afflictions, I vow to break; the limitless dharma, I vow to learn; the unsurpassable buddha way, I vow to accomplish. Finally, they would attain the fruit of bodhisattva.

    That was how the buddhist scriptures put it. Xiao An had read about it on the ship, and he had written them in Li Qingshan¡¯s palm, word by word. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty also had four encompassing vows:

    The boundless creatures, I vow to slaughter; the endless afflictions, I vow to fell; the limitless dharma, I vow to destroy; the unsurpassable buddha way, I vow to end.

    When Xiao An wrote these two sets of polar-opposite vows in Li Qingshan¡¯s palm, he was expressionless, which was as clear as day, but Li Qingshan could feel that he was particularly solemn.

    It had to be mentioned that Li Qingshan was unable to properly understand these two sets of vows. Of course, he refused to admit that he was illiterate. He only felt that this eminent buddhist monk must have experienced a tremendous stimulus for them to undergo such a drastic mental change.

    After considering it, Li Qingshan found a more direct way of putting it¡ªit was badass. As for just how badass it was, he had no idea! Perhaps no one in this world knew how badass it was!

    Cultivators were only bold enough to call themselves cultivators, but not immortals or buddhas. Those were not figures that existed in this world. Perhaps he would only see them once he ventured to that place beyond the Nine Heavens that the black ox spoke of. In Li Qingshan¡¯s belief, they were even more powerful cultivators, so powerful that he could not even look up to them anymore.

    The conclusion he reached was very simple. Just what level was an ability where the practitioner cultivated to become a bodhisattva? It was self-explanatory. If this made it out, it would not be as simple as purging demons. Instead, it would bring a storm to the nine provinces of the world.

    Against cultivators of the same cultivation who practised weaker cultivation methods, Xiao An basically had a crushing advantage as he practised an ability as great as the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Moreover, Xiao An had only practised it for a few months and had basically just gained a rudimentary grasp. He had not even reached the first layer. As his cultivation progressed, this advantage would gradually widen and become even more evident.

    These were Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts. Usually, Xiao An would just look at him from the side silently and be very satisfied. He did not think as much. All he wanted to do was remain by his side. He only desired a body of flesh so that he could remain by Li Qingshan¡¯s side in a more open manner. He only wanted to become stronger to offer greater assistance to him and not serve as a deadweight.

    With his extraordinary intelligence, he could comprehend the great horrors within the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty far more deeply than Li Qingshan. He could feel just what kind of great despair this eminent monk went through to create an ability like this, willingly casting themself into the hell of Av¨©ci, using white bone to assemble a lotus platform, feeding off blood and flesh, deriving joy from despair, so much so that they felt like they had made it to paradise.

    But for the sake of this objective, he would be more than willing to do anything, even if it meant slaughtering the boundless creatures, felling the endless afflictions, destroying the limitless dharma, and ending the unsurpassable buddha way.

    Li Qingshan pulled out a hundred treasures pouch that was bright in colour from his bosom. He smiled. ¡°Look at what this is?¡±

    Where had he gotten the hundred treasures pouch from? He had obviously found it on the procuress. If he killed, how could he forget to rob? Having a strong sense of justice and assisting the weak went hand in hand with robbing the rich to give to the needy. He robbed the procuress to make up for his own neediness. Unfortunately, Furong did not have a hundred treasures pouch, or there would be another hundred treasures pouch in his hands. However, he could not be too greedy as a person after all.

    ¡°How is it? I said I¡¯d do it, and I did it!¡±

    The blood-red flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets flickered happily.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at our harvest this time.¡± He channeled spiritual qi into the hundred treasures pouch, and a new space opened up ¡®before¡¯ him. It was around the same size as his current one.

    There were quite a few items in there. He swept past the miscellaneous items like cosmetics, clothes, and handkerchiefs. The only items that he paid attention to were pills, talismans, spiritual artifacts, and cultivation methods, items that were directly related to cultivation.

    However, there were no talismans or spiritual artifacts in the hundred treasures pouch. Clearly, she had been a procuress for all these years, so she had stopped fighting a long time ago, which was why she was unprepared.

    There were a few bottles of pills, but two of them seemed to be aphrodisiacs called the Pills of Passion. Li Qingshan had a whiff of the bottle, and he felt his crotch warm up. He had no idea what kind of materials it was made from to be so effective against Qi Practitioners.

    There were two other bottles that happened to be the exact opposite; they were called Pills of Calming. He whiffed it, and his mind cleared up, but the flame in his crotch remained. His desires roared like fire, while his mind was as tranquil as water.

    There was a cultivation method in there called the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain, which Li Qingshan looked through. Upon completion, it could be cultivated to the sixth layer of Qi Practitioner, allowing the cultivator to split open a sea of qi. It was much better than the Innate Method of Practising Qi. Unfortunately, it was a dual cultivation method. It had to be cultivated while man and woman went at it, treating the partner as a human cauldron. The Pills of Passion and Pills of Calming were for this; the cauldron would consume the Pills of Passion and freely releasing yin and yang qi, while the practitioner would consume the Pills of Calming, allowing them to harmonise their yin and yang, thus practising the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain.

    It was no wonder that the Sect of Clouds and Rain would open so many brothels on such a large scale. It was so that they could find human cauldrons under a legitimate reason. Money was secondary. Practising qi was their primary focus. Otherwise, they would have been destroyed by the Hawkwolf Guard a long time ago with their behaviour of sexual debauchery.

    It would obviously be impossible for Li Qingshan to practise such a troublesome cultivation method. Although the Innate Method of Practising Qi was quite an inferior cultivation method, it was easy to practise and a fantastic cultivation method for building a foundation. Unless they were prodigies of startling talent, basically everyone would start off with this cultivation method.

    He tossed all of that aside, and in the end, he found two bottles of Qi Gathering pills. As it seemed, regardless of the sect that a Qi Practitioner came from, they would still have the basic pills. Although there were just around a dozen or so pills, it was enough to console him. As a result, the number of Qi Gathering pills on him exceeded seventy. He was rather wealthy now.

    The other item that drew Li Qingshan¡¯s attention slightly was a stack of unassuming accounts. It utterly confused him when he went through it, so he decided to hand it over to Zhou Wenbin tomorrow for him to take a look.

    After all of that was money, a lot of money. Li Qingshan had never seen so much money in his entire life; the sum totalled to several hundreds of thousand taels of silver. Although they were all in the form of thousand tael silver notes, it still formed a thick stack. Although money was the Parlour of Clouds and Rain¡¯s secondary purpose, they were as vicious as directly stealing money from their customers when it came to making money. Moreover, there was no place safer to store it for the procuress than her own hundred treasures pouch, so it was easy pickings for Li Qingshan.

    If the Li Qingshan from before had obtained so much silver, he basically would have gone crazy from happiness. Just how much meat and ginseng could he buy? But now, he led an extravagant life, and his pills completely exceeded the effects of ginseng, so he actually had no aspect that required spending money anymore.

    However, if he really did want to practise the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain, he should have been able to buy quite a few women with several hundred thousand taels of silver, right? He had a perverted daydream before stowing away all of the silver and Qi Gathering pills in his own hundred treasures pouch.

    He handed the new hundred treasures pouch to Xiao An. ¡°I said I¡¯ll do it. This is for you.¡±

    Xiao An placed his wooden tablet into his new hundred treasures pouch, returning the old one to Li Qingshan. He played around with the items inside in great joy. Only then did he seem particularly like a child.

    Li Qingshan looked at him and smiled. He felt his tense nerves gradually ease up. He felt the peace that came with family. No matter what, he was not alone.

    A Qi Gathering pill was tossed high up in the air, landing in Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. He began to meditate and cultivate again.

    Currently, Zhuo Zhibo did his best to suppress his fury. ¡°Fucking Li Qingshan! He actually played me like that¡­¡± Ge Jian and Qian Rongzhi were utterly silent out of fear, afraid of answering him.

    ¡°Commander, why don¡¯t we just go all the way with him?¡± A Black Wolf guard made a gesture to kill, while the Black Wolf guards by his side were all aggressive. They were Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s trusted subordinates, so they obviously had to share their master¡¯s burden. In their eyes, no matter how powerful Li Qingshan was with his body practising arts, only death would await him if he was encircled by five third or fourth layer Qi Practitioners.

    ¡°If I could kill him, I would have personally killed him already!¡± Zhuo Zhibo held back his fury. ¡°I¡¯ve already sent people to investigate in Clear River city. We will get an answer before long. Let¡¯s just wait till then. Right now, none of you touch him. Ge Jian, don¡¯t go find him anymore. I will send other people to do that. Rongzhi, you¡¯re all newcomers, so you¡¯ll spend more time together. You must keep investigating whether he¡¯s telling lies.¡±

    Ge Jian was relieved, but Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expression changed slightly. Despite her viciousness, Li Qingshan¡¯s viciousness tonight had frightened her.

    Ge Jian added in worry, ¡°If we really do end up moving against him, Zhou Wenbin seems to favour this kid very much. And, regarding the vice commander¡­¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°If we really do move against him, no one will be able to save him in Jiaping city.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea about these schemes in the shadows. Even if he did know, he would not have cared anyway. He was popping Qi Gathering pills like candy, increasing his own strength. As long as he became tough enough, he would finish off the damned Zhao Liangzhi first before dealing with the damned Zhuo Zhibo.

    In just two hours, three Qi Gathering pills had already slid down his gullet, turning into true qi and daemon qi sliver by sliver. Although he could rely on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to not become mentally exhausted, his ability of absorbing Qi Gathering pills did not surpass other Qi Practitioners by too much either.

 Chapter 127 â€“ Demonic Thoughts Rise Once More

    With the Qi Gathering pills inside, half was directly transformed into daemon qi by the daemon core. The remaining half then went through the purification and concentration of the sumeru ring. At the end, the amount for him was only a tenth of what he started with. Ten pills for him was only equivalent to one pill for someone else, which was why he could ingest them in such large quantities.

    If regular Qi Practitioners were willing, they could also eat a pill every three days, or even a pill every single day. However, it would be extremely wasteful, as they would not be able to convert it all into true qi. The medicinal effects would linger in their bodies and cause detriments instead.

    Li Qingshan was neither afraid of being wasteful nor was he afraid of any detriments. All he suddenly thought to himself was whether the daemon core was far too stingy.

    Originally, it was simply too difficult to practise qi, which was why he suppressed the daemon core so that he could practise qi faster. But now that he had so many Qi Gathering pills, he tried changing it up.

    His roots were based on the path of daemons, from the three superhuman abilities that the black ox had left him. After learning that the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers would not actually result in the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers, he automatically separated the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging.

    This was the path that led beyond the Nine Heavens that the black ox had paved for him. If he completely focused on practising qi, he would basically be neglecting his essentials, his very roots. His original intention behind returning to humanity was for resources that the wilderness could not provide.

    Now, the resources were in his hands. They were these Qi Gathering pills. It was time for him to return to his original path.

    After thinking through this, his mind shuddered. He stopped cultivating on the same night and leapt through the trees with Xiao An. Just a while later, he had travelled far away from the Hawkwolf Guard, arriving on the other side of the mountain. He could not see Jiaping city here. Below his feet were cliffs several hundred meters tall and the raging waters of the Clear river.

    When he first came to Jiaping city, it was this cliff that had blocked the flow of water. The water here flowed particularly rapidly, so over time, it dug out a deep cave at the foot of the cliff. It was suitable for cultivation.

    Li Qingshan leapt off the cliff and entered the river, kicking up a splash several meters in height. The dark water surged over from everywhere, swallowing his body. There was a small splash beside him. Xiao An had leapt in too.

    He sucked in deeply and unleashed his daemon qi, returning to his original form.

    His pupils that were as scarlet-red as fire, his skin that was pitch-black like iron, and his teeth that were as sharp as knives all appeared underwater.

    From a certain perspective, this was the actual Li Qingshan.

    His colossal figure that towered at twenty-two feet forcefully parted the river water, but he did not kick up any currents at all. The water flowed around him, almost like it was viscous. The deep water could cut off his daemon qi very well. He only controlled the water as much as he could so that it would flow slightly better.

    Xiao An watched over from one side silently. As such, it became even safer for Li Qingshan to cultivate here.

    Although the daemon qi possessed an absolute advantage, the extremely pure true qi was like a clear flow in the raging river water. It was very thin and weak, but it was unending. It would not assimilate with the daemon qi either.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the water parted to two sides. He took out all of his Qi Gathering pills, and after a moment of consideration, he put ten away again for his usual cultivation.

    Afterwards, he tossed all of the remaining Qi Gathering pills, over sixty of them, into his huge mouth filled with teeth, swallowing them in one gulp.

    He was not practising the Innate Method of Practising Qi, but the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.

    In the pitch-black depths, his scarlet hair danced around as he stamped his hooves, butted his horns, and forged his hide. All of his movements were extremely smooth and fluid. This was the ability that had begun his path of cultivation, so he was as familiar as he could get with every single part of it.

    Once the Qi Gathering pills entered his body, they were like several dozen water mines exploding in the water simultaneously. His raging daemon qi immediately circulated at ten times the speed, roaring and bellowing as if it wanted to rip his body to shreds.

    Although Qi Gathering pills were the most practical and mildest of pills, the fate awaiting regular Qi Practitioners would be devastating if they ate so many in a single gulp. However, he was not a Qi Practitioner right now, but a daemon, a daemon who had condensed a daemon core.

    ¡°Suppress!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out like a clap of thunder in the water.

    The daemon core crushed down in suppression. The figure of a spirit turtle vaguely appeared around the daemon core, roaring out silently with its head raised. Its four huge, pillar-like legs landed in the raging flow of daemon qi.

    The daemon qi that had basically run out of control immediately settled down, and the flow of daemon qi became much more tame. It flowed under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, fusing with every part of his body.

    The medicinal effects were converted into daemon qi by the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and great strength by the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. He was utterly delighted. Yes, now this was where his roots lay.

    He did not stop moving. His body produced a strange sound like the screeching of steel being stretched. Strength filled his muscles that seemed to be forged from metal; they swelled and twisted, producing quiet, bulging sounds.

    He was gradually growing larger!

    Twenty-three feet! Twenty-four feet! Twenty-five feet!

    In just a while, he grew by three feet. Great strength surged through him. Just a casual punch of his managed to place the water under pressure, just like a cannonball. He created a large pit several meters across in the mud underneath.

    Although he had yet to reach the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and attain the strength of two oxen, his strength still grew evidently. Clearly, the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength was just like its name. The strength of two oxen was not referring to two ordinary oxen, but two ox demons.

    As his body transformed, his mind silently changed as well. He lost part of his prudence and caution as a human and gained some of the frenzy and confidence of a daemon.

    With such strength, who couldn¡¯t I kill?! Even if I¡¯m up against Zhuo Zhibo, I could defeat him, so why should I fear a measly Zhao Liangqing? Why not use the night and go to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain to crush him to death and get some more pills for cultivation?

    Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and returned to human form. His violent nature settled down, but this thought lingered in his head. He seriously considered the benefits and costs that came with this.

    His greatest worry was being exposed as a daemon. However, a tremendous difference existed between the fifth and sixth layers of Qi Practitioners as well, a fact that he was aware of. If he daemonified, he would have the strength of a sixth or even seventh layer Qi Practitioner. As long as he grasped the opportunity, he might even be able to kill him in a single strike, without raising anybody¡¯s attention.

    As long as he did it cleanly, it was possible for others to believe that Zhao Liangqing had fled or gone missing. Although he would raise suspicion after that, he was only a first layer Qi Practitioner on the surface. Who would think that he could kill a fifth layer Qi Practitioner?

    The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that it was worth a gamble. If he kept his trump card hidden away the entire time, it would be a waste. As long as everyone who saw his trump card ended up dead, his trump card was still a trump card!

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An about what he was thinking, and Xiao An obviously did not object. Afterwards, the two of them began discussing deep under water about how they would assassinate a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, Zhao Liangqing.

    It was both for the sake of eliminating an enemy as well as to obtain even more resources so that he could achieve the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength sooner.

    Li Qingshan swam out from the cavern and followed the river downstream. He arrived in Jiaping city, climbing ashore in a quiet, remote area. He was completely dry. He quickly dove into a pitch-black alleyway.

    He moved through the maze-like streets. The seven-storeyed building in the distance served as the most obvious guide for him.

    The moon was bright that night, but he could only move in the shadows and darkness. He concealed all of his aura, whether it be his daemon qi or true qi. He was like a tiger prowling in the forest, his footsteps gentle and silent.

    When a passerby brushed past him, he failed to even notice his existence. All he felt was a night breeze brush past him. In the hot, stuffy summer night, it was slightly cold, chilling him to the bone. The man shivered, unable to tell that it was an aura of murderousness.

    Li Qingshan stood in the alleyway behind the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Past the twenty foot wall was the back courtyard of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Guards patrolled around the walls, both inside and out. It did not seem like a brothel, but more like a fortress.

    Obviously, this could not stop Li Qingshan. He no longer treated people like masters of martial arts with too much importance. Scaling the wall, he first hid himself in a small, dense garden. He raised his head and breathed in deeply and slowly, taking in a lot of air. He gathered the various smells in the air.

    He did not have a particularly deep impression of Zhao Liangqing¡¯s scent, but he did with the head courtesan Furong¡¯s smell. She had a unique perfume that could intoxicate people.

    In order to strengthen his senses of smell, he released a tiny sliver of daemon qi. A black luster rapidly coated his entire body as his hair turned scarlet. At the same time, two bulges appeared on his forehead. His body swelled up by a foot as well as he turned into a muscly man who seemed like a black tower.

    However, before he could change any further, he found what he was searching for. He was in no hurry to completely revert to human form either. He made his way towards the parlour. The quiet night that the Parlour of Clouds and Rain was experiencing had saved him a lot of trouble.

    However, he discovered very soon that Furong¡¯s smell did not come from above, but below. He infiltrated the cellar and discovered several hundred jars of fine alcohol, but he failed to find Furong. The smell was still below him. An underground palace was hidden deep below the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, which was no wonder why the guards had failed to find the abducted girls during their search.

    Following the trace of the smell, he arrived before a wall. The smell ended there. Li Qingshan pressed his ear against the wall, and as expected, he heard the soft sounds of people talking. The underground palace was right there, but he was unable to find the way to open the path leading down. He was afraid of alarming them if he forced his way in. Moreover, he might leave behind too many traces.

    In the end, it was Xiao An who was more thorough with his searching, managing to find a jar of alcohol stuck firmly to the ground; this was the mechanism to open it. However, Li Qingshan had already understood that this probably was not just an issue of thoroughness. He also needed a certain understanding of the structure of the building to perfectly grasp the mechanism.

    Moving the jar, a path opened in the wall. As soon as the two of them entered, the wall closed behind them again. Before them was a dark staircase that winded downwards. Li Qingshan made his way down without any hesitation at all.

    The sounds of moans rose and fell as two naked bodies slammed against one another with great intensity. Zhao Liangqing said viciously, ¡°I have to kill him.¡± Furong answered with a messy reply.

    Neither of them had used Pills of Calming for dual cultivation. Instead, they used the most primitive method to vent their repressed feelings.

 Chapter 128 â€“ Crushing Zhao Liangqing to a Pulp

    Furong was surprised. ¡°Are you planning to?¡±

    Zhao Liangqing said, ¡°I¡¯m going to use them. From today onwards, none of these people are allowed to appear again.¡±

    Use! That was an extremely cold word, as if he treated them as objects, but the reality was even colder. Not only did he treat them as objects, but he even wanted to use them as consumables.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the sect forbid this?¡± Furong shuddered. She knew that he wanted to use a vicious cultivation method from the Sect of Clouds and Rain to drain away the vital yin qi of the girls. This was basically casting aside long term benefits for the sake of short term benefits. It was truly an art of the demonic path, which was why it had been stringently banned by the Sect of Clouds and Rain. If anyone was discovered using it, they would become an enemy of the world and be hunted down until they were dead.

    Sects of dual cultivation had always been orthodox sects within daoism. The Minor Method of Clouds and Rain was not an evil cultivation method, but taking this path of cultivation required greater willpower than other cultivation methods. Otherwise, their minds would be gradually corrupted by lust, sinking into the demonic path and becoming a demonic art practitioner.

    Zhao Liangqing said, ¡°How am I supposed to break through quickly if I don¡¯t use that? If you don¡¯t say anything and I don¡¯t say anything, who will know? Don¡¯t you hate that kid as well? Once I open my Girdle meridian and break through to the sixth layer, I¡¯ll be able to control weapons. I can assassinate him using a flying sword. It¡¯ll basically be avenging you!¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan was mentioned, Furong immediately made up her mind. Without even putting on clothes, she made her way out, while Zhao Liangqing just laid on the bed with his eyes closed, resting.

    As soon as Furong emerged from the room, a large hand with sharp claws grabbed her neck. With a crack, she collapsed on the ground. The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration quietly spread over. In just an instant, it swallowed her completely, reducing her to a white skeleton.

    Furong¡¯s aura had vanished!¡±

    Zhao Liangqing suddenly snapped open his eyes as he bellowed out, ¡°Who is it?¡± His voice reverberated through the underground palace.

    Zhao Liangqing raised his guard to the limit, but all he saw was Li Qingshan pushing open the door and making his way in. There was a relaxed smile on his young face. ¡°It¡¯s me!¡± He had completely reverted to human form now, so his aura was only a first layer Qi Practitioner¡¯s. He was exactly the same as when he made a mess out of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain earlier tonight.

    When enemies met, their eyes would redden from rage. Zhao Liangqing stared at Li Qingshan with red eyes as he roared out, ¡°You killed her?¡±

    ¡°Do you still think you can escape!?¡± Zhao Liangqing leapt up from the bed and dove outside. He did not even bother to grab his hundred treasures pouch on the side. He utterly hated Li Qingshan, so all he wanted to do was end his life as soon as possible. How was it possible for a mere first layer Qi Practitioner to be the opponent of him, a fifth layer Qi Practitioner? Even if he was empty-handed, he could easily kill him.

    He really is looking for his own doom.

    As soon as Zhao Liangqing barged through the door, he suddenly turned around and saw a skull condensed from blood-red flames bite down on him from the left. There was no heat, but he could feel the horrors of the fire from the bottom of his heart.

    The true qi that surged out kicked up a wild gust of wind in the long, gloomy corridor. Zhao Liangqing raised his right hand and condensed a palm print out of true qi, smashing the fire skull to pieces. Just when he wanted to advance, he suddenly froze up as if he had been rooted to the spot.

    A murderous aura and daemon qi that was ten times more terrifying than the fire skull surged out from behind him like the flowing and ebbing tide. He felt like as soon as he moved, the monster hidden in the tide would rip him to shreds. Cold sweat ran down his back.

    Only now did he find the origins of the blood-red flames. A small skeleton stood right in front of him as blood-red flames flickered in its eye sockets. It did not show any intentions of attacking. Instead, it just stared behind him.

    What was behind him?

    Unprecedented fear seized him, but inside, he roared out that he refused to accept this. He was a Qi Practitioner with a great future. As long as he broke through to the sixth layer, a very good position would be waiting for him in the Sect of Clouds and Rain. He felt a lot of regret, regretting over why he had not slowed down a little and taken his hundred treasures pouch with him. He regretted facing something so terrifying while naked.

    He slowly turned around and saw the true appearance of the horror.

    The small, narrow corridor struggled to contain the colossal body that seemed to be forged from black iron. It could only crouch there, crouching in the darkness, even darker than the darkness. Long, scarlet hair draped down, seeming like both roaring flames and waterfalls of blood. The huge, scarlet pupils stunned him, immobilising him completely.

    I¡¯m dead!

    This was the first time he had experienced a thought like that in his entire life, and it clearly appeared in Zhao Liangqing¡¯s head. However, his instincts for survival urged him to fight back. He turned around as quickly as he had ever done so in his entire life, utilising every shred of true qi in his body to receive this terrifying monster.

    He had no actual plans on taking this monster on in a deathmatch. He only wanted to slam it with his true qi and borrow the rebounding force to flee to the other side of the tunnel. The tiny skeleton was strange, but he was confident that he could deal with it. The monster¡¯s size was so large that it would struggle to move through the corridor. He could escape with his life intact through another secret door.

    There was still a chance! There was still hope!

    Zhao Liangqing suddenly halted as blood and shattered organs sprayed out from his mouth. He lowered his head in disbelief. A huge claw had grabbed him with terrifying speed that he was unable to react to before gradually bringing him closer.

    It was like a cat that had just learned how to hunt, studying the first rat it had caught.

    Pain basically drowned out all of Zhao Liangqing¡¯s thoughts. How did he encounter something like this? He was chasing a mere first layer Qi Practitioner. Did it come from that? How did he come across a monster like this?

    He realised something. He said with difficulty, ¡°Y- you¡¯re¡­ Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± His voice was like resonating metal, yet it was also like the gurgling of magma in a volcano that was about to erupt. He stated a truth with a solemn voice, a truth that brought Zhao Liangqing disbelief.

    Li Qingshan truly felt surprised, as he was too weak! Zhao Liangqing was just too weak! The tremendous pressure he felt from Zhao Liangqing when he was in human form had vanished completely. Right now, all he needed to do was use a little bit of force, and he would be able to crush this fifth layer Qi Practitioner like a bug.

    So it has always been me? I¡¯ve never held enough confidence in myself? Li Qingshan was amazed.

    ¡°S- Spare me!¡± Zhao Liangqing said with difficulty as he constantly coughed up blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Li Qingshan used some force, and with a squelch, there was an explosion of blood between his fingers. Zhao Liangqing was crushed to a pulp.

    The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration surged over, converting every droplet of blood into a part of itself. It cleaned up the mess that Li Qingshan had created perfectly.

    Li Qingshan reverted to human form. He stretched his arms and legs as he stood there while muttering to himself, ¡°So much for taking you so seriously back then. Turns out, this is all you are.¡±

    Xiao An extended his fingers like a sword. The bones scattered across the ground suddenly trembled, flying into his hundred treasures pouch. He had completely removed all traces of anything happening at all.

    Just like he was in his own home, Li Qingshan walked into the extravagant bedroom in the underground palace, or should you say cultivation room. He picked up two hundred treasures pouches from the side of the bed before raising his head and studying the erotic art drawn on the walls. He evaluated, ¡°How ugly!¡±

    Xiao An gathered Zhao Liangqing and Furong¡¯s scattered clothes as well. After hesitating, he did not tidy up the bed. He carefully removed the many tiny traces. As such, it seemed more like the two of them had fled in fear of punishment instead of being killed.

    Li Qingshan was unable to do something like this. After confirming there was nothing else worth his attention, he asked, ¡°You done?¡±

    Xiao An nodded, and the two of them returned the same way they had come, silently leaving the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    By the time they returned to the mountain, it was already very early in the morning. Li Qingshan did not light a lamp either. He used the moonlight that flooded through the gauze window to inspect his harvest.

    Furong¡¯s collection and the earnings from the years that Zhao Liangqing was in charge of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain amounted to one million two hundred thousand taels of silver and a pile of gold and silverware.

    There were a few talismans, and not a single one of them were inferior. They were low grade at the very least. There were even two mid grade talismans.

    The Qi Gathering pills, over fifty of them, immediately made up for the pills that Li Qingshan had just consumed.

    There were a few stones the size of pebbles that contained pure spiritual qi. They must have been the legendary spiritual stones.

    However, these were not his greatest harvest from this trip. The greatest harvest was a small, translucent sword that he had found in Zhao Liangqing¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. The sword was only a foot long, and it did not have a hilt. It was completely translucent as light basically flowed through it. It was clearly made from metal, yet it had the qualities of jade.

    Li Qingshan held the small sword in his palms as he carefully inspected it. He could sense a gentle but extremely powerful spiritual qi flowing through it, surpassing the Wind-entwining blade on his waist. It was a mid grade spiritual artifact.

    However, the sword did not even have a hilt, so how was it supposed to be used? Li Qingshan suddenly thought of the Soaring Dragon Elder, as well as Wang Pushi¡¯s pitch-black baton. Was this sword supposed to be controlled like that too? He was uncertain, so he could only stow it away for now.

    Li Qingshan was utterly delighted. As it turned out, things really were easier with the evil path. Human society sure was a good place. If he remained in the mountains and forests, he would never have so many pills to eat. His cultivation speed would definitely be much slower.

    Although the cultivation of daemons would be calculated with centuries, he was confident that if this continued, he could drastically reduce his time.

    The battle tonight had given him quite a lot of confidence. No matter how powerful a sixth layer Qi Practitioner who had split open a sea of qi like Zhuo Zhibo was, he was confident he could take them on in battle.

    ¡°Zhuo Zhibo, oh Zhuo Zhibo. What nice things do you have in your hundred treasures pouch? Li Qingshan licked his lips as he wondered malevolently.

    They truly targeted one another.

    A long, long time ago, a young man walked through the deep mountains. A hawk flew in the sky while a wolf ran in front of him. They were his pets and playmates since young. They hunted for him and ensured that he was not lonely. They had gone through many difficult times with him.

    As the will of the heavens went in the way of the boy, he picked up his treasured sword, and the hawk and wolf became daemons. They waged wars across the world, defeating countless powerful opponents with him and enduring many disasters at his side.

    Until one day, the young man swept through the world and established the nine provinces, gaining the title of the dragon son of heaven. He had many gifted officials, many like the droplets of rain in the world. He also had many valiant generals, many like the clouds in the world, serve beneath him. His harem reached tremendous proportions, and he became the wealthiest in the world.

    However, there was nobody, no other human, that he trusted more than his two most loyal friends. He crowned them as kings, giving them the authority to stand above all. When he returned to the heavens, he ordered them to protect this empire.

    These were the origins of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Oh right, as for the name of the empire, it was called Great Xia.

    Author¡¯s Postscript

    I like the name ¡®Great Xia¡¯. It¡¯s the beginning of five thousand years of culture, while its creator is the legendary figure, Yu the Great. The people that came after him could only remain earnestly as humans, unable to be like their ancestors who mended the heavens, created humanity, served by many. What a pity!

    The name ¡®Great Xia¡¯ by itself seems like a boundary between legends and history, also serving as a beginning and an end. Even more wondrously, its existence has been questioned. This kind of existence where it seems to exist yet is also debatable, this point of both beginnings and end, it where this novel and I lie.

 Chapter 129 â€“ The Daughter of the Hawk God

    With the arrival of the morning, a thick layer of mist shrouded the mountain. Opening his window and looking down, he saw Jiaping city swallowed by a sea of mist. Only the few, larger structures like the Parlour of Clouds and Rain were like islands in the sea, floating in the sea of mist.

    No one had noticed what had happened last night aside from Li Qingshan. He lowered his head and looked at his right hand; it was a coarse hand covered in calluses. The markings of all those years of labour had not simply faded away with cultivation. It was also that very hand that had crushed an enemy to death the night before. The feeling of causing someone to burst remained clearly embedded in his palm and memory.

    Ordinary people would probably sigh that their hands were covered in blood and become melancholic. However, he felt very wonderful and delighted. It was not due to the influence of his demonic nature that had made him cold-hearted. He could shed tears for Xiao An, and he could sob for Xuanyue, but scum like Zhao Liangqing was not even worth a sigh of his.

    You could refuse to accept the darkness within you and keep acting like you were still a normal human, or you could accept it calmly and find some more scum like that, enjoying the pleasure that came with crushing them to a pulp.

    Li Qingshan chose the latter without any hesitation at all. Just like how he had said since the beginning, why should he repress his interests? Aren¡¯t there a lot of people worth killing in the world?

    On their first day of joining the Hawkwolf Guard, newcomers were usually given the day to rest and grow accustomed to the new environment. The true training of the Hawkwolf Guard would begin today under the guidance of a senior.

    Originally, that person should have been Ge Jian, but instead it was the ¡®bulbous nose¡¯ that had gambled on Li Qingshan. He slapped Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with a smile. ¡°Kid, you were really impressive last night. If it were me, I would have never been bold enough to do that.¡±

    Just from that, Li Qingshan understood that this person was probably not a trusted subordinate of Zhuo Zhibo. Speaking of which, even if Zhuo Zhibo wanted to take a trusted subordinate, he would have never taken someone so inappropriate.

    Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi sat beside Li Qingshan. They both had their own thoughts as they remained silent.

    ¡®Bulbous nose¡¯ cleared his throat and began the first lesson of the Hawkwolf Guard, the history of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Li Qingshan listened with complete focus. This was the first time he had understood where he was in so much detail. He was shocked by the grand tale from the lengthy history. He murmured, ¡°The Great Xia empire?¡±

    However, he could understand what the founding emperor was thinking. His wives could fight among each other for his favour, while his children could kill one another for the throne. Even loyal officials and valiant generals could fall out with one another over their beliefs. The minds of humans were far too complicated. Only the loyalty of daemons would remain unwavering.

    Although Li Qingshan refused to admit that Xiao An was his pet, he was unable to find a better description for their current situation. The reason why he could trust him so much was exactly because of his simple-mindedness, as well as his complete dependence on him.

    ¡®Bulbous nose¡¯ was akin to the most impressive storyteller as spittle flew out of his mouth like a river. He narrated this part of history in a magnificent manner, but when he reached there, he suddenly stopped. He looked at Li Qingshan while smiling. ¡°Speaking of the highest commander of our Hawkwolf Guard, sir Guardian Hawk God, I must mention his daughter¡­¡±

    Submerged in his thoughts, Li Qingshan suddenly raised his head. All he heard was bulbous nose slowly mention a name. ¡°Gu Yanying!¡±

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes slowly and sank into his thoughts again. The graceful figure in white appeared in his head again. When Yan Song mentioned Gu Yanying, he had said she possessed an extraordinary background, but Li Qingshan had never thought it would reach such a level.

    ¡®Bulbous nose¡¯ continued, ¡°Of course, you can¡¯t tell others about this. While this is a public secret within the Hawkwolf Guard, it¡¯s also taboo. The White Wolf commander has specially put this in writing that he would watch anyone who blabbers chew their own tongues out. You better not think this is just an empty threat. It¡¯s basically the greatest rule among us Hawkwolf guards of the Ruyi commandery. Just treat it like you never heard about it. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll manage to establish any connections with such a great figure in your lives anyway.¡± As he said that, he glanced at Li Qingshan again.

    Li Qingshan did not reply. After his slight shock, he recovered his composure. The target that the black ox had given him was far too distant. As such, his vision had never stopped in just this world from the beginning.

    When your final objective was to fly in the sky, other people could tell you about just how tall Mount Everest was and how difficult it was to scale. You could agree, but you would not feel too much pressure. As a matter of fact, you might even feel that it was a much easier target.

    Whether he could establish a connection with her would depend on fate, but if he could, he definitely would. He was not afraid of being labelled as lecherous by others, as he admitted he was lecherous. He also liked drinking, liked eating, liked crushing enemies to a pulp, and liked good pills and spiritual artifacts.

    Passing through the busy streets, Li Qingshan arrived before the government office. At the entrance were a pair of huge, stone lions. Li Qingshan could tell that they were not just to scare away regular citizens and demonstrate the might of the government. Instead, the spiritual qi they emitted told him that the pair of stone lions would immediately come alive as soon as someone had intruded upon the place, tearing the intruder to shreds.

    Compared to them, the two guards seemed more symbolic than anything else. When they saw Li Qingshan¡¯s Black Wolf uniform, neither of them tried to stop him. After hearing him state his name, the guard immediately took him in.

    The government office was busy. Various people hurried around under the orders of guards. It was as if they all had their own matters to attend to, not just to prove their innocence or to sue.

    Zhou Wenbin received Li Qingshan in the garden behind the offices. Under the brilliant sun, the green-clothed Zhou Wenbin sat on a cushion under a large willow tree by a pond as he admired the scenery. He did not seem like a district magistrate, but more like a hermit. He was at great leisure, forming quite the contrast with the busyness in the government office.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°How elegant of you, sir!¡±

    Zhou Wenbin waved his hand, and another cushion fell down before him, along with an exquisite tea set.

    Li Qingshan sat down gracefully. Zhou Wenbin waved his hand, and steam rose up from the pond as if it were gathering in his palm, turning into water and landing in the teapot. Afterwards, it produced hot steam, and the fragrance of tea permeated the surroundings. He filled two tea cups.

    Only then did Zhou Wenbin say leisurely, ¡°We cultivator¡¯s shouldn¡¯t be held up by too many everyday affairs!¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Then why do you still hold the position of district magistrate, sir? Why not settle down in a beautiful land and properly focus on cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s something you don¡¯t know about. This is one of the cultivation methods of the school of Confucianism, gathering the power of belief, which can also be used for cultivation. That¡¯s why I¡¯m the district magistrate of Jiaping city.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said patiently. Only then did Li Qingshan find out about a cultivation method like this, and it was an extremely effective cultivation method as well that did not require too much effort. The proteges and aides under Zhou Wenbin would handle the various government affairs for him, while he normally only needed to remain in the back courtyard, drinking tea and admiring the flowers. The paths of cultivation truly did vary.

    Li Qingshan cut to the chase. ¡°May I ask why you¡¯ve summoned me here?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Are you aware that you¡¯re living on borrowed time?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m really not aware of that.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°You¡¯ve deeply offended Zhou Wenbin. He¡¯s extremely cowardly, which is why he chose to put up with all of it. But don¡¯t we both know that you don¡¯t have any kind of backing like that at all? Old Wang in Clear River city should dislike you very much. Zhuo Zhibo will realise that sooner or later.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. ¡°Then what do you suggest, sir? Am I supposed to transfer to under sir?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin replied, ¡°I sure would like a subordinate like you. I¡¯ve heard about what you¡¯ve done in the Qingyang district, but you¡¯ve directly increased the number of vice magistrates under me. It¡¯ll even cost me a bit to pay and feed him.¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan think of the brother-in-law of the prefect, Ye Dachuan. Calculating the time, he should have arrived today.

    ¡°However, since you¡¯ve joined the Hawkwolf Guard, you can¡¯t just get away from this entire matter so easily anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°My only option is to flee?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin shook his head. ¡°The crime of deserting or betraying the Hawkwolf Guard would be even greater than that. It¡¯s enough to put you on the criminal list. Despite how vast the world is, just where can you go? Are you really supposed to flee into the mountains and forests and dwell with those daemons?¡±

    Li Qingshan considered it; this was not necessarily a difficult matter to deal with.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°If you want to avoid Zhuo Zhibo, there¡¯s only one place you can go now.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°The Academy of the Hundred Schools!¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Academy of the Hundred Schools?¡±

    ¡°Obviously in Clear River city.¡±

    ¡°What kind of place is the Academy of the Hundred Schools?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a place where ordinary people cultivate, as well as the foundation of the Great Xia empire. As the district magistrate, not only do I watch over this region, but I also have the responsibility of choosing talents for the empire. I can recommend talented Qi Practitioners to study in the Academy of the Hundred Schools. Even your duties as a Hawkwolf guard will be temporarily set aside. Obviously, you wouldn¡¯t need to worry about Zhuo Zhibo anymore. I¡¯ll be honest with you, I came from the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts. That place is much more beneficial to your cultivation than being a Hawkwolf guard.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°May I ask why you are favouring me so much, sir?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Your talent is so-so, but I like your disposition very much. I don¡¯t wish to see you get destroyed in the hands of a crafty ruffian. There will be a day when you return to the Hawkwolf Guard, so I wouldn¡¯t mind you coming to Jiaping city, and we can keep working together.¡±

    Some people might detest your disposition, but there would obviously be others who liked your disposition. With ill will came goodwill. Such a matter was very fair.

    Li Qingshan considered it for a while before answering, ¡°Thank you for your kind offer, sir. There will be a day when I go there and check it out, but it¡¯s not right now. I still have things I want to do in Jiaping city.¡±

    He speculated that the Academy of the Hundred Schools was a place like a school. It was a school for Qi Practitioners to raise talents for the Great Xia empire so that they could overwhelm the talents of other sects. However, since it was a school, it would definitely come with school fees, and moving about would become inconvenient. At the very least, he could not go on a killing spree under the name of justice.

    He needed flesh and blood to assist Xiao An¡¯s reconstruction of his body, and he also needed to obtain even more Qi Gathering pills from these missions. These two matters supplemented one another, and Jiaping city was highly suitable for him to complete both. Most importantly, he was not afraid of Zhuo Zhibo, not even a bit.

 Chapter 130 â€“ The Art of Controlling Artifacts

    Li Qingshan obviously understood the strength of sixth layer Qi Practitioners. Splitting open a sea of qi and condensing a daemon core went hand in hand. He knew exactly how much his strength had grown after condensing a daemon core. It was basically a change in quality.

    However, he would never complain if it meant he could get more information on his opponent. He also wanted to know just what humans used against daemons in battle. A fifth layer Qi Practitioner like Zhao Liangqing was nowhere near enough, so he asked with an open mind, ¡°Please enlighten me, sir!¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°The strength of humans does not lie with themselves. Whether it¡¯s true qi or their physical strength, there¡¯s no way they can contend with regular daemons. You should be aware of that.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°The strength of humans lies in their use of tools.¡± He could recall the classes of his previous life very well, how his teacher had said that the greatest difference between humans and animals was the invention and usage of tools. Even in this world of cultivation, this aspect remained the same.

    Zhou Wenbin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Well said. But have you realised the importance of tools right now? For example, the Wind-entwining blade on your waist. What kind of strength increase do you think it provides to you?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his Wind-entwining blade instinctively before shaking his head. The Wind-entwining blade was not a bad weapon, but it was not essential to the current him. It did not increase his strength in any qualitative fashion.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve yet to learn how to properly use the tool. The blade right now is just like the teeth and claws to a beast. You can only use it based on your instincts. The blade and sword-wielding people of the jianghu are actually just slightly stronger wild beasts.¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned forward and picked up the teapot, filling up Zhou Wenbin¡¯s cup. ¡°Then may I ask what is the proper way to use a tool?¡±

    ¡°Like this!¡± Zhou Wenbin¡¯s eyes shone, and there was a powerful flash from within his wide sleeves. It swam past him with lightning speed, sometimes down low and sometimes high in the sky, producing an unending streak of light.

    Under the afternoon sun, the blade of the sword reflected the sunlight, flickering across the two of them.

    The streak of light rushed into the sky, piercing through the green willow branches. Willow leaves fell down like rain. However, before the ¡®rain¡¯ had even hit the ground, the sword flashed again and skewered over a hundred leaves before slamming against the tree bark.

    Zhou Wenbin extended his hand, and the streak of light moved again, sweeping across the calm surface of the water and cutting it open like an extremely sharp pair of scissors. Suddenly, the sword vanished. It pierced through the reeds on the side of the pond before returning to Zhou Wenbin¡¯s sleeve.

    Only now did he understand that he basically had no chance to forcefully take on a real flying sword, as without the restrictions of the human body, the agility of the flying sword had exceeded the great techniques of any supreme swordsmen.

    It was possible to imagine that if you failed to knock away the lightning-fast flying sword in a single strike when you fought against it, the flying sword would be able to move around like a snake, worming into your heart. You might not even be able to reach your opponent. You would not even be able to throw your life at the enemy.

    This was the case unless you could deal with the sharpness of the flying sword and surpass its speed, but just how many people could achieve such a feat? This was the proper way to use a tool, the thing that humans relied on to overwhelm daemons.

    He had basically seen this method of using tools in the hands of the Soaring Dragon Elder of the Sword Collection palace before. There was obviously a huge difference between Zhou Wenbin and the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s swords, but due to the drastic disparity in strength back then, all of it seemed to flash past him like rain in a storm, as flickers of light possessing devastating power.

    Back then, this indomitable, terrifying power had overwhelmed his mind, and he actually failed to comprehend its wonders and horrors. He had not been as shocked as right now. Another reason for his shock was that he realised that he himself would be able to use a tool like that as well.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Calling them tools is a relatively more common name, but more accurately, this should be called ¡®controlling artifacts¡¯. Sword artifacts are relatively common spiritual artifacts. There are a myriad of other spiritual artifacts in the world, which can be used to kill, defend, or bewitch. Anyway, there are a myriad of ways to use them as well. As long as your true qi is sufficiently strong enough, there¡¯s no need for you to be restricted to your arms and legs. You can use many spiritual artifacts at the same time, and killing people will become as easy as winking.¡±

    ¡°However, all of this requires you to open your four yin and yang meridians, reaching a balance in yin and yang. Subsequently, you need to open your Girdle meridian and split open a sea of yin and yang qi. Only then can you achieve this. As a matter of fact, there¡¯s even a saying that only Qi Practitioners who have split open a sea of qi can be regarded as real Qi Practitioners, embarking on the path of cultivation. In short, it¡¯s extremely easy for a sixth layer Qi Practitioner to kill a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.¡±

    What he was trying to say was, It goes even more without saying what would happen if a mere first layer Qi Practitioner like you were matched up against a sixth layer Qi Practitioner. Even if you have some achievements as a Body Practitioner, it¡¯s impossible for you to be Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s opponent.

    Li Qingshan was convinced from the bottom of his heart. ¡°I see. Thank you for your guidance, sir. However, I haven¡¯t chosen to remain here because I¡¯m unaware of the dangers I¡¯m in.¡±

    The two of them stared at each other silently. One was determined, while the other one was in doubt.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Since you insist on staying, I won¡¯t say anything more. If you need any help, you are welcome to come to the government office to come find me. However, at the end of the day, you are still under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s command. It¡¯s impossible for me to fall out with Zhuo Zhibo over you, so do take care.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That only makes sense.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s relaxed, casual attitude even made Zhou Wenbin doubt himself. Does this kid really have a powerful background?

    ¡°There is a matter that I¡¯d like to ask you about, sir. Where can I learn the art of controlling artifacts?¡± Li Qingshan was highly intrigued after witnessing Zhou Wenbin¡¯s display. He immediately thought of the small, hiltless sword he found in Zhao Liangqing¡¯s hundred treasures pouch the night before. As it seemed, Zhao Liangqing had prepared it for when he broke through to the sixth layer, but now that it had fallen into his hands, he wanted to make full use of it.

    Zhou Wenbin gazed at him deeply. ¡°Do you really think the sixth layer of Qi Practitioner is that easy to break through to?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best and see.¡± His gaze was filled with great confidence. At least from the aspect of a daemon, he had already reached that level.

    Zhou Wenbin did not comment on that. All he said was, ¡°There are many people in the cultivation world who know regular arts for controlling artifacts. It¡¯s nothing for me to teach you beforehand.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked curiously, ¡°They are non-regular arts for controlling artifacts?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°The Sword Collection sect has special arts for controlling swords. It¡¯s not artifacts, but swords. The Umbral Yin sect has ghost control arts, using ghosts as their artifacts. Some demonic path cultivators refine and pilot corpses, thus using corpses as artifacts. There is not a single sect¡¯s artifact control art that is completely original, but it¡¯s impossible for me to know them all either.¡±

    The Umbral Yin sect! Ghost control arts! Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He thought about the page he had obtained from the witch. Wasn¡¯t that the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique? There must have been a connection between the two. If he understood the origins of the witch, he might be able to find out about Xiao An¡¯s origins. He asked in a hurry, ¡°Where¡¯s the Umbral Yin sect?¡±

    To the cultivators of the Green province, this was essential knowledge. Zhou Wenbin casually explained it. He failed to notice the change in Li Qingshan¡¯s expression.

    Li Qingshan memorised eight words, ¡®Down south, the Myriad Ghosts abyss¡¯. This was the first time he had heard anything about this colossal sect of the Green province, but since Zhou Wenbin did not go into detail, he did not ask any further either.

    His strength was still insufficient. He could not go to somewhere so far away. Xiao An had yet to remember much, and he had not recovered his body yet¡­ Under these countless reasons hid a selfish excuse. He did not want Xiao An to leave his side! He did not want to be lonely!

    It was rather funny now that it was mentioned, but a tough guy like him, a daemon who could stand over twenty feet tall and crush people like ants, was no different from an ordinary person inside. He was afraid of loneliness.

    As a result, for the first time, he was no longer as determined as before when an opportunity to investigate Xiao An¡¯s origins presented itself.

    The sunlight was cut to pieces by the blade-like willow leaves, scattering all over the teenager. He was not particularly handsome, but there was a rare sliver of uncertainty on his bronze, sculpted face. However, it turned into determination immediately, determination to uphold his promise and let nature take its course.

    Zhou Wenbin patiently explained the method of controlling artifacts. As expected, the principle behind it was not complicated, but it had a strict requirement on cultivation. While Qi Practitioners could not easily connect with the spiritual qi of the world after splitting open a sea of qi, they were moving in that direction, allowing them to sense various objects with a spiritual nature.

    Of course, all living things were spiritual nature, including every blade of grass or flower. However, with greater spiritual qi came stronger senses. While they could not control plants to harm their opponents, Qi Practitioners could pick a spiritual artifact and soak it in their own true qi constantly. Eventually, they would establish a slight sensory connection with the spiritual qi, allowing them to control it from afar. It was like controlling a piece of metal while using their own bodies as a magnet.

    Li Qingshan expressed his gratitude. It was exactly these pieces of common knowledge that would instead bring him even greater help, as public knowledge to Qi Practitioners was an essential foundation. He had come from the country, without a master or a sect, so he had no chance to learn about such matters at all.

    Zhou Wenbin smiled as he stroked his beard. ¡°So you only plan on expressing your gratitude verbally?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. Did he plan on accepting backhanders?

    Zhou Wenbin hinted, ¡°You must have had quite the harvest last night, such as silver?¡± Li Qingshan had taken the procuress¡¯ hundred treasures bag, which obviously did not escape his eyes.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯re the mighty district magistrate, a sixth layer Qi Practitioner who rules over several hundred thousand people, yet you¡¯re asking money from a broke kid like me?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Must you speak so loudly? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m asking it for free. It¡¯s exactly because I rule over too many people that there are far too many areas that require money. You have no use for silver anyway, so you might as well give it to me. I¡¯ll exchange it for Qi Gathering pills.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± He would be more than willing to exchange silver for Qi Gathering pills. Unless he actually planned on buying women, he really had no use for the silver.

 Chapter 131 â€“ The Places of Darkness

    Zhou Wenbin explained, and only then did Li Qingshan understand that he did not have it easy as a district magistrate. In order to maintain a sufficient ¡®approval rating¡¯ so that the citizens of Jiaping city would be grateful to him, the person who watched over them all, he had to reduce taxes and costs, begin construction projects both on land and over water, and establish public facilities. Moreover, he had to ensure high salaries to maintain honesty among his subordinates, maintaining a group of aides to help him handle governance. As a result, he often struggled to make ends meet.

    Zhou Wenbin spread his hands and smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s pitiful for a government official like me. Not only am I working without a salary, but I even have to find ways to raise money.¡±

    Li Qingshan found this rather funny. In this day and age, although the disparity in wealth was enormous, this was not necessarily a bad thing to the common people.

    In the Great Xia empire, regardless of rank or status, not a single official was paid a salary, but they did not have to hand up any taxes or money either. Even when they found gold or silver mines, the local government would control it.

    This was impossible in any empire or kingdom that Li Qingshan knew about, but this was the reality. The items that interested cultivators were different from ordinary people in the first place. If Zhou Wenbin wanted to, he could squeeze millions of silver taels out from Jiaping yearly, but there was no point to that at all.

    However, there was one type of mine that the empire would own, namely spiritual stone mines. The salary that government officials like Zhou Wenbin and Zhuo Zhibo collected were spiritual stones.

    As a result, Li Qingshan took out the several hundred thousand taels of silver he found from the procuress and handed it to Zhou Wenbin.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask just how many Qi Gathering pills you¡¯ll get?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve never been a stingy person, but of course, I do hope that others can be more generous with me as well.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin took out a small bottle with a total of twelve Qi Gathering pills. He handed it to Li Qingshan and said, ¡°Since this is your first time, I¡¯ll give you a special price. If you find more silver, you are welcome to exchange it with me. However, it¡¯ll be a hundred thousand taels for a pill.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s very fair.¡± When he thought about the astronomical price of a single, tiny Qi Gathering pill, he could not help but be rather amazed. However, if it were the jianghu instead, there were plenty of people willing to pay a hundred thousand taels of silver for a single Qi Gathering pill.

    Li Qingshan then took out the accounts he had found from the procuress and handed them to Zhou Wenbin. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if there¡¯s any evidence against the Parlour of Clouds and Rain on there.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin did not even glance at it. He clapped his hands and a servant immediately came over and retrieved the accounts, taking it to the government office. Those aides who were skilled in this area would look through it.

    Before long, a person who seemed like an advisor walked over. At first, he glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise. The Hawkwolf Guard was impressive, but there were no ordinary Black Wolf guards who could sit at the same level as the official that he served. Afterwards, he bowed at Li Qingshan slightly before reporting to Zhou Wenbin, ¡°Sir, there are many issues with it¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the pond as he wondered how he would put it. Only after Zhou Wenbin and the advisor were done talking did he say, ¡°Sir, is this enough evidence to take down the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Do you really think that we can take down the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with a single set of accounts? You¡¯re underestimating the strength of the Sect of Clouds and Rain far too much. The person I sent to Fishes¡¯ Gully has already returned. Qing Xiu¡¯s entire family is already dead. They¡¯ve handled this matter very cleanly.¡±

    Li Qingshan was furious. ¡°Those bastards! Sir, you serve the government, so how can you fear a sect?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of them. I¡¯m just helpless. These cultivation sects all have their own foundations and legacies. Some larger sects have been around for longer than the empire itself. Even when the founding emperor was around, he could only pacify them at most, making them promise to peacefully coexist as long as it did not get in the way of their interests. Afterwards, the Academy of the Hundred Schools was established, raising talents to contend against them.¡±

    In short, they would not purposefully come and make trouble for Zhou Wenbin, but Zhou Wenbin did not want to make things difficult for them either. He had come here to cultivate, not to actually serve as an upright official and speak for the people. However, no one could blame him for anything.

    Li Qingshan thought, Fortunately, I crushed Zhao Liangqing, or I would have never been able to achieve anything through the law!

    ¡°As a result, you have to prepare against plots from the Sect of Clouds and Rain as well. Sometimes, they might even be more terrifying than Zhuo Zhibo. Zhuo Zhibo is a part of the Hawkwolf Guard, which is why he fears you backing. However, they might not have so many qualms. Most of the losses of the Hawkwolf Guard arise from conflicts with these sects, killed off silently and soundlessly. There have even been hawk commanders like Zhuo Zhibo or district magistrates like me who have been killed off mysteriously.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not too surprised. He had witnessed an example of this already. Despite Gu Yanying¡¯s identity, she still failed to kill that White Lotus Mother. Although she forced the latter into hiding, she still lost many subordinates.

    The White Wolf guards under her command were powerful cultivators who had undergone a heavenly tribulation and reached Foundation Establishment at the very least. They were figures who could run amok through Jiaping city or even the Clear River prefecture. The Soaring Dragon Elder of the Sword Collection palace did not fear the authority of the Hawkwolf Guard at all. He was even bold enough to kill the Dark Queen¡¯s beloved pet right in front of Gu Yanying or even fight with her. And that was with the Hawk God standing behind Gu Yanying. This only demonstrated the fearlessness of these cultivation sects.

    He could not help but sigh in amazement. ¡°Regardless of the day or age, it¡¯s all about strength. Stuff like status will never be as convenient as strength.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°You should have a mental map of the Green province, right? If you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s take a look.¡±

    Li Qingshan unfurled the mental map of the Green province.

    Zhou Wenbin stroked the map gently. ¡°What a nice thing.¡± Countless specks of light lit up on there like the twinkling stars of the night sky.

    ¡°The places that light up all have people with status in the government. Even fifth layer Qi Practitioners would not be bold enough to kill a first layer Qi Practitioner Hawkwolf guard like you publicly. However, there¡¯s nothing like that beyond the specks of light. There is only strength. You must remember this. As long as they have absolute confidence, people will be bold enough to attack you over the contents of your hundred treasures pouch. Not only will your wolf hide fail to protect you at times, it can even draw in hostility.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the mental map he had gone through many times already and gained a new understanding. The stars were bright and clustered, but they would never surpass the immensity and darkness of the night sky. These remote mountains and marshes were lawless lands. They were the place where daemons and demons danced, a battlefield for cultivators.

    A revelation like that brought him far more help than a few additional Qi Gathering pills. It gave him a completely new understanding with respect to his identity and position. However, not only did he feel no fear, but he even felt enlightened instead.

    As it turned out, he was still worrying about how he could finish off Zhuo Zhibo without raising too much suspicion if Zhuo Zhibo decided to turn against him, but now, these areas of darkness beyond the light brought him convenience. He could openly slaughter everyone and anyone before pushing all of the blame onto an unknown, powerful cultivator or some terrifying daemon passing by.

    Zhou Wenbin failed to see any fear on Li Qingshan¡¯s face at all. That was an emotion that every single cultivator of orthodox origins would reveal when they heard something like this for the first time. Even Zhou Wenbin himself had not been an exception, which was why he decided to remain in the light for his entire life, protecting himself and distancing himself from that world of darkness.

    He could not help but admit that there really was something different about this teenager. He seemed to have a deep interest in battle, slaughter, chaos, and disorder, but he was not like a brainless madman who lived to fight. Instead, he was courageous but not reckless.

    Perhaps he was more suited to joining some large sect instead of walking down the path of the Hawkwolf Guard or the Academy of the Hundred Schools. Basically every large sect prefered disciples like this. Whether it be for purging demons or for purging the orthodoxy, they all required people who could fight.

    In the eyes of ordinary people, cultivators seemed to have detached from the mortal world, avoiding all contact with the bloodshed and affairs of mortals, only needing to meditate and chant everyday, dwelling in the wilderness. They would be able to elongate their lives or even achieve eternal life.

    If it were based on their true intentions, who would be bold enough to take risks and fight with people? Who didn¡¯t want to walk the path of longevity peacefully, devoting all their time to making spiritual artifacts and talismans, refining pills, and ingesting medicines, spending all their time cultivation and seeking enlightenment instead of learning techniques? However, this path was riddled with far too many hardships, and it was just far too crowded.

    Everyone required pills and medicines, but there was a limit to spiritual herbs. Everyone required blessed lands to cultivate in, but there was a limit to nice dwellings. They could choose to stand aside and watch others enjoy the pills, medicines, blessed lands, and rapid cultivation. Meanwhile, they themselves would gradually decline before turning into a pile of bones in a grave, or they could contend with others and see who was better.

    Not only did they have to contend with the heavens for their fate, but they had to contend with humans for victory.

    Even if peace was brought to the world, and there was harmony among all people, wouldn¡¯t the daemons, demons, ghosts, and monsters hidden in the darkness want to regain the upper hand and rule over the nine provinces? In this wilderness without order, who knows how many sects had been established and destroyed. They could only follow the most primitive principle¡ªsurvival of the fittest. Only the strongest would be respected.

    Between the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect, one wielded swords, while the other controlled ghosts. Perhaps they were not the sects that were the best at cultivation, but they each possessed their advantages. They had followed this principle and survived and thrived under it.

    Li Qingshan stowed the mental map of the Green province away. He said, ¡°Since I¡¯ve already offended them, I might as well offend them a little more. I have this identity, so if I don¡¯t use it, it¡¯ll be a pity.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin knew that it was impossible for him to have any chances at reaching a compromise or reconciling after killing the people of the Sect of Clouds and Rain in public. Thinking about his youthful mentality and his lingering anger, he said, ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll give around another dozen guards to you. Although this set of accounts can¡¯t take them down, it¡¯s enough to press them and make them spit out some silver.¡±

    At this moment, a caretaker came over and reported, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s a fatty at the door wishing to see you. He said he¡¯s the district magistrate of Qingyang city. These are his documents.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin smiled. ¡°Looks like your old boss is here.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as well. ¡°Maintaining peace in the city is the job of the vice magistrates in the first place. Wouldn¡¯t sending sir Ye instead of me be more appropriate?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin waved his hand. ¡°You go tell him that. I¡¯m going to start cultivating, so let him know to see me tomorrow.¡± Clearly, he did not take an ordinary person like Ye Dachuan seriously. All he needed to do was pay him a little more silver for the sake of the prefect.

    Li Qingshan arrived at the front of the government office. He saw Ye Dachuan pointing around with the advisor. ¡°Look, now this is a big city. Big cities are just different. Although it¡¯s a little worse compared to Clear River city, it¡¯s way better than that shitty place of Qingyang.¡± The advisor was delighted as well as he stood beside him. Finally, he felt like he had achieved some success after following this fatty.

    ¡°Sir Ye, it has been quite a few days. How have you been?¡±

    Ye Dachuan turned around and saw Li Qingshan in his Black Wolf uniform. Although he knew Li Qingshan had actually become one, he still could not help himself. ¡°Y- you¡¯ve really¡­¡±

 Chapter 132 â€“ The Clouds Disperse and the Rain Scatters

    Why would Ye Dachuan decline? He agreed to it in a hurry as he grabbed Li Qingshan by the hands. ¡°You truly are my bringer of good fortune, no, nobleman!¡± He remembered how Li Qingshan¡¯s current status was already completely different from before.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Where are protector Yan and the others?¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°They¡¯ve returned to the Iron Fist school to tidy up. The Iron Fist school of Jiaping city said they wanted to visit you later at night, but I never thought I would see you first.¡±

    Over a dozen guards arrived behind Li Qingshan. ¡°Sir Li!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°This would be your sir Ye!¡±

    ¡°Sir Ye!¡±

    Standing in front of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, Ye Dachuan was excited. Would he be visiting the largest, most luxurious brothel on his first day in Jiaping?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sir Ye, don¡¯t forget that we¡¯ve come here today to make trouble.¡±

    Ye Dachuan replied, ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten, I haven¡¯t forgotten. Squeezing money out of them is our priority.¡± Afterwards, he ordered righteously, ¡°Charge in and sweep through this whorehouse!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The guards charged in like wolves and tigers, startling all the women in there. The guards came out, but when they saw the bringer of disaster, Li Qingshan, none of them were bold enough to stop them.

    Ye Dachuan borrowed Li Qingshan¡¯s might. ¡°Where¡¯s your boss? Where is he?¡±

    A lady said fearfully, ¡°We don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Ye Dachuan said, ¡°Search!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood aside and watched on as the group of guards from the government searched through the entire parlour. He quietly reminded Ye Dachuan. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve already fled. There might be a treasury or something here, just like the Black Wind stronghold.¡±

    Ye Dachuan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up when he heard the word treasury. ¡°Search the cellar!¡± With his sharp instincts towards money, he found the mechanism in just a while even without any further hints from Li Qingshan, opening up the door to the underground palace.

    Ye Dachuan looked at the murky door and became slightly afraid, but his desire for treasure still triumphed. He ordered the group of government guards to enter first before pulling Li Qingshan along with him.

    As expected, they found the imprisoned girls very soon, proving the guilt of the Parlour of Clouds and Rains. As for Zhao Liangqing and Furong¡¯s disappearance, they were obviously explained to have fled from justice.

    Ye Dachuan was not disappointed either. Although Li Qingshan had taken away their hundred treasures pouches, the underground palace still contained much gold and silverware, as well as general treasure. It amounted to quite a fortune.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t explain what we found today, no one is allowed to leave. You¡¯ll be executed without mercy.¡± Zhao Liangqing would have never personally carried out the abductions. These guards and hired thugs would definitely be involved in the matter.

    ¡°What! Zhao Liangqing has vanished?¡± Zhuo Zhibo leapt up as he looked at Ge Jian who reported to him.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Yes. Today, Li Qingshan took out a few accounts from the parlour and requested for a warrant from Zhou Wenbin to search the parlour again. In the end, not only were Zhao Liangqing and Furong absent, but they even found the abducted girls in the underground palace. They¡¯ve already been taken back to the district government office. After being questioned by Zhou Wenbin, he has already judged Zhao Liangqing to be guilty and ordered for his capture. He has also confiscated all of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain¡¯s property.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo sat down slowly. There was something off about all of this. As long as Zhao Liangqing remained here, there would be a time when he made a return. No one would be able to convict him. Had he returned to the sect to report this matter and come up with a countermeasure against this, which was why Li Qingshan managed to get the opportunity to do all this?

    He struggled to understand this affair. For a second, he even suspected Zhao Liangqing was dead, but he dismissed this thought immediately. Who was able to kill Zhao Liangqing? He had already reached the peak of the fifth layer, only a step away from becoming a sixth layer Qi Practitioner. In all of Jiaping city, the only people who could kill him were Zhuo Zhibo himself and Zhou Wenbin. However, Zhou Wenbin would never take such a risk and become enemies with the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    Only a bastard like Li Qingshan would be bold enough to be so reckless, but it had already been mentioned more than enough times that Li Qingshan was just a first layer Qi Practitioner. He was not Zhao Liangqing¡¯s opponent.

    Qian Rongzhi seemed to be in thought. Li Qingshan was basically a bringer of misfortune. Just last night, Zhuo Zhibo had set down a trap in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, yet today, the parlour had been destroyed.

    Zhou Wenbin had never expected such an outcome after just sending a few people to harass them a little either. The Parlour of Clouds and Rain was reduced to an empty shell. The girls all explained what they went through tearfully, exposing the many acts of violence the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had committed and identifying many servants and guards involved. Meanwhile, Zhao Liangqing and Furong were the two people behind it all.

    He did not even need to report this to Clear Ringer city. Zhou Wenbin¡¯s authority in Jiaping was basically unmatched, so with an order, over a dozen heads struck the ground, beheaded cleanly. Several dozen people were also thrown into jail. Afterwards, he ordered for Zhao Liangqing and Furong¡¯s arrest, and only then did he write a report to Clear River city for the prefect to question the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Your disciples have committed such crimes, so you need to explain yourselves at the very least.

    Since they were under the reign of the Great Xia empire, they were forced to accept and abide by its laws. At a time like this, even the Sect of Clouds and Rain would be forced to expel Zhao Liangqing and the others to distance themselves from the matter.

    With Zhou Wenbin¡¯s prompt action, it only took him an afternoon to utterly amaze Li Qingshan. ¡°Very impressive of you, sir.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin paced around as he asked softly, ¡°Tell me honestly. Were you behind this or not?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Only if I had the strength.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin stared at him for a while and saw nothing from Li Qingshan¡¯s expression. This was just an idea he came up with on the spot as well, feeling that Li Qingshan would be involved somehow. He patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder. ¡°Alright then. You have pretty good luck.¡±

    At this moment, Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei arrived at the government office as well to report to Zhou Wenbin.

    Qian Rongzhi recovered her friendly manner. ¡°How imposing of you last night, Qingshan. You really shouldn¡¯t have done all of that without me. We joined together, so how could you not call me along?¡±

    However, Diao Fei finally began to understand Li Qingshan¡¯s dispute with Zhuo Zhibo. He was not bold enough to offend Li Qingshan, nor did he want to be on good terms with him, so he made do with a quick greeting.

    Li Qingshan smiled at them and could not be bothered to answer. He bid farewell to Zhou Wenbin. After which, Ye Dachuan pulled him away to go find Yan Song for a celebration.

    Diao Fei called out from behind, ¡°Qingshan, hold on.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Diao Fei actually felt his heart skip a beat. This teenager who was more than just a few years younger than him actually made him feel fear. However, he had weathered many trials in the past after all. As such, after taking in a deep breath, he immediately composed himself. He was not a piece of trash inexperienced with battle like the procuress. He refused to believe he was not Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent if they really did end up fighting with his strength at the third layer.

    ¡°From tomorrow onwards, we have to carry out a trial mission together. Shouldn¡¯t we discuss it tonight?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°Together? A trial mission?¡± He had no interest in being stuck with the two of them.

    Zhou Wenbin explained, ¡°This has always been a rule of the Hawkwolf Guard. After joining the Hawkwolf Guard, you need to go through a few trial missions before you¡¯re actually accepted. Afterwards, you¡¯ll have to go to Clear River city and meet the two commanders. Normally, there are very few people who fail the trial missions. Most of the time, it¡¯s just a formality. However, if you don¡¯t accept it, it¡¯ll give Zhuo Zhibo a reason to expel you.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that there were rules within the system. He said while standing there, ¡°Alright, we can discuss it.¡± He was very curious about just what mission Zhuo Zhibo would give them.

    They stated their backgrounds for the sake of formality. ¡°Qian family of the Ancient Wind city.¡± A clan as tiny as that obviously did not raise Zhou Wenbin¡¯s attention, but when he asked about Diao Fei¡¯s background, the reply he received left him slightly surprised. ¡°Green Vine mountain? Your master¡¯s the Green Vine Elder?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Did your master agree to you joining the Hawkwolf Guard?¡± The reason why Zhou Wenbin asked that was because clans were different from sects. Clans were all established in cities. They were under the reign of the empire and were willing for their clansmen to become a part of the empire. However, most sects were located in mountains or the wilderness, so they had their own rules that they followed. Most of them were reluctant for their disciples to become the hawk and wolves of the empire.

    Diao Fei¡¯s face sank, reaching an even darker skin tone, and his slanted eyes directly slanted upwards.

    Zhou Wenbin did not ask any further. He put down his brush. ¡°You can go now.¡±

    After leaving the government office, Ye Dachuan said, ¡°You must both be the young talents of the Hawkwolf Guard as well. I am Ye Dachuan, a vice magistrate of this district. Seeing how we¡¯ve run into each other, would you like to go drinking with us?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei both looked at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Both of them agreed to it.

    The four of them walked along the main street. Although it was near dusk, people still bustled about. However, they would see their Black Wolf uniforms and avoid them from a distance away. Even carriages would temporarily stop, afraid of getting in their way.

    Only then did Li Qingshan realise that the Black Wolf uniform was actually so mighty. He arrived at the restaurant that Ye Dachuan had agreed on with Yan Song and the others, entering a private room upstairs. Yan Song and Li Long had already been waiting there. When they saw Li Qingshan, they stood up in a hurry. ¡°Qingshan, you travelled so quickly.¡±

    Li Qingshan casually introduced his two colleagues, and Yan Song said, ¡°So you both come from great backgrounds. Nice to meet you.¡± However, he felt slightly taken aback inside. Out of the three of them, Li Qingshan had the weakest cultivation and background, yet they seemed to follow him as their leader without any objections at all.

    Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi greeted them out of courtesy as well. With their cultivation and identities, there was no need for them to take Yan Song too seriously.

    After a few cups of alcohol, Yan Song asked Li Qingshan about his cultivation of the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve just reached the third layer. I probably need some more time before I can reach the fourth.¡±

    Yan Song was surprised. The Innate Method of Practising Qi would increase with difficulty. He was not very surprised by how Li Qingshan could understand the first layer so quickly and reach the second layer, but after just a few days, he had actually broken through to the third layer already. This speed was truly rather surprising. ¡°It has only been seven or eight days. I originally thought your talent for cultivation was only so-so, Qingshan, but I never thought I had actually underestimated you.¡±

    ¡°What! Seven or eight days?¡± Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi were both stunned. Only then did they learn that it had not even been ten days since Li Qingshan formally began practising qi, yet he had already reached the third layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. He was basically a cultivation genius mentioned in the legends.

 Chapter 133 â€“ Pushing for the Second Layer

    When Yan Song heard about Li Qingshan¡¯s actions during the past two days, he became so shocked that his mouth hung agape. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was powerful. Even with the entire Clear River prefecture in perspective, it was one of the stronger sects, an existence that far surpassed the Green Vine mountain and the Qian family. Even the Iron Fist school came nowhere close to it.

    The main Parlour of Clouds and Rain was established in Clear River city. It was a place where the powerful and affluent visited, and they had acquaintances far and wide. Even the vice commander Hua of the Hawkwolf Guard would frequently visit there. It was said that he was the closest with the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    Li Qingshan had actually offended them, no, destroyed the Parlour of Clouds and Rain as soon as he had arrived in Jiaping city. He was utterly audacious.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I was only seeking justice.¡± He subconsciously pressed the sheath of his Wind-entwining blade. He already knew where justice lay.

    It was a moonless night. All was silent. In the pitch-black residence, Li Qingshan sat with crossed legs and closed eyes.

    True qi constantly circulated through his body. He followed the method provided by the third layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, circulating it along his meridians. Even with the assistance of the Qi Gathering pills, it grew at an extremely gradual rate now.

    He wore the sumeru ring on his finger. It did not stand out in the darkness, nor did it react when Li Qingshan channeled in his pure true qi.

    It was like he was guarding a great treasure room, but he could not go in and take a look. He could only pace around the entrance, guessing at its contents.

    He could resist the temptation of the wealth a Golden Core master had accumulated over many years, but he was unable to resist what the black ox had mentioned before it had left. ¡°I¡¯ve left something in there for you.¡±

    Th black ox could give such a terrifying ability of the demonic path like the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to Xiao An, so since he had told him about this in such a solemn matter, just what treasure would it be?

    Would it be a legendary weapon? A tremendous, supreme ability? Or a miraculous pill or medicine that could allow him to ascend and reach beyond the Nine Heavens upon ingesting it?

    He was afraid of thinking about it normally. The more he thought about it, the more restless he would become. He sighed inside, Brother ox, oh brother ox. Just what did you leave for me? Couldn¡¯t you have given it to me directly? Must you make things difficult for me? I¡¯m even forced to open the sumeru ring through the methods of humans. Back then, it was you who wanted to turn me into a daemon, so I turned into a daemon.

    He was unable to understand why, so he just stopped thinking about it. He needed this identity as a human. In just the past two days he had spent in Jiaping city, he had obtained over a hundred Qi Gathering pills. The stronger he grew, the easier it would be for him to obtain pills and the safer he would be.

    At the end of the day, he still could not depend on transforming in public. Most of the time, he would still have to rely on his path of practising qi, but the first layer of Qi Practitioner was just too weak.

    He suddenly stopped cultivating. The essential ideas behind the fourth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi floated through his head slowly, word for word. All of it was extremely clear.

    He was attempting to open the Yang Heel meridian of the eight extraordinary meridians so that he could break through to the second layer of Qi Practitioner. This would be the first meridian he had to open, and it would also mean that he would formally set foot in the path of practising qi. It could be said that the significance behind this was utterly different from the first three layers of the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    Under the control of his mind, his true qi flowed into his left leg like water, sinking to his ankle, to the Shenmai acupoint. This was the beginning of the Yang Heel meridian. If he wanted to open the Yang Heel meridian, this was where the door for opening it lied.

    He no longer sat on his bed with his legs crossed. Instead, he maintained a strange posture, where he leaned forward on his arms and legs with his left leg extended. It looked like some sort of yoga pose.

    Xiao An had originally been crouching beside the bed, directing all his focus to the pile of buddhist scriptures and classics that Li Qingshan had brought back for him, but now, he had placed down his books and was watching Li Qingshan carefully.

    What Li Qingshan wanted to do was knock on the door!

    True qi rushed towards the Shenmai acupoint wave after wave, but the door remained firmly shut, without any intention of opening up. Let alone opening the acupoint, he could not even shake it up.

    He knew his accumulation of true qi was still not enough. He had yet to reach the peak of the first layer with his quantity of true qi. The ordinary method would be to continue accumulating true qi over time, and in just a few months¡¯ time, the true qi in his body would become like a great river, easily smashing through the obstructing dam.

    What he was trying to do right now was to smash through the dam as a tiny stream, so it was truly difficult. However, just like how he would eventually succeed but all he could do was control the present, he had to give it a try and make an attempt. Only then would he be satisfied. He chewed up another Qi Gathering pill to replenish his true qi.

    After several attempts, he failed to benefit at all, so he finally stopped. However, he did not give up. Instead, he concentrated on controlling his true qi; he constantly concentrated it further, turning it from a stream into ice, into a long spear. It became a hundred times smaller, but also a hundred times tougher.

    Afterwards, when he could not condense it any further, the ice spear rushed towards the great dam in an unstoppable manner.

    There was a sudden sting of pain from the bottom of his foot, but Li Qingshan completely ignored it. Instead, he was joyfully surprised. This time, the true qi had not been blocked. It stabbed into the Shenmai acupoint, and under his control, it inched deeper with great difficulty.

    A gentle sound seemed to ring through his body. A hole formed in the dam that blocked the stream as true qi rapidly surged through the Yang Heel meridian.

    A speck of light suddenly lit up inside him, like the first star in the endless cosmos.

    Before Li Qingshan could even celebrate, the true qi slapped into another obstacle, the Pushen meridian, also located near his ankle.

    The true qi shattered upon collision and did not condense together again. Under the invisible pressure of the Yang Heel meridian, it was forced back out.

    He failed in opening his meridian!

    Even the Shenmai acupoint he opened closed up once more.

    Li Qingshan breathed in heavily. Who knows how many times Yan Song had called him a cultivation prodigy, but he could not even open his first meridian today, even struggling to reach the second layer of Qi Practitioner. Only then did he understand that the path of practising qi would not be simple.

    In comparison, daemon cultivation was much more mindless. All they had to do was inhale and exhale spiritual qi of the world or ingest spiritual medicines and pills so that their daemon qi would constantly grow. Once they reached a certain level, they would condense a daemon core automatically. The cultivation that came after that would be the same as before, constantly gathering daemon qi in the daemon core. Upon reaching another certain level, there would be a crackle of heavenly lightning. If they survived, they would become Daemon Generals. If they failed, they would be burnt to a crisp. It was as simple as that.

    Most daemons began as wild beasts or even plants, cultivating based on their instincts. If the entire process required even just a tiny bit of intelligence and thought, there would be no daemons in this world.

    However, while it was simple, it took time. Let alone plants, even if an ordinary wild beast in nature wanted to become a Daemon General, it would take them a century at the very least. Moreover, they would have to eat a spiritual medicine at least on par with the spiritual ginseng to have a chance. There were plenty of daemons who took several centuries.

    Opening meridians was both a gift from the heavens to humans, as well as a shortcut that humans had discovered. However, no matter how great of a shortcut it was, he still had to take one step at a time.

    In the eyes of other Qi Practitioners, a person like Li Qingshan was utterly out of his mind. He had only practised qi for a few days and already wanted to open his meridians, even sighing about how difficult it was to practise qi after failing.

    However, Li Qingshan did not become discouraged. He grabbed a Qi Gathering pill and shoved it in his mouth first, but he did not eat it. He tried to break through again.

    With his experience from the first time, it was much easier for him to rush through the Shenmai acupoint, but after that, he dared not lose his concentration. Chomping down, he crushed the Qi Gathering pill. As he replenished his true qi, he focused on the next obstacle.

    Four hours passed. He had eaten a total of twenty-five Qi Gathering pills and had attempted to break through thirteen times already. The greatest attempt so far was rushing through three acupoints in the leg, the Shenmai acupoint, Pushen acupoint, and Fuyang acupoint. The true qi flowed through his left leg like an unstoppable stream, but it was blocked again once it reached the J¨±liao acupoint in his hip.

    Once he was blocked, it would be like working against the flow, making it recede. The true qi would be directly pushed out, and the connected acupoints would close up again. There were a total of twelve acupoints within the Yang Heel meridian. Regular Qi Practitioners probably would choose to give up now.

    But not Li Qingshan. The effects of the pill he could not absorb in time would all go to the daemon core anyway. The daemon core never cared about what went its way. If there was anything, it would absorb it, so he had no need to worry about being wasteful, much less about any potential issues due to an accumulation of unabsorbed medicinal effects. As a result, Li Qingshan became more and more fearless with his experiments. Succeeding was good, but failing was not necessarily bad either.

    He could feel that the acupoints he had opened would become slightly easier to open the next time he tried, even if they had closed up again. Through this process, Li Qingshan had built up quite a lot of experience. He had also gained an even deeper understanding of the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    After some consideration, Li Qingshan took out a pill. It seemed like the clear dew on flower petals at dawn. It was not a Qi Gathering pill, but the Pearl Dew pill he had received from Diao Fei. This was the pill that Diao Fei had been saving up for his push to the fourth layer. It was rather wasteful for pushing to the second layer of Qi Practitioner, but it was perfect for Li Qingshan, who had not taken his time with accumulating true qi.

    However, if he failed this time, it would be a waste of a good pill.

    Li Qingshan did not hesitate much. He decided to gamble on it.

    When the Pear Dew pill slid down his throat, Li Qingshan even clearly felt the coolness and fullness of the pill, but once it reached his belly, it turned into a raging flood.

    The flood fused into his true qi, immediately turning the tiny stream into a turbulent river. It surged through the Shenmai, Pushen, and Fuyang acupoints with basically no resistance at all. Next, it made a twist and gushed through the J¨±liao acupoint, arriving at the Naoshu acupoint behind his shoulder. Only then was there a slight resistance.

    However, Li Qingshan had already concentrated all his attention on this, so how could he just stop there? He rushed through the Naoshu, Jianyu, and Jugu acupoints near his shoulder one after another.

    At this moment, the true qi began to show signs of weakening, but he had already been prepared for this. He ate Qi Gathering pills one after another without stopping, urging on the true qi to extend through the Dicang, J¨´liao, Chengqi, and Jingming acupoints.

    The true qi was extremely close to the brain now, quite required great caution. Many Qi Practitioners would momentarily lose control and have the true qi rush into their brains, mentally incapacitating them. Obviously, Li Qingshan did not want to experience a fate like that.

    Despite how scary it was, no harm was caused in the end. He rushed through the four acupoints, and in his body, eleven specks of light lit up, like stars in the dark cosmos. They were joined by a faint trajectory of light, like a star map.

    He finally saw the final point on the star map. It was the Fengchi acupoint located at the back of his head. As long as he linked up this acupoint, he would have opened the Yang Heel meridian, forging a highway for true qi through his body. He would have reached the second layer of Qi Practitioner, as it was known among humans, as well.

    However, his true qi had already run out. The replenishing effects of the Qi Gathering pill were unable to reach so far. It was just like an army that had its supply chain cut off. They could collapse at any time.

    All he felt was exhaustion, as if he had just gone through an extremely tough journey during that time. He could clearly see the end, but he was unable to take a step further. The moment when his true qi collided with the Fengchi acupoint would be the moment when all of his efforts would go to waste, but he was unable to stop his true qi.

 Chapter 134 â€“ The Second Layer of Qi Practitioner

    With a Diamond Sutra cast aside on the ground, Xiao An leapt behind Li Qingshan and placed a bone finger on the Fengchi acupoint on the back of the latter¡¯s head.

    He seemed to hear the chiming of bells.

    True qi rushed towards its final target, that great untraversable dam. Afterwards, it easily seeped through as if there was not an impenetrable wall blocking its way, but a soft sponge instead.

    The final speck of light lit up, expanding in all directions like river water returning to the ocean. True qi flowed through the Yang Heel meridian constantly with no more obstruction anymore.

    Li Qingshan had finally opened his first meridian, reaching the second layer of Qi Practitioner.

    The Yang Heel meridian was like a highway, stretched from his head to his foot through his body, forming a passageway through his entire body. The acupoints were no longer closed. Instead, as every single one of them lit up, his whole body experienced change.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. His surroundings became clearer and brighter than before, as if a layer of dust had been wiped away. The chirps of the summer insects outside his window were clear and layered. He even felt like he could count just how many insects were chirping. From time to time, a leaf would be blown off a tree, landing on the tiles of the roof. It would be as clear as a clap of thunder.

    His sense of smell had increased by the least, but he could smell the fragrance of each flower outside the window, and the grass outside gave off a grassy smell from being baked by the hot, humid, summer night. As for his sense of taste, he knew it had become much stronger even without testing.

    This was the strengthening of his five senses that came with the opening of the Dicang, J¨´liao, Chengqi, and Qingming acupoints.

    When he got up off his bed and stepped on the ground, there seemed to be a layer of air cushioning his feet. His body had become extremely light. He felt like as long as he used a little bit of force, he could fly through the sky. These were the changes brought on by the Shenmai, Pushen, and Fuyang acupoints on the bottom of his foot.

    He casually raised his arm, and the Naoshu, Jianyu, and Jugu acupoints lit up. True qi flowed through his arm naturally to his hand, bursting out from his palm and striking the wall from afar. It left behind a hand print.

    Every single movement seemed so smooth and natural. He personally felt like the meridian had connected his whole body together. Who knows how much faster he could circulate his true qi now.

    It was like when emperor Yang of Sui completed the Grand Canal, connecting north and south, allowing people to move and transport goods freely. His efforts prompted economic exchange across the entire country. These acupoints were all like important hubs for transport.

    Fengchi, or Wind Pool, was where wind evil accumulated. As mentioned in the Fundamentals of Nature: Acupoints along skeletal indentations, wind is the primary cause of all diseases. Once wind evil entered the brain, it would cause all types of diseases. As a result, it was an extremely important acupoint within the human body.

    The moment he opened the Fengchi acupoint, some qi seemed to surge out as if he had opened a new cavity apart from his mouth and nose, allowing him to breath. However, he was not breathing air, but the qi of the world.

    Of course, this was not exactly connecting with the spiritual qi of the world, but it was the first time he had sensed the existence of the spiritual qi of the world. It was just like wind, a qi that constantly flowed around.

    When he used the mental cultivation method that came with the fourth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, a gust of ¡®wind¡¯ would enter his body from the back of his head from time to time, reaching all the way to his feet. He could not help but shudder before feeling pleasure spread through his body.

    On the back of the heads of wild beasts was a horizontal bone, the Henggu. Once they refined it, they would awaken their intelligence. As for humans, they had a Fengchi on the back of their heads. Opening the Fengchi allowed them to connect with the world.

    Li Qingshan exhaled gently. The art of practising qi that humans created was extremely impressive. And, he could feel that practising qi provided assistance to daemon cultivators as well, just like how his physical strength would increase naturally once his daemon body became larger.

    The two supplemented one another in a positive feedback loop.

    Did brother ox leave the thing for me in the sumeru ring and encourage me to practise qi because he wanted me to merge these two different cultivation methods so that I can find my own path? Li Qingshan guessed. However, no matter what path he took, he was still a tiny shrimp who had just set off. He was nowhere close to achieving that.

    There was a saying that the rocks from other mountains were tough enough to shape jade1. He would be sitting between two of these mountains and having them rub and collide with one another. Just what kind of sparks could he produce?

    Li Qingshan suppressed his eagerness and delight as he said to Xiao An, ¡°Did you help me out earlier?¡± It was definitely not a coincidence for him to be able to open his Fengchi meridian so easily.

    The blood flames in Xiao An¡¯s eyes were rather dim. His finger from earlier had drained him substantially.

    While Li Qingshan was cultivating with his eyes closed, he watched slowly and gradually, his gaze managed to pierce Li Qingshan¡¯s skin and muscles, akin to what modern radiography could achieve, looking through Li Qingshan¡¯s body clearly. However, it was also clearer and more vivid that anything radiographic imaging could produce.

    He saw the existence of the meridian and saw how Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi constantly climbed upwards. Eventually, it climbed to the very top and rushed towards the Fengchi meridian at the back of his head. However, it clearly did not have the power to open it.

    As a result, at that critical moment, he poked the Fengchi meridian.

    By the human body, one really was just referring to a combination of bone and flesh. Even the wondrous meridians and profound acupoints were based on flesh. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty could control both flesh and bone.

    Xiao An¡¯s current cultivation was still too weak. He had yet to even reach the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. If he did, just a single finger of his would be enough to shatter bone and peel off flesh. Although he still did not have that kind of strength, he was able to lend Li Qingshan a helping hand at his time of need.

    He needed to be extremely careful with the finger. The back of the head was already a weak point of the human body. If he messed up, it was very likely for him to kill Li Qingshan. If it were not for the toughness of Li Qingshan¡¯s body, Xiao An would have never been bold enough to attempt such an action. It had also drained away all of his mental energy, making him even more tired than after a fight against a terrifying daemonic beast.

    Xiao An held a wolf-hair brush and finished writing. Only then did Li Qingshan learn the whole story. He could not help but become speechless. ¡°Isn¡¯t the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty a little far too powerful? If I had your help, wouldn¡¯t it be much easier for me to practise qi?¡±

    Xiao An shook his head. He dipped his brush in ink and wrote four words. ¡°Haste is not speed.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Really? I want to finish the Innate Method of Practising Qi sooner, and then switch to a new cultivation method.¡±

    Xiao An asked Li Qingshan a few questions regarding the Innate Method of Practising Qi through the paper.

    Li Qingshan actually did not know how to answer them. Only then did he discover that he had yet to understand the Innate Method of Practising Qi completely. Afterwards, he asked in surprise, ¡°You¡¯ve practised the Innate Method of Practising Qi before as well?¡±

    Xiao An shook his head before nodding. Afterwards, he wrote away.

    As it turned out, Xiao An had been listening along silently when Yan Song passed the Innate Method of Practising Qi to Li Qingshan, which he found to be rather familiar. Now that he had witnessed Li Qingshan break through to the second layer of Qi Practitioner tonight, this sense of familiarity grew stronger. He naturally understood many important aspects that came with practising the Innate Method of Practising Qi, comprehending its essentials. Afterwards, he found that Li Qingshan¡¯s method of practising seemed to deviate from it slightly, so he could not help but ask him a few questions.

    Originally, Li Qingshan did not find the Innate Method of Practising Qi to be very profound or complicated, but after seeing the points that Xiao An mentioned, he felt like he had suddenly been enlightened. He was like a primary school student who had just started going to school with regards to the path of practising qi, practising addition keenly, but suddenly, the times tables descended upon him.

    He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head and smiled bitterly. ¡°Looks like my talent for comprehension really is horrid!¡±

    Actually, Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehension was not that bad. Instead, the problem was that he had never received guidance from anybody on the path of practising qi.

    The path of cultivation was about four words¡ªwealth, companionship, method, and environment. Companionship ranked second, which mostly referred to master-disciple relationships. Every single person required the guidance of a senior so that they could stand on the shoulder of giants. It would always take much less effort compared to fumbling around by themselves.

    Xiao An was not using his natural talent for comprehension, but much of the knowledge hidden deep within his memories.

    Xiao An was immediately left at a loss as for how to comfort him. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll have to rely on your guidance in the future then. Though, I must say, it¡¯s far too inconvenient, but it¡¯ll be fine once you reconstruct your body. Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t be too long.¡±

    Li Qingshan continued to meditate, following Xiao An¡¯s guidance and going through the first to the fourth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi again, stabilising his current cultivation bit by bit.

    A few Qi Gathering pills were obviously eaten during the process. Afterwards, he discovered that he had less than thirty Qi Gathering pills on him now, immediately dropping from being well-off to just being able to make ends meet. This was the price that came with walking two paths. He probably would not have much income in the foreseeable future, so he had to carefully calculate and budget his remaining Qi Gathering pills.

    The sky lit up. There was knocking on the door, and Li Qingshan went downstairs, opening up. All he saw was Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi standing at the entrance. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi were about to speak, but they ended up forgetting what they were going to say. They stared at Li Qingshan in shock as they said in disbelief, ¡°Y- you¡¯ve broken through to the second layer?¡± Just the night before, they had been amazed by Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation speed, yet today, he had taken them by surprise again. It was just like how Li Qingshan sighed to Xiao An about his horrible talent for comprehension. Jealousy was the only thing Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi could feel right now.

    Li Qingshan nodded in an unconcerned manner. ¡°Yeah, I spent some time cultivating. If there isn¡¯t anything else, I¡¯m going back to cultivating.¡± With that, he was about to close the door.

    ¡°Hold on, didn¡¯t we discuss this last night? The trial mission!¡±

    Li Qingshan remembered it. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot.¡±

    The two of them congratulated Li Qingshan reluctantly. Afterwards, Li Qingshan tidied himself up slightly, bringing along Xiao An before going with the two of them to receive the mission.

    The Black Wolf guards they came across along the way were all surprised when they saw Li Qingshan, all congratulating him with various expressions. After all, there was no matter more joyous than a breakthrough to cultivators. No matter how they thought of him, they could not lack common courtesy.

    At the same time, there was respect towards strength. Second layer Qi Practitioners formed the very bottom of the Hawkwolf Guard, but Li Qingshan was a tough figure who managed to easily defeat a second layer Qi Practitioner and even frighten third layer Qi Practitioners while he was at the first layer. Now that he had broken through again, he had basically become one of the stronger people in the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city.

    Arriving in the main office of the Hawkwolf Guard, Zhuo Zhibo waited for them there in person. It was a tradition for the commander to personally give the first trial mission to newcomers. When he saw Li Qingshan, he was surprised at first before smiling. ¡°You¡¯ve broken through again. You really are young and promising. Your future prospects are immeasurable.¡±

    Li Qingshan cut to the chase and said, ¡°I was just lucky. Commander Zhuo, may I ask what our trial mission is?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo waved his hand, and an envoy in black passed a document to him. Li Qingshan unfurled it, and even with his mental fortitude, he could not help but be stunned.

 Chapter 135 â€“ A Thousand Qi Gathering Pills

    If Zhuo Zhibo was plotting to murder him and wanted to send Li Qingshan to a dangerous place, he would not have been so surprised.

    However, it was clearly written in crimson ink on the top of the document¡ªthe Qian family of Ancient Wind city!

    Diao Fei and Li Qingshan looked at Qian Rongzhi at the same time. Qian Rongzhi was not surprised at all. She continued to smile like before.

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to wonder anymore. Rongzhi has placed the greater good over her family. She has reported the various misdeeds and crimes that the Qian family have committed against the law of Great Xia. All of it is written there.¡±

    Diao Fei also looked at the document in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, which listed the many crimes of the Qian family. Some tenant farmers had caused trouble because the rent for the farm was too high, so the Qian family killed off all their families overnight. A woman caught the eye of Qian Yannian on the streets. He knew that she was already married, so after the family rejected his demands for her, he directly ordered the execution of the husband and her abduction, forcing her into becoming a concubine of his. As a matter of fact, a district magistrate had even been killed because he refused to serve as a puppet. Several dozen crimes were listed in a neat manner. All of them were horrible crimes punishable with death.

    Diao Fei came from a sect, so he had never had so many people around him all the time. Although the sect also resided in the darkness, its deeds were never so disgusting. He could not help but ask, ¡°Is this true?¡±

    However, Li Qingshan did not doubt the veracity of these crimes. The Qian family dominated Ancient Wind city. There were no organisations that could keep them at bay. With absolute power came absolute corruption, so it would not be strange no matter what they did. He just found it strange that Qian Rongzhi would do this.

    He mumbled, ¡°Putting the greater good over family?¡± Was Qian Rongzhi trying to lure him to the territory of the Qian family, and then plot to kill him? That would be the most logical conclusion. However, doing so would drag her own family into trouble. Just what was Qian Rongzhi planning? Could there be any fate apart from destruction awaiting the Qian family after making it onto the list of the Hawkwolf Guard?

    Li Qingshan continued to look through the document. Below listed the cultivation of the various people of the Qian family. The first on the list was the patriarch of the Qian family, Qian Yannian. He was a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. There were no fourth layer Qi Practitioners, but there were two at the third layer, five at the second layer, and thirteen at the first layer.

    ¡°Really?¡± Zhuo Zhibo looked at Li Qingshan as if he wanted to see any traces related to Zhao Liangqing¡¯s death from his face. However, the result only disappointed him. ¡°We can¡¯t just listen to everything we hear. As a result, the mission this time is not to kill, but to investigate. If Rongzhi was right, then report back, and I will personally clean them up. Qian Yannian¡¯s birthday is in a few days¡¯ time. You will be going under the guise of attending the birthday, and with Rongzhi coordinating with you from the outside, this cannot be any simpler.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m just worried it won¡¯t be that simple.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo continued to chuckle. ¡°All of the missions from the Hawkwolf Guard have their risks. However, with greater risks comes greater rewards. Why don¡¯t you have a look at the second page?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned to the second page of the document. It was actually an analysis of property, detailing the expected pills, spiritual artifacts, and various other benefits that would come from destroying the Qian family. In particular, there was a special note that the benefits might become even greater after the birthday. It was impossible for them to learn so much detail if they did not have someone from the Qian family on their side.

    Zhuo Zhibo explained patiently, ¡°If you find out that it¡¯s all true, I obviously do hope that you could directly settle this matter. It¡¯ll save me some trouble. Although Qian Yannian is a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, he is already extremely advanced in age, so he¡¯s nowhere close to his prime. According to the rules, everything you gain from a mission belongs to you. Originally, trial missions don¡¯t offer contribution, but if you really do succeed this time, I will give you five hundred points of contribution each.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This seems like something I can¡¯t decline. Fine then, I¡¯ll accept the mission. When do we set off?¡± Declining was pointless anyway. Since Zhuo Zhibo was still maintaining his calm on the surface, he would let him continue doing so. No matter how many schemes there would be, he would confront them head on and break through them with force. He wanted to see just what traps could handle a daemon like him.

    ¡°Right now!¡±

    On the raging waters of Clear river, a two-storeyed sailboat pierced through the waves. The sails depicted a tiercel with its wings unfolded. This was a boat exclusive to the Hawkwolf Guard. Its design was ingenious, and it was put together with great precision. The internal decor was extravagant, and its performance was even more extraordinary. It could sail against the flow and still move much faster than the great ship that Li Qingshan had previously taken. As it travelled through the water, all other boats would avoid it, and even those great ships were no exception.

    A teenager sat on the railing of the ship as he seemed to admire the scenery of the shores. From time to time, waves would sweep up and drench his clothes. He played around with a few spiritual stones in his hand; he seemed distracted.

    Li Qingshan was thinking over the plan with this mission, but he clearly was not someone wise. He was unable to devise strategies, only react to changing circumstances. However, there was one thing he was certain about. It was no longer appropriate for him to revert to his daemon form, or even if he managed to hide it from the public, he would still raise suspicion. However, he believed his own strength was more than enough to handle most situations.

    ¡°Sirs, the two other sirs have invited you to the cabin!¡± A boatman made his way over and said politely.

    Li Qingshan returned to the cabin and Diao Fei said politely, ¡°Qingshan, let¡¯s discuss our plan.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯d better just ask her. Qian Rongzhi, just what are you planning? Do you want to lure me into Ancient Wind city to kill me? To avenge your unlucky elder brother?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled obsequiously. ¡°Are you that easy to kill? You¡¯ve finally admitted that you killed Qian Rongming! Originally, I thought it was Diao Fei, but turns out it was you. However, he¡¯s not my elder brother.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°So what if I did? If he¡¯s not your elder brother, is he supposed to be your younger brother?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi replied, ¡°He¡¯s not anything to me. Actually, we don¡¯t have any connection by blood at all. It¡¯s just because I had the talent to practise qi that Qian Yannian adopted me, which barely makes us siblings. However, now that he¡¯s dead, he¡¯s dead. I have no plans to avenge him. As a result, you don¡¯t need to be wary of me. The three of us arrived on the same boat and are now leaving on the same boat as well, so you can call that fate. There¡¯s even more reason for us to watch out for one another¡¯s backs now.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°So you weren¡¯t actual siblings. Would you still call that a clan?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi sneered. ¡°What clan? At most, they¡¯ll just harass some ordinary people. I¡¯ve heard that true clans can refine pills such that untalented children can also become Qi Practitioners. As for the Qian family, they¡¯re a clan who can¡¯t even protect their own bloodline, so they¡¯re just subpar fakes at most.¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan find out that clans could be divided like that. After hearing her tone, he asked out of curiosity, ¡°Do you really plan on turning against the Qian family this time? Hasn¡¯t the Qian family shown you great kindness?¡± Allowing an ordinary person to become a Qi Practitioner was basically a life-changing kindness, yet Qian Rongzhi¡¯s attitude on this was very strange.

    Qian Rongzhi rubbed her cheek as she chuckled. ¡°Yeah, they showed great kindness. Aren¡¯t I returning this great kindness right now?¡±

    Her expression was so ghastly that even Li Qingshan and Diao Fei, people who frequently witnessed death, shivered inside.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯ve put on an act and put up with it for long enough now. As long as you help me out this time, I don¡¯t care what you do to me.¡±

    Not only was Li Qingshan completely uninterested in this suggestion, but even Diao Fei felt the same. As long as their minds were mature enough, it was impossible for lust to blind them to the point where they would stop caring for their own lives, unless they were up against someone like Furong who knew the arts of charm.

    Diao Fei said cautiously, ¡°I don¡¯t want to become an enemy of a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. Our mission is only to investigate. You come from the Qian family, so you must know where the pill room is. There¡¯s no need for us to confront Qian Yannian.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi cursed, ¡°You coward. As soon as the pills are refined, they¡¯re immediately delivered to Qian Yannian, stored in his personal hundred treasures pouch. You haven¡¯t even seen him, yet you already frightened by his identity as a fifth layer Qi Practitioner?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Diao Fei stood up angrily, but Li Qingshan extended his arm and stopped him. He said to Qian Rongzhi, ¡°I have no interest in becoming enemies with a Qi Practitioner three layers stronger than me either. If that¡¯s your plan, you better forget it. We¡¯ll be leaving after we¡¯ve completed our investigation. Would Qian Yannian be bold enough to pick a fight against the Hawkwolf Guard?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi finally grew serious. ¡°Do you know why the Qian family has no fourth layer Qi Practitioners? It¡¯s because that old coot has become so senile that he does not even have the confidence to subdue fourth layer Qi Practitioners. He¡¯s afraid that someone will replace him as the patriarch, so he has cut off the supply of pills to every single person who¡¯s about to break through to the fourth layer.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Diao Fei were surprised. He was even willing to sacrifice the development of the clan to maintain his own declining authority; this patriarch was simply terrifying.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°When the time comes, I¡¯ll secretly move against him first so that we can kill him in a single stroke. The remaining ones aren¡¯t even enough for you to take them seriously, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan and Diao Fei looked at one another. Not only did Li Qingshan take third layer Qi Practitioners lightly, but even Diao Fei was confident that his actual battle experience had exceeded those pieces of trash that a clan had groomed and had not gone through any life-threatening battles.

    In the end, Qian Rongzhi played her trump card against them. ¡°There are at least three hundred Qi Gathering pills in Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, as well as a few other extremely precious pills that are no worse than Pearl Dew pills. Although his spiritual artifacts aren¡¯t as great as the ones from the Hawkwolf Guard, he should still have a few, which would still be worth a few hundred Qi Gathering pills. If you include what the other Qi Practitioners possess, the total wealth might very well reach a thousand Qi Gathering pills.¡±

    This figure stunned both Li Qingshan and Diao Fei. The Qian family really was just like what its name meant¡ªmoney. They were a living treasury of a clan. Although they were a subpar clan, they were still a clan after all, having existed for over a century. As such, they must have built up quite a lot of wealth over time. Just like how wealth could tempt people, Qi Practitioners were no less greedy than ordinary people when it came to pills and spiritual artifacts; in fact, their greed might even be greater.

    Qian Rongzhi extended her hand. Diao Fei hesitated before placing his hand on there. Afterwards, Li Qingshan extended his hand over as well. Their hands were placed on one another.

    As a result, for their common goal, these three people who disliked one another or were even hostile to one another temporarily reached a truce, advancing towards Ancient Wind city.

    After docking, they switched to horses. They travelled during the day and rested at night. Five days later, the three of them arrived before Ancient Wind city.

    Immediately, someone recognised Qian Rongzhi. They called out, ¡°The young miss has returned! Report it to the patriarch!¡±

 Chapter 136 â€“ Two-faced

    Ancient Wind city was a mountain city, located on a slope of the Boundless mountains. The entire city was built on the side of the mountain. All of the streets and alleyways in the city were sloped.

    Passing through the deep, quiet city gates, a main road slanted upwards before them. At the end of it was a palace-like estate, lording over the entire city. It was even more imposing than the Hawkwolf Guard in Jiaping city.

    Lanterns and streamers decorated every single household on the sides of the street, as if they were welcoming a grand celebration. However, there was no joy at all on the faces of the passersby.

    The news of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s return as a Hawkwolf guard quickly reached the grand estate, which seemed to trigger some kind of mechanism. Over a hundred burly men flooded out and chased away everyone on the sides. They stood ten steps apart from one another on the side of the main road as they remained focused.

    When the three of them rode past, the men called out loudly, ¡°Welcome back to the clan, young miss!¡± However, the clip-clopping sounds of the horses still reached the estate.

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head and traveled at the very front, while Li Qingshan and Diao Fei remained half a horse behind, staying to her left and right. They were like her personal guards.

    They had all agreed on this in the past few days. Only by showing respect to Qian Rongzhi could they make the people of the Qian family lower their guards. For the sake of a thousand Qi Gathering pills, something as insignificant as this was obviously not a problem. However, Li Qingshan felt like Qian Rongzhi was not simply acting right now. She did have some complacency and pride after returning home with success.

    The gate of the estate stood several meters tall, and there were even several dozen steps before it, making them seem rich and influential. A pair of stone lions gazed down in an imposing manner, but Li Qingshan only found them to be rather fiendish.

    The crimson gates opened loudly, and a skinny old man in extravagant clothing emerged from the gate. He was the patriarch of the Qian family, Qian Yannian. He had personally come to receive the three of them.

    ¡°Patriarch, Rongzhi was fortunate enough to complete the task and join the Hawkwolf Guard.¡± Qian Rongzhi dismounted from her horse and bowed gracefully. Before she could even bow completely, a pair of skinny hands grabbed her arms. ¡°Haven¡¯t I said it before? Just call me grandfather. You are now a person of the government, so how can you bow to an old man like me?¡±

    Li Qingshan and Diao Fei looked at one another. Qian Yannian¡¯s movements were startlingly quick. They were not slow like an old man¡¯s at all. Although his tone was gentle, he gave off a pressing aura. This was the pressure that weaker Qi Practitioners naturally experienced before more powerful Qi Practitioners.

    Diao Fei clasped his hands. ¡°We are. Under sir Zhuo¡¯s orders, we¡¯ve accompanied Rongzhi on her visit to home and to congratulate old master Qian on your one hundred and thirty second birthday.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands as well as he smiled. All he did was study the main target of the mission this time. Qian Yannian had thin, grey hair, and his face was covered in faint, age spots. His nose was all soft, like dangling rubber that was close to melting, and his skinny body held up his luxurious clothes, making him seem like an old monkey in human clothes. It was rather funny, but also rather sickening.

    If it were not for his shining eyes and swift movements earlier, Li Qingshan would have doubted whether this old man who was close to death was actually their greatest opponent or not in the mission this time.

    First-rate masters who had practised internal martial arts only had a lifespan of around a century, provided that they had not suffered any internal injuries. A fifth layer Qi Practitioner could only have a few decades more than that. At Qian Yannian¡¯s age, his cultivation had already begun to decline. Qian Rongzhi had been right about this piece of information.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch as he wondered whether there really were several hundred Qi Gathering pills in there or not. His gaze had already passed over Qian Yannian¡¯s shoulder. Currently, he was looking at the people behind the gate, or more accurately, the group of Qi Practitioners behind the gate. There were males and females, old and young, scholars and monks. They were not people of the Qian family, but people who had come to celebrate the birthday. Their gazes back at Li Qingshan were not as enthusiastic. As a matter of fact there was even disdain and coldness.

    Li Qingshan remembered what Zhou Wenbin had said before. As hawks and wolves of the government, they were extremely repulsed in the entire cultivation world, particularly with people from sects. Every single person liked to be free, without any restraints or under anyone¡¯s control, yet the Hawkwolf Guard just happened to watch over the entire world as representatives of legalism who protected the law.

    Qian Yannian waved his hand. ¡°Please!¡±

    In a quiet room, Qian Yannian no longer seemed as bold as he was before everyone. Instead, he looked at Qian Rongzhi with reddened eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s Qian Rongming?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said sorrowfully, ¡°Rongming- Rongming was killed by someone.¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Qian Yannian grabbed Qian Rongzhi¡¯s shoulders firmly. ¡°Who? Who did it? Why are you fine?¡± Qian Rongming was not an outsider he had adopted, but a direct descendant of his Qian family, a descendant with enough talent out of over a hundred of his grandsons that had come out of taking wives and concubines without restraint.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s Li Qingshan. It¡¯s the kid who was with me today. He¡¯s the one responsible for Rongming¡¯s death.¡± She actually told him the entire story in detail.

    Qian Yannian could only accept the truth. He said viciously, ¡°If he weren¡¯t a Hawkwolf guard, I would definitely tear him to pieces.¡± Afterwards, he used his shrivelled hand to rub Qian Rongzhi¡¯s tender cheek. ¡°But fortunately, I still have you.¡± Indecency flashed through his eyes.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Grandfather, you might be willing to spare him, but he isn¡¯t willing to spare you!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Qian Yannian was surprised.

    ¡°We¡¯ve come this time under a secret mission from the Hawkwolf Guard. We¡¯ve come to investigate the Qian family!¡±

    ¡°How can that be possible? I¡¯ve managed to run Ancient Wind city as tightly as a steel bucket. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re stingy when it comes to areas we have to cough up for. Why would the Hawkwolf Guard direct their attention towards me?¡± The lecherous light in Qian Yannian¡¯s eyes vanished, replaced by fright. Small clans like his were afraid of the Hawkwolf Guard the most. Once they attracted the attention of these hawks and wolves, they would get hunted down and torn apart.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s Li Qingshan again. He took brother Rongming¡¯s hundred treasures pouch and became greedy, and he¡¯s also envious and hateful of me, so he spoke ill about the Qian family to our commander Zhuo.¡±

    Qian Yannian said, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dispute that for the Qian family? What¡¯s the point of having you around then? Slut, are you trying to betray the Qian family?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°How didn¡¯t I dispute it? However, Li Qingshan even had backing from Clear River city. He joined the Hawkwolf Guard without even competing against the others. Zhuo Zhibo is afraid of offending him, so he ordered us to come and investigate. The only reason why Rongzhi is here today is all due to the great kindness the Qian family has shown. If it were not for the Qian family, if it were not for grandfather, the Rongzhi of right now would not exist. How can I betray the clan?¡± As she said that, she began to tear up, as if she wanted to prove her innocence with death.

    Qian Yannian thought about how she had also been so obedient, so he eased up slightly. ¡°Then what do we do now? Why don¡¯t we give him some bribes, and then you can make a small sacrifice for the Qian family?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Grandfather, he¡¯s a hungry wolf, as greedy as they come. All he wants to do is devour the Qian family whole. He¡¯s not someone that can be satisfied by casting a bone his way. If you don¡¯t believe me, just pay close attention to their reactions.¡±

    Qian Yannian said, ¡°Then what am I supposed to do? If I hadn¡¯t listened to you and sent the two of you off to become Hawkwolf guards, this problem would have never happened.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi became vicious. ¡°You can¡¯t let them, in particular, Li Qingshan, leave Ancient Wind city alive.¡±

    Qian Yannian said, ¡°You want me to plot against Hawkwolf guards!?¡±

    ¡°If Li Qingshan remains, the Qian family will never have peace. I will shift the blame of their deaths to other people. Grandfather, this is all for the sake of the Qian family.¡±

    Quite a while later, Qian Rongzhi emerged from the quiet room. The resplendent sunlight seemed to purge the darkness in her heart. As soon as she made her way into the courtyard, a middle-aged man stopped her.

    ¡°Big brother!¡± Qian Rongzhi bowed politely.

    The middle-aged man extended his hand towards her cheek, but Qian Rongzhi avoided it. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, big brother!¡±

    This was Qian Yannian¡¯s eldest grandson, Qian Xingwei. Although he lacked the talent to practise qi, he still practised internal martial arts. He was the head caretaker of the entire Qian family.

    Qian Xingwei was furious. He grabbed Qian Rongzhi by the chin. ¡°Quit acting around. Do you really think you can be all high and mighty just because you¡¯ve joined the Hawkwolf Guard? As long as you¡¯re still a part of the Qian family, you have to listen to me. Don¡¯t forget about the great kindness the Qian family has shown to you.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Yes, big brother. Rongzhi would never dare to.¡± Suddenly, a few people walked over from afar. Only then did Qian Xingwei release her. He ordered, ¡°Come to my room tonight.¡± He watched Qian Rongzhi walk away as he spat and said, ¡°So what if you¡¯re a Qi Practitioner!?¡±

    What he could not see was the sinister smile on Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face.

    Everyone would pay.

    ¡­¡­

    Night had fallen, and the lanterns had been lit.

    There was a merry hubbub in the hall; all the important guests had come to wish Qian Yannian well. Although the birthday party was the next day, most of them had arrived a day early in order to show respect. Out of them, the most valuable guests were obviously the dozen or so Qi Practitioners. Li Qingshan and Diao Fei used their identities as Hawkwolf guards to get some of the best seats.

    Qian Yannian introduced everyone one by one. When he reached Li Qingshan, he said, ¡°This is a young hero of the Hawkwolf Guard, sir Li Qingshan!¡±

    No matter what everyone was thinking, they all said words of courtesy like ¡®Pleased to meet you¡¯ or ¡®Admirable¡¯.

    ¡°Your name¡¯s Li Qingshan?¡± A sharp voice rang out. Li Qingshan looked over, and all he saw was a scholar sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out. His hair was in a mess, and he seemed like a rather unruly person. He was also a third layer Qi Practitioner; he looked over with hostility.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s me. And who are you, sir?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Gong Liangbai, known as the Wild Scholar by the people of the jianghu. He comes from the Humble Maple academy.¡± Qian Yannian introduced the two of them first. Afterwards, he asked Gong Liangbai, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you know sir Li?¡±

    In a world where even a district magistrate was a powerful cultivator, an academy was not just a place for studying. Instead, it was similar to buddhist and daoist temples. Practising martial arts and practising qi were all a part of it too.

    Gong Liangbai did not even glance at Qian Yannian. He only stared at Li Qingshan. ¡°Do you know Wei Dandong?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    Gong Liangbai said, ¡°But he knows you. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, you should be from Qingyang city, right? A few months ago, this junior brother of mine paid a visit there. Since young, he has always been rather sickly. Originally, he went there in search of a cure, but he never returned.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly remembered the sickly scholar who had come for the spiritual ginseng back in Qingyang city. He was the first first-rate master to die to his hands in the snowy landscape in front of the mountain god temple. The other first-rate masters were all middle-aged, but only he was in his twenties, so Li Qingshan had some impression of him.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen him around.¡±

    Gong Liangbai subconsciously straightened up. ¡°And then?¡±

 Chapter 137 â€“ Itâ€™s the Thought that Counts

    Gong Liangbai leapt to his feet, pointing at Li Qingshan with widened eyes. He was left temporarily speechless as if he had never expected him to admit it so easily.

    Li Qingshan drank his wine in a composed manner as he said indifferently, ¡°So much for being an academy. You study the teachings of scholarly sages, yet you produce criminals who kill and rob. You even need me to clean up after your academy for you! You¡¯d better return and think over that properly!¡±

    Li Qingshan had never thought that he would come across an enemy here, but thinking about it, this place was not too far from Qingyang city either. He had come across Qian Rongzhi as soon as he had left home, while the news of the spiritual ginseng had drawn in many masters of the surrounding region as well. There were not exactly a lot of Qi Practitioners within several hundred kilometers of this place, so even if they gathered together, they would only form a small group. It was nothing surprising for them to appear in Ancient Wind city right now.

    However, if I killed a bandit of a scholar, then I killed him. What are you going to do about it?

    The guests all discussed, ¡°To think there was a grievance like this!¡± ¡°The Hawkwolf Guard¡¯s just far too arrogant. Even after killing someone, they still have the audacity to say that they were cleaning up after them. ¡° ¡°Yeah, since when were second layer Qi Practitioners bold enough to speak to third layer Qi Practitioners like that?¡± ¡°Be quiet, don¡¯t cause trouble.¡±

    Although they did not know the entire story, most of them stood on the Humble Maple academy¡¯s side instinctively. The schools of Confucianism and Legalism were technically both a part of the hundred schools of thought and a part of the Great Xia empire, but to most Qi Practitioners, scholars were always more pleasing to the eye than the police.

    Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei were instead rather accustomed to Li Qingshan¡¯s behaviour. As long as reason was on his side, he would act like no one was of importance. He was the same when he faced Zhao Liangqing and Zhuo Zhibo, let alone a scholar.

    Invisible true qi surged out and made Gong Liangbai¡¯s robes ruffle. Simultaneously, he pushed over the thick, long table in front of him, causing a clatter.

    ¡°That junior brother of mine was only a step away from the innate realm. Originally, he should have been able to reach the second layer of Qi Practitioner very soon. It¡¯s all because of you!¡±

    Li Qingshan remained seated. ¡°Fortunately, I had acted soon enough. He was already bold enough to act in such an unruly manner when he was just a first-rate master. If he made it to the innate realm, that would be the end of the world.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of being afraid or not, but a matter of right or wrong. If I were wrong, I wouldn¡¯t even mind kneeling. However, to think that as a scholar, you won¡¯t even listen to reason, acting purely on your emotions. Where did all of the things you learned from studying those books go? Did a dog eat them?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to lose my mind at you!¡± Gong Liangbai was unable to retort his words. He took a step forward and swung down with his sword right over Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Diao Fei pressed down on his Wind-entwining blade as he entered a half-kneeling posture.

    Li Qingshan remained unfazed. He did not move, continuing to drink his wine with a lowered head. He said indifferently, ¡°If you even touch a hair on me, let¡¯s see if there will still be a place in the world that can shelter you. Will the Humble Maple academy protect you?¡±

    The sword stopped above Li Qingshan¡¯s head and trembled slightly, but it did not fall all the way down. Gong Liangbai¡¯s expression changed as he gazed at Li Qingshan below his sword. This teenager did not give off any sense of might the entire time, but there was a certain kind of courage that could not be overlooked when he went about his matters.

    Despite being the host, Qian Yannian simply allowed the matters to unfold. He did not try to interfere, exactly because of what he had heard from Qian Rongzhi. He wanted Li Qingshan to suffer heavily at the hands of others, but he never imagined the end result would be like this. He could not help but reevaluate Li Qingshan. This teenager who had killed Qian Rongming was really a piece of work.

    If he continued to stand aside, it would be far too inappropriate of him. ¡°Both of you are my guests. I really do hope that you can put aside any irreconcilable grievances and avoid any conflict. Just do it for my sake.¡±

    Li Qingshan placed down his cup and raised his head. ¡°Have you thought it through now? If you have, piss off. Stop embarrassing yourself here.¡±

    With a swish, the sword swung down and cut off the corner of the table. Gong Liangbai looked around. He felt like everyone was looking at him and mocking how he was afraid of even touching a hair on Li Qingshan. He rushed out of the hall.

    Qian Yannian ordered people to chase him. His eyes swiveled, and he had already come up with a plan. He glanced at Li Qingshan. Kid, you won¡¯t be able to remain arrogant for much longer.

    The banquet continued, and this time, the centrepoint actually became Qian Rongzhi. As the young miss who had brought glory to the Qian family, the atmosphere gradually eased up and warmed as she spoke and smiled as if nothing had happened at all.

    Many young Qi Practitioners had their eyes glued to her. They were very attracted to her.

    Qian Rongzhi used a toast to shoot glances at Li Qingshan and Diao Fei, indicating to them that the plan was successful. Afterwards, when she looked back at Qian Yannian, her gaze seemed to change again.

    Li Qingshan only smiled, tilting his head back and drinking all of his wine.

    Under the beams of moonlight, Li Qingshan and Diao Fei returned to their residences, reeking with the smell of alcohol.

    Diao Fei said, ¡°Originally, I thought I was pretty arrogant, but you¡¯re ten times as arrogant as me.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s not called being arrogant, but being honest. What¡¯s wrong with being honest?¡±

    Diao Fei replied, ¡°Yeah, yeah. The Hawkwolf Guard is not something they can just trifle with.¡± As he thought about the tremendous sum of wealth that was about to enter his hands, he seemed to become even drunker.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There are some things I want to discuss with you.¡±

    Suddenly, Diao Fei discovered that Li Qingshan¡¯s pupils were even clearer than the moon, and they gave off a faint, murderous aura as if they were shining red.

    He said discuss, but after Li Qingshan was done talking, he returned to his room to rest, leaving Diao Fei dazed on the spot.

    That was not the plan!

    Someone was deviating from the plan, and someone was coming up with a new one as well.

    ¡°I¡¯ve managed to convince Gong Liangbai to stay for a few more days. I¡¯ll introduce you to him. There are a lot of prying eyes right now, so let¡¯s do it after the birthday party and cover it up as you throwing your life away at him to drag him down. As long as this succeeds, you will have done great for the Qian family,¡± Qian Yannian said to Qian Rongzhi.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Rongzhi is willing to put herself through thick and thin for the sake of the Qian family.¡±

    In the still of night, Xiao An fiddled around with the Qi Gathering pills in the centre of Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. He raised his head as if he was asking. ¡°Is this all that¡¯s left?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°Yep, and that¡¯s with me holding back! But don¡¯t worry, there will be a lot very soon. There¡¯ll be a thousand of them!¡± He casually tossed a Qi Gathering pill into his mouth and began cultivating. He needed some time to consolidate his current cultivation.

    The brilliant moon set in the horizon before rising once more, illuminating the mountain city. Lanterns that gave off a red glow filled the Qian estate, making it seem like it was on fire.

    Numerous guests had gathered. Every single one of them had come to celebrate Qian Yannian¡¯s birthday. The banquet extended out of the hall, all the way down the hill. There was a great hubbub of noise. It all seemed like a noisy, fiery river.

    The entire Ancient Wind city was involved!

    However, there were only around a dozen tables within the main hall of the Qian estate, reserved for special guests. The eldest grandson, Qian Xingwei, held a list of gifts as he personally received the guests outside. He declared loudly, ¡°The Xuanzheng Master of the Skyriver sect gifts a pair of blood crystals.¡±

    ¡°Gong Liangbai of the Humble Maple academy gifts ten jade fragrance fruit.¡±

    Most of these were rare treasures Li Qingshan had never even heard about. When Diao Fei and he arrived before Qian Xingwei, Li Qingshan thought about it before fishing out his final Qi Gathering pill, placing it in his hand.

    Qian Xingwei was stunned. Was he gifting a single Qi Gathering pill?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You should declare it.¡±

    ¡°S- sir Li Qingshan and Diao Fei of the Hawkwolf Guard g- gifts one Qi Gathering pill.¡±

    The guests were surprised. They wanted to see just who was so stingy, but all they saw was Li Qingshan completely composed, while Diao Fei had buried his head deeply. The bystanders all felt embarrassed for him, but they were unable to see the mixed emotions of his face, the sweat dripping from his forehead, or hear his mumbles.

    ¡°Just like travelling thousands of kilometers to gift the feathers of a goose, it¡¯s the thought that counts!¡± A grizzled old man in grey clothes came up with a smile as he mediated the situation. The aura he radiated belonged to the third layer of Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You must be that, that someone of the two elders of the Qian family? I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you!¡± The only two third layer Qi Practitioners of the Qian family were known as the two elders of the Qian family. They were Qian Yannian¡¯s foster sons, and they had come to receive guests for Qian Yannian.

    The corner of the old man¡¯s eye twitched. He repressed his fury. ¡°That¡¯s me. Please come this way, sir.¡± Last night, Qian Yannian had gathered the core members of the Qian family in a hurry to discuss his plan against Li Qingshan. He already knew about Qian Yannian¡¯s plan. Once tonight passed, Li Qingshan was a dead man. There was obviously no reason for him to get angry over a corpse.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°May I ask where the other elder is?¡± Afterwards, he saw another old man when he followed the old man in grey¡¯s gaze. He said to Diao Fei indifferently, ¡°Brother Diao, why don¡¯t you go over there and get to know him?¡±

    The old man in grey found this rather strange. Li Qingshan was actually ordering a third layer Qi Practitioner Hawkwolf guard around, and what was the purpose behind getting to know him? However, before he could think too much about it, Li Qingshan had grabbed his hand and walked towards the banquet. He asked, ¡°Is it here?¡±

    He threw behind Diao Fei, who stood within the flow of people. He looked around in uncertainty with his slanted eyes like a lost child. Then he looked at Li Qingshan again before finally moving his feet and making his way over to the other old man.

    His mumbling became slightly louder. A female attendant walked past him and strangely heard from the mouth of this sir from the Hawkwolf Guard. ¡°He¡¯s far too arrogant!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stood beside Qian Yannian. She felt that something was off before suddenly realising something. Her expression suddenly changed.

    The old man in grey accompanied Li Qingshan to his seat, but he discovered that Li Qingshan had suddenly stopped talking and was now looking at him with his deep, pitch-black eyes. He asked, ¡°Are you all trying to kill me?¡±

    ¡°You sure know how to joke!¡± The old man laughed, but he could not laugh for much longer. He felt like Li Qingshan¡¯s hand had turned into an iron clamp around his wrist, and it was gradually tightening, which suddenly made his expression change.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    There were three explosions that rang through the great hall, resounding through the entire estate.

    Air rushed outwards as the crowd pulled away in fright. All they saw was a pitch-black person pointing at Diao Fei with difficulty in the centre of the empty area. He wanted to say something, but he was unable to say it. He gave off a charred smell.

    Qian Yannian roared out furiously and in surprise, ¡°What did you do?!¡±

    Diao Fei had only used the time when they were talking to stick three Scarlet Fire talismans on the other elder of the Qian family. Subsequently, he ignored everyone else, including the infuriated Qian Yannian, and looked past the crowd at Li Qingshan nearby.

    Originally, Diao Fei had thought about how even he would be in danger if he were within ten steps of Li Qingshan.

    And just how far away was this old man in grey from him? Half a step?

    And back then, Li Qingshan had only been a first layer Qi Practitioner. He had reached the second layer now.

    Among the cries, Li Qingshan grabbed the old man by the throat with a single hand, lifting him up. A crazy, murderous smile filled his face.

    With a crack, Li Qingshan snapped the old man¡¯s neck and tossed him towards Qian Yannian.

 Chapter 138 â€“ Striking Firs

    t

    Neither of the two elders of the Qian family, third layer Qi Practitioners, were easy targets. It was impossible for Diao Fei to kill either of them so easily in a direct confrontation.

    However, they never thought that someone would actually attack them at this banquet while in the eyes of the public. They died on the spot without even being able to put up a struggle.

    From now onwards, the Qian family no longer had any third layer Qi Practitioners.

    The masters of the Qian family were among the guests as well. Under the encirclement of several dozen Qi Practitioners, Diao Fei approached Li Qingshan nervously. This was the first time he had discovered that being close to a certain person would offer a sense of safety.

    The night before, Li Qingshan had only told him three things. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Qian Rongzhi. We¡¯ll do it during the banquet tomorrow. Leave Qian Yannian to me!¡±

    Those three things left Diao Fei conflicted for an entire day and night. Finally, he made up his mind to throw his life on the line.

    Li Qingshan completely ignored the several dozen Qi Practitioners. Instead, he took out the document from the Hawkwolf Guard and read it aloud, ¡°Due to reports from Qian Rongzhi, the Qian family has broken many rules as listed below. One, killing the innocent. Two, plotting to murder government officials¡­¡±

    His voice that had been imbued with true qi was even louder than the explosions from earlier. It even reached the foot of the mountain. Everyone stopped eating, raising their heads to listen.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi!? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Qian Yannian was about to attack him, but when he heard Qian Rongzhi¡¯s name, he was stunned. Out of all the children, how could the smartest and most well-behaved girl who brought him great joy betray him? However, when he looked back in surprise, Qian Rongzhi had already stopped standing beside him at a certain time.

    Li Qingshan continued reading without interruption. ¡°¡­Under the orders of the Black Hawk commander of Jiaping city, Zhuo Zhibo, we have come to investigate, and after verifying this matter, we will be executing Qian Yannian and his accomplices on the spot!¡±

    Qian Yannian searched through the crowd for Qian Rongzhi. She had already crossed through the crowd and arrived beside Li Qingshan and Diao Fei. She looked at Li Qingshan with a sunken face. He had completely destroyed her plans.

    The three words, ¡®on the spot¡¯, reverberated through the surroundings. All schemes, all plots, were rendered useless before Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan placed down the document and said, ¡°Those unrelated to this, please leave immediately, just in case you get drawn in. If you get in the way of the administration of justice, you will be executed without mercy!¡±

    Qian Yannian¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Was it really you? You slut!¡±

    Gong Liangbai said, ¡°Miss Qian, is this all true?¡±

    Every single person near Jiaping city had heard about Zhuo Zhibo before. Who would actually be willing to get in the way of the Hawkwolf Guard over the heinous Qian family? The Qi Practitioners all looked at one another. Someone moved first, causing them to all scurry outside. However, they looked at the trio like they were dead people.

    They did not plan on staying behind and helping out the Qian family. A very important reason to that was because the Qian family did not require their assistance at all. A third layer Qi Practitioner and two second layer Qi Practitioners would be instantly destroyed before Qian Yannian¡¯s wrath.

    That was what they thought, but they instead fled even faster. If Zhuo Zhibo really did arrive and saw the corpses of three Hawkwolf Guards, wouldn¡¯t they face an unexpected disaster if they were treated as accomplices of the Qian family?

    They moved very quickly, and the guards and attendants all used this opportunity to flee as well. In the blink of an eye, the hall was empty. Only the people of the Qian family remained, along with two corpses.

    Countless guests fled down the mountain. Only the people of the Qian family moved against the flow, rushing towards the hall.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Qian Yannian, it¡¯s time for you to face retribution for your crimes.¡± Compared to stealthy assassinations, he preferred something like this much more¡ªdirect confrontations that would be as straightforward as it could get.

    Li Qingshan looked back at Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi behind him. He had used a special method to band these two conflicting colleagues together with him to face the opponents before them.

    Qian Yannian stomped over furiously as the tiles cracked. He stared straight at Qian Rongzhi. ¡°You ungrateful slut!¡± With Li Qingshan¡¯s announcement, he no longer had any room to maneuver about. All schemes and plans were useless now. Even if he killed the three of them now, the Qian family would enter the blacklist of the Hawkwolf Guard, becoming targets for them to hunt down. The Qian family was approaching the edge of destruction.

    Qian Rongzhi, who he had taken great pains to nurture from young, had caused all of this. He roared out hoarsely, ¡°I gave you everything!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled instead. She smiled very sweetly. ¡°Grandfather, haven¡¯t I come to return the kindness?¡± Afterwards, she said to the remaining second layer Qi Practitioners in the hall. ¡°We¡¯re only killing direct descendants of the Qian family. You¡¯ve all been oppressed by Qian Yannian for all these years. Do you plan on dying with them now?¡±

    Out of the five second layer Qi Practitioners, only one was a direct descendant of Qian Yannian. Originally, all of them had been glaring at Qian Rongzhi furiously as well, but with that, they began to look at one another.

    The furious Qian Yannian would never spare the three Hawkwolf guards, but they all knew the consequences of killing Hawkwolf guards in public! If they remained here, they really might end up becoming suspects of this horrible crime, turning into criminals who would be hunted down across the world. No place would be able to shelter them anymore.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Qian Yannian attacked out of anger. A palm strike condensed from true qi tore through the air towards Qian Rongzhi.

    With a flash of light, a blade was drawn from a sheathe, sounding just like a tiger¡¯s roar.

    A Wind-entwining blade was placed across Qian Rongzhi¡¯s pale face, cleaving the palm strike in two; the redirected force struck the ground and the door frame. It left behind a great ditch in the ground, and the entire door frame collapsed. Between it all was the pale-faced Qian Rongzhi.

    Li Qingshan gripped his Wind-entwining blade as he said to Qian Rongzhi without looking back, ¡°Keep talking!¡± This woman really did have a clever tongue that was rather useful.

    However, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s response was turning around and fleeing!

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. As it turned out, he still ended up overestimating this woman. However, he had never thought that the second layer Qi Practitioners of the Qian family would all flee from the hall as well, bursting out the windows. Even the second layer Qi Practitioner related to Qian Yannian by blood, basically his son, did the same.

    This was not only due to Qian Rongzhi¡¯s words, but also due to Qian Yannian¡¯s control over the past few years, which had left the entire clan disjointed. They had no sense of unity at all. He was able to keep them together using the threat of his strength and offers of pills during usual times, but once they faced a great threat, they immediately collapsed like a pile of sand.

    Qian Yannian ignored Li Qingshan and Diao Fei. He launched another palm strike and slammed a second layer Qi Practitioner against the wall. All of his bones and organs shattered. The Qi Practitioner looked at Qian Yannian and cried out, ¡°Father!¡± Out of these people, he was Qian Yannian¡¯s only son.

    Qian Yannian said with bloodshot eyes, ¡°All traitors will die!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave here to you. I¡¯m going to go hunt them down!¡± With that, Diao Fei actually left as well. He did not have the courage to face a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Due to different reasons, the main hall had become a place of disaster that all people had to avoid. The only two people left were Li Qingshan and Qian Yannian.

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°That works too. All the benefits are mine then!¡± Afterwards, he raised his head and said to Qian Yannian, ¡°Today is your birthday, then the same day next year will be your death day.¡±

    Qian Yannian made his way towards Li Qingshan. His stature that was as skinny as an old monkey suddenly became much larger and taller; he almost cast down a shadow that enveloped Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    A hundred and thirty two years ago, a child was born in Ancient Wind city. He was born into a poor family, where he even struggled to keep himself fed, constantly harassed by others. This continued until he caught the eye of a passing daoist one day, who took him into the mountains to cultivate.

    Thirty years later, he emerged. He had already become a middle-aged man approaching his forties. He went knocking on doors and killed every single person who had once harassed him; these people were also near their forties. Afterwards, he founded the Qian family.

    He never had any experience with women, so he took wives and concubines like a madman. Every single woman who caught his eyes became a plaything to him. He did not have a proper dwelling, so he took the property of the local aristocrats, building the current Qian estate. He wanted to make up for everything he had once lacked in the past.

    Almost a century had passed since then. The Qian family became the only large clan in Ancient Wind city, having five generations living under one roof. There were several hundred children and grandchildren. He wanted his own bloodline of authority to continue.

    Qian Rongzhi rushed out of the hall as she thought rapidly, I need to escape from here as quickly as possible and find a place to hide. After Qian Yannian kills Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll be next.

    ¡°You slut, you bitch! How dare you betray our Qian family? You will suffer a horrendous death! Grandfather will kill you!¡±

    Before Qian Rongzhi had travelled far, she heard a series of curses directed at her. Looking back, she saw that it was the eldest grandson of the Qian family, Qian Xingwei. He was afraid of becoming involved with a battle between Qi Practitioners, so he had used the flow of people earlier to arrive outside the hall. However, he refused to leave, so he hid in a corner, waiting for his grandfather Qian Yannian to resolve everything.

    Qian Rongzhi stopped. She turned back and looked below the mountain. The people of the Qian family were currently rushing over to kill her. There were countless familiar faces among them, which also floated through her head. Lecherous faces, gazes of disdain, threatening punches, and so on melded into a mess with the countless faces.

    She rubbed her temples as she experienced a splitting pain in her head. Two thoughts began to entangle and conflict with one another.

    One was life. One was death.

    Qian Xingwei saw how Qian Rongzhi had stopped, lowered her head, and was now trembling uncontrollably. He thought she was afraid, so he roared, ¡°You slut! You whore! The Qian family should have never adopted you! I should have skinned you alive before!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head. She was smiling. She even used her slender fingers to fix her hair as she made her way towards Qian Xingwen.

    Life was the desire to survive, while death was the nefarious flames of revenge!

    At that moment, life was no longer important. Death filled her mind.

    ¡°W- what are you trying to do?¡± Qian Xingwei finally experienced a tinge of fear. Due to Qian Yannian¡¯s presence in the past, she would never resist no matter what he did to her. He was accustomed to her obedience as well, which was why he was bold enough to stand forward and curse her. Only now did he seem to remember that Qian Rongzhi was a powerful Qi Practitioner.

    ¡°Save me, grandfather!¡± Qian Xingwei used his movement technique to leap outside as he called out.

    Qian Rongzhi extended her right hand and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him before her. She pressed her index finger against Qian Xingwei¡¯s forehead. ¡°What are you running for?¡± Her long nail pierced his skin, drawing blood.

    ¡°S- stop! I¡¯m your elder brother!¡±

 Chapter 139 â€“ Donâ€™t Use My Things

    ¡°Xingwei!¡± Qian Yannian heard the shrieks outside, so he could not help but take a step forward. Li Qingshan would never let an opening like this slip by. He swung the Wind-entwining blade at Qian Yannian¡¯s waist.

    The blade moved swiftly and forcefully. Qian Yannian¡¯s expression changed as a result. He never thought a second layer Qi Practitioner could produce such a fierce attack.

    In Qian Yannian¡¯s eyes, Li Qingshan was only able to kill the old elder in grey due to his underhanded sneak attack. He did not take Li Qingshan seriously at all. He only treated him as an annoying insect he could flatten to death at any time.

    He did not flatten him immediately because he was still hesitating over the consequences that came with killing a Hawkwolf guard. He was thinking whether there was an actual way out of this or not.

    However, the swing of Li Qingshan¡¯s blade clearly told Qian Yannian that, I¡¯m not asking whether you want to kill me right now. Instead, I want to kill you!

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re asking to die!¡± Qian Yannian yelled out. His right hand similar to a chicken¡¯s claw opened up and grabbed the blade forcefully, catching the swift attack.

    At a closer glance, a tiny distance separated the blade and the hand. Qian Yannian and Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi clashed violently in that tiny distance.

    They were like two armies waging war on an extended front. One side was composed of elite soldiers, but they were unable to match the opposing army that outnumbered them one hundred to one.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s blood vessels swelled up as he poured all of his strength into the blade, but it failed to move an inch further.

    Qian Yannian was surprised as well. With his strength, he actually failed to rip the blade out of Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. This kid¡¯s strength was simply startling.

    The almost indestructible Wind-entwining blade creaked painfully.

    Despite their various thoughts, only a moment had passed, and the two of them basically reacted at the same time. Qian Yannian threw a punch at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, while Li Qingshan reached towards Qian Yannian¡¯s head, completely ignoring the attack. As soon as they had clashed, Li Qingshan already seemed like he wanted to drag Qian Yannian down with him.

    There were many aspects Li Qingshan had no confidence in, but his defences were not one of them. I got plenty of hit points and a high defence. Taking a couple of your blows won¡¯t do anything, but if you¡¯re hit by even a single one from me, you¡¯re dead!

    Qian Yannian felt like if he followed through with his strike, his head would be crushed. He was old, so he valued his life, so why would he risk it against Li Qingshan? He released the Wind-entwining blade and retreated in a hurry while throwing out over a dozen punches.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! With a series of collisions, a violent gust of wind swept out. The huge table was knocked onto the ground as all the lanterns and candles in the hall were extinguished.

    Li Qingshan staggered backwards as his legs carved out two deep marks in the marble tiles.

    With a crack, he kicked off the huge, broken door frame behind him with a foot and steadied himself. He raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Body Practitioner!¡± Qian Yannian cried out. The true qi earlier would have smashed apart the organs of ordinary second layer Qi Practitioners. They might have even been ripped to pieces on the spot, unless their bodies had been strengthened by the arts of training the body.

    Li Qingshan did not feel the slightest bit of displeasure. Instead, it was satisfying, like he had just stretched his body. He stared at Qian Yannian as his eyes revealed bloodthirsty excitement.

    Qian Yannian looked at Li Qingshan. Contempt had vanished from his eyes, replaced by some caution, but it was only some. He had just been too careless earlier, which was why Li Qingshan had the opportunity to swing his blade. It was impossible for second layer Qi Practitioners to match fifth layer Qi Practitioners; this was simply common sense.

    ¡°Do you really think you can kill me just because you can endure a few attacks from me? Since you seek death, I¡¯ll give you death. Then I¡¯ll go kill that slut Qian Rongzhi.¡±

    Outside, Qian Xingwei¡¯s shrieks grew more and more miserable, but Qian Yannian completely ignored them now. Although he liked this eldest grandson very much, he had plenty of grandchildren. It did not matter if a few died.

    Li Qingshan did not just stand around as Qian Yannian spoke. He grabbed his blade with both hands and raised it high above his head. His extremely pure true qi circulated along the Yang Heel meridian, channelling into the Wind Entwining blade through his arms and coating the blade with a layer of light. As he swung down, he produced an extremely sharp wind blade that whistled towards Qian Yannian.

    Qian Yannian sneered. With a deep breath, a streak of golden light emerged from his nostril, piercing through the wind blade and shooting towards Li Qingshan. It left behind a thin, golden streak in the air.

    A flying sword? But I thought only sixth layer Qi Practitioners could use them?

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised, but he responded immediately. This should not have been a flying sword, but some kind of technique. However, it was much more powerful than regular techniques. It basically gave a fifth layer Qi Practitioner the methods that only sixth layer Qi Practitioners could use. The information that Qian Rongzhi had provided about how Qian Yannian was only as strong as a fourth layer Qi Practitioner was completely false.

    As a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, Qian Yannian obviously did not practise the Innate Method of Practising Qi that had a limit at the third layer. Instead, he practised a stronger cultivation method, the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi.

    This was the Geng Metal Swords of Qi1 of the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi. The lungs were metal attributed, and it condensed a sharp aura within it. The lungs were linked to the nose, which produced swords of qi. The streaks of light sliced through the air as they produced a sharp whistling sound similar to sirens. Just the whistling alone would have been enough to kill ordinary people.

    Li Qingshan bent his knees and leapt high into the air. The sword qi brushed past the soles of his feet. Taking advantage of the opening, he leapt towards Qian Yannian, rapidly closing the distance between them.

    Qian Yannian saw Li Qingshan lunge over, and he snorted once again. His eyes were filled with viciousness.

    Suddenly, another sword of qi emerged from his nostril, stabbing towards Li Qingshan in the air. At the same time, the other sword of qi made a turn under his control, stabbing towards Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    The lungs were split into the left and the right, so there were two Geng Metal Swords of Qi as well, one left and one right, which formed an ultimate killing move.

    Li Qingshan used his right foot to hook onto the beam above, and with a tug, he leapt up, essentially dodging the swords of qi by a hair¡¯s breadth. However, in the next moment, a sword of qi surged up, piercing through the beam. He bent backwards suddenly, and the sword of qi brushed past his face, dazzling his eyes.

    Li Qingshan was already prepared. The blade in his hand lit up, and without any sign, it landed on the sword of qi.

    Clang!

    The blade and sword collided. It actually left behind an extremely small knick on the Wind-entwining blade, but the sword of qi collapsed as well. However, before he could celebrate, the collapsed sword of qi condensed once again, but it had lost an undetectable sliver of sharpness.

    Li Qingshan flew backwards as the swords of qi pursued him. He constantly leapt about and made turns within the large hall. He would avoid the swords of qi by a hair¡¯s breadth every time. He was as agile as a monkey.

    Whenever the swords of qi were unavoidable, he would swing out with his Wind-entwining blade, temporarily blocking it.

    He discovered that while the swords of qi were similar to flying swords, they were not as nimble or swift as Zhou Wenbin¡¯s flying sword. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to dodge them. However, this must have been due to Qian Yannian¡¯s insufficient strength. If he reached the sixth layer, the swords of qi definitely would become weapons no weaker than flying swords.

    Qian Yannian paled out of anger as he constantly snorted angrily. He placed more focus on controlling the Geng Metal Swords of Qi as he tried to chase down Li Qingshan. However, he would keep a sword of qi by his side out of great caution as well; this was not only to guard himself against an attack from Li Qingshan, but also because his mind had deteriorated with his old age, so it was rather difficult for him to split his attention between two swords of qi. However, he believed that a single sword of qi was more than enough to kill Li Qingshan. With one attacking and one defending, he was undefeatable. He had no openings.

    Li Qingshan was amazed. As it turned out, fifth layer Qi Practitioners were impressive. He wondered what cultivation method this old man practised. Although he did not know about the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi, he did understand that these two swords of qi must have been a technique that was bound to the cultivation method, which was why Qian Yannia could control them so freely. In comparison, the Innate Method of Practising Qi was just like its name, only able to practise qi. It did not offer any proper accompanying techniques.

    Back when he killed the naked Zhao Liangqing, he had used the absolute difference in their strength to directly crush him. He had killed him in a single stroke, which was why he had not experienced the strength of a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Although there was no one present now, he was in no hurry to transform. It was easy for him to kill Qian Yannian in a single attack, but once he returned, the entire world would know he killed Zhao Liangqing. As a result, he came up with a prudent plan. He would simply play around with this old man for now and practise his abilities so that he could understand the essence of the second layer through actual battle.

    Qian Yannian believed he had gained the upper hand, but he never imagined that Li Qingshan only treated him like a hunk of meat on the chopping block, currently thinking about how to carve it up. Moreover, he wanted to have some fun before he got down to business.

    He could see how he could not kill Li Qingshan so easily. He was also afraid that Qian Rongzhi would escape and was worried that Qian Rongzhi was telling the truth, that Zhuo Zhibo was already on his way. As a result, he was in a hurry to end this battle, which was why he took out a well-made hundred treasures pouch.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He had finally seen the main reason for all of this. Afterwards, he saw Qian Yannian fish out a talisman, just about to use it.

    Li Qingshan roared out, ¡°Stop, you old coot!¡±

    Qian Yannian mocked him and said, ¡°You¡¯re finally afraid?¡±

    Li Qingshan said frigidly, ¡°Whether it be the pills, spiritual stones, or talismans, everything in your hundred treasures pouch is my property. You best not use it, or you will die very soon!¡±

    Your things are mine! You best not use them! That was as arrogant as one could get.

    Qian Yannian had utterly lost his temper as well. Without any hesitation, the talisman in his hand exploded with light.

    Several hundred feet in front of the hall was a large, square terrace connected to five stairways, leading to various parts of the Qian estate. However, there was only one path that led up the mountain to the main hall.

    Tonight, due to the birthday celebration, every single person of the Qian family had been mobilised. They had mobilised all the forces they had for the celebration. As a result, they gathered over from all directions due to the alarming activity on the mountain. There were even several people of the Qian family who knew neither martial arts nor how to practise qi. They all wanted to understand what had happened.

    They saw a single figure standing on the terrace. People with better eyesight spotted her and cried out, ¡°That¡¯s Qian Rongzhi!¡± ¡°Kill her!¡±

    Everyone in and near the Qian estate had heard Li Qingshan¡¯s previous words. Many of them ground their teeth at the thought of this traitor of the Qian family. However, when they got a little closer, they were all dumbstruck.

    Qian Rongzhi was covered in blood as she smiled crazily and joyfully. A person covered in blood laid on the ground as he constantly gasped and moaned. She was holding something in her hand that fluttered in the night breeze.

 Chapter 140 â€“ Paradise in Purgatory

    ¡°Argh!¡± Many of the more timid cried out, almost falling down the stairs. Meanwhile, rumbles constantly rang out from the main hall behind the terrace. The large building tottered in the darkness as if it could collapse at any time.

    Qian Rongzhi glanced back. As it seemed, Li Qingshan could still last a while longer, which would give her enough time to do what she wanted. She really was grateful to him.

    Of course, you would be utterly wrong if you thought her opinion of Li Qingshan had changed. In her eyes, the best outcome of the battle would be for Li Qingshan and Qian Yannian to die together.

    ¡°Master! Master! Is it you?¡± A middle-aged woman identified the person on the ground from his hoarse shrieks. She choked back tears as she said, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, you slut! You mad woman! Since when has our master done anything to you? Not only have you tried to seduce him, but you even want him dead?¡±

    ¡°I seduced him?¡± Qian Rongzhi licked the blood from the corner of her mouth. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he the one who said he wanted to skin me alive? I asked him whether this was the correct way about it, but he wouldn¡¯t say anything. Did you know that?¡± She kicked the bloody person off the terrace, who rolled down the steps.

    People parted to the sides, avoiding him like the plague. Just as their attention was drawn away by this blood person, a water arrow pierced through the crowd.

    The middle-aged woman who had just spoken before had her throat pierced all the way through. She lowered her head and glanced at it in disbelief. This little slut was actually bold enough to attack me? That was her last thought before collapsing on the ground.

    ¡°Seems like you don¡¯t know either,¡± Qian Rongzhi murmured.

    Dark clouds shrouded the moon as the world turned dark.

    Over a thousand people of the Qian family gathered on the terrace, only increasing in number. The flickering torches illuminated her bloody, beautiful face. It became twisted with the flickering firelight.

    A young man in luxurious robes wailed, ¡°Father! Mother!¡± Afterwards, he looked at Qian Rongzhi in utter hatred. ¡°Let¡¯s get her together, everyone! Let¡¯s kill this mad woman and help out great-grandfather. Our Qian family will definitely survive this threat!¡±

    With someone rousing them together, over a thousand people charged over menacingly. Their might was enough to frighten ordinary people to death. Even mosquitoes could kill elephants if they were sufficient in number. Moreover, even Qi Practitioners would run out of true qi, not to mention the fact that there were over a dozen first layer Qi Practitioners among them.

    Qian Rongzhi was facing a dire situation.

    However, there was no fear on her face at all. Instead, there was a hysteric smile. She moved her rosy lips gently and casually listing a bunch of names, ¡°Qian Ronghui, Qian Rongcheng¡­¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough of the abuse from the people of the Qian family? They view us as livestock, as slaves, yet you still want to die for them right now? The Qian family is already on the brink of destruction. Everyone from the Qian family will be slaughtered by the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    Qian Xingwei¡¯s son, the young man in luxurious robes, called out, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her bullshit! Great-grandfather will deal with everything very soon. A horrible fate awaits all those who betray the Qian family!¡±

    The people with the blood of the Qian family all echoed his words. The group pushed closer once more, and the swathe of weapons was only ten steps away from Qian Rongzhi now. However, due to their fear of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s strength, they could not help but slow down.

    Before they had even realised it, the people who Qian Rongzhi had named were avoided by the rest of the crowd. People even looked at them with gazes of caution.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°The old coot Qian Yannian is in the main hall right behind here. If he could leave there, he would have left a long time ago. If you don¡¯t consider for yourselves right now, it¡¯ll be too late.¡±

    Rumbles constantly rang out from the main hall. The people in there were clearly engaged in an intense battle. Qian Yannian, who had weighed on their hearts constantly and ruled over Ancient Wind city for almost an entire century, had clearly encountered a powerful opponent.

    If Qian Yannian were present, all dissent would vanish. However, Qian Yannian was not here. Many people thought uneasily, is the Qian family really going to be destroyed?

    The person who had been mentioned at the very beginning, Qian Ronghui, finally gave in. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s still not too late for you to leave the Qian family right now, or none will be spared when the clan is destroyed!¡±

    Qian Ronghui hesitated. Many people hesitated. The young man called out, ¡°Qian Ronghui, are you betraying our Qian family as well?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said with a corrupting voice, ¡°You see? That¡¯s how the people of the Qian family treat you. Do you want to die under the Wind-entwining blades of the Hawkwolf Guard?¡±

    Qian Ronghui glanced at the main hall in the darkness one last time before roaring out, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave the Qian family. From now onwards, I have no ties with the Qian family anymore.¡± He turned around and made his way down the mountain. He did not plan on getting involved in this. He did not have the same, deep hatred for the Qian family as Qian Rongzhi. With him as a first, other people were tempted as well. They were prepared to leave.

    The people of the Qian family cursed aloud. They pointed many of their weapons at Qian Ronghui. Qian Ronghui yelled out, ¡°Move!¡±

    ¡°Did I say you could leave?¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s icy-cold voice made Qian Ronghui halt. He turned around furiously. ¡°What else do you want!?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°If you leave right now, just wait until the world turns against you and tries to hunt you down!¡± Afterwards, she said to everyone, ¡°I know you all. None of you even think about leaving here today. Right now, as long as you are not a direct descendant of the Qian family, you can clear your names by offering up the heads of the people from the Qian family. Otherwise, only death awaits you.¡±

    She was amidst danger, but not only did she not beg out of fear, but she even threatened everyone present viciously.

    Everyone was thrown into a state of disarray. There were not a lot of direct descendants of the Qian family. Even they did not have the determination to die for the Qian family. They had just been tied to the Qian family, which dragged them down, let alone others.

    She could understand what Li Qingshan felt; this feeling was utterly fantastic.

    The pressure reached the limit. The air was reeking with the smell of blood. In the scorching summer night, under the illumination of firelight, droplets of sweat rolled down the foreheads of many people. Everyone was wary of the people around them as they tried their best to distinguish who was a direct descendant and who might try to clear their names between the firelight and darkness.

    Within a century-old clan, the connections between the people were as dense and complicated as a spider¡¯s web, with countless grievances and resentments woven into it all.

    Within the darkness, no one knew where the first blade fell and where the first shriek rose up. It seemed to set off a chain reaction. The first splash of blood was like a tiny spark falling on a swathe of dried grassy plains. It rapidly evolved into a raging wildfire.

    Someone called out, ¡°Kill these traitors!¡± ¡°Encircle the Qian family!¡± Others called out, ¡°For revenge!¡± There were even more shrieks and wails.

    Pairs of eyes that had been dyed red by blood were unable to recognise whether the people beside them were family or foe. They swung their blades at everyone who approached them.

    Many talismans turned into lightning and fire, erupting within the crowd.

    The sounds of spears stabbing into flesh and blades cutting through bone wove together into a requiem. The estate of the Qian family devolved into a purgatory of asura.

    Qian Rongzhi laughed crazily at the centre of the massacre. Great joy flooded her heart and head. All of her memories burned brightly. She had forgotten about the hidden threat from Qian Yannian. She had even forgotten about the boundary of life and death. She felt like this was heaven and that she was in paradise right now. Even if she died here immediately, none of it would matter anymore.

    There were people who wanted to kill this traitor of the Qian family out of anger, as well as people who charged towards her after being carried away by the bloodbath.

    However, out of everyone present, just who could kill a second layer Qi Practitioner? They all died to the Water-splitting bard, reduced to corpses, forming a ring around her. Gradually, no one dared to approach her. The tiny ring formed by corpses became the only land of peace within this purgatory of massacre.

    Not a single person of Ancient Wind city would be able to forget about this night. They all raised their heads and watched this from within the city. They watched as the prosperous clan that had dominated Ancient Wind city for a century collapsed in the flames of disaster. They showed mixed emotions of fear, surprise, and joy.

    Most of the Qi Practitioners who had fled from the hall had not left. They watched on in the darkness as well. They saw the horrific sights within the firelight and were all taken aback. None of them had thought that this would happen.

    Originally, they thought Li Qingshan¡¯s declaration was just a joke where he bit off more than he could chew, something that would lead to his death. Qian Yannian would kill these three Hawkwolf guards swiftly before fleeing with the core members of the clan.

    However, the matter had developed beyond their expectations. The Qian family was being destroyed! Qian Yannian remained in the main hall. He did not come out to end all of this. Someone had actually managed to stop him.

    This was impossible! Even if they worked together, just a single arm from Qian Yannian was more than enough to kill a third layer Qi Practitioner and two second layer Qi Practitioners, unless there were other people from the Hawkwolf Guard hidden away, or had that Zhuo Zhibo already arrived in Ancient Wind city silently?

    This was the most logical conclusion. It also explained why Li Qingshan was so arrogant. All of the Qi Practitioners felt fortunate that they did not remain on the mountain. In their eyes, the Hawkwolf Guard was not a system that could be reasoned with. It was even less likely for any of them to go assist the Qian family.

    Once fire ran out of fuel, it would be the time for it to be extinguished. The flames of disaster used people as fuel. When most of the people were dead, it gradually subsided as well.

    In an extremely short amount of time, over a thousand people were dead or injured. Blood flowed down the steps as corpses lay strewn.

    On the top of a tree that no one noticed, the blood-red flames in Xiao An¡¯s eyes flickered as he watched all of these horrific sights unfold from beginning to end. He did not show surprise or fear like ordinary people. Instead, he was in thought as if he had comprehended something.

    Tonight, Li Qingshan had made up his mind about striking, so he did not bring Xiao An with him, which was why he was not trapped in the jar and could move about freely. He could not help but worry for Li Qingshan. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, Xiao An still arrived outside the main hall using the darkness of the night, but he ended up seeing this, and he was unable to shift his gaze anymore. Li Qingshan¡¯s aura was extremely strong. He did not need his worry.

    An eminent monk of buddhism created the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. The essence behind it originated from buddhism. As a result, he read and studied many buddhist scriptures to comprehend the true meaning behind it.

    However, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty completely overturned the scriptures, reversing the essential ideas. Even for him, a person that the black ox had deemed to be very talented, would frequently be confused.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, he just had to devour flesh and blood with great ease, and his cultivation would advance rapidly. He did not even need to eat pills. However, only he understood the difficulties behind it all. Whenever he hid within the dark jar, he never felt bored at all. He had not even considered boredom before. He constantly thought about the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty; he was like an ascetic monk in seclusion.

    Now that he had witnessed this, he comprehended something.

 Chapter 141 â€“ Qian Yannianâ€™s Death

    The lightning from the talisman immediately illuminated the dark hall, but it could not hide the two balls of red light that had suddenly appeared.

    The scorching white lightning struck the iron-like skin viciously, but it failed to leave a trace behind.

    Qian Yannian took a step back. He looked at the huge monster that stood like an iron tower behind him as he became frantic. ¡°D- daemon!¡±

    He could not sense any daemon qi at all, but the tremendous pressure that had almost materialised crushed against his chest such that even his breathing became sluggish.

    His mind was a mess. How could a teenager who seemed like a regular, weak second layer Qi Practitioner transform like this? This was an ability that completely exceeded his imagination.

    Li Qingshan stretched a little. The sharp horns on his head almost reached the beams up top. He lowered his head and looked at Qian Yannian below as he said with a voice that sounded like resonating metal, ¡°I said to stop! Why didn¡¯t you listen? Huh?¡±

    Qian Yannian roared out crazily. The two Geng Metal Swords of Qi turned into two streaks of golden light, stabbing swiftly towards Li Qingshan. It seemed like he would struggle to dodge an attack like this with such a cumbersome body, but Li Qingshan did not plan to dodge either.

    Before the Geng Metal Swords of Qi could even touch Li Qingshan, they were blocked by the shield shaped like a turtle¡¯s shell, directly crumbling into pieces under the attack of daemon qi. They failed to condense again.

    Qian Yannian reached towards his hundred treasures pouch instinctively. Inside were talismans that could save his life, pills that could turn the situation around. The hundred treasures pouch was a second life to Qi Practitioners.

    A sharp, crescent claw extended out from an index finger that seemed like a metal column. With a sharp, resonating screech, it stopped before Qian Yannian¡¯s forehead, forcing him to halt. He was afraid of even moving a finger. It was so fast that he was unable to react.

    If Li Qingshan wanted to kill him, the claw would have penetrated his head already, claiming his life.

    Qian Yannian¡¯s voice trembled as he said, ¡°What do you want? I can give you everything! Just don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Li Qingshan fished the hundred treasures pouch from Qian Yannian, holding it between his fingers before picking up the tiny, toy-like Wind-entwining blade.

    Qian Yannian¡¯s expression was mixed between fawning, flattering, and fear. Afterwards, it all collapsed like a mask.

    Li Qingshan pierced Qian Yannian¡¯s chest with the blade without any hesitation at all. This was not a fatal wound to a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, but it was enough to take away most of his battle prowess, especially so when he was an old man over a hundred years old.

    Qian Yannian¡¯s eyes widened. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan drew out the Wind-entwining blade, retreated a few steps back, and gradually shrank once again, returning to human form. He said to Qian Yannian, ¡°Let¡¯s continue now! Do be aware that I¡¯m coming to kill you now!¡±

    Having lost his hundred treasures pouch, his two Geng Metal Swords of Qi, and suffered a stab in the chest, Qian Yannian was like a heavily injured, clawless and fangless beast. All he let out were meaningless howls and growls.

    It was as if he knew fleeing was no longer possible. Qian Yannian forcefully sealed off his wounds with true qi and charged towards Li Qingshan while mobilising all his true qi.

    Before Qian Yannian had even arrived, a fierce gust of wind rushed over. Qian Yannian shone with a faint, metallic lustre.

    Li Qingshan swung down with his blade as hard as he could. Qian Yannian did not try to dodge it. He condensed faint golden qi blades with his arms and stabbed them at Li Qingshan¡¯s ribs.

    Clang! The Wind-entwining blade that Li Qingshan had imbued with true qi and great strength cut through Qian Yannian¡¯s protective Geng Metal true qi and left behind a bloody gash on his shoulder.

    Li Qingshan ignored it. Wiping and twisting the blade, he swung it towards Qian Yannian¡¯s neck this time. There was a clang of metal again, and he felt two stabbing sensations of pain from his ribs.

    Qian Yannian¡¯s blades of qi easily cut through the Black Wolf uniform that could even stop crossbow bolts; it also broke through Li Qingshan¡¯s protective true qi, but it was unable to pierce Li Qingshan¡¯s skin that was as tough as an ox demon¡¯s hide.

    There was a string of heavy barrages. Within such a tight space, neither of them took a step back, nor did they try to dodge. They launched several dozen attacks against their opponent.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s Black Wolf uniform was already in tatters, while Qian Yannian was covered in blood. The wound on his chest constantly oozed with blood.

    Qian Yannian¡¯s eyes reddened. He was like a wild tiger. In the end, he did not even try to use any moves. He just tackled Li Qingshan into a pillar.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! They smashed through five pillars in the hall, and the entire structure collapsed, kicking up dust everywhere.

    Li Qingshan was covered in dust. He seemed to be in quite a horrible shape, but his eyes remained as tranquil as water the entire time. An attack as crazy as that obviously could not harm him, but a devastating battle like this was what he wanted.

    A fifth layer Qi Practitioner who knew he was going to die, who fought like a caged beast, possessed tenacity beyond Li Qingshan¡¯s imagination. Even when he was heavily injured, he could still unleash startling battle prowess.

    Li Qingshan discovered that with his strength as a second layer Qi Practitioner, it would be very difficult to defeat Qian Yannian despite his tough body.

    All of his true qi was blasted away wildly. Li Qingshan basically could not counterattack at all, and finally, a fist landed firmly on his chest. He did not try to stabilise himself. As a result, he flew over thirty meters away, landing heavily on the terrace. He did not even forget to add, ¡°How powerful!¡±

    There obviously was a reason for his act. He wanted to kill Qian Yannian in public, not kill him in a single strike. He purposefully made a disturbance to clear up any potential suspicion that he was related to Zhao Liangqing¡¯s death; he wanted to hide his identity as a daemon.

    Not only could he appear weak to his hidden enemies to numb their sense of danger, but he could also mislead some of them as well so that they would not be in a hurry to kill him; this would earn him even more time to grow. It truly was quite the plan.

    However, before Li Qingshan could take pride in the facade that he had spun, he became stunned when he looked around.

    The heavy smell of blood enveloped the entire terrace. The moist, sticky blood dried and blackened. Over a thousand corpses, men and women, old and young, were piled on the terrace and steps. It was impossible to imagine just how horrific of a sight it was unless people had seen it in person.

    There were countless arms and legs, countless twisted faces, and countless eyes that remained wide open even upon death. Li Qingshan had been locked in a ¡®battle to the death¡¯ with Qian Yannian within the hall, so he was in no shape to care about the shrieks and howls outside. He basically turned a deaf ear to it all. Now that he had seen it in person, he felt deeply shocked even when he had killed many people with his own hands before and believed he had grown accustomed to bloodiness and death.

    Who was it? Who did all this?

    The moon emerged from the dark clouds, coating everything with a silver glow. The surroundings were deathly silent. There were no chirpings of insects, as if all the living creatures there had been stunned, afraid to make a disturbance.

    The person behind all this, Qian Rongzhi, currently held a Water-splitting barb as she sent the survivors who still groaned and breathened in the piles of corpses off to hell.

    Qian Ronghui retreated with difficulty. ¡°Don¡¯t, Rongzhi! We have no grievances!¡± He had been sucked into the bloody massacre in the very beginning, but with his strength as a peak first layer Qi Practitioner, he had managed to survive. However, all of his true qi was depleted, and he was covered in wounds. He basically had no strength left.

    Qian Rongzhi responded, ¡°During the autumn four years ago, on August 15, you called me a whore!¡± The Water-splitting barb stabbed into Qian Ronghui¡¯s head mercilessly.

    Qian Yannian followed Li Qingshan outside the hall. He saw this and was immediately stunned. He recovered a sliver of rationality. Was the Qian family over just like this?

    Qian Rongzhi looked back at Qian Yannian. There was no fear on her face. Instead, she said with great satisfaction, ¡°Haha, grandfather, do you see now? All of your descendants are dead!¡±

    With a wild howl, Qian Yannian descended into even greater madness. He ignored Li Qingshan, charging straight towards Qian Rongzhi.

    Li Qingshan held the Wind-entwining blade that was covered in knicks, but he did not swing it. This woman was wicked and two-faced. She had repeatedly worked against him, so why would he save her?

    Watching Qian Yannian charge over, Qian Rongzhi took out three fire talismans and launched them at Qian Yannian as fireballs.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! With three explosions, fire rose into the air as the shockwave blasted away the corpses.

    However, before Qian Rongzhi could celebrate, she saw Qian Yannian forcefully charge through the fire. His remaining strands of hair were singed away, and he was charred all over. He was even still on fire as he charged towards her recklessly.

    Qian Rongzhi finally showed a sliver of fear, but she did not flee. She gripped the Water-splitting barb tightly, and it shone with azure light as it stabbed towards Qian Yannian.

    Suddenly, verdant, green vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around Qian Yannian like a snake. He erupted with Geng Metal true qi, tearing away the vines, but he had halted due to it. The azure light pierced his chest and blood gurgled from the wound that Li Qingshan had originally dealt him. It now flowed relentlessly.

    Qian Yannian staggered a few more steps forward. Even more green vines sprouted beneath him, wrapping around him. He was like a moth caught in a spider¡¯s web. His struggle became more and more powerless.

    Diao Fei had returned at a certain time. He held his right hand in a seal before his chest as he stared right at Qian Yannian. The green vines came from a technique he used.

    Only then did Li Qingshan learn that Diao Fei did not practise the Innate Method of Practising Qi, but probably a cultivation method from Green Vine mountain!

    Qian Yannian seemed like she never imagined her strike would be effective either. Her face lit up crazily, but she did not rush up to finish him off. Instead, she retreated over a dozen steps away cautiously. ¡°Grandfather, your concubines, wives, and children are all here. Do you see them? Look, just right beside your foot! Oh, you¡¯ve kicked your beloved concubine¡¯s head. But that doesn¡¯t matter anymore. I¡¯ve also helped you kill all the traitors of the Qian family. What do you think? I¡¯ve returned all the kindness the Qian family has shown me!¡±

    Qian Yannian howled, but he had already reached the end of his rope during his battle against Li Qingshan. This charge took up the last of his energy. He only remained alive due to his heavy true qi. He glared at Qian Rongzhi viciously as if he wanted to dig out a piece of her.

    However, Qian Rongzhi only smiled widely and chattered endlessly, ¡°I remember, you promised me in the past that you would make me the leader of the Qian family. Of course, I knew you were lying to me. Why would you make an outsider, moreover a woman, the leader of the family? But now, there¡¯s no one else who can inherit the position of patriarch, so just let me inherit it.¡±

    Then she seemed distressed. ¡°But now, the Qian family doesn¡¯t have anyone left, so there¡¯s no point in being a leader anymore, so I think I¡¯ll return the position to you. You are the first and last patriarch of the Qian family.¡±

 Chapter 142 â€“ Carrying out Justice

    The verdant green vines formed quite a contrast with the world of blood and darkness. It extended and grew, teeming with vigor as it formed a tight cocoon.

    For quite a while, only the rustling of the green vines were present.

    Qian Rongzhi had stopped talking at a certain time. She just stared at the verdant cocoon dazedly.

    After confirming Qian Yannian¡¯s death, Diao Fei rushed up urgently and removed the vines. He searched through Qian Yannian¡¯s body, but he obviously failed to find the hundred treasures pouch.

    He could not help but turn back and look at the tenacious sixteen-year-old, but all he saw was him standing among the blood and corpses, gazing at the night sky. His gaze was basically drawn away by the night sky. The moonlight enveloped his body as if all of this bloodiness had nothing to do with him.

    The stars in the summer night sky were extremely resplendent, where even the moon failed to drown them out. Li Qingshan discovered that compared to all of these corpses, the starry sky was still prettier.

    He was not putting on an act like he was contemplating the philosophies of life. Instead, he just suddenly felt lament, but he was unable to describe what he was lamenting over. He could not help but think of that dream again, where all the stars were submerged in a sea of blood.

    After thinking about all that, Li Qingshan lowered his head. ¡°How many did you get?¡±

    ¡°Three. Two escaped.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty good.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind.¡±

    It was a very short conversation. Diao Fei obviously would not ask where Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch was like an idiot, nor did he ask Li Qingshan to give him a share of it. Originally, he had his own plans as well, which was to chase down the utterly harmless second layer Qi Practitioners. After that, he would quietly return here to check on the development of the situation. If Li Qingshan were dead, he would leave quietly and report back to Zhuo Zhibo. Such an approach ensured that he would be in no danger at all.

    However, he had never thought that Li Qingshan would actually be able to reduce Qian Yannian to such a state. Diao Fei knew the best himself. His Entangling Vines could never capture a fifth layer Qi Practitioner under ordinary circumstances. Qian Yannian was clearly at the end of his rope¡ªall because of Li Qingshan.

    Although it all seemed extremely difficult, Li Qingshan had truly managed to tire out and waste away a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. It was still best for Diao Fei to maintain some respect for the powerful.

    In the end, he even won somehow. Had Qian Yannian really grown senile to the point where he would be defeated like this? This was probably the only explanation.

    Gong Liangbai murmured, ¡°How¡¯s this possible?¡± He spoke the minds of all the Qi Practitioners present.

    With a clang, the Water-splitting barb fell to the floor; faint sobs followed.

    The moment Qian Rongzhi saw Qian Yannian¡¯s corpse, she shuddered. Her smile vanished completely, and she remained dazed for quite a while as a warm liquid flowed down her face. They were not tears of blood, just ordinary tears.

    She did not know why she was crying. She just suddenly burst into tears.

    Li Qingshan and Diao Fei looked at each other. Neither of them said anything.

    Li Qingshan took in a deep breath and announced, ¡°Today, the Hawkwolf Guard, composed of Li Qingshan, Diao Fei, and Qian Rongzhi, has formally carried out justice and executed Qian Yannian here.¡± He paused before adding, ¡°And we¡¯ve destroyed the Qian family as a warning for others. You Qi Practitioners are naturally endowed, so take this as a lesson. If you turn a blind eye to what is right and wrong, act as you please, and defy the principles of nature and morality, this will be your fate!¡±

    His loud, clear voice drowned out Qian Rongzhi¡¯s sobs. It reached the bottom of the mountain clearly, resounding through the entire city.

    The first cheer came from a gloomy corner in an alleyway. It came from an abject scholar. He could not help but sigh in admiration, but even when he did so, he did it carefully. Two years ago, the Qian family wanted to build a garden, so they forcefully demolished his ancestral home. His wife and children became homeless, and out of pure anger, his wife fell sick, which almost claimed her life. He managed to make it through this rough patch after great difficulty, renting a small room and relying on his calligraphy to barely make ends meet. However, the indignation remained within him. Originally, he wanted to repress it for the rest of his life, but he never thought there would finally be a day of retribution.

    However, his cheer was like the start of a chain reaction. It led to a tremendous clamour, rising steeply and reaching the terrace at the top of the mountain, as if it was a response to Li Qingshan¡¯s proclamation.

    All Li Qingshan saw was Ancient Wind city ablaze with lanterns. Countless people emerged from their homes, cheering in excitement. Many people hugged each other tearfully as they walked around the city. It was as if a huge celebration of a festival was taking place. The lanterns and firecrackers that the Qian family had forced them to prepare finally came into use. However, they were now celebrating the end of the Qian family.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Perhaps there were many innocent people among the corpses on the ground. However, he was not some perfect hero, scrupulous over morality. Couldn¡¯t he just bear the burden of a few human lives? If the entire Qian family was slaughtered, then they were slaughtered. There was nothing he was afraid to admit.

    How could the misfortune of one be compared to the misfortune of many?

    Only the expressions of the Qi Practitioners hidden within the darkness changed drastically. Li Qingshan¡¯s threatening tone clearly targeted them. They found it humiliating, and they felt furious, but at the same time, they could not help but repress it. They even felt a sliver of fear. They subconsciously checked themselves to see if they were the same as the Qian family or not.

    Barely killing Qian Yannian and the destruction of the Qian family led to cheers from all; it was as if Li Qingshan was a god who enforced law, standing on an altar and glaring and provoking all sorts of evil spirits. No one was bold enough to openly confront them. All could only shrink back and tremble.

    Li Qingshan did not show any respect to these people. It did not necessarily mean that they had all committed heinous deeds like Qian Yannian just because they came to celebrate the birthday. As a matter of fact, they would probably try to explain themselves as completely ignorant of the Qian family¡¯s actions. However, there was not a single person who could not hear the cries, wails, and howls that even echoed through the clouds. Unfortunately, they probably all just turned a deaf ear to it. They were knowledgeable about protecting themselves. They would not offend a Qi Practitioner clan over some common people.

    The Qi Practitioners all remained hidden in the darkness as they left Ancient Wind city. They all memorised one name.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Have you cried enough?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head in confusion.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you¡¯ve cried enough, then let¡¯s go. Our mission is complete!¡± He had already obtained what he wanted.

    With that, he glanced at the top of a tree in the distance before making his way down the mountain with no regard to Diao Fei or Qian Rongzhi.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around in doubt, and all he saw was Qian Rongzhi smile from ear to ear. She wiped away her tears and said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t grabbed anything yet!¡± Afterwards, she flipped through the pile of corpses as she said, ¡°If you leave behind a weak girl like me, I¡¯ll be scared.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Originally, he thought the pressure she was under would ease up after achieving revenge. Perhaps she would not achieve instantaneous comprehension about everything in the whole wide world, but at least she should have developed some understanding towards life and lose some of her pettiness and viciousness. However, the reality was the exact opposite. Revenge had indeed released certain things in her heart.

    However, what was released was not some great feeling of joy, or any repressed purity or kind-heartedness. She finally did not have to act as the young miss of the Qian family anymore. As she laughed amidst the pile of corpses, the craziness seemed to become a part of her, twisting her even more.

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand that instantaneous enlightenment and repentance was all just stuff from fairytales. The true norm of the world was that while the world was easy to change, the nature of people were not. There were both buddhas and demons in the world, or perhaps, that was the norm as well?

    Qian Rongzhi bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you for helping out today. Only then was I able to achieve revenge. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯m willing to offer up myself.¡± She smiled from ear to ear. She seemed to be in an extremely good mood.

    Li Qingshan did not stop at all, while Diao Fei walked away even faster, acting like he was avoiding the plague. They pulled away from Qian Rongzhi¡¯s crazy laughter.

    Qian Rongzhi paced around through the corpses like a pitch-black ghost. She had stopped searching for things a long time ago. Instead, she was more like an artist, admiring her greatest piece of work, like a tourist strolling through a wonderful garden.

    She would stop from time to time, holding a familiar face and saying some things to it. Even when there was no reply, she would still giggle for quite a while. Compared to this purgatory of corpses, she seemed much stranger and more terrifying.

    Having received Li Qingshan¡¯s signal, Xiao An did not leave immediately. Instead, he remained hidden to one side, sinking into an intense thought process.

    The eminent monk was gifted with both fortune and wisdom. The world seemed like it was on fire, in a sea of misery, with all people submerged within it. They were afflicted with greed, hatred, and ignorance and were unable to break free from it. As a result, the eminent monk practised Mah¨¡y¨¡na buddhism, yet he was still unable to help and save all living creatures. He either took pity on their misfortune or was furious at their incapability.

    With pity came endless benevolence. With fury came an endless urge to kill.

    In the face of the great tribulation of the world, between life and death, he discovered that there was still something obstructing his heart. He gained an understanding of himself again, so he followed his true nature, swearing the four encompassing vows. As such, nothing obstructed him anymore, allowing him to overcome the tribulation.

    Just like m¨¡ra with their natures of great malevolence, they understood their natures and slaughtered freely, achieving ishvara or unencumberance, standing on equal footing to buddha.

    ¡°Oh, I understand now. The eminent monk was an ultimate genius who saw how all the living creatures were so foolish and stupid. They would never listen to him no matter what he said, and they would never understand him no matter how he put it, so it cast a shadow in his heart, but then it was repressed by the three words ¡®I am benevolent¡¯, so he could only keep it repressed inside, unable to release it. As a result, he experienced tremendous pressure.¡±

    ¡°Compared to bringing salvation to an idiot, no, a bunch of idiots, it was just easier to kill them off with a single stroke. It¡¯s just like a group of flies surrounding him all day long, so he caught one, split open its stomach, and dragged out its organs, using its own organs to choke it. Heh, even its tongue would stick out! Afterwards, he would raise his blade; once it fell, whoosh, the whole world was peaceful.¡±

    In a small inn below the mountain, Xiao An wrote down his understanding on a piece of paper and told Li Qingshan. That was what Li Qingshan said after thinking about it.

    His words left Xiao An utterly stunned. He felt like with what Li Qingshan said, this eminent monk was nowhere near as impressive as he seemed to be. The White Bone Bodhisattva was one who possessed great wisdom and great power even after descending into the demonic path, but now, all the pains and sufferings this bodhisattva went through seemed no different from the hardships of common people.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Look, Xiao An, let me tell you. If you want to live as a person, the most important part is being happy. It¡¯s not different for skeletons either. You can¡¯t go to the extremes. Everyone who goes to the extremes has something wrong with their heads. If you come across someone, you are welcome to reason with them, but if reason doesn¡¯t work, just give them a swing of your blade.¡±

 Chapter 143 â€“ Bountiful Returns

    Li Qingshan continued, ¡°Alright, look. You wanted to be a good person, but you¡¯re basically bending over backwards for slaps to the face. And then you couldn¡¯t put up with that, so you became a bad person, basically killing everything and everyone in sight mindlessly. You couldn¡¯t bring salvation to all living creatures, so you decided you would destroy all living creatures. If that¡¯s not a mental disorder, what would it be? If you should comprehend this ability, then comprehend it. If you should cultivate it, then cultivate it. But don¡¯t take it all too seriously.¡±

    As a result, a certain powerful being beyond the Nine Heavens became labelled as someone suffering from a mental disorder.

    If the black ox were present, it would have definitely chimed in with praises, not because of how impressive what Li Qingshan saw was, or how intelligent he seemed. Instead, it was the exact opposite. This all sounded slightly stupid, but contemplating the philosophy of life, the truth of the world, had never been his specialty.

    He was not a wise man. He did not have great wisdom or knowledge. He was not a benevolent man either. He did not have great benevolence or great mercy.

    He was a courageous man. He gave off an aura of unruliness and fearlessness. If he could not think it through, then he would just stop thinking about it. He would approach matters in whatever way that made him happy.

    This was easy to say, but even great cultivators countless times more powerful than Li Qingshan could only carefully comprehend and understand the essence of an ability created by immortals and buddhas beyond the distant Nine Heavens. It was impossible for them to be like what Li Qingshan had said, ¡°Don¡¯t take it too seriously.¡±

    People could not go without reverence and fear, yet those who were courageous were fearless. At the end of the day, abilities and cultivation methods would only be tools to me, existing purely for the sake of achieving what I want. This would never be reversed, where it supersedes my original goals.

    Xiao An obviously treated Li Qingshan¡¯s teachings as the gold standard. He viewed it with much greater importance than the essential ideas from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Although he did feel that there was something off about Li Qingshan words, he definitely would not be wrong. Instead, either Xiao An had not thought it through, or there was something wrong with this eminent monk. However, it did clear up his messy, abstruse thoughts, preventing the ability from affecting him too much.

    Probably no one would have imagined that something as wondrous as this would arise from a half-assed teacher and an ignorant student.

    Li Qingshan felt rather proud of himself. Whether it be Xiao An¡¯s talent or his intelligence, they were both extraordinary. Moreover, Xiao An was still a child, so he needed his guidance that served as a beacon.

    Li Qingshan calmed himself down from his excitement and took out Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Now let¡¯s see what we¡¯ve gotten in return for all of this!¡±

    As soon as he channeled true qi into it, he could not help but gasp. The space inside was as large as a store room. This was the largest hundred treasures pouch he had obtained so far. It was even slightly larger than Zhao Liangqing¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan was worried that Zhao Liangqing¡¯s hundred treasures pouch had been imprinted by the Sect of Clouds and Rain, so he was afraid of carrying it around with him. There was no possibility with this one, so it could replace the one he obtained from the Hawkwolf Guard.

    There were various items stored in the hundred treasures pouch, forming quite an assortment.

    The first thing that Li Qingshan searched for were pills.

    For once, Qian Rongzhi was not lying. He took out small bottle after small bottle, placing them onto the table. Before long, the table was covered by them. The pill refining arts of the Qian family did not seem to be particularly impressive. Each Qi Gathering pill was the size of a longan at the very least, and each bottle only held three of them.

    However, even with that being the case, there were over four hundred of them. This was Qian Yannian¡¯s greatest tool to control the Qian family, but it was just easy pickings for Li Qingshan now. Just these pills were enough for him to reach a whole new level with his daemonic path.

    He probably could reach the second layer with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, and afterwards, he would be able to practise the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. As for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he had basically been practising it everyday, even when he practised qi. Most of the power from the Qi Gathering pills had been devoured by it. Although there was still a very long road ahead of him before he could face the first heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon General, he was travelling very swiftly towards it.

    With over a hundred bottles of Qi Gathering pills placed together, Li Qingshan was overjoyed by the sight. He smiled from ear to ear like a poor man who had suddenly won the lottery. He casually took out a pill, tossed it into the air, but he did not swallow it immediately. Instead, he sucked on it like candy. The Qi Gathering pill that was refined from several dozen medicinal herbs was extremely bitter and astringent. It viciously stimulated his mouth, but Li Qingshan sucked on it like he was tasting tea. There was a certain sweetness to it.

    Xiao An saw how Li Qingshan¡¯s brows were furrowed as he smiled ear to ear before counting through the Qi Gathering pills on the table. He thought of the sight when Qian Rongzhi spoke to the corpses again.

    The collection was not limited to Qi Gathering pills. There were several bottles of relatively more precious pills similar to Pearl Dew pills. They were called Hundred Herb pills and were basically a stronger version of the Qi Gathering pill. As they required even more precious herbs and had a greater requirement on the alchemist¡¯s ability, there were not a lot of them. There were only around a dozen in total. Li Qingshan planned on saving them for important moments when he needed to break through.

    Aside from that, there were other pills for strengthening vitality like Blood Invigoration pills. Clearly, the old coot Qian Yannian knew his life was coming to an end and wanted to last for a little longer.

    The twenty-seven talismans exceeded all of the talismans Li Qingshan had collected so far ever since he began cultivating. Looking at the squiggly writing on the talismans, Li Qingshan only managed to recognise a small portion of them. Five of them were mid grade Lightning Summoning talismans. This daoist talisman was extremely powerful. If it were used during a lightning storm, it could even summon heavenly lightning. It had startling power to incapacitate or kill.

    Even without the other talismans, if Qian Yannian used these five Lightning Summoning talismans together, he could basically kill any Qi Practitioner below the sixth layer instantly. Even sixth layer Qi Practitioners would have to be wary.

    If Li Qingshan did not possess the tenacity from daemonifying, only death would await him from making trouble with Qian Yannian.

    However, to Li Qingshan¡¯s slight pity, there were not a lot of spiritual artifacts. There were only two at the low grade. Clearly, Qian Yannian was not skilled at forging artifacts, nor did he go around killing Qi Practitioners like the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Out of the two low grade spiritual artifacts, one of them was a patterned, hidden blade around a foot in length. Once true qi was channeled into it, a blade five feet in length would extend out from it, becoming an extremely long sword. Li Qingshan immediately gave it to Xiao An.

    The other spiritual artifact was rather special. It was a wooden buckler the size of a washbasin. When he tried channeling true qi into it, the tiny buckler suddenly expanded to the size of a pedestal. It became much heavier as well.

    Li Qingshan already knew that some spiritual artifacts could transform, such as Wang Pushi¡¯s metal baton. However, this was the first time he had obtained something like this, and it was for defence as well.

    However, he found this spiritual artifact to be extremely fitting. With this, he would be able to wield a huge shield in hand and run around carelessly. If he came across an enemy, he could slam them with the shield. Just who would be able to block an attack like that?

    Aside from that, the pouch contained items that ordinary people desired. The first item out of all of them was gold and silver. There were one and a half million taels of silver notes, which was slightly less than he had imagined. Qian Yannian had ruled over Ancient Wind city for all these years, yet he had not even accumulated as much wealth as Zhao Liangqing. However, with further thought, it did make sense. The Qian family was a large household, so they had a lot of people that needed to be fed. And, most of the money would probably be in the hands of the caretaker under Qian Yannian¡¯s command.

    However, there was not just money. There was a large pile of deeds for property as well. Just from a casual glance at it, he could tell that the Ancient Wind city owned most of the real estate in Ancient Wind city as well as much of the fertile land outside the city.

    According to the rule, everything that a Hawkwolf guard obtained from a mission would belong to them. In a single night, Li Qingshan had become a great landowner. As he compared this to the days he spent in the cowshed, he could not help but sigh in amazement.

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to check out Qian Yannian¡¯s cultivation method that allowed him to emit sword qi from his nostrils, but he failed to find it. However, he was not particularly affected by this. He had contribution once he returned to the Hawkwolf Guard anyway, so he could check out their library. And, before he reached the ninth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, he had no plans to change cultivation methods. He was in no hurry to find a new one.

    The sounds of celebration outside continued. Gongs and drums rang through the air as firecrackers were set off. They seemed to celebrate for the entire night.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He ate another Qi Gathering pill and began cultivating.

    Xiao An meditated as well, sitting beside him with his legs crossed.

    The morning next day, the district magistrate who had a weathered and rather miserable face, but also happened to be smiling from ear to ear, knocked on Li Qingshan¡¯s door. When he saw Li Qingshan, he was taken aback. He had never thought that the great sir Hawkwolf guard who had destroyed the Qian family and shocked the Ancient Wind city the night before would actually be so young. He basically doubted whether he had the right person or not.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sir, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The district magistrate was extremely familiar with the voice that pierced through the darkness last night. After confirming that Li Qingshan was the person he was looking for, he stated his reason for visiting.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond. The district magistrate wanted to parade him through the streets as a hero. He said that the hand-held carriage was already prepared downstairs. Li Qingshan obviously declined.

    The district magistrate did not try to insist on it. No one would be bold enough to force someone who seemed like a vicious god like him into anything.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you want to do that, you¡¯ll be better off sending people up the mountain to clean up the remains instead. The weather is warm right now, so it might lead to diseases if you don¡¯t.¡±

    The district magistrate said, ¡°Thank you for your reminder, sir. I¡¯ve already sent people to deal with this. There¡¯s an open pit near the Qian estate, at the bottom of the mountain to the west. I¡¯ve tried to gather the people to move the remains there to be buried, but they all find it to be a foul job. Moreover, since it¡¯s the remains of the people of the Qian estate, none of them want to do it.¡±

    Li Qingshan considered it. ¡°There should be quite a lot of gold and silverware left in the Qian estate. You can send people in to gather them and pay the people with those items. You need to deal with this today. We can¡¯t afford any delays.¡±

    The district magistrate was overjoyed. He agreed in a hurry as he thought to himself about how well Li Qingshan understood the common people. If Li Qingshan had not spoken, no one would have been bold enough to touch the items of the Qian estate.

    Li Qingshan had another plan for all of this. After sending off the district magistrate, he said to Xiao An, ¡°Can you really cultivate like this?¡±

    Xiao An nodded.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Around how long do you have to take?¡±

    Xiao An shook his head.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright. Then we¡¯ll stay here for a while. It¡¯ll be perfect for me to settle down and cultivate a little as well. Once we return to Jiaping city, it probably won¡¯t be as peaceful as before.¡±

    ¡°How impressive of you, Li Qingshan!¡±

    In the office of the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city, Zhuo Zhibo held a letter in a small garden as the corner of his eyes twitched. He lost his temper and shattered the stone table with a slam of his hand.

 Chapter 144 â€“ The Vicious Tiger, the Venomous Snake and the Vulture

    Li Qingshan did not have any backing at all. As a matter of fact, Wang Pushi had not even taken a liking to him, which was why he had directly sent him to Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s command. If Gu Yanying really did take special note of this kid, Wang Pushi would obviously treat this kid carefully, just like how Zhuo Zhibo would carefully serve someone Wang Pushi cared about.

    This was a principle that could not be more simple. Zhuo Zhibo had just been too cautious, constantly wondering, What if? The aspect that had affected him the most was still the kid¡¯s attitude. He was just too haughty, to a point where Zhou Zhibo felt like he possessed a powerful backing.

    With the cruel truth now revealed, Zhuo Zhibo only felt like he had been viciously played. His face reddened before darkening. His fury towards Li Qingshan immediately erupted.

    ¡°Please calm down, commander Zhuo,¡± Ge Jian persuaded in a sensible manner.

    Zhuo Zhibo said frigidly, ¡°As a Black Hawk Commander, I stand above millions. Who knows how many lives I have control over. It has been so many years since someone has been bold enough to play me like this! Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan, how very impressive of you!¡±

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Though, the kid probably won¡¯t be able to return from Ancient Wind city. There¡¯s no need to be angry over a dead person, commander.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that I couldn¡¯t kill him personally. And that Zhou Wenbin, he¡¯s nothing good either.¡±

    Ge Jian said, ¡°He has been sent here all alone to serve as the district magistrate. He does not have a single Qi Practitioner under his command, so why does the commander have to put up with him? Our Hawkwolf Guard has the responsibility of monitoring the government. Why don¡¯t we find some evidence of crimes and try to make him guilty?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Shut up. What evidence can you find? He comes from the Academy of the Hundred Schools. He has countless colleagues, and even the prefect appreciates him very much. If I fall out with him, I¡¯ll only disappoint commander Wang.¡±

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ve misspoken.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Let¡¯s just wait for the news of this kid dying on duty!¡± Afterwards, he would immediately set off for Ancient Wind city and destroy the Qian family to avenge Li Qingshan, showing off the might of the Hawkwolf Guard. That old man Qian must have saved up quite a lot of things over all these years. It was time for harvesting.

    This was Qian Rongzhi¡¯s original scheme. They would kill two birds with one stone, destroying the Qian family and Li Qingshan, while Zhuo Zhibo would obtain some rich spoils of battle as well.

    At dusk, Li Qingshan arrived at the open pit to the west of the mountain that the district magistrate had mentioned. The pit was not particularly large, but it was more than enough to hold the remains of over a thousand people.

    The recruited civilians were currently moving the corpses over, stripping them of their clothes and throwing it into a fire on the side before tossing the pale corpses into the open pit.

    Every single person furrowed their brows as they covered their noses and mouths with moist cloth. If it were not for the hefty rewards from the district magistrate and the threat of a disease outbreak, none of them would have been willing to do this. Not only was it disgusting and unbearable, but they also felt like it would all lead to misfortune.

    Black smoke rose up from the fire, floating directly into the sky. There was not the slightest breeze in the wilderness. The red sun that was about to set continued to produce a scorching heat, causing the foul air to shimmer.

    Countless crows circled in the air as they cawed. They would dive down from time to time to feast on the eyes of the corpses.

    All of this seemed even more ominous compared to the night before.

    There probably was no other place more foul than this in the world.

    The district magistrate originally maintained a wide berth from all of it, but when he heard that Li Qingshan had come as well, he rushed over in a hurry and said, ¡°Sir, how do you find this? Is it sufficient?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded, but before he could even reply, the district magistrate glanced at the open pit and covered his mouth as he vomited. In the end, he scrambled away from there.

    Once all the corpses were thrown into the pit, the civilians began filling up the pit with soil. This lasted until the sun had set and night had descended. Only then were they almost done.

    Li Qingshan hesitated before throwing the jar in his hand into the centre of the open pit. He allowed the people to bury it together with the corpses.

    Li Qingshan stood at the edge of the pit for quite a while. Even after quite some time, the stink did not disperse.

    ¡°Did you know that plants grow particularly well in places where corpses are buried? When I was young, I poisoned a dog to death. I buried it in the garden house, and from then on, the flowers that bloomed every year would be particularly beautiful.¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around. Diao Fei and Qian Rongzhi stood nearby.

    Qian Rongzhi made her way over and looked at the pit. ¡°In under a year, this will become the place with the lushest vegetation.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no interest in joining this conversation with her. Meanwhile, Diao Fei said, ¡°The mission has been complete. It¡¯s time for us to return, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I still want to stay here for a while. I want to deal with the property and land under my name. You should return first.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi sneered as she said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of running now? You don¡¯t know Gu Yanying at all, do you? How is it possible for a bumpkin like you to know a woman like that? Zhuo Zhibo has probably already gotten to the bottom of this now. It will be your time to die when you return. However, how are you supposed to run away? There won¡¯t be a single place in the world to shelter you if you bear the crime of betraying the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed Qian Rongzhi by the throat and said calmly, ¡°Do you believe that I can kill you right now? And have you buried with those other people?¡±

    ¡°Stop, Li Qingshan!¡± Diao Fei wanted to go up and stop him, but Li Qingshan raised his left hand towards him, and he stopped.

    Qian Rongzhi said with difficulty, ¡°If you kill me, then you¡¯ll have to silence Diao Fei as well. Can you really manage that?¡±

    Diao Fei¡¯s expression changed drastically. He could not help but take a few steps back as he raised his guard. After last night, he no longer believed that he was Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. His hand gradually tightened, and Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face became bright red. Fear appeared in her eyes. Just when she felt that her neck was about to snap, the grip suddenly loosened, and she collapsed on the ground on her knees, gasping heavily.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t piss me off.¡± He stared right into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hateful eyes. ¡°Go back and tell Zhuo Zhibo that I¡¯ll be returning to Jiaping very soon. If he¡¯s sick of waiting, he can come to Ancient Wind city to find me. I welcome him at all times.¡±

    Afterwards, he crouched down and said to Qian Rongzhi, ¡°If you¡¯re scheming to kill me, then you¡¯d best be prepared. You¡¯ll only have one chance. If you fail, I will use everything I have to kill you. Of course, it¡¯s best if you forget about that, or perhaps one day when I¡¯m in a bad mood, I¡¯ll just kill you off to cheer myself up.¡±

    Hatred was gradually replaced by fear. Qian Rongzhi felt an indescribable pressure from his calm voice. The suffocating feeling felt even more realistic than being choked earlier.

    ¡°W- what benefit would I get out of your death?¡± Qian Rongzhi dodged Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze as she said stiffly.

    Just like how people would always meet their match, once her vicious ¡®wickedness¡¯ was compared to Li Qingshan¡¯s cruel and overpowering ¡®wickedness¡¯, it would naturally shy away in response.

    Li Qingshan stood up and left the pit, making his way back to Ancient Wind city.

    Qian Rongzhi stood up and flicked off the soil from her body. She tidied her clothes and recovered her smile. She stared at Li Qingshan¡¯s back as she said to herself, ¡°One¡­ chance?¡±

    Diao Fei shivered inside. He asked, ¡°Are you going back?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I¡¯ve managed to return home after so much difficulty, so how I can leave so soon?¡±

    Diao Fei was actually relieved by her reply. He was clearly the greatest cultivator out of the three of them, at the third layer of Qi Practitioner, and he was the oldest, so he was the most experienced in roaming the jianghu. As a matter of fact, he was even more widely-renowned compared to the two of them. His name of Diao Fei, or master Diao, was widespread in the jianghu. It was not something that a name like the Black Tiger could rival. He was known for his craftiness, coldness, and being difficult to handle.

    However, he felt like he was standing between a venomous snake and a vicious tiger, constantly feeling like he could die at any time.

    This was not a false impression. Whether it be Qian Rongzhi¡¯s devilish schemes or Li Qingshan¡¯s forceful methods, there was nothing ensuring Diao Fei¡¯s personal safety. He faced the most amount of danger.

    Qian Rongzhi wanted Qian Yannian to kill Li Qingshan, so Diao Fei would be finished off with him. When Li Qingshan directly confronted Qian Yannian, it was also very likely for Diao Fei to die if Qian Yannian unleashed his trump cards right from the beginning, summoning the Geng Metal Swords of Qi and using the Lightning Summoning talismans. Li Qingshan would not just sit by and watch this happen, but he would never expose his identity as a daemon just for him.

    It had to be mentioned that Diao Fei had not gone through those life-threatening dangers when he roamed the jianghu for nothing. His senses were extremely sharp.

    Earlier, when the black, vicious tiger pressed down on the colourful venomous snake and let out a threatening growl, the unrelated Diao Fei would involunatily become one of the venomous snake¡¯s cards, which would make the vicious tiger consider whether it should show no mercy this time.

    Diao Fei left in a hurry. In the end, he glanced at Qian Rongzhi from afar before vanishing into the darkness. He decided to never go on a mission with the two of them again, no, he would maintain his distance from them at all times.

    The colourful venomous snake stood before the pit of a thousand corpses that she was personally responsible for as she silently produced new venom. She was even rather thankful for the threat from the black vicious tiger earlier. Once she showed her venomous fangs, that would be when she would die. Even if she succeeded, she would be ripped to shreds by a furious tiger.

    However, she was not too worried. Patience had always been the best characteristic of a venomous snake. She could put up with the Qian family for over a dozen years, to the point where everyone believed she had already become docile, without any grievances towards the Qian family. It was even to the point where Qian Yannian let her go to Jiaping city to become a Hawkwolf guard.

    She had already reached the second layer of Qi Practitioner three years ago. She possessed the ability to leave the Qian family. At that time, Qian Yannian had basically trusted her already, giving her as much freedom as she wanted. If she wanted to, it was completely at her discretion to flee, leaving the range of the Qian family¡¯s influence so that Qian Yannian could not find her.

    Ordinary people would have run out of patience a long time ago. They would have used the opportunity to break away from the clan, but she did not. She was willing to endure another three years of humiliation so that she seemed even more obedient, allowing her to win even more trust, just for a single opportunity to inject her venom into the throats of her enemies.

    She would continue to wait patiently for a chance that would probably never appear. However, she felt like there was no need for her to do anything much at all. The figure of a vulture in the air had already enveloped the tiger. The tiger might have been startlingly fierce, but it was still too young at the end of the day.

 Chapter 145 â€“ Pale Flames of Bone Smelting

    However, there were many parts that seemed strange to Qian Rongzhi.

    She had already gained some understanding as to what kind of person Li Qingshan was. He might have been courageous and staunch to his morals, but he was not stupid. Anyone knew it would be a futile effort to face a sixth layer Qi Practitioner while at the second layer, but he was fearless.

    She had purposefully probed him earlier, confirming once again that he really did not have any backing he could rely on, so just what was he relying on?

    When they came, during the night on the boat, Qian Rongming went to make trouble for Li Qingshan. He did not die at Diao Fei¡¯s hands, but his hands, as he used a special method to hide his strength.

    Was his true strength beyond the second layer of Qi Practitioner?

    Qian Rongzhi thought of something. Zhao Liangqing and Furong¡¯s mysterious disappearance might have purely been a coincidence, but she knew Qian Yannian¡¯s strength very well. Even if he managed to get past the two Geng Metal Swords of Qi, there would be many powerful talismans waiting for him in Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, so why had they not been used?

    She shut her eyes and began to recall the past as best as she could. Washing away the blood and craziness of last night, it reappeared before her.

    Qian Yannian stared at her furiously, but he did not say anything to her. Why? His chin had shattered. He was covered in many wounds, but the critical one was located at his chest, which was why her Water-splitting barb had pierced him so easily.

    When Qian Yannian emerged, he was basically on his last breath already. Li Qingshan seemed to have been knocked out in a horrible shape, but he did not seem to be injured at all. He had defeated Qian Yannian in a direct confrontation.

    Li Qingshan must have had an extremely powerful trump card, which was why he was bold enough to be so haughty and arrogant.

    She thought about Qian Yannian¡¯s wounds. Li Qingshan¡¯s arts of forging the body might have been much more powerful than he had displayed, powerful enough for him to steal Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, shatter his chin, and pierce his chest in a single instant. Afterwards, he was knocked away as an act. If that were the case, everything made sense. All of Li Qingshan¡¯s actions and words fell in place together.

    Just like how thieves were petty people, yet they were more clever than kings, Li Qingshan had never thought that everything he did would be deduced in such detail.

    Qian Rongzhi saw something else. A vicious tiger laid within the woods, waiting for the vulture to dive down from the sky. Who was the predator? Who was the prey? That was undecided!

    She obviously was not kind enough to warn Zhuo Zhibo. It was just like before. She would be happy no matter who died. Hopefully, they would fall in battle together.

    For the first time, she felt like Li Qingshan had a slightly greater chance at victory, as he hid in the darkness. Those who hid in the darkness were terrifying. She understood this very well herself. If she used this matter to threaten Li Qingshan right now, she would definitely die, but if she reported this to Zhuo Zhibo, there would probably be no benefit either. Moreover, if she lost the gamble, she would have to be buried along with Zhuo Zhibo. Li Qingshan¡¯s warning was not a joke.

    Then, if she wagered on Li Qingshan, was it possible for her to get a share of Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s corpse?

    She seriously considered these possibilities. Being a crafty, petty person really was much more difficult than being an impractical person of noble character. At this moment, her cold thinking completely discarded any consideration for her own honour or disgrace, even more than a wise and open-minded king. Everything was for the sake of benefit.

    A cold breeze suddenly swept towards Qian Rongzhi from the pit. It caused her to shiver. Unknowingly, it was already very deep into the night.

    She turned around and saw a green will-o¡¯-wisp floating above the pit.

    Even ordinary people would be startled by that, let alone her, the reason behind all of this. However, she only cursed jokingly, ¡°Damned ghosts!¡± Afterwards, she cast aside the matter regarding Li Qingshan. There were even more important matters for her to attend to at the moment!

    Now, it really was time for her to pay a visit home.

    She raised her head and smiled at the starry sky. Father, mother, my brothers and sisters, you must be all sick of waiting!

    After Qian Rongzhi left, something startling happened beneath the soil in the pit.

    Web-like cracks expanded over the jar. It exploded violently, and Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration spread out in all directions, devouring all of the corpses and the foul flesh and blood, turning it into a part of the flames. It burned even more vigorously.

    The dim depths tuned into a brilliant sea of fire. The foul, rotting corpses turned into clear, surging flames.

    The will-o¡¯-wisps vanished from above the pit.

    With a rattle, over a thousand skeletons fell to the bottom of the pit.

    Xiao An sat at the centre of the raging flames with his legs crossed, controlling the fire while absorbing the energy of the blood flames.

    The skulls at the bottom of the pit stared at him silently with their empty eye sockets.

    Xiao An extended his index finger downwards, and the blood flames turned into thousands of snakes, slithering through the skulls.

    Blood flames similar to his lit up in the empty eye sockets. All of the skeletons began to shake, constantly banging against one another and producing a hurried rattle. Afterwards, they flew up, and the scattered bones assembled together.

    Over a thousand skeletons of various sizes leapt about at the bottom of the pit, dancing around in the flames. The rattling of the bones were like percussive instruments, while the chattering of teeth was like singing. They surrounded Xiao An like they were holding a grand sacrificial ceremony.

    The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration could be divided and imbued into corpses, developing a link with Xiao An so that he could control them at will. He knew this already. However, there was no point to this at all. The weak skeletons could not even defeat weaker practitioners of martial arts.

    A skull flew over and landed in Xiao An¡¯s hand.

    With eye sockets to eye sockets, their blood flames burned together.

    Within the brilliant redness of the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration, a sliver of pale whiteness gradually appeared.

    Joy appeared in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets. This was an evolved flame of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty¡ªthe Pale Flames of Bone Smelting.

    The fire was just like its name. It could smelt white bone.

    If it were ordinary flames, it could only burn white bone to ashes no matter how hot it was, but as it was licked by the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting, the skull melted like candy. This process was extremely gradual and just as unbelievable.

    After a very long time, the skull melted completely, turning into a droplet of pale-white liquid that dripped onto the centre of his forehead.

    Afterwards, he raised his head, and a bone arm landed in his hand. He continued to smelt it.

    As he smelted the white bones, the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting burned more and more vigorously. It smelted Xiao An¡¯s white bones as well.

    This process was a hundred times more painful than using blood to cultivate. It felt like countless steel needles, saws, and grindstones piercing, cutting, and rubbing against his body.

    Just a single instant of it was enough to drive an ordinary person into insanity, or even death, let alone enduring it. However, the flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets burned brilliantly. He was fearless.

    Whenever it almost became too painful to endure, a snowstorm would appear before him. He would return to that snowy night below the Ice Sword cliff.

    Li Qingshan had waved his hand and knocked him aside, telling him to leave before vanishing into the snow and wind, climbing up the Ice Sword cliff alone and embarking on a road to death.

    He stood in the wind and snow, alone, for a very long time. He did not hide as Li Qingshan had instructed. Instead, his body had stiffened. Coldness pierced his bones. He thought in fear, Would he die? Afterwards, he collapsed on his knees and agony filled his body.

    In the end, he managed to catch up to them and lent Li Qingshan a helping hand at a crucial moment, as he had no idea just where else he was supposed to go apart from there.

    Once everything ended, he watched on as Li Qingshan roared at the sky. He said nothing, but he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

    The influence of that night on him was no less than what Li Qingshan experienced.

    How could what he was going through right now compare to the pain back then?

    The roaring Pale Flames of Bone Smelting enveloped him completely, smelting away the impurities and imbuing him with even more bone fluid; this process continued endlessly.

    Before he rebuilt his body, he wanted his new body to be even stronger so that he could catch up to his steps.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan arrived at the local government office and handed the pile of property deeds to the district magistrate so that he could auction them off.

    The district magistrate was utterly flattered. ¡°Sir, I probably won¡¯t be able to sell them all immediately.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s urgent, so it¡¯s fine even if you lower the price a little. Just treat it as a boon from me to the citizens of Ancient Wind city.¡± With a tremendous sum of several hundred Qi Gathering pills on him, he did not care too much about the silver. He had considered just throwing it all into a fire, but that would definitely lead to great turmoil in Ancient Wind city, which was why he did this.

    The district magistrate said, ¡°Sir, you sow endless good karma. I must thank you for your kindness for the sake of the people of Ancient Wind city.¡±

    Karma? Li Qingshan smiled. That was not something he believed in. ¡°Just get it done within a month.¡± Even without a warning, he did not believe the district magistrate would rip him off. At most, he would just skim a small part of it, which only made sense.

    The district magistrate said, ¡°Sir, are there any other matters?¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way out through the door, ¡°I¡¯ll be staying in the city for a while. Just don¡¯t annoy me.¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously did not continue staying in an inn. After all, he was the largest landowner of the city. He chose a small courtyard on the mountain side. It was close to the Qian estate, and the surroundings were extremely tranquil. Most important, he could see the pit from there.

    He stood in the courtyard. There was an overarching grid with grapevines and below it was a rocking chair. Beside it was a great water tank to put out fires. A carp lived in the tank, swimming around freely. A rippling, crescent moon reflected on the dark water surface.

    Xiao An never mentioned it, but he could vaguely sense that the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was an extremely impressive ability. It did not require any pills of medicines, progress could be made rapidly, and it possessed astonishing power.

    However, everything was balanced and equal. It required talent far beyond the reach of ordinary people. It required people to endure intolerable pain.

    Xiao An was just a child, but he was a very clever and very strong child. He did not need his worry. The only thing he worried about was the future. Their future.

    After all these years, Xiao An¡¯s family have probably all passed away already! Perhaps there would only be a few gravestones waiting for him once he returns, and afterwards, I¡¯ll adopt him.

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°Haha, my damned demonic thoughts.¡±

    In the end, he decided to not think that much. He just sat down on the ground and tossed a Qi Gathering pill into his mouth. Chewing it to pieces, the bitterness and astringency spread through his mouth, which instead cleared up his head. He began to cultivate.

    A ray of sunlight fell on his face. His eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes.

 Chapter 146 â€“ The Illusionary Riches of Human Society

    Looking down from this vantage point, Ancient Wind city seemed like a series of steps, and the rows upon rows of roofs and buildings were built upon these steps. Currently, all of it was doused in a layer of red light.

    Many people flowed through the intersecting streets and alleyways. There were vendors selling breakfast, people buying groceries, and travelling merchants who had risen early. It was a clamorous sight of society.

    The sight from here was extremely vast and wide, which opened his mind and allowed him to see further as well.

    ¡°So the scenery here was actually so magnificent?¡± Li Qingshan sighed in surprise slightly. He took in a deep breath and began practising martial arts, moving his arms and legs around.

    He sensed the flow of true qi through his body. After eating nine Qi Gathering pills last night, it had strengthened slightly yet again. His cultivation at the second layer was gradually consolidating.

    He was not in a hurry to revert to daemon form and eat a huge quantity of pills.

    That was because he could feel he would remain here for a while, and he would have to go back to Jiaping city for his next portion of Qi Gathering pills. Instead of eating a large number of pills and suffering from a temporary shortage, it would be better for him to take it slowly. The daemon core would naturally absorb a part of it.

    He found a set of clothes from the past owner of the room and changed out of his Black Wolf uniform. Afterwards, he left the place and made his way down a series of stairs. He ordered some local specialty snacks in a store with the word ¡®tea¡¯ written on a plaque.

    He felt like he was a tiny step closer to completing his great dream of eating all the delicacies of the world. Afterwards, he went off on a stroll in satisfaction. He purposefully moved very slowly so that he could appreciate the scenery along the way.

    Who knows how long it had been since he had settled down and done something like this. Ever since he began cultivation, every single day was tense and pressing. Even when he returned to human society and arrived in the ancient Jiaping city, he had to deal with an endless number of problems constantly.

    He had punished the wicked, assassinated a powerful opponent, and taken precautions against enemies. Even when he had the slightest leisure, he had to take advantage of every moment to cultivate, afraid to relax even by the slightest bit.

    He had almost forgotten what leisure was like. He recalled the past, those times he spent on Crouching Ox hill, watching over the ox as it grazed, looking at the mountains, playing a reed flute, and avoiding the oppression of his elder brother and his wife. Unknowingly, a morning passed like this.

    It seemed like two completely different lives. They each had their own charms, but he preferred his current lifestyle more. He was not someone who would lament about the past.

    Ordinary people seemed to walk on level crowds, getting married, having children, covering daily necessities, until they passed away. On the other hand, cultivators seemed to be climbing a mountain that they could never reach the top of. Every time they made progress, they would see new things. Their lives would be elongated, spared from the grasp of death.

    An official notice had already been placed before the government office. They even stationed a literate, minor officer there to read it aloud, announcing that all the property of the Qian family would be auctioned off in seven days.

    Several hundred people gathered in front of the government office, forming a tight encirclement. They all pointed or indicated at it as they discussed.

    Li Qingshan stood within the crowd and stared at it for a while like everyone else. The district magistrate sure was fast.

    Afterwards, he passed through the crowd and entered a small bookshop. He paid two taels of silver and purchased several books of leisure, including poems, history, and random essays in general. Afterwards, he checked out a musical instrument shop and spent thirty-five taels for two scores and a jade flute.

    Returning home, he sat down on the rocking chair below the grape vines and casually flipped open a book, reading through it carefully. The sun had already risen into the sky, turning from red to white. It pierced through the dense leaves of the grape vines and scattered on the slightly yellow pages as well as his face.

    Right now, he seemed especially like a teenager and not a fearless cultivator, a decisive Black Wolf guard when it came to killing. The sharpness of his chiselled face seemed to mellow slightly, while his gaze that was like drawn blades was sheathed once more. They became deep and clear.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core gradually revolved within his body with unprecedented translucency. Water vapour flowed out from him naturally, moistening his clothes.

    He failed to notice that he had become completely engrossed by a great war within a history book.

    That was a certain type of mood and a certain way of cultivating.

    A bow that was not in use had to be unstrung. He eased up from being so tense, nurturing his mind and body, only so that he could shoot an even more powerful arrow in the future, perhaps soon.

    Not every single person could be so leisurely. There was a small town several dozen kilometers from Ancient Wind city. It was called Shangguan town, as most of the people living there had Shangguan as their surname.

    Although they possessed a rare surname, they were not some clan of the martial arts society. The people were just the most ordinary common people.

    However, there was a family in the town who went from being an ordinary family to the wealthiest and most influential family in the town, just because they produced a daughter who bore the surname Qian. They had whitewashed walls and jade-green tiles with countless servants. There was cheerful singing everyday. Everyone in the village was envious of them.

    A rider in black on a fine, white horse slowly advanced along the path that connected Shangguan town to Ancient Wind city.

    Qian Rongzhi looked at Shangguan village on the horizon from afar. Her mind that had been as still as water suddenly became a mess. She could not help but tighten her grasp around the Water-splitting barb on her waist. The cold weapon brought her a sliver of warmth.

    The sun blazed in the sky, yet there was a sliver of lingering gloom in her eyes. She mocked herself, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, oh Qian Rongzhi. You really have overestimated yourself.¡±

    She had been taken away from this family. After she became accomplished with cultivation, Qian Yannian permitted her to return home and see her family. Ever since then, she frequently returned. She treated every single person in the family with great warmth. She wanted Qian Yannian to believe she treasured her ties and her past. Moreover, she wanted to make the Qian family believe they could control her using these people.

    But now, she had already broken free from all of this. It was pointless for these facades to exist anymore. Her heart gradually turned cold. It was time for her to end it.

    No one should be able to derive happiness from her misfortune! Nobody!

    The vermillion gates of the Shangguan estate were wide open as blood flowed out from under the screen wall at the entrance.

    Qian Rongzhi clutched her Water-splitting barb and frowned in thought as she stood behind the screen wall. There were over a dozen corpses strewn across the ground. There were guards, servants, servant girls, and maidservants¡­

    She could name every single person there, but now, they were all dead.

    She ventured deeper into the estate and saw more and more corpses. When she arrived in the internal courtyard, she saw a madam on the floor. She was originally a country woman, but her head was now adorned with precious jewelry, and she wore expensive silks from the south. However, she had been reduced to a blood mess now.

    Qian Rongzhi had basically forgotten the name of this madam, as she had called her ¡®mother¡¯ for too long.

    However, she felt her heart ease up for some reason. She gazed at the corpse deeply before stepping over it.

    Afterwards, there were even more familiar people. Siblings.

    Despite it being noon, the ancestral hall was still very dark. Several tablets stood in the heavy darkness as it enshrined the past ancestors of the Shangguan family.

    A white-haired old man with a darkened face held a chubby, middle-aged man. He cast his cold, hateful gaze at Qian Rongzhi as she walked in; he yelled, ¡°Shangguan Rongzhi, I knew you would return here!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said with mixed emotions, ¡°Third uncle!¡±

    This old man was Qian Yannian¡¯s nephew. He had practised martial arts for many years. Finally, he broke through to the innate realm, reaching the second layer of Qi Practitioner to become one of the masters of the Qian family. Last night, he managed to escape from the main hall of the Qian family. Diao Fei did not choose to pursue him, which was why he managed to escape alive.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Did you do all this?!¡±

    The third uncle said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Shangguan Rongzhi, you traitor! How dare you still call me third uncle! You killed the entire Qian family! You destroyed the Qian family! You¡¯ve destroyed my everything. I will never forgive you. I will kill your entire family.¡±

    ¡°Rongzhi, save me!¡± The chubby, middle-aged man¡¯s body jiggled. Snot and tears flowed across his face, perhaps out of fear, or perhaps out of sorrow.

    This was the person she called father. Qian Rongzhi said furiously and fearfully, ¡°Father, I¡¯ll definitely save you! Qian Haode, release my father!¡±

    Qian Haode said, ¡°Now you know fear? You bitch! Throw away your weapon and kneel!¡± Qian Rongzhi hesitated at first, so he crushed the chubby man¡¯s shoulder. The man howled and Qian Haode ordered, ¡°Kneel!¡±

    With a clang, Qian Rongzhi threw the Water-splitting barb aside and knelt. She inched forward on her knees as she begged in anguish, ¡°Please! Release my father!¡±

    Qian Haode smiled crazily and complacently. He refused to just kill her off. Not only did he want to kill off her entire family, but he even wanted to torture her closest family right in front of her.

    Qian Rongzhi inched closer on her knees. She reached backwards with her right hand and true qi sucked the Water-splitting barb back into her hand. She leapt up from below, stabbing towards Qian Haode.

    Qian Haode pulled the chubby man in front of him as a meat shield, blocking his body firmly. Then he grabbed the man¡¯s other shoulder, waiting to force back Qian Rongzhi before torturing him viciously again. He wanted this bitch to regret her actions.

    However, he felt a chill in his chest. Qian Rongzhi had no intention of pulling back. The Water-splitting bard stabbed deep into the meat shield, and the tip entered Qian Haode¡¯s chest. True qi turned into blue light, piercing through him.

    ¡°You-¡± Qian Haode and the chubby man looked at Qian Rongzhi in disbelief. However, the anguish on her face had already vanished completely. It was replaced by cold satisfaction.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°It would have been rather difficult for me to kill you otherwise!¡±

    Qian Haode said, ¡°Shangguan Rongzhi, y- you venomous bitch! You won¡¯t even spare your own family!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi corrected him, ¡°I¡¯m not Shangguan Rongzhi. I¡¯m Qian Rongzhi! Most of my family is dead already. Only you remain. From today onwards, I won¡¯t have any family at all.¡± She drew out the Water-splitting barb viciously.

    Qian Haode and the chubby man collapsed on the ground together. Qian Rongzhi did not even glance at the chubby man. She removed the hundred treasures pouch from Qian Haode and said sweetly, ¡°Thank you, third uncle.¡± Just like an obedient little girl.

    Qian Haode raised his hand with difficulty as he tried to gather true qi. The Water-splitting barb stabbed through his head without any hesitation at all. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hold back with Rongzhi.¡±

    ¡°Rongzhi, s- save me!¡± The chubby man extended his hand with difficulty and grabbed Qian Rongzhi by the corner of her clothes.

 Chapter 147 â€“ The Arts of Alchemy

    ¡°I¡¯m your father!¡± The chubby man called out as blood spurted out from his mouth.

    ¡°You have a daughter?¡± Qian Rongzhi was taken aback. She thought about it seriously. ¡°Oh, you did. However, didn¡¯t you sell her off already? Afterwards, you used the money to take a few concubines!¡±

    The chubby man said with difficulty, ¡°I did all of that for¡­ for your sake so that you would¡­ would have a good future. You should be¡­ be thanking me.¡±

    ¡°Everything I possess right now came from my desperate and painful struggles! Stop trying to claim credit for yourself!¡± Qian Rongzhi suddenly lost her temper and kicked his hand away.

    The chubby man opened his mouth, but he said nothing. Hatred and despair filled his face. He finally passed away.

    ¡°You derived fortune from my misfortune, and now, you¡¯re suffering misfortune because of my fortune. It¡¯s very fair, isn¡¯t it?¡± Qian Rongzhi muttered to herself. She made her way out of the estate, throwing everything behind her.

    All of her memories had been eliminated now.

    Qian Rongzhi held a grand funeral in Shangguan town. She undertook the most noble and tedious ceremony, throwing joss paper into the air.

    She knelt before the memorial tablets, almost crying to a point where she fainted as she held the coffins. Eventually, she forced her up, thanking every single person who had come to mourn in anguish.

    ¡°Rongzhi was just under the order of the government. Who would¡¯ve thought that it would lead to such a disaster.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, to think that a girl as good as Rongzhi would suffer a fate like this. The people of the Qian family really have no conscience at all.¡±

    Night descended. Everyone dispersed, and the gate was firmly shut. A pair of white lanterns before the gate swayed in the wind.

    After turning down the neighbours who wanted to help watch over the coffins, Qian Rongzhi leaned against the coffins of her entire family in her white, mourning apparel. She took out a jar of wine from her third uncle Qian Haode¡¯s hundred treasures pouch and took a cup from the altar. She poured away the wine that was offered to the dead and filled it up again. She toasted to the memorial tablets before drinking all of it.

    The next day, the coffins were buried, and she had already become a great, filial daughter in utter sorrow.

    Just like the customs, she mourned for seven days. By the seventh night, over a dozen alcohol jars were scattered on the floor. Suddenly, she felt a chill and opened her eyes in a daze. Over a dozen figures stood before her. They all had extremely familiar faces, staring at her coldly. The chubby man cursed and scolded her loudly in anger.

    She let out a drunken laugh, pulled out the Water-splitting barb, and swept out with it. The chilling wind dispersed, and the shadows screamed.

    Bang! A jar of alcohol was thrown onto the memorial tablets, and the tablets scattered on the ground. The alcohol splashed everywhere. She held a candle and gently let go. The fire spread rapidly, swallowing the names on the tablets and spreading throughout the entire ancestral hall.

    She made her way out of the blazing ancestral hall, disappearing into the darkness without even looking back. Behind her, the fire spread across the entire estate.

    Another person swore the oath to never return home again.

    The flute resounded through the dusk, lasting for a very long time.

    Li Qingshan placed down the jade flute. He felt like it really did have a better tone compared to the reed flute he used in the past.

    He began a quiet lifestyle. Everyday, he would cultivate, read and play the flute. During his leisure, he would stroll through the city and eat something new. Life was very peaceful.

    Plop! There was a splash in the water tank. A carp waved its huge tail.

    ¡°Stop messing around!¡± Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a larger pond in a few days!¡±

    The water tank immediately fell quiet.

    A few days ago, he crushed a Qi Gathering pill of very poor quality and scattered it in the water tank. The next day, the carp grew larger, and on the day after that, it grew larger once again; then today arrived. The water tank had already become cramped. It could no longer swim around freely.

    Li Qingshan looked at the huge, red carp in the water tank. ¡°I might as well just have you cooked.¡±

    With a swish, the carp swam to the bottom of the tank.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that my culinary ability is only so-so!¡± Li Qingshan laughed. He reached towards the water take, and his daemon core revolved. The water in the tank surged out, constantly changing shape in the air as the carp swam through it.

    Li Qingshan took the carp and made his way towards the Qian estate. There was a large pond in the Qian estate that could hold this bastard.

    Leaping over the wall, the large estate was empty. It had gone from being lively and bustling to deserted and quiet. It had only been ten days since someone tended to the place, and weeds had already begun growing on the pathways with dodders climbing up the beams. Within the vitality was a feeling of decay, while the stone steps were even worse. The dried traces of blood that could not be cleaned off gave off an even more ominous feeling.

    So many days had passed already. Not a single person in this city was bold enough to approach this place. They would only look from afar and sigh.

    Although he had made the district magistrate auction off the estate as well, Li Qingshan knew without even thinking that no one would buy it. Before long, it would fall into disuse completely and become a ghost house.

    The lotus flowers had already wilted and fallen away in the pond, but the lily pads remained verdant.

    ¡°No one will eat you here.¡±

    With a splash, Li Qingshan threw the carp into the lotus pond. The carp raised its head and bobbed up and down, as if it was thanking him before opening its mouth.

    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s your lucky day.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and placed a Qi Gathering pill into its mouth. Only then did it turn around and swim towards the depths of the lotus pond.

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to turn around and return, he suddenly saw a speck of firelight in the distance. It pierced through the shrubbery and shadows. He passed through the shrubs and approached the speck of firelight. He caught a whiff of a heavy fragrance from afar.

    Entering through the door, he saw a large, circular, three-legged cauldron that currently gurgled with white steam. There was a heavy fragrance with the steam.

    A pretty figure sat on a cushion in front of the cauldron with her hands extended, sending true qi into the cauldron. The amount of steam varied over time, controlled by true qi.

    Li Qingshan recognised her with a single glance. ¡°Qian Rongzhi, what are you doing here?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi did not answer him. A while later, she pulled back her hands and regulated her true qi slowly. The cauldron top opened violently and steam filled the entire room.

    Li Qingshan found this smell to be extremely familiar. ¡°You¡¯re refining pills!¡± He looked around and discovered that this should have been the alchemy room of the Qian family. It was also where all the Qi Gathering pills in his hundred treasures pouch came from.

    He had eaten quite a few Qi Gathering pills before, but this was the first time he had seen someone refine pills. Then he looked at the huge cauldron. It was covered with green rust, but it continued to shine. It was actually a low grade spiritual artifact.

    Originally, Li Qingshan believed that the Qian family would store something like that in a hundred treasures pouch if they possessed it, but he never thought it would be like this. The cauldron was so large that Qian Yannian would barely be able to fit it in his hundred treasures pouch if he placed it in completely. The inscriptions on low grade spiritual artifacts were limited. Since the cauldron could spray water, it obviously could not shrink.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°This is my home!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s mine now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already bought it from you. According to our deal, everything in the Qian family is mine. That obviously includes this cauldron. It sure has been a profit for me.¡± Qian Rongzhi took out the deed to the estate as she smiled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say you were lucky.¡± Li Qingshan turned around to leave. He did not feel any pity at all. Even if Qian Rongzhi had not done all of this, he would have never bothered to search through the estate anyway.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Do you want to learn alchemy?¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped. He looked back. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Li Qingshan had already realised that apart from the most rudimentary cultivation and practising of qi, there were also several subsidiary occupations on the path of cultivation, such as making talismans, refining pills, forging artifacts, formations, and so on. Cultivators would normally learn one or two of them, which would bring about great benefits to their cultivation.

    He could tell from the objects in Qian Yannian¡¯s hundred treasures pouch that Qian Yannian had not studied forging artifacts or formations much, but he was rather skilled at creating talismans and refining pills. These also happened to be the areas he was interested in.

    ¡°I want you!¡± Qian Rongzhi hesitated before biting her lip and looking at Li Qingshan in complete seriousness. She said with a hint of embarrassment, ¡°You must think that I¡¯m a lascivious woman, but actually, I¡¯ve never done anything with a man¡­¡±

    She believed she had mostly understood Li Qingshan now, so she secretly came up with a plan. Although it was rather surprising for her to come across him tonight, it was perfect for her to try it. Li Qingshan would probably turn her down, and she would react with becoming overwhelmed by grief. Then she would tell him about her sorrowful childhood and shed a few tears when it mattered. She refused to believe she would not earn his sympathy. They would sleep together, and he would swear a pledge of love. With how straightforward and generous he was, she definitely would be able to get something out of him.

    However, just when she had come up with a serious plan and written a script for all of this, Li Qingshan¡¯s improvisation completely kicked in once more.

    He interrupted her with a smile. ¡°Alright. Teach me alchemy, and I¡¯ll sell my body for just this once.¡± Although he found her actions to be appalling, there was no reason for him to turn down something as great as this. I¡¯m a man, so am I supposed to be afraid of being ripped off by you?

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expression stiffened. Although she had thought of many possibilities before, she had never imagined that Li Qingshan would be such a scoundrel. It was completely different to her plan. She could not continue the act any longer. She suddenly recalled the first time she had seen him, when he was drinking and eating in the restaurant with all those women. She had misunderstood him far too much.

    The vine wanted to climb onto a tree, to suck out tree sap and receive even more sunlight. Hopefully, it would kill the tree as well. However, never did it think that it had wrapped around a metal pole.

    As a transcender, just what hadn¡¯t he seen? Qian Rongzhi¡¯s actions were nothing but commonplace in the society of his former life. Even news for entertainment and magazines for gossip could not be bothered reporting something like that. At most, they were just not as vicious and crafty as her.

    Qian Rongzhi laughed dryly. ¡°You sure know how to joke.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Since the joke is over, let¡¯s get to the point. What do you want in exchange for teaching me alchemy? Though, let me just say that I myself can be included in the deal for free. I won¡¯t loathe you at all.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi understood that seduction was useless against Li Qingshan, and even if she succeeded, only he would benefit. Not only was there no point to all of it, but it would even cost her, so she revealed her true colours and cut right to the chase. ¡°I want the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The cultivation method that Qian Yannian practises? I¡¯ve already checked. It wasn¡¯t there. Choose something else.¡±

    ¡°That old bastard must have destroyed it.¡± Qian Rongzhi cursed.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There are cultivation methods in the library of the Hawkwolf Guard. You can check it out once you go back.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I¡¯ve already checked. There¡¯s plenty of garbage that lets you cultivate to the sixth or seventh layers, but there¡¯s not a single one that reaches the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Where¡¯d you get the contribution from?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi only smiled.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Forget that I asked. Where else can you get tenth layer Qi Practitioner methods from?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you find me to be very shameful?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your freedom. It has nothing to do with me.¡±

 Chapter 148 â€“ Refining Pills and Forging Artifacts

    Qian Rongzhi found Li Qingshan to be just too strange. He did not seem like a teenager at all, and the more she understood him, the more she found his thought process to be different from regular people. She thought about it before explaining with a smile, ¡°Regarding Qi Practitioner methods that can be practised until the tenth layer, there are five that are the most famous.¡±

    ¡°Which five?¡± Li Qingshan gathered his attention for this important information. Qian Rongzhi originated from a small clan, but according to the official documents, Qian Yannian had once joined a large sect to cultivate, so he must have seen a lot.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Do you know that every person possesses all five elements?¡±

    ¡°The five organs, heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys1?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as just the five organs. The study of the five elements is extremely profound. I can¡¯t explain it in a short amount of time, but every single person can choose to cultivate one of them. By focusing all of their efforts on a single one, their speed at practising qi will increase significantly. There are many cultivation methods for practising true qi of the five elements. The five most renowned methods are the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi, the Yi Wood Method of Living Qi, the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, the Bing Fire Method of Burning Qi, and the Wu Earth Method of Unyielding Qi.¡±2

    Besides a few special sects, such as the Sect of Clouds and Rain, many of the actual, large sects would make their disciples choose one of the five cultivation methods to practise.

    Li Qingshan had originally been considering just which cultivation method to choose after completing the Innate Method of Practising Qi, but now he had a vague direction, no longer carried away by those make-believe divine arts or secret techniques. Although it was not absolute, he believed this world followed the survival of the fittest.

    If a cultivation method could become renowned, it would mean that countless people had actually used and experienced it themselves. As a matter of fact, who knows just how many generations of people had improved it, making it universal. And, when it came to cultivation, they could use the experience of predecessors as a reference. It really was true that all¡¯s well when everyone¡¯s well.3

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Is it possible to practise whatever true qi you want?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Of course not. Everyone is biased towards different elements. The large sects all have their methods to test this, which they will then use to choose the most suitable cultivation method for you to practise. However, I¡¯ve heard that talented geniuses can practise two or even three types of true qi at the same time. Their quantity of true qi exceeds cultivators of the same level who only practise a single true qi, and it¡¯s easier for them to break through.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°I was never a bad person!¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, I can teach you how to refine pills as well.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You don¡¯t want anything in return?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi replied, ¡°I don¡¯t want anything in return.¡±

    Li Qingshan answered, ¡°That sounds great!¡± However, he did not seem particularly happy at all.

    Qian Rongzhi actually began to teach him in detail. ¡°Alchemy requires three most basic things. The first one is materials, whether it be the most common medicinal herb or the most precious medicinal herb. There is a limitless assortment of them, spanning an enormous range. The second is the formula. Every pill has a set formula, which has an extremely detailed requirement for materials and time of the day. The third is the cauldron, or should I say, the fire. Refining materials according to the formula is alchemy¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan listened closely, and before he knew it, four hours had passed, and he only managed to gain a basic understanding of the art of refining pills, alchemy. This art was just too extensive and profound. Even if he devoted his whole life to it, he might not necessarily reach the peak. Right now, he had basically only learned about it slightly. He could not even be considered as having grasped the basics.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°This is roughly all I know regarding alchemy. If you want to study it further, you¡¯ll have to ask someone more competent.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded.

    Qian Rongzhi pointed at the cauldron beside her. ¡°Do you want to try? There are still a lot of medicinal herbs left.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. He wondered whether she had changed. However, after hearing so much about alchemy, he was itching to give it a try, so he sat down before the caldron. He personally controlled the cauldron and refined pills under Qian Rongzhi¡¯s guidance. However, as the fire was slightly too intense, he destroyed a batch of Qi Gathering pills.

    Qian Rongzhi did not show any pity, nor did she scold him. Instead, she encouraged him to keep trying.

    Li Qingshan said nothing either. He continued to try. His true qi was extremely pure, and he could control it as freely as his own arm. During the process of alchemy, his control over it deepened. After wasting another two batches, he finally succeeded. He pulled both hands back, let out a deep breath, and smiled.

    Qian Rongzhi also praised him very much.

    Li Qingshan saw the horizon light up. Knowingly, a whole night had already passed. She stood up and placed a few bottles of Qi Gathering pills on the ground as compensation for the destroyed batches and as fees for her guidance.

    Qian Rongzhi watched Li Qingshan leave through the door, and she picked up the Qi Gathering pills. Just like how Li Qingshan did not rejoice over her generosity earlier, Qian Rongzhi showed no joy right now either.

    The information regarding the Qi Practitioner methods of the five elements and the rudimentary alchemy was not actually a secret at all. And, the pills that Li Qingshan had left behind were far more than the number he had destroyed. Moreover, even if she had been the one making them, it would be impossible for her to say she would succeed every time, so she made quite a profit from this transaction.

    Ordinary people would be very happy, but she felt something enough to turn people cold inside. That was an extremely cold sense of alienation. He would never owe people, nor would people ever owe him. At any time, as long as she tried her schemes against him, he would throw her on his kill list without any hesitation at all. He would never just put up with it.

    She tasted failure once again. This was not a man who could be controlled by his emotions. Did he really not have a single point of weakness on him?

    Li Qingshan did not think as much as her. He only felt happy over learning something new. The path of cultivation was so broad and deep. There were endless mysteries waiting for him to explore. Learning from others was not a bad thing.

    The flames roared in the pit. Currently, the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting had already occupied almost half of the entire space.

    Xiao An¡¯s skeleton became glassy like jade. Compared to before, his bones were even more powerful and tough now.

    The white bones in the pit had smelted his skeleton, which he had completed now. There were still several hundred white skeletons in the pit.

    However, Xiao An continued smelting the white bones.

    The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration and the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting were only the most basic techniques from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Their greatest use was not to harm people, but for cultivation. The Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration were for completely absorbing the essence in flesh and blood such that not a single shred of it went to waste. On the other hand, the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting could melt the bones into fluid, which could be used to strengthen himself.

    Besides that, it had one more use, which was for forging artifacts.

    Practitioners of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty were different from other cultivators. The weapons they used were extremely special. There was a special part of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty devoted to forging weapons, which recorded several dozen special artifacts.

    The Blood Sea Banner, the Trisepultural Robes, the Skull Prayer Beads¡­

    Xiao An decided to use these several hundred skeletons to forge his first white bone spiritual artifact, the Skull Prayer Beads.

    1. This has to do with Chinese medicine, which you can read about here. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zang-fu)

    2. It¡¯s the ten heavenly stems once again, which I mentioned when the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi appeared for Qian Yannian. You can read about it here. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavenly_Stems)

 Chapter 149 â€“ The Flesh and Blood of a Thousand People

    Xiao An parted his hands and several hundred skeletons flew before him with a series of rattles, forming a tight sphere.

    The Pale Flames of Bone Smelting surged up and swallowed the sphere of bones. Its surface gradually melted.

    Xiao An brought his hands together and sat in a meditative pose; his eyes were directed to his nose, and his nose was directed to his heart. However, there was nothing. He had no eyes, no nose, and no heart. He chanted the buddhist scriptures, but he made no sound.

    This was an extremely strange and terrifying sight, yet he happened to give off an aura of solemnity and righteousness. There was nothing related to evil or the undead.

    The process of melting the bone sphere was extremely slow, but under Xiao An¡¯s control, the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting burned more and more vigorously.

    Unknowingly, another half a month had passed. Ever since that night when he learned alchemy, Qian Rongzhi had visited him several times, but she failed to get any benefit out of him, so she hurried back to Jiaping city. The only message she left behind was that she would await his return to Jiaping city.

    As for Li Qingshan¡¯s peaceful lifestyle, it finally began to fall apart.

    Although the Qian family¡¯s reign over the Ancient Wind city had collapsed, it would not turn the city into a happy paradise where people could live in peace. This world was not a fairytale world where people could live happily.

    In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. The people of the martial arts society that Qi Practitioners had originally suppressed began to show up. They formed gangs and fought for territory. Every single day, they would have several battles on the street over the possession of each brothel in the city, with even more battles and assassinations that happened in the dark.

    On this day, Li Qingshan went to a restaurant he frequented and ordered a table of delicious dishes. As soon as he began to eat, a large number of people flooded the place and ordered all the customers to leave. It seemed like the leaders of the two largest gangs in the western part of the city wanted to negotiate something.

    A burly man arrived before Li Qingshan¡¯s table and said impatiently, ¡°Are you done eating? If you¡¯re done, then get out of here!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the burly man before looking at his table of food and drinks. He shook his head firmly. ¡°I¡¯m not done.¡±

    The burly man said, ¡°Kid, have some sense. Don¡¯t act like you have a tough backbone. I¡¯ve crushed many bones in the past few days.¡±

    Against a threat that had no substance and had no deterrent influence at all, Li Qingshan could not even rouse his anger. He just sighed over how he really had been a little too laid-back recently.

    The burly man flew out of the restaurant and knocked down a wall. However, with one man down, several dozen stood up. They all leered at him. They yelled out a few threats that had just about the same substance as the previous one before charging over together. Afterwards, they all flew out of the restaurant.

    Only then did the remaining people suddenly seem to come to a realisation. They stood there trembling and watched Li Qingshan finish his meal, place the money on the table, and make his way out of the door. He muttered to himself, ¡°What peaceful life? If I didn¡¯t have the strength, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to have a proper meal.¡±

    The two gang leaders walked over from the two ends of the street as their own people surrounded them. In order to show their contempt for each other, they had both chosen to come late out of pure coincidence. However, they just happened to catch Li Qingshan at the entrance, or should one say, Li Qingshan just happened to catch them at the entrance.

    As soon as Li Qingshan made his way down the steps of the restaurant, he raised his head and looked at the hazy sky. Summer was almost over.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about how they truly were the bosses after all. At the very least, they would ask about their opponent¡¯s origins and name. Of course, this was very likely due to overestimating him. The several dozen men groaning on the ground played quite an effect.

    ¡°I am Li Qingshan of the Hawkwolf Guard. You are their bosses. Your crime of attacking a Hawkwolf Guard on the street cannot be forgiven. Today, I will be executing you on the spot¡­ forget it, I don¡¯t have much interest in killing lately, so let¡¯s just say it¡¯s your lucky day.¡±

    As Li Qingshan spoke and his aura rose, the two bosses turned sheet-white. Even in ten year¡¯s time, the people of Ancient Wind city would not forget about his name. Of all the people they could run into, why him?

    When Li Qingshan said ¡®executing you on the spot¡¯, their knees had already given way. They could not even plead for their lives. They just closed their eyes, waiting for their deaths. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s tone and aura suddenly declined like a singer unable to hit a high note; it was as if he had just chosen to give up on it.

    Only when Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanished did their subordinates help up the two bosses. They looked at each other with the joy of surviving a disaster. In the end, the two of them put aside their differences because of this encounter and celebrated together, forming a new gang. The rest was self-explanatory.

    Li Qingshan returned to his courtyard and smacked his face in the mirror. ¡°Get yourself together, Li Qingshan!¡±

    Suddenly, he felt like he understood the mindset of those so-called masters, like ¡®someone like you is unworthy of me killing you¡¯. However, he immediately made up his mind to abandon this mindset. You¡¯re still just a low level Qi Practitioner. You¡¯re nowhere close to the point where you can be pretentious. Yep, no matter who provokes me in the future, I¡¯ll step over them, even if it¡¯s just a piece of shit on the ground.

    Then, Li Qingshan looked towards the pit. Xiao An, are you well?

    He had already begun to miss Jiaping city and Zhuo Zhibo.

    Only when he was under pressure did he have motivation. Compared to this peaceful, tasteless lifestyle, he would much prefer running into powerful enemy after powerful enemy, where he needed to do everything he could to kill a way out. However, once he returned this time, Li Qingshan probably could give him a surprise.

    Although he had been rather lazy, he had not stopped cultivating in the past half a month. With almost two hundred Qi Gathering pills down his belly, not only did his daemon qi grow tremendously, but he had even completely consolidated his cultivation at the second layer as well. Pure, plentiful true qi flowed through his Yang Heel meridian endlessly. He had touched on the boundary of the fifth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi as well.

    Within the pit, the tremendous sphere of bones had already melted completely. It formed a pure-white, crystalline sphere, but at a closer glance, it was actually an extremely hideous skull.

    The several hundred skeletons had only managed to be smelted into this tiny prayer bead. Xiao An held the prayer bead between his fingers. If he wanted to gather a string of the Skull Prayer Beads, he would need fourteen at the very least. White bone spiritual artifacts were actually so difficult to forge.

    This was also the reason why Xiao An had chosen the Skull Prayer Beads as his first spiritual artifact. Every single item recorded in the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty possessed devastatingly great might. They were not items he could forge and play around with at his current realm.

    However, he could forge the Skull Prayer Beads one by one. There was no need for him to forge them all at once. He could take it step by step.

    Xiao An held the prayer bead in his hand. He could sense that his mind was connected to it; it was as if the prayer bead was not an independent spiritual artifact, but a part of his body. The reality was not far from that either.

    The flames in the pit subsided, returning to his skull. Only two balls of fire remained in his eyes. He leapt through the soil and left the pit by following Li Qingshan¡¯s aura.

    Having lost the invisible supporting force, the layer of earth on top immediately collapsed. It was discovered by people on the very next day. The remains of the Qian family had vanished into thin air. It became a mystery.

    In the darkness, Li Qingshan opened his eyes as he smiled. ¡°Xiao An, are you done?¡±

    The glassy little skeleton stood before him with red and white mixed around in the flames in his eyes.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his head. ¡°You really are much more pretty.¡± At least from the perspective of a skeleton, that was.

    Xiao An opened his hand and presented the Skull Prayer Bead like it was a treasure.

    Li Qingshan picked up the prayer bead. ¡°What is this?¡± The prayer bead suddenly broke free from his grasp and flew around the room. It formed a white blur as it produced a string of swishes. It was actually no slower than Zhou Wenbin¡¯s flying sword.

    Li Qingshan was stunned. ¡°Is this¡­ a spiritual artifact?¡± It was a mid grade spiritual artifact at the very least.

    With a smile, Xiao An bent his finger, and the prayer bead in the air suddenly swelled in size, turning into a huge skull. The teeth chattered as they collided together, like it was producing a strange laughter. Its eye sockets contained red and white flames similar to Xiao An¡¯s.

    When a child obtained something good, he would obviously show it off to the person who was the closest to them.

    When Li Qingshan learnt the whole story of Xiao An forging an artifact, he could not help but sigh emotionally once more. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty sure was nice. This White Bone Bodhisattva was very thorough with his considerations. If there was no weapon, they would suffer against the enemy even if their abilities and techniques were powerful.

    Due to being connected to the user, the white bone spiritual artifacts could be wielded with great ease, however Xiao An liked. As a result, it was even more powerful than regular spiritual artifacts.

    In fact, calling it a white bone spiritual artifact was not particularly correct. Even though it was just a single prayer bead, it was far more powerful than just a spiritual artifact. However, due to Xiao An¡¯s limited cultivation and materials, he could only forge it to such a level for now.

    The Skull Prayer Beads were the easiest to forge, but they definitely were not the weakest. Fourteen beads formed the smallest string of prayer beads. It would be followed by eighteen, twenty-one, until one thousand and eighty, resulting in a total of ten levels. They could try immortals and buddhas and possessed boundless powers.

    Li Qingshan expressed his admiration once again before asking about what he cared the most, ¡°Can you sense just how many more sacrifices you need before you can rebuild your body?¡±

    Xiao An lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers before raising his head and extending a single finger.

    He still required the flesh and blood of a thousand people!

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s a very formidable task, but at least we have some sight of it. Let¡¯s go cause a massacre then!¡±

    The moment he extended his finger, the world was destined to lose a thousand evil people.

    On the same night, Li Qingshan went to the government office and received the silver from selling the property from the district magistrate. Although they had been sold in a hurry, there were still over a million taels of silver. It was enough to exchange for ten Qi Gathering pills from Zhou Wenbin.

    They did not even wait for the next day. Li Qingshan hurried out of the city with Xiao An during the night. He did not even glance back at Ancient Wind city. He no longer had any plans to return here.

    In the pond of lily pads on the mountainside, a carp swam around freely, shaking up the lily pads. Their destiny had ended today. Who knows whether they would meet again.

    Li Qingshan strode through the darkness in a straight path. By dawn, he had already arrived at a port on Clear River. He boarded a large ship and sailed downstream, heading directly towards Jiaping.

    In Jiaping city, Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°In other words, he really did defeat Qian Yannian?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Yeah. I find it quite difficult to believe as well. That old coot Qian Yannian had weakened with age. He was far too useless. He probably never thought Li Qingshan would be a Body Practitioner, so he was careless, and Li Qingshan managed to get him. Looks like you¡¯ll have to take action personally.¡±

    When Qian Rongzhi left Ancient Wind city, she travelled slowly as she had hired a great cart in order to bring the spiritual artifact cauldron with her. She had only just arrived back at Jiaping.

 Chapter 150 â€“ From Dawn till Dusk

    Not only did Qian Rongzhi give Zhuo Zhibo no warning that Li Qingshan might have been hiding his strength, but she even purposefully misled him, making it seem as if Li Qingshan had won out of pure luck. Even when there was no element of profit in the matter, she was tired of this old thing right in front of her. She hoped very much that he would be killed like that old bag of bones called Qian Yannian. These methods of just allowing matters to develop without making a sound would often be much more terrifying than those straightforward schemes.

    Zhuo Zhibo also sneered just like he would normally. ¡°It¡¯s good that he¡¯s alive. That¡¯ll save me a trip, and I¡¯ll be able to take his life personally. I¡¯ll be able to vent what I¡¯ve pent up.¡±

    ¡°Are you going to kill him as soon as he returns?¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s smile was hidden deep within her pitch-black eyes. She was ready to watch a fascinating show.

    However, Zhuo Zhibo said instead, ¡°I¡¯ll need to put further thought into this matter.¡± Despite being the commander, he was not bold enough to kill a Hawkwolf Guard in public. Afterwards, he sneered, ¡°But he¡¯s still under my command, so do you think he¡¯ll be well off? I¡¯ll show him just whose command this Hawkwolf Guard office is under.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Is there anything on this mountain, in Jiaping city, that doesn¡¯t belong to you? Even I¡¯m no different.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo let out a hearty laugh. He would continue watching over Jiaping city until the day he died; he was just like the iron hawk, watching over everything.

    When the Clear River twisted around the mountain once more, Li Qingshan directly leapt off the boat. Under a series of cries from the people on the boat, he climbed up the cliff face.

    He returned to his residence first and set Xiao An down before going to see Zhuo Zhibo. He wanted to see just how this commander Zhuo would treat him now.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Subordinate Li Qingshan greets commander Zhuo.¡± That was what he said, but he stood with his chest held high, standing as straight as an arrow. He showed no respect at all.

    Zhuo Zhibo no longer tried to act all polite either. He questioned coldly, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you return immediately after completing the mission?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered in a manner that was neither too humble or arrogant, ¡°I obviously had matters to attend to.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo became even more displeased. To think that someone who was about to die would still be bold enough to act so arrogantly. ¡°I¡¯m deducting half of your contribution. You can leave!¡±

    He had actually lost half of the contribution he had earned after so much difficulty. That was equivalent to several dozen Qi Gathering pills. Anyone would be irritated by that.

    Li Qingshan held back his anger. He did not try to dispute it. He just turned around and left. He also could not kill a Black Hawk commander on this mountain.

    As soon as Li Qingshan left the office, he ran into Ge Jian.

    However, Ge Jian had been waiting for him. He sneered as he said, ¡°Li Qingshan, do you really think you¡¯re a big deal just because you killed an old man who had a foot in the grave? How dare you speak to the commander like that? Now you know the consequences, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You really are a good dog raised by Zhuo Zhibo.¡±

    He said that with confidence. Obviously, he did not need to worry that Zhou Zhibo, who was in the office, would miss it; the latter¡¯s face darkened.

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Ge Jian lost his temper after being insulted right to his face. This was no longer the first time Li Qingshan had humiliated him. He had only endured it because he was worried about the latter¡¯s backing.

    Li Qingshan mocked, ¡°To think that you would be bold enough to bark at me here!¡±

    Ge Jian choked up. Originally, he wanted to infuriate Li Qingshan. As long as Li Qingshan attacked him first, there would be grounds for Zhuo Zhibo to interfere. But indeed, without Zhuo Zhibo, where would he get the courage to provoke Li Qingshan? This fellow was a monster who had killed a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go to the front, and you can tell me clearly. I¡¯ll let your scheme succeed for once. Let¡¯s see whether Zhuo Zhibo comes to save you or not.¡±

    Ge Jian would never follow him. Once that happened, even if Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s plan succeeded, he would be dead. He tried to put on a front. ¡°D- don¡¯t be cocky. I¡¯m looking forward to the fate that you¡¯ll suffer.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not spare an additional glance at him. He made his way to the library. Just when he was about to climb up the stairs, he was stopped by the old man who guarded the library. ¡°Who let you up?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I have contribution, so of course I can go up!¡±

    ¡°Move. The library is currently under maintenance. Miscellaneous people are forbidden from entering.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he frowned slightly.

    All the old man felt was an invisible pressure against his chest, so heavy that he struggled to breathe. He forcefully endured it. ¡°What, do you plan on forcing your way in?¡±

    Li Qingshan slowly raised his right hand. The old man gulped as all of his muscles tensed up. His measly amount of true qi that had been eaten away by the passage of time began to circulate furiously. He could feel that as long as Li Qingshan tried, he could launch a devastatingly terrifying attack. Under the tremendous pressure, he did not even have the confidence to receive a single attack from him.

    However, all Li Qingshan did was pat the old man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Take care!¡± Afterwards, he turned around and left the library.

    The old man broke out into a cold sweat and breathed heavily as he leaned on his knees. He had wandered the jianghu for many years, but he had actually been frightened by a half-grown junior. He was utterly humiliated. He yelled at Li Qingshan, ¡°You¡¯re the one who should take care!¡±

    What Li Qingshan experienced afterwards was basically the same. There were no spiritual artifacts or pills. The contribution he had earned after great difficulty became a meaningless number.

    Li Qingshan wanted to exchange for a new Wind-entwining blade, but he was turned down. Originally, Hawkwolf guards could exchange their weapons destroyed in missions for free. However, none of these people said that he did not deserve to. They just came up with various reasons to shrug off his request, but unless he gave them a beating, there was no other way for them to yield to him.

    These important places that held items and wealth were obviously under the control of Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s trusted subordinates. As a matter of fact, there was not even a need for Zhuo Zhibo to say anything. All he needed was a signal and that would be enough to prevent Li Qingshan from accessing anything in the Hawkwolf Guard.

    In the end, Li Qingshan arrived before an extremely old building, with one, large word on it¡ªFalconry. This was where the Hawkwolf Guard issued missions. It was probably the only place on the mountain not under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s control.

    It was not that he was unable to control. Instead, it was because there were no spiritual artifacts or pills here. There were just a pile of troublesome missions. However, exchanging the contribution from the missions for actual things required Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s permission.

    Li Qingshan smiled. As long as this place was still open to him, all was well. To him right now, whether it be spiritual artifacts or pills, none of them were urgent. What he required the most right now was in the falconry.

    There were a few Black Wolf guards accepting missions in the hall. When they saw Li Qingshan enter, they immediately fell quiet. Their mouths moved soundlessly as they communicated via true qi. They discussed between one another silently.

    Li Qingshan made his way over to the counter. The envoy in black stood up in a hurry and said politely, ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve just returned. Do you plan on going out again?¡± On this small mountain, there were not a lot of secrets. He had heard about the disagreements between Li Qingshan and Zhuo Zhibo, but he was afraid of disrespecting Li Qingshan as well.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I want to see what missions there are.¡±

    The envoy in black immediately took out a thick book. ¡°Please have a look, sir.¡±

    The book was dark all over as if it was covered in countless layers of filth. It also seemed like the colour of congealed blood. It felt ominous just from a single sight of it. However, it shone with a gentle glow, and as he held it in his hand, it gave off a slight warmth.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This book is probably pretty old.¡±

    The envoy explained obediently, ¡°It has existed since the office was established in Jiaping city. It¡¯s probably over a millennium old.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then it really is quite old. Does this book have a name?¡±

    The envoy said, ¡°This is just a low grade spiritual artifact used to record missions. It does not have a formal name, but the people of the jianghu call it the blacklist!¡± Although he was just an envoy, he naturally revealed pride as the person in charge of the blacklist.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The blacklist? Why¡¯s that? What¡¯s the story behind it?¡±

    The envoy said, ¡°That¡¯s because names that make it onto the blacklist will definitely die.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, ¡°Dearth, old age, illness, and death go hand in hand. Even if you don¡¯t make it onto the blacklist, you¡¯ll still die.¡±

    According to his knowledge, the White Lotus Mother who had sacrificed two hundred thousand people should have made it onto the list as well. She even required a mighty White Hawk Commander like Gu Yanying, a Golden Core cultivator, to personally take action. However, Gu Yanying still seemed to have failed to bring her to justice. At the end of the day, it was still all about strength in this world. Nothing was definite.

    However, to the people of the jianghu, it basically was a list of death considering the fact that it was written by Qi Practitioners. Afterwards, Li Qingshan realised the things he was about to do next was quite similar to what the White Lotus Mother had done. However, he was on the side of law, moving as someone carrying out the law. He had the license to kill.

    Although the envoy was displeased by Li Qingshan¡¯s joke about the blacklist, he was afraid to rebuke him. He just told Li Qingshan about how to use it.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan understood why it was called the blacklist. He would see a string of names with each page. There were normal names among them, as well as strange daoist or dharma names. It was used in a rather similar fashion to mental maps. All he needed was a thought and the list would be arranged according to different criteria.

    These criteria included the amount of contribution, the danger level, the strength of the opponent, the estimated gains, and so on. If he selected one of the names, he would receive a set of extremely detailed information, including their cultivation method, spiritual artifacts, area of activity¡­

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. The Hawkwolf Guard really was a major organisation that had existed for several millennia. There was rigour to the organisation, and they were fully-equipped. This information had basically simplified the steps of investigation, allocating all the work that could be completely by ordinary people to ordinary people. Afterwards, they would confirm the crimes and make the list so that the Hawkwolf Guard could hunt them down one by one.

    Every single Qi Practitioner was a powerful master who stood above many, with longevity as their greatest objective. Cultivating and practising qi was their greatest priority. There was not a single Qi Practitioner who would waste their time on these miscellaneous tasks, being ordered around by others like servants. Otherwise, no matter how great the benefits of the Hawkwolf Guard was, it would still not be an attractive occupation to Qi Practitioners.

    ¡°Once you¡¯ve chosen your mission, sir, there will be a file that you can read up on whenever you¡¯d like. The information in there is all the most detailed information our leads have obtained. However, we cannot ensure that it will be completely accurate. You¡¯ll need to adapt to circumstances,¡± the envoy gave a warning as a formality.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Li Qingshan replied. With a thought, the list was now ordered according to descending strength. He glanced at the name at the very top¡ªthe Zombie Daoist, sixth layer Qi Practitioner. He was on the list for capturing living people and turning them into zombies en masse. The danger level was extremely high, and the contribution that came with the completion of the mission was actually as much as twelve thousand points.

    But clearly, there was no one who could complete this mission apart from Zhuo Zhibo and the Black Wolf commander who had never shown himself. Of course, Li Qingshan possessed the strength to complete it, but he only paused on it slightly before flipping further until the last few pages.

    The last few pages of the blacklist mostly contained the names of gangs and sects, not the names of individuals. These were places like the Black Wind stronghold. They no longer possessed a single person that was worthy of being regarded as a single target by the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan chose his missions.

    The envoy was stunned. ¡°Sir, do you really plan on accepting these missions?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded without any hesitation at all. ¡°Go retrieve the files. I¡¯ll be setting off right now.¡±

    The envoy instructed some people in a hurry, and before long, other envoys brought over stacks of documents. Many of them seemed extremely old, with dust floating around in the air near them. Clearly, they had only just been wiped down.

    Li Qingshan placed all the files and documents into his hundred treasures pouch and left immediately. As soon as he made it out the door, a few Black Wolf guards hurried over. ¡°What mission did he choose?¡±

    Afterwards, they looked at one another, stupefied.

    ¡°What is the kid planning?¡±

    ¡°Carrying out justice and protecting the weak? Don¡¯t kid with me.¡±

    ¡°No matter how many missions he completes, he won¡¯t get anything in exchange for it as long as he doesn¡¯t have commander Zhuo¡¯s permission.¡±

    In the main office, Zhuo Zhibo drank tea leisurely. ¡°So what¡¯s the kid up to.¡±

    Ge Jian smiled, ¡°The kid ran around, but he has nothing at all.¡± His anger had finally eased up slightly.

    Zhuo Zhibo placed down the tea cup. ¡°Toying around with him before we take his life isn¡¯t necessarily bad. I¡¯d like to see just how much longer he can endure this for.¡±

    Ge Jian said, ¡°I think he¡¯ll have to endure it no matter what.¡±

    At this moment, a Black Wolf guard walked in hurriedly, ¡°Commander, that kid has found a reason to leave the mountain!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Oh, he wants to avoid me? What mission did he accept?¡±

    The Black Wolf guard said, ¡°More than one.¡±

    ¡°How many?¡±

    The Black Wolf guard said in a strange manner, ¡°He accepted twenty-seven missions.¡±

    ¡°What! Bring them over.¡± Zhuo Zhibo took the mission document, which had a dense list of the missions that Li Qingshan had accepted. However, the contents of the missions surprised him very much, not because they were too difficult, but because they were too easy.

    The pirates of the Water Snake gang, the horse bandits of the Giant Deer valley, and so on. All of them were missions that the Hawkwolf Guard had accumulated over time but could not be bothered completing.

    That was because the targets in the mission were all just ordinary people of the jianghu. At most, these people would be carrying around some silver on them, while spiritual artifacts and pills went without saying. And because they were far too easy, the contribution they offered was as low as it could be. At most, new Black Wolf guards would just use it for practise before never looking at them again. They would much rather remain on the mountain and cultivate instead.

    As an office of the lowest tier within the Hawkwolf Guard, black iron, they were completely composed of Qi Practitioners, and they primarily targeted other Qi Practitioners. They mainly served as a deterrent force to martial arts practitioners.

    As a result, this led to the formation of a tiny vacuum of law in the system. This place was called the jianghu.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, he has managed to find another reason to leave Jiaping city.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo snorted. ¡°If he wants to do the manual labour, let him do so.¡±

    By now, Li Qingshan had already left the mountain. He calculated in his mind that completing these missions should roughly amount to a thousand people.

    This was his main goal: to help Xiao An rebuild his body. For the sake of this goal, he could temporarily put aside everything else.

    Right now, his choice in joining the Hawkwolf Guard seemed to be more and more correct. Otherwise, where else was he supposed to ask about bad people? And, if he committed a massacre against ordinary people as a Qi Practitioner, even if they were all bad people, it would attract a great deal of attention. It might have even earned him a spot on the blacklist, which would force him to oppose the government.

    It was simple now. The information provided by the Hawkwolf Guard was extremely detailed. Every single person who could make it onto the blacklist of the Hawkwolf Guard through their cultivation method and martial arts alone were sinful, and they all occupied a single region for most of their lives, so they were very easy to find. All he needed to do right now was to go find them one by one with his license to kill, and then kill out a bloody path from dawn till dusk.1

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on the porcelain jar on his waist and thought to himself, Don¡¯t worry, Xiao An. Very, very soon you¡¯ll be able to breathe air, taste delicious food, feel warmth, and smile just like the other children.

    Li Qingshan did not directly leave the city. Instead, he paid a visit to the government office first. He wanted to exchange the several million taels of silver on him for some Qi Gathering pills. He could feel that he would be gone for quite some time after this departure, and his enemies would not be carrying hundred treasure pouches. They would not be a ready source of Qi Gathering pills. He also gained a deeper understanding as to why the Hawkwolf guards were reluctant to hunt down these annoying insects.

    Zhou Wenbin saw Li Qingshan, and his eyes lit up, ¡°You¡¯re already at the second layer. You¡¯ve been progressing much faster than I expected.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for your concern, sir. With a powerful enemy right by my side, I obviously cannot tarry.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°As long as you know. I heard you killed Qian Yannian in a direct confrontation?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I just got lucky!¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Even if it were all luck, it¡¯s still an unbelievable achievement for a second layer Qi Practitioner to kill a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. Though, I must warn you again that sixth layer Qi Practitioners are completely different from those at the fifth layer.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. Afterwards, he thought of the various things that Xiao An could do. If he was measured according to the standard of Qi Practitioners, he was at the sixth layer or even higher, and he was as swift as lightning with boundless strength. Even if a low grade spiritual artifact landed a blow on him, it would fail to injure him at all. He was much more powerful than regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners. If he really became involved in battle, and it was a Qi Practitioner¡¯s duel where he could not use the Skull Prayer Bead, all he had to do was rush over and forcefully pierce the protective true qi and dig out their hearts; he would win just like that.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had completely exceeded the powerful abilities of this world. The further Xiao An progressed, the more evident his terrifying strength would be.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Although the Sect of Clouds and Rain has expelled Zhao Liangqing, they¡¯ve sent people to investigate. You¡¯ve probably caught their attention. People from sects often don¡¯t have any qualms when they go about their business, so do be careful.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for the warning, sir. I will be careful.¡± The Sect of Clouds and Rain had lost their business in Jiaping city, as well as a master who was about to break through to the sixth layer. A reaction like this was expected.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Nothing good will come out from striving for a moment of glory. Why don¡¯t you take my advice and go to the School of the Hundred Thoughts to cultivate for a while? You can avoid him temporarily, and once you¡¯re no longer a fledgling, would you still need to fear a measly Zhuo Zhibo?¡±

 Chapter 151 â€“ The Auspicious Casino

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Is the Academy of the Hundred Schools really that great? So much so that you think of it constantly, sir?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°That¡¯s the foundation of Great Xia, the place that gathers all the young talents across the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture. Of course, it¡¯s a good place. What do you think of my talent for cultivation?¡±

    Li Qingshan praised, ¡°Sir, you are obviously outstanding to have reached the sixth layer of Qi Practitioner at your age and become the magistrate of an entire district, standing above millions.¡± He could not help but sigh inside. It spanned one thousand five hundred kilometers. That was the size of western Europe. Just what kind of sight would it be for all the talents in an area as large as that to gather in one place, cultivating and learning together?

    Zhou Wenbin shook his head with a bitter smile. ¡°How am I outstanding? I¡¯m just barely the average. As for my status as a district magistrate, true prodigies have no need for these additional factors for cultivation. They would never waste time on governing people. All they need to do is focus on cultivation, and they will make it further than me.¡±

    He was a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, yet he was barely the average?

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. ¡°There are many generations of people of talent in the world. There¡¯s no need to underestimate yourself, sir.¡± He was not surprised by the fact that there were many people better at practising qi than him, as he understood that his talent for practising qi was nothing special, and he had only just started. He did not have any guidance either, constantly relying on common pills like Qi Gathering pills.

    It was very likely for those from large Qi Practitioner clans to begin cultivating since young. They would be able to resolve their queries by asking powerful masters or seniors, and they would eat precious pills that he would not have even heard of. If their cultivation talent was just rather decent on top of all of this, they would be prodigies of cultivation.

    Whether it be time, resources, or talent, there were plenty of people that surpassed him. There was nothing unfair about having people at a higher cultivation than him. This was what a head start was. Regardless of the world or age, this would always happen. Compared to grumbling, he might as well put in some more effort instead. Were those kings and lords really just born more superior than everyone else?

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Your commander Hua Chengzan is the same. Although he comes from a renowned clan, he has always remained in the Academy of the Hundred Schools to study. Even now, he has yet to completely leave it. When I see him, I even have to call him senior brother! There¡¯s a saying that that the talents of the world all emerge from the hundred schools. You really should consider it!¡±

    Li Qingshan had once heard from Gu Yanying that Hua Chengzan was a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. Gu Yanying had even lectured him to stop hanging out with women so much. Back then, he still did not really have a perspective on what a tenth layer Qi Practitioner was, but now, he understood just what that meant. He had opened all of his extraordinary meridians and was a single step away from the first heavenly tribulation. Even if Li Qinghan daemonified, there was no way he could defeat someone like that.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°This falls within my duty, so you can¡¯t call it help. I¡¯m basically under no constraints in Jiaping city, and there¡¯s not really any work I¡¯m forced to do either. It¡¯s all up to me. However, there is something I must do, which is choose a hundred talented men and women every year to send them off to the Academy of the Hundred Schools to study.¡±

    The requirements were surprisingly lax. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°That simple? As long as you have the talent to cultivate?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Entering is easy, but remaining is difficult. How long you can remain there for will be up to your own ability.¡±

    Li Qingshan pondered silently for a while. ¡°Oh right, do you still need money, sir?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Ever since I became the district magistrate, there hasn¡¯t been a single time when I don¡¯t need money. Looks like you¡¯ve reaped quite the harvest this time!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out several million taels of silver notes and handed it all over, dismissing it as all from the Qian family. He obtained over fifty Qi Gathering pills from Zhou Wenbin, and as a result, the number of pills on him broke three hundred once again. It would be enough to last him a short while.

    Regular Qi Practitioners experienced a limited frequency of ingesting pills. However, to a daemon like him, he could never get enough of them. He would be forced to budget it carefully. If only there was a day when he could eat pills as he wished.

    Moreover, the Qi Gathering pills he obtained from Zhou Wenbin all had fantastic purity and quality. Every single one of them was tiny. Although their effects were the same, they were much smaller than Qian Yannian¡¯s Qi Gathering pills.

    ¡°Were these pills refined by you, sir?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°I once studied beneath a renowned master of the school of Medicine who specially focused on alchemy and apothecary. It¡¯s just Qi Gathering pills, so it obviously proves no difficulty to refine.¡± The materials for Qi Gathering pills were relatively easy to collect as well. As the magistrate of an entire district, a single order of his could prompt countless people to go searching for medicinal herbs.

    Li Qingshan thought about how if he had the opportunity, checking out the Academy of the Hundred Schools would be quite a good idea. It was impossible for him to seek guidance over refining pills, creating talismans, or formations from a person he just came across on the street. It would be best if he formally studied a little instead. Out of wealth, companionship, method, and environment, he could not go without companionship.

    But now was still not the time. There were many powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators in Clear River city. It would be very easy for Xiao An to be discovered if he just hid in the jar like this. He needed to rebuild the boy¡¯s body first.

    Li Qingshan stood up and bid farewell, leaving the government office. He did not travel in the direction of Clear river, but westward instead. He left the city along the main path.

    Thirty-five kilometers away from Jiaping city, within the Auspicious casino of Silver Mountain town.

    Although Silver Mountain town was just a town, it was more prosperous than most cities, as there really was a mountain of silver here. Who knows how many silver mines were hiding beneath the mountain, and who knows just how many people had struck it rich overnight and lost their lives on another night.

    Although the Auspicious casino was a casino in a town, it was no worse than those first-rate casinos. Moreover, it welcomed everyone, regardless of wealth, treating everyone the same. As long as you had silver, you could gamble and try your luck there.

    Whether it be the mine owners who had suddenly struck it rich or those miners who worked in precarious situations, they would all come here to try their luck.

    Under the brilliant lantern light, curses, laughter, and roars of anger poured into everyone¡¯s ears. The smell of sweat, smoke, and perfume mingled together.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes were firmly fixed on the gambling table. They clenched their hands as their eyes widened. Their expressions changed and twisted with the numbers on the dice. There was pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy.

    However, the expressions of the gamblers would often end in anger and sorrow. Only Shi Jixiang1 remained in pleasure and joy. He was the boss of this Auspicious casino. He held two large, golden spheres in his hands as he constantly looked around. His chubby face seemed like a smiling buddha¡¯s, always plastered with a smile. When he looked down from the second floor of the casino, there would be benevolence in his eyes as well. What a group of idiots!

    Two large men carried up another man as he struggled. ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve caught him.¡±

    The man knelt on the ground and wept. ¡°Boss Shi, great hero Shi, grandfather Shi, please, I beg you. I¡¯ll give my mines, my property. I¡¯ll give it all to you. Please show some benevolence and spare my family!¡±

    ¡°If I spare you, who¡¯ll spare me?¡±

    ¡°Then, could you please extend the loan. I will definitely gather all the money for you.¡±

    Shi Jixiang said, ¡°If you are in debt, you gotta pay it. That¡¯s how the world works. Even your wife and daughter are busying themselves in the joyhouse. You¡¯re a man, so how can you just loaf around? Why don¡¯t you get into the mines and put some back into your work?!¡±

    ¡°Y- you actually¡­¡±

    Shi Jixiang sighed helplessly. ¡°People can die, but debts can¡¯t. If you vanish, what am I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Shi Jixiang you son of a bitch! The dice were rigged¡­ you cheated me¡­ Even if I die, I¡¯ll never spare you!¡± The man suddenly lost control of his emotions. He owed this usury a snowballing debt. He would never be able to pay it back in his lifetime. The only fate waiting for him was dying in the pitch-black depths of the mines.

    However, before he was even done, he was knocked out by a slap from a large man beside him.

    However, Shi Jixiang lost his temper at the man. ¡°Why did you hit him with so much force? What if you end up killing him? Are you supposed to replace him in the mines for me? Tsk tsk, look, what a pitiful person. I can¡¯t fall asleep whenever I see someone as pitiful as him, so don¡¯t let me see him again.¡±

    The burly man obliged and carried the man out.

    Only then did Shi Jixiang recover his smile. He liked to gamble a lot, and he knew how to gamble very well. With his gambling techniques, he had brought ruin to several mine owners already. He had already become the largest mine owner in all of Silver Mountain town. As for the mine owners who did not gamble, he had plenty of ways to deal with him, as not only was he good at gambling, but he also possessed first-rate martial arts. He could spend tremendous sums of money to gather a group of good men who could both fight and oppress.

    With those two things, he would become the only mine owner in all of Silver Mountain town, and he would continue smiling like that.

    ¡°It¡¯s right here!¡±

    Outside the main entrance, a young man held a piece of paper and confirmed the two words on the plaque above the entrance to be ¡®Auspicious casino¡¯. Afterwards, he strode in.

    The guards at the entrance studied him and welcomed him with smiles. They did not try to stop him at all. Only once the young man had entered did they discuss with smiles, ¡°Not a bad stature.¡± ¡°Heh, he probably could do a year or two in the mines.¡±

    Li Qingshan liked to eat and drink, and with his rather unsuccessful experiences of having women attend to him while dining, he had basically tried prostitutes already. However, this really was his first time gambling.2 He found novelty in everything, so he constantly looked around. He arrived before a gambling table. They were playing an extremely simple game of Big or Small3. As a result, he just casually tossed in one thousand taels of silver notes, betting it all on big.

    This surprised the gamblers, but they had seen larger bets before. As a result, they just dismissed him as some ignorant young master who had managed to escape from his clan.

    ¡°The bets have been cast! Roll!¡± And just as expected, it was big.

    Li Qingshan accepted his silver cheerfully before betting it all on big again.

    A while later, the ruckus in the surroundings gradually vanished. The gamblers¡¯ mouths all hung agape with mixed expressions as they looked at the small hill of silver notes and silver pieces in front of Li Qingshan. He had already won sixteen rounds consecutively. The dealer had been changed twice as well, but that was not enough to stop his winning streak. He threw all of that into a bet once again.

    In the beginning, there were still some gamblers who gambled with him and managed to win some money, but now, there was no longer anyone bold enough to gamble the same as him.

    A boy servant arrived beside Li Qingshan. ¡°Brother, our boss has invited you to the second floor for a talk.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced upstairs and said loudly, ¡°If you want to talk, then get down here and talk. What, you¡¯re afraid of people winning against you while you run a casino?¡± He slammed the marble table and left behind a faint print on the thick, heavy stone.

    Shi Jixiang finally could not smile any longer. Afterwards, he issued orders, Clear the casino and gather the people. A tough one has come this time, a second-rate master at the very least. He seems like he has come to make trouble. He can¡¯t just be appeased with money.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and his lips curled into a smile. It would be for the best if you cleared the casino, and the more people the better. If you can gather a thousand people, I¡¯ll burn some incense on your grave, if you have a grave that is.

    1. Shi Jixiang¡¯s given name, so Jixiang or ¼ªÏé, can mean auspicious. This also means that the casino can be called the Auspicious casino, which is a name you would give to a casino considering the aspect of luck and good fortune, but the casino can also be called Jixiang¡¯s casino. Moreover, there¡¯s a Hong Kong movie from 1972 called The Casino, which shares the same chinese name as the name of the casino.

    2. If you¡¯re wondering why eating, drinking, visiting prostitutes, and gambling are listed together, there¡¯s a Chinese idiom that basically describes the four activities. Basically, they go hand-in-hand for indulging in worldly pleasures. Li Qingshan wants to try them all.

 Chapter 152 â€“ Flaws in the Plan

    A while later, there was not a single gambler left beside him. Several dozen hostile men replaced them, armed with swords and blades; they either sneered or glared at Li Qingshan.

    All of the doors and windows were shut now; not even a fly would be able to escape from here.

    Only then did Shi Jixiang slowly make his way down from upstairs. He spoke like everything was under his control, ¡°May I ask who you are, brother? If you tell me about your identity, you might even make a new friend today. If you¡¯re lacking money to cover travelling expenses, feel free to mention it. I, Shi Jixiang, am not a stingy person.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked around and said in a pity, ¡°Just this much?¡±

    Although he had originally come with the intention of purging evil, it was obviously impossible for him to scour every corner of Silver Mountain town after killing Shi Jixiang. He lacked both the time and energy for that. There were still another twenty-six missions and over nine hundred people waiting for him.

    However, when it came to something like teaching a lesson, basically everyone who should have been here was here!

    Shi Jixiang was unsure about his motives, but he could tell that Li Qingshan had no plans to answer him. He was infuriated, and he took off his thin clothes, revealing a bulky upper body and the tattoo of a buddha. He sat down in front of Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯ll gamble with you this time.¡±

    Li Qingshan saw him strip and was ready to fight, but when he heard that, he was slightly surprised. Then he said, ¡°That works.¡±

    Rattle, rattle, rattle.

    Shi Jixiang rolled the dice viciously. He stared firmly at Li Qingshan with his small eyes. For some reason, he felt uneasy when he met those calm, unperturbed pupils that clearly divided the colours of the latter¡¯s eyes. However, he had fought and killed for many years now, so his mental fortitude was rather impressive. He forced back his uneasiness and slammed down the dice cup with a bang. He asked aggressively, ¡°Big or small?¡±

    Li Qingshan casually cast his bet. Just like before, he bet all the silver on the table and went with big once again.

    Shi Jixiang raised an eyebrow. He channeled inner force into the cup before immediately lifting it. He roared with laughter. ¡°One, two, and four. That¡¯s small. You lose?¡± At the same time, he circulated his true qi, and the men in the surroundings eyed Li Qingshan closely, ready to fight at any time. They were all wary of Li Qingshan flying into a rage from his loss and trying to hurt any of them.

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°And then?¡±

    Shi Jixiang was stunned. Originally, he thought that Li Qingshan would furiously label him as a cheat. ¡°What and then? If you¡¯re willing to gamble, then you need to be ready to lose.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve lost. All of the silver is yours.¡± With that, Li Qingshan kicked the marble gambing table.

    Shi Jixiang¡¯s eyes narrowed as he was shocked. Even masters of external martial arts do not possess such strength! At the same time, he reacted by leaping up. The extraordinary martial arts he took pride in seemed so slow now. He could only watch as the dice and dice cup was launched into the air while the marble table slammed into him.

    Boom!

    Dust was kicked up into the air as the marble table slammed Shi Jixiang into the wall. It firmly lodged the lower half of his body into the wall as his bones shattered under the collision of the table.

    The men in the surroundings still seemed to be lost. Didn¡¯t they win? How had their mighty boss Shi been reduced to such a horrible state in the blink of an eye?

    Li Qingshan ignored them. He walked over to the marble table.

    Shi Jixiang really was a first-rate master after all with how tenacious his vitality was. His lower body was crushed, but he still managed to remain conscious. ¡°W- w- who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°A Hawkwolf guard on a mission. I find it annoying when people like you smile. This expression suits you better.¡± He conveniently caught the falling dice on his side, ¡°And, you can¡¯t decide big or small through these.¡± Without even looking back, he threw them backwards.

    The dice pierced a man who was just about to launch a sneak attack on him with his blade.

    ¡°Just what are you going to use for a gamble with me?¡±

    Everyone immediately understood their disparity in strength and the fact that death was near. They rushed for the entrance without any regard anymore. They wanted to open the main entrance that they had just shut firmly.

    A man looked back in fright. A stream of fire that seemed like a dragon rolled over from Li Qingshan¡¯s waist. Wherever it passed by, everyone was reduced to nothing, only leaving behind a set of clothes that fell to the ground slowly. This was basically even more terrifying than any bloody sight. He pushed against the entrance firmly before losing all consciousness.

    The fire snake opened its mouth and lunged towards Shi Jixiang before pausing again and looking at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand to express there was nothing more he wanted to say to him. However, Shi Jixiang opened his mouth. He was the one who had something to say, but his face was already lit up by the firelight.

    The fire snake immediately swallowed Shi Jixiang.

    The gamblers had not dispersed. Instead, they paced around outside the entrance. The night had just begun. They had yet to enjoy themselves fully!

    They believed that this ignorant kid from another place would suffer very soon, and the casino would reopen. However, there were other people who believed that only those with the ability would take a risk like this and that the kid would be a difficult opponent. As a result, they split into two sides and gambled on this matter.

    However, they waited for a very long time, and the casino still had not opened up again. However, none of them were bold enough to force their way in either. People of the government opened the entrance only after the next morning arrived. The large casino was completely devoid of people.

    There was a speck of light in a tiny inn in the middle of nowhere.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his mental map of the Green province and planned his destination for the next day. He used an invisible line to connect twenty-seven specks together.

    Twenty-seven specks, one thousand people.

    Xiao An sat to one side, looking at the mental map and Li Qingshan. He seemed to be in thought.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Do you remember the number? How many was it?¡±

    Xiao An dipped his finger in a cup of tea and wrote on the table, ¡°Fifty-seven.¡±

    Twenty-six specks, nine hundred and forty three people.

    Li Qingshan corrected the number in his mind. He did not deal with Shi Jixiang¡¯s property. Ever since Xiao An gave him a clear goal, that had become his greatest priority that he eagerly wanted to complete.

    If he could be a little faster, Xiao An would be able to recover his body a little faster.

    However, he did not go without any benefits. Shi Jixiang was swallowed by the flames, but he left behind a few talismans. Originally, this person had planned to use them as trump cards, but before absolute strength, he basically had no chance to use it.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll be done very soon. Let¡¯s go to Giant Deer valley tomorrow and go find the horse bandits. What do you think? The route I planned is pretty good, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Xiao An then wrote on the table. ¡°But if this continues, we¡¯ll alarm the others very soon. They will go into hiding.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. We can only move a little faster then and travel day and night. If they end up hiding, that¡¯ll be troublesome.¡± Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. He rubbed his chin in thought and found that Xiao An really had a good point.

    These people were not mobs from games who would pace around in the same place, waiting to be slain. Though, once they were slain, new ones would definitely spawn, as there would never be an end to people like them.

 Chapter 153 â€“ The West Gate Granny

    Xiao An was willing to search for them with him slowly, to advance slowly with him. If they found someone, they would kill them, but if they did not, there was no need to panic. However, seeing how impatient Li Qingshan was, Xiao An did not want him to trouble himself over his matters, so he came up with an idea.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we find a way to gather them together?¡±

    Li Qingshan gasped in admiration. Compared to looking for them one by one, he could try inviting all of them to a certain place before taking them down in a single swoop. If he wanted to grind mobs, then he obviously had to lure mobs. Why hadn¡¯t he thought of such a simple principle?

    He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but this little head of yours sure can scheme.¡±

    Flattered, Xiao An lowered his head in embarrassment.

    After being inspired like that, Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts immediately sprang to life. Afterwards, he searched through the files from the missions and finally found a name.

    Shen Xihua. He occupied an island on a large lake to the south. He called himself the Island Lord of Cherishing Flowers. He was a confident romantic and had a rather obscene nature. In the past, he had committed over a dozen acts of sexual assault. He was also the person with the highest cultivation in Li Qingshan¡¯s twenty-seven missions, at the first layer of Qi Practitioner. He was extremely renowned among the unorthodox martial arts practitioners, and the files mentioned that he had vast connections.

    In the eyes of the Hawkwolf Guard, he thrived in a zone that no one had any interest in, yet he could also defeat all practitioners of martial arts. He could be described as a master who lived within the cracks of the system.

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°Just from a single birthday celebration, Qian Yannian managed to invite so many people to congratulate him. You might be slightly weaker, but you shouldn¡¯t be much worse. Right now, all I need is quantity, not quality.¡±

    Of course, there probably was not a coincidence like his birthday had just come up, but whether it was getting married or having children, there were plenty of excuses! If he did not have any excuses, he could create one for him, and then invite many masters on the blacklist over to celebrate.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips gradually curled up. Perhaps there would be many unexpected extras to it all!

    ¡­¡­

    Silver Mountain town, the third day after Li Qingshan had left.

    In the middle of the night.

    Amidst the thick mist.

    A magnificent carriage was pulled along slowly by a horse. As the wheels rolled over the cobblestone road, it did not produce any sound at all; it was as if a layer of foam separated it from the ground. It stopped silently in front of the Auspicious casino.

    A handsome teenager in red disembarked from the carriage and entered the casino with his head held high.

    Currently, they had gathered together with their subordinates and were locked in an intense discussion over how they were supposed to divide this chunk of meat. They went into so much detail that it even included Shi Jixiang¡¯s concubines. The three of them laughed obscenely together. The atmosphere was rather harmonious. They got along rather well.

    However, their faces changed as soon as they reached the topic of the profitable Auspicious casino. They argued so furiously that they almost drew their weapons.

    The young man in red walked into the casino at this very moment. He seemed alone and very frail, with no signs of martial arts or qi. However, he behaved in a very arrogant manner, so obviously he was not well-received.

    ¡°Where the hell did this kiddo come from? This isn¡¯t a place you should have come to. Hurry up and get out of here!¡± As soon as the person finished talking, his head fell from his shoulders. His expression was still one of shock. He had no idea why the world had suddenly flipped on him.

    Only at this moment did a cold snort ring out from the carriage outside the casino. A withered finger extended out from the curtained windows of the carriage.

    The teenager in red smiled. ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°An innate master!¡± The three leaders immediately paled in fright. It was not just an innate master, but one that was unimaginably powerful.

    Probably only Qi Practitioners who had split open a sea of qi like Zhuo Zhibo could witness the true gateway to practising qi. Even powerful sixth layer Qi Practitioners would have to rely on spiritual artifacts if they wanted to kill someone from several dozen meters away, yet she managed to do so with true qi alone.

    This was completely different from using techniques. If Li Qingshan used a suitable technique, he could launch such a long-ranged attack as well, but in terms of using his true qi alone, ten meters would have been his limit, and he would have only been able to knock people away, not behead them. As for regular second layer Qi Practitioners, being able to reach three meters away would already be an impressive feat.

    After all, if the power of techniques was the same as directly using true qi, why would Qi Practitioners put effort into creating techniques and condense true qi into techniques during battle?

    An old, screechy voice rang out, ¡°You¡¯ll answer whatever question he asks. If you don¡¯t know, then investigate. If he doesn¡¯t get his answer, all of you will die.¡±

    Everyone in the casino trembled all over. The boy in red took out a portrait. ¡°Was he the person who came to the casino last night?¡±

    Depicted in a life-like fashion within the portrait was Li Qingshan.

    A while later, the boy reported back, ¡°Ma¡¯am, I¡¯ve confirmed that he¡¯s Li Qingshan. He has left Silver Mountain town now. I wonder where he has gone.¡±

    ¡°He has probably gone to Giant Deer valley.¡± She seemed to have grasped Li Qingshan¡¯s tracks completely.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s set off now!¡±

    ¡°How impatient.¡±

    This time, an old hand extended out from the carriage curtains, except the long nails were painted bright red. It was a rather strange sight.

    A series of cries rang out in the casino. An ordinary blade suddenly began to dance and swing around as white streaks, killing everyone in the casino one by one.

    Compared to directly killing people with true qi, borrowing a ¡®tool¡¯ or ¡®artifact¡¯ was still much simpler. Of course, this would be even more simple if it was a spiritual artifact.

    Everyone in the casino knew martial arts, and the three leaders were all second-rate masters as well. However, against the nimble blade, they could not hold their ground at all.

    In just a few seconds, the casino became littered with corpses. Only then did the blade drop to the ground with a clang.

    The teenager in red was slightly surprised. All he heard was the old voice in the carriage. ¡°They¡¯ve insulted my Jie¡¯er, so how can they be left alive?¡±

    The teenager immediately showed great happiness. He entered the carriage and threw himself into the arms of an old woman.

    The old woman was dressed in red and had a head full of grey hair. Her face was shriveled, but as she held the handsome young man, they seemed like a pair of lovers. They were not the only two in the carriage. There were three more young men, all dressed in red and just as young and handsome.

    One of them grumbled, ¡°Granny is picking favourites. Granny only spoils Jie¡¯er.¡±

    Jie¡¯er said, ¡°We¡¯ve all sworn that we would serve granny for the rest of our lives, so you¡¯re not allowed to be jealous. Granny, why must you personally look into this matter? Can¡¯t you just send disciples from the disciplinary hall?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very likely that what happened to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in Jiaping city is related to this person. You¡¯ll need a sixth layer Qi Practitioner at the very least to kill Zhao Liangqing without raising any attention. If we send regular disciples, we¡¯ll just be sending them to their deaths. There¡¯s no point in staying in Clear River all the time either. We can relieve our boredom by going on a stroll.¡±

    The granny¡¯s formal title was the West Gate Granny, not because her surname was Ximen, or West Gate, but because the Sect of Clouds and Rain had four gates and four grannies representing the four directions. Every single one of them were powerful ninth layer Qi Practitioners who had opened all eight extraordinary meridians.

 Chapter 154 â€“ The Island Lord of Cherishing Flowers

    The teenager who had just been grumbling said, ¡°It¡¯s all because granny became interested when she saw how well-built and tough Li Qingshan was, but granny already has us, so granny can¡¯t be so fickle.¡± He spoke with a tone like he was in love. The teenagers all looked at the West Gate Granny with utter infatuation. It was not forced at all. They were just like when the men of Jiaping city saw courtesan Furong.

    As a second layer Qi Practitioner, Furong¡¯s arts of charm were already enough to drive regular people crazy and strike fear into the hearts of Qi Practitioners, so just how powerful would the arts of charm of this ninth layer Qi Practitioner, the West Gate Granny, be? It was not something that a few normal boys could resist. Even Qi Practitioners would always do whatever they could to fulfil their desires, let alone ordinary people.

    The West Gate Granny said in a spoilt manner, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll kill him as soon as I see him.¡±

    ¡°As long as granny loves us, does it matter if granny has other men? We¡¯re all good brothers.¡±

    As they spoke amorously, the carriage rolled slowly and silently over the cobblestone path. Upon closer inspection, a gap of around an inch remained between the carriage wheels and the path as if a cushion of air existed.

    The horse¡¯s hooves landed on the ground as normal. After a few inscriptions flashed, the treasured horse that usually pulled the carriage during the day could now take off effortlessly. It rushed off at an unbelievable speed.

    They left behind a casino full of corpses. Afterwards, the little caretakers under the little leaders gathered together and began a new discussion, just like the grass that never stopped sprouting on the plains. Perhaps, people originally unrelated to all of this would join in as well, which would be followed with further conflict and slaughter; this was the jianghu.

    Li Qingshan still ended up going to Giant Deer valley, as it was not very likely for these horse bandits to accept the invitation from the Island Lord of Cherishing Flowers. The files indicated that the horse bandits were composed of people with the bloodline of barbarians. Every single one of them had a great, brown beard.

    Even if the Island Lord of Cherishing Flowers invited them, it was probably unlikely for these barbarian horse bandits to visit the island on their horses, so he wanted to just finish them off conveniently.

    The horse bandits dwelled on the vast, grassy plains. They had no set place where they stayed. The Giant Deer valley was only one of their resting places.

    After Li Qingshan realised that it was all futile, he did not give up. Instead, he laid on the ground and used his nose before closely studying the traces there. He was like a wild beast with extremely sharp senses.

    The smell and traces from the ground were still very fresh. They were not far, and from the traces on the ground, there were at least two hundred horse bandits, which made Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes light up.

    As a result, he immediately set off. True qi gathered in his feet, and he crossed through the grass that stood as tall as a man. He moved swiftly under the amber sky as night set in, and two hours later, he had covered fifty kilometers and finally found the horse bandits.

    Within the smoke, the horse bandits rushed at the travelling merchants, letting out war cries. The merchants did their best to stop them and raise their defenses, but the thrumming of horse hooves were unable to hide the fear in their eyes. The curved blades lit up the surroundings with dazzling, white light.

    Suddenly, someone said, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    A cloud of dust rushed over from the north-west direction, heading directly towards the group of horse bandits. A figure leapt high into the sky, through the dust and smoke, landing on the mount of the bandit leader.

    Li Qingshan stood on the horse¡¯s saddle and pressed one hand against the bandit leader¡¯s head while his other hand grasped the reins. He forcefully turned the horse around. The moment he brushed past the mercantile caravan, the merchants all raised their heads and saw a teenager in high spirits. His expression gave everyone a false impression; it was as if he was not holding the head of the bandit leader, but a huge chunk of gold.

    Someone murmured, ¡°That¡¯s a person!¡±

    The horse bandits rushed over as they cursed. They could not worry about the caravan anymore. They had to save their leader.

    After that, no one ever saw the infamous horse bandits of Giant Deer valley anymore.

    After arriving in the middle of the boundless wilderness, Li Qingshan swung down with his right hand and slammed the horse bandit¡¯s head into his chest. The tremendous force spread to the horse, and it collapsed onto the ground loudly.

    When the horse bandits arrived, Li Qingshan had already vanished. They raised their heads swiftly, and a sky of fire filled their gazes.

    The number changed to seven hundred and fifty five.

    Just a day after Li Qingshan had left Giant Deer valley, the carriage arrived.

    The same teenager in red disembarked to check. ¡°Granny, he¡¯s not here.¡±

    ¡°This kid is pretty quick.¡± The West Gate Granny unfurled a mental map and pointed at a location, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next place.¡± It was exactly the same as Li Qingshan¡¯s original route. She had a complete grasp over how Li Qingshan would go about his missions.

    However, the boys all refused. They all grumbled about how it was just too boring. They had grown accustomed to the joys and pleasures in Clear River city. They disliked all the travelling.

    The West Gate Granny said in a doting manner, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll rest when we get to the next city.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    It was a tiny puddle on the map, but when he saw it in person, it was a huge, misty swamp.

    ¡°This is the place. This bastard sure knows how to live.¡± Li Qingshan stowed the mental map away and cast his gaze into the distance, piercing through the mist. He vaguely made out an island. The island was covered with green, shady willow trees, with some red walls and green tiles poking out.

    Next to the lake was a city. The scenery was wonderful, yet it was also highly convenient. This really was a good place for someone to settle down and live out the rest of their lives. However, when he thought about how someone like him could settle down and live out the rest of his life, Li Qingshan felt extremely discontent. Afterwards, he licked his lips as he imagined the smiles dropping from their expressions with the malevolence and pleasure of a daemon.

    Using the night, he tread across the water and stepped onto the island on the other side. Only then did he see the luxurious estate clearly.

    There were many armed guards patrolling outside the estate. The security was very tight, but to Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, such a security system was basically non-existent.

    Li Qingshan gently kicked off the ground and landed on the eaves several dozen meters away before rushing towards the largest building.

    Behind a veiled curtain, the pale bodies of people moved around. Moans and verbal teasing constantly sounded out.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re so good!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose. He felt like he would always intrude at a time like this. At such a late time of the night, the bad people would be going at it in bed, while the good person could only watch the eroticism that was vividly presented before his eyes.

    A gentle cough drowned out all of the sounds within the obscenity. Someone sprang up from the bed and lifted the veiled curtain. ¡°Who is it?¡±

    Two pairs of eyes met. Both of them were rather stunned.

    Li Qingshan had never thought that Shen Xihua would actually be elderly. Most of his hair had greyed already. Only then did he suddenly remember that the files detailed that there had been an attempt to bring him to justice, but he discovered them and fled, which led to the case being placed aside. As a result, even a young boy would become an old man after all this time.

    On the other hand, Shen Xihua saw a young man in cloth robes sitting boldly on an armed chair, glaring right back at him. Although he did not give off any special aura, just his ability to appear in Shen Xihua¡¯s bedroom silently was enough to shock him.

    ¡°Put on your clothes. There are some things I want to discuss with you.¡± Li Qingshan placed something on the table before standing up.

    Shen Xihua rushed to the table. He saw the item and stiffened. His face paled as he cradled it in his hands carefully. Coldness pierced his bones. He trembled once more, and he became even whiter.

    It was a black wolf baring its fangs and claws, forged out of black iron.

    In a small pavilion shaded by trees, Li Qingshan leaned on the railing and gazed at the scenery of the lake. Shen Xihua had put on clothes and rushed over while he cradled the Black Wolf tablet in his hands. ¡°Sir, may I know your name and why you¡¯ve come to my humble abode?¡±

    Li Qingshan took back the Black Wolf tablet. ¡°Don¡¯t you know what you¡¯ve done? You¡¯re the culprit, Shen Xihua!¡± He had seen quite a lot of detective television series in his past life, so he copied how they naturally exuded confidence.

    With a thud, Shen Xihua¡¯s knees crumbled to the ground. ¡°Sir, they were all deeds that I committed when I was young and muddle-headed. Sir, you are a great man, so please just spare me. If there¡¯s anything you require, I will do everything I can to ensure it is obtained or achieved.¡±

    A powerful figure among the unorthodox martial arts practitioners of the jianghu, a first-layer innate master, had lost all of his bearing, kneeling on the ground and begging for his life. Li Qingshan had not even done anything to him yet; this was all just from seeing his Black Wolf tablet.

    Shen Xihua felt extremely helpless. Who would be willing to serve a kid who was several decades younger? As soon as he saw the Black Wolf tablet, he thought about running, but he was reluctant to abandon everything he had built up. And, if the Hawkwolf Guard really tried to find him, they would always find him. As for fighting, that was even more impossible. Let alone his fate if he lost, even if he somehow managed to win, his entire family would accompany him to the grave whether it be because of infuriating the Hawkwolf Guard or killing a Hawkwolf guard.

    When Li Qingshan stood before him, he was no longer just a lonely teenager, but a terrifying system of violence from the government. Anyone from the so-called jianghu could only act subserviently before this system. Of course, it was impossible for him to understand the hostile relationship between Li Qingshan and Zhuo Zhibo. That was something well beyond his reach.

    However, Shen Xihua was still hopeful. Since Li Qingshan had not attacked him right from the get-go, it meant that he still had a chance. As a result, he gathered his courage to come here so that he could hear what Li Qingshan wanted to say to him.

    As expected, Li Qingshan said, ¡°I have something I want you to do for me.¡± He sat down on the stone bench in the pavilion and looked at Shen Xihua from above. He did not tell him to walk over and sit down with him.

    Li Qingshan could treat ordinary people with courtesy, but if he was supposed to dwell on this bit of courtesy with someone like this fellow, there would be something wrong with his head. Compared to murder or robbery, he found these acts to be even more disgraceful. If it were not for the sake of his plan, he would have wanted to kill Shen Xihua right now.

    Shen Xihua¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Please let me know, sir.¡±

    Li Qingshan took out twenty-four files and tossed them before Shen Xihua. ¡°I want you to invite all the people mentioned in there to here, including their subordinates and disciples. The more the better.¡±

    Shen Xihua¡¯s expression changed drastically. He immediately thought of what Li Qingshan was trying to do. He was such a young teenager, yet he was actually hiding such terrifying thoughts. He actually wanted to take out all the unorthodox masters within the surrounding region of several hundred kilometers in one fell swoop.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It can be a birthday, having children, or other reasons. You might have obtained a peerless cultivation method or divine weapon for everyone to come and appreciate. You can handle the exact details.¡±

    Shen Xihua said, ¡°Sir¡­ t- that¡¯ll be unrighteous of me to do!¡±

    Li Qingshan broke into laughter. ¡°You¡¯re a rapist, yet you still mention the word ¡®righteousness¡¯?¡±

    Shen Xihua became bright red. He disputed groundlessly, ¡°Those are all matters of the past. I even left quite a lot of money for those women. T- they aren¡¯t necessarily unhappy with the outcome¡­¡±

 Chapter 155 â€“ The Pill Seizing Gathering

    Li Qingshan stepped on Shen Xihua¡¯s head and breathed in deeply. He said in a deep voice, ¡°Out of the women you speak of, three of them have committed suicide. I don¡¯t know about the others, but let me warn you. Don¡¯t piss me off!¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­¡± Shen Xihua murmured. He was willing to face a second layer Qi Practitioner with his strength at the first layer. Even if he could not defeat them, he could still escape, but only then did he realise that he was wrong. The step was so fast that he could not react at all.

    As for the heavy, murderous aura, he found it to be even more stifling than the pressure on his head.

    Li Qingshan gradually lifted his foot. ¡°Consider it!¡±

    Shen Xihua kept his head lowered for quite a while before raising it. ¡°Are you going to spare me if I do?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m not here to discuss with you. You can accept it or turn it down. You are welcome to try your luck.¡±

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s contemptible gaze, Shen Xihua said, ¡°I accept.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and personally helped him up. ¡°You could have just said that from the beginning.¡± He had no plans to spare Shen Xihua. However, since he planned to use him, he could not express this intention of ¡®I¡¯ll definitely kill you¡¯. Otherwise, that would not be called gallantry, but idiocy.

    Shen Xihua¡¯s expression eased up slightly. Li Qingshan saw how his facial features were neat and dignified. He must have been handsome when he was young. ¡°You came from a well-off family, basically a clan. Why did you do all of those things?¡±

    Shen Xihua said, ¡°I was ignorant in my youth. I was ignorant. Sir, when would you like for these people to be gathered here?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The sooner the better.¡±

    Shen Xihua said, ¡°I don¡¯t really know some of them, and there are a few others who have their own plans as well. Even if I do invite them, they won¡¯t necessarily come!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯ll depend on your ability as the Island Lord of Cherishing Flowers then. And, it doesn¡¯t have to be them. You are welcome to invite all of your good friends who have committed crimes with no conscience at all. The more the better. If there are too few and the gathering is far too cheerless, I might end up becoming upset.¡±

    Shen Xihua¡¯s heart shivered. The person before him was young, but he was definitely not a soft-hearted figure. Otherwise, he would have never been able to come up with such a terrifying scheme. Now, all he could do was follow through with the plan reluctantly.

    He invited Li Qingshan to stay in a smaller building near the lake and ordered his people to serve him carefully and not to disturb him.

    The next day, an invitation card was delivered into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. After receiving Li Qingshan¡¯s approval, several dozen copies were made and sent off. They reached the hands of the various masters on the blacklist.

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. This was basically what happened when he obtained the spiritual ginseng in the past. Shen Xihua was already an innate master, so he obviously could not use this pill, but to other first-rate masters, this was an irresistible event. Even if they found it to be suspicious, they would still come and check it out. After casting his bait, he could wait quietly for the fish to bite.

    From that day onwards, Shen Xihua would visit him in person daily. He was extremely considerate for his needs.

    Li Qingshan meditated and practised qi every day, without setting a foot outside his residence. The only thing the people on the island knew was that he was a valued guest of the island lord; they were afraid of disturbing him. Combined with the fact that they would sometimes hear him muttering to himself, they found it to be extremely strange and were even more reluctant to approach him.

    As a result, Li Qingshan just meditated and practised qi regardless of day or night, ingesting the Qi Gathering pills like water and converting it into daemon qi and true qi. In less than ten days, he had already ingested two hundred of them.

    The effects were extremely obvious. On the second of the eighth month, his Innate Method of Practising Qi finally broke through to the fifth layer. His true qi became even more powerful as they constantly raged through the Yang Heel meridian. His ability to sense the spiritual qi of the world through his Fengchi acupoint became even sharper as well. It was like a blurry image that gradually cleared up. He was able to distinguish the meaning within the image bit by bit.

    Although he had not reverted to his daemon form, it must have grown by quite a lot as well!

    Li Qingshan left his residence. The sky was gloomy. It had begun drizzling three days ago.

    The heat of summer receded and coolness gradually set in. It was almost autumn.

    The eighth of the eighth was an auspicious day, while autumn was primarily about desolation, which made it an even better time to kill.

    Li Qingshan already felt rather eager. He threw a punch and true qi pierced the air, erupting with splashes on the surface of the lake. He looked back. When he saw Xiao An leaning on the rail, he could not help but smile. Looking at his body of white bones, he thought of some things. Before all of this, there were still some preparations he needed to make.

    During the morning of the third, Shen Xihua visited once again.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Go prepare some clothes for children.¡± Xiao An would be rebuilding his body, but it was obviously impossible for him to rebuild his clothes as well. He needed clothing.

    Shen Xihua found the request to be rather strange, but he dared not think too much about it. ¡°Clothes for children? What size? Is it for a boy or a girl?¡±

    ¡°A boy around seven or eight years old. Don¡¯t worry too much about the exact size,¡± Li Qingshan said. He felt rather excited inside. He felt like a father who was about to welcome his child into the world.

    The next day, Shen Xihua delivered over a dozen sets of clothes of various colours and styles. They were all made from silk of the highest quality. He even brought many toys for children.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He thought about how Xiao An was no ordinary child, so why would he play with these wooden toys? However, he did not mention it. He told Shen Xihua to continue preparing for the ¡®Pill Seizing Gathering¡¯.

    He was determined to go through with this ¡®Pill Seizing Gathering¡¯. However, he soon thought of how a great scheme like this that could overturn the entire jianghu tended to be the specialty of villains. And, his thought of killing everyone in the gathering had an even more villainous vibe.

    However, he felt fantastic. It was a wonderful time since Xiao An was about to gain a new life. He sighed emotionally just like a poet. ¡°With death comes birth.¡± Afterwards, he gained some understanding towards the true meaning behind the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    After Shen Xihua left, Xiao An emerged from behind the curtains. He gently caressed the beautiful silk clothing with his bone fingers as he imagined how he would look like when he wore them. He raised his head and their eyes met. There was silence. The only sounds present were the pitter-patter of rain outside the window. However, the two of them felt silent joy inside.

    Afterwards, Xiao An began to play with those toys happily, the pinwheels, spinning tops, and bamboo dragonflies.

    It surprised Li Qingshan. Afterwards, he thought about how he did not show enough care and concern for Xiao An. Thinking further, he realised that the thing that he seemed to do the most with Xiao An was killing people.

    Killing people was not necessarily a bad thing. In this cruel world, it should have been a crucial skill for survival. Adult beasts had to teach younger beasts the art of hunting.

    That was how Li Qingshan comforted himself to avoid too much self-guilt. Afterwards, he just sat there and leaned his head against his hand. He thought deeply into the issue of Xiao An¡¯s education. He needed to take him out to see the world more often in the future so that he could feel nature and all those things!

    Afterwards, he could not help but begin grinning. He felt warmth. The world was very cruel, but he was not alone.

    ¡­¡­

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit. The day before the eighth, Li Qingshan finished ingesting all of his Qi Gathering pills such that he was at his peak condition.

    By tomorrow, once those bastards all gather in the hall, what am I supposed to say as an opening line?

    For the sake of my personal happiness, please die, you twisted lot!

    Seems even more villainous.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Am I pretty?¡± The West Gate Granny asked.

    ¡°Y- you are!¡± A naked man covered in tattoos that depicted nine dragons lowered his head and called out in fright. The blood of his companions slowly flowed beneath his feet. Just because they laughed when they saw this ugly, old woman, they ended up falling apart into pieces.

    ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you looking at me?¡± The West Gate Granny said with a sunken voice.

    The man slowly raised his head before becoming stunned. He had never seen such a beautiful woman before. Her cold eyes and nobility shook up his mind, almost making him lose control of himself.

    The portrait of a man suddenly appeared before him. The voice that was as beautiful as an oriole¡¯s song asked, ¡°Have you seen this person before?¡±

    He shook his head in a daze, blaming himself for being unable to help her at all.

    ¡°Then you can go die!¡± The shrivelled mouth spat out these brutal words.

    The man immediately shattered his own skull with a palm strike. Even before he died, he still gazed at the West Gate Granny with infatuation. He smiled. Originally, he thought that he would only be a pirate for the rest of his life, but he had never thought he would be able to die for the person he loved. He felt happiness from the bottom of his heart.

    My life¡­ was all worth it.

    Leaving the den of the Water Snake gang, the West Gate Granny said furiously, ¡°Just where did the brat go?¡±

    In the past few days, she followed the most optimal path for Li Qingshan, but she failed to find any signs of him. She completely lost track of him.

    Finally, she could not help herself anymore and lost her temper, causing a great massacre. Behind her, the corpses of the Water Snake gang lay strewn on the ground. They would never be able to attack and rob people on the rivers again. Every single one of them smiled happily, dying for the sake of love.

    A teenager in red took out a vermillion invitation card from the bosom of the leader and handed it to the West Gate Granny.

    The West Gate Granny looked at the invitation card. After a while of thought, she revealed a sunken smile. ¡°I see. This kid has got some brains. I¡¯ve underestimated him. Let¡¯s go to Lakeside city.¡±

    On the eighth of the eighth, near Lakeside city on the Island of Cherishing Flowers

    Li Qingshan tidied up his thoughts and took out his knicked Wind-entwining blade, hanging it on his waist. He looked out the window and saw many small boats moving through the wind and rain, stopping at the port. Many people emerged from them.

    Most of them carried weapons and were vicious-looking. He could tell with a single glance that they were not kind folk. They matched up with the resources from Li Qingshan¡¯s file one by one.

    These unorthodox masters were worried about this being a trap, and they were wary of one another, so they all brought their best subordinates, just in case. However, unbeknownst to them, someone within the shade of the green willows was counting them like sheep.

    Two hundred and eighty one¡­ Three hundred and forty two¡­ Five hundred and fifty seven.

    This lasted until night time. The number had already exceeded Li Qingshan¡¯s expectations.

    The island was decorated with lanterns and streamers, with a feast set up in the hall. With Shen Xihua as the host, these martial arts masters gathered in the hall. It was quite the banquet.

    Shen Xihua smiled and spoke cheerfully, without giving away anything at all.

 Chapter 156 â€“ The Daemon-trapping Cage of Biâ€™an

    Shen Xihua smiled. ¡°Please settle down, everyone. I hope you can enjoy yourselves in my humble abode while I go retrieve the pills.¡± He retreated to the darkness outside the hall, and his smile immediately vanished. Something seemed to weigh on his mind.

    ¡°Sir, the island lord has invited you to the back of the hall,¡± a servant said to Li Qingshan politely.

    Li Qingshan walked through the corridors, and two fierce men leapt out from the bushes in the darkness, blocking his way. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The servant said in a hurry, ¡°Good sirs, are you guests of our island lord?¡±

    The two people studied Li Qingshan. ¡°Why haven¡¯t we seen or heard about someone like you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Not everyone is available for the likes of you to see or hear about.¡±

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± The two became enraged. They wanted to draw their blades.

    With two thuds, the two of them fell back into the bushes in the darkness, reduced to corpses.

    ¡°You can go see the king of hell!¡± Then Li Qingshan said to the servant, ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡±

    The servant shivered and obliged in a hurry.

    Shen Xihua rubbed his hands uneasily within his study room. Suddenly, he saw Li Qingshan arrive and invited him to sit down in a hurry before pouring some tea for him. He treated him with the utmost hospitality.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Island lord Shen, what do you want to say to me? Get to the point. I can¡¯t wait any longer.¡± With his ears, he could clearly hear the ruckus up ahead. His blood had slowly begun to boil.

    Shen Xihua lifted up his robes and knelt down before Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯ve already followed all of your orders, sir, so please just spare the lowly me!¡± In all these days, Li Qingshan had never been willing to promise that he would spare him. It made him worry to a point where his food turned tasteless, and he could not even get a wink of sleep.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°How did you know I would kill you?¡±

    ¡°Do you really plan on sparing no one, sir?¡± Shen Xihua raised his head in great surprise as he stared at Li Qingshan closely. Desperation began to fill his eyes.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not sparing you. It¡¯s just that you cannot be spared for what you have done.¡±

    Shen Xihua croaked, ¡°But I¡¯ve already reformed myself completely!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Reformed yourself completely? What about six months ago? What were you doing then? Do you really think the Hawkwolf Guard wouldn¡¯t know?¡± Although there were rather few core members to the Hawkwolf Guard, they had countless informants and spies within the various major cities as a Qi Practitioner organisation that did not care about silver.

    Abruptly, Shen Xihua thought of something. Half a year ago, he had drunk a little and saw a beauty pass by in Lakeside city. As a result, he took her to the island and forced himself on her, reliving his youth.

    He continued to argue, ¡°But I¡¯ve already accepted her as a concubine.¡±

    ¡°Just how many more concubines do you plan on accepting like that? Why don¡¯t you tell me that?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s tone was very calm the entire time. His anger was like hot, flowing lava beneath an icebound mountain. It could erupt at any time.

    Shen Xihua¡¯s expression changed several times. He pressed down with one hand and a tile sank. A series of mechanical sounds rang out from underground, allowing a large, metal cage to spring out and trap Li Qingshan.

    The place where Shen Xihua had invited Li Qingshan to sit was actually a trap, and the mechanism was extremely clever. It had not even taken a blink of an eye for the cage to appear after Shen Xihua pressed down on the tile.

    Shen Xihua yelled, ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone too far! Since you won¡¯t spare me, then let¡¯s die together!¡±

    The bars to the cage were as thick as an adult¡¯s arm and solid all the way through. They were also inscribed with many glyphs. When Li Qingshan¡¯s fingers touched the bars, he immediately felt like he was being stabbed by needles. At the top of the prison was the image of a strange beast that seemed like a tiger, yet also not a tiger.

    Shen Xihua said, ¡°I invited a great master of mohism to create this mechanism. It¡¯s known as the Daemon-trapping Cage of Bi¡¯an1. Even powerful daemonic beasts can¡¯t escape, so you better give up on that thought! Let me ask you again. Are you going to spare me or not? If you agree, I can release you. I can even help you kill them.¡±

    ¡°If I say I¡¯ll spare you, you¡¯ll just believe me?¡±

    Shen Xihua seemed extremely conflicted. ¡°I¡¯m willing to gamble on it. I believe that you¡¯re a man.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head silently and slowly.

    Shen Xihua screeched, ¡°Don¡¯t regret your choice! You¡¯re in my hands now. All you need to do is nod, and we can sit down and discuss matters. Your cultivation might be higher, but there might always be a time when you need someone like me.¡±

    Li Qingshan burst out into a roar of laughter, which thundered through the entire room. It felt like a great gust of wind had been whipped up, blowing books and paintings on the ground and shattering vases and jars.

    Shen Xihua blocked his hears as he resisted it with all of his true qi. He was shocked. Was he really just a second layer Qi Practitioner?

    All the unorthodox masters in the front hall only stared at their trembling cups. The entire building seemed to be tottering. They became alarmed.

    ¡°What is happening?¡± ¡°Is that someone laughing?¡± ¡°What powerful inner force!¡± ¡°It comes from up ahead. Didn¡¯t Shen Xihua go there to retrieve the pills? Has someone tried to steal the pills?¡±

    With that, everyone became restless. ¡°Let¡¯s go over there and take a look!¡± ¡°Who the hell is so stupid to try steal from the jaws of tigers?¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped laughing and said to Shen Xihua, ¡°Do you think that someone like you, someone no different from an animal, is worthy enough to become associated with me?¡±

    Even bad people had pride. Shen Xihua said, ¡°Y- you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    A group of unorthodox masters rushed in and asked in surprise, ¡°Island master Shen, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Everyone who entered the study were first-rate masters. Those who were weaker and the subordinates could only gather around outside and watch.

    ¡°You¡¯ve forced me to do this.¡± Shen Xihua¡¯s expression was twisted as he said to everyone, ¡°Everyone, settle down. I want to tell you about something that¡¯s related to all of your lives.¡±

    Everyone quietened down. Shen Xihua said, ¡°This is a Hawkwolf guard, sent to kill us.¡±

    When they heard ¡®Hawkwolf guard¡¯, everyone paled in fright. They prided themselves as masters who had made it onto the blacklist and treated their subordinates with so much arrogance that they would even claim that the Hawkwolf Guard could do nothing to them. However, they actually feared this terrifying organization that controlled the blacklist the most.

    ¡°In other words, there are no pills at all!?¡±

    ¡°Fuck you, Shen Xihua! You were actually working with the Hawkwolf Guard against us!¡±

    Everyone began to think of retreat. They looked at Li Qingshan like he was a man-eating tiger. The young man sat boldly on the armed chair with his hair draped down, hiding his face. Even when he was trapped in the cage, he gave off a terrifying sense of might.

    Shen Xihua threw out a stack of paper. ¡°Look at that. These are official documents from the Hawkwolf guard. He has come this time just to kill us all. All of you know what happened to the Auspicious casino in Silver Mountain town. This kid was the one behind it all. Do you all plan on being next?!¡±

    They picked up the files one by one and found their own names. Afterwards, they trembled in utter fright. Their glory of being on the blacklist had already become a death sentence.

    ¡°Island lord Shen, what do you want us to do?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re in for a penny and in for a pound!¡±

    ¡°Killing a Hawkwolf guard!? Have you lost your minds?¡±

    ¡°If we don¡¯t kill him, he¡¯ll kill us.¡±

    Just as everyone engaged in a bitter debate.

    Li Qingshan let out a gentle cough and attracted everyone¡¯s attention. He said, ¡°Everyone who should be here is here!¡±

    ¡°Tian Zhonghao.¡±

    A coarse, short and mischievous-looking middle-aged man shuddered. ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°In the past, you studied martial arts under old fist master Wang of Bamboo Willow town, but because he found you lacking in sincerity, he refused to teach you martial arts. As a result, you poisoned him to death, stole his martial arts manual, and became a highwayman. Over all these years, you held up travellers, killed them, and stole their goods. You even developed a liking to eating the hearts and livers of living people, right?¡±

    He was being watched by all, Li Qingshan was trapped in the cage, and he was reluctant to embarrass himself, so he said in a tough manner, ¡°What about it?¡±

    Li Qingshan no longer paid any more attention to him. He continued, ¡°Yue Ruyong, you loved to kidnap the children of wealthy families for ransom. If they were bold enough to report it to the authorities, or they refused to pay the ransom, you would cut off the ears or fingers of the children one by one, delivering it to their families. Am I right?¡±

    Yue Ruyong had vicious eyes and pointed ears with a cold expression. He sneered. ¡°Those kiddos are born more fortunate than everyone else. Of course, they should suffer a little.¡±

    Li Qingshan no longer paid any more attention to him either. He just named these people one by one until he reached the very end. ¡°As for the people who were not mentioned, whether you¡¯re a thief or a bandit, or whether you¡¯ve helped propagate evil, committed countless crimes of evil yourself, or are hatching sinister plots, you cannot be forgiven for your crimes, and you will be executed on the spot according to the laws of Great Xia.¡±

    ¡°And you, Shen Xihua. You will pay for what you have done!¡±

    Everyone laughed aloud, ¡°Just by you?¡± ¡°Has he lost his mind?¡± ¡°We do need to kill him!¡± However, the laughter gradually subsided.

    All they saw was Li Qingshan standing up from the armed chair and grabbing the bars of the Daemon-trapping Cage of Bi¡¯an with both hands before pulling at the bars. His flesh swelled, his muscles bulged, and his clothes ripped.

    Blue light that seemed like electricity flowed through the bars, gathering in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. He felt like he was being stabbed by hundreds of needles. Obviously, he did not pay too much attention to something insignificant like that. However, despite his brute force, the bars still failed to budge.

    After being taken aback, Shen Xihua eased up. ¡°It¡¯s useless. My Daemon-trapping Cage of Bi¡¯an is not something you can destroy.¡±

    The masters from the blacklist all sneered as well. They looked at Li Qingshan like he was a dumb, wild beast.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hair was draped down, so it covered his face. However, the corner of his lips had also curled into a smile. It seemed slightly twisted.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡± Shen Xihua sensed the change in Li Qingshan¡¯s aura first. Only a Qi Practitioner like him could sense a change like that.

    However, soon afterwards, everyone saw the change with Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Li Qingshan¡¯s tall, sturdy body seemed to become even taller. His dark hair shone with a smear of scarlet, while his bronze skin seemed to grow darker. In particular, his arms actually became black like iron.

    Creak. The metal cage twisted painfully. The blue electricity became more and more intense, but it was unable to stop the reality of the bars that were as thick as a person¡¯s arm being gradually pulled apart.

    Shen Xihua took a step back, ¡°T- that¡¯s impossible! Y- you¡¯re-¡± Afterwards, he yelled out, ¡°Everyone, get him together! Kill him!¡±

    The masters of the blacklist knew that they could not be soft-hearted here. They made up their minds and charged over together. They swung their various weapons towards Li Qingshan. The blades, spears, swords, and halberds all shone with light. They feared that Li Qingshan would actually break out, so they wanted to make use of the time while he was busy to deal a killing blow. However, Shen Xihua had already backed away quietly.

 Chapter 157 â€“ The Vicious Tiger Emerges from the Cage

    Many boats of various sizes were docked at the wharf.

    The drizzle continued to pour down, creating countless ripples on the lake¡¯s surface. A thin layer of fog formed above the lake. The firelight in the glazed covers on the boats created a hazy yellow. Everything seemed peaceful.

    Many men were left behind to watch over the boats to prevent anyone from severing their path of retreat. Inside their cabins, they all discussed the great laughter from the island earlier.

    With a thunk, a double-masted boat seemed to hit something. It shook violently before rapidly sinking.

    The men left behind on the boats all heard that. They emerged on their decks and saw the boat of the Blue Wolf gang sink. Apart from the people of the Blue Wolf gang who fell into panic, the others all stood on their decks and laughed aloud, watching on leisurely.

    However, there was another great thunk very soon, and another boat began to sink slowly. A third soon followed.

    Everyone all sensed that something was wrong. They called out, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Oh no, there¡¯s a water ghost sinking the ships!¡± ¡°If you can swim, go down and take a look!¡±

    By water ghost , they were obviously not talking about an actual ghost, but someone lurking under the water.

    Immediately, over a dozen able-bodied figures leapt into the water. After their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness in the water, they became stunned. All they saw was two large balls of fire, red in the centre and white on the edges, in the pitch-black, icy depths. None of them had ever seen such brilliant, lively fire before.

    The fire rapidly expanded as they grew closer. They finally could see the source of the two balls of fire now. They could not help but become dumbfounded.

    It was a huge skull that stood even taller than a man, like the skull of a giant. However, it seemed like it had been revived from the abyss of hell right now. Its eye sockets were brimming with lively fire as it looked at them brilliantly.

    Afterwards, it opened its mouth and lunged towards them. The same kind of fire burned within its mouth like gates to the furnace of hell.

    Xiao An stood in the pitch-black depths with his hands together in a prayer position. He controlled the Skull Prayer Beads and swallowed these people one by one before smashing it towards the other ships. The huge skull would immediately leave behind a great hole after a single collision.

    With each thunk, a boat sank.

    On the wharf, no one could hide their fear anymore. The boats were all destroyed, and the people who had entered the water had not emerged either. They had no idea what was hiding in the water. They were trapped here now.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! There was a string of gentle sounds, and the people on the shore collapsed on the ground like puppets cut from their strings.

    No one could see the white streak that rushed through the rainy night. The Skull Prayer Beads had already reverted to their original, bead-like form, moving rapidly through the rain; it was like a sixth layer Qi Practitioner controlling an artifact. It was not something these people of the jianghu could discover.

    Even more people collapsed on the ground. The cowardly swung their weapons wildly. They looked around, but all they saw was the dark of night. The calmer people tried to find out the reason for the deaths of the others. Very soon, they discovered a thumb-sized hole that connected their chest and back, but there was not a shred of blood from the wounds at all.

    Just as they contemplated this, someone shouted out, ¡°It seems to be¡­ fire!¡±

    The other people also discovered that the holes seemed to possess a speck of firelight. The wounds rapidly grew, and the holes grew as well. However, not a single droplet of blood was shed the entire time. The fire devoured the flesh and blood of the deceased quietly.

    Every single person who had the right to receive an invitation to this Island of Cherishing Flowers were people who had lived with their lives on the line every single day; they were people who would even lick the blood off their blades. However, they all became frightened out of their wits when they saw the people beside them drop dead one by one, unable to see the enemy and only left with this strange sight. They all staggered backwards.

    The flames swallowed all of the flesh and blood, reducing it to white bones in the blink of an eye. The colour of the flames became brighter as well, brimming with life. Afterwards, as if they were not done, they swelled and erupted, turning into thousands of sparks and landing on the other people.

    The fire passed through their clothes without leaving behind a trace. However, once it came into contact with fresh blood and flesh, it was like fire to oil. It would rapidly spread and evolve into a roaring flame.

    A series of miserable shrieks rang out at the wharf, with several dozen people on fire. In the blink of an eye, not a single sound was left. All that remained were several dozen sets of white bones.

    Xiao An emerged from the water and counted to himself. Six hundred and ninety-seven.

    The remaining sets of skeletons were now clad in a layer of pale flames. The white bones melted like snow very soon, turning into several droplets of fluid before merging with his body.

    Just when Xiao An wanted to make his way to the garden and assist Li Qingshan, he suddenly sensed something and turned around.

    His flaming eye sockets pierced through the fog. From extremely far away, he saw a great, black ship slowly sail over.

    Xiao An thought about what to do. He still ended up deciding to go to the garden.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Hah!¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in and produced an explosive shout. Pure true qi mixed with daemon qi turned into a Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar with a great gust of wind, directly landing on the few incoming martial arts practitioners. They were immediately blown away as they spat out blood. Their faces and chests were reduced to a bloody mess. It was impossible for them to survive.

    Although this was a Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar that had been weakened countless times, it was still not something mere masters of the jianghu could endure.

    Right off the bat, Li Qingshan¡¯s roar killed several first-rate masters.

    These so-called first-rate masters who were accustomed to always getting their way with their powerful martial arts had witnessed the true disparity in strength between them and the Hawkwolf Guard.

    With the creaking of metal, Li Qingshan forced open a great hole between the bars. The inscriptions on the Daemon-trapping Cage of Bi¡¯an dimmed, and the spiritual qi dispersed.

    Li QIngshan walked out like a vicious tiger emerging from a cage. He gave off a pressing aura. The martial arts masters all took a step back as they looked at Li Qingshan in surprise and fright.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s stature returned to normal. He would never expose his daemon form before so many people unless he was certain he could clean them all up. The person he needed to eliminate immediately was obviously Shen Xihua, who could sense his daemon qi.

    ¡°Oh no, the boats! The boats have been destroyed!¡± A lackey suddenly rushed in and shouted out.

    ¡°What? Who did that?¡± Tian Zhonghao grabbed the lackey by the shoulders and exclaimed.

    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know!¡±

    All of them looked at Li Qingshan. Although they had heard it from Shen Xihua, they had only just realised that this teenager of the Hawkwolf Guard actually wanted to trap them all here so that he could slaughter them all.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Xiao An had begun as well. Afterwards, his eyes narrowed, and he gazed through the crowd at Shen Xihua, who hid among them and was about to flee. He yelled, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡±

    Shen Xihua shuddered inside. He turned around in shock. Li Qingshan had already drawn near as his voice resounded. With the roaring wind, he lunged over.

    Some of the martial arts masters were unable to react in time, so they ended up blocking Li Qingshan¡¯s path. They felt like a rampaging elephant had struck them, and they were directly knocked several meters away. Their bones all shattered as they passed away, unable to let out a single sound.

    There was a flash of a talisman, and it burned away to ash.

    A golden figure rose up from Shen Xihua¡¯s body. He was quite fast with his reaction. At that critical moment, he used a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings before forcefully turning around and throwing two punches downwards at Li Qingshan¡¯s stomach.

    Li Qingshan ignored the attacks. He formed a tiger¡¯s claw with his right hand and viciously reached towards Shen Xihua. ¡°Go die!¡±

    The Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart.

    His five fingers were like five steel chisels. They forcefully stabbed through the golden light. True qi and light clashed violently, producing an ear-splitting screech.

    Shen Xihua was utterly shocked. He had never thought that the Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings could be ripped through with empty hands. However, he knew that his time was up, so all of his true qi gathered in his fists violently as he punched at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    Li Qingshan forcefully endured the two punches, but he only tottered slightly. His right hand pierced through the golden light and stabbed into Shen Xihua¡¯s chest. He tugged outwards and dug out a bloody heart.

    The surroundings suddenly fell quiet. The strongest person present, Shen Xihua, could not even survive a single attack from Li Qingshan. Once again, this was a heavy mental blow to the many martial arts masters present.

    They could no longer care about anything now. They all took out their trump card talismans, biting the tips of their tongues and spraying blood on them. The talismans activated and shattered, releasing light. However, all of them chose to flee outside. They did not even care about their subordinates. Not a single one of them tried to throw their lives at Li Qingshan.

    When the vicious tiger descends from the mountains, the birds and beasts scatter.

    ¡°Talismans? I have them too!¡± Li Qingshan casually fished out a Swift Breeze talisman from his hundred treasures pouch and activated it with true qi. Whirlwind wrapped around his arms, and his body seemed to become much lighter. He took a step, and he felt like it was cushioned with air, allowing him to take off into the sky.

    In the air, he drew his knicked Wind-entwining blade with a reverse grip and swept out with it.

    The swiftest masters who had reacted first had already made it past the walls. They were cut in half by a wind blade. Their blood and organs scattered on the ground.

    After using the Swift Breeze talisman, his swift body became ghostly. There were a series of blurs and splashes of blood erupted. Describing him as a tiger among a flock of sheep was no longer enough now.

    This was no longer a battle, but a one-sided massacre. Before an absolute difference in strength, tricks and techniques were already pointless. All he needed to do was swing the Wind-entwining blade gently and heads would hit the ground. He could kill with each step, all the way from the study room to the courtyard, and then to the main hall. He was like a living asura.

    The martial arts masters fled in all directions like a swarm of bees. They could only resent how their parents had only given birth to them with two feet. They had cursed Shen Xihua thousands of times inside by now.

    One of them looked back and saw Li Qingshan flicker, rapidly approaching him, so he knelt down on the ground and yelled out, ¡°I¡¯m a spy from the government!¡± Afterwards, he blinked, and Li Qingshan stopped in front of him with his completely nicked blade paused. With another blink of his eyes, Li Qingshan had already arrived elsewhere. The person felt feeble as he collapsed on the ground. He basically crawled and rolled his way to a corner of the massacre.

    With that as an example, many people copied him. They knelt on the ground and shouted out, ¡°I¡¯m also a spy too!¡±

    For a moment, there were spies as far as the eye could see. Li Qingshan did not have any accurate information on these lackeys either, so he became rather hesitant.

    On the distant lake surface, several dozen balls of firelight lit up in the tin fog; it was followed by shrill whistles in the air that rapidly drew closer.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Under the deafening sounds, the Island of Cherishing Flower was immediately reduced to a sea of fire.

 Chapter 158 â€“ Reconstructing Flesh and Blood

    Many people stood on the deck of the great ship. There were both monks and daoists. They all stared at the Island of Cherishing Flowers in the distance anxiously.

    If people of the jianghu were present, they would definitely cry out in surprise, as basically all of the orthodox masters who had some renown to their names within several hundred kilometers of Jiaping were gathered here.

    There was black and white in the world. The so-called orthodox was not necessarily pure and honest, upholding the virtues of justice and righteousness, but they were a bunch of people who followed the law and protected order. There were quite a few who included the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, and courtesy as a part of their teachings as well. They might have been hypocrites, but most of the people in this world liked to stand under the light. This was just how virtues worked.

    At the end of the day, the hypocrite Yue Bujun still performed many good deeds of purging evil and helping the weak, while the actual wretch Tian Boguang had truly harmed countless ordinary people.1

    However, the battle between the black and the white, the orthodox and the unorthodox, had never ceased.

    In simpler words, young and inexperienced martial arts practitioners all wanted to live a lavish life of being luxuriously adorned and able to throw money around. The simplest and most direct way was to become a bandit. They would be able to steal money and women. There would also be many people who were reluctant to do this but still shared the ambition of a lavish life, so they became young, gallant wanderers, young heroes. Destroying a bandit¡¯s nest was obviously not a bad choice. They would also obtain money, women, and something else, renown.

    If a young hero destroyed countless nests of bandits and managed to survive, they would become a great hero. If a petty thief managed to steal tremendous wealth and countless women, they would become great thieves. These two people would obviously have a great cluster of grievances, but that did not matter. They would have many friends, and as a result, two groups of people existed in constant conflict with one another.

    In more complicated words, they had accumulated countless grievances over the generations. They had enough grievances to last them a few lifetimes. Every single unorthodox master on the Island of Cherishing Flowers had enemies on the ship.

    The unorthodox masters were not the only ones who had become restless over the news of the Pill Seizing Gathering. These people became restless as well. They thought of how their enemies would reach the innate realm and confront them, killing them and then taking their money and women. As a result, they could not just let it happen. And, if there really were pills that great, who wouldn¡¯t want them?

    The girl was only around thirteen or fourteen years of age. She stood at the bow of the ship in plain clothes. Her face was filled with an experienced sense of maturity, but due to her baby face and the fact that she was just not that old, it was quite a funny sight.

    An old monk with grey eyebrows bowed. ¡°Miss Hua, what do you think?¡±

    The girl narrowed her eyes to peer through the thin fog like a general. She did not answer him.

    The old monk raised his head and looked at everyone helplessly. Then they all looked at a girl in violet beside the young miss.

    They were all renowned figures of the jianghu, but they were helpless before this young miss, not only because she was a second layer Qi Practitioner at such a young age, but also because she came from a great clan. When she was outside to see the world and toughen up, she befriended the great hero Yu¡¯s daughter, Yu Zijian, who was the woman in violet beside her. That was also why she agreed to assist them.

    As soon as they arrived by the lake, she had taken out a small boat from her hundred treasures pouch. She tossed it into the water, and it transformed into a huge ship, which stunned all of them. With her assistance, they were extremely confident in succeeding this time. They would definitely be able to grant these people a graveless death.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Chenglu, why don¡¯t you answer him?¡±

    Hua Chenglu raised her hand in a composed manner to shut Yu Zijian up. Afterwards, she waved the small banner in her hand and passed an order. ¡°Turn the ship around and prepare the cannons!¡±

    The ship slowly turned. The port faced the Island of Cherishing Flowers, and then several dozen small, wooden hatches opened up and large, black cannons extended out.

    However, the entire ship was a single mechanism, so it did not require any sailors to control it. Instead, she could achieve all of that through the tiny banner in her hand. As a result, her mighty order no longer seemed so mighty. It seemed rather funny instead. None of them knew how to react to this.

    Yu Zijian whispered, ¡°Chenglu, are the Fire Dragon cannons really that powerful?¡±

    Due to being doubted, her mature little face became agitated. She pointed at the Island of Cherishing Flowers. ¡°Watch as I flatten the entire place!¡±

    Afterwards, she ordered loudly, ¡°Open fire!¡±

    The black cannons erupted with several dozen flashes like the roaring of fire dragons, planting the same number of mushroom clouds on the Island of Cherishing Flowers in the distance. They destroyed most of the structures there in a single instant.

    The lovely hall collapsed while the exquisite structures burst into flames. The Island of Cherishing Flowers that Shen Xihua had tended to for all these years was being reduced to ashes with his death.

    The orthodox masters on the deck were all shocked. They personally believed that if they themselves were on the island, they would have never been able to escape alive. Martial arts practitioners were just far too weak compared to actual innate masters.

    Yu Zijian murmured, ¡°How powerful!¡±

    There was a sliver of complacency in Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes, but she did not show it on her face.

    Yu Zijian asked in worry, ¡°Chenglu, will there be any innocent people on the island?¡±

    Hua Chenglu advised earnestly, like she was her senior, ¡°Zijian, you can¡¯t scruple over small matters if you want to achieve big things. You¡¯re still far too young.¡±

    The other orthodox masters all felt that this girl truly lived up to her background of originating from a renowned clan. They completely ignored Yu Zijian¡¯s question. As long as they could blast all of these bastards to death, who would care if there were any innocent people or not? They stood on the boat in the distance and watched as their enemies were reduced to ashes. There was nothing more joyful than that.

    Yu Zijian smiled gently and generously. ¡°Zijian, even if there are innocent people, they¡¯ll be laying their lives down for the sake of the martial arts society. All of the people of unorthodox origins are cruel and crafty. If we can¡¯t be more decisive and smarter than them, how are we supposed to defeat them? You need to learn from miss Hua.¡±

    Yu Zijian curled her lips, but she did not try to rebuke that. She just felt like her father had changed recently. In the past, if she was ever bold enough to say something like this in front of fellow people of the martial arts society, great hero Yu would have frowned and scolded her already. If she refused to oblige, he would even draw his sword. Although he had never swung it at her, he had never been so gentle to her.

    Due to his daughter¡¯s friendship with Hua Chenglu, great hero Yu had now become greatly respected by his fellow members of the martial arts society. He basically would even laugh in his dreams over this. Not only did Yu Zijian¡¯s future prospects become limitless, but even he as her father benefited as well. As a result, he became very amiable with his daughter. In particular, whenever he was in front of Hua Chenglu, he would basically set the norm of a loving father.

    Under the flattery from the orthodox masters, Hua Chenglu tried to smile it off like she was unfazed. She waved the banner in her hand and launched a barrage of cannonfire again.

    The entire Island of Cherishing Flowers was now engulfed in fire and smoke.

    The barrage landed on a huge shield and dispersed as violent gusts of wind. Li Qingshan lowered his spiritual artifact shield as he looked at the surface of the lake in surprise. What is going on?

    He was not surprised by the existence of guns and ammunition in this world. Instead, he wondered just who was trying to interfere and blow the Island of Cherishing Flowers to pieces.

    However, there was no point for him to think too much about this. After all, they had assisted him instead. Cannonfire on such a level did not pose any threats to him. As he held the shield that had already transformed to the size of a table, he strolled through the cannonfire like it was nothing. He was completely unscathed.

    However, to these unorthodox masters, it was basically the end of the world. Not a single super master burst out yelling, ¡°You have cannons? Well I have divine martial arts!¡±2 They were all blown to pieces as they sobbed for their lives, saving Li Qingshan the trouble of hunting them down individually.

    Xiao An crossed through the cannonfire easily as well and arrived before Li Qingshan.

    Under the constant booms, Li Qingshan nodded; his voice was drowned out by the cannonfire. However, his lips parted, and he seemed to say, ¡°You can start!¡±

    Both of their eyes seemed to shine.

    Xiao An brought his hands together in a prayer position, with the Skull Prayer Bead between his palms. Afterwards, he lowered his head and chanted scriptures quietly.

    Flames flowed out like water, silently spreading through the heavy smoke, descending over the collapsed walls and extending towards the buildings, swallowing every single corpse it came across along the way.

    Four hundred and twenty seven, three hundred and eleven, two hundred and twenty five, one hundred and thirty one¡­

    He counted to himself inside. Suddenly, Xiao An raised his head, and his eyes were filled with joy. All of the flames began to flow back to him, wrapping around him like a snake. It turned into a cocoon that enveloped him. Gradually, Xiao An disappeared inside. All that remained was a great, scarlet cocoon composed of fire floating in the air.

    Li Qingshan stared right at the cocoon of fire without shifting his gaze at all. He clenched his hands firmly as he suddenly became nervous.

    The explosions continued. At this moment, a cannonball whistles through the air, passing through the thick smoke and flying towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan extended his left hand with lightning speed and caught the cannonball.

    Boom!

    The cannonball exploded in his hands, charring it. He continued to stare at the cocoon like nothing had happened at all. He did not even turn his head.

    Time trickled by. After who knows how long, the cannonfire subsided, while Li Qingshan simply sat down by a destroyed wall, leaning his head on his hand.

    At this very moment, there was not a single matter, not a single person, that was worth his attention aside from Xiao An. Even Xuanyue and Gu Yanying formed no exceptions. His ambition that lied beyond the Nine Heavens was temporarily set aside as well.

    Hua Chenglu smiled on the deck of the ship. ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± She swung the small banner and ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s set off and go take a look!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Suddenly, someone called out and pointed behind the ship.

    Everyone looked over and became extremely stunned. A horse carriage tore through the fog and rapidly rolled over the surface of the water. It arrived before the ship very soon and gradually came to a halt.

    The West Gate Granny lifted the curtain and frowned. This was the Wave Breaker of the Hua family! She had seen it in Clear River city before. She could not be wrong. This mechanical ship had been created by several great masters of modhism. The Fire Dragon cannons on it were powerful, and it possessed several hundred mechanical puppet soldiers as well. Every single one of them possessed the strength of a weaker Qi Practitioner. They were extremely costly to create.

    The Sect of Clouds and Rain was powerful, but it was unable to ignore the influence the Hua family had over the Clear River prefecture. She called out loudly, ¡°May I ask which fellow of the Hua family is present?¡±

    Hua Chenglu leapt off the railing and replied, ¡°Hua Chenglu is present.¡±

    The West Gate Granny said, ¡°So it¡¯s you, brat. You¡¯ve stolen your family¡¯s ship and come out to play? Be careful of being spanked for getting involved with these untrustworthy folk.¡±

    None of the orthodox masters had any objections to being labelled as untrustworthy folk. Regardless of their gender, they all looked at the West Gate Granny in infatuation and lamented, There are actually beauties like her in the world. Even her wrinkles seemed to be extremely charming.

    1. These characters come from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer written by Louis Cha, which you are welcome to check out. For those who have read the book or watched adaptations faithful to the book, you should be familiar with these references.

 Chapter 159 â€“ The Aspect of Great Beauty

    However, Hua Chenglu was unfazed. She did not back down at all. ¡°So it¡¯s you, the old coot! This ship was mine in the first place. You¡¯re the one who stole the carriage of the Sect of Clouds and Rain and came out to play!¡±

    The West Gate Granny said in displeasure, ¡°You¡¯re so young, yet your mouth is already so foul. When I see your father, I must mention this to him. Right now, I have matters to attend to, so I¡¯m not going to bother with a brat like you!¡±

    Hua Chenglu immediately rebuked her and said, ¡°When I see big brother Chengzan, I¡¯ll mention it to him as well, how an old hag like you is harassing me just because of my young age!¡±

    The West Gate Granny snorted coldly, and the carriage sped off towards the Island of Cherishing Flowers, forming a pair of tracks on the surface of the water.

    A boy in red said unhappily in the carriage, ¡°Granny, why won¡¯t you teach that little girl a lesson?¡±

    The West Gate Granny said, ¡°Her father and elder brother are not people to be trifled with. They¡¯re difficult to deal with, or I would have taken her measly life a long time ago. Hmph, there¡¯ll be plenty of times when she¡¯ll cry in the future. If you hadn¡¯t thrown a tantrum for some roasted chestnuts and wasted time, we would have arrived a long time ago and dealt with Li Qingshan already. We wouldn¡¯t have run into this girl.¡±

    If regular second layer Qi Practitioners were bold enough to be so rude to the West Gate Granny, she would have killed them a long time ago. However, since she came from the Hua family, she had to show some respect to her. Hua Chengzhan¡¯s identity as a Scarlet Wolf commander had some weight in the Clear River prefecture.

    The teenager in red curled his lips. ¡°It¡¯s not like I was the only person who wanted to eat them. Moreover, it¡¯s not too late right now either. Li Qingshan is definitely still on the island.¡±

    Hua Chenglu watched the carriage glide away from the deck. She snorted coldly as well, but her tender snort was nowhere near as powerful as the West Gate Granny¡¯s. Instead, she seemed more like she was just grumbling. She swung down the small banner, and the Wave Breaker broke through the waves, moving towards the Island of Cherishing Flowers.

    Within the smoke, the outline of the island gradually became visible.

    The shine of the cocoon of fire grew dimmer and dimmer, like a sun that was about to set. All that was left was a scarlet sphere that rapidly shrank.

    Rain fell from the sky, landing on the cocoon and rising up as white steam.

    The cocoon was filled with red light. Xiao An laid in there, curled up like he was in his mother¡¯s womb. The flames were no longer like flames, but more like a viscous fluid, like the amniotic fluid of the womb. Moreover, it contained the tremendous energy of life, gradually soaking him completely.

    He formed a buddhist hand seal with his bone fingers and something profound seemed to be invoked.

    From white bone to flesh, flesh and blood was reconstructed.

    Li Qingshan had already begun to hold his breath.

    With a great crack, a crevice appeared in the cocoon, spreading in all directions.

    Li Qingshan was basically sitting on the edge of his seat now.

    A tender hand extended out from the cocoon. It was white with a touch of red, like it was sculpted from blood jade. His blood vessels were almost visible.

    Li Qingshan leapt to his feet, but he was afraid of disturbing him. He gritted his teeth, and he suddenly felt his eyes moisten and redden. He had witnessed in person as Xiao An went from being a spirit to a skeleton, and then to a new life with blood and flesh again. He was filled with great joy for some reason. He believed that regardless of how brutal and bloody his path would be, he had more than just murderousness and hatred.

    Crack! Crack! With a series of cracks, the cocoon shattered. Flames rose up from inside as a petite figure figure stood among them, reborn amidst fire.

    The wondrous smell of sandalwood permeated the surroundings, immediately masking the pungent smell of gunpowder and smoke. It was calming.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. ¡°Xiao An, you¡¯ve finally¡­ huh?¡±

    The flames dispersed. A little girl stood naked at the centre of the flames that seemed like lotus petals. Her hands formed a buddhist seal. Her skin was pale and smooth, like polished jade. There was a red mole between her eyebrows, and her eyes were like two black pearls. There was not a speck of impurity or filth on her from head to toe. She was as pure as a red lotus.

    She looked at her own hands in a daze, as if she was unable to believe she had actually recovered her body of flesh. She raised her head and looked at Li Qingshan. She seemed to be rather unfamiliar with moving her face, so she was expressionless. However, her eyes that were like black pearls suddenly erupted with endless joy as she extended her arms towards him.

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback before rushing over quickly. He embraced her firmly as tears flowed from the corner of his eyes.

    He was just like a father who had been waiting outside the delivery room the entire time. Although he had only just found out that the child was not a boy that he had been expecting, this small surprise was not particularly important at all. It was unable to change the joy within him.

    Li Qingshan said constantly, ¡°Wonderful!¡±

    A while later, Li Qingshan suddenly felt that his mouth was rather clumsy. He had no idea what to say. He wiped away his tears and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get you dressed first!¡±

    Xiao An nodded obediently in his arms.

    Li Qingshan released her and flipped through his hundred treasures pouch. He said in distress, ¡°Though, there are only clothes for boys. Sigh, why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?¡±

    Xiao An shook her head as if she was saying, I¡¯ve forgotten too. So many years had passed already. Whether she had been a spirit or a skeleton, gender had never mattered.

    Li Qingshan was helpless. He thought about how the witch must have dressed her like a boy when she abducted her in order to deceive everyone. As a result, she had been under the impression that she was a boy the entire time.

    Li Qingshan checked Xiao An again to confirm that he had not mistaken. However, he discovered that her body was covered in red marks. With her tender skin that was no different from a newborn¡¯s, even silk would scratch and bruise her, let alone his rough hands.

    He asked in concern, ¡°Did I hurt you?¡±

    Xiao An shook her head. Compared to the incineration of the blood flames and the pain from the bone smelting of the pale flames, this type of pain was basically happiness.

    Li Qingshan carefully dressed her, like he was carrying a great treasure that could easily break.

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes widened. She wanted to tell him that she was not that fragile, but she enjoyed his care and concern very much as well.

    Li Qingshan could not help but touch her face, which was quite the sensation to his hand. It was so soft that it seemed like it would dissolve in his hands. He brushed past the red mole on her eyebrow and vaguely recalled that this was the mark that the droplet of ginseng juice had left behind. Did it appear on her body of flesh as well?

    Xiao An was like a doll, standing there obediently without moving at all, allowing him to touch her. She could feel the warmth from the tip of his fingers as she felt eager.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her bald head and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s a pity you don¡¯t have hair. Though, it¡¯ll grow very quickly.¡±

    Xiao An blinked her eyes and suddenly took a step back. She clenched her elegant hands and held her breath, using everything that she had. Soon afterwards, dark hair began to sprout wildly, and before long, it had reached her shoulders and subsequently her waist.

    Li Qingshan said in a hurry, ¡°Enough, enough.¡±

    Only then did Xiao An stop. Her hair had already grown down to her knees. It was moist and thick like kelp and naturally curled. It was so dark that it was not glossy at all, making it extremely unique.

    She wore a beautiful set of silken garments and seemed just like a little young master with extremely delicate features. Li Qingshan was unable to describe how much he liked it. He was filled to the brim with joy and could not help but laugh aloud. He felt like the future was bright, and there was nothing that he could not achieve.

    At this moment, the whinny of a horse rang out from the surface of the lake. Li Qingshan turned around and saw a carriage emerge from the thick fog, approaching him rapidly. Behind it was a great ship.

    Li Qingshan frowned. If he had guessed correctly, the cannonfire earlier originated from the great ship, while the carriage seemed to possess a powerful aura. There was also hostility. This did not originate from his abilities as a Qi Practitioner, but as a daemon.

    The carriage sped ashore and stopped quietly before Li Qingshan.

    All Li Qingshan saw was an old woman in great red robes disembarking from the carriage. She gave off a pressing aura. Even from Zhuo Zhibo, he had never sensed an aura so powerful before. Out of the people he had previously seen, the person closest would be Hua Chengzan, but her aura was much weaker than Hua Chengzan¡¯s.

    She was a ninth layer Qi Practitioner.

    The West Gate Granny made her way out of the carriage, but her gaze slid away from Li Qingshan, landing on Xiao An beside him. Afterwards, her gaze became fixed. She was filled with shock as she murmured, ¡°Brilliance like the Essence of Spring, Gaze as Smooth as Light, Skin Smooth like Ice and Jade, Powdered Jade Sculpting¡ªhow can a person possess so many aspects of beauty? Wait, i- is this the legendary Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty? That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    The West Gate Granny was very knowledgeable, so it was obviously impossible for her to be stunned by just the appearance of a child. The string of phrases she uttered were not just simple praises.

    In the Sect of Clouds and Rain, the standards and names for labelling the appearances of people included the Aspect of Floral Fairness and Moon-like Beauty, the Aspect of Natural Bone-deep Beauty, the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty, the Aspect of Supple and Tender Beauty, the Aspect of Admirable Beauty1, and so on. They were finely divided into nine tiers, with some better than others. Anyone who possessed an aspect of beauty would find great ease in practising the arts of charm of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, while higher aspects of beauty could easily attain effects akin to transcendency.

    The current sect master possessed the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty. She was chosen by the previous sect master and accepted as a disciple, which was the reason for her current accomplishments. As for the West Gate Granny, she possessed the ¡®Aspect of Red Flight¡® from the Aspect of Colourful Frolicking Beauty, allowing her to stand out and thus allowing her to become one of the four great grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. As for Furong, her appearance was nothing special, but due to her charming, graceful figure, the West Gate Granny had accepted her as a disciple, which made her the courtesan of Jiaping city.

    Out of these numerous aspects of beauty, there was one aspect that only existed in the legends¡ªthe Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty.

    The Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty fused many aspects of beauty, making it the leader of all fragrances, the champion of all beauty. It made the West Gate Granny name a list of aspects of beauty upon seeing her before finally reaching this unbelievable outcome.

    According to the legends, this was an omen to throwing the world into disarray. Although it would not necessarily be accurate, the charm of this aspect of beauty was a source of disaster. It could collapse cities and kingdoms.

    The West Gate Granny immediately tossed Li Qingshan aside. She even forgot all about the disappearance of her outstanding disciples, Zhao Liangqing and Furong. She stared right at Xiao An as she walked over. She was basically even more excited than Li Qingshan earlier. ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful! Wonderful!¡± If she could take her in as a disciple and bring her back to the Sect of Clouds and Rain¡­

    With a swish, Li Qingshan blocked the West Gate Granny and also interrupted her thoughts. He asked, ¡°Who are you? What are you trying to do?¡±

    The West Gate Granny raised her head in displeasure and looked at Li Qingshan, who was much taller than her. However, the arrogance on her face made it seem like she was looking down on him instead. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re Li Qingshan? Who are you to her?¡±

 Chapter 160 â€“ I Must Kill Her

    The West Gate Granny originally planned on killing Li Qingshan as soon as she saw him. It did not matter whether Li Qingshan was actually related to their disappearance or not. She would put an end to the entire matter.

    However, now that she saw how Xiao An was so close with him, she could not kill him anymore, just in case she ended up falling out with this dear disciple of hers. As for trash like Zhao Liangqing and Furong, if they were dead, they were dead. Their deaths were not worth her attention.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He was unable to describe his relationship with Xiao An. Instead, he answered with a question. ¡°And who are you? What has this got to do with you?¡±

    ¡°She is the West Gate Granny of the Sect of Clouds and Rain!¡± Hua Chenglu leapt off when the ship arrived near the shore and landed gently on the ground. She possessed a masterly set of movement techniques, so she arrived before Li Qingshan after just a few bounds.

    The orthodox masters all disembarked from the ship as well. They planned to search for the pill that could allow people to directly reach the innate realm.

    When Li Qingshan heard the name of the sect, he was immediately taken aback. While Zhou Wenbin had warned him already, he had never thought the Sect of Clouds and Rain would actually send such a powerful master against him. It had really taken him by surprise. As it seemed, he was not the only one who understood the principle behind a lion using its full strength to catch a rabbit. The Sect of Clouds and Rain would not actually be dumb enough to send lackeys one by one to him for him to practise on.

    All Hua Chenglu saw was the Black Wolf tablet on Li Qingshan¡¯s waist. She asked in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re a Hawkwolf guard? What are you doing here?¡± Afterwards, she looked at Xiao An beside him and praised, ¡°What a beautiful child!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m obviously here for a mission. You seem rather familiar.¡± Hua Chenglu was young, but she had arched eyebrows and vermillion lips on her apple-shaped face. She was extremely charming. He seemed to have seen something similar somewhere before.

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°Since you¡¯re a Hawkwolf guard, you¡¯ve obviously met my elder brother, Chengzan. You¡¯re carrying out a mission? Did you also hear that they would gather here?¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan come to a realisation. A man as handsome as Hua Chengzan was rare, so his impression of him was obviously deep.

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? You gathered all of these people here?¡±

    The orthodox masters behind her all shivered inside. The Pill Seizing Gathering was actually a scheme of the Hawkwolf Guard. What a ruthless young man. He actually wanted to gather all of these unorthodox masters together and kill them in one fell swoop. The pills would obviously go without saying now.

    The West Gate Granny paid no attention to anyone else. All she did was stare at Xiao An, and she liked her more and more. Xiao An felt unnatural, so she hid behind Li Qingshan.

    The West Gate Granny suddenly circled behind Li Qingshan and grabbed Xiao An¡¯s hand. She said to Li Qingshan, ¡°This girly possesses tremendous fortune to be chosen by me. I want to take her as my disciple and bring her back to Clear River city. Will you allow it?¡±

    She used her arts of charm. In a trance, Li Qingshan saw a great beauty before him, currently pleading at him in a desperate manner. He could not turn down any request of her. However, when he heard she wanted to take away Xiao An, he suddenly shuddered and yelled out, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    When he looked at the West Gate Granny again, she no longer possessed any beauty at all anymore. Her skin was all pitted, yet she still painted her lips vermillion. She was an old monster who plastered herself with cosmetics. She only seemed sickening.

    Li Qingshan thought of Furong and thought about how this old hag actually wanted to take Xiao An to a place like the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Fury rose through his head. Killing intent immediately erupted as red light shone in his eyes. He was tempted to kill the West Gate Granny on the spot, and it was not because of any good or evil. Even if you were a kind-hearted person in your past ten lives, even if you¡¯re a being of pure benevolence, I¡¯ll still cut you to pieces out of pure hatred if you mention a request like that to me.

    Even the thought of daemonifying and killing the old hag on the spot before silencing everyone present crossed his head. However, he gave up on that in the end. He was both reluctant to kill the innocent, and he lacked confidence in his ability to kill the West Gate Granny. He could only hold back his anger and glare at the West Gate Granny. I must kill this old hag.

    Hua Chenglu shivered. She felt like the ordinary teenager had suddenly turned into a terrifying beast such that he could swallow her in a single bite. The knees of the weaker orthodox masters directly gave way as they crumpled to the ground.

    The West Gate Granny was slightly taken aback. She had never thought that a second layer Qi Practitioner like him could actually break free from her arts of charm. However, she paid no attention to the killing intent that Li Qingshan gave off. The anger of the weak was not worth the attention of the powerful.

    The West Gate Granny said in a sunken manner, ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide. We need to ask what the child wants.¡± She smiled at Xiao An. ¡°Good girl, don¡¯t you want to go back with granny? Granny has everything.¡± Her bearing suddenly became extremely amiable again.

    She believed that Li Qingshan possessed a heavy aura of murderousness as a Qi Practitioner, which was why he could resist her arts of charm. However, against a little girl who had never practised qi before, it would be a piece of cake.

    Never did she think that Xiao An would actually shake her head emotionlessly, completely unaffected by her. Her attitude was even firmer than Li Qingshan¡¯s. The very essence of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was to transform all forms and to see through all forms. It was naturally immune to arts of charm and illusions. Even if the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain were present here, she would not be able to make her waver.

    Hua Chenglu mocked, ¡°West Gate hag, can¡¯t you see that they¡¯re not interested in you? You better just stop trying to flatter them.¡±

    The West Gate Granny said in irritation, ¡°Shut up, brat!¡± She was utterly perplexed inside. Did the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty come with natural immunity to charms? However, it made her even more earnest instead. She had to take this girl back to the Sect of Clouds and Rain no matter what.

    Hua Chenglu was furious after the West Gate Granny scolded her in front of so many people. She came from the Hua family, and she even came from the main branch. Her father was the patriarch. She had been spoilt since young. She was the little princess of the Hua family. Even her own parents had never scolded her like that.

    The West Gate Granny no longer bothered with her anymore. She changed the topic of conversation and asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ve come all this way this time to ask you just where Zhao Liangqing and Furong are.¡±

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°The two disciples of your esteemed sect committed crimes and were exposed, so they fled in fear of punishment. How would I know where they went? But if you know where they are, you¡¯re more than welcome to tell me. I¡¯ll definitely bring them to justice.¡±

    The West Gate Granny said fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯t play with me. How are you bold enough to claim that this entire matter has nothing to do with you? In my opinion, they fell to your hands. The Sect of Clouds and Rain will not let this matter go so easily.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Zhao Liangqing is a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. I¡¯m only at the second layer, so how am I his opponent? Don¡¯t you even think about placing the blame on me, old granny. Though, if I do meet them again, I¡¯ll definitely kill them. That¡¯ll result in great merit in the Hawkwolf Guard. It¡¯s worth several hundred points of contribution.¡±

    The West Gate Granny and Li Qingshan bickered rapidly and furiously. As such, Hua Chenglu was unable to chime in. However, when she saw how Li Qingshan handled the West Gate Granny who was far more powerful than he was like she was no one special, even actively rebuking what she said to the point where she paled, Hua Chenglu¡¯s anger subsided slightly. She purposefully praised him loudly, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re young, but you have quite the backbone.¡±

    ¡°Old woman, you¡¯re completely unreasonable. This kid is only a second layer Qi Practitioner. If he comes across a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, he won¡¯t even have the time to flee, so how is he supposed to fall to his hands? Oh right, I forgot that the disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain all rely on their looks to get by. They¡¯re all weak as hell, so it¡¯s nothing surprising if he killed him!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at her. She was so young, yet she spoke like an old man, constantly calling him ¡®kid¡¯. However, seeing how she was basically on his side, he forgave her for this tiny aspect.

    First, Li Qingshan had ridiculed the West Gate Granny, and now, Hua Chenglu had mocked her, so she was utterly furious. ¡°You¡¯re just asking to die!¡± Her aura was like a great tidal wave as it kicked up wind and rain. It slammed into Li Qingshan wave after wave. The orthodox masters nearby were only struck by the collateral waves, yet they felt like they were heavily injured, heaving their chests. Only when they backed to several dozen steps away did they feel better.

    They all looked at the West Gate Granny in utter shock. They had already heard from Hua Chenglu that she was a ninth layer Qi Practitioner, but none of them had ever thought that a ninth layer Qi Practitioner would actually be so powerful. Just the collateral damage had caused them internal injuries. Just what kind of pressure was the kid from the Hawkwolf Guard supposed to be under then?

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you try it!?¡± Li Qingshan shielded Xiao An behind him. He crossed his arms and held his chest high as he looked down on the West Gate Granny. He was like a rock near the ocean, bombarded by the wind, rain, and water but completely unshaken.

    Hua Chenglu was the closest. She felt her chest tighten as she truly sensed the difference between the second and ninth layers. She wanted to retreat, but she refused to embarrass the Hua family, so she forcefully endured it. Under the great pressure, even her vision blurred. Only her willpower remained.

    Suddenly, she felt her wrist tighten, and she was pulled aside. The pressure decreased drastically, and her eyes cleared up. She looked up, but all she saw was Li Qingshan¡¯s large, sturdy back.

    As it turned out, Li Qingshan saw her little face pale, so he pulled her behind him to shield her as well. Her elder brother Hua Chengzan had treated him well, and she had constantly stood on his side as well. The reason why the West Gate Granny was afraid of attacking him was exactly because of her. Obviously, he had to keep his protective charm safe.

    Hua Chenglu gasped lightly as she felt shaken up. She thought, So brother and dad have always just been coaxing me when they clashed with me. This old woman is actually so powerful. This kid is also at the second layer, so how is he so powerful? He is actually unfazed by the old woman¡¯s aura.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s actual strength was much more than the second layer. Instead, he was a daemon equivalent to the sixth or seventh layer of Qi Practitioner. And, he had not been sheltered like Hua Chenglu. Instead, he had emerged through taking thousands of lives. Consequently, his murderousness and viciousness were extremely heavy. Regular ghosts could not even get within ten steps of him, so he obviously did not fear the West Gate Granny¡¯s aura.

    Then Hua Chenglu looked at Xiao An, who was completely fine as well. She felt even more depressed as a result. She called out from behind Li Qingshan, ¡°Old woman, do you really plan on becoming enemies with the Hawkwolf Guard and the Hua family?¡±

 Chapter 161 â€“ Forcing Back the West Gate Granny

    The West Gate Granny waved her hand. ¡°Miss Hua, I¡¯ll show some respect to your Hua family, but don¡¯t try biting off more than you can chew. This is an important matter of our Sect of Clouds and Rain. You best not interfere. Take these people and get out of here!¡±

    Hua Chenglu refused to oblige. ¡°Since he¡¯s a Hawkwolf guard, then he¡¯s under my elder brother¡¯s command. I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye to all of this. If you have the skill, why don¡¯t you kill me as well? Then there¡¯ll be no one to report you. Otherwise, you¡¯re a kidnapper of children and a murderer of a Hawkwolf guard.¡±

    The West Gate Granny¡¯s face became even more frigid. She had thought of this several times already. If she were just a regular member of the Hua family, she would have done it a long time ago. Nothing would happen as long as she left behind no evidence.

    However, Hua Chenglu was the little princess of the Hua family. Even if there was no direct evidence, the Hua family would never spare her as long as they found out she had passed by Lakeside city. Even the Sect of Clouds and Rain would not be able to protect her.

    As a result, the West Gate Granny could only change up her attitude. She said to Li Qingshan earnestly, ¡°Children really know nothing. A girly with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty will only serve as the source of a colossal disaster to you. If you hand her to me, you¡¯ll be able to end your grievance with the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Moreover, I have everything you want, whether it be pills or spiritual artifacts. I can let you pick whatever you want.¡±

    Xiao An grabbed the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes, while Li Qingshan only said two words to the West Gate Granny, ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The West Gate Granny was completely angered now. She raised her hand that was no different from a chicken¡¯s claw and true qi surged out violently. Just from a few feet away, it pierced Li Qingshan to a point where his face twisted in pain.

    Hua Chenglu stamped her foot and called out, ¡°How dare you!¡±

    The West Gate Granny hesitated for quite a while before viciously pulling back. Clearly, she was not bold enough to do that. ¡°This girly will definitely end up with the Sect of Clouds and Rain. I would like to see whether you can keep hiding behind a girl.¡± With that, she climbed into her carriage and took off into the fog.

    Hua Chenglu let out a deep sigh, and Li Qingshan eased up as well. He turned around and said, ¡°Thank you for upholding justice and providing assistance.¡± If it were not for Hua Chenglu, he was confident that while the West Gate Granny would not have been able to catch them so easily, his daemon form and Xiao An¡¯s ability would have been exposed, leading to endless trouble. As for killing the West Gate Granny, that was basically impossible for him right now.

    Li Qingshan nodded and boarded the Wave Breaker with Xiao An and Hua Chenglu. The group of orthodox masters still ended up searching through the ruins of the island as they refused to believe that this was all a scheme. However, they obviously found nothing.

    Someone said in wonder, ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any corpses?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they were all blasted apart by the cannons?¡±

    ¡°But they couldn¡¯t have been blasted to a point where they vanished.¡±

    Li Qingshan became wary. Devouring flesh and blood on a large scale for the sake of training would definitely lead to suspicion. If he attracted the attention of someone sharp-witted, he would become suspicious sooner or later. He needed to become even more careful. Fortunately, Xiao An had already reconstructed his body, so they were in no hurry to gather more corpses. They could hold off with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty for now.

    As he rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head, he thought about how a child like her was involved in killing and fighting every single day after she followed him. Now that she had finally recovered her body, it was time for her to enjoy the happinesses of ordinary children. Seeking greater power to protect her was his responsibility.

    Xiao An raised her head to look at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan smiled at her, and Xiao An¡¯s lips twitched as well, smiling rather unnaturally in response.

    Li Qingshan pinched her cheek and smiled. ¡°You need quite a lot more practise. As a person, you¡¯ll be better off if you smile more.¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head in embarrassment as her face blushed.

    Although Li Qingshan had no idea what the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty was, he did find her to be extremely cute. He thought back to when Xiao An was still a spirit. Her face was completely pale. She did not seem to possess the same charm as right now.

    Little did he know that a body reconstructed using the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty could be described as the most perfect body in the world. The White Bone Bodhisattva might not have been described as possessing heavenly fragrance and beauty. He only pursued the limits of forms and appearances in the world, and the core secrets hidden within could not just be passed off as ¡®heavenly fragrance and beauty¡¯.

    Hua Chenglu yelled at the shore, ¡°If you don¡¯t board now, I¡¯m leaving!¡± The orthodox masters quickly gave up on their search and returned to the ship.

    The pitch-black night descended as rain drizzled. Masters stood to the sides.

    ¡°Please!¡± Hua Chenglu invited Li Qingshan into the cabin. They passed through a corridor lit by lanterns and arrived in an extremely fancy dining hall.

    There was not a single lantern in the dining hall, but it was fully lit. Half-transparent crystals were embedded in the walls, producing gentle, white light. The atmosphere was pleasant, neither too dry nor too humid, neither too cold nor too hot. It fully exhibited the luxury that Qi Practitioner clans could enjoy.

    Hua Chenglu and Li Qingshan sat in the seats of honours as the orthodox masters sat to the two sides. They chatted happily as they were in extremely good moods. While they had failed to find any pills, knowing that their greatest enemies had been blown to a pulp was a very delightful matter.

    Great hero Yu even bellowed out, ¡°Bring the alcohol! We killed those bastards, so we need to properly celebrate!¡±

    Everyone responded loudly. There were also envious people among them, who thought about how his appearance was vicious and looked even more villainous than a villain, yet he somehow had such a charming daughter who managed to befriend someone from the Hua family. They sneered inside over how his wife must have been unfaithful, or there was no other explanation.

    Hua Chenglu glanced at him before ordering people to prepare some tea and snacks for guests in an extremely old-fashioned manner.

    Great hero Yu shut up in a hurry and smiled apologetically. ¡°Let¡¯s drink tea. Tea is no different.¡±

    If a grown man behaved like Hua Chenglu, Li Qingshan might have found it perfectly normal, but she was only thirteen or fourteen. She still had a hint of childishness to her, making her look like a child trying to act like an adult. It was rather funny.

    And, there was no need for any orders at all. She just had to wave her banner, and a few mechanical puppets would emerge from beneath the cabin, clinking and clanking, delivering her tea and snacks. It made her actions seem even more childish instead.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had seen puppets like this, so he became extremely curious. He was amazed by the wonders of this world once again. These puppets seemed to be made out of wood. A face was carved on their heads, and their joints were clearly defined on their arms and feet. They were extremely nimble as well, without any stiffness in their actions. It was possible to imagine them moving as swiftly as the wind when the need arose.

    Xiao An¡¯s gaze became even more fixed than him. Only when the puppets walked away did she withdraw her gaze reluctantly.

    Li Qingshan thought of something and took note of that.

    Hua Chenglu sipped some tea and asked sternly, ¡°Just how did you offend that old hag?¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan told her the entire story regarding the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, but he hid the fact that Zhuo Zhibo was trying to screw him over. Hua Chengzan would definitely be much more familiar with Zhuo Zhibo than himself. Lodging a complaint over the heads of his superiors would never end up well, let alone through a young girl like Hua Chenglu.

    When Hua Chenglu heard about how the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had been forcing people into prostitution, she became bright red from fury. However, when she heard how Li Qingshan had killed the procuress and executed a search warrant against them, she praised, ¡°You¡¯ve done well. The Hawkwolf Guard needs good men who defy brutal suppression like you. I really haven¡¯t saved the wrong person.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned, but he forced back his smile and said sternly too, ¡°That¡¯s my responsibility!¡±

    Hua Chenglu asked out of curiosity, ¡°What other missions have you undertaken before?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only just joined the Hawkwolf Guard recently, so I haven¡¯t undertaken many missions.¡± Then Li Qingshan told her about his mission in Ancient Wind city and his plan with the Island of Cherishing Flowers this time.

    Hua Chenglu was utterly engrossed by it all. She would chime in from time to time. She led an extravagant life, yet for some reason, she had such a great thirst for blood. When she heard about the destruction of an entire clan, she became overwhelmed by excitement, forcing Li Qingshan to go into much detail.

    In the end, she said in quite some pity, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that my big brother won¡¯t let me join the Hawkwolf Guard so soon. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be able to carry out missions together with you, Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, With the Hua family¡¯s strength, you can literally eat pills whenever you want, so why would you have to busy yourself with these missions? If I were you, I would eat my way to Daemon General before leaving the clan.

    However, he said, ¡°That is because commander Hua cares for you. Only when you¡¯re powerful can you carry out missions. I believe there¡¯ll be a day when you become a Hawkwolf guard who even surpasses me.¡±

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s basically what my big brother said to me.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, So your elder brother coaxes you like this too!

    If the entire scene was presented as a new report, it would have been, ¡°The leader of our country, Hua Chenglu, received Li Qingshan in a cordial manner and engaged in a deep conversation, affirming and supporting Li Qingshan¡¯s job. Our leader has also encouraged him to continue with his hard work so that he can strive for the better.¡±

    The orthodox martial arts practitioners watched all of this unfold as bystanders. They felt rather mixed inside. After all, aside from Xiao An, the two of them were the youngest out of everyone present. Most of them were first-rate masters and were only a step away from the first layer of Qi Practitioner, but it was this exact obstacle before the innate realm that separated their statuses.

    Yet, they just had to admit that no matter how many times they heard of Li Qingshan¡¯s actions, they felt astounded. Then they thought of the unorthodox masters who prided themselves in making it onto the blacklist and called them idiots inside. Afterwards, they made up their minds to never make it onto the blacklist no matter what. Otherwise, who knows when they would be cut down in one fell swoop from attending a gathering.

    After what happened on the Island of Cherishing Flowers, the orthodox martial arts society within several hundred kilometers of Jiaping city experienced great prosperity. The ethos of the jianghu became extremely positive as well. Young and great heroes emerged one after another, every single one of them following the law, respecting the old, and cherishing the young. Even if they became involved in some dirty deeds, they would do it secretly and with great care. They would never do it openly. Li Qingshan had truly done well.

    In just a short while, the ship arrived on the shore and everyone disembarked. Hua Chenglu extended her hand and waved it. The huge ship rapidly shrank before landing in her hand. Then she stowed it away in her hundred treasures pouch. She lamented, ¡°The lake is too small. We can¡¯t go speeding around.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s eyes lit up once more with this sight.

    Before they could set off, the orthodox masters had already prepared a celebration banquet in the Lake Viewing restaurant of Lakeside city.

    Li Qingshan sighed gently. I have to continue this act. She helped me so much this time, so I need to make her happy at the very least.

    And, while he could not see, hear, or smell her, Li Qingshan could clearly sense that the West Gate Granny was still close. The ambiguous sense of hostility and killing intent enveloped him constantly. He was afraid that the West Gate Granny would immediately come for his life as soon as he left Hua Chenglu¡¯s side.

 Chapter 162 â€“ Birthday Presen

    t

    Great hero Yu finally obtained his alcohol in the Lake Viewing restaurant. He drank to his heart¡¯s content. He even used his tipsiness to toast Li Qingshan. Afterwards, other people came to toast him as well. They all fawned over him.

    ¡°Sir Li, do you have another nickname called the Black Tiger?¡± There were even some people who recognised Li Qingshan, recalling his extremely distant nickname.

    Li Qingshan quickly dealt with their praises and questions and helped Xiao An to another piece of fish. ¡°Try this. It¡¯s quite nice.¡± Now that she had finally regained her sense of taste, she obviously had to make up for everything she had missed out over such a long period of time.

    Xiao An lowered her head and ate obediently. Although she was expressionless, she remained bright red the entire time; it was like she was drunk.

    An old monk made his way over and studied Xiao An. ¡°Sir Li, your little friend gives off a very strong buddhist aura!¡± He was a diligent monk who had some cultivation about him, so he could sense the impact of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty on Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°My Xiao An will become a bodhisattva in the future!¡±

    The old monk was taken aback. He placed his palms together in a prayer. ¡°That¡¯s sinful, that¡¯s sinful. Sir, you mustn¡¯t talk nonsense!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°How can common people understand the ambitions of the great? Right, Xiao An?¡±

    Hua Chenglu was still the person that everyone crowded around. When she heard that, she glanced at Li Qingshan and shook her head. She had no idea whether this kid was audacious or simply foolish. Didn¡¯t he know that a ninth layer Qi Practitioner was looking for him now? If it were not for her, he would have been torn to pieces a long time ago. He would not be able to go on about common people and great people here.

    At this moment, a handsome young man arrived before her gracefully and whispered. He seemed to say something with deep affection.

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s smile vanished. She replied to him with a question, ¡°Do you think you¡¯re worthy?¡±

    She was not particularly loud, but everyone present had sharp ears. They all looked over. Everyone knew what the young man was trying. In particular, the other young heroes present all sneered inside. You want to get involved with the Hua family? Why don¡¯t you check yourself in the mirror first? Afterwards, they felt glad that they had not attempted the same thing.

    Li Qingshan thought, Bastard, aren¡¯t you a little too bestial? You won¡¯t even spare a thirteen-year-old girl. If you were in my previous life, you would¡¯ve been shot! However, this girl sure was realistic. She was unlike those young misses from the stories, who would be touched by true love and end up eloping with scholars.

    The young man¡¯s face became bright red. He covered his face and left in embarrassment.

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°He never had any sincere intentions in the first place, so why am I supposed to be all polite to him? Moreover, he didn¡¯t even have the courage to say that he was worthy. He lacks confidence and has an inferiority complex. That¡¯s just annoying.¡± Towards the end, she seemed to remember something, and her face became rather resentful.

    The small incident failed to influence the atmosphere of the celebratory banquet.

    After the banquet, the masters all bid farewell. They said they would be returning to eliminate the remaining unorthodox forces. In reality, they were just taking advantage of the situation so that they could claim a piece of the territory and wealth left behind by these unorthodox masters. There were a few young men on par with young heroes who were reluctant to part with Hua Chenglu.

    Just when it was as noisy as it could get, Li Qingshan approached Hua Chenglu and whispered something into her ear.

    Hua Chenglu had received a few toasts from people as well, so her face was slightly flushed. When she saw him approach her, she was rather displeased in the beginning, but when she heard his words, she was surprised. She glanced at Xiao An before smiling and nodded.

    The young heroes were all envious of him. This kid sure knew how to climb upwards. If he became the son-in-law of the Hua family, he would basically experience a meteoric rise in status, wealth and everything else. In the past few days, a few of them had attempted similar things as well, but Hua Chenglu had shut them all down in a haughty manner. It was rare for her to smile after hearing something like that.

    Just as Li Qingshan wanted to give something to Hua Chenglu, she waved her hand and turned it down. Li Qingshan did not insist either. He only gazed at her deeply, which embarrassed Hua Chenglu instead, making her shift her gaze. In the end, she placed something in his hundred treasures pouch and glanced at him in concern. She mentioned something again, but Li Qingshan only smiled and shook his head. With that, they finally stopped talking.

    It was impossible for the Hua family to stand up for him over something as small as this. Zhuo Zhibo of the Hawkwolf Guard seemed to hate this kid very much as well, while the Sect of Clouds and Rain could endure the price that came with eliminating him. When the banquet ended, everyone left the restaurant and boarded their own carriages or horses.

    Hua Chenglu emerged from the restaurant. Yu Zijian asked curiously, ¡°What were you talking about with him earlier?¡± She thought that he was the same as the young heroes. Did she understand what would happen between man and woman at such a young age?

    Hua Chenglu said in thought, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°What nothing? You two got along so well earlier. He might not be bad, but he¡¯s far too vicious. He doesn¡¯t suit you.¡±

    Hua Chenglu finally understood what she was asking about. She smacked her over her head. ¡°You¡¯re so young, so what are you thinking about these random things for? He doesn¡¯t suit me, so he¡¯s supposed to suit you? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s interested, so don¡¯t say that I am. He only wanted to buy a gift for that child. Afterwards, he bid farewell to me. I was afraid he would end up being caught by that old woman, so I tried to persuade him to travel with me, but he refused.¡±

    Yu Zijian clutched her head and gazed at the restaurant in concern. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, right?¡±

    Under the rain and darkness of the night, the West Gate Granny parked her carriage in a dark alleyway. She firmly locked onto Li Qingshan¡¯s aura in the restaurant. She refused to believe that the little princess of the Hua family would actually spend every moment of her time around this man. As long as she had the smallest opportunity, she would be able to strike. Taking away a single child and even accepting the child as a disciple would not exactly be a crime.

    She watched the people scatter, but the West Gate Granny suddenly sensed that she had completely lost track of Li Qingshan¡¯s aura. It was like he had simply vanished into thin air. She could not help but rush out of the carriage. She tore through the curtain of rain like a red ghost, basically treading on air. She circled around the restaurant a few times, but she failed to sense Li Qingshan¡¯s aura at all.

    Landing on the eaves, she screeched, ¡°This is impossible!¡± How could a mere second layer Qi Practitioner hide his aura so well, enough to avoid her senses? ¡°Li Qingshan, get out here!¡±

    Her voice rolled through the entire city. It was unknown how many families she had alarmed, but Li Qingshan obviously would not answer her.

    Instead, Hua Chenglu grinned and yelled at the eaves, ¡°How¡¯s that, old woman? You can¡¯t find him now, can you?¡±

    Yu Zijian let out a sigh of relief. She shot a glance at Hua Chenglu. ¡°How can you just hit me like that?¡±

    The West Gate Granny glared at Hua Chenglu viciously before flying away again. She expanded her search range, but in the dark rain, the streets were as complicated as a maze. Li Qingshan was like a fish that had been released back into the water. He had swum away, vanishing completely.

    Hua Chenglu rolled her eyes at Yu Zijian. ¡°Slow-witted!¡± She took out a small, delicate carriage from her hundred treasures pouch and tossed it on the ground. Just like the ship earlier, the carriage rapidly expanded, but it was drawn by two wooden horses.

    The wheels rolled, and the carriage took off into the rainy night.

    In the carriage, Yu Zijian managed to last until midnight, but without the support of true qi, she was just mentally weaker. As such, she laid down on the soft, golden, silken pillows and fell asleep.

    Hua Chengzu leaned on the window sill and thought about everything that had happened tonight. From blasting the Island of Cherishing Flowers to hosting the celebratory banquet, no one has been bold enough to call me useless! I¡¯ve done two significant things as well! Afterwards, she smiled complacently. She seemed just like a child.

    Then she thought of what Li Qingshan had said to her earlier in the restaurant.

    ¡°Can you sell me one of your humanoid puppets?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of things that I can offer. I only have a few spiritual stones and a few dozen talismans. Would that be enough?¡±

    When this utterly reckless and foolish young man who would remain almost insanely stubborn before the pressure of a ninth layer Qi Practitioner said this, he was extremely stern. He even seemed like he was begging her.

    He made her think of someone. He would also lower his proud head for the sake of a girl, doing all that he could to make her happy. Melancholy unbefitting of her age appeared on her face. She no longer tried to act mature anymore either. She only sighed. ¡°Big brother Chengzan.¡±

    At this moment, her eyes lit up. Outside the window, Li Qingshan stood in a dark alleyway in a straw rain cloak with Xiao An beside him. She was also wearing a small rain cloak. He clasped his hands at her with a smile, and Hua Chenglu straightened herself and returned the greeting. The carriage had already passed him now. All that was left before her were rain-soaked walls, but the sight still lingered in her mind.

    The young man stood in the dark wind and rain, but he seemed to give off a powerful and positive light. He was like a hard piece of rock, unable to be affected by anything. He was still very weak, but he possessed a certain sense of strength that was no less than her elder brother¡¯s or even surpassed his in certain aspects.

    She was infected by him. She made up her mind. I¡¯ll definitely help you, big brother.

    Li Qingshan lowered his large, bamboo hat and held Xiao An¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Do you want me to carry you on my back?¡±

    Xiao An shook her head.

    Holding hands, they vanished into the pitch-black curtain of rain.

    Five kilometers from Lakeside city, two rain cloaks, one large and one small, hung in front of a ruined temple.

    Fire blazed in the temple, purging the moisture and darkness. Two shadows, also one large and one small, were projected onto the earthen walls.

    Li Qingshan said with a mysterious smile, ¡°Close your eyes.¡±

    Xiao An just closed her eyes obediently.

    ¡°You can open them now. Tada! Look what this is!¡±

    Xiao An opened her eyes and saw Li Qingshan holding a small, wooden person in his arms. It was the same humanoid puppet she had seen on the ship. Her eyes shone with surprise and joy.

    Li Qingshan placed the puppet onto the ground, and it immediately expanded to the size of an adult. Under his command, it clinked and clanked as it moved around.

    ¡°This is a birthday gift for you! Yep, today is the birth of your new life. The eighth of the eighth. That¡¯s a good number. I got this from miss Hua. Although miss Hua is a little childish, she¡¯s not a bad person. I¡¯ll definitely return this favour to her in the future. So what do you think about it?¡±

    Xiao An blinked her eyes as her long eyelashes moved rapidly. Her eyes were rather moist. She opened her mouth in an attempt to say something, but she halted. She was still unable to speak.

    ¡°You still can¡¯t speak?¡± Li Qingshan found this to be quite the pity. He hated the witch even more now.

    Xiao An shook her head sadly.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head and encouraged her with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to force yourself. You can go slowly. I know what you¡¯re trying to say even when you can¡¯t talk.¡±

    Xiao An stood up and began fiddling around with the puppet. She controlled the puppet and made it move around, and before long, she became happy again. She forgot about all of her worries, even though she would always forget to move her face and smile.

 Chapter 163 â€“ For Scaring Children

    Li Qingshan smiled on the side. His mind was at peace. Although he was unable to put their exact relationship into words, the conclusion he could reach was as clear as day. She was family to him, family that brought him warmth.

    As a lonely transmigrator, he had lost his parents at a young age and was even oppressed by his only family. After settling their debts, he no longer seemed to possess any more ties. However, her arrival changed everything. To him, she had only been a pitiful creature that required his care in the very beginning, but afterwards, he would often receive care and assistance from her instead.

    She was the one who found the spiritual ginseng and paved his path of cultivation. Back then, he was still contemplating about how he was supposed to return the favour multiple times over, but now, he had completely dismissed that thought. If she brought him a hundred spiritual ginseng right now, he would eat all of them without holding back at all. After all, as family, there was no need to put any further thought into matters like that.

    Sometimes, he wondered whether the black ox had already calculated this. If it were not for her existence, he would probably be ten times as vicious as now. With the ability from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, it might have even been possible for him to run around killing Qi Practitioners for their pills. He might have even done whatever he wanted to fulfil his own desires, becoming a daemon through and through.

    He had no confidence in the bottom line of his morality. No one was born a hero, a genuinely good person. He believed circumstances could change people. With absolute power and loneliness, it would definitely lead to absolute freedom and indulgence. But right now, he needed to take care of her safety, so he could not take too many risks. He needed to serve as a role model to her. He could not do whatever he wanted.

    It was exactly because of her existence that he could live like a human and not fight purely for the sake of his desires. As the head of the family, he had to bear some responsibilities and seriously consider for the present and the future.

    He no longer had many regular Qi Gathering pills left, and for the sake of breaking through to the fifth layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, he had used up a bottle of Hundred Grasses pills as well. He was in desperate need for more pills so that he could maintain his cultivation speed and deal with the great, hidden threat of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    However, Zhuo Zhibo opposed him, which made things extremely difficult for Li Qingshan. No matter how many missions he completed, that fellow would never permit him to exchange for anything.

    Originally, he was wholeheartedly focused on helping Xiao An to recover his body, so he had no interest in dealing with Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s provocations. Now that this goal was achieved, it was time for him to kick aside this obstacle in his way.

    When he thought of that, killing intent arose in his heart. Zhuo Zhibo, you better just die obediently! I might not be able to deal with ninth layer Qi Practitioners, but I¡¯m more than enough to deal with you!

    Xiao An immediately sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s changes. She looked back at him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s spend some more time outside, just in case that old woman blocks our way. After this, we¡¯ll go back and butcher Zhuo Zhibo.¡±

    Xiao An nodded happily.

    The next day, the rain showed no signs of stopping.

    Li Qingshan set off with Xiao An. Because there were no particular places he wanted to go to, he would stop and rest whenever he came across a place that seemed fun or offered good food. They stopped and went as if they were on holiday.

    One day when he was near a tea stall on the side of the road, he suddenly heard people on the neighbouring table mention his name. He could not help but listen in closely.

    ¡°This Tiger Butcher, Li Qingshan, is the reincarnation of a god of slaughter. As soon as he was born, he began killing. He began killing people when he was nine. Ever since he joined the Hawkwolf Guard, he became even more hopeless. First, he destroyed the Qian family, slaughtering all of them, over a thousand people. He killed them mercilessly, regardless of their age or gender. He even laughed aloud as he killed them. There were so many corpses that even the pit could not fit them all¡­¡±

    As it turned out, these were some people of the jianghu who had come here to shelter from the rain. That was what a sallow, skinny man said in great detail as he sipped some crude alcohol.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to react. His nickname seemed to have changed again. Though, the Tiger Butcher did sound much better than the Descended Tiger and the Black Tiger. However, since when did he slaughter the entire Qian family? He clearly only killed three people. The rest was all due to Qian Rongzhi. She was the one who laughed aloud as she killed them, so why did they describe him like a mass murderer? However, becoming the main character of the rumours of the jianghu was a rather interesting experience at the same time. He listened closely.

    ¡°If you bunch of cowards saw that many corpses, you would have wet yourself in fright. However, Li Qingshan is no ordinary person. After killing over a thousand people, he still did not feel satisfied, so he set up a great scheme on the Island of Cherishing Flowers. The Island Lord of Cherishing Flowers, Shen Xihua, the Soaring Godrat, Zhao Ruyong, the Iron Palms of Mountain-splitting, Tian Zhonghao¡­ You¡¯ve all heard of these people, right?¡±

    After receiving everyone¡¯s affirmation, the sallow, skinny man continued, ¡°He tricked them all onto the Island of Cherishing Flowers and wiped them out in one stroke. He even laughed aloud as he killed them.¡±

    However, someone objected, ¡°I heard that the Island of Cherishing Flowers was flattened using cannonfire.¡±

    ¡°What would you know? He killed them all before blasting the place down. My uncle¡¯s friend¡¯s master was on the ship back then.¡± The sallow, skinny man said proudly. Then he added, ¡°Did you know that the pit outside Ancient Wind city was later exhumed, and they failed to find a single corpse at all? It was the same with the Island of Cherishing Flowers. Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    The sallow, skinny man suddenly stifled his voice. Only after enough suspense did he say, ¡°Cannibalism!¡± It led to a great gasp of fright.

    Cannibalism! Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitched, while Xiao An¡¯s lips curled up. She found it hilarious.

    Li Qingshan pinched her cheeks. ¡°Eat your food!¡± Although these rumours had many absurdities about them, they were surprisingly accurate from a certain aspect.

    Xiao An stuck out her tongue.

    Someone on the table beside him questioned, ¡°That is over a thousand people, so how could he have eaten them all?¡±

    The sallow, skinny man faltered. He was unable to answer that question.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. As it seemed, it was true. Rumours would stop with the wise!

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan understood very soon just what wishful thinking meant inside a restaurant.

    ¡°It¡¯s said that the Tiger Butcher stands twenty feet tall and has a girth of twenty feet as well. He has a green face and curved teeth, with a head made of metal! He can move as swiftly as the wind, and he¡¯s as loud as thunder! He loves to eat human flesh, and he needs four or five people to fill him for each meal!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a daemon, right?¡±

    In a corner of the restaurant, Li Qingshan slapped his forehead. He felt like if these rumours continued to spread, his true form would become exposed.

    Xiao An could now smile in a very natural manner.

    In the dead of night, a child cried constantly within a certain household. He threw a tantrum for some candy, or he would refuse to go to sleep.

    His mother said, ¡°You can¡¯t eat candy at night! It¡¯s bad for your teeth!¡±

    The child refused to relent.

    The mother finally lost her temper. ¡°If you keep crying, if you keep crying, the Tiger Butcher is going to eat you!¡±

    The child immediately stopped crying. He fell completely silent. A long while later, he said softly, ¡°Mummy, I don¡¯t want candy. Just don¡¯t let the Tiger Butcher eat me.¡±

    The mother smiled in satisfaction.

    On the streets outside, Li Qingshan finally understood what daemonification meant! His nickname was now extremely effective at scaring children and could make them stop crying. It firmly took root within the hearts of the common people. It assisted countless households in disciplining their children.

    The Hawkwolf Guard possessed many powerful people, but they mainly targeted Qi Practitioners, which was rather distant from the lives of ordinary people. Moreover, he had just killed a few people at most in the mission this time.

    However, from just the two times that Li Qingshan was involved, he had caused over a thousand deaths with countless witnesses. As a result, his nickname spread extremely rapidly, leading to great fame. The situation soon became completely out of control.

    In the Iron Fist school within Qingyang city, the first disciple, Wang Lei, asked, ¡°Is this all true?¡±

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Aside from the part about cannibalism, the other parts probably aren¡¯t just baseless rumours. I could tell a long time ago that nothing good could come out of this kid, that he would disturb the jianghu. However, I never thought he would be so vicious such that he would directly destroy half of it. Don¡¯t be jealous of your junior brother. There¡¯s nothing good about roaming through the jianghu.¡±

    ¡°Wise be master. To think that I had almost attacked him,¡± Wang Lei said in lingering fear. He had never thought that a bumpkin from a village would become such a terrifying figure. From them on, his envy of Li Long vanished. The jianghu was just far too dangerous. He was better off remaining in Qingyang city obediently and waiting to take over his master!

    ¡°That is nothing. I even punched him a hundred times!¡± Liu Hong said proudly. This matter that had humiliated him before now became a great honour for him. He would mention it to whoever he saw from then on.

    Many masters would pass through Qingyang city. When they heard he had punched the Tiger Butcher Li Qingshan a hundred times and that he was still standing there in one piece, they admired him deeply. Even those stronger than him developed some respect for him.

    Afterwards, on his deathbed, Liu Hong even specially ordered his disciples to engrave a great sentence on his gravestone. ¡°Here lies the person who once punched the Tiger Butcher a hundred times,¡± so that later generations would look at it in reverence.

    Soon afterwards, a great sculpture was erected at the entrance of Crouching Ox village. It depicted a young man. He was able-bodied and wielded a blade; his gaze was vicious. The sculpture seemed life-like. It was Li Qingshan.

    It was Half-village Liu, caretaker Liu, who had paid a hefty price to invite the most renowned sculptor within the local region to create it. On the day the sculpture was completed and put in place, the deafening sounds of gongs, drums, and firecrackers rang out. Village head Li organised everyone in the village to pay their respects to it.

    Many years later, mountain bandits appeared once again in the region of Qingyang. They pillaged and plundered many villages, but Crouching Ox village was the only one they were afraid to approach due to this statue, bringing them peace. Out of deep gratitude, the villagers erected a temple. They would all come to pay their respects right before the beginning of winter every year. It became a great festival, called ¡®Respecting the Tiger Butcher¡¯, but this was a story for another time.

    Zhuo Zhibo frowned heavily in the office of the Hawkwolf Guard within Jiaping city. Recently, Li Qingshan had caused him just far too much trouble. He wanted to kill him with a borrowed blade, to lead him to his doom. When the West Gate Granny came to investigate in Jiaping, he was confident that Li Qingshan was deeply involved in the entire matter. He even provided a portrait and information regarding his missions to her, but he never expected it all to fail.

    He had never imagined that the kid would be lucky enough to befriend the daughter of the Hua family, such that even the West Gate Granny was helpless against him. He had brought renown upon Li Qingshan instead.

    However, he was not particularly worried. Sitting right in front of him right now was the West Gate Granny. Just as Li Qingshan had suspected, the West Gate Granny was unable to find Li Qingshan anywhere, so she just waited for him to come to her here. She was determined to obtain the girl with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty.

 Chapter 164 â€“ The Moving Undercurren

    t

    ¡°Granny, there¡¯s no need to worry. You are welcome to wait here. I refuse to believe the kid won¡¯t return to Jiaping for the rest of his life! If he really doesn¡¯t return, then he¡¯s a deserter who¡¯s betrayed the Hawkwolf Guard. I¡¯ve worked with the Sect of Clouds and Rain for all these years, so I¡¯ll definitely give your esteemed sect a satisfying conclusion to the matter of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. I¡¯ve already taken back the Parlour of Clouds and Rain that Zhou Wenbin closed down. Your esteemed sect only needs to send people here again and you¡¯ll probably be open for business once again very soon.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said rather enthusiastically, both for the sake of dealing with Li Qingshan and for the many benefits that the Sect of Clouds and Rain could offer.

    The West Gate Granny said indifferently, ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, commander. The Sect of Clouds and Rain will be sending people over very soon. I definitely must request the commander to take good care of them. However, I¡¯ll have to leave Jiaping city very soon.¡± At the end of the day, a world of cultivators was still all about strength. Although she needed Zhuo Zhibo, she was still extremely haughty.

    Zhuo Zhibo was surprised, ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    The West Gate Granny said, ¡°It¡¯s the sect master¡¯s order. I can¡¯t disobey it.¡±

    ¡°Why did you esteemed sect master¡­ Was it because?¡±

    A sliver of sunkenness flashed across the West Gate Granny¡¯s eyes, ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s all because of the girly from the Hua family. Our Sect of Clouds and Rain can¡¯t just shrug off any pressure from your vice commander Hua.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡± Zhuo Zhibo was filled with regret. He could not kill with a borrowed blade then. However, he would never be bold enough to grumble about Hua Chengzan.

    The West Gate Granny said, ¡°Though, the kid¡¯s only a second layer Qi Practitioner. There¡¯s no need for me to do anything. Just you would be enough, commander Zhuo! Our sect master has already promised that as long as you can hand the girl beside the kid to the Sect of Clouds and Rain, our sect will give you a bottle of Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain to you as remuneration.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo was interested. The Sect of Cloud and Rain¡¯s Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain were unique to them. They required extremely rare spiritual herbs and a special secret method to refine. Although they could not strengthen true qi, they could purge the impurities within true qi, saving a tremendous amount of time on purifying true qi. They were so valuable that just one of them was worth several hundred Qi Gathering pills. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was really paying the price this time. He had no idea just what was so special about the girl that she could raise so much attention from the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    The West Gate Granny said, ¡°There¡¯s one more thing. I want to take this disciple of mine to pay a visit to the Clear River city.¡±

    ¡°Disciple?¡± Zhuo Zhibo wsa confused, but he saw Qian Rongzhi who had been attending to them silently the entire time speak sweetly, ¡°Thank you, granny.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s face immediately sank, ¡°Rongzhi, what¡¯s this all about?¡±

    During the few days the West Gate Granny spent in Jiaping city, Qian Rongzhi had been the one receiving her. In just a few days, she managed to establish a tie with her and convince the eccentric West Gate Granny to accept her as a disciple. However, Zhuo Zhibo had only just heard of the news, as if he had served as a springboard to her.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled, ¡°Granny knew I had never joined a sect before, so she agreed to accept me as her disciple. I want to go to the Sect of Clouds and Rain to cultivate for a while, so I hope the commander can give approval.¡±

    Her cultivation talent was acceptable and she had some beauty about her. She possessed an ordinary aspect of beauty. Although it was nowhere close to the level of the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty, it was still enough to catch the West Gate Granny¡¯s attention. At the same time, she was extremely skilled at manipulating people, such that all of her actions and words suited the West Gate Granny¡¯s strange tastes. As a result, she was chosen to become her disciple. None of this was a coincidence.

    She was like a poisonous vine, extending and reaching towards all opportunities and climbing upwards no matter what the cost was, just for more sunlight and due. In her eyes, Qian Yannian was nothing. Zhuo Zhibo was nothing. Even the West Gate Granny was nothing. They were all just tools to be used by her.

    The West Gate Granny was a ninth layer Qi Practitioner, while Zhuo Zhibo was only at the sixth layer. She did not even need to compare them to know which tool would be better. With the protective umbrella of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, she no longer needed to bend over backwards to fawn up to Zhuo Zhibo. As a result, her attitude towards him just changed.

    The Hawkwolf Guard was only a job. It did not forbid its members from joining sects, just like Diao Fei who came from a sect. Obviously, if Zhuo Zhibo wanted to obstruct her, he had many ways to make things difficult for Qian Rongzhi. However, right in front of him was the sunken-faced West Gate Granny, so how would he be bold enough to do that? The West Gate Granny only mentioned it to him before leaving with Qian Rongzhi. She was not asking for his opinion or permission.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. She was confident. The reason why she had only told Zhuo Zhibo about this right now was to remove all of his opportunities to get in her way. If the opportunity arose, Zhuo Zhibo definitely would have taken it. There was not a single man who would be willing to let go of a docile, obedient woman that they could toy with however they wished.

    Zhuo Zhibo squinted his eyes, ¡°Rongzhi, you¡¯ve managed to get yourself into a good place. As your commander, I¡¯m obviously happy for you. Only if you learn some skills from the Sect of Clouds and Rain can you complete your Hawkwolf Guard missions better. I¡¯ll permit you to take a few months¡¯ leave, but there won¡¯t be any pills. At the same time, I need to take you three newcomers to Clear River city to see the two commanders, so you can just go ahead for now.¡±

    He made his decision very quickly. If he insisted on getting in her way, he would derive no benefit at all. As a result, he could only agree to it reluctantly. Although he knew that Qian Rongzhi¡¯s sugar-coated words were mostly insincere, his pride as a man was still hurt from being abandoned so easily. He developed resentment towards Qian Rongzhi. She was as shameless as they came.

    Before Qian Rongzhi boarded the carriage, she bowed gracefully, ¡°Thank you, commander. In the coming days, Rongzhi will serve the commander again, in return for your great kindness.¡± She added inside, If you¡¯re still alive, that is.

    Even if she had managed to join the Sect of Clouds and Rain, her status as a Hawkwolf Guard remained the same, so before she had obtained strength that surpassed Zhuo Zhibo, she would have never been so disrespectful to Zhuo Zhibo. However, she had a feeling that Zhuo Zhibo would definitely die under Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. This was a woman¡¯s intuition, and it was mostly based on her instincts from all the calculations she made. There was obviously no reason for her to be polite to a dead person.

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°No problem!¡± He watched the carriage leave. He felt how there was nowhere to vent the urge in his crotch, so he shattered the stone table in front of him with a slam.

    In Clear River city within a small garden in the Hua estate, Hua Chengzan said to Hua Chenglu, ¡°Alright. The West Gate Granny has been summoned back from Jiaping city for questioning. She won¡¯t be able to cause any problems to the kid for now.¡±

    Hua Chenglu nodded, ¡°Good.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s rare of you to request something from me for the sake of others.¡±

    ¡°What for the sake of others? This has to do with your Hawkwolf Guard. I¡¯m not requesting you either. I¡¯m helping you. Don¡¯t you know him?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said helplessly, ¡°Alright, alright, you¡¯re helping me. We don¡¯t actually know each other. We just met each other once. Though, I never thought that kid would actually emerge from there alive. He probably has it tough under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s command!¡±

    Hua Chengzan seemed to be in thought. Almost a year had passed since then and Hua Chengzan¡¯s memory of Li Qingshan had already become mostly blurred. Only when Hua Chenglu mentioned him did he recall it all. He felt rather amazed. He had never thought he would actually be able to emerge from the mountains and actually be bold enough to become a Hawkwolf guard under Zhuo Zhibo, even making so much trouble for Zhuo Zhibo.

    Hua Chenglu asked, ¡°Why would he have it tough?¡±

    ¡°Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t understand the matters of adults.¡±

    Hua Chenglu utterly hated that, ¡°What matters of adults? That Li Qingshan¡¯s just a few years older than him, and he¡¯s only a second layer Qi Practitioner. His cultivation¡¯s no different from me.¡± Her cultivation had already reached the peak of the second layer. She was basically only a step away from the third layer now.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go kill a fifth layer Qi Practitioner?¡±

    ¡°Why would I go kill a fifth layer Qi Practitioner?!¡±

    ¡°The kid¡¯s not just a Qi Practitioner, but a Body Practitioner as well. A month ago, he destroyed a Qi Practitioner clan during his first mission and killed a fifth Layer Qi Practitioner. The master of the parlour from the Sect of Clouds and Rain is also a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, so it¡¯s very likely that he was behind his death as well. Moreover, he was only a first layer Qi Practitioner back then.¡±

    This information did not just come out of his strength as a cultivator, but from the might of his authority as well. The Hawkwolf Guard had eyes and ears littered across the world. However, Hua Chengzan never paid much attention to this usually. There were several dozen black iron Hawkwolf Guard offices under his control, so why would he pay attention to one in measly Jiaping city? Only when Hua Chenglu mentioned it did he order people to investigate it and very soon, a very detailed report was placed on his desk. The information he received surprised him quite a bit.¡±

    Hua Chenglu was surprised. It was no wonder the West Gate Granny would be looking for him. He was actually so powerful. It was no wonder why he could resist the West Gate Granny¡¯s aura and pressure as well, as well as why he was able to escape from the West Gate Granny so easily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. You best prepare yourself for the admission examination at the start of spring. I¡¯ve checked the girl you brought back already. Her temperament isn¡¯t bad, much better than you. Here¡¯s an Innate pill for her. She should be able to directly practise qi after ingesting it.¡± Hua Chengzan handed a pill to Hua Chenglu. This was the power that actual Qi Practitioner clans possessed. They could use pills and medicines to overcome the restriction of innate talent.

    As for Li Qingshan, he was just an interesting subordinate to Hua Chengzan. He did not deserve too much attention. As long as Li Qingshan managed to stay alive, he believed he would see him very soon again.

    Li Qingshan looked at the full moon in the crowd of people within a small city near Jiaping. He thought, It¡¯s Mid-Autumn again! Although he had budgeted as hard as he could, he still ended up polishing off all of the Qi Gathering pills on him. With several hundred Qi Gathering pills now in his belly, the effects were evident.

    In a remote place, he had transformed back into daemon form and he had already reached twenty-seven feet. His strength increased once again. He was close to the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength now.

    However, as soon as he stopped ingesting pills, his cultivation speed immediately slowed to a halt, enough to make his hair stand on end. It was about time for him to return to Jiaping city. That old woman couldn¡¯t be so patient!

    He casually broke a mooncake in half and handed a piece to Xiao An, before carrying her through the sea of people. He emerged from the celebrating people and made his way towards Jiaping city.

    After returning to Jiaping city, Li Qingshan and Xiao An erased all of their auras and snuck back onto the mountain. Li Qingshan twitched his nose and just as expected, he caught the whiff of a familiar smell. That was the unique and heavy fragrance that the West Gate Granny possessed. Just as expected, the West Gate Granny had been waiting for him here.

    There were many different ways for cultivators to cover their tracks, but they would always forget about their odour. Li Qingshan followed the freshest trail in pursuit and only when he reached outside the city did he finally confirm that the West Gate Granny had already left Jiaping city.

 Chapter 165 â€“ Clashing with Zhuo Zhibo

    But how was he supposed to go about it?

    Li Qingshan considered this question carefully. Climbing up the mountain and launching a sneak attack on Zhuo Zhibo was not a bad choice, but he needed to revert to his daemon form for sufficient strength.

    However, his figure that approached thirty feet was even slightly taller than the two-storeyed buildings on the mountain. Probably even people below the mountain would be able to see him. It was far too easy for him to be exposed. Moreover, if he failed to kill Zhuo Zhibo in a single strike, allowing Zhuo Zhibo to call out, everyone would know his identity. He had to find a way to lure Zhuo Zhibo out of Jiaping city, and only then could he strike. However, how was he supposed to lure him out?

    ¡°Xiao An, do you have any ideas?¡±

    Xiao An wrote in the air as fire flowed from the tip of her finger. She produced a single word. ¡°Wait.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. She was right. Zhuo Zhibo wanted him dead very much right now, but he probably would not do it in Jiaping city. He would probably find a way to draw him out of the city, and that would be the most optimal time for him to strike.

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°You really are clever.¡± However, he refused to just wait like this. He had to do something while he waited. ¡°Though, let¡¯s still go back and properly trigger him so that this bastard can make up his mind sooner!¡± He smiled evilly. If I don¡¯t show you what¡¯s what, do you really think that I¡¯m that easy to walk all over?

    ¡°Commander Zhuo, I¡¯m back!¡± A thunderous bellow pierced through the silence on the pitch-black mountain.

    All of the Hawkwolf guards were alarmed. They roused from their cultivation or sleep and rushed out.

    Li Qingshan stood in front of the Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s office and yelled loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve already completed twenty-one missions, but it goes without saying that the contribution will be halved, right? And after that, I won¡¯t be able to exchange them for anything, so I might as well just give them all to you. I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh right. When I went out this time, I just happened to run into vice commander Hua¡¯s younger sister. I have a big mouth, so I couldn¡¯t help but mention everything you did in Jiaping city to her. Vice commander Hua definitely wouldn¡¯t take it to heart, so please don¡¯t mind me.¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you shut up!?¡± A figure rushed out of the office in a flash and suddenly appeared in front of Li Qingshan. It was Zhuo Zhibo. He lashed out in a fury. His right sleeve was filled with true qi as it swung towards Li Qingshan like a metal hammer.

    ¡°What are you doing, commander Zhuo? Are you trying to kill your subordinate?¡± As Li Qingshan said that, he lifted his shield to block. He was only fearful of Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s flying sword, so there was no reason for him to care about heavy attacks like this.

    Li Qingshan experienced a tremendous force and took four steps back in a stagger. With each step, he would leave behind a deep pit in the tough, marble ground. The impressiveness of sixth layer Qi Practitioners amazed him, but he was completely unscathed. When he checked the shield, it was no different from him as well. It was only a low grade spiritual artifact, but it was one that purely focused on defence, so it was impossible to destroy it so easily.

    Of course, the force of that attack would have been enough to shatter a second layer Qi Practitioner¡¯s body, making them vomit blood and die on the spot. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s body was nowhere near as fragile as that.

    Zhuo Zhibo became even more furious. He formed a seal with his hands, and a flash of light appeared in his eyes. True qi began to burn vigorously like hydrogen, illuminating the entire square in front of the office.

    Li Qingshan could feel a wave of heat from afar, so he leapt backwards in retreat. He saw a fire dragon wrap around Zhuo Zhibo, illuminating the latter completely. Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s clothes ruffled with a layer of scarlet light. He seemed like a god of fire. The marble below his feet showed signs of melting, which only demonstrated the terror of the heat that he emitted.

    Sixth layer Qi Practitioners were not just powerful because of their artifact control, but also because of their techniques.

    ¡°Go!¡± Extending his finger like a sword, he pointed at Li Qingshan. The fire dragon rushed towards Li Qingshan with a roar. It was as fast as lightning. Regular people only saw a flash of light. They failed to make out the fire dragon.

    ¡°Hah!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out and pushed his shield forward. The shield had already expanded to its limit as it collided with the fire dragon¡¯s head. At the same time, he had already shrunken closely behind the shield.

    Boom! Firelight erupted in the surroundings and the fire dragon directly turned into a sea of fire.

    This time, Li Qingshan allowed himself to be knocked away. Only when he collided against a large tree several dozen meters behind him did he come to a halt. Leaves flittered down from the branches as he praised loudly, ¡°Impressive moves, commander Zhuo!¡± Apart from his arm that ached slightly, he was unscathed.

    This exchange demonstrated the importance of choosing a suitable spiritual artifact. After some verbal sneers, he needed a shield to soak up the damage.

    However, he seemed to have gone a little too far with his provocation this time. From how determined Zhuo Zhibo was to finish him off once and for all, he did not seem to care about the circumstances anymore. It was far too irrational of him.

    Zhuo Zhibo had commanded the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city for all these years, but no one had ever provoked him in such an open manner. After Qian Rongzhi played him and Li Qingshan humiliated him like that, his fury had overcome any of his remaining rationality.

    Zhuo Zhibo saw how his fire dragon had failed to kill Li Qingshan, so with a wave of his hand, a small blade seven inches in length began to circle around in his palm. It brushed against the air and thrummed as if it were bloodthirsty and eager to kill.

    All of Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs pricked up. He felt an intense sensation of danger. The flying blade was over a dozen meters away from him, but he felt like someone was holding it against his neck already, prepared to behead him at any time.

    The shield shrunk, and he stowed it away in his hundred treasures pouch. At a time like this, a shield that could only block a single direction was useless. He gathered all of his attention on the flying blade in Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s palm.

    If Zhuo Zhibo really did use the flying blade, Li Qingshan would only have a single option¡ªfleeing.

    He had already looked into the path of controlling artifacts. The range a sixth layer Qi Practitioner could reach was around thirty steps; this was not a particularly large range. It was not like the legends, where a sword immortal could behead someone from thousands of kilometers away.

    However, if it were combined with the terrifying speed of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, it would be a true killing machine. If Li Qingshan was capable of something like that, killing everyone that deserved death on the Island of Cherishing Flowers would not have required so much trouble.

    However, it was not like Li Qingshan had not considered this. He had already prepared a Swift Breeze talisman. If it came to fleeing, then he would flee. He held great confidence in his own two feet.

    Now, he had already retreated to a hundred steps away, just in case Zhuo Zhibo lost his mind and no longer cared about anything anymore. Even if Zhuo Zhibo tried to hunt him down, it did not matter as long as he was not killed. However, if that really did happen, he planned on reporting Zhuo Zhibo to Zhou Wenbin and escalating the entire matter.

    The news that Zhuo Zhibo had deducted contribution from his subordinate and that he was trying to hunt down a meritorious officer would spread like wildfire. It was not like Li Qingshan would be the target of humiliation for the matter. This was called having nothing to lose. By then, probably the people in Clear River city would become displeased with Zhuo Zhibo, and he would be labeled as incompetent.

    Ge Jian called out in a hurry, ¡°Commander Zhuo, please calm down!¡± Though, he had not thought as deeply as Li Qingshan. He was just afraid that Zhuo Zhibo would kill Li Qingshan in the Hawkwolf Guard out of pure anger. That would lead to great trouble.

    The Hawkwolf guards all gathered over, and Zhuo Zhibo forced himself to calm down. He stowed his flying blade away and glared at Li Qingshan viciously. ¡°Li Qingshan, that¡¯s impressive of you!¡±

    Although he had remained in Jiaping city for many years now, it was impossible for him to make everyone acknowledge him and act like they saw nothing at all. If he killed someone here, any person, not just a Hawkwolf guard under his command, he would receive punishment if he lacked an appropriate reason.

    As the representatives of legalism, the protectors of the law, the Hawkwolf Guard could do whatever they wanted in the dark, but on the surface, they had to protect the laws of Great Xia. Once they crossed the line, nothing good would await them.

    Sixth layer Qi Practitioners were like gods within Jiaping city, but in the eyes of the people above, they were nothing. Not a single person would care if one died.

    Seeing how Zhuo Zhibo behaved as he had expected, afraid to kill him here, Li Qingshan relaxed as well. He brushed off the leaves on his shoulder. ¡°Thank you for your praise, commander Zhuo. I¡¯m very impressive! I drank a little too much earlier, so I ran my mouth a little. I hope you can forget and forgive, commander!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo turned around furiously. He felt extremely unhappy. Never had he found the identity of Black Hawk commander to be so restricting like today.

    They targeted each other right now. If they were two regular Qi Practitioners, they would have faced off against one another already, unleashing everything that they had at hand in a great battle. However, it was exactly because of their identities that they were both forced to consider the consequences. Both of them needed an appropriate place to settle this matter.

    Li Qingshan returned to his dwelling and smiled brilliantly at Xiao An. ¡°Now, we wait.¡± Afterwards, he took out the bottle of Hundred Grasses pills. Originally, he wanted to save it for when he would break through, but in order to maintain his cultivation speed, he could no longer care too much now. He believed that there would be even better and even more pills in Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. There was no need for him to conserve his pills.

    The next day, Li Qingshan went to the government office to find Zhou Wenbin. He wanted to exchange for some pills. Zhou Wenbin had already heard about his crazy actions last night, but he said, ¡°This works as well. You¡¯ve made your disagreements public, so now, he¡¯s actually afraid of casually moving against you.¡±

    Li Qingshan exclaimed, ¡°Why would he be afraid of moving against me?¡± The reason why he did this was to hurry Zhuo Zhibo along. The sooner he came for him, the better. Then he could turn the tables and kill him off instead.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°You¡¯ve just fallen out with him, so if you die soon afterwards, basically everyone will know that he¡¯s responsible. He must be gritting his teeth right now, holding in his urge to kill you so that he can deal with you at an appropriate time.¡±

    Li Qingshan groaned inside. He hoped that this would not take too long. As he groaned here, he had no idea that Zhuo Zhibo was grinding his teeth so hard that his gums bled. On the mountain, the Black Hawk commander roared out, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely kill him with my own hands! I¡¯ll definitely kill him with my own hands!¡±

    Who knows when the two of them could escape from the gazes of the public and properly battle it out to their hearts¡¯ content.

    With a flip of his hand, Li Qingshan took out all of his spiritual stones from his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°I want to exchange for some more pills.¡± Even without Zhuo Zhibo, he still had to continue with his usual business. He had polished off the remaining bottle of Hundred Grasses pills last night, so he no longer had a single pill that could be used for cultivation on him.

    Zhou Wenbin asked, ¡°Do you really want to exchange them? Spiritual stones are far more valuable than Qi Gathering pills.¡±

 Chapter 166 â€“ Finally

    Spiritual stones were basically the item that possessed the most stable price among cultivators. Qi Gathering pills could not compare to it. Only low level Black Wolf guards like him would receive Qi Gathering pills as a salary. Zhuo Zhibo and Zhou Wenbin both earned spiritual stones. To stronger cultivators, low level Qi Gathering pills provided no benefit at all. They could even lead to detriments. However, they could always keep using the pure spiritual qi contained within spiritual stones.

    There were many uses to spiritual stones. They could be used in forging artifacts, formations, mechanisms, and so on. The puppet that Li Qingshan gave Xiao An was powered by spiritual stones as well. The most common use for spiritual stones was to constantly provide true qi during battle.

    Right now, Li Qingshan mostly engaged in close combat, so he did not need it too much, but once he made it to the sixth layer and could wield artifacts, a few extra spiritual stones would be equivalent to an extra life.

    Li Qingshan had only taken out these spiritual stones after considering his current needs. A bird in hand was worth two in the bush. Many times, short-term benefit would surpass long-term benefit.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan had no objections, Zhou Wenbin was obviously willing to make the trade. In the end, he took out eight bottles of Qi Gathering pills. Each bottle held twelve pills, amounting to almost a hundred. He exchanged them for the spiritual stones in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession, basically relieving Li Qingshan¡¯s urgent needs.

    For the next few days, Li Qingshan would stroll around randomly with Xiao An in the city aside from cultivating in his dwelling. He bought everything she liked for her.

    However, his infamy as the Tiger Butcher had spread through Jiaping city as well. It was so significant that it could basically clean the streets. No matter how busy it was, as long as he walked over, someone would cry out, ¡°The Tiger Butcher is here!¡± In the blink of an eye, the street would be cleaned out, leaving behind a single child in the middle of the street crying. When he walked past the kid, the child would even stop crying, becoming stunned from fright.

    Whenever he entered a store to buy something, the shopkeeper would always firmly refuse to take any money from him.

    Zhou Wenbin sent people to invite him over once again, telling him to not roam the streets so casually. Otherwise, he would not alarm the citizens of Jiaping.

    As a result, he also became a regular visitor of the government office.

    Li Qingshan said in a loud, clear voice, ¡°Sir, look at this bottle of Pills of Calming. They¡¯re high grade pills that only the Sect of Clouds and Rain can refine. When you consume them while cultivating, it can calm your mind and bring you great benefit. And look at these Pills of Passion. When you use them in bed, it¡¯ll amplify the experience.¡± He raised his eyebrows and made an expression that all men understood.

    After some consideration, Zhou Wenbin used four bottles of Qi Gathering pills to exchange for them, which made Li Qingshan overjoyed.

    Three days later, at noon, Zhou Wenbin sat in front of a pill cauldron to refine pills. Ever since he became the district magistrate, he had constantly made people gather medicinal herbs for him so he could refine pills. As a result, he ended up with many Qi Gathering pills. He was preparing to get rid of them in a cultivator¡¯s market when it was appropriate, but Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival had saved him some trouble. It put him in a good mood. He needed to work harder on refining pills.

    A maidservant reported, ¡°Sir, that sir Li has come to visit again. He¡¯s waiting for you in the guest room.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin found this to be rather strange. Why did Li Qingshan come to visit him again? When he arrived in the waiting room, he saw that the long table in the room was piled full with a wide assortment of items. It was like a small stall that sold miscellaneous items, and the stall owner was Li Qingshan behind the table.

    ¡°Please take a look, sir. These were all gifts to Qian Yannian when he was celebrating his birthday. You can tell with a single glance that these spiritual herbs are teeming with spiritual qi, so they must be wondrous for refining pills. And look at these jade statues. Aren¡¯t they life-like? If you like them, You can take them all. I¡¯ll give you a discount.¡±

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s silver-tongued persuasion and the fact that their past dealing had always been rather pleasant, Zhou Wenbin took out a few more bottles of Qi Gathering pills and bought everything.

    A few more days passed, and Zhou Wenbin sat in front of Li Qingshan once again.

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°We¡¯ll just be drinking tea and talking today. Don¡¯t even think about mentioning Qi Gathering pills.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. After a moment of hesitation, he stifled his voice and said, ¡°Sir, do you want talismans?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin finally could not help himself anymore. He asked, ¡°What do you need so many Qi Gathering pills for? It¡¯s not like you can eat Qi Gathering pills like regular meals! The amount of Qi Gathering pills you have received from me is enough to last you for three years!¡±

    Li Qingshan was unable to explain that he actually was able to eat Qi Gathering pills like regular meals. He could only say, ¡°I just want to save up a reserve, to be on the safe side.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°The path of cultivation mainly depends on yourself. At the end of the day, pills are just items external to you. They can only assist¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed to his words, but he thought inside that if it were not for all those pills Xuanyue had provided to him, how was he supposed to condense a daemon core so quickly? If he did not use these items external to him, it would take him a century at the very least to become a Daemon General.

    After Zhou Wenbin finished talking, Li Qingshan asked again, ¡°Do you really not want them?¡±

    Zhou Wenbin sighed and shook his head firmly. As the district magistrate, it had been many years since he had fought against someone. He had no need for talismans at all.

    Xiao An squatted by the wall outside the government office and played around with the ants using a twig.

    Whenever Li Qingshan made deals with Zhou Wenbin, she would wait outside. Whenever other people tried to talk to her, she would just ignore them.

    Under a great aspen tree, a nest of red ants and a nest of black ants engaged in an intense war. Who knows how many of them were inside the dense swarm. While the red ants were smaller, they were extremely fierce and possessed the upper hand.

    Xiao An watched with great concentration. The warm sunlight of autumn landed on her face and seemed to penetrate her tender skin. As she saw how the black ant army was about to collapse, the twig in her hand suddenly turned into a blur.

    ¡°Little sister, what are you doing here all by yourself?¡± A smiling scoundrel squatted beside Xiao An and asked with malicious intent.

    Xiao An did not even raise her head. The scoundrel saw how no one was around, so he suddenly lifted up Xiao An and carried her away on his shoulder.

    Xiao An did not put up any resistance. Her hair and hands draped down as she continued to hold the twig in her hand. She stared at the ant nest nearby.

    The scoundrel quickly boarded a carriage, and the carriage took off. He was overjoyed. He had earned three hundred taels of silver from doing this. The task that his boss gave him was as simple as it could get. Although it was possible for him to offend the Tiger Butcher, no one would know that he was responsible.

    However, as he had placed all of his attention onto Xiao An, he failed to realise that the war between the ants under the great elm tree had suddenly ended. The outcome was that all of the red ants were dead.

    At that moment, the twig had stabbed out thousands of times, stabbing all of the red ants to death, without even touching a single black ant. Not even an antennae.

    The carriage sped down the street and made a sharp turn into a dwelling. The scoundrel carried Xiao An down the carriage. ¡°Boss, I got her!¡±

    Several men drank together with their chests bare. They all stood up. ¡°So fast!¡±

    ¡°Whenever I, Speedy-hands Xiao Zhang, strike, how can I not be fast? Though, it sure was strange. This kid did not even cry or call out along the way.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s probably a mute!¡±

    ¡°I think she¡¯s just a simpleton. Who knows where the Tiger Butcher got her from. Though, she sure is pretty. Don¡¯t tell me that that bastard has a thing for children like this!¡±

    The laughter suddenly stopped. They had not even sensed the arrival of death. Their expressions stiffened, and in the next moment, they turned into flames.

    A while later, Ge Jian entered the small courtyard in casual wear and said in confusion, ¡°Where¡¯d they all go?¡±

    By now, Xiao An had already returned to the entrance of the government office. She held the same twig as before as she squatted below the great elm tree. The dense swarm of black ants had still not dispersed. The twig blurred once more.

    The small disturbance under the great elm tree was broken up. All of the black ants were dead as well.

    Xiao An seemed to sense something, and she suddenly raised her head.

    ¡°That¡¯s all not a problem!¡± Zhou Wenbin personally accompanied Li Qingshan to the entrance of the government office. After some thought, he took out another two bottles of Qi Gathering pills from his hundred treasures pouch and shoved them into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. He said sincerely, ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯m just giving them to you as a friend. If you don¡¯t have anything to do, go for a stroll on the streets. Give me some peace!¡±

    The autumn breeze swept up the fallen leaves, drifting past Li Qingshan. No one understood the pains of dual cultivation as a human and a daemon!

    Xiao An tossed aside her twig, ran over, and grabbed him by his hand.

    Li Qingshan smiled at her and shook what was in his hands. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. I got my hands on another two bottles!¡±

    In the Hawkwolf Guard, Ge Jian reported, ¡°Commander, the kid has been a frequent visitor of Zhou Wenbin lately. During noon earlier today, Zhou Wenbin personally accompanied him to the entrance of the government office. Everyone saw it. It¡¯s just like what I said. If the kid had no one to rely on, he would never be so haughty.¡±

    ¡°And regarding the little girl he brought back, I¡¯ve investigated her as well. We have no idea about her origins. She seems to have appeared out of nowhere. Her name is Xiao An, and she sticks to Li Qingshan like glue. I¡¯ve already sent people to grab her, but for some reason, they failed to do so. If we don¡¯t make a response and remain silent the entire time, people will probably look down on us!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Hmph, Zhou Wenbin, am I supposed to be afraid of you? Don¡¯t worry, the kid will die soon. I would like to see how Zhou Wenbin will protect him. Go summon him over right now.¡±

    Ge Jian¡¯s face lit up. ¡°Commander, you¡¯ve come up with an idea?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the residence, various items were scattered across the ground messily. Li Qingshan had emptied out his entire hundred treasures pouch and was now searching through everything carefully. ¡°What else is there? What else is there that I can exchange?¡± He behaved like a gambler who had lost everything, flipping through his own house in search of any last objects that were worth money so that he could attempt a comeback.

    Xiao An squatted beside him and leaned on his hand, looking at Li Qingshan in pity. She tried to think of ways that she could help him, and in a moment of inspiration, she patted Li QIngshan¡¯s shoulder and pointed at her own chest.

    ¡°You have an idea?¡±

    Xiao An nodded and smiled. As it turned out, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty could also refine pills aside from forging artifacts. Of course, the materials for that were still the flesh and blood of people.

    Li Qingshan said after careful consideration. ¡°I just can¡¯t bring myself to practise cannibalism.¡± And, if he held another massacre, it would definitely give them away. He saw how Xiao An became rather gloomy, so he pinched her cheek. ¡°But thank you.¡±

    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Opening the door, he saw Ge Jian. ¡°Commander Zhuo summons you.¡± Although he seemed completely normal, he gave off a heavy sense of complacency.

 Chapter 167 â€“ A Trap in the Morgue

    ¡°Seventy-five kilometers east, there¡¯s a village called Cave town. Recently, many able-bodied men have been dying strangely. There were even people who saw corpses leaving the morgue on the side of the town in a single-file. I suspect that it¡¯s a Qi Practitioner¡¯s work, so investigate the matter,¡± Zhuo Zhibo said coldly as he tossed some files in front of Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan glanced at it and raised his head. ¡°Walking corpses? Does this have to do with the Zombie Daoist?¡± When it came to refining corpses, Li Qingshan could not help but think of this criminal at the top of the list for the Hawkwolf Guard in Jiaping city. He was able to run amuck while being hunted down by the Hawkwolf Guard for such a long time, which only demonstrated his strength.

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°What? You have objections? This is just an investigation¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him. ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t have any objections. This is just an investigation. It¡¯s not like there¡¯ll be any dangers. Don¡¯t worry at all, commander Zhuo. I will do a very good job investigating the matter. Even if I run into the Zombie Daoist, I have my ways of escaping alive.¡± Now that an opportunity had presented itself after so much difficulty, how could he turn it down? However, he gave plenty of hints to Zhuo Zhibo. Commander Zhuo, if you don¡¯t do it personally, you won¡¯t be able to kill me.

    Zhuo Zhibo finally found it to be rather odd. It seemed like Li Qingshan was not afraid it was a scheme from him at all. Zhou Zhibo was not an idiot. He had just always been overcome by rage. Now, he sensed that something was amiss. Did this kid really have some powerful trump card?

    ¡°The kid you brought back can¡¯t go on the mission with you. She can remain within the Hawkwolf Guard!¡± He had not forgotten about the bottle of Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain. If it were exchanged for actual gold and silver, it would truly be valuable enough to buy entire cities. Pills like that could not be purchased with gold and silver.

    ¡°She won¡¯t be separating from me. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll set off right now.¡± Li Qingshan grew solemn and left immediately.

    Seventy-five kilometers was not particularly distant for Li Qingshan. With Xiao An by his side, he had already arrived at Cave town before midnight.

    Li Qingshan made his way down the empty streets until he exited the place. He arrived in front of a gloomy structure and raised his head to see the word ¡®morgue¡¯ written on the plaque above the entrance.

    There would be many outsiders who would die in a foreign land due to accidents or illnesses, with no one to tend to them. The morgue was where they would be stored so that their family could come and find them and take their remains back to be buried in their homeland someday.

    However, the morgue in this village was overgrown with grass, and the walls were close to collapsing. It was unkempt. Clearly, it had been abandoned for a very long time now. Probably no one tended to it anymore. If he wanted to investigate, this was the best place to start with.

    In order to make Li Qingshan agree to the mission, Zhuo Zhibo had put forward quite a generous amount of contribution for this mission. It was not like it mattered how many points of contribution dead people possessed anyway. However, what Li Qingshan thought was that once he finished off Zhuo Zhibo, he could obviously use these points of contribution to exchange for pills.

    Reaching the entrance of the morgue, Li Qingshan took out his Wind-entwining blade first. Then he took out his small shield, equipping it on his left hand. Afterwards, he placed over twenty talismans in a talisman pouch on his waist so that he could use them at any time.

    Although he was confident in his own strength, he was not an idiot. It was very likely for this matter to be related to the sixth layer Qi Practitioner, the Zombie Daoist, and another sixth layer Qi Practitioner, Zhuo Zhibo, would probably arrive afterwards, spying on him in the darkness. As a result, he could not afford to be careless. He needed to raise his guard to a hundred and twenty percent, just in case he messed up something so simple.

    Only after preparing everything did he step over the door sill and enter the morgue.

    There were several dozen coffins in the morgue. Some were extremely old, but some were brand new. The ground was covered in joss paper that was blown about by the chilling breeze. The ruined, cloth curtains floated around like ghosts. It was very creepy.

    This sight would leave ordinary people utterly frightened, but Li Qingshan was someone who had emerged through slaughter after all, so his own aura of murderousness was powerful.

    Xiao An on his side had her eyes wide open, without any fear at all. Instead, there was some eagerness. Her feelings for corpses were probably the same as Li Qingshan¡¯s feelings for Qi Gathering pills.

    Li Qingshan made his way over to a pitch-black coffin and drew his Wind-entwining blade. He stabbed it into the crevice between the lid and coffin. With a twist of his wrist, the lid was thrown high into the air, falling to the ground. A middle-aged man laid in the coffin and was purple all over. He had been reduced to a corpse a long time ago.

    As Li Qingshan walked away, he wondered just how this man had died.

    He was not a diener, so he obviously had no idea how to conduct an autopsy. He had only opened the coffin out of boredom so that he could take a look. He was waiting here for Zhuo Zhibo to appear.

    The morgue was located in the wilderness and was far away from the village, so it was a good place to battle it out against Zhuo Zhibo. He was even considering whether he should set up a trap or not.

    As soon as Li Qingshan turned around, the man in the coffin suddenly opened his eyes, and a pair of fangs extended from his mouth. Just when he was about to attack Li Qingshan, he saw a little girl propping herself up on the side of the coffin, staring at him closely and placing her index finger on his forehead.

    Li Qingshan turned around. ¡°Don¡¯t just eat anything you find. Who knows how long it has been there.¡±

    Xiao An stuck out her tongue, and the coffin was already empty by the time she withdrew the fire. She suddenly sensed something. There seemed to be the auras of living people here. She closed her eyes, and as expected, she sensed living people hiding in a few of the coffins in the surroundings.

    As soon as Li Qingshan made his way to the centre, inscriptions suddenly lit up below his feet, and he felt a tremendous suction force appear from below his feet. His body now felt like it weighed several tonnes, and his true qi immediately became sluggish.

    At the same time, the lids of the new coffins all suddenly burst open. Four figures leapt out; they raised their hands, targeting Li Qingshan.

    Springs were set off, and crossbow bolts were launched endlessly.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish¡­

    There were only four of them, but the arrows made it seem like an entire army. Countless crossbow bolts shot over from all directions and all angles, without a single crevice to dodge into.

    The shield on Li Qingshan¡¯s left hand suddenly expanded, guarding him completely. There were a series of thuds, followed by great explosions.

    The moment the bolts struck the shield, they exploded with startling power. If someone had been hit by one of these bolts, they would have died for sure.

    Booms rang out from behind Li Qingshan as well, but he did not look back at all. Xiao An had already drawn her hidden blade, producing a series of blurs with it and knocking down each crossbow bolt with great precision.

    However, there were various, densely-packed inscriptions below their feet. Even more lit up, enveloping the two of them, and the pressure became even heavier.

    The shield struck the ground loudly.

    ¡°Senior brother, we¡¯ve got him!¡± A delighted cry rang out.

    However, what answered the voice was the shiny edge of a blade!

    After Li Qingshan had left, Zhuo Zhibo sat back in his seat with his eyes closed, resting. Ge Jian stood to one side, afraid to ask anything about it.

    After quite a while, Zhuo Zhibo snapped open his eyes. ¡°Ge Jian, go gather everyone. We have to go provide reinforcements to Li Qingshan.¡±

    Ge Jian was delighted, but he was also puzzled. ¡°Commander, do we really need everyone?¡± If they really were worried that Li Qingshan would survive, just having Zhuo Zhibo go by himself would have been enough. It would be easier for them to cover up the entire matter and distance themselves from his death as well.

    ¡°If I tell you to gather them, go gather them!¡± Zhuo Zhibo said in displeasure. He felt slightly uneasy. He also began to think that maybe Li Qingshan was not as easy of a target as he had imagined.

    ¡°Yes, commander.¡±

    Before long, Ge Jian had returned to Zhuo Zhibo with six Black Wolf guards. Li Qingshan had basically come into contact with all of them before. These were the same people who had obstructed Li Qingshan when he wanted to exchange his contribution for spiritual artifacts and pills. The people that Zhuo Zhibo told Ge Jian to gather were obviously not regular Black Wolf guards, but his actual trusted subordinates.

    Looking at these people, Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s sliver of uneasiness gradually vanished, while his hatred towards Li Qingshan only intensified. They could no longer reconcile now. He had to kill Li Qinsghan.

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve summoned you all here?¡±

    ¡°Is it because of Li Qingshan?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Exactly. That kid has gone overboard with me. If I don¡¯t kill him, I¡¯ll never be able to rest at ease!¡±

    ¡°Please excuse me for what I am about to say. Li Qingshan might have some skill, but he¡¯s only a second layer Qi Practitioner. He doesn¡¯t need all of us to be mobilised, right?¡± A balding Black Wolf guard in his sixties said.

    His name was Xie Nande. He was both one of the most experienced members of the Jiaping Hawkwolf Guard, as well as the strongest among them, which was why he was bold enough to question Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s command.

    The others felt the same.

    Zhuo Zhibo understood that he needed to give them a satisfying reason. ¡°Old Xie, I¡¯ve already told the Zombie Daoist about Li Qingshan. I said to him that I¡¯m sending him a great gift. The body of a Body Practitioner is fantastic for refining corpses. I refuse to believe that it won¡¯t interest him.¡±

    A mighty Black Hawk commander of the Hawkwolf Guard was actually working with their most wanted criminal. Moreover, he wanted to betray his own subordinate and sell him to the enemy.

    However, none of the Black Wolf guards present found it to be anything strange. Xie Nande said, ¡°Then there¡¯s even less of a need for us. The old daoist¡¯s skill with refining and nurturing corpses is simply startling. Even regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners aren¡¯t his opponent. Li Qingshan is dead for sure.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°The old daoist has remained hidden in the Zombie cave the entire time, so we could never even lay a finger on him. If we can lure him out and kill him this time, it¡¯ll be a service of great merit. The old daoist is hiding a lot of good things on him too. Killing Li Qingshan will just be secondary, simply because it¡¯s convenient.¡±

    Xie Nande clasped his hands. ¡°Commander, your schemes run deep, much deeper than anything I can ever think of. I am willing to serve you to the end of my life!¡± The other Black Wolf guards agreed loudly as well. The Zombie Daoist¡¯s head was worth over ten thousand points of contribution, so if everyone obtained an equal share, they would receive over a thousand points at the very least. They would be able to exchange for quite a lot of good things.

    As soon as dawn broke, a total of eight Hawkwolf guards left Jiaping with Zhuo Zhibo at the lead. They pursued Li Qingshan. This was an extremely terrifying force, enough to easily trample through many small sects and clans.

    A few Hawkwolf guards watched them leave as they discussed amongst one another on the square below the giant hawk.

    ¡°Tsktsk, Li Qingshan is probably done for this time.¡± The Hawkwolf Guard with the bulbous nose shook his head and sighed.

    ¡°Shh, be quiet. We shouldn¡¯t talk about it,¡± said a Hawkwolf guard beside him in warning.

    ¡°What¡¯re you afraid of? All of those snitches have left with commander Zhuo.¡± Bulbous nose was unfazed.

 Chapter 168 â€“ Disciples of Mohism

    Everyone turned around in surprise. When they saw who it was, they all bowed in a hurry. ¡°Commander Lao, you¡¯ve emerged from seclusion!¡± ¡°Y- you¡¯ve broken through to the sixth layer!¡±

    This person happened to be the Black Wolf commander of the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city, Lao Xishan. He seemed to be around forty years old and had a rectangular face. Seeing everyone¡¯s shock, he smiled slightly through his seriousness. All of his hard work for cultivation, the days he spent in seclusion, was all for the sake of today. He asked sternly, ¡°Who did you say would be done for?¡±

    No one dared to answer him. Lao Xishan actually did not need anyone to answer him either. As the vice commander, he had his own trusted subordinates in the Hawkwolf Guard, so he knew about the entire matter already.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go assist commander Zhuo.¡± He shot off in Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s direction. He glided down the mountain like a great bird, disappearing into the thin mist of the morning very soon.

    The remaining Hawkwolf guards all looked at one another. Li Qingshan had managed to make such a great disturbance despite only having just joined the Hawkwolf Guard three months ago. Commander Zhuo and commander Lao had always opposed one another, so now that he had broken through to the sixth layer as well, Jiaping city would probably become noisy.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan lowered his shield and swung his blade. With a flash, a wind blade directly slashed towards the closest assailant.

    The person did not seem to think that Li Qingshan would still be able to swing his blade under such circumstances, nor did they expect him to be capable of swinging it so swiftly. He summoned a puppet soldier before him to block the attack.

    With a bang, the puppet soldier was sliced open and components scattered all over the ground.

    Everyone was surprised. They called out, ¡°He can still move! Everyone be careful!¡±

    Li Qingshan managed to make out the assailants¡¯ appearances. They were all young men in their twenties and dressed in similar, deep blue robes. They all wielded strange, shining crossbows. The storm of tiny bolts came from the five crossbows. They were far more powerful than the legendary repeating crossbows.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. Under the tremendous weight, the ground felt like mud. Consequently, his feet sank into the ground deeply, all the way up to his thighs. The glowing inscriptions were originally written on the ground, but they floated in the air after activation, so they were not destroyed with the ground.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had felt so much danger. Even when he was on the Island of Cherishing Flower and under the barrage of the cannonfire, he did not feel so much danger. Most importantly, the presence that the cannon-wielding man gave off was at the sixth layer of Qi Practitioner.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you ambushing me?¡± Li Qingshan originally thought this was the Zombie Daoist, who had set up a trap against him after receiving news from Zhuo Zhibo. However, no matter how he looked at him, he did not look like the Zombie Daoist. Moreover, the techniques he used were completely unrelated to what the Zombie Daoist was capable of, so he held back his urge to fight to ask those questions. If these people still would not stop, then he could only daemonify and massacre them all.

    ¡°Hmm? Why is the Zombie Daoist so young?¡± These young men in navy blue also saw Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance, and one of them asked in confusion.

    ¡°Stop, senior brother! That¡¯s the uniform of the Hawkwolf Guard!¡± Another person recognised Li Qingshan¡¯s Black Wolf uniform and called out to stop him in a hurry.

    The light had finished gathering now. An utterly blinding stream of scorching white light blasted out from the cannon, piercing the ceiling and leaving behind a streak of light in the night sky.

    Xiao An loosened his grip on the Skull Prayer Bead in his hand, and the red light in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes faded away as well. He looked at the great hole above in amazement. Even if he had daemonified, he would still suffer from such a cannon blast.

    He lowered his head again and asked them, ¡°Who are you?¡± Afterwards, he stowed his Wind-entwining blade back into its scabbard.

    His actions reduced the hostility of the young men. They also placed down their crossbows. The young man who had recognised Li Qingshan¡¯s uniform said, ¡°We¡¯re disciples of mohism. We¡¯re here to carry out a mission. You must be a Hawkwolf guard.¡±

    ¡°I am. I¡¯m also carrying out a mission.¡±

    ¡°Please let us see your tablet!¡±

    Disciples of mohism! Li Qingshan understood now. He tossed his Black Wolf tablet to the people, and they glanced at it before easing up. They said loudly, ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s all fine. Undo the formation. This was all a misunderstanding!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, what the hell!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the Zombie Daoist would come? Why did a Hawkwolf guard come instead?¡± The mohist disciples grumbled. One of them stowed away a scroll. The scroll was covered with inscriptions that were exactly the same as the ones on the ground, without any differences at all.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt his body lighten. He picked up the shield on the ground, but he discovered that the shield was all charred from the explosions prior. Just a few days ago, it had blocked Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s fire dragon, and now that it was struck by a barrage of explosions, a lot of its spiritual qi had dispersed.

    Suddenly, there was a swift gale, and the burly man with the full beard stowed away his bronze cannon and charged over. Xiao An raised her hidden blade, but she stopped after a glance from Li Qingshan. The burly man was hostile, but he did not have any killing intent.

    The man grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar and roared, ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve messed up my plans!¡± He wore the same navy blue robes as the other mohist disciples, but he was bare-chested. His right sleeve was tied around his waist, revealing his robust arms and chest. He seemed extremely tough.

    Li Qingshan released his true qi to block the incoming attack of spittle. He looked at the man calmly, but before he could say anything, the other mohist disciples had already arrived. They pulled back the man and said in persuasion, ¡°Please calm down, senior brother!¡±

    The man stamped his foot and bellowed, ¡°This formation scroll for the Painted Prison can only be used three times, and that¡¯s it! My Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light costs a spiritual stone for each blast! All of that comes from me, so of course you lot wouldn¡¯t mind!¡±

    ¡°Our Fire Crow bolts don¡¯t grow on trees either.¡±

    Li Qingshan tidied up his clothes and said, ¡°I think you should all think over what you just did, launching an attack at whoever comes through that door. If I wasn¡¯t strong enough, I would have been killed already.¡±

    The burly man glared at Li Qingshan angrily. He was basically on the brink of pulling out his Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light again, but his junior brothers managed to stop him, ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding!¡± However, they thought inside, To think that he would be bold enough to say something like that to a sixth layer Qi Practitioner. They all say the Hawkwolf Guard is haughty. Looks like it¡¯s true.

    ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding. If we¡¯ve offended you in any way, please forgive us. I¡¯m Zhang Lanqing. This is my senior brother, Hao Pingyang, and these are our three junior brothers, He Yishi, Jin Yuan, and Jin Bao,¡± Zhang Lanqing introduced them one by one. Although he was only in his twenties, he had a darker complexion, and his voice was sluggish and level. He seemed to be extremely mature and level-headed. Amongst the group, he was second to the burly man, Hao Pingyang, in terms of strength. He was at the fifth layer of Qi Practitioner.

    As for the three others, He Yishi was at the fourth layer. He was quite tall with a long face and slightly swollen eyelids. He answered his senior brother with a casual ¡®yep¡¯ before looking at Li Qingshan and answering him with a reluctant ¡®yep¡¯. Afterwards, he lowered his head to fix the puppet that Li Qingshan had destroyed.

    Jin Yuan and Jin Bao were brothers. The elder brother, Jin Yuan, was at the fourth layer, while Jin Bao was at the third layer. They saw how Li Qingshan was only at the second layer, and he had also destroyed their trap, so they were reluctant to pay any attention to him.

    Jin Bao said to Hao Pingyang, ¡°Senior brother, is your Painted Prison potentially fake? It can¡¯t even trap a second layer Qi Practitioner. If the Zombie Daoist really did come, wouldn¡¯t he break out of it in an instant?¡±

    ¡°Fuck off, cunt. I spent a huge price to buy this. It¡¯s the kid that¡¯s strange.¡± Hao Pingyang calmed down and studied Li Qingshan in confusion. He had fallen into the Painted Prison and received attacks from the Thousand Mechanism crossbows under an encirclement of five Qi Practitioners even more powerful than him, yet he had actually managed to emerge unscathed. This was clearly abnormal.

    The formation scroll of the Painted Prison had been prepared for sixth layer Qi Practitioners like the Zombie Daoist. If ordinary people fell into it, they would be crushed to a point where their organs ruptured. Qi Practitioners would become completely immobilised as well.

    More strangely, the pretty child by his side clearly did not give off any signs of practising qi, but she was actually able to stand in the formation safely as well. If it were not for the fact that he had tried the formation once in the past, he really would have suspected it to be fake.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sense of pride that had developed from his landslide victory on the Island of Cherishing Flowers was crushed as well. There were still many powerful abilities and methods in the world that he had yet to learn about. The trap that these mohist disciples cast down was simple, but it was extremely dangerous.

    They used joss paper to hide the inscriptions on the ground, and then they would use it to immobilise their opponent before launching a barrage of arrows, killing the enemy on the spot. If that was not enough, they could use the cannon to kill them off. It was all linked together and every part was lethal. If regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners faced this, they would probably end up dead. They would not even have the opportunity to fight back.

    ¡°Were you trying to ambush the Zombie Daoist here?¡±

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Yeah. Were you thinking of the same thing?¡± Hao Pingyang glared at him. ¡°Just by him? He wants to finish off the Zombie Daoist just by him?¡± He pointed at Li Qingshan¡¯s nose. ¡°Kid, this no longer has anything to do with you anymore, so I would advise you to scram!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed backwards with his thumb. ¡°I¡¯ve only come to investigate. The Zombie Daoist has nothing to do with me. However, isn¡¯t he right outside?¡± Although he hid his aura extremely well, his faint stink of corpses was unable to escape Li Qingshan¡¯s nose.

    ¡°What!¡± The five of them looked outside the door. Hao Pingyang gathered his concentration to sense the surroundings. As soon as he discovered an extremely hidden aura spying on them, he bellowed out, ¡°Get out here!¡±

    Click! Click! The five of them immediately removed their empty bolt magazines and reloaded their crossbows with new ones. A long box clipped onto the Thousand Mechanism crossbows. Every single magazine contained thirty-six extremely small Fire Crow bolts, which could be fired instantaneously. If they did not possess a spiritual artifact shield that specialised in defence like Li Qingshan, even powerful Qi Practitioners could be caught unprepared, losing their lives under the barrage of bolts.

 Chapter 169 â€“ The Zombie Daois

    t

    Li Qingshan understood. As expected, Zhuo Zhibo had sold him out. Of course, this was not particularly surprising. It would have been surprising if he had not done that. Right now, he was only worried about whether Zhuo Zhibo trusted the Zombie Daoist¡¯s strength or not. If he did, he might not personally come to kill him.

    Then, the Zombie Daoist said to Zhang Lanqing¡¯s group, ¡°You lot might be lacking in comparison, but I¡¯ll treat you all equally and turn you all into zombies¡­¡± He basically treated them like their heads were all on the chopping board already.

    Before the Zombie Daoist had finished talking, the five mohist disciples had pulled the trigger on their Thousand Mechanism crossbows and unleashed a storm of Fire Crow bolts.

    Li Qingshan stood to one side. All he saw were the completely scarlet, three-inches long Fire Crow bolts. They basically emerged from the crossbows in a stream, moving startlingly fast. They were also extremely densely-packed, making it almost impossible to dodge.

    Before the Zombie Daoist could even respond, several dozen Fire Crow bolts struck him. The bolts heated up in his body before blowing apart.

    There were a string of explosions and fire sprouted from various parts of the Zombie Daoist, blowing him to pieces.

    Zhao Lanqing and the three others were delighted, but Li Qingshan drew his Wind-entwining blade once more. Hao Pingyang bellowed, ¡°Be careful, it¡¯s all fake!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at Hao Pingyang. He really was the strongest one after all. He was brawny on the outside and sharp-witted on the inside. If the Zombie Daoist could be finished off so easily, it would have been impossible for him to remain atop the Hawkwolf Guard¡¯s list for so long. Although he had used a broadcasting technique, it was possible to tell with careful listening that the voice did not come from the Zombie Daoist at the entrance at all. The mask was just to cover the face.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang¡­

    The lids of several dozen coffins in the morgue flew off at the same time with zombies rising from them. Their eyes were wide open with their arms extended in front of them. Their sharp canines were clearly visible. They rushed towards the six people in the morgue.

    In order to avoid raising any suspicion from the Zombie Daoist, Hao Pingyang¡¯s group did not clear away these zombies, so they immediately became surrounded.

    Five zombies lunged towards Li Qingshan. He was already prepared. The Wind-entwining blade in his hand erupted with light, and blades of light shot towards the four directions.

    Hao Pingyang bellowed at Li Qingshan, ¡°You need to go for the head!¡± The highest number of zombies lunged towards him. There were a total of eight, but he was composed as ever. He raised the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light and smashed it towards the head of a zombie in front of him. Then he circulated his true qi and swept out horizontally. The seven zombies were all knocked away, landing heavily on the columns and coffins. As a matter of fact, two of them directly smashed through the walls and flew out.

    He was on a rampage, seeming like a god of war.

    However, aside from the one that had its head crushed and the two that had their bones completely shattered, the five others all sprang up from the ground agan. They could not feel pain, nor were they afraid of death. They lunged over again.

    After receiving Hao Pingyang¡¯s reminder, Li Qingshan thought, So much for being a transmigrator, I¡¯ve forgotten such a common piece of knowledge!

    He grabbed Xiao An and leapt up.

    The ten arms and the fifty nails were like the mouth of a beast, closing down on his feet. The five zombies all raised their eyes together, looking at Li Qingshan in the air with their pupilless eyes. They leapt up at the same time. Their knees were unable to bend due to rigor mortis, so it seemed like they had springs beneath their feet.

    Li Qingshan stomped down forcefully and crushed the head of a zombie, pushing off its shoulders and piercing the ceiling of the morgue.

    Dust and shattered tiles fell down as a ray of moonlight landed on the morgue.

    In the air, Li Qingshan held Xiao An with his left hand as he firmly gripped the Wind-entwining blade with his right, resting it on his shoulder. He glanced down cautiously, taking in the entire morgue.

    The four zombies in the sky were unable to attain the same altitude as him, so they fell back to the ground.

    However, Li Qingshan did not pay any attention to them. He had never been looking at the zombies in the first place. Although they were mostly invulnerable and possessed great physical strength, they lacked intelligence and techniques. Their reactions could not even be compared to regular wild beasts.

    Whether it be his strength, speed, or reactions, he completely surpassed these zombies. As long as a few hundred or a thousand of them did not surround him, they could not touch him at all.

    He was only cautious about a single person¡ªthe Zombie Daoist who had only spoken but never appeared. According to the files of the Hawkwolf Guard, he knew concealing techniques and possessed a Submerged Shadow sword. He was extremely skilled at sneak attacks.

    The autumn wind rustled through the surroundings of the morgue, sweeping up dead grass and twigs, but there was not a single person at all.

    In the end, he locked his aura onto Hao Pingyang. If Li Qingshan were the Zombie Daoist, there would be two choices he would consider if he wanted to win. One was killing the weakest first, to weaken his opponent¡¯s strength, while the other was directly killing the strongest and obtaining an absolute advantage.

    However, he would definitely expose himself if he killed the weakest. It would cost him true qi, and it could even lead to openings, which could lead to his own death. As a result, the most optimal choice was to wait for an opportunity to heavily injure Hao Pingyang.

    Hao Pingyang and Li Qingshan were already prepared and were stronger, so they did not fear these zombies. However, Zhao Lanqing and the others did not have it as easy. The zombies were right beside them. They had just emptied their magazines, and they had no time to reload their crossbows.

    Several dozen zombies lunged over from all directions. They were clearly mindless creatures with no intelligence, but they seemed to have been rigorously trained, splitting up the five of them tactically.

    Jin Bao was the weakest. He rolled on the ground in horrible shape as the ten nails of a zombie stabbed deeply into the ground where he was previously standing. If he had been a second slower, he would have been disemboweled. Before he could even get up, three zombies lunged over with their teeth and claws, stunning him completely. He had no weapons, only his empty hands. How was he supposed to stop these zombies? He could only close his eyes and wait for death.

    Jin Yuan called out, ¡°Jin Bao!¡± He wanted to save his younger brother, but four zombies stopped him. He could barely hold his ground. He Yishi and Zhang Lanqing were no different.

    ¡°Use the puppet, you idiot!¡± Hao Pingyang saw how his junior brother was in danger, but he had no intentions of trying to save him. He was the same as Li Qingshan, currently focusing all of his efforts into looking for the Zombie Daoist. He did not dare to lose focus. He was the only sixth layer Qi Practitioner present. If he were injured in a sneak attack or even killed, none of the people here would be able to leave alive.

    The claws and teeth fell, but there was no cry. Instead, there was the sound of striking wood. At the moment of danger, Jin Bao had summoned a puppet to block the zombies, allowing him to survive.

    The three zombies pulled out their teeth and claws before plunging them back into the puppet emotionlessly. Bang! Bang! Bang! With three consecutive, heavy blows, splinters flew from the puppet as it became riddled with cracks. The claws of the zombies could even pierce steel. If it were not for the fact that the puppet had been specially made, it would have been destroyed in a single strike. However, even with that being the case, it could not last for too long.

    At this moment, the four zombies that previously targeted Li Qingshan lunged towards Jin Bao under the influence of an invisible force. The greatest use of puppets was for attack, not for serving as a shield. As a result, it fell into pieces with a clatter.

    Despair filled Jin Bao¡¯s eyes as he called out, ¡°Save me!¡±

    Hao Pingyang sighed inside. As he wielded the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light, he was about to charge up and assist him, disregarding the threat in the darkness.

    A bolt of scorching, white lightning descended from the sky with the rumble of thunder. It charred several zombies by Jin Bao¡¯s side and stunned all the other zombies in the morgue.

    As Li Qingshan descended from the ground, he threw out a Lightning Summoning talisman, but he did not even check the effect of it. He stared straight at Zhang Lanqing, and his Wind-entwining blade swept out as a streak of light.

    ¡°Nice!¡± Hao Pingyang praised loudly. He raised his Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light, and it gathered specks of light. The dragon¡¯s head actually targeted Zhang Lanqing as well.

    With everything happening around him, Zhang Lanqing was unable to save Jin Bao in time despite his superior strength at the fifth layer, as he was handling seven zombies. However, he was able to protect himself. However, facing the incoming blade and the charging Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light, his breath immediately became stifled, revealing fear and disbelief.

    Clang!

    The Wind-entwining blade arrived a foot before Zhang Lanqing and produced a metallic sound that was no softer than the thunder earlier. A small sword appeared out of nowhere.

    His blade immediately gained a huge nick, but the small sword was sent flying by Li Qingshan¡¯s great strength as well, spinning away uncontrollably.

    Using the previous bolt of lightning, Li Qingshan had finally grasped the whereabouts of the Submerged Shadow sword.

    At this moment, the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light unleashed a dazzling streak of light, striking the small sword in the air and directly reducing it to a piece of scrap metal. It fell from the sky.

    A miserable wail resounded within the darkness of a corner, and a blurry figure appeared, drifting towards the door.

    Li Qingshan and Hao Pingyang turned around at the same time and rushed in the direction of the miserable wail. They charged out of the morgue and saw a figure in the distance that was rushing off in a hurry.

    ¡°Come!¡± Hao Pingyang tossed aside the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light and extended a foot towards Li Qingshan behind him.

    ¡°Go!¡± Li Qingshan gained a proper footing on the ground, crushing the tiles beneath his feet. A shockwave spread through the surroundings as he drew strength from the ground. Unleashing his full strength, he punched the bottom of Hao Pingyang¡¯s foot.

    Hao Pingyang shot off like a human cannonball, rushing past the bushes and rapidly approaching the figure. He smiled viciously as he spread his arms; true qi surged out, slamming against the temples of the figure¡¯s head. With a spurt, the head exploded.

    Li Qingshan was instead disappointed. He thought about how the Zombie Daoist was truly crafty.

    Hao Pingyang limped back while holding a headless corpse and tossed it to the ground. ¡°Another fake!¡±

    When his flying sword was destroyed and his mind was injured, the Zombie Daoist was actually still able to think about leaving behind a substitute to flee. He was well-prepared, and his reactions were fast.

    Li Qingshan lifted up the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light and studied it. When he heard that, he spread his arms and shrugged, tossing the cannon back to Hao Pingyang.

    Hao Pingyang caught the cannon and stowed it back into his hundred treasures pouch as he patted his foot with a frown. ¡°Kid, that punch was too much!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t enough, how were you supposed to catch up to him?¡±

    Hao Pingyang suddenly said, ¡°The Submerged Shadow sword has been destroyed, so that bastard has been greatly weakened. It¡¯s a good time to kill him.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°His specialty lies in refining and controlling corpses, not controlling a sword. This is only one of the places he nurtures corpses. Don¡¯t tell me you plan on entering the Zombie Cave in search of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner who is skilled at concealing techniques? And, it¡¯s just like what you said, this has nothing to do with me.¡±

 Chapter 170 â€“ The Zombie Cave

    Although the zombies¡¯ attacks were vicious, they completely lacked sorder, so the four mohist disciples managed to gain their footing and regroup. Zhang Lanqing and He Yishi controlled five puppets to hold off the zombies for a while before suddenly dodging to one side, revealing the brothers behind them. They wielded a loaded Thousand Mechanism crossbow in each hand and pulled the triggers.

    Sixty Fire Crow bolts scattered outwards. The hides of the zombies could not be penetrated with regular weapons, but they were unable to stop the Fire Crow arrows, which subsequently exploded in their bodies, easily tearing them to pieces. Just a single wave of bolts mowed down a large swathe of them. They no longer seemed so vicious or terrifying anymore.

    The remaining seven or eight zombies could no longer pose a threat to them. The humanoid puppets charged up and sharp blades sprang out from their arms, slaughtering the zombies in a mechanical and precise manner.

    The nails of the zombies would only leave behind white marks on the puppets, but the sharp blades from the puppets could pierce their heads in a single stroke. Now that they were evenly-matched in terms of numbers, the zombies were not the opponent of the puppets. They were all slain.

    The four of them all let out breaths of relief and sat down. Within the Academy of the Hundred Schools, mohist disciples competed against one another using puppets as well, but their contests had never been so dangerous.

    Seeing how he had managed to mow down the zombies that had almost claimed his life earlier so easily, Jin Bao was left in a state of disbelief.

    Actually, their strength completely surpassed a few dozen zombies. If they were on open ground and standing in formation, all prepared with their Thousand Mechanism crossbows, these zombies would not even be able to reach them. They would be slain on the spot. Even the sixth layer Qi Practitioner, the Zombie Daoist, could not deal with five Thousand Mechanism crossbows so easily.

    However, once everything happened so close to them and required them to adapt to the circumstances, they were completely useless.

    Hao Pingyang pointed at them and cursed, ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing. You¡¯re fucking embarrassing. To think that you were bold enough to look down on him as a second layer Qi Practitioner. If it weren¡¯t for him, would you all still be alive? With your pig brains, you can¡¯t even tell the difference between real and fakes. My formation scroll has gone to waste, just like you lot.¡±

    They all reddened with shame. Jin Bao grumbled, ¡°Senior brother, I almost just died. Sure, you might not comfort me, but do you have to make it sound so bad?¡± Although his words were vicious, the mohist disciples clearly were not particularly afraid of their senior brother.

    Li Qingshan patted his shoulder. ¡°¡±It was very impressive of you to have managed to hold back your urge to fight back.¡±

    Zhan Lanqing smiled awkwardly. ¡°I was stupefied from fright.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh. Zhang Lanqing sure was honest.

    The several hundred Qi Gathering pills he ate were not for nothing. Whether it be his strength as a Qi Practitioner or a Body Practitioner, it had all grown tremendously compared to when he faced off against Qian Yannian. Coupled with his fierce murderousness from taking the lives of over a thousand people, he was like a god of slaughter when he descended from the sky. He truly did possess the aura to make people succumb to him.

    If he fought against Qian Yannian again in a fair battle now, the battle would no longer be as hopeless as before. In other words, he possessed the strength to threaten fifth layer Qi Practitioners.

    However, Hao Pingyang¡¯s Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light was even mightier than Li Qingshan. Zhang Lanqing felt like prey that had caught the attention of two predators when these two attacks locked onto him. He had been utterly stupefied, unable to react at all.

    Jin Yuan pulled Jin Bao over. ¡°Thank you for saving my younger brother!¡± Then he said to the ashamed Jin Bao, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say something?!¡±

    ¡°That¡­ Thank you too, but are you really just at the second layer? How can you be so powerful?¡± Jin Bao¡¯s age was the closest to Li Qingshan out of everyone present, but he was still a few years older than Li Qingshan. However, he still seemed childish, so he instead appeared younger than the weathered Li Qingshan. There was now some admiration in his gaze towards Li Qingshan. No matter where the powerful went, they would earn respect.

    Before Li Qingshan could even answer him, Hao Pingyang smacked Jin Bao¡¯s head. ¡°That¡¯s called a Body Practitioner, you idiot. Haven¡¯t you seen those brainless muscleheads from the school of the Military? Do you live under a rock?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, To think that you can still bring yourself to call me a musclehead.

    Jin Bao flew into a rage from embarrassment and frustration. ¡°If you hit me again, I¡¯m going to turn against you!¡±

    Hao Pingyang raised his hand before placing it back down. ¡°You want to act up? Why don¡¯t you give it a try!?¡±

    Jin Bao leapt up. ¡°Hao Pingyang, fuck your granny!¡± Afterwards, he was stopped by Zhang Lanqing and the three others who dissuaded him.

    ¡°Originally, the Zombie Daoist wanted to use the Submerged Shadow sword to assassinate your senior brother Hao, but he presented no openings, so the Zombie Daoist was afraid to act rashly, which was why he summoned the zombies to surround you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. These disciples of mohism sure were straightforward. They seemed a little like the university students from his former life. While they were not young, they were still rather naive. Even the short-tempered Hao Pingyang did not possess a condescending sense of superiority even though he smacked and cursed his junior brothers without holding back. They were different from the Qi Practitioners that Li Qingshan usually saw.

    Jin Bao was stunned. Only then did he understand why Hao Pingyang did not immediately assist him.

    Li Qingshan continued, ¡°But earlier, when you fell into danger, your senior brother Hao wanted to save you even if it meant risking his life.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother¡­¡± Only now did Jin Bao understand that he had almost been used by the Zombie Daoist as a trap to kill Hao Pingyang.

    Zhang Lanqing, He Yishi, and Jin Yuan all looked at Hao Pingyang. None of them could think much about it during the chaos earlier, but now that they thought about it, not only had they failed to offer any assistance at all, but they had even almost dragged Hao Pingyang down with them.

    ¡°Bullshit. Why would I save him? If an idiot like him dies, it¡¯ll save the school of Mohism from feeding him instead.¡± Hao Pingyang¡¯s bushy face reddened slightly.

    He Yishi said in thought, ¡°The Zombie Daoist was unable to find any openings with senior brother Hao, which was why he then tried to kill senior brother Zhang.¡± They all thanked Li Qingshan once again.

    At that moment of danger, Li Qingshan had used the flash from the Lightning Summoning talisman to immediately locate the Submerged Shadow sword, which was why he was able to deal that attack. Not only had he saved Zhang Lanqing¡¯s life, but he had also given Hao Pingyang the opportunity to fire his cannon. He had basically turned the tables around. He had been far more useful than the four of them.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°We¡¯re all in one boat. Though, you don¡¯t seem like you¡¯ve practised any martial arts before, have you?¡± When they engaged the zombies in close combat earlier, they basically fought based on their instincts, reactions, and true qi alone. Their moves could not even match a third-rate master of the jianghu, which was why they suffered so much.

    Zhang Lanqing smiled bitterly. ¡°We¡¯re disciples of the school of Mohism. Over all these years, all we¡¯ve learnt is engineering, creating puppets, and building cities and structures. Although we did attend a few classes in the school of the Military¡¯s exhibition hall, how can we actually match disciples of the school of the Military? If I go back, I¡¯ll definitely make up for my lack of martial arts.¡± The others all expressed their agreement.

    Only then did Li Qingshan learn that they were engineers and fighting did not fall into their studies. Not all Qi Practitioners had the ability to kill and plunder. There were Qi Practitioners who specialised in professions as well.

    ¡°What do you plan on doing next?¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Obviously to press forward into the enemy¡¯s lair!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The Zombie Cave is not a place you can simply barge into. The morgue is only one of his places for nurturing corpses. After he¡¯s done nurturing them, he¡¯ll take them into the Zombie Cave. Who knows how many zombies have accumulated in the cave over all these years. It¡¯ll be extremely dangerous.¡±

    The reason why the Zombie Daoist was able to remain alive while being hunted down by the Hawkwolf Guard was closely related to his cave. He usually hid himself underground, staying in the complicated caverns that were as confusing as a maze. No one knew where his dwelling actually was, and if they tried searching for it, they would face an endless attack of zombies. If anything happened to them, they would die in there and become part of the zombies.

    When Zhang Lanqing and the other three heard that they would be entering a pitch-black cavern after the danger earlier, they all began considering retreat. ¡°Senior brother, why don¡¯t we return to the academy first and get a few powerful helpers before we go looking for the Zombie Daoist?¡±

    Hao Pingyang glared at all of them. ¡°Return to the academy? What about the mission? We¡¯ve managed to get out after so much difficulty. You all know how long it takes to travel to and from here. By then, who knows whether the Zombie Daoist would have moved his hiding location. You might not mind embarrassing yourselves, but I do!¡±

    The four of them looked at one another. Before they left, their master had said that they were to listen to all of Hao Pingyang¡¯s orders during the mission.

    ¡°His flying sword has been destroyed, and his mind was shaken up. He won¡¯t be able to refine another flying sword in time. Killing him now is the best opportunity we will ever have.¡± That was how Hao Pingyang put it, but he looked at Li Qingshan. He was not confident that the five of them could kill the Zombie Daoist. However, he had developed a very high opinion of Li Qingshan with his performance in the battle earlier. If Li Qingshan were willing to join them, their chances at success would increase significantly.

    Li Qingshan began to hesitate. He wanted to wait for Zhuo Zhibo, but he had no idea whether Zhuo Zhibo would actually come. If Zhuo Zhibo were not coming, he would definitely treat the Zombie Daoist as his target. A sixth layer Qi Practitioner must have many pills. It could resolve his current shortage. However, the issue right now was whether to work with these disciples of mohism or not. Together with Xiao An, the two of them alone should be enough to kill the Zombie Daoist.

    ¡°If you join us, Qingshan, I¡¯ll give you my share of the rewards.¡± Seeing how he was unable to change Hao Pingyang¡¯s mind, Zhang Lanqing wanted to make this journey into the cave safer by recruiting Li Qingshan. He also wanted to pay back Li Qingshan for saving his life.

    Jin Yuan and Jin Bao added, ¡°We¡¯ll do the same.¡±

    He Yishi hesitated, ¡°Me too.¡± As long as they could complete this mission, not only would they still have their pride in tact, but the Academy of the Hundred Schools would give them a reward as well, so it was not like he would get nothing out of this.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re a second layer Qi Practitioner, yet you have a share that is even greater than mine, so let¡¯s not talk about any compensation for earlier anymore. We¡¯ll split the things on the Zombie Daoist seventy-thirty, alright?¡±

 Chapter 171 â€“ With Generosity comes with Ties of Friendship

    Li Qingshan raised his head. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    He could kill the Zombie Daoist together with Xiao An. However, even back when he killed the fifth layer Qi Practitioner, Qian Yannian, it had been passed off as purely a coincidence. As such, if he killed a sixth layer Qi Practitioner now, anyone would know that he had a hidden trump card. Who knows how much attention he would attract, and this happened to be a secret that he could not afford for anyone to probe into.

    And, he was not fixated on the items within the Zombie Daoist¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. The bounty that the Hawkwolf Guard had placed on the Zombie Daoist¡¯s head amounted to over ten thousand points of contribution. Five points could exchange for a Qi Gathering pill so that was over two thousand Qi Gathering pills. Now that was the largest share. If he worked with these mohist disciples, he would be able to earn these points of contribution reasonably, without raising any suspicion.

    Zhang Lanqing and the others were surprised and overjoyed by this. Hao Pingyang grinned as well.

    However, Li Qingshan followed up with, ¡°However, I¡¯m not too satisfied with how everything is going to be split up.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing and the other looked at one another, while Hao Pingyang frowned as well. He was still dissatisfied after claiming a seventy percent share; wasn¡¯t that a little too greedy? What made everything worse was that if Li Qingshan wanted more, he could not afford to turn him down.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll just take thirty percent, the same as you, senior brother Hao, as I¡¯m confident that I¡¯ll be about as useful as you when it comes to protecting everyone. As for the remaining forty percent, you should split it among yourselves!¡±

    Everyone was taken aback by that. They had never thought that Li Qingshan would turn down these benefits in such a willing manner. Forty percent of the wealth of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner could interest all Qi Practitioners. None of them would give up on it so easily.

    Zhang Lanqing felt rather ashamed over how poorly he had behaved earlier. ¡°Qingshan, t- that wouldn¡¯t be right of us!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong or right of you. If you want me to join you, then let¡¯s split it like that! If you were thinking about paying back the favour from earlier, you¡¯d better save it. Your lives are worth far more than just a share of benefits.¡± Li Qingshan was never a stingy person. He took a liking to these disciples of mohism, so he would not let them go empty-handed. This was just the way he handled matters.

    As the saying went, generosity came with ties of friendship. Petty people who only focused on small gains could never achieve anything significant. A generous, confident person had no need to worry about going without friends.

    Hao Pingyang laughed happily as he slapped Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Alright, I like you, kid!¡±

    Although they were not skilled in battle as disciples of mohism, the mechanisms and puppets that they could create were items that all Qi Practitioners desired. They would be worth even more than regular spiritual artifacts. Every single disciple of mohism was a respected existence wherever they went. The Zombie Daoist who hid underground and refined corpses could not rival their statuses.

    The brothers, Jin Yuan and Jin Bao, were inspired as well. Jin Yuan said, ¡°If we work together, what¡¯s there to fear about the Zombie Daoist? We¡¯ll earn our share fair and square!¡±

    Jin Bao said, ¡°I¡¯ve embarrassed myself, so I need to redeem myself. I can¡¯t let others look down on us mohist disciples.¡±

    The gloomy morgue became filled with vigour from these young men. Originally, killing the Zombie Daoist was a rather fearful mission, but now, it was a task that required them to work hard together to complete. Their fear had already vanished.

    Hao Pingyang extended his hand. ¡°Then let¡¯s work together and get him!¡± Several hands stacked on top of him as everyone looked at one another with smiles. They all felt much closer with one another. They no longer treated Li Qingshan as an outsider anymore. It was as if they had not just met a moment ago, but were old acquaintances.

    Xiao An leaned on her hand as she sat on the roof of the morgue. When Li Qingshan fell back down, he left her up there to keep an eye out. He also told her to avoid using her powers unless she had to, so she just watched as the Zombie Daoist fled from the morgue. Her eyes were not particularly special, but they could see through all illusions and truths. Concealing techniques were a form of illusions, so they were completely useless against her. She wanted to go down and warn Li Qingshan, but in the blink of an eye, the Zombie Daoist had fled already, so she could only give up on that idea.

    If she had pursued earlier, there probably would have been a very great chance for her to taste fresh flesh and blood! However, as long as Li Qingshan told her to do something, she would always oblige obediently.

    The desolate moonlight fell on her emotionless face as she listened in on the conversation below. She seemed rather cold.

    As her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty deepened, her mind seemed to gradually return to when she was a spirit. However, that previous state was the numbness that came from losing a sense of individuality from all the torture, but now, it was indifference that came with clearly understanding everything.

    When she controlled the fire and swallowed everyone one by one, it was not as simple as absorbing the essence within their flesh and blood. It was unlike what regular evil or demonic cultivators did, sacrificing living people to forge artifacts and treasures, who would then be denounced and hunted down by humanity.

    Whether it be the blood flames or the pale flames, they were all a part of her. As she fused with the flesh and blood, especially when it came from living people or people who had just died, she could clearly sense their resentment, fury, pain, fear¡­

    The barrage of all of these negative emotions was enough to make a regular person collapse in a single instant. Even cultivators with sturdy wills would be shaken up by that, developing doubt about their own actions and existences. They would be haunted by these dead souls for the rest of their lives. This was the most difficult psychological test of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    However, she did not feel troubled at all. Just like reading a buddhist scripture, she read the wails of pain and anguish of the deceased, without any pity or sympathy at all, just like gods and buddhas who sat up high on the lotus throne, taking in the suffering of all life with a clear, indifferent mind. It was not that these emotions were suppressed, but rather they were unable to develop these emotions.

    She could neither be moved by friendship and hot-bloodedness, nor would she be troubled by the curse of resentment. There was no difference between the red and black ants. All living creatures were equal. All of them could be killed, apart from him.

    Within the morgue, they discussed the plan as the sky in the east gradually lit up.

    Suddenly, Xiao An stood up and cast her gaze into the distance. Looking past the wilderness, she saw a group of people rapidly drawing closer. She leapt down from the roof and arrived beside Li Qingshan.

    Just from making eye contact once, Li Qingshan understood that Zhuo Zhibo was finally here. He said to the mohist disciples, ¡°Please go first. I have some personal matters to settle. I¡¯ll catch up to you later.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Just what is there that is more important than hunting down the Zombie Daoist?¡±

    Li Qingshan only smiled, while Hao Pingyang did not ask him any more questions. Seeing how determined he was, Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll set off first and wait for you at the entrance of the Zombie Cave.¡±

 Chapter 172 â€“ Human Mentality in the Face of Danger

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Black Wolf guards clothed in their dark uniforms directly pierced through the walls and entered the morgue.

    Dust rose up in the surroundings, but none of it reached them. Their clothes fluttered with their true qi as they stared at Li Qingshan coldly.

    A sharp killing intent gathered and wrapped firmly around Li Qingshan. Although the strongest was only the fifth layer Xie Nande, they were much more powerful than Zhang Lanqing and the others.

    They were professional killers, a pack of wolves for hunting prey. Every single one of them had survived countless life-threatening battles. If Zhang Lanqing were pitted against Xie Nande, he would kill the latter in a single clash.

    However, Li Qingshan sat down instead. He held the scabbard of the Wind-entwining blade in one hand without even looking at these Black Wolf guards. The rolling dust reached five steps away from Li Qingshan, but it was unable to advance another inch further. Xiao An stood beside him as her eyes that were like black pearls revealed yearning.

    All of his paths, front, back, left and right, had been sealed. All that remained was the pitch-black, holey main entrance of the morgue with cold wind whistling into the structure. A black shadow stepped over the door sill. With the wind, an iron hawk arrived. The hawk¡¯s wings were highly raised, its eyes were circular, and its beak was curved like a hook. It stared straight at Li Qingshan as if it could come alive at any time and kill him.

    The might he gave off alone surpassed the other Black Wolf guards combined.

    Li Qingshan finally raised his head. ¡°Commander Zhuo, what an impressive group!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo scanned the morgue filled with corpses and asked in doubt, ¡°Did you do all of this? You repelled the Zombie Daoist?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s as you can see.¡± Li Qingshan spread out his left hand.

    Zhuo Zhibo sneered. ¡°He¡¯s just a piece of trash!¡±

    If the wolves and the hawk had surrounded the Zombie Daoist, he would never have been as relaxed as when he faced the disciples of mohism. Even if he tried to flee with everything that he had, they would still end up killing him and ripping him to pieces.

    Li Qingshan agreed, ¡°He really is just a piece of trash.¡±

    They had fallen out already, so Zhuo Zhibo no longer tried to hide his blatant killing intent. ¡°You¡¯re about to die, so do you have any last words?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°I won¡¯t die.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Yes, you won¡¯t die too soon. We have the most skillful interrogators here. We will cut you open bit by bit, but we won¡¯t let you die.¡±

    He wanted to take pleasure in Li Qingshan¡¯s expression of fear and despair, but he was disappointed. Li Qingshan only smiled. A pair of snowy-white canines that were slightly longer than usual protruded from his mouth, and even the child beside him remained unfazed.

    Although they were enemies, Li Qingshan could not help but praise them. Now these were true warriors. As the most powerful system of violence within the Great Xia empire, even the weakest Black Wolf guards possessed such composure.

    He possessed absolute confidence about defeating them. The only issue now was that he could not let any one of them escape!

    Li Qingshan stood up. With a shing, he drew the Wind-entwining blade that was so damaged it seemed like a saw. He reached into his talisman pouch with his left hand and held a Lightning Summoning talisman. Xiao An held her blade in one hand and the Skull Prayer Bead in the other.

    They did not even have to make eye contact, and they had already decided on a battle tactic. It would be the same as the tactic they had employed against the Zombie Daoist earlier. They would erupt with all of their strength and kill the strongest, Zhuo Zhibo, instantly. After that, the rest would just be lambs for slaughter. Even if they managed to escape, hunting them down would be easier.

    Zhuo Zhibo nodded, and seven Wind-entwining blades were drawn from their scabbards.

    The battle was about to erupt, but a bellow suddenly rang out from outside, ¡°Li Qingshan, is there something wrong with your legs? How slow do you have to be?!¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. ¡°Why did you return?¡±

    At this moment, Zhuo Zhibo looked back and saw a burly man with a full beard standing several dozen meters away. The aura he gave off and the bronze cannon in his arms made Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s eyes narrow.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°I¡¯ll come back here if I fucking want to. Since when do you care?¡± Zhang Lanqing and the others stood beside him, holding loaded Thousand Mechanism crossbows as they frowned.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you done with your matters? If you¡¯re done, then hurry up and come over!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said frigily, ¡°I was wondering why you were so fearless. Looks like you¡¯re getting help from others. No wonder you thought you would live.¡±

    Li Qingshan completely ignored him. He yelled back at Hao Pingyang, ¡°I can¡¯t go over right now, so you should go first! There¡¯s no need to wait for me!¡±

    Hao Pingyang exclaimed, ¡°If I want you to come over, then you come over. I would like to see who stops you! I¡¯ll blast them to pieces!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt rather helpless, but also rather touched. He sheathed his blade and said to Zhuo Zhibo, ¡°Commander Zhuo, looks like there just isn¡¯t enough time today!¡± With that, he made his way over to the main entrance of the morgue with Xiao An.

    The moment he brushed past Zhuo Zhibo, both of them could sense the startling killing intent from the other, but neither did anything.

    Ge Jian said, ¡°Commander!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo raised his hand to signal for him to shut up.

    Li Qingshan arrived beside Hao Pingyang. Hao Pingyang whispered, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed, ¡°We just have some small disagreements.¡±

    ¡°Small disagreements?!¡± Hao Pingyang exclaimed. A small disagreement was enough for a group of Black Wolf guards to surround him with their killing intent bare? Their leader was even a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, an Iron Hawk commander!

    Jin Bao said with lingering fear. ¡°Even from so far away, with his back towards me, that man feels so terrifying!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The reason behind Cave town¡¯s name was a huge cave that existed near the town.

    One of the branches of the Clear river flowed into the caves, disappearing inside. Boats and people would suffer the same fate as the river. In the past, there would be curious villagers who wanted to investigate and explore the caves, but not a single one of them would return. As such, it basically turned it into a forbidden zone.

    However, the name that the Hawkwolf Guard gave to this mission location was Zombie cave. It was the hiding location of their most wanted criminal, the Zombie Daoist. He was a terrifying existence even to the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city.

    Zhuo Zhibo had once personally led a squadron in an attempt to complete this mission, but he ended up losing four Black Wolf guards while failing to find the Zombie Daoist¡¯s exact hiding spot. As a result, the reward for completing the mission increased again and again, setting a record within the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city.

    Li Qingshan currently stood at the entrance to the Zombie cave. The cave was several dozen meters tall and extremely wide. It was like the gaping mouth of a beast, expelling a cold breeze. Li Qingshan could vaguely smell a stink in the breeze. It was the stink of corpses. He cast his gaze into the depths, but it only vanished into the darkness in the end. The stalactites drooping from the ceiling of the cave were like the teeth of a beast¡¯s mouth.

    The rising sun in the east was unable to weaken the gloominess here.

    Zhang Lanqing took out a small boat and tossed it into the water. The boat expanded rapidly to a size where it could hold eight people. There were many oars that extended from both sides, making it look like a centipede.

    ¡°You still should go first. Those people won¡¯t spare me. They¡¯ll definitely catch up to me.¡± Li Qingshan had already given the rough story to them. They were all infuriated, but after they felt fury, fear followed. The Hawkwolf Guard was infamous among Qi Practitioners.

    Jin Yuan and Jin Bao lowered their heads. They said nothing. From the clash earlier, they had already learned about the difference in strength that existed between them and the Hawkwolf Guard.

    He Yishi was uncertain as he said hesitantly, ¡°That works too. It¡¯s always easier when you flee alone.¡±

    Hao Pingyang was furious. ¡°When there are benefits, we get along so well in harmony, but once there¡¯s danger, you scatter like chaff in the wind, only caring for yourself. Do you still have the slightest decency as a human being?¡±

    Jin Yuan and Jin Bao were both ashamed, while He Yishi said, ¡°I¡¯m just saying!¡± However, he grumbled inside as he wondered whether Li Qingshan was purposefully using them to evade the danger waiting for him.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Yeah, Qingshan. You¡¯ll be safer if you stick with us. Once the mission ends, we can go to Clear River city together. You can file a complaint at the Hawkwolf Guard in Clear River city. We¡¯ll all serve as your witness!¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad idea. If that won¡¯t work, then you might as well just resign from the Hawkwolf Guard. Next spring, when the Academy of the Hundred Schools is taking in new students, you can come to our school of Mohism. I¡¯ll personally teach you engineering.¡±

    Li Qingshan took note of all of their responses. Hao Pingyang was truly a bold, straightforward man. Although his temper was not the best, and his mouth was foul at times, his virtues could not be dulled by these insignificant flaws. Zhang Lanqing was a loyal person as well, and he was prudent with his thinking. The other three were far worse in comparison. Their loyalty, hot-bloodedness, and enthusiasm could be roused, but it would never last for too long.

    However, Li Qingshan did not resent them over this. There was nothing strange about their behaviour. Not all of his attempts at friendship would be reciprocated. Even if all five of them no longer wanted Li Qingshan around them, he would not find it strange at all. Instead, it was already extremely rare that there were two people who actually wanted to help him. Now they were people truly worthy of being friends with. The three others would just be acquaintances at most.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll accompany you for a little longer.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± The seven of them boarded the boat, and under Zhang Lanqing¡¯s control, the wing-like oars on the two sides immediately began to move. The boat traveled with the flow, entering the cave.

    Soon after they had left, Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s group reached the entrance of the cave as well.

    Ge Jian asked, ¡°Commander, what do we do?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Let them scout ahead and clear the obstacles. Once they¡¯ve utterly exhausted themselves, we¡¯ll kill them all and push the blame onto the Zombie Daoist. Then we¡¯ll kill the Zombie Daoist.¡± That determined everyone¡¯s fate; it demonstrated Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s cold-bloodedness.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The Black Wolf guards obliged loudly, following his decision.

    Zhuo Zhibo cracked a joke. ¡°I sure am lucky. I didn¡¯t kill him at the very beginning, and he has brought me more benefits instead.¡±

    If a boss told a joke, how could the subordinates afford to keep a straight face? The Black Wolf guards all chimed in with smiles. ¡°Those mohist disciples must be carrying a lot of good stuff.¡±

    The boat traveled with the flow, moving extremely quickly. It reached the depths of the cave very soon, which gradually narrowed. The surroundings were pitch-black, so a small lantern lit up at the front of the boat.

 Chapter 173 â€“ A Horde Springs Alive

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This boat¡¯s pretty good. Xiao An likes it very much as well!¡± Xiao An currently leaned against the edge, focusing all of her attention on the tiny, wing-like oars paddling in the water.

    Zhang Lanqing smiled. ¡°I made it myself. So she¡¯s called Xiao An. Won¡¯t it be dangerous for her if she comes with us?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°She can take care of herself. Why don¡¯t you use propellers?¡±

    ¡°What are propellers?¡±

    Li Qingshan gave a slight explanation, and Zhang Lanqing understood the idea. He immediately sank into his thoughts. ¡°What a special design. It seems like it¡¯ll be more¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Distracted, the boat immediately hurtled towards some rocks. Zhang Lanqing returned to his senses and steered the boat in a hurry. He patted his chest to calm himself down. ¡°So close.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Keep your head clear! Don¡¯t become distracted as soon as you think of new concepts!¡±

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°I¡¯ll try it out when I get back. Qingshan, if you join the school of Mohism, you¡¯ll definitely become quite accomplished.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Perhaps.¡± Advice from others could be helpful at times.

    On the side of the cave that the boat had just passed by, a pair of emerald eyes lit up in the pitch-black grooves that light was unable to reach. It was actually a preserved corpse. Its entire body seemed to have become part of the cavern wall, covered in moss. Who knows how long it had been there for already. It did not even give off any stink anymore. It did not give off any aura either. As such, even Li Qingshan failed to notice it.

    As if it had received some kind of order, it broke free from the cave with a struggle, but its movements suddenly halted. A shiny, white prayer bead floated nearby.

    Even though it only possessed a subservient consciousness and a desire for flesh and blood after being refined, it still experienced an instinctual fear towards the prayer bead. The Skull Prayer Bead pierced its head and red light emerged from its body, turning its flesh into fire and its bones into fluid. It became a part of the tiny prayer bead.

    In the depths of the cave, an old man who was as thin as a stick opened his eyes. He had lost the connection to a corpse he had just awakened. Before the connection was lost, something very strange had happened. There was a ripple as if there was a sense of fear.

    Such a matter was obviously absurd. How could corpses feel fear? Even if their souls were still restrained to their bodies, they had lost the ability to fear a long time ago. It must have been a false impression.

    Afterwards, he thought of what he had discovered in the huge, open pit outside Ancient Wind city for some reason.

    As a result, he spent most of his time as a grave robber. As soon as he heard about the incident in Ancient Wind city, he took action. That was a thousand corpses, with quite a few Qi Practitioners among them. He would definitely be able to find fantastic corpses to refine. However, when he arrived, all he found was an empty pit. All he felt was shock and fear. He felt fortunate that he had come late.

    It had been quite a few years since he last felt fear.

    Then he thought about what had happened in the morgue. The body of a Body Practitioner was quite tempting, but he had never trusted Zhuo Zhibo before, so he was extremely careful. The trap cast down by the disciples of mohism seemed like a joke in his eyes. While he did lose his Submerged Shadow sword out of carelessness, forcing him to flee which exasperated him, he did not feel fear. He had experienced dangers and setbacks that were far more severe than that in his life.

    However, just as his substitute fooled his opponents, and he managed to escape from the morgue, he saw something strange. An extremely pretty child sat on the roof under the moonlight, looking at him quietly. It was as if she saw through his concealing technique completely. She did not give off a particularly powerful aura, but her dark, calm eyes made him shudder from the depths of his very soul. He felt as if he had encountered his natural enemy.

    However, he managed to escape from her gaze very soon, and the shuddering feeling became an illusion. However, the sight became firmly embedded in his head without dispersing at all.

    He felt like there was some sort of connection between all of this, but he failed to pinpoint what it was.

    He shook his head. All he had lost was an insignificant corpse, so why was he thinking so much? He cast his thoughts aside and sneered. The intruders would die very soon, becoming a part of his zombie army.

    He leaned against a stone coffin beside him. The coffin was engraved with glyphs that extended to the ground. It was locked up firmly by iron chains.

    With this treasure, no one could kill him. Not even Zhuo Zhibo!

    Xiao An leaned on the edge of the boat and gently played around with the water. She silently scooped up the Skull Prayer Bead, but when she turned around, all she saw was Li Qingshan staring straight at her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

    The Skull Prayer Bead was no regular spiritual artifact. Instead, it was more like a part of her body, which was why it could fly very far away; it could even see and hear for her.

    To be frank, she did not like the taste of zombies too much. Some of them were dry, and some of them were like a delicacy she had eaten a while back, a kind of pastry that was hard and tough. However, the good part was that they were combustible and not that noisy.

    Hao Pingyang suddenly said, ¡°Something is approaching!¡±

    They all looked ahead. Zhang Lanqing pierced the lantern, and the light gathered together like a searchlight, piercing through the darkness. They could vaguely make out something floating on the surface of the water. It was clustered together and pale. It did not drift along with the flow of water, remaining stationary instead as if it were awaiting the arrival of the boat.

    ¡°They¡¯re corpses!¡± He Yishi cried out.

    The pale objects were all floating bodies that had swollen up in the water. They seemed like fatties floating on the water, covering the entire area. Who knows how many there were.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Don¡¯t let them get near!¡±

    They fished out their Thousand Mechanism crossbows and aimed at the floating corpses, firing their Fire Crow bolts. With a series of swishes, the floating corpses exploded one by one.

    Li Qingshan drew his Wind-entwining blade and channeled true qi into it in an attempt to launch a wind blade, but the blade did not respond at all. He hit it a few times and confirmed that the blade was completely destroyed now. A low grade spiritual artifact really could not endure the wear in his hands. Although he could achieve the same results through true qi alone, it would be far too wasteful of true qi. It was not worth it.

    Zhang Lanqing passed a Thousand Mechanism crossbow and a few magazines of Fire Crow bolts to Li Qingshan. ¡°I need to steer the boat! You use it!¡±

    ¡°Alrighty!¡± Li Qingshan accepted the Thousand Mechanism crossbow and aimed at the surface of the water, launching a barrage and blowing up seven or eight floating corpses. He had learned archery before, so he was more accurate than Jin Yuan and Jin Bao, earning him some praise.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt a gaze lock onto him. Looking back, all he found was Xiao An looking up eagerly at the Thousand Mechanism crossbow. She no longer looked at the oars anymore.

    ¡°You try!¡± Li Qingshan passed the Thousand Mechanism crossbow to her, and she accepted it happily.

    Hao Pingyang tried to stop them in a hurry. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around!¡± He was frustrated with how Li Qingshan did not take everything seriously. How could he give such a dangerous weapon to a child? The Thousand Mechanism crossbow was powerful, so it would be bad if Xiao An was unable to wield it properly and fired them randomly on the boat.

    He reached towards the crossbow in Xiao An¡¯s hand, but he grabbed nothing. He was surprised. Looking back, he only found that Xiao An had already arrived at the nose of the boat, shooting at the corpses. Moreover, her accuracy was outstanding. She basically took out a corpse with each bolt.

    Li Qingshan patted Hao Pingyang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I told you that she could take care of herself. She¡¯s taking care of you now as well!¡±

    Hao Pingyang shot a glance at him; this kid was mysterious. Even the child by his side was so strange.

    With Xiao An at the helm, the others all stopped shooting, saving some of their Fire Crow bolts as they watched on. They would praise from time to time, ¡°Nicely done!¡±

    Jin Bao smiled complacently. ¡°Zombie Daoist, do you think you can handle us with these puny tricks? Looks like there¡¯s nothing impressive about you at all.¡± However, as soon as he finished talking, he caught the whiff of a stink. The smell was so sharp that it basically made him dizzy.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Hold your breaths! The foul smell is poisonous!¡±

    The boat just happened to have reached where the floating corpses had first appeared. Li Qingshan could clearly see that while the corpses had been blown to shreds, doing so also released the gas within their bodies, which turned into a thick, pale green gas. It filled the entire cave and grew thicker the further they advanced. Even the lantern light was unable to pierce through it.

    Everyone held their breaths in a hurry. As Qi Practitioners, the circulation of true qi in their bodies could replace their breathing. However, as the poisonous gas became thicker, their eyes began to sting and water. Even their skin gave off a burning smell. Even without Hao Pingyang¡¯s warning, they all released their true qi instinctively.

    Just as everyone fended off the poisonous gas and was disoriented, something moved in the water. Li Qingshan noticed it first. ¡°There¡¯s something in the water!¡±

    Splash! Splash! Blue hands rotten to a point where their bones were visible extended out from the water, grabbing the oars and then the edge of the boat, climbing aboard. They revealed eyeless, noseless heads while producing terrifying groans.

    Just when He Yishi had aimed his Thousand Mechanism crossbow, there was a gust of wind from above, and he raised his head in a hurry. He saw a shriveled corpse lunge towards him through the poisonous gas from the dark roof of the cavern.

    ¡°Above too!¡± Hao Pingyang bellowed. He swung his Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light and smacked the corpse away.

    Li Qingshan raised his head. On the ceiling of the cave, on those teeth-like stalactites, were dried corpses that lunged down one after another.

    Specks of emerald light glimmered on the two sides of the cavern. Corpses broke free from the walls of the cave one by one, opening their shriveled mouths and lunging at the boat. The quiet cave suddenly seemed to spring alive, becoming a terrifying hell filled with vicious, horrifying corpses.

    He Yishi and the others raised their crossbows as if they were confused as to where to shoot.

    Although they had said that they wanted to redeem themselves, a mentality for battle could not be developed so easily. It required plenty of battle experience, or they had to be geniuses at fighting like Li Qingshan.

    Clearly, they possessed neither of the qualities. Jin Bao pulled the trigger of his crossbow in a hurry, basically shooting at his own companions, but he failed to hit a single zombie.

    The Wind-entwining blade sliced through the air in an arc and beheaded two shriveled corpses. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Leave the ones above to me. You all get down and focus on the ones in the water.¡± They all crouched down in a hurry. Without saying anything more, Hao Pingyang lifted his cannon and smacked away all the corpses lunging over from the two sides.

    Before they could even get a footing in this chaotic situation, shrill screams rang out from the nose of the boat and rapidly drew closer.

 Chapter 174 â€“ Shooting Game

    The large corpses that floated on the surface of the water suddenly released poisonous gas and began moving at startling speeds. They sprang up from the surface of the water and flew towards the boat in the darkness.

    He Yishi¡¯s mouth hung agape as his Thousand Mechanism crossbow drooped down. Terrifying corpses filled every single inch around him. He felt like he had been thrown into a terrifying nightmare, unable to wake up. Even for prodigies of the Academy of the Hundred Schools like them, the fate that awaited them after being pulled into the water was as clear as day.

    Hao Pingyang roared out as he swung his Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light around, smashing it into the floating corpses, but he failed to send them flying away. The corpses all exploded and released large amounts of poisonous gas. The black, murky fluids they sprayed out landed on the boat with a hiss and smoke rose up. It landed on Hao Pingyang¡¯s face as well. While it was stopped by his true qi, it did make him seem rather miserable.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! The floating corpses exploded on the boat, and dense, poisonous gas enveloped the entire vessel. Their visibility was reduced to less than an inch away. All they could hear was the moans and groans of the corpses resounding through the cave.

    Having lost his sense of sight, Jin Bao panicked inside. He yelled out, ¡°Brother! Brother!¡± He felt like only he was left in this terrifying hell. He yelled out as he shot at the water. He also released his true qi instinctively, blocking out the gas and attacks from all directions. The boat was simply too small, so he was unable to use his puppets.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! He ran out of Fire Crow bolts in a single instant from how quickly he fired them, vanishing into the thick gas. Most of them landed in the water and produced even more violent waves. It made it seem like the tiny boat was traversing through stormy seas, yet it was unable to advance even an inch forward. Countless corpses jammed the oars as they climbed up, pulling the boat into the water.

    ¡°Oh no! The boat is going to sink!¡± Jin Bao called out frantically. At this moment, a moist yet shrivelled hand suddenly grabbed his hand through the gas!

    ¡°Argh!¡± Jin Bao screamed as he staggered back and ran into someone. Although he managed to knock the hand away with a spurt of true qi, he was still shaken up.

    Jin Yuan heard his brother¡¯s scream in the gas and also called out, ¡°Jin Bao, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I- I-¡± Jin Bao heaved. He crouched down with everything that he had. The Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light whistled above his head, yet the fierce gale it kicked up failed to make the poisonous gas disperse. Instead, the gas only grew denser.

    The four others all fell quiet. Zhao Lanqing was dumbfounded, while Hao Pingyang wielded the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light swiftly, attempting to repel all the zombies that climbed aboard.

    Li QIngshan knitted a net of blades with his Wind-entwining blade, cutting all of the shriveled corpses that fell down from above to shreds. He felt helpless over how his companions responded. The water corpses were terrifying, but they were nowhere near as powerful as the zombies in the morgue. Even prepared masters of the jianghu could deal with them.

    The Zombie Daoist had successfully made use of the geography available to him, unleashing his powers to his full ability to overwhelm them psychologically and waste away their true qi. Even though he was not exactly a strategist, he was a tactician. It was possible to imagine just how deadly it would be if the Submerged Shadow sword was present as well, launching sneak attacks from within the thick gas.

    Li Qingshan reached towards his talisman pouch, but he smiled again and pulled his hand back. He said to Zhang Lanqing, ¡°Prepare to set off!¡±

    Zhang Lanqing answered with a question, ¡°What?¡±

    Xiao An seemed no different from before, but she moved with the agility of a monkey. She grabbed the Thousand Mechanism crossbow from Jin Bao¡¯s hand, and with two clicks, she reloaded them. She spread her hands, and the crossbows sprayed out with bolts. She began to turn around on the spot. The Fire Crow bolts sprayed out violently in a circular fashion, brushing past everyone and landing on the water corpses climbing up the boat with great accuracy.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! There were a string of explosions that occurred so closely to one another that it seemed like a single explosion. The waves of air and water it kicked up blasted the boat from the surface of the water.

    Zhang Lanqing cried out as he channeled all of his true qi into the boat. A stream of air spurted out from the back, and it began to fly, rushing out of the poisonous gas. It left behind a layer of remains and countless hands that suddenly extended from the water.

    As his vision cleared up, He Yishi could not help but celebrate. Looking at everyone else, he discovered that they were the same as him. Only Li Qingshan and Hao Pingyang remained calm.

    The howl rose up once more as the huge, floating mass of corpses slammed towards the boat as they sprayed with poisonous gas.

    Unknowingly, Xiao An had already arrived at the nose of the boat. Her clothes ruffled violently as the fierce wind blew her seaweed-like hair behind her, brushing against Zhang Lanqing¡¯s face. His eyes widened. All he felt was that this quiet child seemed to be shining with blinding light.

    Her expression remained the same as before. She held the two crossbows with her pure, small hands, standing firmly among the unrest. The floating corpses exploded in the air. None of them managed to get closer than ten steps from the boat.

    Bang! The boat landed in the water once again and kicked up countless waves. It shot forward at full speed, throwing behind the dangerous region of water. A series of cheers rang out from the boat. Hao Pingyang could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on Xiao An¡¯s shoulder and smiled in approval. Even he would not have been able to do all of that so flawlessly even if he managed to control his power. At the end of day, someone from his side would still be more reliable. My Xiao An is unlike your people who drag you down!

    The corner of Xiao An¡¯s lips curled up as she smiled back at him. Then she blinked her eyes, which twinkled like stars.

    Li Qingshan nodded slightly, and the Skull Prayer Bead was thrown into the water once again.

    Hao Pingyang murmured, ¡°Can you still call her a child?¡± Even a sixth layer Qi Practitioner like him was unable to do any better than Xiao An. Of course, his position in the team was not like those regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners who could control artifacts either. The explosive power of the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light was enough to kill any sixth layer Qi Practitioner, and it possessed a tremendous range. It was a weapon even more terrifying than regular flying swords, but it was not suited for the prior close combat.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. Those people behind you are the children. Before he could even reply, Hao Pingyang had already begun cursing, raining them with spittle, ¡°You bastards. So much for trying to redeem yourselves. Why don¡¯t you redeem my ass? Even a child is better than you. I think the three of us will instead be safer without you lot.¡±

    They looked at one another and lowered their heads, unable to talk back.

    Xiao An returned the Thousand Mechanism crossbow to Jin Bao and passed the other one to Zhang Lanqing. She felt that this trip was very interesting. It was much more interesting than Jiaping city. At the very least, shooting zombies was more fun than stabbing ants.

    If Hao Pingyang and the others knew that their difficult battle was only just an interesting shooting game to her, they would have been utterly stunned. However, compared to the dangers she had gone through with Li Qingshan, this was indeed like a game; there was no danger at all.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°You can keep it. I have another one as a backup.¡± Zhang Lanqing wanted to rub Xiao An¡¯s head, but she avoided his hand. He did not find it awkward. He rubbed his own head with a smile.

    Jin Bao said reluctantly, ¡°I¡¯ll give mine to you too.¡± He was indebted to Li Qingshan and Xiao An for helping him out twice, yet he was unable to return the favour, and this feeling was further compounded by how generous Zhang Lanqing was. He was unable to swallow his pride over this given his young age. Moreover, the crossbow was completely different when it was in this child¡¯s hands compared to his. If Xiao An wielded it, he instead felt even safer than wielding it himself. His life seemed to be in better hands.

    Afterwards, the two of them even gave her ten magazines of Fire Crow bolts each in an extremely generous manner. This was a cost they had to pay if they wanted to complete this mission. Compared to wasting it in their own hands, they would be better off giving them to this child.

    Li Qingshan thanked them in Xiao An¡¯s place. These two crossbows were true lethal weapons. In the hands of a regular third or fourth layer Qi Practitioner, they were enough to threaten Qi Practitioners two or three layers higher, and it would not cost them much true qi at all. This was not something regular low grade spiritual artifacts could achieve. These crossbows would be worth several hundred Qi Gathering pills at the very least.

    Xiao An lowered her head and played around with the Thousand Mechanism crossbows. Their design was extremely delicate. Who knows how many components went into making them. They were made out of wood, but they weighed heavily like metal.

    Despite all that, Li Qingshan had actually still underestimated the value of these two crossbows. These disciples of mohism did not even bring a single talisman with them. All they brought were a few puppets, a crossbow, and as many Fire Crow arrows as possible. That was how much confidence they placed in this weapon.

    If this item was sold on the free market, it could easily fetch over a thousand Qi Gathering pills. It was expensive due to the input from the disciples of mohism. However, as their creators, the materials did not cost so much, which was why they could afford to be so generous.

    As soon as they had left the region of water, the Skull Prayer Bead transformed into a huge skull and spat out flames, cleaning up all the corpses there. Regardless of whether its prey could or could not move, it had a feast before leaving.

    A while later, a series of black figures arrived quickly. They were the Hawkwolf Guard under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s lead. They did not have to use a vessel. Their personal strength was sufficient.

    Like monkeys, they extended their hands and grabbed the stalactites on the ceiling to propel themselves forward, or they kicked off the moist, slippery walls. Once their force was spent, they would easily kick off the air and arrive at the other wall. They kicked off both walls and moved no slower than the boat that went with the flow. Both their reactions and movements were the best of the best.

    The most graceful was Zhuo Zhibo. He did not even have to move his legs. Instead, he simply stood above the surface of the water like he was on ground as he advanced rapidly. At a closer glance, there was a tiny blade below the tips of his feet.

    They stopped scouting now. Xie Nande said, ¡°That¡¯s strange. There were clearly sounds of battle earlier, so why isn¡¯t there a single corpse at all?¡±

    ¡°Who cares. Let¡¯s just catch up to them and slaughter them all. We don¡¯t have to worry about any of them escaping in this cave.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to use them to kill the Zombie Daoist?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll even be able to reach the Zombie Daoist¡¯s den.¡±

    After a while of thought, Zhuo Zhibo suddenly waved his hand and made a gesture to kill. The cave constantly twisted and turned. In a place like this, Hao Pingyang would not be able to unleash the might of his cannon. There was nothing to fear.

 Chapter 175 â€“ Iâ€™ve Caught You

    That was indeed the problem that Li Qingshan¡¯s group was currently facing. With the boat docked in the water, the cave ahead of them was no longer a single, straight path. Instead, it split up into three. Every single path seemed roughly the same, pitch-black and leading to who knows where. Splitting up was obviously impossible. Who knows how many more forks there would be deeper in. It would definitely exceed the number of people that they had.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Li Qingshan gained an even deeper understanding of why the Hawkwolf Guard had not killed off the Zombie Daoist yet. He even doubted whether he could achieve it himself. The most difficult part would not be the battle, but the search.

    Hao Pingyang smiled complacently. ¡°Why would I come down here without preparations? I knew I couldn¡¯t depend on you lot, so I prepared for the worst-case scenario.¡± As he said that, he fished out a wooden spherical object that seemed like a rugby ball. Afterwards, he twisted the top, and with a series of clicks, several tiny, hexagonal holes appeared on the object. It seemed like a bee¡¯s nest.

    With a buzz, a swarm of tiny insects emerged from the nest. They were not bees, but tiny bugs that flickered with light like fireflies.

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes lit up again. She extended her hand and caught one. She discovered that they were not actual insects, but extremely delicate mechanical bugs. Their abdomens were embedded with some unknown, green crystal. Every single one of them was an exquisite piece of art.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Just watch and you¡¯ll know.¡± Under his control, the swarm of insects split into three groups and flew down the three caves.

    Hao Pingyang twisted the top of the nest again, and a green light shot out, forming a sphere in the air.

    There was a large speck of light and countless smaller specks in the ball. The small specks of light divided into three groups and formed three twisted paths from the large speck of light. At a closer glance, those were three caves that differed in shape and size. It actually formed a three-dimensional map in the sphere of light.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood its purpose. He praised the wonders of mohism once again. Afterwards, he saw the specks of light separate and leave behind even more paths, sculpting out a detailed map.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°I found it in the warehouse. It¡¯s a puppet for searching and building maps. Everyone rest up and catch your breaths. Once I find the Zombie Daoist¡¯s den, we can set off.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother sure is prepared!¡± Jin Bao praised. They all sat down and consumed pills to regather their strength.

    Hao Pingyang focused on controlling the puppet insects. Before long, one of them discovered a cave with signs of human excavation. Soon afterwards, the insect was destroyed by something, and the connection was lost.

    Li Qingshan pointed at the sphere of light. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s there!¡±

    Zhang Lanqing and everyone else was overjoyed. The target was right before them now.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Once I recall all of the insects, we¡¯ll set off!¡± When the last mechanical bug returned to the nest-like object, Hao Pingyang stood up and gave the order to set off. However, he suddenly frowned and looked at the cave behind him.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It looks like I¡¯ll only be able to accompany you till here!¡± At the end of the day, he still needed to deal with his own matters in person. Zhuo Zhibo had already survived two clashes against him, but he could not allow that to happen again. It was time to put an end to it.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°What!¡± Afterwards, he sensed a powerful aura from the cave and a sharp killing intent, which made his heart jump. He Yishi and the two brothers could feel the determination behind the killing intent, so their faces changed. They could not help but look at Li Qingshan.

    They spent most of their time learning how to build things in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, but they were not naive. They understood what collateral damage was. If the Black Hawk commander was truly determined to kill Li Qingshan, he probably would not care about them. He would try to silence them with death instead.

    Hao Pingyang said immediately, ¡°We¡¯ll set off right now! Lanqing, steer the boat!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°No, the boat is not fast enough to shake them off. This has nothing to do with you in the first place, so you should go first. I¡¯ll catch up and regroup very soon once I shake them off.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan is right. It¡¯ll be more difficult for them to find him if he¡¯s alone. The cave is as complicated as a maze, so they might not necessarily be able to find him. If we flee together, we¡¯ll be caught in a pincer attack from in front and behind. Senior brother, you should make up your mind!¡± He Yishi could not help but say. He did not want to fall out with a Black Hawk commander over a single kid he had met recently. There was no benefit at all, and it would bring him life-threatening danger instead.

    The Zombie Daoist had lost his Submerged Shadow sword, and his traps were destroyed as well. He was as weak as he could get. Even without Li Qingshan, they were confident that they could take him down. His thoughts even became darker. He even began to think about how there was no need to give up that thirty percent share if Li Qingshan was no longer with them.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Let¡¯s fight them!¡± However, aside from Zhang Lanqing, who stood up nervously, no one else said anything more.

    The aura drew closer and closer. Jin Bao said, ¡°Qingshan, you can leave Xiao An with us. We¡¯ll take good care of her.¡± Xiao An possessed two Thousand Mechanism crossbows, so she was extremely powerful, and she would not be receiving a share. Of course, they would never admit that was what they were thinking.

    ¡°How can you do that? Didn¡¯t we say that we¡¯re all in the same boat? If it weren¡¯t for Qingshan, we would¡¯ve all died in the morgue already,¡± Zhang Lanqing could not help but say. Li Qingshan was his saviour. How could he turn his back on his saviour?

    He Yishi grumbled, ¡°He did not save my life previously.¡± He was a noble disciple of mohism. A great future awaited him, so why would he risk his life over something like this?

    ¡°You!¡± Zhang Lanqing was left speechless as he pointed at He Yishi. No matter how he looked at it, He Yishi and the others would all be dead once those Hawkwolf guards killed Li Qingshan.

    Jin Yuan lowered his head and grumbled slightly ,¡±Senior brother Zhang, you¡¯re a fifth layer Qi Practitioner! We¡¯re not as powerful as you, so if we stay behind, we¡¯ll just make things more troublesome instead.¡± You¡¯re strong, so of course you¡¯re confident. We¡¯re weak, so we¡¯ll be killed very easily.

    ¡°You three idiots!¡± Hao Pingyang was extremely disappointed in his three junior brothers. Not only was this traitorous behaviour, it was foolish as well. Once the Hawkwolf guards killed Li Qingshan, wouldn¡¯t they come to silence them as well? They were as foolish as they could get for not trying to pool their strength together, instead seeking temporary safety.

    He raised his hand up high. This was no longer messing around with his junior brothers, but a heavy hand bearing his exasperation and disappointment in them. He wanted to smack them to their senses, but the hand was caught by Li Qingshan.

    The hearts of people were not exactly dark, but they were not exactly bright either. A calculating aspect of personal interests would always exist in the mind of every single person, but everyone¡¯s choices would be different. In the face of true, life-threatening danger, just who could stick it out with you?

    Li Qingshan wanted to scorn them with laughter, but he continued to smile. ¡°They¡¯re right. You won¡¯t be able to help me much. You¡¯ve witnessed my abilities as a Body Practitioner as well. It¡¯ll be easier if I flee by myself. However, Xiao An will be staying with me.¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan leapt off from the back of the boat with Xiao An gently before Hao Pingyang could try to persuade him any further. He said, ¡°Take care! I¡¯ll see you later!¡± With that, he vanished into the dark cavern.

    Zhang Lanqing was still stunned. He Yishi rushed over and took over control of the boat, steering it towards another cave that led to the Zombie Daoist¡¯s den. They parted there.

    Actually, Li Qingshan did not have particularly high hopes for them. Although he had never seen the Zombie Daoist, he could tell just how cautious and crafty their opponent would be from the two times they had clashed. If the Zombie Daoist was not completely confident in achieving victory, he would definitely vanish into the caves that were as complicated as a spider¡¯s nest. If he chose to remain, that would be rather terrifying.

    Only people who hid their strength like Li Qingshan could ignore this danger. However, the disciples of mohism had already demonstrated how strong they were on the way here.

    Of course, he would not take pleasure in their misfortune, hoping that they would all die. He was not so narrow-minded. Moreover, Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing had shown him plenty of gratitude and loyalty. He truly hoped they would be safe.

    However, he was neither a babysitter, nor was he a saint. As long as he maintained a clear conscience and did whatever he could, he would leave the rest to fate. He would leave it up for them to choose!

    Zhuo Zhibo sensed the two auras in the two caves as he arrived with his Black Wolf guards. Li Qingshan was not trying to hide himself.

    Ge Jian asked, ¡°Commander, which path do we take first?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Let¡¯s kill Li Qingshan first. We can deal with the disciples of mohism slowly.¡± This was his main objective in the first place.

    As the aura drew closer, Li Qingshan smiled. He used the ability to control water from the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core to walk on the surface of the water, charging forwards. The walls around him rapidly receded, sometimes sinking and sometimes turning, like it went on forever. He constantly encountered new forks and chose between them without any hesitation at all.

    Suddenly, the gurgling of water rang out from ahead. Li Qingshan felt like he had returned to the days he spent cultivating under the waterfall in the mountains, listening to this sound every day. The sound grew louder and louder until it became deafening. The area in front of him opened up as the rushing, underground water suddenly plummeted, forming an underground waterfall.

    Li Qingshan leapt several dozen meters into the air and landed on an island in the water. He looked at his surroundings and the entire area was empty. It was a huge cavern, around half the size of a soccer pitch. It was enough for him to daemonify and move about freely.

    This was not a coincidence. Instead, it was the battlefield he had chosen when the mechanical bugs had searched through the cave. Perhaps, it would be more apt for him to call this place the burial ground for these Hawkwolf guards. Looking at it in person, it seemed even more perfect than how it seemed on the map from the mechanical bugs. He breathed in deeply and shot a glance at Xiao An. Xiao An immediately submerged herself in the water.

    Without waiting for too long, killing intent rushed into the cavern. Li Qingshan raised his head and saw Zhuo Zhibo and his Black Wolf guards fly down from the waterfall, landing in front of him. They scattered quickly and surrounded him.

    Zhuo Zhibo said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve finally caught you!¡±

 Chapter 176 â€“ Killing Zhuo Zhibo One

    The waterfall gurgled endlessly in the gloomy depths. The underground river plunged off the edge, falling into an underground lake in the large cavern. A tiny island protruded from the lake.

    Zhuo Zhibo and the seven Black Wolf guards surrounded Li Qingshan. Every single one of them sneered. Ge Jian said, ¡°Kid, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve lost your mind from fear!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t waste any words on him. Just kill him!¡± said a Black Wolf guard impatiently.

    Xie Nande added, ¡°Yeah, commander. We still need to chase down those disciples of mohism.¡±

    ¡°I have my plans!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo seemed to enjoy the current feeling very much. He raised his hand to silence the Black Wolf guards and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Do you regret becoming enemies with me now? If you knew how to conduct yourself and showed a little respect when you first arrived in Jiaping, I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to kill you so much. If you kneel and beg me right now, I might spare you.¡± The feeling of absolute power over the weak would always bring him great pleasure.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head to look at the embroidery on his Black Wolf uniform. ¡°The uniform depicts a wolf, not a dog!¡± Seeing how he pissed off the seven Black Wolf guards, he raised his head. ¡°Don¡¯t get mad. There¡¯s nothing wrong with being the powerful¡¯s dog, but I just happen to dislike that.¡±

    Cold light flashed through Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s eyes. With a wave of his hand, a small, shining blade appeared in his grasps. ¡°Before I kill you, there are some things I want to ask you about. If you answer them honestly, I¡¯ll give you a quicker death¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter what you say, I¡¯ll give you all a quick death.¡± Li Qingshan interrupted him with a sneer as the canines in his mouth seemed longer than usual.

    Suddenly, Zhuo Zhibo felt a terrifyingly powerful daemon qi erupt from Li Qingshan¡¯s body, kicking up a violent gust of wind in the cavern. The Black Wolf guards all raised their hands in fright as they stared at Li Qingshan in disbelief.

    Li Qingshan pulled off the Black Wolf uniform on him, revealing his sturdy chest. His bronze skin gradually darkened, gaining the lustre of steel. Two specks of light lit up in his eyes as his black hair turned scarlet, draping down. He rapidly grew taller¡ªthree feet, five feet, seven feet¡­ However, he was unable to reach the ceiling. His aura rapidly rose as well, until it reached the very peak.

    Li Qingshan looked down and muttered to himself, ¡°I seem to have grown taller again!¡± The pills he had eaten in the past few days had not gone to waste. He was around twenty-seven feet now, close to thirty feet. Just by standing there, he was taller than a double-storeyed building. His body that seemed to be forged from black iron seemed immovable like a mountain.

    Suddenly, he recalled that the major pillar of the Ruyi commandery possessed the bloodline of daemons as well. However, as her bloodline was just too sacred within Great Xia, even more noble than many members of royalty, many people would often forget about that. Was this a scheme of hers?

    From a certain perspective, he was not wrong. However, this was not a scheme. It was just a misunderstanding. All of this resulted from a moment of interest and a sigh from her. If Gu Yanying was truly trying to set up some kind of scheme, even the current Li Qingshan would have no right to partake in it.

    ¡°Commander, what do we do!?¡± Ge Jian cried out frantically. He could clearly feel that Li Qingshan only needed to reach over, and he would be crushed. When he realised he had been constantly provoking such a terrifying thing in the past, he became shaken up.

    ¡°I understand now. You killed Zhao Liangqing and Qian Yannian like this,¡± said Zhuo Zhibo. He had already calmed himself down. Li Qingshan was not the Daemon General that he originally believed him to be. Although he could assume a human form, he only possessed the strength of the sixth or seventh layer. He was not undefeatable.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly understood why those villains in those stories would always ramble a little, like Zhuo Zhibo had done earlier. This was because the feeling of being in complete control was delightful. He could understand it now.

    However, with all the examples he had seen in the past, he had to hold back his emotions. He said with his deep, metallic voice, ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± He seemed to lift his left foot carelessly, or should you say his left hoof, before stamping down violently.

    Innate ability, the Ox Demon Tramples!

    ¡°Jump!¡± Zhuo Zhibo noticed that something was off first and leapt into the air. Most of the other Black Wolf guards had been experienced members of the jianghu as well in the past, so their reactions were not slow either. With a spurt of true qi from the balls of their feet, they rushed into the air like rockets.

    Only a third layer Qi Practitioner reacted a little slow. Just when he wanted to jump, the shockwave reached his foot and spread through his body. All of his bones shattered in a single instant, and even his skin cracked open. He exploded with a bang.

    Zhuo Zhibo and the Black Wolf guards with him gazed down in fright. They did not look at the dead Black Wolf guard, but at the entire island. With a rumble, the tiny island shattered, becoming riddled with cracks and reduced to pieces. At the centre of it all was Li Qingshan¡¯s left foot.

    The lake water churned violently, swallowing the pieces of rock and soil. The island in the centre of the land had shattered and sunk from Li Qingshan¡¯s stomp, forming several hundred vortices of various sizes. Li Qingshan stood above the shockwave, standing among the whirlpools as he gazed up with his fiery eyes.

    Zhuo Zhibo tightened his grasp around his tiny blade. What terrifying power was that? That was not something a regular daemon possessed!

    If Li Qingshan were no different from a regular daemon, what would be the point of practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength? With his recent cultivation, he was close to breaking through to the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. He felt that his strength had grown significantly once again. Although it would become more difficult with progress, requiring even more resources than before, the power it would bring would be even greater as well.

    Xiao An hid within the water as her lips curled into a smile. She was in no hurry to interfere, as she could feel that Li Qingshan was in high spirits. He wanted to vent.

    Li Qingshan said with some pity, ¡°This move seems rather difficult to use, so let¡¯s try this instead!¡± He took in a deep breath and roared at the ceiling.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar!

    The sound wave shook the surroundings as the wind swept out like blades and swords. It was countless times more powerful than the wind blades from the Wind-entwining blade.

    Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Oh no!¡±

    The sound wave arrived before the gust of wind. The two Black Wolf guards who were struck first clutched their heads in pain as their true qi had basically been scattered away completely. Just when they were about to fall from the air, the following gust of wind reduced them to a bloody powder, blowing it everywhere.

    The roar resounded through the cavern, echoing about for quite a while. The other Black Wolf guards barely managed to recover from the tremor of the sound wave. Their hearts completely sank with this sight.

    The enemy before them could not be compared to anyone they had ever fought before. If just a single strike landed, even if it were a careless one, they would be crushed to pieces. They would be dead. Fleeing after they were injured was no longer possible.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s not a bad move!¡± He should have said that it was not a bad following move. Having been forced into the air by the Ox Demon Tramples, even Qi Practitioners would struggle to maneuver themselves. They could not avoid the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar.

    Li Qingshan basically massacred Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s subordinates like he was experimenting with them right in front of the latter, which both startled and angered Zhuo Zhibo. He even developed a sliver of fear. He had never thought that the prey that would definitely fall to him this time would actually manage to reverse their identities, turning himself into the predator instead. It descended into a one-sided slaughter for Li Qingshan.

    This kid is even more dangerous than the Zombie Daoist. If I don¡¯t find a way to turn the situation around, even I will be in danger today.

    Zhuo Zhibo chanted rapidly and parted his hands, producing a ball of fire. The fire surged into a scorching fire dragon, illuminating the entire cavern. It let out a great roar before charging towards Li Qingshan, swinging its claws and baring its fangs. He had channelled his full strength into this attack. It was no longer the same as the time at the Hawkwolf Guard. Even if he could not heavily injure Li Qingshan, he wanted to turn the situation around and gain the upper hand.

    Li Qingshan completely ignored the incoming, scorching flames. He extended his sharp claws and grabbed the dragon by its neck.

    The dragon¡¯s roar halted!

    However, Zhuo Zhibo was delighted. He practised the Bing Fire Method of Burning Qi out of the methods of the five elements. He could ignite his true qi, turning it into scorching flames and amplifying all techniques that involved fire. It was a form of true qi that was extremely suited for battle, only paling in comparison to the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi in terms of killing power. It even surpassed it in terms of large scale destruction.

    The heat from the flames were even enough to melt steel in a single instant. Since he was bold enough to use his bare hands against it, he better leave a hand behind then! However, his smile immediately stiffened.

    Under Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s control, the fire dragon struggled desperately in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Its flames burned more and more violently, almost to a point where they were golden. However, it remained firmly trapped in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    There was a flash of red light through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He crushed down with his great strength; the fire dragon shattered into countless sparks, drifting through the air. ¡°The same move is useless against me.¡± There were not even signs of charring on his hand.

    The five elements reinforced and neutralised one another. His daemon qi had always been of the water element, so it was perfect for neutralising fire. The daemon qi on daemons completely surpassed the true qi on humans of the same level, so extinguishing Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s flames posed no difficulty at all.

    The four remaining Black Wolf guards used this opportunity to launch their strongest attacks. They knew that this was a matter of life or death, so they used everything that they had. Low grade or even mid grade talismans turned into fire, wind blades, and lightning as they darted towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡± A faint, blue screen of light encapsulated him. Not a single attack could pass through the shield and reach him.

    The Black Wolf guards all sank into despair. How were they supposed to defeat an opponent they could not even touch?

    Zhuo Zhibo was filled with regret. It was not like the grievances between him and Li Qingshan had reached the point of no return. If he had known earlier, he would have never antagonised this fellow over the slightest prejudice.

    Ge Jian called out, ¡°Let¡¯s retreat, commander!¡±

    ¡°This turtle shell is pretty good. I just wonder if it can block the attacks of mid grade spiritual artifacts,¡± Li Qingshan mumbled to himself. He raised his head and looked at Zhuo Zhibo, waiting for him to continue. However, Zhuo Zhibo gave a decisive order, ¡°Retreat!¡±

 Chapter 177 â€“ Killing Zhuo Zhibo Two

    Zhuo Zhibo did not even try to use his flying blade. The range of his artifact was thirty steps. This was quite a distance to regular people, but with Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying physique, he only needed to take a step and extend his hand. With just that, he would be able to reach Zhuo Zhibo easily.

    Zhuo Zhibo was not crazy enough to engage in close combat against such an opponent. He would probably die in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands before his flying blade had even managed to pierce Li Qingshan¡¯s barrier. He could not afford to die here. As long as he could return and expose Li Qingshan¡¯s true form, powerful masters of the Hawkwolf Guard would come to deal with him themselves. How could the Hawkwolf Guard accept daemons into their ranks?!

    Ge Jian looked back as he fled for his life. He discovered in fright that Li Qingshan had vanished from his previous location. His colossal body moved with unbelievable speed, appearing in front of him in a single moment. Before he could even react, all he felt was his body tighten and ache; then he lost all consciousness.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Ge Jian and casually tossed him towards another Black Wolf guard.

    The Black Wolf guard heard the whistling wind from the projectile. When he turned back to look, all he saw was Ge Jian bleeding from all of his orifices, only inches away.

    With a bang, the two of them collided against a wall and were reduced to a pile of flesh of blood. They slid down from the wall slowly, stuck together forever.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth, and the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core shot out, piercing the other fourth layer Qi Practitioner and reducing him to a corpse.

    In the blink of an eye, only Zhuo Zhibo and Xie Nande remained. The unstoppable group of Hawkwolf guards had basically been annihilated. All of this took quite some time to explain, but there actually was not the slightest pause as the massacre unfolded.

    Zhuo Zhibo fled the fastest. He had already arrived at the cave above the waterfall. Xie Nande also strode over the water and reached halfway up the waterfall, but he suddenly saw the daemon core turn around in the air and fly towards him. He cried out, ¡°Save me, commander!¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo would have never stopped for him. Xie Nande let out a crazy howl and used everything that he had. The true qi he had cultivated over all these years surged out like the tide, swinging towards the incoming daemon core.

    However, any form of resistance was pointless before absolute strength. The daemon core only paused slightly before suddenly speeding up and piercing Xie Nande¡¯s head, leaving behind a tiny hole.

    Whether they were at the fifth layer or the fourth layer, they seemed just as easy to kill as ordinary people to Li Qingshan now.

    Suddenly, he felt great danger. He forcefully twisted his body in the air, and a white prayer bead emerged from the waterfall and brushed past him. It scraped his chest with lightning speed, taking away a chunk of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Zhuo Zhibo saw the child who often followed Li Qingshan around blocking the entrance to the cave. She had no expression as she stood among the silent flames. Although she did not give off any aura, the sense of danger she emitted was no less than Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    And, she could control artifacts. This child was actually at the sixth layer or even higher than that, but how could she be so young? Zhuo Zhibo was unable to understand it.

    Li Qingshan recalled his daemon core and saw how he was beginning to fall. With a thought, he used his daemon qi, and a pillar of water rose up from the centre of the lake, lifting him up towards Zhuo Zhibo.

    There was a vicious beast in front and behind him, and they were each more terrifying than the next.

    The suffocating killing intent basically made Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s heart stop. At that moment, he was filled with regret. He never had any irreconocible disagreements with Li Qingshan. If he had just ignored Li Qingshan from the beginning, he would still be the authoritative Black Hawk commander of Jiaping city. He would have both women and power. He never would have been reduced to such a state.

    However, it was already too late for regret. In the face of life-threatening danger, Zhuo Zhibo no longer cared. He launched his flying blade at Xiao An. If she moved out of the way to dodge, then all would be well. If she did not, then he would drag her down with him even if it would cost him his life.

    As expected, Xiao An remained exactly where she was. She formed a seal with her hands, and the Skull Prayer Bead flew towards Zhuo Zhibo as well.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Xiao An!¡± He was helpless as he watched the flying blade pierce Xiao An¡¯s chest.

    At the same time, the Skull Prayer Bead landed on Zhuo Zhibo, but it was blocked by his protective true qi, so it failed to penetrate him. However, it managed to send him flying, falling down from the waterfall.

    Li Qingshan extended his huge tiger claws towards Zhuo Zhibo with a gust of wind. Zhuo Zhibo had lost his balance, and his true qi was shaken up, so it was impossible for him to dodge. Li Qingshan immediately used his full power, his unstoppable physical strength and his tremendous daemon qi, to shatter the true qi around Zhuo Zhibo, before crushing down. There was the cracking of shattered bones and blood sprayed from Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s mouth violently. Most of his body had been squashed. He could no longer employ any more tricks.

    Li Qingshan rushed over to Xiao An¡¯s side. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo knew that the only thing awaiting him was death now that he had fallen into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. He laughed crazily as he spurted with blood. ¡°She has been struck by my Spiritual Flame blade. She¡¯s dead.¡±

    Xiao An shook her head to express that she was fine.

    Li Qingshan was still worried about her, so he picked her up like a doll, cradling her in his hand. He saw that her beautiful skin was completely fine. There was just a small hole in her clothes.

    ¡°H- how¡¯s that possible!?¡± Zhuo Zhibo widened his eyes, refusing to accept this. Even Qi Practitioners would be dead for sure if vital points like their heads or hearts were pierced.

    Xiao An¡¯s flesh and blood, including her vital points and her heart, had all been refined by herself. It was only a representation of a body. Her true form was just a skeleton. Even if her body, her flesh, was destroyed, she would still be alive and kicking.

    Something like a heart could be repaired if it were pierced. It would not take her much effort at all. That was why Xiao An had not dodged, ¡®throwing her life away¡¯ in the clash against Zhuo Zhibo.

    Zhuo Zhibo suffered from his lack of information. If he had not been so determined, he might have been able to maneuver himself between Li Qingshan¡¯s fingers for a while.

    Li Qingshan lifted Zhuo Zhibo before him. ¡°You¡¯re much weaker than I imagined you¡¯d be.¡±

    Zhuo Zhibo said, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I can give you a lot of benefits¡­¡± At the same time, he concentrated on the Spiritual Flame blade. He wanted to find an opportunity to deal a fatal strike against Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You¡¯d better keep all of that to yourself!¡± Li Qingshan completely ignored Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s nonsense, directly crushing him to death. The best way to resist being tempted by the enemy was obviously to shut them up for good.

    The Spiritual Flame blade fell into the water quietly.

    Zhuo Zhibo had seen Li Qingshan¡¯s true form. Li Qingshan would never allow him to exist for any longer in this world. And, the only benefits he needed right now were pills, large quantities of pills. As long as his cultivation strengthened, there would be plenty of benefits. The Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring was still on his finger. Even all of Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s wealth probably would not be worth as much as a single item in there.

    Li Qingshan found a hundred treasures pouch within the bloody mess. He signalled. ¡°Xiao An, time to clean up!¡±

    Flames immediately surged over, taking away Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s corpse without even leaving behind a single droplet of blood. Afterwards, it scattered and swallowed the corpses of the other Black Wolf guards, turning them all into the purest form of energy.

    Whether it be the bones or the flesh and blood of Qi Practitioners, they completely surpassed what ordinary people could provide in terms of quality. It was equivalent to a rare delicacy. The colour of the Skull Prayer Bead became purer once more.

    Afterwards, the flames returned with seven hundred treasures pouches and seven low grade spiritual artifacts. Li Qingshan picked up the Spiritual Flame blade that had fallen into the water. This was a true mid grade spiritual artifact. It would definitely be priceless, but before he could even inspect it properly, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. ¡°Someone is coming!¡±

    Xiao An nodded, expressing that she had sensed it too. This person had concealed his aura as much as possible, but slivers of it had still leaked out, unable to fool their senses. The person was actually a sixth layer Qi Practitioner as well.

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An. ¡°Let¡¯s hide and see who it is.¡± He began to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. The daemon core returned to his dantian, and he returned to human form, hiding all of his aura. He sank into the depths of the murky lake water with Xiao An.

    Before long, a figure arrived at the cave opening, scanning through the cavern silently and secretively. The darkness underground drastically affected his vision, preventing him from seeing what was in the water.

    However, Li Qingshan managed to see him clearly. He also wore a black uniform from the Hawkwolf Guard, but his embroidery differed from regular Hawkwolf guards. Li Qingshan immediately understood that he was the Black Wolf commander who had never shown himself before. He wondered why he had come as well.

    This person was Lao Xishan. He had come here in pursuit of Zhuo Zhibo, wanting to seek an opportunity to avenge himself. However, as soon as he encountered the first fork, he had almost lost track of Zhuo Zhibo. He had only chosen one of the paths because of the number of people he could sense. He had only just broken through to the sixth layer, so he struggled to control his true qi a little, which was also why Li Qingshan had managed to discover him so easily.

    Lao Xishan widened his eyes and inspected the cavern with great caution. The daemon qi he had sensed earlier was no joke. If he really did run into a powerful daemon, it would be extremely dangerous. The auras of the Qi Practitioners had vanished one by one earlier, so they must have been doomed. He was reluctant to follow in their steps.

    However, after sensing for quite some time, he failed to discover anything in the end. The daemon qi seemed to have vanished into thin air. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression was so effective at hiding auras that even a ninth layer Qi Practitioner like the West Gate Granny failed to discover Li Qingshan, let alone a sixth layer Qi Practitioner who had only broken through recently like him.

    Don¡¯t tell me that Zhuo Zhibo is dead? That was what Lao Xishan thought. His emotions were very mixed. He felt both joy and pity. He had bided his time and steeled his resolve to become stronger. After all these years, he was about to settle his grievances with his old enemy, but his enemy had died in the hands of some daemon. However, at the end of the day, his feelings were still more on the positive side. He made up his mind to take no risks and returned quietly along his original path.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An emerged from the water and sat down by the water to rest. They wanted to see what they had obtained!

    But suddenly, Li Qingshan wondered about how Hao Pingyang and the others were doing. Had they found the dwelling of the Zombie Daoist yet? Hopefully they were fine!

    Blood flowed unceasingly from Jin Bao¡¯s body. His eyes were wide open with regret while his face was frozen with the fear of death. However, it was unable to stop the arrival of death. Someone had ripped him open viciously from his chest to his abdomen, disemboweling him. It was a horrific death.

 Chapter 178 â€“ Iron Plate Corpse

    The boat travelled with the flow. For a moment, the boat was quiet. The atmosphere was rather cold.

    Hao Pingyang¡¯s face was completely sunken as he sat at the very front, gazing at the depths of the cave as splashes of water landed on him. Zhang Lanqing frowned, focusing on steering the boat with his head lowered.

    Jin Yuan and Jin Bao both felt rather awkward and ashamed. They said nothing either.

    Suddenly, He Yishi said, ¡°How many years have we known each other? We only met Li Qingshan less than a day ago. Are we supposed to drift apart as seniors and juniors over a single outsider now?¡±

    They had all entered the Academy of the Hundred Thousands when they were young, and they had joined in the same year. Although a difference existed between their strengths due to their varying talents and level of work, it had never affected their relationship. Or in other words, Hao Pingyang did not look down on them due to being stronger. Instead, he took care of them.

    Jin Yuan said, ¡°Yishi is right. Senior brother Hao, please calm down. Qingshan will be fine. Our priority right now is to work together against the Zombie Daoist so that we can complete the mission our master gave us.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Hao Pingyang sighed heavily and nodded slightly. He said, ¡°Prepare yourselves. This time, that kid¡¯s not here to take care of you anymore.¡±

    Jin Bao said confidently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll definitely do well this time!¡±

    These scenes and images flashed through Jin Yuan¡¯s head, but they had already lost their original colour. They were pale white. All that was left was Jin Bao¡¯s dead expression.

    His tears fell endlessly. He took one last glance at his younger brother. He was afraid to stop, so he continued to run around mindlessly in the pitch-black caves like a headless fly. The heavy, beastial breathing from behind drew closer and closer.

    A boulder suddenly appeared before him. The path ahead had ended. Unknowingly, he had actually reached a dead end!

    Why would this happen? If he had stayed behind and received the enemies with Li Qingshan, would he have suffered the same fate? Yeah, it must have been different. Even a Black Hawk commander could not be more terrifying than this monster.

    Bang!

    Jin Yuan abruptly turned around, and he saw a head fly over in the darkness, bouncing a few times on the ground before rolling over to his feet. It was the head of a puppet. He had released it to block the monster, but it had been completely destroyed in a single stroke.

    A tall, wide figure walked over from the darkness in front of him. Its shoes seemed to be made out of metal as they scraped against the ground. Its eyes revealed a bloodthirsty light as four, long canines protruded from its lips. It heaved constantly like a starving beast.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    They only produced sparks when they landed on the black figure. The sharp bolts failed to pierce the monster¡¯s hide, and the string of explosions failed to harm it at all. Instead, that infuriated it, making it let out a roar.

    It was possible to see through the firelight that the monster was adorned in a set of iron plates. It did not wear it like armour. Instead, it was embedded in its body, covering its every inch and muscles. Even half of its face was metal, which made it seem particularly cruel and vicious.

    ¡°D- don¡¯t come over! Senior brother, save me!¡±

    The monster lunged at Jin Yuan with lightning speed. A sharp claw stabbed viciously into Jin Yuan¡¯s chest, lifting him up into the air. It bit down on his neck and gulped down the fresh blood.

    Jin Yuan struggled for his life, constantly beating the monster¡¯s body, but it was useless. His body gradually weakened, drooping down after twitching a few times. His last thought flashed through his head.

    If I didn¡¯t flee, I could have died with senior brother and everyone else at the very least. Senior brothers, I¡¯m sorry!

    The frantic sound of a bell suddenly rang out in the depths of the cave. The monster raised its head and let out a furious, reluctant roar while holding Jin Yuan¡¯s corpse. The monster rushed off in the direction of the bell.

    The monster arrived in a spacious cavern with the two corpses before leaning on Jin Yuan¡¯s corpse again, sucking blood from his neck.

    The stone coffin was now gone from the altar in the cavern, while the thick chains around the coffin now wrapped around Hao Pingyang firmly. Surprisingly, He Yishi and Zhang Lanqing were right beside him. They were tied up as well. They seemed haggard, barely breathing.

    The horrific deaths of the siblings left Hao Pingyang utterly devastated. He roared out, ¡°Jin Yuan! Jin Bao!¡± The chains rattled from his movement; the sight saddened Zhang Lanqing and He Yishi as well.

    ¡°Jejejeje!¡± The Zombie Daoist let out a crazy laugh. ¡°Did you really think that a bunch of trash like you could deal with this daoist? Have you finally witnessed how powerful the Iron Plate corpse is?¡±

    He spent all these years hidden underground, studying the art of refining corpses. Useless rotting corpses and zombies were not the only things he refined. Things like that could only be considered as the very basics in the path of refining corpses. They could be used for dealing with the weak, but against stronger Qi Practitioners who were skilled in battle, they were basically useless. Only when he had refined an Iron Plate corpse could he be considered someone who knew how to refine corpses.

    The Zombie Daoist said, ¡°Do you know just how much effort I spent refining this Iron Plate corpse?¡±

    Hao Pingyang and the other two cursed aloud.

    The Zombie Daoist paid no heed to them and continued, ¡°It took me several years of work. I dug up graves everywhere, and who knows how many people I had killed. I had only managed to find twelve suitable corpses from over a thousand. Afterwards, I forged steel until it was molten and poured it onto these corpses, layer by layer, replacing their flesh and blood. Just this process took me three years and destroyed half of the corpses that I had.¡±

    ¡°Afterwards, I constantly watered them with blood, constantly refining them with my techniques. Only then did the corpses gain some consciousness, turning alive once again. This took another three years. In the end, only a single one succeeded.¡±

    ¡°The owner of this corpse was originally a first-rate master who practised external martial arts. I doused him in molten iron when he was still alive, even using true qi and pills to sustain his life, preventing him from dying so that he could accumulate enough resentment and grievance. Only then did I start refining him, and as expected, only he succeeded. You really can¡¯t afford to show benevolence as a person!¡±

    He Yishi shivered all over. Just how terrifiying of a torture was that, being doused by molten iron? What the Zombie Daoist was implying made his heart grow even colder.

    The Zombie Daoist laughed crazily, ¡°Although it took a decade of hard work, it was worth it! It was worth it!¡± The Iron Plate Corpse was invulnerable, and it could move as swiftly as the wind. Its body was as tough as a spiritual artifact. Even sixth layer Qi Practitioners would be forced to avoid it if they encountered one.

    When Hao Pingyang and his junior brothers barged into the dwelling, the Zombie Daoist, who had been prepared the entire time, released the Iron Plate Corpse. There was only a single possible outcome after that.

    That was equivalent to being encircled by two sixth layer Qi Practitioners, who were further supported by a group of zombies. They became heavily injured very soon. Jin Bao used the opportunity that arose when Hao Pingyang struggled against the Zombie Daoist and when the Iron Plate corpse attacked the others to flee. Jin Yuan immediately followed him, but in the end, they were both caught by the Iron Plate corpse and killed.

    The Zombie Daoist had vented all of his repressed feelings from across the years. He calmed down and said sinisterly, ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m telling you all this? That¡¯s because I¡¯ll turn you all into Iron Plate corpses as well! With the experience from last time, it¡¯ll definitely be very easy this time round.¡± This was the terrifying aspect of refining corpses. If he had enough time, he could create an army alone.

    Hao Pingyang continued to curse vigorously, while blood drained from Zhang Lanqing and He Yishi¡¯s faces. If they were going to be refined into Iron Plate corpses, just the process alone would be enough for them to wish that they were dead.

    He Yishi¡¯s mind gave way. He sobbed and begged, ¡°Please, don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ll give you whatever you want! Once I formally become an engineer, I¡¯ll be able to make a lot of spiritual stones! I can¡¯t die here!¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Don¡¯t beg him! He won¡¯t spare you. As disciples of mohism, even if we have to die, we should die like men. Master will avenge us.¡±

    He Yishi said in resentment, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. If you hadn¡¯t brought us along, none of this would have ever happened! It¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    Hao Pingyang was stunned. He was speechless.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°He Yishi, have you lost your mind?¡±

    He Yishi said, ¡°I haven¡¯t lost my mind at all. You¡¯re the same as him. Just because you¡¯re at the fifth and sixth layers, you scold and beat us however you want. All you have is better talent and a higher cultivation, so what¡¯s so impressive about that?¡±

    Hao Pingyang¡¯s heart turned cold. Despite his higher cultivation, he only took a thirty percent share. If he wanted to, he could have embarked on this mission with much better companions. All he wanted to do was to take care of the juniors he was close with, but he never thought it would all end up like this.

    The Zombie Daoist chucked like he was watching a show.

    He Yishi tried to suck up to the Zombie Daoist. ¡°Sir daoist, enlightened master, this one is willing to slave away for you. I¡¯ll do anything you want, as long as you spare me.¡±

    The Zombie Daoist said, ¡°Alright. If you want to slave away for me, there¡¯ll be plenty of opportunities.¡±

    After pausing slightly, he said, ¡°That is, once you become a zombie. Compared to living people, zombies are much more reliable. Tsktsk, you probably won¡¯t be able to become an Iron Plate corpse with your talent.¡± Then he turned to Hao Pingyang. ¡°You, on the other hand, are pretty good. It¡¯s just a pity that the kid called Li Qingshan didn¡¯t come with you. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have three Iron Plate corpses. No one will be able to oppose me in Jiaping city anymore!¡±

    As soon as He Yishi showed delight, he plunged into despair once again. He was ashen.

    Even as a zombie, he was not as great as Hao Pingyang. That only added insult to injury.

    There was a gentle sound, and a tiny figure quickly flew over.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The Zombie Daoist suddenly turned around and gazed into the pitch-black cave. He forced the restless Iron Plate corpse back under control before waving his right hand as he commanded four zombies to leap forth.

    He had specially refined these four zombies. They were much more powerful than the zombies in the morgue. Although they were not as powerful as the Iron Plate zombie, they were equivalent to Qi Practitioners of the third or fourth layer. However, after they leapt over, he did not hear anything from them again.

    The Zombie Daoist¡¯s expression changed. His connection with the zombies was severed at the same time. ¡°Who is it? Get out here!¡±

    ¡°Brother Hao, you really are bad at making friends!¡± Li Qingshan walked over from the entrance.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    The Zombie Daoist became overjoyed instead of angry. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± He studied Li Qingshan. ¡°You really are a piece of great material. If you¡¯re refined into an Iron Plate corpse, you might even be more powerful than him.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Be careful, that¡¯s an Iron Plate corpse!¡±

    ¡°Too late!¡± Cold light flashed through the Zombie Daoist¡¯s eyes. He rang the bronze bell in his hand, and the Iron Plate corpse lunged towards Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 179 â€“ Zombies Know Martial Arts

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± The Zombie Daoist extended his hand and easily grabbed the Wind-entwining blade that had flown past him. He swung it heavily against the stone altar, and the ruined blade immediately shattered.

    With a swish, the Iron Plate corpse swiped at him with its claws and left behind three gashes on the Black Wolf uniform that could even block crossbow bolts.

    Li Qingshan was forced out of the dwelling in horrible shape. He called out, ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    Twang! A crossbow bolt pierced through the air with a shrill whistle.

    The Zombie Daoist suddenly looked around. All he found was the same child who sat on the roof of the morgue under the moonlight standing there silently, holding a Thousand Mechanism crossbow in each hand.

    She launched sixty Fire Crow bolts, which turned into sixty specks of light. From above, below, left, and right, they sealed off all the places where the Zombie Daoist could dodge.

    ¡°Trying to lure the Iron Plate corpse away?¡± The Zombie Daoist sneered. Since he could not dodge, he would not dodge. He was a sixth layer Qi Practitioner after all. Aside from being able to refine corpses, he possessed powerful true qi as well, so how could he be killed so easily?

    True qi surged out from his sea of qi in his dantian, coating his body. The low grade spiritual artifact robes swept before him, and with the input of true qi, they turned into a steel screen.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Fire Crow bolts landed on the robes and were immediately set off, exploding loudly.

    Although the robes had been reduced to dust, the Zombie Daoist was completely unscathed. He pulled out the same Thousand Mechanism crossbow. ¡°Let me try now!¡± He had just taken this from Zhang Lanqing. He planned on returning the favour.

    Zhang Lanqing had never thought that a weapon he had created would instead become a tool for the enemy.

    Xiao An did not try to take it on forcefully. She retreated behind a stone pillar. There were a few clinks, and a few Fire Crow arrows landed on the rock before exploding loudly. They blew apart the stone pillar, but Xiao An had vanished behind it.

    The Zombie Daoist frowned. Suddenly, he turned the Thousand Mechanism crossbow towards Hao Pingyang. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± The Zombie Daoist fired away.

    Hao Pingyang just happened to be lunging over with his broken chains in an attempt to launch a sneak attack.

    Xiao An had not been trying to defeat the Zombie Daoist using the crossbows. Instead, she had saved Hao Pingyang, aiming a few Fire Crow bolts accurately at the chains. The Zombie Daoist was extremely alert, so he obviously noticed it.

    The Zombie Daoist stood exactly where he was as he faced the enraged Hao Pingyang. He constantly fired away with the Thousand Mechanism crossbow in an extremely controlled manner, pausing slightly after two or three bolts each time. He was not like Jin Bao and Jin Yuan, who fired all the bolts mindlessly.

    The light from the explosions constantly illuminated his face, lighting up his sneer. How was it possible for him to be defeated by an enemy he had just caught?

    Just when Hao Pingyang reached five steps away from the Zombie Daoist, the exploding crossbow bolts blew away the metal chains, creating an opening. In the end, a single crossbow bolt managed to cross through this opening, landing directly on his chest.

    Hao Pingyang used his true qi desperately to block it, but he was still blown away. He slammed against the stone wall several meters away heavily, making all of his efforts go to waste. A Qi Practitioner without spiritual artifacts was like a tiger that had lost its fangs and claws. Moreover, he was a frail tiger right now.

    The Zombie Daoist placed down the Thousand Mechanism crossbow as he looked down on him. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he shielded his waist in a hurry, but it was already too late. A tiny figure rushed past him with unbelievable speed, stealing the bell from his waist.

    The Zombie Daoist was startled, but he was not shaken up. He said coldly, ¡°Do you really think you can control the Iron Plate corpse now that you have the bell?¡± The bell was only a tool for summoning and keeping the Iron Plate corpse under control. What actually controlled the corpse was his own will. Moreover, the bell was only useful if it were used by the master of the corpses.

    Xiao An turned around and rushed out of the cave. All she saw was the Iron Plate corpse rushing about in pursuit of Li Qingshan. Although his speed had been amplified by the Swift Breeze talisman, his Black Wolf uniform was still in tatters. However, his wounds were not severe thanks to the Ox Demon Forges its Hide.

    If it were not for the fact that there was no reasonable way to explain it, he would have transformed and killed the Iron Plate corpse a long time ago. The Iron Plate corpse was fast and strong, but it was dumb. It did not know any moves. It was not his opponent.

    Xiao An jingled the bell, but the Iron Plate corpse continued to pursue Li Qingshan like it had not heard it at all. Just as the Zombie Daoist had said, the Iron Plate corpse could only be controlled by him.

    Xiao An placed down the bell and raised her small hands.

    Li Qingshan dodged a swipe from the Iron Plate corpse by a hair¡¯s breadth. The Iron Plate corpse seemed to hear something, suddenly looking back. All it was saw pale, red flames filling the entire cavern, surging over.

    Its heart that was filled with resentment and bloodthirstiness suddenly developed a familiar sensation of fear.

    The Iron Plate corpse did not have true qi or daemon qi. It relied on its iron plates to block all attacks from techniques or spiritual artifacts. However, it struggled to stop the invasion of fire now. The pale, red flames swallowed the Iron Plate corpse and coiled around it like a snake. All of it surged into its mouth until not a single flicker was left.

    The Iron Plate corpse¡¯s movements suddenly halted. Pale, red flames seemed to appear in the depths of its eyes. The shriveled brain within its skull was burnt to a crisp, transformed into a furnace that began to control the Iron Plate corpse¡¯s body.

    Xiao An waved the bell, and the Iron Plate corpse immediately arrived before her. Of course, what controlled it was not the bell, but Xiao An¡¯s fire. Her fire could control the dead upon embedding itself in their bones.

    The bodies of ordinary people and even Qi Practitioners were not worth controlling, as their flesh and blood would naturally decay. Moreover, unrefined skeletons were limited in strength. It would not be worth her effort.

    However, the Iron Plate corpse was different. After being refined, it would never decay, and its physical might was tremendous, basically seeming like the Iron Plate corpse was prepared for her. This was the absolute power that higher abilities had over lower techniques. Their cultivation was clearly similar, but it could not even threaten her.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Nicely done!¡± With that, he had gained a powerful lackey, drastically strengthening him. Moreover, everything would become more convenient, including killing the Zombie Daoist in a perfectly justifiable fashion.

    Xiao An copied Li Qingshan and shrugged as she smiled slightly.

    Back in the dwelling, Zhang Lanqing and He Yishi, who had just seen a glimmer of hope, plunged into despair once again. They believed that before long, the Iron Plate corpse would return with Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s dead bodies, just like what had happened to Jin Yuan and Jin Bao.

    Hao Pingyang stood up with difficulty as he supported himself against the wall. He glared daggers at the Zombie Daoist, but he was riddled with injuries now. Moreover, most of his true qi had been consumed. He no longer had any spiritual stones to replenish it either, so he posed no threat to the Zombie Daoist at all.

    The Zombie Daoist was teeming with confidence, but whenever he thought of Xiao An, he would always feel rather uneasy. Suddenly, his eyes widened. His connection with the Iron Plate corpse had actually been severed.

    He immediately lost all his composure, rushing out of the cavern without caring at all. This was the fruits of several years of labour. He had placed so much effort into it, so he could not afford to lose it. He had to regain control over the Iron Plate corpse no matter what the price was.

    Before he could even exit the cavern, a tall figure blocked the entrance. It was the Iron Plate corpse.

    The Zombie Daoist used his chants and techniques in a hurry, but all of his commands were like stones cast into the sea. He did not receive any replies at all.

    Xiao An waved the bell, and the Iron Plate corpse lifted its claw and reached towards the Zombie Daoist.

    The Zombie Daoist was filled with disbelief. How was it possible for his control over the Iron Plate corpse he had spent so many years refining to be taken away so easily? If this really were possible, there was no point for any corpse refiners to exist at all.

    However, the cruel reality was presented right before him, regardless of whether he believed it or not. Ten years of hard work had been taken away from him after just a while of satisfaction. This felt like raising a child after so much difficulty, only for them to call someone else father. It was enough for him to cough up blood.

    ¡°Nice!¡± Hao Pingyang called out. Zhang Lanqing and He Yishi were delighted as well. They did not know the art of refining corpses, so they had no idea how strange this all was. They only felt that Li Qingshan was extremely lucky, actually managing to turn the tables in such an unbelievable fashion.

    With his mind perturbed, his actions descended into a mess as well. There was a bloody flash, and four vicious wounds appeared on the Zombie Daoist¡¯s chest. The pain, however, jerked him back to reality. He turned around and fled. As long as he was still alive, all was still possible. He already possessed the experience of refining corpses, so there would always be an opportunity for him to make a return if he escaped.

    The Iron Plate corpse blocked the Zombie Daoist¡¯s path, raising a hand and launching a punch. It crushed the air, causing it to whistle.

    The Zombie Daoist layered his true qi in front of him instinctively to block, but the Iron Plate corpse forcefully blew it apart with its terrifying strength, sending him flying.

    The Zombie Daoist¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the Iron Plate corpse. It¡¯s impossible for my Iron Plate corpse to be so powerful!

    He understood the strength of what he refined the best. The current Iron Plate corpse was far more powerful than when he controlled it.

    This was obviously due to Xiao An¡¯s pale, red flames. Her flames could turn ordinary skeletons into powerful warriors, so it obviously offered quite a boost to the Iron Plate corpse as well.

    And, when the Zombie Daoist controlled the Iron Plate corpse, he could only give it orders, which the Iron Plate corpse would then complete out of its desire for blood. It would only attack instinctively, paying no attention to its moves or how it used its strength.

    However, under the control of Xiao An¡¯s flames, the Iron Plate corpse was basically like her clone. She could control its movements down to the finest detail.

    This was like an ordinary person who had suddenly developed internal martial arts and learned the moves. They would obviously become much stronger.

    Before the Zombie Daoist could even return to his senses, the Iron Plate corpse had strode over in pursuit. Its steps seemed to follow some kind of pace, making it impossible to read the direction of its attacks. It differed drastically from its straightforward method of attack from before.

    The Zombie Daoist took a great step backwards and avoided the range of the Zombie Daoist¡¯s claws. Afterwards, he watched on in disbelief as the Iron Plate corpse jumped up and launched a roundhouse kick across his face viciously.

    The tremor from the attack made the Zombie Daoist¡¯s face ripple and twist. He spat out a few teeth. Why did the Iron Plate corpse know roundhouse kicks!? He had never heard of any Iron Plate corpses using roundhouse kicks against its opponents. They all used their claws and teeth.

    Before the Zombie Daoist had been dropped to the ground, the Iron Plate corpse rushed up and grabbed him by his calf. With a shoulder slam, it knocked him into the ground before picking him up and throwing him against a stone pillar to the side.

    The Iron Plate corpse¡¯s movements made it seem like a master of martial arts. It demonstrated true skill, conquering power with technique and focusing all on speed.

    Li Qingshan even saw many moves that copied his Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. Who knows how many times Xiao An had seen Li Qingshan practise these two fist styles. She unleashed all of it through the Iron Plate corpse now. As a result, the Zombie Daoist could not even put up any resistance.

    Li Qingshan sighed. It was true. If zombies knew martial arts, they were unstoppable.1

 Chapter 180 â€“ The Zombie Daoistâ€™s Death

    Bang! Thump! Bang! Bang!

    The mighty sixth layer Qi Practitioner, the Zombie Daoist, seemed like a sandbag. He was thrown around by the Iron Plate corpse as the world spun around him. The only reason why he did not perish immediately was because of his protective true qi. However, he was unable to break free from the Iron Plate corpse¡¯s grasp. Even if he remained alive, he would just serve as a toy to Xiao An for a little longer.

    At the beginning, Hao Pingyang and the other two still cheered them on, but now, they were completely stunned. A layer of cold sweat covered their backs. As it turned out, the Zombie Daoist had not been using the full power of the Iron Plate corpse. If the Iron Plate corpse had been so vicious right from the beginning, the five of them would not have been its opponent even if they worked together.

    Li Qingshan went up to help up Hao Pingyang. He took out a recovery pill and Qi Gathering pill, feeding it to him. ¡°Are you fine, brother Hao?¡± Then he glanced at Jin Yuan and Jin Bao¡¯s corpses. ¡°I¡¯ve come too late!¡±

    Hao Pingyang thanked him with difficulty. Afterwards, his lips seemed to be glued together. He was unable to say anything more. The threat of death had receded, so pain and exhaustion immediately overwhelmed him. He did not go without fear either.

    ¡°Just rest!¡± Li Qingshan patted his shoulder. He settled down and leaned against the wall, meditating.

    Then, Li Qingshan went to free He Yishi and Zhang Lanqing from the rope. Their situation was basically the same as Hao Pingyang. Zhang Lanqing still managed to force out some words of gratitude, while He Yishi was completely stunned. His eyes were wide open as his mouth hung slightly agape. This was something that was originally worth celebrating over, but he was unable to cheer up at all. He just wanted to burrow into a crack in the wall and hide forever.

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°Just enough will do!¡±

    The Iron Plate corpse grabbed the Zombie Daoist by the head and smashed him into the ground.

    In the beginning, the Zombie Daoist still tried to put up a desperate struggle, letting out some howls and roars, but he did not even have the strength to resist now. Blood oozed from his head. The situation was no longer a battle, but a child¡¯s mean game.

    Xiao An lacked Li Qingshan¡¯s abhorrence towards evil. To her, the Zombie Daoist¡¯s life was no different from the life of those red and black ants. Of course, the Zombie Daoist was a little better. He was both fun and tasty.

    With a jingle, the Iron Plate corpse stopped. Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan, asking him whether he had anything he wanted to ask.

    His voice came to a halt. The long, metal claw on the Iron Plate corpse¡¯s right index finger swept past the Zombie Daoist¡¯s neck and blood sprayed out. However, the Zombie Daoist was still alive. He stared straight at Xiao An. All these years of practising qi had granted him tremendous vitality.

    The Iron Plate corpse bit down on his neck and sucked to its heart¡¯s content, draining his blood dry. The Zombie Daoist¡¯s blood flowed through its body, transforming into new strength, while the Zombie Daoist withered like an empty juice carton.

    Hao Pingyang¡¯s eyes widened. He basically struggled to believe that the crafty, powerful Zombie Daoist who had almost taken their lives here would actually meet his end like this. Although they were enemies, he still believed it would be a little more difficult to kill the Zombie Daoist, that he would not just die in such a hilarious fashion.

    But in reality, the weak were so worthless in the eyes of the powerful that they were like toys. Before an absolute difference in strength, there might not even be time for blood to warm up. There would only be endless despair, such that even death would come in an almost hilariously easy fashion.

    Li Qingshan had experienced this sensation once before, and he had sworn to never experience it a second time. This willpower constantly pushed him forward to becoming stronger.

    As Hao Pingyang and the other two meditated and rested, Li Qingshan looked through the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling. The dwelling had been roughly chiseled out from the natural cave system, forming several rooms.

    The room for the stone coffin was only one of them. There was a bedroom as well, which possessed all the furniture and decoration of a home, not just a stone seat and a stone table. There was even a kitchen that possessed a stove and all the kitchenware as well. As it seemed, even the Zombie Daoist liked to eat cooked food. He sure knew how to live in the gloomy depths of the earth.

    The remaining rooms were all for refining corpses. They were filled with corpses that were either waiting to be refined or had been refined to a certain degree. The several hundred corpses were all left to Xiao An, who reduced them to flames. The Pale Flames of Bone Smelting turned the bones into fluid, which returned to her hand and merged with the other bone fluid before being smelted further by the pale flames.

    Li Qingshan knew that she was forging a second Skull Prayer Bead. She had benefited quite a lot from this mission as well. Just the number of zombies she had devoured reached into the hundreds, while Zhuo Zhibo and the Black Wolf guards were equivalent to several hundred ordinary people as well. She had refined them all, which benefited her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty tremendously.

    With her experience from before and her greater strength, she refined it extremely swiftly this time. In just a single moment, the bone fluid condensed together, forming a round prayer bead. It danced and revolved in the centre of her hand with the other Skull Prayer Bead. She had gained another artifact that she could control and wield.

    The agility and might of the Skull Prayer Beads exceeded regular mid grade spiritual artifacts. Regular Qi Practitioners only controlled a single flying sword or blade. If they had anymore than that, they would become distracted, and their power would decrease. As a result, they just focused on a single one instead, unless the spiritual artifact came in a set. However, spiritual artifacts that did come in a set were extremely rare, and they would not necessarily be as agile when used.

    Every prayer bead was linked to Xiao An¡¯s mind. They were basically her clones, extremely nimble and clever. Only when she assembled the minimum number of prayer beads, fourteen, could she be considered to have forged the Skull Prayer Beads of the lowest tier. However, they would be powerful enough to destroy any and all Qi Practitioners.

    With a higher ability from beyond the Nine Heavens like the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, Xiao An¡¯s rate of growth in terms of strength would increase with her cultivation. She could easily crush cultivators of the same level now. Once she reached higher cultivation levels, she would even be able to suppress or kill opponents above her cultivation.

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s hair. ¡°I really can¡¯t help but feel proud when I see you.¡±

    The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression were all extremely powerful abilities. As Li Qingshan practised them simultaneously, his strength also grew rapidly, but he was still slightly worse compared to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Xiao An pressed her cheek against the back of his hand to comfort him.

    Li Qingshan pinched her smooth, young cheek and smiled. ¡°I need to keep working hard as well. I can¡¯t let you exceed me. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    With the bountiful spoils this time, his strength would definitely leap forward. He wanted to open the sumeru ring sooner, to see what the black ox had left for him, even though he already had some idea about what it was.

    The two of them returned along the same path. Hao Pingyang and the other two had already retrieved their hundred treasures pouch, having recovered using the spiritual stones and pills inside.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to describe my gratitude with words. In the future, if you ever need me, just let me know, brother. No matter how dangerous or difficult it is, I won¡¯t even question it.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re too kind, brother Hao. We had all agreed on this in the first place. It¡¯s just a pity that I couldn¡¯t arrive sooner, or¡­¡±

    Hao Pingyang became gloomy. He sighed heavily. As the leader of this mission, he felt very ashamed over Jin Yuan and Jin Bao¡¯s death. However, if they had not deserted them, they would have lasted until Li Qingshan arrived even if the Zombie Daoist had caught them.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Please restrain your grief, brother Hao. After all, there¡¯s no such thing as being absolutely safe when you come out for missions. You¡¯ve already done everything that you could.¡±

    Hao Pingyang handed a hundred treasures pouch towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This is the Zombie Daoist¡¯s hundred treasures pouch!¡± Ever since he saw what was inside Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, he became extremely eager towards the Zombie Daoist¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. He had also been a sixth layer Qi Practitioner for many years, so it must contain quite an impressive sum!

    ¡°Please split it, brother Hao!¡±

    Hao Pingyang only took out a few books from the hundred treasures pouch before handing it back to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Huh?¡± Surely the Zombie Daoist was not this poor!

    Hao Pingyang explained, ¡°Everything in the hundred treasures pouch should have gone to you, but our mission was to retrieve this method for refining and nurturing corpses so that our masters and senior brothers in the school can study it. That¡¯s why I took the books. If you¡¯d like them, I can make a copy for you once we get out. There¡¯s still quite a lot of things in there. I haven¡¯t looked through it properly.¡± As he said that, he handed the hundred treasures pouch to Li Qingshan again.

    Li Qingshan declined and said, ¡°I have no need for these techniques for refining corpses. As for everything else, I¡¯ll just take thirty percent like what we agreed on.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more. If you don¡¯t take it, that means you¡¯re looking down on me.¡± Li Qingshan was basically responsible for defeating the Zombie Daoist all by himself, such that he was fortunate to still have his life intact. He would never be able to bring himself to take a share from Li Qingshan.

    Zhang Lanqing chimed in as well, ¡°Qingshan, just accept it. You deserve it all.¡±

    He Yishi wanted to say something, but he lowered his head instead. He did not dare to speak. After making such a great fool of himself, he felt utterly embarrassed. Now, Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing basically treated him like he was not there at all. They did not ask for his opinion. He felt both wronged and resentful inside.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not going to hold back.¡±

    Hao Pingyang eased up slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± He stowed the corpses of the Jin brothers into his hundred treasures pouch so that he could take them back and have them buried.

    Li Qingshan took the Zombie Daoist¡¯s corpse. That was worth several thousand Qi Gathering pills. However, the Iron Plate corpse could not be stored in his hundred treasures pouch, and its appearance was far too horrifying as well. As a result, he found a bamboo hat and a straw cape to cover it up, making it follow behind him.

    They boarded the boat, travelling along the same way as they had come here, this time against the flow.

    Although it was not as tense and scary as when they first came here, the atmosphere was much heavier. The three of them were all troubled inside. They were in no mood to talk.

    Only the flowing water splashed and gurgled constantly in the darkness.

    Li Qingshan leaned against the side of the boat and admired the cave, but he struggled to settle down. His bosom warmed up as Xiao An leaned against him quietly.

    Li Qingshan smiled towards her, gently caressing her soft, wavy hair and smelling the faint fragrance of sandalwood. His heart gradually calmed down.

 Chapter 181 â€“ Twoâ€™s No Different from One

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°We¡¯re at the entrance!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces became much brighter after seeing the light.

    The light drew closer and closer, becoming brighter and brighter. In the end, it swallowed the boat.

    Their surroundings suddenly opened up into the endless wilderness. Red clouds filled the horizon. It had actually been less than half a day since they entered the cave, but it felt much longer than that.

    The three of them were even more touched by this sight. They felt like an entire eon had passed.

    Lao Xishan emerged from a corner and glanced past everyone before locking onto Li Qingshan in the end. ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan?¡± This was the first time he had met this infamous figure who had shaken up the entire Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping. Lao Xishan noticed that he was only a second layer Qi Practitioner, so he already began to look down on him. Since this fellow was bold enough to work against Zhuo Zhibo with this measly amount of strength, he sure was as reckless as they came. It was probably a fluke that he managed to kill Qian Yannian. Though, he sure was lucky to still be standing here alive.

    Li Qingshan said politely, ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Greetings, commander. May I ask for your honourable name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯am Lao Xishan. You can just call me commander Lao.¡± Lao Xishan nodded in a rather dignified manner before furrowing his brows. ¡°Have you seen Zhuo Zhi- commander Zhuo?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I only met him once in the morgue outside the town, but I didn¡¯t enter the cave with him. Instead, I entered with my friends from the school of Mohism, but I didn¡¯t see him again after that.¡±

    Lao Xishan sank into his thoughts. He knew that Zhuo Zhibo had come for Li Qingshan, but he did not suspect that Li Qingshan had killed Zhuo Zhibo. Even if there were a few disciples of mohism assisting him, it was impossible for them to be the opponents of Zhuo Zhibo and his group of elite Black Wolf guards. As someone who had endured Zhuo Zhibo for all these years, he understood Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s power the best.

    He could only place all the blame on the tremendous daemon qi. He had heard rumors that many powerful daemons hid underground. Zhuo Zhibo must have been extremely unlucky to run into one of them!

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Commander, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve obviously come for the Zombie Daoist. I¡¯m preparing to enter the cave to search for him.¡± Lao Xishan had to distance himself from Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s death to avoid raising any suspicion as well.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then there¡¯s no need for you to go in, commander. We¡¯ve already killed the Zombie Daoist. His corpse is in the hundred treasures pouch. I¡¯m about to report back on the success of the mission.¡±

    Lao Xishan was extremely doubtful. ¡°What? You lot actually managed to kill the Zombie Daoist just by yourselves?¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored Lao Xishan and clasped his hands back at him. ¡°Alright then. Brother Hao, I hope that you have a safe trip back. I¡¯ll see you in the future then. When that happens, I have to share a satisfying drink with you.¡±

    Hao Pingyang smiled as well. ¡°Alright, then that¡¯s that. When that happens, I¡¯ll invite you to the wonderful liquor our school of Mohism has to offer.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Count me in too. We¡¯ll definitely meet in the future. The Academy of the Hundred Schools will be recruiting new students during the third month next year. You can¡¯t miss it, Qingshan.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°If Qi Practitioners in the world join neither clans or the hundred schools, they¡¯ll have to depend on their own comprehension for cultivation, which makes it almost impossible for them to achieve anything. You¡¯re young, and your talent is fantastic, so it¡¯s a perfect time for you to join the academy. Perhaps we might even become juniors and seniors.¡± He glanced at Lao Xishan. ¡°If you find it unsatisfying, you can just resign from the Hawkwolf Guard and come to Clear River sooner so that you can prepare for the entry exam.¡±

    Li Qingshan was quite touched by his sincerity. ¡°If I can brother Hao senior, it would be my honour. I¡¯ll definitely be there next year.¡±

    Lao Xishan saw how none of them, including Li Qingshan, took him, a mighty sixth layer Qi Practitioner and a Black Wolf commander, seriously, so his face turned cold. ¡°The Hawkwolf Guard is not a market. It¡¯s not a place where you can come and go as you please. Even if you join the Academy of the Hundred Schools, you¡¯ll be a disciple of the school of Legalism. You¡¯ll have nothing to do with the school of Mohism.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Hao Pingyang glanced at Lao Xishan. Both of them ignored him and told each other to take care.

    Zhang Lanqing clasped his hands. ¡°Qingshan, you have to come!¡± He Yishi, on the other hand, kept his head lowered the entire time, without uttering a single word.

    It was getting late, and the birds in the trees were restless.

    After the three of them departed, Lao Xishan basically commanded Li Qingshan. ¡°Li Qingshan, tell me exactly what had happened. Did you really kill the Zombie Daoist, and you weren¡¯t fooled by a substitute? Where¡¯s the corpse? Let me check it!¡±

    If this were all true, perhaps he would be able to get a share of the merit. The contribution for killing the Zombie Daoist amounted to twelve thousand points. It would be for the best if Li Qingshan offered all of it to him, and he would accept him as a trusted subordinate. Both of them would be satisfied.

    Li Qingshan vaguely sensed what he was trying to get at. He said indifferently, ¡°You¡¯ll see it once we get back to Jiaping city, commander.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s rude of you. How dare you disobey my orders. You have no sense of respect at all,¡± Lao Xishan said furiously. He was as complacent as he could get right now. Not only had he split open a sea of qi and reached the sixth layer, Zhuo Zhibo was likely dead as well.

    If nothing unexpected happened, he would take over the position of Black Hawk commander and claim the leader¡¯s seat within the Hawkwolf Guard. With how much authority and status that came with the position, he could never allow such an arrogant subordinate to exist below him.

    ¡°That¡¯s how commander Zhuo described me as well. Let me just give a word of advice to commander Lao. Don¡¯t become arrogant from your successes, or it might very well lead you to misery.¡± Li Qingshan frowned. This bastard had basically become blinded by status, losing all of his humanity, just being some shitty commander.

    ¡°How dare you try to teach me a lesson!¡± Lao Xishan was infuriated, and his murderous intent was stirred. However, before he could even draw his blade, his surroundings suddenly darkened. A tall, wide figure in a cape suddenly appeared before him. Within the shade of its bamboo hat was a vicious face half covered in metal plating. Lao Xishan cried out, ¡°Zombie!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s the Iron Plate corpse I managed to steal from the Zombie Daoist. It¡¯s extremely powerful. Would you like to try it, commander Lao?¡±

    Lao Xishan had some understanding towards refining corpses. Iron Plate corpses seemed extremely powerful, making them difficult to deal with. His expression fluctuated with uncertainty as he lowered his hand resentfully. He decided to just fall out with Li Qingshan completely.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, it looks to me that you¡¯re closely related to commander Zhuo and the other Black Wolf guards¡¯ disappearance. If you have some wits about you, it¡¯ll be our combined efforts that resulted in the Zombie Daoist¡¯s death this time. Once we return to Jiaping city, you¡¯ll be someone on my side as well, and I¡¯ll watch out for you. Otherwise, your contribution will just be a pile of useless numbers. It won¡¯t even be worth a single Qi Gathering pill.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You want to claim half of it? What an appetite you have, commander Lao.¡±

    Lao Xishan said, ¡°Moreover, your Iron Plate corpse is an existence of heresy. It¡¯s evil. The Hawkwolf Guard will be responsible for dealing with it. You¡¯ll have to hand over the method of control as well.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°No room for negotiation at all?¡±

    Lao Xishan said, ¡°No room for negotiation at all. Since you¡¯re my subordinate, you¡¯ll have to follow my orders, or I¡¯ll unleash hell on you. Don¡¯t even think about running to the Academy of the Hundred Schools either. I have plenty of friends cultivating in the school of Legalism.¡±

    Li Qingshan fell quiet as if he was thinking. Afterwards, he raised his head. ¡°Then you can go die!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Lao Xishan raised his guard, but Li Qingshan did not move at all. He did not even give off the slightest hint of killing intent. All he did was look at Lao Xishan like the fellow was a dead man.

    However, a white bead flew out from the hand of the pretty child who gave off no aura at all beside Li Qingshan, whistling through the air.

    The child was actually a sixth layer Qi Practitioner!

    Only now did Lao Xishan understand that not only did Li Qingshan want to kill him, but he even had the power to kill him.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re attacking a superior officer! Aren¡¯t you afraid of being punished by the laws of Great Xia?¡± A flying blade, exactly the same as Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s, flew out. It seemed like it was also a standard issue weapon of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fuck you and your laws. I killed Zhuo Zhibo after all that difficulty, yet you¡¯re even finding dissatisfaction in the things that literally fell into your lap. You¡¯re even trying to blackmail me. Do you really think I¡¯m really that easy to just walk over? Fuck your shitty position as a commander? Two¡¯s no different from one anyway, so you can go die!

    Clang!

    The flying blade collided with the prayer bead in the air. The prayer bead knocked away the blade and only paused slightly. Xiao An¡¯s current strength was far more than just the sixth layer. With Lao Xishan¡¯s abilities of having just broken through to the sixth layer, he could not even control an artifact dexterously, so how was he supposed to stand a chance?

    ¡°You killed Zhuo Zhibo!?¡± Lao Xishan¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief when he heard that. Moreover, Li Qingshan was clearly prepared to kill him now, which was why he was bold enough to tell him that.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Why is it that whenever I try to spare someone, they become so irritating in the end?¡±

    Lao Xishan formed a seal with his hand. The flying blade spun around in the air and stabilised itself, clashing against the prayer bead with a series of clings and clangs. However, he suddenly saw another prayer bead shoot towards him. The kid could actually control two spiritual artifacts!

    Lao Xishan was surprised, but he was unfazed. He knew that he could not defeat her, so he began to consider retreating. As long as he could return to Jiaping city and report this to the Hawkwolf Guard, Li Qingshan would be hunted down.

    Hmph, don¡¯t even think about killing me if two spiritual artifacts is all that you have! He extended his hand and fished out the talisman he had already prepared, activating it with true qi, but there was no response at all. He had lost all sensation in his hand as well.

    He turned his head. His hand that held the talisman had vanished!

    Only half of his forearm remained. It was bare, revealing a complete section of blood, flesh, and bone.

    Xiao An stood nearby as she held her hidden blade in one hand and Lao Xishan¡¯s hand in the other. It was currently burning away, turning into flames!

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised as well, as he had basically missed Xiao An¡¯s movements. Apart from being even faster than her prayer beads, she gave off nothing at all, no aura, no killing intent.

    It had been quite some time since he last saw Xiao An engage someone in close combat. He had never thought that she would have already become so fast. He could no longer grasp her movements unless he daemonified!

    With some closer thought, he remembered how Xiao An had already devoured the essence of flesh and blood from several thousand people since the time they had gone to the Qian family. She used the bones of several thousand people to smelt and forge her own skeleton. Unknowingly, her strength and speed had grown tremendously.

    The two Skull Prayer Beads had both been forged with her personal strength serving as the basis.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had a section for forging artifacts, which detailed various kinds, each more powerful than the next. However, the very foundation of the cultivation method was still built on a pursuit of personal strength, to forge her own set of bones into the most terrifying set of artifacts in the world.

 Chapter 182 â€“ Tremendous Wealth

    Lao Xishan clutched the stump of his arm and retreated in a hurry. He cried out, ¡°What are you!¡± He stared straight at Xiao An. He wanted to lock onto Xiao An with his aura, but he found nothing at all.

    Xiao An stood within the tall grass that had basically swallowed her and stowed her hidden blade away. She stared at him silently. The two Skull Prayer Beads did not pursue him either, both returning to her hands. They were just for drawing away Lao Xishan¡¯s attention.

    The true battle had already ended.

    Not a single droplet of blood fell from the wound. Soon afterwards, he lost sensation in the entire arm. All he felt was a faint sting, followed by numbness. The numbness spread across his entire body.

    A layer of pale, red flames stuck to the severed arm, directly spreading across Lao Xishan¡¯s body.

    Lao Xishan wanted to escape, but he fell to the ground. Deep fear filled his head. ¡°What did you¡­¡±

    Before he could finish, the firelight in the depths of his eyes became brighter and brighter. The flames spurted out from his eyes, nose, and mouth violently, setting him alight from the inside.

    All of the flames flowed back into Xiao An¡¯s palm before vanishing completely. Everything was obviously no different from stabbing the ants under the great aspen tree. Afterwards, she looked back at Li Qingshan eagerly, basically telling him to praise her.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nicely done! You really are my Xiao An after all!¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head bashfully as her face reddened and her lips curled slightly.

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on his hips. ¡°I really do need to work hard! If this continues, I¡¯ll end up depending completely on you in order to get by, despite being a man!¡±

    He waved his hand, and his true qi swept the hundred treasures pouch and flying blade into his hand. Originally, he wanted to return to Jiaping city with commander Lao. That way, he would have a witness to prove that he had nothing to do with Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s disappearance.

    However, since Lao Xishan wanted to abuse his power, he would have to change up the story. Commander Lao was worried about commander Zhuo, so he entered the Zombie cave searching for him. In the end, both of them became lost in the maze-like caves. I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re not convinced. All that matters is I¡¯m convinced.

    With that, he now possessed the hundred treasures pouches of three sixth layer Qi Practitioners, along with seven more from elite Qi Practitioners. That was a total of ten hundred treasures pouches, a tremendous piece of wealth.

    He could not wait until he returned to Jiaping city. He just began looking through his spoils right there and then. The ten hundred treasures pouches were placed in a line before him as he could not help but become rather excited.

    In the end, he found a total of over four thousand Qi Gathering pills. Just Xie Nande¡¯s hundred treasures pouches contained over a thousand of them, along with three hundred Hundred Grasses pills and several dozen other pills of even higher quality. There were also over a hundred spiritual stones, over two hundred talismans, and several tens of million taels of silver notes.

    Opening the hundred treasures pouches was not just about searching through his spoils. Instead, it was a very interesting and special process, as all cultivators would place their items that they valued the most or used the most within their tiny hundred treasures pouches. As a result, aside from the items that Li Qingshan had been looking for, there were many other interesting items as well. He could tell what kind of person the owner was from them.

    The seven hundred treasures pouches represented the characters of seven different people.

    Xie Nande¡¯s hundred treasures pouch contained a zither and many music sheets. This old bastard¡¯s hobby was quite refined. If he had not followed Zhuo Zhibo to the bloomy depths of the underground to become an enemy of his, he would have been able to look for some remote areas of nature to play his zither, allowing it to resound through the natural scenery. It would have been quite a delightful thing to do.

    Ge Jian had fetishes. He had many dudous1 and handkerchiefs in his pouch. Who knows where he had obtained all of them. It made Li Qingshan develop disdain towards him.

    He found a thick stack of letters within the hundred treasures pouch of an unknown Black Wolf guard, which made Li Qingshan fall quiet. It no longer mattered whether he was a husband or a father. He could never return home again.

    However, Li Qingshan did not regret killing him. Ever since he had made up his mind about venturing beyond the Nine Heavens, the path that awaited him would not be one where he could afford to show mercy. If he did not kill, he would be killed. That was the reality.

    However, when killing had already turned into a habit, enemies basically no longer seemed like people in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, but some kind of humanoid being that could talk and fight back. All he needed to do was destroy, rip, crush, and pierce them, and then their flesh and blood would be devoured by Xiao An¡¯s flames, as if they had never existed in this world in the first place.

    Right now, those blurry, humanoid figures recovered their meaning as humans one by one, which made Li Qingshan sigh. It maintained his conscience and humanity.

    The remaining three hundred treasures pouches belonged to the two commanders of the Hawkwolf Guard and the Zombie Daoist. Li Qingshan valued them the most.

    The first one he opened was Lao Xishan¡¯s. Although he had only just broken through to the sixth layer, his hundred treasures pouch was still much larger in comparison to Xie Nande¡¯s.

    However, the items in there were not worth his attention. Even Xie Nande had more items than him, which made Li Qingshan rather disappointed.

    Due to the constant oppression from Zhuo Zhibo and the fact that he had just broken through, he had consumed a lot of resources during his secluded cultivation.

    At least the Zombie Daoist did not disappoint Li Qingshan. There were close to two thousand Qi Gathering pills and fifty or sixty spiritual stones, equivalent to the wealth of three or four Hawkwolf guards. However, there was not a single talisman at all. He spent his entire time hiding in the darkness, controlling corpses, so he had no need for them.

    Li Qingshan did find something very interesting. It was a strange map that seemed like a mental map. However, when he channeled true qi into it, it turned into a series of numerous, three dimensional lines.

    Li Qingshan immediately managed to tell that it was an underground map, and it extended over a hundred times further than what Hao Pingyang had discovered with his mechanical insects. If he had not seen it in person, he basically would have struggled to believe that such a vast world existed deep underground.

    As a matter of fact, there were even caves below Jiaping city and his feet right now. And, the Zombie cave was not the only entrance to the system. There was one near Jiaping city. The caves came to an abrupt end near the edges of the map, so clearly, the map did not cover the entire system. It was labelled with many specks of light, which temporarily stumped Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan stowed the underground mental map away carefully. Perhaps the map could even be more precious than a high grade spiritual artifact at times. It was exactly this map that allowed the Zombie Daoist to move about freely underground, avoiding the search of the Hawkwolf Guard and also allowing him to appear in various places at any time so that he could collect corpses.

    The last one he opened was Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. As he channeled his true qi into it, the hundred treasures pouch opened up a huge space. It was much larger than the Zombie Daoist¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. It seemed like a huge warehouse, holding a great assortment of items.

    Although Li Qingshan had roughly looked through it when he was underground, he still felt shocked by this sight. This was the largest hundred treasures pouch in his possession. Just the pouch itself was a valuable spiritual artifact. The items inside would definitely match up to the hundred treasures pouch¡¯s value.

    Just the Qi Gathering pills numbered at over three thousand. This was not a particularly special number when considering Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s status, but he soon discovered over seven hundred Hundred Grasses pills. They were probably the pills that Zhuo Zhibo usually used for cultivation, which was why he had not hoarded too many Qi Gathering pills.

    Li Qingshan then opened a small, porcelain bottle. It held pills that were translucent like dew. They were actually Pearl Dew pills, which he had consumed before. Just a single Pearl Due pill had stunned all the Qi Practitioners back then. He opened several bottles, and they all turned out to be Pearl Dew pills. Counting them up, they amounted to thirty five. The overall value of the Hundred Grasses pills had already exceeded the Qi Gathering pills, while the Pearl Dew pills probably raised the bar higher once more.

    Aside from those, there were other types of pills as well, amounting to several dozen. They were not labelled, and with Li Qingshan¡¯s lacking knowledge of pills, he was unable to identify them. However, the fragrance they gave off was definitely no worse than the Pearl Dew pills.

    There was also a mid grade spiritual artifact flying blade, thirty three mid grade talismans, one hundred and twenty low grade talismans, and two hundred and eleven spiritual stones.

    In summary, he had obtained close to ten thousand Qi Gathering pills, over a thousand Hundred Grasses pills, around a hundred high quality pills, several hundred spiritual stones of miscellaneous quality, seven low grade spiritual artifacts, three mid grade spiritual artifacts, and several hundred talismans from this trip alone.

    He did not have to worry about lacking the resources to sustain his cultivation anymore. If he ate all of these pills and converted them to true qi and daemon qi, just what level of cultivation would he be able to reach? Just the thought of it excited him.

    It was just a pity that he required the recognition of a commander to complete his mission regarding the Zombie Daoist, so he was unable to exchange the contribution for pills. However, it would probably be a long time before he lacked pills again, so he was not worried. He believed that before long, new commanders would be sent over from above. However, the higher-ups would definitely send people to investigate the matter, seeing how they lost two commanders and seven elites in one fell swoop. He needed to come up with a good lie.

    When Li Qingshan returned to Jiaping city by travelling through the evening, it had not even reached midnight. Just like before, he returned to his residence without disturbing anyone. However, he saw that his residence was ablaze with lanterns. He glanced at Xiao An and quietly approached the building.

    The building gave off the aura of a Qi Practitioner, but it was not powerful, only at the third layer. Moreover, the smell was rather familiar. He racked his brains, trying to think of who this smell belonged to.

    The window on the second floor suddenly opened from outside and Li Qingshan questioned loudly, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, what are you doing in my room?¡±

    The person in his residence so late at night was actually Qian Rongzhi. She sat on the bed, meditating. Her hair was disheveled and her clothes were messy as if this was her room.

    Qian Rongzhi was slightly surprised before recovering her composure. She smiled. ¡°Obviously waiting for you!¡± Charm overflowed as she smiled, shaking up the minds of people.

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°You¡¯ve practised the arts of charm from the Sect of Clouds and Rain?¡± She had reached the third layer as well.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that I can¡¯t enchant you! And, this residence has already become mine. This is no longer your room.¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°What?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be surprised, as everyone on this mountain believes you¡¯re dead. They obviously won¡¯t leave a residence open for a dead person.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°So you¡¯ve moved in instead?¡±

    Confidence that bordered lunacy appeared in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡¯s because I knew you¡¯d return. Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s already dead, right? He died to you!¡± Zhou Wenbin had basically guessed that Li Qingshan had something that he could rely on as well, but only she was confident that not only would Li Qingshan return alive, he would kill Zhuo Zhibo as well!

 Volume Afterword â€“ Everything is just the Beginning

    One author, three volumes, eighty-four days and nights, four hundred and seventy one thousand, seven hundred and six characters.

    Of course, you can¡¯t forget the thirty five thousand, seven hundred and sixty three readers. I bow and I thank you for your support. Thank you. You were the ones who supported me to experiment, to change.

    Of course, this wasn¡¯t easy at all. However, I don¡¯t want to spend too much time reminiscing about this. It¡¯s just like the title. Everything is just the beginning.

    These things of the past might always seem rather familiar, but I¡¯m not someone who¡¯ll repeat the past. From the next volume onwards, there will be some completely new things that will unravel before you.

    Just as a spoiler, the name of the next volume is ¡®The Daemon City Underground¡¯.

    You know what I¡¯m going to write now, right? A wondrous world of daemons, a group of strange daemons!

    The path to Great Sage is obviously not one that can be carved within the human world alone. Daemon General, Daemon Commander, Daemon King. How can Li Qingshan go without his own domain in a world of daemons?

    The story that I want to write, the world that I want to sculpt, has begun to take shape. I will devote my heart and soul to it, working hard to come up with the plot, such that it achieves the effect I want it to achieve. If you have any good ideas, please tell me in the reviews section. My own thoughts are limited, so let us advance forward together.

 Chapter 183 â€“ Startling News from the Sect of Clouds and Rain

    Li Qingshan was stern. He felt like he had still ended up underestimating this woman. She was not an ornament who used her body to climb upwards, nor was she a deviant with a twisted heart. Even someone like Zhuo Zhibo who considered himself rather clever could not match her sharp judgement.

    ¡°What do you want? Is that all you wanted to say to me after waiting here? Or do you want something from me?¡± He squinted his eyes. This was not the first time Qian Rongzhi had stirred his killing intent, but she would always manage to avoid crossing the line, giving him no reason to kill her. What about this time? Would it be an exception this time?

    Qian Rongzhi smiled sweetly in response to Li Qingshan¡¯s string of questions. ¡°Did you know that the Sect of Clouds of Rain is utterly determined to obtain that child by your side? You have no idea what the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty is worth to the Sect of Clouds and Rain. The sect master has already personally given an order to obtain the child, even if it involves falling out with the Scarlet Wolf commander Hua Chengzan.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was actually willing to go so far for the sake of Xiao An!

    ¡°And then it¡¯s impossible for you to hand over the child either, right? The reason why I¡¯ve been sent back here is to monitor this. If Zhuo Zhibo isn¡¯t capable of obtaining the child for the Sect of Clouds and Rain, even more powerful people will immediately be mobilised. If that fails as well, then the four grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, or even the vice sect master and sect master, will come to Jiaping! I don¡¯t know if this piece of information is useful to you or not.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not deny that. If he were blocked by a group of masters within Jiaping city without any preparations, he would basically be done for. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s information was extremely important to him.

    ¡°Why are you telling me this? Haven¡¯t you joined the Sect of Clouds and Rain already?¡±

    ¡°The Sect of Clouds and Rain.¡± Qian Rongzhi sneered slightly in disdain. She walked over while swinging her hips in a flirtatious manner. She wrapped her arms around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck and pressed her entire body against him. Her soft chest pressed against Li Qingshan¡¯s, gently massaging against him. ¡°That¡¯s because I like you more!¡±

    Li Qingshan, however, became even more cautious. All regular Qi Practitioners would be extremely careful, like they were treading on thin ice, whenever they joined a decent sect. There were not a lot of people who showed as much contempt as her. This was not arrogance born from ignorance, but because she possessed lofty ambitions right from the beginning. This was a form of arrogance that ran as deep as her bones. Li Qingshan had been no different in the past.

    As a result, despite being alone and making intimate contact, they struggled to develop any feelings for each other. There was only an unbearable sense of danger and coldness.

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°Move.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi took a step back and tidied her hair. ¡°Forget it. What a clueless man.¡±

    ¡°Remuneration.¡± Li Qingshan fished out several items from his Hundred Treasures pouch, which included the Pills of Passion and the Pills of Calming he had obtained from Zhao Liangqing, as well as his mid grade spiritual artifact flying sword and the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain. He did not need any of them, aside from the flying sword.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled with her lips closed. ¡°I like generous men.¡± She accepted the items. She flipped through the Minor Method of Clouds and Rain first. When she reached a certain page, her eyes suddenly lit up before she tossed the flying sword back to Li Qingshan. ¡°But I¡¯m not stingy either. You have no use for the other items, so I¡¯ll be taking them.¡±

    A mid grade spiritual artifact that regular Qi Practitioners only dreamt of possessing was actually being tossed around by two weaker Qi Practitioners carelessly.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then farewell.¡± Since he had received the news, he could not remain in Jiaping city any longer. Otherwise, he would basically be waiting to be caught. A large sect had mobilised everyone they had, regardless of the costs. He had no confidence that he could oppose them, nor was there a need for him to oppose them. With the tremendous amount of resources he now possessed, finding a place to enter secluded cultivation and increasing his strength would be the correct choice to make.

    As long as he became powerful enough, the Sect of Clouds and Rain would obviously cease to pose any trouble to him.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Hold on. Do you want the hundred treasures pouch of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Where?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s right in Jiaping city. The new master of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain is a senior brother of mine. The sect master¡¯s original plan was for him to come for you if Zhuo Zhibo failed to capture the child.¡± Her true intentions were finally revealed now.

    ¡°He¡¯s the son of the vice sect master. He likes raping innocent women. If he sees anyone pretty on the streets, he¡¯ll definitely pay a visit to their homes at night. He uses his abilities as a Qi Practitioner to do whatever he wants.¡±

    Li Qingshan questioned, ¡°And the Hawkwolf Guard of Clear River city won¡¯t do anything about it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult for regular women to resist the tricks of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, and there¡¯s quite a few who end up being enchanted by him, while the strong-willed care for their own reputation. It¡¯s not something that can¡¯t be solved with some threats and then some bribes of silver. If no one reports it, no one will investigate it either. Obviously, nothing definite will come up.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You want me to help you kill him?¡±

    ¡°No. I want you to help me capture him alive. There¡¯s quite a lot of good stuff in his hundred treasures pouch. That¡¯ll all go to you. I only want the cultivation method and pills of the Sect of Clouds and Rain that you can¡¯t use, alright?¡± Qian Rongzhi requested cordially.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. As expected, this woman wanted something with how generously she behaved. She actually wanted to use his hands to finish off a senior from her sect. However, the Sect of Clouds and Rain had always been his enemy. He had already made up his mind about personally killing the West Gate Granny. Since he was going to be on the run, he might as well do this first. This was a request that he could not turn down.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°On the way here, he constantly told me about how he wanted to try the woman with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance of Beauty, even if it were just a tiny part of her.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and red light flashed through his eyes. ¡°Oh? I¡¯d like to see him try!¡±

    The lanterns were snuffed out and Qian Rongzhi left the residence. She saw Xiao An in the dark, and she immediately became stunned. ¡°This child¡¯s¡­ so pure!¡± What she was looking at was not the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty, but the wondrous sense of purity. Probably only someone like her who had gone through so much before could sense that so deeply. She could not help but extend her hand over, wanting to touch Xiao An¡¯s face, but she stopped herself, as if she was afraid that her own filthiness would contaminate the purity.

    Xiao An extended her hand and touched the back of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hand. This woman who had allowed her to comprehend the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty did not seem to bear any ill intentions towards her.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hand shrank back slightly like she had become extremely flattered. Afterwards, she smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that you refuse to hand her over. Even I would be willing to fall out with anybody for her sake.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re willing to fall out with anyone for the sake of your own interests in the first place.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi asked, ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing.

    As they walked through the gloomy streets and alleyways, Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi stuck very closely together. He did not believe in this silver-tongued woman completely. He was worried that the four grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain would ambush him the moment he set foot in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He had to maintain a certain distance so that he could finish her off in a single strike.

    Xiao An and the Iron Plate corpse tailed far behind, ready to reinforce Li Qingshan at any time.

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain in the distance glowed with gentle lantern light. It had already been repurchased by the Sect of Clouds and Rain, and it was being reorganised right now. It would open up once again soon. He listened closely the entire time and discovered that Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heartbeat and breathing were very steady the entire time. It had not become frantic.

    ¡°You don¡¯t actually have to be so cautious of me. Why would I do something that brings me no benefit? If the Sect of Clouds and Rain kills you, I¡¯ll probably get nothing from your possessions. When you serve someone as a dog, all you get is scraps of meat that they cast aside. However, I prefer large chunks and fresh.¡± Qian Rongzhi licked her lips.

    Li Qingshan secretly admitted that he would never have to worry about her ever developing some great, heroic mentality, risking her life for the sake of the Sect of Clouds and Rain by turning herself into bait.

    Qian Rongzhi continued, ¡°Actually, if Qian Yannian had been willing to make me the leader of the family, I wouldn¡¯t have destroyed the Qian family.¡± In order to magnify her personal interests and benefits, even revenge and hatred were nothing. ¡°However, I would suck the Qian family dry of their value, and then I would find those people one by one and torture them to death slowly.¡± She seemed to be venting a certain type of gloominess that she could not tell anyone else through her crazy laughter. It was exactly because Li Qingshan had seen through her that she no longer needed to try and hide it.

    They arrived at the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    Li Qingshan erased all of his aura and took a step into the darkness. There were no ambushes or encirclements. The parlour was pitch-black. Only the women at the ceiling continued to dance.

    Qian Rongzhi was intrigued. He was clearly right beside her, but she failed to sense him at all unless she looked at him. Just this ability to conceal his aura was enough to determine victory against enemies. It was perfect for assassinations.

    Climbing to the top floor of the parlour, Li Qingshan sensed a powerful aura that was actually no worse than Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s. He became cautious.

    Qian Rongzhi shot a glance at Li Qingshan before pushing and entering through the door.

    Li Qingshan heard the indecent voice of a young man. ¡°Junior sister, you¡¯re here. Do you miss your senior brother?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s voice was rather cold. ¡°Don¡¯t go too far, senior brother.¡± However, her coquettish voice only stimulated men¡¯s desire for dominance.

    The man said, ¡°I¡¯ll show you just how far I can go!¡± There was a ruffle of clothing, followed by sounds of hugging and kissing.

    ¡°Senior brother, let me go!¡± Qian Rongzhi put up some fake resistance. She hugged the man, spun around, and turned towards the open door. Excitement flickered through her eyes.

    Li Qingshan stepped on the thick carpet and entered silently. However, no matter how thick the carpet was, it would still produce a sound. It was enough to fool regular people, but it could not fool the ears of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Just when the man wanted to turn around, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s lips attacked. His mind wavered slightly, and his reactions were slowed down by a single beat. By the time he heard the whistling of wind from behind, it was already too late.

    Li Qingshan crossed several meters in a single step and stuck a low grade Immobilisation talisman on his back. He had found it in Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. It was specially prepared for capturing Qi Practitioners alive so that they could be brought back and interrogated.

    The talisman let out a ring of light that covered the man¡¯s body. He immediately stiffened up on the spot, like he was covered in a layer of invisible ice. He was surprised at first, before becoming enraged. He mobilised all of his true qi to smash through the invisible ice barrier. After all, it was only a low grade talisman. It probably could only last for a single instant against sixth layer Qi Practitioners, but that was enough.

 Chapter 184 â€“ Lofty Ambitions

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed as the muscles in his arms shifted. He unleashed his explosive strength and produced a crack.

    The man suddenly widened his eyes. What happened next became extremely simple. Li Qingshan moved repetitively, and a series of cracks rang out. He crushed all of the joints of the man¡¯s limbs. As soon as the man wanted to call out, Li Qingshan grabbed him by the neck and silenced him.

    True qi swept up the hundred treasures pouch on the side into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Without their hundred treasures pouches, most Qi Practitioners were like fangless tigers. If their limbs were crippled as well, they would even be like paralyzed tigers.

    It was so simple that it surprised Li Qingshan slightly. However, as long as a Qi Practitioner still had a strand of true qi in their dantian or sea of qi, they could not be considered as truly subdued. He was prepared for what would happen next as well, but all he saw was the man¡¯s face twist in pain. Then his true qi scattered chaotically, like he had lost the ability to fight back. Li Qingshan was rather taken aback by this.

    Qi Practitioners like Zhuo Zhibo could still gather their true qi even if they were stabbed with swords or blades. Of course, Zhuo Zhibo would have never fallen for such a simple sneak attack in the first place. Even if he failed to sense any auras or hear any sounds, just his instincts for danger alone were enough to stave off everything.

    However, as the son of a vice sect master, this man had been pampered his entire life. He had only ever been treated gently. Never had he been abused in such a violent manner, nor had he experienced such pain before. He was in so much pain that he forgot about everything. The Immobilisation talisman lasted a little longer before being destroyed by the scattered true qi.

    Before Li Qingshan could do anything, Qian Rongzhi had already pulled out a metal pillory, locking it around the man¡¯s neck and hands.

    The pillory glowed with light. It was actually a low grade spiritual artifact; moreover, it was an extremely rare one for capturing enemies. A black hawk was depicted on the top. Its pair of talons grabbed the man¡¯s hands, while it held the man¡¯s head in its beak. Li Qingshan could tell with a single glance that it came from the Hawkwolf Guard. Without a doubt, Qian Rongzhi had obtained it from Zhuo Zhibo.

    The man¡¯s chaotic true qi became even less threatening after being locked up in the hawk pillory. Afterwards, his eyes rolled backwards, actually fainting from the pain.

    This left Li Qingshan rather stunned. This was the first time that he had realised that the strength of Qi Practitioners could not be described through simple numbers like the fifth or sixth layer. Willpower, temperament, and reaction were all crucial elements as well.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Take him below!¡±

    Clank!

    In the underground palace, Li Qingshan tossed the naked man with a pillory into an empty, stone room. Even without spiritual artifacts, sixth layer Qi Practitioners could still control objects around them, so he could still cause some trouble.

    The man woke up from the pain. He was quite handsome, but his face was pale and utterly twisted. He roared in surprise and fury, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, what are you doing? Y- you¡¯re Li Qingshan!¡± He had seen Li Qingshan¡¯s portrait before he had set off for here.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re from the Sect of Clouds and Rain, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    The man said, ¡°I¡¯m Wei Yingjie. My father is a vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. If you have some wits about you, hurry up and release me. I might spare your life.¡±

    ¡°What! Vice sect master! Qian Rongzhi, you tricked me! You¡¯ve actually made me offend such an important figure!¡± Li Qingshan was startled. He showed fear as he said politely, ¡°Young sect master, what brings you to Jiaping city?¡±

    Wei Yingjie saw how Li Qingshan was afraid, so he said in an even more arrogant manner, ¡°Release me, and then offer up that child with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty by your side¡­¡±

    The fear on Li Qingshan¡¯s face vanished. He exhaled. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve got the right person.¡± Qian Rongzhi was not telling the complete truth, but it was not far from it either. However, this bastard was basically the weakest sixth layer Qi Practitioner Li Qingshan had ever seen. Li Qingshan was truly clueless as to how he had managed to reach the sixth layer with his level of intelligence.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°What an idiot!¡±

    Wei Yingjie seemed to realise something, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, you traitor! Release me, or my father will never spare you! Ouch!¡± He struggled so another wave of pain hit him from his crushed joints. He collapsed onto the ground, now afraid to move any further.

    Qian Rongzhi completely ignored him. She said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Let¡¯s see what¡¯s in the hundred treasures pouch.¡±

    After checking the hundred treasures pouch, he discovered that there were not a lot of Qi Gathering pills in there. There were only five hundred. However, there were quite a few spiritual stones, amounting to over three hundred. There were actually two mid grade spiritual artifacts as well. One was a flying sword that could be controlled, while the other was a ring that seemed like a wristguard.

    There were several dozen talismans in there as well, along with a rare high grade talisman. Li Qingshan was extremely familiar with the inscription on it. It was a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings, but the inscription was several times more complicated than the ones he had previously seen. As it seemed, this was the life-saving measure his father had given to him.

    However, this was not the first time Li Qingshan had seen a naked disciple of the Sect of Clouds and Rain either. Even if you have countless techniques and methods hidden in your hundred treasures pouch, it would be useless if you don¡¯t have your hundred treasures pouch.

    According to their deal, Li Qingshan gave the Major Method of Clouds and Rain to Qian Rongzhi.

    Qian Rongzhi immediately flipped through it. She had joined the Sect of Clouds and Rain recently, so all she had learnt so far were some rules and commandments of the sect. She needed to wait some time before going through a test, and only then would she receive the sect¡¯s legacy. However, in less than two hours just now, she had managed to assemble both cultivation methods, the Minor and Major Methods of Clouds and Rain, finding a path that led to the very top among Qi Practitioners.

    Li Qingshan found over a dozen bottles of Pills of Passion and Pills of Calming. He gave these pills that were for cultivation in the Sect of Clouds and Rain to Qian Rongzhi.

    Qian Rongzhi accepted it all while smiling from ear to ear. When Wei Yingjie saw the two of them split up his possessions right in front of him, he could not help but fly into a fury. Ignoring the pain, he let violent true qi surged out of his sea of qi, surging towards the two of them like a tidal wave. It whipped up a violent gale within the tiny stone room. He had managed all of this while being restrained by the hawk pillory, or it would have been even more impressive.

    Qian Rongzhi pulled out her Water-splitting bard and swung down with it, cutting the true qi in half, which landed on the stone walls behind her. With a rustle, some dust and sand fell down from the ceiling.

    Li Qingshan stood there without moving, allowing the true qi to strike him. His extremely pure true qi appeared outside of his body automatically, protecting him. Combined with his tough physique, he was unscathed.

    If he could launch an attack with his arms or feet, it might have been somewhat threatening, but it was completely pointless now. Instead, it was a waste of true qi.

    Li Qingshan suddenly pulled out another bottle of pills. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This is also a special pill from the Sect of Clouds and Rain. It¡¯s a rare pill that can purify true qi.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll take it for myself if you tell me that?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi answered with a question, ¡°Will you?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± Li Qingshan tossed the bottle of Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain to Qian Rongzhi. He did not do this just because of their agreement. His true qi had already been purified using the sumeru ring, so he had no need for the Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled sweetly. These Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain were an extremely important component to her plan.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m willing to work with you. I might even end up helping you in the future. If you plan on dealing with the Sect of Clouds and Rain in the future, feel free to come find me. I¡¯ll definitely lend you a helping hand. I¡¯ll eat those leftovers with you.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly even felt like she possessed a sense of open-mindedness that regular women rarely exhibited. She was vicious and her ambitions were lofty. Compared to those crooks who only concentrated on small profits, a person like her was hundreds of times more terrifying. Leftovers? She would never be willing to crawl on the ground forever. She was a venomous snake. She would climb upwards constantly, until she climbed into the sky, becoming a venomous dragon that could overturn the world.

    He had a feeling that perhaps the Sect of Clouds and Rain would suffer the same fate as the Qian family, destroyed by this woman. Based on the logic that the enemy of the enemy is my friend, perhaps she really could help her, but he would never take a liking to someone like her. After splitting up the items, he shoved the hundred treasures pouch into his bosom and left without second thought. He did not want to spend a moment longer with this woman.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s departure, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face eased up. She felt much more comfortable now. She sat down where she was and read through the two cultivation methods.

    At this moment, Wei Yingjie also seemed to realise that he was completely at her mercy. He solicited, ¡°Rongzhi, we¡¯re seniors and juniors, so why must you do this to me? If you don¡¯t want to be a courtesan, then you can just not be one. I¡¯ll talk to my father about it.¡±

    Aside from sending Qian Rongzhi back so that she could watch over Li Qingshan¡¯s movements, the Sect of Clouds and Rain actually wanted her to replace courtesan Furong¡¯s position. It was not exactly an intended insult. The women of the Sect of Cloud and Rain all required the vitality of men to cultivate. However, at the end of the day, this could still be regarded as a form of probing and testing. Most women would still be reluctant to end up in a brothel, living a life where they just slept with people. Only when she completely accepted the ideology of the Sect of Clouds and Rain would she receive their legacy.

    Qian Rongzhi seemed rather noble and cold before Wei Yingjie, which made him believe that she had betrayed him because she was dissatisfied with this arrangement,

    Qian Rongzhi did not even look at him. She said without the slightest care, ¡°So what if I become a courtesan? Though, if I just rely on the vitality of normal men, and I have to be squeezed out by you, when am I supposed to achieve success?!¡± Within the Sect of Clouds and Rain, there was a dominant and submission relationship when it came to dual cultivation. The weaker person would definitely lose something in the process. If she followed the rules of others, she would be under the control of others for the rest of her life.

    Wei Yingjie was stunned. He forced out a smile. ¡°You think your cultivation will be too slow? I¡¯ll get my father to allocate some pills to you. He¡¯s responsible for everything in the sect.¡± However, all he thought of was how he would torture Qian Rongzhi once he had broken free. This was all just an act, but Qian Rongzhi paid no attention to his clumsy act either.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Yeah. If that old coot hadn¡¯t handed the women in the sect to you as human cauldrons, giving you the best pills, how were you supposed to reach the sixth layer as the piece of trash that you are? I heard there¡¯s quite a nice trick within the Method of Clouds and Rain¡­ Found it! Looks like it¡¯s true. Only by combining the two cultivation methods will it be complete.¡±

    Wei Yingjie suddenly seemed to understand something. He became fear-stricken. ¡°You¡¯re planning to use the Vitality Devouring technique!¡± This was an extremely brutal and forceful technique. It was taboo within the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Zhao Liangqing had wanted to use it on those kidnapped girls before.

 Chapter 185 â€“ Cultivating Underground

    Wei Yingjie understood why Qian Rongzhi had not killed him. She wanted to use this method to forcefully steal the true qi he had cultivated after so much difficulty. He no longer cared about the pain as he desperately gathered his true qi.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°If you dare to use your true qi, I¡¯ll cut off your arms and your legs. I¡¯ll turn you into a quadruple amputee. If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re more than welcome to try it.¡±

    Wei Yingjie panicked inside and immediately became afraid to use his true qi. Crushed bones could be healed with medicine, but if his arms or legs were cut off, he would truly become a cripple. A great future still awaited him, along with many beautiful women. If he became a cripple, he would much rather be dead.

    ¡°That¡¯s clever of you!¡± Qian Rongzhi praised. She made her way over, grabbed a handful of Pills of Passion, and shoved them into Wei Yingjie¡¯s mouth. Wei Yingjie struggled and shook his head desperately. The Pills of Passion were an extremely powerful aphrodisiac, in order to make women lose themselves for the sake of harvesting from them. Just two days ago, he had forced Qian Rongzhi to eat two. Even one was far more than what he could endure, so how could he eat so many?

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°Weren¡¯t you so happy when you fed me them two days ago?¡± Her face suddenly coldened. ¡°Eat it! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll cut off your limbs.¡±

    Wei Yingjie hesitated slightly before producing a howl. Qian Rongzhi cut off one of his fingers and showed it to him.

    Wei Yingjie experienced pain, anger, and hatred. However, he was forced to oblige now that he was under the mercy of others. He ate all of the Pills of Passion reluctantly. Very soon, a raging flame of lust exploded in his crotch. His gaze towards Qian Rongzhi gradually became replaced with desire.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled and ate a Pill of Calming.

    Quite a while later, Qian Rongzhi put her clothes back on. She was brimming with energy, as if she had just drunk some nourishing soup. Her eyes were filled with vigour, and the true qi in her body had basically doubled. She only stopped when she could not withstand it any longer.

    However, the additional form of different true qi was not particularly harmonious with her own. Fortunately, both of them practised the Method of Clouds and Rain, so it was not a particularly big problem. Moreover, the Sect of Clouds and Rain produced Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain to address this exact issue. She consumed one of those pills before meditating on the spot, purifying her true qi.

    Wei Yingjie heaved heavily. He was haggard and extremely frail. Even if he wanted to release his true qi in resistance, he was powerless now. He recovered most of his clarity and begged, ¡°Please spare me!¡±

    ¡°An idiot like you sure has a lot of true qi. However, I can go slowly. I have plenty of time!¡± Qian Rongzhi picked up the Water-splitting barb with a smile and made her way over to Wei Yingjie.

    ¡°W- what are you trying to do?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous! I better cut them off!¡± There was a splash of blood, and a howl resounded through the underground palace.

    ¡­¡­

    Under the starry skies, Li Qingshan left Jiaping silently with Xiao An, like they had never returned to there in the first place. He believed that Qian Rongzhi would behave like she knew nothing either. Everything that happened in Jiaping city would only erupt after a delayed period of time.

    He made his way to the back of the Hawkwolf Guard and dove into the raging Clear river that flowed southward. Afterwards, he crossed it and arrived below the cliff on the other side. After quite the effort, he finally found the cave recorded on the map.

    Li Qingshan dove in head first. Only after swimming for a whole hour did he emerge in a cave.

    What he needed to avoid right now was not just the Sect of Clouds and Rain, but the Hawkwolf Guard as well. If the Hawkwolf Guard discovered him, they would definitely take him back for interrogation, and the Sect of Clouds and Rain would learn about it too. He heavily doubted whether the Hawkwolf Guard could protect him, or should he say, Xiao An, from a great group of Qi Practitioners under the determination of an entire sect. The gaze of the Hawkwolf Guard spanned the world. If he wanted to run around on the surface, he would be discovered sooner or later.

    He would not be particularly well-hidden in the wilderness either given the various things cultivators were capable of. As a result, he decided to go to the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling. It possessed all the facilities he required, and it was extremely well-hidden. It would be enough for him to cultivate peacefully for a while so that he could break through to the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.

    Underground was not like the flat stretch of land on the surface. Instead, it was extremely twisted. As one moved through the maze-like tunnels, even someone with a particularly good sense of direction would become lost if they did not have a map.

    It was said that dark, narrow caves could make people claustrophobic, but Li Qingshan found it alright. Anyone who possessed a great piece of wealth would be in a good mood. He also had Xiao An as company, so he did not feel lonely at all.

    Instead, he felt a wondrous sensation of relief in the dark depths of the earth, like a beast returning to the wilderness. He no longer needed to deal with humans under various guises and appearances. Right now, he possessed absolute freedom. From a certain perspective, he really did become more and more like a daemon.

    Li Qingshan strode forward, while Xiao An sat on a huge skull that had transformed from a Skull Prayer Bead, studying the underground mental map from the Zombie Daoist with her head lowered. Whenever they encountered a fork, she would indicate which way to go. Li Qingshan did not have the patience to study the map.

    This continued until they reached the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling. Li Qingshan was in no hurry to immediately begin cultivating. Instead, he lit a fire and began cooking. There was quite a lot of food across the hundred treasure pouches he had obtained, so he cooked up a feast very soon.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate!¡±

    The two of them brought their cups together in the pitch-black darkness, producing a clink.

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An, ¡°I might take some time with cultivation this time. Don¡¯t run around outside, alright?¡±

    Xiao An nodded obediently.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head. He thought about how she either spent all day fighting and killing with him, or hiding and fleeing with him. This was not the lifestyle that a child should experience. However, just where in this world did no conflict exist? Even if he went to the legendary Academy of the Hundred Schools, would it really be different?

    He activated a mechanism, and a great, stone door fell down, sealing off the cultivation room completely.

    In the absolute darkness and silence, Li Qingshan took out a bottle of Qi Gathering pills. He would protect her. He had never doubted this fact, no matter when.

    Raising his head, he directly tipped the entire bottle into his mouth. Li Qingshan closed his eyes and converted the medicine into true qi according to the methods detailed by the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    After who knows how long, he digested all of the pills. He stood up and daemonified, beginning to practise the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. The medicinal effects then turned into daemon qi.

    This repeated constantly. As he moved and paused, Li Qingshan comprehended the path of humans and daemons, constantly becoming stronger.

    Time passed day by day, while the pills were consumed bottle by bottle.

 Chapter 186 â€“ Breakthrough

    A droplet of water fell from the stalactite on the cave ceiling in the darkness, dripping towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed on the stone platform without moving at all, but a tremendous change unfolded within his body.

    Extremely pure true qi constantly flowed through his Yang Heel meridian before delving into his bones strand by strand, rinsing his entire body.

    A month had passed. He had already eaten almost three thousand Qi Gathering pills. He averaged a hundred a day.

    This was a terrifying number. It was enough to any cultivator. His true qi had increased tremendously once again, but what broke through first was his Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    The falling droplet of water was smashed apart by the shaking true qi three inches above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The waves of true qi were on the edge of breaking through now.

    The true qi that had been purified through the sumeru ring was extremely effective now. It basically allowed Li Qingshan to break through to the sixth layer of the Innate Method of Practicing Qi without any obstruction at all, reaching the peak of the second layer.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He felt both relieved and amazed. He was relieved over the fact that he had spent much less time compared to regular Qi Practitioners.

    For example, Qian Rongzhi had been cultivating since a young age, but it had taken her several years to reach the second layer. Their talent could be described as no different from one another, or in other words, just average. As for Diao Fei, he originated from a sect and had the guidance of seniors. He was in his thirties, yet he was only at the third layer.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation speed truly was fast, but it did not happen without the support of a tremendous number of pills. And, if it were not for the sumeru ring, it would have been pointless no matter how many pills he possessed, as refining the impurities in the pills would take him ten times longer than right now.

    He felt completely refreshed. He could not help but think about how Xiao An was doing.

    Li Qingshan held back his desire to emerge from seclusion. He was extremely close to the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. He was basically only a step away. He could not afford to give up now. He needed to use this momentum to continue forwards and reach the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, as well as open his Yin Heel meridian and reach the third layer of Qi Practitioner. Sixteen year old third layer Qi Practitioners could be regarded as geniuses.

    The daemon core flashed, and daemon qi rose up from his body like fire. He daemonified. After the month of cultivation, his height had finally exceeded thirty feet.

    ¡­¡­

    Wei Yingjie no longer remembered his past self anymore in the underground palace. His handsome appearance had completely fallen apart. His skin was withered and gloomy like an old man¡¯s, while his eyes had lost all of their lustre. Drool constantly leaked out from his mouth.

    Ten days ago, he had been reduced to an imbecile from the medicinal effects after consuming too many Pills of Passion.

    Before Qian Rongzhi¡¯s Vitality Devouring technique, his true qi had been sucked dry. Even his vitality was not spared. Finally, the last sliver of his life gave way. As a person who treated toying around with women as his hobby, he had lost his life from being toyed around by a woman in the end. He really was quite pitiful.

    On top of him, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s snowy body was streaked with sweat. Her skin was utterly glowing, while her appearance had become even more charming. She was like a green, tender vine wounded around a withered tree, blooming with charming flowers.

    She ravished with joy on her face that had been unperturbed the entire time due to the Pills of Calming. With the support of his father, Wei Yingjie¡¯s true qi was extremely abundant. It was ten times more than what Qian Rongzhi possessed at the very least.

    Qian Rongzhi accepted all of it from him without holding back. Her true qi broke through to the fourth layer, and her body was filled to the brink too. The fifth layer was only a matter of time for her now.

    While the Vitality Devouring technique was terrifying, it was unable to digest the true qi of a sixth layer Qi Practitioner completely. Most of it was lost, or she would have been able to reach the sixth layer directly. Qian Rongzhi was already quite satisfied with what she had achieved so far.

    Of course, this did not come without disadvantages. Her true qi was extremely impure, so she required even more Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain. However, she was not worried about this. As long as her cultivation had increased, there would obviously be more ways for her to obtain even better pills.

    She had never planned on using ordinary people to practise the Minor and Major Methods of Clouds and Rain. It would be far too impure and far too slow. Due to the differences in the element of true qi, it would be difficult to digest. It could even lead to issues like conflicting true qi. This was why she never bothered with hunting down regular Qi Practitioners. The people from the same sect who also practised the Method of Clouds and Rain were the best prey for her.

    A fire talisman burned the corpse to ashes. She thought, It¡¯s time for me to report back to the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Young master Wei lost his patience and ventured into the Zombie cave in search of Li Qingshan!

    She took out another pill and ingested it, suppressing her cultivation back to the third layer. Afterwards, she washed up and changed her clothes, emerging from the underground palace. She looked up at the clear, autumn sky and revealed a smile that was even more resplendent than the sun. ¡°My fate lies in my own hands!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In a room with fine views, Wang Pushi dumped a thick pile of documents onto Hua Chengzan¡¯s long, sandalwood desk. ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Hua Chengzan sat back in his armed chair with his legs crossed on his desk. He extended his hand, and the documents flew over with a flutter, lining themselves up in the air.

    Hua Chengzan looked through them as his eyes darted about rapidly. He glanced past each document, taking note of each sentence.

    I saw them pass by¡­ We emerged with Qingshan, but I don¡¯t know where he went¡­ He had personally said that he had grievances with Zhuo Zhibo¡­ Our sect master said we had to bring back the child¡­

    It seemed like countless voices whispering into his ears with different tones. A while later, the stack of documents flew back onto the desk in a neat pile.

    Hua Chengzan opened his eyes. ¡°If that He Yishi is telling the truth, then¡­¡±

    Wang Pushi asked, ¡°Then what?¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°Li Qingshan led Zhuo Zhibo to his death through deception before killing Lao Xishan as well.¡± After his clever mind sorted through the information, the falsehoods were weeded out, the blanks had been filled in, and what remained would never be too far from the truth.

    Wang Pushi frowned. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. He¡¯s just a second layer Qi Practitioner. How did he manage to kill Zhuo Zhibo and so many Black Wolf guards?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°He¡¯s a second layer Qi Practitioner who has killed someone at the fifth layer. Moreover, he might not have personally done all of this. He might have lured Zhuo Zhibo into the nest of a daemon. You know that it¡¯s not safe underground. Even we¡¯re afraid to venture too deeply into many places.¡±

    Wang Pushi nodded. Below the earth was a forbidden zone for humans.

    Hua Chengzan continued, ¡°It¡¯s also possible that he set up a trap with several hundred Explosion talismans. Or, if he used a Lightning Fire bomb from the school of Mohism, all he would need to do is create a small earthquake in a chosen location, and it would not be too difficult to kill a group of Qi Practitioners. Anyways, there are plenty of ways to kill them. If they weren¡¯t killed by Li Qingshan, am I supposed to believe that Zhuo Zhibo lost his way underground?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan led them away, yet only he returned in one piece. Old Wang, if it weren¡¯t for the sake of his cultivation, isn¡¯t it very obvious? Only victors can return alive. Losers will obviously end up dead somewhere.¡±

    ¡°I think Zhuo Zhibo is probably done for as well!¡± Wang Pushi gradually became convinced. He had undergone a heavenly tribulation and reached Foundation Establishment, truly setting foot on the path of cultivation and becoming an influential Scarlet Hawk commander, but he still held great admiration towards Hua Chengzan¡¯s intellect. He had to admit the existence of geniuses in the world. If it were not for that person, Hua Chengzan would have broken through to Foundation Establishment a long time ago, or even surpassed him already.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Afterwards, the two groups separated, with just Li Qingshan and Lao Xishan left together. No one knows what happened to them. According to He Yishi, Li Qingshan gained an Iron Plate corpse. With Lao Xishan¡¯s ability of having just broken through to the sixth layer, it¡¯s possible that he was killed by the Iron Plate corpse. Perhaps the kid is cultivating in seclusion right now with his spoils of the battles!¡±

    Wang Pushi said furiously, ¡°That kid sure is a vicious ingrate. I shouldn¡¯t have let him join the Hawkwolf Guard in the past.¡±

    Hua Chengzan winked at him mischievously. ¡°Back then, you never imagined he would be able to kill Feng Zhang and actually be bold enough to report to Jiaping city.¡±

    Wang Pushi shot him a vicious glance. ¡°He got lucky.¡±

    Hua Chengzan raised his head and looked at the ceiling. ¡°Once or twice is luck. If he can defeat those stronger than him and escape death every single time, that¡¯s not luck anymore. That¡¯s strength.¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Though, his luck has run out.¡±

    Hua Chengzan lowered his head again and said in surprise, ¡°What do you plan on doing?¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll obviously bring him to justice. In just the few months after joining the Hawkwolf Guard, he killed two of his superior officers. I¡¯ve never seen such a bold Black Wolf guard. He has no respect for laws or authority at all.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Look, that¡¯s just my guess. It might not be true. And, there¡¯s no evidence, so why would he admit to it?¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Are we just supposed to drop this matter like this then?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Zhuo Zhibo was asking for it. He went as far as to mobilise everyone, and he tried to kill his own subordinate. Isn¡¯t Li Qingshan allowed to fight back? Zhuo Zhibo has spent far too much time in Jiaping city, and he has gotten too close to the Sect of Clouds and Rain as well. It¡¯s time for us to change him as well.¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Then Lao Xishan deserved it as well when he was silenced with death?¡±

    Hua Chengzan pouted. ¡°He probably deserved it. If he wanted to silence people, the people he should have silenced the most would be the disciples of mohism, particularly the one called He Yishi. His testimony is basically trying to incriminate Li Qingshan as the murderer, yet Li Qingshan still saved them. If Li Qingshan were vicious, he would have left them to die in the hands of the Zombie Daoist. Since he has already cleaned up behind himself, and it doesn¡¯t seem like he did it on purpose, why must we be the petty ones here?¡±

 Chapter 187 â€“ Geniuses and the Ordinary

    The deaths of two Hawkwolf Guard commanders was a ground-shaking matter in certain places, through the eyes of certain people. However, in other places, in the eyes of other people, this was insignificant.

    The difference in authority and power resulted in differing focuses. Whether it be Wang Pushi who disliked Li Qingshan or Hua Chengzan who liked him, they both handled this matter as something unimportant. They reached an agreement after just a short talk.

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Fair enough. It¡¯s not like we need to do anything to deal with the kid anyway.¡±

    Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°How come?¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Vice sect master Wei of the Sect of Clouds and Rain has already ventured to Jiaping city with the four grannies. That shitty son of his went underground in search of Li Qingshan and hasn¡¯t returned since. I think he¡¯s dead. What, didn¡¯t that cohabitor of yours mention it?¡±

    Hua Chengsan said, ¡°You¡¯ve answered your own question. Even you said that she¡¯s just my cohabitor, not my wife. She¡¯s the sect master, so she obviously has to consider the interests of the sect. The child does seem to be rather important to them. They sure don¡¯t take me seriously as a vice commander!¡± He had forbidden the Sect of Clouds and Rain from laying a finger on Li Qingshan, but they defied his request now, forcefully going about the manner. That was equivalent to disregarding his authority.

    Wang Pushi raised an eyebrow. ¡°Once you get through the heavenly tribulation, we can work together. I¡¯d like to see if there is anyone who¡¯s bold enough to defy your requests in the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture by then.¡± Two Foundation Establishment cultivators who were also Hawkwolf guards possessed absolute authority within the entire Clear River prefecture. In comparison, while only a step separated them from tenth layer Qi Practitioners, a significant difference existed.

    Hua Chengsan smiled in a disappointing manner. ¡°Cultivation is about going with the flow. You can¡¯t force it.¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Forget it. We¡¯ll just stick with what you want. We won¡¯t bring him to justice, nor will we protect him. We¡¯ll just wait and see. I¡¯d like to see if the kid can survive this!¡±

    Hua Chengzan sprang up from his seat and crouched on the desk, patting Wang Pushi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°At the end of the day, he can still be regarded as a person that boss Gu admires. Just stop being dissatisfied with him, old Wang. You¡¯d better be careful if it affects your cultivation.¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°So what? I¡¯m also a person that boss- commander Gu admires. You¡¯ve almost carried me away! If it weren¡¯t for this dissatisfaction, I would be an old man gasping my last breath of air right now! I¡¯ll pay a visit to the Academy of the Hundred Schools and see which kids are willing to head down and take over the position of commander and vice commander.¡±

    After Wang Pushi departed, Hua Chengzan became slightly gloomy. He sighed gently. Even if he was as intelligent as they came, standing proudly as a genius, what was the point of all of it if he could not close this distance, even just by a tiny bit?

    As geniuses stood where they were, sighing, the ordinary crawled along on the ground.

    Smack! A crisp slap sent Qian Rongzhi flying. She rolled in the air and slammed into a wall viciously, falling to the ground. Her entire cheek had already swelled up as blood oozed from the corner of her lips. She no longer seemed charming at all.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him? And why have you only reported it now?¡± A grizzled, middle-aged man in expensive, violet robes roared. His true qi surged in a formidable manner, crushing down on Qian Rongzhi from a certain distance away. She was immobilised like an insect about to be squashed.

    The middle-aged man was the vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, Wei Zhongyuan. He had already reached the highest level of the Method of Clouds and Rain. Only a step separated him from Foundation Establishment. He was a figure who stood at the apex among Qi Practitioners.

    To the sides of the hall sat four shrivelled, old women, all covered in cosmetics. It was quite a strange sight. Even from ten steps away, it was possible to smell the cosmetics they wore.

    They all tweaked their appearances, drawing their eyebrows, applying eye make-up, and manicuring their nails. None of them even glanced at Qian Rongzhi. A few young men stood behind them as they served them with their utmost attention.

    One of them was the West Gate Granny. Two handsome young men massaged her shoulders, while she lowered her head and sipped some tea. She paid no attention to her disciple¡¯s miserable state.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes were teary as she said in a pitiful manner, ¡°I tried everything, but I wasn¡¯t able to dissuade young master Wei. Sect master, you really can¡¯t blame me for this!¡±

    ¡°How dare you talk back!¡± Wei Zhongyuan extended his hand and true qi flew over thirty meters away, lifting Qian Rongzhi into the air. ¡°With my son¡¯s temperament, he would have never tried to search for Li Qingshan if he hadn¡¯t been bewitched by a whore like you. There¡¯s no news of him even now.¡± If it were not for the fact that Qian Rongzhi was just too weak, he basically would have suspected Qian Rongzhi to be the culprit behind it all. Of course, this did not originate from his rational thinking, but from the pure anger that he wanted to vent on her.

    With a shriek, all of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s bones creaked. They were close to being crushed. ¡°I¡­ really¡­¡±

    The door was suddenly flung open and several Black Wolf guards barged in. ¡°What are you trying to¡­¡± After seeing what was going on, they all paled in fright. They received news that a Black Wolf guard was trapped in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, so they all rushed over in a hurry. However, they never thought that they would run into such a powerful group of Qi Practitioners. They had almost been left speechless.

    ¡°W- what are you trying to do? A- are you trying to kill someone from the Hawkwolf Guard?¡±

    Wei Zhongyuan remembered how Qian Rongzhi possessed another identity. The West Gate Granny coughed gently. ¡°Sect master, just leave the matter be. It¡¯s not Rongzhi¡¯s fault anyway. We better find little Jie quickly instead! I¡¯ve watched that kid grow up, so I don¡¯t wish for anything to happen to him either.¡±

    Wei Zhongyang snorted coldly before tossing Qian Rongzhi aside resentfully. The Black Wolf guards were afraid to come help her up. Qian Rongzhi managed to get back onto her feet, and she knelt at the West Gate Granny in gratitude. ¡°Thank you, granny!¡± Then she bowed her head towards Wei Zhongyuan. ¡°Thank you, sect master!¡±

    ¡°If we can¡¯t find Jie¡¯er, just you wait!¡± Wei Zhongyuan turned around swiftly and made his way out. The four grannies followed closely behind, while the young men all walked past Qian Rongzhi in a chattery manner, looking at her dishevelled shape in disdain. They discussed loudly, ¡°Look at her! She looks like a bitch!¡±

    A young man beside the West Gate Granny said, ¡°Right? She even wanted to suck up to granny. How shameless.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi kept her head lowered, such that her messy hair hid her face, preventing anyone from seeing the light in her eyes.

    Fortunately, she had thought of sending someone to seek reinforcements from the Hawkwolf Guard first, or she really might have been killed in this old bastard¡¯s rage, which would have been a waste. If she used the Vitality Devouring technique on a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, would it be enough for her to break through to the sixth layer and condense a sea of qi?

    The Black Wolf guards glanced at Qian Rongzhi. One of them said, ¡°Now you know the consequences that come from trying to cling onto the stinky feet of the Sect of Clouds and Rain!¡±

    ¡°When the Parlour of Clouds and Rain opens again, we¡¯ll take good care of the business considering the fact that we¡¯re colleagues. Rongzhi, once you recover from your injuries, hopefully you¡¯ll treat us well!¡±

    A few people smiled nefariously as they fearlessly ogled Qian Rongzhi¡¯s lovely stature.

    They were Black Wolf guards who had originally been pushed to one side by Zhuo Zhibo. They were filled with envy and disdain towards Qian Rongzhi, who had managed to get on Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s good side as soon as she had joined the Hawkwolf Guard. Now that Zhuo Zhibo was gone, they all felt like it was time for them to rise up. They felt extremely pleased with themselves, such that they became arrogant from their success.

    Qian Rongzhi stood up. Under the soothing of true qi, her swollen face returned to normal, only leaving behind some dark, blue bruising. She wiped away the blood from the corner of her lips and smiled. ¡°I just happen to be interested in carrying out a mission, but I probably won¡¯t succeed if I go alone, so I¡¯ll have to ask for your help. I¡¯ll definitely pay back your kindness properly.¡±

    The Black Wolf guards looked at one another. They were all tempted, but the disdain they showed deepened. Qian Rongzhi was just a whore who used her body to climb up. Now that the person she relied on, Zhuo Zhibo, had collapsed, she obviously needed someone new to depend on. Out of them, one was at the fourth layer and three were at the third layer. They were basically all of the core strength that remained in the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city. They were very good targets to curry up to.

    It was perfect for them to try this woman. It was not like they had to be afraid of any tricks she could use with their strength.

    Right after Qian Rongzhi and the four Black Wolf guards received the mission in the falconry and were about to set off, they ran into Diao Fei.

    Diao Fei glanced at Qian Rongzhi and immediately moved to one side. He asked politely, ¡°You¡¯re all¡­?¡±

    The leading fourth layer Qi Practitioner said, ¡°We¡¯re going on a small mission. Some daemons have been acting up, so we want to take a look. Do you want to come along?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, big brother, it¡¯s just a small mission. Won¡¯t that be a little too many people?¡± A Black Wolf guard smiled nefariously, leading to a wave of laughter.

    Come along!? Diao Fei did not even have enough time to avoid this woman, yet they somehow had the courage to go on a mission with her. Ever since the mission in Ancient Wing city, he became extremely cautious about Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi. He swore that he would never do anything with them again. He maintained a low profile and went about his matters alone, accumulating resources and avoiding disturbances. He was preparing for his breakthrough to the fourth layer.

    When he heard that Zhuo Zhibo had led a group of Black Wolf guards to hunt down Li Qingshan, he was not like the other Black Wolf guards who firmly believed that Li Qingshan was done for. The end result from all of this was the disappearance of nine Hawkwolf Guards, with two commanders among them. He was not bold enough to say that Li Qingshan was behind all of it, but he definitely felt that Li Qingshan had something to do with it.

    This consolidated his thoughts all the more. He could not afford to travel alongside a tiger! However, it was possible to guard against tiger attacks, but venomous snakes were impossible to defend against. His gaze towards these Black Wolf guards was rather strange. He basically said with some pity for them, ¡°I still have things I need to do.¡± before leaving in a hurry.

    ¡°What a loner.¡±

    ¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s go.¡± The fourth layer Qi Practitioner placed his hand around Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hips in a natural fashion and brought it downwards.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. While different types of true qi would cause a slight problem, how could she turn down prey that was basically delivered to her?

    The next day, Qian Rongzhi returned to Jiaping quietly with four round sacks. She returned to the palace below the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    Whether they were geniuses or ordinary, they all had to find a way to live, no matter what the method was. However, when the ordinary refused to remain in mediocrity and accept the arrangements of fate, desiring everything that geniuses possessed, they would have to rack their brains and pay a price. This price was not just hardships and hard work. It could even involve sacrificing their dignity, enduring abuse, abandoning their feelings, and throwing themselves into hellish misery.

 Chapter 188 â€“ The Strength of Two Oxen

    The effects from swallowing a thousand Qi Gathering pills at the same time was akin to swallowing a bomb. He felt like a fire raged in his belly, about to blow his stomach to shreds. It if were not for the fact that he had already daemonified, so his body was much tougher than regular people, this process would have been enough to claim his life.

    Under the effects of the medicines, the daemon qi gradually became violent, losing control and rampaging about fearlessly as if it wanted to blow up Li Qingshan.

    If it were not for the fact that the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging had made his body as tough as steel, even regular daemons would have exploded from that. If he had so many advantages, and he did not go a little tougher on himself, he would not be a man.

    He ignored the pain as he forcefully moved his body, raising his leg, lifting his shoulder, and punching out, guiding the daemon qi along a fixed path. He unleashed the three forms, the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves, the Ox Demon Butts its Horns, and the Ox Demon Forges its Hide, again and again. Who knows how many times he had unleashed them. He had sworn that he would only emerge to see Xiao An once he had broken through to the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and attained the strength of two oxen.

    Five figures moved rapidly over the wilderness. It was Wei Zhongyuan and the four grannies from the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Every single one of them was surrounded by a flow of qi. Their feet did not touch the ground as they moved with the wind while their sleeves ruffled in the breeze. They were extremely graceful.

    A farmer saw this from afar as he worked in the fields. He immediately knelt down on the ground and proclaimed, ¡°Immortals!¡±

    The five of them did not even glance at him. They made a turn and arrived above the river, kicking up waves in the water. They followed the river straight to the entrance of the Zombie cave before stopping. As they stood above the water, they gazed at the pitch-black cave that seemed no different from the gaping mouth of a beast.

    ¡°It might be dangerous in the cave. The two commanders from the Hawkwolf Guard have probably lost their lives in there. It¡¯s very likely that Li Qingshan possesses an Iron Plate corpse.¡± Wei Zhongyuan warned them, displaying his bearing as a leader of a sect at the same time.

    ¡°With what we¡¯re capable of, an Iron Plate corpse is nothing,¡± said the East Gate Granny with a sneer. ¡°If it were a Steel Plate corpse, then we¡¯d need to be careful, and if it were a Bronze Daemon Corpse, then I¡¯d leave without even looking back.¡±

    The East Gate Granny raised an eyebrow. She hated when people mentioned how old she was the most. She cursed, ¡°You old hag, are you trying to call me ignorant? How can a Daemon General appear in such a shallow place? If there really are Daemon Generals, why would the Zombie Daoist build a dwelling here?¡±

    Wei Zhongyuan said, ¡°Stop arguing. There¡¯s nothing wrong with being careful. We have to save my son, kill that Li Qingshan, and capture that child with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty this time. Let¡¯s go!¡± With a wave of his hand, he flew into the cave first.

    The burning sensation in Li Qingshan¡¯s belly gradually spread throughout his body. His black skin reddened slightly. As soon as sweat oozed out, it turned into white steam, rapidly rising from his bulky, powerful body; it was like he was in a steamer.

    His movements as he practised the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength became slower and slower as well. In the end, he became so slow that he seemed like he was practising tai chi. As he slowed down, even the air seemed to thicken with him.

    However, every punch he threw was able to make the air in the entire cave surge. The air was just like the daemon qi in his body, rampaging about and resonating in the narrow cave. It resonated in an oppressive matter.

    He had reached the most crucial moment in his cultivation.

    The five of them had arrived at the first fork. Just when Wei Zhongyuan tried to sense for any aura, the West Gate Granny was already prepared. She took out a spherical, wooden ball.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°A Pathfinding Insect Hive.¡±

    ¡°That mohist by the surname of He sold it to me. He even made me keep it a secret.¡± The West Gate Granny twisted the mechanism, and a complete underground map appeared. This was a record of when the mohist disciples had ventured into here last time.

    The five of them directly flew towards the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling. They were even faster than birds.

    The scarlet red from Li Qingshan became more and more obvious. It basically flowed out of him, making him seem like a heated piece of iron.

    The red light in his eyes became brighter and brighter as well. There was the sound of stretching iron as he rapidly grew taller, becoming even larger and stronger.

    Thirty-three feet, thirty-five feet, thirty-seven feet.

    The process was extremely painful, but he grinned widely, revealing his sharp teeth. He seemed extremely satisfied.

    A while later, the five of them arrived at the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling, and they barged in without any hesitation at all. They searched around, but all the rooms were empty. Only the cultivation room was blocked up by a huge piece of rock.

    The West Gate Granny asked, ¡°Is he in there?¡±

    Wei Zhongyuan walked over without any hesitation and casually struck out with his hand. The rock shattered loudly.

    Li Qingshan grew by twelve feet, reaching forty-two feet. He let out an explosive bellow and spread his arms to the sides and produced a roar!

    The lakewater beside him was suddenly blown apart, ramming against the walls in the surroundings as waves several meters in height. The waterfall almost ended up flowing backwards. The muddy depths of the lake were revealed within a radius of ten meters from him.

    As it turned out, Li Qingshan had found the ceiling of the cultivation room to be too low, so he came to the underground lake where he had fought Zhuo Zhibo and the others. The ceiling was two hundred feet high, so he could move around freely there. He just happened to avoid the people of the Sect of Clouds and Rain in there as well.

    Li Qingshan laughed heartily. He had finally reached the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, and his physical strength had reached an extremely terrifying level. The lakewater flowed back towards him and formed a great vortex around him. It was enough to swallow boats, yet it only managed to reach up to his waist.

    A figure flew towards Li Qingshan. He extended his hand, and the figure landed in his palm. She was Xiao An. She also grinned, feeling happy for him.

    Li Qingshan felt like his body was filled with explosive power. He had never felt so great before. He waded through the water and arrived by the shore, pressing his hands against the stone walls. The rocks that had been left untouched for all these years were so tough that even blades would struggle to leave a mark. However, he only pressed gently, and his hand sank into it without any resistance at all, like he was pressing against mud. Moreover, he developed a weak connection with the rock.

    Afterwards, he tried a new experiment. He took out a Wind-entwining blade and swung it at his own chest. With a clang, sparks flew and the blade rebounded away. It failed to even leave a mark on his body.

    Afterwards, he took out Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s mid grade spiritual artifact blade and replicated the speed and strength when Zhuo Zhibo controlled it, stabbing it at himself. All he felt was a slight sting, but it failed to penetrate him as well.

    Having reached the second layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, his strength was not the only factor that had grown; his terrifying defence had become greater as well. If he combined it with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, even Hao Pingyang¡¯s Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light would struggle to leave a mark on him.

    With his body as a daemon, he could massacre as many sixth layer Qi Practitioners as he wanted as long as they were presented before him. The only question he considered right now was whether this strength was sufficient to defeat ninth layer Qi Practitioners like the West Gate Granny. Killing intent flashed through his eyes. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was determined to take Xiao An away, which had crossed his bottom line. It made him determined to kill them.

    However, he placated this killing intent afterwards. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was still a colossal, undefeatable existence in his eyes. He needed to keep enduring whatever they threw at him.

    Wei Zhongyuan looked at the empty cultivation room. ¡°He¡¯s not here!¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s been here before!¡± The West Gate Granny wiped the stone table. There was not a speck of dust on there.

    When Xiao An was bored, she would frequently order the puppet and Iron Plate corpse around to clean.

    The West Gate Granny said in a sinister manner, ¡°He¡¯ll definitely return here. We can set a trap here and just wait for him to walk into it!¡±

    They glanced at one another and nodded together. Immediately, they hid themselves in the darkness and concealed their auras, waiting for Li Qingshan to walk towards his own doom.

    They could imagine how Li Qingshan would be like a trapped tiger once he set foot here. He would never be able to escape.

    Li Qingshan returned to human form and looked at himself in the water. He smiled bitterly.

    Right now, he seemed no different from the burly NBA stars from his former life. He was riddled with muscles. He seemed like a ferocious beast just by standing there. In no way did he seem like a sixteen-year-old teenager. He opened his mouth and rubbed his long canines as he felt even more helpless.

    The first layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression just happened to be enough to suppress the first layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging. Now that Li Qingshan had reached the second layer with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, that was equivalent to breaking this balance. Immediately, he gained many more features of daemons. If he reached the second layer with the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging as well, he probably would not be able to suppress these changes anymore. He would not be able to return to human form.

    ¡°Whatever! The most important part of a man is not his appearance!¡± Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°I¡¯m very manly like this, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    Xiao An nodded firmly. She liked him no matter how he seemed.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back!¡± He took a step forward, but all he felt was the ground give way. Looking down, he had left behind a deep footprint. He sighed gently and began to focus on controlling his power as he advanced step by step. He no longer felt like he was treading on air, and his steps grew faster and faster. Gradually, he felt like the firm ground was strangely springy, allowing him to travel even further with each step.

    The five peak Qi Practitioners waited quietly in the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling. They waited for a long time. One day passed, two days passed, and three days passed. A layer of dust formed on the stone table again.

    As Qi Practitioners, they were all people with patience, but just when were they supposed to wait until?

    Li Qingshan originally wanted to return to the dwelling, but his stomach growled. It was thunderous. He rubbed his belly. ¡°I feel like I can eat ten oxen. Let¡¯s go find something to eat first!¡±

    He had already emptied out the food in all of his hundred treasures pouches. Although he would not starve to death as long as he had Qi Gathering pills combined with absorbing the spiritual qi of the world through his daemon core, eating actual food still came with benefits, and it would be preserving one of his joys of living. He took out the underground mental map, found the closest exit that led to the surface, and made his way out.

    PS: Li Qingshan has become Li Erniu1! Let¡¯s give him an applause of warm welcome! Please send monthly tickets!

 Chapter 189 â€“ In Search of a Place for Cultivation

    The exit was in a mountainous forest. As it happened to be the middle of autumn, the mountain had become dyed. Red, yellow, and green merged together to form a fluctuating landscape. As the brilliant sunlight landed on his eyes, he blinked, breathing in deeply to take in the fresh air of the surface.

    As expected, he was much more suited for living on the surface. The Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling was too deep underground, so he could not come out and get a fresh breath of air whenever he wanted. It would be best if he could find a somewhat obscure cave and build a house over it. Afterwards, he would be able to dive into the ground or come out and get some fresh air whenever he wanted. That would be the life!

    Of course, it was not like the Zombie Daoist preferred it underground. Instead, he had decided on this after some consideration. If his dwelling was too close to the surface, it would be too easy for the Hawkwolf Guard to storm his base and arrest him. He paid peculiar attention to the location of his dwelling as well. When Li Qingshan cultivated there, he could feel his true qi move about much faster. He could sense that the spiritual qi of the world in the cave was much denser than other places through his Fengchi acupoint.

    Spiritual veins riddled the underground. The dwelling must have been located above a certain spiritual vein, abiding to the need of a good environment out of the four crucial elements to cultivation¡ªwealth, companionship, method, and environment. Although it was not on the level of blessed lands mentioned in the legends, it still brought great benefit to cultivation.

    However, Li Qingshan had never been walking a path of cultivation where he was supposed to advance steadily, step by step. Instead, he relied on tremendous amounts of pills to forcefully push his cultivation forward. A special place for cultivation did not hold much significance to him. It was not like he would need one until he had finished all the pills he had on him.

    Opening the mental map of the Green province, Li Qingshan confirmed his location. He was in a place a hundred kilometers south-east of Jiaping city. It was on the boundary of the region that the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city was responsible for, which was exactly what he wanted.

    Fifteen kilometers to the south was a small city called Salt Mountain city, as it was located on a mountain of salt.

    The value of salt mines was no less than gold or iron mines. Although they were not enough to attract interest from Qi Practitioners, they were places that people of the jianghu would fight over. Whether it be claiming a salt mine or transporting the salt, it all required the protection of masters. It was a place where the tradition of martial arts was deeply ingrained. All the people on the streets carried blades and swords, moving about however they pleased. They all seemed imposing.

    However, great hero Yu had his troubles. The troubles of everyone powerful were mostly related to encountering someone even more powerful. He felt helpless.

    ¡°Manor lord Yu, I¡¯ll be taking those kids then,¡± said a middle-aged man. He wore a set of green robes and wielded a sword in a green scabbard. His collar and cuffs were embroidered with green vines. Surprisingly, the aura he gave off was at the third layer. Beside him stood four children around twelve or thirteen years of age. They were all excited but rather reluctant to leave as well.

    Yu Shukuang smiled along. ¡°Alright. Feel free to take them, brother Liu. These children will definitely have a better future in the Green Vine mountain.¡±

    These children were all of his most outstanding young disciples. Two of them came from humble origins, so he even went as far as to keep them fed and clothed for several years, just so the Proud Sword sect could gain a few more masters in the future. However, he never thought they would just end up being poached away. These disciples of the Green Vine mountain came over, flapped their gums, and took them away. It was painful.

    Cultivation sects required outstanding talents as well as new blood, but with the tiny number of Qi Practitioners that existed in the world, it was impossible for them to go from household to household in search of suitable talent. Instead, they would directly come to these larger sects and gangs of the jianghu, which became an extremely convenient and effective method. Many cultivation sects even created their own gangs and schools, just to expand their influence so that it would be easier to recruit disciples.

    ¡°Our Green Vine mountain obviously won¡¯t take advantage of you. Here¡¯s a Qi Gathering pill. It¡¯ll be very beneficial for when you break through to the innate realm.¡± Liu Fengrui left behind an embroidered box, and all that was inside the box was a pitiful Qi Gathering pill. However, he acted like he had just done Yu Shukuang a great favour.

    Yu Shukuang cursed inside. Do you really think I¡¯m an ignorant bumpkin!? With his wealth and how common Qi Gathering pills were among Qi Practitioners, even buying several dozen of them would have been a piece of cake. It brought no benefit to his future attempts at breaking through to the innate realm at all. However, he acted like he was flattered. ¡°That¡¯s far too precious!¡±

    At this moment, a disciple hurried over and reported, ¡°Lord of the manor, someone wishes to see you.¡±

    Yu Shukuang said furiously, ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m receiving a valued guest?¡±

    The disciple said pitifully, ¡°But he said he¡¯s your friend, manor lord.¡±

    Liu Fengrui said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡±

    Yu Shukuang stood up in a hurry to see him off. He constantly nodded and bowed his head along the way, but he sighed inside. Zijian, oh Zijian, don¡¯t disappoint your father. You need to accomplish something with your cultivation so that you can back up your father when you return.

    Sending him off at the front entrance, Yu Shukuang glanced from the corner of his eye and saw a figure as robust as an ox sitting on a long bench near the entrance. He wore a great big bamboo hat that obscured his appearance, and he had a large bamboo basket beside him. It was lidded, so it was impossible to tell what it was holding.

    The disciple whispered, ¡°Manor lord, that¡¯s him!¡±

    Yu Shukuang was confident that he did not have a friend like that, or he definitely would have remembered such a stature. No, he should say that he had never seen someone with such a figure in his entire life before.

    The figure stood up quickly and arrived before Yu Shukuang. ¡°Great hero Yu, long time no see.¡±

    At that moment, Yu Shukuang basically felt his vision darken slightly. However, the sincere voice sounded rather familiar. ¡°You¡¯re?¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted his hat slightly. Although his stature and skin tone had changed tremendously, such that even his face had become rather strange, Yu Shukuang still managed to recognise him with a single glance. He cried out, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Liu Fengrui completely ignored Yu Shukuang. He directly boarded his carriage and departed. He had never taken great hero Yu seriously the entire time.

    Yu Shukuang was no longer in the mood to lose his temper over that. The Tiger Butcher had come knocking, so what good could come out of that? He became temporarily stunned.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go in and talk!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Originally, he wanted to express some good will through that, but he revealed his long, protruding teeth, which instead made him seem more vicious and up to no good. Yu Shukuang shuddered, following Li Qingshan into the manor at a complete loss. Just what had he done to deserve this?

    Li Qingshan had specially selected a city that was slightly larger but without Qi Practitioners from the map, which would bring him convenience to purchase food; this was why he had chosen Salt Mountain city. However, his appetite was just too large, so if he went to buy food himself, it would be too troublesome, and it would raise attention. If he were discovered by an informant of the Hawkwolf Guard, it would be bad. As a result, he needed someone with some influence in the local area to help him handle this matter.

    He could vaguely recall that Yu Shukuang had once invited him to Salt Mountain city with great enthusiasm in the restaurant in Lakeside city. As a result, he located the city on the map and came knocking.

    Yu Shukuang sent away his disciples tactfully and asked, ¡°Sir Li, what brings you to such a remote place?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There are a few matters that I need to trouble you with!¡± He casually pulled out a wad of silver notes. ¡°That¡¯s around a million taels of silver. That¡¯s the deposit.¡±

    ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t accept that. As long as there¡¯s any place I can be of use, I¡¯ll do anything, no matter the danger or the cost,¡± Yu Shukuang said in a delightful manner, but what he thought was, Who would be bold enough to accept the Tiger Butcher¡¯s money?

    ¡°Take it!¡± Li Qingshan said indifferently.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Yu Shukuang immediately accepted the money as cold sweat dripped from his forehead. Who was bold enough to turn down the Tiger Butcher¡¯s money?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There¡¯s a house between the mountains to the south-east of the city. I want to buy it and stay in it for some time. That¡¯s what the money¡¯s for.¡±

    ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll send people to handle this immediately, no, I¡¯ll handle it myself. I guarantee you that you¡¯ll be able to move in by tonight.¡± Yu Shukuang assured as he patted his chest.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone to know that I¡¯m here, including your friends and family, with your daughter in particular. If any news of me makes it out¡­¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t happen. If I tell this to anyone else, I¡¯ll let myself be smited by the hea-¡± Yu Shukuang immediately lifted his right hand to swear an oath.

    Li Qingshan interrupted him. ¡°Forget about the oath. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m relying on that either. As long as you¡¯re willing to help me out, I won¡¯t mistreat you. I won¡¯t be like that person earlier who tried paying you off with a single Qi Gathering pill.¡±

    Yu Shukuang felt both ashamed and astounded. Li Qingshan had actually managed to hear the conversation in the main hall several hundred meters away as he sat at the entrance.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Where¡¯s the Qi Gathering pill?¡±

    Yu Shukuang took out the embroidered box in a hurry and Li Qingshan took it from him. He took out the Qi Gathering pill and tossed it in his mouth. ¡°Quality¡¯s not too bad.¡±

    Yu Shukuang was devastated. Qi Gathering pills were still extremely precious pills to masters of the jianghu who practised internal martial arts like him. They were worth one or two hundred thousand taels of silver elsewhere. He was clearly just stringing him along by saying he would not mistreat him.

    Li Qingshan took out a new pill from his hundred treasures pouch and placed it in the box. ¡°Do you recognise this pill?¡±

    Yu Shukuang¡¯s eyes widened immediately. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a Hundred Grasses pill!¡± Now that was much rarer and more precious than Qi Gathering pills. It was basically never sold on the market. Even if he spent two hundred thousand taels, he would not be able to get his hands on one. If he could eat one of them, his chances at breaking through to the innate realm would increase.

    Li Qingshan returned the box to Yu Shukuang. ¡°That¡¯s a deposit as well. I hope we have a smooth cooperation.¡± Fear and interest have always been the absolute methods to controlling people. Li Qingshan just happened to lack neither.

    An hour later, Li Qingshan obtained the deed to the house. He stood up and bid farewell. ¡°Oh right. Don¡¯t call me by my name in the future.¡±

    ¡°What should I call you then?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it. ¡°Just call me Niu¡¯er1.¡±

    Yu Shukuang was experienced, so he could tell from a long time ago that Li Qingshan was purposefully trying to hide his identity. However, he just utterly disagreed with Li Qingshan¡¯s naming sense.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh also, send ten, no, twenty tables of food over everyday.¡± He had almost lost sensation in his tongue after cultivating underground for all this time.

    Li Qingshan stood inside the house between the mountains. The entire place had already been cleaned, and everything had been watered too. Who knows how Yu Shukuang had managed all of that. The mountains and forests in the surroundings complemented one another, forming a very tranquil and beautiful scene. It was secluded, yet also close to Salt Mountain city. It was the exact place Li Qingshan wanted for cultivation.

    Li Qingshan placed down his bamboo basket, and Xiao An crawled out from inside. She looked around and seemed very satisfied as well.

    Li Qingshan took out the two mental maps of the underground and the Green province and compared them. The underground map indicated that a cave just happened to pass underneath this place. It was just a few meters below the surface, so he could link the house to it with just a little bit of effort.

 Chapter 190 â€“ The Third Layer

    By then, he could do whatever he wanted. If the Sect of Clouds and Rain found him, he could escape to the caves. He only needed to take a few twists and turns; with his aura hidden, the Sect of Clouds and Rain would never be able to capture him.

    The estate occupied a few thousand square meters. As it was located in the mountains, many fallen leaves soon covered it again despite having just been sweeped earlier.

    It was a secluded place, where the scenery and building complemented each other. The place gave off an antiquated aura within its tranquility. Who knows just what it had weathered already. The original, wooden carvings on the beams and columns had faded, which instead replaced the sense of extravagance with a certain weatheredness.

    Li Qingshan was extremely satisfied. It was even better than his residence at the Hawkwolf Guard. He lowered his head and said, ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be staying here for a while.¡± He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°Once I rise up and accomplish something with my ability, I¡¯ll knock on their doors one by one and make the people of the Sect of Rain and Clouds bleed. They¡¯re dreaming if they think they can take you! Hahahaha!¡± His smile was as resplendent as the sun.

    Xiao An was infected by his laughter and a smile formed on her face like a ripple in water. She thought to herself, Yeah, no one can take me away.

    In order to buy this place, money alone would likely not have been enough to do the job for Yu Shukuang. He relied on the Proud Sword manor¡¯s influence as a gang as well. Just like the food chain, the Green Vine mountain could just send a disciple over and that would be enough to render great hero Yu docile, while great hero Yu could turn a few rich merchants docile just by turning around.

    What a brutal social hierarchy!

    Li Qingshan sighed. He looked through the manor, in search of a place to begin digging.

    Xiao An pulled out a book on the shelf in the study, and with a creak, the shelf turned around, revealing a flight of steps downwards.

    Li Qingshan gave Xiao An a thumbs up. ¡°Nicely done. Let¡¯s go in and take a look!¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan and Xiao An set foot inside, the bookshelf closed automatically. With the strength that they possessed, they were fearless, so they ventured downwards with nothing to be scared of.

    They discovered that this was a man-made secret room, divided into several dozen rooms and connected by several secret passageways. They led to a few important structures in the estate. There was also a large stockpile of grains and food in there.

    This had instead saved him some trouble. He took out the underground mental map and matched it to the entire hidden structure. He arrived in a stone room, raised his right foot, and stomped down heavily.

    With a thump, the floor became covered in cracks; followed by a rumble, the rock and soil all collapsed, kicking up motes of dust.

    The dust settled and revealed a great hole in the floor. Li Qingshan stuck his head into the cave and looked around. As expected, it was connected to the cave system below. He smiled happily. With this path of retreat, he could cultivate in peace now.

    Returning above ground, the twenty tables of food had already been delivered. Li Qingshan indulged in the food heartily. Xiao An ate some with him before placing down her chopsticks and watching him eat as she leaned on her hands.

    After enough food and drink, Xiao An went to the study to look at the books, while Li Qingshan meditated in the courtyard. He swallowed ten Qi Gathering pills in a single gulp, and they were swallowed up by the daemon core as soon as they were digested, all converted into daemon qi.

    He had decided to direct his focus back to the cultivation of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression from today onwards. If his cultivation of the spirit turtle was too low, it would be insufficient to keep the ox demon and tiger demon suppressed, preventing him from reverting to human form. It would lead to quite a lot of trouble.

    The Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging could drastically strengthen his body, endowing him with extraordinary battle prowess. However, what controlled his cultivation as a daemon was the tiny daemon core condensed from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    The first layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression was condensing a daemon core, allowing him to reach a level equivalent to the sixth layer of human Qi Practitioners. If he reached the second layer, it should result in him breaking through his current realm, allowing him to become a Daemon General. By then, he would not have to fear the Sect of Clouds and Rain anymore.

    However, this would be far more difficult than reaching the second layer with the ox demon or tiger demon. Of course, now that he had mentioned it, this was not exactly difficult. Instead, it was an issue of time. He could not afford to waste a few decades or a century on this. He still wanted to go looking for Gu Yanying once he became accomplished in his cultivation.

    If a century passed in a blink of an eye, perhaps she would not age, but it would already be a miracle if he could still remember her name. No matter how deeply he had fallen in love at first sight, how could it withstand the erosion of time? He had to try to win her over while this feeling for her remained.

    He had also promised to take Xuanyue to the Dragon province. Who knows just how quickly her cultivation could advance with the pills from the provincial lord¡¯s estate. She might even end up achieving something before him during that century and run off by herself. By then, wouldn¡¯t his promise just be a joke?

    And, if he spent too much time on the ground, his brother ox beyond the Nine Heavens would probably run out of patience, even though he had never seen him run out of patience before.

    In short, it was simple. He had to devote himself to cultivation and advance aggressively. He wanted to use countless pills to pave a shortcut to success so that he could rise up.

    He closed his eyes. Externally, he drew in the spiritual qi of the world, while he absorbed the pills internally. He constantly gathered, took in, and converted the energy.

    The sky was clear, only awash with moonlight. He let out his daemon core, which spun into the air, radiating with deep blue light that pulsed like it was breathing. A smear of moonlight was absorbed into the daemon core as well.

    His mind, on the other hand, constantly descended, like a spirit turtle sinking into a bottomless abyss, entering a sleep of millennia, almost like it did not exist.

    The spiritual qi of the world constantly surged into his daemon core and body.

    The part of him that was usually the most sensitive to the spiritual qi of the world, the Fengchi acupoint on the back of his head, seemed to have become the perfect entry point. Most of the spiritual qi just entered his Yang Heel meridian like that, flowing through his meridians.

    Originally, this was supposed to be something that only Foundation Establishment cultivators could achieve, but this young man who walked both the path of humans and daemons managed to accomplish this unknowingly.

    The extremely pure energy of the world was originally an elixir only powerful cultivators who had truly embarked on the path of cultivation could enjoy, yet it flowed through the body of a measly Qi Practitioner like him.

    Compared to this spiritual qi of the world, the Qi Gathering pills refined from herbs that humans had devoted so much effort into picking were like dregs to fine wine.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation of the Innate Method of Practising Qi had already reached the sixth layer. He had reached the peak of the second layer as a Qi Practitioner. The amount of true qi his Yang Heel meridian could hold was already full.

    The mental cultivation method of the seventh layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi filled his mind naturally, and he began to use it unknowingly.

    The true qi in him surged towards the Zhaohai acupoint on his ankle. Because Li Qingshan was not directly controlling, it was unable to condense into a form that could pierce the obstruction. All of it accumulated there, unable to advance forwards.

    However, with the support from the spiritual qi of the world, the true qi surged over in waves like the tide, rising up before the previous had even settled, unrelenting and without pause.

    He did not rely on any pills, nor was his true qi consumed. It was endless. The waves smashed against the Zhaohai acupoint constantly.

    Even if the ¡®dam¡¯ would not waver after a hundred times, what about a thousand, ten thousand, or a hundred thousand times?

    Finally, the dam fell apart and collapsed. The true qi flowed through the Yin Heel meridian and encountered the second obstacle.

    Originally, failure at any point would render all previous efforts null and void, forcing people to start over. This was why Qi Practitioners would always prepare enough pills and spiritual stones when they wanted to open up a meridian.

    That would be like infusing more water into the river of true qi. But right now, Li Qingshan¡¯s river of true qi was directly connected with the boundless ocean. He had endless amounts of spiritual qi of the world.

    No matter how many times his true qi was obstructed by the dams, it would never weaken and fade away. It would only advance slowly, washing up against the dam another ten thousand times. It was extremely gradual, but extremely steady as well. The acupoints were opened one by one, leading to the final destination of the Yin Heel meridian, the Jingming acupoint on his face.

    The acupoint governed sight, which was why it was called Jingming, or the acupoint of Clear Vision. Once the acupoint was opened, Qi Practitioner could see further away and see smaller things, all to the utmost detail. This acupoint could not be avoided if Li Qingshan wanted to open his Yin Heel meridian.

    There was no difficulty at all. The true qi flowed into the Jingming acupoint and connected with the Yang Heel meridian like the unity of two great rivers. It formed a strange environment, where yin and yang qi constantly flowed through his meridians.

    However, Li Qingshan was ignorant of all of this. He had actually broken through to the third layer of Qi Practitioner unknowingly. Probably no one would believe him if he ever mentioned it.

    The autumn wind swept through the trees. A withered leaf gave way, falling off a twig. It drifted over the white walls and fell towards Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    A soft, white hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the leaf, tossing it aside. Xiao An had swept away all of the fallen leaves in the courtyard with a broom she had found somewhere, while the puppet and Iron Plate corpse were responsible for using woven dustpans to scoop up the leaves and pour them outside.

    Thump, thump, thump. Someone knocked at the door, and Xiao An went over to open it. Two disciples of the Proud Sword manor removed several dozen large boxes of food and placed them on the stone steps at the entrance.

    A mild-mannered young man said, ¡°Little sister, here¡¯s today¡¯s food. Is great hero Niu still training?¡±

    Xiao An nodded in a rather unpractised manner. Li Qingshan had always been responsible for communicating with people in the past. Now that Li Qingshan was cultivating, only she could handle them now. She had yet to grow accustomed to it.

    The young man had already come a few times before. He knew that Xiao An never spoke, so he did not find it to be strange. He asked quietly, ¡°Do you want me to deliver the food inside today?¡±

    Xiao An shook her head.

    The young man was slightly disappointed. He really wanted to check out this great hero Niu that his master basically worshipped, or should he say, treated like a great calamity.

    Yu Shukuang was afraid to slight Li Qingshan. Just like what he had requested, he would send two trusted disciples to deliver twenty tables of food everyday. He had basically watched these two disciples grow up, so they were almost like sons to him. He had also reminded them countless times the importance of this matter, as well as the importance of keeping their mouths shut about this. However, this only made the two of them even more curious. Unfortunately, all they met was a mute little girl every time they came here.

    The other young man asked, ¡°Little sister, what kind of person is great hero Niu?¡±

    Xiao An was slightly taken aback. Even if she could speak, she was unable to answer that question properly.

 Chapter 191 â€“ Xiao An Speaks

    On the carriage, the two of them discussed, ¡°Senior brother, I heard the great hero Niu who stays there stands nine feet tall and is built like a rock.¡±

    The mild-mannered young man expressed his doubts, ¡°Is he really that tall? I find it all quite strange. Since when did the world have masters who bear the surname of Niu?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the surname Niu? My surname is Ma1!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m talking about you, so what¡¯re you getting so frantic for? Sigh, what a nice child. She¡¯ll definitely become a great beauty when she grows up. It¡¯s just a pity she¡¯s mute. What a pity!¡±

    The carriage had already pulled extremely far away, far beyond the hearing range of regular first-rate masters. However, Xiao An was able to hear it all clearly outside the door as she moved the boxes in. Her face sank slightly.

    She placed all of the boxes in a secret room that was relatively cool so that Li Qingshan could feast on them whenever he roused from his cultivation.

    However, Li Qingshan never roused. She just sat on the stone step by herself in the autumn wind and fallen leaves. She opened her mouth and clenched her fists, using everything she had in an attempt to speak.

    When she recovered her body, she was still unable to speak. The disappointment on Li Qingshan¡¯s face was embedded in her mind. Although he had comforted her by saying that it did not matter, she never wanted to cause any disappointment to him, so she had always tried to practise speaking whenever he was not looking.

    However, she had not been successful. She felt like an invisible film plugged her throat the entire time, preventing her from producing any sound. She could not even emit a single syllable no matter how hard she tried.

    Her voice had been taken away by the witch, like she would never be able to get it back again.

    Failing once more, she became filled with disappointment again, almost to the point where she wanted to cry. Do the heavens think that I¡¯m too greedy? Since I can already feel his warmth, and I can remain by his side properly, I shouldn¡¯t desire anything more!

    After who knows how long, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and shook his head gently. He had accidentally become engrossed in cultivation. As he slowly raised his eyes, he saw Xiao An wielding the broom that was even longer than herself as she swept away the leaves. He smiled to himself. She sure had nothing better to do. He also felt slightly apologetic for this.

    He asked casually, ¡°Xiao An, how long has it been?¡±

    Xiao An just happened to be lost in her thoughts, thinking about speaking, when she suddenly heard the familiar voice. She turned around in a hurry. ¡°Eek!¡±

    Li Qingshan stretched and yawned. ¡°What¡¯re you eeking¡­ about¡­¡± His eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed at Xiao An. ¡°Y- you¡­¡± He seemed like the one who struggled to talk now.

    After all these months of hard work, all she lacked was a moment of inspiration.

    Li Qingshan knelt on one knee and stood up. He gulped and extended his hands forward. He said as calmly as he could, ¡°Relax.. and try again!¡±

    Xiao An placed down the broom, parted her lips, and tried. ¡°Eek!¡± The short syllable seemed to originate from within her chest, like a droplet of water landing in a tranquil lake, causing prolonged ripples throughout.

    She had used the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to condense a perfect body, and that included her voice. Even though it was just a single sound, it was like striking the string of a zither.

    Li Qingshan smiled happily. ¡°That¡¯s fantastic. Again.¡±

    Xiao An gained some confidence. She sucked in a deep breath. ¡°Eeee¡­¡± It was a long, drawn-out sound, like how a phoenix¡¯s cry could linger for three whole days.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward and embraced her firmly. ¡°This is fantastic! I knew you could do it!¡±

    Xiao An rubbed her eyes as tears rolled down her face.

    Li Qingshan wiped them away for her. ¡°Don¡¯t cry. If you keep crying, I¡¯ll end up crying too!¡± He pinched her cheek. ¡°Come, come, come. Say a little more for me.¡±

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s eager gaze, Xiao An¡¯s face became bright red with how hard she tried. She finally spat out another syllable. ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°Eek!¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips tightened, left at a loss over how to respond. He rubbed her head. ¡°Forget it. We¡¯ll go slowly, just like cultivation.¡± Mentioning cultivation, he checked his daemon core and discovered that his daemon qi had grown slightly, but only by a tiny amount. Although the spiritual qi of the world was endless, he discovered that he could only draw in a tiny portion of it.

    In comparison, it was still faster to chomp on pills. However, he suddenly noticed something. ¡°Hmm? Since when did I reach the third layer?¡± True qi flowed freely through his Yin Heel meridian without any obstruction at all. His original plan was that he would only be able to break through to the third layer after a while longer. Yet now, he had actually broken through unknowingly. He really was slightly taken aback by how sudden it all was, such that he became slightly lost.

    Xiao An moved her arms and eeked and ahhed, explaining to him what had happened. She had remained by Li Qingshan¡¯s side the entire time, so she understood what had happened to him.

    ¡°I see!¡± Li Qingshan held his chin. He did not wonder about why he was able to understand her at all.

    Although he could enter a form of meditation that was almost like hibernation with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he would not be able to sense anything in such a state. He would only rouse when he sensed danger. He would not be able to consume any pills, forcing him to take the route of a regular daemon, which was why he never really used this state.

    The spiritual qi of the world was like fine wine, but there was only a single jug, while he could wolf down Qi Gathering pills like entire tanks of dregs. And, as long as he maintained a steady supply, he could eat as many as he wanted, allowing him to accumulate daemon qi very quickly.

    However, he never thought the cultivation method of daemons would have such a wondrous effect on practising qi. When he broke through to the second layer, he had used the means of traditional qi practitioners, constantly consuming pills to provide support and condensing his true qi to smash through the obstacles. It utterly wore him out. In the end, he had almost failed and only succeeded thanks to Xiao An¡¯s assistance.

    Yet now, he had managed to break through from just sleeping. It was as clear as day which way was better. To his surprise, using the method of daemons to practise qi and the method of humans to cultivate as a daemon was the most optimal choice.

    He needed to be like a regular human cultivator right now, gathering as many pills as he could to accumulate daemon qi. Afterwards, he would need to be like a daemon, finding a den and then constantly absorbing the spiritual qi of the world to cultivate true qi.

    These completely different paths actually supplemented each other. In the very beginning, he felt like cultivation as both a daemon and a human was very tiresome, but he felt the exact opposite now.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had been enlightened. He laughed aloud and lifted up Xiao An, spinning around with her. ¡°I know what I need to do now.¡±

    At this moment, there was a rumble. The muffled boom rang out from underground, which was caught by Li Qingshan¡¯s sensitive ears.

    ¡°An earthquake?¡± He felt the ground beneath him shake slightly. Did his stomp from earlier set off some kind of reaction with the crust of the earth?

    A while later, the tremors subsided, and Li Qingshan did not pay too much attention to it either. There had been a string of good news today, so he was in a very jovial mood. He placed Xiao An on his knee and teased her. After talking for a while, his stomach growled again. He rubbed his belly. ¡°Do you have food?¡±

    Xiao An pulled him by his hand into the secret room, but all she discovered was that all of the food boxes had been opened, while everything inside had vanished into thin air. She was stunned.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Since when did you have such an appetite?¡±

    Xiao An gesticulated in a hurry and eeked and ahhed. Her voice was like the gurgling of a spring, an extremely pleasant sound. With how clever she was, she had already grown accustomed to the two syllables. She used them like morse code, and when combined with her expression and movements, she seemed to be able to convey everything she was trying to say.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan was like a professional cryptographer, accurately interpreting what she was saying. He was stunned. ¡°To think that there are people bold enough to rob me!¡± He went to the other room to take a look, and the grains and food stored there had been polished off as well.

    Xiao An was certain that she had not seen anyone enter, so Li Qingshan thought of something and immediately checked the hole he had opened up. He sniffed carefully, and just as expected, he detected a powerful daemon qi. There were signs of displacement in the soil and earth as well. The uninvited guest had just left.

    Xiao An analysed carefully with her eeks and ahhs.

    Li Qingshan agreed. ¡°Yep. I also think it¡¯s a daemonic beast. Why would humans sneak in here to eat the food? I wonder which ignorant daemonic beast is bold enough to steal from us!¡± Afterwards, he smiled. ¡°It has been quite a while since you¡¯ve refined flesh and blood. Let¡¯s lure it out as dinner for you. We can hold a celebration. Perhaps there might even be a daemon core!¡±

    Xiao An eeked and ahhed in worry.

    Li Qingshan was confident. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have a good idea!¡±

    The sky dimmed, while the secret room that had been emptied out earlier was now filled with a hundred jars of alcohol. The seal for every single jar had been opened, such that their fragrance wafted everywhere, hiding all other smells, such as poison.

    Within the alcohol was all of the poison and drugs that Li Qingshan, or should you say Yu Shukuang, could find. This was Li Qingshan¡¯s good idea. In his former life, he had heard about many stories where they used alcohol to triumph over demons and monsters.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An waited in the study. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What do you think about my plan?¡±

    ¡°Eeah!¡± Xiao An raised her thumb to express her admiration.

    ¡°Hah, it¡¯s not that impressive.¡±

    However, the two of them waited until the middle of the night, but there was still no disturbance. Li Qingshan wondered in doubt. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that this bastard doesn¡¯t like alcohol!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Eeah, eeek eeh, aaah, eek ah ah, eek ah¡­¡± After being translated, that meant, ¡°That can¡¯t be the case. The alcohol in those boxes had all been polished off.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then let¡¯s keep waiting!¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, there was a tremor underground again. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°This daemon must be quite big too. You¡¯re about to witness just how terrifying the intelligence of humans can be!¡± He pressed his ear against the ground and gathered all the sounds from underground. All he heard were jars of alcohol being tipped over and smashed, along with a series of rustles.

    He waited with great patience, waiting for the alcohol to kick in before dealing a fatal strike to the daemonic beast. An hour later, the sounds underground vanished.

    Li Qingshan nodded at Xiao An. Xiao An pulled the mechanism and the bookshelf opened, revealing the hidden staircase behind.

    Xiao An stopped Li Qingshan from entering, letting the Iron Plate corpse charge ahead first as a scout. Afterwards, the two of them charged into the secret room.

    Li Qingshan had already equipped his talisman pouch on his waist. There were several mid grade Immobilisation talismans in there, as well as all of his Lightning Summoning talismans. He had made ample preparations.

    They charged into the secret room boldly, but when Li Qingshan saw the sight inside, his excited face suddenly froze. He grabbed Xiao An beside him and covered her mouth, standing exactly where he was, afraid to move.

 Chapter 192 â€“ Daemon General Milliped

    Not a single daemonic beast, no matter how vicious or terrifying, could make Li Qingshan react like this. However, what he saw was not a beast of any kind, but a person. More accurately, it was a fair-skinned fatty sprawled out at the centre of the alcohol jars.

    His head was shiny, and he wore a pink cloak, exposing his bulging, white belly. He gave off heavy daemon qi and the smell of liquor.

    As a result, Li Qingshan performed a very simple calculation. What do you get when you combine a daemon with a human form?

    Li Qingshan breathed in deeply and swallowed back the foul language he was about to let loose. The one who had been secretly eating his food was actually a Daemon General!

    He had only seen two Daemon Generals in his life, a cat and a rat. Xuanyue had been utterly spoiled, so she went without saying. However, even that rat happened to be the great king of Black Rat mountain. He was an imposing figure with countless under his command.

    A mighty Daemon General was an existence on Wang Pushi¡¯s level if it were a human, standing above millions. Why would something like that do something so degrading?

    This was why he had never thought of this in the beginning. In the end, he was slapped across the face by the cruel reality. He clung onto the hope that the poison and drugs in the alcohol had come into effect.

    However, the bald Daemon General¡¯s heaving belly and his thunderous snoring completely obliterated all of Li Qingshan¡¯s hopes. He had not been poisoned. He had just fallen drunk.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An looked at each other. Li Qingshan slowly retreated backwards, while Xiao An controlled the Iron Plate corpse in a slow retreat as well. They had created the hole as a path of retreat, but who knew it would actually lead to the den of something so terrifying. They could not remain in this mountain manor any longer.

    Clang!

    The bald Daemon General with his pink cloak scratched his belly and knocked over a jar.

    However, it was like a clap of thunder to Li Qingshan¡¯s ears. He immediately stopped. Only after seeing how there was no more activity for quite a while did he continue with his gradual retreat. True qi formed a thick cushion below his feet, preventing him from producing any sound.

    Under Xiao An¡¯s control, the Iron Plate corpse¡¯s feet landed on the ground softly as well.

    The bald Daemon General suddenly opened his eyes. He writhed in a strange manner as he stood up. At first, his calves straightened up, followed by his thighs, and then the upper half of his body. He looked at Li Qingshan and Xiao An in a daze.

    Li Qingshan felt a chill run from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head before emerging from his scalp. This completely originated from his instincts towards danger as a daemon. He became more and more certain that this Daemon General was not someone he could deal with right now.

    The bald Daemon General did not seem like he had completely sobered up yet. The ten talismans landed on him perfectly, including one on his face.

    Li Qingshan rejoiced over his good fortune. At the same time, he stuck a Swift Breeze talisman to his legs and immediately tried to charge out. However, just when he was about to turn around, his eyes narrowed, and he halted.

    The bald Daemon General just stood right in front of him, almost right in his face. The Immobilization talismans on him were eaten away rapidly, until not a single sliver remained, revealing his dazed face.

    Only from this angle did he notice that the Daemon General was not particularly fat. He was long and mellow. As he stood there, he actually towered above Li Qingshan. He bent over as he stared straight at Li Qingshan with his bulging eyes. It was an indescribably terrifying sight.

    Xiao An reacted by moving a finger. The Iron Plate corpse hugged the Daemon General, and Li Qingshan used the opportunity to retreat in a hurry.

    The bald Daemon General trembled, and a pink gas emerged around him. The Iron Plate corpse that charged over seemed like it had stepped into a vat of acid. With a series of hisses, white smoke rose up from its body. Its powerful body that had been strengthened with metal and refinement was completely eaten away in the blink of an eye. All that was left was a ball of pale, red flames that returned to Xiao An¡¯s hands.

    The Iron Plate corpse that could even kill sixth layer Qi Practitioners could not even last a single attack. It had not even been enough to make the enemy move a finger.

    Li Qingshan was astounded. He became extremely fearful of the pink gas.

    The bald Daemon General moved extremely quickly and without any rhythm at all. They could not escape. Li Qingshan released his violent daemon qi and immediately reached thirty feet, smashing through the earth above his head. He grabbed Xiao An and tossed her outside. ¡°You go first!¡±

    The pink gas spread rapidly, enveloping Li Qingshan¡¯s surroundings. Hisses rang throughout the secret room. Large portions of the stone floor weakened and collapsed. To think that Li Qingshan had wanted to deal with him using poison. He had finally witnessed what poison actually was.

    There was an azure, blue colour within the surging pink gas. It originated from a spherical barrier composed of countless hexagons, which protected the area around Li Qingshan and stopped the invasion of the pink gas. As a result, Li Qingshan eased up slightly. Fortunately, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was sturdy enough. Now, he had to think of a way to get out of this situation.

    He stomped down with his hoof. Explosive power filled both his legs, causing the ground to crack. His steel-like body creaked as it twisted, using the force to launch himself into the air.

    The bald Daemon General took another strange posture, with his body bent forward and his bald head directed at Li Qingshan. His tall body contracted significantly, like a spring that had been forced down before being let loose suddenly.

    All Li Qingshan saw was a blurry figure charge towards him ten times faster than he had launched into the air.

    Thunk!

    A large crack appeared on the indestructible Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. Li Qingshan was knocked off his trajectory, from flying up vertically to horizontally. Who knows just how many walls he smashed through before becoming deeply embedded in the soil.

    He was shocked. He had just achieved the strength of two oxen, so he had absolute confidence in his strength. However, the Daemon General was still much stronger.

    The bald Daemon General sprang up from the ground and rubbed his head in a daze. He raised his head and looked at Li Qingshan, as if he had never imagined that he would fail to destroy Li Qingshan¡¯s Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    At this moment, two prayer beads whistled down from above, directly striking the Daemon General¡¯s bald head.

    The Daemon General raised his head. A petite figure landed behind him with lightning speed, surging with pale, red flames. She used all of her strength, directly converting a portion of her own flesh and blood into flames to deliver the most powerful thrust she had ever unleashed.

    Li Qingshan instead panicked. He called out, ¡°You idiot! Get out of here!¡± Daemon Generals were not existences who could be defeated with tricks like that. He disregarded the poison and punched out as hard as he could.

    The Daemon General did not try to avoid the attack. He said sluggishly, ¡°Are you daemons? Why do you attack me?¡± His voice was slightly slurred, but Li Qingshan still managed to make out what he was saying.

    Everyone present stopped like an invisible hand had interfered with the situation. Li Qingshan¡¯s punch stopped before the Daemon General, while Xiao An¡¯s hidden blade remained three inches away from his bald head. The falling Skull Prayer Beads halted above the Daemon General¡¯s head too.

    Li Qingshan slowly pulled back his fist and laughed dryly. ¡°Exactly. Daemons shouldn¡¯t fight among themselves.¡± He glanced at Xiao An. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get over here!¡± Xiao An stowed away her hidden blade and prayer beads and returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s side.

    Li Qingshan reverted to human form and clasped his hands. ¡°May I learn your name, great Daemon General? I am Black Mountain. I¡¯ve cultivated for five centuries in the mountains, and I¡¯ve barely managed to assume a human form. I had no intentions of offending you. It truly is my fault.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Milliped. What does offending mean? And what¡¯s ¡®fault¡¯?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly relieved, having confirmed that this Milliped was not angry about what had happened earlier. He seemed to be slightly dim, and his reactions were extremely sluggish.

    He suddenly thought of something. By Milliped, that¡¯s basically just a millipede. This guy is actually a millipede daemon, so it¡¯s no wonder that he¡¯s so powerful and fast, yet his reaction speed was so slow.

    He had once heard Xuanyue mention a lot of common knowledge regarding daemons. Daemons with flesh and blood were primarily divided into four groups, the scaled, the furred, the feathered, and the carapaced.

    The scaled referred to animals of the water, the furred referred to terrestrial animals, the feathered referred to animals capable of flight, and the carapaced referred to insects.

    Among them, the carapaced possessed the largest variety. There were countless insect daemonic beasts. No one knew just how many insects there were in the world.

    Insects were born without much intelligence, completely acting on instincts, so there were many that could become daemonic beasts. However, there were far fewer that could condense daemon cores or reach even higher realms of cultivation compared to the other categories.

    However, insect daemons would often be the strongest. Whether it be strength, speed, endurance, or tenacity, they would exceed all other daemons of the same cultivation level.

    An ant could carry four hundred times its weight. A flea could jump a hundred times its length, and it could jump once every four seconds for several dozen hours on end. The tenacity of cockroaches was as clear as day. These creatures all resided at the bottom of the food chain, but if they had the opportunity to turn into daemons, they would immediately reach the very top. They would become the most terrifying hunters in the world.

    However, insect daemons had one fatal flaw, which was their very low intelligence. Even if they gained self-consciousness after condensing a daemon core, they would not be particularly clever. Intelligence was basically their weakness.

    Li Qingshan came up with an idea as a result. He asked, ¡°Milliped, why have you eaten my things?¡±

    Milliped said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was yours. No, it¡¯s all mine, everything underground.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Do you want more?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Milliped opened his mouth and saliva flowed out.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There¡¯s no more food here, but there¡¯s plenty above ground, so why don¡¯t you go there?¡±

    Milliped shook his head like a motor. ¡°Can¡¯t go above ground.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    Milliped¡¯s dazed expression revealed a sliver of fear. ¡°Orders. I can¡¯t go against them.¡±

    Li Qingshan rejoiced. He had gotten him to speak so easily. He sure was simple. He was much easier to handle than someone clever like Xuanyue. Intelligence would always be the most important standard for comparing creatures. Humans used this only advantage of theirs to suppress all other beings by themselves. If they were dim-witted, it would be useless no matter how powerful they were.

    ¡°There¡¯s none left here. I¡¯ll go up and grab some more for you, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay. Go quick, go quick!¡± Milliped¡¯s eyes lit up and urged him on.

 Chapter 193 â€“ An Ox Munching on Peony

    Milliped considered the question seriously, while Li Qingshan grew nervous. He was afraid this Daemon General would say something along the lines of, ¡°You!¡± He would be done for if that were the case.

    But fortunately, Milliped said at the end, ¡°Yellow seeds. White seeds.¡±

    It took Li Qingshan a moment to understand that he was talking about millet and rice. He was actually a herbivore, but he soon remembered that most millipedes in the world were herbivores anyway.

    Of course, most daemons never followed this. Even if it had been a goat who had grazed on grass for most of its life, it would happily eat meat and drink alcohol after turning into a daemon. This guy was probably so stupid that he had not even bothered to change his diet!

    ¡°I¡¯ll go up to grab them!¡± Li Qingshan was just about to leap out of the hole above him with Xiao An.

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank, but he heard Milliped say, ¡°And that colourless water!¡±

    ¡°Water? You mean alcohol?¡±

    ¡°I think so¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go fetch that!¡±

    As expected, Milliped did not stop him. He did not even try taking Xiao An as a hostage. He just pressed him. ¡°Quickly! Quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt out of the secret room underground. The hole just happened to be above the back garden, which was why the buildings had not collapsed. He rushed out with Xiao An, before collapsing on the ground and gazing at the deep, blue night sky, gasping for air.

    He felt like he had gone fishing, only to catch a great white shark. That was far too dangerous. Fortunately, this shark was not particularly clever, nor could it leave the water, or it really would have cost him his life this time.

    Xiao An laid beside him, also looking at the night sky. The faint wisps of clouds floated by, but she seemed slightly depressed.

    Li Qingshan suddenly stood up, grabbed her, and helped her to her feet. He lectured, ¡°You haven¡¯t been behaving yourself at all. I told you to go, so you go. Why¡¯d you come back?¡±

    Xiao An waved her hands and eeked and ahhed in argument.

    Li Qingshan shot her a glance. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯ve just learned how to speak, yet you¡¯re gonna talk back at me? It was pure luck in the Boundless mountains, which was why you happened to help me. That doesn¡¯t mean you were right. If I say you¡¯re wrong, then you¡¯re wrong. I¡¯m saying all of this for your sake!¡±

    The rims of Xiao An¡¯s eyes reddened from anger. She turned around and no longer said anything.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to cry!¡±

    As a result, tears streamed down Xiao An¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart immediately began to ache. He steeled his resolve. ¡°Crying won¡¯t work this time. You need to learn.¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Li Qingshan was completely stunned, like he had been struck by a Lightning Summoning talisman.

    Xiao An had finally spoken a complete sentence; this should have been something worthy of a great celebration, but the sentence made his heart ache slightly. He laid back down on the ground, defeated. He too experienced the worries that came with a growing child.

    In the hole in the garden, Milliped asked, ¡°Do you have it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Li Qingshan barked.

    ¡°Why are you so loud?¡± Milliped asked in a daze.

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you!¡± Li Qingshan barked again, ¡°Just keep waiting!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had realised the severity of the issue. Xiao An was growing up slowly, so she would definitely develop her own thoughts and opinions. Perhaps, there might even be the legendary rebellious phase. It was impossible to avoid conflict as a family¡ªno, it was possible to say that the closer they were as a family, the more easily they would come into conflict with each other.

    As the head of the family, he had to consider just how he was supposed to communicate with her. He had to guide her growth slowly and patiently, but just how was he supposed to go about it?

    He felt his mind descend into a mess. This was far more complicated than cultivation. As a result, he just laid there as he thought about a lot of things. He thought about how his parents treated him. He thought about the methods of education mentioned by those professionals on television during his previous life.

    Li Qingshan suddenly sat up. ¡°Yep. I need to treat her as an equal first.¡± He crawled to his feet and made his way over to the door slowly. He raised his hand to knock, but he ended up hitting nothing. The door suddenly swung open and a petite figure threw herself into his arms.

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback before breaking into laughter. He could feel how attached she was to him. He stroked her hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was too brash earlier. I¡¯ve never wanted to abandon you. I just want to protect you.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ want to¡­ protect¡­ you too¡­¡± Xiao An was still not very fluent, but she was extremely serious.

    Her expression was simply adorable, which both touched Li Qingshan and made him develop a desire to protect her. He smiled. ¡°Alright, great king Xiao An. This one is under your protection. Come, let me give you a kiss!¡± He swept aside her fringe and pecked down heavily on her smooth forehead.

    The daemon young man who stood like a black tower and the small, tender girl formed an extremely unique sight. Instead of smacking your lips and saying something like, ¡°In me the tiger sniffs the rose,¡± the current situation was more like, ¡°An ox munching on peony, wasting it for being unable to appreciate its beauty.¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s face was bright red. She raised her heels and gently kissed his great face that was as black as the bottom of a pot.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his face. The feeling of the kiss lingered there. He could not help but chuckle.

    In the hole, Milliped called out again, ¡°I¡¯m hungry!¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°Let¡¯s find a way to deal with him first!¡±

    Xiao An covered her mouth to hide her smile.

    Li Qingshan was rather reluctant to leave behind this secret cultivation spot he had just created, and Milliped did not seem like he posed much danger either.

    Then he thought about the habits of millipedes, which did seem like a harmless bug. Millipedes would usually play dead if they were toyed with, and then they would release some kind of irritating gas at most.

    Now that he thought about it, the pink, poisonous gas that Milliped released, which was also what the Iron Plate corpse ran into, was no irritating gas, but actual, acidic poison that could eat through rock and metal.

    If the Sect of Clouds and Rain came for him right now, all he would have to do was lure them into the hole before waiting to collect their corpses. What ninth layer or tenth layer? They were all useless before a Daemon General. Even if the sect master came, defeat was probably more likely against an insect Daemon General.

    After quite a while of thought, Li Qingshan wore the bamboo basket and took Xiao An with him. He arrived in Salt Mountain city and found Yu Shukuang. ¡°I¡¯ll be gone for a while. Don¡¯t let anyone approach my estate!¡±

    This was what he eventually decided on. A Daemon General was just too dangerous. He seemed very stupid and could be toyed with or used, but that would come with an element of unpredictability in whatever he did. If he angered him by accident, an extremely miserable fate would await him.

    From a certain perspective, Milliped was even more dangerous that Xuanyue. At the very least, Li Qingshan knew what Xuanyue wanted. He could even relate to her. Even if he angered her, she would not kill him.

    Wagering his life on the mood of an idiot was not a clever choice. Before he had obtained the power to protect himself, he had decided to maintain his distance. I can¡¯t afford to provoke him, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t avoid him.

    Yu Shukuang jerked awake from his dream. ¡°Great hero Li- Niu, where will you be going?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about.¡± Li Qingshan pondered that question slightly. He was obviously going to go provoke the people he could afford to provoke.

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°Then, please go, please go!¡± Before he had even finished talking, Li Qingshan had vanished already, kicking up a violent gust of wind and causing the door to swing wildly.

    Yu Shukuang was rather reluctant to see him go. The ¡®Tiger Butcher¡¯ was terrifying, but he stuck to his word, and he was very generous. All he made him do was buy an estate and deliver a few days worth of food, and in return, he received a million taels of silver and a Hundred Grasses pill. He was an ideal backer that he could rely on. If he could help him out with a few things in return for some more pills, there was a lot of hope for him to reach the innate realm.

    He climbed out of bed and took out an envelope from his drawer. He carefully took out the letter and read it under the lantern light.

    His daughter¡¯s letter told him that she had already ingested a legendary Innate pill and had already begun cultivating.

    The edges had even become roughed up. Clearly, he had read it countless times already, but whenever he saw it, he would smile happily. That little girl who leaned on her arms as she listened to his stories of maintaining justice and helping the weak had finally grown up! She had surpassed her father!

    However, what followed his joy was despondence and unease.

    The world of Qi Practitioners was completely different from the world of the jianghu. In the jianghu, he was the great hero Yu who maintained justice and was revered by countless. However, before even the weakest Qi Practitioner, he had to bow and scrape to them, careful with every single move.

    Only the ignorant common people would treat Qi Practitioners like gods. He understood this very well. No matter where, human nature was just as vile. He could only blame himself for enjoying her gazes of admiration too much, making the stories he told her too perfect. In the end, the stubborn girl really ended up believing in some ¡®path of justice¡¯. She might end up suffering as a result.

    Recalling that, he could no longer fall asleep anymore. Sigh, he really was unable to help her at all now!

    He was clearly still in his late thirties, yet he suddenly felt like he had aged. He stowed the letter away carefully and returned it to the drawer. He wanted to break through to the innate realm more than ever right now.

    The starlight pierced through the trees and fell into the hole, landing onto Milliped¡¯s dazed face. His eyes were wide and his mouth was wide open as he stared at this sight that he rarely ever saw. Saliva flowed out of his mouth. ¡°Looks like sesame!¡±

    ¡°How slow!¡±

    Li Qingshan left Salt Mountain city. He travelled a few dozen kilometers, found a cave, and dove in. He travelled underground and arrived before the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling before suddenly stopping. His nose pricked up, and he sniffed the air gently. His expression immediately changed.

    It was extremely faint, but the familiar smell of rouge was something he could never forget. It came from that deviant, the West Gate Granny!

    Aside from that, there were three other different scents of rouge. At least four people of the Sect of Clouds and Rain were here, and it was very likely that they were the four grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, or four ninth layer Qi Practitioners in other words.

    He had never thought they would actually come here in search of him. He felt like he had still been too careless. If he were caught in the dwelling by these people, the consequences would be unthinkable.

 Chapter 194 â€“ The Tiger and the Snakeâ€™s Trap

    Smell would always be the aspect that human cultivators missed the most. Li Qingshan possessed a sense of smell that was a hundred times stronger than regular beasts. Combined with his instincts for danger and killing intent, it was impossible for him to be ambushed so easily.

    He concealed all of his aura and gripped his Wind-entwining blade firmly. He prepared all of his talismans and approached the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling slowly. He constantly sniffed for the lingering scent in the air and did his best to discern where they were hiding right now.

    He had set out for the Sect of Clouds and Rain, so how could he flee right after seeing them? Of course, his battle tactic would be to retreat if there were many people, but if there were only a few, he would kill them. If he worked with Xiao An, he had some confidence in being able to triumph over a ninth layer Qi Practitioner.

    When he finally set foot in the dwelling, it was empty inside. All that was left was a lingering scent that slowly dispersed.

    Why would these great Qi Practitioners remain in the pitch-black underground, waiting for the arrival of a junior? They only waited for a few days before leaving this place to search for Wei Yingjie¡¯s whereabouts.

    Li Qingshan was slightly disappointed. It seemed like it would take him some effort.

    In the middle of the night, Li Qingshan climbed up the mountain where the Hawkwolf Guard resided on and arrived before his original residence. As expected, there was an aura inside, but it was much stronger than he had expected, but the smell was right. Qian Rongzhi had actually broken through to the fifth layer. She was even faster than him.

    With Xiao An outside keeping an eye out, Li Qingshan climbed up the residence alone and opened the window. He saw Qian Rongzhi meditating in the room and practising qi. She did not seem to be lascivious at all. Instead, she seemed rather solemn.

    Qian Rongzhi heard the window open, so she immediately stood up and grabbed her weapon and talismans, assuming a defensive posture. Afterwards, she was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi eased up. She did not even ask why Li Qingshan had become so big. Her eyes lit up as she said, ¡°You¡¯ve reached the third layer. You really are a genius!¡± The first time she had seen Li Qingshan was only a few months ago. Back then, he was still a first layer Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Your cultivation surprises me more.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°The worthless have their own worthless ways. Unfortunately, it¡¯s still not enough to defeat you.¡±

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. ¡°What will you do if you could defeat me?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled thinly. ¡°You¡¯ll know when it happens!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I was dragged into the matter due to Wei Yingjie¡¯s disappearance. I¡¯ve already been expelled from the Sect of Clouds and Rain. I knelt on the ground and begged the granny for a very long time, but it was all useless. I¡¯ve been tested for all this time, all for nothing. I didn¡¯t even get a single cultivation method. Aren¡¯t I pitiful?¡± Qian Rongzhi said bitterly and pitifully, as if she had not personally abused Wei Yingjie to death.

    ¡°Dragged into the matter?¡± Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°The same as before. If you can lure the West Gate Granny out alone to a certain place, everything that has to do with the Sect of Clouds and Rain in her hundred treasures pouch will go to you.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi widened her eyes. ¡°You can kill ninth layer Qi Practitioners?¡± She knew Li Qingshan had a trump card, so he was as powerful as sixth layer Qi Practitioners at the very least. However, she never imagined he would actually reach such a high level.

    Originally, she believed that catching up to Li Qingshan was just a matter of time with her cultivation speed. However, her confidence completely evaporated now. The disparity separating her from Li Qingshan was not shrinking. Instead, it was growing exponentially.

    She also understood why he did not take her too seriously as a potential threat. He possessed absolute confidence in himself. Before absolute strength, rarely would any schemes or plans be effective. This man was probably different from all of the other men she had seen before. He was surprisingly difficult to deal with.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯d better maintain some fear for me. That¡¯ll do us both good!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stopped smiling. ¡°I understand. The vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Wei Zhongyuan, and the four grannies found nothing when they went to the Zombie Cave, so they split up to search for you. There are Parlours of Rain and Clouds littered through the lands, and they¡¯re well-connected. As soon as you appear, they¡¯ll discover you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Did you send them to the Zombie Cave?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I said Wei Yingjie went there in search of you, but I didn¡¯t say that you killed him. You¡¯ve fallen out with the Sect of Clouds and Rain completely anyway, so it¡¯s no difference to you. Don¡¯t tell me you were stupid enough to hide there?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like he had been slapped across the face. He said boldly, ¡°Of course not. Continue.¡± She had said that so nonchalantly, so it was not like he could lose his temper over that.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°The Parlour of Clouds and Rain has lost two parlour masters, one after another, so they haven¡¯t sent anyone new. If you want to deal with the Sect of Clouds and Rain, I¡¯d recommend targeting Wei Zhongyuan. He¡¯s currently going through the sorrow of losing a son. He¡¯s irrational, so he¡¯s easy to control.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s his cultivation?¡±

    ¡°The tenth layer.¡±

    ¡°I refuse,¡± Li Qingshan said without a second thought. Tenth layer Qi Practitioners were people who had opened all of their acupoints, along with the twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians. They were only a step away from Foundation Establishment. Compared to the ninth layer, they were like sixth layer Qi Practitioner to fifth layer Qi Practitioners. He was confident in his own strength, but he had not become blinded by it.

    Qian Rongzhi was disappointed. Her plan to use Wei Zhongyang to break through had fallen through, but it also gave her some peace of mind. At the very least, Li Qingshan did not possess the strength to deal with the tenth layer right now.

    ¡°Then just the West Gate Granny. However, I need time. I need time to plan, and I also need time to explain my cultivation. And, they¡¯ll be sending over a new Black Hawk commander soon!¡±

    ¡°So what?¡±

    ¡°I will contend for the position of Black Wolf commander. As long as I get promoted to commander, the Sect of Clouds and Rain won¡¯t touch me even if they suspect me as long as they don¡¯t have any evidence. Of course, I need to thank you for opening up this position for me.¡±

    She was scheming before others, but before Li Qingshan, she would always be extremely honest. This was not because she had any good will towards Li Qingshan. Instead, she just adapted to circumstances. She knew that this was the only way to cooperate with Li Qingshan, to maximise her own benefits.

    Only now did Li Qingshan recall that she had reached the fifth layer and that she really did have the right to be promoted to Black Wolf commander. They had joined the Hawkwolf Guard together, yet unknowingly, she had already reached such a step. She really was a woman who could not be underestimated.

    Leaving behind a talisman for communication, Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll take me one to three months, but I¡¯ll deliver the West Gate Granny to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. He wanted to use this time to finish off his remaining pills so that he could be as strong as he could be to increase his chances at victory with regards to this battle. Once he was victorious, he could use the pills in the West Gate Granny¡¯s hundred treasures pouch to maintain his cultivation speed.

    The two measly Qi Practitioners made a deal. The deal was about a ninth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan then said, ¡°Oh right, help me appraise some pills!¡± He had obtained several dozen bottles of pills, including a few high grade ones. However, he did not know about their effects and whether he could eat them or not. Qian Rongzhi had grown up in a clan after all. She had learned proper alchemy with Qian Yannian, so she should be able to appraise them.

    As expected, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw the pills Li Qingshan took out, describing all of their names and effects with great familiarity. Most of them had similar effects to the Pearl Dew pills. They were for cultivation.

    However, there were two bottles of Eruption pills that could instantly unleash the potential the human body had to offer, as well as two bottles of Concealment pills for concealing aura and three bottles of Healing pills for recovery.

    If he had eaten them blindly, it would have been a waste.

    In the end, Li Qingshan took out three pills the size of goose yolks. ¡°And what are these?¡± He did not know alchemy, but he could sense that the spiritual qi within these three pills was extremely special. It was extremely pure, yet also surprisingly mellow. They did not seem like pills for cultivation.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°These are Innate pills! They¡¯re worth even more than Pearl Dew pills, but they¡¯re not for Qi Practitioners.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood the value of Pearl Dew pills very well. They were enough to make countless Qi Practitioners fight over them. Since these Innate pills were not for Qi Practitioners, they must have been for ordinary people. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re-¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°That¡¯s right. They¡¯re pills that can allow ordinary people to practise qi. However, it doesn¡¯t guarantee success. It¡¯ll depend on their talent. In the past, Qian Yannian spent a tremendous amount of effort to obtain one for a beloved son of his. He ate it, but he failed to reach the innate realm in the end. Only large clans can refine pills like that.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that unless they possessed tremendous wealth and had as many pills as they wished for, all Qi Practitioners would be more willing to exchange for a few Pearl Dew pills to increase their own cultivation than an Innate pill to nurture their children. He stowed away the Innate pill first before saying, ¡°Pick a bottle as remuneration.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi chose the bottle of Concealment pills without any hesitation at all. That also happened to be the type that Li Qingshan needed the least. Afterwards, he stowed all the pills away and was about to leave.

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly asked, ¡°Is that child with you?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I want to see her.¡± She saw Li Qingshan hesitate, so she took out a bottle of Qi Gathering pills.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I won¡¯t make any deals involving her.¡±

    He spoke calmly, but it was like a thunderous clap to Qian Rongzhi¡¯s ears. She was immediately left at a loss as to what to do with her hand holding the bottle of Qi Gathering pills. She even began to feel ashamed. She forced out a smile. ¡°You two sure are lucky.¡± Her smile exuded indescribable envy, as well as some sadness.

    Li Qingshan changed his mind. He called in Xiao An, but she said, ¡°Forget it. You should go!¡±

    After Li Qingshan left, Qian Rongzhi leaned against the window sill. Her eyes were slightly lost. An indescribable, irrepressible wild wish appeared in her heart. She wished someone could say something like that to her. Even just once would be enough. But would there be anyone? And would she believe it even if they did?

    She laughed at herself. In her mind, the word ¡®trust¡¯ had already ceased to exist.

    People of misfortune had to avoid getting too close to those who were fortunate, or they would lose their resolve. They would have nothing left. She had stopped depending on luck a long time ago. Kneeling on the ground and begging the heavens was useless, no matter how many times a person tried. Begging others was useless too. It would only make them smile wider. She had to obtain everything with her own pair of hands.

    She looked at her right hand. It was pale and elevant, with five, long fingers. The light in her eyes gradually calmed down. It was a calmness of apathy. The corner of her lips curled coldly as she suddenly extended her right hand. I¡¯ll rip apart the smile in the sky!

 Chapter 195 â€“ Drinking under the Moon

    He dove underground once more. Li Qingshan used the underground mental map and found a great cavern. He said to Xiao An, ¡°It looks like we¡¯ll have to tough it out for a while. You can¡¯t compare this place to Salt Mountain city.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Xiao An said obediently. Her voice was slurred. Apart from when she yelled out the first time, she was unable to say anything clearly. However, it was an extremely pleasant voice, similar to a spring breeze. It was a comforting voice.

    Within a forest-like series of stalagmites, Li Qingshan checked the pills on him. He had already used up half of the Qi Gathering pills, so only around four thousand remained. However, he had only used up one of his Hundred Grasses pills, so over a thousand remained, while there were almost a hundred high grade pills left for cultivation. He was quite wealthy in terms of resources.

    Li Qingshan stowed away a talisman. This talisman was known as a Communication talisman. It came in a pair, and as long as they were within five hundred kilometers of each other, the other would respond if one was activated.

    Although it was unable to deliver any complicated messages, it was enough for signals. As for how Qian Rongzhi would lure out the West Gate Granny, Li Qingshan did not probe into that too much. It would require quite a lot of adapting for her to do that. She was extremely familiar with this line of work anyway.

    He was not worried that she would betray him. She did not exactly have any moral thresholds to speak of, but she was motivated by her own interests, which were instead easier to grasp. If she betrayed him, just her actions of feeding information to the enemy would have been enough for the Sect of Clouds and Rain to hunt her down.

    All he needed to do was wait quietly in a suitable location for a suitable time. All of this made him think of a fable from his former life¡ªA tiger caught a fox, and then the fox told the tiger that if it spared him, it would lure other animals over.

    However, this was based on the premise that the tiger had the ability to eat all the animals the fox lured over.

    He raised his head and poured Qi Gathering pills into his mouth. He began to cultivate.

    Six days later, Li Qingshan began to miss his courtyard in Salt Mountain city. This was not just because he missed the tasteful alcohol and dishes, but because of Xiao An as well. In the empty cavern, there was nothing for her to do. When she was bored, she would just lean on her hands and watch him cultivate.

    This made Li Qingshan feel very ashamed. He would often stop cultivating and play or talk with her for a while. If he were alone, it did not matter what he did. Even if he used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and went into seclusion for a whole year, it would not matter.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind. ¡°Since we don¡¯t have to be here, let¡¯s go back and take a look. That millipede must have run out of patience and left already!¡±

    The mountain manor was desolate, while the aura of autumn had deepened. Li Qingshan opened the front door and directly went to the back garden. He made his way through the well-spaced vegetation and glanced into the cave. He could not help but smile bitterly.

    Milliped¡¯s eyes were closed as he laid in the hole. He slept like he was dead, as if he had not even moved from his original position. Suddenly, he snapped open his slightly bulging eyes and stared straight at Li Qingshan. He asked quietly, ¡°Where¡¯s the food?¡± He had not realised that Li Qingshan had stood him up.

    Li Qingshan grinned, ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± Afterwards, he turned around and left with Xiao An. Perhaps he had been touched by his only interest in food, or perhaps he was just too easy to fool that it made Li Qingshan slightly uneasy.

    In the Proud Sword manor, Yu Shukuang looked at Li Qingshan in surprise and joy. ¡°Great hero Niu, you¡¯ve finally returned.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Yep, yep, I¡¯m back. There¡¯s something else that I must trouble you with.¡±

    Yu Shukuang saw how cautious he was, so he said with much emotion, ¡°Anything for you, great hero Niu, no matter how dangerous or life-threatening¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him. ¡°It¡¯s not that intense. Just prepare three things for me and deliver them to my manor.¡±

    ¡°Do you mean?¡± Yu Shukuang was unable to imagine just what was enough for Li Qingshan to verbally request for them. Even if he wanted them, he should not have come to him, right?

    ¡°Millet, rice, and alcohol.¡± Li Qingshan took out another million taels of silver and slammed it on the table.

    ¡°Just those?¡± Yu Shukuang was so surprised that his chin almost dropped off. He was asking him for regular grains and food in such a formal manner.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°As well as other grains, vegetables, and fruits. Prepare whatever you have, the more the better. Of course, I¡¯ll need those twenty tables of food as well. You need to undertake this as secretively as possible too. Don¡¯t let too many people know.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry at all, great hero Niu. I¡¯ll send people to make preparations immediately. You¡¯ll get as much as you could possibly want.¡± Yu Shukuang slammed his chest as he guaranteed. As one of the leading figures in the jianghu, he might not be able to obtain certain things, but gathering some grains and food was a cake-walk.

    Li Qingshan said in a seemingly unintentional manner, ¡°Oh right, I obtained a few Innate pills recently.¡± With that, he turned around and left.

    The speaker had said that intentionally, while the audience obviously cared about what had been mentioned.

    Yu Shukuang¡¯s eyes gradually widened. As a member of the jianghu, he did not know much about the various pills that Qi Practitioners possessed, but there was one that he just had to know, which was the Innate pill. It was a sacred pill that all practitioners of martial arts could only dream about. With how much effort they devoted to martial arts, all of them wanted to rise up and step into a whole new world.

    Yu Shukuang wanted to as well, and he wanted it much more than most other things. When Li Qingshan mentioned those two words nonchalantly, he became a donkey that was being led around by a carrot on a stick. Even if he knew that it would be impossible for him to get his hands on one, he wanted to give it his all and try. Not to mention that Li Qingshan was clearly implying that it was possible for him to give Yu Shukuang one with his tone.

    Immediately, he gathered a few trusted subordinates and gave orders to them solemnly. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan wanted him to keep a low profile over the operation, he was basically tempted to carry out this matter in person so that he could demonstrate himself to Li Qingshan.

    When a powerful, local organisation got to work, they would be surprisingly effective. In just an hour, everything that Li Qingshan wanted was delivered to him in an endless flow.

    ¡°Here!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed a bag of rice and tossed it into the hole.

    Milliped extended his hand and ripped in open. The shiny grains of rice flowed out. His mouth expanded in an exaggerated manner, such that it made Li Qingshan think about those characters from the cartoons. In the blind of an eye, the entire bag of rice had been tipped into his mouth.

    He smacked his lips. ¡°Tasty!¡± Afterwards, he kept staring at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°If it¡¯s tasty, then have some more. Once you¡¯re full, stop bugging me.¡± Li Qingshan tossed another bag of rice down.

    Milliped was absorbed by the rice. He paid no attention to Li Qingshan at all. Another bag of rice vanished into his mouth, but he had yet to seem satisfied.

    As a result, Li Qingshan just tossed all of the bags of rice, several dozen of them, in there. However, the influence of the Innate pill managed to take Li Qingshan by surprise. Afterwards, rice and millet flour, along with various other grains, were all carted over one by one by the disciples of the Proud Sword manor, along with various fruits and vegetables. There were even a few that Li Qingshan failed to recognise.

    Li Qingshan held a few bags of rice in his hands with a few on his shoulders. He seemed like the ultimate worker. He rushed back and forth from the entrance and the back garden, tossing bags of food into the hole.

    Milliped, who had always seemed dazed, now smiled from ear to ear. As a foodie, seeing these various foods fall from the sky probably made him feel what a money grubber felt watching it rain money.

    He was overwhelmed. He almost became lost as to what to eat first.

    Li Qingshan shook off the sweat on his forehead and said to Xiao An, ¡°Keep an eye out. I¡¯m going to go cultivate a little. Remember to not venture into the cave. I¡¯m worried he¡¯ll end up eating you too.¡±

    Xiao An obviously did not take something for frightening children to heart. She agreed with a smile and squatted by the hole, watching Milliped eat. She was very intrigued.

    By dusk, Li Qingshan¡¯s twenty tables of food had arrived as well. He sat by the hole and opened the boxes of food, also wolfing them down. He had to admit that watching Milliped eat made him develop an appetite too.

    Li Qingshan ate by the hole, while Milliped ate in the hole. Xiao An could see Milliped if she looked down, and she could see Li Qingshan if she looked up. She found this to be fascinating.

    He could use the energy of the world to replace food after he daemonified, going for very long periods without food. With how much spiritual qi of the world he could absorb as a daemon, he could basically attain what humans called inedia. He would be able to thrive even after stopping all intake of food. However, his appetite would remain, and it would only grow stronger as time went on.

    The reason why humans chose to go without food was because regular food contained far too many impurities. It would build up in their bellies and affect their cultivation. However, the cultivation method and constitution of daemons were completely different from humans. To daemons, being able to fill themselves would never be bad. Their powerful bodies could easily digest any impurities.

    The process of human cultivation was like a sculptor producing a delicate piece of art. They would choose the most suitable cultivation method and the most suitable pills after careful consideration. Subsequently, they would divide the cultivation process into many detailed steps before inching towards their objective slowly. They wanted to be in control of everything, constantly striving towards perfection, to become someone above all, an immortal.

    The cultivation process of daemons, on the other hand, was like a painter casually flicking their brushes and producing landscapes from splashes of ink. It was coarse, liberal, and unconstrained. The painter might not even be themselves, but nature; it was just like using the elements of nature, the wind, frost, rain, and snow, to grind away a strange rock. They just happened to be a little more special than other rocks, known as daemons.

    Milliped¡¯s mouth suddenly stopped. He raised his head to look at Li Qingshan, and the snowy-white grains of rice leaked out from the corner of his lips. He sputtered, ¡°Alcohol!¡±

    Li Qingshan just happened to be drinking a jar of alcohol heartily. Sensing his gaze, he tossed the jar down. ¡°For you!¡±

    Milliped glugged it all down before asking for more.

    Li Qingshan tossed down four or five of them together. He had drunk quite a lot, and in the spur of the moment, he forgot about his own warning to Xiao An. He leapt into the hole with his alcohol and food, bumping alcohol jars with Milliped before tilting his head back and drinking it all.

    Milliped looked at him in a daze, at a loss as to what he was doing. Only when Li Qingshan drank half of his jar already did he suddenly seem to realise what was going on. He drank his alcohol in a hurry. He even looked at Li Qingshan as he drank it.

    However, Li Qingshan still ended up finishing first. He laughed happily, but Milliped was unhappy with this result. He picked up a jar of alcohol and shoved it into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands before lifting up his own. He bumped jars with Li Qingshan before opening his great mouth in a hurry and drinking it all.

 Chapter 196 â€“ Resting Before Fighting

    The sun had fallen, and the moon had risen. Moonlight flooded the hole, illuminating the two people drinking together. One was bald with a pink cloak, while the other was like a tower.

    Alcohol was the best item for bringing people closer, but it required a lot of it.

    Li Qingshan drank a lot of it. As he sat in the grain and smelled the natural fragrance of it, he dropped his guard.

    Drinking with the simple-minded Milliped was much more satisfying than any of the banquets he had attended in the past. There was no scheming, no disputes over interests. They ate for the sake of eating and drank for the sake of drinking.

    With over a hundred jars of alcohol down, both of their bellies bulged up, while their eyes became hazy from the influence of alcohol.

    Milliped¡¯s shiny, bald head became even more dazzling under the moonlight. Li Qingshan could not help but extend his hand over and rub it. ¡°You¡¯re not bad. You have no bad intentions, no, you don¡¯t have any intentions at all.¡±

    Milliped smiled foolishly. ¡°You¡¯re very good too. You coming underground?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Nah, nah. I still have things to do. If you want to eat, feel free to look for me. I welcome you to!¡±

    Milliped was originally rather disappointed by his reply, but after hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s words, he agreed profusely. Suddenly, his vision grew hazy, and he fell backwards, producing a thunderous snore.

    Li Qingshan cursed jokingly, ¡°All you do is eat and sleep. Nothing else bothers you. What an envious life.¡± He raised his head and yawned. He settled himself into the golden millet, and the pile collapsed, covering most of his body like a great big blanket. He fell asleep as well.

    Xiao An came down and tidied up the leftovers. She crouched at the entrance of the hole to watch the night.

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan discovered that he had turned back into a child. He had a pair of small hands and feet. He wore a garment that had been patched up several times as he ran through the boundless plains, chasing the sun in the sky.

    His sweat poured down, but he did not wipe it away. His feet were pierced by sharp stones, but he ignored them. Stumbling, he rolled on the ground before climbing back to his feet. He did not stop. He stared straight at the sun in the sky.

    A great green mountain blocked his path. He did not stop, charging right into the mountain, but it was not as tough as he imagined it to be. An extremely large ox¡¯s head extended over from one side of the mountain. It looked at him with its moist, ox eyes and said with a grand voice, ¡°What¡¯re you hurrying for? It¡¯s not like the sun will run away.¡±

    The moon was replaced by the sun. The warm sun of noon hung in the sky lazily, casting its warm gaze into the hole.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and yawned. He discovered that Milliped was still sleeping. Who knows when he would wake up. He leapt out of the hole and felt that his mind was particularly clear. The autumn colours of the distant mountains were pleasant. It was a refreshing sight.

    He felt like it had been a very long time since he had been so relaxed. Ever since he arrived in the dangerous place of Jiaping, there were enemies and danger around every corner. All he could do was constantly cultivate and breakthrough. Even when he slept, he was thinking about how he could increase his cultivation and deal with his enemies.

    His heart had always been tense. Even he himself had failed to realise just how much fatigue it had accumulated. Only after a hearty session of drinking and a good dream did his heart finally loosen up.

    He thought about the dream from the night before and smiled. He muttered to himself, ¡°Yeah, what am I hurrying for?¡± He reached into the depths of his hundred treasures pouch and pulled out his forgotten flute.

    The sound of the flute echoed through the autumn mountains. Milliped opened his eyes, while Xiao An listened on quietly.

    From that day onwards, Xiao An discovered that Li Qingshan smiled much more, and he played the flute much more. He would even get her to teach him penmanship a lot of the time, or he would take her around on idle strolls in the forests of fallen leaves.

    As he strolled, he would suddenly stop and look at Xiao An solemnly. Xiao An would immediately grow nervous. She would ball her fists and think, Here it comes!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips rapidly opened and closed, ¡°Eating grape without spitting out grape skin. But spitting out grape skin without eating grapes1.¡±

    Xiao An stammered in a hurry, ¡°Eat- not eat grapes without eating grape skin. Spitting out grape skin¡­ without eating grapes.¡±

    This was what Li Qingshan came up with to teach her how to talk. He called it the home education of ¡®Qingshan teaches you fluent speech¡¯. But right now, Li Qingshan was completely absorbed by how cute she was with her bright red face as she struggled with the tongue twister.

    He extended his hand to pinch her cheek. ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep laughing over my horrible penmanship?¡±

    Xiao An turned her head in a fuming manner, dodging his hand, but she was in an extremely good mood. Although she did not want to interfere with his cultivation, she also desired his care. She did not want him to be distant from her.

    In reality, Li Qingshan had never stopped cultivating. He continued to eat pills everyday, but he lost most of his tension. No matter what he did, he focused on staying relaxed. If he spent every single day on the edge, then it would be easy for him to spiral once something actually important came up. It would make him inflexible.

    And, his responsibility was not just to protect her.

    Unknowingly, over a month had passed.

    All of his Qi Gathering pills were gone now, while Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi had reached an unprecedented level, but Qian Rongzhi had yet to contact him. However, he was not worried. He began to eat the Hundred Grasses pills.

    The first snow of the year arrived very early. When the first flake of snow fell onto Li Qingshan¡¯s nose, he was staring greedily at Milliped, while Milliped stared nervously at Xiao An, or should you say, the dice jar in Xiao An¡¯s hands.

    A few alcohol jars were turned upside down, forming a table with bowls of alcohol atop it.

    Li Qingshan and Milliped sat facing each other, while Xiao An sat to the side as the dealer.

    Xiao An rolled up her sleeves and revealed her slender arms, lifting the dice jar while smiling.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Fifteen! That¡¯s big! Drink!¡± He grabbed a handful of peanuts from the piles of food beside him, peeled their shells, and tossed them into his mouth.

    Milliped chuckled. He lifted up a bowl and drank it all. Compared to when Li Qingshan first saw him, he was much livelier and slightly plumper.

    Xiao An held a long peanut between her fingers and asked Milliped, ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look like you?¡± Her voice was clear, as pleasant as the gurgling of springs and as touching as the music from a zither. ¡®Qingshan teaches you fluent speech¡¯ had achieved some results now.

    Milliped looked at himself, and then he looked at the peanut. He nodded. ¡°It does!¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± Xiao An placed the peanut in Milliped¡¯s palm.

    Milliped immediately tossed it into his mouth.

    ¡°You¡¯ve eaten yourself!¡±

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to add something, his face stiffened. Xiao An immediately turned around and looked at him. Bring it on! She was now even faster than Li Qingshan at tongue twisters.

    Li Qingshan smiled at her and pulled out the Communication talisman from his bosom. The talisman burned rapidly, turning into ash that dispersed in the wind very soon.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s signal had finally arrived!

    Li Qingshan stood up quickly, and Milliped stood up as well. He opened his mouth in complete surprise.

    Li Qingshan pressed down on his shoulder, pressing him back down. ¡°I have some matters to attend to. I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not get Milliped to help him, nor did he have any plans to use him against the Sect of Clouds and Rain. He was an extremely great drinking buddy, but that was all. He obviously had to handle his own matters.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An, one small and one large, vanished from the hole. Xiao An even looked back and waved goodbye to Milliped.

    Milliped sat there in a daze. Suddenly, he felt empty inside. Flakes of snow fell into the bowls of alcohol. He ate a mouthful of his favourite rice, but he felt like something was missing. He scratched his bald head in confusion.

    Qian Rongzhi sank into her thoughts as she furrowed her brows in the residence. She went through the plan carefully¡ªhow to begin, how to deal with the consequences, and how to pull out if it failed. She ensured that there would be no holes in the plan.

    Suddenly, she raised one of her arched eyebrows and turned around. ¡°You¡¯re finally here.¡±

    Li Qingshan happened to be standing right behind her. Apart from remaining extremely burly, he had basically returned to how he was before. This was the result of the increased efforts he had placed into practising the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression recently.

    He noticed the different Black Wolf uniform on her immediately. ¡°You¡¯ve become the Black Wolf commander?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stood up and turned around. She showed off. ¡°What do you think of it? It¡¯s pretty good, isn¡¯t it!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty good.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. It looks like you¡¯ve been well recently too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been alright.¡±

    They greeted each other like they were old friends, using fake courtesy to maintain the fragile alliance.

    Before Li Qingshan could ask, Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°The fish has taken the bait. Just as you had requested, we¡¯re just trying to catch the West Gate Granny.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked in wonder, ¡°How did you achieve it?¡± Luring out the people of the Sect of Clouds and Rain was easy, but luring out just the West Gate Granny without alarming everyone else was nothing short of difficult.

    Qian Rongzhi did not explain. She stroked the Black Wolf tablet on her waist with the tip of her fingers and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s my job. It¡¯s up to you now. If this all falls apart, I might not keep my word.¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯ve done your job. You obviously have nothing to worry about regarding my part.¡± Li Qingshan was absolutely confident. He had adjusted himself to peak condition. He needed a battle. His relaxed heart gradually tensed up again as his interest for battle rose.

    Qian Rongzhi changed the topic. ¡°Though, I still need to prepare for the worst. Before you¡¯ve confirmed the number of enemies, I¡¯d advise you to keep your aura hidden.¡±

    Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes. Qian Rongzhi said calmly, ¡°There are no plans that are perfect. Even I can¡¯t remove all factors of uncertainty. There¡¯s no need for me to go into detail with that. You¡¯d better think about how you¡¯ll handle defeat before you start wondering how you¡¯ll celebrate.¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡± Even if Qian Rongzhi had not told him that, Li Qingshan would have prepared for the worst anyway. He would never place all of his trust in her. She said this just as a disclaimer, telling him to not come for her if any accidents happened.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You only have one life anyway. You¡¯d better value it!¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled as well. She knew that even if she tried to butter up to him, she would not be able to fool Li Qingshan.

    However, Li Qingshan never imagined that the place Qian Rongzhi had chosen would actually be here.

    He raised the brim of his large, bamboo hat and gazed at the lofty estate of the Qian family.

    Choosing a place she was familiar with originally made a lot of sense, but she had caused the deaths of almost a thousand people here. Regular people would avoid it like taboo, but she would not. She made the most optimal choice for everything.

    Li Qingshan arrived on the other side of the mountain. He found a cave among the withered grass and fallen leaves and entered. It gradually widened, turning into a huge, natural cavern in the end.

    Li Qingshan checked the height of the ceiling. He even tested it by transforming. Afterwards, he began to make his preparations, constantly inspecting the cavern. He stuck seven talismans to a few hidden stalactites on the ceiling first before giving a few talismans to Xiao An.

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit. And this time, it would be a vicious beast of great danger.

 Chapter 197 â€“ A Fight of Life and Death

    ¡°You sure cultivated quickly!¡± The West Gate Granny squinted and studied Qian Rongzhi in deep suspicion.

    A few young men surrounded the granny, massaging her hands and feet. They looked at Qian Rongzhi in her valiant Black Wolf commander uniform with envy and hatred.

    Qian Rongzhi knelt and begged. ¡°Rongzhi only managed this from obtaining a daemon¡¯s core out of pure luck, but this won¡¯t continue for long. Please, granny, let me back into the Sect of Clouds and Rain. I won¡¯t disappoint granny.¡±

    The West Gate Granny stroked a tender, handsome face gently. ¡°If you¡¯re telling the truth, then I might consider it. I still actually like you very much.¡± She felt very happy to be able to receive a bow from a Black Wolf commander.

    A handsome, young man looked at Qian Rongzhi arrogantly and complacently, like Qian Rongzhi was kneeling to him.

    Qian Rongzhi was overjoyed. ¡°Rongzhi has only spoken the truth. I used the informants of the Hawkwolf Guard to find him after becoming the Black Wolf commander. Li Qingshan appeared in Ancient Wind city with that child before. I specially sent people to investigate this, and I found his hiding place after quite a lot of difficulty.¡±

    ¡°Not only does he possess the Zombie Daoist¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, but it¡¯s very likely that he was responsible for the deaths of Zhuo Zhibo and his subordinates too. He possesses a wealth of several thousand spiritual stones at the very least. You definitely won¡¯t be disappointed, granny.¡±

    This was her scheme. If a powerful Qi Practitioner learned that a weaker Qi Practitioner possessed tremendous wealth on them, they obviously would not contact their companions. Instead, they would find a way to obtain all of it for themselves.

    Right when the West Gate Granny¡¯s wrinkly face had curled into a smile, a croaky voice rang out from outside the window, ¡°Old woman, how can you forget about me when there are all these benefits presented before you?¡±

    The West Gate Granny¡¯s expression suddenly changed, while Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heart sank. It was the East Gate Granny¡¯s voice.

    The East Gate Granny walked in slowly with a happy grin.

    The West Gate Granny and East Gate Granny were on bitter terms with each other, so they constantly kept an eye out for the other¡¯s movements. As soon as the West Gate Granny left Clear River city, she was discovered by the East Gate Granny. She became suspicious, so she tailed her silently. The people who cared for you the most in the world were not your friends, but your enemies.

    The East Gate Granny ignored the sunken-faced West Gate Granny. She said to Qian Rongzhi, ¡°Girly Qian, lead the way. That kid¡¯s very vigilant. We can¡¯t afford to go with someone¡¯s wretched idea and waste a few days for nothing again.¡±

    The three of them arrived on the other side of the mountain that the Ancient Wind city sat on. They stopped before the pitch-black cave.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Grannies, Li Qingshan should be hiding in there.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The setback from the failure of her plan had not deterred her. It did not make her give anything away. She planned and prepared carefully. As long as she could prove that Li Qingshan had appeared in the city in the past, the two grannies probably would not blame her too much.

    And, before she had left, she had specially told the new Black Wolf commander that she would be going to Ancient Wind city with them. The investigation that followed any missing Hawkwolf Guards served as a protective talisman.

    If she failed this time, then she still had next time. As long as she constantly tried, there would be a time when she succeeded.

    They advanced forward along the winding path until they reached a large cavern.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expression suddenly changed drastically. She almost broke out cursing.

    Li Qingshan did not conceal his presence and hide. Instead, he just sat on a rock out in the open, meditating.

    The West Gate Granny and the East Gate Granny walked past her. The East Gate Granny even patted her shoulder. ¡°Good job!¡± She failed to notice her pale expression at all.

    Qian Rongzhi said with difficulty, ¡°Please capture Li Qingshan, grannies! I¡¯ll be waiting outside the cave.¡±

    The West Gate Granny nodded without caring too much. All she did was stare at Li Qingshan. ¡°Go wait on the carriage. We¡¯ll be out very soon.¡±

    The East Gate Granny¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°Old woman, go easy. You don¡¯t come across kids as healthy as him often. Let me try the Vitality Devouring technique!¡±

    ¡°The Vitality Devouring technique!¡± The West Gate Granny thought of something and glanced at Qian Rongzhi in thought.

    Qian Rongzhi felt the sharp, sword-like gaze slide past her, but she did not seize up at all.

    The West Gate Granny set her doubts aside before turning around and cursing, ¡°I knew you¡¯d become restless. You can have the kid, but I¡¯m taking an additional ten percent of his possessions!¡±

    The East Gate Granny agreed with a sinister smile as she looked at Li Qingshan greedily.

    ¡°Though, don¡¯t suck him dry. We still need to ask him about Yingjie¡¯s whereabouts, along with that child with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty.¡± The West Gate Granny looked around, but she failed to find Xiao An.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t Wei Zhongyuan already get Ma Buyi to take a look already? That unlucky kid is probably done for. He¡¯s probably dead already. The murderer was in the north, probably this kid, as a matter of fact.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heart trembled. There were actually such accurate divination techniques in the world. If it were not for Li Qingshan, who bore the blame for her, she probably would have been exposed already.

    She made her way out of the cave while holding her breath; then she sat down slowly against a rock, like she had collapsed weakly. She slammed the rockface viciously and left behind a deep handprint.

    If Li Qingshan were captured, she would definitely be exposed for murdering Wei Yingjie, and she would have to face the wrath of a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, along with the entire Sect of Clouds and Rain. The Hawkwolf Guard would be incapable of protecting her, nor would they try to protect her.

    Right now, all she could do was flee immediately, the further the better. However, where was she supposed to go? There was nowhere she could go, unless she copied Li Qingshan and fled underground.

    Why didn¡¯t Li Qingshan flee?

    ¡°Look at that woman. No matter how high her cultivation is, she still looks like a bitch.¡± The handsome young men huddled together on an open piece of land with sparse vegetation near the carriage as they jeered at Qian Rongzhi.

    ¡°You¡¯re the bitches!¡± Qian Rongzhi glanced at them in contempt.

    The young men were stunned by that. One of them became enraged. ¡°How dare you talk back!¡± Another one said in a sunken fashion, ¡°Just that would have been enough for granny to cut you to pieces.¡± Under the protection of the West Gate Granny, rarely did anyone rebuke them.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°But, the old woman¡¯s not here right now!¡± She walked over with her Water-splitting barb. Even if she was going to flee, she wanted to take a few people with her.

    ¡°W- what are you planning on doing?¡± The young men became afraid. They retreated slowly before turning around and fleeing towards the carriage.

    Qian Rongzhi swung her hand, and there was a flash of light. Four pairs of legs were chopped off together.

    The fine horse that pulled the carried whinnied uneasily and reared its front legs. After Qian Rongzhi gave it a glance, it immediately settled down.

    However, there were some people who could not settle down. The young men rolled on the ground in pain.

    Qian Rongzhi stopped their bleeding wounds with great familiarity and injected some true qi into every single one of them so that they remained conscious. They would not faint, so they could properly enjoy the painful torture.

    ¡°You whore, you bitch! Granny will definitely kill you! Just you wait- ahhhh!¡± The young man in red clothes sobbed as he cursed. The Water-splitting barb swept past his face, slicing off his nose and destroying his handsome appearance.

    Qian Rongzhi patted his bloody face. ¡°I hope your granny will keep doting on you, you noseless, ugly boy!¡±

    The other three young men immediately stopped cursing. They looked at Qian Rongzhi in fear and resentment. Their handsome faces were their most valuable possession. If they lost their legs, those could still be reattached, but if they lost their appearances, they would completely lose the granny¡¯s favour.

    Afterwards, shrieks and howls rang through the forest like ghosts in the pits of hell.

    Qian Rongzhi cut off another three noses, completely shredding and obliterating all of their hopes.

    She did not choose to flee. Instead, she faced the nearby cave and meditated amidst the howls.

    If the West Gate Granny emerged and saw what her beloved faces had become, she would definitely tear her to shreds.

    However, she had already calmed down completely. She knew Li Qingshan¡¯s character very well. Since he did not flee, he definitely possessed the confidence that he did not need to flee.

    Since he was bold enough to fight, what was she supposed to be afraid of? At most, she would just die with him. Having reached this step, death no longer worried her. She refused to take a step back in retreat.

    Qian Rongzhi had guessed correctly. Li Qingshan was fighting.

    When he caught the two scents entering the cave, he knew that the plan had gone wrong, but it should not have been one of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s schemes. If she wanted to get him, she could have called for everyone from the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    Against just the West Gate Granny, he was absolutely confident that he could emerge victorious, but if the East Gate Granny were added to the equation, his chances at victory fell to around seventy percent. If he was seventy percent confident and still refused to fight, would he still be a man?

    This was why he did not hide, sitting there instead. He adjusted every single strand of muscle in his body to peak condition, like a tiger on the hunt, quietly waiting for its prey to get closer.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the pale-faced Qian Rongzhi and confirmed his thoughts. After hearing what the two old coots said, he directly treated them like their heads were on the chopping block. He sat right where he was as his killing intent surged.

    The West Gate Granny saw how Li Qingshan did not even move, so she asked in wonder, ¡°The kid¡¯s not running?¡±

    ¡°He must be stunned by fear. Don¡¯t be afraid, my good child. I won¡¯t hurt you.¡± The East Gate Granny used her arts of charm as she smiled. No matter how impressive the arts of Body Practitioners were, he was an easy target with his strength at the third layer.

    The West Gate Granny sneered. She knew that the arts of charm were not particularly effective against Li Qingshan, but she purposefully did not warn the East Gate Granny so that she could make a fool of herself.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, which reverberated through the cave. The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core bobbed up and down in his body, suppressing all distracting thoughts.

    The East Gate Granny was alarmed. ¡°What are you laughing about?¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped laughing. ¡°There are two old and ugly monsters who are trying to flirt like young girls. How hilarious. You can fool others, but have you fooled yourselves too? Why don¡¯t you check yourselves in the mirror and count how many wrinkles you have?¡±

    That hit a sore spot for the two grannies. They hated it the most when others reminded them of their appearances and age.

    The East Gate Granny was enraged. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re looking to die!¡±

    With a wave of her hand, colossal true qi, as black as ink, formed a huge wave that swept towards Li Qingshan.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The thick stalagmites that blocked the path of the true qi were smashed to pieces, knocking rocks into the air. It was like a huge, black snake that crawled across the ground, arriving before Li Qingshan in a single instant. It raised its head and bit down viciously.

    With a boom, the rock that Li Qingshan sat on shattered.

 Chapter 198 â€“ Well I Fucking Do

    Aside from the true qi of the five elements, there were yin and yang as well. They were all known as Profound Yin true qi and Profound Yang true qi. The Sect of Clouds and Rain practised dual cultivation of yin and yang, where men cultivated profound yang and women cultivated profound yin, which was represented as black and white. When they reached the limit, yin could produce yang and yang could produce yin. They would be in harmony. Not only was it not regarded as an evil cultivation method, but it was even regarded as a standard cultivation method of daoism.

    Yin and yang were capable of endless variations. The cultivation methods derived from them would surpass the true qi of the five elements, and it would come in all sorts of forms. What the Zombie Daoist happened to cultivate was Profound Yin true qi as well, but his Profound Yin true qi was for refining and nurturing corpses. It could not enchant anyone or devour their vitality.

    Li Qingshan was secretly surprised. Profound Yin true qi was not known for their vigour, yet it was still capable of something like this. Ninth layer Qi Practitioners truly were not people who could be trifled with.

    Suddenly, a shadow enveloped Li Qingshan, A huge, black hand reached over viciously.

    The West Gate Granny had her right hand extended in the empty air and said in a sunken fashion, ¡°I¡¯d like to see where you run off to this time.¡±

    ¡°Why would I run?¡± Li Qingshan said boldly. He parted his hands and took out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Pure true qi surged into it wildly, and a series of strokes lit up like swords and blades.

    The last time he had tried using the Cursive Sword Calligraphy was when he was still in Qingyang city. He had not even reached the second layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi back then, but he was on the seventh layer now. His true qi had grown over ten times in quantity. A total of twenty-one strokes lit up on the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and shot towards the black hand.

    The sword qi shot through the air, and the black hand crumbled.

    ¡°A high grade spiritual artifact!¡± The West Gate Granny was surprised. She called out, ¡°Black Clay Vortex!¡± Thick, dark true qi formed a huge vortex that revolved rapidly before her; it was as if it was trying to swallow everything.

    This was the strongest defensive technique that the West Gate Granny knew. She was confident that she could block the attacks of any Qi Practitioners with it.

    The twenty-one strands of sword qi plunged into the black vortex simultaneously, and it immediately began to ripple.

    The West Gate Granny was stern. She poured all of her strength into the technique, such that the Black Clay Vortex spun as quickly as it could as it attempted to grind the twenty-one strands of sword qi to pieces.

    Li Qingshan immediately took out a spiritual stone. Pure energy gradually flowed into his body through his palm, and his true qi rapidly recovered.

    He felt shocked too. Originally, he just wanted to stop the black hand and use the opportunity to flee, but he never expected the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to be so powerful. He actually managed to injure a ninth layer Qi Practitioner in a single attack, but that was also due to the fact that his true qi was simply too pure. Other Qi Practitioners would probably need to be at the fifth layer to unleash the same power as him.

    ¡°A supreme grade spiritual artifact?¡± The West Gate Granny¡¯s expression changed drastically. This piece of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy was still rather incomplete, which was why even the West Gate Granny was unable to discern its grade. All she knew was that it was important. Aside from her anger that had risen from frustration and shame, she became extremely greedy as well.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be mine. Old woman, you¡¯d better not fight over it with me.¡± The East Gate Granny¡¯s eyes lit up. Then she closed her eyes, forming seals with her hands and chanting. The Profound Yin true qi all returned to her side like black, surging water; it was as if it was alive!

    A sense of danger rose up inside Li Qingshan. It must be an extraordinary technique since even a ninth layer Qi Practitioner needed to expend effort to prepare it.

    However, he advanced instead of retreating. He held the hilt of the Wind-entwining blade in a reverse grip as true qi surged out of the acupoints below his feet like a cushion. He stepped on the walls like it was flat ground and strode vigorously. He took a total of seven steps and leapt over the West Gate Granny.

    There was a flash of cold light, and the Wind-entwining blade exited its sheath with a clang. He swung down with it like he could cut through anything.

    The West Gate Granny¡¯s technique had just been defeated, so she was unable to provide any assistance. Or perhaps she did not want to provide any assistance at all. She had just made a fool out of herself in front of the East Gate Granny earlier, so she obviously wanted to make up for it right now. She just stood aside and watched on as she thought, The kid¡¯s art of practising the body sure is impressive. If you throw that supreme grade spiritual artifact into the equation, even sixth layer Qi Practitioners might end up falling to his hands if he strikes suddenly.

    The East Gate Granny suddenly snapped open her eyes. She pressed her hands together and raised her index and middle fingers together, directing them at Li Qingshan. ¡°Snakebind¡¯s Curse!¡± Black true qi transformed into thousands of pitch-black snakes that surged over together. Just the sight of it would be enough to frighten the wits out of ordinary people.

    The Wind-entwining blade became bound by several dozen black snakes and could not move another inch forward; it was like it had sunken into mud. Li Qingshan¡¯s body was surrounded as well, only leaving behind the figure of a human.

    Li Qingshan focused on a single point and concentrated all of his strength on the Wind-entwining blade. He peered past the black true qi and locked onto the top of the East Gate Granny¡¯s head. He erupted and yelled, ¡°Go through!¡± His arms suddenly swelled and darkened. Daemon qi rushed through the restraints of the black snakes, and he swung down violently.

    The expression of the East Gate Granny, who had just begun to smile complacently, suddenly stiffened. ¡°What¡¯s this?!¡±

    The West Gate Granny sensed that something was off as well. She produced a scarlet needle. The needle was small, but it shone extremely brightly. It was actually a high grade spiritual artifact. There were not a lot of high grade spiritual artifacts, with even fewer high grade needles. They were even more difficult to forge.

    Once they were refined, however, they were tremendously powerful. Not only could they move with great secrecy and speed, but they could even pierce through all protective true qi and techniques. They could instantly kill a Qi Practitioner who did not have any protective spiritual artifacts in battle.

    The needle produced a thin, red streak and basically arrived near Li Qingshan¡¯s head the moment it had shot out.

    A Skull Prayer Bead flew out and struck the needle, while the other one transformed into a huge skull that bit down on the West Gate Granny.

    Xiao An emerged from the soil and leapt out of the darkness, stabbing towards the East Gate Granny¡¯s back. A total of three talismans were stuck to her arms, legs, and blade, maximising her speed, strength, and lethality, just so that she could launch a fatal strike.

    Li Qingshan had misled the enemy by appearing weak for the sake of creating the opportunity to launch this attack. If they could kill one of the grannies first, victory would be certain.

    Fine streaks of light emerged from the East Gate Granny, enveloping her completely.

    The blade swung down, and the sword stabbed out. They produced two great ringing booms, causing the streaks of light to tremble, but they did not shatter.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An used the rebounding force to quickly leap backwards. A nick appeared on both of their weapons. They both found this to be a pity. The East Gate Granny possessed an extremely powerful defensive spiritual artifact.

    The East Gate Granny screamed and fled to one side. It had been several years since she last experienced life-threatening danger. If it were not for the mid grade spiritual artifact she had purchased before at a great cost, the Mirrorplate of Luminance, she would have lost her life in such an easy matter. She checked the Mirrorplate of Luminance and discovered two deep marks. Its spiritual qi had decreased drastically. She was both astounded and furious.

    When she looked at Li Qingshan again, he had already grown to ten feet in size. His skin was pitch-black like iron, and a pair of horns protruded from his forehead. His scarlet hair draped near his waist.

    She yelled out, ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the kid! Use your full strength!¡± She raised her hand, and a comb flew out of her sleeve. It expanded as it shot towards Li Qingshan. The comb shone brightly. It was also a high grade spiritual artifact.

    She had never expected the kid to be so troublesome. Even the child with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty was extremely strange. However, she believed that as long as the two of them became serious, Li Qingshan would never be the opponent of two ninth layer Qi Practitioners wielding two high grade spiritual artifacts.

    She saw Li Qingshan take out a talisman. She recognised it in a single glance. It was a mid grade Lightning Summoning talisman, which made her sneer inside. It was not like there was a storm right now. A mid grade Lightning Summoning talisman would not even be able to pierce her protective true qi. It only confirmed to her that Li Qingshan was out of tricks now.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He had yet to complete his killing combination.

    The Lightning Summoning talisman was activated, but it did not shoot towards the East Gate Granny. Instead, it turned into countless, tiny sparks that illuminated the entire cavern. It also illuminated the eight talismans that Li Qingshan had prepared earlier, setting them off with the sparks.

    The eight talismans activated simultaneously. They gathered into a scorching-white bolt of lightning, as thick as a pillar, which landed on the East Gate Granny in the air. The thin layer of true qi was unable to stop it at all, pierced through instantly, while the Mirrorplate of Luminance shattered immediately. She shrieked out and fell out of the air, smouldering with smoke.

    ¡°What a crafty kid!¡± The West Gate Granny¡¯s face darkened at this sight. Her wrinkles writhed.

    She used a high grade Golden Shield talisman to block the flame-spitting skull as she guided the flying needle towards Li Qingshan again. It was both swift and vicious. The Skull Prayer Bead was unable to intercept it.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face stiffened. His height exploded to thirty feet. He extended his hand to grab the comb that had lost control and released the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    With a ding, the needle stabbed into the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and became lodged in there, unable to advance any further.

    The West Gate Granny was surprised. Her flying needle had actually failed to pierce through the protective technique. When she looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying form again, a thought crossed her head. She cursed aloud, ¡°It¡¯s that little bitch¡¯s trap!¡±

    At the same time, Xiao An shot over to the East Gate Granny¡¯s side. She swung down with her sword, giving her no time to catch her breath.

    There was a clang, and the sword landed on a layer of golden light. In that moment of danger, the East Gate Granny stuck a Golden Shield talisman on herself as well. High grade talismans were extremely precious, so they never wanted to use them unless they had to.

    Xiao An was unfazed. The hidden sword stabbed out in a storm-like barrage as her hand almost turned into a blur. The golden light receded slowly.

    The East Gate Granny was surprised, but not frantic. She used the opportunity to eat a recovery pill and take out a spiritual stone to recover true qi. Although she was charred all over, just a few Lightning Summoning talismans were not enough to kill her. She was utterly enraged as she desperately tried to wield the comb.

    The comb trembled in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, but how could it contend against his strength of two oxen? As soon as he had begun to smile, there was a sudden flash of light and several dozen blades of light shot out from the teeth of the comb. They were no weaker than the sword qi from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. With how close the weapon was to him, he was unable to dodge the attack, nor could he use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to block.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! There was the resonance of metal. The blades of light landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest and produced spurts of blood.

    Xiao An did not even look at him. She struck out even more viciously. The hidden sword was unable to endure the wear and began to crack. The East Gate Granny¡¯s Golden Shield talisman had been worn down as well. It was close to shattering.

    Li Qingshan gained several dozen terrifying wounds that criss-crossed across his body. Some of them were bone-deep, but none of them were fatal. Wounds like that were nothing to daemons. With a surge of daemon qi, his injuries rapidly closed up and vanished.

    Just when the East Gate Granny began to smile complacently once again, her expression froze. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Even daemons don¡¯t possess such a tough hide!¡± Little did she know that after Li Qingshan achieved the second layer with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength, his Ox Demon Forges its Hide had reached a whole new level as well.

 Chapter 199 â€“ Slaughtering Both

    The Golden Shield talisman shattered.

    The East Gate Granny¡¯s charred face revealed a mysterious expression. She held a talisman between her skinny fingers.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Something was amiss.

    The talisman was activated. Frigid light poured out as coldness permeated the surroundings.

    Crack, crack. The frigid ice climbed up Li Qingshan¡¯s arms from his fists, sealing up his entire body. His punch struggled forward, but it ended up stopping before the East Gate Granny¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal body had turned into a huge piece of ice. His expression was still one of shock. The terrifying killing intent that the East Gate Granny almost found to be suffocating had been frozen as well.

    Xiao An on the side was not spared either. She was immobilised by the ice.

    Li Qingshan was not the only one with trump cards.

    The West Gate Granny sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve finally managed to bring yourself to use the supreme grade Frost Wave talisman.¡± She knew that the East Gate Granny possessed this trump card all along, which was why she would always go easy on her. Now that she had finally been forced to use it, she could not help but rejoice.

    The East Gate Granny had just survived a life-threatening attack, but she was filled with dejection. Over the century of cultivation, who knows just how much effort it had cost her for her to end up with this supreme grade talisman. It was truly her protective talisman. Even if she killed Li Qingshan now, it probably would not be able to make up for her losses.

    In hindsight, she should have never come in the first place. If that old coot could die in the trap alone, it would have been something joyous. She looked at Li Qingshan again, and her eyes were filled with resentment and bitterness. She was tempted to skin him alive and break all of his bones immediately, torturing him to death.

    The West Gate Granny studied Xiao An and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity with this kid, or we could have erased her memories and controlled her with the Heart Bewitching technique. She would be able to serve as quite a powerful weapon to our sect.¡±

    The Frost Wave talisman did not just bound people in ice. It also froze their bodies and destroyed their meridians. It was almost equivalent to a strike from a Foundation Establishment talisman. It was impossible for them to survive.

    The East Gate Granny said, ¡°The child is very strange, so it¡¯s not exactly bad news that she¡¯s dead. As for this Li Qingshan, he was actually a daemon, and he actually managed to hide his daemon qi so well, even posing as a Qi Practitioner!¡±

    In the blueish-white ice, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly swivelled.

    The East Gate Granny was stunned. ¡°He¡¯s still alive! Finish him off quick, or we¡¯ll be the ones who¡¯ll die here today!¡±

    The West Gate Granny was startled too. How is that possible!

    Crack, crack. A series of cracks stretched over the ice.

    The West Gate Granny wasted no time at all. She controlled the flying needle, directly stabbing towards Li Qingshan¡¯s heart with one hand while clutching a supreme grade talisman in the other. Suddenly, there was a burst of golden light that dazzled her eyes.

    Xiao An¡¯s frozen flesh and blood transformed into raging flames once again. She stuck a talisman to her shiny bones. It was a high grade Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings.

    A huge, golden figure burst out of the ice. It was complete with a golden sword and clear facial features. It could not be compared to the same inferior talismans from before.

    At the centre of the golden man was a tiny set of shiny bones. They actually became slightly golden under the golden light, giving off a buddhist aura. It turned around and locked onto the West Gate Granny, which actually seemed like the furious glare from a guardian king.

    The West Gate Granny became dazed. Her mind had been shaken, overwhelmed by the glare. She focused on practising the arts of enchantment to affect the minds of others, so her mind was obviously very powerful, yet she was actually affected now.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty resonated with the Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings and unleashed unbelievable power.

    Guardian kings were the protectors of buddhism. Even just a sliver of their aura was not something that Qi Practitioners could endure. Both their strength and minds would be suppressed.

    The furious glare of guardian kings could subdue demons, while the downward gaze of bodhisattvas brought benevolence to the six realms.

    Xiao An did not let this opportunity slip by. She rushed over to the West Gate Granny. Her white bones were emotionless, while the guardian king was furious. It raised its golden sword high into the air and swung down with enough power to purge all evil.

    The threat of death allowed the West Gate Granny to return to her senses. The golden sword was only inches away now. She let out a scream and used a technique. Profound Yin true qi surged out from her body, forming a barrier. She made up her mind and also took out her supreme grade talisman. She hesitated on whether to retreat, or to activate the talisman.

    Swish!

    The sword cut through the true qi barrier and cut off her hand that held the supreme grade talisman.

    The West Gate Granny clutched her severed arm as she shrieked and retreated. She wanted to use her true qi to retrieve the talisman, but the guardian king grabbed it instead, turning it into a futile attempt. The guardian king launched a second slash.

    She immediately became afraid to remain there for even a moment longer. She used a technique that could increase her speed and rushed out of the cave, but when she looked up, she discovered that the East Gate Granny had already fled ahead of her. She could not help but curse inside.

    All of this happened in a single moment. Boom, the ice exploded, and Li Qingshan emerged. He called out, ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± He took a step forward, and the Ox Demon Tramples followed.

    A crack spread from the bottom of his feet and rapidly approached the East Gate Granny. However, she was not the target.

    Dust was thrown into the air as the cave collapsed. The cavern was completely sealed off now.

    The East Gate Granny had only just turned around, yet this all happened before she could even say anything!

    The sound waves and wind blades emitted from the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar swept over and slammed her against the wall. Before she had even slid down to the ground, Li Qingshan caught up and threw a punch at her.

    ¡°Black Clay Vortex!¡± The East Gate Granny actually still managed to use a technique despite the current situation. It nullified most of the power, but it still made her spurt blood.

    However, Li Qingshan launched over a hundred punches in a single moment. He collapsed the Black Clay Vortex and punched her into the wall, turning her to pulp.

    Li Qingshan suddenly turned around. Xiao An was currently chasing the West Gate Granny around everywhere. The West Gate Granny actually managed to pierce the golden figure with her flying needle, but she was unable to harm Xiao An¡¯s forged bones at all.

    The West Gate Granny abruptly felt a set of scarlet eyes lock onto her. The colossal body rapidly approached her with the shade of death. She could not help but despair.

    Even without Xiao An¡¯s extraordinary performance, Li Qingshan still possessed absolute confidence as long as they outnumbered the enemy two-to-one. He took advantage of the moment when the West Gate Granny was unable to dodge due to Xiao An and scooped her up. He grabbed her in his hands and crushed down forcefully. Her protective true qi shattered, and the West Gate Granny followed in the steps of the East Gate Granny. She could not even let out a shriek. She was simply crushed to a pulp.

    Li Qingshan let out a small exhale and smiled resplendently. He had won this fight!

    As his daemon qi was water elemented, the supreme grade Frost Wave talisman did not hurt him too much, but even with that, he suffered from frostbite across his body. If it had been a different talisman, he might have been in danger.

    He had made quite a few mistakes in this battle. First, he had failed to gauge the power of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy correctly. Otherwise, if he had incorporated it into his plan properly, he should have been able to heavily injure or even kill the East Gate Granny.

    He had also underestimated the wondrous effects the Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings had on Xiao An. Of course, there was no need for him to be so fixated on perfection. Li Qingshan had been constantly learning about fighting during the battle.

    In comparison to him, the West Gate Granny and the East Gate Granny made many more mistakes. If they had been prepared at the very beginning and used their full strength instead of trying to toy with them, Li Qingshan¡¯s chances of victory would have been reduced to fifty percent at the very least.

    It was exactly because of their careless and arrogant mindset that Li Qingshan had managed to get the first strike. They did not cooperate with each other at all. Instead, they faced the constant attacks frantically. Their ultimate defeat had basically been determined from the very beginning.

    However, would there be any ninth layer Qi Practitioners who would take a third layer Qi Practitioner seriously? His greatest weapon was not the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, nor was it the Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings, but his weak, outward appearance. No matter when, he would always be able to catch his opponent off guard and get the first strike, claiming an advantage.

    The flames devoured the corpses of the West Gate Granny and the East Gate Granny before returning to Xiao An. Afterwards, it gradually condensed into a body of flesh and blood, which smiled towards Li Qingshan sweetly. She offered up the two hundred treasures pouch, the two high grade spiritual artifacts, and the supreme grade talisman.

    Li Qingshan returned to human form and opened the hundred treasures pouch to take a look. He was surprised. He had never seen such a large space before, and there were countless pills, spiritual stones, talismans, and cultivation methods.

    However, there was not a single Qi Gathering pill at all. Instead, their pouches contained something called Qi Amassing pills. They were slightly worse than Pearl dew pills, but they were ten times as powerful as Qi Gathering pills, and there were very few impurities within them. They amounted to a thousand in total, while the other pills amounted to several dozen as well.

    The items that surprised Li Qingshan the most were two embroidered boxes covered in inscriptions. They held two faint, purple pills that gave off a special fragrance. The embroidered box was clearly to prevent the pills from losing their effects.

    Li Qingshan was afraid of looking at them for too long, so he closed the boxes in a hurry. Since ninth layer Qi Practitioners treated them with so much care, they definitely were not something ordinary. He had to carefully investigate the names of these pills when he had the chance.

    Apart from the two or three high grade talismans that Li Qingshan paid some attention to, the rest were not worth mentioning. There were only two spiritual artifacts, but a single grade was enough to increase the value of a spiritual artifact by at least ten times over. Just the value of the high grade scarlet needle and spiritual comb had exceeded the total value of all the spiritual artifacts he had obtained so far, apart from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    Aside from those, there were very few spiritual stones as well, just a few dozen. They must have spent all of their wealth on their supreme grade talisman, the high grade spiritual artifact, and the purple pill.

    Li Qingshan scooped up Xiao An and rubbed her hair. He smiled. ¡°We¡¯re rich!¡± He split the two hundred treasures pouches between them.

    Xiao An said, We¡¯re rich!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out ten Hundred Grasses pills and meditated on the spot for a while so that his true qi and daemon qi returned to peak condition. Only then did he draw the Wind-entwining blade and dig his way out again. He arrived outside with Xiao An, but when he noticed Qian Rongzhi seated in the open nearby, he could not help but be slightly surprised. ¡°You haven¡¯t left?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°I still haven¡¯t received my share, so how could I just leave?¡± She appeared to be calm and composed, but she had actually been nervous the entire time. Only now did she ease up. She was now even more surprised by Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. He had actually managed to kill two ninth layer Qi Practitioners.

    The cultivation methods of the Sect of Clouds and Rain focused on bewitching the mind of the enemy and was not exactly battle-oriented, but the strength of ninth layer Qi Practitioners was still a great deal. Li Qingshan became more and more mysterious and unfathomable in her eyes.

    Then she looked at Xiao An beside him. She also seemed to be filled with mystery. She could not help but sigh. That child is still just so pure!

 Chapter 200 â€“ Yu Zijian

    The voice that was like an oriole¡¯s cry left Qian Rongzhi stunned for quite a while. She replied with a smile, ¡°Hello!¡± However, she only looked at her from afar. She did not come any closer.

    According to their agreement, Li Qingshan gave the pills and cultivation methods that were relevant to the Sect of Clouds and Rain to Qian Rongzhi. However, even with Qian Rongzhi¡¯s mental fortitude, she struggled to maintain her composure.

    There were nine bottles of first-rate Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain, as well as three bottles of Profound Yin pills that were specially prepared for those who practised Profound Yin true qi. The other pills, such as Pills of Passion and Pills of Calming, were not worth mentioning.

    However, what attracted her attention were not those, but a book called the Method of Bewitchment. It was a technique that specialised in bewitching people, with the Method of Clouds and Rain serving as a foundation. Only people who had some status in the sect had the opportunity to practise it. Regular disciples could only learn regular charming techniques.

    It was basically overkill if she obtained a method for bewitching people, with how skilled she was at controlling people already.

    Li Qingshan suddenly said, ¡°Give me two bottles of Pills of Spring Breeze and Rain.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi gave them to him without any second thought. When Li Qingshan wanted to give her two bottles of Qi Amassing pills in exchange, she declined instead. She said enthusiastically, ¡°I can lure other people over too¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted her, ¡°You better think of a way to distance yourself from this matter first!¡± The status of the two grannies in the Sect of Clouds and Rain was far greater than the likes of Zhao Liangqing. Their disappearance would lead to major movements from the sect.

    And, he had to be extremely careful. When he faced two ninth layer Qi Practitioners, he only had a fifty percent chance at emerging victorious. If the tenth layer vice sect master, or the unfathomable sect master, were added into the equation, he would basically be doomed.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s smile stiffened. She had thought of the same thing too. Once the Sect of Clouds and Rain looked into the tracks of the two grannies, it would be rather simple for them to find out that they had been in contact with her. She needed to handle this extremely carefully, so how could she afford to take on any further risks? Her plan seemed elaborate, but she was actually dancing on the edge.

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder. I¡¯m still a woman at the end. When I see these petty profits, I become blinded by them and become short-sighted as a result.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. I¡¯ve only said that for my own sake.¡± Li Qingshan casually tossed the two bottles of Qi Amassing pills into her hand, before vanishing into the woods with Xiao An.

    The distant mountains were layered in white snow, while the crystalline snowflakes fell into the bows of alcohol, causing it to spill.

    A large hand picked up the bowl and drank all of it.

    Li Qingshan smacked his lips. The flavour of alcohol had already faded, replaced by coldness. It was quite the taste.

    He could not see Milliped. He must have run out of patience and returned underground.

    He remembered Milliped¡¯s invitation and shook his head and sighed, What¡¯s so great about underground?

    From all the drinks he shared with Milliped over the past few days, he already knew this was all due to the Daemon Commander¡¯s order, and further up, the decree of the greatest Daemon King of the Green province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    If Milliped returned to his original form and arrived in a human city, he was basically a devastating monster. This arrangement was probably to maintain peace between humans and daemons.

    Suddenly, there was a gust of wind from behind him. Li Qingshan turned his head slightly and a snowball brushed past his cheek. Turning around, all he saw was Xiao An covering her mouth, snickering.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t you regret this!¡± Before he had even finished talking, another snowball flew over. When he tilted his head to dodge, the snowball even changed directions, slamming against his face viciously, causing snow to splatter everywhere.

    A shiny, white prayer bead inside flew back to Xiao An¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan wiped away the snow from his face and shot a glance at her, ¡°I¡¯m going to get angry!¡±

    Xiao An stuck out her tongue and fled from the hole. She looked back and just as expected, Li Qingshan tailed behind her closely. He yelled out, ¡°Great Snowball technique!¡±

    The floating snowflakes all gathered in Li Qingshan¡¯s large hand, forming an ultimate snowball that spanned several feet across. He pushed it towards Xiao An.

    ¡°Giddy up! Giddy up!¡± A carriage driver yelled and swung the reins, urging on the horses as they pulled the carriage through the accumulated snow. He wore the uniform for the Proud Sword manor. He was a trusted disciple of Yu Shukuang, the mellow young man who was often sent to deliver items over. His name was Yu Lian.

    The carriage crossed through a forested region and arrived before a manor surrounded by snow mountains.

    The carriage came to a steady stop at the entrance and Yu Lian said, ¡°Master, we¡¯re here.¡±

    A bearded swordsman climbed down from the carriage. He stood with his head and chest held high with a great bearing. He was Yu Shukuang. His face was filled with joy as he wore a set of red silk robes. He arrived before the entrance, before bowing slightly and knocking on the door gently in a somewhat nervous manner, ¡°Is great hero Niu present?¡±

    He suddenly heard a strange sound. He pressed his head against the door and listened closely. The strange sound drew closer and closer.

    Rumble.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Yu Shukuang used his movement technique and rose up. A huge, white ball smashed through the vermillion entrance, brushed past the bottom of his feet and rolled down the mountain.

    Yu Shukuang was shaken. If he had been hit by that, he would lose half his life. Though, that seemed like a snowball? However, he had never seen such a large, such a hard snowball before.

    Li Qingshan stood in the courtyard and looked at Yu Shukuang from afar. He asked loudly, ¡°Great hero Yu, what brings you here?¡±

    Yu Shukuang hurried forward to bow. He looked around and was stunned. There were signs left behind by the giant snowball everywhere. A corridor had been smashed through, while quite a few firewood sheds to the east had collapsed.

    ¡°W- what were you doing, sir?¡±

    ¡°I was waging a snowfight!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up Xiao An by the collar, ¡°I wanted to show this girl what¡¯s what!¡±

    With her head of long, curly seaweed-like hair, she just remained silent in an obedient manner. She basically seemed like she was slightly afraid. However, Li Qingshan knew she was afraid of unfamiliar people the most. As soon as a stranger appeared before her, she would become sheepish.

    Yu Shukuang shivered. The Tiger Butcher sure was ruthless! He had actually thrown such a large snowball at such a cute child. If the snowball hit her, it would be murder! However, he was too afraid to persuade him otherwise as well. He began to hesitate over what he originally planned to do.

    Li Qingshan asked again, ¡°What brings you here?¡±

    Yu Shukuang made up his mind and fished out an invitation from his sleeve. He invited Li Qingshan to a banquet at the Proud Sword manor at noon tomorrow, to celebrate Yu Zijian in reaching the innate realm and becoming a Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Your daughter¡¯s back?¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°Not yet. She¡¯ll probably come back tonight.¡±

    ¡°Then congratulations!¡± Li Qingshan asked Xiao An, ¡°Do you want to go?¡±

    Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan hesitantly, as if she was trying to guess what he was thinking.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡± It had been quite some time since he had taken her out for a stroll. He said to Yu Shukuang, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go, but I don¡¯t want to expose my identity, so please prepare a special, individual time for me.¡±

    Yu Shukuang was overjoyed. He agreed to it fervently.

    At noon on the next day, the light snow had just cleared up, but there was not a speck of snow on the square in front of the Proud Sword manor. All of it had been swept away by the disciples of the manor. There were lanterns and decorations everywhere as everyone brimmed with joy.

    To the people of the jianghu, even if the four joyous occasions of life were combined, they probably still would not be as happy as breaking through to the innate realm. That represented a whole new world unfurling around them, which possessed unimaginable possibilities.

    Authority and wealth might have only been like the fleeting clouds, but a longer life was what all people desired. A high level Qi Practitioner could even live for two centuries.

    Now that Yu Zijian had become a Qi Practitioner, the status of the entire Proud Sword manor would rise as a result. Regular disciples would benefit from this too. And, while Yu Zijian was Yu Shukuang¡¯s treasured daughter, she completely lacked the arrogance and pride of a young miss. Not only did she treat regular disciples kindly, she liked to uphold justice and help the weak too. The citizens of Salt Mountain city constantly praised her.

    When someone like that received the blessings of fate, others would always feel happy for her from the bottom of their hearts.

    However, there were also many young disciples who secretly lamented inside. This had severed any possibilities for them to become the son-in-law of the Proud Sword manor. Perhaps the marriage of a rich young miss to a penniless man would happen a few times in life, but a Qi Practitioner would never marry an ordinary person.

    ¡°Sect master Liu, you¡¯ve come! Please come in, please come in!¡± Yu Shukuang personally stood at the entrance to welcome the esteemed guests. When he saw his fellow martial arts practitioner, he felt so proud of himself that he almost wanted to laugh his head off.

    Yu Zijian sat in the central seat in the hall rather unnaturally, receiving everyone¡¯s congratulations. When she saw the various bigshots and uncles of the jianghu congratulate and greet her, she felt fantastic inside. As it turned out, becoming a Qi Practitioner was actually so great.

    The banquet began, but Yu Shukuang apologised to everyone and took Yu Zijian to the back of the hall.

    ¡°Father, where are we going?¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°I¡¯m taking you to see an esteemed guest. When you see him, be polite.¡±

    Yu Zijian was rather puzzled. Earlier, Yu Shukuang would not even permit her to be polite when she wanted to, telling her to maintain her bearing as an innate master. So just who was it that made her father so serious?

    Within a dim room that had all of its shutters shut, Yu Zijian saw an abnormally tall and burly figure. He wore a great big hat on his head. Beside him was a bamboo basket and laid out before him was a rich feast.

    Yu Zijian was unable to sense any aura that belonged to a Qi Practitioner or martial arts practitioner from him, but it did not weaken his bearing at all. It made her sterner.

    Yu Shukuang introduced, ¡°This is¡­ Niu Er, or great hero Niu to you!¡±

    ¡°Pfft!¡± Yu Zijian¡¯s stern expression immediately collapsed.

    ¡°Damn brat, don¡¯t laugh!¡± Yu Shukuang rebuked loudly, afraid she would anger Li Qingshan.

    Yu Zijian had already begun apologising before he could finish, ¡°Great hero Niu, I¡¯m not laughing at you, so please don¡¯t take any offense!¡± She felt very bad for laughing at someone¡¯s name, but she really could not help herself when she saw what the climax lead up to.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s impression of Yu Zijian was limited to the girl in violet who followed Hua Chenglu around as well. Now that he heard her talk, he took a liking to her. He studied her.

    Her hair was unadorned, just tied into two thick buns with a few draping down to her cheeks. It only made her face seem even brighter and prettier. She wore the same faint purple robes, with a deeper purple band around her waist, highlighting her slender waist as a young woman.

    It made her seem natural and gentle, and she spoke quickly and gently. Although she was not enough for him to fall in love at first sight, she was still a cute girl who could make his heart stirr. She could bring ease to his mind.

    As the saying went, I hear the jade hair needle fall to the ground through the curtain. You would either be stupid or extremely wise if not a single bad thought crosses your mind. Fortunately, I¡¯m neither.1¡±

 Chapter 201 â€“ The Past Grievances of the Jianghu

    ¡°Your daughter is indeed a clever and polite girl. Seeing her was worth it.¡± The last time Li Qingshan saw her was when they were surrounded by a group of people from the martial arts society. At the time, he had to constantly remain cautious about the West Gate Granny. Even if they did end up conversing, he would have placed all of his attention on Hua Chenglu. Now that he saw Yu Zijian again, it was quite a surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, you¡¯re too kind.¡± Yu Shukuang smiled, but he wondered, Has this Li Qingshan taken an interest in my daughter? The first thought that crossed his head was ¡®absolutely not¡¯. How could he hand his daughter to a mass-murderer?

    But upon further thought, he realised that it might actually be possible for Li Qingshan to become interested in her. He had seen Li Qingshan¡¯s original appearance before. He knew he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, around the same age as Yu Zijian. He had a somewhat dignified appearance, and he had only become like this to avoid enemies.

    As previously mentioned, in the eyes of experienced members of the jianghu, Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance was much more pleasing compared to those pale-faced, slightly more feminine scholars. Moreover, he was startlingly powerful. It would all boil down to what his girl wanted!

    However, it was impossible for this thought to come to fruition.

    That was because as Li Qingshan studied Yu Zijian, Yu Zijian studied Li Qingshan as well.

    The shadow from the bamboo hat had almost hidden his dark face, only exposing a beardless chin. And, while the yellow robes he wore were specially made, several sizes larger than robes for regular people, they were still unable to hide his twisting muscles.

    All young women thought of love, but the people they thought of were those graceful gentlemen, those handsome youths, not some supersized musclehead. Probably only desperate women would take an interest in someone like him.

    When the sharp gaze swept out from the darkness, Yu Zijian could not help but shudder slightly and lower her head in a hurry. The gaze seemed to be dangerously invasive, preventing her from looking straight into his eyes.

    With her head lowered, she now saw the pig and chicken bones littered on the ground. Clearly, this great hero Niu¡¯s mouth had been busy when he had been alone.

    Though, Li Qingshan was truly faultless here. The quality of the feast Yu Shukuang had prepared was extraordinary. Whether it be the whole-roasted lamb, the cold pork knuckles, or the braised beef, all of it was delicious. These were all of his favourite foods as a carnivore. There were even steamed bear paws, which were wonderful in favour.

    He let his belly loose and ate plenty of it. However, not a single thing left his mouth after entering it, including the bones. He was like a wild beast, grinding the bones to dust and eating them as well.

    However, she simply refused to eat the bones. Although she smelted white bones, she had no interest in the bones of cooked animals. Actually, none of what she ate reached her stomach. All of it was refined by her flames. She only did it for the taste.

    With how much respect Yu Shukuang had shown towards him, Yu Zijian directly treated Li Qingshan as a senior on the level of her uncles, so she obviously took no interest in him as a man.

    ¡°Zijian!¡± Yu Shukuang tugged Yu Zijian¡¯s sleeve, and she returned to her senses. She raised her head, ¡°Thank you, great hero Niu.¡± As she listened to Li Qingshan¡¯s deep voice, she remained as calm as stillwater inside. However, she just found him to be slightly familiar, so she asked without further thought, ¡°Have we met before?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and asked with a smile, ¡°Do you have a hundred treasures pouch?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Yu Zijian answered honestly. Originally, Hua Chenglu wanted to give her one, but she was afraid that she would never be able to return the favour, so she refused it. She heard that as long as she could join the Academy of the Hundred Schools, she would be able to collect her own hundred treasures pouch.

    ¡°This was the first hundred treasures pouch that I obtained. You can treat it as a congratulating gift!¡± Li Qingshan took out a rather worn out hundred treasures pouch. It had come from Qian Rongzhi¡¯s dead brother.

    He found this girl to be pretty good, but he did not actually develop any improper thoughts towards her, wanting to give her something extremely precious in an attempt to please her.

    However, if the gift was too insignificant, it would be inappropriate. It had to be suitable. He just happened to have many hundred treasures pouches on him, and they were items that all Qi Practitioners required. Hundred treasures pouches could not be stored in one another, so he could only fold them up and carry them on him. He had so many of them that he almost became a member of the Beggar¡¯s gang, with an unprecedented dozen or so bags at that1. Now was the perfect time for him to get rid of one of them.

    Yu Shukuang was overjoyed. He had heard about the hundred treasures pouches a long time ago. They were even rarer than spiritual artifacts. Li Qingshan was so generous as soon as it came to gift-giving, such that he felt like he had not been busying himself recently for nothing.

    ¡°That¡¯s far too precious!¡± Yu Zijian turned it down in a hurry and glanced at Yu Shukuang. She wondered just what relationship this great hero Niu had with her father. How come she had never heard of him before?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯ll find it to be far too worn out. If you don¡¯t like it, I have others. You can exchange them with me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± Yu Zijian waved her hands in a hurry, while Yu Shukuang coughed gently. ¡°If great hero Niu wants you to accept it, just accept it!¡±

    Only then did Yu Zijiang happily accept the worn out hundred treasures pouch. She basically felt the same as Li Qingshan before. It was exactly because it was worn out that she could accept it calmly.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There¡¯s still a lot of people waiting for you at the front, so there¡¯s no need to waste any more time here. You¡¯d better go!¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be bidding you farewell. If you require anything, feel free to ask the servants.¡±

    With their departure, Li Qingshan took off his bamboo hat and lifted Xiao An from the bamboo basket, placing her on his knee. ¡°Let¡¯s keep eating!¡±

    The feast unfolded.

    Yu Shukuang had already become bright red from drinking. He was currently involved in a competition of who could drink the most with his good friend, the master of the Elation sect.

    At the entrance, a man with a pitted face raised his head and looked at the three words, ¡®Proud Sword Manor¡¯, hanging up above. He sneered in resentment.

    He was in his forties, and he wore a magnificent set of robes. A treasured blade hung from his waist. The hilt was made from pure gold, and it was embedded with a cat¡¯s eye gem. It was extremely stately, as if he wanted to broadcast that he was rich.

    Afterwards, he barged in.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°You cannot enter without an invitation.¡± Just when the guarding disciples wanted to stop him, the man with the pitted face waved his hand. He had not even touched the disciples, but they were all sent flying backwards.

    ¡°An innate master!¡± There were many people of the jianghu at the feast. They all cried out at this sight. Only inante masters could release their true qi externally.

    The man with the pockmarked face stopped before the hall and barked under the gaze of several hundred guests, ¡°Yu Shukuang, you¡¯ve invited everyone from everywhere, so how could you have forgotten about this old friend of yours?!¡±

    Yu Shukuang heard the disturbance outside and rushed outside with his fellow martial arts practitioners. He looked down from the steps above and gasped, ¡°You Pitted Madman!¡± His fellow martial arts practitioners all changed in expression.

    A young man asked on a table of individual guests, ¡°Who¡¯s the Pitted Madman? Why haven¡¯t I heard of him before?¡±

    An old man who had a thorough understanding of the matters of the jianghu whispered, ¡°His name is Ma Chaoqun. He¡¯s skilled in the thirty-six forms of the Mad Demon Blade style. He¡¯s extremely vicious in battle, and he always tries to drag the opponent down with him. His face is pitted as well, which is why they call him the Pitted Madman.¡±

    ¡°What past does he have with great hero Yu?¡±

    ¡°The Proud Sword hall used to be called the Mad Blade hall!¡±

    In the past, the two of them had once fought with each other over a woman, gambling with their lives. Ma Chaoqun was defeated in a single move, and from then onwards, he vanished into the wilderness and never appeared again. Yu Shukuang took the woman as his wife and used the Mad Blade hall as a foundation to rapidly expand his influence, uniting the entire city under him in the end.

    Never did he think that this old rival of his would appear again after all these years, and he would have become an innate master already.

    Yu Shukuang wavered. He put on a smile and clasped his hands. ¡°Brother Ma, it has been several years. Have you been well?¡±

    Ma Chaoqun was surprised at first before bursting out with laughter. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like something that the pride swordsman I know would say. What happened to your pride? Where¡¯s Zi¡¯er? I want to see her!¡± Then he suddenly called out madly, ¡°Zi¡¯er, your senior brother is back. I¡¯ve already become an innate master!¡±

    However, no one dared to mock his madness. His call was filled with innate true qi, which shook up the hall. It made everyone¡¯s ears ring as they all became shocked.

    Yu Shukuang sighed. ¡°Zi¡¯er she¡­ passed away quite a few years ago.¡±

    Ma Chaoqun was stunned. His eyes reddened as he gritted his teeth. ¡°Sh- she¡¯s already dead? She must have died because of you! You weren¡¯t the one she liked. Yes, she must have discovered that you had poisoned me, right?¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? My father would never poison anyone!¡± Yu Zijian had originally been standing in the crowd. When she heard that, she refused to accept it. She immediately stood forward from the crowd and rebuked loudly.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er?¡± Ma Chaoqun was dazed. Only after a closer glance did he discover that her age did not seem to match. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Yu Zijian. I¡¯m my father¡¯s daughter. And who do you happen to be, to come and make trouble in the Proud Sword manor?¡±

    Ma Chaoqun suddenly understood. ¡°I will expose the hypocrite that he is before everyone. Back then, I was already a first-rate master, while your father was only at the peak of the second-rate. How could his proud sword defeat my mad blade? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that your father poisoned me, how could he have won?¡±

    ¡°Zijian!¡±

    Just when Yu Zijian wanted to rebuke him, Yu Shukuang stopped her. ¡°That¡¯s right. I would have never been able to defeat you back then!¡±

    ¡°Father?¡± Yu Zijian looked at Yu Shukuang in disbelief.

    There was an uproar. Although Yu Shukuang was not as upright as Yu Zijian had imagined him to be, he was still a central figure within the orthodox jianghu. He had made a name for himself as a heroic figure.

    Ma Chaoqun was surprised at first. He never thought that Yu Shukuang would admit it so easily. He laughed aloud. ¡°You¡¯ve all heard it! Girly, you heard it too. You know exactly what your father is now!¡±

    ¡°However, the poison didn¡¯t come from me. It came from Zi¡¯er.¡± Yu Shukuang¡¯s next words made everyone fall silent.

    ¡°My mother?!¡± Yu Zijian was stunned. She did not have a particularly deep impression of her mother, who had passed away so early. She only remembered her to be an extremely gentle and beautiful woman who sighed constantly. Yu Shukuang often told her about her mother¡¯s kind-heartedness as well.

    Ma Chaoqun felt like his heart had been struck by a boulder, causing it to ripple and surge. ¡°Impossible. You have to be lying. Junior sister had always been infatuated with me, so why would she work against me? Why would she work against me!?¡±

    With a swish, he drew the treasured blade from his waist and pointed it at Yu Shukuang. It shone brightly. It was actually a low grade spiritual artifact.

 Chapter 202 â€“ Uncle Niu

    Yu Shukuang smiled bitterly. ¡°You should have known this already. I had no chance to tamper with your food or drink.¡±

    This was a thought that had lingered in Ma Chaoqun¡¯s mind for many years now, but he had always refused to face it or believe in it. It was impossible for the lady he had grown up with who was as kind as they came to do something so cruel to him.

    Now that he had suddenly verified this, all of his hard work over the years, all of his thoughts for revenge, suddenly became laughable. He could not help but become overcome by anger as tears streaked across his face. He roared at the sky crazily.

    Originally, Yu Zijian disliked him very much. She heard his howl that sounded just like a despaired beast¡¯s and could not help but become saddened. She sympathised with him, He must have loved my mother very much. Mother let him down. If she didn¡¯t like him, she should have told him directly. Why did she have to poison him?

    ¡°D- don¡¯t feel too bad. So many years have passed already. You will definitely find someone better than my mother.¡±

    Mao Chaoqun stopped howling. He looked at Yu Zijian. Her beautiful face overflowing with sincere sympathy seemed to overlap with the face in his heart. He murmured, ¡°You really do look like her.¡±

    ¡°Brother Ma, so many years have passed already. Neither of us are young anymore. It¡¯s time for us to drop these grievances. Today is a joyous day for celebrating how Zijian has become a Qi Practitioner. She¡¯ll be attending the Academy of the Hundred Schools next year. Why don¡¯t you take a seat and share a drink with us?¡± Yu Shukuang implied that neither of them were regular people of the jianghu who could be trampled over anymore.

    Ma Chaoqun suddenly raised an eyebrow and produced a twisted smile. Combined with his pitted face, he seemed even uglier. ¡°I want to fight you again!¡± Afterwards, he pointed at Yu Zijian. ¡°She¡¯ll be the wager!¡±

    Crack! Li Qingshan snapped the chopsticks in his hands. ¡°That¡¯s far too underhanded!¡±

    He noticed the disturbance outside before anyone else. Afterwards, he continued to eat as he listened in on the past grievances of the jianghu out of interest. It went well with his feast.

    He was also rather sympathetic towards this pitted-face brother as well. It must have been horrible to be betrayed by a person you trusted. He also felt contempt towards this ¡°Zi¡¯er¡±. She had sacrificed her own senior brother for a handsome man. That was far too dishonourable.

    Both of these people could be considered as outstanding, yet they had both chosen a fickle woman. Their insight was horrible. Fortunately, Yu Zijian was not as vicious as her mother.

    However, when he heard Ma Chaoqun¡¯s final decision, he completely disagreed with it. This was no longer exacting revenge on Yu Shukuang. It was taking revenge on the woman called ¡°Zi¡¯er¡±, along with all of society.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Yu Shukuang immediately became bright red, despite remaining calm the entire time. He drew his sword with a furious gaze. Yu Zijian was his treasured daughter. If anyone even touched a hair on her, he would throw his life at them.

    There was a series of clangs and swishes as weapons were drawn from their sheathes. It was not just the disciples of the Proud Sword manor, but the guests present too. Although some were closer to Yu Shukuang than others, they were still Yu Shukuang¡¯s friends. If they did not help their friend at a time like this, they would be despised by their fellow members of the martial arts society.

    This bastard was alone anyway. Even if he was an innate master, he would still run out of true qi!

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright!¡± Ma Chaoqun called out under everyone¡¯s glares. He was fearless. ¡°I¡¯ve spent all these years focusing on cultivation on Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, just for this day. Those who have nothing to do with this, piss off. Anyone who gets in my way will be awaiting the retribution of Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    With that, a series of disjointed cries rang out. Ma Chaoqun¡¯s words rushed into Li Qingshan¡¯s ears as well. His expression was strange. Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the legendary Count of Monte Cristo2?

    Everyone else obviously did not share the same thought as Li Qingshan. No one present had ever been to the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. They did not even know where it was. However, as long as they were first-rate masters, they would have heard about it before.

    The Green Vine mountain, the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, and the Burial Mound mountain were three powerful cultivation sects. They were renowned throughout the Clear River prefecture. Together, they were three famous mountains that stood side by side. Not only did they have Qi Practitioners, but they also had Foundation Establishment cultivators who had undergone the first heavenly tribulation. Their power and influence went without saying.

    Regular people only needed to join one of them, and it would be like a change of fate. Their identities would undergo an upheaving change. No one dared to brush aside Ma Chaoqun¡¯s threat. To the people of the jianghu, Qi Practitioners were like higher existences on the food chain.

    Many of the people present who were not particularly close with Yu Shukuang retreated slightly. Only a few good friends remained by his side, but they too hesitated.

    Yu Zijian was bright red. She was speechless with anger and shame. She saw the situation and rebuked loudly, ¡°If you just kill people blindly, aren¡¯t you afraid of the Hawkwolf Guard?¡± She had once witnessed the power of a Hawkwolf Guard in person, which left behind an extremely deep impression on her.

    Ma Chaoqun burst out laughing. ¡°The Hawkwolf Guard? Do you really think they¡¯ll care about you people of the jianghu?¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed gently. He knew that Ma Chaoqun was right. He was a member of the Hawkwolf Guard, and he knew how they functioned very well. People of the jianghu who could practise inner force were a special group of people who existed between regular people and cultivators, and the Hawkwolf Guard treated them in a very special way too.

    The Black Wind stronghold could slaughter whole villages to set precedents and make it onto the blacklist, but not a single Hawkwolf Guard would pay attention to them for several years. However, if cultivators did something like that, it would be regarded as evil, and the commanders would directly send people on a mission to handle them.

    If an entire organisation of the jianghu was annihilated, even if it amounted to several hundred lives, the Hawkwolf Guard would investigate the matter at most. They would never handle it seriously. When the people of the jianghu killed regular people, they would be treated like regular people, allowed to run free. However, when they were killed by Qi Practitioners, they would be treated like Qi Practitioners and ignored.

    Under Ma Chaoqun¡¯s sinister glare, the master of the Elation sect gulped. ¡°Brother Yu, do you think¡­¡±

    Yu Shukuang clasped his hands at everyone. ¡°I thank you all for holding my ground for me today, but this is a personal grievance. It¡¯s got nothing to do with you. Anyone who interferes will be an enemy of my Proud Sword manor. You¡¯ll be looking down on me if you do!¡±

    Everyone was touched and ashamed. Great hero Yu truly was valiant, saving his friends from trouble. On the other hand, Ma Chaoqun seemed even more despicable.

    The master of the Elation sect wanted to say something, but he still ended up retreating to one side. Yu Shukuang¡¯s surroundings immediately emptied out. All that was left was Yu Zijian, who held onto Yu Shukuang¡¯s sleeve. She felt both admiration and anxiety. ¡°Father! H- he¡¯s a second layer Qi Practitioner!¡±

    First-rate masters had no chance at all if they were matched up against a second layer Qi Practitioner. Meanwhile, she had only ingested the Innate pill recently. Although she was a first layer Qi Practitioner, she might not even be able to match Yu Shukuang¡¯s battle prowess as a first-rate master. She was even less of an opponent to Ma Chaoqun.

    ¡°You better stop with your act right now. If you¡¯re a man, then attack me. I¡¯ll give you three free moves!¡± Ma Chaoqun was furious. This bastard is skilled at winning over people with his fake acts the most. If it were not for his silver tongue, why would Zi¡¯er¡­ His heart ached before he looked at Yu Zijian. His gaze softened. None of his hard work over these years would go to waste. He would be compensated for it all!

    Yu Shukuang pushed away Yu Zijian gently. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just go to the back!¡± He winked at Yu Zijian before turning to face Ma Chaoqun. ¡°Pitted Madman, come. Let¡¯s fight again. Let¡¯s see whether your Mad Blade or my Proud Sword is stronger!¡±

    Yu Zijian was surprised. A life-threatening battle was about to erupt, yet father told me to go to the back. What is he trying to do? Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She hurried to the back of the hall without even looking back. The only one who could save her father now was great hero Niu!

    The door suddenly burst open and light flooded into the pitch-black room, onto that wide back. Countless specks of dust floated through the air. Li Qingshan sat with his bamboo hat on, currently with a bowl of alcohol in his hand as he drank it like he was striking a pose.

    Yu Zijian seemed to see a final glimmer of hope. ¡°Older uncle Niu, please save my father!¡±

    The alcohol almost spurted from Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. Why had he suddenly become an uncle3? And why did it make him feel like he was in his forties already?

    All men wished that the women they met would admire them, even if they did not like them; this was especially the case for Yu Zijian, who Li Qingshan had a rather good impression of. He could not help but become slightly dejected. Meanwhile, an extremely soft giggle rang out from the bamboo basket beside him.

    Yu Zijian had seen how the world worked with Yu Shukuang. She knew she had to rope people in if she wanted them to help her out. She had never thought that this title of respect would lead to the exact opposite effect.

    Before Yu Zijian could say anything, Li Qingshan had already spoken, ¡°I¡¯ve heard everything that happened outside.¡±

    ¡°Older uncle Niu, my father¡­¡±

    Bang! Li Qingshan placed the bowl on the table and said with a heavy voice, ¡°I¡¯m not your uncle Niu, so you¡¯d better stop referring to me in strange ways!¡±

    Yu Zijian felt wronged inside. She knew that this great hero Niu must have been afraid of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain as well, so he was reluctant to help. However, Yu Shukuang¡¯s life was at stake right now. In order to save her father, she could no longer care about her pride as a woman. She said loudly, ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you younger uncle Niu, alright? Please¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head drooped down. ¡°W- whatever you want!¡± He kicked the bamboo basket. Xiao An¡¯s giggles made him feel utterly humiliated.

    Yu Zijian thanked him for agreeing. She wiped away the tears that had almost fallen from the corner of her eyes. ¡°Thank you, uncle Niu! Let¡¯s go then!¡± She was tempted to grab his arm and drag him over there.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯ve heard your father as well. It¡¯s a personal matter. I can¡¯t interfere.¡±

    Yu Zijian paled and collapsed on the ground. ¡°T- then what am I supposed to do?!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Though, aren¡¯t you a Qi Practitioner too?¡±

    Yu Zijian raised her head. She was a weeping beauty.

    The blade and sword clashed, erupting with sparks that flew about, along with a splash of blood that originated from Yu Shukuang¡¯s shoulder.

    Ma Chaoqun produced a meaningless howl. He seemed like he had almost lost his mind. However, he wielded the treasured blade in his hand like a fierce storm. The dense coldness of the weapon radiated to several meters away, where all the spectating martial arts practitioners became stunned. They retreated backwards.

    Yu Shukuang also staggered backwards in retreat. He would leave behind a footprint in the marble with every step. He had already unleashed his sword moves and sword forms to the limit during his three strikes. It formed a thick flurry of swords before him.

    However, Ma Chaoqun had managed to cut through it with his very first attack, injuring him. Afterwards, he drew back his weapon and unleashed his Mad Demon Blade style. He forced back the flurry of swords inch by inch, until it was only three inches away from Yu Shukuang, forcing him to retreat.

    1. Yin Liting is a character from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, whose original fiance breaks off her engagement with him and leaves with another man, only for their daughter to fall in love and marry Yin Liting.

    2. The Chinese name of the place sounds like the Count of Monte Cristo. It¡¯s a pun, and it¡¯s pretty bad.

 Chapter 203 â€“ A Battle of Puppets

    ¡°Your martial arts will never surpass mine!¡± Ma Chaoqun moved his feet and raised his shoulder. His treasured blade struck out in a series of slashes. He launched thirteen attacks from thirteen different angles. Every single attack was as swift as wind, tearing through the air and kicking up a violent gale that whistled loudly.

    Driven by hatred, his blade style was pushed to the limit. He moved as fiercely as the wind, filled with a terrifying bearing of trying to drag down the enemy with him. Even though the spectators despised his actions, they were unable to despise his martial arts.

    On the other hand, Yu Shukuang no longer possessed the might of his proud sword anymore. His clothes were in tatters, and he responded clumsily. Whenever the flash of the blade pierced through his flurry of swords, a new wound would appear on his body, and he would retreat. Ma Chaoqun was like a knight at an enemy country¡¯s border, leading constant raids and skirmishes in the enemy territory. However, he refused to deal a finishing blow, wanting to humiliate his opponent.

    Yu Shukuang rebuked, ¡°What do you have apart from martial arts?¡±

    Ma Chaoqun paled. He had been hit where it hurt. He was ugly, and he was vulgar with his words. Apart from his martial arts, he really was not good at anything else, which was why Yu Shukuang managed to steal Zi¡¯er¡¯s heart from him, leaving him alone to wander through the jianghu. Aside from his martial arts, he had nothing.

    He roared madly, ¡°Die!¡±

    He channeled true qi into his blade, and it lit up with blinding light, crushing down like a mountain.

    Yu Shukuang tried to parry it with his sword, but it had already been heavily damaged, just like Yu Shukuang himself. It shattered as soon as they collided.

    ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Brother Yu!¡± Numerous cries rang out, but they were not as fast as the blade. No one could stop the attack!

    Yu Shukuang closed his eyes helplessly. ¡°Zi¡¯er, I¡¯m coming to see you.¡±

    On a luxurious carriage outside the manor, two young men in lovely, silken robes who were as proud as roosters sat beside each other. They sipped some tea leisurely, as if they had no idea what was happening in the Proud Sword manor.

    Mao Chaoqun had entered Salt Mountain city on this carriage before getting off and entering the manor.

    The young man to the left said, ¡°Junior brother Ma sure is slow. Why can¡¯t he deal with this faster?¡± He had the life-like tail feather of a male pheasant sewn to his chest. The embroidery was glorious. It was the symbol of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. Only formal disciples of the third layer and above had the right to wear it. His cultivation was at an impressive fifth layer.

    ¡°Hmph! He has become so pitiful over a woman. With his talent, the second layer should be his limit!¡±

    ¡°The second layer is enough. Once we take back Salt Mountain city, he can remain here to gather talented children for the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. It¡¯ll stop the people from the Green Vine mountain from always getting ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°Wise be senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Yu Zijian called out.

    Ma Chaoqun suddenly raised his head. A spark shot towards his face. He called out, twisted his blade, and slashed up.

    With a boom, the spark exploded. Ma Chaoqun avoided being blown to pieces, but he was knocked away. His eyebrows were singed. He cried out, ¡°A Scarlet Flame talisman!¡±

    Yu Zijian had already helped Yu Shukuang to his feet. ¡°Father, are you alright?¡±

    Yu Shukuang saw how she was alone. ¡°D- did he refuse to help?¡±

    Yu Zijian shook her head and made Yu Shukuang eat the recovery pill Li Qingshan had given to her. She commanded the disciples of the Proud Sword sect before yelling at Ma Chaoqun, ¡°I¡¯ll be your opponent!¡±

    ¡°Girly, do you really think you¡¯re my opponent just because you possess some talismans? Bug off. Let me kill your father, and then I¡¯ll take you to get married!¡± Ma Chaoqun burst out into laughter as he spoke. He found this all to be extremely interesting. However, no one in the surroundings agreed with him. They all glared at him furiously.

    Yu Zijian had originally been trembling in fear, but when she saw Yu Shukuang¡¯s horrible shape, she became furious. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder my mum wouldn¡¯t like a baddie like you!¡±

    Baddie was language used by children. It would only make adults laugh. However, her words utterly infuriated Ma Chaoqun, who replied with, ¡°How do you know that she doesn¡¯t like me? She liked me the most. She constantly called me senior brother, senior brother when she was young¡­¡± As he spoke, he wanted to break into tears again!

    With his unstable emotions, he truly was like a madman.

    Yu Zijian held a talisman. She was extremely reluctant to use it as she thought of what uncle Niu had just said earlier. ¡°Once you use this talisman, it¡¯ll definitely be able to kill him in a single stroke. You cannot be softhearted!¡±

    Ma Chaoqun raised his treasured blade and directly pointed it at Yu Zijian. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll take you down first, and then I¡¯ll kill your father!¡±

    Looking at Ma Chaoqun as he howled and charged over, Yu Zijian raised her right hand and swept it forcefully from left to right. She produced a golden crescent of light.

    Ma Chaoqun¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°The Metal Crescent Slash!¡± However, he had no intentions of retreating. The Metal Crescent Slash was an extremely powerful technique of the metal element. It was swift and fierce, but he was confident that he could block a Metal Crescent Slash from a low grade talisman with his blade. However, the slash was much brighter than he imagined it would be.

    Before he could think any further, the golden crescent had vanished from his sight. Oh no, it¡¯s a mid grade talisman! The thought crossed his head and blood splattered, followed by intense pain.

    A mid grade talisman was equivalent to a technique used by a sixth layer Qi Practitioner. Although it lacked much of the finer control and adaptability, it was definitely powerful enough. It was not something that a measly second layer Qi Practitioner could block.

    Li Qingshan possessed many mid grade talismans. Aside from the auxiliary talismans that could increase speed or strength, these offensive talismans were basically useless to him. He did not need these talismans when he faced his enemies, whether they were strong or weak. However, a mid grade talisman in a battle between weaker Qi Practitioners was a divine weapon that could determine the flow of the battle.

    Ma Chaoqun suddenly threw himself to the ground, but he discovered that he was still conscious. The slash had produced a horrifying wound on his shoulder, but it was not fatal.

    In the final moment, Yu Zijian¡¯s hand had turned slightly. She had not killed him on the spot. She breathed heavily as she said to Ma Chaoqun, ¡°You¡¯ve lost! I¡¯m not going to kill you, so just leave!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head slightly in the dim room. He had told her not to show any mercy. Although he sympathised with this person called Ma to a certain degree, the principle he operated off of was to never show any mercy to people that had been deemed as enemies.

    However, he could not blame her either. A girl as kind-hearted as her was rare. Helping her would always be better than helping someone like Qian Rongzhi. It made him much happier in comparison. He shook his head and murmured gently, ¡°You need to look at the circumstances when you strike, but when you strike, you must be merciless!¡±

    ¡°Uncle Niu!¡± Xiao An giggled tenderly.

    Li Qingshan looked like he had just been cut. He grabbed her soft cheeks and pulled at them. ¡°If you keep on calling me that, I¡¯ll rip your mouth to pieces!¡±

    Xiao An said in an unclear voice, ¡°No mowe¡­¡±

    Ma Chaoqun¡¯s expression changed several times. He stood up by leaning on his blade. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t lost. I will never lose again!¡±

    ¡°D- don¡¯t move!¡± Yu Zijian was immediately left at a loss as to what to do. She took out another Metal Crescent Slash talisman, and uncle Niu¡¯s words rang through her head, Take an extra one, just in case. He actually seemed to foretell that she would not be able to bring herself to kill him.

    Ma Chaoqun continued forwards as if he wanted to die. He had already suffered defeat once. He could not afford to be defeated any more times.

    ¡°She has talismans, but don¡¯t we have talismans as well?¡±

    Suddenly, someone called out from outside. A yellow light shot over and stuck to Ma Chaoqun¡¯s back. It was actually also a mid grade talisman.

    Light enveloped him from top to bottom. Ma Chaoqun jolted in vigor, and his body became filled with strength. True qi flowed out from his back endlessly. He turned around and said gratefully, ¡°Senior brother Song!¡±

    Yu Shukuang¡¯s expression changed drastically. There were actually other masters from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain here.

    The young man with only a single tail feather said in the carriage, ¡°Senior brother, isn¡¯t it a bit of a waste to use a mid grade Vitality talisman on him?¡±

    ¡°The enemy has the assistance of someone much more powerful. Why would she possess two mid grade talismans if she¡¯s just a girl at the first layer? Let¡¯s just wait and see. We have to force this person out and see just who is bold enough to oppose the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain!¡± senior brother Song said coldly.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He had sensed the two auras outside right from the beginning. He was not surprised by what they did. He said, ¡°Girlie, you can¡¯t afford to show mercy this time.¡±

    His deep, husky voice immediately boomed out magnificently. Everyone only felt like a gust of wind had blown past them, and it immediately suppressed senior brother Song¡¯s aura from outside.

    Yu Shukuang beamed with joy and completely calmed down. The Tiger Butcher was dangerous, but if he was standing behind him and offering him support, it would be extremely relieving news.

    Everyone now understood why Yu Shukuang had specially taken Yu Zijian to the back earlier. The Proud Sword manor was actually hiding a master like that. Ma Chaoqun and Yu Zijian were like two wooden puppets as they fought. The actual people who controlled the outcome of the battle were the puppeteers behind them.

    Ma Chaoqun roared out. Tremendous amounts of true qi inflated his clothes. His treasured blade lit up coldly, forcing everyone back by a few steps once again.

    Yu Zijian wasted no time at all. With a swing of her hand, a golden arc formed before her. She could no longer afford to show any mercy this time.

    The golden arc flashed and directly landed on Ma Chaoqun¡¯s chest.

    With the support of the Vitality talisman, not only had Ma Chaoqun¡¯s true qi increased tremendously, but even his senses had sharpened. He grasped the trajectory of the golden crescent and swung down with his shining blade.

    With a great clang, Ma Chaoqun was knocked away. A great dent appeared on the blade, and the webbing between his thumb and finger had been ripped to pieces, drawing blood. However, he only smiled.

    Before he had even touched the ground, true qi surged out from his hands, and he pressed it towards the ground. He flew back, rising up, weapon and all, slashing towards Yu Zijian. His eyes were scarlet, like he had gone crazy.

    Without the support of any more talismans, Yu Zijian was about to be slain under his blade.

    Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! There was the sound of splintering wood, and a figure moving even faster than Ma Chaoqun rushed out from the hall. He arrived on the steps and kicked out, directly colliding with Ma Chaoqun. They fell out of the air together.

    Ma Chaoqun was protected by true qi, but he felt his back ache as blood spurted out from his mouth.

    However, the other figure seemed to feel nothing. It immediately turned around and climbed to its feet. Its movements were swift and mechanical. Two sharp blades sprang out from its arms, slicing towards Ma Chaoqun.

    Only now did everyone see that it was not a human, but a puppet.

    Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes lit up. She just found the puppet to be somewhat familiar.

 Chapter 204 â€“ Niu Juxia

    The puppet and Ma Chaoqun became entangled in battle. When Ma Chaoqun¡¯s treasured blade landed on the puppet, it would only leave behind a deep mark and produce a metallic resonance. The wood that went into making the puppets of mohism was all thousand-year ironwood, treated and cured with special methods. As such, ordinary wood could not be compared to them. Although Ma Chaoqun had the support of a Vitality talisman, he was forced back.

    ¡°Senior brother, what do we do?¡±

    Senior brother Song¡¯s expression finally changed slightly. He could take out a few more mid grade talismans, but that was far too wasteful. With a great swish, he rushed out of the carriage and kicked off the roof of the entrance, rushing into the sky. He soared over the open square like a great bird.

    He completely ignored Ma Chaoqun and the others below. He landed on the hall and kicked off it again, directly shooting towards the dim room that Li Qingshan occupied.

    The people of the jianghu on the square had never witnessed such agile movement techniques. They all raised their heads, dumbfounded.

    Yu Zijian cried out, ¡°The sixth layer!¡± She had come into contact with a lot of the common knowledge of Qi Practitioners during the time she had spent in the Clear River city. She knew exactly how terrifying sixth layer Qi Practitioners were, so she immediately began to worry for this uncle Niu of hers. She rushed into the hall.

    Senior brother Song rapidly drew closer. He bent and curled his finger, and the heavy, wooden door shattered. He immediately spotted a huge figure with a large, bamboo hat in there with his back towards him, as if he had not sensed him.

    There¡¯s no one this burly among the three mountains! Senior brother Song immediately reached this conclusion and launched a vicious strike towards the man¡¯s back. True qi surged.

    ¡°Uncle Niu!¡± Yu Zijian was rushing over as well. When she saw this, her beautiful face paled and sorrow welled up from the bottom of my heart. It¡¯s all my fault. Uncle Niu is going to be killed by this baddie now.

    The joy that had just surfaced on senior brother Song¡¯s face vanished, as not only did the man remain there, but he did not even waver from the strike. He continued to drink alcohol from the bowl in his hand. The true qi senior brother Song emitted only seemed to go to waste. It failed to harm this man at all. This was the first time he had ever encountered something so strange!

    ¡°W- who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly turned around. There was a scarlet flash within the darkness under the brim of his hat. Senior brother Song wanted to pull back, but it was already too late. Li Qingshan¡¯s arm, which was basically twice as long as a regular person¡¯s, reached out. His hand¡ªthe size of a dustpan¡ªenveloped Senior brother Song, gripping him by his neck.

    All Yu Zijian saw was uncle Niu finally standing up. His colossal figure was filled with unbelievable power, and his head was close to touching the ceiling. He took a step, and the ground shook, plates falling from the table. After taking a step, he pulled his arm back and yelled, ¡°Call me Niu Juxia1!¡± Then he tossed out senior brother Song like he was throwing a javelin.

    With a swish, senior brother Song vanished. He even smashed through the roof, causing a few tiles to fall to the ground loudly.

    All the people on the square saw was the figure leaving faster than it had come. It sailed through the air along a curved trajectory and hit the ground outside loudly. Senior brother Song¡¯s mouth hung open unknowingly. Clearly, that Niu Juxia inside was much more vicious than he was.

    ¡°Senior brother, senior brother, are you alright?¡±

    Senior brother Song was dazed from the fall, but he was protected by true qi, so he was not injured. Instead, he had been well and truly frightened. Who was that giant man? He actually felt like he could not even put up a fight before him. If that giant man wanted to kill him, he would have been dead already. Senior brother Song was truly afraid that he would suddenly change his mind, so he said hurriedly, ¡°Go, let¡¯s go!¡±

    They completely disregarded Ma Chaoqun. They boarded the carriage immediately, raised the horsewhip, and took off. They scampered out of Salt Mountain city.

    Yu Zijian looked at Li Qingshan in a daze. In that moment before, the light from outside landed on him, illuminating his simple face that had been hidden by the shadows.

    His face was much younger than she had expected. He gave off a natural sense of power. His lips were slightly pursed as he radiated with a dignified aura. She was confident she had never seen a face like that before, but the familiar feeling only deepened instead of dispersing.

    Is this fate? A strange thought suddenly crossed her head, which made her leap in fright. How is that possible? Isn¡¯t this fate a little too big?

    ¡°Thank you, un¡­ Niu Juxia!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his bench and pressed down his hat. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. You better go check on your father!¡±

    Yu Zijian turned around and returned to the hall. The square had fallen utterly silent now. Everyone looked at her, as if they wanted to unearth the secret of this Niu Juxia from her.

    Ma Chaoqun was ashen. In his eyes, senior brother Song was a lofty existence even with the entire Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain in perspective, yet he had actually been defeated in a single attack, unable to even launch a counterattack. The Vitality talisman on him dimmed and lost its effect, while the puppet soldier locked onto his arm firmly, pushing him to the ground.

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°Is there anything else you want to say?¡±

    Ma Chaoqun struggled desperately. His face was twisted. ¡°It¡¯s just like last time. It¡¯s just like last time. It¡¯s not because of my inability, but because of your despicable cheating! If you have the balls, kill me! The Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain will definitely avenge me! They¡¯ll massacre your entire manor!¡±

    Yu Shukuang suddenly laughed aloud, but this was not out of complacency as the victor. Instead, it was filled with bitterness and self-deprecation. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re ugly, and your personality¡¯s a little extreme. You were only slightly better at martial arts than me. Just which part of me paled in comparison to you? Just why did Zi¡¯er fall in love with you?!¡±

    Ma Chaoqun said, ¡°W- what did you say?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. Since when were there women who would poison the person they liked?

    ¡°Because she knew that if I won, I wouldn¡¯t kill you, but if you won, you¡¯d definitely kill me, which was why she went forward with that. She had once told me in person that she would marry you, the madman, regardless of the outcome of the battle. Before the battle had even begun, I had already lost.¡±

    ¡°But I refused. I wanted to prove to her that even if I have to die for her, I would not mind. But she just couldn¡¯t accept me dying for her. How could she accept anyone dying for her?¡± When Yu Shukuang reached there, tears began to roll down his cheeks helplessly as well.

    Ma Chaoqun was stunned. She had once tried everything to convince him to not have the battle with Yu Shukuang, but it only affirmed his belief that she had fallen in love with someone else. He was utterly furious, and he was determined to kill Yu Shukuang.

    Yu Shukuang continued, ¡°After the match, you left without saying anything. She was filled with regret. Although she married me with no other choice, she passed away heartbroken just a few years later.¡± Ever since then, he began to grow his beard, swearing to never take another woman. He focused all of his energy into raising Yu Zijian.

    Neither of the two young and stubborn men were willing to take a step back, so the woman could only do what she could do, but it was all in vain.

    Ma Chaoqun suddenly understood now. That kind-hearted woman had never betrayed him. It was he who had become blinded by envy and doubt. At this very moment, he suddenly wished she had actually fallen in love with someone else so that she could obtain everything she wanted and remain in this world happily.

    ¡°I was the one who hurt her!¡±

 Chapter 205 â€“ The Seeds of Fate

    Yu Zijiang looked at the sobbing Ma Chaoqun and the weeping Yu Shukuang who reminisced about the kind-hearted woman who had passed away long ago.

    Yu Zijian seemed to be able to feel their pain. She was filled with sadness, but she had no idea what to say.

    They clearly were not bad people, so why did they have to end up like this? Were the heavens really messing with people?

    Suddenly, she heard Niu Juxia¡¯s voice ring out, ¡°Benevolence is not a bad thing, but you cannot ask for perfection with every single thing in this world. Otherwise, you will harm others and yourself. Your soft-heartedness almost killed your father and had made you suffer. If my cultivation was slightly weaker, I would have been dragged in as well. I hope you can take this as a lesson and avoid following the footsteps of your mother!¡±

    Yu Zijian looked at everyone¡¯s faces in the surroundings. Clearly, they had not heard that. She looked at the sky in confusion. ¡°Then what am I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Zijian, oh Zijian. Zi, or violet, is a colour of great respect, while jian, or sword, is the lord of all weapons. With the propitious omen of violet qi from the east, a wise monarch sweeps through the world, kills millions, and unites the entire world under them, leading to eternal peace and becoming a figure of great virtue and benevolence.¡± Towards the end, Li Qingshan¡¯s voice gradually drifted off. Clearly, he had already travelled away.

    Yu Shukuang had originally given her the name of ¡®Zijian¡¯ to remember her mother. The jian, or sword, obviously represented the Proud Sword manor. Yu Zijian understood this as well, but she never thought her name actually possessed a meaning like that. As if she had been granted a new name, she felt like she had suddenly been enlightened. She subconsciously touched her sword. This was the first time she had felt this vague connection with this cold weapon.

    Her pretty face gradually changed. It lost most of its delicateness, now replaced with determination.

    Sometimes, a person¡¯s growth and change only required a moment of inspiration, to let the seed sprout, to let the divine sword out of its sheath.

    Right now, Li Qingshan would have never imagined just what seed of fate, what seed of change, some random life philosophy he had cooked up would plant.

    If what he said became true, if she wielded a sword and killed millions, only in search of great virtue and benevolence, would he regret it? Would he rather she return to this moment and place in time, return to the same kind-hearted, naive girl?

    Or would he laugh aloud and praise, Nicely done!

    The next day, Yu Shukuang brought Yu Zijian to thank him. He told him that Ma Chaoqun had already returned to Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, and he had said that he would not be returning.

    Li Qingshan did not open the door for them. He only said a single word from inside, ¡°Go!¡± He managed to put on the act of a great hermit master perfectly. The reason why he did this was because there was nothing he could talk about if he did see them. Was he supposed to say, ¡°Betrowth your daughter to me!¡± instead?

    Ever since that day, the meals each day became even more lavish. However, Li Qingshan would always end up picking up the cup of alcohol before placing it back down. After having drunk with someone else so happily in the past, he suddenly found drinking alone to be difficult.

    Suddenly, his face lit up. He arrived in the hole and saw a figure slowly walk out within the darkness. He had a long body and a bald head. If he was not Milliped, who was he supposed to be?

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°You¡¯re finally back.¡±

    Milliped looked at Li Qingshan and grinned foolishly.

    After seeing him properly, Li Qingshan instead became surprised. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Many parts of Milliped¡¯s cloak was damaged, and he had many wounds on him as well.

    Milliped sat down before the round table assembled from alcohol jars loudly before fishing out a beautiful, red tuber and shoving it into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    The tuber was elongated and round as well. It seemed extremely plump and gave off an exotic fragrance that made the entire hole smell nice.

    Li Qingshan took out a random assortment of recovery pills from his hundred treasures pouch in a hurry.

    Milliped ate them before closing his eyes and directly collapsing on the ground. His snores were thunderous. He actually fell asleep.

    During this process, his wounds rapidly closed up. Even his pink cloak slowly repaired itself. He was going through a process of self-repair.

    Li Qingshan looked at the tuber in his hand and suddenly smiled helplessly. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a sweet potato?¡± Also known as batata, yam or, for more sophistication, Ipomoea batatas. In short, it was a sweet potato.

    However, the spiritual qi it possessed was dozens of times denser than the spiritual ginseng Li Qingshan had obtained in the past. He could tell with a single glance that it was a rare treasure of nature.

    For a moment, Xiao An and he just stared at each other.

    Li Qingshan was filled with questions. Where on earth did this sweet potato come from? Who had harmed him? However, these questions could only wait until he was awake.

    Fortunately, Milliped slept very deeply and woke up very soon. He opened his eyes in under two hours. Looking at his fresh, pink garb, he smiled at Li Qingshan. ¡°It¡¯s useful.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised the sweet potato in his hand. ¡°Just what is going on?¡±

    ¡°Eat it. It¡¯s on me!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what happened first. I can always eat it later.¡±

    Milliped explained by waving his hands; although he spoke without clarity, going all over the place.

    However, Li Qingshan still managed to roughly understand what had happened. As it turned out, the sweet potato originated from underground, from Milliped¡¯s territory, so it should have been his.

    However, in recent years, another Daemon General had been constantly encroaching on and claiming his territory, finally obtaining the plant that this sweet potato grew from. As a result, whenever the sweet potatoes ripened, the two Daemon Generals would always fight.

    Milliped was originally stronger, but he was alone. The other Daemon General had many subordinates, so he would be outnumbered every time. Milliped suffered defeat most of the time, but this time, he finally managed to escape with a sweet potato after much difficulty.

    Originally, Milliped had been grinning foolishly, celebrating this matter. However, the further he went on, the sadder he became, before suddenly bursting into tears.

    Only now did Li Qingshan learn that the underground was not peaceful either. Daemon Generals had their troubles too. He raised his hand and slapped Milliped¡¯s forehead. He barked, ¡°Stop crying, you good-for-nothing!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re hitting me too!¡± Milliped sobbed and cried even harder.

    Li Qingshan bellowed, ¡°He has subordinates, but don¡¯t you have any?¡±

    Milliped shook his head and sniffled, looking over with his misty eyes.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Xiao An by the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll be your subordinates!¡± Although he hated troubling his friends, he definitely would not just turn a blind eye to his friend¡¯s troubles.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Xiao An pointed at the sweet potato in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°That looks like you more!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go and check out what the underground is like!¡±

    Taking all of their grain, food, and alcohol with them, the three of them made their way towards the dark underground. Li Qingshan finally began his path as a daemon, entering a world dominated by daemons.

    Under Milliped¡¯s lead, they advanced through the twisting and turning caves, constantly venturing deeper. One hundred feet, one thousand feet, until he no longer had an estimate anymore.

 Chapter 206 â€“ Spiritual Stone Vein

    Splash, splash. Amidst the sounds of gurgling water, the three of them crossed an underground river.

    Li Qingshan was surprised, as he could sense that the river water contained faint spiritual qi. Lowering his head and taking a gulp, his daemon qi actually grew by an extremely tiny amount.

    Many unknown plants grew on the banks of the river teeming with spiritual qi. The spiritual qi they possessed clearly indicated to Li Qingshan that they were rare spiritual herbs.

    Li Qingshan plucked one of them and placed it in his mouth.

    Milliped said in a hurry, ¡°You can¡¯t eat that! It¡¯s disgusting!¡± But he was too late.

    An extremely astringent taste spread through Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. His tongue almost became numb, while the spiritual qi in the spiritual herbs instead came into conflict with the daemon qi within him. Most of it was lost.

    Li Qingshan poured some alcohol into his mouth in a hurry to rinse it.

    Milliped giggled as he looked at Li Qingshan. The streaks of his tears were still on his face, which only made him seem even more foolish. When he caught the fragrance of the alcohol, his eyes widened, now wishing for it eagerly.

    Li Qingshan passed the jar of alcohol to Milliped. He drained the entire jar and let out a belch. He had completely forgotten about all those painful memories now.

    Li Qingshan, however, had other thoughts. Most of the spiritual herbs in the world probably could not be directly ingested, but there were no spiritual herbs that were useless.

    It was very likely that the inconspicuous spiritual herbs on the banks of the river were crucial materials to some kind of pill. However, daemons lacked the ability to practise alchemy, which was why they were useless to them. However, it was exactly because of this reason that the spiritual herbs still remained and were not all harvested away.

    Humans, including powerful Qi Practitioners, would struggle to venture so far underground. Although they had not come across a single daemon along the way, Li Qingshan sensed seven or eight powerful auras at the very least. As soon as they sensed Milliped¡¯s arrival, they all avoided him from afar, maintaining their distance.

    If there were any humans, they would probably have become the prey of these vicious predators immediately. Even a Daemon General like Milliped would not show any mercy to other races who had intruded on his territory. A half-hearted strike from him was enough to instantly kill any Qi Practitioner.

    Daemons could not venture above ground, but underground was also forbidden to humans.

    Li Qingshan wondered as he walked. Suddenly, he raised his head, and he saw a speck of blue light. It was like a blue star in the night sky, quietly giving off light that formed a halo. The light was so weak, yet it seemed beautiful and dazzling when he saw it within the absolute darkness.

    Xiao An gently touched one of them, and the petals immediately closed up. The light it gave off vanished as well.

    Li Qingshan had never seen such a wondrous plant before. He could sense the spiritual qi it contained. It was much denser than the spiritual herbs he had seen earlier.

    As he ventured deeper, the black cavern gradually opened up, and the number of azure flowers gradually increased. They formed small clusters, standing out in the darkness.

    The spiritual qi in the air became denser and denser as well. It had surpassed the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling a long time ago.

    Milliped said, ¡°We¡¯re almost there!¡±

    Li Qingshan could tell even without his reminder. Blue light seeped over from up ahead, illuminating his path. It was like a blue moon was hidden underground, waiting to be discovered.

    Suddenly, he saw the end of the long tunnel. Li Qingshan ventured forwards rather eagerly, while the light grew brighter and brighter as well. He arrived at the end and suddenly stopped. His eyes widened, shocked by what he was seeing.

    Before him was an open area the size of a soccer pitch. There were thousands of flowers there, shining with blue light and illuminating the entire cavern. It was a dazzling sea of flowers. Many butterflies fluttered about on this sea, like it was all an illusion.

    This was a sight that only appeared in deep dreams.

    Xiao An¡¯s sleeve brushed past a blooming, azure flower. The blue flower seemed to break off from its stem, flying up and turning into a beautiful butterfly of light, leaving behind a beautiful trace in the air.

    These butterflies actually came from the spiritual herb. They were the fairies of the herbs.

    Xiao An extended her hand to grab at it, but the blue butterfly turned into light and slipped through her fingers. It condensed together again nearby, fluttering into the distance to escape.

    Xiao An immediately pursued. She crossed through the sea of flowers that almost reached up to her head, and the cluster of flowers all began to dance, turning into countless blue butterflies that lingered around her.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Xiao An!¡± This was Milliped¡¯s home. This was their first time here, so they had to be polite. Perhaps these spiritual herbs were extremely important to Milliped.

    Xiao An looked back. The blue light dyed her azure, and combined with her delicate facial features, she seemed just like a fairy of the legends.

    Li Qingshan was suddenly left at a loss as to how he should follow up. After looking at Milliped, who smiled foolishly beside him, he sighed gently and smiled too. ¡°You sure live in quite a nice place!¡±

    Not only was it absolutely beautiful, but the spiritual qi here was denser than he had ever seen before. If he meditated and cultivated here, both his daemon qi and true qi would increase rapidly.

    Milliped said, ¡°What¡¯s nice?¡± He pointed at the blue butterflies. ¡°You can eat those, but they¡¯re disgusting!¡±

    Li Qingshan smacked his head. ¡°Do you have anything in your head apart from eating?¡± Even if they were delicious, he probably could not bring himself to eat such a beautiful thing!

    Milliped rubbed his head and continued to smile foolishly. He did not have the grandeur bearing of a Daemon General at all. Since Li Qingshan agreed to go underground with him, he had never stopped grinning foolishly. He even forgot about the matter of being harassed by the other Daemon Generals.

    ¡°Stop smiling. Be serious. It¡¯s no wonder others would harass you and that you wouldn¡¯t get any sweet potatoes with how you act!¡± Li Qingshan scolded. Since he had made up his mind about reclaiming Milliped¡¯s lost territory, they were no longer just drinking buddies, but comrades-in-arms who would fight alongside each other. He had to rely on Milliped¡¯s power later on, so he could not help but scold him after seeing how foolishly he behaved.

    Milliped stopped grinning in a hurry and said sternly, ¡°Stay! No sweet potatoes is fine too!¡± For once, he expressed himself clearly.

    Warmth flooded Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. He was touched. ¡°How can my friend go without sweet potatoes to eat?¡± Milliped was not particularly bright, but he treated him with absolute sincerity. He had a high cultivation, but he did not capitalise on it. He was much better than those arrogant, sixth or seventh layer Qi Practitioner mongers.

    This was the first friend in this life that he recognised from the bottom of his heart. He would never disappoint his friend.

    ¡°Friend?¡± Milliped pondered the word.

    Li Qingshan patted his shoulder and smiled. ¡°Good friends!¡±

    ¡°Good friends.¡± Milliped patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. He seemed to understand something and chuckled loudly.

    Friends were better than sweet potatoes.

    They crossed through the sea of flowers and alarmed countless blue butterflies. Soon, they arrived at the centre of the open area. There was a huge, stone platform without any vegetation. It was thirty feet long, twenty feet wide, and six or seven feet tall.

    Milliped laid down on there and spread out his limbs. His dazed face became relaxed as he exhaled happily. After looking at Li Qingshan and Xiao An, he rolled over to one side, opening up some free space.

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to react. ¡°You¡¯re inviting us to sleep?¡± Afterwards, all he heard was snoring. This guy had already fallen asleep!

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An looked at each other.

    Was this stone bed really that comfortable?

    Li Qingshan climbed onto the stone platform with Xiao An in his arms before trying to lie down. However, he soon sat up like he had been struck by lightning. He was stunned. For a moment, he did not feel like he was lying on some tough rock, but a pulsing sea of spiritual qi.

    He rubbed the surface of the stone platform with some strength and studied it carefully. Resplendent light seemed to flicker underneath the platform, like the most beautiful gemstones of the world had fused together into one. This did not seem to be the first time Li Qingshan had seen its magnificent colour.

    His heart skipped a beat, and he fished out a spiritual stone hesitantly. He compared it to the stone platform and finally confirmed. ¡°T- this is a bed of spiritual stone!¡±

    He probably felt like a regular person who had just found a bed made out of gold. His first reaction was disbelief, but he immediately understood why Milliped chose to make this place his dwelling out of all the places available to him in the vast subterranean world.

    The first instinct of all daemons was not to eat or drink, but to search for a place rich in spiritual qi so that they could absorb more of the spiritual qi of the world.

    The bed of spiritual stone was large, but it definitely could not last for decades or even centuries while it was being drained away by a Daemon General!

    A thought that Li Qingshan struggled to believe in appeared in his head. He arrived beside the bed and pushed aside the soil beside the bed. He had guessed correctly. This was not a bed of spiritual stone, but a spiritual stone vein.

    This stone platform was just the tip of the iceberg to the vein.

    If a bed of spiritual stone was enough to incur the jealousy of cultivators, then a spiritual stone vein was enough for two cultivation sects to go to war, enough for noble cultivators to die like regular people.

    The principle that greed could lead to death applied to the cultivation world as well.

    This spiritual stone vein was the natural crystallisation of the spiritual qi of the world, often condensed above spiritual veins.

    Most of the spiritual stone veins above ground were under the control of powerful organisations and were guarded by powerful cultivators. However, not only did spiritual stones serve as currency, but they were consumables too. Over thousands of years, many of them had been excavated and used up by humans. Some of them had even been drained dry, directly severing the spiritual vein.

    However, deep underground where spiritual veins were most abundant, daemons did not have the habit of using spiritual stones to trade, nor would they use spiritual stones in formations, puppets, and artifacts. Unexcavated, daemons would rotate through these spiritual stone veins, allowing the spiritual veins to constantly absorb spiritual qi from the surroundings and nurture countless daemons and spiritual herbs.

    Li Qingshan thought, Truly a fool¡¯s luck. Originally, he thought that Milliped was broke, which was why he came to him every day to eat and drink his things. Never did he think that he slept on a bed of spiritual stone every single day. He lived an utterly extravagant life.

    Milliped had freeloaded food and drink, so now it was his turn to freeload sleep from him. If he did not take advantage of a holy land for cultivation like this, he would be shamefully wasting it.

 Chapter 207 â€“ The Nine Layers Complete

    Despite being rejected at the entrance, Yu Shukuang was not particularly annoyed. Instead, he admired Li Qingshan even more. He had already learnt from Yu Zijian that the foolish bird that flew in and then flew back out was a sixth layer Qi Practitioner.

    He became stunned for a very long time when he heard that. Just what did sixth layer Qi Practitioners represent? It was completely beyond his imaginations. He had heard that with a thought and a sweep of their flying sword, they could behead first-rate masters like him.

    Yet, someone like that had failed to even withstand a single strike from Li Qingshan before being tossed down. He had even become too afraid to look back. It filled Yu Shukuang with questions.

    Just how did Li Qingshan train with how young he was? Was he the illegitimate son of some great clan? Or was he a secret disciple of some cultivation sect?

    Even until now, his fantasies still ran wild, but he was unable to make sense of it. All he knew was how lucky he was to be able to establish ties with someone so important.

    ¡°Father, I just feel that great hero Niu seems somewhat familiar, as if I¡¯ve seen him somewhere.¡± Yu Zijian¡¯s face reddened slightly when she said that.

    Yu Shukuang was shocked instead. He laughed dryly. ¡°How¡¯s that possible? It must¡¯ve been a false impression!¡± Li Qingshan had specially reminded him to keep Yu Zijian in the dark about his actual identity. Why would he be bold enough to disobey him now?

    Yu Zijian frowned. ¡°Really?¡±

    Yu Shukuang said suddenly, ¡°Let¡¯s go see your mother!¡±

    What happened yesterday unearthed many of the matters that he had buried in his heart many years ago. He had wanted to do this ever since then. However, it was very late at night when all the guests finally left. He had managed to slight all the curious, probing gazes from them.

    Yu Zijian agreed gently.

    Stepping through the snow, the two of them arrived in the east of the city. Under a beautiful hill was a small grave. It was regularly cleaned and swept, and there were new offerings on it right now. All of this was obviously due to Yu Shukuang¡¯s arrangements.

    But today, someone was kneeling in front of the grave with their chest held high. His magnificent, silken robes had been reduced to a mess by mud and blood, but he did not seem to notice it.

    ¡°Ma Chaoqun!¡± Yu Shukuang frowned. As it turned out, he was still here. How had he gotten hold of this place?

    Yu Zijian gripped the hilt of her sword and secretly raised her guard. Even she had failed to notice that she was now very different from before.

    Yu Zijian said worriedly, ¡°I¡¯m not Zi¡¯er. You¡¯d better tend to your wounds, or you¡¯ll really die like this!¡±

    Although she had grown to understand now, change would not happen in a single day. The kindness she possessed would linger.

    Ma Chaoqun made out her face clearly and smiled self-deprecatingly like a dead man. His hatred from all these years had vanished in a single day. He no longer had the strength to live.

    Yu Shukuang said coldly, ¡°If you want to die, go die somewhere else. Don¡¯t die here!¡±

    Ma Chaoqun¡¯s eyes coldened, and he pressed down on the hilt of his blade.

    Yu Zijian called out, ¡°Father!¡±

    Yu Shukuang pushed Yu Zijian aside and roared, ¡°Just why did she have to grow up with trash like you by her side?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡± Ma Chaoqun drew his blade with a swish. His face was murderous.

    Yu Zijian blocked Yu Shukuang and said anxiously, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand? My mother doesn¡¯t wish for you to be like this. If you die and she finds out in the afterlife, she¡¯ll be heartbroken.¡±

    These words seemed to possess wondrous magic when Yu Zijian said them. Ma Chaoqun was stunned. ¡°I¡­¡±

    Yu Zijian persuaded softly, ¡°You have to keep living. Only then will my mother rest in peace.¡±

    Mao Chaoqun¡¯s eyes gradually drooped down. ¡°G- girl, you¡¯re¡­ right.¡± Suddenly, he reversed his grip on his blade and stabbed his own leg before wrenching the blade out. He became even paler.

    Yu Zijian covered her mouth to stifle her scream. All she heard was Ma Chaoqun say, ¡°I said many crazy things to you yesterday. Just treat this as my apology. Hehe, someone like me deserves death in the first place to have ever fantasized about her. However, I can¡¯t keep dragging her down like this. I¡¯ll make do and keep living.¡±

    Yu Zijian understood that his extreme personality was unchangeable. She sighed gently. ¡°You might look a little different from others, but what¡¯s inside is always more important than your appearance. You will definitely find a woman who loves you from the bottom of her heart.¡±

    Ma Chaoqun only sneered. All the women in this world liked handsome men. With his current cultivation, there were plenty of beautiful women by his side, but they only liked his money and power. Aside from her, no one had ever treated him with sincerity.

    ¡°Even if you just can¡¯t get over it, I¡¯ve heard that the path of cultivation has many wondrous methods that can heal one¡¯s face.¡±

    Ma Chaoqun¡¯s expression gradually changed. There was some light in his eyes now. Suddenly, he turned around and left. He gazed at the grave deeply, as if he wanted to memorise every single word on it. After that, he limped away into the distance.

    Yu Zijian could not help but let out a sigh of relief. She smiled. She knew her persuasion had been effective.

    However, she failed to hear Ma Chaoqun murmur to himself, ¡°The path of cultivation has many wondrous methods. There¡¯ll definitely be one that can save you!¡±

    The tiny sliver of hope landed in his exhausted, despaired heart that had already run dry; this hope like a seed. However, he was just a member of the very bottom of the cultivation world. Even if there were methods that could revive the dead, they would not be something a mere second layer Qi Practitioner could come in contact with.

    However, the extreme obsessions and unbelievable fantasies of humans were the source of their power.

    Yu Shukuang watched on as Ma Chaoqun gradually travelled into the distance. He was lonely too. He turned towards the tiny grave. ¡°Zi¡¯er, do you see? He¡¯s still alive, so don¡¯t feel so bad!¡±

    In his mind, he thought about what the woman would say, Even if senior brother Ma has many flaws, he has always been extremely nice to me. I can¡¯t let him down.

    He could not help but sigh softly. ¡°Only if I hadn¡¯t been saved by you, left to die outside Salt Mountain city.¡±

    Yu Zijian seemed to read his thoughts. She said loudly, ¡°Mother must have liked you, father. I believe she didn¡¯t marry you because she had no other choice.¡±

    Yu Shukuang smiled and rubbed Yu Zijian¡¯s head. ¡°Perhaps, but she could never forgive herself.¡± Although she was no longer with them, she had given him the best present he could ever receive. He made up his mind. He had to get that Innate pill from Li Qingshan, no matter what it took. He was still not old yet. He could still take care of her.

    Thinking up to that point, he suddenly said earnestly, ¡°I¡¯ve always been afraid to tell you this, but most of those stories where I upheld justice and helped the weak were false.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Zijian was utterly shocked. She took a step back and looked at Yu Shukuang in disbelief.

    Yu Shukuang coughed gently to cover up his awkwardness. ¡°I just want to tell you that good people don¡¯t have it easy in this world. You need to be a little more clever and a little worse of a person.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you liar. I¡¯ll never be a baddie.¡±

    ¡°Just treat it like your father is begging you to.¡±

    ¡°No! You liar!¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°Even I, your father, would lie to you, so who else wouldn¡¯t lie to you?¡±

    Yu Zijian was taken aback, but she suddenly smiled mysteriously. ¡°Father, I don¡¯t blame you.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Yu Zijian said seriously, ¡°You might have been lying to me, but that was so I could uphold justice as a hero. It¡¯s still a good deed!¡±

    This time, Yu Shukuang was the one surprised. He knew his own daughter the best. Since when was she so inflexible?

    Yu Zijian smiled complacently. I want to be a good person.

    Deep underground, the flowers bloomed, and the butterflies danced in the sea of flowers.

    The large, stone platform flickered with a magnificent colour.

    Li Qingshan shuddered all over. Heavy, ice-cold spiritual qi directly rushed into the Fengchi acupoint on the back of his head, into his Yin and Yang Heel meridians. The meridians that originally still had some empty space were now filled with pure spiritual qi of the world. It was to the point that his meridians ached slightly.

    If it were not for the fact that his body as a daemon was extremely tough, this would have been enough to sever his meridians. He began to use the Innate Method of Practising Qi instinctively, wanting to transform the spiritual qi into true qi, but he failed.

    There was just too much spiritual qi, such that he could not even do something as simple as mobilising it. The aching from his meridians became more and more intense, but he was unable to feel it at all.

    His daemon core began to revolve automatically. It shone brightly, absorbing the spiritual qi to its heart¡¯s content while suppressing the other spiritual qi.

    Finally, the Innate Method of Practising Qi began to operate, refining the spiritual qi strand by strand into true qi. The sumeru ring on his finger came into use as well, purifying the true qi further.

    The pure true qi pulsed like water. With every breath, it would undergo new growth, increasing at a terrifying rate. This was even faster than when regular Qi Practitioners ingested Qi Gathering pills.

    Here was a cultivator who could absorb the spiritual qi of the world whilst still a Qi Practitioner. Moreover, he was on an extremely precious spiritual stone vein and possessed a sumeru ring that only Golden Core cultivators would own. Together, they resulted in extraordinary cultivation speed.

    In less than four hours, Li Qingshan trembled once more. He had reached the eighth layer with the Innate Method of Practising Qi. The flow of his true qi immediately sped up slightly, and the quantity had increased drastically too.

    However, he continued to cultivate. Time passed by bit by bit.

    There was no perception of time in the darkness. When Li Qingshan opened his eyes again and introspected his body, he discovered that the Innate Method of Practising Qi had finally reached completion. It had reached the ninth layer. He had reached the peak of the third layer of Qi Practitioner now. This was the first cultivation method he had managed to complete, which gave him a faint sense of satisfaction. He wanted to share this good news with someone.

    When he looked at Milliped beside him, he found that he was still snoring away. He seemed to be at great ease, as if he could set aside everything in his sleep. Though, he never had anything that pestered his mind anyway.

    For once, Xiao An was asleep too, curled up on the stone platform. As it seemed, the spiritual stone vein was extremely beneficial to her too.

 Chapter 208 â€“ Recruiting Daemon Soldiers

    This was extremely important. As he wandered the world of humans, there would be many times and places where it would be inconvenient for him to transform. The stronger he was as a human, the more opportunities there were openly available to him.

    However, if he wanted to continue cultivating, he needed to find a new cultivation method. He felt like as long as he had a method, he could break through to the fourth layer immediately and open up his Yang Linking meridian.

    Unfortunately, he was not in possession of any of the five primary methods of practising qi. As a result, he could only stop here for now with the path of practising qi. He would have to resume some other day.

    Within the Proud Sword hall, the disciples stood in two rows to the left and the right. They all stared ahead, but their eyes gave away their eagerness.

    The weather was cold now, but a layer of perspiration coated Yu Shukuang¡¯s forehead. He lowered his head as he said carefully, ¡°Brother Liu, our Proud Sword manor really doesn¡¯t have any disciples that can interest you.¡±

    Sitting before Yu Shukuang was Liu Fengrui, who had just visited a few days ago. He waved his hand arrogantly, and Yu Shukuang dismissed everyone.

    Liu Fengrui smiled happily. ¡°I haven¡¯t come for that. Brother Yu, your luck has borne fruit.¡±

    ¡°All I do is stay at home, so what luck would I have?¡±

    Liu Fengrui said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about what happened a few days ago. The Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain wanted to throw their weight around and steal your domain. Fortunately, brother Yu had a great master assist you, but this won¡¯t work long term. As a result, I specially asked my master for the Proud Sword manor to be included under the protection of our Green Vine mountain. From now onwards, whoever provokes the Proud Sword manor will be provoking the pride and dignity of our Green Vine mountain.¡±

    Yu Shukuang was surprised. This had been a long-time wish of his, to receive the protection of a sect. Although there would now be a sect master above him, it would still be better than the times when Qi Practitioners could walk all over him. However, now that he had met Li Qingshan, and a wonderful future was waiting for Yu Zijian, he was no longer particularly interested in this.

    However, he responded readily. He straightened himself up before bowing deeply with clasped hands. ¡°Thank you for the good word, brother Liu!¡±

    Liu Fengrui was very satisfied with Yu Shukuang¡¯s behaviour. The Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain had actually extended their hands into the territory of the Green Vine mountain, so the Green Vine mountain obviously had to make an appropriate response. He pursed his lips. ¡°That¡¯s only part of it. Brother Yu will probably be even happier when you hear the other part.¡±

    ¡°May I ask what it is?¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°About that¡­ My daughter has already agreed to a good friend of hers from the Hua family. They¡¯re joining the Academy of the Hundred Schools next year to study together¡­¡±

    Before he could finish talking, Liu Fengrui¡¯s face sank. He had never thought that not only would Yu Shukuang not thank him for this, but he would even want to turn it down. ¡°Oh, are you saying that our Green Vine mountain is not as great as the Academy of the Hundred Schools? And you want to mention the Hua family to frighten me?¡±

    ¡°Why would I ever dare to do that!¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you let me see your daughter?¡±

    With no other choice, he could only oblige. Yu Shukuang sent people to summon Yu Zijian over. As soon as Yu Zijian heard the proposition, she shook her head. ¡°That won¡¯t work. I¡¯ve already promised Chenglu!¡±

    Liu Fengrui saw Yu Zijian, and his eyes lit up slightly, but his face remained sunken. ¡°My master never decides on something so easily, but since he has said so, he¡¯ll never take it back! Consider it!¡±

    ¡°I said I don¡¯t want to!¡± Yu Zijian was vexed. She disliked Liu Fengrui the moment she saw him from the way he acted. He seemed to be deliberately doing this.

    Liu Fengrui¡¯s eyes coldened. A mere first layer Qi Practitioner actually wanted to disobey him publicly. She was out of her mind.

    Yu Shukuang pulled Yu Zijian to the back of the hall as he smiled to Liu Fengrui apologetically. ¡°Please just wait a moment.¡± He needed Li Qingshan to decide for him here.

    Liu Fengrui seemed to read his mind. As if he was afraid that his threats were not enough, he added, ¡°The Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain has already gathered their people to settle the debt with that Niu Juxia or whoever is supporting you from behind, but they were stopped by us. Does some unknown independent cultivator who defeated a single disciple from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain really think that he can contend with an entire sect?¡±

    Yu Shukuang leapt in fright inside. He pulled Yu Zijian to the back of the hall and immediately ordered people to go to Li Qingshan¡¯s manor. Yu Zijian also looked forward to the arrival of his huge figure. She imagined him grabbing that Liu person and throwing him outside. However, the news they received in the end was that Li Qingshan had disappeared without a trace.

    Yu Shukuang immediately collapsed in his armed chair and lamented, ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡±

    Yu Zijian felt the pain of her own powerlessness once more. She tightened her grasp around her sword. ¡°Father, I¡¯ll just agree to him!¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°How can you do that?¡± If Yu Zijian went to the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts, she would be under the care of Hua Chenglu at the very least. The Academy of the Hundred Thoughts was a place with rules too. Looking at how Liu Fengrui behaved in comparison, the disciples of the Green Vine mountain probably were not as friendly to one another.

    Yu Zijian instead comforted Yu Shukuang, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Green Vine mountain might not necessarily pale in comparison to the Academy of the Hundred Schools.¡± Suddenly, she stifled her voice. ¡°That¡¯s all we can do right now. I¡¯ll pen a letter to Chenglu. She might be able to help me.¡±

    Yu Shukuang could not help but sigh. My daughter really has grown up. He said helplessly, ¡°That¡¯s all we can do then!¡±

    In the hall, Liu Fengrui smiled complacently. Once what had to be done was done, it would not be easy even if the Hua family wanted to interfere with matters of the sect. It was good that this girl would submit obediently. Otherwise, there would be plenty of hardships awaiting her!

    ¡°The great king has sent me to patrol the mountain!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s loud, clear singing echoed through the quiet caverns.

    ¡°The great king has sent me to patrol the mountains!¡± Xiao An sat on Li Qingshan¡¯s neck and also sang along.

    ¡°After patrolling the south mountains comes the north!¡± Li Qingshan turned his head from side to side and sang at the top of the voice.

    ¡°After patrolling the south mountains comes the north!1¡± Xiao An also turned her head from side to side, singing at the top of her voice.

    ¡°It¡¯s wrong, it¡¯s wrong!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly shook his head, such that even Xiao An began to move with him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiao An firmly wrapped around his neck with her legs and held onto Li Qingshan¡¯s ears to maintain her balance.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It should be patrolling the caves.¡±

    Xiao An thought about it. ¡°Fair enough!¡±

    It had already been half a month since Li Qingshan had arrived underground. He did not make Milliped declare war on the other Daemon General recklessly and abruptly. Instead, he carefully familiarised himself with the situation underground.

    He discovered that Milliped¡¯s territory was not encroached by that Daemon General alone. It was being taken over by other Daemon Generals nearby too. They all had a large number of subordinates under their command, yet Milliped was alone, and he was not particularly clever either. It made no sense if he did not suffer abuse.

    Li Qingshan gained a better understanding of the importance of territories as well. The underground world was basically a treasure trove. He had found a spiritual vein that was way better than the Zombie Daoist¡¯s dwelling, drank from a spiritual spring that could rapidly recover his true qi, and discovered various strange spiritual herbs here. This treasure trove was spread throughout the criss-crossing caverns. Losing a piece of territory was equivalent to losing some resources.

    However, the most important resource was the various daemons. Logically speaking, all of the daemonic beasts and daemons in Milliped¡¯s territory were supposed to obey him in exchange for him not eating them.

    However, with Milliped¡¯s non-existence leadership and intelligence, even if he passed an order, these daemons would agree to it on the surface but secretly ignore him. They never offered him any support. As internal cohesion had to be achieved before addressing external threats, Li Qingshan was visiting these daemons one by one right now.

    How could a Daemon General not possess daemon soldiers under his command? Li Qingshan wanted to be the leader of these daemon soldiers.

 Chapter 209 â€“ The Blackwater Salamander

    Li Qingshan took out the underground mental map he had obtained from the Zombie Daoist. Unfurling it and taking a look, he discovered that they were completely beyond the range of the map.

    When he poured his true qi into the mental map, a speck of light lit up, but there was no image. It was just a blurry path of light. Who knows what was interfering with it.

    Xiao An said softly, ¡°It should be due to the underground magnetic field!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How do you know that?¡±

    Xiao An hesitated. ¡°I think I read it somewhere, but I don¡¯t remember where.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It must be your past memories!¡± Otherwise, with how good her memory was, how could she have forgotten about some book?

    Xiao An immediately sank into her thoughts. For once, she appeared to be worried. Perhaps it was due to Milliped¡¯s great bed of spiritual stone or the fragrance from the blue butterfly flowers, but the memories in the depths of her mind had returned bit by bit, giving her illusionary dreams.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts too. He thought of the same thing as her. The unknown hometown in the distant south might suddenly leap into her head at a certain time and take her away.

    He lifted her from his neck and held her like a baby. He gently stroked her soft, smooth hair and kissed the red mole on her forehead. The smell of sandalwood lingered on his lips.

    ¡°Having your memories return is never bad! Tell me more about the underground magnetic field! I¡¯ve never heard Milliped mention it!¡±

    Xiao An nodded obediently. She wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°The underground magnetic field can interfere with the usage of techniques and spiritual artifacts. The further underground you venture, the greater the interference.¡±

    Li Qingshan casually used a simple technique. As expected, it was slightly more difficult to use compared to above ground.

    This truly was the turf of daemons. Although daemons also used abilities similar to techniques, they basically relied on their powerful daemon qi to deliver it forcefully. They did not have any delicate or detailed processes that they needed to go through. As a result, they were basically unaffected.

    ¡°How clever!¡±

    Xiao An smiled slightly. ¡°There¡¯s also atmospheric winds in the sky, which become stronger the higher up you go. It can disperse true qi and spiritual qi. It can also blow away the souls of people.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s so impressive!¡±

    ¡°And, there¡¯s cloud-incinerating skyfires¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan advanced as he listened closely with a smile. She rarely spoke so much. They forgot about the worries hidden in their hearts and did their best to enjoy the time right now, when they were together. Afterwards, they hoped that a never-ending banquet actually existed in the world and would be prepared for them.

    ¡­¡­

    In these underground caverns thousands of times more complicated than any maze, no one was certain where the tunnel ahead of them led to. When you single-mindedly wanted to travel up, to return to the surface, the cavern might just suddenly turn downward or end, destroying all of your plans and forcing you to find a new path.

    Coupled with the ever present threat of daemons hidden in the darkness, even powerful ninth or tenth layer Qi Practitioners could grow anxious and exhausted, maybe even becoming lost in the depths underground. The dangers and terrors of this place were no longer a matter of strength alone.

    However, Li Qingshan strolled through this place like it was his own garden. His sharp senses allowed him to find the way easily. As long as he released his powerful daemon qi, the other daemons would maintain their distance, and they would not attack blindly. As for the greatest, most terrifying daemon around here, the great king Milliped, he was his powerful backer.

    However, he did not bring Milliped with him this time to restrain the other powerful daemons.

    The path of daemons respected the strong. They did not have a rigid order like humans. The principle of strutting around with borrowed plumes was not as useful in the world of daemons as in the world of humans. If he was unable to demonstrate sufficient strength, how was he supposed to make these unruly daemons submit to him, the leader of the daemon soldiers?

    Aside from that, he had a further objective in mind.

    Li Qingshan followed an underground river that possessed the faint presence of spiritual qi. As the river gradually led deeper underground, he entered the water and went with the flow, swimming away.

    An hour later, the cavern suddenly opened up. He entered an extremely spacious region of water. Casting out his gaze, he actually failed to see the boundary. The water surface no longer existed. There were only ripples in the tranquil, dark water, like black jade hidden underground.

    Regular people would obviously think of endless earth when the underground was mentioned, but no one would have imagined that the underground actually hid such an abundant source of water.

    Li Qingshan thought, The one that Milliped spoke of should be here.

    The spiritual qi in the black water was extremely dense. Although it was not as great as the place where resided Milliped, it was still quite a rare holy land for cultivation.

    According to Li Qingshan¡¯s observations from the past few days, there was a spiritual vein underground that stretched off in this direction. It was very likely for crystalline spiritual stones to exist below the mud and sand in the depths of the black water.

    If he wanted to look for hidden daemons, he obviously would not charge off blindly. Instead, he followed what Milliped had told him and the direction of the spiritual vein. All the powerful daemons would claim a place that was rich in spiritual qi.

    Li Qingshan made Xiao An wait to one side before letting out a deep growl and completely transforming. He developed the claws and tail of a tiger and the hooves and horns of an ox. The scarlet hair on his head floated up like a ball of scorching fire, and his height had already reached thirty-three feet.

    For the past few days, he had stopped practising qi, directing his focus to the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression instead. He continued to chow down on his various pills, and he also borrowed Milliped¡¯s bed to get some good sleep. His daemon qi increased extremely swiftly. Gradually, he would be able to suppress the ox demon completely. By then, returning to his original form would not be a problem anymore.

    Afterwards, he immediately busied himself with the cultivation of the second layer of the tiger demon.

    He could not achieve success with cultivating the tiger demon by blindly eating pills and meditating away. He required intense battles to unlock his potential and overcome bottlenecks.

    As a result, he released his daemon qi fearlessly and let out a provoking roar.

    A pair of eyes, the size of lanterns, suddenly lit up deep within the mud at the bottom. They shone viciously. With a swing of a huge tail, it shook away the black mud, and the colossal figure darted to several dozen meters away with great agility. It directly swam in Li Qingshan¡¯s direction.

    Li Qingshan could sense a daemon qi that was even stronger than his own in the distance. Just as Milliped had told him, this guy was very powerful, so powerful that even Milliped himself was reluctant to enter the water and make trouble for it.

    However, that was because Milliped skewed toward fire of the five elements, while Li Qingshan skewed towards water. The deep water was also his home turf.

    With his spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core, he could move in water as well as he could move on land. He dove down to the bottom. His hooves sank into the mud and landed on the rock beneath as he stared ahead calmly.

    The daemon qi drew closer and closer. He could already make out a colossal, ferocious figure and a pair of eye-catching pupils. The other daemon must be seeing the same sight.

    Before the daemon had drawn near, water had already flooded over mightily. Of course, this was not just due to the flow it had kicked up with its body. There was also the factor of daemon qi.

    Li Qingshan remained unfazed. He did not even use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to protect himself.

    The water surged and rumbled over like the charge of an army, smashing against Li Qingshan viciously. It produced thunderous booms underwater.

    His fire-like scarlet hair suddenly swept backwards, but Li Qingshan stood strong in the face of the flow, without moving at all. Even if there was another dozen tonnes of pressure on him, it would not even be able to make him bat an eye.

    The surging water produced countless, tiny white streams near various parts of his body. A small, coloured fish could not help but be taken away by the flow. It came into contact with a torrent and was immediately ripped to pieces.

    Even something as gentle as water could become a terrifying weapon once it possessed sufficient speed and strength.

    However, all of this was just to probe the opponent and demonstrate its might!

    Although it saw that its probe was useless, the daemon in the black water did not rush over in a hurry. Instead, it watched on from afar.

    ¡°My turn!¡± Scarlet light flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, and he spread his arms, reaching through the water like he was grabbing onto something extremely heavy.

    His daemon core revolved as daemon qi seeped out as quickly as possible. Suddenly, he pushed forward forcefully, and all the water within a range of several dozen meters from Li Qingshan suddenly emptied out. Li Qingshan seemed to have lifted up a great ball of water, which he tossed at the daemon.

    The daemon swung its tail and shattered the ball. As if several hundred tonnes of dynamite had exploded in the bottom of the lake, the entire lake churned.

    However, using water to attack an aquatic daemon would obviously be ineffective. This was akin to the roars beasts would emit when they encountered each other in the wilderness; it was just to demonstrate their power.

    As if it had accepted Li Qingshan as an equal opponent, the daemon in the black water swam over. This time, it did not make a single ripple in the water. The black water would automatically part for it no matter where it swam to. It glided through the water quietly like it was in outer space.

    Li Qingshan finally saw the daemon¡¯s true appearance. It was a salamander, but it had reached a terrifying fifty or sixty feet in length. Its slick, slippery skin was pitch-black, and it quietly moved through the water like a ghost in the dark. It possessed an indescribable grace. It was the ruler of this lake.

    This was the first subordinate that Li Qingshan wanted to recruit, the blackwater salamander.

    Two colossal daemon qi collided constantly in the water. The blackwater salamander used the contact between the daemon qi to convey its thoughts.

    ¡°Who are you? Why have you intruded on my territory?¡±

    Of course, not all daemons could speak the human tongue. However, every single daemon would grasp a method of communication through the many years it spent inhaling and exhaling spiritual qi.

    It used the pulses of daemon qi to replace its vigorous roars. Although it was nowhere near as refined or ingenious as the human tongue, it was much simpler and more straightforward.

    Li Qingshan was a daemon, so after learning from Milliped a little, he grasped the method of communication that belonged to daemons. He could obviously understand what the blackwater salamander was saying. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart eased up slightly. As expected, stronger daemons possessed a corresponding amount of intelligence. This blackwater salamander seemed to be even slighter smarter than Milliped.

 Chapter 210 â€“ The First Daemon Soldier

    The blackwater salamander circled through the water nimbly and mocked, ¡°Milliped? Are you talking about that idiot? Only an idiot would follow his commands. You¡¯re an idiot. I¡¯m not.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his claw. ¡°What if I say that you must submit?¡±

    ¡°If you can catch me, I¡¯ll listen to you!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan actually roared that out, and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar followed. It blasted the water apart as it shot towards the blackwater salamander.

    The blackwater salamander did not try to dodge. He just let the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Blow land on his body, which ended up being deflected to the bottom of the lake, creating a great hole. However, it was completely unscathed. It mocked again with daemon qi, ¡°Doesn¡¯t even scratch my itch!¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He had seen with great clarity that a layer of light had flowed over its body earlier. Its innate ability seemed to be able to deflect attacks. It was no wonder it wanted Li Qingshan to try and catch it.

    The blackwater salamander twisted its body and unleashed a water arrow, which produced a strange, sharp whistle. The arrow arrived before Li Qingshan in the blink of an eye. It did not create the same disturbance as earlier, but it was truly a killing strike. It could easily pierce rock and metal.

    Li Qingshan did not dodge either. The water arrow arrived before him, but a barrier of blue light stopped it. It was the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t scratch an itch either!¡± He relaxed slightly. Its attacks were powerful, but they were all water-elemented, so they would struggle to get through his Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell that happened to be of the same element.

    However, if four or five ninth layer Qi Practitioners like the West Gate Granny were battling the blackwater salamander in deep water instead, only death would await them. While the blackwater salamander was not a Daemon General, it was very difficult to deal with once it possessed a geographical advantage.

    The blackwater salamander was surprised by how its attack was useless. It sucked in deeply and produced thousands of water arrows, creating a series of straight, white tracks within the black water.

    Like the rain of a thunderstorm peppering a window, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shook slightly as if it could shatter at any moment. However, it actually managed to remain firmly intact in the face of the wave of water arrows. There was not even a crack.

    However, Li Qingshan felt his daemon qi rapidly deplete. He knew that while it was difficult to destroy the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, it was costly to maintain it as well. If this continued, there would be no benefit at all. He kicked off the bottom of the lake and shot off.

    Li Qingshan butted his head. He seemed to be delivering his head into the opponent¡¯s mouth, but his two sharp ox horns prevented the blackwater salamander from biting down. It twisted its head and bit Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    The two colossal creatures immediately became entangled with each other. Black water surged as daemon qi filled the entire place.

    Li Qingshan felt his shoulder ache. The sharp teeth of the blackwater salamander had already pierced his hide, but he did not mind it. He wrapped his hands around the blackwater salamander and pulled it towards the bottom of the lake.

    Although he was also technically an aquatic daemon, he was accustomed to his lifestyle on land, so he was not as agile as the blackwater salamander in water. However, as long as his feet were planted on the ground, he would be able to draw strength from the ground. He would be able to use his tremendous strength to overwhelm the blackwater salamander.

    Originally, the blackwater salamander wanted to bite off a part of Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, but it felt like it had bit into the tough hide of an ox. It tried to tear away with its teeth, but Li Qingshan had grabbed onto it firmly now, such that it was unable to break free. It became even more surprised now. The opponent¡¯s daemon qi was nowhere near as great as its, so why was the opponent¡¯s strength greater?

    The lake was deep, but it was not the sea. Li Qingshan was tall enough to be able to wade through most of the water. Immediately, his pair of hooves landed on the bottom of the lake again, and he let out a great roar, throwing the blackwater salamander against the bottom. He thought he had succeeded. I¡¯ve won!

    The blackwater salamander¡¯s pitch-black skin flashed with a slick light. Li Qingshan only felt it sliding out of his grasp. The blackwater salamander slid away like a ghost. Even his barb-like claws were unable to keep it trapped.

    ¡°You can¡¯t catch me!¡± The blackwater salamander mocked as it vanished from the range of Li Qingshan¡¯s vision with lightning speed.

    Li Qingshan thought, This guy¡¯s innate ability is so difficult to deal with. No wonder he doesn¡¯t take a Daemon General like Milliped seriously. Although its attacks aren¡¯t exactly powerful, fighting it in water is extremely difficult.

    However, this was his first battle, so how could he give up? He shot off in pursuit of the daemon qi.

    The daemon qi suddenly vanished, and the ripples in the surroundings grew more and more violent. White waves swept through the black water. This place underground descended into a world of black and white.

    Without any prior signs, without any ripples in the water that he could sense, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind Li Qingshan, colliding against his waist viciously.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s waist ached, and he lost his balance. All he managed to see from the corner of his eye was the blackwater salamander disappearing into the water again. Before he could even stabilise himself, the blackwater salamander had changed its direction and collided with him again.

    The blackwater salamander produced countless, pitch-black traces in the water, which criss-crossed Li Qingshan.

    In a single moment, even Li Qingshan himself had no idea how many times he had been hit. The world spun around him in a dizzying manner, like he was the blackwater salamander¡¯s toy.

    His body was in pain. He only remained alive because of his tough body. The strongest daemons truly were difficult to deal with! However, he did not become dejected. Instead, his battle spirit was ignited.

    He did not use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, as his daemon qi was not as great as the blackwater salamander¡¯s. If he continued to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, his daemon qi would probably run out very soon, so he could only temporarily retreat for now.

    But how was he supposed to retreat? He did not get Xiao An to help him, not because he wanted Xiao An to hide and launch a sneak attack, but because he treated this as a test for himself.

    This was not a battle to the death where he needed to fight tooth-and-nail. Instead, he was trying to make a daemon submit to him as a soldier. As a result, not only did he have to win this battle, but he also had to achieve an overwhelming victory.

    Their difference in strength was not particularly big. Apart from being slightly weaker in terms of daemon qi, his strength and abilities actually surpassed the salamander. He must be doing something wrong seeing how he failed to gain the upper hand!

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes, and he was slammed viciously a few more times by the blackwater salamander. Despite the raging waves, there was peace at the bottom of his heart.

    A droplet of water seemed to land at the bottom of his heart and produce a ripple. Li Qingshan suddenly understood. It was water!

    Although he was an aquatic daemon, he was not accustomed to battle in water. The way he controlled water was extremely clumsy as well. He had failed to make proper use of the environment, allowing the blackwater salamander to claim the geographic advantage all for itself!

    He floated freely in the water, no longer trying to control his body anymore. He no longer forced himself to remain at the bottom. He was like a creature that lived in the water, treating the water like his home.

    His daemon qi spread out into the surroundings and established a connection with the surrounding water. It was no longer as clumsy as when he tried to pick up that great ball of water and throw it at his opponent. Instead, it was like sonar, surveilling the surrounding waters with great sensitivity.

    The blackwater salamander rushed over once again like a black, ghostly bolt of lightning. Although it did not kick up any ripples, it did come into contact with the water that Li Qingshan controlled.

    ¡°Behind!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly turned around, but he was not as agile as the blackwater salamander. At such a close distance, even if he managed to sense it, he was unable to dodge.

    The blackwater salamander was complacent. It was ready to slam into Li Qingshan again and throw him into confusion, yet Li Qingshan¡¯s huge figure moved to the left without any prior signs at all.

    Li Qingshan controlled the water to push himself aside. He dodged the blackwater salamander¡¯s attack for the first time.

    Now, he finally felt like he resembled an aquatic daemon slightly.

    When he sensed the blackwater salamander¡¯s direction, he clenched a fist and threw it at the salamander¡¯s head viciously the moment it brushed past him.

    With a bang, a sound wave spread through the entire body of water.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s long-prepared strike of fury was no joke. It could even crush rock and steel. He just happened to be wondering whether he had been too heavy-handed.

    ¡°Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!¡± The blackwater salamander clutched its head with its two front limbs and swam far away with a swing of its tail. In that instant, it had used its ability that could deflect attacks again, deflecting most of the force. That was why it had not entered a daze after suffering the attack.

    Li Qingshan bobbed up and down in the water as he looked at the blackwater salamander. His daemon qi pulsed. ¡°Why don¡¯t you admit defeat?¡±

    ¡°Have you caught me?¡± The blackwater salamander was infuriated. It actually just swam away. ¡°Even if I can¡¯t beat you, don¡¯t even think about capturing me and making me listen to your command!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. He adjusted his posture and leaned forwards in a freestyle position. His limbs swept backwards, and then he controlled the water to rush at the blackwater salamander.

    How could the blackwater salamander lose to Li Qingshan when it came to swimming? With a swing of its tail, it darted over ten meters to the side. No matter what swimming style Li Qingshan used, he would never be able to match its natural agility.

    Just when it wanted to mock Li Qingshan, it suddenly felt something tighten around its tail. Li Qingshan had grabbed its tail, but the tail was the slipperiest part of its body. With a flash, it immediately swam into the distance, and it no longer stopped this time round.

    Two colossal creatures dwelled within this expansive, underground lake, one chasing desperately and one fleeing madly.

    Even though the blackwater salamander had nowhere to hide, Li Qingshan was clearly too slow. He could not even touch its tail.

    After three whole days and nights, they slowed down to the speed of regular fish. Both of them were utterly exhausted, but they both refused to admit defeat.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had become an actual fish. He had gained a completely new understanding of how to swim and how to control the water flow. Battles in water were no longer a weakness to him anymore.

    Even though he was exhausted, he managed to tail behind the blackwater salamander the entire time with his ox-like endurance, giving it no time to rest.

    The blackwater salamander was utterly infuriated and called Li Qingshan all sorts of things. Suddenly, the space before it lit up, and a ball of fire burned quietly in the water. Within the fire was a tiny skeleton.

    Just like daemons, she used her aura to communicate. ¡°We might as well kill it and eat its daemon core.¡± Two large skulls resided beside her, opening and closing their mouths like they were waiting for a meal.

    ¡°I admit defeat, I admit defeat! Don¡¯t eat me! Or I¡¯ll blow up my daemon core!¡± The blackwater salamander¡¯s instincts warned it of danger. It knew that this was the end of the rope now. It felt dejected inside, but it also admired Li Qingshan¡¯s endurance a little.

 Chapter 211 â€“ Unifying the Territory

    The blackwater salamander had been curious about what kind of daemon Li Qingshan was supposed to be a long time ago.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re a thing!¡± He punched down with his fist. Although the blackwater salamander was exhausted, it was not stupid. It dodged quickly.

    Li Qingshan shot a glare at him. ¡°How dare you dodge when the leader is hitting you? Do you still want to live or not?¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s two skulls pressed over threateningly. With no other choice, the blackwater salamander made his way back over and let Li Qingshan hit him.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the spot. He looked at the first daemon soldier under his command in satisfaction. He had never thought he would end up becoming a leader among daemons before he even managed to become a Black Wolf commander. Moreover, he was one that led some of the strongest daemons out there.

    According to the standard of human Qi Practitioners, the blackwater salamander was around the ninth or tenth layer. It was quite close to Daemon General now.

    If Li Qingshan¡¯s strength as a daemon was measured using the standard of Qi Practitioners, it would be rather impressive if he managed to reach the seventh or eighth layer. He was still very far away from Daemon General. There was nothing he could do about it. Cultivating as a daemon took up tremendous amounts of time in the first place. Those pills had already been of great help to him to be able to reach his current strength so quickly.

    His three powerful abilities were the only reason for his victory.

    Now that there was no danger, the blackwater salamander settled down to rest as well. It glanced at Xiao An carefully before asking, ¡°Leader, Milliped¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan corrected, ¡°Call him great king.¡±

    The blackwater salamander continued, ¡°Why has great king Milliped sent you to beat me up?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s not just you. I¡¯ll be beating up all the daemons underground. I¡¯ll spare them if they yield, but if they don¡¯t, I¡¯ll beat them all to death.¡±

    Although the blackwater salamander was not the strongest daemon in this region, it was the daemon that was the most difficult to handle. Even Milliped was reluctant to venture into its waters. Even if he did, subduing him would still be very difficult. That was why Li Qingshan decided on him as his first target.

    The blackwater salamander looked at Xiao An. ¡°Leader, who¡¯s this?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s the vice leader!¡±

    The flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets surged. She had actually become the vice leader.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Do you know where great king Milliped¡¯s dwelling is?¡±

    ¡°I do, I do!¡± Probably all the daemons in this region that had some intelligence knew where it was.

    He was not satisfied with just beating up these daemons and making them submit to him. His primary objective was still to turn them into a combat force that he could control. As a result, he came up with a daemon¡¯s gathering with Milliped, where he would summon all the daemons who had condensed daemon cores.

    The blackwater salamander could only agree helplessly.

    Li Qingshan thought of something. He took out an uneaten roasted chicken from his hundred treasures pouch and tossed it to the blackwater salamander.

    The blackwater salamander ate it in a single gulp. The various spices, and the taste of salt in particular, permeated its mouth. It swam around Li Qingshan excitedly and stared right at him. ¡°Leader, is there anymore?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, Just as I had expected. Although the underground was like a great treasure trove, possessing spiritual veins and various spiritual herbs, it could never match the abundance of food available on the surface. Even a Daemon General like Milliped could not eat whatever he wanted, let alone regular daemons.

    He only needed to absorb the spiritual qi of the world within the black water, and he would not starve to death even if he went a decade without food. However, the instincts of creatures would never vanish. The carrot and the stick had been proven to be highly effective throughout history. Now that Li Qingshan had used it properly, it resulted in exactly what he had expected.

    ¡°Hmph, if you go when the time comes, there¡¯ll be as much as you want!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely go! I¡¯ll definitely go!¡± The blackwater salamander immediately became extremely eager. If he could eat such good food every single day, there would be nothing wrong with being a daemon soldier.

    Li Qingshan left the region with Xiao An. He ate a Hundred Grasses pill and recovered most of his daemon qi before asking Xiao An curiously, ¡°Why did you turn back?¡±

    Xiao An explained. As it turned out, she did it to hide her identity. There would be a time when they would return to the surface. If she remained in human form, she would be remembered by far too many creatures. It might even lead to the exposure of Li Qingshan¡¯s identity in the future. And, in this subterranean world, a non-humanoid form was instead more convenient than a humanoid form when it came to moving about.

    Li Qingshan admired Xiao An¡¯s cautiousness. He could not be certain that the world of humans and the world of daemons never intersected. There would never be anything wrong with being a little more careful. They could communicate using their auras anyway. Xiao An¡¯s aura consisted of the flames that surged from her body.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next place.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Outside Salt Mountain city, in the quiet garden, within the hole.

    Li Qingshan looked at the daylight pouring in from above and felt dazzled. He turned around and said to Milliped, ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare some food and drinks for them. You can go back first!¡±

    Milliped returned reluctantly. Li Qingshan returned to the surface with Xiao An, but they found the surroundings to be bare.

    Snow covered the ground and mountains in the distance. Clearly, there had been quite a lot of snowfall during the time that they were gone.

    Li Qingshan was happy. He smiled at Xiao An, who smiled back.

    His punitive expedition against the daemons had been much more successful than Li Qingshan had imagined before setting out. Apart from the troublesome blackwater salamander, there were a few other powerful daemons.

    One of them was a boulder viper over thirty meters in length. It was even stronger than the blackwater salamander. Its body was basically made out of rock, impermeable to regular weapons, and it hid in the soil without giving off any aura at all. Li Qingshan was almost injured by its sudden sneak attack.

    However, when Li Qingshan stated his intentions, the boulder viper immediately expressed its willingness to follow Milliped¡¯s command. It would be taking part in the gathering of daemons.

    The blackwater salamander looked down on Milliped due to the geographic advantage it possessed. However, even the boulder viper was not bold enough to openly confront a Daemon General.

    As a result, Li Qingshan managed to recruit his second powerful daemon soldier without even whipping out the carrot and the stick. As long as the king possessed absolute strength, expeditions would always become much easier for the general.

    There were a few other battles, but basically all of them were more threatening than dangerous. Of course, that was because Li Qingshan possessed sufficient strength, or who knows how many times he would have died already.

    Although the strongest daemons featured Milliped¡¯s strength, they had to probe out Li Qingshan¡¯s strength if he was to be their leader. The boulder python had yielded so quickly because its ambush attack on Li Qingshan had failed, and a punch from Li Qingshan had cracked the rocks on its body.

    Even though Li Qingshan was not confident he could achieve victory half of the time if they really did become embroiled in a battle to the death, no daemon was willing to battle other daemons of the same strength to death without a proper reason.

    The world believed humans were intelligent and rational, while daemons were bloodthirsty and crazy.

    That was not true. Even when wild beasts in the wilderness fought for a mate or territory, they would not battle their opponents to the death. The loser might not even suffer particularly severe injuries. Most of the time, victory would be determined through roars and demonstrations of strength.

    However, humans would often gamble their lives without any regard for the sake of women and power. Even when they knew there was no chance, they would still want to try it. They would end up defeated and dead, never able to learn from their mistakes. Perhaps it would just be a small scuffle, going from a small insult to fighting. Finally, they would end up with a battle to the death over the vague concept of pride.

    The only thing that existed within wild beasts was an instinct for survival. They did not have complicated emotions like humans; this aspect would not change even after becoming a daemon.

    As a result, Li Qingshan had faced a group of surprisingly rational opponents.

    If even powerful daemons would yield, it went without saying for the weaker ones. They basically bowed their heads the moment Li Qingshan unleashed his daemon qi; it was so simple that even Li Qingshan was left in disbelief. It only took him a single month to do all of this, far quicker than he had anticipated.

    Milliped was just too slow-witted, so he could be easily ignored. He had no awareness of recruiting subordinates either, which was why he was in his current situation. Li Qingshan made up for Milliped¡¯s lack of intelligence, immediately taking over control of his territory for him.

    Now, Li Qingshan had basically gained a few dozen daemon soldiers under his command, and his identity as the leader of the daemon soldiers had come true. All he had to do was wait for the gathering of daemons, where he would establish his control completely. He would be able to command these daemon soldiers around, and he would have a Daemon General as a friend.

    If the Sect of Clouds and Rain still wanted to touch him, they would be seeking their own doom. As long as there were no masters who had undergone tribulations, he could deal with them no matter how many people they sent. Even if the sect master came, bold enough to venture underground, he would show the sect master the power of a carapaced Daemon General.

    Thinking about the perfect future awaiting him, Li Qingshan put on the large bamboo hat and the bamboo basket again, letting Xiao An hide in there.

    Although he could return to normal, he purposefully maintained his huge figure so that it would be convenient for him to move around within human society. For the sake of the gathering¡¯s success, he needed a banquet. He would have to rely on Yu Shukuang for this.

    In the Proud Sword manor, Yu Shukuang grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hands excitedly. ¡°You¡¯ve finally returned?¡±

    Li Qingshan saw how panicked Yu Shukuang had become. He asked in a hurry, ¡°What happened?¡±

    Yu Shukuang told him the whole story. Li Qingshan replied furiously, ¡°He has gone too far. Have you contacted Hua Chenglu?¡±

    Yu Shukuang said bitterly, ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the letter, but there has been no reply.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that even if Hua Chenglu did something, she would not go as far as to reply to the letter and explain everything. However, this was probably much more complicated than it seemed. Even if Hua Chenglu wanted to act, the Hua family might not necessarily be willing to develop bad blood with the Green Vine mountain over a friendship between children.

    He had already witnessed the unruliness and arrogance of cultivation sects from the Sect of Clouds and Rain in the past. They were even bold enough to kill Hawkwolf guards, so why would they be afraid to forcefully recruit a disciple?

    Yu Shukuang asked, ¡°What am I supposed to do? Sigh, it¡¯s all because I¡¯m useless!¡±

    Li Qingshan tried to persuade him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. At most, she¡¯ll suffer some hardships as the disciple of someone else. She won¡¯t be in danger. Getting her to experience the vile side of human society isn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing.¡± The Green Vine mountain was an orthodox sect after all. They were not thugs.

    Yu Shukuang sighed heavily. That was true, but how could he stop worrying?

    Li Qingshan was rather worried as well. He liked Yu Zijian¡¯s straightforwardness and kindness very much. He did not wish for her to endure any abuse.

 Chapter 212 â€“ The Busy Streets Deep Within the Mountains

    Yu Shukuang was elated. He bowed deeply. ¡°Whatever you wish!¡± As long as Yu Zijian was safe, he would be willing to do anything.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Extend your hand!¡±

    Yu Shukuang extended his hand in doubt. A shiny pill landed in the centre of his palm. Wasn¡¯t this the Innate pill that he dreamt of every single day? He was both overjoyed and surprised. He bowed deeply again. ¡°Thank you for your generous reward, Niu Juxian. May I ask what you need me to prepare?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Ingest the pill first and see whether you break through to the innate realm. See if you can produce a sliver of true qi. We¡¯ll talk about the rest after that.¡±

    Yu Shukuang immediately ingested the pill. He sat down and meditated to digest the pill.

    If regular people ingested the Innate pill, they were not guaranteed to be able to practise qi. However, if a first-rate master like him ingested it, it was basically certain. The effects of the pill permeated every inch of his body and fused with his dense inner force. Gradually, a strange feeling appeared.

    The clumsy inner force gradually became agile, as if it had broken free from the restraints of his body. It extended outwards endlessly. Great joy welled up in his heart. However, Yu Shukuang knew now was the most important moment. He had to maintain his focus to avoid suffering from any deviations.

    Li Qingshan sat to one side and pulled out a buddhist scripture that Xiao An regularly read. A while later, he felt his head ache. What form and emptiness and namo? He had no idea what was going on, nor did he have any idea how in the world she managed to understand this with that little head of hers, or how she was able to become so absorbed in something so boring.

    A while later, Yu Shukuang shuddered. Li Qingshan turned around and smiled. ¡°How is it?¡±

    Yu Shukuang¡¯s body loosened up. He seemed exhausted, but he was unable to hide his joy no matter what. ¡°The kindness you have shown me is like granting me¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him. ¡°You can skip the formalities. I¡¯ve said a long time ago that I won¡¯t mistreat you if you do things for me. I have a cultivation method called the Innate Method of Practising Qi, which I can pass onto you as well. With your dense inner force, reaching the second layer shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Yu Shukuang almost could not think straight anymore from all of these joyous events happening one after another. However, he was still someone who had been through thick and thin before, so he composed himself very soon. He internalised his joy. He knew the kindness that had been shown to him was so great that it could not be returned with just a few words of gratitude. He waited for Li Qingshan¡¯s instructions quietly.

    Yu Shukuang was slightly taken aback. This mission was just a little too simple. However, when he channeled his true qi into the hundred treasures pouch according to the method Li Qingshan had told him, he finally became stern.

    This hundred treasures pouch originally belonged to the East Gate Granny. It was extremely large inside, the size of several large warehouses. It really would be difficult for him to fill it completely, especially if he had to do so within two months. Even if he slaughtered all the livestock near Salt Mountain city, it would not be enough. However, if he imported it from elsewhere, he might not make it in time, and it would create too much of a disturbance.

    It was exactly because Li Qingshan did not want to attract too much attention that he had assisted Yu Shukuang in becoming a Qi Practitioner. He wanted to make use of the fact that he was well known in these parts of the land, which would save Li Qingshan a lot of trouble.

    Yu Shukuang nodded. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t let you down!¡± Although this mission was rather troublesome, it was not exactly dangerous. Searching for meat and alcohol was hundreds of times simpler than searching for an Innate pill.

    Li Qingshan gave him a few more details. After all, the tastes of daemons would not always conform to the tastes of humans. As a matter of fact, many of them did not even like cooked food. They liked fresh meat.

    Yu Shukuang memorised every single thing he said. Li Qingshan thought about if he had anything else to hand over before picking up the bamboo basket, putting on his wide hat, and making his way out. He suddenly stopped. ¡°The path of cultivation is boundless. Does the swordsman still possess some of the pride of the past?¡±

    He strode off with that, leaving Yu Shukuang standing in a daze. He subconsciously stroked the full beard on his face. He had grown it the year he swore he would never take a wife again. His gaze gradually became determined before he suddenly drew his sword and shaved himself with a few flashes.

    At this moment, the mild young man who regularly delivered meals to Li Qingshan came in to pay his respects. ¡°Master, Niu Juxia¡¯s¡­¡± However, he became stunned by Yu Shukuang¡¯s appearance.

    It was a handsome face. Although it had been weathered by time, leaving behind many small wrinkles, it only added the charm of maturity to his face. Seeing how stunned his disciple had become, he laughed aloud. ¡°Go fetch me some alcohol. I¡¯ll prove it with my actions!¡±

    His mind was exceptionally clear, as if he had returned to his young past where he wandered around for the sake of justice, with his own life beyond his concern. However, he was no longer young. He was no longer carefree, now tied down. He had something extra called responsibility on his shoulders. As a father, if he could not even protect his own daughter, what was the point of living?

    Li Qingshan had already exited the manor. He glanced back and smiled. Regardless of their moral alignment, the willpower and determination of anyone who could become a first-rate master was as clear as day, and Yu Shukuang happened to be the best of the best among them. That was why he was able to create the Proud Sword manor.

    He needed a few usable people like him to help him handle some matters within the human world. People like him did not have to be too powerful, but they could not be too weak either. Right now, perhaps all Yu Shukuang could do for him was collect some food, but he would definitely bring even more benefits in the future.

    He unfurled the mental map of the Green province and slid his finger around it. With a thought, there was a flash, and finally, his finger stopped on the sharp outline of a few mountains. Beside it detailed ¡®Green Vine Mountain¡¯.

    The zigzagging outline transformed into great mountains that rose and fell, towering precipitously. White clouds and mist lingered between the mountains, making it seem a little otherworldly.

    Even more wondrously, within that snowbound land in the encirclement of snow mountains, only a single mountain remained lush and verdant, like an emerald gem on the white snow.

    Li Qingshan stood on a snow mountain and looked into the distance. He marvelled at the wonders of nature. Although the formations of Green Vine mountain played a big part, the real reason why the mountain experienced eternal spring was because of the spiritual vein underground.

    Not only was this place close to Jiaping city, but it was even close to his hometown, Qingyang city. It was located in one of the outlying ranges of the Boundless mountains.

    Of course, it was close at Li Qingshan¡¯s current level of strength. Just the several hundred kilometers of dangerous, precipitous mountain paths were enough to sever all chances of regular people reaching here. Even if they managed to reach here out of sheer luck, the pervasive mist hid many secrets. Not only would it be impossible for regular people to climb the mountain, but they probably could not even see the green mountain.

    Li Qingshan could see it, but he hesitated over how he was supposed to reach there.

    Was Yu Zijian on the mountain somewhere right now, suffering?

    Li Qingshan stood atop the mountain in thought. He stomped his foot and true qi spurted out from the bottom, kicking up a ring of snow. He had already leapt towards the cliff several hundred meters below him, having locked onto a pine tree that grew vertically from the cliff face. After pushing off it, he arrived on a mountain on the other side. He wanted to make his way to the back of the Green Vine mountain to see if there were any cracks he could enter through.

    By now, the night had already darkened. Winter nights were extremely long, and the dark night was beneficial to Li Qingshan¡¯s movements. If there was some wind and snow, it would be even better.

    Perhaps the heavens had really decided to answer his prayers, as snow began to fall a while later.

    Li Qingshan concealed his aura, but when he arrived behind the mountain, he was slightly stunned.

    A small town sat on a region of level ground. It gave off warm lantern light. Was there actually a village located right beside where cultivators cultivated?

    However, as Li Qingshan was born in a village, he knew that regular towns or even small cities should have been pitch-black by now, just so that they could save some oil. The town was bustling with people flowing to and fro. It seemed extremely busy. It seemed out of the ordinary for such a busy place to exist within the frosty mountains.

    When Li Qingshan approached the place, he became even more shocked, as there was not a single regular person wandering the streets. They were all cultivators.

    Li Qingshan had never seen so many cultivators gathered together in his entire life. Although most of them were at the second, third, and fourth layers, they were still cultivators.

    Were these Qi Practitioners from the Green Vine mountain?

    Li Qingshan immediately shook his head. There were several hundred Qi Practitioners here at the very least. The Green Vine mountain definitely did not have that many Qi Practitioners. And, the clothes of these people on the streets varied. They bore different insignias. They did not come from the same sect.

    At a closer glance, he discovered that many of the Qi Practitioners were like peddlers. They called out to attract customers, without the slightest dignity that belonged to Qi Practitioners.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s curiosity immediately rose beyond his control. He knocked the bamboo basket on his back. ¡°What do you think? Wanna check it out?¡±

    The bamboo basket seemed simple on the surface, but there was a thick layer of cushioning inside. Xiao An sat in there leisurely, leaning against a silken pillow as she read in great interest a buddhist scripture that Li Qingshan had found to be boring.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± She replied very succinctly. She could clearly tell what Li Qingshan was feeling right now.

    Li Qingshan emerged from a dark corner and made his way over to the town. However, he maintained his guard constantly. He had been screwed over by far too many Qi Practitioners in the past, and he had claimed the lives of many Qi Practitioners as well. As a result, he was even more vigilant of those like him than the daemons underground.

    When he set foot in the town, everything remained the same as before. Everyone continued about with what they were doing. There were far fewer people who looked at him due to his abnormal size compared to on regular streets.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s huge size still solicited a lot of attention.

    ¡°Fellow cultivator, why don¡¯t you check out this fantastic golden silk for tailoring robes? It¡¯s only three spiritual stones for a tael!¡±

    Li Qingshan declined with a smile before turning his head and seeing a second layer Qi Practitioner call out at the top of his voice from a building, ¡°A fifth layer Qi Practitioner explaining the essence of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, only a spiritual stone for entry! In exchange for a single spiritual stone, you can save three years worth of time! You¡¯d better get in here fast, or it¡¯ll be gone before you know it!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ears pricked up instinctively. However, the building was surrounded with formations, such that it was impossible to eavesdrop on what was being said inside no matter how great his hearing was. Two first layer Qi Practitioners discussed at the entrance whether to go in or not.

 Chapter 213 â€“ Safe and Sound

    Li Qingshan struggled to believe his eyes. He had already thought of many predicaments Yu Zijiang could potentially be going through, such as carrying several hundred kilograms of firewood on her shoulders as she trudged through the snowy path. Or, perhaps she would be looking in the direction of her home sadly.

    As for her father, Yu Shukuang, his imaginations probably ran a hundred times wilder.

    However, not only did Yu Zijian face no hardships right now, but she was even smiling happily instead.

    She was strolling through the streets happily with a few Qi Practitioners. The Qi Practitioners varied in gender and strength, but they all wore green robes. Their collars and cuffs were all embroidered with green vines.

    Li Qingshan had seen that disciple Liu who had come out to run errands before, so he knew that this was the uniform of the Green Vine mountain.

    Yu Zijian was among them. While they were not exactly following her around, he could tell that everyone liked her very much. They introduced the various strange products on the sides of the streets to her patiently.

    Apart from changing her twin buns to a hairstyle more befitting of a female cultivator, she basically had not changed at all. She did not seem like she was suffering abuse at all.

    Yu Zijian felt that someone was looking at her. She turned around and noticed Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal figure that stuck out like a sore thumb immediately. Her small mouth hung open from surprise before all of it turned into joy. She called out, ¡°Niu Juxia!¡± Everyone on the streets looked over.

    She jogged over to Li Qingshan. ¡°Why have you come? Where¡¯s my father? Has he come too?¡± As she said that, she looked around Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Your father hasn¡¯t come. I¡¯ve come to see you. You¡¯re¡­ still well, right?¡± As long as he had not gone blind, she seemed to be doing rather well.

    ¡°Yep, yep!¡± Yu Zijian nodded.

    ¡°Zijian, is this your friend?¡± A few Qi Practitioners made their way over as well. The leader of them was a young man, a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, who asked in surprise.

    Yu Zijian glanced at Li Qingshan first, as if she wanted to confirm that she was his friend. Seeing how he did not object, she smiled boldly. ¡°Yeah!¡± After that, she glanced at him again to see if he was angered by that or not.

    Why would Li Qingshan decline having such a cute girl as a friend?!

    Yu Zijian introduced everybody. Only then did Li Qingshan learn that the leading sixth layer Qi Practitioner was called Mu Zhicong. Although he behaved in a rather modest manner, he gave off a natural sense of superiority. It did not just come from his superior strength, but his pride and arrogance as a member of a sect. The three companions beside him gave Li Qingshan roughly the same feeling.

    Yu Zijian felt that introducing him as Niu Er was rather inappropriate, so she just said, ¡°This is Niu Juxia!¡±

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain mistook that for Li Qingshan¡¯s name. They thought, That¡¯s a rather strange name, but it does seem to be rather befitting of his figure.

    Mu Zhicong recalled something. He asked in surprise, ¡°Are you that Niu Juxia who tossed Song Ming over the wall in a single stroke?!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and admitted to it. He knew that Song Ming referred to the senior brother Song. The news had spread pretty quickly. Unbeknownst to him, although the three mountains were in an alliance, they also competed against one another. The humiliating matters among the disciples would spread the fastest. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Liu Fengrui to have visited the Proud Sword manor so quickly.

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain immediately treated Li Qingshan with deep esteem. A grin of white teeth appeared on his face that was as dark as the bottom of a pot. It seemed rather mysterious.

    The only female disciple there, Cheng Jiali, probed curiously, ¡°May I ask which mountain you happen to cultivate on? And what is your current cultivation?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I was naturally endowed with tremendous strength, and I came across a cultivation method for Body Practitioners by chance in the mountains. In terms of cultivation, I¡¯m nowhere close to fellow Mu.¡±

    Independent cultivator, Body Practitioner.

    They rapidly summarised these two phrases from what Li Qingshan had told them, and their attitude changed once again. They recovered their faint sense of superiority as disciples of an orthodox sect.

    Body Practitioners in the world of cultivation were like practitioners of external martial arts in the jianghu. They would always be looked down upon. Of course, practising both internal and external martial arts was a method that existed as well. However, to them, Li Qingshan clearly did not fall into that category, and he was an independent cultivator without a sect. He was no different from a blade of grass in the wind. People from sects would pressure and abuse him often.

    While Li Qingshan did stand tall, he was already lower than them in their hearts.

    In particular, the displeasure that Mu Zhicong felt from how familiar Yu Zijian behaved with Li Qingshan had basically completely vanished. While he was quite strong, he was just a martial artist who used brute force. If his cultivation as a Qi Practitioner could not develop any further, it was useless no matter how powerful he was. He was so ugly as well. To think that I had compared myself to him. I sure have underestimated myself.

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense the changes in their attitude. He maintained his smile and lamented about the fickleness of the world slightly, but he did not take this too seriously. Temporarily accommodating for people was common in human relationships. There was nothing for him to be displeased about.

    However, this was all because Li Qingshan was strong enough and confident enough. Otherwise, it would lead to some ill will. The breadth of mind of people would be directly tied to their strength. When weaker people wanted to be broadminded, it was just self-consolation most of the time.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to see her in place of her father. She was taken away forcefully by a senior brother of yours called Liu. You have no idea how worried her father was.¡± Li Qingshan indirectly asked them a question. This child sure was heartless, having a good time right now. However, her decisions were not for him to make.

    ¡°Are you talking about senior brother Liu? Master has already scolded him.¡± The young man frowned slightly. He was slightly displeased by Li Qingshan¡¯s question.

    Li Qingshan became even more surprised. Although he had only seen this senior brother Liu once, he should have been a powerful Qi Practitioner who had already split open his sea of qi. Just what fortunes did this girl possess to make the sect master of the Green Vine mountain scold his own disciple?

    Li Qingshan could tell that these people could not be reasoned with. He glanced at a teahouse on one side, which was rather quiet and tasteful inside. Then he checked the sign on the door, which detailed ¡®Tranquil Teahouse¡¯. It really did live up to its name. There were not a lot of people in there at all. It was very tranquil.

    ¡°Here¡¯s not a place to talk. Let¡¯s go in there and have some tea. I¡¯ll ask Zijian some things for the sake of her father.¡±

    This was the first time Yu Zijian had heard him call her directly by her name. She felt strange inside. Then she thought about how he had specially come to check up on her, and her heart warmed up. Her ears reddened slightly as she pinched the edge of her clothing, unsure of what to say. All she thought of was, Niu Juxia sure is a great person!

    This was the first time Mu Zhicong had seen Yu Zijian like this, and the flames of envy lit up in his heart for some reason. He asked with a strange smile, ¡°Are you inviting us in there for tea?¡± After receiving Li Qingshan¡¯s confirmation, he and his companions looked at one another. They all smiled strangely.

    Li Qingshan entered the teahouse and learned why they were smiling, as well as why the teahouse was so tranquil. A few bamboo signs hung on the wall on the west side, detailing the prices.

    Even the cheapest pot of tea cost seven spiritual stones, while the most expensive one was over twenty spiritual stones. Were there any Qi Practitioners who would come drink tea with their spiritual stones instead of spending it on pills for cultivation or talismans for protection?

    There were no waiters or waitresses in this store, only the shop owner. He was a spirited old man with pepper hair. He also happened to be the tea brewer. He did not even raise his head when Li Qingshan and the others entered. A few curtains divided the teahouse into a few rooms. There seemed to be people talking in there, but it was quiet. Clearly, this was due to the effects of formations as well.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Tsk, this tea is not cheap!¡±

    Yu Zijian pulled Li Qingshan towards the outside. ¡°It¡¯s too expensive, so let¡¯s go elsewhere. There¡¯s a steamed bun store on the corner of the street. They use the venison of three-coloured deer for their fillings.¡±

    Three disciples of the Green Vine mountain added with smiles, ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s nothing great about the tea here!¡±

    None of them were surprised. Independent cultivators were basically synonymous with broke. They did not even have enough money to buy pills, so why would he have money to invite them to the famous tea of the Tranquil teahouse? They obviously did not have a lot of ill will behind this, but it would always be rather funny when a bumpkin embarrassed themself.

    It was obviously impossible for this group of people to scamper out of the store like this. Naturally, a generous and straightforward man would save the situation.

    Mu Zhicong said, ¡°The Tranquil teahouse is renowned in the world of cultivation. Being able to try their fine tea is one of the greatest joys that life can offer. Since we¡¯ve come, let¡¯s stay. Since it¡¯s Zijian¡¯s friend who has come to the Green Vine mountain, I should be the one to play the host.¡±

    Li Qingshan had not even heard of the renowned Tranquil Teahouse before, so he was obviously ignorant.

    Cheng Jiali glanced at Mu Zhicong in an infatuated manner. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be forcing senior brother to go to some expenses today. Zijian, why don¡¯t you thank senior brother? Let alone people from remote areas, but even we don¡¯t enjoy something so extravagant often.¡±

    Li Qingshan could sense Cheng Jiali¡¯s hostility towards Yu Zijian. She was clearly trying to say that Yu Zijian was a bumpkin just like him. This was the troublesome aspect of humans. Daemons directed their hostility at the individual, while humans hid it all in their hearts.

    Yu Zijian just happened to miss what she was implying. She said in embarrassment, ¡°Thank you, senior brother Mu. Actually, I¡¯ve been curious to try what something so expensive would taste like. Let¡¯s get the Cloudmist tea!¡±

    The Cloudmist tea was the cheapest tea here. Naive, straightforward women were already rare, let alone those that were also kind-hearted and considerate. She seemed to possess both her mother and her father¡¯s merits. The more that they got to know her, the more they found her to be loveable and worth protecting.

    Mu Zhicong¡¯s gaze became softer. ¡°We¡¯ll drink whatever you want, Zijian.¡±

    Cheng Jiali¡¯s smile stiffened slightly, while the other two disciples looked at her in a somewhat mocking manner.

    Li Qingshan snickered inside. This was like a clash between a third-rate master and a powerful Qi Practitioner. Right off the bat, Cheng Jiali had suffered a crushing defeat.

    While Cheng Jiali possessed some beauty about her, she lacked the charm that could touch people. She was like a song that had been sung along all the rules and standards of singing. While there was nothing wrong with it, people could go without listening to it. However, the singing of certain people could touch the hearts of people.

    Just when Mu Zhicong wanted to tell the tea brewer their order, he was stopped by Li Qingshan. He grinned. ¡°We might come from a remote place, but we can still afford to drink some tea, right, Zijian?¡±

 Chapter 214 â€“ Lucky

    Mu Zhicong was displeased. Cheng Jiali immediately said, ¡°Fellow Niu, it¡¯s not easy for independent cultivators to earn spiritual stones. You should keep it for the pills that you need!¡± The other two disciples added to it as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware of my limits!¡± Li Qingshan said indifferently. I had to kill a bunch of Qi Practitioners just like you to earn what I have right now. It¡¯s true that it wasn¡¯t easy. However, that¡¯s no reason for me to let you lot look down on people from remote places. He did not mind being mocked a little, but he could not just watch them mock Yu Zijian.

    He said to the tea brewer, ¡°Uncle, give me a pot of your most expensive, uhh, Worriless tea!¡± Li Qingshan sat down at a tea table boldly, like he was extremely wealthy. He could not help it. He had several hundred spiritual stones on him, and he had a spiritual stone vein underground. He would be lying if he tried to pass himself off as poor.

    The tea brewer finally raised his head and studied Li Qingshan. There were not a lot of people who could afford to drink the Worriless in this town of Qi Practitioners. He said indifferently, ¡°Please wait!¡± He went about brewing the tea.

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain were all stunned. The Worriless tea was a famous tea of the Tranquil teahouse. A single pot came at an astronomical price of twenty-seven spiritual stones. If that was all converted into Qi Gathering pills, it would be enough for a Qi Practitioner to cultivate for a year or two. Even Mu Zhicong would be reluctant to buy a pot of Worriless tea. He smiled dryly. ¡°Fellow Niu, how generous of you!¡±

    Yu Zijian tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve and whispered to him to try and convince him otherwise, ¡°Niu Juxia, that¡¯s so expensive.¡±

    Li Qingshan patted the exquisitely sculpted stool beside him. ¡°It¡¯s for us, so what¡¯s there to worry about?¡±

    He was speaking from the bottom of his heart. Trying all the delicacies that the world had to offer was a part of his grand dream anyway. Although tea was unlikely to fall into that category, he wanted to try anything and everything that could fulfill the desires of the mouth and belly. Since he could not try all the teas in the world, he would try the best ones. Moreover, his principle when it came to unfamiliar people, particularly people he disliked, was to never owe them anything. How could he make others pay for his tea?

    Yu Zijian sat beside him. She could feel that Li Qingshan wanted to stand up for her, so she felt rather mixed inside.

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain all looked at Mu Zhicong. They were unsure whether to sit down or not. They also wanted to try the Worriless tea. Mu Zhicong thought, Since you want to impress us at your own cost, do whatever you want.

    Li Qingshan asked Yu Zijian about what she went through after she had been taken away.

    Out of joy, the Green Vine Elder decided to ask about her origins. If she was just some regular girl, she would have been left speechless already by the lofty sect halls and the dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    However, Yu Zijian pointed at Liu Fengrui and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t want to come, but he forced me to come.¡± She went into detail about how he had threatened her and how he tried to silence her as tears trickled down her cheeks.

    The children that Liu Fengrui had initially brought back from the Proud Sword manor were close with this young miss in the first place, so they began to miss their homes. For a moment, all of the children in the main hall burst into tears, turning the formal entry ceremony into something that was very awkward.

    The Green Vine Elder felt rather humiliated. He pointed at Liu Fengrui and scolded him. He said, ¡°If other people saw us, they would think that we abducted all of our disciples here!¡±

    Liu Fengrui begged and apologised for his behaviour. His personality was not very likeable even among his own seniors and juniors, so no one stood up for him. They all mocked him secretly.

    The Green Vine Elder turned around and left furiously. As a result, Yu Zijian turned her misfortune into a blessing. As a matter of fact, it could even be said that she had turned the tables.

    However, the Green Vine Elder did not let Yu Zijian leave, nor did he let her join the sect. As a result, she just remained behind cluelessly, becoming the only non-disciple on the mountain.

    Li Qingshan guessed that the Green Vine Elder definitely wanted Yu Zijian to join the Green Vine mountain, but he did not want to force her either. The Green Vine mountain accepted disciples, not enemies. Only someone as opinionated as Liu Fengrui would handle everything so coarsely.

    The disciples could all tell what the Green Vine Elder was thinking, so they purposefully approached Yu Zijian, trying to persuade her to just join the sect. Coupled with how likeable she was, she became familiar with everyone in under a month. Coupled with the protection of a group of suitors like Mu Zhicong, Liu Fengrui was actually unable to do anything to her despite being an inner disciple.

    ¡°The senior brothers and sisters all said that he¡¯s a bad person. They all told me to forget about him.¡±

    Mu Zhicong said awkwardly, ¡°Don¡¯t blabber, Zijian. Senior brother Liu was just a little rash. He¡¯s not a bad person.¡± Although he hated Liu Fengrui, he still had to preserve the dignity of his fellow seniors and juniors.

    Li Qingshan was truly speechless with what Yu Zijian had gone through. He could not help but sigh that some people were just luckier than others. This luck did not come in the form of a powerful clan, but a certain ability. It was an ability that smiled at the world. The world was like a mirror. If you smiled at it, it would smile back. People could not be born with this ability. Instead, it originated from being raised with the gentlest care and the best education.

    Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi were not so lucky. Both of them had developed a fierce personality from what they had gone through in life. They used the teeth and claws called ¡°cunning and resourcefulness¡± and ¡°courage and resoluteness¡± to fight in this world. Those were the strengths they relied on to live.

    Yu Zijian was neither resolute nor resourceful, and her cultivation was pitifully low. However, she was able to obtain an Innate pill from the little adult that was Hua Chenglu, and she was able to make Li Qingshan, who had a heart of steel, travel several hundred kilometers for her. This was her strength.

    At this moment, the tea brewer served up a pot of tea. The tea poured into the teacups was clear and colourless, just like water, but it gave off a refreshing fragrance.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Allow me to toast you with tea instead of alcohol. Thank you for taking care of Zijian.¡± He drank an entire cup, and the flow of heat directly reached his belly, expanding from there. It made him feel warm all over. The fragrance did not just linger in his mouth, but in his heart too.

    Being able to drink a cup of this on a cold, winter night was absolute bliss. With a cup down, he felt like all of his various distracting thoughts had been washed away. He felt languid. Both the tea leaves and water contained pure spiritual qi. It was even better than regular pills. His mind and body benefited tremendously.

    ¡°It truly is good tea!¡±

    Mu Zhicong and the others drank slowly instead. They were indescribably relaxed. Their arrogance had vanished when they looked at Li Qingshan now, and they were even more polite when they spoke, just like how they could not bite the hand that fed them. They were not shameless enough to continue mocking Li Qingshan.

    Cheng Jiali¡¯s gaze towards Li Qingshan became slightly gentler. She could tell that Li Qingshan was not a broke independent cultivator who wanted to impress them. Instead, he was truly a generous man who would not be troubled by a mere twenty or thirty spiritual stones. That was always a likeable feature to women.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°The tea truly lives up to its name of Worriless.¡±

    Only Mu Zhicong was unable to cheer up. Originally, he was the central figure of this group, but all of his attention and glory had been stolen from him by this brute with his pot of tea. He would never just relent like this. ¡°Fellow Niu, it is a bit of a waste of this tea with how you drink it.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°How so?¡±

    Mu Zhicong had been waiting for that. He smiled. He went on a ramble, going into the essence of tea ceremonies to display his great knowledge. Cheng Jiali and the others praised him quite a lot.

    The two bumpkins, Li Qingshan and Yu Zijian, held their teacups and listened in as they drank.

    When Mu Zhicong finished his speech and wanted to moisten his mouth with some tea, he discovered that Li Qingshan and Yu Zijian had already ¡®wasted¡¯ away all of the tea. He immediately became stunned.

    Yu Zijian said in admiration, ¡°You know so much, senior brother Mu.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I think you¡¯ve enlightened me too.¡±

    Yu Zijian had been drinking in small, short sips, but Li Qingshan actually drank like an ox, tipping cup after cup into his belly. You¡¯re drinking my tea, yet you still have so much nonsense to spout. You might as well not drink it.

    Cheng Jiali and the other two were glad that they had been fast. They did not forget to drink tea as they listened on. They managed to steal a few cups from Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth, which saved them half a month¡¯s worth of cultivation. The spiritual tea was unlike regular tea, where several pots could be made from the same leaves. The tea brewer used special techniques to extract all of the flavour of the tea leaves into the spiritual water so that none of it went to waste. As a result, there was only a single pot.

    Yu Zijian rubbed her belly. ¡°How warm!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Exactly.¡±

    The two of them looked at each other and smiled. All Yu Zijian noticed was that the whites and pupils of Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes seemed so clear-cut. His gaze was no longer as sharp as when she first saw him. Instead, it seemed calm and clear, like he had gone from a vicious tiger to a gentle ox. He seemed much gentler.

    She suddenly found that it was even more difficult to maintain eye contact with a gaze like that than the sharp gaze from the other day. Her eyes avoided him, and she lowered her head.

    Mu Zhicong felt like everything he had said earlier had been pointless. He ground his teeth. ¡°Fellow Niu, do you understand just how profound tea culture and tea ceremony can be now?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a coarse, unsophisticated man. I can¡¯t remember that much.¡± Then he turned towards Yu Zijian. ¡°What do you think, Zijian? Do you want to go back with me?¡±

    Before Yu Zijian could even answer him, Mu Zhicong said resolutely, ¡°She can¡¯t. Without master¡¯s permission, Zijian can¡¯t leave the Green Vine mountain.¡±

    Cheng Jiali tried to persuade him softly. ¡°Senior brother.¡± She only wished for Yu Zijian to be further away, but when two men began to fight over something, it would not just be about who it ended up with in the end. It was about their pride as well. They could not be easily persuaded by others.

    Li Qingshan did not look at Mu Zhicong. He only asked Yu Zijian, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Yu Zijian immediately became uncertain. The disciples of the Green Vine mountain had taken great care of her during these days. If she just left like this, she felt like she was letting down their kindness, and it would probably make things difficult for Niu Juxia.

    ¡°Think it through. Don¡¯t worry about anything else. Go with what you want. I believe the Green Vine Elder is a great, understanding, and reasonable senior. Don¡¯t forget about the way I taught you to handle decisions.¡± Li Qingshan could understand what she was feeling. He patted her shoulder and ignored Mu Zhicong¡¯s ugly expression. He stood up and arrived before the tea brewer to pay the bill, but just as he fished out twenty-seven spiritual stones, the tea brewer asked him a question.

 Chapter 215 â€“ Ice Condensate Water

    Mu Zhicong laughed aloud. ¡°It¡¯s not just like ox munching on peony. Everything I said was useless, like playing the zither to an ox! I¡¯m just kidding. I hope you don¡¯t mind, fellow Niu.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled indifferently. ¡°The tea was good tea, but the water was so-so. Zijian, you need to make friends like that. You have to choose good water, or it¡¯ll ruin the famous tea.¡±

    Yu Zijian agreed softly, while Mu Zhicong¡¯s expression changed.

    The tea brewer said irately, ¡°Kid, you have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, yet you just have to act like you do and blabber away. I retrieved the water from the Sky spiritual spring of Sky mountain.¡±

    Mu Zhicong said, ¡°Fellow Niu, you haven¡¯t heard of the Sky spiritual spring before, have you? It¡¯s ranked ninety-seventh within the Spiritual Springs guide of the Green province.¡±

    The ranking was not particularly high, but making it within the top hundred across all fifteen thousand kilometers of the Green province was already very outstanding. The ninety-six spiritual springs that ranked ahead of it were all claimed by various large sects. The springwater they had was not something a mere independent cultivator could taste.

    The tea brewer fumed. ¡°You sure know a bit. You really do come from the Green Vine mountain after¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him. ¡°So what?¡±

    The tea brewer said, ¡°So what? If you can take out better water, you can count that jug of tea on me. Otherwise¡­¡± His aura radiated out. He was actually at the seventh layer.

    Yu Zijian said in a hurry, ¡°Please calm down, senior. My friend was just¡­¡±

    Li Qignshan stopped her and smiled. ¡°With how many springs the world has to offer, a single guide probably can¡¯t include all of them. Since senior wants to invite us to some free tea, I might as well oblige.¡± He took out a jar of water from his hundred treasures pouch and presented it before the tea brewer.

    This came from a spiritual spring that Li Qingshan had discovered underground when he followed the spiritual river to its source. The water was sweet and icy, enough to quench the thirst of the very hearts of people. Although he lacked a single inkling about tea, he could feel that the spiritual qi in the water was much more abundant than that Sky spring water or whatever it was called.

    The sources of most of the spiritual springs in the world were extremely deep underground. As they flowed to the surface, their spiritual qi would disperse, and the quality of the water would drop. However, just how many people in the world could venture so deep underground? And, how many people were willing to venture deep into that dangerous world just for the sake of some water so that they could brew some tea?

    The jar was just a regular old jar. Mu Zhicong watched on, ready to see Li Qingshan make a fool of himself, while Yu Zijian was concerned for him.

    The tea brewer opened the jar casually and peered inside. His furious sneer suddenly stiffened. ¡°T- this water?¡± A layer of white mist appeared on the surface of the water, and a film of perspiration had already formed on the jar the moment it was taken out.

    Mu Zhicong walked over impatiently. ¡°How¡¯s the water?¡± He became stunned as well. The spiritual qi the water gave off actually rivalled quite a few pills.

    The tea brewer used an exquisite, bronze ladle to drink some, and he shivered. The water seemed to be even colder than ice. He was still in disbelief, so he scooped a ladle of his own water and placed it in the jar. Before long, the water in the ladle had actually frozen.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be wrong, it can¡¯t be wrong! This is Ice Condensate water!¡±

    Li Qingshan never thought the water he had retrieved from the underground spring would actually be capable of this either. ¡°How is it? Is it better than your water?¡±

    The tea brewer was defeated. ¡°It¡¯s Ice Condensate water, ranked fifty-second. Of course it¡¯s better than Sky spring water. I¡¯ve misjudged you. I never thought that you, sir, would have managed to make it into the Icehorse palace!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of some Icehorse palace before. As I¡¯ve said before, it¡¯s impossible for a single guide to include all the springs the world has to offer. I must thank you for your treat then, senior.¡± Li Qingshan was about to stow the jar away as he said that.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The tea brewer stopped Li Qingshan in a hurry.

    ¡°What, do you plan on changing your mind?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pot of tea. I can afford that. I¡¯m Lu Ziyu. How many spiritual stones would you like for this jar of water?¡± Lu Ziyu¡¯s eyes shone as he looked at Li Qingshan eagerly, or more specifically, the jar of Ice Condensate water he held.

    The disciples from the Green Vine mountains struggled to believe what had just happened. This Niu Juxia had actually managed to take out water that surpassed the Sky spring water, and not only would the extravagant pot of tea cost him nothing, but he was even in for a profit.

    Mu Zhicong said in surprise, ¡°Are you perhaps senior Lu?¡±

    Although Lu Ziyu¡¯s cultivation was not exactly powerful, he was skilled with tea. He was rather renowned among Qi Practitioners. It was said that he had once brewed tea for quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators, who treated him as an esteemed guest. They never thought he would actually appear here, in charge of this Tranquil teahouse.

    Lu Ziyu nodded in a reserved manner.

    Mu Zhicong refused to relent. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Ice Condensate water is suited for forging artifacts, but I¡¯ve never heard that it¡¯s suited for brewing tea.¡±

    Lu Ziyu said, ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re ignorant! Ice Condensate water has an extremely low temperature, so regular people believe that it¡¯s unsuited for brewing tea. However, little do they know that the only way to unleash the very limits of flavour in tea is to combine ice and fire, but it requires the brewer to possess extremely great mastery.¡± He was obviously a brewer who possessed extremely great mastery. Now that he had suddenly come across such fantastic water, he would never let this opportunity slip.

    Mu Zhicong¡¯s face darkened and reddened, but he was no longer able to say anything.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Please give me an offer, senior!¡±

    Lu Ziyu said, ¡°Thirty spiritual stones.¡±

    Cheng Jiali cried out slightly. This jar of water was actually worth even more than the pot of tea from earlier. Thirty spiritual stones was a huge sum to a weaker Qi Practitioner like her.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I think senior isn¡¯t one to rip me off with your moral character. Then thirty spiritual stones it is!¡±

    Lu Ziyu never expected that Li Qingshan would not even try bargaining with him. He secretly rejoiced and stroked his beard while nodding. ¡°This kid is promising!¡±

    ¡°But, I do have a small request!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Please use this water to brew me a pot of Worriless tea, senior!¡±

    Lu Ziyu¡¯s eyes widened as he shot him a furious glance. ¡°Don¡¯t get too greedy, kid!¡± That would cost him his water and his tea leaves. A pot of Worriless tea made with the Ice Condensate water would be worth fifty spiritual stones at the very least.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll come clean, senior. I have more than just the jar on me.¡± He paused slightly. ¡°I also want to witness senior¡¯s profound understanding of tea. If you won¡¯t agree, I¡¯ll have to keep the water for myself to drink then.¡± He sighed, about to stow the water away.

    ¡°Wait! I¡¯m itching to try my skills today, so I¡¯ll satisfy that small request of yours,¡± Lu Ziyu agreed with gritted teeth. If he only looked at his expenses, the price was barely acceptable.

    He could understand what Li Qingshan was implying. Not only was there a jar of water, but he even seemed to know where the spring was located as well. If he could supply him with Ice Condensate water in the long term, it would definitely bring great benefit to his path of tea.

    Lu Ziyu got brewing eagerly. Every single movement of his was refined and elegant. He did not use an open flame, heating the teapot in his hand instead. He used his true qi to brew the tea, controlling the heat with great precision. He could see nothing else apart from the teapot.

    A while later, Lu Ziyu exhaled gently and opened the teapot lid. A strange fragrance rose up and permeated the surroundings. It was much stronger than the Worriless tea from earlier. The customers behind the curtains suddenly stopped what they were doing and looked over.

    A few Qi Practitioners on the street stopped and sniffed gently. ¡°What is this smell? It¡¯s so fragrant!¡±

 Chapter 216 â€“ Testing for the Five Elements

    Lu Ziyu lifted up the jar of Ice Condensate water without any regard for anything else. ¡°If you have more, you have to deliver it to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed to him carelessly and indifferently before leaving through the door. He never thought that the water he had found underground could fetch such a great price. He was still a beginner when it came to exploiting the resources from underground.

    ¡°Old man Lu, why have you been hiding such great tea from us?¡± A man lifted the curtain and called out.

    ¡°Coming up!¡± Lu Ziyu removed the bamboo sign from the wall and brushed past it with his hand, increasing the price by twenty spiritual stones.

    ¡°Zijian, are there any places that sell cultivation methods here?¡± Li Qingshan could see how Yu Zijian still had to give some thought to the matter. He was in no hurry either. It was rare of him to come across a market that specially served cultivators, so he obviously had to stroll around and buy some things he needed.

    Mu Zhicong and the others became even more certain of his identity as an independent cultivator. Only independent cultivators would have to buy cultivation methods. Yu Zijian was troubled. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure¡­¡±

    Mu Zhicong said, ¡°There¡¯s a store on the corner up ahead. Fellow Niu, it¡¯s quite late now, so we need to return to the Green Vine mountain. We¡¯ll have to bid farewell to you here!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Zijian, consider it carefully. I¡¯ll probably stay for a few more days here. If you¡¯ve made up your mind, just come down and let me know,¡± Li Qingshan said happily. Since Yu Zijian was safe and sound, there was no reason for him to worry now. Even if she decided to join the Green Vine mountain, there was nothing wrong with that. However, he was almost about to fall out with Mu Zhicong, so there was no point in sticking around them any longer.

    Mu Zhicong was rather surprised by how willing Li Qingshan was to part with them. For a moment, he was left at a loss as to whether he was actually interested in Yu Zijian or not.

    Unbeknownst to him, Li Qingshan¡¯s ambitions were beyond the Nine Heavens. While he would still be interested when he saw cute and pretty women, such that he would adore them and develop a desire to protect them, he would never become too involved with matters between men and women. He would just go with the flow.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Thank you, Niu Juxia. I¡¯ve already made up my mind.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Really? It¡¯s rare of you to be so resolute. Are you staying or leaving?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided I want to go to the Academy of the Hundred Schools,¡± Yu Zijian said calmly, which was quite a contrast to her usual indecisiveness.

    Mu Zhicong¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Zijian, you have to think about it carefully. Our Green Vine mountain is no worse than any of the schools that the Academy of the Hundred Schools has to offer¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan clapped his hands and praised, ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s not like you¡¯re a disciple of the Green Vine mountain anyway. You can leave with me right now!¡±

    Mu Zhicong became frantic. ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it! Without my master¡¯s permission¡­¡±

    Yu Zijian shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving right now. Chenglu has received my letter, so she¡¯ll definitely come looking for me. If I leave right now, I¡¯ll basically be standing her up. And I can¡¯t just leave like this!¡±

    ¡°It has already been a month. That friend of yours might not necessarily come.¡± Li Qingshan expressed his doubt over the friendship between the two young girls.

    ¡°Chenglu will definitely come.¡± Yu Zijian was extremely certain.

    ¡°Hopefully she won¡¯t let down the trust you¡¯ve vested in her, or it¡¯ll be her loss.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Who said the meek could not persevere? Being able to trust was an impressive ability as well. If Hua Chenglu really did come and resolved this issue in a legitimate manner, it would obviously be for the best.

    ¡°I¡¯m still going to stay here for a few days. If you change your mind, come down the mountain and find me!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Mu Zhicong. It probably would be rather difficult for her to leave the mountain by then. It was impossible for him to charge up the Green Vine mountain either and face a Foundation Establishment cultivator as well, trying to save some damsel in distress. Everyone had to bear the responsibilities of their choices. Even kind-hearted, cute girls had to understand that.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands and left. Yu Zijian watched on as his huge figure merged into the crowd. She said extremely softly, ¡°Thank you.¡± She thanked him for respecting her decision.

    Li Qingshan took out the pot of Worriless tea from his hundred treasures pouch and shoved it into the bamboo basket on his back. A tender, white hand accepted it.

    Xiao An leaned against the pillow leisurely with a leg crossed over the other. She held a buddhist scripture in one hand and the purple sand teapot in the other, drinking straight from the spout as she read.

    Li Qingshan was slightly relieved as well. At the end of the day, he still disliked handling these random people. He was a tiger who strolled through the forest. He had already grown accustomed to moving alone.

    As he strolled through the streets, he saw stalls and stores on the two sides filled with a dazzling variety of items. Not only were there regular spiritual artifacts and pills, but there were also fragments of secret books and manuals left behind by some great cultivator, or treasure maps leading to some mysterious dwelling.

    Most of it was just trash, but it might actually hide treasure from time to time, which would be obtained by someone lucky, allowing them to rise up. This kind of story urged on every Qi Practitioner. However, those who wanted to find treasure here required either extremely great insight or luck.

    Insight obviously was not Li Qingshan¡¯s forte. He really was a bumpkin in the cultivation world. He did not like to rely on luck either. He skimmed through everything quickly before arriving at the bookstore that Mu Zhicong had mentioned. He was eager.

    What he needed the most right now was a method of practising qi. He never thought he would find a place like that here. Good people really were rewarded for their efforts!

    There were two large words written on the simple, blackboard¡ªBook Mountain.

    When he entered, he basically wondered if he had entered another teahouse, as there were no bookshelves or books in there at all. The only book happened to be in the shopkeeper¡¯s withered hands.

    An old man currently sat in a rocking chair with a pot of tea on the small table to his side. He turned the page before placing the book down and asking slowly, ¡°What kind of book are you looking for, sir?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Uncle, I want to buy a cultivation method. Do you have any here?¡±

    The old man smiled. ¡°If I didn¡¯t, why would I still be running this store?¡± He fished out a scroll of bamboo slips from his hundred treasures pouch and tossed it to Li Qingshan. ¡°The cultivation methods are all on there. Take your time!¡± Afterwards, he returned to his book.

    Li Qingshan unfurled the bamboo slips doubtfully and channeled his true qi into it. A few inky words naturally appeared on the jade slips. ¡°Body Practitioner, Qi Practitioner.¡± He tried focusing on Qi Practitioner, and the ink seemed to dissolve. It condensed together into seven new words. ¡°Yin, Yang, Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth.¡±

    He chose fire carelessly, and over a dozen cultivation methods appeared, and that was only the first page. In total, there were probably a hundred of them. Apart from the Bing Fire Method of Burning Qi, he had not heard any of them before.

    After choosing the Bing Fire Method of Burning Qi, various types of information appeared on the bamboo slips regarding the cultivation method, from the ease of cultivation to how effective it was in combat. It covered everything. Even someone as inexperienced as Li Qingshan could basically guess the advantages and disadvantages of this cultivation method.

    The scroll of bamboo slips contained the entire catalogue of cultivation methods available at this store. No wonder there were no books around.

    Li Qingshan sought guidance with an open mind. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m an independent cultivator. I don¡¯t know what cultivation method suits me. Could you give me a recommendation?¡±

    The old man smiled. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on what suits your constitution. Do you know your element?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, but I think I¡¯m water.¡±

    The old man said, ¡°I can check your constitution for you for one spiritual stone. Would you like to get it checked?¡±

    Li Qingshan happily coughed up a spiritual stone. The old man fished out a scroll from his hundred treasures pouch and unfurled it. It was inscribed with many profound glyphs. The twisted, winding lines created a simple formation.

    The old man shook his hand conveniently, and the scroll became seven feet in length and width. He spread it out on the ground. ¡°Sit on there and focus your mind.¡±

    Li Qingshan placed down the bamboo basket gently before sitting at the centre of the formation. He closed his eyes and focused his mind.

    ¡°Let¡¯s test for yin and yang first!¡± The old man touched the scroll, and the formation immediately lit up, illuminating Li Qingshan. An extremely small shadow appeared above his head.

    The old man shook his head. ¡°Fellow, you¡¯re just naturally unsuited for any yin element cultivation methods. It¡¯ll be extremely difficult for you to condense Profound Yin true qi. But don¡¯t worry. From your physique and face, I can tell that you fall into the category of yang.¡±

    It was very late already, but the streets were still full. Suddenly, the bookstore lit up with dazzling light. The passersby covered their eyes and cried out, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Is this the birth of some treasure?¡±

    A Qi Practitioner squinted his eyes and looked at the bookstore. ¡°You all know nothing. They¡¯re testing for the yin and yang element.¡±

    ¡°What? When I was tested in the past, the light was only the size of a fist.¡±

    A few Qi Practitioners entered the bookstore and saw a head-sized ball of scorching, white light above Li Qingshan.

    The old man praised, ¡°You possess extremely great talent for the path of Profound Yang. Cultivating Profound Yang true qi will definitely yield quick results for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What recommendations do you have then, uncle?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret. Let¡¯s test the five elements now! Although cultivation methods derived from yin and yang span everything, they¡¯re quite difficult to practise. They need guidance from masters. I wouldn¡¯t recommend it to independent cultivators.¡±

    As the old man said that, he tested for Li Qingshan¡¯s five elements.

    When he tested for wood, only a tiny blade of grass appeared above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The old man shook his head. This is even worse than regular Qi Practitioners.

    When he tested for metal, a tiny sword appeared above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. Only then did the old man nod.

    When he tested for earth, a boulder appeared above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The old man¡¯s eyes lit up, and he nodded even more. His earth element even surpasses his yang element. The Wu Earth Method of Unyielding Qi will do.

    When he tested for fire, a small ball of flames appeared above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The old man sighed in pity secretly. His fire element is extremely mediocre as well. If it were as great as his earth element, then he could practise both the yang and fire elements. The True Yang Method of Scorching Fire would basically be made for him. However, he was also slightly perplexed. Normally, people with a powerful yang element would have quite a strong fire element as well.

    Perhaps? The old man immediately thought of how the five elements promoted and counteracted each other. Water and fire counteracted one another, just like yin and yang. If one was strong, then the other would be weak. With that being the case, this child¡¯s water element should have been pretty impressive.

    Because Li Qingshan felt like he was oriented towards the water element, the old man tested for the water element last.

 Chapter 217 â€“ Choosing a Cultivation Method

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes and thought nothing. He seemed to have returned to the black water again, during those three days and nights he chased the blackwater salamander.

    His heart was like water. Before him, behind him, to the left and to the right, everything was flowing water.

    Ebbs of realistic waves rapidly gushed into the surroundings. The Qi Practitioners in the store all retreated subconsciously and circulated their true qi to protect themselves. Only when the wave passed through them did they discover that it was just an illusion composed of blue light.

    The waves even rushed out of the store and onto the streets. The passing Qi Practitioners were all dumbstruck as they looked at one another in shock.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? How can such a powerful illusion appear when testing for the five elements?¡±

    ¡°Who knows how many talented prodigies there are in the world that you and I can only be envious of. Let¡¯s stop wasting time. Let¡¯s buy our pills and get ready for seclusion. We have to stand out in the Herb Gathering ceremony this time.¡± The Qi Practitioner by his side glanced at the bookshelf again before pulling away his companion.

    The old man said slowly, ¡°You can stand up now, fellow cultivator.¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and asked politely, ¡°How¡¯s it, uncle? Which cultivation method suits me?¡±

    To cultivators, picking a suitable cultivation method was basically ten times more important than a regular person picking a suitable wife. If a regular person married the wrong wife, they could divorce, and if that did not work, they just had to endure a few decades at most. However, if a cultivator chose the wrong cultivation method, that could potentially cost them a few hundred years of additional life, or it could cost them their lives in battle.

    Li Qingshan was extremely careful about this too. His knowledge was lacking, so he obviously had to ask a professional.

    The old man stowed the scroll away slowly and said, ¡°I¡¯ve tested numerous constitutions for independent cultivators across all these years, but there have only been a handful who have demonstrated the same amount of talent as you! If you choose to cultivate Gui Water true qi, you¡¯ll definitely make rapid progress, and the water elemented techniques you use will be much more powerful than others too!¡±

    Li Qingshan knew that he was not some outstanding prodigy. It was probably due to the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. When he practised the ability of a daemon, he seemed to gain the nature of the corresponding daemon. The spirit turtle was a divine beast of the water that could control the ocean as easily as a child playing in a bathtub.

    No one would believe him if he told them. Apart from a select few spiritual herbs, never had they heard that practising a certain cultivation method could alter someone¡¯s talent. Talent was something bestowed to a person by the heavens Although hard work could make up for a lack of talent, it could not increase talent. However, the abilities that the black ox had taught Li Qingshan had completely changed his body and race. In comparison, talent only seemed insignificant.

    ¡°I only know of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi out of the water cultivation methods. Do you have any better cultivation methods to recommend, uncle?¡± Everyone wanted an ultimate cultivation method that was stronger than the generic one.

    Thoughts flickered through the old man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Actually, with your talent, joining a sect or finding a master that specialises in Gui Water true qi won¡¯t be difficult at all. You don¡¯t have to buy a cultivation method from me. For example, one of the schools in the Academy of the Hundred Schools specially requires their disciples to practise Gui Water true qi. I just happen to know the leader of the school¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan said in admiration, ¡°You truly are a wise and kind man, uncle, an intellectual I say. However, I¡¯m used to my freedom. I don¡¯t want to be tied down.¡± He lowered his head and studied the scroll of bamboo slips again. With a thought, various water elemented cultivation methods were listed before him.

    These cultivation methods were not too expensive. Even the more expensive ones were just a few dozen spiritual stones, while the cheaper ones went for around just a dozen or so spiritual stones. The spiritual stones he had earned from selling the water earlier were enough for him to buy a copy of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi.

    Qi Practitioners were still at the primary stage of the cultivation world after all. The cultivation methods for practising qi were not some divine arts or secret manuals. They obviously would not be excessively expensive. And, to someone who had grown rich overnight like Li Qingshan, he did not find a few dozen spiritual stones to be particularly expensive. Who knows just how many years regular independent cultivators needed in order to save up that much.

    There were a few other prices on all of the cultivation methods, breaking them up into sections. For example, the first three layers of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi only cost five spiritual stones.

    The Qi Practitioners in the store looked at one another and whispered among themselves.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let me think about it. You can take a look first!¡± The old man looked down, as if he was disappointed by how Li Qingshan insisted on buying his cultivation methods. However, he seemed to ease up as well. He stroked his beard in thought. A fine piece of jade like him would have a limitless future awaiting him with the correct cultivation method.

    Li Qingshan was wealthy, so he immediately looked at the most expensive one. Although the priciest would not always be the best, it would never be too bad either.

    ¡°Arts of the Boundless Ocean. One hundred and ten spiritual stones. High demand on talent. Must conjure waves at the very least when testing for the five elements, and it is extremely difficult to practise. However, upon success, the true qi becomes fierce like the tide, utterly boundless.¡±

    However, it was labelled as incomplete at the end, but even though it was incomplete, it could still be practised until mid Foundation Establishment. This cultivation method was not longer just a method for practising qi, which was why it was so expansive. No, it was a steal at this price.

    Li Qingshan thought, If I practise the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as a daemon and the Arts of the Boundless Ocean as a human, it¡¯ll be a perfect combination!

    ¡°Uncle, what do you think about practising the Arts of the Boundless Ocean?¡±

    ¡°The Arts of the Boundless Ocean was originally a core cultivation method of the Ocean sect. Upon reaching the ninth layer, it can condense an Ocean pearl within your body, which is akin to the golden cores of daoism and the ?ar¨©ras of buddhism¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone even brighter. People who made it past the second heavenly tribulation were basically great masters in this world. Perhaps they could not run wild, but they could at least run around freely. He never thought he would come across a cultivation method like that in a tiny bookstore like this one. This kind of luck was like buying a divine artifact from a stall, or finding a divine beast by the side of the road.

    ¡°However, I wouldn¡¯t recommend you to practise this cultivation method.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Why?¡± Even though it was incomplete, he could find ways to assemble the whole cultivation method. Once he reached Foundation Establishment, he would definitely become even stronger with his daemon cultivation. He refused to believe he could not get his hands on the second half of this cultivation method, whether he had to steal secretly or openly rob.

    The old man seemed to read Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts. He sighed. ¡°The Ocean sect was annihilated from the cultivation world a millennium ago. Otherwise, why would I be bold enough to sell the secret manual of another sect?¡±

    ¡°Annihilated? Why was it destroyed?¡±

    ¡°Instead of saying that it was destroyed, you might as well say that they failed to recruit suitable disciples, and their legacy was broken. The person who sold me this half of the cultivation method was a descendant of the sect. Even he did not have the talent to practise this cultivation method, nor did he know where the other half of it was. I¡¯ve specially investigated this over the years, but I¡¯ve found nothing. Otherwise, this book would be worth more than ten times its current price.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately became disappointed. Even the old man who specially sold books said that, then wouldn¡¯t it be like trying to find a needle in a haystack if he tried searching for it? However, he was still hopeful. ¡°Perhaps I can try with this incomplete cultivation method first. When I reach Foundation Establishment, I can just switch to another cultivation method.¡± The power of the cultivation method truly interested him.

    At his moment, a middle-aged man in vermillion robes with rosy cheeks among the Qi Practitioners said, ¡°Sir, you may not know, but even if we ignore how difficult it is to reach Foundation Establishment, stronger cultivation methods result in more unique true qi. When that really happens, it¡¯ll be difficult for you to switch to other cultivation methods.¡±

    Li Qingshan was no fool. He immediately understood what he was trying to say. They were all water, whether it was water from the ocean or water from the clouds, but just like how a tree had many branches, the further up they were, the further they were from each other. Trying to leap from a branch to another would become more and more difficult as a result. It was just like how it was all Profound Yin true qi, but if the grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain wanted to learn corpse refining techniques, they would basically be asking for trouble.

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder. May I ask for your esteemed name?¡±

    The rosy-cheeked man said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say my name is esteemed in any way. You should pick your cultivation method first. I just want to invite you to some alcohol later. I hope you can accept my offer.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. The old man said the same, ¡°Exactly, and the more profound a cultivation method is, the greater the need you have for the guidance of a senior. You don¡¯t seem to be someone who lacks spiritual stones. I have a recommendation.¡± The old man took the catalogue from Li Qingshan¡¯s hands and chose a cultivation method for him.

    Li Qingshan looked at it and could not help but smile bitterly. It was actually still the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, but at a closer glance, it was actually priced at ninety-five spiritual stones, more than three times the price of the regular Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. It was labelled with ¡°Complete with Comprehensions¡±. He could not help but raise his head and look at the old man.

    The old man said, ¡°The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi has been improved and modified by countless people. It¡¯s basically the orthodox cultivation method. Not only is it easy to practise, but the Gui Water true qi it produces is the most balanced and mild too. If you can cultivate this to a high level, you can basically switch to any high level water cultivation method with that as a foundation.¡±

    ¡°And, you¡¯re an independent cultivator, so you don¡¯t have the guidance of a master, so that¡¯s like a natural disadvantage. This Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi is recorded with the cultivation experiences and understandings of many cultivators. It¡¯ll definitely be of great help to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. As it turned out, not only was it a cultivation method, but it also included notes for cultivation. Walking down a beaten path was obviously much easier than finding your own. It was also much safer. And, the old man considered very far into the future too. If Li Qingshan could reach the highest level of this cultivation method, he would not be restricted to this tiny store anymore. There was a chance for him to come across even more high level cultivation methods.

    ¡°Though, this price is just a little too high.¡±

    The rosy-cheeked man agreed, ¡°Yeah. Who would ever buy a cultivation method so expensive?¡± Even if he and his companions poured their funds together, they could not gather so many spiritual stones.

    The old man smiled. ¡°Knowledge is priceless, right? And, the cultivation method comes with seven additional water elemented techniques compared to the regular Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. They¡¯re extremely useful, whether it be for gathering herbs or fighting against others.¡±

 Chapter 218 â€“ The Book of All

    The rosy-cheeked man shook his head. ¡°Learning too many techniques will instead serve as a distraction. It¡¯s not beneficial for cultivation.¡±

    The old man said, ¡°That¡¯s true for regular people, but with this fellow¡¯s talent for water cultivation, it¡¯ll be much easier for him to grasp these techniques than regular people. Of course, that¡¯ll depend on his choice. I also have a version without these techniques for only sixty spiritual stones. If you don¡¯t want the notes, just thirty spiritual stones will be enough.¡±

    The rosy-cheeked man immediately stopped talking. Geniuses truly could not be compared with ordinary people.

    After a while of thought, Li Qingshan made up his mind. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take this one them. I¡¯m buying it!¡±

    He immediately counted out ninety-five spiritual stones and handed it to the old man. It was not like he lacked spiritual stones, and the cultivation method directly affected his future developments. There was no need for him to be stingy over something like this.

    The rosy-cheeked man and his companions were stunned. He had coughed up almost a hundred spiritual stones like it was nothing. His reaction was nothing like an independent cultivator¡¯s. No, even for disciples of sects, rarely were there any who could spend so extravagantly. His gaze towards Li Qingshan became even more enthusiastic. He was determined to become acquainted with him now.

    The old man smiled as well. He took out a jade slip from his hundred treasures pouch and gave it to Li Qingshan. All shopkeepers liked straightforward customers. All the time and effort he spent on explaining everything had not gone to waste.

    The jade slip was white with a hint of yellow. There were many complicated glyphs on it. Even though it was just a single slip, it felt rather hefty in his hand.

    Li Qingshan tried focusing his mind on it, and the mental cultivation method for all ten layers of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi appeared, corresponding to the ten layers of Qi Practitioner.

    Among them, the first layer laid a foundation for people who directly practised the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. The contents were almost like a simplified version of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. The actual cultivation method laid within the latter nine layers, which corresponded to the eight extraordinary meridians and twelve standard meridians of the human body.

    He skimmed through it quickly. The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi was truly much more complicated than the Innate Method of Practising Qi. His power of understanding was average, and he was not particularly educated either. Without these notes, it really would be rather difficult for him to comprehend the mysteries it dictated. He had made the correct decision.

    ¡°You¡¯re far too polite, sir.¡± The old man was extremely satisfied as well. He thought of something. ¡°Not only does my store have cultivation methods, but it also has various other books and collections. I even have a few mental maps. You definitely should take a look. If you plan on going travelling or adventuring, you¡¯ll need a mental map.¡±

    With his future cultivation method chosen, Li Qingshan¡¯s mind settled down as well. He could think about other matters now. After hearing the old man¡¯s words, he asked, ¡°Do you have a mental map of the Green province?¡±

    The old man was slightly surprised. He smiled. ¡°You sure are ambitious, aren¡¯t you? I only have a map of the Clear River city here. These are normally enough for Qi Practitioners. Qi Practitioners normally don¡¯t need such large mental maps.¡±

    ¡°Since you don¡¯t have it, forget about it then.¡± Li Qingshan wanted to ask around to find out how much the mental map that Gu Yanying had given him was worth so that he could have an idea about how much he would have to pay back. He did not like owing anyone anything, no matter what it was.

    The old man said in a hurry, ¡°If you need a larger one, you can stick around for a few days. I can find a way to get my hands on a mental map of the Ruyi commandery, but the price¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that.¡± He had already thought it through; that entire matter might have been of no importance at all to Gu Yangying. She had probably forgotten all about it by now. Even if he wanted to return the favour, was he supposed to pay her back in spiritual stones? He would only be looked down upon if he did that.

    Thinking back to it now, Gu Yanying had specially handed a bag of spiritual stones to Wang Pushi outside Qingyang city. That definitely was not a bag of inferior spiritual stones. It was something that managed to make a Foundation Establishment cultivator extremely excited, such that they were even afraid of accepting. It was probably worth much more than everything Li Qingshan had on him right now.

    However, there would be a day when he would stand before her. In the eyes of regular cultivators, this was a distant objective beyond their reach, but he did not feel discouraged at all. Instead, it filled him with ambition.

    At the very least, he had taken another firm step forward. Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m still inexperienced, so I don¡¯t know much about the matters regarding cultivation, such as some rankings about spiritual springs. Do you have any books that specially cover this area of knowledge so that independent cultivators can patch up what they know?¡±

    Li Qingshan realised that he had a severe lack of understanding in this area through the time he had spent here so far. The Spiritual Springs guide was just an example of lesser significance. Out of all the spiritual herbs underground, he could not even recognise any of them. He did not even know their value, or how to use them. He obviously had to make up for this aspect properly now that such a good opportunity was presented before him.

    The old man smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right person for that.¡±

    He took out another scroll of bamboo slips and passed it to Li Qingshan. It was also a catalogue. Apart from the Spiritual Springs guide, there was a Spiritual Artifacts guide, as well as a Daemons and Beasts guide, which truly enlightened Li Qingshan. One of them was a book that recorded the appearances and effects of spiritual herbs called the Classic of Herbal Medicines, which was what Li Qingshan needed desperately. To him, the importance of this knowledge was no less than a cultivation method.

    However, these books were even more diverse than cultivation methods. Just the books that detailed spiritual herbs numbered in the dozens. Each book was by a different author, and some of them even had conflicting information.

    ¡°What would you recommend, uncle? I¡¯m looking for a complete collection or an encyclopedia.¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan spent almost another hundred spiritual stones to purchase a jade slip. The name of the jade slip was the Book of All.

    Apart from introducing various spiritual herbs and spiritual artifacts, the book also recorded knowledge regarding culture and geography, the detailed history of the Great Xia empire, the information of various famous people and stories, and even miscellaneous gossip like rankings of beauties. It truly contained everything.

    With a book in hand, Li Qingshan felt like his future had only become clearer and clearer.

    The other Qi Practitioners became even more shocked. The rosy-cheeked man said, ¡°What extravagance, sir!¡± He had managed to cough up two hundred spiritual stones without even being fazed. Was he really an independent cultivator?

    The old man¡¯s smile grew even wider. It was not often that he would have such a great transaction. As it seemed, coming to the Green Vine mountain really had been the right decision. ¡°Is there anything else you require, sir? Though, I really can¡¯t think of anything else I could sell to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Do you have any books on the classics and scriptures of buddhism?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± The old man immediately pulled out a jade slip from his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°This book is called the Canon Depositary. It¡¯s a compilation of all the buddhist scriptures and classics in the world, compiled by the masters of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. I¡¯ll give it to you for free!¡±

    ¡°Thank you then, uncle!¡± Li Qingshan accepted the jade slip and was about to take his leave. The old man suddenly grabbed Li Qingshan by his sleeve and shoved a paper book into his hand.

    Li Qingshan wanted to say something, but the old man cut him off, ¡°Don¡¯t ask anything. Look at it once you get back!¡± His expression was slightly unnatural.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he stowed the book into his hundred treasures pouch.

 Chapter 219 â€“ Treaty of Kings

    Li Qingshan ignored the curious gazes of the Qi Practitioners. All he asked was, ¡°What are you looking for? Please let me know!¡±

    The rosy-cheeked man was clever enough to not ask too much. He waved his hand in a generous manner. ¡°Here¡¯s not a place to talk. Let¡¯s go to a teahouse instead!¡±

    ¡°Drinking tea is boring. Is there any place where we can drink alcohol? I¡¯ll play the host today.¡± Li Qingshan happened to be in a good mood, having just resolved a few matters on his mind.

    The rosy-cheeked man smiled. ¡°I prefer alcohol more as well. There¡¯s the Hundred Flavours restaurant just up ahead, though you mustn¡¯t try competing with me over who plays the host today.¡±

    Li Qingshan held the jade slip to the Book of All and an assortment of information regarding the Hundred Flavours restaurant immediately filled his head. This was an extremely renowned restaurant within the cultivation world of the Clear River province. Even the chefs were Qi Practitioners. They made food similar to how Lu Ziyu brewed tea. They all used techniques that only Qi Practitioners could use to create food that regular people would never be able to taste.

    Li Qingshan smiled. This sure was useful. It was like several dozen encyclopedias all gathered in a thin jade slip. It was exactly what he needed as an independent cultivator who had just begun cultivating.

    However, while it was not exactly rare for independent cultivators to be willing to spend almost a hundred spiritual stones for this, it was still extremely uncommon. Disciples from sects, on the other hand, all had masters who taught them the common knowledge regarding the cultivation world, so there was even less of a need for them to spend so much money on such items.

    They sat down around a long table by the window in the Hundred Flavours restaurant. The rosy-cheeked man said, ¡°I¡¯m Han Xiong. These are my friends.¡± He introduced them to Li Qingshan one by one, and the Qi Practitioners all greeted him.

    Li Qingshan nodded to return the gesture. He gave a self-introduction, ¡°I¡¯m Niu Juxia. May I ask why fellow Han has invited me here?¡± He had thought about it too and found that calling himself Niu¡¯er was a little inappropriate, so he just went with what Yu Zijian had said. He called himself Niu Juxia.

    ¡°Are you sir perhaps that Niu Juxia who defeated the inner disciple Song Ming of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain in a single strike?¡± Han Xiong became stern and could not help but refer to him with an honorific.

    Li Qingshan had never thought that he would have already made a name for himself. He said modestly, ¡°It was pure luck.¡±

    The three other Qi Practitioners became rather surprised and puzzled instead. They were not as well-informed as Han Xiong. They asked, ¡°Brother Xiong, what¡¯s this all about? Are you talking about the Golden Pheasant playboy, Song Ming?¡±

    Han Xin explained the matter for his companions.

    It was inappropriate for Li Qingshan to chip in, so he studied the restaurant. The restaurant was similar to the other structures in the small town, completely built out of wood. It gave off a fragrance that only timber possessed.

    The decor was not extravagant. Instead, it was extremely simple. There was not a single painting or piece of calligraphy, which made Li Qingshan feel like he had only come here to eat and drink. Clearly, this restaurant placed absolute confidence in its culinary arts.

    At this moment, a waiter walked past with a serving plate. He wore a square hat on his head with a white towel over his shoulder as he placed down a jug of alcohol and various exquisite dishes that went with the drinking. His voice was filled with enthusiasm, introducing the names and origins of these dishes. His movements and speech were perfect, but they were rather mechanical.

    Only with a closer glance did Li Qingshan discover that there were no waiters here at all. They were all just puppets, but they were designed to great detail, and they wore the clothing of waiters. Their exposed skin had been painted by some kind of dye. As such, it seemed exactly the same as real skin. Clearly, they were not a model used for combat.

    Evidently, it was because this market did not allow the entry of regular people, but Qi Practitioners would never be willing to work as waiters, so they had to specially order these waiter puppets from mohists.

    By now, Han Xiong had finished explaining Li Qingshan¡¯s glorious achievements in battle. The Qi Practitioners all looked at Li Qingshan with respect as well. Among them, the strongest was Han Xiong, who was only a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. Even if they worked together, they were not the opponent of any inner disciple of the three mountains. They originally thought that Li Qingshan was a little Qi Practitioner who had only just begun his path of cultivation, but never did they imagine that he would be such a powerful figure.

    Han Xiong stood up and poured alcohol for Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan sat right where he was. He lifted his cup and nodded at Han Xiong before drinking all of it. He smiled, ¡°You can tell me what you¡¯re looking for now, right, fellow Han?¡±

    Han Xiong drank his alcohol in a hurry. ¡°We¡¯re all members of the Truth-seeking society. We sincerely invite you to join us, fellow Niu!¡±

    Was the Truth-seeking society a sect? Li Qingshan checked the Book of All in a hurry, but he found nothing.

    Han Xiong said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, fellow Niu. The Truth-seeking society is just an association created by independent cultivators. It¡¯s not some major sect, so the Book of All won¡¯t have any records of it.¡±

    ¡°An association of independent cultivators?¡± This was the first time Li Qingshan had heard of an organisation like that. He asked curiously, ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve never really understood what counts as an independent cultivator.¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s something you might not know, fellow Niu. Independent cultivators don¡¯t just refer to cultivators who move about independently. As long as you don¡¯t come from a clan or sect, you¡¯re an independent cultivator.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°With your cultivation at the fifth layer, fellow Han, it¡¯s more than enough for you to create your own clan or sect.¡±

    Han Xiong smiled bitterly. ¡°Without my own heritage and legacies, how can I claim to lead a clan or sect? Normally, if a clan or sect doesn¡¯t have a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they¡¯re still independent cultivators even if they have countless Qi Practitioners gathered together. You won¡¯t be recognised by the cultivation world. To be honest, my Han family is basically like the local king in the Smooth Sailing city two hundred and fifty kilometers north-east of here.¡±

    ¡°However, they¡¯re nothing in the cultivation world. They¡¯re often pushed aside and harassed by disciples of sects. That¡¯s why we created this association; it is so that we can protect one another.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°With your strength at the fifth layer, can¡¯t you join a sect?¡± He pointed at the towering mountain outside the window. ¡°Such as the Green Vine mountain.¡±

    Han xiong sighed, ¡°I¡¯m old, and I¡¯m not as talented as brother Niu, so which sect would accept me? I can only rely on myself to fumble around and hopefully make some progress. So how is it? Would you like to check out our Truth-seeking society, Niu Juxia?¡±

    It made sense to Li Qingshan. All of the sect disciples he had seen so far were young and around the fifth or sixth layer in strength. In comparison, Han Xiong seemed to be in his forties or fifties at the very least. His talent definitely was not fantastic.

    Suddenly, he remembered what Zhou Wenbin had said in the past. Sects usually only recruited young disciples who would grow up in the mountains under the guidance of their master and with the care and concern of their seniors. These various ties would result in a sense of recognition and belonging. That was the foundation of a sect¡¯s existence.

    Li Qingshan deliberated over Han Xiong¡¯s invitation. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the time. And, I might also join a sect in the future¡­¡±

    Seeing how Li Qingshan did not openly turn him down, Han Xiong became even more enthusiastic. ¡°The Truth-seeking society is not a sect. You don¡¯t have to do anything for the society at all. All we do is gather from time to time and discuss our understanding of cultivation or exchange some resources. It definitely won¡¯t take up any time at all.¡±

    The three Qi Practitioners by his side added, ¡°Yeah, yeah. Everyone just talks and drinks when we¡¯re together. It¡¯s fantastic!¡±

    ¡°Last year, we even organised a group to enter the Boundless mountains, and we came across a few hundred kilograms of black iron essence.¡±

    Li Qingshan gained a deeper understanding towards the nature of this Truth-seeking society.

    Han Xiong said, ¡°How about this? We have a gathering in Quiet Spring valley coming up. You can come along with us. If you don¡¯t like it, we won¡¯t force you into anything.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it!¡± Li Qingshan lifted his cup and said nothing more. Han Xiong looked at his companions and none of them said anything more either. ¡°Come, let¡¯s drink!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked out of the window, at the streets blazing with lanterns and the Qi Practitioners who flowed endlessly. He asked in wonder, ¡°Is it always so lively here?¡±

    Han Xiong said, ¡°How would that be possible? It¡¯s all because the once-a-decade Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains is drawing near, which is why so many Qi Practitioners have been drawn here. They¡¯re all preparing for that!¡±

    Li Qingshan was puzzled. ¡°The Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains? What¡¯s it got to do with independent cultivators?¡±

    Han Xiong said, ¡°The disciples of the three mountains are stronger. When they go out to pick herbs, they can draw the attention of daemonic beasts, and we independent cultivators might be able to take advantage of the situation and get lucky.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we just being used by the three mountains to serve as bait for the daemonic beasts as well?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around. He saw the speaker, the fourth layer Qi Practitioner Zhou Wei, sneer from ear to ear.

    Han Xiong said, ¡°Anyways, it¡¯s always safer if there are more people.¡±

    ¡°Safer? I don¡¯t think so. Countless Qi Practitioners die underground at every gathering. How many of them die to the mouths of daemonic beasts?¡±

    ¡°Underground? Isn¡¯t it the Boundless mountains?¡± Surprised, Li Qingshan placed down his cup.

    Han Xiao smiled. ¡°Brother Niu, you really don¡¯t know anything. The spiritual herbs in and around the Boundless mountains have basically all been picked already. If you venture any further, you can easily attract the attention of a Daemon General, which would annihilate any group of Qi Practitioners. Who would be bold enough to venture into the depths?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt a rather ill omen. He continued to ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t there any daemons and Daemon Generals underground?¡±

    Han Xiong said, ¡°Of course there are. Speaking of which, some parts underground are more dangerous than the Boundless mountains. However, travelling east and west when you¡¯re underground will be much safer.¡±

    Isn¡¯t that Milliped¡¯s territory? Li Qingshan asked in a hurry, ¡°How come?¡± He already had an inkling to the answer of that question.

    Han Xiong showed off his knowledge. ¡°If you asked someone else, they might not be able to answer you, but the leader of our association happens to have a friend who is a core disciple of the Burial Mound mountain, which is why I know!¡±

    ¡°If you try gathering herbs elsewhere, killing daemons and collecting their daemon cores, you¡¯ll definitely end up drawing over a Daemon General. You¡¯ll be lucky if even a single person returns alive from a group of ten. However, the Daemon General rarely ever appears in that area, and the Herb Gathering ceremony only truly begins in a month or two. Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because they have to wait for the coldest time of the year. It¡¯s said that the Daemon General will go into hibernation around that time, so it¡¯s the perfect opportunity for killing daemonic beasts and gathering spiritual herbs. Even if we make a complete mess underground, it won¡¯t matter.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt speechless. He knew what Milliped loved the most was eating and sleeping. Even if it was not winter, he probably spent most of his time on the stone platform asleep, giving the Qi Practitioners a window of opportunity.

    However, why had he only heard Milliped mention the oppression from other Daemon Generals and not the threat from above ground?

    ¡°Why do we have to be afraid of Daemon Generals? Aren¡¯t the sect masters of the three mountains all Foundation Establishment cultivators? As long as they work together, they can even kill Daemon Generals!¡±

    Han Xiong¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Fellow Niu, don¡¯t you even know about the Treaty of Kings?¡± He had suddenly exclaimed that, which alarmed Qi Practitioners from neighbouring tables. They all looked over at Li Qingshan with surprise and contempt.

    It was as if Li Qingshan was not ignorant about the Treaty of Kings, but ignorant about the fact that the sun was round.

    Zhou Wei said, ¡°You¡¯ve only just begun cultivation, so there¡¯s nothing strange about being ignorant of it. The Book of All must have an extremely detailed account on this. Why don¡¯t you take a look?¡±

    Li Qingshan held the jade slip and focused on it. Immediately, he obtained all the information on the Treaty of Kings. The information was extremely complicated. If he read through it bit by bit, probably even three days and nights would not be enough for him to go through all of it.

    However, he skimmed through it and gained a rough understanding. He understood why these Qi Practitioners had been so surprised. Qi Practitioners who were ignorant of this could truly be considered as still wet behind the ears.

    The Treaty of Kings originated from the founding emperor of Great Xia. Legends had it that he possessed the bloodline of daemons, and when he waged war across the world, he only managed to found the Great Xia empire with the assistance of many powerful daemons.

    After founding the Great Xia empire, he divided up the world. The most important and most illustrious titles of nobility went to the human kings of the eight provinces and the ten Daemon Kings.

    Under the host of the founding empire, the kings converged, and after a hundred days of negotiation, they signed a treaty, dividing the domains of daemons and humans, preventing the two races from ever infringing on one another again.

    The thing that prevented Milliped from taking a step above ground was not the Daemon Commander above him. It was not even the Green province¡¯s Dragon King of Ink Sea. Instead, it was this treaty that had lasted for several thousands of years.

    However, low level daemonic beasts had limited intelligence, and there were just too many Qi Practitioners, making it difficult to restrain them. As a result, whether it be daemonic beasts rushing onto the surface or Qi Practitioners venturing underground, it was all within the boundaries that could be tolerated and was secretly permitted. Of course, they would just be killed by the other party, so that was no different from seeking death.

    The individuals that the treaty truly restricted were humans and daemons that had survived the first heavenly tribulation, whether it be Foundation Establishment cultivators venturing underground to kill daemons, or Daemon Generals coming above ground to kill humans.

    The best outcome when the treaty was broken would be both races teaming up to hunt down the violators, while the worst was reigniting the flames of war, sucking in all humans and daemons.

    Today, three Foundation Establishment cultivators ventured underground to kill a Daemon General, while tomorrow, it was possible for a Daemon Commander to appear and slaughter all the Qi Practitioners within the Green Vine mountain and this small town.

    Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s recklessness, he shivered at that thought.

    However, he also relaxed slightly when he heard how Foundation Establishment cultivators would not venture underground. However, he also thought of a multitude of things in the process. As the leader of the daemon soldiers, the daemons and daemonic beasts were all his subordinates, so he could not just let them be slaughtered. And, he was supposed to possess absolute control over the various resources underground. He would never just hand it all over on a silver platter.

    If he were purely a daemon, he would obviously return underground immediately and gather the daemons to set up traps so that he could slaughter all the intruders. He would end up with a lot of hundred treasures pouches instead.

    However, at the end of the day, he had mutated into a daemon from a human, so the decision was no longer so easy to make. For a moment, he even lost interest in the food.

    He forced himself to calm down and asked Han Xiong many things about the Herb Gathering ceremony before bidding farewell and leaving.

    Han Xiong could tell that Li Qingshan had lost interest now, so he did not force him to stay. However, he did try to persuade him to come visit the Quiet Spring valley in the future again.

    After learning the time and location, he agreed in the end. This was no longer for the sake of broadening his knowledge. The Quiet Spring valley was close to here, and they would converge before the Herb Gathering ceremony. No matter what his decision was, he had to keep an eye out for the situation here constantly.

    Arriving downstairs, Li Qingshan ordered another table of dishes and drinks, storing it into his hundred treasures pouch before leaving.

    It was late. Li Qingshan found an inn to rest for the night. He spent five spiritual stones for their best room. Under the guidance of the boss, he opened the antiquated door and discovered that the space inside was much larger than he had expected it to be. He knew that they must have used some kind of formation to increase the space inside.

    Although it was winter, the room was toasty. A thick thick, silken rug covered the ground. The patterns of the rug did not just seem to be patterns, but some kind of formation as well, making the spiritual qi in the room slightly denser than outside.

    A detailed beauty was embroidered on a jade screen as she played a pipa. The boss knocked the screen, and the sound of traditional instruments began to play.

    There was a cushion in the room that was said to gather the spiritual qi of the world and was said to be very beneficial to cultivation.

    There was even a huge bathing pool in the room. Not only could it gather water by itself, but there were even two glyphs that could be used to control the temperature of the water.

    These were all small gadgets that various Qi Practitioners had come up with. Not only had Li Qingshan never seen them before, but he had not even thought of them before. It was not exactly a technological miracle, but it could definitely bring great comfort to people.

    Just when the boss was about to leave, he suddenly stopped and revealed a smile that all men understood. ¡°If you feel lonely and find it difficult to fall asleep, I happen to know a few young, pretty female cultivators. All you need is a few spiritual stones¡­¡± He treated Li Qingshan as an ignorant but wealthy customer who was liberal with money.

    Li Qingshan was immediately left at a loss as for how to react. He felt like he had been put in someone else¡¯s shoes for some reason. He really wondered whether there would be police, no, Hawkwolf guards who would come and inspect the rooms. He waved his hand in a hurry and declined sternly, ¡°No need. I¡¯m going to rest now!¡±

    The boss felt that it was quite the pity. He refused to relent. ¡°There are Communication talismans in the room. If you have any needs, feel free to call me!¡±

    Li Qingshan closed the door and exhaled, placing down the bamboo basket and opening it. ¡°You can come out now!¡±

    Xiao An extended her hands towards him. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you get out by yourself?¡± However, he still lifted her out. He placed the dishes on the table. ¡°Time to eat!¡±

    He sat to one side and watched Xiao An eat as he leaned on his elbow. However, his mind wandered off somewhere. He was not even in the mood to look at the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi.

    Xiao An asked with her childish voice, ¡°Aren¡¯t you eating?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve already eaten.¡± However, Xiao An had already brought a piece of fish to his mouth.

    ¡°You really are getting more and more naughty.¡± Li Qingshan said before eating the fish. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡±

    Xiao An asked in confusion, ¡°What?¡±

    Li Qingshan, ¡°That damned Herb Gathering ceremony obviously.¡±

    Xiao An was astounded. ¡°Aren¡¯t we killing them all?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°Since when did I say that. It¡¯s not like I know them, nor are they coming directly for me. It¡¯s not a good idea to massacre everyone like this, right?¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head, ¡°But I don¡¯t know them either!¡± To her, that reason was enough. No, more correctly, she did not even need a reason. Apart from the man right before her, everyone else could go and die.

 Chapter 220 â€“ Smu

    t

    Li Qingshan rubbed her cheek and said seriously, ¡°Look, just because you don¡¯t know them, doesn¡¯t mean that you can kill them!¡± When he said that, he immediately felt like he had ascended. He felt like he had completed his duty as an educator. As it turns out, I¡¯m such a kind-hearted person!

    Xiao An blinked her eyes. Who knows whether she had understood that or not.

    However, Li Qingshan had already come up with a plan, so he no longer felt troubled. He arrived behind the screen and took off all of his clothes, revealing his healthy body that seemed to be chiseled from rock. He stretched his shoulders before leaping into the swimming-pool-like bath with a plonk.

    Hot water spilled over the edge of the bathing pool and reached up to his chest. Li Qingshan undid his hair and leaned comfortably against the edge of the pool. He took out the jade slip for the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi and studied it closely.

    The first layer was a simplified version of the Innate Method of Practising Qi, so he glanced through it and knew that he did not have to spend too much time on it. However, it became rather difficult when he began on the second layer. Originally, he believed that he only needed to convert his true qi into Gui Water true qi, but upon studying it closer, he discovered that it was not that simple.

    It was also about cultivating the Yang Heel meridian, but the requirements were not as simple as opening the meridian. The five organs corresponded to the five elements, and the kidneys primarily focused on water. The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi needed to resonate with the kidneys, allowing him to feel and draw out the essence of Gui water.

    However, just how he was supposed to make it resonate and how he was supposed to draw it out was hidden within a passage of profound, archaic text. If it were not for the foundation that the Innate Method of Practising Qi had established for him, he would have absolutely no idea where to begin. Although it was slightly better now, he still found it to be extremely obscure and difficult to understand. Fortunately, he had bought the version with explanations. The notes and comprehensions from the past seniors made it much easier to understand. At the very least, he could make some progress as he fumbled about.

    However, the contents of the notes were ten times more complicated than the mental cultivation method of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. After looking at it for a while, he felt rather dizzy. He had to admit that talent and intelligence had nothing to do with him.

    He plunged his head into the water and bobbed up and down in the ripples. His heart calmed down as a result. He thought of something. His ability to understand might have been lacklustre, but wasn¡¯t there a child prodigy right beside him that even the black ox praised?

    Xiao An immediately arrived before him. She took off her clothes and leapt into the water too.

    Li Qingshan passed the jade slip to her. ¡°Help me take a look.¡± Afterwards, he took out the book that the shopkeeper uncle had given to him so carefully. He had taken it in a hurry back then. As such, he did not even have the time to see the name of the book.

    He was rather eager. Just what could it be, seeing how the uncle had given it to him so carefully? Could it be some unique cultivation method or a secret manual that the uncle had specially given to him without accepting a single spiritual stone because he saw his outstanding talent and knew that he would have to bear the heavy burden of saving the world?

    The binding of the book was extremely meticulous, held together by thread perfectly. It gave off the faint fragrance of ink. The paper used for it was the best of the best as well. It felt rather weighty in his hand. However, it was a little too new for it to be some divine arts or secret manual.

    Whatever. I¡¯ll take a look first. On the smooth, vermillion cover were three elegant, refined words¡ªA Flower¡¯s Slumber. The name seemed a little different from the names of secret manuals in Li Qingshan¡¯s imagination.

    ¡°The fuck is this?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. The book that the uncle had shoved to him in such a secretive and careful manner was actually a novel. He refused to believe it was just that, so he patiently read on. However, it was only a very boring story. If it were just boring, then so be it, but the further he read, the more he felt that something was amiss. The novel¡¯s description of the matters in the bedroom were particularly bold.

    Of course, to a transmigrator like Li Qingshan, the white steamed buns, purple violet meats or whatever was not stimulating at all. However, it did stand out like a sore thumb in the day and age he was currently in!

    Flipping a dozen pages forward, basically all of the male characters in the novel ¡°went at it¡± with all the female characters, but it did not make the novel any less boring. When he flipped to the fifteenth page, an exquisitely-drawn image was presented boldly before Li Qingshan.

    Not only was the linework of the image meticulous, but even their expressions were life-like. Even for the well-experienced Li Qingshan, he found it to be a rather impressive piece of art. Afterwards, he lost the patience to go through it page by page. Flipping through it casually, he found many more images like that later on in the novel.

    Li Qingshan was finally convinced. In his hand was actually smut.

    But that made no sense! Why would the old man who seemed very well-respected, who treated people amiably, carefully give him smut?

    Even the weakest cultivator possessed absolute authority among regular people. Instead of reading something like this, they could just go find a courtesan in a brothel instead. Wouldn¡¯t it be much simpler and more straightforward?

    Perhaps the old man was a book lover and appreciated some cultural aspects in the novel, which was why he wanted to share it with him, but maybe he was afraid that Li Qingshan would look down on the book due to its contents?

    That was the only explanation that made sense. However, the contents of the book just happened to be extremely clumsy. There was not even a drop of cultural value to speak of.

    Li Qingshan was utterly bewildered. He felt ten times more confused than when he read the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi earlier. There was definitely something amiss. There must have been a secret hidden within all of this. It was just purposely hidden with a trashy book.

    As a result, Li Qingshan felt up the book. Nothing was hidden in there. He channeled true qi into it. There was no reaction. He brought it near a fire. No image appeared. He doused it in water. It became wet.

    He looked through it inside out and tried various different methods, but it was just an ordinary book. Perhaps the contents of the book were hiding some kind of code? But even if it did, there was no chance for him to find it.

    He would find Xiao An whenever he lacked the intelligence for something. He glanced at Xiao An and saw how she was focusing all of her attention on the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. Then he looked at the book in his hands. If she discovered he read something like that, it would be utterly humiliating.

    He immediately gave up on that idea. If it were not for the fact that Xiao An was beside him, he probably would have tried all the poses depicted in the images to see whether they were some method for circulating qi.

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Xiao An suddenly leaned over. Her damp, wet hair draped on her pale shoulders and floated on the water. It made them seem even more like a certain aquatic plant.

    Smash! Li Qingshan slapped the book close and said unnaturally, ¡°Nothing. Ah, you¡¯ve finished studying it?¡± For some reason, he thought of the expression that the old man had when he gave it to him.

    Xiao An glanced at the book in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands curiously. She had already understood the entirety of the second layer of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, so she explained it to Li Qingshan using language that could not be any plainer.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt enlightened. He pecked her and praised, ¡°How clever. Why didn¡¯t I think of this earlier?¡±

    Xiao An blushed, vaguely revealing a hint of the great beauty that she should not have possessed yet through the steam.

    Only then did Li Qingshan suddenly remember the difference in their genders. He smiled. ¡°Once you get a little older, we can¡¯t wash together anymore.¡±

    Xiao An raised her head. ¡°Then I¡¯ll never grow older.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense? How can there be a person who never grows older?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a person.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not take something so childish to heart. ¡°Yep, yep. Neither of us are people. However, children will still grow up.¡±

    Xiao An pouted.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯ve said so much, but you seem to have forgotten the most important part. How do I convert true qi into Gui Water true qi?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Can¡¯t you just directly absorb the spiritual qi of the world?¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m really not that bright, am I?¡± His daemon core was of the water element. He could cultivate Gui Water true qi the same way he cultivated his daemon core. All he needed was the boundless world. Why did he have to be fixated on just himself?

    He was not stupid. His mind had just been entrenched. He treated the cultivation method as all there was. The recommendations from the seniors who penned the notes were all directed at regular Qi Practitioners. They never would have thought that a Qi Practitioner who could absorb the spiritual qi of the world would actually exist.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh right, the uncle gave me a book. I feel like it¡¯s definitely hiding something, but I just can¡¯t find it.¡±

    Xiao An asked curiously, ¡°Was it the one just then?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I take a look?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    Xiao An said in disappointment, ¡°Then can¡¯t you just go and ask him tomorrow?¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned again. It was not like the bookstore would grow legs and run away. I can just pay a visit tomorrow.

    ¡°Why have I suddenly become so dumb today? It must be this damned book. It has impacted my intelligence!¡±

    Xiao An faltered. She wanted to say, ¡°But you didn¡¯t read the book earlier,¡± but she managed to hold it back.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh right, this is for you.¡± He passed the jade slip called the Canon Depository to Xiao An.

    Xiao An accepted it happily and bashfully. Li Qingshan took out the Book of All as well and looked up the information of a few spiritual herbs according to his memory. Just as he had expected, every single one of them could be used to refine pills. Out of them, the one worth the most were the flowers that turned into butterflies in Milliped¡¯s dwelling. They were called Blue Butterfly flowers, and they were a crucial component for refining a precious type of pill.

    The name of this precious pill was the True Spirit pill.

    Li Qingshan then looked up the information regarding the True Spirit pill. He found it to be rather familiar, and he suddenly thought of something. Wasn¡¯t the True Spirit pill the two unknown pills he had obtained from the two grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain?

    The effect of the True Spirit pill was extremely simple. It converted true qi into spiritual qi. It was something crucial for Qi Practitioners when they tried to break through to Foundation Establishment. The two grannies must have set them aside carefully so that they could ingest them when they reached the peak of Qi Practitioner, but it ended up as easy pickings for Li Qingshan.

    As for the value of the spiritual herb that Milliped described to be disgusting, it went without saying. Unfortunately, the Book of All only gave a simple introduction to the effects of the True Spirit pill, as well as how to use it, but it did not detail the formula or method to refine it. Information that actually possessed value would not appear in widespread books like this.

 Chapter 221 â€“ The Arts of the Boundless Ocean

    Li Qingshan wondered if he should buy a pill cauldron and pill formulas instead. However, his alchemy was limited to the bare basics he had learned from Qian Rongzhi, so there was no need for him to be so hasty. At the very least, he knew how to use these treasures now.

    The Book of All covered a large range of random topics. Just a single area was enough to keep Li Qingshan busy for half a day. He felt that his horizons were broadening.

    However, he slowly discovered that the information regarding people, culture, and geography in the Book of All was mostly limited to the Clear River prefecture. Beyond this range, the information would be extremely simple and broad.

    However, it was already quite a feat to have gathered all this information about the Clear River province that spanned fifteen hundred kilometers. It truly was not an exaggeration to name it a book of ¡°All¡±.

    The nine provinces were so large that who knows how many kilometers it covered. Probably even the strongest cultivators could not visit every single place it had to offer, so how was it possible for a book to record everything?

    It followed the same principle as mental maps. Even if a book like that really did exist, just how much would it be worth to a measly Qi Practitioner? Out of the thousands of cultivators, just how many could make it out of the Clear River prefecture? And, how many could make it out of the Ruyi commandery?

    However, Li Qingshan believed that there would be a day when he used his eyes to take in everything the world had to offer.

    Unknowingly, his mind returned to the brazen oath he had sworn in the tiny village.

    ¡°I want to travel through all corners of the world, across the entire universe! I want to taste all of the delicacies and drink all of the finest alcohol the world has to offer! I want to practise the fiercest abilities, fight the strongest foes, and sleep with the most beautiful women! Only then will this life not be a waste!

    Looking at it now, it was just a person with nothing¡¯s desire for everything. Perhaps it was very coarse, but that was the most primitive desire hidden within the hearts of all men.

    As a spark lit up within a restless heart, it would impel the frail body to conquer, to destroy, to create!

    The most beautiful woman?

    Li Qingshan grinned. Originally, he had just said that half-heartedly, but the Book of All really did seem to list the ¡®most beautiful¡¯.

    Out of the beauties on the beauties ranking, without any surprise, the one at the very top was the beautiful woman in clothes whiter than snow, the female hawk that gazed over the land.

    Although the image on there failed to even capture a hundredth of her charm, it stirred Li Qingshan¡¯s past memories. He sighed from the bottom of his heart. ¡°Heh, what a beauty!¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Li Qingshan stowed the jade slip away. Since he had seen the greatest and confirmed that there would not be any major changes to his objectives in the near future, there was no need for him to look at it ever again.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Xiao An turned her head away from him.

    ¡°Hmm? You¡¯ve even learned how to be angry.¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he pinched her beautiful nose.

    Xiao An shook her head and put up a tough struggle in his arms, but she smiled from ear to ear.

    Li Qingshan held her firmly and pinched down on her nose. ¡°My Xiao An will definitely be a great beauty in the future.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Xiao An asked nasally.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what the damned granny said? You¡¯re some Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty or something. It can¡¯t be wrong. I think even the one surnamed Gu won¡¯t be able to match you in the future.¡±

    ¡°The one surnamed Gu? Gu Yanying!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°You know her?¡±

    Xiao An nodded gently.

    Li Qingshan leaned against his arm. ¡°Though honestly, Xuanyue would do as well. Forget it. A kid like you won¡¯t understand what I¡¯m saying.¡±

    Xiao An pulled a face.

    Li Qingshan spent a night bathing comfortably in the water. It felt even more pleasant than lying on a bed. Water had already become as close as a friend to him. He began practising the second layer of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi in there.

    He used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to settle down first before slowly absorbing the spiritual qi of the world and using the mental cultivation method of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi instead. The true qi in his body was converted into Gui Water true qi strand by strand.

    By the time the sun had risen, Li Qingshan had already completed the second layer of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. For the first few layers, all he needed to do was convert his true qi, to cover up the Innate Method of Practising Qi with the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, so it did not take him a particularly long time.

    Li Qingshan grew restless once the sun had risen up. He leapt out of the bathing pool and put on his clothes. He wore the bamboo basket on his back and rushed straight to the bookstore with Xiao An.

    The old man was still the same old man from the night before. He sat leisurely in the same rocking chair, reading the same book. When he saw Li Qingshan enter, he seemed to be surprised as he leapt to his feet, ¡°Is there anything else you require, fellow cultivator?¡±

    Li Qingshan got straight to the point. ¡°Uncle, the book you gave me yesterday¡­¡±

    ¡°What book? How come I don¡¯t recall anything like that?¡± The old man¡¯s expression became unnatural.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes and said slowly, ¡°I used various different methods to study it for ages, but I found nothing, which was why I¡¯ve come to seek guidance from you. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been messing with me?¡± He no longer spoke as politely as before either.

    The old man coughed gently. ¡°I- I think I remember now. H- how did you find it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The images were alright, but the book was horrible!¡±

    The old man smiled bitterly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then forget that you had ever laid your eyes on it!¡± Junior brother, oh junior brother. You can¡¯t blame me for not helping out. Originally, I thought he was a vulgar man and might not be able to tell that the book was absolutely horrible!

    ¡°In other words, you really were messing with me!¡± Li Qingshan thought about all the time and effort he had spent on it, and he grew hostile.

    The old man faked a laugh. ¡°Fellow, there was something I wanted to give to you, but I forgot yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s trash like thi-¡± Li Qingshan suddenly halted. The old man had actually shoved the cultivation manual to the Arts of the Boundless Ocean into his hands. He hesitated, ¡°Uncle, this is a little too precious. I didn¡¯t come here to blackmail you¡­¡±

    The old man raised his head. He smiled and shook his head. ¡°Just who would be bold enough to blackmail me in these streets, unafraid of the street patrols of the school of Miscellany? I did actually want to give you this book yesterday. I made quite the profit on the two books you bought from me. No matter how precious a book is, if there¡¯s no one to read it, it¡¯s all just trash.¡±

    He patted the ¡°A Flower¡¯s Slumber¡± before continuing, ¡°No one reads this book because of how horrible it¡¯s written, and that¡¯s fine. However, that book was clearly written brilliantly, yet because everyone else lacked the ability, it ended up in such a sorry shape. It¡¯s like the glamour of a pearl shrouded by dust, or the death of a beauty. Isn¡¯t that just a pity?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly touched as well. ¡°Uncle, you really are someone who loves books.¡± The Arts of the Boundless Ocean definitely was not a mediocre cultivation method. However, it had far too high of a requirement on the reader, which was why its readerbase diminished.

    The old man continued, ¡°When I look at you, I have a feeling that perhaps you might end up finding the second half of this book someday, allowing this extraordinary cultivation method to be whole once more. By then, I¡¯ll be satisfied if you just show me the second half of the book.¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the jade slip and clasped his hands proudly. ¡°Uncle, if I happen to have the fortune in the future, I¡¯ll definitely return the complete copy of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean to you!¡±

 Chapter 222 â€“ Visiting the Arsenal of Arms Again

    The old man was actually quite surprised. Normal people would treasure a precious cultivation method that they had obtained to great extremes, such that they would not even show it to their wives, children, or good friends.

    Li Qingshan had only obtained an incomplete manual worth a little over a hundred spiritual stones, yet the value of the complete version was at least ten times that much. His generosity was truly surprising and admirable!

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s ambitions lay beyond the Nine Heavens. No matter how precious a cultivation method was, it was just a process to him. After taking this step, who knows how long the future journey awaiting him would still be.

    The field of view determined the open-mindedness of a person.

    Li Qingshan talked a little more in the bookstore with the old man. He learned the old man¡¯s name was Sun Fubai.

    Sun Fubai was knowledgeable, and he had travelled the world before. Li Qingshan felt that he had benefited greatly from their conversation.

    In the heat of the conversation, Sun Fubai gave Li Qingshan a few more books. They were all binded paperbacks. The pages had already yellowed slightly, while the edges had even roughened.

    Li Qingshan hesitated. Sun Fubai smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re not like that. They¡¯re my favourite books and annals.¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped worrying. He casually flipped to a page and discovered many additional notes in red in the margins. Clearly, they were books that Sun Fubai had regularly read. A book lover was giving away the books he usually read. That was quite a gift.

    He said politely, ¡°Thank you for your gift, uncle!¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°The only thing young people nowadays think about are divine arts and secret manuals that can make them powerful overnight. They don¡¯t know the true essence of books. I can see that you have a valiant and powerful character, with a bold and generous disposition, and you have quite the talent as a Qi Practitioner as well. You¡¯ll definitely make a name for yourself in the cultivation world in the future. However, if you don¡¯t know how to handle the affairs of human life, you¡¯ll still be a brainless person under the control of others no matter how powerful you are. You are welcome to read these books carefully. You¡¯ll definitely benefit tremendously.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I heard that histories make people intelligent, while cultivation methods and secret manuals can only make people stronger. However, real books can turn cowards into the courageous, fools into the wise. Not a single cultivation method can rival this effect. This is true strength.¡±

    Sun Fubai was delighted. ¡°As long as you understand this.¡±

    At the very centre of the town was a small, lonely building that stood three storeys tall. It did not neighbour any other stores.

    A set of bead curtains covered the entrance. Every single bead was a pearl worth thousands among regular people, so it was rather wasteful to turn it into a set of bead curtains. And, because no one cleaned them, they had already yellowed.

    Only the two gilded words¡ªMiscellaneous Goods¡ª on the blackboard continued to sparkle.

    There were thousands of miscellaneous goods stores in the world. There was nothing surprising if a few dozen of them could be found in a large city. However, there was only a single store in this market for cultivators, and it was impossible for a second one to appear in this town.

    The moment Li Qingshan lifted the curtain and stepped through the entrance, he felt like he had entered a different world. Before him was an unbelievably spacious foyer. The floor seemed to be sculpted from a single piece of marble, and it was shiny enough to reflect his appearance. The raucous sounds of the streets were completely blocked by the curtains.

    A few elegant women dressed in palace wear sat at the tea table in the lobby, conversing quietly.

    However, whenever they raised their voices slightly, it would end up echoing through the lobby. This place had also used a formation to expand the space here, but it was much more sophisticated than the inn.

    The women in palace wear saw Li Qingshan. They looked at one another and came up with excuses, as if they were all rather reluctant.

    In the end, a pretty woman stood up helplessly and dragged her palace wear over to receive him. ¡°Are you looking to buy anything, fellow cultivator?¡± She had a thin layer of makeup on. Although her smile was resplendent, Li Qingshan could tell with a single glance that it all came from training, and it was unable to disguise the reluctance on her face.

    The woman in palace wear was actually a third layer Qi Practitioner. Even though the puppet waiters that the Hundred Flavours restaurant used were flexible and clever, using Qi Practitioners to receive customers clearly seemed more extravagant.

    This really was the very centre of the town, the main base of the school of Miscellany, after all.

    Li Qingshan had learned a lot about the town from Sun Fubai. This place was called the Town of Flowing Clouds. It was not fixed to one location. Instead, it would constantly migrate to places where Qi Practitioners gathered in larger numbers.

    It was like a market among regular people, but it would last for much longer. It had chosen the Green Vine mountain this time because the Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains was drawing near, which had attracted many Qi Practitioners prepared to venture underground.

    Before the ceremony, there would be a great demand for talismans and spiritual artifacts that could increase strength, while after the ceremony, Qi Practitioners would bring back various mineral deposits and spiritual herbs, beginning a whole new wave.

    All of this was hosted by the school of Miscellany among the hundred schools. They were responsible for protecting all Qi Practitioners in town, as well as for maintaining regular trade. Otherwise, why would stronger Qi Practitioners bother to haggle over the price with weaker Qi Practitioners? It would be much faster if they just killed them and looted their items.

    The Qi Practitioners in the teahouses and restaurants did not come from the school of Miscellany. They all needed to pay a yearly fee of spiritual stones to the school of Miscellany to set up business here.

    When Li Qingshan asked where the best place for purchasing spiritual artifacts was, Sun Fubai immediately recommended the store of Miscellaneous Goods to him. Although it would be slightly more expensive than the streets, there was a guarantee for quality. Since Li Qingshan had plenty of spiritual stones, and he lacked the insight to discern quality, it would obviously be most appropriate for him to come here.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I want to buy a weapon.¡±

    The women by the tea table giggled quietly. ¡°What weapon? Can¡¯t you call them spiritual artifacts? You can tell with a single glance that he¡¯s a bumpkin who has just emerged from the jianghu.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he wants to buy an inferior spiritual artifact!¡± ¡°Ruping¡¯s commission will be impressive this time.¡±

    Although they had stifled their voices, Li Qingshan still heard every single word that they uttered. As it turned out, this woman was called Ruping, which sure sounded familiar1. As it turned out, these female cultivators were not just responsible for receiving customers, but for sales too. No wonder they were so snobbish.

    ¡°Please come with me!¡± Liu Ruping said indifferently. Although she could not hear what the others were saying, she knew that they were mocking her.

    Liu Ruping moved her hips from side to side as she climbed up the stairs. Her moving buttocks made him think about the boss of the inn from last night. He wondered whether the female cultivators he would introduce to keep him company included her. He turned around and looked at the lobby, Perhaps they all might be included!

    A daoist in blue robes walked in. Both his daoist robes and the ancient sword on his back flickered with light. In a world of Qi Practitioners, this was what the wealthy looked like.

    The women in palace wear basically all wanted to rush over and receive him. A sweet-looking woman said loudly, ¡°It¡¯s my turn.¡± In the end, only she ventured forward, like a victorious hen, arriving before the customer. Her smile was much more sincere.

    Although it was impossible for him to call anyone to keep him company at night as Xiao An was with him, he still could not help but feel relieved. Fortunately, he had not, or he would have been pitiful. He was still technically a virgin, so how could he lose it to a woman like that?

    Arriving before a room on the second floor, his gaze was immediately drawn away by a board. Surprisingly, the board detailed three words¡ªArsenal of Arms. He had purchased the Tyrant¡¯s spear from the Arsenal of Arms back in Qingyang city. He had never thought there would be a branch in a town of cultivators as well.

    However, most Qi Practitioners did not care for the silver and gold used among regular people. Why would a store that could sell spiritual artifacts sell weapons in a small, remote city? Their ability was obviously exemplary to be able to set up business in the store of Miscellaneous Goods run by the school of Miscellany.

    Liu Ruping introduced with a professional smile. ¡°The Arsenal of Arms is renowned throughout our Clear River province and even the entire Ruyi commandery. The weapons in here have all been tested by masters, so their quality is definitely the best of the best, unlike the stalls outside that offer goods of uncertain quality, who sell low grade spiritual artifacts that end up cracking after just a few battles.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s take a look!¡± As soon as Li Qingshan stepped into the store, he shivered. All of his hairs pricked up. He felt like an army that had been ambushed from all sides. Vicious, murderous intent poured over. He took a step instinctively, and all of his bones resonated. His aura suddenly rose up, like an army pouring their strength together, with a commander charging up ahead, about to kill their way out of the encirclement.

    However, Li Qingshan immediately saw that there were no ambushes at all. There were just thousands of weapons placed neatly on weapon racks, spanning as far as the eye could see. A middle-aged man with an ugly, coarse appearance stood at the centre of the weapon racks, looking at him in a stunned manner.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sir?¡± Liu Ruping was three steps away from Li Qingshan as she looked at him carefully. Just moments prior, this man who had a unique figure but seemed extremely simple and mild suddenly became a vicious beast, ready to pounce and kill. This was the first time she felt that this man might have been much more complicated than he seemed.

    Li Qingshan realised where the sharp, murderous intent originated from. It was from these weapons. He restrained himself and said in surprise, ¡°Didn¡¯t you feel it?¡±

    Liu Ruping was stunned. ¡°Feel what?¡±

    The coarse man walked over. ¡°The murderous intent on people is easy to sense, but the murderous intent on weapons is difficult. You can¡¯t develop such a sharp sense for it if you haven¡¯t been through a few life-or-death battles and claimed a few dozen lives with your own hands.¡± He clasped his hands at Li Qingshan. ¡°I can tell with a single glance that you¡¯re someone who knows his weapons. How may I refer to you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°My surname is Niu. And how would I refer to you, sir?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a good surname, a good surname. You really are as sturdy as an ox! My surname is Zhang. There¡¯s no need to be polite with me, so you can just call me little Zhang.¡±

    Liu Ruping smiled. ¡°Old man Zhang, you¡¯re trying to act young again. Don¡¯t you feel any shame?¡±

    Little Zhang said, ¡°Cultivators pursue longer lives. There¡¯s no hope for me this life, so can¡¯t you just let me have this? Right, elder sister Ping?¡±

    Most of the shopkeepers responsible for the stores were older Qi Practitioners. In the end, they were still unable to cultivate faster than the rate at which they naturally aged. There was basically no possibility for them to make anymore progress, so they chose to live a more peaceful and comfortable life.

    Liu Ruping spat in contempt. ¡°Who¡¯s your elder sister Ru? Cut the nonsense. I¡¯ve brought you the customer, so hurry up and choose a weapon for him!¡±

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to say something, Little Zhang raised his head. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry, sir. Let me guess what weapon you want, alright?¡±

 Chapter 223 â€“ The Whaleâ€™s Ingestion of Water Blade

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Alright, feel free to guess!¡±

    ¡°Looking at your stature, you¡¯re definitely not choosing some regular spiritual artifact that can be controlled. Instead, you¡¯re looking for a heavy weapon suited for close combat specially used by Body Practitioners. Am I correct?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He smiled. ¡°Correct! That¡¯s quite impressive of you, little Zhang!¡± As his strength grew, his demand for a weapon increased as well. He was no longer satisfied with just the Wind-entwining blade, and he had not reached the sixth layer as a Qi Practitioner, so he could not control a mid grade spiritual artifact.

    And, even if he did reach the sixth layer, he would not necessarily use a small blade or sword as his main weapon for combat, as his body would definitely reach a whole new level by then. Directly swinging a Wind-entwining blade at someone was much more satisfying than controlling a sword remotely.

    As a result, he required a weapon different from the ordinary. Little Zhang managed to tell what he needed with a single glance; he knew that Li Qingshan needed a heavy weapon. That also meant they sold weapons like that, so why wouldn¡¯t he be happy?

    Little Zhang also smiled from ear to ear when he heard how Li Qingshan was willing to call him that. He waved his hand gently, and a series of mechanical sounds rang out. The weapon racks actually slid away rapidly, changing directions before coming to a halt.

    A weapon rack slid right in front of Li Qingshan. As expected, there were huge swords and axes on there.

    Li Qingshan casually weighed a large spear in his hand and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any mid grade spiritual artifacts here?¡± All of the spiritual artifacts on the rack were low grade.

    Little Zhang smiled. ¡°Of course we do!¡± Regular Qi Practitioners could not afford mid grade spiritual artifacts, so he only brought people to see low grade spiritual artifacts most of the time. He clapped his hand and another weapon rack slid before Li Qingshan. The spiritual artifacts on there shone even brighter. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t come to us, buying a mid grade spiritual artifact for close combat would have been quite difficult.¡±

    Liu Ruping¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. She would receive a commission for items purchased under her guide, so she obviously hoped that Li Qingshan would buy a lot and spend a lot.

    This was why she was rather reluctant to receive Li Qingshan as soon as he had walked in, wanting to exchange with someone else. Even among the world of regular people, the way Li Qingshan dressed made him look penniless. Among cultivators, he was the standard for broke. He did not have a single item on him that shone.

    But now, she thought, You really can¡¯t judge a book by its cover. Her smile immediately became more sincere.

    Li Qingshan looked at the mid grade spiritual artifacts and appeared satisfied as well.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How much is it?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll be taking only seventy-five spiritual stones for it.¡±

    Li Qingshan gained a rough idea of the price of a mid grade spiritual artifact. If he compared it to exchanging with contribution within the Hawkwolf Guard, it was around the same price. However, he shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to use swords.¡±

    Liu Ruping chimed in. ¡°Look at how beautiful this sword is? If you carry it on your back, you¡¯ll definitely look extraordinary.¡±

    Little Zhang shot her a glare. ¡°When it comes to men choosing weapons, it¡¯s even more important to them than choosing a wife. Women shouldn¡¯t butt in.¡± He could tell that Li Qingshan was a person who actually used a weapon to kill; he was not some young master who came from a sect or clan. He could not be fooled by mere appearances.

    Liu Ruping pouted, but as expected, she shut up for good. If you think that you¡¯re capable, try to sell it yourself. It¡¯s just a mid grade spiritual artifact. I don¡¯t even want to waste so many words trying to sell it!

    Little Zhang introduced several weapons. None of them were less than a hundred kilograms in weight.

    Li Qingshan was very interested. If he could use a heavy weapon like this in battle, he could probably even smash through protective true qi. However, after quite some thought, he suddenly asked, ¡°Do you have any high grade spiritual artifacts?¡±

    Little Zhang was slightly surprised. ¡°Sir, we do have a few high grade spiritual artifacts here, but they¡¯re all treasures of the store. Even at a minimum, they¡¯ll cost several hundred spiritual stones, and they can go for over a thousand spiritual stones. They¡¯re not items that regular Qi Practitioners can see unless they really do plan on buying them.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If you won¡¯t show them, who¡¯ll buy them? Do you think I¡¯m not actually interested in purchasing them?¡±

    Liu Ruping¡¯s gaze towards Li Qingshan immediately softened. A high grade spiritual artifact was equivalent to ten mid grade spiritual artifacts. It was a rare transaction of quite the size.

    Little Zhang studied Li Qingshan and smiled. ¡°Fair enough. Come with me!¡±

    The three of them arrived in a firmly-sealed room. Little Zhang took out something from his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Please take a look!¡±

    The item was not made out of metal, wood, or rock. It was blue in colour, like ice, and it was sculpted into the shape of a whale. It shone brightly, a high grade spiritual artifact as expected. ¡°There are even fewer high grade spiritual artifacts suited for close combat. We only have this one. It costs eight hundred and fifty-two spiritual stones,¡±

    Li Qingshan had never seen such a strange weapon before. When he heard the price, his heart sank slightly. A high grade spiritual artifact was actually so expensive. He only had around three hundred spiritual stones left on him, which was only a third of the weapon¡¯s price. And, he had to save some spiritual stones for purchasing pill formulas and a pill cauldron. He did not have enough money on him, but he remained unfazed on the surface. ¡°How do you use this?¡±

    Seeing how Li Qingshan was actually interested in buying it, little Zhang could not help but become even more enthusiastic. He shot a glance at Liu Ruping. They had encountered a wealthy customer this time.

    ¡°The name of this weapon is the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water. You can use it however you like. Allow me to demonstrate.¡± As he said that, he took out a huge tank from the hundred treasures pouch. It was filled with water.

    Little Zhang placed the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water into the tank. The blue whale immediately opened its mouth, and in just a while, it sucked away all of the water in the tank. ¡°Please watch carefully, sir!¡±

    He raised his hand, and the whale¡¯s mouth spat out the water again, condensing it into the shape of a blade. It suddenly froze up, turning into an ice blade with the whale¡¯s body serving as a hilt. Coldness permeated the secret room.

    Liu Ruping could not help but shiver. She said, ¡°How wondrous!¡±

    While Li Qingshan knew that she was just putting on an act, he could not help but nod in agreement. He had never seen a weapon like this before. As a matter of fact, he had not even thought of such a weapon before.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water blade right now!¡± Little Zhang said. He waved his hand again, and the blade turned back into water, freezing into a sword this time. ¡°This is the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water sword!¡±

    ¡°No matter what weapon you want, whether it be light or heavy, it¡¯s all within your control! What do you think?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fantastic!¡± Li Qingshan nodded. Regular weapons were all forged from metal. It was rare to see a weapon completely composed of water. If he wielded it with Gui Water true qi, it would definitely achieve quite an impressive effect. This was basically a weapon made for him.

    If men really chose weapons like choosing wives, then he would have fallen in love at first sight with this Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water. However, he was worried as well. ¡°This blade of ice is so fragile. Won¡¯t it shatter when it clashes against metal?¡±

    Little Zhang said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry at all, sir. The weapons created by the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water are akin to profound ice. It¡¯s even tougher than essence steel. I¡¯ll be honest with you, sir. The ice blades condensed from the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water are slightly weaker than regular high grade spiritual artifacts, but they are definitely stronger than mid grade spiritual artifacts. As long as it doesn¡¯t shatter from a single attack, it can automatically repair itself no matter how many cracks or nicks there are. You won¡¯t need any maintenance from an artifact smith at all.¡±

    Liu Ruping said, ¡°Then you sure can save a lot of spiritual stones and trouble. Just a small repair of a high grade spiritual artifact can set you back several dozen spiritual stones!¡±

    Little Zhang added, ¡°And if you use spiritual water instead, it¡¯ll be even stronger. Sir, since you¡¯re willing to buy this weapon, you might as well buy some spiritual water too.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought of something. Didn¡¯t he have an icy spring underground? He lifted the ice sword and flicked it forcefully.

    With a clang, it seemed to reverberate like metal. The sound echoed through the secret room with great intensity. Liu Ruping could not help but cover her ears.

    Little Zhang¡¯s hand shuddered. He saw how a white mark was left on the sword and praised, ¡°What strength, sir!¡±

    Li Qingshan knew that he was telling the truth. Not only had he poured all of his strength into the flick, but he had used true qi as well. Even treasured blades made from refined steel would shatter, but only a white mark appeared on the ice sword. If he used Ice Condensate water instead, he would not have to worry about its toughness at all. And, he could just hang it on his waist normally, which would be convenient and easily accessible at all times.

    Moreover, he could create a blade that was even larger and longer so that he could unleash the advantage of his physical strength. Or, he could just condense a spiky club weighing more than five hundred kilograms. If he swung down with something like that, any protection from true qi or techniques would be no different from paper. For a moment, basically all the advantages of the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water filled Li Qingshan¡¯s head. He utterly admired the artifact smith who created this weapon.

    ¡°What other uses are there aside from this?¡± Although Li Qingshan¡¯s expression remained the same as before, little Zhang had dealt with countless customers before, so he could read his face. He could already tell that Li Qingshan actually wanted to purchase the item, which was why he had been so meticulous and gone to such detail. He was utterly delighted. He immediately opened the secret room and brought Li Qingshan to a field for demonstrating the usage of weapons. He pointed at the steel target in the distance.

    All of the water was sucked into the whale again. The whale opened wide and countless, tiny icicles suddenly shot out. The steel target was peppered with countless holes instantly. It was fiercer than the Thousand Mechanism crossbow both in power and might, and it had more than just thirty rounds. It could be used in close combat and as a ranged weapon. Li Qingshan was tempted to snatch the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water over and try it for himself.

    Looking at Li Qingshan¡¯s expression, little Zhang¡¯s smile grew wider. The Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water suddenly lit up, gradually gathering near the whale¡¯s mouth. With a bang, a ball of water shot out and struck the peppered target, blasting it to pieces.

    Li Qingshan cried out, ¡°The Gui Water blast!¡± He had looked through the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi last night, along with the techniques that it came with. Most of them were for healing, defence, and restricting the opponent. Gui Water true qi was not particularly suited for attacking, but among all of these techniques, the Gui Water blast was the most powerful and the most important technique.

    Little Zhang asked confidently, ¡°Fellow Niu, what do you think?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s a nice item, but could you help me out with the price?¡±

 Chapter 224 â€“ The Value of a Daemon Core

    Little Zhang said, ¡°Actually, I can already tell that you¡¯re determined to purchase this item. If I were a merchant outside, I would definitely use this opportunity to increase the price, and with your character, sir, you would probably end up taking a loss.¡±

    Li Qingshan was certain that could be the case. Whether it be in his former life or in this current one, he had no talent with negotiating prices. He was not in search of a bargain. He just wanted to make sure he had not been ripped off. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll buy it then.¡±

    Little Zhang smiled happily, while Liu Ruping ravished in joy. Those little whores will probably be filled with regret now.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°But, I might not have enough spiritual stones on me!¡±

    Little Zhang¡¯s smile stiffened. ¡°You must be joking, sir!¡± Liu Ruping¡¯s expression immediately coldened.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°May I ask if you purchase items as well?¡±

    Little Zhang was troubled. ¡°The Arsenal of Arms does purchase weapons, but the price we pay will definitely be lower than the selling price.¡± He no longer believed that Li Qingshan could afford the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water. Was he supposed to pull out another high grade spiritual artifact to exchange for it? Even for stronger Qi Practitioners, it was quite rare for them to be in possession of a high grade spiritual artifact. Li Qingshan clearly did not fall into that category. It had been quite a waste of his time and efforts.

    Unbeknownst to him, Li Qingshan actually possessed a high grade spiritual artifact, and not just one at that. The comb and needle from the grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain combined with the Cursive Sword Calligraphy totalled to three. However, he could not afford to sell any of them right now.

    Liu Ruping could no longer help herself. She mocked, ¡°We might be a store of Miscellaneous Goods, but not all miscellaneous goods are accepted here. You better get out of here and try your luck with the stalls outside!¡±

    Li Qingshan replied with a question, ¡°May I ask how many spiritual stones I can pawn a daemon core for?¡±

    Little Zhang was stunned at first, but he soon exclaimed, ¡°A daemon core? You have a daemon core?¡±

    Liu Ruping frowned. ¡°Daemon cores aren¡¯t obtained that easily. Don¡¯t tell me you mistook some gem for it, trying to pass off something fake as the real thing?¡±

    Then, Li Qingshan took out the daemon core he had obtained from great general Whitefang on Black Rat mountain. ¡°Please take a look and see whether this is a daemon core or not!¡±

    The earthen-yellow daemon core did not give off a particularly resplendent glow, but it contained a daemon¡¯s several centuries worth of hard work.

    Liu Ruping could not help but extend her hand to touch it. She wanted to hold it and take a closer look, but Li Qingshan had already stowed the daemon core away into his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see if I can get it pawned in the stalls outside.¡±

    Liu Ruping grabbed Li Qingshan by his sleeve hurriedly and apologised with a bow, ¡°I¡¯ve blamed you wrongly, sir. I hope that you can be the bigger person and forgive me. Please wait, I¡¯ll go fetch the head manager.¡± Perhaps intentionally or otherwise, but she revealed the snowy peaks hiding within her collar.

    If the head manager learned that she had chased away a customer who wanted to sell a daemon core, she probably could not remain here anymore. And, just these two transactions alone could allow her to earn more than a month¡¯s worth of commission. She raised her head and basically looked at Li Qingshan in a begging manner. His robust figure seemed to be filled with a masculine charm. Even if he demanded something extra, it would probably be within her area of consideration.

    Li Qingshan glanced into the collar. He knew that while five pecks of rice could not make people bow and scrape1, a daemon core was enough. Perhaps, it could make them do much more than just that!

    Little Zhang said as well, ¡°You most definitely should stay, sir. I can tell from a long way away that the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water was basically made for you, sir! Actually, I wanted to give you a discount, but only the head manager can make the decision on this when she arrives.¡±

    After a moment of thought, Li Qingshan realised that he had underestimated the value of the daemon core slightly. Originally, he thought that it was roughly equivalent to a high grade spiritual artifact, but a high grade spiritual artifact was clearly not enough to make the two of them behave like this.

    Li Qingshan had only estimated the value of the daemon core based on the spiritual qi it contained, but he did not know that daemon cores were crucial to refining certain precious pills as well, which could be used to increase the amount of true qi and spiritual qi for a certain element.

    The millenniums of peace between humans and daemons had directly resulted in a scarce supply of resources like this. When Qi Practitioners ventured underground, it was not just for collecting spiritual herbs. Otherwise, all they needed to do was demonstrate sufficient strength, and the daemons would basically all choose to flee.

    However, most Qi Practitioners would cast down formations and trap daemons in their dens. Obviously, it was not because they had nothing better to do and wanted to purge evil in the name of justice. They did it for the daemon core.

    Li Qingshan said after a moment of thought, ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll wait here.¡±

    Liu Ruping moved her hips and left in a hurry. Before long, she returned with a plump, old madam. Her true qi had actually reached the ninth layer already, and her face was creased with wrinkles from smiles. She lacked the strange arrogance of the grannies from the Sect of Clouds and Rain, and she did not possess the degrading lowliness of the procuress. Instead, she was noble, receiving all people with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m Shi Peipei. Are you the fellow who wants to sell the daemon core?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I am!¡±

    Shi Peipei said, ¡°Could you take it out and show me?¡±

    Li Qingshan hesitated before handing the daemon core over to Shi Peipei. Since the school of Miscellany could set up such a large town with so many businesses, they would never stoop so low as to tarnish their reputation over a single daemon core.

    Shi Peipei studied it carefully; Liu Ruping was nervous. A while later, Shi Peipei said, ¡°Sir, the quality of your earth element daemon core is very impressive!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°May I ask how much it¡¯s worth?¡±

    Shi Peipei said, ¡°About that. I have a recommendation. I hope that you can hear me out. Before the Herb Gathering ceremony, my humble store will hold an auction. If the daemon core is sold through the auction, you¡¯ll definitely get many more spiritual stones than what we can offer. We¡¯ll only take five percent of the earnings.¡±

    Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could appear for the auction of the school of Miscellany, so if the school did not offer a few items of value, they would be looked down on. And, a person who could casually pull out a daemon core was definitely well-off. If they joined in on the auction, they would be able to raise the prices even higher, making the whole auction better. It was killing two birds with one stone.

    Li Qingshan hesitated. ¡°But I¡¯m in urgent need of spiritual stones right now.¡± And, he was not particularly willing to hand a precious daemon core to someone else.

    Shi Peipei waved her hand dramatically and said to Liu Ruping, ¡°As long as this fellow¡¯s expenditure today doesn¡¯t exceed two thousand spiritual stones, feel free to just hand him the item. If your daemon core doesn¡¯t fetch this price in the auction, it¡¯ll just be on us.¡±

    Liu Ruping bowed happily. ¡°Yes, head manager!¡±

    Li Qingshan hid his surprise. The value of the daemon core had truly surpassed his expectations. However, he seemed to think of something and his face sank slightly.

    Shi Peipei frowned. ¡°Is there anything that dissatisfies you, sir?¡±

    Liu Ruping said, ¡°Little Zhang promised him a discount for this high grade spiritual artifact!¡±

    Little Zhang rubbed his nose as Shi Peipei probed into the matter a little. ¡°Then knock off the extra fifty-two and make it a round eight hundred spiritual stones!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll go with the auction then!¡± This was not what he had been thinking about. Instead, he had been thinking about how humans and daemons were probably unable to maintain their peace forever, and when that day arrived, he would also happen to possess a treasure worth two thousand spiritual stones on his body.

    Wealth begets trouble!

 Chapter 225 â€“ Sword Qi Calligraphy

    Shi Peipei¡¯s wrinkles seemed to ripple. ¡°Then I¡¯ll write up an agreement for you right now, sir.¡± They had obtained another valuable item for the auction this time. They could attract even more Qi Practitioners now.

    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s best if you hold onto some spiritual stones. I will prepare a private box for you. Quite a lot of wondrous treasures will appear in this auction. If something catches your eye but you miss out on it due to insufficient funds, that¡¯ll be quite the pity.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart stirred. ¡°May I ask what treasures will there be? Is there a catalogue?¡± Perhaps he could find the second half of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. Although he knew the chances were very slim, it still piqued his interest.

    Shi Peipei said, ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient for us to reveal the exact lineup to you, but we will soon advertise a few items of great value, including the daemon core. You can ask Ruping about this.¡±

    ¡°Feel free to ask me, sir.¡± Liu Ruping smiled gently and gracefully. Her gaze towards Li Qingshan was very much affectionate.

    If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan had seen how quickly she could turn hostile, he would have almost been fooled by her.

    Shi Peipei passed a jade token to Li Qingshan. ¡°Please be careful, sir. You must not lose this. We only look at the token and not the person. If someone else comes to us with this token, we¡¯ll give the spiritual stones to them.¡±

    Li Qingshan focused on the token, and an agreement immediately appeared. ¡°I¡¯ll take good care of it!¡± Afterwards, he extended his hand towards little Zhang.

    Little Zhang placed the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water into Li Qingshan¡¯s palm in a hurry. Coldness pierced his body, but it was extremely comfortable as well. As true qi flowed into the spiritual artifact, he immediately experienced a sensation like his blood vessels were connected to it. However, it was slightly sluggish, as if something blocked his blood flow.

    Little Zhang said, ¡°If you want to achieve the most optimal effects with high grade spiritual artifacts, you¡¯ll need some time. Only when you refine it with true qi can you truly wield it freely as a part of your own body.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. He did not stow it away into his hundred treasures pouch. Instead, he held and played around with it, seeping it with strands of true qi. The transparent, crystal ice whale was as exquisite as a piece of art. No one would have believed it was a weapon.

    Shi Peipei took her leave, while Liu Ruping said gently, ¡°If there¡¯s anything else you require, sir, feel free to tell me.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked casually, ¡°What if I said I required you?¡±

    Liu Ruping blushed in embarrassment. ¡°Oh my, how can you say that, sir? And, what¡¯s so good about me?¡±

    ¡°Old man Zhang, if you keep babbling nonsense, I¡¯ll rip off your mouth!¡± Liu Ruping shot a glare at little Zhang, but she was not annoyed at all.

    When Li Qingshan and Liu Ruping returned to the lobby, the other women downstairs had already heard everything that had happened. They all raised their heads at the same time.

    Liu Ruping held her head and chest up high. She acted completely different from her usual aloofness. She purposefully remained very close to Li Qingshan, almost tempted to press against him as she walked. Her fragrance tickled Li Qingshan¡¯s nose.

    Although Li Qingshan had heard plenty about gold diggers and sugar babies across his two lives, he could not help but be surprised when he realised he had become a ¡®sugar daddy¡¯, Women can actually stoop so low. Is there still a difference between women like this and prostitutes?

    The other women in palace wear were all envious. Just why did Ruping end up so lucky? If they had gone up to receive him earlier instead¡­

    Their gazes towards Li Qingshan were completely different compared to before. There was respect that could enchant the hearts of all men.

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood. Now this is the treatment that the strong receive! No matter what age, no matter what world, the strong will flaunt their strength, and the weak will attach themselves to the strong. When the strong gains something, the weak will lose something.

    Only failures would lament about the fickleness of human nature. Only the weak would grumble about the cruelness of society. Meanwhile, the strong only needed to grit their teeth and become even stronger.

    Upon understanding this, the slight uneasiness completely vanished. He fiddled around with the ice whale as he smiled pointlessly. In Liu Ruping¡¯s eyes, he seemed to be utterly charming. Of course, this was charm only the strong possessed.

    Li Qingshan brought Liu Ruping to the tea table and pulled out a chair for her. Liu Ruping was obviously flattered, and she smiled in an extremely reserved manner. After taking a sip of tea, Li Qingshan began to ask her about the auction.

    Liu Ruping obviously told him everything that she knew. She told him everything about the items to be auctioned this time, which included various spiritual herbs, spiritual stones, rare treasures, and strange beasts. As expected, there was a huge assortment of items. Just the number of high grade spiritual artifacts amounted to seven or eight.

    Liu Ruping even disclosed to him secretly that the ultimate treasure for the auction this time was a supreme grade spiritual artifact. The starting price would be five thousand spiritual stones, and it was estimated to fetch over ten thousand spiritual stones.

    While Li Qingshan was interested, he knew that was not something he could afford. Even if he could afford it, he would not be bold enough to buy it. The people who were able to produce so many spiritual stones were Foundation Establishment cultivators like the sect masters of the three mountains at the very least. He would just be looking for death if he tried to snatch food from the tiger¡¯s mouth. He would probably be crushed to a pulp the moment he set foot out of the town.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there any cultivation methods in the auction?¡±

    Liu Ruping shook her head. Li Qingshan lowered his head and sipped the tea as he sank into his thoughts. It made sense. He would not run into something like that so easily, or Sun Fubai¡¯s efforts over all these years would have all just been a waste of time. However, he was not dejected. The world would never let down those who kept trying. He would definitely travel even further and even more extensively than Sun Fubai.

    Liu Ruping saw Li Qingshan¡¯s disappointment, so she added in a hurry, ¡°There are no cultivation methods, but there is a piece of calligraphy.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked absentmindedly, ¡°What calligraphy?¡±

    Liu Ruping said, ¡°It¡¯s called Sword Qi Calligraphy or something. Apparently, it was left behind by some ancient sword immortal, but it only seemed like a mid grade spiritual artifact to me. It¡¯s just a great mess of calligraphy strokes. They must have come up with this description in an attempt to have it auctioned off. Only an idiot would fall for that and buy it. If you want a weapon, a high grade spiritual artifact is obviously better.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the yellow, rippling water in his cup and saw his expression change slightly in the reflection. He asked without looking up, ¡°That¡¯s true. Only an idiot would buy something like that. However, since the Sword Qi Calligraphy is a mid grade spiritual artifact, what are its uses?¡±

    Liu Ruping said with disdain, ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just like its name. It can launch a few strands of sword qi.¡±

    The tea rippled. Li Qingshan suppressed his inner joy and asked Liu Ruping a few more random questions. He learned that Liu Ruping came from a similar background to Qian Rongzhi. She had also originated from a small clan that was not even really a clan. Her talent was limited, so she did not receive a lot of resources. It led to quite a grumble from her.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I heard that the Hawkwolf Guard recruits anyone regardless of their background, as long as they¡¯re Qi Practitioners. Why don¡¯t you try joining?¡±

    Liu Ruping said in surprise, ¡°The Hawkwolf Guard? That¡¯s killing and murder everyday! And, I¡¯d have to rush around through the rain and wind. Not to boast, but even a bad month in the store of Miscellaneous Goods lets me make much more than what a regular Hawkwolf Guard makes.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough!¡± Li Qingshan understood that she was completely different from Qian Rongzhi. She was nowhere near as ambitious or vicious as that woman. However, if all the women in the world were like her, there was no point for men to exist anymore.

    Liu Ruping could not help but ask, ¡°Is there anything else you want to buy? Why don¡¯t you get a high quality garment tailored for you? I¡¯m very good at choosing clothes. I can choose quite a few good ones for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted her with a smile, ¡°No, I want to sell some more things!¡±

    Liu Ruping was stunned.

    In the end, Li Qingshan unloaded several hundred talismans, basically all of them on him apart from the high and supreme grade ones, onto the store of Miscellaneous Goods. He obtained another few hundred spiritual stones. The Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains was drawing close, so the value of talismans just happened to be high. It was a good deal.

    Originally, Li Qingshan had wanted to buy a pill cauldron, but he gave up on that for now. It was not like he was in a hurry to refine pills at the moment.

    If the Sword Qi Calligraphy was truly the item he was thinking about, really a part of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, then he had to obtain it. He could not allow it to fall into the hands of others.

    The Cursive Sword Calligraphy currently in his possession was basically between high grade and supreme grade. If he could find another piece of it and join them together, then it would truly be a supreme grade spiritual artifact worth over ten thousand spiritual stones.

    As for the actual value of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, it was probably much more than just that. It was enough to earn a few words of praise from the black ox. In the past, he might not have known what that signified, but he knew just how great the black ox¡¯s insight was now.

    Normally, a mid grade spiritual artifact would never exceed a hundred spiritual stones in price, but he could not afford to treat everyone else as fools. He could not be certain that others would not realise that something was amiss, so he had to ensure that nothing could go wrong. He had to gather as many spiritual stones as he could to guarantee that he would be able to win at the auction.

    With that settled, Li Qingshan ignored Liu Ruping¡¯s disappointed gaze and left the store of Miscellaneous Goods. He was prepared to leave the town.

    On the raucous street, he glanced back at the verdant Green Vine mountain again. He wondered if Yu Zijian would be able to wait until Hua Chenglu arrived.

    Not everyone was worth waiting for, so he chose to wait for nobody. However, he hoped that she could wait until the person she wanted to wait for arrived.

    With the bamboo basket on his back, he bid farewell to Sun Fubai in the bookstore before checking out of the inn. He left the inn and suddenly stopped.

    Yu Zijian stood under the sun outside the inn, smiling even more resplendently than the sun. She held a girl who was slightly smaller than her by the hand, who also seemed rather reluctant. It was Hua Chenglu.

    Li Qingshan smiled in relief. This was what made trust among humans treasurable, wasn¡¯t it?

    If you could boldly trust in someone even if you had been fooled a hundred times, you would still end up with true friends one day. Although he walked a lonely path of determination and decisiveness, he also admired her bravery and resolve.

    ¡°Niu Juxia, this is Chenglu!¡± Yu Zijian basically dragged Hua Chenglu in front of Li Qingshan and introduced her to him happily.

 Chapter 226 â€“ The Auction

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s no problem! Zi Jian, since your friend has come, I don¡¯t have to worry. I have some matters I need to attend to, so I¡¯ll be going first. I¡¯ll tell your father that you¡¯re safe and sound.¡±

    Before the two of them could reply, Li Qingshan strode off, vanishing into the crowd in the blink of an eye.

    Hua Chenglu was young, but she was much more quick-witted than Yu Zijian. If he made too much contact with her, she might see through his disguise.

    Hua Chenglu murmured, ¡°Zijian, he¡¯s so rude. Does he really want to help you? Though, his back does seem a little familiar.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because Niu Juxia is very kind! How can he have any ill intentions?¡± Yu Zijian defended Li Qingshan in a hurry.

    Hua Chenglu shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re still young and ignorant. You¡¯d better be careful about being trafficked off somewhere. You¡¯ll even end up having to count the buyer¡¯s money.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s young and ignorant. Niu Juxia is a good person. How could he do anything bad to me?!¡± Yu Zijian widened her eyes.

    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯m not going to try to convince you otherwise anymore.¡± Hua Chenglu turned around and left.

    Yu Zijian asked in a hurry, ¡°Hey, where are you going?¡±

    Hua Chenglu pointed at the mountain nearby with her chin. ¡°The Green Vine mountain, obviously!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the Proud Sword manor. Yu Shukuang was not there, currently out collecting food and alcohol.

    Thinking about how Yu Zijian would return very soon anyway, Li Qingshan stopped worrying and ventured deep underground again through the hole in his estate outside the city.

    This region was already as familiar to him as his own backyard. He knew every single proper demon in this place. After transforming into his true form, he had no need to worry about being attacked by some ignorant daemon. Instead, it made it all much more interesting. They would all emerge and greet him, ¡°Leader, you¡¯ve returned!¡±

    Li Qingshan would nod slightly in a stern manner, maintaining his dignity as the leader. However, what he thought inside was, Quite a lot of these guys are about to lose their lives because of the daemon cores in them. Who¡¯s fault is this supposed to be?

    If he were still a human, there would probably be no need for him to consider this question at all. He would treat hunting down daemons for their daemon cores as something perfectly justifiable.

    However, after becoming a daemon himself, receiving help from daemons and becoming friends and the leader of daemons, his thoughts gradually changed.

    He walked through the deep, quiet caves, uncertain over just how far he had already walked.

    A speck of blue light flickered in the endless darkness ahead of him. It was like the only star in the pitch-black night sky.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. You sure are easy to read!

    There was no need for him to hibernate at all, just like maintaining his vegetarian diet, but he continued with his primal instincts. Probably because he had failed to sense any dangerous auras, Milliped rolled over on the stone platform and did not rise.

    Sleep as much as you can, while you still can!

    Li Qingshan did not wake him up. He just leaned against the stone platform by himself, pressing his spine against the cold rock and sensing the pulsing spiritual qi inside. He slowly entered a meditative trance.

    Xiao An, on the other hand, took out the Book of All and looked through it carefully. No matter how abundant the information in the book was, it was still more convenient when it was all stored in one¡¯s head.

    The blue butterflies of light fluttered their wings millions of times in the darkness. A month passed by quietly.

    A whistling gust of wind was suddenly kicked up in the quiet cavern. The butterflies drifted about as the sea of flowers waved in the wind.

    At one end of the wind was Li Qingshan sucking in a deep breath. He stood up and checked himself inside. He smiled in satisfaction.

    He had already converted all of his true qi into Gui Water true qi, and he had opened another meridian at the same time. He had reached the fourth layer as a Qi Practitioner.

    His true qi had never been so powerful before. He took out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and channeled true qi into it. Sword qi flew out and pierced the stone wall silently.

    A blue butterfly of light fluttered happily through the air for a while before suddenly splitting into two. The attack was so powerful that it could instantly kill regular sixth or seventh layer Qi Practitioners. It would even be able to pose a significant danger to ninth layer Qi Practitioners.

    If he really ended up returning the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to its original state, just how powerful would it be? He became more and more eager. Calculating the amount of time that had passed, it was about time for him to participate in the auction.

    Xiao An had already climbed into the bamboo basket automatically and was now standing in it. Li Qingshan said, ¡°You can just stay here this time. It¡¯s quite troublesome for me to carry a bamboo basket all the time, mostly because it just draws too much attention.¡±

    All Qi Practitioners had hundred treasures pouches, yet he just had to carry a bamboo basket on his back. Both Sun Fubai in the bookstore and Liu Ruping had indirectly asked him about it before. Although they were probably just curious, he could not be certain that someone observant would not end up realising something.

    He guaranteed, ¡°If there¡¯s anything good to eat or drink, I¡¯ll definitely bring it back for you.¡±

    ¡°You find me troublesome?¡± Xiao An pouted.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    ¡°That is!¡±

    ¡°Listen to me!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Li Qingshan shot a glance at her before sighing inside, Stay calm, stay calm. Communicate, communicate.

    He squatted down. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you want to stay here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to separate from you.¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes drooped down.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯ll just be for a short while.¡±

    ¡°Not even a short while.¡±

    ¡°Whatever then, I¡¯m going to leave you behind!¡± Li Qingshan strode towards the cave, alarming a large flock of butterflies. He took a few steps before looking back. All he saw was that she continued to stand in the bamboo basket, without crying or throwing a tantrum, just staring straight at him, as if she was waiting for him to take her along with him.

    He made up his mind. ¡°I¡¯m really going to leave you behind.¡± When he arrived at the entrance of the tunnel, he could not help but look back. She remained just the same as before. If he really did leave like this, she would probably keep waiting until he returned.

    He sighed helplessly. ¡°Come with me!¡±

    Together with the bamboo basket, she rose up into the air with a violent gust of wind, landing in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Xiao An smiled victoriously.

    Li Qingshan pinched her tender cheeks viciously. ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have given in!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°If I¡¯m not by your side, I can¡¯t protect you.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly fell silent.

    ¡°Leader, please leave some for me! Croak croak!¡± A frog leapt around frantically as it spoke human tongue.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense, or I¡¯ll roast you whole and eat you!¡± Li Qingshan placed the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water into the spring of the Ice Condensate water, allowing it to suck up as much water as it wanted. It had already absorbed three tanks worth of water, but it still did not seem to be full.

    The frog was utterly worried out of its mind, but it was powerless to do anything.

    Only when the whale filled up completely did Li Qingshan take it out in satisfaction. He fished out a Pearl Dew pill and tossed it to the frog. ¡°Here, for you.¡± He would not actually take advantage of it. This frog was one of the strongest daemon soldiers under his command. If other Qi Practitioners were bold enough to come for the spring water, they would not be able to take even a drop of the spring water back even if they managed to survive the frog somehow.

    The frog¡¯s tongue shot out, and it ate the Pearl Dew pill. ¡°Croak! Thank you, leader!¡± Although the spring water was teeming with spiritual qi, it still could not be compared to the effects of high quality pills refined by humans at the end of the day.

    ¡°Keep guarding this place. Don¡¯t forget about the gathering!¡± Li Qingshan handed over a few more matters before leaving the cavern again.

    ¡°Croak, croak! I won¡¯t forget!¡± called out the frog. With a plonk, it dove into the Ice Condensate water.

    Li Qingshan moved through the cave quickly. With a jolt of the crystal whale in his hand, there was a gurgle, and it spat out a huge blade. It even condensed a beautiful, crystal hand guard. It was perfect for Li Qingshan to unleash the full advantage of his strength, and it was an appropriate size and length for him. It was extremely heavy as well, over five hundred kilograms in weight. Even Li Qingshan could not wield it with just a single hand.

    He had been constantly channeling his Gui Water true qi into the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water. His aura had filled it completely now, without any sluggishness anymore. It was as if it was now an extension of his limb. When he created weapons, he did not have to let out the water then wait for it to slowly freeze either. It would condense in a single moment.

    However, fourth layer Gui Water true qi was still slightly insufficient to unleash the power of this high grade spiritual artifact.

    Li Qingshan arrived in the Proud Sword manor. Yu Shukuang had already returned, passing a full hundred treasures pouch to Li Qingshan. He wanted to say something, but he hesitated.

    Li Qingshan checked the hundred treasures pouch and smiled in satisfaction. Then he asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t I see your daughter?¡±

    Yu Shukuang was surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t she go to the Green Vine mountain? Why would she be able to return?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°In other words, she hasn¡¯t returned yet?¡± Was the Green Vine Elder really going to disrespect the Hua family?

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°She hasn¡¯t returned at all. Did you see her?¡±

    Li Qingshan told him about how he had met Yu Zijian in the market below the Green Vine mountain.

    Yu Shukuang sighed. ¡°Thank you for your troubles. As long as she hasn¡¯t endured any harassment, I can be relieved as her father. As for whether she joins the Academy of the Hundred Schools or the Green Vine mountain, that¡¯s probably beyond our control.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll be visiting the Green Vine mountain again very soon. I¡¯ll take a look at just exactly what has happened. Just wait for the news from me!¡± He took out another empty hundred treasures pouch and handed it to Yu Shukuang. ¡°I still need you to collect food, but it¡¯s not that urgent this time. Just keep an eye out when you go about your usual business. Remember, don¡¯t alert too many people.¡±

    The underground daemons had an endless demand for surface food, and it would also be his main method for controlling his subordinates as the leader of the daemon soldiers. He obviously needed someone to handle this for him.

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°That¡¯s easy. The Proud Sword manor has already purchased over a dozen large restaurants, and it¡¯s in charge of several large grain vendors too. It¡¯ll be much easier to handle this from here on out!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s some dedication!¡± Yu Shukuang had lived up to all the time and effort Li Qingshan had spent on him. He was in need of a clever subordinate who could read between the lines and plan ahead. He did not have the time or energy to construct his own network of people, but Yu Shukuang was capable of this. Otherwise, how was he supposed to have managed to create such a large Proud Sword manor?

    He handed all of his silver notes to Yu Shukuang. ¡°Don¡¯t hesitate about the money when it comes to handling this matter. In the future, you definitely won¡¯t just be leading some figures of the jianghu.¡±

    Yu Shukuang¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He smiled. ¡°If it won¡¯t just be some figures of the jianghu, will there be Qi Practitioners as well? I don¡¯t have that ability with my talent. I¡¯ve reached the innate realm at such a late age, so it¡¯s already quite impressive for me to be able to reach the second layer of Qi Practitioner.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank. ¡°If you¡¯re satisfied with the second layer, then forget I said anything.¡± Second layer Qi Practitioners were at the bottom of the food chain among Qi Practitioners. Not only would a subordinate like that fail to provide any great help to him, but he would probably even require him to resolve many issues for him. There would be no point in keeping a subordinate like that around.

    Yu Shukuang looked into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. His pitch-black irises seemed to be burning. The ambition and confidence hidden within made Yu Shukuang¡¯s heart shiver slightly. Before this person, there was no need for him to act modest. It was the exact opposite. He needed to demonstrate sufficient ambition and confidence to gain his favour. This also happened to be his specialty.

    ¡°I heard that if you practise qi, practise qi, and then practise some more qi, you can overcome some sort of barrier and step into the world of immortals. I want to try.¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan smile. He placed a Pill of Spring Breeze and Rain into Yu Shukuang¡¯s palm. ¡°That realm is called Foundation Establishment. It means that everything is just the beginning.¡±

    There was a hubbub of noise in the town as people gathered together, brushing past one another.

    Qi Practitioners that regular people rarely ever saw were everywhere. Every single one of them were slightly eager and nervous. The once-a-decade Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains was about to begin in three day¡¯s time.

    The great adventure in the subterranean world was about to unfold. It was filled with opportunities and danger. Some people could strike it rich overnight, while others could die as nobodies. Everyone hoped to be the former and wished for everyone else to be the latter. They had made sufficient preparations as well. Their gazes towards one another had already become extremely cold.

    The quiet Tranquil teahouse was actually filled with customers. The brewer, Lu Ziyu, was basically completely tied up. Qi Practitioners at the sixth layer and higher were present everywhere now, and only they could afford to drink something so luxurious.

    The other stores were basically facing the same predicament. Business was booming. However, only the store of Miscellaneous Goods had very few visitors. Once the flow of people reached here, they would be pushed away by an invisible barrier, preventing them from getting any closer. Unless they held an invitation, only powerful Qi Practitioners of the sixth layer or higher could directly step through the formations and enter the building under everyone¡¯s envious and admiring gazes.

    Li Qingshan arrived extremely early. He was already seated in his private box, quietly waiting for the auction to begin. Looking outside, every single private box was enveloped by a layer of mist, blocking any curious gazes.

    At this moment, Liu Ruping walked in with a smile. Li Qingshan said immediately, ¡°You can go. I don¡¯t need your service!¡±

    Liu Ruping¡¯s smile stiffened, but she saw how resolute Li Qingshan was, so she could only back out. She thought, Since you¡¯re so heartless, don¡¯t blame me for being disloyal!

    The lid of the bamboo basket opened by a small crack, revealing Xiao An¡¯s crystal clear eyes. ¡°You didn¡¯t want me to come because you wanted to with her¡­¡±

    Smack! Li Qingshan pressed the lid down. ¡°What would a child know about?¡±

    A gong rang through the entire hall, and Shi Peipei climbed onto the stage in a set of violet, silken clothes. She bowed with folded hands at first, thanking everyone for attending, before introducing herself and declaring that the auction had begun.

    Items were auctioned off one after another. It began with a stack of low grade talismans, before progressing to mid grade talismans. The value of the items increased as the auction progressed, as did the bidding.

    Li Qingshan waited calmly for the only thing that he wanted, the Sword Qi Calligraphy, to appear.

    ¡°The next item is the Sword Qi Calligraphy penned by an ancient sword immortal. It can unleash strokes of sword qi. Although it¡¯s just a mid grade spiritual artifact, it contains great understanding of the path of the sword, and this Sword Qi Calligraphy should only be an incomplete fragment of the actual thing. If someone assembles the other fragments, it¡¯ll be much more than just a mid grade spiritual artifact. The starting price is one hundred spiritual stones.¡±

    As the calligraphy scroll was unfurled, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. It can¡¯t be wrong. This is it. He did not understand calligraphy, but the sharp, twisted style hidden within was exactly the same as the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    For a final confirmation, he glanced at Xiao An. Xiao An was proficient at both calligraphy and the sword, so she could not be wrong. With a gentle nod from her, Li Qingshan smiled. While it was a little expensive compared to regular mid grade spiritual artifacts, with a starting price of a hundred spiritual stones, it was still being auctioned off as a mid grade spiritual artifact. He had prepared over a thousand spiritual stones for it, so nothing should end up going wrong.

    After Shi Peipei announced the starting price, everyone fell into a temporary silence.

    A hundred spiritual stones for a mid grade spiritual artifact really was not a good deal. Apart from very few people like Li Qingshan, everyone present was a knowledgeable Qi Practitioner. Who knows how many auctions they had already attended in the past. They had already grown immune to something that was supposed to originate from some ancient sword immortal. There were plenty of ancient cultivators, so why wouldn¡¯t a few items end up being passed down?

    Even if the Sword Qi Calligraphy had once shone resplendently, it was just a mid grade spiritual artifact now. No one dared to hope that they could find the other fragments. Even if they did find them, how were they supposed to assemble it?

    This was similar to the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. It seemed to be hiding great value, but the value was just far too unrealistic. Most cultivators looked for practicality instead.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Just when he was about to bid, a muffled voice suddenly rang out nearby from another private box, ¡°Two hundred spiritual stones!¡± Right off the bat, he demonstrated his desire to obtain this item, which directly quelled the thoughts of many Qi Practitioners of casting a random bid.

    Shi Peipei said, ¡°Alright. This fellow bids two hundred spiritual stones. Is there anyone else willing to bid higher?¡± The Sword Qi Calligraphy had been appraised by her, and she had deemed it to be a special item. That was why she specially priced it a little high, higher than most mid grade spiritual artifacts. If a special item was unable to fetch a price befitting a special item, she would rather have it passed on. There were plenty of days to come for it to be sold.

    Li Qingshan sighed slightly. As he had expected, he was not the only one who had recognised the value of this item. He also bid. ¡°Three hundred spiritual stones!¡±

    His voice passed through the blocking mist and immediately became twisted and vague. It was no longer even possible to tell whether it came from a man or a woman.

    Shi Peipei glanced deeply at the private box. She knew that was Li Qingshan¡¯s box, and she smiled. As it seemed, the special item would be sold for a price it deserved today.

    As expected, the other box bid again after a moment of silence. ¡°Four hundred spiritual stones!¡± He had actually raised the price by another hundred spiritual stones.

    The auction centre fell quiet, followed by a slight hubbub. Four hundred spiritual stones were already enough to buy an inferior high grade spiritual artifact. Why would someone pay that much for a mid grade spiritual artifact? Was the Sword Qi Calligraphy really hiding something? Or did the school of Miscellany hire someone to purposefully raise the price?

    There were quite a few people who became tempted, but none of them were willing to risk the spiritual stones in their hundred treasures pouches. They just watched on quietly as the two of them competed against one another. They were rather surprised by the fact that the first intense bidding war had already begun before a high grade spiritual artifact had even appeared.

    Li Qingshan frowned and said calmly, ¡°Five hundred spiritual stones.¡±

 Chapter 227 â€“ Killing Inten

    t

    Li Qingshan also heard the anger contained in this voice, but he was unfazed. He continued, ¡°Seven hundred spiritual stones!¡±

    ¡°Eight hundred spiritual stones.¡±

    Li Qingshan said directly, ¡°One thousand spiritual stones.¡±

    Everyone became momentarily stunned. Even high grade spiritual artifacts rarely fetched a price beyond a thousand spiritual stones.

    Was there really something extraordinary about the Sword Qi Calligraphy? That was what everyone thought, but no one was bold enough to bid right now. By the time they bid and actually spent over a thousand spiritual stones to purchase a mid grade spiritual artifact of some unknown use, they would not even be able to cry anymore.

    ¡°Is there anyone else who wants to bid higher? If there isn¡¯t, then the Sword Qi Calligraphy will be going to this fellow.¡±

    Shi Peipei¡¯s eyes swiveled about as she smiled from ear to ear with her wrinkly face.

    No more voices rang out from the thick mist, perhaps because it was no longer worth it, or they were coming up with another plan.

    Shi Peipei said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Sir, the Sword Qi Calligraphy goes to you.¡±

    A while later, the Sword Qi Calligraphy was delivered to Li Qingshan. He unfurled it eagerly. The strokes on the scroll were intricate and sharp, brimming with sword qi. However, it was half the size of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, which was why it was a mid grade spiritual artifact.

    As it seemed, the calligraphy had not been evenly divided in the past. The issue now was how to assemble it.

    Li Qingshan tried taking out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and placing it on the Sword Qi Calligraphy before shaking it, but they showed no signs of merging together. He was slightly disappointed.

    However, he immediately became riled up. His cultivation was still too low right now. It took him quite the effort even to wield a high grade spiritual artifact, so it was impossible for him to refine a supreme grade spiritual artifact. Otherwise, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy would be much more complicated than just being able to launch a few strands of sword qi.

    Only when his cultivation had caught up and he had refined both spiritual artifacts could he try again.

    Xiao An looked at it eagerly, so Li Qingshan handed it to her. Then, Li Qingshan glanced at the private box shrouded with mist and muttered to himself, ¡°Why did that person want the Sword Qi Calligraphy?¡±

    Xiao An immediately began to study the Sword Qi Calligraphy. She lay down on the thick, silken carpet, supporting her chin with her left hand while she used a finger on her right hand like a sword, moving about rapidly within a limited region. She produced blurs with her small hand, which seemed like a sword dance, yet also like calligraphy. There was a beautiful rhythm to it.

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood. Yep, that¡¯s probably the main reason. Unless they also possessed a fragment, no Qi Practitioner would be willing to gamble several hundred spiritual stones on something like this.

    At this moment, there were a few gentle knocks on the door. Li Qingshan opened it, and Liu Ruping said, ¡°The person who bid against you earlier wishes to see you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright. I just happen to want to see him too.¡± He became more and more certain about his guesses. Assembling the Sword Qi Calligraphy and the Cursive Sword Calligraphy would definitely result in a supreme grade spiritual artifact. If he could obtain another fragment, just what would it become? A legendary arcane artifact?

    Liu Ruping backed out obediently. She actually did not try to pester him anymore. After leaving the private box, she smiled scornfully, but she was not in a hurry to pass on the message. Instead, she walked to another private box and knocked on the door.

    A young man opened the door, and surprisingly, it was Mu Zhicong. He let her in and directly asked, ¡°Why have you only come now?¡±

    Liu Ruping threw a fake tantrum. ¡°The customer who bid against him earlier wanted to see that Niu person, which is why I came a little late. Senior brother Mu, I hope that you can forgive me!¡±

    Mu Zhicong was not too worried about this. He turned around and said, ¡°Senior brother Song, I never thought that this bastard would be so wealthy. If he sells that daemon core too, he¡¯ll have two or three thousand spiritual stones on him at the very least. You can say that this is a blessing in disguise for you, senior brother.¡±

    Seated there was the senior brother Song from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, who Li Qingshan had tossed out in a single move, Song Ming.

    Liu Ruping added, ¡°That¡¯s not all. He just spent eight hundred spiritual stones earlier for a high grade spiritual artifact, and he exchanged some spiritual talismans for a few hundred spiritual stones as well.¡± Originally, the transactions of customers with the school of Miscellany were an absolute secret; breaches would result in severe punishments.

    However, as she had failed to curry any favour from Li Qingshan, she was resentful, and Mu Zhicong just happened to come at this time, asking for any information regarding Li Qingshan. He got her to report back to him immediately whenever she saw Li Qingshan. He offered her many benefits in exchange.

    Liu Ruping saw Li Qingshan set foot in the store of Miscellaneous Goods and immediately reported this to Mu Zhicong, who was in another private box. However, Mu Zhicong had his own plans.

    Song Ming sat there, unfazed, as he glanced at Mu Zhicong. ¡°You¡¯ve purposefully come to tell me this. What are you planning?¡±

    Mu Zhicong walked over and patted Song Ming¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The disciples of the three mountains stand together. Since you¡¯ve been insulted, senior brother, how can I just stay by and watch? I just happened to run into this bastard a while back, and I wanted to kill him for you then and there. Unfortunately, thinking about how even senior brother was not his opponent, I would never be able to defeat him with my cultivation. Right now, the people from your sect are nearby, so this is the best opportunity for revenge you will ever have.¡±

    Although he smiled, killing intent was pent up inside. Niu Juxia, oh Niu Juxia. Our relationship wasn¡¯t so horrible before, but how dare you actually try to take Zijian away. As such, don¡¯t blame me for showing no mercy now. You¡¯re a mere independent cultivator, yet you still act so arrogantly. Even if you don¡¯t die to my hands, you¡¯ll die elsewhere. I¡¯ll just be sending you off a little earlier.

    Song Ming clenched his fists. He was pale. Ever since that last battle, he had become famous about the three mountains, regularly mocked and made fun of by others. It was basically the greatest humiliation he had ever experienced in his life. He could never just accept it like this.

    Now that he knew his enemy was nearby, he was overcome by anger. And, three thousand spiritual stones were enough to interest any Qi Practitioner. No matter what scheme Mu Zhicong had in mind, he would try anyway.

    In the end, he asked carefully, ¡°You¡¯re not telling me that your Green Vine mountain doesn¡¯t want in on a share of this, right?¡±

    Mu Zhicong said, ¡°Our Green Vine mountain serves as the host. If we work with others to kill independent cultivators before the Herb Picking ceremony, it¡¯ll probably make everyone fearful and affect the procession of the ceremony. Even if I had the courage, I wouldn¡¯t try to. However, if it¡¯s just personal grievances, then there¡¯s nothing wrong with it at all. And, how can senior brother Song not give me a share?¡±

    Song Ming¡¯s expression wavered before he suddenly snorted coldly and left through the door. ¡°Keep a close eye on him for me!¡±

    Mu Zhicong said, ¡°Ruping, keep monitoring him. Once this is all over, there¡¯ll be plenty of benefits for you!¡±

    Liu Ruping pressed over, wanting to flatter up to him. She said gently, ¡°I knew that a brute like him wouldn¡¯t be able to break free from your schemes!¡±

    Mu Zhicong became impatient with her. He pushed her aside and made his way out.

    Liu Ruping stamped her foot down viciously. Not a single man is decent.

    Li Qingshan was clueless about these schemes. The auction had broadened his horizons. He gained a rough estimate of the value of spiritual artifacts and herbs.

    However, his item had yet to appear in the auction. He wanted to see just how much a daemon core would be worth.

    A while later, an earthen-yellow daemon core was presented on the auction table.

    ¡°A class seven earth element daemon core. It can be used to make Earth Element pills¡­ Starting price of one thousand spiritual stones.¡± Shi Peipei gave a lengthy introduction to the uses of the daemon core before finally stating the starting price. Just the starting price was higher than most high grade spiritual artifacts. Not only was it because it was rarer, but it was also because its usage was broader.

    Shi Peipei cast her gaze to the few boxes with the best positions at the very top. Since the very beginning, they had been extremely quiet, as if nothing could interest them.

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips together and wondered if he should throw in a few dummy bids to get the ball rolling. However, he soon discovered that there was no need for this at all.

    The boxes at the very top that had been silent the entire time finally placed their first bid. ¡°One thousand two hundred spiritual stones.¡±

    ¡°One thousand five hundred!¡±

    ¡°One thousand six hundred!¡±

    The price of the daemon core increased rapidly as Li Qingshan¡¯s smile grew wider and wider. He scooped up Xiao An and rubbed his face against her smooth cheek. ¡°Haha, we¡¯re rich!¡±

    The tumultuous centre quietened down once more. The auction had ended, and the lights on the stage dimmed.

    However, Li Qingshan could still clearly ¡°see¡± the lingering aura in the air. The lively atmosphere did not seem to settle down just yet.

    Li Qingshan remained in his box. He did not leave as he thought back to the bidding war earlier.

    Of course, this was not for the daemon core, but for a supreme grade spiritual artifact shaped like a small bottle.

    The starting price was three thousand five hundred spiritual stones, and basically every bid increased it by five hundred. The Qi Practitioners below were on the edge of their seats with each bid, while the Foundation Establishment cultivators remained calm. They bid at ease. During the entire process, regardless of who won the item in the end, they remained calm.

    Not a single Qi Practitioner was bold enough to participate in this mellow bidding war. In the end, the supreme grade spiritual artifact was sold for a price of nine thousand five hundred spiritual stones to a customer in the western box.

    The final victor even said in a composed manner, ¡°Thank you for letting me win!¡±

    Li Qingshan personally believed that he was not capable of something like this. It had nothing to do with one¡¯s breadth of mind; it was purely due to the difference in strength. It made him feel that whether it be humans or daemons, only when they survived a heavenly tribulation had they truly set foot on the path of cultivation, able to control themselves and go about matters free of any burden.

    This was like a child learning how to walk and talk. They could stumble towards their objective and express their thoughts. Whether it be Qi Practitioners or daemons, they were all just babbling as they crawled along the ground.

    Of course, the daemon core reached Li Qingshan¡¯s expectations in the end. Just as Shi Peipei had said, the earth element daemon core surpassed two thousand spiritual stones. It was sold for a price of two thousand six hundred spiritual stones in the end.

 Chapter 228 â€“ Sensing Danger

    Coupled with the earnings from the talismans he had sold, the spiritual stones on Li Qingshan amounted to over two thousand once again. He was even wealthier than before he had bought the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water.

    The reason why he was still seated here was because he was waiting for the Qi Practitioner who wanted to buy the Sword Qi Calligraphy. If he really did possess another fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy on him, Li Qingshan wanted to use these spiritual stones to purchase it from him.

    There were the sounds of footsteps outside. Li Qingshan opened the door, but he found Liu Ruping standing there. ¡°Congratulations, sir. Not only has the daemon core sold for a high price, but you¡¯ve also managed to win what you wanted.¡±

    Li Qingshan saw how there was no one behind her. ¡°Where¡¯s that person?¡±

    Liu Ruping said, ¡°He suddenly changed his mind. Apologies for making you wait for all this time. If there¡¯s nothing else you want to buy, please leave now!¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather puzzled. Didn¡¯t that person want the Sword Qi Calligraphy? Or was he wrong instead and that person came from the school of Miscellany to place dummy bids? Liu Ruping¡¯s sudden change in her attitude raised some suspicion as well. ¡°I¡¯ll see you around.¡± He brushed past Liu Ruping.

    Liu Ruping had her back towards him. Her lips were open, but she made no sounds. She mouthed, ¡°I won¡¯t see you around!¡± She tied up her hair and thought, Though, I really must thank you! All she did was describe Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance and features to that Qi Practitioner, and she had earned twenty spiritual stones. There were not a lot of easy business transactions like this.

    Ever since she had met this Niu person, she had been rolling in wealth. Both the commission from the school of Miscellany for his transactions and selling his information to others had net her a decent sum.

    However, she failed to notice that Li Qingshan had looked back carelessly at her back. A cold light flashed through his eyes.

    There were plenty of people in the world who were vicious, cruel, and willing to suddenly turn against someone. However, there were very few people who were resourceful and insightful at the same time. Qian Rongzhi was one, but there was not a lot of Qian Rongzhis in the world.

    At the very least, she had failed to see through Li Qingshan¡¯s actual character.

    Even the debt of a single meal must be returned, and the grievance of a hostile glare must be resolved.

    ¡­¡­

    Sunlight shone weakly onto the streets, nowhere near enough to purge the coldness brought on by the bitter winds.

    Most Qi Practitioners could ignore changes in temperature at such a level, let alone Li Qingshan with his body as a daemon.

    It was so sharp that it was no longer just a so-called sixth sense. Instead, it directly originated from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    Shamans used turtle shells for divination, using them to forecast celestial phenomena and the future. Spirit turtles bore the nine halls and eight trigrams on their backs, and they possessed extraordinary intelligence. This kind of intelligence would gradually show itself as his cultivation increased. Although it could not forecast the future, he could sense ill omens.

    Li Qingshan exhaled gently, raised his head, and closed his eyes. The ruckus in the surroundings vanished completely, but a sense of being watched appeared in his heart.

    Not only did the person possess extraordinary cultivation, but their method of concealing their aura was extremely impressive as well. Even he would have failed to notice it if he did not pay attention.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. He did not hide in the safe town, instead making his way out. The danger would not subside with time. All he could do was confront it bravely.

    Stepping out of the town, the ground sank slightly, forming a round pit. As if he had stepped onto a springboard, Li Qingshan leapt a hundred paces away. His huge figure took off with unbelievable speed, rising towards the pure white mountains.

    He turned into a mountain pass and vanished.

    The forest rapidly approached him before rapidly receding around him. He dodged the obstacles dexterously, and if he could not dodge, he would directly run through it, but he would not stop. He did not try to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to hide his aura either.

    A thousand steps behind him, a masked man in black clothing stopped hiding his tracks as he pursued.

    Li Qingshan glanced backwards, and his eyes narrowed. It was an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, but that was no danger at all. He should not be experiencing such an intense sensation of danger. Was this really everything?

    He did not stop. Instead, he ran even harder. He leaned forwards, sometimes pushing off the ground with both hands like a black tiger. He assumed the forms of the tiger demon when it came to running through the mountains and forests.

    The masked man cursed inside. He was determined to obtain the Sword Qi Calligraphy, but he never thought someone would get in his way. Originally, he wanted to meet with Li Qingshan to obtain the Sword Qi Calligraphy, whether it was through coercion or promises, but with further thought, he realised that he would have to spend over a thousand spiritual stones at the very least if he wanted to purchase it. It would be painful, like paying with his own flesh.

    As a result, he began to consider killing and robbing. In order to avoid alarming Li Qingshan, he even went as far as to spend twenty spiritual stones to purchase information about Li Qingshan from Liu Ruping.

    However, never did he think that the kid would be so cautious, taking off as soon as he left the town with such startling speed.

    However, he sneered inside. If you hid in the town, I wouldn¡¯t have been bold enough to touch you, but since you¡¯ve come out, you¡¯re just begging to die. Do you really think you can shake me off? It won¡¯t be that easy. He used a movement technique and true qi wrapped around him. Like a black arrow, he directly shot towards Li Qingshan.

    Within a valley covered by snow, fallen leaves were scattered everywhere. A black, spear-like object directly pierced towards the sky.

    As if he had run out of strength, Li Qingshan stood in the knee-deep snow while his body radiated with true qi naturally. All Qi Practitioners would be able to tell that he was at the fourth layer, and he was very much exhausted.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you running anymore?¡±

    After a moment of peace, a cold, complacent voice rang out from behind.

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back and saw a masked man walking over through the snow. He emerged from the forest and left behind footprints in places without snow, gazing at Li Qingshan coldly. Although he had pursued for several dozen kilometers, his true qi was basically untouched.

    Li Qingshan turned around and asked in surprise, ¡°Why are you chasing me?¡±

    The masked man said, ¡°Hand over the Sword Qi Calligraphy.¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t know what a Sword Qi Calligraphy is.¡± Information on his identity should have been an absolute secret. The first person he suspected was Liu Ruping.

    Perhaps it was a rule of the school of Miscellany, but he had become a special customer of hers. She was responsible for serving him in all aspects within the store of Miscellaneous Goods. He was not completely certain, but so what if it was that woman? Hmph, he was not generous enough to forgive someone after being sold out and betrayed.

    The masked man shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t play games with me! If I said it¡¯s you, then it¡¯s you!¡± As he said that, a black vortex formed before him and whistled towards Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    Li Qingshan dodged to one side in a desperate manner, lunging into the snow. He called out in a hurry. ¡°Wait, it¡¯s me! I¡¯ll give it to you!¡±

    The masked man smiled. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out the Sword Qi Calligraphy reluctantly and asked, ¡°Tell me, who told you that I purchased the Sword Qi Calligraphy? Was it the woman who passed on messages for you?¡±

    The masked man affirmed him casually as he looked at the Sword Qi Calligraphy rather excitedly. Who knows whether he thought of the same thing as when Li Qingshan had first obtained the Sword Qi Calligraphy.

    Li Qingshan said viciously, ¡°I won¡¯t spare her.¡±

    The masked man thought, And why would I spare you? He changed the topic. ¡°And your hundred treasures pouch too! Hand it over!¡±

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    The masked man said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll come get it myself!¡± He patted his waist ,and a small, shining sword shot out, directly towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    He did not even take this too seriously. The flying sword of an eighth layer Qi Practitioner could cut up a fourth layer Qi Practitioner like fruit. The reason why he had bothered to converse with him was just out of caution. He wanted to check whether Li Qingshan had a particularly powerful master that he could rely on. He wanted to avoid biting off more than he could chew. After checking and confirming that Li Qingshan was indeed an ordinary independent cultivator, he launched a killing blow without any more hesitation.

    A ray of reflected sunlight dazzled the masked man¡¯s eyes. It formed a rainbow for a brief second.

    There was the screeching of metal and sparks flew. The flying sword spun high into the air.

    A shadow enveloped the masked man. He raised his head in surprise and saw a pair of eyes filled with killing intent, and then he saw a blade, a great big blade composed of ice!

    In a trance, he seemed to see a huge, black tiger lunging towards him with a crystal blade.

    Murderous aura flooded the surroundings.

    All of this happened in just a split second. When Li Qingshan threw himself into the snow, he had secretly gripped the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water and created the ice blade. The moment the flying sword was about to strike him, he swung up with his blade and sent the sword flying.

    Without any hesitation, he lunged forwards. He pushed off with his four limbs towards the masked man like a tiger lunging at its prey.

    This kid hid his strength! The masked man lived up to his identity as an eighth layer Qi Practitioner. He immediately broke free from the restraints of the murderous aura as the thought flashed through his head. He crossed his hands several times before raising them up to block, and a black qi revolved and whistled out.

    The blade and black qi collided violently, producing an ear-splitting sound, like an electric saw going through metal. Pieces of ice flew everywhere.

    Li Qingshan roared out and poured all of his Gui Water true qi into the blade. He did not hold back at all, condensing all of his strength, all of his energy, into the strike as he swung down.

    He was like a volcano that had fallen dormant for many millennia, now finally erupting. Happiness filled his heart. He felt extremely satisfied over the attack regardless of the results it achieved.

    The ice blade was extremely sharp. It sliced through the black swirl of qi, and the masked man paled in fright. This was not the strength that a fourth layer Qi Practitioner should possess!

    The blade swept through the protective true qi with a sharp whistle and blood splattered on the pure-white snow.

    The gust of wind that followed the swing blew away several meters of snow, revealing the black, frozen soil below.

    It left behind a deep gash in the frozen ground.

    Li Qingshan stood with the blade as he wiped away the frozen traces of blood from the weapon. He raised his head and looked at the trees.

    The masked man clutched the wound on his chest and looked down.

    Their gazes met like invisible weapons, clashing again and again and producing sparks in the air.

 Chapter 229 â€“ A Startling Strike

    The masked man formed a seal with his hand to control the sword. His eyes were filled with icy-cold fury. He was no longer careless now. Although the enemy had struck when he was careless, he could not afford to treat him like a fourth layer Qi Practitioner with how he managed to land a blow on him.

    However, he was not worried either. A person would always be slaughtered if they used a close range weapon against a flying sword unless an absolute difference in strength existed.

    Li Qingshan understood this too. He shook the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water and the crystal blade suddenly turned into an ice shield. With a series of clang, the flying sword darted about and struck the shield several dozen times. Not only did it fail to destroy the ice shield, but it even developed a layer of frost instead, making it more sluggish.

    The flying sword shuddered, and its speed returned. It flew around like a bird, constantly searching for a weak point in Li Qingshan¡¯s defence.

    However, the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water had been filled with Ice Condensate water, so the ice shield was half a foot thick, and it covered most of Li Qingshan. Although the flying sword was extremely nimble, it struggled to make any progress.

    ¡°A high grade spiritual artifact!¡± The masked man¡¯s eyes grew even colder and brighter. He had heard from the woman that even the daemon core had originated from him. This was a blessing in disguise. If he managed to kill this kid, it would be quite the harvest for him.

    He took out a painting scroll from his hundred treasures pouch and unfurled it with a shake. The strokes on there were intricate and sharp, criss-crossed with sword qi. It was another fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy!

    All of Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs stood on end. A great sense of danger flooded his mind, like he faced a catastrophe.

    Several dozen strands of sword qi cut through the raging wind and sliced through the drifting snow towards Li Qingshan.

    The vertical stroke was the fastest. It arrived in the blink of an eye, immediately filling Li Qingshan¡¯s field of vision and stabbing deeply into the ice shield.

    The horizontal stroke was the slowest, but it was the grandest and heaviest. The power it contained seemed to be able to sever all life. It left behind a deep gash in the ice shield, causing ice to fly everywhere.

    The ascending and descending strokes followed a lethal trajectory. They actually looped around Li Qingshan, flying directly towards his unguarded back. They basically arrived at the same time as the horizontal and vertical strokes.

    The flying sword did not halt at all, constantly searching for a weak point.

    Li Qingshan roared out, and the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Ice completely spat out all of its Ice Condensate water, forming an ice ball that protected every inch of his body. It was similar to the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    It was stabbed at, struck heavily, sliced at, and torn apart. The ice ball that was supposed to be as tough as steel became as fragile as a bubble under the barrage of sword qi. It produced a series of splitting sounds, riddling the entire ball with cracks.

    Li Qingshan gasped. This was the first time he had witnessed the true strength of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy as someone on the receiving end. The true qi of an eighth layer Qi Practitioner bestowed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy with absolute destructive and lethal power.

    If Li Qingshan had not used Ice Condensate water, but regular spring water or spiritual water, he would have never managed to block that attack.

    At a closer glance, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in the masked man¡¯s hands paled in comparison to his own in both size and glow. It should have only been equivalent to a high grade spiritual artifact.

    The masked man was slightly surprised as well. Who knows how many Qi Practitioners much stronger than him had he already killed with this Sword Calligraphy, but he actually failed to breach the defences of a weaker Qi Practitioner today.

    The flying sword hovered in the air quietly. The masked man said, ¡°Where did you get your high quality spiritual artifact from? How is it able to block my sword qi?¡±

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so determined to get your hands on the Sword Qi Calligraphy. Turns out you really do have another fragment in your possession. Though, killing me won¡¯t be that easy.¡± Li Qingshan shook the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water, and the ice ball turned back into an ice blade without any cracks at all. However, his true qi was significantly depleted. He took out a spiritual stone to recover.

    The masked man suddenly laughed aloud.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯re you laughing at?¡±

    The masked man said, ¡°The more good things you possess, the happier I am, as all of it will belong to me in the end.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Really? Then it seems like I should laugh too.¡±

    The masked man squinted his eyes. ¡°You witnessed all of those moves earlier, so do you really think that you can get out of this alive? Misleading the enemy is a good tactic. You almost even managed to fool me. However, those tricks are completely useless before absolute strength.¡± He rubbed his chest, and the terrifying wound had already begun to close up gradually under the effects of true qi. He was confident it would heal up perfectly before long.

    The reason why he had stopped to talk to Li Qingshan was mostly so that he could use the chance to tend to his wounds and purge the freezing coldness from it. His wound had basically closed up, so he no longer bothered to waste any more time. He pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°Go!¡±

    The flying sword shot off like a bolt of lightning. Li Qingshan also used this opportunity to recover his true qi. He did not transform into his daemon form. He could not afford to release the aura of a daemon here at all. It was very possible that the barren mountains in the surroundings were hiding many Qi Practitioners preparing for the Herb Gathering ceremony. There might have even been prying eyes spying on them right now from the distant mountain peaks.

    They had come to kill daemons. Once they sensed daemon qi, maybe even Foundation Establishment cultivators would be alarmed. He could not take the risk.

    Regular fourth layer Qi Practitioners obviously could not defeat eighth layer Qi Practitioners, but he was no regular fourth layer Qi practitioner. And, he had yet to use his true trump card!

    With a thump, the flying sword stabbed into the shield.

    Li Qingshan had pulled out the low grade spiritual artifact shield that he had not used in a very long time, turning it into the size of a table and lifting it before him.

    In his other hand, the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water had already absorbed all the ice and water into its belly. He pointed it towards the masked man on the tree tops.

    Swish, swish, swish, swish. Countless icicles shot out viciously.

    The masked man completely ignored them. He raised his sleeve, and a wondrous stream of air formed several meters in front of him. Although it was not particularly powerful, it only needed a slight stir to redirect the icicles.

    Cling! Clang! The icicles shot into the dense forest, causing the trees to shake and sway. Snow fell down.

    There was a great boom, as if an invisible elephant had barged into the forest. The huge trees collapsed one after another. The icicles penetrated the bark and erupted with coldness, freezing the trees, and the force directly snapped many of the tree trunks.

    This only demonstrated the power of the attack. If it were used against a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, it would be a terrifying lethal move, but it was nowhere near enough against eighth layer Qi Practitioners. With the opening of each meridian, their true qi would grow by several fold. And, the masked man did not just possess powerful true qi, but ingenious tricks too.

    The masked man seemed to grow impatient, but he only used the flying sword to deal attacks. He refused to take even a step closer to Li Qingshan. Instead, he constantly remained vigilant of his surroundings. He understood the terrifying abilities of Qi Practitioners the most. He would never give him an opportunity to suddenly rush over and injure him again.

    He could only place all of his focus onto the flying sword. The flying sword moved faster and faster, such that it was no longer visible. All that remained were countless flashes of light. It formed a net around Li Qingshan.

    It kicked up a string of rain-like barrages. Li Qingshan swung the shield left and right, but whenever a flash swept past him, it would always leave behind a deep gash in the shield. In the blink of an eye, the shield had become covered in marks. Its glow dim, already on the edge of falling apart now.

    Li Qingshan remained right where he was without moving at all. He knew very well that if he moved, he would definitely reveal an opening, which would give the flying sword an opportunity. And, even if he could draw closer and become embroiled in close combat, he might not necessarily be able to gain the upper hand against an eighth layer Qi Practitioner.

    But if he did not move, how was he supposed to win?

    He was like a wild beast laying in the grass, silently waiting for an opportunity to present itself. He would not move, but if he did, it would be for a fatal blow.

    However, the net pressed closer and closer, and his opportunity instead became less and less likely to appear the longer he waited. He made up his mind. If there was no opportunity, then he would make one. Suddenly, he tossed the shield into the air, knocking the flying sword away. However, his chest was now wide open with that.

    A sneer flashed through the masked man¡¯s eyes. The flying sword moved even faster, striking like lightning.

    With a ruffle, Li Qingshan unfurled the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and blocked his chest with it, launching several dozen strands of sharp sword qi.

    The flying sword collided with a vertical stroke before being sent flying by a horizontal stroke. It was unable to stop the great wave of sword qi.

    The masked man shivered inside. As he looked at the Sword Calligraphy that was even slightly stronger than his own, he was stunned, but he really wanted to laugh out crazily afterwards. Never did I think that the reason why this kid spent so much money to buy the Sword Qi Calligraphy was because he possessed another fragment of it.

    If regular eighth layer Qi Practitioners faced this sudden wave of sword qi, they would probably have to worry for their own lives. However, this was nothing to him. He shook the Sword Calligraphy in his hand again. Who knows how many times denser his true qi was compared to Li Qingshan¡¯s, so he could use the Sword Calligraphy much more liberally. He did not have to worry about depleting all of his true qi from a single use.

    The two waves of sword qi collided in the air, but there was no intense clash, nor did they nullify each other. Instead, they directly merged together, forming a cluster of ink-like black water that varied in shape.

    Li Qingshan and the masked man both ravished with joy. This only proved that the two pieces of calligraphy shared the same origin, and that a possibility to merge them existed.

    However, this only lasted for a split second. The ball of ink elongated to a certain limit before seemingly losing control over its internal pressure and blowing up again. It formed a ring of sword qi that expanded into the surroundings.

    Both of them changed in expression. They did not dare to waste any time at all. Before the sword qi had even arrived, the power had already flooded the surroundings like an avalanche or a tsunami. It had definitely surpassed a supreme grade spiritual artifact in terms of power.

    The masked man shot into the sky like a black arrow. It was already too late for Li Qingshan to dodge, so he knelt down on one knee, wielding a shield in his left hand and the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water in his right, which condensed an extremely narrow but seven-foot-thick lump of ice even further in front of him.

    The wave of sword qi arrived in a flash, expanding to several hundred meters across and destroying all of the surrounding snow and ice. The masked man looked down from above. A black, round figure stood out amidst the white ground. He could not help but gulp as he felt excited for some reason. If he could grasp this power, would there still be any Qi Practitioners that could oppose him?

    With a bang, only half of the round shield in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand remained. All of the spiritual qi had dispersed. It was completely destroyed now. As for the lump of ice even further ahead, it had been cut through the centre as easily as a piece of paper.

    Li Qingshan was shocked as well. If the sword qi had not shot off in all directions and was under the slight control of the enemy, he would have been a dead man already. Even if he had daemonified, he would still be heavily injured.

    Even with that being the case, he had basically destroyed a high grade and low grade spiritual artifact to barely block the sword qi. Fortunately, the weapons of the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water were condensed from water and they could self-repair, or it really would have been quite the loss this time.

    He raised his head and looked at the masked man in the air. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were frigid. The bamboo basket on his back had already vanished.

    The masked man watched the bamboo basket whistle over as he felt stunned. He had no idea what trick this was, but he did not dare to lower his guard. Separating his hands, a black strand of qi rushed out and ripped the bamboo basket to shreds.

    A speck of cold light flickered like a falling star, ripping through the qi. Before the sword had even arrived, the sword intent seemed to pierce his body. The masked man was astounded as he stiffened up slightly.

    Not only had he been stunned by the sword intent, but he was surprised and frightened by it too. The sword intent was clearly the same as the Sword Calligraphy¡¯s. Was there really someone talented enough to comprehend the sword intent within the calligraphy? And, to his disbelief, the wielder was actually a child less than ten years of age.

    Li Qingshan was amazed. Since when did this girl¡¯s sword technique reach a level like this? Despite the great distance, he could sense how terrifying the sword intent was. He could not help but wonder just how he would handle it if the sword was directed towards him instead. However, he was unable to come up with a suitable answer.

    Of course, he was suited for actual combat and not theory. Only in an actual life-or-death struggle would he be able to unleash all of his potential.

    The great threat immediately made the masked man jerk to his senses. He wanted to dodge, but he felt like that was impossible. This was not because he had nothing to push off of. A casual spurt of true qi from an eighth layer Qi Practitioner could blast them ten meters away.

    Xiao An wielded the sword with her white, tender hand as she directed the tip at the masked man. The tip was no longer straight. Instead, the edge constantly trembled.

    Li Qingshan found this to be extremely familiar. He suddenly remembered how Xiao An laid on the ground in the private box and her hand constantly trembled as she drew in the air.

    As it turned out, Xiao An had already patched up a portion of the sword intent from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy after obtaining the Sword Qi Calligraphy. And, when he clashed against the masked man, she had been hiding in the bamboo basket, but she could still see the outside world clearly.

    With a single glance, she had managed to take in the strokes on the masked man¡¯s copy of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy clearly. And, she even felt the sword qi that it had released up close.

    To regular people, all of that had just happened in a split second. They would not have noticed anything. However, to her, a mere glance was already enough.

    All geniuses needed was instantaneous comprehension. The three fragments of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy joined together in her mind, condensing into this one strike. It already possessed a sliver of the ancient sword immortal¡¯s sword intent.

    In that flash, in the face of a devastating attack, it was already too late for the flying sword to save him, and it was too late for him to pull out a talisman. The masked man extended his hand in a crazed panic, releasing all of his true qi and black qi that swirled and rushed out like a tornado.

    Just like in the private box, the tip of the sword suddenly stopped trembling. All of the strokes gathered into a powerful stab.

    Xiao An brushed past the masked man and both of them fell out of the sky.

    Li Qingshan rushed over in a hurry and caught Xiao An. She was pouring with sweat, and her fragrance of sandalwood grew heavier and heavier. Her eyes were dim, but still clear. She was just exhausted.

    The masked man did a flip and landed firmly on the ground. He pointed at Li Qingshan, and then at Xiao An. ¡°You-¡± The moment he uttered a single word, blood spurted from his throat, almost reaching Li Qingshan.

    He trembled a few times before collapsing.

    With a great rumble, several hundred trees gradually tilted and collapsed. The thunderous sound reverberated through the valley.

    At the same time, Xiao An¡¯s hidden blade turned to dust, dispersing in the wind. The might of the strike earlier was not something a low grade spiritual artifact could withstand. It had sapped all of her energy as well.

    However, the result was instantly killing an eighth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Xiao An stared at Li Qingshan and raised her chin. ¡°I meant it!¡±

    Li Qingshan stroked her nose with his index finger1. ¡°Alright, whatever you say!¡±

    The flying sword fell out of the sky like a dead snake. With a gust of true qi, it fell into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. At the same time, he picked up the hundred treasures pouch and fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy from the ground. A stream of fire flew out from the tip of Xiao An¡¯s finger, entering the corpse and destroying all traces of it. She immediately recovered with that.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°People are going to come very soon. We can¡¯t stay here. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    He had managed to kill a powerful enemy without transforming, obtaining a spiritual artifact he could only dream of. However, for some reason, the sense of danger did not disperse. Instead, it continued to loom over him like a dark cloud, which was why he chose to leave immediately.

    The two of them disappeared into the messy valley. A while later, a group of Qi Practitioners arrived and stared at the scenery in shock. They all looked at one another. Were there Foundation Establishment cultivators fighting here earlier?

    Only the leading Qi Practitioner frowned slightly. He was young and his face was chiseled like jade. Surprisingly, he had already reached the ninth layer. Even though practising qi could delay ageing, it was possible to tell that he could not be too old. With his age, he could be labelled as a genius wherever he went.

    He asked indifferently, ¡°Song Ming, are you certain it was this direction?¡±

    He wore the same uniform from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain as Song Ming. However, he had three tail feathers embroidered on his chest, one more than Song Ming. The other Qi Practitioners all gathered around him, and all of them were disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain.

    Song Ming stepped forward politely. ¡°Yes, first senior brother. Quite a few people saw it with their own eyes. It can¡¯t be wrong.¡±

    The first senior brother asked, ¡°Then where is he right now?¡± His voice was very nonchalant, but that originated from his absolute confidence in his own strength.

    Song Ming hesitated. ¡°He¡­ must be nearby.¡±

    Before the first senior brother could even say anything, another Qi Practitioner had already spoken, ¡°Junior brother Song, the Herb Gathering ceremony is about to begin. Who has the time to search for someone with you? We¡¯re avenging you right now, so use your head a little.¡±

    Fury surfaced on Song Ming¡¯s face, but he was afraid of losing his temper, as the person who said that to him was also a core disciple of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, and he was at the seventh layer.

    The first senior brother raised his hand, silencing everyone. ¡°Harassing Song Ming is no different from harassing all the disciples of our Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. As the first senior brother, I must stand up for you. I must settle this grievance!¡±

 Chapter 230 â€“ The Truth-seeking Society

    ¡°Benevolent be the first senior brother!¡± ¡°No wonder senior brother is already destined to become the future sect master!¡± ¡°Our Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain will definitely end up leading the three mountains!¡± ¡°What leading the three mountains? With first senior brother¡¯s talent, it¡¯ll be a piece of cake for him to condense a golden core and turn the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain into a mid level sect.¡±

    Among all the flattery, Song Ming also said in a hurry, ¡°Thank you, first senior brother.¡± However, he knew very well that if it were not for the sake of a hundred treasures pouch worth several thousand spiritual stones, his arrogant first senior brother would have never stood up for him. If the first senior brother even had a minute of spare time, he would spend it all on cultivation.

    The snow began to fall again.

    The spring water gurgled, flowing beneath the frozen snow, which was why it was called the Quiet Spring.

    Under the embrace of the snowy mountains, several delicate houses sat within a small valley. It seemed like a settlement in wonderland. A few Qi Practitioners with loose robes and tight sashes walked around elegantly and gracefully, talking and drinking with one another. They were as cheerful as they could get.

    Suddenly, everyone turned around. A huge figure emerged from the forest. His steps were heavy, completely lacking the elegance and grace of Qi Practitioners. Just like a vicious beast had emerged from the forest, the Qi Practitioners all raised their guard.

    ¡°Who are you? This is the base of the Truth-seeking society.¡±

    Li Qingshan said loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve come to see Han Xiong.¡± His voice boomed through the entire valley.

    Han Xiong emerged from a hut and beamed with joy as soon as he saw Li Qingshan. ¡°Fellow Niu, you¡¯ve finally come!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve come to take a look.¡±

    Han Xiong introduced him to the Qi Practitioners in a hurry. When they heard he was the infamous Niu Juxia, all of them were amazed. They looked at one another and smiled before gathering in the largest hut with Li Qingshan.

    The hut had a timber floor. Everyone sat on the ground. There was a charcoal fire at the centre, which currently heated some alcohol and cooked some food. Warmth and a delicious fragrance filled the entire room.

    To be able to find such a place in this snowy weather, even Li Qingshan relaxed slightly.

    Han Xiong said, ¡°Please wait, sir. I¡¯ll go fetch the leader of our association.¡±

    A while later, even more Qi Practitioners entered, approximately twenty of them. A group of Qi Practitioners all chattered away at Li Qingshan at the same time, filled with great enthusiasm. Two female cultivators even delivered a bowl of warm alcohol and a serving of soup filled with meat.

    Li Qingshan sniffed it and praised, ¡°Nice alcohol!¡± He drank all of it and ate all the meat, but he said nothing more.

    However, Li Qingshan seemed to ignore all of it. He sat by the fire like a statue, allowing the swaying firelight to project his shadow onto the wall.

    Before long, Han Xiong brought an old man over. The old man was as skinny as a monkey, but he wore a set of large, spacious robes for a daoist priest. He really did seem like he had stolen them from somewhere. Han Xiong had to bend over in order to whisper into his ear.

    However, the independent cultivators all seemed to respect him very much. When they saw him enter, they all called out, ¡°Leader!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked over as well. A seventh layer Qi Practitioner was quite a rare master among these independent cultivators. Apart from the old man, there were two sixth layer Qi Practitioners too. The three of them seemed to be the leaders of these people.

    Han Xiong said in a hurry, ¡°Fellow Niu, this is the leader of our Truth-seeking society, priest Qiu.¡± Seeing how Li Qingshan had no intention to greet him, he became slightly awkward.

    Slurp, slurp. Li Qingshan had his head lowered to drink the alcohol. Who knew what he was thinking.

    Priest Qiu conveniently closed the door, and the whistling wind and snow from outside immediately subsided. This room seemed to have become a sealed world of its own.

    Afterwards, he chuckled. ¡°You must be fellow Niu, right? Most esteemed greetings from this lowly priest!¡± He was completely unfazed by Li Qingshan¡¯s rudeness.

    Li Qingshan nodded slightly. ¡°Hi.¡±

    Priest Qiu said, ¡°Your presence truly is an honour to our humble Truth-seeking society. We¡¯ve gathered many people of virtue today as well, so we definitely won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m just taking a look.¡±

    Priest Qiu also sat down by the fire. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s fine if you just want to take a look. Let me tell you about our Truth-seeking society¡¯s purpose. By truth-seeking, we mean¡­¡±

    He went on a long ramble, giving an impassioned speech. He said something like everyone was brothers and sisters, as well as how evil sects were, harassing and abusing our brothers and sisters. As such, everyone needed to band together.

    The shifty-looking old man seemed to become surrounded by a halo as he spoke, filled with absolute charm. As he spoke, he seemed to incite everyone on. The independent cultivators all raised their heads and were moved by his speech.

    Li Qingshan had a heart of steel, so he could not be moved so easily. However, he found this to be somewhat familiar.

    Priest Qiu suddenly stopped and asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Fellow Niu, don¡¯t you think so too?¡±

    Immediately, over twenty pairs of eyes locked onto Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°It is?¡±

    Everyone was delighted. Priest Qiu continued, ¡°I¡¯ve cultivated for a century, and from my observations of the cultivation world, the greatest issue is everyone¡¯s selfishness. They treat cultivation methods like their personal treasures, only passing it onto their disciples. In the end, a lot of talented people live their whole lives in obscurity at the very bottom of the world. They are also directly responsible for a lot of cultivation methods becoming lost!¡±

    The independent cultivators all nodded. They were the people with talent; it was only because none of them had inherited anything that they were reduced to independent cultivators.

    ¡°If we tear down the prejudices of clans and sects and share our cultivation methods and understandings with the entire cultivation world, such that all seniors serve as the teachers of juniors, wouldn¡¯t the cultivation world prosper and develop? There would not be a lot of fighting and killing in the cultivation world either. In under a century, cultivators will definitely increase by a hundred fold in quantity and quality. By then, slaughtering all the daemons and demons in the world would pose no difficulty.¡±

    His magnificent ideology made the independent cultivators extremely excited.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised as well. Originally, he believed that this was just an alliance between independent cultivators, but never did he think that they possessed such a grand dream, and this dream was highly unrealistic. If it really did come true, it would not be far from eternal unity and peace.

    Priest Qiu said sternly, ¡°Of course, it¡¯ll be very difficult, but as long as we work hard, there will always be hope. Our Truth-seeking society is the hope of the cultivation world!¡±

    Afterwards was time for the independent cultivators to share their thoughts. A man stood up. ¡°Originally, I was only a second layer Qi Practitioner. Ever since I joined the Truth-seeking society, I managed to benefit tremendously from the conversations with everyone else. I broke through recently to the third layer!¡±

    There was a series of cheers and applause. The other Qi Practitioners all stood up and spoke as well. There would be cheering and applause after every single person. The room was immersed in the enthusiastic atmosphere.

    In the end, it was Li Qingshan¡¯s turn. He shook his head, expressing that he had nothing to say.

    The independent cultivators refused to accept that. They all pressed him together. ¡°Speak, speak, speak, speak, speak¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. Priest Qiu raised his hand, and the voices immediately stopped.

    ¡°Since fellow Niu is reluctant to speak, allow me to say something instead. No matter how the cultivation world wants to develop, or how each individual wants to improve themselves, the most, most crucial part of it all is forgoing your selfishness.¡± Priest Qiu extended a fist towards Li Qingshan before loosening it.

    ¡°Only by opening your fist can you hold even more. If you show others kindness, they will return it to you. In simpler words, only with sacrifice can you obtain more!¡±

    Priest Qiu clapped his hands. ¡°It¡¯s time for everyone to share now. Let¡¯s all take out our things! Fellow Niu, as long as you need anything, just mention it.¡±

    The independent cultivators followed the same order as before, taking items out from their hundred treasures pouches to share. It could be spiritual herbs, or it could be pills. When it reached a female cultivator¡¯s turn, she suddenly unbuttoned her clothes, revealing her full chest. She wanted to share her body. As long as someone needed to, they could visit her in her room. It utterly stunned Li Qingshan.

    The female cultivator saw Li Qingshan¡¯s expression and said proudly, ¡°We¡¯re all brothers and sisters. In this lonely world, we must seek comfort from one another. My body can bring satisfaction to you all, while I myself can find happiness too, so why not?¡±

    It led to a series of praises. She raised her chest even higher, as if a much nobler spirit had replaced the unsophisticated beliefs of society. She seemed to rise up to the level of a holy maiden.

    Li Qingshan grimaced. He said nothing. He just felt that he had sure seen a lot of strange things today.

    The entire process unfolded in an extremely harmonious atmosphere. There were no disputes or arguments, holding goodwill to everyone else. When two or three Qi Practitioners wanted the same item, they would immediately take a step back and let each other have it. Probably even brothers connected by blood were not so friendly to one another.

    Even across his two lives, Li Qingshan had never seen so many amicable, modest and polite people before.

    Every single person smiled happily. In this lonely cultivation world, it was just fantastic to be able to treat each other warmly and lovingly.

    In the end, it was Li Qingshan¡¯s turn again.

    Having remained silent throughout the entire process, Li Qingshan said again, ¡°I have nothing to share!¡±

    As if a bucket of cold water had been poured over the warmth and happiness, everyone¡¯s faces changed. Over twenty pairs of eyes stared at him coldly.

    Priest Qiu said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I said. Only with sacrifice can you obtain more. All you need to do is hand your heart to someone else, and they¡¯ll hand their heart back to you.¡±

    Han Xiong said, ¡°Fellow Niu, didn¡¯t you buy the version of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi complete with comprehensions, and the Book of All? What¡¯s wrong with taking those out and sharing with us?¡±

    The eyes of all the independent cultivators lit up. The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi complete with comprehensions was the holy grail among independent cultivators who practised Gui Water true qi, while the Book of All could be described as something that all independent cultivators required. However, these two books were just too expensive, so regular independent cultivators could not afford them.

    Li Qingshan shook his head firmly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to share!¡± He had spent almost two hundred spiritual stones to purchase these two books, so there was no reason for him to share it with someone else for free. If all the books in the world really were just shared like this, Sun Fubai would have been put out of business a long time ago.

 Chapter 231 â€“ Is that All?

    There was nothing wrong with the weak wanting to band together, but the strong would never want to share fairly with the weak. At least, Li Qingshan did not. His proud, lonely heart did not need the ¡®warmth¡¯ of so many strangers. Just Xiao An alone was enough for his family.

    The expressions of the independent cultivators all changed. The female cultivator who wanted to share her body earlier cursed under her breath in anger, ¡°Selfish!¡±

    All of the independent cultivators chanted with her. ¡°Selfish!¡± ¡°Selfish!¡± ¡°Selfish!¡±

    The waves of sounds rolled out, wrapping around Li Qingshan. As the flames rose up, the shadows projected on the walls twisted and distorted, as if they were demons that wanted to lunge at him.

    Li Qingshan lifted the fire iron and picked at the fire. He asked, ¡°What did you add to the fire?¡±

    Priest Qiu was slightly surprised. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Your voice is very special as well. It made me remember some matters of the past.¡± The singing, the dance, and the incense from the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in Jiaping city were what he remembered. Having experienced it once already, he would be a fool if he fell for it a second time.

    Priest Qiu lowered his head. ¡°If you join our Truth-seeking society, I can make you the vice leader.¡± The two sixth layer Qi Practitioners wanted to say something, but they both seized up when priest Qiu glanced at them.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Li Qinghan smiled. ¡°I can join, but let me ask you one thing. Will you be venturing underground as well for the Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains?¡±

    Priest Qiu smiled. ¡°I¡¯m already too old.¡±

    Han Xiong said, ¡°The leader is our father, the hope of the cultivation world. How can he enter such a dangerous place? We will find the spiritual herbs ourselves and bring them back to share.¡±

    He was originally a clever, capable man, but his eyes were filled with devotion right now. And, what he said led to an echo of agreement.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was like a clear mirror. The strongest did not venture underground, only waiting for the weak to risk their lives. The weak would gather the herbs to bring them back to the strong. This relationship was nothing like a father and son¡¯s. It was clearly a master-slave relationship.

    Priest Qiu had used this Truth-seeking society to enslave all of the independent cultivators here. Even more terrifyingly, these independent cultivators completely embraced it, like crazed zealots. They had been completely brainwashed. This was not something that could be achieved in a short amount of time.

    Under the threatening glares of the Qi Practitioners, Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°You and I don¡¯t share the same path.¡±

    Priest Qiu said sinisterly, ¡°The selfish have no right to live in this world!¡±

    There were over twenty Qi Practitioners, varying in strength, but just like what they had said earlier, they were brothers and sisters. Their true qi merged together, all gathering onto the body of their father, priest Qiu.

    Priest Qiu¡¯s true qi rapidly increased. It easily broke through the level of the eighth layer, reaching the ninth layer and then the tenth layer. The powerful, terrifying true qi surpassed Li Qingshan¡¯s understanding of Qi Practitioners. It rushed towards him like a raging wave.

    This seemed to be some wondrous combined attack. No wonder he was still so oppressive towards Li Qingshan even though he knew Li Qingshan had defeated a sixth layer Qi Practitioner in a single strike.

    Li Qingshan felt like a straw hut by the ocean, almost about to be smashed to pieces by the incoming tidal wave. He rubbed his forehead gently. Was this the feeling?

    Priest Qiu said, ¡°Look how powerful I am. If you continue to cling to your ignorance, refusing to let go of your selfishness, only death awaits you. Open your mind and join us. Merge with us. You will be protected by the family!¡±

    As he said that, the independent cultivators actually all said the same thing. The thunderous sound wave shook up the tiny hut, almost as if it wanted to crush all dissent.

    The walls of the tiny hut flickered with light and glyphs. It had been inscribed with some sort of formation, such that it was impregnable. Li Qingshan seemed to be trapped in a cage with a monster.

    Li Qingshan straightened himself up and knelt on the ground on one knee. He held the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water and shook his head. ¡°Is that all?¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Priest Qiu bellowed out.

    The Qi Practitioners all rushed over like they were crazy. There were techniques, talismans, and spiritual artifacts, a great assortment of items shining with various colours and lights. They all rushed towards Li Qingshan to kill him.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Sparks and fire flew everywhere!

    The wild gusts of wind sucked the extinguished ashes high into the air.

    By the time the dust in the air had dispersed, an ice ball had appeared where Li Qingshan previously stood. He had curled up and hid himself in the ball, so he was unscathed.

    Priest Qiu raised his head, and the surging true qi condensed into a great hand, gripping the ice ball.

    Crack! Crack! The ice ball became riddled with cracks. Even the ice from the Ice Condensate water was unable to withstand the terrifying force of over twenty Qi Practitioners.

    The crystal ball shattered to pieces, and the hand of true qi grabbed Li Qingshan, pressing him firmly against the ground.

    Blood spurted from Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. He questioned, ¡°You never planned on sparing me right from the beginning, did you?!¡±

    ¡°Originally, I wanted to control you so that I could use your power and obtain your items, but I didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d be so pigheaded. Is there anything you want to say now?¡± Priest Qiu walked over and looked at the immobilised Li Qingshan. His face was filled with a victor¡¯s complacency.

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Priest Qiu said furiously, ¡°Die!¡±

    Xiao An crouched down unhappily in the snowy forest beside the valley. She used a branch to draw on the snowy ground. Due to the destroyed bamboo basket, Li Qingshan made her wait here.

    However, ever since Li Qingshan entered the hut, his aura had completely vanished. It made her somewhat uneasy.

    Suddenly, this feeling of uneasiness intensified for seemingly no reason at all. Xiao An suddenly stood up and stared at the hut in the distance. After a moment of hesitation, she made her way towards the hut.

    However, she suddenly seemed to sense something. She crouched down again as she carefully observed the surroundings. Two prayer beads rolled out of her sleeves and they turned into two extremely small skulls. One flew into the air, while the other pressed along the ground.

    Flames flickered in her eyes. Her field of vision immediately became extremely broad, covering the entire valley, but it was extremely detailed as well. She could even see every blade of grass on the ground.

    White bone and great beauty could see through all illusions!

    Immediately, she saw over a dozen Qi Practitioners secretly lurking in the surroundings. They had all used powerful concealing techniques, such that they were almost transparent. In this white world of snow, even people with extremely good vision would struggle to discover their traces.

    However, Xiao An was able to see them extremely clearly thanks to her ability. She could not help but worry. She had no idea how to contact Li Qingshan.

    Priest Qiu¡¯s complacent expression stiffened. He gazed at the terrifying wound on his chest in disbelief. Li Qingshan continued to lie there, staring at him coldly.

    By Li Qingshan¡¯s hand was an unfurled Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    In the moment that priest Qiu had struck out, the criss-crossing strokes of sword qi had sliced through his protective true qi like a hot knife through butter.

    Priest Qiu said in disbelief, ¡°I- is that a supreme grade spiritual artifact?¡± Why did a weaker Qi Practitioner possess such a rare treasure?

 Chapter 232 â€“ Remnants of the White Lotus

    Priest Qiu collapsed on the ground as blood flowed from his body. His eyes were wide open, dying with many regrets.

    All of the independent cultivators in the surroundings were stunned. Li Qingshan shook his head. This was indeed a very terrifying move, but locking him in this tiny hut was their biggest mistake.

    If priest Qiu had used the true qi to launch techniques from afar, Li Qingshan would find it very troublesome, but at such a close range, it was impossible for him to dodge the terrifying sword qi from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. He did not even have the chance to use any techniques.

    At the end of the day, priest Qiu was still a seventh layer Qi Practitioner, not a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. His reaction was even worse than the masked man from before. How could the protective true qi that had not been refined in any fashion at all block the sword qi?

    ¡°Leader!¡± Han Xiong roared out and lunged at Li Qingshan.

    Spurt! The ice blade ran through Han Xiong¡¯s body, and the tip protruded from his back. With bloodshot eyes, Han Xiong continued to advance forwards, wanting to grab Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders.

    However, his body rapidly froze under Li Qingshan¡¯s icy gaze, turning into a statue of ice. His face was blue and pale, vicious like a ghost¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan twisted the hilt of the blade, and the statue of ice shattered, scattering on the ground. Pieces of Han Xiong covered the timber floor of the hut.

    The ice blade rapidly vanished, appearing behind Li Qingshan and beheading a Qi Practitioner who swung his sword at Li Qingshan. A series of sharp howls, like ripping air, rang out at this moment.

    With priest Qiu¡¯s death, all of the independent cultivators became enraged. Death was no longer a concept to them. Li Qingshan was the murderer of their father.

    Several dozen hands extended out with the furious glares of several dozen eyes. The room seemed to spin. Li Qingshan felt slightly dizzy as he stood in the centre.

    Was this the feeling?

    According to his mind, the ice blade turned into a blueish-white blur.

    Seven hands flew into the air. Four legs were severed. A young man was cut into two pieces, while the independent cultivator who wanted to share her body earlier was directly bisected along the waist. Fortunately, none of them could feel any pain, as the coldness infiltrated their bodies, freezing their corpses and shattering them as they hit the ground.

    It sounded like someone had thrown a pile of glassware onto the ground.

    From life to death, it only took an instant. The moment they struck the ground, they were reduced to pieces of ice.

    A flying sword pierced the blur, shooting directly towards Li Qingshan¡¯s temples. Without even looking back, Li Qingshan raised his hand and caught the flying sword. The flying sword trembled like a small snake, but it was unable to break free.

    The other sixth layer Qi Practitioner had thrown himself on the ground in a panic. He wanted to open the formation to flee earlier. If it were not for his swift reaction, he would have lost his head.

    The two of them were central figures to the Truth-seeking society. Perhaps due to their greater strength, the control on them was weaker. They were not as crazed as the regular cultivators who charged over recklessly with priest Qiu¡¯s death. One of them wanted to launch a sneak attack, while the other wanted to flee.

    Li Qingshan gripped the hilt with his left hand as well, wielding it with two hands now. The tip of the blade slanted behind him as he crouched down slightly.

    Li Qingshan vanished, and a cold gust of wind kicked up the icy power. Like a roaring ice dragon, it rushed towards the sixth layer Qi Practitioner who tried to launch a sneak attack on him.

    All of the independent cultivators in the path of the ice dragon were ripped to shreds, becoming a part of the icy powder.

    The sixth layer Qi Practitioner was shocked. His reaction was quite fast though. He took out a Scarlet Flame talisman and activated it as he roared out, ¡°Die!¡±

    The sixth layer Qi Practitioner at the entrance cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    The Scarlet Flame talisman had already sprayed out flames that resembled a fire dragon.

    The ice dragon and the fire dragon collided.

    Boom!

    The entire valley rumbled.

    The quiet, little hut that sat in the valley had its ceiling blown several meters into the air by the blast wave, ripped to pieces. White smoke rose from the hut. Due to the formation, most of the structure of the hut remained intact, but it was charred everywhere.

    The dozen or so figures that silently approached the place fell to the ground in a hurry, looking at the hut nearby in shock. They had no idea what had happened.

    Xiao An eased up slightly. She could already sense Li Qingshan¡¯s aura.

    The Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand had turned into a strange shape. The back of the blade expanded in all directions, forming a great ball of ice that enveloped Li Qingshan. It was very thin, but it was enough to block the explosion of the Scarlet Flame talisman. As for the long edge of the blade, it had already nailed the sixth layer Qi Practitioner against the charred wall.

    The Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water blade was just too useful to him. With his ability to react in battle, he managed to make complete use of the blade¡¯s ability to transform.

    However, because he was only at the fourth layer, he was unable to control the high grade spiritual artifact completely. If he did not cultivate Gui Water true qi and his true qi was not extremely pure, it would be impossible for him to unleash such power.

    Li Qingshan drew out the blade, and the Qi Practitioner slid down from the wall, hitting the ground with a thump.

    Li Qingshan looked back. The only person left alive in the room was the sixth layer Qi Practitioner at the entrance, but he was also heavily injured. The wooden door he wanted to open had been blasted open. The formation had completely fallen apart. He crawled outwards with difficulty.

    The other independent cultivators had all been reduced to charred fragments in the explosion.

    Just like how a Lightning Summoning talisman would achieve extraordinary results in stormy weather, the tiny room sealed by the formation concentrated and restrained the power of the Scarlet Flame talisman in here, squeezing and condensing it. Even sixth layer Qi Practitioners would become heavily injured if they did not possess a defensive spiritual artifact.

    Li Qingshan held his blade as he walked over slowly. The Qi Practitioner looked back in fear as he did everything that he could to mobilise the remaining amount of true qi in him.

    ¡°D- don¡¯t kill me. I was forced into this.¡±

    However, Li Qingshan did not stop. There was no expression on his face either, but there was a sliver of confusion in his eyes, as if he was contemplating a question he just could not understand. He arrived near the Qi Practitioner and lifted his blade.

    ¡°Stop! The Hawkwolf Guard is here!¡± The dozen or so people leapt out from the snowy landscape, drawing their blades with a series of swishes. Reflecting the sunlight, the Wind-entwining blades all pointed at Li Qingshan. Nine Wolf Fang flying blades hovered in the air, ready to strike at any time.

    The concealing technique faded away, revealing their Black Hawk and Wolf uniforms. All of them were commanders, while the leading man wore a scarlet uniform. He was a scarlet wolf. He did not have a blade in his hand. Instead, a thin chain wrapped around it, shining with light.

    ¡°Argh!¡± There was a momentary shriek. Li Qingshan let his blade fall, and the Qi Practitioner¡¯s head rolled down the steps of the hut.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The man in the scarlet uniform was furious. The chain in his hand immediately grew thicker and longer and straightened with a rattle. The end of the chain turned into a snake¡¯s head that bit towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan tilted his head slightly, dodging the snake head, but the chain suddenly changed directions mid-air. It wrapped around him before suddenly tightening, trapping Li Qingshan firmly. The snake¡¯s head bit into Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s Gui Water true qi immediately seemed to freeze up. He was unable to mobilise it anymore.

    The man in the scarlet uniform rejoiced as his lips curled into a sneer. The Python Constrictor chains were a high grade spiritual artifact he had exchanged for after completing so many missions. He could wield it as he wished, so it was much more useful than a regular flying sword. Once it wrapped around the opponent, it could seal up their true qi. A Qi Practitioner without any true qi obviously could not fight back. With this spiritual artifact, he had caught many vicious criminals in the past.

    The other Black Iron Hawk and Wolf commanders all eased up. Only a pretty woman frowned slightly. She wore the uniform of a Black Wolf commander, and her cultivation was only at the fifth layer. Among these people, she was basically the weakest of the bunch.

    However, when she looked at the extraordinarily large man and then the ruins behind him, she felt doubt.

    According to the lead, a remnant of the White Lotus cult, Qiu Ruiliu, should have been here, with several dozen independent cultivators he had recruited to his side. Qiu Ruiliu was only a seventh layer Qi Practitioner, so the Hawkwolf Guard of the prefectural city had sent a single scarlet wolf and mobilised the commanders from the surrounding Hawkwolf Guards to provide assistance.

    While the White Lotus cult was the sworn enemy of all of the Hawkwolf Guards of the Ruyi commandery, the higher-ups had mobilised such a great force for a single Qiu Ruiliu, which only demonstrated how difficult of a target he was to deal with. Now, all of these people seemed to have died, slain by this man. However, she clearly noticed that even though this man had been wrapped up in the chains, he did not panic at all.

    ¡°Get over here!¡± The man in the scarlet uniform tugged the Python Constrictor chains. The chains became taut, but he immediately became stunned. Li Qingshan did not move at all.

    ¡°You get over here!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed the metal chains and tugged hard.

    The man in the scarlet uniform felt a tremendous force, so great that he was unable to oppose it at all, reach him through the chains. Caught off-guard, he was pulled into the air. He felt disbelief. All the strength a Qi Practitioner possessed originated from their true qi. How was it possible that he still possessed such terrifying power after his true qi was sealed up?

    Li Qingshan thought, I won¡¯t lose to anyone else when it comes to physical strength, but why has the Hawkwolf guard appeared here? Have they discovered my identity, wanting to capture me?

    He glanced past all the Hawkwolf guards and suddenly stopped on the pretty woman. Qian Rongzhi! He never thought she would come as well, but she seemed to have failed to recognise him. That also meant they had not come for him, so he eased up slightly.

    Apart from Qian Rongzhi, the other commanders were all stunned. Although Wu Gen was just a Scarlet Wolf guard and not a commander, he was still half a rank higher than black iron commanders like them, and he was much stronger too, having reached the eighth layer. They were extremely envious of the high grade spiritual artifact in his hand, the Python Constrictor chains, too. But never did they think that he would actually fail to take down an unknown independent cultivator.

    They came to Wu Gen¡¯s rescue in a hurry. The flying blades shot forward, while those who could not control flying blades charged forward with their Wind-entwining blades.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Be careful! This person is endowed with physical strength! He might be a Body Practitioner!¡±

 Chapter 233 â€“ Utter Confusion

    Li Qingshan immediately felt his body tighten. He tried to wriggle, but the chains refused to budge. He knew that he could not break free from a high quality spiritual artifact with his current strength. He would only have a chance if he daemonified.

    In the blink of an eye, nine flying swords attacked him from different directions.

    Time seemed to slow down. The flying blades spun slowly. Their ear-piercing screeches were stretched into a long, deep note. The sharp blade reflected in his clear eyes, only half an inch away.

    Li Qingshan threw himself onto the ground, and the flying blades brushed past his face.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! With great splendor, the flying blades produced a series of flashes above his head.

    If they were just hidden weapons, Li Qingshan would have dodged the attack successfully. Unfortunately, they were spiritual artifacts controlled by sixth layer Qi Practitioners.

    The flying blades stopped above Li Qingshan¡¯s head at the same time. The blades swiveled and fell downwards.

    Li Qingshan rolled along the ground. Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Flying swords stabbed into the ground where he had just rolled past one after another, throwing him into even greater danger.

    He remained extremely calm, while the confusion in his eyes seemed to deepen. Was this the danger that he sensed? Why was she here? And why was he encircled by these people?

    He had been sold out, hunted down, coerced, and encircled. All of this should have been very clear, but it seemed to become complicated, like a real mess!

    He thought hard, but he never stopped moving. He had already aimed the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water at the chains behind him, spurting out Ice Condensate water. With the final bit of Gui Water true qi within the spiritual artifact, he covered the chains in a thick layer of ice.

    Li Qingshan drew in his body. By the time the chains had ripped through the ice, he had already broken free. His true qi immediately returned to normal. He forcefully twisted his body and dodged the flying blades by a hair¡¯s breadth again, backing into the hut in a flash.

    The hut was not made of regular wood. Although the formation had been destroyed, it was still as tough as steel, offering him temporary shelter.

    The Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water produced a crystal blade. Li Qingshan frowned and yelled out, ¡°Just because you¡¯re Hawkwolf guards, doesn¡¯t mean you can treat other people¡¯s life like they¡¯re worth nothing!¡±

    The man in the scarlet uniform, Wu Gen, was surprised. He never thought there would be a person who could escape from his Python Constrictor chains. He saw the spiritual artifact in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, and a thought flashed through his head. He raised his hand. ¡°Stop the attacks! Surround him!¡±

    The Hawkwolf guards immediately obeyed the order. They rose up into the air and surrounded the hut.

    Li Qingshan had never imagined that priest Qiu would possess a background like that. Now that he thought about it, his speech really did seem like an evil cult luring their followers around.

    ¡°Qiu Ruiliu? Are you talking about a skinny daoist priest? He has already been killed by me. Do you have any evidence to say that I¡¯m a follower of the White Lotus cult?¡±

    The Hawkwolf guards all shuddered. Their target was already dead. Was this true?

    ¡°You managed to kill the follower of the White Lotus cult just by yourself? I don¡¯t believe it. As for the evidence, we¡¯ll know once we go back and investigate you. Surrender yourself right now, and we¡¯ll keep you alive. Our Hawkwolf Guard will never convict an innocent man. After we investigate you properly, we will obviously let you go!¡±

    Wu Gen claimed he was not convinced, but he was already slightly convinced inside. He managed to break free from their encirclement. Just that alone was not something a regular Qi Practitioner could do. If he could take down an enemy like that with wit, then it would be for the best. He wanted to use the authority of the Hawkwolf Guard to frighten him, and once he was captured, he would be at their whim. Wu Gen had already done this plenty of times in the past.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What a joke. We¡¯re all Qi Practitioners. Why would we ever place our lives in the hands of others?¡±

    Wu Gen smiled viciously. ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing more to say. Get him!¡± He refused to believe he could not capture a single person with so many people on his side.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Wu Gen frowned, and only when he saw it was Qian Rongzhi did he ease up slightly. ¡°Rongzhi, what do you want to say?¡±

    ¡°Sir, don¡¯t we have a Nighthawk nearby? We can just get him to take a look and check. It won¡¯t be good if we get the wrong person,¡± Qian Rongzhi said with some worry.

    Wu Gen frowned heavily. Women would always be women. They were just too soft-hearted. This person was clearly well-off. If he could capture him first and ask about his origins, then he could die as a casualty of the Truth-seeking society if he did not have a particularly powerful background. Wouldn¡¯t that be better? However, he obviously could not say that in front of so many commanders, so he sank into his thoughts.

    ¡°Senior brother, Rongzhi is right. We should get to the bottom of this. We have to be sure we don¡¯t capture someone innocent!¡± said a square-faced young man from beside Qian Rongzhi.

    Only then did Wu Gen finally nod. ¡°Alright. Send the signal and summon him here!¡±

    The square-faced young man was the new Black Hawk commander of Jiaping city. He also originated from the Academy of the Hundred Schools, just like Wu Gen, which was why he called him ¡°senior brother¡±. Compared to the other Black Hawk commanders, he was much younger, so he possessed quite the talent. It would not be too difficult for his cultivation to increase by a few more layers. He would be naturally recalled to the Clear River city after a few years of toughening up outside, promoted to scarlet bronze.

    Because of their many years of friendship, Wu Gen obviously respected his opinion much more. Normally, he would not scold him unless there was good reason to.

    Before long, a Black Wolf guard emerged from the forest and bowed constantly. ¡°I¡¯m Zhou Pei. Greetings, sirs.¡±

    The square-faced young man asked, ¡°Zhou Pei, do you know this person? Hey big man, come out and see if he knows you!¡±

    Li Qingshan found the voice to be somewhat familiar, but he was unable to recall where he had heard it from. He arrived at the entrance in a flash and looked at the Black Wolf guard. Both of them called out at the same time,

    ¡°Zhou Wei!¡± ¡°Niu Juxia!¡±

    This Zhou Pei happened to be the Qi Practitioner who did not really like talking beside Han Xiong when he saw him the other day, Zhou Wei. He never thought he was actually a Nighthawk.

    A Nighthawk was a hawk that never saw the light of day. It was a special position within the Hawkwolf Guard. They used various different identities to infiltrate various organisations so that they could collect information and undergo investigations.

    It was possible to construct an information network by bribing people of the jianghu among the world of regular people, but only cultivators could achieve something like constructing a similar network in the cultivation world.

    Because this line of work was very tiresome, not only forced to remain undercover but also under constant threat to their lives, everyone was known as ¡°hawks¡± regardless of their cultivation.

    Li Qingshan had only heard a rough introduction regarding it when he joined the Hawkwolf Guard. This was the first time he had seen someone like this.

    Zhou Wei, or Zhou Pei, immediately reported everything that had happened in the bookstore and restaurant the other day, proving that Li Qingshan had indeed been fooled here and was not a part of the Truth-seeking society. After saying that, he stood to one side with his head lowered. All he did was glance at Li Qingshan in surprise. He had never thought he would actually be able to destroy the entire Truth-seeking society alone. Priest Qiu had basically fallen to his own sword.

    Only then did everyone understand the entire story. They looked at one another, waiting for Wu Gen to make a decision.

    The square-faced young man sighed. ¡°Fortunately, Rongzhi warned us, or we would¡¯ve killed the wrong person.¡±

 Chapter 234 â€“ Internal Conflic

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    However, what Qian Rongzhi thought was, This commander has just come from the Academy of the Hundred Schools, so he sure is naive. He actually treats the laws of the empire seriously. All laws are for people to use. Since when would anyone spare a plump lamb they come across?

    The reason why she decided to be a good person for once was just because she was afraid the plump lamb would turn out to be a vicious tiger.

    From the moment she laid eyes on him, she found Li Qingshan to be familiar. If she were Yu Zijian or Hua Chenglu, that was all he would be. They would not think too much about it.

    It was exactly because Li Qingshan¡¯s huge size was just too impressionable that they felt it was all just a false sense of familiarity. They felt like they would never forget about someone like him if they had met him before.

    However, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s thoughts went much deeper and finer. Although Li Qingshan was larger than before, the impression he had left on her was just too deep. This impression did not reside with his appearance alone.

    The changes in his expression, the way he spoke, and the attitude he used to confront enemies all matched that man. Coupled with his glance that had paused on her momentarily, she drew a conclusion very soon that there was a good chance this was Li Qingshan.

    After reaching this conclusion, how could she let the Hawkwolf guards continue opposing Li Qingshan? Li Qingshan possessed the strength to kill two ninth layer Qi Practitioners. Now that several months had passed since then, who knew how much stronger he had become. The reason why he had been putting up with all of this was just because he wanted to keep his trump card hidden.

    If he was really forced to reveal his trump card, probably everyone present would have to be silenced. She did not believe she occupied any special spot in his heart.

    Wu Gen was slightly displeased. This way, he would lose out on some potential gains, and he would not be able to redeem himself for the humiliation from earlier. As a Scarlet Wolf guard, he was not bold enough to twist justice before so many people. Otherwise, he probably would not be able to escape the punishment of law once someone reported him.

    He said to Zhou Pei rather reluctantly, ¡°You¡¯ve done very well. You¡¯ll definitely have a share of the contribution once you return!¡±

    Zhou Pei said, ¡°I don¡¯t want the contribution. I just hope that you can relieve me of the duty as a Nighthawk so that I can return to being a regular Black Wolf guard.¡±

    Wu Gen waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Alright, I understand. I¡¯ll report this to the higher-ups.¡± Then he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°You can go.¡±

    With a sweep of true qi, all of the hundred treasures pouches landed in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    The other commanders were hostile too. They carried out missions not just to uphold the law of the empire. The spoils of battle that the enemy possessed was an extremely important component of their income. How could they just watch someone else take it away?

    Li Qingshan persevered. ¡°These are my spoils of battle!¡±

    Wu Gen said, ¡°We have to confiscate these items of the White Lotus cult. It¡¯s possible that they contain information on the other remnants of the White Lotus cult. I¡¯d advise you to hand it over, or I¡¯ll arrest you for withholding evidence!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled angrily. ¡°I helped you complete your mission. Not only won¡¯t you thank me, but you even plan on framing me as well?¡±

    Wu Gen said, ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re worthy of being framed? Use your brain a little and get out of here, or the law will show no mercy!¡± The other commanders cooperated by unleashing their flying blades again.

    Something seemed to surge in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. It was something he had repressed to the bottom of his heart the entire time. It growled and roared, wanting to break out.

    Even if you want to act recklessly, there¡¯s a limit to it. You idiots might want to die, but don¡¯t drag me down with you! Qian Rongzhi lowered her head and frowned as she cursed inside, but she said nothing. Her words would have little effect in her current, lowly position, so it would be useless even if she tried. Instead, she would end up offending a great group of colleagues for nothing. If it really did reach that point, she had her ways of pulling out anyway.

    The square-faced young man said, ¡°Senior brother, this doesn¡¯t seem particularly appropriate.¡± Then he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Hey. Just leave behind Qiu Ruiliu¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. There¡¯s information regarding the White Lotus cult within it, and it¡¯s extremely important to us. It won¡¯t bring you any benefits even if you possess it.¡±

    ¡°Enshan, you- sigh!¡± Wu Gen sighed helplessly. If some other commander was bold enough to act on his own like this, he would have lost his temper a long time ago. However, he had been very familiar with Fang Enshang back at the Academy of the Hundred Schools. They had been fellow students for several years. At the same time, what he said was completely correct, so there was no reason for him to lose his temper.

    In the past when he first left the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts, he too had been influenced by the many years he spent in the school of Legalism, wanting to uphold justice and protect the dignity of the empire¡¯s law. However, only after he went through a few things did he realise that this spirit, these laws, would never supersede the pills and spiritual artifacts within a hundred treasures pouch.

    Whatever. These weak, independent cultivators probably did not possess anything good anyway.

    Li QIngshan hesitated slightly as he weighed his options. The items of actual value had probably all been plundered by priest Qiu already. If he fell out with these people, he would have to transform and slaughter all the people here, without sparing anyone!

    This included the Nighthawk, Zhou Pei, and the square-faced young man, as well as Qian Rongzhi.

    A voice inside him asked hesitantly, Do you really have to kill them all? Immediately, another vicious voice roared out, Kill them! Kill them!

    His expression constantly changed. He actually began to tremble gently. He understood what internal conflict meant now.

    Wu Gen said impatiently, ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly raised his head, ¡°Qiu Ruiliu¡¯s hundred treasures pouch isn¡¯t with me!¡±

    Wu Gen said furiously, ¡°You want to trick me?¡± The Python Constrictor chains tightened, and the wooden hut was completely crushed to pieces as shrapnel flew everywhere.

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± When he checked the hundred treasures pouches earlier, he suddenly discovered that one was missing. He had just fought earlier, so he had an idea just how many enemies there were. The only one missing happened to belong to priest Qiu.

    Priest Qiu¡¯s corpse had already vanished. Originally, he thought it had been destroyed in the explosion, but thinking about it now, even if it had been blasted to pieces in the explosion, it should not have vanished without a trace. However, there was nothing on the ground.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He arrived where priest Qiu had collapsed before and stamped around. With a swing of his blade, he cut through the flooring, revealing a hole underground. Who knew where the murky hole led off to.

    The formation of the wooden hut made the walls seem indestructible to others, but the formation had been cast down by priest Qiu in the first place, so he obviously knew a way out.

    As it turned out, he had already prepared a path of retreat. Although he was in the direct range of the sword qi from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he was protected by the true qi of around two dozen people. He was injured, but he did not die on the spot.

    He knew he was not Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent, so he just collapsed on the ground and sealed off his breathing and heartbeat, playing dead.

    This gamble truly came with great risk. If Li Qingshan sensed it and casually slashed him, he would not even be able to fight back.

    However, the wooden hut was in chaos back then. Under the encirclement of so many Qi Practitioners, Li Qingshan was affected to a certain degree even though it was not enough to strike fear into him. And, with the explosion at the end, Li Qingshan¡¯s sense of hearing, smell, and sight were all affected, which priest Qiu used to open the secret tunnel and flee.

    Li Qingshan could not help but be surprised about the craftiness and prudence of this follower of the White Lotus cult. It was no wonder that the cult was an organisation powerful enough to clash against Gu Yanying and the Hawkwolf Guard of the entire Ruyi commandery.

    Li Qingshan turned around with his ice blade, ignoring the chains in the surroundings. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, come over!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi quickly made her way over to Li Qingshan.

    Fang Enshang extended his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t go!¡± He wanted to stop Qian Rongzhi, but he was also afraid of alarming Li Qingshan by moving rashly.

    The Hawkwolf guards were all nervous for Qian Rongzhi. This vicious, huge man was extraordinarily powerful. If he really decided to hurt her, Qian Rongzhi would probably be killed on the spot.

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Qian Rongzhi brushed past Li Qingshan and studied the hole in the hut.

    Li Qingshan frowned. This woman would never take such a great risk for some official business. Had he been discovered?

    Qian Rongzhi did not even glance at him. After studying it carefully, she raised her head. ¡°He¡¯s right. There are very fresh footprints below. Qiu Ruiliu has already fled. He should be injured. Sir, we¡¯d better pursue him right now, or he¡¯ll end up getting away.¡±

    The Hawkwolf guards all sighed in relief. This conclusion matched their expectations as well. Qiu Ruiliu was extremely crafty. They had failed to capture him even after several attempts, so how could he be slain so easily by an independent cultivator?

    They also felt some admiration towards Qian Rongzhi. This woman did not have a particularly strong cultivation, but she was extraordinarily brave. At the very least, none of them were bold enough to venture over.

    Even Wu Gen nodded in praise. With this person supporting him, Enshang will have it much easier as a Black Hawk commander, and he will not remain so naive forever. However, little did he know that Fang Enshang¡¯s naivety had just saved him from death, while Qian Rongzhi¡¯s so-called bravery originated from her meticulous planning.

    Even Wu Gen knew what was more urgent. He pulled back the Python Constrictor chains and flew into the hole first. He brushed past Li Qingshan and snorted coldly. ¡°Let¡¯s just say you were lucky!¡±

    The Hawkwolf guards all entered the hold one by one, with Qian Rongzhi last. She glanced at Li Qingshan and smiled before disappearing into the hole as well.

    A while later, the Quiet Spring valley fell quiet once again. Li Qingshan made his way down the stairs and sat down on them. He leaned on his arm as he sank into his thoughts.

    This time, the internal conflict ended without being settled.

    However, a larger internal conflict occurred in the depths of his mind. This was the boundary between humanity, immortals, buddhas, and demons. True conflict did not arise from the outside world, but from the inside, those unanswerable questions and those choiceless answers.

    However, they had to be answered at the end of the day. He could not run away from all of his problems. He could not run away, nor did he want to run away. Even though none of the answers were the answer he wanted, he still had to make a decision. Life was not about being able to do whatever that you wanted, and it would not unfold to your tastes.

    It was exactly these tough or even painful choices that allowed people to grow, to go from an ignorant child to the person they wanted to be.

    Ready?

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ve finally found you!¡±

 Chapter 235 â€“ Another Year of Heavy Snow

    Li Qingshan sighed gently. He pushed off his knees and stood up, like a boxer who had been forced into another match before he had even recovered from the previous one.

    However, there was no fear in his eyes!

    This should be it!

    At a certain time, great flakes of snow began to fall from the sky once again. Numerous figures flickered through the snow as their magnificent, silken robes fluttered gently. They did not leave behind a single mark on the snowy ground as if they were ghosts in the snow.

    The ghosts looked at Li Qingshan like hunters who had found their prey. They were relaxed and satisfied with themselves. If they were slightly cautious, as they were worried that their prey might escape.

    The ¡°first senior brother¡± pointed at Li Qingshan and asked, ¡°Junior brother Song, is this the person you were searching for?¡±

    Song Ming said with hatred, ¡°That¡¯s him, first senior brother!¡±

    ¡°A fourth layer Qi Practitioner?¡± The first senior brother curled his lip in great disdain.

    ¡°Song Ming, you¡¯re far too useless. You¡¯re a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, yet you were defeated by someone weaker than you. And I had thought you had met someone powerful.¡±

    The disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain all mocked him. They became even more relaxed and cheerful. They did not take Li Qingshan seriously at all.

    Song Ming¡¯s face reddened. ¡°First senior brother, his cultivation as a Qi Practitioner isn¡¯t particularly great, but he¡¯s a Body Practitioner too. He was completely unscathed when I hit him with a palm strike. We can¡¯t be careless.¡±

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. A ninth layer Qi Practitioner, two eighth layer Qi Practitioners, five seventh layer Qi Practitioners, and ten sixth layer Qi Practitioners. Was this the strength of a sect?

    He could only match them in battle if he transformed, but fighting here would probably attract the attention of their seniors.

    ¡°Look, he has closed his eyes. Has he accepted his fate?¡± A disciple of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain laughed.

    A dense mist rose up after that, surging everywhere like the tide. Li Qingshan vanished in the mist.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s a Great Mist talisman. He¡¯s trying to escape!¡± Song Ming cried out.

    As if someone had plucked a cloud from the sky and thrown it onto the ground, the mist pervaded the entire valley very soon. The pure-white mist was extremely thick, reducing visibility to basically zero. It contained water spiritual qi, so even the vision of Qi Practitioners would be heavily affected.

    The first senior brother snorted coldly. ¡°Mere trickery!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, he used a technique quickly, and a great gust of wind arrived, dispersing the mist.

    Since he could not fight, he could only run!

    ¡°First senior brother¡¯s Wild Wind technique sure is powerful!¡±

    ¡°Did he really think he can escape using tricks like that? How naive.¡±

    The disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountains all sang praises, but they all moved quickly. With their sleeves fluttering in the wind, they chased after Li Qingshan.

    Back when Song Ming rushed into the Proud Sword manor, he seemed extremely graceful, but here, there were at least a dozen people more graceful than him. They would cover several hundred meters with each glide.

    The first senior brother was arrogant. Only after his junior brothers had taken off did he take off with a jolt of his sleeve. Despite moving later, he caught up and overtook them all, charging ahead and rapidly closing the distance from Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan used the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain, and with a leap, he climbed up to the top of the mountain. Hearing the whistling sounds from behind, he suddenly looked back.

    The first senior brother reached a height even greater than the mountain peak and bellowed out, ¡°Peck of the Golden Pheasant!¡± His right hand curled into the shape of a pheasant¡¯s head as he lashed out at Li Qingshan from afar. He was like a golden pheasant pecking the bugs on the ground with indescribable ease.

    However, Li Qingshan felt like he faced an imminent catastrophe, as he was playing the role of that bug on the ground.

    A huge, golden beak pierced through the sky. He had used one of the greatest techniques of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. All the disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain were amazed. Although all inner disciples learned this technique, none of them could use it as skillfully as their first senior brother. They never thought that their first senior brother would use an ultimate move like this right from the beginning. The kid was dead for sure.

    Li Qingshan felt like he was unable to dodge the simple beak no matter how he dodged. He raised his right hand, and the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water gathered light, suddenly emitting a fist-sized ball of water.

    Boom!

    The Gui Water blast collided with the pheasant¡¯s beak in the air.

    Rings of light radiated outwards as the violent wind made the forest ripple like wheat.

    The first senior brother exclaimed, ¡°The Gui Water blast!¡± With a jolt of true qi, he scattered the incoming wave of air, but he paused slightly as well. How could a mere fourth layer Qi Practitioner use the Gui Water blast? Suddenly, he noticed the spiritual artifact in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and came to an understanding, A high grade spiritual artifact. Song Ming was right. This kid was extremely wealthy. He was a good prey worth the hunt.

    The other disciples on the ground were not as relaxed as he was. Many of them had been blown backwards by the violent wind due to their insufficient cultivation. They could only swallow the praises they were about to sing. They were in complete surprise. How did a fourth layer Qi Practitioner manage to block their first senior brother¡¯s Peck of the Golden Pheasant?

    Only Song Ming called out, ¡°I said this before, this guy is tough to deal with!¡± He actually felt elated inside, while he hoped that Li Qingshan could unleash some stronger moves and last a little longer against their first senior brother, which would demonstrate it was not because he was useless, but because the enemy was just too powerful back then.

    Li Qingshan used this time to leap off the mountain. He hurtled through the air; the world spun around him, and the chilly winds rushed into his face. He took out the underground mental map and unfurled it with both hands, studying it mid-air.

    The cave leading underground closest to here was only fifteen kilometers away, below a mountain. If it were flat land, he could cover fifteen kilometers in just a moment, but he was in a mountain range, which meant he had to traverse a great mountain every few kilometers.

    Although this was still the outskirts of the Boundless mountains and not actually the depths, the mountains still towered in an extraordinary manner. They were beyond logic. Any one of them could be regarded as a famous mountain if they appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s former life.

    Even with the form of the Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain, Li Qingshan¡¯s speed was heavily affected. He conveniently stuck a mid grade Swift Breeze talisman on himself so that he could move slightly faster. The bare trees seemed to assault him as he ran through the forest, but even with that, Li Qingshan was unable to widen the distance between them. Every time he looked back, the ninth layer Qi Practitioner would be slightly closer.

    However, he was not worried. He was not only thinking about how to escape.

    The first senior brother felt extremely shocked. A fourth layer Qi Practitioner could actually erupt with such speed. He used the Golden Pheasant Flaps its Wings and spent most of his time gliding through the air, unaffected by the terrain, but he still struggled to catch up. This independent cultivator was truly a tough nut to crack.

    The two of them crossed through the mountains, gradually pulling away from the disciples behind. The killing intent in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes grew heavier and heavier. He casually tossed aside a depleted spiritual stone before taking out another, rapidly replenished his true qi.

    He had already taken out the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and placed it in his bosom. He could pull it out at any time and kill the enemy.

    Li Qingshan glanced backwards at the first senior brother, who was only several hundred meters away from him. However, he looked past the first senior brother and at the sky even higher up. The sky had dimmed, filled with snow. Aside from him, no one else noticed a red star that rapidly flickered through the sky.

    Xiao An stood on a large skull. She left behind a tail of scarlet flames as she sailed through the snow and wind. Her clothes and hair ruffled in the wind as a red light shone in her eyes. Her gaze pierced through the wind and snow as she gazed at the mountains below.

    A snowy night like this, mountain terrain like this, and a sight like this. All of it seemed like deja vu.

    Before they had even realised it, a year had already passed, but this time, she was no longer as weak and fragile like before. There was no need for her to watch on helplessly in despair as he traveled further and further away.

    This time, she would definitely help him!

    She was just waiting for a signal to attack!

    Li Qingshan thought inside, A little further, just a little further!

    The first senior brother had no idea that he had already fallen into a trap from above and below. The identities of the hunter and the hunted silently reversed. He had never even imagined that a mere fourth layer Qi Practitioner could pose any harm to him.

    Li Qingshan climbed up another mountain peak. The first senior brother used this opportunity to pull within a hundred meters of him. He rejoiced as he raised his right hand, and a golden streak of light shot out, streaking through the raging wind and snow and leaving behind a golden stream.

    Li Qingshan sensed danger. He could not look back in time, so he lifted the ice blade behind him.

    Ding! The golden light stabbed deeply into the icy blade, and Li Qingshan¡¯s hand trembled. Only then did he clearly see that the golden light was the golden plume of a pheasant. Even though the ice from the Ice Condensate water was as tough as a high grade spiritual artifact, the tiny plume actually managed to pierce into it. It was even more powerful than the West Gate Granny¡¯s needle.

    His protective true qi and any protective techniques were all as fragile as paper. Even defensive spiritual artifacts would probably be pierced all the way through by the attack if they were not high grade.

    The first senior brother became even more surprised. He saw how the Peck of the Golden Pheasant could not kill Li Qingshan, so he did not use it again. Instead, he switched to this lifebound spiritual artifact, the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume, but he never thought it would be blocked by the ice blade.

    The Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume was no regular high grade spiritual artifact. All disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain would nurture a spiritual artifact like this when they began practising qi. They would constantly channel it with true qi. Whenever their cultivation increased, they would forge it with essence gold, and in the end, it would result in this Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume. The time and effort that went into it was immeasurable. However, it was terrifyingly powerful as well, and it could only be controlled by its owner using a specific method of the sect.

    Li Qingshan did not leap down into the pitch-black valley. Instead, he stopped and turned around. The ice blade in his hand rapidly transformed, enveloping the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume in a great lump of ice.

    The first senior brother stood on the tip of a lonely pine that swayed in the wind. He sneered. ¡°You¡¯re not running anymore?¡± He looked around. ¡°This will be your tomb. It¡¯s not bad at all!¡± He was completely unfazed by Li Qingshan¡¯s actions.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Right back at you.¡± The Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water had released all the Ice Condensate water already, forming a sphere around the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume that he stood on.

    The first senior brother sneered. ¡°Now that¡¯s pretty pigheaded of you! You want to try these mere tricks again? I¡¯ll show you the power of our Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. The Solar Radiance of the Golden Pheasant!¡±

    The Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume exploded with blinding light, completely piercing the ice sphere and dyeing it golden. It was magnificent.

    However, Li Qingshan sensed the ice rapidly melt away, as if it was suppressed by the power within the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume and was unable to keep it trapped.

    The first senior brother glided down. ¡°Be a little more clever in your next life. Don¡¯t offend the disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain!¡±

 Chapter 236 â€“ Slaughtering the First Senior Brother

    The Cursive Sword Calligraphy unfurled with a swish. The first senior brother saw the profound, intricate, and sharp handwriting. It was clearly just strokes of ink on paper, yet it was so sharp that it seemed like it had been carved into a cliff using a sword.

    A tremendous sense of danger filled his heart. The sound of the blizzard seemed to stop. Compared to the speed of the sword qi, the violent wind and drifting snow seemed to be frozen.

    The first senior brother¡¯s eyes narrowed. He extended his hand and waved it. The Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume expanded in size by a hundred times and protected him like a steel wall.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The screeching of metal rang out. The furious wave of sword qi rushed towards the first senior brother in the air. As he drifted through the air on the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume, he was like a rowboat in the raging seas, in danger of capsizing at any time. However, it also went with the flow, actually striking a special form of balance. It swayed and drifted, enduring and redirecting the force.

    Not only could the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume attack and defend, but it also defended in a manner that Li Qingshan had never seen before. It was as graceful and natural as possible. The unique styles that sects had developed themselves really could not be underestimated.

    The Gui Water true qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body flowed into the Cursive Sword Calligraphy furiously, launching stroke after stroke of sword qi. He held a spiritual stone in his hand at the same time to constantly replenish his true qi. In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had already tossed aside three spiritual stones.

    ¡°A supreme grade spiritual artifact! You actually have a supreme grade spiritual artifact!¡± The first senior brother stood on the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume and called out in the snow and wind.

    He suddenly burst out laughing. ¡°Haha, I never thought I¡¯d have such good luck. Kid, with your current strength, you can¡¯t unleash the full power of that supreme grade spiritual artifact. It¡¯s no different from wasting it when you wield it, so hand it over! I am the one who has been chosen by the heavens. I will step over your corpse to a higher realm of cultivation!¡±

    If a high grade spiritual artifact could make all Qi Practitioners envious and make their hearts thump, then a supreme grade spiritual artifact could drive all Qi Practitioners crazy. That was a treasure that even Foundation Establishment cultivators would use all their strength to obtain.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth opened and closed slightly. His voice was swallowed by the snow and wind, but the first senior brother still managed to read his lips. ¡°Go die!¡±

    Two, huge skeletons descended from the sky as they revolved around one another. They ripped through the wind and produced sharp screams, like the cries of ghosts at night, enough to strike fear into the very hearts of people.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! They disturbed the cushion of air underneath the plume, causing him to rapidly fall down the pitch-black cliff. He thought, Oh no, I¡¯ve fallen for his trap!

    The screams gathered like shadows. The first senior brother looked behind him, and the two skulls caught up from left and right. Blood-red flames flickered in their eye sockets as their teeth chattered, eager to rip out his flesh and blood.

    From afar, it seemed like a golden streak and two thin red streaks were falling straight down a bottomless abyss.

    The trajectory of the golden streak was extremely swift and unstable, while the two red streaks constantly revolved around each other, sealing off any direction of escape for the golden streak.

    At this moment, the two red streaks suddenly intercepted the golden streak.

    The two skulls lunged towards the first senior brother. He snorted coldly. ¡°Foolish tricks!¡± He pinched both hands and extended them. Two golden pheasant beaks pecked the foreheads of the skulls viciously.

    With two thumps, the two skulls were sent flying, but in the final moment, they opened their mouths. From the roaring flames, two figures emerged.

    One was large and one was small. They were Li Qingshan and Xiao An. They had leapt out of the skulls at the same time. Li Qingshan wielded the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, while Xiao An held a shiny, white rib as a sword.

    The unstoppable sword qi and Xiao An¡¯s startling attack were unleashed at the same time. The two sword moves fused together wondrously, without any imperfections at all. They formed a net of slashes that shot towards the first senior brother.

    The first senior brother felt like the entire world had been cut into pieces by the criss-crossing sword qi. Fear and panic finally appeared in his eyes for the first time as he reached towards the hundred treasures pouch on his waist.

    He moved extremely quickly, but compared to the sword qi, he seemed sluggish. He had never imagined he would have to waste talismans and spiritual stones in order to deal with a fourth layer Qi Practitioner, so he had not been prepared beforehand.

    I¡¯m a genius, the future sect master of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. My future is limitless! I can¡¯t die here! This thought flashed through the first senior brother¡¯s head.

    The sword qi vanished with a flash. The first senior brother lowered his head to check himself. He laughed aloud. ¡°I didn¡¯t die! I won¡¯t-¡±

    His voice halted, and his chin fell off. Many criss-crossing, bloody marks appeared on him, which began to shift.

    With a poof, he exploded into a mist of blood in the air. Pieces of his body rained down, devoured by flames before they hit the ground.

    No longer under anyone¡¯s control, the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume turned back to its original size and drifted off with the wind.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An landed on the ground simultaneously. Xiao An held the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume. Li Qingshan opened his palm, and a hundred treasures pouch sat there quietly.

    The two of them smiled at one another. An indescribable feeling of teamwork and cooperation rose up in their hearts.

    Li Qingshan placed the talisman between his fingers back into the pouch on his waist. That was the supreme grade talisman he had obtained from the West Gate Granny. He had no idea what its effects were. He checked the Book of All according to the inscriptions and glyphs on there, but he failed to find any information on it. Though, there was plenty of information available on low and mid grade talismans.

    Clearly, the supreme grade talisman was so precious that it would not be recorded in the Book of All. However, the book was not all useless either. Xiao An looked at the styles of the other talismans as a reference to forecast that the talisman should be an offensive fire element talisman.

    Fire had the greatest power to kill out of the five elements, while the power of a supreme grade talisman went without saying.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s plan was that if he and Xiao An failed to kill the first senior brother even when working together, he would immediately activate the supreme grade talisman and kill him for good. If that failed too, he would transform at the risk of leaving behind traces of daemon qi and still kill the first senior brother.

    Before the battle had even begun, he was already certain that he would win.

    ¡°The people behind are coming,¡± Xiao An licked her lips. The flesh and blood of ninth layer Qi Practitioners was far more delicious than that of regular people.

    ¡°Let¡¯s send them all to the afterlife!¡± Red light flickered in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. After three tough consecutive battles, his bloodthirstiness and killing intent had been completely activated. His exhaustion had vanished, while even his confused thoughts and internal conflict had ceased to exist. All he needed was even more slaughter.

    Faced with the crossroad of life or death, there was no need to think too much about his choice. He wanted to live, so he had to kill all his enemies. It was as simple as that.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An did not even look at each other. They just quickly hid themselves in the dark, ready to launch a two-pronged attack. They quietly waited for the prey to take the bait.

    Li Qingshan buried himself in a snow hole, holding his breath and resting.

    The second wave should consist of two eighth layer Qi Practitioners. They would not be easy targets either if he did not daemonify. If the two eighth layer Qi Practitioners worked together, they might even be more difficult to kill than the ninth layer Qi Practitioner from earlier.

    They needed to kill one of them the moment they launched the sneak attack. Then the other one would be easy. After this wave, everything else would be much easier to handle.

    The Cursive Sword Calligraphy could instantly kill sixth and seventh layer Qi Practitioners. Combined with Xiao An¡¯s two Skull Prayer Beads and her sword style from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, they could be finished off from the get go.

    Once the disparity in strength reached a certain level, numbers no longer meant anything.

    He also had absolute confidence in this battle, but for some reason, the uneasiness in his heart did not settle. Instead, it grew more and more intense. His heart thumped uneasily, faster and faster.

    ¡°Oh no! Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan leapt out of the snow hole and signalled to Xiao An.

    Afterwards, he immediately rushed towards the underground cave he had decided on already.

    Xiao An flew to Li Qingshan¡¯s side and asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s very dangerous!¡±

    Xiao An pondered for a moment before suddenly raising her head. ¡°I know. It¡¯s the sect master of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, a Foundation Establishment cultivator!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. A Foundation Establishment cultivator? Fair enough. Probably only Foundation Establishment cultivators can make me feel so much danger and pressure. If it were a Qi Practitioner, even if they were at the tenth layer, he was confident that he could kill his way out at the risk of exposing himself and transforming. There was even a chance for him to turn the situation around.

    However, Foundation Establishment cultivators were masters on a whole different level. The techniques they used had the power of supreme grade talismans, while the power of their spiritual artifacts was as clear as day too.

    Even if Li Qingshan transformed, there was no way he could hold his ground against him. However, all he had done was kill a Qi Practitioner of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain in these snowy mountains. That fellow had no chance to seek reinforcements, so how did he alarm a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

    Xiao An saw Li Qingshan¡¯s confusion, so she explained, ¡°The Book of All details that core disciples within sects will often have life lanterns. The life lanterns will be in the possession of the sect masters. If the disciple dies, their life lantern will be extinguished, and the location of their death will be made known.¡±

    It went without saying that a ninth layer Qi Practitioner would definitely be a core figure among core figures within a sect.

    Li Qingshan had no idea that the first senior brother had already been designated as the future sect master.

    A while earlier, over fifty kilometers away, three old men sat together at the top of the Green Vine mountain as they discussed matters regarding the Herb Gathering ceremony.

    They held paramount power among the three mountains. They were the sect masters of the Green Vine mountain, Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, and Burial Mound mountain. Together, they were known as the three elders.

    The Green Vine elder served as the host, so he sat on the highest seat. He wore a set of green robes, and his face was covered in curly, entwined hair. Basically all that was visible was a pair of clear eyes.

    To the left of the Green Vine Elder was a grey-robed old man. His eyes were milky, and he was expressionless. Even his face seemed grey. He gave off the faint aura of corpses. His eyes would swivel only once in a while, but he did not possess any aura befitting of the living.

    Regular people would probably treat him as a corpse. Even if they saw his eyes swivel, they would treat him as a living corpse. He was the sect master of the Burial Mound mountain, the Lone Grave Elder.

    To the right of the Green Vine elder was an old man in luxurious, golden clothes. He was obviously the sect master of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, the Golden Pheasant Elder. Embroidered on his clothing was no longer a pheasant¡¯s tail feather. Instead, it was the impressive golden pheasant¡¯s head. The cockscomb was as red as fire, while the beak was sharp like a blade.

 Chapter 237 â€“ The Golden Pheasant Elder

    A map was unfurled on the table before the three of them. It shone with light as it projected a three dimensional image above. It was an underground mental map, even larger than Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    This underground mental map had been created over many years after the disciples of the three mountains ventured underground again and again. At the cost of countless lives, they had managed to come up with a relatively safer region, which was Milliped¡¯s territory!

    The Golden Pheasant Elder pointed at a corner of the map with his shriveled, claw-like hand. ¡°The disciples of my Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain will be entering through here.¡± This was the safest route. It crossed a few spiritual grounds that had spiritual herbs growing, which also happened to be worth a lot.

    The Green Vine Elder stared at it for quite some time before slowly shaking his head. ¡°Won¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± The Lone Grave Elder nodded quickly before returning to his half-dead state.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder stood up impatiently. ¡°This is exactly what annoys me about the two of you. Can¡¯t you be faster? I don¡¯t care if you agree or disagree. Just hurry up and come up with the rules. You waste so much time everytime!¡±

    The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°Fellow Golden Pheasant, you¡¯ve already grown so old, yet you¡¯re still so impatient!¡±

    ¡°Yep,¡± the Lone Grave Elder spat out another word.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder glared at the two of them. Just when he was about to say something, his heart skipped a beat. His expression changed drastically, and he abandoned the other two elders, rushing out the window.

    Everyone raised their heads together in the town below the Green Vine mountain. They saw a golden speck of light appear at the very top of the mountain, like the brightest star in the night sky. Qi Practitioners with exceptional eyesight managed to see the true form of the golden speck of light. It was a golden pheasant that shot through the air with unbelievable speed while its long, golden tail feathers dragged behind like a golden comet.

    All of the Qi Practitioners could not help but sigh. So this is the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

    The town momentarily fell silently before recovering its clamor. It seemed to be even noisier than before, as if the fighting spirit and ambition of all the Qi Practitioners had been riled up.

    They had no idea why a Foundation Establishment cultivator, someone who always remained discreet, would suddenly rush off the Green Vine mountain. They wondered whether something had happened between the alliance of the three mountains.

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back at the sky. Through the snow and wind, he saw a golden star appear on the distant horizon, shooting directly towards his direction.

    The golden star definitely was not something he could oppose right now.

    He concealed all of his aura and changed directions, venturing into the mountains. However, the golden star immediately changed its course as well. As a result, he knew that his ability to hide his aura could not fool the senses of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    As a result, he simply gave up on hiding his tracks. He used an accelerating talisman and rushed towards the cave as quickly as he could.

    This sight seemed to overlap with the snowy night from a year ago. They were surprisingly similar. Unknowingly, he seemed to have gone through an entire cycle, returning to where he had started again.

    But this time, brother ox would not be there to help. He needed to rely on his own strength, as well as Xiao An.

    Xiao An listened to Li Qingshan and hid herself within the dark clouds high in the sky. She was ready to rush down and provide assistance as soon as Li Qingshan gave the signal. If Li Qingshan could suppress and hide his aura, then she had no aura at all. She existed between life and death, a special existence that was neither alive nor dead, neither dead nor alive. No matter how sensitive the Golden Pheasant Elder was, it was impossible for him to discover a hidden set of bones.

    The view in front of Li Qingshan rapidly changed. He rapidly conquered the rising and falling landscape, but the golden star in the sky drew closer and closer. Li QIngshan now experienced an indescribable pressure, no longer just an obscure sense of danger.

    The golden star grew larger and larger in his eyes. Even from five kilometers away, Li Qingshan found the glorious aura to be chilling.

    The golden pheasant also discovered the fleeing Li Qingshan. It raised its head, unfurled its wings, and let out a cry, blazing with golden light.

    It was like it was welcoming dawn, allowing the sun that had sunken into the west to rise once more.

    The golden light clearly depicted the shape of the golden pheasant, complete with a cockscomb, a beak, and feathers. It was life-like. However, it was like a fighting cock, filled with rage.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder inside glared; his eyes were like a fighting cock¡¯s too. His hair and beard stuck up from anger. His beloved disciple had been killed, so sorrow and rage filled his heart. He swore revenge!

    From the moment he saw Li Qingshan, he knew that Li Qingshan was the person he was searching for. This was not because Li Qingshan was running away. As the sect master, he obviously knew about the humiliation that his inner disciple Song Ming had suffered in Salt Mountain city. However, as the Green Vine mountain then took over the Proud Sword manor, he could only leave the matter unsettled.

    Before the first senior brother had ventured out to avenge Song Ming, he had definitely reported it to his master, which was why he was bold enough to bring the disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain with him. However, he had never thought he would actually die.

    The resonant crow of the golden pheasant shook up the mountains, reverberating through them. For a moment, only the pheasant¡¯s cry was audible in the snowy mountains.

    Li Qingshan experienced piercing pain in his ears as his mind shook. His true qi surged controllably. He could not help but be shocked. This was the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core revolved in his body, suppressing all of the discomfort. The cave was near now. Once he made it over this mountain, the valley ahead was it!

    He could not allow the golden pheasant to draw near, or just a single attack would put him in life-threatening danger.

    But at such a close distance, Li Qingshan could finally get a feel for the golden pheasant¡¯s startling speed. The first senior brother glided quite quickly already, but he seemed as slow as someone crawling along the ground in comparison to the golden pheasant.

    And, the golden pheasant did not glide. It truly flew through the air.

    When Li Qingshan had just made it halfway up the mountain, the golden pheasant had arrived one and a half kilometers from him. He twisted his foot and forcefully changed directions, lunging towards the other side of the mountain.

    The golden pheasant flapped its wings and unleashed several dozen golden feathers that shot over with lightning speed. It was like a sun shedding its light. Every single feather was even swifter and more vicious than the spiritual artifact controlled by the first senior brother.

    Li Qingshan had been expecting this move. He would move left at times, right at times, pause at times, or even slow down at times. His movements became completely unreadable.

    The Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water was no longer a weapon, but a huge, ice shield that covered his surroundings. Even with that, he was still worried, so he stuck a high grade Golden Shield talisman on himself.

    However, as soon as he had completed all of this, golden light filled his eyes. He was not even able to respond in time.

    The ice shield shattered, and the golden shield broke. As if he had been struck by lightning, Li Qingshan halted completely.

    A tiny hole appeared in his chest. A golden streak of light had penetrated him. His tough skin that could even stop the swing of a spiritual artifact seemed to be completely useless. The golden feather pierced through his three layers of defence and penetrated deep into the rock below.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder instead furrowed his brows. With his cultivation at Foundation Establishment, he had actually failed to kill this weak Qi Practitioner in a single move. Perhaps no one would believe him, but the golden feather should have directly pierced Li Qingshan¡¯s heart.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s defences had not been useless. They provided him with a moment to react. In the final moment, he had forcefully twisted his body, which was why the attack missed his heart. However, a sharp, scorching aura suddenly erupted in his body, as if it was trying to rip him to pieces and reduce him to ashes.

    The golden pheasant paused in the air. The Golden Pheasant Elder was in no hurry to continue his attacks. Even if he had failed to penetrate Li Qingshan¡¯s heart, the spiritual energy within the attack should have still been enough to kill him. Instead, the Golden Pheasant Elder felt rather regretful over the fact that he had not held back under his rage. He should have captured him, found out about his origins, and then tortured him to death!

    Xiao An¡¯s expression stiffened. Li Qingshan had not given her the signal this entire time. The Golden Pheasant Elder had struck out like lightning, so Li Qingshan had no time to do so. Moreover, he would not want her to risk her life.

    The flames in her eyes roared. She was about to fly down without any regard anymore.

    Li Qingshan suddenly sprang up from the ground. He basically dragged his body around to the other side of the mountain, even if it meant rolling and crawling, escaping from the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s field of vision.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder was slightly surprised as he smiled viciously. He roared out, ¡°You will regret not dying earlier!¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored it. Who knew how many times he had heard rubbish like that already. The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core managed to make an impact again in this critical moment, forcefully suppressing the foreign, explosive spiritual energy.

    Suddenly, his face lit up. The cave detailed on the mental map was right in front of him. Just when he was about to charge in, a golden light enveloped his head.

    The golden pheasant flapped its wings and made its way over the mountain, rediscovering Li Qingshan¡¯s tracks. All it needed was a single lunge and grab, and it would be able to capture Li Qingshan.

    Xiao An¡¯s fists creaked from how hard she clenched them. It took her tremendous willpower to remain in the air. If she could not endure it any longer and showed herself, not only would she fail to provide any assistance to Li Qingshan, but it was even very likely for her to destroy his only chance of survival. If she ended up being captured, Li Qingshan would never flee by himself. Before absolute strength, the combined efforts of the weak were meaningless. Instead, they would just drag each other down.

    Li Qingshan unleashed all the strength left in his body and leapt forwards, lunging towards the cave that was covered in half-snow and half-vines. Due to using too much strength, his muscles and bones twisted and creaked.

    He turned around mid-air, facing the sky and looking at the golden pheasant claw that reached over swiftly. Before the shining claws had even reached him, his skin already stung. Since they were so close, he was able to see through the golden pheasant and see the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s old, arrogant face and the contempt and hatred on there.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up. The talisman in his hand flashed and broke, turning into a scarlet fireball. It rose into the air and struck the sharp claws.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s expression turned into one of shock. He exclaimed, ¡°Supreme grade talisman!¡±

    Boom!

    Red light filled the entire sky.

    The mountains swayed as the earth quaked!

    The boulders in the distance were launched high into the air. Meanwhile, everything at the centre of the explosion, whether it be rocks or vegetation, directly melted, turning into flowing lava. Subsequently, it all solidified rapidly in the ice and snow, forming a black circle.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder was unscathed, but the golden pheasant¡¯s right leg had completely vanished. His face reddened and twisted.

 Chapter 238 â€“ Second Layer of the Tiger Demon

    The Golden Pheasant Elder produced a great roar. The golden pheasant flapped its wings furiously, kicking up violent gusts of wind and uprooting many towering trees.

    At this moment, the disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain all arrived too. They cried out, ¡°Master! Where is first senior brother?¡±

    ¡°You bunch of trash!¡± The Golden Pheasant Elder raised his hand, and a violent gust of wind blew them away. They slammed against the trees viciously and slid down, but they dared not complain.

    ¡°Please forgive us, master!¡± ¡°Please spare us!¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s heaving chest gradually settled down. He barked, ¡°Where¡¯s Song Ming?¡±

    Song Ming walked over obsequiously and knelt on the ground, ¡°Master!¡± He suddenly felt a tremendous pressure push him to the ground.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder said, ¡°All of this happened because of you. If it weren¡¯t for a piece of trash like you, your senior brother wouldn¡¯t have- he wouldn¡¯t have-¡±

    ¡°Fellow Golden Pheasant, no one could have imagined this, so why must you direct your anger at a junior?¡±

    A relaxed, carefree voice rang out in the sky. The Green Vine Elder and the Lone Grave Elder had already arrived at a certain time, hovering in the air. The speaker was obviously the Green Vine Elder. The Green Vine Elder and the Lone Grave Elder looked at one another; they seemed to be smiling inside.

    The three mountains were both in an alliance and each other¡¯s competitors. If one was stronger, then the others were weaker. The Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain¡¯s loss of a genius disciple was fantastic news to them. It made them even happier than obtaining a daemon core.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s anger returned. His chest heaved again. ¡°This is my Golden Pheasant mountain¡¯s business. It has nothing to do with you two old coots!¡±

    ¡°Fellow Golden Pheasant, you can¡¯t say that. Our three mountains stand together in an alliance, so your enemies are obviously our enemies. Once we return, we¡¯ll immediately put out an order for capture among the three mountains and bring the murderer to justice,¡± said the Green Vine Elder. Who knew whether his mouth hidden under his beard was smiling or not.

    ¡°Yep!¡± The Lone Grave Elder nodded.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder did not decline either. Avenging his dear disciple superseded his desire to protect his dignity, but it had been quite a long time since he had suffered such humiliation. He gritted his teeth. ¡°If you find that kid, don¡¯t kill him in a hurry. Just let me know. I want him alive. I want to skin him alive and carve up his bones out of pure hatred.¡±

    Song Ming was still on the ground. His face was ashen. Although he had managed to get out of this alive, his future on the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain would be gloomy now that his master hated him.

    Damn it! How did it end up like this!?

    While the other disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain all had their heads layered in sorrow, what they thought inside was the exact opposite. Many of them rejoiced or even celebrated the death of their first senior brother.

    This applied to the two eighth layer Qi Practitioners in particular. The first senior brother had always kept them firmly suppressed, such that it was suffocating. Now that the first senior brother was gone, they could obtain even more resources. There was even a chance for them to inherit the position of sect master. Wasn¡¯t this fantastic, unexpected news? When they thought of that, they looked at one another before immediately shifting their gazes.

    As for that Niu Juxia or whatever he was called, the three mountains were out to get him. He was already a dead man. How would it be possible for a Qi Practitioner to live when they were hated by a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

    None of them knew that Li Qingshan was quietly listening to all of this.

    In the mountain, deep below the soil, Li Qingshan concealed all of his aura. Like a toad in hibernation, he was buried in the soil.

    Actually, he did not even need to try to conceal his aura. His aura was already extremely weak, difficult for other people to sense.

    His back had basically been reduced to ash, unable to sense anything anymore, while the tiny hole on his chest gradually expanded. The violent spiritual energy rampaged through his body. His daemon core struggled to keep it suppressed.

    In just a single clash with a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who knew how many times he had visited the brink of death. He had only barely managed to escape using the talisman and the environment. He was still heavily injured, such that he was a mess internally and externally. His entire body was immobilised by the pressure of the soil. If he were a regular Qi Practitioner, he would have died already.

    However, he ignored the precarious situation and the wounds on his body, gathering all of his focus on his ears. He used his extraordinary hearing to eavesdrop on the conversation above ground. He concentrated on it carefully with a stern expression.

    When the voices vanished, he suddenly smiled. His smile gradually grew, revealing his pearly teeth. Although he remained there silently, without producing any sounds, the viciousness and insolence within him only intensified.

    Sharp claws extended from his hands and feet, while his hair turned scarlet, expanding to other parts of his body simultaneously. His black, iron-like skin became covered with a pattern akin to the stripes of a tiger. Even his irises turned into slits, just like a brutal beast¡¯s.

    He actually broke through to the second layer of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging at a time like this.

    The path of the tiger demon had to be comprehended through battle. Today, Li Qingshan had basically gone through five battles without rest. Against the masked man first, against the Truth-seeking society second, against the Hawkwolf guards third, against the first senior brother fourth, and against the Golden Pheasant Elder fifth.

    Each battle was more intense than the last, more dangerous than the last. He had only managed to forge a chance of survival after being heavily injured and utterly exhausting himself. He had been forced to his limits. If he had survived, then he would erupt!

    Li Qingshan began to struggle. He let out soundless roars as his long canines resembled sharp daggers. His body grew larger bit by bit, forcing apart the earth around him as he turned into his daemon form.

    The surging daemon qi crushed and tore apart the foreign spiritual energy in his body, while the hole in his chest closed up. The wounds on his back rapidly healed, returning his back to its state a very short while ago; no, it had become even tougher and more tenacious than before.

    After suffering tremendous damage, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide had actually strengthened, like black iron that had gone through another round of smelting. His defences had doubled at the very least. Even if he were directly struck by a mid grade spiritual artifact now, he would be unscathed.

    Li Qingshan smiled in a self-deprecating manner. It seemed like he needed to be injured more often in the future.

    With the powerful vitality and recovery of his daemon body, he made a complete recovery very quickly.

    Exhaling gently, Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to return to human form, or more accurately, half-beast and half-human.

    He had returned to his original size, but he retained his fiery hair, slit pupils, and sharp teeth. Even the striped pattern remained on his face. He did not seem human at all.

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered by this. After confirming the direction, he swung his sharp claws and dug downwards furiously.

    An indescribable flame filled his heart and supported his movements. The pitch-black soil seemed to morph into the faces of his enemies. He would grab at them and rip them apart as hard as he could, and only then would the restlessness in his heart ease.

    The tiger demon focused on killing, which had a tremendous influence over his mind.

    However, he no longer tried to control this influence, this killing intent, anymore. Instead, he allowed them to roar like a scorching fire in his heart.

    The space before him suddenly opened up. He had finally reached a section of the cave that had not collapsed. Leaping down, he easily adjusted his position mid-air before rushing into the depths of the cave.

    Within the mountains in a huge, open pit, a child waited quietly. This was the entrance to another cave, as well as where she had agreed to rendezvous with him if they separated.

    She showed no expression, nor did she move. If it were not for her clothes that moved in the wind, she would seem like a marble statue that had been standing in the snowfield since forever.

    However, her heart had already become something akin to the lava under the snow, filled with burning anxiety.

    A black bear three or four times the size of a regular bear took heavy steps, foraging for food in the forest. Suddenly, its nose twitched. The heavy smell of sandalwood arrived with the cold wind.

    It passed through the dense forest and arrived by the edge of the pit. Looking down, it saw the still child, and it began to drool naturally, but it hesitated. The child seemed to give off an invisible splendor, making her seem noble and sacred like an inviolable existence.

    When buddha spoke the dharma, all demons bowed their heads in submission. When eminent monks carried out their virtuous deeds, vicious beasts would keep their distance.

    But in the end, its appetite and viciousness overpowered its intelligence and perception. It lunged towards the child. Despite its huge size, it actually moved extremely gracefully.

    Xiao An turned around expressionlessly. Her pupils that were like glaze made contact with its vicious gaze. It shuddered.

    The perfect purity was like deep coldness, just like how the purest water was uninhabitable to aquatic life. She was not like a child. She was not even like a human.

    However, she suddenly turned around again, ignoring the black bear that was only inches away. Joy from the bottom of her heart ripped through her eyes. At that moment, she suddenly gained an aura befitting of the living, like a delicate puppet that had turned into a human child.

    However, the black bear¡¯s eyes were filled with terror. It could not be bothered with the prey that was only inches away anymore as it turned around and fled. A terrifying aura rapidly drew closer.

    Before the black bear could get very far, a black shadow burst out from the snow. The shining, scarlet pupils produced two streaks of light in the dark night. It appeared above the black bear and swung its claws casually. The black bear¡¯s brains immediately splattered out, and with a whimper, it collapsed on the ground.

    As if the shadow was still not satisfied, it extended its arms, wrenching out a warm heart.

    If regular people saw this, they would have peed their pants in their fright towards this vicious beast. Even Qi Practitioners would shiver inside.

    However, the child was filled with joy. She exclaimed, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    The shadow suddenly turned around, staring straight at the child. The red light in its pupils gradually vanished, while its heavy, murderous aura seemed to fade slightly. It revealed a rather fierce smile. ¡°That¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve called me by my name.¡±

    Faced with Xiao An¡¯s worried gaze, Li Qingshn smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve broken through to the second layer. What do you think? It¡¯s pretty good, isn¡¯t it?¡± He casually swung his hand and left behind four deep claw marks on the rock wall ten meters away.

    Xiao An nodded seriously, expressing great appreciation towards his current form.

    ¡°Looks like my Xiao An has good tastes!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and scooped her up, placing her on his neck and making his way into the cave.

    ¡°Where are we doing?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°To hold the underground gathering, of course.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there still quite a few days until that?¡±

    ¡°We need to prepare beforehand to welcome the friends from above ground. We need to fulfill our role as the host.¡±

    ¡°Can I kill them all?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

 Chapter 239 â€“ Before the Ceremony One

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! If it weren¡¯t for you, would I have ended up like this?¡± Song Ming grabbed Mu Zhicong¡¯s collar firmly with bloodshot eyes.

    He was completely done for. Although the Golden Pheasant Elder did not punish him in the end, his seniors and juniors all avoided him like the plague. Even the outer disciples that usually hung out with him ignored him now. He was completely alone on the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain.

    Mu Zhicong shook off his hand impatiently. ¡°Senior brother Song, didn¡¯t you want revenge? Or did I force you into revenge?¡±

    ¡°Y- you- I might suffer, but don¡¯t you think you¡¯ll have it easy either!¡± Song Ming completely lacked his former grace as spittle sprayed out from his mouth like he had gone mad. He launched a palm strike at Mu Zhicong.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Mu Zhicong shivered inside and retreated in a hurry. Although he managed to avoid the palm strike, his chest still ached from the true qi.

    Song Ming even tried to pursue him. Green vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around him firmly. He fished out a golden pheasant¡¯s feather with a flip of his hand.

    Mu Zhicong bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, this is the Green Vine mountain!¡±

    Greenery lingered and flowers bloomed outside the window, like it was late spring, but there was mist and snowy mountains just a little further away. They were currently on the Green Vine mountain. More specifically, they were in the residence for inner disciples, in Mu Zhicong¡¯s room.

    Song Ming¡¯s mind shuddered. He gradually calmed down and stowed away the Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume.

    Mu Zhicong released the vines and patted Song Ming¡¯s shoulder. He advised, ¡°The three mountains have already sent out an order for his capture, so you¡¯ll be avenged at the very least. There are no permanent obstructions in the world. As long as you do well in the Herb Gathering ceremony, senior brother, you¡¯ll definitely fall back into favour with your master. Who knows, you might find and ingest some spiritual herb and advance rapidly in cultivation, becoming the new first senior brother.¡±

    Mu Zhicong was just afraid that Song Ming would try to throw his life at him if he completely offended Song Ming, so he pleaded with tactful words.

    Song Ming left the residence with a broken expression. Below a great camphor tree, Ma Chaoqun bowed to him, ¡°Senior brother!¡±

    Smack! There was a clear slap, and Ma Chaoqun slammed against the tree heavily, causing leaves to rain down.

    Song Ming said viciously, ¡°Have you come to make fun of me?¡±

    Ma Chaoqun said, ¡°Never. All of this happened because of me. It¡¯s me who¡¯s let you down, senior brother! You can hit and berate me all you want.¡±

    With that, he walked off. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around. ¡°You can stick with me in the future. If anyone is bold enough to harass you outside, let me know.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother?¡¯ Ma Chaoqun was dazed.

    ¡°You could hold onto your grudge for two entire decades just for the sake of revenge, so am I supposed to pale in comparison to you? I¡¯ll show them that I¡¯m not a piece of trash that anyone can mess with!¡±

    Mu Zhicong watched the two of them vanish down the shaded path. He muttered to himself, ¡°Never thought Song Ming would have some backbone!¡± Then he murmured, ¡°Niu Juxia!¡±

    He never thought that man could actually escape while being rounded up by the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, even killing the first senior brother in the process. He basically wondered whether he had fallen for some scheme or not. He found this to be unbelievable. Was that guy really this powerful? If he came looking for him for revenge, what was he supposed to do!?

    In a daze, the tall figure seemed to appear before him, and the shadow he cast enveloped him.

    However, Mu Zhicong immediately shook his head. Even if this Niu person thought to his wit¡¯s end, he would not be able to tell if he played a role in this at all. And, his life was in danger under the three mountains¡¯ order for capture, so he was in no position to think about revenge.

    Thinking up to this point, Mu Zhicong stood up and made his way out towards where the outer disciples stayed.

    ¡°Chenglu, are you really telling the truth? Are the three mountains really looking to hunt down Niu Juxia? Why hasn¡¯t anyone else told me?¡± Yu Zijian paced around anxiously in her room.

    Hua Chenglu laid back leisurely on a rattan chair. ¡°You¡¯re currently under house arrest, so of course no one would tell you. I heard he killed the first senior brother of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, and he was being hunted down by the Golden Pheasant Elder¡­ Stop pacing around. You¡¯re making me dizzy.¡±

    ¡°T- then how is he right now?¡± Yu Zijian suddenly stopped and widened her eyes in horror. Her eyes had already grown misty. She was ready to shed tears at any moment now.

    If it weren¡¯t for me, Niu Juxia wouldn¡¯t have fallen with the Pheasant¡¯s Grace Mountain, and he wouldn¡¯t have come to Green Vine mountain. He wouldn¡¯t have¡­

    ¡°You idiot, he obviously escaped, or they wouldn¡¯t have ordered his arrest! You better worry about yourself a bit more instead of others!¡±

    Only then did Yu Zijian ease up. She silently prayed, Niu Juxia, please be fine.

    ¡°Miss Hua is right.¡± A voice rang out from outside. Mu Zhicong stepped into the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He seemed extraordinarily graceful under the mottled shade of the tree.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Senior brother Mu!¡±

    Mu Zhicong said, ¡°Zijian, it¡¯s almost time for the Herb Gathering ceremony. I will be taking care of you when that happens, but you need to make some preparations yourself too.¡±

    ¡°Zijian is not a disciple of the Green Vine mountain. She won¡¯t be participating in your shitty Herb Gathering ceremony. Hurry up and get out of here. I feel vexed whenever I see the people of the Green Vine mountain now!¡± Hua Chenglu suddenly sat up on the seat and cursed.

    When Hua Chenglu arrived on the Green Vine mountain wanting to take away Yu Zijian, the Green Vine elder had met with her reluctantly and directly turned down her request. However, while she liked to behave in a very mature manner, she was still a young girl at the end of the day.

    If the patriarch of the Hua family, or Hua Chengzan, had come in person, there would be no issue in resolving this matter. However, if the Green Vine mountain released a person obediently from a single word that a little girl had said after scampering over, they would seem like they were afraid of the Hua family. The Green Vine Elder could not afford to stoop so low just yet.

    Hua Chenglu obviously would not give up, so she insisted on staying on the mountain with Yu Zijian. After all this time, she had grown restless. She no longer cared about acting mature anymore. She released all of her unruly and capricious nature as the young miss of a large clan now.

    ¡°Miss Hua, do you really think you can talk nonsense just because you¡¯re from the Hua family? Don¡¯t assume that I¡¯m afraid to teach you a lesson.¡± Mu Zhicong¡¯s face reddened and he raised his hand.

    Hua Chenlu offered her face to him. ¡°Come! If you think you¡¯re so capable, then teach me a lesson. You¡¯re a coward if you¡¯re afraid to!¡±

    Mu Zhicong was utterly enraged, but his hand just hovered in the air. He was actually afraid to lay his hands on her. If he touched her, it would lead to a dispute between the Green Vine mountain and the Hua family. That was not a burden he could bear.

    Yu Zijian made her way between them in a hurry and tried to persuade them. ¡°Stop arguing!¡±

    Mu Zhicong made use of this to get out of the predicament that he faced. He lowered his hand furiously. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Zijian shielding you, I¡¯d definitely teach a lesson to an ignorant little girl like you!¡±

    ¡°Who do you want to teach a lesson to?¡± A voice rang out at the entrance.

    ¡°Brother!¡± Hua Chenglu sprang up from the chair.

    Mu Zhicong turned around in a hurry. He saw an extremely handsome man sitting on a verdant, slender branch that swayed in the wind. His ebony hair hung loose as his lips that were like peach blossoms formed a smile. If it were not for the prominent adam¡¯s apple on his throat, he might have been mistaken for a great beauty.

    Hearing how Hua Chenglu referred to him, a name leapt out in Mu Zhicong¡¯s heart¡ªHua Chengzan.

    Across the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture, there were countless geniuses. However, this person was the best of the best among these geniuses, a true prodigy. Not only did he come from a renowned clan and possess a handsome appearance, but he was also the only non-Foundation Establishment Scarlet Wolf commander throughout all of the Ruyi commandery.

    This was not due to his background from the Hua family, or the special enlistment of the White Hawk commander. Instead, it was because he had reached the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner before the age of twenty. Everyone believed he would soon become the youngest Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Clear River prefecture.

    Although he had been stuck at the tenth layer for many years, which caused the halo of a genius over his head to dim slightly, he was still a dazzlingly bright presence in the eyes of regular Qi Practitioners. He was known in the Clear River prefecture as the greatest below Foundation Establishment.

    Mu Zhicong bowed in a hurry. ¡°I was not aware of commander Hua¡¯s arrival. I¡¯ve failed to welcome you from afar.¡± Even with the Hua family set aside, just Hua Chengzan¡¯s identity as a Scarlet Wolf commander was enough to make any Qi Practitioner revere him.

    In the eyes of these cultivators from sects, the Hawkwolf Guard was not some fair emissary of justice that upheld the laws. Instead, they were the hawks and hounds of the government that framed people with their draconian laws.

    Hua Chenglu arrived underneath the tree and leapt up and down. ¡°Why have you only just come? Zijian and I have been harassed to death by the people here.¡±

    Mu Zhicong laughed dryly. ¡°I was only joking around with your dear sister.¡±

    ¡°Then let me joke around too!¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s face sank as he raised his hand. He possessed authority over the laws of the Clear River prefecture, and who knew how many Qi Practitioners he had killed and interrogated in the past. Although he rarely ever displayed his power, once he grew hostile, the bleakness seemed to summon late autumn in this prosperous springtime garden all of a sudden.

    Mu Zhicong staggered a few steps back and tripped over the chair, falling on his bottom. He raised his hand to shield his face like a woman as he cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    But nothing happened. Mu Zhicong lowered his hand, and all he saw was Hua Chengzan seated there, still smiling, as if his bearing earlier was all just an illusion.

    Hua Chenglu mocked, ¡°What a coward. My brother had already said that he¡¯s joking around!¡±

    Mu Zhicong turned bright red. He felt both ashamed and fearful. He had completely collapsed before Hua Chengzan¡¯s aura earlier. Not only was he unable to fight back, but he even lost the courage to run away. He could only kneel on the ground and beg for his life, leaving everything completely up to Hua Chengzan¡¯s whim. If Hua Chengzan had lashed out at that moment, killing him would be no different from killing an ordinary person. Before he had even struck, Mu Zhicong had already suffered an absolute defeat.

    ¡°Senior brother Mu!¡± Yu Zijian wanted to help him up, but Mu Zhicong had already leapt to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll report this to my master.¡± before scampering off.

    Hua Chenglu called out, ¡°Why don¡¯t you get down here!?¡±

    Hua Chengzan seemed powerless to that request. He gently drifted down from the branch and smiled at Yu Zijian. ¡°Miss Yu, long time no see!¡±

    Yu Zijian lowered her head in a hurry. ¡°Brother Hua, what brings you here?¡±

    Hua Chenglu said complacently, ¡°I got him to come, obviously.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said instead, ¡°I have some formal business to attend to here.¡±

    The two of them looked at each other. Hua Chenglu stroked her brother¡¯s nose furiously. ¡°So you didn¡¯t come for me!¡±

    Hua Chengzan sighed. ¡°I obviously came for you. I told you a long time ago that there was no need for you to hurry here, and that you just needed to wait for me to handle it. Now, it¡¯s much more troublesome instead.¡± The minds of people were extremely tricky to handle. Now that he had come here, he had to worry that the Green Vine Elder felt like the Hua family was trying to pressure him.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, Zijian would have been forced to join the Green Vine mountain already!¡±

    ¡°Fair enough!¡±

    ¡°Since commander Hua has arrived, why don¡¯t you come up the mountain for a chat with me so that I can fulfill my role as the host?¡±

 Chapter 240 â€“ Before the Ceremony Two

    ¡°Come with me!¡± Hua Chengzan lifted up Hua Chenglu with one hand and flew through the treetops like a bird, heading towards the top of the mountain.

    ¡°Wait for me, Zijian!¡± Hua Chenglu turned around and called out, but all she saw was a green mass. She was already very far away from the courtyard.

    The voice curled upwards, and the branches swayed. Yu Zijian sighed gently inside. If she had not received the help of all these kind-hearted people, who knew what circumstances she would be facing. Regardless of the end result, she thanked them from the bottom of her heart.

    If it were not for these warm feelings, what would be the point of living in this world? However, if someone ended up hurt because of her, she really had no idea what to do.

    Niu Juxia, please be fine!

    Advancing through the wild gales as the wind whistled past her ears, Hua Chenglu asked, ¡°Brother, what mission brought you here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± Hua Chengzan smiled, but his expression was rather heavy.

    Obviously, this would not escape the eyes of his younger sister, Hua Chenglu. She pouted unhappily, but she did not ask any further. She wondered, Apart from that woman, just what can give my almighty brother a headache?

    ¡°Has it got to do with the Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said nothing. He suddenly soared into the sky, flying above the entire Green Vine mountain.

    Hua Chengzan spotted the diagram of the nine halls and eight trigrams on the square in front of the hall as well as the nine three-legged cauldrons giving off wisps of smoke. Looking down from above, the mountains all lingered in the mist, giving off an aloof and otherworldly feeling. The Green Vine mountain was quite a rare paradise.

    From afar, they spotted the Green Vine Elder standing with his arms behind his back, waiting in front of the hall.

    Quite a few disciples of the three mountains gathered on the square. Hearing the disturbance, they had all climbed out the mountain to see what was going on. Raising their heads, they saw a handsome man and a girl flying up to the top of the mountain with the breeze, like a white crane soaring over the mountains, untouched by human society.

    The weaker Qi Practitioners failed to sense anything, but the stronger Qi Practitioners were all stern.

    They had only witnessed this feeling of being one with nature from Foundation Establishment cultivators. He truly deserved his title of being the greatest below Foundation Establishment.

    Hua Chengzan and Hua Chenglu landed before the steps gently.

    In the path of cultivation, the strong were revered.

    The Green Vine Elder stroked his beard with a smile and returned half the gesture. ¡°You should have let me know that you would be visiting earlier so that I could welcome you at the base of the mountain. Now, it just makes me seem like I¡¯m taking advantage of my seniority to slight an esteemed guest like you.¡±

    He indirectly blamed Hua Chengzan for not notifying him first, directly passing through the formation and setting foot on the mountain. However, he was also astounded by his ability to pass through the formation silently.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s because I was worried about my younger sister, so I ignored the common courtesy. Please forgive me, senior. My younger sister has enjoyed your hospitality for all the days she spent on the mountain. I¡¯m just afraid she has been rude the entire time. It¡¯s all thanks to senior¡¯s leniency to not fuss about her. Chenglu, why don¡¯t you thank the senior?¡±

    ¡°Thank you, senior Green Vine.¡± Hua Chenglu bowed rather reluctantly.

    Hua Chengzan rubbed Hua Chenglu¡¯s head gently and said powerlessly, ¡°My sister is young and ignorant, and she¡¯s spoilt too. There¡¯s nothing I can do about her either, so I hope senior doesn¡¯t take any offence.¡±

    ¡°Your dear sister is naive and innocent, so how could I take any offence?¡± The Green Vine Elder laughed. Even if he was slightly unhappy inside, he would not stoop to the level of a little girl, or he would just seem narrow-minded.

    Hua Chengzan resolved the dispute from before in a few simple words. He smiled and clasped his hands. ¡°I have some formal affairs that I¡¯d like to discuss with the sect masters of the three mountains. Here¡¯s not an appropriate place to talk. Let¡¯s go in!¡±

    At that moment, he was no longer an elder brother apologising for his sister, nor was he a junior who respected his seniors. Instead, he was a commander of the Hawkwolf Guard, a representative of the law. His attitude naturally changed such that he treated him as an equal. As a matter of fact, he even gained the upper hand, now in control of the flow of the conversation.

    The Green Vine Elder could not help but grow stern. He raised his hands. ¡°Please!¡± He could not help but sigh inside. This kid was graceful, and he handled affairs with composure. He was greater than all the disciples he had under him. He could shoulder great responsibilities. If he could have a disciple like this inherit and continue the sect, would the prosperity of the Green Vine mountain still be an issue?

    Hua Chengzan made Hua Chenglu wait outside as he entered the hall with the Green Vine Elder. Right as he was about to step through the door, he suddenly turned around and glanced past every single face on the square. However, he was left slightly disappointed. He thought in a self-deprecating manner, If that person would appear here so easily, then there would be no need for so much trouble.

    As expected, the Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder were already seated in the hall. Seeing Hua Chengzan walk in, they both stood up before sitting back down again. Their eyes were filled with caution. They had to maintain their dignity as sect masters while trying to avoid offending the Hawkwolf Guard.

    As if Hua Chengzan was accustomed to treatment like that, he only clasped his hands. He did not bow like he should have as a junior.

    ¡°So what brings the commander here in person?¡± The Green Vine Elder dismissed all of his disciples. Only the four of them remained in the large hall, such that his voice echoed through the place. The vermillion pillars of the hall seemed to extend into the darkness. They seemed extremely lonely.

    Hua Chengzan paced around in thought, like he was organising how he would say it, but it was also like he was contemplating something. Suddenly, he stopped and said, ¡°I¡¯ve come to warn the three of you that someone will be coming for the foundations of your three mountains. The three of you should prepare yourselves.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The Green Vine Elder was surprised.

    ¡°Bullsh-¡± The Golden Pheasant Elder directly sprang to his feet. He had been in an extremely horrible mood for the past few days. He blurted out foul language, only managing to stop himself half way through.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Lone Grave Elder blinked his eyes a few times. Many more emotions immediately sprang forth from his corpse-like face.

    The Green Vine Elder looked down. ¡°Please don¡¯t exaggerate to frighten us, commander. The alliance of our three mountains has lasted for several generations. How can our foundations of a thousand years be seized so easily?¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder waved his hands around in an intense manner. ¡°Who are we supposed to be afraid of when the three of us work together? Don¡¯t tell me the White Hawk commander has taken a fancy to our sects?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± said the Lone Grave Elder.

    Their confidence was not unreasonable. Great Xia had stood for several millennia, and all nine provinces had experienced peace the entire time. Even battles between sects were very infrequent. Although there were some secret machinations going on behind the scenes, they could basically fend off anything if three Foundation Establishment cultivators worked together.

    Obviously, they could not fend off Golden Core cultivators, but all Golden Core cultivators were well-established, possessing their own clans and sects. Why would the three mountains interest them? And, the Hawkwolf Guard never interfered with battles among sects. They would much rather stir up these battles instead, so since when were they nice enough to come and warn them?

    Hua Chengzan acted like he was in thought for a while, giving the three of them sufficient time to react to the news. Only then did he say, ¡°This person comes from the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    The three agitated old men acted like an invisible hand had grabbed them by the throat. They all fell quiet, unable to say another word.

    The Sword Collection palace was a great sect renowned throughout the Green province. It was said that only Foundation Establishment cultivators had the right to become inner disciples. In the eyes of all small to medium-sized sects of the Green province, that was the name of an existence they could not oppose.

    After quite a while, the Golden Pheasant Elder managed to return to his senses first. He bellowed, ¡°You lie! The Sword Collection palace is an orthodox sect, so why would they just attack other sects? And, what would we have that would attract their attention?¡±

    The Green Vine Elder smiled bitterly. ¡°If you aren¡¯t joking, commander, then we can just go and get prepared to change sides. Just how are we supposed to oppose the Sword Collection palace?¡±

    The Lone Grave Elder¡¯s face darkened; his entire body had already stiffened. He seemed even more like a corpse now.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s not an attack, but control and recruitment. Actually, you don¡¯t have to worry too much. I¡¯ve obtained reliable information that the person is just an inner disciple of the Sword Collection palace. He only underwent his tribulation recently, so this is his first time leaving the mountain for training. If you can defeat him, then there¡¯s obviously nothing to worry about.¡±

    The three elders looked at one another. The training mission of a disciple from the Sword Collection palace was actually to deal with them. That was utterly insulting, but they just could not get angry over this, as it was the Sword Collection palace. As a matter of fact, they eased up slightly. If it was just an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, were they supposed to be afraid that they could not fend him off with their cultivation?

    Hua Chengzan shook his head. The understanding of people from sects still originated from rumors and stories that were passed from mouth-to-mouth. It was impossible for them to analyse and draw conclusions from detailed information like the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Hua Chenglu hugged her knees as she sat before the hall. No matter who tried to talk to her, she would reply viciously, ¡°Go away!¡±

    Just as she was getting bored, Hua Chengzan emerged from the hall. The three sect masters had personally come out to see him off.

    All of the disciples on the square were surprised by the treatment he received.

    The eyes of the female cultivators shone even brighter. If they were to choose a partner, they needed to find a man like him.

    If it were some other time, perhaps Hua Chengzan would have smiled at them and spread his romantic reputation as a handsome young master. However, he was in no mood to do so right now.

    Still worried, he whispered sternly, ¡°I¡¯ll just be in the town below the mountain. If he appears, send someone to contact me. The three seniors must receive him together when the time comes, or the three mountains will be in danger.¡±

    He was blatantly saying that they would not even be able to defeat a single disciple of the Sword Collection palace if they fought with just the three of them. The Golden Pheasant Elder definitely would have burst out swearing if he had heard this some other time, but he seemed very cautious now. He only nodded. After hearing Hua Chengzan¡¯s analysis, none of them dared to make light of the situation anymore.

    Compared to their pride, the three mountains were much more important. The Sword Collection palace was impressive, but they all understood the principle that it was better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.

    ¡°Just¡­ what¡­ does¡­ the¡­ Sword Collection palace¡­ want?¡± The Lone Grave Elder stammered as if it had been many years since he last spoke.

    This also happened to be the question that the Green Vine Elder and Golden Pheasant Elder wanted to ask the most. What did they possess that would interest a great sect from over five thousand kilometers away?

    Hua Chengzan hesitated. ¡°As for what he wants, I¡¯m not completely sure, but you must turn down any requests that he has, or the world will be in danger!¡±

    The elders of the three mountains looked at one another. Although they each ruled over a region, they still knew what they were capable and incapable of. Even when combined, the three mountains could not influence the world at all, so it all seemed a little exaggerated. They wanted to ask some more questions.

    Hua Chengzan clasped his hands and made his way down the stairs, flying off with Hua Chenglu. They soared over the sea of trees, including the residence for outer disciples.

    Hua Chenglu asked urgently, ¡°What about Zijian? What about her?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once I finish with this, I will obviously take the two of you back to the Clear River prefecture.¡± He was in no hurry to demand for Yu Zijian from the Green Vine Elder. He would only speak when he felt confident, and when he did speak, the Green Vine Elder would not be able to turn him down.

    Of course, it would be for the best if he did not have to speak at all. If he handled this matter properly, the Green Vine Elder would probably be grateful for his warning, and he would let Yu Zijian leave the mountain without needing him to say anything at all. There was no need to hurry.

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°But it¡¯s almost the Herb Gathering ceremony. Zijian is going underground with them. Who knows how dangerous it¡¯ll be.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you see how someone was willing to take care of her? There won¡¯t be any danger. It¡¯ll be good for her instead.¡±

    ¡°But!¡±

    ¡°No buts. If there was danger, they wouldn¡¯t send so many Qi Practitioners underground. It¡¯ll be fine as long as they don¡¯t venture too deep. How can she leave without any benefits after staying on the Green Vine mountain for all this time?¡±

    Hua Chengzan seemed to think of something as he muttered to himself, ¡°If you really talk about danger, I¡¯d be worrying for the daemons instead.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Hua Chenglu asked in confusion.

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    The greenery receded, and the snowy winds buffeted their faces.

    Below the Green Vine mountain, the town happened to be experiencing its busiest time. The Herb Gathering ceremony was about to begin, so almost a thousand Qi Practitioners gathered there. All of them wanted to make some last minute preparations. It was the liveliest right now.

    But at this moment, the ruckus near the north gate vanished. A wide path opened up on the cramped street, allowing a group of Qi Practitioners to pass by.

    The leader of the group happened to be Wu Gen. His scarlet uniform stood out clearly, while the black uniform of the commanders behind him fluttered in the wind, giving off a stern and stately presence.

    ¡°Why are the Hawkwolf Guard here?¡±

    ¡°Have they come to participate in the Herb Gathering ceremony too?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t be. It has never happened in the past!¡±

    Wu Gen¡¯s face was utterly sunken. He quietly made his way into an inn, while the commanders behind him entered too. All of them seemed to be in a bad mood.

    The boss of the inn bowed to receive them. ¡°Master Wu, you¡¯ve finally returned! Please come in! I¡¯ve saved the best rooms for you!¡±

    Wu Gen said, ¡°Shut the door!¡±

    The boss said, ¡°But I¡¯m still open for business!¡±

    ¡°Shut the door!¡± Wu Gen¡¯s voice sank.

    The boss closed the door in a hurry. Wu Gen erupted with foul language, ¡°You bunch of trash! You couldn¡¯t even catch an injured person. Every single one of you is all talk and no action! How am I supposed to report back like this?¡±

    A crack slowly opened up in the door upstairs. Seeing the group of Hawkwolf guards below, the door was immediately shut again.

    Fang Enshang said, ¡°Senior brother, the terrain underground is complicated. The caves criss-cross with one another, so it was difficult for us to find him. There¡¯s nothing that we could do.¡±

    The other commanders all nodded in agreement. Qiu Ruiliu¡¯s hole was not just a short secret tunnel. Instead, it directly connected to the caves below. They followed his tracks in pursuit, which ended at an underground river. When they found his tracks again, they were led to the den of a daemon. It took them a tremendous amount of effort to get out and reduced them to a sorry state.

    Although they administered different regions, there would be many criminals on the blacklist that would flee underground, preventing them from capturing them.

    Wu Gen just happened to have nowhere to vent his anger. He roared at Fang Enshang, ¡°Haven¡¯t you learnt Tracing techniques from the Academy of the Hundred Schools? Haven¡¯t you? Huh?!¡±

    Fang Enshang lowered his head. ¡°I have.¡±

    ¡°Then why couldn¡¯t you find him? Huh?!¡±

    Fang Enshang said softly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you learn it too, senior brother?¡±

    The commanders all tried their best to stop smiling, but no one dared to laugh aloud.

    Wu Gen immediately seemed like he was about to explode. Qian Rongzhi pulled Fang Enshang away in a hurry and tried to persuade him. ¡°Sir, please calm down. We still managed to destroy a branch of the evil White Lotus cult, the Truth-seeking society. After suffering this loss, Qiu Ruiliu will probably be too afraid to show himself again for a very long time. After all, even commander Gu failed to find the White Lotus Mother.¡±

    Wu Gen¡¯s anger subsided slightly under the persuasions of a beauty and the fact that he was being compared to Gu Yanying. He glared viciously at Fang Enshang, and just when he was about to say something, a lazy voice rang out from upstairs.

    ¡°Oi, it¡¯s not a good idea to talk about your superiors behind their backs.¡±

    Wu Gen suddenly turned his head. ¡°Who is it? To eavesdrop on us, you really are out of your¡­ Commander Hua!¡±

    Hua Chengzan leaned against the railing on the second floor and smiled. ¡°Sir Wu, I see your temper has improved! So who¡¯s out of their minds?¡±

    Wu Gen was pained. ¡°I¡¯m out of my mind, okay? What brings you here?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°You just let a criminal escape, that¡¯s all. There¡¯s no need to be like this. With the breadth of the net of justice, it¡¯s loose, but it never lets anyone slip through and get away. Won¡¯t you have an opportunity in the future? It¡¯s just like what Rongzhi said. Even boss Gu failed to kill the White Lotus Mother.¡± He shifted his gaze and looked at Qian Rongzhi.

    ¡°I was just speaking carelessly. I hope you can forgive me, commander. Though, I never thought the commander would actually remember my name.¡± Qian Rongzhi bowed courteously. She did not try to tease or flatter him at all. Although she had only seen him once before, this commander Hua gave her a very deep impression. The conclusion she reached about him was that he was difficult to make use of.

    She personally believed her beauty and arts of charm were nowhere near as great as the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. And, even the sect master seemed to struggle to gain complete control over this person. And, if she tried throwing herself at him now, it would only make him look down on her.

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°I always remember the names of beauties. Oh right, did you find that person who joined the Hawkwolf Guard with you, Li Qingshan?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Commander, although I joined the Hawkwolf Guard at the same time as Li Qingshan, we¡¯re not close with one another. I haven¡¯t heard from him in such a long time, so he may have died underground already.¡±

    ¡°Really? I have a feeling that I¡¯ll still be able to see him.¡± Hua Chengzan waved his hand and casually tossed down a painting scroll, which unfurled in the air. It depicted a man in simple clothes.

    The painter had exceptional skill. The man seemed to be very young, only around twenty years of age, but he gave off a bleak presence. His skinny figure held up the large, wide clothing, which made him seem a little like he was just skin and bones.

    ¡°This is your new mission. Remember this person. Once he appears near the Green Vine mountain, contact me immediately! Remember, don¡¯t touch him!¡±

    With Wu Gen at the lead, the Hawkwolf guards answered loudly, ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    Clang~

    Yu Zijian paced around by herself in her courtyard. Suddenly, the sword on her waist thrummed gently. She stopped in surprise and drew the sword. The blade of the sword was clear like water in autumn, clearly reflecting her confused face.

    She checked the sword several times, but she was still confused by what was going on. In the end, she could only sheath the sword.

    Clang~

    She leapt in fright and took a step back, drawing out the sword again and checking it several times.

 Chapter 241 â€“ Before the Ceremony Three

    She placed the sword on the marble table in the courtyard. The westward sun turned the sea of clouds into a blazing ocean, which reflected on the long blade. It suddenly added a glorious splash of colour to the ordinary sword.

    Yu Zijian squinted her eyes and crouched by the table, staring straight at the sword.

    The sword laid there quietly, without moving at all.

    Clang~

    Yu Zijian suddenly stood up. The sound clearly seemed to originate by her ear, but it also seemed to come from the bottom of her heart. She stood up and opened the door, stepping onto the small path covered in verdant grass.

    She was in a daze, as if she was in a dream. She was unable to control herself, as if something was calling for her in her heart.

    The small path twisted a few times before suddenly opening up. Presented before her were a series of dilapidated walls, like the ruins of an ancient city.

    The stone pillars that once held up the hall laid in the wild grass. The hall had already collapsed, while the statues had been weathered to a point where they were disfigured. However, she could still vaguely see their former glory.

    Since when was there a place like this on the Green Vine mountain?

    A question flashed through Yu Zijian¡¯s head, which vanished in a split second.

    The setting sun added a splash of bright red to these ruins. No matter how unsophisticated or vulgar a person could be, they would still sigh involuntarily and in emotion at this sight.

    As she strolled through these ruins that had almost been swallowed by the green grass, she felt like she had returned home, like she was an exiled princess and this was her home country.

    After passing the white stone path covered in vines, she suddenly stopped.

    A tiny pond sat in the embrace of verdant trees. The setting sunlight from the west reflected in the water, dyeing it in a beautiful colour.

    A man in green robes sat on a round rock by the pond with his legs crossed. His young, thin face was stubbly, like he was sighing. He gave off agedness and weariness that only seemed to appear on old people who had seen and understood everything the world had to offer. He was like a lone king sitting on his collapsed throne, reminiscing his former glory and lamenting over the state of his current empire.

    He was fishing, but he did not use a fishing pole. He used a sword. He held the hilt with both hands as a thread dangled straight down from the end of the sheathe into the mirror-like pond.

    Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes were not set on this sight, or this person, but the sword. She seemed to be drawn in for no reason. She was confident that the graceful thrum from earlier originated from this sword.

    ¡°Have you seen this sword before?¡± The man in green turned around and looked at her in some surprise.

    At a closer glance, while he did wear green, it differed greatly from the uniform of the Green Vine mountain. It seemed extremely worn-out, just like the sword in his hand.

    The man in green said, ¡°I¡¯m not. Are you?¡±

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°I¡¯m not either. You must be a guest invited to the mountain. You¡¯re not allowed to fish on the mountain!¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not a disciple of the Green Vine mountain, why do you care?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Forget it. Fish. I¡¯m going back. I¡¯m not going to disturb your fishing.¡± It was slightly inappropriate for a man and woman to be alone here. However, her gaze remained fixed on the sword. The familiar feeling was just like when she first met Niu Juxia.

    The man in green said, ¡°Do you want to take a look?¡±

    ¡°Can I?¡± Before Yu Zijian had even finished talking, the sword landed in her hands. It was weighty, and the thread automatically retreated into the sheath.

    The sheath was an inky green, due to a combination of its original colour and the marks left behind with time. The material seemed like jade, yet also like wood. There was a fine image engraved on there, like the silhouette of a city, but it was incomplete and damaged.

    ¡°What is this sword called?¡±

    ¡°Green Ruins.¡±

    Clang~

    Yu Zijian gripped the hilt and drew the sword. The familiar thrum rang out by her ear, just as expected, lingering for quite some time. It did not glow at all, but the shine of the sword was withdrawn like light through clear, autumn water.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fine sword!¡±

    The man in green¡¯s expression revealed even more surprise than when he first saw Yu Zijian. He was shocked as a matter of fact.

    ¡°I¡¯m done. I need to go,¡± Yu Zijian sheathed the sword and tossed it back to the man reluctantly.

    The man stood up. ¡°Can you wait for me here?¡±

    At this moment, the afterglow in the horizon began to subside.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m busy.¡± Yu Zijian skipped into the distance as she thought, Who are you? I don¡¯t even know you, yet you want me to wait for you. What a weirdo!

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Yu Zijian,¡± Yu Zijian said without looking back.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m Fu Qingjin,¡± Yu Zijian had already left the ruins and vanished into the thicket, so Fu Qingjin¡¯s voice tailed off, like he was talking to himself.

    She could easily walk out of the Green Ruins Illusion, and she could draw the Green Ruins sword. The Divining Elder was right¡­

    The first star lit up on the horizon. His gaze shone like a star¡¯s.

    The scenery around him suddenly twisted like a mirage before vanishing. Only the pond remained, reflecting the black shade of the embracing trees.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s gaze passed through the vegetation and landed on the main hall at the top of the mountain.

    There was only a single lantern within the dim hall, illuminating a tiny area. The three old men huddled around the lantern. They bore Hua Chengzan¡¯s warning in mind, afraid to split up and be taken out one by one.

    The disciples of the various sects were on patrol outside. They were not there to help out, but to immediately report to Hua Chengzan as soon as they heard any disturbances.

    There was a flash of green light, and the three old men suddenly discovered that the surroundings had changed. They sat within a series of ruins, while above them was the endless night sky, filled with stars.

    ¡°Since when?¡± The Golden Pheasant Elder paled in surprise.

    ¡°Thank you for waiting here together. It has saved me quite the trouble.¡±

    A voice rang out from behind. The three of them turned around at the same time and saw a man in green clothes walk down from the high steps. He was young yet aged, lonely yet noble.

    The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°Y- You¡¯re that person!¡±

    ¡°This commander Hua must have told you everything that needs to be said, right?¡± Fu Qingjin said calmly, as if he was too tired to even explain his reason for coming here.

    The three old men stood in a triangle around him. Although they were old rivals, their teamwork was still flawless.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t come for the three mountains. My mission is not to win over you either.¡±

    The three old men exhaled in relief at basically the same time.

    ¡°Though, it¡¯ll be much more convenient if I win over you first. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t harm you.¡±

    Before the three elders could even become angry, the green shine of the sword turned into thousands of strands and dispersed like fireflies.

    A while later, the three elders emerged from the hall. The door was shut firmly behind them.

    ¡°Master, do we need to keep patrolling?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. You can go,¡± the Green Vine Elder said with exhaustion.

    The three of them looked at one another, as if they could see the fear that had yet to disperse, as well as each other¡¯s understanding. No wonder Hua Chengzan had come in person to tell them. This person¡¯s mission was actually to¡­

    The Sword Collection palace really was as resolute as the legends painted it to be. However, if they really did go through with this, then it would be no exaggeration that the world would be in danger.

    The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°Please go back and rest. Make your preparations! The Herb Gathering ceremony is about to begin.¡±

    The deep, open pit was like a huge, hollow eye, staring at the sky.

    Almost a thousand pairs of eyes looked back at this huge eye. They were filled with excitement, eagerness, and fear.

    The whistling cold wind was unable to overwhelm the hubbub of voices. Everyone discussed among themselves.

    The surroundings suddenly quietened. Under everyone¡¯s attention, the three elders arrived by the pit.

    The Green Vine Elder moved first to open the formation. Everyone only saw a membrane of light disperse.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s hand shone with resplendent light, and the snow in the pit rapidly melted away, revealing over a dozen pitch-black caves. These caves were the entrance for the Herb Gathering ceremony. They led off to various parts underground.

    Everyone gasped involuntarily, which immediately drowned out the wind.

    The Green Vine Elder cleared his throat. ¡°Gathered here, we¡¯ll all be taking part in the Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains. It is an honour for me and fellows Golden Pheasant and Lone Grave¡­¡±

    The dozen or so Hawkwolf guards led by Wu Gen moved through the independent cultivators, constantly examining the people around them, as if they were there to prevent anyone from sneaking into the ceremony.

    The disciples of the three mountains were split into three groups, standing behind their respective sect masters. They were further divided into smaller squads.

    Because of the past successes of the Herb Gathering ceremony, basically all the disciples of the mountains had been mobilised. It was impossible for over a hundred Qi Practitioners to move together. They would naturally separate from one another as they came across forks underground.

    Yu Zijian peered about among them. Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder gently. She turned around in a hurry and exclaimed happily, ¡°Chenglu, what brings you here?¡±

    Hua Chenglu kept her back bent. ¡°Shh! Don¡¯t be so loud, or my brother will hear you. I¡¯m worried for you, so I¡¯ll go down there with you to take a look.¡±

    Mu Zhicong suddenly called out, ¡°Miss Hua, you¡¯re not a disciple of our Green Vine mountain, so please don¡¯t stand with us! If you want to participate in the ceremony, please stand with the independent cultivators!¡±

    Everyone looked over. Hua Chenglu pointed at Mu Zhicong furiously. ¡°You-¡± Suddenly, she felt her collar tighten, and she saw Hua Chengzan as soon as she turned around. He scolded her, ¡°Don¡¯t mess around!¡± He dragged her away before nodding at Yu Zijian. ¡°Good luck.¡±

    Hua Chenglu called out, ¡°Zijian, be careful!¡±

    Mu Zhicong said warmly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Zijian. I¡¯ll definitely protect you.¡±

    Just when Yu Zijian wanted to say something, she suddenly spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. It was the man in green who fished by the pond. He had changed into the uniform of the Green Vine mountain, and the aura he gave off indicated that he was a fourth layer Qi Practitioner.

    He just stood there by himself, without conversing with anyone beside him. For some reason, no one else seemed to notice him either. Sensing Yu Zijian¡¯s gaze, he turned his head and smiled.

    Yu Zijian asked in confusion, ¡°Senior brother Mu, since when did the Green Vine mountain gain a new disciple?¡±

    ¡°What new disciple?¡± Mu Zhicong looked over along Yu Zijian¡¯s gaze. There was just a sea of green clothing. Fu Qingjin had already vanished.

    Yu Zijian scratched her head. ¡°How strange!¡±

    At this moment, the Green Vine Elder finished his speech. The three elders exchanged glances and nodded at the same time. They did not glance at Fu Qingjin the entire time. They did not even display any peculiar expressions.

    Hua Chengzan, who remained in the crowd and paid attention to their faces the entire time, sighed gently in relief.

 Chapter 242 â€“ Enemy of Humans

    Deep underground, vicious daemons gathered from all directions.

    The vast cavern was lit by moss, but several dozen pairs of eyes shone even brighter. Most of their irises had narrowed into slits, clearly rather unaccustomed to such a bright environment.

    Perhaps vicious, perhaps cold, or perhaps arrogant, the gazes clashed and produced sparks in the air.

    The sounds of foul breaths rose and fell once another another. They were restless like volcanoes before eruption. From time to time, there would be deep growls or roars, like the thunder in the sky, resounding through the cavern.

    Daemon qi gathered in the darkness, constantly entangling and exchanging information with each other. However, they maintained a cautious distance from one another.

    The tremendous figures resulted in a series of black shadows, writhing, swaying, and twisting.

    In the past, they lived without any contact with each other, but today, they had all been gathered here because of a person.

    Suddenly, their gazes gathered in a single location.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    The heavy footsteps caused the ground to shake. It was still very far away, but violent daemon qi had already gushed into the cavern. This was the way daemons greeted one another, but it was filled with arrogance and provocation. Normally, it was enough to lead to a battle.

    All of the daemons withdrew their daemon qi and lowered their heads, as if they were subjects awaiting the arrival of their king.

    They could all sense that he had grown stronger. He was like a sharpened blade, shining with bloodthirsty light.

    A colossal figure appeared at the dark entrance. The entrance was towards the top of the cavern and was several meters wide, but it was still not large enough for him. Simply raising his head would cause his two sharp ox horns to scrape against the ceiling and produce a series of sparks.

    The black shadow leapt into the air. Its colossal body was not clumsy at all; instead, it was like a tiger descending from the mountains.

    He landed on the ground with a rumble. His scarlet hair danced like fire, while his scarlet pupils glanced past the daemons like a blade. The daemons all lowered their heads even further.

    On his shoulders, Xiao An and Milliped stood to the left and right. Xiao An had assumed her skeletal form, with the two Skull Prayer Beads hovering above her head.

    Milliped, on the other hand, napped by leaning against Li Qingshan¡¯s head. However, the powerful daemon qi he gave off still slammed against the surroundings wave after wave, scattering the daemon qi from the other daemons.

    Li Qingsahn swung his hand, and food ran down like rain, piling at the centre of the cavern. There was food that had been cooked by humans, as well as fresh beef, lamb, and pork. Merging together, they gave off an enticing fragrance.

    ¡°This is my promise. Now, let¡¯s eat!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s deep voice was like resonating metal, able to penetrate through anything.

    His words were like a spark to a room full of explosives. The daemons all lunged forward, each more vicious and powerful than the last. Hunting and eating was an ability that they had been born with.

    After a few roars and growls as a test, they naturally assembled themselves into a certain order. The strongest daemons ate first.

    The blackwater salamander gulped down a pile of fresh fish. He felt glad. Thankfully, he had come, or he would have missed out on such a great feast.

    The boulder viper coiled up and swallowed an entire ox. With a wave of its tail, it ate another goat.

    The way the ice frog ate was the strangest. It would open its mouth to a terrifying size and exhale cold air, freezing all the cooked food before sucking hard. Its body would immediately swell up, and all of the frozen food would be sucked into its body, like it was a bottomless pit.

    The other daemons paced around restlessly in the surroundings.

    This seemed to be an ancient, primal ceremony, like how the ancestors of humans danced around fire, creating human culture.

    Milliped caught a whiff of the food and opened his eyes by a crack. Li Qingshan passed the alcohol and food he had already prepared to him. He had a great feast before laying down on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and falling asleep.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Originally, he had brought him to keep up his appearance and say a few words to rile up their morale, but as it seemed, there was no need for that.

    He did not take out all the food right at the beginning. Hunger was the main driving force for hunting. When his three strongest daemon soldiers were half way done eating, he ordered them to stop and let the other daemons eat.

    However, daemons that were eating also happened to be the most vicious, so why would they listen to Li Qingshan¡¯s command? They ignored him and continued to wolf down the food.

    Li Qingshan got to work. He grabbed the boulder viper¡¯s head with his huge claws and pressed it against the ground. The boulder viper wrapped around him a few times instinctively like a thick belt, but it discovered that his body was even tougher than metal. The piercing pain from its head made it return to its senses. Those claws could actually pierce its armour.

    The other arm wrapped around the blackwater salamander¡¯s neck. While the blackwater salamander could slide out, it obediently remained still.

    The ice frog wanted to eat a few more mouthfuls while he was busy, but a bone sword pointed at him. The flames shone in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets.

    The bone sword had been refined from the skeleton of the first senior brother from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain.

    Although a sword did exist within the artifact forging section of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty called the Buddha Slaying sword, it was not something that Xiao An could forge right now. As a result, this sword had no other uses apart from its toughness.

    However, a tough sword was enough for a supreme swordsman.

    The ice frog was immediately stunned by the sword intent. It became afraid to move. It felt like as long as it moved by even an inch, it would have to suffer a devastating attack.

    With the three strongest daemon soldiers subdued in an instant, the other daemons became afraid to move as well.

    Milliped opened his bleary eyes and asked, ¡°They¡¯re being disobedient?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯d best ask them!¡±

    The three daemons expressed their allegiance in a hurry, and Li Qingshan released them. He said nothing more apart from expressing that he had the authority to distribute food. The leader would always have to express the authority he possessed to the group and give the rule breakers a tough beating.

    The other daemon soldiers immediately became much more orderly as they ate. After all the food had been split among them, the daemons still seemed dissatisfied. They seemed to become even hungrier after having not eaten in a long time.

    ¡°The human cultivators have already begun to venture underground!¡± Li Qingshan finally spoke. He used daemon qi and his voice to convey his message.

    All of the daemons raised their heads in alertness. They understood the danger that humans posed.

    ¡°They¡¯ve come to kill us, to take the daemon cores in us, to take the spiritual herbs from our caverns. From today onwards, you will listen to my command. You will not fight alone. We must band together and face the enemy together. After this, I will redistribute food among you according to your merit in battle!¡±

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go and kill all the humans!¡± Li Qingshan raised his right hand before swinging down viciously.

    Various growls and roars resounded through the caverns, causing loose rocks to fall. The daemon army moved out.

    Li Qingshan stood at the very back. Only when all the daemons had left the cavern did he mumble to himself extremely softly, ¡°The name of the operation this time will be the Enemy of Humans.¡±

    A strange smile appeared on his face. It seemed like a cruel, vicious smile, like a sorrowful, bitter smile, yet also like a self-deprecating, cold smile. Afterwards, all of it vanished. He recovered his silent composure.

    This was the path he had chosen, no hesitation, no regret.

    ¡°Alright, go back to sleep!¡± Li Qingshan placed Milliped down from his shoulder. There would not be Foundation Establishment cultivators venturing underground. With his current strength, he could kill any Qi Practitioner he came across.

    ¡°Be careful,¡± Milliped muttered before wriggling towards his den. His bottom rose and fell as he inched away extremely quickly.

    Li Qingshan smiled with ease. He placed his hand over his chest and bowed slightly. ¡°We fight for you!¡± Afterwards, he nodded to Xiao An. ¡°And for you!¡±

    Afterwards, he straightened himself out and said proudly, ¡°And for me!¡±

    He strode off into the depths of the cavern.

    ¡­¡­

    The sounds of countless footsteps advanced at a steady and rapid pace.

    The disciples of the three sects had already separated underground. They followed their own markers and advanced along their own paths. Often, the groups would have a Qi Practitioner at the sixth layer or higher leading several weaker Qi Practitioners.

    This group happened to be under the lead of Liu Fengrui, but his face was sunken. He ignored his junior brothers¡¯ flattery.

    The past few days had been very tough for him on the Green Vine mountain. He never thought that bringing back a girl would cause so much trouble. Not only did his seniors and juniors give him the cold shoulder, but even the Green Vine Elder did not treat him kindly.

    He was not afraid of receiving the cold shoulder from his seniors and juniors. However, it would be extremely terrifying once he fell out of favour with his master in a small sect like this. He could not help but utterly resent Yu Zijian. He basically hoped that she would die in the ceremony this time, and if there was the opportunity, he would not mind helping out a little so that this did happen.

    ¡°Senior brother, up ahead is a daemonic beast¡¯s den. There should be Quartz grass growing in the surroundings, which is a crucial spiritual herb for refining Stone Grain pills.¡± A disciple of the Green Vine mountain held a small mental map and beamed in joy.

    He interrupted Liu Fengrui¡¯s thoughts, who said in displeasure, ¡°Quartz grass isn¡¯t some impressive spiritual herb. We¡¯re still very close to the surface here. If you want good things, we need to venture deeper. A mere daemonic beast hasn¡¯t even condensed a daemon core.¡±

    The disciples were all obsequious to him. If they ventured deeper, then the danger would increase too. Daemons with daemon cores were not that easy to handle. Although daemonic beasts did not have daemon cores, they still possessed hides and bones, which were fantastic materials for forging spiritual artifacts. Their flesh and blood had very great uses too.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡± Liu Fengrui ordered. He had to gather some additional spiritual herbs in the ceremony this time to save his master¡¯s impression of him.

    The cave was utterly pitch-black. The ground advanced quickly. The Brightening talismans limited the impact of the darkness on their vision. With their dexterity, even the twisting caves filled with loose rock failed to stop their advance.

    Suddenly, a third layer Qi Practitioner disciple said, ¡°Senior brother, it¡¯s so cold!¡± He shivered.

    Liu Fengrui sensed the coldness in the surroundings as well. Looking back at his junior brothers, all of their faces had paled, and their lips had become blue. Qi Practitioners who possessed innate true qi were immune to the winter cold and summer heat, but at this moment, they felt cold just like regular people.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t normal. The records never said it would be so cold here!¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t this cold the last time I was here. The underground caves change often, so maybe something has happened here? Senior brother, should we go somewhere else?¡¯ said an old Qi Practitioner cautiously. He was only at the third layer, so he had to refer to Liu Fengrui as senior brother.

    Liu Fengrui looked around. ¡°Master is waiting for us just on the surface. If we retreat before we¡¯ve even run into danger, can we still call ourselves disciples of the Green Vine mountain? Let¡¯s go. It won¡¯t be cold once we move around a bit more. The Quartz grass is right ahead!¡±

    They sprinted through the cave, but the coldness did not decrease at all. Instead, it grew heavier and heavier. Even Liu Fengrui found the cold to be piercing, while the junior brothers behind him found it utterly unbearable. They even slowed down.

    ¡°We can¡¯t go on anymore, senior brother. Let¡¯s retreat!¡±

    ¡°Croak, croak!¡±

    Just when Liu Fengrui was about to give the order to retreat, the resonant croak of a frog resounded through the cave.

    ¡°There¡¯s a daemonic beast!¡± Everyone responded. Apart from daemonic beasts, there were no other creatures that could live here.

    ¡°We¡¯ll leave once we kill this daemonic beast!¡± Liu Fengrui rejoiced and advanced forwards with his junior brothers.

    Cold mist permeated the darkness. A layer of frost had developed over the grey Quartz grass. An ice-blue frog leapt off a rock. ¡°Croak, croak!¡±

    Liu Fengrui could not help but be disappointed by this. The strength of daemonic beasts usually matched their size. The larger they were, the stronger they were, and the more valuable they were. This frog was so small, so it had clearly just turned from a beast into a daemon.

    Suddenly, he thought of something. How could a low level daemonic beast give off such coldness?

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±

    A few blurry figures appeared in the cold mist. Liu Fengrui¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand, producing a palm strike. Killing other Qi Practitioners over spiritual herbs and daemonic beasts had never been a secret. Underground, humans were even more dangerous than daemons.

    The most terrifying part about all this was he actually failed to sense their aura. Clearly, they had hidden it on purpose so that they could launch an ambush on his group, which was why he showed no mercy with his attack.

    However, the figures did not move at all. They just let the true qi land on them with a crack. The gust of wind from his attack parted the cold mist, revealing the figures.

    Liu Fengrui immediately felt like all of his blood had frozen over. He finally understood why he failed to sense their auras; it was because they had already been reduced to ice statues. Dead people obviously would not give off any auras.

    They all wore the uniform of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. One of them had two tail feathers embroidered on their chest, an inner disciple who had reached the sixth layer. However, they were all dead now, still stuck in the same pose the moment before they had died, trying to wield spiritual artifacts or unleash techniques. Their faces were all frozen with fear, and they all looked in one direction, at the ice-blue frog.

    ¡°What kind of daemon¡­¡± Frightened, a disciple swung a green, glowing staff at the ice frog.

    The ice frog opened its mouth and emitted a white cloud of cold air. The disciple was immediately turned into an ice statue.

    As the cold air passed by, his senior and junior brothers behind him immediately followed his steps. The cold air was like thousands of tiny, sharp rays that pierced their protective true qi.

    Crack! Crack! The sound of freezing filled the air, like notes of death.

    Liu Fengrui summoned his flying sword as he roared out before becoming stuck in that posture forever. One last thought flashed through his head. They were facing no daemonic beast, but an actual daemon, and a powerful one among them. But why would daemons appear at such a shallow level?

    Just like a tenth layer Qi Practitioner slaughtering a bunch of low level Qi Practitioners, it was a piece of cake.

    ¡°Croak, croak! Eleven, croak croak! That¡¯s enough for ten!¡± The ice frog opened its mouth, and the ice statues all shattered into shards, which it sucked into its mouth. Only their spiritual artifacts and hundred treasures pouches remained undamaged.

    ¡°Croak, croak! This is what the leader wants!¡±

    The ice frog gathered all the items and shards and placed them in a cavern nearby. All of them served as evidence when it came to calculating his merit. Meanwhile, a huge daemonic beast that seemed like a rabbit cowered in the cavern and constantly trembled, perhaps out of fear or perhaps due to the cold. It was the Qi Practitioners¡¯ original target.

    ¡°Fellow Green Vine, it looks like your disciples couldn¡¯t defeat the daemon there either!¡± said the Golden Pheasant Elder coldly.

    Near the entrance to the ceremony, the three elders sat in a bamboo pavilion and admired the snow while drinking tea, waiting for the results.

    Before them was a projection of the underground mental map. There were several specks of light on there, golden, green, or grey in colour, representing the locations of the disciples of the three mountains. It was similar to the pathfinding puppet insects that the disciples of mohism had used in the past.

    With the death of Liu Fengrui¡¯s squad, the specks of light that represented them were extinguished. Earlier, the golden specks of light representing the disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain had vanished there too.

    The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°There must be a powerful daemon there, but this makes no sense. It¡¯s still very shallow.¡±

    The Lone Grave Elder said, ¡°We¡¯ll know if we keep watching.¡±

    The boulder viper moved through the earth and flickered its forked tongue, constantly sensing the aura of humans in the caves. Suddenly, it emerged from a wall and saw the fearful faces of a few humans. They were all extremely weak.

    All the Qi Practitioners saw was a grey shadow move above. Before they could even see the daemon clearly, they were stunned by the terrifying daemon qi.

    The leading seventh layer Qi Practitioner bellowed out, ¡°Summon the zombies!¡± They were disciples of the Burial Mound mountain.

    The disciples of the Burial Mound mountain immediately waved the bronze talismans in their hands, and several dozen zombies scattered around them, surrounding them. The seventh Qi Practitioner even summoned two unstoppable Iron Plate corpses that were surrounded by corpse qi. Both of them were much more powerful than the Iron Plate corpse the Zombie Daoist had refined.

    The boulder viper turned back. Its long body wrapped around them before suddenly tightening.

    The several dozen zombies and the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain were trapped in the low ceiling cave. The disciples were unable to escape. They felt a tremendous power crush them from everywhere, immediately turning them into mince meat. They merged with the zombies they had refined, never to separate again.

    The deathly aura on the Lone Grave Elder¡¯s face seemed to grow heavier.

    The Green Vine Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s expressions were ugly too.

    On the underground mental map, large swathes of light were extinguished. Squads were destroyed underground one after another. In just a while, the number of Qi Practitioners that they had lost had already surpassed the total losses during the Herb Gathering ceremony last time.

    However, the ceremony had only just begun right now. The Qi Practitioners had only ventured to the shallow depths. They should not have run into any powerful daemons at all.

    ¡°Sect masters, what¡¯s going on?¡± Hua Chengzan, who had constantly kept an eye out for them, walked into the bamboo pavilion sternly. He understood what the specks of light represented.

 Chapter 243 â€“ The Mountain is There

    The Golden Pheasant Elder said, ¡°Eleven for the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain.¡±

    The Lone Grave Elder said, ¡°Seven!¡± However, they all knew that this was not because disciples of the Burial Mound mountain were stronger, but because they could use corpses as shields.

    Almost thirty disciples had died in under four hours. Although it was not a lot compared to the total number of disciples that they possessed, it was enough to shake up the foundations of the three mountains.

    Hua Chengzan frowned. He never thought something like this would happen during the Herb Gathering ceremony. Were the daemons already prepared for this, waiting to ambush the Qi Practitioners as they ventured underground?

    Perhaps the Daemon General in this region finally became fed up with humans running through his territory freely and began to respond to it. If that was the case, the deaths would only just be the beginning. It was very likely for all the cultivators in the ceremony to be annihilated this time.

    He could no longer imagine just how great of a ripple it would cause if almost a thousand human cultivators died. He could not help but sigh. Looking at the dark clouds in the sky, the situation of the world really was going to change!

    The three elders were bleeding inside over the loss. Their faces were cold and sunken as killing intent surged through their eyes. That person was right! All daemons deserved to die!

    ¡°Brother, are you saying that Zijian will¡­¡± Hua Chenglu rushed over from afar and grabbed Hua Chengzan¡¯s sleeve anxiously.

    As she said that, a few more specks of light vanished. Although Yu Zijian was not a disciple of the Green Vine mountain, she also carried a sensory spiritual artifact, so she was one of the specks of light there. Who knows when hers would be extinguished.

    ¡°We can only pray that the heavens protects good people.¡± Hua Chengzan pressed down on Hua Chenglu¡¯s shoulder. Right now, he was powerless too. If there really was a Daemon General active, the underground would be a forbidden zone to Qi Practitioners. While he was known as the greatest below Foundation Establishment, he was still a Qi Practitioner.

    If the person underground right now was Hua Chenglu, he would rush in there without hesitation, but it was impossible for him to take such a great risk for a girl he was unfamiliar with.

    Hua Chenglu bit her lip. She understood what Hua Chengzan was considering. She could not be obstinate and make excessive demands here.

    A black daemon sat alone in a large cavern. It raised its right arm and extended its forefinger. On the tip of the finger was a huge talon, as sharp as a blade, which it placed on a young man¡¯s forehead gently.

    A black shadow reflected in his fear-stricken pupils, and the violent murderousness and daemon qi completely obliterated his will to fight back. However, the daemon did not strike immediately, so he seemed to see a sliver of hope. He begged, ¡°Don¡¯t, I beg you. I¡­¡±

    However, the heavy smell of blood seeped out from behind the black daemon. The young man clearly saw that it was a pile of corpses of Qi Practitioners, which made his lips tremble in fear. Translucent tears streaked across his face.

    A while earlier¡­

    A group of disciples from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain arrived here. Using the experiences of their seniors, it would often be much easier for them to find blessed lands with spiritual herbs and inhabited by daemonic beasts than independent cultivators.

    But this time, the thing lurking here was an actual daemon, and the leader of the daemons.

    The familiar uniform made Li Qingshan recall many negative memories, and he seemed to have met the leading seventh layer Qi Practitioner in the Quiet Spring valley as well.

    ¡°Ah!¡± The first disciple to spot Li Qingshan cried out before coming to a halt.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s index finger had already stabbed through his chest like a spear.

    Only then did the other disciples react. They all bellowed out and attacked together. They took out talismans, drew spiritual artifacts, and used techniques.

    The one who responded the fastest was the inner disciple, a seventh layer Qi Practitioner. However, before his golden pheasant feather had even managed to take off, a huge hand had already appeared before him. The index finger pushed against the thumb gently before flicking out leisurely. His head was smashed into pieces as bits of brain and fragments of his skull scattered across the ground.

    At this moment, those who went for their talismans had only extended their hands into their talisman pouches, those who drew spiritual artifacts had only lit up their spiritual artifact, and those who used techniques had only gathered their true qi. Their minds even struggled to take in everything happening before them, preventing them from reacting properly.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand conveniently and blood spurted out. Not a single person was alive anymore.

    The battle began in an instant and ended in an instant.

    It was so simple that even Li Qingshan himself was slightly surprised. He had sure spent a lot of effort in order to deal with Zhuo Zhibo who was a sixth layer Qi Practitioner back then.

    Although he had yet to undergo the heavenly tribulation and take that legendary first step, his great strength had been converted into terrifying battle prowess after he reached the second layer of the tiger demon. He could now suppress even the strongest daemons, so how could any Qi Practitioner be his opponent?

    Li Qingshan was not interested in torturous deaths, so they all died extremely swiftly, without any pain. The more direct reason for this was because he did not know these disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. Even the leader of this group would only bark meaninglessly in his face before he died.

    However, since they were disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, they were his enemy. There was nothing much more to it. If he killed them, then he killed them.

    But right now, he was completely unfamiliar with the young man standing before him.

    Clang! Like the thrum of a blade, there was a cold flash, and the young man¡¯s corpse with a half-destroyed head collapsed on the ground.

    The pause earlier was not due to any hesitation in his heart. Instead, he was just reminiscing, reminiscing about what he was about to cut in half and toss aside.

    He was like a mountain climber who wanted to conquer a treacherous mountain, who needed to empty his heavy backpack and toss everything inside into the abyss one by one. However, these items might have been very important in the beginning, so he could not help but sigh a little inside.

    Everyone wanted to reach the very top of the mountain without throwing anything away, just like how everyone wanted to achieve success without sacrificing anything. However, this was impossible. The price was more than just hard work.

    If Li Qingshan was willing to live a peaceful life, reluctant to leave Qingyang and strive towards somewhere as distant as beyond the Nine Heavens, then he could have it very easy. However, he would not, because the mountain was there.

    Li Qingshan speared the corpses with his finger and tossed them aside, which fell into a small pile. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t eat them.¡± These were for Xiao An. There was also a cowering daemonic beast in the cavern. Even though it was enticed by the flesh and blood, it did not dare to move.

    Li Qingshan had never studied any military tactics or strategies before, but in his former life, during the age of the information explosion, he was not unfamiliar with knowledge regarding the military. He knew how to unite his forces to crush the enemies.

    He stationed his two strongest daemon soldiers in a few places that were most likely to attract Qi Practitioners and got them to wait. As for Xiao An and the boulder viper who were better at moving around, he had them constantly patrol a few main tunnels underground to kill weaker Qi Practitioners.

    The other daemons would gather together in fives or threes at the very least, led by the strongest as they guarded against stronger Qi Practitioners. All they needed was a simple adjustment, and the daemons were basically unstoppable. As a matter of fact, it was no more complicated than a game.

    Li Qingshan did not take a step back as the leader of the daemon soldiers. Instead, he chose a place teeming with spiritual herbs near a spiritual vein, beginning his wait and slaughter.

    Li Qingshan exhaled deeply and stowed the hundred treasures pouches into his bosom. He leaned against his arm as he continued to wait. He did not find much joy in killing people he was unfamiliar with, but he was quite happy about obtaining hundred treasures pouches.

    Once the battle ended, the pills he obtained would provide great assistance towards breaking through to the second layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    Suddenly, he raised his head and sniffed the air. Through the heavy smell of blood, a familiar scent made him recall a few past memories. He could not help but frown. Why was she here?

    Although they had separated less than a month ago, it felt like a very long time had passed as he hid and waited in the gloomy underground.

    I¡¯ll go and take a stroll. Li Qingshan stood up and made his way out of the cavern. After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned around and said to the daemonic beast, ¡°Don¡¯t eat them!¡±

    If the daemonic beast could cry, it would have already burst into tears out of fear already.

    The jade-green and blood-red pupils danced around in the darkness. Several large daemons surrounded a group of Qi Practitioners. Foul air exuded from their huge mouths filled with long, protruding teeth.

    ¡°Senior brother, what do we do?¡± Cheng Jiali turned pale.

    Mu Zhicong¡¯s forehead was covered in perspiration. He controlled a flying sword that flew around in the surroundings. However, it was already very tough for him to confront just a single daemon with his strength, so he had no chance at all if he had to face several of them at the same time. Even his chances of survival were pitifully slim.

    Why was it like this? Why? He had clearly only entered the den of a daemonic beast, so why were there so many daemons gathered together? And, they were of different species too!

    Mu Zhicong was furious and filled with doubt inside. This place had been cleaned out in the previous Herb Gathering ceremony, and it was disciples of the Green Vine mountain who did that. Even if a daemonic beast had reclaimed this place, they should not have been much more powerful than regular, wild beasts.

    He had brought his squad here to try his luck. If he ran into a daemonic beast, he would use it and show his power to Yu Zijian, as well as have his junior brothers and sisters use it to warm up so that they could venture deeper underground. However, he never thought he would barge into the nest of several daemons and throw himself into danger.

    The daemons all used their daemonic qi to communicate in a way that the humans were unable to hear.

    ¡°These humans are too weak! Let¡¯s eat them!¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the leader¡¯s idea, you¡¯d be eaten already if you were just by yourself.¡±

    ¡°I want to eat the one at the very front!¡±

    ¡°Move, the one at the very front is mine!¡±

    ¡°Be careful, this human is a little tough to deal with. Don¡¯t get injured by him, but don¡¯t let him escape either. Humans have a lot of tricks,¡± the strongest daemon issued orders.

    The other daemons immediately obeyed. Under the caution that had been planted in them while they were still wild beasts, they did not charge up together, just like how a group of lions would circle a wildebeest. They would not attack recklessly, just in case they would be injured by the horns.

    However, the daemons also possessed intelligence that wild beasts lacked. They constantly growled and roared, tearing down the mental lines of defence in the Qi Practitioners. Their huge bodies formed a perfect encirclement to prevent the strongest prey, Mu Zhicong, from escaping during the chaos.

 Chapter 244 â€“ The Horrors Underground

    The blood sprayed onto Yu Zijian. Her eyes were wide open as she watched all of this unfold, like she was in a surreal nightmare.

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain all cried out in a panic and waved their weapons crazily. The defensive position that they had barely managed to build up immediately collapsed.

    Cheng Jiali suddenly felt her waist tighten. A tongue from the darkness had wrapped around her, while the other end of the tongue was a huge mouth filled with sharp teeth.

    She planted her sword into the ground, but she was still pulled towards the mouth bit by bit. She felt like her waist was about to be ripped apart. She extended her hand and cried out in despair, ¡°Save me, senior brother!¡±

    As expected, Mu Zhicong approached her. She smiled in relief. Her senior brother still cared for her after all.

    With a thump, Mu Zhicong slammed his hand against Cheng Jiali¡¯s chest as hard as he could.

    She directly flew into the daemon¡¯s mouth. She was already dead mid-air. Her towering chest had now collapsed into a bloody mess as disbelief still lingered on her face.

    Mu Zhicong scrunched up his body and leapt out while Cheng Jiali had plugged up the daemon¡¯s huge mouth. He actually leapt out of the encirclement. A huge boar-like daemon leapt up with speed that did not match its huge size, slamming towards Mu Zhicong like a cannonball.

    With a flick of his foot, Mu Zhicong landed on his flying sword and flew thirty meters away. There was a rumble behind him as the huge boar slammed into the ceiling, causing rocks and dust to rain down.

    He could vaguely hear a few wails of despair, ¡°Don¡¯t abandon us, senior brother!¡± ¡°Save us, senior brother!¡±

    He did not hear Yu Zijian¡¯s voice, perhaps because it had been drowned out by the other voices. He made up his mind. Don¡¯t blame me. If I live, it¡¯s better than dying with all of you. There¡¯s nothing I can do about this.

    For some reason, the daemons did not pursue him. Before the joy of surviving could flood his heart, he ran into a black wall as he fled blindly.

    Li Qingshan felt a tiny figure collide into him. He basically grabbed it and crushed it instinctively. There was a clear crack, and his hand became covered in blood.

    Only when he looked at the dead face that had grown purple and bled from all of its orifices did he feel like he had seen this person before. Thinking about it carefully, he recalled Mu Zhicong¡¯s name.

    He did not know about Mu Zhicong¡¯s scheme against him. He scratched his head and felt very apologetic, but since he had ventured underground, he could only be apologetic.

    To him, once was enough for something like reminiscence.

    Sensing the aura in the dust, Li Qingshan let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, he had made it in time. As long as she was fine.

    She even blocked her ears. That was, she would not have to hear the shrieks and howls beside her. However, she gripped the hilt of her sword to the point where her knuckles whitened, like she was trying to crush the hilt. However, she did not draw it.

    At a time like this, what was the use in drawing her sword?

    The bloody, humid air rushed over. Death was right before her. Many scenes flashed through her mind. So her father was right. People really would think through their entire life the moment before death.

    Even though her life had been extremely short, it was filled with warmth and happiness. She had received the care and concern of her father, and the care and concern of other fellow people. However, this only intensified her pain before death.

    Without Mu Zhicong, the daemons basically finished off the remaining disciples of the Green Vine mountain neatly and swiftly, as simple as a human using chopsticks to pick up food from a dish.

    Just as their sharp teeth and claws extended towards Yu Zijian, their movements suddenly stopped. An order rang out from the darkness using daemon qi. The order was very simple. If it was converted into human tongue, then it would just be two words. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Their teeth and claws dared not advance an inch further. They retreated slowly before turning around and fleeing as quickly as they could. The growls vanished into the depths of the cave.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He emerged from the darkness, suppressing his daemon qi again and recovering his appearance as Niu Juxia.

    I don¡¯t want to die! Yu Zijian suddenly drew her sword and stabbed it as hard as she could. Her desire to live turned into courage. Even if it was pointless, she wanted to put up a struggle.

    But unsurprisingly, her sword struck nothing. Her hand was caught by a clamp, but she was not ripped to pieces like she had imagined.

    A blurred voice rang out, which seemed to be calling her name, ¡°Zijian! Zijian!¡±

    She seemed to wake up from her nightmare. She gradually made out the person before her. The simple face and huge figure all seemed so familiar. She rubbed her eyes and said in disbelief, ¡°Niu Juxia?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s me. Why have you come underground? Were you forced by the people of the Green Vine mountain?¡± However, little did he know that participating in the Herb Gathering ceremony had already been a positive matter before his appearance.

    Yu Zijian looked at the gentle eyes. She felt like she had suffered severe abuse inside, and finally, she burst into tears before throwing herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He embraced her gently and patted her back until she gradually calmed down. Only then did he say, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We need to get out of here. The smell of blood here will attract daemonic beasts.¡± Her soft, charming body seemed to ease up much of the restless killing intent in his heart.

    She was influenced by his extraordinary calmness and stopped sniffling. She raised her head and looked at Li Qingshan in confusion with her red eyes. ¡°Where do we go?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, She¡¯s still just a kid. She¡¯ll probably find this even more difficult to accept than regular people after all she has been through today. He thought of a saying for some reason. Kindness was just ignorance of the dangers the world had to offer, and purity was just before they were tainted by this world.

    ¡°The surface, of course.¡±

    Li Qingshan released her and walked through the cave.

    Yu Zijian followed him in a hurry and grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, like a drowning person hanging onto a piece of driftwood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here,¡± Li Qingshan said gently.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Yu Zijian felt her heart warm up as she nodded gently while biting her lip.

    The two of them moved through the caves. Li Qingshan led the way at the front, while Yu Zijian followed closely behind, afraid to fall behind even by the slightest bit. The dark cave was narrow and claustrophobic. Every single strange rock seemed like a vicious daemon in the darkness.

    She was afraid to look at everything. She just stared at the tall, wide back before her, like it was the only source of light in the darkness.

    Li Qingshan strode ahead, choosing his path without any hesitation at all. He was the one who had stationed the daemons, so he avoided those places and moved towards the surface. However, as Yu Zijian¡¯s cultivation was just too weak, she struggled to keep up with his pace, even when he had already slowed down as much as possible.

    He suddenly stopped and turned around. ¡°Let¡¯s move faster!¡± Although they were almost guaranteed victory with the underground battle he had organised this time, he still had to pay attention to the battlefield at all times as the commander. And, he just felt slightly uneasy inside.

    Before Yu Zijian could even respond, she felt like she had sailed through the air and landed in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Is this alright?¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and asked. He understood that men and women should not make bodily contact with each other, but she was as light as a fallen leaf. If this did not work, he could carry her on his back or over his shoulder. Even holding her in his hand worked.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Yu Zijian also lowered her head and said softly.

    Li Qingshan nodded. As if he was running through violent winds, he shot off through the tunnel at great speeds.

    All Yu Zijian saw was that the still walls of the cave suddenly began to move. They twisted left and right swiftly, constantly shrinking and expanding, and from time to time, it would open up into a large cavern. It was like moving through the writhing guts of a huge beast.

    As they ventured upwards, Fu Qingjin rapidly ventured deeper into the earth. He had left the Green Vine mountain¡¯s group right from the beginning, travelling deeper all by himself like a green speck of light in the darkness. While the other Qi Practitioners were still at shallower levels gathering spiritual herbs and slaying daemonic beasts, he had already reached an extremely deep level.

    He had no idea about the battles and slaughters happening above him, but even if he did know, he would not care. He seemed to possess some clear objective, to advance, advance, and advance further. Whenever he came across a fork, he would not even hesitate with his choice.

    He came across a few daemonic beasts that blocked his way, but these daemonic beasts were not even able to respond. All they saw was a green light flash by them, so it was even more impossible for them to pursue him. The spiritual flowers and spiritual herbs growing in the darkness failed to stop his advance either.

    He only had a single objective this time. Apart from the objective, nothing else was worth the risk of leaving behind potential traces to collect.

    Finally, a speck of blue light appeared before him.

    Only then did he stop. He studied the wondrous flower that danced in the air.

    The Blue Butterfly flower. This was it!

    He continued forwards, finally arriving before the sea of Blue Butterfly flowers. Even for him, a sliver of shock appeared in his bored, exhausted eyes. Originally, he thought he had seen all the beautiful scenery the world had to offer already, but he never thought there would be an unknown like this hidden underground.

    His gaze passed through the sea of flowers and landed on the platform, on Milliped who slept on there. He smiled. It was the smile of a hunter who had found his prey.

    Daemons did not deserve a place like this!

    Fu Qingjin passed through the sea of flowers alone. Countless butterflies danced around him before suddenly returning to the sea of flowers and turning back into petals. Not a single butterfly fluttered through the air anymore.

    Milliped, who could never be woken, opened his eyes and sat up straight. He stared at Fu Qingjin in a daze.

    Their eyes met and killing intent surged.

    Fu Qingjin did not draw his sword in a hurry. Instead, he took out a stick of incense from his hundred treasures pouch. The stick of incense was not particularly thick, but once it was lit, a dense fragrance immediately permeated the area.

    Milliped was a daemon that had transformed from a poisonous bug, so he was not afraid of any poisons. However, when he caught a whiff of the incense, he immediately felt extremely intoxicated, like a person who had starved for three days that had suddenly come across a table of delicious food.

    Fu Qingjin suddenly turned around and left. He moved even faster than when he had come, and Milliped chased behind him involuntarily.

    There was a human and a daemon, one chasing and one running, straight towards the surface of the earth.

 Chapter 245 â€“ Another First Senior Brother

    Li Qingshan suddenly stopped. He sensed the auras of many human cultivators up ahead. In human form, his senses had decreased drastically, so he only managed to discover them here.

    They were very close to the surface now, but they still needed to cross through a long, winding cave. This was almost the only way out. If he turned around now, he would have to take a very long detour.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, ¡°Nothing. There are a few Qi Practitioners up ahead. Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± He took off and the ¡°gut¡± of the huge beast began to writhe again. A while later, they came across another ¡°stomach¡±, a large cavern of over a hundred meters across.

    Several dozen Qi Practitioners either sat or stood. They wore various uniforms. Not only were there disciples of the three mountains, but there were even a few independent cultivators as well. Everyone was shaken, and many of them were injured. Clearly, they had only managed to escape from the claws and teeth of Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon soldiers after tremendous effort, gathering here.

    They were all extremely frightened now. When they heard the sound, they all stood up and gazed into the tunnel. When they saw two people, many of them immediately relaxed and lost interest.

    Li Qingshan continued onwards without stopping, holding Yu Zijian as he leapt high into the air. He did not just want to send Yu Zijian out. He was prepared to turn around and transform after sending Yu Zijian out of the caves and unleash a massacre.

    He scanned past everyone and took note of everyone¡¯s state. There was actually a ninth layer Qi Practitioner among them, and from his uniform, he seemed like a disciple of the Burial Mound mountain. His face was pale as he gave off a deathly aura. While he seemed like he was in his thirties, he seemed like a thirty year old who had been dead for thirty years. Perhaps he was some first senior brother.

    There were three or four eighth layer Qi Practitioners as well, while Qi Practitioners below the sixth layer made up less than half of them. To be able to escape from the encirclement of his daemon army, they truly needed to be powerful.

    Mid-air, Li Qingshan heard a cold yell, ¡°Get down here.¡±

    His leap had agitated the ninth layer Qi Practitioner. Li Qingshan had guessed correctly. He was the first senior brother of the Burial Mound mountain, someone who possessed absolute power in the sect, so how could he let a fourth layer Qi Practitioner leap over his head? He had suffered a huge loss today, so he just happened to be angry.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He had already grown accustomed to the habit of these Qi Practitioners, where they would try to kill each other over the slightest of dispute. He did not feel particularly angry. If this world really was a huge pit for battle, then he had already grown accustomed to his role as a gladiator or a vicious beast.

    The Corpse Poison ball exploded into a cloud of inky-green corpse qi in the air, enveloping Li Qingshan and Yu Zijian.

    ¡°Reckless!¡± The first senior brother swung his hand and snorted coldly. The pent-up emotions in him eased up slightly.

    The disciples of the other sects and the independent cultivators all shuffled even further away from him. They had already heard how the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain were cruel and merciless and would kill without thinking. His actions had only proved that today.

    ¡°First senior brother, that person has a tall and robust body. He seems quite suited to be refined as a corpse,¡± said a disciple of the Burial Mound mountain. They were not like the disciples of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, who constantly spouted flattery to fulfill their first senior brother¡¯s vanity. Instead, all of them were expressionless with dead faces. Only when it came to refining corpses would their eyes shine. This was their desire for power.

    On the Burial Mound mountain, the stronger the zombies that they could control, the stronger they themselves would be. They could even challenge Qi Practitioners at higher cultivations than themselves.

    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Before the first senior brother had even finished talking, there were a series of sharp swishes, and hundreds of icicles shot out from the poisonous mist swiftly and densely.

    The first senior brother was not fazed at all. He touched his wrist. He wore an old, bronze bangle on his wrist, which was mottled with bloody marks. After being touched by him, it immediately lit up and summoned a Steel Plate corpse before him. The Steel Plate corpse¡¯s body shone brilliantly as corpse qi revolved around it. Who knows how many times more powerful than the Zombie Daoist¡¯s Iron Plate corpse it was.

    The icicles landed on the steel plates. When the unstoppable icicles struck the Steel Plate corpse¡¯s body, it only produced a series of clings and clangs, leaving behind many white marks and a layer of frost.

    Li Qingshan landed on the ground gently and placed down Yu Zijian. The layer of thin ice around them immediately shattered, reabsorbed into the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water. Since the battles last time, he had returned to the spring and replenished the Ice Condensate water in the weapon. He could now handle the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water with even greater skill.

    His gaze was calm and cold. He did not say anything, nor was there anything to say. They would fight to death sooner or later anyway, but what he had to consider right now was the issue of sooner or later.

    Yu Zijian became furious instead. ¡°Why did you attack us?¡± Underground, she had already witnessed the viciousness and terrors of daemons, but she struggled to understand why humans would still attack each other in a situation like this.

    The first senior brother said emotionlessly, ¡°Because I want to.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Yu Zijian was speechless from anger.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan patted her shoulder and casually pulled her in by her waist, walking away with his hand around her. They were not very far from the surface now. He could come back and deal with them after he transformed.

    He had decided to kill this first senior brother a little slower this time to show him what ¡°because I want to¡± meant.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about leaving.¡± The disciples of the Burial Mound mountain summoned several dozen zombies, which surrounded Li Qingshan. The movements of every single one was as swift as the wind, and the number of Iron Plate corpses there amounted to thirteen. The arts of refining corpses that had been passed down through the sect were not something the Zombie Daoist could rival.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    The first senior brother said, ¡°Everyone must stay here to fight the daemons.¡± He had brought the Burial Mound mountain¡¯s strongest group of disciples underground with him. Right from the very beginning, their target had not been those weak daemonic beasts near the surface, or the spiritual herbs that had been gathered many times before. Instead, they chose a shortcut to directly venture into the depths.

    This shortcut was an underground river, but they encountered the attack of an extremely terrifying daemon in the river water. The daemon was pitch-black and moved like a shadow in the water. It directly kicked up a huge flood and constantly bombarded them with water arrows ten times more terrifying than the icicles from earlier.

    When their attacks landed on the daemon, it was completely useless. Only when they lost a few junior brothers and a large number of zombies did they manage to escape, and then they encountered the attacks of various daemons that only appeared deeper down. They fought as they retreated, taking the long way back and returning to this cavern. By then, quite a few Qi Practitioners had already fled here, and only then did they learn that the Herb Gathering ceremony was drastically different from the past. However, the first senior brother refused to back out of here and instead gathered the defeated Qi Practitioners, wanting to take the daemons on in a decisive battle.

    Li Qingshan asked out of curiosity, ¡°Do you really plan on staying here and fighting with the daemons?¡± However, he could sense furious resentment flash through the eyes of the Qi Practitioners not from the Burial Mound mountain when they heard that, but they dared not speak up about it.

    ¡°Of course. You must stay behind too!¡± said the first senior brother. Although the daemons were terrifying, they did not pose any life-threatening danger to him, a ninth layer Qi Practitioner protected by a Steel Plated corpse. Even if he came across some of the strongest daemons, he could retreat easily.

    And, from earlier, he had already collected sufficient corpses. The Burial Mound mountain was different from the two sects. What they focused most of their attention on were not spiritual herbs, but corpses, the corpses of daemons and the corpses of humans.

    All the sects had sustained heavy losses in the Herb Gathering ceremony this time, but from another perspective, it was a fantastic time for the Burial Mound mountain to rise up and completely overwhelm the Green Vine mountain and the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. As long as they turned all of these Qi Practitioners into zombies and refined a few powerful corpse beasts, the strength of the Burial Mound mountain would instead increase, while his status in the sect would become unshakeable.

    Due to controlling multiple zombies for battles most of the time, the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain had a better eye for battle than the disciples of the other two mountains, while the first senior brother was the best of the best among them. As they spent most of their time with dead corpses, their emotions and sense of morality as humans had faded away as well. They truly believed in and carried out the saying of ¡°Success at the deaths of many¡±.

    For a moment, Li Qingshan was unable to see through the first senior brother¡¯s complicated, dark thoughts. He just felt like he was up to nothing good. He waved the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water and called out, ¡°Do you really think that you lot can stop me?¡±

    The first senior brother was just about to give orders to make an example out of him.

    Song Ming cried out, ¡°You¡¯re Niu Juxia!¡± Only a moment had passed when Li Qingshan leapt into the cavern, became surrounded by corpse poison, before landing on the ground. After looking at him clearly, he finally confirmed that the person before him was Niu Juxia, the one who had forced him into his current state.

    Song Ming was pushed aside by the entire sect. No one wanted to travel with him, and none of the spiritual lands on record were allocated to him either. He only advanced carefully through the caves with Ma Chaoqun, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise, saving him from running headfirst into Li Qingshan¡¯s traps. Sensing that something was amiss, he immediately fled back here with a similar speed and decisiveness as when he had fled after being tossed out of the Proud Sword manor by Li Qingshan back then.

    That led to a series of exclamations in the cavern. Recently, the name ¡°Niu Juxia¡± had grown into one of infamy. There were not a lot of people that all three mountains would order for their arrest, and according to the rumors, he had killed the first senior brother of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain.

    Li Qingshan listened to the whispers in the surroundings and glanced past Song Ming and Ma Chaoqun. He smiled. ¡°So you¡¯ve already put out an order for my capture. I didn¡¯t even know. There sure are a lot of familiar people here today. Whatever. I¡¯ve killed a first senior brother already, so killing another one won¡¯t make a difference.¡±

    The first senior brother said, ¡°Since you¡¯re an enemy of the three mountains, that¡¯s even more reason for why I can¡¯t let you go. Disciples of the Green Vine mountain and Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, why don¡¯t you stand? Work with me to kill this thug and his accomplice.¡±

    Ma Chaoqun said, ¡°She¡¯s not his accomplice. She was forced into this by the Niu person. Zijian, come over here.¡±

    The first senior brother said, ¡°Since when did you have a right to speak in this matter?¡±

    Yu Zijian called out, ¡°You¡¯re the bad people! I¡¯m never going over!¡±

    Just when they were on the verge of breaking out into a battle, a Qi Practitioner rushed into the cavern. He waved his hands and shrieked, ¡°A monster, a monster is coming! Run!¡±

    ¡°What monster?¡± Song Ming grabbed him.

 Chapter 246 â€“ Dance of the Dead

    Only now did everyone see the tiny skeleton standing behind the Qi Practitioner. The white bone sword in its hand had pierced the Qi Practitioner¡¯s chest.

    However, no one noticed when it had appeared there. It seemed no different from something dead, giving off no aura at all. Even zombies would possess corpse qi.

    ¡°W- what kind of daemon is this?¡±

    The scattered white bones melted into fluid and flowed towards the sword. The bone sword was an extremely ordinary short sword, without anything special, just tougher and heavier than usual. It was not even worthy of being called a sword embryo of the Buddha Slaying sword.

    Xiao An scanned past everyone with the roaring flames in her eye sockets.

    Everyone shivered inside after she glanced past them. They actually found her to be even more terrifying than the daemons that they had faced.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up. He yelled out, ¡°Run, everyone!¡± He grabbed Yu Zijian and rushed towards the cave.

    Everyone was on edge already, so now that they suddenly saw such a strange monster, they had no interest in fighting at all. With Li Qingshan¡¯s yell, they immediately scattered and scrambled for the cave.

    The first senior brother was furious. He pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°Kill him.¡±

    Several dozen zombies surged over. Their long nails were like a wave of spears as they stabbed towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan suddenly halted. There was a gust of wind behind him, and the Iron Plate corpses extended their sharp claws towards his back.

    However, he had been anticipating this. Without even looking back, he forcefully twisted his body and penetrated the group of corpses, ramming into a zombie. In Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, just a single body slam was like a battering ram. There was the cracking of bones, and the zombie was sent flying, colliding against the zombies behind it and fracturing their bones too. They were incapacitated, allowing him to clear a path.

    He took a step forward, and just when he was about to escape the encirclement, two metal claws directly reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    He had stopped taking these regular zombies seriously a long time ago. The only ones that could threaten him to some degree were the dozen or so Iron Plate corpses. As long as he paused even for a moment, the Iron Plate corpses would surge over. While there was not a lot of danger, they were still troublesome.

    He came to a halt and twisted his body again, smashing his way through the zombie horde like a tiger. He purposefully chose to run into regular zombies and managed to collapse the horde in just a few moves. Iron Plate zombies were extremely powerful, but their reaction speeds were slow, so they failed to even touch a hair on him.

    Li Qingshan leapt up and charged towards the cave.

    ¡°A Steel Plate corpse!¡± Everyone shivered inside. This figure was the shining Steel Plate corpse that originally stood beside the first senior brother.

    The first senior brother said frigidly, ¡°I¡¯ll kill whoever runs!¡±

    The Steel Plate corpse was like a supervisor, blocking everyone¡¯s escape path. It looked at Li Qingshan with its bloodthirsty eyes.

    Li Qingshan swung out with the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water, the crystal blade cleaving down viciously.

    The Steel Plate corpse brought its hands together, actually catching the ice blade and swinging it away.

    Li Qingshan was thrown into the air. He did a flip and landed on the ground gently. He was surprised, not because of the Steel Plate corpse¡¯s strength, but because it was different from regular zombies that only knew how to use brute strength.

    The Iron Plate corpses surged in from all directions once again. Their viscous faces and stinging smell of corpses made Yu Zijian¡¯s heart thump nervously, but when she saw how Li Qingshan remained composed, she even began to smile in a self-deprecating manner.

    The first senior brother¡¯s confidence was not groundless. It was already rather tough for Xiao An to face a ninth layer Qi Practitioner by herself, and if other Qi Practitioners were thrown into the mix, it would only be even more difficult for her to triumph. Unfortunately, they just happened to be disciples of the Burial Mound mountain.

    Jade-green vines grew from below Xiao An¡¯s feet and tried to wrap around her, but they missed.

    The two Skull Prayer Beads rose up in the air and expanded into two huge skulls. Their jaws chattered rapidly; it was like extremely strange laughter. Afterwards, they surged over like two meteors.

    Boom! The two collisions merged into a single sound. Even the entire cavern shook slightly.

    The skulls rolled along the ground, rampaging through the crowd and creating a series of chaotic cries and howls. Apart from one unlucky person, who was smashed to death by a skull, the others were mostly uninjured.

    As for Xiao An, she turned into a white blur and passed through the crowd, arriving before the Steel Plate corpse.

    A sneer appeared on the first senior brother¡¯s emotionless face. This skeleton monster sure was reckless. In this cavern, the strongest was not even him, but the Steel Plate corpse that he controlled. Even against eighth or ninth layer Qi Practitioners, the Steel Plate corpse had the ability to rip them to pieces. If the blackwater daemon had not been lurking in the water, he would have never suffered such a great loss.

    If the skeleton monster used its startling speed to rush around the cave like Niu Juxia and kill the weaker Qi Practitioners, it would cause him some trouble, but it was just looking to die now.

    The Steel Plate corpse swung its claw, and the whistling of ripping air filled the cavern. It was so powerful that even Li Qingshan frowned. If he wanted to face this Steel Plate zombie, he would have to transform. This first senior brother truly lived up to his reputation as one of the greatest disciples of the three mountains. Every single first senior brother possessed startling techniques. Unfortunately, he had run into Xiao An.

    Xiao An did not move at all. She stared straight into the Steel Plate zombie¡¯s eyes, and her eye sockets emitted two thin strands of flames.

    The Steel Plate corpse¡¯s body was impenetrable. Even regular techniques were unable to harm it, so why would it care about two thin strands of flames?

    With a thump, Xiao An was smashed into pieces. The shiny bones scattered everywhere.

    All the Qi Practitioners let out a sigh of relief, while their gazes towards the first senior brother were filled with awe. They thought, The corpse refining arts of the Burial Mound mountain really are impressive. It looks like I can¡¯t disobey this person today.

    The first senior brother felt complacent inside. He was just about to say something.

    The skull flew up from the ground, and afterwards, the scattered bones all began to assemble themselves. The vertebrae, ribs, and legs bones creaked and crackled as they produced a humanoid figure once again.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s anxious heart eased up as well. The only way to kill her was to reduce her to ashes. There was not even a single crack on her bones right now. She had purposefully disassembled herself in order to avoid taking too much damage.

    ¡°Everyone, attack together!¡± The first senior brother¡¯s face grew even colder. He had never heard about a monster like this before. Killing it would not be easy. At the same time, he controlled the Steel Plate corpse, but the Steel Plate corpse remained in the same position as before, like it had frozen. It did not move at all. Only after a while did it straighten up.

    However, the first senior brother had been overcome by shock and fright. His complexion grew paler and paler, and he actually began to perspire. His connection with the Steel Plate corpse had already been severed. The movements of the Steel Plate corpse earlier were not due to him.

    ¡°First senior brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± The disciples of the Burial Mound mountain had never seen their composed first senior brother exhibit an emotion like that.

    Most of the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain had hearts of steel and were extremely cold, while the first senior brother was even more so than the rest of them. Even when a mountain collapsed before him, he had never demonstrated such shock and fright. However, the Steel Plate corpse was equivalent to his second life. Who knew how much time, energy, and effort he had channeled into it. All of his strength, status, and authority depended on it, so now that it had suddenly vanished, even he experienced internal turmoil.

    The Steel Plate corpse extended an arm and twisted its head, like it was adapting to its current situation. In the end, it turned towards the first senior brother. Red light poured out from its eyes like balls of fire were burning inside.

    The first senior brother¡¯s heart sank completely. He stammered, but his voice was inaudibly gentle.

    ¡°What did you say, first senior brother?¡± asked a disciple beside him.

    ¡°Run!¡±

    The Steel Plate corpse lunged over, while the first senior brother bounded up like a zombie. The disciple who had asked the question was still perplexed. Why did his first senior brother call the Steel Plate corpse over?

    The Steel Plate corpse grabbed his shoulders with its claws and pulled hard, ripping him into two. The squirting blood and slippery innards scattered on the ground.

    Now, the two giant skulls from the Skull Prayer Beads rolled in front of the zombies around Li Qingshan. They opened their mouths and sprayed out fire. The fire seemed to be self-conscious, flowing into the eyes, noses, mouths, and ears of the zombies. Just like the Steel Plate corpse earlier, all of them halted before turning around together like a well-trained army, lunging towards the Qi Practitioners.

    The powerful weapons of the Burial Mound mountain immediately became the nightmare of all Qi Practitioners, while the dozen or so indestructible Iron Plate corpses became the nightmare of nightmares.

    There were flashes of light from techniques, but they failed to stop the advance of the zombies. Cries and howls rose and fell like waves. The dark cavern immediately turned into a living hell, while the zombies were the devils of hell.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Are the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain trying to silence us?¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t know¡­ Argh!¡± Before a disciple could even finish talking, he was knocked over by the Iron Plate corpse that originally belonged to him, and his heart was wrenched out.

    The disciples of the Burial Mound mountain all relied on controlling zombies for battle, but now that they had lost their zombies, they were like toothless, clawless tigers. Their battle prowess was even worse than the other Qi Practitioners. Some even continued to try to control their zombies in a daze, but they were all ripped apart.

    No one suspected that the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain were behind this anymore, as the first senior brother was currently being chased around by his renowned Steel Plate corpse, fleeing for his life desperately.

    A few zombies pushed a middle-aged man down to the ground. The man felt his arm ache, and it had already been bitten by a zombie. He knew that he was going to die, but the zombies suddenly scattered and lunged towards the other Qi Practitioners.

    The pain from his wound vanished as well. He checked it in surprise, and his arm had already turned into a ball of fire. The fire rapidly consumed his entire body, burning up all of his flesh and blood. In the blink of an eye, all that was left was a set of white bones, while the blood-red flames returned to the mouth of the skull.

    The zombies would bite the Qi Practitioners and inject them with the blood-red flames in their body. That was something even more terrifying than corpse poison.

    A golden streak of light passed through the heads of over a dozen zombies with a swish before returning to an eighth layer Qi Practitioner from the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. It was a Golden Pheasant¡¯s plume. He still managed to remain composed.

 Chapter 247 â€“ Tremors and Collision

    With an explosive roar, there was a flash of golden light, and the pile of corpses scattered. The disciple of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain stood straight once again. As an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, he obviously could not be harmed by these regular zombies.

    Suddenly, he felt a terrifying sword intent bombard his back. He wanted to turn around, but it was already too late. Lowering his head, he saw the tip of a bone sword protruding from his chest, which was being drawn out slowly.

    Xiao An moved through the crowd of people like a ghost, looking for openings to kill stronger Qi Practitioners. As long as she found an opening, she would use the sword style derived from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to kill them all.

    During the chaos, Li Qingshan had already entered the cave with the dumbfounded Yu Zijian. Not a single zombie bothered him anymore. He was just about to leave when he suddenly sensed something. He turned around and saw the first senior brother flying towards the cave as well. His clothes were in rags, and he was in horrible shape too. Right behind him was the Steel Plate corpse in close pursuit.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He raised the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water, which squirted out Ice Condensate water, immediately forming a thick wall.

    On the other side of the ice wall, the first senior brother¡¯s mouth was wide open, as if he was cursing aloud. He used all of his true qi as well. He was like an enraged lion.

    Afterwards, with a bang, he smacked into the ice wall and slowly slid down with a twisted expression.

    Li Qingshan grinned. The ice created from Ice Condensate water was as tough as high grade spiritual artifacts, so how could it be destroyed so easily?

    The first senior brother just watched through the ice wall as Li Qingshan turned around and fled, vanishing into the dark cave. It was too late for him to curse, as the claws of the Steel Plate corpse were only inches away.

    After the howls had been sealed off by the ice, they rapidly drew further away. Yu Zijian opened her eyes and only saw darkness. Li Qingshan had not just sealed in the first senior brother with that. He had sealed off the path of retreat for all those other Qi Practitioners.

    ¡°Niu Juxia?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and looked at Yu Zijian, as if he already knew what she wanted to say. However, she shook her head instead. ¡°Nothing.¡± She only furrowed her brows as if she was in thought. Everything that she had gone through underground today had a tremendous impact on her pure mind. If she could understand something, then it would be a piece of wealth much more precious than any spiritual stones or spiritual herbs.

    Light seeped into the gloomy depths like water. Li Qingshan stopped and placed down Yu Zijian. ¡°Up ahead is the exit. You can go by yourself!¡±

    Yu Zijian asked, ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s very dangerous right now!¡± In Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes, the underground was hell, and there were terrifying monsters lurking down there. As soon as she heard that Niu Juxian actually wanted to return to such a place, she began to worry.

    ¡°To me, the surface is even more dangerous than underground. The three mountains are searching for me. The three old coots are probably waiting for me up there!¡±

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Chenglu is on the surface too. You know, she¡¯s a good friend of mine. She has an elder brother who¡¯s a commander of the Hawkwolf Guard. You¡¯ve heard of the Hawkwolf Guard, right? Anyways, he¡¯s a very impressive person and very kind too. I¡¯ll ask him to plead on your behalf. It¡¯ll definitely¡­ definitely¡­¡±

    Her voice gradually tailed off. She was pure, not stupid. After everything that she had gone through today, she understood just how vile human nature could be. She was just a worthless little girl, so what right did she have to ask for those important figures to help? Even if this important figure was willing to help, could he really guarantee Niu Juxia¡¯s safety?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Thank you for trying.¡±

    She covered her face with her arm, lowered her head, and began sobbing.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What are you crying for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m useless,¡± she said as she sniffled.

    ¡°If you¡¯re useless, then why did I save you? Don¡¯t worry, I have my ways to deal with this. I won¡¯t die. You should go!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Yu Zijian used her sleeve to wipe her eyes and raised her head. Her eyes were red from crying, her face was covered in tears, but she was full of hope.

    ¡°Really.¡± Tender feelings developed in Li Qingshan when he saw her like this. He turned her around and pushed her back gently. ¡°Stop being so silly.¡±

    She stumbled a few steps before suddenly stopping. She turned around and sucked in a deep breath as if she had become extremely determined. ¡°I want to stay here to help you out!¡± She pressed on her sword as she stood, and the light from behind made her shine from one side. She had quite the bearing.

    ¡°Your snot,¡± Li Qingshan said helplessly.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s almost flowing out.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his nose.

    Yu Zijian sniffled hard in a hurry. Her tiny bit of bearing vanished completely.

    Li Qingshan strode back down the cave, while Yu Zijian called out from behind, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m serious! Don¡¯t go!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure had already vanished. Only a voice lingered about, resonating in the cave, ¡°We¡¯ll see after you accomplish something with your divine abilities first!¡±

    Yu Zijian took a few steps forward. All she heard was her own steps. The suffocating feeling of repression and fear filled her heart once again. She gulped before slowly backing away. The strange, jagged rocks seemed like daemonic beasts. No, she felt like she currently stood within the gut of a huge beast, with no one to rely one, alone.

    There was a sudden, great rumble from underground, like a huge beast turning over. The daemonic beasts all seemed to spring alive, baring their fangs and swinging their claws, wanting to lunge over. She screamed before turning and fleeing.

    Li Qingshan felt the violent rumble as well. He found it to be rather familiar. Yes, a rumble like this had happened when he first met Milliped in the garden outside Salt Mountain city.

    Wasn¡¯t he sleeping? Did something happen?

    Li Qingshan sped up and rushed deeper underground. He arrived before the cavern, and a great, bloody hole had already been ripped open in the ice wall. There were still a few Qi Practitioners in the cavern, curled up in a corner with faces filled with despair.

    The zombies had completely vanished now, and only three Iron Plate corpses remained. This only illustrated the intensity of the struggle that the Qi Practitioners had put up before death. However, both the zombies and their corpses had vanished. They had all become nutrients to Xiao An.

    Xiao An clutched her bone sword and stared at the cave leading underground. The first senior brother was heavily injured and had fled that way, but she did not send the Steel Plate corpse in pursuit. Clearly, she had realised the cause of the tremor as well.

    The first senior brother clutched his injured chest and unleashed all of his true qi, flying deeper underground. He would look back from time to time to see whether the monster was chasing him or not. There were other paths that led to the surface. As long as he could escape, he could rise up again. He would never redeem himself until he got his revenge.

    The rumble grew more and more intense. He had participated in many Herb Gathering ceremonies before, so he knew that earthquakes often occurred underground. As a result, he did not care too much about it.

 Chapter 248 â€“ Ambush and Trap

    Who knew how many times more violent the collision this time was compared to when he ran into the ice wall. Not a single bone in his body remained whole. He was only alive thanks to his true qi. Wind whistled by his ear as he was rapidly pushed back by the huge figure. He tried his best to open his eyes, but he discovered that he had returned to the cave. He saw the skeleton monster standing beside the Steel Plate corpse he had spent so much effort refining.

    ¡°Fucking¡­¡± After that one word, a pink gas swallowed him, making him lose his final sliver of consciousness.

    The segmented body was a magnificent pink. Who knows how many legs protruded from the sides as they rapidly moved in a rhythm. It moved with startling speed; only a pink streak was visible, like an underground rail whooshing by. It was enough to kick up a wild gust and make Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes ruffle. This was the first time Li Qingshan had seen Milliped¡¯s original form, but what he saw was no longer just his original form, but a raging river of daemon qi.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had sensed Milliped¡¯s power to such a great extent. Normally, this guy who fell asleep as soon as he was done eating did not seem dignified at all, but he was actually a Daemon General through and through. Moreover, he was one of the stronger Daemon Generals out there.

    The remaining Qi Practitioners all held their breaths and widened their despaired eyes at this sight. If everything earlier was all a nightmare, then it felt like something even more terrifying had intruded on the nightmare right now, immediately disrupting their thoughts. Under the impact of the daemon qi, they directly fainted.

    Milliped left in a hurry. Li Qingshan and Xiao An stared right at each other. They both saw a green figure easily escape while being pursued by Milliped. Was he¡­

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed drastically. Further up was the surface, and there, Milliped would lose the protection of the Treaty of Kings. He would become prey human cultivators could freely hunt down and kill, and right now, there were three Foundation Establishment cultivators waiting up there, as well as a green flash of unknown strength. He caught the scent of a deep scheme.

    Yu Zijian threw herself into the snow. The dazzling sun forced her eyes shut. The light enveloped her from everywhere, making her dizzy.

    She could vaguely hear people rushing over and calling out, ¡°Someone else has come out!¡±

    She gradually opened her eyes and saw over a dozen Qi Practitioners laying in the distance, covered in blood. Some of their faces were numb, while others were sobbing.

    Before she could even look at these people properly, three figures suddenly appeared before her, blocking the sun.

    The elders of the three mountains asked in a hurry, ¡°How¡¯s the situation down there?¡±

    Yu Zijian raised her head in confusion and saw that their expressions were very similar to the lucky survivors. They were filled with gloominess and dejection.

    The corner of the Lone Grave Elder¡¯s mouth constantly twisted, the Golden Pheasant¡¯s Elder¡¯s widened eyes were bloodshot, and the Green Vine Elder who had always been composed lost his usual calm too.

    If the disciples that died in the beginning made their hearts bleed, then their hearts would basically be springs of blood now, bleeding endlessly.

    The specks of light on the mental map were like flying sparks. They were extinguished in great quantities at a time. There were several times when the Golden Pheasant Elder wanted to rush into the caves, but he was stopped by the Green Vine Elder and the Lone Grave Elder. Hua Chengzan was nearby. They could never break the treaty before him.

    In the end, very few specks of light remained. They learnt from the mouths of the surviving independent cultivators that they had fallen for the traps of the daemons this time.

    Although they barely managed to maintain their composure due to the mental fortitude that they had developed over many years, they were ashen. Only the Lone Grave Elder remained mostly the same, but he thought, It¡¯s over. It¡¯s all over.

    Just when Yu Zijian was perplexed by the question, Hua Chenglu rushed over and scooped her up. ¡°Zijian, you¡¯re fine! Fantastic! You really made me worry!¡±

    ¡°Chenglu, oh. I¡¯m fine.¡± Yu Zijian looked past her shoulder and saw Hua Chengzan standing nearby with his hands behind his back, but his usual smile had vanished.

    Hua Chengzan knew that the Herb Gathering ceremony this time had completely devastated the foundations of the three mountains. A sect was not just its Foundation Establishment sect master. It required a large number of disciples as well, necessary for managing the affairs of the sect and continuing its legacy. From the weakest outer disciple to the strongest first senior brother, not a single component could be missing.

    Now, the three mountains had lost ninety percent of their disciples at the very least. They were like a tree that had its roots cut off. While it still stood on the surface, it would wither and die before long.

    He felt rather bitter as well. He tried to stop them from killing the daemons, but the daemons schemed in the shadows and used this opportunity to deal a fatal blow. He even began to suspect that the Daemon General in this region was not as stupid as the records suggested at all, but was instead a wise figure, no, daemon who played the fool. The Herb Gathering ceremonies in the past were all just bait that the Daemon General had purposefully cast out.

    They truly targeted and wanted to harm one another. The age of the Treaty of Kings was already long past. Just how much longer could the law and order upheld by the school of Legalism remain intact?

    At this moment, the underground tremors had already grown more and more intense. Hua Chengzan looked into the pitch-black caves and frowned. This doesn¡¯t seem like an earthquake.

    Looking at the three elders, they had already left Yu Zijian alone. They all looked into the caves together and no longer bothered to disguise their emotions. Fury and delight intermingled on their faces; it was like they were crazy.

    A terrifying daemon qi directly burst out from underground like a tidal wave.

    Oh no!

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression changed. He arrived beside Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian in a flash and grabbed their shoulders, unleashing all of his true qi and leaping out of the pit.

    The pit was over thirty meters deep, but he pulled higher and higher in the air, arriving above the pit in the blink of an eye. A ball of green light that moved ten times faster than him shot by, vanishing into the sky. When he was being chased by Milliped, he had actually been holding back with his speed.

    It was like a lightbulb had lit up in Hua Chengzan¡¯s head, and he immediately understood the whole story. His mission had still ended in failure. Not only had Fu Qingjin defeated the three elders silently, but he had even lured the Daemon General out from underground.

    Powerful daemon qi rushed into the air as a millipede over a hundred meters long emerged from underground, exposed under the light of day. It raised its head and produced a sharp hiss at the sky.

    The huge figure was enough to blot out the sun, and the surviving Qi Practitioners all turned sheet-white. The three elders increased their vigilance as much as possible.

    ¡°W- what is that?¡± Hua Chenglu asked with a trembling voice. No matter how high in the air she was, the pretty colour and vicious shape still made her shiver inside.

    ¡°The original form of a Daemon General.¡± Hua Chengzan rubbed Hua Chenglu¡¯s head to comfort her. In this age, very few humans had seen the original form of Daemon Generals, and hopefully, it would stay like that in the future.

    Suddenly, he saw Yu Zijian looking straight down. He asked in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid?¡±

    As if she was possessed, Yu Zijian completely ignored his question as she clutched the hilt of her sword firmly.

    ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡± A roar filled with hatred and anger erupted from the Green Vine Elder¡¯s chest. He brought his hands together in a seal, which unfurled like a lotus. The spiritual qi of the world began to move.

    Suddenly, he pointed down, and several green vines erupted from the ground. Each vine was even thicker than a pillar as they wrapped and tightened around Milliped. Even more vines sprouted from the green vines, all as thick as pillars, entangling his numerous legs.

    Milliped was immediately immobilised. He was unable to unleash any of his terrifying strength. He produced another hiss, and his body released a pink gas.

    The verdant green vines around him immediately began to wither and decay. The pink gas filled the entire pit. The lucky survivors saw this already, so they began to leap out of the pit, but they were nowhere near as fast as Hua Chengzan. Just when they were about to reach the lip of the pit, the pink gas surged over.

    They roared out and unleashed all of their protective talismans and techniques, but all they felt was their sights darken and their bodies seize up. They were unable to use any strength anymore, unable to mobilise even a strand of true qi. They fell straight back into the pit, and the only things that struck the ground were the corrosion-resistant hundred treasures pouches, which sank slowly into the earth.

    Even the rock and soil was being eaten away by the gas, hissing and producing white smoke. The gas was startlingly potent.

    Hua Chengzan had originally been hovering above the pit. Seeing this, he flew away to one side before looking down once again. The pit was like a volcanic crater that was about to erupt. The greyish-white smoke and the pink gas merged into a smoke dragon, extending towards the sky. It was visible even from over fifty kilometers away.

    He was shocked inside. This is the power of a Daemon General!

    However, before Milliped could break free, even more green vines wrapped around him. Only the three elders continued to stand strong. They used various protective techniques, but the pink gas still ate away at it constantly.

    However, even if they combined their true qi, they were nowhere near close to rivalling Milliped¡¯s daemon qi. Drawing out the battle was as foolish as idiotic nonsense.

    The Green Vine Elder bellowed out, ¡°Why don¡¯t you assist me, fellows?¡±

    There was no need for him to say that at all. A golden pheasant rose into the air and erupted with light, merging and shining with the dazzling sun in the sky, which only made it seem even more glorious. With a cry, a pheasant¡¯s foot landed on Milliped¡¯s head. Then, the pheasant pecked down viciously.

    At the same time, a figure surrounded in surging, black smoke passed through the pink gas and stabbed Milliped¡¯s soft belly with its claws.

    There was a clang, like the screeching of metal, which resounded through the pit numerous times and rushed into the sky.

    Milliped let out a pained hiss. His huge body writhed violently and released even more gas. Although he seemed unscathed with the toughness of his belly, it still felt like someone had driven an awl into him.

 Chapter 249 â€“ Conscience

    One of Miliped¡¯s long, spiny legs tore through the air and stabbed over like a spear. The zombie dodged it dexterously, almost no different from a living person.

    The Lone Grave Elder stood in the distance with a cold expression. At this level of corpse refining, he no longer refined mindless puppets. There was no need for him to actively control it.

    He had dug up thousands of graves and eventually found the ancient corpse of a disciple of the school of the Military in a general¡¯s cemetery. Back then, the corpse was already close to zombifying. He spent a tremendous effort to suppress its free will and refined it into an Ancient Bronze Corpse General in the end.

    Not only was it immune to fire, water, and regular weapons, but its combat awareness from when it was alive remained too. It was equivalent to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Whenever he fought against people, he just had to summon it, and the battle would basically be two against one.

    Failing to achieve anything with a punch, the Ancient Bronze Corpse General threw out another punch. With a series of thunderous thumps, the shell on Milliped¡¯s belly cracked and bled.

    Milliped writhed in pain, suddenly breaking free from the restraint of one of the green vines and biting at the golden pheasant above him.

    The golden pheasant flapped its wings and tried to climb higher into the air. Suddenly, it felt a tug on its tail. Milliped had clamped down on the golden pheasant¡¯s tail feathers, throwing it against the rocks with a swing of his head.

    Milliped was so powerful that he seemed unstoppable, shocking the Golden Pheasant Elder. This Daemon General¡¯s strength is actually so great. He made up his mind to cut his losses. Golden feathers rained down from the sky as the golden pheasant climbed higher, hovering above the pit. It had lost most of its tail feathers, such that its tail was almost bald.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder called out, ¡°Green Vine, since when were your techniques so useless? Are you trying to kill us?¡±

    ¡°You have absolutely no idea. This wretched daemon is just too strong. I can¡¯t last for much longer. Hurry up and kill it!¡± The Green Vine Elder basically forced these words out through gritted teeth. His face was bright red. He was trying to contend with Milliped¡¯s physical strength with his spiritual energy alone, so he was under the most pressure.

    The golden pheasant circled around the stream of smoke and arrived higher in the sky. It shone with resplendent, golden light, rapidly gathering the golden sunlight and gradually blurring itself. A miniature sun seemed to appear in the sky.

    Contaminated with acid, over half of the vine¡¯s main stalk was eaten away instantly. Milliped used his full strength and pushed down with all of his legs at the same time, about to break free.

    ¡°Trees Grow and Grass Sprouts, in an Endless Cycle!¡±

    The Green Vine Elder bellowed out, and he exploded with dazzling, green light. His hair, beard, and skin all turned green from the light, like he was not a human, but a carving of green wood. He shone together with the Golden Pheasant Elder in the distance.

    The green vines grew crazily, sprouting from the ground and the cliffs, wrapping around Milliped in a great cocoon.

    ¡°Vines Wither and Trees Age, Between Decay and Glory!¡±

    All of the vines ran out of moisture, becoming a withered, yellow colour, like the withered vines in ancient forests and on cliff faces that had been there since forever. They were the toughest, where even machetes would fail to leave a mark on them.

    The rate of corrosion immediately slowed down. Milliped had been sealed within this cage of withered vines.

    At this moment, there was a pheasant¡¯s cry that filled the wilderness. The golden sun fell from the sky.

    The golden pheasant had pulled in its wings, with its beak at the front and tail feathers at the back. It directly rushed towards the immobilised Milliped with a long tail of flames.

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General returned to the Lone Grave Elder, who watched on with his head raised. He felt shocked too. He had nothing to fear if he faced against just the Golden Pheasant Elder or the Green Vine Elder, but if they worked together, he would be dead for sure, even despite that move of his.

    The three mountains had suffered heavy losses, but he was the least affected by it. Apart from the fact that his heart was like a zombie¡¯s, basically emotionless, his thoughts were surprisingly similar to that of the first senior brother of the Burial Mound mountain. If he could refine this Daemon General¡¯s corpse into a daemon corpse, his strength would definitely increase significantly, enough to surpass the Golden Pheasant Elder and the Green Vine Elder. After that, merging the three mountains into one mountain would no longer be entirely impossible.

    Hua Chengzan sighed gently. He was prepared to return and report this to his commanding officer. Who knows what kind of disturbance the death of a Daemon General would cause. Probably even Wang Pushi would not be able to bear the consequences. He could only make her come.

    At this moment, another daemon qi surged into the air, and Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression changed all of a sudden. There were actually daemons bold enough to emerge at a time like this. He squinted his eyes and peered through the clouds and smoke, but he failed to spot the daemon.

    The Green Vine Elder and the Lone Grave Elder felt a violent tremor from beneath their feet. The tremor was not just an ordinary earthquake. The power hidden within was utterly shocking. They leapt up at the same time and saw large parts of the pit crack. The cracks rapidly expanded towards the edges.

    The vines were originally rooted in the ground, so they began to loosen as well, but it was already too late.

    Boom!

    The golden pheasant fell. With a great rumble, countless beams of golden light erupted in the pit as the cracked rocks began to collapse like booming thunder. The yellow dust in the air, combined with the pink gas, was illuminated by the golden light. The pit was like a huge pot, violently boiling right now.

    The golden light was so dazzling that Hua Chengzan struggled to make out what was happening in the pit. However, the Daemon General¡¯s daemon qi did not vanish. The Golden Pheasant Elder had missed.

    Another huge, blurry figure appeared in the dust and smoke.

    Li Qingshan had completely transformed. He stood over forty feet tall as he gasped for air. Milliped laid behind him, having finally broken out of the vines and recovered his freedom.

    The perfectly-round pit now had a huge tear. It was possible to imagine what the consequences would have been if the attack had landed. Fortunately, the Golden Pheasant Elder did not have complete control over that move.

    When Li Qingshan and Xiao An arrived at the entrance, they sensed the three Foundation Establishment cultivators encircle Milliped and attack him with their spiritual energy. Every single one of them was more powerful than he was, but he would never back down when his friend was under life-threatening danger. He immediately cast aside the possibility of danger and was about to rush out to assist Milliped. However, he was stopped by Xiao An, who told him not to panic.

    After calming down, Li Qingshan waited while holding his breath. He wanted to see whether an opportunity to heavily injure a Foundation Establishment cultivator would present itself, but he also knew just how unlikely that was. However, in the final, critical moment, he tore through the ground and used a drastic measure against the situation, destroying the foundations of the vines before grabbing Milliped by his tail and pulling him aside, allowing him to avoid the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s killing strike.

    The blurry, humanoid figure made the three Foundation Establishment cultivators narrow their eyes. Was this another Daemon General? They retreated to one side of the pit cautiously, recovering their spiritual qi as they watched Li Qingshan vigilantly.

    Li Qingshan ignored them. He turned around and punched Milliped¡¯s head, yelling, ¡°You idiot! Wake up!¡± It was as if he was trying to verify the three elders¡¯ thoughts. Regular daemons would never be bold enough to hit a Daemon General. However, while the daemon qi he gave off was tremendous, he did not feel like a Daemon General.

    Milliped shook his head, and his mind seemed to clear up slightly. He hissed at Li Qingshan and said through his daemon qi, ¡°You¡¯ve come. My head hurts.¡±

    Li Qingshan replied with daemon qi, ¡°If it hurts, then you deserve it! Why don¡¯t you turn back into human form and leave with me!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± Milliped transformed and turned back into the bald-headed, idiotic-looking fatty. He rubbed his belly. ¡°My belly hurts too!¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He grabbed him and shoved him into the cave.

    ¡°Oh no, they¡¯re trying to escape! Trees Grow and Grass Sprouts, in an Endless Cycle!¡± The Green Vine Elder said.

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to dive into the cave as well, countless vines pierced through the rock and merged together, blocking the entrance and separating him from Milliped. Milliped roared furiously as he tried to tear apart the vines.

    Li Qingshan sighed instead and said, ¡°Run!¡± A violent gust of wind kicked up behind him. The golden light projected his figure against the rock face as the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rose up automatically.

    With a few clings and clangs, the pheasant claw that was as tough as a high grade spiritual artifact locked down on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. The golden pheasant flapped its wings and lifted Li Qingshan into the air.

    The golden pheasant lowered its head. It started at Li Qingshan with its golden pupils filled with fury. ¡°You want to run? That one has escaped, so you can replace him!¡± The Golden Pheasant Elder was vaguely visible inside.

    The pit below his feet rapidly shrank in size, but the Green Vine Elder and Lone Grave Elder seemed to shine no matter how far away they were.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood the danger that he was in. His blood boiled, but his mind instead became calmer and calmer. He sucked in a deep breath and unleashed the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar. The sound wave flooded the wild wind and slammed against the golden pheasant together.

    The golden light shuddered, and the claw of the pheasant loosened. Li Qingshan fell out of the sky, but before he had even hit the ground, countless thick vines extended over from the surroundings of the pit like arms, wrapping around the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and turning it into a ball of vines.

    Under the control of Foundation Establishment cultivators, the ground immediately became even more distant than the sky. Cut off from the depths of the underground, Li Qingshan had nowhere to run. He was extremely large, but against the three Foundation Establishment cultivators, he was like a skinny child facing three tough adults. That was how puny he seemed.

    The three elders flew through the air and revolved around the ball of vines.

    The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s only a regular daemon!¡± Although his shape and strength was very extraordinary, his daemon qi did indeed make him a mere daemon. It was a huge contract compared to their original target.

    The three of them had worked together and schemed against the unsuspecting, yet they still failed to kill the Daemon General and exact revenge. They were humiliated so much that their faces immediately twisted!

    ¡°Dammit!¡± The Lone Grave Elder slammed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell emotionlessly. With a rumble, the shell shook violently, but it remained undamaged.

    The three elders were surprised, but their fury only intensified. The Golden Pheasant¡¯s Elder said, ¡°Smash through his shell. I want to skin him alive and cut him to pieces out of hatred!¡±

    The Green Vine Elder thought of something. ¡°Perhaps we can lure out that Daemon General.¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder said, ¡°Green Vine, you¡¯re dreaming. Daemons have no concept of friendship or loyalty. They¡¯re heartless. All they know is to struggle for survival. Carapaced daemons are the dumbest out of all of them, so it¡¯s even less likely for them to understand what ties of friendship mean.¡± As he said that, the pheasant¡¯s beak struck the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell viciously, while the Ancient Bronze Corpse General threw out a punch.

    The shell trembled uncontrollably. No matter how tough it was, just how much longer could it last against the combined attacks of three Foundation Establishment cultivators?

    ¡°It¡¯s true that daemons have no concept of the ties of friendship.¡± What Li Qingshan said stunned the three elders, ¡°They only act on their own conscience!¡±

 Chapter 250 â€“ The Battle in the Pi

    t

    ¡°Woah! Look, Zijian, that monster has come out again! It has come to save this monster!¡± Hua Chenglu grabbed Yu Zijian¡¯s arm and shook it around.

    Hua Chengzan smashed her over the head. ¡°Don¡¯t move about.¡±

    The three of them currently sat on a paper crane. The paper crane was covered with glyphs as it flapped its wings and soared through the air, just like a real crane.

    After her initial fright, Hua Chenglu had calmed down. Unaware of the implications, she completely treated the battle below as a show to watch.

    Yu Zijian asked, ¡°Do daemons have ties of friendship too?¡±

    ¡°All living creatures, as long as they live in this world, do. How can they not have ties of friendship? I just never thought that there would be such a strong bond between daemons of different types, such that they¡¯re willing to risk their lives for each other,¡± Hua Chengzan said suddenly. His eyes were filled with emotion.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Then, is it still right for humans to punish and put daemons to death?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Even among humans, we have people trying to kill each other, let alone with other races. And, if it weren¡¯t for the pressure from humans, why would daemons band together? Killing each other is the norm. All living creatures, as long as they live in this world, will. How can they not kill and compete with one another?¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression then became desolate.

    Bonds? Killing? Right or wrong? Yu Zijian¡¯s mind was in a mess.

    The battle in the pit had already begun.

    Hua Chenglu watched in a fixed trance. She did not divert her attention to listening to Hua Chengzan at all.

    Milliped grabbed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell with his mouth and pulled Li Qingshan out from the ball of vines. The three elders rejoiced.

    The golden pheasant flapped its wings, the green vines grew and spread while the Ancient Bronze Corpse General controlled its corpse qi, leaping up.

    The encirclement was complete. They would not be letting this wretched daemon escape this time.

    Milliped twisted his body like a dragon swaying its tail. With enough force to destroy an entire army, it collided against the golden pheasant.

    The golden light shattered, and the Golden Pheasant Elder shot off like a broken kite, smashing into the rock head-first and becoming deeply embedded. Only a sky filled with pheasant feathers was left behind.

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General rushed forward at a time like this.

    Li Qingshan released the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and gathered all of his daemon qi, which raged like a river. Unconcerned, he threw out a punch.

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General felt like a great, dark cloud had enveloped it above before a black bolt of lightning struck it.

    The Lone Grave Elder sneered inside, Just like an ant trying to shake a tree, overconfident! Do you really think you¡¯re a Daemon General that can compete with the Ancient Bronze Corpse General in physical strength? Daemons are all this foolish, thinking that they can win just because they¡¯re bigger. Once I refine you into a daemon corpse, you might be a little cleverer under my control.

    The two fists collided and actually froze up in the air. The corpse qi and daemon qi clashed violently, pushing aside the smoke and gas and creating an empty region.

    The Lone Grave Elder was slightly surprised. Was it actually able to match the Ancient Bronze Corpse General with its brute strength?

    However, the Ancient Bronze Corpse General gave way just a while later, falling to the ground with a great thump and creating a huge pit.

    Having reached the second layer of the ox demon, he possessed a huge advantage from his size alone, and he had the advantage of height too. If he lost to a Corpse General in terms of physical strength, even if he would not hang himself, the black ox would hang itself.

    Although the Ancient Bronze Corpse General had lost the clash, it was not injured either. It let out an explosive roar, and just when it had straightened itself out, the black cloud descended from the sky again.

    I¡¯ll attack while you¡¯re weak! How could Li Qingshan let such a great opportunity slip by? From above, his iron hoof landed heavily on the Ancient Bronze Corpse General.

    The bottom of the pit raged and stirred like the surface of the ocean. Tonnes of rock and soil were thrown about. Only the ground where the hoof stood rapidly sank down.

    Innate ability, the Ox Demon Tramples!

    All of his power was concentrated on the Ancient Bronze Corpse General. Only after passing through its body did it spread to the surrounding ground.

    Cracks immediately began to appear on the Ancient Bronze Corpse General¡¯s seemingly-indestructible armour as it produced a twisted sound. In reality, the Ancient Bronze Corpse General¡¯s internal injuries were much worse than the damage on the surface. The bronze armour was extremely effective when it came to blocking flying swords, flying blades, and other sharp weapons, but against the most primitive, most barbarous blunt weapons, it was much less effective.

    On the ancient battlefields on Earth, the weapons used by generals rapidly changed and evolved with the development of the technology of armour. When blades or swords failed to pierce armour, a swing of a mace would be enough to crush the enemy¡¯s organs and make them spew blood.

    Li Qingshan raised his hoof, but he was definitely not foolish enough to give the opponent any chances to do anything. He unleashed the Ox Demon Tramples once again. From afar, it just seemed like a daemon with the horns of an ox and the tail of a tiger stomping around furiously, while the ground surged like boiling water, rising and falling constantly.

    Above the pit, the vines did their best as they extended towards Milliped, wanting to bind and constrain him once again. However, Milliped was prepared this time, and he was quite a distance away from both the rock face and the ground, so it would take some time for the vines to reach him.

    Milliped broke free from a few vines and swung his tail against the rock face. A huge breach appeared in the pit again. Milliped borrowed the force to rush towards the Green Vine Elder. He moved with startling speed while his sharp mandibles were on full display.

    The Green Vine Elder was shocked. As the sect master of the Green Vine mountain, it had been many years since he last clashed with people on the same level as him. Although he was full of great power, he had still declined with his advanced age, so how could he engage in close combat against such a terrifying daemon? He flew in a hurry and climbed up the sky steeply, dodging and weaving.

    Milliped suddenly twisted his body and wrapped around the Green Vine Elder several times before suddenly closing in on him as an insect ball. He used his colossal body to keep the Green Vine Elder trapped.

    His many legs were like spears. Using his powerful joints, he stabbed at the Green Vine Elder from every direction. All he needed to do was land a single attack, and he could inject him with venom, which would rapidly eat away his body.

    The Wood Spirit Protects the Body, Providing a New Lease of Life!

    The Green Vine Elder formed a seal with his hand, and he became encased in withered wood. The legs stabbed into it and produced a series of thumps.

    The withered wood was condensed from pure wood spiritual energy, but it was being rapidly depleted as the venom in the legs ate away at it.

    The Green Vine Elder called out, ¡°Save me, fellows!¡±

    Without the restraint of the vines, Milliped immediately unleashed his terrifying strength, demonstrating the great power of a carapaced Daemon General.

    The golden pheasant flapped its wings and flew into the air again, landing on the insect ball and unleashing a series of pecks. The Golden Pheasant Elder threw his life on the line, without any regard for his spiritual energy. As such, he produced a series of bloody holes on the insect carapace.

    If these holes had appeared on human cultivators, every single one of them would be fatal, disemboweling wounds. However, Milliped¡¯s body was huge, so these wounds could only be regarded as grazes. And, with his powerful vitality as a carapaced daemon, he recovered extremely quickly.

    Over half of the Green Vine Elder¡¯s spiritual energy had been depleted now. Pieces flew off from the withered piece of wood, turning back into spiritual energy and dispersing. It grew much thinner in the blink of an eye. He was just about to be stabbed by the legs and injected with venom.

    In the blink of an eye, the tables had turned completely, which amazed Hua Chengzan. ¡°Carapaced Daemon Generals truly are impressive!¡± If it were not for the fact that the three elders¡¯ techniques could be used together, with the Green Vine Elder¡¯s vines being especially troublesome with how they could restrict Milliped¡¯s movements, it would be very difficult for three regular Foundation Establishment cultivators to defeat it. Instead, the slightest of carelessness could result in them being killed.

    Hua Chenglu asked in surprise, ¡°Brother, are those three s- seniors going to lose?¡± Although she disliked the Green Vine Elder, she could not help but feel sad over the loss of her own kind now that these powerful human cultivators were about to die to the hands of daemons.

    Hua Chengzan shook his head. ¡°That hybrid daemon has only managed to gain a temporary upper hand. How can it actually win against a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Once it¡¯s killed, they can reestablish their encirclement and emerge victorious.¡±

    His gaze suddenly turned to the clouds. And, that person has yet to interfere! He had probably failed to anticipate something like this earlier, so the Daemon General had almost escaped. However, he would never make this mistake a second time.

    The Lone Grave Elder¡¯s expression finally changed. He looked at the Ancient Bronze Corpse General he had refined after so much effort in disbelief. Why was it being beaten up by a mere daemon in a one-sided fashion?

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General should have managed to break free a long time ago, but the Ox Demon Tramples caused violent vibrations too. With each tremor, it would momentarily affect the Ancient Bronze Corpse General¡¯s movements, which would be enough for Li Qingshan to unleash a second the Ox Demon Tramples.

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General was clearly extremely powerful, but due to its carelessness, it had fallen for this move. This was clearly a mere coincidence, yet it seemed like it had all been planned. Li Qingshan was truly suited for actual battle. He was not very smart most of the time, but in battle, he would always be so clever and be able to erupt with one hundred and twenty percent of his battle prowess.

    ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡±

    The Lone Grave Elder, who had yet to directly interfere, finally took action. He also wore a bronze bangle on his withered wrist, but the lustre was much better than the first senior brother¡¯s. The glyphs on the bangle lit up and twelve Steel Plate corpses appeared in an orderly array, all rushing towards Li Qingshan.

    With these twelve Steel Plate corpses, he could deal with any regular daemons as easily as winking. The reason why the Lone Grave Elder had not summoned them from the very beginning was because Steel Plate corpses were not particularly useful against a Daemon General, and it was very easy for them to be corroded and get destroyed by the gas. Now that Li Qingshan was trying to destroy his very lifeblood, he immediately unleashed all the strength he had.

    The Steel Plate corpses lunged over together. Li Qingshan frowned. He could sense that the corpse qi of the Ancient Bronze Corpse General below his feet had been scattered many times already, but it had not sustained any fatal damage.

    If he used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, it would obviously resolve the issue temporarily, but the Ancient Bronze Corpse General would be able to break free too, which would free up the Lone Grave Elder to save the Green Vine Elder. He needed to make time for Milliped.

    Li Qingshan grabbed a Steel Plate corpse and stabbed its throat with his thumb. His sharp, tiger claw forcefully pierced the steel plating and black corpse qi leaked out. The Steel Plate corpse immediately crumbled and stopped moving like a broken rag doll, which Li Qingshan tossed aside.

    However, the other Steel Plate corpses used this opportunity to throw themselves on Li Qingshan. Some climbed onto his shoulders and attacked his ears, some bit his neck while others grabbed his legs. They all tried to limit his movements so that the Ancient Bronze Corpse General could break free.

 Chapter 251 â€“ The Green Ruins Sword

    Even with that being the case, the Steel Plate corpses still caused Li Qingshan quite the trouble. It was a pity that Xiao An was not here, or these Steel Plate corpses would be easily dealt with. Originally, he had Xiao An hide underground so that she could lead a coordinated attack with him at a critical moment and deal a crucial blow to the enemy.

    However, after the violent collisions and the destruction from the Ox Demon Tramples, the caves in the pit had completely collapsed, now buried under thousands of tonnes of rock. It basically destroyed the starting point of the Herb Gathering ceremony for good. Xiao An was trapped below as well, so she was unable to provide any assistance for now.

    The Lone Grave Elder also saw how the Steel Plate corpses could not be defeated by Li Qingshan immediately. A small, bone sceptre appeared in his hand; it had a small skull on the tip. He swung it around, and the eye sockets of the skull unleashed a streak of red light.

    Li Qingshan felt a strong sense of danger. He did not want to experience the full-powered strike of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but if he used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and let the zombie beneath him break free, the situation would only worsen. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

    A Steel Plate corpse stood in front of Li Qingshan. It just happened to be in the path of the red light. Half of the Steel Plate corpse had melted away silently and instantly.

    The Lone Grave Elder was surprised. All the Steel Plate corpses were under his control, so why did one appear out of nowhere?

    A black hole had appeared in the ground at a certain time. The Steel Plate corpse had emerged from there.

    Under Xiao An¡¯s command as the vice leader, the boulder viper had used its burrowing abilities to create a deep hole. However, getting the daemons to partake in this battle would be impossible.

    Two skulls emerged and sprayed flames at Li Qingshan.

    The Lone Grave Elder was surprised. He became even more confused whether the arriving person was an ally or an enemy.

    Li Qingshan did not avoid it. Like taking a shower, he allowed the flames to wash over him. Wherever the flames passed by, the Steel Plate corpses all collapsed. The flames then extended towards the Ancient Bronze Corpse General below Li Qingshan¡¯s feet, but it was stopped by a layer of black corpse qi.

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General experienced a great sense of threat and struggled even more desperately.

    The Lone Grave Elder sensed how his connection with all the Steel Plate corpses had been severed. His expression changed as he called out, ¡°Where be the wretched daemon? Show your true form!¡±

    Red light flashed through the eyes of the Steel Plate corpses, and they all stood up, turning around and lunging at the Lone Grave Elder.

    As the Lone Grave Elder retreated, scarlet light shot out from his sceptre and struck three Steel Plate corpses. Most of them immediately melted away, but fire immediately sprang up around the corpses, merging them into the skull.

    The Lone Grave Elder was pained. Refining these Steel Plate corpses had not been easy. Never did he think there would be a day when he would have to destroy them with his own hands. Black mist surged beneath his feet and pulled him into the air. All the Steel Plate corpses missed him.

    Kicking hard, they leapt high into the air and touched the black cloud, but they were unable to fly, so they fell back down.

    At this moment, the two Skull Prayer Beads became even larger. They flew around and collected all the Steel Plate corpses before rushing towards the Lone Grave Elder. They were like two carrier ships.

    Li Qingshan knew very well that just his and Xiao An¡¯s strength was definitely not enough to kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but all they needed to do was keep them busy and make time for Milliped to kill one of them. Afterwards, they could defeat the others one by one. Even if they could not kill all of them, at least they could leave easily.

    Only a thin layer of withered wood remained around the Green Vine Elder. He called out, ¡°Please save me!¡± This time, he was not talking to the Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder.

    ¡°Daemons run amuck and bring strife to this world. Fu Qingjin of the Sword Collection palace has specially come to provide assistance, to purge and eliminate daemons.¡±

    A man¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in the sky, but it did not possess the elation and boldness that befitted it. Instead, it was rather indifferent and bored, as if purging daemons did not interest him at all.

    Great streaks of green light fell from the sky, enveloping the entire pit.

    Time seemed to freeze. An undefeatable power made Li Qingshan¡¯s heart shiver. He looked around and a ruined, abandoned structure grew from the ground, like an illusion yet also realistic.

    A green streak of light tore through the sky, like a silent bolt of lightning, yet also like a vicious wound.

    Milliped howled out in pain and fell from the air, falling into the ruins heavily. A huge wound appeared on his back as blood flowed out like a stream. Even the toughest part of him, the shell on his back, was unable to stop the power of the green light.

    Above the green ruins in the sky, Fu Qingjin stood with his sword as his worn out, green robes ruffled in the wind.

    The Green Vine Elder, who had narrowly escaped death, was still shaken. He bowed at the air. ¡°Thank you for saving me, fellow.¡± The Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder bowed at him deeply too.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s indifferent gaze scanned past their faces, like a king looking at his useless subjects. The three of them felt like their faces had been stabbed with humiliation as they burnt up.

    ¡°This person is so powerful!¡± Hua Chenglu was overcome with amazement.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Yu Zijian exclaimed.

    Fu Qingjin turned around, and his gaze immediately became much softer. He seemed to go from the lonely king back to that leisurely swordsman from before. However, he only nodded and said nothing more to her.

    Instead, he said to Hua Chengzan, ¡°You¡¯ve already fulfilled your obligations, but no one can maintain peace in the world for long. With your talent, you will definitely have quite the accomplishments in the chaotic future if you¡¯re willing to resign from your position as the hawks and hounds of the empire.¡±

    He gently consoled Hua Chengzan over his failures, even showing much admiration, but he was like a senior directing a junior, even referring to the Hawkwolf Guard as hawks and hounds. Their ages were not particularly far apart either.

    ¡°What has the peace of the world got to do with me? You¡¯re more than welcome to do what you want to do, sir. Though, you¡¯d better be careful or they¡¯ll escape again, and you¡¯ll humiliate yourself.¡± Hua Chengzan recovered his tired and indolent attitude.

    However, Hua Chenglu could feel that Hua Chengzan had lost his usual composure when he faced this person, which was why he was forced to use this attitude to mask himself.

    ¡°Yeah, what has it got to do with me?¡± Fu Qingjin was not annoyed either. He sighed gently, as if he was emotional. Suddenly, he jerked to his senses and cried out, ¡°Each and every person has responsibility over the prosperity of the world! How can you shy away from your obligations?¡± He seemed like he was speaking to Hua Chengzan, yet it also seemed like he was speaking to himself.

    With a flash of green light, Fu Qingjin vanished.

    Hua Chenglu pointed at her head and stifled her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s something wrong with this person¡¯s head?¡±

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°He seemed to be in great pain.¡±

    Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°You know him?¡±

    Yu Zijian shook her head, but she felt like she had met him somewhere, not on the Green Vine mountain by the pond, but some time even further away than that.

    Hua Chengzan lowered his head in thought. The Green Ruins sword had been drawn, just as expected. There was nothing for him to be surprised about with the strength Fu Qingjin possessed. He had already come up with guesses by himself. This matter was so significant that everyone involved had undergone no less than one heavenly tribulation, yet they sent him, a Qi Practitioner, to handle this. They probably did not have the determination to stop this in the first place. Perhaps it was just a concession for what had happened with the Soaring Dragon Elder.

 Chapter 252 â€“ A Hopeless Situation

    In the Sword Collection palace was a divine mountain called Sword Collection. This mountain was not connected to the ground and hovered in the sky instead. It was covered in treasured swords. As long as a disciple of the Sword Collection palace had undergone their first heavenly tribulation and become a formal disciple, they could pull a sword out from there as their own, personal sword. On the day of their passing, the sword would return to the Sword Collection peak to await its next owner.

    The cultivation methods of the Sword Collection palace were about becoming one with the sword. Cultivating was training the sword, while training the sword was also cultivating.

    Even a piece of scrap metal could become a terrifyingly powerful weapon after being refined by several generations of masters, so the power of these swords was self-explanatory. Moreover, it was rumored that these swords contained the spirit and will of their past masters, so only when they came across suitable masters could they be drawn from the mountain. As a result, not only did the person choose the sword, but the sword chose the person too. All tricks were useless. It was completely up to luck.

    Once a sword was drawn, it was like meeting a great mentor or a close friend. The benefits brought to the sword wielder would be far more than obtaining a powerful sword. This was where the foundation and legacy of the Sword Collection palace resided, as well as why the sect was called Sword Collection.

    And, sword cultivators were stronger than regular cultivators in battle anyway. Accompanied by a treasured sword, it was like giving wings to a tiger, making them even stronger.

    The many swords varied in power. Among them, there were ten swords renowned throughout the world¡ªthe Ten Renowned Swords. Any disciple who drew them would receive the full support and nurturing of the Sword Collection palace. Basically every single master of the Sword Collection palace wielded one of these Ten Renowned Swords. The Green Ruins sword happened to be one of them.

    This was not as simple as giving wings to a tiger anymore. Instead, it was directly turning a tiger into a tiger daemon. It was as easy as cake to deal with these three old men. However, the strange part of it was that Fu Qingjin had only gone through his heavenly tribulation recently, so how did he grasp the Green Ruins sword so soon?

    Originating from a powerful clan, Hua Chengzan was very intelligent. He possessed encyclopedic knowledge, probably knowing even more than the entire Book of All. He obviously knew about the histories and stories regarding the larger sects of the Green province too.

    Since Green Ruins had been drawn, where was Violet Clouds?

    When he thought of that, he suddenly looked at Yu Zijian. She currently stared right ahead. Was she it?

    Thinking back to how Fu Qingjin had looked at Yu Zijian earlier, his head immediately cleared up.

    She was. With how large the Green province was, there was no need for Fu Qingjin to travel over five thousand kilometers to the Clear River prefecture to kill a Daemon General. With his strength, were there any Daemon Generals that could match him evenly? As it turned out, his objective was this.

    Large sects definitely possessed figures skilled at divination and could peer into the heavenly secrets. Apart from seeking talented juniors to join the sect and learn their arts like regular sects, they had another special method, which was searching for ¡°fated people¡±. They rarely ever recruited anyone like that, but they could find a few figures with startling talent among the sea of people out there with this method.

    These people were like uncut jade. Most of the time, they would not demonstrate any special cultivation talent. Cultivation should have had nothing to do with them for their entire lives. They would live their entire lives as regular people until their deaths. However, once they were given some guidance, stepping into the cultivation world, they would immediately be like dragons in the sea, completely in their element. They would rise up swiftly and abruptly.

    If he had guessed correctly, then Chenglu would be the one benefiting from their tie of friendship, not Zijian. Although the Hua family had some power in the Clear River prefecture, they were nothing compared to the Sword Collection palace. His thoughts immediately extended to a very deep and far-reaching level, wanting to see how he could derive benefit for the Hua family using this piece of information. The battle below had instead stopped concerning him.

    Victory had been predetermined anyway.

    Fu Qingjin appeared in the green ruins, standing on half a pillar, as if he was aloof from the world.

    It would take several dozen people to hug the pillar given its circumference, so it was possible to imagine just how glorious the palace it once supported was.

    ¡°The Sword Collection palace!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Fu Qingjin overlapped with a certain figure in his memory. Although that person had been easily killed by the black ox, the impression of his sharp sword qi still lingered in his heart. He was not bold enough to forget about it.

    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of it?¡± Fu Qingjin looked back and asked. He had just lifted the Green Ruins sword before stopping again.

    Before Li Qingshan could answer him, the Ancient Bronze Corpse General finally broke free. Its rusted bronze armour was in a horrible shape, while a few of its bones had twisted and broken too. It roared furiously at Li Qingshan, about to lunge at him.

    Fu Qingjin glanced at it, and the roar stopped. The Ancient Bronze Corpse General fled in a hurry, rushing back to the Lone Grave Elder like a frightened hound to its master.

    The three elders gathered together and slowly pacified their spiritual energy. They no longer had any intention of fighting, as they knew that there was no need for them at all since he was already here. When they thought back to how they had clashed on the Green Vine mountain, they could not help but sigh in amazement.

    ¡°Is there anything else you want to say? Forget it, it¡¯s all pointless. You won¡¯t get anything out of speaking more.¡± With the same resolve as the Soaring Dragon Elder in the past, Fu Qingjin swung down with his sword.

    The light was like a streak, a deep green in colour. It seemed like a green eye had opened up in the air, projecting the complete state of mind of a certain person. It was filled with emptiness and melancholy, narrating the rises and falls through the ages and the great changes that time could bring.

    No matter how glorious a civilisation was, there would be a day when it would wither away. No matter how powerful an empire was, it would not be able to escape the fate of destruction, only for future people to visit their ruins and ponder about the past. As for the measly people who lived among them, there was nothing.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s willpower was still as tough as ever, so he returned to his senses with a single jerk. He threw a punch as he retreated abruptly, using the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell at the same time. He basically completed all three tasks simultaneously.

    Li Qingshan immediately retreated to over a hundred meters away. The streak of light landed on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, and his daemon qi depleted rapidly. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell trembled violently, but it managed to hold up in the end.

    His breathing had become slightly ragged while his scarlet pupils burned like fire. He was no longer the Li Qingshan of the past. He would not be slashed by someone again while being unable to react.

    The three elders looked at one another. They could all see each other¡¯s shock. What kind of daemon was this? Right now, they could accept the fact that Li Qingshan could block their attacks rather easily, but they had experienced Fu Qingjin¡¯s strength first-hand, so they understood it extremely well.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Fu Qingjin was surprised as well. Originally, he planned on killing this weaker daemon with a casual slash before dealing with the Daemon General. Instead, he was slightly taken aback now. ¡°Among the level of daemons, you can be regarded as rather impressive. You really are a hybrid after all. However, exactly because of this, it¡¯s even more reason for me to kill you right now and eliminate you for good.¡±

    Just when Fu Qingjin wanted to attack once again, a black shadow enveloped him. He turned his head slightly, and Milliped¡¯s vicious mandibles were only inches away. His huge, gaping mouth was like the gates of hell.

    Launching a sudden attack from so close, it was a little too late for Fu Qingjin to dodge even if he wanted to. The foul breath gushed into his face and kicked up his hair, but he remained unfazed.

    With a great rumble, Milliped smashed the pillar with his head, but there was no delight on Li Qingshan¡¯s face at all. He would never underestimate an opponent, while Fu Qingjin was an existence that he could not afford to underestimate. He took a powerful step forward and a crack rapidly stretched forwards. The pile of rubble exploded, but Fu Qingjin was not amongst it.

    A green streak of light flew past his eyes, and afterwards, thousands of specks of light gathered together like fireflies, turning into Fu Qingjin.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes widened. Was this the power of the Green Ruins sword? Didn¡¯t that make him undefeatable?

    Fu Qingjin casually tossed out the Green Ruins sword and wielded his finger like a sword. He used the most common sword controlling technique, but the Green Ruins sword twisted and turned, and the blade of the sword completely vanished. It wove out a complicated geometric shape that enveloped Milliped.

    Milliped hissed in pain as blood spurted from everywhere. He twisted his body and tried to bite Fu Qingjin.

    Fu Qingjin turned into green light and scattered again, condensing somewhere else. He stroked his chin as he muttered to himself, ¡°You really are a carapaced Daemon General, aren¡¯t you? Your vitality is extraordinary. It looks like I need to behead you.¡± His gaze landed on where Milliped¡¯s head connected to his body, and he raised his sword in a simple manner before swinging down.

    Even a half-assed, third-rate swordsman like Yu Zijian knew that move, but in his hands, it had become an unstoppable killing move.

    The surging daemon qi turned into a flood, which gushed towards Fu Qingjin. His swing cut through it all.

    The two skulls descended from the ground. At the same time, the remaining Steel Plate corpses on them all lunged at Fu Qingjin together while roaring out. The sword qi turned into thousands of green strands, tearing the Steel Plate corpses to shreds.

    Fu Qingjin suddenly became surprised. He turned around and unleashed a strike, colliding with a shiny, bone sword. He praised, ¡°Impressive sword style!¡± The sword move and sword intent that had erupted instantly even surprised him to a certain degree. When he saw that the sword wielder was a skeleton, he became even more surprised.

    Xiao An had remained hidden all this time, sacrificing all the Steel Plate corpses as bait to deal this full-powered attack, but all she earned from him were three words of praise.

    The sword style transformed, sometimes light and nimble, sometimes heavy and dignified, sometimes without a single trace at all, completely unfathomable. Xiao An completely unleashed the sword style she had learnt from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, merging all the various strokes into the sword. Combined with the fact that she had launched every move desperately with the intention of dragging him down with her, it only seemed even more fearsome.

    Fu Qingjin did not use his sword controlling technique. He wielded the sword in one hand and used his own sword style, engaging in a sword fight with Xiao An. He wanted to see her sword technique.

    Xiao An advanced, and the sword moves fluctuated drastically. Fu Qingjin retreated, swinging and slashing randomly, but he would be able to block Xiao An¡¯s moves every single time.

    In a single moment, they had clashed over a thousand times, emitting a strange, prolonged thrum. Countless strands of sword qi, as thin as a strand of hair, peppered the ground. Dust filled the air wherever they passed by.

    Along the way, a relatively complete building collapsed loudly. Its structure had been completely destroyed by the sword qi, collapsing under its own weight.

    Countless cracks appeared on Xiao An¡¯s bone sword. She had only attacked, without defending at all. If she were in human form right now, her flesh and blood would have been ripped to pieces by the sword qi already.

    Li Qingshan howled at Milliped, ¡°Turn back quickly!¡± The advantage that came with his colossal body had completely evaporated. There was no chance for them to win this battle. They needed to flee.

    However, everything around them had been replaced by the illusion. Let alone the caves, they could not even find the pit. If they wanted to escape, they had to break out of this illusion first, but that was easier said than done.

    However, Milliped ignored him this time. With his trembling body, he charged at Fu Qingjin again. Every single movement of his was as swift and fierce as lightning, but these attacks were useless no matter how many times he tried them with Fu Qingjin¡¯s strange technique of turning into light.

    As expected, Fu Qingjin turned into beams of light again, which gathered in the air. He shook his head. ¡°Foolish!¡±

 Chapter 253 â€“ A Thousand Years in an Instan

    t

    At this moment, Milliped opened his mouth, and a pink daemon core shot into the sky, cutting through the empty, dark world like a pink bolt of lightning.

    Most of Fu Qingjin¡¯s body had already condensed together as he looked at the pink daemon core near his chest. This was originally his main target. The round daemon core began to twist and change shape, and his expression finally changed. There was some disbelief as well.

    ¡°Run!¡± Milliped glanced at Li Qingshan again. His gaze had never been so clear before. He had thought of the idea that Li Qingshan had failed to come up with.

    Dazzling light shot into the air as the crystallization of centuries or even millenniums of effort was unleashed in a single instant. Even the sun seemed to dim.

    The green ruins were torn apart, revealing the original pit. However, it had been forcefully expanded to ten times its original size from the violent explosion.

    Only now did the sound of the explosion arrive. The circular shockwave flattened and destroyed all the vegetation within a hundred kilometers.

    Li Qingshan roared out at the sky, but his voice was drowned out by the explosion.

    Hua Chengzan pushed off the paper crane and rushed into the air with Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu. The paper crane was immediately destroyed by the waves of heat.

    The three elders unleashed their defensive techniques and spiritual artifacts in fright, but they were instantly swallowed by the light.

    The light had already subsided, but the dark splotches in everyone¡¯s vision lingered, only vanishing after a very long time.

    The ground had been completely flattened, while everyone had vanished.

    Hua Chengzan remained stunned even after a very long while. The strength of the Sword Collection palace was not the only thing he had underestimated. He had also underestimated the resolve of this Daemon General.

    Blowing up their daemon core was equivalent to suicide. To all daemons, survival was their most primary instinct. No matter how dangerous the situation was, there would always be a tiny sliver of a chance for them to emerge victorious or escape. Blowing up their daemon core was truly severing all hope.

    The three elders emerged from the dust and soil. Their clothes had been reduced to rags as they each spat out a mouthful of blood. They collapsed on the ground, still in shock.

    The Green Vine Elder called out, ¡°Fellow Fu! Fellow Fu!¡±

    A green streak of light descended from above. Fu Qingjin was covered in dust. The hair near his temples was slightly messy, and his face was pale. He had suffered internal injuries too.

    Fu Qingjin looked at the basin produced by the explosion. He felt some admiration, as well as some surprise. For a carapaced daemon that completely acted on instincts to have such resolve was truly beyond his expectations.

    The three elders agreed in a hurry, and Fu Qingjin glanced at Hua Chengzan in the sky again.

    Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°Are those daemons really dead?¡±

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°The two weaker daemons managed to escape, but it¡¯s no big deal.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°They didn¡¯t seem like regular daemons to me.¡±

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°They were quite capable. If they¡¯re willing to remain underground obediently and cultivate, then so be it. But if they¡¯re bold enough to come to the surface to make trouble again, then they must be eliminated. They must be killed.¡±

    Hua Chengzan sank into his thoughts. He knew Fu Qingjin had the confidence to back up what he said. The two daemons were powerful, but if they did not take that step, then they would not be able to threaten them at all. And, with how slowly daemons cultivated, taking that step might take centuries. By then, who knew how much Fu Qingjin¡¯s strength would have grown by. Why would he be worried about revenge?

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, I will definitely kill you with my own hands, as well as you three old coots. Live on well. Wait for me.¡±

    At this moment, a voice boomed out from deep underground, passing through the thick layer of soil and clearly reaching their ears.

    The voice was calm, but they could clearly hear how the owner of the voice had forcefully repressed his rage. It was bone-chilling.

    The three elders all changed in expression. Even the Green Vine Elder, who was normally always so mild-mannered, yelled abruptly, ¡°Reckless daemon!¡±

    Only Fu Qingjin remained unfazed. He stabbed down with his sword, and a streak of light pierced the soil.

    The three elders looked at Fu Qingjin together. He shook his head. ¡°It has already left.¡±

    The three elders all became disappointed. Fu Qingjin frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re afraid?¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder cried out, ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± The three of them looked at one another. None of them were willing to admit the fact that they felt a tinge of fear inside.

    In the endless, gloomy depths, Li Qingshan ran as quickly as he could, without saying a single word. His eyes were wide open as he gritted his teeth firmly, enough for him to taste blood. He held Milliped in his hands, who had already shrunken to around a foot long, his original size. His body was in a horrible shape as he laid still.

    Xiao An followed along quietly. She had no idea how she was supposed to console him. When the daemon core exploded, Milliped fell from the air and rapidly shrank, becoming like this.

    Li Qingshan felt like his heart was on fire, scorching his body and making it burn and ache. He tried to force himself to calm down, but he was unable to achieve it no matter what. He was clearly hurrying along, but the cave before him constantly twisted and turned like an endless maze.

    The sea of flowers sprawled out in the expansive cavern. The Blue Butterfly flowers bloomed gloriously, like balls of blue fire.

    Li Qingshan crossed through the sea of flowers and placed Milliped onto the stone platform. This was his favourite bed. Perhaps the spiritual qi on there could help him. Then he took out all of the recovery pills in his hundred treasures pouch, feeding them to him or applying it on him externally. He used it all on Milliped without thinking.

    However, Milliped continued to lay on the stone platform without moving at all. Li Qingshan¡¯s hopeful eyes gradually dimmed. He raised his head and let out a roar, but all he saw was the pitch-black ceiling. His voice resonated through the cavern for no one to hear.

    He felt like he had returned to the Ice Sword cliff. He truly was naive to think that he could break out of this cycle. As it turned out, nothing had changed at all!

    He stood before the stone platform with his head raised. His scarlet hair drooped down, covering his face. He was like a stone statue that had stood there for centuries.

    After who knows how long, Xiao An¡¯s ice-cold bone hand touched Li Qingshan¡¯s face. His heart warmed up slightly as he said gloomily, ¡°Xiao An, why am I so weak?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not. Your opponent was too powerful. You¡¯ve only just begun cultivating. You will definitely be more powerful than everyone in the future.¡±

    At this moment, there was a flash from the stone platform, followed by a gentle hiss.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze of disbelief, Milliped rolled over and moved his legs, climbing up and raising the upper half of his body, waving his feelers at him like he was greeting him.

    Li Qingshan scooped him up in a hurry and brought him to his face. ¡°Y- you¡¯re still alive!¡±

    Milliped nodded and used his remaining, feeble daemon qi to express, ¡°Playing dead.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a grin before drooping once again. He had no idea how to react, but his heart seemed to loosen. He fell back onto his bottom. ¡°Oh you!¡±

    Milliped then said, ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    Li Qingshan took out a pile of grain in a hurry and placed it before Milliped. Milliped immediately buried his head in it and began eating.

    Heavy, noisy footsteps rang out in the surroundings. Before he knew it, the daemon soldiers had all gathered. They whispered among themselves.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the great king?¡±

    ¡°He charged out mindlessly and fell into the human¡¯s trap.¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t do anymore. It looks like a new king will take over this place now.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly turned around, and the daemons immediately shut up.

    Li Qingshan recovered his calm. After a moment of thought, he sat down on the stone platform and issued orders.

    ¡°The great king has only suffered some temporary, minor injuries. Now, present everything you collected. It¡¯s time to calculate your individual contribution.¡±

    The daemons handed over the hundred treasures pouches and the various spiritual artifacts and talismans.

    Even after setting the various assortment of spiritual artifacts aside, the hundred treasures pouches still amounted to over a thousand. They formed a small hill. Even Li Qingshan had not been expecting this, so he asked them about it.

    Only then did he find out that many human cultivators had ventured underground and died to these daemons even before the Herb Gathering ceremony this time. Their spiritual artifacts and hundred treasures pouches all glowed, so the daemons all took a liking to them. They had no idea what their effects were, but they still collected them, which grew to quite a sizable amount after all these years.

    It was impossible for the other regions to have so many hundred treasures pouches either. The other Daemon Generals all managed their own territories properly, so rarely did any Qi Practitioners venture in there to seek death. It was exactly because of Milliped¡¯s negligence that this region had remained as a battlefield between humans and daemons, and there would be a lot of spoils of battle.

    However, these spoils did not serve any practical use to the daemons, so they all brought them to exchange for delicious food. Even though most of them were the hundred treasures pouches of weaker Qi Practitioners, it was still a tremendous piece of wealth. It was exhilarating to Li Qingshan.

    Thinking about things calmly, Milliped would have been lured to the surface, and he would probably die anyway even if he blew up his daemon core if Li Qingshan had not been there. At least, he had escaped with his life intact, which left behind limitless potential. He could make up for his lost cultivation, and he could have his revenge too.

    While it would be very tough, not everything remained the same. He was inching closer and closer to his opponent, and he had saved his friend¡¯s life too. Moreover, he had only begun cultivating a little over a year ago. If he wanted to sulk and sigh any further, then would he still be a man?

    Elder of the three mountains, Fu Qingjin, hmph. He suddenly clenched his fist. If I don¡¯t get revenge, I swear that I am not human, no, a daemon. These hundred treasures pouches would serve as the source of his energy!

    At this moment, Milliped said, ¡°I have some too.¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He had never expected Milliped to possess hundred treasures pouches too. But thinking about it, how was it possible that no one had intruded upon this place across all these years? These Blue Butterfly flowers were a crucial component to refining True Spirit pills. They were worth a startling amount, enough for people to risk their lives.

    Combined with Milliped¡¯s habit of hibernating, it only provided people with more opportunities to take the risk. As a matter of fact, many powerful Qi Practitioners had aimed for these Blue Butterfly flowers in the Herb Gathering ceremony this time.

    Milliped stood up and used his body to point in a direction like a compass needle. Li Qingshan dug down in a corner of the cavern, and just as he had expected, he excavated a pile of hundred treasures pouches and a few shining spiritual artifacts. None of them were below mid grade.

    If they wanted to snatch from the tiger¡¯s jaws, they needed strength. Without strength, it was impossible to navigate through the dark caves and reach so deep underground. However, no matter how strong they were, they would still be Qi Practitioners.

    Those who were unlucky would run into Milliped when he was half-awake. Seeing an intruder barge around in his own home and stealing his food, Milliped would just catch them and fill his belly with them. The items owned by these people obviously could not be eaten, so he would just dig a hole and bury it before going back to sleep.

    As promised, Li Qingshan took out all the food and allocated it among the daemons according to their respective contributions before making them disperse.

 Chapter 254 â€“ A Despicable Woman

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with sorting the items carefully. He glanced through them quickly, enough for him to gain a rough idea of what he now possessed. At this moment, he opened a strange-looking hundred treasures pouch. He discovered that it was not for items like spiritual artifacts and spiritual stones. Instead, it contained many poisonous bugs like scorpions and centipedes.

    Apart from controlling ghosts and refining corpses, there were plenty of cultivators who wielded insects or used gu1. However, regular hundred treasures pouches were unable to hold anything living. For example, the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain used special bronze bangles for controlling corpses, while this was a rare bug pouch.

    Li Qingshan released a venomous scorpion from the pouch. The scorpion was a reddish brown, and it was huge, the size of an adult man. It surprised Li Qingshan.

    The huge scorpion waved its huge pincers menacingly. It suddenly spotted Milliped and immediately shirked away, wanting to escape. Milliped¡¯s body scrunched up before shooting off like an arrow. He burrowed into the huge scorpion, and the scorpion struggled a little before falling on its side and dying.

    Milliped devoured all of the scorpion¡¯s flesh, only leaving behind an empty shell, before emerging once again. His mandibles twitched and clicked. He was very happy with it.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan came up with an idea and released all the poisonous bugs. There was a huge assortment, some flying, some crawling, and some leaping. Milliped released a pink gas and enveloped all the poisonous bugs. They fell to the ground before Milliped ate them all.

    If the arts of nurturing gu really did exist, then Milliped was the king of gu. These poisonous bugs were nowhere close to him. Even when weakened, Milliped was still a Daemon General after all. All he needed was time, and he would definitely be able to recover his original strength.

    Li Qingshan finally made up his mind. Afterwards, he began to catch the butterflies in the dark cavern.

    Three days later, just as Li Qingshan was scooping up the plants in the water, he suddenly heard a daemon soldier report, ¡°Leader, there¡¯s bad news. The Daemon General to the west is killing his way over.¡±

    Following that, another daemon soldier rushed over. ¡°The east too!¡±

    ¡°And the south.¡± ¡°The north is no different.¡±

    Li Qingshan straightened himself up calmly. It was so soon.

    The dens of these daemons were located near the boundary between Milliped¡¯s territory and the other Daemon Generals¡¯. They had been on the constant look out for the activity of the surrounding Daemon Generals recently.

    Li Qingshan hauled up the last handful of aquatic plants and returned to Milliped¡¯s dwelling. A lot of the fluttering, blue butterflies were now missing, and the beautiful sea of flowers was now dimmer.

    He had already picked all of the mature Blue Butterfly flowers that could be used for refining pills and stored them in a jade box in his hundred treasures pouch. Or more accurately, he and Xiao An had already swept through and collected all the mature spiritual herbs in the territory.

    Collecting these spiritual herbs had not been as simple as he imagined it to be. Many of them required special tools and placed emphasis on how they were collected. For example, the Blue Butterfly flowers would definitely lose their efficacy if they were directly picked by hand. They required a special set of gold, silk gloves to be worn. Fortunately, there were plenty of tools in these hundred treasures pouches.

    The daemon soldiers had all gathered before the stone platform now. Every single one of them was nervous and uneasy. Although they were afraid of disobeying Li Qingshan¡¯s orders as the leader, fighting other daemons was different from fighting humans. This matter involved Daemon Generals. They did not possess a Daemon General, so defeat was basically guaranteed.

    Li Qingshan glanced past the daemons and the restless group settled down, quietly waiting for his command. Through the various trials, Li Qingshan had gradually developed a heavy, composed bearing like a mountain. Gradually, he no longer led the daemons through just his own strength and the benefits that he could provide to them.

    ¡°Everyone, we are currently under attack from Daemon Generals in all directions. They¡¯ve come to take this land. Great king Milliped is injured, while I don¡¯t possess the power to stop them. The vice leader and I will be temporarily leaving with great king Milliped, heading for somewhere where he can heal in peace.¡±

    He did not hide it, nor did he lie. Li Qingshan was honest, speaking his mind.

    ¡°Croak, croak. Leader, where are you going? What are we supposed to do?¡± asked the ice frog as it leapt around.

    ¡°All you have to do is wait here for their demands to surrender. Though, you have to remember to stay united. No matter who takes over this territory, they will all require your strength.¡±

    There were principles among the underground daemons too. As long as they did not revolt out of desperation, Daemon Generals would not kill daemons. However, the encroaching forces would definitely affect the benefits that they could derive from the land. However, as long as they could remain united, they would be important figures that could affect how the territory would be divided up later.

    The daemons had already tasted the benefits of unity. As it turned out, they would often hear about a few daemons being slaughtered in their dens every Herb Gathering ceremony, but this time, only a few weaker daemonic beasts had died. There was even delicious food for them. They became rather reluctant to see Li Qingshan leave.

    Li Qingshan made his way out of the cavern with Xiao An. The daemons parted to form a path for him.

    Milliped was sleeping in the bug pouch. After losing his daemon core, his instincts gained a greater grip over him. He could still eat and sleep like before, and he was not mentally affected at all. If Li Qingshan had suddenly lost his daemon core instead, resulting in a plummet in strength, he would definitely become overcome with dismay. He could only sigh over how a foolish daemon had a fool¡¯s luck.

    ¡°Are you going to return?¡±

    When Li Qingshan reached the entrance of the cave, the boulder viper could not help but ask. This was also the question that the daemons all wanted to know.

    ¡°Of course. Very soon. Just wait.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand without looking back, alarming a blue light butterfly that fluttered before him gently. It was slightly dim, but still so dreamily beautiful.

    Li Qingshan had only collected the more mature spiritual herbs. He did not touch the younger ones, and most of the time, he only harvested them, without touching their roots, as he would return sooner or later. He would claim this territory for Milliped and for himself.

    The roars and growls of daemons rang out from a cavern extremely far away. It was time to leave.

    Within the Boundless mountains, under an inconspicuous hill.

    Li Qingshan swept aside the withered vines and emerged from there. The chilly winds buffeted his face, bringing him great satisfaction. Expansive clouds stretched over the sky. A few stars managed to make it through the layer, twinkling coldly.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core shone resplendently.

    Li Qingshan gradually shrank, turning back to his original appearance. He touched his face, and there seemed to be some whiskers now. Checking himself in the mirror, all he saw was an unfamiliar young man staring back coldly. He forced out a smile, but he only seemed even more malicious.

    He was not pretty, nor was he ugly. He was like a hard, stubborn rock, where his corners would only grow sharper the more they were polished.

    It was said that a person¡¯s appearance was a reflection of their heart. He believed it now.

    In the past few months, he had transformed into a daemon, faced countless dangers, killed countless people, and even swore to never rest until he got revenge. He naturally developed a sense of brutality. Even as a human, he bore resemblance to a daemon.

    Li Qingshan did not care about this either. After confirming that his appearance had returned, he casually took out a set of clothes before hanging the glazed mirror on his waist. After channelling true qi into it, his surroundings twisted and distorted, making him vanish.

    This was an extremely interesting spiritual artifact that Li Qingshan had found in the many hundred treasures pouches. They could turn the user invisible, or even evade various forms of detection. It was an extremely rare auxiliary high grade spiritual artifact. He called it the Mirror of Invisibility.

    He had found this glazed mirror in the hole that Milliped had dug. Clearly, there had been a Qi Practitioner in the past who had tried to use this to hide from Milliped so that he could collect the spiritual herbs freely. But clearly, he had failed.

    Li Qingshan guessed that while the Mirror of Invisibility could turn people completely invisible, it was very difficult for cultivators to hide the aura that they naturally gave off. However, this did not bother him at all. He was extremely good at concealing his aura, so it was basically a perfect combination with the Mirror of Invisibility. It immediately turned him into a super assassin.

    Prepared, Li Qingshan rushed off in the direction of the Green Vine mountain. However, there was still a small grievance he needed to settle before he left.

    Arriving below the Green Vine mountain, Li Qingshan looked at the Town of Flowing Clouds from afar, but he saw a startling sight.

    The Town of Flowing Clouds was shrinking. Among the mechanical clink and clunks, the Hundred Flavours restaurant collapsed and folded up, like building blocks or folding paper, turning into tiny modules in the end. This occurred everywhere. The Town of Flowing Clouds had already shrunk to half its size.

    As it turned out, the entire town was a huge, mechanical structure.

    The lanterns in the town dimmed. Only the store of Miscellaneous Goods at the very centre continued to blaze with light, but even it seemed rather powerless.

    In the past Herb Gathering ceremonies, now would be when it was the liveliest. Cultivators would return here with the spiritual herbs they had risked their lives for to exchange, but this time, all of the cultivators left without returning.

    The store of Miscellaneous Goods was bubbling with activity. The quiet main lobby was now filled with cultivators. Most of them were store owners in the town, who currently huddled together in conversation.

    Little Zhang, who sold weapons in the Arsenal of Arms, said, ¡°They¡¯ve actually been annihilated this time. Only a few people managed to escape. Fortunately, I had no interest in trying my luck. These daemons sure are vicious.¡±

    Lu Zifei of the Tranquil teahouse said, ¡°If daemons aren¡¯t vicious, can you still call them daemons? If you¡¯re in a risky line of work, there¡¯s no guarantee that you¡¯ll be safe no matter how skilled you are. They all go on about purging daemons. What¡¯s the point in purging them? Dying in there was just a matter of time. Let¡¯s just hope no trouble arises. Let¡¯s drink tea! Old Sun, why do you seem so heavy-hearted?¡±

    As it turned out, Sun Fubai also happened to be among them. He was thinking about Li Qingshan, or should you say, Niu Juxia. He was worried. Although they had only met briefly, he had a very good impression of him. They had almost become friends across generations. He sipped some tea. ¡°I¡¯m worried about the safety of a young friend of mine. I wonder how he¡¯s doing.¡±

    Little Zhang was the cleverest among them, so he smiled. ¡°You must be talking about Niu Juxia!¡±

    Sun Fubai was surprised. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Lu Ziyu said, ¡°Is there anything within this town that can escape those donkey ears of his?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, elder Lu. Recently, he caused the death of the first senior brother of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, so news has constantly reached my ears. Even if I don¡¯t want to know about it, I can¡¯t. He even drank a few cups of tea at your place. I can still remember him even now. He¡¯s quite the figure!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I think he¡¯s probably done for!¡±

    Everyone turned around and saw Liu Ruping attending to the table with her eyes filled with malice. Ever since she heard how the first senior brother of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain had died at Niu Juxia¡¯s hands and how he also managed to escape from the Golden Pheasant Elder, she began to feel uneasy. She was afraid that he would find out about her role in it all and come back for revenge. Over time, this actually developed into a fear towards him. Why didn¡¯t you just die? Can you still call yourself a man for running as soon as you face a master?

    Little Zhang was surprised. ¡°Ruping, how did he offend you?¡±

    Liu Ruping immediately had nothing to say. Not only had Niu Juxia not offended her, but he had even allowed her to make a lot of money easily.

    Sun Fubai placed his tea cup on the table heavily and said in displeasure, ¡°It¡¯s just like what they say, only women and the despicable are difficult to deal with!¡±

 Chapter 255 â€“ Returning to Jiaping

    Liu Ruping¡¯s expression changed slightly, but she was afraid of retorting at Sun Fubai. She turned away to another table.

    Li Qingshan made Xiao An wait outside as he moved through the town alone. The ancient structures in the surroundings folded up and transformed like the futuristic technology in movies; it was as if they had suddenly sprung alive.

    He arrived outside the store of Miscellaneous Goods. He opened the door and light flooded out, landing on the dark street outside.

    Li Qingshan heard a few familiar voices, and he also heard Liu Ruping. He raised an eyebrow, but he did not feel anything like intense hatred. All he did was find an obscure corner and wait quietly. The opportunity arrived sooner than he had imagined.

    A few hours later, the entire town had collapsed down, with only the store of Miscellaneous Goods standing alone. Afterwards, it began to transform too.

    The cultivators all emerged from the store. The last one to walk out was a plump, old madam, who also happened to be the owner of this store of Miscellaneous Goods, Shi Peipei.

    As it turned out, there would be a gathering whenever the town closed up shop, but no one was in the mood for it anymore with the misfortune that had occurred.

    In the end, the entire Town of Flowing Clouds collapsed into a small, wooden cube, landing in Shi Peipei¡¯s hands. She returned it to her hundred treasures pouch before fishing out a small wooden ship. She tossed it into the air, and it expanded to a hundred times its size, hovering in the sky.

    ¡°I¡¯m returning to the Clear River city to report back to the master of the school about what happened here. If you want to go to the Clear River city, please board the ship. If you have other matters you need to attend to, please take care of them yourself. Forgive me for being unable to see you off. The next time the Town of Flowing Clouds will be open for business will be in the warm third month, when the Academy of the Hundred Schools holds their entrance exams. Please don¡¯t miss it.¡±

    With a white sail on display, the winds surged, and the flying ship took off into the night sky like a gentle leaf. Just a while later, it became as small as a mustard seed. The ship sailed through a cloud and vanished.

    Only a little over a dozen people watched the ship sail off with their heads raised on the open ground. They all lowered their heads again and bid farewell to each other.

    Li Qingshan happened to be among them. Although he had already witnessed many wonders and miracles in this world, he was still amazed every time he saw a new one.

    He lowered his head again and looked in the direction that Liu Ruping had travelled off in. Like a wild beast, he prowled through the night.

    If they were humans, this would definitely evolve into a chaotic battle with a field littered with corpses. After all, they were creatures who could go from taking offence from a single glance to cursing aloud to stabbing each other to death.

    Daemons were not intelligent enough for them to develop a complicated thought like pride, while anger was worth nothing before survival. If a great battle unfolded, the winning side would lose at least half of their daemon soldiers, no matter who won. Even the lives of the leaders could be under threat.

    What kind of idiot was stupid enough to declare war? Humans? As a result, the four Daemon Generals chose to negotiate. However, their method of negotiation seemed very primitive and barbarous in the eyes of humans. There would be quite a lot of body collisions and brandishing of fangs and claws.

    Among the daemons, the four Daemon Generals of varying appearances rapidly increased their daemon qi. Suddenly, a daemon soldier from a certain side came up to report a matter frantically.

    ¡°Great king, from below, she¡¯s from below!¡±

    Before he had even finished talking, eight lantern-sized eyes suddenly lit up in the dark cave. Each eye was filled with unimaginable cruelty and viciousness.

    Under the gaze of those eyes, the daemons all trembled. Many of the large daemons who had originally been brandishing their fangs and claws now lay there, whimpering. Even the powerful Daemon Generals, enough to serve as nightmares to Qi Practitioners, showed fear. This was their nightmare.

    However, what emerged from the darkness was a frosty but beautiful madam who dragged her bright, red dress along. Her scarlet lips parted slightly as she said icily, ¡°Where¡¯s Milliped?¡±

    Liu Ruping grumbled inside about how Shi Peipei had refused to let her onto the ship. Otherwise, who knows how glorious it would have been if she returned to her clan in this great ship.

    She sat on a silken carpet. The corners of the carpet shone with glyphs as it flew along the ground. Although it flew at a very low altitude, the treacherous terrain no longer posed a problem to her.

    Just as she was wondering about what kind of greeting she would receive when she returned to the clan, a wild gust of wind suddenly blew over. Before she had even understood what had happened, a huge, invisible hand wrapped around her neck, lifting her into the air.

    Li Qingshan appeared. He gripped the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water and asked, ¡°Do you recognise this blade?¡±

    How could she not recognise it? Liu Ruping¡¯s gaze immediately became filled with fear and pleas. Suddenly, she felt the grip around her neck loosen. ¡°Y- you¡¯re Niu Juxia? Thank the heavens that you¡¯re fine. I heard the people of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain were hunting for you. It made me so worried that I couldn¡¯t even sleep for several days.¡±

    ¡°Do you still plan on denying it after everything that has happened so far?¡± If Li Qingshan had not heard what she had uttered earlier in the lobby, he might have actually been fooled by her.

    ¡°Those are just their one-sided statements. Why would I do that?¡± Liu Ruping quibbled. She seemed completely reasonable, and she shed some tears as a beauty too. It was an indescribably moving sight.

    Li Qingshan began to falter. Originally, he wanted her to die convinced, but he never expected her to deny it all. Apart from the single statement from the masked man, he did not have any evidence that proved Liu Ruping had backstabbed him.

    Liu Ruping said, ¡°As long as you spare me, I¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly mocked himself. ¡°I¡¯m not the court, so why would I need any evidence? Since you want me to die, then I¡¯ll send you off first!¡± He raised his blade, and there was a splash of blood, but before it had even reached the ground, it had melded into Xiao An¡¯s flames. All traces of her were removed.

    The more beautiful a creature was, the more thrilling it was to destroy them. Probably only humans could understand such a complicated thought. Far too many connotations would always be attaching to killing. Daemons were much simpler. Most of the time, it was just a single word, eat.

    Li Qingsahn did not want to become a deviant. Although he tried his best to make himself simpler, of course, he did not plan on eating.

    As the east brightened, Li Qingshan stopped and gazed at the grand city that stood near the mountains and by the river in the distance. After several months, he had finally returned to Jiaping city once again.

    Li Qingshan changed into the Black Wolf uniform and equipped his Wind-entwining blade, while Xiao An reverted to human form and put on a new set of clothes.

    Li Qingshan held Xiao An¡¯s hand and walked over to Jiaping city.

    After all these months, he slowed down for the first time. He strolled leisurely. The snow on the sides of the path had yet to melt, while the structures on the two sides gradually became denser and taller. There were decorations everywhere.

    It made Li Qingshan suddenly remember that it was the new year. Calculating the time, he had abandoned his old age. He had grown another year older. He was seventeen.

    The crows of roosters rose and fell as smoke began to rise from chimneys into the sky. The entire city became enveloped in a grey haze.

    What was he doing when he was seventeen in his previous life? He was still studying at school, living the dull, monotonous life of a high school student. Yet right now, he had already claimed the lives of several thousand people. He had to admit that the latter lifestyle was a little more interesting.

    Perhaps some people would sigh sorrowfully that being ordinary was reality, or perhaps they would miss the peaceful lives of their past. However, Li Qingshan had none of these feelings. He was willing to undertake even greater danger, abandon even more ethics, just in exchange for how interesting it was.

 Chapter 256 â€“ Spider Queen Lolth

    In the gloomy depths underground, the atmosphere was frozen like ice. The ice frog leapt around and explained the entire story. The atmosphere did have something to do with the coldness he naturally gave off.

    From the beginning till the end, the madam in red maintained the same expression. Her beautiful face seemed like a delicate mask, while viciousness flashed through her beautiful eyes. It was chilling.

    After hearing the entire story, she turned around and left, with her scarlet dress dragging behind her.

    A large, dark-skinned man with a long, hard beard called out, ¡°Ma¡¯am, how will we be splitting the territory?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll allocate it later. It¡¯ll be up to your performance.¡± When she said that, her lips curled up, forming an indescribably beautiful smile on her cold face. However, it also seemed like brightly-coloured venom.

    The four Daemon Generals shivered inside. They immediately decided to finish up with the negotiations of the territory and stop bickering over the minor details. Otherwise, depending on this madam¡¯s mood, their peaceful negotiation would definitely turn into a bloody slaughter, not because of any special reason, but purely because she liked it. Not only had her preference for bloodshed and brutality exceeded the survival instincts of daemons, but even humans paled in comparison.

    The ice frog said, ¡°Croak, croak. Great king Milliped isn¡¯t dead. The leader said he would return.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± she said without any doubt at all. She scanned past all the daemons, as if she wanted to engrave these two words into their hearts as a decree.

    A Daemon General who had lost his daemon core was no different from a dead one. She felt no sorrow towards this useless idiot at all. Instead, she saw an opportunity.

    ¡°I will avenge him.¡± The smile that was as brightly-coloured as venom appeared on her face again, and she melded into the darkness.

    On the Green Vine mountain, all was quiet in the main hall.

    Fu Qingjin sat with his legs crossed in the main entrance, atop the stairs. Under the moonlight, he gazed at the mountains in the distance. The Green Ruins sword was placed across his legs, quiet and still.

    He was quietly waiting for the news of the Herb Gathering ceremony to spread everywhere and ferment.

    The three elders sat close behind him. They were slightly uneasy within the dark hall.

    The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°Fellow Fu, will daemons really come for revenge?¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder rebuked, ¡°Why would those wretched daemons dare to? It was clearly them who broke the treaty and came to the surface to make trouble.¡±

    The Green Vine Elder asked, ¡°Should we take a step back and avoid them while their morale is high?¡±

    The Lone Grave Elder said, ¡°Yep!¡±

    Fu Qingjin sat with his back to them as his lips curled into a mocking smile. However, he explained patiently, ¡°I¡¯m remaining here exactly to take precautions against those situations. Look at the Daemon Suppression tablets in your hands. How can we cultivators shirk away in the face of threats from daemons?¡±

    The three elders were surprised. They lowered their heads and looked at the tiny tablet in their hands. It seemed to be made of gold, but also jade; it shone with a dim glow. Two words, Daemon Suppression, were carved on them, which made them think about three days ago.

    As soon as the battle had ended, Fu Qingjin had produced these three tablets and invited them to join the Daemon Suppression alliance. With the Sword Collection palace as the leader, they united several large orthodox sects and recruited human cultivators with lofty ambitions to purge and eliminate daemons together. Preparations were still being made for the establishment of this alliance, so the three of them would be founding members.

    The three of them happened to be experiencing extreme hatred toward the daemons, and there were many benefits that came with joining the alliance, like the Sword Collection palace sharing high level cultivation methods and secret information. And, if they did well in the daemon suppression operation, there would be spiritual artifacts and pills as rewards. Fu Qingjin had agreed to ask his higher ups to reward them for their service so far when he returned, and this reward would include rebuilding their sect. As a result, the three of them agreed immediately and accepted the tablet.

    Afterwards, Fu Qingjin just began waiting for the revenge of the daemons, while the three of them became more and more uneasy. When they clashed with Milliped, they had witnessed the terrifying strength of daemons. They did not possess the same power as Fu Qingjin. If any Daemon General blew up their daemon cores without any regard for the consequences, it would cost them their lives.

    And, why would the underground be stupid enough to send another Daemon General over just to die? Even if they came, it would be a whole group of them, which might even include stronger daemons. By then, they would not even know how they died.

    But it was already too late for regret. After joining the Daemon Suppression alliance, they would obviously be ordered about by the Daemon Suppression alliance. If they wanted to leave now, were they really planning on treating the Sword Collection palace as a joke? Before the daemons could even come for revenge, Fu Qingjin could destroy them right now. As a result, the Daemon Suppression tablet became more and more troublesome to them.

    ¡°The reinforcements of our Sword Collection palace are already on the way.¡± Fu Qingjin¡¯s next words made the three elders ease up slightly. They looked at one another and could see each other¡¯s bitterness. They could only go with this now.

    But there were no reinforcements coming at all.

    Fu Qingjin nodded. Those who wanted to achieve great things knew how to protect themselves, while those who focused on their interests alone would likely become blinded by small benefits and lose their lives in the process. There was no point in carving rotten wood.

    He remained here so that these three pieces of rotten wood could give off their remaining heat and light. With the Green Ruins sword in hand, he was confident that he could slip away even if a Daemon Commander personally appeared.

    Not only had the daemons brutally massacred the disciples of the three mountains underground, but they had also broken the treaty and emerged on the surface, making trouble and letting a massacre unfold. In the end, they were suppressed and slain by him, but this would still not be enough. Those frenzied daemons would come again very soon for revenge. They would kill the sect masters of the three mountains, while he himself would desperately flee for his life. His patience right now was mostly patience he had for people who were about to die, patience for these three ¡°martyrs¡± and ¡°victims¡±.

    This was the play that the Sword Collection palace had arranged to happen. Fu Qingjin was just the absentminded main character.

    Just like grandmasters playing chess, every single move they took possessed multiple objectives, and it would definitely be hiding a continuous string of possible reactions and responses.

    At this moment, Fu Qingjin suddenly raised his head and frowned.

    Hua Chengzan climbed up the stairs with Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian beside him.

    Fu Qingjin asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t left yet?¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°Why would I leave? The town below has closed up, so I have nowhere to go. I just happen to be planning on loitering around on the Green Vine mountain for a day or two.¡±

    ¡°You still shouldn¡¯t have come here, especially with the two of them.¡± Fu Qingjin only looked at Yu Zijian. He wanted to take her back to the Sword Collections palace once this was over, just in case something went wrong again. It was easy for him to slip away, but it would become extremely difficult if he had to protect a weaker Qi Practitioner in the process. He needed her to leave the mountain.

    Hua Chengzan observed Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression the entire time and became even more confident about his conjecture. He smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, what you¡¯re worried about won¡¯t happen.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s already here.¡± Hua Chengsan pointed at the sky.

    Fu Qingjin raised his head, but all he saw were clouds, the moon, and stars. However, he already understood what he was talking about. The Ruyi commandery was her territory. He should have known that none of this would unfold so easily.

    She moved through the caves, and the space before her suddenly lit up. It had been quite some time since she last saw moonlight, but it was right in front of her now. However, she could not help but stop. Under the moonlight, a woman in white leaned against the rocks with her hands in her sleeves.

    ¡°Gu Yanying!¡± She frowned.

    ¡°A¡¯Luo, long time no see!¡± Gu Yanying greeted her with a smile, as relaxed as running across her next-door neighbour in the morning.

 Chapter 257 â€“ The Ink Dragon Talisman

    ¡°Don¡¯t block my path.¡± The long, scarlet dress began to dance. It turned into a smear of red as Lolth directly charged out of the cave.

    With a white flash, Gu Yanying appeared right in front of her, with a few strands of her hair drifting through the air. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t oblige.¡±

    Lolth immediately turned away. In a single instant, she changed directions several hundred times, but she was blocked by the white shadow every time.

    In that instant, a smear of red light filled the cave, constantly hovering and lingering around a certain spot. However, a white shadow seemed to appear in every part of the cave at the same time, forming an impenetrable wall.

    In the blink of an eye, the two of them returned to where they were before, as if they had never moved away in the first place.

    Lolth opened her scarlet lips and spat out a strand of spider silk. It turned into a huge web in the air, enveloping Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying did not move at all. A miniature whirlwind rose up beside her, causing her clothes to flutter. Even to regular people, the whirlwind did not seem to be special. At most, it could just blow a few fallen leaves around.

    However, the spider silk that was a hundred times tougher than steel was silently ripped to shreds when it came into contact with the wind.

    ¡°Atmospheric wind!¡± Lolth¡¯s eyes narrowed, and she became even more furious. With a strange, sharp hiss, she began to undergo a startling transformation. Her long dress lifted up, and the lower half of her body turned into a black spider with sharp, long legs and a large abdomen covered in brightly-coloured streaks. It extended to the upper half of her body, and her snow-white skin darkened too as her pupils shone.

    She said with a sharp, hiss-like voice, ¡°Are you going to move or not? Don¡¯t forget, half of your blood is daemon!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°It¡¯s exactly because I¡¯m half-daemon that I¡¯m stopping you. This is the dragon king¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°The dragon king! Are you trying to frighten me with the dragon king?¡± Lolth lowered her body, such that her face was only inches away from Gu Yanying¡¯s. The two faces of absolute beauty were almost pressed together. One was bewitching and magnificent, while the other was graceful and composed.

    ¡°Everyone knows that the Hawk God and dragon king completely oppose one another!¡±

    ¡°The Hawk God is the Hawk God, while I¡¯m me. You know, daemons really should get along with each other. Oh right, he also gave me this thing.¡± Gu Yanying took out an item. It was a black, coiled dragon made of unknown material, brandishing its claws and fangs in a glorious manner.

    ¡°The Ink Dragon talisman!¡±

    ¡°What an unsophisticated name.¡± Gu Yanying curled her lip. ¡°But he did say that whoever sees this is equivalent to seeing him in person. All daemons of the Green province must obey the wielder.¡±

    ¡°Lolth, back off.¡± The Ink Dragon talisman suddenly sprang to life. It coiled around, and a dignified voice rang out, giving an order.

    Lolth shuddered and gradually shrank, turning back into human form. She lowered herself and said politely, ¡°Yes, dragon king.¡± She glanced at Gu Yanying with reluctance before turning around and vanishing into the darkness.

    Gu Yanying flicked the Ink Dragon talisman. ¡°Uncle, are you going to continue to put up with it silently?¡±

    The Ink Dragon talisman fell silent. It did not move. As a matter of fact, it just closed its eyes.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Fair enough.¡± With a flash, she vanished.

    On the top of the Green Vine mountain, Gu Yanying descended from the sky and landed on the top of the hall silently. Her hawk-like gaze landed on Fu Qingjin¡¯s back brilliantly.

    Fu Qingjin let out a long sigh and stood up. He turned around and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve troubled you, commander Gu.¡± There was not the slightest displeasure in his voice at all.

    ¡°Green Vine, Golden Pheasant, and Lone Grave greets ma¡¯am Gu.¡± The three elders eased up and greeted her in a hurry. They dared not take advantage of their seniority when it came to her.

    Yu Zijian exclaimed, ¡°So beautiful!¡±

    Hua Chenglu raised her head and thought obstinately, I¡¯d like to see just what this Gu Yanying looks like. All she saw was a woman under the brilliant moonlight, her clothes whiter than snow, her wide sleeves fluttering in the wind. Her appearance was enough to bring the world to its knees. As a woman, she could not help but sigh in amazement, but if this was all there was about her, there would be nothing impressive about her.

    Who knows just how many beauties Hua Chenglu had seen while growing up. They just had their own different merits. She had also heard how there were divine physicians who could change a person¡¯s appearance so that they could become as beautiful as they wanted to be. However, no one could match her bearing.

    Turning around, she saw Hua Chengzan with his head raised, just as expected. She suddenly remembered what he had once said, ¡°If you see her yourself, you might be able to understand me!¡± Whilst Hua Chenglu was unwilling to admit it, she could begin to understand why he would still be infatuated over her even if her appearance was nothing special!

    ¡°Little Hua, this must be your sister!¡± Gu Yanying hovered down and studied Hua Chenglu.

    Her smile was as pleasant as the spring breeze. It was difficult for Hua Chenglu to feel ill will towards her. ¡°Greetings from Chenglu, ma¡¯am Gu. My elder brother has mentioned you many times.¡±

    ¡°Knowing by repute is better than meeting face to face!¡± Gu Yanying poked fun at her.

    Hua Chenglu reddened and lowered her head. ¡°It¡¯s the other way around.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled silently. ¡°It¡¯s all the same.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You¡¯re Zijian.¡±

    ¡°You know my name, ma¡¯am?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve also heard little Hua mention you.¡± Gu Yanying studied Yu Zijian carefully. Her gaze seemed to be able to see through her completely. Yu Zijian could only be considered as somewhat talented, but she was nowhere close to being a genius. However, Gu Yanying did not doubt Hua Chengzan¡¯s judgement. Her understanding of the Sword Collection palace was much deeper than Hua Chengzan¡¯s. Her sharp instincts told her that this child would be the next master of the Violet Clouds sword.

    Gu Yanying only spoke with them, brushing aside Fu Qingjin and the three elders.

    The three elders turned red, but they were not bold enough to become angry.

    Fu Qingjin smiled by himself and lowered his hands. He did not feel awkward. Being brushed aside was a given if he made trouble for someone else.

    Gu Yanying suddenly turned her head and said to Fu Qingjin, ¡°You¡¯re not going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going right now.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to go, then go quickly. Just seeing that sword gives me a headache.¡±

    ¡°Umm.¡± Yu Zijian was powerless.

    ¡°Be good. I¡¯m not talking about you.¡±

    ¡°Before I came here, the master of the palace told me to pass on a message to commander Gu. The territory of humans and daemons only exists on a whim. You¡¯re on your own, commander, so please take care.¡± As Fu Qingjin said that, his bearing changed. His gloominess vanished, and his gaze became as sharp as a sword, giving off a stern and dignified bearing, as if he had not just passed on the master of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s message, but also his bearing.

    ¡°Help me pass on a message too. If you want to make trouble, please find somewhere else. The Green province is very large. For each day the Treaty of Kings remains in place, I will uphold it for another day. As for the matters of the future, that¡¯s something to decide on later.¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s smile vanished. Her gaze was like a hawk¡¯s as she held him off sharply.

    Although neither of them had used any spiritual energy, the people in the surroundings all felt pressured.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression loosened up, and he turned back to normal. ¡°I really can¡¯t imitate the palace master. I will definitely pass on your word, commander Gu.¡± Afterwards, he said to Yu Zijian, ¡°Lady Yu, your destiny is closely linked to the sword. Are you willing to return to the Sword Collection palace with me to practise and study the path of the sword?¡±

    His gaze was serious as he said sincerely, ¡°I came here this time not because of anything else. Just for you.¡±

    With that, the three elders were all shocked. Being a person with a destiny closely linked to the Sword Collection palace was no longer just a pie in the sky. It was basically a staircase that led to the very top in the sky. Even they were filled with envy.

    Yu Zijian, who had originally been the most inconspicuous and weakest person present, immediately became the centre of attention. She was rather flustered as her face reddened. ¡°Sorry, but I already promised Chenglu to attend the Academy of the- mmmph!¡±

    ¡°Are you stupid?¡± Hua Chenglu, who had been stunned the entire time, returned to her senses. She covered Yu Zijian¡¯s mouth. ¡°That¡¯s the Sword Collection palace, for heaven¡¯s sake!¡±

 Chapter 258 â€“ A Whim

    In the eyes of the three elders, she was not just stupid. She was as foolish as they came.

    Every year, there would be an endless stream of people who would visit the Sword Collection palace, wishing to join them. Often, there would be people who would kneel outside the palace without eating or drinking to express their devotion. As a matter of fact, there had even been people who had knelt to their deaths without being accepted by the palace.

    The Green Vine Elder added a word of advice and said, ¡°Zijian, you¡¯ve stayed on my Green Vine mountain for so long, so you can say that there has been some destiny between us. I originally wanted to teach you the secret techniques of the Green Vine mountain and groom you into the future sect master. Today, I wish to advise you from the bottom of my heart. Go to the Sword Collection palace. Both you and your family will derive endless benefits from it. Once you miss this opportunity, you¡¯ll probably regret it for the rest of your life.¡±

    He was more polite and much kinder when he said that to Yu Zijian. While he did find Yu Zijian¡¯s talent to be impressive, grooming her into the sect master had never crossed his mind. He had only said that to develop a positive relationship with her, but he was not completely lying either. Now that basically all the disciples of the Green Vine mountain had been slaughtered, he really would have given her his utmost attention if it were not for Fu Qingjin.

    Fu Qingjin said nothing. He only looked at Yu Zijian silently. He naturally gave off a dignified aura where he would order people around, or he would not have convinced the three elders so easily. It was rare of him to show such sincerity, which made him even more difficult to turn down.

    Yu Zijian lowered her head and pinched the hem of her clothing until her knuckles whitened. She was not good at rejecting the kind intentions of others. It was not that she could not see the benefits. Being able to weigh the advantages against the disadvantages was human nature. She was not slow-witted or obstinate either, where she had to go to the Academy of the Hundred Schools with Hua Chenglu just because she had promised her.

    Probably no one could have guessed her true thoughts. The fate of that stalwart figure who had saved her from danger repeatedly was still unknown, so how could she just leave here and plan ahead for her future? Even if staying in the Clear River prefecture would make no difference to his situation, at least there was a chance for her to see him again. This thought was rooted deeply in her heart.

    ¡°I support your choice!¡± Gu Yanying patted Yu Zijian¡¯s shoulder and smiled.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes narrowed. Finally, he showed displeasure for the first time.

    Yu Zijian said in a hurry, ¡°It¡¯s not abduction. I- I-¡±

    Fu Qingjin looked at her deeply before raising his head and sighing. ¡°Forget it. The time must not be right. You can stay here for now. However, I do believe there will be a day when you come to the Sword Collection palace and do what you must do.¡±

    Then he bowed towards Gu Yanying. ¡°Please take good care of her, commander Gu. Please don¡¯t let anyone hurt her.¡± He glanced past everyone else. ¡°If even a part of what happened here gets divulged, my sword won¡¯t be showing any mercy.¡±

    The Green Ruins sword thrummed within the sheath as a feeling of desolation filled the surroundings.

    The Sword Collection palace was not without enemies. Those who could serve as enemies to the Sword Collection palace would definitely be the most terrifying enemies to have. If they discovered that the next successor of the Violet Clouds sword was here, they would definitely kill her while she was still sprouting.

    The three elders were slightly dissatisfied with this. They were three Foundation Establishment cultivators, yet in Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes, they were not even as important as a girl. However, in the long run, they truly were not as important as this girl.

    Gu Yanying smiled easily. ¡°That I can guarantee.¡±

    Fu Qingjin clasped his hands again before turning into a green streak of light and taking off into the air. He vanished completely in the blink of an eye. He was never sloppy when he handled matters. He was extremely decisive.

    Gu Yanying bid farewell as well. Before she left, she said to the three elders, ¡°I can see some deathly aura on your faces. It¡¯s best if you are a little more careful in the future.¡±

    The faces of the three elders twisted. The Golden Pheasant Elder let out a dry laugh. ¡°Ma¡¯am, do you happen to know face reading?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t. I¡¯m just speaking casually. There¡¯s no need to pay any heed to it.¡±

    The four of them passed through the formation on the waist of the mountain. Cold air swept in from all directions, ruffling their clothes.

    Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu held hands and walked at the front, while Gu Yanying and Hua Chengzan fell behind. The only thing audible was how Hua Chenglu constantly scolded Yu Zijian as an idiot and a dumbass, while Yu Zijian argued back.

    Gu Yanying and Hua Chengzan looked at each other and smiled. Gu Yanying said, ¡°I¡¯ll leave these children in your care once they go to Clear River city.¡±

    Hua Chengzan looked down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, commander. I know how to handle them.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°You know, it¡¯s rude to speak without looking at the person.¡±

    Hua Chengzan raised his head in a hurry. There were a few rare slivers of fluster in his clear pupils. Gu Yanying did not directly take off, so he knew that she had something to say to him.

    However, Gu Yanying had already directed her gaze at the sky, at an obscure location that he was unable to gauge. That was where the stars existed. ¡°Fu Qingjin, heh. Just his decisiveness alone makes him worthy of being the successor of the Green Ruins sword. Out of the eighteen commanders under me, your cultivation is the lowest, but in terms of resourcefulness and meticulousness, no one can surpass you. Obviously, I don¡¯t have to worry about you, but you do lack this decisiveness. Throughout history, all people who accomplish great things possess some decisiveness.¡±

    Hua Chengsan said, ¡°I don¡¯t wish to accomplish great things.¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed .

    ¡°Today, apart from that millipede, there were two other daemons that were extraordinary. If Fu Qingjin had not interfered, the three old men would have almost been finished off.¡±

    As soon as Gu Yanying had arrived, she had only heard a simple story from Hua Chengzan about how it all unfolded. After that, she directly went to stop the Spider Queen¡¯s revenge. Hua Chengzan had already written up an extremely detailed report on what had happened during the Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains, but he had yet to submit it. He used it to change the topic of the conversation.

    ¡°Oh, how were they?¡± Gu Yanying did not care, but she still went along with the flow.

    ¡°One was extremely large, humanoid but with ox horns on his head, ox hooves on his feet, a tiger tail on his back, and scarlet hair and pupils. It should have been a hybrid among daemons. The other one was a tiny skeleton. For some reason, it demonstrated extraordinary sword techniques after entering the Green Ruins illusion.¡±

    Gu Yanying raised an eyebrow. She naturally thought of the figure that roared out in the snowstorm atop the Ice Sword cliff. Her impression of Li Qingshan was quite deep.

    Just what method did they use to contend against Foundation Establishment cultivators? According to her memory, Li Qingshan was still a daemon that had not even condensed a daemon core a year ago. It was impossible for him to be able to threaten Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    Hua Chengzan saw how it interested Gu Yanying, so he told her everything that he saw. He was skilled at talking, describing what he saw back then in vivid detail. Even the two others who had directly watched it unfold, Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian, could not help but stop and listen in. They would even interrupt him at times and add to what he said.

    Gu Yanying thought, He sure has made rapid progress. In just a single year, he has reached a level like this. In other words, the annihilation of the Qi Practitioners underground was probably due to his plan. The fact that he had managed to take this step so quickly surprised her even more than his cultivation speed.

    The master of the Sword Collection palace was right. The territory of humans and daemons only existed on a whim. However, just how many people could easily and decisively go ahead with this?

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Do you remember what happened outside Qingyang city last year?¡±

    As if the chatterbox within him had been set off, he appeared as if he had to stop his thought processes, and he went with Gu Yanying¡¯s question, speaking endlessly, ¡°Of course, I remember. Old Wang invited us to drinks. Oh right, the kid you gave a drink to is called Li Qingshan. He actually went and joined the Hawkwolf Guard¡­¡±

    Gu Yanying immediately became surprised. Originally, she thought that Li Qingshan had completely fallen into the world of daemons. She had not forgotten about the minor interaction she had with him, but she never expected it to yield something. Her expression remained the same on the surface as she listened to Hua Chengzan.

    With that, it only gave Hua Chenglu even more authority to speak. She could not help but follow up on what her brother had said, going off on a great speech about what she saw when she met Li Qingshan on the Island of Cherishing Flowers.

    He¡¯s actually practising qi. Just what is this kid thinking? Gu Yanying¡¯s interest was piqued.

    Li Qingshan wanted to go to the Academy of the Hundred Schools, the headquarters of cultivators in the Clear River province. Only there could he continue to delve deeper into the world of human cultivators. Only there could he convert the thousand or so hundred treasures pouches worth of items currently in his possession into resources that he needed. Only there would he have an opportunity to refine the spiritual herbs he had collected into pills.

    He needed to do all of this using the identity of Li Qingshan. He needed a recommendation from Zhou Wenbin.

    Of course, this would not be entirely risk free. He would not be able to avoid an investigation from the Hawkwolf Guard, but according to the information he had received from Qian Rongzhi, the Hawkwolf Guard had never treated him as a criminal and put out an order for his capture. In other words, there was a very good chance that he could fool them all.

    And, the worst-case scenario would just be a Foundation Establishment cultivator trying to kill him. Having reached the second layer of the tiger demon, he was confident that he could face off against a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if he was not their opponent, he could escape, and if it really came to that, he could just dive underground and find a hidden place to cultivate in seclusion for a couple of years.

    He was not very far off from Daemon General now. Combined with all the resources in the hundred treasures pouches, he would be able to touch on that realm within two decades at most.

    Two decades was nothing to daemons. As a matter of fact, it could be regarded as startlingly fast.

    However, he did not want to wait for twenty years. Who knew what would happen in the world after two decades. Even when disregarding everything else, the elders of the three mountains might end up dying from old age. And, just what level would Fu Qingjin¡¯s cultivation reach with the support of the Sword Collection palace?

    Li Qingshan was confident he could outlive that bastard, but there was no way he could comfort himself with that and convince himself that he had beaten him. He had to find shortcuts and advance valiantly. Many of the dangers involved were not even worth mentioning.

    Thinking up to this point, Li Qingshan finally set foot on the top of the mountain. After several months, he had returned here, but he felt like an entire lifetime had passed already. He repressed these thoughts and feelings as he strode towards his original residence to find Qian Rongzhi.

    Knocking on the door, Qian Rongzhi saw Li Qingshan and blanked out slightly, but she was not surprised. She said gently and cheerfully, ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± She was like a wife awaiting the return of her husband from a long journey, both gentle and warm. They had not been apart for a very long time, so there was not a lot of excitement, but it had not been short either. Though, they were clearly accustomed to it.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It looks like the cultivation method of the Sect of Clouds and Rain suits you very much.¡±

    Their eyes met, and they could sense each other¡¯s changes. One had become gentler, while the other had become even calmer and sharper as they walked along their paths of survival silently.

    ¡°It¡¯s so-so!¡± Qian Rongzhi turned to her side and let Li Qingshan into the house. Seeing Xiao An behind Li Qingshan, her gaze became even gentler. ¡°Xiao An is back too.¡±

 Chapter 259 â€“ A Tigerâ€™s Dignity

    Qian Rongzhi listened to Li Qingshan¡¯s plan and asked, ¡°Won¡¯t you just be walking into a trap? The greatest parlour of the Sect of Clouds and Rain is located in Clear River city. They won¡¯t spare you, nor will they spare Xiao An, unless you have Xiao An enter the Academy of the Hundred Schools too.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I intend to do. The sect might be strong, but they won¡¯t be able to directly touch me in the academy.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. With her talent, entering the Academy of the Hundred Schools should not be difficult.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°The Academy of the Hundred Schools is the foundation of the empire, so it¡¯s the last place where they¡¯ll let sects interfere. The most dangerous place also happens to be the safest. There are still a few days until the academy begins to accept students, so what are you planning to do?¡±

    ¡°Secluded cultivation,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly. He needed to use the resources in his possession to break through to a higher level. In this world, only strength served as the greatest safeguard.

    ¡°That¡¯s clever. There are special dwellings for secluded cultivation on the mountain. As long as you don¡¯t leave the mountain, the Sect of Clouds and Rain won¡¯t be able to do anything to you.¡±

    This was another reason why Li Qingshan chose to return to the Hawkwolf Guard. The human world was different from the daemon world, and the laws were much more complicated. Having lost Milliped¡¯s protection, the Hawkwolf Guard would be much safer than underground.

    It was completely possible for Li Qingshan to go from somewhere safe to another safe place and avoid conflict with the Sect of Clouds and Rain altogether until he possessed enough power. However, that was only if he could gain a footing on the mountain.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°Leave that up to me. I¡¯m technically a commander right now, after all!¡±

    Temporarily leaving Xiao An in the residence, Qian Rongzhi tidied herself slightly in front of the mirror. Without putting on any cosmetics, she took Li Qingshan to see the current Black Hawk commander.

    Li Qingshan felt that Qian Rongzhi¡¯s transformation was no smaller than his own. She had completely lost her flirtatiousness, as well as the arrogant temperament of a young miss she displayed when he first met her. It was as if she had ascended from vulgarity, becoming dignified and simple but elegant.

    However, calling this transformation an internal change would be taking it too far. It was more like putting on a new disguise to adapt to the new environment. Because of the Method of Clouds and Rain, this disguise had become even more difficult to see through, and her thoughts were now hidden deeper too. In her hands, she had managed to completely unleash the value of the arts of charm. It was nowhere near as simple as seducing men.

    While he disliked this woman, he had to admit that she was basically one of ¡°the cleverest¡±. Once a person like that had believed in something, it was basically impossible for them to change their minds.

    It just happened to be early in the morning right now. A few Hawkwolf guards emerged from their residences to go eat breakfast.

    Li Qingshan discovered that he was familiar with most of them. Qian Rongzhi introduced, ¡°After you left, we held another large-scale recruitment process to fill in the empty spaces. It was very intense, so it is a pity that you couldn¡¯t see it for yourself. Though, it¡¯s not like you lack spectacles like that.¡±

    ¡°Good morning, commander!¡± Some of the newcomers greeted Qian Rongzhi enthusiastically when they saw her. Seeing Li Qingshan beside her, they were all rather surprised. This young man was also a Black Wolf guard, so why had they never seen him before? What was his relationship with the commander?

    On the other hand, the few who did recognise Li Qingshan reacted much more violently. Their eyes widened as their mouths dropped. The two commanders of Jiaping city, along with a group of elite Hawkwolf guards, had basically been annihilated, and it all traced back to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± Qian Rongzhi replied with a smile. She was gentle like an elder sister of the neighbourhood, such that she gave off a good impression as soon as people saw her. They could not help but develop some respect for her.

    Li Qingshan felt like even if he told these people about Qian Rongzhi¡¯s viciousness, none of them would believe it. It made him think of a saying. People who actually hid their thoughts well would never appear like they were good at hiding their thoughts. As a matter of fact, they would appear to be even gentler than regular people.

    Zhuo Zhibo completely paled in comparison to her in this aspect. When a venomous snake hid its venomous fangs, or even the fact that it was a venomous snake, it would be when it was the most terrifying.

    ¡°Commander, who¡¯s this kid?¡±

    At this moment, a group of four or five Black Wolf guards blocked the way. They were brimming with hostility. The leader was a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, around thirty years of age. He had a fearsome appearance and was extremely ugly. He studied Li Qingshan curiously.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°This is your senior.¡±

    ¡°Hah. He¡¯s still wet behind the ears, and he¡¯s my senior? We sure have a lot of seniors, including a woman and a child. The position befitting women is beneath men!¡±

    The ugly man and the Black Wolf guards around him roared with laughter.

    Li Qingshan originally thought they had nothing better to do and were just trying to fight for Qian Rongzhi¡¯s favour, but at a closer glance, he realised that they had come for Qian Rongzhi. The ugly leader was also a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, so he probably was not particularly happy with Qian Rongzhi as his commanding officer.

    Li Qingshan had guessed correctly. In order to fill up the ranks of the Hawkwolf Guard quickly, they had loosened the standard in the recruitment process this time. They accepted all sorts of people, so it was impossible to avoid both the good and the bad. This ugly man was not an easy nut to crack. He originated from a tiny sect and gathered a group of his seniors and juniors who specially targeted Qi Practitioners to kill. They never touched regular people, which was why they had not made it onto the blacklist.

    He was a fifth layer Qi Practitioner just like Qian Rongzhi. He personally believed he had spent plenty of time and effort on cultivation, and he had the support of his seniors and juniors too, so why would he be willing to remain below Qian Rongzhi? As a result, he provoked her many times to disrupt her authority.

    Qian Rongzhi frowned slightly. She seemed both pitiful and helpless. The Black Wolf guards who walked passed all showed displeasure, but they were afraid of speaking up. They all sighed inside over how she was just too soft-hearted.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her. ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t managed to win everyone over with the recruitment this time.¡±

    If a person was just too good at enduring abuse and disguising their emotions, some people would find them weak and also an easy target. Nothing could be done about this.

    The ugly man pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°Kid, you hang with us!¡± Originally, he planned on recruiting people as soon as he joined the Hawkwolf Guard; he wanted to pull all the newcomers to his side. However, while this damn woman was weak, she knew how to win over people, so a lot of people ended up detesting him instead. He had to do her properly sooner or later.

    Suddenly, he saw how Li Qingshan was quite powerful, a fourth layer Qi Practitioner. Moreover, he was young, so he was easy to control. As such, he wanted to rope him in.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Piss off.¡±

    ¡°Brother, this kid doesn¡¯t know how to appreciate kindness.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡±

    The ugly man lost his temper too. He spat out a few threats before suddenly meeting Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. The blazing anger in his heart suddenly cooled off. What kind of eyes were they? As they looked at him, it did not seem like they were looking at something alive. He began to perspire for some reason.

    Who knew how many Qi Practitioners below the sixth layer Li Qingshan had killed. When he was underground, he even broke his own limit and started a massacre. Looking at these people now, they seemed no different from livestock. If he were in the wilderness, he would not even bother with telling them to piss off. He would just kill them all.

    There was no need for him to purposefully display his murderousness. This aura arose naturally, stunning and frightening the enemy.

    Qian Rongzhi was extremely skilled at observing and reading the minds of people. She trembled slightly. He was becoming more and more terrifying. She had to be even more careful in the future. Just what had he gone through in the past few months?

 Chapter 260 â€“ Reunion of the Three

    From the instincts he had developed through many years of killing and robbing, he could feel that this young man was a difficult person to deal with. Seeing how his senior and junior brothers still howled on around him, even rubbing their fists wanting to get a piece of the action, he growled, ¡°All of you shut up!¡± He asked cautiously, ¡°May I be honoured to know your name, sir?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan said to Qian Rongzhi before directly striding away, acting like they did not exist. The ugly man¡¯s expression changed a few times. When Li Qingshan almost walked into him, he dodged to the side and just watched as Qian Rongzhi left with him. He quietly gulped.

    ¡°Big brother!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t provoke him. This person is very dangerous.¡± The ugly man looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s back. If this young man was the Black Wolf commander, he would never even consider challenging him. Now that this woman had obtained a helper like him, she would be difficult to deal with.

    In the main office, Fang Enshang pushed aside the curtains, tidied his desk, and prepared some water for his ink. He was about to get to work. He was still full of enthusiasm towards this job. Hearing the footsteps, he raised his head. ¡°Oh Rongzhi, you¡¯re here. Who¡¯s this?¡±

    This was the second time Li Qingshan had met Fang Enshang. Back then in the Quiet Spring valley, a slaughter would have definitely unfolded if it had not been for Fang Enshang¡¯s mediation. He had quite a good impression of him.

    Qian Rongzhi introduced them to each other. Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Greetings to the commander from your subordinate, Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re Li Qingshan.¡± Fan Enshang looked at this young man who stood tall. He studied him up and down, as if he did not believe that this was the Tiger Butcher who had killed countless. He could not help but ask what he was wondering, ¡°Where have you been during this period of time?¡±

    Li Qingshan stated the excuse that he had already prepared patiently. Most of it was true, but there were some lies as well. He admitted to the fact that Zhuo Zhibo had been scheming against him, which forced him to flee underground. As he fled for his life, he alarmed a powerful daemon underground, and Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s entire group was wiped out. Only he managed to escape.

    Apart from the fact that Li Qingshan was the daemon, there were basically no lies in that story.

    Qian Rongzhi would chime in and add to his story whenever it was suitable. With how crafty and resourceful she was, she had been on extremely harmonious terms with Fang Enshang over the past few months. She also gained a deep understanding of his character, which she would cleverly use to control his thoughts.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I parted ways there with the vice commander. The vice commander might not have believed me and ventured underground as well.¡±

    ¡°Then why have you only just returned?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°That¡¯s actually something everyone knows about. Because of the child by his side, Li Qingshan offended the Sect of Clouds and Rain. For this matter, the vice sect master and four grannies of the Sect of Clouds and Rain had all come to Jiaping city. If I hadn¡¯t contacted him in time to tell him to flee, he would be dead already.¡±

    Fang Enshang slammed the table. ¡°How dare they!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I know the Sect of Clouds and Rain is powerful. I¡¯ve returned this time because I want to enter secluded cultivation on the mountain for a period of time. Thanks to district magistrate Zhou¡¯s good graces, he agreed to give me a recommendation to the Academy of the Hundred Schools. As long as I go to the academy, even the Sect of Clouds and Rain should have second thoughts about touching me!¡±

    Fang Enshang patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you remain in the Hawkwolf Guard here, no one will be able to touch you. Once you make it to the Academy of the Hundred Schools, it¡¯s even more impossible for these sects to act as they please. Our Hawkwolf Guard is not one for others to walk all over!¡±

    He was so sincere that he made Li Qingshan feel rather embarrassed about lying to him. In the end, Li Qingshan handed over the Zombie Daoist¡¯s head and completed the mission, earning him over ten thousand points of contribution.

    The Qi Gathering pills or spiritual stones that could be exchanged for using the contribution no longer interested Li Qingshan. However, using the dwellings on the mountain for seclusion also cost contribution, and it was not cheap either. A single day was fifty points of contribution.

    Qian Rongzhi brought Li Qingshan to the place for secluded cultivation, which was a large, stone cave dug out from the mountain.

    Li Qingshan could sense that the spiritual qi inside was denser than outside, just as expected. There was no furniture inside, just a huge formation carved into the ground.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°This is a Spirit Gathering formation, but activating it will cost you additional spiritual stones.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the formation. Sure enough, there were several grooves. He nodded and thought, What a clever design.

    Qian Rongzhi placed her hand on a round disc on the wall, channelling in true qi and turning it gently. A huge piece of rock slid over loudly.

    ¡°Once this stone door is sealed, you can only open it from the inside. If you want to open it from the outside, you¡¯d need to tear it open forcefully. I think even the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain isn¡¯t bold enough to do something like that.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. The entire Hawkwolf Guard would never allow something like that to occur. He took out a pill from his hundred treasures pouch and passed it to Qian Rongzhi. ¡°If anything unexpected happens outside while I¡¯m in seclusion, I¡¯ll have to trouble you with handling it. If there are any dangers, I¡¯ll have to trouble you with reminding me too.¡±

    While those lies were enough to fool Fang Enshang, Fang Enshang was not the one to make any decisions with regard to the deaths of the two commanders and a group of Hawkwolf guards. He would have to report this to his higher-ups. Although there should not be any major issues according to Qian Rongzhi¡¯s analysis, he just was taking precautions with this.

    ¡°A Sea of Qi pill!¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Sea of Qi pills were crucial pills for Qi Practitioners to break through to the sixth layer. It could assist the Qi Practitioner in condensing a sea of qi, so it truly was quite precious. However, Li Qingshan had found almost a hundred of them from all the hundred treasures pouches in his possession, so giving one away was nothing to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten my hands on one. With this one, it¡¯ll increase my chances by thirty percent.¡± Qian Rongzhi accepted the pill, but she did not speak any words of gratitude.

    This was their relationship. It was clear cut, where neither of them owed each other anything. They simply made use of one another without any efforts to hide their intentions. There were no meaningless interactions. They would not even say an additional word to each other when there was no need to.

    At this moment, there was a thump, and the huge, stone door closed, plunging the cave into darkness.

    Qian Rongzhi became extremely relaxed too. In this space that was sealed off from the world, her expression and bearing underwent a wondrous transformation. Her gentleness and kindness vanished, while a bone-chilling sensation filled Li Qingshan once again.

    She was like a snake about to eat a person. Dim, cold light flashed through her eyes as she pursed her lips. She smiled. ¡°Looks I can use the medicinal enhancers I¡¯ve kept around now.¡±

    The ugly man and his companions were the medicinal enhancers she had prepared for her breakthrough to the sixth layer. They could provide large quantities of true qi at crucial times.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He turned the mechanism. As the stone door opened again and light landed on her face, it was like magic. Wherever the light reached, her expression would change slightly, and when the light engulfed her completely, she had recovered her image as a gentle and kind elder sister.

    Li Qingshan felt that compared to him, she was more like those demons and daemons of the legends.

    The light cast a long shadow in the cave. Li Qingshan looked at the owner of the shadow. ¡°Diao Fei?¡±

    Diao Fei faltered. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve returned.¡± His cultivation had already reached the fourth layer. Although he had not improved as quickly as Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi after they had joined the Hawkwolf Guard, he had not been wasting his time either.

 Chapter 261 â€“ The Fifth Layer

    Below the mountain, they ordered a few side dishes, three bowls of congee, and a few steamers of steamed buns at a breakfast stall.

    Originally, Diao Fei wanted to go to a restaurant, but Li Qingshan said, ¡°Morning is not the time to drink.¡± As a result, they came here.

    With three Hawkwolf guards seated, no one else dared to set foot into this place anymore, while the people originally there dispersed in a hurry. Only when Diao Fei tossed out ten taels of silver did the boss¡¯s bitter expression ease up.

    Xiao An had her head lowered as she ate a steam bun. Diao Fei faltered. ¡°How old is she?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If you have something to say, you¡¯re welcome to cut right to the chase!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi helped Xiao An to another steamed bun and smiled too. ¡°So why are you looking for me? We¡¯re all familiar with each other, so there¡¯s no need to hold back. You can just tell me what you need.¡±

    Diao Fei stifled his voice. ¡°Did you know that the disciples of the three mountains have all died underground?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Everyone in the Clear River prefecture knows about that.¡± However, everyone was focused on how the disciple of the Sword Collection palace had appeared and killed a Daemon General, so this matter actually did not receive much attention. The decline of three small sects was nothing compared to the turmoil of the entire world.

    Diao Fei sighed heavily. ¡°You know, I¡¯m technically a disciple of the Green Vine mountain too.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then I need to congratulate you on avoiding a disaster.¡±

    ¡°Curses and blessings come hand in hand. Who knows which is what.¡± Diao Fei¡¯s eyes became lost. He had been squeezed out of the sect in the past, which was why he had joined the Hawkwolf Guard. Originally, he wanted to focus on cultivation and find an opportunity for revenge, but the people who had squeezed him out were all dead now.

    In just a single day, his grievances had turned into nothing. Diao Fei had also received a letter personally penned by the Green Vine Elder, who requested him to come back to the Green Vine mountain.

    Li Qingshan understood what he meant by curses and blessings coming hand in hand. All the disciples of the Green Vine mountain were dead, so they obviously had to gather the disciples scattered outside. There were not a lot of disciples like that, but they would immediately go from outcasts to core figures of the sect.

    Although most of the disciples of the Green Vine mountain were dead, their foundation and resources remained. When the resources of an entire sect were concentrated on these few core figures, the benefits would be tremendous. At the very least, it would be better than staying in the Hawkwolf Guard. However, just what kind of place was the Hawkwolf Guard? It definitely was not one where people could come and go as they wished. He needed to plead with the vice commander, Qian Rongzhi.

    Diao Fei knew he needed to back up what he said, so he had already prepared a bribe. He glanced at Li Qingshan, hesitating over whether to take it out before him or not.

    ¡°I need to pay a visit to the government office, so I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± Li Qingshan immediately stood up and lifted up Xiao An, making his way out the door.

    At the back of the government office, Zhou Wenbin was strolling through the garden as the caretaker reported, ¡°Sir, Li Qingshan is waiting outside, wishing to see you.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin said, ¡°Welcome him in!¡± As Li Qingshan strode over, Zhou Wenbin became slightly surprised inside. Li Qingshan seemed to have changed in these few months. He had gone from the third layer to the fourth layer, but just describing it as rapid progress in cultivation did not seem to be sufficient. He seemed to have developed a frightening bearing.

    ¡°Greetings, sir.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin returned the greeting in a hurry. He no longer dared to consider himself a senior or sir to Li Qingshan anymore.

    Li Qingshan stated his reason for visiting and Zhou Wenbin agreed to it, guaranteeing him that it would be no problem.

    Satisfied with that, he caught up slightly with Zhou Wenbin before turning down Zhou Wenbin¡¯s urgings to stay a little longer, bidding farewell and leaving.

    After he left, Zhou Wenbin sighed gently. ¡°He truly isn¡¯t someone who would be satisfied with dwelling in a small pond!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the mountain. He did not run into Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei again. He directly entered the dwelling, turning the stone disc and closing the door.

    Exhaling gently, Li Qingshan took out over a dozen spiritual stones and placed them in the grooves of the Spirit Gathering formation. The lines engraved in the rock immediately lit up, and spiritual qi rapidly gathered into the formation. The densest part was the centre of the formation.

    Li Qingshan handed a few things over to Xiao An, reminding her to feed Milliped regularly.

    Afterwards, he sat down at the centre of the formation and began practising qi, urging on the flow of true qi through his body.

    Since he had returned to human society, his cultivation as a Qi Practitioner was very important. Once he went to the Academy of the Hundred Schools, there would probably be many Foundation Establishment cultivators there, so he could not always rely on transforming to kill his opponent. Even if he left behind no traces, it would still raise suspicion as time went on. And, there would be less trouble if his cultivation was higher.

    Li Qingshan placed most of his attention on practising qi this time.

    However, that did not mean Li Qingshan had stopped his daemon cultivation. Daemon cultivation was just much simpler than practising qi. All it required were large amounts of resources, and right now, the last thing that Li Qingshan lacked was pills.

    The hundred treasures pouches, over a thousand of them, had provided Li Qingshan with a tremendous quantity of various pills. It would be enough to sustain his cultivation for several months at the very least.

    He took out a handful of Qi Gathering pills first. Even on the lower end of the scale, there would be several hundred of them. He then shoved it all into his mouth. As soon as they reached his belly, it would be surrounded by a layer of daemon qi as flexible and as tough as flowing water. The daemon core in him would bob up and down, gradually transforming the pills into daemon qi.

    As his daemon body had grown stronger and stronger, dissolving and absorbing several hundred Qi Gathering pills no longer caused him a particularly great burden. This process was like a person who had just eaten a meal, and they were slowly digesting it now. It did not affect his other actions.

    Li Qingshan took out the jade slip and carefully looked through the mental cultivation method of the fifth layer of the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. His mind then began to rapidly sink, sinking into a boundless sea. This was Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness. Before long, he had entered a meditative trance.

    He began to use the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi as the spiritual qi gathered by the Spirit Gathering formation surged into Li Qingshan¡¯s body, rapidly being converted into true qi. He was pushing for the Yin Linking meridian.

    A visible haze of light rose up from Li Qingshan¡¯s body. At a closer glance, the haze of light did not disperse into the surroundings. Instead, it gathered towards his body. This was something that only appeared when spiritual qi had reached a certain density.

    Li Qingshan could not help but admire the cleverness of human cultivators. Although this tiny Spirit Gathering formation was not as great as Milliped¡¯s bed of spiritual stone, the effects were almost the same.

    Qi Practitioners were not suited for directly absorbing the spiritual qi in spiritual stones for cultivation, but they could use spiritual stones to power formations to gather the spiritual qi of the world before seemingly processing it, making it suitable for absorption.

    Extremely pure Gui Water true qi surged like the tide, constantly churning towards the Zhubin acupoint. This was the beginning of the Yin Linking meridian.

    The Zhubin acupoint opened and true qi entered the Fushe acupoint. After the Fushe acupoint opened too, the true qi smashed through the Chongmen acupoint, reaching the Daheng acupoint on the waist.

    Reaching there, the true qi should have been depleted, but spiritual qi flowed in violently, almost pushing the true qi forward.

    The Daheng, Fuai, Qimen, and Tiantu acupoints opened one by one, reaching the final acupoint on the throat, the Lianquan acupoint.

    Li Qingshan shuddered, and his true qi flowed smoothly. The Yin Linking meridian was open now. He had finally reached the fifth layer.

    The entire process was smoother than he had expected. Now, the Yang Heel, Yin Heel, Yang Linking, and Yin Linking meridians were all opened. Li Qingshan¡¯s four yin and yang meridians were open and connected, allowing true qi to flow through them endlessly. He felt his body grow lighter.

    It felt extremely similar to ascending to a soaring immortal described by regular people. However, Li Qingshan knew that this was just a feeling. If he actually wanted to fly, it would not be so easy.

    However, this goal was not far off either.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. Three days had already passed, while the several hundred Qi Gathering pills in his belly had all been digested. The spiritual stones in the Spirit Gathering formation had dimmed, almost running out of spiritual qi.

    Xiao An sat facing a wall, as if she was cultivating too. She had devoured a large quantity of flesh and blood underground. Qi Practitioners could not be compared to regular people. The vitality and essence they possessed was enough to rival ten or even a hundred regular people. She used this opportunity to refine this energy.

    Li Qingshan did not disturb her either. He quickly peered into his body, sensing the raging flows of true qi. He tried to make the true qi gather in his dantian, and they coalesced like a sea of qi, but the true qi would return to the meridians as soon as he lost focus.

    Yes. Li Qingshan wanted to use the secluded cultivation this time to break through to the sixth layer in a single stroke and split open a sea of qi. By then, he would be able to use all the spiritual artifacts in the hundred treasures pouches in his possession. He would actually be able to control artifacts.

    And, his speed and strength would definitely grow drastically as well. Even without transforming, he would be able to fight any Qi Practitioner.

    However, according to the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, the first five layers of practising qi were regarded as easy. It would become more and more difficult from the sixth layer and onwards. Opening the Conception, Governing, Penetrating, and Girdle meridians would not be easy. It could not be achieved with just an endless supply of true qi and recklessly smashing through acupoints.

    It would involve using the sea of qi as a foundation and balancing the four yin and yang meridians, using an extremely complicated and delicate method. Opening the Girdle meridian would be the most difficult. Apart from being difficult to open in the first place, it was directly related to the sea of qi.

    The Girdle meridian was just like what its name suggested. It was like a girdle, wrapping around the waist. It was the only horizontal meridian within the human body, and it was for controlling and binding all the other meridians.

    The dantian happened to be surrounded by it. It was exactly because of this controlling and binding effect that the person would be able to gather all the true qi in their meridians and condense a sea of qi. The process of opening the Girdle meridian required great caution, as the slightest carelessness could lead to the risk of suffering from cultivation deviation and harming the meridians.

    However, there was a good piece of news too. The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi was the easiest for condensing a sea of qi. Gui Water true qi was relatively gentler and milder, making it difficult to suffer from cultivation deviation. However, the process still required caution.

    Li Qingshan also understood the principle that haste was less speed. He had only just reached the fifth layer, so he needed some time to consolidate his cultivation. He was in no hurry either. He had plenty of time for secluded cultivation anyway.

    After cultivating for a while longer and depleting the spiritual qi in the spiritual stones, he removed them and replaced them with new ones, reactivating the Spirit Gathering formation.

    At the same time, he shoved another handful of pills into his mouth.

    Li Qingshan contemplated for a while before taking out the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi again and studying the techniques it contained.

    Water elemented techniques were not as great at killing as metal or fire, nor were they as great at ensnaring as earth or wood. They were primarily auxiliary.

    For example, there was a Water Mirror technique that allowed the user to spy on the surroundings, giving them utmost perception. The higher the cultivation of the user, the greater the range of the technique.

    The Invisibility technique also happened to be of the water element. It was an extremely powerful technique. The effect of invisibility would grow stronger with cultivation. In the beginning, it could only turn the user into a hazy mist, which was perceptible with the naked eye. However, as long as the user reached a high enough cultivation, they could truly achieve invisibility.

 Chapter 262 â€“ Cloud Riding and Mist Wielding

    As for those Water Arrow techniques and Water Prison techniques, Li Qingshan had not even considered them. He was not lacking in terms of attacks.

    Finally, his gaze landed on two images. Every single technique had a simple image like that.

    One of the images depicted a cultivator standing on a thin, white cloud, while the other image depicted a cultivator surrounded with churning mist as if he was accelerating forwards.

    What he wanted to learn right now was the Cloud Riding technique and the Mist Wielding technique.

    These two techniques were both interlinked and independent of one another.

    The Cloud Riding technique focused on hovering vertically, but it was not even as fast as a horse, while the Mist Wielding technique focused on movement, but it was restricted to flying along the ground. With the two combined, the user could ride clouds and wield mist, allowing them to fly freely through the air.

    He did not have any particular reason for this. Flight was the dream of all people, and Li Qingsahn was no exception. And, the value of flight in battle was self-explanatory.

    When he emerged from seclusion, he could directly fly into the sky and use the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility to hide himself. By then, even Foundation Establishment cultivators would struggle to find him in the expansive sky.

    And, learning techniques could deepen his control over Gui Water true qi and consolidate his cultivation.

    He did what he wanted to do and immediately began to study it. In the sealed room, Li Qingshan formed seals with his hands as he steadied his breath and controlled his heart. A white cloud began to gather in his hand.

    In another dwelling for secluded cultivation, Qian Rongzhi began her own cultivation.

    Diao Fei watched as the stone door closed slowly with a mixed expression. Qian Rongzhi waved at him with a smile. ¡°I hope you have a safe trip back.¡± In the very depths of the stone cave were a pile of black bags. The items in there were round and even seemed to be moving, with fresh blood slowly oozing out. They should have been out right now, carrying out a mission.

    The smile that could be regarded as gentle and kind instead made Diao Fei shiver inside. Qian Rongzhi did not accept any bribes from him. Instead, she only requested him to help her with something ¡°small¡±. He had wandered the world for many years now, and he had never been soft-hearted when it came to killing people, but compared to how this woman killed people, he seemed as simple and cute as a child.

    These people would vanish from the world forever, and no one would even suspect her.

    The stone door closed loudly, and Diao Fei left eagerly, like he was running away from something terrifying. With Qian Rongzhi¡¯s assistance, he managed to place his post in the Hawkwolf Guard on hold, allowing him to return to the Green Vine mountain to cultivate.

    Whenever he wondered about whether she would come for him after learning about her secret, he would struggle to find peace. Fortunately, he could finally return now.

    The horse galloped for several days, and Diao Fei returned to the Green Vine mountain once more. Compared to its past prosperity, it seemed particularly quiet and lonely now.

    Arriving in the main hall, the Green Vine Elder personally received him and gave him a few words of encouragement in an amicable manner. However, Diao Fei had already been through and seen too much of life, so his heart did not rile up over just a few words. He only put on an act that he was moved to tears out of gratitude.

    Apart from him, there were a few other men and women he was not too familiar with. Some seemed slightly familiar, while he was completely unfamiliar with the others. However, none of them had a particularly high cultivation. With his cultivation at the fourth layer, he actually ranked third out of them.

    They had all been elevated to internal disciples, and they were each allocated a position in the sect. Every single one of them were easy jobs that they could never get their hands on no matter how hard they tried in the past, but now, there were almost not enough people for all of these jobs. The resources and treatment that came with the jobs could almost rival what the first senior brother received in the past.

    Diao Fei had been allocated the job of managing and guiding new disciples and their rudimentary cultivation method. This job seemed nothing special, but it was the most prestigious.

    The Green Vine Elder gave them a few words of advice before returning to where he cultivated. The remaining disciples of the Green Vine mountain all greeted one another.

    One of them was a man with a stubble. He stepped up and said, ¡°I¡¯m Yu Shukuang. Greetings, senior brother Diao.¡± Looking around and seeing how there was no one around, he stifled his voice. ¡°Senior brother Diao, I heard you recently returned from the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city, right?¡±

    Diao Fei frowned slightly. Serving as the hawks and hounds of the government was not well-received within sects. He had basically touched on Diao Fei¡¯s sore spot, but Diao Fei still affirmed the answer.

    Yu Shukuang asked, ¡°Then, are you familiar with Li Qingshan?¡±

    Diao Fei immediately became afraid to cold-shoulder him. ¡°You know him?¡±

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know the great name of the Tiger Butcher?¡± Seeing how Diao Fei did not believe him, he added, ¡°You can say that I¡¯ve met him once.¡±

    There was no point in hiding anything, so Diao Fei told him about Li Qingshan¡¯s return.

    Yu Shukuang seemed like a coarse person, but he was very quick-witted and careful. He maintained a neutral expression and naturally changed the topic of the conversation, going on about the daughter he took pride in.

    However, he sighed gently inside. In the past, Liu Fengrui had placed the Proud Sword manor under the Green Vine mountain¡¯s governance, so as the lord of the manor, he was basically half a member of the Green Vine mountain. However, the reason why he could come to the Green Vine mountain was all thanks to Yu Zijian.

    After learning that Yu Zijian had a tremendously bright future ahead of her, the Green Vine Elder wanted to establish a positive relationship with her, which was why Yu Shukuang went from half a member of the Green Vine mountain to a full member of the Green Vine mountain, and an internal disciple at that.

    Originally, not a single sect would be willing to accept an adult like him. No matter how much the Green Vine mountain had declined, the Green Vine Elder would still much rather start with babies. Why would an experienced member of the jianghu like Yu Shukuang display any loyalty to sects?

    Apart from being grateful in general, the main reason why he asked about Li Qingshan was because of Yu Zijian. Yu Zijian had returned safely from the Green Vine mountain and told her father about everything that had happened.

    Although Yu Shukuang found that it was quite the pity for Yu Zijian to turn down the Sword Collection palace¡¯s invitation, he still felt he had been quite lucky this year, so he held a great celebration in the manor. However, Yu Zijian always seemed to be in thought, becoming much quieter. She was no longer as lively as she was in the past. Yu Shukuang could not help but lament over how her daughter had grown up.

    Before he came to the Green Vine mountain, Yu Zijian asked him to watch out for a certain person with great seriousness. This person was obviously ¡°Niu Juxia¡± who had fallen silent after the Herb Gathering ceremony.

    Yu Shukuang obviously knew who Niu Juxia was, so he leapt in fright. Surely he had not stolen his daughter¡¯s heart, right? However, looking at Yu Zijian, she did not seem like a young girl falling in love for the first time either, so he added something.

    ¡°Under these circumstances, he¡¯s probably already¡­. What are you going to do?¡± He was afraid she would say something along the lines of mourning for the rest of her life, never to fall in love again, or dying for love.

    Yu Zijian lowered her head in silence for quite a while before answering, ¡°I will definitely avenge him!¡±

    The determination in her words made him wonder whether the person before him was still his daughter. He could not help but sigh inside, Zi¡¯er, oh Zi¡¯er, it seems like our daughter really isn¡¯t as gentle as you.

    Now that he had learnt that Li Qingshan had returned safely, he felt pained once again. How was he supposed to contact her?

    Diao Fei said suddenly, ¡°Li Qingshan is going to the Academy of the Hundred Schools to study soon. Perhaps he¡¯ll be a fellow student of your daughter.¡±

    Yu Shukuang was surprised inside, which was followed up with a bitter smile. As it seemed, there was no need for him to be pained over this. Though, was there really some destiny between them? Hopefully it was nothing bad.

    ¡°Li Qingshan is back.¡± Hua Chengzan tossed a document before Wang Pushi.

    It was Fang Enshang¡¯s report. Not only did it have Li Qingshan¡¯s explanation of the case on Zhuo Zhibo¡¯s death, but it also detailed Fang Enshang¡¯s praise for him as well as a personal recommendation for Li Qingshan to join the school of Legalism.

    This was not solely due to Qian Rongzhi. Li Qingshan had swept through several dozen older cases as soon as he had joined the Hawkwolf Guard, and he had brought back the head of the most wanted criminal on the blacklist, the Zombie Daoist, with the assistance of the disciples of mohism. He was truly capable. Although he was a little fierce, it matched the stern spirit of legalism to uphold the laws.

    Wang Pushi saw and became slightly angered. ¡°He¡¯s actually bold enough to return. Does he really take us for idiots who can¡¯t see through his tricks? Little Fang is far too inexperienced with the world. He has no idea about how vile human nature can get.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Old Wang, don¡¯t get taken away by your first impression of him. Enshan has been telling the truth. You can definitely call Li Qingshan capable when it comes to the job, and he cultivates extremely quickly too. He¡¯s quite a rare talent. He can expand the prestige and renown of our school of Legalism.¡±

    Wang Pushi glanced at him in surprise. ¡°Why do you have such a favourable impression of him all of a sudden? Forget it, let¡¯s just go with that then. I can¡¯t afford to be bothered by this kid. Destroying the remnants of the White Lotus cult is what¡¯s important.¡± With that, he left in a hurry.

    Hua Chengzan looked out the window. The winter snow had begun to melt, and the creatures were beginning to awaken. He did not tell Wang Pushi the real reason.

    Back then on the Green Vine mountain, before Gu Yanying had left, she casually said, ¡°If you meet him again in the future, feel free to keep an eye out for him and take care of him. After all, he¡¯s still a person I¡¯ve given guidance to.¡±

    How could he not pay heed to something she had said? It was inappropriate to tell Wang Pushi this in the first place, or it would earn him quite the scolding.

    As for the young man who was bold enough to directly ogle her, he was rather interested too, but it was impossible for him to feel any jealousy. Over all these years, who knew how many people she had given guidance to.

    On the way back to Clear River city, Hua Chenglu said something to him that he believed to be the most mature thing she had said over all these years, ¡°Brother, you¡¯d better give up. She¡¯s not someone I can imagine falling deeply in love with a man.¡±

    Hua Chengzan could only smile even more bitterly after smiling bitterly. He could not imagine that either. She was as graceful and unrestrained as the wind, and she never demonstrated any emotions, whether it be joy, anger, or sorrow. Even now, he still could not see through her thoughts. She could be as gentle as the spring breeze or as cold as the frigid winds. She was just as unpredictable as the wind. Since she was the wind, why would she remain tethered to someone¡¯s bosom?

    Xiao An opened her eyes after rousing from meditation. She had condensed a third Skull Prayer Bead in her hand.

    Soon afterwards, she heard Li Qingshan¡¯s eager voice. ¡°Look, Xiao An. I can fly.¡±

    Xiao An looked over and burst out in laughter. Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed and his hands in seals as white clouds appeared from beneath him, lifting him from the ground. However, he was only a foot off the ground, and he even tottered about. He was nowhere close to flying.

    Li Qingshan was not embarrassed. He chortled and said, ¡°This is the first step of a long journey. Just you wait for the day I fly beyond the Nine Heavens!¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s gaze became gentle. ¡°Together.¡±

 Chapter 263 â€“ To the Academy of the Hundred Schools

    For the past few days, Li Qingshan had focused on studying the techniques. He had managed to gain a basic grasp over the Cloud Riding technique in just a few days. Although he still could not ¡°fly¡±, he had already made it past the basics, so all he needed was practice now.

    This was not because of how great he was at comprehension, but the fact that his affinity with water among the five elements was extremely high. In particular, his true qi was extremely pure. When he used techniques, his advantage would be on full display. He could control true qi as he wished. It was like a group of elite soldiers under strict orders, able to move according to their commander¡¯s wishes and fall into various formations without the slightest disorder. These various formations were the crux to using the technique.

    Then, Li Qingshan switched to the Mist Wielding technique. In just a few days, the entire cave became filled with clouds of mist, while Li Qingshan circled around and flew through the cave like he was going for a space walk.

    As long as he could combine these two techniques, he would truly be able to fly. However, the difficulty of this was even greater than just practising one of the techniques at a time. All he could do about this was gradually merge the two techniques and accumulate experience. There were no tricks in this at all.

    However, Li Qingshan was extremely patient. He took his time to think it through and learn and practise. With Xiao An by his side, he did not find it boring.

    The so-called secluded cultivation was actually akin to being in prison, but to be able to temporarily leave all the disputes and conflict at the stone door, he felt indescribably relaxed. He was not pained by this, instead finding peace. If cultivation went with the flow without insisting on a particular thing to happen, the effects would instead be optimal.

    This mentality was even more important than the Spirit Gathering formation in the cave. In the path of cultivation, resources were a crucial foundation, but just stockpiling resources could not create powerful cultivators.

    Only with a certain disposition and a certain understanding could people perform wonders.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan gained a deeper understanding of the importance of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. As more and more pills were being converted into daemon qi and stored in his daemon core, his thoughts became calmer too, without any impatience or restlessness.

    Time passed bit by bit, while the clouds and mist permeating the cave grew smaller and smaller, denser and denser. They seemed even more corporeal than before. Li Qingshan grabbed at it, and he felt like he had grabbed a ball of pliable, elastic rubber. However, it was also extremely moist, smooth and light as he sped around in the cave.

    ¡°You don¡¯t!¡± Xiao An answered honestly.

    ¡°In what way?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t, then you don¡¯t.¡± Xiao An refused to make eye contact with him.

    ¡°Alright you, Xiao An, how dare you say this immortal doesn¡¯t seem like an immortal! Get over here!¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand, and the true qi sprayed over like water, wrapping around Xiao An.

    Xiao An giggled, but she did not dodge. She allowed him to grab her, pinch her cheeks, and squeeze her nose, wreaking havoc on her face.

    If Diao Fei saw this, he would definitely feel that Li Qingshan was not as terrifying as he imagined him to be. However, if it were not for the fact that Xiao An was here, why wouldn¡¯t he bare his fangs in the dangerous world outside?¡±

    Suddenly, there was a rumble in the distant sky.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s springtime thunder!¡±

    Spring had already arrived. The earth was returning to life.

    The bug pouch twitched constantly as Milliped awoke from his lengthy sleep. He was wriggling his body.

    Xiao An said, ¡°It¡¯s the stirring of insects1!¡±

    Insects stirred, thunder rumbled, bugs awakened.

    Li Qingshan opened the bug pouch and Milliped emerged. He seemed to have grown slightly bigger as he waved his feelers. ¡°Food! Food!¡±

    ¡°You glutton!¡± Li Qingshan teased him before taking out the food so that Milliped could bury himself in it.

    Two months had already passed now. There was less than a month until the Academy of the Hundred Schools began to take in new students.

    Li Qingshan wanted to use this month to break through to the sixth layer.

    The fifth layer and sixth layer of Qi Practitioner were two completely different concepts. Whether it be in terms of strength or status, they both represented completely different things. As long as he reached the sixth layer, he believed that he would not have to worry about being smothered out even in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, a place teeming with talented people.

    He was not going to the Academy of the Hundred Schools to seek refuge. He was not planning on following the principle of remaining discreet and keeping himself safe. No matter the environment, there would always be the survival of the fittest, the laws of the jungle. Only the fittest would receive better resources and be able to enjoy better environments to cultivate in.

    This was the path he wanted to walk.

    Through this period of waiting, the true qi in his four yin and yang meridians was already full. This was nothing difficult to him, as he could absorb the spiritual qi of the world. Moreover, he had become extremely familiar with the tricks for controlling Gui Water true qi.

    Am I ready? Even he did not know, but it was time to go!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze became determined.

    Below the mountain, the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    It was pitch-black within the parlour. After the few incidents, the Parlour of the Clouds and Rain was heavily weakened, and due to pressure from various sides, it struggled to recover its former prosperity.

    The hollow centre of the building had once carried and linked the prosperity and liveliness throughout the entire place, but now, it seemed particularly quiet. Only the paintings of flying and dancing women continued to smile.

    In the underground palace, a middle-aged man with pepper hair asked, ¡°Is that little bastard really on the mountain?¡±

    The current master of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain replied carefully, ¡°Sect master, we¡¯re absolutely certain. Many people have seen him. L- Li Qingshan is in secluded cultivation in a cave on the mountain.¡±

    ¡°As soon as he emerges, contact me. I refuse to believe that he won¡¯t leave the mountain.¡± Surprisingly, the middle-aged man was the vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Wei Zhongyuan. He no longer wore his fancy violet robes, but a set of old, grey robes. Clearly, he was here in secret. He ground his teeth the moment Li Qingshan¡¯s name was mentioned.

    Ever since Li Qingshan splattered the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with blood and killed the procuress, he had developed grievances with the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Until now, even Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s son and the two grannies of the sect had died under mysterious circumstances.

    Wei Zhongyuan refused to believe that Li Qingshan possessed the strength to kill the two grannies, but he was thoroughly convinced that he had something to do with their deaths.

    He was hiding below the mountain with great determination. As soon as Li Qingshan appeared, he would capture him and torture him savagely to force out a confession. Only then would he be satisfied. As long as the Hawkwolf Guard did not possess direct evidence, there was nothing that they could do about him.

    Of course, he also lacked the courage to charge up the mountain and directly kill Li Qingshan right now.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry at all, sect master. Everything that happens on the mountain and below the mountain is within the range of my perception. As soon as he emerges, the sect master will know immediately.¡±

    As Li Qingshan tried to open the Girdle meridian, he finally realised that the latter four meridians of the eight extraordinary meridians were different from the former four.

    Right now, just opening and connecting all the acupoints was not sufficient. During that process, he needed to constantly balance the flow of true qi through the four yin and yang meridians, but the difficulty did not just increase by four times. The difficulty was compounded for each meridian.

    In the beginning, he tried to have true qi circulating all four meridians, but he soon realised that this was an impossible mission for him right now.

    He could only slow down and urge on the true qi in the Yin and Yang Heel meridians first, but even with his foundation built from using techniques, he often still lost focus over one of the meridians.

    Fortunately, Li Qingshan had bought the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi that was complete with comprehensions. The experiences of the past people were extremely detailed, but when Li Qingshan tried replicating them, it would always end in failure.

    At a time like this, Li Qingshan obviously went to Xiao An for guidance. Just how was he supposed to balance the true qi?

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just split your focus a little?¡±

    ¡°Split my focus? How am I supposed to split my focus?¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes widened. For the first time ever, she was unable to help Li Qingshan, as she completely failed to understand where the difficulty lied.

    ¡°I know my talent for comprehension is only so-so, so you don¡¯t need to verbally strike me like that.¡± Li Qingshan patted Xiao An¡¯s shoulder and said to the upright Milliped, ¡°Yeah, Milliped? How can we grasp something like that so easily?¡±

    Milliped spat out a clump of daemon qi. It was a very small amount, but it was divided into over a dozen thin strands that wove and overlapped with one another, forming an oscillating image.

    He might have lost his daemon core and a tremendous part of his cultivation, but he was still once a Daemon General, having reached levels that Li Qingshan had never even experienced before. He seemed slow-witted when dealing with people, but how could something as simple as controlling daemon qi stump him? Li Qingshan had found the wrong daemon if he wanted sympathy.

    Xiao An shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s very easy, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan fell silent. He returned to cultivation. In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed, and only then did Li Qingshan learn how to split his focus into two, allowing true qi to flow through his Yin and Yang Heel meridians as he wished.

    Another day later, he managed to achieve the balance required to condense the sea of qi in the Yin and Yang Linking meridians too. However, doing this with all four meridians still posed extreme difficulty.

    He could only single-mindedly try again and again, without eating or drinking, without sleeping or resting. In the eyes of others, he seemed like he had gone crazy.

    Xiao An could not help but become slightly worried.

    However, Li Qingshan himself understood that he was neither impatient nor discouraged. All he could do was constantly search for the feeling. Since he was not a genius, he would have to make it up with hard work. If he failed a hundred times, then he would try a thousand times. If he failed a thousand times, then he would try ten thousand times.

    However, no matter how patient a person was, they could not help but feel restless and discouraged, especially after trying ten thousand times. Though, Li Qingshan did not. The Spirit Turtle did not only suppress daemon qi, but also his temperament.

    During the ninety-one thousand, one-hundred and twenty-secondth time, the four groups of true qi rose up together. They were almost depleted, but they managed to maintain a wondrous balance. At the same time, the true qi in the Girdle meridian circulated rapidly, binding the four groups of true qi together like a girdle, allowing them to flow into the dantian.

    Just when the sea of qi was about to form, the true qi dispersed again, resulting in failure.

    However, Li Qingshan smiled instead. Reaching this step was definitely a great improvement, but actually splitting open the sea of qi would take a few months at the very least, or even a year. However, there were just a few days before the entrance examination of the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    Apart from hard work, money could make up for one¡¯s lack of talent too. He took out all of his Sea of Qi pills, almost a hundred of them. He placed them in a line before ingesting one. The effects of the Sea of Qi pill was to merge these four groups of true qi, but it did not guarantee success.

    Unsurprisingly, the first Sea of Qi pill resulted in failure.

    He failed, so he ate another.

    This went on.

    Even after ingesting over twenty Sea of Qi pills, he still failed to succeed, but Li Qingshan remained unfazed.

    If regular Qi Practitioners saw how he ingested these Sea of Qi pills, they would definitely erupt with curses over how wasteful he was. They would all wait until they had some confidence before taking out the precious Sea of Qi pill in hopes of succeeding the first time.

    However, Li Qingshan was not afraid of being wasteful. The very purpose of all pills was to reduce his time spent on cultivation. As long as he could become stronger, he could obviously obtain even more and even better pills. Unfortunately, time did not wait.

    When he ate the thirty-seventh Sea of Qi pill, the four groups of true qi surged into the dantian at the same time while bound by the Girdle meridian. Under the effects of the Sea of Qi pill, they merged together. A significant amount of the effects from the previous thirty-six Sea of Qi pills lingered, so they basically glued the true qi together forcefully.

    But this time, there seemed to be a boom in his belly. The four groups of true qi reached harmony in yin and yang and merged together.

    True qi rose and fell in his dantian like an ocean. It no longer reached out. Instead, all rivers ran into the sea, becoming the source and destination of all the true qi in his body.

    He had broken through to the sixth layer and condensed a sea of qi!

    Li Qingshan finally smiled in relief and energy seemed to drain from his body. The exhaustion and fatigue that had been forcefully suppressed by the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression surged out once more. He almost could not help but tip over to one side and fall asleep.

    In the past half a month, he had forcefully used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to keep his mind at peak condition, just so that he could avoid wasting away the sliver of experience he had accumulated from each attempt from pausing and resting.

    This brutal method took a great toll on his mind. As a matter of fact, there was even the danger of making his mind snap. However, he managed to endure it all and make it to the other side.

    Xiao An came up to him and rubbed his forehead gently. She said softly, ¡°Sleep a little!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to wake me up¡­¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s voice seemed to possess irresistible charm. Before Li Qingshan had even finished talking, he collapsed and fell asleep.

    He slept extremely heavily this time, in a state that seemed like a dream, yet not like a dream. He felt like he was floating in the ocean, being washed around by the currents and the waves. He would sometimes be submerged underwater and float on the surface at other times.

    Before Xiao An could wake him, he had already awoken from his sleep. He felt that his head still ached slightly, so he shook it and asked, ¡°How long have I slept for?¡±

    ¡°Roughly fourteen hours.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time to set off!¡± Li Qingshan leapt to his feet and revealed a toothy grin.

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened the bug pouch and said to Milliped, ¡°You¡¯ll have to bear with it a little more. Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t be too long.¡±

    Milliped dived head first into the bug pouch. He discovered the various kinds of food Xiao An had prepared for him, so he immediately began devouring it. He did not seem like he was putting up with anything at all.

    Li Qingshan turned the stone disc, and the stone door opened slowly. Fresh air flowed in. Spring was already in the air.

    The place for seclusion was located towards the back of the mountain, so it was quiet. He did not bother to inform anyone about his departure, directly using the Cloud Riding Mist Wielding technique. A cloud gathered below his feet.

    After splitting open his sea of qi, he discovered that using techniques was easier than ever now, and their effects were much more powerful than before too.

    The cloud carried Li Qingshan and Xiao An off into the sky, but as soon as they reached an altitude of a few meters, they vanished as a soft streak of light.

    ¡°Sect master, Li Qingshan has emerged from seclusion!¡± The parlour master reported in a hurry in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    ¡°Where¡¯s he right now?¡± Wei Zhongyuan had run out of patience a long time ago, so he beamed when he heard the news.

    ¡°H- he has vanished,¡± the parlour master stuttered. The news from the mountain was that the dwelling was wide open, but not a single person was in sight. No one knew where Li Qingshan had gone to.

    ¡°That little bastard!¡± Wei Zhongyuan launched a palm strike and sent the parlour master flying, slamming into the wall heavily and spurting with blood. However, he did not dare to fight back or talk back against the enraged Wei Zhongyuan.

    Wei Zhongyuan roared, ¡°No matter where you flee to, I will find you and tear you to shreds!¡±

    The cloud and mist had already reached the highest point that it could reach. The blueness of the sky was dazzling. Li Qingshan extended his hand towards the sky, as if he wanted to touch that vision, his promise beyond the Nine Heavens.

    However, he touched nothing, but he smiled instead. The light from the springtime sun was so bright and beautiful that he was unable to look at it directly.

    Xiao An stared straight at him, like staring at a vision, silently thinking about her own promise, not returning to her long-forgotten home in the south, but accompanying him all the way beyond the Nine Heavens.

    After quite a while, Li Qingshan lowered his head and looked at the ground and the mountains below. The raging waters of the Clear river glistened like a stream of light. The Hawkwolf mountain seemed like a small hill, while Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s roar was probably not even as loud as a mosquito, which Li Qingshan missed completely.

    He took out the mental map of the Green province and checked his bearings before pointing towards the south-east.

    ¡°To the Academy of the Hundred Schools!¡±

    PS: The path has already begun, and Dream Teller is beginning his advance. During the double tickets event, I eagerly plead for monthly tickets. To me, the true challenge has only just begun. I want to determine the victory and defeat with the plot! I refuse to believe I¡¯ll lose to others! And, I want to ask, which schools of thought do you think Li Qingshan and Xiao An will be joining? The answer is coming right up. I don¡¯t think anyone can guess it. ^_^

 Chapter 264 â€“ Arriving in the Prefectural City of Clear River

    The cloud and mist surged, shooting across the sky with a small, white tail.

    The gusts of wind blew into their faces and ruffled Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s clothes. The spring wind in the third month was still slightly chilly, but the warmth from the sun was truly intoxicating.

    The landscape below them rapidly receded. Li Qingshan had been on aeroplanes in his past life, but it was impossible to compare the feeling of flight to sitting in an aircraft cabin.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, the cloud and mist suddenly rushed down towards a large lake. The crystal green lake hurtled towards his face. In the moment he was about to collide with the lake, he suddenly slowed down, kicking up a clear splash that landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He sped along the surface of the water, leaving behind a trail in the lake.

    When he was about to crash into a hill, he suddenly pulled up, rushing towards the blue sky.

    The surrounding scenery constantly changed. The cities, towns, and villages appeared before disappearing once again, while the mountains towered before flattening out.

    During early spring, he took in all of the natural scenery that had yet to be destroyed by humanity.

    For a moment, Li Qingshan felt that his mind had never been so open before.

    Li Qingshan took out Milliped from the bug pouch to show the scenery of the sky to this guy who spent his entire life crawling around underground. As soon as Milliped came out, he shrank into a ball.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, while Xiao An giggled.

    His flight speed was not particularly fast. At least, it was not as fast as when Li Qingshan moved along the ground. However, the benefit was that there were no obstacles in the sky, so they could fly along a straight path.

    Although there were five hundred kilometers between Jiaping city and Clear River city, covering that much distance in a single day was nothing difficult while flying.

    They had set off in the afternoon. The sky above them gradually dimmed, lighting up with stars. In the end, it turned into a resplendent galaxy of stars.

    The tiny cloud was like a tiny, lone island, hovering beneath the starry sky. Li Qingshan could not help but be shocked by the scenery around him, which he praised, ¡°So beautiful!¡±

    Xiao An nodded. Li Qingshan rubbed her head before taking out the mental map of the Green province. Taking a look, he said, ¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡±

    The Clear river turned into a jade band glistening with starlight, leading to the very core of the entire Clear River prefecture. More and more boats began to appear on the river.

    As the cloud sped along, a ball of fire suddenly lit up in the distant, gloomy horizon. It burned in a dazzling manner.

    As Li Qingshan drew closer, he saw the fire split up into thousands of lights, which surprised him slightly.

    But when he saw it with his own eyes, he felt like he had transmigrated back to his original world, arriving in a modern city towering with skyscrapers. Skyscrapers seemed to grow from the ground. There were plenty that towered above ten storeys, and their designs were extremely exquisite. The city was like a gigantic art gallery instead of the concrete jungles of modern times.

    These traditional structures should not have been able to stand in such an imposing manner. In particular, there were a few buildings and pavilions of special design that even a non-professional like Li Qingshan felt did not conform to the principles of engineering, yet there they stood without any issues at all.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood that this was the civil engineering techniques of mohism.

    Now, this was a cultivator¡¯s world. Their influence had already penetrated every corner of the world. They did not spend every single day flying around in the air and blasting one another with techniques.

    Before the city, Li Qingshan dispersed the cloud and mist and walked over with Xiao An by foot. However, he still used the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility, concealing his body while withdrawing all of his aura. It was unlikely for him to run into the people of the Sect of Clouds and Rain in such a large city, but there was nothing wrong with being more careful.

    On the ground, he discovered the city to be even more imposing. Just like Jiaping city, there were no city walls here either. If there really was a day when war erupted, the end result would be determined in the sky. City walls on the ground were just a small, earthen slope to the enemy.

    There was even less of a reason to use city walls to guard against bandits and thugs. This was the supreme headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard for the entire Clear River prefecture, with two commanders stationed here. Anyone who dared to make trouble here would be captured immediately and taken away.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s first destination was the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard. Originally, every single person who joined the Hawkwolf Guard would come to Clear River city to meet the two scarlet bronze commanders after a period of trial. It was basically a formality.

    Qian Rongzhi and Diao Fei had already come to Clear River city before, but only Li Qingshan had not done so. Before he had entered secluded cultivation, Fang Enshang had specially reminded him to report there as soon as he arrived in Clear River city.

    If he wanted to cultivate in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, this was crucial. He could not help but think about what had happened over a year ago, with the handsome ¡°commander Hua¡± and the stern ¡°old Wang¡±. He wondered how they would react when they saw him again.

    And, with how late it was, the two of them probably were not in their office anymore. Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He sensed a spiritual pulse scan past him.

    Li Qingshan immediately raised his vigilance, but he saw no one approaching him. He could not help but become rather perplexed.

    Xiao An said, ¡°This is a formation.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°The Book of All said so.¡±

    Li Qingshan was astonished. This was a formation that enveloped such a large city. That was equivalent to invisible city walls, guarding against Qi Practitioners that could actually threaten this place. However, he guessed that the formation was probably much more useful as a deterrent than whatever other purposes it could serve.

    Li Qingshan travelled along the river. The multi-storeyed ships on the wide river were like cities among the city. There were loud commotions at the harbour, while the lights were so bright that it seemed like daytime, illuminating all of the willow trees that were currently blooming along the riverbank. It all seemed hazy like mist.

    On the main road, people flowed to and fro, weaving between each other like cloth. It was both busy and lively.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised something. These regular people were living in the care of gods.

    Li Qingshan wove through the road with Xiao An and found his destination very soon, a scarlet building that stood several dozen storeys high. At the very top of the building was a bronze hawk, even larger than the one in Jiaping city. It also had its eyes wide open and its wings spread. It was very imposing.

    Li Qingshan could not help but wonder whether there would be a bird even larger than this made from white silver where Gu Yanying stayed in the Ruyi commandery. If it was the South Centre city, it would probably be a golden hawk.

    However, just what significance was all that gold and silver supposed to hold at that cultivation realm?

    Li Qingshan removed his invisibility and climbed up the steps, entering the majestic building. The lobby was quiet, and the only thing that connected it to the higher floors was a spiral staircase.

    The marble tiles were reflective enough for Li Qingshan to see himself clearly. Only a woman sat behind a marble table as she dozed off.

    Li Qingshan purposefully made his footsteps quite obvious, but he failed to awaken the woman. In the end, he discovered that she was just a regular person. The security here was so lax that it was almost impossible to connect it with the Hawkwolf Guard. All he could do was walk over and knock on the desk.

    The woman jerked awake. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Black Wolf guard of Jiaping city, Li Qingshan. I¡¯ve come to meet the two commanders.¡±

    ¡°Commander Wang has already gone home.¡± The woman saw the tablet on Li Qingshan¡¯s waist and immediately answered diligently.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then what about commander Hua?¡±

    The woman immediately said, ¡°Commander Hua has already gone drinking with women.¡± She covered her mouth in a hurry, knowing that she had said too much.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. As it seemed, this commander Hua was not particularly dignified here.

    The woman was clearly just a regular receptionist. It was probably because no Qi Practitioner was willing to work a job like this, which was why they chose a decent-looking regular person.

    ¡°You are welcomed to go upstairs and rest for the night. You can meet the two commanders tomorrow.¡±

    The purpose of this majestic building clearly was not just for work. It also provided lodgings for guards who had come to the city.

    Just as Li Qingshan was contemplating on what to do, footsteps began to ring out above.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally arrived.¡± Qian Rongzhi slowly made her way down the spiral staircase. She was not wearing the uniform of the Hawkwolf Guard, having changed into a thin, long, violet spring dress. Her hair was styled in a fancy manner, revealing her snow-white nape. Compared to the gentleness and kindliness she showed in Jiaping city, she seemed more elegant now.

    At this moment, even Li Qingshan struggled to connect her with the Qian Rongzhi of the past. Her bearing had not just changed, but improved as well. Her cultivation had already reached the sixth layer, which probably played a crucial role in all of this.

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi touched her hair. ¡°I¡¯m also going to the Academy of the Hundred Schools to cultivate. Perhaps we might end up as fellow students. Right, Xiao An?¡± She winked at Xiao An before saying to Li Qingshan, ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve reached the sixth layer.¡±

    Although she showed none of it on her face, she was surprised inside. When she initially met him, he was only at the first layer. In under a year, he had reached the sixth layer. He had truly been cultivating at an amazing speed, and his true strength was much more than just that.

    Even though she had the brutal cultivation method of the Vitality Devouring technique, the reason why she could cultivate so quickly was closely linked to all those years of accumulation, which was why she managed to split open her sea of qi successfully in a single attempt.

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°Same to you.¡±

    The joy that came from her success was not an act. Reaching the sixth layer as a Qi Practitioner was worthy of celebration for all cultivators. However, with her exquisite outfit, it no longer seemed so simple anymore.

    ¡°Rongzhi, what are you doing here? Didn¡¯t we agree to eat together?¡± A young man made his way down the staircase and arrived beside Qian Rongzhi.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him quickly. He had met this man in the past too. He was Wu Gen, the one who led the group that had surrounded the Truth-seeking society.

    It was not strange at all for Qian Rongzhi to be acquainted with him. Fang Enshang favoured her heavily, and Fang Enshang and Wu Gen were familiar with one another. As such, now that she had come to Clear River city, Fang Enshang would obviously ask his friend to take good care of her.

    When he saw how Wu Gen looked at Qian Rongzhi, Li Qingshan understood even further. That was how a man looked at a woman. Although he intentionally disguised it, the lust was still as clear as day.

    The prey had already bitten the bait.

    ¡°Brother Wu, this is a fellow colleague of mine who joined the Hawkwolf Guard with me. He¡¯s Li Qingshan. Qingshan, this is a good friend of our commander, Wu Gen.¡± Qian Rongzhi gave a natural and graceful introduction, but she maintained a certain distance from Wu Gen the entire time. She seemed closer to Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 265 â€“ Visiting the Parlour of Clouds and Rain Again

    Qian Rongzhi was no longer the same Qian Rongzhi as before. She was not in a hurry to change her fate by seducing a superior officer like she had been when she first arrived in Jiaping city. She had the time to wait for the biggest fish now. She knew extremely well that all men were worthless creatures. It would be easier for her to achieve her objective if they could not obtain her.

    However, all of this was established on the basis of cultivation. Only with her cultivation at the sixth layer did she attract Wu Gen¡¯s proper attention, preventing him from resorting to more forceful methods.

    In the past in Jiaping city, even if she wanted to control Zhuo Zhibo like this, it would have been impossible. Only with strength could she win respect. This was one of the most fundamental principles in the cultivation world.

    Li Qingshan saw exactly what was happening, but he did not expose her either. Originally, he had some small grievances with Wu Gen, but now, he instead pitied him. He bowed. ¡°Greetings to sir Wu.¡±

    Wu Gen saw how Li Qingshan was at the sixth layer, but he did not behave particularly arrogantly, so Wu Gen casually returned with a bow. ¡°Not bad. You have some talent. You can consider changing your uniform. Once you join the Academy of the Hundred Schools in a few days¡¯ time, we¡¯ll be one big family, so we¡¯ll need to know each other better. Come with me. I¡¯ll take you to see commander Hua.¡±

    ¡°May I ask where commander Hua is?¡±

    ¡°In the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, obviously. Let¡¯s go together.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised, while Qian Rongzhi seemed troubled too. She had just been expelled from the Sect of Clouds and Rain. She had personally killed Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s son, while her cultivation all came from the Method of Clouds and Rain too.

    ¡°Rongzhi, I¡¯ve already told you before. That place isn¡¯t like what you imagine it to be. There¡¯s quite a lot of interesting stuff there. Almost all of the best chefs of the entire Clear River prefecture are there. You won¡¯t be disappointed if you go.¡± Wu Gen had thought Qian Rongzhi was reluctant to visit a brothel, so he persuaded her softly.

    Qian Rongzhi tactfully explained Li Qingshan¡¯s grievances with the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    Wu Gen sized up Li Qingshan. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but you sure know how to make trouble.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Things never happen according to plan. I¡¯ll stay here for the night and see commander Hua tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Wu Gen fished out his Scarlet Wolf tablet and flicked it gently. With a flash, he actually began to talk through it, ¡°Big brother Hua, there¡¯s someone from Jiaping city called Li Qingshan who wants to see you, but he seems to have some disputes with big sis Qiu. Yep. Okay!¡±

    Afterwards, he raised his head. ¡°Just wait here. He said he¡¯ll be here in a moment.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi whispered, ¡°The sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Qiu Haitang. A Foundation Establishment cultivator.¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered. The Hawkwolf Guard of the Clear River prefecture actually had such deep ties with the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    Wu Gen did not behave as arrogantly and recklessly as he did in the Quiet Spring valley in front of his own colleagues. However, he did have to fulfill his ego.

    Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi thought of the same thing. They played along with him reluctantly while constantly looking at one another, which displeased Wu Gen slightly.

    A while later, there was a long whinny, and a fine horse with a silver mane stopped at the entrance. It actually hovered above the ground, having galloped over on the wind.

    The horse was a head taller than regular horses, and it was covered in fine scales. It was more than just a fine steed, but almost a divine steed. A robust figure dismounted from the horse. He was Hua Chengzan.

    Wu Gen smiled. ¡°Brother Hua, how about you sell me this Silver Dragon horse for a thousand spiritual stones?¡±

    Hua Chengzan glanced at Wu Gen. ¡°More like just a leg of the horse.¡± He was clearly tipsy. His face was flushed from drinking, like he had put on rouge. It made him seem extremely beautiful, but his gaze was still clear. As soon as he saw Li Qingshan, his eyes lit up. He never thought the person mentioned by her would appear before him so soon.

    After seeing through Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, he was surprised. He clicked his tongue in wonder. ¡°The sixth layer! Impressive, impressive!¡±

    Li Qingshan said without being too polite or rude, ¡°Greetings, commander Hua.¡±

    Hua Chengzan waved his hand. ¡°We¡¯re not working right now, so you¡¯re forbidden from calling me commander.¡±

    Wu Gen said, ¡°When I was his age, I was around the sixth layer too. What¡¯s so impressive about that?¡±

    Having reached the eighth layer at such a young age, Wu Gen was known as a genius even among Clear River city that was teeming with talented people. The only person he openly admired was Hua Chengzan. Hearing how he praised Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, even doing it before Qian Rongzhi, he was rather unwilling to accept it.

    Although Li Qingshan was only seventeen, he gave off a mature bearing. No one who saw him would treat him like a regular teenager. Instead, he was a man who possessed his own charm.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°How long did it take for you to reach the sixth layer?¡±

    ¡°Around ten years? What¡¯s it got to do with this?¡± Wu Gen came from a prominent clan too. He had begun cultivating in his youth. He had been sent to the Academy of the Hundred Schools after developing a slight foundation.

    Hua Chengzan raised a finger. ¡°He only used one year.¡±

    ¡°Brother Hua, don¡¯t kid around with me!¡± Wu Gen was immediately stunned. He looked at Li Qingshan in surprise and doubt. He was unable to tell that this slightly unrefined kid had such great talent.

    Hua Chengzan asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Am I right?¡±

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°Basically.¡±

    Wu Gen¡¯s gaze towards Li Qingshan now became much more cautious.

    Hua Chengzan wrapped his arm around Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder naturally. ¡°Come! Let¡¯s go take a look at the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with me!¡± He immediately felt Li Qingshan¡¯s body stiffen. He smiled, revealing his pearly, white teeth. Although he was slightly tipsy, he seemed quite charming.

    Qian Rongzhi thought, So that¡¯s all there is to the man of so-called unmatched handsomeness! She was afraid of carelessly targeting this man, even though he had great value in being used, as she had personally witnessed the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Qiu Haitang, before.

    Li Qingshan never thought he would be immediately entering the den of his greatest enemy so far as soon as he arrived in Clear River city. There was a Foundation Establishment cultivator there, so was he not walking into the belly of the beast? He could tell how Hua Chengzan had close ties to the Sect of Clouds and Rain, so surely he was not working with the sect to screw him over, right?

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. Relax. Women might be as fierce as tigers, but they¡¯re not man-eaters at the end of the day. Right, Rongzhi?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi let out a shallow smile. ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Wu Gen took an even deeper liking towards her. Now that¡¯s a woman I would admire. Regular women would just ogle Hua Chengzan uncontrollably when they met him. They would never be able to deal with him as smoothly as Qian Rongzhi did.

    Li Qingshan hesitated slightly. Hua Chengzan slapped Li Qingshan¡¯s back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is my territory, so I can guarantee that you¡¯ll be fine. If there¡¯s anything you want to say, you can spit it all out. As mighty Hawkwolf guards, we can¡¯t just hide around every single day.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Yeah, Qingshan. Let¡¯s go take a look!¡±

    ¡°As the commander wishes.¡± Li Qingshan knew that he could not decline. Hesitating would instead attract suspicion, so he agreed firmly.

    Qian Rongzhi had a sinister mind, but her insight was sharp too. Since she was bold enough to go, it meant she had already made a judgement. He trusted her judgement. The two of them were in the same boat for this matter. As a matter of fact, her crimes as a traitor were much larger than his.

    If even she was bold enough to go, why was he supposed to be afraid? Being able to resolve this issue of living in constant fear of being attacked would be good too.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say not to call me commander? Though, agreeing is more like it.¡±

    Then, Hua Chengzan crouched down and said to Xiao An beside Li Qingshan, ¡°You must be the Xiao An that the Sect of Clouds and Rain is searching for!¡±

    Xiao An ignored him. She only clung onto Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Wu Gen laughed aloud. ¡°Looks like even you have times when you are defeated.¡±

    Hua Chengzan rubbed his nose. ¡°Looks like my charm isn¡¯t enough to affect girls at such an age. Grow up quickly. Then you¡¯ll know just who¡¯s better compared to this Li person.¡±

    Wu Gen laughed aloud, while Li Qingshan grinned. It was difficult to develop any ill will towards him.

    The five of them left the building. Li Qingshan looked at the Silver Dragon horse there. Up close, it was even more beautiful. Every single muscle of its body possessed rippling beauty, while the spiritual qi flowing through it was extremely pure too.

    Li Qingshan knew this was a spiritual beast that had been tamed by humans. If he measured it according to the scale of daemons, it was already a rather powerful daemonic beast. The stirrups and horseshoes on the horse all shone with light. Together, they were equivalent to a high grade spiritual artifact at the very least. Along with the daily costs to feed and take care of it, it was not something that any regular Qi Practitioners could afford to keep. Even if they could afford to keep it, there was no need for them to keep one either.

    However, these unnecessary aspects only demonstrated the Hua family¡¯s strength.

    ¡°Do you want to try riding it? Come, I¡¯ll lift you onto it.¡± Seeing Xiao An ogle at the Silver Dragon Horse, Hua Chengzan seemed to refuse to accept the fact that his charm had failed, so he smiled.

    Xiao An refused again. Li Qingshan directly lifted her onto the horse and patted the side of the horse. ¡°Just ride it. There¡¯s still quite a long way!¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Hua Chengzan warned in a hurry, but he saw how the Silver Dragon horse just stood there without moving. He seemed stunned. ¡°That¡¯s strange. This guy usually has a fiery temper. If I don¡¯t tell him beforehand, he never lets anyone ride him.¡±

    Horses might not be as clever as humans, but they had senses for danger that humans did not possess.

    Wu Gen took out something like a tablet and summoned a fine steed. It was not as great as a divine steed like the Silver Dragon horse, but it was still an extraordinary spiritual beast. He invited Qian Rongzhi to mount it.

    Qian Rongzhi thanked him with a nod before mounting the horse elegantly.

    Hua Chengzan and Wu Gen walked as they led the horses along. The ground followed the main street towards the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Along the way, Hua Chengzan and Wu Gen discussed the advantages of disadvantages of various mounts, not just horses. Sure enough, they were extremely expensive. Including the entire set of equipment, they would cost several thousand spiritual stones at the very least.

    Li Qingshan was unable to chime in either. He felt like a kid from the countryside listening to the young masters of the city discussing which car to buy.

    While he could afford one, he would never waste his spiritual stones on an aspect like this. He would convert every single spiritual stone in his possession into his own power so that he could fly to higher skies.

    Of course, if he really wanted a mount, there were quite a few impressive ones among the daemonic beasts underground. Even if humans managed to catch these wild daemonic beasts alive, they would be impossible to tame, but it was perfectly justifiable for a daemon soldier leader to harass his subordinates.

    However, if he wanted to return there, just his identity as a daemon soldier leader would be nowhere near enough. He needed to undergo a heavenly tribulation and successfully become a Daemon General. Only then could he return to the region and reclaim it.

    Hua Chengzan would introduce the local customs, cultures, and stories of the prefectural city from time to time as well. He was full of witty remarks, such that no one found it boring.

 Chapter 266 â€“ Sobering up with Alcohol

    The halls were magnificent, and the entire building was lit with lanterns.

    It stood several hundred meters high. Even in the city filled with large structures, it stood out.

    A string of great, red lanterns dangled down from the edge of the tall, slender eaves. The walls depicted large, enchanting paintings of dancing and floating women. The most unbelievable part about it all was that the wall paintings actually moved about. They winked and gestured at the passersby as their snow-white hands plucked the pipa, resulting in actual music. It was magnificent, just like a wonderland.

    Wu Gen said proudly, ¡°What do you think of this place, Rongzhi?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s very beautiful.¡± She had already been here once before.

    Then, Wu Gen asked, ¡°What about you, Qingshan? You won¡¯t be able to see something like this in a small place like Jiaping even if you spent your entire life there.¡±

    Originally, Hua Chengzan thought that Li Qingshan would be utterly dumbfounded and left speechless. Most people who came here for the first time behaved like that. However, Li Qingshan only demonstrated amazement, but he maintained his composure. It earned some praise in Hua Chengzan¡¯s heart.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It makes me think of home.¡±

    Wu Gen laughed aloud. ¡°That¡¯s the funniest joke I¡¯ve heard all day.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not refute him. This place was indeed like his former life, the world of blurred lights, the flickering neon lights, and the movies that confounded fiction with reality. There probably were not a lot of sights that could make him dumbfounded.

    Wu Gen took out the item that seemed like a tablet again. Li Qingshan knew that this was called a seal, which was specially used to control spiritual beasts. Hua Chengzan sent the Silver Dragon horse away too.

    Entering the parlour, a fragrance rushed into his face. A group of young women in thin, spring dresses came up to receive them. Every single one of them were as charming as flowers and gave off the vigorous aura of youth. They touched and prodded Hua Chengzan, gabbling and chirping at him together. They called him young master Hua, young master Hua endlessly.

    Hua Chengzan did not push them away either. He embraced them with both hands and named all of them with great familiarity, which excited these young women again.

    ¡°How undisciplined. Don¡¯t you all have things to do?¡± A woman who seemed like a caretaker walked over and dispersed these unwilling women.

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to say that this place was quite different from regular brothels, but he saw how the young women immediately changed when they dispersed to receive customers. They were all very courteous, clearly having undergone strict training. They were even more dignified than young ladies from noble families.

    Only then did they know that Hua Chengzan was receiving special treatment. The two other men, Li Qingshan and Wu Gen, had been reduced to mere foils to enhance Hua Chengzan¡¯s charm. They glanced at each other and felt some pity for one another.

    Li Qingshan raised his head. The Parlour of Clouds and Rain had the same structure of a hollow centre, but it was not round. Instead, it seemed like a fish, and the entire building was more than ten times larger than the one in Jiaping city. Countless passageways bridged the centre in the air as people walked around on them. It was like a city within a building.

    People flowed in and out of the building, including people of different ages and sexes. A few Qi Practitioner were mixed among them, looking around like regular tourists and admiring the strange sights of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    Hua Chengzan teased the caretaker woman a little before asking, ¡°Where¡¯s Haitang?¡±

    ¡°The sect master is cultivating in the back.¡±

    ¡°Get her to come over. I have a few friends I want to introduce to her.¡±

    The woman glanced at Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi before speaking in an unwilling manner, ¡°I¡¯ll go right now.¡±

    However, Li Qingshan raised his vigilance even more. Hua Chengzan directly called this sect master by her name, and he could even invite her over so easily. It was more than enough to prove their relationship.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go up first!¡± Hua Chengzan led the way at the front. When they arrived in a corner of the building, Li Qingshan felt a white cloud surge out from beneath his feet, gently lifting everyone up slowly. Only then did he spot the tiny formation carved into the ground. It flickered with light. Clearly, it was a formation that could create a cloud for riding.

    Hua Chengzan saw Li Qingshan¡¯s expression change. He joked, ¡°What, has it reminded you of home again?¡±

    Li Qingshan, ¡°Yep.¡± Wasn¡¯t this just an elevator? While the exact methods used were different, humans basically all travelled in roughly the same direction when it came to indulgence.

    Wu Gen patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and smiled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but you sure like to joke around, Qingshan.¡±

    As they pulled higher and higher, Li Qingshan spotted that the Parlour of Clouds and Rain was divided into several spaces according to their floors. He could see this thanks to his extraordinary eyesight. There were spaces furnished with gambing tables and games, as well as spaces filled with people feasting.

    Of course, the traditional ¡°services¡± took up a very large space too. Every single person there was overflowing with smiles. Even Li Qingshan could not help but be infected by this joyous atmosphere. His mind gradually loosened, temporarily forgetting about his worries and grievances. He smiled too.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Here, no matter what your identity is, no matter what your interests are, you can get whatever you want. There is boundless joy here.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly sensed that something was amiss. He used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to stabilise his mind, and his smile immediately vanished. ¡°Are there formations here that can influence the minds of people?¡± Afterwards, he saw how Xiao An was unaffected, just as expected, while Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expression remained the same too, likely due to the Method of Clouds and Rain that she practised.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Hua Chengzan nodded. He appreciated Li Qingshan¡¯s sharp senses.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s fine to delude people like this?¡±

    Wu Gen said, ¡°What delude people? You¡¯d better stop exaggerating.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Just what part of wine, women, avarice, and pride isn¡¯t deluding people? And, just who dislikes them? Compared to those, don¡¯t you think that using some techniques to bring joy to people in a way that is neither harmful to the body or the mind is much better?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d rather go without joys like that.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°Everyone is drunk, so why must you be the only one sober?¡±

    Li Qingshan looked into Hua Chengzan¡¯s clear pupils and asked, ¡°Are you drunk?¡± He did not feel like Hua Chengzan was one to wallow in these kinds of things.

    Hua Chengzan blinked his eyes. ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever heard of sobering up with alcohol?¡±

    The two of them smiled at each other.

    Wu Gen said impatiently, ¡°Just what riddles are you throwing at each other?¡±

    The surroundings suddenly quietened. They had already arrived at the very top of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. The stars twinkled overhead, while the surroundings were now a garden. Tall bamboo grew in verdant clumps, with both fake mountains and ponds present in the surroundings. As a matter of fact, there was even a small, gurgling stream. It was impossible to imagine that this was on the top of a tall building. The sound of traditional instruments rang out from a few pavilions in the distance.

    They walked along a small path and ran into a half-drunk, middle-aged man who was supported by a gorgeous woman. Both of them were Qi Practitioners, while the man was actually at the tenth layer. His green robes were wrinkled, and he had his hand on the woman¡¯s perky bottom. Even his beard struggled to make him seem even the slightest bit more dignified.

    The middle-aged man saw Hua Chengzan and moved away from the woman in a hurry. He tidied up his clothes and put on a gentleman¡¯s act. ¡°S- so it¡¯s commander Hua.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°What are you doing here, sir?¡±

    The middle-aged man coughed gently. ¡°Collecting material, collecting material.¡±

    The woman rubbed his chest. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d make me feel good once in bed?¡±

    The middle-aged man refuted awkwardly, ¡°Stop talking nonsense.¡± The woman only smiled, clearly completely unafraid of him. She even tossed a few flirtatious glances at Hua Chengzan.

    Wu Gen sniggered, while Hua Chengzan stepped aside to give way. ¡°You can go first, sir. Let¡¯s not delay your proper business.¡±

    Wu Gen said disdainfully, ¡°Shameless degenerate.¡±

 Chapter 267 â€“ The Sect Master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain

    Wu Gen said, ¡°A shameless degenerate.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Shh, be quiet!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about him? Let¡¯s head over!¡±

    Between the bamboo was a bamboo building. Two strange, stone, humanoid statues held lanterns at the entrance, giving off the feeling of a foreign land. The stream flowed into a bamboo basket on the side.

    Li Qingshan entered the building with Hua Chengzan. There were around a dozen young men and women currently drinking happily.

    All of them were Qi Practitioners, and none of them were below the sixth layer.

    Seeing Hua Chengzan walk in, a young man with some whiskers and fair skin grabbed Hua Chengzan by the sleeve. ¡°Senior brother, you ran off before you were even done drinking. What¡¯s that supposed to mean? You need to be punished with three additional cups.¡±

    Everyone kicked up a fuss together. ¡°Three additional cups!¡± There were also people who asked, ¡°Who¡¯re they?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Don¡¯t fuss around. Let me introduce these two friends to you. This one is Li Qingshan and she¡¯s Qian Rongzhi. They¡¯re both joining our school of Legalism.¡±

    ¡°These people are all the talents of our school of Legalism in the Clear River prefecture. They might seem a little unbearable, as they are a bit unbearable. I¡¯m not going to introduce them one by one, but let¡¯s all get along in the future!¡±

    Before he was done, everyone had already begun mocking him, ¡°You¡¯re unbearable.¡±

    Before he had come here, Li Qingshan had already learnt a little about the school of Legalism from the Book of All. The current leader of the school of Legalism was the Scarlet Hawk commander, Wang Pushi.

    The Academy of the Hundred Schools was not completely cut off from the outside world. Instead, it had an extremely close connection throughout the many levels of the Great Xia empire. The disciples there had great freedom. As long as they had paid their fees, they could do whatever they wanted. Of course, the fees were large amounts of spiritual stones.

    This freedom was exactly what Li Qingshan wanted. The rules were not rigid and restrictive like sects. It was relatively more convenient if he wanted to head out to handle some matters.

    Some disciples of legalism would study in the academy while doing their job as a Hawkwolf guard, which was possible as long as they killed a few figures on the blacklist every now and then.

    The current primary disciple of legalism was Hua Chengzan, which made it even more difficult for Li Qingshan to decline. The people before him must have been the elites among the school of Legalism. They were unable to disguise their aggressive pride that came with their young age.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands at everyone, but most of them ignored him. However, when Qian Rongzhi emerged from behind and bowed gracefully, it made the eyes of a lot of the men present light up.

    ¡°Quit your bullshit.¡± Wu Gen refused to admit it, but his smile grew even wider.

    Everyone saw Xiao An and praised her too. For a moment, the atmosphere was boisterous.

    Hua Chengzan pulled Li Qingshan with him to sit down. He poured him some alcohol and smiled. ¡°Just wait a moment. Your enemy will be arriving very soon.¡±

    The others became rather surprised by the treatment that Li Qingshan received. Although Hu Chengzan treated everyone courteously, he was probably prouder than everyone else here. It was very rare for him to be so close with someone.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s just hope we don¡¯t blaze with hatred when we see our enemies.¡±

    Hua Chengzan patted his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Suddenly, he felt a gust of wind from behind and his body stiffened. Hua Chengzan patted his hand with a smile, as if he was telling him to relax.

    A woman wrapped her arms around Hua Chengzan and Li Qingshan¡¯s necks from behind. A pretty face appeared between them and smiled. ¡°What enemy?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt something soft press against his back as fragrance assaulted his nose. He was slightly surprised, as this woman was not a disciple of the Sect of Clouds and Rain drinking with everyone else, but a disciple of the school of Legalism. Her cultivation was even higher than Wu Gen¡¯s, at the ninth layer. She was only second to Hua Chengzan among the disciples of legalism.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Stop frightening people. If he punched you, you probably wouldn¡¯t be able to take it.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s able to bring himself to do something like that?¡± The woman turned towards Li Qingshan. ¡°You¡¯re able to bring yourself to do something like that?¡±

    Her vermillion lips were inches away as the smell of alcohol assaulted Li Qingshan¡¯s nose. With that, the feeling on his shoulder grew clearer. Li Qingshan coughed gently. ¡°Even if I can bring myself to do something like that, I¡¯d miss.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re actually able to bring yourself to do that?¡± The woman stared into his eyes and drew closer to him.

    And I definitely wouldn¡¯t miss, thought Li Qingshan.

    Hua Chengzan introduced, ¡°Han Qiongzhi, the secondary disciple of legalism, the young miss of the Han family.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°If you put it like that, you¡¯ll make me angry. What young miss of the Han family? You can just call me senior sister! Oh right, hasn¡¯t my little brother come today?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°He never comes to places like this. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know. Now go. Don¡¯t get in the way of my drinking.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°No, I refuse. They¡¯re all gathering around the new girl, so of course, I have to gather around the new guy.¡±

    As expected, Qian Rongzhi had completely joined in with the disciples of legalism now. Han Qiongzhi suddenly sensed a gaze look over. She turned around and saw Xiao An staring straight at her. She raised an eyebrow and said with displeasure, ¡°Kid, what¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not looking at anyone.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice coldened slightly as he scooped up Xiao An. He lowered his head and asked her, ¡°Do you want to eat anything?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Pretty cocky are we?¡± Han Qiongzhi raised her voice and attracted quite a few gazes.

    Hua Chengzan thought, Oh no. Han Qiongzhi had always been headstrong, but she never liked being brushed off.

    ¡°You¡¯re just a bumpkin-¡± Before Han Qiongzhi could finish talking, Hua Chengzan had shoved a cup of alcohol into her mouth. ¡°Go drink your wine!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said unhappily, ¡°Exactly why s-¡± However, she could see how Hua Chengzan¡¯s gaze was warning her despite still smiling. Her anger immediately subsided, and she snatched the cup. ¡°Fine then.¡±

    ¡°Senior sister has been taught a lesson by big bro Hua again!¡± A female disciple of legalism teased from nearby.

    ¡°I¡¯ll rip your mouth out!¡± Han Qiongzhi glared at Li Qingshan before going off to mess around with that girl.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°That¡¯s just how her personality is like. She has no ill will towards you.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Among ninth layer Qi Practitioners, her personality is one of the better ones I¡¯ve seen.¡± Her personality was so horrible that he almost wanted to kill her.

    ¡°If you can yield to her a little, it¡¯ll be very beneficial to you in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, no, the Clear River prefecture. Seeing how she doesn¡¯t dislike you, you might even get the chance to become the son-in-law of the Han family!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯d better make use of an opportunity like that yourself, brother Hua!¡±

    Hua Chengzan chuckled. There was a laugh from outside. ¡°He has had far too many opportunities like that. Even if he wants to, he can¡¯t make use of them all.¡±

    The voice was slightly husky, but extremely feminine, while the laughter was infectious, enough to make people feel joy for some reason.

    Li Qingshan looked out the door. A woman stepped in. She held a circular fan with peach blossoms, covering half of her dimpled face. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes widened. She seemed like a sweet maiden around fifteen or sixteen years of age, but the charm and bearing she gave off made her seem like a mature madam. Her body was startlingly curvaceous. Her erect chest pushed her clothes to the limits, her waist pulled together thinly, and her round bottom filled her dress. As she looked around with her beautiful eyes, she had already attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    Li Qingshan had seen quite a few supreme beauties before, but he still gasped in amazement slightly inside. With such grace, who else could she be apart from the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain?

    However, he became even more cautious. There was not a single Foundation Establishment cultivator that he could afford to treat lightly.

    ¡°Big sis Qiu, what brings you here?¡± The fair-skinned disciple of legalism with thin whiskers rushed over. He desired her inside, but he refused to show any of that on the surface.

    Qiu Haitang smiled and spoke gracefully, greeting everyone. When she saw Qian Rongzhi, she paused. Qian Rongzhi lowered her head in a hurry, but she only sneered inside.

    In the end, Qiu Haitang¡¯s gaze landed on Li Qingshan, but it moved onto Xiao An without stopping. She touched her fan and exclaimed, ¡°The Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty! As expected, that¡¯s my impressive disciple. Thanks, Chengzan.¡±

    With a fragrant breeze, Qiu Haitang had already arrived before her in the blink of an eye. She said to Xiao An, ¡°Kid, come with me!¡±

    Li Qingshan growled, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    Qiu Haitang waved her fan like she was shooing away a fly. ¡°You must be Li Qingshan. For brother Hua¡¯s sake, I¡¯ll clean your slate with my Sect of Clouds and Rain.¡±

    All Li Qingshan saw was the images on the fan begin to move and change as the world spun around him. He used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression in a hurry to compose himself. He was about to strike.

    A slender, pale hand extended over from the side, emerging like a butterfly from a bush and grabbing Qiu Haitang¡¯s hand. The fan immediately stopped.

    ¡°Haitang, you can¡¯t just abduct people the moment that you see them. You need to ask whether they¡¯re willing to leave with you or not.¡± Hua Chengzan frowned. He did not know what the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty meant to the Sect of Clouds and Rain. He had not even managed to say everything he had prepared. She had come to take Xiao An away the moment she appeared, even using her arts of charm in the process.

    Qiu Haitang was surprised, but not because of Hua Chengzan. She had been expecting Hua Chengzan to stop her. It was not particularly surprising for Li Qingshan to be able to keep his composure either. Instead, she had basically used all of her arts of charm on the child, yet she actually managed to remain unfazed. It was rather unbelievable to her.

    However, she was not discouraged. For a moment, her eyes rippled like water, producing many illusions as she asked softly, ¡°Are you willing to leave with big sister?¡±

    Xiao An said crisply, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression changed slightly.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You heard her!¡± He had to make the Sect of Clouds and Rain give up first.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Haitang, it looks like you¡¯re not destined to take her as your disciple, so please just give up on it. I brought Qingshan here to resolve his misunderstandings with the Sect of Clouds and Rain.¡±

    Only then did everyone learn the reason why Hua Chengzan had brought Li Qingshan here.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s calculate the total debts. Li Qingshan, I suspect you to be connected to the deaths of a few disciples from my sect.¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression changed once more.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, she had immediately gone from being a charming beauty to a vicious fiend, enough to stun people. However, he only sneered. Tempting him with the arts of charm might have been somewhat effective, but she was nowhere close to being enough to frighten him.

    If he was even afraid of that, then wouldn¡¯t he frighten himself to death once he transformed and checked the mirror? Actually, he was very satisfied with his appearance as a daemon.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I did kill the procuress in Jiaping city¡¯s Parlour of Clouds and Rain. However, she was working with Zhuo Zhibo, and she infringed upon me first. She also abducted innocent girls and forced them into prostitution. I executed her as a criminal according to the laws of Great Xia. The district magistrate ruled over this case too. What do you have to say about it?¡±

 Chapter 268 â€“ A Gamble

    Only Han Qiongzhi pursed her lips as she thought, This guy has some backbone, unlike regular men who can even forget about their own mothers when they see this whore. Originally, I wanted to find a chance to teach him a good lesson, but I¡¯ll forgive him this time.

    Let alone the men here, even the women present struggled to resist Qiu Haitang¡¯s charm. Han Qiongzhi was basically a special exception. People with higher cultivations were more resistant to the arts of charm as well, but at the end of the day, the thing that played the decisive role was a woman¡¯s jealousy.

    Whether it be in terms of cultivation, background, appearance, or figure, Han Qiongzhi was first-rate, but Qiu Haitang just happened to be slightly better than her no matter where she went.

    Qiu Haitang looked at Hua Chengzan. Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Since you only suspect it¡¯s him, then there¡¯s no evidence. Our Hawkwolf Guard will get to the bottom of this matter ourselves. Sect master Qiu, it¡¯s best if you take a step back.¡±

    ¡°Sect master Qiu? Hua Chengzan, all you know is how to help others against me!¡± Qiu Haitang lost her temper as the rim of her eyes reddened slightly.

    The others never expected Hua Chengzan to stand on Li Qingshan¡¯s side so firmly either. This matter had become a dispute between Hua Chengzan and Qiu Haitang, no, the Hawkwolf Guard and the Sect of Clouds and Rain. They really were unsure with which side to stand on. They were filled with displeasure towards Li Qingshan.

    But at the end of the day, Hua Chengzan was still the one in charge of them, so they all tried to persuade her. ¡°Big sis Qiu, isn¡¯t it just the death of someone insignificant? Let¡¯s just forget about it!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at Hua Chengzan with some surprise as well. He was slightly touched too. This was basically kindness that Li Qingshan did not see often. If he were in Hua Chengzan¡¯s position, he would be all the more willing to help this great beauty Qiu Haitang, not some Li Qingshan he had only met once.

    Qiu Haitang said frigidly, ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about that!¡± Her voice softened, and she said with some hidden bitterness and powerlessness, ¡°Chengzan, two of our sect¡¯s grannies have gone missing. Even vice sect master Wei¡¯s son has died mysteriously. All of this is connected to Li Qingshan. As the sect master, how can I just spare him so easily?¡±

    From how she seemed, everyone felt sympathy towards her, but they were stunned by what her words.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Sister Qiu, don¡¯t kid around. The grannies are all ninth layer Qi Practitioners. I can tell he has only reached the sixth layer recently, so how can he be connected to the deaths of two ninth layer Qi Practitioners?¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, get over here and speak. Just how did vice sect master Wei¡¯s son die?¡±

    She said the exact same thing as she had said before, but Qiu Haitang¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She felt like she had made a wrong move.

    Li Qingshan said loudly and clearly, ¡°Listen up, everyone. I was just carrying out formal matters, but this bastard actually wanted revenge on the Hawkwolf Guard. Let¡¯s not say that I did it, but even if I did, is there anything wrong in that?¡±

    Out of the disciples of legalism present, some had already joined the Hawkwolf Guard, while the others would probably end up joining the Hawkwolf Guard eventually. The education they received was that sects were targets to repress and restrict, yet they were actually bold enough to come for revenge against the Hawkwolf Guard? Not to mention that Wei Yingjie had never been on good terms with them with his obscene acts. They all felt that he was better off dead.

    Li Qingshan saw Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression waver. She probably would not lay her hands on him in front of so many people, but he had already prepared the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility, ready to receive any sneak attacks on his way back.

    He was obviously bold enough to come to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain not just because he believed in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s judgement. He was confident in his own strength too. Qiu Haitang might have been a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but she was skilled in the arts of charm, which were not particularly effective against him. Her battle prowess was probably below the elders of the three mountains.

    And, the number of supreme grade talismans on him numbered almost ten now. At the very least, it would not be a one-sided slaughter. If Qiu Haitang actually tried to touch him, she would definitely fail, and she would become pressured from all sides after that.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Forget it. Haitang, this was all just a misunderstanding.¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°I don¡¯t mind taking a step back, but this was originally a matter between Li Qingshan and the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Li Qingshan, you¡¯re a man too, so are you just going to hide behind others like this?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Are you bold enough to gamble against me?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You really do know how to joke around, sect master Qiu. You¡¯re a mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator, so how am I capable enough to gamble against you?¡± If he could transform, he had some confidence in himself, but in human form, it was impossible for him to defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°The person who will face you in the gamble obviously won¡¯t be me. His cultivation will only be lower than yours. Are you bold enough to gamble with me?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If we¡¯re gambling on who¡¯s better at embroidery, needle-threading, or birthing children, it¡¯d be a certain loss for me.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi broke into laughter. She never knew that he was a bit of a flippant rascal too.

    Hua Chengzan smiled too, but he could see that Li Qingshan really was interested in gambling, so he did not stop him. While he had promised Gu Yanying to take care of him, he was not a babysitter. Men obviously had to make their own decisions.

    Li Qingshan was indeed interested. He completely refused to believe that a few words from Hua Chengzan could stop the Sect of Clouds and Rain from seeking revenge against him and make them give up on Xiao An. At most, their disputes would be temporarily repressed, which would erupt again in the future. He could only depend on himself.

    Even if the Sect of Clouds and Rain were willing to drop this matter, it would depend on whether he was willing to as well. If he did not grab these sexual predators and whores by the neck and beat them to a pulp, he refused to be called Li. Once he went through his heavenly tribulation and became a Daemon General, he would go through all four debts with the three mountains and the Sect of Clouds and Rain one by one.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°We¡¯ll obviously gamble on what men are best at.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Drinking, strength, and fighting.¡± Qiu Haitang named three areas.

    Li Qingshan almost burst out laughing. He just happened to be adept in these three areas. He looked at Qiu Haitang and thought, You¡¯re just begging for defeat now. However, he remained composed on the surface and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the wager?¡±

    Qiu Haitang extended a slender finger at Li Qingshan. ¡°You.¡± Then the finger slid over to Xiao An. ¡°And her!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If I lose, you¡¯re more than welcomed to take my head.¡± He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°But I¡¯ll never wager her, unless sect master Qiu is willing to wager yourself.¡± But he shook his head soon afterwards. ¡°No, even that still wouldn¡¯t be worth it.¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression changed drastically. It had already been an insult for Li Qingshan to label her as a wager, but with a quick twist of his words, he basically told her to her face that even if she was willing to wager herself, in no way was she equal to Xiao An.

    This was a stark-naked insult directly to her face. Despite her identity as the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain and her cultivation at Foundation Establishment, she was not even as great as a little girl?

    The disciples of legalism were thrown into an uproar. They were familiar with Qiu Haitang, so their gazes towards Li Qingshan became even more hostile.

    Wu Gen said, ¡°This kid¡¯s in big trouble.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi praised inside, Nice one, kid. Does this whore really think the world spins around her? You know embarrassment now, don¡¯t you?

 Chapter 269 â€“ Giant Lumberman

    Actually, Li Qingshan had no intentions of insulting Qiu Haitang, as these words originated from the bottom of his heart. Qiu Haitang was obviously a supreme beauty, and just like any regular man, he became interested in her, but that was it. It was nothing compared to his familial bond with Xiao An.

    However, probably the only person present who approved of this idea was Qian Rongzhi.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to serve as the wager!¡± A tender voice suddenly rang out. Xiao An had suddenly spoken up after so much silence.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan reprimanded.

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°And what will you be wagering?¡±

    The anger in Qiu Haitang¡¯s heart was temporarily repressed by this wonderful news. She said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ll wager this.¡± She took out an embroidered box and opened the lid, revealing a jade-green pill.

    Haze-like mist dispersed, permeating the entire room. Li Qingshan found the jade-green pill to be extremely familiar. It was what Xuanyue had fed him originally. This was the exact type of pill that had saved him from a lengthy period of accumulation, allowing him to directly condense a daemon core.

    ¡°A Virtue Accumulation pill!¡± Han Qiongzhi cried out.

    The other disciples of legalism all stared straight at the pill in interest.

    In essence, Virtue Accumulation pills were the same type of pills as Qi Condensing and Qi Amassing pills. They were helpful for cultivation. They were called Virtue Accumulation pills because ingesting one was equivalent to a year of accumulating virtue, which was also a year¡¯s worth of cultivation.

    Time was the greatest enemy of cultivators, and Virtue Accumulation pills could save an entire year. A pill like that was extremely precious to all cultivators.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually willing to take out this pill?¡± Hua Chengzan furrowed his brows. It was not a small wager for her to risk a Virtue Accumulation pill for a sixth layer Qi Practitioner¡¯s life. As a matter of fact, it was just too great of a wager. This only demonstrated just how determined she was to go forward with this gamble.

    Qiu Haitang ignored Hua Chengzan. She said to Li Qingshan, ¡°I don¡¯t want your head. If you lose, then you will have to remain in my Sect of Clouds and Rain and serve as a slave for the rest of your life.¡±

    Quit dreaming!

    When Li Qingshan and Xiao An had glanced at each other earlier, they had already made up their minds. If he lost, was he really supposed to cut off his head? He would obviously take off immediately and flee. The only reason why he was willing to wager Xiao An was because he was not wagering anything at all.

    Qiu Haitang had obviously considered this too, but she refused to believe that a sixth layer Qi Practitioner could slip away under her watch. This gamble was just to shut up Hua Chengzan.

    Li Qingshan acted like he was hesitant before finally agreeing, ¡°Alright!¡±

    Qiu Haitang shot a vicious glare at him before tossing the Virtue Accumulation pill to Hua Chengzan. ¡°You can be the eye witness!¡±

    After Qiu Haitang left, the disciples of legalism all gathered over. None of them dared to look down on Li Qingshan anymore. Although he was labelled as arrogant and ignorant to be bold enough to challenge a Foundation Establishment cultivator, his courage was quite admirable at the same time. However, everything aside from the admiration was deep disgust.

    Even Li Qingshan was not capable enough to sway all these people that Qiu Haitang had spent many years familiarising with over to his side in just a few words.

    Wu Gen whispered, ¡°Brother Hua, why¡¯d you fall out with big sis Qiu over this kid?¡±

    Hua Chengzan only smiled. Why would anyone take what he had said earlier seriously anyway? He said to Li Qingshan, ¡°It¡¯s still not too late for you to back out. As long as I¡¯m here, she can¡¯t do anything to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°But I have some confidence in these three areas.¡±

    Wu Gen sighed. As it seemed, Hua Chengzan was determined to support this kid.

    Han Qiongzhi suddenly slapped Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Nice one, kid. I think you can do it. Win over that Virtue Accumulation pill and make the Hawkwolf Guard proud.¡±

    An hour later, Qiu Haitang returned, ¡°Come with me!¡± She had already recovered her grace, without any resentment or anger anymore.

    The cloud landed on the rooftop slowly. With a series of mechanical whirlings, huge beams of wood glided about, colliding in the air and opening up the top floors of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    It made Li Qingshan think of what he saw in the Town of Flowing Clouds. Clearly, the Parlour of Clouds and Rain was also designed by mohists. When the last two large beams merged together, it formed a huge, empty space. In the several floors around the space, there were at least several hundred Qi Practitioners leaning against the railing, watching on.

    It was almost time for the entrance examination to the Academy of the Hundred Schools. Most of the non-local Qi Practitioners would choose to check out this renowned parlour within the prefectural city, while Qiu Haitang had already set up a round of betting for everyone. Not only could she make money off it, she could have everyone serve as an eye witness too.

    This place seemed like a huge arena.

    Li Qingshan landed in the arena and stepped on the ground. He felt that it was firm enough. Afterwards, he had Xiao An wait to the side as he walked into the centre of the space alone. He called out, ¡°Sect master Qiu, where¡¯s the person who will be competing against me?¡±

    Qiu Haitang clapped gently, and Li Qingshan saw a huge door open loudly. A massive figure slowly walked out with heavy steps, along with a series of clatter.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s an otherperson!¡±

    The giant figure emerged from the darkness, arriving below the light. There were gasps from all floors.

    Li Qingshan stood quite tall and straight, but when the figure arrived before him, he had to raise his head to see the latter¡¯s fearsome face.

    A messy beard covered most of the face, with a large nose protruding out and two deeply-set eyes, which gave off a vicious light.

    He seemed human, but he stood over four meters tall, almost as tall as three people. His rippling muscles were a pale yellow, like freshly-cut lumber, but his arms, legs, and neck were all wrapped in chains.

    Apart from regular humans, there were many ¡°otherfolk¡± in the world as well. They seemed like humans, but they possessed many other, strange features, perhaps longer legs or four arms instead of two, and so on.

    It was said that these otherfolk were originally widespread throughout the nine provinces, forming their own tribes and countries. However, with the rise of humans, not only had they purged daemons and demons, but these otherfolk had been expelled as foreign people too. Gradually, they vanished from the view of regular people. They only appeared in distant, remote lands rarely visited by humans.

    This giant happened to be a type of the many otherfolk, called the Giant Lumberfolk. They lived deep within the mountains. It was rumored that they were similar to trees, able to extract nutrients from the ground and constantly grow larger like trees, which was why they were gigantic and called Giant Lumberfolk.

    Hua Chengzan had never thought that Qiu Haitang would actually find a giant lumberman to compete against Li Qingshan either. The odds were truly against Li Qingshan this time. Just with this giants huge stature, Hua Chengzan believed that Li Qingshan would lose even without competing when it came to drinking and strength.

    ¡°Haiting, that¡¯s almost like cheating to use an otherperson in the gamble.¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled indifferently. ¡°An otherperson is still a person, and his cultivation as a Qi Practitioner definitely has not reached the sixth layer. Is there anything wrong with that? If he wants to forfeit, he can do it before the match. You can be quiet now.¡±

    Although the giant had not reached the sixth layer, the amount of true qi his giant body could contain definitely surpassed sixth layer Qi Practitioners.

    Han Qiongzhi was rather reluctant to accept this, but she had to admit that Qiu Haitang was crafty. She truly lived up to her identity as a sect master and a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Looking at Li Qingshan now, he seemed to be utterly frightened, and she felt some pity for him. He was quite brave to be bold enough to gamble against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he was a little lacking in the brains department.

    The bit of admiration the other disciples of legalism felt towards Li Qingshan had completely vanished. All of them mocked and made fun of him now, like he was an idiot trying to break rocks using eggs.

    Wu Gen said to Qian Rongzhi, ¡°We really can¡¯t blame him for this. He¡¯s come from a small place after all. He doesn¡¯t know the power of Foundation Establishment cultivators.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said instead, ¡°You can¡¯t be too sure about that.¡±

    A person called out from above, ¡°Sect master Qiu, are you playing a joke? How can you still call this a gamble?¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Just cast your bets as you please. I¡¯ll treat all the spiritual stones you win as gifts to you all.¡±

    ¡°Can I place a bet too?¡± Li Qingshan said suddenly.

    Hua Chengzan was slightly surprised. There was no dejection in Li Qingshan¡¯s voice. It was still filled with confidence.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s gaze landed on Li Qingshan again, and she scorned, ¡°As long as you¡¯re bold enough!¡±

    ¡°I bet a thousand spiritual stones that I¡¯ll win!¡±

    A moment of silence descended on the entire place before it erupted with laughter.

    Three floors up, two beautiful, young girls surrounded a young man in white clothes. One of the girls asked, ¡°Big brother Tian, has that person lost his mind?¡±

    ¡°There has always been plenty of madmen in the world, but without these madmen, the world would be much duller.¡± The young man¡¯s gaze circled around, glancing past Qian Rongzhi and Han Qiongzhi before landing on Qiu Haitang in the end.

    A girl said unhappily, ¡°Brother Tian, you¡¯re being lustful again. Aren¡¯t the two of us enough?¡±

    The young man in white smiled. ¡°You gotta experiment around when you¡¯re young, y¡¯know!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I know that no one in the world can compare to brother Tian, nor can brother Tian be bound by societal norms. We don¡¯t care how many women you have, as long as you don¡¯t forget about us.¡±

    The young man in white said with deep affection, ¡°You will always be my precious babies!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi felt the gaze from above, but she ignored it. All she heard was Wu Gen smile and say, ¡°He still knows how to joke around. Though, if he loses, he¡¯ll become a slave anyway. His possessions won¡¯t be his anymore, so there¡¯s no risk in betting.¡±

    However, he heard Qian Rongzhi say, ¡°I bet five hundred spiritual stones that Li Qingshan will win.¡±

    Wu Gen was stunned. His face sank. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He really suspected something was going on between Qian Rongzhi and Li Qingshan now.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled,.¡°I feel like I can win the bet.¡±

    Hua Chengzan suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ll bet a thousand spiritual stones on him too. I also think I can win the bet.¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Since you¡¯re giving the spiritual stones to me, I can¡¯t turn them down, can I?¡±

    A while later, the bets were closed. The majority betted on the giant lumberman¡¯s victory, including the young man in white who casually betted a thousand spiritual stones. Very few people betted on Li Qingshan winning, so the odds were startlingly large.

 Chapter 270 â€“ Drinking Heartily

    Qiu Haitang completely ignored the giant lumberman¡¯s hostility. ¡°If you lose, you know what your fate is, right?¡±

    The giant lumberman growled and turned around powerlessly to face Li Qingshan.

    At this moment, over a hundred jars of fine alcohol had been hauled over, placed to one side.

    Nearby, a long stick of incense was planted within a censer.

    ¡°We¡¯ll time it using the incense. Whoever drinks the most within two hours will win.¡± Qiu Haitang clapped her hands gently.

    The giant lumberman basically lunged over. Reaching out with his large hand, he lifted up a jar of alcohol and glugged it down like he was trying to quench his thirst. The large jar was like a big cup to him. Immediately, the jar had been emptied out, which he then tossed aside.

    Based on aura alone, the people who still thought Li Qingshan could get lucky now believed he would lose for sure.

    Li Qingshan walked over unhurriedly, opened a jar, and sucked with his mouth. Like a whale taking in water, a clear stream of alcohol flew into his mouth, and before long, the jar had been emptied out.

    He praised, ¡°Fine alcohol!¡± There was a heavy flavour to it and the taste was sharp. It was not spiritual alcohol, but it was still some fine, rare alcohol. When the spirits reached his throat, it left behind a scorching satisfaction.

    The giant lumberman glanced at him. He had already drank his third jar of alcohol.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s interest in drinking had been piqued. From the moment the black ox had taught him how to drink, he had fallen in love with this taste, but ever since he went to Jiaping city, numerous matters had constantly disturbed him, actually preventing him from drinking to his heart¡¯s content. He found it to be quite a pity.

    He could finally drink heartily tonight.

    Li Qingshan sat down as if no one was watching. He placed a hand on a jar and said to Qiu Haitang. ¡°Drinking without meat is just lacking some flavour.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was surprised. In a situation like this, other people would only be bothered by how small their stomachs were, yet he actually wanted to eat too.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Hmph, what a fake act. Give it to him.¡±

    A while later, a long table was brought before Li Qingshan. At the centre was a whole roasted goat and a roasted suckling pig, while around it were roasted chickens, roasted ducks, and cold pork knuckles. Basically all the meat dishes that regular people could think of were there.

    Li Qingshan did not bother with chopsticks. He directly grabbed a cold pork trotter and bit down. It was fragrant but not greasy, melting in his mouth. He praised, ¡°Delicious!¡± Wu Gen had said that the famous chefs of the Clear River prefecture were basically all gathered in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He really was not lying.

    So far, Li Qingshan had not glanced over even once. He ate and drank at his own pace, unlike the giant lumberman who downed alcohol jar after jar. Everyone could tell that he was enjoying this process. He would pick up another jar after he finished one. He was not forcing himself to drink quickly, but he just happened to drink extremely quickly.

    A while later and a few jars of alcohol later, the roasted suckling pig had vanished into his belly.

    The people who were not particularly hungry could not help but smack their lips as they began to drool.

    Han Qiongzhi asked Hua Chengzan, ¡°Can he win?¡± Influenced by Hua Chengzan, she had bet five hundred spiritual stones on Li Qingshan reluctantly, but she felt slightly pained afterwards. Five hundred spiritual stones were enough to buy a slightly worse high grade spiritual artifact.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It won¡¯t be easy. He has split open his sea of qi and his cultivation is slightly higher, but he won¡¯t be able to refine the alcohol away fast enough. He¡¯s nowhere near as large as the giant lumberman, so he¡¯ll suffer because of that.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Yet you still bet a thousand spiritual stones on him, even making me believe you had confidence in him.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not me who has confidence, but him. Don¡¯t you think he¡¯s worth a thousand spiritual stones of trust?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi looked at Li Qingshan again. He had unbuttoned his garment, revealing his bronze chest. There was a slight smile on his chiseled face. He was not handsome, but he was brimming with masculinity and boldness. Even for her, she was slightly tempted. She gritted her teeth. ¡°He¡¯s worth it!¡±

    This man was worth that much no matter what. To the side, she saw how Xiao An remained composed the entire time. She was entirely unfazed, only watching him silently. There was doubtless and unreserved trust in him.

    She began to understand why Li Qingshan would be so protective of her, even bold enough to fight back against Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    Ashes fell down and half of the incense had already burned away. Li Qingshan and the giant lumberman¡¯s surroundings had already become filled with alcohol jars, while half of all the jars had already been emptied out by them.

    The fragrant smell of alcohol wafted everywhere. Even from three floors away, they could smell it clearly.

    The entire place had already fallen silent. There were plenty of people who drank heartily by taking advantage of their protective true qi, but even they were unable to drink like this.

    ¡°Brother Tian, they¡¯re so impressive!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just two gluttons,¡± said the young man in white, but he was slightly worried about his one thousand spiritual stones. However, he relaxed very soon.

    Among the empty jars, the giant lumberman had already drunk thirty-three, while Li Qingshan had only drunk twenty-two. There was still a difference of a dozen jars.

    However, Hua Chengzan noticed that the giant lumberman¡¯s face had already begun to redden, revealing some tipsiness. He had begun to slow down too.

    The true qi within the giant lumbermen circulated rapidly, dispersing the drunk feeling. It was no longer just a competition of drinking now, but cultivation too.

    Li Qingshan seemed even drunker, but as he drank and ate, he actually drank faster and faster. He purposefully did not use true qi or daemon qi to refine away the alcohol, as there was absolutely no need to.

    He seemed much smaller than the giant lumberman, but his actual size had already exceeded fifty feet. He was truly a huge monster.

    During the time he spent in seclusion in Jiaping city, he would eat large handfuls of pills every single day. Regardless of whether they were Qi Gathering pills or Qi Amassing pills, he would refine it all into daemon qi. His height as a daemon rapidly increased too. If he transformed right now, his pair of horns might have been able to touch the ceiling.

    If the giant lumberman treated the alcohol jars as large cups to chug, then they were tiny, mouth-sized cups to Li Qingshan. Not only was there no need for him to hurry, but he even wanted to carefully savour the alcohol so that it completely diffused into his body. If he refined away the alcohol as he drank, what would be the point of drinking?

    When a third of the incense stick remained, the giant lumberman had drunk another ten jars, but Li Qingshan had drunk fourteen. Only eight jars separated them now.

    The giant lumberman¡¯s pale yellow skin had already reddened. He began to totter around as he stood there, forcing him to sit down like Li Qingshan.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan sat there firmly. It was quite difficult to see whether his face had become flushed due to his bronze skin, but he did seem even more drunk. However, he drank faster and faster too. This was the drinking style of getting into the groove.

    Everyone could see who was winning.

    Han Qiongzhi pulled Hua Chengzan¡¯s shoulder and said excitedly, ¡°He might be able to win!¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. This kid sure was capable. He had almost forgotten that Li Qingshan was a Body Practitioner in the first place. Although drinking and eating at the same time filled up the belly faster, it was harder to get drunk. And, it would strictly control his drinking speed, allowing his true qi to gradually refine away the alcohol.

    If he learned that Li Qingshan had not considered that at all, only savouring the taste of the alcohol even without refining it away, who knew what his expression would become.

    Despite all of his smarts, he never would have imagined that right before him was a huge daemon.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s gaze made contact with Qiu Haitang¡¯s. Hua Chengzan bowed slightly, expressing his apologies. Qiu Haitang instead revealed hidden bitterness. Am I just unable to arouse any emotion in you?

    The giant lumberman watched as Li Qingshan gradually caught up and panicked inside. He lifted up the alcohol and poured it into his mouth recklessly, but with that, he became even more drunk instead. His true qi was unable to refine it away in time anymore.

    When there was still a tiny part of the incense remaining, there was a great boom, and the giant lumberman collapsed on the ground. The alcohol jar in his hand was smashed to pieces, and the remaining alcohol spilled all over the ground.

    Li Qingshan stood up and belched. He gluggled down the last jar of alcohol and looked around. ¡°Is that all?¡± It seemed like he was not satisfied yet.

    The incense burnt out.

    Silence.

    ¡°He¡¯s won!¡± Han Qiongzhi raised her fist and broke the silence.

    An uproar gradually developed everywhere, causing a racket. A giant lumberman had actually lost to a regular person in drinking. No one had been expecting that.

    Many people yelled out, ¡°This is rigged!¡±

    There were not just bets on the overall outcome, but bets on the individual matches too. Many of them who originally wanted to make some quick spiritual stones instead lost all of the spiritual stones that they had laboured so much for.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. His loud laughter drowned out all the objections. He said to Qiu Haitang, ¡°Sect master Qiu, have I won this match?¡± The alcohol fueled his desires, so he fearlessly ogled at her body.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you have this one.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the drunken giant lumberman. ¡°We might not be able to do the next match now.¡±

    Qiu Haitang said frigidly, ¡°Get to your feet!¡±

    The giant lumberman shivered, and he crawled up from the ground in a tottering manner. Using his true qi, he sobered up extremely quickly.

    Qiu Haitang took out a small cauldron from her hundred treasures pouch and tossed it into the air.

    With a boom, the small cauldron expanded to ten times its size and landed heavily. Li Qingshan found the floor shake violently. The cauldron was already several tonnes in weight.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Ancient strongmen are known to possess the strength to lift cauldrons, so the second match will be lifting this cauldron.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re the owner of this cauldron. If you work against me secretly, wouldn¡¯t I end up losing in absolute confusion?¡±

    Qiu Haitang frowned. ¡°What do you want instead?¡± She was actually thinking about that. She completely refused to believe that Li Qingshan¡¯s physical strength would be even greater than the giant lumberman¡¯s.

    Giant Lumberfolk were born with extraordinary physiques. After she had purchased him, she even taught him the arts of practising the body. In order to escape, he basically practised it day and night, developing startling strength. When she was not present, she had to shackle him up with chains to keep him from escaping. Even stronger Qi Practitioners would struggle to subdue him.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m the eye witness, I¡¯ll provide the cauldron.¡± As Hua Chengzan said that, he tossed out a three-legged cauldron too.

    Qiu Haitang snorted, but she believed that Hua Chengzan would not work against her. She stowed her cauldron away. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that you can say now!

    Li Qingshan arrived before the cauldron. The cauldron shone with light. It was a rare spiritual artifact. He extended his arm and grabbed the handle with one hand.

    ¡°Idiot! How is one hand enough?!¡± Han Qiongzhi called out.

    Wu Gen sneered even harder. He said to Qian Rongzhi, ¡°Li Qingshan has probably never seen an artifact smithing cauldron. They¡¯re much heavier than cauldrons made of regular metal. Even I can¡¯t lift it with one hand.¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, Li Qingshan had already lifted the cauldron over his head with a single hand. He casually tossed it at the giant lumberman, ¡°Your turn.¡±

 Chapter 271 â€“ A Complete Victory

    The giant lumberman refused to appear weak. He caught the huge cauldron with one hand as easily as catching a toy. He even weighed it in his hand to show off his great strength. After that, he tossed it back to Li Qingshan.

    Hua Chengzan warned, ¡°Be careful!¡± The cauldron enlarged in the air.

    Li Qingshan caught it, and sure enough, it was much heavier, but he did not care. He tossed it back to the giant lumberman, and it expanded in the air once again.

    The cauldron was tossed between the two of them, growing in size. Even Li Qingshan had to catch it with both arms now. Many Qi Practitioners were dumbfounded by this. Was he still human with this kind of strength?

    Even if they used various techniques or talismans like the Divine Strength talismans, they still would not have been able to lift it up so easily.

    Only Body Practitioners could understand what was going on, and they showed admiration. They had never thought this young man would be so impressive as a Body Practitioner that he could actually challenge a giant lumberman to a match of physical strength.

    Qiu Haitang frowned slightly. Just where did this kid come from? Why was he so strong as a Body Practitioner?

    Body Practitioners could not be made with just a secret manual or two and hiding and training deep in the mountains. Their demand for pills would only exceed Qi Practitioners.

    She was actually no longer so confident in this match of physical strength that she originally thought to be predetermined.

    The Qi Practitioners in the surroundings all held their breaths and watched nervously as the huge cauldron flew back and forth. The giant lumberman had already lost a match. If he lost another, then they had essentially thrown their spiritual stones down a drain.

    The giant lumberman caught the huge cauldron again. His face was flushed, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was drenched in sweat. He had completely sobered up now. The cauldron had already grown to three times its size, weighing heavily on his shoulder. He heaved for breath. Even he began to find this rather cumbersome.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan had already taken off his upper garment. His bronze body did not have any excess flab, but it was unlike the giant lumber¡¯s bulging muscles. Instead, he was perfectly streamline, like he was forged from metal. If the strength he had gained from the ox demon was a piece of ironstone, then the tiger demon had forged the ironstone into a steel blade.

    He did not perspire at all. It did not seem arduous to him at all. He might not have been greater than the giant lumberman in terms of pure strength, but there were no Body Practitioners that could rival his endurance and tenacity.

    The outcome of the gamble was near.

    The giant lumberman made up his mind, roared out, and exerted his full strength, throwing out the huge cauldron.

    ¡°Dodge it!¡± Han Qiongzhi cried out.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression changed slightly, but the cauldron still swelled in size. If he did not do that, the match would be unfair. All he could do now was let Li Qingshan give up on this match.

    ¡°If the cauldron touches the ground, then it¡¯s a loss. You¡¯d better catch it well, fellow Li.¡± Qiu Haitang smiled charmingly. She could tell the two of them had already reached their limits. If Li Qingshan did not catch it, it would be his loss, but if he tried to catch it, it would be even better. Even if he survived, he would be heavily injured, which would only guarantee his defeat in the third match.

    Li Qingshan ignored these people. His eyes narrowed, his true qi sunk in his dantian, and he extended both hands towards the whistling cauldron.

    The cauldron slammed into Li Qingshan, leading to a series of cries in the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan could sense the tremendous force in the cauldron. If he could transform, this would have been nothing, but it was rather tough on him in human form. However, he gritted his teeth, and the sea of qi in his dantian began to circulate, gushing out with strands of true qi that flowed through his entire body. It turned into a softening force to nullify the force in the incoming cauldron.

    Li Qingshan staggered back over a dozen steps with the cauldron, dragging out two long tracks in the ground. He kicked down with his right foot and suddenly came to a halt. There was a crack, and the sole of his foot sank into the floor.

    Li Qingshan held the cauldron firmly and let out a toothy grin. He called out, ¡°Back to you!¡± He suddenly took a step forward, unleashing all of his strength to twist his body, throwing out the cauldron.

    The cauldron directly flew out with even greater force than when it first arrived. The giant lumberman was frightened. He glanced at Qiu Haitang, let out a furious roar, and extended his arms. He was prepared to die.

    The moment his hands touched the cauldron, he knew that he was unable to stop this force. He knew his body was about to be crushed, so he closed his eyes as he waited for death.

    The gust of wind slammed into his face, but he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and saw how the cauldron had suddenly stopped before him, only inches away.

    The giant lumberman blinked his eyes, as if he was wondering what was going on. He lowered his head and saw a young man in black. He had caught the cauldron.

    The young man in black turned around, revealing a handsome face with straight, slanted eyebrows and twinkling eyes. However, his face seemed like it was forged from metal before being sealed in ice, radiating with coldness.

    He said coldly, ¡°It ends here. You¡¯ve already lost.¡±

    The giant lumberman became dejected, but he glanced at the young man in black gratefully. If it were not for him, he might have been dead already.

    The young man in black tossed the cauldron back at Hua Chengzan. The cauldron flew into Hua Chengzan¡¯s hand, having already returned to the size of a palm. With a spurt of true qi, it was sent into the hundred treasures pouch. Hua Chengzan said to the young man in black who had suddenly appeared, ¡°Tieyi, what brings you here?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi waved at him. ¡°Yo, li¡¯l bro!¡±

    The young man in black did not seem to see them. He turned around and stared straight at Li Qingshan, saying coldly, ¡°Impressive skills as a Body Practitioner.¡±

    ¡°Right back at you!¡± Li Qingshan saw it all unfold extremely clearly. The young man in black had only darted out from the side after he had thrown the cauldron. He was like an agile panther, arriving in the blink of an eye and catching the cauldron. His body was so powerful that even Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Was he a legendary Body Practitioner?

    When the young man in black received the cauldron, he did not catch it forcefully. Instead, he twisted the cauldron slightly, catching it cleverly and demonstrating his extremely great martial arts.

    As if he was already used to the young man in black¡¯s coldness, Hua Chengzan introduced, ¡°The primary disciple of the school of the Military, Han Tieyi. Those who say I¡¯m the greatest below Foundation Establishment must have never met him.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded, agreeing with Hua Chengzan¡¯s words. Not only did Han Tieyi have a powerful body, but he was also at the tenth layer as a Qi Practitioner. He practised both qi and the body. He would probably struggle to find any even opponents among Qi Practitioners. Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Han Tieyi ignored him. He turned around and faced Qiu Haitang, who had her brows furrowed. ¡°How many spiritual stones for this otherfolk? I¡¯ll buy him!¡±

    Hua Chengzan sighed gently. ¡°Haitang, you¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Qiu Haitang clenched her fist for a while before loosening it again, as if she refused to accept this outcome. In the end, she sighed. ¡°So be it. Li Qingshan, the Sect of Clouds and Rain cleans its slate with you. You best not appear before me again either.¡±

    If she insisted that Han Tieyi had interfered with the match, she could make it to the third round, but she was not an unreasonable, pestering woman. And, with Li Qingshan¡¯s performance earlier, it would be difficult for her to emerge victorious even if she made it to the third match. Instead of that, she might as well just admit defeat now. However, the Virtue Accumulation pill truly did pain her. She gritted her teeth in hatred for Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s hope that comes true!¡± With several thousand additional spiritual stones to his name and the Virtue Accumulation pill in hand, he could probably go knock on that door that led to the Daemon General realm now! As for whether he would appear before her again, that would not be for her to decide anymore.

    ¡°Nice one, kid. Nicely done!¡± Han Qiongzhi came over and slapped Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    The contempt in the eyes of the legalist disciples completely vanished. Just from how his strength of lifting the cauldron alone, not a lot among them could match him, and it was even rarer for him to earn a word of praise from Han Tieyi. After all, that fellow was cold to the bones. No wonder Hua Chengzan valued him so much.

    Even Wu Gen could not help but admit that this countryside kid was extraordinary. He glanced at Qian Rongzhi with mixed emotion and only saw her smiling. She was not particularly overjoyed at all. Her demeanour only made him even more interested in her.

    With some delighted, others would obviously be concerned. With Qiu Haitang¡¯s forfeit, the entire building was thrown into an uproar.

    They had actually lost a bet that they were certain they would win, and they had lost it in such an absolute fashion. There was not even the need for a third match.

    ¡°No, this is rigged! Refund the spiritual stones!¡± Someone called out.

    That immediately led to a chain of similar responses. Everyone demanded for the Parlour of Clouds and Rain to refund the spiritual stones. There were quite a few Qi Practitioners who threw several hundred spiritual stones into the bet. To many Qi Practitioners, this was all that they had, and it had all evaporated in an instant, so how could they accept this?

    ¡°Does anyone doubt my oversight?¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s smiled vanished. He raised his head and looked around. Wherever his gaze passed by, the ruckus immediately settled down.

    ¡°Brother Tian, we¡¯ve lost.¡±

    ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s just a thousand spiritual stones, right? It¡¯s nothing at all.¡± The young man in white behaved like he did not care, but he bled inside. He had not brought a lot of spiritual stones with him this time to enter the Academy of the Hundred Schools. He had basically lost half of it all of a sudden. He muttered under his breath, ¡°Li Qingshan.¡± before turning around and leaving furiously.

    ¡°How many spiritual stones?¡± Han Tieyi asked Qiu Haitang again. He was determined to purchase the otherfolk.

    ¡°Since you want him, how can I accept your spiritual stones, Tieyi? Just take him!¡± Qiu Haitang casually tossed out a deed.

    The giant lumberman stared straight at the thin piece of paper. He was almost tempted to snatch it over, but even if he snatched it and destroyed it, it would be useless. He could not help but become dejected.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Forget about my winnings. Just treat it as the payment for the otherfolk.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, Brother Hua sure is extravagant. A few thousand spiritual stones doesn¡¯t even mean anything to him. Li Qingshan also saw how close he was with Han Tieyi.

    Qiu Haitan shot Hua Chengzan a vicious glance. ¡°If I said I¡¯m giving him to Tieyi, then I¡¯m giving it to Tieyi. As for your winnings, I wouldn¡¯t give it to you even if you want it.¡±

    Han Tieyi caught the deed. He remained as cold as ever, and he did not thank Hua Chengzan and Qiu Haitang either. With just a wave of his hand, the deed was immediately reduced to powder.

    He said to the giant lumberman, ¡°You¡¯re free now. Come to the Academy of the Hundred Schools the day after tomorrow and join my school of the Military.¡± He said it like it was an order, cold and leaving no room for negotiation.

    He glanced at Li Qingshan again and then at Hua Chengzan, but he said nothing. He strode away.

    Hua Chengzan rubbed his nose and smiled bitterly. ¡°He has acknowledged me a little. At least he hasn¡¯t directly taken advantage of me.¡±

    You call that acknowledgement? Only then did Li Qingshan understand that it was not that Han Tieyi did not acknowledge him, but rather he was born with a stiff face and never acknowledged anyone. Li Qingshan then noticed that his strides and rhythm remained the same the entire time, without any variations at all. He was as precise and monotonous as a clock. Was this the demeanour of a military disciple?

 Chapter 272 â€“ Eccentric and Stubborn

    The giant lumberman returned to his senses and growled at the figure with a strange voice, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be there!¡±

    This was not just out of gratitude for having his life saved. Even with freedom, otherfolk in this world were truly restricted. Perhaps, he might be captured again and forced into slavery once more.

    Han Tieyi¡¯s pace did not change at all, as if he had not heard him, or perhaps he was expecting this. He disappeared in the blink of an eye.

    Han Qiongzhi muttered, ¡°How eccentric!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan felt silent admiration. Han Tieyi seemed cold and unreasonable when he handled manners, but he gave off the bearing of a great general. To be able to stand out above the millions in the Clear River prefecture and become the primary disciple of the school of the Military, he sure was extraordinary.

    ¡°That¡¯s just how he¡¯s like. Please don¡¯t mind him.¡± Hua Chengzan passed the embroidered box to Li Qingshan, which the disciples of legalism all envied.

    Many people had heard and seen this item before, but never had they eaten it. However, Li Qingshan sighed when he saw this pill that Xuanyue had once fed him.

    The Virtue Accumulation pill that even Foundation Establishment cultivators treasured had been given to him by the handfuls by Xuanyue. They had been taken out as easily as how he took out Qi Gathering pills.

    A while later, Qiu Haitang also ordered people to deliver the few thousand spiritual stones he had won.

    The surrounding people grew even more envious. A few thousand spiritual stones was a tremendous sum to all Qi Practitioners.

    Han Qiongzhi had won quite a lot too, and her gaze towards Li Qingshan became more and more gentle. She had completely forgotten about their tiny disagreement before. Seeing how Li Qingshan remained composed the entire time, she said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but you¡¯re pretty rich.¡±

    If regular Qi Practitioners obtained a Virtue Accumulation pill and several thousand spiritual stones, they would definitely light up with joy. How could they treat such a tremendous sum with indifference or bet a thousand spiritual stones without batting an eye? Even the young masters and misses from clans would rarely be so generous. He even possessed extraordinary abilities as a Body Practitioner. He seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious haze.

    When he praised the demeanour of others, others admired him too. Both Han Qiongzhi and Hua Chengzan, and even Qiu Haitang, stopped treating him as a regular sixth layer Qi Practitioner.

    ¡°Senior sister Han, don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯ve taken a fancy to Qingshan?¡± Wu Gen said rather enviously. Among their group, Han Qiongzhi played the role of the eldest sister. She possessed extraordinary talent, she was bold and straightforward, and she was pretty too. Through her constant interactions with them, many people became interested in her. Wu Gen was one of them.

    The other legalist disciples chimed in, ¡°Qingshan is so strong, so he must be extremely impressive in that aspect too. No wonder sister Han likes him.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi refused to accept this. She teased them by wrapping her arm around Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I think this kid is much stronger than you group of weaklings.¡± She was not short, but she was still shorter than Li Qingshan. After wrapping her arm around him, she basically pressed most of her body against Li Qingshan. They really did seem a little like a couple.

    She even counterattacked. ¡°Rongzhi, don¡¯t you think so too?¡±

    ¡°Just as senior sister Han has said.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled. She had already realised that among the group, the last person she could afford to offend was not Hua Chengzan, but Han Qiongzhi.

    Hua Chengzan was sharp-witted, but he still had his dignity as a man. He would never bicker, refute, or argue with a woman like her without good reason. Once Han Qiongzhi became carried away, she would actually be capable of doing anything just to get back at someone.

    As for whether this would displease the men here, it was even less of a worry. Men respected and admired beautiful women that displeased them.

    Wu Gen immediately felt intense pressure. Originally, he never treated Li Qingshan as a rival. Whether it was his appearance, background, or cultivation, Li Qingshan paled in comparison to him, while Li Qingshan¡¯s eloquence and knowledge went even more without saying. He was a just countryside kid with some talent and luck. Even if he had some ties to Qian Rongzhi, he would not worry.

    But now, he no longer possessed that confidence.

    Han Qiongzhi laughed aloud. ¡°I loathed you a little when I first saw you, but I do like you a little now.¡± She patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Qingshan, once you enter the Academy of the Hundred Schools, cultivate well. If you catch up to me, I¡¯ll give you a chance, alright?¡±

    It was not like she had not seen men before, so it was impossible for her to fall in love at first sight. At most, it was just some recognition and approval for Li Qingshan. Most of it was encouragement anyway. She did not believe that Li Qingshan could actually catch up to her cultivation.

    Although only three layers separated the sixth and ninth layers, every single layer was a tough barrier from the sixth layer onwards. The amount of time required to break through was frequently calculated using years. Being able to open the eight extraordinary meridians within a decade was already quite fast. And, with her talent, she might have already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator then. There was basically no chance for him to catch up, so that was not what she was thinking about either.

    In the cultivation world, even when love existed between a man and a woman, a difference in cultivation would form an untraversable chasm between them. Within the world of regular people, perhaps there were tales of young misses eloping with poor scholars, but it was impossible for female cultivators to settle on male cultivators at a lower cultivation level than them. This was not just because of their greater power. Just lifespan alone differed by over a century between Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Practitioners.

    Li Qingshan grinned and stayed silent. Han Qiongzhi¡¯s appearance and figure went without saying, but her personality was not something that he could manage. Just what were unruly girlfriends? He had already seen far too many in his former life, so he wanted to change up his tastes after transmigrating this time.

    Han Qiongzhi immediately became irate. Her eyebrows rose in anger. ¡°What, you think I¡¯m not worthy of you?¡±

    Wu Gen said, ¡°I think he¡¯s just self-conscious!¡± The other disciples of legalism echoed him. Wu Gen was not the only envious one.

    Li Qingshan glanced past them. He knew he had already offended these people slightly with everything that happened today. If he wanted to get along and build good relationships with them in the future, he needed to be modest and discreet.

    Li Qingshan extended his arm and tugged Han Qiongzhi into his arms. He lowered his head and smiled. ¡°Qiongzhi, please wait a little for me.¡± Her mellow, supple chest pressed against his own. The only thing that separated them was a thin, spring dress. It was quite the feeling.

    If others were willing to get along with him, then he was willing to get along with them. If others were reluctant to get along with him, then they could fuck off. He had not come to the Academy of the Hundred Schools to be discreet, nor was he here to please anyone.

    Hua Chengzan shook his head. Now that was another stubborn one. Let alone Han Qiongzhi, even when Li Qingshan met her for the first time in the past, he had ogled her directly. Though, what he had in his arms right now was a female tiger. He was in constant danger of being mauled.

    The disciples of legalism all widened their eyes. They never thought Li Qingshan would actually be bold enough to be frivolous with Han Qiongzhi. They all sneered inside. This guy is in for some bad luck.

    Han Qiongzhi never acted too seriously. She did not pay too much attention to the boundaries between men and women. However, if any men believed they could take advantage of her because of this, bold enough to fool around with her, then they would taste the power of a ninth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Han Qiongzhi already knew that he was bold, but she was still surprised when he behaved boldly. She raised her head furiously, about to lose her temper, but there was not the slightest hesitation or doubt in the clear eyes that met her, nor was there any frivolousness or teasing. There was only absolute confidence. Her anger immediately collapsed on itself.

    She could not help but shift her gaze. Sniffing the odour he gave off that had mixed with the scent of alcohol, she became flushed, as if she had drunk alcohol. As she listened to his powerful, sturdy heartbeat, her heartbeat also sped up slightly for some reason.

    The disciples of legalism all gasped. If they wore glasses, then their glasses would have fallen off in shock. They had never seen Han Qiongzhi, who was as fierce as a tiger, behave like this. Just what was going on today with this kid?

    Han Qiongzhi unleashed her true qi and broke free from his embrace. She had already recovered. She smiled. ¡°Alright. Now that¡¯s more like a man.¡±

    However, everyone saw her gaze flicker. She was rather awkward. Han Qiongzhi growled, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite late. Let¡¯s all disperse!¡± Hua Chengzan spoke to help Han Qiongzhi out of the situation, but he never expected Han Qiongzhi to behave like that either. Suddenly, he remembered that Li Qingshan¡¯s nickname was called whatever tiger or something. The female tiger had truly met the male tiger this time.

    Now, most of the Qi Practitioners gathered around there had dispersed. Regardless of their fury or resentment, they all remembered one name, Li Qingshan.

    Just as the giant lumberman wondered where he would be staying, he heard Hua Chengzan ask, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    His gentleness warmed the giant lumberman¡¯s heart. He knew that this was his saviour friend, so he answered, ¡°Mu Kui.¡±

    ¡°Mu Kui, you should come with me too. I¡¯ll send you to the Academy of the Hundred Schools in two days¡¯ time.¡± Since he was someone that Han Tieyi valued, he had to take care of him a little on Han Tieyi¡¯s behalf. Who knew what trouble could arise from an otherfolk wandering through the streets.

    In the eyes of regular people, otherfolk were strange, violent creatures. As a matter of fact, you could say that cultivators basically had the same impression of them too. It was quite ironic, but compared to daemons that came in all shapes and sizes, most people feared and detested these humanoid ¡°monsters¡± more.

    Mu Kui nodded. He tailed very far behind everyone, maintaining a safe distance from Li Qingshan in particular. The cauldron that Li Qingshan had thrown out had almost cost him his life.

    Wu Gen glanced backwards in some disgust. ¡°Brother Hua, are we really going to bring him with us? Just what is brother Han thinking? No matter how talented otherfolk are, they¡¯re still otherfolk. They have feuds against us as a race. Perhaps he might even backstab us in the future.¡±

    Hua Chengzan replied noncommittally, ¡°He has his own thoughts. Giant Lumberfolk tend to be gentle. They dislike fighting and killing. In the past when we waged war against the otherfolk, it was primarily with the Fire Devouring folk and the Featherfolk. Moreover, the Giant Lumberfolk are divided into many ethnic groups¡­¡±

    He casually explained the habits and lifestyles of Giant Lumberfolk like he was very familiar with it, demonstrating his wide knowledge; this led to a series of praise from the disciples of legalism.

    As Mu Kui listened to Hua Chengzan talk about his home in the deep mountains of the distant west, he became sad, almost shedding some tears.

 Chapter 273 â€“ Ninety Percent, A Hundred Percen

    t

    After embracing Han Qiongzhi, Li Qingshan knew that he could no longer get along with these elite disciples of legalism, so he did not stick with them either. He purposefully fell behind them. He was very interested in the giant lumberman, but he could not afford to have any distracting thoughts back then during the matches.

    Now that the gamble was over, he could no longer hold back his curiosity after hearing Hua Chengzan¡¯s introduction. There were actually such strange beings in the world? And there was more than just one, like those Fire Devouring folk or Featherfolk? What were they like?

    Travelling to all corners of the world and taking in all the scenery that the universe had to offer was a part of his oath.

    ¡°Are all your clansmen surnamed Mu?¡±

    Mu Kui nodded stiffly.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your homeland?¡±

    Mu Kui kept his mouth shut. He became extremely cautious. Was he even planning to target his clansmen?

    ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll change the question. Are there other otherfolk in your homeland?¡±

    It was even less likely for Mu Kui to answer him now.

    Li Qingshan suddenly extended his hand. Mu Kui almost struck him instinctively, but Li Qingshan only knocked against his wood-like skin. ¡°So it isn¡¯t wood.¡±

    ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t!¡± Mu Kui said in a strange tone. He was left at quite a loss as to how to respond. The man who had been as vicious as a tiger earlier was now like a curious child, without any ill will or prejudice.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to check out your homeland one day, whether you agree or not.¡± Just the thought of a group of towering Giant Lumberfolk was extremely interesting.

    Mu Kui said, ¡°If you don¡¯t harbour any ill intentions, then I can take you there.¡± Though, just how far away was his home?

    At this moment, Qiu Haitang suddenly appeared in front of Li Qingshan. Both Li Qingshan and Mu Kui were startled, almost lashing out instinctively. Before this common enemy, any ill will between them naturally resolved itself.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Haitang!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Looks like it hasn¡¯t come true. I didn¡¯t want to meet you again, yet here we are.¡±

    Qiu Haitang ignored him. She looked at Xiao An again. ¡°If this child follows you, she¡¯ll just waste her fantastic talent all for nothing. As long as you agree, the resources of the Sect of Clouds and Rain will all go to her, and I can promise the position of future sect master too.¡±

    Everyone was taken aback. This promise held far too much weight. Although Qiu Haitang had lost a match due to her misjudgement today, the Sect of Clouds and Rain was still a top sect within the Clear River prefecture. While the resources they possessed were not as much as the larger schools, such as the school of Confucianism and the school of Legalism, but their resources did surpass smaller schools like the school of Music and the school of Medicine.

    Even the resources that Hua Chengzan regularly received from the school of Legalism could not rival this promise of the Sect of Cloud and Rain. This was basically a sect pouring everything they had into a single person. All Qi Practitioners would be tempted by this.

    Hua Chengzan was surprised too. Was the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty really that important to the Sect of Clouds and Rain?

    He reevaluated Xiao An again. He had to admit that she was an extremely pretty child, the type where he could tell possessed the talent for practising qi with a single glance. However, no one could be certain just how great her talent was. He could only know after she was tested.

    And to be honest, he did not like this child very much, as she did not seem like a child at all. Not only did she lack the liveliness and energy of a child her age, but the way she looked at people was chilling at times too.

    Li Qingshan only smiled and rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head before this great temptation. ¡°I know her talents better than you. I can give her ten times, a hundred times the resources that you can provide to her.¡±

    Even Hua Chengzan felt like he was boasting with that one. How could he rival a sect that had stood for centuries or millenniums alone? Little did he know that the various resources on Li Qingshan right now were already equivalent to a small sect. However, those were not the resources that Xiao An needed.

    ¡°And, even if she wastes her talent, it¡¯s better than being a¡­¡± He stopped talking. There was not a single woman who would want to hear his upcoming opinion. He did not want to provoke a Foundation Establishment cultivator with that either.

    Qiu Haitang fumed, and she no longer bothered with what she was about to say next. She glanced at Hua Chengzan before storming off. ¡°You¡¯d better talk once you have an inkling about what you¡¯re talking about!¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Qiu Haitang did not seem like someone who just had their soft spot touched. Instead, she seemed like she had been wrongly accused.

    Han Qiongzhi asked, ¡°Do you really not know, or are you acting like you don¡¯t know?¡±

    Leaving the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, everyone clasped their hands and bid farewell, dispersing individually.

    Li Qingshan was just about to return to the Hawkwolf Guard to stay for the night, but he was stopped by Hua Chengzan. ¡°It¡¯ll be quite inconvenient for you to stay there. Come to the estate with me. There are some things I want to tell you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Li Qingshan agreed immediately. He was a person who drew a clear line between his debts of kindnesses and grievances. The only reason why he could stand up to Qiu Haitang today, even winning a Virtue Accumulation pill and several thousand spiritual stones, as well as a promise for no further trouble, was all because of Hua Chengzan¡¯s assistance.

    They left behind the lantern-lit Parlour of Clouds and Rain and stepped into the dark streets. The huge structures of strange shapes to the two sides were like towering beasts. The few remaining lanterns were like the open eyes of these beasts.

    Wu Gen and Qian Rongzhi traveled together. When they separated with everyone outside the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, Wu Gen seemed extremely confident in the mischievous eyes of his junior and senior brothers. He had always been a confident person, whether it came to cultivation or women.

    He possessed what it took to back up this confidence. With his talent and identity, he had already associated himself with countless women given how old he was now. Originally, he believed that she would be a piece of cake too.

    But now that the two of them were alone, his confidence had suddenly evaporated. He only found her contemplating face right now even more difficult to grasp.

    There were countless questions in his head. What was her relationship with Li Qingshan? Why did Qiu Haitang know her? However, when the words reached his mouth, he became afraid to ask. His mind had basically returned to that of a teenager who had fallen in love for the first time.

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly stopped and smiled at him, which made his heart tremor. However, he heard her say, ¡°I have something to do, so you should go back first, senior brother Wu!¡± Before he could respond, she had already turned around and left.

    If any other woman treated him like that, he would definitely burst out with curses. However, he just stood where he was in a daze, actually unable to say anything. He just watched as she vanished into the darkness.

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head. The lantern-lit Parlour of Clouds and Rain was reflected in her eyes. She had made up her mind. She had a ninety percent confidence in this gamble.

    ¡°You¡¯re bold enough to return?¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from beside her ear.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. A hundred percent.

    Under the guide of the voice, she advanced along the twisting and turning path. She did not run into anyone along the way. In the end, she arrived before a vermillion door, which she knocked on gently.

    ¡°Come in.¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s voice rang out from inside. The door opened automatically. There were a series of veils in the room, which drifted in the night wind. It seemed elusive and beautiful. Through the numerous veils was an enchanting figure, laying on a bed.

    The door slammed shut. Qian Rongzhi glanced backwards before walking towards the veils.

    Suddenly, the veils seemed to spring alive, wrapping around her like snakes.

    She did not resist. Finally, she saw the figure behind the veils, but all she saw were a pair of mesmerising eyes. She was immediately thrown into a trance.

    Qiu Haitang said to the dazed Qian Rongzhi, ¡°Now, I¡¯ll ask you a question, and you¡¯ll give me the answer.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Qian Rongzhi said numbly.

    ¡°Where did your Method of Clouds and Rain come from?¡±

    ¡°Wei Yingjie.¡±

    ¡°Just as I had expected. If it weren¡¯t for the Vitality Devouring technique, how could you have cultivated so quickly with your talent?¡± Qiu Haitang snorted gently. She had sensed the changes with Qian Rongzhi right from the beginning.

    However, her mind was preoccupied by Xiao An and her Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty back then. She even confronted Li Qingshan for the sake of Xiao An. As a result, she did not lose her temper on the spot. Dealing with just Qian Rongzhi alone was easy anyway.

    She was right.

    ¡°Who killed Wei Yingjie?¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s face sank, ¡°No one knows you¡¯re here, right?¡±

    ¡°No one.¡±

    ¡°Then you can go die!¡± Her slender finger reached towards the top of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s head viciously.

    ¡°Vice sect master Wei, you¡¯re returned.¡± A female disciple bowed carefully in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Rarely had she ever seen the vice sect master with such a twisted expression.

    Fortunately, Wei Zhongyuan completely ignored her and rushed past her. She sighed in relief. However, in the blink of an eye, Wei Zhongyuan appeared before her once again. He grabbed her shoulder. ¡°Where¡¯s sect master Qiu?¡±

    Receiving the answer to the question, Wei Zhongyuan tossed her aside and went to find Qiu Haitang alone.

    When Wei Zhongyuan lost track of Li Qingshan in Jiaping city and had flown into a rage, a trusted disciple of his contacted him through a high level Communication talisman. He told him, ¡°Li Qingshan has come.¡±

    He rushed back to Clear River city through the night. As soon as he returned to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, he learned everything that had happened from his disciple. Not only had Li Qingshan appeared in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, but he had even won a Virtue Accumulation pill and several thousand spiritual stones in a haughty manner. How could he accept this? He immediately flew into a rage.

    The Sect of Parlour and Clouds had never been walked over by others like this, nor had he, Wei Zhongyuan, ever been toyed with like this either!

    He basically barged into where Qiu Haitang cultivated. Only when he met Qiu Haitang¡¯s gaze of displeasure did he suddenly recall his identity. He bowed, ¡°Greetings, sect master. If I¡¯ve been rude. I hope that the sect master can forgive me.¡±

    Although sect master and vice sect master only differed by a single word, they were worlds apart. Only a single layer separated Foundation Establishment and the tenth layer, but it was a chasm.

    ¡°It¡¯s so late already. What brought you here?¡± Qiu Haitang asked coldly.

    Wei Zhongyuan fumed, ¡°Li Qingshan behaved so brazenly, and he is definitely connected to Yingjie¡¯s death. He¡¯s a sworn enemy of our Sect of Clouds and Rain. Are you really going to let him go because of that Hua person, sect master?¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°The Hua person you speak of is a Scarlet Wolf commander. We¡¯ve already irritated him when I let you go ahead with that last time. I¡¯ve gambled on this and lost, so don¡¯t say anything more. I¡¯m weary.¡±

    Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s thoughts immediately coldened. He gritted his teeth. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll show myself out first.¡± In the end, he studied Qiu Haitang viciously. His gaze revealed lust and greed. Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what. As for Li Qingshan, he would neve spare him.

 Chapter 274 â€“ Seed of Suggestion

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s finger paused. Her long nail had already made contact with Qian Rongzhi¡¯s skin. All she needed was another moment, and she would have pierced Qian Rongzhi¡¯s brain.

    Qian Rongzhi remained in a trance, as if she could not feel the tightening veils around her.

    Qiu Haitang smiled in a self-deprecating manner. Her two miscalculations today actually made her doubt her arts of mesmerisation slightly, but how could a mere sixth layer Qi Practitioner resist her mesmerisation?

    Then she asked, ¡°And how did the two grannies of the East and West Gates die?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi answered.

    A while later, Qiu Haitang gained a rough understanding about everything. She stared straight into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes. ¡°From today onwards, you will be my direct disciple. You must show absolute loyalty to me. You cannot deceive me.¡±

    Her eyes sparkled, and the words turned into an unshakeable seed of suggestion, planted deeply in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heart. Afterwards, she sighed gently and became rather exhausted.

    The veils receded, and Qian Rongzhi fell to the ground. Like she had woken up from a dream, she roused from her trance and shook her head. When she saw Qiu Haitang, she called out, ¡°Master!¡± Afterwards, she covered her mouth in complete surprise. Not only had she been expelled from the Sect of Clouds and Rain already, but even if she was still a part of the sect, she could only call her sect master.

    The arts of mesmerisation might have been nothing to people with special cultivation methods and abilities like Li Qingshan and Xiao An, but once its true effects demonstrated itself, it was terrifyingly powerful.

    Mohists were only able to control puppets, while corpse refiners were only able to control dead corpses. However, those that cultivated the arts of mesmerisation could control living people. As a technique that placed great emphasis on talent, the fact that it had been passed down through the ages without becoming lost only demonstrated how impressive it was.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Should I thank you?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I can never accept that as your disciple. I only got lucky.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the two grannies of the East and West Gates? Did you get lucky too?¡± Qiu Haitang suddenly asked. She was overly suspicious, so she asked her questions from before again. Qian Rongzhi should not have had any memories from when she was mesmerised.

    Qian Rongzhi frowned. ¡°Master, you know that Wei Yingjie is completely useless, so how can he be compared to the two grannies? Only tenth layer Qi Practitioners or Foundation Establishment cultivators can kill the two grannies. In my opinion, vice sect master Wei is suspicious.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should say,¡± Qiu Haitang said sternly, but the corner of her lips curled into a smile. Her behaviour was no different from before.

    Qian Rongzhi said fearfully, ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    However, she sneered inside, Show absolute loyalty to you? Cannot deceive you? I think Hua Chengzan is the one you want to say these wishful words to the most!

    Everything went according to plan.

    Everyone was accustomed to using what they were best at, such as how disciples of the Sword Collection palace had to use swords and how disciples of the Burial Mound mountain had to use zombies. Qiu Haitang was no different. She had to use her technique of mesmerisation.

    Sure enough, sect master Qiu was still more accustomed to directly controlling her opponent¡¯s minds compared to scheming and using her tongue.

    Back when Qiu Haitang used her powers and unleashed the technique of mesmerisation.

    Qian Rongzhi felt like her mind had collapsed, receding away like the tide. The superficial arts of mesmerisation that she had learned did not help her. The Pill of Calming she ingested before hand was completely useless too. Before the strength of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, her preparations and attempts at resistance were absolutely nothing.

    However, all of this was just a distraction. What she actually depended on was the deep understanding of mesmerisation she had developed through the recent period of cultivation, which made her fearless.

    It was impossible for Qiu Haitang to control her. Even she could not control herself.

    She had grown up under the support of hatred that was as vast and deep as the sea, and for the sake of revenge, she was forced to put on masks upon masks, repressing her own ego and burying her hatred. Such a matter was not as simple as it sounded. Apart from absolute rationality, there was nothing that could repress flames of hatred.

    But as time went on, all the developments had completely surpassed her expectations. Before she knew it, revenge was no longer the most important thing. If Qian Yannian was willing to make her the head of the Qian family back then, she could even continue to repress it. It would have just been so that she could become even more powerful. The flames of hatred that had burned her for almost a decade began to pale in comparison now.

    Her rationality suppressed her hatred, the means surpassed the ends.

    As a result, when she got what she wanted, succeeding with her revenge, she could finally peel off her many masks, but what she discovered was nothing. As a result, she cried bitterly, but she did not gain sudden enlightenment and ascend mentally, much less repent and achieve virtue. She only dried her tears and continued onwards with rationality.

    Her desires and emotions continued to provide some meagre impetus, growing and entwining naturally like vines, even if the vines had no idea what the meaning of all this was.

    Her trance was not an act. Instead, absolute rationality continued to impel her body. It was ridiculous how Qiu Haitang even tried to test her with such a simple method.

    The seed of suggestion that Qiu Haitang had planted in the end was like the seed of hatred she had once planted for herself. It was completely insignificant. Even hatred was unable to control her.

    ¡°How can that old ruffian claim master¡¯s pure body? I think no one is worthy of master apart from commander Hua.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s really what you think, then I don¡¯t have to worry.¡± Qiu Haitang eased up. She thought, Apart from being able to think like that, you won¡¯t be able to have any other thoughts.

    Sure enough, Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°As your disciple, I will give master whatever she wishes even if I have to go through thick and thin. And, that Li Qingshan. I won¡¯t spare him either. Although my cultivation is meagre, I¡¯ll avenge master even if I have to drag him down with me.¡±

    She had already won the gamble. It was time to collect her winnings.

    Qiu Haitang pulled out a jade slip from her hundred treasures pouch. ¡°No one must know about our relationship. I can¡¯t guide you every single day either. In the jade slip are the cultivation notes and comprehensions for the Method of Clouds and Rain, as well as more powerful techniques of mesmerisation. You can go back and study them slowly. As for revenge, there¡¯s no hurry for that.¡±

    Afterwards, she took out a few bottles of pills and passed them to Qian Rongzhi. They were all pills crucial to cultivating the Method of Clouds and Rain and the arts of mesmerisation.

    Even in the Sect of Clouds and Rain, rarely did anyone receive such special treatment. Not only did it require sufficient talent, but the disciple also had to go through many years of tests of their loyalty. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s loyalty would obviously be no issue. Giving her some benefits would only propel the growth of this seed of suggestion.

    Qiu Haitang was not worried that Qian Rongzhi would become powerful enough to destroy the seed of suggestion she had planted. Qi Practitioners that had the seed planted in them would have their minds twisted. Cultivation would become extremely difficult. Even if they could still make progress as Qi Practitioners, it would be impossible for them to break through to Foundation Establishment.

    Qian Rongzhi beamed. ¡°Thank you, master!¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°You can go!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi bowed extremely politely. ¡°Disciple will be taking her leave.¡± She turned around to leave, but she suddenly heard Qiu Haitang ask, ¡°Do you like that Li Qingshan?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi turned around. Her face was red from embarrassment as she bit her lip and faltered, as if she was too shy to speak. However, due to the seed of suggestion, she could not help but say, ¡°I- I like master.¡± She knelt down fearfully. ¡°Please forgive me, master!¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled. ¡°You¡¯re very honest, so how can I blame you?¡± Absolute loyalty would result in emotions similar to love. It would be strange if that was not the case.

    Unknowingly, Qian Rongzhi had planted a seed in Qiu Haitang¡¯s heart too. This woman is completely loyal to me. She won¡¯t betray me. She poses no threat to me.

    Qian Rongzhi stepped out of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain at ease. What a stupid woman. If you want to control others, mesmerisation is only supplementary! You¡¯re not worthy of being Xiao An¡¯s master!

    Hua Chengzan, Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and Mu Kui walked slowly. They all had something on their minds, so they remained silent.

    Hua Chengzan suddenly said, ¡°There are some things that would be best if you knew, Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Regarding the Sect of Clouds and Rain?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, regardless of gender, mostly cultivate by using practices of harvesting from the other gender, but that¡¯s only for people with poor talent. The people that are actually talented will be specially picked out to cultivate alone. Compared to the promiscuous behaviour of the former, the latter basically practises severe abstinence to ensure that they don¡¯t lose their virgin yin until Foundation Establishment.¡±

    ¡°Then, they¡¯ll find another Foundation Establishment cultivator, and only then do they practise dual cultivation. And, once they choose their partner for dual cultivation, they can¡¯t just choose someone else so freely. This lasts for centuries or even millenniums. It¡¯s even more stable than marriages among regular people. This is the most orthodox method of dual cultivation within daoism. You can even call it a shortcut.¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan understand. He saw how Xiao An became slightly worried, so he just scooped her up and put her on his shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not going anywhere. You just have to follow me. Don¡¯t you trust me?¡±

    Xiao An bit her lip and revealed an embarrassed smile.

    Only then did she seem like a pure, naive child to Hua Chengzan. Even Li Qingshan had been infected by some of her childishness. He really wondered just how they ended up together. For some reason, the word ¡°mutual dependence¡± appeared in his head. He became rather eager to see Hua Chenglu.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Brother Hua, are you very familiar with Qiu Haitang?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, you can just call me Chengzan. I met Haitang when I was still a child. The previous sect master had brought her to my home as a guest, and because we¡¯re all in the prefectural city, we did maintain frequent contact with each other.¡±

    Hua Chengzan had put it simply, but Li Qingshan could see the reminiscence on his face, and he knew that the two of them were not just very familiar. They were basically childhood friends. They were both cultivation geniuses, and there was not a large difference in their ages. It would only be strange if no sparks of affection ended up flying between them.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Then I hope you reach Foundation Establishment soon, brother Hua, and embrace a beauty. I think this sect master Qiu is very interested in you.¡± If his eyes still worked, then he could tell what Qiu Haitang was thinking. However, this young master Hua just happened to be rather unhappy with all of it. The reason truly perplexed him.

 Chapter 275 â€“ Controlling Artifacts and Swords

    Was Hua Chengzan actually interested in Gu Yanying? From a male perspective, this was as ordinary as it could get. It would only be abnormal if he was not interested. However, Li Qingshan had only just met him, so asking a question like that was going a little too far.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Then I also hope you advance aggressively with cultivation and become the son-in-law of the Han family sooner.¡±

    The two of them glanced at each other. They both shook their heads with bitter smiles.

    Before they knew it, they had left the prefectural city and crossed through the invisible formation. The grass was lush, and the night birds chirped. It was the middle of Spring. Although it was night, the fragrances of various flowers continued to infiltrate their noses.

    ¡°Let¡¯s travel together!¡± With that, Hua Chengzan summoned the Silver Dragon horse from his seal. With a tug of the reins, the horse raised its hooves and let out a long whinny. It took off on the wind, as if Hua Chengzan had cleared up his thoughts with this.

    Li Qingshan flew with Xiao An, tailing closely behind.

    The giant lumberman Mu Kui took great strides. He was not slow either.

    In under fifteen minutes, they spotted a city that rose and fell in the embrace of the mountains. It flickered with lights in the darkness.

    Li Qingshan was astonished. ¡°Is this the Hua family?¡± Just the scale of the clan had surpassed Qingyang city, and when it came to the grandeur and elegance of the structures, even a hundred Qingyang cities could not rival it.

    ¡°The clan got a little big after a while.¡± Hua Chengzan drew his reins and stopped outside the city gates.

    A group of guards passed by on top of the city walls. Every single one of them was brimming with vigour and vitality. Not only were they Qi Practitioners, but they also showed signs of being Body Practitioners too.

    ¡°The young master has returned!¡± someone called out from above the walls. After that, the city gates that stood over a dozen meters tall opened loudly.

    Hua Chengzan rode in first. However, Li Qingshan could sense that the city gates were not the only thing that had opened. The entire formation over the Hua family had opened too. When he stepped through this formation, he immediately sensed the abundant spiritual qi in the surroundings. It even surpassed the cavern for seclusion in the Hawkwolf Guard of Jiaping city.

    The Hua family was constructed on an extremely fine spiritual ground in the first place. Not only did the formation have defensive properties, but it was also a huge Spirit Gathering formation. It was possible to imagine just how much regular independent cultivators would benefit if they could cultivate here.

    If regular people lived here, their bodies would be much stronger and healthier than those outside, resistant to many diseases.

    The vegetation was lush, open corridors winded around through the entire place, and there were both ponds and fake mountains. The scenery would basically change with each step, with just too much to see. However, the entire composition seemed to secretly abide to the principles of the five elements, resonating with the formation.

    Pearls were embedded throughout the city, giving off dim light in the darkness and illuminating the paths.

    Crossing a small bridge, Hua Chengzan brought them before a building. A small stream gurgled around the front, and a cluster of trees stood behind it.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°The place where I stay is close to here. It¡¯s in that direction. Everywhere surrounded by the stream belongs to me. You can move around freely in there, but it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t wander around outside. It¡¯s already late, so you should all go rest!¡±

    Hua Chengzan explained this to them before bidding farewell politely.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An entered the building to rest.

    Mu Kui arrived behind the building, standing with the trees. He stood on the ground with his feet bare as he stood dead-straight, closing his eyes.

    The next morning, Li Qingshan sat before the small stream. The translucent stream glistened. Under the sunlight, the surrounding scenergy became even more pleasant. Looking around, all of it seemed picturesque.

    The building hidden in the trees did not stand out at all. Instead, it added a sense of humanity to it all. It completely achieved the principle of humanity being one with nature.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind grew more tranquil too. He removed a single object from his hundred treasures pouch. It was a small, jade-green sword. Only the blade of the sword existed. There was no hilt.

    The sword was as thin as a strand of hair, vaguely translucent. Detailed patterns of waves were engraved on it. Li Qingshan flicked it gently, and it rippled like water.

    Since he had reached the sixth layer, he could now control artifacts. Li Qingshan had directly come to the prefectural city the moment he left seclusion, so he had not been able to refine his own flying sword.

    After great thought, he had chosen this tiny sword from the hundreds or even thousands of spiritual artifacts available to him. Not only was it a high grade spiritual artifact, but it was even of the water element too. The sword did not come with any special techniques, but it was extremely light, extremely quick, and extremely sharp.

    Li Qingshan held the sword in his palms. The pure Gui Water true qi flowed over in ebbs, filling the sword. The sword¡¯s glow flickered rhythmically like breathing.

    Hua Chenglu walked over from the small bridge. Behind him were Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian.

    Hua Chenglu was grumbling, ¡°Gosh. Something so fascinating went down, yet you didn¡¯t even call me over.¡± After learning about what she had missed last night, she was filled with regret.

    Hua Chengzan hushed her silently. He pointed at Li Qingshan, who sat by the stream nearby.

    ¡°Li Qingshan! He has really reached the sixth layer!¡± Hua Chenglu was surprised. The last time she had met him, he was only at the second layer. In just a few measly months, he had advanced four layers. He was astonishingly fast. During this period, she had never stopped cultivating either, but she had only reached the fourth layer. Of course, that was already quite impressive at her age.

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± Yu Zjian asked curiously. Although it had only been a few months, everything she had gone through made what happened on the Island of Cherishing Flowers seem extremely distant. The young man seated there could only be regarded as a stranger to her.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°He¡¯s refining a flying sword. Chenglu, don¡¯t get jealous of him. He might have cultivated extremely quickly, but his foundation will be rather unstable, and his true qi won¡¯t be pure enough. This step will become much more difficult as a result.¡±

    The Hua family had plenty of methods that could boost Hua Chenglu¡¯s cultivation to higher levels, but these methods of quick success would definitely lead to many consequences. And, with an unstable foundation and impure true qi, cultivation would become much more difficult too.

    Before Hua Chengzan had even finished speaking, Yu Zijian pointed at Li Qingshan and said, ¡°It¡¯s flying.¡±

    Hua Chengzan looked back in a rush. He saw the small sword in Li Qingshan palms take off into the air with a swish. After that, it turned around and flew back with a swoosh, silently piercing a fake mountain before returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s side, hovering before him.

    Hua Chengzan was as insightful as they came. Although the flying sword was still rather stiff when it came to turns, it was basically an unbelievable achievement if this was the first time he had controlled the sword. In particular, he had noticed that the flying sword had actually flown over a hundred paces away. That had completely surpassed the range of regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners. It was on par with seventh or even eighth layer Qi Practitioners.

    There was only one explanation for this. Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi was extremely pure.

    Faced with Hua Chenglu¡¯s doubtful gaze, Hua Chengzan rubbed his nose and smiled bitterly. How he cultivated was truly a mystery.

    Even if there were a lot of pills that could increase the purity of true qi, they could not make it so pure. It would still require tremendous amounts of time for the Qi Practitioner to refine it to such a degree, and when it came to purifying true qi, it would mean stretching out the time spent on cultivation. He must have spent day and night cultivating for the past few months! To be able to catch her attention, he possessed a lot of extraordinary aspects, sure enough.

    No matter how clever Hua Chengzan was, he would have never imagined that Li Qingshan possessed a sumeru ring that even Foundation Establishment cultivators did not possess. Moreover, he could absorb the spiritual qi of the world as a Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan had noticed their arrival quite some time ago. However, he had just been concentrating on controlling the sword, so he could not acknowledge them.

    He formed a seal with his hand, and the sea of qi in his dantian churned endlessly. Using his obscure connection with the flying sword, he made the flying sword fly about freely, piercing rocks and wood. The power was startling. It demonstrated the power worthy of a high grade spiritual artifact.

    His pure true qi played a decisive role in why he could grasp the art of controlling artifacts so quickly. Water was gentle in nature. It was not suited for attacks, but it was extremely mellow, making it easy to control. And, without his pure true qi, he would have struggled to refine a high grade spiritual artifact in such a short amount of time.

    After a slight estimate, he noticed that the range of his sword control was around a hundred paces. He could actually behead someone from a hundred paces away now. Once the flying sword left this range, it would weaken significantly, and he would even lose control over it. Who knew how long it would take until he could behead people from a hundred kilometers away.

    However, he was already extremely satisfied with this power right now. He also gained a better understanding of why the art of practising the body was in decline. Just how much effort did Body Practitioners have to spend to move faster than a tiny flying sword? And, under the blade of the sword, they were useless even if they were made of metal.

    After refining the flying sword, Li Qingshan stood up and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come.¡±

    With a flash, the small sword shot into his sleeve and wrapped around his arm like a bracelet. As the first flying sword he would be controlling, this would be his primary method of attack within the human world in the near future. He had to carry it on him constantly and assimilate with it until he could wield it as freely as a third arm.

    Only now did the trio approach him. Li Qingshan greeted Hua Chenglu, ¡°Young miss Hua, long time no see. I haven¡¯t forgotten about the assistance you provided me in the past. I¡¯m thinking about a way to return the favour right now.¡±

    Thinking about it now, he realised that both siblings had backed him up before, and it was both against the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    Hua Chenglu smiled in a reserved manner. ¡°It was nothing difficult, so you really can¡¯t label it as kindness. There¡¯s no need to call me young miss either. Just call me by my name. After tomorrow, we¡¯ll be fellow students. I hope you can take good care of me then, Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Chengzan, your dear sister exceeds you in nobility!¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°Exactly! That¡¯s what the others say too. I sigh over my inferiority too!¡±

    Hua Chenglu had always been clever, so how could she not realise that they were making fun of her? She immediately became unhappy with it all.

    Hua Chengzan felt powerless towards this younger sister of his too. Yu Zijian smiled. Only then did she demonstrate her past naivety again.

    ¡°And, long time no see to you too, miss Yu.¡± Li Qingshan saw how Yu Zjian still wore violet, but her aura was much calmer and steadier than before. With a sword on her waist, she seemed valiant in bearing.

    She asked in concern, ¡°B- big brother Li, I heard that the Sect of Clouds and Rain wanted to do things to you. Are you fine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Li Qingshan felt amazed inside. Back then underground, she had called him Niu Juxia. Now, she called him big brother Li.

 Chapter 276 â€“ Clashing with Wei Zhongyuan

    At the end of the day, Hua Chenglu still had the mind of a child. She was amazed by the sight of the otherfolk, Mu Kui.

    ¡°Nice sword. What¡¯s it called?¡± Hua Chengzan had seen plenty of high grade spiritual artifacts before, but he also understood their value. Regular Qi Practitioners would be doing quite well if they possessed one at the eighth or ninth layers.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I obtained this out of pure luck. I don¡¯t know it¡¯s name. Oh right, what do you think about Small Stream as its name?¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any decent names for it. It¡¯s just a clear stream.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll name it the Clear Stream sword.¡±

    High grade spiritual artifacts were nice, but they were nothing in his eyes. Right now, he could even produce the money to buy a supreme grade spiritual artifact. However, there was no need for him to be so wasteful. Starting off with the Clear Stream sword was already extremely impressive.

    It was just a clear stream right now, but it would definitely become a great river.

    Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao An?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°She¡¯s still sleeping!¡± In reality, Xiao An had originally been beside them, but upon sensing their arrival, she had fled back into the building.

    Hua Chengzan knew that Li Qingshan had already made up his mind. He would not be sending Xiao An to the Sect of Clouds and Rain, so he said nothing more, ¡°Have you decided on which school you¡¯re going to join?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want me to join the school of Legalism?¡±

    ¡°If you want to, I¡¯ll obviously be very happy for you to join, but if you don¡¯t want to, I won¡¯t force you.¡±

    ¡°The matters of tomorrow are for tomorrow to decide!¡±

    ¡°Tomorrow¡± arrived very soon. A very light, spring drizzle fell from the sky, which made the air moist and cool. Everything in the surroundings seemed so fresh. Perhaps due to practising Gui Water True Qi, Li Qingshan liked this weather very much now.

    The climate of the Clear River prefecture was similar to the Jiangnan1 in his former life. Looking down from below the clouds, the streams of water merged together on the ground. Many farmers were currently planting seedlings in the rice fields. It gave off a watery charm.

    Seeing the tiny, low-hanging cloud fly through the sky, the farmers were not surprised at all. The existence of cultivators was not a secret in this world.

    As people who lived near Clear River city, their insight was much broader than others who lived in Qingyang or Jiaping city. They had grown accustomed to it all. Compared to this, planting the seedlings was more important, as it would determine their harvest for the year.

    Only the children would raise their heads and point at the cloud. Some of them even ran along with the cloud for a while. Dreams shone in their eyes.

    The Academy of the Hundred Schools was located around fifty kilometers from the prefectural city. It was not far, nor was it close. It would take him under two hours to reach by flying.

    Li Qingshan was in no hurry. He travelled a part of the journey slowly. Suddenly, he sensed a sharp, murderous aura press over from the ground.

    On the ground was a small mountain range. There were no traces of human activity within a range of several dozen kilometers. It was a good place for an ambush.

    A man with peppered hair in fancy violet robes stood proudly on top of one of those mountains. His cultivation was at the startling tenth layer. He was the vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Wei Zhongyuan.

    He was dissatisfied with Qiu Haitang¡¯s decision. He had to avenge his son. Without much effort, he found out that Li Qingshan was staying in the Hua family and was about to go to the Academy of the Hundred Schools. He was not bold enough to demand for the Hua family to hand him over, and there was nothing he could do to Li Qingshan once he joined the academy.

    As a result, he made up his mind to launch an ambush on Li Qingshan¡¯s way there. Even if he could not capture Li Qingshan alive and get the whole story from him, he still wanted to kill him. Only then would he be satisfied. The only thing he worried about was that Li Qingshan would be travelling together with the Hua family, but now that he saw Li Qingshan had appeared alone, he beamed with joy, and his murderous aura erupted.

    Currently, his furious eyes were teeming with malice, and his violet robes ruffled despite the absence of any breeze. He was imposing, just like a mountain.

    Li Qingshan realised it was a tenth layer Qi Practitioner with a single glance. Although he did not know it was Wei Zhongyuan, he had basically guessed it already. He halted and called out, ¡°Are you the vice sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Wei Zhongyuan?¡±

    ¡°Get down here!¡± Wei Zhongyuan raised his hand, and white true qi gathered in his palm, shooting into the sky as a white blast.

    The white light immediately made Li Qingshan think of Hao Pingyan¡¯s Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light. The white light moved with startling speed. Dodging it would be difficult even if he was on the ground, let alone when he was in the sky like right now.

    He was surprised, but he did not become flustered. He scooped up Xiao An and leapt. The white blast tore through the cloud, surprising him secretly.

    He fell towards the ground. He required time to use the Cloud Riding technique and Mist Wielding technique, and Wei Zhongyuan clearly would not be giving him this time.

    Wei Zhongyuan swung his arms backwards. The rock below his feet shattered, kicking up soil. He had already taken off like a cannonball, heading right towards Li Qingshan.

    He extended his right hand, striking out again. He was trying to capture Li Qingshan alive.

    However, at this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly vanished.

    ¡°An Invisibility talisman? Mere trickery.¡± Wei Zhongyuan snorted coldly, but his expression soon changed slightly. Li Qingshan¡¯s aura had completely vanished as well. Despite his cultivation at the tenth layer, he was unable to detect him.

    He raised his arms and launched over a hundred consecutive punches at where Li Qingshan might have landed. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! With a string of explosions, a layer of the small mountain was directly carved away, filling the surroundings with dust. However, there were no traces of Li Qingshan. His frown grew deeper.

    Being able to hide his body was nothing, but in order to erase his aura so cleanly, he must have practised some sort of secret technique. This kid would definitely become a huge problem in the future.

    As a result, he held his breath and concentrated his mind. No matter what secret technique it was, his aura would definitely leak out once he used a technique.

    Even kicking up a slightly unnatural breeze could allow him to sense Li Qingshan and get him through his invisibility.

    Li Qingshan had obviously used the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility to hide himself. Seeing how Wei Zhongyuan lurked below like an angered lion, he knew that something was amiss, so he unfurled the Clear Stream sword.

    The Clear Stream sword hovered in the air, and he stood on it. Although he was nowhere close to sword riding, supporting his own weight was not too difficult.

    The only thing he needed to think about was how to deal with Wei Zhongyuan. If regular Qi Practitioners were confronted with such a terrifying enemy, they would definitely be thinking about how they could escape, but Li Qingshan was contemplating on how he could kill him. A tenth layer Qi Practitioner¡¯s hundred treasures pouch would increase his confidence in breaking through to Daemon General.

    While the location right now seemed like wilderness, he was just too close to both the Academy of the Hundred Schools and Clear River city. Transforming was extremely dangerous.

    But right now, he was the one standing in the light, with Wei Zhongyuan lurking in the shadows. With Xiao An¡¯s assistance, as well as almost ten supreme grade talismans and the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, it was not necessarily impossible. Oh right, he also had the art of controlling swords that he had recently learnt.

    The Clear Stream sword produced a green flash as it stabbed towards the back of Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s neck.

    Wei Zhongyuan turned around in a hurry. He smiled viciously. ¡°I¡¯ve found you.¡±

 Chapter 277 â€“ Meeting Acquaintances Again

    The flying sword controlled by a mere sixth layer Qi Practitioner was nothing in Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s eyes. It could not even pierce his protective true qi.

    Without even looking at the Clear Stream sword, he raised his hand and unleashed a blast towards the flying sword.

    With a boom, rocks shot off in all directions and huge trees snapped, but there was still no trace of Li Qingshan.

    Wei Zhongyuan frowned. Li Qingshan¡¯s technique of erasing his aura was even more powerful than he had previously imagined.

    Li Qingshan stood nearby with Xiao An in his arms. There was not even a speck of dust on him. He formed a seal with his hand and wielded it like a sword, drawing and pointing with it.

    The Clear Stream sword cut through the air silently, stabbing towards Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s throat with even greater speed.

    Ding! It stabbed into the protective true qi and was unable to advance even an inch further.

    ¡°Overconfident!¡± Wei Zhongyuan said in disdain. He reached towards the Clear Stream sword. As long as he caught the flying sword, he could use the aura on the sword to find Li Qingshan.

    The Clear Stream sword suddenly rippled like water, inching through the protective true qi.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. He poured his strength into the Clear Stream sword in a hurry, and with a flash, it turned into a green streak of light and pierced the protective true qi, brushing past Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s face.

    Wei Zhongyuan touched the tiny nick on his cheek. He was shaken inside and furious. If he had not tilted his head in time, his head would have been pierced.

    Li Qingshan only found out then that the Clear Stream sword could pierce protective true qi as well. Although this feature was simple and nothing special, it made the sword a true weapon for killing when combined with its speed. It truly deserved its status as a high grade spiritual artifact. However, he had failed to kill Wei Zhongyuan in a single stroke then, which was quite a pity.

    However, he would be dreaming if he wanted to kill a tenth layer Qi Practitioner like this. What he was trying to do was to completely agitate Wei Zhongyuan, which would give him an opportunity to strike.

    The Clear Stream sword turned around and shot over again.

    Wei Zhongyuan no longer handled it carelessly. He used a protective technique. A faint, oval-shaped membrane of light appeared around him. As expected, the Clear Stream sword struggled to pierce it so easily now.

    If he forced it through, the sword would probably just be caught by Wei Zhongyuan. As a result, he made the sword linger around to disturb Wei Zhongyuan. It was not like Wei Zhongyuan could find him anyway. He had plenty of time to waste on him.

    The Clear Stream sword turned into a green flash. Gradually, Wei Zhongyuan became agitated.

    ¡°The Glorious Sun of Brilliance Illuminates the Four Directions!¡±

    The vegetation yellowed and withered, beginning to burn. Thick billows of smoke rose up.

    If he used this move on regular people, he could turn several thousand of them blind. However, the effect on Qi Practitioners was nothing special. It just covered an extremely large range.

    Wei Zhongyuan looked around and spotted a blurry figure within the endless light. Raising his arm, a shining sword, three feet long, had already appeared in his hand. The name of the sword was called Three Yang, and it was a high grade spiritual artifact. It had turned into a streak of white light as it shot over like a bolt of lightning.

    ¡°Oh no! Clear River sword, go!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    Clang! The green flash struck the white light, revealing the weapon.

    With one bigger and one smaller, the two flying swords entangled with one another, producing a messy string of clings and clangs.

    The Three Yang sword was swift and powerful. It contained great force, such that it would almost knock away the Clear Stream sword with each clash.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had clashed with someone using flying swords. He only controlled it based on his feelings, but he was severely lacking in both experience and technique. The Clear Stream sword was forced backwards, and in the blink of an eye, the Three yang sword had already arrived before him.

    Killing intent erupted in Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s eyes. True qi swelled in his sea of qi, and the Three Yang sword shone brightly, sending the Clear Stream sword over a dozen meters away. It sliced towards Li Qingshan¡¯s legs in a hurry. He had made up his mind to directly cripple Li Qingshan.

    With two clangs, two white prayer beads flew out and sent the Three Yang sword flying.

    ¡°You can actually control three spiritual artifacts at the same time!¡± Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s expression changed. While regular cultivators could refine multiple spiritual artifacts for use, they would never use all of them in actual combat. In particular, spiritual artifacts like flying swords required even more concentration. Their true qi would disperse if they split their focus, so they would be better off just focusing on a single spiritual artifact.

    However, the two prayer beads that sent the Three Yang sword flying were heavy. They were instead even more powerful than the Clear Stream sword, which threw Wei Zhongyuan into disbelief. Never did he imagine that this actually came from Xiao An, as she seemed to possess no cultivation at all.

    Li Qingshan ignored him. Instead of retreating, he advanced. With the Wind-entwining blade in hand, he shot towards Wei Zhongyuan like an arrow. After lurking around for so long, this was the first attack he had delivered in person. He seemed like he was unstoppable.

    Wei Zhongyuan only beamed with joy. He was actually approaching him. Did he really think he could make up for the difference between the sixth and tenth layers just because he was a Body Practitioner? However, Wei Zhongyuan still received him seriously. His figure stood as steady as a mountain as he spread his arms forward. White true qi rapidly gathered.

    Behind Li Qingshan, Xiao An hid without moving. She held a white bone sword in one hand and a supreme grade talisman in the other.

    The distance of fifty paces could be covered in a mere moment; the boundary between life and death was only separated by a moment too.

    ¡°Stop!¡± A yell rang out from the sky, and a metal shield fell down, arriving right between Wei Zhongyuan and Li Qingshan. It turned into a wall of metal.

    Li Qingshan secretly lamented over the destroyed opportunity. He kicked off the wall gently and sprang back, arriving in the air. The Clear Stream sword arrived below his feet, and he stood there, clasping his hands. ¡°Senior sister Han, what brings you here?¡±

    The person happened to be Han Qiongzhi. She piloted a flying shuttle with a few familiar faces behind her.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°I¡¯m the vice leader of the law enforcement team of the Academy of the Hundred Schools. I¡¯m in charge of the public security around the entrance examinations. You¡¯ve made such a great disturbance, so how can I not come and check?¡±

    The entrance examination was when the Qi Practitioners from various places converged. There would be plenty of incidents when enemies met with great hostility. Some people would become tempted by wealth, resorting to murder and robbery, and there were even cases of people breaking out into a fight over a slight dispute. As a result, the Academy of the Hundred Schools arranged the disciples of legalism into law enforcement teams to maintain order.

    The leader was obviously Hua Chengzan. When a bright flash in the distance occurred, regular people would have never been able to sense it during daytime, while Qi Practitioners would not care even if they sensed it. However, Hua Chengzan immediately sensed that something was amiss and realised that he had made a miscalculation, ordering Han Qiongzhi to come over and provide support in a hurry.

    Han Qiongzhi turned around and faced Wei Zhongyuan. She immediately became slightly stern. ¡°Wei Zhongyuan, do you plan on murdering a Hawkwolf guard here?¡± She was acquainted with Wei Zhongyuan, but she had never liked him. He was already so old but only at the tenth layer, so he was not someone worthy of her attention. As a result, she spoke without the slightest hint of courtesy.

    Wei Zhongyuan withdrew the Three yang sword reluctantly and said with his head raised, ¡°This is our personal grievance. It¡¯s got nothing to do with the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    ¡°Your esteemed sect master Qiu has already agreed to dismiss all grievances with Li Qingshan. If you keep on clinging onto them, then sect master Qiu will never spare you even if the Hawkwolf Guard spares you.¡± Han Qiongzhi did find Wei Zhongyuan to be irritating, but the Sect of Clouds and Rain was still one of the more powerful sects in the Clear River prefecture. Only Wang Pushi had the authority to pass orders against a vice sect master. Unless Wei Zhongyuan actually killed Li Qingshan in front of them, Wang Pushi would probably be reluctant to fall out with the Sect of Clouds and Rain over a single Black Wolf guard.

    At the end of the day, it still depended on the individual¡¯s abilities. The banner of the Hawkwolf Guard was quite useful, but it was not an all-powerful protective charm.

    Wei Zhongyuan snorted coldly. He stowed the Three Yang sword away and flew away in the wind. Before he left, he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°You got lucky today. This won¡¯t just end like this. You better clean your neck and wait for death!¡±

    Li Qingshan said impatiently, ¡°You¡¯d better fuck off!¡± It was difficult to say who actually got lucky today. All Wei Zhongyuan knew was how to throw threats around.

    ¡°You!¡± Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s face turned bright red. He glanced at Han Qiongzhi before storming off.

    Han Qiongzhi shook her head. If she had not learnt that he actually came from a small mountain hamlet from Hua Chengzan, she definitely would have believed that he had some powerful background. However, at least that was better than being a coward. She smiled. ¡°You can get on. The entrance examination is about to start, so you¡¯d better hurry up!¡±

    Li Qingshan boarded the flying shuttle with Xiao An. He lowered his head and sank into his thoughts. Whenever he went through a battle, he would always reflect on it, with this battle in particular since Wei Zhongyuan was an enemy he would definitely face again in the future. He wanted to think through the entire battle properly.

    After travelling a few kilometers, the flying shuttle suddenly stopped. Han Qiongzhi said with a sunken face, ¡°Get off!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Don¡¯t you feel like you¡¯ve forgotten something?¡±

    ¡°What have I forgotten?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi gritted her teeth. ¡°A thank you! If it weren¡¯t for me, you would have lost your life there today.¡± So much for rushing over here and saving him. She did not even receive a single ¡°thank you¡± from him. Perhaps regular people would just grumble inside, but she did not have the personality to keep it all repressed.

    Li Qingshan smiled understandingly. ¡°Alright then. Thank you. Though, if you hadn¡¯t come, I had some confidence in making him remain there forever.¡±

    The disciples of legalism were unconvinced. They all seemed like they wanted to mock him. That was a tenth layer Qi Practitioner on par with Hua Chengzan, yet he was actually boasting that he had a chance to defeat someone like that. He sure was overestimating himself.

    Although Li Qingshan was raidating with valiance when he charged at Wei Zhongyuan earlier, it was more like charging towards his own destruction. He was overconfident in his abilities.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡±

    ¡°Then thank you.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged and leapt off the shuttle, riding off on a cloud instead. If someone helped him, even if it was just the tiniest bit, he would remember it. However, what other people believed in was not for him to decide, nor did he care either. Was he supposed to pull out a few supreme grade talismans or the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to justify himself?

    Han Qiongzhi was surprised. Originally, she had been waiting for Li Qingshan to thank her and cheer her up, and she would then forgive him for his rudeness. However, she never thought he would be so straightforward. She ground her teeth. ¡°Alright you, Li Qingshan!¡±

    The flying shuttle shot past the cloud. Han Qiongzhi maintained a cold expression, suppressing the urge to glance at Li Qingshan.

    Xiao An said softly, ¡°What a weirdo.¡±

    Rarely did Xiao An ever comment on someone. Li Qingshan smiled and pinched her cheeks. ¡°Let¡¯s not stoop to the same level as her.¡±

    At this moment, expansive, mist-covered waters appeared on the horizon. Under the sunlight, the ripples and waves glistened.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He was finally here.

    Yes. The Academy of the Hundred Schools was located in this great marshland.

    The name of the lake was Dragons and Snakes, originating from the classics of confucianism. ¡°Dragons and snakes were produced within the deep mountains and marshes.¡± It implied that those who set afoot in this lake might rise from mediocrity, transforming from a snake into a dragon and setting foot upon the endless path of cultivation.

    This was the beginning.

    Beside the lake on a large, sandy shoal stood thousands of people. They formed small groups, either whispering to one another or engaging in lively conversations. Qi Practitioners were converging from all directions. Li Qingshan descended on the cloud, but he failed to attract much attention at all.

    The disciples of legalism in black maintained order in the surroundings. Hua Chengzan stood on a tall sentry post, conversing with a few stronger Qi Practitioners who had accompanied their own disciples. When he saw Li Qingshan arrive, he relaxed and nodded slightly, expressing how he was currently busy. He pointed towards a corner of the sandy shoal.

    Li Qingshan looked over to where Hua Chengzan was pointing at. He saw a few hundred children standing there, separated from the Qi Practitioners.

    There were two types of disciples that the Academy of the Hundred Schools accepted. One was regular Qi Practitioners. They might have come from smaller clans, or they might have been independent cultivators. As long as they were not too old and were willing to pay the school fees, basically all of them were allowed to study in the academy. The academy truly accepted everyone, both good and bad.

    The other type was similar to what regular sects accepted. They would choose talented but foundationless children from various places. These children would not directly enter the Academy of the Hundred Schools, nor did they have to pay any school fees. Instead, they needed to practise the Innate Method of Practising Qi for a while. If they managed to condense qi successfully, they could choose among the schools after establishing a foundation. If they failed, then they would be sent back to their hometowns.

    Li Qingshan held Xiao An¡¯s hand and made his way over.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve finally arrived.¡± A fatty called out and pushed his way over.

    Li Qingshan looked at him. He was Ye Dachuan. It was impossible for these children to make their way over by themselves, nor was it possible for Zhou Wenbin to escort them in person. Ye Dachuan would never miss this great opportunity to return to Clear River city either.

    ¡°Sir Ye, long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Were you the person on the cloud earlier? My god, I don¡¯t even recognise you anymore! You¡¯ve made it!¡± Ye Dachuan came up and wanted to pat Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, but he was afraid to. He sized up Li Qingshan and clicked his tongue in wonder. No one would have thought that there would be a day when a farmer kid from Qingyang city would actually be able to ride clouds and fly around.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard plenty of stories about you in the past few months. What kind of friend are you supposed to be? You¡¯ve made it so you¡¯ve forgotten about your old friends now.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°How can I forget about what sir Ye did for me to get promoted? Do I need to register her name?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯ve already registered her name. She¡¯s called Xiao An, right? A ship will come to receive her in a while. Oh right, the other two are here too. Just wait here, I¡¯ll call them over.¡±

    The other two? Before he could ask about that, Ye Dachuan had already vanished into the crowd. A while later, he returned with a group of people.

    The leader of the group was a majestic-looking middle-aged man with a large face and mouth. He clasped his hands at Li Qingshan. ¡°You must be young hero Li! I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you!¡± He was clearly a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, but he gave off vibes of the jianghu as he spoke.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You¡¯re?¡± He glanced around, and just as expected, there were two familiar people, one old and one young, among the group. They were the same two people who had walked out of Qingyang city with him back then, protector Yan Song of the Iron Fist school and Li Long, who had been known as one of the Two Talents of the Crouching Ox.

    Yan Song remained at the second layer, while Li Long had already gone from being a third-rate master to a second layer Qi Practitioner. He did not waste the past year. When they saw Li Qingshan, they all found him to be rather unfamiliar. It had been less than half a year, yet Li Qingshan seemed to have become a completely different person. His gaze was calm as he gave off a certain weight. He did not lose out in bearing at all when compared to their school master Tie.

 Chapter 278 â€“ The Watermirror Disc

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I only reached the sixth layer recently.¡±

    Meeting acquaintances in a foreign land should have been a matter of great joy, but Li Long was left with his mouth hanging, unsure as for how to refer to Li Qingshan. The cowherd that no one took seriously in the past could now rival their school master. Their identities were worlds apart now. Directly calling him by name seemed rather rude.

    ¡°Oh, this is the master of our Iron Fist school, Tie Zhan.¡± His voice even bore a countryside accent that Li Qingshan found familiar.

    Li Qingshan thought of the past as well, remembering the frustration with the Crouching Ox village, as well as the dangers of Qingyang city. The master of one of the four great organisations of Qingyang city in the past was now standing before him, but a sixth layer Qi Practitioner was already nothing in his eyes. He had no interest in fawning over him, nor did he want to cause any offence, so he handled him casually,

    ¡°So it¡¯s school master Tie. Apologies, apologies for failing to recognise you.¡±

    Tie Zhan said, ¡°The Crouching Ox village sure is a place that births great men. When I saw Li Long, I already thought he was a rare talent, but only when I saw brother Qingshan did I realise that there will always be someone greater. The matter of how you beat the Sect of Clouds and Rain in two matches in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain two days ago has already spread throughout the prefectural city. It¡¯s just a pity that I wasn¡¯t able to see it for myself.¡±

    No matter how influential the Iron Fist school was, they could only treat each other as equals as they were both sixth layer Qi Practitioners. Coupled with the fact that Li Qingshan was relatively young and had limitless potential, Tie Zhan even needed to treat him politely so that he could befriend him.

    ¡°Are the disciples of your esteemed school taking part in the entrance examination too?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Li Long.

    Li Long¡¯s face sank, and he lowered his head. Let alone the fact that school master Tie would never agree, but even if he did agree, where was he supposed to obtain the spiritual stones for the school fees? That was a total of one hundred spiritual stones. He did extraordinarily well in the Iron Fist school, so he would obtain a few spiritual stones every now and then, but they were not even enough for buying various pills, so he was in no position to save any money. And, by the time he really managed to save a hundred spiritual stones, who knew how old he would be. He would have missed the optimal period for cultivation. If he fell behind by a single step, he would be behind forever.

    ¡°It¡¯s my son. I do hope that you can take good care of him in the future, brother,¡± Tie Zhan changed the topic. He looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s he? Didn¡¯t I tell you to call him over?¡±

    ¡°The young master said he¡¯s busy,¡± Yan Song said awkwardly.

    ¡°Call him over!¡±

    With just a moment of thought, Li Qingshan understood what was going on. He fell silent.

    A while later, Yan Song brought over a young man with a square face and large ears who seemed slightly similar to Tie Zhan. The young man said impatiently, ¡°What is it? I¡¯m busy!¡± He was busy talking with a few pretty female cultivators, so he was in no mood to meet some man.

    ¡°You bastard, why don¡¯t you greet your big brother Li?¡±

    ¡°What big brother Li? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Li Long?¡± The young man snickered. Seeing how no one played along with him, he arrived beside Tie Zhan¡¯s side and saw Li Qingshan. He leapt in fright. ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan!¡±

    He had also been having fun in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain that night. He had a very deep impression of the person before him. He immediately grew stern. ¡°Greetings, elder brother. I hope you can take good care of this little brother in the future. If there¡¯s anything I can help you with, please don¡¯t hold back.¡± He completely ignored the fact that Li Qingshan was younger than him. He showed great modesty and courtesy, referring to himself as little brother.

    Tie Zhan nodded in satisfaction. Although this kid shirked away from his responsibilities sometimes, at least he was not completely ignorant and knew what was what.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I can tell with a single glance that you¡¯re very smart with a limitless future, but you don¡¯t have anyone to tend to you once you enter the academy. Why don¡¯t you have Li Long enter the academy as a partner of yours? There¡¯s no need for school master Tie to pay anything either. I¡¯ll cover the fees for him. What do you think, school master?¡±

    ¡°Must you be buried in your place of home? Sufficient are the green mountains overgrown.¡± Since he had already decided to never return to his hometown again, Li Long was probably the last person from the same village he would be able to see in his life. The one hundred spiritual stones to enter the academy had already become nothing to him. Since it took him nothing, why not help him out?

    Li Long beamed in joy when he heard that. He glanced at Li Qingshan in great appreciation before looking at Tie Zhan nervously.

    Tie Zhan hesitated before smiling. ¡°Fine then. You¡¯re brothers, so you do have to take care of someone from the same hometown. This is Li Long¡¯s good fortune, as well as our Iron Fist school¡¯s good fortune. I can only celebrate over something like this, so why would I say no? If it were not for the fact that the Iron Fist school is currently experiencing some cash flow issues, you wouldn¡¯t need to pay anything at all.¡± He could see how Li Qingshan was someone who valued the ties of the past. He needed to get that bastard of a son of his to be more polite to Li Long in the future.

    ¡°Then thank you, school master.¡± Li Qingshan took out a hundred spiritual stones from his hundred treasures pouch and passed it to Li Long.

    The young master of the Iron Fist school wrapped his arm around Li Long¡¯s neck. ¡°A¡¯Long, you¡¯re rich!¡± Even without Tie Zhan¡¯s reminder, he had already begun to treat him more warmly and politely.

    Li Long knew that this was all because of the young man standing before him. He said gratefully, ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ll definitely return this sum of spiritual stones to you.¡± He knew extremely well that the Academy of the Hundred Schools would release various missions, providing disciples with opportunities to make spiritual stones. It was not impossible for him to make this sum of one hundred spiritual stones; this was the most difficult obstacle. Once he made it past this, there were infinite possibilities.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you want to return it, then give me two hundred spiritual stones!¡±

    Li Long was stunned, while the young school master muttered inside, Isn¡¯t this usury? He really could not tell, but sure enough, fellow townsmen would always stab each other in the back when they met.

    However, Li Qingshan continued, ¡°I¡¯ll wait until the day when a hundred spiritual stones mean nothing in your eyes.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Long nodded firmly.

    Ye Dazhuan said, ¡°That¡¯s fantastic. You¡¯ll all be fellow students in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. As people from the same home town, this was all that he could do. What happened next would depend on how he cultivated.

    At this moment, several large ships cut through the waves and mist.

    There was a disturbance on the sandy shoal. Everyone stopped talking and raised their heads. The one who stood out the most happened to be the giant lumberman, Mu Kui.

    Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian stood nearby. They also had a group of young men and women beside them. They did not pay too much attention to Li Qingshan, who they had only met a few times. They did not come to find him either.

    Instead, Qian Rongzhi constantly scanned through the crowd. She was standing with a few enforcement disciples of legalism. She had already heard of Li Qingshan¡¯s battle with Wei Zhongyuan, and she had heard how he said he had some confidence in killing Wei Zhongyuan.

    In the eyes of the legalist disciples, this was a boastful joke. They all said it was Li Qingshan¡¯s pigheadedness, but she begged to differ. She believed that Li Qingshan had complete confidence in finishing off Wei Zhongyuan. What mattered was how she was supposed to get Li Qingshan to capture Wei Zhongyuan alive and hand him over to her.

    ¡°Rongzhi, you¡¯ve met this kid before us all. Has he always liked to boast so much?¡± Even now, Han Qiongzhi still felt rather unhappy. She noticed Qian Rongzhi¡¯s gaze and became riled up again.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Senior sister Han, I¡¯m not on close terms with him. Unless he possesses a supreme grade talisman, it¡¯s impossible for him to be the opponent of a tenth layer Qi Practitioner.¡±

    An idea flashed through Han Qiongzhi¡¯s head. She muttered, ¡°Really?¡± A supreme grade talisman was equivalent to the attack of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he really was in possession of one, there really might have been a chance. Of course, it was only a tiny chance at that.

    ¡°Come with me!¡± She immediately could not help herself but pull Qian Rongzhi along with her as she forced her way through the crowd, arriving before Li Qingshan. She grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°Tell me, do you have a supreme grade talisman?¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Han!¡± Tie Zhan cried out. Young miss Han was renowned in Clear River city. Her fiery temper had made many people suffer in the past. He never thought Li Qingshan would actually be acquainted with her.

    ¡°Weirdo.¡± Xiao An, who had remained silent on the side the entire time, muttered quietly.

    Right? Qian Rongzhi shot a glance at her. Xiao An smiled brightly, like they knew what each other was thinking.

    Even Li Qingshan found Han Qiongzhi¡¯s personality to be rather strange. He said, ¡°Lend me your ear.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi stuck her head over in a hurry and heard Li Qingshan whisper, ¡°I have a few.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was surprised. ¡°Lend me your ear too!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head helplessly and leaned in. He heard her whisper, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Whether you believe it is up to you.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi smiled. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve actually gotten in your way. Fine, I¡¯ll forgive you. Kicking you off the shuttle earlier was my fault, but I still did everything out of good intentions, so you still needed to thank me. We¡¯re fair now.¡±

    ¡°Whatever.¡±

    With that matter now over, Han Qiongzhi was in a good mood. She saw the strange gazes from everywhere, and only then did she realise the implicative nature of whispering in each other¡¯s ears in public. She growled, ¡°What¡¯re you all looking at? Piss off!¡±

    She shot a glance at Li Qingshan again, If you didn¡¯t want others to hear you, you could¡¯ve just used communication technique instead. Why did you have to do that? You clearly don¡¯t have anything good in mind.

    With a snort, she stamped her foot and left. Qian Rongzhi nodded at Xiao An before leaving with her. She would have plenty of time to scheme once she joined the academy. She was lucky that Wei Zhongyuan had not died.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An glanced at one another. What a weirdo.

    By now, the ships had already arrived on the side of the sandy shoal. One of the ships extended a gangway to the shoal. A bitter-looking female instructor with protruding cheekbones called out, ¡°Come here, children!¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands to bid farewell to Ye Dachuan before holding Xiao An¡¯s hand and squeezing his way through the crowd towards the ship.

    The children around them were all noisy, but none of them cried or threw a tantrum. Under the guidance of their respective leaders, they boarded the ship one by one in an orderly manner. Not only did these regular children recommended to come here have to possess the talent to practise qi, but they also had to possess a suitable mental disposition for cultivation too.

    ¡°Go. I¡¯ll see you in a while. If anything happens, use this.¡±

    When Xiao An was about to board the ship, Li Qingshan crouched down and rubbed her head. He threaded a jade thumb ring and hung it around her neck, before wagging his thumb before her, showing her he was wearing another jade ring.

    These were a pair of jade thumb rings, which were also a set of interesting spiritual artifacts that Li Qingshan had found from all those hundred treasures pouches. The two formed a pair, which would allow them to talk to one another from a distance.

    As he watched Xiao An line up and board the ship with the other kids, Li Qingshan sighed gently. He felt like a parent who was sending their child off to school.

    A while later, the surroundings emptied out. The gangway retracted into the ship, and it sailed off once more, vanishing into the misty waters.

    Only when the sandy shoal was no longer visible did Xiao An look away.

    The children struggled to hide their excitement. For most of them, this was the first time they had ever taken such a large ship. If it were not for the stern gaze of the female instructor, they would have begun running around in joy already.

    ¡°Hey. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    A pudgy child, around eleven or twelve years of age, asked Xiao An in an arrogant manner. He was dressed in silks and satins, and he was even surrounded by a group of ¡°little brothers¡±. They all came from the same place. The pudgy child¡¯s family was rich, and he was both tall and wide, so he became their leader.

    Xiao An did not answer him.

    ¡°That¡¯s a nice ring. Let me see!¡± The pudgy kid snatched at the ring on Xiao An¡¯s chest as soon as he spotted it. It had always been like this for him whenever he wanted something.

    Xiao An took a step back and shoved the ring into her clothes. The pudgy child missed.

    ¡°How dare you defy me!¡± The pudgy child shot a glare at her and actually gave off a sense of brutality. He directly reached towards Xiao An¡¯s hair. At home, all the female servants were afraid of this move. He would only let go after they had wept and begged him.

    Hmph, I¡¯ll tear out a patch of your hair. I¡¯d like to see whether you¡¯ll still dismiss me after that.

    Xiao An threw out a punch. She suddenly remembered that this was not an enemy she had to kill, so she subsequently held back most of her strength.

    With a thump, the pudgy child was sent flying. He collided with his group of little brothers before bursting into tears. The children he collided with began crying too.

    ¡°Stop crying! What¡¯s happened?¡± The female instructor immediately walked over.

    ¡°She hit me.¡± The pudgy child covered his face. He had lost quite a few teeth.

    The female instructor frowned. ¡°Did you hit him?¡±

    Xiao An said nothing. Apart from Li Qingshan, she had never really conversed with anyone else. She would prefer turning this ship full of people into fire instead.

    The pudgy child said pitifully, ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with her. She just hit me. I even lost a few teeth.¡±

    The female instructor was irritated. She pointed at Xiao An¡¯s forehead. ¡°Tell me, why did you hit him?¡±

    Xiao An suddenly raised her head. A pair of eyes that seemed like black pearls were embedded in her delicate face.

    The female instructor looked into the pitch-black, severe eyes and shivered inside for some reason. She was unable to keep pointing at her anymore. Did this kid possess some powerful background? She immediately dismissed that thought. Basically all descendants of influential clans would begin practising qi at a young age. They would be sent to the academy once they developed a certain foundation. Only children chosen from regular people would be on this ship.

    As a result, she became even more furious. ¡°Do you even want to hit me too?¡± She raised her hand, about to beat her with it, but she suddenly thought about how the leaders of the school might be looking over here right now.

    As a result, she put her hand back down and thought of something. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Then she said to the pudgy boy, ¡°Get up. She hit you, so hit her back.¡±

    The boy wiped aside her tears. Having received the instructor¡¯s permission, he seemed to be in pain, but he was complacent inside. Regular children probably would never be able to bring themselves to hit back, but he directly threw a punch as hard as he could. Before he could even celebrate, he felt his stomach ache as he was sent flying again, directly fainting on the ground. Fortunately, his group of little brothers dodged cleverly, so they were not struck by him this time.

    There were two, however, who sobbed even harder. ¡°Murder! Murder!¡±

    The female instructor had been paying attention to Xiao An the entire time; she wanted to prevent her from dodging. However, the kick that Xiao An had launched after jumping up was both quick and stealthy, such that even she could not react. She could not help but become enraged as she erupted with curses. ¡°Do you really think a troublesome little animal like you can practise qi and cultivate? I don¡¯t think so! Once we reach the shore, I¡¯ll have you piss off to where you came from¡­¡±

    She returned to the nose of the ship furiously. She obviously did not have the authority to make the ship turn around, but she had plenty of ways to deal with misbehaving children in the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    In a quiet room within the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    There were heavy curtains in the room, which made the entire place gloomy. Around a dozen or so figures were vaguely visible, sitting in their respective seats.

    The various leaders of the schools were all gathered here. The auras they radiated with in the silence was enough to make any Qi Practitioner tremble. Their wills determined everything within the Clear River prefecture that spanned fifteen hundred kilometers.

    At the centre of the room was a large, jade disc. The disc was engraved with exquisite glyphs. The name of the disc was the Watermirror disc. It was a strange treasure that allowed them to see anywhere within a range of fifty kilometers.

    The true examination had already begun. The leaders witnessed and took note of every single person¡¯s performance.

    The Watermirror disc rippled and produced a clear image.

    Right now, it depicted the ship.

    No matter how the female instructor insulted or threatened her, Xiao An remained calm and unperturbed the entire time, treating the threatening woman like air.

    ¡°Is this the child that Qiu Haitang wants? She truly is quite different,¡± said a man dressed like a confucian scholar with a square hat1 on his head. He had delicate facial features and only seemed to be around thirty years of age, but he was actually at an advanced age of eighty already. He was Ye Dachuan¡¯s sister-in-law, the prefect of the Clear River prefecture, and the leader of the school of Confucianism, Liu Zhangqing. What happened in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain two nights ago obviously could not escape his ears.

    ¡°That girly is unfazed by both harassment and flattery. Her mental fortitude is quite rare.¡± A bald-headed monk nodded with prayer beads in his hands.

    ¡°Zhangqing, who chose this woman to receive the children? She¡¯s so harsh and impatient, without any regard for what¡¯s wrong or right. These children will develop a bad impression of the academy the moment they join it,¡± said a skinny but energetic old man in coarse clothing with a long, formal hat2.

    ¡°If the instructor is too gentle, how are they supposed to keep so many kids under control? And, it¡¯s all her fault for not speaking up and explaining what had happened, or the instructor wouldn¡¯t have blamed her. Who can she blame apart from herself? As for the little fatty, he must be removed from the academy immediately. He already knows how to gang up on people and steal at such a young age, paying no regard to what¡¯s wrong or right. What will he become if he practises qi?¡± The Scarlet Hawk commander, the leader of the school of Legalism, Wang Pushi, said in an impressive manner.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯ll go with that!¡± A figure immediately stood up and departed behind the curtain. Many instructors were waiting outside, ensuring that their orders could be carried out at any time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s look at the person who brought her here instead!¡± The image in the Watermirror disc changed, now depicting Li Qingshan. He was currently boarding a ship with other people.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense something, so he looked around. Was someone looking at him?

    The people behind him urged, ¡°Hurry up!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way forward and arrived before a jolly instructor. He took out the one hundred spiritual stones he had prepared, and the instructor stowed them into his hundred treasures pouch. The instructor called out, ¡°Another one!¡±

    He seemed like he was running a business. However, Li Qingshan had estimated that the revenue of the academy would probably approach a hundred thousand spiritual stones from just this intake of disciples.

    And, this was just the beginning. The way the academy charged their disciples was very special. It was a hundred spiritual stones for every single person for the first year. If they failed to increase their cultivation by a single layer the next year, the fees would double, becoming two hundred spiritual stones.

    Li Qingshan knew with the simple knowledge of mathematics from his past life that just by compounding a few more times, the fees would reach a level that no Qi Practitioner could afford. Joining the Academy of the Hundred Schools was easy. There were so many schools, so there would always be a school willing to accept a particular person. However, wanting to remain in the academy was very difficult. Qi Practitioners at higher cultivations would struggle to increase their cultivation, so they would end up suffering instead.

    I¡¯m not indulging in myself and having the time of my life when I¡¯m not writing. I don¡¯t know about other authors, but when I have a writing block, it¡¯s even more painful than constipation. I can¡¯t settle down no matter what I do. As a man without a car, a house, or a woman, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any serious business I can do apart from write. I want to make some more money too! Fortunately, I¡¯ve basically made it past the toughest part, so the upcoming releases should slowly stabilise.

    Originally, I didn¡¯t want to explain so much. Explaining is covering it up, and covering it up is telling stories, which I suddenly remembered was my career, so I¡¯ll explain!

 Chapter 279 â€“ Pure Yang Constitution

    At the same time, the academy would provide various rewards to the outstanding disciples, following the single principle of natural selection. The better you did, the more resources you received. If not, your progression would only become more and more difficult, and in the end, all you would be able to do was run errands for the academy.

    Li Long called out excitedly on the ship, ¡°Qingshan, over here!¡±

    Li Qingshan failed to find who was spying on him in the end. He rubbed the back of his head and boarded the ship.

    Unbeknownst to him, the leaders of the various schools all witnessed his behaviour.

    ¡°This kid¡¯s senses sure are sharp. His cultivation isn¡¯t bad either. He¡¯s quite the talent in the intake this time,¡± said Liu Zhangqing in evaluation, shifting everyone¡¯s attention onto the focus of the entrance examination. Perhaps there were talents among these children, but it would take a few months at the very least before they knew.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that old Wang has already got his hands on him.¡± The old man in coarse clothing with a long hat shook his head.

    ¡°The kid¡¯s a troublemaker. I don¡¯t even know which school he¡¯ll pick.¡± While Wang Pushi did not particularly like Li Qingshan, he still felt glorified over the fact that the Hawkwolf Guard had produced a talent.

    ¡°I think there¡¯s some destiny between this child and our buddha. May I ask if commander Wang is willing to part with him?¡± asked the old, bald monk.

    ¡°He¡¯s a skill Body Practitioner, so compared to the school of Legalism, the school of the Military suits him better.¡± Before Wang Pushi could reply, the middle-aged man who sat beside him silently spoke up all of a sudden.

    Even as he sat there, his posture was dead-straight. He placed both of his hands on his knees and he did not move at all, staring straight ahead. When he remained silent, he seemed just like a carved statue. Even in a relaxed state, he radiated with a steady sense of power. He was the leader of the school of the Military, the General of Riling Might, Han Anjun.

    ¡°One Thought, do they all have a destiny with your buddha as long as they have a bit of talent? Old Han, even your son didn¡¯t contend with little Hua over him. If he really chooses the school of the Military, I¡¯ll shut up immediately.¡±

    ¡°Buddha refers to the buddha in our minds, which is also the buddha within all life. He¡¯s not destined with your buddha, he¡¯s destined with ¡°our¡± buddha. Namo Amit¨¡bha!¡± The One Thought monk stringed together a list of buddha names.

    The Watermirror disc did not remain on Li Qingshan for long. It moved onto others. They focused on the young, talented people with relatively high cultivations in the entrance examination this time. They all discussed which school they should end up in.

    The issue of the otherfolk, Mu Kui, led to quite a dispute. Even now, the conflict between otherfolk and humans had yet to stop. However, when Han Anjun nodded and said, ¡°I¡¯ll accept him.¡± there was nothing more that they could say.

    Apart from them, the Watermirror disc checked on another dozen or two people. They were all the talents this time. Although Li Qingshan stood out among regular Qi Practitioners, he seemed to be nothing special when compared to them.

    The Clear River prefecture that spanned fifteen hundred kilometers was equivalent to all of Jiangnan on the earth that Li Qingshan lived on previously. There was a population in the hundreds of millions, so there were countless people with talent and fortuitous encounters.

    To be able to stand out among so many people, be depicted in the Watermirror disc, and be discussed by the leaders of the various schools, Li Qingshan could already be regarded as an extremely rare talent, but he was nowhere close to startling them with his talent. Out of everyone sitting in the room, had they not been geniuses themselves in the past?

    Li Qingshan and Li Long leaned against the railing on the ship and discussed what happened after they had parted ways. Because what Li Qingshan went through was just too mysterious and startling, with far too many secrets to hide, Li Long was speaking most of the time with Li Qingshan listening.

    As it turned out, Li Long was quite the talent among the Iron Fist school. Going from being a third-rate master to a second layer Qi Practitioner in under a year was already a very startling step. The Iron Fist school was already prepared to elevate him to protector.

    An expansive wall of mist suddenly appeared on the surface of the water. It seemed extremely strange in the current weather, but Li Qingshan failed to sense any spiritual qi within it.

    However, when the ship sailed through the mist, Li Qingshan felt like the world was spinning around him. He immediately understood that the wall of mist was part of a huge formation, except all of its spiritual qi and spiritual energy was withdrawn perfectly. Then he checked on Li Long, who failed to notice anything. He just looked around in confusion.

    Suddenly, a huge, black shadow appeared in the mist, and it rapidly grew larger. It arrived right before them in the blink of an eye. It was a vicious, strange-looking fish, ten times the size of the ship. From so close, it basically seemed like a mountain. Its mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth that were the size of spears, and it lunged towards the ship.

    There were a series of cries from the ship as various talismans and techniques flew out.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. There was no murderous aura, no daemon qi, and no living aura. It was a fake.

    The strange fish passed trhough the ship. Sure enough, it was an illusion. The talismans and techniques obviously failed to hit anything. However, the illusion was just too realistic, such that many people were pale-faced, still shaken by what they had gone through.

    The male instructor clapped his hands with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, it¡¯s just a joke. Though, if you move through this mist without permission, the joke might end up being real!¡±

    The Watermirror disc obviously caught everyone¡¯s expressions, leading to a series of laughter and a rough evaluation.

    The cowardly were not necessarily despised, rejected from all schools. Being faint-hearted did not mean they could not make machines, practise divination, or practise medicine. Since they lacked the courage to fight and kill, then they should just stick with the work that suited them!

    Of course, the cultivators that had completely paled in fright had already lost their right to be chosen in Han Anguo and Wang Pushi¡¯s minds. The very core of these two schools were based on fighting and killing. They were not places for the cowardly.

    By now, the mist began to disperse as the radiant sunlight landed on the nose of the ship again. The ship inched into the domain of light.

    Everyone could not help but gasp. Even Li Qingshan widened his eyes. The dark blue lakewater seemed even clearer than outside the mist. Many large, rare fish swam around in the water. The sky seemed bluer too as a flock of large, white aquatic birds flew over the ship. The spiritual qi was so dense that even breathing seemed much more delightful.

    A jade-green island with a chain of mountains stood right before them, with various other islands of different sizes scattered in the surroundings like stars in the night sky. They seemed like pieces of jade that had fallen onto a blue piece of silk.

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood something. It was these islands that created the formation, assimilating with nature.

    This was the Academy of the Hundred Schools, while the largest island in the centre was known as ¡°Contention¡±!

    The ship directly sailed towards Contention island, and everyone became riled up with it.

    A while later, the ship docked.

    The instructor brought everyone to a square. There was a formation engraved there. Li Qingshan found the formation to be slightly familiar. Suddenly, he remembered that the formation scroll Sun Fubai had taken out when he had his yin and yang and five elements tested below the Green Vine mountain seemed quite similar, except this one was much larger and much more complicated.

    To the Academy of the Hundred Schools, the elemental affinity of their disciples was the most important. As a matter of fact, it served as a first prerequisite.

    Li Qingshan had already understood from the Book of All that the school of Legalism preferred profound yin, the schools of Buddhism and Confucianism preferred Profound Yang, the schools of Mohism and Agriculturalism preferred earth and wood, the school of the Military preferred metal and fire, the schools of Names and Novels preferred water, the school of Yin-yang preferred a balance in yin and yang, while the schools of Daoism and Miscellany accepted everyone.

    Of course, the prerequisite of elemental affinity was not always absolute. Even if a person had non-matching elemental affinities, they could still join the various schools. The school of Legalism accepted all elements, while the school of the Military was not fixed on metal and fire either. On the other hand, while the school of Buddhism did accept all, the main cultivation method they practised focused on force and strength, so yang, and the great, righteous spirit of the school of Confucianism also required Profound Yang.

    They could write an entire book on the considerations they took into account. Li Qingshan only possessed a rough understanding, ensuring that he would not make any general mistakes.

    All of the Qi Practitioners stood in line according to how they had initially boarded the ship. They would hear the instructor call their names one by one. After they were called, they would step onto the formation.

    ¡°Chen Han!¡±

    A man walked out from the group and arrived at the centre of the formation. The five elements lit up simultaneously. His metal, wood, water, and earth elements were all very weak, but his fire was a blazing ball that stood seven feet high. The yin and yang qi above his head displayed two shades, one light and one dark. Light completely exceeded dark.

    Only then did Li Qingshan understand why the testing formation was so large. As it turned out, it could simultaneously test the strength of the various elements.

    The male instructor took note of this. ¡°High yi1 for fire, low yi for yang, and the rest is low ding.¡±

    When Hua Chenglu walked into the formation, a huge shadow immediately above her. She was deemed to have low jia for yin, making her a good disciple for the school of Legalism. She left the formation under everyone¡¯s gazes of amazement.

    Closely following her was Yu Zijian. She was slightly nervous. She still practised the Innate Method of Practising Qi right now, and she never had her element affinity tested so far.

    The formation flashed and produced an extremely soft thrum. Scorching, white light blinded everyone¡¯s eyes as a dazzling ball of light rose up above her head, like a miniature sun.

    The light poured through the Watermirror disc, landing in the gloomy room and lighting up everyone¡¯s faces. The expressions of all of the leaders changed slightly.

    Liu Zhangqing smiled. ¡°High jia for yang. She¡¯s suitable for practising the righteous spirit of Confucianism. Surely she¡¯s mine, right?¡±

    All people who could reach the extremes of any single element were rare geniuses.

    ¡°The fuck do you know?¡± The slovenly daoist priest that had remained silent the entire time, sipping his alcohol with his head lowered, suddenly spoke.

    ¡°Please enlighten me, senior!¡± Liu Zhangqing was an extremely cultivated person. He bowed and asked for guidance, demonstrating the gentleness, modesty, and courtesy of confucianism.

    Of course, the primary reason was because he was not this old daoist priest¡¯s opponent. He was only at early Foundation Establishment, while the old daoist priest had already reached late Foundation Establishment.

    The slovenly daoist priest ignored him, remaining fixated on the Watermirror disc as his gaze became quite fervent. All the other leaders of the schools were shocked by this. All of them knew this old daoist was violent-tempered and foul-mouthed, looking down on everything. Yu Zijian¡¯s talent might have been extraordinary, but there was no need for him to behave like this!

    But that gave everything away. Liu Zhangqing exclaimed, ¡°The Pure Yang constitution!¡±

    Apart from the scorching ball of light above Yu Zijian¡¯s head, there was not even the tiniest sliver of darkness.

    Regular people possessed both yin and yang, just like how birth could not happen with yin alone, and growth could not happen with yang alone. Only extremely accomplished cultivators could reach the limits of yang and produce yin as a result, attaining the state of pure yang. This had always been the most simple principle in cultivation. If there was light, then there was darkness. If there was yin, then there was yang.

    However, there were a few, rare cases of people being born with pure yin or pure yang, which gave them a sacred constitution for cultivation. However, men were primarily yang, and women were primarily yin. For the Pure Yang constitution to appear on a woman, it was an outlier among outliers.

 Chapter 280 â€“ Five Elements Constitution

    At the same time, among the five elements for Yu Zijian, a fine-textured, treasured sword directly condensed for the position of metal. It had also made the rankings of jia, but no one took note of it.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. The slovenly daoist priest immediately began to regret his actions.

    Sure enough, Liu Zhangqing clapped his hands. ¡°Now that¡¯s a disciple of my school of Confucianism!¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest shook his head. ¡°Now that¡¯s nonsense! If the Pure Yang constitution isn¡¯t used to practise daoism, it¡¯s literally throwing it to waste. The righteous spirit is just a lesser path of cultivation!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Sirs, please do not argue. This child has a destiny with the buddha. She¡¯ll definitely be able to attain the fruition of wisdom and condense a ?ar¨©ra!¡± Before Liu Zhangqing could refute him, the One Thought monk had already begun spouting buddhist terms.

    The slovenly daoist priest smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask the girly whether she wants to shave her head and become a damned ass with you?¡±

    The One Thought monk was taken aback. Although hair was known as the strands of kleshas, or afflictions, were there any young women willing to cast it aside unless they were completely devastated inside? The school of Buddhism was a major school, but they had nowhere near as many disciples as the slovenly daoist priest, and it was exactly because of these rules and precepts. As a result, the One Thought monk stopped arguing. He only lowered his head and chanted to himself, having already made up his mind to try to win her over later.

    The slovenly daoist priest thought, This bald ass won¡¯t pose any problems, but as for Liu Zhangqing, he¡¯ll be an issue. Though, I can just tell the girly about prefect Liu¡¯s romantic affair when the time comes. He snickered.

    Liu Zhangqing shivered inside when he heard the snicker. He knew the slovenly daoist priest was up to no good, but he only smiled elegantly, expressing his determination to win her over.

    Since the three of them had already spoken, the other leaders decided to keep their mouths shut, and it was not just because the Pure Yang constitution was indeed suited for their three schools the most. Among the academy, the schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism possessed the greatest influence and power too, so how were they supposed to contend in terms of resources?

    All the schools just served as a platform for cultivation. Even the line between the statuses of master and disciple was not as clear as it was in sects. Disciples were responsible for earning their own cultivation resources, rather similar to the schools from Li Qingshan¡¯s previous life.

    Originally, no one paid much attention to this young girl beside Hua Chenglu, but the radiance she displayed now stunned everyone.

    Hua Chengzan glanced over from afar and saw Yu Zijian scamper out of the formation in a hurry. He smiled. So it was the Pure Yang constitution. That was what it was. They should be able to tell, right?

    Among these people, no, the entire Academy of the Hundred Schools, probably no one had a brighter future than her; this was just a glimpse of her glory.

    A while later, Mu Kui entered the formation too. He directly condensed a towering tree for the wood element and was evaluated as high jia for wood, displaying the Giant Lumberfolk¡¯s extraordinary talent and affinity for the wood element.

    The sun rose higher and higher as the cultivators were tested one by one. A genius would appear from time to time, leading to admiration and praise from everyone. Qian Rongzhi happened to be one of them. She also had an affinity for yin, which was evaluated as low jia. She was only slightly worse than Hua Chenglu.

    Finally, it was Li Qingshan¡¯s turn. He made his way into the formation slowly, and a vast wave of water suddenly expanded into the surroundings.

    Yu Zijian sighed in admiration. ¡°So powerful!¡± Hua Chenglu remarked too, ¡°No wonder he can control the water elemented flying sword so easily.¡±

    At the same time, he condensed a weapon and a boulder for metal and earth. Although they seemed much coarser compared to Yu Zijian¡¯s treasured sword, they were still quite rare. A ball of white light appeared over his head, along with a small shadow.

    ¡°Quite interesting.¡± The male instructor smiled and took record of it. ¡°High jia for water, low yi for metal and earth, mid bing for wood, low ding for fire, high yi for yang, and low bing for yin.¡±

    If he knew the results of Li Qingshan¡¯s previous test, he would not just find it as quite interesting anymore. Last time, the wave of water was only half this size, while the metal and wood elements were nowhere as prominent either.

    Although it was not exactly impossible to change the talent and elemental affinity of a person, it was extremely difficult. It either required extremely precious pills and herbs, or decades or centuries of bitter cultivation.

    However, the supernatural abilities from the black ox had directly turned Li Qingshan into something else, and gradually, he began to possess the talent and power only available to daemons.

    A few more leaders took note of Li Qingshan in front of the Watermirror disc.

    Everyone in the crowd looked at him with gazes of admiration and jealousy too.

    ¡°Brother Tian! Isn¡¯t he the person that we saw in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain? His talent for the water element is so impressive!¡±

    The young man in white said disdainfully, ¡°It¡¯s so-so. I¡¯ll show you what impressive actually means later.¡±

    A while later, the instructor called out, ¡°Chu Tian!¡±

    The young man in white smiled at the two girls beside him before stepping into the formation gracefully. His eyes were filled with absolute confidence.

    Now, the testing period was almost over. The sun had almost risen to its highest point. Everyone felt slightly sick of this now, no longer focused on it, conversing among themselves instead. A few instructors discussed among themselves, ready to clear away everything as well and take everyone to go eat. They would then continue with other tests in the afternoon.

    Suddenly, five colours, gold, green, blue, red, and yellow, rose up into the sky. Above the five corners of the formation hovered a fine, sheathed sword, a towering tree, ebbing waves of water, a scorching ball of fire, and a lofty, miniature mountain.

    All five elements demonstrated their extremes.

    The square immediately fell silent.

    ¡°They¡¯re all high jia. No, even the formation can¡¯t test it. Is there something wrong with the formation?¡± The instructor that took notes cried out, breaking the silence. Cries and sighs of admiration rose up in the surroundings. Everyone could not help but stare at the centre of the formation, at the young man in white called Chu Tian.

    A genius. A true genius.

    Even the various leaders almost ended up missing the Pure Yang constitution that Yu Zijian had demonstrated because it was just too rare, let alone these Qi Practitioners.

    Yu Zijian had only stood in the formation for a moment before leaving in a hurry. Even if some people noticed the absence of darkness in the light, they would just dismiss it as having not looked carefully enough.

    In the end, the only evaluation she received was high jia for yang, so the treatment she received was similar to what Mu Kui and Li Qingshan went through. It was nowhere near as shocking as Chu Tian right now.

    ¡°You¡¯re so outstanding, brother Tian!¡± The eyes of the two girls by Chu Tian¡¯s side lit up. Chu Tian smiled at them, as if he was saying, How¡¯s that?

    ¡°The Five Elements constitution!¡±

    The various leaders were all stunned. The intake this year sure was special. There was the Pure Yang constitution, and then the Five Elements constitution appeared. They were both extraordinary talents that rarely appeared even across the span of several decades. It would lead to quite a competition between the schools.

    Li Qingshan watched on silently too. He lamented over how there sure were a lot of geniuses in the world! Suddenly, he felt the young man called Chu Tian shoot a provoking glance his way, which perplexed him slightly.

    Chu Tian stood there for quite a while before slowly making his way out. He unfurled his fan and seemed extraordinarily elegant. If he was slightly more handsome, he would be perfect. However, no one noticed this small flaw of his right now. The talent he had displayed was enough to make up for everything. Strength served as the best appearance for a man.

    Not only did the various leaders stop caring about the remaining tests, but even the Qi Practitioners present stopped paying attention. There was a racket on the square. The people who had demonstrated extraordinary talent in the testing earlier were now surrounded by quite a lot of people. Some clever Qi Practitioners had already chosen their targets to befriend. Everyone belonged to the same cohort, so they should have gotten along with one another anyway.

    In particular, several dozen people filled Chu Tian¡¯s surroundings. No one doubted the fact that this young man would rise up very soon.

    Li Qingshan rubbed the jade ring on his thumb. He wondered how Xiao An was doing.

    The ship that Xiao An was on instead sent them to a smaller island on the outskirts. The children were all taught the Innate Method of Practising Qi and bestowed with a single Qi Gathering pills. After that, they were taken to a hall where they began meditating in search of the mysterious feeling of qi.

    Nearby, the female instructor stood with a pointer and a sunken expression. She would glance at Xiao An from time to time, appearing even more bitter now.

    Although an instructor had already told her the entire story due to Wang Pushi¡¯s orders, she became even more furious. This girl was clearly making a fool out of her!

    And, the messaging instructor had told her that some of the leaders of the schools had become displeased with her, so she became both fearful and furious. She was tempted to give Xiao An a beating immediately, but the instructor also warned her that this child was not a regular child, but one that a few leaders might end up favouring. As a result, she was no longer able to lash out in anger, but that did not mean she was willing to just accept this.

    She had already made up her mind. She would not let Xiao An have it easy. She refused to believe that she was unable to teach a single kid a lesson in the next few months with everything in her reach.

    Xiao An ignored this hostility. Instead, she focused on practising qi. She did not find the Innate Method of Practicing Qi unfamiliar. When Li Qingshan practised this cultivation method, he had frequently come to her for guidance.

    Finding the feeling of qi was enough for these children to turn red from holding their breaths, but it was no difficulty for her. In a single instant, a strand of true qi appeared, beginning to flow through her body.

    After flowing for a while, it had strengthened by several fold. The Qi Gathering pill had already been absorbed completely, but the true qi continued to grow at an unbelievable rate.

    The path of practising qi, in simpler terms, was refining vitality into qi. Primarily, it was about extracting vitality from the body and refining it into true qi. Who knew how many people she had refined in order to create the tiny body of hers, so the vitality she possessed was countless times more abundant than regular children.

    She was neither limited by understanding and comprehension nor resources, so before long, she had completed the first three layers of the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    Afterwards, the true qi began to push through her Yang Heel meridian, but in the end, it flowed smoothly through the Shenmai acupoint before passing through the other acupoints too. It connected the acupoints to form the Yang Heel meridian.

    The various obstacles in the eyes of regular people was a piece of cake to her. If the meridian was a river, then her river had no dams at all.

    Right from the very beginning, her body condensed from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had been perfect.

    A while later, Xiao An stood up.

    The bitter-looking female instructor immediately scolded her, ¡°Who told you to stand up?¡±

    Xiao An replied emotionlessly, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

 Chapter 281 â€“ Heavenly Meridians Prodigy

    The female instructor rubbed her eyes. Was she dreaming?

    However, the child with extremely delicate facial features but a neutral expression was clearly at the third layer.

    The other instructors were alarmed too, walking over to take a look. They saw Xiao An and looked at her like she was a monster as well. They were filled with disbelief.

    According to the rules of the academy, children that could not develop a feeling of qi within three months would be expelled. Even if they managed to sense it, they would still have to remain here for three months and learn some basics, forbidden to make contact with the outside world.

    Xiao An had originally been rather reluctant to stand out too much, but the thought of not being able to see him for three months immediately made her worried. This was a form of yearning, and it was even more unbearable than being burnt by fire.

    As a result, only one choice was available before her, which was to complete the Innate Method of Practising Qi and reach the third layer as a Qi Practitioner. To her, this was nothing difficult.

    The female instructor screeched, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! She must have been hiding her cultivation.¡±

    In the history of the academy, there were geniuses who had managed to complete the Innate Method of Practising Qi within three months, but just how long did it take her? Two hours?

    The other instructors all nodded. This was the most logical explanation. After three months, the child with the highest cultivation would receive a precious reward. Since she was in possession of something as precious as a communication ring, possessing a spiritual artifact that could hide her aura would be nothing strange at all. The person behind her wanted to use this method to get his hands on the reward, but he must have never expected children to be so simple-minded.

    The female instructor called out, ¡°How despicable. I was wondering how she could fool my eyes when she kicked that kid. Little liars like this should be severely punished and immediately expelled from the academy.¡±

    The large hall became noisy. The restless children just happened to be at the end of their patience with meditation, so they all opened their curious eyes now that something so interesting was going on. They began discussing among themselves, and some of them even gathered over slowly.

    Only Xiao An remained as quiet as before, but a rare sliver of worry appeared on her face now. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± before making her way out of the hall.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re running off to?¡± The female instructor extended her hand sternly, kicking up a swift breeze. She wanted to teach her a proper lesson.

    Xiao An looked back and clenched her fist.

    ¡°Stop!¡± A plump old man made his way over in just a few steps and grabbed the female instructor¡¯s hand.

    The female instructor said, ¡°Professor, she¡­¡±

    The instructors of the academy were all composed of disciples who could not afford the school fees but wanted to remain in the academy. Their cultivations were not necessarily higher than the disciples of the various schools. For example, the female instructor had only just overcome the major obstacle of the sixth layer.

    Professors were equivalent to high level instructors. Their cultivations were even higher. The plump old man was at the ninth layer, and he was responsible for all the education on this island, guiding these children who were new to cultivation.

    The plump, old man was a kind person. When he saw how she was about to lay her hands so heavily on such a cute little girl, he objected very much inside. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this up to the leaders of the schools!¡± Afterwards, he said to Xiao An kindly, ¡°Little girl, can you lend me your hand?¡±

    Xiao An nodded. She loosened her fist and raised her hand.

    The plump old man gripped her thin wrist with three fingers and injected some true qi. At first, he was in doubt, but soon, he was overcome by shock. ¡°T- this¡­¡±

    The female instructor said, ¡°She¡¯s just a little liar!¡±

    The plump old man barked, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    The female instructor shivered in fright. Even the other instructors rarely treated her so harshly, so they were taken aback. They wondered what he had discovered.

    The plump old man ignored their doubts. He removed the jade tablet from his waist and injected it with true qi.

    Just as Liu Zhangqing argued with everyone else over which school Chu Tian should belong to, the jade tablet on his waist flashed. He picked it up and touched it gently with a finger. The plump old man¡¯s rather hoarse voice rang out, ¡°Leader, a child has already reached the third layer.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing frowned. ¡°You¡¯re kidding with me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°They must have hidden their cultivation!¡± Liu Zhangqing gave it a moment of thought and came to the most logical conclusion. However, being able to reach the third layer at such a young age was still quite rare. They might have possessed ill intentions, but it was still a pity, so just a slight punishment would do.

    Right as he was about to order the plump old man to bring the child over, he heard the old man say, ¡°It¡¯s not that either.¡±

    Every single person seated there had sharp senses. They all stopped bickering and looked over at Liu Zhangqing.

    Liu Zhangqing asked impatiently, ¡°Then what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°I think¡­ she¡¯s a Heavenly Meridians prodigy.¡± The old man gulped, as if even he was not convinced.

    Liu Zhangqing was momentarily stunned. He wanted to cover up the jade tablet, but it was already too late. The eyes of the various leaders all lit up like the eyes of wolves.

    All Liu Zhangqing could do was continue asking, ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    The ears of all the leaders pricked up. Not only were they excited and eager, but they were also rather doubtful too. All of them had heard about Heavenly Meridians prodigies before, but none of them had seen one. That was even rarer than the Pure Yang and Five Elements constitutions.

    ¡°All eight extraordinary meridians, twelve standard meridians, and various acupoints are open,¡± the plump old man uttered a total of twelve words, completely summarising a Heavenly Meridians prodigy.

    The slovenly daoist priest immediately snatched over the controls for the Watermirror disc. The image changed, depicting a tiny island. The island enlarged rapidly, flying into their faces. The image passed through the golden-yellow eaves and landed on the old man. His expression was both stern and solemn. The image immediately moved over to Xiao An beside him, and the daoist priest cried out, ¡°It¡¯s her!¡±

    As a result, no more doubts existed anymore. The Watermirror disc had depicted her just earlier. Back then, she truly did not possess any auras befitting of a Qi Practitioner. There were no concealing spiritual artifacts that could fool the eyes of a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even if a spiritual artifact like that did exist, it was not something a third layer Qi Practitioner kid could control.

    She really was a Heavenly Meridians prodigy!

    Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. Heavenly Meridians prodigies were born with connected meridians, allowing their true qi to circulate without any obstructions at all. Cultivating to the tenth layer would be a piece of cake for them. Another way to put it would be that their constitutions were similar to tenth layer Qi Practitioners who had lost all of their true qi. All they needed to do was fill it up with true qi again.

    Most cultivators in the world would be stuck as Qi Practitioners forever. Even those in possession of the Pure Yang constitution and the Five Elements constitution required great effort to break through the bottlenecks one by one, climbing up step by step. However, Heavenly Meridians prodigies did not share this issue. Instead, the issue they faced from the very beginning was how to reach Foundation Establishment.

    The Pure Yang constitution was more suited to the schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Meanwhile, although the Five Elements constitution did cover a larger range, at least it was not enough to interest the school of Yin-yang. However, all sects, schools, and clans would be interested in a Heavenly Meridians prodigy. No matter how aloof these leaders were, they would still roll up their sleeves, ready to contend with one another. If they won, then they would be winning over a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the very least.

    They finally understood why Qiu Haitang had offered her that promise. She was enough for any sect or clan to support with all the resources they possessed.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Bring her to Contention island immediately and have her yin, yang, and five elements tested!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°And, that woman, whatever she¡¯s called, she¡¯s not suitable for guiding children. Send her back to Contention island for her to reflect on her actions!¡±

    This time, even Wang Pushi agreed with the decision. What kind of dirty woman are you supposed to be? Is a Heavenly Meridians prodigy someone you can wrongly accuse?

    Suddenly, he thought of something and secretly cursed Liu Zhangqing for his craftiness. He has been so loud on purpose, clearly wanting to ingratiate himself with the kid. No, I need to get little Hua to talk to Li Qingshan about this. Whether he can be promoted to a Scarlet Wolf will depend on his behaviour this time.

    ¡°Sir, sir!¡± The female instructor¡¯s cries rang out from the jade tablet. Through the Watermirror disc, they could all see her face turn sheet white the moment she heard Liu Zhangqing¡¯s decision.

    Only Xiao An remained unfazed, which disappointed Liu Zhangqing slightly. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Wang Pushi. Sparks seemed to fly. The leaders of the schools all look at one another with hostility.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! There were three resonant sounds.

    In the corner of the room, an old man brimming with a rustic aura struck the ground three times with his smoking pipe, shaking out the ash.

    The old man¡¯s face that was riddled with gullies was a brownish-yellow, as if he himself had been smoked. He wore a short, white gown as he half-sat, half-crouched on the chair. He seemed like an old farmer who had tended to the land his entire life, which made him stand out very much. Suddenly, his eyes swiveled, and the light and wisdom that flickered through them gave away his true identity, the leader of the school of Agriculturalism.

    He was the oldest here, so old that no one knew exactly how old he was. Everyone showed some respect to him, and even the slovenly daoist priest was no exception. No one knew his original name anymore either. All they knew was that his surname was Huang, and he called himself earth elder Huang.

    ¡°Everyone, please calm down. It¡¯s just a Heavenly Meridians prodigy. Look at how startled you¡¯ve become, losing your composers as leaders of schools.¡± As earth elder Huang said that, he added a tobacco leaf to his pipe. Firelight flickered in the darkness, and the smell of smoke wafted out.

    When he saw Yu Zijian or Chu Tian, he did not say a single word. Affairs involving humans were never constant. They would constantly fluctuate. He seemed to have grown accustomed to it, so he no longer placed much emphasis on it.

    ¡°Have you seen one before, elder?¡± Liu Zhangqing asked politely.

    ¡°Over two centuries ago, I did see one.¡±

    ¡°What about now?¡±

    All of the leaders listened closely. Even the coldest out of all of them, Han Anjun, could not help but listen attentively. Just what had the Heavenly Meridians prodigy attained after two hundred years? They must have reached much more than Foundation Establishment, but if they did, they would not be a figure without renown, yet they had never heard of someone like this before.

    Earth elder Huang let out a puff of smoke. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sitting here, and he has already been buried for a century.¡± He did not go into any more detail. The death of a nameless figure was not worth any more detail than that, no matter how great of a genius he was in the past.

    The leaders all came to a realisation. Good talent bore no semblance on how far someone could make it. In particular, Wang Pushi lamented about this a lot. Back then, there were so many Qi Practitioners with better talent than him that he could not even count them all even if he had ten hands, but in the end, only he had made it so far.

    They all could not help but sigh that experience came with age, and people would only grow firmer with age.

    The Watermirror disc was still locked onto Xiao An. They would still contend against one another for her, but they had settled down.

    Finally, the last Qi Practitioner had been tested. The instructors let out a yawn, about to take the Qi Practitioners to lunch.

    Suddenly, a shuttle pierced through the sky. The plump old man got off with Xiao An, while behind them was the sunken female instructor. She was very dissatisfied, and she utterly refused to accept this. She was basically staring daggers at Xiao An, tempted to slice her up. However, the child never took her seriously the entire time.

    At this moment, she felt a sharp gaze sweep past her face. She raised her head and saw a frosty young man staring at her with a frown, which made her shiver inside for some reason.

 Chapter 282 â€“ Mutual Promotion

    Li Qingshan¡¯s senses for murderous auras and hostility were as sharp as they came, so how could he not notice her? If it were directed at him, he might have not cared, but since it was towards Xiao An, that was enough for him to kill her.

    The female instructor saw how Li Qingshan was also a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, so she glared back to hold her ground. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze had already shifted over to Xiao An.

    What she failed to notice was Qian Rongzhi¡¯s gaze, as gentle as water, from within the crowd. There was no killing intent or hostility in there at all. Even if the female instructor saw it, she would find it very gentle.

    ¡°Xiao An, why have you come here?¡± Li Qingshan asked. Suddenly, he was taken aback. Hmm? The third layer?

    Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan and immediately revealed a dazzling smile, throwing herself into his arms.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It has only been a morning since you last saw me. How did you reach the third layer?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head. He vaguely understood that this was probably due to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Even the plump old man could not bother to explain things. He knew the leaders were all watching, so he urged, ¡°Get tested for your elemental affinity.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°This is good too. We can cultivate together. Go get tested!¡±

    Under everyone¡¯s watch, Xiao An made her way towards the formation. Most of the Qi Practitioners were bewildered. Why did a kid appear at the end, and why did the professor personally bring her here? Did she possess some powerful background? Though, she sure was impressive to have reached the third layer at such a young age.

    No one imagined that she had still been a regular person in the morning, or at least she seemed like one. Even if someone thought of that, they would immediately dismiss this absurd idea.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the child who follows Li Qingshan around? Called Xiao An or something? Didn¡¯t she take part in the test for children?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked in surprise.

    Hua Chengzan frowned. What was going on with this kid? The third layer? Was she hiding her strength? Aside from that, there were no better explanations. Suddenly, he thought of something. Don¡¯t tell me?

    ¡°Brother Tian, look at that child. She¡¯s so pretty!¡±

    ¡°I think we¡¯ve seen her somewhere.¡±

    Chu Tian just happened to be walking away while surrounded by a crowd. He also looked back in confusion? More people to be tested? What a waste of time. The Academy of the Hundred Schools should increase their requirements. Otherwise, even nobodies could study alongside him.

    Xiao An stood in the centre of the formation. Looking at the ancient formation carved deep into the rock, she found it to be extremely familiar.

    She could not help but close her eyes. At some point in her past, she had stood in a similar formation as a delighted cry rang out in the surroundings, ¡°Success!¡±

    What success?

    The formation let out an indetectable hum and suddenly lit up. The surroundings fell quiet. Everyone was slightly taken aback before bursting out with laughter.

    ¡°Talent like that sure is rare!¡±

    Chu Tian laughed the loudest. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s the Five Elements constitution too?¡±

    Around Xiao An in the five corners of the formation flickered a smear of golden light, a tender grass shoot, a translucent droplet of water, and a pale yellow flame. The location for earth was just empty. Only at a closer glance could the hovering speck of dust be seen.

    In the air above the formation, the light and darkness were so weak that it was almost invisible.

    ¡°All low ding?¡± The instructor responsible for recording the talents frowned. No, it should have been even lower than low ding. She did not possess any talent for the five elements, yin, or yang. If Chu Tian was a supreme genius, then she was supremely useless.

    The plump old man sighed. The female instructor mocked, ¡°Is this the Heavenly Meridians prodigy that the school leaders valued? I think she¡¯s just a piece of trash!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at her indifferently. There was no longer any murderous aura. There was no need for him to behave so viciously towards a dead person. He was not interested in why she was so hostile to Xiao An either.

    His Xiao An was someone that even brother ox had praised as a genius.

    The various school leaders were disappointed. Originally, they wanted to confirm which school Xiao An would belong to from her elemental affinity, but all of it was so low. This meant that her connection with the spiritual qi of the world was so weak that it was almost non-existent.

    Sigh. It would have been fine if she had even average talent for any single attribute. No, even if it was mediocre, it would be fine. However, this was basically akin to possessing no talent at all. She would be alright as a Qi Practitioner, but Foundation Establishment required connecting with the spiritual qi of the world.

    Liu Zhangqing shook his head with a soft sigh. ¡°Can you call this both a blessing and a curse?¡±

    Behind her supreme talent hid a tremendous flaw. It was not impossible to make up for her lack of elemental affinity, but the required resources were so tremendous and precious that probably only large sects like the Sword Collection palace or the Umbral Yin sect, or large clans like the provincial lord¡¯s estate, could bear the costs of and produce. However, if they poured all of these resources into any regular Qi Practitioner, they could still produce a genius, so why did they have to spend it on her? The heavens were playing a huge, evil joke on her!

    The various school leaders looked at earth elder Huang again. They found his foresight to be rather admirable. Prodigies could not be determined from a single aspect alone.

    The old man continued to smoke his pipe, neither disappointed nor surprised.

    Only the One Thought master brought his palms together and lowered his head, acting like he was taking pity on her. His lips curled into a mysterious smile. It¡¯s all the buddha¡¯s arrangements!

    ¡°This can¡¯t be right!¡± The man in coarse clothing with a long hat muttered with a frown. As the leader of the school of Yin-yang, Ma Buyi¡¯s understanding of yin, yang, and the five elements completely surpassed the other school leaders. Born into the world, humans were created from yin, yang, and the five elements in the first place. Even regular people should not have been in possession of such poor talent.

    ¡°Child, you can come out from there now,¡± the plump old man said kindly.

    Xiao An kept her eyes shut, without moving at all.

    A woman¡¯s cold voice rang out in her ears from the depths of her heart. ¡°Do you understand the use of this formation now? Show me!¡±

    She muttered with an almost indiscernible voice, ¡°Yes, queen mother!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± asked the plump old man.

    Li Qingshan could sense there was something off about Xiao An. He took a few steps forward, wanting to pull Xiao An out.

    The formation suddenly began to operate, shining with light.

    The translucent droplet of water flew towards the tender grass shoot. The shoot began to grow, turning into a sapling in the blink of an eye. Just as the sapling thrived and budded, a spark landed on it, turning into a roaring fire.

    The sapling was burnt to ashes, scattering as countless specks of dust, which were drawn over to the tiny speck of dust. They turned into a black piece of soil. Glimmers of golden light appeared in the soil, gaining a smear of gold.

    Afterwards, the droplet of water appeared again, turning into a gurgling stream and wrapping around dead wood. It sprouted and grew once more.

    The fire was unable to burn it all away. It sprouted once again in the spring wind.

    At the same time, the two specks of light and darkness merged together above the formation, constantly revolving around one another. They would swell in size with each rotation, growing to the size of fists in the blink of an eye. The light and darkness were completely different, yet they also merged together without any repulsion. It looked like a diagram of yin and yang from all perspectives.

    The instructor recording the affinities and talent was stunned. ¡°All of the elements have reached high ding, no, bing!¡±

    The Qi Practitioners in the surroundings had already become dumbfounded. Wasn¡¯t this a testing formation? Since when could it be used like this?

    ¡°The five elements are promoting one another, and yin and yang are growing mutually. How is this possible?¡± Ma Buyi¡¯s eyes widened as he leapt to his feet.

    Liu Zhangqing frowned. ¡°Fellow Ma, what is going on?¡±

    ¡°Do you know the full name of this formation?¡± Ma Buyi¡¯s breathing became rather ragged.

    The school leaders were all stumped. With their knowledge and experience, they even knew about a few rare, strange formations if they were asked, but they just happened to be at quite a loss regarding the name of this formation. Wasn¡¯t this just the formation used to test elemental affinities?

    The slovenly daoist priest asked, ¡°Is it the Mutual Promotion and Regulation Formation of Yin, Yang, and the Five Elements?¡±

    Ma Buyi said, ¡°Exactly. Daoist brother, you truly are knowledgeable. Do you know what the true usage of this formation is?¡±

    Even the slovenly daoist priest was rather stumped this time. Apart from testing affinities, what else was it for?

    Ma Buyi said, ¡°The cultivation methods of ancient cultivators have all been about practising yin, yang, and the five elements together. You all know that, right?¡±

    The so-called supernatural powers in the ancient times was a power that merged together yin, yang, and the five elements. It allowed them to use any technique freely, with extraordinary power and infinite flexibility. However, the difficulty of cultivation and the requirement on the cultivator¡¯s talent was unimaginable to cultivators of the present day. Only a very small number of people could grasp it. If they used the standards of the ancient times as a requirement on present day cultivators, then it would be quite impressive if the academy was left with around a hundred or so people.

    In order to fight their enemies, ancient cultivators gained inspiration from their enemies, the daemons and the otherfolk, constantly improving the path of cultivation. That was why the cultivation method of practising just a single element of true qi existed in the present day. Although it decreased the overall quality of cultivators, it multiplied the number of cultivators by hundreds or thousands of times, which allowed the establishment of human supremacy.

    The various leaders nodded. This could be regarded as the basic history of the cultivation world. Suddenly, they seemed to understand something, and they looked into the Watermirror disc.

    A startling transition occurred in the formation.

    The tree had already been burnt to ashes over a dozen times by the fire, but under the nourishment of water and earth, it had become a lush forest. A river parted the thick soil, winding through the forest as specks of gold glimmered in the river water.

    They were unable to spot Xiao An in there anymore. They would only be able to catch a glimpse of her when the flames rose up and burned down everything again. The yin and yang had vanished too. They merged with every spark and every part of the tree shade, pushing and pulling, fluctuating between yin and yang.

    The five elements no longer stood alone. Instead, they had merged together, like a living world. It seemed like the birth of the universe as primitive creation unfolded.

    ¡°They¡¯re all yi,¡± the note-taking instructor murmured. He no longer knew what to say. Although they were all yi, anyone could tell that this was even rarer than Chu Tian¡¯s complete jia. And, the yin, yang, and five elements were still growing. Reaching jia was just a matter of time.

 Chapter 283 â€“ Contention of the Hundred Schools of Though

    t

    Testing elemental affinity was just a secondary function of the formation, but to cultivators of the present day, this was the only function that they knew about. Many formation scrolls even simplified the formation¡¯s original core, only leaving behind the function of testing elemental affinity.

    However, the formation engraved into the rock on Contention island had several thousand years of history. It was a complete formation passed down since ancient times. Its size and complexity was nothing like the formation Li Qingshan originally believed it was, only able to test elements simultaneously.

    Today, Xiao An unleashed its long-forgotten function.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. Originally, they thought they had already seen a supreme prodigy, and they would not become shocked again.

    But now, just what was a prodigy? Watching this sight that completely exceeded their imaginations and understanding unfold, they could not even develop any jealousy anymore.

    Liu Zhangqing asked again, ¡°Then what is her talent for yin, yang, and the five elements?¡±

    Ma Buyi glanced at him. He could not be bothered with answering him. He continued to stare at the Watermirror disc as his gaze made him seem rather crazed.

    Right from the very beginning, the child had not been using the formation¡¯s low level function of testing elemental affinity. Instead, she had been conjuring the transition between yin, yang, and the five elements, which was why she needed to start with their weakest forms, which were the droplet of water and tiny grass shoot in other words. As for her talent, it would depend on how far she could go with this process.

    Her talent would never be lower than the level she had conjured. As a matter of fact, it should have been much higher than that, which was why she could accomplish it so skillfully and easily. What she demonstrated right now was no longer talent, but capability, unmatched capability.

    Ma Buyi took off his long hat and lowered his head to the ground. ¡°Everyone. Today, I, Ma Buyi, have only a single request, which is for this child to join my school of Yin-yang. If you have any requests in the future, I will oblige to all of them.¡±

    The various leaders were shocked. Among them, Ma Buyi was not as unruly as the slovenly daoist priest, but he was still known for how proud he was. He was like an ancient reclusive cultivator, standing proud and aloof from the world.

    However, no one would offend him because of this, as he was skilled in the art of divination. Everyone had a moment when they required his abilities, but when did he ever request others with such humility?

    However, when compared to the other schools that focused on a single aspect, they no longer seemed very proficient in those aspects anymore. In the end, only divination alone became the special art of the school of Yin-yang, which they became renowned for, and it was exactly because it required the powers of yin, yang, and the five elements as a foundation.

    Whether it be Yu Zijian¡¯s Pure Yang constitution or Chu Tian¡¯s Five Elements constitution, neither of them were unable to interest him, as the school of Yin-yang required balance. From a certain perspective, the designation of genius in the ancient times differed tremendously from the present day.

    However, if it was this child instead, then she would definitely be able to unleash the true glory of the ancient cultivation methods of the school of Yin-yang.

    The various school leaders were silent. None of them could give up on this child so easily.

    As the tree turned into a forest, and the stream turned into a river¡­

    ¡°They¡¯re all jia! Mid jia! High jia!¡± The instructor constantly changed his evaluation.

    When he uttered the words high jia, there was a boom, and the scene on the formation exploded loudly, turning into seven different colours and returning back to the original yin, yang, and five elements.

    Only Xiao An was left standing in the formation. Her expression was slightly lost. Everything that unfolded earlier felt like a dream.

    Whether it was to her, or to the others.

    The process she conjured had already reached the limits that the formation could endure, like how a rubik¡¯s cube would lose its function as a challenge or a game to a professional speedcuber.

    Li Qingshan rushed over in a hurry. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    The various leaders all looked at one another. Their gazes were not as simple as mere hostility anymore. Instead, there was utmost determination to win her over without any room for compromise.

    ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha,¡± the One Thought master, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly chanted the buddha¡¯s name. His voice was like the morning bell, the thunderous roar of a lion. It was forcefully and resonant. ¡°This child has a destiny with the buddha. Please do not compete with this lowly monk, everyone.¡±

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d say that, you damned bald ass,¡± said the slovenly daoist priest.

    The One Thought Master said urgently, ¡°There really is destiny this time!¡± Just as everyone had been disappointed by Xiao An¡¯s talent for yin, yang, and the five elements earlier, only he had secretly celebrated. Finally, there was no need for him to contend with anybody.

    He could see a clear, buddha¡¯s light from Xiao An that even the transitions and processes unfolding in the formation could not hide. Never had he seen such a clear root of wisdom and buddhist nature in the eyes of a child.

    But this time, the arrangements of the buddha seemed to be quite unexpected.

    Han Anjun said coldly, ¡°So they were just the falsehoods of a buddhist monk earlier? I could see earlier that her kick to the little fatty was accurate, precise, and vicious, very much like the demeanour of my school of the Military¡¯s wind, forest, fire, and mountain1.¡±

    ¡°Women should be well-versed in the themes of romance, accompanied by poems and books. How can you let her become a nun and tend to statues of buddhas? Or a new recruit in the military, bleeding and sweating in the army? I think there is no school apart from my school of Confucianism that can handle someone with such great talent.¡± Liu Zhangqing gave up on maintaining his gentle, modest, and courteous demeanour as he specifically targeted them.

    With a bang, the slovenly daoist priest kicked over the long table before him. The alcohol jugs and cups scattered over the floor, making quite the ruckus.

    ¡°Whoever dares to contend for Xiao An against me better be ready to try what this great daoist is capable of first.¡±

    The One Thought master pulled his robes apart, revealing sturdy pectoral muscles that completely contrasted against his original appearance. He roared, ¡°Hey! You ox nose, I¡¯ve endured you for long enough now! Do you really think my school of Buddhism is actually incapable of dealing with you?¡±

    ¡°Heh, you bald ass2. I¡¯ve grown tired of you a long time ago. Let¡¯s settle this today!¡±

    The two of them pulled away from one another. The leaders of the minor schools could not help but stand up and chime in with their own thoughts at the same time, even though they knew it should have been impossible for them to contend against the major schools.

    ¡°With the mechanisms and puppets of the school of Mohism, she can rival millions alone¡­¡±

    ¡°Practising medicine to save people is the duty of the school of Medicine¡­¡±

    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t learn music theory, it¡¯s basically a pity that she¡¯s born as a woman in the first place¡­¡±

    Their original solemnity and respectfulness immediately descended into a noisy mess, no different from a vegetable market. The instructors awaiting orders outside were all stunned. If they began fighting inside, they would all end up as unwitting sacrifices.

    ¡°Writing novels is pretty good too!¡± From a corner, a middle-aged man said timidly. He sat in the corner the entire time, without emitting a peep of sound. Now, he finally could not help himself anymore.

    The room suddenly fell silent. All of their gazes gathered on him. They were as stern as knives as murderous aura gathered like dark clouds.

    The middle-aged man immediately broke out in a cold sweat. ¡°I- I¡¯m just saying¡­¡±

    The arguments continued. The middle-aged man exhaled deeply. He was utterly dejected.

    The One Thought master had already revealed the shredded upper half of his body, maintaining a fierce glare.

    The slovenly daoist provoked loudly, ¡°Bald ass, come at me! This great daoist will give you a handicap of three moves!¡±

    ¡°Hell of Ice!¡± Wang Pushi erupted.

    The leaders all felt a frosty wind sweep over. It was grim and bleak, as mighty as hell itself.

    The room immediately went from warm spring to the middle of winter. Even a layer of ice appeared. Everyone could not help but stop arguing and look at Wang Pushi.

    ¡°Everyone, please calm down. Do not lose your composure as the leaders of schools. Have you all forgotten what old brother Huang said earlier?¡±

    From the beginning till the end, only the calm, old man remained silent, sitting there peacefully. It made them all slightly embarrassed.

    ¡°Old brother Huang, what do you think-¡± Wang Pushi paused. Unexpectedly, the earth elder Huang that sat there smoking his pipe was just an earthen figure. If he had not used the Hell of Ice, even he would have failed to notice that.

    They all suddenly turned their heads and looked into the Watermirror disc.

    Earth elder Huang currently stood before Xiao An with an amiable smile. He seemed to be chattering endlessly to her. He even fished out a handful of peanuts for her.

    ¡°That fucker! It¡¯s the Earthen Substitute and Ground Contraction!¡± The slovenly daoist priest cursed aloud.

    In the hands of earth elder Huang, these two earth elemented techniques could create wonders. None of the Foundation Establishment cultivators actually managed to sense anything. Sure enough, people grew craftier3 with age!

    1. You may be somewhat familiar with the Japanese name of wind, forest, fire, and mountain¡ªf¨±rinkazan. It¡¯s derived from Sun Tzu¡¯s Art of War, popularised by Takeda Shingen. It basically means ¡°as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as mountain,¡± which are concepts that should be applied to warfare.

    2. Bald ass and ox nose go hand in hand as insults to buddhist monks and daoist priests respectively. I¡¯d say this is something to keep in mind.

    Bald ass originates from the fact that buddhist monks often lead a donkey around when travelling for alms and for developing good karma, and there are a lot of these monks that dirty the name of buddhists by stealing, tricking, or just forcefully begging for alms. As a result, when local people spotted these monks, they would call out, ¡°Run! The bald-headed person leading an ass is coming!¡± Gradually, it turned into bald ass.

    The origin of ox nose is a little more complicated. A major deity in Daoism, Laozi, was said to have left China after riding through Hanggu pass on a black ox. After he became a deity, the black ox became an immortal ox too, which later people joked that it was being led around by the nose by ¡°Laozi¡±. Laozi¡¯s mount in Daoism also happens to be the black ox he rode on. The reason why it¡¯s an insult is because although the ox became an immortal ox, it was still a mere animal, a beast.

 Chapter 284 â€“ Destiny with the Buddha

    Xiao An walked out of the formation in confusion. The surroundings were hazy as the sounds seemed distant before gradually clearing up.

    She could clearly see Li Qingshan¡¯s concerned face and clearly hear his worried voice. ¡°Xiao An! Xiao An!¡± Gradually, she eased up again, and the remnants from the depths of her memories settled once more. She revealed a smile.

    The surroundings had fallen dead silent. The female instructor was pale-white. She understood just how much trouble she was in this time. The child was much more complicated than she seemed.

    With the limelight stolen away from him, Chu Tian said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing impressive about that. If I wanted to, I could do that too.¡±

    The instructors responsible for guiding the Qi Practitioners returned to their senses. It seemed to be time for them to take everyone to go eat.

    An old man with a face full of wrinkles appeared out of nowhere. He said gently, ¡°You must be Xiao An!¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He felt an aura as heavy as the ground itself from the old man. A Foundation Establishment cultivator!

    The instructors bowed in a hurry. ¡°Sir school leader, what brings you here?¡± They too had seen quite a few prodigies stand out during the elemental affinity test, but the various schools would only begin their contention over these prodigies once the tests were complete. Never had the leader of a school appeared at a time like this, let alone the fact that it was earth elder Weng, the most composed out of the leaders of the schools.

    Earth elder Weng completely ignored the others. His eyes remained fixed on Xiao An. He bore the special, amiable smile that a senior would show to a junior, treating her with great warmth. He became more satisfied with her the more he looked at her.

    ¡°Come, try this. I planted it myself.¡± He reached into his hundred treasures pouch and pulled out a great handful of peanuts, directly shoving them into Xiao An¡¯s hand.

    Han Qiongzhi was stunned. Since when was this old man so generous? He was actually giving away the spiritual fruits he had tended to in his garden with great effort over several years.

    Xiao An raised her head and glanced at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan could also see the spiritual energy within the handful of peanuts. There were at least ten times more powerful than pills like Qi Gathering pills. The benefits offered by a Foundation Establishment cultivator would probably come with greater costs than what met the eye.

    Hua Chengzan shook his head with a bitter smile instead. Earth elder Huang was known to be as patient and settled as the earth. Never had he seen the earth elder behave in such an urgent manner throughout his time in the academy. But clearly, this child was enough for earth elder Huang to behave like that.

    Just, just what are the origins of this child?

    ¡°Senior, please tell me what you want my Xiao An to do! Please be straightforward!¡±

    Only at this moment did earth elder Huang seemingly notice Li Qingshan. Under the radiance of a supreme prodigy, not only did others pale, but even their presence seemed to become non-existent.

    ¡°This is the leader of the school of Agriculture, earth elder Huang. Why don¡¯t you greet him?¡±

    ¡°Greet my ass!¡± A voice erupted. The person was still extremely far away when they uttered the first word, but they had already arrived nearby by the last. The slovenly daoist priest roared at earth elder Huang, ¡°Old brother Huang, where¡¯s your composure as a school leader?¡±

    ¡°The entrance examination still hasn¡¯t ended. This isn¡¯t in accordance with the rule of the academy,¡± Liu Zhangqing said in a sunken manner. Clearly, he was unhappy with being played.

    Earth elder Huang took a puff of smoke. ¡°I already have a foot in the grave, so does respect mean anything to me at all? As for rules, they¡¯re set by humans.¡± He looked back, and his face became amiable again. ¡°Child, as long as you join my school of Agriculture, you can eat these kinds of fruit whenever you want. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°The school of Agriculture?¡± Liu Zhangqing snickered. He removed a twin fish jade tablet from his waist. It flickered with light, actually a supreme grade spiritual artifact. He said nothing, but the disdain on his face explained everything by itself. Move aside, you broke ass. Intellectuals aren¡¯t so easy to just walk over.

    Earth elder Huang snorted out of anger too, emitting a stream of smoke from his nostrils. However, his gaze towards Xiao An only became even more amiable and kind.

    ¡°The school of the Military is about certain success when attacking, certain victory when fighting, about wind, forest, mountain, and fire, about invincibility.¡± Han Anjun would produce a great quake with each step, making the ground shake. The bearing he gave off made him seem like an entire army.

    ¡°The path you must walk must be one of the ancient cultivators. Please listen as I explain the reason in detail¡­¡± Ma Yuyi said with great sincerity, but why would anyone let him explain in detail?

    ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha. Child, you have destiny with the buddha. Really. Buddhism monks don¡¯t tell falsehoods.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest stamped his foot. ¡°It¡¯s all bullshit!¡± But now, no matter how loudly he cursed, no one paid anymore attention to him.

    In the blink of an eye, the various leaders of the schools appeared one by one. Perhaps cold, perhaps amiable, or perhaps violent, the various powerful auras clashed on the square with great intensity. Their only target was Xiao An.

    The school leaders embroiled in a contest as they constantly increased the benefits they could offer, describing the better future they could grant to her. At that moment, just the supreme grade spiritual artifacts that Li Qingshan saw were several in number. He also heard quite a few glorious deeds and stories regarding the accomplished seniors of the various schools.

    Unfortunately, this contest did not last for too long. It quickly devolved into a war of pulling the rug and digging up dirt.

    ¡°Tending to the statues of buddhas and passing her later years in solitude? Master, do you really plan on destroying her life?¡± Liu Zhangqing said tersely.

    ¡°Child, this sir Liu has over a dozen concubines, and he even visits brothels regularly.¡± The One Thought master spoke the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s mind, launching this verbal trump card.

    The corner of Liu Zhangqing¡¯s eye twisted.

    ¡°The school of Confucianism is full of hypocrites!¡± ¡°The school of Yin-yang is completely useless!¡± The school of Agriculture is full of bumpkins!¡± The school of Military warps human nature!¡± All of these abuses that they had kept repressed in their hearts erupted.

    A while later, the eyes of the various school leaders all reddened from anger.

    The One Thought master unfurled the monk robes he had just put on again, revealing the ripped upper half of his body.

    Li Qingshan stood beside Xiao An, so he was also surrounded by them all. He felt uncomfortable. Were these the leaders of the various schools? Sure enough, they were each stronger than the last, but their demeanour was horrid. They were like a group of wretched hounds fighting for food.

    Yet, it just so happened that he could not even rival any of these wretched hounds.

    The Qi Practitioners that were relatively closer were all pressured by the aura. They all staggered backwards before directly collapsing on their bottoms.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. Just what was going on?

    Wu Gen said, ¡°Brother Hua, what are we supposed to do?¡±

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s responsibility was to maintain order during the entrance examination, but all he could do was shake his head when confronted with this group of disorderly people. ¡°Let them be!¡±

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan again.

    ¡°Li Qingshan! Do you still remember me?¡± A desolate coldness descended. Li Qingshan suddenly turned around. ¡°Old- commander Wang!¡±

    Wang Pushi stood with his arms crossed nearby. He did not partake in the contest. He walked over.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s impression was that this Scarlet Hawk commander did not seem to be on particularly good terms with him. He knew the reason for this extremely well too. Although knowing the reason was completely useless, he still raised his guard.

    Wang Pushi patted his shoulder firmly and laughed aloud. ¡°Impressive, kid! It has been so long since I last saw you, and you¡¯ve already reached the sixth layer! I haven¡¯t misjudged you!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. You haven¡¯t misjudged me? You¡¯d better think about why again.

    ¡°This is enough for you to be promoted to Scarlet Wolf guard. As long as you cultivate a little in the school of Legalism, there¡¯s a great chance for you to become the future Scarlet Wolf commander too!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your care and concern, commander Wang. I¡¯ll definitely work hard so that I don¡¯t let you down, commander!¡± If Li Qingshan still could not tell what he was hinting at, there was no point in him living for so long anymore.

    Wang Pushi chucked inside. This time, it¡¯s me, old Wang, who has gained the advantage.

    The school leaders immediately responded. They looked at Li Qingshan together. Dammit, how did we forget about how the child was brought here by this kid? She¡¯ll definitely listen to an adult like him with how young she is!

    The slovenly daoist priest tried to save the situation in a hurry. ¡°You have to think about it clearly!¡±

    The One Thought master said, ¡°Exactly.¡±

    As the various gazes landed on him, Li Qingshan immediately felt the pressure multiply. He sighed gently and crouched down, asking Xiao An, ¡°Are there any schools you want to go to?¡±

    ¡°I want to stick with you!¡± Xiao An ignored the gazes in the surroundings and said gently.

    Wang Pushi smiled even wider. According to the rules, no one could forcefully interfere as long as this child had made her decision. Even if they wanted to interfere, they would have to ask him, Wang Pushi, first. Moreover, there was the Hawkwolf Guard behind him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯ll be a little difficult. You know I can¡¯t handle those buddhist scriptures!¡± He stood up, brought his hands together, and bowed. ¡°One Thought master, just as you have said, Xiao An has a destiny with the buddha. Please accept her into the school of Buddhism to cultivate!¡±

    From a certain perspective, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was a buddhist ability. She constantly read the various buddhist scriptures and sutras to deepen her understanding of this ability. Now that this opportunity had presented itself, he obviously could not let her miss it. In her hands, even the Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings would be unleashed with extraordinary power, so if she learnt even more greater buddhist techniques, just how powerful would they become?

    And, during the contest earlier, the conditions that the One Thought master had offered were extremely impressive in order to express his sincerity. As her guardian, he had to choose a path most suitable for her.

    The One Thought master was slightly surprised before ravishing in joy. Originally, he thought there was no chance for him to succeed. The school of Buddhism was one of the better major schools within the academy, but they were nowhere close to the schools of Confucianism and Legalism in terms of the number of disciples they possessed. Their numbers paled in comparison to their old rival, the school of Daoism, too.

    After all, most people possessed various kinds of desires, with young people in particular. Just how many people were willing to follow the precepts, rendering all vanities void to comprehend the unsurpassable buddhist dharma? Not to mention that Xiao An was still a little girl, which made the chances of success even more meagre.

    But never did he imagine that the tables would turn in the end, giving him what he wished for. He brought his hands together and bowed back at Li Qingshan. ¡°Indeed, indeed. Sir, your wisdom truly blazes like a lantern. She does possess a destiny with the buddha. This is not a lie. Everything follows the buddha¡¯s arrangements.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, If the buddha really knew about Xiao An¡¯s existence, he¡¯d probably slay her in the very first instant. He saw how Xiao An frowned rather unhappily, so he comforted her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. We¡¯ll both be in the academy. We¡¯ll have plenty of chances to see one another.¡±

    Xiao An would never object to him, and she also knew that he did this for her sake, so she nodded gently. ¡°Alright.¡±

    The One Thought master smiled in relief. It was all over now. ¡°Sirs, thank you for going easy on me!¡±

    Wang Pushi¡¯s complexion immediately coldened, turning into a face without mercy. He shot a glare towards Li Qingshan sternly before leaving in a flash.

 Chapter 285 â€“ The Guardian Kingâ€™s Pearl

    The other school leaders were all disappointed. They either rode off on clouds or strode through the air. Just like how they had come, they vanished in the blink of an eye.

    In the end, only Ma Buyi remained behind. He let out a deep sigh and said to Xiao An, ¡°Since you¡¯ve already chosen, there¡¯s nothing that I can say. However, the gates to the school of Yin-yang are open to you at all times! Contention is not all that exists among the hundred schools. They also exchange their thoughts with one another, accepting any and all. The One Thought master shouldn¡¯t mind this.¡±

    ¡°Just like what the fellow has said, the hundred schools all have their own specialties, and they don¡¯t hoard it all to themselves like those sects in the wilderness. If you¡¯re interested, Xiao An, you are most welcomed to listen in on school leader Ma¡¯s teachings. You¡¯ll definitely benefit from it.¡± The One Thought master recovered his usual, cultivated manner. Since Xiao An had joined the school of Buddhism, she would just be a knowledgeable disciple of the school of Buddhism even if she learned from the other schools; this was already set in stone. No one could change this anymore.

    Ma Buyi nodded. He glanced at Xiao An once more reluctantly before riding away on the wind.

    The One Thought master revealed a smile. The smile gradually grew wider before he suddenly laughed aloud. He said to Xiao An, ¡°Child, come with me!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There are still tests in the afternoon.¡±

    The One Thought master waved his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste any time on them. An afternoon is enough for her to grasp the basics of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual.¡±

    If there were other disciples of buddhism here, they would definitely develop jealousy, which would in turn affect their cultivation. The Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual was a secret method rarely ever passed to others. Not only did it require an extremely firm foundation in buddhism, but it would normally only be passed onto someone after they had undergone various tests. She was practising the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual right off the bat. It truly was quite the starting point.

    ¡°Buddhist monks tell no lies. I¡¯ll give this Guardian King¡¯s pearl to you as a gift to welcome you to the school of Buddhism. This can summon a guardian king to protect you. It complements the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. It will bring great benefits to your cultivation.¡±

    The One Thought master took out a golden pearl from his hundred treasures pouch. As it glimmered with light, a glaring guardian king was vaguely visible. From how impressively it shone, it was a true supreme grade spiritual artifact. He erased his imprint casually and passed it to Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan sighed with amazement too. Choosing to come to the Academy of the Hundred Schools truly was the correct decision. They had obtained a supreme grade spiritual artifact for free from just showing up. It had to be mentioned that right now, only the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his possession barely counted as a supreme grade spiritual artifact. Although he could expect it to grow stronger in the future, it was probably not as effective as this Guardian King¡¯s pearl right now.

    Xiao An accepted the Guardian King¡¯s pearl, and her mind shuddered. The set of white bones condensed from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty that hovered within her flesh jolted slightly. She reacted mysteriously to this uncommon buddhist spiritual artifact.

    The Guardian King¡¯s pearl flashed, and a six meter tall guardian king immediately appeared around her. Whether it be the crown on its head or the vajra1 in its hand, they were both extremely detailed. Its expression was filled with fury, and it seemed life-like, enough to frighten anyone.

    Li Qingshan thought, The power of supreme grade spiritual artifacts truly is startling.

    The One Thought master was astounded too. Supreme grade spiritual artifacts needed to be refined before use. Never could anyone use it the moment it entered their hands, and it was all the more impossible with Xiao An¡¯s third layer cultivation.

    And, while he did erase his imprint, it was not cleanly removed¡ªa faint connection still remained. Xiao An needed to remove this completely if she wanted to use the Guardian King pearl as she wished.

    But earlier, he clearly sensed that the residual imprint had immediately vanished the moment the Guardian King pearl entered Xiao An¡¯s hands; it was like a capable scholar meeting a wise lord, like a beauty meating a romantic, immediately discarding everything and throwing themselves into their embrace, casting aside their old master like an old shoe.

    Xiao An stowed the Guardian King pearl away and bowed slightly, expressing her thanks.

    The One Thought master smiled bitterly. Despite his cultivation, he actually felt worried that he would not be able to guide or control this child. He said, ¡°Sir Li, if you¡¯re interested, you¡¯re welcome to cultivate in my school of Buddhism too.¡± With the One Thought master¡¯s status, this was a gesture of great courtesy.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Thank you master, but in my life, I never cultivated goodness, relishing only murder and arson. If I join buddhism, I¡¯ll probably just disturb the peace of buddhism. I¡¯d better find a different path!¡± His oath was to travel the world with fine alcohol in his hands and beauty in his arms. He was unable to learn buddhist methods of how to eliminate his desires and cleanse his heart, nor did he want to learn.

    ¡°In your life, you never cultivated goodness, relishing only murder and arson.¡± The One Thought master frowned and repeated that before glancing at Li Qingshan deeply again. ¡°This sounds extremely vulgar at first, but if you think about it closely, it also seems to be allegorical. You have a destiny with the buddha. You might not achieve instantaneous enlightenment today, but it may come to you in the days that lie ahead. Xiao An, let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan was secretly filled with admiration. Originally, this had been uttered by the Flowery Monk, Lu Zhishen, as he passed away in meditation. ¡°In my life, I never cultivated goodness, relishing only murder and arson. Suddenly, my golden shackles have been opened; here, my jade locks have been pulled asunder. Alas! Hereby the river tide cometh, now I finally realise that I am what I am!2¡±

    He had replied with this absentmindedly, as if something was at work. As for whether destiny actually existed or not, that would be up to destiny!

    Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve, looking at him, reluctant to part with him. Originally, she wanted to cultivate with him, which was why she did all of that to come here, so why were they separating again?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened. He crouched down and promised her. ¡°Just go with the One Thought master and cultivate well. Once I¡¯m done here, I¡¯ll come find you.¡±

    Only then did Xiao An nod, releasing his sleeve.

    The One Thought master watched all of this unfold as he sighed inside. For those who studied buddhism, a rudimentary grasp was monkhood, renouncing all worldly ties and pursuits. Being so attached to a certain person was not good. However, there was no need for him to worry either. At the end of the day, she was still just a child. It would all be resolved once she grew a little older.

    The young man was rather talented, but he lacked the strength to stand beside her. Before long, their cultivations, identities, and statuses would completely pull them apart into two different worlds; this could not be changed by anyone¡¯s willpower. In the future, he would just be an acquaintance of hers at most.

    The One Thought master said, ¡°This monk bids farewell.¡± He placed his hand on Xiao An¡¯s shoulder and took a step forward, disappearing promptly.

    Li Qingshan turned around and returned to the crowd. They all looked at him in respect, and it was not because of who he was. Even idiots could tell that the child called Xiao An had a limitless future ahead of her. With how close he was to her, he achieved glory too.

    Hua Chengzan had sunken into his thoughts too. She had made him take good care of Li Qingshan, but he had never imagined the child would be even more surprising. Foundation Establishment was just a matter of time for her, so he had to establish a good relationship with Xiao An. Probably even she had failed to see this!

    He glanced at Yu Zijian nearby before glancing at Chu Tian in the crowd. These geniuses rarely ever appeared even across several generations, but this time, there were three of them, each more impressive than the last.

    As it seemed, the Clear River prefecture¡¯s Academy of the Hundred Thoughts would be welcoming a period of great glory among the academies of the nine prefectures in the Ruyi commandery. He, a former prodigy, would dim in their brilliance. He could not help but feel very pressured.

    Han Qiongzhi had the least self-control. She rushed over to Li Qingshan. ¡°Just who is the child to you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said proudly, ¡°My only family!¡± Regardless of what other people were thinking, her glory was also his glory.

    At this moment, the plump old man seemed to receive some order, and he arrived before the sheet-white female instructor who was at a loss as for what to do. He said sternly, ¡°With your character, you are not suited to the job of an instructor. From this moment onwards, you are dismissed from the academy. Go back and pack your things!¡±

    This order did not come from the One Thought master, but the leader of the school of Confucianism, Liu Zhangqing. The other leaders had no objections to this either. A supreme prodigy was about to rise up in the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture, so they could not allow her to develop any ill will towards the academy. As a result, the female instructor¡¯s punishment had to be severe.

    The female instructor turned even paler. Originally, she wanted to find an opportunity to expel Xiao An from the academy, but never did she imagine it would end up with her dismissal instead. She screeched, ¡°I re-¡±

    The plump old man cut her off sternly. ¡°This is for your sake!¡±

    The female instructor trembled. She was bitter, not stupid. She understood what would await her. Even if she disregarded the consequences of disobeying the school leaders, just the child alone would become a great figure that she could not afford to offend if she was given a few years¡¯ time. By then, if she remembered this grievance of the past, just the slightest revenge would be a great calamity to her. The best thing she could do right now was to quickly vanish from her view and hope that she would not remember her again.

    She immediately stomped her foot before storming off. She thought, Just you wait! I will get revenge! However, even she felt like she did not have much of a chance. It was mainly to dismiss the fear in her heart.

    Of course, no one knew that Xiao An basically had no concept on these principles of how people treated one another, unless it involved Li Qingshan. She did not feel any anger or hatred at all.

    Afterwards, under the lead of the instructors, the group arrived before a building. A forest wrapped around it, making it extremely tranquil. They could smell a special fragrance from afar.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and saw the three large words of ¡°Hundred Flavours Restaurant.¡± He could not help but think about how he had once eaten in the Hundred Flavours restaurant below the Green Vine mountain. As it turned out, the origin of the place was here. That night, he had heard that the Town of Flowing Clouds would be opening again for the entrance examination. Where was it located?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s question was answered very quickly, as after a meal in the Hundred Flavours restaurant, the next stop was the Town of Flowing Clouds. It was more than enough for him to witness the close relationship between the Academy of the Hundred Schools and the town. At the very least, the school of Miscellany would not be missing this opportunity to make some spiritual stones.

    The town was located in an empty spot on the south-western shore of the island. Although it was in a different place now, the structure was exactly the same as when it was below the Green Vine mountain.

    The instructor clapped his hands in front of the gates to the town. ¡°Everyone, you have some free time here now. Please consider which school you plan on enrolling in and make some preparations for the upcoming tests. Please do not leave the town.¡± Afterwards, he handed out pieces of colourful writing paper. ¡°You all should know the rules. Everyone can only list five schools, and any more beyond that will be rendered null. In four hours, please regroup here.¡±

    Li Qingshan received a piece of paper too. He discovered that the various information regarding elemental affinity was all recorded on there, and there were five blank spots.

    1. A vajra is a ritual weapon in Buddhism, which symbolises both indestructibility and unstoppability. You can read about it on wikipedia, or you can refer to the image below:

    vajra

 Chapter 286 â€“ The Five Schools Chosen

    The afternoon sunlight poured into the bookstore, illuminating the dust in the air.

    Under the plaque of ¡°Sea of Books¡± were a few long tables, covered in books. Sun Fubai had his head lowered as he sorted them. Suddenly, he felt his vision darken. A young man stood in front of the table. He had a robust figure, and while his bronze face was not handsome, he radiated with masculinity.

    ¡°Sir, what are you looking for?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at Sun Fubai. Hope you are well. He lowered his head to check out the books and almost burst out laughing. The tables were covered with books like ¡°Secrets of the Confucian Exam¡± or ¡°Eight Methods to the Daoist Exam¡±. They were not pricey either, just a spiritual stone for one.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t decided on the schools to enrol in yet. Do you have any recommendations, uncle?¡±

    Sun Fubai immediately took out a book that gave a brief introduction to each school. Li Qingshan flipped through it slightly and paid a spiritual stone, but he put the book back down. ¡°I¡¯m not good with books. You don¡¯t have any guests right now, so why don¡¯t you give me some recommendations, uncle? I¡¯ll buy another five books according to my needs.¡±

    Li Qingshan placed great trust in Sun Fubai¡¯s experience and moral character. After arriving in the Town of Flowing Clouds, he had rushed right over here immediately, wanting to hear his recommendations.

    Sun Fubai was surprised. There were not a lot of people like him. He passed the spiritual stone back to Li Qingshan and smiled. ¡°If you want to buy them, then I¡¯ll explain them to you for free! Pass it over so that I can take a look!¡± After looking at the colourful piece of paper, he nodded. ¡°Seventeen years old. Not bad, not bad. Do you have any schools that you¡¯d like to join?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m originally a Hawkwolf Guard, so the school of Legalism would be my first choice. I¡¯ve also dabbled in some Body Practitioner techniques too, so the school of the Military seems like quite a good choice too. I have an old friend in the school of Mohism, so that¡¯s also within my considerations. As for the school of Confucianism and Daoism, they¡¯re both impressive major schools, so they seem to be five.¡±

    Sun Fubai shook his head with a smile. ¡°The school of Mohism is good, but it doesn¡¯t suit you very much. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you practise Gui Water true qi!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Yes.¡± And I even purchased the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi from you.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I tell you which schools you¡¯re not suited for first?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Ever since he reincarnated, he had barely read any books at all. He could still recite some poetry and lyrics from his past life, but he knew that was nowhere close to being rather good with literature. And, he had no interest in holding a position in the government either, so it seemed like he could only give up on the school of Confucianism.

    ¡°Although the school of Legalism is technically your original school, the core cultivation methods they practise require you to resonate with the realm of Hell, which regular people refer to as the netherworld. Normally, it¡¯s best if you practise Profound Yin and another type of true qi from the five elements. Your Profound Yang surpasses your Profound Yin, so it¡¯ll be difficult for you.¡±

    The realm of Hell! Only then did Li Qingshan learn that this aspect existed for the school of Legalism. The school of Legalism primarily dealt with punishment and torture, but there was no place more punishing and tortuous than hell. If it were not for Sun Fubai, he would have absolutely no inkling about the school of Legalism. So much for Hua Chengzan, not even warning him in advance.

    Though, Hua Chengzan did not deserve the blame here. Li Qingshan was different from those weaker, second or third layer Qi Practitioners. He had already reached the sixth layer with the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. There was no need for him to switch cultivation methods. If he reached Foundation Establishment and stepped through these gates to cultivation, would a suitable cultivation method really serve as an issue to him? In this aspect, Sun Fubai was instead not as knowledgeable as Hua Chengzan.

    Li Qingshan thought, It¡¯s not like damned ol¡¯ Wang Pushi likes me anyway. If I join the school of Legalism, I¡¯ll have to put up with him every single day. That would be horrible. ¡°Then I¡¯m not going to enrol for the school of Legalism.¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°The school of Yin-yang requires a general balance between yin, yang, and the five elements, so you don¡¯t have a chance either. Let¡¯s see, just how many remain now?¡±

    ¡°The schools of Daoism, the Military, Miscellany, Names, Agriculture, Novels, Medicine, and Music.¡± Li Qingshan felt his thoughts clear up. All he needed to do was drop another three schools now.

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°The schools of Daoism and the Military are both major schools, so you have to choose them. Gui Water true qi is suited for the schools of Names and Agriculture too, so that¡¯s four schools now. All you need to do is fill in the remaining spot with any of the minor schools. You have enough talent to freely choose among them anyway.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan immediately borrowed a brush and some ink from Sun Fubai, filling in the sheet of paper with the schools of Daoist, the Military, Names, and Agriculture. Only one blank was left. The remaining schools were all minor schools, so they could not rival these major schools when it came to both cultivation methods and resources. Often, they would be the final options for Qi Practitioners with the worst talent.

    Li Qingshan did not hesitate much at all. He was about to fill it in with ¡°Music¡±. During times of loneliness in the past, the reed pipe would accompany him. He had grown rather attached to it.

    And, when he saw the school leaders earlier, the leader of the school of Music was a beautiful madam in palace wear. Her beautiful voice that sounded like an oriole¡¯s song left a deep impression on him. If he joined that school, perhaps something immoral and condemned by society could unfold.

    Of course, this was just the deep-rooted bad habits of men at work.

    Sun Fubai stared at the ¡°high jia¡± evaluation for Li Qingshan¡¯s water element. After faltering for quite a while, he finally blurted out, ¡°Uhh, the Gui Water true qi is extremely suitable for the school of Novels.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised, but soon afterwards, he filled in the blank with ¡°Novels¡± with a flick of his brush. He brought it to the sun and took a look. ¡°Done!¡± It was just a filler anyway, so it did not matter what he wrote.

    Right now, it was time for Qi Practitioners to choose their schools. All they needed to do was to take part in the tests for their five schools, and it would be up to the schools to choose their Qi Practitioners. If they passed all the tests, then the choice would be up to the Qi Practitioner again. It basically guaranteed everyone to join a school, with nobody missing out. It was very different from how sects recruited disciples.

    Li Qingshan took out five spiritual stones. ¡°Uncle, please give me the books for the five schools!¡±

    As if he was extremely embarrassed, he refused one of the spiritual stones. ¡°The test for the school of the Military is actual combat, so you don¡¯t need a book.¡±

    Li Qingshan was extremely confident in his ability for actual combat. ¡°Then four books! Heh, I wonder what the school of Novels tests. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s writing stories!¡± For some reason, he thought of the shitty book Sun Fubai had given to him in the past again. If he wrote a story like that, he would probably be chased out of the exam venue!

    Sun Fubai became even more uneasy. He shoved all the spiritual stones back into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. ¡°Sigh. Actually, with your talent, you don¡¯t need to make any preparations at all. As long as you show up, the school leaders will all accept you.¡±

    At the end of the day, the tests and examinations were just a formality. Whether someone passed was completely up to the school leader. With Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation at the sixth layer as a seventeen year old and his ¡°high jia for water¡± talent, he would be enough for many schools to fight over during other years.

    Once someone¡¯s talent reached a certain point, such as Xiao An, they would even be directly taken away by the school leaders, without any regard for the rules. They would not have to undergo any tests at all. Strength was respected in the world of cultivation. There was no point in trying to reason around.

    ¡°Umm, okay then.¡± Li Qingshan was perplexed. He was turning down business.

    At this moment, Qi Practitioners walked over in groups of fives and threes.

    Sun Fubai¡¯s gaze wavered. ¡°I have customers now, so you should go!¡± Once Li Qingshan had left, he suddenly shook his head with a bitter smile. What¡¯s there to be uneasy about? It¡¯s not like he¡¯d end up in such a miserable situation. I¡¯m just doing the last bit that I can.

    Li Qingshan strolled through the town alone before suddenly hearing a call for him.

    ¡°Oi! Qingshan! Over here!¡± Hua Chenglu waved at him from afar. Beside her was Yu Zijian and a few disciples of the Hua family.

    Li Qingshan went up to greet them. Obviously, they asked each other which schools they had enrolled in too.

    Hua Chenglu took out her piece of paper. The only school filled in there was ¡°Legalism¡±. The rest was left blank. She wanted to join the school of Legalism anyway. It was not like she would be rejected, so there was no need for her to waste time on additional tests.

    ¡°What did you enrol for?¡±

    Li Qingshan took out his piece of paper too. Hua Chenglu frowned as soon as she saw it. Li Qingshan thought she was unamused over the fact that he did not enrol for the school of Legalism, but she pointed at the school of Novels. ¡°Why¡¯d you enrol here?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s just a filler.¡±

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s possible for you to end up there. Hmm? You haven¡¯t enrolled for the school of Legalism!¡±

    Li Qingshan gave a slight explanation. Hua Chenglu did not probe him any further either. She told him a few more things before parting with him.

    Li Qingshan shook his head slightly. He really should not treat himself like a big deal. To Hua Chenglu, he was just an acquaintance she had seen a few times. In terms of familiarity, he probably even paled in comparison to the descendants of the Hua family.

    Although he was unaccustomed to, or even detested, mingling with others, all people liked attention from others. However, after contemplating the secrets he hid, sure enough, less attention was better. Only by laying low could he fly high.

    But there would be one day when he would make his name spread throughout the world.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°That damned brat! So much for me picking him out from the mountains! He has shown me no respect at all! If the other school leaders weren¡¯t present, I would¡¯ve killed him on the spot.¡± Wang Pushi slammed the desk, jolting all the items on there.

    Hua Chengzan knew that he was just venting his anger. He comforted him with a smile. ¡°Old Wang, just calm down. Don¡¯t stoop to his level. The kid could use the One Thought master¡¯s Guardian King¡¯s pearl the moment she laid her hands on it, so maybe she actually does have a destiny with the buddha. It¡¯s not like we can insist against fate.¡±

    Wang Pushi continued to fume. ¡°Want to be promoted to Scarlet Wolf? Want to join my school of Legalism? Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    ¡°Do you have to be like that? He still originates from our Hawkwolf Guard after all, and with his talent, the other schools definitely won¡¯t let him slip by if you don¡¯t want him. Combined with his relationship with the child¡­¡±

    Under Hua Chengzan¡¯s gentle persuasions, Wang Pushi¡¯s anger subsided. ¡°Fine. Once he joins the school of Legalism, I¡¯ll get him good.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, four hours had passed. Li Qingshan handed the piece of paper to the instructor, which was then passed onto the school leaders. Every single one of them possessed a copy.

    Wang Pushi held Li Qingshan¡¯s paper as his face darkened. Everyone familiar with Wang Pushi would know that this was an expression of extreme anger. Who would have thought that Li Qingshan had not enrolled in the school of Legalism at all. All of his plans had fallen apart now, as if he was being mocked.

    It was as if he could hear Li Qingshan say, No matter how powerful or how impressive you are, you¡¯re nothing to me. There¡¯s nothing you can do about me if I don¡¯t join your school of Legalism.

    Hua Chengzan smiled bitterly. He was unable to pacify Wang Pushi anymore. If he didn¡¯t fill in the school of Legalism, then so be it. At least I can try to calm him down with how your elemental affinity doesn¡¯t match. But of all the schools to fill in, why the school of Novels? You could have filled in any other school, and I¡¯d be able to speak up for you!

 Chapter 287 â€“ Climbing the Mountain in Search of the Dao

    The birds flew over the great lake. The setting sun dyed the rippling waves of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes a reddish-yellow.

    On Contention island, the tests had already begun despite the setting sun.

    Qi Practitioners did not have to eat or sleep at fixed times like regular people. Going an entire night without sleep was nothing. The lunch at noon was akin to an additional benefit provided by the academy to them so that they could taste the delicious food on par with spiritual medicines for free.

    Everyone boarded the ship once more, sailing to a small island in the east. The island was nowhere near as large as Contention island, but it was much larger than the other islands.

    Within the rising, evening mist, a solemn daoist temple stood high on the mountain on the island. It did not give off an aura of peace and tranquility. Instead, it seemed to look down upon the various other schools.

    It was rumored that most ancient cultivators were daoist priests, and they served as the origin for all techniques and cultivation methods. Most of the cultivation methods practised within the hundred schools originated from the school of Daoism.

    In the present day, the school of Daoism was no longer the only option for all cultivators, but there was a saying, ¡°Daoism stands to be the greatest among the hundred schools¡±. That only demonstrated how influential the school was.

    The tests of the academy occurred consecutively, so all the Qi Practitioners would move about with each test. They could use this opportunity to familiarise themselves with the locations of the islands and the scenery they offered.

    Regardless of the school they ended up with, they all had to visit these islands. The spirit of the academy was about the hundred schools resonating together and embracing all. Every single disciple of the academy could learn from other schools.

    Of course, if they wanted to learn the very core teachings of a school, it would take them some effort and spiritual stones, but it was not impossible. It was unlike those cultivation sects, which would threaten them with death or permanently crippling their cultivation.

    This was also the aspect that Li Qingshan admired the most. There was a reason why the Great Xia empire could keep all the cultivation sects in the world at bay with the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    The Qi Practitioners all disembarked and crossed through a forest along a small pathway, arriving before the mountain.

    An instructor said, ¡°Those who have enrolled for the school of Daoism, climb up the mountain with me. Those who haven¡¯t, wait below the mountain. Don¡¯t wander too far away.¡±

    Li Qingshan discovered that the majority of the Qi Practitioners, almost a thousand of them, climbed up the mountain.

    As a result, almost everyone filled in ¡°Daoism¡± within their five spots, even treating it as their main target. Li Qingshan was no different. His primary targets were either the school of Daoism or the school of the Military, but the school of Daoism did suit him more.

    Everyone climbed up the mountain, and the moment they reached half way, mist rose up in the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan sensed that everyone had vanished. Only he remained on the mountain path. He knew he had entered a formation.

    ¡°The test begins,¡± a voice boomed.

    Li Qingshan gathered his mind and took a step forward. As soon as he took that step, his body immediately became several times heavier, while his true qi had been completely suppressed by the invisible formation too. It was not even possible to open his hundred treasures pouch, let alone use any techniques.

    At that moment, all of the Qi Practitioners climbing the mountain had been reduced to regular people. The protective formation of the school of Daoism began to demonstrate its startling power.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He took another step forward, and the wide, stone steps suddenly became a narrow, meandering footpath. The two sides were sheer cliffs that seemed bottomless. He could imagine that if he fell down, he would not actually die, but he would lose his right to join the school of Daoism.

    At this exact moment, wild winds rose up without any fixed directions, blowing him around.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    There was a howl, and a Qi Practitioner fell down from the mountain path, spiralling off the cliff. Even though he knew he would be fine, he could not help but be utterly frightened. Just when he was about to hit the bottom, the surroundings suddenly twisted and changed. With another glance, he had returned to the bottom of the mountain. The group of Qi Practitioners waiting there all looked at him in disdain.

    He called out, ¡°I refuse to accept this! I was blown off by the wind. With my cultivation at the third layer, how can I possibly fend off the protective formation of the school of Daoism?¡±

    ¡°The more perturbed you are mentally, the stronger the winds and the narrower the path becomes. You can¡¯t even control your fears when you knew it¡¯s all an illusion, yet you still want to practise daoism? Piss off,¡± a voice boomed out. It was the slovenly daoist priest.

    Hua Chenglu curled her lip. ¡°You¡¯re clearly just useless. My elder brother said that if you can ease your nerves and control your mind, even regular people can make it to the end of the path. Sigh, I wonder if Zijian is fine.¡±

    The Qi Practitioner finally became defeated. He originated from a small clan. With his cultivation, he was regarded as a genius in the clan, and he was protected like a treasure. Never had he experienced any danger, so even his legs had almost given way from the fright earlier, which was why he slipped and fell.

    However, this principle did not seem to apply to Li Qingshan very much at all.

    His gaze was calm, and his steps were steady. Having gone through so many battles to the death already, the path failed to invoke any fear in him. However, the path just happened to grow narrower and narrower, and the wind blew harder and more chaotically.

    He remained unfazed. His body would sway with the wind as he advanced at a steady pace. He admired the rare scenery to his two sides. He was as leisurely as a mountaineering tourist.

    Towards the end, he was basically walking along a thin wall that stood tens of thousand meters tall, but it was still more than enough for him. He looked around as he thought, The school of Daoism¡¯s test really does have some difficulty about it.

    The slovenly daoist priest saw this. He sneered. ¡°Brat, let¡¯s see how long you last.¡±

    With a thought, large droplets of rain began to fall down from overhead. The path became slippery and even more difficult to walk on. Suddenly, there was a boom of thunder, so close that it was basically above his head. Regular people would probably trip from fright even if they were on flat ground.

    The slovenly daoist priest snickered. He shifted his gaze onto someone else.

    Sweat gathered on the tip of Yu Zijian¡¯s nose. She bore Hua Chenglu¡¯s reminder in mind as she stared straight at the path ahead, afraid to look to the sides.

    Suddenly, a violent gust of wind bombarded her. She swayed with it, but because she was holding a sword, she was not particularly balanced. She was just about to fall off the cliff.

    The slovenly daoist priest curled a finger, and a gentle breeze blew over from the other side, lifting her up softly. Only then did she stabilise herself.

    ¡°Master, that doesn¡¯t seem too appropriate!¡± A young daoist priest with small eyes watched on from the side the entire time. He could not help but say this after seeing how the slovenly daoist priest played favourites.

    He wore a set of black clothes with a daoist hair ornament on his head. There was a silken belt around his waist and hanging from it was a tablet carved with the word ¡°One¡±. It was a representation of a primary disciple. His cultivation was at an impressive tenth layer.

    The slovenly daoist priest¡¯s face reddened. He did not treat his dear disciple as rudely as the other school leaders. Instead, he explained, ¡°Juechenzi, she¡¯s just a girl, so it¡¯s very normal for her to be afraid of heights. Who¡¯s born without fears anyway? The mind is something you can slowly harden. As for men, you need to be a little more vicious. The edge of a treasured sword comes from grinding and sharpening¡­¡±

    ¡°Master, the treasured sword is still there!¡± Juechenzi pointed.

    The slovenly daoist priest looked over. Whether it was the wind, frost, or torrential downpour, none of it was able to make Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze waver. His pace instead sped up, running wildly through the wind and rain.

 Chapter 288 â€“ Thousand Days Drunk

    The slovenly daoist priest was surprised too. He appreciated people with great willpower very much, and his talent was rather impressive too. If this had happened in the past, he would definitely try to convince him to stay in the school of Daoism.

    If Li Qingshan sent Xiao An to other schools, then so be it. But just why was it the school of Buddhism of all the schools? It would make the damned bald ass complacent. He had truly crossed the line this time.

    Suddenly, he came up with an idea. With a wave of his arm, the windy, rainy weather vanished. The moonlight fell onto Li Qingshan. To his surprise, the path before him had recovered its original width, while his true qi was no longer suppressed either. The stars twinkled in the sky, and the daoist temple was nearby too.

    He was afraid of becoming careless, so he slowed down. Arriving before the daoist temple, he saw a young daoist priest with small eyes waiting there. He nodded. ¡°Congratulations, sir. You¡¯re the first.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. There were still two or three hundred Qi Practitioners left on the mountain path, advancing with difficulty. Some of them tottered around, while others teetered about. As long as they lost their balance, they would be sent to the bottom of the mountain immediately.

    ¡°Someone has emerged from the formation! It¡¯s that Li Qingshan person!¡± A Qi Practitioner called out.

    Hua Chenglu was perplexed. ¡°How is it possible to break out of the formation midway?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi sat in the thatched pavilion nearby as she watched on indifferently with a smile. This kid¡¯s probably in trouble now.

    Just like Hua Chenglu, she had only enrolled for the school of Legalism. She had already learnt about the various school leaders from Wu Gen and Fang Enshang in detail before the examination.

    The leader of the school of Daoism was the strongest at late Foundation Establishment. He was close to condensing a Golden Core, and he was the most unruly out of all of them. He never liked the school of Buddhism. Even if the other school leaders were displeased with Li Qingshan¡¯s choice, they probably would not act up, perhaps due to their identities, perhaps they cared about Xiao An, or perhaps they treasured talent. However, this old daoist priest was different. Once he was carried away, he was even bold enough to rain the other school leaders with curses.

    Li Qingshan had broken out of the formation midway up. There must have been something going on behind the scenes for this anomaly to happen.

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. May I ask for your name, esteemed daoist?¡± Li Qingshan turned back again and clasped his hands. Although he was calm and composed, a tenth layer Qi Practitioner clearly was not someone he could just brush aside.

    ¡°This lowly priest is called Juechenzi. Please come with me!¡±

    The large hall was empty. There was only a formation on the ground, shining dimly.

    The slovenly daoist priest sat in front of a statue. The hair around his temples had already become grizzled, but he was brimming with energy and vigour. He said slowly, ¡°Li Qingshan, do you recognise me?¡± His voice boomed like thunder, rolling and echoing through the hall.

    ¡°Obviously.¡± Out of the school leaders, the slovenly daoist priest was the person who gave Li Qingshan the most powerful and terrifying impression.

    The slovenly daoist priest said, ¡°And yet you still have the courage to come!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°In what way does my school of Daoism pale in comparison to the school of Buddhism? You better be clear with your explanation!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He finally understood why it had been so difficult as he climbed up the mountain path just then. The slovenly daoist priest had clearly been working against him. He became angered by this too.

    ¡°What, you can¡¯t answer me?¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°I never thought that a mighty leader of a school would be so petty. If you don¡¯t want me to join your school of Daoism, I¡¯ll get off the mountain immediately. There¡¯s no need to say anything else.¡± He turned around to leave. If he remained in the school of Daoism, he would have to put up with his abuse constantly. Who could endure that? The school of Military was not a bad choice anyway, and if that did not work out, he still had the schools of Agriculture and Names.

    Juechenzi stood outside the hall, gazing at the shining moon in the sky as he smiled and shook his head.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going? Halt!¡± said the slovenly daoist priest.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt his body seize up. He was immobilised. His right foot still hovered in the air, having failed to pull it back in time.

    This was a curse!

    The slovenly daoist priest said, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯ve been unfair?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. His eyes churned with fury. He gathered all of his true qi, his sea of qi surged, and all of his muscles tightened. His right foot that had been frozen mid-air actually fell down bit by bit. With a boom, it landed on the ground, and he turned his head. ¡°Yes!¡± His eyes shone brightly, like a wolf¡¯s glare.

    The slovenly daoist priest was surprised. He was not skilled in curses, and he had used the curse without much thought earlier, but it truly was unbelievable that Li Qingshan could forcefully break free with his cultivation at the sixth layer. This was no longer just due to his strength, but his extraordinary willpower too.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a chance. Let¡¯s gamble.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What are we gambling on?¡±

    ¡°Obviously what you are best at, drinking.¡± A jar of alcohol suddenly appeared in the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s hand. He removed the sealing clay, and a streak of light shot out. The smell of alcohol permeated the entire hall.

    ¡°What are we gambling on?¡±

    ¡°If you can drink this jar of alcohol without falling drunk, I¡¯ll let you join the school of Daoism, and I¡¯ll forget about everything that happened in the past. If you fall drunk, then you¡¯ll piss off, off of this mountain!¡±

    ¡°What if I refuse to gamble?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t gamble. I¡¯ll still treat you as passing this test, but don¡¯t even think about joining my school of Daoism. I have plenty of ways to get you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fine, let¡¯s gamble.¡± With the toughness of his daemon body and how he could nullify the alcohol with his true qi, he refused to believe that he would fall drunk. And, the jar of spiritual alcohol was probably equivalent to a thousand Qi Gathering pills.

    The slovenly daoist priest tossed the jar over and Li Qingshan caught it. He took a tasting sip and felt like he was drinking liquid fire, but it was extremely satisfying too. Afterwards, he tilted his head back and drank heartily, leaving not a single droplet behind. He tossed the jar on the ground. ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±

    However, the slovenly daoist priest was laughing. He suddenly split into two, then four, then eight.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt the world spin around him. He muttered, ¡°Oh no!¡± He never thought the kickback from the alcohol would be so powerful. The entire hall twisted and changed.

    ¡°Fall!¡± The slovenly daoist priest stretched out the syllable.

    With a thump, Li Qingshan collapsed on the ground, drunk. He began to snore.

    The slovenly daoist priest walked over and kicked Li Qingshan. He smiled. ¡°So much for being so crafty. You¡¯ve drunk my Thousand Days Drunk.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest loved drinking, but with his cultivation, falling drunk was difficult. Under the idea that drinking without falling drunk could not be regarded as drinking, he went through multiple books and brewed this Thousand Days Drunk himself. Even he would fall drunk when he drank it, let alone a mere Qi Practitioner!

    The slovenly daoist priest waved his hand again, and a daoist guardian in golden armour appeared, carrying Li Qingshan to the back of the hall.

    Just as he was complacent, he suddenly thought of something. He uttered, ¡°Crap!¡±

    He checked the mountain path in a hurry. The person with the Five Elements constitution who he had been caring for the entire time, Chu Tian, had already fallen off the path. He could not help but feel regret. However, when he saw how Yu Zijian was still there, he finally relaxed. The Pure Yang constitution was even more important than the Five Elements constitution to him.

    Yu Zijian no longer gripped the sword so firmly. Instead, she carried it on her back. The sight of her father teaching her movement techniques during her childhood appeared in her mind again. Don¡¯t be scared. Steady.

    And when she raised her head, a powerful figure hovered before her. If Niu Juxia was here, he definitely would not be afraid! She had never seen him display an emotion like that, even when he turned around and returned to the place filled with daemons underground.

    ¡°I¡¯m useless!¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re useless, then why did I save you?¡±

    ¡°I want to stay here to help you out!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see after you accomplish something with your divine abilities first!¡±

    Her gaze gradually became determined. The person who had rescued her while risking his life was not useless. If she failed here, how was she supposed to help him out? How was she supposed to avenge him?

    Her footsteps gradually sped up. She ignored the bottomless cliffs to the two sides and only stared ahead, chasing after that figure.

    The slovenly daoist priest showed great appreciation for this. He said to Juechenzi, ¡°Look, I was right, wasn¡¯t I? All she needed was a chance.¡±

    Juechenzi could only say, ¡°Wise be master.¡±

    In the end, less than two hundred people made it to the top of the mountain. On the mountain path, the test would become harsher the closer they were to finishing, especially to those lacking in talent.

    There was no need for them to complain about the unfair nature of the test. Since they lacked supreme talent, they had to possess supreme willpower, or how else were they supposed to contend with those prodigies.

    As soon as everyone made it to the top, they saw the slovenly daoist priest. They all greeted the school leader.

    The slovenly daoist priest got right to the chase. ¡°You¡¯ve all passed. I¡¯ve already recorded your names down, so you¡¯re welcome to leave the mountain and partake in the tests of the other schools.¡± Suddenly, he said to Yu Zijian in a pleasant and kind manner, ¡°You must be Yu Zijian!¡±

    Yu Zijian said in a hurry, ¡°Yes!¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest said, ¡°You can stay behind.¡±

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°But¡­ I still have other tests¡­¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest waved his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need to partake in them!¡± As long as she did not partake in any other tests, the only school Yu Zijian could join would be the school of Daoism.

    Juechenzi whispered, ¡°Master, that would be breaking the rules!¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest growled, ¡°Fuck those rules. That damn bald ass could directly intercept a person even before they went through any tests, so why can¡¯t I keep someone here?¡±

    Juechenzi thought, You intercepted her too.

    He saw how Yu Zijian hesitated, so the slovenly daoist priest said, ¡°With your Pure Yang constitution, there¡¯s no place more suitable for you than the school of Daoism. Here is the only place where you can unleash the full potential of your talent. As for all the pills and medicines, I might refer to myself as a lowly priest, but I¡¯m richer than those ¡°lowly monks¡±. I can see that you like swords, so I¡¯ll give you this Nine Yang sword as a welcoming gift!¡±

    He drew out a shiny sword and tossed it before Yu Zijian. Surprisingly, it was also a supreme grade spiritual artifact.

    Originally, it was impossible for disciples to be bestowed something like that the moment they joined the school no matter how talented they were. He only did this so that he would not lose out against the school of Buddhism.

    Yu Zijian closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. She no longer hesitated anymore. Under everyone¡¯s envious gaze, she grabbed the sword hilt.

    The slovenly daoist priest smiled in a satisfied manner. With this test, one of the three most dazzling geniuses had already fallen into his hands. As long as he guided her well, he refused to believe that she would end up any worse than the damn bald ass¡¯s disciple.

    As a result, many Qi Practitioners expressed their willingness to stay behind. Apart from the Qi Practitioners that had only enrolled for the school of Daoism, the rest were shooed off the mountain by the slovenly daoist priest. If he really held them back here, he would probably just incur the wrath of the public.

    The ship set sail once more. No one noticed Li Qingshan¡¯s absence. Even if they did, they would have just thought he had remained behind in the school of Daoism.

    Li Qingshan had an absurd dream that night. He dreamt that he had returned to his past life and was a student again. He had overslept, missing an important exam.

    ¡°Wake up!¡± Juechenzi took out a pill and shoved it into Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth.

    Li Qingshan let out an alcoholic breath and slowly woke up. The horizon shone dimly as morning birds sang.

 Chapter 289 â€“ The Cloudwisp Island

    Li Qingshan sprang up. ¡°W- what¡¯s the time right now?¡±

    It was as if Juechenzi had been expecting him to ask this. ¡°The tests for the other schools have all ended already.¡±

    Li Qingshan fell back down again. He had been toyed around by this ox nose. The alcohol was far too strange. If this was the case, he could not remain in the academy any longer.

    Juechenzi said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much. There¡¯s still another school you can join.¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡±

    Juechenzi pointed below his feet. ¡°Here.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. ¡°But I¡¯ve lost the gamble, and your master dislikes me too.¡±

    Juechenzi smiled. ¡°But you¡¯ve still technically passed the test. My master has a fiery temper, but he also treasures talent. Do you know just how much the jar of Thousand Days Drunk you drank is worth? He doesn¡¯t even have enough for himself most of the time. If he just wanted to screw you over, why would he take that out? As long as you plead to him properly so that he regains some self-respect, he¡¯ll definitely accept you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Plead? How am I supposed to plead? Are you saying that only he has self-respect and I don¡¯t?¡±

    Juechenzi said, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed heavily. He stood up again. Self-respect was earned through strength, not by flapping gums. Just how could a Qi Practitioner be compared to a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

    Juechenzi said, ¡°Come with me! Master is giving sermons before the new disciples.¡±

    With no other choice, all Li Qingshan could do was follow him.

    Along the way, Juechenzi educated him. ¡°No matter how master insults you, just endure it. The mountain path was for overcoming your fears, while now is for overcoming your pride. Only with tolerance can you achieve greatness.¡±

    Li Qingshan remained silent. He arrived at the front. The slovenly daoist priest sat high up, while the new disciples sat in the hall. Yu Zijian sat the closest to him.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance, everyone cast their gazes over. The slovenly daoist priest continued his lecture, as if he was not there.

    Li Qingshan went up and said reluctantly, ¡°I¡¯ve lost the gamble.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest said, ¡°If you know you¡¯ve lost, then why don¡¯t you piss off?¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly raised his head, but he saw Juechenzi standing behind the slovenly daoist priest, mouthing a few words. ¡°Endure it.¡± Li Qingshan clenched his fist.

    The slovenly daoist priest sneered. ¡°What, you refuse to accept your defeat?¡± As a result, he began to mock and curse Li Qingshan in front of everyone.

    Everyone showed disdain for Li Qingshan. So much for showing off. There¡¯ll always be someone who¡¯ll get you.

    Yu Zijian could not bear with it, so she said, ¡°Master¡­¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest became more complacent as he cursed on. ¡°You¡¯re just a piece of trash in my eyes. You managed to climb up the mountain out of sheer luck. Kneel down right now and prostrate three times, and I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Li Qingshan roared, cutting off the slovenly daoist priest.

    The hall fell completely silent. He was actually bold enough to speak to a school leader like this. Moreover, it was the strongest school leader, the leader of the school of Daoism, at that.

    The slovenly daoist priest¡¯s expression changed. This kid still needed some more verbal thrashing so that he would understand just who was in charge of the school of Daoism.

    Li Qingshan said loudly and clearly, ¡°If I¡¯ve lost, then I¡¯ve lost. I, Li Qingshan, admit defeat. But why must you keep prattling on, you ox nose? Your words are like flatulence, foul to the senses. What¡¯s so impressive about the school of Daoism anyway? I¡¯ll just not join.¡± With that, he turned around and left.

    Juechenzi called out, ¡°Sir, please be careful with what you say! Master!¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Let him piss off!¡±

    Without any obstructions, Li Qingshan made his way to the bottom of the mountain in one breath. His anger eased up slightly. He leapt into the air and took off, flying into the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. For a moment, he was rather frustrated. He had no idea where to go.

    If he was alone, then it would be easy. Perhaps he could go join a sect, or just go to another prefecture and join the Academy of the Hundred Schools there. The world was so large, so was finding a place to stay at really an issue? But now, Xiao An had already joined the school of Buddhism, so it was not like he could travel far away. Maybe he could go plead with the One Thought master and just become a monk. His destiny with the buddha sure had arrived quickly!

    But with another thought, he knew that he would never plead with anyone. Even if he would, they might not necessarily accept him. Accepting him might actually offend the slovenly daoist priest through and through.

    At this moment, he suddenly thought of something. Perhaps there was one test that was not over yet!

    Last night on the ship, the instructor had given a rough explanation with regard to the order of the tests. The school of Daoism was the first stop, and the ship would travel in a clockwise direction, cruising to the various islands. They did not specially arrange the tests of the major schools to come first.

    Back then, Li Qingshan could not help but ask, ¡°Haven¡¯t you missed a school?¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°The school of Novels.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve enrolled for the school of Novels?¡± The instructor looked at him in disbelief, while the other Qi Practitioners looked at him with a similar expression.

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    The instructor pointed at the mental map in his hand. ¡°Look, it¡¯s here. It¡¯s the final stop. You can go there by yourself when the time comes.¡±

    Shouldn¡¯t it be the fourth stop according to the clockwise order? And why do I have to go there by myself?

    Li Qingshan did not think too much about these questions. He never took the school of Novels seriously anyway.

    A while later, Li Qingshan set foot on this drearily peaceful little island. This was the Cloudwisp island that the school of Novels occupied.

    An entire night had passed, but the test for the school of Novels, last on the list, might still be ongoing.

    Though, he was wrong.

    Li Qingshan followed the cobblestone path and crossed through a bamboo forest. He saw a simple courtyard. The courtyard was covered in fallen leaves, as if no one had swept it in a very long time. It did not seem like anyone lived there at all. He seemed to hear the moans of a woman.

    He frowned, knocked on the door, and called out, ¡°Is anyone here?¡±

    A lazy voice rang out from the depths of the courtyard. ¡°Who¡¯s it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve come for the test.¡±

    With that, there was a swish, and a wild gust of wind kicked up the fallen leaves. A middle-aged man rushed out of the courtyard, arriving before Li Qingshan. He had a mustache on his face that was not exactly handsome. His clothes were ruffled, and he gave off a faint smell of cosmetics. There were several kiss marks on his face, and there was even a clear love bite on his neck. Combined with the moans from earlier, it was obvious what he was doing.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly remembered how he had once met this person in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain three days ago.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± The middle-aged man remembered Li Qingshan as well. Various pieces of information drifted through his head. High jia for the water element. A seventeen year old sixth layer Qi Practitioner. A genius! A genius! He thought in an emotional manner, Senior brother, you really haven¡¯t lied to me! You really haven¡¯t lied to me!

    ¡°Are you the instructor of the school of Novels?¡± Looking at his age, he dismissed the possibility that he was a disciple. As for the possibility of him being the leader of the school, he had not even considered it. He had seen the various school leaders, and they all had a certain bearing about them. Even the slovenly daoist priest that utterly irritated him gave off the bearing of a school leader.

    The middle-aged man tidied his clothes in a hurry and wiped away the kiss marks. He coughed gently and stood with his hands behind his back. ¡°I am the leader of the school of Novels, Liu Chuanfeng!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He wanted to turn around and leave immediately. No wonder no one enrolled for the school of Novels. But then he thought about how his priority right now was to find a place where he could stay, so he took the time to ask, ¡°How are you going to test me?¡± Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s essay writing.

    Liu Chuanfeng scratched his head, as if he was even more confused than Li Qingshan.

    He only seemed even more unreliable in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Don¡¯t tell me the test has already ended?

    Suddenly, Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s eyes lit up. He grabbed Li Qingshan by the shoulders. ¡°You¡¯ve passed! You¡¯ve passed!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± It was true. Li Qingshan was wrong. It was not that the test of the school of Novels had not ended. Instead, it had never started to begin with.

    What Liu Chuanfeng said next made Li Qingshan feel like he had been struck by lightning. ¡°From now onwards, you¡¯re the primary disciple of my school of Novels!¡± As he said that, he took out a waist tablet with the word ¡°One¡± from his hundred treasures pouch, hanging it on Li Qingshan¡¯s waist personally. He did not even try to ask which school Li Qingshan planned on choosing, wanting to accept him into the school just like this.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and asked softly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m the only disciple of the school of Novels!¡± Surely that¡¯s not true! Surely not!

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    It¡¯s true!

    Li Qingshan removed the tablet from his waist expressionlessly before throwing it as hard as he could. With a swish, the tablet vanished into the bamboo forest. He turned around and immediately left.

    Liu Chuanfeng roared out from behind, ¡°Stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately raised his guard, but Liu Chuanfeng did not attack him. Instead, he took out an item from his hundred treasures pouch and tossed it before Li Qingshan.

    ¡°As long as you join my school of Novels, I¡¯ll give you my specially-made Cloudwisp brush.¡±

    Li Qingshan never imagined that there would be a moment where people would try to throw spiritual artifacts at him too. He was slightly interested. He lowered his head and took a look. A mid grade spiritual artifact. He completely gave up on hope now. Probably even a hundred of these could not be exchanged for a supreme grade spiritual artifact. Instead of calling it a bribe, it was more like an insult!

    Li Qingshan did not say much. All he did was silently pull out ten mid grade spiritual artifacts from his hundred treasures pouch before stowing them away again. He clasped his hands and took his leave.

    Liu Chuanfeng sobbed. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m pleading with you!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped, raised his head, and let out a long sigh. So be it. Being pleaded with was always better than pleading. Most importantly, this was a place where he could stay. It was so desolate here too, so it suited his cultivation instead!

    He turned around and extended his hand.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The tablet!¡± Li Qingshan heard how primary disciples would receive a lot of special benefits within the academy. They could freely enter a few places that regular disciples were forbidden to set foot in. It would be convenient for Li Qingshan to study in the other schools in the future.

    Liu Chuanfeng beamed with joy. He never imagined that Li Qingshan would actually agree. Suddenly, he waved his hand, and a tiny dog appeared out of nowhere. It let out a few barks and rushed into the depths of the bamboo forest. A while later, it returned with the tablet in its mouth.

    Li Qingshan accepted it, and the dog vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place. He could not help but be taken aback. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said complacently, ¡°This is the secret art of my school of Novels. It stretches beyond the imagination of most.¡±

    Li Qingshan clearly noticed that the kiss marks on Liu Wenchuan¡¯s face had vanished before he knew it. Even the smell of cosmetics was gone too. Perhaps the school of Novels really did possess extraordinary abilities.

    Liu Wenchuan brought Li Qingshan into the house. This was a suspended house made from wood and bamboo. The smell of ink permeated the gloomy room as the paper-covered short table was in a mess. The papers were filled with a few thickly-dotted characters.

    Liu Chuanfeng swept aside these papers, revealing the table surface. He invited Li Qingshan to sit down as he demonstrated great hospitality by pouring him tea.

    Li Qingshan picked up a piece of paper soon afterwards and asked, ¡°Did you write these?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said proudly, ¡°Yes. You can call me the Master of Wind and Moon. That¡¯s my pen name.¡±

    So familiar, it sounds so familiar. I must have heard it somewhere before!

    Li Qingshan came to a sudden realisation. Wasn¡¯t the name of the author on the book that Sun Fubai had secretly shoved into his hands the Master of Wind and Moon?¡±

    He understood everything now, why Sun Fubai¡¯s expression was like that, and why no one enrolled for the school of Novels! He shot to his feet and kicked over the short table.

 Chapter 290 â€“ Disciple of Novels

    Liu Chuanfeng stood up as he slammed the table. ¡°Kid, I could see that you¡¯re a man of talent, which is why I¡¯ve been putting up with you. Don¡¯t take it too far. You can insult me, but you can¡¯t insult my novels.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the exact person I¡¯m insulting. Your novels are trash, trash!¡± Li Qingshan clenched his fist and cursed.

    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Liu Chuanfeng pointed at Li Qingshan, overcome with anger.

    Outside, the wind blew over the clouds, and their shadows enveloped the place. The sunlight no longer reached the room. The bamboo building seemed rather gloomy.

    Li Qingshan could feel a wondrous form of true qi rise up from Liu Chuanfeng. Only now did he finally give off the pressure of a tenth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Come. Show me what your school of Novels is capable of.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I will bind you in chains and a pillory and have a hundred beasts tear at you. It¡¯s still not too late if you take back what you said.¡± Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s true qi suddenly erupted, and the smell of ink grew heavier.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Your- novels- are- trash!¡±

    ¡°You unruly disciple!¡± Out of anger, Liu Chuanfeng clutched a brush in his hand and swung it hard.

    With a jangle, a set of long chains flew out, wrapping around Li Qingshan firmly. With a clack, a wooden pillock locked around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Calls of the Hundred Beasts!¡± Liu Chuanfeng said.

    Tigers, bears, lions, wolves, snakes¡­

    Various vicious beasts surged forward, letting out terrifying hisses and growls, lunging towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan frowned, not out of fear, but out of disappointment.

    With a jolt, he spread his arms and broke out of the chains. He grabbed the wooden pillock and ripped them to pieces easily.

    By now, the vicious beasts had arrived before him. With a thought, there was a clear thrum, and the Clear Stream sword flew up, turning into a stream of blue light with a series of swishes. After a few twists and turns in the room, all of the beasts were killed.

    The chains and pillory were just regular chains and pillory, while the beasts were just regular beasts. They were enough against regular people, but against Qi Practitioners, especially a warrior who had gone through countless battles like him, he would be dreaming if he thought it would be effective.

    Even if he just stood there and allowed the beasts to tear at him, were they supposed to penetrate his protective true qi or bite through his skin?

    He held his fingers like a sword, pointing them at Liu Chuanfeng. ¡°It¡¯s not enough!¡± In the blink of an eye, the Clear Stream sword had arrived before Liu Chuanfeng.

    Liu Chuanfeng said in a hurry, ¡°Big-footed Monk, come out!¡±

    They could actually summon characters from books. He understood what the school of Novels was capable of. Was he finally unleashing his true strength?

    A large, fat monk with his chest exposed appeared out of nowhere. The most conspicuous part of him was his two large feet. He kicked the Clear Stream sword away with one foot as the other foot kicked towards Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    The kick was so powerful that it could pierce rock. This was on a completely different level compared to the beasts.

    Just as Li Qingshan tried to avoid the attack, his feet suddenly slowed down. The floor had turned into swamp before he knew it. This tiny swamp obviously could not keep him trapped. Instead, it stimulated his fighting spirit. Alright, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what. He made up his mind and threw a punch, striking the sole of the Big-footed Monk¡¯s foot.

    The outcome was unexpected. With a great thump, the Big-footed Monk was sent flying back faster than it had arrived. It vanished in the air.

    Liu Chuanfeng felt a chill on the back of his neck. The Clear Stream sword had shot over. He raised his protective true qi in a hurry.

    But all of this was just Li Qingshan¡¯s distraction. With surging murderousness, he arrived before Liu Chuanfeng in a single step and swung his palm like a blade, forcefully destroying his protective true qi.

    Liu Chuanfeng wailed, ¡°Spare me, good sir!¡± He saw the knife hand strike stop right before him firmly.

    Li Qingshan withdrew his hand and recalled the Clear Stream sword. He returned the short table he had kicked over to its original spot, sat down, and picked up the teapot, pouring himself a cup before pouring another one for Liu Chuanfeng.

    The clouds passed over in the sky and sunlight flowed in once more, falling on the wisps of water vapour from the tea. All was peaceful.

    Liu Chuanfeng was surprised. He also arrived by the short table and sat down. ¡°You¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan extended a hand. This world did not have a custom of shaking hands, so Liu Chuanfeng was left at a loss for a while before he understood what was going on. He grabbed his hand.

    Li Qingshan shook his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get along in the future. There¡¯s just the two of us on the island, and there probably won¡¯t be anymore people arriving here in the future.¡±

    In the battle earlier, if Liu Chuanfeng had not used the powers of the school of Novels, only relying on his identity as a tenth layer Qi Practitioner and using some regular techniques, then it would have been very difficult for Li Qingshan to emerge victorious unless he used the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Even with a powerful body and an opponent lacking all interest in fighting, it would be very difficult to overcome a difference of several layers.

    He wanted to see the powers of the school of Novels, while Liu Chuanfeng also wanted to show off the powers of the school of Novels. The end result was not very optimistic at all. No, it directly destroyed Li Qingshan¡¯s last sliver of hope. He instead thought it through now. He was no longer angry at all.

    It was not like he was lacking a cultivation method right now. The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi was enough to last him until Foundation Establishment. By then, he would not be worried about being unable to find a better cultivation method anyway.

    His priority in joining the academy was learning the various arts like alchemy, artifact forging, formations, and so on. He could learn them regardless of the school he belonged to. His identity as the primary disciple would provide quite a lot of convenience too. One aspect included coming to and leaving the academy freely, without requiring anyone¡¯s permission.

    Who knew how many contests a person would have to go through in the other schools over an identity like this. They could never obtain it as easily as in the school of Novels. Being unfavoured, unable to enter the limelight, was not necessarily a bad thing. Cultivating in peace was all that mattered.

    As Liu Chuanfeng sat before Li Qingshan, he basically behaved with utmost caution. The school of Novels had truly gained an impressive disciple this time. He saw how Li Qingshan had sunken into his thoughts, so he was afraid of interrupting him. A while later, he heard Li Qingshan sigh. He asked, ¡°When do we start cultivating? You¡¯ve seen the techniques of my school of Novels earlier. It truly has limitless potential¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan listened quietly without interrupting him. The power of the school of Novels was extremely special. It could make the fake become real, create something from nothing, turn fiction into reality.

    It was said that the school of Novels originated from when a cultivator went travelling in the ancient times. He heard about a monster that specially drained the vitality of children in the local region. All the children that had been caught by the monster would die from atrophy. It filled the entire city with fear, enough to make people pale from the slightest mention of the monster.

    However, the cultivator had never heard of this monster before. After a close inspection, he discovered that it was not a monster running amok. Instead, it was a strange disease, and the reason for it was because all the wells in the city had been contaminated by a special spiritual stone vein. Children possessed weaker bodies, so they were unable to fight it off, but adults would be fine.

    He purified the water source with his powers and healed the children, resolving everything. Afterwards, just when he was preparing to leave, he personally witnessed the monster, and it was exactly the same as the rumors.

    A monster that never existed had actually appeared in the world, as people believed in its existence. The powerful belief gathered to form a power, but that was still not enough. It required some sort of¡­ critical component.

    He discovered that the spiritual stone vein that contaminated the water source formed a strange loop, like some kind of inscription or formation, providing this component. He began to think. Could his powers provide this component to?

    This paved a brand new path of cultivation. In the very beginning, all it did was record the gossips and strange legends among the people, turning it into tales and rumours, which would then be passed on through word of mouth. After generations upon generations of inheritance and improvements, especially after the school of Mohism invented mechanisms for printing books, it finally became the school of Novels of the present day.

    Repeat a lie enough and it would become the truth. They used ink and brushes to create tales, using themselves to provide this component. As a result, fantasy would spring alive in their hands. It could create anything and everything. In terms of being interesting, there were probably no schools that could rival the school of Novels.

    However, Li Qingshan had already witnessed its battle applicability. Unfortunately, all it was was interesting. Being interesting was not enough to defeat opponents. Writing a novel that people actually believed to be real, with characters that they would cry and laugh along with, was probably even more difficult than managing a city. It was not like cultivators lacked money anyway when it came to running a city. All they needed to do was hire a few advisors skilled in administration and pour in a few million taels of silver, and the place would prosper by itself.

    Li Qingshan had read several impressive novels in his past life, and he did not mind becoming a plagiarist, but he had almost no impression of them anymore after almost two decades. Compared to that, he would be much better off if he just stuck with his Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi!

    Faced with Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s eager gaze, Li Qingshan shook his head and declined. ¡°Thanks, but there¡¯s no need for that. Where¡¯s my room?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was completely disappointed. He forced out a smile. ¡°It¡¯s very big here, so anywhere you¡¯d like.¡±

    Li Qingshan bowed slightly and left. He wandered through the courtyard and the building. He discovered that while it was not on par with the temple in the school of Daoism, it was not exactly small either.

    The elevated bamboo and wood structure formed several winding corridors. As he walked through them, the clear sound of footsteps would echo around. The spring breeze would blow into his face, and the bamboo grove would sway. There was a slight chill in the air.

    With his footsteps, he would gradually kick up ripples in the water below the bamboo building. The water gradually grew deeper too. When he arrived at the back of the courtyard and opened the bamboo door, a small, jade-green lake reflected the blue sky and verdant bamboo before him. It was a wonderful sight.

    A bamboo rocking chair stood on the porch quietly. Li Qingshan sat down on it, and with a creak, it swayed gently, as if he could pass his entire life in a trance and wash away his carnal thoughts like this.

    He sat there for a while before standing up. He smiled. He finally had a place of belonging now. He did not have to worry about his life being in danger, nor did he have to think about killing others here. He could cultivate slowly.

    Now, it was time to go see Xiao An.

    Arriving at the front room, Liu Chuanfeng was no longer there. A set of blue robes were folded neatly at the door, with a Cloudwisp brush on top.

    Li Qingshan put on the clothes, stowed the brush away, and wore the tablet on his waist. He rode off on a cloud, flying towards An¨¡srav¨¡? island of the school of Buddhism.

    The full name of the island was Threefold An¨¡srav¨¡? island, based off the threefold training1 and practises of buddhism¡ª?¨©la, sam¨¡dhi, and praj?¨¡, or moral virtue and precepts, meditation, and wisdom and insight respectively. As mentioned in buddhist scriptures, ¡°Gathering your mind results in moral virtue. From moral virtue arises mental training and stability, and from mental training and stability arises wisdom and insight. This is called the Threefold An¨¡srav¨¡? disciplines.¡± The place was also known as Threefold Disciplines island, or Moral Virtue, Meditation, and Wisdom island.

    Arriving above the island and looking over from afar, buddhist pagodas were scattered across the place, full of solemnity. He could vaguely hear the chanting of buddhist scriptures. It rivaled the school of Daoism¡¯s Wuwei island in terms of scope. Xiao An was here.

    In the Sea of Books within the Town of Flowing Clouds, Liu Chuanfeng bowed all the way to the ground as soon as he entered through the door.

    Sun Fubai¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Junior brother, what are you doing? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ the school of Novels has been abolished?¡±

    The hundred schools in the academy were not fixed. There were some differences from prefecture to prefecture. Apart from the ten standard schools2, there were many places that did not possess minor schools like the school of Music, the school of Medicine, and so on.

    The academies also practised the survival of the fittest. It had been several years since the school of Novels had gained a disciple, so the various school leaders had already submitted a written statement together to the Academy of the Hundred Schools in the Ruyi commandery so that they could remove this stain in the academy of the Clear River prefecture.

    If the school of Novels were not a part of the ten standard schools that the founding emperor had designated, the higher-ups would have accepted their request a long time ago. But even with that being the case, they had issued an ultimatum. If the school leader, Liu Chuanfeng, was unable to reach Foundation Establishment or accept any new disciples, then they would abolish the school of Novels in the Clear River prefecture and take back Cloudwisp island so that another school could occupy the island.

    Sun Fubai originated from the school of Novels. He was unwilling to see this happen, so having run out of choices, he would try whenever he saw a slightly talented Qi Practitioner. There was always a possibility, but he had actually given up on all hope too.

    Liu Chuanfeng shook his head hurriedly. ¡°Thank you, senior brother. Thank you, senior brother. Our school of Novels has gained a successor. There¡¯s no need to worry about it being abolished.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Sun Fubai widened his eyes. Just who was so unlucky?

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± He might have had a bad temper and might have been unwilling to learn the secret arts of the school of Novels, but he was truly the primary disciple of the school of Novels.

    Sun Fubai remained dazed for quite a while. His eyes reddened slightly too. His hard work had finally paid off.

    ¡°Junior brother!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Boss, do you have any cultivation methods?¡± A while later, a Qi Practitioner walked in and just happened to see Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai holding hands and looking at one another with tearful eyes. He was actually left speechless, leaping up in fright and backing out of the store in a hurry.

    After Li Qingshan¡¯s departure, the slovenly daoist priest lectured the methods of daoism a little further in order to demonstrate his tolerance before dispersing everyone. He asked Juechenzi, ¡°Where has that bastard gone?¡±

    Juechenzi said, ¡°Master, he seems to have¡­ he seems to have¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you stuttering for? Spit it out? Has he gone to plead with that damned bald ass One Thought? Or has he gone to find Liu Zhangqing for a retest?¡±

    Juechenzi said, ¡°Neither. He has gone to Cloudwisp island.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest said, ¡°What? Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?¡±

    Juechenzi said, ¡°I wanted to tell you earlier, but as soon as I mentioned Li Qingshan¡¯s name, you told me to shut up.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest slapped his thigh. ¡°My word! He might as well go find that damn bald ass and become a monk instead. Get him to piss over here. I¡¯ll accept him into my school of Daoism.¡±

    Juechenzi said, ¡°It¡¯s already too late. School leader Liu handed in the register immediately. Li Qingshan has already become a disciple of the school of Novels, and he¡¯s the primary disciple.¡±

    The academy had its rules. No matter how they contended against one another during the entrance examination, once a disciple joined a school, that was it. No one could change that, or the academy would have been reduced to a mess a long time ago.

    The slovenly daoist priest felt regret. Li Qingshan¡¯s inflexible will and staunchness suited his tastes very much. Others might have deemed him to be rude seeing how he openly cursed at a school leader, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but he felt some admiration outside of his anger. When he was young, he was also renowned for his hubris and rudeness. Who knew how much suffering he had gone through because of his horrible temperament.

    ¡°Master, you should¡¯ve just stuck to scolding him a little. What you said towards the end was just too insulting. It¡¯s no wonder that he couldn¡¯t put up with it any longer.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that your master is in the wrong?¡±

    ¡°Disciple dares not.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest was utterly miffed. ¡°Of all the normal choices he had, he just had to choose to go write novels. I¡¯d like to see just what he turns into.¡±

    1. The island is basically named after the Threefold Training or Disciplines prevalent within buddhism, which involves following precepts, meditating, and gaining wisdom and insight. An¨¡srav¨¡? in this context means that these three disciplines are karma-neutral practices¡ªthey don¡¯t come at the cost of karma and merit, allowing for liberation from suffering in the end. An¨¡srav¨¡? is the opposite of s¨¡srava, which does come at a cost of karma and merit, so while you can derive benefit in the present, s¨¡srava practises are likely to lead to negative consequences in the future.

    Anyway, you can read more about the Threefold Disciplines here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path#Threefold_division

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threefold_Training

 Chapter 291 â€“ Within the AnÄsravÄ? Temple

    ¡°The brat has joined the school of Novels?¡± Wang Pushi was taken aback in surprise, doubting his ears.

    Hua Chengzan told him the entire story with a bitter smile. Gu Yanying originally wanted him to take care of him, yet he ended up in the school of Novels under his care. Hua Chengzan had no idea how to explain this to her the next time he met her.

    Wang Pushi let out a sigh. ¡°Zhou Tong has gone too far this time. Whatever, he reaps what he sows. Tell the brat that if he copies Liu Chuanfeng and writes those dirty novels, I¡¯ll expel him from the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°School leader Liu has already invited all the school leaders to Contention island to discuss this. You¡¯d better go too!¡±

    After Wang Pushi left, Hua Chengzan turned around and made his way through the door. Almost a hundred new disciples of legalism sat straight in the hall.

    Hua Chengzan made a gesture for everyone to settle down. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, everyone. This isn¡¯t the school of Confucianism. There aren¡¯t so many customs and rules. We¡¯ll all be seniors and juniors in the future. I¡¯ll be your first senior brother, Hua Chengzan.¡± He bowed slightly in an easy-going and graceful manner, enough for people to admire him.

    Everyone returned the gesture in a hurry. They felt much more relaxed now. Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes even lit up. Now this was her elder brother.

    Then Hua Chengzan said sternly, ¡°The school of Legalism may not focus on so many unnecessary and overcomplicated gestures of mere courtesy, but we do have rules, and these rules are the law. If your actions in the school of Confucianism defy etiquette, then you will be criticized and be forced to correct yourself. But here, there is only punishment!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point in hiding this from you. I¡¯ve tried a few of the punishments of the school of Legalism. There are floggings, beatings, whippings, lashings, as well as water prisons, darkness prisons, fire prisons, and so on. They don¡¯t feel too bad. Among them, I sincerely recommend whippings. If there are female disciples that must be punished, I¡¯ll consider personally carrying out the punishment myself.¡±

    Hua Chengzan wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk, leading to a hall of laughter. The nervous atmosphere vanished completely. The men smiled with understanding, while the women became slightly furious from embarrassment. However, who could help the fact that this renowned young master Hua was a handsome romantic?

    The primary disciples played an extremely important role within each school. Many of the times, they would serve as representatives of the school leader.

    Li Qingshan descended on his cloud and arrived outside the pagodas. Two monks in grey robes appeared in a flash. ¡°Who are you? What brings you here?¡±

    Li Qingshan stated his origins and his intentions.

    Only when they heard Xiao An¡¯s name did they grow serious. They had not left An¨¡srav¨¡? island, but they had heard about what had happened on Contention island from the new disciples. This junior sister Xiao An of theirs definitely held a significant position in their master¡¯s heart. Probably even their first senior brother paled in comparison.

    ¡°Please come with me, sir.¡± said the older monk on the left with his palms brought together.

    The monk brought Li Qingshan through the pagodas, arriving outside an independent monastery. He had Li Qingshan wait outside as he went into the monastery, whispering in front of the meditation room. ¡°First senior brother, a person called Li Qingshan has come. He claims to be the primary disciple of the school of Novels. He has come to see junior sister Xiao An.¡±

    No matter how poor of a reputation the school of Novels had, he could not just give the cold shoulder to a primary disciple. Apart from the One Thought master, the only person that had the right to receive him was the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism.

    The main door to the meditation room opened up, and a fat monk emerged, smiling from ear to ear like a smiling buddha. However, when he heard Xiao An¡¯s name, a cold light flashed through his eyes. He ignored the monk and made his way out of the monastery by himself. He saw Li Qingshan waiting at the entrance and asked, ¡°Are you Li Qingshan?¡±

    Li Qingshan bowed. ¡°That¡¯s me. May I ask for your dharma name, senior brother?¡±

    Enlightened Mind studied Li Qingshan and saw how he was only at the sixth layer, so he showed much contempt. You say that you¡¯re a primary disciple with just this measly cultivation, wanting to stand on equal footing with me? He said indifferently, ¡°Enlightened Mind.¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. He was at a loss as for how he had offended him, but he asked patiently, ¡°May I ask where Xiao An is? Please lead me to her, senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Master has gone to Contention island to meet with the other school leaders. Before he left, he told me that junior sister Xiao An is currently in seclusion and that no one should disturb her, so please go back, sir!¡± When he heard Xiao An¡¯s name, fury rose up in his chest once more. He became ruder as well.

    Last night, he had heard how the One Thought master had given her the supreme grade spiritual artifact, the Guardian King¡¯s pearl. Moreover, he had personally passed the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual to her. Mind Enlightenment found this rather difficult to accept. He had been looking forward to the Guardian King¡¯s pearl for quite some time now. Even he, the primary disciple, had yet to possess a supreme grade spiritual artifact, while within the school of Buddhism, only he had the right to practise the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual in the past as the primary disciple. He felt threatened by her.

    As a result, he could not help but ask the One Thought master about this, but he was met with a scolding. The One Thought master told him to uphold his duty as the first senior brother to serve as a model to others, not to rely on material objects or develop jealousy.

    He was not bold enough to argue back. He put on an act that he deeply regretted his actions, punishing himself by reflecting on his actions in front of a wall. Only then did he earn the One Thought master¡¯s recognition. However, it only made him even more furious. He knew he could not get back at Xiao An, or his master would never spare him. Now that Li Qingshan had come knocking, and he seemed very familiar with Xiao An, he obviously would not let this opportunity slip considering he was also under his master¡¯s orders. He would properly vent his anger.

    ¡°If you won¡¯t take me to her, then I¡¯ll go find her myself.¡± Li Qingshan could not be bothered with dealing with him. No matter how busy or occupied Xiao An was, she would still see him. Even if she was in seclusion, she would still notify him.

    Enlightened Mind¡¯s face sank. He blocked Li Qingshan¡¯s path with a flash. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? How can I allow you to trespass on the peaceful land of buddhism?¡±

    Li Qingshan said in irritation, ¡°As a primary disciple, I can move about freely even if I¡¯m on other islands, so how is it trespassing? Baldy, I¡¯m showing you some respect for the One Thought master¡¯s sake. Don¡¯t take it too far!¡±

    Enlightened Mind had yet to see a new disciple argue back against him. As the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism, he possessed great status and authority. He was on the same footing as Hua Chengzan, so how could he allow such disobedience from someone weaker than him? Let alone the primary disciple of the school of Novels, but even if the leader of the school of Novels, Liu Chuanfeng, was here in person, he would still look down on them.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a person like you in the academy. Who knows if you¡¯ve just stolen your set of clothes, wanting to hatch a plot against our school of Buddhism. As the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism, I must follow my master¡¯s orders and protect junior sister Xiao An. If you want to see her, you¡¯d better get through me first!¡±

    He drew a shining monk¡¯s spade1 and held it before him.

    Apart from the school of the Military in the Hundred Schools of Thought, the school of Buddhism had many methods for Body Practitioners too. Those who practised both qi and the body were known as warrior monks. His posture was extremely proper, while his bearing was powerful. The monk¡¯s spade kicked up a gust of wind, causing the leaves on the tree to fall down.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt a powerful pressure. It even surpassed Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s. While buddhism was about benevolence and sympathy, they had plenty of techniques to purge demons and daemons. He was also a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, but he could not be compared to someone from a sect that did not focus on combat like the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    However, the last thing that Li Qingshan feared was pressure. He raised an eyebrow, about to let loose, but he soon remembered the fact that this was still the territory of the school of Buddhism after all. Xiao An would still have to cultivate here, so offending this primary disciple would probably be detrimental to her. As a result, he withdrew his true qi.

    Mind Enlightenment saw how Li Qingshan was afraid, so he showed even more contempt. And I had thought you were actually going to clash with me. Turns out you¡¯re just a coward putting on a front. ¡°The pure land of buddhism is not a place where you, a dirty novelist, can run amok. If you have your wits about you, you¡¯d better leave quickly. Don¡¯t come back.¡±

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth. He raised his hand and tapped the thumb ring gently. ¡°Xiao An, where are you?¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s delighted voice immediately rang out from there. The two of them conversed a little. As it turned out, Xiao An was not in the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple; this temple was where monks cultivated. To the south of An¨¡srav¨¡? temple was the Pure Moon nunnery. An old nun who worked as a professor in the academy served as the abbess, responsible for guiding the female nuns.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you want to cultivate, then just cultivate. I¡¯ll just come a few days later.¡±

    All Xiao An said was, ¡°Wait for me.¡±

    Li Qingshan said to Mind Enlightenment, ¡°You¡¯re not letting me go find her, so surely there¡¯s nothing you can say now that she¡¯s coming to find me!¡±

    Mind Enlightenment furrowed and raised his eyebrows. His plump face immediately became slightly fierce. He swung down heavily with the hefty monk¡¯s spade in his hand. ¡°Begone, vile being!¡±

    The various school leaders all set aside their matters at hand and gathered once more on Contention island to discuss the matter of the school of Novels. It was the same room as last time. It seemed even darker in there, while the atmosphere was slightly heavy too.

    Liu Zhangqing was the most annoyed. The school of Confucianism pursued cultivating the body, managing the family, administering the empire, and bringing peace to the world. Normally, all the Academies of the Hundred Schools, no matter where they were, would basically accept the leader of the school of Confucianism to manage the various matters. Back then, he had led the movement to jointly abolish the school of Novels too.

    Liu Wenchuan¡¯s disgraceful, obscene novels had already crossed his bottom line a long time ago. Obviously, he had also played a role in the decline of the school of Novels to a point where they did not even have a primary disciple. He believed that the school of Novels would definitely be abolished after this entrance exam, but who would have imagined this to happen?

    He had already promised the Cloudwisp island to someone else, along with the identity of the leader of the school of Painting. The future leader of the school of Painting had already promised him many benefits that interested him, but now, all of his plans had fallen apart. He felt indescribably annoyed, so he could not help but grumble about the slovenly daoist priest a little.

    The various school leaders had grown unhappy with the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s behaviour a long time ago, so they used this opportunity to erupt. They all blamed him.

    The slovenly daoist priest would never just sit back and accept the blame. He immediately cursed each and every one of them individually, turning the meeting into a mess. He ended up becoming carried away, placing a foot on the table and rolling up his sleeves. ¡°Come, come, come. If any of you don¡¯t like what you¡¯re hearing, you can come at me together. If this lowly priest is afraid of you all, then call me a bald ass.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, I haven¡¯t said anything this whole time, ox nose, so quit taking digs at this lowly monk.¡± This time, the One Thought master had said nothing in this meeting. He did not care about the fate of the school of Novels. All he cared about right now was Xiao An.

    At this exact moment, a message rang out from the tablet on the One Thought master¡¯s waist. ¡°Oh no, they¡¯ve begun fighting, abbott.¡±

    ¡°Who has begun fighting with who?¡±

    ¡°First senior brother and Li Qingshan.¡±

 Chapter 292 â€“ Guardian Kings Subdue Demons

    Liu Zhangqing immediately fished out the Watermirror disc, which conjured an image. The monk¡¯s spade in Mind Enlightenment¡¯s hand was imbued with true qi, turning into a startling wave that forced Li Qingshan back. However, Li Qingshan was like a small boat in the storm, rising and falling with the wave without capsizing.

    Wang Pushi frowned. ¡°This brat really is a troublemaker.¡±

    After hearing the whole story, the One Thought master became displeased too. ¡°Xiao An is currently practising the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, so no one should disturb her. Li Qingshan is far too insensible.¡±

    As an esoteric cultivation method of buddhism, originally only the primary disciple, Mind Enlightenment, could practise the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. This was not because the One Thought master was unfair and favoured Mind Enlightenment. Instead, it was because the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual possessed far too much depth. It required a very firm foundation and a very high level of understanding for a cultivator to practise it.

    This was beyond what talent alone could achieve. It required an extremely deep foundation in cultivation and a great understanding of buddhist philosophies. It was not something that a new disciple could practise. There were plenty of buddhist disciples who would take quite a few years despite their cultivation foundation to practise this cultivation method.

    The reason why the One Thought master had arranged for this to happen was to separate Li Qingshan and Xiao An, especially after he learnt that she had only known Li Qingshan for around a year, and they were not connected by blood. This was for Xiao An¡¯s sake too. As a buddhist disciple, too many distracting thoughts would affect her cultivation. As long as he separated them for a while, time would naturally erode away everything.

    His other objective was to eliminate Xiao An¡¯s arrogance so that she could learn her flaws before this wondrous method of buddhism that even she was unable to practise. No matter how great of a genius she was, there was nothing she could do if she did not comprehend the essence of buddhism, cut off her worldly ties, and cultivate in peace.

    Nightfall yesterday, outside the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple, in the Pure Moon nunnery.

    Xiao An changed into a set of grey monk robes and knelt quietly before the buddha.

    The One Thought Master picked up his razor, personally performing tonsure and completing this ancient ceremony for her.

    When the shiny tonsure razor reached towards her long, dark hair, the abbess of the nunnery, the One Leaf abbess, despite personally believing her mind had already achieved a stillness akin to an ancient well, actually found this slightly regretful. With that, she would serve as a buddhist monk for the rest of her life, cutting off her worldly ties.

    The One Leaf abbess discovered that her dark eyes were even more akin to an ancient well than her own heart before smiling self-deprecatingly. She was just a child. Were there any girls who were willing to cut the beautiful long hair they had grown themselves? Because of her unbelievable talent, didn¡¯t that make her mind unsettled too?

    She brought her palms together and stated, ¡°A head of black hair is akin to three thousand strands of afflictions. Shaving away your hair is ending these afflictions. Don¡¯t be so reluctant to give it up. Only with loss comes gain.¡±

    However, little did she know that losing her hair meant nothing to Xiao An. Even losing her body meant nothing. It was all just an illusion, just like how even the greatest beauty would be reduced to a pile of white bones someday. She had never cared about it in the first place. Whether it was a head of black hair or three thousand strands of afflictions, it was all for him, so how could she shave it away so easily?

    The One Thought master said, ¡°Tonsure is a crucial ceremony for joining the school of Buddhism. It represents cutting away all your concerns so that you can wholeheartedly cultivate. If you don¡¯t go through with this, you won¡¯t be able to become a disciple of the school of Buddhism.¡±

    Xiao An said nothing. She took out the Guardian King¡¯s pearl and placed it before the buddha.

    There was no need for anyone to say anything to her. Even a supreme grade spiritual artifact was not enough for her to go through with this.

    The One Thought master remained in silence for quite a while before letting out a long sigh. He allowed her to cultivate in the Pure Moon nunnery without going through tonsure, but it only made him even more determined. He could not allow a mere Li Qingshan to affect this rare, supreme genius of his school of Buddhism.

    Benevolent be the buddha. Perhaps she was supposed to suffer a little so that she would know when to take a step back in the face of difficulties.

    In the blink of an eye, Mind Enlightenment had already forced Li Qingshan down the cliff. He was encased in the wrathful, glaring, golden avatar of a guardian king, which swung down with the golden, half-transparent monk¡¯s spade in his hand.

    There was a great clang.

    Li Qingshan parried with the Wind-entwining blade and stopped the monk¡¯s spade, but his arms shuddered, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger ached. The power from Mind Enlightenment had completely exceeded anything that a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings could provide.

    A notch immediately appeared on the Wind-entwining blade. Under the force of the monk¡¯s spade, it let out a painful groan as it twisted and changed shape.

    There was a flash of blue light, and the Clear Stream sword shot out from Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve, stabbing towards Mind Enlightenment¡¯s forehead. There was a clink, and it was sent flying. It failed to harm the golden avatar at all.

    ¡°Like an ant trying to shake a tree! Why don¡¯t you piss off!¡± Mind Enlightenment crushed down with the monk¡¯s spade.

    Li Qingshan was secretly amazed by the power of buddhist cultivation methods. If he did not transform, he would have to use the Cursive Sword Calligraphy if he wanted to get through this golden avatar.

    Suddenly, his vision lit up, and he smiled. Looks like there was no longer any need for that. A petite figure rushed over by leaping roof to roof, her black hair dancing in the air. He did not think too much. He just felt that she still looked better with hair.

    The One Thought master saw this too. He immediately questioned the One Leaf abbess, ¡°Junior sister, didn¡¯t I say that she¡¯s forbidden from leaving seclusion if she didn¡¯t complete the first layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual? Why did you let her out?¡±

    He had placed down restrictive formations at the location where Xiao An cultivated. Not only were others forbidden from entering or disturbing her, but even Xiao An herself could not leave until she reached the first layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. Apart from him, the only person who could let her out was the One Leaf abbess. He had left plenty of food in there for her, along with precious pills. They were enough to sustain her cultivation for quite a while.

    Before the wide open doors, the One Leaf abbess stood in a daze. She did not answer him. All she muttered was, ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    The One Thought master understood the reason very soon. Within the Watermirror disc, Xiao An¡¯s aura had already reached an impressive sixth layer.

    With her own vitality and the pills left behind by the One Thought master, she had used a single afternoon and a night to push her cultivation up by three layers. As for condensing a sea of qi that was enough for countless Qi Practitioners to pain over, she had no idea what the difficulty was. It was just like when she had taught Li Qingshan in the past.

    When she saw Mind Enlightenment, a rare sliver of fury appeared on her tiny, expressionless face, and she erupted with golden light.

    The downward gaze of bodhisattvas brought benevolence to the six realms, while the furious glare of guardian kings could subdue demons.

    Raising its vajra high into the air, it transformed and turned into a huge, golden sword in the end. It cleaved down towards Mind Enlightenment¡¯s back.

    If the One Thought master still had any doubts earlier, then he would finally be convinced now. She had truly reached the first layer with the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. Just the Guardian King¡¯s pearl alone could not create such a realistic avatar.

    Mind Enlightenment experienced a feeling of danger. He swept backwards with his monk¡¯s spade and the two tremendous forces collided, producing another deafening boom.

    Mind Enlightenment gazed at the guardian king¡¯s avatar behind him in disbelief. He staggered backwards and collided into the cliff face behind him.

    The cliff trembled and pieces of rock fell down.

    Using the attack, Xiao An leapt backwards and nullified the force.

    The two guardian kings confronted one another with furious glares. Although Xiao An¡¯s guardian king avatar was slightly smaller, it was no less consolidated than Mind Enlightenment¡¯s with the support of the Guardian King¡¯s pearl.

    The onlooking monks were all dumbfounded. Was this really their junior sister Xiao An?

    It was not just them. Even the One Thought master felt the same. This was the first time in his entire life that he did not feel joy for his disciple¡¯s improvements. Instead, he felt a sliver of mixed fear. This was talent that could strike fear within people.

    The Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, an esoteric buddhist cultivation method that the One Thought master believed Xiao An would struggle to comprehend, was absolutely nothing before the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, a supreme ability that went from buddhism to the demonic, turning the cultivator into an embodiment of the White Bone Bodhisattva.

    Yet, under the black ox¡¯s guidance, she had forcefully learnt this ability despite being still in the state of a ghost. After that, she had never stopped studying the buddhist scriptures, rapidly deepening her understanding and comprehension.

    The Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual was no different from the buddhist scriptures she had seen in the past. They were all for the sake of deepening her understanding of the essence of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. And, it began to lead to a mysterious transformation. Even buddhas could become demons, so what were guardian kings supposed to be?

    For the first time too, the slovenly daoist priest, Zhou Tong, felt like having a disciple like that would not necessarily be good news either, as perhaps he would enter seclusion for a few months, only to discover that his disciple had already become more powerful than him after he emerged. As for having Yu Zijian exceed Xiao An, he no longer held any hope in that anymore.

    Actually, if Xiao An joined the school of Daoism instead, her cultivation speed would just be startling at most, despite her supreme talent.

    The One Thought master was right. She did have a destiny with the buddha, but not as a disciple of buddhism, but as an enemy of buddhism. There was a saying in the world, ¡°Your enemy is the person who knows you the best.¡± What she wanted to become was the ¡°nemesis of buddhism¡±. Just her objective alone had surpassed all regular monks.

    The room fell utterly silent. All of the school leaders were knowledgeable. They had quite a deep understanding of the Guardian King¡¯s Method of Demon Subdual. Even if their shock failed to match the One Thought master¡¯s, it would not be far off.

    The slovenly daoist priest asked the One Thought master, ¡°How long did you take to reach the first layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual?¡±

    The One Thought master said, ¡°I became a monk when I was seven, practising qi while studying the dharma and teachings of buddhism. When I was twenty-five, I reached the ninth layer and gained the recognition of my master, who was also the previous school leader, the Ziming master. After which, I switched to the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. I comprehended it a year later, reaching the first layer.¡±

    ¡°And how long did she take?¡±

    The One Thought master said hoarsely, ¡°A single night!¡± And, he had switched to the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual as a ninth layer Qi Practitioner. Compared to that, it was far more difficult for Xiao An, at the third layer with only the foundation from the Innate Method of Practising Qi.

    This had already exceeded the boundary of geniuses. She was a deviant, a monster.

    The slovenly daoist priest patted the One Thought master¡¯s shoulder.

    Liu Zhangqing sighed gently. Originally, he wanted to pull some strings and force Li Qingshan to leave the school of Novels. Of course, he would not be able to switch to other schools either. He would be breaking the rules if he remained in the academy, so he would give him some benefits and recommend him to go elsewhere.

    As the ruler of an entire prefecture, this did not cause him any mental burden at all. Those who wanted to achieve great things could not afford to scruple over small details. However, he had to reconsider this plan now. At the very least, he needed to go from ¡°force¡± to ¡°convince¡±.

    Li Qingshan clearly held an extremely important position within this child¡¯s heart. Even though time could wear away everything, it would not take her too long to reach his current level. He did not want to bear the hostility from a person like that, and it was not like he had given any thought to it in the first place.

    In the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple, Xiao An clashed with Mind Enlightenment. The vajra sword and monk¡¯s spade constantly collided together and produced tremors such that the huge, nearby bells began resonating too.

 Chapter 293 â€“ Mentally Devastated

    Xiao An could not expose her powers from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, so originally, it should have been impossible for her to contend against a tenth layer Qi Practitioner like Mind Enlightenment. The Guardian King¡¯s pearl that the One Thought master had bestowed upon her played a critical role right now.

    Supreme grade spiritual artifacts were not items that Qi Practitioners could completely control. Only Foundation Establishment cultivators could unleash their true power. However, Xiao An could use the Guardian King¡¯s pearl the moment it entered her hands. When she reached the first layer with the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, she could unleash its full power. It no longer paled in comparison to when the One Thought master used it.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, even the Cursive Sword Calligraphy that could barely be regarded as a supreme grade spiritual artifact already possessed so much power even without being refined. On the other hand, all of the power of a true supreme grade spiritual artifact was being unleashed right now.

    And, the huge vajra sword was like an embroidery needle in Xiao An¡¯s hands, swinging downwards, thrusting forwards, flicking downwards, swinging upwards, sweeping high, and sweeping low.

    When she swung down, it was enough to cleave mountains in two. Li Qingshan could not help but think about the heavy, inky vertical stroke in the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. When she swept low, it was similar to the light and nonchalant horizontal stroke. She had completely digested and absorbed all the sword intent within the three fragments of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. The vajra sword turned into a flurry of golden light.

    Many of the school leaders had a thorough understanding of the sword, and Liu Zhangqing was one of the best among them. He carried a sword on his waist right now. It was not an ornament, but an actual weapon for killing.

    The confucian disciples of this world were not those pedantic, physically weak scholars. Apart from being educated in literature and etiquette, swordsmanship was a core subject too. On many formal occasions, carrying a sword with them was the norm.

    He stared at the Watermirror disc and subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. The sword intent that was as light as clouds yet as powerful as dragons startled him. Suddenly, he noticed how all the school leaders were looking at him and realised he had lost his composure. He smiled bitterly. ¡°This isn¡¯t the swordsmanship a child should possess.¡±

    She was only ten years old, so just how did she comprehend and achieve something so profound with the sword? Even if she was a genius of the sword, how was she supposed to explain the startling, heavy, and fierce aura of slaughter?

    Why? Why? What is going on? Namo Amit¨¡bha. Namo Amit¨¡bha. Something must be wrong, right?

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to assist Xiao An, but he stopped worrying when he saw this. He just stood aside and watched on.

    In the battle of the past when he worked with Xiao An, she played the role of an assassin most of the time. He was responsible for attracting the attention of the enemy and creating an opportunity, while she was responsible for grasping this opportunity to deal a killing strike. If she bided her time, then she bided her time, but once she struck, she would definitely be able to heavily injure the opponent. Rarely had she ever engaged in a fair, one-on-one battle like this. This was quite a rare opportunity for her to practise her swordsmanship.

    Without Li Qingshan, Xiao An naturally adapted her battle tactics, no longer striving for a single killing strike where she unleashed everything that she had. Instead, she was like a renowned calligraphist practising calligraphy, wielding the sword in an orderly manner. She did not halt at all. She would form a character with a few strokes, and a hundred characters would form a piece of literature.

    Even Li Qingshan felt surprised over how much Xiao An had improved. Aside from his joy for her, he sighed slightly too. He felt like even if the ox demon, tiger demon, and spiritual turtle were combined, they did not seem to be as impressive as the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Sure, his cultivation might have been low, unable to unleash the power of these three cultivation methods, but Xiao An had not even reached the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Right now, she had barely mastered the basics and was still fumbling around. Her room for future improvements was unimaginable.

    As it seemed, he really had to work hard on cultivation once he got back. He could not fall behind her. Perhaps it was due to his fragile pride as a man, but he wanted to possess the power to take care of her at all times.

    Just what did brother ox have in mind? He had no idea. Perhaps he would only get an answer the moment he opened the sumeru ring.

    ¡°The child¡¯s sword is about to triumph. Mind Enlightenment is going to lose,¡± said Han Anjun. His understanding of the path of the sword might not have been as deep as Liu Zhangqing, but he had extremely sharp senses over the tides of war.

    Yes, the tides of war. In his eyes, the clash between two people was like the clash between two armies.

    The army led by Mind Enlightenment possessed a vast number of soldiers, but their morale was unstable, and their movements were disorderly. On the other hand, Xiao An¡¯s army advanced step by step. With the scheming waves of storming, sneak attacks, and ambushes, their morale increased, while Mind Enlightenment¡¯s army gradually became exhausted..

    It was a different perspective, but they saw the same outcome in the end. Once the piece of literature was complete, it would be ambushes from all directions, resulting in certain death.

    Xiao An raised her hand, but the vajra sword slowed down, as if it had suddenly become a thousand tonnes heavier. It would pause with every inch it moved.

    Every single movement would leave behind a clear image visible to the naked eye. She completely pushed the power of the Guardian King¡¯s Method of Demon Subdual and the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to the limit.

    It seemed extremely slow, yet Mind Enlightenment felt he was stuck in a hopeless situation with nowhere to escape to. Before so many monks, he would never accept an outcome like this, so he roared out in a hurry, and the guardian king avatar roared out too.

    As the bells in the temple boomed, the monk¡¯s spade rippled with layers of golden light. This was the first time he had used the powers of the spiritual artifact itself. It suddenly moved several times faster, cleaving down diagonally. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, you monster!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly stood up. He never imagined the counterattack of the primary disciple would be so startling.

    The One Thought master called out, ¡°Oh no!¡± He vanished.

    However, neither of them could intercept in time. Xiao An¡¯s body halted slightly from the tremor. Just when she was unable to dodge the attack, she remained unfazed, but the expression on her guardian king avatar underwent a slight change. It abruptly gave off indescribable fury and hatred.

    The furious glares of guardian kings were for purging demons, a dignified fury of righteousness. However, the fury on Xiao An¡¯s guardian king avatar was much deeper and more terrifying, as if it wanted to slaughter all living creatures.

    Just what kind of fury was enough for an eminent monk of buddhism who had almost attained the fruit of bodhisattva to create the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, swearing to slaughter all living creatures and slay buddhas? This was the first time she had sensed a fraction of it.

    The light on the vajra sword sank, undergoing a change that no one managed to notice.

    Under this boundless fury, it swung upwards from below.

    Clang! There was a sharp sound within the roaring sounds of bells. The vajra monk¡¯s spade had been forcefully chopped in half, dispersing as light. Mind Enlightenment stared at it in a daze, wondering whether he was dreaming or not. How was it possible for the vajra monk¡¯s spade he had condensed off the basis of a high grade spiritual artifact to be chopped in half unless his master was here in person?

    He could not help but look around, searching for the One Thought master¡¯s figure. However, all he saw before him was the guardian king avatar with the sun behind its back, seemingly shining with golden radiance, wielding the vajra sword with two hands and raising it high into the air.

    Xiao An said gently, ¡°Die.¡±

    The guardian king roared, ¡°Die!¡±

    The golden radiance condensed on the sword, falling towards Mind Enlightenment¡¯s forehead.

    The One Thought master had already arrived above An¨¡srav¨¡? temple. Originally, he had come to save Xiao An, but for some reason, his first disciple, the primary disciple, had fallen into dire straits instead in just a split second. He wanted to save him, but it was already too late. He called out in the air, ¡°Stop, Xiao An!¡±

    However, how could his voice move faster than the vajra sword? Even if Xiao An heard him, she could not stop. She was filled with the tremendous fury of the eminent monk from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    There was a flash of golden light. All the monks were stunned. Time seemed to stop. The entire temple fell silent.

    This lasted until the appearance of a crack. From the tip of the vajra sword, it extended to over a hundred meters away, forming a terrifying, black crack. Mind Enlightenment¡¯s courtyard that sat on the crack had been chopped in half, while the central cultivation hall stood for a while longer before collapsing loudly.

    Mind Enlightenment collapsed to one side. The avatar around him had already vanished. His plump face was filled with fear as he stared at Li Qingshan. At that critical moment, Li Qingshan had kicked him aside, which was why he had managed to survive. Otherwise, his fate would be the same as the cultivation hall.

    The One Thought master descended from above. ¡°Xiao An, you¡­¡± However, he was at a loss as for what to say.

    Xiao An dispersed the avatar and smiled sweetly at Li Qingshan. ¡°You¡¯ve come.¡±

    Li Qingshan gave her a thumbs up. ¡°Impressive!¡±

    The surroundings were dead silent. The new disciple could contend against the primary disciple just on the second day of joining. This alone had already exceeded the imaginations of the monk. And, she had actually defeated the primary disciple. This made them all blank out as they wondered whether they were dreaming or not.

    The One Thought master said furiously, ¡°Mind Enlightenment, what¡¯s this all about? Tell me everything.¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. He was afraid that this baldy would lie again.

    Mind Enlightenment climbed up from the ground and knelt before the One Thought master. With three thumps, he prostrated himself three times and said, ¡°Please understand, master. I was completely in the wrong about this. I became jealous of the care that master showed to junior sister Xiao An, so I purposefully made trouble for sir Li Qingshan, and I also broke the precept of anger, lashing out against sir Li Qingshan first. Please punish me, master.¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought that Mind Enlightenment would want to complain against him, so he prepared a rebuttal. He was immediately left speechless now.

    The One Thought master was stunned too. ¡°Mind Enlightenment, you¡­?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to relinquish my position as primary disciple to junior sister Xiao An. Please forgive me, junior sister.¡± Then Mind Enlightenment said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Thank you for saving my life, sir!¡±

    Mind Enlightenment was pale, and his eyes were dull, but he no longer possessed any hatred anymore. He definitely was not hiding anything or biding his time. No matter how powerful the opponent was, he would always undergo self-imposed hardships to strengthen his resolve for revenge. He would be confident that there would be a day when he got his revenge. But now, the opponent he faced was a child, a child who began practising qi yesterday and defeated him today.

    To be able to make it to the position of primary disciple, he clearly was a clever and capable person, but it was exactly because he was clever enough that he felt despair. Although Xiao An¡¯s attack had failed to land, it had shattered his arrogance, jealousy, and anger. He was forced into achieving instantaneous comprehension.

 Chapter 294 â€“ Till Death Do Us Par

    t

    Wall facing was both a cultivation method of buddhism and a method of punishment. Three years of wall facing was akin to three years of house arrest. During those three years, he could not communicate with others, move around freely, or enjoy any form of entertainment. It was even more terrifying than prison. The level of monotony was enough to drive a regular person crazy. To a disciple of buddhism, it was a great test of their temperament.

    Rather restless disciples with impressive talent had always been the One Thought master¡¯s favourite disciples. If this were in the past, the One Thought master would definitely be delighted with how Mind Enlightenment volunteered to face the walls of the Cliff Inscription cavern, but right now, he was afraid that he had given up all hope. The more of a genius a person was, the easier it was for them to become dejected and downhearted once they faced a setback.

    ¡°Have you thought it through properly?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Mind Enlightenment buried his head deeply into the ground. He looked back through all the years he spent in the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple. All of his pride and status had vanished with that single word he uttered. He felt extremely dejected. Sorrow welled up inside and tears began to run down his face like rain. He broke into sobs.

    The One Thought master rubbed his head. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry. This might be good news to you.¡±

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve embarrassed you!¡± Mind Enlightenment hugged the One Thought master¡¯s leg; he was like a pitiful child, having returned to the time when he initially joined the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple as a little acolyte.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t. You will always be my best disciple. You need to pull yourself together!¡± The rim of One Thought master¡¯s eyes reddened involuntarily.

    The monks in the temple all shed tears too. Although there were many flaws in their first senior brother, he still took good care of them. They too felt pained now that he would be gone for three years.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose and thought, Why do I feel like Xiao An and I are the bad guys?

    After crying, Mind Enlightenment seemed to have become much more relaxed. He made his way around his master and his junior brothers, making his way to the Cliff Inscription cavern to cultivate. From the beginning till the end, he did not even glance at Xiao An at all. This child made him feel fear. This kind of fear did not originate from the strike that Xiao An had almost killed him with, but from the strike when she cut through the vajra monk¡¯s spade.

    It was only a short instant, but the bone-chilling coldness suppressed all of his power and thoughts. His indestructible vajra monk¡¯s spade had broken under that exact power, or should you say thought.

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    The surroundings were thrown into an uproar. The monks all looked at one another, seeing an exact reflection of the current expression that they had. Within a prefectural Academy of the Hundred Schools, the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual could be regarded as a powerful cultivation method that was rarely passed onto anyone. Cultivating till the very end could result in the condensation of a Vajra ?ar¨©ra, which was on par with the Golden Cores of the school of Daoism.

    Xiao An suddenly asked, ¡°Master, are you afraid?¡±

    The corner of the One Thought master¡¯s eye twitched. He uttered the buddha¡¯s name constantly. After quite a while, he placed the primary disciple¡¯s waist tablet in Xiao An¡¯s hand. ¡°From today onwards, you are my school of Buddhism¡¯s primary disciple. To be able to hold this position, just martial prowess is not enough. You also must have a deep understanding of the buddhist dharma, such that you can answer your junior¡¯s queries.¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    The One Thought master wanted to give her a few more words of advice, but he ended up sighing gently instead. ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the purpose of buddhism. You should get along with your fellow students. You should not have used that attack against your fellow student.¡±

    He was reluctant for Xiao An to take up the position of primary disciple, but in the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple right now, just who had the ability to replace Mind Enlightenment? Even if they could replace him, how long could they hold the position for? Would it be half a year or just three months?

    As a result, Xiao An became the youngest primary disciple throughout the history of the Clear River prefecture¡¯s Academy of the Hundred Thought. If it were not for Li Qingshan, she would be the primary disciple with the lowest cultivation throughout history too.

    Xiao An wanted to rebuke him, but Li Qingshan pressed down on her shoulder and shot a glance towards her. ¡°The One Thought master is right. Why don¡¯t you thank your master?¡±

    Xiao An said obediently, ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

    The One Thought master frowned. He said sternly, ¡°Li Qingshan, before Xiao An has reached the first layer with the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, no one is allowed to disturb her. That was my order. Why part of it did you not understand?¡±

    His beloved disciple had given up his position as primary disciple, placing himself under house arrest to go wall facing, so why wouldn¡¯t he be annoyed? He was unable to vent it on Xiao An, so he obviously used the ¡®troublemaker¡¯ Li Qingshan instead.

    ¡°One Thought master, the disciples of the academy are of the same breath and branch, standing together through thick and thin. What¡¯s wrong with him coming to An¨¡srav¨¡? island to meet someone?¡±

    Before Li Qingshan had said anything, a voice rang out from the direction of the pagodas. Turning around, Li Qingshan saw Liu Chuanfeng gliding over on a huge, white crane. After holding hands and shedding a few tears with Sun Fubai, they even took out some wine and dishes and drank a few cups together. After receiving the news, Liu Chuanfeng paled in fright and rushed over. Right now, Li Qingshan was his prized possession. If he let anything happen to him, the school of Novels would be doomed to abolishment. By then, he would not even have a place to cry at.

    ¡°Master, Mind Enlightenment insulted my school of Novels in the face of the public, damaging the bond between the schools. He wanted to hurt people over the slightest disagreement, so why must you say that we are in the wrong instead?¡± Liu Chuanfeng leapt off the white crane and landed before Li Qingshan, clasping his hands.

    Li Qingshan saw how his clothes swayed in the breeze. He really did seem slightly graceful. This was the first time his impression of him had improved slightly.

    The One Thought master just happened to have some anger to vent, yet the jittery Liu Chuanfeng had actually come to make noise right in his face. He widened his eyes into a glare. Even without the guardian king avatar, a heavy pressure crushed down on Liu Chuanfeng.

    Liu Chuanfeng bowed deeply. ¡°Sorry. We¡¯re completely in the wrong. It¡¯s all my school of Novel¡¯s fault, so please forgive us, master. You unruly disciple, why don¡¯t you apologise to the master?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. He held back his urge to slap him across the face. With a school leader like this, why wouldn¡¯t the school of Novels be abolished?

    In the end, the matter remained unsettled.

    Li Qingshan brought Xiao An back to Cloudwisp island with him to show her around. Along the way, there were several times when Liu Chuanfeng wanted to approach him, but he avoided him every single time. He did not want Xiao An to be influenced by him.

    Returning to Cloudwisp island, he saw someone waiting for him in the courtyard within the bamboo forest.

    The leader of the school of Confucianism, Liu Zhangqing, stood with his arms behind his back, listening to the sound of the bamboo swaying in the breeze with his eyes shut. He only opened his eyes a while later. ¡°It has been several years since I¡¯ve been here. The scenery here is still so beautiful. It¡¯s just a pity.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng obviously understood what he was referring to by pity. All he could do was smile dryly and bow. ¡°School leader Liu, long time no see.¡±

    However, Liu Zhangqing completely ignored him. He was straightforward ¡°Li Qingshan, just what are your conditions for you to leave the school of Novels? Let¡¯s hear them.¡±

    He did not treat Liu Chuanfeng like he existed at all. Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s smile froze, but he dared not show any displeasure. He looked at Li Qingshan for help. He almost seemed like he was pleading with him.

    However, Li Qingshan did not look at him. He replied to Liu Zhangqing politely, but not overly so. ¡°Sir Liu, can I join other schools if I leave the school of Novels?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was ashen.

    Liu Zhangqing shook his head. ¡°No. If you leave the school of Novels, you leave the academy. However, I can recommend you to a very impressive sect to cultivate. The Pine Sough academy of the Heavenly Lake mountain is rather renowned throughout the entire Green province. The head of the academy is a Golden Core cultivator who has already undergone two heavenly tribulations. You¡¯ll have a much better future there than the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng had already given up hope. No one would ever decline such a great offer.

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°Apologies. Thank you for your kind intentions, school leader, but I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t accept your offer.¡±

    Liu Changqing frowned. ¡°What conditions do you have in mind? Please let me know.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An and held her hand. ¡°I won¡¯t accept any conditions, no matter what they are. We¡¯re not separating.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Do you know this saying? Instead of sticking together against the odds, why not just separate and wander off freely? There are no never-ending banquets in the world. Separation is only a matter of time. If you remain here, you will be thrown behind very quickly with her cultivation speed. By then, what are you supposed to do? If you go to the Pine Sough academy, there might be a chance you meet again in the future. Or, are you trying to use her to procure some benefits for yourself?¡±

    Whether it was the kind advice or the goading, clever words, every single thing that Liu Zhangqing said hit the point.

    Li Qingshan was unable to maintain his smile anymore. In the end, he sighed slightly. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right.¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s heart tightened. Liu Zhangqing smiled.

    ¡°But, I¡¯ve already heard too much of the general principles of the world, of what is right and wrong. Right now, all I want to do is follow my heart. My heart tells me I want to be with her. To be honest, I don¡¯t believe in eternity either, but the longer, the better.¡±

    He shrugged easily. ¡°Till death do us part.¡±

    The wind whistled, the bamboo swayed, and the light flickered.

    Liu Zhangqing had already left. He personally believed he was giving insightful advice, but when a man like that said something like that, it meant his mind was made. His will was as firm as rock, utterly immovable.

    Liu Chuanfeng said emotionally, ¡°Thank you! Thank you!¡± The school of Novels had dodged a bullet.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Thank you anyway. I¡¯ll go prepare lunch to celebrate your formal entry to the school of Novels.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s still morning!¡± However, Liu Chuanfeng had already drifted off into the bamboo building as he hummed to himself, while Li Qingshan saw tears pool up in Xiao An¡¯s large eyes.

    ¡°What¡¯re you being all emotional for? I¡¯m doing it all for myself. Haven¡¯t you heard them? I¡¯m using you, you idiot!¡± Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s little head.

    Xiao An wiped away her tears and took out a pill glistening with golden light from her hundred treasures pouch, passing it to Li Qingshan. This was a buddhist spiritual medicine that the One Thought master had given to Xiao An. It might not have been on par with the Virtue Accumulation pill, but it was not far from it.

    Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m just saying. You¡¯d better keep it for yourself!¡±

    Xiao An insisted, as if she would cry if he turned her down.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose, with no other choice but to accept it. He felt strange inside. He tossed these thoughts aside. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you a nice place.¡±

    In the depths of the courtyard, in the corridor on the lake.

    The rocking chair swayed gently as Li Qingshan held her in his arms. He sniffed her faint fragrance of sandalwood, gently caressed her silk-like hair, and looked at the lake.

    She had her eyes closed, like she was asleep.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing it all for myself.¡± He was not lying when he said that. What existed in his mind were not just noble thoughts of taking care of her and protecting her. With her by his side, he finally would not have to be lonely anymore.

 Chapter 295 â€“ Seeing Hao Pingyang Again

    A flying shuttle shot across the surface of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes, arriving on Cloudwisp island.

    Out of the three people who disembarked, the leader was a burly man with a full beard, and there was a young man with darker skin to his left, and a young man with a long face and slightly swollen eyelids to his right.

    They wore deep, blue robes, and their waist tablets were all inscribed with a single word, ¡°Mohism.¡± They were the trio who had entered the Zombie cave with Li Qingshan in the past to kill the Zombie Daoist, Hao Qingyang, Zhang Lanqing, and He Yishi.

    Hao Pingyang stowed the flying shuttle away and studied the island that was so quiet that it seemed deserted. He asked with furrowed brows, ¡°Are you sure he joined the school of Novels?¡±

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°It can¡¯t be wrong. It¡¯s here. He has already made a name for himself in the academy.¡±

    He Yishi said, ¡°He has made a name for himself for being an idiot. He¡¯s actually bold enough to insult the leader of the school of Daoism. He must be tired of living.¡±

    Hao Pingyang shot a glare at him, while Zhang Lanqing said in a hurry, ¡°Yishi, how can you say that? Qingshan saved us in the past after all!¡±

    He Yishi said with his swollen eyelids, ¡°He was just using us to complete his mission. If it weren¡¯t for him, we wouldn¡¯t have ventured underground, and Jin Yuan and Jin Bao would not have died either.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you here? Why don¡¯t you piss off instead?¡± Hao Pingyang growled. Ever since he had returned from the Zombie cave, he found He Yishi to be quite a despicable person, so he began to alienate him. This time, it was all because of Zhang Lanqing¡¯s persuasions, reminiscing the fact that the three of them had once risked their lives together. As such, they had called him to come with them.

    He Yishi turned his head away and no longer said anything, but he stuck to what he said.

    Hao Pingyang snorted coldly and strode away. Zhang Lanqing sighed and followed behind him.

    He Yishi moved his feet too. He did not come here to thank Li Qingshan for saving his life. Instead, he had come to see Li Qingshan¡¯s miserable condition. The school of Novels? What a joke.

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan!¡±

    The familiar roars penetrated the bamboo forest with true qi, reaching Li Qingshan¡¯s ears.

    Li Qingshan emerged from the courtyard. Hao Pingyang happened to be walking through the bamboo, so when he saw Li Qingshan, his face lit up with joy. He rushed over and patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder heavily and said happily, ¡°You really are here.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Brother Hao, long time no see! There¡¯s brother Zhang and brother Yi too.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing was surprised too. He was also the same as before, still at the fifth layer. He was currently preparing to condense his sea of qi and break through to the sixth layer. Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation speed was just far too startling.

    However, the most surprised was He Yishi. After returning from the Zombie cave, he made a breakthrough with his cultivation and reached the fifth layer. When he came to see Li Qingshan, he was filled with confidence too, ready to savour his dejected look from above and find some peace inside. However, he never thought that the weak second layer Qi Practitioner of the past would break through four times and reach the sixth layer in under a year. He felt more and more uneasy instead.

    Hao Pingyang shifted his gaze and saw Xiao An standing quietly under the eases of the building. He had quite a deep impression of this beautiful child. ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ Xiao An?¡± His eyes were not lying to him, right? How had Xiao An reached the sixth layer too?

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Senior brother, were you really that busy building cannons in the workshop that you haven¡¯t even heard of this? Xiao An is a Heavenly Meridians prodigy. She cultivated to the third layer in four hours, and when her elemental affinity was being tested, the school leaders even showed up to contend for her¡­ Though, she¡¯s at the sixth layer now. Is the rumor wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan gave a short explanation of what had happened. Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing had no idea on what to say. She had completed the first layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual in a single night, defeating the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism, Mind Enlightenment. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan was personally telling them this, they never would have believed it. They studied Xiao An in surprise and doubt, and sure enough, they saw the tablet of the school of Buddhism¡¯s primary disciple on her waist.

    Hao Pingyang grinned. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve gotten to know someone extraordinary. Are we supposed to bow?¡± When regular disciples saw primary disciples, they all had to bow out of respect and call them senior brother or sister, not to mention the fact that she came from a major school, the school of Buddhism.

    In Zhang Lanqing¡¯s memory, the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism, the Mind Enlightenment monk, was an extremely haughty figure. He was unable to connect the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism to Xiao An right in front of him.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s a funny joke, brother Hao. Don¡¯t just stand here. Come on in!¡±

    Arriving in the guest room, the three of them sat down, and Xiao An went off automatically to find a tea set, bringing tea over. The three of them stood up in a hurry again and accepted it. This was tea from the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism. Hao Pingyang was not too perturbed with how he never focused on the minor details of courtesy, but Zhang Lanqing and He Yishi basically felt flattered. They looked at Li Qingshan again, but they saw how he was at ease. After serving the tea, Xiao An sat down beside him obediently, just like in the past.

    He Yishi was completely dejected inside. Whether it be Li Qingshan or Xiao An, they had both reached a higher domain than him. He was filled with jealousy. The heavens were unfair! He had cultivated painstakingly for all these years, yet it could not even rival a year from Li Qingshan, or a day and night from Xiao An.

    After a slight conversation, Zhang Lanqing could not help but sigh. ¡°If it¡¯s the school of Buddhism, then so be it. It¡¯s a good place to join. However, with your talent, Qingshan, joining the school of Novels really is quite a pity.¡±

    Li Qingshan took a sip of tea and said without minding, ¡°The school of Novels is not all bad.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not all bad. This environment is suited for cultivation. Joining the school of Novels doesn¡¯t mean you have to learn their arts. With your talent, Qingshan, you¡¯ll definitely be able to reach Foundation Establishment in the future. By then, there¡¯ll be plenty of good cultivation methods available to you.¡±

    ¡°Just as brother Hao has said.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Hao Pingyang seemed like an unsophisticated person, but he was extremely sharp-witted, and his concern and encouragement moved him too. Zhang Lanqing was a prudent, honest person who did not want to offend anyone as well. Only He Yishi was rather strange, glaring at him. Who knew what he was thinking.

    Hao Pingyang changed the topic. ¡°Have you chosen your subjects?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t yet. I heard there are quite a lot of subjects. I don¡¯t even know where to start right now.¡±

    Within the academy, from Contention island to the various other islands, they all had subjects, ranging from forging artifacts and alchemy to philosophy and literature. They covered everything, and disciples from other schools could listen in too. However, regular new disciples would primarily focus on the arts of their own schools once they joined the academy. Since Li Qingshan was reluctant to learn the arts of the school of Novels, these subjects were extremely important to him. They were also one of the reasons why he had joined the academy in the first place.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Then that¡¯s perfect. We¡¯ll choose them for you. There¡¯s quite a lot you need to know when it comes to choosing. Lanqing, you¡¯ve brought a list of subjects, right?¡±

    ¡°I have.¡± Zhang Lanqing pulled out a piece of paper from his hundred treasures pouch in a hurry. It was covered in tiny words. Every single line was neat and uniform in size. Clearly, it had come from a printer and was not hand-written.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and read through them carefully¡ª¡°Divinations and Symbols¡±, ¡°Identifying Spiritual Herbs¡±, ¡°Explanations for the Yi Wood Method of Living Qi¡± and so on. According to the timetabling, there were over a dozen days of classes. On the back of the paper were the times and locations for the classes, as well as the names of the instructors and professors. Apart from subjects that were directly related to cultivation, there were also subjects on literature and etiquette, or even appreciating music. There was everything.

    This was all knowledge that Li Qingshan required the most. It would assist him in understanding everything about cultivation. He was rather impatient to learn as well, but if he really was supposed to choose from all these subjects, he really would be left at a loss. And, he noticed that there was a price at the end of a few subjects, such as a few subjects from the school of Music. They could only be taken at the cost of a few spiritual stones.

    Hao Pingyang explained, ¡°Some subjects can cover highly important and secretive aspects to certain schools, so they obviously won¡¯t just teach it to anybody for free. Moreover, the professors need money too. However, as a primary disciple, it¡¯ll all be easy. You can take any of these subjects for free.¡±

    ¡°Do the subjects of the school of Music also cover highly secretive subjectives? They actually want spiritual stones too.¡± Li Qingshan remarked in surprise.

    Hao Pingyang smiled. ¡°That¡¯s because most of the disciples of the school of Music are females. If they don¡¯t charge spiritual stones, there¡¯ll be a great group of men mucking around in each subject.¡± He wiggled his eyebrows and smirked at Li Qingshan. ¡°If you have spare time, you should check it out too. Perhaps you¡¯ll find a good match for you! It¡¯s free to you anyway. There are a lot of people who would be jealous of you if they found out.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°How are Qi Practitioners lacking women? Can¡¯t they just go looking outside? I¡¯ve come to the academy for cultivation, not match-making.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Now you can¡¯t say that. How can regular women rival the charm of female cultivators?¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but think of Gu Yanying, and he discovered that Hao Pingyang was right. Everyone was born the same way. There were only so many different combinations of facial features. Gu Yanying was not exactly any fairer than a regular woman either, but every twinkle in her eyes and every smile she gave was just so breath-taking.

    This had nothing to do with the arts of charm. Just like how flaws of the inside would show themselves externally, ¡°bearing¡± was no longer a mere concept. At the very least, she truly did possess the word ¡°qi1¡±.

    However, Li Qingshan disagreed with Hao Pingyang¡¯s suggestion. ¡°Can you still be regarded as a qualified cultivator if you spend all your time thinking about a woman?¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°The path of cultivation is boundless. If you walk alone, won¡¯t it be lonely? If you have a partner for dual cultivation, it¡¯ll be like a combination of the qin zither and se zither2, a complementary match. It¡¯ll bring you great joy, and perhaps, you might even make it a little further. There are many people with companions like this in the academy, like him beside you.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at Zhang Lanqing in surprise. He never thought he would have a partner too. Zhang Lanqing¡¯s darker face reddened slightly in embarrassment.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Whenever we go out for some fun, he never comes with us. That¡¯s the exact aspect that she fancies about him. Heh, honest people never suffer.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have someone too, brother Hao?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile. The idea of bearing suited men too. Hao Pingyang was not handsome, but he was frank and generous. He could be regarded as quite charming too.

    Zhang Lanqing immediately said, ¡°Originally, there were people who took a fancy towards senior brother, but he spends all his spare time in the workshop, and whenever he leaves the academy, he indulges himself in women and alcohol. There¡¯s no one who can put up with that.¡±

    Hao Pingyang chuckled. ¡°My hands are full already, so why would I have the time to deal with them?¡±

    ¡°And yet you¡¯re advising me?¡± Li Qingshan broke into laughter. The Academy of the Hundred Schools was quite similar to the universities of his past life, but with even more freedom. Here, it did not matter even if there was a class you did not want to attend. All you needed to do was give the school leader some notice, and no one would care even if you went out travelling for a few months. You could do whatever you wanted as long as you paid the fees every year.

    However, these disciples of the academy could not be compared with the abundant university students from his past life. They were true prodigies.

    1. Bearing in this case is a phrase in Chinese, ÆøÖÊ. The first character, Æø, is qi.

 Chapter 296 â€“ Choosing Subjects and Missions

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Even if you¡¯re uninterested, listening to their music is still quite a rare treat.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely not going to let that opportunity slip by. If there¡¯s the chance, it might actually turn out like what you said.¡± Li Qingshan licked his lips. The two men looked at one another and smiled.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°You guys should stop. There¡¯s still a child here. You¡¯d better choose your subjects instead! Have you already decided on your cultivation method?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Yep, I¡¯m sticking with the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi.¡±

    ¡°Good. Do you have any interests? Talismans, formations, alchemy, or forging artifacts, which one do you want to learn?¡±

    ¡°I want to gain an understanding of all of them. What would you recommend, brother Zhang?¡± Li Qingshan saw how there were over a dozen subjects related to alchemy on the list, and the professor for each subject was different. Just how was he supposed to choose?

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°You found the right person for that question. Lanqing has basically taken all these subjects before. He¡¯s known for his diligence and studiousness.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing smiled modestly. ¡°All I know is a little bit of everything. However, you should understand them all a little. They might not be very relevant, but dabbling around in other areas can benefit your cultivation too. Though, don¡¯t become overly distracted. It¡¯s best if you focus on a single subject, or two at most. If there are too many, it won¡¯t turn out well.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s possible, I do want to try them all, but I¡¯m in no hurry either. Right now, I primarily want to learn alchemy, with formations or forging artifacts on the side.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He still had a long path ahead of him, so he obviously had to make ample preparation.

    Zhang Lanqing agreed. ¡°Alchemy is indeed the best. Basically all the schools have subjects for alchemy, varying in depth and focus. Though, the best professors are still the ones from the school of Daoism and the school of Medicine. Do you have any foundation in alchemy, Qingshan?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered honestly, ¡°I¡¯ve only made a cauldron full of Qi Condensing pills under someone¡¯s guidance before, and the results were only average.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s still best if you start with the basics. It¡¯s perfect timing with how the entrance examination has just finished. They¡¯ve opened up a lot of classes recently.¡±

    Afterwards, Zhang Lanqing recommended a few subjects regarding alchemy to Li Qingshan, giving a detailed introduction to the aspects that they excelled at and their flaws. He even mentioned which professors were more impatient and taught extremely quickly, how it would be difficult to follow along if he was slow-witted, and which professors were much more patient, preferring to waste time and so on.

    This was exactly what Li Qingshan wanted. He had just fallen out with the leader of the school of Daoism. If he wanted to study there, the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s disciples would probably make trouble for him even if the daoist priest himself allowed it. All he wanted was to cultivate in peace in the academy and increase his cultivation, not clash with others.

    Zhang Lanqing chose a few other subjects for understanding talismans, formations, and forging artifacts for Li Qingshan. They were all for learning the history and common knowledge of a few general techniques within the arts, which Li Qingshan could use to decide what he was interested in. Out of them, Hao Pingyang specially recommended an artifact forging subject by the school of Mohism. He said he wanted to show Li Qingshan around on the Divine Mechanism island when he came for class.

    After choosing these core subjects, Li Qingshan discovered that he still had a lot of time on hand. He was welcomed to choose a few interesting subjects to fill up the space, such as going to the school of Music to listen to some performances and so on.

    ¡°Apart from these, is there anything else to take note of?¡±

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Next is choosing missions.¡±

    ¡°Missions?¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°When we went to kill the Zombie Daoist last time, that was a mission. When we returned, we received quite a lot of spiritual stones as a reward.¡±

    As it turned out, the disciples themselves had to find ways to provide the basic necessities of living in the academy. Apart from a handful of outstanding disciples, they all had to find ways to procure cultivation pills by themselves. The process was not as simple as cultivating in a sect, but the academy would not order disciples around like sects either. Instead, it was similar to the Hawkwolf Guard, directly marking out the rewards for the missions. The willing could obtain spiritual stones and pills.

    ¡°I¡¯m not lacking in spiritual stones or pills right now.¡± Li Qingshan had only used up a small fraction of the resources he had obtained underground. There was no need for him to waste time on this.

    Zhang Lanqing shook his head. ¡°These missions are closely linked to your cultivation. They¡¯re not just for making spiritual stones.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°For example, the most common alchemy missions, which you can accept as long as you can refine Qi Condensing pills. The academy will prepare the materials for you, and all you need to do is turn in a specific number of Qi Gathering pills within a certain time frame to complete the mission.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± Li Qingshan immediately understood. If he was good at alchemy, he could even earn some additional pills with these missions, but if he was bad at alchemy, he would basically be working for free. It might even end up costing him spiritual stones instead. As a new alchemist, there was quite a high chance that these missions would cost him.

    But even if it came at a cost to him, he could still gain a large quantity of experience in alchemy within a short time frame. After all, just collecting these random spiritual herbs would take quite some time. He could not help but admire the people who came up with these missions. Their methods of exploitation were just too brilliant.

    Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Another example would be our mission last time. It provided us with actual combat experience. There are even some missions that test your ability at using techniques. You should familiarise yourself with the academy first, and afterwards, you can take a look in the Missions hall on Contention island.¡±

    The three of them chatted, and time passed extremely quickly. Before they knew it, the sun had already risen to the middle of the sky.

    He Yishi did not say a single word the entire time. He just sat there, glancing at Li Qingshan from time to time. Who knew what he was thinking.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan stopped talking. He glanced at the bamboo forest outside the courtyard. Originally, he thought that Liu Chuanfeng had returned, but instead, he saw a handsome man in black clothes walking through the forest, making his way over to the courtyard.

    Hao Pingyan grew serious. It was the primary disciple of another school. He was Hua Chengzan.

    Why has he come here? Zhang Lanqing thought, but he suddenly remembered Li Qingshan¡¯s identity as a Hawkwolf guard. Surely he hadn¡¯t come here to speak out against Li Qingshan, right? Li Qingshan had joined the school of Novels after all. Despite becoming the primary disciple, it was still not a glorious piece of news.

    He Yishi immediately smiled from ear to ear on his fazed face.

    The three of them were afraid to slight this renowned figure of the academy. They bowed. ¡°Greetings, senior brother.¡±

    Hua Chengzan nodded back at them, basically returning the gesture. His gaze landed on Xiao An, who sat beside Li Qingshan. He was extremely well-informed, so he already knew about what happened on An¨¡srav¨¡? island. If he had not heard it personally from Wang Pushi, he almost would not have believed it. Now that he saw she was at the sixth layer, he sighed emotionally inside. Anyone still bold enough to claim that they were a genius before her would be as shameless as they came.

    He cut right to the chase and said, ¡°You turned down prefect Liu¡¯s offer?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I did.¡±

    Hua Chengzan sighed with a smile. ¡°Well, what can you do now? Though, old Wang has told me to pass a message onto you.¡±

    ¡°What message?¡±

    Hua Chengzan looked back and saw Liu Chuanfeng carrying a food box, descending from the air on his white crane. He said, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood. Clearly, the message had something to do with Liu Chuanfeng, and it was not positive either. However, he truly was an exceptional man to maintain such a demeanour even when he faced Liu Chuanfeng, someone who was despised by all.

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve returned.¡± The white crane vanished as soon as it landed. Liu Chuanfeng halted, becoming slightly surprised when he saw so many people here. He saw Hua Chengzan standing there and bowed automatically. ¡°So it¡¯s commander Hua who has come. It truly is an honour for my humble abode. Please forgive me for failing to welcome you.¡±

    The two of them were both at the tenth layer, while Liu Chuanfeng was even a school leader, but their statuses were on completely different levels.

    The mohist trio, on the other hand, bowed politely. The school of Novels might have been despicable, but a tenth layer Qi Practitioner was not someone they could look down on.

    Hua Chengzan returned the gesture with a bow. He did not show any disdain, nor did he put on any fake act of respect. He looked around. ¡°With how peaceful this place is, even I¡¯m tempted to move in here.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°As long as the commander is willing. I welcome you to move in at any time. There are plenty of rooms.¡±

    The two of them chatted slightly. Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°It¡¯s quite late now, so get ready to eat. Today, I¡¯ve asked the Hundred Flavours restaurant to put in a lot of work. They¡¯ve made me a whole feast. Hold on, my senior brother is heading over right now. You¡¯ve met him before, Qingshan.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Is it elder Sun? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯d better sit in too.¡± He glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°You can also say it¡¯s a celebration for your entry into the school of Novels, Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Just as he had expected, Sun Fubai was also a disciple of the school of Novels. With how even Hua Chengzan called him elder Sun, it only proved that as long as there was nothing wrong with their conduct, they could all earn respect, even if they were disciples of the school of Novels.

    Liu Chuanfeng casually invited the mohist trio to stay behind. He Yishi was rather interested. Not only would it be a free feast, but he could also familiarise himself with the primary disciple of the school of Legalism. An opportunity as great as this never presented itself.

    However, Hao Pingyang declined. Their identities differed by far too much, so it would be quite uncomfortable to eat together. ¡°We still have some matters to attend to, so we won¡¯t disturb you any longer. Qingshan, if you have time, let¡¯s go drinking. It¡¯ll be on me.¡±

    Li Qingshan paced over and caught up to them. He passed a Sea of Qi pill to Zhang Lanqing. ¡°Thank you for your troubles, brother Zhang.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing declined in a hurry. ¡°How can I accept that?¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°If he¡¯s giving it to you, then just accept it! Where¡¯s mine?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s not like you need to condense a sea of qi. It¡¯ll be on me if we go drinking.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m kidding. If I said it¡¯s on me, then it¡¯s on me!¡±

    Zhang Lanqing thanked him sincerely. Right now, what he needed the most were Sea of Qi pills. An additional Sea of Qi pill would increase his chances of condensing a sea of qi by thirty percent. It was basically giving him exactly what he needed at the right time.

    He Yishi was filled with jealousy as he watched on. He was also at the fifth layer now, so he clearly wanted this Sea of Qi pill too. Unfortunately, Li Qingshan did not even glance at him.

    After they left, Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°Was the tall, skinny fellow from earlier He Yishi?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How did you know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later.¡± Hua Chengzan would never go out of his way to investigate this petty matter, but he did know that there was someone called He Yishi out of the mohist disciples Li Qingshan knew, and he was hostile to Li Qingshan. He could guess who He Yishi was from simply glancing at their demeanours.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Acting all mysterious.¡±

    At this moment, a few women suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the courtyard. Every single one of them were first-class beauties, with delicate faces and wonderful curves. They took out the dishes from the food box and placed them on the table. The clothing they wore were very revealing too. They could catch glimpses of certain body parts too as they moved around.

 Chapter 297 â€“ Two Ants

    ¡°It¡¯s all just a lesser path of cultivation, a lesser path I say.¡± Liu Chuanfeng failed to notice it. Instead, he spoke rather proudly. He even glanced at Li Qingshan and noticed his amazement as he carefully studied these beauties. It only made Liu Chuanfeng even happier. His objective was to lead Li Qingshan down the school of Novel¡¯s¡­ greater path of no return.

    It was true. Li Qingshan was studying these conjured women. Their plump, milky-white buttocks could suck in the attention of all men, but he did not just look at that. While these women were smiling, their eyes were hollow, without the slightest liveliness at all. They were like the beauties on game posters generated by computers in his past life, or some kind of detailed blow-up doll.

    Of course, they were much more realistic than those. They were probably characters from Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s smut novels. Perhaps, their performance in bed would be very impressive too!

    However, what was the point of that? He would be much better off by going for an easy session in a brothel. At the very least, it would be with a living person.

    Li Qingshan felt deep sorrow from this. No wonder so many people looked down on the school of Novels. He spent all day using his abilities from the school of Novels to do something so degrading. It was so bad that even the primary disciple from his own school of Novels wanted to beat him up, not to mention the fact that Xiao An was still watching curiously from one side.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice sank. ¡°Liu Chuanfeng, you¡¯d better know when enough is enough!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was annoyed. He was actually treating him so rudely before an outsider. Did he really think his position as a school leader meant nothing? However, when he met Li Qingshan¡¯s furious eyes, he immediately thought of the knifehand strike he had swung down with earlier this morning. His straightened chest shrunk back again, and he said awkwardly, ¡°We¡¯re all intellectuals, right? So can¡¯t we just talk over this? Look at you and what you¡¯ve become. You¡¯ve embarrassed yourself in front of commander Hua! Let¡¯s eat!¡±

    Li Qingshan had already grown accustomed to fighting over the slightest disagreement. Combined with Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s behaviour, he found it all very difficult to adjust to, as if he had done something wrong. He fought the strong, not the weak. There really were not a lot of tenth layer Qi Practitioners as weak-willed as Liu Chuanfeng.

    Hua Chengzan shook his head. It really was uncommon for a school leader for god¡¯s sake to end up like this.

    Sun Fubai just happened to walk in at this moment. As soon as he saw the conjured women, he frowned too. ¡°Junior brother, what are you doing?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng dispersed the women in a hurry. With a clatter, the bowls and chopsticks in their hands fell to the ground. He picked them up in a hurry, conjuring a stream of water to clean them. He set up the table himself with a frown and a pout, like a young wife who had been wronged.

    Hua Chengzan clasped his hands. ¡°Elder Sun, long time no see.¡± There was an additional sense of closeness and sincerity in his voice now.

    ¡°What elder Sun? Just call me Fubai.¡± Sun Fubai grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. ¡°Young man, we meet again. I never thought you¡¯d actually come here.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be a person of the school of Novels either, Fubai.¡± Li Qingshan hinted at something else. This old man¡¯s plans sure ran deep.

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°Sigh, you¡¯ve seen the situation for yourself. The school of Novels isn¡¯t going through a very optimistic situation right now. Surely you don¡¯t blame me when I made you fill in those three words!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Why would I? If it weren¡¯t for you, Fubai, I¡¯d have nowhere to go right now. Although it¡¯s a bit below standard here, it¡¯s quiet, so it¡¯s good for cultivation.¡±

    ¡°You can eat now,¡± Liu Chuanfeng said quietly.

    Sun Fubai raised a hand. ¡°Please!¡±

    At the feast, they exchanged toasts and poured alcohol for one another. Xiao An said nothing, and Liu Chuanfeng could not butt in either, but with Hua Chengzan and Sun Fubai¡¯s presence, there was plenty of talking. Combined with the beautiful scenery of the bamboo, it was possible to say that everyone was delighted.

    In the afternoon, Li Qingshan arrived by the edge of the lake with Hua Chengzan.

    The expansive mist stretched as far as the eye could see.

    Hua Chengzan thought about how he would say it before telling Wang Pushi¡¯s warning to Li Qingshan euphemistically. There was so much euphemism that if Li Qingshan had not been listening carefully, he would have believed that Wang Pushi was giving him words of encouragement.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Even if he didn¡¯t warn me, I wouldn¡¯t waste my time on something like that. Oh right, what¡¯s going on with He Yishi?¡±

    Hua Chengzan told him the entire truth, about how He Yishi had hinted at Li Qingshan being the murderer in his statement to the Hawkwolf Guard.

    Li Qingshan was furious. ¡°What a scoundrel! I saved his life time and time again, yet not only does he not know to show any gratitude, but he has actually stabbed me in the back instead. It¡¯s no wonder why he was afraid to talk to me earlier.¡± He was not a generous and forgiving person. Letting his enemies go without exacting revenge was not in his blood. He would definitely find an opportunity to teach He Yishi a proper lesson and get his revenge.

    Hua Chengzan reminded him. ¡°Killing is forbidden in the academy. If you kill someone here, no one will be able to protect you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll just throw a sack over his head and give him a beating.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to do it, do it cleanly. Don¡¯t leave behind any evidence.¡± Hua Chengzan smiled.

    Li Qingshan smiled too. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something a disciple of legalism should say.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, as the Scarlet Wolf commander of the Clear River prefecture, I hereby declare your arrest! Prepare to be punished under the laws of the empire!¡± Hua Chengzan suddenly grew stern before smiling again, ¡°Is that more like it?¡±

    The changes in his expression were like going from winter to spring. The ice on the lake cracked, and the water spring¡¯s water gushed out, melting the ice unknowingly and turning it into a lake of warm water.

    Li Qingshan could not help but think about a saying from his past life. ¡°There are no women in the world who can resist a smile from Jiang Feng, nor are there any heroes who can resist a gentle strike from Yan Nantian.¡± Hua Chengzan possessed Jiang Feng¡¯s charms from the legends, while he probably could only develop his strength like Yan Nantian1.

    ¡°Tsktsk, there probably aren¡¯t a lot of women in the world who can resist your charm. It¡¯s no wonder that sect master Qiu is so infatuated with you.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°We¡¯re just friends.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re friends or not. If she¡¯s interested in me, I would never turn her down.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°If it¡¯s not mutual, yet you stay together, it¡¯ll only make you lonelier.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I think you just have nothing better to do.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°You can say that.¡±

    Li Qingshan was helpless over how unperturbed he was. He thought of something and made fun of him. ¡°Though, don¡¯t tell me you have some special interests with how you went as far as to offend your friends to help me?¡±

    Hua Chengzan replied seriously, ¡°You overestimate yourself.¡±

    Li Qingshan snickered. He studied him and said, ¡°Surely I¡¯m passable.¡±

    Hua Chengzan could no longer stand it anymore either. ¡°Someone told me to take care of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re finally telling the truth. It¡¯s Gu Yanying, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Hua Chengzan was slightly stunned, or even rather irritated, by how he had suddenly called her by name. However, he had great control over himself, so he showed none of it on the surface. All he did was ask, ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I might not be the cleverest, but I do have some wits about me. It¡¯s impossible for boss Wang to get you to take care of me. He utterly loathes me. The commander loathes me, yet you still need to take care of me. That means that the person¡¯s status is even higher than boss Wang, such that even boss Wang has to listen to them. The only person I¡¯ve seen who is as important as that is Gu Yanying.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Smart. Your analysis is impressive.¡±

    Li Qingshan became carried away. ¡°And, I¡¯m confident enough to say that you¡¯re interested in her.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How come?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re not even fazed when someone as fantastic as sect master Qiu takes a liking to you, and you don¡¯t like men either, so that can only mean you have someone else you like. Even I have only seen a single woman who completely surpasses sect master Qiu in terms of charm. Great commander Gu probably doesn¡¯t treat me with any importance at all, so she probably just told you to take care of me without proper thought. Just a single careless word from her is enough for you to uphold it like strict orders, even going as far as to offend your friends for me. You can¡¯t just call that loyalty to your commanding officer anymore.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°You¡¯re far too modest. You don¡¯t just have your wits about you. You¡¯re the cleverest.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then you really shouldn¡¯t take care of me.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Because we¡¯re rivals.¡±

    Even Hua Chengzan was left surprised for quite a while before erupting in laughter, laughing so hard that he had to lean on his knees.

    ¡°Alright you, Li Qingshan. It has been quite a while since I¡¯ve laughed so hard. Pfft, rivals. Hahahaha! This is just too interesting.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at him with a smile. He was as firm as a rock excavated from a ravine. Clearly, he was not joking.

    Hua Chengzan stopped laughing, but he continued to smile, ¡°Do you know what we look like?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We look like two ants fighting over a mountain. Oi, go away, this is my territory. But we can¡¯t even move a single rock.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Even if we¡¯re ants, as long as we climb as hard as we can, there¡¯ll be a day when we climb to the top of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°Climb? Don¡¯t you understand? The mountain is rapidly growing taller. By the time you take a tiny step, it has already grown ten times higher. Wake up!¡±

    Li Qingshan said confidently, ¡°You underestimate me.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Alright. Then I¡¯ll definitely have to take even better care of you and see just how long you can climb for.¡±

    Li Qingshan was instead surprised. ¡°I¡¯m obviously going to climb until I die. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve turned pursuing a woman into everything there is in life?¡±

    He had set himself a distant goal, and he would be doing all that he could to strive towards it, but he did not treat the goal as his absolute meaning of existence. Whether it was Gu Yanying or venturing beyond the Nine Heavens, if he died half way, killed off by someone, then all he would do was shrug and apologise to brother ox.

    This was both an imprint from his past life and a deep impression he had gained from this life. The hunger and cold in the cowshed filled the boy cowherd¡¯s mind with only wearing cotton clothes and eating meat. Right now, his goals were only equivalent to larger cotton clothes and more delicious meat. He understood the value of these two items more than anyone else. The warmth of cotton clothes to warm a person¡¯s heart, and the delicious taste of meat surpassed all pills and medicines. They were not divine. He could strive towards them with his own two hands.

    ¡°I have nothing better to do, but you won¡¯t understand this feeling.¡± Hua Chengzan smiled.

    PS: Yep, just as expected, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore today. Haha, I¡¯m so young and full of energy, so why would I develop any occupational illnesses- Ah, my hand, it¡¯s so numb, I can¡¯t feel any-

 Chapter 298 â€“ The Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°You¡¯ll regret it when the time comes.¡±

    Hua Chengzan stared at Li Qingshan. Gradually, the corner of his lips curled up uncontrollably, and he broke out in laughter again.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Have you laughed enough?¡±

    Hua Chengzan used Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder to support himself. ¡°Sorry, sorry. I really couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± After laughing for a while longer, he said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to take care of you not just because of what she said. You¡¯re far too interesting. If you were a little more delicate in terms of appearance, you really might be passable.¡±

    A chill ran down Li Qingshan¡¯s spine as he was filled with disgust now that Hua Chengzan had quipped him with the exact same remark.

    Hua Chengzan took off in the wind as he laughed aloud, flying off into the sky. His smile gradually vanished as he muttered to himself, ¡°Is it regret?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and returned to the courtyard. He saw Liu Chuanfeng hugging the jar of alcohol, directly pouring it into his mouth. Sun Fubai seemed to be trying to calm him down on the side.

    Liu Chuangfeng ignored him. He placed down the jar of alcohol heavily and said, ¡°In order to prepare these dishes, I had to pay out of my own pocket. When other school leaders eat in the Hundred Flavours restaurant, the owner personally comes out to welcome them. They can eat whatever they want, and it won¡¯t even cost them a single spiritual stone. Yet, I just have to pay like everyone else. If I try to haggle the price, I get people rolling their eyes at me. What¡¯s all this for? All of this is so you¡¯ll recognise the school of Novels and learn the arts of the school!¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°Junior brother, you should stop saying all of this!¡±

    ¡°Xiao An, let¡¯s go.¡± As Li Qingshan said that, he brushed past Liu Chuanfeng, acting like he was not even there.

    Xiao An leapt up and made her way into the depths of the bamboo building with him.

    Liu Chuanfeng was taken aback. Suddenly, he smashed the jar of alcohol on the ground. ¡°Go, just go. You¡¯re all the same. You all look down on me.¡±

    Li Qingshan abruptly stopped. He said without looking back, ¡°Liu Chuanfeng, please have some dignity, and perhaps you¡¯ll earn some of my respect. However, if acting and complaining like a madman just because you¡¯ve had a little to drink is all that you know, you truly don¡¯t deserve any respect at all. Why don¡¯t you think about the reason why the school of Novels has declined to its current state!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was speechless.

    ¡°Well said!¡± A man with a long hat walked over slowly. His appearance was thin and simple. He was the leader of the school of Yin-yang, Ma Buyi.

    Sun Fubai thought, The Cloudwisp island really hasn¡¯t been so lively before. It¡¯s him who has brought in this new breath of life, but how long can it last for?

    Sure enough, Ma Buyi¡¯s gaze landed on Xiao An. His eyes were filled with amazement and eagerness, ¡°I¡¯ve come for Xiao An. Have you heard of the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Sun Fubai instead exclaimed, ¡°Is it the ultimate esoteric technique of the school of Yin-yang, the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots?¡±

    Sun Fubai gave an explanation, and Li Qingshan learned that the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots was originally an ancient cultivation method passed down through the ages. It was worth even more than the school of Buddhism¡¯s Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, and it was extremely difficult to practise too. Not only did it require extremely sharp senses for yin, yang, and the five elements, it also required the person to be able to wield yin, yang, and the five elements freely. Even in ancient times, not a lot of people could practise it.

    However, once they achieved success with it, they would be able to unleash extraordinary power. As long as they were interested in learning, they basically could use all the techniques of the various elements of the present day. And, the most powerful aspect of the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots was not even in battle, but in divination. They would be able to conduct divination with seven lots, allowing them to know about the past and future and forecast any good or ill omens.

    ¡°Xiao An is the most suitable successor for this esoteric technique.¡± Ma Buyi¡¯s eyes lit up. He was eager to see the effects of this esoteric technique of the school of Yin-yang once Xiao An learnt it.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Xiao An is still a disciple of the school of Buddhism after all. I¡¯m afraid this isn¡¯t something we can decide on.¡±

    Ma Buyi said, ¡°I¡¯ve already discussed it with the One Thought master. He has agreed for her to learn it.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the two different cultivation methods clash?¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He never expected the One Thought master to be so generous, allowing his own primary disciples to spend time and effort on the cultivation methods of other schools.

    ¡°You have no idea. There are many differences that exist among ancient cultivation methods and cultivation methods of the present day. In particular, it differs tremendously with buddhist cultivation methods. It won¡¯t clash with the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual.¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯ll definitely end up slowing down with her cultivation.¡± Li Qingshan immediately hit the main issue.

    The reason why the One Thought master had agreed to Ma Buyi¡¯s request was because Xiao An cultivated just too quickly, which made him rather afraid for some reason. He did not know about the encompassing vows recorded within the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. All of it was just a monk¡¯s hunch.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I think it¡¯s worth it. As a Heavenly Meridians prodigy, it might be smooth sailing for Xiao An as a Qi Practitioner, without any obstructions at all, but once she reaches Foundation Establishment, she won¡¯t have this advantage anymore. And, if she continues onwards, each step will only become even more difficult to take. Clearly, a foundation is extremely important, so why not use this period of advantage to make her foundation even firmer?¡±

    Li Qingshan found it to be quite reasonable. He asked Xiao An, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Like an adult, Xiao An lowered her head and pondered for a while. She glanced at Li Qingshan before nodding in agreement.

    With Xiao An¡¯s agreement, Ma Buyi let out a smile. He was an extremely clever and observant person. Looking at the circumstances, he thought, Li Qingshan really is very important to her. Does she want to slow down her cultivation and wait for him?

    However, that was not Xiao An¡¯s objective. It was unlike what the One Thought master and the other school leaders were predicting either. As a matter of fact, it was the exact opposite. She was worried that they would separate and end up in different worlds, but she was afraid that she would be the one to fall behind.

    In the past, the black ox had once told her, ¡°His path will be extremely dangerous. You¡¯ll need to do everything you can to keep up with his footsteps. If you don¡¯t think you can persevere, just give up on the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty!¡±

    But how was it possible for her to give up? Whether it be the Guardian King¡¯s Method of Demon Subdual or the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots, it was all like comparing a rock to a mountain before the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Her cultivation speed was not actually that fast. Once Li Qingshan transformed, her cultivation would even be slightly lower than his, as the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was simply too profound. Even with her comprehension, each step was extremely difficult to take. All she did before was use the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty as a foundation before disguising herself as a regular person, which was why she managed to achieve the miracle of reaching the sixth layer in a single day and night.

    This body condensed by the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty might have been an amazing Heavenly Meridians prodigy to others, but to her, it was just an empty beauty, no different from the illusionary reflection of the moon in water.

    Compared to Li Qingshan¡¯s dual cultivation as a human and daemon, it might seem like there were two sides to her too, but there was actually just a single path in front of her, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Of course, she could discard that path and only focus on the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. With the advantage brought on by the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, it would be nothing difficult for her to reach Foundation Establishment or even higher.

    However, the requirements that the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty placed on the cultivator were not just talent and comprehension, but willpower and disposition too. If her pursuit of great beauty surpassed her nature of white bones, if she treated the buddhist dharma with more importance than this cultivation method, then this supernatural ability would become much more difficult if she ever wanted to return to it.

    At the very least, there was no one in this world who could overcome this fact. Even with Xiao An¡¯s talent and comprehension, she was unable to reopen a closed door. She still wanted to accompany Li Qingshan to beyond the Nine Heavens, so how could she give up on a mountain for the sake of a rock?

    On the Ice Sword cliff, she too had witnessed the moment when the black ox struck out. She was no less shaken up by it than Li Qingshan. If the black ox was looking forward to a day when Li Qingshan could stand beside someone like that, just what was she supposed to do to remain by his side? The Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual or the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots? Quit joking.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was her only choice.

    As a result, even without Ma Buyi, she would still slow down her cultivation. This just happened to provide her with a good excuse. Moreover, polishing a rock could assist her in understanding the mountain too.

    She was quite interested in the divination techniques of the ancient cultivations, as while the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty did include techniques like that, her cultivation was still too low right now. It was beyond her reach. Right now, all she could do was start with the simple stuff and gain a prior understanding as some preparation for the future.

    Ma Buyi said, ¡°This isn¡¯t a place for me to pass this onto you. Come back to Antiquity island with me!¡±

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Go and cultivate properly with school leader Ma. I just happen to be planning to cultivate in the afternoon.¡±

    After seeing off Xiao An, Li Qingshan was about to return to his room to cultivate with some pills.

    Liu Chuanfeng suddenly stood up. ¡°I- I have a good place for cultivation here.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng brought Li Qingshan into the depths of the courtyard. There was an empty space around the centre of the huge courtyard. The surroundings were all sealed up. Li Qingshan had not discovered this place during the morning.

    There was a formation engraved on the empty ground. It was very similar to the Spirit Gathering formation Li Qingshan had once seen in the seclusion room in the Hawkwolf Guard, but it was much larger and more complicated. The grooves had already been filled with spiritual stones too, and they seemed different from regular, inferior spiritual stones.

    Li Qingshan wanted to extend his hand over, but he was immediately forced back by a great power. He was unable to take a single step towards the formation. He could feel that even if he transformed, he would not be able to smash through this power.

    Liu Chuanfeng took out his waist tablet. The waist tablets of school leaders were different from those of regular disciples. They were extremely detailed. Half of it depicted clouds, but various figures, plants, and beasts were conjured within the clouds. Every single one of them were as small as a mustard seed, yet they were also depicted in minute detail.

    Liu Chuanfeng raised the tablet, and the formation flashed gently, producing a thrum. It was like some kind of mechanism had been activated. Liu Chuanfeng invited Li Qingshan to enter.

    Li Qingshan made his way into the formation. This time, nothing obstructed him.

    As soon as he set foot in the formation, Li Qingshan felt an extremely pure and tremendous energy. It was much more powerful than the energy in the Hawkwolf Guard¡¯s seclusion room.

    And, he could even sense that the formation did not just gather the spiritual qi of the world. There was also some kind of huge, complicated system that resonated with it.

    Li Qingshan was right. It was the tremendous formation that enveloped the entire academy. The formation on Cloudwisp island was one of its components.

    To be chosen by the Academy of the Hundred Schools, the Lake of Dragons and Snakes had always been a rare blessed land, while the islands chosen by the nine standard schools were blessed lands among blessed lands. Spiritual veins crossed through below each island, while the place where they chose to build the formations were on the openings of the spiritual veins.

    Gathered through the formation, the spiritual qi had reached an unbelievable density. It was quite a rare holy land for cultivation. However, only the various school leaders had the right to cultivate there. Even the primary disciples did not have the right.

    However, with how much the school of Novels had already declined, the various rules only existed in name now. Liu Chuanfeng had witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s wealth before too, so he was unable to think of anything aside from this that could interest him.

    Standing in the formation, Li Qingshan gained a deeper understanding of the importance of ¡°environment¡± out of the four crucial elements to cultivation¡ªwealth, companionship, method, and environment. If he cultivated here, it would be countless times more effective even if Qi Practitioners were unable to absorb the spiritual qi of the world.

    And, he could absorb the spiritual qi of the world. His cultivation as a Qi Practitioner was about to take a qualitative leap forward.

    He was unable to completely understand the value of this formation, but he knew that he had to pay spiritual stones whenever he used any facilities according to the rules of the academy. He was just about to ask.

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Cultivate well.¡± before turning around and leaving. Originally, he wanted to use his drunkenness to speak a few words of truth and touch Li Qingshan, but he never expected it to achieve the exact opposite effect. He was completely dejected now. He had already given up on hope. If a person like him practised the arts of the school of Novels, it truly would be a waste!

    Looking at Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s rather lonely figure, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng turned around, and Li Qingshan said sincerely, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng forced out a smile. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You¡¯re the only disciple of our school of Novels after all.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m very sorry.¡± Li Qingshan kept clear tabs on his debts of kindness. He had to pay him back, but he could not waste his precious time on a futureless cultivation method as a form of payback.

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything. I understand. I won¡¯t try to force you into it anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Why must you write those kinds of books?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng lowered his head and clenched his fist. ¡°I don¡¯t want to write that stuff either. You know that the novels I write are, are trash. But no one is willing to read what I write seriously. If no one reads my novels, I can¡¯t gather any power of belief.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just abandon the cultivation method of the school of Novels? With your cultivation at the tenth layer, all you need to do is put in a bit of work, and there¡¯s a great chance that you¡¯ll reach Foundation Establishment.¡±

    ¡°If I do that, I¡¯ll just be a regular cultivator, and the path of the school of Novels will really end for good. The previous school leader, who was also my master, held my hand before he passed away, telling me to continue the legacy of the school of Novels. You might look down on me, but regardless of what you think of me, I¡¯m a novelist!¡±

    With that, a great burden seemed to be lifted from Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s shoulders. He raised his head and murmured, ¡°Master, I¡¯ve done everything I can.¡±

    ¡°Revitalising the school of Novels is not necessarily impossible,¡± Li Qingshan suddenly said at this moment.

    Liu Chuanfeng turned around in a hurry. ¡°You¡¯re willing to practise the arts of my school of Novels?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I never said that.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­?¡±

    ¡°However, I might be able to help you. Though, I do have one condition. Recall and destroy all of those¡­ novels.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng wanted to object instinctually. Those pieces of trash were all the treasure he had left.

 Chapter 299 â€“ The Night of the Rise of the School of Novels

    Li Qingshan roused from his meditative state. By then, the moon had already risen to the centre of the sky, illuminating the ground with a silver glow.

    The moonlight carved up the rows upon rows of bamboo structures into light and shadows.

    On the ground, a pillar of light rose up into the air, complementing the moonlight.

    Suddenly, he realised that he was in the pillar of light. It was the light gathered by the formation.

    Within his sea of qi, his true qi became even more plentiful. Under the suppression of the spirit turtle and the purification of the sumeru ring, it was like a clear, boundless lake, sitting still without the slightest ripple. However, as long as he needed to, he could create great waves in it and destroy everything before him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. With the assistance of this formation, there were no longer any obstacles to him as a Qi Practitioner. He made his way out of the formation and followed the crisscrossing corridors, returning to his residence, a bamboo building by the lake.

    After he had chosen it in the morning, he did not even have the time to tidy through it.

    He was about to stay for a very long time in the academy, so he had to tidy and clean it properly.

    Lantern light shimmered in the bamboo structure, along with a few soft voices. Li Qingshan smiled and entered through the door.

    Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai currently sat before one another. They turned their heads together. ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way over to the table and sat down. He asked nonchalantly, ¡°Have you decided?¡±

    ¡°I have.¡± Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s eyes were red as if he had cried earlier. Agreeing to Li Qingshan¡¯s condition was equivalent to casting aside all of his hard work in the past. It also meant that all the characters he had created one by one would leave him forever, never to appear in this world again.

    Even if they were all fake, without the slightest sense of liveliness, they had accompanied him through countless days and nights after all. If it were not for Sun Fubai¡¯s persuasions, he would have never decided in such a short amount of time.

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°When the sun rises, I¡¯ll order people to recall and destroy those novels.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then there¡¯s no need for that. You can just let them fade away by themselves.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Liu Chuanfeng widened his eyes.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°All I need is your determination. I hate people who don¡¯t want to sacrifice anything and just want to sit there, waiting for someone else to come save them. Fortunately, you¡¯re not one of them.¡±

    As if he had been saved from a hopeless situation, Liu Chuanfeng grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hands and thanked him incessantly.

    After he calmed down, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then let¡¯s begin!¡±

    ¡°How do we begin?¡± Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai looked at one another.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re willing to learn?¡± Liu Chuanfeng asked in disbelief. Li Qingshan had been quite firm with his attitude originally.

    ¡°Not necessarily. I need to understand it first, but there¡¯s a possibility that I¡¯ll learn it. I¡¯m not the saviour of the world. It¡¯s not like I can save the school of Novels without even understanding the predicament it¡¯s in,¡± Li Qingshan said obviously. The principle he followed was going all the way, or not even starting.

    Liu Chuanfeng was emotional, but Sun Fubai was slightly worried. Could it still be revived when fresh, new blood was channeled into this old, rotting body? Or would the blood just go to waste along with it?

    But regardless of all that, the school of Novels that had halted for many years began to advance forwards once again.

    ¡°Senior brother, you tell him!¡±

    Sun Fubai cleared his throat and began the lesson.

    The cultivation method of the school of Novels was not difficult to practise. As a matter of fact, there was not even the need to practise a different cultivation method. Just using the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi as a foundation was enough. All that was needed was to condense a divine talisman within the body.

    Divine talismans could be regarded as a type of spiritual talisman, but it was no ordinary spiritual talisman. Spiritual talismans were documents of the world. Cultivators could use them to connect with the world. However, divine talismans could connect with another special power, which was the power of belief that came from the minds of living beings.

    Cultivators with divine talismans would possess special characteristics that regular people believed belonged to gods. The name of the divine talisman was the Talisman of Great Creation.

    In the distant past, the ancient cultivator copied the twisted shape of the underground spiritual vein. That was the basic form of the Talisman of Great Creation. The first step for a disciple of novels was to condense this divine talisman.

    This was not anything difficult to Li Qingshan. He estimated that he could complete it within ten days at most. His high jia affinity for water played a crucial role here.

    However, this was only the most simple step to a disciple of novels. Gathering the power of belief and strengthening this divine talisman was the hardest part.

    Writing a legendary novel was anything but easy, but in Li Qingshan¡¯s past life, he had witnessed many people achieve a feat like that! He had personally witnessed the birth of many legendary characters. With the existence of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, they would definitely be able to appear in this world alive.

    Then, what was he supposed to do right now? Which book was he supposed to copy?

    Seeing how Li Qingshan was now willing to learn the cultivation method of the school of Novels and that there was no need for him to destroy his novels anymore, Liu Chuanfeng recovered mentally. He said proudly, ¡°You might look down on me, but writing novels really isn¡¯t easy. In terms of writing novels, you probably can¡¯t match me.¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed deeply. He had never been someone who could sit down and write novels. He could not recall all those words from his past life, but even if he did, could it change anything at all?

    Those stories that catered to modern tastes would probably fail to conform to the norms of people of the current age. In the end, they would just be written off as a madman¡¯s spoutings. Even if he managed to create a legendary classic through plagiarism, just how many years would it take before it took off? Even if he succeeded in the end, against all odds, it would all just be about him. It was not saving the school of Novels.

    Sun Fubai had thought of this problem a long time ago. He sighed with worry. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy!¡±

    Li Qingshan said confidently, ¡°I think you¡¯ve been missing the most critical issue!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s novels or the divine talisman, they¡¯re just components to the process. The most critical aspect is the medium!¡±

    ¡°What does medium mean?¡± This new vocabulary left Sun Fubai and Liu Chuanfeng rather perplexed.

    Li Qingshan gave a slight explanation. ¡°It¡¯s the same as the channels of distribution. Even if you can write the novels, it¡¯s useless if no one reads them.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng still did not understand. ¡°If you think that¡¯s the issue, then you¡¯re completely underestimating us.¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan learn that Sun Fubai possessed an extremely large business within the world of regular people. All the major publishing houses of the Clear River prefecture were under his name. As long as Liu Chuanfeng wrote something, no matter how unimpressive the content was, it could be printed in mass quantity using the printers created by the school of Mohism. Then, it would be distributed to the book stores in various places. Every single book could be sold for a low price, or even given away for free, but it was all useless.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    ¡°How else are you supposed to do it?¡± Liu Chuanfeng asked.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I was born in a tiny mountain village. There was not a single bookstore there. I went over a dozen years without reading a single book. You could count the number of people who can read there on a single hand.¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Liu Chuanfeng was confused. It was very normal for those ignorant people of mountain villages to be unable to read. Even regular scholars looked down on these people, let alone mighty Qi Practitioners.

    However, Sun Fubai seemed to pick up on something.

    Then Li Qingshan said, ¡°You said earlier that the officials who rule over a region from the school of Confucianism also condense a divine talisman in their bodies, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the divine talisman is called the Talisman of Great Virtue. It¡¯s actually just the school of Daoism¡¯s original Talisman of Merit.¡±

    Merit was an extremely important concept to ancient cultivators. The difficulty of cultivation and the threats of daemons and monsters forced them to use all the power available to them.

    These two divine talismans used completely different powers from the minds of people. One was belief, while the other was gratitude. After doing good, people would often establish memorial tablets and tend to it daily out of gratitude towards their benefactors.

    Although Talismans of Merit could not turn fiction into reality like the Talisman of Great Creation, it did build up good fortune and could nullify calamities.

    In that chaotic age when daemons ran amuck, luck was even more important than power. Cultivators would often face awkward situations like running into a dog after taking a turn, only for it to be a Daemon General. No matter how talented you were, the only fate that awaited you was becoming a snack.

    What, you¡¯re a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Do you really think Daemon Commanders won¡¯t be strolling around? If not them, what about powerful members of the otherfolk and terrifying demonic cultivators?

    The power of the individual was just too miniscule. Even if they hid for their entire lives and cultivated in seclusion, bad luck would still be unavoidable.

    As a result, learning divination and building up merit became crucial aspects to cultivators. Being able to forecast these situations or being in possession of some additional luck to avoid these situations were critical.

    But in this day and age, there was no need to worry about those situations anymore. Although cultivators still contended and competed against one another, all of it seemed extremely gentle and cute before daemons, otherfolk, and demons.

    As a result, devoting effort into accumulating merit was not particularly useful anymore. Only the worthless disciples of the school of Confucianism would take the path of officialdom, which made quite a lot of cultivators lament over the collapse of virtue and how people were not like how they used to be anymore.

    Sun Fubai asked, ¡°Qingshan, you mean?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I mean you¡¯ve mistaken your identities right from the very beginning. The school of Novels is not about how to write stories, but like the officials from the school of Confucianism, to manage this land that stretches fifteen hundred kilometers and get as many people as possible to become disseminators of the stories.¡±

    ¡°You might think that these people are very ignorant, but since when did we need clever people? Isn¡¯t it exactly the ignorant who believed in ghosts and monsters, which made them real? To be honest, I hold no prejudice against you for writing those things. I just dislike it, but just because I dislike it, it doesn¡¯t mean that everyone dislikes it.¡±

    ¡°I believe they don¡¯t have any particularly high requirements for stories. As a matter of fact, I think they would much prefer those stories that you write to those poems and lyrics written by great confucian scholars. An audience for the literarily supreme can never surpass an audience for the good and simple.¡±

    Liu Wenchuan¡¯s eyes lit up. If he really managed to achieve that, breaking through to Foundation Establishment would become anything but difficult. However, he was still distressed. ¡°But they can¡¯t read!¡± Surely he could not spend a few years teaching old farmers how to read!

    ¡°This is just the most long-term plan and strategy. We might not be able to teach old farmers how to read, but can¡¯t we just teach children? It¡¯s not like we lack money. All we need to do is establish a few hundred or a few thousand private institutions¡­ of hope and teach children how to read for free. There¡¯ll be a day when they become the footstone of the school of Novels.¡±

    Sun Fubai was also stunned by Li Qingshan¡¯s plan. His insight had completely exceeded their imaginations. Even the school of Confucianism that focused on education without discrimination and enriching the public had never thought of setting up these private institutions¡­ of hope, hoping they would never learn to read and just continue their peaceful lives as simple people.

    This plan just seemed so logical. They had only ever thought about how to write touching novels, not how to nurture readers, much less from these ignorant farmers who stood at the bottom of the social hierarchy. Perhaps, it was exactly because he came from a mountain village that he could come up with this idea!

    The idea of private institutions of hope was utterly fantastic. They could even use novels as materials for education, but obviously not with what Liu Chuanfeng wrote. After all, he was the one who was determined for Liu Chuanfeng to destroy these books in the first place. They felt like a light bulb had lit up before them, and as they thought about it, the light bulb turned into a scorching sun very soon.

    Li QIngshan gave them time to digest the ideas. Then he said, ¡°If we look closer, it¡¯s not just written words that can spread stories!¡±

    In the day and age he originally came from, there still were not a lot of people who were willing to sit down and read. However, through the various mediums available, they still managed to create more ¡°gods¡± within the past twenty years than the past two thousand years.

    Sun Fubai¡¯s mind had been opened. ¡°Do you mean?¡±

    ¡°We need storytellers, singers, actors, everyone and anyone who can disseminate our stories. Afterwards, we¡¯ll band them together and form- form an association, called the Cloudwisp association.¡± Li Qingshan extended his right hand; he suddenly closed it before swinging it. ¡°We¡¯ll get them to travel to every corner of the Clear River prefecture to spread the stories we write.¡±

    These people were truly of the bottom class in this world. They were despised wherever they went. Their statuses were even lower than farmers. Who knew how many worlds separated Qi Practitioners from them, yet they needed to use their power right now. Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai would have never even thought of this, but with further thought, they found it very reasonable.

    When Li Qingshan originally said he could save the school of Novels, they were not completely convinced. They were thinking about just trying whatever he said for the moment. But now, they were completely convinced. This idea could definitely work. If they went with Li Qingshan¡¯s ideas, the school of Novels had a future.

    ¡°Stop bending over your desk and writing. Go outside and build all of this. It might take some time, but as long as you succeed, there¡¯ll be quite a lot of people who¡¯ll believe you even if you say the world will end next year. What kind of power will we have then? The power to end the world?¡± Li Qingshan said jokingly.

    Sun Fubai and Liu Chuanfeng had never been so excited before. There was only a single thought in their heads¡ªthe school of Novels could be saved!

    ¡°Fubai, this will be very troublesome to achieve, so you¡¯ll need to use your forces among regular people. We¡¯ll need to recruit as many helpers as we can to achieve this bit by bit.¡±

    Sun Fubai smiled and waved his hand. ¡°It won¡¯t be troublesome; it won¡¯t be troublesome at all.¡± With his age, his cultivation had halted a long time ago. There was no longer a lot of meaning in continuing with it. However, if he really succeeded with this, it would be possible for his cultivation to advance even further and reach a realm he had never even imagined originally.

    The power gathered by the divine talisman was a power that surpassed the conventions of cultivation in the first place. Whether it was for the school of Novels or for himself, he had to do his best.

 Chapter 300 â€“ A New Beginning

    In a plaza, an old man in an old set of clothes stood before a square table on a tall platform, eloquently telling the story of how the founding emperor conquered the tribes of the west. While the passers-by all knew about this piece of history, he managed to tell it with cadence, so it was still enough to captivate the entire teahouse full of customers such that they even forgot to eat the snacks before them.

    Sun Shuping was originally a scholar, but just like most other scholars, he failed to make a name for himself through studying. There was a saying that the most useless existence was a scholar. Once any hope of scholarly or official posts were lost, those who did well would become aides or private advisors, while those who did poorly would start up a private institution and serve as a teacher. Of course, there were people who ended up as beggars on the streets too.

    He did neither well nor poorly. Because of his nimble tongue, he managed to study under an old storyteller, which allowed him to become a storyteller himself. Combined with the fact that he was literate and had read extensively, he surpassed his master in this area. Before he knew it, a few decades had already passed, and he had basically made a small name for himself.

    A series of harsh bird cries rang out. Sun Shuping¡¯s mouth did not stop, but he looked over with a frown. He saw a swollen man in silks enter the plaza with a birdcage. He pushed his way to the front boldly, sitting down right in front of the platform.

    As if it were frightened, the bird¡¯s caws were even sharper now, which garnered furious gazes from everyone. However, they also seemed to be afraid of the fatty¡¯s authority, so they dared not say anything.

    Sun Shuping could not help but stop. He smiled at the fatty. ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t bring birds into the plaza, so please hang your birdcage outside?¡±

    The fatty rolled his eyes. ¡°Hang it outside? Do you know how much my bird is worth? If I lose it, are you supposed to compensate me? You tell your stories, and it¡¯ll caw by itself. Let¡¯s see which one is more pleasant. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be missing out on any money from me at all. It¡¯ll be much more than these penniless people.¡±

    Sun Shuping¡¯s frown grew even wider now. With a smack, he slapped the table. ¡°To be continued! Be sure to not miss out!¡± He ended with this iconic phrase that never changed, leaving with an exaggerated swing of his arm.

    Praises rang out in the plaza. Clearly, it was not just because of the story that he told, but also because of the quality of the storytelling. They tossed many copper coins onto the platform.

    His disciple, Li¡¯l Rock, scurried onto the platform, picking up the money while clasping his hands and bowing. He looked just like a little monkey, which led to a roar of laughter.

    Sun Shuping helped up his disciple in a hurry and exclaimed while pointing at the fatty. ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Keep going. Tell me some more. I have plenty of money!¡± The fatty sneered as he tossed a handful of silver pieces up and down in his hand. ¡°If I support you, then you¡¯re something, but if I don¡¯t, you¡¯re just a damned storyteller. How dare you turn against me? Don¡¯t you know who I am? I¡¯ll pelt you to death with money.¡±

    A golden streak of light flew up from below, striking the fatty¡¯s head before bouncing onto the platform. It was a gold piece.

    The fatty¡¯s head had already become covered in blood. He had directly fainted.

    ¡°Mister Sun? Our boss invites you to meet him.¡± A burly man flashed somehow and arrived right in front of Sun Shuping.

    Li¡¯l Rock saw the gold piece and rushed over while holding his head. He picked up the gold piece and bit it. He cried out in joy. ¡°Master, it¡¯s real gold! And what a big piece it is!¡± His head no longer hurt anymore. He had never touched gold before in his entire life.

    Children that grew up in the plaza were not particularly precious. Sun Shuping felt rather pained instead. Storytelling was a lowly trade. Anyone could curse them if they wished. He had been through plenty of that in the past, but he did not want this child to suffer his entire life with him. He made up his mind to make him change his future profession.

    As he thought about these miscellaneous things, he arrived before a private room on the second floor. He lifted up the bamboo curtain and saw an old man in glowing health seated there. The clothes on him were not particularly fancy, but he could tell with a single glance that they were made out of the best, most comfortable material. He did not give off an air of arrogance either. However, just by sitting there calmly, he stood out.

    With the insight he had developed over many years, he could tell that the ¡°noble¡± before him was not a person who would come to a place like this to listen to stories. It was more likely that he was a cultivator, which made him even more afraid of disrespecting him. He bowed politely. ¡°This junior is Sun Shuping. Thank you for your assistance, sir.¡±

    Sun Fubai studied this storyteller who was renowned in the local region of a hundred kilometers. He nodded slightly. He was satisfied with him, which only affirmed Li Qingshan¡¯s idea. Through this storyteller, stories could become much more vivid and fascinating no matter how ordinary they were!

    ¡°Brother, have you heard of the Cloudwisp association?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Well, now you have. This isn¡¯t a place for us to speak. Come with me.¡± Sun Fubai directly stood up and made his way out the door. Li¡¯l Rock just happened to be rubbing his head with one hand while holding the gold in the other, craning his neck in to peer around.

    ¡°But all I know is how to tell stories!¡± Sun Shuping was dumbfounded. He struggled to imagine just why a ¡°noble¡± like him who casually tossed gold pieces at people, a legendary cultivator, would be looking for him, a storyteller.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s more than enough.¡± Sun Fubai rubbed Li¡¯l Rock¡¯s head. ¡°There¡¯ll be plenty of gold.¡±

    Li¡¯l Rock immediately discovered that his head had stopped aching, and he had stopped bleeding too.

    After leaving the Academy of the Hundred Schools, Sun Fubai immediately gathered the managers of the major publishing houses to give an announcement that they were recruiting people in the various cities and districts of the entire prefecture. At the same time, he personally visited the few most famous storytellers and bards within the prefecture.

    According to Li Qingshan¡¯s plan, the greatest use of these people were not as storytellers and bards, but as teachers. They could impart others with the experiences they had gathered throughout their lives, becoming the very core of the Cloudwisp association.

    At the same time, in a corner of the prefecture, he had also found a manor to serve as the headquarters of the association. Propelled by absolute power and absolute wealth, the Cloudwisp association that Li Qingshan envisioned was established and built up rapidly. However, they were still uncertain about just when it could come into play and how great of an impact it could make.

    As Sun Fubai ran around everywhere, Li Qingshan arrived on the school of Mohism¡¯s Divine Mechanism island, ready for his first class in the academy.

    He arrived below the huge, arched doors that were symbolic of the island. Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing were waiting for him there. The island was covered in various strange machines and tall structures. A group of wooden horse puppets galloped past, filled with a strange sense of vitality.

    They entered a majestic, spiral-shaped structure, which unfortunately seemed more like a turd in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes; inside, it also swirled upwards. They basically stopped at around the height of the second or third storey and entered the room in the centre of the swirls.

    The circular room was like an upside down conch. Quite a lot of people were already sitting in the stepped seating area, discussing with one another in small groups. Apart from the mohist disciples in navy blue, there were also many disciples from other schools in uniforms of different colours and designs.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s bluish-green of bamboo was unique compared to all of them, but he did not stand out in the crowd. However, all Qi Practitioners were people with sharp senses, so when they glanced over, the topic of their conversations changed silently.

 Chapter 301 â€“ Studying Artifact Forging for the First Time

    A mocking sneer rang out from the crowd.

    Li Qingshan looked back with a raised eyebrow. He was unable to tell which ignorant person was trying to provoke him. Was it a daoist disciple under the slovenly old daoist? Or was it a buddhist disciple who was unhappy with Xiao An?

    However, all he saw was a young man in white dressed like a scholar with two pretty girls beside him. Hmm? A confucian disciple.

    ¡°Who¡¯re you supposed to be? State your name.¡±

    Chu Tian sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t know me. This young master is Chu Tian.¡±

    Li Qingshan found him to be slightly familiar. Suddenly, he remembered who he was. Wasn¡¯t he the genius young man who was discovered to possess the Five Elements constitution during the elemental affinity test?

    However, he had never had any contact with him, so why was he so antagonistic? He had no idea about how Chu Tian had lost a thousand spiritual stones because of him, but even if he did know about it, he would have still told him that it served him right.

    Seeing how hostile Chu Tian was, Li Qingshan did not bother being polite either. He said indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t have a habit of remembering the names of small fry.¡±

    Chu Tian furrowed his brows, and he immediately lost his temper. Since young, never had anyone looked down on him so much.

    ¡°Alright you, Li Qingshan. I came here and insulted you a little. All you had to do was put up with it obediently and make me happy, and it¡¯ll be your good fortune. Instead, you¡¯re bold enough to even talk back. You have no idea just how much trouble you¡¯ve made for yourself. I can see you¡¯re quite a man of talent, so if you apologise to me right now and call me big brother, we¡¯ll be brothers.¡±

    Li Qingshan was utterly dumbfounded by this. He really had not seen such a piece of work before. Even his anger vanished. He looked at Chu Tian with a frown, turned his head, and asked Hao Pingyang, ¡°Is there something wrong with this person¡¯s head?¡±

    Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing were dumbfounded too. They deeply agreed with that question. Never did they think that one of the three geniuses from the entrance examination this time, Chu Tian, would actually have something wrong with his head.

    Although Li Qingshan¡¯s identity as the primary disciple of the school of Novels garnered quite a lot of contempt or even hostility, all the people here were new disciples. Just who would want an enemy just for a moment of verbal pleasure? That was simply sheer stupidity.

    However, this genius, Chu Tian, clearly had not considered that. He spouted a bunch of nonsense that even shocked the onlookers.

    A girl beside Chu Tian grumbled, ¡°How dare you speak to our big brother Tian like that? Don¡¯t you know that our big brother Tian is-¡±

    Chu Tian was furious. ¡°Li Qingshan, stop right there! Are you afraid of me? If you¡¯re afraid, then call me big brother, or I¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°In my entire life, there¡¯s only a single person who I would call big brother. Compared to him, you¡¯re like a turd. Stay away from me. Just because you¡¯re a turd doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m afraid to step on you.¡±

    Their argument had already attracted quite a lot of attention. There was a roar of laughter with that.

    Hao Pingyang laughed. ¡°That¡¯s one amazing metaphor.¡±

    Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian were there too. Under the guidance of their seniors, they knew this professor from the school of Mohism taught basic artifact forging the best.

    Hua Chenglu smiled. Li Qingshan was still the same as when she first met him, as haughty and arrogant as he could be.

    Chu Tian never thought he would instead become a laughing stock. He was utterly fuming. Just when he was about to blow his top, someone called out, ¡°The professor is here.¡±

    The disciples all returned to their seats. Chu Tian was utterly furious, but even he was not bold enough to begin fighting before a professor. There seemed to be quite a lot of freedom in the academy, but it still had rules, and these rules were upheld by the school of Legalism, which was renowned for their draconian administration.

    Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing used this opportunity to bid farewell. They could be regarded as senior disciples in the school of Mohism, so they would never waste their own time by retaking these basic classes. They just said that they would look for him after class and show him around the island.

    Li Qingshan stopped paying attention to Chu Tian too. He found a spot towards the back and sat down. The entire lecture hall was structured like a great swirl, while he sat on the edge of the swirl. This habit of his actually originated from his distant past life, which made him sigh slightly.

    However, as soon as he sat down, the space beside him immediately emptied out. In particular, a female disciple from the school of Confucianism basically showed disgust as she retreated seven or eight steps away.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He did not care. Chu Tian¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in his ear. ¡°Do you understand who is the turd now?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. There was a gentle gust of fragrance, and Qian Rongzhi sat down beside him. She smiled. ¡°Nice clothes.¡±

    Chu Tian was surprised. Qian Rongzhi was a woman he had taken a fancy to. He immediately felt like he had just been betrayed. He turned his head away furiously.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Li Qingshan did not shift his gaze when he asked that. A skinny old man with grizzled hair entered with a few boxes in his hands, making his way to the centre of the swirl and standing on the circular platform.

    Afterwards, he began to drink tea without the slightest care in the world.

    Everyone was surprised by this, but none of them dared to talk among themselves. They all communicated using true qi.

    Qian Rongzhi asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao An? Why isn¡¯t she with you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think our relationship has reached the point where we can talk about her.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi became sad. Li Qingshan was unable to discern her real feelings either. ¡°She¡¯s currently in the school of Yin-yang, learning the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots with Ma Buyi. If you have something to say, spit it out.¡±

    Li Qingshan could completely disregard Chu Tian¡¯s so-called provocations from a genius, immediately cursing back, but when he spoke with her, he had to raise his guard slightly. He was reluctant to fall out with her over something as petty as this, and he just had a feeling that her concern for Xiao An was not fake.

    Even if Chu Tian ground his teeth in hatred against him, he would not care, but if he sensed hostility from her one day, then only the word ¡°kill¡± would remain.

    ¡°Thank you. Wei Zhongyuan. Do you have time?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in such a hurry?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi leaned against her hand. ¡°You gotta be swift with revenge, right? I don¡¯t need you to kill him right now either. I still need to plan a little.¡±

    ¡°Revenge? You mean yours or mine?¡±

    ¡°Mine, of course.¡± Qian Rongzhi rubbed her smooth cheek. She wanted to return that slap ten fold, a hundred fold. She said leisurely, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to tell vice sect master Wei in detail just how I tortured Wei Yingjie to death. After that, I will unleash the same method on him. Hehe, now that¡¯s the joys of life.¡±

    Under the principle that the enemy of an enemy was a friend, Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and held back his urge to curse her. What a fucking deviant.

    Qian Rongzhi seemed to be extremely amused by Li Qingshan¡¯s expression, as if she had finally found someone who would listen to her inner voice, and that person would be forced to listen too.

    ¡°As remuneration, I can investigate Chu Tian¡¯s background for you. He won¡¯t just leave the matter like this. Oh, and that female instructor who wants to harm Xiao An too.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see. The old man is about to begin,¡± Li Qingshan answered casually, neither agreeing nor declining. Wei Zhongyuan had to die anyway. As for the female instructor, he would kill her if he met her. It would bring him a bit of pleasure too.

    However, little did he know that in the eyes of regular people, this thought of his made him seem no different from a deviant.

    On the lecturing platform, the professor finally stopped drinking tea. He gently coughed twice with a satisfied expression. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m Meng Xiqi¡­¡±

    The two of them stopped conversing, focusing on the class.

    It was fine when the professor called Meng Xiqi was quiet, but once he began, he did not stop. Words flowed out of his mouth like a river, going from the origins of forging artifacts to the development of forging artifacts. His voice echoed through the spiral lecture hall, clearly heard by everyone.

    ¡°Some people say alchemy, forging artifacts, and so on are all outer paths of cultivation, and they¡¯re not wrong. However, it¡¯s exactly because of these outer paths of cultivation that you can sit here in peace, without having to worry about attacks from daemons, yet those daemons that truly only practise a greater path of cultivation are forced to hide deep within the mountains or underground¡­¡±

    This was basically the first time Li Qingshan had come in contact with the path of forging artifacts, so he listened extremely carefully. And just like what Zhang Lanqing had said, Meng Xiqi spoke extremely well, full of wit and humour and striking great interest in the audience. He was only at the eighth layer, but he could be regarded as an expert in the aspect of forging artifacts.

    After giving a general overview on the history and significance of forging artifacts, Meng Xiqi began to teach the actual path of forging artifacts.

    Li Qingshan was entranced by it. Only then did he learn just how wondrous the path of refining artifacts was. From the initial transformation and fusing of materials, followed by the infusion of glyphs and inscription of formations, every single step was extremely impressive.

    He never thought that these ¡°outer paths of cultivation¡± would actually be so closely linked either. The glyphs mentioned in forging artifacts were different from the glyphs from the path of talismans, but they were identical in nature.

    Glyphs were characters, characters that communicated with the world. Just the common types numbered at almost a thousand, and they had a myriad of effects depending on their combinations. During the process of forging artifacts, the infusion of glyphs was a crucial step, so understanding a little about the path of talismans was critical.

    And, above spiritual artifacts were arcane artifacts, which were inscribing formations into artifacts to produce even more powerful and complicated effects. Qi Practitioners obviously lacked the ability to achieve this, but if they wanted to become a real artifact smith, then they had to know some basic formations.

    Li Qingshan knew he had to revise the subjects he would be taking, but he felt like he had found a direction in the darkness. He was overjoyed.

    Meng Xiqi spoke for two hours before returning to the very basics of forging artifacts¡ªtransforming the state of the materials.

    ¡°A good blacksmith goes through many steps to forge a sword. The basics steps include smelting, hammering, and quenching. They need many tools, like furnaces, large hammers, small hammers, air bellows, tanks of water, grindstones, and so on. However, to us, just a single artifact forging furnace is sufficient, or even no furnace¡­¡±

    Finishing up with his explanation, he picked up the wooden boxes he had brought with him. Inside were many small, square pieces of wood, arranged neatly. He made the disciples in the front row pass them backwards.

    Meng Xiyi requested them to turn the wood into a sphere without destroying the wood grain. The wood was pine wood, so it was relatively soft and easy to mould. In order to learn artifact forging, they needed to be able to mould a substance with their own power.

    Li Qingshan received a piece of pine wood too, and he immediately began to practice with it. He slowly channeled true qi into it, following the method that Meng Xiqi had taught him, gradually fusing the true qi with the wood.

    With the purity of his true qi and the gentle nature of Gui Water true qi that made it easier to control, he succeeded on his first try with this.

    As he began to mould his true qi, the piece of wood began to twist and mould with it too, as if it was not wood, instead becoming gas or water with the Gui Water true qi.

 Chapter 302 â€“ Reincarnated Celestial

    Li Qingshan¡¯s confidence swelled. After experimenting around for quite a while, he finally removed the eight corners of the piece of pine wood. However, the wood grain had cracked, reduced to a mess. Panicking slightly, he could not help but increase his input of true qi, and the wood piece immediately shattered with a bang.

    He looked at Qian Rongzhi beside him. She was not doing any better either.

    Qian Rongzhi casually crushed the piece of pine wood and smiled. ¡°Looks like neither of us are geniuses.¡±

    However, they were not doing too badly. Li Qingshan believed that as long as he was a little more steady, forming a sphere would be nothing difficult. However, he would still need to closely understand just how to avoid cracking the wood grain.

    There were a lot of Qi Practitioners who even struggled with the first step, unable to imbue the objects with true qi even after numerous attempts, so they obviously could not mould the pine wood at all. If they rushed it, then they would shatter their piece of wood too.

    Meng Xiqi sneered. ¡°If you can¡¯t achieve that, it means you have no talent for forging artifacts. There¡¯s no need for you to attend anymore of my classes. Save yourself some time.¡±

    The Qi Practitioners were all proud people, and this professor Meng was only a Qi Practitioner as well, so a few people stood up and left.

    Afterwards, Meng Xiqi smiled. ¡°Actually, I also failed when I tried the first time.¡±

    Everyone was stunned. Meng Xiqi said, ¡°Arrogance is your greatest obstacle to learning. If you¡¯re not even patient enough for this, then there truly is no point for you to learn how to forge artifacts. Don¡¯t forget, talent can be made up for with hard work. Alright, show me what you¡¯ve achieved. Lift them up.¡±

    Many wooden spheres were lifted up into the air. Of course, those who did too poorly were too embarrassed to show their handiwork. Meng Xiqi¡¯s gaze landed on Chu Tian. His wooden sphere was perfectly round, with the wooden grain clearly visible. There was not the slightest crack; instead, it was like it had been carved out of wood.

    ¡°You there. Please stand up. What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Chu Tian.¡±

    ¡°Nicely done.¡±

    Chu Tian enjoyed everyone¡¯s gazes of admiration with pride. He thought, That¡¯s a given. I¡¯m a genius. What talent can be made up for with hard work? That¡¯s all just to trick fools. He even glanced back at Li Qingshan.

    Qian Rongzhi said to him secretly, ¡°What¡¯d I say!¡±

    ¡°These days, there really aren¡¯t as many enemies that are so simplistically cute.¡± Li Qingshan smiled, but he was uncertain whether she understood him.

    There was no break in between. Only after four hours did the lecture end, and only then did Meng Xiqi stop talking. He put his hand on the back of his head and yawned. ¡°That¡¯s all for today. I¡¯m getting old. I get tired just from standing a little.¡±

    The cozy classroom immediately turned into a terrifying murder scene. Cries rang out from everywhere. The female confucian disciple who had avoided Li Qingshan with disgust even screamed out.

    Chu Tian¡¯s expression changed drastically. He never thought he would personally witness a murder on his first day in the academy, and despite his cultivation, he failed to see who had done it or how they did it. He released his protective true qi instinctively.

    Everyone felt threatened in the lecture hall.

    Meng Xiqi¡¯s body remained standing there, as straight as an arrow. The decapitated head on the ground began talking. ¡°Oops, I¡¯ve used too much force.¡± The headless body made its way off the platform, picked up the head. and placed it back onto its shoulders. With a click, it locked back into place.

    The lecture hall was dead silent. Everyone was dumbfounded.

    Li Qingshan grinned. He never thought this professor from the school of Mohism would have such a mischievous hobby. Not only did he teach a class using a puppet, but he even unleashed this move at the end.

    He had noticed a long time ago that the thing teaching the class on the platform was not a living person, but a puppet. It seemed identical to humans on the surface, even giving off the aura of a Qi Practitioner, but the smell it gave off was extremely strange.

    Drinking tea and coughing gently were all for creating a false impression, which fooled many people, but they were not enough to fool his senses. The substance that sprayed out in the end was not human blood either.

    However, he was still amazed by how exquisite the puppets of the school of Mohism were. He must have done this to create an extremely deep impression in those new mohist disciples!

    He also saw that Qian Rongzhi was completely unfazed. Even though her senses were not as sharp as his, he would instead be surprised if she had failed to see through the act. As for Chu Tian, who had become so complacent over the praises from a puppet, no one took him seriously anymore.

    Puppet Meng Xiqi said, ¡°Careful observation and calm and collected thinking is even more important than turning a piece of wood into a sphere for the path of forging artifacts. Anyone can achieve the latter with practise, but those who lack the former will struggle to become an artifact smith.¡±

    The atmosphere in the room lightened up and laughter rang out. Although they knew they had just been toyed with, Meng Xiqi, who was hidden somewhere, still managed to win their admiration. However, quite a few female cultivators were still pale.

    Chu Tian withdrew his protective true qi. His face was bright red. He felt like what Meng Xiqi had said earlier was purposefully directed at him, which filled him with resentment.

    Puppet Meng Xiqi used his hand to point out the disciples that were not surprised earlier, asking them one by one about how they knew he was a puppet.

    Li Qingshan did not believe the puppet had the ability to think, only the ability of judgement, such as which spheres were rounders and which people¡¯s expressions remained mostly the same. All of this should have been due to a certain procedure for operation. This was a piece of cake to achieve compared to puppets made for combat. Its eyes that seemed no different from real eyes should have been the key to all of this.

    When it was Li Qingshan¡¯s turn, he stood up, moved his mouth a little, but produced no sound at all. He sat back down.

    The puppet professor said with great sincerity, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. As it seemed, he was right.

    There was a roar of laughter, while Hua Chenglu secretly applauded him. She had basically gotten her revenge for being fooled earlier. Apart from being courageous, this guy really was rather sharp-witted too. She could not help but think about that rainy night in Lakeside city, where he clasped his hands gracefully in the dark alleyway whilst wearing a rain cloak.

    This memory that had already become blurred suddenly became clear. Even if the circumstances worked against a man like that, even if he had accidentally ended up in the school of Novels, he would still probably become quite accomplished!

    After asking everybody, puppet Meng Xiqi bowed deeply. ¡°Thank you for your suggestions!¡± He pointed at his head. ¡°I¡¯ve already stored it all in here. I¡¯ll have to keep improving it when I get back. I¡¯ll give a box of pine wood pieces to all the disciples from earlier as a reward.¡±

    The disciples that saw through the fact that the professor was a puppet climbed onto the platform one by one, collecting their box of wood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to practise.¡± Puppet Meng Xiqi repeated this.

    When it was Li Qingshan¡¯s turn, just when he wanted to collect the box of wood, the puppet professor grabbed him firmly. ¡°I might be a puppet, but you can¡¯t fool around with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that he was no longer speaking to just the puppet right before him. He smiled. ¡°Yes, professor.¡±

    Puppet Meng Xiqi released his hand and patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve heard Pingyang talk about you. You¡¯re welcomed to come here more often in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed his notes away and made his way out of the huge, spiral structure. The sun was setting already. Before he knew it, an afternoon had already passed by, but he felt extremely satisfied and at ease with the small box of wood in his hand.

    This was his first class. He had finally taken another step forward.

    Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing were waiting below the streetlight across the road. Yes, it was a streetlight. The long pole held up a hazy yellow light, illuminating a large part of the road. There were already insects buzzing around the light.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, stop right there!¡±

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to make his way over, a roar rang out from behind him, which attracted quite a lot of attention.

    He had almost forgotten about this fellow. Li Qingshan turned around and said to Chu Tian, ¡°Kid, what do you want?¡±

    Fighting without permission was forbidden in the academy, while the person who started the fight would be severely punished. And, it was not just physical pain for those who thought they could play the hero. It would include a penalty of spiritual stones too.

    Initially, Li Qingshan had been searching for a peaceful environment, but he felt rather unhappy now. If he were in the wilderness, he would have crushed this kid to death right now. He wanted to see just what trump cards he had apart from his Five Elements constitution and whether they were more powerful than his own.

    Chu Tian said, ¡°I want to challenge you to a gamble. Are you bold enough to accept?¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. ¡°This is too good to be true!¡±

    Chu Tian was instead stunned by Li Qingshan¡¯s reaction and felt slightly anxious, but he soon settled down. Li Qingshan was just a sixth layer Qi Practitioner. Even if he knew some Body Practitioner techniques, there was nothing to be afraid about.

    ¡°Are you going to accept or not?¡±

    ¡°Alright? What are we gambling? Tell me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be fighting, obviously. What, are we supposed to compete at who¡¯s better at being a good-for-nothing glutton? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll never be able to beat you. Haha!¡± Chu Tian laughed, but he discovered that no one laughed along, so he shut up awkwardly.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, sure. Give me a time, location, and the wager.¡±

    Chu Tian said, ¡°The location will obviously be the Main Martial Arts stadium on Great War island. The wager will be a thousand, no, two thousand spiritual stones. The time- the time will be in three month¡¯s time.¡±

    He was tempted to teach Li Qingshan a vicious lesson right now, but he felt uneasy for some reason, which was why he pushed it back by three months. After joining the school of Confucianism, Liu Zhangqing had personally passed him the Great Palm of the Five Elements. He could practise five kinds of true qi simultaneously, giving him tremendous power. Three months were sufficient for him to attain a basic mastery of it.

    By then, let alone the sixth layer, even Qi Practitioners of the ninth or tenth layer would be a piece of cake to deal with. And, Li Qingshan would definitely improve slowly in the school of Novels, so as time went on, victory would be certain for him even without using ¡°that¡±. He could not help but feel slightly proud over his own cleverness, but he began to worry that Li Qingshan would turn him down.

    ¡°Alright. Then in three months¡¯ time it is.¡± Li Qingshan agreed happily. What he lacked right now the most was time. Three months were enough for him to digest most of the pills in his hundred treasures pouch, and it was enough to push his strength as a daemon and human to a new level. Chu Tian gave him exactly what he wanted.

    Just like that, they agreed on their gamble, and Li Qingshan turned around and left.

    ¡°Hey, Li Qingshan.¡±

    Hua Chenglu rushed over and grumbled. ¡°You won¡¯t even greet me when you see me. So much for going through thick and thin together in the past.¡±

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Big brother Li.¡±

    Chu Tian saw how another two beautiful women gathered around Li Qingshan, which only made him even more jealous.

    Hua Chenglu communicated with Li Qingshan. ¡°You mustn¡¯t fight him. You won¡¯t be able to win!¡±

    ¡°How come?¡±

 Chapter 303 â€“ Refining the Cursive Sword Calligraphy One

    This was the first time that Li Qingshan had heard of that phrase. He laid out his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to him anyway, so who cares if he¡¯s a¡­¡±

    ¡°Shh. Fights in the academy aren¡¯t that simple to organise.¡± Hua Chenglu shushed him.

    Li Qingshan saw how many people were looking over. He said gently, ¡°Here¡¯s not a place to speak. I have friends who are going to the Hundred Flavours restaurant with me. Do you want to come along?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard about it from my elder brother too. The school of Legalism has a gathering tonight, so I won¡¯t be able to go along. Anyway, just be careful.¡±

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the younger sister of commander Hua? I never thought you¡¯d be so familiar with the Hua family.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all pretty nice people.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing asked worriedly, ¡°Are you really going to fight Chu Tian?¡±

    ¡°Haha, that kid is begging for a death sentence.¡± Hao Pingyang was completely confident in Li Qingshan. Back then, he had already been extremely impressive when he was just at the second layer, so was he supposed to be afraid of a kid at the same level of cultivation as him now that he was at the sixth layer?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go and get some grub.¡± Though, he did take a note of the two words, Reincarnated Celestial.

    In the Hundred Flavours restaurant, they gazed at the sparkling lake under the setting sun and drank until they were tipsy. The sun had already set now. Li Qingshan returned to the Cloudwisp island.

    Liu Chuanfeng was currently biting the end of his brush in deep thought. There was a single light on the table that shone brightly, illuminating the entire room.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to fight someone?¡±

    Li Qingshan took off his shoes before the porch and sat down before the table. ¡°Yep. Let me take a look at how you¡¯ve been going.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was currently preparing for his new novels. Of course, it would not have anymore sexual content, so it was suitable for distribution through the various channels.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just begun. Sigh, what¡¯s so good about fighting? You might as well just stay home and write novels instead.¡± Liu Chuanfeng snatched back his draft in a hurry.

    ¡°There are two thousand spiritual stones if I win.¡±

    ¡°Go get him!¡±

    ¡°Oh right, do you know what a Reincarnated Celestial is?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng asked, ¡°What¡¯re you asking that for?¡±

    ¡°That Chu Tian seems to be a Reincarnated Celestial.¡± Li Qingshan took out a piece of pine wood and channeled true qi into it, continuing with his practise of forging artifacts.

    ¡°What! You can¡¯t accept his challenge then!¡±

    ¡°Reason?¡±

    ¡°A Reincarnated Celestial. No wonder then,¡± Li Qingshan muttered in thought. He had seen many Qi Practitioners in the past, whether they were friends or foes, but it was truly his first time meeting someone like Chu Tian.

    With Chu Tian¡¯s mental fortitude and intelligence, it was a miracle that he could reach the sixth layer at such a young age. As it turned out, he was the same as him. They were both transmigrators. With how vast the world was, there were countless people with strange, fortuitous encounters, not just him. As a matter of fact, the worlds beyond these worlds were not even exclusive to him.

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about embarrassing yourself either. When the disciples of two schools want to fight, the permissions of both school leaders is required. It¡¯ll be fine as long as I vehemently refuse.¡±

    ¡°No, you will agree to it.¡± Li Qingshan crushed the piece of wood in his hand.

    ¡°You-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll win!¡± Li Qingshan took out another piece of pine wood. He refused to believe that he would be defeated by an idiot, even if he was some Reincarnated Celestial.

    However, he would not be careless either. Increasing his cultivation as a Qi Practitioner would obviously be his main priority, and he had a trump card too.

    Liu Chuanfeng no longer tried to convince him otherwise. He just agreed to it before talking with him a little more. Li Qingshan borrowed Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s waist tablet and entered the cultivation formation. The faint light illuminated his surroundings.

    He took out the supreme grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy from his hundred treasures pouch. This was the strongest trump card in his possession in human form. The supreme grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy had already been terrifyingly powerful before he had even condensed a sea of qi, enough to threaten ninth layer Qi Practitioners.

    Now, he had condensed a sea of qi, which was a critical moment of development to Qi Practitioners. The true qi within his body was no less than ten times more powerful than the past. If he could truly refine this spiritual artifact, he truly believed that there would no longer be any Qi Practitioners that could resist a ¡°gentle strike1¡± of his.

    By then, regardless of what trump cards Chu Tian possessed, all he had to do was unleash the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, and he could show him what was what.

    Originally, he would never show anyone the supreme grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy. It would be no different from a child playing around in the busy streets while holding a handful of gold.

    But now, with the increase in his strength, the relatively safe environment of the academy, and how it was unlikely for the school leaders to just steal from him, he began to consider this. He had to think about the consequences too. After all, he was a primary disciple now, while Xiao An was a supreme genius recognised by all the school leaders too, as well as the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism.

    He was like a child who had finally grown into a teenager, moving from the busy streets to a school. Safety had increased drastically now, so he possessed some confidence in taking it out and showing it to others.

    Li Qingshan unfurled the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and gazed at the criss-crossing inky sword slashes on there. He brought his fingers together on his right hand like a sword, subconsciously waving it around following the slashes on there. He was unable to replicate what Xiao An had achieved, immediately comprehending the sword intent within there, but he gradually felt like he was benefiting from it.

    Compared to when he had first obtained this fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in the bandit¡¯s nest, his insight and knowledge had increased by more than tenfold. He could gradually understand many obscure things now.

    Li Qingshan planned a little. He decided to get down to business first. He held the two sides of the scroll with both hands as the Gui Water true qi in his sea of qi immediately surged, gushing down his arms and into the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    The various strokes on the Cursive Sword Calligraphy lit up one by one, far more than before and far brighter too.

    Refining spiritual artifacts was a special right that only Qi Practitioners who had condensed a sea of qi possessed. It was to use their true qi to imbue the spiritual artifact with their own imprint. After doing so, the sea of qi in their dantian could resonate with the spiritual artifact itself. If they were flying swords or flying blades, then ranged control would be possible.

    Of course, refining a supreme grade spiritual artifact seemed to be a little difficult for Li Qingshan right now.

    After most of the strokes on the Cursive Sword Calligraphy had lit up, it stopped, and his true qi began to run out.

    A blue light flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Obviously, he had his reasons for refining the spiritual artifact within this formation.

    Specks of light, visible with the naked eye, flickered in the formation and merged into his body.

    The sea of qi that had almost run out was full once more, gushing into the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. The brilliance flooded every single stroke, lighting up Li Qingshan¡¯s face with delight.

    Just when he was about to succeed, Li Qingshan¡¯s smile stiffened, and the process of refining the spiritual artifact halted once more, but it was not because there was insufficient true qi.

    Every single stroke on the Cursive Sword Calligraphy twisted and trembled, flickering with instability.

    Li Qingshan thought, Oh no! With a flip of his hand, he directed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy outwards. At the same time, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy unleashed a blinding flash and terrifyingly sharp sword qi gushed out.

    The sword qi was disorderly while the sword intent was aimless, but the Cursive Sword Calligraphy felt chillingly cold in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. The power that a supreme grade spiritual artifact could erupt with was simply too terrifying. If it had been directed at him, it would be a miracle if he was just heavily injured if he did not transform and unleash the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell beforehand.

    The light vanished with a flash, while the sword qi and sword intent were so short-lived that it seemed like they had never existed in the first place.

    Time seemed to stop for a moment. With a few gentle cracks, the parts of the bamboo building suddenly slid around.

    Afterwards, like some sort of mechanism had been set off, the delicate, majestic structure was reduced to thousands of pieces. The structure did not collapse. Instead, it flew apart.

    Li Qingshan felt his vision open up. A fan-shaped region opened up before him. The formation was originally located at the very centre of the building, but now, he could see the bamboo forests outside.

    ¡°Heavens. What are you doing.¡± Liu Chuanfeng heard the disturbance and rushed over. He was utterly dumbfounded by this sight.

    ¡°I¡¯m refining a spiritual artifact,¡± Li Qingshan answered honestly. He even showed him the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his hand. He had already made up his mind on this. If he needed to, he would show the Cursive Sword Calligraphy to others, so there was no need to hide it from Liu Chuanfeng anymore. They were basically in the same boat anyway.

    ¡°T- that¡¯s a supreme grade spiritual artifact. You were actually refining a supreme grade spiritual artifact?¡± Liu Chuanfeng had realised a long time ago that his primary disciple was not as poor as regular Qi Practitioners, but he was still astounded by the fact that he could produce a supreme grade spiritual artifact.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What, can¡¯t I? My true qi is very pure.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Do you have any common sense? Let alone a sixth layer Qi Practitioner like you, even those at the tenth layer can¡¯t refine a supreme grade spiritual artifact. This isn¡¯t an issue of whether your true qi is pure enough. Instead, it has exceeded the abilities of Qi Practitioners. It¡¯s something that only Foundation Establishment cultivators can accomplish.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°But Xiao An could use the supreme grade Guardian King¡¯s pearl the moment she received it.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Using is one thing, refining is another. Do you know what they call Xiao An in the academy?¡±

    ¡°What do they call her?¡±

    ¡°A deviant, a monster.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just what mediocre people think,¡± Li Qingshan said disdainfully, but he also understood that he probably could not rely on breaking this trend for now, seeing how he practised the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi.

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re bold enough to fight Chu Tian.¡± Liu Chuanfeng glanced at the half-destroyed building again. He was still shaken. He might be a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, but if he began fighting him, the person to die would definitely not be Li Qingshan. Even if he could not refine it, just how many Qi Practitioners could oppose him as long as he used it?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I obviously wouldn¡¯t agree to a battle that I¡¯m not prepared for. He has trump cards, so why can¡¯t I have some too?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, looks like I need to put up another mission to get the disciples of mohism to come fix this place. The measly sum of spiritual stones the higher-ups give aren¡¯t even enough for me to collect material in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.¡± Liu Chuanfeng sighed before he wiggled his eyebrows at Li Qingshan. ¡°Look, my dear disciple, when you win two thousand spiritual stones, why don¡¯t you invite your master to a session of joy?¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°Who¡¯s supposed to be your dear disciple? Let me tell you, you better stop visiting places like that in the future. I¡¯m on bad terms with the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Who knows, they might end up kidnapping you in order to get me. If that ever happens, I¡¯m not even going to bother with their demands.¡±

    ¡°I have forgotten that, but don¡¯t talk nonsense. I¡¯m still a school leader after all, so how could they lay their hands on me?¡±

 Chapter 304 â€“ Refining the Cursive Sword Calligraphy Two

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You can resist Qiu Haitang¡¯s mesmerisation?¡±

    ¡°T- obviously not. Alright, I¡¯ll do what you say. You¡¯re the big brother in charge then, alright?¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯re brothers from here on out.¡± As Li Qingshan said that, he thought of what Chu Tian had said to him and could not help but burst out laughing. His tiny bit of depression from failing to refine the Cursive Sword Calligraphy vanished too.

    ¡°You have no respect for your seniors at all.¡± Liu Chuanfeng put on an angry face, but he laughed along too.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, Liu Chuanfeng was riddled with flaws, but there was something good to him. He did not have any haughtiness about him. Perhaps he had grown accustomed to this due to all the abuse he had suffered, but he lacked an air of arrogance and self-importance that regular Qi Practitioners possessed.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How many spiritual stones does the school of Novels receive every month right now?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng crouched down outside the formation. ¡°If it¡¯s right now, then I get around twenty each month. Oh right, you¡¯re a primary disciple, so you can collect ten spiritual stones each month too. Combined with the amount for disciples who handle management, the school receives roughly forty spiritual stones.¡±

    ¡°That sure is pitiful.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head, but then he remembered he was collecting over twenty spiritual stones each month for doing nothing, all the while occupying this wonderful place for cultivation. It was no wonder the academy wanted to get rid of him.

    Liu Chuanfeng refuted, ¡°That¡¯s just how much a Qi Practitioner school leader receives! The main reason is because there aren¡¯t enough disciples!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How is it calculated exactly?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°That¡¯ll be complicated. The amount mainly depends on the quantity and cultivation of the disciples. It can also be increased through completing missions and triumphing in various competitions. On the other hand, if disciples break the rules, then it¡¯ll be reduced.¡±

    ¡°Anyways, the more a school develops, the higher the salary the school leader will receive, and the more resources they will be able to allocate. Sigh, if we can reach the same level as the school of Buddhism, I¡¯d give you a supreme grade spiritual artifact for free too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m putting that on record. Let¡¯s do everything we can together!¡± Li Qingshan gained a new understanding of the school of Novels¡¯ predicament. It was a tough start, but it also represented vast future prospects. The pie was small, but there was no need for him to share it with so many fellow disciples, so the share he received might not necessarily be smaller than the disciples of the major schools.

    However, all of this was built off the assumption that the pie could grow bigger. Li Qingshan was very confident about this too.

    Although novelists could turn fiction into reality, the ability was held back by two factors. One was the power of beliefs, while the other was the cultivator themselves. The former was like electricity, while the latter was like a motor. No matter how much electrical energy there was, if the motor was insufficient, then it still would not be able to convert it into electromotive force.

    ¡°Go write your novels!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand with a smile. Since he had already become a disciple of the school of Novels, he had the responsibility to prop up the school of Novels as long as it did not get in the way of his cultivation.

    After Liu Chuanfeng left, Li Qingshan stowed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy away with a slight feeling of pity. Afterwards, he took out another scroll of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    He possessed a total of three scrolls of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy right now. One was at the supreme grade, one was at the high grade, and one was at the mid grade.

    The one he had taken out right now was the high grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy he had obtained from the masked man. He had already refined a high grade spiritual artifact before, the Clear Stream sword, so he was filled with confidence right now.

    Fifteen minutes later, several dozen strands of sword qi shot into the night sky, and Li Qingshan failed once again. He began to find this rather difficult to accept, as he had clearly succeeded in the past before. However, with some thought, he understood the reason for his failure.

    Although he had successfully refined the Clear Stream sword, that was because the sword was of the water element in the first place, and he practised Gui Water true qi. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression had granted him extraordinary senses for the water element too, which was why he had managed to refine it so easily.

    Without his various advantages, refining a high grade spiritual artifact as a sixth layer Qi Practitioner was not that easy. Normally, they all used mid grade spiritual artifacts.

    However, Li Qingshan did not become dejected. In the next moment, he took out the weakest fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, which was originally known as the Sword Qi Calligraphy. He had purchased it in the auction hosted by the school of Miscellany. It was only a mid grade spiritual artifact.

    Li Qingshan exhaled gently and calmed himself from his arrogance. Perhaps he should have started with the weakest Cursive Sword Calligraphy. He had been a little too eager for easy success.

    As his true qi flowed in, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy lit up, but before he could even celebrate, the light suddenly began to tremble, approaching collapse once again. Although it was just a mid grade spiritual artifact, normal mid grade spiritual artifacts could not compare to it in terms of explosiveness.

    But Li Qingshan stayed put, staring straight at the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. The flickering stabilised once more. Not only did it stop spreading outwards, but it even began to withdraw slowly.

    Li Qingshan suddenly saw the twisted strokes begin to move.

    No, the strokes were not moving. Instead, there were countless swords swinging about. These strokes were the trajectories the swords had left behind, like footprints left behind in a desert.

    However, compared to the traveller itself, these deep footprints were so temporary and insignificant. Li Qingshan had no idea who the author was, but he felt admiration from the bottom of his heart. When the black ox had praised the author of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he was still unable to comprehend the implications. Just how impressive was he to earn the recognition of brother ox?

    Now, he had begun to understand. Perhaps this sword style was not something that should have appeared in this world.

    As he felt amazed, Li Qingshan finally completed the refinement of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, but before he could even relax, something happened. Several dozen strands of sword qi abruptly swept backwards, rushing into his sea of qi along his meridians.

    With the entry of the sword qi, the sea of qi immediately began to churn and ache.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡± Li Qingshan growled, and the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core appeared. The several dozen strands of sword qi were firmly suppressed, completely immobilised. However, they refused to shatter under such pressure. They were almost solid from how consolidated they were, drifting around in his sea of qi.

    Still shaken, Li Qingshan felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

    If his original form were not a huge, powerful daemon, his meridians would have been in pieces already. If he did not know the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he probably would not have been able to avoid the fate of death either.

    He never thought there would actually be such a vicious trap within the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Now, he felt extremely relieved that he had failed to refine the supreme grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Even he was reluctant to imagine the consequences of several dozen strands of raging sword qi with the power to destroy over a dozen bamboo structures erupting in his body.

    He had basically witnessed the dangers of the path of cultivation once again. He could understand how his predecessors who had obtained the Cursive Sword Calligraphy before him all felt when they refined the spiritual artifact happily, only to be slain instantly.

 Chapter 305 â€“ Sword Qi in the Dantian

    A sword.

    Among the countless swords that had once danced before him, one of them had condensed in his mind. It was pitch-black like ink, swinging around freely.

    Li Qingshan sensed something. He felt the formation and arrived in the bamboo forest, fishing out a sword from his hundred treasures pouch.

    His arm drooped down naturally with the tip of the sword pointing towards the ground. Suddenly, like a willow leaf in the wind, he lifted it high up, pointing it straight at the sky.

    Nearby, an old stalk of bamboo split open from bottom to top.

    Li Qingshan was not in a state to be amazed. The ink sword in his mind suddenly fell.

    Li Qingshan moved with the sword, turning around and slicing vertically. The sword qi shot off as blurs, causing a region of bamboo to collapse with a series of thuds.

    Right now, the person was not controlling the sword. Instead, the sword was controlling the person.

    Li Qingshan leapt about freely according to the dancing sword in his mind like he was a monkey. The sword in his hand vanished. Only his surroundings flickered with specks of light.

    Wherever it went, it was unstoppable. The sword moves and sword intent were extremely sharp.

    Numerous blurs suddenly gathered together. Li Qingshan held the sword right in front of him, stroking past the flat of the sword with two fingers. The cold, blue light shone past his resolute face.

    As it turned out, the greatest use of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy was not for defeating opponents, but to store and pass on this cultivator¡¯s path of the sword.

    As for the sword qi that had infiltrated his body, they were not a vicious trap, but a method for future generations to comprehend the sword intent, as well as a test!

    If they had Xiao An¡¯s talent and could comprehend the sword intent to such a level from just looking at the calligraphy, then even if the sword qi infiltrated their body, they could control it freely. However, if they were mediocre people, then they would be unworthy of this legacy.

    However, Li Qingshan could not help but guess that this cultivator probably never expected his Cursive Sword Calligraphy would be split into so many fragments. However, if it were the complete Cursive Sword Calligraphy, just how terrifying would the test be?

    The small, inky-black sword in his mind probably would not be as simple as just dancing around a few times. Just the terrifying sword intent it would emanate with would be enough to instantly annihilate the consciousness of regular cultivators.

    He sure had gotten his hands on something impressive.

    Li Qingshan suddenly smiled. He tossed the sword aside, which stabbed into a rock.

    He leapt up and pushed off a few tender bamboo branches, arriving on the east of the island in just a few steps. There was a small, jagged outcrop of rock.

    A cricket had originally been rubbing its wings, letting out a loud chirp. Now, it had completely fallen silent. It fell off the rocks. There was not a single trace on its body, while the entire outcrop of insect cries had been reduced to silence. They had been slain by the scattered sword intent.

    As it turned out, this was the correct way to use the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    Li Qingshan understood now. He channeled his true qi into the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and allowed it to flow back into his body, hiding in his dantian. If he suddenly erupted with it while fighting an enemy, just how startling would the power be?

    Of course, if he comprehended the path of the sword in the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he obviously would not be harmed by the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Li Qingshan was currently using a high-handed method of forcefully suppressing the sword qi.

    However, he believed that while he was not a genius, he was not an idiot either. He had already refined it now, so as long as he spent some time on it, he could obviously comprehend the path of the sword in the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Of course, it would just be whatever the mid grade spiritual artifact contained.

    An idea randomly flashed through his head. Li Qingshan suddenly understood why the Cursive Sword Calligraphy had been split up into so many fragments. He also understood how to merge them back together.

    It was exactly because people could not withstand the complete test of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy that it had been split up. There was no need for him to be proficient in forging artifacts. All he needed to do was refine the Cursive Sword Calligraphies one by one and merge the sword qi in his dantian. After that, he would be able to achieve the same effects as merging the fragments together.

    Li Qingshan took out another fragment, the high grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy. As long as he could refine two of them, he was confident that he could defeat any Qi Practitioner, let alone Chu Tian.

    However, he needed to comprehend the path of the sword in the mid grade Cursive sword Calligraphy first. It was a pity that Xiao An was not here, or she definitely would be able to help him out.

    Perhaps she had sensed his calling, as Li Qingshan saw Xiao An rushing over when he looked back, arriving before him and smiling at him.

    In the school of Yin-yang, Ma Buyi had placed his long hat to one side. He was in a slight daze. Due to the complexity of the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots, he was prepared to spend several months teaching it to her.

    The Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots was split into seven main parts. The depth and complexity of each part surpassed the five elements cultivation methods like the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi by several fold. As for completely merging the seven parts, the difficulty would compound even further.

    Ma Buyi finished explaining the first part to her in great detail and care. He was just about to go into detail about the wonders of the part.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Please continue.¡±

    Ma Buyi frowned, but upon considering the fact that sitting right before him was a rare prodigy that seldomly appeared even across a century, he thought maybe it would be easier for him to teach her after she had learned the entire cultivation method. As a result, he explained the entire Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots to her.

    However, before he could tell her anything else, Xiao An had piped up. ¡°Is there anymore?¡±

    Ma Buyi answered, ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Xiao An stood up and bowed before turning around and leaving. She was anxious to see Li Qingshan. Ever since they had come to the academy, it seemed like the time they spent apart had increased. She disliked it very much.

    Ma Buyi asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there no more?¡±

    Ma Buyi asked, ¡°Do you understand it?¡±

    Xiao An replied, ¡°A bit.¡±

    Ma Buyi immediately quizzed her with a few questions. She replied smoothly without batting an eye. She had truly understood ¡°a bit¡±.

    Of course, this did not mean she had completely grasped the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots. The parts of greater depth required her to slowly comprehend as she cultivated. They were not something she could understand from just a short explanation.

    As a result, despite only knowing ¡°a bit¡±, she answered very accurately. However, in order to reach this level of understanding ¡°a bit¡± in the past, the time Ma Buyi spent under the careful guidance of his master had to be calculated with years.

    Now, he could finally understand a little bit of what the One Thought master was thinking. Having a disciple like this basically made him, the master, feel defeated for some reason.

    He refused to accept it. ¡°It¡¯s easier said than done. You need to actually achieve it through cultivation.¡±

    As a result, all Xiao An could do was sit down. Because it was not the buddhist dharma, she was unable to practise it as swiftly as the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. After spending a whole day and night, she gained a basic grasp over the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots.

    Ma Buyi waved his hand in a daze. ¡°You can go. If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand, come find me.¡±

    Xiao An bowed again before turning around and leaving.

    She tread over the waves as her sleeves fluttered in the wind. As soon as she arrived on Cloudwisp island, she spotted Li Qingshan¡¯s location with a single glance and smiled sweetly.

    Li Qingshan immediately asked Xiao An about the path of the sword within the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Sure enough, Xiao An had not refined any of them, but her comprehension of the path of the sword hidden within had surpassed Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan listened to her explanation and immediately felt like he had benefited tremendously. She had also gained quite a lot of inspiration from Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehensions through physical practice, which allowed her swordsmanship to improve yet again.

    However, comprehension was one of the most complicated feelings out there. Even Xiao An was unsure of how to explain it to Li Qingshan at times, so she would just pick up the sword and spar with Li Qingshan using the sword style from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    For days and nights on end, a large and small figure chased one another and clashed within the jade-green sea of bamboo. The swords collided together and thrummed as large portions of the bamboo forest collapsed.

    Liu Chuanfeng was pained just from the sight of it. He had just spent quite a lot of spiritual stones and issued a mission for the destroyed bamboo buildings. If this continued, the two of them would probably shave the tranquil Cloudwisp island bald of any vegetation.

    He was thinking it was the two of them, but actually, it was just Li Qingshan alone. Xiao An¡¯s sword strokes were powerful, but they were extremely focused. She would not touch a single branch or leaf unless she had to.

    However, after just a few days, the amount of bamboo felled decreased drastically. Only then did Liu Chuanfeng stop worrying.

    After another dozen or so days, bamboo shoots burst out of the earth during a spring drizzle.

    The spring breeze danced, the sea of bamboo swayed, and the sky was filled with fine rain.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An stood within the rain. The landscape in the distance blurred within the rain, like it stood within an ink painting.

    They wielded bamboo swords, sometimes close together and sometimes far away. Their swords rarely ever clashed. Every single movement they made seemed like they were mentally connected, cooperating with one another perfectly. They no longer seemed like they were clashing swords, but dancing together.

    In the very beginning, Li Qingshan wielded a low grade spiritual artifact sword. Afterwards, he switched to inferior spiritual artifacts, then a regular sword, followed by the current bamboo sword.

    He even sourced his materials from the bamboo forest below his feet. He had personally created it using his arts of forging artifacts. This obviously was not so that he could act cool. Instead, as his control over sword qi increased, his requirement for the material quality decreased.

    If it were the Li Qingshan of the past, probably even a metal sword would be reduced to dust in his hands.

    Now, it demonstrated that he had finally comprehended and gained control over the path of the sword within the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    Though, when it came to actual fighting, it would obviously be better if his weapon was more powerful. Against an actually powerful opponent, trying to pull something like ¡°No sword in hand, but a sword in the heart¡± was just looking for death.

    Li Qingshan was relieved. He had finally digested the complete path of the sword within the first fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. There was no need to use the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas anymore. The sword qi swam around freely in his sea of qi like fish.

    He suddenly called out, ¡°Xiao An, use your full strength.¡±

    The bamboo sword vanished, turning into a wave of sword qi. Some of them were heavy, some light, some slow, some fast, some straight, some twisted. This was the first time Li Qingshan had comprehended the delicate differences among them. He no longer unleashed all of them at once like a swarm of bees.

    Xiao An smiled. Golden light erupted from her body, and the guardian king planted its sword into the ground, standing as firmly as a mountain.

    Cling! Clang! The sounds rang out like a bell. However, only the few heavy strands of sword qi managed to leave behind some shallow marks on the guardian king avatar. The rest failed to achieve anything.

    ¡°The cultivation methods of buddhism are basically cheating.¡± Li Qingshan grinned. It was obviously no issue for these sword qi to pierce protective sword qi, but it was impossible for them to get through Xiao An¡¯s avatar.

 Chapter 306 â€“ Secluded Cultivation Below the Island

    Li Qingshan took out another piece of Cursive Sword Calligraphy. With the foundation from refining the mid grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he was confident he already possessed the ability to refine this fragment.

    However, he still ended up stowing it away again after hesitating for quite a while.

    The infiltration of sword qi was easy to deal with, but when the sword intent invaded his mind, it would be far too dangerous.

    The head, also known as the spirit platform within the world of cultivation, even surpassed the dantian and the sea of qi in terms of importance for cultivation.

    And, it was extremely fragile too. If his meridians were torn to shreds and his dantian was destroyed, there was still hope for him to repair them, but once his mind was injured, he would become psychotic at best.

    He was not in any life-threatening danger right now, so there was no need for him to take this risk.

    At this moment, the bug pouch on his waist writhed. Li Qingshan opened it and let out Milliped.

    Milliped had grown much longer. He moved his body about and scurried through the bamboo forest rapidly as soon as he emerged. ¡°I¡¯m getting smothered to death.¡±

    Spring and summer had always been the times when insects were the most lively. It was obviously very uncomfortable for him to be trapped in the bug pouch.

    Li Qingshan felt slightly ashamed. Ever since he had entered the academy, he had been occupied, and he had even been more busy than usual lately. He had been focusing on the path of the sword, so he ended up neglecting his friend, Milliped.

    After letting out Milliped for some exercise, he opened the bug pouch. ¡°Just bear with it a little longer. I¡¯ll bring you some good food later.¡±

    He returned to the courtyard of the school of Novels, and Liu Chuanfeng demanded, ¡°You¡¯re back. Give me two thousand spiritual stones.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Two thousand spiritual stones for what?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng smiled. ¡°For the battle with Chu Tian, obviously. Liu Zhangqing has already agreed to it. You really need to thank me properly this time around.¡±

    Li Qingshan counted out two thousand spiritual stones and handed it to him. He asked in confusion, ¡°Why do I have to thank you?¡±

    As it turned out, Liu Zhangqing had originally disagreed with the battle between Chu Tian and Li Qingshan when he heard about it in the school of Confucianism. As the lord prefect of the region, he did have some honour about him. This matter would affect Chu Tian and Xiao An too, the two geniuses of the academy. He was reluctant to create any internal trouble.

    And, this matter involved more than a single school in the academy.

    Li Qingshan had no idea on how to react. If they could not fight, then they could not fight. It was not like he had any particularly deep grievances with Chu Tian. Liu Chuanfeng sure was impressive in this aspect.

    During this time, Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing had come to visit too. They came twice. They wanted to ask him why he was not attending class, but when they saw how he was working hard on his swordsmanship, they left without disturbing him.

    They also knew about the gamble going on between Li Qingshan and Zhu Tian. Right now, increasing his personal strength was obviously the priority, so he could only set forging artifacts aside for now.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Fubai still hasn¡¯t returned?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Senior brother has sent back a message. He has basically set up the structure already, and the Cloudwisp association is almost ready for opening. He has invited both of us over to celebrate later!¡±

    Li Qingshan admired Sun Fubai¡¯s ability very much. In such a large world, he was able to mobilise so many resources and achieve this step in just twenty odd days. It really was impressive.

    If he were responsible for this, he probably could not finish it even if he had half a year. It had nothing to do with his intelligence. Instead, he lacked experience and contacts. It sure lived up to the saying that old people were like living treasure.

    ¡°Very good. Though, I might not be able to attend the opening ceremony. I¡¯m preparing to cultivate in seclusion for a while.¡±

    ¡°Seclusion!¡± Liu Chuanfeng immediately understood that this was for the battle with Chu Tian.

    Li Qingshan, on the other hand, thought of several other things. Milliped was his friend, not his mount or pet. He could not keep his friend trapped in the bug pouch all day long.

    Though, the battle with Chu Tian definitely was one of the reasons. His original plan was to ingest pills slowly while learning how to forge artifacts and refine pills so that he could accumulate even more knowledge and resources, guaranteeing that he would not run out of pills. However, he changed his mind now. Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°I think you told me that there are special dwellings of secluded cultivation on the main island?¡± There were many facilities on the island, and the primary disciple could use all of them for free. The cultivation dwellings were included among them.

    Liu Zhuanfeng said, ¡°Can¡¯t you just cultivate here? The spiritual qi there isn¡¯t even as abundant as here.¡±

    ¡°I have my plans.¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived on Contention island with Xiao An and found the instructor responsible for managing the cultivation dwellings.

    The instructor saw how it was two primary disciples who wanted to choose a cultivation dwelling. If it were just Li Qingshan, then so be it, but Xiao An had shaken up the entire academy before, so the instructor showed them all the respect that he had.

    ¡°Are you planning to enter seclusion separately or together?¡±

    ¡°Together.¡±

    ¡°Please come with me then.¡± The instructor did not ramble. He brought the two of them into a hall. The tiles trembled before rapidly sinking down.

    There was actually a huge hole dug out in Contention island. It was divided into over a dozen floors. Each floor had many cultivation dwellings for the disciples of various schools to use, and every single dwelling was firmly sealed, covered in numerous formations, preventing them from sensing any aura of others.

    Li Qingshan sensed that the closer he got to the bottom, the denser the spiritual qi became. The surging spiritual qi blew upwards like wind.

    Only when they reached the very bottom of the hole did they stop.

    The instructor passed a round disc to Li Qingshan. ¡°This is the disc. This is the lowest floor. There¡¯s only a single cultivation dwelling here. It has the best spiritual qi formations, and it¡¯s extremely spacious too. You won¡¯t be able to affect one another if you cultivate in there together. If regular disciples wanted to use it, it¡¯d cost them over a dozen spiritual stones for just a single day.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Is it possible for people to spy on what¡¯s going on inside from the outside?¡±

    The instructor said, ¡°It¡¯s impossible. Not only are there several formations serving as obstructions, but there¡¯s an interference of spiritual energy too. Even school leader Liu¡¯s Watermoon disc can¡¯t penetrate there. Not only is it shut off from the outside world, but it¡¯s also impossible to enter the place too. Once the dwelling is shut, it can only be opened from the inside.¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be opened from the outside?¡±

    ¡°Well, you can¡¯t say that exactly. There are obviously ways to open it from the outside, but that¡¯s only for extraordinary circumstances, such as when the academy is under attack, or when you haven¡¯t paid your school fees.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you for your explanations, instructor.¡±

    ¡°Both of you are figures with tremendous future prospects. To be able to assist you is my honour. Please make sure you have prepared food and water yourselves. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll get out of here and stop wasting your time for cultivation.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An entered the dwelling and used the key again. The stone door slammed shut and several formations began operating.

    The spiritual qi here was unable to rival the formation on Cloudwisp island, but it was close. At the same time, it was safer and more secretive.

    Li Qingshan let out Milliped before taking out all the food he had purchased from the Hundred Flavours restaurant, basically making it up to him. His eyes met with Xiao An¡¯s, and he pinched her nose. ¡°Watch as I defeat you with sword qi once I emerge.¡±

 Chapter 307 â€“ Second Layer of the Spirit Turtle

    The news of the battle between the primary disciple of the school of Novels, Li Qingshan, and the person in possession of the Five Elements constitution, had spread throughout the academy.

    Now, the news of Li Qingshan and Xiao An entering seclusion kicked up another wave.

    Hua Chenglu clenched her fist. ¡°What an idiot.¡±

    Yu Zijian grumbled, ¡°What¡¯d I do this time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about you.¡±

    There were many disciples seated on the cushions in the surroundings. They all turned their heads over.

    ¡°The two of you, please be quiet.¡± The professor who was currently teaching them alchemy at the front of the daoist temple warned them.

    Hua Chenglu stuck out her tongue. Just what was wrong with Li Qingshan? So much for reminding him. However, she soon remembered how that man¡¯s stubbornness was something else. Otherwise, why would he have given up on the opportunity to play up to the Hua family back then, leaving so eagerly?

    After class, Yu Zijian took Hua Chenglu around Wuwei1 island for a stroll.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Big brother Li definitely won¡¯t lose. Isn¡¯t he in secluded cultivation right now?¡± She had witnessed just how haughty Chu Tian had been that day, so she could not help but stand on Li Qingshan¡¯s side.

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°What would you know? How can his cultivation speed rival¡­¡± She stifled her voice. ¡°The Reincarnated Celestial, Chu Tian? The only person who can do that is the deviant, Xiao An.¡±

    Even if they were not Heavenly Meridians prodigies, Reincarnated Celestials still cultivated at speeds beyond what regular cultivators could achieve. The reason for this was said to be because the comprehensions from their past lives lingered, remaining in their minds, which was why they could often deal with bottlenecks and difficulties that stumped regular cultivators with a ¡°flash of inspiration¡±.

    ¡°The brat is going to embarrass himself this time. If he chose to fight Chu Tian immediately, he might still have a chance at victory, but seclusion?¡± Wang Pushi sneered.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°You can¡¯t just treat him like a regular person. Since he¡¯s bold enough to agree to it, he¡¯s confident that he can emerge victoriously.¡±

    ¡°Since when did you have such a high opinion of him?¡± Wang Pushi was surprised.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Old Wang, you just have prejudice towards him, which is why you can¡¯t see his merits. Just think about it. How long did it take for him to go from the pine tree outside Qingyang city to the Academy of the Hundred Schools? And how many difficulties had he faced during the process? Had he ever been defeated?¡±

    Wang Pushi fell silent. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll place a bet on him when the time comes then.¡±

    ¡°Seclusion? Hah, if seclusion was effective, what would the point of geniuses existing?¡± When he heard the news, Chu Tian laughed aloud to the two girls beside him.

    ¡°Big brother Tian us the best. Big brother Tian would never lose to that ruffian.¡±

    Over two months passed in the blink of an eye. There were still two hours until the battle, but a lot of cultivators had already stopped what they were doing and ventured to the Main Martial Arts stadium to watch.

    There were even a few school masters who hid themselves in the rooms for the distinguished guests.

    It was impossible for Liu Zhangqing and Liu Chuanfeng to not be here. The slovenly daoist priest was fuming, wanting to see how Li Qingshan made a fool of himself, while in Wang Pushi¡¯s eyes, Li Qingshan was still a member of the Hawkwolf Guard at the end of the day.

    The other school leaders who had nothing to do with this also wanted to see just how much the so-called Reincarnated Celestial could grow. Li Qingshan was obviously just playing the role of the yardstick.

    However, from the beginning till the end, Li Qingshan never appeared. The door to the cultivation dwelling below Contention island remained shut.

    In the end, Han Anjun declared Chu Tian¡¯s victory and handed four thousand spiritual stones to him.

    Chu Tian tilted his head back and laughed. ¡°Now that¡¯s clever of him, or it¡¯ll be even more humiliating for him! I will definitely take back what I¡¯ve lost!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so powerful, big brother Tian!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve defeated the enemy without even fighting!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing glanced at the pale-white Liu Chuanfeng with a sneer.

    Wang Pushi cursed aloud. All he said was there was something wrong with his own head to have placed bets on Li Qingshan. If it were not for the fact that the cultivation dwellings could not be opened without special reasons, he was tempted to rush in and drag Li Qingshan out. He was not afraid that Li Qingshan would lose. It was just a few inferior spiritual stones at most. However, he could not lose like this.

    Hua Chengzan frowned. ¡°Is Qingshan at an important juncture for cultivation, which is why he can¡¯t pause for the moment?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just practising some shitty qi, so why can¡¯t he pause for a moment. I think he¡¯s just scared.¡±

    ¡°Scared?¡±

    The Main Martial Arts stadium became noisy. Those who had lost spiritual stones would definitely curse aloud, while those who had won could not help but sneer a little.

    The novelists had become the laughing stock of the academy once again.

    The slovenly daoist priest rubbed his chin. The kid definitely did not seem like someone who would run away from a battle. Did he become influenced by that coward, Liu Chuanfeng?

    On Contention island in the underground cultivation dwelling, Li Qingshan did in fact forget about the battle.

    Xiao An remembered it, but she did not remind him, as even if she did, he would never emerge right now.

    The cultivation progress this time had exceeded Li Qingshan¡¯s initial estimates.

    Originally, he planned to digest most of the pills in his hundred treasures pouch, and then he would take another step forward with the Spirit Turtle Method of Sea Suppression.

    However, this step ended up being quite large, such that he reached the boundary of the second layer. All he needed was another step, and he would succeed with his breakthrough.

    At this moment, the Virtue Accumulation pill he had won from Qiu Haitang and the pill Xiao An had obtained from the One Thought master played a decisive role.

    By now, Li Qingshan had already ingested all the pills he could use for cultivation in his hundred treasures pouch. All that remained was the Virtue Accumulation pill, which he had now swallowed too. He began to refine it slowly.

    At a time like this, neither his wager of two thousand spiritual stones nor his own reputation was enough to distract him.

    These three supernatural abilities were like the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to Xiao An. They were his fundamentals, while the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression was the fundamental of fundamentals.

    It was very likely that the second layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression would be the key that opened the gate to Daemon General. Once he stepped through, Li Qingshan would no longer be the same. The world would no longer be the same.

    Time passed slowly. Who knew how long had passed.

    Suddenly, a resplendent, azure light rose up from Li Qingshan¡¯s body. The light actually formed the blurry figure of a spirit turtle, moving its head and limbs about in a vivid manner.

    Only when it filled the entire dwelling did it suddenly begin to retract again, withdrawing into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. It shrank into the tiny spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core. Although it was tiny, it did become larger compared to before.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and light shone through them. His mind felt like still water. It was at great peace.

    He had finally reached the second layer with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, but he did not break through to Daemon General immediately. However, he had been expecting this. Otherwise, he would be undergoing his heavenly tribulation in the academy. He would be out of his mind.

    No matter how well-sealed the underground dwelling was, it was still unlikely to conceal the aura. By then, the only fate that would await him would be a combined beating from the school masters.

    However, this door was already opening for him. He could vaguely see the boundless scenery inside. He had already planted a foot on the door sill. Now, all he needed to do was pull his other leg forward, and he would be able to step through.

    This process was easier said than done. Who knew just how many cultivators had stopped at the tenth layer, unable to take this step even after an entire decade. Who knew just how many daemons had died during the heavenly tribulation. He had to be as cautious as he could be and gather even more resources so that he could complete this most crucial step in his life as a human, no, daemon.

    Even without experimenting, Li Qingshan could feel that Foundation Establishment cultivators would struggle to get through his Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shield as long as they did not possess wondrous treasures like Fu Qingjin, or their cultivations had reached the same level as the slovenly daoist priest.

    Most importantly, he could once again continue with the abilities of the ox demon and tiger demon that he had put on pause. If both of them reached the third layer, the spirit turtle at the second layer would probably struggle to keep them suppressed, but if he only reached the third layer with the ox demon, it should be no issue.

    With the progression of cultivation, the power of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength became even more startling. His powerful body would be what he would rely on the most to fend off the heavenly tribulation.

    At this moment, Xiao An reminded Li Qingshan about the battle.

    Only then did Li Qingshan remember it. He checked the time. It should have already been summer outside, right? It only deepened his understanding of a cultivator¡¯s concept of time. It was no exaggeration that it was timeless in the mountains, and years did not exist outside the seasons.

    He felt it was a slight pity, but he was not particularly fazed. If he missed it, then he missed it. He could let this kid get ahead of himself for now. Was he supposed to be worried that he would not be able to redeem himself in the future?

    He missed it anyway, so there was no need for him to hurry anymore.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s continue.¡± Li Qingshan saw how Milliped had curled up into a ball too in a corner of the room, drawing in the spiritual qi within the dwelling. He seemed to focus on cultivation even more than Li Qingshan. This place was obviously more suited for his cultivation and recovery than the bug pouch.

    Milliped had once been the one with the highest cultivation out of them, while his understanding that it was timeless in the mountains ran even deeper than what Li Qingshan knew.

    Xiao An nodded too. Recently, she had reached a whole new level through her cultivation of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual and her comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. The Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots required even more time from her too, so she could slowly deduce it and practise it.

    Li Qingshan took out the high grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy once more. He had only focused on his daemon cultivation recently, so his cultivation as a Qi Practitioner had remained at the sixth layer.

    However, he had utter confidence in himself this time around.

    With his experience from refining the Cursive Sword Calligraphy last time and his comprehension of the path of the sword stored inside it, it did not take him too long to refine it. He succeeded on his first try.

    Afterwards came the most dangerous moment. The infiltrating sword qi was ten times more vicious than before.

    Just like last time, a sword as black as ink appeared in his mind again, dancing about like before. However, the terrifying sword intent it gave off was like countless thin needles shooting off in all directions.

    The release of sword intent from last time only made Li Qingshan comprehend something, giving him the urge to wield the sword. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s head ached with splitting pain this time, almost to a point where he could not even gather his focus.

    It was possible to imagine that almost no Qi Practitioner could survive under these circumstances, with their minds in a mess and the sword qi infiltrating their bodies, basically caught in a pincer attack.

    However, Li Qingshan growled, the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    The first thing that the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas suppressed was not the sea of qi, but the sea of consciousness.

    A boundless spirit turtle conjured in Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness, pressing down on the inky sword. The terrifying sword intent immediately stagnated.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s power could control everything. This was Li Qingshan¡¯s greatest safeguard, and it was the reason why he was bold enough to refine this fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

 Chapter 308 â€“ The Seventh Layer

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind lightened up. At the same time, the spirit turtle completely suppressed the sword qi in his sea of qi.

    Even with that being the case, traces of tears appeared in several of his meridians. His meridians stung. If he were a regular Qi Practitioner, this would have been an extremely severe injury, requiring the expertise of the school of Medicine to treat.

    However, Li Qingshan just transformed slightly and released his daemon qi, washing away the residual sword qi. Before long, these injuries had gradually recovered. As a powerful daemon infinitesimally close to the realm of Daemon Generals, he possessed extremely powerful self-healing. He could basically recover from any wound as long as he had enough time.

    After recovering, Li Qingshan immediately got to work, comprehending the path of the sword within the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Under the control of the spirit turtle, he released the sword intent bit by bit, slowly feeling and comprehending it.

    But clearly, it was much more difficult this time around. Li Qingshan opened his mouth and asked, ¡°Xiao An, teach me your sword style.¡±

    Xiao An immediately stopped cultivating and began studying it with him.

    Time flew, but no one noticed.

    This time, it had taken him even longer than last time. Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan wielded the two fragments of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy together and channeled true qi into them. When the true qi transformed into sharp sword qi, it flowed back into his body, but it had already become subdued, unable to cause him anymore harm.

    He had finally comprehended the entirety of the path of the sword within the second Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Now, he wanted to merge these two Cursive Sword Calligraphies together in his sea of qi.

    The two groups of sword qi of different strength gathered in his sea of qi and began fighting; it was as if they did not come from the same place and were mortal enemies instead.

    Li Qingshan did not use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to forcefully suppress them. Instead, he used all of his will to control them. Gradually, the stronger group of sword qi gained the upper hand, devouring the weaker group. The two fused together completely, turning into over a hundred strands of extremely sharp sword qi.

    Because they had been completely refined, the cluster of sword qi was enough to rival the supreme grade Cursive Sword Calligraphy, and he could wield it as he wished, which made it even more wondrous. Just how many people would be able to block it if he suddenly unleashed this move in the middle of a battle?

    A streak of golden light appeared behind Li Qingshan. The huge vajra sword swung down on him.

    Li Qingshan wielded his fingers like a sword and lifted them above his head.

    The vajra sword pressed down bit by bit. Li Qingshan knocked it away and rushed forward. ¡°You¡¯re launching another sneak attack on me.¡± In order to increase his control over the sword qi, Li Qingshan had asked Xiao An to launch sneak attacks against him at any time so that he could unleash the sword qi when he felt threatened. This was quite a good idea for someone like Li Qingshan who was accustomed to battle. However, she seemed to have become addicted to it.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to defeat me with sword qi?¡± Xiao An giggled and fused with the sword. The vajra sword turned into a streak of golden light and whistled over.

    ¡°You¡¯re underestimating me!¡± Li Qingshan fished out a low grade spiritual artifact sword and swung it.

    The tips of the sword collided. Li Qingshan let out a roar, and the sword qi in his dantian channelled into the sword. The vajra sword cracked.

    As it shattered, the guardian king avatar collapsed too, revealing her petite figure. He scooped her up and pinched her cheek viciously while tickling her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep being naughty?¡±

    Xiao An let out a burst of laughter that sounded like silver chimes.

    Li Qingshan sat down right where he was and placed her on his knee. ¡°You weren¡¯t holding back, were you?¡±

    Xiao An leaned against his chest, raised her head, and looked at him. Her eyes seemed to twinkle like stars as she shook her head firmly. Her seaweed-like hair swayed from side to side like waves.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Really?¡±

    Xiao An nodded with a smile. ¡°Really.¡±

    The Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual was a wondrous buddhist cultivation method, but just a cultivation at the first layer was indeed insufficient to block sharp sword qi that was almost on par with supreme grade spiritual artifacts.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°I said I would defeat you with sword qi, yet you insisted that I couldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Okay, I admit that you¡¯re good. Are you happy now?¡± Xiao An pouted.

    However, for guardian kings to subdue demons, it required a heart of fury, while for the path of the sword to defeat opponents, it required the intent to kill. When she faced Li Qingshan, she obviously did not feel that way, so whether it was the demonified guardian king or the unmatched path of the sword from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, she was unable to unleash even half of their power.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time now. Let¡¯s get ready to emerge!¡± Li Qingshan said. The time he had spent in secluded cultivation this time had truly exceeded his initial estimates.

    ¡°I still want to cultivate for a little longer. Can I?¡± Xiao An bit her lip and looked at him with her large eyes filled with eagerness.

    Just who in the world could say no to a gaze like that?

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and pressed his forehead against her head. ¡°Alright, whatever you want. I don¡¯t have any pills left, but it¡¯s not too bad if I practise qi here.¡±

    Xiao An smiled. To her, there was no difference in where she cultivated, but being able to cultivate with him always brought her the most joy. They would not be disturbed by anything. In this sealed dwelling, they could spend every single moment together without being separated at all; it was like a tiny haven that allowed them to shelter from the storm of the outside world.

    Li Qingshan raised his head deep underground.

    Even with the layers of formations and the thick earth separating him from the surface, he could still clearly sense the unique pulse of spiritual qi of the world clearly. This was what his spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core told him as a daemon.

    Xiao An pressed her thumb against the joint on her middle finger and calculated a little before saying confidently, ¡°It¡¯s snowing.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Wanna go out for a snowfight?¡± Xiao An replied, ¡°Okay!¡±

    As a result, the stone door to the dwelling opened loudly.

    On the Cloudwisp island, in the courtyard within the bamboo.

    The entire courtyard was filled with snow, with no one to clear it away. Probably only the school of Novels would face a predicament like this, but it also managed to maintain the purest, most uncontaminated snowfields.

    The bamboo stood like noble people, completely unfazed and just as graceful as before. However, some of them bent over from the accumulated snow, like they were trying to pick up a snowflake from the ground.

    The door and windows were wide open. The gentle, cold breeze blew snowflakes onto the bamboo floor, and the shine of the snow dimmed in the darkness too.

    It was like the most beautiful landscape painting there was. Of course, only cultivators were able to take their time and appreciate this sight quietly without fearing the cold.

    Liu Chuanfeng wore a single, bluish-green gown as he leaned against the table, writing diligently. Neither the cold nor the scenery seemed to be able to faze him.

    The Cloudwisp association had already begun to unleash a startling effect, and his flame for writing novels seemed to be reignited. He wrote stories painstakingly.

    Of course, these stories no longer possessed any sexual content at all. Instead, they were elegant and refined.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words had given him extremely deep inspiration. He was completely aware that he was not trying to win over those educated scholars right now.

    Without anyone¡¯s advice, those iconic stories of young men falling off a cliff and finding a rare treasure or young misses eloping with poor scholars emerged from the tip of his brush. Beautified by the storytellers and bards, they reached the ears of thousands of regular people. The rate at which his power of belief gathered suddenly jumped.

    Of course, it was not entirely smooth sailing. He faced quite a lot of uncertainty and hesitance during the process. In order to increase his efficiency, he would write many openings before asking the Cloudwisp association for feedback. If he could gain recognition, then he would keep writing, but if he could not, he would change it immediately. He devoted all of it to serve the readers.

    Right now, he was writing exactly one of these novels that had been developed half way. Out of his many novels, this one had garnered the most recognition and support. The name, Master of Wind and Moon, began to accumulate some renown.

    It had been a very long time since he last visited the Parlour of Clouds and rain, and it was not because of Li Qingshan¡¯s warning. Rather, he simply had no time at all. His deadline to hand in the draft was approaching. He had to make time for the storytellers to familiarise themselves with the story.,

    He wrote and wrote like his life depended on it. If it were possible, he wanted to continue this story forever¡ªone book, two books, three books and so on. He was not fighting alone. He was not fighting for just himself. The entire school of Novels was currently reviving in his hands.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! ¡°Anyone home?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng suddenly raised his head. Because his mind was still submerged in the story, his eyes were in a daze, so he seemed rather bewildered. However, he gradually made out the person standing in the corridor, blocking the light from the snow. It was his primary disciple that he thought of day and night.

    ¡°My dear disciple, you¡¯ve finally returned!¡± Liu Chuanfeng threw himself towards him.

    Li Qingshan swatted him aside and called out to the snow, ¡°Xiao An, come on in!¡±

    ¡°Why were you in seclusion for so long? Don¡¯t tell me you were actually afraid of Chu Tian? If you were afraid, why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? You made me lose so many spiritual stones, do you know? He has already reached the seventh layer, and it¡¯s said he¡¯s going to break through again soon. It¡¯s utterly infuriating with how good he is at¡­¡± Liu Chuanfeng lifted up the teapot and poured some tea as he rambled on. Suddenly, he stopped and widened his eyes.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯ve reached the seventh layer.¡± He finally sensed the aura from Li Qingshan. Sure enough, it was at the seventh layer.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He placed the cup into Xiao An¡¯s hands. ¡°When I was practising qi, there was a small accident, which was why I took a little longer.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was filled with disbelief. Just what accident could allow a sixth layer Qi Practitioner who had just broken through to reach the seventh layer in just a few months?

    The path of cultivation became more difficult the further a person went. After condensing the sea of qi, it would be quite fast if a person could open the three remaining meridians, the Penetrating, Conception, and Governing meridians, within a decade, before spending another decade to open the twelve standard meridians throughout their body, reaching the peak of Qi Practitioners, the tenth layer.

    Afterwards, they could use two or three decades to slowly comprehend the final step, or should one say the first step, Foundation Establishment.

    People would be considered as elites if they reached the tenth layer before the age of fifty, outstanding if it was before the age of forty, and geniuses if it was before the age of thirty.

    This was the path that most talented Qi Practitioners and many Foundation Establishment cultivators took. Plenty of geniuses like Hua Chengzan would emerge on the path too, but they were all the renowned geniuses.

    Li Qingshan was just seventeen. If he continued at this pace, he could easily make it into the category of geniuses.

    If he knew about the exact time Li Qingshan had spent cultivating, his eyes would probably fall out from shock. He had spent just three months, not the nine months that Liu Chuanfeng thought.

    Although he could absorb spiritual qi of the world to no end, practising qi was not about just absorbing spiritual qi. Originally, he should not have reached the seventh layer so quickly, but he ended up finding another wondrous use for the sword qi in his dantian.

 Chapter 309 â€“ Iâ€™ll Let You Take Three Moves Firs

    t

    After reaching the sixth layer, converting the spiritual qi into endless true qi and attacking the various acupoints no longer seemed as useful as before.

    At this moment, the sword qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s dantian gave him a great inspiration. He tried merging the sword qi into his true qi so that he could forcefully split open meridians and smash through acupoints. He never thought he would actually succeed.

    His true qi was already extremely pure. Combined with the support from the sword qi in his dantian, the various obstacles on the path of practising qi could no longer serve as a bottleneck to him. The Cursive Sword Calligraphy truly was extraordinary.

    Liu Chuanfeng saw Li Qingshan take a step in the corridor. The mist gathered rapidly beneath his feet. His speed of using techniques had become startling.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously going to go find Chu Tian. I think it¡¯s best if I take back that sum of spiritual stones.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands without looking back. Xiao An leapt onto the cloud, and with a whoosh, the cloud took off with a long tail.

    The school of Buddhim had a forest of pagodas, while the school of Confucianism had a forest of stone tablets on Great Virtue island.

    The dark-grey, shiny tablets recorded the life events of the past seniors of virtue of Confucianism to inspire the later generations.

    Chu Tian and a group of confucian disciples sat before a huge stone tablet as they listened impatiently to the instructor explain the past events. What shitty virtuous person? Could he match a celestial?

    The instructor suddenly stopped and gazed past Chu Tian. Chu Tian turned around, and his eyes suddenly widened. He saw Li Qingshan leaning against a stone tablet, smiling at him. He was not dejected or resentful over his loss at all. He even waved his hand, like he was greeting an old friend.

    And- and he had actually reached the seventh layer too, just like him. This brought great disappointment to Chu Tian, as he wanted to see Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance as a defeated dog. He no longer cared about the ongoing lesson and suddenly stood up.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about time anyway. We¡¯ll stop here for today.¡± The professor glanced at the sky. He was reluctant to offend a rising genius disciple like Chu Tian. It was not like a lot of people were actually paying attention to this lesson anyway.

    The confucian disciples all gathered beside Chu Tian, gazing at Li Qingshan nearby. Their eyes were filled with contempt.

    Chu Tian said, ¡°You¡¯re still bold enough to come here?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡±

    ¡°What do you want? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve come to admit your defeat? Now that¡¯s something a man would do. Call me big brother, and from now onwards, we¡¯ll be¡­¡±

    ¡°Have you defeated me?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°How about this? Would you like an opportunity to defeat me?¡±

    ¡°Is that so? Alright, I agree. I¡¯m just afraid you¡¯ll scamper away with your tail between your legs again!¡± Chu Tian sneered, and the confucian disciples laughed along.

    Li Qingshan extended four fingers. ¡°This time, we¡¯ll gamble this much. Four thousand spiritual stones!¡±

    The laughter stopped. All the confucian disciples taking the lesson here were new disciples. Even if they poured together all the spiritual stones they had seen in their lives, they had never seen so many before. They could not help but become frightened by the number. Chu Tian was stunned too.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What, you don¡¯t have enough spiritual stones? Need me to lend you some?¡±

    ¡°Alright. Since you¡¯re gifting me spiritual stones, why wouldn¡¯t I agree?¡± Chu Tian sneered as he ravished in joy. He was filled with absolute confidence. He had already attained an extremely deep understanding of the Great Palm of the Five Elements. As he practised five kinds of true qi simultaneously, the five elements promoted one another, so he had over ten times as much true qi as regular seventh layer Qi Practitioners. How could he lose?

    ¡°Same location. As for the time, let¡¯s do three days later, just in case something else gets in the way and a scoundrel ends up getting away with his small success again!¡±

    ¡°This time, I will leave you convinced over your defeat,¡± Chu Tian said viciously. Not only did he want to win, but he wanted to properly humiliate Li Qingshan too. He planned to show him the difference between a mortal and a celestial.

    Three days later, in the Main Martial Arts stadium of the school of the Military.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had come to Great War island. When he saw the Main Martial Arts stadium, it reminded him of a huge arena, but there were no tightly-jammed seats. Instead, several platforms of varying heights stood in the surroundings. They were for watching the demonstrations of martial might. From afar, there was a clear order among the platforms with quite the pattern. It did not seem messy at all. Clearly, it was the handiwork of an architect from the school of Mohism.

    Chu Tian stood with his arms behind his back as his white clothes fluttered about. Although he was not exactly handsome, he appeared to be filled with an intense bearing in the eyes of onlookers as a result of his great strength.

    The platforms in the surroundings were filled with standing people. This huge gamble had already attracted the attention of the entire academy.

    A few figures were vaguely visible in the special seats at the very top.

    Wang Pushi gazed at the sun. It was about time.

    However, Li Qingshan still was not here. The other platforms were filled with discussions.

    A group of legalist disciples either sat or stood on one of the platforms. There were plenty of familiar faces that Li Qingshan would recognise.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t he come yet? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s afraid again!¡±

    ¡°He gave away a few thousand spiritual stones last time. Why haven¡¯t I run into an opponent as nice as him?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d better stop talking. He¡¯s the primary disciple of the school of Novels! You can¡¯t afford to offend him!¡± Wu Gen said extremely seriously.

    It led to a roar of laughter. Wu Gen laughed along as well and felt proud of himself.

    ¡°Rongzhi, how much have you gambled this time?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°The same as last time.¡±

    ¡°The same? Surely not.¡± Last time, Qian Rongzhi had wagered on Li Qingshan and lost quite a lot of spiritual stones as a result. Wu Gen gave Li Qingshan a good scoffing to her, but he never expected that she would still gamble in the same way. It made Wu Gen quite unhappy.

    She possessed quite a lot of suitors in the academy right now. She even seemed to have a somewhat ambiguous relationship with that genius, Chu Tian. However, she had always maintained her distance from him.

    Wang Pushi lowered his head and asked Hua Chengzan beside him, ¡°How much did you gamble this time?¡±

    Hua Chengzan sat on the edge of the platform with his legs crossed. He extended two fingers. ¡°Two thousand. I need to make back what I lost last time, after all!¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°You just trust him that much?¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°If he loses this time, then I¡¯ll wager four thousand next time.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s here, he¡¯s here!¡± A series of calls rang out from below, and everyone raised his heads.

    A cloud with a long tail shot over. It glided past a high platform, and Xiao An leapt off, landing beside the One Thought master. The One Thought master looked at his primary disciple he had not seen in quite a while with a bitter smile. He had no idea whether to praise her or berate her. At least there was someone beside him now.

    The unspoken rule of the academy was that only the primary disciple could stand beside their respective school leader. Although this high platform was very spacious, only two people could stand on it at most.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Old Wang, were you this fast back then?¡±

    ¡°My affinity for water is only yi.¡± Wang Pushi could use the Hell of Ice, so he was obviously familiar with this water element technique with the highest practicality. However, he did not move as quickly as Li Qingshan when he was at the tenth layer.

    ¡°This speed seems to make him more than just high jia,¡± Hua Chengzan said in thought.

    The formation for testing elemental affinity was only used on Qi Practitioners. High jia was already an extremely rare affinity, so there was no point in setting the range so that it could measure to something higher.

    After reaching the second layer with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, his connection with water had increased drastically, which was why he was able to sense the snowfall from inside the cultivation dwelling. Just like the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fist of Bone Forging, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression gradually changed his constitution.

    They were trying to measure a spirit turtle¡¯s water affinity using a human formation. Was that not a joke? A spirit turtle was water itself, no, the ruler of water.

    After dropping off Xiao An, the cloud plummeted down without slowing down at all, straight towards the ground.

    With a boom, the cloud was smashed into pieces and dust rose up in the surroundings.

    Yu Zijian felt something tighten around her right hand. She saw how Hua Chenglu was extremely nervous.

    ¡°Are you worrying for him?¡± Yu Zijian asked quietly.

    ¡°You idiot! I¡¯ve wagered a lot of spiritual stones on this!¡± Hua Chenglu stared straight into the mist and vaguely saw a figure standing with his chest held high in there. Only then did she relax.

    The dust dispersed. Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed. He smiled slightly as his bronze face radiated with confidence. His blueish-green clothes that should have been very elegant just radiated with power on him.

    This time, he was perfectly on time.

    The leader of the school of Military, Han Anjun, was presiding over the battle, and he said, ¡°During the battle, all pills, talismans, puppets, and spiritual stones are forbidden from use. If you break these rules, you will be disqualified immediately.¡±

    This was the rule for fighting within the academy. Most of the battles were competitions of martial prowess and matches to grow stronger in. They were not battles to the death.

    If they were allowed to use these items that offered boosts, it would devolve into a pointless battle of endurance where they would waste large amounts of resources for nothing. The academy did not endorse that. School leader Han Anjun was presiding over this battle to ensure that he could stop the battle at any time to minimise injuries and avoid casualties.

    After a simple explanation of the rules, he cut right to the chase. Han Anjun asked, ¡°Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    The giant lumberman Mu Kui wielded a huge hammer and struck a bronze gong that stood even taller than him.

    The thunderous sound boomed through the entire island, startling flocks of birds. The battle began.

    Chu Tian said, ¡°And I had thought you would run away from the battle again. Hmph, seeing how you¡¯re gifting me so many spiritual stones, go ahead. I¡¯ll let you take three moves first.¡±

    Swish! Swish! Swish!

    Without batting an eye, Li Qingshan launched three water arrows. They failed to even pierce Chu Tian¡¯s protective true qi. Water element techniques were not known for their offensive power. He did not use his entire strength in the attack either.

    ¡°Courtesy demands reciprocity. I¡¯ll let you take three moves too. Go ahead!¡±

    Chu Tian was furious. He never thought he would actually try toying with him. Sharp, golden light lit up in his hand and swung out like a blade. He called out, ¡°Metal Crescent Slash!¡±

    The sharp, crescent-shaped golden light whistled through the air.

    ¡°One move.¡± Li Qingshan took half a step back and twisted his body naturally. The Metal Crescent Slash brushed past him. He was completely unscathed.

    Before he could even correct his posture, he felt the ground below him shake.

    ¡°Lone Wood Spiling!¡± Chu Tian¡¯s voice rang out. Green light flickered around his right foot as he stamped down.

    A huge log burst out from the ground, straight into the air.

    ¡°Two moves.¡± Li Qingshan leapt up slightly and stomped down. The log splintered loudly.

    Waves of heat emanated over. Fire turned Li Qingshan¡¯s face bright red.

 Chapter 310 â€“ Cloud Ridge Gian

    t

    With how silent the platforms had fallen, it was clear that Chu Tian¡¯s strength had shocked everyone. Not only did the three moves include metal, wood, and fire element techniques, but all of them possessed startling power too. If they were fighting Chu Tian instead, they would probably be killed with his first move. It would be even less likely for them to escape from these flames.

    How was it possible for Li Qingshan to win against such an opponent? He even tried acting tough, letting Chu Tian take three moves. He was just knocking on death¡¯s door.

    Yu Zijian felt her hand tighten until it ached. She saw how worried Hua Chenglu was. ¡°Are you worried about your spiritual stones?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about him!¡± Hua Chenglu quickly realised what she had said and blushed. ¡°Oh you. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still in the mood to joke around right now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Chenglu. He¡¯s not the type of person who would be defeated by moves like this.¡± Yu Zijian patted Hua Chenglu¡¯s hand. She seemed to see that person¡¯s figure on Li Qingshan, an unyielding will.

    Liu Zhangqing smiled. Chu Tian might have been lacking a little mentally, but his strength went without saying. Not only did he have over ten times more true qi than regular people, but his techniques were extremely powerful too by using the principle of the mutual promotion of the five elements.

    Li Qingshan had challenged him out of sheer ignorance. He was simply asking for trouble. Even if he managed to survive this attack, he should be heavily injured, unable to keep fighting!

    Chu Tian laughed aloud, just like he did during the battle last time. ¡°Do you really think you¡¯re worthy enough to give me a handicap of three moves? General Han, I¡¯ve won this battle!¡±

    Han Anjun stood on a platform nearby; he was like a statue, as if he had not heard Chu Tian. Suddenly, he raised his hand and pointed at the fire.

    Chu Tian looked over with a frown, and his eyes narrowed. Li Qingshan stood within the sea of fire, unscathed. His posture had not even changed. A circular, faint-blue barrier enveloped him, which resisted the roaring flames no matter how hard they collided against it.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Three moves!¡±

    The Water Curtain technique was relatively more renowned among the various water element techniques. It was a defensive technique that could nullify power and neutralise attacks.

    However, how was a seventh layer Qi Practitioner¡¯s Water Curtain technique able to block Chu Tian¡¯s Bird of Flames? Not only was Chu Tian puzzled, but even Liu Zhangqing was perplexed as well.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What, do you want another three moves?¡±

    ¡°Since you want to be so reckless, don¡¯t blame me for not holding back!¡± Chu Tian erupted with fury. He formed seals with his hands. He moved so quickly that his hands seemed to multiply.

    Chu Tian pulled back his hands, and all the blurs vanished, merging before his chest. He slammed his hands against the ground violently.

    There was an unbelievably loud rumble. The onlookers all felt the platforms shake slightly, as if there was an earthquake. A crack immediately appeared between Chu Tian¡¯s hands, spreading to Li Qingshan¡¯s feet.

    A huge, earthen yellow hand extended out from the ground and headed towards Li Qingshan. The five thick fingers reached towards him like stone pillars.

    Li Qingshan leapt up and unleashed his cloud, flying around the arena while looking down.

    The entire stadium was filled with cracks now. The earthen yellow arms extended out of the earth and into the air before pressing against the ground. A humanoid figure used it to hoist itself out of the earth, like it was a giant that had awakened from its millennium-long slumber by the outside world. Rock and soil rolled off its body, revealing a perfect, humanoid shape. It stood over thirty meters tall.

    The huge shadow it cast even enveloped quite a few platforms.

    The people on the platforms were alarmed. ¡°W- what is this technique?¡±

    ¡°The Earthen Strongman!¡± Earth elder Huang squinted his eyes.

    ¡°What? This is the Earthen Strongman?¡± A tanny, simple-looking young man beside earth elder Huang cried out, as he also knew this technique, and he was at the tenth layer.

    The Earthen Strongman was an earth element technique. Anyone who cultivated Wu Earth true qi could use it, but when regular weaker Qi Practitioners used it, the ones they summoned would only be the size of a man. Stronger Qi Practitioners might have been able to summon ones towering at ten meters, but an Earthen Strongman this huge had already exceeded the understanding of regular Qi Practitioners. They struggled to make out what this technique was.

    The power of techniques were basically determined by three factors¡ªelemental affinity, true qi quantity, and understanding of the technique itself.

    Without a doubt, Chu Tian was one of the best of the best for all three factors, particularly with the last factor. With his advantage as a Reincarnated Celestial, he basically knew how to use techniques even without being taught them, as if he was born with them. Even the primary disciple of the school of Agriculture paled in comparison to him. After all, in this current day and age of peace, regular Qi Practitioners would never spend too much time or effort on techniques.

    Chu Tian stood on the Earthen Strongman¡¯s shoulder and looked down at Li Qingshan. ¡°If you want to admit defeat now, it¡¯s already too late. If I want to kill you, no one can save you!¡±

    This was extremely arrogant of Chu Tian to say, but no one treated it as a boast. This colossal figure probably weighed thousands of tonnes. Before a single punch from it, any protective true qi or defensive techniques would be rendered useless. He would immediately be crushed to pulp. Even if someone wanted to save Li Qingshan, it would be too late.

    Before they knew it, this battle had already evolved into a struggle of life and death.

    Han Anjun¡¯s eyelashes trembled, while the primary disciple of the school of the Military, Han Tieyi, said, ¡°General.¡±

    Han Anjun said, ¡°Let him kill him.¡±

    Chu Tian laughed madly. Under his control, the Earthen Strongman extended a huge hand towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan rode the cloud and slipped between the huge fingers in an extremely close shave. He felt his vision darken. At this moment, the other hand had already slammed down from above. The cloud descended rapidly, which was the only reason he managed to avoid that punch.

    With a boom, the Earthen Strongman¡¯s punch struck the ground heavily. A shockwave visible with the naked eye spread out in all directions. Wherever it passed by, masses of earth leapt up with it.

    A few Qi Practitioners on the platforms basically wanted to flee out of fright. A screen of light appeared as the several hundred platforms formed a circular barrier, enveloping the entire stadium.

    The shockwave dispersed, leaving behind a huge pit in the ground. Everyone was dumbfounded by the power. Was this really a technique used by a seventh layer Qi Practitioner?

    Basically every corner of the stadium was within reach of the Earthen Strongman¡¯s arms, and it definitely did not have any points of weakness.

    Li Qingshan rode around on his cloud like a fly, weaving and dodging around, avoiding the Earthen Strongman¡¯s attempts to catch him time and time again in close shaves.

    Chu Tian sneered aloud. ¡°What, is running all you know? Or are you trying to exhaust my true qi? I might as well tell you this then. Once my Earthen Strongman is created, the earth itself serves as a foundation for it. As such, it will never run out of power.¡±

    ¡°Twelve moves.¡±

    Chu Tian was stunned. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°All for you to take!¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest laughed too. He took a sip of alcohol. ¡°This kid is still so arrogant. I like it! It¡¯s just a pity!¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Chu Tian completely lost his temper. The Earthen Strongman opened its mouth and let out a soundless roar. It took quaking steps and spread out its arms, lunging towards Li Qingshan.

    A huge shadow extended over. Li Qingshan felt like a mountain was falling on him, but he kept smiling. ¡°Since you want to play, I¡¯ll play with you!¡±

    Boom! The two huge hands collided together heavily, and everything in between them vanished.

    Hua Chenglu screamed. Wasn¡¯t Li Qingshan dead now? Why hadn¡¯t the referee Han Anjun interfered? Did he really want to see Li Qingshan die?

    Chu Tian said, ¡°As I¡¯ve said, if I want to kill you, no one can¡­¡±

    The Earthen Strongman opened its hands. There was nothing between them apart from a puddle of water.

    The Water Clone technique. It could mould water into shapes and mislead people.

    Sounds of amazement rang out in the surroundings. A shadow enveloped Chu Tian, but he did not care. At such an altitude, the only thing that could shroud the sun were clouds.

    At this moment, Chu Tian saw many Qi Practitioners pointing behind him in surprise. He quickly turned around. He saw ¡°clouds¡±.

    A cloud giant even larger than the Earthen Strongman grabbed the Earthen Strongman by the shoulder with its left hand while forming a fist with its right. It threw it heavily at the Earthen Strongman¡¯s face, causing it to stagger backwards and collapse heavily, striking the barrier around the stadium.

    A huge slab of earth slid off the Earthen Strongman¡¯s face as rock and soil flowed out. The punch was originally directed towards Chu Tian who stood on the Earthen Strongman¡¯s shoulder, but his reactions were quite fast, so he managed to dodge it.

    Li Qingshan sat on the cloud giant¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°What a coincidence! I just happen to know a similar technique!¡±

    During the time he spent in seclusion, Li Qingshan did not just practise qi. He also tried the techniques that came with the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, but he discovered it was all different now. These techniques that originally required him tremendous amounts of time to understand and grasp suddenly posed no difficulty at all anymore. He could use them after just a bit of study, and their effects were extraordinary too.

    He did not become a genius overnight. This had nothing to do with his ability to comprehend. Instead, it was instincts, just like how fish could swim and birds could fly. Controlling everything that had to do with water was the spirit turtle¡¯s natural ability. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression had almost changed his very essence.

    As a result, he tried all of the water element techniques in the cultivation dwelling. Li Qingshan did not wait around during the three days before the battle either. He got Liu Chuanfeng to find some stronger water element techniques suited for battle.

    Liu Chuanfeng might not have been well-off, but he was still the leader of a school, while his senior brother, Sun Fubai, literally sold these things. As a result, he immediately gave him a few powerful water element techniques.

    The ¡°Cloud Ridge Giant¡± was one of them. Learning the Cloud Ridge Giant required great mastery over Mist Wielding and Cloud Riding.

    The Cloud Ridge Giant was condensed from water vapour after all. It was massive, which was why it was called a ¡°giant¡±, though it was not exactly more powerful than Chu Tian¡¯s Earthen Strongman. However, it seemed like he had gained the upper hand.

    ¡°You actually- You actually!¡± Chu Tian roared. As if the punch had landed on his face, it ached with a fiery pain. Originally, he wanted to annihilate Li Qingshan quickly with absolute supremacy, but reality had proved him wrong time and time again.

    The Earthen Strongman stood up once again as it rapidly recovered from the damage to its face.

    The two colossal figures stood within the stadium, as if they had returned to a battlefield of primeval times.

 Chapter 311 â€“ Outcome Already Determined

    If it were just Chu Tian, then so be it. He had always been called a genius anyway. However, Li Qingshan was a disciple of the school of Novels that they had mocked all this time, a clown for fulfilling their sense of superiority. Perhaps no one treated him as a genius due to the trio from the entrance examination.

    However, at this moment, reality told them that Li Qingshan was a true genius, a genius that could rival Chu Tian. Meanwhile, their mockery was simply so foolish. Their sense of superiority immediately collapsed.

    On the platform occupied by the mohist disciples, Hao Pingyang slapped Zhang Lanqing¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I told you he has got some moves.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing smiled easily too. In the past three days, he had worried a lot. He Yishi stood in the corner of the platform and raised his head to look at Li Qingshan on the Cloud Ridge Giant. All he felt was fear.

    Yu Zijian praised, ¡°So powerful!¡± Hua Chenglu said, ¡°He really is something else. What did I say? With my insight, how could I go wrong?¡±

    Wu Gen posed a question to himself. As an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, could he stand a chance against either one of them? He glanced at Qian Rongzhi. She maintained her smile the entire time, neither worried or surprised, as if everything was developing according to her expectations. It only added to her wondrous charm.

    He had once thought of himself as a conqueror. Only at this moment did he suddenly realise he was drawn to her due to her strength, her unconfused, unwavering, unhesitant ¡°strength¡±.

    Perhaps it was time for him to cast everything aside and cultivate properly. Perhaps he should copy Li Qingshan and enter secluded cultivation for a while.

    ¡°Old Wang, how¡¯s that?¡± Hua Chengzan looked back and smiled.

    ¡°Interesting, but it¡¯s still nowhere near enough!¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s just see how everything unfolds!¡±

    Chu Tian and Li Qingshan¡¯s gazes clashed in the air above the arena.

    ¡°Turns out I¡¯ve always been underestimating you,¡± Chu Tian said in some disbelief.

    ¡°Same here. I really am quite surprised by how you¡¯ve managed to say something like that,¡± Li Qingshan said with composure.

    ¡°But if you think you can defeat me like this, you¡¯re far too naive. What Cloud Ridge Giant? That¡¯s just a facade, a bravado. Watch as my Earthen Strongman smashes it to pieces!¡±

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The Earthen Strongman¡¯s steps were like blaring drums as it rushed towards the Cloud Ridge Giant with whistling wind.

    The Main Martial Arts stadium was massive, but that was with respect to human size. Compared to these two colossal figures, it was like a tiny stage, nowhere to dodge, nowhere to hide.

    The huge punch was like a mountainside landslide as it smashed towards the Cloud Ridge Giant¡¯s head, or more accurately, Li Qingshan beside the head. It moved with stoppable, terrifying power.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He could tell from a long time ago that Chu Tian had no idea about battle tactics at all. If Li Qingshan were in control of the Earthen Strongman instead, he would have caught the cloud in the situation before. And, he would not throw punches right now either. Punching right now was completely pointless. All Chu Tian knew was how to brawl like a regular person.

    Chu Tian could use techniques to annihilate most Qi Practitioners, so there was no need for him to try and learn these battle tactics or whatever they were. With the size of the Earthen Strongman, just being able to brawl would be sufficient.

    However, it was not enough today.

    The clouds surged, and the Cloud Ridge Giant tilted its head. The Earthen Strongman¡¯s punch missed. A pillar of clouds rushed up as a vicious hook shattered the Earthen Strongman¡¯s chin.

    Because the Cloud Ridge Giant was just too large, it only resembled a blurry humanoid shape. Even its eyes and mouth were just three depressions in the cloud, and it did not have legs either, just a long tail of clouds.

    Li Qingshan would never use it to unleash his martial arts either. However, as long as he paid attention to the situation and used his judgement, he could abuse someone inexperienced like Chu Tian.

    The Earthen Strongman lost its balance, and the Cloud Ridge Giant drifted forwards. A straight, left punch landed on the Earthen Strongman¡¯s face, and with a boom, it crushed its nose.

    If it were a human, then it would have suffered heavily from that, but the Earthen Strongman was not made out of flesh and blood after all. It did not know what pain or dizziness was. As Chu Tian roared out, it threw a punch back at the Cloud Ridge Giant¡¯s chest.

    With how big the Cloud Ridge Giant was, it was impossible for it to dodge. Li Qingshan had no intentions of dodging either. The Cloud Ridge Giant received the punch and continued to advance forwards, beating up the Earthen Strongman to the point where rock and soil flew off its body.

    The Earthen Strongman¡¯s punch pierced the Cloud Ridge Giant, directly creating a hole. Chu Tian laughed aloud. ¡°Die!¡±

    What answered him was a combination. A left jab, a right straight, and a left hook was completed in a single stroke, causing the Earthen Giant to stagger backwards. Its face had been reduced to a mess.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Idiot.¡±

    Just like how water element techniques were not suited for battle, the Cloud Ridge Giant was not made for fighting. It was nowhere near as destructive as the Earthen Strongman. As a matter of fact, it paled in comparison to the impenetrable defenses of earth element techniques too. However, it was accustomed to absorbing and nullifying damage.

    The clouds surged and gathered once again, filling in the hole within the blink of an eye. The pliable Cloud Ridge Giant was perfect for overwhelming the Earthen Strongman that triumphed through brute force.

    Everyone on the spectating platforms were dumbfounded. They never thought Li Qingshan would gain the upper hand the moment he struck. He was not conceited for giving Chu Tian a handicap of three moves. Was he really a disciple of the school of Novels?

    ¡°Beat him up! Beat him up!¡± Hua Chenglu called out.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Among the thunderous rumbles, the Cloud Ridge Giant forced the Earthen Strongman to the edge of the arena, unleashing its fists as it wished.

    The Earthen Strongman fought back desperately, but it was unable to break out of this awkward situation. Instead, it appeared feeble before the Cloud Ridge Giant.

    The slovenly daoist priest laughed aloud as he watched on. ¡°Juechenzi, this is called eroding rock with water, conquering the unyielding with yielding. Interesting, interesting. What a pity, what a pity.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve really infuriated me now! I¡¯ll make you pay the price!¡± Chu Tian¡¯s hands flashed about as he formed seals once again.

    With a cry, a huge Bird of Flames unfurled its wings and rushed into the sky, lunging towards the Cloud Ridge Giant.

    It was even larger than the one from before. Chu Tian road on the bird¡¯s back as the flames around him turned him scarlet red. The tongues of fire licked around him. At this moment, no one noticed his unhandsome appearance anymore. He seemed like a legendary god that could wield fire.

    Liu Zhangqing smiled as he stroked his beard. This move alone was enough to evaporate away the Cloud Ridge Giant.

    At this moment, there was a dragon¡¯s roar that drowned out the bird¡¯s cry. A water dragon surged over diagonally, biting down on the bird¡¯s neck.

    It was complete with horns, scales, claws, and teeth. All of it was conjured from water.

    The Blaststream Water Dragon.

    This was the technique with the greatest destructive power out of everything that Li Qingshan had grasped so far.

    The water dragon bit the fire bird, and it rushed into the sky, smashing it heavily against the screen of light at the top. The barrier seemed to shake.

    Chu Tian lowered his head in surprise. He saw Li Qingshan standing between the horns of the dragon as the azure blue ripples of water swept his clothes about without wetting him. He continued to smile faintly like before, as if he was mocking his helplessness.

    Chu Tian gritted his teeth as he roared inside, How dare you mock me! How dare a mere mortal like you mock me! I am a celestial!

    The flames on the fire bird surged, and it pecked down on the dragon¡¯s head, snapping its horns. Its pairs of talons ripped away the dragon¡¯s scales. The water that contained the vitality of the water dragon leaked out, but before it had even reached the ground, it turned to steam due to the high heat.

    The Blaststream Water Dragon coiled around the fire bird and dug in deeply with its four dragon talons. Feathers dropped out of the sky, turning into ashes.

    Among the hisses, huge swathes of steam permeated the surroundings. On the ground, the Cloud Ridge Giant and the Earthen Strongman continued to throw punches at one another.

    The mouths of many spectating Qi Practitioners had dropped, having forgotten to close them again. They seemed to be stupefied, as if they had been taken back to a primeval battlefield, where gods wielded divine beasts and clashed with surging fire and water, while giants took arms on the ground, fighting to no end.

    Many people had even clenched their fists, making up their minds to cultivate diligently.

    Very few Qi Practitioners of this day and age could witness battles between cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above. This battle had a huge impact on them.

    Liu Zhangqing looked around the platforms and took note of everyone¡¯s expressions. Regardless of the outcome, the entire academy would benefit from this battle. These disciples who had grown accustomed to peace could truly witness what fighting was.

    As it seemed, he needed to organise battles like these more frequently in the future. From the news he had received recently, he could already vaguely smell the scent of war.

    However, he had no doubts of the outcome of this battle right from the beginning. He was just waiting to see when Chu Tian would set aside his pointless arrogance.

    The dragon and bird entangled with one another. Li Qingshan and Chu Tian had never been so close to each other throughout the entire battle. They could clearly see the fury and smile on each other¡¯s faces.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Chu Tian roared. Pushing off the back of the bird, he rushed towards Li Qingshan. Five-coloured true qi appeared from his body, suddenly condensing into a five-coloured palm that smacked right towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Great Palm of the Five Elements!¡±

    Li Qingshan pushed off the dragon¡¯s head and rushed into the air. His true qi surged within his sea of qi, all pouring into his fist. Like a roaring tsunami, he threw the punch.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°The outcome has already been determined.¡±

    The palm strike and punch collided. The water dispersed.

    It was at this exact moment that the water dragon, locked in battle with the fire bird, dispersed too. It was vaporised to surging mist.

    The Cloud Ridge Giant engaged in close combat with the Earthen Strongman. Although it had gained the upper hand and destroyed most of the Earthen Strongman, most of its body had been exhausted away too. Both of them only stood at a few meters tall, so they were unable to attract anymore attention, nor were they able to determine the outcome of the battle.

    The only thing that everyone saw was Li Qingshan rapidly falling down into the mist and vanishing.

    Li Qingshan had lost. His full-powered punch was unable to fend off Chu Tian¡¯s cultivation method, the Palm of the Five Elements.

    Hua Chenglu suddenly felt pained. It was true. No matter how hard a regular person worked, they could not defeat a genius, much less a Reincarnated Celestial like Chu Tian.

    On the other platforms, many Qi Practitioners felt dejected too. They had originally come to see Li Qingshan make a fool of himself, but when Li Qingshan actually demonstrated strength that could contend with Chu Tian, they began to support him before they even knew it.

    This was because Li Qingshan was the ¡°weakling¡±. Compared to Chu Tian, he was a ¡°mortal¡±, just like them. They wanted to see a mortal defeat a celestial, just like how regular people always looked forward to miracles.

    Chu Tian descended from the ground, and the Palm of the Five Elements destroyed the Cloud Ridge Giant along the way. He looked around as he sneered inside. What an idiot. To think you even cursed me earlier, actually thinking you could take on my Palm of the Five Elements. You¡¯re probably half-dead now! How dare you make me so dishevelled. Watch as I smack you to death with my palm strike.

    Hua Chenglu stood up and arrived on the platform where Han Anjun stood. ¡°Uncle Han, please announce the outcome of the battle!¡±

 Chapter 312 â€“ The Sword of Reversion

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Watching as Li Qingshan fell out of the air, Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing both paled in fright.

    He Yishi instead eased up. He gazed at Han Anjun on the platform in the distance. As long as he did not interfere, then it would be for the best if Chu Tian killed Li Qingshan, nipping this source of trouble at the bud.

    ¡°Yeah, the outcome has already been determined, so why don¡¯t you separate them? Chu Tian is going to kill Li Qingshan!¡± Hua Chenglu said in a panic as she grabbed Han Anjun¡¯s sleeve.

    There were friendships between generations among the Han family and Hua family, and they did not focus on a confucian education, so there was not a lot of courtesy they had to follow.

    Han Anjun said, ¡°Let him kill him.¡±

    Hua Chenglu turned to Han Tieyi. ¡°Tieyi!¡±

    However, Han Tieyi seemed to have emerged from the same mould as Han Anjun, even speaking in the same manner. It made Hua Chenglu so furious that she stamped her foot. She arrived on the platform where Wang Pushi and Hua Chengzan stood. However, all she discovered was Wang Pushi staring straight at the centre of the arena as if he was stunned.

    Just when she wanted to ask for help, Hua Chengzan pointed. ¡°Look!¡±

    ¡°Look what?¡± Hua Chenglu looked over with a frown. The barrier from the formation had already dispersed, and the rolling steam gradually drifted apart.

    A lustrous edge, three feet long, shone with cold light. The straight blade of the sword extended off in two directions.

    One end disappeared into the mouth of a black dragon. That was the guard, while the coiled body of the dragon formed the hilt, gripped within a powerful hand. Li Qingshan had lunged forward, as if he had pressed all of his strength into the sword strike.

    He said softly, ¡°If I wanted to kill you, a single move is all that I need.¡±

    The other end had completely stabbed into Chu Tian¡¯s back.

    Chu Tian¡¯s face twisted from pain and fear. He did his best to turn around. His eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief. He seemed like he wanted to say something, but blood spurted out instead.

    Sword qi was currently devastating his innards. As long as Li Qingshan gently twisted the sword or swung it to one side, Chu Tian would be a dead man.

    No matter how great of a genius he was, he was unable to escape the fate of death.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s hand was still, but it was not because he did not want to move it. He never showed mercy when it came to killing people.

    A fair-skinned hand was gripping the blade of the sword with three fingers, severing the killing intent.

    Liu Zhangqing stood between Li Qingshan and Chu Tian in an impressive manner. His brows were firmly furrowed, still in shock. He never expected Chu Tian to actually lose, and to lose in such a swift manner, so swift that he had almost failed to save him in time from dying here.

    ¡°School leader Liu, long time no see.¡±

    Outside the arena, the audience went from absolute silence to a complete uproar.

    W- what was going on? What happened in that moment?

    The pervading mist had failed to influence Chu Tian¡¯s sharp senses. He immediately discovered Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan knelt on the ground on one knee, as if he was quite heavily injured.

    Originally, Chu Tian wanted to say a few words and humiliate Li Qingshan, but he remembered that Han Anjun could interfere at any time, so he swallowed those words again. He directly charged over and launched a palm strike ruthlessly.

    With a plop, Li Qingshan was forcefully smashed apart by the Palm of the Five Elements, reduced to a puddle of water.

    ¡°Hmph, a pointless struggle before your death!¡± Chu Tian was slightly taken aback, but he did not care too much. Having used so many techniques already, Li Qingshan must have depleted more true qi than him. Li Qingshan had received a palm strike from him too, so he was like a toothless tiger. He no longer posed any threat anymore.

    This thought was severed by an extremely terrifying sword intent. As the mist surged, a huge figure could be vaguely seen as it rapidly approached Chu Tian from behind.

    Murderousness filled the air as light and shadows twisted. Li Qingshan appeared.

    He moved like a tiger, while his gaze was like a dragon¡¯s.

    ¡°Protection of the Five Elements!¡±

    It was already too late for him to turn around. The five-coloured hand returned to Chu Tian and turned into a circular, five-coloured barrier of light. The five colours mixed and fluctuated as the five powers twisted and merged.

    It bore the principle of the mutual regulation of the five elements. Earth could contain water, while metal could chop down wood. It completely surpassed any regular protective technique.

    This was what Qian Rongzhi had told Li Qingshan.

    Deep within the night in the bamboo forest, light and shadows danced about as Qian Rongzhi moved her vermillion lips, telling him about the power of the Palm of the Five Elements.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t get through his Protection of the Five Elements, you won¡¯t be able to defeat him.¡±

    ¡°I will win.¡± Li Qingshan gave her a simple description of this reality, even though he was not confident he could pierce this five-coloured barrier.

    The path of slaughter had never been about who had more true qi or who could use stronger techniques, which was why he provoked, why he mocked, why he triumphed, and why he was defeated. All of this, every little part of it, was preparation for this moment.

    After a fierce battle, Chu Tian had depleted quite a lot of his true qi too, and he had lowered his guard too. As a result, Li Qingshan used the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility to hide himself and immediately concealed all of his aura before casting out a bait using a water clone.

    All of it was for this sword strike.

    Without any hesitation, Li Qingshan poured the hundred or so strands of sword qi in his dantian into this strike.

    The sword qi collided with the five-colored barrier, and the sound of glass shattering rang out. The tip of the sword tasted blood as sword qi surged into Chu Tian¡¯s body.

    Victory was determined in an instant.

    Liu Zhangqing glanced at Li Qingshan deeply as he patted Chu Tian¡¯s chest. An abundant amount of righteous qi rushed into Chu Tian¡¯s body, forcing out the sword.

    The sword shattered mid-air.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chest. Chu Tian¡¯s Palm of the Five Elements really was impressive. Even now, his arm and chest still ached. If it were not for his extraordinary toughness, the outcome would not have been determined so easily.

    Liu Zhangqing frowned even harder. Originally, he wanted to force out the sword qi too, but the sharpness surpassed his imaginations. Even under his righteous qi, it managed to linger tenaciously.

    With how heavily injured Chu Tian was, it would probably come with a great loss of cultivation. Liu Zhangqing raised his head and looked at Han Anjun. He used his gaze to question why the referee had not prevented this from happening. As the leader of the school of the Military, his reactions were definitely much faster than Liu Zhangqing. He could have prevented Chu Tian¡¯s injuries altogether.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said.¡± With a swish, Han Anjun vanished from the platform and appeared before Li Qingshan, demonstrating that he was indeed capable of something like that.

    Suddenly, Hua Chenglu understood what Han Anjun had meant earlier by, ¡°Let him kill him.¡± It was not Chu Tian killing Li Qingshan, but Li Qingshan killing Chu Tian, and he would not interfere with it.

    Liu Zhangqing let out a great sigh. Chu Tian was just too good at offending people. Originally, Han Anjun¡¯s responsibility was to prevent any major injuries or deaths during the battle, but Chu Tian had yelled out, ¡°If I want to kill you, no one can stop me.¡± Such words were akin to slapping him across the face.

    Han Anjun passed eight thousand spiritual stones to Li Qingshan. He even patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Nicely done, though you¡¯re still a little rough in some aspects of battle. You¡¯re welcome to come take a look at my school of the Military in the future.¡±

    All the spectating military disciples widened their eyes. Rarely did they ever hear their school leader praise a person like that, not to mention speak such a long sentence. This was basically the utmost glory. He had already gained the recognition of the school of the Military.

    Han Anjun had spent many years of his life waging war, so he possessed a sharp sense for all battles. When Chu Tian arrogantly declared that he wanted to kill Li Qingshan, he had already guessed the outcome of the battle.

    It was purely due to the difference in their mental states. One was arrogant and conceited, in a hurry to destroy his opponent, while the other was extremely calm, moving methodically. Out of the countless battles throughout history when the weaker side triumphed over the stronger, there were far too many examples like this. If a calm and collected person was bold enough to take the initiative and challenge a person stronger than him, he would definitely possess some confidence.

    Now, the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple where the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus, do many calculations lead to victory and few calculations to defeat, let alone no calculation at all?1

    Afterwards, Han Anjun watched on like he was appreciating a classic battle. Li Qingshan¡¯s army was nowhere near as powerful as his opponent¡¯s. He used raids to the flank of the opponent in the beginning before confronting the enemy head on, finally feigning defeat and baiting the enemy into a land of no return. The three hundred sacrificial soldiers rushed out, straight into the enemy general¡¯s tent, claiming the general¡¯s head. He was unable to express his praise for how refined the calculations were.

    Li Qingshan said politely, ¡°Yes, general.¡± Although Han Anjun¡¯s cultivation was not the highest among the school masters, he believed the one standing before him would be the one to survive to the very end if a chaotic battle really did erupt among them.

    Han Anjun declared loudly, ¡°This battle has ended! Li Qingshan wins!¡±

    Clang!

    The giant lumberman Mu Kui struck the bronze gong, declaring the end to the battle.

    Cheers rang out from the spectating platforms as they chanted Li Qingshan¡¯s name. Even quite a few confucian disciples chanted along.

    This was not due to Li Qingshan alone. During the few months Chu Tian had spent in the academy, he had flirted around with female cultivators as he ordered male cultivators around. Every second word he spat out was either genius or talent, basically mocking them as hard as he could. However, they were unable to do anything to him. They had all erupted with their resentment with this opportunity.

    Hao Pingyang raised his arms and called out. He cheered the loudest. Zhang Lanqing held his hands emotionally, while He Yishi had become ashen in the corner.

    The two girls who always followed Chu Tian around rushed over to his side and sobbed.

    ¡°Big brother Tian! What has happened to you, big brother Tian?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t accept it! I don¡¯t accept it! You despicable cheat! I haven¡¯t lost! I haven¡¯t lost!¡± Chu Tian jerked awake violently. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared right at Li Qingshan, as if he wanted to stand up and fight him again.

    He utterly refused to accept this outcome. He still had not used that yet. He still had powerful trump cards he had yet to use. As long as he unleashed just one of them, Li Qingshan would never be his opponent.

    On one hand, he was reluctant to expose this before so many people, while on the other hand, he was confident. He believed that he could finish off Li Qingshan with techniques alone, but never did he think that the situation would reverse so swiftly and quickly.

    He was like a general who had been slain by the sacrificial soldiers still muttering about the army of a hundred thousand strong he had yet to mobilise, but his head had already been tossed high into the air, dying a regretful death.

    ¡°Yeah. Big brother Tian, you haven¡¯t lost.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯ve lost!¡± Qian Rongzhi cut her off.

    ¡°Rongzhi, you!¡± Chu Tian was stunned. Recently, he had shown plenty of goodwill towards Qian Rongzhi. She was unlike the other female cultivators too, who expressed great disgust towards his womanising behaviour. He thought they were friends already.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi, you bitch!¡± One of the girls swore.

    Qian Rongzhi ignored them. She crouched down and held Chu Tian¡¯s hand. Her gaze was filled with motherly, gentle sympathy, as if she felt bad for him from the bottom of her heart. She said softly, ¡°Little Tian, everyone loses. It doesn¡¯t matter if you lose once as long as you can stand up again. You¡¯d better get some rest first!¡±

    Chu Tian felt warmth flood the bottom of his heart. Her gaze was so gentle, as if it could comfort any and all pain within a person¡¯s heart. There was no mockery or contempt, only sympathy.

    At that moment, she seemed like the most beautiful woman in his eyes.

    PS: No scamping on labour, no scalping on content, no watering down. A total of nine thousand characters, a mortal defeats a celestial. It¡¯s a good omen. For the wild ambition of painting a dragon, I need to work hard this month. May the lords lend me the strength as we advance together.

 Chapter 313 â€“ Trudging Back Through the Snow

    Liu Zhangqing frowned. Why would a disciple of legalism know the arts of charm? However, he saw how she was friends with Chu Tian, and she was indeed comforting Chu Tian¡¯s mind, so he did not interfere.

    Qian Rongzhi used this opportunity while Chu Tian was mentally shaken up to cast a firm shadow in his heart.

    Of course, it was not something like a seed of suggestion. She had no idea how to plant something like that, and even if she did, she would never do it before so many school leaders.

    Her arts of charm were completely harmless. At most, it would just make Chu Tian develop a good impression and feeling of love towards her, but that was enough. Compared to something as coarse and inferior as seeds of suggestion, this suited her better.

    She knew Chu Tian was hiding something, something that he had not even told the two girls beside him about. However, under her verbal probings, she learned the existence of this object. Just what was it that could make the arrogant, conceited Chu Tian behave so cautiously?

    No matter what it was, she had to obtain it. If she could not manage that, then she would still have a powerful pawn under her thumb. Even in the worst-case scenario, he would be a human-shaped pill, though his true qi of the five elements might be rather difficult to digest.

    Chu Tian recovered his fighting will. He stared at Li Qingshan with pure hatred. ¡°Li Qingshan, you got lucky this time. I won¡¯t spare you. I¡¯ve said before that if I want to kill you, no one can stop me.¡±

    Li Qingshan slighted him casually. ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try at any time.¡±

    Chu Tian¡¯s mind eased up, and he fell into a slumber. Out of the two girls beside him, the older one said to Qian Rongzhi, ¡°Sorry, big sister Qian. We shouldn¡¯t have said that to you.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi sighed gently. ¡°I can understand what you¡¯re feeling. Take good care of him.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea why she was doing this, but he still took pity on Chu Tian. I hope you recover before this venomous snake swallows you. I still want to make some more spiritual stones off you!

    Chu Tian was taken to Benevolence island by the school of Medicine¡¯s leader. In the blink of an eye, the various school leaders and primary disciples had all vanished.

    ¡°Qingshan, please don¡¯t hold a grudge against my school of Confucianism. This battle was not necessarily a bad thing for Chu Tian. It¡¯s a blessing that the academy has a genius like you. There will be a lot of competitions of swordsmanship on Great Virtue island in the near future, so you¡¯re welcome to participate too. Your sword is very interesting.¡± Liu Zhangqing tossed that out and left, demonstrating his extraordinary demeanour.

    At this moment, Hua Chengzan arrived before Li Qingshan. ¡°Where¡¯s your wolf tablet?¡±

    Hua Chengzan accepted it before passing a scarlet bronze wolf tablet back to him. The shiny, red wolf tablet was extremely detailed, such that he could even make out the eyelashes on the wolf. It was rather hefty as he held it in his hand.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve been promoted. Old Wang told me to give you this. In the future, if you want to investigate anything or make some spiritual stones, you¡¯re welcome to go take a look at the Hawkwolf Guard of Clear River city.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. In order to gain someone¡¯s recognition, there was always a need for him to prove himself.

    Wang Pushi and Li Qingshan did not hate one another. It was simply a result of Li Qingshan¡¯s negative first impression on him combined with everything that had happened after that. Today, Li Qingshan had proved himself. This did not mean Wang Pushi now liked Li Qingshan, but regardless of how he felt about him, this man had earned the right to this identity and status. This was how the school of Legalism handled things.

    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go celebrate!¡± Hua Chengzan wrapped his arm around Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder before calling to Han Tieyi in the distance, ¡°Tieyi, you¡¯re forbidden from leaving. Come along as well.¡±

    ¡°Am I invited too?¡± The primary disciple of the school of Daoism, Juechenzi, approached them with a smile.

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. He smiled. ¡°Since we¡¯re friends, why wouldn¡¯t you be invited?¡±

    During the banquet that day, Li Qingshan had drunk a lot of alcohol. Originally, Li Qingshan was competing against Hua Chengzan.

    Hua Chengzan was unable to continue any further before long. His face was crimson. He turned them against one another, fiercely praising Han Tieyi¡¯s drinking capacity. Before they knew it, it turned into a drinking competition between Li Qingshan and Han Tieyi.

    The first-class spiritual alcohol was emptied jar after jar. Han Tieyi kept a cold expression the entire time. Let alone becoming drunk, his expression had not even changed the entire time, which made even Li Qingshan uneasy.

    After downing over thirty jars, Han Tieyi suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed like a log, unable to get up anymore.

    ¡°So I¡¯m still the victor after all.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He heard about how Hua Chenglu had stood up for him, so he specially went over to toast to her, turning her bright red.

    Using his drunken recklessness, he patted his chest and said, ¡°Miss Hua, you¡¯re the same as your older brother, a good person. If you have any trouble in the future, feel free to come find me!¡±

    Even if he did not drink, he would still give her a promise like that. Back then in Lakeside city, it was all because of her assistance that he had managed to escape. She had even given him a puppet for free as Xiao An¡¯s birthday present. He drew a thick line between kindness and grievances. Perhaps he could ignore small grievances, but he would always return kindness, no matter how big or small.

    ¡°Really?¡± Hua Chenglu blinked her eyes.

    ¡°Really.¡± Li Qingshan was not after a solemn pledge, but he would never shirk away from a promise among friends.

    ¡°Alright, then a promise is a promise.¡± Hua Chenglu lifted her cup and clinked it against Li Qingshan¡¯s gently as if she was considering something.

    Then, Li Qingshan went to find Juechenzi to drink with. Juechenzi had not come under the orders of the slovenly daoist priest. Instead, he had come out of his own accord. He wanted to resolve the grievances between Li Qingshan and the school of Daoism, but it was not because he was afraid of Li Qingshan. With the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s cultivation nearing Golden Core, he feared nobody.

    In a different time and place, perhaps they would be master and disciple. However, under these particular circumstances, they had instead developed resentment for one another. Juechenzi wanted to share his master¡¯s burden, and he also felt that Li Qingshan was worth befriending.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An had not even spent a year in the academy, but Juechenzi firmly believed they would become prominent figures in the Clear River prefecture in the future, or even more than that.

    Juechenzi took advantage of his drunkenness to say, ¡°My master wished for none of what happened on that day too. He originally admired you very much. He often laments to me again and again about how great of a pity this all was.¡±

    Li Qingshan, ¡°Since it¡¯s all in the past now, let¡¯s not talk about it anymore. There¡¯s nothing bad about the school of Novels anyway. At least I can stand on equal footing with you as a primary disciple.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest had screwed him over, but it was not because he wanted to harm him. He just wanted to vent his emotions, but Li Qingshan did not give him this chance, instead cursing back at him. With the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s cultivation and status, if he were just slightly petty, it would mean endless trouble for Li Qingshan. It showed that he was rather forgiving too.

    As such, why would Li Qingshan cling onto this matter of the past?

    Zhang Lanqing stood to one side with a smile. His face had also reddened despite his darker skin tone. He discovered that if he looked closely, the primary disciples of five schools were actually present. Excluding Li Qingshan, the primary disciple of the school of Novels, the schools of Buddhism, Daoism, Legalism, and the Military were all renowned major schools.

    Figures like them would shine no matter where they were.

    Li Qingshan returned to Cloudwisp island alone, while Xiao An went back to An¨¡srav¨¡? island. Despite being the primary disciple, the time she had spent on the island so far was even less than that of a young acolyte. No matter how ignorant she was about how to conduct herself, she still knew that this was rather inappropriate. And, she was burdened with another important mission, which was to help Li Qingshan collect pills so that he could complete that final step.

    The One Thought master¡¯s emotions were mixed, but he still felt happy when he saw his primary disciple return. Before Xiao An had even said anything, he had already presented her with many pills to support her future cultivation.

    Regardless of how he felt, if he made a supreme prodigy like her suffer on his An¨¡srav¨¡? island or waste time due to a lack of pills, it would be an utter waste.

    If he learned the reason behind why she had returned, he would probably facepalm in exasperation. Fortunately, it was unlikely for him to ever know. He could roughly estimate just how many pills other disciples would eat and how many missions they would complete, but just who could estimate her cultivation progress?

    Xiao An did not need these pills either. Right now, the true qi she had condensed in her body was just something akin to an illusion. Practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was still based on refining flesh and blood.

    Li Qingshan had already promised her that he would take her out to ¡°uphold justice¡± again soon. Yep, that was how he said it, but in her ears, it sounded more like a ¡°great feast¡±.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Master, I want to listen to your sermons of scriptures.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Which one would you like to hear? I¡¯ll give you one right now.¡± The One Thought master was delighted. Learning the texts of buddhism was an extremely important component of cultivation to buddhist disciples, but it was also a component that was extremely easy to neglect, particularly for genius disciples like her.

    When he faced regular disciples, the One Thought master would tell them earnestly, ¡°Only by comprehending the essence of buddhism can you progress with great ease in practising the buddhist cultivation methods.¡± However, just how much ease did Xiao An need with her current cultivation speed? He would obviously feel happy from the bottom of his heart now that Xiao An had come to him out of her own accord to hear his sermons without becoming blinded by her own talent.

    Little did he know that as a practitioner of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, Xiao An understood this principle better than anyone. Although she had read through the entirety of the jade slip called the Canon Depository, buddhist scriptures were different from the path of the sword. No matter how clever she was, it was impossible for her to comprehend their essence so easily.

    From a certain perspective, the classics that were purely ideological were more profound and complicated than most cultivation methods.

    Xiao An said, ¡°All of them.¡±

    The One Thought master could only smile bitterly. The buddhist scriptures were as vast as the open sea. He had read through all of them, but he only specialised in a single area, and that was already an extremely outstanding achievement.

    Xiao An remained silent most of the time, but whenever she asked a question, it would be a difficult one. The One Thought master scratched his bald head and finally made up his mind. He wanted to hold an assembly of dharma and invite all the eminent monks he knew throughout the Clear River prefecture, no, the nine prefectures of the Ruyi commandery, so they could come and give sermons to her.

    After all, surely he did not have to bear this ¡°punishment¡± alone. He could imagine just how speechless she could make his senior and junior brothers become. He actually began to look forward to it.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, how sinful of me, how sinful of me!¡±

    Seeing Li Qingshan return, trudging through the snow, Liu Chuanfeng suddenly raised his head and extended his neck. He asked, ¡°Did you win?¡± Because of his experiences last time, he was afraid to watch the battle this time.

    ¡°I won.¡±

 Chapter 314 â€“ I Want to Write Novels!

    Li Qingshan was tempted to say, ¡°Oi, I don¡¯t think this had anything to do with you!¡± Throughout the entire battle, he did not use the techniques of the school of Novels at all.

    But regardless, the battle still allowed the declining school of Novel¡¯s reputation to surge. At the very least, no one dared to mock its primary disciple anymore.

    After settling down, Liu Chanfeng gave him an update on the situation. ¡°Qingshan, all thanks to my senior brother¡¯s efforts, the Cloudwisp association you mentioned has basically been established now. Sure enough, the process of gathering the power of belief is much faster. If this continues, there¡¯s a lot of hope for me to reach Foundation Establishment. This was all your idea, so you need to condense your Divine Talisman of Great Creation soon too!¡±

    Li Qingshan hesitated, rubbing his chin in thought.

    ¡°Yeah, Qingshan. It¡¯s just you now!¡± Outside, a voice rang out clearly. Sun Fubai circled around in the air on a white crane before landing in the courtyard.

    Li Qingshan glanced over and almost failed to recognise him. Sun Fubai was still the same Sun Fubai as before, but a lot of his grey hair had vanished, and his face had a healthy shine. He radiated with energy as he walked. He was in high spirits. His leisurely aura as an old man had faded away, replaced by the determined spirit and aura of a middle-aged person.

    ¡°Senior brother, your cultivation!¡± Liu Chuanfeng exclaimed.

    Originally, due to the limits of his talent, Sun Fubai was an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, and basically all hope of making further advances in cultivation had been severed due to his age. However, after being gone for most of the year, Sun Fubai had returned as a ninth layer Qi Practitioner.

    With the progression of his cultivation, his true qi had increased, and all eight of his extraordinary meridians were connected now, so he obviously seemed younger. However, the core reason behind all of this was the influence on his mentality. Compared to idling around in a bookshop and waiting for his end to come, establishing foundations for the school of Novels and bringing glory back to the school was without a doubt much better for raising his spirits.

    Sun Fubai smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t sit around during this period. I casually wrote some things too.¡±

    With how large the Cloudwisp association was, it was obviously impossible for it to thrive off just a single person¡¯s novels. As the boss behind the scenes of the Cloudwisp association, Sun Fubai would obviously make use of the ¡°mediums¡± he had created himself. Recently, whenever he dealt with the matters on hand and had nothing better to do, he would lift up his brush again and write.

    He had gathered large quantities of the power of belief. Having been stuck at the eighth layer for many years, the assistance brought on by this power allowed him to forcefully break through, taking another step forward with cultivation.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Fubai, what brought you back here?¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°I heard you were going to fight someone, so I came back to take a look. Looks like you¡¯ve won.¡±

    Now, only the three of them remained for the school of Novels. Now that they were all gathered here, it was a joyous occasion. They were all filled with delight.

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°I¡¯ve brought some things back for you two too.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡± Liu Chuanfeng accepted an ordinary, large bundle wrapped in white cloth from Sun Fubai. Apart from being tied together by red silk, there was nothing special about it. It did not give off any spiritual qi either.

    Li Qingshan became curious as well. To cultivators, there was basically nothing good that lacked spiritual qi. Sun Fubai¡¯s gift was rather strange.

    Liu Chuanfeng opened it. It was filled with paper and letters.

    In order to receive the feedback from below in time so that Liu Chuanfeng could adapt his stories, he made the members of the Cloudwisp association ask for the audience¡¯s opinions once they completed their storytelling or performances. Afterwards, it evolved into many members of the audience writing letters to the ¡°Master of Wind and Moon¡±. Even if they were not literate, there were special people who could write on their behalf. He gathered all of their responses and handed them over to Liu Chuanfeng.

    Liu Chuanfeng opened them up and read them in a hurry. Obviously, most of them commended him, with quite a lot giving suggestions and expressing their anticipation for his works. He sat there and just laughed to himself idiotically. As the school leader with the least dignity, who was frequently mocked by others in the academy, he had found his long-awaited respect. He truly experienced the magnificence of writing novels.

    This gift was truly more precious than any pills or spiritual stones.

    Then, Sun Fubai said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Qingshan, you like to drink, so I brought back the fine liquor from various lands for you. Although they¡¯re not as great as spiritual alcohol and can¡¯t assist you with your cultivation, they¡¯re still something to relish.¡±

    The domain of the Clear River prefecture that spanned fifteen hundred kilometers had produced several dozen fine liquors. Their ingredients and methods of fermentation all differed. Sun Fubai had chosen the best of the best among them, bringing them back for Li Qingshan.

    Just his intentions behind this was enough to touch Li Qingshan. Sitting at home and tasting the fine liquor from various lands was quite a pleasurable thing to do.

    Li Qingshan accepted the several dozen jars of fine alcohol and bowed. ¡°Fubai, you¡¯ve outdone yourself.¡±

    Sun Fubai smiled. ¡°It¡¯s all but a trifle. Compared to your ideas, it¡¯s absolutely nothing. I¡¯ve already planted the tree by borrowing your ideas. If you refuse to enjoy the shade underneath, then you¡¯ll really be letting down my hard work.¡±

    Reaching there, just who could still decline him? Li Qingshan said, ¡°I want to condense a Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Please teach me, Fubai.¡±

    The power of belief could conjure anything and everything. While its effects were nothing special in Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s hands, he had no idea on how to fight in the first place. For example, if he could summon something as simple as a metal chain, he could turn the tides of battle by catching the opponent off-guard as long as he timed it correctly, even if he failed to bind his opponent with it. If he knew something like that, it would only be easier for him to deal with a narrow-minded idiot like Chu Tian.

    And, if he advanced even further and the power of belief he had accumulated was powerful enough, just trapping his opponent for a second would be enough for him to land countless strikes.

    Sun Fubai smiled. The school of Novels had a successor now.

    Liu Chuanfeng heard none of it. All he did was laugh to himself idiotically as he read these letters. He read them bent over, he read them laying down, and he even read them crouching down.

    Sun Fubai and Li Qingshan smiled at one another.

    An ocean surged with azure waves to no end. Countless rivers flowed into it. The seawater evaporated and turned into clouds, filling the rivers once again.

    At this moment, a mysterious power suddenly flattened every single ripple on the sea. A simplistic, navy glyph rose up from the still seas. Countless water dragons rose up and merged there. The simplistic glyph became clearer and stronger, radiating with withdrawn light before hovering over the ocean in the end.

    The seawater began to surge once more. Vaguely, there seemed to be a spirit turtle swimming about.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. A divine talisman seemed to flicker in the depths of his eyes. The process of condensing the Divine Talisman of Great Creation was much simpler than he had anticipated, probably because of how pure his true qi was. He had completed it in less than three days.

    However, the path of divine talismans was different from regular cultivation. Condensing a divine talisman was just the basics.

    Sun Fubai had already returned to the prefectural city to deal with the matters of the Cloudwisp association. Li Qingshan had given him a few more suggestions, so he hurried back to make the Cloudwisp association even larger.

    As for Liu Chuanfeng, he left the academy after he finished reading the letters. He wanted to follow the example of ancient novelists, to go out travelling and collect references.

    As a result, only the primary disciple, Li Qingshan, was left on the large island. However, before he departed, he left something to Li Qingshan¡ªa fine table.

    The brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones had already been prepared.

    The pure-white paper laid there flat, becoming even whiter under the snowy reflection from outside the window. On the brush rack were a row of weasel hair brushes of varying sizes and styles. Even someone as unsophisticated as Li Qingshan experienced an urge to write.

    Several days later, Liu Chuanfeng returned from collecting references. He said he was collecting references, but he actually visited the various branches of the Cloudwisp association scattered across the land, listening to the storytellers tell stories he had written while secretly grinning. Riding around on a white crane, he had visited quite a lot of places in those seven or eight days.

    He wondered just how Li Qingshan was doing. Hmph, writing novels isn¡¯t that easy. He must have written some trashy works. I¡¯ll teach him a proper lesson later and reestablish my dignity as a school leader.

    Liu Chuanfeng arrived in the bamboo loft, and sure enough, he saw Li Qingshan sitting before the table with a brush in his hand and Xiao An on the ground, reading the commentary on a buddhist scripture. She spotted Liu Chuanfeng and glanced at him, but she said nothing.

    However, Li Qingshan did not even look over. Liu Chuanfeng thought, Pretty diligent. He walked over and took a look. The white paper was empty. There was only a black blotch of ink that had dripped down from the tip of the brush.

    ¡°Where are the parts that you¡¯ve finished?¡± Liu Chuanfeng asked.

    Li Qingshan turned his head slightly. ¡°What parts finished?¡±

    ¡°The novel!¡± Liu Chuanfeng said obviously, but he soon noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was rather messy too. Li Qingshan, who had been eternally high-spirited, actually seemed rather dishevelled now.

    ¡°Heehee!¡± Xiao An giggled, but Li Qingshan immediately glared at her. She stuck out her tongue and pulled a face.

    Li Qingshan finally understood what barely forcing out six words over three days1 meant now.

    In the beginning, he wanted to write something original, but he gave up on that thought very soon. Although his memories of his past life were mostly gone, he still remembered a few iconic stories after all.

    However, when he tried to convert these memories into words and express them through the tip of the brush, he immediately felt he was not made for this line of work.

    He managed to write a little after quite a lot of effort, but his penmanship was so horrid that even he himself found it to be unbearable. Suddenly, he realised just how boring those iconic stories in his memories actually were.

    He had tried calming his mind by drinking tea, he had tried riling himself up with alcohol, but none of it worked at all. He was unable to write anything at all. He even began to admire Liu Chuanfeng a little. Regardless of the quality, at least he could still throw a book together.

    It took every shred of Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s willpower to hold back his smile, but his smile still managed to leak out from every single crease on his face. All of the creases said the same thing, ¡°Hah, to think you would have a day like this.¡±

    He said ¡®earnestly¡¯, ¡°It¡¯s just like what I said, it¡¯s not that easy. The first step is always the most troublesome. Come, allow the renowned novelist, the Master of Wind and Moon, to teach you how to write.¡±

    Thud. Li Qingshan threw the brush away and leapt to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m not writing anymore. What¡¯s so great about writing novels anyway? It¡¯s a waste of time. I¡¯m going to go out and move around a little.¡± He left through the door with Xiao An, flying off on a cloud and vanishing into the darkness before dawn. His rebukes could be heard from afar. ¡°Stop laughing!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was speechless. He shook his head and sighed. Looks like it really would be difficult for the legacy of the school of Novels to thrive on!

    Around dusk, Liu Chuanfeng happened to be bent over a table, writing, when Li Qingshan entered through the door. There were bruises on his face, but his smile oozed with confidence. ¡°I want to write novels!¡±

    PS: Many of the stats in the past two days have reached record-breaking levels. Word count is false, but support is real. I¡¯m almost going to laugh to myself idiotically like Liu Chuanfeng. Thank you. Many parts of the upcoming plot will be much smoother. As soon as I¡¯m in a good mood, who knows, I might erupt with releases. Although I¡¯m clumsy and slow-witted, I have plenty of time. I have neither boyfriends nor girlfriends. This might be misfortune to regular people, but to a novelist, this truly is great fortune. There¡¯s probably no chance of a mass release today, but let me prepare a little. It¡¯ll probably take a day or two! I will continue to request for monthly tickets for the month and subscriptions and support! I also want to write novels!

 Chapter 315 â€“ How Do I Start Writing One

    Li Qingshan left Cloudwisp island with Xiao An, pinching and twisting Xiao An¡¯s cheeks. However, she leaned against his arms and laughed even harder, such that even Li Qingshan felt powerless.

    The sun had yet to rise up. It was currently the darkest part of the night. The academy was silent. He could only hear the neverending rise and fall of waves below the ice.

    Although Qi Practitioners could go for several days and nights without sleep, they would still rest at night like regular people if there was no need to stay up so that they could maintain their mental state. It was beneficial to cultivation.

    Li Qingshan wanted to move around a little, but he had no idea where to go. In the past few days, he felt like something had been pressing against his chest the entire time.

    Suddenly, he thought of something. Didn¡¯t he still have some unresolved grievances?

    Hao Pingyang happened to be clinging to his blanket, sleeping soundly. Suddenly, he heard a few knocks on the door and got up to see who it was. Opening the door, he saw Li Qingshan and Xiao An standing there.

    Li Qingshan told him about how He Yishi had tried to frame him when the Hawkwolf Guard was carrying out an investigation.

    Hao Pingyang was infuriated too. Without saying another word, he put on his clothes. ¡°Let¡¯s get him!¡±

    The two of them then knocked on Zhang Lanqing¡¯s door. After a moment of thought, Zhang Lanqing said, ¡°Give me a moment.¡±

    He returned upstairs. They could vaguely hear a woman¡¯s complaints, along with Zhang Lanqing¡¯s gentle pleading.

    The two of them smiled at one another. Li Qingshan thought about how Zhang Lanqing¡¯s cultivation was not particularly high, but he spent his days even more comfortably than them, unlike him who had to face an obscene man who wrote smut all day.

    He could not help but think about finding a woman to warm his bed. The figures of a few women flashed across his mind. Hua Chenglu was too young. Yu Zijian was not bad, but she had yet to blossom completely either. Han Qiongzhi would be pretty good, but it seemed like it had been quite a while since he had last seen her.

    Speaking of which, sect master Qiu Haitang was still the best. They say a friend¡¯s wife is off-limits, but it¡¯ll just be in my fantasies, so you can¡¯t blame me, little Hua.

    Xiao An stared straight at Li Qingshan. She found his expression to be slightly strange, rather similar to Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s. Did he infect Li Qingshan with something bad? Did she have to kill him?

    As Li Qingshan was carried away by his fantasies, Zhang Lanqing came back down, and Li Qingshan said, ¡°Apologies. We¡¯ve interrupted your spring night.¡±

    Zhang Lanqing reddened. ¡°What spring night? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan had compared the Academy of the Hundred Schools to university before, but the status of Qi Practitioners were obviously beyond anything university students could match. It was impossible for them to be all squeezed into a single dormitory, even nominating a bunch of people in charge.

    They all had their own residences, which they could personally adjust using the mechanisms built into the structure. Just this alone demonstrated how great a mohist disciple¡¯s residence was.

    He Yishi¡¯s residence was located in a corner to the west of Divine Mechanism island. He was sleeping too, except he slept rather uneasily. After Li Qingshan made a name for himself in that battle, his fear grew with each passing day.

    He had once investigated Li Qingshan and learnt that he possessed the nickname of ¡°Tiger Butcher¡± in Jiaping city, and he possessed a cruel, murderous character. Just this alone had made him jerk awake several times. He set down layers upon layers of trigger mechanisms, but it still gave him no peace.

    Seeing how close Hua Chengzan and Li Qingshan were to one another, he knew that being exposed was just a matter of time. His own betrayal haunted him constantly.

    He Yishi suddenly sat up in bed. He was covered in cold sweat. He had dreamt that Li Qingshan had become a tiger and mauled through his belly, ripping out his organs.

    Blurrily, he saw a few dark figures standing before his bed. He jerked awake completely.

    Li Qingshan and He Yishi met face to face. They made eye contact and were both stunned.

    He Yishi had set up many warning mechanisms, but how was it possible for them to be triggered with Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing here? They dismantled all of them, allowing them to enter He Yishi¡¯s bedroom smoothly. They were just about to throw something over his head and vent their anger, but they never expected him to actually wake up at a time like this.

    Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing looked at one another too.

    Li Qingshan rushed up. He picked up the cotton blankets and threw it over his head, beating him viciously. They were already here anyway. Were they supposed to apologise and say that they had entered the wrong room at a time like this?

    Below the blankets, He Yishi called out, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯ve seen nothing! I¡¯ve seen nothing!¡± After witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s battle against Chu Tian, he no longer possessed even a shred of confidence in holding his ground against Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan had no idea on how to react. He never planned on killing He Yishi in the first place, or he would not have called Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing to come with him. Not only was his killing intent not heavy enough to kill in the academy, but He Yishi was not worth this risk to him either.

    Li Qingshan lifted his fists of revenge and gave He Yishi a thorough beating.

    ¡°Qingshan, enough! He doesn¡¯t deserve death!¡± Zhang Lanqing was afraid Li Qingshan would actually beat He Yishi to death.

    He Yishi ached all over, but he was still so touched that he almost began crying. Senior brother Zhang was truly a kind-hearted person!

    ¡°I¡¯m fully aware!¡± Li Qingshan punched him another three times viciously. ¡°He Yishi, don¡¯t act like you¡¯ve seen nothing. The person who beat you was me, Li Qingshan. I saved your life back then, but you turned against me instead. Today was for showing the consequences. I¡¯m not a person who you can frame just because you want to. If you hold any ill intent towards me again in the future, I¡¯ll never spare you! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    He heard the footsteps vanish through the door, followed by a bang when the door closed. Only then did He Yishi reveal himself from his covers slowly. His face was swollen like a pig¡¯s, to the point where he almost could not open his eyes. His fear of dying was gone now, while his body was in agony. He even felt like a few bones had broken.

    He had never suffered so much before. As he sobbed, he cursed Li Qingshan, he cursed Hao Pingyang, and he cursed Zhang Lanqing. After becoming exhausted from all the cursing, he collapsed on bed and felt his mind lighten up. Finally, there was no need for him to be on edge all the time. He could finally sleep in peace.

    If Li Qingshan learnt how his beating had instead brought He Yishi relief and liberation, who knew how he would feel? Anyhow, Li Qingshan was in quite a good mood right now. A part of the gloominess he had built up over the past few days had vanished.

    He was not afraid of He Yishi reporting this to someone either. He did not have evidence, and even if he did have evidence proving they were responsible, they would just suffer a bit of punishment at most, but He Yishi would not be able to remain in the academy any longer. A backstabbing, ungrateful scoundrel was not welcome anywhere.

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to invite Hao Pingyang and Zhang Lanqing to the Hundred Flavours restaurant for breakfast, but Zhang Lanqing insisted on going home. Afterwards, he invited out his ¡°companion¡±. She was not a supreme beauty, but she was a gentle and understanding person.

    When the female cultivator witnessed the arrival of the two primary disciples, both prominent figures within the academy, her small complaint completely vanished. She felt happy that Zhang Lanqing had friends like them. She even personally manned the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous breakfast for them all.

    Zhang Lanqing helped her out during the process. Even Li Qingshan was amazed by how perfect of a combination they were. Everyone had their own path of cultivation. With how vast it was, there was no need for a person to advance alone, and even if companionship resulted in nothing in the end, there would be no regrets when looking back.

    A few bowls of congee and a few pickled vegetables were served up. The taste was nothing special, but Li Qingshan still sang praises about how lucky Zhang Lanqing was. All of it came from the bottom of his heart.

    The sky lit up, and the day of study and cultivation began.

    Hao Pingyang said, ¡°You¡¯ve missed quite a few classes on forging artifacts.¡±

    Li Qingshan was currently facing a dilemma about whether to continue writing novels or not, so he was in no mood to study artifact forging. ¡°I need to visit the school of the Military for some matters. I¡¯m going to hold off artifact forging for now!¡±

    The leader of the school of the Military, Han Anguo, had personally invited him. No matter his reason, he had to go.

    He cared quite a lot about what Han Anjun had said too. He had not undertaken any systematic battle training before, purely relying on his own understanding, so there was nothing he could do about his moves being rather rough. He could unleash a hundred and twenty percent of his strength during every single battle through his impressive talent for battle, reaching the state where any move that could knock down a person was a good move.

    However, if he could receive some guidance from a master of battle like Han Anjun, he would definitely benefit quite a lot. Compared to the techniques that involved true qi, forging and tempering his body was still his roots, particularly when he transformed.

    And, according to his past experiences, moving around and working up a sweat would put him in a good mood too.

    As the disciples of the other schools were still struggling to get out of bed, all the military disciples had already begun training. They all stood on the snow-covered land, naked. They were all doused with a bucket of ice water first before being forced into the lake to swim a lap around Great War island.

    It was no different from living in military barracks, but no one even batted an eye. When they leapt into the icy lake, if they hesitated even in the slightest, the officers behind them¡ªequivalent to the professors¡ªwould immediately give them a kick, showing them absolutely none of the respect that Qi Practitioners deserved.

    Though, almost a year had already passed since the entrance examination. Even the new disciples would not hesitate anymore.

    Those who could not put up with this lifestyle had already left the school of the Military. Among the academy, the school of the Military was the only one with disciples who left willingly. It was also the only one without female disciples.

    Forging the body was no less painful than practising qi. They had to undertake the hardships of tempering and toughening their bodies. Only creatures like men would give up on their wonderful lives and experience a sense of pride as well as a hot-blooded bond of brotherhood through these masochistic drills.

    Within the academy, the disciples of the school of the Military were the most united too.

    Han Tieyi was at the very front with a patrol group. Suddenly, he heard a loud whistle from above, and he spotted Li Qingshan smiling on the cloud, saying, ¡°Nice build, though your drinking capacities are a little lacking! Hahaha!¡± Li Qingshan thought about his glorious achievement of toppling Han Tieyi in drinking again.

    Han Tieyi heard why Li Qingshan had come, and he immediately withdrew the disciples back on shore. Afterwards, he made Li Qingshan wait outside.

    Li Qingshan arrived before the central building of the school of Military. Outside the martial arts hall, there were several hundred tall, wide steps. Several hundred military disciples stood to the two sides, all bare-chested and neutral in expression, without shifting their gazes at all.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re far too polite. You¡¯ve even arranged a special welcoming ceremony for me!¡±

    Han Tieyi appeared on the top of the steps. He wore a set of black clothes that were easy to work in, which accentuated his straight eyebrows and twinkling eyes, making him seem extraordinarily valiant. ¡°If you want guidance from the school leader, we¡¯ll have to see whether you qualify or not.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Then how can I qualify?¡±

    Han Tieyi seemed to smile, but it was just too fast, such that even Li Qingshan doubted his own eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t use any techniques. Fight your way up!¡±

 Chapter 316 â€“ How Do I Start Writing Two

    Li Qingshan had been expecting this from Han Tieyi. He raised his head and gazed over. There were at least seven or eight hundred military disciples standing on the long steps, ranging from as low as the second or third layer to as high as the seventh or eighth layer. They were cleverly divided by the steps.

    Every single disciple of the school of the Military gave off a scent of valour and fierceness. If regular Qi Practitioners were hounds, then they would be true wolves. From a rough glance, their figures did not seem particularly large, but when it came to actual battle, it would be completely different.

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°The training mission today is actual combat. Your objective is to defeat that person.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    Military orders bore the weight of mountains, and it would be strictly enforced. Several hundred pairs of eyes turned towards Li Qingshan at the same time, all staring daggers at him.

    Every single one of them had witnessed the battle the other day. They admired and applauded this person who had defeated Chu Tian despite the odds, earning Han Anjun¡¯s praise, but they did not fear him. As ¡°soldiers¡±, they were people who had to be able to cast aside their personal safety and charge in with full strength even against enemies that outnumbered them ten-to-one.

    Li Qingshan could truly feel the existence of the army¡¯s ¡°might¡±.

    When they poured their strength together and achieved unity, they would form a monster called an ¡°army¡±. The tremendous bearing crushed down on him like an avalanche, like he was facing an army a hundred thousand strong.

    Yes, if it were an army composed of regular people, even if they were a hundred thousand strong, they still would not be able to stop them.

    Faced with this situation, it would be quite rare if regular Qi Practitioners could even unleash thirty percent of their full strength.

    However, was Li Qingshan a regular person? He had never been shaken up by anyone¡¯s aura or bearing before. Compared to lifting a brush and writing, situations like this were what he was adept at dealing with. As a matter of fact, he even liked such situations.

    Not only was he composed and devoid of any fear, but this had even set off his burning fighting spirit, making him eager to try them. He laughed aloud. ¡°Tieyi, we¡¯re friends who¡¯ve drunken together, even though I overwhelmed you, hahaha! Yet, you use something like this against me. When I get up there, I¡¯ll definitely give you a punch or three.¡±

    He infuriated the military disciples with that. Although they admired Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, he was just a seventh layer Qi Practitioner if he could not use any techniques or weapons. He knew the art of forging the body, but just who here didn¡¯t know that? Let alone beating him up, they could even exhaust him to death.

    Li Qingshan turned towards Xiao An and said, ¡°Wait here. Watch how I tear through his military formation!¡±

    With that, he planted a foot on the steps. Over a dozen figures leapt up and immediately filled his vision. As they called out, they attacked every inch of Li Qingshan¡¯s body at the same time. Their combination was flawless, like they were a single person. They sealed off every single direction for Li Qingshan, along with any possibility for him to dodge.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! He was basically struck at the same time all over his body. The punches, kicks, palm strikes, and knee strikes were like spear thrusts and hammer blows. Even a boulder would be smashed to pieces by them.

    We¡¯ve won. All the disciples who launched the attack thought at the same time. He had no protective techniques. They did not even sense any protective true qi. How was he supposed to withstand their punches and kicks with his body alone?

    ¡°Now, this is the welcoming ceremony our school of the Military gives to esteemed guests!¡± said a military disciple, answering Li Qingshan¡¯s little joke from earlier.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head. His tied-up hair was shaken loose, draping onto his face.

    ¡°Really? Punches as weak and as powerless as this don¡¯t seem like a particularly enthusiastic welcome.¡±

    The military disciple who had spoken suddenly became stunned. A pair of eyes shone red like a beast¡¯s within the messy hair as his lips curled into a vicious grin, exposing his snow-white teeth.

    With a jolt, the true qi stored within his sea of qi began to surge out.

    All the military disciples who had struck him were sent flying, landing far away. Their arms and legs that they had used to strike Li Qingshan were in agony, but none of them groaned. Some of them even struggled back onto their feet, wanting to fight back.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if people like that just sit out if that¡¯s all the strength that you have. People like that can¡¯t pique my interests at all.¡±

    As Li Qingshan said that, he continued to climb up the steps. Whenever he climbed a step higher, even more and even stronger military disciples would attack him. He still did not fight back, allowing his body to endure their attacks. He did not even bother to shake them off. The punches from third or fourth layer Qi Practitioners would never be able to harm him even without protective true qi.

    On the steps, the military disciples had completely surrounded Li Qingshan, punching and kicking him, but they failed to slow him down, not even slightly. Instead, their arms and legs ached as Li Qingshan shook them off. They were in utter shock. Just how powerful were his defences?

    Li Qingshan could tell that he had to climb to a certain height before stronger military disciples would attack him.

    Han Tieyi watched on from the very top. Their gazes met.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Suddenly, he leaned forwards, and his arms draped down naturally. The stone steps that had been reinforced using techniques cracked under his feet.

    All of a sudden, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanished from before the military disciples.

    Li Qingshan had already shot off like an arrow, charging through the military disciples in his way and sending them flying. He directly rushed towards the highest point on the steps.

    The Tiger Demon Climbs the Mountain in an unstoppable fashion.

    No one had expected Li Qingshan to actually be so fast when he decided to move quickly. In the blink of an eye, he reached the top of the stairs, only ten steps away from Han Tieyi.

    The military disciples all roared out, ¡°Stop him!¡±

    Not a single disciple remained where they were anymore. All of them were alarmed and set off at the same time. If they allowed Li Qingshan to charge to the very top, they truly would become laughing stocks.

    ¡°Eat my fist!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. The bones throughout his entire body thrummed as he mobilised all the true qi in his dantian. Nothing happened when he remained still, but once he struck, he would unleash his full strength.

    His vision suddenly dimmed, as if a wall had appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path to Han Tieyi.

    The giant lumberman Mu Kui let out a furious roar. Lifting his arms over his head, he swung them down like battering rams.

    He was the otherperson who had once competed against Li Qingshan in a trial of strength. He was naturally endowed with unrivalled physical strength, and he had spent most of the past year working diligently, allowing his strength to reach a whole new level. He wanted payback right now.

    Thump! The platform at the very top of the steps seemed to shake.

    The punch and the battering rams collided.

    Mu Kui was overwhelmed with shock. Under an overwhelming force, his colossal body stumbled backwards before he collapsed on his bottom in the end.

    Li Qingshan maintained his posture of throwing a punch without taking a single step back.

    The ox demon had provided him with great physical strength, while the tiger demon had provided him with unrivalled explosive power. Together, he could even force back a giant lumberman who was naturally endowed with strength.

    However, Mu Kui¡¯s obstruction gave the military disciples the opportunity to stop Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan looked around.

    The strongest disciple present at the eighth layer had already arrived before him. His fists actually burned with flames, fusing his abilities as a Body Practitioner and a Qi Practitioner together. Even Li Qingshan could not afford to underestimate him.

    A little further away, over a dozen seventh layer Qi Practitioners unleashed their various techniques and shone with an assortment of colours. Even further away, several hundred men of the school of the Military formed a sea of surging heads, lunging over like a wolf pack that had spotted prey.

    In front of him, Mu Kui had stood up again; he spread out his arms, refusing to let Li Qingshan pass.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it! Come get me together!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed before turning around and charging into the crowd. He was like a fierce tiger that had climbed to the very top of the mountain before turning around and lunging back down.

    The Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain!

    The first in line was a seventh layer Qi Practitioner. He wielded his palm like a knife as Geng Metal true qi condensed a blade. His moves were as swift as lightning, specialising in tearing through protective true qi.

    The path of the military did not have any spectacular techniques, but what they could do was condense all their power into a single point, forming a simple but highly effective killing move.

    His plan was that as long as he could force back Li Qingshan by even half a step, they would be able to fall into formation and launch combined attacks against Li Qingshan. By then, no matter how capable Li Qingshan was, he would not be able to break free. He would be a sitting duck.

    Li Qingshan only attacked without defending. He allowed the Geng Metal blade to land on him while all he did was smile viciously and throw a punch.

    At that moment, whoever retreated would take a great blow to their momentum.

    If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll make you suffer. The military disciple gritted his teeth and swung down hard.

    Even an idiot knew what was more damaging¡ªbeing struck by a punch or being chopped by a blade.

    With a thump, the military disciple took off like a broken kite, falling down the steps and colliding against his fellow officers. His eyes were wide open. All he saw was a white mark on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, which soon disappeared.

    Just what kind of body tempering techniques did he practise? That was the final thought that flashed through his head before he fainted.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s Gui Water true qi was extremely pure. Although it could not block the Geng Metal blade qi completely, it could slow it down momentarily. Before it could even land on him properly, Li Qingshan interrupted the attack with his punch, and the residual power was nowhere near enough to get through his Ox Demon Forges its Hide.

    We¡¯re both seventh layer Qi Practitioners, but my physical strength is greater, my speed is faster, and even my true qi is more pure. How are you supposed to contend against me?

    Li Qingshan attacked every single direction, like a tiger within a flock of sheep. All he saw were figures. There was no need for him to consider what moves he would use. All he did was throw his arms and legs about, and the military disciples would be sent flying as they called out one by one.

    Above, there were also a few drillmasters of the school of the Military besides Han Tieyi. They could all tell that Li Qingshan was not a brute on a mindless rampage. From the beginning till end, he did not give the strongest few disciples the opportunity to surround him. Their fellow officers had instead become their obstacles.

    It was truly shocking that he could still grasp the entire situation despite how chaotic it was. Even more shockingly, he actually seemed to be trying to defeat all of these disciples alone.

    An old drillmaster asserted, ¡°It¡¯s impossible for his physical strength and true qi to last that long.¡±

    Fifteen minutes later, half of the military disciples had already collapsed. All of them could fight no more. Some of them had even fainted, directly rolling down the steps, and this was all with Li Qingshan holding back, or they would have been dead.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan was still as energetic as ever, without the slightest hint of exhaustion. Instead, he was in high spirits, calling out, ¡°Satisfying!¡± He grabbed a military disciple by the leg and whirled him around a few times like a weapon before throwing him far away.

    The drillmasters were utterly astounded. The old drillmaster from earlier added again, ¡°This kid truly has taken me by surprise, but he won¡¯t be able to last much longer.¡±

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi had already begun to run out. He would only use his true qi to block relatively more dangerous attacks, which earned a series of nods from the drillmasters.

 Chapter 317 â€“ How Do I Start Writing Three

    Li Qingshan swept away the military disciples like an autumn breeze to fallen leaves. Having lost his protective true qi, he was covered in wounds, gasping for air. In particular, his chest had an extremely prominent print of a scorched fist. He was covered in blood, both from others and himself.

    Large swathes of military disciples laid on the ground below his feet.

    Li Qingshan grinned and chuckled to himself. A battle like this was even more satisfying than downing fifty jars of fine alcohol. Everything troubling him had been cast aside.

    The few dozen remaining military disciples looked at him like he was a monster. If it were not for Han Tieyi and the drillmasters watching on from above and the fact that their lives were not in danger, they would have scattered a long time ago.

    No matter how great the willpower of the military disciples were, it was still finite.

    However, there were still moments when this ¡°monster¡± would be weakened. ¡°Don¡¯t let him recover! Get him, brothers!¡±

    However, their faint glimmer of hope was soon put out by Li Qingshan.

    He grabbed two military disciples by the neck, one in each arm. Tightening his grasp, the two of them directly fainted. After that, he casually tossed them aside.

    At this moment, a fist arrived before him. He received it with a headbutt, and with a crack, the arm broke, and Li Qingshan shook his head too.

    Although he seemed like he could collapse in the next moment, he remained standing staunchly. Only when the last military disciple had collapsed did he laugh aloud.

    Li Qingshan had not achieved this because he had erupted with extraordinary strength. Instead, he had finished off all the seventh layer Qi Practitioners one by one in the chaotic battle, while the strongest opponent, the eighth layer Qi Practitioner, had been finished off at the cost of an injury from forcefully taking on a punch. The otherperson Mu Kui had received a kick from Li Qingshan too, rolling down the steps and falling unconscious.

    Even an exhausted tiger was not something that a group of wolf cubs could threaten.

    Now, no one else could stand on the several hundred steps anymore apart from him.

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°See?¡±

    Unknowingly, the spectators below were not just Xiao An anymore. There were also many other disciples from other schools who had heard the news and rushed over from the other islands. They all stared at him in shock. All of them had just watched him defeat approximately ninety percent of the disciples of the school of the Military alone. Was he still human?

    Li Qingshan looked down from above and saw a sea of heads. It was a gathering on par with the one during his battle against Chu Tian. Hua Chengzan, Hao Pingyang, and a few others were among them. Han Qiongzhi seemed to be there too.

    ¡­¡­

    A few months had already passed by now. The slight heart throb she experienced back then had already vanished. Ever since she learned Li Qingshan had entered the school of Novels, she knew that he had probably lost the right to pursue her forever. She found this to be a slight pity.

    Only when she heard how he wanted to fight the genius Chu Tian did she become interested again. She went to watch and simply because of his favourable impression on her, she wagered five hundred spiritual stones on him, but in the end, he did not even show up, which immediately disappointed her. The slight heart throb turned into disdain. All she thought was she had completely misjudged him back then.

    Hua Chengzan leaned against the door. ¡°Of course, he came. I said this last time. You misunderstood him. He¡¯s not someone who would run away from a battle.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi continued to tidy her things. ¡°If you were a woman, I¡¯d probably suspect you feel something towards that kid. No, you might even be infatuated with him. What, did Chu Tian beat him until he was half dead, making you lose another one thousand spiritual stones?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°The heart of a woman is as difficult to grasp as a needle on the bottom of the ocean, but getting a woman to understand a man is extremely difficult too. This time, I won.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi stopped what she was doing. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I made back everything I lost last time. Chu Tian is still hospitalised in the school of Medicine. And, the kid you¡¯re talking about has already reached the seventh layer. I think catching up to you is just a matter of time for him. Of course, if the two of you fight right now, you probably aren¡¯t his opponent.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi asked, ¡°Then what about him? How¡¯s he doing?¡±

    ¡°Basically unscathed. I heard he has been writing novels recently. Hehe, if old Wang hears this, it¡¯ll drive him crazy again.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi frowned. ¡°Have I misjudged him? Tell me exactly what happened.¡±

    As a result, Hua Chengzan told her the entire story. With how nimble his tongue was, he would probably be the best storyteller there ever was if he decided to tell stories.

    Han Qiongzhi was enthralled. She was tempted to rush over in person and celebrate with Li Qingshan. So she had misunderstood him. She put down her things. No, I have to go see him.

    However, she stopped herself again. When he joined the school of Novels back then, I didn¡¯t go to see him, so if I go see him now, wouldn¡¯t he just take me as a snob?

    But he had entered secluded cultivation just a few days after joining the school of Novels. She had been busy too, which was why she had not visited him. And, as a woman, it would be utterly humiliating for her to have any contact with a person from the school of Novels.

    Just as she was stuck in this dilemma, a legalist disciple reported, ¡°Senior brother and sister, there¡¯s another show going on again! Han Tieyi has laid down his military formations for Li Qingshan to challenge!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Hua Chengzan said, so Han Qiongzhi just went with the flow. She hated missing out on the fun the most.

    After she arrived, Han Qiongzhi felt rather glad. At least she had not missed this battle.

    As she watched Li Qingshan rampage through the military disciples with a composed smile, she suddenly felt her heart thump, while her eyes were firmly glued to him too.

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°Who¡¯s the one infatuated now?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened, but she did not back down. ¡°Do you have any issues with that? This is the type I like. It¡¯s countless times better than a pretty face like you!¡±

    Hua Chenzan rubbed his nose. ¡°You really can¡¯t keep a grown girl at home. In the blink of an eye, your childhood friend has become a pretty face.¡±

    They knew one another since they were children. Since young, he had been radiating with charm, such that he would interest basically every single woman that he met. Only she maintained a relationship of purely friends with him. Even without him, Han Qiongzhi would still dislike romantic men, as she came from a clan of soldiers. No matter how charming Hua Chengzan was, it would still be ineffective against her.

    Han Qiongzhi sniggered. ¡°This time, li¡¯l bro Tieyi¡¯s in for quite the humiliation. My old man must be quite ashamed too.¡±

    Before she had even finished speaking, a cold snort pierced her ears like an awl. Han Qiongzhi shivered all over as she became sheet-white.

    Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi gritted her teeth. ¡°It¡¯s the old coot. To think he would actually be so vicious to his own daughter.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°There aren¡¯t any daughters who speak so brazenly either.¡±

    As they spoke, the outcome had been determined on the platform. Han Qiongzhi saw how Li Qingshan was riddled with wounds, tottering about, which pulled at her heartstrings. She called out, ¡°You¡¯ve won, so come down already!¡±

    ¡°Hold on. I need to beat you up now!¡± Li Qingshan instead turned around and made his way up as he said this to Han Tieyi.

    Li Qingshan climbed up step by step, arriving before Han Tieyi.

    A military disciple on the ground suddenly climbed up and wrapped his arms around Li Qingshan¡¯s waist.

    ¡°Brothers, stop him!¡±

    The incapacitated military disciples all grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s legs with everything that they had.

    Li Qingshan lifted his fist, throwing it towards the military disciple around his waist. The disciple just closed his eyes, but he continued to cling onto him. However, he felt no pain at all. For some reason, Li Qingshan had pulled the fist back again.

    Li Qingshan moved his heavy feet with difficulty, forcefully dragging so many people along as he approached Han Tieyi step by step. He tottered about very much as he walked, but he was determined.

    With a thump, he finally stepped onto the platform on the top, throwing a punch towards Han Tieyi.

    Han Tieyi raised his hand to stop the drillmasters who wanted to interfere. Without dodging at all, he received the punch.

    ¡°Young general!¡± The military disciples were all furious. This was akin to watching helplessly as the enemy general charged through their ranks and killed their commander. Every single military disciple who was still conscious felt disgraced. They gritted their teeth, with some even tearing up like children.

    ¡°Release him,¡± Han Tieyi ordered. ¡°There are still two more punches.¡±

    Li Qingshan exercised his body slightly. ¡°Even I find punches so powerless to be boring, so I¡¯ll keep it on credit for now. I¡¯ll punch you when I recover my strength!¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan fell backwards. There was a flash of golden light, and Xiao An caught Li Qingshan with her vajra avatar.

    The sound of snoring rang out as he slept away soundly. As he slept, he grinned in pure satisfaction.

    ¡°Give him to me. He needs some treatment.¡±

    A woman arrived beside Xiao An. Her beauty was picturesque as she spoke gently. Dressed in white clothes, she seemed to radiate with white light. An ivory tablet hung from her waist, engraved with the word ¡°One¡±.

    On the steps, disciples of the school of Medicine in similar white clothes got to work, tending to and treating the wounds of the military disciples.

    Han Tieyi said to the woman, ¡°Ru Xin, thank you for your troubles.¡±

    The school of the Military could handle regular injuries. As a matter of fact, the disciples themselves could recover without any treatment at all. However, if the injuries were slightly more severe, they would ask the disciples of the school of Medicine to help out, preventing any potential lingering problems.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m getting paid, of course I have to do my job and leave you satisfied.¡± Ru Xin smiled gently in a natural and graceful manner. The school of the Military was the school of Medicine¡¯s greatest customer. Rarely did they ever have so much business.

    ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin, he seems to be mostly fine,¡± a muscly man said in a low, muffled voice.

    ¡°We have no idea if he has suffered any internal injuries. It¡¯ll be bad if it becomes something chronic. Don¡¯t you think so, little sister?¡± Ru Xin crouched down and asked Xiao An.

    Xiao An felt that Li Qingshan would be completely fine with how his body was built, but she was still worried, so she nodded in agreement.

    A green leaf flew out from Ru Xin¡¯s sleeve. It expanded and lifted up Li Qingshan. A green light rose up and encased Li Qingshan. His smaller wounds immediately began to recover.

    Even more green leaves flew out from her sleeve, over a hundred of them. They lifted up all the military disciples who were relatively more injured.

    This was not a technique, but a spiritual artifact. It was a spiritual artifact that came in a set. Although it was only high grade, it was probably worth even more than regular supreme grade spiritual artifacts.

    Ru Xin glanced at Li Qingshan on the leaf and pursed her lips. His body was so powerful that it basically exceeded all regular understanding. It was very much worth studying.

    ¡­¡­

    Han Tieyi turned around and entered the martial arts hall. To the very back sat Han Anjun, who held a bronze, three-legged cup for drinking alcohol. To his sides were ten seats, nine of which were occupied. Only the seat to Han Anjun¡¯s right was empty.

    All of them were eighth or ninth layer Qi Practitioners, while the vicious-looking, bulky, bald man to Han Anjun¡¯s left was impressively at the tenth layer Qi Practitioner.

    The bald man said, ¡°General, why won¡¯t you give us permission to fight? Why must we let that kid run amok in such an arrogant manner?¡±

    The eight other people were furious too. They had watched helplessly as Li Qingshan defeated all of their fellow officers alone before a public audience. If it were not for Han Anjun¡¯s power and influence, they would have run out of patience a long time ago and interfered.

    Among the academy, apart from the primary disciple, there were a total of ten disciples who held the greatest status. They were known as core disciples. The nine of them were truly valiant soldiers and generals. They possessed the strongest battle prowess in the entire school. If any one of them had joined in on the battle earlier, it would have been possible to change the outcome.

    Han Anjun said sternly, ¡°Just outnumbering him is not enough, is it? You even want to bully the weak too?¡±

    The bald man refused to relent. ¡°They were all empty-handed, so how could they properly unleash the power of the encirclement? If they fought in actual battle with real weapons, he would have died long ago.¡±

    Han Anjun placed down his bronze cup heavily. ¡°I think the one arrogant is not him, but you lot! In a real slaughter with anything and everything allowed, he can kill his way in here in under half an hour. You all seem so skilled and capable during training, but when it comes to actual battle, you show your true colours and descend into a complete mess. This is embarrassing, utterly embarrassing! All of you piss off and spend three days reflecting on yourself.¡±

    The quiet Han Anjun suddenly spoke up, scolding them violently. All of them fell silent from fear and left under Han Anjun¡¯s orders. Only Han Tieyi remained.

    Han Anjun¡¯s expression gradually eased up. He let out an extremely rare smile. ¡°Tieyi, well done. This is the bit of motivation that they need. They can¡¯t keep thinking they¡¯re stronger than the disciples of the other schools just because they have it a little tougher every day.¡±

    As the leader of the school of the Military, his senses for certain things were far sharper than Liu Zhangqing¡¯s. Under the facade of peace, something seemed to be growing tense again. War was near.

    His exact objective was to borrow Li Qingshan to fiercely temper the military disciples so that they could prepare for any potential turmoil. Embarrassment was better than losing their lives. He was not afraid of embarrassing the school of the Military. Dead people felt no embarrassment.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think he could make it all the way up like this.¡± Han Tieyi frowned. He did not doubt Li Qingshan¡¯s ability to charge all the way up, but making his way up step by step after sweeping aside everyone had taken him by surprise.

    ¡°His body tempering techniques are something else. It¡¯s just a pity that he¡¯s not a disciple of my school of the Military. Otherwise, our chances of winning the martial arts competition of the nine prefectures would increase by thirty percent at the very least.¡± Han Anjun let out a sigh just like the slovenly daoist priest.

    Out of the prodigies who had appeared during the entrance examination, Li Qingshan would be the greatest if he were evaluating them. Both Chu Tian and Yu Zijian paled in comparison to him. Although Xiao An¡¯s talent was monstrously high, she was not necessarily suited for the path of the military. However, Li Qingshan was basically born to be a soldier. He liked fighting and killing, yet he also possessed courage and sharp wit.

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°He¡¯s not a disciple of the school of the Military, but you still can give him some guidance, general.¡±

    Han Anjun said, ¡°That¡¯s what I have in mind too. I¡¯ll leave this to you for now!¡±

    Only when the big fish was violent enough could the group of small fish be prompted into action, erupting with unprecedented potential and becoming even more united. And, even without this reason, they were reluctant to see someone with such great potential like him being wasted away in a place like the school of Novels.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan woke up from his dream. White blankets covered him with white walls, tables, and chairs around him. The curtains swayed in the breeze as sunlight poured in from the windows.

    A pure-white lily was placed by his bed, giving off a faint fragrance. The weather had cleared up before he knew it, allowing the warm sunlight to pour in.

    Li Qingshan stretched a little; he felt that various parts of his body still ached slightly. However, he felt extremely happy too. Sure enough, compared to writing novels, this lifestyle suited him better. It was best if he just gave up on that unrealistic idea!

    He closed his eyes and sensed the various parts of his body. They were all fine. His depleted dantian began to build up true qi again too.

    True qi originally followed a process of circulation. Having overexerted it, his recovery rate was extremely gradual, but his true qi¡¯s quality did increase.

    He had benefited quite a lot from this battle. Although he did not receive a single word of advice from Han Anjun, he had comprehended plenty of things.

    He was a genius for actual combat. He radiated with charm in battle and battle would also unlock his potential. Although none of the military disciples seemed like his opponent, the moves they unleashed, the tricks in how they used their force, and even the feeling when he was struck by them brought him great benefit.

    Ru Xin walked in from outside. ¡°You¡¯re awake.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Another beauty, and a beauty at the tenth layer. Sure enough, there were plenty of fish in the sea. He really struggled to understand what Hua Chengzan was thinking.

    Though, if he actually had to compare them, the person standing before him was slightly worse than Gu Yanying. He had no idea why he felt like that. Perhaps it was the truth, or perhaps it was his deep impression speaking, which he had gained from suddenly seeing a supreme beauty after spending over a decade trapped in the countryside.

    Wasn¡¯t there a story just like this? A scholar had eaten a bowl of lotus starch in a farmer¡¯s home whilst in abjection, and he found it to be utterly delicious. Afterwards, he became a high-ranking official and tried the lotus starch made by all the renowned chefs in the region, but none of it tasted like before. In the end, he found the same famer¡¯s home as before and ate it again, but it no longer tasted like before anymore.

    He was very interested in finding an opportunity and testing whether this story was true or not for himself.

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. May I ask for your esteemed name?¡±

    ¡°How could I, Ru Xin, not know about the infamous fellow Li¡¯s name?¡±

    Were there surnames like Ru? Li Qingshan was perplexed. He looked around. ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao An?¡±

    ¡°She has been called back by the One Thought master. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re riddled with illness either, so there¡¯s no need for her to remain by your bedside constantly.¡± As Ru Xin said that, she sat down by the bed and pressed her hands against Li Qingshan¡¯s bare chest. His bluish-green robes had been ripped to pieces during the battle.

    Her hands that were as soft and smooth as jade slid from his chest to his belly. ¡°Your wounds healed very quickly. The vitality your body contains is simply shocking.¡±

    ¡°I ate some unknown fruit when I was young, and I just became so robust afterwards.¡± Li Qingshan casually made up a lie. Is she interested in me? Heh, she must have witnessed my valiance in the school of Military. She has been drawn to me by my bearing.

    Whatever, I can¡¯t just let her do all the work. Li Qingshan had always been a person who did whatever he wanted. He grabbed Ru Xin¡¯s hand. ¡°I still have to thank you for treating my injuries with so much care.¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s face stiffened. She tried to pull her hand back, but it was stuck. Her face reddened slightly, and it was not out of embarrassment, but anger. She had plenty of suitors in the academy, but there really were few as shameless as him.

    Li Qingshan thought his charm had already reached Hua Chengzan¡¯s level.

    Ru Xin said sternly, ¡°Sir, if you don¡¯t let go, I¡¯ll have to call out.¡±

    Only then did Li Qingshan let go of her. He was surprised. ¡°Didn¡¯t you touch me first?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the doctor, and you¡¯re the patient. That¡¯s something that comes first. What? Do you like it like that, being massaged by someone? Though, I need to say it is an option. That is one of the services our school of Medicine provides, but it costs money.¡± Ru Xin lowered her head with a faint smile. She seemed extremely moving.

    Li Qingshan was both excited and disappointed. ¡°Alright. How many spiritual stones is it?¡±

    ¡°Lie down. I¡¯ll go make some preparations.¡± Ru Xin smiled enchantingly and left.

    A while later, a man covered in muscles barged in. He asked with a thunderous bellow, ¡°You want a massage!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. ¡°Isn¡¯t it¡­ Isn¡¯t it supposed to be¡­¡±

    ¡°How can senior sister Ru Xin do manual labour like this? Come here!¡± The muscly man cut right to the chase and began slamming Li Qingshan¡¯s back with his iron palms that could split boulders.

    ¡°Not bad.¡±

    A while later, Li Qingshan stood up and praised from the bottom of his heart. The muscly man was truly a disciple of the school of Medicine. He seemed rough, but his hands were extremely nimble and careful, whether it be while kneading, pinching, slapping, or pressing. He completely relaxed Li Qingshan¡¯s body and also channeled his body with Yi Wood true qi brimming with vigour.

    Li Qingshan felt relaxed. All of the bruises on his body had vanished too. It was worth the sum of spiritual stones.

    The muscly man bellowed, ¡°Thank you for your patronage!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and fished out a set of clothes from his hundred treasures pouch, putting them on and making his way out.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°How do you feel? How¡¯re my junior brother¡¯s massaging skills?¡±

    ¡°Pretty good.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. The violent slaps from the muscly man had indeed severed those thoughts of Li Qingshan. She was not interested, so he could not be bothered either. It was not like he would die if he went without a woman. There were countless other things he could pursue in life.

    Ru Xin was slightly surprised. Originally, she thought Li Qingshan would be embarrassed and displeased, or even furious. She had already prepared some excuses.

    However, she never expected him to be so unperturbed, and his gaze towards her had turned back to normal. She instead began to doubt her own charm.

    ¡°This must be your first time visiting Benevolence island, right? I¡¯ll show you around!¡±

    Since a primary disciple had come, he obviously had to be received by another primary disciple. Although he came from the declining school of Novels, Li Qingshan had already proved to everyone that he deserved such treatment.

    They strolled around idly. With a beauty beside him, it was quite interesting.

    With nothing better to do, Li Qingshan began to ask about the school of Medicine. ¡°Doctors focus on curing illnesses and saving lives. Saving lives make sense, but do cultivators fall ill too?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can help them with! We can give them whatever illness we want.¡±

    The school of Medicine was not some kind and gentle motherly figure. Instead, they were skilled in poisons and pestilence. Poison naturally referred to various kinds of potent toxins, while pestilence referred to diseases. They collected various kinds of diseases and could kill people without anyone knowing. Among the gods that the school of Medicine worshipped, there were gods of plagues.

    ¡°Not funny,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Really? How strange. No one ever laughs whenever I say that. Whatever. You¡¯ll always run into a few freaks. The illnesses of cultivators normally aren¡¯t prominent. Instead, they lurk within the body, either damaging the meridians or destroying the balance between the five elements. It might not be life-threatening, but over time, it will affect their cultivation.¡±

    ¡°And, aside from illness of the body, there are illnesses of the mind too. I specialise in mental illnesses. Physical illnesses are easy to deal with, but once you become mentally ill, you¡¯ll struggle to make any progress at all on the path of cultivation, like commander Hua from the school of Legalism. Don¡¯t tell him I said this, but he¡¯s afflicted with a mental illness. Saving a cultivator¡¯s path of cultivation is basically saving their lives!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you save him?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°His illness has already progressed too far. Doctors can¡¯t cure the helpless, just like how buddha can only bring salvation to those who are destined!¡± Suddenly, she stifled her voice. ¡°Look at the two over there. Their illnesses have progressed too far too. They¡¯re beyond help, utterly beyond help!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked over and saw Qian Rongzhi supporting Chu Tian as they strolled around in the garden, smiling from ear to ear. If it were not for the fact that he knew Qian Rongzhi¡¯s behaviour and Chu Tian¡¯s personality very well, he really would have believed they were a match made in heaven.

    ¡°What illnesses do they have?¡±

    ¡°One suffers from madness, while the other suffers from arrogance.¡±

    ¡°That sure matches them.¡± Li Qingshan smiled before changing directions and avoiding them.

    Chu Tian was currently in a state of pure peace and bliss, so he sensed nothing. However, Qian Rongzhi immediately sensed them. She glanced over and saw Ru Xin¡¯s back. She frowned slightly. This woman was very troublesome.

    Li Qingshan mentioned how he had once been interested in coming to the school of Medicine to learn alchemy.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°You¡¯ve made the right choice in choosing the school of Medicine. The school of Daoism only refines pills. We refine medicine too.¡±

    ¡°Is there any difference?¡±

    ¡°Refining pills is only for cultivation, but refining medicine can cure illnesses.¡±

    Ru Xin brought Li Qingshan to the main dispensary in the school of Medicine to show him around. Sure enough, apart from the dazzling array of spiritual pills, there were also various coloured liquids and powders.

    Li Qingshan saw a small box labeled as ¡°Jade Skin Powder¡±. He asked, ¡°What illness does this cure?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°It specially cures the illness of darkness.¡±

    ¡°The illness of darkness1?¡±

    Ru Xin studied Li Qingshan. ¡°Yep, just like what you suffer from. If you use this medicine, you can become a true pretty face within three to seven days.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He had already become slightly accustomed to Ru Xin and the words she spouted that conflicted with her appearance and bearing. However, the medicines refined by the school of Medicine were quite interesting. At the very least, the alchemy from the school of Daoism could not create something like the Fluid of Invisibility. He had never even thought of some of the items being sold here.

    ¡°And what illness does this cure?¡± Li Qingshan pointed at the glazed bottle filled with blue liquid at the top.

    ¡°You mean the Water of Recollection? It¡¯s just as its name implies. It clearly cures amnesia. If you accidentally forget your surname, you can drink it, and I guarantee you that it¡¯ll be effective. Though, the side-effect is that you might lose your sense of direction.¡±

    Ru Xin said casually, but she saw Li Qingshan¡¯s expression change suddenly.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You mean it can recall anything? Even your past life?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Unfortunately, my abilities still pale in comparison to granny Meng¡¯s soup2.¡±

    Just as Li Qingshan felt rather disappointed, he heard Ru Xin say, ¡°Though, as long as it¡¯s something in your head, you¡¯ll definitely be able to recall it once you drink my medicine. Even if you want to know what you ate for lunch ten years ago today, it won¡¯t be an issue.¡±

    ¡°Can I try it?¡±

    ¡°Do I know you? Your surname is Li.¡±

    ¡°Honestly, a hundred spiritual stones for a bottle. There¡¯s no need to look at me like that. You¡¯re flattering me,¡± added Ru Xin.

    Under various forms of speechlessness, Li Qingshan ingested a spoonful of Water of Recollection. The dust-laden matters of the past suddenly shook off their dust and lunged at him, clearly replaying in his mind. There was a page in a book covered in thickly-dotted words.

    The first sentence was, ¡°Zhang Wuji3 turned around¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan yelled inside, There¡¯s hope for my illness!

    PS: I finally made it at the last moment. I heard people say how nine thousand words isn¡¯t a mass release, so does thirteen thousand words count? Though, there probably aren¡¯t going to be any tomorrow morning. Ah, I¡¯ve fully burnt.

    1. If you haven¡¯t realised already, the Chinese sense of beauty involves extremely fair skin. To my dark-skinned readers out there, please take no offence. After all, Li Qingshan prefers his skin dark too.

 Chapter 318 â€“ Plagiarising a Novel

    ¡°That¡¯s north!¡± Ru Xin pointed her thumb backwards.

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with dealing with her. ¡°Just how much are you selling the Water of Recollection for?¡±

    ¡°Hah. I originally refined it for fun, but I never thought I¡¯d actually be able to sell it.¡± Ru Xin¡¯s smile vanished, and she extended her hand. ¡°A hundred spiritual stones for a bottle. Thank you for your patronage!¡±

    Li Qingshan ground his teeth. ¡°Weren¡¯t you joking earlier?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°And who¡¯s fault is it that you didn¡¯t laugh? This must be very important to you, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m being serious here. Stop messing with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed her hand. The Water of Recollection was extremely important to him, and it was not just for writing novels. It was for Xiao An too.

    ¡°One spiritual stone, two spiritual stones, three spiritual stones¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Calculating your fee!¡± Ru Xin glanced at the hand he held.

    Li Qingshan shook away her hand immediately.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Forget it, forget it. Doctors treat their patients with the same selflessness as parents to their children. Seeing how anxious you¡¯ve become, I can¡¯t bring myself to charge you. I¡¯ll just give you this bottle of Water of Recollection.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Since when were you so nice?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Though, promise me one thing.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What thing?¡±

    Ru Xin whispered, ¡°When you fight the disciples of the school of the Military again, be more heavy-handed with them. It¡¯s best if you beat them until they¡¯re half-dead!¡±

    ¡°So much for treating your patients with the same selflessness as parents to their children!¡±

    ¡°Children won¡¯t listen unless they¡¯re disciplined.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll be going then.¡± Li QIngshan casually agreed to it. He accepted the Water of Recollection and stowed it away in his hundred treasures pouch. He was in a hurry to rush back and experiment with it.

    ¡°Hold on, three spiritual stones.¡±

    ¡°What three spiritual stones? Didn¡¯t you give it¡­¡± As Li Qingshan said that, he saw Ru Xin extend her hand over with a smile. You¡¯re actually charging me!?

    ¡°Fine then. Let¡¯s do a hundred spiritual stones then.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Ru Xin¡¯s hand and stared straight into her eyes.

    ¡°Four spiritual stones, five spiritual stones¡­¡± Ru Xin was unperturbed. She began to count.

    However, this was not a particularly quiet place. Instead, it was a dispensary where people came and went. Many disciples of the academy came here to buy medicine. When Li Qingshan grabbed Ru Xin¡¯s hand earlier, he had already attracted some attention.

    Ru Xin was a great beauty renowned throughout the academy for quite some time now, while Li Qingshan was a prominent figure at the peak of his prominence.

    ¡°Oi, oi, look.¡±

    ¡°Does Li Qingshan have that kind of relationship with senior sister Ru Xin? How courageous of him!¡±

    ¡°Thirty-three, thirty-four¡­¡± Ru Xin maintained her smile. She snorted. ¡°You¡¯re actually serious?¡±

    ¡°I think I can afford a hundred spiritual stones.¡± Li Qingshan wanted to teach a lesson to this improper woman.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go for it. Are spiritual stones really that easy to make?¡± As Ru Xin snorted; her face blushed slightly, but who knew whether it was from embarrassment or anger.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you doing!?¡±

    Two furious bellows rang out from outside the dispensary simultaneously.

    One of them was Chu Tian, radiating with five-coloured true qi, while the other person was actually Han Qiongzhi. They both glared at Li Qingshan furiously.

    Chu Tian had looked over along Qian Rongzhi¡¯s gaze, and he immediately spotted Li Qingshan. He blazed with hatred when he saw his enemy, and when he saw how he was with Ru Xin, he could not help but follow them over. From the moment he had arrived at the school of Medicine and spotted Ru Xin for the first time, he had begun treating her as his woman.

    He saw Li Qingshan holding Ru Xin¡¯s hand the moment he arrived, and Ru Xin actually seemed like she allowed him to too. He immediately felt like he had been betrayed. He was utterly furious, tempted to lash out and kill Li Qingshan with a palm strike.

    As for Han Qiongzhi, she heard that Li Qingshan had woken up, so she wanted to come take a look at him. Unfortunately, this visit utterly enraged her. Hua Chengzan stood with his arms crossed with a smile as he stood to her side. This kid sure has some bearing. He seems to be able to get all the ones I can¡¯t get. He could not help but think of Gu Yanying. He shook his head. Impossible.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised, and Ru Xin took advantage of this to pull her hand back. She said resentfully, ¡°Thirty-five spiritual stones.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay once I get the remaining portion of the goods.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. He did not even look at Chu Tian, directly making his way over to Hua Chengzan. ¡°Chengzan, what brought you here? Senior sister Han, long time no see. Why are you glaring at me?¡±

    ¡°Fuck your grandfather!¡±

    Through the use of true qi, the voice clearly rang out in Li Qingshan¡¯s ears. Li Qingshan felt like he had been struck by lightning, as the voice came from neither Han Qiongzhi or Chu Tian. It came from Ru Xin.

    He turned around and stared at Ru Xin in disbelief. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Ru Xin maintained her gentle smile, standing there elegantly in her white clothes. She seemed like a legendary angel in white.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m talking to you! I¡¯ve specially come to see you!¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank you. I¡¯m mostly fine. I have some matters I need to attend to, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave first. When I have some spare time, I¡¯ll invite you two to lunch or dinner.¡± The only thing on Li Qingshan¡¯s mind about right now was the Water of Recollection. All he wanted to do was go back and experiment with it.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Oi, you¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan had already flown off on a cloud. His distant voice rang out, ¡°Oh right. Chu Tian, I wish you a speedy recovery.¡±

    Chu Tian¡¯s face darkened as he held back his urge to attack him. The hundred or so strands of sword qi had caused extremely severe damage in his body. Even after all these days, he had yet to completely adjust to the damage.

    He trotted over to Ru Xin and asked in concern, ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin, are you fine?¡±

    ¡°Junior brother Chu, you should be fine now, right? It¡¯s all thanks to the care and concern from the three beauties. Hmm? Where are the other two?¡±

    Chu Tian said proudly, ¡°They¡¯ve both entered secluded cultivation for me!¡±

    Ever since Li Qingshan emerged from secluded cultivation and defeated the genius Chu Tian, it set a trend of secluded cultivation. Everyone wanted to rise up out of nowhere like Li Qingshan.

    Ru Xin was rather surprised. She glanced at Qian Rongzhi. ¡°This must be junior sister Qian¡¯s idea, right? It must be tough on you.¡±

    After a few months of secluded cultivation, they would probably emerge only to find that everyone had changed, and their man had been stolen too! Oh right, the two idiotic girls did not seem to mind sharing their man with others, but they could not rely on others being as stupid as them!

    ¡°It¡¯s all their own idea. They all feel powerless. They whole-heartedly want to help little Tian. I was extremely touched when I heard about it too. I agreed to help them take care of little Tian for a few days. Please don¡¯t misunderstand, senior sister. We¡¯re just friends.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled. Separating those two dimwits from Chu Tian had not taken her a lot of effort.

    ¡°I¡¯ve given them a lot of pills. Their cultivation will definitely improve tremendously this time. As my women, Chu Tian¡¯s women, they won¡¯t suffer.¡± As Chu Tian said that, he looked at Ru Xin in a hinting manner.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin, little Tian truly is a good man worth entrusting your entire life to.¡±

    ¡°Haha, yeah, yeah!¡± Ru Xin felt slightly disgusted. There were freaks every year, but more than usual this year! Originally, she wanted to warn him a little, but men like him were utterly stupid. There would be no pity at all if he died.

    A good man? Heh, then let the bad girl teach you a lesson!

    Qian Rongzhi stopped worrying. Alright, this woman won¡¯t be causing any trouble for now. Only if all the men in the world were as ¡°good¡± as Chu Tian.

    ¡°I want to write novels!¡± Li Qingshan rushed through the door and said confidently as soon as he returned to Cloudwisp island.

    Under Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s surprised gaze, Li Qingshan returned to his room alone. He took out the bottle of Water of Recollection and placed it on the table.

    The bottle stood around three inches tall and was filled to the brim with thick, azure fluid, like liquid memories.

    Li Qingshan directly picked it up and took a small sip.

    The rather bitter taste spread out from the tip of his tongue. He closed his eyes in a hurry and thought hard, wanting to recall his forgotten memories.

    Actually, everyone was capable of remembering every single detail that they saw and heard. However, these useless pieces of information would gradually sink into the depths of their minds. The Water of Recollection basically presented these dust-clad memories before him clearly once more, including every scene, every voice, and every emotion.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and began to write swiftly. The familiar story reappeared in his hands.

    Liu Chuanfeng was in a daze at the entrance of the room. He had no idea what this dear disciple of his was, but he was afraid of interrupting him, so he backed away quietly.

    Li Qingshan wrote faster and faster as his right hand gradually turned into a blur. He felt like the ink in the inkstone had run out before he had even written much. He directly ground and filled up a small pot beside him with ink.

    The sky was about to darken, and a novel composed of a thick stack of paper covered in illegible handwriting stood on the table. The high quality weasel hair brush in his hand had almost been worn away completely now.

    At this moment, the words in his head gradually blurred. The effects of the Water of Recollection were gradually fading away.

    Li Qingshan placed down his brush and rubbed his wrist. That¡¯s all for today!

    ¡°You wrote all of this!¡± Having run out of patience a long time ago, Liu Chuanfeng rushed in and reached towards the thick stack of paper on the table.

    Smack! Li Qingshan swatted his hand aside. ¡°Don¡¯t touch, I¡¯m not done yet!¡± As he said that, even he himself felt proud, as proud as when he swept aside the eight hundred disciples of the school of the Military. Although it was all plagiarised, that was just an insignificant detail. Even with his two lives combined, he had never written so many words before!

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Now that¡¯s rare of you. Can you really write something good by writing like this?¡±

    ¡°What I¡¯ve written are things regular people would all love to see and hear. I guarantee you it¡¯ll be even more warmly received than your overly-advanced stuff.¡± Li Qingshan seemed to have already witnessed a successful path as a novelist unfold right before him.

    As long as he had the Water of Recollection, he could take this path smoothly and easily, at no cost to him yet also deriving infinite benefit.

    Although the power scaling of wuxia novels was a little low, he never planned on using it for battle anyway. No matter how powerful the characters he created were, no matter how much power of belief he had, he would be restricted by the Divine Talisman of Great Creation as a Qi Practitioner, so the power of what he could summon would be limited too. At most, they would be around the seventh or eighth layer.

    To regular Qi Practitioners, being able to summon four or five helpers around the same cultivation was already a very impressive achievement, but with Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, assistance like that was almost nothing. It would just be a waste of his power of belief instead.

    The power of belief was an important resource. It could turn fiction into reality through the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Right now, his Divine Talisman of Great Creation was still in its initial stage. As long as he constantly strengthened it, its effects would not be limited to just a few novels.

    At this moment, Xiao An walked in from outside. She saw Li Qingshan and let out an innocent smile.

 Chapter 319 â€“ A Slight Ripple

    Xiao An was always able to read Li Qingshan¡¯s emotions immediately. She tilted her head in confusion.

    Li Qingshan chased out Liu Chuanfeng and closed the door, asking Xiao An a vague question about how her cultivation had been going recently.

    Xiao An became even more confused. ¡°Has something happened?¡±

    Li QIngshan smiled bitterly and rubbed his head. He had never believed he was an indecisive person, but now he understood the reason why he was not indecisive; it was because he had never encountered a matter he struggled to make a decision over.

    Helping her recover her memories and finding her original name and identity had once been one of his wishes. Sending her back home had been the first promise he had made in this world.

    However, if the moment for him to fulfil his wish and promise of the past arrived simultaneously, smiling would be the last thing he would do.

    ¡°I found something that might be helpful to you.¡± After a while of consideration, Li Qingshan told her the truth. He took out the remaining half a bottle of Water of Recollection and explained its effects to Xiao An.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan discovered that Xiao An was no more composed than him. The hand that held the bottle had even begun to tremble, causing the azure fluid to shake too.

    She felt no excitement or joy from being able to recover her memories. She cast her gaze downwards. Her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her large eyes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to drink it.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan asked despite knowing the answer already. They understood one another so well that they were basically mentally connected, so why wouldn¡¯t he understand what she was thinking? If it were possible, he would rather go without knowing the existence of this medicinal fluid, even if he could no longer gather the power of belief through writing novels so easily.

    However, as an adult, he could not let a child indulge in their stubbornness, nor could he indulge in his own stubbornness. He had to do what was ¡°good¡± for her.

    ¡°Stop being so stubborn. Just try it. I tried it earlier. The effects are pretty good, so it might actually be effective on you. Of course, there¡¯s a chance it¡¯ll be ineffective, so don¡¯t expect too much from it.¡±

    Xiao An raised her head and stared into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. She said with an expression that could make anyone¡¯s heart ache, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go anywhere, please?¡±

    Li Qingshan gradually made up his mind and turned back to normal. He grinned and pecked her forehead heavily. ¡°I¡¯ll go wherever you go!¡±

    Xiao An closed her eyes. Tilting her head back, she drank all of the remaining fluid in the bottle.

    The slightly bitter fluid flowed through her throat and reached her stomach. It turned into a mysterious power, which permeated her body and rushed to her head.

    A while later, Xiao An opened her eyes.

    Xiao An shook her head. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    From the day she began practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, her soul had fused with her bones, and after countless days and nights of cultivation, her bones had already become as tough as diamonds. Not only were they resilient to external forces, but even external powers were unable to seep into them.

    As a result, whether it be absorbing the spiritual qi of the world or ingesting pills, they were completely ineffective to her. All they strengthened was a skin bag of appearance. Her only path of cultivation was using fire to devour flesh and blood and refine white bones.

    The Water of Recollection was obviously ineffective to her too.

    As if he were relieved, Li Qingshan let out a long sigh. ¡°I knew it. None of the medicine refined by that woman is particularly effective. Don¡¯t worry. All you need to do is take it slowly with your memories.¡±

    Xiao An agreed softly. She asked curiously, ¡°That woman?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a woman of complete disorder. Don¡¯t worry about her. Here, have a read of the novel I¡¯ve written.¡± Li Qingshan lifted her onto his knee and showed her the manuscript he had plagiarized laboriously.

    Xiao An read through it very carefully. From time to time, she would point out the ¡°strange¡± parts in the novel. By ¡°strange¡±, she was referring to the fact that it was a wuxia novel, which was foreign to this world. A lot of the vocabulary and literary references had issues too.

    Li Qingshan was troubled once more. As it turned out, plagiarising a novel would not be so easy either. ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± He had not read a lot of novels in his life. It had only been a year or two since he left Crouching Ox village, so his understanding of this world was not particularly deep.

    Xiao An smiled. ¡°I have an idea.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng happened to be chewing the end of a brush right now as he wondered just what this disciple of his had written.

    Li Qingshan suddenly strode over. ¡°Do you have any novels that I can read?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng asked, ¡°What do you want to read?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Anything but yours. It¡¯s best if they¡¯re by some famous authors, or they¡¯re in fashion right now. Give me everything that you have.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with mine?¡± Liu Chuanfeng immediately refused. He was no longer the Master of Wind and Moon of the past anymore. He immediately pulled out a letter from his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Look at how they¡¯re praising me.¡±

    Li Qingshan shot him a glare, and Liu Chuanfeng took out a great pile of books with great obedience. There were several hundred of them.

    Li Qingshan lifted them up and left immediately. Liu Chuanfeng called out from behind. ¡°Be careful with them! They¡¯re all collector¡¯s editions.¡±

    The One Thought master¡¯s monk robes ruffled as he quietly arrived outside the bamboo residence where Li Qingshan resided. His gaze passed through the layers of the bamboo building, and he saw a large and small figure under the glow of a lone lantern.

    Xiao An currently laid on the ground reading novels. She rifled through the pages, reading swiftly. Over a dozen books had already become piled beside her.

    Li Qingshan stood around, as if he was thinking of something. He would twist around from time to time, throwing kicks and punches.

    He was currently summarising and concluding his successes and failures in the battle today. If he read instead, he would have forgotten the first seven pages by the time he had read ten. However, the battle today played in his mind like a movie, clearly visualising every punch and kick. He could even remember how he had defeated every single disciple of the school of the Military.

    Gradually, the figures around him faded away, and the expressions and figures of every military disciple blurred. All that was left was a group of matchstick-like military disciples charging over on the long staircase.

    He copied their moves and the way they exerted force. The lantern light projected his shadow onto the wall, which moved about swiftly in the narrow space.

    One of them laid still, while the other one moved about. However, this formed an atmosphere that was strangely warm and sweet, which the One Thought master found to be strangely familiar. After quite a while of thought, he remembered that this was the feeling of home.

    In order to save lamp oil, his mother sewed and mended clothes under the moonlight, and he ran around chasing fireflies in the courtyard.

    The One Thought master dismissed these thoughts in a hurry. He sighed helplessly. How could an ascetic be constantly attached to the idea of ¡°home¡±?

    Over the past few days, Li Qingshan¡¯s performance that had surpassed any regular cultivator¡¯s had instead made him even more worried.

    They were not connected by blood. Right now, she was still young, but if she grew a little older and developed those feelings, it would probably become even harder for her to cut him off. She would lose her rationality too. Separating them would become even more difficult.

    After hesitating for a moment, the One Thought master turned around and left. He had to enlighten her with his various fellow monks in this upcoming assembly of dharma so that she could cut off her worldly ties.

    The rifling of books and the whistling of punches and kicks stopped one after another.

    ¡°I¡¯m done.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi sank into his dantian as he smiled. If he faced the same battle formation again, he was confident that he could emerge victorious with even greater ease.

    Xiao An smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    Under the lantern light, Li Qingshan wrote while Xiao An spoke. The two of them gradually edited the novel so that it would conform with this day and age better. Time dripped away unknowingly.

 Chapter 320 â€“ One Step at a Time

    ¡°Did you really write this?¡± Liu Chuanfeng held the thick draft and said in disbelief. Even at a minimum, there were a few hundred thousand words there, but Li Qingshan had only used a few days.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you copied it from somewhere?¡±

    Li Qingshan said with no confidence at all, ¡°How can you say that? Have you ever read something remotely similar to this?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Plagiarism won¡¯t net you the slightest power of belief, no matter how well you¡¯ve copied it.¡±

    Taking the Divine Talisman of Merit as an example, the merit would never misidentify its target no matter how far the cultivator who did the good deeds were, even if there were people who shared the same name and appearance as them. This was the wonders of divine talismans.

    Li Qingshan became uncertain. He had copied something from his past life, which belonged to another world. In this world, it should be an original work.

    ¡°Alright, then allow your master to take a look and edit it for you.¡± Liu Chuanfeng leaned over the table and began reading.

    Li Qingshan strode away. In the past few days, he had been either copying or editing. Even with Xiao An¡¯s help, it still made him dizzy.

    After editing this ¡°maiden work¡± of his, the One Thought master sent someone to call Xiao An back to the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple. Apparently, she had to make preparations for the upcoming assembly of dharma.

    Xiao An only said she would find a way to get some more pills before leaving in a hurry.

    This instead made Li Qingshan rather apologetic. After dealing with the matter regarding the school of Novels, it was time for him to properly gather some resources and prepare for that final step.

    Although he called it the final step, Li Qingshan refused to underestimate it. It was very likely that this step would be even more difficult to take than any other steps of the past.

    There were many living examples around him of the difficulty. Liu Chuanfeng, Hua Chengzan, Ru Xin, and so on were all at the tenth layer.

    There was a dangerous heavenly tribulation involved too. He could not afford to be careless at all.

    There were still quite a lot of resources left from his massacre underground, but getting rid of the spiritual artifacts and talismans would be rather difficult, even if the spiritual stones were easier to deal with.

    After arriving in the academy, he had once asked Sun Fubai about the school of Miscellany that focused on this business. As it turned out, rarely did they ever purchase these items, and even if they did, they would only pay extremely low prices for them.

    And, Li Qingshan had quite a lot of qualms over these items too. He had not exactly obtained them legitimately. If he sold them en-mass, he would probably attract the attention of observant people.

    Through his contact with people like Qian Rongzhi and Hua Chengzan, Li Qingshan deeply understood that there were many clever people in the world. Deducing facts from small clues was basically a form of instinct for certain people. He personally believed he did not have this ability. All he could do was be as careful as possible, without leaving behind anything that might give him away.

    After a while of thought, Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze gradually became determined. I¡¯ll take one step at a time!

    The first step were the missions issued in the Missions hall on Contention island.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes constantly darted around the bulletin board. Very soon, he locked onto a mission. It came from the school of Agriculture. It was a mission for watering their fields of wheat. It sounded simple, but it clearly stated towards the end that it required the Spiritual Rain technique.

    The Spiritual Rain technique was a wide range healing technique. Not only could it heal injuries, but it could also allow people to recover their true qi. In battle, it was something that could play a decisive role. Due to how difficult it was to learn, rarely were there any people who knew it in this day and age.

    If it were not for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, which allowed him to master any water element technique with ease, he probably would have never bothered with this technique either. Perhaps it was exactly because of this reason that the rewards for the mission were quite plentiful.

    It was clearly winter, but Longevity island of the school of Agriculture was brimming with life.

    Earth elder Huang sat on a ridge in the fields, smoking his pipe. He circled out a region in the vast fields of golden wheat before him.

    ¡°Give me 3.9 centimeters of rain in this region. I¡¯ll deduct a spiritual stone for every millimeter you miss, understand?¡± He did not give Li Qingshan any special treatment, even with his outstanding performance lately.

    Li Qingshan said politely, ¡°Understood.¡± He closed his eyes and prepared for a moment. A streak of light rose up from his hands and flew into the air, turning into a large region of spiritual drizzle that fell from the sky. The slightly droopy wheat immediately straightened out, as if it was absorbing the spiritual rain.

    Earth elder Huang was slightly surprised. Originally, he thought Li Qingshan would have to use the Spiritual Rain technique several times to water such a larger region, but Li Qingshan only used it once. The area he covered was simply startling. And, at a closer glance, the spiritual rain was not off by a single millimeter. It was 3.9 centimeters exactly.

    ¡°Well done.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and accepted the spiritual stones. It sure had been easy for him to make spiritual stones. All he had to do was use a technique once. Apart from watering the wheat fields, there seemed to be missions for watering the medicinal gardens of the school of Medicine too in the Missions hall.

    ¡°You want to learn alchemy from me?¡± Ru Xin studied Li Qingshan with a strange gaze. His face was filled with sincerity, and he even held a watermelon in his hand.

    ¡°This is just a gift for taking me on as a student. If you agree, I can pay you spiritual stones too. Of course, you can¡¯t go overboard with the price.¡±

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s second step, grasping alchemy as quickly as possible. As for the watermelon, earth elder Huang had picked it from a neighbouring melon field and given it to him for completing the mission perfectly.

    ¡°The school of Medicine has classes for alchemy. It won¡¯t cost you a single spiritual stone.¡±

    ¡°It takes too long.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. The classes held by the professors were nice, but in consideration of every single disciple¡¯s ability, they purposefully slowed down the process. They explained complicated concepts in simple words. While it was interesting, it would take too much time. And, the ability of the professors probably paled in comparison to the person before him.

    Ru Xin¡¯s mouth was quite foul, but she was still a decent person. After that time, he had asked for Water of Recollection from her two more times, but she refused to accept any spiritual stones at all. And, despite being a great beauty, she had no air of arrogance about her either. She obviously became his first choice.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Let me consider it. Let¡¯s eat the watermelon first!¡±

    They cut open the watermelon, and the red pulp gave off a special fragrance. Li Qingshan took a bite, and it melted in his mouth. It was as sweet as honey, and the spiritual qi within it merged with his sea of qi too.

    Li Qingshan thought about how wondrous the school of Agriculture¡¯s arts were. The effects were no worse than regular pills. It was just a pity that he was not a disciple of the school of Agriculture. Compared to refining pills, he preferred farming much more.

    Ru Xin was still staring at Li Qingshan. She had produced a notch in the watermelon with her teeth as her pink lips were dyed red. Afterwards, she let out a loud slurp, which interrupted Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you eat a little more quietly?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Little kids know nothing at all. When you eat watermelons, you need to slurp it.¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes and placed down the watermelon round. The huge watermelon had vanished into her belly in the blink of an eye.

    Ru Xin wiped her mouth with her sleeve. ¡°I refuse!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve considered it, and I refuse. I¡¯ll see you out!¡±

    ¡°Then spit out my gift if you won¡¯t take me as a student!¡± Li Qingshan was very tempted to choke her.

    ¡°You really want it?¡± Ru Xin acted like she was about to stick her hand into her mouth, as if she would actually spit it out if he wanted it.

    Li Qingshan was slightly disgusted, but he ground his teeth. ¡°Spit it out!¡±

    With a ptui, Ru Xin spat out a melon seed. ¡°You can go back and plant it yourself. What an idiot. Hahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan caught the melon seed and revealed a look of pity. He shook his head with a sigh. ¡°What a pity, what a pity.¡±

    Ru Xin asked, ¡°How¡¯s it a pity?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Originally, I wanted to pay you with a True Spirit pill, but it¡¯s a pity someone doesn¡¯t want it. I¡¯ll go find Juechenzi instead. When it comes to alchemy, the school of Daoism is still the best.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, you said a True Spirit pill?¡± Ru Xin was fazed. True Spirit pills were critical for reaching Foundation Establishment. She was currently at the tenth layer and was toeing this threshold. She could not help but become interested.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Yeah!¡±

    ¡°You have a True Spirit pill? I don¡¯t believe you!¡± Ru Xin recovered her composure and shook her head with a faint smile.

    There was basically no supply of True Spirit pills in the cultivation world right now. The most important medicinal herb for refining True Spirit pills, the Blue Butterfly flower, was basically extinct. Blue Butterfly flowers only grew on top of spiritual stone veins. It was impossible to cultivate them in Spirit Gathering formations.

    Across the entire Clear River prefecture, there were truly just a handful of sects and clans with spiritual stone veins. Over many years of mining and excavating, they produced precious little amounts. They did not even have enough to refine the flowers into pills themselves, so it was even more impossible for them to sell them. Despite all the years she had spent in the school of Medicine, she only possessed two True Spirit pills right now. It was impossible for Li Qingshan to be in possession of something like that with his background.

    However, little did she know that not only did Li Qingshan possess True Spirit pills, but he possessed more than one too. He was sitting on a great pile of Blue Butterfly flowers as well, and he had even been in possession of a Blue Butterfly flower field in the past.

    Li Qingshan did not bicker with her. He casually fished out an embroidered box from his hundred treasures pouch. With a thud, he opened the box and displayed the True Spirit pill inside.

    Ru Xin held her cheek and sighed. ¡°In order to pursue your senior sister, you¡¯ve even taken out a True Spirit pill. Your senior sister is very touched by this gesture¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Cut it with the acting. Are you going to teach me or not?¡±

    Ru Xin extended her hands and closed the embroidered box gently. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you, but you should probably keep the True Spirit pill for yourself! With how quickly you cultivate, you¡¯ll probably need it in just a few years. You can¡¯t reach Foundation Establishment without this.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He did not think there was an understanding and considerate side to her.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s just do spiritual stones. A hundred spiritual stones per a day. I will teach you with great, great care and detail.¡±

    ¡°You can just directly say you¡¯ll be dragging it out a lot. I am a man of my word, so when my alchemy is enough to refine True Spirit pills, I¡¯ll give this True Spirit pill to you. What do you think?¡±

    If he refined all the Blue Butterfly flowers in his hundred treasures pouch into True Spirit pills, they would be worth far more than those spiritual artifacts and talismans, and he had no need to worry about demand either. This was the most important step for his breakthrough to Daemon General.

    Li Qingshan extended his right hand, and Ru Xin placed her hand atop it gently. She smiled. ¡°Deal!¡±

    Actually, an agreement like this was like a challenge. Originally, they were supposed to produce a written pledge on Contention island with a witness present, but Li Qingshan was quite unclear with this process, and Ru Xin had not mentioned it either.

    Around dusk, Li Qingshan returned to Cloudwisp island and let out a soft sigh. He felt rather exhausted. This was not only because he was learning alchemy, but also because Ru Xin would say some weird things from time to time, giving him a headache. However, under the temptation of the True Spirit pill, she basically put in her best effort to teach him. Her guidance was extremely efficient too, with no need for him to make time to attend formal classes. It had resolved one of the issues troubling Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 321 â€“ Trial Mission

    ¡°D- Did you really write this?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s eyes were slightly red. Originally, he had read the draft with a mindset of giving Li Qingshan some advice and revitalising his dignity as his teacher.

    Yep, martial arts practitioners. Seems to be a world without cultivators. It¡¯s quite the setting, but isn¡¯t it a little too literarily unsophisticated? There isn¡¯t even an opening poem. Oh right, Qingshan comes from the mountains. Getting him to write poems would be asking too much of him. It¡¯ll be up to his I, his teacher, to fix this.

    Liu Chuanfeng read it slowly with an opinionated mindset. Afterwards, he gradually forgot about his original objective. The cohesive plot of the novel had sucked him in, turning page after page. By the time he had returned to his senses, he had already reached the end. The sun was already setting.

    The writing style of the entire novel was vastly different from the ones he had read before, but it had a grand setting and portrayed everything to great detail. Even right now, he could recall the scenes vividly. This novel was not bad at all. Instead, it was unimaginably good, which destroyed his original plans.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Impossible. That¡¯s impossible,¡± Liu Chuanfeng muttered. He had been writing for so many years now, so he understood the difficulty that was involved.

    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s because I¡¯m a genius.¡± Li Qingshan patted Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s shoulder. Sure enough, the story from a great master was powerful. Of course, he would have never been able to do this without Xiao An¡¯s localising edits.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan peered into his body and discovered that a speck of light had appeared in the dim Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked at Liu Chuanfeng. He appeared several times more pleasant to the eye now.

    Originally, he had still been worrying about whether he could collect the power of belief with something he had plagiarised. Didn¡¯t he already have his first reader?

    Liu Chuanfeng was unable to come up with any appropriate responses to that. All he could do was accept Li Qingshan¡¯s explanation for now. It was probably because he originated from the jianghu, which was why he could write matters of the jianghu so easily and with such vivid detail.

    ¡°Qingshan, you definitely won¡¯t regret joining the school of Novels. I¡¯ll send this off to the Cloudwisp association right now. Have you thought of a pen name?¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately became stumped. He furrowed his brows in thought before thinking of something. He extended his index finger. ¡°How about Jin Long, or Golden Dragon1?¡± He had considered the two authors he was most likely to plagiarise from and fused their names flawlessly.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had felt so meek before Liu Chuanfeng. He muttered, ¡°Golden Dragon sounds so awesome and auspicious.¡± He racked his brains hard again. As a great author who had ¡°written¡± a million words already, it truly was quite awkward for him to be stumped over coming up with a pen name that was only a few words long.

    ¡°Wuji. Wuji is pretty good, right?¡±

    ¡°As a novelist, how can I have the same name as a character in my books? What will my readers think of me?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°All you did was drop your surname. My dear disciple, please be a little more serious.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I understand now. I¡¯ll just be Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t that your real name¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it is my real name!¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he radiated with confidence. Recently, he had been caught up in far too many regular matters. He had almost forgotten this old dream of his.

    There would be a day when he would spread the name ¡°Li Qingshan¡± across the nine provinces, with millions muttering his name.

    This was more like a fantasy that a child had while staring at the sky. If he mentioned it, people would only laugh. Even he himself found it quite amusing when he thought of it himself. However, it was called a dream exactly because of that.

    Refining True Spirit pills was not a dream. Becoming a Daemon General was not a dream either, as they were too serious. If he did it, he would do it solemnly, while those who heard about it would be solemn too.

    Bedding Gu Yanying could be regarded as half a dream. Although he was so serious about it, he had almost made a certain person collapse from laughter. Hmph, when lower people hear of the Dao, they¡¯ll laugh aloud. If they don¡¯t laugh aloud, it¡¯s not the Dao2.

    Who the fuck cares about what others think? I, Li Qingshan, will become the strongest, most famous man, or should I say daemon, across the nine provinces.

    All of his down-to-earth hard work was for reaching this fantasy. Novels were just the first step to his grand plan, so why did he have to think so much about coming up with a fake name?

    ¡°The great novelist, Li Qingshan. Now I like this name! Get Fubai to broadcast it properly for me. I¡¯ll personally shell out ten million taels of silver for this. Get everyone in the Clear River province to know my great name!¡±

    ¡°What great name?¡±

    Just as Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts flowed in high spirits, Hua Chengzan rode the wind and arrived on the island.

    Li Qingshan went to receive him. ¡°What brought you here?¡±

    Hua Chengzan heard about how Li Qingshan had actually written a novel. After hesitating, he hesitated some more before asking, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s those, right? Old Wang hasn¡¯t been in a good mood recently!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡± It turned Liu Chuanfeng bright red, fuming.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think so. I heard you spent all afternoon on Benevolence island?¡± Hua Chengzan hinted with a smile. He had befriended the greatest female primary disciple in the entire academy in such a neat and quick fashion, and he had even managed to capture the tomboy Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart. His charm was so impressive that it was truly beyond anything Liu Chuanfeng possessed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I was just learning alchemy from her,¡± Li Qingshan explained in a hurry. Ru Xin could be a very good partner, but clearly, she was not interested in him. He did not want to damage his reputation either, nor could he bothered to use this opportunity to pursue her.

    ¡°Pursuit¡± always came with an element of ¡°begging¡±. He just happened to utterly hate begging others. He was not born into this world to serve a woman. Even if it were Gu Yanying, this aspect would remain unchanged.

    ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s not talk about that. Do you have any spare time lately?¡± However, Hua Chengzan did not believe him. He too had a lot of first hand experience with that woman¡¯s personality. She definitely was not someone who would spend time teaching Li Qingshan alchemy for no reason.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°A trial mission.¡±

    This was a tradition that had always existed within the Hawkwolf Guard. Whether it were new Hawkwolf guards or promoted Hawkwolf guards, they all had to complete a trial mission to demonstrate that they had the ability to hold their post. Although it was more symbolic than practical now, it was still necessary. Having been promoted to Scarlet Wolf guard, Li Qingshan could not avoid this either.

    ¡°What¡¯s the mission?¡± Li Qingshan only felt that receiving private lessons from Ru Xin was even more correct of a decision. Otherwise, who knew when he would be able to learn alchemy in its entirety and refine True Spirit pills with all these interruptions.

    ¡°One of our Nighthawks has been killed. It might be connected to the White Lotus cult. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just an investigation mission. If you can find the murderer, then feel free to avenge our people, but if you can¡¯t, just report back.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°My previous trial mission was also an investigation mission.¡± And, in the end, the entire Qian family was annihilated.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°As long as Altar Lord level figures don¡¯t appear, regular Qi Practitioners probably won¡¯t even be able to touch a hair on you. Through her various encirclements, commander Gu has just about killed off most of the Altar Lords from various regions. The remaining that managed to slip away are too afraid to show themselves too. And, there¡¯ll be an additional reward for completing this mission.¡±

    ¡°What reward?¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s what you¡¯ve been looking forward to all this time, which is going to the Ruyi commandery and meeting commander Gu!¡± This was also an ancient tradition of the Hawkwolf Guard. Newcomers had the right to see their commanding officer¡¯s commander. If they were lucky and became chosen, there would be a lot of benefits.

    ¡°That¡¯s not bad at all.¡± Li Qingshan smiled too. He also wanted to verify some thoughts of his and approach that half-a-dream of his.

    1. Jin Long can be translated as Golden Dragon. The two authors Li Qingshan is thinking of are most likely Jin Yong and Gu Long. They are both highly reputed wuxia authors from the 20th century. They also form two legs of the Tripod of Wuxia (Basically they¡¯re two of the three most reputed wuxia novel authors).

 Chapter 322 â€“ Fate and the Fate of Love

    ¡°When do I set off?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°The sooner the better. It¡¯s best if you set off tomorrow!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then tomorrow it is!¡±

    ¡°Report to the prefectural city tomorrow. Oh right, when your book gets printed, give me a copy.¡± Hua Chengzan left behind the uniform and accompanying blade of Scarlet Wolf guards before bidding farewell and leaving.

    The next day, Li Qingshan changed into the impressive Scarlet Wolf uniform and arrived at the office of the Hawkwolf guard in the Clear River prefectural city.

    He made his way to the highest floor and knocked on Hua Chengzan¡¯s room.

    However, the person who opened the door was Han Qiongzhi. As soon as she saw Li Qingshan, she gave him a fierce glare and moved aside in a sulking manner. She ignored him.

    Li Qingshan was perplexed. However, this first young miss Han had always been subject to changing moods, so he did not take it seriously either.

    Hua Chengzan sat behind the desk with his hands crossed and a smile on his face. No matter when, he always seemed like he was in control of the situation.

    He gave a simple explanation of the mission. The murdered Hawkwolf guard was called Zhou Pei. He had once been a Nighthawk and because of his merit from the mission of encircling and suppressing the Truth-seeking society founded by remnants of the White Lotus cult, he had recovered his identity as a regular Hawkwolf guard.

    He had been killed in the process of carrying out a mission two days ago. His corpse was delivered back with the word ¡°traitor¡± engraved on his body. They suspected it to be the handiwork of the remnants of the White Lotus cult.

    When Li Qingshan heard ¡°Truth-seeking society¡±, he suddenly remembered it all. He had seen Zhou Pei before, and he had been personally responsible for the demise of the Truth-seeking society. The suspected murderer happened to be the leader of the society who had slipped away through his fingers, Qiu Ruiliu.

    Never did he think that he would end up with this mission again. The coincidences and arrangements of fate in the world were truly unpredictable.

    However, it actually was not much of a coincidence at all. There were hundreds of cities within the governance of the Clear River prefecture, and Hua Chengzan was responsible for numerous missions too. However, Li Qingshan originated from the Hawkwolf Guard in Jiaping city, while Zhou Pei¡¯s post had been in Jiaping too. That was why he had specially allocated this mission to Li Qingshan. It was a little like returning home after achieving great success.

    The information and documents were placed on the table. Two hands extended towards them simultaneously. Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes met before they looked at Hua Chengzan together.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this my mission?¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled his hand back. He no longer said anything. Han Qiongzhi was strong enough, even though she was a little ill-tempered. They could reach Jiaping by noon if they flew, and a slight investigation would take a day or two at most. It was nothing he could not put up with. And, she was still a beauty at the end of the day. At least he would not be lonely on the journey.

    Han Qiongzhi slammed the desk. ¡°No, I disagree!¡±

    Hua Chengzan said sternly, ¡°This is the order of your commander!¡± No matter how lax he was usually, the hierarchy was still clearly divided within the Hawkwolf Guard, strictly abiding to the laws. Unless Han Qiongzhi resigned from her post, she was forced to obey.

    Han Qiongzhi stared at Hua Chengzan before glancing towards Li Qingshan on the side. Suddenly, she seemed to understand something and blushed.

    Watching the two leave, Hua Chengzan leaned back comfortably on the high back of the chair. ¡°Junior sister, this is all your senior brother can do for you.¡±

    Since young, rarely were there any men that Han Qiongzhi appreciated. If this was not rare enough, then it was even more rare for Han Anjun to appreciate the man in question too. As her childhood friend, he obviously had to assist her. Spending time alone with each other was the best way to develop their feelings. If she went back home with Li Qingshan as well, that would only be for the better.

    He was helping out a friend too. If Li Qingshan could establish ties with the influential clan that was the Han family, he would benefit endlessly too. At the very least, he could receive help from Han Anjun, and there was even a chance for him to enter the care of Han Anguo. There would be no need for him to worry about running out of cultivation resources anymore. This was basically a match made in heaven. He had never thought his joke from before might actually come true. He could not help but admit that Li Qingshan had been developing rather impressively.

    As for Gu Yanying, it would be best if he woke up from that great daydream of his as soon as possible!

    Outside, Han Qiongzhi asked, ¡°Was it your idea?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°Even if you can get whatever you want, you first young miss, I, Li Qingshan, would never bother to use tricks like this.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi raised an eyebrow. ¡°What? Am I not worth using tricks for?¡±

    ¡°You are, you are. You most definitely are. Can you wait a moment for me? There¡¯s a place I need to visit first.¡± Li Qingshan played along casually and looked around.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Where are you going? How mysterious. Something bad?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go together!¡±

    It was inconvenient to use techniques in the city, so they travelled on foot. They arrived outside a small building on one side of the city. The plaque that hung high above the entrance spelled out two words, ¡°Cloudwisp Association¡±.

    Han Qiongzhi was surprised. ¡°Did your school of Novels do this?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. He gave no explanation. This was the first time he had come here too. He had obviously come here to take a look at the development of his new book.

    Last night, Liu Chuanfeng had personally delivered the draft here.

    Sun Fubai and Liu Chuanfeng knew that Li Qingshan would be coming, so they came out to receive him together. However, when they saw Han Qiongzhi, they were slightly surprised.

    There were many young masters and young misses from influential clans in Clear River city, but rarely did anyone surpass the one right in front of them. They could not help but wonder when they saw how she accompanied Li Qingshan.

    For Li Qingshan¡¯s sake, Han Qiongzhi bowed towards Liu Chuanfeng in an unconcerned manner. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng admired the impressive ability of this dear primary disciple of his even more. In the past when she saw him, she would not even look at him properly.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know as soon as you see it.¡± Sun Fubai invited them in with a chuckle, taking them around the Cloudwisp association on a tour.

    The various storytellers were currently reciting Li Qingshan¡¯s novel in the hall upstairs, preparing for their future performances. All of them agreed that Li Qingshan¡¯s novel was extremely fascinating, and it happened to be extremely suited for storytelling too. However, due to the lack of sophisticated poems, it could not be used to target scholars and nobles. It brought the bards to their wits¡¯ end as they tried to write lyrics for it.

    Li Qingshan swung his hand in an exaggerated manner. ¡°If you can¡¯t sing it, then you can act it out, right?¡± He behaved like he was acting it out, which enlightened these people.

    In another room, a group of painters and artists created accompanying illustrations for the characters in the novel. This idea originated from Liu Chuanfeng. Ever since he discovered accompanying illustrations, his books of smut sold much better, and it was easier for him to gather the power of belief too.

    In the printing press to the back of the association, over a dozen printing machines purchased from the school of Mohism ran at full capacity, humming aloud. They pressed the characters against the white paper one by one. Once the accompanying illustrations were completed, they could repeat the process then bind it all together, and it would become a book.

    Li Qingshan looked around and expressed complete satisfaction. ¡°I really can¡¯t spare any extra time, unfortunately, so I must trouble you with the matters here, Fubai.¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°We¡¯re all one family. Saying something like that would be alienating me.¡±

    ¡°When are we going?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked impatiently. These people from the school of Novels sure were strange. They were cultivators, yet they spent all their time mingling with these regular people. What was so interesting about that?

    She had flipped through a stack of printed copies too, but she found it boring from just a single glance. Apart from cultivation methods, she had no interest in anything that contained words at all. All she felt was that compared to fighting the disciples of the school of the Military, he really was not that admirable when he wrote novels instead.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go right now.¡± Li Qingshan could imagine how his name would spread throughout the entire Clear River prefecture before long, so he was in a good mood.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together. It¡¯s faster if you take this.¡±

    Arriving outside, Han Qiongzhi was just about to pull out the flying shuttle, and Li Qingshan agreed with her. Her expression eased up before immediately stiffening again. No matter when, she could never afford to embarrass herself as the first young lady of the Han family. Even if she had a good impression of him, she could not try to coddle or suck up to him. Not to mention that this guy even had the audacity to brush her off back on Benevolence island.

    A cloud shot into the air, flying directly towards Jiaping city.

    As he travelled back along the same path as before, Li Qingshan felt rather sentimental.

    Han Qiongzhi had always been a bold and easygoing person, but when she faced him, she would think about Hua Chengzan¡¯s intentions behind these arrangements. She wanted to get closer with him, but she was also afraid of embarrassing herself. If she acted up whenever she felt like it like before, wouldn¡¯t she just be like those little girls in love? That was even less of her style.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, her usual behaviour was no different from a little girl¡¯s, yet she just had to act mature right now, which was very awkward for her. For a moment, she was actually unable to say anything to him at all.

    Fortunately, Li Qingshan¡¯s sentiment left just as quickly as it had arrived. A while later, he began conversing with Han Qiongzhi, and only then did she ease up slightly, but she remained tense. She did her best to maintain a grasp over her actions. This just happened to be one of her weak points.

    As they spoke, all Li Qingshan felt was that this first young miss Han¡¯s personality seemed to have changed suddenly and drastically. She became reserved. Although she lost some of her sharpness, she became slightly less easy going too, which perplexed him. However, they were not exactly close, so it was not like he could get to the bottom of this.

    Never did he think that his chaotic battle to vent his gloominess in the school of the Military had touched on her tender feelings.

    After travelling for four hours, they saw a lone mountain in the distance, standing beside a great river. A hawk perched on there, watching over the city that stretched into the distance.

    The cloud vanished below him, and Li Qingshan landed firmly on the top of the mountain. He looked around. It has been a while, Jiaping.

    The Black Hawk commander, Fang Enshang, brought all the Black Wolf guards to receive them. There were quite a few old acquaintances among them. They all saw how a great Scarlet Wolf guard beauty stood beside Li Qingshan, who wore his Scarlet Wolf uniform. Just her composed bearing had surpassed all regular women. They were unable to describe their admiration for her, and they felt a tinge of sour jealousy.

    They had all personally witnessed Li Qingshan joining the Hawkwolf guard back then. He was just a kid from the mountains, but little did they think that in just a short year or two, he would have risen to such a level.

    Fang Enshang bowed politely. ¡°Greetings from Fang Enshang.¡±

    Li Qingshan returned the gesture to Fang Enshang, while Han Qiongzhi went up and patted his shoulder. ¡°Little Fang, long time no see. Why¡¯re you still at the sixth layer?¡±

    Fang Enshang said, ¡°Your language sure is unforgiving, second senior sister. How can my talent match yours, senior sister, or this fellow Qingshan right here? When I first met him, he was only at the fifth layer.¡± Because Han Qiongzhi was the secondary disciple of the school of Legalism, she was known as the second senior sister.

    ¡°You flatter me. I think it¡¯s commander Fang¡¯s bearing that¡¯s changed the most. You¡¯ve become much more mature.¡± Li Qingshan felt much of Fang Enshang¡¯s naivety was now replaced with the bearing of a commander.

    ¡°You¡¯re two men, yet you sing praises for one another. Don¡¯t you find it embarrassing? So tell me just what is going on.¡±

    Having escaped the awkward situation of being alone with Li Qingshan, Han Qiongzhi turned back to normal and immediately took control of the situation. As she asked for the full story regarding this matter, she requested Fang Enshang to take them to Zhou Pei¡¯s corpse.

    Clearly, Han Qiongzhi had a lot of experience with dealing with matters like this. Li Qingshan was willing to follow along with her too, remaining silent and contrasting against her.

    In the chilly morgue, Fang Enshang lifted a white cloth and exposed a naked corpse that had turned blue. Sure enough, the word ¡°traitor¡± was carved into the body.

    Li Qingshan had seen plenty of corpses before, so he was mostly unfazed. All he did was furrow his brows in thought. He did not feel like daoist priest Qiu was someone who would do something like this. This was more like a method of revenge used by third-rate figures of the jianghu.

    To a very large extent, the Truth-seeking society had not been destroyed by the Hawkwolf guard, but by Niu Juxia, who had killed his way out. Even if they knew Zhou Pei was a spy, their grievances did not run so deep. Just slitting his throat would have been more than enough.

    Han Qiongzhi was unafraid too. She studied the naked corpse without any bashfulness that a normal woman would possess. Instead, she became angered. ¡°They¡¯re out of their minds to provoke the Hawkwolf Guard like this. Little Fang, do you have any leads?¡±

    Fang Enshang said, ¡°I was just about to say. We had an informant report yesterday that daoist priest Qiu had appeared in the north-west. He seemed to be travelling in the direction of Ancient Wind city.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s doubts became even heavier. He had experienced daoist priest Qiu¡¯s craftiness first hand. Why would someone like him leave behind traces that regular informants could spot? And, wasn¡¯t Ancient Wind city where the Qian family once stood?

    His second trial mission actually pointed there once again. Was this a coincidence, or was there another reason for this?

    Han Qiongzhi covered the corpse with the white cloth quickly and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°We¡¯ll go right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan hesitated. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is as simple as it seems.¡± He stated his doubts.

    If this were in the past, Han Qiongzhi would have definitely mocked Li Qingshan as a worrywart. However, after everything he had been through, she knew he was not a coward. However, it would not be in line with her character if she did not charge over to Ancient Wind city immediately, sniff out Qiu Ruiliu, and cut him to pieces.

    ¡°Then what do you think we should do?¡±

    Fang Enshang was slightly taken aback. How rare. To think that even his second senior sister would have a moment when she would ask for the opinion of someone else. In the school of Legalism, she never listened to anyone apart from the two commanders.

    Li Qingshan considered it for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s just go with what you said!¡±

    Although he had his doubts about this, he trusted Hua Chengzan¡¯s judgement. They should not encounter any danger in this mission, or Hua Chengzan definitely would have warned them.

    Why would an Altar Lord of the White Lotus cult set up such a large trap, even going as far as exposing themselves, just to ambush two Qi Practitioners? If they really did not care about their own safety, they might as well just come to the Hawkwolf Guard and massacre to their hearts¡¯ content. Wouldn¡¯t that be better? Why did they have to lure them to such a remote place like Ancient Wind city?

    The most likely possibility would be that Qiu Ruiliu had gathered another group of independent cultivators and had set up a shoddy trap. With his abilities, he could kill whoever came at him as long as they were below Foundation Establishment.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Then why¡¯d you say that?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with being more careful.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan¡¯s doubts are very reasonable. Daoist priest Qiu is very crafty. I¡¯ll come with you. An additional person brings additional help.¡± Fang Enshang could still remember how Wu Gen had failed even with all the Hawkwolf guards accompanying him.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°There¡¯s no need. Give this brother a proper burial. If he had family, take good care of them. He won¡¯t die in vain. We will avenge him.¡±

    She saw how Fang Enshang wanted to say something else, so Han Qiongzhi cut him off. ¡°If the two of us work together, there won¡¯t be any problems at all!¡±

 Chapter 323 â€“ Altar Lord of White Lotus

    With great confidence as well as trust in Li Qingshan, Han Qiongzhi waved her hand, and the two of them set off.

    Han Qiongzhi urged him, ¡°Hurry up and summon the cloud!¡±

    It was early in the afternoon when Ancient Wind city, which sat on the side of the mountain and faced fertile land, appeared before them. It was dyed a faint yellow by the dim sun of winter.

    Under the ancient city gates, Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi gazed ahead.

    Although it was winter, quite a lot of people moved around on the streets. There were both adults and children, giving off a worldly hubbub. It was the same as the past, and it would remain like this in the future too. There did not seem to be any danger or hidden killing intent.

    As they walked through the streets, the two of them had instead raised quite a lot of attention, treated as outsiders.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s look around for him!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi called out, ¡°Qiu Ruiliu, we can already see you, so come out!¡±

    They attracted even more gazes over. Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. Was a move used to trick children supposed to work?

    A creak followed her voice. At the end of the main road, the doors to the Qian estate swung open loudly.

    No different from the past, Qiu Ruiliu wore the robes of a daoist priest as he stood at the entrance. He clasped his hands. ¡°I was unaware that esteemed guests would be coming, so please forgive me for failing to welcome you!¡±

    It actually worked!

    Before he had even finished talking, Li Qingshan felt a scorching gust of wind kick up beside him. Han Qiongzhi shot over, leaping towards the entrance of the Qian estate.

    With a swish, she drew her blade from her sheathe. It lit up with flames that were ten meters long as she swung it towards Qiu Ruiliu¡¯s head.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    This attack was the school of Legalism¡¯s Blade Aura of the Death Sentence. It possessed the dignity of law, the right to execute people, as well as the decisiveness of the school of the Military. Before the attack had even arrived, it could already overwhelm the opponent with awe.

    However, Qiu Ruiliu simply stood right there, smiling as he watched the blade arrive before him.

    With a clang, the blade landed on a black barrier of light. A formation enveloped the entire Qian estate. It would be extremely difficult for her to contend against the formation alone.

    Knocked back, Han Qiongzhi made a flip in the air and landed gracefully.

    Qiu Ruiliu said, ¡°Originally, I wanted to lure some powerful people here, but I never thought I¡¯d only lure over some shrimp.¡±

    ¡°Murder!¡± Only now did the passersby on the streets react. They all called out as they fled towards their homes. They were merely some poor people, so why would they want to become involved in a battle like this?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly grabbed Han Qiongzhi, and they took off into the sky.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Han Qiongzhi said as she put up a struggle. Even if Qiu Ruiliu was protected by a formation, the power of the formation would not be endless. Moreover, she possessed a few supreme grade talismans too. Even if this was an ambush, there was nothing for her to worry about.

    However, Li Qingshan said nothing at all. His face was sunken as he wrapped his arm around her waist like a hoop of metal. An unprecedented feeling of alarm loomed over his heart.

    ¡°You want to leave? It¡¯s too late!¡± Qiu Ruiliu laughed aloud. Even in this moment, he seemed to be brimming with righteousness, more upright than insidious.

    A black streak of light shot into the sky from within the Qian estate, pushing the black barrier outwards. It caught up with Li Qingshan instantly, enveloping the entire city.

    As if night had suddenly descended, even the winter sun in the sky dimmed. Some of the people who had yet to flee back home suddenly halted. They became riddled with cracks before collapsing like sand statues, reduced to a dark red smear on the ground silently.

    Without any preparations or prior signs, the entire city, whether they were male or female, whether they were old, frail, women, or children, had died in that instant.

    There were no heroes that appeared, engaging in a battle between good and evil to save the common people. There were no laments or pain. All it was was an instant, and everything became deathly silent. The hubbub of the streets seemed to have never existed in the first place.

    The moment Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi were enveloped by the black barrier of light, they stiffened. They felt like they were being crushed and ripped apart by a terrifying force, as if it wanted to crush them to a pulp, yet also rip them to pieces.

    Under the balance of the two powers, it was almost like nothing, but destruction was omnipresent. They could feel it in their bodies.

    The cloud condensed from spiritual energy collapsed quietly. The two of them fell out of the air.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s confidence was completely replaced with fear. It was impossible for just a person like Qiu Ruiliu to cast down a formation like this. At the very least, they needed an Altar Lord of the White Lotus cult to achieve this.

    Li Qingshan, on the other hand, immediately thought of the story Gu Yanying had once told him, about how the White Lotus Mother had sacrificed hundreds of thousands of lives.

    This time, they had unfortunately won the grand prize. There was an Altar Lord hiding within the Qian estate at the very least.

    Han Qiongzhi mobilised her true qi desperately, but her true qi refused to obey her. She wanted to say something to Li Qingshan, but she saw how stunned he was as he stared at her. She subconsciously touched her cheek.

    Her fair, smooth cheek had become like an age-old oil painting. A tiny crack had appeared, oozing with blood.

    ¡­¡­

    Ancient Wind city has probably been reduced to a ghost city now!

    In the Academy of the Hundred Schools, Qian Rongzhi gazed at the blue sky and thought about that.

    Everything that had once been would be reduced to nothing in the White Lotus cult¡¯s Lotus Bloom formation.

    She chanted softly, ¡°All sins annihilated ,the lotus blooms.¡±

    The first time she had met Qiu Ruiliu was during the encirclement mission last time. In order to hunt him down in the caves that were as complicated as a cobweb, they had split up, communicating with one another with their tablets.

    In the end, she had found the injured Qiu Ruiliu.

    This time, it was a complete coincidence, or perhaps it was inevitable. She did her best to search for traces before entering a cave that was least likely for Qiu Ruiliu to choose to escape in.

    In the darkness, two pairs of eyes met one another. There was no conversation, nor was there any fighting. She acted like she had seen nothing before backing out again.

    Back then, Qiu Ruiliu was injured, but she was just a fifth layer Qi Practitioner. If she fought and kept Qiu Ruiliu busy, he would die for sure, but it was very likely for her to fall in battle too. It was not a worthwhile exchange.

    A few months later, in a very ordinary mission, she met Qiu Ruiliu again, or should you say he had come looking for her. He invited her to join the cult. He did not try to threaten or tempt her. All he did was show extreme sincerity. ¡°I knew from the moment that I saw you that you¡¯re a person of the White Lotus cult! If you refuse, then cut off my head right now and turn it in at the Hawkwolf Guard. I won¡¯t resist.¡±

    Whether it was the truth or a lie no longer mattered.

    Qian Rongzhi considered for a moment before agreeing. She became a believer of the White Lotus, and she offered all of her possessions to the White Lotus cult, along with the Qian estate, so the White Lotus cult could use it as a secret base. Under her urgings, it obviously turned into a land of sacrifice for the White Lotus cult.

    Even she was uncertain whether she was expecting Li Qingshan to go there or not, whether it was a coincidence or just inevitable. If he died, she would sigh for him. Hehe.

    Han Qiongzhi looked at the blood on her hand. Fear filled her eyes. For the first time in her life, she was so close to death.

    At this moment, the black streak of light that had lifted up the black barrier retracted and twisted. The top instead swelled, like the bud of a flower. The mottled, dark-red smears on the ground began to disappear bit by bit as the final trace that proved their existence gradually vanished. Their flesh, blood, and souls had all become nutrients to the flower bud so that it could bloom.

    Li Qingshan tried to mobilise his true qi, but his sea of qi had scattered, as if it had collapsed on a much more rudimentary level. It was even more impossible for him to use any techniques.

    As the flower bud bloomed, the power of the formation grew stronger, and the damage to their bodies increased. If this continued, they would die even if the hidden Altar Lord just stood by.

    This was the terrors of the White Lotus cult that had battled Gu Yanying and the entire Hawkwolf Guard of the Ruyi commandery for all these years. Despite also being Foundation Establishment cultivators, the elders of the three mountains basically seemed friendly and courteous in comparison.

    Qiu Ruiliu let out a sigh. ¡°The heavens hold benevolence. I can tell the two of you are anything but ordinary people, so why not forsake darkness for light? Join our White Lotus cult and let¡¯s bring salvation to the world together. It¡¯ll save you from quite a lot of suffering too.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Han Qiongzhi gritted her teeth, and the taste of blood filled her mouth. As a stronger Qi Practitioner, she possessed a body that had completely surpassed regular people, which was why she had not collapsed immediately under the formation. However, her injuries were spreading bit by bit, like millions of ants gnawing away at her body, suffering a slow death.

    ¡°You were not born to be a coward!¡± Han Anjun had once scolded her like this. Although she found that old man utterly irritating, he was completely right about this. No matter the predicament, she, Han Qiongzhi, would never embarrass herself, especially when Li Qingshan was watching.

    Qiu Ruiliu said, ¡°You refuse to come to your senses! However, being able to become a part of the black lotus and cleanse your sins in the process is your good fortune.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He was about to strike. No matter who it was, if they wanted to take his life, they would have to ask his fists first. Even if this formation could suppress his true qi, it could not suppress his daemon core. Having reached the second layer of the spirit turtle, he would no longer be so helpless even if he faced a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    He had indeed hesitated for a moment earlier. His body was much tougher than Han Qiongzhi¡¯s. Although he was suppressed by the formation, it did not cause him any actual harm. With how powerful the formation was, he would have no choice but to transform if he wanted an opportunity to break out, but he would have to expose his greatest secret too. However, he could no longer care so much at a time like this. He could not just watch Han Qiongzhi die.

    Han Qiongzhi said sternly, ¡°Go!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan frowned. If they could enter and leave this formation as they pleased, what were they feeling fear for?

    ¡°The black lotus is the crucial point to the formation. I¡¯ll break it, and you use this opportunity to escape! There might only be an instant, so you have to grasp it properly. Go back and seek reinforcements. Avenge me!¡±

    If there aren¡¯t any chances, then let¡¯s die together! She did not manage to say that before leaping up, charging towards Qiu Ruiliu. She held a supreme grade talisman in her hand.

    Blood seeped out from between her fingers, wetting the talisman in the blink of an eye. The talisman flashed. She had used the residual true qi in her blood to ignite the talisman in the most primitive way possible.

    The talisman began to burn, turning into a scorching fire ball. It rapidly swelled in size and rose up like a dark-red sun. It illuminated Han Qiongzhi¡¯s smiling face that was covered in cracks. ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Altar Lord!¡± Qiu Ruiliu¡¯s expression changed drastically. There were no Qi Practitioners who could endure the might of a supreme grade talisman.

    However, before the fire ball had even reached the peak of its power, it began to dim, swallowed by the darkness. It rapidly subsided, such that only a wave of heat was left when it arrived before Qiu Ruiliu.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s smile vanished. Despite her despair, she continued to move, clutching a second supreme grade talisman in her hand.

    Qiu Ruiliu drew a sword with a wood-grain-like pattern. He lamented, ¡°I can¡¯t bear for you to suffer so much, so I¡¯ll send you off!¡±

    A shadow flashed past Han Qiongzhi, arriving before Qiu Ruiliu. It was Li Qingshan.

    Alarmed, Qiu Ruiliu swung his sword.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, and several dozen strands of sword qi shot out. Even the terrifying formation was unable to dull their edge.

    Qiu Ruiliu was stunned. Criss-crossing marks covered his body before shifting slightly. Before he could even fall apart as pieces, he collapsed due to the formation, reduced to a dark-red smear.

 Chapter 324 â€“ Arrival of the Hundred Schools

    ¡°You! Didn¡¯t I tell you to leave?¡± Han Qiongzhi stopped.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s tall figure stood before the entrance of the Qian estate as he looked back and said, ¡°Apologies. I don¡¯t have a habit of having women die for me!¡± He was apologising for his momentary hesitation earlier.

    ¡°Even if we¡¯re trying to interrupt the formation, I have a better chance at it than you. You go instead!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in charge here!¡± Han Qiongzhi caught up with him in a hurry. Li Qingshan pointed at her forehead, and a supreme grade talisman lit up, enveloping her.

    Although the power of all talismans had greatly weakened within the formation, it would still be of some use. The thin cracks on her face immediately stopped spreading.

    She wanted to speak, but a recovery pill was tossed into her mouth, and her injuries began to heal.

    ¡°Only women who listen are adorable. Don¡¯t let my efforts go to waste.¡± Li Qingshan said nothing more. He turned into a gale and made a beeline for the inner courtyard of the Qian estate.

    Han Qiongzhi gritted her teeth and rushed towards the exit of the city.

    ¡°Sometimes, there needs to be a sacrifice, but no matter who the sacrifice is, it shouldn¡¯t go to waste.¡± This was also something Han Anjun had once told her. Even in chess, the concept of bait and sacrificial pieces existed, let alone in a battle between two armies. This was the path of the school of the Military.

    The familiar scenery rushed past him as Li Qingshan charged in.

    His true qi was useless now. Not only was he unable to fly, but he had even lost the ability to make turns in the air. Right now, his feet could not afford to leave the ground without good reason.

    Who knew how many walls he had run through. Finally, he arrived at the inner courtyard, the origin of the black lotus stalk.

    There was a pond of lotus flowers to one side. The lily pads were verdant as the lotus flowers bloomed, emanating with fragrance like it was late spring. He could vaguely see a carp swimming around in there. It was brimming with life. However, it seemed like such a strange contrast to the deathly silent Ancient Wind city.

    A man in black ceremonial robes with a black lotus crown sat on a lotus leaf with his legs crossed. He extended his hand to stir the water of the pond, teasing the carp. He was like a cultivated scholar. He did not even give off a hint of treachery.

    However, the thick stalk of the black lotus that was about to bloom was planted right before him. It had claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come. Looks like Ruiliu has already departed. No, I can say he¡¯s come too.¡± The man in black looked at the black lotus and smiled.

    Under such a state, perhaps he only needed a single move to kill him. However, the more dangerous it was, the calmer he became. He searched for the slightest opening, the slightest hope of survival.

    ¡°Who are you supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°Names are just a form of reference for convenience, so you can call me Black Lotus!¡±

    ¡°Your companion has died. Don¡¯t you feel sorrow or fury for him?¡±

    ¡°I feel happy for him. He¡¯s tained with quite a lot of sins, so it¡¯s about time they catch up to him.¡± Altar Lord Black Lotus chanted slowly, ¡°All sins annihilated, the lotus blooms. Away from the sludge, to purity and clarity!¡± His gentle voice had quite the charm. His eyes were clear and at ease, like an eminent monk. Anyone who saw him would want to get closer to him.

    ¡°You feel happy for yourself, as he¡¯s made your lotus a little stronger. Though I wonder when you¡¯ll pay for your own sins?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps today.¡± Black Lotus smiled.

    Li Qingshan was speechless. The Altar Lord had not just overcome death. He truly viewed death as relief. The thoughts of cultists truly could not be analysed with logic.

    At this moment, there was a splash in the pond, and a red shadow passed through the lily pads, squirming around and swimming over. It nodded towards Li Qingshan in acknowledgement. It was the same fish that Li Qingshan had originally released. It opened its mouth, as if it was asking for pills.

    ¡°You know each other?¡± Altar Lord Black Lotus waved his hand. ¡°Go, go. I don¡¯t have any pills for you right now.¡±

    Even against a carp, something that was only regarded as a daemon in the eyes of regular people, his expression was so gentle that he seemed like he was coaxing a child throwing a tantrum for candy. Perhaps this metaphor was wrong, as he had personally killed hundreds, if not thousands, of children just then.

    The Altar Lord was helpless. He took out a pill from his hundred treasures pouch and placed it in the carp¡¯s mouth, rubbing the carp¡¯s head. Only then did the carp swim away in satisfaction. The pill was not as great as Virtue Accumulation pills, but it was not far off either.

    No, I can¡¯t keep dragging it out any longer. Li Qingshan took a step forward.

    ¡°You want to cut the black lotus and save your friend?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s steps halted. Had this Altar Lord been spying on them the entire time? If that was the case, it would be difficult for him to carry out his plan.

    ¡°I saw nothing. I was just guessing you were planning that. Hawkwolf guards rarely move alone, especially when they face the likes of us. You were staring at the black lotus the entire time before. Is it a man or a woman?¡±

    ¡°Are you planning to use the power of belief within your divine talisman to activate a talisman and launch a sneak attack against me?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart that had just settled down slightly suddenly tightened again. When he activated the talisman and opened his hundred treasures pouch, he had not used his own blood, but the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Ever since he left the prefectural city, the power of belief within the divine talisman had gradually increased. Clearly, it came from the members of the Cloudwisp association.

    The power of belief had always been an extremely special power. It was not affected by the formation at all. Right now, it played a critical role for achieving victory, but he never thought the opponent would see through and disclose everything before he could even strike.

    The Altar Lord said, ¡°The power that the divine talisman in your body radiates with is still very weak, but it¡¯s still not something that I can just ignore. Whatever, go ahead!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t stop you. If you can shake the stalk, the formation will shake for an instant too, and your friend will have the opportunity to escape from here. I want to see how you¡¯ll achieve this.¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. Never had he met such a strange opponent.

    Black Lotus said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. You can treat what I said as sincere words coming from the heart of a dead man!¡±

    ¡°A dead man?¡± Li Qingshan strode towards the black stalk, but he was filled with doubts. If the Altar Lord had done everything he could in an attempt to kill him right from the beginning, he would instead be at greater ease. However, this situation was just too unexpected, which only pressured him more. He had to guard against an attack from the Altar Lord at all times, and he had to worry about whether this was a trap or not.

    However, he did not purposefully maintain his distance from him either. At such a distance, they were just a few meters away, which was absolutely nothing in the eyes of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    Li Qingshan halted. He wielded his fingers like a sword and leapt up. The remaining dozen or so strands of sword qi in his body fused with his finger and stabbed towards the black stalk.

    The unstoppable sword qi stabbed deeply into the stalk, cutting off its access to nutrients. The huge bud on top tottered slightly too. The sky suddenly brightened slightly before recovering its darkness once more.

    Li Qingshan returned to the side of the pond and looked at the Altar Lord in bewilderment.

    Sure enough, the Altar Lord had done nothing. Instead, he praised, ¡°The sword qi is quite extraordinary. No wonder Ruiliu crumpled from just a single strike.¡±

    ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for the matter between us,¡± Li Qingshan said. Han Qiongzhi must have used this opportunity to escape. Now, only the two of them remained in Ancient Wind city. He could transform and fight to his heart¡¯s content. With the formation serving as an obstruction, he would not be spotted by outsiders either.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Altar Lord was slightly surprised. Even if this seventh layer Qi Practitioner had some special powers, standing up against a Foundation Establishment cultivator when he could not even use his true qi would be overestimating himself a little.

    ¡°Even in the face of great danger, people like me will confront it calmly, without losing their composure. Why must you copy the mediocre and put up a pointless battle of desperation?¡± He instead lectured Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Cut the bullshit!¡± Just when Li Qingshan wanted to unleash his daemon qi, he heard footsteps from behind and looked back. ¡°Why did you come back?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a habit of having men die for me either. And, I¡¯ve never been an adorable woman in the first place. There¡¯s no need for me to please you!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s expression changed as she rebutted.

    Even she herself did not know why she had returned. From the education she had received since young, retreat was the most optimal decision in a situation like this, and she would not be at any fault either. Whether it was the Hawkwolf Guard or the school of the Military, neither of them encouraged pointless sacrifices.

    Wavering about at a time like this would instead waste the sacrifice of her companion. Originally, she hated these gestures that were no different from a little girl¡¯s, but this time, she was unable to abandon him. In her heart, he was not just a colleague, a friend, or a companion.

    ¡°I just feel like I can¡¯t escape the pursuit of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Instead of being defeated one after another, we might as well put on one last struggle together. Perhaps we might have a small chance.¡±

    ¡°So it really was a woman, and a beautiful one too. It truly is rare to find a pair that both pleases one another and are willing to sacrifice for one another. You should treasure this fate that has brought you together.¡±

    At this moment, Altar Lord Black Lotus continued to study them in interest. As he spoke, he seemed more like a matchmaker.

    Li Qingshan had no idea on how to react either. If someone was willing to die with you, then it would be nothing even if they found out about your secret!

    He said to Han Qiongzhi, ¡°Be careful.¡± He took out all of his supreme grade talismans and was about to unleash them in a desperate battle.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The Altar Lord suddenly raised his hand.

    Li Qingshan would never wait if he faced other opponents, but this Altar Lord Black Lotus was just far too strange. From the beginning till the end, let alone killing intent, he even lacked hostility.

    ¡°Both of you go. The people I was waiting for have come!¡± The Altar Lord raised his head towards the sky.

    A streak of scorching white light cut through the darkness, descending from above and landing on the black lotus that was about to bloom.

    Boom! Thunder soon followed.

    A few familiar figures descended from above.

    Han Qiongzhi cried out, ¡°Father!¡±

    Han Anjun was among them. Beside him was also Liu Zhangqing, Wang Pushi, the One Thought master, and the others. Basically all the school leaders were present. As for the lightning bolt, it had originated from the peak Foundation Establishment slovenly daoist priest, Zhou Tong. That was why it had managed to rip through the formation in a single stroke.

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Altar Lord Black Lotus, today is the day you die!¡±

 Chapter 325 â€“ Blowing Hot and Cold

    The Altar Lord heard that and smiled towards Li Qingshan as if he was saying, ¡°Like I said!¡± He seemed to be completely unaware that he was already in dire straits. The black lotus beside him had only tottered slightly after being struck by the lightning.

    Li Qingshan could not help but look at Han Qiongzhi. Had she sent out a distress signal when the formation had weakened? Han Qiongzhi was just as confused as he was.

    No, that was impossible. The Academy of the Hundred Schools was over five hundred kilometers away from their present location. Even if she did send a signal, it was impossible for them to arrive so quickly. There was only one explanation¡ªthis was a trap, a trap for the White Lotus cult. Their identities as the hunter and the hunted immediately reversed.

    Even if Altar Lord Black Lotus had the support of the strange black lotus formation, he still stood no chance against the attacks of so many school leaders. The gates of death loomed before him.

    However, another question appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. If that were the case, why hadn¡¯t they struck earlier, letting this city full of people die and even risking Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi¡¯s lives?

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°You planted the black lotus, so I¡¯d like to see how you escape this time.¡±

    ¡°Life and death is set by fate. I did not flee in the past out of my own volition, but because the time was not right. I have always felt apologetic over that. You will definitely be satisfied today, commander.¡±

    As it turned out, the black lotus was not just a regular arcane artifact. Instead, it was one bound to the Altar Lord¡¯s life. He could unleash this formation when he planted the black lotus, such that even Foundation Establishment cultivators would be at his whim if they entered it. He was truly in his strongest state right now.

    However, once it was planted, he could not move it so easily, so he was also in his weakest state.

    All Foundation Establishment cultivators knew escape techniques, and Altar Lord Black Lotus was among the best of the best at such techniques. As long as he was not trapped by a formation, he could escape easily even when surrounded by all these Foundation Establishment cultivators. He had been surrounded multiple times in the past by Hawkwolf guards because he had been exposed, but they had failed to capture him every single time.

    At the cost of several tens of thousands of lives, they had finally managed to trap him here for good. They were about to complete a service of great merit, such that even Wang Pushi could not help but feel delighted.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity for these tens of thousand lives.¡±

    ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha!¡± The One Thought master chanted. His face was filled with pity. He could have prevented all of this.

    The Altar Lord did not expose their hypocrisy. Instead, he comforted them gently, without the slightest extremism. He was filled with tolerance and understanding.

    ¡°Vile spawn, shut up!¡± A thunderous lion¡¯s roar erupted from the One Thought master¡¯s mouth. With a furious glare, he said, ¡°If I don¡¯t enter hell, who¡¯ll enter hell? Even if I must be tainted with sins, I¡¯ll still kill you all and purge you scourges for the world!¡±

    The Altar Lord said, ¡°Master, you¡¯re wrong there. Legalism uses strict laws to warn and deter people, which is why killing me is commander Wang¡¯s priority mission. Confucianism governs the people and must weigh the trade-offs presented before them, which is why the entire city of people has been sacrificed, with no other choice available. However, the buddha is benevolent. Although there are great beings who purge demons, you cannot let your fury overtake your benevolence.¡±

    Li Qingshan could see exactly what was going on. The various school leaders had initially tried to get under his skin verbally, but the Altar Lord remained as calm as still water. He was unaffected.

    The slovenly daoist priest said impatiently, ¡°What¡¯s the point of spouting all this nonsense? Let¡¯s just work together and kill this bastard!¡±

    Han Anjun said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Well done. Take her away from here.¡±

    That seemed to signal the beginning of the battle. The various school leaders all surged with light, drawing their spiritual or arcane artifacts.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the Altar Lord deeply before pulling Han Qiongzhi away with him. The Altar Lord even said with a smile, ¡°We won¡¯t be meeting again.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not feel positive at all. The Altar Lord was just too composed, and from what he had said earlier, he seemed to have been expecting all of this. Even his own life or death no longer seemed important to him. From the beginning till the end, let alone fury or killing intent, he had not even spoken or behaved harshly, which instead gave Li Qingshan a deep sense of dread.

    Arriving near the formation, he left without encountering any obstructions at all.

    Without the life-threatening pressure, Han Qiongzhi was unable to contain her injuries anymore. She immediately spurted with blood and fainted.

    Li Qingshan was afraid of wasting any time too. He summoned a cloud first, taking them to a safe location that was high enough and distant enough before shoving another recovery pill into Han Qiongzhi¡¯s mouth. He used a technique to heal her injuries.

    A while later, Han Qiongzhi woke up slowly, and Li Qingshan stopped worrying. He glanced down and began to frown again.

    The battle did not erupt immediately like he had been expecting. Altar Lord Black Lotus said something, and the school leaders all became stunned.

    What was going on?

    The bamboo forest covered the ground with swaying and mottled shadows. The winter near Clear River city was very cold too, but it was not bone-chilling like Ancient Wind city. Qian Rongzhi was currently lamenting as she tread through the snow alone.

    A delicate courtyard appeared before her. It was just as empty and quiet as before.

    There was only Liu Chuanfeng writing away diligently in there. Novels had already become his only source of pride, so he could not allow his own disciple to steal the show from him.

    However, he was focusing so hard that he failed to even sense Qian Rongzhi¡¯s arrival.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. This person had not been informed and taken along to kill the Altar Lord. However, this was expected.

    That day, after accepting Qiu Ruiliu¡¯s invitation, she immediately reported it to Wang Pushi.

    Sure enough, Wang Pushi told her to play along first and serve the role of a Nighthawk on the surface so that she could investigate the internal ongoings of the White Lotus cult and find the whereabouts of even larger targets. Then he reported it to the Ruyi commandery so that they could organise another attempt to kill them all.

    Instead, he purposefully fed her some information so that she could earn the trust of the upper echelon of the cult. With greater risk came greater reward, so she obviously received quite a lot of rewards from both sides. However, due to her mediocre talent, she was unable to break through so easily.

    Thump, thump. Qian Rongzhi knocked against the bamboo strut on the veranda. ¡°Is Li Qingshan here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re?¡± Only now did Liu Chuanfeng raise his head. He felt injustice. His dear disciple was no better than him, so why was he so lucky with women?

    Qian Rongzhi stated her school and spoke a few words of courtesy before fishing out a jar of alcohol from her hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Seems like I¡¯ve forgotten. He hasn¡¯t completed his trial mission yet, so I guess fate just doesn¡¯t want him to drink this. I¡¯ll give this jar of alcohol to you instead, sir!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was immediately overjoyed. About time I got lucky with women. He faked a cough. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like a good idea. Why don¡¯t you wait here for Qingshan to return?¡± He did not even wait for Qian Rongzhi to make any insistences when he added, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I might as well oblige.¡±

    A while later, there was a clank, and Liu Chuanfeng knocked over the jug of alcohol, falling onto the ground.

    ¡°Just like the rumors. He¡¯s useless.¡± Qian Rongzhi had coated the alcohol in true qi, so she spat it all out again. Afterwards, she picked up his waist tablet and made her way towards the central formation of Cloudwisp island.

    Being a spy was a dangerous profession no matter what day or age it was. They would be surrounded by the enemy at all times, with only death awaiting them once they were discovered, let alone a double-crossing spy who constantly blew hot and cold.

    However, she had it somewhat safe. For the entire time, she had not attracted any suspicion from the White Lotus cult.

 Chapter 326 â€“ The Affairs of Life are no Different from Chess

    Just as the school leaders were about to strike, Altar Lord Black Lotus said, ¡°School leaders, do you only look right in front of you and never behind you?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Liu Zhangqing asked.

    ¡°This is both my designated end, as well as the Academy of the Hundred Schools¡¯ designated end.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t talk yourself out of this. Are you just trying to make time? The academy is protected by a great formation. Even if the White Lotus Mother comes in person, she won¡¯t be able to break through it so easily.¡± As Liu Zhangqing said that, his expression suddenly changed.

    He took out a formation disc coiled with dragons and snakes. The glow it had originally shone with had actually vanished. The various school leaders all knew what this meant. The Formation of Dragons and Snakes that guarded the academy had fallen!

    Qian Rongzhi watched as a white lotus grew in the formation. It swayed about, pure and beautiful.

    The stream of spiritual qi that constantly gushed into the air was immediately severed. The formation was powerful, but it required great precision too. It was like a machine. As long as a single component became defective, the entirety would be affected.

    The sky twisted. It remained just as blue as before, but the mist that surrounded the various islands of the academy gradually dispersed under the winter sun.

    A few fishermen who happened to be on the lake gazed at the islands before them in surprise. They had already heard about how immortals occupied this place, but this was the first time they had seen it in person.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡± Disciples of the various schools all emerged from the buildings and gazed at the sky, discussing among themselves. They had even thought that the formation had encountered some sort of difficulty in its operation.

    Hua Chengzan was the first to sense that something was off. He said in surprise and fury, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, what are you doing!

    ?¡± Then he spotted the resplendent white lotus. His surprise and fury turned into disbelief, as well as a sliver of fear.

    He already knew that Qian Rongzhi was a spy in the White Lotus cult, but he never expected her to actually become carried away with it. The White Lotus cult had become an existence hated and loathed by all a long time ago, only growing worse as time went on. Their members were always in precarious situations. With how clever she was, why would she become so devoted to their cause?

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Commander Hua, I¡¯m just an insignificant soldier carrying out orders, so why must you make things difficult for a mere woman like me?¡±

    Why would Hua Chengzan listen to her? He lunged over straight away. Before anything else, he had to destroy the white lotus so that the formation could begin operating again. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

    It was an old woman with grey hair. Although her face was covered in wrinkles, she seemed extremely benevolent. Her deep creases from smiling made her seem like she was constantly smiling. She held a white lotus in her hand, but it was close to withering away. Her gaze towards Hua Chengzan was so gentle too, like she was looking at her own son or grandson.

    However, Hua Chengzan experienced an almost suffocating pressure. He turned mid-air and leapt backwards. A few people appeared beside him before he knew it. There were men and women, old and young, but they all smiled.

    They were not sneering or smiling sinisterly, nor were they faking their smiles. Instead, it possessed joy from the bottom of their heart, as if everything in the world, no matter how insignificant, brought them delight.

    A cold sensation filled his head, running all the way to the soles of his feet. He was familiar with all of these people apart from the old woman, having heard about them many times. The bounties on their heads were astronomical. The remaining Altar Lords of the White Lotus cult had all gathered here.

    Qian Rongzhi bowed politely, ¡°Disciple Qian Rongzhi welcomes the holy mother¡¯s esteemed presence, the various Altar Lord¡¯s presence.¡±

    Hua Chengzan was shocked. Sure enough, the old woman was the White Lotus Mother, but wasn¡¯t she rumored to be a middle-aged woman?

    ¡°Get up. There¡¯s no need to dwell on these empty gestures. I still need to thank you for opening the door for me. I¡¯ve made you take on quite the risk.¡±

    ¡°To share the holy mother¡¯s burden is my responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°His name is Hua Chengzan. He¡¯s a Scarlet Wolf commander, and he¡¯s a trusted subordinate of Gu Yanying.¡±

    Only when she heard Gu Yanying¡¯s name did the White Lotus Mother look at Hua Chengzan carefully. ¡°You really are quite a rare handsome man. If I were a little younger, even I¡¯d probably be interested. It truly is a waste for you to serve below that Gu Yanying who doesn¡¯t know the wondrous essence of life.¡±

    Hua Chengzan knew that he was probably done for this time. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that I don¡¯t like old women.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then what do you think about this?¡± The White Lotus Mother was not bothered by that. She underwent an alarming transformation. The wrinkles on her face smoothed out bit by bit as her withered lips gradually reddened. Even her grey hair had turned black, and her skin had become snow-white. In the blink of an eye, she had become a beautiful young woman. The white lotus in her hand seemed to rejuvenate too, returning to a state before it had bloomed.

    The White Lotus Mother said with a clear voice that sounded like an oriole¡¯s song, ¡°Although I seem a little old sometimes, I¡¯m still a person after all. Is he on the list too?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Then take him back. Enlighten him to the righteous cause and turn him into a member of the White Lotus cult!¡±

    Before he could even see what the White Lotus Mother had done, Hua Chengzan collapsed on the ground helplessly. Although he was still conscious, he could not even move a single finger or mobilise a single shred of true qi.

    A thought filled his head for no reason. Is this the difference that exists between me and her?

    The White Lotus Mother left behind an Altar Lord to watch over the formation and directly made her way over to Contention island. The other Altar Lords ventured to the other schools and islands with their various cultists to gather resources and find people on the ¡°list¡±.

    This list had originated from Qian Rongzhi. It recorded all the talented disciples of the various schools.

    The White Lotus cult had clashed numerous times with the Hawkwolf Guard. They had sustained heavy losses, and they had been labeled as a heretic cult too, so they were oppressed from all directions, almost to a point where they had run out of successors. The plan this time was for resolving this issue.

    This ¡°list¡± would replenish the White Lotus cult with new blood. In particular, tenth layer Qi Practitioners like Hua Chengzan just needed to be ¡°enlightened to the righteous cause¡± and producing a few more Altar Lords would not be an issue.

    As for the people who failed to make it onto the ¡°list¡±, they would be cleansed of their sins and sent off to paradise.

    Among the academy, the most battleworthy school leaders had all set out to kill Altar Lord Black Lotus. How could the remaining school leaders match the White Lotus Mother? Right from the beginning of the battle, victory was already guaranteed.

    After hearing Altar Lord Black Lotus¡¯s words, the various school masters were all stupefied as they hovered above Ancient Wind city. These outstanding disciples they had carefully chosen and nurtured slowly over time were exactly the most important aspect of the academy.

    If anything happened to them, the entire Clear River prefecture would be drastically weakened. More terrifyingly, it was very likely for these people to become their future enemies. It was rumored that the White Lotus Mother could forcefully pour the doctrine of the cult into the minds of cultivators, turning them into comrades.

    Wang Pushi finally understood the greatest miscalculation in his plan. If Qian Rongzhi had actually met the White Lotus Mother, then she would have been filled up with the cult¡¯s doctrine too. Any of her free thought, such as her ability to weigh advantages against disadvantages, would no longer exist. Even if she were to die for the White Lotus Mother, she would be willing. The Altar Lord right before them was a living example.

    The Altar Lord said, ¡°Will you be rushing back to provide reinforcement, or will you be staying here to kill me? I hope you can decide soon. Being indecisive is not a good idea.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you wretch first!¡± The One Thought master let out a lion¡¯s roar. His pewter staff exploded with light and struck towards Black Lotus.

    In the courtyard within the bamboo forest, Hua Chengzan moved his lips with difficulty. He looked at Qian Rongzhi in confusion. ¡°Why did you do this? Has the White Lotus cult really brainwashed you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said, I have no other choice.¡± Qian Rongzhi sighed. If it were possible, she would much rather remain on the lookout for opportunities and slowly strengthen herself instead of becoming involved in a dangerous struggle like this. Achieving success was not so easy. No matter how much a measly Qi Practitioner racked their brains, they still needed some luck to survive. However, she only ever took gambles where she was guaranteed to win. The thing she hated the most was luck.

    Now, she had completed everything that she could do. All she was waiting for was the judgement of fate, as this time, she was not the chess player, but the chess piece, and a chess piece that could be controlled by both sides. The dangers and feeling of helplessness involved was so great that there was no point for her to tell anyone about it.

    Now, all she could do was wait for the appearance of the other player.

    A white shoe landed on the lotus heavily, even grinding it forcefully. The white lotus that even lightning could not shake had been immediately ground to dust.

    The shoe was embroidered with beautiful, detailed silver lines, which twisted into a profound glyph. On the ground, Hua Chengzan recognised it with a single glance; it was an arcane artifact. He tried his best to look up.

    There was a set of graceful, free-flowing white clothes embroidered with wings. Under the beams of sunlight, the person¡¯s face was slightly blurred, but the smile formed by the corner of her lips would always remain so clear and give him such a lasting impression.

    Qian Rongzhi immediately stood up. She bowed towards the owner of the shoes in a rather exhausted manner. ¡°Subordinate Qian Rongzhi has been awaiting great commander¡¯s arrival for quite some time now.¡±

    Suddenly, Hua Chengzan understood everything. I see! After completing her trial mission, he followed the rules and brought her to the Ruyi commandery to see her. They had a private conversation. Everything must have originated from there!

    The expression of the Altar Lord who had stayed behind changed drastically. Every single cultist of the White Lotus was far too familiar with this figure. She was basically on par with the White Lotus Mother herself. He immediately fled using a technique. In the blink of an eye, he had already arrived over three hundred meters away, pulling far away from the formation.

    The jade folding fan suddenly unfurled, and she swung it casually.

    The Altar Lord felt a slight breeze brush past him. He called out, ¡°Holy mother, escape!¡± His body suddenly split into two.

    The bamboo forest remained silent for quite a while before falling apart with a rustle. Looking from above, the neat shape of a fan had suddenly appeared in the forests of the island.

    ¡°White Lotus, it¡¯s checkmate!¡±

    ¡°Gu Yanying!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother suddenly looked back. Light rushed towards the sky once again from the Cloudwisp island, and the Formation of Dragons and Snakes began to operate once more. She had entered this place after disabling the formation, but she was now trapped within the formation.

    What was going on? Just which part went wrong? It was impossible for Qian Rongzhi to betray her after being filled up with the cult¡¯s doctrine.

    Gu Yanying patted Qian Rongzhi¡¯s shoulder, showing her approval. Being able to remain true to themselves in the face of the White Lotus Mother¡¯s Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple despite only being a Qi Practitioner was truly rare. She obviously had to make use of such a rare opportunity.

    No one knew when, but a group of cultivators in white clothes appeared in the bamboo forest. They stood behind her, awaiting her command.

    Like she was wielding a blade, she gently swung her finger.

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    The refreshing breeze stirred the lotus.

    Ancient Wind city had been reduced to ruins, and the Qian estate had already been reduced to dust.

    Only the pond which the black lotus had been planted in remained the same. The carp swam around leisurely in there as the pond reflected Li Qingshan¡¯s expression of contemplation.

    Li Qingshan stood beside the pond as thousands of thoughts filled his head.

 Chapter 327 â€“ Extra

    The battle only lasted for a very short amount of time, and it was completely one-sided. With a group of school leaders present, if they failed to overwhelm a single Altar Lord, then they would be utter laughing stocks.

    When the battle reached its most intense moment, Altar Lord Black Lotus was already prepared to launch an attack with his life on the line so that he could pull a school leader or two down with him. However, he seemed to sense something. He personally cut down the black lotus and grabbed a single lotus seed within the seed pod. He said, ¡°My end has not arrived yet.¡± before fleeing into the distance.

    The various school leaders were all afraid of being injured by his final strike, so they had all pulled away from him, which instead gave him the opportunity to escape.

    The slovenly daoist priest and Ma Buyi pursued him together. The Altar Lord had fled, but he had personally cut down his lifebound arcane artifact, so he was not lightly injured either. As long as they could catch up to him, they could severe his final hope of survival.

    The slovenly daoist priest and Ma Buyi were the most appropriate choices for pursuit too. The other school leaders all returned to the academy to provide reinforcements.

    In the beginning, Li Qingshan had no idea what had happened. All he felt was confusion. The battle had arisen because of him, but even he had no idea what it entailed.

    In the end, it was only because Han Qiongzhi had asked Han Anjun in great displeasure that Li Qingshan finally gained a rough idea about what had happened.

    If this were a game of chess between the Hawkwolf Guard and the White Lotus cult, or perhaps Gu Yanying¡¯s chessboard, then the role he played probably even paled in comparison to a chess piece.

    This was because both sides understood that this mission was just a symbolic fuse to set off a chain of events; it was not the focus. As a matter of fact, it was even purely a coincidence that Han Qiongzhi and he were the ones carrying out the mission. If Hua Chengzan changed his mind, perhaps there would be two other Hawkwolf Guards instead, or maybe there was no need for anyone at all.

    They were not sacrifices, nor were there any risks either. They had not been used as bait or sacrificial pieces. It was impossible for Wang Pushi to use Han Anjun¡¯s daughter, the secondary disciple of the school of Legalism, as a sacrifice.

    The various school leaders had appeared when the black barrier unfolded. The primary reason why they had not struck immediately, apart from wanting to wait for the black lotus to be planted properly, was because Han Anjun wanted to give his own daughter a test. He wanted to see how she would perform. He believed that an experience like this would be akin to a precious treasure to Han Qiongzhi, who had never suffered any particularly large setbacks before.

    After Han Anjun¡¯s departure, Han Qiongzhi erupted with curses over this arrangement, but Li Qingshan fell silent. As it turned out, the greatest risk he faced was transforming before all the school leaders.

    Apart from being still shaken up, he felt gloomy too, which he wanted to get out of his chest. Compared to this, he would much rather transform and battle the Altar Lord to death.

    Han Qiongzhi did not think too much of it, probably because this was not the first time she had experienced a ¡°test¡± like this. After cursing to her heart¡¯s content, she no longer thought about it anymore. Instead, she felt rather perplexed when she saw Li Qingshan standing by the pond alone.

    She went up and said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Are you worrying about Xiao An? She¡¯s fine.¡± Han Anjun had only told her everything through a spiritual artifact after he had returned to the academy.

    Li Qingshan smiled in a self-deprecating manner. ¡°I¡¯ve stolen quite a lot of the show recently in the academy, to a point where I actually thought I was a big deal!¡±

    If he had been abused, then he could bide his time and wait for an opportunity for revenge. If he had been used, then he could find the person who had used him and ask for an explanation. But right now, he was just unhappy with all of this, and there was no one he could vent it on.

    The Altar Lord had been very polite to him, perhaps because he was a highly cultivated person, or perhaps there was something wrong with him mentally. However, the primary reason was because Li Qingshan was nothing in his eyes. You said I¡¯ll die today. Okay, maybe I might actually die. After a casual conversation, he sensed that the school leaders could no longer hold themselves back, so he just brushed him aside. ¡°You can go. The people I¡¯m waiting for have come.¡±

    Wang Pushi¡¯s thoughts were probably even simpler than that. I sent you on a mission with no danger at all, so what can you be displeased about? You think I should tell you beforehand? Why should I?

    Going even further, Gu Yanying had no idea he was carrying out this mission at all. Wang Pushi was just a chess piece too.

    It was as if just when Li Qingshan felt like he was the main character, someone had run over and stated to him clearly, ¡°You¡¯re just a supporting character, no, you¡¯re not even a supporting character. You¡¯re just an extra for the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    The other supporting Hawkwolf Guard character, wait no, Han Qiongzhi asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s something that¡¯s very difficult for women to understand.¡± This was a man¡¯s battle between his grand ambition and cruel reality. Perhaps the more wonderful the dream was, the more painful it was when it was time to wake up!

    Han Qiongzhi shot a glare at him. She hated it when people used the fact that she was a woman as an argument, but when she remembered how Li Qingshan had even risked his life for her survival, her gaze softened again.

    ¡°You think you¡¯re so great just because you¡¯re a man? When you¡¯re complacent, you think you can do anything, but once you become dejected, you can¡¯t even match a woman, acting like how you don¡¯t care on the surface when you¡¯ve already given up and admitted defeat inside.¡±

    ¡°Are you talking about Hua Chengzan?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Han Qiongzhi was taken aback.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°I can¡¯t tell normally, but you really are quite adorable!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened, and she clenched her fists. ¡°I think you only have a bit of bearing about you when you¡¯re fighting or drinking.¡± Looking at Li Qingshan¡¯s wretched smile, she was tempted to punch him.

    Smiling at one another, both of them felt much closer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back!¡± Li Qingshan said. After locating his anguish, his mind had instead settled down. He became even more determined. Regardless of whether he could accept it or not, he had to accept it all. This was life. No one was born to be a main character, nor was there anyone destined to play the role of an extra for the rest of their life. He had to continue further down his path.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    It was at this exact moment that the surface of the pond rippled, and a huge carp poked its head out.

    ¡°Daemon!¡± Han Qiongzhi clenched her fists.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who raised it.¡± Li Qingshan stopped Han Qiongzhi. ¡°You go first. I want to bid farewell to it.¡±

    After chasing Han Qiongzhi away, Li Qingshan crouched down and rubbed the carp¡¯s head. ¡°You sure are pretty lucky. I think the pond is too small for you, such that you¡¯ll outgrow it very soon. Do you want me to release you into the Clear river?¡±

    The huge carp nodded before suddenly diving to the bottom of the pond. Just as Li Qingshan felt puzzled, the carp swam back with something in its mouth, placing it in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan looked at it carefully and saw that it was a tiny black seed pod. There were around a dozen or two lotus seeds in there, with only one missing. It was the seed pod of the black lotus from earlier. Even Li Qingshan was uncertain about whether the black lotus was conjured from spiritual energy or if it was an actual plant. However, he did know that the seed pod was anything but ordinary.

    ¡°For me?¡±

    The carp nodded before opening its mouth.

    Li Qingshan stowed the seed pod away. He reached into his hundred treasures pouch, but he had already eaten all of his pills. After a moment of consideration, he found a spiritual fruit and fed it to the carp. Only then was it satisfied.

    Li Qingshan used a technique and swept the carp onto the cloud. He picked up Han Qiongzhi and headed back to the academy.

    Along the way, he released the carp into the Clear river. It dove into the water happily, without the slightest reluctance to part with him.

    Afterwards, he was met with a casual question from Han Qiongzhi. ¡°Do you like commander Gu?¡±

    Li Qingshan replied without much thought, ¡°I do.¡±

    In the end, Han Qiongzhi immediately turned hostile and refused to pay anymore attention to him.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised at first, but no matter how dense he was, he could still tell what Han Qiongzhi felt about him. He could not help but become content with himself. I, Li Qingshan, possess charm too! He could not help but think about the joking words he had said a few months ago.

    He could not help but begin to closely study Han Qiongzhi beside him. Her pretty, short hair must have come from Han Anjun¡¯s influence. There were many bald disciples in the school of the Military. Her tall nose bridge was very sculptural, while her pursued lips flowed with determination, or should he say, stubbornness.

    She resembled her cool brother, Han Tieyi, slightly. Perhaps a pair of straight eyebrows and twinkling eyes were too valiant for a woman, but she was without a doubt a beauty.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened even more. She was filled with indescribable joy. She felt that even though she had been ¡°tested¡± once again by her damned old man, it was not entirely bad.

    However, she finally lost her patience with Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze too, as this wretch was not satisfied with just her face. He had already begun to size up her body, and he had just reached a conclusion of ¡°fantastic¡±.

    ¡°What¡¯re you looking at!?¡± When she said that, even Han Qiongzhi herself felt feeble.

    ¡°Do you like me?¡± When he said that, even Li Qingshan felt like he probably had better things to do.

    How could Han Qiongzhi admit that? As a result, the two of them returned to the Lake of Dragons and Snakes under a strange tension once again.

    The sun had just begun to set, dyeing the ripples of the lake red.

    Just as he had wanted, he had used less than a day to complete the trial mission, but everything that had occurred completely exceeded his imagination.

    Thinking about it now, all he had done was watch a great show and play the role of an extra. Thankfully, he had not left the stage just yet.

    However, only when he approached the academy did he realise that the true show had actually unfolded here.

    The Formation of Dragons and Snakes no longer existed, and every single island had sustained horrifying damage. Large swathes of structures had been knocked over, with many disciples cleaning them up.

    However, the island with the most exaggerated damage was Contention island. The jagged mountains there seemed to have been cut apart and ground down, turning into large swathes of cracked rock. There was not a single complete structure there.

    Li Qingshan rushed over to An¨¡srav¨¡? island, and sure enough, he found Xiao An safe and sound. Only then did he stop worrying. However, the island was filled with despair. Many monks had died, refined by the Altar Lords of the White Lotus cult. Not even their corpses remained.

    Li Qingshan embraced her tightly and felt a different kind of danger. This was a battlefield where two Golden Core cultivators had once fought. There was not a single Qi Practitioner that could protect themselves, no matter how talented they were.

    In the past, the Soaring Dragon Elder had cut down mountains like tofu. He could still recall it vividly.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Someone called out his name. Li Qingshan looked back and saw Hua Chengzan. Their eyes met, and both of them felt like they had just survived a disaster.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know either¡­ Are you fine?¡±

    Li Qingshan wrapped his arm around Hua Chengzan¡¯s neck and smiled. ¡°Do I look like I¡¯m in trouble? You¡¯d better stop asking stupid questions like that in the future.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled too, but it was rather forced. Compared to Li Qingshan, he had actually just returned from the gates of death. All it would have taken was a single thought from the White Lotus Mother, and he would have been dead already.

 Chapter 328 â€“ A Second Word of Advice

    Li Qingshan had never thought that the place where Gu Yanying wanted to see him would be Cloudwisp island.

    Within the flickering bamboo forest were clothes even whiter than snow. It was another winter.

    Her illusionary figure was already right before him. Li Qingshan focused his mind and walked over. ¡°Greetings, commander Gu!¡±

    Gu Yanying looked back. Her gaze was like a hawk¡¯s, as if she wanted to see through him completely.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and met her gaze. His memories from two years ago were suddenly verified. None of it was fake or a dream. He was just wet behind the ears in the past, but after going through so much and witnessing so much, did he still possess the same courage?

    Gu Yanying suddenly smiled, like the breeze of early spring. It seemed warm, but it was still cold, passing by freely.

    ¡°You¡­¡± The white clothes drifted past before him. Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. She had specially called him here, yet she said nothing to him at all. What was the meaning of this?

    Gu Yanying stopped and looked back. ¡°I was originally prepared to tell you something, but it looks like there¡¯s no need for that now.¡±

    There was no fury or dissatisfaction, nor was there abjection or self-deprecation. There was only firm determination. To a man like that, there was no need for her to say anything at all. All she had to do was watch and see which step he could make it to.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You might as well say it.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you a word of advice. A piece of trash like you won¡¯t have the right to drink tea with me even in a hundred years¡¯ time. How¡¯s that?¡± Gu Yanying could not help but laugh.

    Li Qingshan remained silent for a while. He replied, ¡°That¡¯s quite old-fashioned.¡±

    Gu Yanying tapped her chin with her fan. ¡°Really? I can¡¯t think of a worse way to say it. As long as you get what I mean!¡±

    Those who were truly powerful would not go around everyday calling others ants. All they would do was step over the ant nest unwittingly. Why would anyone purposefully crouch down on the ground and point at a group of ants, saying ¡°You stupid, weak insects.¡± unless there was something wrong with their head?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Is that the second word of advice you¡¯ve gifted me?¡±

    ¡°The Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner.¡± This was the first word of advice she had given him, and he had already achieved it. He had emerged from the conflict of the jianghu and arrived in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, the stage where cultivators clashed.

    Gu Yanying raised her folding fan. Atmospheric winds swept around it and carved a sentence into a verdant bamboo stalk to the side. ¡°A piece of trash like you won¡¯t have the right to drink tea with me even in a hundred years¡¯ time.¡±

    ¡°Keep it. You¡¯re welcome to throw it before me in the future with your head held high. Good bye, little bro Qingshan!¡±

    Her voice still lingered in the bamboo forest, but she had already taken to the skies, without leaving a single trace behind.

    During the battle this time, the White Lotus cult almost faced complete destruction. Only the White Lotus Mother managed to escape. However, it was at a tremendous cost to her cultivation, and she even sustained heavy wounds. She could no longer pose any harm anymore. Perhaps she would recover her strength in the future and come out to stir up a storm again.

    However, she no longer possessed the right to be her opponent. To her, this game of chess was already over. When the White Lotus Mother fled, she did not even pursue her. All she did was watch this old rival of hers leave one last time. Hopefully, she would be clever enough to not show up again, or bide her time until she had left the Ruyi commandery at the very least!

    Li Qingshan returned to the bamboo courtyard. Hua Chengzan was waiting in there. He asked, ¡°What did she say to you?¡±

    ¡°Here!¡± Li Qingshan passed the bamboo piece to Hua Chengzan.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression became quite strange.

    ¡°Do you want me to pass this to you instead? I think it suits you better than me.¡±

    ¡°Piss off. Keep it for yourself!¡± Hua Chengzan tossed it back to him.

    Liu Chuanfeng emerged from inside. He rubbed his bleary eyes. ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re back. Ah, it¡¯s already so late. The alcohol¡¯s got quite the kick.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Hua Chengzan smiled bitterly at one another. As others were shaking in fear, fighting for their lives, he was having the snooze of his life.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s just a joke, but it¡¯s also the truth. Do you understand what I feel now?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s the truth for you. Don¡¯t pull me down to the same level as you. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that you¡¯re a little handsome, I would have cut a piece of trash like you off a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying I¡¯m a piece of trash?¡±

    ¡°Piece of trash. If you think you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you go establish a foundation?¡±

    ¡°Alright, just you wait!¡±

    The next day, Hua Chengzan entered secluded cultivation.

    He might not have shown it, but the mental shock he had experienced was probably even greater than Li Qingshan¡¯s. No one had told him any details from the beginning till the end. He had almost lost his life in the attack, and in the end, that person did not even bother to talk to him anymore than she needed to. He even paled in comparison to Li Qingshan in this aspect.

    If you¡¯re thinking that my special treatment in the past is a reason for you to abandon yourself, then I¡¯ll just treat you like a Qi Practitioner! Since we¡¯re already destined to be worlds apart, why should I waste this time on you?

    Li Qingshan carefully studied the black seed pod under the lantern light. He also tried to remove a lotus seed. It seemed like a black pearl, shining like a gem. It seemed to contain a strange power.

    However, it was not a pill or medicine he could directly convert into daemon qi or true qi. Since the black lotus had only grown with the sacrifice of the entire Ancient Wind city, several tens of thousand lives, did that mean it was the essence of flesh and blood? He had to show it to Xiao An.

    As he thought of that, a petite figure appeared at the door silently. She leapt into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms again. It was Xiao An.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I was scared I won¡¯t be able to see you again.¡±

    A clash between two Golden Core cultivators was like a natural disaster. No matter how powerful a Qi Practitioner was, they would still be in a precarious situation, constantly in fear. She had no choice over how she reacted either. She found death meaningless, but she was unable to find separation meaningless.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯ll always be able to see me again. Let¡¯s venture beyond the Nine Heavens together!¡± Li Qingshan pecked her hair and showed the lotus pod to her. ¡°Is this of any use to you?¡±

    As soon as Xiao An held the seed pod, she felt the surging life force inside. This was the only power that she could convert into her own cultivation through her flames.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Looks like I didn¡¯t return with nothing this time. I don¡¯t know why, but Altar Lord Black Lotus didn¡¯t take the entire seed pod with him, making it easy pickings for us.¡±

    Back then, the Altar Lord had unleashed all the power of the black lotus. He was ready to perish together with them. If he had plucked the entire seed pod, then the black lotus would immediately lose its core, and it would not be able to unleash any more power. The school leaders were not ignorant children. They could not be scared off by a mere demonstration of power.

    It was exactly that violent explosion that had reduced Ancient Wind city to ruins, and in the centre of the explosion was absolute darkness. Even with the school leaders¡¯ eyes, they were unable to see what was going on in there. The seed pod had fallen into the pond at this exact moment.

 Chapter 329 â€“ A New School

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s suggestion, Xiao An tried ingesting a black lotus seed. Immediately, the flames released some extremely pure essence of flesh and blood, enough to rival the flesh and blood of over a thousand people.

    Xiao An immediately began cultivating, refining the lotus seed completely.

    Li Qingshan stopped worrying too. Originally, he planned on taking Xiao An on another trip outside. However, not only would it be time-consuming, but he could easily attract suspicion too.

    A bloodthirsty personality could explain why he killed, but the disappearance of the corpses would be difficult to explain. If he caught the attention of someone observant, then he would be in trouble. These lotus seeds should be enough to provide for Xiao An¡¯s cultivation for a very long time. At the very least, she would not be held back by the lack of flesh and blood.

    Leaving Xiao An there to cultivate, Li Qingshan opened the door. The moon shone brightly with a few stars in the night sky, and white snow covered the entire courtyard. He also had to make some preparations for his own path.

    That night, Li Qingshan visited Benevolence island and Wuwei island first and found Juechenzi and Ru Xin. The schools of Daoism and Medicine were the most skilled in alchemy. As the primary disciples of the two schools, they were both in charge of some pills. He chose some higher quality pills and bought them, also reminding them to not tell anyone else.

    The two of them were neck deep in work after the disaster that the academy had faced. Ru Xin was in a hurry to heal the injured, while Juechenzi had been handling the various matters of the school of Daoism in the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s place, as he was still missing. They had a short conversation with him and handed the pills to him in a hurry before getting back to work. Even Ru Xin was not in the mood to joke around.

    In the end, he went to the school of Miscellany¡¯s Treasure island. He exchanged all the remaining spiritual stones on him for pills in the main store of Miscellaneous Goods. He also kept an eye out for the prices of other items. He discovered that the prices of spiritual artifacts and talismans had begun to increase.

    He could imagine the shock that the cultivators had experienced from this battle. Li Qingshan gave it some consideration, but he still decided against selling the talismans and spiritual artifacts on him.

    Returning to Cloudwisp island, Xiao An was still meditating. As it seemed, refining the black lotus seed would take quite a lot of time.

    Li Qingshan did not disturb her. He thought over everything he had gained today. Because he had focused on choosing relatively better pills, he did not have a lot of them, but it should still be enough for him to reach the third layer with the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.

    The sky gradually lit up, and Hao Pingyang came to visit him. He told Li Qingshan a piece of news¡ªZhang Lanqing had died.

    He had died at the hands of an Altar Lord. All he was hit by was a single attack, and he was reduced to nothing. He could not fight back at all. If it were not for the fact that the Altar Lord wanted to capture Hao Pingyang alive, he would have been dead already too.

    When he mentioned that, Hao Pingyang¡¯s voice became hoarse, and his eyes reddened.

    Li Qingshan asked after quite a while of silence, ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve just come to tell you this. He has already been avenged. I plan on paying a visit to his home.¡± Hao Pingyang said a few other things absentmindedly before leaving.

    This was the last bit of existence that this dark-skinned, honest-to-the-core man had left behind.

    Li Qingshan stood in silence for a little longer before beginning to practise his forms. In the empty bamboo forest, he practised the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength again and again. He did not stop until he used up the final shred of his strength. Only then did he fall down on the ground, huffing and puffing.

    The sky gradually grew brighter. Today, they held a collective funeral on Contention island. It was called a funeral, but most of the cultivators who had died had not even left behind any remains. Even if they did leave behind remains, they had been delivered back home to be buried too.

    The various disciples lit lanterns over the lake, remembering their fellow disciples that they might or might not have known.

    Li Qingshan gazed off into the distance. The lantern light drifted apart in the darkness, gradually growing further and further away. He returned to Cloudwisp island and continued cultivating.

    Pills after pills were converted into energy in his body before turning into power that surged and churned within him, awaiting for a time of release.

    On Contention island, a building rose straight from the ground. Due to the engineering of the school of Mohism, they built structures at a startling rate. There were many mechanical structures too.

    At the top of the building, the twelve school leaders gathered in a single room.

    The slovenly daoist priest was utterly displeased with this result. His pursuit of Altar Lord Black Lotus had failed in the end. He had almost leapt to his feet and erupted with curses when the One Thought master glanced at him, but he held himself back in consideration for the atmosphere.

    Earth elder Huang took great puffs of his pipe. The school of Agriculture had suffered heavy losses, but not in terms of disciples. Instead, his precious fields and orchards had sustained quite a lot of damage. When the cultists of the White Lotus saw so many spiritual fruits, they forcefully plucked them regardless of whether they were ripe or not. He ended up getting it all back, but it was still quite the loss.

    Standing behind them to their sides were their primary disciples. They all sat on their heels quietly too.

    Only Wang Pushi lacked a person behind him. Hua Chengzan had entered secluded cultivation. For him to neglect the bigger picture despite his personality, it only demonstrated how determined he was.

    Xiao An wore black, silken robes. A wooden pin barely managed to hold it together in a bun, but quite a lot of her long hair still flowed behind her. After digesting a black lotus seed, she had advanced with her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty yet again, and she had conveniently pushed her cultivation as a Qi Practitioner to the eighth layer too, which was a better match to her identity as a primary disciple and provided an explanation for the pills the One Thought master had given her.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze brushed past Ru Xin. She nodded slightly in acknowledgement as her lips curled slightly. This disastrous event that had shaken up the entire academy did not seem to affect her much. He believed that if it were not for the fact that she had to consider the feelings of others, she would still be joking around fearlessly.

    This was not just lacking a sense of parental selflessness as a doctor. She was basically heartless. It made Li Qingshan feign a glare at her.

    As the main person in charge, Liu Zhangqing sat in the main seat just like before. He cleared his throat and attracted everyone¡¯s attention, saying, ¡°Through this disaster of the academy¡­¡±

    After a sorrowful grieving over the deaths, he suddenly changed the topic. ¡°¡­ but it has also exposed many holes in our system. A certain school leader was so weak and powerless that he couldn¡¯t even keep an eye over his own waist tablet, so is he really shameless enough to continue holding a position he does not deserve?¡±

    He did not mention a name, but everyone¡¯s gazes landed on Liu Chuanfeng, who sat at the very end. Despite his drunken dream, it still had not managed to save him completely.

    Liu Chuanfeng felt awkward, but he was accustomed to this. It was not like Liu Zhangqing had the right to dismiss him as a school leader anyway. The only reason why he had to lose his waist tablet was because it was a component in the plan too, so just how was he supposed to stop all of it?

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Our academy is in urgent need of a capable and responsible school leader to watch over the formation on Cloudwisp island.¡±

    Li Qingshan was perplexed. Surely a school could not claim two islands at once? The school leaders would be overwhelmed if that were the case!

 Chapter 330 â€“ The Battle for Cloudwisp Island

    Tap, tap, tap. A cane struck the ground again and again. An old man of advanced age walked in with a hunched back with the support of a young man. His face had already waned to a rather horrifying extent. Only his eyes still seemed to shine.

    Li Qingshan had never seen a person so frail from old age. He believed that if it were not for his peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, he would have been reduced to a pile of buried bones a long time ago.

    ¡°I¡¯m Chu Shidao. Greetings to you all.¡± Chu Shidao pushed aside the young man and released his cane, bowing to everyone.

    Everyone stood up and bowed back. Even earth elder Huang was no longer able to take advantage of his seniority. He placed down his pipe and said to Liu Zhangqing, ¡°You¡¯ve actually invited great master Chu here. Are you planning on having great master Chu take over as a school leader?¡±

    Chu Shidao was not an individual obscure to the public. He possessed great renown throughout the entire Ruyi commandery. There was not a single person who would not gasp in admiration over his painting ability. It was an extremely great honour to be in possession of one of his paintings. However, it was rumored that he was close to the end of his life now, and he had stopped painting already, retiring from public view as a hermit. They never expected him to actually appear here.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you all. My life is already close to its end, so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t occupy the position of school leader for very long. By then, my little disciple will take over. Danqing, why don¡¯t you bow to the various seniors?¡±

    Only then did the school leaders find out that Chu Shidao had come here to guide the delicate young man beside him. He only seemed to be seventeen or eighteen years old, but his cultivation had already reached the tenth layer. He was definitely worthy of being evaluated as a ¡°genius¡±.

    They had heard quite a long time ago that Chu Shidao had accepted his final disciple. He had vanished for an entire decade in order to teach this disciple of his. Now that they saw him today, it turned out to be true.

    There were no objections. If a person like him was willing to join the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture and establish a school of Painting, it would be the academy¡¯s honour. And, they had heard that he had many indirect disciples, who could make up for the academy¡¯s loss of strength.

    They added a seat below Liu Chuanfeng. This was probably the one and only time Liu Chuanfeng would have the upper hand.

    However, the ownership of Cloudwisp island would not be decided so easily.

    The various school leaders began to differ slightly in opinion too, but obviously not because of the useless Liu Chuanfeng. Instead, it was because of Li Qingshan who stood behind him.

    Li Qingshan had mocked himself over what he had gone through this time, but in the eyes of the school leaders, he was a true genius with a brilliant future ahead of him. There was nothing they could complain about over both his cultivation speed and strength in battle. He had even been personally summoned by her yesterday. They could not oppress or neglect someone like him without proper thought.

    Liu Zhangqing began to show signs of anger. ¡°This is not all. You know exactly what those dirty works of yours you wrote in the past entail.¡±

    The One Thought master said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that would be an inappropriate reason. Although we have always disagreed with school leader Liu¡¯s actions, not only has he stopped writing those obscene books in the past half a year, but he has recalled them all and destroyed them too, which only demonstrates his change. Regular people aren¡¯t sages. Everyone makes mistakes. There is nothing better than changing for the better after a mistake. Please reconsider, school leader Liu!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was strangely touched. ¡°Thank you for speaking for me, master.¡± Right now, no one cherished his pen name of the Master of Wind and Moon more than him. After understanding the true path of the school of Novels, he had recalled all those books with complete willingness.

    The One Thought master glanced at Xiao An. ¡°This was all your own work.¡±

    ¡°This lowly daoist also feels that master Chu shouldn¡¯t be in such a hurry to usurp another¡¯s island!¡± The slovenly daoist priest spoke too, agreeing with the One Thought master for once. You already have a foot in the grave, yet you still want to flaunt about in our academy? How despicable.

    To Liu Zhangqing¡¯s surprise, even Wang Pushi and Han Anjun objected. Out of the five major schools, actually four of them disagreed with him.

    No matter how much renown Chu Shidao had, no matter how high his cultivation was, he was still an ¡°outsider¡±. If he wanted to usurp someone the moment he arrived in the academy, then it was extremely easy for others to repulse him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s relationship with them played an extremely subtle role too. Ever since he joined the school of Novels, combined with Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s own hard work, the opinion on the school of Novels had indeed been changing bit by bit unknowingly. Although it was still a pile of mud, at least it was worth supporting. Otherwise, who in their right state of mind would speak for a person who wrote smut?

    Chu Shidao said, ¡°Forgive my ignorance, but since when could a Qi Practitioner hold the position of school leader? And since when could a school possess a single disciple?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was speechless. Cultivation would always be the most important standard for measuring a cultivator. This also happened to be his greatest flaw.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be able to undergo the heavenly tribulation before long.¡±

    Chu Shidao said, ¡°And before long, I¡¯ll depart from this world too. I¡¯ve heard about the wonders of the school of Novels for a very long time now, about how you can turn make-believe into reality. That just happens to be what my school of Painting is capable of too. Why don¡¯t we compete against one another and use that to decide the ownership of Cloudwisp island?¡±

    Why would Liu Chuanfeng be bold enough to compete against a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He wanted to shirk away from the request.

    ¡°I won¡¯t harass you just because you¡¯re weaker. It¡¯s not a good idea for school leaders to clash too.¡± Chu Shidao¡¯s gaze suddenly turned towards Li Qingshan. ¡°This must be your disciple!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Greetings, great master Chu.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve long heard about how you¡¯re good with battles, and your abilities as a Body Practitioner are startling. Are you bold enough to compete against my disciple?¡±

    ¡°May I ask how we would compete?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Chu Danqing.

    ¡°Paintings and novels are both matters for the refined. If painters and authors were to fight with their hands and feet, it would be far too tasteless, so why don¡¯t we just take a step back and turn make-believe into reality? My disciple will produce a painting, while you will produce a novel. We¡¯ll let the characters in the painting and novel decide it all. What do you think? Cloudwisp island will go to whoever wins.¡±

    Even the various school leaders present had never heard of a battle like this, but they also felt like Chu Shidao was completely brushing aside their opinions.

    Liu Chuanfeng shot a glance at Li Qingshan, wanting him to turn down the challenge. There were so many school leaders on their side right now, so why would they accept the challenge?

    Li Qingshan never planned on agreeing anyway. If it were just a battle of martial prowess, he was confident in himself even though Chu Danqing was at the tenth layer. However, he had absolutely no confidence in a battle like this. This old man had some understanding of him, so he wanted to use his weakness against him. How was it possible for him to fall for this?

    ¡°If you still won¡¯t agree to this, then all I can do is write to the Academy of the Hundred Schools in the Ruyi commandery to request for the dismissal of the Clear River prefecture¡¯s school of Novels, no matter how embarrassing or awkward it will be!¡± Chu Shidao tapped his cane against the ground heavily, displaying his unswerving determination. ¡°This is just too tasteless, which is why I¡¯m reluctant to do so.¡±

    All the school leaders understood why Chu Shidao¡¯s attitude was so firm. These were definitely not empty threats. He came from the commandery city of Ruyi. If he wanted to use his connections to dismiss the school of Novels that had a Qi Practitioner as a school leader and a single disciple, it would be a piece of cake. Most importantly, the school leaders present had once submitted a request to dismiss the school of Novels in writing together. Perhaps Chu Shidao only needed a slight push, and he could get what he wanted.

    By then, surely they could not submit another request together to protect the school of Novels instead!

    Liu Chuanfeng paled silently. He had some understanding of Chu Shidao¡¯s influence too. The school of Novels had just set its foot on the right path and was developing, so if they really were dismissed, all their hard work would go to waste. And, he would never give up on the ancestral property that was Cloudwisp island. He looked towards Li Qingshan in a pleading manner.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll agree to it. However, the school of Novels is unlike the school of Painting that can complete a work in a stroke of a brush. We require time to propagate so that we can collect the power of belief. Only then can we turn make-believe into reality. I can produce a novel, but I need a year at the very least to propagate it.¡±

    ¡°A year is too long.¡±

    ¡°Anyways, I need time. If great master Chu refuses to agree to this, then there¡¯s no need for all of this. Please write to the Ruyi commandery for our school of Novels¡¯ dismissal.¡±

    In the end, under Liu Zhangqing¡¯s mediation, they agreed on six months.

    Chu Shidao had his reasons for this too. He had already displeased the school masters for wanting to usurp Liu Chuanfeng. If he pushed even harder, he would probably infuriate them all. He had already gained a deep understanding of the school of Novel¡¯s ins and outs beforehand too.

    Li Qingshan had already published a book, but the book was about a fictitious story of the jianghu. It could not rival Danqing¡¯s painting. As a result, he would be forced to publish a new book, which would take a few months at the very least. Even if he managed to publish it in time, there would not be enough time to propagate it, preventing him from gathering sufficient power of belief. By then, it would be absolutely nothing of importance.

    They dispersed. Chu Shidao and Chu Danqing went with Liu Zhangqing to take residence in the school of Confucianism.

    Li Qingshan and Liu Chuanfeng returned to Cloudwisp island, discussing how they were supposed to fight back.

    Liu Chuanfeng was frantic. ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s just six moths. How is that enough? You¡¯ve agreed too hastily.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If I didn¡¯t agree, are you supposed to come up with some other idea?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Quickly. I¡¯ll grind the ink for you, so go write quickly. Forget it, why don¡¯t I just edit that novel of yours, considering it hasn¡¯t reached the shelves yet? Wielding the Dragon-slaying sabre, Zhang Wuji split open the Bright peak in a single stroke, stunning the cultivators of the six great sects. Cheng Kun planted twelve World-destroying Hunyuan Thunderbolt bombs under Shaolin temple, wanting to destroy all the cultivators. How¡¯s that?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He could not help but admire Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s quick wit. He really had not thought of this idea in the beginning, turning a wuxia novel of low fantasy into one of high fantasy and increasing the power level by at least ten times over.

    ¡°Then how are you supposed to change the part when they¡¯re adrift at sea? You can¡¯t trap cultivators on an island!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Beyond the nine provinces is the Boundless ocean. If you went there right now, you definitely won¡¯t be able to return! How it¡¯s written still depends on us novelists, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it, ¡°Then you edit it!¡±

    With his permission, Liu Chuanfeng was overjoyed. He rushed off.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He was thinking of another idea. Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s idea was obviously a good one, but he might not be able to gather so much power of belief.

    In his past life, novels had initially been serialised in newspapers before being propagated through various television adaptations, which was why it could achieve so much popularity. Rome was not built in six months.

    Even if he changed it into destroying the nine provinces in a single stroke, so what? If he could not gather enough power of belief, all it would be was more bark than bite even if he could conjure it. After all, he had to consider the natural limitations of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    Li Qingshan returned to his room and unfurled a piece of white paper. He got to work, continuing with the plan he had thought of. He was preparing himself for both possibilities.

 Chapter 331 â€“ Chu Danqing

    Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s some kind of defensive formation here!

    As Chu Danqing thought that, he walked along the small cobblestone path. A thick layer of snow covered it, with another layer of bamboo leaves on top. No one had cleaned it up.

    The bamboo forest was primarily green, but there was also yellow too, standing tall and reaching towards the skies. It obviously turned into an array of colours in his eyes. There was light green, verdant green, light yellow, gamboge, pale yellow, and so on. The dazzling array of colours flattened out, turning into a delicate painting of realism.

    He shook his head violently to shake away these thoughts. He had spent an entire decade learning painting deep within the mountains, such that it had almost driven him crazy. Sigh, the outside world is still better!

    The senior sister from the school of Medicine diagonally across from him earlier was so pretty. His master often said that there were great beauties within paintings, and he also possessed the ability to make these beauties emerge from paintings, but living beauty was different from that of paintings. This was the aspect he differed from his master the most. His master said these were all just distractions, but he still preferred them more.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Li Qingshan saw Chu Danqing look around as he walked over.

    ¡°It¡¯s me. I¡¯ve come to check out the future territory of our school of Painting!¡± Chu Danqing raised his chest. Chu Shidao had told him to come and investigate Li Qingshan¡ªknow yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. However, he was still unsure about how he would approach this.

    ¡°Do you drink?¡± Li Qingshan was not sitting before a table seriously and working on his masterpiece. Instead, he sat in the corridor, leaning against a wall. He held a jade cup in one hand with jars of alcohol around him.

    Although he had already confirmed the direction that he wanted to write in, he still felt troubled when it came to actually writing. He paced around the room a few times before suddenly remembering how he had yet to drink the hundred jars of fine alcohol from Sun Fubai!

    Wanting to emulate the story of how Li Bai1 could string together a hundred poems from just a peck of alcohol, he took it out and drank a few cups alone. Although it was all fine alcohol, it was lacking in flavour.

    Even Li Taibai had to raise his cup to toast to the moon and his shadow so that the three could ¡°drink together.¡± As such, it really was quite difficult for him to drink alone. Li Qingshan thought long and hard. Xiao An was currently making preparations for the assembly of dharma. Milliped was hibernating, while Hua Chengzan was in secluded cultivation. Han Tieyi was probably too busy with the matters of the school of the Military too, unable to make any spare time to drink with him.

    Chu Danqing was stunned at first. He was unable to say everything he had thought of beforehand. He never really drank. Painters were not poets, so they could not spend all their time in a drunken stupor. Only with a clear mind could he paint with a clear vision and steady strokes.

    Smelling the fragrance of the alcohol, he could not help but gulp.

    A small, clear stream flowed out from the alcohol jar, entering two jade cups.

    Chu Danqing, originally called Goudan¡¯er2. Twenty-one years of age. Due to his delicate babyface, he seemed very young.

    As he begged on the streets in his youth, he was discovered by Chu Shidao in his hometown. He possessed a special bloodline known as the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, which was why he was called Danqing3, and he took on his master¡¯s surname. When he was eleven, he was taken into the mountains to learn painting from his master. He had only emerged a month ago. He had come to investigate Li Qingshan.

    Over a dozen jars of alcohol in, before Li Qingshan had even said anything to him, he came clean with everything. He wrapped his arm around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck and spouted exactly what he was thinking.

    ¡°I want a woman!¡± Chu Danqing called out. His voice resounded through the bamboo forest, and he then proceeded to laugh idiotically.

    Li Qingshan sighed and shook his head. Look at what all that smothering had done to such a good child!

    ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not drunk. Drink, let¡¯s keep drinking!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t keep drinking.¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I keep drinking? I- I have money!¡± Chu Danqing rummaged through his hundred treasures pouch for quite a while, but sure enough, he did not find a single piece of silver. Without thinking any further, he pulled out a stack of paintings. ¡°I¡¯ll pay with paintings!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan received a pile of ready-made specimens that he could use to understand the abilities of painters.

    ¡°You!¡± There was a cry, and Han Qiongzhi arrived before the bamboo loft.

    Hua Chengzan was gone, so as the secondary disciple of the school of Legalism, she had been piled high with work. However, when she heard how Li Qingshan would be battling someone, she still managed to make some time and come take a look. However, she was met with a delicate young man basically in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms, even trying to feed Li Qingshan alcohol. She immediately felt like she had been struck by lightning. So it turned out he leaned in that direction. No wonder he could treat her so indifferently.

    Then she thought about something Hua Chengzan had said to her before he had entered seclusion, ¡°If I still don¡¯t get myself together, someone might end up cutting me off.¡± Has little Hua fallen for his schemes too? This Li Qingshan is up to absolutely no good. Little Hua has only just entered seclusion, and he has already found someone new. Sigh, what am I thinking!?

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand! He likes women!¡± Li Qingshan could tell what Han Qiongzhi was thinking with a single glance, so he rectified in a hurry. However, never did he imagine that Han Qiongzhi¡¯s thoughts had already reached such a complicated level in just a single moment.

    After he said that, Chu Danqing saw three Han Qiongzhis too. He raised his cup. ¡°Ah, three beauties. Come drink!¡±

    ¡°Like I said!¡± Li Qingsahn shrugged.

    ¡°Where¡¯d this drunkard come from? Huh? The tenth layer?¡±

    Only after listening to Li Qingshan¡¯s explanations did she learn that the person right before her was Li Qingshan¡¯s future opponent. She really had no idea whether she should be happy for him or not. His opponent had come to investigate him, but from just a few jars of alcohol, he had said everything on his mind, even giving Li Qingshan a pile of paintings.

    For example, great sir Li¡¯s opponents had always been either a genius like Chu Tian or seven hundred valiant soldiers from the school of the Military. He had even faced an opponent like Altar Lord Black Lotus before and emerged unscathed. Now that he was supposed to fight someone like him, she really had no idea on what to say¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him. The paintings from him can defeat regular tenth layer Qi Practitioners.¡± Drunkenness did turn people boastful, but Li Qingshan believed that these were not drunken boasts. The ¡°Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black¡± definitely were not empty words.

    In a single decade, he had gone from being a young beggar to a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. He was so talented that he was no less of a prodigy than Chu Tian. Painters could channel their painstaking efforts and spiritual energy into paintings, such that they could summon everything in the paintings when they needed to. They had a similar ability to novelists.

    However, there was no need for them to gather the power of belief. As long as they had sufficient time, they could create an entire army. With how vast the world was, able people and outstanding talents really did appear one after another. None of them could be underestimated.

    Han Qiongzhi studied Chu Danqing closely and struggled to see even a hint of a genius from this drunkard. Even Chu Tian had some pride and arrogance about him!

    Li Qingshan picked up Chu Danqing, found an empty bedroom, and casually threw him onto the bed. Chu Danqing immediately began to snore away.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Still not satisfied.¡±

    As a result, Han Qiongzhi just crossed her legs casually and sat down before Li Qingshan. She accepted the new cup Li Qingshan had passed over and drank it all. She smacked her lips. ¡°The Apricot Blossom brew of the Ten Miles store.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been there before?¡± Just when Li Qingshan wanted to fill up her cup, she had already grabbed the jar for herself.

    ¡°Tsk. What alcohol haven¡¯t I tried in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?¡±

    This group of young masters and young ladies all fooled around in a location of prosperity in Clear River city, a place of indulgence, the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. They basically indulged in their senses however they could.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her. ¡°Actually, I like women too.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was halfway through drinking, but suddenly, she was unable to drink anymore. These thoughts that rarely appeared in her head, like a man and women being alone, or men and women maintaining their distances from one another, suddenly emerged, and her face flushed slightly from drinking. She feigned anger. ¡°If you want to drink, then drink. What¡¯re you saying so much for?¡±

    Yet for some reason, she wanted him to continue, to see what other nonsense he could spout. She was a forgiving and tolerant person, so she would not rebuke him too much either.

    Li Qingshan instead felt that Han Qiongzhi was very right. If he wanted to drink, then he was supposed to drink. What was he saying all of this for? Was he supposed to copy Chu Danqing and yell out that he wanted women too?

    His gaze landed on the pile of paintings. Although he would still have to return them to him once he woke up, surely it would be fine if he used this opportunity to study them, right?

    He picked up a smaller painting from the stack. It depicted a life-like oriole. Li Qingshan remembered the method of using the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, so he tried channeling true qi into it.

    As if he had set off a profound mechanism, the oriole suddenly began to move. It flapped its wings and let out a clear cry, immediately breaking free from the painting. It flew around Li Qingshan a few times before vanishing into the bamboo forest.

    ¡°Um, it flew away.¡± Li Qingshan stared at the blank piece of paper in his hands in a daze. Suddenly, he vanished, and a few seconds later, he returned to where he was before, holding a struggling oriole in his hand. He contemplated on how he was supposed to shove it back into the painting.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s attention was drawn over by this strange sight too. She also used this opportunity to dismiss her random, awkward thoughts. She picked up a painting.

    They had almost finished drinking, but Han Qiongzhi became more energetic the more she drank, giving Li Qingshan no opportunity to take advantage of her, which was a slight pity.

    He had basically finished studying the paintings now. At the very least, he found out how to return the paintings to their previous state so that he could give them back to Chu Danqing. Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled strangely. ¡°He¡¯s fled!¡±

    Chu Danqing jerked awake. When he thought of his behaviour when he was drunk, he felt troubled and uneasy. He was tempted to throw himself at a wall.

    He had not just never really drank. Rather, this was the first time he had drunk in his entire life. During the days he had spent on the streets, he could only drool outside liquor stores, while in the mountains, his master never drank.

    He regretted that his childhood had been brought up, which made him rather tempted to make up for everything he had missed out, only to humiliate himself so much. He regretted even more that he had forgotten about the vileness of human nature and the difficulties of life from just ten years in the mountains.

    He heard Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi¡¯s voices at the front of the courtyard. He directly left through the window, taking off and fleeing from Cloudwisp island.

    He did not even want his paintings back. Fortunately, he still had a hint of sobriety about him, so he had only taken out unimportant practice pieces. It would not matter even if he gave them to that wretched Li Qingshan. Otherwise, it really would be too late for regret.

    Then these paintings are mine! Li Qingshan stowed the stack of paintings away. He had already come up with a plan. He knew what he was going to write.

    In the world, no one was more naive than children. When adults read novels, perhaps they could become enthralled for a moment, but at the end of the day, they knew it was all just fictitious. However, children could believe that it was true, believing in the existence of these unbelievable things.

    In the past, the monster that the founding ancestor of the school of Novels had seen specially targeted children too.

    Li Qingshan obviously could not harm children, but he knew there was something called fairy tales among the various types of novels that existed. From those tiny believers, the power of belief that their pure minds could provide could probably rival that of ten adults.

    Fairy tales were terse and powerful. It would be much easier to propagate them than most other novels.

    However, the number of fairy tales that existed was also as boundless as an ocean, which made it rather difficult for Li Qingshan to choose. Western fairy tales would probably struggle to take off due to the conflicting culture and customs, so which eastern fairy tale was he supposed to tell? The King of Fats? It was simple and interesting, which was beneficial for propagation. It was powerful and practical too, like how he could destroy an entire mountain from a fart¡­

    However, if he were supposed to summon a character like that in the eye of the public, lifting up his bare bottom to¡­ Even with how thick-skinned Li Qingshan was, he felt his face heat up.

    Only when he encountered Chu Danqing and saw his paintings did he think of an extremely famous character. He stood alongside the Black Cat Detective and the Calabash Brothers4 as the three great childhood role models, and his ability just happened to be the same as the school of Painting.

    And, these paintings would soon prove his existence.

    PS: I want a monthly ticket! Ah, three people, give me three monthly tickets!

    1. Li Bai, or Li Taibai, is an ancient Chinese poet of great renown, known for his poems and his fondness of drinking. His poems are so great that they¡¯re still studied to this day, and younger children of Chinese descent are often forced to memorise them (I too suffered this fate ;-;)

    2. Goudan¡¯er is an extremely unsophisticated name often given to children in the countryside. A literal translation would be dog balls or dog testicles. In ancient China, children were frequently given unsophisticated and vulgar names in hopes that they will live longer. They believed that the worse a child¡¯s name was, the hardier they would be and the more likely they would survive to a greater age; this was due to the high infant mortality rate. This comes from local beliefs that when the judges of the dead come to collect souls (basically people die when their souls are collected), they don¡¯t think it¡¯s a name befitting of a human, so they skip the person.

    3. Danqing can mean vermillion and black, or it can mean Chinese painting, as vermillion and black are frequently used in Chinese painting. I¡¯ve attached an example:

    4. The Black Cat Detective and the Calabash brothers are among the most popular earlyChinese animations. I too grew up with a picture book of the Black Cat Detective. You can read more about them here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_Detective

 Chapter 332 â€“ Fighting Paintings with Paintings

    Han Qiongzhi saw how Li Qingshan had been taken away by his thoughts, so she smiled. She waved her hand around in front of him. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about how I¡¯ll face li¡¯l bro Chu.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi furrowed her brows. ¡°Do you really have an idea for that?¡±

    ¡°I might as well try it.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. His bronze face radiated with confidence that beamed like the sun.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart rippled as her cup halted in her hand.

    ¡°Senior sister Han, the commander¡¯s requested you to return.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi arrived near the bamboo loft and bowed. She seemed to ignore everything unfolding right before her.

    ¡°Thank you for your alcohol.¡± Han Qiongzhi placed down the cup and left in a hurry, as if she was fleeing.

    Li Qingshan watched as she left. His gaze landed on Qian Rongzhi, and his smile immediately vanished. His expression became as bleak as the winter sun.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi, I just happened to be looking for you. Why don¡¯t you explain to me what happened in Ancient Wind city?¡±

    Gu Yanying had restricted access to the information on what Qian Rongzhi had done as some form of protection for this ¡°Nighthawk¡± who had performed a meritorious service. There were not a lot of people who knew the inside story. Li Qingshan had only managed to guess part of it because of his understanding of Qian Rongzhi.

    Qian Rongzhi made her way over to the corridor and sat down. She picked up the cup that Han Qiongzhi had set down and began drinking by herself under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze. Then, she started explaining everything that had happened.

    After he heard the entire story, even Li Qingshan could not help but sigh in amazement. Although her cultivation had not progressed much during the months he had spent in secluded cultivation, she had not been idling around. She was gaining favour with people using her own methods.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be in any danger, nor would Xiao An be in any danger. I don¡¯t have the right to warn you of anything either.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain that there won¡¯t be any danger?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not, but that¡¯s all because I¡¯m too weak. From today onwards, I can no longer leave the academy anymore.¡± Qian Rongzhi downed the alcohol cup after cup.

    Li Qingshan understood now. Regardless of how heavily injured the White Lotus Mother was, killing her would still be as easy as crushing a bug. As the greatest traitor of the White Lotus cult, she would have to live her days carefully from here on out. She tried benefitting from her betrayal, but she would have to pay the cost for it in the end.

    ¡°Commander Gu has promised me that if I can reach Foundation Establishment, she¡¯ll take me to the Ruyi commandery.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°So she¡¯s already helped you arrange a path of retreat.¡±

    She hated Gu Yanying uncontrollably inside. She hated her for using her like a chess piece. She hated her for clearly seeing through her hatred, yet still brushing it aside. Even more, she hated the fact that she lacked the ability to even fight back.

    Li Qingshan fell silent. The world probably no longer had a place where she could shelter herself now that she was targeted by a Golden Core cultivator. This vicious woman who had made her way to the academy together with him seemed to be living in glory, but she had instead embarked on a road to ruin.

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly stood up. She took out a pile of things from her hundred treasures pouch. There were large amounts of pills and spiritual stones, even a Virtue Accumulation pill among them, as well as many mid and high grade spiritual artifacts. There was even a supreme grade spiritual artifact. The Virtue Accumulation pill and the supreme grade spiritual artifact had come from Gu Yanying. They were basically precious treasures to a Qi Practitioner.

    Li Qingshan wondered whether Qian Rongzhi was drunk too, and that she was even more drunk than Chu Danqing.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go carry out a mission, so hold onto these items for me. If I don¡¯t return, give them to Xiao An.¡±

    ¡°Right now?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised too. He had heard about how all powerful cultivators would dabble a little in divination. If she went out right now, she would basically be throwing herself into the arms of the enemy. She would probably be tortured to death by the White Lotus Mother.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die, but I don¡¯t want to live like this.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled charmingly and bunched her hair together. She had just conquered fate, giving her the freedom to plan and scheme as she wished, but now, because of the White Lotus cult, she had lost the ability to pivot around. All her plans were filled with the possibility of failure. Compared to death, she found this situation much more unbearable.

    Now, she wanted to gamble against fate once again, just so that she could live without depending on it.

    At this exact moment, the sky twisted, and dense mist sealed the islands of the academy once more. After several days and nights of urgent repair, the Formation of Dragons and Snakes was operating once more, protecting the disciples of the academy.

    Many disciples in the academy stopped what they were doing and emerged from the buildings, looking up.

    They all discussed with one another quietly, ¡°We¡¯re good now.¡±

    ¡°I used to find it pretty restricting, but now, I feel like going without the formation is like going without clothes.¡±

    Countless uneasy souls settled down because of the return of the formation.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled in a self-deprecating manner. She left Cloudwisp island and left the academy, setting off to face the ever-changing, unpredictable fate.

    Li Qingshan stowed away the items she had passed him quietly. He neither prayed for her, nor did he curse her.

    He glanced at the sky again before returning inside and beginning to write.

    A scrunched up ball of paper fell onto the floor. Li Qingshan was troubled. Li Bai could string together a hundred poems after drinking, yet he, Li Qingshan, was not even able to write a fairy tale?

    He had a flash of inspiration. Li Qingshan stood up. ¡°This isn¡¯t how you write this story!¡±

    He arrived at the Cloudwisp association. Sun Fubai and Liu Chuanfeng were currently editing his novel urgently, but it really was quite the workload. It was a novel of a million characters, and they would have to change the entire story if they wanted to edit it. Moreover, they had to ensure continuity too. Even if they went without sleep or rest, it was not something they could complete in a few days.

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°Qingshan, time is just too tight.¡±

    ¡°All we can do is give it a try.¡± Li Qingshan then said to Liu Chuanfeng, ¡°Help me draw some things.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time!¡± Liu Chuanfeng called out.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go find another artist.¡± Li Qingshan remembered how the Cloudwisp association had quite a few artists too, who were hired to specially produce accompanying illustrations for novels.

    Li Qingshan chose some young painters who were skilled in meticulous, realistic painting techniques, before telling them what he was thinking and getting them to paint it.

    Ever since Li Qingshan had visited last time, everyone in the association knew that this was one of the three owners of the association, so they never dared to brush him aside. They immediately began to paint with everything they had.

    Li Qingshan meditated in the meantime. A while later, a painter passed over the work he had completed. ¡°Boss, do you think this¡¯ll do?¡± The other painter began to speed up too.

    Li Qingshan took a look. Sure enough, it was life-like and extraordinarily detailed. It depicted a boy of humble origins vividly, but Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°It won¡¯t do. You¡¯ve drawn him too well!¡±

    Drawing it well was instead bad. The two painters exchanged glances.

    ¡°This is for children, so make it simpler, and don¡¯t leave it black and white. I want full colour.¡± Li Qingshan affirmed his thoughts. The only way to express the wonders of this story was through pictures. Back then, he had read a picture book too.

    And, he had to ensure that the pictures depicted everything. Little children had very limited vocabulary. With some further thought, he realised that what he was doing right now was no longer a so-called novel. Instead, it was a picture book or cartoon.

    However, novelists in the beginning were based on rumors and gossip. They were not bound by words. Regardless of the methods he took, all that mattered were people understanding it and believing in it. He wanted to use the methods of the school of Painting to defeat the school of Painting.

    He remained in the Cloudwisp association until night time. Finally, he decided on the painting style. However, no matter how he tried to simplify it, the works from the two painters were still much more detailed than the picture book in his memories.

    Afterwards, he immediately gathered all the painters skilled in meticulous, realistic painting techniques and got them to copy the style. The story was extremely simple, less than a hundred pages in total.

    In the end, Li Qingshan added naively simple narration at the bottom of the illustrations, and it was complete as a picture book.

    Li Qingshan weighed it in his hand. This original draft was critical for summoning the characters in the book, as well as his trump card for defeating Chu Danqing.

    Thirty kilometers away from Clear River city, in a small town.

    Thump, thump, thump. Thump, thump, thump. A travelling pedlar swung a rattle-drum around with a carrying pole over his shoulders, walking along the small alleyway paved from stone.

    A door opened within the alleyway, and a tiny head stuck out. ¡°Pedlar uncle, is there candy?¡±

    ¡°There is. There¡¯s sesame candy, barley candy, and crunchy candy. There¡¯s each and every kind!¡± The pedlar cleared his throat and sang out a list of what he sold.

    A group of children emerged like small monkeys, gathering around the pedlar. They all held a few copper coins.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± A child spotted a stack of colourful picture books on top of the goods. There were four words on there, but he only recognised the word ¡°horse¡± or ¡°Ma¡±.

    The pedlar said, ¡°Now you have some pretty sharp eyes. Take it.¡±

    The children each received a book and flipped through it. Perhaps they still did not understand the contents too well, but the beautiful pictures alone had managed to enrapture them. They immediately began to hesitate. To buy candy or to buy the book?

    ¡°How much is the book? I¡¯ll buy it!¡± said a little fatty. He was in possession of much more copper coins than his little friends.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy it too!¡± said the eldest child there. He had learned how to read from a private tutor, so he understood what the words were saying. He had been drawn in by the story immediately. Even if he had to go without candy, he would still buy it.

    The pedlar said, ¡°It¡¯s free. It¡¯s a gift. One for each person. Don¡¯t take anymore than that!¡±

    The children cheered.

    ¡°Can I take one too?¡± asked a child nervously. Compared to his companions¡¯ cotton clothes, he wore patchy clothes, which made him seem particularly small. He did not have a single copper coin at all. He had only come to see what was going on.

    ¡°Take it!¡± The pedlar casually shoved two pieces of candy into the child¡¯s mouth. The money he would make from giving out these books would be even more than clearing all the stock on him. He too was extremely happy over how he could have a prosperous year.

    The pedlar travelled away, and the children gathered together.

    ¡°How pretty.¡± ¡°What is this picture showing?¡±

    The eldest child copied his tutor by clearing his throat. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll read it for you!¡±

    Sun Shuping received a new draft from Sun Fubai. He planned on going back and familiarising himself with it first, thinking about how he would tell the story before teaching it to the other storytellers.

    Although he felt like the novel had lost part of its charm after being edited, there were fortunately not any particularly major changes overall. As a matter of fact, if he could tell some of the turning points properly, it would be even more fascinating. Splitting open the Bright peak in a single stroke was much more interesting.

    This youngest owner was not particularly old, but his writing ability was truly impressive. He was far better than that second owner, the Master of Wind and Moon.

 Chapter 333 â€“ Renowned Throughout the Land

    Although time was rather tight, Sun Shuping still walked at an unhurried pace. He had a healthy glow about him, and he had switched his cloth robes for a fur coat. He was brimming with vigour, differing greatly from the impoverished old storyteller of the past.

    His job right now was to train young storytellers for the Cloudwisp association. He made quite a pretty penny.

    Although there was no longer any need for him to take the stage, he frequently could not help himself but to go up and tell a part, leading to rounds of applause. He did this to scratch his itch of demonstrating his ability, but it was also because the money he earned on stage would all be his. The Cloudwisp association would not touch it at all.

    Sun Shuping often felt embarrassed because of this. He tried persuading his bosses to accept some silver taels in consideration of the long-term situation. He had already begun to treat the Cloudwisp association like half a home, so he obviously hoped the association could carry forward and prosper for a very long time so that humble actors and artists like him could hold their heads high.

    Returning to his room, he discovered that his disciple, Li¡¯l Rock, was lying on the ground, utterly absorbed by a picture book. He frowned. ¡°Li¡¯l Rock, why aren¡¯t you familiarising yourself with the material and preparing to go on stage? Why are you reading this instead?¡± Sun Shuping was originally against his disciple continuing along this line of profession, but after joining the Cloudwisp association, he changed his mind. He wanted to give him some proper training.

    Li¡¯l Rock raised his head. ¡°Master, I want to tell this story!¡±

    In the past, Sun Shuping had looked through the picture book Li Qingshan had released too. It was interesting, but it was just a story for children. There were basically no words, and it was too short, making it unsuitable for storytelling or singing out. As a result, he did not take it too seriously.

    But now that Li¡¯l Rock had mentioned it, turning a story into a smaller, brief performance was quite a good idea too. It was perfect for Li¡¯l Rock to go on stage and get some practice.

    Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai knew about the picture book too. It was all thanks to Sun Fubai¡¯s connections that it could disseminate and propagate so rapidly. However, they also felt like it was just an insignificant picture book that did not suit the standard of the school of Novels, unable to contend against the school of Painting¡¯s Chu Danqing. Before they knew it, they had already forgotten about it, focusing most of their attention on editing Li Qingshan¡¯s novel instead.

    His novel and picture book rapidly spread through two different audiences. Through every single teahouse and restaurant, through every conversation between children, his impressive name was being spread around, turning into specks of belief and gathering in the sea of power of belief.

    At the same time, he had never stopped practising the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength. He had already consumed almost half of the pills he had purchased with spiritual stones. In probably half a month¡¯s time, he would reach a whole new level.

    As he watched the sky darken, Li Qingshan thought, It¡¯s about time she comes back. He waited for another hour, and only then did Xiao An appear outside, throwing herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. Her tiny face was fuming.

    ¡°Who is it that has made our Xiao An so furious?¡± Li Qingshan caressed her long hair with a smile.

    Recently, Xiao An had been extremely busy too. The eminent monks that the One Thought master had invited all converged here from various places, and Xiao An had to visit and greet every single one of them. Mentioning the buddhist dharma would be unavoidable every single time, throwing some sayings at her as a test.

    If the eminent monk happened to bring a disciple or two with them, then it would be even more troublesome. They would insist on competing and seeing whose disciple was better. They just wanted to make it difficult for her.

    With Xiao An¡¯s understanding of buddhism, the One Thought master obviously achieved a complete victory, earning plenty of respect. He was overflowing with joy every single day, but Xiao An was particularly vexed. This had greatly diminished the time she spent with Li Qingshan.

    Compared to bickering with these monks, she would much rather lean against his chest peacefully.

    She shifted into a more comfortable posture. ¡°The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty is completely right. All of these bald asses should be burnt to death! Today, the young nun brought by that old nun clearly couldn¡¯t win against me, but she insisted that I had to undergo tonsure, or I¡¯ll still be clinging onto my six sensory desires. I ended up losing.¡± She did not care about the outcome, but she did not want to waste time.

    Li Qingshan burst out laughing. He pinched the tip of her nose. ¡°Looks like your comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty has deepened yet again.¡±

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Xiao An held his hand and studied the grooves carefully. Her large eyes blinked a few times before suddenly saying impulsively, ¡°Let¡¯s enter seclusion!¡±

    Ever since last time, monotonous secluded cultivation had become her favourite thing to do. They would be alone, without any disturbances at all.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The assembly of dharma is about to formally begin. If we enter secluded cultivation right now, the One Thought master will want to tear out my throat. As for you, just listen along. Your comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty will definitely deepen.¡±

    All Xiao An did was feign a tantrum. Before him, she would always be a little more ¡°normal¡±.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There¡¯s only the two of us on the island right now, so let¡¯s treat it as secluded cultivation. We¡¯ll cultivate in seclusion for a few hours!¡±

    Xiao An agreed. ¡°Alright.¡±

    The next morning, the fragrance of sandalwood curled away, and Xiao An had already left. Ever since the arrival of the first eminent monk, she was responsible for holding the morning chanting in An¨¡srav¨¡? temple. This should have been a great honour, but it caused her quite a lot of distress.

    The One Thought master knew that this disciple of his was difficult to coax. He was afraid that she would stubbornly decide to go her own way with a single will and be mocked by others, so he promised a lot of pills to her. In order to earn some pills for Li Qingshan, all she could do was accept the responsibilities of the primary disciple seriously. As long as she could help him, she could tolerate momentary separation.

    Holding onto the pills from her, Li Qingshan felt quite strange aside from his joy and delight. He shook his head and tossed this thought out of his mind.

    He did not tell Xiao An about the items Qian Rongzhi had left behind. As her guardian, he did not want Xiao An to have any relation with that woman.

    Of course, if Qian Rongzhi really did die outside, he could tell Xiao An about it. It was not like a dead person could influence Xiao An in any way.

    However, he never received this news.

    All he learnt from Han Qiongzhi was that after returning in one piece from a mission, Qian Rongzhi immediately took on a second mission. The location of the mission was even further away from Clear River city, where the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard stood. She basically seemed like she was trying to commit suicide.

    However, Li Qingshan had a feeling that she would not die outside so easily. If she did not have some confidence in this, she would have never approached the matter in such a manner.

    Whatever. Her fate had nothing to do with him.

    Li Qingshan stood up and made his way into the depths of the bamboo forest and began training. Even Xiao An was working hard for him, so how could he still laze around?

    He heard the bamboo leaves tremble in an unnatural manner. Li Qingshan suddenly looked back and threw a punch.

    With a thump, it landed within a vice-grip like hand.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Tieyi, what brings you here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to pay back the debt!¡± Han Tieyi was slightly surprised. The force in the punch actually made his hand ache slightly.

    ¡°I almost forgot. You still owe me two punches.¡± Li Qingshan lifted up his fist, and Han Tieyi retreated rapidly, vanishing into the bamboo forest.

    ¡°Come to the school of the Military¡¯s Main Martial Arts stadium. Don¡¯t forget, you have a debt to pay too.¡±

 Chapter 334 â€“ The Military Formation of the Coiled Snake

    The bamboo turned into messy, verdant shadows that receded around Li Qingshan.

    The glistening Lake of Dragons and Snakes suddenly unfolded before him. All he saw was a series of splashes that extended quickly towards Great War island. Han Tieyi ran along at the end of the splashes like he was running across land.

    Li Qingshan leapt up and stepped onto a cloud. He pursued on the cloud, leaving behind a long, cloudy trail behind him.

    Huge platforms of various heights reached towards the sky. The Main Martial Arts stadium of the school of the Military was right before him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. The several hundred military disciples stood in neat formation in the stadium; they were like statues.

    The military disciples that had shown up this time numbered one or two hundred less than last time at the very least. They had died to the White Lotus cult. Although every single one of them remained neutral in expression, grief lingered in the air.

    Through this trial of life and death, their aura had become even more intense than last time. Aggrieved soldiers were unstoppable.

    Han Tieyi passed through the formation before quickly turning around. His body continued to slide backwards due to the momentum as his legs dug out two faint trails on the ground. He raised his arm high into the air and pointed it straight at Li Qingshan like a long spear. ¡°For redemption!¡±

    ¡°For redemption!¡± The voices thundered like an avalanche.

    Li Qingshan leapt off the cloud and landed heavily on the ground in a half-crouching position. He straightened himself out and displayed his right hand like he was inviting them. ¡°Come!¡±

    This time, there were no spectators on the island. Apart from the military disciples, all other disciples were forbidden from entering the island. There were only two exceptions, Han Qiongzhi and Ru Xin.

    Han Qiongzhi stood with the ten core disciples. She was brimming with interest and high morale. This time, Li Qingshan would definitely be defeated. He had yet to witness the true power of the school of the military. However, whenever she saw this man¡¯s fearless bearing when he took on everyone else alone, she would find him utterly charming.

    Ru Xin stood to the other side of the stadium on a platform over a dozen meters tall with the entire battlefield in sight. Her red lips parted slightly. Imbued with true qi, her voice reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears. ¡°Be more heavy-handed.¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored her. This time, he would not be able to hold back even if he wanted to.

    He moved his legs, rushing forwards gently and swiftly. Within a single second, he had turned into a black tiger, diving into the military formation. A few military disciples were directly sent flying.

    Suddenly, he glanced back; it was like the scarlet eyes of a tiger meeting the glimmering eyes of a wolf.

    The military disciples surrounding Li Qingshan held back their desire to attack. All of them retreated, revealing twelve of the most powerful people, who advanced slowly. In terms of combined attacks, there was not a single school that could surpass the school of the Military.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s more like the school of the Military.¡± Li Qingshan grinned. Compared to putting on an act and standing to the sides from weakest to strongest, it would be better if they just used their full strength!

    However, the military disciples all found this to be an insulting mockery. The humiliation from their crushing defeat last time and their grief from losing their fellow officers immediately turned into flaming fury.

    They struck out at the same time. Their true qi turned into sabres, spears, fire, and ice! Last time, the combined attacks they had not used even until the very end were unleashed immediately! Determination flashed through their minds, This time, we¡¯ll knock you down with just a single strike!

    Li Qingshan, on the other hand, was completely calm and composed. He paid attention to everything unfolding around him with his senses. Sure enough, there was not the slightest opening at all. If that was the case, then let¡¯s make an opening!

    Li Qingshan raised both arms as blue true qi that rippled like water wrapped around them. He was not targeting any of the military disciples. Instead, he slammed his hands against the ground violently.

    Bang. The ground shook, and it sank to form a deep pit. A circular shockwave spread out in all directions.

    Every single military disciple could not help but stagger slightly. Perfection was without openings, but once perfection was destroyed, countless openings would appear.

    Back to Li Qingshan, he had already used the force from slamming the ground to leap into the air. The attacks passed by below his feet, just half a beat too slow.

    Li Qingshan overlooked the battlefield. He pushed his hands backwards, and his body stabbed towards a large group of weaker military disciples like a straight spear.

    The world of cultivators had always been a world that pursued strength. The strong was in control of everything, not bound to the weak. It would never be so easy that they could achieve victory through an encirclement.

    Just when it was going to be a repeat of last time, Han Qiongzhi shook her head instead. Meanwhile, Ru Xin squatted down on the edge of the platform, completely contrasting against her image. With her red lips and white teeth, she smiled very happily. As it seemed, she would not be receiving as much money as last time. However, seeing him suffer defeat would still be worth it.

    A huge snake opened its huge mouth and lunged towards Li Qingshan.

    The snake head seemed real, but the neck was illusionary, and by the time it had reached the body, it had already faded away and merged into the surrounding five hundred military disciples. Before he knew it, they had already shifted into a strange, revolving formation.

    This was the strongest trump card of the school of the Military, military formations! Through rigorous training, they merged everyone¡¯s spirit and will together, forming a single attack with everyone¡¯s strength.

    The Coiled Snake formation was specially created for tearing apart powerful cultivators.

    True qi surged out, and Li Qingshan turned around and threw a punch.

    With a thump, Li Qingshan was sent flying, colliding into a platform. He slid down as his body ached with pain. Probably only Foundation Establishment cultivators could rival the tremendous true qi within the snake head.

    ¡°Hey, you fine?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and met Ru Xin¡¯s cheerful gaze. He said loudly with a smile, ¡°Interesting!¡± Defeating the military disciples the first time had been interesting. If he did the exact same thing this time, even he would find it boring. Only strong opponents were worth challenging.

    Han Qiongzhi had originally been clenching her fist, worried. However, when she saw how he laughed and joked along with that strange woman from the school of Medicine, she immediately became furious. She waved her fist. ¡°For redemption!¡±

    Han Tieyi glanced at her and waved his hand. Advance!

    Li Qingshan stood up by pushing off his knees. He saw the army advance slowly as the snake in the air flicked its tongue. He smiled and went up to receive it.

    Boom. The snake head bit down, creating a great pit on the ground.

    Li Qingshan was already prepared. He dodged it and used his extraordinary speed to circle around the army. He tried attacking them several times, but he felt rather uncertain about where he was supposed to target. The weakest military disciples were at the snake¡¯s tail, hidden in the centre of the formation, while the body of the snake outside was like a steel wall, able to block everything.

    However, their disadvantage was very clear¡ªthey moved just too slowly. Even out of the twelve stronger military disciples, only one or two of them could keep up with Li Qingshan, and they were afraid to approach him, afraid they would be defeated individually. They could only let him run around freely.

    Han Tieyi shook his head slightly. This kid¡¯s reactions were simply too fast! At the moment just prior, regular people would definitely consider dodging if they were faced with such a terrifying attack, but if they dodged, they would definitely be forced into the formation and be torn apart. On the other hand, he had done the exact opposite, taking it on without any hesitation.

    He also had the power to take it on. If regular seventh layer Qi Practitioners took on the snake head, they would be heavily injured even if they managed to survive, yet he just brushed himself off and stood up again; it was like he was completely fine.

    Li Qingshan constantly moved around, leading the entire military formation around. He smiled suddenly. Finally, he had found the critical point. He leapt up and dove into the military formation.

    A while later, the five hundred disciples of the school of the Military all laid on the ground in the stadium, but as long as they were still conscious, they all cheered. Many of them even shed tears of emotion.

    They had won. The monster-like Li Qingshan had finally fallen. The gloominess and humiliation that had weighed on their hearts seemed to be released in that moment.

    When Li Qingshan dove into the Coiled Snake formation, he pulled the army apart very quickly, but he also entered a difficult battle immediately. He was secretly injured from the strike earlier too, so when he finally ran out of true qi, his body gave way, and he collapsed.

    He laid on the ground with his arms and legs spread out, gazing at the clear sky. Suddenly, a figure blocked the sunlight. Han Tieyi extended his hand.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the hand and stood up.

    The military disciples looked at Li Qingshan. When their fury and humiliation subsided, they all felt admiration towards him. This man had taken on all of them alone after all. He was defeated, but he could still stand proudly.

    ¡°Do you want to learn the battle skills of the school of the Military?¡± Han Tieyi¡¯s handsome face that appeared to be sculpted from ice seemed to warm up slightly too.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Of course, but I need to rest up first!¡± He called out, ¡°Ru Xin!¡±

    ¡°Coming. Thank you for your patronage. Three thousand spiritual stones.¡± Ru Xin arrived on a green leaf as she chuckled to herself.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a single spiritual stone on me right now.¡± Li Qingshan was telling the truth. He had spent all of his spiritual stones on pills, and he obviously could not spend what Qian Rongzhi had given him.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. Spiritual artifacts and talismans work too. I¡¯ll pick them myself later. You can go to sleep!¡± Ru Xin waved her hand, and the green leaves scattered, lifting up all the severely injured military disciples.

    How can I fall asleep in your presence?! Li Qingshan said to Han Qiongzhi to the side, ¡°Senior sister Han, help me keep an eye out on her. Don¡¯t let this woman steal my things.¡± Exhausted, he tilted his head back and fell asleep immediately, snoring away.

    ¡°Why me? Oi, don¡¯t fall asleep!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi could see that Li Qingshan was heavily injured. Originally, she wanted to check up on him, but she could not bring herself to do so in front of all these military disciples. Everyone seemed to have seen through her thoughts already. Just as she was wavering, she heard that and beamed for some reason inside.

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°Go!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go take care of the military disciples and help you bargain a little. She rips you off every single time.¡± Han Qiongzhi found her excuse. Neither the school of the Military or her Han family lacked this tiny amount of money for the treatment fees. Although Ru Xin was quite punishing with her mouth, she was fair with prices.

    On Benevolence island, the military disciples who were waiting to be checked on by their first young miss did not even see her shadow.

    Han Qiongzhi sat by the bed, leaning on her hand and staring straight at Li Qingshan. Never had a man touched her heart like this. Since young, Han Tieyi would often be riddled in injuries and bed bound from the old man¡¯s lessons, while all she would do was stand by the bed and laugh at him loudly.

    ¡°Knock, knock, knock. Have you stared enough?¡± Ru Xin knocked on the door and smiled.

    ¡°Since when did you¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi leapt up.

    ¡°I¡¯ve stood here for two hours already. You didn¡¯t see me?¡± Ru Xin said in surprise.

    ¡°What! Of course I saw you! I was just about to ask you whether you¡¯ve watched me for long enough¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I¡¯ve only just come, hahaha.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was unable to put up with her gaze. Her face reddened and said, ¡°Don¡¯t touch his things. I¡¯m going to go check on others.¡± before fleeing through the door.

    Ru Xin arrived by Li Qingshan¡¯s bed and glanced at the hundred treasures pouch on his waist. She extended her hand over before suddenly clenching it into a fist half way through. She struck Li Qingshan¡¯s abdomen and smiled. ¡°Wake up!¡±

    Li Qingshan clutched his belly and sat up. ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Who told you to break the promise? I told you to be more heavy-handed.¡±

    ¡°Victory and defeat are both frequent for the school of the Military. I¡¯ve already done all that I can.¡±

 Chapter 335 â€“ Ocean Wielding

    ¡°I didn¡¯t hold back.¡± Li Qingshan casually pushed her aside. Ever since he realised he had misunderstood that day, he no longer thought of Ru Xin in any special way. This woman was just too twisted. She was constantly ready for mischief. He did not want to be toyed around with for nothing.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°You clearly could have won, but you lost. Isn¡¯t that holding back?¡±

    Combining the effort of five hundred people was not an easy feat, requiring extremely great discipline. Maintaining the Coiled Snake formation took tremendous energy too.

    As long as Li Qingshan dragged it out, the formation would collapse on itself before long, and he would be able to defeat them all in the same way as before. Defeating these military disciples who had lost many people and much might would probably be even easier than last time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel that winning like that is very boring?¡± Li Qingshan laid back down. It was not like it was a battle to the death, so there was no need for him to rack his brain. The outcome was less important. What mattered was learning from it, training his body, and practising skills through it so that he could prepare for a certain day in the future.

    ¡°If there are spiritual stones up for grabs, it obviously isn¡¯t boring.¡±

    ¡°Women just love to be petty. Have you ever heard of thinking for the long-term?¡±

    ¡°Wow, looking down on women.¡± Ru Xin squeezed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Your strength seems to have increased again.¡±

    ¡°One spiritual stone, two spiritual stones¡­¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Ru Xin was taken aback. Then, Li Qingshan grabbed her slender, white hand. ¡°Now we¡¯re on equal footing, so feel me however you want!¡± Although she was always so mischievous, he did feel that it was easier to get along with her.

    ¡°Keep dreaming!¡± Ru Xin smiled. Her face sank.

    ¡°Hahaha, Li Qingshan, to think that you would have a day like today. What are you doing? Ru Xin, tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± Chu Tian rushed in like a whirlwind, pointing at Li Qingshan and laughing at him, but when he saw what they were doing, he immediately struggled to accept it.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you- you- you-¡± Han Qiongzhi wanted to stop Chu Tian, but she just happened to see this too.

    Even Ru Xin rolled her eyes. Just what have we done? You¡¯re reacting like you¡¯ve caught a cheating couple in bed.

    Li Qingshan returned to Great War island and found Han Tieyi.

    Han Anjun was currently giving a talk to the military disciples, while Han Tieyi stood to one side. Seeing Li Qingshan, Han Anjun made a gesture towards him with his lips.

    Han Tieyi walked over and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Come with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan followed Han Tieyi and arrived before a metal gate. Han Tieyi took out his waist tablet and opened the gate, entering the darkness. Gates opened and closed one after another as they rapidly travelled deeper underground.

    Finally, he arrived at the very bottom. A formation glowed as a great streak of light shot up. As it turned out, the school of the Military¡¯s formation was located here. All he could say was this truly was the school of the Military. With how strict the security was, the school of Novels could never rival it with how theirs was just located within a bamboo forest. However, he did not imagine that this was a library either, with battle skills everywhere.

    Han Tieyi stopped and turned around. He said, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Ru Xin could tell, so he obviously could tell too. His original reason for calling Li Qingshan over was to give the military disciples a sense of danger and an opportunity for actual battle, but ever since the chaos from the White Lotus cult, they could not afford to lose again.

    Losing once or twice could motivate them, but if they kept losing, it would only damage the army¡¯s morale. They were in desperate need of a victory so that they could rise up with force and spirit.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What¡¯s there to thank me for? I said I already did all that I could.¡±

    Defeating the military disciples did not offer any practical benefit to him. Instead, he would lose a great opportunity for actual battle. This battle had a much greater effect on his cultivation of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength than training alone in the bamboo forest.

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°You can throw your second punch now.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If I want to hit you, I¡¯ll do it fairly. I¡¯ll never do it secretly like this. I don¡¯t like to hit a punching bag either, so feel free to fight back in the future.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t even think about touching my face again.¡± In the darkness, Han Tieyi¡¯s lips seemed to curl up, but the change faded away very quickly.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Normally, I mean what I say. Let¡¯s cut to the chase. Where¡¯s the battle skill?¡±

    Han Tieyi took out over a dozen jade slips from his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Here are all the battle skills suited for Gui Water true qi.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you called me to such a secretive place just to say those few words earlier!¡±

    ¡°So what if I did?¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea on how to respond. He lowered his head and browsed through them.

    By battle skills, they were referring to skills in battle that combined both qi and the body. It was similar to techniques, yet different from techniques. From a certain perspective, it was a higher form of martial arts.

    Not only did the people of the jianghu cultivate inner force arduously, but they also practised martial arts arduously. Only then could they unleash their battle prowess.

    Cultivators were no different, except true qi was profound and flexible, even greater than inner force. This was a critical skill for Li Qingshan, who specialised in close combat. In a battle that could change with every instant, if he could be a moment faster at a crucial moment, it would be the moment of life and death.

    And, just like martial arts, battle skills were divided into various levels. The battle skills Han Tieyi had taken out were all rare, high level battle skills. Even the disciples of the school of the Military could not learn them unless they performed outstandingly.

    Although it was said that the hundred schools communicated and exchanged ideologies with one another, they would still keep the items that formed the very core to themselves. Not to mention that the collection included battle skills the Han family had gathered itself, which would only be taught to members of the Han family. Without Han Anjun¡¯s permission, even Han Tieyi did not possess the authority to take them out. This was no longer just because Li Qingshan had provided training for the military disciples.

    Back then in Ancient Wind city, Li Qingshan had made Han Qiongzhi leave first before personally carving out a path of retreat for her. Han Anjun had seen all of it. Although he never mentioned it, he had his own plans.

    Li Qingshan could sense this too. His gaze suddenly locked onto a jade slip, and he let out a soft interjection of surprise.

    The battle skill had an extremely grand name¡ªOcean Wielding. The introduction to the general information detailed. ¡°The power of the converging rivers, with the vastness of the ocean, achieves the arts of the boundless.¡±

    Five words immediately leapt out in Li Qingshan¡¯s head, the Arts of the Boundless Ocean! And, this was not the first time Li Qingshan had heard this saying.

    ¡°You have quite the eyes. This is the strongest out of all the battle skills here, but it needs to be powered by a special cultivation method. Your true qi is pure, but it¡¯ll still be rather difficult, so I¡¯d advise you to choose another one!¡± In order to get Li Qingshan to make a correct decision, Han Tieyi spoke for once.

    However, this only verified Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts. Ocean Wielding must have been a battle skill derived from the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. It was impossible for a sect to be built off a single cultivation method. With the collapse of the Ocean sect, their various cultivation methods and techniques became scattered throughout the world. Ocean Wielding had ended up in the hands of the Han family.

 Chapter 336 â€“ Choosing the Future

    However, Han Tieyi¡¯s reply brought Li Qingshan disappointment. He did not know the whereabouts of this cultivation method either. Then he recommended the Bone-shattering Fist of Ice to Li Qingshan, which could convert Gui Water true qi into power of the extreme cold. It possessed great destructive power, and it could also clad the user in an armour of ice, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities.

    Li Qingshan had already checked through all the jade slips. Gui Water true qi was not suited for destruction, so most of these battle skills focused on triumphing over force with gentleness. The Bone-shattering Fist of Ice could be considered as the strongest among them in terms of offensive power, but it was nothing compared to the Ocean Wielding¡¯s sheer brutal force.

    This battle skill from the Ocean sect had completely upheaved the saying that Gui Water true qi was not suited for attacks. With a single stroke, it could unleash tsunami-like waves that were never ending.

    Li Qingshan considered it for a while. He opened his eyes. ¡°I choose this one!¡±

    As a result, he stored the Ocean Wielding jade slip away in his hundred treasures pouch. Li Qingshan was not planning on trying his luck with this. If he was unable to power this battle skill with true qi, then what about daemon qi?

    His daemon qi was of the water element too, and its sheer brute force went without saying. He would have no issues in wielding this battle skill. The path of daemons was his true foundation, so he obviously made his decision after a moment of consideration.

    And, it was not like it would be impossible for him to find the latter half of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean!

    Han Tieyi did not try to convince him otherwise. He stowed the other jade slips away and brought Li Qingshan back to the surface.

    Han Anjun had finished his talk with the military disciples. Suddenly, he pointed at Li Qingshan and said to them, ¡°Before long, this person will become even stronger. By then, what are you going to do?¡±

    ¡°Defeat him!¡± said the military disciples with brimming vigour.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Let¡¯s see who improves faster!

    His Gui Water true qi was extremely refined and pure. Although it was still a little difficult to power Ocean Wielding, it was not impossible. As long as he could unleash even a tenth of its force, his battle prowess would increase drastically.

    The next morning, the red sun had emerged from the Lake of Dragons and Snakes when the sound of a bell rang through An¨¡srav¨¡? temple.

    The buddhist assembly of dharma that the One Thought master had prepared for so long had finally begun.

    The entire island was shrouded in a thin milky-white mist; the faint smell of burning sandalwood incense permeated the air.

    A total of nine Foundation Establishment monks had arrived. All of them were dignified. Although this was a matter of the school of Buddhism, it was so important that a few school leaders led by Zhang Lanqing had come to receive them, who then stayed behind to listen along. There were a lot of disciples from other schools present too.

    Paths of cultivation were similar. They did not study buddhism, but it would still benefit their cultivation if they could become wiser.

    Li Qingshan listened along for a while and soon felt giddy. A swathe of large, shiny, bald heads filled his vision, going on about some allegories or dharma or whatever. He understood none of it.

    He only saw Xiao An sitting in the hall in bluish-white robes with her black, seaweed-like hair running down her back. Sometimes, she was thinking, sometimes nodding, and sometimes refuting. She answered them with composure.

    Li Qingshan stopped worrying. He silently backed out, returning to Cloudwisp island to focus on cultivation.

    As they explained the dharma, Xiao An rarely spoke, but she would often leave the monks speechless when she did. They would need a moment of thought before they could answer her.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was not just an ability or cultivation method. It also recorded a great buddhist monk¡¯s entire life of wisdom and knowledge. Xiao An needed to comprehend the essence within it. Every single question they asked was centred around this supernatural ability, and they would all hit the mark.

    She made all the monks rethink everything with a clear mind. Often, they would have to give it some thought before they answered her. These monks were all highly educated in the buddhist dharma, so they could give her an answer most of the time after some thought. However, these answers would differ from monk to monk, which would lead to a new round of disputes.

    The monks no longer looked at Xiao An in the same way anymore either. They directly began to suspect whether she was a Reincarnated Celestial too, possibly the reincarnation a great grandmaster at that. If it were not for her innate knowledge, how could a child ask such profound questions? For some questions, even they felt like they were not clever enough, unable to answer them.

    Naturally, they could not answer all of Xiao An¡¯s questions, or they would not just be at Foundation Establishment. However, this process had allowed Xiao An to deepen her understanding of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty yet again.

    After comprehending all this, she could relax her control over her cultivation as a Qi Practitioner. On the third day of the dharma assembly, her cultivation reached the ninth layer; she was close to the final step now.

    It had directly dumbfounded the eminent monks there. They had never seen a person practise qi as easily as drinking water. If this continued, reaching Foundation Establishment would be a piece of cake for her.

    It lightened the One Thought master¡¯s burden slightly, but his original plan fell through. Now, it no longer seemed like the monks guiding Xiao An. Instead, it seemed like she was guiding the monks.

    However, this led to another problem.

    The monks who had all cast aside their worldly desires all started to grow greedy. They all felt like she had not actually taken the One Thought master on as her master as she was studying in the school of Buddhism. At most, it was like the relationship between a child and a teacher in a private institution. With Xiao An¡¯s talent, she completely deserved a formal master who could support her more.

    The school of thought of Buddhism circled around the word ¡°buddhism¡±, but there were thousands of sects that fell under it. They constantly contended against one another. All of them wanted a disciple like this to continue their legacy and carry on their teachings.

    It was too late for the One Thought master to feel regret. From the day the dharma assembly had begun, he did not allow Xiao An to take a single step away from him. At the same time, he secretly penned a letter.

    Some people had already gotten to the bottom of Xiao An and Li Qingshan¡¯s relationship. They sent their disciples to Cloudwisp island to discuss matters with him. They all secretly offered him extremely abundant conditions for Xiao An to switch over and take them as a master instead.

    Under the gathering darkness of night, Li Qingshan sent away another visitor. He turned around and passed through the silent, weaving corridors, returning to his room.

    A woman was currently in his room, laying down under the light as she read. She seemed like she had recently washed, as her hair was still wet; it was much shorter compared to other women, shoulder-length and rather messy. A few strands on her fringe stood up stubbornly, which gave her a hint of adorable laziness.

    Her thin, navy robes hugged her enchanting figure, as if it were wordlessly communicating that she was already a grown woman.

    The woman¡¯s face reddened and closed the book like she did not care. She shot a glance at Li Qingshan. ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    ¡°Senior sister Han?¡± Only then was Li Qingshan bold enough to draw a conclusion. Today, Han Qiongzhi differed greatly from her usual appearance of an ¡°older sister¡±. She seemed more gentle as she read under the light.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Qiongzhi was afraid to make direct eye contact with Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°And I had thought the Han family had a second young miss. How come you have the time to come here today?¡±

    Everyone had their own lives. Han Qiongzhi was no different. Now that Hua Chengzan had entered seclusion, his responsibilities as the primary disciple and Scarlet Wolf commander had fallen onto her shoulders. However, she would struggle to complete matters that took Hua Chengzan two hours to complete even if she had ten times as much time, so she faced a truly miserable predicament. Fortunately, she got along relatively well with everyone else, so she could still have some spare time to herself if she forcefully allocated work to others.

    In the past, she would spend this time relaxing and having fun to her heart¡¯s content, but she felt rather uneasy recently. A certain figure would frequently cross her mind. Not only had she washed up today, but she had even put on a set of clothes she never wore for some odd reason and came to visit involuntarily. She wanted to see what Li Qingshan was up to.

    However, she could not bring herself to ask him that. She avoided it completely. ¡°What brought the monk here?¡±

    Li Qingshan told her the reason, and Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°The Lone Mountain temple is a mid-sized sect, so you can consider it. The Lone Mountain Patriarch is a powerful cultivator who¡¯s condensed a ?ar¨©ra. He¡¯s renowned even throughout the entire Ruyi commandery. I never thought a disciple of his would be participating in the dharma assembly this time. He does have the right to serve as Xiao An¡¯s master.¡±

    The Lone Mountain temple was not located within the Clear River prefecture. The Foundation Establishment monk who had come this time was the Lone Mountain Patriarch¡¯s direct disciple, and one of the conditions he offered was accepting Xiao An as a disciple on his master¡¯s behalf.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with staying in the Academy of the Hundred Schools?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°With Xiao An¡¯s cultivation, reaching Foundation Establishment is only a matter of time, so how can she remain in the academy?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Isn¡¯t there an academy in the Ruyi commandery too?¡±

    ¡°So you don¡¯t know. The academy in the commandery is just for show.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi gave him a detailed explanation. Only then did Li Qingshan learn that the Academy of the Hundred Schools in the Ruyi commandery was not a larger version of the one in the Clear River prefecture, with hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators learning together under the guidance of over a dozen Golden Core cultivators.

    Every single Foundation Establishment cultivator was an elite that could reign over an entire region, so why would they still receive the treatment of Qi Practitioners? It was even less likely for Golden Core cultivators to be all cooped up. Instead, they all had their places.

    The academies on the level of commanderies existed basically only in name. Their primary function was for management. They did not even possess the function to communicate between the schools.

    After all, they could exchange items that covered the basics with one another, but at their level, all cultivation methods and arts would be secrets that would not be passed on so easily among all schools.

    Let alone disciples from other schools, but even disciples from their own schools would have to accept a master to learn these cultivation methods or arts. This master-disciple relationship would no longer be as flimsy as the student-teacher relationship in the academy. Instead, it would turn into a traditional familial relationship.

    Reaching that step, finding a good master became a critical matter to consider.

    ¡°Do I also have to find a master?¡± Li Qingshan thought. No wonder the monk from earlier had hinted that he could check out the Lone Mountain temple too.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Of course. Who doesn¡¯t want a master to guide them along? The only issue you¡¯ll face is insufficient talent and being too old, making it so that no one wants to accept you.¡±

    Li Qingshan was obviously no exception. It was possible to say that all those who could emerge as Foundation Establishment cultivators under this strange free-charging system of the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts were young talents. They would not be troubled over finding a master.

    This was the academy¡¯s special method of inheritance. It was different from cultivation sects, yet somewhat similar at the same time.

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°Then are there Golden Core cultivators for novelists?¡± Or should he say ¡°Golden Talisman cultivators¡±. The Divine Talisman of Great Creation that the school of Novels focused on would turn golden after the second heavenly tribulation.

    Actually, apart from Foundation Establishment where cultivators would all be the same, they would all be given different names due to differing cultivation methods if they advanced any higher. For example, ?ar¨©ra for buddhism, golden talisman for the school of novels, and sword embryo for sword cultivators. They were called Golden Core cultivators due to the habits passed down through history.

    Han Qiongzhi lowered her head. ¡°Although you¡¯re a disciple of the school of Novels, you don¡¯t have to find a master from the school of Novels. For example, I¡¯m a disciple of legalism, but if I can establish a foundation, I¡¯ll definitely take my father¡¯s elder brother, my uncle, as my master.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s uncle was naturally one of the three major pillars of the Ruyi commandery¡ªgreat general Han Anguo!

 Chapter 337 â€“ Each Otherâ€™s Futures

    Li Qingshan was surprised. Although he was a disciple of the school of Novels, his primary route was still the school of the Military¡¯s simultaneous cultivation of qi and body. There was probably no better master for him within all of the Ruyi commandery than Han Anguo.

    The effects of possessing a good master were as clear as day. For example, he might be able to obtain the second half of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean from a good master¡¯s mere order. Cultivation could only be transformed into authority and influence over time after all.

    From this perspective, Gu Yanying might have been even better. As the daughter of the Hawk God, she had a limitless future ahead of her, but Li Qingshan was not stupid enough to mention another woman in front of Han Qiongzhi.

    And, no matter when, he would never be willing to lower his head before a woman. Others might have to grovel and compromise for a woman that they liked, but he insisted on holding his head up high for that woman to see.

    While Han Qiongzhi¡¯s words seemed nonchalant, she had her intentions. It seemed to hint that if he became the son-in-law of the Han family, he would basically be able to join the influential clan of the Han family and borrow their strength.

    He could not help but admit that this was a little tempting! And, Li Qingshan was rather moved by this too. No matter what, when a woman considered for you, it was something worth being happy over.

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you thanking me for? I¡¯m just saying. I¡¯m not going to introduce you to him. If you want to take this path, you¡¯d better go plead with my father yourself!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face became even redder under the lamp. I, Han Qiongzhi, still haven¡¯t reached the point where I need to use my family to interest a man. Pah, why am I trying to interest him? What¡¯s so impressive about him anyway?

    Though, he did have a valiance of doing whatever he wanted that the people of the Han family lacked, and he was more determined and self-disciplined than those disciples of legalism. He did not take her stubbornness too seriously, and when it mattered, he had stood up for her, confronting death fearlessly¡­

    For a moment, she was filled with mixed emotions, losing her usual casualness and nonchalant attitude. However, he remained quiet about all this, which made her tempted to grab him by the neck and get to the bottom of what he was thinking.

    Li Qingshan was not a love sage of infatuation, but he still knew that a lone man and woman spending time together and talking to one another at night would not be that simple.

    A beauty under the lamplight gave off quite the charm. He had never been someone who was overly cautious. If he was interested, he would do whatever he wanted to. He grabbed Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hands and said gently, ¡°Senior sister Han!¡±

    Li Qingshan joked inside, I just think I¡¯m getting a little ahead of myself when I haven¡¯t even reached the ninth layer yet.

    Both of them had only treated what they said back then as a joke, but they had never thought there would be a moment when it would come true.

    Han Qiongzhi bit her lip and shot a glance at him, but she felt extremely happy inside. She had never been particularly good at concealing her thoughts, so this delight was naturally given away by her expression.

    Li Qingshan went even further now. He conveniently wrapped his arm around her waist, and their shadows projected onto the wall by the lamplight merged together.

    Their postures were similar to when Li Qingshan had forcefully pulled her in and uttered those brave words in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, but their mental state differed vastly now.

    Just like last time, Han Qiongzhi broke free and called out, ¡°If you have something to say, then say it! What¡¯re you touching me for!?¡± However, she was not irritated at all. She was just completely flushed.

    ¡°I- I¡¯ll be taking my leave first!¡± Han Qiongzhi rushed away in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan laid on the bamboo floor with his hands cushioning his head. He smiled as he shook his head. ¡°Interesting!¡± Perhaps before long, there would be someone to warm his blankets in this humble abode of his.

    Snow fell outside the window. Looking at the pitch-black sky, he thought of the black ox again. He could never forget about his original benefactor. If it were not for the black ox¡¯s assistance, how could he reach such a distant world and make a beauty like her fall in love with him?

    Before he knew it, another year had almost passed again. In a few days, he would be eighteen. He would go from being a boy to a real man.

    The future was something he had to consider. Did choosing a master mean there would always be a moment when he would have to separate from Xiao An? After all, it was impossible for him to become a monk, but he did not want to get in the way of Xiao An¡¯s development either.

    Oftentimes, the cause of separation was not overwhelming pressure or obstructions. Instead, it came with various different pursuits. He had his secret to hide and that half a dream that conflicted with the person before him. As a matter of fact, if his marriage fell apart, there might be the miserable fate of being hunted down by his brother-in-law, his father-in-law, and maybe even his future master awaiting him!

    Every single thing, every single matter, was enough to bring a person to their wits end, which was why he had only thought about it slightly before deciding to not think about it. Everything would work out in the end. All he had to do was follow his heart and take large strides forward!

    Was he supposed to say to Han Qiongzhi, ¡°I think we should focus on studying, no, cultivation, right now, and we shouldn¡¯t have these distractions!¡±? Unless there was something wrong with his head or he was impotent, he would never say something like that.

    Deep into the night, the dharma assembly continued.

    The monks knew no exhaustion. They were all serious as they spoke, and their gazes wandered around. They treated the others as their opponents. Right now, they were no longer just contending over the buddhist dharma, but a once-in-a-century genius too.

    Without any doubts at all, they believed that Xiao An¡¯s existence could determine the fate of an entire temple or even a sect.

    Their discussion about the dharma continued, but it seemed rather half-hearted now.

    At this moment, an old man appeared in front of the hall. His beard and hair were grey, draping down his head and face. His arms drooped down beside him, his eyes were dull, and his face was dazed. If it were not for his kasaya, no one would have imagined he was a monk too.

    The One Thought master beamed. He lowered his head deeply. ¡°Master!¡± His urgent message had not gone to waste. Despite being thousands of kilometers away, his master had rushed over so quickly.

    The monks all cried out and bowed in a hurry. One Thought¡¯s master? Wasn¡¯t that the Annihilum Light Chan Master? It was rumored that he practised the Great Scripture of Annihilum arduously in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and it had already been several decades since he left the temple. Why would he come here?

    However, the old monk that the One Thought master called ¡°master¡± turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to all of it; it was as if he was an imbecile. He directly arrived before Xiao An.

    Xiao An raised her head. Their eyes met, and the old monk¡¯s eyes suddenly erupted with resplendent light, completely drowning out the light that the lamps in the hall flickered with. They were like two shrunken suns.

    The old monk said in an extremely hoarse voice, ¡°Are you willing to go to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with me to cultivate?¡±

    The monks immediately gave up on their thoughts. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was the greatest buddhist sect renowned throughout the Green province. As head monk of the Bodhi courtyard, who could contend against the Annihilum Light Chan Master? And, just who could turn down his invitation?

    They had never expected the One Thought monk to make such a decisive move when he struck.

    As a matter of fact, even the One Thought master himself had never expected that his master would leave the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga because of this. He had no other choice either. Originally, he planned on taking her to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to see his master after she had reached Foundation Establishment.

    He also never expected that his master would not ask Xiao An anything or give her any tests, directly granting her the highest recognition and inviting her to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to cultivate.

    The hall, or even the entire island, had fallen completely silent as they awaited her reply.

 Chapter 338 â€“ The Third Layer of the Ox Demon

    ¡°I refuse!¡± With a neutral expression, Xiao An replied with her clear but childish voice.

    The entire hall seemed to fall even more silent.

    Within the niche, the plump, smooth cheeks of the statue of buddha were dyed golden by the altar lamps, smiling in an unfathomable fashion. Its long, slender eyes seemed to take in all the religious believers, yet they also seemed to see nothing at all.

    Everyone wondered if they had heard incorrectly. There happened to be a person who had turned down an irresistible invitation.

    The One Thought master¡¯s mouth even hung agape. Even his thoughts came to a screeching halt.

    Back then, after he had successfully established a foundation, he emerged from the Academy of the Hundred Schools and turned down the invitations of several temples, travelling thousands of kilometers to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to find a master. He knelt outside the Bodhi hall for three days and three nights, and only then did the Annihilum Light Chan Master accept him into the Bodhi hall. He underwent another three years of testing before finally getting offered a position beneath him as a formal disciple.

    He had never regretted this decision. Otherwise, he never would have been able to make it to higher realms of cultivation with his fortune and aptitude.

    ¡°Xiao An, you-¡±

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master lifted his hand and silenced what the One Thought master was about to say next. He looked at Xiao An.

    Xiao An remained calm, completely unperturbed.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master let out a sigh. ¡°The path of cultivation is vast, and the buddhist dharma is boundless. Why must you stubbornly insist on going your own way with a single will?¡±

    Xiao An bowed. ¡°Thank you for bestowing me with my dharma name, master.¡± If stubbornly going her own way with a single will was being reluctant to part with him, then she would much rather take this as her dharma name forever.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master smiled first. He took delight in her quick wit, but he subsequently sighed, lamenting over her stubbornness to cling onto what was holding her back. Afterwards, he neither affirmed or denied what she said, drifting away.

    The remaining monks all looked at one another speechlessly. The One Thought master walked over with a mixed expression and bowed. ¡°Junior sister One Will.¡±

    Xiao An returned the gesture, ¡°Senior brother One Thought.¡±

    There was no ceremony, but to a chan sect that focused on reflecting on one¡¯s heart and achieving self-actualisation and buddhahood as a result, these mere gestures held no importance in the first place.

    The buddha plucked a flower, Mah¨¡k¨¡?yapa smiled, and thus both the master and the disciple achieved likemindedness1.

    In just a few words, their status to one another had already been determined.

    The greatest prodigy of the academy in the past century also happened to be the first to determine her direction for the future, which was the holy land for buddhists across the fifteen thousand kilometers that was the Green province, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Xiao An saw off all the monks before requesting permission to be dismissed from her senior brother One Thought.

    The One Thought master obviously knew where she wanted to go. He waved his hand helplessly. ¡°Go!¡± Even their master no longer cared, agreeing to her dharma name of One Will through silence, so why would he still have power over her?

    On Cloudwisp island, Li Qingshan fell silent for a moment after hearing how everything had unfolded. He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head and smiled. ¡°In the future, if you want to go and cultivate in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, I¡¯ll go become a monk with you. Though, all I can become is a monk who drinks, eats meat, and sleeps around.¡±

    Xiao An shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay with you. I don¡¯t want you to become a monk who drinks, eats meat, and sleeps around.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°How about this? When the time comes, I¡¯ll pay a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with you and ask for some benefits from that Annhilum Light Chan Master, and then I will leave by myself and go at it alone. I¡¯ll also go find a master to learn from. After that, I¡¯ll build a dwelling, and you can establish a temple right beside me. How¡¯s that? It¡¯ll be the best of two worlds!¡±

    Xiao An answered, ¡°Alright.¡±

    This was their future. There was nothing worth worrying over.

    It was already very late. The two of them laid on their backs, staring at the ceiling as they listened to the rustling of falling snow outside. They both felt like they were at great peace.

    ¡°Oh right, what do you think about that big sister Han?¡± Li Qingshan turned around, now lying on his side.

    ¡°Big sister Han?¡± Xiao An turned her head in surprise. Her large eyes shone in the darkness.

    ¡°You know, Han Qiongzhi.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s worth a hundred regular people,¡± Xiao An said indifferently.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean eating her. Forget it. You¡¯re just a child. Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t understand.¡± Li Qingshan fell silent, lying on his back once more.

    Xiao An crawled onto his body. She stared at him long and hard.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand and gave in. He told her about what had happened earlier in the night.

    ¡°You like her?¡± Xiao An blinked.

    ¡°A little.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. Han Qiongzhi was obviously not a bad woman. Although he had yet to develop any particularly deep feelings for her, it would naturally happen as long as they spent time together. His parents from his past life and present life were all like this. It was not like this was some third-rate love story, where they would much rather die than live without one another.

    ¡°You want to marry her?¡± After she awakened a lot of her memories and read all those novels for Li Qingshan, Xiao An was no longer unfamiliar with matters like this. However, she never imagined something like this would happen with him, which left her extremely shocked.

    ¡°Not exactly, but there¡¯s the possibility!¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his nose in embarrassment. He felt like a father who wanted to remarry after a divorce, asking for his little daughter¡¯s permission. All of his usual boldness and nonchalance had evaporated.

    He did not believe he was the same type as Hua Chengzan. He probably would never be able to understand that path of infatuation without regret. Perhaps he did think of this when he was young in his past life, but in this life, it had all been worn away by over a dozen years of hardships. All that remained were the most simple and straightforward things.

    Xiao An suddenly became unhappy. She climbed down from Li Qingshan and turned away from him.

    ¡°Sigh, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re happy.¡± Xiao An thought that Li Qingshan would turn out like the people in the books, spending night and day together with that woman. He probably would not have the time to accompany her anymore, which only brought her greater pain.

    Li Qingshan turned her around, but he discovered that the rims of her eyes had already reddened with tears trickling down. It was as if he had committed some heinous crime against both the heavens and humanity. He became rather flustered.

    ¡°I never said I would definitely marry her. If you don¡¯t like it, then forget about it.¡±

    The future was not so simple after all.

    Over a dozen days later, in a seclusion dwelling beneath Contention island.

    A droplet of sweat rolled down his cheek, dripping from his chin and falling onto the damp ground.

    Li Qingshan knelt on the ground naked. His long hair draped down, covering his face.

    His muscles turned and twisted like dragons and snakes as if they bore the heavy burden of thousands of tonnes. Scarlet blood flowed under his skin, which gave off a colour similar to black iron. He spread his lips and revealed his long, sharp canines. Two lumps protruded from his forehead, as if a pair of horns were ready to burst out at any time.

    Li Qingshan suddenly straightened himself out and let out a furious roar. He spread his arms as far out as possible, as if he was breaking free from invisible shackles.

    Whoosh¡­ His heavy breathing was filled with delight.

    Whoosh¡­ His movements kicked up a violent gust of wind that swept through the dwelling, ruffling Xiao An¡¯s clothes and hair.

    Li Qingshan stood up, and the colour of his skin gradually returned to normal. His writhing muscles subsided too, but he did seem a little ¡°bulkier¡±, like a statue carved from marble.

    Though this period of arduous cultivation, he almost finished off all the pills he had used spiritual stones to exchange for. Finally, he reached the third layer of the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength.

    Every single step forward would require even more tremendous resources. Back then, just eating meat, drinking alcohol, and training his body was enough to reach the first layer. Of course, his body would benefit more and more with each breakthrough.

    In particular, his strength had almost increased by several times. Although it was suppressed by the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core, he could still feel the churning power surge through his body, almost bursting out of him.

    He put on a set of clothes and said to Xiao An, ¡°It¡¯s about time for me to go check on the school of the Military again. I need to test what I¡¯ve achieved from cultivating.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you!¡± Xiao An took out the Guardian King¡¯s pearl. It shone brightly and conjured an avatar. It was even more consolidated than before; it was as if a golden person, not a golden statue, was standing there

    She had comprehended and summarised everything she had gained from the assembly of dharma recently. As she had spent her entire time by the One Thought master¡¯s side, she had only ingested two or three black lotus seeds back then, so using this opportunity, she could take it out and cultivate properly. She ingested another seven or eight seeds, which allowed her cultivation to progress drastically.

    A golden banner waved in the air as the guardian king¡¯s avatar arrived before Li Qingshan in the blink of an eye. It lifted its huge vajra sword and swung down swiftly.

    ¡°That works too!¡± Li Qingshan caught the huge sword between his palms.

    Apart from worrying that his daemon qi would leak out over this short period of time, there was no need for him to enter secluded cultivation at all. He had only done it to make her happy, basically making up for the hardships she had gone through from being trapped in the assembly of dharma recently.

    He could tell that she was still rather unwilling to leave, so he decided to stay a little longer. He could use this time to practise the Ocean Wielding battle skill that he never got the opportunity to study.

    Both of them cultivated, stopping to fight against one another every once in a while, leading to some giggles. Time passed slowly.

    Originally, Li Qingshan planned on remaining here for another ten days, or half a month at most, but once he began practising this battle skill, he could not help but become absorbed by it. The ingenious skills of utilising qi and the body together stunned him. It left him entranced.

    It was quite strange now that he mentioned it. His ability to understand various cultivation methods had always been quite mediocre, but he felt a little like a genius when it came to battle skills.

    Xiao An had benefited quite a lot too. She ingested the black lotus seeds in the seed pod one by one, turning them into flames and merging them into her bones. She managed to refine another Skull Prayer Bead.

    In the blink of an eye, another month passed by. The door to the dwelling opened slowly.

    Li Qingshan emerged and stretched his body before looking down.

    This time, the dwelling they had chosen was not on the lowest level. That one had been occupied by Hua Chengzan. So much time had already passed since he entered seclusion, so who knew how he was going with cultivation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan scooped up Xiao An and took a step towards the empty space above him.

    This time, a cloud did not condense below him. Instead, blue light appeared under his feet like a wave. As if he had stepped on a spring, he rushed into the air.

    Ocean Wielding¡ªThe Wave Treading Form.

    By moulding water and using its flexibility, he could achieve speeds several times faster than riding a cloud while being much more nimble. He felt like he could walk through the air.

    Emerging from underground, he saw the brilliant blue sky and the dazzling sunlight. The snow had all melted away as the brightly-coloured spring scenery unfolded before him.

    Li Qingshan took another step backwards, shooting off to Cloudwisp island in the distance with a swish.

    During this period, the power of belief within his Divine Talisman of Great Creation had reached an unprecedented peak. Although he had not witnessed it in person, the propagation of the novel and the picture book was clearly quite impressive. And, as expected, that thin picture book of his had surpassed the novel. He could easily conjure the characters in there.

    However, this still was not enough. He needed to become even stronger. Only then would he have a chance. It was time for him to head out and gather some publicity with the paintings in his possession so that he could turn fiction into reality.

    PS: Failed to get up. I almost lost sleep last night. I think I¡¯d better just stick with writing in the morning!

 Chapter 339 â€“ Decision

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure attracted quite a lot of attention as he whistled through the air.

    A group of disciples of the school of Agriculture were currently tending to their crops in the fields. They raised their heads and pointed at the sky.

    ¡°Look, what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡®Seems like Li Qingshan!¡±

    The agriculture disciple all marveled at him. Indescribable envy filled their eyes. Before they knew it, Li Qingshan had already become a prominent figure of the academy. All the people that he normally got along with or did not get along with were all renowned figures too.

    Recently, there were even rumors that the leader of the school of the Military, Han Anjun, was interested in taking him in as a son-in-law, betrothing the second senior sister of the school of Legalism to him. In just one short year, he had gone from being a disciple of the most humiliating school of Novels to this step. He basically seemed like a figure of legends to cultivators who originated from a similar background to him.

    ¡°Hey, Li Qingshan. Doesn¡¯t he come from the same village as you?¡±

    Li Long stood within a watery paddy with bare feet as he neatly arranged the tender rice seedlings. This was not Longevity island, but an island specially allocated to new disciples by the school of Agriculture for farming. He had obtained a plot of land too.

    He raised his head and watched the faint blue trajectory vanish into the horizon. He could still remember how his master had once said that Li Qingshan would become an impressive figure in the future. But probably even his master had never imagined he would reach this step!

    He lowered his head and smiled. ¡°Exactly. He¡¯s the great hero of our Crouching Ox village.¡±

    During the testing last spring, his wood affinity was evaluated to be low yi. He passed the test for the school of Agriculture and became a disciple there.

    Back then, village head Li had sent him off to the Iron Fist school to learn martial arts exactly because he did not want his son to tend to the fields, but he probably never expected he would still return to the fields in the end. The school of Agriculture really was appropriate for a backgroundless disciple of average talent like him.

    The plants he grew were crops with a spiritual aspect. They could replace pills and gradually improve his constitution. He could eat whatever he grew, or he could exchange them with his seniors and juniors. If there was a surplus, he could even sell them for spiritual stones.

    Compared to the other schools, a life in the school of Agriculture was monotonous and repetitive. They would weed the fields and use true qi to nurture the seedlings in a constant cycle. Many people found it boring, so they would frequently call a few friends and go have some fun in the Clear River city. The young master of the Iron Fist school had invited Li Long to come along several times too.

    Gradually, the young master of the Iron Fist school stopped visiting him. Apart from attending classes, he would spend every moment from dawn to dusk in the fields, covered in dirt. He would fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, almost suffocating from the heavy pressure.

    He remembered a year of severe drought when he was young. With his father, he would travel almost ten kilometers along a mountain path for water. When they poured the water they brought back into the fields, it would evaporate in an instant. It had truly been a despairing sight. After a single day, his hands had become covered in blisters.

    His grandfather sighed that farming was contending over fate against the heavens. Yes, contending over fate against the heavens. This was not just a special characteristic of cultivators!

    Perhaps it was because all his ancestors were farmers, so the blood of a farmer flowed through his veins too. Through this primitive labour, he gradually experienced unprecedented joy. As he watched the seedlings thrive and grow with each passing day as he nurtured them with true qi, they seemed to be nurturing him too.

    Before he knew it, his cultivation had broken through the natural barrier for regular Qi Practitioners from the jianghu. He surpassed protector Yan and reached the third layer.

    On that day, he laid down in the fields and cried out in joy. As his tears fell onto the fields, he thought back to when the severe drought had ended back then. As heavy rain fell from the sky, he had rolled around happily in the puddles. This kind of joy was well beyond anything sleeping with a woman in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain could offer.

    From that day onwards, he made up his mind. Even if the school of Music was holding free, public concerts, he would not be attending them. As Li Qingshan challenged the military disciples, he did not go and watch either. Only today did he suddenly realise that he was no longer envious of Li Qingshan.

    An agriculture disciple said, ¡°The test is coming up. I heard he knows the Spiritual Rain technique. Why don¡¯t you get him to water your fields?¡±

    The school of Agriculture also had their way of competing against one another, which was seeing who had tended to their crops better. The victors would receive some rewards.

    Li Long brushed off the dirt from his hands and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll go ask him and see if he has the time.¡± In the past year, he had not even visited Li Qingshan once. He had found himself to be slightly inferior, and he did not want Li Qingshan to think that he was trying to get on his good side. Now that he no longer felt any envy, he obviously had no sense of inferiority either. And, he could finally return some of his kindness from back then.

    When he saw this fellow villager again, Li Qngshan almost struggled to recognise him. His face was tanned, his hands were coarse, and he radiated with a rustic aura. He no longer bore any resemblance to the high-spirited talent of Crouching Ox village of the past anymore. His gentle and mild eyes revealed an aura that differed vastly from before.

    When Li Long saw Li Qingshan again, he felt something similar. He was mature and confident, strutting around proudly. His name, Qingshan, had once been mocked for many years in the village, but Li Long could now understand what the name entailed.

    Li Long took out a sack of spiritual rice. ¡°I planted it myself. Try it! I¡¯m still lacking a little in terms of spiritual stones, so if you¡¯re not in a hurry, just another year should be enough.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. It doesn¡¯t matter even if I have to wait for another three or five years. It¡¯s not like you can run away.¡± Li Qingshan opened the sack of rice and took a look. Every single shiny grain of rice was the size of a peanut, radiating with a faintly scented spiritual qi. He praised, ¡°Nice rice. I think this rice is enough to make up for fifty spiritual stones. If you can bring me another three sacks, we¡¯ll be in the clear.¡±

    ¡°Maybe next year. I still need to keep some for myself, whether it¡¯s to eat or to sell!¡± Li Long nodded gratefully, not because of the spiritual stones, but because of the respect. He glanced past the bamboo forest that covered most of the island. ¡°It really is quite a pity with this land and those bamboo shoots.¡±

    The land allocated to each agriculture disciple would still be limited after all. The school of Novels definitely had the lowest population density in the academy right now.

    As one of the main islands, Cloudwisp island was a first-class spiritual ground, obviously much better than the island where Li Long planted the rice. If he could plant here, there would be quite the harvest as long as he tended to them slightly, even without putting in much effort. And, the bamboo shoots that burst out from the ground were filled with spiritual qi as well.

    Li Qingshan came to an even deeper understanding that Cloudwisp island really was a treasured place. He could not just let others take it away. ¡°If you want to, then feel free to clear part of the land and plant on it. You can pick these bamboo shoots as you wish too. I don¡¯t have the time to tend to them anyway.¡±

    Although the spiritual bamboo shoots could replace pills, their effects were limited, so they were not particularly worth it to him. He would be much better off learning alchemy from Ru Xin.

    Li Long began to slightly regret that he had not visited Cloudwisp island sooner, but he refused to take advantage of Li Qingshan¡¯s generosity. In the end, they reached the agreement that half of all the crops Li Long planted and half of the bamboo shoots he harvested would go to Li Qingshan.

    Not only could he help a fellow villager, but he would also receive many free things, so Li Qingshan happily agreed to it. Even if he did not eat these items himself, they were still quite a good choice to feed Milliped with so that he could recover.

    Speaking of which, it was about time this guy woke up from hibernation!

    Right as he thought that, he felt the bug pouch on his waist twitch. He happily agreed to Li Long¡¯s request to water the fields.

    ¡°I still have some other matters to tend to, so you should go back first! I¡¯ll be there in a second!¡±

    After Li Long had left, Li Qingshan released Milliped and fed him the entire sack of spiritual rice. ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. There¡¯ll be bamboo shoots to eat later too, so just bear with me a little more. I¡¯ll take you back underground very soon.¡±

    After satisfying Milliped and sending him back into the bug pouch, he went to Li Long and helped him out by using the Spiritual Rain technique a few times. He waited until Xiao An had come back from dealing with the school of Buddhism. After that, the two of them passed through the Formation of Dragons and Snakes, leaving the academy.

    They went to Clear River city first. Li Qingshan wanted to travel around and use Chu Danqing¡¯s paintings this time so that he could complete a few missions along the way. Earning some merit would obviously be for the best.

    The black-clothed envoy in charge of the missions tended to his needs immediately. He took out the missions log and allowed Li Qingshan to browse through it.

    Li Qingshan looked through it and chose missions carefully. Coincidentally, he saw a notice at the end of a mission that it was currently being undertaken. The person responsible for it was Qian Rongzhi. He asked, ¡°Has Qian Rongzhi returned?¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Qian has returned twice before immediately taking on a new mission and leaving.¡±

    All three missions had taken her to extremely remote regions far away from the prefectural city.

    Li Qingshan thought, Not only is this woman vicious to others, but she basically treats herself no differently. She¡¯s basically trying to commit suicide.

    After choosing his missions, Li Qingshan was just about to leave when the envoy in black suddenly said, ¡°Sir Li, ma¡¯am Han is currently upstairs.¡±

    Nothing spread faster in the world than gossip. The two directly involved in the matter were clueless, but it had already led to quite the hubbub within the Hawkwolf Guard. The Han family looking for a son-in-law was no small news.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Senior sister Han is here too? Then I need to pay her a visit.¡±

    ¡°Sir Li, do be careful. Ma¡¯am Han has been in a very bad mood lately.¡±

    Li Qingshan knew that it probably had something to do with him. He felt rather ashamed about this, so there was even more reason for him to go and explain himself.

    The joyous spring sunlight poured into the room.

    Han Qiongzhi currently furrowed her brows as she sat in Hua Chengzan¡¯s original spot, dealing with official business. Her shoulder-length hair had been dyed a golden brown, but her face was as bleak as winter. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door, and she said coldly without even looking up, ¡°Come in.¡±

    Li Qingshan made Xiao An wait outside as he entered through the door alone. ¡°Senior sister Han!¡±

    As soon as Han Qiongzhi saw Li Qingshan, anger began to bubble in her. Ever since that night, she thought their relationship had undergone some development. She was just waiting for him to come find her. However, no matter how she waited, no one came. After a slight investigation, she learnt that he had gone into secluded cultivation again, but he did not even give her a notice beforehand.

    Her face immediately became frosty as she yelled, ¡°Get out!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed gently and backed out again.

    ¡°Come back!¡± Han Qiongzhi leapt to her feet. She never thought he would not even be willing to explain himself.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What else is there?¡±

    ¡°You- you drive me crazy!¡± Han Qiongzhi bit her lip as she felt both furious and irritated. She could still recall everything that had happened that night vividly. Never had she cast aside her pride to get close to a man, yet she was brushed aside without the slightest acknowledgement like this.

    Li Qingshan was unwilling to see her like this. This was the first woman to like him in his current life, and she seemed much more realistic and adorable compared to Gu Yanying, who was currently beyond reach.

    If it were possible, he did not want to let down her feelings either, but since fate opposed them, there was no need for him to trouble himself over this. All he could do was apologise. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Xiao An!¡±

 Chapter 340 â€“ Setting up a Date

    Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Xiao An turned around and looked towards the door that was still open. She said, ¡°If you marry her, can we still be together like before?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, then forget about it.¡± Although he was extremely reluctant to accept this, it was easier for him to end this relationship before he had developed any proper feelings. It would be troublesome once he caught feelings. This was for her sake too!

    ¡°Just marry her!¡± Xiao An released his sleeve and suppressed the strange feeling in her heart. This was what he had always wanted, and this should have been the best choice for him too. He would be able to study under great general Han as well. Sigh, how could she become the thing that held him back?

    ¡°Do you mean it!¡±

    ¡°I do!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be too late if you start regretting it in the future.¡± Even if he ignored the consequences of just discarding her after using her, shilly-shallying around had never suited him in the first place.

    ¡°I won¡¯t regret it.¡±

    As she watched Li Qingshan vanish through the door, Han Qiongzhi finally could no longer hold her feelings back anymore. She cried as she lied on the table. Li Qingshan, you bastard! Han Qiongzhi, you¡¯re so useless! It¡¯s just a man!

    Suddenly, she felt something on her head. She lifted up her head and met Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s heart of steel, his feelings still could not help but grow tender. To think that this reckless, arrogant woman would also have a soft side like this, and it was all for him too. If he let her slip by, it would become something he would lament about his entire life. He extended his hand, wanting to wipe away her tears.

    ¡°What brought you back?¡± Han Qiongzhi pushed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand away and wiped away her tears frantically.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan uttered that one word, Han Qiongzhi grabbed him by the wrist as if she was afraid that he would vanish all of a sudden again. ¡°You!¡± Then she let him go again. She felt like she was pitifully vulnerable whenever they spent time together.

    However, it also made her seem extremely worth protecting. Li Qingshan held her hand and promised softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t be leaving.¡±

    ¡°Who wants you anyway!¡± Han Qiongzhi tried to shake him off, but she failed. ¡°You should go. Stop bothering me now.¡±

    ¡°Can you wait until I come back?¡±

    ¡°Why would I want to wait for you?¡±

    ¡°The bright and beautiful days of spring have the perfect weather for boating,¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He tossed aside the final layer of worries in his heart. He was in an excellent mood too, so he immediately took the initiative. Since he wanted to take her as his companion, they had to spend some proper time together!

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just treat it as you¡¯ve agreed to it.¡± Li Qingshan decided for her. Looking at her rosy lips, he wanted to kiss her goodbye, but he was afraid of scaring her, so he rubbed her head instead. He turned around and left.

    ¡°You- come back sooner.¡± Han Qiongzhi could not help but stand up.

    Li Qingshan glanced back. He could still see the tear streaks on her face; her short hair was rather messy, but she was unable to hide the delight on her beautiful face. Although she was shy, she still stared right at him; there was undisguisable sincerity.

    For a moment, she seemed absolutely adorable. Li Qingshan almost changed his mind and declared that they would go boating right now.

    ¡°Alright, Qiongzhi.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and closed the door.

    Han Qiongzhi sat there in a daze for quite a while. She bit her lip, but she was unable to hold back her smile. She could not help but stand up and pace around. She stood by the window and stretched. It really was a bright and beautiful day of spring. She could not help but begin to look forward to it.

    Knock, knock, knock. There were a few knocks on the door, and Han Qiongzhi wiped her face in a hurry, removing the tear streaks and recovering her frosty demeanour.

    An envoy in black walked in, trembling. ¡°Ma¡¯am Han, I want to go on leave. My mother¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, permitted.¡±

    Fifteen minutes later, news that ma¡¯am Han¡¯s crankiness had finally passed over spread through the entire building. This sir Li sure had a wondrous effect on her. There really was a weakness for everything. The envoy responsible for the missions log was deemed to have rendered a meritorious service too.

    In the sky, above the clouds, Xiao An looked at the smiling Li Qingshan and pouted. Hmph, does he really have to be so happy?

    Li Qingshan seemed to read her mind. He pinched her cheeks. ¡°You¡¯ll understand once you grow older.¡±

    Xiao An asked rather curiously and eagerly, ¡°When I¡¯m older, will you marry me too?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Forget about it. I don¡¯t want to be hunted down by those monks of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. That¡¯s a place on par with the Sword Collection palace.¡± Just the thought of the fate awaiting him if he married their genius female disciple terrified him.

    ¡°I refuse to accept this!¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter even if you refuse to accept this. Just stick with your job of very impressive future prospects of being a nun!¡± Li Qingshan sniggered.

    Under Xiao An¡¯s attack of ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, I¡¯ll cry.¡± all Li Qingshan could do was give in. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll marry you, I¡¯ll marry you!¡±

    Xiao An immediately cheered up, but she then became troubled again. ¡°But what if they really come looking for trouble?¡±

    Li Qingshan saw how she was contemplating this question seriously, so he showed her his sturdy arm and smiled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll smash all of their bald heads to pieces!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll help you.¡± Xiao An found this to be quite a good idea. She had yet to even formally join the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, yet she had already begun to think about how she would abandon them in betrayal and turn against them.

    A small city appeared within the fertile land beneath them. Li Qingshan took out a map and checked the location. They had already arrived at their first stop.

    It was noon, but it was still rather chilly. The streets were mostly empty, with a few people here and there. Only a group of children laughed and played around energetically, but they ended up disturbing a few people¡¯s naps, earning a scolding and being shooed to one side.

    ¡°Where be the damned bandits of the Green Wolf gang!¡±

    Suddenly, an explosive yell woke up everyone from their dreams. They all emerged from their homes to see just what was going on. Just who was looking to die, coming and making trouble for the Green Wolf gang?

    The leader of the Green Wolf gang was currently eating with a few friends who were also outlaws. He had already become rather tipsy. When he heard that, he shuddered and fell into a rage. ¡°Someone¡¯s come to make trouble. Brothers, let¡¯s check him out and finish him off.¡±

    Thirty or forty good men of the Green Wolf gang emerged and stood battle-ready at the entrance. The leader of the Green Wolf gang sat in an armed chair at the very centre.

    Many people stuck their heads out from the sides of the streets. The children had even widened their eyes. They saw a figure that was not particularly tall cross through the dust, making his way over slowly on the perfectly straight streets.

    The leader of the Green Wolf gang squinted his eyes and made out the person. It was a child around eleven or twelve years old. He wore a wide-brimmed straw hat in his hand and wore a shabby cotton garment covered in patches. He held a brush in one hand.

    ¡°So it¡¯s a kid!¡±

    ¡°Has he lost his mind?¡±

    However, the children just stared straight at him. Some of them pulled out a picture book from their clothes in a hurry. They looked at it carefully before looking up at the person again. They repeated this several times as their mouths gradually hung agape.

    The leader of the Green Wolf gang¡¯s furrowed eyebrows eased up. He had been expecting someone impressive, yet it was just a crazy kid. However, he did take special note of the yell from earlier.

    ¡°Who are you supposed to be, wanting to start something with our Green Wolf gang?¡±

    The child declared clearly, ¡°Green Wolf gang, you¡¯ve been a scourge to the common people. You deserve a fate worse than death. Today, I will carry out justice and eliminate you for the common good!¡±

    Everyone from the Green Wolf gang laughed aloud. The other outlaws said, ¡°What are we blabbering with him for? Recently, what I¡¯ve eaten has been so dull that my tongue¡¯s almost dropped off! Let¡¯s dig out his heart! It¡¯ll go well with my alcohol!¡± As he said that, he even licked his bright red lips. Due to his tastes for human hearts, especially the hearts of children, the people of the jianghu called him the ¡°Heart-feasting Ghost¡±. He was also an infamous first-rate master.

    The leader of the Green Wolf gang waved his hand. ¡°Get him!¡± Two people immediately approached him.

    The child pulled off a painting scroll from his back. With a tremble, he unfurled it. It was a painting of a vicious tiger descending from the mountains!

    With a roar, a huge tiger lunged out and pushed down the two people with its front claws. It ripped open their bellies with its razor-sharp claws before lunging towards the leader of the Green Wolf gang.

    This huge tiger was ten times as vicious as regular tigers. When it lunged into the group of people, it was no different from lunging into a flock of sheep. A massacre unfolded.

    The faces of every single person who saw this froze in fear. Only the eyes of children erupted with surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s him, it¡¯s him! It¡¯s him!¡±

    The ¡°Heart-feasting Ghost¡± broke out into a cold sweat the moment he saw the huge tiger lunge out of the painting. This had clearly surpassed what regular people could achieve. He must be a legendary cultivator. No matter how powerful people of the jianghu were, it was impossible for them to rival cultivators.

    He used his movement technique and fled over the buildings swiftly. However, when he had just leapt over two roofs, he felt his heart become empty, as if something was missing. Looking down, a bloody hole had already appeared on his chest before he knew it. His heart had already vanished.

    He turned his head swiftly and saw that his heart was in the hands of a man, dripping with blood. He had eaten quite a few hearts throughout his life, but this was the first time he had seen his own heart. Indescribable agony and despair filled his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve done jobs like this. Though, it seems like I still haven¡¯t lost my edge.¡± Li Qingshan casually tossed the heart to Xiao An. She unleashed the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration and turned that person into flames, bones and all.

    At this moment, the battle between the huge tiger and the Green Wolf gang had ended too. The huge tiger from the painting was not particularly powerful, only at the level of third or fourth layer Qi Practitioners, but it was too easy for it when it came to dealing with a group of people from the jianghu.

    This painting was obviously one that Chu Danqing had given him. Although the character he conjured already possessed similar abilities to this, he still used true qi to unleash these paintings in order to save his power of belief for the upcoming battle.

    Li Qingshan fished out another painting from his hundred treasures pouch and tossed it into the air. It unfurled, but it was empty.

    The empty painting flew around in the air and sucked away all the corpses before returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. Now, a few dozen corpses appeared in the painting.

    The painting was equivalent to a hundred treasures pouch for the school of Painting. Not only could it store inanimate objects, but it could even seal living creatures in there. It was extremely interesting. He was saving up these corpses as food for Xiao An. He carried out both the killing and the disposal, offering a one package service.

    The child with the straw hat rode the tiger and bounded away. Everyone emerged from their homes and saw how not even a trace of the Green Wolf gang who had once run amok here remained. If it were not for the bloody marks on the ground, they basically would have thought it was all a dream.

    The children¡¯s faces all reddened from excitement as they ran through the streets, cheering.

    IThe adults were still clueless as to why they were so happy until someone suddenly recalled. ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t that child a character from the picture book that our little baby girl gets us to read to her?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the picture book is real?¡±

 Chapter 341 â€“ Return

    In the sky, Li Qingshan sat on a cloud with his legs crossed. He could sense that the power of belief was gathering much faster in his Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    If belief was a power, then the people in the city below gradually began to believe in the existence of a fictitious being.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. To the next stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan travelled around. He had carefully chosen all of these missions. He had accepted many, covering a large range, but they were extremely simple too. He basically only hunted down people of the jianghu.

    This was not because he could not complete harder missions. There were probably no Qi Practitioners that he and Xiao An could not beat. However, the main reason for all this was for the character he had written to stand out. Various issues would arise once Qi Practitioners became involved, and it would no longer be within the domain of regular people either.

    Even if he cut down the master of the Sword Collection palace right now, the common people would not know who he was! Beating up those local tyrants and aristocrats who ran amuck and abused the common people were what regular people loved to see.

    Gradually, the image of a teenage hero was established in the extensive hearts of the common people.

    Yes, a teenager. Li Qingshan had originally decided on a half-grown child, but the child would grow with the rumors. He would be different every time he conjured him, appearing in this world in a form that lived up to everyone¡¯s expectations.

    He was mentioned within every household, and the patches on the teenager¡¯s clothes either multiplied or lessened as a result. The colour of his waistband would vary too. The brush in his right hand would always remain, but sometimes he would be holding a reed flute or a gourd in his left hand.

    His final form was determined by thousands of thoughts of belief and faith.

    At the same time, the power of belief within the Divine Talisman of Great Creation multiplied. The teenage hero became more realistic, more vivid, and stronger.

    His eyes even twinkled with a light that was no different from a living person¡¯s, which left Li Qingshan secretly amazed over the wonders of the art from the school of Novels.

    Of course, he still lacked the ability of independent thought, so he was not a living person. All he could do was behave like a machine and utter some predetermined phases. At times that mattered, Li Qingshan would have to secretly control him like a wooden puppet.

    However, Li Qingshan could sense what limited him was no longer the quantity of power of belief, but the level of his Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    On the top of the highest building in the city, Zhao Lingshu stood with his arms crossed, staring coldly at a figure that rode away on a tiger. He leapt down, and a pair of metal wings unfolded on his back, gliding through the air in pursuit.

    With a whoosh, he kicked up a great gust of wind and descended from the sky, landing before the young man.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you blocking my path?¡± said the teenager in an exaggerated manner; it was like he was acting out a show.

    Zhao Lingshu said coldly, ¡°Which painter do you study under, copying others by trying to uphold justice and eliminate the crooked? Your tricks can fool regular people, but they can¡¯t fool me.¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you blocking my path?¡± said the teenager in the same exaggerated manner like he was acting out a show.

    ¡°Do you know what the people you killed on Jade Altar mountain are to me?¡± Zhao Lingshu furrowed his brows. He was born in a bandit¡¯s nest. His father and brothers were all bandits. Due to his talent of being able to practise qi, he was chosen by the leader of the Six Directions association, a renowned gang within the Clear River prefecture. He was taken in as a disciple. After many years of arduous cultivation, he had reached the seventh layer, but he never expected he would discover all his relatives dead, without a single trace left, when he returned home triumphantly.

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you blocking my path?¡± The teenager repeated his words once again in an exaggerated manner like he was acting out a show.

    If Zhao Lingshu had played video games before, he would definitely find this sight extremely familiar. Unfortunately, while the teenager seemed no different from a real person, and he could unleash many powerful moves, he was still not a person at the end of the day.

    It was exactly because he had never played them before that Zhao Lingshu lost his temper. ¡°The people you killed were all my family! I want you to die!¡±

    Shwing! He drew the sword on his back, and it swept over to the teenager¡¯s neck like a bolt of lightning, like a dragon swimming through the air.

    Zhao Lingshu could already see the moment when the young man was beheaded. He had not come for revenge out of hot-headedness. Instead, he had secretly undertaken quite a lot of investigation. The teenager possessed the abilities of the school of Painting, but the paintings he produced were at the third or fourth layer at most. There was no reason for him to fear.

    Sure enough, the teenager remained in a daze as he watched the sword fly over. He did not react at all.

    Just when he was about to exact his revenge. Zhao Lingshi instead felt a certain loneliness of being aloof from the world. As a cultivator, he was destined to walk a path of solitude. Farewell, father. Farewell, brothers. Please bless me in the afterlife!

    However, the flying sword ended up stabbing nothing. The teenager had vanished into thin air, and the huge tiger was squashed into a thin piece of paper, flying into the air. Zhao Lingshu was taken aback.

    ¡°Oi, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    A man in black descended from the sky on a white cloud with a child as he called out at Zhao Lingshu.

    Li Qingshan had just been distracted for a moment as he conversed with Xiao An, yet as soon as he looked back, he saw a sword flying over. He immediately dispersed the power of belief and recalled the huge tiger.

    Zhao Lingshu said coldly, ¡°So you were secretly behind everything?¡±

    Xiao An had always been alert, so she told Li Qingshan what had happened.

    ¡°I was wondering why the shitty bandits of Jade Altar mountain were so arrogant. As it turns out, you¡¯re backing them.¡± Only now did Li Qingshan understand the full story, which made him furious. He had quite an impression of the place, as he saved over a dozen women from the bandit¡¯s nest. All of them had been toyed with to a point where they almost bore no human resemblance. Some of them had even lost their minds.

    He had yet to see any of those legendary heroic outlaws who upheld justice and fought for righteousness.

    ¡°Regular people are no different from ants. They can¡¯t escape their fate of being toyed with and slaughtered. Since you¡¯ve admitted to it, you can go die!¡± Zhao Lingshu controlled the sword with his fingers, and it shot over with lightning speed.

    The aura Li Qingshan gave off was only at the seventh layer, and the child beside him was just a mortal. He had absolute confidence in slaughtering the two of them then and there. Although the entire matter had surprised him slightly, everything was still within his control. When he saw how Li Qingshan tried to catch his sword with his hand, he even sneered.

    ¡°Chop through it!¡±

    Li Qingshan casually caught the flying sword. ¡°I think you¡¯re no different from an ant too!¡±

    Zhao Lingshu urged the sword on, and the flying sword thrummed, but it did not even budge in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. He was shocked. He understood he had run into a powerful opponent now, and he was actually an uncommon Body Practitioner. With a flap of his metal wings, he took flight. Fortunately, he still had this pair of mohist Dual Metal wings that his master had bestowed to him. He could fly through the air freely, allowing him to remain invincible.

    However, in the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had leapt into the air too. He moved even faster than the flying sword, which made Zhao Lingshu pale in fright.

    As Zhao Lingshu pulled back in a hurry, he said, ¡°Why must we go at each other¡¯s throats over some regular people? I¡¯ve already thought it through. Ever since I¡¯ve embarked on a path of cultivation, I should cut off these feelings of attachment to the mundane world. I shouldn¡¯t have any connection to them anymore. I have to thank you for helping me sever this tie. I¡¯m Zhao Lingshu of the Six Directions society. May I ask for your esteemed name?¡±

    ¡°Die, ant!¡±

    Li Qingshan used the Wave Treading Form and suddenly sped up. He arrived before Zhao Lingshu in the blink of an eye. He formed a tiger¡¯s claw with his right hand and easily pierced his protective true qi, clawing through his skin and ribs and gripping his warm heart before conveniently plucking it out.

    It was quite a sensation to use the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart on cultivators.

    I¡¯m actually going to die here! Zhao Lingshu¡¯s eyes suddenly dilated. My path of cultivation has only just begun¡­

    He used his final bit of strength to crush a talisman for requesting help.

    He was given to Xiao An as a snack, and there were a few useful items in his hundred treasures pouch, with this pair of metal wings in particular. They were quite interesting.

    As for Zhao Lingshu¡¯s request for help, Li Qingshan was not bothered by it at all. During the year he spent in the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts, he gained an understanding of all the renowned sects in the Clear River prefecture.

    The Six Directions society was a gang similar to the Iron Fist school in nature. He had even forgotten whether their leader was a ninth or tenth layer Qi Practitioner, but what mattered was he definitely was not a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the eyes of people of the jianghu, they were a terrifying titan, but to Li Qingshan and Xiao An, they were just a group of self-propelled hundred treasures pouches and an express family meal delivery service. The only thing they would fear would be if they did not end up coming.

    Li Qingshan even considered whether to watch over this place and wait for them to deliver themselves to him. However, who knew whether this would succeed or not and proper business took priority after all. He was still in a hurry to head back and go on a date with Han Qiongzhi!

    He leapt up and rode off on a cloud.

    Two hours later, an old man arrived in this region of wilderness and looked around. He was the leader of the Six Directions association. His cultivation had already reached the ninth layer, almost reaching the peak of Qi Practitioners.

    If Li Qingshan had known he would come so quickly, he would probably regret not waiting here for a while.

    Their hearts were connected as master and disciple. The old man could sense that Zhao Lingshu was probably already done for. He became furious. His most talented disciple had actually died here! All his years of nurturing had gone to waste.

    As for revenge? He would be better off forgetting about it! There were no traces of fighting on the ground. A person who could silently kill Zhao Lingshu was not someone he could afford to provoke.

    Gangs like his seemed glorious, able to obtain all the riches and women of the mundane world, but throughout the entire cultivation world, they were truly bottom dwellers. They could not afford to offend either disciples of sects or the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts without good reason. The slightest carelessness could lead to the destruction of their entire gang. He took pity on his disciple for possessing wild ambitions, but horrendous luck.

    A month layer, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation shone brilliantly. The light blurred the glyphs on there such that it seemed like a blue sun, illuminating his entire sea of qi.

    Li Qingshan smiled in satisfaction, but just this was still not enough. However, he had already scattered his seeds in the ground, so he only needed to wait for it to bloom and fruit. He still had around three months, so it should be enough.

    Li Qingshan stood before the bustling Hawkwolf Guard and raised his head to look at the vice commander¡¯s room below the hawk. He smiled resplendently. ¡°Qiongzhi, I¡¯m here!¡±

    He actually felt slightly excited. This was after all the first time he had gone on a date in the eighteen years after reincarnating. Xiao An had returned to An¨¡srav¨¡? island with the painting of corpses, giving him plenty of time.

    On the Lake of Dragons and Snakes rippling with blue waves, it was a bright and beautiful spring day. Li Qingshan laid back under a cabin leisurely with a beauty beside him. Her eyes were filled with tenderness, and her valiant demeanour was replaced with gentleness too. Her smooth, rosy lips seemed tender and almost juicy. They opened and closed a few times, letting out a gentle and melodious voice.

 Chapter 342 â€“ Date

    Li Qingshan suddenly sat up and shook his head, as if he had yet to wake up from his dream from earlier. He found her question to be startlingly familiar.

    ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb! Tell me!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face was red as she pinched Li Qingshan¡¯s cheek with a fuming expression.

    This question, compared to the original version, was obviously much easier to answer. Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯d obviously save you. If there¡¯s danger that even she can¡¯t resolve, what am I supposed to be able to do?¡±

    Originally, he thought his quip would displease Han Qiongzhi, but he never thought she would smile and say, ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Her slender finger stroked past his cheek, leading to a gentle itch. The small boat rocked gently, producing ripples that radiated away from them. The warm spring breeze filled the sail. Her sweet smile deeply infected him too. He felt fortunate that he could be here.

    Under his smiling gaze, she suddenly felt this was rather improper of her. After all, this was the first time they had gone on a date together, yet she just found all of this so familiar, having been anticipating this for the longest time.

    She had a fiery character. If she were uninterested, she could even ignore a handsome man like Hua Chengzan. However, if she were interested, then her feelings would erupt like a volcano and she would be completely hopeless, unable to remain particularly reserved. However, she still managed to melt away the firmness of Li Qingshan¡¯s heart.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just you, then you won¡¯t even be able to get close to her even in your next ten lives, so don¡¯t have those wild thoughts like little Hua!¡± Han Qiongzhi pinched her nose. She could look down on Qiu Haitang¡¯s irresistible charm, but even she felt rather powerless before Gu Yanying.

    Not only was Gu Yanying the main commander of the entire Hawkwolf Guard of the Ruyi commandery, but she was also something akin to an idol. It was not just Hua Chengzan. There were countless people who were enchanted by her. Even the Marquis of Ruyi was no different, let alone others.

    Li Qingshan smiled confidently. ¡°Hah, just you wait. I¡¯ll marry her too and turn the two of you into sisters.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it! Who agreed to marry you anyway?!¡± Han Qiongzhi said in irritation. Her gentle touch immediately turned into a firm pinch.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯d best hurry up then. If you¡¯re a little slow, you¡¯ll have to be the younger sister.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi leaned on him heavily and grabbed him by the collar. The small boat rocked as a result. They were outside the Formation of Dragons and Snakes, on the Lake of Dragons and Snakes that seemed to stretch on endlessly. There were within a large patch of yellow reeds, which was sheltered and serene.

    A clear and melodious voice alarmed a few water birds.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, let me tell you! You¡¯ll have to listen to me in the future!¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m your senior sister and your senior!¡± Noticing Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened slightly, but she held her chest high proudly.

    ¡°Then I need to work hard and get promoted soon so that I can try out the position of commander.¡± Li Qingshan conveniently placed his hand around her waist. Her thin, spring dress wrapped around her tightly, smooth to the touch.

    Han Qiongzhi trembled slightly, but she let his hand remain there. She moved off him and threatened viciously, ¡°From today onwards, I am the only person you¡¯re allowed to touch. If you cheat on me, I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯ll you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll cut it off.¡± Even Han Qiongzhi struggled to hold back her laughter.

    ¡°Sigh, but it¡¯s still brand-new! Surely you have to use it first!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s hand conveniently slid down to her bottom.

    Han Qiongzhi leapt up. She became bright red at first before suddenly laughing aloud. She rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head and said, ¡°So you¡¯re still a¡­ How pitiful. If you behave well, I¡¯ll show you pity and let you try the taste of a woman.¡± She recovered her usual boldness. As she looked at Li Qingshan, she seemed to be looking at something that was hers, completely content with him.

    Sometimes, she would suddenly remember that he was actually a few years younger than her. Of course, a difference of a few years was not the end of the world to cultivators who lived for centuries. However, she would often forget about this, as the feeling he gave off had always been mature and composed, so she felt like she was the younger one instead.

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble the experienced big sister Han in guiding me.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you saying? I¡¯m obviously a¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi said furiously.

    ¡°A what?¡± Li Qingshan snickered.

    Only then did Han Qiongzhi realise he was teasing her. She prodded his forehead firmly. ¡°You¡¯ll know in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan studied her up and down. His gaze seemed to have penetrated her clothes already, taking in all of her delicate, perfectly proportioned body and imagining matters of the future.

    Han Qiongzhi readjusted her posture slightly unnaturally. If other men ever stared at her like this, she would roar at them, ¡°I¡¯ll dig out your eyes if you keep looking!¡± Many of the times, she was not saying this just for show. Neither the school of the Military or the school of Legalism taught their disciples to be soft-hearted.

    Li Qingshan suddenly shook his head. He opened the cabin and made his way out from under it. He looked at the endless reeds and said, ¡°I want many wives and consorts. I want all the beauties of the world to be my wives and consorts. How can I just stop here?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep going?¡± Han Qiongzhi lunged over and wrapped her arm around his neck firmly.

    However, it would be difficult for her to cause Li Qingshan any discomfort with her physical strength. Instead, she seemed like she was hanging off him, with her chest pressing firmly against his back. It was quite the sensation for Li Qingshan, who only smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just talking from the bottom of my heart.¡±

    ¡°You just love bullying me because I like you. You¡¯re only spending time with me because you want to take advantage of me!¡± Han Qiongzhi suddenly released him and backed away to one side.

    Li Qingshan turned around, but what he saw was that her eye rims had already reddened as she glared at him. It was true. Whenever he saw how brusque and simple-minded she was, he could not help but bully her. He went up and wrapped his arms around her waist, saying gently, ¡°Qiongzhi.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± She spoke viciously, but her heart softened.

    ¡°Nothing. I just find you even more adorable than before.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think you can- you can¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face was flushed, but her complaints had already vanished into thin air.

    ¡°Just you is enough.¡± This truly came from the bottom of Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. Although he always said he wanted all the beauties in the world, she had already taken up all his attention whenever he spent time beside her. Yes, she possessed the charm.

    And, a person¡¯s time and energy would be limited at the end of the day. He had to spend time with Xiao An, he had to cultivate, and he had to learn alchemy too. Even if he could obtain everything, he would not have the time to enjoy them all! Was he supposed to waste away all of his time in the arms of women? There were still a lot of things he wanted to do!

    Even Han Qiongzhi¡¯s gaze became lost. She was filled with utter joy. So this was what reciprocation between two lovers felt. Just a single word from the significant other was enough to elate them.

    She had once looked down on these feelings of love and attachment, but she deeply understood their wonders now. She raised her head. ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯re promising!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m promising. It¡¯s quite late now. I need to go learn alchemy, and you still need to return to the school of Legalism to handle official business!¡± Li Qingshan let go of her waist at the cost of tremendous willpower and took a step back, separating from her warm, enchanting body.

    ¡°Are you going to go find Ru Xin?¡± Han Qiongzhi could not help but wonder whether Ru Xin and he got along like how they were just then. Combined with her reluctance to part with him, a strange feeling filled her heart.

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m going to go learn alchemy. Trusting your man is a woman¡¯s duty!¡± Li Qingshan caressed her hair. Although he was tempted to spend an entire day here with her, it would probably only worsen Han Anjun¡¯s impression of him. Since he wanted to be with her, he had to consider what his future father-in-law thought about him.

    Han Qiongzhi heard his explanation and felt warm and at peace inside. She bit her lip and agreed with his saying about men and women through silence. She had never been a fussy woman. This had just been her first encounter with love, so she had lost her usual composure.

    ¡°Alright, you should go back then. I¡¯ll come find you on Cloudwisp island at night.¡±

    ¡°A lone man and woman spending the night together doesn¡¯t sound like a particularly good idea!¡± Li Qingshan knew that the culture of this world was still quite conservative. If they were both from ordinary backgrounds, then no one could say anything if they decided between themselves to get married. However, Han Qiongzhi was the young lady of an aristocratic clan after all. Although she was quite casual most of the time, she still cared about her reputation at the end of the day.

    ¡°What¡¯s so wrong about that? It¡¯s decided then.¡± As Han Qiongzhi said that, she made her way over to the nose of the boat and took off ahead of Li Qingshan.

    The small boat rocked for quite a while longer. Only then did Li Qingshan think it through. She was probably afraid he would spend a night alone with Ru Xin instead! It was quite rare of her to think of a tactic like this. Sure enough, those dramas about power struggles within the imperial harem were not for show. If he really did end up with multiple wives and consorts, it would probably drive him crazy.

    What was this tactic supposed to be? Sating the tiger with your own body? Li Qingshan could not help but look forward to it. He stowed the exquisite boat into his hundred treasures pouch and leapt off as well.

    On Benevolence island in Ru Xin¡¯s alchemy room, a huge pill cauldron stood in the centre. It stood on three legs, surrounded by a design of cranes with unfurled wings. It was called the Three Cranes cauldron. It was completely snowy-white, standing elegantly and delicately, just like her.

    Ru Xin sat before the cauldron in white clothes. Her hair levitated in the air; the few strands of hair that drooped down were simple and elegant, contrasting against the pill cauldron.

    As soon as she saw Li Qingshan, she let out her usual, warm smile. ¡°Your face is glowing, and your time for marriage is approaching. Qingshan, are you expecting?¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down on the cushion beside her and said sternly, ¡°Oh right. Ru Xin, from today onwards, don¡¯t tease me anymore. It¡¯s impossible for anything to happen between us. You¡¯d better just stick to teaching me alchemy!¡±

    She tried playing cute and let out a slight grumble, but it sounded like a cat¡¯s meow. She turned her head away and glanced at Li Qingshan. Just her soft glance was enough to drive men crazy. She was basically purposely destroying the usual, elegant image she had cultivated, but she still gave off a different form of attractiveness.

    ¡°Quit it!¡± Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. He had gotten to know her from the time they spent together. This woman basically had no limits with how far she could go with her jokes, but he could not help but admit she was extremely enchanting.

    Ru Xin frowned sadly. ¡°My darling Li, you really would forget about the old when you have someone new.¡± She shivered. ¡°Urgh, that¡¯s sickening. I feel like I¡¯m the one who¡¯s suffering here. Alright, the joke ends here. Today, I¡¯ll go through the gentle and fierce flames for alchemy.¡±

    The effects of spiritual herbs, the manipulation of the pill cauldron, and the control over time were all explained through her crimson lips, allowing Li Qingshan to learn exactly how much detail alchemy involved. If he were off by just a short moment, the effects of the pills would be worlds apart.

    There were plenty of snide comments and remarks during the process. The greatest benefit of learning from her was that it would never be boring.

    However, they never made anymore bodily contact, and it was not because Li Qingshan had reformed himself and decided to be a good, faithful man.

    Instead, it was Ru Xin who smiled. ¡°If you lay another finger on me, I¡¯ll tell first young miss Han.¡±

    ¡°How did you know it was her?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    ¡°Apart from her, who else would take a fancy to a man like you? You¡¯re not graceful, charming, or honest. You¡¯re only slightly stronger when it comes to fighting, which is barely a virtue.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his index finger and waggled it around gently. ¡°Ru Xin, oh Ru Xin. That¡¯s what you call sour grapes. That¡¯s no good.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°And, fighting is where the souls of men lie. Aren¡¯t you captivated too when you watch me fight?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. I understand. Sorry, but I can¡¯t reciprocate your feelings. Maybe in another lif-¡±

    Ru Xin interrupted him with a roar, ¡°Acting all sentimental! You¡¯d better stop where you should!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. Ru Xin was all stern in the beginning before beginning to laugh as well. Perhaps she did have other men who she could talk and joke around with, but he was the only one who treated her so nonchalantly without any ulterior motives. Just like the joke earlier, she could only say something like that to him. Intentionally or otherwise, was she trying to probe him out too?

    The conclusion she reached was that he truly was stubborn. Once he had decided on something, he would do everything he could to achieve it. On the contrary, once he deemed something to be off-limits, he would cut himself off from it without the slightest hesitation. He was truly a person who could pick things up or drop them at a whim. When a man like that fell in love, his feelings would blaze like fire, but when he grew cold, he would be quite terrifying. This was his charm!

    ¡°You really are very special.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s refine pills, refine pills!¡±

    Around dusk, Li Qingshan sensed something and pushed open the door to the alchemy room. He saw Han Qiongzhi pacing around on the shore nearby. ¡°Qiongzhi, what brought you here?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ve just come to see you,¡± Han Qiongzhi said in a hurry, but she became rather helpless before Li Qingshan¡¯s smile that seemed to see through her.

    Ru Xin walked out and smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll stop here for today!¡± She did not act up anymore, which brought Li Qingshan a breath of relief.

    They returned to Cloudwisp island together and discovered that many places had been cleared out, with various crops planted in their place.

    Liu Chuanfeng rushed out from inside. ¡°Qingshan, how are you?¡± He had heard that Li Qingshan would be returning, so he purposefully waited here. However, he leapt in fright the moment he saw Han Qiongzhi. ¡°H- Han Qiongzhi!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    As it turned out, Liu Chuanfeng had not just been looked down on by men for writing smut in the past. As a woman, Han Qiongzhi¡¯s impression of the matter was self-explanatory. She had once cursed him publicly in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, and ever since then, Liu Chuanfeng would avoid her whenever he saw her. But now, it was unavoidable.

    ¡°School leader Liu, long time no see.¡± Han Qiongzhi bowed casually. She still had to show some respect for Li Qingshan¡¯s sake.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah!¡± Liu Chuanfeng studied them up and down before quickly pulling Li Qingshan to one side. ¡°The two of you?¡± He clenched his fists and wiggled his thumbs, hinting at their relationship.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Yep!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder in great admiration. Originally, he had thought it was all a rumor, but he never expected it to be true. Whether it was her appearance, figure, cultivation, or background, she was perfect, but her personality was a little too over-the-top. Whenever she lost her temper, she would always act fearlessly and recklessly. It was not something regular people could put up with.

    There had been quite a few people who had once thought it would not be an issue as long as they could establish ties with the Han family, but they all ended up suffering disastrous defeat, humiliating themselves. There had even been rumors on the streets that she preferred women (actually, they came from Liu Chuanfeng after he had been cursed in public). Never did he think she would actually fall in love with Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What brought you back here?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°I¡¯m worried for you. In another two or three months, you¡¯ll have to fight Chu Danqing. To think you¡¯re still in the mood to go out and complete missions. How¡¯s your collection of power of belief going?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s going alright.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at the Divine Talisman of Great Creation again. In just a single day, it had grown by almost ten percent.

    This was the benefit of divine talismans. He could sit at home, doing nothing, and it would still grow constantly. This was the effects of exponential growth, allowing it to grow by compounding upon itself. The seeds he had planted had already begun to sprout.

    Of course, there was definitely a limit to this growth. It was restricted to the region of the Clear River prefecture, but the benefits would linger for a very long time. At the very least, they would not be going anywhere within the next century.

    ¡°Are you absolutely confident you¡¯ll win?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say that I¡¯m absolutely confident, but I never fight a battle unprepared.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry if that¡¯s how you¡¯re putting it. We can¡¯t let other people take Cloudwisp island. Oh right, did you tell that agriculture disciple Li Long to use our land?¡±

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°Yeah I did. It¡¯s fine, right? Don¡¯t worry, you have a share in this too!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. If you can win your battle, it¡¯s fine even if you cut down all the bamboo on the island!¡± Liu Chuanfeng had considered this idea in the past too, but back then, just who wanted to have anything to do with the school of Novels? There had been a few agriculture disciples who were interested too, but when they returned, earth elder Huang replied to their request indifferently, ¡°You¡¯d better tend to your own plot of land properly first!¡±

    Ever since then, no more agriculture disciples were bold enough to mention this. Only a new disciple like Li Long would be unaware of this incident. Perhaps it was because of the reformed reputation of the school of Novels, or perhaps Li Long¡¯s hard work had earned earth elder Huang¡¯s recognition, so the elder deemed him to have already tended to his plot of land properly. Regardless, he did not encounter any obstructions at all. He asked for help from a few seniors and juniors he was familiar with, and they began planting very soon.

    ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Li Qingshan asked impatiently. Just what was a lovers¡¯ world supposed to be when there was an obscene, middle-aged man in the mix?

    Liu Chuanfeng glanced at Han Qiongzhi again and muttered, ¡°You got a woman, so you¡¯ve forgotten about your master now.¡±

    After Liu Chuanfeng left, Han Qiongzhi asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t copied him, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Copied what?¡±

    ¡°I heard he uses his power of belief to conjure women from his novels before going at it with them. What a deviant,¡± Han Qiongzhi said in disgust.

    ¡°Of course not. The level of my Divine Talisman of Great Creation is far too low. The characters I conjure aren¡¯t realistic. There¡¯s nothing interesting about something like that either. I¡¯ll think about it after I reach Foundation Establishment,¡± Li Qingshan said in contemplation, leading to a displeased gaze from Han Qiongzhi. He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding!¡±

    Though, if they really were like real people, wouldn¡¯t that mean he could make many of his wild wishes from his past life come true? It would be a portable harem. A temptation like that really would be difficult to resist. Surely that was not betrayal, right? Men would always have some little secrets of their own!

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°I¡¯m not joking with you. If I find out you have, I¡¯ll cut..¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at the depths of the bamboo forest. ¡°What¡¯re you standing there for? Why don¡¯t you come over?¡±

    Only now did Han Qiongzhi discover that Xiao An was standing silently in the forest nearby. Under the moonlight, she seemed perfect, but her expressionless face seemed slightly terrifying.

    Xiao An walked over and asked curiously, ¡°Cut what?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Cut watermelon.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi knew that this child was extremely important to Li Qingshan, and her talent and strength was not something she could ignore. She greeted her as amicably as she could.

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan. Under his suggestion, she called her big sister Han.

    Their world of two became a world of three. Li Qingshan was not really affected by this. Out of the two of them, one was family, while the other would become his family. There was nothing wrong with having them familiarise with each other.

    Han Qiongzhi, however, felt very uncomfortable. This child was just too strange. She had tried to get close to her, but the child¡¯s gaze towards her remained cold, like a delicate doll. Only when she spoke to Li Qingshan did she suddenly seem to spring alive with a hint of liveliness. She found it strange that Li Qingshan did not find this weird at all.

    As the sky gradually darkened, all Han Qiongzhi could do was bid farewell. She did not find tonight to be as great as she had imagined it to be in the afternoon.

    Passing over the small, serene path through the bamboo forest, Li Qingshan accompanied her to the shore. He said, ¡°Xiao An just isn¡¯t particularly friendly with people she¡¯s unfamiliar with. Please forgive her.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said in dejection, ¡°I don¡¯t care about what she thinks, but I just feel like I¡¯m the outsider when you¡¯re with her.¡± Every time they exchanged glances, it seemed to be hiding a message that was indecipherable to outsiders, as if they could read each other¡¯s minds.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not like we were like that from the first time we met. We went through many, many things together.¡± He embraced her gently, patting her back as if he was trying to comfort her. ¡°We¡¯ll start right now. In the future, we¡¯ll be like that too.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi agreed to that. She smiled. ¡°It¡¯s good that she¡¯s here. You can¡¯t just take advantage of me so easily anymore.¡±

    ¡°How can you call that taking advantage of when it¡¯s with my own woman?¡± Just like what Ru Xin thought, he was indeed stubborn from a certain perspective. If he wanted to give up on them, he would let them go willingly, but if he wanted to possess them, he would grasp them firmly in his hand.

    Han Qiongzhi could sense his resolve from his words, and her heart eased up as a result. She bit her lip and placed her hands on her chest. ¡°I will do my best.¡±

    With her hands behind her back, she walked backwards. Stepping onto the surface of the lake, she produced a series of ripples under her feet. She said gently, ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow.¡± She turned around gracefully and walked off into the distance. Her steps were as spry as a child¡¯s.

    As he watched her travel away, Li Qingshan said quietly, ¡°I will do the same.¡± He truly wished there would be a day when he could tell her all his secrets.

    Returning to the bamboo building, Li Qingshan said, ¡°What do you think of her?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°She¡¯s worth two hundred people.¡±

    Li Qingshan smacked her head and joked in a furious manner, ¡°Is doubling the number supposed to be a sign of respect? It¡¯s too late if you want to regret it now.¡±

    Xiao An rubbed her head and pouted. ¡°I regret nothing!¡± How could that woman keep up with his steps and accompany him to beyond the Nine Heavens?

    Spring rain fell endlessly. Within the Main Martial Arts stadium of the school of the Military.

    Having been invited over once again, Li Qingshan said to the military disciples who stood in formation nearby, ¡°This time, there¡¯s no chance for you to win.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi stood out behind him as she cheered him on. She waved her fist. ¡°Qingshan, beat them up!¡±

    The military disciples were absolutely devastated by this. They felt like their most important position had already collapsed before the battle had even begun. As the school with the strictest supervision, such that they did not even permit their disciples to leave the island without good reason, the school of Military never had any female cultivators who were bored enough to come and watch the military disciples abuse themselves.

    Only Han Qiongzhi would visit here frequently, appreciating their hard work and being able to get along with them. She was the standard dream lover to the military disciples.

    Now, their dream had shattered, and their love rival was standing right before them. With a furious roar, they poured their strength together in unison.

 Chapter 343 â€“ Alchemy Success

    ¡°Fall into formation!¡± With an explosive bellow, a huge snake raised its head within the military formation. Compared to last time, it was even more consolidated. Clearly, their past few months of effort had not gone to waste.

    Li Qingshan bent over slightly, like a huge bow being slowly drawn. The invisible bowstring was drawn to the limit, and at the same time, a wave formed below his feet.

    Thrum! It was like the sound of a bow¡¯s release.

    Li Qingshan vanished from his location. He turned into a black shadow and passed through the densely-packed rain droplets, carving out a temporary gap. He arrived almost a hundred meters in the air before slowing down.

    However, he immediately took a step backwards, stepping through the illusionary wave. With a bang, it turned into a gust of wind that blew away the rain, pulling him even higher up. As if there was an invisible flight of stairs below his feet, he quickly turned into a black speck in the grey sky.

    What was he trying to do? The military disciples all thought of the same question, Is he running away?

    No, they immediately dismissed this thought. Li Qingshan was wretched, but he was not a coward!

    After calming down from their joy from their last victory last time, no one needed any explanation to understand that it should have been impossible for them to win. They developed even more respect towards Li Qingshan. This guy was truly a courageous one, an opponent worthy of respect. It was not a coincidence that he had managed to steal senior sister Han¡¯s heart.

    However, exactly because of this, they needed to defeat him fair and square. They could not embarrass the school of the Military. They could not embarrass the Han family. The huge snake raised its head and flicked its tongue.

    Behind the formation, Han Tieyi stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at Han Qiongzhi from afar. He could see her clenching her fists and gazing at the sky, her face rosy and beaming. She seemed like a completely different person. She had gained a hint of feminine beauty.

    He subsequently looked at the sky too and said quietly, ¡°Well done.¡±

    Ru Xin shielded her eyes and gazed into the distance. What a stupid idea!

    The wind whistled fiercely. Li Qingshan had already arrived at an extremely high altitude, so high that he could even see all the islands of the academy below. The scattered islands were like huge vessels that floated on the deep blue lake.

    Suddenly, he pivoted his body and up and down reversed instantly. The grey clouds became the vast ground below his feet, while above him, the green clouds drifted through the deep, blue sky. He began to climb once again.

    ¡°He¡¯s coming!¡± someone called out. Everyone raised their heads, and all they saw was the tiny, black speck among the grey clouds rapidly growing larger and clearer. It was a blue ball of light.

    Ocean Wielding¡ªThe Vortex Form.

    This was the only move capable of defence within Ocean Wielding. The method of defence differed drastically from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. It did not create an indestructible structure. Instead, it could deflect and nullify the attacks of enemies like a vortex.

    Water had to move, whether it was for attacking or defending, and the faster, the better. This move was similar to the Wave Treading Form. It required an extremely high control over true qi, but it did not place a particularly great focus on true qi quantity, which was why Li Qingshan could use it.

    With the Wave Treading Form, he accelerated again and again, like a blue comet falling towards the sky. Without skewing away at all, it fell towards the snake head.

    Whistling and roars filled his ears. The ball of water had become extremely large now. As it fell from the sky, it was an utterly shocking sight.

    All the military disciples were fearless. They circulated their true qi as hard as they could and produced a combined roar.

    The snake head and the water ball collided instantly. The water ball collapsed and revealed Li Qingshan in the very centre, who was surrounded by blue eddies of true qi. The snake head was unscathed, only dimming slightly. The collision had missed by a millimeter.

    The actual collision happened in the next moment. Like a drill, Li Qingshan bore deeply into the snake¡¯s head, spinning and drilling down.

    Boom!

    The ground shook and shockwaves sent soil sweeping out in all directions. The huge snake that had been pierced slowly dispersed.

    Li Qingshan had finally struck the ground as he had wished. However, he only felt like he had touched the greyish-yellow sky and that he was light-headed. If it were not for the protection of the true qi vortex, if it were not for reaching the third layer of the ox demon, which pushed the toughness of his body to a whole new level, he definitely would have ended up heavily injured from this.

    Li Qingshan stood up as he tried to regain his footing. He discovered that he was standing in a huge pit, and his true qi had been depleted without a drop left once again. He would be forced to receive the enemy with his body alone again. He emerged from the pit.

    He discovered the military disciples were all unconscious on the ground. None of them were still standing. As it turned out, the huge snake conjured by the military formation was an aggregation of their true qi and wills. Forceful dispersion would lead to a backlash. As the ground shook and the wave of earth rose, they had all fainted.

    Ru Xin clapped her hands gently. Here comes business! Whether it was the backlash of true qi or the mental backlash, all of it could be easily treated with her school of Medicine around.

    Li Qingshan stood beside the pit and laughed aloud. Now this is the satisfying way to defeat you all!

    Han Qiongzhi flew over from the platform and directly hugged Li Qingshan. After over a month of spending time together, they had already become extremely close to one another. Li Qingshan was like dry timber to Han Qiongzhi¡¯s blazing flames. He began raging with her before he knew it.

    The nine core disciples who had stood aside under Han Tieyi¡¯s orders were all furious. They were tempted to approach him right now and challenge him. However, none of them were confident they could achieve victory. He was just too strong, unreasonably strong. If Li Qingshan had ripped apart the military formation, it would have been easier for them to accept it, but destroying it head on like this was simply beyond imagination. Was he really still a seventh layer Qi Practitioner?

    His unbelievably tough body and unbelievably pure true qi had been combined together by the immeasurably ingenious battle skill. Powered by his natural talent for battle, he had managed to achieve something so startling.

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face still reddened despite how bold of a person she was. She had become utterly enchanted by Li Qingshan earlier. With no other choice, she released Li Qingshan in a hurry, but she never expected Li Qingshan to have wrapped his hand around her waist already, pulling her towards him as she became helpless once again. She wanted to resist, but when she was met with his resplendent smile, her heart melted away. She just let him be.

    Li Qingshan looked around. Was he not completing the great oath he had swore in the past bit by bit?

    Han Tieyi said to the core disciples around him, ¡°Next time, prepare for battle!¡±

    Time flew by, and it was already the height of summer.

    Li Qingshan sat within an alchemy room. A bronze pill cauldron stood before him, with handles shaped like dragons and tigers. This was the most common Cauldron of Dragons and Tigers among pill cauldrons. It copied the design of the actual Cauldron of Dragons and Tigers, and they were all produced to a certain standard.

    This was obviously one of the many items Li Qingshan had collected from underground. It was just a mid grade spiritual artifact, but it had already reached the highest possible level for mid grade artifacts. The most difficult artifacts to forge were alchemy cauldrons, followed by artifact forges.

    If he were forging a flying sword, there was room for mistakes for its various properties. However, when it came to alchemy cauldrons, the slightest instability or inaccuracy could destroy a whole batch of pills. When it was severe, there might even be the danger of cauldron explosions. This was a great test of the artifact smith¡¯s abilities.

    A good cauldron or forge could drastically increase a cultivator¡¯s success rate given they were skilled in this aspect in the first place. They were basically like cornucopias, so they held quite the significance. As a result, the price of cauldrons and forges would always be extremely high. The value of a mid grade spiritual artifact cauldron and forge could rival regular supreme grade spiritual artifacts.

    Li Qingshan had already been very lucky to be able to find a mid grade spiritual artifact cauldron from over a thousand hundred treasures pouches.

    A few days ago when he was about to formally begin refining pills, he saw a high grade spiritual artifact cauldron being sold in the school of Miscellany. It managed to reach a sum of five digits. All he could do was sigh as he looked at it.

    That might have been fine in the past, but now, he had exchanged all his spiritual stones for pills already. Even if he exchanged all his merit in the Hawkwolf Guard for spiritual stones, he would be able to reach three digits at most. He would not even come close to four digits.

    ¡°Stop letting your mind wander. Focus on the pill cauldron!¡± Ru Xin barked.

    Li Qingshan dismissed his thoughts. He had already refined the cauldron of pills before him for three days and nights now. If everything fell apart at the final moment, all of this would have been a waste.

    And, he had collected the spiritual herbs for the pills from the academy. He had to hand in this batch of pills for the mission. If he messed it up, his three digits worth of spiritual stones would probably end up shrinking to two digits. If it were not for an alchemy expert like Ru Xin agreeing to watch over him, he would have never been bold enough to accept such a difficult alchemy mission.

    Li Qingshan raised his head in some confusion. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I¡¯m basically all done now that I¡¯ve reached this step, and all I have to do is wait to open the cauldron?¡±

    Ru Xin smilled. ¡°Yep. I just wanted to scold you a little.¡±

    Li Qingshan was tempted to choke her again. He had always been a man who did what he wanted, so he spread his fingers and reached out viciously¡ªtowards her ankle. He couldn¡¯t help it. He was sitting, while she was standing, and he had to watch over the cauldron too. There was no way he could go higher.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°How dare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan reconsidered and pulled his hand back. If he really did grab her, this woman probably possessed the nerve to rat him out to Han Qiongzhi. She was a fantastic girlfriend, but once she became caught up in jealousy, she would be beyond reason.

    A while back, they had visited the school of Miscellany, and there were female cultivators who received them warmly. He joked with them a little¡ªokay fine, perhaps he had gone a little too far¡ªand she almost blew it in the end. When they went back, it took him quite the effort to calm her down. If Ru Xin ratted him out now, the volcano would actually end up erupting.

    ¡°Actually, even if you do grab me, I won¡¯t tell her anything. I¡¯m not that evil. Come, you want to give it a try?¡± Ru Xin purposefully lifted her dress and exposed her slender ankle, taking a step towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at it, completely unfazed.

    Ru Xin patted Li Qingshan¡¯s head gently. ¡°What a good boy!¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip and just let the matter slide. They had already become very good friends, or why else would she watch him refine pills for three whole days?

    Although she had struck him with an exorbitant price, demanding a thousand spiritual stones right off the bat, it ended up being a free service after joking around a little. If it were not for her timely warnings, he would have almost destroyed the batch many times.

    They waited for another fifteen minutes. The pill cauldron flashed, and the lid slowly opened. White steam hissed out, enveloping the two of them and filling the entire room. It was filled with an intoxicating herbal fragrance.

    Before the steam had even dispersed, Li Qingshan made his way over to the pill cauldron eagerly. He saw that all the herbs had merged to form a white paste, laying at the bottom of the cauldron. There was not the slightest impurity at all; it was as pure as the thick steam.

 Chapter 344 â€“ Deep Feelings

    Li Qingshan brought his hand over the mixture. It shone with blue light, and the white paste began to twist and surge. In the end, they became round pills that followed the standard.

    He did not know how to forge artifacts, but moulding the shape of objects was nothing difficult.

    Ru Xin personally split the newly-refined pills into two portions, amounting to sixty in total. She smiled. ¡°This is for the mission. Extend your hand.¡± Afterwards, she picked up a single Qi Condensing pill and placed it into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. ¡°This is yours!¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at the fruits of his labour from going three days and nights without a wink of sleep before raising his head and looking at the smiling Ru Xin. He felt deep spite. She just loved to see him in a bad mood.

    There were no additional rewards to the alchemy mission. It purely depended on the person¡¯s mastery over alchemy. As a new alchemist, the only reason he had managed to finish this without costing himself was all thanks to the mid grade spiritual artifact cauldron and Ru Xin.

    Ru Xin appreciated Li Qingshan¡¯s expression in satisfaction. She felt like her three days of labour had finally bore fruit.

    Only afterwards did she say, ¡°Your ability for splitting pills is absolutely horrid.¡± She brought her hand over the sixty Qi Condensing pills. White light surged out, and some of the white paste was pulled away, forming another three Qi Condensing pills, while the remaining pills were completely the same size, reaching the standard of the mission perfectly, no more, no less.

    Li Qingshan casually thanked her before lowering his head and stowing the sixty Qi Condensing pills into an embroidered box. As for the four remaining Qi Condensing pills, he directly tossed them into his mouth.

    Ru Xin had already grown accustomed to this. ¡°Your battle with the school of Painting is coming up in a few days. The school of Miscellany has already begun taking bets. Tell me some of that insider information. Do you think I should bet on your defeat or your victory?¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes at her. ¡°Whatever you want.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll bet on your victory. Though, if I end up losing, you¡¯ll have to compensate me for my losses!¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming.¡± Li Qingshan left through the door. He saw the blazing clouds in the west that had been dyed red by the setting sun reflected in the lake. It was absolutely beautiful. Sure enough, Han Qiongzhi was standing right in front of the background of the setting sun. Looking over, she seemed like a beautiful silhouette. Seeing Li Qingshan, she smiled resplendently and rushed over.

    Before Li Qingshan could even speak, Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Junior sister Han, your man tried to touch my foot earlier. You¡¯d better keep an eye on him.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi stopped and glared at Li Qingshan. She said in exasperation, ¡°Understood!¡±

    Ru Xin raised her hand to shield her neck, as if she was afraid, but she continued to smile.

    A small boat floated across the lake freely. The water and sky merged as one as both waterfowl and the glow of the setting sun filled the air.

    Han Qiongzhi sat diagonally to the nose of the boat, looking over quietly. The breeze of a midsummer¡¯s night ruffled her clothes.

    Li Qingshan broke the silence. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her. You know that she loves spinning lies the most.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi looked over. ¡°How dare you say you haven¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°I absolutely haven¡¯t!¡± Li Qingshan said seriously.

    Han Qiongzhi smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m angry. What¡¯re you so nervous for?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°Who are you? What did you do to Qiongzhi?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was taken aback. She grabbed him by the ear and said in irritation, ¡°Am I really that mean?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He conveniently pulled her into his arms. ¡°Yep, our Qiongzhi is very forgiving.¡± His other hand had already landed on her proud chest. Through the thin summer dress, it seemed to tremble in his hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move about!¡± Han Qiongzhi grabbed his hand, but she allowed it to remain there.

    After a few months together, this level of closeness had already become normalised. As she would describe it, I¡¯ll let you take some advantage of me seeing how pitiful you are.

    ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡± Li Qingshan was bewildered. Ru Xin was definitely much more charming than that female cultivator of the school of Miscellany from the other day!

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin is a very proud person.¡± The female disciples of the school of Miscellany all possessed mediocre talent. Their heads were filled with material gain. All they wanted to find was a strong male to depend on. They were not worthy of being called cultivators. Ru Xin, however, was different. She was a true cultivator.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Proud? How come that¡¯s not what I feel?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re even prouder!¡± Han Qiongzhi propped herself up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed deeply at this man she loved. The closer she was to him, the more she was drawn to him by his charm, and she began to wonder why she had actually failed to notice this the first time she had seen him. And, the aspect of him that enchanted her the most was the deep sense of pride hidden within his heart.

    It was as if he possessed the determination to climb and traverse mountains no matter how precipitous they were, the courage to challenge enemies no matter how strong they were.

    ¡°I have even less of an impression of that!¡± Li Qingshan placed his hands on her waist. The curve of her body would suddenly pull in there, forming a thin, straight waist. He could not help but become glued to her plump, red lips. Even the pale gully that sometimes peeked out from her clothes were unable to make him shift his attention. He could not help but move his head towards them.

    Han Qiongzhi tilted her head and avoided him. She hugged him firmly, kissing his ear firmly and apologising, ¡°Not yet.¡± Although they had already grown so close that many places were no longer forbidden, she still refused to accept a relatively normal kiss like that.

    The woman in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms right now had already become his beloved, so he obviously had to respect and protect this peculiar tendency of hers.

    ¡°I want to wait- wait until we¡¯re married. If I let you kiss me right now, I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to hold back and end up giving you e- everything!¡± Han Qiongzhi stuttered shyly. Originally, she had never taken the business between man and woman so seriously. Wasn¡¯t it just stripping themselves naked, embracing each other, and going at it?

    When she carried out missions alone in the past, she had even secretly broken into houses and peeped on people out of curiosity. Apart from being slightly embarrassed in the beginning, she grew bored of it very quickly. What were those groans and moans all supposed to mean? As cultivators, it was impossible for them to be engrossed by carnal pleasures. It was impossible for their immovable wills to waver over something like this. Otherwise, she would have never been able to put up with the pain of being slowly torn apart in Altar Lord Black Lotus¡¯ formation back then.

    Only when it was actually time for her to go through with all of this did she realise it was not so simple. Every instance of contact was imbued with another meaning, enough to bring her joy or make her tremble, as her heart would be affected too.

    What else could Li Qingshan say? He held her enchanting figure firmly. ¡°I might as well just propose the marriage tomorrow. Your father has quite a good impression of me.¡±

    It was not like this was some shitty story where a poor scholar was abducting a wealthy young miss. There obviously would not be too many obstacles. With the talent, strength, and desire to advance he had displayed, he believed no one could find any issues with him. This had always been his reason for maintaining a high profile. If he constantly tried acting modest and discreet, let alone any disapproval from father-in-law Han, even the entire academy would object. But right now, was there still anyone who could say that he was not worthy of her?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so hasty. Wait a little longer.¡± Han Qiongzhi suddenly changed the topic. ¡°Little Hua hasn¡¯t emerged yet, has he?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°He hasn¡¯t. Why did you mention him all of a sudden?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi smiled. ¡°I just thought of something.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let me hear about it.¡± Han Qiongzhi originally refused to tell him, but under Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°interrogation¡±, she gave in.

    As it turned out, when Hua Chengzan was infatuated with Gu Yanying in the past, Han Qiongzhi was the one who found it most deplorable as a good friend of his. She scolded him fiercely, ¡°She¡¯s just a woman. Do you have to be like this?¡± Back then, she did not treat herself as a woman.

    However, he said, ¡°You just haven¡¯t met someone who can steal your heart. Otherwise, you¡¯d definitely marry yourself off eagerly.¡±

    Li Qingshan held her chin. ¡°Then are you eager right now?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said stubbornly, ¡°Not at all. Though, I can understand him a little now.¡± Although they had still been very unfamiliar with one another a few months ago, she could no longer imagine how she would be without him.

    Gazing at her eyes that were deeply in love, Li Qingshan felt like his heart had melted into water. Even Gu Yanying no longer seemed important. That was just half of an obscure dream, yet right now, there was a real lover in his arms.

    ¡°You¡¯re much luckier than him. You met me early enough.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°How come I beg to differ? You should cultivate faster. We¡¯ll see after your cultivation surpasses me. I wouldn¡¯t want to marry a man who¡¯s not even as great as me.¡±

    However, the posture they were currently in made that seem utterly unconvincing. Back then, she had just said she would give him the opportunity to pursue her if his cultivation surpassed her, yet right now, she was in his arms. He was taking full advantage of her.

    ¡°Well I¡¯m eager.¡± Li Qingshan bent over. He could not kiss her on the lips, but it was fine elsewhere. He kissed her slender neck firmly. The corner of his lips curled into a smile, and he licked her gently.

    ¡°Are you a dog?¡± Han Qiongzhi trembled as she said with gritted teeth. Once her mental defences were gone, her senses for everything were much finer and sharper than regular people.

    ¡°How dare you call your man a dog! You need to be punished!¡± Li Qingshan raised his hands and placed them on her breasts, kneading them.

    In the past, she would probably cry out in surprise and stop him from going overboard. But this time, she kept her arms around his neck, without reacting at all.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. His smile grew wider, and his hands moved slower. His fingers dug deeply into the two tender breasts, moulding them as he wished. Han Qiongzhi¡¯s breathing became slightly ragged. Her eyes were as clear as water as she allowed him to continue.

    Li Qingshan searched for two small nodules. He pinched them between his fingers gently and fiddled with them.

    Han Qiongzhi suddenly embraced him firmly, and Li Qingshan stopped. He gently kissed her neck, caressing her back. Only a while later did she let go of him, allowing him to continue enjoying the wonders of her body that no one else had ever touched.

    Only when Li Qingshan had completely imprinted their exact size in his head did he let go reluctantly.

    Before they knew it, the sky had already darkened. Stars stretched across the sky.

    Han Qiongzhi grumbled with a flushed face, ¡°Satisfied now?¡± She already knew he was fixated on this part of her body, so she just gave him what he wanted for once today.

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± As he said that, Li Qingshan had already extended his hand past her undergarment, making contact with her soft, tender skin.

    Han Qiongzhi grabbed his hand in a hurry and prodded his forehead. She scolded, ¡°Be patient.¡± At that moment, she seemed like the older one. Actually, it would not even matter if she gave it to him. Love between a man and woman was ordinary. She did not care about her so-called purity as much as those regular women. She was just afraid that she would give it away too easily, such that he would not treasure it. She had to make sure to keep this measly man around her.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be mine anyway.¡± Li Qingshan was in no hurry.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be yours right now, it¡¯ll be yours forever.¡±

 Chapter 345 â€“ The Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms

    In a dim painting studio, a streak of light poured in from the skylight. Dust floated through the air, and one could vaguely make out the floor to be covered in paintings.

    The paintings depicted various forms and images of evil spirits and fiends. A single glance at it was enough to overwhelm a person with vileness.

    However, none of these images were complete, as if the painter had lost interest in them after painting them half-way.

    Chu Danqing lay on the paintings with his limbs spread out. His face was pale, and he seemed to have grown thinner. His eyes were wide open, still stricken with fear.

    ¡°Danqing, are you ready?¡± An old voice rang out. It came from Chu Shidao.

    ¡°Yes, master,¡± Chu Danqing said feebly and supported himself back to his feet, arriving before the painting; this was the only clean space of the entire room. All the painting strokes had been washed away, and all the colours were placed neatly.

    The water he used to wash the brushes reeked of blood.

    A painting was placed in the centre.

    Chu Danqing shifted his gaze downwards, doing his best to avoid looking at the painting. He rolled up the mounted painting bit by bit, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

    He behaved as if this was not a painting he had painted himself, but a vicious beast that could bite.

    The door parted and dazzling sunlight poured in.

    Chu Danqing used his hand to shield his eyes. He gradually made out a figure and bowed in a hurry. ¡°Master.¡±

    Chu Shidao also felt pained as he looked at his disciple¡¯s shape. The Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black had granted him unbelievable talent, allowing him to produce works beyond his cultivation level, but it came at an extremely great cost. It truly took painstaking effort, or blood in other words.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°To where?¡± Chu Danqing was rather lost. Submerged in the world of painting, he had almost forgotten about the battle.

    ¡°Cloudwisp island.¡±

    Chu Danqiong suddenly jerked to his senses, and he remembered how Li Qingshan had gotten him drunk a few months ago. He could not help but redden slightly.

    It was exactly after that day that he began to seclude himself from the world to paint. He had not left this studio for almost six months now.

    His horrible behaviour after falling drunk must have been spread through the academy already. They were enemies after all, so this would be unavoidable. He just regretted that he had been too careless. As he gripped the painting firmly, he poured all of his humiliation and pent-up emotions into there. He had to teach Li Qingshan a vicious lesson.

    Ah, how embarrassing! I hope everyone has already forgotten about this after so long. Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll never spare you!

    ¡°What wasteful misuse.¡± Chu Danqiong snorted coldly. The serene, refined environment was originally very suited for painting. Unfortunately, it had fallen into the hands of a vulgar man like Liu Chuanfeng.

    Passing through the bamboo forest on the path, they arrived before the bamboo loft. Liu Zhangqing sat on the porch, drinking tea. He raised his cup and nodded with a smile. Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai were currently seated beside him.

    However, none of these people managed to capture Chu Danqing¡¯s attention, as the wretched Li Qingshan had strode over. A sunny, confident smile was plastered across his face as he greeted them with composure, ¡°Master Chu, fellow Chu, you¡¯re finally here.¡±

    Chu Shidao nodded. He said to Liu Zhangqing, ¡°Fellow Liu, here isn¡¯t a place to battle, so why did you call us here?¡± This was about to become his school of Painting¡¯s island. He did not wish to see it destroyed.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°You¡¯ll be fighting in the school of the Military¡¯s Main Martial Arts stadium. The school of Novels has some objections to this gamble, which is why I¡¯ve invited you both here to discuss it.¡±

    Chu Danqing shot a glance at Li Qingshan. ¡°What, you want to run away now?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and glanced back at Liu Chuanfeng. Only after obtaining a nod from this school leader who was technically in charge of the school of Novels did he say, ¡°I just feel that this battle is very unfair!¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°You personally agreed to it back then. What¡¯s unfair about it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said fervently, ¡°Cloudwisp island is the foundation of our school of Novels. If we lose, we¡¯ll obviously be left with absolutely nothing, and even if we win, we¡¯ll just be keeping something that¡¯s ours anyway. Master Chu, do you find that fair?¡±

    ¡°We only agreed to this in the first place because we had no other choice. If the school of Painting cannot produce a wager of equivalent value, then please cancel this battle, school leader Liu.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t just cancel it because you want to now. What wager do you want? Mind if you tell me?¡± Chu Shidao stared at Li Qingshan as his eyes flickered.

    It was true. He had never thought about a wager at all. He believed there was no chance for the school of Novels to win. There was absolutely no need for him to wager anything.

    Right now, the kid clearly knew he was going to lose, so he put on a bravado to get out of this gamble. If he insisted for this to go forward, Liu Zhangqing obviously would not cancel it for him. However, he was afraid that the kid would refuse to participate and label the school of Painting as ones who were abusing their greater strength.

    Since you want a wager, I¡¯ll give you a wager. So what?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I don¡¯t know either if there¡¯s anything that can rival the value of Cloudwisp island, so why don¡¯t you tell me instead, master Chu?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a poor painter. I don¡¯t have anything of value, just a few measly paintings. This painting was my final work before retirement. If you think it¡¯s appropriate, then I¡¯ll wager that. If you don¡¯t, then just forfeit!¡± Chu Danqing casually pulled out a painting as he spoke proudly.

    Liu Zhangqing blurted out, ¡°Is it the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms!?¡±

    Throughout Chu Shidao¡¯s life, he was best at painting beauties. Not only were the beauties he painted absolutely life-like, but their expressions and emotions were no different from actual people, and they lacked the various flaws of actual people too. The beauty within his paintings had already surpassed the beauties the world could offer.

    As a result, the saying of ¡°Even three thousand beautiful women are unable to rival a painting from Shidao¡± appeared. Across all nine prefectures of the Ruyi commandery, he was renowned.

    The Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms was his final work before retirement. It was rumored that before he had painted it, his hair was grizzled, but it all turned grey over a single night after completing it.

    When the Marquis of Ruyi saw it, he became utterly attached to it. He was willing to pay a tremendous sum for it, but Chu Shidao said, ¡°This is my disciple¡¯s wife. I can¡¯t just give it away to someone.¡±

    If a bystander had heard that, they would have probably treated it as an excuse, but Chu Shidao had spent his entire life married to a painting. Even Chu Danqing had to call the beauty who emerged from the painting mistress whenever he saw her.

    This Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms was a heavenly maiden of fate he had left for Chu Danqing.

    When the Marquis of Ruyi heard that, he could only give up on it. He said he had to respect that.

    The painting was unfurled, and all the men present became stunned. The painting was rolled up once more.

    They could not even recall the face of the heavenly maiden. All they remembered were her drifting clothes, the falling flowers, and their beautiful fragrance. The small of the flowers still lingered clearly in their nose. The appearance of the heavenly maiden gradually consolidated, but it was the most beautiful appearance in their minds.

    Liu Zhangqing¡¯s thoughts returned to several decades ago all of a sudden. Back then, he was still studying, and it was the season for falling flowers. A young girl swung around on a swing, letting out laughter no different from silver chimes; she was the youngest daughter of his teacher.

    Afterwards, they went their own ways. He had seen plenty of beauties before, even supporting countless beautiful consorts. Her appearance was not even beautiful, but the impression she left could not be replaced by any beauty, not even herself.

    Time slipped by before he knew it, and the feeling from back then had already blurred. Now that he saw this painting, it suddenly cleared up once more; it was like it was yesterday, like it was this very moment. A glance back and a smile from her might not have been enough to lead kingdoms or cities to ruin, but it was enough to steal his heart. Even if it came at a price of thousands or tens of thousands of spiritual stones, it would be worth it.

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses and checked on Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai. They were no different, thrown back into the past by a single glance of the painting.

    Only Chu Danqing stood there in a stupid daze. His master had already said he would save this painting for him as a wife, but to shield him from distractions, he had never seen it in person. He held extremely great hopes for it originally. Now that he saw it, he did not even find it as enchanting as the beauties his master had painted in the past. Yet, everyone who saw the painting would all praise how great it was, which left him in a bewildered daze.

    Chu Shidao was secretly complacent. This painting was the amalgamation of all his efforts throughout his life. It had completely defied his original painting style. In the past, he painted expectations. When cultivators offered him spiritual stones, he would paint the most beautiful woman to them.

    This painting, however, was memories. It could easily breach the sturdy lines of defence in a cultivator¡¯s mind and touch their softest spot, rousing their most beautiful memory. Expectations might have changed with varying identities and statuses, but memories would never fade away. They were like a jar of aged alcohol, growing more delicious the older it was.

    What truly touched you would always be yourself.

    Only when he noticed his disciple¡¯s expression did Chu Shidao realise he had miscalculated.

    Eleven years ago, Chu Danqing was just a little beggar. The only thing he thought about was eating steamed buns. Even eating meat seemed too extravagant to him. And right now, although he could understand the concept of love, this just seemed like a piece of blank paper to him. He had no memories whatsoever.

    If Chu Shidao devoted the same amount of effort into painting a plate of hot, steaming huge buns instead, he definitely would have been able to rouse him to a point where he drooled.

    ¡°Alright, I agree,¡± said Li Qingshan, but he did not do this under the urgings of lust or memories. Instead, the aura the painting gave off had completely exceeded the level of spiritual artifacts, but it was not exactly an arcane artifact either. Perhaps it was not an artifact at all, but a powerful creature sealed within the painting.

    If he were supposed to fight the heavenly maiden in the painting, there was no chance for him to win even if he personally got involved and did not rely on his abilities as a novelist. Anyhow, it was definitely something good.

    And, all Li Qingshan wanted to do was maximise his benefits. If Chu Shidao really offered nothing at all, he still would not have given up on the battle. He was already satisfied with this result.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s complete the deal. No one is allowed to change their minds anymore!¡±

    The rising and falling platforms around the Main Martial Arts island on Great War island were already jostling with people. When they saw a group arrive, discussions immediately arose.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Han Qiongzhi rushed over to receive him, having waited for quite some time already. She wanted to hug him, but looking around, she bit her lip and was unable to bring herself to do so due to embarrassment.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Today, she was wearing a large, red, imperial dress. The corners of her dress were embroidered with magnificent peonies. If any other woman wore this, they would probably seem a little too gaudy. Only she could pull it off with her confident, loud personality and her enchanting elegance. She seemed like a ball of scorching fire, speechlessly beautiful.

 Chapter 346 â€“ Come Out! Magic Brush Ma Liang!

    Liu Chuanfeng was taken aback. Is this still Han Qiongzhi? How come I don¡¯t remember her ever being so beautiful? He became filled with even greater admiration towards Li Qingshan.

    Sun Fubai tugged his sleeve, and Liu Chuanfeng returned to his senses, walking away in a hurry.

    Chu Danqing glanced at her and was unable to look at her again. With his sharp eyes as a painter, he recognised her with a single glance. She was the woman who had said she would drink with Li Qingshan after he had fallen drunk. Chu Danqing had almost passed her by with his face covered, afraid she would recognise him.

    However, there was no one else in Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes right now.

    Li Qingshan held Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand and smiled. ¡°Once I win, we¡¯ll travel across the Clear River prefecture together!¡± Although it was easier for him to take advantage of her when they went boating, bustling, noisy places suited her personality better!

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll give you a gift as a reward.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but study her up and down. Her thin waist that was wrapped in a brocade waistband, her tall, firm breasts that almost burst out from her clothing, and her perky bottom that held up her dress swept him away in his fantasies. Don¡¯t tell me the gift is¡­

    Han Qiongzhi reprimanded him, ¡°Don¡¯t become lost in your fantasies. It¡¯s just a gift.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go boating instead then!¡± Li Qingshan whispered in her ear. If he did not pull her in and dote on her recklessly, it would have been a waste.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it.¡± Han Qiongzhi shot a glance at him and pushed him away. Go!

    All the disciples on the platforms saw this. The news that Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi had become a couple was no longer a secret, but they still could not help but gasp when they saw it in person.

    ¡°Second senior sister has basically become a whole different person recently. She¡¯s even wearing clothes like that. Just what has Li Qingshan done to deserve all this?¡± A legalist disciple sighed. In the past, Han Qiongzhi had never cared about what she wore.

    ¡°Stop envying him. At least we can feast our eyes on her. Before, she really was fier-¡±

    ¡°What about before?¡±

    The two people raised their heads. Before they knew it, Han Qiongzhi had already appeared before them, staring at them. Their hearts shuddered, and they bowed in a hurry. ¡°Second senior sister.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll teach you a lesson after I get back!¡± Han Qiongzhi was not angry at all. She saw Wang Pushi wave at her and gently stepped onto the higher platform, arriving beside Wang Pushi.

    The two legalist disciples exchanged glances and sighed in relief simultaneously. Their second senior sister had really been in a fantastic mood recently.

    Two long tables were placed on the two sides of the Main Martial Arts stadium. Li Qingshan and Chu Danqing each stood behind a table, looking at one another from afar. Their eyes locked and sparks flew.

    Liu Zhangqing announced the rules of the match and declared the agreed wagers from the two sides. ¡°Primary disciples, please prepare yourselves!¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms!¡± Han Qiongzhi frowned.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Pushi was clueless. His cultivation was much higher than Han Qiongzhi¡¯s, but his knowledge of amusing rumors and stories paled in comparison to these aristocratic descendants. Han Qiongzhi had even purposefully investigated Chu Shidao because of Li Qingshan, so she was obviously familiar with this renowned painting.

    After hearing Han Qiongzhi¡¯s explanation, Wang Pushi smiled. ¡°Looks like the kid¡¯s about to win a love rival. You better be careful, Qiongzhi.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Even the commander is making fun of me. I refuse to believe that I¡¯ll lose to a painting!¡±

    Wang Pushi laughed. ¡°You never know.¡±

    ¡°If you want to keep talking about that, I¡¯m not standing here anymore.¡± Han Qiongzhi stamped her foot. She too had heard there had been many cultivators who offered tremendous sums for the painting of a beauty from Chu Shidao so that they could hang it in their dwellings. They would summon and send them off at will, without causing them any trouble they had to worry about.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. I¡¯ll stop. Look, it¡¯s begun.¡±

    Everyone was curious about this match between novels and painting. Just how would the two of them determine the victor?

    Chu Danqing had already placed his painting on the table. He said loudly, ¡°Li Qingshan, this painting is called Hellscape Rhapsody. I spent three months conceiving it and another three months painting it. It¡¯s extremely terrifying. Even I wouldn¡¯t want to create a painting like this unless I had no choice. If you¡¯re clever, then it¡¯s still not too late for you to forfeit. Otherwise, even you might end up injured later!¡±

    Chu Shidao stood on the platform behind Chu Danqing. When he spotted the painting, he shivered all over. He smiled as he stroked his beard in great relief. Not only had Chu Danqing inherited his skill, but he would definitely exceed him in the future.

    The outcome was already decided for this battle!

    Li Qingshan took out a thin picture book and placed it on the table. ¡°I spent two hours conceiving this book, a day to complete it, and a month to spread it. I have no idea how effective it is, so you better try it yourself!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve grabbed the wrong book!¡± Liu Chuanfeng also stood on the platform behind Li Qingshan. He was worried.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand without even looking back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s the right one!¡±

    ¡°Since you just won¡¯t give up, I¡¯ll let you experience the terrors of hell!¡± Chu Danqing brought his fingers together and pointed away. The painting rose with a flutter.

    A blazing colour filled the entire paper, but there was only one colour¡ªred!

    Scarlet red, fiery red, blood red. The scarlet-red mountains stood strange and jagged; the boundless sea of fire blazed; the blood-red rivers surged.

    Everyone who directed their attention towards this painting shuddered. A terrifying will of madness gushed into their faces. Just what kind of hellscape painting was this? There seemed to be countless fiends and evil spirits writhing in endless agony.

    Gradually, fantasy became reality. Fiends leapt off the tall mountains one by one, emerging from the sea of fire and floating out from the rivers of blood, rushing out of the painting.

    Their tall bodies, their scarlet-red skin, their twisted limbs, their hissing growls, and their empty eyes were all filled with endless hatred and resentment. One, two, several dozen fiends crawled out from the painting, as if they were crawling out of hell to seek revenge on the living people.

    In that instant, a nightmare seemed to become real!

    Screams rose up from the platforms. Many female cultivators even paled.

    However, Han Qiongzhi was not afraid. Compared to what Altar Lord Black Lotus had unleashed to kill people back then in Ancient Wind city, a hell like this lacked an element of realism. She was just worried for Li Qingshan.

    Wang Pushi smiled. ¡°That¡¯s the aura from the Hell realm. This painting suits my school of Legalism very much. He really is something else for old man Chu to accept him as his final disciple and spend a decade nurturing him. Li Qingshan is in trouble.¡±

    Chu Danqing recalled what had happened when he first entered seclusion to produce this painting. Often, he would suddenly begin rolling around on the ground in regret as he painted, banging his head against the wall heavily in shame.

    He had spent a whole decade cultivating arduously, and the moment he emerged, he had become a public laughingstock. No female cultivator would like him anymore. He was about to go crazy. He felt like he was standing in hell, being scorched by the flames.

    In the end, he poured this madness of his into the painting, conceiving this Hellscape Rhapsody. He painted countless fiends in the limited space of the painting.

    Li Qingshan, you asked for it!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile remained. He said, ¡°Oh right, I forgot to state the name of my book.¡± Suddenly, he grew serious and waved his hand, calling out, ¡°Come out, Magic Brush Ma Liang!¡±

    The Divine Talisman of Great Creation suddenly erupted with extremely resplendent light. As Li Qingshan waved his hand, the faith, the power of belief of millions of people, gathered and condensed.

    A teenager with a wide-brimmed straw hat and a brush in his hand appeared in the Main Martial Arts stadium. He had a pair of thick eyebrows and large eyes, radiating with solemn righteousness. He stood before the fiends flawlessly.

    Han Qiongzhi called out in surprise, ¡°This is!¡±

    The surroundings fell silent. Chu Tian laughed madly. ¡°Li Qingshan, are you trying to achieve victory through a kid? Don¡¯t tell me this kid was you from the past? I heard you came from a village.¡±

    Ever since Chu Tian suffered a defeat at Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, he had persevered and bided his time, undertaking self-imposed hardships and preparing for revenge at all times. The only reason why he decided to keep suffering in silence was out of consideration for how he could not reveal that item to the public. Now that he saw Li Qingshan failing, he was having the time of his life.

    The other disciples would never mock Li Qingshan so openly, but they thought the same thing as Chu Tian. How could this regular teenager possess the strength to contend against fiends?

    Compared to the terrors of Hellscape Rhapsody, what was Magic Brush Ma Liang supposed to be? It was truly a joke.

    ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s in trouble now!¡± Liu Chuanfeng paced around out of worry.

    Sun Fubai said with composure, ¡°Junior brother, you shouldn¡¯t worry. Qingshan knows what he¡¯s doing. Though recently, I heard about a rumor.¡± A rumor regarding Magic Brush Ma Liang.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you really are wretched!¡± Chu Danqing looked at the impoverished, half-grown Ma Liang and seemed to see his past self. He really was a little unwilling to get the fiends to slaughter him now.

    ¡°Wretched?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised, but he did not think about it too much.

    With absolute focus, Ma Liang raised his magic brush and quickly drew in the air. The power of belief in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation was rapidly converted into his own power.

    Under everyone¡¯s astonished gazes, a golden shoe landed on the ground with a thump.

    A deity clad in golden armour with a golden dagger-axe in his hand emerged from nowhere. He pointed his golden dagger-axe at the fiends.

    The design of the armoured deity was simple and childish. He even had a pair of golden wings on his back, like some kind of divine soldier from heaven that a child had imagined. However, the aura he gave off was no less than the fiends. Chu Tian, who had been laughing aloud, suddenly shut his mouth.

    Chu Danqing¡¯s mouth hung agape instead. Wasn¡¯t this the ability of their school of Painting? Why would a character conjured by a novelist possess this kind of ability?

    Chu Shidao called out, ¡°Danqing, what¡¯re you waiting for?¡±

    The armoured deity suddenly unfurled its wings and rushed into the sky, flying towards the sun that had just risen in the east. He dove back down as a golden streak of light and stabbed through a fiend with his golden dagger-axe. The fiend trembled as it dispersed.

    Chu Danqing immediately returned to his senses. The fiends roared as they lunged towards the armoured deity, but the deity took off into the air once more. He circled around with the dagger-axe in his hand.

    Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s despair was immediately converted to joy. Han Qiongzhi called out, ¡°Nice!¡±

    On the other, Li Qingshan was rather pained over the power of belief he was depleting. This was not true qi. It was a consumable, where it would vanish with use. However, he could not care about that anymore. Before his girlfriend, he had to triumph in this match!

    Ma Liang used the magic brush in his hand to draw a second armoured deity, who emerged from thin air.

    ¡°Chu Danqing, today I will use the ability of the school of Painting to defeat you. I¡¯ll show you the power of our school of Novels!¡±

    PS: Please gather your power of belief in my hands. Come out, monthly tickets!

 Chapter 347 â€“ A Clash Between Novels and Paintings

    The second armoured deity was even larger and mightier than the first. He was clad in heavy armour and stood tall and sturdy.

    Looking over, he seemed like a ball. He clutched a golden octagonal mace in his hand; the weapon was the size of a water tank. With foot steps that sounded like war drums, he charged towards the fiends like a war chariot, tearing everything before him to shreds.

    Several dozen fiends opened their huge mouths and roared out together. Strings of saliva hung from their jagged teeth, dripping onto the ground. It hissed like acid, giving off clouds of white smoke.

    The armoured deity whirled his hand around, and the golden mace thrummed as it reached top speed. He let go and it flew out like a golden comet, smashing into the twisted face of a fiend. Another one vanished. However, even more fiends surged passed the fallen mace, moving towards the weaponless deity.

    The armoured deity suddenly leapt into the air with unbelievable grace, like a black cloud that had suddenly risen into the air. Lunging forward, he fell onto the fiends.

    Thump! With a heavy sound, the ground shook, and a shockwave spread out in all directions.

    The armoured deity had directly crushed a fiend to death, but he fell into the encirclement of the fiends as a result.

    The armoured deity who had been circling around in the air this entire time descended. The golden dagger-axe in his hand slid along a curved trajectory, sweeping past heads, throats, claws, and chests. It left behind a splash of red, and five fiends vanished as they howled out.

    He returned to the sky soon after, shaking off the claws reaching towards him and waiting for another optimal opportunity.

    The attack from him this time ripped open a gap in the tight encirclement. The armoured deity on the ground rolled over and grabbed his mace, returning to his feet. He lifted up the mace with both hands and swung it towards the heads of the incoming fiends.

    Bang! As their heads shattered, they turned into a wisp of red mist that dispersed.

    At this moment, a fiend lunged over from behind. Its mouth stretched all the way to its ears, and its jaw unhinged to an unbelievable angle. It bit down viciously on the armoured deity¡¯s neck guard with its razor-sharp teeth.

    Several teeth shattered, but even more of them managed to penetrate the armour with a corrosive hiss.

    The armoured deity spun around on the spot, wanting to shake off the assailant on his back. He swung his golden mace around, smashing away the fiends that lunged at him like mad dogs. A lot of gashes appeared on his armour, but he was unable to do anything to the fiend on his back.

    At this moment, a golden arrow the size of a spear spun and pierced the fiend¡¯s eye.

    It left behind a golden streak and a momentary circular gap in the air. At the end of the streak and gap was a third armoured deity. He stood tall with a quiver on his back. The string of the golden bow in his hand still vibrated.

    All of the cheering and cries from the platforms vanished. They all stared blankly as these huge creatures tried to kill one another.

    Never had they thought that the school of Novels they had once mocked, the school of Painting that was rumored to only draw beautiful women, would actually possess such terrifying power.

    Every single fiend present had the power to kill an eighth or even ninth layer Qi Practitioner. Their mad attacks made even Han Tieyi frown slightly.

    But to the other side, the three armoured deities were even stronger. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s careful control, they killed the fiends without losing the upper hand.

    This was no longer a match they were used to seeing, but a true battle to the death. The Main Martial Arts stadium had become the battlefield of a bloody slaughter.

    Chu Tian was dumbfounded. Originally, he thought his cultivation had progressed tremendously after the recent period of arduous cultivation. He was prepared to challenge Li Qingshan again, but the sight before him caused him quite the shock. His chances at victory had not increased at all.

    Han Qiongzhi clenched her fist and cheered out, breaking the silence. Now this was the man who had caught her eye!

    Wang Pushi shook his head gently. He had never thought that even the arts of the school of Novels would become so powerful in his hands. He sure was worthy of the girl, Qiongzhi. Commander Gu¡¯s insight sure was outstanding!

    Han Anjun remained silent, but he found this satisfying too. Li Qingshan¡¯s talent for battle had been perfectly unleashed through the small squad. He was almost in perfect control over the battlefield.

    Liu Zhangqing sighed gently. This was probably the generation of the academy with the most geniuses! Even geniuses like Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi, who originally stood out from everyone else, no longer seemed special before them. Was it because the world was about to be thrown into chaos that prodigies like him had appeared?

    Despite the image of a school leader that he was supposed to maintain, Liu Chuanfeng stretched out his arms and called out happily. The emotions he had repressed for all these years were released. Do you see this? This is the power of the school of Novels!

    The One Thought master glanced at Xiao An, but he failed to see any excitement from her face at all, as if she was certain he would win. All she did was lean on her hand and gaze at him from the crowd. Li Qingshan would smile at her from time to time too, as if the intense battle unfolding right before him was unable to scatter his attention towards her.

    Recently, she had gone to find him much less frequently compared to before. The One Thought master even eased up slightly, but as it seemed, nothing had changed at all. He had finally confirmed that an invisible string tied them together. It was so-called fate!

    As her senior brother, he had absolutely no confidence in guiding this talented junior sister who called herself One Will. Probably even his master had seen this, which was why he had directly accepted her as a disciple. He would leave everything up to fate!

    Li Qingshan and Chu Danqing¡¯s gazes crossed through the battlefield and met.

    Li Qingshan continued to smile like before. This battle was basically for him to bully Chu Danqing over his lack of experience with real time strategy games. Of course, the situation right now was inherently different from games, but he was no longer the same person from his past life, but Li Qingshan who had gone through countless battles.

    Chu Danqing, on the other hand, was rather flustered. His overall strength was clearly much greater than Li Qingshan¡¯s, but all he could do was watch as the fiends were slaughtered one by one. He was helpless.

    ¡°Danqing, you can only see the source of everything if you calm down!¡± Chu Shidao¡¯s voice rang out in Chu Danqing¡¯s mind.

    ¡°The source?¡± Chu Danqing immediately looked at the teenager with the straw hat, and he came to a realisation. All the armoured deities came from him. As long as he defeated the teenager, all his problems would be solved.

    Chu Danqing swung his hand, and the remaining fiends abandoned the armoured deities, rushing towards Ma Liang as a frenzied wave.

    The three armoured deities had managed to kill over twenty fiends under their ingenious teamwork, but they were unable to stop the charging army of fiends.

    Li Qingshan stopped smiling. Have you finally discovered it? My greatest weakness!

    The magic brush was impressive, but Ma Liang was just a regular teenager, and he was his most important medium too. Once he dispersed, the golden deities would immediately disperse as well.

    By then, even if he could conjure him again, would Chu Danqing still give Ma Liang the opportunity to paint? He would probably be slain the moment he appeared, making it a waste of his power of belief.

    At this moment, the real outcome of the match had been determined.

    What was he supposed to do? Conjure a defensive armoured deity who used a shield? No, even if he managed to stop them, Ma Liang would be in no shape to paint anymore either. Moreover, the Hellscape Rhapsody had clearly yet to unleash its full strength. It would be a checkmate situation against him.

    The only thing he could do right now was defend by attacking!

    Ma Liang suddenly raised the brush and began swinging it around recklessly in the air!

    Black strokes of ink hovered in the air as the power of belief in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation rapidly drained away.

    A shadow engulfed Ma Liang. Countless claws and teeth were right before him. The scarlet red wave slammed down on Ma Liang viciously.

    Compared to the fiends, his figure seemed pitifully small. Just like what all the children expected of him, he faced these fiends calmly and fearlessly. He poured his strength into finishing the final stroke.

    The ink strokes in the air turned into strands of sword qi and shot off in all directions.

    Compared to the sword qi, the fiends seemed to slow down. All they could do was watch as the sword qi pierced their bodies.

    The scarlet wave came to a halt and immediately collapsed, disintegrating into countless pieces. They fell towards Ma Liang, but they dispersed in the air.

    Cheers rang out. Li Qingshan said loudly, ¡°Who¡¯s the one who¡¯s going to forfeit now?¡±

    The three armoured deities stood in a battle formation right in front of Chu Danqing¡¯s Hellscape Rhapsody. They slaughtered the fiends as they emerged. They wanted to see just how many fiends Chu Danqing could summon.

    Chu Danqing clenched his fist firmly. Although the Hellscape Rhapsody depicted countless fiends within a limited space, he could not actually summon fiends forever. And, even if he could, they would probably all be slain one by one.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    The Hellscape Rhapsody surged with scarlet light, almost lighting up the entire stadium. The rivers of blood in the painting suddenly began to flow slowly, and the endless sea of fire began to burn.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The hellish sea of fire suddenly surged out of the painting. It was so fast that it swallowed the three armoured deities immediately. Their golden armour rapidly melted away in the flames, and in the blink of an eye, the three deities had been reduced to ash, following the footsteps of the fiends.

    The air turned into waves of heat, twisting and distorting everything there. The rolling flames swept towards Li Qingshan, unstoppable and unavoidable.

    On the brink of celebration, Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s face immediately twisted, as if he was the one being scorched by the flames of hell; this had already exceeded the limits of Qi Practitioners.

    Chu Shidao¡¯s face was dyed red by the flames. Li Qingshan, take a look. This is the power of the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black. You might be a genius, and it¡¯s great luck that the school of Novels possesses a disciple like you, but you still pale slightly in comparison to Danqing.

    Victory was already determined!

    For the first time, Han Anjun was no longer certain that Li Qingshan could emerge victoriously. This was touching on a difference in cultivation realms. It could not be made up with battle tactics or strategy.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank as his thoughts flitted. The flames had already arrived before him. Even if he tried getting Ma Liang to paint, it would be too late. Moreover, just what was he supposed to paint that could block the endless fire?

    At this moment, Ma Liang suddenly collapsed. The fire did not touch him, but he was unable to endure the scorching heat of the flames.

    Li Qingshan had been a cultivator for too long. He had overestimated what a regular teenager could withstand. It only made things worse.

 Chapter 348 â€“ Fighting Fire with Water

    Li Qingshan suddenly pointed at the picture book on the table. The pages turned hurriedly in a flutter, and the story passed by in a rush before it stopped on the final page.

    This is all I can try now!

    He did not use Ma Liang as a medium. Instead, he directly used the power of belief to summon this picture!

    This was the end of a fairy tale story¡­

    Ma Liang was captured and sent to the imperial palace. The emperor wanted him to paint a money tree, so Ma Liang painted an ocean. The emperor was very displeased by this and cursed, ¡°I want you to paint a money tree, not an ocean!¡± Ma Liang then drew a small island in the ocean and a very tall, expansive tree on it. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a money tree?¡±

    The emperor immediately beamed. ¡°Draw a ship quickly! I want to go and pick money from the tree in the ocean!¡± Ma Ling drew a very, very large wooden ship. The emperor boarded it with the empress, his princes, princesses, and many officials and generals. Ma Liang then drew some wind, and the ship set off.

    The emperor felt that the ship was too slow, so he called out at the nose of the ship, ¡°Make the wind bigger! Make it bigger!¡± Ma Liang added a few more strokes to the wind, and the wooden ship sped off into the ocean. Ma Liang added more strokes to the wind, and the ocean began to roar, swelling and surging with waves. The ship teetered about. The emperor became afraid and called out at Ma Liang, ¡°The wind¡¯s big enough! It¡¯s big enough!¡± Ma Liang feigned ignorance and continued to add to the wind. The ocean unleashed its fury, and the waves surged towards the ship.

    The ship slanted and everything onboard was thrown into a mess. The emperor clung onto the mast as he constantly called out, ¡°The wind¡¯s too big! The ship¡¯s going to overturn! Stop painting!¡± Ma Liang ignored him and continued to add to the wind. The wind became even stronger, blowing over many thick, dark clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as torrential rain began to fall. The seawater stood like walls as they fell towards the ship¡­

    Han Qiongzhi could not bear to watch on anymore. She was worried that Li Qingshan would be unable to endure the mental shock that came with defeat. She was thinking about how she would comfort him later without encroaching on his dignity. After all, he was such a proud man. He would definitely be happy if she gave him that. If that was not enough, she could just fulfil his wish from a few days ago at most.

    Suddenly, she heard the sound of waves. The lake was very distant from here, so why was there the sound of waves? Subsequently, the smell of salt assaulted her nose. She raised her head abruptly.

    A huge, wall-like wave stood before Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Boundlessness of the Ocean!¡±

    Li Qingshan pushed his hand forward, and the huge wave fell. It swept towards the scorching fire and forcefully pushed it back from right before him.

    An intense clash unfolded along the lengthy boundary. Steam surged into the air like smoke, forming a white wall before dispersing again due to the depletion of power of belief.

    Within the hisses, water extinguished fire and fire vaporised water; this was a battle between water and fire.

    But very soon, the huge wave ran out of force, completely evaporated away by the fire. The suppressed flames managed to surge over once more, only to encounter a second wave immediately.

    Chu Danqing¡¯s face had been dyed bright red by the fire. It was slightly twisted and even his eyes flickered with red light. He was close to becoming demented as he constantly powered the Hell Rhapsody so that even more flames of hell surged out. He carried the expectations of his master, the hope of the school of Painting, and his wife in-name in the painting. He could not afford to lose this battle. He could not!

    Li Qingshan had stopped caring about the depletion of his power of belief a long time ago, conjuring wave after wave. Cloudwisp island was a good place, so how could he let someone else just take it from him? If he lost, all the power of belief he depleted right now would go to waste. He smiled. And, he could not afford to embarrass himself before his future wife and father-in-law.

    The circular stadium was split into two, dyed with a scarlet-red and a clear blue; this was a hell of fire and an ocean of water. A twisted boundary constantly advanced and receded, surging about with great intensity.

    The burning of fire and the roaring of water was deafening.

    Everyone was stunned by the earth-shaking clash of techniques. Originally, they thought they could never be surprised by a battle between Qi Practitioners again after witnessing the battle between Li Qingshan and Chu Tian.

    If Li Qingshan and Chu Tian had only demonstrated the ability of Foundation Establishment cultivators every now and then during their battle back then, then Li Qingshan and Chu Danqing had completely exceeded the standard of Qi Practitioners now. They seemed no different from Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    If it were just the school of Painting, then so be it. However, Li Qingshan was demonstrating the power of the school of Novels they had mocked all this time. And, Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was only at the seventh layer. Had they been underestimating the school of Novels the entire time?

    Chu Shidao¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up firmly. He gazed at Chu Danqing¡¯s figure in worry as the latter gave it his all. Never did he think that Li Qingshan would actually possess such strength. He had some understanding regarding the powers of the school of Novels. It should have been limited by the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. This situation had clearly arisen from countless people firmly believing in his novel. Just how did he achieve this in merely half a year?

    Liu Chuanfeng had stopped cheering. As he stood on the platform, his mouth hung agape as he raised both hands; he was like a frozen statue. His entire body was tense, as if he was pushing the waves along.

    Sun Fubai took in all of this greedily. Both joy and sorrow filled his face. Yes, this was the power of the school of Novels their master had described to them, as well as the thing he had once doubted. Now, Li Qingshan was proving it to them, to everyone.

    The school of Novels was not trash. The heavens had bestowed the school of Novels with this child.

    Han Qiongzhi held her hands and gazed at Li Qingshan in fascination. She was tempted to tell everyone that this was her man. Of course, everyone actually already knew that.

    Wang Pushi shook his head. This kid sure caused a lot of surprises! It had only been a year since he joined the academy. If he had the time to develop, just what level could he reach? The Han family had found a fantastic son-in-law. He would definitely be a capable person in the future.

    But at this moment, Han Anjun felt slightly worried aside from his delight, which was soon followed by relief. She had to slowly experience this great life of hers by herself.

    Juechenzi saw how the slovenly daoist priest directly poured alcohol into his mouth and smiled. ¡°Master, you¡¯ve become filled with regret again.¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest growled. ¡°Since when did I feel regret? Since when did I feel regret, huh?¡± He could not help but admit that he did feel a tinge of regret. Even the arts of the school of Novels could be unleashed to such a degree by him. If it were the arts of daoism instead, wouldn¡¯t it be even more powerful? Sigh, if I had known earlier, I would¡¯ve treated this kid a little more politely. There are plenty of disciples I¡¯ve cursed before, but only a fucking kid like you was bold enough to lose your temper at me!

    At this moment, the glow on the Hellscape Rhapsody gradually dimmed. No matter how much effort he put in as a painter, all paintings had a moment when they ran out of power.

    The water that Li Qingshan had conjured was just regular water, slightly lacklustre compared to the fire, but with the mutual regulation of the five elements, it was extremely easy for water to put out fire, and it would take tremendous amounts of energy for fire to evaporate water.

    Li Qingshan suddenly kicked up an even taller, even larger wave. I¡¯ll give up on all the power of belief I¡¯ve accumulated over the past half a year. I¡¯d like to see just how much longer you can last!

    Chu Dangqing was at his wits end. He continued to power the Hellscape Rhapsody, and a tiny crack appeared on the painting. He no longer cared. Even if he had to destroy this painting, he would continue.

    ¡°Danqing, that¡¯s enough!¡± Chu Shidao¡¯s voice rang out in Chu Danqing¡¯s head.

    ¡°But master¡­¡±

    ¡°If you keep fighting, it won¡¯t be a victory for either of you.¡± Chu Shidao was a person who appreciated paintings, so how could he just watch as Chu Danqing destroyed the Hellscape Rhapsody he had spent six months painting? And, Li Qingshan showed no signs of running out of power of belief. Chu Danqing¡¯s chances of triumphing had already approached zero.

    Chu Danqing could not disobey his master. He kicked over the table and stowed the Hellscape Rhapsody away reluctantly.

    Li Qingshan immediately stopped using the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. It had not been easy for him to gather the power of belief. Every bit counted.

    In a single instant, the water and fire subsided together.

    Everyone found this incredibly surreal. If it were not for the clear traces left by the scorching fire and surging water in the stadium, they basically would have thought it was all a dream.

    Silence descended. Everyone exchanged glances. Just who had won?

    The school leaders, however, all saw it clearly. Liu Zhangqing shot a questioning glance towards Chu Shidao.

    Chu Shidao raised his hand at him before making his way over to Chu Danqing¡¯s side. He patted his shoulder in consolation and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°You¡¯ve won.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°You¡¯ve gone easy on me.¡±

    However, he saw Chu Danqing¡¯s eyes redden as his lips trembled, as if he was about to burst out crying. Why do I feel like I¡¯ve become a great villain who bullies naive boys? It¡¯s just a match. Do you have to be like this?

    Before this, while Li Qingshan was radiating with confidence, he had already prepared himself for defeat. After all, nothing was absolute. Compared to the crushing defeats he had suffered in the past, a match that did not even threaten his life was absolutely nothing. The worst outcome would just be moving to another island and developing there. The school of Novels did not depend on its environment too much. As long as his thoughts remained with him, would development really be an issue?

    As someone who had climbed up from the very bottom, there was no way Li Qingshan could understand Chu Danqing, who had never suffered any setbacks during his decade of learning paintings. He had lost his first battle right after emerging from the mountains, so it really was difficult for him to put up with this contrast. Li Qingshan only thought he had won a powerful painting, but never did he imagine it would be Chu Danqing¡¯s wife.

    Cheers rang out from the platforms. The school of Novels did not really have a good reputation, but compared to the school of Painting who were outsiders, they were still more attached to it. After all, they had spent all these years cursing it. Now, everyone recognised the power of the school of Novels.

    They could actually conjure a character who could use the abilities of painters to defeat painters; this was simply unbelievable. Some of the new disciples even began to regret that they had not enrolled for the school of Novels instead.

    With Liu Zhangqing presiding over the matter, Chu Shidao and Liu Chuanfeng arrived at the centre of the stadium. Their primary disciples followed behind them.

    Chu Shidao offered the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms with both hands. ¡°I¡¯ve long heard that the school of Novels can conjure anything and everything in a miraculous manner. With what I¡¯ve seen today, it really is true. You really do live up to your reputation as one of the ten standard schools designated by the founding emperor.

    ¡°Your dear disciple is even more so a talent among men. We¡¯re sincerely convinced with our defeat this time. If I have offended you in any way in the past, please forgive me, school leader Liu. This painting is an amalgamation of all my efforts, so please accept it as an apology from me. Please treat her well too.¡±

 Chapter 349 â€“ Seeing What I Love

    With such an ¡°important figure¡± speaking to him so politely, Liu Chuanfeng was rather flattered. He returned the gesture in a hurry. ¡°You flatter us, master Chu. This disciple of mine only managed to triumph over your dear disciple out of sheer luck. There are many commonalities between the arts of the school of Novels and the school of Painting. We definitely need to exchange thoughts in the future. We¡¯ll both benefit.¡±

    Accepting the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms, he directly passed it to Li Qingshan. Although he was rather reluctant to give up the heavenly maiden in the painting, Li Qingshan did deserve it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master Chu. I will definitely treasure this painting.¡± Li Qingshan received it politely with both hands. He had won this battle, but he had used up almost half of his power of belief. This was the natural limitation of the school of Novels. However, at least he had earned some impressive spoils from the battle, making up for this loss. This was the best outcome possible. He did not want enemies everywhere either.

    Of course, he was still clueless about winning over a certain person¡¯s wife.

    Chu Shidao nodded. ¡®Danqing, you should seek guidance from senior brother Li more frequently in the future.¡±

    Even though Chu Danqing disagreed with this, all he could do was answer, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not worthy of the title of senior brother. In the past on Cloudwisp island, Danqing and I got along the moment we met. We even drank together. We treated each other as friends and referred to one another as brothers back then, but for some reason, he stopped visiting after that one time.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s impression of Chu Danqing was quite good. He felt like he possessed a sense of naivety that was rarely seen.

    ¡°You¡¯re still bold enough to mention that? If you hadn¡¯t made me drunk, why would I have said something like that?¡± Chu Danqing glared at him, but he also felt embarrassed.

    ¡°Something like that?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had absolutely no idea why Chu Danqing resented him. They might have been opponents, but it was not like there were any great grievances between them!

    Only after giving it some thought did he understand what he was saying. All he could do was smile bitterly. Why was this guy as fragile as a boy going through puberty, no, a primary school student? They were both geniuses, but he was basically on the other end of the spectrum compared to Chu Tian, that idiot who constantly flirted with women without the slightest sense of shame. He was so naive that he was adorable.

    ¡°In other words, you didn¡¯t tell anyone about it?¡± Chu Danqing suddenly grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, as if he had seen a sliver of hope in endless darkness.

    ¡°Who still remembers what you say when you¡¯re drunk?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was strange. It was not like he was some gossiping woman who had the time to tell others about what someone said when they were drunk.

    As if he had avoided a disaster, Chu Danqing let out a deep sigh. In other words, his reputation had not been destroyed. As it turned out, he had been overthinking the entire time. However, when he thought about how he had actually dwelled on this matter for so long, even painting the Hellscape Rhapsody because of this, he became filled with regret and humiliation once more, tempted to throw himself at a wall.

    Chu Shidao became curious. ¡°What did he say?¡±

    Li Qingshan said casually, ¡°Danqing said he wanted¡­¡±

    Chu Danqing covered Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth in a hurry. ¡°Master, it was just some drunken nonsense. It¡¯ll only tarnish your ears.¡±

    Chu Shidao smiled and bid farewell with clasped hands. ¡°School leader Liu, take us to the school of Painting!¡±

    ¡°Then come with me!¡± Liu Zhangqing waved his hand. Soon after the match had been confirmed, they began building, planting, and designing gardens on an empty island south-west of Contention island.

    Originally, he planned to give it to the school of Novels as compensation for their loss, but he never expected the final outcome to be like this. He had obtained his benefits already, and the school of Painting was unable to criticize him anymore either. With a disciple like Li Qingshan, there was no reason for the school of Novels to decline any further.

    After this battle, the school of Novels must have made a name for itself. A lot of people would probably fill in the three words ¡°school of Novels¡± during the next entrance examination, right?

    ¡­¡­

    Chu Shidao and everyone else arrived on the island for the school of Painting that was currently under construction. The structures there were already close to completion. It was unable to rival Cloudwisp island¡¯s spiritual qi, but it was still an extremely exquisite place. It had its own thriving atmosphere.

    Liu Zhangqing had been unwilling to offend the school of Novels too much, so he had asked the leader of the school of Mohism to personally build the structures here. The buildings and their features here were all elegant and tasteful.

    After seeing off Liu Zhangqing, Chu Shidao leaned on his cane and arrived at the front of the structure. He gently touched the column that still gave off the smell of pinewood and let out a smile in delight.

    ¡°Master, why did you treat that Liu Chuanfeng so politely?¡± Chu Danqing supported Chu Shidao carefully. Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Practitioners were people of two completely different worlds, not to mention that Chu Shidao was no regular Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    ¡°If being a little more polite can turn enemies into friends, why can¡¯t I forsake my antiquated pride?¡±

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s all my fault.¡± Chu Danqing blamed himself. ¡°I even made master lose that painting, damn it.¡±

    ¡°No. If you won, I¡¯d be even more polite. The school of Novels cannot be underestimated. Li Qingshan cannot be underestimated. Even if you can¡¯t turn them into friends, you can¡¯t turn them into enemies. As for that painting, it¡¯s not like you like it anyway. She¡¯s just a painting. I¡¯ve really grown senile. I worry over you too much. I¡¯m confident that you can paint a painting that¡¯s ten, no, a hundred times better. You¡¯ll be able to paint the woman you love inside.¡±

    But master, I like living people!

    This sentence dwelled in Chu Danqing¡¯s mind. He was not brave enough to say it. All he said was, ¡°That painting is master¡¯s precious memory. I¡¯ll definitely take it back!¡±

    ¡°I have so many memories that they¡¯re almost about to leak out, which was why I painted that painting. I¡¯m probably the last person in this world who needs her. How strange. Matters from two centuries ago have actually become so clear now.¡± Chu Shidao leaned against his cane. His smiling gaze seemed to see through Chu Danqing, through the academy, and through time, to a very, very distant past.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Qingshan, I never thought you¡¯d actually win using this book.¡± Liu Chuanfeng flipped through the thin picture book. He was still in some disbelief.

    Li Qingshan explained his reason, and both Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai came to a realisation. Cultivators never took regular people seriously, let alone the children among regular people. Only at this moment did they realise just how important of an aspect they had neglected. Sun Fubai immediately made up his mind. Whatever those private institutions of hope were, he would establish them right now.

    Liu Chuanfeng suggested celebrating properly. Li Qingshan glanced at Han Qiongzhi, who stood nearby and patted Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s shoulder. ¡°We gotta be discreet. They¡¯ve accepted their defeat in such an elegant manner, so we can¡¯t make too much of a display either just because we¡¯ve won.¡± He had no interest in celebrating with two men. He would much rather show off to his woman.

    Sun Fubai also expressed his agreement. Chu Danqing would definitely become an impressive figure in the future. It would be for the best if they could resolve this grievance.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands to bid them farewell and arrived before Han Qiongzhi. ¡°Qiongzhi, how was my performance?¡±

    ¡°You said you¡¯ll definitely treasure the painting. How do you plan on treasuring it?¡± Han Qiongzhi mentioned that immediately. She seemed to be smiling and furious at the same time.

    A cloud lifted up Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi, taking them off into the air. They arrived beside Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan bowed towards the One Thought master and said to Xiao An, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll go have some fun in Clear River city.¡±

    Xiao An glanced at Han Qiongzhi. ¡°I¡¯m going to go cultivate.¡±

    ¡°That works too. Wait for me to bring back your present.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head with a smile. They spent every single night together anyway, so it was not like they were lacking time. If the three of them were together, the atmosphere would be rather strange.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart eased up slightly. She nodded towards Xiao An to express her gratitude.

    The cloud flew out of the academy, heading directly towards the city. Han Qiongzhi suddenly said, ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped the cloud. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question. Don¡¯t you even think about avoiding it!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll obviously treasure her like I treasure you. Surely you can¡¯t grow jealous over a painting!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! I¡¯ll be jealous because I can! Hand over the painting!¡± When she heard that, Han Qiongzhi immediately refused to accept this and extended her hand.

    Li Qingshan casually tossed the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms to her. ¡°Here, take it!¡±

    Originally, Han Qiongzhi only wanted to test him, but she had never expected him to be so straightforward. It was not just a simple painting. Its value had exceeded the imaginations of regular Qi Practitioners. Her heart felt warm.

    Out of curiosity, she unfurled the painting and saw that the face of the heavenly maiden was a blur, as if it were covered by mist. The power hidden within had completely exceeded Chu Danqing¡¯s Hellscape Rhapsody. It had completely exceeded the value of any spiritual artifact.

    ¡°Hmph, it doesn¡¯t seem like anything special at all to me. I don¡¯t want it.¡± Han Qiongzhi tossed the painting back to Li Qingshan. ¡°Though, you have to tell me who you see in the painting.¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the painting and asked in surprise, ¡°How did you know?¡±

    So the rumors really were true. Han Qiongzhi smiled complacently. ¡°Just what don¡¯t I know? Stop trying to change the topic. Tell me.¡± She acted like she did not care, but she was rather nervous inside. Would it be her?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Can I not say it?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said with absolutely no confidence, ¡°Of course not!¡± Did he see Gu Yanying? I- if that were the case, she could not blame him, but she plummeted into dejection.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fine then! Since you want to know, there¡¯s no reason for me to hide it from you. That¡¯s right, the person I saw was¡­ widow Li from my village.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart had already sunk. When she heard Li Qingshan¡¯s answer, it instead petrified her. She blinked her eyes. ¡°What¡­ did you just say?¡±

    Li Qingshan said with embarrassment, ¡°You know, I was young! Widow Li is who all the men in our village fantasized over.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s mind was thrown into disarray. Widow Li obviously posed no threat to her, but when she thought about how she had been defeated by a ¡°widow Li¡± who did not even have a name, she found it even more difficult to accept.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud and pulled the fiery Han Qiongzhi into his arms. He raised her chin. ¡°You idiot, it¡¯s you!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi growled angrily, ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re teasing me again!¡±

    Li Qingshan gently shook her chin and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s not called teasing. That¡¯s called being toyed with!¡±

    ¡°I- is it true?¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s voice suddenly sunk as she bit her lip. If it were not her, she would much rather him lie to her.

 Chapter 350 â€“ Qian Rongzhiâ€™s Disappearance

    Li Qingshan¡¯s love life was not a blank piece of paper, but it was not a lot better than Chu Danqing¡¯s. Only that startling glimpse of Gu Yanying under the snowy pine tree outside Qingyang city had allowed him to experience what love at first sight was.

    However, he was not Hua Chengzan. No matter how deep of an impression Gu Yanying had on him, no matter how great of an oath he had sworn because of her, she was nowhere near as important as the beloved woman in his arms right now.

    As a result, when he saw the painting, the memory was just a pitifully short recollection. What appeared in his head was her posture sitting back against the nose of the boat, natural and graceful, making him admire her from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°You¡¯re in my arms, so why would I still be thinking about a painting?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Han Qiongzhi felt like her heart had been melted. She felt as giddy as a cloud, about to fly off into the air.

    The two of them leaned against one another above the blue waves. They were both filled with utter satisfaction.

    Even Li Qingshan had never expected a single word from him to achieve something like this. The tip of his finger slid past her plump lips, and he smiled. ¡°Are you satisfied now?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Han Qiongzhi shot a glance at him. Her limpid eyes rippled as a rosy glow filled her cheeks. She was extremely charming.

    ¡°Is there a reward for me?¡± Li Qingshan poked her supple chest.

    ¡°Here, the gift I promised.¡± Han Qiongzhi knocked his hand aside and pulled out an item from her hundred treasures pouch.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback; this could not be wrong. It was the high grade spiritual artifact pill cauldron he had taken a liking to in the school of Miscellany. The alchemy cauldron was not forged from metal. Instead, it was a rare cauldron completely carved out of jade. There was a long dragon coiled around the mouth of the cauldron. Its full name was the Jade Sculpted Cauldron of the Coiled Dragon.

    Weren¡¯t men supposed to be the ones to buy things that women took a liking to? Their roles seemed to have reversed. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart melted.

    ¡°How¡¯s it? You like it?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked in concern. Although she originated from an aristocratic family, the last thing Han Anjun did to this daughter of his was spoil her. It took up all her past savings and her contribution in the Hawkwolf Guard converted into spiritual stones to gather enough money to make this purchase.

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He placed down the alchemy cauldron and directly kissed her on her cherry lips.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi struggled weakly, but this man embraced her almost forcefully, preventing her from putting up any resistance at all. He kissed her lips, and her mind immediately blanked out. She hugged him subconsciously.

    A while later, their lips parted, but they were still connected by a string of saliva.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes were lost. Her lips were slightly agape, still remiscincing the first kiss of her life. The feeling lingered for a very long time.

    Returning to her senses, she was met with Li Qingshan¡¯s smiling gaze. ¡°So you really are so afraid of being kissed, Qiongzhi!¡± He could feel earlier that the woman in his embrace seemed to have crumpled, completely collapsing in his arms, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a man of your word. I gave you a gift with such kind intentions, and you instead used the opportunity to bully me. You were even so forceful with me. Your embrace was killing me.¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face was completely flushed as she grumbled flirtatiously. She did not blame him for his actions driven by passion at all.

    ¡°For you.¡± Li Qingshan stowed the alchemy cauldron into his hundred treasures pouch before taking out the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms. He felt like he had been completely substandard as a boyfriend. All he cared about was enjoying himself, and she ended up giving him a present first.

    Han Qiongzhi refused it. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to exchange things with you. You won it, so just keep it!¡±

    Li Qingshan shoved the painting into her hands. ¡°This is a token of love, you understand?¡± Actually, even he himself did not understand this too well. Compared to those gestures of romance like tying a knot with a strand of hair, their tokens of love were much more pragmatic. However, this was the exact woman he liked, one who had no idea what romance was.

    Only then did Han Qiongzhi understand the implication of the painting in her hands. She was utterly delighted, and she immediately began to admire it fondly. She looked at it again and again, as if the painting in her hand was no longer the same one from before.

    A while later, she suddenly closed her eyes and raised her head, puckering her lips slightly.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±

    ¡°You idiot. I want to try it again. It¡¯s quite a nice feeling.¡± Han Qiongzhi opened her eyes and grumbled happily. ¡°Don¡¯t use the opportunity to toy with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed. Since when were there women who would demand for kisses when they had just kissed for the first time? If he treated her as a shy beauty, then he really would have misjudged her. ¡°Thank you for reminding me.¡± He lowered his head and kissed her. His left hand wrapped around her slender waist, gently touching her as his right hand landed on her perky bottom, massaging it hard.

    Han Qiongzhi moaned gently and writhed her body subconsciously. Her mind was completely taken away by the hot, sweet kiss with him. She only focused on dealing with the foreign object that had invaded her mouth, without any concern for anything else. She just let him do what he wanted.

    After these few moments of intimate contact, Han Qiongzhi turned down Li Qingshan¡¯s suggestion of going boating with a smile. Her red lips brushed past his cheeks, stopping by his ear and whispering, ¡°You sex fiend. Stop thinking about this all the time.¡±

    She curled back the middle finger on her right hand and flicked him below gently. She was not completely unfamiliar with a certain organ on a man¡¯s body, except most of her contact came from dead people. Living and attached to her own man, she found the various phases it went through to be extremely fascinating.

    With how she was like, she would never take his teasing lying down. If she had the opportunity, she would definitely return the favour and give him a taste of what she was capable of. She could not allow him to believe he could bully her whenever he wanted just because she had become his woman.

    Li Qingshan suddenly widened his eyes before frowning. He shot a glance at her viciously. Once a tomboy gained a hint of femininity, it would be the end of the world. Her wild style of approaching things had almost driven him mad. Only when he secretly used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression did he manage to suppress his restless desire. He had already grasped her weakness anyway, so there was no need for him to be so worried. She would be stripped, washed, and eaten sooner or later.

    They arrived in the long-awaited Clear River city and strolled around together while holding hands.

    Willows stood along the banks of the Clear river. Boats stretched across the river like silk. It was a scorching summer day, but the interest for outings continued to soar.

    In this day and age, society was quite liberal. Particularly within a prefectural city like Clear River city that was directly under the control of cultivators, even the legendary heyday of the Tang dynasty was unable to rival its liberty.

    After all, one of the three rulers of the Ruyi commandery was female. Women could practise martial arts and cultivate. They were not dependent on men. The one beside Li Qingshan was a living example of this.

    Although Han Qiongzhi simply stood out too much, forcing Li Qingshan to deal with a few rascals taken away by her beauty, this long-awaited secular lifestyle and the hubbub of the streets made Li Qingshan reminisce for quite a while.

    As he strolled past the tall structures and held the hand of this woman who gave off a sense of modernness, he felt like he had returned to his past life. When no one was around, she would peck him with a kiss before scampering to one side with a smile, looking at his helpless expression of being teased.

    Around dusk, Li Qingshan bid farewell to Han Qiongzhi¡ªit was obviously a kiss as she had completely fallen in love with this act of intimacy¡ªbefore returning to Cloudwisp island. Sure enough, Xiao An was waiting in his room, reading a buddhist scripture quietly. She smiled as soon as she saw him and tilted her head. ¡°Where¡¯s my gift?¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down right in front of her. After a moment of consideration, he still decided to tell her this piece of news in the end. After all, this was the last bit of news that woman had left behind in this world.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi¡¯s gone missing. She told me to give you these things.¡±

    Xiao An was stunned. She stared at the pile of pills and spiritual stones before her.

    Completely in love with Han Qiongzhi, Li Qingshan had almost forgotten about this woman¡¯s existence completely. It was Han Qiongzhi who had mentioned this during their idle talk. Qian Rongzhi had vanished for three months now, and the Hawkwolf Guard had already sent out a search mission for her. It was basically confirmed that she was already dead.

    Han Qiongzhi had already grown accustomed to death, so she only let out a sigh back then, and she no longer thought about it anymore. Unless there were special circumstances, the relationships between cultivators had always been so flimsy.

    Li Qingshan sighed gently. Had she finally reached the end with her mad pursuit?

    Xiao An suddenly recalled the woman who laughed madly among the pile of corpses and pools of blood. Her heart trembled. Was she really dead?

    ¡°I want to divine a trigram for her.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Li Qingshan held no expectations at all. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s final mission sent her southward to investigate a man-eating daemonic beast. She had basically left the boundaries of the Clear River prefecture. Her destination was a vast forest with countless daemonic beasts of various sizes thriving. There were countless venomous insects, and it was connected to the underground caverns. Just entering the place came with extreme danger.

    There were even rumors that it was very possible for the place to be the White Lotus Mother¡¯s hiding spot after she had escaped. However, even Gu Yanying never bothered to check, so who was bold enough to verify this? Even if they managed to find her, all that awaited them was death. As a result, although the Hawkwolf Guard had issued a search mission after Qian Rongzhi¡¯s disappearance, absolutely no one was bold enough to venture there.

    Xiao An closed her eyes and sat with her legs crossed. Her right hand brushed past the various items.

    As a divining art of the school of Yin-yang, she had never given up on understanding and practising the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots. However, this was the first time she had used it.

    At the same moment, the light from the setting sun weakly penetrated a canopy woven from leaves in a forest over a thousand kilometers to the south. The forest had already descended into darkness.

    A fly buzzed and searched around. Suddenly, it caught a heavy, sweet, ravishing scent; it was a mixture of blood and rot. It often represented a corpse that it could lay eggs on and allow its descendants to thrive.

    It fluttered its wings and flew quickly in that direction. It avoided a spider¡¯s web and arrived before a small hill. The smell came from here.

    It circled around before entering the cave that was almost covered in vines. It had already become pitch-black like night in there, but that was unable to stop it. Very soon, it found its target, a humanoid corpse lying on the ground.

    Yes, humanoid was all it was. Its beautiful clothes had already been ripped apart, reduced to pieces of blood-soaked rags. It bore absolutely no resemblance to its former shape. Injuries covered the body like blood-red mouths, leaking with blood or even pus. They seemed like crying eyes or wailing mouths, trying to explain its indescribable pain.

    The ¡°corpse¡± did not have a single inch of intact skin. Even the gaps between the injuries were riddled with uneven scars, as if they had been viciously ripped open again just when they had healed.

 Chapter 351 â€“ Qian Rongzhiâ€™s Melancholy

    ¡°This is already the sixth trigram. Are you going to continue?¡± Li Qingshan asked. Although Han Qiongzhi had never mentioned it, they had probably asked Ma Buyi to personally divine for her fate since she was a legalist disciple. If they could determine her fate, then it would not be a search mission, but a rescue mission.

    Searching for a live person was searching. Searching for a dead person was also searching.

    Xiao An gradually familiarised herself with the usage of the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots, but for six consecutive trigrams, they were all the worst of the worst. She could not find a single chance for survival. However, she refused to give up because this was all very strange.

    If Qian Rongzhi were dead, then she should have been able to predict a rough location of her corpse. However, the trigrams suggested that she seemed to be in hell. This was the most unlikely place possible.

    Even if hell was where all souls would return to, even Ma Buyi¡¯s arts of divination were unable to extend across worlds.

    ¡°I want to divine one last trigram.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. Although spirit turtles possessed some prophetic powers, he was two-ninths of a spirit turtle at most. He could only sense life-threatening danger.

    When he fell into Altar Lord Black Lotus¡¯ formation in Ancient Wind city, there had been no warnings at all. He even had to rely on his instincts as a daemon to sense that something was amiss in the very end, and he had failed to escape. Of course, he believed it was because his senses were not sharp enough, but sure enough, he had just been shaken up in the end, without encountering any danger at all.

    Xiao An closed her hands. Seven types of true qi, yin, yang, and the five elements, condensed according to a special method, as if they were parallelling the propagation and decay of everything in the world, resonating with a sliver of unseen fate.

    In the end, it condensed into a round cup. Thousands of colours merged and swirled along a special pattern, like a kaleidoscope, like it was forming various diagrams, images, and words. However, just a single glance of it made Li Qingshan¡¯s head spin.

    A thin bamboo lot rose up from it slowly, and the cup disintegrated. Xiao An suddenly snatched up the lot, as if she had grasped the unseen fate.

    The Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots originated from the most ancient Divination of the Seven Stars. A lot decided a fate, giving her knowledge of good and bad luck, life and death, the past and the future.

    Li Qingshan was unable to tell what was going on. He just wondered to himself. If he used turtle shells for divination, then Xiao An would use lots for divination. Of course, he had no idea that his dream lover Gu Yanying¡¯s Six Trigrams Divination used bronze coins as a medium.

    Xiao An closed her eyes and frowned. She released all of her imagination as she tried to read the information in the lot.

    Fate would never tell you clearly, ¡°Hey, John Doe, you¡¯re going to be unlucky today.¡± Even just a simple piece of information like that was ten times more informative than all of wikipedia. It was a hundred times more difficult to understand than a piece of art from a drunken impressionist.

    The main job of the diviner was to read the information and tell the person, ¡°Hey, John Doe, you¡¯re going to be unlucky today. It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t go out.¡±

    Yet, there happened to be a time limit to this. The bamboo slip of light constantly flickered and twisted, dispersing in Xiao An¡¯s hands very soon.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How¡¯s it?¡±

    Xiao An opened her eyes and furrowed her brows firmly. The Cloud Bookcase of the Seven used the first six lots as a foundation, so the seventh lot would be the most accurate one. She finally found a sliver of survival in the hellish images. It was so frail that it was almost hopeless. It was like a lone lantern within a fierce storm, where it could be put out at any moment.

    Li Qingshan heard Xiao An¡¯s explanation and pondered for a while. ¡°Are you thinking of finding her?¡±

    The fly confirmed the source of the smell. It circled around a few times cautiously. It failed to discover any other flies, which made it slightly uneasy.

    However, it was unable to resist the temptation of the smell. Driven by its instincts, it landed on a widened eye of the ¡°corpse¡±.

    At that moment, something seemed to swim past in the pupil of the ¡°corpse¡±. The eye of the ¡°corpse¡± suddenly turned.

    It fell to the ground silently, its short life coming to an end. Together with many other creatures of the same kind, they laid on the ground, dead.

    Using the momentary clear-mindedness, the eyes swiveled, observing the surroundings. Only through that could she learn how long she had remained here for. Her thoughts had been completely torn apart, while her senses became the greatest lies, making her believe she had already remained here for over a century.

    Her rationality only played a measly role, as if she was searching through garbage within ruins, wanting to rebuild a city. It was ridiculous and pointless.

    However, she managed to find her long-lost sense of time. Her memories returned to roughly three months ago.

    The proud, noon sun barely managed to penetrate the green canopy, landing in this forest and making a wide, shallow stream sparkle.

    She stepped into the stream and disturbed the silence there. She tried to focus on finding the whereabouts of the man-eating daemonic beast so that she could forget about her original reason for coming here, but she was unable to forget it.

    The world was heading into late spring, but her heart remained in the chilly winter, unable to forget about turmoil. She had found nothing in the past few months, and she would be able to let out a sigh of relief every single day, but there seemed to be another power constantly pulling her towards the sludge.

    She almost wanted to give up, to travel far away and start over in a place where no one knew her. However, the arts of divination existed in this world. Perhaps that person was helpless against Gu Yanying, but finding her and killing her could not be any easier.

    She stopped at the centre of the stream. Once she crossed through this stream, she would reach the depths of the forest, which was filled with various dangers. She could declare an end to the mission once she reached that stage.

    ¡°Are you looking for someone?¡±

    Just when she wanted to turn around, a gentle voice made her stop. The voice came from a man who possessed a face as gentle as his voice. The corner of his lips curled into a faint smile. His black ceremonial robes were dark like the night. The tattered bottom of his clothes moved with the stream.

    She sighed gently, as if a great burden had been lifted from her shoulders. The real danger she had been waiting for the entire time had already come.

    Only then did she slowly turn around. She bowed. ¡°Greetings from subordinate Qian Rongzhi, Altar Lord Black Lotus.¡± Finally, she had met the greatest person within the White Lotus cult apart from the holy mother once more.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi, how dare you come here!¡± Before Altar Lord Black Lotus could say anything, a little girl in white emerged from behind him. She seemed to be five or six years old at most, and her voice was childish, but the coldness in her pupils were enough to freeze the blood within her veins. Qian Rongzhi said nothing at all. That¡¯s right, this was the White Lotus Mother, the source of her fear this whole time.

    ¡°You seem to have been searching for us the entire time?¡± Altar Lord Black Lotus asked curiously. They were aware of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s arrival, but they were worried it was a trap. He had racked his brains to prevent White Lotus from stepping into this potential trap. Exposing their tracks for a mere Qian Rongzhi was very unnecessary.

    However, today, he was no longer able to pacify her fury, which was why they had appeared. That ma¡¯am Gu was not patient enough to do all this. She could not even be bothered with chasing them down, which meant she no longer took this past enemy of her seriously anymore. Yes, the game had already ended.

    Qian Rongzhi immediately dropped to her knees and lowered her head into the water. ¡°Yes, Qian Rongzhi was under Gu Yanying¡¯s control and caused a huge mistake. I deserve a thousand deaths. I¡¯ve specially come for punishment from the holy mother and the altar lord!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention that name!¡± The little girl screamed.

    ¡°I¡¯m no longer an Altar Lord. Just call me Black Lotus!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still the White Lotus Mother!¡± The little girl screamed again.

    ¡°Alright, alright. You¡¯re still the White Lotus Mother.¡± Black Lotus bent over and spoke to her like he was coaxing a child. Afterwards, he stood up straight again and rubbed his temples like he was troubled. ¡°I really do want to spare you, but can¡¯t you come up with a proper reason? Now that the White Lotus Mother has lost her temper, she¡¯s very difficult to appease.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi wanted to speak, but Black Lotus interrupted her by raising his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear your lies. Please treat us with sincerity, okay? In order for you to understand the severity of this matter, I¡¯ll kill you if you utter another lie from now on.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to listen to her. Black Lotus, kill her! Kill her!¡± The White Lotus Mother constantly stamped her foot, causing the water to splash everywhere.

    Black Lotus grabbed the White Lotus Mother¡¯s little hand. ¡°You better speak soon! The White Lotus Mother is running out of patience. Stand up and look into my eyes. Tell me why you¡¯ve come.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stood up and stared into Black Lotus¡¯s clear, dark, and serene pupils. She could no longer utter a single word of everything she had prepared beforehand, as all of it were lies.

    ¡°I want a way out.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡± The White Lotus Mother kicked the water fiercely.

    Black Lotus smiled. ¡°Very good. There¡¯s something we both want then. Without a doubt, killing out of hatred is pointless. Of course, not everyone agrees with that.¡± For example, the tiny White Lotus Mother beside him. She was tempted to skin that traitor Qian Rongzhi alive.

    ¡°I¡¯m very curious about why you weren¡¯t influenced by the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°That¡¯s probably because I¡¯ve practised the arts of charm¡­¡±

    ¡°The Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple is not an art of charm. Do you know its origins?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi shook her head. She had not even managed to feel what the technique had done to her.

    Black Lotus explained. There had once been an eminent monk who had witnessed all aspects of life. He saw how there were countless people who refused to come to their senses throughout the vast world. Out of lament, he created a technique where he could fill the mind of others with his own comprehension, allowing them to attain enlightenment in a single instant.

    Even a fool, a simpleton, could comprehend the supreme essence of the buddhist dharma, no longer bound by the various afflictions of the world. It was called the Wisdom Imbuement technique. It was not a technique to control the minds of others from the demonic path.

    The Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple originated from that. It could not be resisted, as the technique was beneficial to the person in the first place. Under the influence of the technique, it would seem like they had awakened their innate knowledge and comprehended the past, removing all bottlenecks of the mind from the path of cultivation until they reached the limit of the caster¡¯s cultivation. If Hua Chengzan had been influenced by this technique, he would have successfully reached Foundation Establishment a few years ago.

    Only then did Qian Rongzhi understand why all people within the White Lotus cult under the influence of the technique would smile from ear to ear, remaining positive even when the White Lotus cult was severely crippled, as if they were filled with endless satisfaction.

    Black Lotus said, ¡°Can you tell me exactly why?¡±

 Chapter 352 â€“ Qian Rongzhiâ€™s Recollection

    ¡°So¡­ you can¡¯t be happy¡­ I see now.¡± Black Lotus sighed gently and took pity on her.

    Originally, he had thought it was a deeper plan from Gu Yanying, using some kind of artifact to resist the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple. However, the answer he received was surprisingly simple. Even the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple was unable to wash away her pain that was like pitch-black sludge.

    Actually, he had witnessed similar situations in the past, but most people who resisted the technique ended up killing themselves very soon. Even if they continued to live, they would be tortured endlessly by their own pain, becoming no different from zombies, dull and unable to focus. Since they were unable to break free from it, death became their best salvation.

    ¡°Then why do you still want to live?¡±

    ¡°Why? Why?¡± Qian Rongzhi lowered her head and murmured. Suddenly, she smiled and tidied up her hair. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s just because I refuse to die.¡±

    Having reached this stage, any hard work would be futile. Her fate was in the hands of others. However, she felt no fear at all. Just like what Black Lotus had said, death was not a particularly bad option for her.

    Black Lotus said sincerely, ¡°Rongzhi, I really do want you to live¡­¡±

    ¡°No, don¡¯t even think about that!¡± The White Lotus Mother screamed.

    ¡°Then the issue right now is, what am I supposed to do to let you live? I might not be an Altar Lord anymore, but I can¡¯t disobey the White Lotus Mother¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Black- Lotus- who¡¯s- side- are- you- on?¡± The White Lotus Mother stressed every single word as she kicked Black Lotus¡¯s calf furiously. Black Lotus laid his hands out helplessly.

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head. Through the cracks between the green leaves, sunlight twinkled like stars. Her figure was reflected in the serene stream, standing aloof from the world, as if everything happening right now no longer had anything to do with her.

    She had done what she could. The rest was up to fate.

    Black Lotus pondered for a while before suddenly smiling. He raised a finger and said, ¡°People always say there is no perfect outcome, but if you look closely, you¡¯ll always be able to find a way.¡±

    Afterwards, he crouched down and said to the White Lotus Mother, ¡°Holy mother, will you be satisfied if you just kill her like this? It¡¯ll basically be salvation for her instead.¡±

    The White Lotus Mother said, ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll kill her so easily? I will make her go through all the cruel tortures in the world, until she sobs and begs me, until her mind is broken. Then I¡¯ll kill her.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s lips curled into a sneer. Sobbing and begging? Mind broken? Do you want me to act it out for you right now?

    Black Lotus seemed to grasp the crux of the matter. He smiled. ¡°Yes, cruel torture. Do you still remember that?¡±

    Black Lotus opened his hand at Qian Rongzhi. A translucent piece of amber sat within the palm of his hand. A tiny snake, as thin as a strand of hair, was sealed with the amber. It was incredibly small, but its gorgeous colours were enchanting.

    Qian Rongzhi asked, ¡°This is?¡±

    ¡°This comes from the Mist province.¡±

    ¡°A Snake gu?¡± Qian Rongzhi frowned. The Mist province was also known as the Myriad Mountains. Although Great Xia had already reigned over it for all these years, it was still an uncivilized and undeveloped place. The path of cultivation of savages differed drastically from those practiced in the central lands. The arts of shamanistic gu were one of the strangest methods to kill people in the world. It had made a name for itself.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°You want to kill me with this?¡±

    ¡°I heard from a friend that real gu is not for killing people. Instead, it¡¯s to make living people feel like they¡¯d be better off dead.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. Since it was for making living people feel like they would be better off dead, that meant she could live.

    ¡°Though, this gu is called a gu of burden. For the past three hundred years, it was believed to be a gu of death, as no one had ever survived once afflicted by it. They would all die from the agonising pain. Even the most cold-hearted, toughest man would become as frail as a child once they were afflicted by this gu.¡±

    The White Lotus Mother¡¯s smile grew even wider. It was innocent yet cruel. Even Qian Rongzhi experienced chills from it.

    Black Lotus continued, ¡°Only afterwards did people discover that this gu did not cause death. It did not even cause any harm at all. All the people who died to the gu died by suicide. If you can endure the pain, you¡¯ll benefit tremendously from it instead. There had even been a cult that had arisen from it, worshipping the snake as their holy snake.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stepped through the stream and made her way forward. She reached towards the Snake Burden gu without any hesitation at all. Pain? She had always been a very tolerant person.

    Black Lotus closed his hand instead. His face sank. ¡°Do you really plan on living like this? Once the gu is planted, it will never go away. It will be bound to you forever, which is why it¡¯s called a burden.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have any other choice.¡± Qian Rongzhi sneered.

    Black Lotus stared at her deeply. ¡°I suddenly regret this slightly. If you choose death, I will give you a swift one. You won¡¯t feel any pain at all.¡±

    The White Lotus Mother said unhappily, ¡°Black Lotus!¡±

    Black Lotus bowed seriously. ¡°No matter how unhappy you are with this, I can¡¯t just let you do this. Slaughter and death have always been unavoidable, but humiliation and abuse are not things we should do. If you insist on this, then please kill me first!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother was powerless against him. All she could do was turn around furiously.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, but if I were in search of a swift death, why would I still come here?¡±

    Black Lotus fell silent for a moment. He opened his hand. ¡°Fine then. I respect your choice, but please listen to the last bit I have to say. According to my knowledge, this snake is not a creature of this world. Instead, it comes from the Hell realm. As a legalist disciple, you should know about this.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes narrowed. She obviously knew about this. The legendary Hell realm had a total of eighteen major hells and countless minor hells. It was where all dead souls returned to throughout the trichiliocosm. All their sins would receive a final judgement in the underworld. It was the ultimate representation of law. She also understood very well why the Snake Burden gu did not cause death. The tortures of hell had never been for slaughter, but for punishment.

    It was to make even the toughest evildoers feel pain so that they could then repent.

    ¡°This snake comes from the Venomous Snake hell. The so-called cruel tortures of the living world is no different from a mere game before the punishments of hell. In other words, you will be living in hell every single day from today onwards.¡±

    Before he had even finished talking, Qian Rongzhi had already snatched up the amber. She brought the amber to the sunlight and raised her beautiful face, looking at the gorgeous, tiny snake in there. She glanced at Black Lotus, and her lips curled up. ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions.¡±

    The amber slid down between her fingers. Under the illumination of sunlight, the snake inside seemed even more enchanting. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and it fell straight into her mouth.

    Within the darkness, cracks appeared on the amber before it shattered all of a sudden. She did not release it. Instead, it broke free from its restraints by itself.

    Like a wild beast that had caught the scent of blood, like a gluttonous taotie1 that had seen delicious food, this shameless soul filled with hatred was like its favourite food and a warm bed. It dove in deeply and helplessly.

    Qian Rongzhi trembled all over. She immediately dropped to her knees in the stream. The tiny snake that was even more gorgeous than a rainbow swum through her face like a tattoo. It swam under her skin, and it seemed to become slightly larger than when it was in the amber.

    She suddenly widened her eyes, falling down limply and kicking up a splash.

    An indescribable, even unimaginable, pain moved through her like a snake. She opened her mouth as widely as she could. If she could still let out any sounds, she would definitely be shrieking miserably right now. However, the pain had already seized her body and locked up her throat. All she could let out were pointless choking sounds.

    However, every inch of her body moaned. The entirety of her soul wailed.

    She had completely underestimated the tortures of hell. She was completely wrong. She was nowhere near as tough as she had imagined herself to be. In just a single moment, she began to feel regret. She was willing to do anything to rid herself of this pain.

    Did those souls in hell repent for their past sins every single day and night too?

    Although she had widened her eyes to the limit, her vision was a blur. Everything in the surroundings seemed to spin, turning into blurry colours. She could vaguely make out a black shadow that approached her, which said, ¡°Since this is the path you¡¯ve chosen, I wish you a safe journey.¡±

    Black Lotus stood up and said to the White Lotus Mother, who relished Qian Rongzhi¡¯s horrible shape with great interest, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother said, ¡°Let me watch for a little longer.¡±

    Black Lotus looked at her fiercely, and the White Lotus Mother grumbled, ¡°How stingy!¡±

    When the first wave of pain had passed, the venomous snake that came from hell seemed to have moved around enough. It settled down.

    She supported her body and crawled back onto her knees. The sky had already darkened completely. She did her best to tidy her chaotic thoughts. Although her face was sheet-white, she was basically unscathed. The White Lotus Mother had not even touched a single hair on her. It was even better than the best-case scenario she had imagined before.

    However, her mind was close to collapsing completely. It was very strange. If a person underwent pain they could not endure, they would fall unconscious or be driven crazy even if they survived. However, she managed to maintain a clear mind the entire time, carefully tasting every moment of pain. Perhaps this was the wonders of the punishments of hell!

    Returning to her senses, the first thing she did was grab her own throat. All she needed to do was close her hand gently. Blood would seep out, and she would be free.

    Her sharp nails dug through her sheet-white skin. Warm, bright-red blood oozed out. After hesitating for quite a while, she pulled her hand back again and stood up as she tried to stabilise herself. She found a small cave in the mountains and dove in before falling unconscious.

    She dreamt of a large snake coloured even more gorgeously swallowing her in a single bite. She woke up again very soon, and the second wave of pain arrived.

    Time slipped by with each passing day. When she could move around, she would replenish her food and water before awaiting the next round of pain in utter fear. Yes, fear, unprecedented fear, so much fear that she trembled. Even when she rested, the snake would torture her in a different way, which made her contemplate salvation through death at every single moment.

    However, she refused to just go like this. Gradually, she could make some simple movements during the punishment, but it only made the situation even worse. Every single time, she would lose her mind, tempted to dig out the snake from her body. She would rip through every inch of her skin. Fortunately, the bodies of cultivators were powerful, so the wounds would always heal very quickly.

    She even came up with a ridiculous idea. If she peeled off her own skin, could she break away from the snake? However, her remaining rationality stopped her. The snake had already merged with her, and if she did something like that, she would die very soon. She could not just die like this!

    At this moment, the aura of danger interrupted her recollection.

    A daemonic beast that seemed like a wild cat arrived in the cave by following the scent of blood. Its glowing eyes hovered about in the darkness.

    It was a daemonic beast that had condensed a daemon core. Perhaps this was the man-eating daemonic beast she had been searching for, but none of that matter anymore. Even if she were in perfect shape, she would not be confident that she could defeat it, but she was extremely frail now. Even moving a single finger was a struggle.

    PS: Bows and thanks to fellow ¡°Alias Space¡± for his donation. Congratulations to the new sect master!

 Chapter 353 â€“ To Never Repent, To Never Mend Her Ways

    Xiao An did not answer Li Qingshan immediately. Instead, she began thinking in silence.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re considering it, then let¡¯s go look for her. It¡¯s not like it¡¯ll take a lot of time anyway.¡± It was rare for Xiao An to be interested in someone else. Li Qingshan felt like he should encourage something like this. And, with what Qian Rongzhi had left for Xiao An, they had to do what they could.

    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous.¡± Xiao An shook her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I might not know divination like you, but I can still sense real danger.¡± Li Qingshan pointed at his head before rubbing her hair. ¡°Just treat it as me going out to have some fun with you.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    They arrived at the Hawkwolf Guard. Li Qingshan accepted the mission and went upstairs to give Han Qiongzhi some notice.

    After a series of intimate contact, Han Qiongzhi heard about the details of Li Qingshan¡¯s mission. She said in surprise, ¡°You want to accept this mission? Do you know her very well?¡±

    ¡°I obviously don¡¯t know her as well as you. We¡¯ve basically just worked together a few times. She¡¯s probably dead already, but I should still bring her remains back!¡± Li Qingshan studied Han Qiongzhi as he said without the slightest concern.

    The floor-to-ceiling windows allowed scorching sunlight to pour in. As she sat in the tall back chair in her Scarlet Wolf uniform, she seemed extremely valiant. Li Qingshan leaned against the table right in front of her, daydreaming away.

    Han Qiongzhi stroked her chin in thought; this action was extremely masculine, which gave her a different kind of charm.

    ¡°Alright, you can go!¡±

    Li Qingsha smiled. ¡°What, are you worried that your man might run into the White Lotus Mother, and she might keep him around as a trophy husband?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi leaned against the seat back and raised her legs, crossing them on the table. She looked down. ¡°If it were little Hua, then there might have been some chance for that to happen. With your looks, you¡¯ll probably just be cut up immediately. I received news a few days ago that the White Lotus Mother and Altar Lord Black Lotus have already returned to the Mist province to rebuild the White Lotus cult.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Is the information reliable? Aren¡¯t they afraid of being caught there?¡±

    ¡°The Mist province is not the Green province. It¡¯s truly a lawless place. Basically all the people who cannot deal with the Hawkwolf Guard in the Green province will flee there. If you really can¡¯t find her, don¡¯t forget to just bring some remains back.¡± Han Qiongzhi winked.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a good idea!¡± Li Qingshan said. The search mission for Qian Rongzhi came with quite a lot of contribution. After all, it had to do with the fate of a Scarlet Wolf guard.

    ¡°Fine then. Wait for my return.¡± Li Qingshan leaned over and gave her a deep kiss before standing up and leaving.

    Han Qiongzhi arrived beside the floor-to-ceiling windows and watched his cloud takeoff. She smiled with her lips closed.

    The daemonic beast moved with startling speeds. Its two glowing eyes were like drifting shadows, producing two long trails of light. It circled around Qian Rongzhi again and again, rapidly drawing closer.

    Qian Rongzhi widened her eyes as far as she could. In the beginning, they managed to follow the daemonic beast around, but afterwards, they stopped moving, as if she had completely grown numb to it all already.

    The daemonic beast confirmed that this was not a trap. The two balls of circling green light suddenly moved towards the centre of the cave. The daemonic beast lunged over and bit Qian Rongzhi¡¯s neck. That was the only place on her body with fewer wounds. Even when she was in extreme pain, she would constantly control herself so that she would not accidentally end her own life.

    Was this going to be it after enduring all that pain for three months?

    Four canines pierced her skin first, followed by the rest of the teeth. They just needed to close up a little more, and there would be no need to wait for her to suffocate. They would directly shatter her vertebrae.

    Even at this moment, her gaze and expression remained the same as before. The pain that could agonise others was as lovely as the spring breeze to her, while the looming death might have only been salvation to her.

    The daemonic beast stiffened. Tremendous pain permeated its entire body instantly like venom.

    Qian Rongzhi finally revealed a smile, which seemed more demonic than anything else on her terrifying face. With her hands beside her body, she propped herself up slowly before biting into the daemonic beast¡¯s neck.

    At a closer glance, a tiny, gorgeously-coloured snake had already begun circling around Qian Rongzhi¡¯s neck. A parasite would protect its host. Its method of protection was obviously to make the enemy have a taste of the same pain.

    When the punishments of hell descended, the daemonic beast¡¯s daemon qi completely dispersed. It could not even move a single muscle. Its tough hide was gradually pierced by her teeth, and the metallic, salty blood flowed into her mouth. She was like a vampire, sucking hard and using the blood of others to make up for her own blood loss.

    She had already finished off the food she had prepared in her hundred treasures pouch a long time ago. Fortunately, the smell of blood she gave off lured many wild beasts over. This was the method she had used to eat them all and replenish her energy.

    Filling herself with blood, she recovered quite a lot of strength. She ripped open the daemonic beast¡¯s belly and took out a translucent daemon core the size of a rice grain. She consumed it immediately and did her best to meditate.

    The daemon core happened to match her elemental affinity. It was basically luck bestowed upon her by heaven. The true qi she had not seen in a very long time finally appeared within her sea of qi once more. Powered by the true qi, her wounds gradually closed up.

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly felt dizzy. Touching her forehead, she found that it was another fever. Remaining within the forest and having lost her true qi for an extended period of time, this was already the third time she had fallen sick.

    She knew that she had to leave here. She required a better environment to recover, or she might end up dying here. If she drew over even stronger daemonic beasts, they would be able to crush her throat before becoming seized by the pain.

    She saw the disemboweled carcass of the daemonic beast. Before she left, she had to finish it off so that she could build up enough strength.

    The sun set and rose, but there was no concept of time at all in this gloomy cavern.

    It had only taken Li Qingshan and Xiao An a few hours to reach the hamlet on the edge of the forest. Sure enough, the villagers had seen traces of her. The last few footprints from her led into the forest.

    She had been so brazen, openly disclosing her tracks. Clearly, she did all of this on purpose.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An currently stood before the forest. The serenity made it seem like a different world. Looking for a single person in a forest that extended for thousands of kilometers really would not be easy.

    However, it was not too difficult for Li Qingshan. He was very familiar with that woman¡¯s smell and aura.

    As he moved about swiftly and undertook a rapid search, a heavy smell of blood caught his attention. He lifted up the curtain formed from vines and saw a monster laying within a wild beast, eating its organs.

    A hint of a familiar scent wafted over through the heavy smell of blood. He struggled to believe his eyes. ¡°Qian Rongzhi?¡±

    The ¡°monster¡± suddenly raised her head and saw Li Qingshan. She was surprised. She smiled in an extremely vicious manner and said extremely powerlessly, ¡°You¡¯ve come.¡± She said it like she was sitting peacefully at home, welcoming the visit of a good friend she had not seen in a very long time; she did not act like she had just spotted a saviour from her despair.

    Li Qingshan said nothing. All he did was take out a pill and walk over. Even he himself found this sight to be rather horrific. He never thought the White Lotus cult could actually be so cruel.

    Qian Rongzhi spotted Xiao An behind him and suddenly felt a sense of shame. She curled up. The venomous snake in her body settled down slightly for some reason.

    Li Qingshan wanted to force her mouth open and shove the pill in there.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch me!¡±

    From that moment of distraction, Li Qingshan¡¯s hand had already touched her face. Immediately, indescribable pain filled his body. Before he knew it, the tattoo of a coloured snake had appeared where the tip of his finger had touched her.

    The parasite¡¯s instincts of protecting the host would not change with the host¡¯s will. From now onwards, anyone who wanted to touch her would have to face hellish pain too.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas! Li Qingshan jerked his hand back and stared at it in shock, but he discovered that it was unscathed. His body was perfectly fine too; it was as if the pain earlier was just a dream.

    At this moment, a pair of small, tender hands grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan and Qian Rongzhi said together.

    Xiao An showed no expression of pain at all.

    The snakes of hell could be delivered to this world to punish the living, while in the Venomous Snake hell, they punished the dead. However, Xiao An was neither dead nor living.

    Warmth spread through her hand. Qian Rongzhi saw holy, golden light rise up from Xiao An. Then, the light spread through her body along her hands, enveloping her completely in the golden light.

    Her wounds gradually healed, and subsequently, the vicious, uneven scars were erased bit by bit. This was not the effects of buddhist techniques. Instead, it originated from the power of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. Her appearance seemed to become even more charming than before.

    Xiao An let go and receded to Li Qingshan¡¯s side. Qian Rongzhi said gently, ¡°Thank you.¡± She asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Do you have water?¡±

    With a snap of his fingers, a swirl of water wrapped around her body, washing away the filth and rags on her before vanishing as steam. It revealed her pale body and beautiful proportions, completely naked.

    Li Qingshan had always been a person with very strong desires, but standing before this woman, his mind would always be as calm as water. It was no different right now. He could not even be bothered with shifting his gaze.

    Qian Rongzhi was no different. She picked up her hundred treasures pouch and took out a dress, putting it on. She moved her arms and extended her legs in the process in a natural manner. She was neither trying to seduce him nor avoid him.

    It was as if he did not treat her as a woman, and she did not treat him as a man.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve suffered quite a lot.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to know?¡± Qian Rongzhi had already put on the dress. She was straightening out her hair before a mirror.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡± Li Qingshan was rather curious.

    As a result, Qian Rongzhi told him what she went through casually. She said it so easily that it sounded like she was telling a story about someone else.

    Even Li Qingshan shivered inside after hearing it all. He asked, ¡°How do you plan on dealing with this gu?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do about it, nor is there any need for me to do anything about it. As long as I let go of my shamelessness and hatred, it¡¯ll naturally stop torturing me.¡±

    The Venomous Snake hell had always been for punishing those who ran amok due to a lack of shame, those who sinned endlessly due to hatred. However, punishment was not its purpose. Instead, its compassionate purpose was to get the sinner to come to their senses and realise the sins they had committed so that they could attain redemption and salvation.

    Li Qingshan mockingly asked, ¡°Can you achieve that?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled in response. ¡°Of course not. I won¡¯t feel shame for anything. I hate everyone in the world!¡±

    The venomous snake swam around happily, and she suddenly collapsed on her knees, digging her fingers deeply into the earth. Her smile became twisted due to the pain, but it also became more resplendent. Even if she sank into endless suffering within Av¨©ci1, she would never repent or mend her ways.

    PS: Shamelessly begging for monthly votes is like falling into the Venomous Snake hell, but even if I have to fall into the Venomous Snake hell, I¡¯ll still beg to my heart¡¯s content!

 Chapter 354 â€“ No Title

    Looking at her like this, killing intent surged within Li Qingshan for some reason. She had already recovered her wounds, turning back into that pretty Qian Rongzhi, but she felt even more inhumane than the ¡°monster¡± he saw earlier. He asked nonchalantly, ¡°Does that include me too?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi asked, ¡°Are you a person?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly aback. He sneered disdainfully, ¡°As long as I can live to my heart¡¯s content, does it matter if I¡¯m a person or not? I didn¡¯t want to get my nose in your business, but Xiao An divined that there was a chance for you to survive, which was why I paid a visit here.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi glanced at Xiao An deeply. Xiao An remained composed the entire time, just like she was usually. She was expressionless.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled, ¡°Keep the items I had you to hold onto. You can treat it as a gift of gratitude.¡±

    Li Qingshan took off on a cloud, returning to Clear River city with his ¡°mission item¡±.

    When Qian Rongzhi appeared before Han Qiongzhi in one piece, even Han Qiongzhi became surprised. After learning about her encounter with the White Lotus Mother and spending all that time tending to her heavy injuries in the forest, Han Qiongzhi smiled. ¡°You have quite the luck. So much for my worries for you.¡± Even Han Qiongzhi had no idea about the role Qian Rongzhi had played in the mission to trap the White Lotus cult last time.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, second senior sister,¡± Qian Rongzhi replied politely. Though, did she really have good luck?

    Maybe she did. After receiving treatment from Xiao An, the benefits of the venomous snake of hell gradually presented itself. After the pain, her thoughts would always become especially clear. Her body and soul seemed to go through a few changes too.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s return caused quite a disturbance within the Hawkwolf Guard. Despite her usual manner of taking advantage of everything within her reach, she turned down Han Qiongzhi¡¯s banquet for welcoming her back.

    During those three months, she seemed to have established a slight connection with the venomous snake that burdened her. She gained a slight control over the time of the ¡°punishment¡±, but she needed even more time before she could merge with it properly. The path of the future was within her grasps once more.

    Returning to her residence alone, a familiar figure stood at the entrance. Qian Rongzhi said in surprise, ¡°Little Tian, what brings you here?¡±

    Chu Tian said with great concern, ¡°I heard you returned. Where have you been all this time? I was very worried for you. There were many times when I wanted to search for you.¡±

    As Chu Tian extended his hand over, her eyes lit up. If she held the hand right now, he would probably end up dropping to his knees, begging her to spare him, no matter how much of a genius he was. She would be able to find out about anything he was hiding, including any trump cards he possessed.

    However, she hesitated before pulling her hand back in the end. Chu Tian was a genius that many people kept an eye out for. If he died mysteriously, the entire academy would definitely be shaken up. At a time like this, it would be much better for her to avoid causing any incidents. He had already become hers anyway.

    She suddenly felt delight inside. She was still a sixth layer Qi Practitioner, but she now possessed a pair of fatal, venomous fangs that could harm these so-called geniuses.

    Chu Tian was disappointed, but he felt ashamed too, so he just remained silent. When he heard how it was Li Qingshan who brought her back, he felt even more depressed inside. Why was that guy everywhere?

    When Qian Rongzhi ¡°accidentally¡± mentioned she had lost her hundred treasures pouch during the mission and was worried about her future cultivation, Chu Tian immediately gave her many pills and spiritual pills with great generosity.

    Qian Rongzhi tried to decline the offer before accepting it in the end. ¡°Thank you, little Tian. I will return all of this to you.¡±

    Chu Tian stared at her face in fascination. He felt like no one was more charming and enchanting than her.

    With a gentle cough, Wu Gen emerged from the darkness. He too had once considered searching for her, but as the descendant of a clan, he obviously could not risk his life and go to that forest where the White Lotus Mother might have been hiding. Afterwards, he began to believe her death was certain, and he slowly stopped thinking about her. After hearing about her return, he hurried over to see her. He greeted her in an unnatural manner.

    Qian Rongzhi shot a glance at Chu Tian and smiled. ¡°Brother Wu, you¡¯ve come.¡±

    Seeing how she did not resent him at all, Wu Gen felt even more ashamed. Having heard she had lost her hundred treasures pouch, he too gave some spiritual stones and pills to her in a hurry. As a descendant of a clan, he was very well-off in this aspect, much wealthier than Han Qiongzhi.

    After saying a few words dripping with jealousy to Chu Tian, the two of them parted unhappily.

    Qian Rongzhi let out a heavy sigh. It really was quite a pity that she could not gulp down all the food laid out right before her. If only this world was a little more chaotic, chaotic enough for no one to care if a person or two died.

    Qian Rongzhi was not exactly a prominent figure in the academy, but she was on very good terms with many people. She had visitors during the next few days. Not only were there legalist disciples, but there were many disciples from other schools too. None of them had come empty-handed, so her hundred treasures pouches began to swell up again.

    All of them said junior sister Qian¡¯s bearing had changed drastically after returning, becoming even more beautiful and enchanting than before. However, none of them knew she would tie up her entire body in the dead of night every single day and begin a routine journey to hell.

    Under the nurturing of pain, the colourful, venomous snake slowly grew.

    Summer went and autumn came. Li Qingshan roused in the small bamboo loft. His true qi had already gradually reached the peak of the seventh layer. Before long, he could break through once again.

    He saw Xiao An staring at him with widened eyes. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You can stop looking at me. You better go and conduct the morning chanting, or your master¡¯s going to grumble about me again.¡±

    Ever since the dharma assembly, she became responsible for holding the morning chanting in the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple, and she would then handle the allocation of matters for the day. This was obviously the One Thought master¡¯s arrangements, and this had always been the job of the primary disciple too. Even she was unable to shirk away from it. Though, it came with quite a lot of benefits. She had already helped Li Qingshan earn many pills from the One Thought master.

    Li Qingshan was not treating her as a child labourer either. In order to practise a high level ability like the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, the major focus was on the cultivation of the mind. It was not something that could be resolved by reading a few buddhist scriptures and attending a dharma assembly. She also needed to build up her understanding through the various aspects of day-to-day life, whether big or small.

    Having grown accustomed to her company, Li Qingshan was rather reluctant to see her go everyday, but after some thought, he realised it was akin to sending a child off to school. Coming into contact with a few more people and matters through her identity as a primary disciple would definitely bring great benefits to her future cultivation.

    After Xiao An¡¯s departure, Li Qingshan sat there for a little longer. He neither cultivated nor practised martial arts. Instead, he let his mind go blank, without thinking of anything at all. This was akin to his daily routine of getting up in the morning, brushing his teeth, and washing his face.

    Only then did he leave the room. The sky had already brightened up completely. Two children played around as they swept and cleaned up the leaves on the path within the bamboo forest. They were both at the second layer. Channelling their true qi into the broom, they swung it casually and kicked up a fierce wind, causing the bamboo forest to sway gently.

    The two of them began fighting against one another with their brooms, producing a loud crack every time they clashed. It actually seemed very choreographic. As they fought, they called out, ¡°I¡¯m the second senior brother! You¡¯re the third senior brother!¡± Suddenly, they saw Li Qingshan, and they bowed in a hurry, greeting him politely, ¡°First senior brother.¡±

    Before the next entrance examination had even arrived, the school of Novels had already gained new disciples. These children chosen from various places were also given the opportunity to choose their schools after a period of nurturing.

    These two boys chose the school of Novels. They both possessed an elemental affinity for water, except their talent was nothing special, though it still made Liu Chuanfeng grin from ear to ear for a few days straight. The school of Novels was finally prospering under his control.

    Li Qingshan was finally no longer alone. He patted their heads. ¡°Stop messing around. Go study!¡±

    The large boy said, ¡°We¡¯re still sweeping this place!¡± The other boy chimed in, ¡°If we don¡¯t get this place clean, master will scold us.¡±

    Li Qingshan knew that Liu Chuanfeng was having his moment as a master. In the past, he had never cared about the courtyard full of fallen leaves. Li Qingshan took a liking to the two of them. He smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll sweep it for you.¡±

    A crystalline water dragon flew out from his hand. Winding about, it washed away all the fallen leaves, revealing the cobblestone path underneath.

    The boys cheered. They were filled with admiration towards him. If only we could become as impressive as first senior brother one day.

    ¡°A¡¯Jun, A¡¯Sheng, you¡¯re done with the sweeping, so why don¡¯t you get over here?¡± Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s dignified voice rang out from within the bamboo loft.

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile and watched them bound away. Ever since they arrived here, Liu Chuanfeng seemed to have become a completely different person. He was radiating with the dignity of a teacher and a master.

    ¡°Qingshan, you should go soon and come back early too,¡± Liu Chuanfeng added.

    Li Qingshan also said, ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng stroked his beard in satisfaction. Peering within himself, his Divine Talisman of Great Creation flickered with light. He had never accumulated so much power of belief before. He had been stuck at the tenth layer for many years, and now, he finally had a shred of confidence in reaching the gates that led to Foundation Establishment.

    What mattered the most to a clan or sect? That was the presence of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Otherwise, no matter how reputed they were, people would still look down on them. The school of Novels still depended on him, the school leader, at the end of the day!

    In order to save some power of belief and prepare for Foundation Establishment, he was no longer willing to conjure women to go at it anymore. With his two young disciples here, he could not afford to tarnish his reputation either.

    Li Qingshan arrived at the outskirts of the island and saw Li Long working there. It was all thanks to the various crops he had grown that Li Qingshan had managed to console Milliped, who remained in the bug pouch. He greeted him with a smile before taking off into the air.

    Only when Li Qingshan turned into a tiny speck and landed on Great War island did Li Long lower his head, going back to tending his medicinal garden. Among the various crops, spiritual herbs were the hardest to grow. They had extremely strict requirements on the environment, but the process of growing them was most beneficial to agriculture disciples.

    It was also because of the abundant spiritual qi on Cloudwisp island that Li Long had cleared away a small plot of land and tried planting a few hardier medicinal herbs. He had no idea how they would do, but his ability for planting and tending to crops and his cultivation experienced an obvious increase. He would be able to take another step forward very soon.

    As long as the four crucial elements of cultivation¡ªwealth, companionship, method, and environment¡ªwere all present, the first few layers were relatively easy to break through.

    In a martial arts hall, Li Qingshan¡¯s fist whistles through the air, flying towards Han Tieyi¡¯s face. Han Tieyi¡¯s body swiveled like a screw as the spear in his hand swept towards Li Qingshan¡¯s legs like a black dragon that crawled along the ground.

 Chapter 355 â€“ Refining True Spirit Pills

    Han Tieyi abandoned the spear without hesitation. He managed to catch Li Qingshan¡¯s fists accurately among the blurs.

    Both of their legs suddenly sank deeply into the ground, causing it to crack loudly.

    After a few clashes, they parted. Both of them heaved gently.

    Li Qingshan could not help but admit that the school of the Military was truly a school for actual combat, and Han Tieyi deserved his position as the primary disciple. Li Qingshan had already unleashed the battle skill of Ocean Brawling to the limit, but he still failed to touch Han Tieyi¡¯s face. He was able to counter or nullify the attack every single time with ingenious moves.

    And, in human form, even his abilities as a Body Practitioner paled in comparison to Han Tieyi, a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, and his abilities as a Qi Practitioner were even less worth mentioning. When they clashed, he would endure relatively more of a beating. His brother-in-law was quite the opponent.

    Meanwhile, Han Tieyi felt even more shocked. Every single layer was a huge difference for Qi Practitioners. In particular, the tenth layer was worlds apart from the previous nine layers. His moves that should have been able to vanquish the enemy would only cause slight wounds to Li Qingshan. Moreover, his endurance was shocking. Although Han Tieyi had never suffered a defeat, he would be dragged into an arduous struggle every single time.

    Li Qingshan rested up a little and caught his breath. Seeing the midday sun, he said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± The military disciples all agreed with him. ¡°It¡¯s time to eat! It¡¯s time to eat!¡±

    After a free lunch in the school of the Military, Li Qingshan casually made conversation with Han Tieyi. Nowadays, Li Qingshan would come to the school of the Military every morning for training so that he could gain a better grasp over the usage of battle skills. The two of them admired one another, and combined with their connection through Han Qiongzhi, they had quickly become friends.

    ¡°It¡¯s already quite late. I need to go to Benevolence island.¡± Li Qingshan checked the time and stood up. The afternoon was for learning alchemy. Arriving on Benevolence island, Ru Xin said she wanted to focus on cultivation for the next few days, so she told him to refine a cauldron of pills alone.

    Ever since he received the Jade Sculpted Cauldron of the Coiled Dragon from Han Qiongzhi, Li Qingshan¡¯s success rate for pills had increased drastically. His ability to refine pills improved with each passing day, but it would still take more than just a few days if he wanted to gain the ability to refine a high level pill like the True Spirit pill. Though, Li Qingshan was in no hurry. He went to Contention island and accepted a few alchemy missions before beginning to refine pills.

    Alchemy was very time-consuming, but it was not like artifact forging, which required concentration at all times and not even the slightest distraction. Most of the time, they played the role of a stoker, which was why impressive alchemists would often recruit a few lads to help watch over the cauldron. Li Qingshan did not have that privilege, but he did not find it boring either with the company of a beauty.

    At night, Han Qiongzhi left, and Xiao An returned. She mentioned that Qian Rongzhi had broken through to the seventh layer. She had come to find her today, speaking with her for a while.

    The cold stars embellished the night sky, but very soon, they were expelled once more by the red sun rising up from the east. This continued on as an endless cycle. In the blink of an eye, winter snow fell once more.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s alchemy ability constantly increased, but he instead began to run out of patience.

    The deeper his understanding of alchemy became, the more he understood its profundity. It was definitely not like what he had originally imagined, where he could casually learn it for a year or two and then refine True Spirit pills en masse, which he could then use to exchange for cultivation pills.

    In reality, the process was riddled with difficulties.

    Just the first step of gathering spiritual herbs was an obstacle. Even though the other spiritual herbs for refining True Spirit pills were nowhere near as uncommon as the Blue Butterfly flowers, they were still extremely rare, which would cost him a tremendous amount of spiritual stones at the start. If he wanted to turn all the Blue Butterfly flowers into True Spirit pills, its cost would be calculated in the tens of thousands at the very least.

    One or two of them basically had no market either. They were basically all in the possession of master alchemists, used to refine other high level pills. If he wanted to purchase them, he would have to pay an astronomical sum of one or two times their regular price at the very least. And, if he created such a disturbance purchasing these materials, everyone would know what he was up to. He could never afford to underestimate the intelligence of other cultivators.

    Afterwards would be the second step, refinement.

    Alchemy was not that simple. Even though he was in possession of something as powerful as the Jade Sculpted Cauldron of the Coiled Dragon, it would take him several months at the very least to learn how to refine True Spirit pills. And, once he did learn how to refine them, he would just barely be able to refine them. The success rate would be pitifully low. In other words, he would have to waste large quantities of precious materials.

    If he wanted to increase his success rate, it would be very simple¡ªspend another two or three years learning! However, whether his success rate could even exceed fifty percent was a whole different story. If he could easily learn how to refine high level pills like True Spirit pills in just two or three years, such that he could pump them out cauldron after cauldron, the streets would be filled with alchemists.

    The last step, sale.

    Even if he ignored the other problems and managed to refine True Spirit pills en masse, how was he supposed to sell them and exchange them for pills used for cultivation? This was not a game; he could not sell them just by finding a store, dragging and dropping them in followed by a click of the mouse. He had to conceal his identity first, but that would definitely result in others trying to force the prices down; they might even try to rob him by force.

    Wealth begets trouble. A batch of True Spirit pills that could nurture a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators meant that even many Foundation Establishment cultivators who normally seemed very friendly could possibly change all of a sudden.

    ¡°Can I trust you?¡± Li Qingshan asked casually.

    In Ru Xin¡¯s alchemy room, Ru Xin was teaching Li Qingshan how to refine a cauldron of Fragrance pills. It was a relatively high level pill, but it was not for cultivation. Instead, ingesting Fragrance pills would imbue the body with an exotic fragrance. It had become extremely popular among female cultivators recently.

    This time, it was not a mission from the academy, but Ru Xin¡¯s work.

    During a boring pause, the two of them could not even be bothered with bantering with each other. Li Qingshan listened to the sound of snow falling onto the ceiling quietly. He was not looking at Ru Xin either, staring at the wall as if he was in thought.

    ¡°What¡¯re you asking that for all of a sudden?¡± Ru Xin turned around.

    Li Qingshan looked into Ru Xin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Answer me.¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s eyes with contrasting irises swiveled around, as if she was considering why Li Qingshan had asked this question. She stared at the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯m not sure myself.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for so long already, but there seems to be a mysterious veil over you, such that I can¡¯t grasp you,¡± Li Qingshan said. Having known each other for so long, they bantered about anything and everything, but he had never heard her mention her origins. Even if it was mentioned, she would immediately change the topic.

    ¡°What a coincidence.¡± Ru Xin stared straight at Li Qingshan. To her, wasn¡¯t Li Qingshan no different?

    Their eyes met. After a moment of silence, Li Qingshan smiled, and afterwards, he saw his smile appear on her face like a reflection.

    Indeed. They both had secrets that they could not tell anyone about. However, even if they were friends, there was no need for them to share all their secrets.

    ¡°Have you refined True Spirit pills before?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t, though I¡¯d like to try if the opportunity arises,¡± Ru Xin said calmly. The most important spiritual herb for refining True Spirit pills, the Blue Butterfly flower, was almost extinct, so there really had not been a lot of people who had refined it before.

    Li Qingshan opened his hand, and a blue butterfly that flickered with soft light fluttered gently, brushing past Ru Xin¡¯s face.

    ¡°Then give it a try!¡±

    Ru Xin extended her hand, allowing the blue butterfly to perch on the tip of her finger. She sighed in amazement. ¡°It really is a Blue Butterfly flower. I¡¯ve only seen them in books. I never thought you¡¯d actually possess one. No wonder you¡¯ve been working so hard to learn alchemy. So it was for refining a single True Spirit pill.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°No, not just a single pill.¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s mouth widened slightly as blue butterflies of light fluttered through the alchemy room. Dozens, hundreds, and even more dyed the room with a beautiful colour. However, what she wondered was whether she could fill this alchemy room if she exchanged them all for spiritual pills.

    Only after a very long time did Ru Xin return to her senses. She stared at Li Qingshan deeply as her eyes flickered with a different emotion. ¡°Thank you for your trust in me!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I have another choice. Once you refine them, I can let you take thirty percent.¡±

    This figure managed to make even Ru Xin¡¯s heart skip a beat. Let alone anything else, if she possessed so many True Spirit pills, she could immediately begin her push towards Foundation Establishment.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s next words made Ru Xin calm down. ¡°You¡¯ll be responsible for gathering the other materials, you¡¯ll be responsible for refining the pills, and finally, you¡¯ll be responsible for exchanging them for cultivation pills on my behalf, best if they¡¯re Virtue Accumulation pills. The most important part of all of this is you¡¯ll be responsible for keeping it a secret. I think you understand this even without me telling you!¡±

    ¡°Of course I do.¡± Ru Xin smiled. ¡°If any news of this gets leaked, it might even end up costing us our lives.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan did not think it would be as severe as she imagined it to be. After all, this was still an orderly age of peace. He just did not want other people connecting this with the underground.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°The academy isn¡¯t as safe as you imagine it to be. The school leaders might not be able to do anything to us, but what about pressure from even higher up? The reason why you decided against working with the Han family was not because they¡¯re too powerful, but because I¡¯m a loner, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but admit to that. He could trust Han Qiongzhi, but he could not trust the entire Han family. As for Ru Xin, she did not come from a clan, and her background was blank too. Apparently, she did not even come from the Clear River prefecture. Even her current master, the leader of the school of Medicine, Hua Ci, was a strange, eccentric old man. This also meant that once this matter became exposed, even Ru Xin would not be able to keep the True Spirit pills.

    ¡°Sorry. As it¡¯s very important, I can¡¯t place complete trust in anybody.¡± If it were not for the few months they had spent together, Li Qingshan would have never vested this much trust in her.

    ¡°I can understand. If you really were a person who trusted others so easily, then I¡¯d only look down on you. I¡¯ll tell you a secret too then!¡± Ru Xin took out an alchemy cauldron from her hundred treasures pouch.

    ¡°A supreme grade spiritual artifact cauldron!¡± Li Qingshan blurted out. This was not a regular supreme grade spiritual artifact, but a rare alchemy cauldron. And, the design of the cauldron was extremely strange. At first glance, it seemed more like a furnace, and from the complicated patterns on it, he could immediately tell from everything he had learnt about alchemy recently that it was not a product of the Green province. Instead, it came from the Mist province further south.

    However, Li Qingshan did not mention that. The people of the Mist province had always been denounced as savages by the people of the Green province. Although they were both under the rule of Great Xia, the skirmishes between the two vassal states had never stopped throughout history. The borders were stationed heavily with soldiers, and the Hawkwolf Guard always sustained its greatest losses there.

    The vassal kings of the two provinces had feuded throughout history. If it were not for the empire¡¯s restraint, they would have declared war against each other long ago. Was Ru Xin a spy from the Mist province?

    As for Ru Xin, how was it possible for her to not guess that the Blue Butterfly flowers originated from underground? There were only a handful of organisations in possession of Blue Butterfly fields, which were protected by layers upon layers of formations. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would not be able to pluck a single flower. However, how did a mere Qi Practitioner like him manage to venture so deep underground?

    Before they knew it, both of them had revealed a fraction of their secrets to one another. However, neither of them planned to probe any deeper, but they seemed to grow slightly closer to one another.

    Then, Ru Xin said, ¡°I¡¯ve accumulated quite a lot of spiritual herbs. Some of them can be used for refining True Spirit pills, so there¡¯s no need to specially gather them.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What a coincidence.¡±

    In the end, the two of them managed to produce seven types of spiritual herbs for refining True Spirit pills, two from Li Qingshan and five from Ru Xin, all amounting to extremely large quantities. It went without saying that they were obviously specialties of the underground and the Mist province respectively.

    And, most of the spiritual herbs that originated from these two places were relatively more precious. As for the remaining spiritual herbs, Ru Xin was responsible for collecting them. As the primary disciple of the school of Medicine, she was in charge of the medicinal material store rooms, so she could easily fetch a few spiritual herbs under the name of refining other pills without much difficulty at all.

    In the afternoon of the next day, Li Qingshan arrived in the alchemy room again. Ru Xin took out a formation scroll and set up the formation, ensuring that no one could peer into this place.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How¡¯s it?¡±

    Ru Xin said with a sunken expression, ¡°My master has already found out about this!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Li Qingshan was overwhelmed by surprise and fury. He strode over and grabbed her by the shoulder.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding! Hey, it hurts!¡± Ru Xin furrowed her brows slightly, like a saddened beauty. It was quite a melancholic and enchanting sight.

    ¡°You-¡± Li Qingshan became even more irritated. What an improper woman, but he did loosen his hand.

    Their faces were inches apart. Ever since parting yesterday, they had wondered about each other¡¯s identity very much. In the past few months, they had not had any more bodily contact, so it suddenly became rather awkward now.

    Li Qingshan let go of her shoulder. ¡°Now is not the time to be joking around.¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°I¡¯m trying to get you to relax a little. Otherwise, we look like thieves!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°We¡¯re not thieves. We¡¯re adulterers!¡±

    Ru Xin placed her hand on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s not completely impossible. I like rich men the most. How about you throw first young miss Han aside? Don¡¯t forget to retrieve the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms from her too and give it to me instead. I¡¯ll give you the cauldron I normally use in exchange.¡± She also normally used a high grade spiritual artifact cauldron.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. Show me the spiritual herbs. Why are there so few?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°It¡¯s enough for now. If I take too much at once, people will find it strange. We can take it easy.¡±

    Li Qingshan expressed that he had understood.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s begin!¡±

    ¡°Oh right, what¡¯s this cauldron of yours called?¡±

    ¡°The Crystal Resin cauldron.¡±

    Ru Xin shrank the Crystal Resin cauldron to the size of her hand before placing in spiritual herbs one by one in a particular order. Finally, she placed in a single Blue Butterfly flower.

    The only objective of her first attempt was to experiment around and gain experience. She was only aiming for a single True Spirit pill, and she was not expecting to succeed.

    Ru Xin sat with her legs crossed in utter focus. She was no longer as relaxed as when she normally practised alchemy.

    Li Qingshan sat to one side. He was afraid of disturbing her, so he meditated instead.

    Over four hours later, the cauldron opened, and an exotic fragrance wafted out.

    ¡°Succeeded as a fluke. Here.¡± Ru Xin picked up a violet pill from within the cauldron. It was exactly the same as what he had seen before.

    Li Qingshan closed her hand. ¡°This is for you.¡± Then he rocked it gently. ¡°For a smooth cooperation!¡±

    However, the second pill ended in failure, wasting a Blue Butterfly flower. Ru Xin could not help but sigh gently.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan remained unfazed because he had obtained these Blue Butterfly flowers just too easily. He said, ¡°Just continue.¡± He made Ru Xin lament inside. Wealthy people really are different.

    ¡°Though, you¡¯d better go back and rest up so that I can tidy through my thoughts. We can continue tomorrow.¡± Ru Xin stowed the Crystal Resin cauldron away and revoked the formation. She suddenly smiled. ¡°If you stay here, young miss Han might really think we¡¯re adulterers.¡±

    ¡°I almost forgot. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow then!¡± Li Qingshan made his way out of the alchemy room, but he admired the correctness of his choice. Even with Ru Xin¡¯s many years of experience and a supreme grade spiritual artifact cauldron, the success rate so far was only around half. If Li Qingshan refined it instead with his half-assed alchemy, he probably could not even achieve a success rate of a half.

    Han Qiongzhi was waiting by the lake. It was currently snowing gently, and the sky had dimmed a long time ago. She questioned, ¡°Why were you so late today?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt rather apologetic. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. ¡°Alchemy took some time. You must have waited for quite some time now. Where do you want to go today?¡± Today, she wore a large, red hooded cloak, with the brim of the hood embellished with white fur. Standing among the snow, she seemed like a red ball of fire, warming his heart.

    After a busy day, they would spend time together like only they existed in the world. It was their favourite moment of the day. Their tracks were no longer limited to just the academy and Clear River city. It had reached other places with beautiful scenery in the surrounding region too.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s go boating!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Going boating had already become a special signal between the two of them.

    The white catkins stretched for kilometers, and the snowflakes in the air blanketed everything.

    Within the remote reeds was a small boat, causing the water to ripple gently. The enchanting gasps of a woman rang out softly.

    The cabin was layered with a thick, embroidered quilt, and the red cloak was casually tossed aside.

    Li Qingshan laid atop Han Qiongzhi, deeply kissing his beloved woman. His left arm wrapped around her body, fondling her left breast through her clothes while his right hand stroked her body recklessly, moving from her perfectly round legs to her perky bottom.

    The coldness in the air was unable to affect their scorching passion.

    Refusing to be blocked by the barrier that the clothes formed, Li Qingshan stuck his hand into her clothes.

    Han Qiongzhi immediately grabbed his hand. Her eyes seemed like she was about to melt away as she smiled at him. ¡°Sex fiend!¡± Afterwards, she wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him again. She felt a large, warm hand slide into her clothes, clutching her full figure, which made her let out a moan.

    The soft breasts felt like water in his hands, yet it was also surprisingly supple. Li Qingshan would mould their shape or play around with the two slightly hardened beans as he wished.

    But very soon, he no longer felt satisfied. The narrow space prevented him from doing anything else. He wanted to see them with his own eyes. In the past, she would stop his greedy behaviour, but it seemed to be rather different today.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s astounded gaze, Han Qiongzhi propped herself up and took off her layers. Only when her red undergarment remained did she stop. She turned away with a reddened expression. ¡°Do it yourself!¡±

    A large portion of snow-white skin appeared before Li Qingshan. Sure enough, her figure was as thin as it had felt like, while the deep gully sucked his attention away.

 Chapter 356 â€“ Engagemen

    t

    ¡°You¡¯re going to break through to the tenth layer?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly understood. She had remained at the ninth layer for a very long time now. Opening the twelve standard meridians was even more complicated than opening the eight extraordinary meridians. It required absolute focus. Qi Practitioners would usually choose to break through in secluded cultivation.

    ¡°Yep! So much for catching up to me.¡± Han Qiongzhi pouted with a smile.

    ¡°How long will you take?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be a few months at the very least!¡± Han Qiongzhi answered after some thought. That also meant they would not be able to see each other for a few months.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you take advantage of me today.¡± Han Qiongzhi propped up her back with both arms. Her delicate collar bone made her seem rather thin, but the pair of jade bunnies before her seemed even more plump, as if they wanted to burst out of her undergarment.

    Li Qingshan stopped worrying. He smiled. ¡°If you insist.¡± His hands reached behind her and undid the knot, and her fiery-red undergarment slid down, revealing a pair of snow-white breasts that stood proudly like they had been carved from jade. There were even a pair of bright red beans that had once taken Li Qingshan away in his fantasies.

    Han Qiongzhi did not cover herself up in embarrassment like other women. She remained in the same posture, just turning her head away and leaving the shy, delicate side of her face to Li Qingshan. Her beautiful cheeks were slightly red, which made her seem extraordinarily elegant.

    This instead dispersed Li Qingshan¡¯s lust. He admired the top half of her body; she was like a goddess sculpted from marble. Every single curve was utter perfection, such that he became afraid to desecrate it.

    Han Qiongzhi bit her lower lip. Compared to his warm, reckless hand, his gaze seemed to embarrass her more. She grumbled, ¡°Have you stared enough?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never stare enough, even if I spend my whole life staring.¡± As he said that, Li Qingshan wrapped his hand around her and kissed her rosy lips gently. He licked and kissed her soft neck before gradually moving down. He kissed her delicate collar bone, leaving behind a faint mark. Then he proceeded to bury his face in the gully before finally reaching one of the beans, sucking on it gently.

    Han Qiongzhi let out a heavy exhale and twisted his ear. As she heaved, she said, ¡°Are you¡­ a child?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not, but I can give you one.¡± He fondled around with her breasts, moulding it as he wished. The tender breasts seemed to ooze between his fingers, but it would be able to recover its perfect shape the moment he let go.

    ¡°Never. I hate children,¡± Han Qiongzhi said stubbornly. However, if he really did want children, he would have to wait until she reached Foundation Establishment at the very least.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m the one having doubts, alright. To think that I, Li Qingshan, a great man with a steel heart who could get any woman I want, would just be enchanted by a girl like you, even holding myself back for you to maintain your chastity. How illogical.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi found that both infuriating and funny. She had never seen someone so shameless before, who would take advantage of her while grumbling about being restricted to just her.

    But after closer thought, she became rather touched by this. Men of the current age, even just regular people, would have multiple wives and consorts if they had a bit of money, while cultivators were even worse. They did whatever they wanted. There were plenty of male cultivators in the academy who had visited the Parlour of Clouds and Rain before, and it was commonplace for them to support multiple women outside.

    This was something extremely worth boasting over among men. She disliked Qiu Haitang, but when the legalist disciples gathered, they would still end up going to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. All of them had slept with multiple women, and no one found any fault in that either. Even she was no different.

    Only when she began taking a liking to him did she understand the jealousy of a woman. She was tempted to tie him to her and forbid any other women from looking at him, and he actually agreed to her request. As they met throughout the past few months, no matter how passionate they became, he would never try to insist on going any further as long as she refused. She just felt that he treated her very differently compared to how other men treated her.

    In reality, Li Qingshan was just under the influence of the social norms from his previous life. No matter how tempted he was to take multiple women as his partners, he was still very accepting and tolerant when he met a woman he actually liked. Moreover, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression could control lust, or he would have run out of patience a long time ago. In his past life, he had been labelled as beyond help with his masculinity, but now, he had instead become a good man. Sure enough, the environment determined how people thought.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll just throw the rest of my life into the hands of a single woman like you.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head to kiss her, but Han Qiongzhi blocked his lips.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Why must I be the only one to strip?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem at all.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. In a neat and quick fashion, he stripped himself naked. His robust body rippling with muscles radiated with pressure.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you to strip everything!¡± Han Qiongzhi called out, but she could not help but admire his body. She touched his chest in complete satisfaction. Glancing down, the chief culprit that had once pressed against her stared right back at her furiously. She casually prodded it and grumbled, ¡°How ugly!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like all of his lust had been roused all of a sudden. He laid down on top of her and whispered in her ear, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to say that very soon. I¡¯ve already stripped now, so it seems to be rather unfair.¡± He extended his hand to take off her skirt.

    ¡°Not right now.¡± Han Qiongzhi knew what he was trying to do, so she grabbed his hand in a hurry. ¡°After I emerge from seclusion, you can go ask for my hand in marriage with my father! By then, I¡¯ll give you everything.¡± Towards the end, she could not help but lower her head in embarrassment, all the way to her chest.

    Li Qingshan beamed in surprise and joy. He propped her head back up by her cheeks. ¡°Qiongzhi!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon! My father still hasn¡¯t agreed yet!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Your father can only celebrate for having such a great son-in-law like me, so why would he turn me down? Even if he turns me down, can you turn me down too?¡±

    ¡°Who knows, I might not necessarily¡­ Get back here!¡± As Han Qiongzhi said that, she suddenly felt Li Qingshan trying to take off her skirt again.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Just let me admire it in advance. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll even deny your future husband of a request like this! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely wait until the night of marriage before I turn you into a woman.¡±

    How could Han Qiongzhi deny the man who was about to become her husband? She poked his nose gently and said rather softly, ¡°Now that¡¯s what you said. Don¡¯t go back on your word.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and scooped her up. He grabbed the edge of her skirt and pulled off the entire thing, revealing her pale thighs. Han Qiongzhi did not even get the chance to maintain her final line of defence. She seemed to become a lamb to his slaughter in the blink of an eye.

    Both of them felt their hearts tremble. Although they had already embraced one another countless times before, this time was utterly different. The colour of bronze and snow pressed together firmly, completely different from one another. One was tough like rock, while the other was as soft as cotton. They seemed like they were trying to merge together.

    Han Qiongzhi hugged him tightly and firmly pressed her chest against his, listening to his powerful heartbeat. She could feel the stiffness pressing firmly against her buttock. His large, coarse hand gently slid along her back that was as soft and smooth as silk. Scorching passion suddenly rose up in her. If he really tried to take her in this moment, she would not be able to turn him down. She was at his whim.

    Li Qingshan breathed in deeply and slowly let go of her. The entire process was so difficult that he felt like he was carving out a piece of flesh from his body. He placed her on the embroidered quilt and said, ¡°Let me take a good look at you.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi felt lost, almost rather reluctant to leave his embrace. She wanted him to continue holding her like that, doing whatever he wanted to her.

    Li Qingshan almost gasped in admiration as he appreciated her body. She was perfectly proportioned. In particular, she was extremely plump where she should be plump. She was utterly charming.

    No matter how liberal Han Qiongzhi was, she still struggled to hold back her embarrassment in this moment. She curled up her slender legs, no longer giving off the slightest sense of manliness at all. She was basically waiting for a man to take her.

    That night, their date lasted for a very long time. As soon as they remembered they would be parting very soon, such that they would not be able to see each other again for several months, neither of them wanted to pay any attention to the time.

    Only when the next morning arrived did they put on their clothes again reluctantly.

    Li Qingshan personally accompanied her to the dwelling for secluded cultivation and watched the door close. He was almost tempted to enter secluded cultivation with her, but with a shake of his head, he dismissed that thought. If they entered secluded cultivation together, they would probably end up with a child, so how could they still cultivate in peace?

    Last night, they remained entangled until she found him utterly pitiful from how hard he was holding himself back. In the end, she even dismissed her own embarrassment and boldly lended him a helping hand before sternly warning him to not go around her back while she was in secluded cultivation, or the thing in her hand would end up being hers.

    Only then did Li Qingshan understand her scheme. He smiled. ¡°Just this technique won¡¯t be enough if you want to stop me from going around your back.¡± He stared at her delicate, red lips.

    Han Qiongzhi immediately understood what he was saying. Why would she ever agree to that? She directly stated that only prostitutes in brothels would do something like that and cursed him as an ingrate for taking advantage of her kindness by going too far. In the end, Li Qingshan agreed to an alternative and went at it on her tender breasts, even sullying her face at the very end, which led to quite a lot of grumbling from her.

    Li Qingshan could tell that after confirming their relationship, she was actually extremely bold in this aspect. She might have even known more than him from her frequent visits to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in the past. By then, he had to properly coax her into experimenting around and this second life of his would have been entirely worth it. He had already begun to look forward to his married life.

    As for Han Qiongzhi¡¯s warning, he did not pay any attention to it at all. Right now, his heart could no longer contain any other person. Even Gu Yanying would have to stand aside.

    Returning to Cloudwisp island, Li Qingshan notified Xiao An before heading straight to Ru Xin¡¯s alchemy room on Benevolence island. Now that Han Qiongzhi was no longer here, he could focus on alchemy. She would probably need True Spirit pills too if she wanted to break through to Foundation Establishment!

    At that moment, he had failed to consider why she would ever require his pills as the first young miss of the Han family. All he wanted was the best for her.

    Ru Xin smiled as soon as she saw Li Qingshan. ¡°The stirrings of love are still plastered over your face. Looks like you¡¯ve had quite the night last night. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve already destroyed young miss Han¡¯s body?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ll probably get married in a few month¡¯s time.¡± Li Qingshan smiled from ear to ear. He had tried very hard, but he could not help himself in the end. He revealed it to Ru Xin, who kept another large secret of his.

    Ru Xin¡¯s heart stirred. She said sadly, ¡°Then I really do have to congratulate you! It¡¯s just a pity that I had to spend my entire night in front of an alchemy cauldron alone, thinking about alchemy. I don¡¯t even have someone close who cares for me.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Senior sister, if you want a man, you could form a line so long that it reaches Clear River city.¡±

    Ru Xin stepped over and placed her hands onto Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder gently. The light in her eyes rippled. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that the person I want already has someone else.¡±

 Chapter 357 â€“ Bold Gambles

    Li Qingshan stared at her gentle face that differed dramatically from Han Qiongzhi¡¯s and was left speechless for a moment. He felt rather proud of himself inside, yet also rather awkward. In the past, he could tease her a little over this, but it was not so easy now.

    He thought to himself, Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. Qiongzhi has just entered seclusion, so you can¡¯t do anything that¡¯ll let her down. As a result, he said a few things that could make Ru Xin give up on him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you thought I was talking about you?!¡± The mischievous smile that Li Qingshan found familiar appeared on Ru Xin¡¯s face.

    ¡°Of course not! Never!¡± Li Qingshan pried her hands away passive-aggressively. He eased up inside, yet he also felt slightly disappointed for some reason. He was unable to tell when she was telling the truth. Was it a joke earlier, or was she probing him?

    Or, perhaps she really did have someone she liked, which was why she had never accepted confessions from any man in all these years. Was that man in the Mist province? Immediately, he imagined a savage man covered in tattoos and a blue piece of cloth, holding a child on the top of a mountain and gazing northward at the distant mother of his child¡­

    He shuddered. Why did it seem rather familiar and rather comfortable to him too?

    As he imagined that, Ru Xin had already moved away softly, closing the door and laying out the formation scroll, making all preparations for them to ¡°commit adultery¡±. She moved around as lightly as a white ghost.

    Looking at her graceful, gentle figure, she did not seem like she had given birth before at all. Li Qingshan nodded to that thought.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Oi, what¡¯s wrong with you? Did you end up shooting your brains out too last night? Give me the Blue Butterfly flowers!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like he had been struck by lightning. He was tongue-tied. Is this something you should say? Is this something you should say?

    Ru Xin said in complete contempt, ¡°It¡¯s just some old business between a man and a woman, isn¡¯t it? I know much more about it than you, little boy.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but take a step back. He had heard how the female barbarians of the Mist province were extremely liberal in this aspect. He began to imagine a group of men covered in tattoos with white cloth on their heads standing on the top of a mountain, gazing northward.

    As if she could read his mind, Ru Xin blushed slightly. She scolded, ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about? I¡¯m a doctor!¡±

    Li Qingshan made fun of her. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve said anything.¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s expression stiffened. It was true. His thoughts had nothing to do with her. She directly took out the Crystal Resin cauldron. ¡°Let¡¯s stop messing around. I¡¯ll show you the results of my research last night.¡±

    Li Qingshan expressed his doubts. ¡°Are you confident about success?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Ten hours later, the alchemy cauldron let out a muffled bang. The refinement process had ended in failure.

    Faced with Li Qingshan¡¯s contemptible gaze, Ru Xin tidied the hair on the side of her head, unperturbed. ¡°Accident.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to continue?¡± Li Qingshn asked. The success rate had already fallen to twenty percent now.

    Ru Xin became motivated too. ¡°Of course! Let¡¯s go with¡­ one.¡±

    Li Qingshan took out three Blue Butterfly flowers and handed them to her again. ¡°Since you¡¯re confident, let¡¯s continue!¡±

    The light in Ru Xin¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll destroy them again?¡±

    ¡°Just keep going. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s just my loss,¡± Li Qingshan said. He did not doubt the person he chose, nor was there any need to doubt her. There was probably no better choice than her within the entire academy.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go with five!¡± Ru Xin propped herself up and brought her left foot forward, now half-kneeling on the cushion. She rolled up her right sleeve, revealing her beautiful forearm and pressing it against the Crystal Resin cauldron. Like a female dealer in a casino, she pressed down on the dice cup boldly and called out, ¡°Finalise your bets!¡±

    Li Qingshan muttered female barbarian inside before handing five Blue Butterfly flowers to her. Afterwards, he stared fixedly at the Crystal Resin cauldron like a gambler who had just placed down a large bet, but he ran out of interest very soon. Instead, he began looking at Ru Xin. After he stared at her for a while, she shot a vicious glance at him.

    He shifted his gaze and became bored again, so he just started meditating.

    A night passed, and the sky lit up. The cauldron opened and crystalline light poured out.

    Ru Xin took out five True Spirit pills and smiled. ¡°Success!¡±

    Li Qingshan also smiled in relief. ¡°Do you want to continue?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue!¡±

    This time, they went with seven.

    Alchemy did not become easier when batches were smaller. It was like cooking in the kitchen. If the portion was too small, then it would be extremely difficult to control the heat and taste, and it would waste a lot of time and energy too.

    Of course, more was not necessarily better either. Dishes made from a communal pot would never taste better than those made in a small pot. It was fine if dishes tasted bad, but if pills ¡°tasted bad¡± that would mean a drastic reduction in their effects, preventing them from achieving their intended effects.

    The degree of control, the skill of the alchemist, and even the quality of the cauldron were all relevant. With Ru Xin¡¯s ability, refining twelve True Spirit pills each time was perfect.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s liberal support, she reached this very soon, but it also meant a loss of a hundred thousand spiritual stones with each failure.

    Every time they opened the cauldron, it was like a bold gamble.

    Throughout this process, Li Qingshan personally witnessed another side of Ru Xin, which was her gambling nature of advancing forward bravely.

    And, she just happened to win her gambles. The success rate was elevated to over ninety percent very soon, exceeding Li Qingshan¡¯s greatest expectations. It even surpassed Ru Xin¡¯s own expectations.

    A few days had passed now, and she had made several cauldrons of pills consecutively. Ru Xin had already become rather tired, but neither of them said they wanted to stop.

    Under the intense pressure, Ru Xin was like a gambler who had suddenly begun to win after losing everything before becoming completely hopeless. She was in a state of excitement, completing unleashing her potential. Even her luck seemed to improve.

    Li Qingshan had experienced this wondrous state in his past life. It was like Michael Jordan¡¯s surekill dunk on the basketball court. Right now, every single cauldron of pills Ru Xin refined was a surekill. If she stopped right now, she would probably never be able to attain the same success rate again.

    Time flew by and snow covered the path leading up to the alchemy room completely.

    All the disciples of the school of Medicine could not help but sigh and shake their heads as they walked past the alchemy room. In the past, he would only remain inside for an afternoon, but now, it had already been half a month. Since when had their first senior sister spent so much time with a man before?

    Discussions filled the entire academy. This Li Qingshan had just sent the second senior sister of the school of Legalism off to secluded cultivation, and now, he had locked himself up in the first senior sister of the school of Medicine¡¯s alchemy room. Who knew what he was doing. What, was he supposed to be refining pills? You might believe it, but I don¡¯t. What kind of pill took so long to refine, such that they could not even rest?

    Some of them said that Ru Xin was taking advantage of this opportunity to steal Li Qingshan. This was what most of the female cultivators said. Li Qingshan had made quite a name for himself recently, so he did have some charm among the female cultivators.

    Others said Li Qingshan knew a special technique that could bewitch the soul, or how else was he supposed to bewitch two famous beauties of the academy? After all, these two women had never gotten involved with matters of love in the past. They had turned down countless admirers before. They needed to drag Li Qingshan out before it was too late and bring him to justice.

    It went without saying that this was the rumor among the male cultivators, which came with many jealous, envious gazes and grinding teeth whenever it was mentioned.

    Li Qingshan and Ru Xin had never considered this either, but right now, every successful cauldron was equivalent to a profit of hundreds of thousand spiritual stones, so why would they still care about anything else? It was not like they were doing anything wrong anyway, so they could gossip for all they wanted!

    On this day, two military disciples quietly discussed among themselves in the Main Martial Arts stadium, ¡°They still haven¡¯t emerged. It has already been twenty-three days.¡± ¡°I pity senior sister Han. He really isn¡¯t worth it. Li Qingshan is a bastard.¡± Among their sorrow and fury was indescribable envy too.

    Before they had even finished speaking, a black figure arrived right before them. The Black Dragon whistled through the air and lifted them up, sending them flying and landing heavily far away on the edge of the stadium.

    Han Tieyi pulled back the metal spear behind him and said coldly, ¡°Haven¡¯t I told you? Do not whisper to each other during training! Both of you, swim fifty laps around the island!¡±

    The two disciples groaned inside. Swimming fifty laps around the island would almost cost them their lives. They knew that their first senior brother had been in a bad mood recently, so they would never object. They clasped their fists. ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    Han Tieyi¡¯s face was icy. After a while of thought, he suddenly strode away from the stadium.

    ¡°Tieyi, where are you going?¡± Han Anjun looked down from a platform and frowned slightly.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go find Li Qingshan.¡± Han Tieyi clasped his fist and lowered his head. Han Qiongzhi had told him to keep an eye out on Li Qingshan before she entered secluded cultivation. He had not thought too much about it originally, but he was forced to act now.

    The military disciples who were currently training all slowed down slightly. They looked over. Li Qingshan was probably in trouble this time.

    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s that kind of person? Do you think Ru Xin is that kind of person?¡± Han Anjun asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Han Tieyi replied. He knew their personalities extremely well, and even if they wanted to commit some acts of adultery, there was no reason for them to do it so openly. Instead, he was unable to put up with other people discussing Han Qiongzhi. They made her sound like she was an idiot, even though she was not particularly clever sometimes.

    ¡°Fall back,¡± said Han Anjun.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± All Han Tieyi could do was return to the stadium and viciously drill the military disciples.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, get out here!¡±

    On Benevolence island outside the alchemy room, Chu Tian was like an enraged bull as he bellowed out. Seeing how there was no response from inside, he went up to push on the door.

    Immediately, a group of medical disciples surged over and stopped him. ¡°Entry is forbidden to the alchemy rooms. Do not trespass.¡± ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin is currently refining pills, so please return, fellow Chu!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to stop me.¡± Chu Tian advanced boldly. Five-coloured true qi rose up from his body as he forced his way through them, slamming the door of the alchemy room with a palm strike.

    The medical disciples were not actually trying to stop him either. They were extremely curious about just what Ru Xin and Li Qingshan were doing, but they were afraid of seeing something horrible too.

    The door let out a flash, and he actually failed to smash through it. Now, it was not just Chu Tian. Everyone¡¯s doubts erupted. Did they really have to cast down a formation when refining pills in the academy?

    Right now, Ru Xin had her eyes closed as she focused on refining pills in the alchemy room. She furrowed her brows slightly.

    Li Qingshan cursed inside. Without saying anything at all, he immediately stood up and made his way out.

    They had just reached a critical juncture. If they were careless, they would end up destroying twelve True Spirit pills, and that would not be all. If someone managed to barge in here and sensed they were refining True Spirit pills or saw Ru Xin¡¯s Crystal Resin cauldron, it would be even worse.

    Unable to force open the door, Chu Tian became even more furious. Five-coloured true qi gathered in his hand as he struck out viciously.

    The door suddenly swung open, and a water spout whistled out, slamming into Chu Tian heavily and directly sending him flying.

 Chapter 358 â€“ Success with Alchemy, Awaiting Good News

    The water dispersed, and Li Qingshan appeared. His true qi surged, and surprisingly enough, he had already reached the eighth layer. He was just a millimeter away from the eighth layer in the first place, and he basically spent every day cultivating since he had nothing else to do, making rapid progress as a result. With his extremely pure true qi, he broke through naturally, almost without any obstacles.

    ¡°Chu Tian, have you lost your mind?¡± Li Qingshan was furious. The door to the alchemy room behind him closed once more. No one had managed to see what was going on inside.

    Chu Tian was protected by his true qi of the five elements, so he was unscathed. He stabilised himself mid-air and barked, ¡°You finally have the courage to come out! What were you doing inside? What did you do to senior sister Ru Xin?¡¯ Seeing how Li Qingshan had reached the eighth layer, he was secretly surprised. How did Li Qingshan cultivate so quickly?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with you?¡±

    Chu Tian said, ¡°How doesn¡¯t it have to do with me? Senior sister Ru Xin likes me, so anything that has to do with her has to do with me. If you have some wits about you, move aside obediently. I don¡¯t want to fight you here. I¡¯ll teach you a proper lesson when the time of our match arrives.¡±

    ¡°She likes you? What kind of crazy are you suffering from? If you don¡¯t piss off, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what right now!¡± Li Qingshan said with his hands crossed. He seemed like a door god, refusing to take a step back.

    Cutting off a person from his wealth was akin to killing their parents. Li Qingshan was truly filled with killing intent now. However, his brows became firmly furrowed. It had been some time since he last saw him, but Chu Tian had actually reached the ninth layer already. The rate at which his cultivation improved was truly startling. His aura was more powerful than before too. Just defeating him would be difficult, let alone stopping him. The formation alone definitely could not stop Chu Tian¡¯s Palm of the Five Elements. Even just the shockwaves of the battle would be enough to destroy the alchemy room.

    He glanced at the two girls standing behind Chu Tian nearby and questioned, ¡°You¡¯re just going to watch as he comes looking for another woman?¡±

    The two girls said together, ¡°As long as we¡¯re in brother Tian¡¯s heart, we¡¯ll support him no matter what he does!¡±

    The surrounding people all gasped in admiration, while Chu Tian became even more complacent. ¡°You hear that? I¡¯m not like you, trapped firmly to a single woman.¡± Suddenly, he remembered it was very likely that Li Qingshan had not been trapped, having already touched his woman, so his face became even more twisted.

    The expressions of the two girls changed drastically. Chu Tian¡¯s face immediately sank. ¡°You can insult me, but you can¡¯t insult my women. Those who cross my bottom line must die!¡± True qi of the five elements completely erupted from his body. The Palm of the Five Elements erupted with blinding light and sailed through the air.

    Li Qingshan extended his arms and roaring waves surged over from behind him like a tsunami.

    The two of them had managed to completely piss each other off in just a few exchanges.

    Chu Tian descended from above. His palm strike fell down like a mountain.

    Li Qingshan raised his head. The Palm of the Five Elements had completely filled his vision, almost blanketing him; it was as unavoidable as the wrath of heaven. He stomped down and shot off. His aura surged like the ocean, but he was disadvantaged by the geography. He was just about to collide into the Palm of the Five Elements.

    Suddenly, he unleashed the Wave Treading Form and shifted himself mid-air, dodging the attack.

    ¡°I knew you would be too afraid to take it on!¡± Chu Tian laughed madly. Ignoring Li Qingshan, he rushed straight towards the alchemy room. The more Li Qingshan tried to stop him from looking inside, the more he felt as if something was amiss.

    The door was just inches away when Chu Tian suddenly felt his body tighten. Glancing down, a stream of water had wrapped around his waist firmly like a snake. He looked back quickly and saw the other end of the stream in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Great waves had already arisen beneath his feet.

    Everyone below heard three blasts of air. Li Qingshan had unleashed the Wave Treading Form three times consecutively while pulling Chu Tian along. He shot off like an arrow, travelling far away from Benevolence island. He managed to blow a great chasm within the still surface of the lake. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had turned into two tiny specks.

    Everyone gasped inside, Both of them have become even stronger!

    Chu Tian¡¯s true qi of the five elements shuddered and shook off the water stream. He lunged towards Li Qingshan with the same, simple palm strike as before, but it was deadlier than any other technique.

    Li Qingshan did not dodge. He just stood there with his arms crossed, sneering.

    Chu Tian suddenly felt a great sensation of danger from behind. He quickly turned around, and a huge, vajra sword cleaved down as a golden streak of light.

    Clang! With a lengthy sound, Chu Tian raised his hand up and managed to block the sword, but he was unable to block the sword qi and sword intent within the strike.

    Boom! The lake water below was actually cleaved in half by the strike, churning violently with a slash that stretched for several dozen meters.

    As it turned out, Li Qingshan had brought Chu Tian to somewhere near An¨¡srav¨¡? island. Xiao An had already reached the tenth layer now. If there was a person in the academy whose true qi surpassed Chu Tian¡¯s in terms of quantity, it would definitely be her.

    Blood oozed out from the corner of Chu Tian¡¯s lips, but he did not even get the chance to call them underhanded.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s fist whistled over from behind. It was not a punch, but a drill. Layers of water spun at high speeds such that it no longer seemed like water. It had become the most terrifying weapon for slaughter.

    The Vortex Form!

    The blood that had oozed out from the corner of Chu Tian¡¯s lips turned into a spray as he was knocked away. He tried to stabilise himself, but golden light filled his vision.

    A guardian king blocked his trajectory. Wielding its sword with both hands, it raised it once again before swinging down swiftly. The attack was even fiercer than before.

    Their teamwork was flawless, as if they could read each other¡¯s minds. They beat up Chu Tian to the point where he could not even catch his breath. All he could do was watch on helplessly as he was pushed towards dire straits step by step.

    Finally, he felt danger for his life. He reached towards his hundred treasures pouch in a hurry. He wanted to use that, but how was he supposed to make it in time?

    The sword changed direction mid-stroke, going from a slash to a smack. The wrathful avatar of the guardian king subsided.

    With a bang, Chu Tian shot off like a broken kite, falling into the Lake of Dragons and Snakes with a huge splash.

    Li Qingshan nodded towards Xiao An, and she expressed back at him, You have me here, so go deal with your matters!

    Li Qingshan glanced down. An injured Chu Tian posed no threat, so he turned around swiftly. ¡°What a fool!¡± He strode away by treading on waves.

    If he had problems, he would look for Xiao An. Dealing with Chu Tian alone was rather difficult, so he just worked with her. This had always been a trump card of his, and it had never disappointed him before. The Palm of the Five Elements was a very powerful cultivation method, but it was not more powerful than the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. You might practise five kinds of true qi, but Xiao An practises seven!

    At this moment, a few figures flew over from the neighbouring islands. The various school leaders had reacted to this. The One Thought master and Liu Zhangqing were obviously among them.

    Li Qingshan rushed back to the alchemy room and said to everyone, ¡°You better all disperse!¡± Then he entered the alchemy room again.

    Everyone had yet to return to their senses. In such a neat and quick fashion, the super genius Chu Tian had just been taught a lesson like this?

    ¡°Sigh, Chu Tian only knows how to harass people like us. Out of the three who fought earlier, who wasn¡¯t a genius? A genius has been taught a lesson by two other geniuses working together, so this outcome is expected.¡±

    ¡°I thought Chu Tian could have his revenge after reaching the ninth layer, but I never thought Li Qingshan cultivated so quickly too. He has reached the eighth layer in such a short amount of time. Looks like there¡¯s no hope for Chu Tian to get his revenge.¡±

    As they discussed, someone whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s reached the eighth layer so quickly because of dual cultivation!¡±

    If Li Qingshan were outside right now, he would definitely consider choking this person to death. As a result, the suspicions and rumors became even more widespread.

    Xiao An was scolded a little by the One Thought master, but what else could he do to this junior sister of his?

    As for Chu Tian, he was brought back by Liu Zhangqing and locked up. After all, he was the one who started everything this time. He had broken the rules forbidding fighting in the academy. Moreover, even if he fought, so be it. He even lost in such an ugly manner, which completely embarrassed Liu Zhangqing as a school leader.

    Chu Tian gritted his teeth in hatred, almost fainting out of anger. He was tempted to use that right now for revenge, but while he was arrogant, he was not a complete fool after all. If he brought that out, it would immediately be taken away from him.

    Surprisingly enough, his cautiousness was rather similar to Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan returned to the alchemy room and sat down beside Ru Xin quietly. An hour later, the cauldron opened.

    Twelve perfectly round, shining True Spirit pills sat within the cauldron silently. Both of them smiled in relief.

    Li Qingshan was just about to pass more Blue Butterfly flowers over to her, but Ru Xin waved her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s just stop here this time! Are you really trying to work me like a slave?¡±

    As she said that, she felt like her body was deflating. Across all these days, she had used pills to replace food and used cultivation to maintain her mental condition. She had refined pills for days and nights on end, so she had truly become utterly exhausted.

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll continue in the future!¡± Li Qingshan checked his hundred treasures pouch. There were still a lot of Blue Butterfly flowers remaining. He had basically gained a clear understanding of their value now. This startling amount of wealth would be enough for him to spend for a very long time.

    ¡°Let¡¯s split the goods!¡± Ru Xin smiled. She was exhausted, but she was unable to hide her joy. She had made some startling returns this time, and she had improved her alchemy by quite a lot too.

    Checking the number, Ru Xin had refined almost a hundred True Spirit pills across these twenty-three days. It was split into two piles in the end. Li Qingshan received over sixty of them, while Ru Xin received over twenty of them.

    Like a money grubber, Ru Xin carefully inspected the True Spirit pills many times before finally stowing them away in her hundred treasures pouch. She explained why she had chosen to stop here.

    ¡°With these True Spirit pills, I¡¯m certain that I¡¯ll soon reach Foundation Establishment successfully. By then, the success rate will definitely be higher than right now if I power the Crystal Resin cauldron as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯ll be my turn to congratulate you.¡± Li Qingshan extended his right hand.

    Ru Xin held his hand and shook it gently. She beat him to it. ¡°For a smooth cooperation.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He directly gave twenty True Spirit pills to her. ¡°Help me exchange them into pills for cultivation. The more the better.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid I¡¯ll rip you off?¡± Ru Xin smiled. If she fell out with him over twenty True Spirit pills, it would not be embarrassing even if news made it out.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Not really.¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not afraid. Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t go for less than the market price whether they¡¯re sold or exchanged.¡± Ru Xin accepted the True Spirit pills without asking why Li Qingshan needed so many pills for cultivation. What, was he supposed to gulp them down and his cultivation would grow like that? Unbeknownst to her, she had accidentally guessed the actual answer.

 Chapter 359 â€“ Coming up with a Scheme, Killing a Foundation Establishment Cultivator

    Ru Xin let out a deep breath. He really was quite a good man!

    Li Qingshan returned to Cloudwisp island and saw Xiao An sitting below the loft. He smiled. ¡°What, you weren¡¯t put under house arrest?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°I¡¯m beyond his control. I can sense that he¡¯s slightly afraid of me.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed and scooped her up. He whispered something into her ear, and Xiao An beamed in response. She felt happy for him. He had endured and waited for so long, and finally, there was a glimmer of hope.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan continued to go find Ru Xin every day to learn alchemy. Although he could just get her to refine whatever pills he needed right now, they would eventually part. He would not remain in the Clear River prefecture, the Ruyi commandery, the Green province, or the nine provinces forever.

    One afternoon, before Li Qingshan could even visit Ru Xin, she came to visit him instead. She handed some pills to him before smiling. ¡°I¡¯m going to enter secluded cultivation.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Good luck.¡±

    ¡°You too.¡±

    After Ru Xin departed, Li Qingshan raised his head. Faint clouds floated through the blue sky. Currently, his heart was overflowing with joy. It was about time for him to set off as well.

    Li Qingshan went to An¨¡srav¨¡? island to call Xiao An along, but Qian Rongzhi actually happened to be there too. She crouched down beside Xiao An, telling her something. Seeing Li Qingshan walk over, she stood up and smiled. ¡°Have you heard?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Heard what?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Vice sect master Wei of the Sect of Clouds and Rain has successfully established a foundation.¡±

    Li Qingshan had almost forgotten about this person¡¯s existence. Roughly two years had already passed since he last clashed with Wei Zhongyuan. After that, he spent most of his time in the academy. Combined with his rise to prominence, Wei Zhongyuan probably understood there was nothing he could do to Li Qingshan with just a cultivation at the tenth layer, so he had been very quiet too.

    ¡°He¡¯s managed to reach Foundation Establishment despite how old he is?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I heard he managed to get his hands on two True Spirit pills somehow and succeeded out of luck.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood that the two True Spirit pills probably came from the twenty True Spirit pills he had given to Ru Xin. He was at a loss as for how to react. The matters of the world truly were unpredictable.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°That old coot won¡¯t spare either of us. Do you want to work together again? I can give you the opportunity to clash with him!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Just by you?¡±

    Li Qingshan understood now. If it was this, then probably even Foundation Establishment cultivators would suffer if they were not prepared. All they needed was a single moment and Li Qingshan and Xiao An could even kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator if they worked together.

    ¡°You can separate it from your body?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. It¡¯s already merged with me, and why would I separate it from me anyway? Look at how beautiful it is!¡± Qian Rongzhi gently stroked the tiny snake¡¯s head, like a mother soothing her child.

    Li Qingshan contemplated the proposition before agreeing to it.

    He just happened to be in search of a place to take his final step, to face the heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon General. If that old bastard ended up coming for him, wreaking havoc at a crucial moment, it would be troublesome.

    He would strike first so that he was in control of the situation.

    Under the vast night sky, Wei Zhongyuan stood atop a mountain. The wind buffeted his robes as he gazed down at the other mountains. He felt like he could do anything. The spiritual qi of the world constantly resonated with him. Never had he felt so happy before.

    Many memories flashed through his head. Suddenly, it stopped on a young face. He ground his teeth. ¡°Li Qingshan, I will return the pain and humiliation you¡¯ve caused me by ten, no, a hundred fold!¡±

    However, no matter how bold he was, he still would never venture into the academy to kill him. That was just seeking death. However, he had already ordered people to keep an eye on Li Qingshan at all times. He would capture him the moment he set foot out of the academy. If there was no evidence, no one could do anything to him.

    However, his top priority right now was not this. Shooting off in the air, he arrived above Clear River city in the blink of an eye. He directly landed in front of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Under the gaze of thousands of people, he walked towards the parlour, like a king returning to his rightful place with insufferable arrogance.

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain blazed with light just like before, making it seem like daytime inside. Wei Zhongyuan gazed at the sky before striding in.

    In the eyes of regular people, they found this man to be awe-inspiring, like a god. However, all the cultivators gasped in amazement. He was clearly a Foundation Establishment cultivator with the feeling he gave off.

    The parlour full of disciples rushed over to congratulate him. Everyone tried to fawn over him, and the people who belonged to Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s side in the first place were overjoyed.

    Wei Zhongyuan swung his hand in a dramatic manner. ¡°The Sect of Clouds and Rain has some internal affairs to settle today, so the parlour will be closing down for today. Everyone, please return!¡±

    The disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain immediately began to clear everyone out. Every single word of his bore the weight of a mountain and had to be enforced. To Qi Practitioners, Foundation Establishment cultivators were unshakeable existences. Every single disciple understood that the Sect of Clouds and Rain would be going through some changes today.

    Wei Zhongyuan led a group of disciples and directly made his way to the highest floor.

    Qiu Haitang currently stood among the rooftop garden, gazing at the resplendent night scenery of the city with her arms in her sleeves in thought. She heard something from behind and suddenly turned around, meeting Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s eyes. Both of them were slightly taken aback before undergoing a different series of reactions. One¡¯s worries grew heavier, while the other¡¯s lust and joy surged.

    Wei Zhongyuan studied Qiu Haitang¡¯s body greedily. He no longer had any scruples. He fantasized about the joys of pushing down this woman who had once ordered him about, now completely at his whim. He took a step forward and clasped his hands. ¡°Sect master Qiu, I¡¯ve already undergone the heavenly tribulation successfully and reached Foundation Establishment. According to the rules of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, I hope we can complete our marriage soon so that we can become cultivation partners and comprehend the wonders of yin and yang together!¡±

    Qiu Haitang waved her hand in a rather tired manner. ¡°You can all go.¡±

    With her lingering influence, the disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain would never disobey her. They just looked at Wei Zhongyuan.

    ¡°You can all go wait outside.¡± Wei Zhongyuan waved his hand. He was not afraid of Qiu Haitang suddenly turning hostile against him. She might have reached Foundation Establishment many years ago, but she was still an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. The cultivation methods of the Sect of Clouds and Rain focused on harmony between yin and yang, or mutual promotion and regulation. If she were bold enough to turn him down, then she would immediately fall out with the sect. By then, he would be able to succeed her as sect master, and he could then capture her as a traitor who broke the rules of the sect, allowing him to do whatever he wanted with her.

    Everyone dispersed, only leaving the two of them on the rooftop. Wei Zhongyuan frowned. ¡°Who else is there?¡±

    ¡°Disciple Qian Rongzhi greets vice sect master Wei!¡± Qian Rongzhi emerged from behind a flowering shrub on the side.

    Wei Zhongyuan said, ¡°Weren¡¯t you expelled from the Sect of Clouds and Rain already?¡±

    ¡°I accepted her as a disciple of mine again.¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression was cold and haughty.

    Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s expression changed, and his eyes narrowed. He stared at Qian Rongzhi to a point where she shivered, but now was not the time to fuss over something like this after all. He took another step forward and asked Qiu Haitang, ¡°So what do you think, sect master?¡±

    Qiu Haitang hesitated and looked back at the night sky, gazing in the direction of the Academy of the Hundred Schools. The person she was waiting for was currently cultivating arduously in seclusion.

    Wei Zhongyuan strode forward and reached towards Qiu Haitang¡¯s hand. ¡°Today, you¡¯ll have to agree to it whether you want to or not.¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression changed, while Wei Zhongyuan sneered. Black and white spiritual qi collided viciously, but it caused no disturbance at all. Instead, they nullified each other.

    With how yang could overcome yin, Wei Zhongyuan gained a slight upper hand. Just as he was about to grab Qiu Haitang¡¯s wrist, Qian Rongzhi blocked him as a gesture of loyalty to protect her master. She called out, ¡°Vice sect master Wei, please don¡¯t be like this.¡±

    Wei Zhongyuan immediately sent a slap towards Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face, but suddenly, all of his strength vanished. It did not produce any sound at all.

    The hell snake slithered onto Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face and bit Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s hand. Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s mouth widened as his eyes bulged. This was agony from the depths of his soul.

    At that instant, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure appeared behind Wei Zhongyuan. He pressed his hand on his back, and over a hundred strands of sword qi surged out. Wielding the vajra sword, Xiao An swung down with it from above, while a pair of fingers extended from Qiu Haitang¡¯s hand, stabbing towards Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s eyes.

    Under the pressing killing intent, Wei Zhongyuan forcefully suppressed the pain and mobilised his true qi. He wanted to put up a desperate counterattack, but it was already too late.

    Sword qi rampaged through his body, tearing apart his organs that had lost the protection of spiritual qi. The vajra sword landed on the top of his head, and the sword qi and sword intent surged all the way to his feet. Not only had the two slender fingers pierced his eyes, but they had even penetrated his brain, stirring it up viciously.

    In the end, all he heard was Qian Rongzhi say, ¡°Vice master Wei, what¡¯re you touching my face for?¡± Afterwards, he lost all consciousness within the pain and a refusal to accept this.

    Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s body collapsed loudly. A mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator had been reduced to a corpse in a single instant.

    Li Qingshan immediately stowed the corpse away. The corpse of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was equivalent to an extra large pill to Xiao An. The benefits it could provide could not be compared to the corpses of regular people. Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s hundred treasures pouch obviously ended up in his hands too.

    Qiu Haitang was still in a slight daze. She struggled to believe that Wei Zhongyuan had just died like this, dying so easily. That day, Qian Rongzhi had visited her and told her she could help her kill the Foundation Establishment Wei Zhongyuan silently. She was still rather unconvinced. Even if three Foundation Establishment cultivators worked together in an attempt to kill a single Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would not be that easy, let alone with a mere Qi Practitioner.

    However, the reality was presented right before her. Even if she had done nothing, the three of them probably still would have managed to kill Wei Zhongyuan. Three Qi Practitioners had killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve done it.¡± Qian Rongzhi bowed towards Qiu Haitang, but there was not the slightest loyalty in her eyes. The matter of the White Lotus cult sure had ruined a lot of her plans.

    Qian Rongzhi had been a double-crossing spy. It was not like Qiu Haitang was an idiot. She had discovered that Qian Rongzhi was not under her control at all. All the loyalty she showed in the past was an act, so much for her for teaching her the various cultivation methods of the Sect of Clouds and Rain without the slightest suspicion, treating her like an obedient puppet.

    But by then, Qian Rongzhi had already established a connection with Gu Yanying. She had assisted Gu Yanying in completing the plan. Even if Qiu Haitang was utterly furious, she could not lay a single finger on Qian Rongzhi, or she would be treated as a member of the White Lotus cult, which was enough to destroy her entire sect. Trying to use mesmerisation to control a Hawkwolf Guard went even more without saying.

    Afterwards, the two of them never met again until a few days ago. Qian Rongzhi suddenly visited her and told her that she could eliminate a disaster for her¡­

 Chapter 360 â€“ As a Daemon General

    Qiu Haitang took out two True Spirit pills and placed them in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hand. This was the remuneration they had agreed on at the beginning. She glanced at Li Qingshan. All she could do was hold back the urge to silence him for good.

    Li Qingshan gave everything useless to him in the hundred treasures pouch that had to do with the Sect of Clouds and Rain to Qian Rongzhi. He had never expected Qiu Haitang to be part of the plan.

    However, Qian Rongzhi knew that including her was for the best. They were facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator after all. No one could guarantee that her hell snake could be effective. If they failed with the first strike, the consequences they faced would be extremely terrifying. She would never risk her life unless there was at least an eighty percent of success.

    Moreover, Qiu Haitang would never divulge the secret that they had killed Wei Zhongyuan, or she would not be able to remain as the sect master for any longer. Killing a disciple from the same sect had always been forbidden regardless of the time or age. She might have been the sect master, but the sect still had the existence of a first elder.

    Qian Rongzhi accepted everything from Qiu Haitang and Li Qingshan. Seeing how they both stared at her, she said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at me like that. Wei Zhongyuan is your mortal enemy, not mine. It¡¯s not like he knows I killed his son. I¡¯ve risked my life to help both of you, so I deserve these benefits.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You were worried that one of us might give in to Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s pressure and expose your secret!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°Fortunately, a future like that can¡¯t happen anymore. I hope this remains as our secret together.¡± Suddenly, she frowned and grabbed her wrist. ¡°It¡¯s about time. Let¡¯s just part here!¡± She smiled towards Xiao An before taking her leave first.

    Li Qingshan was just about to leave too when Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Hold on.¡±

    Li Qingshan said without even turning back, ¡°I remember you once said you never wanted to see me again.¡±

    ¡°Give me Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s corpse.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not going to appear in this world again.¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s sunken gaze swept over from Li Qingshan to Xiao An before returning to Li Qingshan. An eighth layer Qi Practitioner and a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. Their futures were limitless, and their once opposition Wei Zhongyuan was now dead. Xiao An had already been accepted as a disciple of the Annihilum Light Chan Master, the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Basically no one within the Ruyi commandery was still bold enough to think about her as a disciple.

    All of their disputes no longer existed. Qiu Haitang¡¯s face morphed into a smile. ¡°Come often. You might even have to call me sister-in-law in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan broke into laughter. ¡°You sure are confident.¡±

    ¡°I hope that does indeed happen one day!¡± Li Qingshan said. In his opinion, Hua Chengzan¡¯s behaviour definitely did not arise from giving up on Gu Yanying, but from being deeply triggered by her instead. This sect master Qiu¡¯s wishes would probably end up falling through.

    Watching Li Qingshan sail off on a cloud, Qiu Haitang made her way down the building. She told the disciples that she had managed to persuade vice sect master Wei into travelling and cultivating outside. Without any evidence, no one could deny it. No one dared to deny it.

    Many of the customers had just been cleared out. Turning around, they saw the doors of the parlour open again. They sighed inside. Vice sect master Wei sure had come and gone quickly.

    Where to cultivate? Where to prepare for the tribulation?

    Li Qingshan thought about this question long and hard. In the end, he chose to revisit an old place.

    A jade dragon gushed down from a cliff that stood over a hundred meters tall, plummeting into a deep pool. It was a period of winter drought, but the water continued to roar thunderously, splashing everywhere.

    That¡¯s right. This was the place the black ox had initially brought Li Qingshan to cultivate. It was where Xiao An began with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, as well as the place where they encountered Xuanyue by chance.

    The various memories drifted through his head like clouds. Li Qingshan laughed aloud, diving head-first into the frosty pool.

    This place belonged to the Boundless mountains, so there were no humans here. It was also close to human establishments, so no daemonic beasts wandered the area. It was extremely secluded too, which made it a perfect spot of cultivation.

    He arrived within the cavern behind the waterfall with Xiao An. Seeing how everything remained the same as before, he experienced a sense of nostalgia.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to stay here for a while!¡± Li Qingshan said. Before he had left this time, he had accepted many random missions, just in case he raised any suspicion for not returning for a long time.

    Xiao An nodded. ¡°Alright!¡± She had made up her mind. She had to work hard to keep up with his footsteps.

    Li Qingshan sat down and took out all the pills Ru Xin had given him. Just as he had requested, they were all high level pills. There were even three Virtue Accumulation pills among them.

    Li Qingshan directly took a Virtue Accumulation pill and ingested it before closing his eyes to digest and absorb it.

    Xiao An sat down near the entrance of the cavern, watching over him.

    Days passed one after another. The flow of the waterfall increased; this was the sign of the winter snow melting.

    Li Qingshan constantly ingested pills. He had already eaten the three Virtue Accumulation pills, but he was still some distance away from that final step. Although it was a step, sometimes it felt worlds away, beyond his reach.

    However, he was in no hurry. He settled down and allowed time to pass by rapidly. The snow melted, and the plants sprouted.

    One day at a certain moment, he suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils were hiding the light of joy. The ray of light he had been looking forward to all this time finally descended from the sky. He felt like he had crossed over some sort of boundary, stepping into a different world.

    At the same time, he felt the arrival of tremendous danger. All he managed to tell Xiao An was, ¡°Go away!¡± He was subsequently swallowed by scorching white lightning.

    A spark as thick as a snake knocked Xiao An away. The cavern turned into a sea of lightning. Bolts of lightning wove together, crawling around like they were alive as they produced a fearsome roar like a tiger or dragon¡¯s cry.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The tribulation of lightning did not descend from above as expected. Instead, it surged over from everything, passing through the thick rock and underground, enveloping Li Qingshan completely in a single instant. It arrived so quickly that he had absolutely no time to react.

    In that instant, Li Qingshan even gained the impression that he had released the lightning, and the source of the lightning was the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core in his body. The lightning penetrated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, it penetrated his Ox Demon Forges its Hide, and it penetrated his bones and flesh. It even pierced his very soul.

    Li Qingshan had made a huge mistake. Regular daemons all spat out their daemon cores when they confronted the tribulation, moving far away from it.

    It was exactly because the cultivation of the daemon core had crossed this invisible boundary of the world that lightning was summoned to kill them, so why would they keep the daemon core within them as they went through the tribulation?

    Unfortunately, Li Qingshan was ignorant about this. There were no human books that detailed just how daemons went through their tribulations, nor had any Daemon General ever told him about this. He did have a Daemon General beside him, but Milliped had always been a dunce, so why would he tell him this?

    The rocks in the cavern all crystallised from the scorching energy before shattering and melting together once more from the intense heat. They constantly shattered and melted together.

    Intense pain! The agony of being ripped apart! He felt pain like he was being torn away inch by inch!

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡± Li Qingshan roared out. The daemon core emitted rings of blue light, suppressing his mind, soul, and body.

    Li Qingshan roused himself. His body swelled rapidly. When he rushed out of the cavern, he had already reached a height of seventy or eighty feet. He had completely transformed into a daemon, and he was rapidly growing larger. His roar drowned out the lightning as he waved his arms and legs, like he was fighting against an invisible enemy.

    The water in the pool and the waterfall had been reduced to mist in a split second, surging violently and landing on the ground like thick clouds. All that was left was a lofty figure and constantly flickering lightning.

    It seemed to last for eons, but it was just a short moment in reality. The lightning vanished as swiftly and mysteriously as when it had arrived, without any prior signs at all.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Xiao An took a step forward and called out his name in worry.

    He heard the call on the edge of unconsciousness and jerked awake.

    The white mist that enveloped the entire place was like a wet towel that had been viciously rung out. Torrential rain poured down, dousing his long, scarlet hair. At the same time, the water level in the dry pool rapidly rose.

    He glanced down. The surging surface of the water still managed to reflect a blurry figure.

    When he saw himself in the water, he became surprised. Is that me?

    Xiao An rushed into the white mist and spotted him too. She stopped and was taken aback.

    ¡°So noisy!¡± He casually reached towards the sky, and the mist turned into water immediately, returning to the pool.

    He was not submerged by the water. Instead, he rose with it, standing on the surface of the water. Waving his hand, the surface flattened out completely, turning into a mirror. It clearly reflected the blue sky and white clouds, as well as his appearance.

    Long, fiery hair ran down his back. His naked body was like a work of art that a master sculptor had poured his heart out over. Every single curve of his seemed to be carefully planned and chiseled, conforming to the golden ratio of utmost perfection. It was a balance between strength and beauty.

    If even this was unable to surprise Li Qingshan, then he would become utterly stunned when he saw his own face in the reflection.

    He had seen many handsome men before, like Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi, but this face of his was no less handsome than theirs, or even more so. If he could ignore the two curved horns that protruded from his head, he was enough to become the dream lover of every single woman.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised that this would be his appearance after transforming. He touched his face and smiled. ¡°So heavenly tribulations even come with a facelift.¡± After all, those birds and beasts would gain a proper appearance after undergoing a heavenly tribulation. He already seemed like a human in the first place, so he had been directly struck into a handsome man by the lightning.

    Xiao An smiled too. She asked, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    ¡°I obviously feel¡­ fantastic!¡± Li Qingshan roared out, alarming a great flock of birds in the forest. He laughed aloud, revealing his sharp canines. He actually seemed rather fiendishly charming.

 Chapter 361 â€“ Meeting Huang Binghu Again

    The surface of the water was so calm that it was like a mirror. Even the raging waterfall was unable to create a single ripple in it.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head. The reflection in the mirror suddenly smiled at him, but it was much more flagrant than his own smile.

    When he bent over, extended his hand, and touched the surface of the water with the tip of his finger, ripples spread out in all directions. They went from the very centre to the edge of the pool, with no signs of stopping.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core constantly flashed as daemon qi surged steadily, rapidly being drained away until it was almost depleted.

    Xiao An was drawn away by this sight too. At the centre of the ripples, a real and a fake hand actually held one another.

    A hand extended from the surface of the water, followed by a wrist, an arm, and an equally handsome face. Droplets of water rippled down like pearls.

    Li Qingshan slowly pulled another Li Qingshan out from the reflection of the water. They seemed exactly the same, without the slightest difference at all.

    Xiao An was amazed as well. Her eyes could see through falsehoods, but she was unable to spot anything wrong with him at all. He seemed like Li Qingshan¡¯s twin brother.

    Innate ability: Watermirror¡¯s Image.

    This was the name Li Qingshan had given it¡ªan attempt to pluck the flower in the mirror, to scoop the moon in the water.

    It was a so-called clone technique. Among the water element techniques, there were so-called water clones, but they were just condensed from a ball of water. They were made to seem like a real person through the use of some water transformations. However, when it came to actual battle, they were not particularly useful at all apart from drawing away the enemy¡¯s attention and serving as a sandbag.

    However, the Watermirror¡¯s Image seemed fake, but it was real, and it was all under Li Qingshan¡¯s control.

    Li Qingshan felt like his mind had split into two, currently viewing the world from two perspectives. It was quite a strange feeling to be able to see himself, and he was rather unaccustomed to controlling two people at the same time.

    Xiao An¡¯s expression became even stranger as she watched on. The two Li Qingshans stood in front of one another and extended their hands at the same time, touching ¡°their own¡± faces. It was like a mirror.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand. Every bit of texture seemed so real. He could even feel a beating heart and flowing blood.

    This was not a fake person moulded from water or earth, but an actual clone. Everyone said clones lacked power, but his clone truly possessed power. However, he was more willing to call it a mirror image.

    However, separating the mirror image from his original body was difficult. He would always treat them as a single body and control them like that, moving forwards or backwards together.

    Li Qingshan ended up shooting a glance at her, so she raised her face and shot a glance back at him.

    Li Qingshan was helpless against her. He closed his eyes and tried his best to comprehend the feeling of drawing a circle with his left hand while drawing a square with his right.

    Stopping a while later, Li Qingshan circulated his daemon qi, bending his knee and stepping on the water, but only his clone shot off into the air.

    He arrived in the sky, overlooking the many mountains and gazing at the clouds in the distance.

    On the ground, ridges and peaks rose and fell furiously like waves, giving off a sense of boundlessness.

    Suddenly, he saw an insignificantly small hump at the end of the boundlessness, like a crouching ox.

    To the side of the crouching ox sat a peaceful little village. Many farmers worked near the village. It was so peaceful and quiet that it seemed like a tiny drawing. All of Li Qingshan¡¯s memories suddenly awakened.

    So his homeland was not far away at all!

    For a moment, he forgot about the difficulties of depending on others. He forgot about the pain from the combination of hunger and cold. Perhaps his memories had beautified everything, or perhaps these matters no longer bothered him anymore. All that was left in his mind was a child playing a reed flute on a large, black ox, walking through the mountain path unhurriedly. Yes, this was his only piece of wealth.

    Suddenly, he felt an intense urge to go back and take a look, to have a look at the place he had called home for all these years.

    However, he immediately dismissed this thought.

    Must you be buried in your place of home? Sufficient are the green mountains overgrown. This was the oath he had sworn to himself!

    That place no longer had anything tying him to it.

    If there were things he was unable to let go of, then one would be underground, one would be in the academy, and one would be in the heavens.

    He gazed at the sky and smiled. A sensation of utmost freedom was imprinted deeply in his heart back on the ground.

    On the ground, Li Qingshan walked out of the pool and arrived before Xiao An. He crouched down on one knee and firmly embraced the only person he shared happiness with, his eternal supporter. ¡°Xiao An, do you see? I¡¯ve become so powerful. From today onwards, no one can just harass us anymore. I¡¯ll definitely make them all pay the price if they do.¡±

    Xiao An could feel that the current Li Qingshan was slightly different. It was not due to the change in his appearance. Instead, his personality was slightly different too. Compared to when he was in human form, he would always give off a fearless sense of flagrance in daemon form.

    She preferred him like this more, as he always seemed a little happier in that state. However, no matter who he was, he was always her Li Qingshan.

    A Li Qingshan stood on the ground, embracing the most important person to him.

    Another Li Qingshan flew into the blue sky, unfolding his arms at the sky.

    I want freedom! Freedom to do anything! Limitless Freedom!

    Nine provinces, I¡¯m coming! The Nine Heavens, wait for me!

    ¡°Can you wait for me?¡± Xiao An turned her head and smiled.

    Li Qingshan pecked her cheek viciously. ¡°As long as you need!¡±

    From that day onwards, Xiao An entered a state of meditation.

    Li Qingshan left behind his mirror image in the pool to watch over her, without taking a single step away.

    As for his main body, he travelled around everywhere. He even returned to his human form and completed a few missions, showing his face around just in case people suspected he had gone missing.

    After experimenting around, he gained a more realistic understanding over the various abilities of his clone. The existence of the clone would not be affected just because his main body had returned to human form. However, its daemon qi would constantly disperse. It could be maintained through meditating and connecting with the spiritual qi of the world, but when it came to intense battles, it probably could not last too long.

    And, creating a clone would deplete all of his daemon qi, and it possessed thirty percent of the battle prowess of the original body. However, this thirty percent could not be underestimated. Due to the three supernatural abilities brother ox had left to him, his strength, speed, and daemon qi had surpassed regular Daemon Generals. Combined into battle prowess, it was even more startling.

    According to his estimations, it should not have been too great of a problem for his clone to deal with Foundation Establishment cultivators not suited for battle like Qiu Haitang. And, according to his past experience, the effects of his innate abilities should strengthen with his cultivation. If he could pull out even more clones from the water, just what effect could they achieve?

    After completing another mission and obtaining a few more corpses, Li Qingshan used the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility to hide himself, returning to the edge of the Boundless mountains. Xiao An had yet to emerge from secluded cultivation.

    With nothing else to do, he crossed his legs and sat down, pulling out the high grade spiritual artifact he had purchased below the Green Vine mountain, the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water!

    He currently lacked a suitable weapon. After becoming a Daemon General, he could refine human spiritual artifacts, which would become known as daemon armaments.

    Ebbs of powerful daemon qi poured in. Perhaps because he had already refined this spiritual artifact in the past, but the entire process was surprisingly simple.

    Gradually, the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water changed in shape. It became more like a blade, but this came with a cost¡ªit lost many of its original functions. It could not unleash Gui Water blasts and icicles anymore.

    However, these two functions that had originally been very practical were completely useless to Li Qingshan in his current form. There was no need for him to keep them. He only had two requirements for his weapons¡ªsufficient sharpness and toughness.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s artifact forging abilities might have only been on par with a beginner¡¯s, but with his powerful control over water, he could force large quantities of water into the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water, making the hilt spit out a blade inch by inch.

    A few hours later, Li Qingshan raised the blade in his hand in satisfaction. The long, sharp and narrow blade reflected seven different colours under the sunlight. Standing before the pool, he swung it casually, and the waterfall was bisected. He could not help but laugh aloud.

    If someone else was present here, they would have seen a naked man standing on the edge of a cliff with an extremely beautiful blade of ice on his shoulder, smiling flagrantly.

    Yes, Li Qingshan was not wearing clothes. He was completely naked.

    After becoming a Daemon General, he did not find wearing clothes to be particularly comfortable. He was born like this, so why did he have to wear clothes to obscure anything? As a result, he would strip every time he transformed, walking around naked.

    At this moment, the smell of blood appeared. It was the smell of human blood, combined with extremely soft war cries.

    He immediately looked over. His gaze passed through the forest. Although the many mountains in the distance prevented him from seeing what was going on exactly, it did manage to capture Li Qingshan¡¯s curiosity. With a flash, he disappeared from his location, crossing over several mountains. He saw an extremely familiar hamlet, or more accurately, a village.

    This was also a place he had visited in the past, the place where hunters resided, Drawn Reins village.

    Only now did Li Qingshan remember that the place he cultivated was actually closer to the Drawn Reins village that resided deep within the Boundless Mountains. However, there had been many large mountains serving as obstructions back then with a difficult mountain path to cross, which was why he felt it was so far away.

    Currently, Drawn Reins village was surrounded by a great group of soldiers. There were a few martial arts masters among them. If it were not for the protection of the tall walls and the dangers of bows and arrows, the village probably would have fallen already.

    Hua Binghu stood on a watchtower with a great bow in his hands. The bow was rounded like the full moon as arrows shot out like comets. Every single arrow would always kill someone, heavily striking down on the enemy¡¯s morale. However, he was closed to complete exhaustion. He frowned. Is my Drawn Reins village just going to be destroyed like this?

    At this moment, a voice rang out from the sky. It was as relaxed as greeting a neighbour on a stroll after a meal. ¡°Hunting chief Huang, long time no see!¡±

    Huang Binghu just happened to be extremely on edge right now, so he shot an arrow over without any hesitation at all when he heard that. Only then did he find the voice to be somewhat familiar.

    At this moment, the battlefield fell quiet. Everyone, both inside and outside the village, raised their heads in a daze. They saw a white cloud descend down.

    Li Qingshan had returned to human form, and of course, he was dressed too. He pushed aside the incoming arrow easily and lowered the cloud to the same height as the watchtower. He smiled towards the dumbfounded Huang Binghu. ¡°Is that how you welcome an old friend?¡±

    This was a remote place, nothing like Clear River city where they saw cultivators frequently. Everyone here still found cultivators to be no different from immortals. Li Qingshan¡¯s behaviour right now had only confirmed everyone¡¯s thoughts even more.

 Chapter 362 â€“ Hand in Hand

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What, it¡¯s only been a few years, yet you don¡¯t even recognise me anymore?¡±

    Huang Binghu truly struggled to connect this ¡°immortal¡± who rode on clouds to that farmer boy of the past. He had seen a little more of this world than regular people, but never had he seen anyone fly like that!

    It had just been two or three years since he last saw him. His tall stature had completely stretched out now. Wide-chested, his imposing body was brimming with might. As he sat on the cloud, he radiated with pressure. His face had not changed much, but his entire bearing definitely made him seem like a completely different person.

    Outside the village, many soldiers had already tossed aside their weapons and lowered their heads to the ground. Although the hunters in the village basically all recognised Li Qingshan, none of them dared to believe their eyes.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the dazed martial arts masters outside the village and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    Huang Binghu smiled bitterly. He placed down his bow and told him the entire story.

    As it turned out, soon after Ye Dachuan had left, a new district magistrate arrived. This time, it was not someone who had managed to get his position through nepotism like Ye Dachuan, but a scholar from an academy. In just a mere year or two, he managed to unite the Qingyang district into a monolith under his command, becoming the person who held absolute local power. A stubborn organisation of the ¡°previous era¡± like the Drawn Reins village, combined with its name that provoked the authority of the government, had become a ¡°holdout¡± that required heavy reforms.

    ¡°Qingshan, you have to help us out this time. You¡¯re technically half a member of the Drawn Reins village too.¡± Huang Binghu saw how Li Qingshan did not give off the haughtiness of a cultivator and understood that he was still the same inside, so he pleaded.

    Only with that did Li Qingshan recall this. He smiled. ¡°When I joined the Drawn Reins village back then, it was like entering the belly of the beast. You¡¯re a first-rate master now, so why have you chosen to remain in the village? I remember you once said that you still wanted to go out and wander around for a bit.¡±

    While the current Huang Binghu was still known as the Sickly Tiger, his face shone with a healthy glow as he brimmed with energy. Clearly, the ginseng alcohol had played quite the role in this. With his arduous cultivation of inner force, he had already become a first-rate master.

    Huang Binghu glanced at the village. ¡°The new district magistrate has been so aggressive, so how can I just leave?¡±

    Li Qingshan patted his shoulder. ¡°Got any alcohol?¡±

    Huang Binghu beamed. He turned around and yelled at the village, ¡°Fetch the alcohol!¡±

    The new district magistrate was not old either. As soon as he spotted Li Qingshan, his expression changed. Although he was also a first-rate master, his knowledge surpassed Huang Binghu¡¯s. He shivered inside, A high level Qi Practitioner. He immediately humbled himself, and when he heard how he was a Hawkwolf Guard, he became countless times more careful too.

    Li Qingshan did not favour Huang Binghu either. He invited the district magistrate up and served as a mediator for the two of them. He made the district magistrate withdraw the troops, and he made Huang Binghu change the troublesome name of the Drawn Reins village. He prevented a series of pointless slaughter.

    Where would the two of them find the courage to refuse this? They immediately shook hands peacefully.

    After drinking, Li Qingshan patted Huang Binghu¡¯s shoulder. ¡°How can you let an outsider run amok in your own territory? Brother Huang, I think you should take another path in life!¡± He shoved a pill into his hand.

    Huang Binghu glanced at it and exclaimed, ¡°An Innate pill!¡± Before he could even thank him, the cloud had already crossed over the mountains and vanished.

    As spring arrived, Xiao An stood up in the cavern. She walked towards the daylight, allowing the rumbling lightning to rip apart her clothes and strip her of her flesh.

    Her blood instantly began to boil. Most of her Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty body had been charred before turning into ash. In the end, all that remained was a set of white bones.

    She walked very slowly, but she did not falter. The terrifying heavenly tribulation was unable to make her waver, as he was waiting outside for her! She could not fall behind him! She wanted to be with him forever!

    Walking alone with this one will, she finally arrived outside the cavern. Li Qingshan was currently standing on the water, gazing and studying the shape of a cloud. He turned around and smiled. He placed a wild flower he had plucked from somewhere into her boney hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The flower withered, and a smile blossomed.

    After over two years of development, the Green Vine mountain had finally recovered some of its past glory.

    In a particularly gloomy hall on the top of the Green Vine mountain, the three elders sat together.

    The Green Vine elder¡¯s eyebrows and beard had mingled together in even more of a mess. However, his two sagacious eyes gave off a sense of worry.

    The Lone Grave elder¡¯s pale face was slightly blue. The Golden Pheasant elder was dressed just like before, in a set of expensive robes, but he lacked the high-spirited vigour of a rooster now.

    The three of them had gathered together for once, as recently, they had all been feeling uneasy. Although they did not know divination, they could still connect with the spiritual qi of the world as Foundation Establishment cultivators. Moreover, their insight had grown with their age, and they had weathered countless storms before. They believed this sense of uneasiness was no coincidence.

    After quite a while of silence, the Green Vine elder said, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid it¡¯s revenge from underground, so I¡¯ve already contacted the Daemon Suppression alliance.¡±

    The Golden Pheasant elder said, ¡°What? We¡¯re so old already, and yet we still have to seek reinforcements from the Daemon Suppression alliance just because we feel something is off? We¡¯ll become laughing stocks if this makes it out!¡±

    The Lone Grave elder said for once, ¡°That works.¡± This time, even the Golden Pheasant elder shut up. After a while, he asked, ¡°Have you really sensed something?¡±

    The Lone Grave elder said, ¡°Death.¡±

    The hall became terrifyingly quiet. The Green Vine elder said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already covered the Green Vine mountain with formations. Even a fly won¡¯t be able to make it in¡­¡± His expression changed suddenly.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Someone has made contact with the formation, but they¡¯ve been blocked.¡±

    After a while of silence, the Green Vine elder let out a sigh of relief. ¡°He seems to have left already.¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, the Golden Pheasant elder turned his ear and listened intently. ¡°Is there some kind of sound?¡±

    The Green Vine elder focused his mind, and sure enough, there was a gentle sound. It was not the cry of a bird, nor was it the buzz of an insect. The three of them sensed around, but they failed to sense the origins of the sound. However, the sound did become significantly louder.

    The dust on the ground leapt around happily as the green tea in the cups rippled.

    ¡°It¡¯s from below!¡±

    The three of them suddenly leapt up and glanced below.

    The Green Vine elder said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The formations have covered it even if it¡¯s below. The rocks are as tough as metal. It¡¯s impossible for anyone to burrow over from beneath us.¡± Under the doubtful, worried gazes of the two other elders, he added, ¡°Not even daemons!¡±

    The shaking became even more violent and even closer.

    A hole suddenly appeared somewhere in the floor. Earth twisted in all directions, as if it was being forced apart by something invisible. A huge, pink millipede crawled out, rattling as it circled around the hole; it was as if it was waiting, yet also urging. When it sensed the auras of the three elders, it directly curled up into a ball.

    Their past nightmare seemed to come alive all of a sudden. The Golden Pheasant elder exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s still alive!¡±

 Chapter 363 â€“ Fighting the Three Mountains One

    ¡°What¡¯re you afraid of? It¡¯s just a mere daemonic beast now,¡± said the Golden Pheasant Elder, but his voice was not particularly calm.

    Not only did the Lone Grave Elder¡¯s caution linger around, but it even grew heavier. It was impossible for a daemonic beast to burrow through the ground and arrive here.

    A powerful daemon qi rushed out from the hole. The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s expression changed. ¡°A Daemon General!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you running so fast for?¡± The hole spat out a clear voice. It was loud and resonant, echoing through the empty hall.

    Milliped immediately loosened up, swaying his body around.

    The Lone Grave Elder shut his mouth and corpse qi surged on his body. The Green Vine Elder said, ¡°It¡¯s an enemy. Prepare yourselves.¡±

    A completely naked, handsome man emerged from the cave. His red hair flowed freely as his eyes shone, like charcoal fire burning within the darkness. His eyes swiveled around and looked at the three elders. ¡°Your ground is so tough!¡±

    There was nothing Li Qingshan could do about the many layers of formations either, so he forcefully paved a path through the mountain, making his way up to the very top.

    However, this was not a new innate ability, but another use for his old ones. After becoming a Daemon General, his past three innate abilities had become much stronger. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell had obviously become tougher, while the Ox Demon Tramples became more refined. He could control the direction and range of the shockwave more effectively now.

    The three elders found this to be absurd. In the middle of the night, a naked man had appeared in the main hall of the Green Vine mountain from the most unlikely place possible.

    The main hall was the foundation of all the formations, so a gap that could not be covered by formations existed below it. However, the earth below there was even tougher than refined steel!

    Li Qingshan said clearly, ¡°I¡¯ve come for revenge today. Prepare to die, you three old coots!¡±

    The Green Vine Elder asked, ¡°Is it just you?¡±

    ¡°Are you blind? Doesn¡¯t he count too? You still remember him, right?¡± Li Qingshan tapped Milliped with his foot.

    Milliped crawled up Li Qingshan happily, draping over his shoulder like a large, pink scarf.

    Li Qingshan slapped his forehead. ¡°Sigh, just go. The bit of atmosphere I¡¯ve built up has been completely destroyed by your lack of interest.¡± Milliped scuttled back into the hole.

    The three elders exchanged glances before laughing together. So this was why they had felt uneasy? The daemon qi he gave off was extremely powerful, but that was only compared to regular daemons. They could tell with a single glance that he had only become a Daemon General recently.

    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Li Qingshan said haughtily. He had never been one to blabber. Villains who blabbered never had a good fate. However, for something like revenge, he had to make it clear to the enemy who he was and where he came from. Otherwise, even if he killed his enemy, it would be tasteless even if he did not show off.

    A green vine that rapidly extended over from below his feet was their answer, eagerly bursting out of the ground one after another.

    Li Qingshan leapt up, but he heard the cry of a golden pheasant overhead. The Golden Pheasant Elder swung his wings and smashed him to the ground. Immediately, he became entangled by the vines.

    ¡°The name of a wretched daemon will only defile my ears.¡±

    Li Qingshan unleashed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, blocking the vicious green vines. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a ball of vines, completely immobilised.

    The three elders immediately recalled the black, humanoid daemon that had appeared during the Herb Gathering ceremony. It had given them an extremely deep impression.

    Today, it was almost like a repeat of that day.

    ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡± The Green Vine Elder laughed. Originally, he still felt slightly worried as victory seemed to have come just too easily, but now, the final shred of his worries had vanished. This daemon had gotten ahead of itself the moment it overcame the heavenly tribulation, feeling like it was capable of anything. It wanted revenge, but it had no idea about its differences compared to them.

    Among the three of them, even the weakest had reached mid Foundation Establishment. There was not the slightest possibility for them to be defeated even if they fought alone.

    The Lone Grave Elder did not even get the chance to do anything. He just watched on coldly.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How can I lose to you humans?! I¡¯m going to blow up my daemon core and drag you down with me!¡±

    The three elders immediately became nervous. They could still recall the power unleashed when Milliped blew up his daemon core like it had happened yesterday. The Golden Pheasant Elder retreated backwards involuntarily, while the Lone Grave Elder summoned the Ancient Bronze Corpse General to guard him.

    Li Qingshan seemed to have turned into a bomb that could explode at any time.

    ¡°Wait! If you¡¯re willing to hand over your daemon core, we¡¯ll let you leave alive,¡± said the Green Vine Elder in a hurry.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be impossible. You humans are all crafty tricksters. I will never believe you!¡± Li Qingshan gave off powerful daemon qi, like he was about to blow up his daemon core at any time.

    The Green Vine Elder could hear how he had begun wavering, so he persuaded him patiently. ¡°We won¡¯t trick you. How about this? I¡¯ll remove the green vines first to express my sincerity so that you can return to the hole!¡± At the same time, he exchanged glances with the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder. The moment this foolish daemon showed the slightest opening, they would move together and kill it. Once they reported this back to the Daemon Suppression alliance, they would be rewarded too.

    The dense vines receded from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. To the three elder¡¯s surprise, Li Qingshan turned around and rushed out of the hall.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± The Green Vine Elder took out a staff of green vines and pointed it at Li Qingshan. Vines burst out of the ground, swaying about demonically.

    Li Qingshan came to a screeching halt and leapt gently, brushing past a vine that had almost wrapped around his foot before turning quickly. He constantly changed directions without the slightest pattern at all, leaving behind a path of vines that twisted about.

    Just when the door was right in front of him, the Ancient Bronze Corpse General descended from above as it surged with black corpse qi, landing in front of the door heavily. It spread its arms and lunged towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan wanted to pull back, but his surroundings had already become filled with green vines. Looking up, the sharp claws of a golden pheasant fell down towards his head.

    ¡°Still want to run?¡± The Lone Grave Elder extended a finger and emitted a streak of pitch-black light. It passed through the cracks between the vines and struck Li Qingshan accurately.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body softened. He had already been enveloped by the claws of the golden pheasant. Resplendent golden light illuminated the gloomy hall. He squinted his eyes, and all he spotted was a sharp beak pecking over viciously.

    Just when the Green Vine Elder revealed a smile of relief, the feeling of danger he had experienced over the past few days suddenly reached the maximum. Silently, a long, slender blade of ice pierced his body.

    ¡°Humans are all crafty tricksters.¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he gripped the hilt of the blade, revealing his sharp canine teeth.

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit. With Li Qingshan¡¯s personality, why would he become careless and begin to look down on three Foundation Establishment cultivators just because he had undergone the heavenly tribulation?

    Right from the very beginning, he had been planning a surprise attack. Originally, he planned on killing the three elders one by one, but he had never expected them to be gathered together. Combined with the formation, he was unable to launch a surprise attack. However, if there was no opportunity, then he would make one. As a result, Li Qingshan used his mirror image to distract the enemies, which would allow him to suddenly strike and kill the most troublesome Green Vine Elder.

    The Green Vine Elder lowered his head and looked at the blade before looking at Li Qingshan. Disbelief filled his eyes. Just when he tried to use his spiritual qi, the blade twisted and slashed out behind Li Qingshan. It left behind a streak of light in the air, which blinded the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder.

    ¡°Green Vine!¡±

    The slender blade kicked up a fierce gale, which swept out in all directions. Everything covered by the thin streak, whether it was the huge pillars that held up the hall or the countless extending green vines, was cut apart.

    The Green Vine Elder¡¯s body had already been reduced to two pieces, falling to the ground.

    ¡°How dare you actually-¡± The Lone Grave Elder¡¯s corpse-like expression moved. However, before he could even finish speaking, the fiendishly handsome face appeared right before him, interrupting him with a smile. ¡°How dare I actually what?¡±

    The Lone Grave Elder¡¯s heart sunk completely. The smile came with the familiar scent of death. He seemed no different in appearance, but his strength was worlds apart from his clone. The existence before him was startlingly strong. It was not strength that Daemon Generals who had just emerged from a heavenly tribulation should have possessed.

    The ice blade did not stop. With Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand as the centre, it produced a beautiful semicircle.

    Corpse qi erupted!

    The Lone Grave Elder bellowed out and black corpse qi sprayed out from his sleeves as he retreated to the edge of the hall. He lowered his head in shock to look at the wound on his chest. The blade had cut through his protective corpse qi easily. If it were not for the blast of corpse qi, he would have followed in the Green Vine Elder¡¯s footsteps already.

    A ball of corpse qi, as black as mud, lingered around. It came in contact with a pillar, and a portion immediately vanished like it had been ripped away by an invisible beast.

    With a series of loud creakings, the top half of the pillar collapsed with a portion of the ceiling. Before it had even reached the ground, the corpse qi had eaten it away. All inanimate objects would suffer this fate. If a living creature became contaminated with a bit of it, it would probably be reduced to a puddle of liquid in the blink of an eye.

    With a cry, the golden pheasant unfurled its wings and unleashed several hundred feathers, shooting into the corpse qi as several hundred streaks of golden light.

    There was a shining flash, and the corpse qi parted into two. Li Qingshan emerged with the ice blade. He smiled at the Lone Grave Elder. ¡°Nice reactions.¡±

    A ray of moonlight landed on him, adding a tint of silvery-blue to him. His handsome face and perfect body seemed even less alive now. Instead, he seemed like the statue of a god from legends.

    From the beginning to the end, he had not given off a single sliver of daemon qi.

    Lanterns lit up one by one on the Green Vine mountain. Many disciples of the Green Vine mountain emerged from their residences and looked at the main hall.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡±

    Yu Shukuang yawned. ¡°It¡¯s so late. What¡¯s going on now?¡±

    Several hundred streaks of golden light rained down towards Li Qingshan as the golden pheasant lunged forward.

    ¡°Lone Grave, let¡¯s work together and kill this daemon swiftly!¡±

    With a hurried clang, Li Qingshan swung the ice blade, producing an arc. It landed on every single feather with great precision such that they shot back with even greater speed than when they first came.

    The accompanying gust of wind from the swing ripped through the main hall viciously like countless blades and axes, destroying all obstacles.

    Li Qingshan raised his head at the pheasant¡¯s claw. He did not dodge, nor did he block. All he did was throw a punch.

 Chapter 364 â€“ Fighting the Three Mountains Two

    ¡°It¡¯s the Golden Pheasant Elder!¡±

    ¡°What is going on in the main hall?¡±

    The golden light illuminated every single stunned and terrified face of the disciples.

    Yu Shukuang felt all of his sleepiness evaporate. He could not help but stagger backwards. An enemy that could send the Golden Pheasant Elder flying was not someone a mere Qi Practitioner like him could deal with.

    Looking around, the other disciples were no different from him. The Green Vine mountain surely was not more important than their own lives.

    A moment earlier.

    Moonlight seeped in from every gap within the holey main hall. The silvery-blue light criss-crossed, turning the dignified hall into a bizarre world. However, all of it was soon purged by golden light.

    A golden pheasant descended from above like a golden sun, blinding and glorious.

    Compared to it, Li Qingshan¡¯s upright figure seemed so insignificant. Under the scorching light, he seemed like a mere silhouette, so let alone the hand he swung out. It was like a thin twig, about to burst into flames at any time.

    In that instant, the punch collided with the sun!

    The two forces collided. Streaks of light and waves of air flickered and surged.

    Not a single complete pillar remained within the grand hall, which tottered about within the intense blades of wind. But at this moment, it had been forcefully propped up by the pressure, quickly swelling outwards.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s feet were planted deeply into the ground, but an endless power surged out from the lofty Green Vine mountain; it came from the vast earth, entering his body and then his fist before it was directed towards the golden pheasant.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s confident smile vanished!

    In the next moment, the punch sent the sun flying!

    Li Qingshan drew back his fist and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t try to contest against my strength when I¡¯m standing on the ground!¡±

    Strength of the Earth!

    This was the brand new innate ability that originated from the ox demon. As long as he stood on the ground, he would receive the support of endless strength. Li Qingshan originally thought it was rather useless, but looking at it now, it was quite effective.

    His scarlet eyes swiveled, and his gaze landed on the Lone Grave Elder. His pale-white, corpse-like face revealed a clear expression of shock, but it was not because Li Qingshan had sent the Golden Pheasant Elder flying in an open confrontation.

    The Ancient Bronze Corpse General that stood there silently suddenly raised its head. In that instant, the Lone Grave Elder gained the impression that they were not eyes, but two balls of flames. When he realised this was not just an impression at all, the Ancient Bronze Corpse General had already lunged towards its former master, exposing the small skeleton behind that held a white bone sword.

    Since Li Qingshan said he would use his full strength, he really did use it all. Xiao An was the most important component of his strength. She was countless times more powerful than any innate ability he possessed.

    The Lone Grave Elder was alarmed. He immediately chose to flee. If he kept fighting, he would end up losing his life here.

    Black corpse qi gathered below his feet, lifting him up into the sky like a rocket. He moved alarmingly fast, shaking off the rebelling Ancient Bronze Corpse General in a split second. Just when he was about to burst through the ceiling, four skulls the size of carriage wheels blocked his path, spitting out rolling Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration.

    The darkness and moonlight that had just flooded the hall was purged once more by the firelight. The entire hall creaked and trembled, like an old man with a foot in the grave. Unable to bear its own weight anymore, it began to collapse.

    At this moment, time seemed to slow down. Every single floating speck of dust seemed incredibly clear in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He did not go to assist Xiao An.

    After undergoing the heavenly tribulation, her strength had evolved by no less than his. A supernatural ability like the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty made it such that she would become even more powerful than other cultivators with every step forward she took.

    He directed his gaze towards the sky again. The Golden Pheasant Elder had been scared out of his wits by Li Qingshan¡¯s punch. He was not even bold enough to circle around. He unfurled his wings and flew off into the clouds.

    Li Qingshan casually let go of the hilt and shook his hand. He exhaled gently. He leaned backwards by dropping a shoulder as he extended his hand as hard as he could, like a lead ball being thrown into the air. However, his feet showed no intentions of leaving the ground. Instead, they became even more deeply rooted.

    Compared to his movements, everything that unfolded in the surroundings seemed like a static frame.

    Turbulent daemon qi surged into his arm. Something was released, and his slender hand suddenly turned into the colour of black iron, swelling and extending rapidly.

    Three meters, fifteen meters, thirty meters. With his five fingers that were as thick as the hall¡¯s pillars spread out, he reached towards the fleeing golden pheasant in the air.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder was fear-stricken. He felt a terrifying force crush down on him, almost suffocating him. He fell back towards the hall again. In that instant, the comparison between the two of them seemed to turn back to normal. An arrogant rooster was trapped in the hands of a human, delivered to the kitchen. All that remained was fright.

    All the disciples of the Green Vine mountain widened their eyes. All of this was something that would only appear in a nightmare. No one could imagine just what kind of monster was hiding within the hall as they stared at the huge, demonic claws.

    The hall was extremely spacious, but it was probably extremely restrictive to the monster!

    The golden pheasant was forcefully ripped apart by the huge hand. Li Qingshan¡¯s hand had shrunken back to its normal size, gripping the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s throat. The elder struck the ground heavily, and golden feathers floated around in the surroundings.

    Boom! The shockwave expanded in all directions, speeding up the collapse of the hall. The debris and beams fell with a rumble.

    The Golden Pheasant Elder called out, ¡°You can¡¯t kill me! That¡¯ll defy the Treaty of Kings! It¡¯ll lead to war! You¡¯ll suffer a horrid death too! Release me! We have no particularly great grievances!¡±

    Li Qingshan bent over and whispered into his ear with a smile, ¡°I have another name, Niu Juxia!¡±

    The Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth in an attempt to say something, but he lost that ability forever. Li Qingshan snapped off his neck. Not only had his spine been crushed, but he had been beheaded too. Blood spurted everywhere.

    At the same time, Xiao An¡¯s bone sword had already penetrated the Lone Grave Elder through the forehead. His deathy-white face was filled with fear, making him seem no different from the many corpses he had seen in the past.

    Having lost the Ancient Bronze Corpse General, the Lone Grave Elder became the weakest among the three. He could not even block a single strike from Xiao An. Flames surged out, and he was incinerated instantly.

    Rumble! The hall collapsed completely.

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain looked over. A man wielding a blade stood within the ruins atop the mountain. His scarlet hair surged wildly in the wind as the full moon hovered behind him, blurring his appearance and casting a black silhouette, which made him seem even loftier than the Green Vine mountain below his feet.

    The only thing they could clearly make out were a scarlet pair of scorching yet cold eyes.

    He raised the ice blade high into the air and moonlight poured over the blade. Murderousness filled the air, as if it wanted to dye the moon bright red too.

 Chapter 365 â€“ Returning Underground

    The disciples of the Green Vine mountain staggered backwards. They all turned around and scattered at the same time.

    Yu Shukuang was the first one to flee. The Green Vine mountain was already done for. He had no plans on going down with it, but he felt very despaired inside. Even the three elders could not stop him, so just how long could they flee for?

    Standing up high, Li Qingshan looked down over them. No matter how quickly they fled, no matter how far they had fled, killing them would only take a single stroke.

    His blade was raised, but he never swung down with it, as he saw a familiar person or two among them. He smiled and placed the blade down.

    ¡°He¡¯s vanished.¡± Xiao An emerged from the ruins.

    ¡°Are you certain?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yep,¡± Xiao An nodded.

    ¡°Fucking hell. He can escape even when he¡¯s bisected. That old bastard must have been playing dead earlier. I have to start defiling corpses in the future!¡± Li Qingshan cursed.

    After the original battle, the Green Vine Elder, who should have been laying on the ground, had actually vanished. Needless to say, he must have used this opportunity to escape.

    Now that he thought about it, even regular people would toss around for a bit after they had been bisected. The Green Vine Elder had collapsed like two pieces of wood; he was even better at playing dead than Milliped. Just who was the daemon in this case?

    Li Qingshan had used his mirror image to distract the three elders, while the Green Vine Elder had used these two ¡°old friends¡± of his to distract Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll go hunt down that actor!¡± Li Qingshan sniffed the air and dove back into the hole. According to the smell of blood, the Green Vine Elder had fled through the hole he had created. It would be troublesome if he ran into that simpleton Milliped.

    Xiao An tilted her head in thought. What¡¯s an actor?

    Within the pitch-black, narrow hole, the Green Vine Elder clutched his abdomen that had been split open completely as he lay on his enlarged vine staff, flying off. The shaking from above gradually grew further away, but he did not relax at all. The terror of the blade was firmly embedded in his heart; he remained shaken.

    From the moment Li Qingshan had stabbed the Green Vine Elder with his blade, the Green Vine Elder could feel that it was impossible to emerge victorious from this battle.

    This was because he understood something very well; it was not because he was completely unprepared, but because the blade had arrived far too swiftly and viciously. Unless he used a protective technique and called out his protective spiritual artifact beforehand, it would be impossible for him to block it. Dodging would be even less possible.

    Green vines wrapped around his waist, joining the two parts of his body together. Subsequently, the vines emitted ebbs of green light in an attempt to heal the terrifying wound. However, the residual daemon qi prevented the green light from working. It did not heal after quite a while, but at least his life was no longer in danger anymore.

    As the strongest out of the three elders, the Green Vine Elder was not exactly suited for battle, but his recovery ability was probably unmatched. His life force was endless, just like green vines.

    Milliped was currently idling around in the hole. When he saw the Green Vine Elder rush over, he immediately lunged over threateningly, spitting out a pink gas.

    The Green Vine Elder¡¯s eyes coldened, and he waved the staff in his hand. A Daemon General might be beyond my capabilities, but what about a mere daemonic beast?

    At this moment, his heart shuddered. The auras of the Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder had vanished!

    How did it happen so quickly?

    Based on his belief, even if two mid Foundation Establishment cultivators could not defeat him, they could still escape, or at worst, they could last a little longer. The situation was much worse than he had imagined it to be. The red-haired Daemon General did not give off any daemon qi at all. He moved around without a trace, like an assassin hidden in the darkness, as if he could appear at any moment and cut him down.

    The Green Vine Elder was stricken with fear. He raised his hand and knocked Milliped aside before flying away quickly.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had yet to realise he had gone missing back then.

    Li Qingshan followed the scent in pursuit. He saw Milliped, who had curled into a ball, and smiled. ¡°You sure are lucky!¡±

    Arriving at the exit at the foot of the mountain, a beautiful scenery of the wilderness unfolded before him with a gentle breeze and a bright moon in the sky.

    The enchanting fragrance of flowers filled the air. Spring was the time when mountain flowers bloomed.

    Li Qingshan sniffed. The scent had become very faint, and it was not only because of the smell of flowers. The Green Vine Elder must have stabilised his injuries and then used some sort of method to hide his smell.

    However, Li Qingshan did manage to find a distinctive scent, the scent of humans. Like a thin stream, its trace led off into the depths of the Boundless mountains.

    Li Qingshan leapt up and arrived on a hill before him. However, the scent vanished there. He could not help but frown.

    If his gaze could pierce through obstacles, then he would have spotted a nervous, old face hidden within an ancient cypress a hundred paces away.

    The Green Vine Elder had used a wood technique to merge into the bark. Although he temporarily managed to avoid Li Qingshan¡¯s senses, his nervousness and fear did not lessen at all. Instead, it spread. At the same time, he experienced an indescribable sense of sorrow. He, the mighty sect master of the Green Vine mountain, had actually been forced into such a state by a pursuing Daemon General.

    Li Qingshan circled around a few times in the dim forest. Suddenly, he sneered. ¡°I can see you!¡±

    He had learnt this trick from Han Qiongzhi, and sure enough, it utterly frightened the Green Vine Elder. He had to hold back the urge to flee.

    Li Qingshan casually swung his ice blade, kicking up sharp, violent winds that swept past the towering trees and cut them down. They rolled down the side of the mountain with a rumble. From above, a large swathe of trees had collapsed in a single moment.

    However, he failed to find the Green Vine Elder.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Green Vine, no matter where you flee to, there will be a day when I kill you!¡±

    Kill you¡­ kill you¡­ kill you¡­

    His voice that sounded like thrumming metal echoed through the mountains.

    This made the Green Vine Elder¡¯s heart tighten. Pulling his body together tightly, he rolled down in the cut-down trees, only stopping after colliding against a huge boulder in the end. He felt like his back was close to breaking.

    The forest fell silent once more, but he did not dare to move. Who knew whether Li Qingshan was hiding in the darkness or not, waiting for him to appear so that he could kill him.

    Even when the sun rose, he remained exactly where he was. It was said that people became more afraid of death with age, and he truly verified this with his actions. As long as the slightest possibility of danger continued to exist, he would remain in hiding.

    Three days later, he finally emerged from the bark slowly and gradually, only letting out a sigh of relief after confirming that Li Qingshan was indeed gone. Gazing at the mist-shrouded Green Vine mountain in the distance, tears suddenly began to run down his face. If it were not for this wood technique, he almost would have died. He was obviously too afraid to return to the Green Vine mountain now. All he could do was seek assistance from the Daemon Suppression alliance if he wanted a chance for revenge.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had directly left after saying that. If he could not kill him today, then he would just kill him in the future. He did not have the patience or motivation to waste time crouching around in the forest.

    After this battle, he could feel signs of breaking through to the third layer of the tiger demon. He was looking for some people to cause trouble with so that he could have another battle.

    Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and Milliped, the three daemons, moved through the dark underground. The familiar environment made Milliped extremely excited. He scurried away eagerly, heading towards that ¡°huge bed¡± of his.

    Li Qingshan sat on a huge skull that a Skull Prayer Bead had transformed into. He had a set of scarlet robes draped over him and a scarlet band around his waist, covering his crotch conveniently. The ice blade hung from his waist too. He seemed to be in high spirits, brimming with vigour.

    He had transformed the cloak from his hair. This was a simple trick for Daemon Generals, and wearing it brought no discomfort either. Finally, he had avoided the predicament of walking around naked.

    The hundred treasures pouches of the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder had been shoved into his chest. He still had not looked through them yet. If he wanted to look through his spoils, he obviously had to take them out and admire them one by one at home in peace. Only then would it be particularly delightful.

    After travelling for a few hours, they had already ventured deep underground.

    Home was near!

    Xiao An sat in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms, refining the corpses of the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder. The bodies of Foundation Establishment cultivators were just a few dozen kilograms of flesh, but the life force hidden within even surpassed ten thousand regular people. This was akin to the difference between Qi Gathering pills and Virtue Accumulation pills. It was a difference in quality.

    The reason why Xiao An could undergo the heavenly tribulation so soon was closely linked to Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s corpse. Very soon, she had refined the two corpses, and she could feel that her cultivation had taken another step forward.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her skull. ¡°This time, there¡¯s no need for you to fight.¡±

    The cavern was right before them. Suddenly, there was a tremor, and a tremendous object burst out of the earth, opening its gaping mouth and lunging towards Milliped. The two pairs of fangs were even longer than swords.

    Li Qingshan was completely unfazed. With how obvious the daemon qi was, even if it was hidden within the earth, how could it fool him?

    Flying over, he pressed down on the daemon¡¯s head. However, the part he touched was as hard as a boulder.

    Li Qingshan smiled. I knew this daemon qi seemed familiar. So it¡¯s it!

    As it turned out, the tremendous object was the huge head of a snake, except it was a rocky grey, which seemed like a stone sculpture no matter how he looked at it. The boulder viper had been an extremely powerful daemon soldier under Li Qingshan¡¯s command in the past. It had only yielded when he mentioned Milliped, but it had never truly accepted Li Qingshan as the leader of the daemon soldiers.

    But right now, the last thing Li Qingshan was afraid of was rock. He casually emitted a vibration through his hand.

    The boulder viper felt a vibration spread from the top of his head to the end of his tail. Its impenetrable rock armour immediately cracked. It felt the world spin as its body grew numb. It was pulled out from the earth helplessly, completely in shock.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Boulder viper, do you still recognise me?¡±

    The boulder viper shook its head and recovered from its dizziness. It raised its head and met a familiar pair of scarlet pupils before seeing the horns and the scarlet hair. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ leader!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he patted its head. ¡°Daemons are still the ones with better insight!¡±

    ¡°Vice leader.¡± The boulder viper then saw Xiao An and finally Milliped. ¡°Great king Milliped!¡± He had burst out of the earth because of this daemon qi, launching a sneak attack. It had failed to sense Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s existence at all.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯ve returned!¡±

    After two years, they had returned underground once more, to take back everything that belonged to them!

    Li Qingshan asked in confusion, ¡°Why did you attack us?¡±

 Chapter 366 â€“ Great King Ye Liusu

    The boulder viper looked at Li Qingshan fearfully. Even though it had already become the strongest among the daemons, quite a large difference still existed between it and Daemon General. Li Qingshan¡¯s action from earlier had completely dismissed any of its thoughts to resist. As such, it obediently answered his question.

    ¡°I¡¯m responsible for looking over the dwelling for great king Ye Liusu, to prevent anyone from disturbing the king¡¯s rest, or I¡¯ll be punished.¡± The boulder python curled up its colossal body powerlessly. It missed the time when Milliped reigned on top. Back then, he was not restrained by anything. He did not have to listen to anyone¡¯s command either.

    ¡°Great king Ye Liusu? This daemon has got quite a good naming sense,¡± Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°Then do you know what kind of daemon it is? And what abilities it knows?¡±

    Knowing yourself and the enemy would result in triumph in battle. Li Qingshan never underestimated his opponents.

    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know. And, king Ye Liusu isn¡¯t a daemon.¡±

    ¡°Not a daemon?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rose higher. ¡°Humans are allowed to get a piece of territory underground too?¡±

    ¡°No, no, not a human either.¡±

    ¡°Neither a human nor a daemon. Then what?¡±

    The boulder viper gave a description, Unfortunately, the powerful daemons that lived in the dark underground were rather limited in their descriptive vocabulary, which confused Li Qingshan even more. All he knew was that this king Ye Liusu was not a Daemon General from the surroundings, originating from much deeper underground instead.

    If he had no idea, then he would personally go and take a look. Li Qingshan was cautious, but he was not afraid of trouble. He made the boulder viper move aside, and he swaggered towards the cavern.

    ¡°Leader, king Ye Liusu comes and goes without a trace in an utterly incredible fashion.¡± The boulder viper warned from behind. It did not feel particularly optimistic for Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan had clearly become a Daemon General recently. He probably was not king Ye Liusu¡¯s opponent.

    He dove into the ground in a hurry. If king Ye Liusu found out it had let them in, then it would be in trouble.

    A speck of light suddenly appeared in the darkness ahead. A Blue Butterfly flower gave off dim, blue light within the darkness, and its butterfly wings moved slightly. However, it clearly had not reached maturity yet, unable to break free from the bounds of the stalk and fly through the air.

    Milliped scurried over, but Li Qingshan grabbed him by a leg and made him hide somewhere first, just in case this king Ye Liusu sensed him.

    But apart from the sea of flowers, Li Qingshan actually found nothing to be familiar anymore.

    The coarse, rock walls had been carefully sculpted. Inscriptions and patterns covered them all. The ceiling sparkled with light, having been embedded with countless luminous pearls of various sizes such that it seemed like the night sky. It was majestic, like a black palace filled with illusionary colours and a foreign charm.

    At the centre of the palace, Milliped¡¯s original bed of spiritual stone had been replaced with a delicate, charming bed of sculpted wood. The drapes around it prevented him from seeing anything inside.

    From the decor alone, Li Qingshan could confirm that this king Ye Liusu was indeed not a daemon. Since when would daemons waste time on something like this? Moreover, the aura from within the drapes seemed to confirm this too.

    It was not daemon qi, but it was not like spiritual qi either. It seemed to be something between daemon qi and spiritual qi, with similarities and differences. He could already vaguely guess what it was.

    However, when he walked over and lifted the heavy drapes, he still could not help but become surprised.

    The pair of pointed ears clearly stated the fact that it was not human, and the smooth skin seemed to be dyed by the night sky. It was the colour of the night sky in the middle of summer, a mixture of black and blue, which proved this fact once more.

    Not a human, nor a daemon, but otherfolk.

    Li Qingshan even managed to recognise the race immediately¡ªthe Night Roaming folk.

    This was all thanks to the countless dates he had gone on with Han Qiongzhi. As they spoke about everything¡ªeven though Li Qingshan was the one listening most of the time¡ªHan Qiongzhi had once told him about the existence of this race.

    Their dark blue skin was their most prominent feature. They were completely different from the diurnal humans, being nocturnal instead. They could see through the deepest darkness, but they were blind during daytime.

    After the rise of humanity, they had been expelled to remote wildernesses just like the other races of the otherfolk, becoming a mere legend. Li Qingshan never expected to run into them underground.

    If this was not enough to surprise Li Qingshan, then the fact that the king Ye Liusu seated within the heavy drapes was a woman would have been enough.

    Dark, blue hair draped down from a perfectly oval face strand by strand. Her eyes were firmly shut; she had long eyelashes and a high nose bridge. Her facial features were delicate.

    She wore a simple set of black armour that only covered her most important parts. Beautiful patterns like flower branches extended along the large parts of her uncovered skin; the style was similar to the sculptings on the surrounding walls. It seemed to be more natural than a tattoo. It was also the only thing that adorned her body.

    If he could ignore her skin tone, she would definitely be a great beauty. Or perhaps, it was exactly her skin tone like the night sky that gave her a mysterious, foreign charm.

    Li Qingshan could see her frown. Clearly, she had sensed his existence, but she still did not move. She had probably reached a critical point in her cultivation.

    Li Qingshan was rather disappointed, so he just climbed onto the stone bed and sat down in front of her. As he studied her alluring body, he waited for her to awaken.

    It was not because he did not want to take advantage of her situation, nor was it because he had lost the will to fight after seeing that she was a woman. It was the exact opposite, as a matter of fact. A certain part of his body stiffed silently. He began to reminisce about the wonderful times he spent with Han Qiongzhi, and he wondered whether she had emerged from seclusion yet. By then, all he had to do was propose, and he would be able to¡­

    The purpose of this trip had never been to kill. Daemons would never slaughter one another; this could be regarded as the first law of the world of daemons. This Ye Liusu might have been otherfolk, but since she could reign over this piece of territory, she must have received the recognition of the Daemon Commander. She could be regarded as a member of the Daemon race.

    Killing her was easy, but if he did, there would be no point in him remaining underground anymore. He wanted to use a daemon¡¯s method of defeating her in an open confrontation so that he could take back the territory that originally belonged to Milliped.

    A droplet of sweat gathered on the tip of Ye Liusu¡¯s nose. She was as nervous as she could be. She had just reached a critical point in the Night Demon scripture, which was why she had passed the command to seal off all paths leading to here. Since he could bypass the obstacles and arrive here, it only proved his extraordinary strength.

    Yet, she could not move at all right now. If she did, not only would all her efforts go to waste, but she would even suffer a backlash and become heavily injured.

    At this moment, she suddenly felt his hand extend towards her. Her body immediately stiffened, but the hand only waved around in front of her face.

    Li Qingshan grew bored from the waiting. He yawned and laid down on his side. Suddenly, he saw a sheathed dagger on her waist, curved like the crescent moon. He reached over to grab it.

 A Heavy Authorâ€™s Note for a Million Characters

    What should I say? If I speak my mind too much, the readers will find it boring. I¡¯ll try to make it simple then!

    Six months, a million characters, a chair and a computer upheld the passage of time. In the eyes of others, this should seem like a very lonesome life, right?

    Lonesome? It is. Sometimes, I feel utterly flustered from loneliness, with no idea what to do.

    Just admit it! There are no paths that will be smooth sailing all the way.

    Sometimes, you just can¡¯t avoid staggering along.

    Sometimes, all you can do is look up.

    Not looking up to others, but up to the you you wish to be.

    ¡°I want to become someone like that! I want to write novels like that!¡±

    And then? You¡¯ll achieve happiness?

    I can never avoid asking myself this question, as I understand that life is not novels. There are no paths that definitely lead to happiness.

    You don¡¯t have to answer it¡ªyou¡¯ll only know if you try!

    Constant attempts, constant pursuits to see just how that future tastes. I want to write a decent novel, to show myself.

    Alright, that¡¯s the end of my boring thoughts. Now let¡¯s get to the real stuff.

    Look, give me votes!

    Heh! I call this revealing real intentions at the end.

    Why did I drag it out until now to write my author¡¯s note for a million characters? That¡¯s so I can write one less author¡¯s note!

    I have far too many boring thoughts, which readers will find annoying too. I hope my novel isn¡¯t this boring.

    Alright, I admit that this is a little heavy for an author¡¯s note asking for votes. It¡¯s neither enthusiastic, nor is it touching!

    Then, let me add some things.

    After a period of arduous cultivation, fellow Li Qingshan has finally become a Daemon General, taking a critical step forward in his life. It¡¯s also a critical step for Legend of the Great Sage and a critical step for me.

    After the baptism of a million characters, I¡¯ve become even stronger in all aspects. Everything is about to unfold. I will do my best to write even more fascinating content!

    There might be undulations in the plot, fluctuations in emotion. If I¡¯m happy, then I¡¯ll make you all happy with me. If I¡¯m unhappy, then I¡¯ll still make you happy. If you just can¡¯t be happy, just give me a smile!

    Finally, taking in a deep breath and roaring out loudly.

    Give me votes!!!

 Chapter 367 â€“ The Battle for Territory

    The other thing that lit up with it was the flash of a blade, shaped like a crescent moon, which swept towards Li Qingshan¡¯s throat.

    Xiao An guarded the entrance to the cavern. She saw Li Qingshan enter the drapes, but there was neither sounds nor fighting. She had no idea what had happened, and she happened to be bored.

    Suddenly, there was a screech. A gust of wind swept up the drapes in the surroundings, and the sharp sound reverberated through the cavern, becoming even resonant.

    Ye Liusu now knelt on one knee, leaning forward and placing all her strength into the curved dagger in her hand. The edge was less than an inch away from Li Qingshan¡¯s throat, but it was unable to advance any further. It had been blocked by a slender, ice blade.

    Li Qingshan remained in the same posture, leaning on his side. He wielded the ice blade in a reverse grip with his left hand, easily receiving all her strength with a single hand. He studied her up and down, appreciating her delicate face now with a pair of star-like eyes. They seemed to complete her, allowing her to spring alive. He smiled. You might have overcome the first heavenly tribulation too, but it¡¯s impossible for you to win against me in terms of strength.

    Xiao An sat down. They had finally begun fighting, but then she heard movements from deep within the caves.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ye Liusu said coldly. Her voice was as clear as the flash of her dagger. The appearance of the intruder left her slightly amazed. What a handsome man, no, daemon!

    Although the Night Roaming folk were known for their beauty, such that both men and women were extremely pretty, there was probably no one who surpassed the person right before her in terms of appearance.

    The smile made him seem even more enchanting, but it was not gentle at all. Instead, it seemed more like a reckless provocation. Combined with what his right hand did, it made her killing intent become even colder.

    ¡°I wanted to take a look at your dagger,¡± Li Qingshan said. Only then did he discover that her dagger was already in her hands, while his hand was on her buttock. This isn¡¯t my fault. Who told you to move around? He pulled his hand back like he had done nothing wrong at all.

    ¡°Did you see it?¡± Ye Liusu said coldly.

    ¡°I saw it.¡± Li Qingshan glanced down. The curved dagger shone with the brightest white light, like a crescent moon. He suddenly understood why. Just like how human assassins would paint their weapons black, only light could blind the opponent in this underground world.

    Afterwards, his gaze shifted over to the gully on her chest uncontrollably. In this world, there really were far too few women who dressed so boldly.

    She thought, As a strength type Daemon General, his reaction and speed must be a little slower. Getting so close to me is your greatest miscalculation today! Though, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of a Daemon General like him under the Spider Queen¡¯s command. Don¡¯t tell me another Daemon Commander sent him over? If I kill him and get caught, it¡¯ll be troublesome. He doesn¡¯t seem to have any killing intent either, so I¡¯d better hold back instead!

    But very soon, Ye Liusu discovered that her worries were unnecessary. Li Qingshan flew up without even changing his posture, like he was still lying on the stone platform. He rotated and brushed past the blade. He was surprisingly nimble.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes twinkled. The dagger was like a swooping sparrow, going from a downwards slash to an upwards stroke in an unbelievably beautiful manner. In the narrow space above, it turned into a series of blurs, enveloping every vital point on Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand with a smile, grabbing her dagger-wielding right hand with great precision among the flashes and blurs.

    Ye Liusu immediately let go of her weapon, turning her hand around and grabbing his arm too, pulling him down. At the same time, she caught the curved dagger with her left hand and went for the throat. It left behind absolutely no trace, a completely unfathomable attack. The killing intent was concealed, dense but hidden.

    Even Li Qingshan felt a hint of danger. He tilted his head slightly, and a cold sensation swept past his throat, leaving behind a thin cut. A smile remained on his face. Taking advantage of the overextended attack, he grabbed her left hand too and pushed her down heavily onto the stone platform.

    Ye Liusu tried to put up a struggle, but under Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, it was obviously useless. She lifted a long leg of hers that wore black shoes and kicked the back of his head.

    Li Qingshan lowered himself conveniently, dodging the kick. ¡°Before you attack someone, it¡¯s best if you hear why they¡¯ve come in the first place.¡±

    Two pairs of eyes met, and the tips of their noses were almost touching. They could clearly feel each other¡¯s breathing, which was rather intimate contact.

    Ye Liusu stared into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes without backing down. Her eyes had dimmed slightly, making her dark blue eyes seem like ice in the night.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He was actually unable to come up with an answer immediately. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Good question!¡±

    He did not have a proper name right now. Xuanyue had once called him Big Blacko, but it was clearly a very horrible name. He had once called himself the Old Daemon of Black Mountain too, but that was even less appropriate, just in case someone connected it with Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan immediately sank into a dilemma. He had never been good at coming up with names. He had almost forgotten he was lying on top of an absolute beauty.

    Ye Liusu took advantage of this opportunity to take note of everything about the enemy. Suddenly, she noticed that something seemed to be carved on the two sharp, protruding horns on his head. She muttered, ¡°North moon.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Yes, that!¡±

    His memories returned to a few years ago. In the depths of the Boundless mountain, that cute, mischievous cat daemon had forcefully carved this promise into his horns, depositing it deep within his memories. Even the heavenly tribulation was unable to erase it.

    On the Ice Sword cliff, he had used his loudest voice to bellow at the heavens, swearing he would obtain the power to send her to the Dragon province. He wondered how she was doing right now.

    Ye Liusu squinted slightly and suddenly raised her head, slamming it against his. She sneered inside. Hasn¡¯t anyone told you to not become distracted in battle?

    With a thunk, Ye Liusu fell back onto the stone bed. It hurt so much that she gasped. So hard!

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses. He smiled. ¡°Just call me Northmoon! Hmm? What¡¯s wrong with your head?¡± A lump had appeared on Ye Liusu¡¯s smooth forehead.

    Xiao An crouched at the entrance as her teeth chattered about. She let out a clattering laughter.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Ye Liusu squeezed out a threat from between her teeth.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯ll have that opportunity later, but let me finish speaking first. Where do I start? Oh right. You know the previous Daemon General in charge of this territory, right?¡±

    ¡°He was a fool called Milliped I think. He was lured away by the humans to be slaughtered. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s you!¡± Ye Liusu mocked.

    ¡°Of course not. He might be a little foolish, but you¡¯re not allowed to talk about my friend like that. Anyway, this territory used to belong to him, as well as me. In other words, you¡¯re currently living in my home, lying on my bed. I want you to¡­ piss off.¡±

    Li Qingshan found this way of wording it to be extremely interesting. He felt like he was talking to his ex-wife after a divorce. He tilted his head slightly. ¡°Are you going to agree or disagree?¡±

    ¡°So what if I agree? And so what if I disagree?¡± Only now did Ye Liusu understand. As it turned out, this guy was a daemon soldier under Milliped¡¯s command. He wanted to take back the territory after going through the heavenly tribulation. However, it led her to an even greater question. How could a daemon that had just emerged from a heavenly tribulation be so powerful? He had completely surpassed her physically!

    ¡°It¡¯ll be for the best if you agree. If you don¡¯t agree, I¡¯ll beat you until you agree.¡± Li Qingshan smiled very sincerely. Giving a beauty like her a thorough beating should be quite the sensation!

    ¡°Then try it!¡± Ye Liusu said frostily. The curved dagger began to spin, turning into a round disc that shot towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan raised his body to avoid it and secretly muttered, ¡°Oh no.¡± He felt a gust of wind from behind his head. He reached back and grabbed her round, powerful leg, and Ye Liusu pushed herself up, gripping the hilt of the dagger and stabbing viciously into Li Qingshan¡¯s right eye.

    Li Qingshan wanted to repeat the same trick and grab her hand, but he grabbed nothing. It was a feint.

    On the narrow stone platform, Ye Liusu turned into a shadow, circling around Li Qingshan rapidly. Li Qingshan remained exactly where he was, only swinging his ice blade around, parrying every one of her assassination attempts. Just inches apart, flashes of the weapons filled every gap between the two of them, but there were no sounds of collisions.

    Ye Liusu pushed her nimble, mysterious dagger style to the limit, targeting Li Qingshan¡¯s vital points with every attack.

    Suddenly, the curved dagger spat out a crescent light. It looped around the ice blade along a strange trajectory, arriving behind him and swinging towards his back like a hook.

    ¡°Soul Stealer!¡± Just as the name suggested, who knew how many lives she had stolen with this battle skill. Even those almost as strong as her would die to this attack.

    With an elongated clang, the ice blade slanted behind Li Qingshan¡¯s back, blocking the tip of the curved dagger; this demonstrated that their strength was not even close.

    Ye Liusu slid to the edge of the bed like a ghost, heaving slightly as she stared at Li Qingshan. He was just too powerful. Not only was his strength completely one-sided, but his reactions actually surpassed her too. Was he really a Daemon General who had just undergone a heavenly tribulation?

    ¡°So close!¡± Li Qingshan checked the ice blade and found a tiny nick. He stroked it with his hand, and the blade recovered.

    This battle was not for slaughter or for revenge, so there was no reason for him to kill with a single stroke. Ye Liusu¡¯s abilities were extraordinary. She could assist him in breaking through to the third layer of the tiger demon through battle.

    The curved dagger in Ye Liusu¡¯s hand suddenly lit up, and she swung it violently. ¡°Moon Breaker!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back. A cold half-moon brushed past his face just a hair¡¯s breadth away, but he spotted a Blue Butterfly flower fluttering around in the trajectory of the half-moon. It was just about to be cut apart.

    He immediately leapt up, catching up to the half-moon he had just dodged and destroying it with a swing of his blade.

    ¡°That¡¯s my flower. You¡¯d best be careful.¡±

    Li Qingshan stood within the sea of flowers. The Blue Butterfly flower had no idea about the danger it was just in, fluttering over his head.

    It was a flower, yet not a flower, a butterfly, yet not a butterfly. It was a flying True Spirit pill.

    ¡°That¡¯s mine! Moon Breaker!¡± Ye Liusu produced an even larger half-moon, which Li Qingshan dodged by moving to the side.

    With a boom, the half-moon landed on the rock face behind him, leaving a huge mark on the delicate sculptings.

    Li Qingshan glanced backwards and said relaxedly, ¡°Fortunately, the sculptings aren¡¯t mine.¡±

    Ye Liusu was furious, but she became afraid of just swinging her dagger carelessly again. Every single sculpting there had taken her painstaking effort. They would be extremely difficult to repair. Moreover, this guy clearly could not be dealt with using a move like that.

    At this moment, daemon qi and the special, gloomy aura of night roamers surged over from everywhere.

    PS: Thank you for your encouragement. Never have the monthly votes been so great, actually reaching twelfth place. Of course, I know this is all because the god-level authors haven¡¯t done anything yet, waiting for the double monthly votes, but I still feel very happy. Momentary happiness is still happiness. I don¡¯t have an impressive rate of pumping out words, and to be honest, that¡¯s not what I¡¯m going after either. Coming up with novel, interesting content and then carving it out bit by bit is where my interests of writing novels lie.

    How do I say this? Although there¡¯s just me at home right now, I was in the gloomy underground, watching the battle between Li Qingshan and Ye Liusu with interest just earlier. Chasing after constant joy is just a little too greedy. If reading this part made your loneliness a little easier to bear with, making you anticipate tomorrow just a little more, then it would be my greatest honour.

 Chapter 368 â€“ Otherfolk and Other Abilities

    Li Qingshan found Ye Liusu to be rather admirable. With how reinforcements came flooding over to support her, it only demonstrated her control over this territory. That dimwit Milliped would have never been able to match her.

    Daemons that Li Qingshan found extremely familiar appeared at the entrances one by one, shuffling in the shadows. There was also a group of Night Roaming folk guards, composed of both males and females. Their facial features were all delicate. They wore simple armour, wielding bows and arrows and spears.

    ¡°Leader?¡± The daemons all gasped in surprise. Although Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance had changed drastically, they could still recognise him with a single glance through his special characteristics.

    ¡°King Ye Liusu!¡± The guards glared at Li Qingshan; they fully drew their bows and raised their spears high. They awaited Ye Liusu¡¯s orders.

    Ye Liusu did not ease up at all. If he were a regular Daemon General, then she might have been able to control and weaken him with an advantage in numbers, but the one before her right now was clearly not a regular Daemon General. If they interfered, it would only lead to unnecessary losses instead.

    She waved her dagger and ordered loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t interfere! This is our battle!¡±

    The daemons immediately let out a sigh of relief. Who wanted to fight a Daemon General? Daemons were forbidden from killing one another, but it would be bad if he really became carried away.

    ¡°King!¡± The captain of the guards, Ye Liubo, was confused by this. Why did she have to fight the enemy alone?

    She had already fully drawn her bow; the three nocked arrows shone with a dim light, directed right at Li Qingshan¡¯s back. Clearly, they had been smeared with poison. From such a close range, even Daemon Generals would struggle to dodge a volley of arrows.

    However, the ¡°enemy¡± ended up turning around at this moment, ignoring her drawn bow and smiling at her. His handsome appearance and dazzling smile made her heart skip a beat, but she kept the bow drawn firmly. If it were the past, he could serve as outstanding company in bed, but they stood as enemies right now.

    Li Qingshan studied the night roamers curiously. He felt slightly excited. This was not a sight he could just happen upon. It was just like the legends, where the majority of night roamers were beautiful in appearance. If one of these night roamer guards were brought outside, any one of them, they could be regarded as handsome or beautiful.

    In particular, the ¡°girl¡± in the lead had an exquisite face that seemed slightly similar to Ye Liusu. Her appearance stood out, only slightly worse than Ye Liusu¡¯s. Especially when she drew her bow, the waves on her chest surged.

    ¡°Lower your weapons! This is an order!¡± Ye Liusu said coldly.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Ye Liubo suddenly saw Xiao An crouched in a corner. Because she gave off no aura at all, Ye Liubo had mistaken her to be something dead, except she clearly saw the skeleton move earlier. The skull turned towards her; roaring flames burned in the eye sockets.

    ¡°Vice leader!¡± The daemons were all taken aback again.

    Ye Liubo pointed at Xiao An. ¡°That¡¯s a comrade of the enemy. We¡¯ll deal with it. We¡¯ll just let the king deal with the other one. Once we¡¯re victorious, be sure to let our sisters have some fun too.¡± She glanced at Ye Liusu to check her reaction. The red-haired Daemon General was complete eye candy to her. Seeing how Ye Liusu had no objections, she beamed inside.

    The guards of the Night Roaming folk answered loudly. In particular, the female guards all looked at Li Qingshan with shining eyes. Their gazes were like how bandits usually stared at a noble beauty they rarely came across, easily penetrating his robes.

    It made Li Qingshan feel slightly unnatural. Suddenly, he remembered that Han Qiongzhi had once told him, ¡°The Night Roaming folk have earned quite a bad name for themselves. They¡¯re known to be promiscuous. Men and women sleep around freely. They have no concept of purity, unlike humans. In the past, there was a person who came across villages of Night Roaming folk after becoming lost. Because of his handsome appearance, many female night roamers fought over him, wanting him to stay in their homes overnight. When he returned eventually, he took great delight in talking about it.¡±

    Li Qingshan even sighed back then. ¡°Why did a place as great as that just vanish?¡± He ended up being viciously strangled by Han Qiongzhi, who continued, ¡°It¡¯s all just a misunderstanding of regular people, as night roamers practise matriarchy. Their women are not bound to any form of ethics at all. They toy around with men just like how human men toy around with women, as if it¡¯s their natural right. If you like it, I¡¯ll go find some toy boys for you to befriend too!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately became excited from this thought. Heaven does exist! He called out, ¡°Even if you¡¯re not victorious, I¡¯ll still let you sisters have some fun!¡±

    Ye Liubo broke into laughter. ¡°This guy is pretty interesting. I just wonder how he does in bed. King, don¡¯t hurt him, particularly below!¡± It led to a roar of laughter.

    Li Qingshan turned back around and said to Ye Liusu, ¡°Looks like your clansmen place great confidence in you!¡±

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried for your companion at all? Oh wait, I¡¯ve forgotten. Since when did a concept like that exist among daemons?¡±

    Li Qingshan said without even looking back, ¡°Li¡¯l South, don¡¯t harm them.¡±

    Xiao An gazed harmlessly at the night roamers who lunged over. Hearing ¡°Li¡¯l South¡±, she was taken aback, but she immediately understood what it meant. The two words ¡°north moon¡± had come from the scholar wood tablet carved with ¡°south An¡± in Xiao An¡¯s possession. She obviously could not use her original name in a world of daemons.

    Ye Liubo did not use any weapons. She directly tried to grab Xiao An. She did not take this tiny skeleton seriously at all. It did not seem like anything powerful no matter how she looked at it. At most, it was probably just a servant or puppet. She could not harm it either, or she would displease this ¡°red-haired hunk¡±, and he would not end up trying in bed later.

    Xiao An did not move at all. She did not attack her, she did not dodge, nor did she flee. She just let Ye Liubo grab her.

    Before Ye Liubo had even understood what had happened, she had already hit the ground. Her mind was extremely clear. She did not feel any injuries at all, but she could not even raise a single finger. She felt like her body had become possessed.

    Since the very beginning of practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, Xiao An already possessed the ability to control flesh and blood. She even opened Li Qingshan¡¯s Fengchi acupoint at a critical moment.

    After that, she rarely ever used this ability again. After undergoing the heavenly tribulation, this ability had become several times stronger. She was already showing mercy by sparing those who touched her with their bodies from death.

    The night roamer guards immediately fell into chaos. Ye Liubo was the strongest among them, and she was close to the heavenly tribulation, yet she had actually collapsed before she could even launch an attack.

    ¡°Captain! Captain!¡± Has she been afflicted with corpse poison?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch the skeleton!¡±

    ¡°Liubo!¡± Ye Liusu called out loudly, but she received no reply. She also became surprised. She stared at Li Qingshan. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged as if he was saying, ¡°What¡¯d I say?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t die. You¡¯d better get your people to just watch the battle obediently instead! What, are you reconsidering my suggestion?¡±

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll return the territory to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan added, ¡°If I lose, then I¡¯ll let your sister have some fun. Oh right, you should be in the mix too, right?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! I¡¯ll show you the true power of the Night Roaming folk right now!¡± With her dagger in hand, Ye Liusu walked towards Li Qingshan slowly, but her figure gradually vanished, like a piece of paper placed in ink. At first, the dense ink dyed the edges, and then it became completely pitch-black in the end. She had merged with the omnipresent darkness.

    Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s extraordinary senses, he had completely lost all trace of her. He was amazed inside. So this is the real power of the Night Roaming folk.

    Han Qiongzhi had once explained to the confused Li Qingshan, ¡°Do you know why night roamers practise matriarchy? That¡¯s because their women are much more powerful than their men. Only with power do they receive respect. They¡¯re actually no different from us.¡±

    ¡°This power is not referring to physical strength, but ¡°other abilities¡±. Just like how Giant Lumberfolk can plant their feet underground to absorb energy and their bodies can constantly grow like trees, Night Roaming folk have their own innate abilities. They can draw energy from the darkness and merge their bodies with the darkness.¡±

    ¡°By otherfolk, it¡¯s not referring to ¡°other races¡±. Instead, it means ¡°those who possess other talents¡±. It¡¯s said that a very, very long time ago, the world was under their reign. Regular people worshipped them as gods.¡±

    In the sea of flowers, only Li Qingshan was left. He observed even the slightest movements in the surroundings. Suddenly, he took a step back, but it was already too late. A shiny flash swept past his face, leaving behind a small wound before vanishing into the darkness again. A few strands of red hair floated through the air.

    Just what was the dagger made of? Even the Ox Demon Forges its Hide failed to block it.

    Ye Liusu was completely taken aback. Her ¡°Hook dagger¡± was extremely sharp. Combined with the Night Demon¡¯s Blade Style of Disaster from the Night Demon scripture, it could cut through anything. However, when it landed on his face, she actually felt like it could not penetrate any deeper.

    The female guards all sighed, like they had just watched a perfect creation being destroyed, which made Ye Liusu utterly furious. Just whose side were these people who lost their minds the moment they saw a man on?

    The main reason for all this was because the guards placed complete confidence in Ye Liusu¡¯s strength, but she just happened to lack this confidence herself.

    This Daemon General called Northmoon was simply too powerful. So far, he only seemed like he was toying around with her. He had not unleashed his true strength at all. And, the skeleton called ¡°Li¡¯l South¡± had managed to subdue Ye Liubo without moving at all. It had probably undergone the heavenly tribulation already too.

    This was an unprecedented danger she faced since becoming king. However, she needed to conquer this danger. Only then could the Night Roaming folk prosper.

    There was another stroke, this time sweeping towards Li Qingshan¡¯s frail throat. He raised his hand in an attempt to catch the dagger, but he only grabbed some scattered light. A gash appeared on his palm this time.

    In the blink of an eye, many more wounds appeared on Li Qingshan.

    Ye Liubo had been dragged out of Xiao An¡¯s range of control by her companions, finally recovering control over her body. Before she could even glare at Xiao An, she pushed herself off the ground and pointed in Li Qingshan¡¯s direction, calling out hurriedly,

 Chapter 369 â€“ The True Form of the Ox Demon Tramples

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, captain. Daemons can regrow it.¡±

    ¡°What would you know? If you end up leaving behind any side effects and it can¡¯t stiffen anymore, it won¡¯t be pretty.¡±

    Ye Liusu was utterly disgusted. She could not be bothered about dealing with them anymore.

    She swam around in the darkness like a fish. The world had become completely different in her eyes. Li Qingshan¡¯s existence stood out like a white speck on a black curtain. She approached him silently and swung her dagger.

    Xiao An grew nervous. She possessed her own perspective, which allowed her to ¡°see¡± the existence of living beings. Even within the darkness, Ye Liusu struggled to hide her powerful aura of life. Xiao An could see every movement she made.

    The swift flash of the dagger rapidly approached the back of Li Qingshan¡¯s neck.

    He smiled, turned around, and swung out who knew how many times in a single instant. The ice blade was like a flower in full bloom. Blade aura filled every inch of space behind him. As long as Ye Liusu was there, she would definitely become trapped in the interwoven net of swings.

    The temperature in the cavern seemed to fall by a few degrees all of a sudden. The incoming chilly wind forced the night roamer guards to stagger back. Ye Liubo shivered, and the cockiness vanished from her face. Now solemn, she grabbed her bow once more. Only then did she feel slightly safer. She could not even block a single stroke of his.

    ¡°What a terrifying blade technique. He definitely isn¡¯t a regular Daemon General, but it¡¯s impossible for the great king to lose. It¡¯s impossible if he wants to defeat the king like this!¡±

    The curved blade came and went as a flash, no different from a comet. It was impossible to grasp its movements.

    The thousands of blurs overlapped once more into an ice blade and fell down, reflecting a lock of scarlet red hair. The scarlet pupils moved. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s not just invisibility, but actually merging into the darkness!¡±

    He could even cut through water with his blade, but he was unable to cut through shadows.

    ¡°Admit defeat. You can¡¯t see me, nor can you harm me.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s voice rang out from all directions, from every inch of darkness. Combined with the echoing effect, it seemed like hundreds of voices speaking at the same time.

    ¡°You can see me, but you can¡¯t harm me either!¡± Li Qingshan placed the ice blade on his shoulder and said lazily. The tiny nicks on his body had all healed instantly.

    ¡°I¡¯m just reluctant to use my killing move. Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew. It¡¯s pointless even if you keep dragging it out like this.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly raised his blade high into the air, which gave off a blue light. Since he could not cut her with his blade, he would cut her with light. However, he failed to discover Ye Liusu¡¯s traces.

    ¡°I see. Since you¡¯re night roamers, then you need sunlight for it to work.¡± Li Qingshan withdrew his daemon qi and rubbed his chin in thought.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try it!¡± Ye Liusu said.

    Ye Liubo smiled. ¡°We¡¯re underground. No matter how capable you are, you won¡¯t get any sunlight here.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. He raised his hand, and suddenly, a golden speck of light appeared above him. The speck of light swelled, turning into a golden ball of fire.

    ¡°What is that!? It¡¯s blinding!¡± Ye Liubo shielded her eyes instinctively.

    The dazzling light purged the darkness, revealing a black figure in front of the wall to Li Qingshan¡¯s left.

    The golden light did not possess any terrifying power to kill, but the dense darkness did end up receding bit by bit, revealing Ye Liusu¡¯s figure. She stared at the golden ball of fire in a daze. ¡°Is that¡­ the sun?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the sun!¡± Li Qingshan held the miniature sun he had conjured from his Divine Talisman of Great Creation in his right hand, bringing it before him. He gently touched its golden rays that seemed more like hair; it was scorching but not too hot. As a result, he poured some more power of belief into it so that it could shine even brighter. It was as easy as controlling a large lightbulb.

    Of course, even if Li Qingshan poured in all of his power of belief, he would not be able to conjure even a billionth of the real sun. However, it was not fake. It gave off real sunlight.

    The tiny, golden ball of fluff had become the bane of the Night Roaming folk¡¯s other ability. They might have been kings of the night, but he had turned this place into daytime.

    Ye Liubo tried her best to open her eyes, but Li Qingshan¡¯s figure had been completely swallowed by the light from the sun, blurring him. The weaker guards even began to tear up, turning around and closing their eyes.

    Actually, sunlight posed no harm to the Night Roaming folk at all. It was like darkness to regular people, which could only affect their senses. In particular, night roamers who had cultivated before should not have been affected by sunlight, let alone this miniature sun that Li Qingshan had conjured.

    However, they had lived underground for far, far too long. Every single night roamer basically spent their entire life completely submerged in darkness from birth to death, which strengthened their other ability but weakened their resistance to sunlight to an unprecedented level.

    Ye Liusu did her best to cloak herself in darkness again. Darkness constantly surged around her, but just the slightest interference would prevent her from merging with the darkness perfectly, preventing her from using the ability of Night Roaming.

    This was the first time she had experienced this interference in her life. Who would have thought that someone would actually be able to bring the sun underground? Li Qingshan appeared even more unfathomable in her eyes. If this were a part of his abilities, then he would be the bane of all night roamers.

    ¡°I just thought of a pretty good move, so let me try it!¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed aside the ice blade and arrived before Ye Liusu with a flash, throwing a punch.

    ¡°Sunlight might be able to affect the ability of us night roamers, but you¡¯re dreaming if you think you can hit me with such a direct attack.¡±

    The fist rushed over like a fierce gale, producing booms in the air. Ye Liusu¡¯s shadow hovered about, unable to withstand it. She might not have been as powerful as him, but she was no slower. Giving up on the attack, she dodged as hard as she could. She was like a dark fairy dancing in the wind.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s fist suddenly unfurled, turning into a palm. It was only an inch away from Ye Liusu now.

    Ye Liusu did not take it seriously at all, mocking Li Qingshan for his futile efforts. In that instant, an invisible, terrifying power struck her abdomen viciously before spreading through her body.

    All Ye Liubo saw was Li Qingshan launching a palm strike before Ye Liusu was sent flying. She went over the sea of flowers and collided into a wall heavily. The residual power of the attack dispersed through Ye Liusu¡¯s body, immediately covering the wall with web-like cracks. Then, the wall shattered and crumbled.

    The noise from the strike was completely drowned out by a sound as loud as thunder. It completely deafened the guards. The sound originated from Li Qingshan¡¯s palm strike.

    Waves of air spread out in all directions, lifting up the drapes and pushing down the sea of flowers.

    The disturbance his palm strike had caused stunned everyone. They were thrown into a daze before finally responding, ¡°Great king!¡±

    Ye Liubo rubbed her eyes. Just what did he do?

    Li Qingshan looked at his hand in surprise and joy. The effects of this attack were even better than he had expected. That¡¯s right, it was his innate ability, the Ox Demon Tramples.

    In the past, he had always found the Ox Demon Tramples to be at a completely different level compared to the defensive ability of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. It was useless, especially towards the end. Just how many cultivators would remain on the ground obediently as they fought against him?

    After becoming a Daemon General, he managed to put it to some use by burrowing through the ground, basically salvaging the ability. Only now did he discover that the so-called Ox Demon Tramples was just his misunderstanding about the innate ability. Its true ability was to produce ¡°tremors¡±.

    In the past, because his daemon qi was too weak and his cultivation was too low, he could only stamp his feet to strengthen the power of the shockwaves. Otherwise, the tiny shockwave would not possess sufficient destructive power at all, which misled him.

    In battles following that, he had never thought about using shockwaves elsewhere either, as there was no need for him to.

    If he came across any enemies, all he had to do was tear through their protective true qi at a close range, and they would basically be dead already, so there was no need for him to use any tremors at all. Either that, or he came across enemies he had no chance of defeating like the three elders, so it would be useless even if he did use it.

    After becoming a Daemon General, his innate abilities had strengthened drastically, finally exhibiting the powers that they should have possessed.

    Earlier, Li Qingshan had used air to transmit a shockwave. Although the effect was nowhere close to using it through earth, it still demonstrated startling power.

    Ye Liusu was overcome by both surprise and anger, as well as a hint of fear. The opponent was unimaginably terrifying, and the powers he used were strong and mysterious. The armour she wore basically offered no protection at all before this power. Just how many more trump cards was he still hiding?

    However, she could not give up. She had obtained this piece of territory from the Spider Queen after countless hardships. It was the only passageway for the Night Roaming folk to return to the surface. She could not let anyone take it from her.

    Returning to her senses, she discovered that she had let out a hysteric roar, and her curved dagger ebbed with light, turning into a huge crescent that illuminated the entire cavern.

    She had changed the flexible battle skill, merging with the dagger and charging over to kill with a bearing that could cut through all obstacles!

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. He was surprised that such a beautiful female assassin could actually give off such a bearing. His blood began to flow vigorously for the first time in this battle.

    ¡°Come!¡± Li Qingshan threw a punch, and cracks permeated the air.

    Ye Liusu shivered inside, but she no longer hesitated. Her dark, blue eyes twinkled like starlight as she stabbed out with the dagger, completely forgetting about death. She struck like the swoop of an eagle.

    Ye Liubo seemed to forget to breathe. She looked at Ye Liusu in admiration. Now this was the king they trusted. Her strength definitely could cut through all obstacles, including this wretched Daemon General.

    A thunderous boom rang through the cavern, but all Ye Liusu met was a gust of wind, buffeting her long, dark blue hair. She eased up slightly. Looks like the power is limited by distance. I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what with this strike!

    Li Qingshan looked at his fist helplessly. The shockwave reached a few inches away before weakening and dispersing. With that pause, the flash of the dagger arrived like a bolt of lightning. His forehead pricked slightly.

 Chapter 370 â€“ The Journey to Even Greater Depths

    Li Qingshan raised his foot in an attempt to dodge, but the darkness below his feet surged like it had come alive. Black hands reached out, grabbing his feet and legs before constantly extending upwards. It was like a thick, intangible pitch.

    Before he knew it, Ye Liusu¡¯s high-spirited bellow had turned into soft chanting.

    The streak-like blade aura stared right at his face. The tip of the dagger was only three inches away from his forehead now.

    Li Qingshan caught the blade aura between his hands. Ye Liusu¡¯s dark blue pupils crossed over the long blade aura, staring murderously at Li Qingshan. She used all the strength that she had, but she was unable to push her blade another inch forward.

    ¡°Tremor!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Immediately, cracks covered the blade aura like lightning, spreading to Ye Liusu¡¯s body.

    The blade aura shattered, and Ye Liusu felt like every single bone in her body had been violently shaken up, which came with numbing pain. She immediately felt like her body was no longer hers. She saw Li Qingshan pull away rapidly until her back struck the wall behind her heavily.

    ¡°Great king!¡± Ye Liusu cried out.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Ye Liusu¡¯s slender neck and pressed down slightly. Ye Liusu raised her head with her brows furrowed. She was filled with regret and despair.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already been holding back, but you still couldn¡¯t threaten me!¡± Li Qingshan was rather disappointed. Originally, he wanted to use this battle to break through to the third layer of the tiger demon, but it just turned out to be lacking slightly. Maybe a battle of life or death would have been slightly better!

    At this moment, a series of sharp whistles rang out from behind. Seven poisonous arrows shot towards Li Qingshan¡¯s back in a V-shape, but they were blocked by a flash of many faint blue hexagons.

    Li Qingshan was not even interested in looking back. Instead, he let go of her. ¡°If you want to keep fighting, then feel free to. However, I won¡¯t hold back anymore. I¡¯ll defeat you in a single strike.¡±

    Ye Liusu was astounded. If he had used this defensive technique right from the beginning, all of her attacks would have been useless. Failure was not necessarily unacceptable, but failure where she could not even make her opponent take her seriously was quite despairing.

    In the past two years, she had waged war everywhere, not only taking back the territory that she should have possessed, but even expanding it slightly too. Apart from the few who stood beside the Spider Queen, she no longer took Daemon Generals seriously anymore. Only now did she understand that with how vast the world was, there were plenty of powerful beings out there that could not be underestimated.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll agree to your demands.¡±

    ¡°Great king!¡± Ye Liubo¡¯s expression changed. It had taken them quite the effort to obtain this territory.

    ¡°I can still let your sisters have some fun,¡± Li Qingshan smiled. However, all he received were glares of hatred. He shrugged it off.

    ¡°However, that¡¯s not something I can decide!¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes swiveled. Who knew what she was thinking.

    ¡°Then who can decide?¡± Li Qingshan wrapped his arm around Ye Liusu¡¯s. You just said you would give me the territory if you lost, and now you¡¯re saying it¡¯s not up for you to decide. Are you doubting how decisive I can be?

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen Lolth.¡± Ye Liusu coldened. Afraid of infuriating him, she added in a hurry, ¡°Ma¡¯am Lolth never interferes when Daemon Generals under her command fight over territory, but if a Daemon General appears out of nowhere and wants a piece of the territory, you¡¯ll have to get her opinion on the matter.¡±

    ¡°That does sound rather reasonable. Then what are you suggesting?¡±

    ¡°I can take you to see ma¡¯am Lolth and pass the territory to you in front of her.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. ¡°You mean to say that you want to take me deeper underground to the main base of the Night Roaming folk. There, we will see the Daemon Commander who you¡¯re very familiar with but I¡¯m not familiar with at all so that she can decide who the territory belongs to?¡±

    Ye Liusu felt hot breaths of air near her ear and neck, but it did not make her heart throb at all. Instead, she felt like she was trapped within the mouth of a monster that could fly into a rage at any time. She gritted her teeth and said with great difficulty, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Ye Liusu was stunned. She found this handsome and powerful Daemon General to be even more difficult to read. Was he really so confident in his strength that he was bold enough to enter this land of danger under the lead of the enemy? He was rash and arrogant, yet also filled with reckless charm. Compared to those gloomy, constantly uneasy male night roamers, he was basically on the other end of the spectrum.

    ¡°But before this, I need to find a suitable place for my friend to settle down. I think this place will do.¡± Li Qingshan looked around at the cavern .He found the wall sculptings to be quite beautiful. The decoration was highly suitable for a home.

    Ye Liusu agreed through gritted teeth.

    Li Qingshan stood on the stone platform and gave a speech to the daemons, earning their absolute submission.

    Milliped scurried over, returning to his familiar ¡°bed¡± before curling up comfortably. Xiao An sat on his back.

    After going through numerous tests and trials, they had finally returned to their origin, taking back what belonged to them.

    Why? Because Li Qingshan had said to Ye Liusu, ¡°You can go first. I¡¯ll follow you along later.¡± All Ye Liusu could do was take her guards and set off first.

    No one said anything along the way. The atmosphere was very oppressive. They gradually left the cavern, arriving at the edge of Milliped¡¯s territory, but they did not even see a single trace of Li Qingshan.

    Ye Liubo ventured over. ¡°Great king, is that guy really going to come? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s tricking us?¡±

    Ye Liusu contemplated that quietly. All she could do was go home and seek reinforcements, but would that really be enough against him? Maybe there would only be a possibility if Lolth and the ones who stood beside her took action, but how was she supposed to sweet talk her way into getting daemons to kill one another, slaughtering a powerful genius of their own race? Daemons had always held prejudice and been fearful of the Night Roaming folk.

    ¡°It¡¯s wrong to doubt someone¡¯s promise.¡± Li Qingshan appeared alone in the darkness. The group stopped with his appearance. He strode over to the front. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ve wanted to take a look underground a long time ago!¡±

    Ye Liusu discovered that his face actually gave off a childish naivety. He was teeming with interest like he was off to watch a show.

    Even though Ye Liubo hated him, she still could not help but become interested when she saw his handsome face that was in high spirits.

    Li Qingshan stared straight ahead, as if he could see through the layers of earth. His dream of travelling through all corners of the world was slowly coming true.

    What would a city of Night Roaming folk be like? Just how would this ma¡¯am Spider Queen Lolth treat him?

    Speaking of which, this was rather similar to the human world. If he wanted a territory in the world of daemons, he would have to pay a visit to the top brass first. However, according to the few words that Milliped had exchanged with him, she did not seem to be particularly easy to deal with.

    But that was fine. The worst situation would just be falling out and fighting before being finished off by them.

    Right now, Li Qingshan and Xiao An sat together on the bed of spiritual stone at the centre of the sea of Blue Butterfly flowers. Li Qingshan took out the hundred treasures pouches from the Golden Pheasant Elder and the Lone Grave Elder, looking through the spoils of his battle relaxedly.

    An adventure would definitely be extremely interesting, but if he could go adventuring from the safety of his own home, it would be even more interesting. And, it would not get in the way of his cultivation either.

    As he channeled true qi into the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, a vast space opened up.

 Chapter 371 â€“ Kicking up a Wave

    Ye Liusu, who was hurrying along silently, discovered that a mysterious smile had suddenly appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. She immediately thought of a thousand possible reasons for his behaviour, but she could never guess why Li Qingshan was happy.

    The hundred treasures pouch was so plentiful that it completely exceeded Li Qingshan¡¯s expectations. Let alone the various high level pills, just the sum of spiritual stones that numbered at over ten thousand made him overjoyed.

    As the sect master of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain, the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch contained the resources of an entire sect. These resources were not just for him, but for developing the sect as a whole. It had been built up over countless generations, but it had all ended up in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands now.

    Apart from the spiritual stones and pills, there were a large quantity of spiritual herbs such as Dragontongue grass over three centuries old, five-centuries-old Snowheart orchids, and so on. Every single one of them was worth several thousand spiritual stones at the very least.

    If it were not for the sect and its deep heritage, regular Foundation Establishment cultivators would have never been in possession of such items. Even if they could afford them, they would be refined into pills immediately. They would not be stored in hundred treasures pouches.

    Because the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain used Golden Pheasant¡¯s plumes as their weapons, there were not a lot of spiritual artifacts. Though, there were three supreme grade spiritual artifacts.

    There was a sword with cloud patterns, a piece of bright yellow embroidery, and a small celadon bottle.

    Li Qingshan had no idea what their names were, but when he saw the glow they gave off, he took a liking to them. In particular, he found the small bottle to be rather familiar. Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen it. Wasn¡¯t this the supreme grade spiritual artifact that had almost fetched ten thousand spiritual stones in the auction below the Green Vine mountain?

    The usage of the bottle had once been explained in detail during the auction. It could be filled up with regular water, which would then be converted into spiritual water. It would bring great about benefits whether the spiritual water was used for alchemy, artifact forging, or for watering spiritual herbs.

    Only this item out of the three spiritual artifacts had signs of being refined. The sword and embroidery were completely untouched.

    But aside from those, he failed to find any legendary arcane artifacts. That was not surprising. The world was not overflowing with arcane artifacts like spiritual artifacts. Every single arcane artifact possessed startling power, which also meant it was extremely difficult to refine. Normally, only large clans or sects possessed them, and they were rarely ever sold. Most Foundation Establishment cultivators just used supreme grade spiritual artifacts.

    Even if an arcane artifact appeared on the market, the Golden Pheasant Elder would have never spent an astronomical sum to buy it. The world was at peace, lacking much conflict at all. In particular, cultivators at Foundation Establishment and above often went decades without fighting, so what was the point of buying it? If the small bottle had not been a spiritual artifact that complimented cultivation, the three elders never would have contended for it.

    Li Qingshan was already completely satisfied with these three supreme grade spiritual artifacts, particularly with the small, celadon bottle. He could build up a supply of spiritual water in his spare time, which would be quite nice for bathing.

    There were also some shiny, metallic ores. Li Qingshan guessed that these were materials for forging artifacts. He had never learnt how to forge artifacts, so he could not recognise them either. Though, just from the glow that they gave off, he knew they were worth quite a lot. They must have been for forging Golden Pheasant¡¯s plumes.

    Oh right. Speaking of which, he obtained quite a few handfuls of Golden Pheasant¡¯s plumes too. They should have been in the range of supreme grade spiritual artifacts, and they even came in a set, which made them the best of the best. Unfortunately, they could only be controlled with the cultivation method of the Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain. He did find the complete Golden Pheasant¡¯s Method of the Rising Sun, but Li Qingshan would never practise it.

    Afterwards, he opened the Lone Grave Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. The contents left Li Qingshan surprised.

    All he saw was a tremendous number of corpses. There were all kinds of corpses, male, female, old, and young. Some had been refined, while some remained in their original state. It was such a vicious, horrific sight that it seemed like a living hell.

    The Burial Mound mountain was based on refining corpses, so corpses were their most important resource. It was both a consumable and a necessity. In order to find these corpses, who knew how many graves the disciples of the Burial Mound mountain had robbed.

    Li Qingshan took out the spiritual stones and pills and moved them to the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch before passing the Lone Grave Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch to Xiao An. ¡°This is for you.¡± Among the items he passed over were the two supreme grade spiritual artifacts in the Lone Grave Elder¡¯s possession, the bone sceptre and the bronze bangle. They both radiated with yin qi and were related to refining and controlling corpses, so he had no use for them.

    After splitting the spoils, Li Qingshan stood up and stretched himself lazily. He grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s enter secluded cultivation again!¡±

    This time, his objective was reaching the third layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. That way, he would be able to suppress the daemon qi from the ox demon and tiger demon perfectly, just in case he would give himself away after reaching the third layer of the tiger demon.

    The flames in Xiao An¡¯s eyes flickered. She was actually thinking of something else. After undergoing the heavenly tribulation, her cultivation had increased drastically, but at the same time, she had reached a new bottleneck. Without sufficient comprehension, the essence of flesh and blood would not be enough to increase her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    However, it would be perfect for her to continue forging Skull Prayer Beads. If nothing went wrong, she would be able to assemble twelve beads into a string and forge her first white bone spiritual artifact, no, arcane artifact.

    Just as the two of them became motivated by their lofty aspirations, Milliped, on the other hand, had already fallen asleep. He curled up on the stone platform as his segments all loosened. He seemed to be very pleased. He would never know what ambition was. All he knew was he could finally lay here and sleep again.

    Li Qingshan sat down, took out a pill, and shoved it into his mouth. His mind gradually settled down, entering a state of thoughtlessness.

    However, little did he know that his stunt on the Green Vine mountain had already led to a great uproar in the cultivation world.

    At the centre of where all these waves came from, Yu Shukuang and the disciples of the Green Vine mountain fled in all directions.

    Only when Yu Shukuang looked back at the mist-shrouded Green Vine mountain and saw no one in pursuit did he relax. He collapsed on his bottom and heaved for air. He had experienced a bloody career in the jianghu, where his life was constantly at risk. Originally, he thought there was nothing that could scare him anymore, but just a glance from the scarlet-red eyes had almost been enough for him to roll down the mountain in fright. He was absolutely certain that he would be a dead man already if a slash went his way.

    Just like how monkeys would disperse when the tree collapsed, the disciples of the Green Vine mountain fled for their lives under Li Qingshan¡¯s pressure. They were afraid Li Qingshan would catch them and finish them off too.

    Yu Shukuang looked around. All that was left beside him was Yu Lian.

    ¡°Foster father, where do we go now?¡± Yu Lian was still mellow like before, just much more mature. He was originally Yu Shukuang¡¯s trusted disciple. After gaining a stable footing in the Green Vine mountain, Yu Shukuang had brought him over. They were no longer master and disciple, so Yu Lian took Yu Shukuang as his foster father.

    Yu Shukuang said, ¡°We definitely can¡¯t go back to the Green Vine mountain. That¡¯s not a safe place. Who knows when the daemon might attack again. With our cultivation, we¡¯re like lambs to the slaughter. Why don¡¯t we just go back to the Proud Sword manor?¡±

    After two years of arduous cultivation, coupled with the tremendous resources from the Green Vine mountain, he had reached the fourth layer, while Yu Lian had reached the second layer. Although they had both undergone important breakthroughs in their lives, they were still at the very bottom of the cultivation world. They could not even withstand a single slash from the daemon.

    ¡°If the daemons launch a large-scale attack, the Proud Sword manor probably won¡¯t be safe either. There¡¯s a tunnel leading underground just outside the city. Why don¡¯t we go to Clear River city and seek shelter under junior sister?¡± Yu Lian came up with an idea and stated it.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Yu Shukuang found it rather embarrassing to seek shelter under his daughter as a father.

    ¡°Junior brother Yu is right. Brother Yu, you should stop hesitating. I plan to go to Clear River city too.¡± Diao Fei emerged from behind a large tree. His cultivation had already reached an impressive sixth layer, having split open his sea of qi. Once he reported this matter to commander Wang, it should be enough to earn him a position as a Scarlet Wolf guard.

    ¡°First senior brother, you¡¯re here too!¡± Yu Shukuang beamed. Although an additional Diao Fei would still not be enough to withstand a single slash from the daemon, at least he felt slightly safer.

    The two of them had become acquainted two years ago. They were not close friends, but they did know each other at the very least.

    Yu Shukuang respected Diao Fei for his powerful cultivation, while Diao Fei knew Yu Shukuang had a daughter called Yu Zijian cultivating in the Academy of the Hundred Schools. With her Pure Yang constitution, she earned the favour of the leader of the school of Daoism, so he would never try to disrespect Yu Shukuang either.

    ¡°How terrifying!¡± Diao Fei sighed. After reaching the sixth layer, he had become the first senior brother of the Green Vine mountain. He felt rather proud and content with himself, holding his head high. However, only after witnessing that unstoppable power tonight did he understand that he was just a slightly larger shrimp in the cultivation world with his measly cultivation.

    Yu Shukuang agreed with that statement from the bottom of his heart. He sighed along with him.

    ¡°So what do you think, brother Yu? If we travel together, we can look after one another once we reach Clear River city.¡± Diao Fei had heard that Yu Zijian was familiar with the Hua family. If anything happened, he could get her to mediate any potential problems.

    Seeing Diao Fei, Yu Shukuang suddenly thought of a certain person. Back then, they had only managed to strike a conversation because of him.

    I might not be able to seek shelter under Zijian, but I can seek shelter under him!

    That¡¯s right, the person Yu Shukuang was thinking about was Li Qingshan. It was all thanks to Li Qingshan¡¯s assistance that he had managed to reach where he was today. He could be regarded as half a subordinate of Li Qingshan. If he sought shetler under Li Qingshan, it would not be embarrassing. Yu Shukuang had heard that he had made quite a name for himself in the academy.

    If he knew that the exact person who had scared him away was Li Qingshan, who knew how he would react.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then!¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡±

    After hearing the report from Diao Fei, Wang Pushi¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up into a mess. A Daemon General had actually killed the elders of the three mountains. It sounded unbelievable no matter how he heard it. With how crafty those three old men were, couldn¡¯t they just escape if they could not win?

    Then he checked Diao Fei and saw that he was unscathed. If the Daemon General was so arrogant and powerful, why did he let them go alive? That was why he asked for confirmation.

    ¡°Absolutely. If you don¡¯t believe me, commander, I¡¯ve brought two of my junior brothers with me. The other senior and junior brothers have all seen it too. The news should spread before long. I hope this is sufficient time for the commander to make a decision.¡±

    ¡°Come with me!¡± Wang Pushi leapt up from his seat. Recently, the conflict between humans and daemons had grown more and more violent. It was not restricted to the Clear River prefecture or the Ruyi commandery. Instead, the entire Green province was smoking with the signs of war.

 Chapter 372 â€“ Gu Yanyingâ€™s Mission

    Diao Fei arrived in a square room in the corner of the building, but the room was empty. The snow-white walls, floor, and ceiling were covered with inscriptions containing many grooves.

    Wang Pushi filled the grooves with spiritual stones and activated the formation. With a flash of light, a figure appeared in the room, only stabilising after flickering a bit. It was an envoy in black, who bowed. ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve activated the Projection formation. What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Commander Wang Pushi of the Clear River prefecture has urgent matters to report. Please let me see ma¡¯am Gu!¡± Wang Pushi clasped his hands and stressed the word ¡°see¡±.

    ¡°Please wait, sir.¡±

    Gu Yanying could not help but become rather curious when she heard that Wang Pushi was looking for her urgently, even activating the Projection formation. She arrived in the room with the Projection formation and saw Wang Pushi¡¯s figure. She smiled. ¡°Old Wang, what¡¯s made you so frantic?¡±

    Wang Pushi bowed before pulling Diao Fei to his side. ¡°Tell her what you just told me.¡±

    ¡°Subordinate Diao Fei g- greets ma¡¯am Gu!¡± Diao Fei lowered his head, afraid to look at the hovering figure in white. He went through everything again, from beginning to end.

    Gu Yanying remained as relaxed as before, but her smile did become slightly less wide. She felt rather powerless in the end. Everywhere is smoking with signs of war, so just why must the flames have to end up being lit where I am?

    ¡°Do you know where the daemon came from?¡± He killed no bystanders, only targeting the elders of the three mountains. Not only did this confound Wang Pushi, but it made Gu Yanying sink into her thoughts as well. The pitch-black hand that extended out from the hall and the scarlet-red eyes did make her think of a few things.

    However, she dismissed the thought immediately. How was that possible? Daemon and Daemon General were worlds apart. Even if it took him over a century, it would still be rather fast.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure?¡±

    ¡°Do you remember what the daemon looked like?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Diao Fei was afraid his gaze would attract the daemon¡¯s attention, so he never dared to look at it properly. He clearly remembered many special characteristics back then, but now, all that was left in his mind were the scarlet eyes that shone like fire.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Chu Shidao in Clear River? Get him to paint him!¡±

    Wang Pushi hurried off to the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    ¡°Father, what brings you here?¡± In the Academy of the Hundred Schools, Yu Zijian grabbed Yu Shukuang¡¯s hands in surprise and joy.

    Yu Shukuang knew that the matter held great importance, so he was afraid of blabbering about it. As a result, all he said was, ¡°I miss you, so I wanted to see you. What¡¯s wrong with that? Sigh, you really have grown up. You¡¯re just like your mother back then, no, you¡¯re even more beautiful than your mother.¡±

    It had only been two years, and she had already reached the fifth layer. Moreover, this was because the slovenly daoist priest wanted her to build a proper foundation. Otherwise, if she just pursued cultivation speed, she would have been even faster. She was like a rough jade that was having its outer layer of rock being slowly chipped away. Just the slightest glimmer seemed to be magnificent. Her figure had become beautiful before she knew it.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with that. In the past, you wouldn¡¯t even come when I wanted you to come. Did something happen at home?¡± Yu Zijian asked in doubt.

    Yu Shukuang knew his daughter was not as easy to coax as before, so he whispered, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you right now. I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±

    ¡°Acting all mysterious, huh? Oh, have you heard anything about Niu Juxia lately?¡± Yu Zijian¡¯s bright face immediately became dyed with a hint of worry.

    This question again!

    Yu Shukuang and Yu Lian exchanged glances. Yu Shukuang smiled bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s doing much better than you!¡±

    ¡°How do you know this? You have news about him, don¡¯t you?¡± Yu Zijian grabbed Yu Shukuang¡¯s arm firmly and asked urgently.

    You¡¯re the one who told me! The only reason Yu Shukuang had received news about Li Qingshan was because Yu Zijian had mentioned the interesting matters happening in the academy at the time. However, he obviously could not just tell her something like, Your father has sworn an oath on his own moral character about this, alright? I do have news about him, but I can¡¯t tell you about it. This is what he wanted.

    ¡°Is he really fine?¡±

    ¡°He really is fine.¡±

    ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t he come to find me? So much for worrying for him.¡± Yu Zijian felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She began to smile, wandering off in her thoughts again.

    Yu Shukuang, on the other hand, was worried. Don¡¯t tell me this girl has actually taken a liking to Li Qingshan? She¡¯s still so attached to him even after two years. She has already grown into a proper lady now. Sigh, when men grow up, they get married. When women grow up, they get married off.

    Green Vine had rambled about something like severing his ties and devoting himself to cultivation, but he never believed that. He understood the pain of loneliness the best. How could you go without a companion in this world?

    He had to properly keep an eye over this aspect for her. The kid is a little stubborn, but aside from that, he¡¯s not a bad choice. Should I tell her his identity? I¡¯ll need to bring it up with him the next time I see him.

    Yu Zijian brought Yu Shukuang and Yu Lian around on Wuwei island happily, and as a result, Yu Shukuang began to ask about Li Qingshan like it was an accident.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re talking about senior brother Li, right? He¡¯s already reached the eighth layer, and he even clashed with the senior brother Chu I mentioned before a while ago. In the end, he defeated him instantly. He¡¯s so powerful!¡±

    Yu Shukuang nodded in satisfaction. Now that¡¯s the cultivation suitable for my daughter. Once he becomes my son-in-law, he won¡¯t bear to scold me anymore, right?

    ¡°He spent so much time in the alchemy room with senior sister Ru Xin. When senior sister Han comes out, she¡¯ll probably never spare him. Hehe, that¡¯s what Chenglu said.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s senior sister Ru Xin and senior sister Han about?¡±

    Yu Zijian told Yu Shukuang the gossip enthusiastically and noticed that Yu Shukuang¡¯s expression had changed. She asked in surprise, ¡°Father, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Oh nothing. Ah, what¡¯s this mountain called?¡± Yu Shukuang laughed dryly. So Li Qingshan is actually the romantic type. Thank god I didn¡¯t tell her Niu Juxia¡¯s real identity on a whim. I can¡¯t let my daughter become involved with someone like him.

    Gu Yanying waited for a while, and Wang Pushi returned with a young man. He reported, ¡°Master Chu has already set aside his brush in retirement. He no longer paints. This is his final disciple, Chu Danqing. He can carry out this responsibility too.¡±

    Chu Danqing became stunned the moment he saw Gu Yanying. He had seen Chu Shidao paint hundreds of beauties, but none of them could even rival one ten thousandth of her. He sketched an outline of her instinctively inside, but he was immediately left at a loss as to where he should start. Even if he forced himself to paint her, it would completely lack her bearing and charm. It would just be a regular beauty.

    ¡°So you¡¯re Chu Danqing. Your master has hidden you away quite well. If you want to stare, you can keep staring later. Get painting!¡±

    Chu Danqing returned to his senses, and he reddened from embarrassment. He turned to Diao Fei and said, ¡°Please close your eyes and try your best to recall the scene back then before relaxing your mind.¡±

    Diao Fei closed his eyes, and Chu Danqing placed a finger on Diao Fei¡¯s forehead. His other hand flew into a flurry, painting on the paper. He recovered his composure.

    A weasel-hair brush produced a multitude of colours. Sometimes it furled together, painting with thin strokes; sometimes it unfurled, dabbing heavily with colour. Before long, a colourful painting emerged vividly on the paper.

    Chu Danqing exhaled gently and showed Diao Fei the painting first. ¡°Is this what you saw?¡±

    Those nightmarish scarlet eyes filled his vision once more. Diao Fei leapt up in surprise, taking half a step back before finally seeing the entire painting. Above the ruins was a black silhouette, a dark-red, full moon, a raised blade of ice and flying, long hair. The various details lost in his memories had all been retrieved. It was even more detailed and vivid than when he saw it initially.

    ¡°Y- yes.¡±

    Wang Pushi could not help but take a look at the painting too. He wanted to see just what figure could kill the elders of the three mountains and frighten Diao Fei so much.

    All he saw was a vivid figure in the painting, as if he was about to leap out of the paper and cut him down. He was slightly astounded inside, What a good painting! What killing intent! Would I be this daemon¡¯s opponent?

    Then, Chu Danqing lowered his head and presented it before Gu Yanying. Gu Yanying only took a single glance at it before recognising the identity of the person in the painting with her half-daemon bloodline. Just like how humans were unable to distinguish between two magpies, special characteristics were basically as obvious as direct markers in the eyes of the same kind.

    Wasn¡¯t that the kid?

    For once, Wang Pushi found a sliver of surprise on Gu Yanying¡¯s face.

    Gu Yanying waved her jade folding fan gently. How strange. How strange!

    Back then on the Ice Sword cliff, when she thought he had embarked on a path of daemons, he ended up returning as a Hawkwolf guard. When she thought he had chosen a human path of cultivation, he transformed into a daemon again, risking his life to fight for a Daemon General.

    In the blink of an eye, he had already become a Daemon General, crossing the barrier that would take many daemons centuries or even a millennia to cross and taking the lives of three Foundation Establishment cultivators the moment he struck.

    She had never met such an unpredictable guy. Interesting, interesting!

    If that were the case, everything made sense. The reason why he had gone to find the three elders was still for revenge! Because he had originally been a human, he still possessed some benevolence, so he did not cause a massacre.

    The rooms several thousand kilometers apart fell silent at the same time as they awaited her orders.

    Gu Yanying closed her fan and struck her palm gently. ¡°Hold on. I might pay a visit to the Clear River prefecture. Just send someone over to investigate for now!¡±

    Wang Pushi was rather troubled. ¡°Little Hua and Qiongzhi are both in seclusion. Looks like I¡¯ll have to pay a visit myself!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go. Isn¡¯t there a Li Qingshan? I heard he has risen into prominence lately, and he¡¯s very strong. Just get him to investigate. When he gets back, get him to write a report for me. I¡¯d like to hear his opinion on this case.¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes flickered as she seemed to smile.

    Little bro Qingshan, are you really that eager to throw those words back at me?

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll summon him back right now. Is there anything else I can do?¡± Wang Pushi asked. As it seemed, commander Gu really did pay special regard to Li Qingshan. She had actually handed such an important case to him, even praising his strength. It was unimaginable. However, he struggled to connect this flagrant, reckless daemon in the painting to the primary disciple of the school of Novels, Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Old Wang, the things that will happen will happen sooner or later!¡± Gu Yanying drew out her voice. Then her eyes swiveled. ¡°You¡¯ve painted very well. You¡¯ll definitely surpass your master in the future.¡±

 Chapter 373 â€“ The Aura of a King

    Li Qingshan moved underground with the group. The twisting and turning path seemed endless. They sometimes moved east and sometimes west. The only constant direction was downwards as they entered even greater depths.

    After dealing with the issue of cultivation, he no longer had to think too much about it anymore, so he moved all of his attention back to his mirror image.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo led the group at the very front. When they came across any forks in the road, they would make a choice without the slightest hesitation. The caves were quiet. No one in the group spoke. There was not even the sound of footsteps. They all seemed to have become illusionary shadows.

    Night roamers are basically natural-born assassins. I wonder just what environment made them like this. Li Qingshan praised secretly. In particular, Ye Liusu was basically floating. Combined with her terrifying other ability, it was very possible for him to die by her blade even though he was much stronger than her if he was caught off-guard.

    They turned into a new cavern. Ye Liubo gazed at the emotionless Ye Liusu, who only cared about advancing forward, and frowned slightly. She lowered her head, and her expression became conflicted as if she was facing a dilemma. Suddenly, she slowed down and arrived at the back of the group. She grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to speak to you about.¡±

    Just as Li Qingshan became puzzled by her actions, Ye Liubo told him that through the pulses of her aura. She also knew a little about the method that daemons used to communicate with one another.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Ye Liubo cried out. She was pulled into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms, and the two of them stopped.

    Ye Liusu looked back with a frown. The group stopped. The expressions of the night roamers differed. The men were obviously furious, while the women were rather envious.

    ¡°You go first. We have some matters to attend to.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and gently sniffed Ye Liubo¡¯s neck. Her face blushed slightly.

    ¡°Be sure to catch up.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s gaze swept past their faces before she continued forwards with the group.

    ¡°They¡¯re gone now. What do you want to tell me?¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, Ye Liubo wrapped herself around him like a snake. She kissed his lips and stuck out her tongue. Li Qingshan was slightly surprised, but he refused to back down, so they actually began kissing in a place like this.

    A while later, Ye Liubo still showed no intentions of stopping. Li Qingshan¡¯s lust was roused, so he forcefully pushed her away and pursed his lips. ¡°You can tell me now.¡±

    ¡°Can I trust you?¡± Ye Liubo¡¯s face was filled with mixed emotion, but it was not the bashfulness of a girl in love.

    ¡°I can tell you something of great importance to you, so important that it can save your life. However, you need to promise me two things.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very fair.¡±

    ¡°The first thing is please don¡¯t harm my elder sister!¡±

    ¡°Why do you think I¡¯ll harm her?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll harm her once I tell you this.¡±

    ¡°And why are you telling me that?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t tell you, she¡¯ll harm herself.¡±

    ¡°I refuse,¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands and shrugged.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°What you¡¯re trying to say is that she has come up with a lousy idea in an attempt to harm me. But to be honest, I¡¯m not afraid at all.¡± To quite a large extent, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone was for scouting ahead. It would be fine even if a clone or two was killed. Once he understood the situation underground, what would be stopping him from avenging his clones?

    ¡°There¡¯s something else. You have no right to make a deal with me.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s face coldened.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll beg you, alright? I can become your servant. I¡¯ll serve you. I can even tell you about the situation underground.¡± Ye Liubo felt very powerless. She knew he was right. Even Ye Liusu was completely helpless against him, so just what could she do with her strength?

    If it were not for the fact that his personality was not as violent as regular daemons, probably even great king Ye Liusu would not be able to maintain her sense of pride right now. Many of the times, the feeling he gave her was more human than anything else. It was exactly because of this that she was bold enough to negotiate with him. And, from the probing earlier, she had confirmed he was interested in women. With that being the case, she felt like her chances at success had increased by quite a lot.

    This was not a joke. Rarely did Daemon Generals underground suddenly change their sense of beauty after transforming, taking a liking to creatures that walked on two legs. They would still treat them as food that could walk around.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally said what I want to hear.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. What he wanted to know about the most right now was the situation of the night roamers and the situation of Spider Queen Lolth. As long as he could gain a grasp over the bigger picture, just what significance would Ye Liusu¡¯s measly scheme towards his mirror image hold?

    ¡°Then you¡¯re agreeing?¡± Ye Liubo beamed.

    ¡°Can a servant place demands on her master?¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Though, the master can consider the servant¡¯s feelings.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her face with a smile. ¡°Tell me, or I¡¯ll consider turning down your allegiance.¡±

    ¡°My sister wants to kill you¡­¡±

    Ye Liubo was helpless. In the end, she still chose to believe him. He could have used more violent methods to interrogate her, or he could have insulted Ye Liusu viciously, but he did not.

    ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. It¡¯s almost written across her face.¡± Li Qingshan curled his lip.

    ¡°¡­by drawing you into the territory of the enemy.¡± However, Ye Liubo¡¯s next words finally surprised Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Wait, you said the enemy? Who can still be her enemy in the underground world?¡± As someone who had been awarded her own territory by the Spider Queen, even other daemons could not just kill her.

    ¡°Night roamers from other clans, obviously.¡±

    As it turned out, the night roamers underground were not united. Instead, they were split into a few major clans. Spider Queen Lolth forbade open conflict, but she did advocate for chaos and hidden conflict. Coupled with them contending for their interests and resources, the conflicts between the clans were extremely intense.

    They could do anything to one another, including assassination, poisoning, or laying traps. As long as no direct evidence was left behind, they could do whatever they wanted. And, these useless failures who left behind evidence would all become sacrifices to the Spider Queen after being judged.

    It was possible to imagine just what kind of ¡°welcome¡± Ye Liusu would receive when she returned underground, entering the territory of other clans. And, in order to silence them, Li Qingshan would definitely be hunted down for being a witness.

    ¡°This idea is as stupid as it can get.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. This Ye Liusu sure was vicious. She was actually willing to drag herself down with him. Did she really think this would be enough to deal with him?

    ¡°My sister has no other choice either. In order to obtain this piece of territory, our Spider Shadow clan has already become the target for attack for many large clans. We¡¯ve sustained very large losses. If she then draws in an enemy like you, it¡¯ll probably be enough to destroy the entire clan. With this idea, even if it¡¯s useless against you, it can still heavily injure those clans.¡±

    If Li Qingshan managed to escape, then the clans would definitely be guilty of killing a leader of a territory and attacking a Daemon General. If he did die, he would definitely drag a lot of people down with him, and the Spider Shadow clan could send someone else to manage this piece of territory.

    After thinking through all of this, Li Qingshan really began to admire Ye Liusu. ¡°What an impressive spirit of sacrifice. Liubo, you¡¯re much worse compared to her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m only too anxious to see the Spider Shadow clan destroyed and all the night roamers killed. What¡¯s it got to do with us anyway?¡± Ye Liubo sneered. She was actually filled with hatred towards her own clan. Only then did she look at Li Qingshan eagerly, grabbing his hand and calling out, ¡°Master!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart numbed from that. It was impossible for regular people to replicate this seductive feeling. If it were not in consideration for Han Qiongzhi, he probably would have been tempted to do something.

    ¡°In consideration for your feelings and loyalty, I¡¯m not going to kill your sister, given that she doesn¡¯t end up killing herself. Actually, she has some use for me.¡±

    Ye Liubo was delighted, but she felt rather strange inside. Originally, she wanted her sister to capture him so that she could toy around with him, but now, she had become his servant instead.

    Though, he seemed even more charming now. What attracted her was no longer just that perfect face. With his strength, he would definitely become an important figure who could move around underground freely. Serving him would be much better than being ordered around by the clan. Thinking about it in such a manner, she found that she had made quite a good choice.

    In the underground world, the strong preyed on the weak. A handsome or pretty appearance would only turn someone into a toy. Only with great strength could you win everyone over, ruling over all. Strength itself was a form of charm.

    ¡°Though, I am curious about the other thing.¡±

    ¡°I want you to protect me.¡±

    ¡°Who wants to harm you?¡±

    ¡°There will definitely be very severe punishments awaiting us after losing the territory. There are just too many people waiting to add insult to injury in the Spider Shadow clan,¡± Ye Liubo said in resentment but also rather proudly. Now that she was under the protection of a powerful Daemon General, there was nothing the matriarch could do to her!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your master will protect his servant.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡± Ye Liubo¡¯s hearted warmed up, and she smiled sweetly.

    Ye Liusu was currently leading the group of night roamers. They had stopped in the cavern to rest, but she felt slightly uneasy.

    At this moment, the two of them returned. Ye Liubo clung onto Li Qingshan¡¯s arm intimately as she smiled gently.

    ¡°That¡¯ll do.¡± Li Qingshan shook off Ye Liubo.

    Ye Liubo glanced at him in discontent and said to Ye Liusu, ¡°Big sister, I¡¯ve already told your plan to sir Northmoon.¡±

    Ye Liusu¡¯s heart shuddered. What she worried about the most had happened. She roared, ¡°Liubo!¡± However, Li Qingshan grabbed her hand as she tried to draw her dagger.

    Ye Liubo glanced back without backing down. ¡°Big sister, even if you want to make a sacrifice, you need to ask us first.¡± As soon as she stated Ye Liusu¡¯s plan, the guards were immediately thrown into an uproar.

    ¡°I was saying there was something wrong with the path.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am Liusu, is that true?¡±

    They were not ready to sacrifice themselves for the clan, unlike her. It was not like they would be punished for losing the territory anyway. At most, they would just be dragged into the matter slightly.

    Ye Liusu said nothing, as if she was admitting to it with her silence.

    ¡°From today onwards, I will be leaving the Spider Shadow clan to be sir Northmoon¡¯s servant!¡±

    At this moment, Ye Liubo¡¯s statement caused quite a ripple. This was equivalent to betraying the clan and completely placing her life in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. If Li Qingshan refused to protect her, there was no way for her to continue living underground.

    Li Qingshan smiled. This was probably the legendary aura of a king. If he really did possess the power of a king, was he supposed to be worried about a lack of followers? As long as he possessed sufficient ¡°power¡±, there was no need for him to worry about a lot of matters.

 Chapter 374 â€“ The City of Night Roamers

    ¡°Liubo, you¡¯ve actually betrayed the Spider Shadow clan. Do you know the consequences? Do you really trust this daemon so much?¡± Ye Liusu pointed at Li Qingshan and questioned loudly.

    ¡°He¡¯s more trustworthy than the group of old coots! I¡¯d rather die than go back and suffer the insult from those bastards.¡± Ye Liubo raised her head stubbornly. ¡°I won¡¯t let you die for them either. Sister, why don¡¯t you follow sir Northmoon with me? That way, we won¡¯t have to put up with those old women anymore.¡±

    ¡°Shut up, you traitor! So much for all these years of care from me. You¡¯re an ingrate!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be nice to whoever treats me nicely, which is why I can¡¯t let you die. You¡¯re thick in the skull!¡±

    Both of their chests heaved with intense emotion. Li Qingshan, who had caused all of this, stood to one side with his arms across like he was an outsider. He spoke to break the stalemate,

    ¡°Ye Liusu, do you know what Liubo said before she told me the plan?¡±

    When Ye Liusu heard how Ye Liubo had prioritised her safety even at the risk of her own life, her heart trembled, and her anger subsided. She became helpless.

    ¡°I only spared you in consideration for Liubo¡¯s feelings. Stop being so stubborn. Actually, it¡¯s perfectly fine even if I slaughter you all here!¡±

    Murderousness surged, and the atmosphere in the cavern immediately froze. Only Ye Liubo smiled.

    Through Ye Liubo¡¯s introduction, Li Qingshan had already grasped some of the principles underground. Otherfolk were still not daemons after all. In Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s eyes, a Ye Liusu was nowhere near as important as a strong Daemon General. Even if there was no direct evidence, she would never permit a night roamer to kill him.

    In his eyes, the Spider Queen was clearly making use of her authority to scheme, to divide the night roamers so that they turned against one another, wasting away their own strength on one another and preventing them from developing or strengthening.

    ¡°I will never betray the clan. This will all be up to the matriarch to decide. I hope you can protect her well.¡± Before absolute strength, all Ye Liusu could do was bow her head. She was not afraid of sacrificing herself, but she was reluctant to make a pointless sacrifice.

    After correcting their path, the group set off once more. Soon after they had left, two black shadows appeared where they had just stopped, whispering among themselves.

    ¡°They seem like Ye Liusu and her sister. The voices can¡¯t be wrong.¡±

    ¡°Why would they appear here?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. Let¡¯s go back and report this to the matriarch. We must make them remain here forever.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    A black figure returned in the direction it had come from, while the other merged into the darkness and pursued the group.

    Li Qingshan was striding ahead when he suddenly felt that something was amiss. He stopped, and his eyes lit up.

    Clang! He drew the ice blade and swung it towards a wall.

    Before the blade had even struck anything, it lit up with blinding, golden light. The darkness receded like the tide, and the black figure by the wall stood out clearly.

    With a howl, blood spurted across the wall, and a male night roamer fell to the ground. He cried out, ¡°Who are you?¡± Subsequently, there was another howl.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s the Bat Shadow clan!¡± Ye Liubo lunged over and finished him off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t sense it?¡± Li Qingshan looked at Ye Liusu. The cultivation of this male night roamer had only reached Ye Liubo¡¯s level.

    ¡°Liubo, lead the way and go. I don¡¯t want to be used by someone else.¡± If his main body was present, he would not mind killing a few people and then comprehending the tiger demon, but this mirror clone only possessed thirty percent of Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. If he fought, he would end up making a fool of himself.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Ye Liubo took off first, and the group immediately hurried off behind her, immediately displaying who was slower or faster with the tailing members in the group. Li Qingshan and Ye Liubo were obviously at the very front.

    ¡°My sister hasn¡¯t come.¡± ¡°Forget about her.¡±

    As soon as Ye Liubo had stopped, Li Qingshan scooped her up and took off with even greater speed.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°No buts. She¡¯s asking for it.¡±

    ¡°Sister, come!¡± Under Li Qingshan¡¯s solemn gaze, Ye Liubo did not dare to act up. All she could do was call out towards her.

    Ye Liusu stared at the darkness ahead. She could sense a series of auras hidden extremely well, rapidly approaching her. Her eyes were already filled with determination, but she suddenly heard Ye Liubo¡¯s calls at this moment. She let out a sigh before turning around and drifting off.

    ¡°Find a different path! Hide!¡± Ye Liusu brushed past the guards. The quick-witted ones searched for other caves immediately.

    The guard who had fallen to the very back had slower reactions. Just as he was panicking, he suddenly stopped and was reduced to several pieces silently.

    In the end, only the three of them kept pace with one another. The caves were deep and gloomy, twisting and turning like the guts of a monster as it rapidly receded around them.

    Most of the time, Li Qingshan ran on the walls. He could constantly adjust his position to how the cave extended, but the tailing shadow still grew closer and closer.

    Ye Liusu was puzzled. Why was he much slower compared to when she fought him earlier?

    Suddenly, the familiar sound of water appeared. The rumbling indicated a waterfall!

    The cave was cut off by a roaring, underground river. The river was wide and turbulent, rather similar to the Clear river. If he had not seen it in person, he would have never believed such a vast river could exist underground.

    The river was cut off by a huge cavern, falling several hundred meters in a sheer drop. It rumbled deafeningly before continuing onwards. If he had not seen it in person, he would have never believed a waterfall with such a sheer drop could exist underground.

    Ye Liubo beamed. ¡°We¡¯re here! Once we cross the waterfall, we¡¯ll be in the territory of the Spider Shadow clan.¡±

    Clang!

    When she finished talking, Li Qingshan swung his blade again, clashing with a dagger in the darkness. Sparks flew.

    ¡°What strength! What is this light? Why can it neutralise my Night Roaming?¡±

    The black shadow drifted backwards as the crook of his right thumb shattered. He was stunned. The blinding sunlight filled him with suspicion too.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan leapt into the lake. From the flash of sunlight earlier, he saw two other shadows approaching him. Going with the flow, he had been taken far away from the cave in the blink of an eye, tossed out by the river and falling into the endless darkness with the waterfall.

    Li Qingshan extended his right hand. Daemon qi pulsed, and the great waterfall that had surged for thousands of years was immediately severed. Like a roaring dragon, it suddenly poured back into the cave.

    The black shadows were just about to pursue when the flood arrived. They halted and used their Night Roaming, disappearing into the darkness. However, the light arrived before the water, causing their disappearing figures to twist. They were pushed back by the water.

    This was not a regular flow. Instead, it had been imbued with Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi, so it possessed startling power.

    Ye Liusu widened her eyes. In the underground world, a clash between night roamers was primarily about lurking danger. It was a battle between assassins. She had never seen such a grand attack.

    Ye Liubo became even more shocked when she saw this in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. It seemed like she was the one who had launched this attack. Looking at his perfect, handsome face again, she became completely engrossed.

    ¡°Here!¡±

    They reached the bottom of the waterfall very soon. Ye Liusu turned into a cave on the side, while in the underground river, a flow lifted up Li Qingshan. He followed her from closely behind.

    Boom! Thousands of litres of water slammed down viciously like a clap of thunder. The entire cavern shook slightly. The raging waterfall had never flowed so violently before, but before long, it all turned back to normal.

    A few black figures appeared at the top of the waterfall, watching them vanish into the cave. They turned around and left.

    ¡°Was that a Daemon General?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s strange. Why didn¡¯t he give off any aura?¡±

    ¡°Report this to the matriarch immediately. Ye Liusu has returned. We can¡¯t let her return to her territory!¡±

    After moving through the darkness for a while, a few dim specks of light suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s vision.

    A few extremely well-hidden auras circled around, but when they sensed Ye Liubo, they receded silently.

    ¡°Welcome to Blacklustre city!¡± Ye Liubo kissed Li Qingshan¡¯s face and climbed out of his arms. As she extended her right arm, a black city appeared before Li Qingshan.

    This was a huge cavern of quite a rare size. It was almost the size of Qingyang city, but it was probably a hundred times more prosperous.

    Black stone buildings and towers reached towards the dark ceiling at various heights, filling the entire cavern in an unbroken chain, extending to and merging as one with the sloped walls. As a matter of fact, even the walls had been excavated and sculpted, forming structures similar to caves.

    There were even signs of excavation on the huge stalactites on the ceiling. Every single structure had a smooth, distinct outline, covered in patterns and inscriptions like black pieces of art.

    Specks of light rained down from the dark ceiling, forming a majestic map of stars. It could not rival the actual night sky, but it did give off the glory of the creations of civilisation.

    After travelling for so long in the deserted, dark caves, Li Qingshan even felt a hint of intimacy after suddenly seeing so many structures that indicated civilisation. He was rather surprised by how cultured the night roamers were.

    At the centre of the city was a black castle. It differed from the style of structures humans built. It was solemn and dignified, noble and refined. It displayed the ingenuity of Night Roaming folk craftsmen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go get some rest there and wait for the matriarch to summon us. Someone has already gone to report this to her.¡± Ye Liubo slowed down and made her way towards the castle.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go straight to Spiderweb city instead?¡± Ye Liubo¡¯s suggestion earned another sharp glance from Ye Liusu.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your matriarch here?¡± Li Qingshan was puzzled.

    ¡°The matriarch is in Spiderweb city,¡± Ye Liubo grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s arm and said gently.

    Every clan had a main city, but all the matriarchs would stay in Spiderweb city, which was also the Spider Queen¡¯s headquarters.

    Figures flickered on the streets, bustling around just like humans. However, it was strangely quiet. Even the steps of the children were silent, and their faces were filled with a certain coldness and calmness that contrasted against their age.

    ¡°Your highness.¡± Seeing the sisters, they all bowed in great respect.

    Among the night roamers, a hierarchy was clearly defined. The siblings were the ¡°daughters¡± of the matriarch, so if regular night roamers disrespected them, they would face extremely severe punishment.

    Only when they walked past did the people whisper among themselves,

 Chapter 375 â€“ Seduction and Trap

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be a princess.¡± Li Qingshan smiled at Ye Liubo beside him.

    ¡°I¡¯m no longer one. I¡¯m your servant now, master.¡± Ye Liubo tightened her embrace around Li Qingshan¡¯s arm with rippling eyes, causing it to sink into her extraordinarily full chest as she attempted to hide her fear.

    ¡°Is the matriarch really so scary?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s very scary!¡± Ye Liubo seemed to recall something and shuddered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared!¡± Li Qingshan wrapped his hand around her shoulder.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ye Liubo gradually settled down, leaning against his chest. Even Ye Liusu would only give her assistance when she was in danger. Never did she completely depend on a person like this.

    Along the way, Ye Liusu had constantly paid attention to Li Qingshan¡¯s expressions, but she discovered he was like a sightseeing tourist, studying the structures in the surroundings in great interest.

    As for Ye Liubo, she played the role of a tour guide, introducing the history of Blacklusture city to him. Under the influence of his easygoing attitude, she relaxed too, even teasing him from time to time. She did not seem like a defeated enemy who had just lost an important piece of territory at all.

    Ye Liusu glanced back and let out an undiscoverable sigh. She was rather envious of her. This piece of territory held extremely great significance to the Spider Shadow clan, or even the entire race of Night Roaming folk.

    Without him, it would be a territory where she could see the bright stars and the moon. She could still remember the shock she had experienced when she saw the night sky for the first time. She had personally destroyed the hope of the night roamers returning to the surface.

    She clenched her fists such that her nails stabbed into her palms. She was unable to resent Li Qingshan, but she was unable to bring herself to serve a daemon either.

    ¡°Ye Liubo, why have you returned? You¡¯ve even brought an outsider to Blacklustre city!¡±

    A sharp, cold voice rang out. Li Qingshan followed the voice and saw a female night roamer standing on a spire of the castle, staring coldly at him.

    The thin, upright bridge of her nose demonstrated her coldness and determination. Compared to such a prominent nose, her other features seemed a little obscure, like a sketch. However, once assembled, it completely matched her cold expression. She possessed her own kind of charm, enough for Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes to light up despite having seen the various beauties the night roamers could offer already.

    Her dark, blue hair was tied up in a thick, short braid. It was extremely efficient. She wore black leather clothes and pants, with black boots that reached her knees, which outlined her enchanting figure. She carried a dagger on her waist. She was actually no less beautiful than Ye Liusu, and her cultivation was actually greater.

    Ye Liuxing studied Li Qingshan with a dagger-like gaze. Even his handsome appearance failed to faze her cold expression. He could clearly feel her indifference to others.

    ¡°Your sisters sure come in different shapes and sizes,¡± Li Qingshan smiled back at her as he whispered to Ye Liubo.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re sisters by blood.¡± Ye Liubo pouted.

    As it turned out, they did not come from the same family. Instead, they became the daughters of the matriarch through their exceptional talent, crowned as regular princesses and high princesses and thus referring to each other as sisters. There was no connection by blood. As for who was older or younger, it was not based on age, but cultivation.

    ¡°Welcome back, your highness Liusu. Welcome back, your highness Liubo.¡±

    The door opened loudly and guards stood to both sides, raising their spears and chanting together.

    ¡°Sir, please give your weapon to me.¡± A skinny caretaker in black robes arrived before Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Have I brought a weapon?¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand with a smile, and the ice blade vanished.

    The caretaker was taken aback, and Li Qingshan had already walked in with his arm around Ye Liubo. The caretaker was too afraid to stop him. Daemon Generals held extraordinary status in the underground world. Daemons outclassing night roamers was an unspoken rule.

    Entering the black hall, there was a water foundation in the centre, depicting a naked woman. The floor was covered in thick, patterned carpet, and the walls were draped with tapestry too, depicting the image of a brightly-coloured spider.

    Two flights of stairs merged on the second floor like outspread arms. Ye Liuxing stood there, gazing over coldly.

    ¡°Liusu, come with me. Liubo, receive the esteemed guest.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡±

    Cold wind whistled around the pointy spire. Looking out the window, Blacklustre city seemed to stand below their feet. Ye Liuxing¡¯s icy voice was even colder than the wind.

    Ye Liusu told her everything that had happened.

    Smack! There was a resonant slap, and Ye Liusu gained a handprint on her face. Blood oozed from the corner of her lips, but she remained exactly where she was.

    ¡°Do you know just what this piece of territory means to us? Do you know the price, the number of lives, the clan has given up for it?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°He must die! And before the matriarch returns.¡± Ye Liuxing raised her hand again, but she never ended up swinging down. She swung it away viciously.

    ¡°I disagree!¡± Ye Liusu raised her head. Determination flooded her eyes.

    ¡°Do you want to undergo the punishment of the snake cavern?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try to convince her otherwise when the matriarch returns.¡±

    ¡°Have you taken a liking to that guy? You want to protect him?¡± Ye Liuxing grabbed Ye Liusu¡¯s neck. Her cold voice was like a knife placed against Ye Liusu¡¯s throat.

    ¡°He¡¯s too powerful, and he has the ability to suppress night roamers. Once you fight him, it¡¯ll be a heavy loss for us regardless of the outcome.¡± Ye Liusu was unfazed. She remained determined.

    ¡°We¡¯re assassins. We¡¯re supposed to defeat the strong as the weak.¡± Ye Liuxing pushed her against the wall viciously before embracing her again. However, under her clear, cold and indifferent gaze, she let go and went downstairs.

    ¡°Where¡¯s this?¡±

    Li Qingshan stood in a wonderful room with a fragrance permeating the air. The oval mirror reflected Ye Liubo¡¯s magnificent figure.

    ¡°It¡¯s my room, of course.¡± Ye Liubo used the mirror to comb out a few messy strands of hair before throwing herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. She raised her head and said, ¡°How did you do it just then?¡±

    ¡°I used a hundred treasures pouch obviously, ¡°Li Qingshan said, acting like it was common sense. Before he had set off, he had filled the hundred treasures pouch he had brought with him with a few items that might be useful. That included over a dozen supreme grade talismans he had obtained as the spoils of his battles. If they actually began fighting, he could guarantee that he still possessed the power to kill.

    After going through the heavenly tribulation, the nature of his daemon qi had changed. Not only could it refine spiritual artifacts, but it could activate talismans too. However, it was still unable to open the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring, leaving him still at a loss about what the black ox had left him.

    ¡°A hundred treasures pouch!¡± Ye Liubo was rather surprised.

    ¡°Are hundred treasures pouches very rare?¡± Only then did Li Qingshan notice that Liubo was not carrying any essential items like the cultivators above ground.

    ¡°Of course. You can only obtain one from the clan once you¡¯ve undergone the heavenly tribulation.¡±

    Night roamers could forge artifacts, but they could not forge hundred treasures pouch. All the hundred treasures pouches underground had come from exploring cultivators who had gotten themselves killed. As a result, there were very few of them.

    ¡°I even guarded a few caves for a very long time, but there were no cultivators who came down to explore. How strange.¡± Ye Liubo pouted, while Li Qingshan knew he had completely annihilated the cultivators last time, so why would any of them still venture underground to come die?

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you one once we return to my territory.¡± What Li Qingshan lacked the least right now were hundred treasures pouches. He had piles of them and no way to dispose of them.

    ¡°Really? Thank you, master.¡± Ye Liusu kissed Li Qingshan in surprise and joy before gently pushing him onto the bed at the centre of the room. Afterwards, she writhed around, taking off her black armour, only leaving her silken undergarments that covered her bare vitals on and throwing herself onto Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Li Qingshan held Ye Liubo by the shoulder, but he saw a ¡°ripple¡± on her chest that really did live up to her name.

    TL: If you haven¡¯t realised, the three sisters introduced so far differ only by a single character in their names: Ye Liusu, Ye Liubo and Ye Liuxing. In this case, bo means ripple.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be a while before the matriarch returns, so allow me to properly service master.¡± Ye Liubo undid Li Qingshan¡¯s waistband eagerly.

    This lustfulness immediately reminded Li Qingshan of himself. The enchanting, almost naked body constantly rubbed against him. Li Qingshan also felt lust rise up in his crotch. He let out a sigh before pushing Ye Liubo away.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ye Liubo was stunned.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made a promise with someone that I belong to her.¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hand helplessly.

    ¡°A woman?¡± Ye Liubo gasped.

    ¡°Of course,¡± Li Qingshan said in exasperation.

    ¡°Then I don¡¯t have to worry. It¡¯s not like she¡¯s here anyway.¡± Ye Liubo smiled again, bending over and kissing Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Now¡¯s that the exact reason why a promise was made.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her forcefully by the shoulder, but the pair before her jiggled slightly. It was quite the eye candy.

    ¡°My great master, I beg you. Liubo wants it.¡± Ye Liubo¡¯s eyes rippled as she bit her knuckle and moved her slender legs around, with a hand pressing down in between.

    ¡°If you want it, just go find another man.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s breathing sped up. If it were not for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he really had no idea what he would end up doing.

    ¡°How can I lust for another man once I¡¯ve seen you? You can just treat it as doing something good by accompanying me, alright? I¡¯ll definitely be completely devoted to master in the future,¡± Ye Liubo ¡°grumbled¡±.

    ¡°A master has no duty to fulfill his servant.¡± Li Qingshan patted her face with a smile and stood up.

    ¡°If you won¡¯t do it with me, I¡¯ll deal with it myself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome to.¡± Li Qingshan saw a bookshelf in a corner of the room. He went over and pulled out a book. The characters inside were exactly the same as what humans used, except the writing was very beautiful. He heard a clear moan from behind, which made him grin.

    Seeing Li Qingshan look over, Ye Liusu became even more complacent and let out even louder sounds. Li Qingshan just moved a chair over and sat down before the bed, admiring what was going on. Watching it was not letting down Qiongzhi, right? Even though it was in person.

    No matter how Ye Liubo tried, Li Qingshan had no intentions of climbing into bed, which left her defeated.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Ye Liuxing walked in after knocking the door and saw Ye Liusu on the bed. She actually let out a smile, like the ice had cracked open, allowing water to spill out.

 Chapter 376 â€“ Who Dares to Kill Me?

    Even an idiot can tell that you¡¯re up to no good. If you¡¯re thinking of seduction, you¡¯d better learn from the one on the bed!

    If Ye Liusu was slightly chilly, then Ye Liuxing was basically ice-cold. Regular men would all lose interest from just a single glance of her.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan had to admit that he was very curious about how she would seduce him. Her icy-cold attitude roused the desire to conquer within men more easily. Was this all a part of her plan?

    Ye Liuxing took a few steps forward and sat down in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms stiffly before wrapping her arms around his neck. Clear disgust filled her face.

    ¡°Master, don¡¯t!¡± Ye Liubo objected loudly, but she received a sharp glance from Ye Liuxing. With her lingering fear of her, Ye Liubo immediately shut her mouth.

    Li Qingshan gave Ye Liubo a glance, telling her not to worry. He smiled as he wanted to see what else Ye Liuxing wanted to do. If he could get an erotic show for free, it would be worth it.

    Her cold lips pressed against his own, while her tongue entered his mouth like a slippery snake.

    ¡°Be careful! There¡¯s poison!¡± Ye Liubo warned loudly despite the consequences, but it was already too late.

    Ye Liuxing pulled back the tip of her tongue, and a poisonous pill shot into Li Qingshan¡¯s throat. A sickly sweetness immediately filled his mouth as his stomach began to burn.

    ¡°Hmph, you foolish man. Even if you¡¯re a Daemon General, it makes no difference at all!¡± Ye Liuxing sneered inside. She had refined this poisonous pill from the venom of Underground Mottled spiders. Just a single, tiny pill could easily poison a hundred people to death.

    Just when Ye Liuxing wanted to break out of Li Qingshan¡¯s embrace, draw her dagger, and give Li Qingshan a fatal strike, his steel-like arms tightened around her. All the air was immediately squeezed out of Ye Liuxing as her body crackled.

    Right now, the two of them were still stuck in an intense kiss. Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and sprayed out all the digested poison.

    Hmph, why don¡¯t you investigate what kind of daemon you¡¯re targeting before you use this move? Can¡¯t you see the huge pair of ox horns on my head? This isn¡¯t a supernatural ability, but a mere habit. Cows regurgitate and chew cud.

    ¡°Hmmph!¡± Ye Liuxin wanted to turn away, but a huge hand pressed against her from behind, forcing them to continue kissing. Although the mirror image only possessed thirty percent of his strength, this was still enough to overwhelm night roamers who did not pride themselves in physical strength.

    In the blink of an eye, the poison entered Ye Liuxing¡¯s body, and only then did Li Qingshan stop. The residual poison did have some effect on him, but with how tough his body was, he would only experience a stomach ache at most even if he digested the entire poisonous pill.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo cried out.

    Li Qingshan sniggered. Sunlight destroyed her Night Roaming, and the tremors injured her body.

    Clang! The dagger slid out of her hand, falling onto the ground, and her hand that wielded it drooped powerlessly. She could not even raise a finger now.

    Honestly, Li Qingshan stood no chance at all against Ye Liuxing with thirty percent of his strength, but she tried scheming against him instead, engaging him in close combat. She really had been asking for this.

    No longer suppressed by spiritual qi, the poison spread to her face immediately. The colour of her skin changed, and her entire body fell into numbness and pain. The shade of death immediately enveloped her. Her fate was completely within his hands now. She felt rather regretful for not listening to Ye Liusu.

    Li Qingshan stood up, opened the door, and casually tossed her out into the corridor.

    Returning to the room, he straightened his chair and said to the dumbfounded Ye Liubo, ¡°Continue!¡±

    If it were not for some other considerations, he would have killed Ye Liuxing then and there. Though, she was poisoned now and half her bones had been crushed by Li Qingshan, so she was unable to cause him any trouble in the near future.

    ¡°I refuse! Master refuses to satisfy his servant, so why must his servant satisfy him?¡± Ye Liubo pouted and put on her armour again, but the obscene atmosphere in the room did not disperse so quickly.

    ¡°Then show me around instead!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. It was rare for him to venture underground, so how could he go without properly sightseeing?

    When he opened the door again, Ye Lixuing had already vanished.

    Just when he reached the end of the corridor, the caretaker in black arrived and reported, ¡°Sir Northmoon, the matriarch has returned. She¡¯s invited you to dine with her.¡±

    ¡°How quick!¡± Li Qingshan saw Ye Liubo shiver, so he grabbed her hand. It was rather slippery from sweat.

    Li Qingshan followed the caretaker and arrived in a hall within the depths of the castle. The seats were already arranged and filled.

    A total of fourteen people sat there. The seat at the very centre was occupied by a woman in a wonderful, long dress. She wore a spider-shaped ornament in her hair, a spider-shaped necklace around her neck, and a spider-shaped ring on her finger.

    She was the night roamer with the most accessories Li Qingshan had seen so far. She actually seemed rather similar to Ye Liusu. If it were not for the mature sense of charm she gave off, he almost would have mistaken her to be Ye Liusu¡¯s elder sister.

    Her aura was completely hidden away, but Li Qingshan could estimate from his instincts that she was probably no weaker than the slovenly daoist priest from the academy. She was close to the second heavenly tribulation and could not be underestimated.

    To the left of the matriarch sat Ye Liuxing. Her gaze towards Li Qingshan was bone-chillingly cold, but her complexion was quite bad. It must have taken her everything to prop herself up like that. The second person was a woman Li Qingshan had never seen before; her appearance was so ordinary that it was almost unbefitting of a night roamer. The third was Ye Liusu, who stared straight ahead, without even glancing at Li Qingshan.

    The fourth seat was empty. Ye Liubo let go on Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and made her way over, sitting down with extreme caution. The next three all possessed cultivations that paled slightly in comparison to Ye Liubo¡¯s, but they were all very young.

    Li Qingshan understood now. These were all the so-called princesses and high princesses, the daughters of the matriarch.

    The people who sat on the other side were much older. They consisted of both middle-aged women and old women; there were even two men among them. They had a total of six people, all at Foundation Establishment and all giving off a heavy, powerful aura. Ye Liubo had mentioned them to Li Qingshan before. They were the elders of the Spider Shadow clan.

    In other words, a total of ten powerful night roamers who had all undergone the first heavenly tribulation sat there. Every single one of them were terrifying assassins who could defeat those much more powerful than themselves. Calling this place the belly of the beast would be no exaggeration at all.

    If Li Qingshan were just a little less bold, he probably would have turned around and fled in fright already. However, he only smiled as he walked over.

    ¡°What a warm welcome.¡±

    This was how powerful a single clan of night roamers were. If all the clans banded together, it would be a dominating force. It was no wonder that the Spider Queen wanted to impinge upon their development.

    The door closed loudly behind Li Qingshan, trapping him together with ten powerful night roamer assassins. The place felt like a jar of gu for them to fight each other to death.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your great name, sir Northmoon. I¡¯m Ye Mingzhu. Please be seated.¡±

    Sitting in the main seat, the matriarch of the Spider Shadow clan, Ye Mingzhu, said with a smile, as if she had no idea Li Qingshan had taken her clan¡¯s territory at all. When she received the news, she had immediately rushed back with the force of the entire clan to ¡°resolve¡± this issue.

    She extended her arm elegantly to the side of the elders, pointing towards the empty seat at the end. She gave off an aura of dominance. When she spoke, she was polite, but it left no room for objection either.

    Everyone sat there silently, watching Li Qingshan intently. They used their silence to strengthen Ye Mingzhu¡¯s authority. They were assassins. They lived in silence. In this silent moment of death, they would not erupt with curses or make a ruckus. All they would do was use the deadly points of their daggers to speak.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see my seat?¡± The atmosphere in the room immediately became much more tense with that. All the elders placed their hands on the weapons on their waist. In this underground world, this was an insult to the matriarch. There were very few people and daemons who were bold enough to do something like that, and the consequences were often bloodshed and death.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve all brought weapons!¡± Li Qingshan swung his hand, and the ice blade appeared. The girls seated at the very end had almost drawn their daggers.

    Ye Mingzhu remained in the same posture. Even her smile remained the same, which made her face seem like a strange yet beautiful mask. The surrounding darkness seemed to grow heavier.

    ¡°Oh, here it is!¡± Li Qingshan finally made his way towards the seat at the end of the table.

    Ye Mingzhu pulled her hand back and smiled scornfully. That was all he was. A series of sneers rang out in the surroundings.

    Ye Liubo¡¯s tense heart eased up slightly, but when she heard the sneers, it tensed up again. She was filled with various emotions. She was reluctant for him to fall out with the matriarch, but she was reluctant for him to yield to her too.

    Suddenly, the sneering stopped, like someone had grabbed them by their throats. Li Qingshan lifted up the heavy, obsidian table and placed it in the centre of the hall. It just happened to line up with Ye Mingzhu¡¯s seat. He checked the orientation of the table once more before finally crossing his legs and sitting down.

    ¡°It¡¯s better here. I¡¯ve travelled quite the distance to be your guest. I hope the matriarch doesn¡¯t mind.¡± He did not care whether she minded or not. He just urged loudly, ¡°Bring the dishes. I just happen to be hungry!¡±

    Ye Mingzhu glanced at the caretaker, and he immediately rang the bell in his hand.

    Dishes were served up one by one. There were dishes with meats and without meats, both hot and cold; they were all perfect in scent, colour, and taste. It was no worse than the food above ground.

    However, none of them had the appetite. None of them were in the mood to pay attention to these delicious dishes, as their most important territory had just been taken away from them.

    That was apart from a daemon, the daemon who had taken their territory. He began feasting by himself, wolfing down the food.

    Tasting all of the delicacies and drinking all of the finest alcohol the world had to offer was a part of his original oath, so why would he miss such a great opportunity? Regardless of what they wanted, whether it be battle or peace, they could discuss it after the meal. The food of the night roamers had quite the taste. In the blink of an eye, he had polished off the entire table of food. He licked his lips and said, ¡°Not bad. You got any more?¡±

    All the caretaker could do was ring the bell again.

    As a result, a group of people simply watched as Li Qingshan feasted alone. The atmosphere became even stranger.

    Ye Liubo smiled. Now that¡¯s my master.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± Li Qingshan polished off the entire table once more before raising his head.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to eat, then I¡¯ll take it instead!¡± With a wave of his hand, over a dozen ripples of water dispersed, moving right towards the food in front of them.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! A series of weapons flashed as they were drawn, cutting through the ripples of water. For a moment, everyone brandished their weapons, radiating with murderousness.

    ¡°Keep eating. At least you can be a ghost with a full stomach on the road to the afterlife.¡± An old woman stood up with her hunched back and delivered her food to Li Qingshan while speaking sinisterly.

    Li Qingshan laughed out loud, causing the entire room to shake. The plates and cups trembled constantly.

    He stopped laughing, leaned forward, and scanned them with his eyes.

 Chapter 377 â€“ Arms Dealer

    ¡°Such arrogance!¡±

    The old woman took off with speed that contrasted starkly with her age. She drew her dagger and swung out with it at his throat. She struck as quickly as lightning and as viciously as a venomous snake.

    The elders all vanished from their seats at the same time, appearing around Li Qingshan silently. Six deadly weapons stabbed towards six vital points, weaving into a net of death.

    Just who could survive an attack like that?

    Li Qingshan lifted his cup and took a sip. His clear gaze passed over the thicket of weapons. Ye Mingzhu sat exactly where she was with a slight frown.

    The weapons stopped. The tip of the old woman¡¯s dagger was only an inch away from his neck. As he took a gulp of alcohol, his Adam¡¯s apple surged, almost running into the dagger.

    ¡°Back down. Did I tell you to attack?¡± Ye Mingzhu waved her hand, and the elders immediately returned to their seats, as if nothing had happened at all.

    After hearing Ye Liusu¡¯s report, the first thing Ye Mingzhu thought of was, Kill!

    But subsequently, various doubts arose. He clearly knew there was great danger, so why did he still come? If they cornered him, just what losses would the clan suffer?

    That was why the banquet had occurred today. As long as he showed even just a single hint of weakness, they would tear him apart.

    However, he showed none of it with his behaviour. If he was not a madman, then it meant he had something he could rely on. This nonchalant attitude definitely was not an act.

    In the blink of an eye, Ye Mingzhu made a decision. She stood up and made her way to his side as she swung her hips around, personally filling his cup for him. ¡°Sir Nothmoon, just what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Respect.¡± Li Qingshan shook the cup with a smile, causing the alcohol to ripple.

    His answer left everyone stunned. He had taken such great risk to join the banquet of the night roamers. Whether he demanded for territory, treasure, or women, none of it would have been strange. However, he was demanding a concept that was very foreign to regular daemons.

    ¡°Just that?¡± Ye Mingzhu furrowed her brows.

    ¡°Respect comes before anything else. Let me just ask you a question. Do you want to become the strongest clan of night roamers?¡±

    ¡°What if I answer I do?¡±

    ¡°Then I can assist you.¡±

    This time, it was Ye Mingzhu¡¯s turn to laugh. The Spider Demon clan was currently in a precarious situation and losing the territory only made matters worse. He was their greatest enemy, yet he actually said he could assist her in making them the strongest clan of night roamers.

    Everyone present found this unimaginable, and their gazes towards Li Qingshan became even more hostile.

    However, this only continued until Li Qingshan pulled out a stack of talismans and spread them out on the table.

    Fortunately, they had not fallen out, or these dozen or so supreme grade talismans would have been enough to drag a few of them down with him.

    ¡°I have a few thousand talismans like these. Of course, there are fewer at the supreme and high grades and more at the mid and low grades.¡± Then, Li Qingshan planted his ice blade into the table. ¡°I have over a thousand spiritual artifacts like this too. Of course, they¡¯re like the talismans. Oh right, I didn¡¯t bring any of them with me.¡±

    This time, Ye Mingzhu was unable to laugh any further. Her perky chest heaved. The elders were all shocked. They knew exactly what this sum of resources meant to the clan.

    Mid and low grade talismans could not be dismissed as useless. After all, night roamers with mediocre cultivation happened to be the majority. Among the many battles outside, these talismans and spiritual artifacts could give them the upper hand and strengthen the foundations of the Spider Shadow clan.

    This would completely change the situation underground!

    If it were not for what Li Qingshan had added at the end, they would even be tempted to just slaughter and rob him regardless of the consequences.

    Through his observations and communication with Ye Liubo, he had discovered that the night roamers were extremely behind in aspects like forging artifacts and talismans. They were nowhere close to the humans above ground, but that made sense too. They had spent thousands of years underground beneath the powerful reign of daemons. There was little to no exchange between the races. It would truly be unbelievable if their civilisation was more advanced than above ground.

    Afterwards, he immediately remembered the huge piles of things he had accumulated in his hundred treasures pouch. It was pointless for him to keep them, but he was afraid of selling them too. Even if he sold them through some special avenues, the prices they would fetch for would be pitifully low. Peace had lasted for too long. These standard items for battle had fallen out of demand.

    As a result, he realised that the night roamers before him just happened to be his best buyer.

    ¡°Oh right, I have over a thousand hundred treasures pouches too.¡±

    An elder immediately crushed the cup in her hand.

    ¡°What do you want?¡± Ye Mingzhu truly lived up to her name as the influential matriarch. She calmed down very soon and asked the most important question.

    ¡°Spiritual herbs, as long as they¡¯re old enough.¡± Li Qingshan had considered this beforehand. The underground world had plenty of spiritual herbs centuries or even millennia old. Daemons did not know alchemy, and while the night roamers did know a little, they mostly used the toxicity of certain spiritual herbs, extracting it to spike food and drinks or smearing it on their weapons. It was extremely wasteful.

    But in the human world, any spiritual herb that was old enough could definitely be used in multiple pill formulas. Once they surpassed a millennium in age, their worth would skyrocket.

    ¡°If sir Northmoon had mentioned it earlier, would any of these misunderstandings have happened at all?¡± Ye Mingzhu smiled like a blossoming flower.

    During times of war, people were willing to exchange their food for a gun so that they could kill their enemies. Moreover, these spiritual herbs were not even a crucial resource to the night roamers. Their cultivation methods were essentially all based on accumulation over time and comprehension. If they could exchange spiritual herbs for weapons, it would be for the best.

    Li Qingshan thought, If I had tried to negotiate right from the start, demanding these conditions, this mirror clone probably would have been finished off already. Neither of us are honest, good people. The weak are not worthy of cooperating with the strong.

    With that, the atmosphere in the room changed drastically. Ye Mingzhu saw how Li Qingshan had finished his food, so she said, ¡°Get the kitchen to serve more. Sir Northmoon, if you¡¯re hungry, then please make do with my serving for now! Where are the performances and shows?¡±

    The caretaker went off in a hurry to arrange these matters. A while later, a group of male night roamers actually appeared to perform. Every single one of them was extremely handsome, and they were all bare-chested in shorts. They performed a fierce sword dance.

    The elders proposed toasts to after another as they all smiled from ear to ear.

    Li Qingshan felt like an international arms dealer doing business with a group of African warlords.

    Ye Liuxing¡¯s face was still frosty, but she had no choice but to toast him too. Ye Liusu seemed slightly lost. She had no idea whether meeting him was a good or a bad thing.

    Master is so powerful! Ye Liubo calmed down. She was overjoyed, and her eyes became completely fixed on Li Qingshan.

    After both the host and guest had all dined to their heart¡¯s content, Ye Mingzhu smiled charmingly with a slight blush. ¡°You¡¯ve finished eating, haven¡¯t you, sir Northmoon? We can talk about the details of the deal in my room later. I need to tend to some matters of the clan first.¡±

 Chapter 378 â€“ Cobweb City

    Ye Liusu had been expecting this, but Ye Liubo¡¯s expression changed. She was afraid of defying the matriarch¡¯s orders, so she glanced at Li Qingshan before kneeling down in the hall.

    ¡°Do you understand your crimes?¡±

    ¡°I understand my crimes.¡± Ye Liusu bent over. All Ye Liubo could do was lower her head too.

    ¡°Elder Mingjing, how should they be punished for their crimes?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve lost the territory. They should be punished in the snake cavern,¡± the old woman said coldly.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Liusu did not object at all.

    Ye Liubo trembled as fear filled her face. She felt a hand land on her head, and Li Qingshan said, ¡°Liubo has already accepted me as her master. She¡¯s no longer bound to your rules.¡± Only then did she ease up.

    ¡°Traitors of the clan should be put to death by slow slicing!¡±

    ¡°Matriarch Ye.¡±

    Ye Liubo looked at Li Qingshan, like a person in despair desperately reaching for her last ray of hope. Li Qingshan looked at Ye Mingzhu. Do you really still want to put on your airs as a matriarch at a time like this?

    ¡°Sir Northmoon, you¡¯re making this difficult for me. The rules of the clan cannot be defied. There is no room for discussion here! However, in consideration of our friendship, I¡¯m willing to compensate you. Liushui, Liuyun.¡±

    ¡°What are your orders, matriarch?¡± Two girls who originally sat further down from Ye Liubo walked over. They were both rare beauties too.

    ¡°From today onwards, you are sir Northmoon¡¯s servants. You¡¯ll do whatever sir Northmoon wants you to do.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The two of them answered together.

    ¡°One for two. That¡¯s not a bad deal.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo turned ashen as she wailed out.

    ¡°However, that won¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°Are you dissatisfied with this compensation, sir Northmoon? If that¡¯s the case, let me know what you want. The Night Roaming folk might be lacking in various aspects, but the number of beauties we have is not one of them. If there¡¯s any of my daughters who¡¯ve caught your eyes, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan looked at Ye Liusu on the ground before glancing at Ye Liuxing, which made her heart tighten.

    Throughout this process, Ye Liubo felt like her heart had sunken into a cavern of ice, filled with coldness. In the underground world, betrayal was commonplace. This was not the first place she had tasted betrayal. However, it was the first time she felt so despaired and furious. She could not help but mock herself. Did she really just believe him? Believe that he would protect her?

    Li Qingshan scanned past Ye Mingzhu¡¯s daughters before returning his gaze to Ye Mingzhu. He said slowly, ¡°Respect, respect.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Master.¡± Ye Liubo raised her head in disbelief, gazing at his face. She felt like her heart had risen from hell to heaven. She actually could not help but tear up slightly.

    Ye Liusu was touched too. She stopped worrying. As it seems, Liubo hasn¡¯t chosen the wrong person this time.

    Ye Mingzhu frowned. ¡°I find this to be quite a pity. For the sake of an insignificant bitch, you¡¯re damaging the long-term relationship between us. Don¡¯t you find it to be quite unworthwhile?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, none of your daughters are worth more than her. Liubo, I never told you to kneel.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡± Ye Liubo glanced at Ye Mingzhi before standing up slowly, holding her chest high. She felt extremely proud to be able to look down on someone who had once made her bow and scrape.

    ¡°If you find this unacceptable, I can go make deals with the other matriarchs. I think they¡¯ll be very willing too.¡± With that, the atmosphere in the room immediately became tense once more.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re so persistent, fine!¡± Ye Mingzhu let out a sigh. All she could do was hold back her fury. Her face coldened. ¡°Ye Liusu, since you know your crimes already, then you can be punished immediately. Take her away!¡±

    ¡°Sister!¡± Ye Liubo could not help but call out. The punishment of the snake cavern involved sealing all their strength and being bitten at by thousands of snakes. The venom of the snakes might not be fatal, but it was extremely painful.

    ¡°Hold on.¡±

    ¡°Sir Northmoon, what else do you have to say?¡± Ye Mingzhu squinted her eyes, searching for an opportunity she could make use of.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your servant.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes flickered, remaining cold.

    ¡°You will be very soon. Matriarch, I have another question. Do you still want to make use of this piece of territory?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. The importance of the territory went without saying, but she had never been bold enough to mention something like sharing the territory to Li Qingshan. Daemons were extremely territorial, so something like that was no different from a naked insult. It was like asking a man to lend his wife. A request like that could make short-tempered Daemon Generals immediately turn hostile.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always had a great dislike for trivial matters, so I want a servant to take care of them for me.¡± Li Qingshan actually had no interest in the territory. All he wanted were the underground resources. He had no plans to remain underground, guarding his territory. He still had someone waiting for him in the human world.

    Under these circumstances, Milliped could not even make the daemons below submit out of fear with his current strength, and the territory could easily be annexed by other Daemon Generals. He required a suitable person to take charge. Unfortunately, Ye Liubo had yet to undergo the heavenly tribulation, so by taking a step back, Ye Liusu became the most optimal choice. Of course, he would never accept something like sharing the territory. He would only accept a master-servant relationship for this territory.

    ¡°Ye Liusu, from today onwards, you are sir Northmoon¡¯s servant. You will obey all of his orders. You are no longer bound to the Spider Shadow clan,¡± Ye Mingzhu said immediately, as if she was afraid Li Qingshan would change his mind. She might become a servant, but this was just decided on a whim. There was no one more loyal to the Spider Shadow clan than Ye Liusu.

    ¡°Matriarch!¡± Ye Liusu, who had always accepted everything, finally could not help but object. Under Ye Mingzhu¡¯s gaze, all she could do was grit her teeth and lower her head. ¡°Yes, mother!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly connected the dots. So they really were a mother and daughter pair, but he did not dwell on the matter for too long either. So what if the night roamers wanted to make use of this territory? He did not care at all. Moreover, loyalty could change with time.

    ¡°This servant, Ye Liusu, greets her master.¡± Ye Liusu arrived before Li Qingshan and bowed. She was hugged by Ye Liubo, who smiled. ¡°Sister, we¡¯re both master¡¯s servants from now on.¡±

    Ye Liusu smiled bitterly inside. Never had she seen someone accept her position as a servant so happily. However, a night roamer, her own mother for god¡¯s sake, actually paled in comparison to a daemon in terms of the respect she could show?

    In the end, Ye Mingzhu realised she had lost nothing at all and gained a powerful ally instead. If she returned this piece of territory to the daemons, the Spider Shadow clan could ease up. They would no longer be a target of the other clans, which would instead be good news. Once they had built up sufficient strength, it would be time for them to claim their debts of blood. She was extremely satisfied with this result, and she felt glad she had not chosen mutual annihilation.

    ¡°This Northmoon really is different, and he¡¯s extremely handsome too. She actually doesn¡¯t have anyone who can rival him within her harem.¡± Ye Mingzhu curled her lips and let out a charming smile.

    Afterwards, the atmosphere became harmonious once more. Ye Liubo sat down beside Li Qingshan, pouring him alcohol and feeding him while making a lot of intimate contact. Ye Liusu was helpless, so she just stood beside him with her hand on her dagger like a guard.

    Ye Mingzhu even invited him enthusiastically to a deeper conversation in her room. Li Qingshan glanced at the pale Ye Liusu before glancing at the mature, charming Ye Mingzhu. In the end, he turned her down reluctantly.

    Being in arms reach but unable to eat them was tantalizing. However, he believed everything he went through for her would be worth it. He wondered if she had emerged from secluded cultivation yet.

    After the banquet, Li Qingshan returned to the raging underground river under Ye Mingzhu¡¯s personal lead. They travelled along the flow, heading to Cobweb city to see Spider Queen Lolth.

    Li Qingshan demonstrated his ability to control water again, which left Ye Mingzhu secretly amazed. Even water element Daemon Generals could not achieve that unless they possessed the bloodline of a spiritual or exotic beast!

    Everything made sense now. There was a reason why a Daemon General who had just emerged from a heavenly tribulation recently could defeat Ye Liusu so easily. She valued Li Qingshan even more now. Daemons with special bloodlines could all become impressive figures as long as they could keep cultivating.

    One day, perhaps he would be able to keep pace with the three beside ma¡¯am Lolth.

    Li Qingshan controlled the flow and shot off like a flying horse. They reached Cobweb city within fifteen minutes.

    The river turned and fell again, but the sound of the waterfall was extremely soft. It originated from very far below.

    Li Qingshan was stunned. An unbelievably large space unfurled before him. The raging river twisted and flowed through the vast space, splitting into countless streams.

    An imposing, majestic, black castle rose up from the ground, standing several hundred meters tall.

    It had actually been sculpted from an entire mountain. The innumerable turrets and spires stood straight and sharp, like countless huge swords of different lengths. They gathered together, pointing towards the sky.

    Li Qingshan had never imagined that there would be such a grand structure underground. For a moment, he was actually unable to think of a single structure from his past life that could compare to it.

    This was Cobweb city. The Spider Queen reigned over the web-like underground world from here.

    It was raining. Only now did Li Qingshan notice that the air was very moist, and it was filled with the smell of sulphur. To the other side of the city, a red-hot river of lava flowed vigorously, also splitting into multiple streams.

    Water and fire wove a bizarre web, producing great clouds of steam that rose to the ceiling as dark clouds that never dispersed. They enveloped Cobweb city and constantly drizzled with rain. It made the city seem even more imposing. It actually gave Li Qingshan a false impression that he was unable to tell how tall it stood, even though he could clearly see that the city was connected to the ceiling, supporting this unbelievably large cavern.

 Chapter 379 â€“ Meeting the Spider Queen

    Li Qingshan sighed emotionally. Without the civil engineering of the school of Mohism, only otherfolk had the ability to build such structures, and only daemons had the patience for it.

    On the outskirts of Cobweb city, the relatively flatter surface below the mountain formed an extremely complicated urban area. The structures of night roamers rose and fell endlessly.

    There actually were no streets designed. Li Qingshan felt like he was crossing through a series of buildings. The space was completely sealed up there.

    Black rain pitter-pattered against the roofs. That was the only sound here. There were not even whispering conversations like in Blacklustre city. The only thing they exchanged were gestures and aura or the points of their daggers.

    The night roamers here were clearly much more powerful than those in Blacklustre city. Shadows flickered passed him silently, and they would even pass by a matriarch like Ye Mingzhu without any acknowledgement.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the territory of the Shadow Spider clan?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice disturbed a huge region. Pairs of eyes gazed over in the darkness, as if he had done something unprecedented, but they were slightly hostile too. Only when they spotted the pair of horns on his head did they look away.

    ¡°This is a mixed region of the outskirts. You can find people of every single clan here.¡± Ye Mingzhu still chose to communicate through her aura.

    Apart from their usual business, the main priority of the night roamers who resided here was to find opportunities to assassinate night roamers of other clans. This was a battlefield of assassins. Every night roamer only had the right to enter the inner city and become a middle level member of their clan once they had gone through the test of this place. ¡°They sure don¡¯t have a lot to do.¡± They clearly hated each other to the core, yet they just had to choose to reside together. He could imagine a scene that came right out of a book occur here¡ªAmong the stall owners, the craftsmen, the pedlars, and the children, they all suddenly draw their weapons and try to kill you.

    They sure were pitiful to be born as night roamers, but it was rather funny too. Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s scheming was probably not everything. The inherent, dark nature of night roamers was at work as well!

    Only after entering the inner city did the situation take a turn for the better. The clans were divided into a few major regions. Of course, every corridor and hall was still filled with killing intent and unease.

    Walking around inside Cobweb city, Li Qingshan marvelled at the grandeur and detail of the structures. Every rock seemed to have been carefully polished by a craftsman before undergoing long periods of wear and use, allowing them to become even smoother and more stately.

    Li Qingshan was very curious about what the Spider Queen would be like as someone who reigned over this region. Could she see through his mirror clone? Should he tell her about what had happened to the three elders?

    His various questions were all waiting to be answered.

    The only thing that brought him relief was that daemons were unable to replicate the complicated administrative formalities of humans. Ye Mingzhu¡¯s request to see the Spider Queen was passed along very quickly.

    Climbing up the spiral staircase, they arrived at a higher level in Cobweb city before passing through a long, twisted pathway. A stone door opened silently, and a huge, trapezoid terrace unfurled before Li Qingshan. It stood like a cliff, or more accurately, it had always been a cliff.

    A woman with a long, red dress that dragged along the ground stood by the edge of the cliff with her back towards them. Only when Li Qingshan approached her did she turn around, revealing her magnificent appearance.

    However, the first thing that Li Qingshan felt was not magnificence, but undisguised, venomous cruelty. Her lips were scarlet red, like she had just drunk human blood, and her eyes seemed to ripple with venom.

    Humans, no matter how wicked they were, would still try desperately to mask this. They would find various excuses to complain about the degeneration of human nature in the darkness of society, or mention opinions that sounded very philosophical to justify their actions. The thought processes of both geniuses and madmen would always be bound to the stigmas of the society. There were no exceptions.

    She was not. She had no sense of morality, no humanity. She did whatever she wanted. Apart from power, she was not shackled by anything, forming true, undisguisable wickedness.

    Even in human form, living in human-sized structures, she was still a huge, brightly-coloured spider. She was just smarter, stronger, and even more vicious, dwelling at the centre of her web and quietly awaiting the arrival of prey.

    However, none of this damaged her bearing that was as noble as a queen. Instead, it gave her a strange charm that humans did not possess.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had experienced this before. The figure he thought of was actually Gu Yanying. Yes, that was acting without restraint, absolute freedom. Had he fallen in love at first sight back then exactly because of being drawn to this bearing, desiring to break free from all shackles?

    ¡°Are you the new Daemon General? What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The person who asked this was not the Spider Queen. Only then did Li Qingshan notice the existence of three Daemon Generals by her side.

    One of them was a pale, handsome man with a cloak. He had short, messy hair and sunken eyes, which immediately made Li Qingshan think about vampires that appeared in legends.

    One of them was a bald man swollen with muscles. He stood as tall as two men and his body seemed to flow with endless strength. A mighty battle intent flowed from his eyes constantly.

    The last one was an old man with a hunched back. He was extremely thin and small. As he sat there, he bent over like he was giving way to a huge burden. The hunch that bulged through his clothes became his most prominent feature. Every single movement from him was very slow, and even his voice was extremely slow. Li Qingshan had already taken three breaths in the time it took for him to finish asking the questions.

    Every single one of them was a unique, distinct existence, but Li Qingshan had almost missed them as they stood behind the Spider Queen. From the moment he stepped onto the terrace and spotted her, before he had even seen her appearance, his heart had already become entranced by the bright-red smear in the darkness.

    Of course, he was no longer the same kid from the mountains anymore. He immediately composed himself. He just wondered whether he would have fallen in love at first sight too if she was the one he saw instead.

    ¡°Sir Dragonsnail, I¡¯m Northmoon. I¡¯ve undergone the heavenly tribulation recently, and I¡¯ve come to see the Spider Queen.¡± Li Qingshan bowed. ¡°Greetings to sir Strongboulder and sir Bloodshadow too.¡±

    Before they came here, Ye Mingzhu gave Li Qingshan an introduction to the basic situation underground. There were several dozen Daemon Generals under the Spider Queen¡¯s command, and some were stronger than others. The stronger ones among them were known as mighty Daemon Generals, who were equivalent to mid and late Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    As for the strongest among the strong, they were the three right before him. Not only had they reached the peak of Daemon General, but they also possessed powerful bloodlines that differed from regular beasts. They possessed the power to completely surpass regular Daemon Generals.

    It was said that every single one of them possessed the terrifying strength to hold off multiple regular Daemon Generals. In other words, if they worked together, they could dominate all the Daemon Generals in this region. They were a force to be reckoned with.

    Even if Li Qingshan¡¯s original body was here in person, he would not be confident about taking on any one of them. Of course, it would not be so easy for them to defeat him either.

    ¡°Why did you mention my name last?¡±

    Spider Queen Lolth still showed no intentions to speak, studying Li Qingshan quietly. Instead, the pale-faced Bloodshadow questioned him first, and his face became even more sunken.

    ¡°Sir Bloodshadow, who do you think your name should come before? I can change it.¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. I just said something off the top of my head and that¡¯s already enough for you to start trouble. You¡¯re a fucking lunatic.

    This was called setting a precedence in human language, and among humans, this was a method to demonstrate his authority. The monkey king did not necessarily steal food from regular monkeys to eat, but to show them who was boss. However, Li Qingshan would never back down.

    ¡°I think the order is perfect!¡± Strongboulder droned.

    ¡°You have quite the nerve.¡± Bloodshadow stared at Li Qingshan. In this territory, there were very few daemons, or people rather, who dared to speak to him like that.

    Li Qingshan thought to himself, It¡¯s just like what Ye Mingzhu said. The three Daemon Generals aren¡¯t on good terms. Of course, that goes without saying. It¡¯ll be strange if Daemon Generals with the same strength got along with each other.

    ¡°Why have you sought an audience with us this time?¡± Dragonsnail did not seem to hear the bickering. Among the three of them, they had already gone through four exchanges in the conversation, but this was only his first one.

    ¡°I¡¯m the leader of the daemon soldiers under Milliped. I¡¯ve specially come to ask for this piece of territory back.¡± Li Qingshan only replied to Bloodshadow after answering Dragonsnail¡¯s question, ¡°I¡¯ve always had the nerve.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s your strength?¡± Strongboulder grinned.

    ¡°I obviously have the strength too!¡± Li Qingshan did not back down at all. Only the weak would back down, yielding to the strong so that they could avoid trouble. The modesty among humans was not prevalent among daemons. Displaying their strength, even if it were just a bravado, was critical.

    ¡°Oh, then I would like to try it,¡± Bloodshadow said coldly.

    ¡°I really want to know where you have been during this period of time.¡± Dragonsnail finally asked another question.

    ¡°I was cultivating arduously in the Boundless mountains.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard your name. You¡¯re not an underground daemon at all, so how can you claim territory underground? Milliped has lost his identity as a Daemon General, so he¡¯s no longer worthy of ruling over a territory. The territory has already been bequeathed to the night roamers.¡±

    ¡°The night roamers have already agreed to transfer the territory to me. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re the one to decide whether I can possess territory underground, right Bloodshadow?¡± Li Qingshan directly referred to him by his name.

    ¡°Very impressive.¡± Bloodshadow vanished and appeared behind Li Qingshan. His pale-white fingertips turned into sharp claws, sweeping over with lightning speed. He actually struck the moment he wanted to, without any hesitation at all. He moved with startling speed.

    In that instant, even Li Qingshan had failed to grasp his movements or react. He felt five points on his back throb.

    All Strongboulder did was grin viciously. If he wanted to provoke the strong, he would have to bear the consequences that came with it. If he could endure the consequences, then he would earn respect. If he could not, then he was an idiot. He would deserve to be viciously punished.

    Dragonsnail was still constructing his sentence slowly, completely ignoring everything unfolding before him.

    The Spider Queen finally showed interest.

    Clang! The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rose up. It was a deep blue and slightly transparent. Countless hexagons formed a perfect, rigid structure that blocked the claws.

    Bloodshadow¡¯s face became even colder. His cloak ruffled as he turned into a black shadow and circled around Li Qingshan. In that moment, who knew how many attacks the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell had received.

    A black tornado spun and howled, linking the ground to the ceiling and scattering the thick clouds. It was not some kind of ability or technique. It had just arisen from Bloodshadow¡¯s movements.

 Chapter 380 â€“ A Deal No Different from Daylight Robbery

    He¡¯s actually able to remain at such ease under sir Bloodshadow¡¯s attacks. This Northmoon really isn¡¯t a regular Daemon General. His existence will change the situation underground.

    Ye Mingzhu backed over to one side and watched from afar. Surprise filled her eyes; then she sank into her thoughts.

    Within the darkness, countless pairs of eyes saw this startling sight too. They all thought of different things.

    When Li Qingshan was still a daemon, even the combined efforts of the three elders could not get through his Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, let alone the fact that he was a Daemon General now. Feel free to try to get through my Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell at thirty percent strength.

    ¡°Bloodshadow, haven¡¯t you eaten today? Why else would you be so powerless? Do you want me to try instead?¡± Strongboulder¡¯s laughter drowned out the wind. He was raring to go. He wanted to see who was stronger and tougher.

    Li Qingshan was at no ease. His daemon qi was being rapidly depleted. Once he had depleted it to a certain degree, he would not even be able to maintain his clone, let alone fight. And, he could tell that Bloodshadow had concentrated his attacks to a very small range. He had not unleashed his full strength, as this was inside Cobweb city.

    ¡°Oh right. There¡¯s something I forgot to mention, but I¡¯m afraid that if I do mention it, even ma¡¯am Spider Queen won¡¯t want to keep me around underground!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Bloodshadow, return.¡± Spider Queen Lolth finally spoke. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear just what will deter me from doing whatever I want.¡±

    Bloodshadow immediately returned to his original position, as if nothing had happened at all. However, his face became even more sunken.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just paid a convenient visit to Green Vine mountain after my heavenly tribulation and settled a small grievance.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s deeds on Green Vine mountain definitely would not simply die down like this. It would probably reach the ears of the daemons very soon. Since he could not keep it a secret, then he might as well use it as a bargaining chip! He refused to believe that Spider Queen Lolth had not even experienced a hint of fury after losing Milliped, a Daemon General, and he did not believe the daemons would just offer him up to take the blame.

    ¡°You killed the Green Vine Elder!?¡± Spider Queen Lolth became stunned.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. He managed to escape.¡±

    ¡°Are you toying with us?¡± Bloodshadow said coldly, and the Spider Queen¡¯s face coldened.

    ¡°I never thought that the Green Vine old man could still escape after being cut in half. Fortunately, the three of them happened to be gathered together, so I killed the other two.¡±

    ¡°The Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder?¡± Dragonsnail said slowly, but there was surprise in his eyes.

    ¡°Correct.¡±

    ¡°What evidence do you have?¡± Bloodshadow asked.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped with that, but he saw Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s pupils constrict. ¡°If you dare to trick me¡­¡±

    ¡°Punish me as you wish, ma¡¯am Spider Queen!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve done very well.¡± Lolth stared at him for quite a long time before curling her lips into a bloody smile.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, this has to do with the Treaty of Kings. He¡¯s a bringer of disaster. We can¡¯t keep him around!¡± Bloodshadow tried to persuade her.

    ¡°Bloodshadow. Are you afraid?¡± The Spider Queen turned around. Her cool voice made Bloodshadow shudder. He knew he could not attempt to interfere with this matter anymore.

    ¡°Coward!¡± Strongboulder mocked loudly. The Spider Queen had always wanted to wage war. Northmoon¡¯s actions suited her tastes perfectly, and it suited his tastes too. Bloodshadow was just asking to be rebuffed. Though, this kid had killed human Foundation Establishment cultivators, while he never had the opportunity to, so he probably would be looked down upon by the Spider Queen.

    ¡°It¡¯s the humans who invaded the underground world first, killing daemons. The disciple of the Sword Collection palace, Fu Qingjin, even infiltrated below ground and used an incense to lure out Milliped. That was why this happened in the first place. The humans were the first ones to break the treaty.¡± Li Qingshan brought this matter up. With this as a basis, his chances of being sold out should become even smaller.

    ¡°From today onwards, that territory belongs to you.¡± The Spider Queen did not quibble. Since the humans were looking for trouble, that would be for the best. Even the dragon king could say nothing about this.

    ¡°Thank you for your great kindness, ma¡¯am Spider Queen.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s just one thing that dissatisfies me.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Why is the Green Vine Elder still alive?¡±

    ¡°I will definitely leave you satisfied, ma¡¯am Spider Queen.¡±

    Spider Queen Lolth began to laugh. She found Li Qingshan to be very pleasing to the eye. If she had such a capable subordinate, she would be more confident when she faced against the other Daemon Commanders.

    ¡°How did you do it?¡±

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to take his leave, Dragonsnail asked a question slowly. None of the three elders were people who could be trifled with. With Li Qingshan¡¯s earlier performance, he might have been able to protect himself, but it would basically be impossible for him to achieve something like that.

    ¡°Did you just say you killed them together?¡± Strongboulder frowned.

    ¡°Yeah. I have my ways.¡± Li Qingshan smiled, turning around and leaving.

    Dragonsnail sank into his thoughts. Was this all of his true strength? He already possessed such strength after emerging from the heavenly tribulation recently. If he had the time to develop, just what level could he reach? Dragonsnail could vaguely see the rise of a new star among the daemons.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s eyes flickered, as if she saw something. Her smile became even brighter and more venomous.

    After settling the matter of the territory, Li Qingshan relaxed. On the way back, Ye Mingzhu even treated him with much more respect, and she silently dismissed her vicious thoughts.

    Clearly, he had already earned the Spider Queen¡¯s favour. Anyone who killed him would definitely suffer the Spider Queen¡¯s wrath. There was not a single night roamer who could bear the consequences of that. As a result, the only choice left for her was to work with him.

    Returning to Blacklustre city, Ye Mingzhu immediately went off to prepare the spiritual herbs for a first transaction to exchange for the spiritual talismans currently in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession.

    Ye Liubo played a critical role at this moment. Li Qingshan had no idea about the exact value of these spiritual herbs and talismans underground, but Ye Liubo did.

    That was not all. She completely understood the importance of these resources to the clan and what the clan could afford to pay. With no mercy, she would go for the Spider Shadow clan¡¯s top price every single time or even demand a little more than that.

    The negotiating elders all glared at her furiously. They were almost tempted to draw their daggers and stap this traitor to death.

    Ye Liubo was calm and fearless because Li Qingshan sat close behind her. She was filled with confidence as she demonstrated her worth as a servant desperately. Moreover, she treated this as a chance for revenge.

    She would even whip out her lethal weapon of ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll go work with the other clans instead¡±, which made all the elders turn purple. The huge sum of talismans and spiritual artifacts had already surpassed their original value. They now possessed tactical value as well.

    If Ye Mingzhu had not told them that Li Qingshan had already gained the Spider Queen¡¯s favour after returning from Cobweb city, they definitely would have considered turning against him.

    In the end, even Li Qingshan was unable to watch this any longer. They were just about to exchange a high grade talisman for a millennium-old Snake Gallbladder flower. Even daylight robbery was not so vicious. He coughed gently. ¡°Liubo, respect, respect.¡±

    He did not care too much about whether it was a high grade talisman or two. He had other uses for the Spider Shadow clan in the future, so going too far with them was not necessarily good.

    Ye Liubo glanced at Li Qingshan in an unhappy manner before finally loosening up on the price. Only then did the elders let out a sigh of relief. In the end, they reached an agreement. They would purchase everything with their top price.

    Li Qingshan obtained a total of eleven spiritual herbs, and none of them were below five hundred years in age. Above ground, even a hundred talismans would not have been enough to exchange for any one of them!

    Now this was profit!

    After becoming a Daemon General, even his demand for the quality and quantity of pills had increased. He was still overflowing with pills like Qi Gathering pills and Qi Condensing pills, but they were not even as efficient as directly absorbing spiritual qi of the world to the current him.

    To go from Daemon General to Daemon Commander, the amount of time it would usually take him would be a millennium. Just relying on the pills he had robbed from others would be utterly inadequate. Now, he had finally found a new path, so he was filled with indescribable joy.

    I can live for a millennium?

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised this. Before he knew it, he already possessed the lifespan of a thousand years; this was a very strange feeling.

    The song went ¡°Borrowing another five centuries from heaven¡±, but he had already reached double that number, surpassing even the wildest wishes of regular people. What did he want to do with this millennium? As soon as he began to contemplate this question, he became rather lost, but his mind cleared up very soon. He would obviously do whatever he wanted.

    TL: The song is referring to:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7oRSryAlnE

    He had read many books in his past life about how painful a long life was. He only had a single sentence in response to this, You¡¯re making a fuss about something that doesn¡¯t even exist. With the things I want to do, even a millennium won¡¯t be enough!

    ¡°My dear daughter, there¡¯s no need to feel unhappy. This is just a temporary arrangement. You know I¡¯ve always doted on you the most. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have handed the territory to you in the first place. Do your best to please him. If he falls in love with you, it would be all the better. I can tell he¡¯s someone who likes women.¡±

    ¡°This will bring great benefits to our entire Shadow Spider clan. Within this region, he¡¯ll definitely become a powerful figure on par with the three sirs.¡± Taking advantage of the negotiations, Ye Mingzhu called Ye Liusu over and said a few words to her from the bottom of her heart.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been good at pleasing anyone. Is relying on daemons all that we can do? Can¡¯t we achieve anything with our own cultivations?¡±

    ¡°As long as we still live in this region, the status of otherfolk will never surpass daemons. You need to understand this. The only reason why the Bat Shadow clan is bold enough to act so arrogantly is because they managed to get sir Bloodshadow on their side. As long as you do this well, I¡¯ll give you the position of matriarch in the future.¡±

    ¡°What right does a servant have to inherit the position of matriarch? None of my hard work in the past was to become the matriarch either. Instead, it was so that all the night roamers could see the moon and stars again.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s gaze was determined, filled with an unwaverable will. It had not been affected just because she became a servant.

    ¡°You want to go above ground? You might get the chance very soon. The war between the humans and daemons is near, but don¡¯t you think of it as a good thing. When war truly arrives, we¡¯ll definitely be fighting on the front line.¡±

    ¡°We can join the humans¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Before Ye Liusu had even finished talking, Ye Mingzhu had grabbed her by the throat.

 Chapter 381 â€“ The Third Layer of the Spirit Turtle

    ¡°Yes, matriarch.¡± Ye Liusu closed her eyes, but she still refused to accept it.

    ¡°My good daughter. I¡¯m doing all of this for your sake. You will understand in the future.¡± Ye Mingzhu let go of her and rubbed Ye Liusu¡¯s face gently.

    After completing the deal, Li Qingshan immediately set off. After being circled a few hundred times by Bloodshadow, most of his daemon qi had already been depleted. If he wasted too much time, he might not be able to maintain his mirror clone.

    Blacklustre city completely vanished into the darkness behind him, and the sound of the waterfall grew closer and closer. The three of them travelled upstream. Li Qingshan suddenly halted an hour later.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, master?¡± Ye Liubo asked. Ye Liusu frowned, as if she had sensed something too.

    ¡°Hmph, he sure likes to haunt people. Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan picked up Ye Liubo and sped up.

    Bloodshadow unfurled his cloak and whistled up the waterfall like a huge, black bat. His teeth protruded from his mouth, which made his handsome face seem very vicious. ¡°Northmoon, are you bold enough to fight me? Show me what you¡¯re capable of. Show me how you killed the three elders.¡±

    He did not speak loudly, but it was like an invisible sword, piercing through the cavern and reaching Li Qingshan¡¯s ears, which made them buzz.

    ¡°How dare you tail me? Aren¡¯t you afraid of being punished by ma¡¯am Spider Queen?¡± Li Qingshan said loudly. Wild gusts of wind and wind blades shot over with his voice.

    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you. I¡¯ll just suck you dry so that you understand the consequences of offending me.¡± Bloodshadow swept his cloak and smashed apart the wind blades. He did not slow down at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to play these games with you.¡±

    As this conversation unfolded, the distance between them had halved. Their movement speed was far too slow compared to Bloodshadow.

    ¡°You go first! I¡¯ll take him for a spin!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped and turned around. He passed his hundred treasures pouch and blade to Ye Liubo before tossing Ye Liubo to Ye Liusu.

    ¡°Master!¡± ¡°I can assist you.¡± Ye Liusu gripped her curved dagger.

    ¡°It¡¯s rare of you to be so devoted. However, his target is me. Keep Liubo and yourself safe. This is an order!¡±

    Ye Liusu said nothing more. She immediately took off, while Li Qingshan turned around and flew into a cave to the side. Bloodshadow also turned and entered the cave with a flash. He basically moved with no hesitation at all, chasing after Li Qingshan. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s aura suddenly vanished at this moment.

    ¡°Puny tricks!¡± Bloodshadow sneered. A sound wave expanded like a dense filter, covering every inch of space there. Li Qingshan¡¯s figure immediately appeared in his senses.

    As Li Qingshan fled, Bloodshadow closed the distance between them rapidly.

    Suddenly, he stopped. The cave ended in front of him. It was actually a dead end.

    Li Qingshan exhaled. This should do! He placed his hand on the wall.

    Bloodshadow had already found out about the dead end from his echolocation, so the corner of his lips curled up into a smile. He turned into the cave and saw Li Qingshan a few hundred meters away. He could cover this distance in a single breath.

    Rumble! Tremoring booms filled the caves as cracks immediately riddled the wall. Thousands of tonnes of rock and soil collapsed down.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sneer was blocked by a huge stalactite. Dust filled the air, and the echolocation probing was immediately disrupted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about escaping!¡± Bloodshadow advanced instead of retreating. He revolved rapidly, turning into a drill of red and black that pierced the layers of rock and soil. The huge boulders disintegrated into dust-like loam.

    However, by the time he arrived in the depths of the cave, Li Qingshan had already disappeared; it was like he had vanished into thin air.

    Unleashing the shockwaves had already depleted his final bit of daemon qi. He was unable to maintain his mirror clone anymore, so it automatically dispersed.

    ¡°Very impressive. I¡¯ve already remembered your name and your smell. Northmoon, I will taste your blood sooner or later!¡± Fury flashed through his eyes. Bloodshadow raised his head and took a gentle sniff, revealing his sharp teeth as he smiled viciously. With a sweep of his cloak, he turned around and left.

    ¡°Is master going to be fine?¡± Ye Liubo asked in worry.

    Ye Liusu remained silent. He had lured away the enemy while getting his servants to escape. She had never seen a daemon, no, person, like this.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes in the sea of Blue Butterfly flowers. The sneer lingered on his face. If he had been there in person, he definitely would have wanted to fight Bloodshadow.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Xiao An, who was concentrating on forging artifacts, before closing his eyes again. All the pills in the hundred treasures pouches of the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder had already entered his belly. He had polished off everything the two sects had accumulated over the years.

    After becoming a Daemon General, his ability to digest pills had grown. The pills turned into pulses of spiritual qi, pushing him towards the third layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes. He extended his hand into his clothes. The Scarlet Wolf tablet was flashing urgently.

    This was an emergency summoning from the Hawkwolf Guard!

    Li Qingshan touched it gently with his finger, and the tablet stopped flashing. If he did not answer it, he would be presumed dead, which was why Li Qingshan had always carried it on him. Of course, it was unable to track his location.

    ¡°Just what is going on? Has it got to do with the three elders? Whatever, I¡¯ll worry about it once I break through with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. I need to wait for them to return too.¡±

    He settled down once more. After who knew how long, all the pills were completely digested and converted. Pulses of spiritual qi rampaged through Li Qingshan¡¯s body. If his body had not been tough enough, just this power alone would have been enough to blast him to pieces.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core revolved rapidly. It turned into a huge vortex above his sea of qi, sweeping up the spiritual qi and absorbing it strand by strand into the vortex.

    The spiritual qi decreased while the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core became brighter and brighter. When it absorbed the final strand of spiritual qi, the daemon core had already become so bright that it was like a blue sun, shining with unprecedented luminance.

    The light was powerful but not dazzling. It was filled with an aura of peace, as if it could remain without moving for millennia on end.

    Li Qingshan shuddered in the cave. His red hair danced like fire as blue light that was like water ripples filled the entire cavern. Tremendous daemon qi rose up.

    Xiao An stowed away the prayer bead she had finished forging and turned around. The slumbering Milliped had woken up too.

    According to human standards, the tiger demon and ox demon were cultivation methods for the body, while the spirit turtle was for qi. It was the true basis of Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation as a daemon.

    The daemon core bobbed up and down in the sea of qi. Suddenly, a series of fractures appeared on the surface as a cracking sound rang out. Then, it burst apart loudly, kicking up huge waves and making the sea of qi toss and turn.

    Li Qingshan peered into his body, and he discovered the perfectly-round daemon core had actually turned into the shape of a turtle¡¯s shell. The top swelled towards the heavens, while the bottom was flat like the ground. The back of the spiritual turtle rose and fell like hills; it was layered in profound inscriptions of all kinds of colour, constantly at work.

    There seemed to be something trying to break through the shell.

    Suddenly, he understood. They were the spirit turtle¡¯s head, tail, and limbs. However, due to his insufficient cultivation, it was still a blur within the shell. It had yet to condense into its actual form.

    However, even with that being the case, his daemon qi had reached an unprecedented peak.

    His senses became several times stronger. The world was now vastly different in his eyes.

    Tremendous amounts of disorderly, unorganised information rushed into his head. He did not know what it meant, but they seemed to give an indication for the variations in omens and the fluctuations of fate.

    Xiao An had once described what she felt when she performed divination. He understood he was currently in that state.

    Another world seemed to exist within the everchanging kaleidoscope, a profound world that regular cultivators struggled to come in contact with.

    Spirit turtles foretold the good and bad and understood the omens with utmost confidence.

    Emerging from this state, Li Qingshan suddenly became convinced that Wang Pushi was calling him back so urgently exactly because of the three elders.

    His certainty was completely groundless, but it was unwavering.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Finally, he had taken another step forward!

    ¡°It¡¯s master¡¯s daemon qi.¡± Ye Liubo beamed.

    Ye Liusu found it slightly strange. Why had he returned before them instead? However, she did not think too much about it with everything he was capable of. She eased up for some reason and sped up.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo flew into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. Li Qingshan patted her back. ¡°You¡¯ve returned.¡±

    Originally, Ye Liubo wanted to give him a deep kiss, but when she was met with his clear, unwavering eyes, she became afraid to do anything for some reason. She just remained in his arms obediently.

    Ye Liusu was much more sensitive. She could feel that some of Li Qingshan¡¯s violence and restlessness had vanished, now replaced by maturity and wisdom. She seemed to feel much less pressured by him too. However, he only seemed even more unreadable and powerful. Afraid to come off as rude, she also said,

    ¡°Master¡­ Bloodshadow¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve shaken him off. I don¡¯t have any time to waste on him. Oh right, I need to go out and complete the mission the Spider Queen gave me. You¡¯ll still be in charge of this territory, great king Ye Liusu. Don¡¯t let anyone disturb Milliped¡¯s cultivation, uhh, rest.¡±

    ¡°What? No! It¡¯s too dangerous above ground!¡± Ye Liubo paled in fright. Above ground was a world filled with human cultivators. It was a place filled with murderousness in her eyes, extremely dangerous. She treated it just like how the cultivators above ground treated the underground world.

    ¡°I have my plans. Alright, here¡¯s your hundred treasures pouch that I promised.¡± Li Qingshan took out a hundred treasures pouch, not too big or small, and passed it to Ye Liubo.

    ¡°Thank you, master, but¡­¡±

    ¡°No buts!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ye Liubo replied pitifully.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try out this pill. It might allow you to undergo the heavenly tribulation.¡± Li Qingshan took out a True Spirit pill from his hundred treasures pouch and placed it in Ye Liubo¡¯s palm. Although he had no idea just how effective pills refined by humans would be on Night Roaming folk, they were still technically ¡°people¡± after all, so it should have some effect.

    Apart from increasing his cultivation, he could not go without a few capable subordinates either. The mirror clone was nice, but it could not cover every aspect he required. If Ye Liubo could undergo the heavenly tribulation, then she could take care of the trade underground. He would not have to worry about it himself.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s gaze was drawn away by the True Spirit pill¡¯s lustre. She was amazed. There¡¯s actually such a wondrous pill in the world!

    Ye Liubo had already become touched to the bottom of her heart. She could understand the value of the pill even if no one told her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan saw the rims of Ye Liubo¡¯s eyes redden. He was rather surprised.

    ¡°No one has ever treated me so nicely in my entire life. I won¡¯t let you down, master!¡±

    Li Qingshan became rather embarrassed. Most of the time, the main thing he considered were still his own interests and benefits. Though, there were no relationships in the world that completely neglected personal interest after all. Even if they did exist, they were fragile.

    People would be bound to one another because of each other¡¯s needs, and they would abandon this tie when there was no need to maintain it anymore. This had always been how the world worked.

 Chapter 382 â€“ Meeting Niu Juxia Again?

    Taken away by her emotions, Ye Liubo tried to kiss him again, but Li Qingshan blocked her with his hand. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯ll be up to your performance then.¡±

    Xiao An was currently staring at them in great interest. He could not lead children astray after all.

    Returning to the surface, the sunlight was blinding.

    ¡°Xiao An, how did your forging go?¡±

    ¡°I only forged a single prayer bead.¡± Xiao An counted the five prayer beads in the centre of her hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Take it slowly.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed her long, seaweed-like hair. Xiao An raised her head, and her dark pupils reflected his ordinary appearance.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his cheek. Ah, the life of a handsome man is no different from dreaming!

    ¡°Where have you been during this time? What were you doing?¡±

    On the highest floor in the Hawkwolf Guard of Clear River city, the floor-to-ceiling windows flooded the entire room with sunlight, but Wang Pushi, who sat in the high-back chair, remained as cold-faced and stern as ever. He studied Li Qingshan before him. He was unable to imagine what extraordinary aspect of him could earn him such a special appraisal from Gu Yanying.

    Because he was a genius? She had seen even more geniuses like this than stray mutts on the streets. This might have been possible with Xiao An, but not him. Though, he did indeed grow by quite a lot in just two years. Just by standing there, he actually possessed an indescribable sense of level-headedness and calmness.

    ¡°Completing missions obviously,¡± Li Qingshan said it like it was as clear as day.

    ¡°And these are all the missions you completed?¡± Wang Pushi patted the thin stack of mission documents on his desk.

    Li Qingshan originally planned on finishing off all the missions he had accepted after dealing with the matters underground, but he had been summoned back in such a hurry, so he had obviously completed very few missions.

    ¡°I was collecting material too.¡± Li Qingshan had a moment of inspiration.

    ¡°Collecting material?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a novelist after all.¡± Li Qingshan stared straight ahead sternly.

    ¡°Fuck your novels! You¡¯re a Hawkwolf guard!¡±

    ¡°Commander, even you can¡¯t look down on the school of Novels! Heh!¡± Li Qingshan had remembered the shoddy excuse Liu Chuanfeng had used the first time he met him.

    ¡°What¡¯re you laughing about? Right now, I don¡¯t care which school you¡¯re from. Go complete this mission for me.¡± Wang Pushi took out the documents for a mission from his drawer and tossed it onto the table before Li Qingshan.

    ¡°The Green Vine mountain under attack¡±, ¡°Two sect masters slain¡± and ¡°Revenge from an underground daemon¡± leapt out at him immediately, catching Li Qingshan¡¯s attention.

    Just as he had expected!

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The one behind this case is this daemon. It¡¯s a Daemon General, and it should have undergone the heavenly tribulation recently. According to the analysis, it might not have transformed from a regular beast. It¡¯s very likely to be a hybrid offspring of powerful daemons.¡± Wang Pushi noticed Li Qingshan¡¯s unnatural expression, but he misunderstood Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts.

    Heh, I sure am fucking handsome!

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched as he held back his smile. He said sternly, ¡°I can¡¯t handle such a powerful daemon with my cultivation. Why do you say it¡¯s a hybrid offspring?¡±

    ¡°Just from some investigations. Little Hua had once seen his true form, and he put it in the records. His true form possesses the horns of an ox and the tail of a tiger, and it¡¯s basically humanoid as well. It¡¯s very likely to be the offspring of an ox and tiger daemon.¡±

    What an exceptional analysis! Li Qingshan clapped inside. Afterwards, he shoved the documents into his hundred treasures pouch. He was investigating his own murderer case. It felt like a detective show. Would the police be revealed as the actual murderer in the end?

    ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ll go immediately.¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Wang Pushi leaned back in his chair, but he suddenly remembered what Gu Yanying had asked him for, so he stopped Li Qingshan. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to write a report.¡±

    ¡°A report? Why do I have to write a report?¡± Li Qingshan looked back in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s an investigation mission, not a holiday, so of course you have to write a report.¡±

    ¡°Alright, understood.¡± Li Qingshan had no other choice but to accept that. He could just write something half-assed and pass it off as completed when the time came.

    ¡°Include your own thoughts. Make sure it¡¯s no less than ten thousand characters!¡± Wang Pushi added. Since Gu Yanying had asked for this, it had to be completed with one hundred percent effort even if he had no idea what she was getting at.

    It was not like he had to complete the mission anyway.

    Bang! Li Qingshan turned around with a flash and slammed the desk. ¡°Commander Wang, you¡¯re not joking with me, are you? What kind of report needs to be so long?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a novelist, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­ so what if I am?¡±

    ¡°If you are, then piss off and get writing! I won¡¯t spare you even if you¡¯re off by a single character!¡± Wang Pushi surged with coldness.

    Bang! Li Qingshan slammed into the wall in the corridor, and the door closed in front of him.

    Li Qingshan exhaled. Novelists are still people. Are you trying to kill me by getting me to write ten thousand characters?

    At this moment, two familiar figures appeared in front of Li Qingshan, staring at him in surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Diao Fei, and great hero Yu!¡± Li Qingshan blinked his eyes and saw them clearly. They were actually two acquaintances he had not seen in quite some time.

    ¡°Q- Qingshan, I was ordered to go on the investigation with you.¡± As the first senior brother of Green Vine mountain, Diao Fei would obviously be involved in this case.

    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve already become a Scarlet Wolf guard. Congratulations, congratulations.¡± Li Qingshan noticed Diao Fei¡¯s uniform.

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who should be congratulating you. You¡¯re at the eighth layer. How the hell did you cultivate?¡± Diao Fei was filled with disbelief. Back then on the ship, Li Qingshan was just at the first layer, an insignificant little Qi Practitioner, yet he had undergone such great changes in just a few years.

    ¡°I just cultivated every now and then. Oh right, I¡¯ll leave the report up to you then.¡± Li Qingshan smiled resplendently and wrapped his hand around Diao Fei¡¯s neck, behaving like they knew each other very well.

    ¡°Apologies. I really do want to help you, but commander Wang specially said that only you can write this report. No one else is allowed to lend a hand,¡± Diao Fei said unnaturally. Although he felt that Li Qingshan was much more mellow compared to the past, his impression of the past was just too deep. He could not afford to be associated with a vicious tiger!

    ¡°Fine then!¡± The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched, and he released Diao Fei. ¡°Great hero Yu, what brought you here too? Oh right, you weren¡¯t injured on Green Vine mountain, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine. It has been two years, and you¡¯ve already become an adult. I¡¯ve come to seek shelter under¡­ Zijian. You still remember that girl, right?¡± Yu Shukuang glanced at Diao Fei from the corner of his eyes.

    ¡°Of course I do. She¡¯s a genius of our academy. It¡¯s just a pity that you¡¯re too old, so you can¡¯t join the academy. But that¡¯s fine. You can still cultivate in Clear River city. If you need my help, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, but I need to return to Green Vine mountain now.¡± Yu Shukuang beamed. He really had not forgotten about his past acquaintances. However, Yu Shukuang then became helpless.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be dangerous!¡±

    ¡°The sect master has already sent out an order, summoning all of us disciples back. If we don¡¯t go back, we¡¯ll be labeled as deserters!¡±

    ¡°You mean the Green Vine Elder has returned to Green Vine mountain?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flickered slightly as he asked slowly.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Yu Shukuang lowered his head and let out a sigh.

    Diao Fei suddenly shuddered. In that instant, he felt like he was beneath the claws of a tiger, making him shiver.

    However, the feeling only lasted for an instant. He returned to his senses and heard Li Qingshan laugh. ¡°Looks like I have plenty to write for my report.¡±

    Was it a false impression?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan yawned and stretched. This old man really isn¡¯t taking me seriously!

    But that works too!

    In the hall below, Xiao An sat on the resting bench provided and waited for Li Qingshan while leaning against her hands and swinging her feet around. Suddenly, her ear twitched, and she heard a voice. She found it to be slightly familiar before immediately recalling the person¡¯s name and appearance.

    ¡°Zijian, it¡¯s best if you stay here. Green Vine mountain is just too dangerous. The daemon might end up returning. You haven¡¯t seen them before, so you don¡¯t know the terrors of daemons.¡± Yu Lian did his best to convince her.

    ¡°How wouldn¡¯t I know about the terrors of daemons? It¡¯s actually because it¡¯s dangerous that I have to go with you and take a look. I¡¯ve already made up my mind. You can¡¯t change it.¡± Yu Zijian frowned slightly as she stood firm.

    It had been two years. She also wanted to go back and take a look.

    Unable to stop her, all Yu Lian could do was let out a sigh. His gaze drifted through the hall aimlessly, brushing past a tiny figure quickly.

    Hmm?

    Yu Lian pulled his gaze back, landing on Xiao An¡¯s face in the end. He did not possess the same, powerful memory as Xiao An, but Xiao An had given him an impression deep enough for him to remember her. He could not help but walk over. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ that¡­¡±

    ¡°First senior sister, you¡¯re here too! Senior brother, you know each other?¡± Although she never had any contact with Xiao An, she was not entirely unfamiliar with her. As the greatest genius of the academy, Xiao An¡¯s name had rung constantly through Yu Zijian¡¯s ears. She was the primary disciple of the school of Buddhism, so she obviously deserved to be referred to as first senior sister.

    ¡°First senior sister? The tenth layer!?¡± Yu Lian was stunned at first before becoming stunned again. The aura she gave off had clearly reached the peak of Qi Practitioners, the tenth layer. If it were not for how special she was, he probably would have suspected he had mistaken her for someone else.

    Yu Lian crouched down. ¡°Do you still remember me? I¡¯m Yu Lian! Where¡¯s Niu Juxia? He¡¯s not with you?¡±

    ¡°I do know him. You delivered food.¡±

    ¡°You can speak now! That¡¯s fantastic! Ouch, what are you doing, Zijian?¡±

    Yu Lian was overcome with excitement, but he felt his wrist tighten. Turning around, he saw that Yu Zijian¡¯s expression had changed. She became extremely serious.

    ¡°Senior brother, you said Niu Juxia?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s that child who accompanied Niu Juxia that I told you about. She was very pretty, but unable to speak. She can speak now though. Oh right, why are you here? Have you really reached the tenth layer?¡±

    Yu Zijian let go of Yu Lian¡¯s hand. Her head immediately sunk into a mess as various thoughts flashed past. There seemed to be something extremely important drifting around, but it was just outside of her grasp.

    ¡°Xiao An, time to go!¡±

    At this moment, the three of them climbed down the stairs. Li Qingshan called for Xiao An from afar, and she leapt off the bench, running over and grabbingLi Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Yu Zijian before waving his hand and summoning a cloud. After becoming a Daemon General and reaching the third layer of the spirit turtle, he could use techniques of the water element as easily as blinking. The cloud he had summoned was both large and perfect, such that he even needed to hold himself back a little.

    Yu Shukuang spotted Yu Zijian standing still right there. He thought Yu Lian had already managed to convince her otherwise, so he signaled to Yu Lian. Yu Lian was at quite a loss, but he did not have the time to think too deeply about it.

    They boarded the cloud and were just about to take off.

    A flash filled her head, connecting all the dots. Yu Zijian suddenly turned around and yelled loudly at Li Qingshan¡¯s back,

 Chapter 383 â€“ Climbing up the Green Vine Mountain Again

    Yu Shukuang was alarmed and stared at Li Qingshan. Yu Lian happened to be wondering why Xiao An was with Li Qingshan, and he seemed to come to a realisation at this moment. Only Diao Fei was left at a loss.

    ¡°What¡¯re you calling out for? You want to come along?¡± Li Qingshan turned around slowly. He spoke calmly, and his expression was natural. Having undergone the baptism of dual identities, he had become quite the actor. He would not give himself away just because a girl had called him out like this.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Yu Zijian stared at Li Qingshan as she walked over. She became uncertain once again.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not coming, then we¡¯re leaving.¡± Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief inside. As it seemed, she was not particularly certain.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come.¡± Yu Zijian leapt onto the cloud. She refused to let this matter go. She sat down beside Li Qingshan and continued staring at him closely, like a swordsman constantly searching for openings in their opponent.

    Yu Shukuang shot Yu Lian a furious glance, and Yu Lian lowered his head.

    The cloud shot off, and both hair and clothes ruffled in the wind. The Clear River city became a tiny speck in the blink of an eye, disappearing into the horizon.

    ¡°Great hero Yu, has your daughter taken a liking to me?¡± Li Qingshan became unnatural from how Yu Zijian stared at him.

    ¡°Zijian, don¡¯t be rude!¡± Yu Shukuang scolded.

    ¡°Father, tell me¡­¡± Yu Zijian pointed at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Tell you what?¡± Yu Shukuang furrowed his brows in a very serious manner.

    The main hall towered on the top of the Green Vine mountain. It had actually been repaired completely through some unknown method, now exactly the same as before.

    ¡°Fellow Fu, the Sword Collection palace truly lives up to its name with its infinite power and miraculous abilities.¡± The Green Vine Elder¡¯s eyes shone brightly through the tangled beard on his face. He seemed very much like a hermit of great influence and renown, but his eyes were filled with reverence as he stared at the young man in front of him. As a matter of fact, he even seemed a little like he was trying to flatter him.

    ¡°All structures, no matter how magnificent, cannot avoid the fate of being reduced to ruins.¡± Fu Qingjin paced around the hall, as if he had not heard the Green Vine Elder at all. He was filled with melancholy as he said that to himself.

    His condescending behaviour and pessimistic view made the Green Vine Elder frown. He ended up asking politely, ¡°Will that daemon really come again?¡±

    ¡°He will. All daemons are creatures of arrogance, while he is the arrogant among the arrogant.¡±

    A light flashed through Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes. The momentary sharpness gave the Green Vine Elder chills, but he also eased up slightly at the same time.

    ¡°You have a guest.¡± Becoming melancholic and exhausted again, Fu Qingjin¡¯s figure gradually vanished, stepping into the sky.

    The Green Vine Elder beamed at first before frowning again. The Hawkwolf Guard?

    When Li Qingshan stepped onto the terrace and gazed at the majestic hall he had destroyed with his two hands, he became slightly astounded. He found this to be interesting before continuing forwards.

    ¡°I am a Scarlet Wolf guard of the Clear River prefecture, Li Qingshan. I¡¯ve come to investigate under commander Wang Pushi¡¯s orders. I hope sect master Green Vine can cooperate with me.¡± Li Qingshan bowed politely after entering the hall before studying this old enemy of his again.

    ¡°Where¡¯s your commander Hua?¡±

    The Green Vine Elder saw that Li Qingshan was just an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, so he became rather unwilling to put up with him. He felt like the Hawkwolf Guard¡¯s negligence of this matter was as clear as day simply by looking at who they had sent. He could only rely on the Daemon Suppression alliance now if he wanted revenge. After all, even Gu Yanying was half a daemon.

    ¡°Our commander Hua is currently in secluded cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Then you can go. You can go back and tell your commander Wang that our Daemon Suppression alliance will never spare this daemon.¡± The Green Vine Elder waved his hand around like he was shooing away a fly. He would be stooping to a lower level all for nothing if he spoke with someone as insignificant as him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only come to investigate. Something like that is beyond my responsibilities. Please cooperate with me, sect master. The Hawkwolf Guard will do its best to get to the bottom of this,¡± Li Qingshan said proudly, completely ignoring the glances from Diao Fei and Yu Shukuang from beside him.

    ¡°Please see him off!¡± The Green Vine Elder swung his hand. A Qi Practitioner who had no idea how to respect his seniors like him was even more annoying than a fly. Did he really think he could stand on equal footing to Foundation Establishment cultivators just because he was a Hawkwolf guard?

    Yu Shukuang stood up and accompanied Li Qingshan to the foot of the mountain. He grumbled, ¡°Qingshan, you should have been more polite with the sect master. He might have been willing to tell you something.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve come as a representative of the Hawkwolf Guard. Your sect master finds my cultivation to be low, so he belittles me, but I¡¯m not going to belittle myself. None of this is too important anyway. Tell me, what¡¯s going on with Zijian?¡±

    Yu Zijian was currently strolling around the mountain in boredom. She was neither a disciple of the Green Vine mountain, nor was she a Hawkwolf guard, so she had no right to seek an audience with the Green Vine Elder. All she could think about what was going on with Niu Juxia. She held a flower in her hand, plucking off the petals one by one.

    ¡°He is. He isn¡¯t. He is. He isn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Clang!

    The thrum of a sword interrupted her thoughts.

    Yu Zijian suddenly looked back. She followed the path and entered the forest.

    In a series of ruins, Fu Qingjin fished with his sword. He looked back and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you. Why have you come again?¡±

    ¡°I feel like I¡¯m not very welcome.¡± Sunlight filled the pavilion as Fu Qingjin smiled slightly, radiating with grace and ease.

    ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± Yu Zijian glanced at the Green Ruins sword.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not very appropriate for a man and woman to be alone.¡± Yu Zijian turned around and swung her hands, leaving quickly. She knew he would try to convince her to go to the Sword Collection palace or something along those lines if she remained.

    ¡°Master has been very good to me. He said he would accept me as a formal disciple once I go through the heavenly tribulation. I¡¯m never going to the Sword Collection palace.¡± All of her ties were here, her father, her master, her senior brother, her fellow disciples of the school of Daoism, and Niu Juxia. Before she had gotten to the bottom of all this, how could she leave?

    Fu Qingjin was taken aback for quite a while. He was almost tempted to trap her there so he could speak to her a little more. He let out a long sigh. ¡°Is the time still not right?¡±

    Emerging from the Green Ruins illusion, Yu Zijian lifted up her flower again and was just about to continue plucking petals. ¡°Oh no, what was I up to just then?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    Yu Shukuang patted his chest, guaranteeing that he would take care of everything and that Li Qingshan had nothing to worry about.

    ¡°Oh right, you¡¯re acting like you don¡¯t want Zijian to know. Are you looking down on me?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°How can you say that¡­¡± Yu Shukuang immediately behaved like he had been wrongly accused of a tremendous crime, but he wiped his brow inside. Li Qingshan seemed like a very reasonable person, but he definitely was not a good or honest person. He was someone who could be truly cruel.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m just kidding with you. You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. I¡¯m going to go. Oh right, if things aren¡¯t going well on the Green Vine mountain, feel free to come to Clear River city to seek shelter under me.¡± Li Qingshan patted Yu Shukuang¡¯s shoulder with a smile and signalled at Xiao An, who was waiting at the bottom of the mountain. He took off on a cloud.

    ¡°Is it a trap?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Most likely. The old bastard is far too composed.¡±

    ¡°Are you still going to go?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I need to see what kind of trap it is at the very least.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. If the trap was too simple, it might end up being ripped to shreds by the wild beast.

    The cloud turned towards a lake. Deep within the mountains and forests, there was no one around at all. Li Qingshan flattened all the ripples from the lake such that its surface became like a mirror, a perfect reflection of the sky.

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the lake as his red hair danced.

    ¡°Watermirror¡¯s Image!¡±

    Ripples appeared, and the water became agitated, remaining like that for quite a while.

    A hand extended out from the centre of the ripples, pushing off the surface of the water and leaping up. Scarlet eyes shone like fire, and the red hair danced around. He was even stronger and more nimble than the past.

    After reaching the third layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, his daemon core had turned into a turtle shell, and Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi had become even more powerful. Following this, the power of his Watermirror¡¯s Image had become greater. It was almost twice as strong as the mirror clone from before.

    Otherwise, with his original mirror clone, it probably would not even have been enough to deal with the Green Vine Elder, so there would be no point in investigating at all.

    A crescent moon hung in the sky, surrounded by many stars.

    The security on the Green Vine mountain was lax. Only a single protective formation operated constantly, such that even Hua Chengzan had managed to infiltrate this place in the past, let alone a Daemon General. All of this basically pointed to something being amiss.

    Two patrolling disciples discussed quietly,

    ¡°Senior brother, has third senior brother and the others returned?¡±

    ¡°They haven¡¯t. They¡¯re probably going to be labelled as deserters. The daemon is far too scary.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re so afraid, why¡¯d you return? Are you afraid of being hunted down by the sect? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re taking the master-disciple relationship seriously!¡±

    ¡°What would you know? I¡¯m not afraid of being hunted down by the sect at all. It¡¯s just far too difficult being an independent cultivator. Even master is brave enough to return, so why wouldn¡¯t I be too?¡±

    At this moment, a figure emerged from behind a tree and appeared on the mountain path.

    ¡°Who is it!?¡± ¡°Senior brother, I- I think that¡¯s daemon qi!¡± ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s a daemon!¡±

    They finally made out the person using the moonlight. They did not see a pair of sharp horns on his head, nor did they see an ice blade in his hand. They did not take note of any special features. They only saw a pair of scarlet eyes flickering in the darkness, giving them an impression even deeper than the moon and stars.

    Li Qingshan did not disguise himself at all, whether it was his daemon qi or figure. He just walked up the mountain like that.

    The two disciples stood on the path and stared at him as he walked over towards them. Even their courage to flee or to seek help had collapsed. They felt like they were watching a mountain collapse on them.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Li Qingshan said softly after arriving in front of them.

    Only then did the two of them return to their senses. They scampered out of the way, just watching helplessly as Li Qingshan continued his way up. They glanced at each other before rushing down the mountain together.

    The Green Vine mountain was just too dangerous. They would never return, even if their lives depended on it!

    In the main hall, the Green Vine Elder snapped open his eyes, which shined in the darkness and flickered with unease. He only settled down after looking around.

    Li Qingshan had only just reached the mountainside when all the disciples had already become alarmed.

    Diao Fei was covered in cold sweat as he forcefully composed himself, barely able to rile together all the disciples. Since the sect master had not fled, he could not flee. However, all he was bold enough to do was watch from afar as Li Qingshan made his way to the mountain top.

    ¡°Green Vine you old bastard, today is the day you die!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile, revealing his long teeth as he called out. It boomed through the clouds as daemon qi surged into the air, making the entire mountain shake.

    ¡°How dare you, wretched daemon! You¡¯ve killed my fellow cultivators, and you¡¯ve insulted my sect. Today, I will make you witness my power!¡± The Green Vine Elder responded in a similarly loud manner. ¡°All disciples of the Green Vine mountain, disperse into the distance. There is no need for you to interfere. Watch as I slay a daemon!¡±

    In the hall, two voices conversed.

    ¡°Is it his real body?¡±

    ¡°From the daemon qi, I think so?¡±

    With a swing of the ice blade, Li Qingshan pointed it at the ground and climbed up several hundred stairs with a single step, causing three long, red and blue streaks to tail behind him. He arrived on the peak in a flash and shattered the ground. His blade rose up, pointing towards the sky.

    A blade of light whistled through the air, illuminating the gloomy hall and the Green Vine Elder¡¯s sunken face.

 Chapter 384 â€“ Seeing Fu Qingjin Again

    ¡°Wretched daemon, today is actually the day you die!¡±

    The Green Vine staff pointed down, shattering the attack.

    ¡°Greenwood as a Dragon, the Dragon Battles in the Wilderness!¡±

    The Green Vine Elder slammed his hand and stood up. He erupted with green light that extended and swelled around him, turning him into a green dragon complete with horns and scales. The dragon¡¯s roars boomed as it soared out of the main hall.

    A bolt of lightning shot across the sky, and a great, black curtain had already pulled over the starry night sky at a certain moment. Rain crashed down as the wild gales swept through the surroundings.

    A dragon moved through the world, accompanied with rain and wind.

    The green dragon stared down from above, shining with green light. It brandished its claws and fangs, scattering Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi. It was imposing, just like a real god.

    ¡°An arcane artifact!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Only arcane artifacts possessed such power. The essence of greenwood lay in the east. Upon being condensed to the limit, it could transform into a dragon. This was not just the power of an arcane artifact, but the materialisation of the Green Vine Elder¡¯s entire life of cultivation.

    TL: Çà is primarily used as a colour, ranging from green to blue, but it can also represent east and wood, as seen in the example here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_direction#Examples

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vision darkened. Under the roaring surge of the dragon, it seemed like rolling, green waves, sweeping up the clouds and rain in an unstoppable manner.

    ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡±

    Boom!

    Millions of rain droplets shot off in all directions, piercing countless trees and branches.

    Li Qingshan gave up on his blade and directly used his fist, smashing it against the top of the green dragon¡¯s head! Power surged through his entire body through his feet, but even with that, he still struggled against the dragon slightly. He was pushed down the mountain, leaving behind two deep trails with his feet.

    Li Qingshan stopped looking down on him. He really was the leader of the three elders, a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had cultivated for centuries. When he used his ultimate technique, its power really was something else. Li Qingshan grinned through his teeth,

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t played dead that day, it actually wouldn¡¯t have been so easy for me to kill them if the three of your worked together!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, wretched daemon! The Green Dragon Slays the Daemon!¡± The Green Vine Elder was driven mad from anger. He had completely lost his composure. He unfurled his arms and green light flowed out of them like a flood.

    Boom! There was another clap of thunder in the air, but it was unable to drown out Li Qingshan bellow, ¡°Tremor!¡±

    The shockwaves expanded, kicking up visible ripples on the green dragon and making it growl.

    The disciples who watched on from afar all felt themselves shake. Looking over, the Green Vine mountain was actually shaking slightly, as if it was trembling before the great power of the daemon.

    Li Qingshan shook off the dragon before rushing into the air.

    But just a few seconds later, another dragon¡¯s roar rang out, rising up from below his feet. The green dragon coiled up and pursued him once more, completely unscathed. It opened its mouth and unleashed a great blast.

    Li Qingshan frowned and used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. The green light suddenly turned into thousands of vines after arriving near him, entangling him and pulling him down; it was like a frog preying on an insect, extending its tongue.

    With a flash of his blade, Li Qingshan cut through the tongue, but even more vines immediately extended over, like an endless, green tidal wave.

    He swung the ice blade madly like a sharp wheel that spun at high speeds, tearing through wave after wave, but it was endless.

    He wants to waste away my strength! I need to get the person behind all of this! Li Qingshan guessed the Green Vine Elder¡¯s plan. Taking in a deep breath, he shot towards the green dragon and let out a great roar.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar!

    Wild winds surged as the thunder became negligible.

    A black pillar of wind spun rapidly, rushing into the green dragon¡¯s mouth and immediately expanding to twice its size. Thousands of wind blades cut through the green dragon, tearing its body to pieces.

    At the same time, a pair of half-transparent wings of wind unfurled on Li Qingshan¡¯s back. With a flap, he vanished from the sky.

    In the next moment, he appeared in the main hall, wielding his blade with both hands above the Green Vine Elder¡¯s head and swinging down!

    The second innate ability of the tiger demon¡ªLike Giving Wings to a Tiger!

    Using the wild wind as wings, he reined in the fierce gales and soared through the sky.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet hair danced like fire as his pupils had constricted to the size of needles. Murderousness surged out, which he channeled into his blade. I don¡¯t care what your trap is. As long as I cut you down, all of it is futile!

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Talisman Formation of Protection!¡±

    The Green Vine Elder was surprised, but not flustered. With a great swing of his hand, seven talismans lined up in a single row, shining brightly and turning into seven layers of light.

    One layer, two layers, three layers! The ice blade cut through three layers of light easily before slowing down drastically. The swing rang out of power.

    ¡°You wretched daemon!¡± The Green Vine Elder stared at Li Qingshan in hatred and fear. His hands formed several seals consecutively, and the green dragon that had been ripped apart outside the hall actually reassembled, flying towards the hall.

    ¡°You just keep pulling tricks from your sleeves, don¡¯t you?¡± Li Qingshan made up his mind. Ignoring the threatening green dragon from behind, he released the power of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and the wings of wind. He roared out as he channelled all of his daemon qi, power, and killing intent into the blade.

    Four layers, five layers, six layers! The layers of light were cut through one by one, such that only one thin layer remained.

    The Green Vine Elder immediately recalled the cold feeling of being cut through by the blade last time. He did not want to experience it a second time. He summoned the green dragon desperately, which rammed into Li Qingshan¡¯s back heavily.

    Bang! There was a grunt, followed by the faint cracking of bones.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Li Qingshan spurted with blood. Completely ignoring his wounds, he used the force to swing down harder.

    The last layer of light shattered!

    ¡°Save me, sir!¡± The Green Vine Elder cried out. If he lost his head, even he could not recover.

    The main hall that stood still even within the storm twisted, changed, and vanished. It was actually just an illusion.

    A green sword appeared out of nowhere. Green light flowed through its edge, slowly drawing an arc before returning to its sheathe, like it was all just a dream.

    The shattered blade spiraled into the air and planted into the ground.

    A thin, red mark appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s throat. He remained calm, glancing at the broken blade in his hand before glancing at Fu Qingjin beside him. Only then did he radiate with chilling anger.

    So this was the true form of the trap¡ªFu Qingjin!

    ¡°You wretched daemon! You¡¯ll suffer a horrible death now!¡± The Green Vine Elder was overjoyed, like a great burden had just been lifted from his shoulders, but he still felt slightly uneasy for some reason. He had a feeling that Li Qingshan was not as powerful or terrifying as last time. Looking at Li Qingshan¡¯s calm expression, his unease intensified.

    No, impossible!

    ¡°I hope you can keep protecting him. There will be a day when I personally cut him down, when I personally cut you down. Oh right, my name¡¯s Northmoon.¡± Li Qingshan straightened himself out, and he gradually faded away.

    ¡°He¡¯s just a clone?¡± Luminescence flowed through Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes. If just a clone possessed so much strength, it truly would be startling. He could vaguely sense that failing to kill him last time might have been a very great mistake.

    On the distant lake, Li Qingshan opened his eyes as he sat on the surface of the water. He rubbed his neck subconsciously.

    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°I almost killed that old bastard, but someone interfered in the end, and the clone died. He¡¯s also an old friend, by the name of Fu Qingjin.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone with cold light. He was the one who had lured out Milliped and forced Milliped into blowing up his daemon core. His grievances with him ran even deeper than his grievances with the three elders.

    If he worked with Xiao An and climbed up the Green Vine mountain again, could they kill him?

    ¡°Do you want to do it?¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes flashed with firelight.

    ¡°No. The sword is just too sharp. Probably even the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell can¡¯t block a few strokes from it. He probably didn¡¯t fight seriously last time.¡±

    Li Qingshan was interested, but after a moment of thought, he shook his head in the end. From their clash this time, he had gained a deeper understanding of Fu Qingjin¡¯s strength instead. He was powerful as a person, and his sword was even more powerful. If they merged as one, he could unleash extraordinarily terrifying power.

    The sword might have already surpassed the level of arcane artifacts and reached the level of arcane treasures. He had to properly investigate the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace once he got back.

    When he was struck by the sword, Li Qingshan felt like not even a tenth of the sword¡¯s power had been unleashed.

    Originally, it should have been completely impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to wield an arcane treasure. However, this impossibility became a possibility with the Sword Collection palace¡¯s cultivation methods and legacies.

    During those two years, Li Qingshan was not the only one improving. Fu Qingjin, a great genius who wielded a renowned sword, was improving too, at a similarly startling rate. The more he coalesced with the Green Ruins sword, the more powerful he would become.

    ¡°Fair enough. We can take him on once I refine a string of Skull Prayer Beads.¡±

    Xiao An nodded in agreement. Li Qingshan was still a slight bit away from reaching the third layer of the tiger demon. By then, both of them would take a step forward with their strength.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if you refine your bone sword too. Regular weapons won¡¯t be enough when you clash with him. I also need to get my hands on a suitable weapon.¡±

    The ice blade forged from the Whale¡¯s Ingestion of Water was just barely satisfactory. Neither its toughness nor sharpness was even close to what Li Qingshan required. It was fine against weaker opponents, but against an opponent like Fu Qingjin, who was already extremely strong even without a weapon, he would suffer far too great of an disadvantage.

    However, Li Qingshan was still in a good mood. Through this process, he had verified that he was not a lamb to the slaughter like before at the very least. Even if there was nothing he could do about Fu Qingjin right now, there was nothing Fu Qingjin could do about him either.

    ¡°Fuck it. It¡¯s not like I have anything better to do. I¡¯ll send my clone every day to try to assassinate him. I¡¯d like to see just how many times you¡¯ll be able to protect that old bastard!¡±

    Xiao An smiled.

    ¡°Fellow Fu, how is this going to work out? If that wretched daemon sends his clone over daily to assassinate me, what am I supposed to do?¡± The Green Vine Elder was filled with worry. He truly lived up to his title as the wisest among the three elders. He immediately thought of this.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you set up a Duality Formation of Disintegration on your Green Vine mountain. If a Daemon General becomes trapped in it, all that¡¯ll await it is death. You don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, looks like that¡¯s all we can do then. Though, if I, a mighty sect master. become so frightened by a Daemon General that I¡¯m afraid to even go out, will I still have any dignity left? Will the Daemon Suppression alliance have any dignity left?¡±

    ¡°The master of the palace has already begun negotiating with the Dragon King of Ink Sea. This matter won¡¯t just end like this. If the Daemon race refuses to explain themselves, then war is all there¡¯ll be.¡±

    The Green Vine Elder thought to himself, Now that¡¯s what you really want. If that really happens, it¡¯ll probably become even more impossible for me to stroll around freely outside the sect.

    ¡°Sect master.¡± Diao Fei presented himself before the Green Vine Elder with the disciples. He did his best to suppress his fear and ignore the mess on top of the Green Vine mountain.

    Yu Shukuang was at the very back. He made up his mind. No, I need to find an excuse to leave the Green Vine mountain and seek shelter under Li Qingshan.

    ¡°¡­ I feel like that, yep, is very wrong. We should follow the Treaty of Kings. Humans and daemons should cohabit in peace¡­¡± Wang Pushi clutched the report in his head as his brows crumpled into a mess. In the end, he erupted with rage and flung the report of just a few measly pages in front of Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 385 â€“ Identity and Suspicion

    Every single character on the report was the size of a cup, and the handwriting was horrid. It all seemed distorted, like homework that a young child had completed mindlessly. The content only seemed to reinforce this.

    ¡°It¡¯s very wrong for daemons to kill humans¡­ it¡¯s not like the Green Vine mountain is completely right either. Why do they have to hold that Herb Gathering ceremony or whatever it¡¯s called¡­ Of course, it¡¯s still wrong for daemons to kill humans. They need to be punished¡­¡± It was the same few sentences written in different ways, making no clear sense and swaying both ways.

    ¡°Commander, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to write it. Sect master Green Vine just won¡¯t cooperate, so I don¡¯t know what to write either. Surely I can¡¯t just make things up!¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands and said helplessly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. You¡¯ll write it even if you have to make it up! Are you the commander or am I the commander?¡± Wang Pushi brought out his authority as the commander and forced Li Qingshan to yield.

    ¡°That¡¯s far too unreasonable of you!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, where¡¯s your arrogance now, kid? Now you understand what more authority means, don¡¯t you?¡± Wang Pushi sneered.

    Li Qingshan was angered too. He slammed the desk. ¡°There was no point in the mission in the first place! What the hell do their deaths have to do with me? It¡¯s not like I know them. The Green Vine Elder doesn¡¯t make me, a puny Qi Practitioner, seriously at all. Where am I supposed to find so many of my own thoughts?!¡±

    Right as the two of them glared at each other angrily, a gentle breeze ruffled their hair. They looked back at the same time. Before they knew it, Gu Yanying was already sitting on the long bench in the corner of the room with one leg on top of the other.

    ¡°Commander Gu.¡± Both of them started explaining at the same time. Wang Pushi hurried over from behind the desk and bowed towards Gu Yanying.

    ¡°More authority!¡± Li Qingshan sighed gently and received a vicious glance from Wang Pushi.

    ¡°Little bro Qingshan, do you have any problems with the mission from me?¡± Gu Yanying arrived in front of the desk in a flash and picked up the thin report.

    ¡°Your m- I don¡¯t. I just feel that ten thousand characters is too much.¡± Li Qingshan was unable to grasp her movements at all. Compared to her, Bloodshadow seemed like he was crawling along the ground. Even if Li Qingshan transformed, he would not be her opponent. And, faced with her mysterious speed, he probably could not even escape.

    ¡°Ten thousand characters?¡± Gu Yanying smiled widely. ¡°Old Wang, you¡¯re abusing your position to resolve personal grievances, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I would never. Your mission should have been completed with one hundred percent effort. He has let you and the kindness you¡¯ve shown him down with this half-assed report.¡± Wang Pushi completely ignored Li Qingshan¡¯s furious glare.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head, afraid to make eye contact with her just in case he gave himself away.

    ¡°Then you missed out on quite the show. The daemon visited the Green Vine mountain again. He almost killed the Green Vine Elder again, but Fu Qingjin interfered.¡± Gu Yanying leaned against the side of the table and crossed her arms.

    ¡°Commander, was the daemon slain?¡± Wang Pushi asked.

    ¡°He wasn¡¯t. All he sent was a clone.¡±

    ¡°Just a clone possesses so much strength!¡±

    ¡°If his original body launched an attack, he might even end up eating Fu Qingjin too!¡± Gu Yanying glanced at Li Qingshan with a smile.

    Li Qingshan listened quietly, but he had a feeling that Gu Yanying¡¯s gaze had been fixed on him. Once upon a time, this had been the attention he could only hope for, but now, he felt very pressured.

    Gu Yanying changed the topic. ¡°Little bro Qingshan, tell me, just what is the daemon thinking?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°He wants to die.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s basically digging his own grave like this, defying the Treaty of Kings and disturbing the peace right now. Even daemons won¡¯t spare him.¡± Li Qingshan raised his head and stared into Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes. He could feel that Gu Yanying already knew something, as she had specially demanded for a report¡ªa clear attempt to stir him up.

    As a result, he composed himself a little. If it were a blessing, then he would not have to worry about it being a curse. But if it were a curse, it would be inevitable anyway.

    Wang Pushi butted in and said, ¡°How can it be that simple, kid? If the Dragon King of Ink Sea would hand over his clansmen so easily, he wouldn¡¯t be one of the Ten Daemon Kings! If this is handled badly, it¡¯ll probably lead to war.¡±

    ¡°The exact reason why I¡¯m here is to handle this. No matter what the daemon is thinking, I hope he can settle down a little,¡± Gu Yanying said as she made her way out. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart tensed up before he let out a sigh of relief.

    However, she ended up stopping and looking back. ¡°Oh right, be sure to rewrite it. Ten thousand characters, without a single character missing.¡±

    Wang Pushi smiled and patted the stunned Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    What does Gu Yanying know? How much does she know? Should I run off and avoid this altogether? Though, it looks like she has no intentions of getting to the bottom of this, so if I just leave like this, that¡¯ll be far too cowardly. It¡¯ll make her laugh at me.

    Speaking of which, she¡¯s half a daemon too! Although she¡¯s a little different from a half-daemon like me, she still might find me to be more relatable, right? Not only won¡¯t she harm me, but she¡¯ll even treat me very kindly and generously instead. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I already have a woman right now, this might have been a good opportunity to get close to her.

    Stop dreaming. That woman isn¡¯t some kind of goddess from your dreams. She has absolutely no issue with including the deaths of several tens of thousand of people in her plans. Who do you think you are to her anyway?

    On Cloudwisp island, Li Qingshan stared at the verdant bamboo outside the window as his thoughts ran wild. Afterwards, he lowered his head and stared at the white paper on the table. He racked his brains and sighed painfully. ¡°Ten thousand characters!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not end up choosing to leave the academy. No matter what Gu Yanying was thinking, she did not seem to hold any bad intentions. He had a feeling that if she really did decide on dealing with him, he would be doomed even if he fled to the world of daemons.

    His human identity brought him far too many benefits. If he abandoned it, his cultivation speed would drop drastically. That would be unforgivable. Even if it came with some risk, he would still maintain his identity without hesitation.

    ¡°My dear disciple, are you writing a novel?¡± Liu Chuanfeng shuffled over and poured him some tea, showing great enthusiasm.

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°This is a report for the Hawkwolf Guard.¡± Li Qingshan told him the whole story.

    ¡°How difficult can that be? I¡¯ll help you out. I¡¯m best at something like this.¡± Liu Chuanfeng patted his chest.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    Liu Chuanfeng immediately sat down. With a splash of ink, the brush took off in his hand. Within two hours, a report of ten thousand characters emerged fresh off the press.

    ¡°Here. You just have to copy it out, and you¡¯ll be good.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Li Qingshan accepted it and had a read. The content covered a great extent, and the personal arguments went into great detail. With flowery language, it ventured deeply into the meaning behind the Treaty of King¡¯s existence and the conflicting relationship between humans and daemons. Li Qingshan found it to be very inspirational, and he began to admire Liu Chuanfeng a little more too.

    ¡°Then, my dear disciple, I want to discuss something with you,¡± Liu Chuanfeng rubbed his hands and said with embarrassment.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Can you lend me some spiritual stones?¡± Liu Chuanfeng filled up Li Qingshan¡¯s cup again.

    ¡°What do you need spiritual stones for? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain again?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not. I want to buy a True Spirit pill so that I can establish a foundation.¡± Liu Chuanfeng had constantly tried to establish a foundation in the past few months, but it never ended in success. The main issue was he was very poor and unable to afford a True Spirit pill. Although he had already restored some of his dignity as the leader of the school of Novels, novels could not turn into spiritual stones unfortunately, which was why he was still very poor and unable to afford True Spirit pills.

    The power of belief he had gathered could be used for cultivation, but it was useless for breakthroughs. Just when he was distressed, he saw Li Qingshan return and immediately remembered that this disciple of his seemed to be quite wealthy.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. To think that a mighty school leader would be reduced to such a state one day. He sure was pitiful.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t, then just forget about it.¡± Liu Chuanfeng reddened. Since when did school leaders borrow spiritual stones from their disciples? He had no idea when he would be able to return it either.

    ¡°I can¡¯t lend you spiritual stones, but I can lend you two True Spirit pills!¡± Li Qingshan said after some thought.

    ¡°R- really?¡± Liu Chuanfeng sank into dejection when he heard the first half, but after hearing the whole thing, he actually struggled to believe his ears. Since when did Qi Practitioners who were willing to lend out True Spirit pills exist?

    ¡°Of course.¡± As he said that, Li Qingshan had already taken out two embroidered boxes and placed them on the table.

    ¡°A- are you really giving them to me?¡± Liu Chuanfeng gulped. He opened a box, and sure enough, a True Spirit pill he had been dreaming of for a very long time laid inside, glistening with light in an extremely tempting manner.

    ¡°I¡¯m not giving them away. You¡¯ll have to return them in the future.¡± Li Qingshan reiterated.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll definitely return it. I¡¯ll return it before you need them!¡± Liu Chuanfeng was deeply touched. Although Li Qingshan had never mentioned it, he could imagine just how much effort it had taken for Li Qingshan to obtain these two True Spirit pills to prepare for his breakthrough in the future. Now, he was lending them to him for free without the slightest hesitation, without even writing up a deed. What level of trust was that?

    He felt a lump in his throat. He placed his hand on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Qingshan, to be able to have a disciple like you under me, I truly am the most fortunate master in the world!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be like this. If you successfully establish a foundation, the entire school of Novels will benefit. I¡¯ll benefit from your glory too.¡±

    Li Qingshan still had around forty True Spirit pills on him, so lending out two was perfectly fine.

    As for Liu Chuanfeng potentially reneging on the debt, he had not even considered it. However, it was not because of his trust in Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s moral character, but because of his trust in his own strength. If he refused to pay it back, he could pay it back with his life instead¡ªYou bastard, I helped you out of kindness, yet you actually screwed me over instead! Die!

    ¡°Oh right, don¡¯t let anyone else know that they¡¯re from me, or you¡¯ll have to return four pills.¡± It would be better if fewer people knew he possessed True Spirit pills.

    ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t tell anyone!¡± Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s eye rims had already reddened from emotion as he said with a trembling voice. His dear disciple was clearly trying to keep this a secret so that he, a school leader, would not have to embarrass himself! What care! What consideration!

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯m going to go!¡± Liu Chuanfeng said nothing else. He stood up and made his way out. A translucent tear even slid down from the corner of his eyes.

    ¡°Do you really have to be so extra?¡± Li Qingshan muttered to himself as he scratched his head.

    ¡°What¡¯s so extra?¡± A familiar voice rang out from outside the window.

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡± Li Qingshan looked over, and a familiar face grinned at him from the window. Who else could it be apart from Han Qiongzhi?

 Chapter 386 â€“ Paying Respects to the Father-in-law One

    Li Qingshan directly arrived before the window and wrapped his hand around her waist, lifting her into the room.

    ¡°What are you- Hmmph!¡±

    Before Han Qiongzhi had even finished speaking, her mouth was sealed up by his lips. She no longer held herself back either, embracing his wide back and returning the gesture passionately. They collapsed on the ground together and rolled around a few times.

    ¡°I missed you so much. Why did it take you so long to emerge? It¡¯s just the tenth layer. You¡¯re so slow!¡± Li Qingshan leaned on her body and smiled from ear to ear. He kissed her again after that.

    ¡°How dare you say that to me? If it weren¡¯t for you, why would I have taken so long in the first place? What¡¯re you stripping for?¡± Han Qiongzhi rolled over on top of him and pinched his waist viciously.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m offering a humble apology by punishing myself right now!¡± As he said that, Li Qingshan had already taken off his upper garment, revealing his sturdy body. Then he began to undo her waist band.

    ¡°Then what¡¯re you stripping me for?¡± Han Qiongzhi grabbed his hand and shot a glance at him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve made me guard an empty nest for so long, so shouldn¡¯t you offer a humble apology too?¡± Li Qingshan rolled over, now on top of her. He grabbed her hands and pressed them down beside her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think you can get away with this! Tell me exactly, what were you doing during this period? And what¡¯s going on between you and Ru Xin? If you don¡¯t tell me, don¡¯t even think about touching a hair on me!¡± Han Qiongzhi put up a struggle, but she was actually unable to break free. What strength! He was still as rude and unreasonable as ever!

    ¡°Do you believe me or not?¡± Li Qingshan bent over and stared into her eyes. He had gone through many tests and resisted many urges, but as long as he could embrace her with a clear conscience, it was all worth it.

    Han Qiongzhi also gazed into his bright, passionate eyes. She already believed him, but she still shook her head gently with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Alright you, Han Qiongzhi. How dare you doubt your husband? I need to punish you properly!¡± Li Qingshan feigned anger, tickling her while peeking at her sensitive regions. His eyes and hands worked together.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I believe you.¡± Han Qiongzhi put up a struggle, but she was no match for his strength. She giggled as she breathed heavily.

    ¡°As long as you believe me. I¡¯ve maintained my purity for your sake. If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re welcome to see for yourself.¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand, and all the windows shut themselves. Then he waved his hand, and a barrier of faint, blue light enveloped the room.

    Before long, the ground was covered in clothes. A beautiful person lay on the ground. Two scorching hot bodies entangled together, rousing each others¡¯ passion. They touched and embraced each other tenderly, as if they wanted to become one.

    After a while of intimate contact, the two of them laid together in a close embrace and told each other their feelings.

    Han Qiongzhi laid on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest and blinked. ¡°What did you call yourself earlier?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± All Li Qingshan focused on was caressing her slender, beautiful legs that were no different from a piece of art, so he immediately received a punch to the gut. He shifted his gaze back to her. ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it hurt?¡± Han Qiongzhi was surprised. In order to get him out of the state of just thinking with his crotch, she had used true qi, but it was completely ineffective.

    ¡°Of course it hurts! Ahh, it hurts so much!¡± Li Qingshan said without the slightest sincerity before lowering his head and kissing her elegant neck.

    ¡°Don¡¯t brush me off!¡± Han Qiongzhi pretended to be furious. She straightened herself out and threw another punch. This time, she was a little more vicious and used half her strength.

    However, all she saw was Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes landing on her breasts that jiggled with her action. She was vexed. ¡°If you keep this up, I¡¯m going to put my clothes back on.¡± She looked at her fist, basically doubting whether she had actually reached the tenth layer or not.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll listen! And, it¡¯s not like you can blame me.¡± He had a naked beauty in his arms, yet he could not do anything to her. There was not a single man who could remain focused in such a predicament!

    ¡°You mentioned ¡°husband¡± earlier. Have I married you?¡± Han Qiongzhi said furiously, but she was very shy too.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He gently moved Han Qiongzhi to the side before putting on his clothes.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Han Qiongzhi was surprised.

    ¡°To see your father. Just wait here. I¡¯ll be back in fifteen minutes. You don¡¯t have to put your clothes back on!¡± Li Qingshan smiled confidently.

    He had once sworn he would propose marriage once she emerged. Then, he would be able to do whatever he wanted.

    ¡°Stop right there! Are you marrying me just for that?¡± Han Qiongzhi found this both infuriating and funny.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. Though, I am quite eager, not just for that.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her hands and smiled. She was not the most beautiful woman he had seen, nor was she the gentlest or strongest, but she was the woman who treated him the best.

    If he simply wanted to fulfill his desires, it would be far too easy. Both the Parlour of Clouds and Rain on the surface or the night roamers below could allow him to do whatever he wanted.

    However, there was not a single woman who could replace her position in his heart, not even Gu Yanying. He was not someone insatiable. He was willing to spend his entire life with a single person. Right now, he wanted her as his wife, so he did not hesitate at all.

    Han Qiongzhi was enchanted by him. She embraced him gently. ¡°Tonight, my father will be in the estate, celebrating for me.¡±

    ¡°Just who¡¯s the one in a hurry now?¡± Li Qingshan smiled and received another punch from her. This time, Li Qingshan refused to back down, so he landed a slap on her plump, snow-white buttock with a smack, immediately leaving behind a red mark. He wanted to show her what¡¯s what.

    Han Qiongzhi yelped in pain and wanted revenge, but Li Qingshan pulled her in, and they became entangled together again.

    Thirty-five kilometers away from Clear River city was a mountain called Tiger Hill.

    Tiger Hill mountain was not particularly tall, only standing at an altitude of a few hundred meters, but it covered a great expanse, several thousand square kilometers at that. The gentle slope was like a tiger¡¯s back, holding up countless buildings. This was where the Han estate stood.

    Walls that stood thirty meters tall split the place into the inner estate and outer estate. Turrets stood plentifully with strict security, which made it seem more like a fortress. Even within the dark of night, it was lit with lanterns.

    A towering arch stood on top of the several hundred steps. A plaque hung high above, detailing two words¡ªGeneral¡¯s Estate. There were no stone lions at the entrance; instead, they had a pair of tigers sculpted from white jade. They laid on the stone platform vividly like living creatures, glaring at the strangers nearby.

    The tiger was a representation of the school of the Military. Many tablets for controlling armies were created in the form of a tiger, so they were called tiger tablets. And, the white tiger represented the metal element, which made it even more so a god of war, a god of slaughter.

    TL: A reference to the four symbols of Chinese mythology, the Azure Dragon, the Vermillion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise. The Azure Dragon represents wood, the Vermillion Bird represents fire, the White Tiger represents metal, and the Black Tortoise represents water.

    ¡°This is your home?¡± Li Qingshan raised his head and sighed over the size and prosperity of the Han family.

    ¡°What about it? You¡¯ve made quite the gain by following me.¡±

    ¡°Just gaining you is enough. I don¡¯t care about the others.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, what a boast. Those who are ignorant would even think you¡¯ve established a foundation already.¡± Han Qiongzhi glanced at him, but she liked his confidence and arrogance the most. Compared to those suitors who wanted to climb on board with the Han family, she much preferred a valiant man like him.

    ¡°I suddenly feel a little nervous.¡± Li Qingshan took out his gift from his hundred treasures pouch and breathed out.

    Han Qiongzhi had prepared the gift. It suited old father-in-law Han¡¯s tastes. It was neither too little or too much, just perfect. It led to some more teasing from Li Qingshan about how eager she was, but he was truly grateful for this.

    ¡°You¡¯re a person who gets nervous?¡± Han Qiongzhi became rather curious.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. Qiongzhi, what if your father refuses?¡± This was not a random thought of his. Instead, Li Qingshan had a premonition. The complicated information in the turtle shell had indicated some kind of omen that this would not go as smoothly as he imagined.

    ¡°He won¡¯t refuse you.¡± Han Qiongzhi was filled with confidence. There was no reason for Han Anjun to be dissatisfied with him. Over all these years, she had never seen her father be so satisfied with anyone. Even if he was considering for the Han family, he would still agree to it!

    ¡°What if he actually refuses?¡± Li Qingshan teased.

    ¡°If he actually refuses, we¡¯ll elope.¡± Han Qiongzhi looked at Li Qingshan with a burning gaze. This passion scorched like fire. It was unstoppable.

    ¡°You better be careful about being used and then abandoned.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart had melted. Just who could abandon a girl like her?

    ¡°Then make sure you perish with me!¡± Han Qiongzhi shot a glare at him.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

    At this moment, the alarm bell went off and gongs filled the air. The entire Han family was alarmed and mobilised.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s an invading enemy!¡± Han Qiongzhi was not surprised at all, just vexed and powerless.

    In the Han family, these drills happened often. The members of the Han family would be on the defence, while the army of the Han family under Han Anjun would attack. She was familiar with this, except she never expected it to happen tonight.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m the enemy!¡± Li Qingshan pointed at himself. He already knew that his future father-in-law, Han Anjun, was a standard battle freak. Was he testing his future son-in-law with this?

    Within the inner estate of the Han family, Han Anjun was clad in armour as he held his sword, seated in the main hall; it was like he was about to confront an enemy.

    Today was different from the standard drill. Valiant guards stood sternly to the two sides. All of their faces were hidden within their helmets as they stared straight ahead. They were not regular members of the Han family. Instead, they were known as the real army of the Han family. They had once suppressed daemons and otherfolk and subdued heretic cultivation sects under Han Anjun¡¯s lead. Every single one of them was battle-worn. Just by standing there, a feeling of bleakness rushed into the air.

    This time, Han Anjun had actually mobilised both the members of the Han family and the army of the Han family for Li Qingshan.

    Han Tieyi wielded a spear as he stood in shining, silver armour, which accentuated his handsomeness and soldierly bearing.

    ¡°Under my orders, even if you have to die, stop him.¡± Han Anjun said sternly, as if the thing about to rush in was not his son-in-law, but an actual army.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Han Tieyi accepted the orders and led the soldiers away.

    The clacking of boots against the ground and the jingling of armour rang out together. In a uniform formation, they turned into a river of steel and surged out.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s us.¡± Han Qiongzhi held his hand.

    Li Qingshan realised it too and held her hand firmly. From today onwards, there would be someone else who would be fighting beside him.

    The doors swung open loudly. Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi exchanged glances before advancing forward together.

    In the turrets, groups of archers drew their bows to the maximum.

    Inside the doors, a group of soldiers wielded spears and dagger-axes, standing in formation.

    A total of four specks of light lit up in the eyes of the two white, jade tigers. They moved their bodies and stood up from stone platforms. Standing at six meters tall, they were extremely imposing. They let out a roar at the sky and lunged over.

    ¡°Can I throw the gift away?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the lunging tigers and turned his head slightly, asking Han Qiongzhi softly. A damned father-in-law like him was not worthy of a gift from him.

    ¡°No.¡±

 Chapter 387 â€“ Paying Respects to the Father-in-law Two

    Li Qingshan passed by the two white tigers with a clash.

    The white tigers did not slow down, now targeting Han Qiongzhi. There were not living creatures, so they had no concept of enemies. Once they were activated, they would rip apart everything in front of them.

    Han Qiongzhi prepared a technique. She did not even look at the incoming tigers. Just as the fierce gale had ruffled her hair and the claws had arrived before her, they came to a screeching halt.

    Li Qingshan extended both hands, grabbing the two tigers by the tail. The white tigers growled and swung their claws around, but they were unable to advance another inch forward. They turned around and lunged at Li Qingshan instead.

    With an explosive bellow, Li Qingshan began to spin like a spinning top, pulling the tails until they were taut. He actually tossed the two white jade tigers that weighed as much as a thousand tonnes into the air, over a hundred meters away. With a rumble, they formed two deep craters.

    ¡°What strength!¡± ¡°No wonder he¡¯s bold enough to propose marriage to the Han family!¡±

    This move of his startled all the members of the Han family above the archway. They all took action in a hurry, unleashing a flurry of arrows.

    Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! Thrum! The sound of released bows were enough to pierce rock.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The arrows formed a dark cloud.

    ¡°Bird of Flames!¡± Han Qiongzhi called out.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vision dimmed before lighting up again. A bird of fire took off into the air, unfurling its thirty-meter-long wings of flames and smashing through the dark cloud. It rushed up the archway and erupted with fire with a great boom, forcing back the archers and throwing the army into disarray.

    ¡°That¡¯s your home, for heaven¡¯s sake.¡± Li Qingshan glanced back.

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯d rather go without a home like this!¡±

    Under the gloomy archway, almost a hundred armoured soldiers stood in formation with dagger-axes, radiating with murderousness.

    ¡°They¡¯re here! On guard!¡±

    An eighth layer Qi Practitioner, an old man with a downwards slanting mustache, bellowed out thunderously. The dagger-axes drooped down, pointing straight ahead.

    Two figures, Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi, walked in slowly, just like lovers on a stroll. They even muttered among themselves.

    ¡°Is he really just the gatekeeper?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the battle formation in slight amazement. By gatekeeper, it referred to the person who watched the entrance of the estate. He had never seen such a mighty gatekeeper before with such a high cultivation.

    ¡°We normally call it the gatekeeping army. There are a total of eight divisions, guarding the eight gates. The commander is the hundred-man commander of the gate.¡± Han Qiongzhi explained with a smile.

    The hundred-man commander called out and waved his dagger-axe around, cutting through the air swiftly. His mustache danced around on top of his lip as he radiated with vigour. He did not seem senile at all.

    ¡°Hundred-man commander, this has always been a matter that involves both of us. What would be the point if I got in alone?¡± Normally, Han Qiongzhi would have to refer to him as grandfather, but now that they confronted each other today like enemies, there was no room for personal feelings. She only referred to him by his military rank.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Qiongzhi suddenly discovered that Li Qingshan was staring at her with shining eyes, even touching her face.

    ¡°Nothing. I just find you extremely pretty today!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still talking nonsense at a time like this.¡± Han Qiongzhi reddened slightly. She was just about to go up to receive the enemy, but Li Qingshan grabbed her shoulder.

    ¡°Leave here to me. Recover some strength instead. I¡¯d like to show this hundred-man commander what a visiting son-in-law is unstoppable means!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi burst out laughing. This guy still joked around at a time like this. ¡°Go easy on him.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°No!¡± Li Qingshan and the hundred-man commander answered at the same time. They exchanged glances, one smiling and one furious.

    ¡°Kill!¡± The hundred-man commander pointed with his dagger-axe, and the army of one hundred behind him erupted with a bellow at the same time. ¡°Kill!¡± Their feet jingled against the ground as their weapons stood as densely as a forest, shining threateningly. All one hundred of them charged forward with the bearing of an army of thousands towards Li Qingshan.

    The hundred-man commander thought, You¡¯re just at the eighth layer, and you come from the school of Novels or whatever that is. How are you worthy of the young miss. You must have sweet-talked your way to her side and fooled the young miss. Now, you¡¯re even boasting that you¡¯ll go easy on me? You have no idea at all, do you? Are you really treating these experienced soldiers as regular Qi Practitioners? No matter how you look at it, you¡¯re outnumbered one hundred to one, and there¡¯s also another eighth layer Qi Practitioner, me. There¡¯s no way you can win!

    Boom!

    The sound interrupted the hundred-man commander¡¯s thoughts. In the archway up ahead, soldiers were launched into the air as they cried out, all slamming into the walls of the archway. These flying soldiers drew closer and closer, as if a monster was charging through them towards him.

    The Wave Treading Form!

    Waves surged under Li Qingshan¡¯s feet, and he charged forward like a loose arrow, slamming through the army.

    The Vortex Form!

    The water ripples in Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand spun rapidly. He seemed to become a huge drill, driving his way forward.

    Whenever he came in contact with soldiers, they would be directly sent flying. The dagger-axes sucked into the vortex would be torn to pieces. Wherever he passed by, everyone would suffer a crushing defeat. He passed through the enemy in an instant and arrived before the hundred-man commander.

    ¡°Eat this, uncle!¡±

    The hundred-man commander was stunned. Never did he imagine that his gatekeeping army would be so fragile before him. However, how could he back down? With a bellow, his dagger-axe erupted with light, and the tiles beneath his feet shattered. With his full strength and both hands on the dagger-axe, he stabbed it towards Li Qingshan.

    The dagger-axe and the drill head clashed violently. It sounded like an electric saw cutting through metal, but it only lasted for an instant. The dagger-axe was sent flying.

    The hundred-man commander retreated in surprise. The flap between his thumb and index finger on both his hands had shattered, and the vortex drill drove into his body with the ¡°unstoppable¡± might of a visiting son-in-law. His protective true qi crumbled like paper, while his shiny armour was torn to pieces.

    I¡¯m done for!

    The hundred-man commander sighed deeply inside. He never thought he would actually die here after an entire life spent on the battlefield. He had completely comprehended the terrifying might of this battle skill the moment they clashed. He could not endure it with his body alone.

    However, he felt no pain. He lowered his head and discovered that he was already completely naked, but completely unscathed. He raised his head, and all he saw was Li Qingshan standing before him with a grin across his face. He could not help but become stunned.

    The entire process seemed quite slow, but it had taken him less than three seconds to go from unleashing the Vortex Form to defeating the hundred-man commander.

    Han Qiongzhi was rather surprised too. She had been expecting Li Qingshan¡¯s abilities to be impressive. After all, even Chu Tian, who had a higher cultivation than him as a Qi Practitioner, was not his opponent. He could not be stopped by this gatekeeping army, which was why she had told him to go easy, just in case he injured this old man who had basically watched her grow up.

    However, she never expected him to win in such a straightforward fashion, and sure enough, he did not lay a single finger on the hundred-man commander. She was filled with pride. This was the man she had chosen, someone who could always cause surprises. If anyone underestimated him, then they really would be blind.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost. I¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re a little capable, but what comes next won¡¯t be so easy. I¡¯d advise you to back out sooner rather than later. You might end up losing your life accidentally!¡±

    The hundred-man commander said sternly. He did not take Li Qingshan lightly at all anymore. It was not too impressive that Li Qingshan had charged through this Flying Swan formation. After all, he could manage that too if he tried hard enough. However, ripping off his clothes without harming him proved that he was still holding back a lot. His battle skill had reached a state of great meticulous control. If it came to an actual battle to the death, he could probably kill this division of a hundred with a single hand relaxedly. Just where had the young miss found a monster like him? She sure had quite the insight.

    ¡°Sir, you better cover yourself!¡± Han Qiongzhi arrived beside Li Qingshan and pointed below at the hundred-man commander.

    ¡°I deserve to die for defiling the young miss¡¯s eyes!¡± The hundred-man commander reddened and covered himself below in a hurry.

    My eyes have already been defiled plenty of times recently anyway. There¡¯s nothing surprising anymore. Han Qiongzhi thought. She linked arms with Li Qingshan and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s your recovery gone?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°You were so quick, so how was I supposed to recover?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, how can I be so quick as a man? Don¡¯t worry, ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll try to slow myself down in the future.¡± Li Qingshan sniggered, earning him a kick from Han Qiongzhi. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying! This is my home!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve yet to see a home with barbicans!¡±

    With that, the two of them passed under the archway, and Li Qingshan stopped. He saw a large, empty space before him with tall walls standing in the surroundings, with watch towers and battlements rising and falling. It was actually a barbican.

    The only path leading out of the barbican was the huge gate cast from black iron.

    The sound of a zither lingered about. A learned man with a long beard and a tall hat stroked his zither on a watch tower.

    ¡°The zither just sounds so great when uncle Cao plays it.¡± Han Qiongzhi said as she introduced him to Li Qingshan softly, ¡°This ¡®uncle Cao¡¯ is my father¡¯s military advisor. His full name is Cao Gan. Not only is his cultivation at the tenth layer, but he¡¯s also known for his resourcefulness. He¡¯s not one to be trifled with. Looks like my dad really wants to stop you in the barbican.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. Men married and women were married off. Was that not how the world worked? Why was this old man Han acting like he was fending off bandits? Surely he was not a deviant of a father who had a daughter complex?

    ¡°Qiongzhi, it ends here. Looks like your father doesn¡¯t like the kid beside you, so even if you meet him, it¡¯s pointless. It¡¯s still not too late for you to back off right now,¡± Cao Gan said as he played the zither.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether he likes him or not. All that matters is I like him? Is he the one getting married, or am I the one getting married?¡± Han Qiongzhi became agitated, so she spoke rudely.

    ¡°Nicely said!¡± Li Qingshan rose up on a cloud, charging straight towards Cao Gan. The key to defeating the army was to defeat its leader. So what if he was a tenth layer Qi Practitioner?

    The walls could stop regular people, but how were they supposed to stop cultivators? The so-called barbican was just a joke.

    Clang! The strings of the zither vibrated.

    ¡°Now!¡± A cold light flashed through the man¡¯s eyes. Many archers appeared on the battlements, all wielding powerful bows and crossbows. The bows were released, and the triggers were pressed.

    With a thrum, arrows filled the sky, blotting out the sun.

    At the same time, the sounds of mechanisms rang out from the twelve watch towers. They did not possess a single archer at all. Instead, they were each loaded with a black ballista. The ballistae were designed to be like dragons with flashing gems as their eyes. They automatically adjusted their aim and locked onto Li Qingshan in the air with great precision. Their mouths opened up, and they spat out huge, spear-like bolts.

    Huge bolts shot out of the magazines and were launched endlessly; it was like a dragon¡¯s breath.

    The Mechanical ballistae of the school of Mohism could kill enemies from a thousand meters away. Every single one of them were worth more than high grade spiritual artifacts. The specially-designed Cloud-piercing bolts could penetrate protective techniques and true qi. They were priceless.

    Even if regular people could afford one, they could not afford to use one. With the ballistae and bolts combined, they could take down Qi Practitioners like taking lambs to the slaughter.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi drew her blade and went up to assist him. A volley of arrows rained down on her, and she swung her blade around, cutting through it all. The ground beside her had already become covered in arrows, but all she could do was watch helplessly as Li Qingshan was swallowed by the rain of arrows.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a test. This is murder!¡±

 Chapter 388 â€“ Paying Respects to the Father-in-law Three

    Li Qingshan saw the barbican below his feet rapidly shrink and grow further away. Within the blink of an eye, it was shrouded by the dark cloud of arrows, which soon collapsed and dispersed. Li Qingshan was secretly startled. If he had been a step slower, it would have been quite painful even if he emerged in one piece.

    Cao Gan¡¯s smile lingered, as if he had been expecting this.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Han Qiongzhi felt no joy. Instead, she became worried.

    In that instant, scorching, white light filled the night sky, dazzling Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Only then did he hear a great rumble. Li Qingshan had been struck by a bolt of lightning, falling out of the sky.

    Flying in the general¡¯s estate was forbidden for members of the Han family, so the entire estate was enveloped by formations. Once they were formally activated, even Foundation Establishment cultivators could not come and go as they pleased. Neither Li Qingshan nor Han Qiongzhi had expected something like this.

    Cao Gan raised his hand, and the rain of arrows stopped. ¡°You¡¯ll be bed bound for ten to fifteen days at the very least once you¡¯re struck by that lightning. The general¡¯s mobilised so many troops. He¡¯s taking this kid too seriously.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan landed in Han Qiongzhi¡¯s arms. Seeing her concern and irritation, he said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Looks like I really do need to get a little more serious.¡±

    He leapt back onto his feet. Compared to the tribulation of lightning, this lightning strike felt more like a tickle.

    ¡°Do you still refuse to come to your senses? It¡¯s impossible for you to pass through the barbican. You don¡¯t even have a one percent chance. If you keep going, you¡¯ll only injure yourself more for nothing.¡± Cao Gan frowned. He never expected the kid¡¯s body to be so tough, such that he could even endure the lightning summoned by the formation.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go right now. I don¡¯t need my father deciding matters between us!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a man. I don¡¯t need a woman to teach me what to do!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly, casting a wide, dependable figure to Han Qiongzhi. He glanced back and smiled. ¡°This isn¡¯t for you, but for us!¡±

    He smiled as resplendently as the sunlight, which left Han Qiongzhi speechless for a moment. She stood up and gritted her teeth. ¡°What¡¯re you boasting for? I¡¯ll accompany you to wherever you want to go.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and pointed at the battlements. ¡°Cao, I was careless just then, so I¡¯ll let you feel proud of yourself for now. I¡¯ll give you a painful thrashing now!¡±

    ¡°Kid, those are some pretty big boasts! Release the arrows!¡±

    ¡°Leave here to me! You smelly man, I¡¯ll show you the power of women!¡±

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to advance, Han Qiongzhi brushed past him, so he stopped with a smile.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! The giant bolts shot over, but Han Qiongzhi did not even look at them. She turned and leapt around on the walls like it was flat ground. The huge bolts brushed past her and deeply embedded themselves into the walls. As the first young miss of the Han family, she was extremely familiar with the target designation and method of attack of these ballistae.

    She leapt up the wall and charged into a watch tower. Right in front of her lay a ballista with its gem eyes twinkling. Like a willow leaf in the wind, she leaned backwards with the flow, and the huge bolt brushed past the tip of her nose. She turned around and arrived behind the ballista. With a casual slam, the eyes immediately dimmed, and it was disabled.

    From the two sides of the watchtower, soldiers charged up with all of their might. They flung the door open, and waves of heat rolled over. All of Han Qiongzhi¡¯s true qi had turned into flames, dyeing the entire place red. She called out, ¡°Move!¡±

    Like a leaping ball of fire, she whistled towards another watch tower with a long tail of flames, leaving behind a trace of fire on the battlements.

    In the blink of an eye, she invaded like fire and circled around the entire barbican, disabling all the ballista and landing before Cao Gan. She heaved slightly, and the fire on her weakened. Although Bing Fire true qi possessed great destructive power, it was exhausted very rapidly.

    ¡°Young miss, you¡¯ve grown up.¡± Cao Gan let out a sigh as his fingers plucked the strings rapidly, producing confusing noises with the zither. The waves of sound turned into sharp blades.

    Within the noise, Han Qiongzhi took a step back and swung her blade around, parrying the sound waves. However, a tiny cut still appeared on her face. She understood that Cao Gan¡¯s cultivation was above hers, and she was exhausted. Meanwhile, he had been prepared the whole time, waiting for them here. If they dragged the battle out, there was no way for them to emerge victorious. As a result, she made up her mind and fire erupted from her body. Just when she was about to advance with her blade, a figure blocked her.

    Cao Gan was slightly surprised. He saw how Li Qingshan was enveloped by a thin veil of water, and he felt scornful. How can a mere Water Curtain technique block my zither? He plucked the zither even more rapidly, which sounded like pearls falling into jade bowls.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s curtain of water was surprisingly tough. The sound waves kicked up countless ripples, but it failed to pierce it. After reaching the third layer of the spirit turtle, Li Qingshan¡¯s water element technique had become extremely powerful. He strode over through the sound waves.

    ¡°Dance of the Heavenly Sound!¡± Cao Gan pressed down and tugged, pulling seven strings all the way to their limit. With a great clang, it erupted with an extremely fierce wave of sound and pierced the curtain.

    ¡°You-¡±

    Before Cao Gan could even celebrate, a black shadow enveloped him. Li Qingshan looked down from above as his eyes shone as two red specks of light.

    Bang!

    Without any hesitation at all, Li Qingshan grabbed the zither, lifting it up and smacked Cao Gan with it.

    ¡°Have you played enough?¡±

    Cao Gan was sent spinning into a group of soldiers who had come to assist him, knocking them all over. Disbelief filled his eyes. How could a mere eighth layer Qi Practitioner block his Dance of the Heavenly Sound from such a close range?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes had been reduced to rags, so he ripped it off, revealing his unscathed, bronze skin. The zither in Cao Gan¡¯s hand trembled, as if it was trying to return to its master¡¯s side, but how could it rival Li Qingshan¡¯s strength? He frowned and tried crushing it with both hands. Although this was a rare high grade spiritual artifact zither, it was much more fragile compared to other weapons, so it was no opponent for Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. It immediately produced a painful moan.

    ¡°My zither!¡± Cao Gan cried out.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Han Qiongzhi pressed down on Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and studied his expression. ¡°Are you mad? Didn¡¯t I tell you to go easy?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t just watch him harm you though!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi touched her face. She had grown accustomed to scratches like that growing up in this household, such that even she did not take it seriously, but this made her smile. Being cared for really was quite nice.

    ¡°Uncle Cao, we¡¯ve won this time, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve won, you¡¯ve won. Give me back my zither!¡± Cao Gan said in a hurry.

    ¡°Alright, here.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi elbowed Li Qingshan gently. Li Qingshan leaned back and raised his arm, making the perfect throwing posture. The zither turned into a black speck immediately, flying off the mountain.

    ¡°Kid, you!¡± Cao Gan rushed off in pursuit.

    ¡°You¡¯re far too evil. That¡¯s uncle Cao¡¯s lifeblood,¡± Han Qiongzhi smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯re my lifeblood,¡± Li Qingshan stroked her face, and the scratch vanished.

    ¡°How disgusting.¡± Han Qiongzhi reddened, and her heart sweetened slightly.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t mean it like that this time!¡± Li Qingshan said like he had just been wrongly accused.

    The two of them passed through the barbican, and after that, it was actually smooth sailing. They did not run into any more obstructions. Just a lot of people from the Han family whispered among themselves in the houses.

    ¡°Look, that¡¯s Li Qingshan!¡± ¡°I heard he¡¯s very strong. It¡¯s said that the gatekeeping army and the advisor have both been defeated by him.¡± ¡°What? He¡¯s just at the eighth layer though. The young miss must have helped him. You really can¡¯t keep a grown girl around!¡±

    With the same method of managing an army, Han Anjun managed the entire general¡¯s estate into something like a military base. There was even a drilling field in front of the gates separating the inner and outer estates. Normally, it was used for drilling the people of the Han family. But right now, there were a total of three hundred soldiers there, either sitting or standing. Some of them even discussed among themselves quietly. There was no sense of discipline at all.

    Only Han Tieyi stood dead straight with a spear in his hand, like a statue. Only when he saw Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi appear did he suddenly say,

    ¡°Prepare for battle.¡±

    The soldiers only stood up and looked over. They still seemed like a messy group, without any sense for formation per se. However, something indescribable was connecting them, actually merging three hundred completely different people into one.

    ¡°This is my father¡¯s personal army, the elites among the elites. You can¡¯t be careless here!¡± Han Qiongzhi felt troubled inside.

    ¡°In other words, I can see your father once I defeat them!¡± Even without Han Qiongzhi¡¯s warning, Li Qingshan would not be careless. These soldiers gave off a concealed sense of terrifying murderousness such that even he felt a hint of danger.

    ¡°We can¡¯t win. We have to find a way to pass through here and reach the inner estate!¡±

    Li Qingshan strode over and laughed aloud. ¡°Brother-in-law, shouldn¡¯t you greet the future husband of your elder sister when you meet him?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the two of you will turn around no matter what I say, so let¡¯s do it! Receive the enemy!¡± Han Tieyi sent out an order, and the three hundred soldiers silently surged forth like a flood.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi worked together to launch the first strike.

    Han Qiongzhi erupted with flames the moment she attacked, radiating with waves of heat, while Li Qingshan treaded on waves, spinning and agitating the streams of water.

    Water and fire raced against one another charging forward together and merging as one. They sent all the soldiers in their way flying, but the other soldiers in the surroundings were unaffected. They brushed past them.

    In just a few seconds, the two of them had penetrated the formation.

    With a boom, Han Tieyi struck out with his spear like a dragon, colliding with a blade and a fist. The light from agitated true qi illuminated the dark night.

    A tremendous force erupted from the fist. Han Tieyi actually found it rather difficult to bear with. He was secretly surprised. Just how long had it been, but Li Qingshan¡¯s strength and speed had increased yet again. The bearing he vaguely gave off was chilling. If they were fighting against each other alone, he probably was not his opponent anymore. With his rate of improvement, it truly was strange that his father insisted on stopping them.

    However, this thought only flashed through his head. Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi roared out together, pouring all their true qi and strength into the attack.

    Han Tieyi was forced into staggering back. He reached the gates of the wall, with no room left for retreat. Suddenly, he abandoned his spear and punched both of them in the chest. At the same time, he called out, ¡°Trap them!¡±

    Li Qingshan blocked the punch with his arm, so he only shuddered slightly, but Han Qiongzhi was sent flying. Looking back, the three hundred soldiers had already fallen into the Military Formation of the Coiled snake before he knew it. A huge snake sat with its body coiled, pulling Han Qiongzhi into the formation. She called out, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me! Just go! Go find my father and explain it to him!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan killed his way back into the formation without the slightest hesitation at all, arriving beside Han Qiongzhi.

    The two of them stood with their backs against one another with enemies everywhere.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°You idiot, why¡¯d you return?¡±

 Chapter 389 â€“ Partners of Cultivation, Partners of Love

    The bitter battle and the battle formations constantly changed about¡ªthe Coiled Snake formation, the Tiger Trapping formation, the Dragon Ensnaring formation, and so on. There was not the slightest opening as they moved from formation to formation. They used the same formations, but the military disciples of the Hundred School of Thought were no match for them at all.

    Three hundred people swung their weapons quietly. Even when Li Qingshan charged around violently, he was unable to break out of the encirclement, especially since Han Tieyi commanded the formation and even took part in the battle constantly. If he were alone, he might have had a chance, but with the two of them, they could not take a single step forward.

    In the blink of an eye, Han Qiongzhi ran out of true qi. She was dripping with sweat. Holding off the formation alone had never been something a regular Qi Practitioner could achieve. As she faced the incoming row of dagger-axes, she was actually powerless to stop them. Her waist tightened, and she was pulled back by Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Hang tight!¡±

    Li Qingshan carried her on his back. The situation became even more dangerous.

    Han Qiongzhi laid on his back. Suddenly, she felt a gust of wind from behind, and as he rapidly turned around, three dagger-axes stabbed towards him swiftly.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan snapped the dagger-axes or pulled them out of the hands of the opponent, but their tips had become dyed with red. They had been infused with the power of the entire formation, such that even the Ox Demon Forges its Hide was unable to block it. He was already fortunate it did not penetrate him all the way through.

    Seeing this, the soldiers actually all launched their attacks at Han Qiongzhi, which made Li Qingshan curse inside.

    ¡°Let me down!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart ached. This was her father¡¯s personal army. With just a single order, they would not even show a shred of mercy no matter who the opponent was.

    ¡°Stop moving around!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi struggled around on his back, but Li Qingshan reached back and pulled her in. These people really were out to kill. They did not treat Han Qiongzhi as their young miss at all.

    Han Qiongzhi immediately stopped moving, as whenever she moved, a few more wounds would appear on Li Qingshan. She lay on his back firmly, and the rims of her eyes reddened helplessly. She murmured, ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan held a broken dagger-axe to prop himself up. His true qi was almost completely depleted, and his body was riddled with wounds. However, Han Qiongzhi remained completely unscathed on his back.

    At this moment, a figure rose up, immediately rousing the killing intent of the formation. Dagger-axes and spears shot over from everywhere. Only then did they make out the person to be Han Qiongzhi. As it turned out, after she had recovered sufficient true qi on Li Qingshan¡¯s back, she had immediately flown off to receive the incoming wave of weapons.

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡± Li Qingshan flew up with her, but it was already too late. Just when Han Qiongzhi was about to be pierced by the weapons, Han Tieyi shot over. His spear darted out like a dragon below Han Qiongzhi. With a jerk and a flick, he grabbed her by the shoulder and took her out of the formation.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi extended her hand, but all she saw was a smile of relief on Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    ¡°Withdraw.¡±

    With Han Tieyi¡¯s order, the army immediately withdrew. In the blink of an eye, only Li Qingshan stood there, alone. He saw the gates leading to the inner estate open loudly behind Han Tieyi, so he asked loudly, ¡°So have I passed the test?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve passed my test.¡± Han Tieyi released Han Qiongzhi and made his way to the side of the gate.

    Li Qingshan strode over. The soldiers stood in two rows, allowing him to pass by. Someone called out, ¡°Nice strength, lad!¡± A companion who supported an injured soldier added, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s got some skill!¡±

    Li Qingshan held Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand. The two of them made their way into the inner estate together.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the gift?¡±

    ¡°Can I keep it for myself?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°General, Qiongzhi and I love each other from the bottom of our hearts. I¡¯d like to take her as my wife.¡±

    Han Anjun sat extremely straight in front of the main room of the estate. Li Qingshan made his way over and bowed before he proudly spoke.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face became flushed with joy and embarrassment.

    ¡°No!¡± Han Anjun said firmly, filled with unwaverable determination.

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. They had already done all this, but it was still no?

    ¡°Why? Old man, you better explain yourself!¡± Even Han Qiongzhi could not help herself anymore, going up and pointing at Han Anjun.

    ¡°No reason. No is no. It¡¯s quite late now, so if there¡¯s nothing else, you can go!¡± Han Anjun stood up, turned around, and made his way into the room.

    ¡°Stop right there! We haven¡¯t travelled all the way here to hear your opinion!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi snatched the gift from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and smashed it viciously before Han Anjun. Aggrieved, tears covered her face. Never had she seen such an unreasonable father. She grabbed Li Qingshan hand and rushed out the door, brushing past Han Tieyi.

    Han Tiyi was slightly surprised. Making his way in, all he saw was Han Anjun bending down, picking up the scattered pastries. He asked without even looking up, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°I ordered the troops to withdraw, defying your orders. I¡¯ve specially come for punishment!¡±

    ¡°Even you¡¯re disobeying me.¡± Han Anjun straightened himself out and placed a pastry in his mouth, chewing it slightly before swallowing it. ¡°It¡¯s quite nice. To think that this girl would just throw it away on a whim.¡±

    ¡°Father, why did you refuse them?¡± Han Tieyi lowered his head deeply. He was completely perplexed.

    ¡°So you find me completely unreasonable too? I¡¯m not always right about everything.¡±

    Han Tieyi raised his head in surprise. He struggled to believe that those words had come from his father¡¯s mouth, but all he saw was the corner of Han Anjun¡¯s lips curling into a rare smile.

    ¡°I wholeheartedly want to raise the two of you into capable people. I don¡¯t want to become what holds you back instead. Even with that girl, she seems like she does whatever she wants, but when she¡¯s found herself a man, she still comes earnestly for my approval. Why must she need my approval? Teiyi, you have to understand that before general and soldier, before father and son, we are cultivators.¡±

    Han Tieyi left in thought, while Han Anjun returned to the main room. Cao Gan currently held his zither very gently in there, carefully tuning the strings.

    ¡°General, your son-in-law is far too heavy-handed. He almost broke my zither. Though, his strength really is quite impressive, so why didn¡¯t you recruit him into the Han family? He¡¯ll definitely be of great assistance in the future. Surely your adamant refusal wasn¡¯t just to punish the young miss, right?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t hide anything from you. The kid is anything but mediocre, but he will never yield himself to another. On the path of cultivation, there are only partners of cultivation, not partners of love. Unless they possess the same goal, the same mindset, how can they stand the test of time? Today, they marry because of love. One day, they¡¯ll separate because of love. Their status as husband and wife will only become shackles to one another.¡±

    ¡°Heh, fair enough. When you put two balls of fire together, they seem to blaze fiercely, but it won¡¯t last. In my opinion, it¡¯ll be surprising if they can last another three or five years. The young miss will definitely understand this perspective of yours in the future.¡±

    The two of them left the general¡¯s estate, but they did not return to the Academy of the Hundred Schools. Instead, they arrived in Han Qiongzhi¡¯s courtyard in Clear River city.

    Han Qiongzhi remained silent the entire time. Li Qingshan had no idea on how he should comfort her either. ¡°I think it¡¯s still because my cultivation is insufficient. Let me cultivate a little longer. Once I destroy your father¡¯s personal army, he won¡¯t have anything more to say.¡±

    ¡°Are your wounds fine?¡± Han Qiongzhi finally spoke.

    ¡°They¡¯re nothing!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s body had always been tough. Combined with a few Water Healing techniques, he made a complete recovery.

 Chapter 390 â€“ Entanglemen

    t

    The lotuses bloomed in the pool outside the window. Under the night breeze, the smell of flowers permeated the place.

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. With how determined she was, Han Qiongzhi seemed a little like Han Anjun. She opened her lips and repeated, ¡°Qingshan, let¡¯s get married!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve made up your mind?¡± Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms.

    ¡°Yep!¡± Han Qiongzhi nodded and leaned against his chest, listening to his powerful heartbeat. This was the sound she wanted to listen to for the rest of her life.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just wait a little more? As long as we persevere and your younger brother puts in a few good words, your father will definitely agree to it.¡± Li Qingshan was tempted to take off with her right now, but eloping like this would probably make her fall out with her family completely. This was not what he wished to see.

    ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand my father. Once he has decided on something, nothing can change his mind. Nothing. With what I said to him earlier, he must be furious. He has probably disowned me already, let alone approving of our marriage.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head as he sighed slightly. He never thought something as reasonable as a marriage between a man and a woman would lead to so much trouble.

    ¡°From today onwards, all I can depend on is you. You mustn¡¯t let me down.¡± Han Qiongzhi hugged Li Qingshan firmly. She seemed very delicate. Having left the Han family and defied her father, she had lost everything she once possessed in a single night. A loss like this was unimaginable to a regular person, but she did not regret it. From today onwards, the man in her arms would be her everything.

    ¡°What, young miss Han? Without the support of the Han family, you¡¯ve become a soft little kitty? I really need to give you a proper teasing then.¡± Li Qingshan buried his face in her neck and took in a deep breath of her fragrance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it. Your cultivation is lower than mine right now.¡±

    ¡°Cultivation is nothing. You gotta look at strength. If you just look at cultivation, I don¡¯t even have the right to pursue you right now. How would I have been able to coax young miss Han into eloping with me?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, just you wait until I reach Foundation Establishment. How the hell do you cultivate?¡±

    Their whisperings became drowned out by heavy rain. Dark clouds shrouded the moon and stars, throwing the courtyard into darkness.

    Their voices vanished, and a few red candles lit up, dyeing her bashful face red. ¡°I¡¯m going to go wash up.¡± She broke free from his embrace and turned around lithely. Her hips swayed from side to side as she made her way behind the curtain.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you.¡± Li Qingshan could not help himself but follow her, but Han Qiongzhi raised her hand and stopped him. ¡°No, not today. I beg you.¡±

    After a wait that felt especially long, a hand lifted up the bead curtain, revealing a bright face. Her skin seemed so moisturised, like it had been filled with water. She had changed into a large, red dress. Her long, black hair had not been combed, draping down her shoulders moistly.

    ¡°You made me wait.¡± Li Qingshan lifted her up.

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°There seems to be a lot of steps to marriage.¡±

    ¡°I only remember one.¡±

    ¡°Which one?¡±

    ¡°To the bridal chamber!¡± Li Qingshan sang loudly, directly taking her to her room.

    TL: If you¡¯ve read other Chinese novels with traditional marriages, there are usually three other steps that come before this¡ªbowing to the heavens and earth, bowing to the parents, exchanging bows between bride and groom, and then finally to the bridal chamber.

    ¡°You sex fiend!¡± Han Qiongzhi grumbled in a flirtish manner.

    The sound of rain gradually grew heavier. Through the heavy curtains, soft gasps rang out. Her beautiful body lay on the bed, allowing him to touch her as he wished. She offered up her lips enthusiastically.

    ¡°Qiongzhi.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly stopped and said gently. His eyes shone.

    Han Qiongzhi propped herself up and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. She said gently, ¡°Make love to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed her hips and lowered himself. All he heard was a soft moan, like a long sigh, filled with joy and pain.

    There was silence. Only the sound of rain could be heard in the room, growing louder and louder. A few claps of thunder could be vaguely heard in the distance.

    The lotus flowers swayed in the wind and rain. Translucent droplets of water filled their centres. Enchanting moans vaguely passed through the rain.

    After a stormy night, the droplets of rain rolled around on the lotus pads. They were almost crystalline under the rising sun in the east, shining with seven colours as they fell into the pool.

    Li Qingshan opened the window, stretched, and yawned. Looking back, he saw Han Qiongzhi sleeping heavily. She seemed to sense the sunlight, so she turned onto her side, revealing her beautiful back. There were a few traces of bruises on her snowy buttocks. When Li Qingshan thought of the wildness last night, he smiled. ¡°What great weather!¡±

    Li Qingshan closed the window and returned to bed.

    Han Qiongzhi opened her eyes slightly, and the first thing she saw was Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Her heart was filled with indescribable tenderness and sweetness. She placed her face on his chest lazily. ¡°What time is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already been a while since the sun has risen.¡± Li Qingshan kissed her forehead gently.

    ¡°Oh no, I still have business to handle in the Hawkwolf Guard today.¡± Han Qiongzhi propped herself up, but she felt powerless all over.

    ¡°Just leave it to someone else. You¡¯re in no shape to go out right now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault.¡± Han Qiongzhi felt like her face had been set ablaze. She punched his chest. She was too embarrassed to think of last night. Never did she think there would be a moment when she would be so wild.

    ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s all my fault. Please wait, my wife. I¡¯ll go prepare some food. You should rest up some more!¡±

    This rest lasted for three days. The two of them stuck to each other like glue, refusing to spend even a moment apart. All they could see was each other. They completely forgot about everything else.

    In the Academy of the Hundred Thoughts, the professor had yet to arrive, so there was quite a hubbub in the classroom. A group of young disciples of both genders gathered together, discussing among themselves.

    ¡°Really? I think that¡¯s very impressive of him. What about now?¡±

    ¡°As for now, who knows? It¡¯s already been a few days since anyone has seen the two of them. I heard they eloped.¡±

    ¡°Woah!¡± There were gasps. In particular, the female disciples¡¯ eyes lit up.

    ¡°Look, Zijian. It¡¯s that Li Qingshan again. Hmm? You don¡¯t look so good.¡± Hua Chenglu elbowed Yu Zijian.

    Over two years had passed now. Hua Chenglu¡¯s body had developed, going from a blooming girl to an adolescent maiden in the prime of her beauty. Her eyebrows were curved like the crescent moon, her lips were naturally red, and her skin was snow-white. Her youthful beauty was unmatched.

    Her face that was quite similar to Hua Chengzan¡¯s seemed to demonstrate just how beautiful it would be if Hua Chengzan¡¯s face belonged to a woman. In the academy, she had already gained the title of the greatest beauty. She had countless pursuers. Just by sitting together with Yu Zijian, she attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    Hua Chenglu was not unfamiliar with Li Qingshan¡¯s name, but after two years of no contact, any special impression of him, even if she had one, had already faded with her colourful life. All she could vaguely remember was that he still owed her something, but perhaps he had already forgotten about it!

    ¡°Oh, nothing. The professor is here.¡± Yu Zijian snapped back to her senses and pointed at the podium.

    The classroom immediately quietened down. Hua Chenglu turned around too, paying attention to class.

    Yu Zijian frowned slightly. He shouldn¡¯t be Niu Juxia, right?

    After returning from the Green Vine mountain, Yu Shukuang had stated repeatedly that Li Qingshan had absolutely nothing to do with Niu Juxia, but only now was she willing to believe that. She let out a sigh of relief.

 Chapter 391 â€“ Emerging from Secluded Cultivation

    In the depths of the bamboo forest, Xiao An sat on the step, leaning on her cheek as she waited.

    The sky was covered by an array of stars. He still did not return tonight.

    Because Liu Chuanfeng was in secluded cultivation, and Li Qingshan was regularly out, the two little disciples were with Sun Fubai. Cloudwisp island was truly empty now. All she could hear was the wind rustling through the bamboo forest. Fallen leaves covered the path once more.

    Just as she felt rather depressed, she suddenly heard the sound of steps, trudging through the fallen leaves.

    Xiao An raised her head and saw Li Qingshan¡¯s smiling face as he strode over.

    ¡°Xiao An, why are you¡­ Oh what did I do? I actually forgot to tell you! You¡¯ve waited for quite some time now, haven¡¯t you?¡± Li Qingshan smacked his head and blamed himself.

    Xiao An shook her head. ¡°Not too long.¡±

    Li Qingshan picked her up and placed her on his knee. ¡°How have you been going with forging prayer beads lately? Has One Thought been troubling you? Oh right, I came across something good recently.¡± Before Xiao An could answer him, he took off on a ramble.

    Originally, Xiao An wanted to persuade him to reconsider something, but seeing this, she gave up on it. As long as he was happy.

    At this moment, Han Qiongzhi had returned to the school of Legalism, asking for Wang Pushi to punish her.

    Wang Pushi saw how she was brimming with joy, giving off a sense of femininity. He was unable to blame her. He just said, ¡°That kid has had it easy. Don¡¯t forget to visit the office tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Yes, commander!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi returned to her residence on the island, but she saw a figure pacing around outside. She exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Tieyi!¡± She immediately grew stern. ¡°Did father tell you to come?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Han Tieyi said nothing more, handing a pile of spiritual stones and pills to her.

    ¡°Why¡¯s there so much?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯ve reached the tenth layer.¡± Han Tieyi was expressionless, but when he saw the happiness and joy in the corner of her eyes, he felt happy for her. In order to open the twelve ordinary meridians, her demand for pills would obviously increase.

    ¡°Father, he doesn¡¯t¡­ blame me?¡± Han Qiongzhi widened her eyes in some disbelief.

    Then Han Tieyi repeated Han Anjun¡¯s words to her.

    ¡°What kind of reason is that? Just because of this random reason, he¡¯s preventing his daughter from getting married? That¡¯s far too irresponsible of him! He even has the nerve to call himself what holds me back? That old man is completely overestimated himself! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m you!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said loudly, but she was rather touched inside. No matter what, everything that man had done was for her sake. It also brought her relief and indescribable happiness. No matter how unhappy she said she was with him, her father still bore a hefty weight in her heart.

    Right before he left, Han Tieyi stopped and looked back. He added, ¡°You¡¯re still a person of the Han family. I hope you can place your focus on your cultivation in the future!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to lecture your elder sister. You better just keep an eye on yourself first. You should go!¡± Han Qiongzhi was eager to share this good news with Li Qingshan.

    Han Tieyi could tell from a single glance that she was not listening, so he shook his head slightly. Once love became involved, people seemed to become stupid, just like that friend of his. Normally, he was so clever, but he was obsessed with an unattainable woman, wasting away his time and future.

    After Han Tieyi left, Han Qiongzhi rushed straight to Cloudwisp island. Following a short parting, they immediately saw each other again. Xiao An took her leave on her own accord, and another night of entanglement followed.

    The next day, Wang Pushi¡¯s face was sunken. He had waited in the Hawkwolf Guard for quite a while, but Han Qiongzhi still did not come. He was absolutely furious. He decided to place this debt under Li Qingshan¡¯s name. He completely deserved it.

    In the end, he let out a long sigh. ¡°Women are just unreliable. Little Hua, hurry up and emerge!¡±

    Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, spring was gone and autumn was already here. The endless autumn rain began.

    There was a rumble of thunder in the seclusion dwellings below Contention island. Lightning criss-crossed and flashed, passing through the stone walls and formation that were originally impenetrable, like ghosts of another world.

    Quite a while longer, the door that had remained shut for a very long time opened once more. Hua Chengzan emerged, and there was an additional hint of exceptional confidence on his handsome face. A figure appeared in his brain. At least I have the right to serve as your chess piece now, right?

    ¡°Did I really trouble miss Hua into delivering this in person?¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted an invitation from Hua Chenglu and studied the woman in front of him. Women really did change quickly in physical appearance. When he first saw her, she was just an unpresentable little girl, but she had become a great beauty now.

    ¡°Both of you are good friends of my elder brother. I really must apologise over the fact that my elder brother couldn¡¯t invite you in person,¡± Hua Chenglu replied courteously, giving off the air of a young miss of an influential family.

    ¡°Chenglu, why do I feel like you don¡¯t speak as freely as before?¡± Han Qiongzhi grabbed her hands with a smile and pulled her in, pinching her tender cheeks.

    Han Qiongzhi had always treated Hua Chenglu as her younger sister. The two of them had played together since young. They were on extremely good terms.

    ¡°Stop messing around, elder sister. I¡¯m afraid if I act with too much familiarity, I¡¯ll make you jealous,¡± Hua Chenglu blushed slightly. She glanced at Li Qingshan and giggled.

    Now, everyone in the academy knew about their relationship, but the development in the end took everyone by surprise. They did not end up seeing the elopement from the Han family that they had wanted to see.

    Han Qiongzhi still returned home when she was supposed to. Li Qingshan even continued to visit Great War island for training. He did not seem to have any disagreements with Han Anjun either, this pseudo-father-in-law of his.

    As a result, the rumors and gossip vanished. For cultivators, settling down for life and becoming partners of cultivation had always been commonplace. There was not as much etiquette and courtesy to follow like regular people.

    ¡°You¡¯re nowhere close to being your elder sister¡¯s opponent.¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the invitation away. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll definitely go when the time comes. He¡¯s finally succeeded with Foundation Establishment!¡±

    ¡°My elder brother will definitely become an exceptional cultivator.¡± Hua Chenglu said proudly.

    ¡°Tell me, you were ogling Chenglu earlier, weren¡¯t you?¡± After Hua Chenglu left, Han Qiongzhi wrapped her arm around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck and climbed on top of him, curling her lips and asking loudly.

    ¡°Everyone has an appreciation for beauty. You might be my only woman, but you can¡¯t take my right to admire other women away from me. Heh, weren¡¯t you pretty confident earlier?¡± Li Qingshan shifted his gaze.

    ¡°That¡¯s your problem!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face grew closer.

    ¡°My wife, don¡¯t worry. The little girl has none of your perks. You better deal with my problem first!¡± Li Qingshan picked up Han Qiongzhi with a chuckle and made his way into the house.

    The estate of the Hua family that stood like a city was decorated with lanterns and streamers. A jubilant atmosphere filled the whole place.

    It did not seem like a banquet and was more like a grand ceremony instead.

    To cultivators, nothing was more important or worth celebrating than breaking through, even when compared to marriage, having children, or the four joys of life.

    As a result, the Hua family invited guests from everywhere. It was the time for guests to arrive. Flying avians and soaring ships arrived one after another with cultivators. There were plenty of Foundation Establishment cultivators too.

    Among all of that, a cloud passed through the rain and landed at the entrance.

    The main entrance was open with people flowing in and out. Li Qingshan stepped into the city, and the rain stopped.

    The formation above the city was activated. The rain landed on the invisible, spherical barrier and slid down. Under the illumination of the entire city¡¯s lanterns, it was beautiful.

    Han Qiongzhi pushed aside the servant who had come to lead the way. The servant clearly recognised Han Qiongzhi, so he backed away without even asking to see the invitation.

    With great familiarity, Han Qiongzhi moved through the meandering corridors and arrived before a huge building that stood like a tower in the centre of the city. It was like a glorious, burning tree that reached towards the sky.

    Under the tree of fire, the siblings, Hua Chengzan and Hua Chenglu, personally received guests at the entrance. They were dressed splendidly. Standing under the lustrous lantern light, they seemed like a match made in heaven. All of the guests saw them and gasped in admiration.

    In particular, Hua Chengzan was already quite a rare, handsome man in the world. After establishing a foundation, he only seemed more romantic. The gazes of the female cultivators passing by were almost sucked over to him.

    ¡°Qingshan, Qiongzhi, you¡¯ve come.¡± Hua Chengzan spotted the pair and went up to receive them with a smile. He did not grow arrogant with his increase in cultivation. He was just as gentle and refined as before, which made him seem as pleasant as the spring breeze. His smile had even grown more sincere than before.

    Although it had been quite some time since they had seen him, they did not find him to be foreign at all. Instead, they found him more familiar than ever.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You were in there for so long that I even thought you had died in there!¡± Li Qingshan patted his shoulder with a smile, but Han Qiongzhi smacked him instead. ¡°You better stop with the unlucky words on such a joyous occasion.¡±

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s smiling gaze moved between the two of them. ¡°You really have¡­ When I first heard about it, I leapt in fright. Who was the one who told me there was no point in having a man?¡±

    ¡°I just found him pitiful, that¡¯s all,¡± Han Qiongzhi reddened and tried rebuking him.

    ¡°And who was the one who told me he didn¡¯t know what being deeply in love was?¡±

    Li Qingshan coughed dryly. ¡°I was just playing along back then.¡±

    ¡°So you were always playing along with me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve misheard. I said I was just ignorant because of my age, ignorant because of my age.¡±

    Hua Chengzan laughed aloud and patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Then do you understand me a little now?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°You still haven¡¯t forgotten.¡±

    Hua Chengzan asked, ¡°Have you forgotten?¡±

    ¡°Forgotten what?¡± Hua Chenglu and Han Qiongzhi butted in at the same time. With their sharp instincts as women, they could sense that something was amiss.

    ¡°Difficult to say,¡± Li Qingshan chuckled and exchanged glances with Hua Chengzan. They understood each other. Who would have thought that their friendship originally blossomed because they fancied the same woman?

    ¡°You should go in first. I¡¯ll come and find you later.¡±

    At this moment, more guests arrived, so Hua Chengzan said that before going off to receive them.

    ¡°You better explain yourself. What is it?¡±

    As the two of them entered the building, Han Qiongzhi pestered him. All Li Qingshan could do was change the topic constantly. When he became tired of her questioning, he said, ¡°This is a secret among men. Why¡¯re you trying to get involved as a woman?¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped and looked back. Hua Chengzan¡¯s face shone with happiness as he received and saw off guests. His picturesque appearance was dashing, even enough for the hearts of men to skip a beat. The heavens had endowed him with the beautiful appearance of a matchless romantic, but they just happened to make him fall in love with an unattainable woman at the same time. Were the heavens toying with him?

    Forget? He obviously could not forget. After all, the memory from back then had left such a deep impression, but there was no need for it to linger on his mind constantly. Cherishing the person in front of him was most important, right?

    He smiled as he tried to coax the unhappy Han Qiongzhi. He simply could not understand the thoughts of someone infatuated!

    At this moment, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance. His face was bleak as his green clothes drifted about.

 Chapter 392 â€“ Conflict Arises

    Fu Qingjin arrived alone in his old, shabby green clothes. He seemed like a depressed swordsman, but he attracted everyone¡¯s gazes. Even tonight¡¯s main star, Hua Chengzan, was unable to steal his glory.

    Compared to the Sword Collection palace, the Hua family was more like a local landlord. Although they were known as the greatest clan in the Clear River prefecture, there were a total of eighty-one prefectures in the Green province, but only a single Sword Collection palace.

    ¡°That¡¯s Fu Qingjin of the Sword Collection palace. The sword he wields is one of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace, the Green Ruins sword. He¡¯s a very powerful figure!¡± Han Qiongzhi introduced softly.

    ¡°Really? He just seems like an early Foundation Establishment cultivator to me, just like little Hua.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him. His Green Ruins sword is an extremely powerful arcane treasure. It¡¯s said to possess the wills of past masters of the Sword Collection palace. Not only does he possess startling power, but his cultivation advances with amazing speed too. He¡¯ll definitely become a prominent figure who can move freely through the Green province.¡± Han Qiongzhi introduced him seriously to Li Qingshan so that he would be on guard without looking down on him.

    However, all she saw was a confident smile unfurling on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your man definitely won¡¯t be any worse than him in the future.¡±

    ¡°How shameless.¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re just ignorant. He¡¯s the liaison of the Daemon Suppression alliance. Several dozen sects of various sizes in the Green province have already joined the Daemon Suppression alliance, all following his arrangements. With your cultivation, you don¡¯t even have the right to carry his shoes for him!¡±

    Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice. Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi turned around in surprise and saw Wang Pushi standing there.

    ¡°Commander, aren¡¯t you going a little too far by saying something like that? Hey, you¡¯re dressed pretty sharply today!¡± Li Qingshan saw Wang Pushi in a set of brand new clothes, having cleaned himself up meticulously. He was flashy.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said you¡¯ll have quite the accomplishment before.¡± Fu Qingjin studied Hua Chengzan.

    ¡°Then thank you for your auspicious words.¡± Hua Chengzan was polite but distant. Both of them might have been Foundation Establishment cultivators, but a huge difference still existed between both their strength and future accomplishments.

    ¡°Fellow Fu, you¡¯ve come in person! It really is an honour for my humble abode!¡±

    Even though they were not members of the Daemon Suppression alliance, they still had to greet him. In this region, Fu Qingjin had already become a person of great influence. He could determine the fate of a sect with a flick of his hand.

    ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t that sect master Xiao of the Vermillion Clothes sect?¡± ¡°And the Rose Cloud elders of Rose Cloud valley.¡±

    The Qi Practitioners all cried out with the sudden appearance of so many Foundation Establishment cultivators and began discussing among themselves. Fu Qingjin seemed to be surrounded by a dazzling halo, while Hua Chengzan had instead become someone less important.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Commander, if he¡¯s so powerful, why aren¡¯t you welcoming him?¡±

    ¡°Welcome your head. The Daemon Suppression alliance is the Daemon Suppression alliance. The Hawkwolf Guard is the Hawkwolf Guard!¡± Wang Pushi shot a furious glance at him before turning around and storming off. He stood out very much among the group of onlookers. They all parted to form a path for him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with old Wang today? Why¡¯s he so irritable?¡± Li Qingshan asked in confusion.

    ¡°You never pay any attention to matters of the Hawkwolf Guard, which is why you don¡¯t know. There¡¯s been a case recently that has to do with the Vermillion Clothes sect.¡±

    The first time the disciples of the Vermillion Clothes sect left their sect, they would have to complete a trial mission known as ¡°Dyeing their Clothes Vermillion with Blood¡±. They had to kill a hundred people with their own hands.

    It sounded like a bloody mission, but there was nothing wrong with it, as it was about upholding justice. Across the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture, there were countless bandits and thugs. They would basically never be in the wrong if they found any random sect of the jianghu and slaughtered the whole place.

    But recently, there was a disciple of the Vermillion Clothes sect who had once served as a horsekeeper in a wealthy family during his childhood and suffered much abuse. As a result, he used this mission to return and slaughter the entire clan, but even when he included the women, the children, and the servants, they only amounted to seventy-one. Carried away by his killing, he slaughtered another thirty or so neighbours in the region, filling his quota of a hundred people.

    He alarmed the Hawkwolf Guard in the city, which sent Black Wolf guards to arrest him. However, never did they expect the disciple to possess an extremely powerful cultivation. He killed another two Black Wolf guards before fleeing back to the sect.

    He had basically committed the greatest taboo possible to the Hawkwolf Guard. Wang Pushi personally visited the Vermillion Clothes sect to ask them to hand him over. In the past, there was not a single sect bold enough to oppose the Hawkwolf Guard. As a result, handing over the suspect had always been their only option.

    However, the Vermillion Clothes sect had joined the Daemon Suppression alliance. They had several dozen sects watching their backs. Coupled with support from the Sword Collection sect from behind, they no longer took a Scarlet Hawk commander like Wang Pushi seriously. The sect master denied he was a member of the Vermillion Clothes sect and told Wang Pushi to look elsewhere.

    From Fu Qingjin¡¯s side, the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect stared at Wang Pushi¡¯s figure in the distance, and his lips curled into a sneer. The Hawkwolf Guard thought they were still riding around on a high horse like before, but they had misunderstood the situation. The other sect masters and elders were all complacent too.

    Cultivators would always want to follow their hearts and do whatever they wanted, but they were constantly shackled down by the Hawkwolf Guard. It had been far too dissatisfying. Now, they could finally hold their heads high.

    Everyone returned upstairs while remaining clustered around Fu Qingjin. Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s not just that. All the cases have been rather difficult lately. As long as they have to do with sects, none of them have come to a definite end. You really can¡¯t blame the commander for being so irritable.¡± She looked around before communicating to Li Qingshan secretly, ¡°Now that little Hua has emerged from secluded cultivation, there might be a large operation soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. The war between daemons and humans had yet to erupt, but the battle on the surface had already begun. The surface probably would not be peaceful anymore.

    The water surface that had remained still for thousands of years began to ripple. The conflict between humans and daemons was just the largest vortex among them, but it had produced countless more vortices as a byproduct, all with hidden undercurrents. Any single vortex could swallow up many lives.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll protect you as your elder sister.¡± Han Qiongzhi could sense Li Qingshan grow nervous, so she rubbed his head with a smile.

    The two of them teased each other, but Han Qiongzhi was wrong about one thing. Li Qingshan was not nervous because he was afraid, but because he was excited.

    He did not dislike a life of peace, but he would much rather treat the world as a wonderland of adventures.

    ¡°Have all the guests arrived?¡± Hua Chengzan asked his sister.

    ¡°There are still a few missing, but they¡¯re probably not coming. It¡¯s about time too, so let¡¯s go in!¡± Hua Chenglu checked the guest list.

    Hua Chengzan raised his head and saw a huge ship cut through the clouds, descending from the sky. When he made out the symbol on the ship, his eyes lit up, and he ordered in a hurry, ¡°Activate the formations!¡±

    ¡°Qiongzhi, look who¡¯s come.¡± Hua Chengzan brought over a short, unattractive young man. He was dressed like a scholar, but he gave off no sense of grace at all. As he stood beside Hua Chengzan, he immediately made Li Qingshan think about Wu Dalang and Ximen Qing.

    However, no one dared to look down on this ¡°Wu Dalang¡±, as he had already reached Foundation Establishment.

 Chapter 393 â€“ Before the Storm

    Jiang Shancheng chuckled, but he was unable to hide his haughtiness. Among his friends, his background had been the worst. His talent had not been spectacular either, but he happened to make it into the Pine Sough academy and reach Foundation Establishment first. He had specially borrowed this Soaring Dragon ship from his master for his return this time. Now that he saw his old friends again, it was time for him to show off.

    Just Hua Chenglu¡¯s stunned expression at the entrance had brought him great joy. This little girl had actually become so beautiful since he saw her a few years ago. When he saw Han Qiongzhi again, his eyes even lit up. No different from before, she stood gracefully and confidently, except her slight masculinity of the past had been replaced by the charm of a mature woman.

    ¡°Little Hua has established a foundation, so of course I have to come back and take a look. Where¡¯s Tieyi?¡± Jiang Shancheng¡¯s thoughts returned to the past. Back then, he would often be looked down upon when he played around with his friends. Only the three of them never despised him. She had even shown him great encouragement.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°You know, Tieyi hates something like this the most.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Jiang Shancheng shifted his gaze and saw Li Qingshan standing together with Han Qiongzhi. He seemed very close with her, so he frowned.

    ¡°This is Li Qingshan, the primary disciple of the school of Novels and Qiongzhi¡¯s man.¡± Hua Chengzan introduced him with a smile.

    ¡°What?¡± Jiang Shancheng saw Han Qiongzhi redden slightly, but she did not object. His heart sank. ¡°Qiongzhi, y- you¡¯re already married? Why didn¡¯t you let me know?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s not just you. She didn¡¯t let any of us know.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡±

    ¡°Big brother Mountain Boar, you don¡¯t know, but¡­¡± Hua Chenglu giggled as she told him the whole story. Where¡¯s your haughtiness now, you big mountain boar? You¡¯re just a Foundation Establishment cultivator, that¡¯s all. You¡¯re nowhere close to stealing big sister Han¡¯s heart.

    ¡°Mountain Boar¡± was Jiang Shancheng¡¯s nickname in the past. Hua Chenglu had always despised Jiang Shancheng in the past. She found him to be jittery and constantly sunken-faced, and now, he acted haughtily like this. Hua Chengzan might have been able to ignore it, but she was unable to accept it. If it weren¡¯t for you filling the spot in my brother¡¯s place, would you still have been able to join the Pine Sough academy?

    ¡°Y- you¡¯ve already!¡±

    Even with Jiang Shancheng¡¯s cultivation that had reached a point where he could control his vitality, his face still became flushed in an instant. It was like he had been struck by a bolt from the blue, feeling complete disbelief. Originally, he wanted to return home with his successes and fulfill his dream of strutting around proudly, but his past dream lover had already become someone else¡¯s woman.

    Li Qingshan remained silent with a smile. He could tell with a single glance what Jiang Shancheng was thinking. Kid, you¡¯re too late. I might not be a Ximen Qing, but with my stature, I¡¯m a Wu Erlang at the very least. I¡¯m way better than you. He clasped his hands.

    TL: Wu Dalang¡¯s younger brother is Wu Erlang, or more commonly known as Wu Song. He¡¯s known for killing a tiger with his bare hands, so in other words, he is known for his strength. You should be able to see the comparison to Li Qingshan here.

    ¡°Greetings to fellow Jiang. I¡¯ll definitely have uncle Han approve of this marriage and hold a grand wedding with Qiongzhi. I¡¯ll definitely let everyone know by then. I do hope you can attend when it happens.¡±

    ¡°Qiongzhi, isn¡¯t your judgement lacking a little? This guy¡¯s cultivation is so low. It¡¯s no surprise that uncle Han wouldn¡¯t approve of the marriage. What school is he the primary disciple of again? The school of Novels? I¡¯ve never heard of it! It sounds like any random person could join them and become their primary disciple!¡±

    Jiang Shancheng¡¯s expression became even uglier. He was just a measly eighth layer Qi Practitioner, and he was speaking to him in such a manner. Do you really think you¡¯re on equal footing with me just because you¡¯re on good terms with Qiongzhi? In particular, Jiang Shancheng found his aura like he had defeated him or something to be even more irritable. I could kill ten people like you with a flick of my hand.

    ¡°Jiang Shancheng, what¡¯re you blabbering about?¡± Before Li Qingshan could say anything, Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face changed, and she barked, ¡°I don¡¯t need you commenting about who I like! Qingshan, let¡¯s go!¡± She pulled Li Qingshan with her and travelled away, but Li Qingshan refused to budge. She became worried. He was not a man who would let others make fun of him.

    Li Qingshan snickered as he said, ¡°Any random person could, just not a mountain boar. You better go back and check yourself in the mirror. You¡¯ve destroyed my appetite just by standing there!¡±

    Jiang Shancheng was furious. Li Qingshan¡¯s face merged with the countless mocking faces in his head. He was about to attack him, but Hua Chengzan stopped him and pulled him upstairs.

    ¡°Chengzan, let go of me!¡± ¡°Today is my celebration, so just do it for my sake. If you hurt him, Qiongzhi really will resent you.¡±

    Jiang Shancheng shot Li Qingshan a vicious glance as his killing intent bubbled. If he had the chance, he would definitely make this kid suffer a horrible death. Li Qingshan seemed to recover his silent smile too. There¡¯s no need for me to stoop to the level of a person with one foot in the grave.

    Han Qiongzhi was irritated. ¡°Will you die if you held that in?¡±

    ¡°I will.¡±

    ¡°Can you be a little more mature?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. I¡¯m an eighteen year old boy. I¡¯m in the prime of my youth and immaturity.

    ¡°Were you jealous?¡± Han Qiongzhi rebutted and studied his expression in interest.

    ¡°Hah, just from that mountain boar?¡± Li Qingshan said disdainfully.

    ¡°He¡¯s still my friend. Can¡¯t you be a little more polite to him? He hates it when others call him that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I called him that first. Nobody would want to be friends with him!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re calling me a nobody? You really are jealous. Whatever, I can understand, you stingy man.¡±

    ¡°If I found another woman to call you ugly and to label you as unworthy of me, you wouldn¡¯t be happy either!¡±

    ¡°Can you find one?¡± Han Qiongzhi said disdainfully.

    ¡°Chenglu, it¡¯ll all be up to you now.¡±

    Hua Chenglu had been following the two of them. She happened to be amused by their bickering when she was caught off-guard by Li Qingshan turning around and giving her a glance that seemed to say, ¡°I¡¯ll leave this heavy responsibility to you¡±.

    ¡°I would never.¡± Hua Chenglu stuck out her tongue. She was simply adorable.

    ¡°I watched you grow up for heaven¡¯s sake, and you can¡¯t even help me out with this. I think you still owe me something.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Who did you watch grow up? You clearly owe me!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, look at how confused I¡¯ve become with how your big sister Han has angered me. So what do you want, little sister? Just mention it to your elder brother!¡±

    ¡°What elder brother? Don¡¯t you feel any shame at all? Oh right, were you serious with what you said earlier?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The wedding.¡±

    Happiness flowed through Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes. As it turned out, he had been constantly thinking about this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve become confused from anger. I can¡¯t remember it anymore.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Han Qiongzhi shot a glance at him.

    Li Qingshan chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ve remembered it again, thanks to your reminder. A true man is a man of his word!¡±

    As he said that, the banquet began. Delicacies and delicious food flowed out like water as songs and performances began. There were too many things for him to admire.

    A cultivators¡¯ banquet was actually less restrictive compared to those of regular people. It was more like a gathering than a banquet. The people acquainted with one another huddled together, talking and laughing with each other.

    Han Qiongzhi happened to be talking with a group of disciples from the school of Legalism, and Li Qingshan was bored. Suddenly, he noticed a lot of people gathered in a corner, but they were silent, so he went over to take a look. Chu Danqing was painting portraits of people. Just when he finished a painting, he felt someone pat him on the shoulder, so he turned around. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    ¡°Come. Let¡¯s go drink!¡±

    Chu Danqing actually accepted his offer. He apologised to everyone around him before arriving beside Li Qingshan. Only then did he let out a sigh. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    He was accidentally recognised by someone, so they asked him to paint a portrait of them. As a result, portrait after portrait followed in an unceasing fashion. With those female cultivators in particular, he had no idea how to turn down their soft-voiced pleadings.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. Let¡¯s drink!¡± Li Qingshan shoved a cup of alcohol into his hands.

    ¡°Spare me!¡± Chu Danqing was pained. If he acted up out of drunkenness in front of so many people and embarrassed himself, he would even consider suicide.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you act up, I¡¯ll knock you out.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud.

    ¡°Count me in too.¡± Juechenzi walked over with a smile. Beside him was a beautiful woman with quite the bearing, also at the tenth layer. She was the primary disciple of the school of Music, Qin Yin. She smiled. ¡°Junior sister Xiao An is not here?¡±

    Afterwards, the primary disciples of the schools of Mohism and Agriculture made their way over. Before long, all the primary disciples were present apart from the ones not attending the banquet. They got along as they toasted to one another constantly. No matter how distant they were with one another usually, they still referred to each other as juniors or seniors right now, which made them seem very close with each other.

    Juechenzi proposed a toast. ¡°A toast to everyone! We, the hundred schools, are of the same breath and branch! We really should spend more time together!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. As it seemed, everyone could sense it already. They had begun to move.

    If the Academy of the Hundred Schools was treated as a sect, then it would be the largest, most influential sect with the most resources in the entire Clear River prefecture, while they, the primary disciples, would be the elite disciples of the sect.

    With the various sects banding together, the Hawkwolf Guard was not the only one being provoked. The Academy of the Hundred School¡¯s dominant status was being provoked too, as well as everyone¡¯s interests. Before they knew it, the scattered people of the academy had begun to rally together.

    ¡°How lively. What¡¯re you talking about?¡± Han Qiongzhi arrived behind Li Qingshan and placed her hand on his shoulder with a smile.

    Now that Hua Chengzan had reached Foundation Establishment, she would be the next primary disciple of the school of Legalism if nothing went wrong, so she obviously had the right to stand among them. The other disciples of legalism knew they had no right to approach this group.

    Wu Gen gazed at Li Qingshan from afar. His feelings were very mixed. No one had ever imagined that this unlucky disciple of the school of Novels would be able to sit there peacefully. He possessed the lowest cultivation among them, only at the eighth layer, but he had proven his talent and strength countless times already. No one dared to look down on him.

    Hua Chenglu secretly made up her mind that even if she did not possess her elder brother¡¯s talent, she would definitely be able to stand among them as long as she worked hard on cultivation.

    Qian Rongzhi puckered her lips. Opportunities seemed to be multiplying!

    Similar to that, the first senior brothers and sister of a few sects gathered together before they even knew it in another corner of the hall. They all talked and laughed together while glancing over coldly.

    People seemed to move around in a disorderly manner in the hall, but there was a distinct separation between disciples of the academy and disciples of sects.

    It was much more quiet upstairs. Foundation Establishment cultivators conversed among themselves softly. After their gestures of courtesy at the very beginning, they too had split into three factions unknowingly. One belonged to the various sects, while another belonged to the various school leaders.

    The last faction was composed of sects that had yet to join the Daemon Suppression alliance and clans currently waiting and observing. The Hua family happened to stand out among them. Although Hua Chengzan was a member of the Hawkwolf Guard, the Hua family had numerous connections with various sects. However, the patriarch of the Hua family did not simply stand around. Instead, he moved his way through the groups, remaining on friendly terms with both sides.

    ¡°Sect master Qiu.¡± Hua Chengzan continued to greet people until a person arrived before him and lowered her head slightly.

    Standing before him was the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, Qiu Haitang. Tonight, she wore a faint, pink palace dress with a golden tulle on top, outlining her exaggeratingly enchanting figure. She had styled up most of her hair in a simple manner with the rest draping down her neck. There was a tiny ruby near her forehead, which complemented her perfectly.

    There was a golden phoenix hairpin on her head. As she walked over gently, it jingled softly, which added to her charm. It made her seem as natural, graceful, and poised as a peony that had just bloomed.

    Ever since Hua Chengzan had come upstairs, Qiu Haitang had not shifted her gaze from him, not even once. This situation now was exactly what she had been waiting for all this time, but how he referred to her displeased her.

    ¡°Big sister Qiu.¡±

    Qiu Haitang beamed, but she saw a short, young man huddle over. His eyes contained undisguised lust and greed, which was all too common to her. She was slightly taken aback, and then she said indifferently, ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t this Shancheng?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s me. I¡¯ve just returned from the Pine Sough academy,¡± Jiang Shancheng said in a hurry. Han Qiongzhi did treat him well, but the person who interested him the most was still the mature and charming Qiu Haitang.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to talk to little Hua about.¡± Qiu Haitang withdrew her gaze and stared at Hua Chengzan fixedly.

    Jiang Shancheng felt like he had just been snubbed. He came up with another idea and returned downstairs, arriving before Han Qiongzhi. ¡°Qiongzhi, there¡¯s something I want to talk to you about.¡±

    Everyone stopped talking and looked at Han Qiongzhi. Han Qiongzhi glanced at Li Qingshan helplessly, who nodded with a smile.

    ¡°If you want to speak ill of him, then save it. If you want to keep going, you can forget that we¡¯re friends,¡± Han Qiongzhi cut right to the chase.

    ¡°How many years have we been friends? You¡¯re treating me like this just because of an outsider? If this continues, you¡¯ll suffer. I can propose marriage to uncle Han. He¡¯ll definitely approve of it.¡±

    ¡°You better just stick with being a friend!¡± Only now did Han Qiongzhi understand what he wanted. She shook her head with a smile and patted his shoulder before returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s side.

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡±

    Jiang Chengshan felt extremely vexed. He felt like he had completely failed to achieve his purpose after returning. He utterly resented Li Qingshan. He was a mighty Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he had actually been humiliated like this by a Qi Practitioner. He swore on his humanity to get revenge.

    Returning upstairs, he ran into Qiu Haitang. She was gloomy, and the rims of her eyes were red.

    ¡°Shancheng, I want to go back. Accompany me!¡±

    ¡°Ahh- okay!¡± Jiang Shancheng was overjoyed. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, why would she need anyone to accompany her? This was clearly some kind of signal.

    Hua Chengzan extended his hand, but his lips faltered. He did not say anything in the end.

    Qiu Haitang waited for a while before smiling miserably and taking off first.

    Jiang Shancheng wriggled his eyebrows at Hua Chengzan. Chengzan, if you don¡¯t want her, then don¡¯t blame me for swooping in.

    Li Qingshan gazed outside through a window and saw the Soaring Dragon ship rising up into the air. The cup of alcohol in his hand shuddered.

    As the water rippled, something seemed to surge within the dark waters of the boundless Lake of Snakes and Dragons. A figure burst out of the water, passing through the rain and unfurling a pair of wings of wind. Then, it took off into the sky.

    In the blink of an eye, it pierced the clouds. The many stars twinkled before him, while the moon was curved like a sickle. After flying for a while, he spotted a huge, dragon-like ship several hundred meters long sailing through the sea of clouds. It was just like the dragons and whales of legends that drifted through the ocean.

    Li Qingshan pulled back his wings and erupted with a wave of air. He shot off right towards the Soaring Dragon ship. He landed on the large, empty deck and pushed open the cabin door.

 Chapter 394 â€“ Reduced to a Pulp

    Li Qingshan stood on the soft carpet and raised an eyebrow. All he heard were the sounds of turning gears behind the walls on the two sides of the corridor.

    Delicate patterns on the luxurious carpet lit up and climbed out from the floor like vines, wrapping around Li Qingshan.

    The walls to his side flipped open. Countless specks of cold light twinkled behind them as densely-packed spears stabbed out suddenly.

    With a series of clicks, mechanical crossbows dropped down from above. Volleys of crossbow bolts engulfed him like a lotus swarm.

    The quiet corridor immediately became filled with deadly traps, enough to kill anyone who set foot in there.

    ¡°Looks like the assassination has failed.¡± Li Qingshan let out a long sigh. He knew the ship would not be so simple.

    ¡°Haitang, have some alcohol and calm down. Chengzan just knows no better.¡±

    Jiang Shancheng passed a cup of alcohol to Qiu Haitang. They were in an extremely extravagant cabin. He had studied her charming body countless times already from the corner of his eye, and he stared straight at Qiu Haitang¡¯s face that was as beautiful as a flower.

    Qiu Haitang found his fake pity and undisguised desires absolutely disgusting, but she still accepted the alcohol and drank it all.

    Jiang Shancheng was overjoyed. He passed alcohol to her cup after cup, and Qiu Haitang drank it all, without the slightest hesitation. For the entire time, only he was talking. Qiu Haitang remained silent.

    Before long, Qiu Haitang was completely flushed. Her eyes were as limpid as water as her gaze drifted about. She was breathtakingly gorgeous. There might have been sorrow in her eyes, but with the arts of charm she had cultivated arduously over all these years, every single smile or action from her was filled with unparalleled charm. Jiang Shancheng almost became dazed as a result.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s smile blossomed like a flower, and a voice emerged from the centre of the petals, ¡°Am I pretty?¡±

    ¡°Y- you are! You¡¯re extremely pretty!¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled wildly.

    ¡°Haiting, you¡¯re drunk. I¡¯ll take you to go rest.¡± Jiang Shancheng was unable to help himself anymore. He grabbed Qiu Haitang¡¯s fair hand, and she did not reject him. He was enchanted. ¡°Sigh, there are plenty of good men in the world, so why must you become so hung up over a single man, Haitang? Actually, I¡­¡±

    When he reached there, Jiang Shancheng¡¯s expression changed, and he fished out an item, a delicate ship¡¯s wheel the size of a hand. It was flashing with light.

    ¡°Someone has broken in. I¡¯d like to see just who has the audacity. I¡¯ll definitely make him suffer.¡±

    Having been interrupted, Jiang Shancheng was furious. This was his only opportunity. Qiu Haitang was depressed right now, or why would she ever take him seriously?

    Jiang Shancheng became even more uneasy. He too was afraid Hua Chengzan had come in pursuit. Oh Chengzan, we¡¯re friends, so why must you get in my way?

    Strands of light emerged from the ship¡¯s wheel, knitting into a screen in the air. He could see the situation in every compartment of the cabin.

    In the end, his gaze locked onto the entrance of the cabin, on the scarlet-red figure.

    Qiu Haitang was very disappointed, while Jiang Shancheng eased up. Everyone could be dealt with easily as long as it was not Hua Chengzan.

    The Soaring Dragon ship did possess defensive formations, but flying through the air already consumed tremendous amounts of energy, so activating the formations would only waste even more. There were two Foundation Establishment cultivators present, so just who were they supposed to be afraid of? The enemy would probably piss their pants at the sight of their Pine Sough academy¡¯s insignia!

    Jiang Shancheng activated the defensive mechanism in the cabin and did not worry too much about the intruder. As he watched the scarlet figure being enveloped by crossbow bolts, he smiled proudly. The mechanical traps inside the Soaring Dragon ship were all the handiwork of mohist masters. They possessed startling power. Even if the intruder was made of steel, he would still become peppered with holes.

    Within the deathly silence, sounds of distortion like creaks and cracks rang out.

    Boom!

    The spears snapped, and the bolts were sent flying. Li Qingshan was completely unscathed. With the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell around him, he tried to advance, but he discovered the patterns on the carpet still trapped him. He frowned, and the carpet was ripped to pieces.

    His hands landed on the side of his legs, and he discovered that they were bare. He was naked. As a result, he plucked off a strand of red hair and transformed it into a pair of pants, shoving his hands into the pockets in satisfaction as he ventured deeper into the cabin.

    ¡°W- what¡¯s going on?¡± Jiang Shancheng¡¯s expression changed drastically. A terrifying sense of danger filled his mind. The figure was somewhat familiar.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t recognised him?¡± Qiu Haitang let out a drunken sneer. Following her disappointment, her heart became even colder.

    Jiang Shancheng suddenly recalled a huge matter from a while ago that had caused a disturbance so large that it still lingered about. He had once seen a painting, which depicted the terrifying daemon who killed the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder while frightening the Green Vine Elder to the point where he was afraid of leaving his sect.

    He shifted his gaze to the screens projected from the ship¡¯s wheel. It was him! Jiang Shancheng paled in fright as the wheel in his hand shone brightly. He gave an order to the Soaring Dragon ship,

    ¡°Activate all mechanisms and send out all puppets!¡±

    The Soaring Dragon ship shuddered slightly, and the noise from the activation of countless mechanisms merged together like thunder. It was like a roar of dragons.

    Li Qingshan arrived in a larger compartment. An army of puppets waited there as specks of light shone in their eyes. They turned around and looked at Li Qingshan.

    Crossbow bolts erupted like a barrage of black rain. Li Qingshan flapped his wings of wind and scattered the storm.

    He wrinkled his nose, and the corner of his mouth curled up. Mountain boar, I¡¯ve found you!

    The Soaring Dragon ship was made of some unknown timber. Not only was it extremely tough, but it limited the sensing of aura very much. However, his sense of smell was unaffected. He had already grasped the trail of the scent.

    It was an exotic fragrance that lingered about. Li Qingshan took off with a flash, charging along the scent.

    ¡°This mountain boar Jiang sure is a deviant. He even uses perfume!¡±

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The doors in the cabin slammed shut before him. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Li Qingshan smashed through all of them.

    Behind him, groups of puppets tailed him relentlessly. Ahead, various traps erupted constantly.

    Sometimes, the flooring would suddenly cave in and spit fire; sometimes, the walls would suddenly close together and spray acid like the writhing guts of a monster. It was all a desperate attempt to kill this intruder.

    However, Li Qingshan happened to be a foreign entity it could not digest.

    ¡°What do we do?! Sister Qiu, what do we do?!¡±

    The ship¡¯s wheel depicted everything. Jiang Shancheng saw Li Qingshan rush over with lightning speed, and he began to sweat bullets. Surprisingly, he still knew a bit about his own weaknesses. He was only an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. He had already gotten lucky to be able to establish a foundation at all, yet his opponent was a great, renowned daemon who had killed two mid Foundation Establishment cultivators and almost taken the late Foundation Establishment Green Vine Elder¡¯s life in a one-against-three battle.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Qiu Haitang knew she was probably done for tonight, but she remained calm instead. If I die here, I¡¯ll have that fickle man regret for the rest of his life.

    ¡°Oh right, use your arts of charm! They might be effective!¡± Jiang Shancheng pulled out a stack of talismans in a hurry and stuck them on the door.

    ¡°I¡¯m supposed to use my arts of charm to draw his attention so that you can use the opening and escape, right?¡±

    Qiu Haitang spoke his mind in a single comment, which made Jiang Shancheng feel rather awkward. He was just about to try and convince her otherwise.

    Boom! The heavy cabin door suddenly caved in, and wooden shrapnel sprayed everywhere. The inscriptions on the door twisted, yielding before the terrifying strength.

    ¡°Is anyone home?¡± Li Qingshan asked before throwing another punch. The cabin door became riddled with cracks.

    ¡°If someone is home, can you open up please?¡±

    Boom! The door was closed to shattering and giving in.

    The voice from behind the door was ghastly and demented, which made Jiang Shancheng¡¯s heart turn cold. Without the slightest hesitation, he left behind Qiu Haitang behind and fled using the secret tunnel in the corner of the room.

    Boom! The door shattered, and fragments of it sailed across the room.

    An insolent daemon with scarlet hair up to his waist appeared at the door. When Qiu Haitang saw him, her pupils constricted from the powerful pressure despite already accepting death.

    Why¡¯s Qiu Haitang on this ship? Li Qingshan finally understood the origin of the exotic fragrance, but he moved without the slightest hesitation. With a flash, he arrived before Qiu Haitang and grabbed her slender, pale neck.

    ¡°Is it just you?¡±

    Qiu Haitang stared at his face silently.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll kill you?¡± Li Qingshan was rather curious over the fact that Qiu Haitang put up no resistance at all. She did not even use the arts of charm she was best at.

    Qiu Haitang sneered miserably.

    Her expression gave Li Qingshan the unfortunate feeling that she was not just depressed. Instead, she had already lost the will to live, so he immediately guessed the reason for it. As long as Hua Chengzan remained infatuated, it would remain completely one-sided. Even Qiu Haitang¡¯s greatest efforts would be rebuffed heartlessly.

    Li Qingshan tossed her aside, and she collided against the wall heavily. He wrinkled his nose again and kicked open a trapdoor, jumping into it in pursuit.

    The trapdoor closed behind him. Seeing how Qiu Haitang had no intentions of pursuing him, Jiang Shancheng let out a sigh of relief. As long as she kept him busy for long enough, he would be able to make it out of the cabin. He glanced at the tiny ship¡¯s wheel in his hand. Perhaps, there was even the chance for him to turn the situation around.

    The Soaring Dragon ship sailed ahead over the sea of clouds under the moon.

    To a corner on the ship¡¯s stern, a tiny door was suddenly flung open. Jiang Shancheng extended his head out from there and saw the sea of clouds recede around him. With a clang, a supreme grade spiritual sword flew out. He stepped on it and took off.

    Glancing at the ship¡¯s wheel in his hand, he hesitated. There was a chance for him to turn the situation around, but it was simply too dangerous. So be it. The consequences of losing a Soaring Dragon ship were severe, but as long as he remained alive, there would be plenty of opportunities for him to redeem himself. If he could survive this, his future prospects would remain as bright as ever. There was no need for him to risk his life over a wretched daemon. He was just about to take off.

    Jiang Shancheng sensed something and suddenly looked back. Two bloody specks of light lit up in the gloomy door. That was bad news!

    ¡°A Strike of Righteousness!¡±

    Li Qingshan lunged over, and Jiang Shancheng formed a seal with his hand. The supreme grade spiritual sword turned into a streak of snow-white light.

    Human cultivators did not possess bodies as tough as those of daemons, but they could control swords from afar to kill their opponents; these swords were startlingly fast and deadly. In a real battle, not even regular Daemon Generals could necessarily triumph over him.

    But was Li Qingshan a regular Daemon General?

    With a flap of his wings, he suddenly turned, and the edge of the streak of light brushed past the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, erupting with light and illuminating Li Qingshan¡¯s smile. Avoiding the sword qi, he shot over without slowing down at all, extending his right hand towards Jiang Shancheng.

    Jiang Shancheng retreated in a hurry and took out a scarlet talisman. This was the life-saving talisman the Pine Sough academy would give to their Foundation Establishment disciples, and it possessed alarming power. However, before he could use it, darkness enveloped him and shrouded the moon and stars.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand turned into a huge, pitch-black claw, grabbing Jiang Shancheng. He quickly closed his hand and heard the joyful sounds of cracking bones, which made him snicker. After learning his lesson with the Green Vine Elder, he knew it was very important for him to reduce his enemies to pulp.

 Chapter 395 â€“ Sailing Through the Wind to Destroy Green Vine One

    The sky loomed overhead, and the sea of clouds surged. Both of them extended as far as the eye could see. All was silent. Even the Soaring Dragon ship had stopped, as if it was quietly spectating the outcome of their battle.

    There was a flash of fire, followed by a great rumble.

    Li Qingshan felt scorching heat in the centre of his hand. Fire erupted between his fingers.

    Jiang Shancheng knew he would die, so he actually activated the scarlet talisman regardless of the consequences.

    The peaceful air was blown apart viciously, whistling and surging violently. The sea of clouds were pushed apart, creating a large hole.

    Li Qingshan collided against the Soaring Dragon ship as he felt intense pain. His right hand had already become charred, while the huge Soaring Dragon ship shook.

    Jiang Shancheng turned into white light and took off into the distance.

    Li Qingshan shook his right hand, shaking off the ash and exposing his skin. With his recovery ability, a wound like this was nothing, but it did deplete a lot of daemon qi.

    He thought, I really can¡¯t underestimate any Foundation Establishment cultivator. If I¡¯m too careless, I might end up screwing up such a simple task. If that scarlet talisman had been a little closer, he probably would lose his clone from exhausting too much daemon qi even with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings in pursuit. In just a few seconds, he arrived behind Jiang Shancheng.

    Jiang Shancheng was charred. Although he was the one who had activated the talisman, it was not his own power, so he too was heavily injured due to the close proximity. He was unable to put up any resistance anymore, but he roared viciously, ¡°You wretched daemon, I¡¯ll drag you down with me!¡±

    ¡°Just by you?¡± Li Qingshan sneered, but he suddenly detected a hint of danger. He looked back.

    Tiny doors opened on the side of the Soaring Dragon ship and countless black cannons protruded out. Specks of light began to gather towards them as their mouths shone brighter and brighter.

    On this dark night, a drunken man walked on a small path running through a village. Suddenly, he heard a clap of thunder. The path was slippery from the night rain, so he leapt in fright and fell over.

    ¡°Fucking hell. Why¡¯s it so slippery when it¡¯s autumn¡­¡±

    He raised his head, and his mouth dropped, forgetting to close it. All he saw was a hole in the sky. The stars twinkled in the hole as a silver streak of moonlight seemed to connect the ground with the sky.

    ¡°Dear heavens, spare me, spare me! I¡¯ll never drink or beat my wife again!¡± He had completely sobered up. He knelt on the ground in fright and banged his head against the ground.

    ¡°Die!¡± Jiang Shancheng was very surprised by the power of the Soaring Dragon ship. He ravished with joy as he wielded the ship¡¯s wheel, firing it again and again.

    The Soaring Dragon ship had never been for transporting cargo, nor was it for showing off. Instead, it was the crystallisation of mohist craftsmanship, an unrivalled machine of war.

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and did his best to fly between the light, suddenly flying straight ahead, suddenly turning, and suddenly dropping by a few dozen meters, submerging deeply into the sea of clouds. The streaks of light pursued him relentlessly, completely unaffected by the clouds and giving him no opportunity to catch his breath.

    Jiang Shancheng gazed at the clouds vigilantly. He flew towards the Soaring Dragon ship on his sword. As long as he returned to the ship and activated the defensive formations, there was nothing this daemon could do to him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure turned violently like a hurricane. He was afraid to rest for even a second, but his eyes were fixed on Jiang Shancheng. He fished out something from his hundred treasures pouch, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it as hard as he could.

    Just when Jiang Shancheng was about to return to the ship, he felt like his body was being ripped apart, like it could collapse at any time. He was overcome by both joy and urgency. He urged his sword to fly faster, but his body halted. Lowering his head in disbelief, a bloody ¡®spear¡¯ had pierced his chest.

    Behind him, a great flag drifted in the wind. As it turned out, Li Qingshan had thrown a huge flag at a critical moment. What pierced Jiang Shancheng was the flagpole.

    His life rapidly bled away. Jiang Shancheng¡¯s eyes were wide open. I¡¯m someone even more powerful than those handsome geniuses with fantastic backgrounds like Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi. I¡¯m actually going to die here, at the hands of a wretched daemon. I refuse to accept this!

    Li Qingshan rose up in the sea of clouds, moving horizontally. A streak of light shot past him in a slight curve and vanished into the sea of clouds.

    This was also the Soaring Dragon ship¡¯s last attack.

    Under the stars, Li Qingshan leapt on board and squatted slightly. His red hair danced in the wind, holding a ship¡¯s wheel in one hand and a great flag in the other. Jiang Shancheng was skewered on the flagpole.

    With a swing of the flag, Jiang Shancheng landed on the deck. He was on his last breath. He said with a feeble voice, ¡°Please, I beg you, d- don¡¯t kill me. Pine Sough academy will never spare you. The Daemon Suppression alliance will never spare you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you die knowing. I¡¯m Li Qingshan,¡± Li Qingshan whispered quietly into Jiang Shancheng¡¯s ears. His eyes widened, as if he wanted to say something.

    Li Qingshan grabbed him by the head and twisted it three times before tossing him into his hundred treasures pouch to take back as a snack for Xiao An.

    ¡°Is this the control device?¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the ship¡¯s wheel in his hand. The power of the Soaring Dragon ship tempted him very much, but in the end, he discovered he was actually unable to use it. The wheel did not respond to daemon qi at all, and he was unable to mobilise his true qi in his current state.

    If I can¡¯t use it, then I won¡¯t use it! Li Qingshan stowed the wheel away and made his way into the cabin with the flag on his shoulder.

    In this time, that woman should have fled already!

    Li Qingshan held back his murderousness. Although he had once sworn he would make the Sect of Clouds and Rain bleed, that was a few years ago. He had already achieved the revenge he deserved, and he had no direct grievances with Qiu Haitang. He had to be lenient whenever possible, right? She was technically Hua Chengzan¡¯s childhood friend after all. If he killed her, how was he supposed to face him in the future?

    However, if he wanted to spare her, he could not make it too obvious, or it would rouse suspicion, which was why Li Qingshan had purposefully thrown her against the wall, making her suffer a little before he pursued Jiang Shancheng. He could pass it off as negligence.

    Don¡¯t tell me!

    Just as Li Qingshan was touched by his own generosity, gentleness, and respect for friendship, he returned to the cabin only to find Qiu Haitang still there.

    Qiu Haitang seemed to be completely oblivious to his departure and return. She just drank alone, not even asking about Jiang Shancheng¡¯s fate, as if nothing in the world had anything to do with her.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t escape?¡± Li Qingshan said in disbelief.

    ¡°Could I escape?¡± Qiu Haitang answered him with a question. Actually, she had considered escaping after Li Qingshan had left, but she immediately dismissed that thought. Even if she could escape, just how far could she go? With his speed, he would probably catch up to her in an instant.

    ¡°Obvious not!¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. If he hunted her down, it was indeed very difficult for Qiu Haitang to escape. He had no idea how to react. So much for my wonderful plan to spare you; you¡¯re not even going to cherish it.

    ¡°Then why would I escape? If you want to kill me, then kill me!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find it to be very disrespectful if I kill you because you want me to kill you!¡± Li Qingshan roared. He snatched over the flask of alcohol and drank it all. His eyes shone, as if he was undressing Qiu Haitang¡¯s body. He grabbed her by the chin and smiled obscenely. ¡°You better have some fun with me first!¡±

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s second wonderful plan. She was still a woman at the end of the day. She could overcome death, but she would still be afraid of something like that. She would definitely say something along the lines of, ¡°If you take another step closer, I¡¯ll kill myself.¡± With that, he would be able to go with the flow and spare her temporarily. Afterwards, he could purposefully give her an opportunity, and she would definitely flee for her life.

    Li Qingshan could not help but feel proud of himself for coming up with another fantastic plan in such a short amount of time.

    ¡°At least you¡¯re much more straightforward than the one before and much more pleasant to the eye.¡± Sorrow flashed through Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes. She still refused to budge.

    Li Qingshan almost burst out cursing. Isn¡¯t it just a man? Do you have to be like this? The mighty sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, actually suffers from infatuation too! Though, she sure matches that romantic blinded by love.

    Originally, I wanted to undertake this discreetly and finish off Jiang Shancheng silently, but it¡¯s all because of a woman like you that my plan is ruined. Once you get back and mention it, they¡¯ll probably all suspect Li Qingshan. One is no different from two. Since you don¡¯t want to live, then I¡¯ll give you what you want. I¡¯ll go all the way then and silence you for good!

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, and his murderousness surged. He revealed his long, protruding teeth. An urge to bite through her pale neck blossomed inside him.

    Qiu Haitang simply closed her eyes, ready to receive the incoming humiliation. Suddenly, she thought of Hua Chengzan again and felt pained. I¡¯ve already been misfortunate enough, so why must I cause him unnecessary pain? I¡¯ll just go with my purity!

    A clear tear slid down from the corner of her eye. She was about to mobilise her spiritual qi and end it all for herself.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart shuddered. What¡¯s wrong with me? Why is my killing intent so heavy? The power of the spirit turtle has completely surpassed the ox demon and tiger demon, so I shouldn¡¯t be like this. It feels like some kind of restraint deep within me has vanished.

    He looked around and suddenly understood what he was missing¡ªXiao An!

    Xiao An was not around him, so there was no need for him to be a model example. Like a horse free from its reins, he had almost broken out of his final shackle of ¡®humanity¡¯, becoming a daemon through and through, doing whatever he liked without any second thought!

    He was even tempted to strip Qiu Haitang naked and humiliate her recklessly. So-called morality was so feeble before absolute strength. With no one else around him, it only nourished the growth of dark desires.

    ¡°This is boring!¡±

    Qiu Haitang was taken aback. She opened her eyes and discovered that Li Qingshan had already retreated to the other side of the table, drinking by himself right from the jar.

    ¡°A woman who doesn¡¯t put up any resistance is even more boring than an opponent who doesn¡¯t put up any resistance!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    If I become like this, what right do I have to guide Xiao An? What freedom does a person controlled by their desires have? Do I even pale in comparison to that mad woman Qian Rongzhi?

    ¡°Come with me!¡± Li Qingshan made his way out of the compartment.

    Qiu Haitang followed behind him with no other choice. Just what was this daemon trying to do?

    ¡°Take it!¡±

    Arriving on the deck, Li Qingshan tossed an item over, and Qiu Haitang caught it. She studied it. It was a tiny ship¡¯s wheel.

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms. ¡°If you assist me, then I¡¯ll spare you. I won¡¯t touch a single hair on you.¡±

    ¡°Where do you want to go?¡± With her hopes of many years fallen through, Qiu Haitang had become very disoriented and irrational. However, she was still someone who had cultivated for many years, so she possessed some willpower. In particular, ever since what happened earlier, having escaped death despite wanting to die, her desire for survival had surged. She recovered some of her usual composure.

 Chapter 396 â€“ Sailing Through the Wind to Destroy Green Vine Two

    Li Qingshan gazed over the stretch of clouds in the direction of the Green Vine mountain.

    I¡¯ve made a mess already, so let¡¯s make a larger one to cover it all up. Fu Qingjin, let¡¯s see whether I have the right to carry your shoes or not.

    ¡°You want to kill the Green Vine Elder!¡± Qiu Haitang was stunned. He had already killed the disciple of Pine Sough academy, Jiang Shancheng, and he still was not satisfied. No, perhaps this was his original intention, to steal the Soaring Dragon ship to destroy the protective formations of the Green Vine mountain.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Li Qingshan had originally decided this on a whim, but the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He had heard that the Daemon Suppression alliance had cast down a Duality Formation of Disintegration or whatever it was called around the Green Vine mountain. He could use this Soaring Dragon ship to destroy the formation.

    Fu Qingjin, since you¡¯re bold enough to attend the banquet, I¡¯ll kill the Green Vine Elder for you to see!

    ¡°If I assist you, wouldn¡¯t I become an accomplice?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still better than dying!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t even know whether you¡¯re going to uphold your word.¡± Qiu Haitang studied him.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like you have much of a choice.¡± Li Qingshan grinned, revealing his teeth.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Qiu Haitang no longer hesitated. Just like what he said, she had no choice at all. The other important reason was because her gut told her he had no ill intentions towards her. This feeling was completely groundless. Was it because of his exceptionally handsome appearance, even on par with Hua Chengzan¡¯s? She shook her head. It was not like she was an actual infatuated romantic!

    Under Qiu Haitang¡¯s control, the Soaring Dragon ship slowly turned around and dispersed the clouds, flying in the direction of the Green Vine mountain.

    Li Qingshan sat on the top of the dragon figurehead at the front. The breeze ruffled his scarlet hair, as well as Qiu Haitang¡¯s dress close behind him. She gazed at his back and found her encounter tonight to be unimaginably strange.

    Never did she think Hua Chengzan would turn her down, and never did she think she would almost be disgraced by a despicable man. And now, she was actually assisting a daemon in attacking the Green Vine mountain.

    ¡°Qingshan, Qingshan, what¡¯re you smiling for?¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses. In the lantern-lit hall, Han Qiongzhi sat beside him and asked in confusion.

    Han Qiongzhi asked, ¡°What are you thinking about? You were in a daze the entire time.¡±

    Juechenzi and the others gazed over curiously as well.

    ¡°With a beauty like senior sister Qin here, how can I think of another woman?¡± Li Qingshan chuckled.

    At this moment, two different scenes played before Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. One was located above the sea of clouds, under the moon and stars, while the other was the banquet of the Hua family, surrounded by guests and friends. It was difficult to explain just how interesting of a sight it was.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, junior brother.¡± Qin Yin smiled slightly. With her charming appearance and twinkling eyes, she seemed both indifferent and tender.

    She had originally been an extremely withdrawn and aloof person, focusing purely on music with a dislike for contact with other people. But at a time like this, she was forced to make use of her advantage as a female cultivator and befriend some of the more powerful figures in the academy.

    Once chaos truly erupted, the school of Music would definitely become involved as one of the hundred schools. Even if she could forsake herself, she still had to consider for her junior sisters in the school of Music.

    Li Qingshan even wanted to joke a little more, but Han Qiongzhi grabbed him by the ear and smiled. ¡°If I weren¡¯t here, do you plan on pursuing senior sister Qin too?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? How did you k- If you keep twisting, it¡¯s really going to fall off.¡±

    Everyone erupted with a roar of laughter, but the sounds of dispute appeared in another corner of the hall.

    ¡°Beauty, come drink with us! Just one cup and we¡¯ll let you go.¡±

    Hua Chenglu was greeting and receiving the guests in Hua Chengzan¡¯s place. When she arrived on the table of the disciples of the Vermillion Clothes sect, a man with a full beard grabbed her wrist. He was completely drunk, while the others on the table were all tipsy too. They began to kick up a fuss.

    ¡°Please behave yourself. My elder brother is Hua Chengzan.¡± Hua Chenglu tried to break free, but she failed. She was only at the fifth layer, while the man had already reached the ninth layer.

    ¡°Second senior brother, let¡¯s just forget about it. This is the Hua family after all.¡± Some sober disciples tried to convince him otherwise.

    ¡°What Hua Chengzan? Isn¡¯t he just a piece of trash from the Hawkwolf Guard? Is he bold enough to offend our Daemon Suppression alliance?¡± The man was taken aback and sobered up slightly. He muttered a few insults under his breath and released her awkwardly.

    Every single person in the hall had sharp eyes and ears. The legalist disciples all became furious, but Han Qiongzhi frowned and did nothing. Ever since Hua Chengzan entered secluded cultivation, it had always been her who handled the affairs of the Hawkwolf Guard. She had basically become the primary disciple of the school of Legalism already, and before she knew it, she had developed much better self-control. In particular, they were about to carry out a large operation, so acting rashly and alerting the enemy would not be a good idea.

    ¡°Damned crook, eat my palm strike!¡± Bang!

    Five-coloured light appeared, and Chu Tian burst out from somewhere, unleashing the Palm of the Five Elements and slamming the ¡®second senior brother¡¯ with it. The second senior brother was also at the ninth layer, but he was no match for Chu Tian, who cultivated all five elements. With a clatter, he shot over the table and collided heavily against a wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

    ¡°Junior sister, are you fine?¡± Chu Tian spun around and grabbed Hua Chenglu¡¯s hand, looking at her in complete concern.

    The noisy hall fell silent immediately, while Hua Chenglu was stunned. Why the hell would I need you playing the hero? If it were not for the bigger picture, the fact that this was Hua Chengzan¡¯s celebratory banquet, was she supposed to worry about a lack of powerful people in the Hua family at her beck and call?

    If this second senior brother continued, even those first senior brothers would not sit aside and watch as he offended the Hua family.

    ¡°You pieces of trash! Why don¡¯t you check where you are?!¡± Chu Tian cursed loudly.

    Looks like this idiot¡¯s behaviour isn¡¯t all just directed towards me! Li Qingshan lit up inside and felt slightly better. This guy¡¯s ability for taunting really isn¡¯t a joke!

    The disciples of the sects all changed in expression and stood up. The atmosphere immediately became tense. The tiny incident instantly developed into a major matter.

    The second senior brother shook his head and sobered up completely. He was utterly furious. His face became bright red as he drew his blade and swung it at Chu Tian.

    Chu Tian sneered. Trash will always be trash. It was a perfect opportunity for him to show off. Five-coloured light appeared, and he did not forget to smile at Hua Chenglu. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, junior sister. Your senior brother is here for you!¡±

    ¡°Lu Dun, back away!¡±

    ¡°Stop, Chu Tian!¡±

    Two voices rang out; two figures, one red and one white, almost arrived at the same time as the voices. One grabbed the spine of Lu Dun¡¯s blade, while the other grabbed Chu Tian¡¯s shoulder.

    Lu Dun and Chu Tian were both haughty people, but when they saw these two people, they could only stop and call them senior brother.

    The two senior brothers glanced at one another and stated their origins. ¡°Jin Feipeng of the Vermillion Clothes sect.¡±

    ¡°Wei Yangsheng of the school of Confucianism.¡±

    ¡°Why did a confucian disciple injure a member of my sect?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding. It seems like the disciple of your esteemed sect possesses quite a powerful cultivation, so he¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s just end it here!¡±

    ¡°A misunderstanding? Then you better let us return that palm strike so that we can clear up this misunderstanding. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I said it was a misunderstanding, but I was just trying to respect your esteemed sect. Actually, you can call that a lesson.¡±

    Both of them were reluctant to make a mess, but as they clashed verbally, neither of them wanted to back down either.

    Li Qingshan watched on in interest from a corner of the hall. Suddenly, he heard a voice, ¡°The Pine Sough academy must have received a distress signal already. They¡¯ll definitely arrive very soon. Their head scholar is a Golden Core cultivator. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being killed if you still go to the Green Vine mountain?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around. Under the bright moon, Qiu Haitang stood with her arms in her sleeves on the deck as her clothes drifted about in the wind.

    ¡°They aren¡¯t enough to kill me.¡±

    ¡°This is your clone?¡± Qiu Haitang never planned on convincing him to leave either. She simply wanted to break the silence. This Daemon General enveloped in danger and mystery made her curious, and his almost-human behaviour made her rather surprised. She spontaneously recalled a piece of information she had heard, so she tried probing him with it.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

    With that, Qiu Haitang completely gave up on the thought of fighting back. Even if she managed to kill this clone out of pure luck, she would still become a target for vicious revenge. His clone was already so powerful, so how strong was his main body supposed to be?

    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly a secret. I¡¯m very curious about where your original body is.¡± Qiu Haitang immediately grasped the crux of the matter.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s your turn to fulfill my curiosity now. Why were you so emotional?¡± Li Qingshan avoided the question.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to guess.¡± Qiu Haitang stopped asking. She simply crossed her legs and sat down.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you were dumped by a man.¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Qiu Haitang was surprised at first, but then she laughed in a self-deprecating manner. ¡°Has my behaviour become so obvious that even a daemon can tell?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it. What kind of man is he?¡± Li Qingshan admitted he was rather intrigued by gossip. However, investigating the private matters of people he knew under an unknown identity was extremely interesting.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about this.¡±

    ¡°You better be careful, as I just might kill you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still not going to talk about this.¡±

    ¡°Then forget about it.¡±

    After a while of silence, Qiu Haitang frowned. Now that the person she had purposefully tried to forget was mentioned, he began to haunt her mind. She was unable to stop thinking about him anymore.

    Finally, she said, ¡°He¡¯s called Hua Chengzan¡­¡±

    With that, she was like a collapsed dam. Words flowed out of her mouth endlessly, going from how her heart skipped a beat when they initially met expectedly to her later infatuation. Her gaze passed by Li Qingshan to an extremely distant and obscure place. Perhaps she no longer cared about who was standing in front of her right now, and she just wanted to tell someone about it.

    ¡°Daemons can¡¯t understand something like that. I¡¯ve actually said so much to you.¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled in a self-deprecating manner. Jiang Shancheng only wanted to take advantage of her vulnerable state. In the end, it was actually a daemon who had almost killed her who listened to her. Fate sure was unpredictable. Of course, if he were a human instead, if it were actually her friends who wanted to listen to her, she would not be able to bring herself to say so much.

    ¡°Even if you¡¯re venting to a treehole, you¡¯ll feel better.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Originally, he looked down on her behaviour, but towards the end, he could not help but sigh slightly.

    Qiu Haitang was taken aback. As expected, she felt much more liberated, but to her surprise, a daemon actually cared about how she felt?

    ¡°And, why can¡¯t daemons understand something like that?¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s figure appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s head, and he smiled.

    ¡°Qingshan, go!¡± Han Qiongzhi pushed Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What? Me? Oh, I understand.¡± Li Qingshan was in a daze, and he returned to his senses. Although he had been focusing on Qiu Haitang¡¯s story, he still paid some attention to this side.

    As Jin Feipeng and Wei Yangsheng bickered, they gradually became angered. Neither of them relented.

    At this moment, Hua Chengzan and the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect had come down from upstairs to mediate the dispute. They decided to set several aspects for them to compete in, as not only would that maintain harmony, it could liven up the banquet too. The losing side would only have to apologise.

    On the Soaring Dragon ship, Qiu Haitang stared silently at Li Qingshan as he smiled and recalled the past. She was very taken aback. Do even daemons possess emotions that they¡¯ll never forget? The heavens have been far too unfair with me.

    ¡°Oi, we¡¯ve arrived at the Green Vine mountain!¡±

 Chapter 397 â€“ Sailing Through the Wind to Destroy Green Vine Three

    The group of people parted to two sides, and Li Qingshan arrived in the centre. He asked, ¡°What are we competing over?¡±

    ¡°Physical strength. You can¡¯t use any attacks. All you can do is wrestle. The person who leaves the ring loses. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re the person competing?¡± Jin Feipeng extended a finger and drew with it, and a ring the size of a table appeared on the ground. Afterwards, he raised an eyebrow as he looked at Li Qingshan, rather interested.

    The sect disciples could all see that Li Qingshan was just at the eighth layer, so they all scorned him. With physical strength, strength was only a part of it. Qi was the critical component. A huge difference existed between every single layer among Qi Practitioners, and it determined the level of body tempering. Without the nourishment of qi, forcefully tempering the body would only be detrimental. This was common knowledge in the world of cultivation.

    TL: In Chinese, physical strength is written as Á¦Æø or l¨¬qi. The Á¦ or l¨¬ character corresponds to strength, while the Æø or qi character corresponds to, y¡¯know, qi. The author is basically dissecting the phrase here.

    ¡°And I had thought the Academy of the Hundred Schools was supposed to be rather impressive. Looks like this is all they are. They couldn¡¯t find a proper Body Practitioner, so they sent in this guy instead for the humiliation.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Let¡¯s just watch the show. After all, we have this senior brother on our side.¡±

    The disciples of the academy had all witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, so they rebuked loudly. Some of them even chanted, ¡°Senior brother Li will be victorious!¡±

    For a moment, it became extremely rowdy. Suddenly, a huge figure loomed over everyone as he straightened himself out. He was actually a huge man who stood nine feet tall. He had remained seated the entire time, so he seemed no taller than the other people beside him.

    The huge man made his way through the crowd, arriving before Li Qingshan and casting a huge shadow over him. His cultivation had reached an impressive tenth layer, making him someone akin to a first senior brother. His eyes were the size of bells, and he had a long, thin nose like a lion¡¯s and a huge gaping mouth like a tiger¡¯s. He was covered in muscle and was absolutely enormous. He gave off a bearing of pure force and weight. In particular, there was a bulge on his forehead, which made him seem even more hideous. As he loomed over Li Qingshan, he smiled condescendingly.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯re the one who¡¯s supposed to compete with me in terms of physical strength?¡±

    Jin Feipeng smiled. He was the one who had proposed this aspect. Victory was basically guaranteed for him. The Horned Rhinoceros mountain¡¯s Horned Rhinoceros¡¯ Arts of Mountain Splitting was said to possess the power to split mountains once it was cultivated to the limit. Although it was rather sluggish in battle, defeat was not a concept he had to consider in a competition like this.

    Li Qingshan saw Hua Chengzan in the crowd. He grinned at him. Brother, I¡¯ve learnt quite a lot about you.

    Hua Chengzan was completely left in the dark about his smile. All he did was nod to tell him to be careful, but he was clearly distracted. He was thinking about Qiu Haitang.

    ¡°I¡¯m speaking to you!¡± The huge man glared at Li Qingshan with his enormous eyes.

    ¡°This one is the primary disciple of the school of Novels, Li Qingshan. Let¡¯s begin!¡± Li Qingshan looked back and clasped his hands casually. Although he called himself this one, he did not even ask for his opponent¡¯s name or sect. He was even more distracted than Hua Chengzan.

    He could not help it. Doing two things at the same time was very difficult. After he said that, he caused another roar of laughter from the opposing side. ¡°What? The school of Novels? What school¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Is that basically forfeiting?¡±

    Li Qingshan was just about to hit him with a few words even more scalding than what Chu Tian had said when Qiu Haitang¡¯s voice clearly rang out in his ears. As a result, he simply closed his eyes and entered the ring carelessly.

    ¡°Come at me!¡± With that, he closed his eyes. He truly turned a blind eye to everyone, acting as haughty as ever.

    The huge man was furious. Originally, he wanted to use this match to improve Horned Rhinoceros mountain¡¯s reputation within the Daemon Suppression alliances and earn even more benefits, but his opponent did not give him this opportunity at all.

    His huge hands, the size of fans, grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders. He was in no hurry to push Li Qingshan out of the ring. The huge man had already made up his mind as he smiled. He wanted to break a few dozen bones in Li Qingshan¡¯s body first.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi became alarmed. Although she was completely confident in Li Qingshan, he was completely biting off more than he could chew.

    The huge man channeled his strength that was enough to crush steel into Li Qingshan¡¯s body, but his vicious smile gradually vanished. No matter how he tried, it was completely ineffective. ¡°This kid¡¯s body is actually a hundred times tougher than metal. He really does have some skill, seeing how he¡¯s bold enough to face me.¡±

    ¡°Stop wasting time. Just end it!¡± The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect was rather impatient.

    ¡°I¡¯ll throw him out while he¡¯s careless and make him take a massive tumble. That¡¯ll appease my anger a little.¡± The huge man stopped looking down on Li Qingshan. With a great roar, the ground seemed to shake. The muscles on his arms twisted and coiled as he pushed as hard as he could.

    Nothing happened!

    Li Qingshan simply smiled with his eyes shut. He was so peaceful that he seemed like he was sleeping.

    However, the huge man¡¯s expression changed drastically. He used everything in him to push, pull, and slam Li Qingshan, but it was completely useless. Cold sweat covered his forehead.

    Just by standing there, Li Qingshan seemed like he had been nailed into the ground. This was obviously not due to his strength alone. After reaching the third layer of the ox daemon and undergoing the heavenly tribulation, he had developed a profound connection with the earth. In particular, as he stood on the ground, he felt like he had merged with it.

    This was where his innate talent, Strength of the Earth, came from. No matter how powerful the man was, how was he supposed to shake up the boundless earth?

    As a result, Li Qingshan did not try, nor did he have to try, for this match. His mind had already returned to the Soaring Dragon ship.

    ¡°Do you feel love too?¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes twinkled like stars.

    ¡°What did you say before? We¡¯ve arrived at the Green Vine mountain?¡± Li Qingshan gazed down, but all he saw was a sea of clouds. The thick clouds had covered everything.

    Qiu Haitang raised the ship¡¯s wheel in her hand and beams of light shot out from the centre, constructing a three-dimensional map. There was a speck of light that represented the Soaring Dragon ship, while the mountain below was the Green Vine mountain.

    ¡°Descend immediately.¡± Li Qingshan beamed instead. He leapt to his feet and swung his hand in an exaggerated manner.

    However, the Soaring Dragon ship did not descend. He looked back with a frown. ¡°I said descend!¡±

    ¡°I was asking you, do you feel love too?¡± Qiu Haitang was extremely curious. If she had not witnessed it herself, she struggled to believe an expression like that could appear on a daemon¡¯s face, so she became extremely curious about the details. Compared to it, attacking the Green Vine mountain did not even seem important anymore.

    ¡°Of course. Descend now!¡± Li Qingshan stamped his foot.

    ¡°Then tell me, do you love her? Does she love you? Are you together?¡± Qiu Haitang was relentless.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. We even plan on spending the rest of our lives together. Have you had enough? You better make this thing descend now!¡±

    ¡°How lucky. You¡¯re luckier than me.¡± Qiu Haitang let out a gentle sigh. The ship¡¯s wheel spun, and the Soaring Dragon ship descended slowly.

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s because I¡¯m not all hung up over a single person like you.¡± Li Qingshan was already prepared to admire the Green Vine Elder¡¯s stunned expression.

    ¡°What do you mean? Isn¡¯t she the one you love the most?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body swayed, and the Soaring Dragon ship came to a halt. Qiu Haitang¡¯s gaze was rather earnest and rather lost at the same time. All she wanted was an answer.

    ¡°What are you doing? I want to attack the Green Vine mountain!¡±

 Chapter 398 â€“ Sailing Through the Wind to Destroy Green Vine Four

    ¡°Tell me, am I wrong?¡± Qiu Haitang completely ignored Li Qingshan¡¯s reasonable request and grabbed him by the arm.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to listen to me, I¡¯ll choke you to death!¡± Li Qingshan wrapped his hand around her neck, but he failed to see any fear on her face at all.

    Alas, just women in love would lose all reason, let alone those who had their hearts broken. All Li Qingshan could do was let go of her and be patient with her. ¡°Please, you¡¯re a cultivator. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t have a man.¡±

    ¡°The assimilation of yin and yang is a natural principle of the world, while love between a man and a woman is human nature. If there is no love, what¡¯s the point of living in this world?¡± Qiu Haitang said firmly.

    ¡°A three-legged toad is difficult to find, but two-legged men are everywhere. Can¡¯t you just open your mind a little?¡± Li Qingshan pressed his arms down on Qiu Haitang¡¯s shoulders. I couldn¡¯t tell, but you¡¯re still a little girl caught up in your ideals. You better just stick with your job of a procuress with fantastic future prospects!

    ¡°There might be a lot of men in the world, but I only love him!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you won¡¯t give others an opportunity. Let me tell you, I was originally in love with someone too¡­¡±

    With no other choice, Li Qingshan crouched down on the front of the ship and did his best to recall the various books on love he had read in his past life so that he could play the role of a close advisor. He rambled on about how love was blind and how love was up to choice¡­

    Qiu Haitang crouched down too, listening carefully and even nodding from time to time. In a different world, the various newspapers, magazines, and materials available on the internet had already mentioned these topics to a point where they had lost their meaning, but it was all extremely novel to her. She listened with great interest.

    Most importantly, these random topics had no practical use at all, but they sounded very reasonable, enlightening Qiu Haitang again and again. She was filled with deep respect. A daemon actually knows so much! She no longer looked at him in the same way either, feeling much closer to him now. Li Qingshan¡¯s current image in her heart had already gained the title of ¡°a friend of women¡±!

    ¡°Do you understand now?¡± Li Qingshan said all of that in a single breath. He had been forced to watch his heroic journey of revenge be encumbered to such a point. He really felt sorrow well up from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°I think I do a little, but also not that much,¡± Qiu Haitang said in thought. She immediately felt the daemon before her erupt with murderousness, so she smiled gently and drifted backwards, activating the ship¡¯s wheel. The Soaring Dragon ship finally began to descend once more.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Qiu Haitang gazed at his upright figure from behind.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Qiu Haitang pointed below.

    The last layer of clouds ripped apart, and the mountains rose and fell like waves. Green Vine mountain was right beneath them.

    ¡°Fire the cannons!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Qiu Haitang said. It was clearly so dangerous, yet he treated it like a child¡¯s game. Her heart loosened up with his behaviour for some reason, no longer shackled down by her mental burden. Instead, she felt slightly eager. According to his words, she had to vent her emotions after her heart was broken.

    Her slender finger landed on the ship¡¯s wheel gently and countless black cannons protruded out from the ship.

    I¡¯ve been coerced by a daemon! You can¡¯t blame me!

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s voice rang out from an extremely distant location.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes in the hall of the Hua family, but everything was dark.

    ¡°It¡¯s so dark! What¡¯s happened? And why¡¯s it so stinky?¡±

    The nine-feet-tall, tenth layer first senior brother of Horned Rhinoceros mountain was currently engaged with Li Qingshan in a death struggle. He grabbed Li Qingshan firmly. His face had become bright-red, riddled with veins as he sweat profusely. His feet were embedded in the ground as he used up everything he had in him to push Li Qingshan. His enormous muscles were almost strangling Li Qingshan.

    Everyone could tell who was winning. The disciples of the Daemon Suppression alliance were stunned as the disciples of the academy gradually began to laugh.

    Jin Feipeng¡¯s face was overcome with disbelief. The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect frowned. ¡°Is this really the primary disciple of the school of Novels?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a member of my Hawkwolf Guard too. I¡¯ll be surprised if he lost.¡± Hua Chengzan smiled.

    Han Qiongzhi stopped worrying. She called out, ¡°Qingshan, stop playing around.¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses and began to move. He wrapped his arms around the huge man¡¯s waist, and it immediately became thinner. He lifted him up like pulling a carrot out of the ground and leaned backwards, throwing him against the ground heavily through a German suplex.

    The huge man had been using a hundred ten percent of his power, so he was in no shape to respond. In the blink of an eye, all he saw was the ground flying rapidly into his face. He heard a rumble and darkness descended.

    Boom! All the tables trembled. The top half of the huge man had already become buried in the ground, while his large, thick, pillar-like legs still hung in the air.

    ¡°Victory to the Academy of the Hundred Schools.¡± Hua Chengzan smiled.

    ¡°Divine be senior brother Li¡¯s strength!¡± ¡°Mighty be senior brother Li!¡± The disciples of the academy erupted with cheers.

    ¡°First senior brother!¡± A group of disciples from the Horned Rhinoceros mountain rushed over and pulled the huge man out of the ground. His face was covered in dust as he looked at Li Qingshan viciously.

    ¡°Who else?¡± Li Qingshan curled his hand at the sect disciples leisurely. He did not even take a second glance at the huge man.

    ¡°The first disciple of the Rose Cloud sect, Man Rou, seeks guidance. I wish to compete over true qi with you.¡± Immediately, a petite, delicate girl walked over. She was also at the tenth layer.

    ¡°Hold on, we want to change our person. Junior brother, you can go up,¡± Wei Yangsheng said in a hurry. The most important aspect in competing over true qi was the level of cultivation unless it came to someone like Chu Tian, who practised five kinds of true qi simultaneously. According to his knowledge, Li Qingshan only practised the regular Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi.

    He had heard that the aspect that the Rose Clouds manual of the Rose Cloud sect focused on was true qi. In the very beginning, the true qi would be faintly discernible; it was as soft as clouds but extremely tough. Towards the end, it would be enough to flood entire regions in an unstoppable fashion. Even he was not confident about emerging victorious. It was just a pity that junior sister Xiao An was not present, so he was forced to go with junior brother Chu Tian for the greatest chances at victory.

    Li Qingshan was just about to leave the ring when Man Rou said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Weren¡¯t you asking who else earlier? Don¡¯t tell me the primary disciple of the school of Novels doesn¡¯t even hold as much authority as the primary disciple of your school of Confucianism?¡±

    Man Rou seemed delicate, but she spoke with power as if she was unstoppable. She wanted to use Li Qingshan¡¯s words against him. She wanted to force him, an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, into a contest of true qi with her, a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, which would guarantee their victory and avenge the huge man.

    Wei Yangsheng knew it was a provocation, but he was unable to say anything more. The primary disciples all technically stood on equal footing, so all of them had the authority to decide. And, he really did not have the confidence he could defeat this unfathomable junior brother Li of his when it came to actual combat.

    ¡°True qi? Then come!¡± Li Qingshan said casually.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Han Qiongzhi became worried. Rarely did Qi Practitioners ever compete with true qi alone, but it was even more dangerous than regular battles. Once foreign true qi invaded the body, just the lighter consequences would be destroying their meridians and losing their cultivation. The more severe consequences involved exploding dantians and dying on the spot.

    Man Rou beamed inside. You¡¯re asking for it. Men all like to suffer just to uphold their pride. She raised her dainty hands and said, ¡°Please!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hands too.

    ¡°Let go of my hands!¡± Man Rou turned bright red.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this it?¡± As it turned out, Li Qingshan had directly seized Man Rou by her tiny, tender hands with his huge hands. Man Rou tried to tug them out, but she clearly failed. She was vexed and embarrassed. This was no true qi competition. This was intimate contact between lovers.

    Han Qiongzhi ground her teeth. This guy actually agreed to it just to take advantage of her! So much for worrying about him. You better just die instead!

    ¡°It¡¯s the palms!¡± Man Rou said furiously and with embarrassment. The Rose Clouds sect was a sect of female cultivators. A man had never touched her like this in her life, let alone in the eyes of the public.

    ¡°Is there a difference?¡± Li Qingshan curled his lip. I¡¯ve already had enough with beauty Qiu, who gets whatever she wants. Why would I tease you?

    After adjusting his grip, the competition finally began.

    How dare you grope me! I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what! Man Rou glared at Li Qingshan. Rose Clouds true qi flowed out endlessly. Before she had even unleashed her true strength, Li Qingshan¡¯s Gui Water true qi had already begun to collapse.

    Unfortunately, the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi focused on the ease of cultivation, making it suitable for all, so it was not particularly powerful.

    Rose Cloud true qi rushed into Li Qingshan¡¯s body in an unstoppable manner.

    And then¡­ there was no and then.

    Man Rou¡¯s tiny mouth dropped slightly. She could sense she had completely lost connection with her true qi the moment it entered Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Raising her head, she only saw that he had closed his eyes again.

    The daemon core shaped like a turtle¡¯s shell bobbed up and down in the sea of qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body. The multicoloured Rose Clouds true qi immediately yielded the moment it entered its domain, becoming as docile as possible. It just happened to be of the water element as well, so it was absorbed into the daemon core.

    This time, Li Qingshan did not focus either. The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core could easily suppress the true qi of a measly Qi Practitioner like it was playing around. You have absolutely no idea challenging me to a competition of true qi. Let alone her, even if the Rose Cloud elders were present, they would suffer in the same way.

    Man Rou was too afraid to withdraw her hand, as that would allow Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi to invade her body, which would be horrible. She completely refused to accept this, desperately mobilising her Rose Clouds true qi.

    On the Green Vine mountain, a hubbub suddenly appeared. The Green Vine Elder roused from his cultivation and arrived outside. He saw many disciples staring at the sky and pointing, discussing among themselves.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Is that a ship?¡±

    The Green Vine Elder gazed over. Hmm? Isn¡¯t that the Soaring Dragon ship of Pine Sough academy? What¡¯s it doing here?

    ¡°May I ask who it is on the ship? Is it senior Wen?¡± The Green Vine Elder said loudly. His voice reached the sky with his spiritual qi. The head scholar of Pine Sough academy, Wen Zhengming, was a powerful cultivator who had been through two heavenly tribulations. He was afraid of disrespecting him in the slightest.

    ¡°Old man Green Vine, time to die!¡± Li Qingshan called out. With a wave of his flag, it stitched six words in the sky, also ¡°Old man Green Vine, time to die!¡±

    ¡°Oh no!¡± The Green Vine Elder spotted the scarlet figure and leapt in fright. He saw hundreds of stars light up at the same time, growing brighter and brighter.

 Chapter 399 â€“ Sailing Through the Wind to Destroy Green Vine Five

    The flash of light and power made all the disciples of the Green Vine mountain close their eyes subconsciously. They groaned painfully inside. Just how many more times until he was satisfied? The first two times, he came alone, but this time, he directly brought a battleship with him.

    This can¡¯t continue. I can¡¯t continue as a disciple of the Green Vine mountain anymore, but do I still have a chance?

    Li Qingshan was extremely satisfied with the Soaring Dragon ship¡¯s power. He gave Qiu Haitang a thumbs up. ¡°Good girl!¡±

    Qiu Haitang turned away without making eye contact with him. She fiddled around with the ship¡¯s wheel a little more, and even more beams of light shot out.

    At this moment, a screen of light, half black and half white, rose up from the Green Vine. It was hazy like mist. The two colours constantly merged together and fluctuated, producing countless profound diagrams.

    As the beams of light struck the barrier, they distorted and disintegrated into particles as fine as dust, drifting around the Green Vine mountain like a blizzard, yet also like the dazzling starry night.

    The Duality Formation of Disintegration had been specially brought over by Fu Qingjin from the Sword Collection palace. Anyone who tried to force their way through the powerful formation around the Green Vine mountain would be reduced to dust. It was cast down specially for Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Do you see? Wretched daemon, you can¡¯t get in here!¡± The Green Vine Elder spread his arms and laughed at the sky. His facial hair danced around, which made him seem a little crazy.

    Yu Shukuang closed his eyes, in no mood to appreciate the beautiful, rare scenery before him. The other disciples of the Green Vine mountain were no different. They all fled to the bottom of the mountain again¡ªwait, why again?

    The peak of the mountain and the prow of the ship were both distant and close to one another. Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes clashed with the Green Vine Elder¡¯s green eyes.

    ¡°Keep blasting! I¡¯d like to see how long he can last for!¡± Li Qingshan rested the large flag on his right shoulder as he pointed out with his left hand.

    Without waiting for his orders, the Soaring Dragon ship blasted away at full power. Light flashed constantly in a dazzling array.

    The moon shone through the hole in the clouds, projecting a huge beam of moonlight that added a hint of silver to the Soaring Dragon ship. In the darkness of night, it seemed like an unbelievably large stagelight. The Soaring Dragon ship was the main show of the night, roaring to its heart¡¯s content on the stage.

    The Duality Formation of Disintegration was completely unaffected, allowing the blasts that were enough to wipe the Green Vine mountain off the surface of the earth to rain down on it constantly. It all disintegrated in the haze, like fireworks.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. All your attacks will only become a part of the Duality Formation of Disintegration¡¯s power! It¡¯s impossible for you to get through it!¡± The Green Vine Elder silently contacted Fu Qingjin as he mocked Li Qingshan loudly.

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡± Li Qingshan had also noticed that. Even until now, the Duality Formation of Disintegration had shown no signs of weakness. The hazy mist only grew denser. He knew the Green Vine Elder was right.

    However, the rate at which the formation disintegrated the beams of light had slowed down as well. In the beginning, the beams of light would be reduced to mist the moment it landed on the formation, but now, it dispersed as specks in a fireworks-like fashion. He believed no matter what formation it was, it still had a limit!

    One was a powerful defensive formation from a supreme sect of the Green province, the Sword Collection palace, while the other was a crystallisation of mohist wisdom and efforts, an ultimate machine of war. When a ¡°spear¡± that could pierce and destroy everything met a ¡°shield¡± that could block all attacks, no one knew who the final victor would be.

    The two people involved, Li Qingshan and the Green Vine Elder, could only wait and watch with eager and hope as onlookers, admiring the grand fireworks.

    ¡°Bring me alcohol!¡± Li Qingshan crossed his legs and sat down, yelling out loudly.

    In the estate of the Hua family, Li Qingshan¡¯s second match became extremely dreary and uninteresting, unsurprisingly.

    None of the spectators said anything. They just exchanged glances silently. They could not even tell who had the upper hand right now.

    Man Rou¡¯s expression became more and more warped. No matter how limitless her Rose Clouds true qi was, there was still a limit. Before her, Li Qingshan seemed like a bottomless pit. No matter how much true qi she channeled into him, she was unable to fill him.

    And, as long as her true qi weakened, Li Qingshan¡¯s Gui Water true qi would flood over immediately, so she was unable to stop either. The dangers of a clash of true qi gradually presented themselves, baring its fangs at her.

    She refused to forfeit. Both the quality and quantity of Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi was clearly beneath hers. He had just used some kind of method to control the foreign true qi that entered his body. She believed that as long as she lasted a little longer, Li Qingshan would give in.

    Only when she was completely depleted did she finally feel regret, but she was already unable to speak and forfeit now. Once she lost the tension, Li Qingshan¡¯s true qi would invade her body and destroy her.

    In the blink of an eye, ebbs of Gui Water true qi gushed into her body through her palm as a cold wave, reaching the dantian in her lower abdomen. As long as Li Qingshan wanted to, he could easily rip apart her frail meridians even if Gui Water true qi was not particularly renowned for its destructive power.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect could tell that something was amiss. He wanted to interfere, but he was stopped by Hua Chengzan, who said sternly, ¡°Before you can even expel the true qi from her body, the true qi that has lost control will explode in her body.¡± He communicated to Li Qingshan, ¡°Qingshan, that¡¯s enough.¡±

    That pulled Li Qingshan¡¯s mind all the way back here. He opened his eyes and noticed that Man Rou was completely pale, without a shred of blood in her lips. She even seemed to be pleading him from the depths of her eyes, making her seem especially pitiful.

    Li Qingshan smiled and slowly withdrew his true qi.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡± Man Rou¡¯s body loosened, and she took a step back, biting her lips as she softly conceded. She was seeing stars, and she no longer gave off any sense of power anymore. Her voice was very feeble too. As she gazed at Li Qingshan, her eyes were filled with fury and resentment, as well as a shred of sadness.

    Cheers erupted loudly from behind Li Qingshan. The disciples of the academy all looked at him enviously and with admiration. He extended his hand, and with a gesture, he drank an entire jar of alcohol. At the same time, Qiu Haitang brought him a few jars of alcohol on the Soaring Dragon ship.

    The feeling of alcohol reaching his two different stomachs was extremely strange and particularly satisfying. He was pleased with himself. Nothing was better than drinking fine alcohol and fighting powerful opponents. Multiplying this feeling by two only made it even more satisfying.

    ¡°Who else?¡±

    Upstairs, the school leaders all conversed and smiled happily, while the sect masters were all stern. They too had been spectating the matches downstairs. The power of stronger Qi Practitioners could demonstrate the prospects and future of a school or sect. A competition like this was definitely not a mere game.

    Wang Pushi drank heartily. Although the kid¡¯s mouth was particularly good at pissing people off, he still knew how to win over glory when he handled matters.

    Fu Qingjin drank alone, away from everyone else. His face was gloomy, as if nothing could faze him. The atmosphere around him clearly did not suit him at all.

    He frowned, and a jade ornament fell into his hand. The Green Vine Elder¡¯s flustered voice rang out.

    ¡°Sir, the wretched daemon has come! He¡¯s attacking the Green Vine mountain right now!¡±

    ¡°What are you panicking for? It¡¯s not like he can get through the Duality Formation of Disintegration,¡± Fu Qingjin said slowly. He had probably sent his clone again to probe the formation. There was no need for him to interfere.

 Chapter 400 â€“ Sailing Through the Wind to Destroy Green Vine Six

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression changed. He was unable to drink anymore.

    The other Foundation Establishment cultivators took note of this and immediately connected the dots. Is the Soaring Dragon ship the one that Jiang Shancheng brought with him? Qiu Haitang left with him earlier! Why are they going to Green Vine mountain? Don¡¯t tell me the daemon has already got to them?

    The Green Ruins sword exited its scabbard, and Fu Qingjin merged with it, turning into a streak of green light and vanishing into the horizon. The other members of the Daemon Suppression alliance became restless too, all taking off right behind him.

    The news from upstairs reached downstairs very quickly, leading to an uproar.

    ¡°Haitang!¡± Hua Chengzan exclaimed, no longer as graceful and composed as before. He immediately took off. If this woman who he had let down died to the hands of a daemon because of him, how was he supposed to forgive himself?

    ¡°Are we continuing?¡± Li Qingshan looked around. The disciples of the Daemon Suppression alliance were filled with indignation, as well as a hint of fear. The strength and arrogance of daemons had deeply shocked them. As for the disciples of the academy, they felt sympathy aside from the joy from their victories. After all, they were all humans.

    ¡°It ends here as a tie. We¡¯ll obviously clash again in the future.¡± Jin Feipeng glanced at Li Qingshan deeply.

    Li Qingshan did not mind. He returned to his original seat, and the various primary disciples all congratulated him for his victory, but they were rather distracted. After all, the competition during the banquet was only a side dish that went with the alcohol compared to something so significant that it determined the fate of a few Foundation Establishment cultivators and the war between humans and daemons.

    Li Qingshan was helpless. He felt like he had completely stolen his own thunder. However, in his eyes, the matches here had always been a boring game that kept him distracted. Now, he could finally focus on the Soaring Dragon ship.

    Wind whistled past his ears.

    The Duality Formation of Disintegration shone with dazzling light after absorbing and decomposing countless attacks, and the Green Vine mountain even became blurry inside it. The light illuminated a radius of fifty kilometers, making the area as bright as day.

    ¡°How much longer do you think until the formation is destroyed?¡±

    Li Qingshan held the flag as he stood on the prow, staring at the light and asking without looking back.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but there isn¡¯t a lot of spiritual energy left.¡± Qiu Haitang touched the ship¡¯s wheel, and an indicator for the supply of spiritual energy appeared. Only twenty percent remained.

    The spear was already running out of power before it could pierce the shield.

    ¡°How¡¯s that, wretched daemon? There¡¯s nothing you can do!¡± The Green Vine Elder stood on the top of the mountain and called out loudly.

    ¡°But, we still have a final move!¡± Qiu Haitang said suddenly.

    ¡°What move?¡± Li Qingshan turned around suddenly.

    ¡°It¡¯s below your feet.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this just decoration?¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and studied the dragon figurehead.

    ¡°Of course not. This is the Soaring Dragon ship¡¯s largest main cannon, the Dragon¡¯s Roar! A single attack from it takes up a tremendous amount of spiritual energy, and it requires a long time for preparation too. It¡¯s basically designed for destroying structure and formations.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re too close. The ship can¡¯t withstand the recoil.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you telling me now?¡±

    ¡°Because I want to.¡± Qiu Haitang smiled, recovering some of her natural grace as the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s see the Dragon¡¯s Roar¡¯s power!¡±

    All of the attacks stopped, but the roaring still lingered in his head. Having fled to the bottom of the mountain but blocked in by the formation, Yu Shukuang gazed at the sky in surprise. He saw the Soaring Dragon ship slowly rise, disappearing into the clouds before long.

    ¡°Did we make it?¡±

    Before he had even finished asking that question, a beam of light descended from the sky, piercing the clouds and directly landing on the Duality Formation of Disintegration. The beam was so large that it even made them think of the legendary pillars that held up the sky.

    It dispersed the clouds, exposing the Soaring Dragon ship above the cloud layer. The dragon figurehead¡¯s mouth was wide open, letting out a furious roar!

    The beam of light did not vanish with a flash this time. Instead, it persisted, channeling all of its power into the formation. The Duality Formation of Disintegration began to tremble, unable to completely nullify this power. It had reached a state of saturation such that rings of light spread outwards like ripples.

    On the other end of the beam of light, the Soaring Dragon ship shook and creaked.

    The spear pressed against the shield. Either the shield broke or the spear snapped.

    ¡°Can we get through?¡± Li Qingshan asked loudly.

    ¡°Difficult to say.¡± Qiu Haitang furrowed her brows and watched as the spiritual energy was rapidly drained away.

    Glancing around, her eyes narrowed. A speck of green light appeared in the sea of clouds.

    At the same time, Fu Qingjin spotted a dazzling streak of white light. He frowned and urged the Green Ruins sword to move faster.

    ¡°I need to trouble you with one last matter.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out in Qiu Haitang¡¯s ears clearly.

    ¡°Are you planning to run? The ship can¡¯t move very quickly!¡±

    ¡°Please help me collect all the puppets and cannons. I want to take them with me!¡± Li Qingshan had already learnt that the Soaring Dragon ship could not change in size, and it could not be stored in hundred treasures pouches either. However, the tremendous number of puppets and powerful cannons on the ship would still serve as quite a nice spoil.

    Qiu Haitang had no idea on how to react. Was this guy still a daemon? She controlled the puppets to take apart the cannons before gathering on the deck and storing them into a hundred treasures pouch.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go down.¡± Cold light flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said let¡¯s fly down!¡±

    ¡°Are you crazy? Do you know how much this ship is worth?¡± Qiu Haitang finally understood what he was saying. She was taken aback.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care how much it¡¯s worth! It¡¯s not like it¡¯s my ship!¡± Li Qingshan smiled brilliantly.

    ¡°Fine then!¡± Qiu Haitang was helpless. What could she do about the fact that her life was in his hands right now? However, she became excited for some reason. Before long, all the levitation formations on the Soaring Dragon ship vanished. The ship fell back into the hands of gravity. All of its movements changed in direction, falling towards the ground as quickly as it could.

    The Soaring Dragon ship fell faster and faster. Li Qingshan stood on the nose of the ship in the whistling wind, waving his flag. The wind became even more violent, making the Soaring Dragon ship fall even faster.

    Under the recoil of the Dragon¡¯s Roar cannon, the indestructible Soaring Dragon ship began to fall apart. The central furnace groaned painfully.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± All Fu Qingjin could do was watch as this unfolded. He paled in fright.

    The Green Vine Elder squinted, trying his best to see through the scorching light. He gazed at the sky, but the surging spiritual energy and light made his soul sense useless while greatly limiting his vision. He could only see a black speck constantly grow larger.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s voice rang out from the jade tablet in his hand. ¡°Run!¡±

    At that instant, the Soaring Dragon ship several hundred meters in length collided with the Duality Formation of Disintegration like a small mountain.

    Time seemed to slow down. The Soaring Dragon ship that was close to falling apart began to collapse and disintegrate upon making contact with the barrier of light. Soon, it reached the centre of the ship, and the central furnace exploded. The residual energy was completely released, but the Duality Formation of Disintegration swallowed it all before it could even demonstrate its power.

    The Duality Formation of Disintegration dimmed, twisting and shrinking towards the mountain like a ball of light. Then, it swelled slightly again before releasing a flash in the very end, turning the surroundings white.

    It was like a stomach that had been pushed beyond its limits, violently contracting before exploding suddenly. The undigested energy turned into thousands of streaks of light, erupting completely and rising up from the ground like a hundred suns.

    The Green Vine Elder¡¯s terrified face was dyed snow-white. Like a mortal, he raised his hands instinctively, as if that would be enough to block out the danger. He was swallowed by the swollen ball of light.

    Boom!

    Only after a very long time did the explosion occur, blasting away the clouds and revealing the resplendent sea of stars.

    Fu Qingjin halted momentarily, staring at the sight before him dazedly. Everything had vanished, the Soaring Dragon ship, the Green Vine Elder, and¡­ Green Vine mountain.

    The Green Vine mountain had vanished, replaced by a huge, spherical crater. Only the foot of the mountain remained as residual evidence of its existence.

    The other Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived behind him. They were all dumbfounded by this, and the same emotions appeared on the faces of them and their disciples¡ªindignation and fear!

    ¡°Shancheng! Haitang! Haitang!¡± Hua Chengzan brushed past Fu Qingjin and called out in a panic.

    In the area that was originally the foot of the Green Vine mountain, the earth shifted slightly.

    ¡°Haitang, is it you?¡± Hua Chengzan rushed over, but a green light had already brushed past him. Fu Qingjin stood with his sword in hand.

    The earth erupted, and Yu Shukuang stuck his head out. Seeing the tip of the sword right before his eyes, he leapt in fright.

    Afterwards, the disciples of the Green Vine mountain climbed out of the ground one after another. They were unable to leave the mountain, so they dug out a hole together, hiding underground. They thought even if the daemon got through the formation, he would not be able to see them and probably would not bother digging them out. In the end, they were buried underground, but they managed to survive.

    ¡°Hmm? Where¡¯s Green Vine mountain?¡± Yu Shukuang looked around. He spotted the crater and entered a daze before realising what had happened. He was dumbfounded, still shaken up. If the crater had been a little larger, it would have reached where they were hiding.

    Fu Qingjin sheathed his sword, while Hua Chengzan was greatly disappointed.

    ¡°Chengzan, I¡¯m here.¡± Qiu Haitang made her way out from behind a mountain.

    ¡°Haitang, that¡¯s fantastic. I thought you already¡­ Are you fine?¡± Hua Chengzan flew over, completely overjoyed.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s heart warmed slightly. They had spent all these years together, so she still meant something to him. It was just a pity that fate was against them.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Shancheng?¡±

    Their eyes met. Hua Chengzan sighed. It was not that he actually felt nothing towards her. He would simply never change his mind. Accepting her feelings when he was in love with someone else was disrespecting her. She would only end up with an even greater heartbreak.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the daemon?¡± Fu Qingjin interrupted them.

    ¡°Shancheng died to protect me.¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s gaze became desolate once more as she began to speak tirelessly.

    In her story, the daemon used her to threaten Jiang Shancheng, forcing him to control the Soaring Dragon ship to attack the Green Vine mountain. In the end, when the daemon wanted to silence them both, Jiang Shancheng stood forward and kept the daemon busy, allowing her to live.

    Women were natural actors, while Qiu Haitang was the best among the best. She wove this lie intricately, completely distancing herself from any blame.

 Chapter 401 â€“ The Legend is About to Begin

    Qiu Haitang was pale-white, still shaken from the recent events. She truly seemed pitiful. Everyone around her probably became deeply convinced by her story immediately.

    However, both Fu Qingjin and Hua Chengzan were among the sharpest people out there. Both of their eyes flashed with a hint of doubt, but they did not ask any further questions.

    Qiu Haitang and Hua Chengzan bade farewell and left first. The remaining disciples of the Green Vine mountain were all Qi Practitioners towards the lower end of the spectrum, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators were in no mood to pay any attention to them either. The disciples were afraid of bothering them, so they all left by themselves.

    Diao Fei and Yu Shukuang exchanged glances. Alright, let¡¯s just go to Clear River city together!

    After that, there was no such thing as the Green Vine mountain anymore, or so-called disciples of the Green Vine mountain. As the first senior brother, Diao Fei was slightly saddened, but Yu Shukuang was very positive. Now, the sky was open for him to fly freely. Perhaps this was good news. He had stepped onto the path of cultivation after so much difficulty, yet he did not even feel as liberated as when he was the lord of the Proud Sword manor.

    Without any eyesores around, the Foundation Establishment cultivators all voiced their fury. ¡°The wretched daemon has been so conceited. Fellow Fu, we can¡¯t just let this matter be.¡± ¡°Yeah, the Daemon Suppression alliance is of the same breath and branch. We should be working together against our common enemy.¡±

    ¡°But even the Duality Formation of Disintegration couldn¡¯t stop him. If he comes knocking¡­¡±

    Within the noisy discussion, someone murmured that, and all of them shut up. They could not help but look into the deep crater beside them. It was a shocking sight.

    ¡°I will report this to the Sword Collection palace. Don¡¯t worry, everyone. Fellow Green Vine¡¯s debt of blood definitely won¡¯t just end here. There will be a day when I personally cut down this daemon with my sword.¡±

    Fu Qingjin waved his hand, and all the sect masters bid farewell, only leaving him alone, standing with his arms behind his back and gazing at the crater. The moonlight was like liquid silver, while his long hair was like ink. His fringe covered his face, and his expression was gloomy, but the corner of his lips gradually curled up.

    ¡°No glory can avoid the fate of being reduced to ruins. Northmoon. I¡¯ve remembered this name.¡±

    Above the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, Qiu Haitang and Hua Chengzan passed through the rain, landing softly. They were like a pair of immortals.

    ¡°Rest up well. I still need to go back. There¡¯s a lot I need to do tonight.¡± Before Hua Chengzan had even finished talking, fragrance filled his nose. Qiu Haitang had embraced him firmly. He hesitated for a moment before gently patting her back. His smile was rather powerless.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Through the rain, her face became slightly blurred, startlingly beautiful. However, it soon returned to normal.

    ¡°Just as I thought. No reaction.¡± Qiu Haitang smiled. Hua Chengzan opened his mouth, but he faltered. Qiu Haitang suddenly grew stern. ¡°Tell me seriously. Are you using Gu Yanying to hide the truth that you like men?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Who did you hear that from?¡± Hua Chengzan had no idea on how to respond.

    ¡°A person that¡¯s not a person. It makes sense. How¡¯s that even possible?¡± Qiu Haitang smiled. When that guy told her about it, he was so serious that he actually convinced her slightly.

    ¡°You mean?¡± Hua Chengzan immediately responded.

    ¡°We¡¯re still good friends, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Go handle what you need to handle!¡± With that, Qiu Haitang turned around without the slightest hesitance.

    ¡°Haitang¡­¡± Hua Chengzan extended his hand. Wasn¡¯t this what he had been wishing for the entire time? So, why did he feel melancholic now?

    Finally, Hua Chengzan vanished into the rainy night, while Qiu Haitang remained there. She took in a deep breath and raised her head. Tears had already strewn across her face, mixing with the rain and flowing down her cheeks.

    She thought about back then, how her master had once said, ¡°Throughout the ages, most of those who possess the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty were women who suffered from love-sickness, but they¡¯re also fated to never have their love reciprocated, dying in melancholy.¡± Back then, she was still a young girl, so she did not believe it at all. Afterwards, she became convinced, but she refused to accept her fate. She had persevered with her struggle until now, but it was all for nothing.

    She wiped away her tears and revealed a smile. She could not decide how others felt, but did that mean she was unable to control how she felt herself? Dying in melancholy? I¡¯ll live happily and show you.

    Chengzan, I hope one day you also meet a person or daemon who can make you let go.

    Removing her makeup and changing into a night dress, she sat in front of the window, listening to the rain quietly.

    She lost track of time. A familiar, scarlet figure descended from the sky.

    Qiu Haitang beamed inside. She was just about to tell him about what she had done, wanting to hear his opinion.

    ¡°Tell me what the hell goes on in the minds of women!¡± Li Qingshan was gloomy and spoke first.

    Qiu Haitang was speechless.

    Hua Chengzan returned to the Hua estate. The sect masters and elders skilled with flight had already returned before him.

    The disciples of the Daemon Suppression alliance were all uneasy as they exchanged glances, while the disciples of the academy were perplexed, having absolutely no idea about what had happened to the Green Vine mountain.

    ¡°Chengzan, was the daemon caught or not? And, what about the Green Vine Elder?¡±

    As soon as Hua Chengzan returned, he was surrounded. Wang Pushi asked him a barrage of questions too.

    ¡°Here¡¯s not a place to speak. Please come with me, school leaders.¡± Hua Chengzan clasped his hands. Then, he noticed the concerned Juechenzi and everyone else, so he added, ¡°And the primary disciples!¡±

    In a quiet room, Hua Chengzan told them everything he had seen, as well as heard from Qiu Haitang. The atmosphere was heavy. Even though the Daemon Suppression alliance was their opponent, they were still human cultivators after all. The Green Vine Elder¡¯s fate had unsettled everyone.

    In particular, the primary disciples were all entranced. The daemon had flattened the Green Vine mountain along with the Green Vine Elder. Just how terrifying was that? Let alone them, mere Qi Practitioners, even if they reached Foundation Establishment successfully, all they could do was flee for their lives if they ran into the daemon.

    Li Qingshan was ¡°heavy-hearted¡± too, quietly observing their expressions. He was completely fascinated by it all. Only when he saw Han Qiongzhi¡¯s sorrow did he frown. She had only lost a friend of the past. Did she have to be like this?

    ¡°In other words, both Jiang Shancheng and the Green Vine Elder died at his hands.¡± Wang Pushi disturbed the silence.

    ¡°Yes. The Sword Collection palace and the Daemon Suppression alliance definitely won¡¯t remain silent any longer. They¡¯ll ask the daemons to hand over the culprit.¡±

    ¡°Will the daemons hand him over?¡± asked the leader of the school of Music in worry.

    ¡°Definitely not,¡± Han Anjun said firmly.

    ¡°The Daemon Suppression alliance will definitely be out for revenge. Negotiations and diplomacy are useless now. We need to prepare ourselves.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside, no longer in the state to care about Han Qiongzhi¡¯s feelings. Hua Chengzan was right. Once the Daemon Suppression alliance decided to pursue revenge, Milliped¡¯s territory would definitely bear the brunt of it all. He had to return underground and make preparations. He could run amok above ground like no one was around, but if Fu Qingjin ventured underground with just his sword, who could stop him?

    This was the principle of the world of cultivation. The strong played decisive roles. As long as they were slightly stronger, it would be a one-sided massacre. This principle would completely manifest in war. The strong would shine with the glory that belonged to them in the first place.

    If night never descended, how could the stars shine?

    Tonight, the brightest star was called ¡°Northmoon¡±.

 Chapter 402 â€“ Secre

    t

    The school leaders remained behind to discuss, while the disciples all left the Hua estate.

    Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi traveled together on a cloud. Han Qiongzhi¡¯s brows were firmly furrowed, while Li Qingshan seemed to be in thought, but he maintained a faint smile the entire time.

    ¡°Qiongzhi, cheer up. This isn¡¯t worth it for a person as shitty as him.¡± Li Qingshan could not help but try and comfort her.

    ¡°What would you know?¡±

    ¡°I know he takes advantage of people and abandons his friends.¡±

    ¡°Shancheng just wanted to comfort her. Even if he was planning that, what¡¯s wrong with it? It¡¯s not like they¡¯re children, so how can you call that taking advantage of her? You¡¯re just angry that he looked down on you.¡± Han Qiongzhi had never liked how gorgeously dressed Qiu Haitang was and how she always got what she wanted. And, after hearing Qiu Haitang¡¯s ¡°story¡±, she even found that while Jiang Shancheng was quite a bad presence, his behaviour still made him a man in the very end. He did not deserve to be spoken ill of like this.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that I should be happy he looks down on me? Then it looks like your wish has come true. I am indeed rather happy right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking around with you. No matter what the two of you had going on between each other, he¡¯s already dead. I hope you can respect him a little. Do you know how ugly you are right now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not kidding with you either. I only respect those who respect me. I¡¯ve never been someone who goes out of my way to please others.¡± Li Qingshan smiled with ease.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re beyond reason!¡± Han Qiongzhi leapt off the cloud in anger and flew away, disappearing into the rain and leaving Li Qingshan alone, sighing gently to himself. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly beyond reason.¡±

    It was not like he was actually eighteen years old. He knew what he should have done earlier, brushing past the matter without caring. Throughout all the time they spent together, they did not actually go without the slightest conflict at all. However, he was a man, so he obviously would not bicker and argue with a woman.

    However, Li Qingshan had been constantly considering something seriously, which was telling her everything. Tonight, the humans and daemons were on the brink of war, so this urge of his became very intense. At the same time, he understood it would not be that simple. When the time really arrived, he required her absolute acceptance. If he handled it badly, the consequences would be unthinkable. It was even possible for his lover to become his enemy.

    As a result, he said what he said just then, but the end result was not positive. If she could not even accept his flaws, how could she accept the fact that he was a daemon? If she could not even accept his criticism of Jiang Shancheng, how was she supposed to accept the fact that he had personally killed Jiang Shancheng?

    He had already considered this possibility. Han Qiongzhi had her own standpoint and principles. They would not change so easily over a single word of ¡°love¡±. If it were Han Qiongzhi, it might have been slightly more possible. Whatever, even his friends and lover probably had their own small ¡°secrets¡±. He could not ask for too much!

    On the Lake of Dragons and Snakes, the autumn rain kicked up countless ripples. Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed, slowly absorbing the spiritual qi of the world and recovering his daemon qi. After quite a while, he stood up, and all of his daemon qi was drained once again.

    His original body returned to Cloudwisp island, while his clone flew towards the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He still had a lot of items in Qiu Haitang¡¯s possession. However, no matter what, he still felt rather depressed. As a result, he could not help himself but vent the moment he saw Qiu Haitang.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiu Haitang was very surprised and even slightly happy.

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you. Where are my things?¡± Li Qingshan entered her room and looked around before returning his gaze to Qiu Haitang. The silken, silver-white sleep dress was as thin as cicada¡¯s wings, flowing down her body like water and making her seem graceful.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes rippled, and she opened her mouth slightly, but she could not even say anything before Li Qingshan interrupted her.

    ¡°Let me tell you, I¡¯m in quite a bad mood right now. If you threaten me again, I¡¯ll strip you naked and hang you outside.¡± Li Qingshan pushed her aside and sat down on the deck chair by himself.

    Qiu Haitang hesitated before taking out two hundred treasures pouches. She was no longer a girl who had lost her will to live anymore. Just stripping her naked was something she could never accept. The guy before her really was capable of something like that.

    Li Qingshan accepted the two hundred treasures pouches and inspected them before shoving them into his clothes. Out of the two hundred treasures pouches, one was in perfect shape, obviously from Jiang Shancheng, while the other was slightly damaged, having come from the Green Vine Elder.

    The moment the Duality Formation of Disintegration vanished, Li Qingshan flew down as quickly as he could, snatching the Green Vine Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch from his waist. He used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to protect himself for a split second before vanishing in the explosion.

    However, that was already enough to throw the hundred treasures pouch out. Hundred treasures pouches had always been rather light items, and they were extremely tough. As long as they were not directly targeted, they could not be destroyed so easily. However, if it had not been his mirror clone, Li Qingshan would probably have never been bold enough to take such a risk. It was exactly because he possessed a clone that he was bold enough to ask for it back from Qiu Haitang.

    ¡°For a smooth cooperation.¡± Li Qingshan cheered up drastically, patting Qiu Haitang before preparing to leave.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to tell you. I used the method you told me to test him again¡­¡± Qiu Haitang grabbed him by the wrist and began speaking by herself.

    ¡°That¡¯s very good!¡± After listening to it all, Li Qingshan sighed slightly. Little Hua is really stubborn, isn¡¯t he? So much for helping him so much. But since destiny forbids it, ending it soon is not necessarily a bad thing.

    ¡°Thank you for listening to me so much. I¡¯d like to pay you back, so if there¡¯s something that perplexes you, I might be able to resolve it for you.¡± Qiu Haitang placed her hand on her chest and smiled slightly, both noble and reserved.

    ¡°Hah, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s understanding the thoughts of a woman, I believe there are few who surpass me.¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped in front of the window and turned around. ¡°Fine!¡± He hid all of the details, only telling her that he had a great secret he wanted to share with his lover, but after testing her, he found it unlikely for her to accept it. ¡°What do you think I should do? Oi, I¡¯m asking you a question!¡± He waved his hand around in front of her.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do anything at all.¡±

    Only then did Qiu Haitang return to her senses. She never thought he would have such delicate thoughts despite how unruly he was. His feelings for that woman had even touched her slightly, and his distressed behaviour actually made her pity him. If you can obtain someone¡¯s heart, what kind of secret can¡¯t you accept?

    ¡°Can you even call that a recommendation? At least tell me how I should repair my relationship with her!¡±

    ¡°If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, she¡¯ll come looking for you very soon.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Her standpoint isn¡¯t as firm as you believe it to be. Unlike stubborn men, women will always take a step back, again and again, for who they love. I hope you can treat her well, without letting her down.¡±

    Qiu Haitang was extremely serious, suddenly seeming extremely mature, almost melancholic. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, was she really lacking in perseverance? However, only she understood that no matter how many steps she took back, all she would be left with was a wall against her back, unable to take any steps anymore back.

    On the Cloudwisp island, within the shimmering bamboo forest, Li Qingshan sat below the porch. Suddenly, he felt a familiar aura pass through the rainy night.

    ¡°If this secret will damage your relationship, it will only cause her pain. You have the responsibility to protect this secret forever. That¡¯s also a form of love,¡± said Qiu Haitang in a distant manner. She had once hoped he would accept her, even if he feigned his love for her.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and saw a familiar figure passing through the forest, throwing herself into his arms. Her voice was hoarse as she said, ¡°You bastard. Why didn¡¯t you chase after me? Do you know how sad I was?¡±

    ¡°Qiongzhi?¡±

    She was soaking, and her cheeks were moist, perhaps from the rain or from tears. She was so delicate that Li Qingshan basically doubted whether he had mistaken her for someone else. Qiu Haitang had been right. She was not as firm or adamant as he thought. Just like how she could easily influence his mood, he could hurt her heart just as easily. This was the cost of being in love.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and kissed her.

    ¡°I understand. Thank you for your suggestion. I will cherish my relationship with her.¡± Li Qingshan stepped on the window sill and looked back at Qiu Haitang with a smile before leaping off and unfurling his wings, vanishing into the rainy night.

    The night rain pattered against the bamboo forest. It was a particularly dreary sound.

    The two of them embraced each other firmly, each finding the other like a scorching fire. Li Qingshan touched her body fearlessly. Unable to put up with the obstruction of her clothes, he directly tore apart her dress with a rip, exposing her perfectly-round, snow-white legs.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Han Qiongzhi cried out before stifling her voice. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside.¡±

    ¡°Here will do!¡± Li Qinshan pressed his forehead against hers, his gaze gentle yet ruthless. It was not like there was anyone else on the island. It was just them.

    Han Qiongzhi was powerless to resist. In the blink of an eye, she had been stripped naked like a shorn sheep, no longer clad in anything. The autumn wind was slightly chilly, and she shivered. Cold and heat had ceased to affect her a long time ago, but she was still embarrassed as she was below the porch, despite knowing there was no one else on the island. However, she was unable to think too much about it before long, as she was soon taken away by pleasure.

    After who knew how long, the rain stopped, and the clouds dispersed. Han Qiongzhi had almost forgotten how she had ended up in the room. All she saw was Li Qingshan staring at the dark ceiling in a daze. She shifted to her side and placed her hand on his chest. ¡°Are you still angry?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Li Qingshan looked over and gave her a toothy grin.

    ¡°Actually, I wasn¡¯t angry because of Shancheng, but for your sake. You aren¡¯t so stingy normally.¡± Han Qiongzhi drew circles on his chest with her finger.

    ¡°I understand. I understand it all. However, if it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been so stingy.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her hand.

    The two of them smiled at each other. Han Qiongzhi rested her head on his chest. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to make me so angry again, okay?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not something I can promise.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already given you so much freedom, yet you can¡¯t even agree to something so small!¡± Han Qiongzhi dug her chin into his chest in irritation.

    ¡°I¡¯m clearly the one who¡¯s working my ass off. You just lie on your back comfortably and enjoy yourself.¡± Li Qingshan sniggered, but when he saw how she was about to become irritated again, he added, ¡°Fine, fine, fine. I promise you. If I make you run off from anger again, I¡¯ll definitely chase after you.¡±

    ¡°What kind of promise is that?! Sigh, that¡¯s just my luck. I¡¯ve fallen in love with a man like you. If you don¡¯t chase after me, all I can do is return by myself obediently. I really am making myself suffer!¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like something first young miss Han would say.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened, and he stroked her hair gently.

 Chapter 403 â€“ Ambitious

    The wind whistled, and the drizzle assaulted his face.

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings, flying through the dark sky. The half-transparent wings loosened and tightened. He was like a red fish, sometimes leaping into the sea of clouds and sometimes falling into the rain. Through his process, he rapidly familiarised himself with the usage of the wings.

    At this moment, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core flashed and gave him an omen of warning.

    Li Qingshan turned around, hovering in the air. All he could see was a sky filled with rain and clouds, unable to sense anything wrong at all, but the feeling of being spied on only became clearer.

    A green light shot through the clouds. Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression was bleak as his gaze was like a bolt of lightning. The moment Li Qingshan stopped, he stopped too, carefully hiding in the clouds.

    The rain continued to fall. All was silent.

    Li Qingshan basically identified him immediately. As it turned out, he had still given himself away with this visit to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He was tempted to use his clone to probe his strength, but upon considering the three hundred treasures pouches on him, he turned around and flew downwards, entering underground through a cave.

    ¡°What vigilant prey.¡± Fu Qingjin appeared. If he had prey like this, then his mission as a liaison would not be too boring. However, now was not the time for him to reel in his net.

    Moving underground, Li Qingshan took out his underground mental map and found his way, returning to his territory. The sight earlier truly made him understand what being stared right in the face meant. He was forced to respond immediately.

    Returning to the cavern, he found Milliped cultivating silently by lying on the stone bed, recovering his strength bit by bit.

    A shadow appeared behind him, consolidating and lunging towards him. Li Qingshan had already been prepared. He suddenly turned around and extended his right hand before placing it down again. A soft body threw herself into his embrace.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re back!¡± Ye Liubo was filled with surprise and delight.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already undergone the heavenly tribulation.¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s all thanks to the pill master bestowed upon me!¡± Ye Liubo said gratefully. After ingesting the True Spirit pill, she immediately felt the energy in her body change qualitatively, finally breaking through and going through the heavenly tribulation. This was not due to the True Spirit pill alone, but also because of the lengthy time she had spent at the bottleneck.

    ¡°Liubo is willing to do anything to repay master¡¯s kindness.¡± Ye Liubo licked her lips.

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic. Keep managing the trade. I need even more spiritual herbs.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan left, he gave her many of the spiritual artifacts and talismans he had no use for. After undergoing the heavenly tribulation, she went back to show off and successfully completed a few transactions, earning Li Qingshan a lot of spiritual herbs yet again. None of them were less than a century old.

    ¡°Nicely done.¡± Li Qingshan accepted the spiritual herbs and smiled.

    Right now, he had two choices. One was abandoning this place to avoid any potential attacks from Fu Qingjin, venturing deeper underground and temporarily taking up residence in Blacklustre city. The other option was to fortify this place and turn it into a fortress that opposed the Daemon Suppression alliance.

    In the past, he would have leaned towards the former. After all, his subordinates were limited, and it was not like he cultivated for the sake of the Daemon race¡¯s prosperity. There was no need for him to throw himself at the Daemon Suppression alliance. But now, he had another idea in mind. He needed to see the Spider Queen before that.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and visit Ye Mingzhu first.¡±

    ¡°Please allow me to come with you¡­ master!¡± Ye Liusu emerged silently from the darkness.

    ¡°Alright. Bring Milliped with us.¡±

    ¡°Sir Northmoon, it really has been quite a while. Have you brought more good news back for me?¡±

    In Blacklustre city, Ye Mingzhu immediately rushed back after hearing about Northmoon¡¯s arrival, showing great respect towards him. Having received the support of his weapons, the Spider Shadow clan was gradually turning the tides of the war underground.

    ¡°Matriarch Ye is riding the crest of success!¡± Li Qingshan sat on a high-back chair with his legs crossed while Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu stood beside him.

    ¡°How can you call me matriarch, sir Northmoon? You can just refer to me as Mingzhu. This is all thanks to sir Northmoon¡¯s efforts. Please accept this measly gift as a small tribute.¡± Ye Mingzhu offered up a brocade box with both hands.

    ¡°Nothing comes for free! You must have a request in mind, don¡¯t you, Mingzhu?¡± Li Qingshan opened the box. Inside lay a thousand-year Dark Blood Ginseng. It was completely pitch-black, oozing with spiritual qi. It had already become slightly humanoid. Unlike other spiritual herbs, it was one that could be directly consumed. Even underground, the value of Dark Blood Ginsengs was extremely high.

    ¡°May I ask if sir Northmoon has any more of the pill that Liubo consumed? If you do, I am willing to exchange for them with even more and even better spiritual herbs.¡± Ye Mingzhi¡¯s eyes shone. There were many night roamers in the clan who had reached the bottleneck but were unable to break through. If she could obtain a few of these pills, they would gain several powerful members who had undergone the heavenly tribulation in the blink of an eye, forming a crushing force.

    ¡°Mingzhu, you really are ambitious, aren¡¯t you?¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the Dark Blood Ginseng with a smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any other choice either. If sir Northmoon is willing to assist me, I swear that any future requests from sir Northmoon will be completely fulfilled as long as it is within this territory, which can include me too.¡± Ye Mingzhu smiled charmingly.

    ¡°I do have a few requests, but before that, I need to see the Spider Queen first! Normally, I¡¯ll always personally fetch what I want.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. If he wanted to protect the territory and fend off Fu Qingjin, the night roamers would be an extremely important component in his plan. However, he had never planned on maintaining such a fragile relationship of treating them as equals and dealing with them through trade. He wanted to grasp this power in his very own hands, consolidating his cornerstone of authority in the underground world.

    It¡¯s just a few dozen subordinates, that¡¯s all. I¡¯ll definitely possess what Fu Qingjin has too.

    In Cobweb city, the bright, red carpet extended from the throne. Spider Queen Lolth leaned on her hand with her scarlet dress, studying Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ve finally bothered to come see me.¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen has summoned you multiple times, but you never came, not even once. What are you planning?¡± Bloodshadow¡¯s pale face was filled with undisguised animosity.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been constantly thinking about ma¡¯am Spider Queen too, but for the ma¡¯am¡¯s request, I¡¯ve been busying myself outside the entire time. I¡¯m not like certain people who just idle around in their own territories all day.¡± Li Qingshan chuckled and glanced at Bloodshadow.

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying you¡¯ve brought me the Green Vine Elder¡¯s head?¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s expression changed, becoming interested.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I haven¡¯t.¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands.

    ¡°Are you toying around with ma¡¯am Spider Queen? Ma¡¯am, I¡¯ll venture to the surface right now and bring you the head of the Green Vine Elder.¡± Bloodshadow rebuked loudly before volunteering himself. The Spider Queen¡¯s expression coldened slightly too.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. His laughter echoed through the huge chamber.

    ¡°What are you laughing about?¡±

    ¡°From today onwards, no one will be able to bring back even a hair of his, as he has already vanished with the Green Vine mountain.¡±

    ¡°Vanished?¡± Spider Queen Lolth was doubtful.

    ¡°What are you blabbering about?¡± Bloodshadow frowned.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it. I went a little too hard,¡± Li Qingshan said with his hands laid out.

    The Spider Queen curled her finger, and an oval mirror in the corner of the room glowed brightly.

    That¡¯s an arcane artifact! Li Qingshan was surprised inside. An image appeared on the surface of the mirror, passing through the rock and soil until it arrived above ground, reflecting the Green Vine mountain that had already been reduced to a crater.

    In that moment, even Bloodshadow was unable to say anything more. Only now did he understand what Li Qingshan meant by ¡°vanished¡±. His first response was that this was impossible. Even if he used his full strength, it was impossible for him to reduce an entire mountain to something like that unless he blew up his daemon core!

    The Spider Queen¡¯s smile slowly widened, gorgeous yet cruel. Laughter that could make people shudder rang out in their heads like threads of spider silk. Waiting outside, Ye Mingzhu¡¯s heart lurched, and she lowered her head. She gained a deeper understanding of Li Qingshan¡¯s strength yet again.

    At this moment, Dragonsnail and Strongboulder rushed over too. They heard the Spider Queens¡¯ laughter and were both shocked.

    ¡°What is this crater?¡¯

    After paying his respects to the Spider Queen, Strongboulder saw the image in the mirror and asked with furrowed brows.

    ¡°Green Vine mountain,¡± Dragonsnail said slowly. His voice was even slower than before, also doubting the conclusion he had reached. He gazed at Li Qingshan deeply.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± Strongboulder¡¯s voice boomed like thunder, filled with surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done very well. From today onwards, you are permitted to see me directly. You do not have to notify me.¡± Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s voice became much more friendly. No one would dislike a powerful subordinate that conformed to their tastes.

    Ye Mingzhu¡¯s expression changed. This was a special right only Dragonsnail, Strongboulder, and Bloodshadow possessed. Did this mean the three great Daemon Generals under the Spider Queen¡¯s command would increase today?

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight!¡± Strongboulder licked his lips as scorching battle intent rose from his body, but he did not object. If he were truly responsible for this, he was indeed worthy of this right.

    Bloodshadown said, ¡°Ma¡¯am, he¡¯s lying! Northmoon, I don¡¯t believe this is something you can do. Are you bold enough to clash with me? This time, I won¡¯t spare you so easily.¡±

    Bloodshadow was confident he was strong enough to expose Northmoon¡¯s true power as long as the Spider Queen permitted him to fight. He wanted to prove to the Spider Queen that Northmoon was completely unworthy of standing with them.

    ¡°You better stop!¡± Spider Queen Lolth shut them up. ¡°So you want to fight against a clone?¡±

    A clone!?

    Aside from Dragonsnail, everyone was surprised.

    Ye Mingzhu suddenly understood why he was so composed and fearless when he faced the entire Spider Shadow clan the other day. She became even more glad about her decision.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been using a clone to face us this entire time?¡± Bloodshadow¡¯s expression became even more sunken. He remembered how he had vanished from the cave in an unbelievable fashion during the pursuit that had ended inconclusively last time. As it turned out, it was just his clone. He had been led around like a fool.

    ¡°Safety comes first. I think ma¡¯am Spider Queen can understand my worries, right? If you hear me out, maybe even brother Dragonsnail and brother Strongboulder can understand. Actually, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised at all if ma¡¯am Spider Queen placed the blame on me and handed me over.¡±

 Chapter 404 â€“ King

    ¡°After I met with the Spider Queen, I immediately ventured to Green Vine mountain to kill that old man. However, I ended up falling into Fu Qingjin of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s trap, costing me my clone. After that, the Green Vine mountain became enveloped by the Duality Formation of Disintegration, preventing me from setting foot in there again.¡±

    ¡°The Duality Formation of Disintegration! You got through the Duality Formation of Disintegration?¡± Dragonsnail¡¯s calm expression finally became slightly perturbed, and his speech sped up by quite a lot.

    ¡°You know about it, brother Dragonsnail? Honestly, I couldn¡¯t get through the formation. I don¡¯t think anyone present can get through it apart from ma¡¯am Spider Queen. As a result, I bided my time and spent it scheming. I waited until last night when the members of the Daemon Suppression alliance gathered in an estate outside Clear River city.¡±

    ¡°Daemon Suppression alliance?¡± Strongboulder¡¯s eyebrows became firmly furrowed. This name was nothing but a mockery of daemons.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Daemon Suppression alliance is the same Daemon Suppression alliance composed of a combination of sects, led by the Sword Collection palace in the Clear River prefecture. Fu Qingjin seemed to be the one in charge.¡±

    ¡°Continue.¡± Spider Queen Lolth mulled over it.

    ¡°I followed them there and discovered a Foundation Establishment cultivator descending from the sky with a huge ship before leaving in front of everyone else. Afterwards, I learnt the ship was called the Soaring Dragon ship, a powerful mechanism created by humans. I followed it secretly. There were two Foundation Establishment cultivators on there¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan told the entire story in a single breath, and the room fell silent. Alone, he hijacked a powerful warship of the humans, destroyed the formation around the Green Vine mountain, and killed the Green Vine Elder. Just how soul-stirring was this entire process? He had to possess both intelligence and courage to be able to achieve something like this.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got something in you! What I admire the most are the powerful. You¡¯re powerful enough and vicious enough!¡± Strongboulder laughed aloud, violently smacking Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. Daemon qi suddenly surged out from his hand, slamming down with a weight of several thousand tonnes.

    Boom! A huge pit appeared where Li Qingshan stood.

    ¡°I want to fight you even more now.¡± Strongboulder raised his head and laughed violently as his eyes shone.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have the chance.¡± Li Qingshan dodged to one side, exercising his arm.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll sell you out?¡± Spider Queen Lolth stood up and stared at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Do you have any objections to that?¡±

    ¡°No. That¡¯s exactly what makes you charming.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very charming too, such that I almost want to have some fun with you, and then eat you mouthful by mouthful.¡± The Spider Queen made her way down from her throne slowly, touching Li Qingshan¡¯s cheek. She licked her bright-red lips and said those words in a husky voice. She was terrifyingly enchanting.

    A sliver of shock flashed across Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He had heard about some common practices underground from Ye Liubo. One of them included every clan offering male night roamers to the Spider Queen every year. The Spider Queen would eat every single partner she slept with. There were no exceptions.

    If someone was bold enough to become interested in her, then she would be the deadliest lover. However, the principle that daemons could not kill one another fortunately existed, so she would not touch daemons.

    Li Qingshan raised his head slightly, inches away from hers. ¡°You might have that chance in the future!¡±

    ¡°Oh? When?¡±

    ¡°When you can¡¯t eat me.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re very daring!¡±

    ¡°This is just a clone after all. If my main body were here, I might have pissed myself already.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°What reward do you want? State it!¡± The Spider Queen returned to her throne with a flash.

    ¡°I want to be the king of the night roamers!¡± Li Qingshan answered without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too bold?¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s face suddenly changed, radiating with murderousness and sweetness. The night roamers were the toys most important to her, yet there was actually someone bold enough to ask for them from her.

    Ye Mingzhu¡¯s expression changed too, suddenly understanding what Li Qingshan meant when he said, ¡°I¡¯ll always personally fetch what I want.¡± She was teeming with ambition, but all she wanted was the Spider Shadow clan to become the strongest clan among the night roamers. Compared to his ambitions, it only seemed insignificant.

    ¡°If you won¡¯t agree to it, then all I can do is abandon the territory and flee elsewhere.¡±

    ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s eyes squinted dangerously.

    ¡°Of course not. Since you¡¯re reluctant to hand me over, the Daemon Suppression alliance will arrive very soon for revenge. My territory will definitely bear the brunt of the blow. The Daemon Suppression alliance is filled with powerful people, so only by gathering sufficient strength can I take them on in a battle to the death. Or should I say you¡¯re satisfied with everything on a smaller scale?¡±

    ¡°We are on the brink of war. The night roamers are an extremely important force under your command, but right now, they¡¯re still in a state of disunity. They will be of no use in times of crisis, defeated one by one in the end. I will unite them into a true sword within your grasp to fight the Daemon Suppression alliance. Isn¡¯t this more interesting than just killing one another?¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward, and his voice rang out clearly. This was his intention. As long as he could combine the power of the night roamers, they would become a powerful force no weaker than the Daemon Suppression alliance of the Clear River prefecture. He would also possess something he could rely on when he confronted Fu Qingjin. There would be no need for him to carry out any trade at all. The night roamers would have to offer various spiritual herbs to him.

    The Spider Queen sank into her thoughts, as Li Qingshan¡¯s words were reasonable. On the brink of war, gathering and consolidating strength was very important.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, you mustn¡¯t!¡± Bloodshadow said in a hurry. If he ended up succeeding with this, his influence underground would completely surpass the three of them, becoming the most powerful Daemon General under the Spider Queen¡¯s command.

    ¡°The three of them are all your seniors. They surpass you in both age and wisdom. If two of them support you, then I¡¯ll agree to it. Right now, you already have someone objecting.¡± Spider Queen Lolth smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯ll support him! I¡¯ll support whatever you oppose!¡± Strongboulder said immediately, glancing at Bloodshadow scornfully.

    ¡°Strongboulder!¡± Bloodshadow¡¯s voice became as cold as ice.

    ¡°However, I do have a condition. You must fight me with your main body. If you lose, then this position will go to me. How¡¯s that?¡± Strongboulder pointed at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°No problem!¡± Li Qingshan smiled confidently. Daemons always spoke with one another using strength.

    Now, only Dragonsnail remained. His back was hunched, and his head was lowered. He seemed like he was asleep. He was the wisest and the most mysterious Daemon General under the Spider Queen¡¯s command. No one could guess his decision.

    ¡°Strongboulder, you may be powerful, but you lack the ability to lead,¡± Dragonsnail said slowly.

    ¡°If you want the position, then you can have it,¡± Strongboulder droned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have that energy. Bloodshadow, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°I support this motion, but my condition will be the same as Strongboulder¡¯s.¡± Bloodshadow immediately changed his mind. If Dragonsnail supported him too, then the situation would be extremely disadvantageous to him. Perhaps this might have been a heaven-sent opportunity instead.

 Chapter 405 â€“ A Soldier or a General?

    What a crafty old bag of bones! Li Qingshan cursed inside. With that, he would have to defeat two powerful Daemon Generals consecutively if he wanted the position, while Dragonsnail could remain uninvolved. Bloodshadown and Strongboulder were clearly rivals, so their strength were probably equal. By then, perhaps Dragonsnail would end up being the one in charge.

    ¡°Alright, then that¡¯s decided. Northmoon, when do you plan on going ahead with this?¡± Spider Queen Lolth curled her lips. When it came to conflict, she would always be brimming with interest.

    ¡°I will definitely come and see ma¡¯am Spider Queen again in three days time and battle it out with these two ¡®seniors¡¯!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands. After an initial probing, he had basically confirmed that Spider Queen Lolth was towards the warlike end of the spectrum within the daemons. She would never hand him over due to some Treaty of Kings.

    Of course, the person who had the final say over this was still the Dragon King of Ink Sea who reigned over the world of daemons in the Green province. However, basically everyone could tell that war was unavoidable. The probability of the Dragon King of Ink Sea killing one of his subordinates on the spot was so low that it was basically zero.

    Strongboulder was excited, Bloodshadow¡¯s gaze was vicious, and Li Qingshan¡¯s lips were slightly curled. The gazes of the three Daemon Generals clashed before they all turned around and took their leave.

    Leaving the chamber of the throne and returning to the region of the Spider Shadow clan, Li Qingshan gazed over the entire city from a terrace.

    ¡°Sir Northmoon, how much of a chance do you think you have?¡± Ye Mingzhu probed him.

    ¡°Fifty percent.¡± Li Qingshan was neither conceited, nor did he underestimate himself. He only showed off extraordinary confidence. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to assist me, perhaps that might increase by ten or twenty percent.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely leave you satisfied, sir Northmoon!¡± Ye Mingzhu lowered her head. His chances at success were already startlingly high.

    ¡°If my ambition can come true, then how difficult can your ambition be?¡±

    ¡°Uncle, that little brother of mine really is very troublesome! There¡¯s nothing I can do this time.¡± In the commandery city of Ruyi, Gu Yanying clutched the Ink Dragon talisman and said helplessly.

    After receiving the news from the Green Vine mountain, she was tempted to capture Li Qingshan immediately and choke him until he told her just what was going on. Was he really going to ignore her previous words?

    The ink dragon coiled around a few times before spitting out a sentence, ¡°Then let them fight!¡±

    ¡°Will the peace of several millennia finally be broken?¡±

    ¡°Limited to the Clear River prefecture, those whose cultivation is below two heavenly tribulations.¡±

    ¡°What! Why?¡± In Cobweb city, a similar small, black dragon danced and coiled about like a black wisp, passing on the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s order. The Spider Queen beamed at first before becoming furious. The war she had thirsted for all this time was finally about to begin, but she could not be directly involved.

    ¡°Learn to use your subordinates!¡± said the tiny dragon before dispersing completely.

    At the same time, Fu Qingjin received orders from the Sword Collection palace. From this point on, he would be completely in charge of the Daemon Suppression alliance in the Clear River prefecture. He would be able to do whatever he wanted within the Clear River prefecture. As long as he did not venture too deeply underground and reached that place called Cobweb city, the Spider Queen would not touch him. But at the same time, he would not receive the assistance of any Golden Core cultivators either.

    Both of them sighed as they experienced the same thought, Are you planning on turning the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture into a chessboard?

    The Clear River prefecture was like a miniature version of the Green province, where the complications between the three organisations were almost identical.

    No one knew how alike the thoughts of those above ground were. Had they allowed this to happen as training for the war in the future? Or, was it to use the brutal reality of war to warn those who liked fighting? Or, perhaps this was just a game within their lengthy lives! A mere gamble!

    Gu Yanying stowed the Ink Dragon talisman away. Is my job just to prevent others from interrupting this game? Most of them are easy to deal with, except that the old man from Pine Sough academy. He¡¯s very stubborn. There¡¯s only one person who can stop him.

    The heavy gales of wind whistled through the air, making the pine trees sough and ripple.

    Together with the wind came the misty rain, rolling over the soughing pine trees like fog. It drifted through the mountains before colliding with a large mountain and scattering over it. Lofty structures peppered the mountain, and the doors were labeled with three powerful and charming words. It was the renowned Pine Sough academy.

    The sounds of studying rang out everywhere, piercing through the autumn rain and rising into the sky.

    A streak of light descended from above, arriving outside a thatched hut on the back of the mountain. A dark-skinned scholar sheathed his sword; he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had already gone through a heavenly tribulation. The thatched hut before him was so simple that even regular people would have found it to be overly run-down.

    However, the dark-skinned scholar became cautious. He tidied his clothes and gave a great bow. ¡°Master.¡±

    The wooden door opened, revealing the back of someone currently bent over a table, writing. His small, skinny body held up his large robes, which seemed especially big on him. Many bottles and containers were scattered around the ground behind him. They were actually for catching the rain that ran down the hut.

    ¡°Junior brother Jiang is dead.¡± The dark-skinned scholar was furious. He went off to help him the moment he received Jiang Shancheng¡¯s distress signal, but he never thought it would turn out like this. Not only was he dead, but they had even lost an extremely important Soaring Dragon ship.

    When the old man finished listening to everything, he just happened to have finished writing a word. With a sweep of his arm, the sword hanging on the wall flew into his hand. The sheathe was very old, but it was simple and uncomplicated, just like him.

    He strode towards the door as his aura grew, lifting up his large robes, lifting up the simple room, and lifting up the Pine Sough academy, filling the entire world.

    His wrinkled face was so solemn that it was almost rigid, and his wispy, white beard drifted about gently. In the eyes of regular people, he was just a small, skinny old man, but he gave off a bearing that no regular person could imagine. It was boundless and dauntless.

    He was the head scholar of Pine Sough academy, Wen Zhengming.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    ¡°Please hold on, brother Wen.¡±

    At this moment, a man emerged from the rain. He only seemed to be in his twenties, but he gave off the same, somber feeling that came from a hundred-year-old man. He wore a fancy hat and was dressed in violet. His delicate face seemed rather chilly, as if he was forcing a smile.

    Sure enough, Wen Zhengming stopped. He furrowed his brows. ¡°What has brought sir governor to my thatched hut in the mountains?¡±

    ¡°Originally, I had no interest in coming to your thatched hut in the mountains to speak to an old coot like you.¡± He was the governor of the Ruyi commandery, the Marquis of Ruyi.

    ¡°Did ma¡¯am Gu send you to persuade me?¡±

    ¡°If you want revenge for your disciple, you¡¯ll get your opportunity some day, but not right now. This is not an attempt at persuasion, but an order!¡±

    Confucians were firm and unyielding, unfazed by poverty, incorruptible by wealth. Even if Gu Yanying had personally come, she would struggle to stop Wen Zhengming from avenging his disciple. However, the Marquis of Ruyi was the legitimate lord of the Ruyi commandery. No confucian could defy his decrees unless they decided to commit treason against confucianism; it was not because they could not, but because they were reluctant to.

    In just a few words, Wen Zhengming returned to his hut and wrote away once again, but the sword continued to hang on his waist. He refused to take it off.

    In the sky, Gu Yanying said to the Marquis of Ruyi, ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done everything I can to fulfil your request.¡± The Marquis of Ruyi was no longer as chilly as before. He smiled gently, staring at her face.

    Gu Yanying ignored this familiar sight. She thought with a smile,

    The board has been assembled. Where be the pieces?

    Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. Are you going to be a soldier who won¡¯t emerge alive, or a general who leads the army?

    On the slow, rippling lake, Li Qingshan only infiltrated the Lake of Dragons and Snakes after confirming and checking multiple times that the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core gave off no warning, handing the Green Vine Elder and Jiang Shancheng¡¯s hundred treasures pouches to his real body.

    Passing through the Formation of Dragons and Snakes and returning to Cloudwisp island, Han Qiongzhi had already left, leaving a message behind for him.

    ¡°Old Wang wants me to return and formally become the primary disciple of the school of Legalism.¡±

    Li Qingshan placed the message down and turned around. All he saw was a petite figure in black monk robes, leaning against the bamboo and staring at him from afar.

    Li Qingshan beamed in joy. ¡°Xiao An, get over here. I have something good to show you.¡±

    However, Xiao An did not lunge over like before. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened as a result, making his way over and squatting down. He rubbed her head. ¡°What, are you angry?¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Xiao An nodded obediently.

    ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. Please forgive me, great ma¡¯am Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan scooped her up with a smile, both apologetic and lovingly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want me anymore, do you?¡± Xiao An wrapped her arms around his neck and said gently.

    ¡°What¡¯re you saying? I can give up on anyone, just not you!¡± Her tender voice made Li Qingshan¡¯s heart ache.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you come find me at all? I was afraid of disturbing you too.¡± Xiao An furrowed her brows as her eyes rippled slightly like limpid water.

    ¡°I swear that it won¡¯t happen again!¡± Li Qingshan stared at Xiao An¡¯s clear, dark eyes. Whenever he spent time with her, there might not have been the entangling passion he felt with Han Qiongzhi, but he would be filled with indescribable peace and quiet, a sense of belonging.

    He had once said home would be wherever he was, but that was not actually true. Only where she was was home. Perhaps he could not think about it constantly, but he would never forget it.

    ¡°Come, let me give you a kiss!¡±

    Xiao An pecked his face heavily, and Li Qingshan smiled so resplendently that even the rainy weather was unable to hide it. Xiao An was infected by it too, revealing a shy smile of happiness.

    ¡°Let me tell you, I did something huge recently¡­¡± Li Qingshan made his way towards the loft as he showed off. He was not blazing with an imposing bearing, and he was without a sense of valiance or dauntlessness. Sometimes, he would even seem extremely petty, greedy, and lustful, riddled with problems. However, as long as it was her, he would hide nothing at all.

    Their conversation after being separated for all this time actually came with an indescribable feeling of satisfaction and liberation, no less than when he piloted the ship and destroyed the Green Vine mountain. Although Xiao An only smiled and listened, just how many people in the world were such good listeners?

    Qiu Haitang had said that if he loved her, then he had to protect the secret forever. She was not wrong, but she missed the most important point, which was what Li Qingshan felt. This had nothing to do with a lack of understanding. She had been imagining the perfect lover, but she never imagined a daemon would have a concept of home.

 Chapter 406 â€“ Seizing Every Momen

    t

    As for Xiao An, she showed Li Qingshan the Skull Prayer Beads she had refined. A string of fourteen prayer beads hung from her slender wrist, pure-white like they were brand new.

    ¡°So does anything special happen when you assemble fourteen beads?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously.

    Xiao An smiled. With a wave of her hand, the prayer beads scattered and fell onto the ground. They bounced around a few times before standing up.

    Yes, standing up. Every single prayer bead turned into a complete skeleton. They were only the size of a thumb, but their bones were bulky, their claws were sharp, and their teeth were protruding. They seemed both vicious and powerful.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan bent down and studied them carefully. Suddenly, he became shocked. He could sense that every single skeleton possessed the strength of a regular Daemon General. It was just withdrawn right now. They had not released their true strength.

    ¡°Skeleton Demons.¡± Xiao An opened her right hand, and the fourteen skeleton monsters leapt into her palm, baring their fangs at Li Qingshan. Xiao An flicked their heads, and only then did they settle down.

    But in that instant, Li Qingshan truly experienced a sense of danger. If they actually began fighting, the Skeleton Demons would definitely pose a huge issue.

    The fourteen prayer beads symbolised the fourteen dauntlessnesses of buddhism. They were the first complete artifact from the artifact forging section of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, the weakest version of the Skull Prayer Beads.

    TL: The fourteen dauntlessnesses of buddhism refer to¡­ to be added

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh over the power of the supernatural ability. Even when ignoring personal cultivation, they would possess the might of fourteen regular cultivators by undergoing a heavenly tribulation. Just how powerful was that?

    This was not exactly unique. For example, the Lone Grave Elder among the three elders could achieve this through refining Corpse Generals, and mohist masters could achieve this with powerful puppets and mechanisms. However, the difficulty of the refinement and the demand in the quality of the materials would well surpass Skull Prayer Beads.

    Most importantly, the Skull Prayer Beads were connected with Xiao An, basically akin to her clones. She could wield them like an extra limb, and when it mattered, she could even merge them with her body, repairing her white bones and healing her wounds.

    This was a supernatural ability that originated from beyond the Nine Heavens and was rumored that it could be practised to the realm of bodhisattvas. The further she progressed with it, the more it would manifest with its power.

    ¡°Are you trying to pressure me?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head forcefully. He had felt unstoppable after reaching Daemon General, riding on the crest of success and feeling like he could look down on everyone else. Only now did he jerk to his senses all of a sudden¡ªhe could not be so careless.

    ¡°Do you want to enter secluded cultivation?¡± Xiao An smiled bashfully as her eyes shone eagerly.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Once we get through this, we¡¯ll cultivate in seclusion for a while. I need to properly raise my cultivation as a Qi Practitioner and reach Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible. That will allow me to find out what brother ox left behind. I¡¯ll be able to obtain the wealth of a Golden Core cultivator at the very least. I can¡¯t let you get too far ahead. Let¡¯s check out my spoils first!¡±

    Opening Jiang Shancheng and the Green Vine Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouches, Li Qingshan was disappointed at first before becoming overcome by joy.

    Jiang Shancheng had only established a foundation recently, and he was just a disciple, so his wealth was extremely limited. Only the supreme grade spiritual artifact sword he wielded had some worth. He did not have much else, such as pills or spiritual stones.

    However, the Green Vine Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch was so plentiful that it surpassed Li Qingshan¡¯s expectations. Even if the possessions of the two other elders were combined, it probably would still not be enough to rival his. The tremendous amounts of pills and spiritual herbs completely filled his eyes, and a few supreme grade spiritual artifacts glowed brightly.

    Among the various pills, pills as rare as True Spirit pills and Virtue Accumulation pills amounted to over a dozen, but what interested Li Qingshan the most were not them. Instead, it was a dark-golden pill sealed within a bottle.

    ¡°This is¡­ an Origin Spirit pill!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Having spent so much time with Ru Xin, he had basically gained a general grasp over the common knowledge regarding various pills. Among them included this renowned Origin Spirit pill.

    It had a similar use to True Spirit pills, also for breaking through, but the realm it broke through to was Golden Core. It was a hundred times rarer than True Spirit pills, not something that regular Foundation Establishment cultivators possessed. Just what kind of luck did the Green Vine Elder possess to obtain one? Perhaps it had been bestowed upon him by the Sword Collection palace.

    After inspecting it, Li Qingshan stowed it away carefully before drawing a long blade from the many spiritual artifacts. The edge of the blade was a purply-green, varying in tone. Combined with the distinct, layered pattern of feathers, it stood out very much. As he held it in his hand, it was light, as if he was holding nothing at all.

    Its overall design resembled a strange bird. The hilt was curved and pointy, like the sharp beak of a bird, while the blade was large and wide like wings. The edge was circular, resembling a strange bird¡¯s head. Its two eyes were rounded, giving off a sense of twisted strangeness and a sense of mysterious magnificence.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had seen something similar before. Suddenly, he remembered Ru Xin¡¯s Crystal Resin cauldron. Although their patterns and designs were completely different, their overall style definitely came from the same origins. Did this supreme grade spiritual artifact come from the Mist province too?

    It was the only weapon that suited him out of the many supreme grade spiritual artifacts¡ªhe could easily give himself away if he used a sword¡ªbut the blade did not seem to be suited for killing. The edge was very blunt. When he brushed past the edge with the tips of his fingers, he suddenly felt a hint of numbness spread up through his fingers, leaving behind a streak of bright green as distinct as a verdant, venomous snake.

    This is a blade of poison!

    Li Qingshan was alarmed. He used the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core to suppress it in a hurry before forcing the poison out with his daemon qi. The poison was so potent that even he could not underestimate it.

    Li Qingshan had guessed correctly. The Green Vine Elder¡¯s blade did indeed come from the Mist province. As the hilt could absorb poison, and the blade could unleash poison, it was called the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather.

    Poisonfeather birds were strange birds among legends because they were fond of ingesting poison. Their feathers were known for their poison, and dipping the feathers into alcohol could poison people to death. This was also where the saying of ¡°quenching thirst with poison¡± originated from. The design of the blade originated from there.

    TL: You can read more about the Zhen bird, or the Poisonfeather bird, here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhenniao

    After the Green Vine Elder obtained it, he had refined it with various poisons, which was why it had achieved its current toxicity. However, he never had the opportunity to use it, and he eventually obtained a more suitable weapon, the Green Vine staff. After that, it just sat in his hundred treasures pouch, gathering dust.

    The Ox Demon Forges its Hide could block direct blows, but it could not stop poison. However, basically all other people or daemons suffered from this problem. If it were not for a cultivation method like the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he would have been forced to resist the poison with his full strength. Otherwise, the damage the poison would cause would grow even more severe as it invaded his body.

    However, who would give their opponent this kind of opportunity in actual battle?

    Li Qingshan lifted up the blade and smiled resplendently. He had finally found a weapon that could increase his chances at victory.

    Aside from that, the most important spoils he had obtained were a few formation banners and discs for setting up formations. After being replaced by the Duality Formation of Disintegration, the original formation around the Green Vine mountain had been stowed away by the Green Vine Elder.

    Li Qingshan had obtained quite a lot of formation scrolls and discs in the past, but they were all on the level of Qi Practitioners and not worth a lot. These formations were truly formations that guarded an entire sect.

    From a certain perspective, they were even more important than spiritual artifacts or pills. Formations were crucial for establishing a stable base. Otherwise, no matter how many powerful cultivators you could gather, as long as the enemy was slightly stronger in cultivation and knew a concealment technique, they would be able to come and go as they pleased. Even if formations could not stop the enemy, they could still serve as an alert for danger.

    Li Qingshan thanked the late Green Vine Elder. With these items, he could begin his plan.

    ¡°Xiao An, get ready to accompany me on an expedition to crush the enemy!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, three days had passed. Word of the battle between the three great Daemon Generals had already spread throughout the underground world.

    Basically everyone sat on the edge of their seats in Cobweb city. This was a battle that controlled the fate of the entire race of night roamers.

    ¡°Is he still not here?¡± Ye Mingzhu leaned on a window sill and gazed at the tall terrace. The Spider Queen seemed like a god with her bright-red figure, also waiting.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s afraid!¡± Ye Liuxing said coldly.

    ¡°He¡¯s going to be challenging the two of them consecutively. It only makes sense if he¡¯s afraid.¡± ¡°He actually said he wants to become the king of the night roamers. His boasts are simply absurd!¡± The elders discussed softly, sneering at him in disdain.

    ¡°Master is omnipotent. Why would he be afraid of them?¡± Ye Liubo rebuked loudly as her gaze shone fervently. To her, this person was no longer her master in name only. Instead, he had become her pillar of support that upheld all of her hopes and feelings.

    The elders glanced at this traitor furiously, but Ye Liubo refused to back down. Ye Mingzhu and Ye Liusu managed to calm her down.

    As for the other clans, their sneers of disdain and displeasure only rang out louder. A Daemon General who had appeared out of nowhere wanted to challenge the order of the underground and rule over them. He was over his head!

    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes flashed.

    A scarlet-red figure pierced through the air, arriving on the terrace in the blink of an eye. Just his startling speed only made the mouths of many night roamers drop!

    Li Qingshan was bare-chested, exposing his body that was so perfect that it seemed like a sculpture. He had his hands in his pockets, and the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather was thickly bundled, stretching over his back. He was extremely relaxed.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, I¡¯ve made you wait.¡±

    ¡°So this is your main body.¡± Spider Queen Lolth studied him up and down, licking her lips that were a dazzling red.

    ¡°You can say so!¡± Li Qingshan scanned the cavern from the corner of his eye. He could not sense any aura at all, but he knew Xiao An was watching over there quietly, preparing for the worst-case scenario. However, he could tell that the Spider Queen had no plan on turning against him, at least for now.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    Strongboulder and Bloodshadow unleashed their daemon qi simultaneously. Li Qingshan smiled and no longer held back anymore. His daemon qi rushed into the air too.

    The three daemon qi scattered the black clouds that constantly lingered over the city. Among them, Strongboulder was the strongest, Bloodshadow was slightly weaker, and Li Qingshan was much weaker. Although it was already extremely rare of him to possess such strength as a Daemon General who had broken through recently, just the quantity of daemon qi was enough to decide the outcome of the battle.

    ¡°And I had been wondering just how impressive your main body would be. Looks like this is all you have.¡± Bloodshadow mocked.

    ¡°You better cultivate for ten more millennia before you fight me!¡± Strongboulder was rather disappointed. It was impossible for Li Qingshan to stand against him with such measly daemon qi.

    Li Qingshan raised boths of his hands, pointing at the two of them and smiling.

 Chapter 407 â€“ Strongboulderâ€™s Power

    ¡°He¡¯s clearly so weak, yet he still provokes them without a second thought. Is there something wrong with this daemon¡¯s head?¡± The night roamers either discussed quietly or mocked loudly. They believed the outcome of the battle was already predetermined.

    ¡°Is it really just arrogance?¡± Ye Liusu suddenly thought of everything that had happened after meeting him. His figure of roaring at the entire Spider Shadow cFlan recklessly still lingered before her.

    No, it definitely isn¡¯t!

    All of his arrogance was built off his confidence. He was bold enough to bellow out, ¡°Who dares to kill me!¡± because he was just a clone. If they really ended up fighting, only the Spider Shadow clan would suffer losses in the end.

    Looking back, all she saw were Ye Liubo¡¯s eyes shining, without the slightest doubt. Ye Liusu opened her mouth before closing it again, smiling bitterly and silently. Was this still the crafty and resourceful Ye Liubo she once knew? She had found someone she could depend on, and she chose to place complete faith in him. Was this not a form of happiness?

    What about herself? And the fate of the entire Night Roaming folk? Where were they supposed to go? Suddenly, she began to hope from the bottom of her heart that Northmoon could emerge victorious, as he was a daemon unlike those daemons. If he led the night roamers, he could definitely bring about something completely new!

    Dragonsnail said slowly, ¡°I¡¯ve arranged a suitable battlefield for you!¡±

    The space suddenly opened up upstream from the rivers of lava on the other side of Cobweb city. Li Qingshan raised his head and gazed over.

    A huge rift pierced the underground terrain, several hundred meters deep. Looking down from above, he could see a thin river of fire flowing at the bottom, like a long, winding snake. In comparison, Li Qingshan seemed tiny.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and focused on the surging lava. The scorching light made his eyes shine.

    To the other side of the river of fire, Strongboulder rubbed his fist menacingly and snickered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you. All I¡¯ll do is crush every single bone in your body and make you understand the cost that comes with challenging the strong!¡±

    ¡°Then try it!¡± Li Qingshan strode forward. His iron hooves landed heavily in the lava, kicking up a few splashes and sparks. Among a series of gasps, he rapidly changed in shape. His scarlet hair blazed like fire as his horns curved like hooks. He radiated with valiance and viciousness, like the brutal aura of a primordial daemon.

    Doing whatever they wanted, those who defied the heavens were demons. Abiding to the heavens, those who shared their lives with the world were gods. These two opposing, conflicting concepts appeared on his body at the same time. Even he himself failed to sense the strangeness of this.

    However, Spider Queen Lolth was slightly fazed. So this was his original form!

    Ye Mingzhu thought to herself, Oh no. So he was not going to heed her advice.

    Two days ago, Ye Mingzhu delivered all the information she had summarised to Li Qingshan, and she discussed the tactics for the two battles with him.

    ¡°Strongboulder is transformed from a strange rock. He¡¯s a stone daemon that you rarely ever see, almost indestructible and filled with endless physical might. Against him, all you can do is make use of your advantage in speed and search for openings.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°As for Bloodshadow, his original form is a bat, but there are no regular bats as powerful as him even if they reach Daemon General. He should be some kind of exotic beast, but very few know about his actual origins. It¡¯s rumored that he¡¯s not a creature of this realm and comes from the Hell of Blood Pools instead. If he pushes his speed to his limit, probably the only one who can catch him would be Spider Queen Lolth. As a result, if you want to defeat him, all you can do is bide your time and block all of his attacks. You can deal a killing blow once he tires out.¡±

    ¡°Is this how Strongboulder and Bloodshadow try to defeat one another? What¡¯s the outcome of it?¡±

    ¡°A tie. However, according to this plan, you¡¯ll be undefeatable at the very least.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of being undefeatable? I want to win!¡±

    Win? Although Li Qingshan had personally claimed he had a fifty percent chance at victory, Ye Mingzhu had heavy doubts about that. As long as he could achieve a tie in these two matches, he would be able to consolidate his status underground and stand beside them at equal footing. He could slowly work on defeating them in the future.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s earlier words seemed to be his answer to her¡ªTen millennia is too long. All I can do is seize every moment!

    ¡°Interesting, interesting. Let¡¯s see how many punches you can take!¡± Strongboulder laughed aloud. He admired and mocked Li Qingshan for being bold enough to take him on in a direct confrontation. His body also swelled up, becoming a huge rock giant. He strode over and threw a punch at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    It was simple, carrying the weight of a mountain, just like his body. However, in his eyes on his vicious face¡ªno, in what remained of his eyes after being squeezed together by the vicious rock¡ªa mysterious, cunning light flickered.

    Scorching battle intent suddenly rose up in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. Without any hesitation, or should you say, without any thought, his body reacted naturally, also throwing a punch at Strongboulder¡¯s chest. He completely abandoned defence, acting as if he had just met the murderer of his entire family. It was like he was tempted to reduce Strongboulder to a pulp on the spot, even willing to go as far as to drag Strongboulder down with him.

    With a great boom, wind whistled through the air violently, sweeping up pebbles. Everyone felt the ground beneath them shake violently. Despite being so far away, they could still clearly sense the direct confrontation between the terrifying forces.

    The great river of fire halted momentarily!

    Strongboulder only swayed slightly, while Li Qingshan was sent flying. He collided heavily against the rock face and became deeply embedded, covered in a messy pile of rubble. In that moment earlier, he felt like he had been struck by a mountain. Not only was it tough, but it was even heavy too!

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo cried out.

    Bloodshadow hung upside down from a stalactite like a bat. A sunken smile was plastered over his pale-white face. This guy doesn¡¯t understand Strongboulder¡¯s true ability at all. No matter how much strength he possessed, no matter how tough his body was, it was useless if he could not land a strike. Yet, Strongboulder was able to force him into an open confrontation, a battle to the death whenever they fought.

    ¡°Is this your innate ability? Now that¡¯s interesting.¡± Strongboulder glanced at his fist before looking at the pile of rubble.

    With a bang, the rubble exploded, and Li Qingshan stood up. The faint blue Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flickered before him, but it was cracked and slightly dented.

    That¡¯s just a punch! Li Qingshan was shocked. This was the power of the three great Daemon Generals. With their bizarre original forms and thousands of years of cultivation, they had become truly powerful and terrifying existences. If it were not for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, he would have been injured from that punch.

    The cracks on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell repaired themselves in an instant, but the situation did not improve at all, as he had still depleted a large amount of daemon qi. Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi was nowhere close to Strongboulder¡¯s. Defeat would be certain if this became a battle of endurance.

    Li Qingshan was rather puzzled. Why had he been so rash earlier? He was a genius in actual combat. Whenever he struck, it might seem crude and conceited in the eyes of others, but it would always be the best decision he could make. He would have never engaged in a direct confrontation like a ruffian.

    ¡°Again!¡± Strongboulder advanced with a smile. His heavy footsteps boomed like war drums.

 Chapter 408 â€“ The Third Layer of the Tiger Demon

    ¡°You!¡±

    The stone punch pierced through the air, producing a thunderous roar and kicking up a violent gust of wind. Strongboulder was taken aback. The punch he was completely confident in had actually missed.

    ¡°Is this your innate ability? It can actually influence my mind!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Strongboulder¡¯s wrist firmly with a tiger¡¯s claw. His eyes were calm and clear as his gruff voice hummed like metal. He raised his hand and caught the other punch that Strongboulder threw.

    With a clang, there was a metallic screech, and the two pairs of eyes met. As the two surging forces clashed, neither of them roared or shouted. Only the ground beneath them groaned painfully, constantly cracking and collapsing.

    ¡°What might! He can actually rival Strongboulder¡¯s physical strength!¡¯ ¡°He might actually be able to win!¡± ¡°He can¡¯t win. Storngboulder hasn¡¯t even used his full strength yet.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re actually unaffected? But it¡¯s already too late. Watch as I crush you to pieces!¡± Strongboulder gritted his teeth and smiled viciously. His muscles swelled rapidly. Huge boulders suddenly rose up from his shoulders and covered his entire body. Jagged rock enveloped his face as well. He seemed like he had equipped some kind of strange, rugged arm

    our, only leaving his shining eyes exposed.

    Li Qingshan felt an unstoppable force rise up. It was incredibly heavy, like an immovable mountain crushing down on him. Even with the Strength of the Earth, he was unable to do anything about it. He could only watch as Strongboulder broke free from his grip bit by bit.

    ¡°Shatter!¡± Strongboulder lifted his arms and broke free from Li Qingshan¡¯s grasp. With tremendous weight, he reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders slumped down. He leaned forward and lowered his head, making Strongboulder miss.

    ¡°Are you admitting defeat by lowering your head?¡± Strongboulder laughed madly. Suddenly, he felt his body tighten, having been lifted up by Li Qingshan. A pair of sharp ox horns glistened menacingly, targeting Strongboulder¡¯s abdomen. With a deep, furious roar, Li Qingshan swung his iron hooves about and ran violently.

    Boom! Li Qingshan¡¯s horns pushed Strongboulder against a wall. Countless cracks covered the wall instantly as huge pieces of rock fell down with a rumble, kicking up a cloud of dust.

    ¡°Interesting. Interesting. It¡¯s been a very long time since someone¡¯s made me feel pain. Let¡¯s have some proper fun!¡± Mad laughter rang out from the rubble. Strongboulder pushed aside the rock casually. Li Qingshan¡¯s sharp horns had only left behind two dents in his abdomen, which vanished in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Just when Strongboulder was about to strike, Li Qingshan raised his hand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t accept forfeits!¡± Strongboulder roared. Meanwhile, the Spider Queen¡¯s gaze became icy. This was not the level of battle she had wanted to witness.

    ¡°Forfeit? That was just a warm up. Let¡¯s play a game!¡± Li Qingshan returned to the severed flow of lava and turned around, standing still.

    ¡°Oh? What game?¡± Strongboulder asked in interest.

    ¡°Whoever leaves this river loses!¡± Li Qingshan pointed at the two shores, designating them as the boundaries.

    ¡°What?¡± Ye Mingzhu cried out. The river was very wide, but it seemed extremely narrow compared to their figures. If that were the case, they would reach the shores from taking a single step back. He would have absolutely no room to pivot around in. Was he trying to put his life on the line against Strongboulder?

    This was no game. This was clearly suicide!

    ¡°I just knew you wouldn¡¯t disappoint me!¡± The Spider Queen licked her lips in excitement.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright!¡± Strongboulder was taken aback before agreeing to it happily. He had never seen such an interesting opponent before! He arrived before Li Qingshan and stopped.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you using your power from before?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Rock of Slaughter!¡± Strongboulder was slightly surprised before smiling viciously.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°That was my original name! When I was still a rock, I already possessed this power. Whether it¡¯s man or beast, as long as they approach me, they will be infected by battle and killing intent. If they have any companions, they will try to kill one another, and if they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll throw themselves against the rock until they¡¯re dead. That¡¯s why I was called a Rock of Slaughter! It¡¯s all thanks to them that I could develop a spirit and become a daemon.¡±

    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± Li Qingshan came to an understanding. This had already surpassed innate abilities. Instead, it was a power he was born with. If it were not for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, even he would not have been able to resist this hysterical battle intent of madness!

    ¡°Because I¡¯m about to cover myself in your blood soon!¡± Strongboulder roared at the sky. He unleashed his terrifying power, causing even the spectating night roamers to become red-eyed. When they looked at the people around them again, they found them despicable, tempted to kill them on the spot. They used their final bit of clarity to back off. They only let out a sigh of relief after they moved extremely far away.

    ¡°Then come!¡± Li Qingshan no longer controlled himself with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. His blood blazed like fire as his battle intent roared. Producing layers of blurs, he threw a hundred punches in a single instant, overwhelming Strongboulder like a tremendous wave.

    Strongboulder ignored the attacks. He raised his right fist and twisted his body. Only when he pulled his fist back to the limit did he throw it at Li Qingshan.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell sank in deeply the moment they collided, covered in cracks and closed to shattering. At the same time, Li Qingshan¡¯s punches landed on Strongboulder. Countless collisions merged together in a single boom.

    ¡°What have you done?¡± Strongboulder¡¯s vicious smile suddenly stiffened. He gazed at his body in disbelief. It was riddled with cracks, like the fissured ground during a drought. Shockwaves penetrated his skin and filled his entire body.

    ¡°Beat you up, obviously!¡± Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°My innate ability is most effective against a rock like you. But as it seems, you won¡¯t shatter so easily, but that¡¯s perfect. If there¡¯s no danger at all, what¡¯s the point of fighting?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable! Nice! Come, come, come!¡± Strongboulder threw a punch as he roared out, and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered. The punch landed heavily on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. ¡°Let¡¯s see who falls first!¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned backwards, but he immediately straightened himself again. His iron hooves had already sunken into the ground, pinning him to the spot. He fought back without the slightest hesitation.

    Booms roared thunderously as the ground rumbled. The spectators were all dumbfounded. Blurs filled the narrow space between the two of them. They had completely abandoned their defences to strengthen their attacks as much as possible, unleashing all of it on their opponent in an attempt to crush them.

    The fists kicked up a whirlwind, which turned into a tornado and swept out in all directions. The entire underground shook and trembled. Only the two of them remained still. Both of their legs sank into the river bed, reaching up to their knees and locking them in place. It had devolved into a battle of immobility.

    There was no room for tricks. It was just a clash of power in the most primitive and barbarous way possible.

    Rock chips sprayed everywhere as blood danced about.

    Strongboulder was like a jagged rock in the ocean, exposed to the billows and the erosion of storms but remaining unshakeable. Cracks covered his body as rock chips shattered and scattered. The strange power constantly invaded his body, but he ignored all of it. He was as excited as he could get. This strange rock that created conflict had always liked killing and fighting more than any other creature!

    Even Li Qingshan himself had no idea just how many heavy punches he had received. Even the Ox Demon Forges its Hide was unable to nullify the terrifying force. He became covered in fist prints as his bones twisted and groaned, cracking and fracturing. However, all of the pain turned into indescribable delight.

    Within his surging heart and his blood-red eyes, anger, killing intent, and hatred all merged together into battle intent as violent as the turbulent sea. He no longer cared about his fate. Only a single word remained, constantly repeating and echoing, Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill¡­

    The Rock of Slaughter infecting him was not all of it. This process released something in his very nature. That was a bloodthirsty, belligerent tiger, roaring furiously as it broke out of the cage!

    The third layer of the tiger demon!

    Hmm? Spider Queen Lolth was slightly surprised. She could clearly sense Li Qingshan undergoing an overwhelming, startling change.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were blood-red as his canines protruded. His surging daemon qi became even more valiant and violent, while his colossal body seemed to become ¡°slender¡±. In reality, his piled muscles had become better allocated. His great tendons twisted like steel wire, gathering the disorderly power. Within his flesh and blood, his fractured bones recovered, becoming even tougher than before.

    Roar! Li Qingshan suddenly raised his head and let out a tiger¡¯s roar, shaking up the entire rift. His wings of wind unfolded on his back, and with a stomp of his feet, he pulled himself up from the ground, smashing Strongboulder¡¯s head violently with a headbutt. The rock armor shattered, exposing his original appearance. His face was plastered with surprise.

    Li Qingshan did not become very powerful all of a sudden. As a matter of fact, he was still disadvantaged in terms of daemon qi, but his bearing had overwhelmed Strongboulder¡¯s, making him slightly frantic.

    ¡°How is this possible!? How can his battle intent and killing intent surpass mine!?¡± Strongboulder roared furiously as he landed a punch on Li Qingshan¡¯s abdomen. Li Qingshan only keeled over slightly before recovering.

    Through this fierce battle, Strongboulder had sustained rather heavy injuries too from the destructive shockwaves. Now that his bearing weakened, it became even more difficult for him to unleash his full strength.

    ¡°Cover yourself in my blood? Then I¡¯ll skin you alive!¡± Li Qingshan growled. With a hook and flick of his curved tiger claws, he ripped off the cracked rock armour within a series of sparks.

    Strongboulder grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and flung him hard in an attempt to throw him out. As long as Li Qingshan left the river bed, then he would have lost. However, did Strongboulder even care about the outcome of the battle a moment before?

    Li Qingshan unfurled his arms, and with a flap of his wings, he stabilised himself, arriving above the river bed. Afterwards, he swooped down as hard as he could.

    Boom! Like a black meteor, he struck the ground.

    The iron hooves landed heavily on Strongboulder¡¯s head, pushing him deep into the river bed. The circular shockwaves spread out in all directions, kicking up waves in the soil that reached several meters in height. Before it had even settled down, Li Qingshan rose up into the air once again.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! No one knew just how many consecutive attacks he had launched.

 Chapter 409 â€“ Master Tactician

    This twist had stunned everyone. They were dumbstruck, almost forgetting to breath.

    If Li Qingshan had used some kind of trick to defeat Strongboulder, everyone would have found it much easier to accept. However, he had taken Strongboulder on in his greatest aspect, defeating him with sheer strength and force. Not only had he endured the terrifying attacks, but he had even forcefully destroyed Strongboulder¡¯s so-called indestructible defence.

    All of the night roamers shut their mouths firmly, no longer uttering a single word of nonsense anymore. Suddenly, they realised that this daemon might actually become their ruler in the future. If they wanted to continue living underground, they had to be modest and courteous to the powerful.

    Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes glowed. If she swore loyalty to him, could he really make her ambition come true?

    ¡°Hehehehe!¡±

    The Spider Queen¡¯s laughter broke the silence. This brutal battle at close quarters suited her tastes perfectly. Ever since he had come underground, it had been a lot more delightful. And, he would definitely be one of the most important Daemon Generals under her command in the upcoming conflict.

    Bloodshadow became more and more uneasy. If he allowed him to continue developing like this, he would definitely become a huge issue, stealing the Spider Queen¡¯s favour away from him. He could not allow this to happen!

    ¡°Master¡¯s invincible!¡± Ye Liubo was crazed, and her face had become pink. Her impressive chest heaved up and down as she felt utmost glory.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and transformed back into humanoid form. He twisted his neck and produced a series of cracks. It was not obvious, but his body was close to collapsing. If it were not for the constant support of the Strength of the Earth, he would have given way a long time ago. And, if it were not for the power of shockwaves, he had no chance at defeating Strongboulder.

    However, all of this was within his plans. He was not a ruffian who would put his life on the line once he became carried away. Instead, he was a true warrior, a natural warrior. With just a single thought, all of his movements would be imbued with all the battle tactics and strategies available.

    ¡°You- you- you!¡±

    With a great rumble, Strongboulder descended from above, landing in front of Li Qingshan. He radiated with a furious aura, becoming even larger than before. He was like a volcano on the brink of eruption. Li Qingshan happened to be standing before the volcano, such that he could be swallowed by it at any time. However, as the violent wind swept up his scarlet long hair, he remained unfazed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost,¡± Li Qingshan said. He glanced at Strongboulder with his scarlet eyes. ¡°Are you discontent?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not use any despicable tricks or crafty schemes. He used strength to defeat him and aura to overwhelm him. Only when he said that did he feel the shattering pain of his body, which had also culminated.

    ¡°How satisfying! It¡¯s been a very long while since I¡¯ve been so satisfied! I have lost this time. I recognise your strength, but I¡¯ll definitely defeat you in the future!¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t have that opportunity.¡± Li Qingshan raised his head with a smile, staring straight at Bloodshadow, who perched upside down from a stalactite. Then he said, ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, please give me a moment to rest and recover daemon qi. I¡¯ll fight Bloodshadow after that.¡±

    ¡°Be quick!¡± Spider Queen Lolth urged. With a flick of her finger, an item landed in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan stared at the item in his hand. It was only palm-sized, and it was crystalline, like a mushroom sculpted from white jade. The mushroom was small, but it was filled with spiritual qi greater than any spiritual herb Li Qingshan had seen before. He had no idea just how old it was.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Spiritual Jade mushroom. It can heal your wounds and recover your daemon qi.¡±

    Bloodshadow¡¯s face became even more warped. His plan to take advantage of him while he was weakened fell through, but he was unable to resent anyone at all.

    Clearly, the Spider Queen did not want to see a suspenseless battle. It was basically a bestowment to Li Qingshan for all the delight he had brought her.

    ¡°Thank you for bestowing me with this, ma¡¯am Spider Queen.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately crossed his legs and sat down, ingesting the Spiritual Jade mushroom. Immediately, a clear, cool aura pervaded his body. He was refreshed wherever it passed by, such that even his body felt slightly lighter.

    In just a while, Li Qingshan leapt to his feet, brimming with energy. He felt like he had slept for three days and three nights. His mind was clear, and not only had all of his daemon qi recovered, but there was even more than before.

    ¡°Bloodshadow, are you bold enough to face me in the air?¡± Li Qingshan flapped his wings of wind and rose up, pointing straight at Bloodshadow.

    Everyone was surprised by that. Just earlier, he had used strength alone to defeat Strongboulder on the ground, and now, he wanted to challenge Bloodshadow¡ªsomeone as swift as lightning¡ªto a battle in the air?

    The Spider Queen became even more interested. She felt like her Spiritual Jade mushroom had not gone to waste.

    ¡°This guy!¡± Strongboulder was taken aback before grinning and laughing aloud.

    Dragonsnail, who had watched on silently the entire time, frowned. What was he trying to prove?

    Li Qingshan was not trying to prove anything. He just wanted to win!

    Defending tenaciously on the ground would make him undefeatable, but he would be unable to defeat Bloodshadow either. It would definitely be his loss when it came to a prolonged battle, as he would probably be the one to run out first due to their difference in daemon qi.

    Once he depleted his daemon qi, he would not be able to use his innate abilities either, so being so-called ¡°undefeatable¡± would turn into a joke. It would only become ¡°unwinnable¡±.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body was tough, but he was unable to rival Strongboulder. Strongboulder had transformed from a strange rock in the first place, so ¡°toughness¡± was his very nature. He lacked the power to incite battle intent like the Rock of Slaughter, so Bloodshadow could treat him cautiously and avoid becoming entangled with him. If he replicated Strongboulder¡¯s tactic blindly, he would be reduced to a plaything of the opponent.

    By then, he would be getting ahead of himself even if he wanted a tie. Many of the times, tactics that seemed clever were actually dangerous traps. This was not a lack of understanding on Ye Mingzhu¡¯s part either. Normally speaking, this was already the battle tactic that could make him last the longest.

    There was a saying from his past life, ¡°Among all the martial arts in the world, only speed is indomitable.¡± This was no different in the cultivation world. Even without his innate abilities, Bloodshadow¡¯s speed was already a huge problem. Combined with his reactions, this problem became completely irresolvable. Weak mongooses were able to toy with or even prey on venomous cobras because their reactions and speed were slightly faster.

    In actual battle, being just slightly faster could make all the difference in the world. To Li Qingshan, this battle was destined to be much more difficult.

    In order to overcome this obstacle, Li Qingshan had chosen to take on Strongboulder in a direct confrontation. Originally, victory should have come much more easily if he used his advantages of speed and being able to ignore the Rock of Slaugther¡¯s influence.

    It was exactly with this difficult battle that he roused his fighting spirit and made the tiger demon break through to the third layer. He did this to increase his speed and reactions and make his two abilities even stronger. Only then did he have a chance at winning.

    From this perspective, Strongboulder¡¯s power from the Rock of Slaughter had instead assisted him. That was why Li Qingshan had specially reminded Strongboulder to activate this power before the ¡°game¡± began.

 Chapter 410 â€“ Fighting Bloodshadow

    However, there was another saying in the world, ¡°Man proposes, God disposes.¡± Li Qingshan was not absolutely confident he would emerge victorious. Once the situation took a turn for the worst, he would still have to rely a little on luck.

    The wings of wind suddenly expanded to thirty meters across. Li Qingshan whistled through the air as a confident smile appeared on his face. As a man, he would fight even if he only had thirty percent confidence, let alone when he had a seventy percent chance at victory.

    Bloodshadow sneered. With a flap of his cloak, he turned into a streak of red and shot off rapidly.

    In the blink of an eye, the two of them had become tiny, almost merging with the darkness.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had become a part of the wind. The scenery around him rapidly changed. If it were not for his faster reflexes, he would feel like he was close to losing control. Sure enough, his innate abilities had become much stronger after reaching the third layer of the tiger demon. He reached a gorge in the blink of an eye.

    However, before he could even appreciate his changes, a bloody daemon qi wafted over. Li Qingshan turned around suddenly. Bloodshadow¡¯s pale-white, sunken face lunged over, his pale-white claws arriving first.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, and with a flap of his wings, he sped up towards Bloodshadow with the might of the Tiger Demon Descends from the Mountain. At the same time, he formed a claw with his right hand, unleashing the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart. As for his left hand, it constantly varied in different ways to try and capture Bloodshadow. As long as he caught Bloodshadow and pulled him into close combat, the outcome would be determined.

    When he struck, it was like he was dealing a final blow against the opponent.

    Bloodshadow sneered scornfully. His figure flashed like a ghost. The Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart landed on his chest, but only a blur remained behind. Li Qingshan had already lost all trace of him before his left hand could even reach over.

    With a clang, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flashed and four, deep scratch marks appeared.

    Two figures, one red and one blue, brushed past one another. The blue figure struck the wall loudly, while the red figure made a turn gracefully, landing on a piece of rock that traversed the gorge.

    From this clash, their disparity was evident. Although Li Qingshan possessed the innate ability of Like Giving Wings to a Tiger, he was still not an exotic beast that was born to fly like Bloodshadow. The air was not his primary battlefield.

    Li Qingshan did not seem defeated at all. Turning around and pushing off the wall, he flapped his wings and lunged towards Bloodshadow like a flying tiger.

    With a flash, Bloodshadow brushed past Li Qingshan.

    Booms constantly rang out above. Ye Mingzhu raised her head and gazed over. Li Qingshan was like a humanoid tiger, leaping about between the gorge like it was no different from flat ground.

    However, Bloodshadow was better than him. He paced around the rock like he was on an idle stroll, except he was actually extremely fast. There seemed to be several Bloodshadows walking around, dodging the attack each time with great ease. He even had the time to say,

    ¡°And I had thought you were hiding something. Looks like this is all you can do.¡±

    ¡°But can you even touch a hair on me?¡± Li Qingshan stopped his useless attacks, resting on a wall and huffing slightly. He used the Strength of the Earth to recover. The string of rapid attacks had exhausted him by quite a lot.

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished speaking, Bloodshadow vanished from his sight. Suddenly, he raised his head and saw Bloodshadow only inches away, hanging upside down and saying sinisterly, ¡°Really?¡±

    His pale-white hand pressed against the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell gently.

    Thump! Thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump, thump!

    Li Qingshan felt his heart thump like a drum. A mysterious power pierced through the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and directly grabbed his heart¡ªno, more accurately, his blood. All of his blood flowed backwards into his heart, as if it could explode at any time.

    Daemons at their level already possessed extremely tenacious life force, such that even if their hearts were ripped apart, their daemon cores could replace its function, and it would be fine as long as they circulated their daemon qi and repaired it. Many fatal weaknesses were no longer fatal weaknesses. However, as a vital component to life, if it were heavily damaged, it would be akin to a heavy wound. You would never have the opportunity to recover in the midst of battle.

    ¡°What? Don¡¯t you feel feeble? Do you really think I earned my current position through speed alone? Do you really think I¡¯m afraid of close combat? I¡¯m only helpless against a piece of rock like Strongboulder. Your vitality is very powerful. I can¡¯t wait to see what it tastes like!¡± Bloodshadow extended his bright-red tongue and licked his lips. The opponent he had treated like an archenemy the moment he appeared was now powerless within his grasp. He was filled with indescribable delight.

    ¡°How does this taste?¡± Li Qingshan threw a punch at Bloodshadow¡¯s chest.

    ¡°That¡¯s a very special power. No wonder even Strongboulder couldn¡¯t withstand it.¡± As the shockwave wreaked havoc, Bloodshadow began to vibrate, but nothing changed once the shockwave passed. Even the scornful sneer on his face lingered. The attack that even Strongboulder was unable to resist was actually completely useless against him.

    Strongboulder stood with his arms crossed and his brows firmly furrowed. No one had a better understanding of just how troublesome Bloodshadow was than him. Bloodshadow¡¯s greatest advantage was not speed, but his strange ability to recover, except very few people had witnessed it. Strongboulder had managed to corner Bloodshadow in the countless battles they had, but even when he smashed him to a pulp, he would make a full recovery in the blink of an eye. This was not an innate ability. Instead, it was the same as Strongboulder¡¯s ¡°toughness¡±, something that they were simply born with.

    The blood in Li Qingshan¡¯s body surged even more violently, as if the entire world was thrown into disorder. It flowed rapidly at times and halted at others. As a matter of fact, it would even transform into sharp blades. If it were not for the toughness of his body, he probably would have been reduced to a mess by his own blood already.

    Although the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression could suppress the sea of qi and sea of consciousness, it was unable to suppress tangible things like flesh and blood. Moreover, it was not like his body had been invaded by something foreign. Instead, Bloodshadow was making use of his strange inborn ability to turn Li Qingshan¡¯s own body against him.

    Forced into dire straits, Li Qingshan was not flustered at all. Instead, he reached behind his waist, and the sharp, curved hilt of the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather emitted a purply-green flash, which vanished into Bloodshadow¡¯s waist.

    Bloodshadow had absolutely no intentions to dodge. Even the shockwaves that could shake him to pieces were unable to harm him, so what was a measly cut supposed to do? He just needed a while longer, and he would be able to rip Li Qingshan¡¯s heart to pieces and subsequently taste his blood. Just as he thought like that, Bloodshadow¡¯s expression changed, and his pale-white face became enveloped with a layer of purply-green.

    Li Qingshan powered the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather, pouring the toxins and poisons that the blade had accumulated over many years into Bloodshadow¡¯s body, eating him away, contaminating his body, and wreaking havoc. He had been taken away by his viciousness. Even if you crush my heart, I¡¯ll kill you with poison first.

    The stalemate lasted for only an instant before Bloodshadow gave in. Slapping the weapon aside, he broke free.

    Li Qingshan settled down his blood in a hurry and urged his daemon qi to repair his damaged blood vessels and his heart that was close to exploding. Although the information Ye Mingzhu had provided him had mentioned this, he only gained a proper understanding for himself after clashing with him. This power was so terrifying that it could basically ignore all defences and launch an attack from within. If he had been a human cultivator, he probably would have been ripped apart in a single moment.

    Li Qingshan recovered slightly and immediately swung the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather, lunging after Bloodshadow.

    Bloodshadow swung his cloak, and a few foul-smelling arrows of blood shot over.

    Li Qingshan danced with the wings, twisting his body and brushing past the arrows of blood. They landed on the rock behind him, producing a hiss and a cloud of white smoke. They produced a few large holes in the blink of an eye.

    As for Bloodshadow, the purply-green had already dispersed from his face. He actually used blood to surround and force out the toxins, making his face even paler and more sunken. As he gazed at the incoming Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather, fear flashed across his eyes. He was now afraid it would reach him.

    Li Qingshan pursued relentlessly. He grasped the usage of the wings bit by bit through the battle, becoming even more agile. He beamed slightly inside and felt like Bloodshadow had slowed down by a lot. Although Bloodshadow had managed to purge the poison, he had lost so much blood as a result, which was quite a wound to him. His confidence in his strength had ended up as his greatest downfall.

    The scales of victory slowly tipped in Li Qingshan¡¯s direction.

    Only a handful of spectators on the ground could see this. Ye Mingzhu happened to be one of them. ¡°Is this a weapon created by human cultivators? It can actually suppress Bloodshadow using potent poison. He¡¯s clearly much weaker in terms of daemon qi, yet he can match him evenly. This Northmoon really is something else.¡±

    However, the others only felt a fierce gust of wind sweep down from above. They saw two figures constantly flickering in the air, sometimes clashing and sometimes parting. Their eyes were glued to them, and after staring for such a long time, they actually felt dizzy.

    The booms from moving through the air rapidly were like claps of thunder, kicking up violent winds that evolved into a black storm, filling the gorge. The sound of the wind grew more and more intense.

    At this moment, a sharp, tapered sound pierced through the wind and reached everyone¡¯s ears clearly.

    Ye Mingzhu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Block your ears!¡±

    In the sky, Li Qingshan swung down with his blade, but Bloodshadow¡¯s head pivoted around all of a sudden, facing Li Qingshan. His mouth had widened to an unbelievable angle, which made his handsome appearance twisted and vicious. Terrifying sound waves emerged from his nose and mouth.

    Li Qingshan felt his mind ring. His wings of wind shattered, and an invisible force pushed him into the rocks.

    Bloodshadow rapidly drew closer as the sound waves constantly rang out. The rocks around Li Qingshan all trembled and shattered, sinking into a large crater. Li Qingshan was constantly pressed into the rock.

    His head seemed to be reduced to a pulp, but Li Qingshan smiled viciously and let out a deafening tiger¡¯s roar.

    The two sound waves met in the gorge, confronting and overlapping one another. They surged about, passing through the rocks that traversed the gorge, making them slowly collapse and fall down.

    The daemon qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body was rapidly depleted. He could not even maintain the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. Bloodshadow saw this and made a sharp turn, transforming into a blood-red tornado and flying over through the air with the tips of his claws. The battle had gone on for so long already. Although he still had sufficient daemon qi, he was running out of physical strength. He wanted to take Li Qingshan¡¯s life in a single move.

    Faced with an attack like that, all Li Qingshan did was sink down and wield the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather in a reverse grip, leaping up.

    The blade landed on the tornado and was actually deflected, while Bloodshadow¡¯s revolving claws pierced Li Qingshan¡¯s skin.

    ¡°Die!¡± Bloodshadow¡¯s shrill roar rang out from the blood-red tornado.

    ¡°Poisonfeather Dance.¡± The Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather suddenly lit up in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, like a Poisonfeather bird unfurling its wings, dancing in the darkness. Its purply-green feathers were splendid.

 Chapter 411 â€“ Conquering the Disconten

    t

    A great hole appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, and he fell out of the sky. After that moment of glory, the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather returned to normal and became completely dull in colour.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo cried out and tried to go up, but Ye Mingzhu stopped her. ¡°The battle hasn¡¯t ended yet!¡±

    Li Qingshan rapidly fell down. As he watched Bloodshadow¡¯s figure grow further and further away, his lips gradually curled into a smile.

    Bloodshadow lowered his head and stared at his pale-white hand in disbelief. It was covered in bloody marks. Normally, he could eliminate such wounds instantly. Even if he were ripped to pieces, it would just be a very ordinary wound.

    But right now, the marks rapidly expanded. Purply-green poison inhibited his body¡¯s recovery, and it rapidly spread, turning his pale face into the same colour.

    At that moment, who knew how many times Li Qingshan had swung the blade. He had not achieved it through his strength alone. Instead, he had relied on the power of the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather. Like most spiritual artifacts, the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather also came with a killing move, which was known as ¡°Poisonfeather Dance¡±. It was like the bloom of flowers, the dance of the Poisonfeather bird, completely unleashing all the poison stored within the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather. It was a fatal strike of either winning or dying.

    With Bloodshadow¡¯s speed and reaction, landing the attack was difficult, so he could only wait until the last moment when neither of them could retreat. Finally, the blade played a critical role and injected all the poison into Bloodshadow¡¯s body perfectly.

    In the air, Bloodshadow shattered and fell down like toy bricks. A blood-red daemon core flickered within, barely holding all of the pieces of flesh together.

    Xiao An, who hid in the darkness silently, stared at the daemon core. The firelight in her eyes flickered!

    Li Qingshan flipped and landed on one knee, pressing a hand against his chest. The moment he landed on the ground, the Strength of the Earth flowed out endlessly, nourishing his body.

    Nearby, Bloodshadow turned into an assembling pile of flesh, constantly wriggling and spraying with poison, doing his best to recover.

    The battle was so brutal that everyone became dumbfounded. Wounds like that would be absolutely fatal if a night roamer received them, yet they managed to hold on and recover with their terrifying life force.

    But even at a time like this, the Spider Queen did not plan to make them stop. Her eyes flashed as a smile stretched over her face. She seemed glamorous as she radiated with joy.

    ¡°A draw? Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Before Dragonsnail could even finish speaking, Li Qingshan interrupted him with his hoarse voice. He had put up with so much, so how could an outcome like this satisfy him?

    ¡°What, you want to keep fighting?¡± Dragonsnail raised his head and asked. Basically all of Li Qingshan¡¯s organs had been destroyed, and his spine had vanished too. The upper and lower half of his body could rip apart at any time. He was clearly in no state to keep fighting.

    ¡°I can obviously keep fighting!¡± The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up, and suddenly, he tossed the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather high into the air. A scarlet figure leapt out from the darkness, catching the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather and landing in front of Bloodshadow. His red hair danced around in the air. He was Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone.

    His mirror clone probably could not even withstand a single strike from Strongboulder or Bloodshadow before dispersing, and he would have to split his focus to control it. As a result, Li Qingshan had kept it lurking in the darkness for a surprise attack. Sure enough, it was extremely effective now.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, t- this isn¡¯t fair!¡± Bloodshadow assembled his head with difficulty and was so frightened that it almost split apart again. He objected weakly.

    ¡°This is one of my innate abilities. It¡¯s always been a part of my powers, so how is it unfair?¡±

    The Spider Queen remained silent, agreeing to Li Qingshan¡¯s words.

    Li Qingshan raised the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather with a vicious smile.

    ¡°I admit defeat!¡± Bloodshadow cried out. If he let even more poison invade his body, it would lead to permanent, severe damage to his cultivation. Yet, he had no idea that the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather had run out of poison a long time ago, having been reduced to an ordinary blade.

    Those three words silenced the entire gorge. No one thought Li Qingshan would actually win, and he would win so beautifully. He had defeated both Daemon Generals in the area they were strongest in.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯ve won!¡± Ye Liubo cheered and rushed over, embracing Li Qingshan firmly.

    Li Qingshan grinned painfully. He pushed Ye Liubo aside and propped up himself, climbing back onto his feet. He clasped his hands at Spider Queen Lolth from afar.

    ¡°Alright, from today onwards, you are the commander of all the night roamers. I await your next performance!¡± Spider Queen Lolth announced loudly and smiled charmingly at Li Qingshan. Lifting up and dragging her red dress, she vanished into the darkness. Dragonsnail followed close behind.

    ¡°Once you recover, I¡¯ll challenge you again, Northmoon!¡± Strongboulder leapt up and flew to the top of the gorge with a rumble. He was actually startling fast, nowhere near as sluggish as Li Qingshan imagined him to be. His wild laughter rang out from afar when he had already vanished.

    Bloodshadow finally purged all the poison from his body. He transformed into a red blood bat and glanced at Li Qingshan in pure resentment before flapping his wings and flying to the other end of the gorge.

    The night roamers all looked at one another. There was surprise, worry, fear, and hostility, but regardless of what they were feeling, they all knew that this daemon called Northmoon had become a figure of great importance in this region, and he possessed power over the fates of countless night roamers. The situation underground had completely changed.

    ¡°The Spider Shadow clan is willing to offer its full support for sir Northmoon to become the commander of night roamers. Sir Northmoon, please return to Blacklustre city with me to rest.¡± Ye Mingzhu approached him before anyone else, becoming the first matriarch to swear loyalty to Li Qingshan.

    Apart from the Spider Shadow clan, the other night roamers all remained silent, vanishing into the darkness. They returned to their cities to discuss what they would do next. Not only had Ye Mingzhu¡¯s behaviour failed to set a model for them all, but it even made the other clans more suspicious instead.

    These crafty, doubtful, and unruly night roamers would never yield to a daemon so easily. Making them give up on the open and hidden conflict that had occured over all these years was even more difficult.

    The Spider Queen had only granted him the status. If Li Qingshan wanted to convert this status into actual benefits, he would have to keep working hard by himself. However, he had already grown accustomed to this a long time ago. He would obviously personally fetch what he wanted.

    In Blacklustre city, Li Qingshan laid comfortably on the soft, leather chair. Ye Liubo massaged his shoulders, letting his head rest on her plump chest, while Ye Liusu stood to the side, personally feeding the hazelnuts specially produced underground into his mouth. However, she was clearly very unaccustomed to such a job.

    ¡°Sir, the other clans still haven¡¯t made any responses. They seem to be contacting one another secretly,¡± Ye Mingzhi reported.

    ¡°Mingzhu, prepare to conquer the discontent for me!¡±

 Chapter 412 â€“ Value of Use

    ¡°Just so you know, I won¡¯t do anything.¡±

    Li Qingshan destroyed Ye Mingzhu¡¯s plan in a single sentence. She raised her head in surprise. ¡°But, with our Spider Shadow clan alone, how are we supposed to contend with the other clans?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯ll just say something, and the Spider Shadow clan will automatically be in charge of the other clans? If I were to fight, what difference is there between the Spider Shadow clan and the other clans?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s metallic voice brought up a grim reality. He was not hoping to earn the so-called ¡°loyalty¡± of Ye Mingzhi or other night roamers. If they offered no value for use at all, and he had to busy himself for everything, what was the point in becoming the commander of night roamers after all this effort? Was it supposed to be for democratic liberty so that they could live better lives?

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure what to do.¡± Ye Mingzhu¡¯s heart trembled. She understood that Li Qingshan was definitely not an easy target to control and use. Ye Liusu opened her mouth, but she was silenced by a glance from Ye Liubo, letting out a silent sigh.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will provide you with necessary support.¡± Li Qingshan placed the ship¡¯s wheel in Ye Mingzhu¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Thank you for your bestowment, sir!¡±

    Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes lit up slightly after hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s explanation. Her mind got to work. With the status granted by the Spider Queen and a force under her command, she had a great chance at conquering the weaker clans. If she united them, then¡­

    ¡°Now is the time for you to demonstrate yourself. I¡¯ll give you a month. Go make your ambition come true!¡± Li Qingshan patted Ye Mingzhu¡¯s shoulder with a smile.

    Ye Mingzhu took her leave. Ye Liubo wrapped her arms around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. ¡°Master, if she defies your orders after obtaining power, what will you do?¡± This was probably the problem that worried all rulers in the world. Those who achieved great merit were harder to control. As a matter of fact, it was even possible for their roles to reverse.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s reply was very simple. ¡°Then I¡¯ll switch her out with someone who does obey me.¡±

    This was the principle of governance among cultivators. Tricks and tactics were nothing before absolute power. Li Qingshan would be an idiot if he wasted his energy on this. He had to do all he could to free up more energy and obtain more resources. Becoming even stronger was the correct path to take.

    The objective behind this all and all of the hard work was for climbing even higher. By then, he would have completely shaken off these people already.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Xiao An. Let¡¯s return to the academy.¡±

    Leaving behind his clone to watch over the situation underground, Li Qingshan¡¯s main body returned to human form. Holding Xiao An¡¯s hand, a cloud rose up beneath their feet, lifting them up and flying them off in the direction of the academy.

    His hundred treasures pouch contained a tremendous amount of spiritual herbs offered up by Ye Mingzhu, or should he say the Spider Shadow clan. Once they subdued the other clans, this quantity would multiply. Right now, he just lacked a person to refine them into pills¡ªRu Xin.

    ¡°Ru Xin is still in secluded cultivation!?¡±

    On Cloudwisp island within the shimmering bamboo, Li Qingshan let out a long sigh, which made Han Qiongzhi frown. ¡°Why do you care about her so much?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with caring about friends? Congratulations, you primary disciple of the school of Legalism.¡± Li Qingshan pulled Han Qiongzhi into his embrace with a smile, pressing his forehead against hers intimately. He stared at her bright, beautiful face in complete affection.

    ¡°There¡¯s something I want to discuss with you.¡± Han Qiongzhi pinched him and retracted her delicate body into his embrace.

    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°I want to enter seclusion for a while.¡± Having reached the tenth layer, Han Qiongzhi should have devoted a lot of time to merging and achieving mastery over the twelve standard meridians and eight extraordinary meridians. Now that something big was looming over the horizon, she had to redirect her focus to cultivation again.

    ¡°What a coincidence. I plan to too.¡± Li Qingshan raised his brows. He just happened to be planning to tell her about this. He needed a quiet place to tend to his wounds, and he also needed to properly focus on practising qi.

    ¡°Together?¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. If it were possible, she would rather remain by his side constantly.

    ¡°Then will we still have time to cultivate?¡± Li Qingshan pinched her waist with an evil smile. Having done it now, she became more graceful and charming.

    ¡°I refuse to believe you won¡¯t get tired.¡± Han Qiongzhi reddened, but she refused to relent.

    ¡°Since when has it ever ended without you begging for mercy?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s smile widened, and Han Qiongzhi became even redder, but she could not help but admit to that. Tucking her hair behind her ear with her little finger, her voice became tender as she whispered into his ear, ¡°I can find a suitable method of dual cultivation.¡±

    ¡°I even have to think of cultivation when I¡¯m doing it? That¡¯s too troublesome.¡± Li Qingshan was very interested, but upon further thought, he still chose to decline. He had far too many secrets. Just absorbing spiritual qi of the world as he cultivated could lead to a lot of suspicion.

    ¡°I think you just don¡¯t want to be with me!¡± Han Qiongzhi became annoyed. It was rare of her to consider so much, but he still refused her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already promised Xiao An,¡± Li Qingshan said helplessly.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, then forget it. That¡¯ll just be your bad luck!¡± Han Qiongzhi snorted coldly. If Li Qingshan declined, what could she do? She was not a pestering person. She would never behave like she could not even live anymore if he were not by her side.

    All Li Qingshan could do was coax her before celebrating with her alone, spending a night entangled together. The next day, he accompanied her to the seclusion dwellings in the Han family, parting with her reluctantly.

    At the bottom of Contention island, Li Qingshan and Xiao An held hands and watched the stone door close and the formations activate. They smiled at one another.

    ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± Xiao An undid Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes and placed her hand against his chest. He seemed fine on the surface, but she could feel that the hole was nowhere close to healing, so she asked in concern.

    ¡°A little, but it¡¯s fine.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head. Ever since that battle, his chest had never stopped hurting, but he was rather good at withstanding and hiding pain. Unfortunately, he could not fool Xiao An.

    ¡°Let me help you,¡± said Xiao An. As her tiny hand stroked his chest, Li Qingshan felt the pain gradually disappear. It warmed up slightly, filled with indescribable comfort.

    Power surged out from her hand. Under the nourishment of this power, the flesh and blood in his body started to teem with vitality, and his wound began to heal faster.

    After a night and two days, Xiao An let go, and Li Qingshan had made a complete recovery. He was even tougher than before. ¡°And I had thought it would take half a month at the very least! I really do need you around!¡±

 Chapter 413 â€“ Li Qingshanâ€™s Orders

    Li Qingshan sat quietly as a faint, blue haze gradually rose up from him. When he practised qi now, he no longer had to ingest any pills. The endless spiritual qi of the world would gather in his body automatically, far more effective than any regular pill.

    If he could withstand it, he would direct it to the sea of qi in his dantian for conversion into true qi. If he could not, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core would absorb it, converting it into daemon qi. Nothing went to waste.

    Limited by the size of his sea of qi, his cultivation speed was not particularly fast. However, he was able to remain in a state of cultivation for all twenty-four hours of a day, so a single day of cultivation for him could rival ten from regular people.

    As he became absorbed in cultivation, his mind rapidly sank, submerging in a boundless, azure ocean. A spirit turtle carried him, allowing him to drift freely through the ocean. He was at great comfort. This was a form of extreme peace and freedom of the mind.

    Although cultivation was often described as arduous, true cultivation was never arduous. Regular people just were incapable of understanding this mysterious feeling.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone in his underground dwelling remained in the same posture, seated on the stone bed. He used the spiritual qi within the spiritual stone vein to maintain his mirror clone in case anything unexpected happened.

    He had already cast down numerous formations using the formation banners. Even Fu Qingjin would not be able to move around so freely. After who knew how long, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and saw Ye Mingzhu bowing before him. He asked, ¡°Has it been a month yet?¡±

    ¡°Only fourteen days have passed. The matriarchs of the five other clans have come to seek an audience with sir Northmoon. These are their gifts.¡±

    Ye Mingzhu smiled. Everything had gone much more smoothly than she had imagined, obviously due to how she handled it all. More importantly, Li Qingshan¡¯s strength that had led to consecutive victories against Strongboulder and Bloodshadow had crushed the courage of the other clans to confront him directly. In this brutal underground world, only strength could earn respect and leave people convinced.

    Li Qingshan opened the boxes. They all contained spiritual herbs over a thousand years old, and he smiled in satisfaction. That¡¯s right. This was the exact outcome he wanted. He did not want to busy himself with collecting spiritual herbs. Instead, he just wanted to move his mouth and have his subordinates handle it.

    ¡°I just declared an ultimatum three days ago¡ªanyone who doesn¡¯t come today will be hunted down and slain.¡± Ye Mingzhu giggled.

    ¡°That simple? If none of them came, what would you have done?¡±

    ¡°Actually, they all agreed to it soon after I left.¡±

    ¡°And then they all came.¡± Li QIngshan¡¯s expression was rather strange.

    ¡°Yes. They obviously all hoped that some idiot wouldn¡¯t come, which would let them destroy her clan and divide up her territory. It¡¯s exactly because of this reason that they¡¯re afraid of becoming that idiot.¡± Ye Mingzhu played around with her hair. With her deep understanding of night roamers, she had grasped their weakness with ease.

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a sneer. Even at a time like this, they still did not forget about internal conflict? Perhaps this had already become a habit engraved in their very beings.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done very well. Send them in!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Mingzhu turned around and said loudly, ¡°Liubo, Liusu, sir Northmoon wishes to see the matriarchs.¡±

    Under Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu¡¯s lead, the matriarchs of the five night roamer clans entered the cavern and arrived before Li Qingshan. They all stated their names and clans before bowing together. ¡°Greetings to sir Northmoon.¡±

    Apart from an old woman and a young girl, all of them were beautiful madams like Ye Mingzhu. They all raised their heads and studied Li Qingshan. No matter how dissatisfied they felt, they all showed utmost respect. None of them were ignorant enough to openly oppose him. People as stupid as that would have never been able to become matriarchs in the first place.

    From a certain perspective, it was also this kind of cleverness that prevented them from uniting and opposing this ruler from a foreign race.

    ¡°This should be our first meeting, right? Let me just say a few words before we start¡ªthose who obey me will live, and those who defy me will die. Do you understand?¡± Li Qingshan remained seated there. He did not seem arrogant, nor did he give off any pressure. He just said it very seriously; it was as simple as telling them he liked it when it was sunny and disliked it when it was rainy.

    ¡°Understood,¡± Ye Mingzhu replied first, and the other matriarchs agreed in a hurry. With their current circumstances, they no longer had much interest in resisting anymore. At the end of the day, as long as the Spider Queen wanted to unite the night roamers, she would definitely send over a Daemon General to lead them. They would be ruled over no matter who it was. Even if they put up a desperate struggle, it was pointless, so why not use this opportunity to gain an upper hand over the future?

    Li Qingshan smiled in satisfaction. This came before everything else. If any of them dared to say they did not understand, he would not mind making an example out of them. There might not even have been a need for him to do anything, as the other matriarchs might try to do it for him.

    ¡°Very good. You¡¯ve already seen the formations when you came here. This is my first order. Send powerful members over to serve me under my direct command. We¡¯re going to be erecting a fortress here in preparation for the attacks from the humans.¡±

    Before the matriarchs could even respond, Li Qingshan continued, ¡°The second order is that all night roamers are forbidden from killing one another as long as they are in my territory, whether secretly or openly. If anyone defies this order, not only will they pay with their lives, but their entire clan will be punished too.¡±

    Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes lit up. Was this not what she had been striving towards the entire time, to stop the night roamers from killing one another and uniting them once more? Perhaps he really might be able to change everything.

    ¡°The third order is that from today onwards, all clans will give me offerings of spiritual herbs. All varieties are welcome, and the older, the better. Do you have any objections to these three orders?¡±

    Under the gaze from Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes, none of the matriarchs had any objections. The three orders seemed restrictive, but they were not completely unacceptable. It was not like he had specified what kind of powerful members he wanted with the first order, so they could deal with it easily. The second order was even simpler. If they could not kill one another, then they would not kill one another.

    The last order was a little troublesome, but spiritual herbs never really held much value to night roamers in the first place, as they could not refine pills. Only fruits that could be directly ingested were relatively more valuable. The gifts they had brought forwards were all the former.

    Li Qingshan had not placed any specifications on that order either. All of the clans had built up a supply of regular spiritual herbs. As a matter of fact, some spiritual herbs grew throughout their territory and were never picked because they had no idea on how to use it. They were all extremely old, so it would be very easy to fill the quota with them.

    ¡°You¡¯ve all been very cooperative, which delights me. It would be impolite of me to not reciprocate. Here are a thousand Qi Gathering pills. Human cultivators normally use them to cultivate. You can split them evenly between the five matriarchs!¡±

    As the most common pill, Qi Gathering pills held very little value. He could obtain a lot of them with just a single spiritual stone. However, they were crucial to all sects and Qi Practitioners.

    Li Qingshan had found several tens of thousands of them in the Green Vine Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. For a sect that cultivated spiritual herbs and refined pills, it was very normal for them to have built up such a large supply.

    Li Qingshan basically no longer required them anymore. Sitting down and taking in a breath of spiritual qi would be equivalent to several hundreds or even thousands of Qi Gathering pills. However, they were perfect for him to reward others with. He was basically salvaging them.

    The matriarchs¡¯ expressions all varied. They had obviously heard about the renowned Qi Gathering pill, and they were capable of refining them too. However, many of the herbs that went into the pills could only be found above ground, which inhibited them from refining them. Even when they managed to get their hands on some, the pills seemed extremely precious. They would only use them to nurture their most talented clansmen.

    Two hundred Qi Gathering pills was already a very great sum to them, enough to support a year¡¯s cultivation of ten night roamers. They would be able to nurture another group of elite warriors. Although it was nowhere close to the value of their gifts, they were still rather surprised and overjoyed, as they had never thought they would receive a gift like that in return. They all found this sir Northmoon to be so reasonable that he no longer seemed like a daemon.

    ¡°Ye Mingzhu.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Ye Mingzhu just happened to be tempted by all that. Hearing her name being mentioned, she stepped forward in a hurry. Her eyes were filled with eagerness.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done this well, gathering the matriarchs. Here¡¯s a True Spirit pill as your reward. If you have someone suitable ingest it, they should break through very soon and face the heavenly tribulation.¡±

    There was no need for Li Qingshan to explain what the pill did. The various clans were extremely well-informed. Ever since Ye Liubo returned to show off, the matriarchs immediately learnt about the existence of such a wondrous pill. Now, all of their eyes widened, staring straight at the True Spirit pill in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. They were tempted to snatch it over right now. Powerful members who had undergone the heavenly tribulation were the most precious, central force in all clans.

    ¡°Thank you for the reward, sir Northmoon.¡± Ye Mingzhu smiled widely and bowed gracefully, accepting the True Spirit pill.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave the ship¡¯s wheel that controls the puppets and cannons in your possession for now. I hope you can maintain the order underground.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words made Ye Mingzhu elated. She said in a hurry, ¡°I definitely won¡¯t disappoint you, sir.¡± As long as she possessed this power, she would be able to consolidate her position as the greatest matriarch. She looked at Li Qingshan with so much charm that she seemed like she was infatuated with him.

    The faces of the other matriarchs became extremely warped. Ye Mingzhu had once shown off the power of the puppets to them. If they faced them in direct confrontation, it would come at an extremely heavy price even if they managed to destroy this puppet army. As for the cannons, their power was even more terrifying. Even those who had undergone the heavenly tribulation would be injured if they took on a blast.

    The tiny ship¡¯s wheel was like a staff of power, giving Ye Mingzhu the power to destroy any clan. They now understood that he had bestowed her with it.

    No, we can¡¯t let this continue. The matriarchs exchanged glances, and all of them thought of the same thing.

    ¡°Sir Northmoon, I have objections to that! ¡°I have objections too!¡± ¡°Me too!¡±

    The matriarchs who had always been so tolerant, agreeing with whatever Li Qingshan said, all objected together. They were indignant. They could accept the rule of a daemon, but they could not accept Ye Mingzhu walking over them.

 Chapter 414 â€“ Arrangements and Arrival

    ¡°A weapon like that should remain in sir Northmoon¡¯s control. How can you just give it to someone else?¡± The old woman said, putting on a vicious front like ¡°If I can¡¯t obtain it, then none of you even think of obtaining it¡±.

    ¡°Sir Northmoon bestowed this upon me. How can you question his decisions?¡± Ye Mingzhu rebuked immediately. She had already become very good at bringing up ¡°sir Northmoon¡± constantly.

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, but I don¡¯t have the habit of taking back something I¡¯ve given away. If that¡¯s the case, then you can take turns with the ship¡¯s wheel. However, that¡¯ll depend on your upcoming performance.¡±

    In just a few words, Ye Mingzhu went from being startled to joyful to worried again, while the other matriarchs all saw hope. As it seemed, he had not been bewitched by Ye Mingzhu. As long as they demonstrated sufficient loyalty, they could receive a similar reward too.

    They no longer had any intentions of brushing aside Li Qingshan¡¯s three orders. Otherwise, their clans would decline and be surpassed by others even if they personally got involved.

    ¡°At it seems right now, Mingzhu¡¯s performance has been the best, so she¡¯ll be in charge of the ship¡¯s wheel first.¡± Li Qingshan stood up and arrived beside Ye Mingzhu, patting her on the shoulder like he was comforting her.

    ¡°Thank you for your trust, sir Northmoon.¡±

    ¡°Liubo, here¡¯s your reward.¡± Li Qingshan took out a bright yellow satin. This was a supreme grade spiritual artifact he had obtained from the Golden Pheasant Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch.

    ¡°Thank you, master!¡± Ye Liubo was overcome with excitement. She threw herself at him and gave him a kiss despite the current circumstances.

    The matriarchs became even more envious. This was a powerful weapon that only humans could forge, yet he actually gave it away to his servant so easily. No, they could not allow this to go on for any longer. Both of his servants were Ye Mingzhu¡¯s daughters. As time went on, it would be very disadvantageous to them. As a result, they all thought of the same thing.

    Li Qingshan glanced past the six matriarchs. ¡°With the current upheaval, I hope you can let go of your conflict of the past and unite together, to devote yourself to ma¡¯am Spider Queen. If you continue to remain in a state of disunity, riddled with internal strife, you¡¯ll definitely be destroyed by the humans.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The matriarchs accepted his orders and took their leave.

    ¡°Master, can I switch my reward for something else?¡± Ye Liubo immediately became glued to him as she giggled away.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t like it?¡±

    ¡°Go play to one side. If I¡¯m supposed to give you whatever you want, isn¡¯t that very insulting to me?!¡± Li Qingshan pushed her aside in annoyance. She was so lustful that she had almost lost her mind. If he let her touch him a little more and something happened, he would be mortified.

    As she watched Ye Liubo play around with the bright yellow satin, Ye Liusu, who had received nothing, became slightly disappointed for some reason. She suddenly made up her mind and went up. ¡°Sir Northmoon, can you please promise me something?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather curious. Ever since Ye Liusu became his servant, she had remained silent and obedient. She would do whatever he made her do, but she was as serious as a machine. She would never lower herself in an attempt to flatter him. She really did seem a little like a princess. It was rare of her to be so proactive.

    ¡°Please protect the night roamers and lead them back to under the starry skies. As long as you promise that, I¡¯ll serve you with utmost sincerity. I¡¯ll be loyal to you and only you, and I¡¯ll do everything I can to serve you, just like Liubo.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s delicate face was filled with determination. She had always focused on cultivation for the rejuvenation of the Night Roaming folk, but her future had always been so uncertain. His appearance seemed to bring her a glimmer of hope. Perhaps she had been influenced by Ye Liubo, so she also believed slightly that as long as he was willing, he actually could change everything.

    ¡°Big sister¡­¡± Ye Liubo was rather surprised.

    ¡°Even if you have to betray the Spider Shadow clan?¡± Li Qingshan smiled in thought. The more he understood the night roamers, the more he found Ye Liusu to be strange. Her eyes were filled with a willpower so determined that it was close to becoming a belief, completely lacking the darkness that regular night roamers possessed. Perhaps all races would have a strange one or two!

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Liusu agreed with gritted teeth. Sorry, mother. This is for the sake of the night roamers.

    ¡°Are these clansmen really worth it? I think most of them want to kill you out of jealousy.¡±

    ¡°The underground without the stars and moon have twisted their minds. I believe night roamers were not like this in the first place. They just need to break away from¡­ control.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a very good idea, and I¡¯m very tempted, but I decline!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Although she had guessed this possibility, Ye Liusu¡¯s disappointment still exceeded her expectations.

    ¡°Because you¡¯ve completely misunderstood it all. I reward loyalty, but never will I do anything in exchange for anyone¡¯s loyalty. I only do what I want to do. You¡¯re welcome to help out or just stand aside and watch. You have no other choice.¡±

    Ye Liusu returned to where she stood before in silence.

    Li Qingshan returned to his state of cultivation, but before long, he jerked awake again. The powerful members of the various clans had arrived much sooner than he had imagined.

    The first to arrive were ten beautiful night roamers. They were either cold, tender, or sweet, but their appearances were all the best of the best among the night roamers. Combined with their revealing attires, they all seemed like beauty pageants. They did not just possess beauty, but great strength too. Every single one of them had undergone the heavenly tribulation already, all noble princesses in their respective clans.

    After stating their names and offering up their spiritual herbs, they actually lowered their proud heads and expressed that they were willing to leave their clans and serve Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh. These matriarchs were all trying to express that they too could provide him with what the Spider Shadow clan had provided him. As for just how loyal these princesses would be, he had no plans to rely on them at all. They all looked at him like they wanted to eat him, not only drooling over his ¡°handsomeness¡±, but also because they wanted to obtain things from him.

    Ye Liubo was absolutely nothing in the eyes of these princesses. She had just been slightly lucky. If even she could be bestowed with a supreme grade spiritual artifact, why couldn¡¯t they?

    ¡°Master.¡± Ye Liubo felt greatly threatened, subconsciously grabbing Li Qingshan¡¯s arm. As for Ye Liusu, she let out a deep sigh instead. It was no wonder why he had brushed her aside like that. Everything she could offer up was nothing in his eyes.

    ¡°Alright, I accept. From today onwards, you will be my personal guards.¡± Li Qingshan did not turn them down. The clans needed to be balanced and remain equal to one another. He also required a group he could directly command. And, obtaining a group of personal guards like that was probably the dream of every man!

    ¡°Liusu, you can be their captain,¡± Li Qingshan said next.

    Ye Liusu was taken aback. The proud princesses immediately objected, ¡°Why her?¡± ¡°We should decide that through a battle.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with dealing with all that. He directly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to cultivate. You can all disperse!¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and the cavern settled down once more. He opened his eyes again. ¡°Liusu, why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±

    ¡°Why me? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m anything of value in your eyes,¡± Ye Liusu asked in confusion.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re very special.¡±

    ¡°Very crazy you mean!¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she lowered her head. Her lips curled into a bitter smile. ¡°Mother said that if I were born into a regular household of night roamers, I wouldn¡¯t have such crazy thoughts.¡±

    ¡°All dreams seem just as crazy in the very beginning. I might be a daemon, but I don¡¯t dislike those who have hopes and dreams, ¡°Li Qingshan said with a smile.

    ¡°Then why did you turn me down?¡±

    ¡°All Liubo entrusted to me was herself, but you want to entrust far, far too many things to me. You couldn¡¯t handle it yourself, so you want to throw it to someone else and then take it easy.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Ye Liusu tried to defend herself.

    ¡°I have no interest in serving as the mediator between a group of women, but you might be able to influence them with your thoughts, such that they will serve you. I¡¯ve already given you the opportunity, so work hard! I don¡¯t know whether you can succeed, but if there really is a day when night roamers can return beneath the starry sky, no longer scheming and plotting and killing one another, that¡¯ll all be because of you, not because of me.¡±

    Ye Liusu¡¯s feelings surged. For the first time, she could understand a little of what Ye Liubo felt. Since young, no one had ever said something like that to her. No one had ever encouraged her, approving of her thoughts and giving her their support.

    When Li Qingshan defeated Strongboulder and Bloodshadow consecutively, she only admired his strength and strategy. But with what she heard right now, she actually felt like she was unable to stare at him directly. Her mind that had become impervious to desires and passions through many years of arduous cultivation began to ripple.

    Li Qingshan shook his head slightly. Sure enough, idealists were the easiest to fool. Originally, he planned on giving Ye Liubo the position of the captain, but Ye Liubo¡¯s cultivation was just too low, and she lacked the required temperament. In comparison, Ye Liusu¡¯s temperament was better. At the very least, she seemed to possess some leadership and was relatively simple and easier to control. At the very least, she would not look at him greedily.

    However, Ye Liubo had just been too unenthusiastic. Becoming his servant seemed to have a very big effect on her. As a result, he came up with all of this. He was not completely fooling her either. If Ye Liusu actually grasped this opportunity, she could indeed achieve a lot.

    Ye Liusu arrived outside the cavern. She pressed her hand against her chest, still feeling her heart thump heavily. She had no idea whether it was because of what he said, or because of just how he was.

    ¡°Master really is powerful. He can actually make someone like you who has purged her heart of desires to yearn for love.¡± Ye Liubo walked over from one side with a wide grin.

    ¡°Stop the nonsense. Let¡¯s go.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s face reddened before recovering her cool demeanour. She grabbed Ye Liusu¡¯s hand and walked off. Now was not the time for her to consider this.

    ¡°What¡¯re we doing?¡±

    ¡°Since they want a battle, then I¡¯ll give them a battle.¡± Ye Liusu was brimming with morale. This was an unprecedented opportunity. She had to grasp it.

    As the sun set in the west, the evening glow filled the sky. A green figure appeared in front of a cave that led underground.

    Fu Qingjin stood with his sword, his face exhausted. However, the moment he drew the Green Ruins sword, his eyes erupted with life. He turned into a streak of green light and dived into the pitch-black cave.

    The negotiations fell through. Only the option of killing remained!

 Chapter 415 â€“ Misjudgemen

    The green light moved with unmatched speed, following the same route that he had used last time to lure out Milliped. He rushed straight towards where Li Qingshan cultivated.

    Suddenly, mist blocked his path. Fu Qingjin frowned and stopped.

    The daemon was actually capable of such thought, enough to understand how to use formations? However, how could these formations stop him?

    Fu Qingjin brought his fingers together, sliding across the Green Ruins sword slowly. The Green Ruins sword lit up with glaring light, containing startling power.

    Li Qingshan was completely in the dark about all this. Even if he knew, there was nothing he could do. His mind was submerged in cultivation as time passed slowly. His cultivation as a Qi Practitioner advanced steadily as ebbs of Gui Water true qi burst through his acupoints one after another.

    Suddenly, his mirror clone underground opened his eyes. As the person who had laid down the formations, he could clearly sense that the formations had been touched.

    Were they here?

    ¡°Personal guards, gather!¡± Li Qingshan leapt up as his voice boomed out in all directions. Although only his clone was present, he possessed twelve powerful night roamers and an advantage in geography. That was enough to put up a battle. Just getting through the formations would cost them quite a lot of effort.

    In just a while, twelve figures flew over. Leading them, Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo held their heads high. Some of the ten princesses were still reluctant to accept them, but they still followed behind them.

    Working together, Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo had faced off against the princesses of the five other clans in a series of battles, two-against-two. Although it had not been completely one-sided, their combination and mutual understanding completely exceeded their opponent¡¯s mutual disunity. Combined with Ye Liubo¡¯s supreme grade spiritual artifact, they ended up dominating the battles easily despite how it seemed on the surface, consolidating their position as the leader of the guards.

    What filled Ye Liusu with enthusiasm the most was when she told these princesses about her idea of unity, three of them agreed. Regardless of whether this agreement was sincere or fake, it was still an extremely rare step forward. Her respect for Li Qingshan increased.

    ¡°Master, may I ask why you¡¯ve summoned us?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, silencing them. He concentrated on the ship¡¯s wheel in his hand and gradually became confused. The opponent seemed to be trapped in the formation, and they seemed to be trapped in the very first formation, the mist formation. It definitely was not Fu Qingjin.

    With a flash, he arrived at the edge of the formation and saw a night roamer stuck in there. He let him in to question him.

    A while later, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became strange.

    Li Qingshan could basically imagine that the cultivator had chosen to actively avoid his region after running into the formations, killing all the Daemon Generals in the surroundings instead.

    ¡°Do you know what the human cultivator looks like?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. I only heard he was a green flash.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea whether he should feel happy or disappointed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come.¡±

    Spider Queen Lolth leaned back on her throne in Cobweb city, propping herself up with her arm as she faced the four most powerful Daemon Generals under her command. She was relaxed. She had not become frantic or irritated from the loss of her soldiers and generals, nor did she feel sad or angry. Instead, she was brimming with interest, as if she was fascinated by this.

    ¡°You all must have heard about what had happened already!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Northmoon, I think he was originally looking for you!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s called Fu Qingjin, the liaison of the Daemon Suppression alliance in Clear River prefecture. I basically killed the Green Vine Elder right in front of him. I thought he would tear through the formations without any regard to fight me, but never did I think¡­¡±

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, a disciple of the Sword Collection palace. He really was something else. The four Daemon Generals did not even get the chance to blow up their daemon cores. If Bloodshadow had not made it in time, even more Daemon Generals would have died to his hands.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but glance at Bloodshadow. He forced back Fu Qingjin? I think Fu Qingjin just didn¡¯t want to become entangled in a battle underground.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I can¡¯t venture above ground, I would definitely make this Fu Qingjin or whoever he is remain underground forever.¡± Bloodshadow was filled with self-restraint. The senses of daemons covered an extremely wide range, and Bloodshadow happened to be the best among the best. He changed the topic and questioned, ¡°Northmoon, everything happened around your territory, yet you didn¡¯t sense anything at all?¡±

    ¡°Northmoon¡¯s daemon qi has never been greater than ours. Not to mention that what you see right now is just a clone. Northmoon, I¡¯m very curious about where your main body is right now.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could answer, Dragonsnail had already cut him off slowly.

    ¡°Obviously above ground, spying on the Daemon Suppression alliance.¡±

    ¡°Is this how you spy on them?¡± Bloodshadow sneered.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to bicker about? Can¡¯t we just kill our way back?!¡± Strongboulder bellowed out, brimming with battle intent.

    ¡°Strongboulder is right. Northmoon, you killed four of theirs, so they¡¯ve killed four of ours. It¡¯s very fair. Bloodshadow, from today onwards, the Daemon Generals to the west will be under your command. Strongboulder, the east will go to you. Northmoon, continue to watch over the night roamers. Dragonsnail, you will be responsible for dispatching them. We can¡¯t let them find an opening so easily again.¡±

    Strongboulder and Bloodshadow both beamed. This meant that they could command around several dozen Daemon Generals now. Dragonsnail¡¯s eyes flashed. He was not given any subordinates, but he would serve as the carrier of the Spider Queen¡¯s commands, which was an extremely important role.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. They were really declaring war with this kind of arrangement!

    With just a few words, the Spider Queen had determined the situation underground. Afterwards, she stood up slowly. ¡°Under his majesty the dragon king¡¯s command, all the daemons under my command can move about freely and kill humans from here on out!¡±

    At the same time, Fu Qingjin laid out a hundred daemon cores before the many Foundation Establishment cultivators in a meeting of the Daemon Suppression alliance. They varied in size and glimmered like pearls.

    Daemon cores were the crystallisation of hundreds or thousands of years of cultivation of daemons. They were worth much more than regular spiritual herbs or pills. Apart from being able to increase cultivation drastically and assist with breakthroughs when ingested, they also served wondrous purposes in the aspects of forging artifacts and formations. Exactly because of how rare they were, it made them worth even more. As for the value of the daemon cores of Daemon Generals, it was completely beyond imagination.

    It was like Fu Qingjin had laid out a hundred diamonds before a group of regular people, immediately drawing over everyone¡¯s gazes. They all gasped in admiration at the same time before erupting in a buzz of activity.

    Fu Qingjin stood with his hands behind his back, watching on coldly. In consideration of the bigger picture, he did not choose to attack the formation. Apart from his reluctance to waste time and energy, the biggest reason was because he did not actually have any grievances with Li Qingshan at all. Whether it were the three elders or Jiang Shancheng, if they were dead, then they were dead. There was no reason for him to take special note of their deaths.

    Although Li Qingshan forcefully annihilating the Green Vine mountain had humiliated him and the Sword Collection palace, he had never cared about the concept of ¡°pride¡± in the first place. All he did was undertake retribution according to the Sword Collection palace¡¯s orders and bring back the daemon cores to stir the greed within these people. Since he would be killing no matter who he killed, why did he have to choose the most troublesome opponent?

    ¡°Fellow Fu, how did you achieve this?¡± asked a cultivator fervently.

    Fu Qingjin could not be bothered with telling them, but upon considering the Sword Collection palace¡¯s arrangements, he told everyone what he had gone through, immediately winning over another round of praise.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this defy the Treaty of Kings?¡±

    ¡°From today onwards, all human cultivators can venture underground and purge daemons freely within the vicinity of the Clear River prefecture!¡±

    After a series of cries, everyone fell silent. The priceless daemon cores, the spiritual stone veins hidden deep underground, and the century or millennium old spiritual herbs all seemed to be waving at them. Tempted by all that, even daemons no longer seemed so terrifying.

    Only a handful of people became deeply worried. They looked around and took note of the situation around them, but they said nothing. Was everything really just this simple? There was no free lunch in the world after all.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Hold on. Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, I have a different opinion.¡±

    In Cobweb city, Strongboulder and Bloodshadow just happened to rouse up in surprise and joy when Li Qingshan objected.

    ¡°Oh? What would be your opinion?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should let the daemons do whatever they want!¡± Li Qingshan could easily imagine the sight of countless daemons surging out from the underground world that they had been trapped in. He could also imagine just what kind of disaster powerful, bloodthirsty, and battle hungry Daemon Generals like Strongboulder and Bloodshadow could cause for regular people.

    ¡°Why?¡± The Spider Queen frowned. The most radical Daemon General under her command had suddenly said something like that, which confused her.

    ¡°Bloodshadow has doubts over my investigations, so let me tell you about it. That is, the humans aren¡¯t actually completely united. There are two large factions among them, which are the Daemon Suppression alliance composed of various sects and the cultivators of the government, primarily based around the Academy of the Hundred Schools.¡±

    ¡°So what? They¡¯re all our enemy!¡± Bloodshadow said.

    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. However, they aren¡¯t necessarily friends with one another either. If we focus on the Daemon Suppression alliance only, it¡¯s very likely for the Academy of the Hundred Schools to remain passive. At the very least, they will take their time. That way, our overall strength will greatly surpass the Daemon Suppression alliance, which would give us an extremely great advantage.¡±

    ¡°However, if we openly massacre everyone and pull regular people into the mix, we will force the Academy of the Hundred Schools to join the battle immediately, which is instead disadvantageous to us. All of this is for the bigger picture. Please give us your wise judgement over this, ma¡¯am Spider Queen.¡±

    Li Qingshan spoke calmly, backing himself up with reason. He only wanted to target the Daemon Suppression alliance. The Daemon Suppression alliance had been the ones who stirred up the war in the first place. As long as these radicalists were destroyed, perhaps it was possible for peace to return between humans and daemons.

    Bloodshadow was speechless. He could not help but admit that Li Qingshan was rather reasonable. Strongboulder also studied him up and down like he did not know Li Qingshan at all. Someone who was bold enough to throw his own life at him was actually so meticulous.

    ¡°Northmoon, oh Northmoon, this is exactly what you excel in! I really need to praise you for your courage and your wits.¡± The Spider Queen clapped gently.

    ¡°You overestimate me, ma¡¯am!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He believed this suggestion that was beneficial to the war would be accepted by the Spider Queen.

    Dragonsnail lowered his head and smiled mysteriously.

    ¡°Then I look forward to your future performance,¡± Spider Queen Lolth said.

    Is that supposed to be accepting or declining? Li Qingshan stared at the Spider Queen¡¯s vicious smile, and his heart shivered. Suddenly, he understood something. After misjudging Fu Qingjin, he had misjudged her.

    She just wanted to watch the world burn!

 Chapter 416 â€“ Conflicted

    ¡°What if they don¡¯t come to rescue them?¡± Strongboulder frowned. Compared to regular people, he would much rather kill cultivators.

    ¡°We¡¯ll massacre a city with each passing day! I refuse to believe they¡¯ll turn a blind eye to it!¡± Bloodshadow extended his bright red tongue and licked his lips. What he required the most for cultivation was fresh blood, but he was forbidden from slaughtering other daemons and night roamers underground. He could only rely on making do with the ¡°offerings¡± from the night roamers. Dragonsnail¡¯s strategy suited him perfectly.

    ¡°We should target cultivators!¡± Li Qingshan found it to be even more unacceptable to target these innocent people who had nothing to do with the Daemon Suppression alliance or cultivators in general.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t so-called cultivators just cultivated regular people? Don¡¯t regular people eat the flesh and blood of our kin to grow? Only by severing the roots can we truly defeat the humans. Have you forgotten about such a simple principle?¡±

    Dragonsnail asked three consecutive questions, leaving Li Qingshan speechless. Humans fed off beasts. When the range of human activity increased, the range of habitation for beasts was reduced. Weren¡¯t other species going extinct every single day in the world completely dominated by humans from his previous life?

    So-called animal conversation was basically just the leftovers from the person who sat at the very top, whatever they could be bothered sparing. And, it was built on top of personal need. Wild beasts were locked up to serve as playthings, while livestock would be butchered once they were raised. Human apathy was instead the most terrifying apocalypse to beasts.

    War had not just begun. Instead, it had never stopped. Humans and daemons opposed one another in their very nature. The founding emperor who had maintained several millennia of peace between the two races had basically achieved an unbelievable feat.

    ¡°Dragonsnail is right. That¡¯s the way we daemons handle things,¡± the Spider Queen said in appreciation.

    ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ll experience the taste of failure soon,¡± Bloodshadow said in a sunken manner.

    ¡°Hahahaha, we can finally massacre humans freely! Northmoon, why don¡¯t we see who kills more people?¡± Strongboulder laughed madly.

    Afterwards, he saw himself. His ox horns and tiger claws were peeled away from his body as his skin like black iron would become bronze, recovering his original appearance, which was human!

    ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ve spent the most amount of time on the surface. Which city do you think we should start off with? It¡¯s best if they have a larger population.¡±

    Dragonsnail¡¯s voice seemed to ring out from an extremely distant location, interrupting the images in front of Li Qingshan. The Spider Queen, Bloodshadow, and Strongboulder all stared at him, waiting for his reply.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to report!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve reached a bottleneck in my cultivation lately. I want to enter secluded cultivation for some time and make a breakthrough so that I can properly fight Fu Qingjin to the death. I might not be able to partake in the initial battles.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head, and his scarlet hair draped down over his face, concealing the hint of confusion in his eyes. Suddenly, he discovered that everything was already completely beyond his control. Perhaps thinking he could control it was a conceited illusion in the first place!

    ¡°Really?¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s eyes flickered in doubt.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯ve returned. How did the discussion go?¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the cavern in his territory, and Ye Liusu immediately went up to receive him.

    ¡°From today onwards, I will be entering secluded cultivation. Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo will be temporarily in charge of everything that happens in the territory. If there isn¡¯t anything important, don¡¯t disturb me.¡± Li Qingshan made his way onto the bed of spiritual stone and announced loudly.

    In the end, the Spider Queen had agreed to his request. She did not suspect at all that this powerful subordinate of hers with illustrious achievements would experience conflict like that inside.

    ¡°Thank you for your trust, master.¡± Ye Liusu beamed inside.

    The other night roamers had objections, but Li Qingshan completely ignored them. He dispersed them before just shutting his eyes.

    ¡°Xiao An, what do you think I should do?¡±

    Below Contention island in the seclusion dwelling, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and told Xiao An everything that troubled him without holding back at all.

    ¡°Help neither.¡± After some thought, Xiao An answered like that.

    ¡°Help neither?¡±

    ¡°Yep. What do other humans or daemons have anything to do with us? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re the one killing them. They¡¯re killing among themselves, so don¡¯t worry about them. All we have to do is focus on cultivating.¡±

    Xiao An blinked her large eyes and comforted him softly. Actually, she struggled slightly to understand what troubled Li Qingshan. After all, in her eyes, it did not matter even if all the other living creatures died apart from him. Perhaps it was more correct to say she hoped for that exactly.

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. Perhaps I¡¯ve been thinking too much.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head with a bitter smile. As a half-human, half-daemon ¡°monster¡±, he had already lost his standpoint, thrown into a predicament of absolute isolation. He could not help but think of Gu Yanying. Did she ever become conflicted like this too?

    Suddenly, his eyebrow twitched. Xiao An placed her little hand on Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead seriously, as if she wanted to flatten his furrowed brows.

    Li Qingshan smiled. At least he would never be lonely.

    ¡°Let¡¯s cultivate. I want to make it to Foundation Establishment in a single breath and take out what brother ox gave me!¡±

    Li Qingshan was overcome by his lofty aspiration. He immediately sat down and began cultivating, but a while later, his brows became subconsciously furrowed again. Even when he used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he was unable to enter a proper state of cultivation.

    At that moment, Li Qingshan suddenly heard the clear, pleasant chanting of scriptures. It was Xiao An¡¯s voice.

    Xiao An sat in front of Li Qingshan as she rotated through the Skull Prayer Beads in her hand. Scriptures emerged from her mouth, directly reaching his ears.

    Although he could not understand the scriptures at all, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart gradually settled down. He began to think over everything he had gone through since leaving Crouching Ox village. Like rewinding tape, the various scenes began to recede faster and faster.

    Various figures flashed past his eyes as various matters unraveled like silk from a cocoon.

    Before he knew it, his heart had already become entangled with so many emotions of love and hatred. Now, they were instead like cobwebs and dust, whisked away bit by bit.

    There were also existences he could not whisk away so easily, like Fu Qingjin and Han Qiongzhi. They were the hatred and love deeply engraved in his heart. Whenever he reached them, the tape seemed to become stuck, stopping on this scene.

    Xiao An¡¯s scripture changed, and these scenes brushed past. Finally, he returned to Crouching Ox village once again, returning to the young boy who slept soundly on the hay in that tiny cowshed.

 Chapter 417 â€“ Circumstances Come and Go with Time

    ¡°Xiao An, how long has it been?¡±

    ¡°Around three years.¡±

    ¡°Three years. It has been so long.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised; to him, it did not feel long at all, brief as a matter of fact.

    Three years were enough for the plants to wither and bloom three times, enough for children to become youths. But to him, it had been as brief as a flick of a finger.

    There was no concept of time in the mountains and caves. This was the definition of time to cultivators.

    He had not spent all three years meditating away. Every now and then, he would talk with Xiao An and fight a little. It definitely had not been boring. Instead, he found it to be surprisingly substantial.

    Together, they had not been serious the entire time, talking about cultivation and only cultivation. Often, they talked about things that had nothing to do with cultivation at all. However, they understood what each other was thinking from a single glance and smile. They were fellow cultivators, or perhaps intimate friends.

    Ye Liusu seemed to have reported to his underground clone a few times during this period, but the contents had already become blurry. Yet, he could recall every single word from an ordinary conversation with Xiao An from two years ago.

    ¡°Have you gained anything today?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Confusion still exists in my heart.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head gently and placed his hand on his chest.

    Right now, Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was not at the ninth layer, but the tenth layer. He had only used half a month to open the Governing meridian with the help of the spiritual qi of the world. Afterwards, he got to work with tidying up the twelve standard meridians, which were the three yang meridians of the arm, the three yang meridians of the leg, the three yin meridians of the arm, and the three yin meridians of the leg.

    After two years of absolute focus, he finally tidied through all of it and broke through to the tenth layer. In the final half a year, he had constantly tried to break through to Foundation Establishment and obtain what the black ox had left for him.

    In the very beginning, Li Qingshan had been very confident, as he possessed many True Spirit pills. He believed he could reach Foundation Establishment even if he had to forcefully pile his way up with the pills.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to face what I must face in the end. Xiao An¡­¡± Li Qingshan murmured to himself.

    ¡°Let¡¯s emerge!¡± Xiao An smiled sweetly with bright eyes and shining teeth.

    Three years had passed, but her figure had not changed at all.

    Seeing the light of day again, Li Qingshan squinted his eyes and gazed at the landscape of lakes and mountains in the distance. Nothing seemed to have changed much compared to three years ago. However, he could sense that the formation over the academy had become even more profound and powerful.

    Xiao An had to pay a visit to the school of Buddhism, while Li Qingshan directly visited the school of Legalism. He arrived before a small, delicate building by the lake. This was where Han Qiongzhi resided in the school of Legalism.

    Over the three years, the person that he worried the most about was her. He was afraid something would happen to her in the chaos of war. He had wanted to emerge when he reached the ninth layer, but he soon considered the possibility that she was still in secluded cultivation. Even if he did emerge, she would be under protection with her background, so he stopped worrying. However, he could not help but admit his mental state had already changed compared to when he was deeply in love with her.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Li Qingshan knocked on the door.

    Footsteps rang out from behind the door, and Li Qingshan became slightly excited. However, when the door opened, he was a bit stunned.

    Because of the formation there, Li Qingshan did not try to sense the aura in the building. However, the person who opened the door right now was not Han Qiongzhi, but a legalist disciple he was somewhat familiar with, Wu Gen.

    Seeing Li Qingshan, Wu Gen was taken aback too. He said in a hurry, ¡°You¡¯re looking for senior sister Han, right? Senior sister Han no longer lives here.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank slightly. This was her residence. How could it be offered to someone else so easily?

    ¡°You¡¯ve already reached the tenth layer. Congratula¡­¡± Before Wu Gen could even finish talking, Li Qingshan had already flown off on a cloud, travelling straight towards the school of the Military¡¯s Great War island.

    At the same time, Xiao An returned to An¨¡srav¨¡? island to see the One Thought master.

    ¡°Junior sister Xiao An, you¡¯ve returned.¡± A disciple of buddhism faltered before bringing her to the One Thought master¡¯s meditation room in the end. As she passed through the familiar monastery and pavilions, she could feel that many of the life forces that once moved about in the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple had vanished.

    ¡°Abbot, senior sister Xiao An has emerged from secluded cultivation. She wishes to see you.¡± The way the monk referred to Xiao An left her slightly puzzled.

    A skinny monk, so skinny that he was just a bag of bones, emerged from the meditation room. With a stern expression, he brought his palms together. ¡°Junior sister Xiao An, long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Mind Enlightenment.¡± If it were not for Xiao An¡¯s ability to sense the life force of others, she would have never been able to connect the person before her right now to the tall, chubby primary disciple of buddhism from back then, Mind Enlightenment.

    After being defeated by Xiao An, Mind Enlightenment had punished himself with three years of wall facing and self-reflection in the Cliff Inscription cavern. After a series of arduous cultivation, he finally broke through and successfully established a foundation. He now wore the abbot¡¯s k¨¡?¨¡ya.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be confused. I¡¯m the leader of the school of Buddhism now, the abbot of the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple.¡± As he said that, Mind Enlightenment did not show any pride at all. Instead, irrepressible sorrow surged out. ¡°Master¡­ master has already died.¡±

    ¡°How did he die?¡±

    ¡°He was slain by a daemon!¡± Mind Enlightenment¡¯s eyes widened, like the furious glare of a guardian king.

    Xiao An lowered her head. She had no idea what to say.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel sad at all? Not even a bit?¡± Mind Enlightenment questioned loudly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Xiao An was emotionless.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re heartless!¡± Mind Enlightenment pointed at Xiao An as his voice trembled. Clearly, he had been truly angered.

    Xiao An did not refute him either.

    ¡°As the leader of the school of Buddhism, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re suited for the position of primary disciple anymore!¡± Mind Enlightenment called out, stunning the entire temple before turning around and leaving furiously.

    Xiao An was not angered. She never wanted to be some primary disciple in the first place. She did what she was supposed to do, so it was time to go find Li Qingshan. She turned around quietly and made her way out.

    The buddhist disciples who heard the disturbance all made their way out, casting gazes of either surprise or disdain at Xiao An. Xiao An ignored it all, directly making her way into the forest of st¨±pas. There was a very new st¨±pa with the dharma name One Thought engraved below. It was basically the final part of him that remained behind to remember him by.

    Xiao An was still emotionless. She took out a pearl that seemed to be made out of gold and stared at it for a long time. This was the Guardian King¡¯s pearl that the One Thought master had given her.

    Please forgive me. I can¡¯t mourn for you, but if it¡¯s possible, I will avenge you.

    In the Main Martial Arts stadium, Han Tieyi stood on a platform with his arms crossed, watching the military disciples train. Through the baptism of war, he had broken through to Foundation Establishment, but he experienced many near-death encounters as the price. Suddenly, he raised his head and saw a cloud fly over. He said gently, ¡°He¡¯s finally here.¡±

    ¡°Tieyi, do you know¡­¡± Li Qingshan spotted Han Tieyi too, flying over to him quickly.

    Han Tieyi remained as stoic as ever. He did not say anything, not even a greeting. He handed a stack of letters to Li Qingshan.

    The letters were clearly labeled, ¡°For Li Qingshan only. Letter from Han Qiongzhi.¡±

    Li Qingshan opened the letters one by one in order. The first letter came from two years ago.

    After reading through it, Li Qingshan stopped worrying. As it turned out, Han Qiongzhi had already left the academy two years ago. She had gone to the Ruyi commandery to continue cultivating under her uncle, Han Anguo. Perhaps because she never received a reply, but the letters gradually lessened. The last letter was from three months ago.

    After reading through it, Li Qingshan was unable to describe what he felt. There was relief, disappointment, and some ease.

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame her. She waited half a year for you. During a mission, she came across a Daemon General and almost lost her life,¡± Han Tieyi explained for once.

    ¡°Why would she carry out such a dangerous mission?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a frown.

    ¡°There are no safe missions now.¡±

    ¡°What about the others?¡± Li Qingshan looked back at the Main Martial Arts stadium, and pairs of eyes looked over at him too. Through these three years, the military disciples had developed a bleak aura around them, which made him think about the personal army he had faced in the Han family back then. Although it was just training, every single one of them radiated with murderousness, as if they were facing actual enemies.

    However, there were only three or four hundred people present, with many unfamiliar and immature faces among them. Their cultivations were not particularly high either. Clearly, they were disciples who had joined recently.

    ¡°Some died. Others fled,¡± Han Tieyi said.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the clear, blue sky. In a daze, he seemed to see a colossal monster dwelling above the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture, silently devouring life. The name of this monster was war. Saying that it was no different from three years ago was his greatest mistake.

    Even if he ignored the kind of person Han Anjun was, why would she ever flee from danger with how stubborn she was?

    ¡°Do you want to write back?¡± Han Tieyi asked.

    ¡°Not right now.¡± Li Qingshan considered it before shaking his head gently. He could tell from the later letters that she was doing very well right now. She was also making preparations to establish a foundation. It would be best if he did not bother her mental state and affect her cultivation right now.

    Speaking of which, who knew when they would meet again?

    Three years, five years, perhaps ten years¡­ Even his mental state right now was different from the past, so let alone many years into the future.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An met up outside Cloudwisp island. Before they could even reach the bamboo loft on the island, a woman¡¯s figure appeared. Li Qingshan could not help but frown when he saw her.

    Qan Rongzhi saw Xiao An, and her eyes lit up. She approached her with a flash and crouched down, grabbing Xiao An¡¯s hand. She asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    Xiao An shook her head.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s smile became even more resplendent. She wanted to give Xiao An a hug, but she hugged nothing.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi, why have you come?¡± Li Qingshan pulled Xiao An behind him.

    ¡°You¡¯re still the same as before. Take out your Scarlet Wolf tablet. There¡¯s a mission.¡±

    Li Qingshan took out his Scarlet Wolf tablet in doubt. It flashed gently, and sure enough, Hua Chengzan¡¯s voice rang out in a blurred manner,

    ¡°Qingshan, I heard you emerged from seclusion, so I have a mission for you. It shouldn¡¯t be dangerous, but I can¡¯t say for sure. Anyway, you should familiarise yourself with the situation first! Qian Rongzhi already knows about the details of the mission. I¡¯ll take you out for dinner once you get back.¡±

    Hua Chengzan seemed to be busy. He just said a few words in a hurry before falling silent.

 Chapter 418 â€“ Waking Up

    The red blood soaked the ground, drying into a black mess before the winter froze it cold. It was sticky and slippery.

    With every step Li Qingshan took, he would alarm countless crows as well as various other unknown scavenging birds of prey. However, the strangest part about it was there were no signs of invading enemies at all.

    A madam dressed in an apron firmly embedded her kitchen knife into a man¡¯s head. However, right before his death, the same man attacked her, crushing her throat. Their faces were twisted with hatred the moment before they died, as if they were facing their greatest enemy. And, it was possible to tell from where they lay that they were clearly husband and wife. The virtuous madam had probably finished making dinner and had come out to call the man in.

    A regular soldier with a spear pierced the chest of an armoured military officer. At the same time, he was pierced by three other spears, whose wielders were dressed in the same uniform. They seemed to be soldiers and officers responsible for defending the city, but they had become icy-cold corpses now. They had forgotten about their responsibilities and killed one another.

    A little girl with her hair tied into buns used her hemp waistband to choke another child to death. Her head had become dented by the metal ball that the other child originally played with. Their faces were twisted with viciousness and murderousness that did not belong to children. The bloody metal ball had rolled to one side. Originally, this was a very ordinary game between two friends.

    Wives killed their husbands, soldiers killed their officers, and friends killed their companions.

    It was as if the people in the city had all gone insane, attacking the people around them and all perishing together.

    Li Qingshan could vaguely guess whose handiwork this all was. He clenched his fist as his face became rather ugly.

    ¡°I thought you¡¯d like it! Thankfully, it¡¯s winter. If it were summer, there¡¯d be much more to see!¡± Qian Rongzhi walked over from behind.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t there any people who try to deal with this?¡±

    ¡°There were in the beginning, but after a few massacres, they came to their senses. Who would sacrifice themselves for regular people who are no different from ants? Oh right, there was one a while back. The One Thought master came to bring salvation, and he challenged the rock demon, but he lost.¡±

    ¡°The rock demon!?¡± Li Qingshan confirmed his thoughts inside. It could not be wrong. This was the power of the Rock of Slaughter. Strongboulder had arrived here and unleashed his natural power, making everyone descend into madness and kill one another.

    ¡°You still don¡¯t know, do you?¡± Right now, the daemons are being commanded by the rock demon and the blood demon. They¡¯re both powerful daemons who have massacred countless cities. The cities massacred by the rock demon are all like this, while the cities massacred by the blood demon won¡¯t have a single drop of blood left. There aren¡¯t a lot of people who can hold their ground against them, whether it¡¯s from the academy or the Daemon Suppression alliance.¡±

    ¡°Then what are we doing here? What¡¯s there to investigate?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re here to collect corpses.¡±

    ¡°Collect corpses?¡±

    ¡°This is an easier job, alright? I can tell Hua Chengzan is taking very good care of you. Look, what¡¯s that?¡± Qian Rongzhi pointed ahead.

    Under the setting sun, a tottering figure stood up.

    A survivor! Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he immediately dismissed that thought. The figure was a stalwart farmer. His eyes were completely white with long, protruding teeth. His body had already become blue, wrapped with corpse qi. Suddenly, he turned around and locked onto the aura of the living. With a growl, he lunged towards Li Qingshan. A wooden cart blocked his way, but he directly smashed through it.

    ¡°That¡¯s a zombie!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly understood.

    Qian Rongzhi rushed over with a flash. A bronze bangle flew out from her hand and smashed into the zombie¡¯s head. The zombie vanished, and with a flash, the bronze bangle returned to her hand. A bloody mark had appeared on it, almost covering the entire bangle.

    ¡°The deceased hold extremely great resentment. They only need to be slightly refined, and they¡¯ll become Corpse Soldiers who can serve in battle. All the Corpse Soldiers produced from cities massacred by the rock demon have the best quality. Their murderousness and malice linger without dispersing. They can even become zombies by themselves and be refined into Corpse Generals.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled sweetly.

    Corpses climbed up to their feet. Under the setting sun, they growled at the sky, as if they were baring their fangs at it in resentment.

    Li Qingshan was shocked by this. His attempt to lecture Qian Rongzhi was reduced to silence when it reached his lips. He was responsible for everything before him.

    He could try to justify himself, blaming the Daemon Suppression alliance as the ones who started it all and the fact that war between humans and daemons was unavoidable in the first place. He could say that he only played the role of a soldier in this. However, all of his excuses seemed pitiful before this sight. Even just one ten-thousandth of the responsibility weighed as heavily as a mountain.

    Disregarding what Li Qingshan felt, Qian Rongzhi made her way around gracefully and subdued these zombies one by one. Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve, worried and concerned for him.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head and silently got to work, collecting corpses.

    A racoon-like daemon moved around through the streets, constantly changing directions and avoiding the balls of exploding fire.

    Balls of fire flew over the city, illuminating the night. A few disciples from the Fire Cloud sect, dressed in scarlet clothes, were in hot pursuit, unleashing balls of scorching fire and setting whole regions ablaze.

    The entire city smoked, engulfed by fire. Noises and wails rose up into the sky like the smoke.

    Li Qingshan gazed down from the sky in the distance, and he felt strangely surprised. From his perspective, it just seemed like a few cultivators committing widespread arson.

    Before they had even completed the first mission, a second mission arrived. The traces of a daemon were discovered in this city and needed to be eliminated. However, this was what he saw when he arrived.

    ¡°Someone¡¯s beat us to it. They¡¯re from the Fire Cloud sect,¡± Qian Rongzhi said.

    ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    ¡°Purging daemons, obviously. It¡¯s fine. Once they succeed, we¡¯ll just kill them too. We can even get our hands on a few hundred treasures pouches. Don¡¯t look at me like that. If they have the opportunity, they won¡¯t show any mercy either. The academy¡¯s lost a lot of disciples, but it¡¯s not like they only died to the fangs and claws of daemons.¡±

    The threat of the daemons had not united the humans. Instead, it broke the original order, making all conflicts even more violent. The Rock of Slaughter was not present, but killing one another had already become the norm. No one would mind obtaining a few hundred treasures pouches without facing any danger at all. It was not like anyone would look into the matter with the current chaos anyway.

    Before Qian Rongzhi had finished speaking, Li Qingshan already flew down.

    ¡°Oh no. Senior brother, we¡¯ve let it escape!¡±

    The racoon-like daemon was extremely nimble. It turned around a corner and vanished. When the disciples of the Fire Cloud sect rushed over, all they saw was a small hole in the corner of the walls. They could not help but feel overcome with dismay. That was a daemon core!

    At this moment, Li Qingshan descended from the sky. The disciples of the Fire Cloud sect immediately became vigilant. However, all they saw was Li Qingshan wave his hand and conjure a few water dragons, lunging into the fire and putting out the firestorm.

    These techniques immediately made the disciples of the Fire Cloud sect change in expression. This definitely was not someone they could handle.

    ¡°May I ask which senior brother you are? How come we¡¯ve never seen you before?¡± The leader of the group was an eighth layer Qi Practitioner, gathering his courage to pay respects to Li Qingshan. Seeing how Li Qingshan had appeared in the eye of the public, he did not immediately behave like he was about to kill and rob him.

    ¡°Did you catch the daemon?¡± Li Qingshan stood on the roof and asked them from above.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t, or we¡¯d definitely offer it up to you.¡±

    ¡°Do you know how many people you¡¯ve just killed?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the city. Plumes of smoke still rose up into the sky. With his superhuman hearing, he could clearly hear the many sobs and moans, rising up into the night sky in a playful manner.

    In the blink of an eye, countless families had been destroyed. Even with the heart of steel that Li Qingshan believed he possessed, he was unable to remain indifferent to all this.

    ¡°If we don¡¯t kill the daemon, it¡¯ll just lead to even more deaths!¡± That disciple of the Fire Cloud sect sure was righteous. He clearly possessed much more resolve than Li Qingshan. Afterwards, he feigned pity. ¡°Oh, we didn¡¯t want to do this either! We were just careless, letting the daemon take advantage of us.¡±

    Most of the battles between humans and daemons would not occur in the wilderness, but in cities. Powerful daemons would massacre cities in anger, while weaker daemons would make use of the complex layout of human cities to hide and prey on humans. This was commonplace. Whenever they began fighting, they would cherish their own lives the most. Why would they care about the lives of regular people?

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and as if spared, the disciples all flew away from the city, gradually turning into specks of firelight before suddenly going out.

    ¡°Another mission.¡± Qian Rongzhi walked over from where the firelight had been extinguished. Her collection of corpses had increased yet again.

    Li Qingshan turned a deaf ear to her. He stood with his arms crossed, sinking into his thoughts. He was like a statue in the darkness.

    ¡°What, after three years of seclusion, the vicious tiger¡¯s become a cowardly cat?¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled faintly. Originally, she thought there would be even more opportunities for her to collaborate with him, but his behaviour had left her slightly disappointed or even angered. Perhaps she should risk her life to anger him!

    Xiao An glanced at Qian Rongzhi. Qian Rongzhi raised her hands and shrugged, no longer saying anything else.

    ¡°Thank you, great immortal! Thank you!¡± The common folk gathered over beneath the roof, lowering their heads, thanking him and asking for help. Li Qingshan ignored all of it, and the crowd dispersed.

    Before he knew it, a night had passed. The many stars receded, and the east lit up.

    In a corner, Qian Rongzhi, who was currently holding Xiao An¡¯s hand and speaking with her, suddenly raised her head, looking at Li Qingshan. Gradually, a familiar feeling began to awaken from him, which made her tremble slightly. The rising sun in the east coated him in a layer of gold.

    ¡°Time to go, Xiao An. Let¡¯s go back.¡± Li Qingshan opened his eyes, no longer lost or confused. It was filled with composed determination.

    Xiao An leapt up, arriving beside him and grabbing him by a finger.

    ¡°The mission!¡± Qian Rongzhi said.

    ¡°You¡¯d better just handle these boring missions yourself!¡± Li Qingshan behaved like he had just woken up, slightly lazy. He abandoned Qian Rongzhi and took off with Xiao An.

    The three years were like a dream. He had woken up now.

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head and watched him disappear into the horizon. She suddenly smiled. You have some more value of use when you¡¯re like this!

    In the windy sky, Xiao An cast a questioning glance at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not you. I can¡¯t help neither. I can¡¯t cut off everything. I will bear my responsibilities, my responsibilities as a human, my responsibilities as a daemon.¡± Li Qingshan stared at the glimmering horizon, and his lips curled up. His smile was slightly exuberant and naive, as if he was still that high-spirited, young, gallant wanderer.

 Chapter 419 â€“ The Boundlessness of the Ocean, Unable to Neglect Deep Love

    At this moment, no one had any idea that an unruly chess piece would enter the board properly, much less expect what change his appearance would bring.

    Li Qingshan returned to Cloudwisp island. He frowned near the bamboo loft and heard the moans of a woman ring out from Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s room.

    Don¡¯t tell me this bastard has used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to do that again. Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°Wait here!¡±

    Afterwards, he rushed over and kicked open the door.

    Sure enough, Liu Chuanfeng was entangled with a naked woman. The woman was so life-like that even Li Qingshan struggled to tell whether she was real or fake.

    ¡°Who is it? Oh, Qingshan, you¡¯ve emerged from seclusion!¡± Liu Chuanfeng turned around and saw Li Qingshan, beaming with surprise. He had already reached Foundation Establishment, but he was unable to hide his feebleness. Combined with his messy clothing, Li Qingshan only frowned when he saw him.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Li Qingshan barked.

    ¡°Living in the world, you should seize the day and enjoy yoursel- Ah, ah, let go of me. I¡¯m your master!¡±

    Before Liu Chuanfeng could finish talking, Li Qingshan had walked over and grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him up.

    ¡°Master my ass. So much for my efforts for you to reach Foundation Establishment. You¡¯re wasting the power of belief again to do something as depraved as this.¡±

    ¡°S- s- she¡¯s real. She¡¯s from the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. She¡¯s not made from the power of belief!¡± All Liu Chuanfeng felt was like his shoulders were about to be ripped apart. He was in no state to maintain his facade anymore as he explained frantically.

    Li Qingshan looked at the woman again and saw her surprise. Never had she seen a Qi Practitioner ¡°harass¡± a Foundation Establishment cultivator like that.

    After chasing away the woman, Li Qingshan and Liu Chuanfeng sat down.

    ¡°When did you succeed with establishing a foundation?¡±

    ¡°Over two years ago.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s the school of Novels doing?¡±

    ¡°Oh Qingshan, the school of Novels is completely done for! Daemons run amok and bandits are everywhere. Everyone¡¯s in a state of fear. No one¡¯s in the mood to read these stories anymore. We even have to go risk our lives to kill daemons. Who knows when we¡¯ll be slaughtered. Qingshan, just spare me!¡±

    Did all that hard work go to waste like this?

    If it were yesterday, Li Qingshan definitely would have sighed and lamented, but right now, he grabbed Liu Chuanfeng by the collar and lifted him up. ¡°Then you still have to keep writing! This is exactly when people need your stories! You need to inspire people!¡±

    ¡°As long as you understand!¡± Li Qingshan dropped Liu Chuanfeng. As he made his way out, he looked back and added, ¡°There¡¯ll always be an opportunity to turn things around.¡±

    ¡°The tenth layer! Qingshan, you cultivate at an alarming speed!¡±

    Around dusk, Hua Chengzan rushed back in a hurry and arrived on Cloudwisp island. His eyes lit up the moment he saw Li Qingshan. Breaking through to the ninth and tenth layers had always been the most time-consuming, yet he had managed it in just three years. He was truly something else. Perhaps he could succeed with establishing a foundation before long and lend great support.

    ¡°Barely, just barely. You¡¯ve changed too. Looks like I¡¯ve missed out on quite a lot in the past three years.¡± Li Qingshan studied Hua Chengzan, and he discovered that his handsome appearance was more mature and sombre now.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already seen everything you should see. What do you plan on doing next?¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s face sank.

    ¡°Lend assistance to the academy, obviously,¡± Li Qingshan replied without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. We need to celebrate for you. I¡¯ll go call Tieyi. The others don¡¯t have time. Even if I call them over, you might not necessarily see them. You can¡¯t exactly call this maltreating you if you have the three of us celebrating for you!¡±

    Having three Foundation Establishment cultivators celebrate for a Qi Practitioner was an extremely rare treatment to enjoy. It was basically impossible unless they had close ties with one another.

    However, Li Qingshan shook his head and declined. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    ¡°Is it because there¡¯s not enough people?¡±

    ¡°I want to celebrate once I reach Foundation Establishment,¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He had already made up his mind. He could make a push through this final obstacle now.

    ¡°Foundation Establishment?¡± Hua Chengzan raised an eyebrow. He called himself a genius, but in order to successfully establish a foundation, who knew how much effort he had spent towards it. He would have never mentioned it so easily.

    Liu Chuanfeng on the side raised his head in surprise too. This disciple of his really liked to boast.

    ¡°You want to enter seclusion for another three years?¡± Hua Chengzan probed. He thought Li Qingshan was trying to avoid the current situation after seeing all the dangers. This was a common thought. As a result, the academy maintained an extremely tight control over the disciples in secluded cultivation now. However, he felt like Li Qingshan was not that kind of person.

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take that long this time.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head gently.

    At this moment, Han Tieyi descended from above. Without saying anything, he directly shoved a letter into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan opened the letter in confusion. There were only ten words, ¡°You bastard son of a bitch, write back to me!¡±

    ¡°You contacted her.¡± Li Qingshan smiled bitterly as he read those ten words again and again. His heart warmed up. Her appearance suddenly grew clear in his mind, like she was cursing him loudly in his ear.

    ¡°She¡¯s still my elder sister after all,¡± said Han Tieyi. Although they never seemed like siblings, even rather distant at first glance, their familial connection where blood ran thicker than water could never be severed.

    ¡°I often forget about that.¡± Li Qingshan stowed the letter into his bosom.

    ¡°Are you going to reply?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. His heart was no longer lost or confused. His various thoughts of running away had all been swept clean. This was his responsibility as a man.

    Han Tieyi then took out a jade slip and passed it to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you take a look.¡±

    Li Qingshan opened the jade slip and immediately became speechless. The jade slip recorded a cultivation method¡ªthe Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    ¡°You said you wanted the cultivation method that could allow you to completely power Ocean Wielding. This is it, the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. She asked our uncle to find it. Although it¡¯s missing the first half, she¡¯s asked our uncle to patch it up, so it shouldn¡¯t affect it too much. It should be the cultivation method most suited for you. She wanted me to give it to you once you emerged. You can say it¡¯s a surprise.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his tingling nose. He had almost forgotten he had mentioned this to her, yet she still remembered it. Was it all just a coincidence? No, it wasn¡¯t. It was inseverable love. Even if she did not know about his various secrets, did that make her love any less real?

    Li Qingshan waved around the jade slip in his hand. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t going to reply, you never planned on handing me the jade slip, did you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still her younger brother after all,¡± said Han Tieyi after quite a lengthy silence. Although every single cultivator had their own thoughts and choices towards these emotions, people who were faithless and fickle did not deserve her concern.

    Li Qingshan returned to his room and wrote a reply with just a few flicks of the brush. He shoved it into the envelope and handed it to Han Tieyi.

    ¡°She¡¯s written so many letters. You¡¯re just going to answer her with a few words?¡± Hua Chengzan smiled.

 Chapter 420 â€“ All Rivers Converge to the Ocean, Success with Foundation Establishmen

    In the commandery city of Ruyi, within the great general¡¯s estate.

    Han Qiongzhi frowned slightly in worry. This guy actually had not written back immediately after emerging from seclusion. What was he thinking?

    ¡°My old cousin, are you thinking about that man again?¡± A delicate, young girl, around fourteen or fifteen, giggled. She had her hair tied up in buns and was currently standing on a looming, great oak tree.

    ¡°Meimei, get down from there!¡± Han Qiongzhi raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Cousin, people are fickle. He might have already fallen in love with someone else.¡± Han Meimei leapt down, landing on Han Qiongzhi¡¯s back and wrapping her hand around her neck as she prattled on like an old man.

    ¡°You better not talk nonsense. He¡¯s always been a little mysterious. He might have encountered something!¡±

    ¡°Miss Qiongzhi, there¡¯s a letter.¡±

    A caretaker personally delivered a letter. Han Qiongzhi beamed inside, but she suddenly felt like Han Meimei on her back weighed like a boulder. She struggled to take a step forward. Her back lightened again, and Han Meimei flew over, snatching over the letter and giggling. ¡°Come chase me!¡±

    ¡°Give it back!¡± Frustrated, Han Qiongzhi lunged over as quickly as she could, but she missed. Han Meimei swiveled around and landed on the roof gracefully. ¡°You can¡¯t catch me.¡±

    Han Meimei had reached the tenth layer too. Her cultivation was profound, and her reactions were so fast that they surpassed Han Qiongzhi¡¯s. She was like a monkey, leaping about and dodging through the garden as she opened the letter.

    ¡°What? There¡¯s just three words, and the handwriting is so horrid.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart sank. She roared, ¡°Give it to me, or I¡¯ll tell uncle!¡±

    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯re actually angry! You¡¯ll tell my father just because you can¡¯t catch me. You¡¯re shameless!¡± Han Meimei leapt over a roof and vanished while the letter drifted down gently, landing in Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand.

    Sure enough, there were only three words written there in a wriggly, crooked manner¡ªWait for me.

    ¡°What the hell is this supposed to be!?¡± Han Qiongzhi curled her lip, but her eyes were filled with smiles. She pressed the letter against her chest.

    ¡°Everyone look! My cousin¡¯s thinking about her man!¡± Han Meimei emerged from somewhere again. This time, she was carrying a gong, creating a ruckus as she yelled at the top of her lungs.

    Han Qiongzhi sighed. Because their cultivations were similar, they had been arranged to cultivate together. It would be strange if she could cultivate in peace like this!

    Though, I won¡¯t wait for you. Do you really think I¡¯m supposed to wait for you just because I¡¯m a woman? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s supposed to wait for me. I¡¯ll return to the Clear River prefecture as soon as I successfully establish a foundation.¡±

    It might be dangerous, but that was where her family and her lover were.

    As he gazed at the lake that spanned as far as the eye could see and listened to the rising and falling waves, he could still sense the boundlessness of the ocean even though this was not the sea.

    He had studied the first half of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean countless times. Now that he obtained the other half, he no longer hesitated at all. He immediately began cultivating.

    Strands of Gui Water true qi were converted into Boundless true qi. Although it was also of the water element, it was many times more turbulent and powerful, like comparing a mountain stream to the billows of the ocean.

    There was an extremely high requirement on the elemental affinity of water to practise the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, but this was no problem to Li Qingshan at all. After reaching the third layer of the spirit turtle, he seemed to possess the spirit turtle¡¯s bloodline. His water affinity had completely surpassed the high jia standard that he was tested as back then. He could be described as the perfect person to practise the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    Ten days later, Li Qingshan converted the final strand of Gui Water true qi in his body into Boundless true qi. Like its name, it really did seem boundless. He finally witnessed the gateway leading to Foundation Establishment.

    His mind was unshackled, and his true qi was full. Finally, he took out ten True Spirit pills and placed them in a row.

    All rivers converge to the ocean! Li Qingshan bellowed inside.

    His eight extraordinary meridians and twelve standard meridians were like rivers that true qi constantly lingered in. Suddenly, it all began to flow into his sea of qi, kicking up turbulent waves in his sea of qi. It actually felt like it had gone beyond his control.

    The Boundless true qi cultivated from the Arts of the Boundless Ocean was extremely powerful, but at a time like this, it had instead become a cultivator¡¯s greatest test. If he were unable to control the turbulent true qi, the true qi would burst through the dantian and destroy the cultivator.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core glowed brightly, flattening the frenzied sea of qi instantly.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan began to ingest the first True Spirit pill. As soon as it reached his belly, it turned into a strange, flexible aura.

    It was like a droplet of divine water landing within the sea of qi before pervading instantly and leading to startling changes. The true qi thickened and became sticky.

    If he were a cultivator who had remained at the tenth layer for a very long time like Hua Chengzan or Han Tieyi, just a single True Spirit pill would have sufficed. However, Li Qingshan had cultivated for too brief of a period. He had not accumulated and consolidated his true qi enough, and the Boundless true qi was simply too powerful. As soon as the effects of the True Spirit pill began to kick in, they began to disperse.

    Li Qingshan halted and immediately consumed a second True Spirit pill to ensure that the effects would linger. Since he was unable to use the regular method, he would use the most forceful method to overcome this obstacle.

    Just like that, he ingested nine True Spirit pills consecutively.

    Not a single strand of true qi flowed through his dantian anymore, as all of the true qi had frozen into ice. The sea of qi had become a sea of ice.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up. He stowed the final True Spirit pill away. It was already time.

    Cracks appeared on the sea of ice before it shattered loudly. An aura much purer and much more refined rushed up; it ignored the existence of the meridians and went straight into Li Qingshan¡¯s mind.

    In that instant, everything was clear. His mind was transparent.

    Li Qingshan understood that he had finally opened up a sea of consciousness, which was also known as a violet palace, lingtian, or spiritual field. From now onwards, he would be able to use soul sense. He would be able to sense and control the spiritual qi of the world as a human. However, this feeling was not unfamiliar to Li Qingshan at all.

    Normally, the heavenly tribulation would descend right now.

    A fierce gust of wind arrived, making the reeds bend over. The water rippled endlessly.

    Li Qingshan looked around, but sure enough, a second heavenly tribulation did not descend. He could fool humans and daemons, but he was unable to fool the heavens. The number of tribulations of the heavens were no more and no less, treating all as equals. Since Li Qingshan had already gone through it, it would not descend again.

    Ever since the war between humans and daemons unfolded, the academy would hold routine meetings between the school leaders. The person who hosted them was no longer Liu Zhangqing anymore, but Wei Yangsheng, who had also reached Foundation Establishment. Liu Zhangqing had not fallen in battle, instead devoting his efforts to doing a better job as the prefect.

    The school leaders had been replaced by many new faces. Among those three years, many original primary disciples had taken the most important step in their lives, reaching Foundation Establishment. Reaching Foundation Establishment was anything but easy, but since they could become primary disciples, they were talented. As long as they did not suffer from any particularly large mental shackles and spent sufficient time, they would all be able to take this step sooner or later.

    The leaders of the schools of Legalism and the Military had become Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi. Wang Pushi and Han Anjun now focused on the matters of the Hawkwolf Guard and the military.

    ¡°School leader Liu, I¡¯ve heard that Qingshan has already emerged from secluded cultivation, so why didn¡¯t he come with you?¡± Wei Yangsheng frowned and asked before the meeting. The primary disciples would listen along in the meetings too. Sitting behind Wei Yangsheng was Chu Tian.

    ¡°Qingshan said he wanted to break through to Foundation Establishment¡­¡± Before Liu Chuanfeng could even finish, Chu Tian sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s gone into hiding again!¡±

    Primary disciples originally had no authority to speak arbitrarily, but Chu Tian had reached the highest realm of Qi Practitioner, the tenth layer, and he had made quite a name for himself during the three years. With the power of the Palm of the Five Elements, he had slayed many daemons. Even when he came across regular Daemon Generals, he would be able to escape easily. He would definitely become a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator in the future, and they all knew about his pettiness, so no one wanted to offend him.

    Moreover, Chu Tian had spoken the minds of many people present. All of them knew that safety was no longer a concept that existed for Qi Practitioners in this day and age. Who hadn¡¯t emerged from these circumstances? Why are you allowed to cultivate in peace while others risk their lives in battle?

    ¡°Can you really call breaking through the ninth and tenth layers in three years running away?¡± Liu Chuanfeng rebuked with a flushed face.

    ¡°Chu Tian, shut your mouth.¡± Wei Yangsheng silenced Chu Tian, but he asked instead, ¡°School leader Liu, Qingshan has only just broken through to the tenth layer recently! Now he¡¯s making preparations for Foundation Establishment. How long will that take? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s another few years? Could you perhaps convince him that cultivation isn¡¯t all about seclusion? The academy just happens to be in need of manpower. If he acts like this, it won¡¯t be a good influence. Regular disciples all have an issue with this.¡±

    ¡°What a pair of fleeing lovers,¡± said a chubby, middle-aged man in silken clothes sarcastically from a corner. It was not just regular disciples who had an issue with this. The leader of the school of Miscellany, Gou Dai, had an issue with it too. The school of Miscellany was similar to the school of Novels. It was also a lower school of thought, unskilled with battle. They never had a lot of disciples in the first place, and they had lost quite a few during the chaos of war.

    Moreover, the primary disciple that he had high hopes for died at the hands of daemons last year. He was forced to stand with a group of juniors from the past, which he struggled to accept. He was infuriated the moment he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s name. If his disciple was in secluded cultivation too, how would he have died?

    Han Qiongzhi left, and Li Qingshan remained in secluded cultivation. They earned themselves the nickname of ¡°fleeing lovers¡± within the academy.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t insult him, senior,¡± Han Tieyi raised a straight eyebrow of his and said coldly.

    ¡°That¡¯s how all the disciples in the academy refer to them! You¡¯re welcome to kill all the disciples for this, school leader Han!¡± Gou Dai continued to fume, but his voice did grow a lot softer.

    ¡°Qingshan has his plans. If the academy can gain another Foundation Establishment cultivator, that¡¯ll be far better than a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. Let¡¯s continue discussing our future strategy instead!¡± Hua Chengzan stood up to mediate the bickering.

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. Why don¡¯t we look at who has killed more daemons instead?¡± Chu Tian was peeved off by that.

    The other primary disciples refused to accept this too. They had all spent a much longer time in the academy than Li Qingshan, so why was he supposed to receive special treatment?

    Just when Hua Chengzan was about to defend Li Qingshan, a tremendous aura shot over swiftly from afar. It was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    The room fell silent. Had an original school leader returned? However, the aura did not resemble any one of them.

    It had arrived so quickly!

 Chapter 421 â€“ Seeing the Black Ox Again, Waiting a Thousand Days

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s eyes shone brilliantly. ¡°He actually succeeded!¡± From meeting him the first time till now, not even a decade had passed. He had gone from being a worthless member of the jianghu to a Foundation Establishment cultivator who could preside over an entire region.

    And, he had accomplished this without any clan or background. Those so-called geniuses were nothing special at all before him. Gu Yanying¡¯s special instructions truly seemed insightful now.

    The leader of the school of Miscellany, Gou Dai, widened his eyes. He was unable to say anything at all, as the aura Li Qingshan gave off was actually slightly more powerful than his. He did not seem like he had just succeeded with Foundation Establishment at all.

    The Arts of the Boundless Ocean definitely played a role, but Li Qingshan¡¯s startling talent after reaching the third layer of the spirit turtle was even more important. After reaching Foundation Establishment, cultivators did not judge each other¡¯s auras on the strength of their spiritual energy alone. They placed great focus on their connection with the spiritual qi of the world too.

    Just by sitting there on his knees, Li Qingshan¡¯s aura was like the waves of the ocean, endless and connected with the world, becoming one with nature. All the other Foundation Establishment cultivators present who had broken through recently felt slightly pressured before him.

    ¡°Why are you all staring at me? Keep going. I want to listen in too.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He was not like regular Foundation Establishment cultivators who ravished in joy after breaking through. He had already experienced this extraordinary power when he broke through to Daemon General.

    He had only come to understand the situation so that he could decide where he could start.

    ¡°Qingshan, you actually!¡± Liu Chuanfeng lunged over and grabbed Li Qingshan by the shoulders. He was elated, even happier than Li Qingshan himself.

    ¡°Qingshan, that¡¯s fantastic. That way, our academy will possess another Foundation Establishment cultivator!¡± Wei Yangsheng smiled. However, Chu Tian behind him clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He, a blessed prodigy, had actually lost to a country bumpkin in terms of cultivation speed. However, no matter how arrogant he was, he still understood the difference that existed between Foundation Establishment cultivators and Qi Practitioners. He was not bold enough to openly provoke him.

    The other school leaders all gathered over to congratulate him. Gou Dai forced out a smile on his round face too, discussing the matters of the past with great affection with him.

    ¡°Senior brother Mind Enlightenment, you¡¯ve emerged too.¡± Li Qingshan took the initiative instead.

    ¡°Yeah. Congratulations on your successful Foundation Establishment, junior brother.¡± Mind Enlightenment brought his palms together and bowed.

    ¡°From today onwards, Xiao An is no longer a member of the school of Buddhism. She¡¯ll be with me instead, so she won¡¯t be accepting any pills from the school of Buddhism anymore. I do believe she¡¯ll definitely avenge the One Thought master. I¡¯m sorry for your loss, senior brother.¡± Li Qingshan had heard about the One Thought master¡¯s fate from Xiao An. Xiao An never mentioned anything about what she would do, but he had already made up his mind.

    In the past, the One Thought master had taken great care of Xiao An. All the pills she obtained ended up in his belly too. Li Qingshan was not exactly saddened by the One Thought master¡¯s death, but he had to keep clear accounts of the kindness he received. He had to maintain a clear conscience.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha,¡± Mind Enlightment said before lowering his head and falling silent.

    Leaving the Academy of the Hundred Schools was not so easy. Li Qingshan only possessed the right to say something like that with his current cultivation. The other school leaders would not object either. Moreover, Xiao An had already been accepted by the Annihilum Light Chan Master of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as a disciple. This identity of hers completely surpassed her identity as a disciple of the school of Buddhism.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze landed on an empty seat. That originally belonged to the leader of the school of Medicine. The primary disciple of the school of Medicine was missing as well.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Ru Xin¡¯s already succeeded with Foundation Establishment too. She¡¯s now the leader of the school of Medicine, but she spends most of her time outside, healing the sick. She rarely attends these meetings.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Senior brother Wei, could you explain the current circumstances to me?¡±

    It was getting late, so the meeting ended. The news of Li Qingshan¡¯s breakthrough to Foundation Establishment shook up the entire academy, but the person that the news revolved around, Li Qingshan, turned down any celebratory banquets and left the academy with Xiao An, arriving in a desolate valley.

    The moonlight was hazy, and the plants were verdant.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone. He felt slightly excited and very eager inside. Foundation Establishment had never meant much to him, but what it represented was something extraordinary.

    He calmed himself down and found a cavern before sealing off the surroundings with a few formation scrolls. Only then did he fish out a ring from his clothes. It was the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring.

    Li Qingshan took in a deep breath and held the sumeru ring firmly. Just what had the black ox left for him inside? Was it an ultimate treasure? Some ultimate pill? Or perhaps it was only a joke, just a way to encourage him?

    Lifting up the ring, Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s hands merged together. Under Xiao An¡¯s gaze, Li Qingshan slowly slid the ring onto his finger.

    Afterwards, he closed his eyes and channeled spiritual energy into it. The ring gradually began to glow, lighting up the dark cave. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart shuddered. This was the first time he had experienced something like this.

    Then, Li Qingshan released his soul sense, sending it deep into the sumeru ring. However, he was stopped by an energy, preventing him from venturing any deeper. A huge, golden dragon coiled firmly in his boundless sea of consciousness.

    This was a form of will the Soaring Dragon Elder had left behind. Only by erasing it could he truly make the sumeru ring his.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He could finally see the gate. Now, all he had to do was barge through that gate. He immediately mobilised his soul sense to attack the golden dragon. With that, the golden dragon jerked awake, emitting a lengthy roar. It seemed to kick up a fierce gust of wind, making his entire sea of consciousness tremor.

    The soul sense Li Qingshan had released was basically torn to shreds instantly. He felt his head grow light as the world spun around him. He had never expected a will left behind by the Soaring Dragon Elder who had been dead for all these years to still possess so much power.

    To Foundation Establishment cultivators, the sea of consciousness was even more important than their sea of qi. If the sea of qi were destroyed, they had a chance at cultivating it again, but if their sea of consciousness shattered, even the best outcome was being reduced to an imbecile.

    Li Qingshan was not completely unprepared. He bellowed out inside, The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    A turtle¡¯s shell no different from his daemon core appeared in his sea of consciousness. In the beginning, it was only the size of a grain of rice, but as it absorbed the shatter soul sense, it rapidly strengthened. Before long, a huge turtle shell hovered in the sea of consciousness, forcefully suppressing all the chaos.

    Li Qingshan eased up, and his mind cleared. Afterwards, he immediately sent the spirit turtle hurtling towards the golden dragon.

    Boom! There was a thunderous rumble in his mind, and he experienced a splitting headache.

    Only after a very long time did the rumbling stop. Li Qingshan had already withdrawn his soul sense, and he discovered that the spirit turtle had already shrunk, while the golden dragon had grown slightly dimmer too. Fortunately, the will the Soaring Dragon Elder left behind only attacked reactively and not proactively, giving him sufficient time to catch his breath. It also reminded him to be constantly cautious about this aspect when he fought other people.

    Practising the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, his spiritual energy was powerful and his body was tough, but there were no improvements in his soul sense. It was said that only the cultivation methods of mohism focused on this aspect, as it could improve their control over many more powerful puppets.

    However, perhaps due to practising the three supernatural abilities of the ox demon, tiger demon, and spirit turtle, Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness had been extremely powerful the moment he opened it. He recovered rather quickly too. When the spirit turtle returned to its original size, Li Qingshan sent it towards the golden dragon again.

    Boom! There was another rumble. He repeated this again and again. After who knew how many times, the golden dragon had already become extremely dim, as well as less than a tenth of its original size.

    However, through the constant depletion and recovery, the spirit turtle had instead grown slightly larger. Mustering up all his strength, the spirit turtle smashed down, and the golden dragon let out another roar, but it was so feeble that it sounded more like a wail before death. Unable to bear the burden anymore, the dragon twisted.

    The sumeru ring flashed, and the obstacle that blocked Li Qingshan finally vanished. He let out a sigh of relief, about to open up the sumeru ring and look for what the black ox had left behind.

    A man with a pair of horns appeared out of nowhere with his back towards him, seated on the spirit turtle. Li Qingshan had only seen this figure once, but it was deeply embedded in his mind. It was even loftier than mountains.

    Li Qingshan cried out, ¡°Brother ox!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re finally here.¡± The black ox¡¯s voice seemed to boom out like a bell, enough to cause avalanches. It resounded through his entire sea of consciousness, but it caused Li Qingshan no discomfort at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been hiding away and secretly spying on me the entire time!¡± Li Qingshan had absolutely no doubt that the black ox possessed a repulsive habit like that. After all, he had spent a dozen or so years like that, playing himself off as a normal ox.

    ¡°Kid, don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself. This is just a part of my soul sense that I left behind. Why would I care about what you do? A decade for you is as brief as a day for me.¡±

    ¡°Then why¡¯d you leave in such a hurry? Why didn¡¯t you spend a day or two longer with me? That way, I can continue to listen to your teachings too. If I ended up being finished off by someone, that day of yours would be wasted.¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought the black ox would say, I have plenty of time. Even without Li Qingshan, I have a Zhang Qingshan and a Wang Qingshan.

    However, the black ox said instead, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to find you again in sa?s¨¡ra and spend another day. Don¡¯t doubt yourself. No matter who tells you you¡¯re of absolutely no importance or significance, you can just treat them like they¡¯re talking out of their ass.¡±

    ¡°Then can you tell me why you chose me?¡± Li Qingshan wondered. Was it because he possessed some kind of impressive talent? Or because he was just some reincarnation of someone powerful, which the black ox wanted good graces with?

    ¡°That¡¯s because I believe you, even though you¡¯re just a regular old kid with a bit of innate knowledge.¡±

    At this moment, the black ox¡¯s figure flickered. ¡°I¡¯m going to go. Keep advancing forward, kid. Don¡¯t make me find you in sa?s¨¡ra. That takes a lot of time, y¡¯know. I don¡¯t have too much time. I hope this won¡¯t be the last time we meet.¡± As he said that, the black ox¡¯s figure gradually faded away.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. ¡°Then how long do I have?¡±

    ¡°Around a thousand days.¡±

    Li Qingshan was relieved. ¡°Then just wait in peace! I might just be a regular old kid, but I¡¯m not that useless.¡± If I can¡¯t even achieve something with ten thousand years of cultivation, I¡¯ll kill myself, alright? ¡°Oh right, what about the thing you left for me?¡±

 Chapter 422 â€“ Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, Phoenixâ€™s NirvÄ?a

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t you even think about slipping away just because you¡¯re acting all profound!¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He extended his hand over, but it passed straight through the black ox¡¯s body.

    The black ox extended a finger backwards to his forehead before vanishing like a dream with resonant laughter.

    Li Qimgshan immediately felt like something had appeared in his sea of consciousness, but he was unable to think too much about it. The moment the black ox turned around, he saw many wounds crisscrossing viciously across the black ox¡¯s chest.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan understood why he did not turn around. He could not help but become dazed. Even right now, the black ox¡¯s power was unfathomable to him, yet who was able to cause him such severe wounds? And, just who was responsible for his broken horn?

    Why don¡¯t you tell me anything? That¡¯s because even if you tell me, it¡¯s useless!

    Xiao An held Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and asked about what had happened in concern.

    Li Qingshan raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce the rock and soil, the mist and haze, the wispy clouds and the sky, reaching beyond the Nine Heavens. Only after a very long time did he lower his head again. He smiled. ¡°Looks like we need to hurry up. I just saw brother ox again. It seems like he needs us.¡±

    Beyond the Nine Heavens suddenly ceased to be an empty promise, as the person who gave him everything and believed the regular him was not just an insignificant figure was currently awaiting his assistance

    ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you.¡± Xiao An said seriously.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Li Qingshan withdrew his soul sense, returning to his sea of consciousness. He discovered that a few, dark figures had appeared in the boundless darkness.

    Was this what brother ox had left to him?

    The soul sense that condensed into a spirit turtle dispersed and reverted into Li Qingshan¡¯s original appearance, completely naked. He moved through the sea of consciousness and arrived between the dark figures. Counting carefully, there were a total of eight dark figures. They seemed like the silhouettes of various animals.

    Li Qingshan was most familiar with one of them. Was that not an ox?

    Li Qingshan extended his hand. As soon as he touched the silhouette, the silhouette immediately lit up. An ox demon stood with an indomitable spirit, its back arched like a lofty mountain. It stood with vigorous spirit, as if it radiated with great might endlessly.

    Li Qingshan was even more familiar with the information that emerged from it. Was this not the Ox Demon¡¯s Fist of Great Strength?

    The ox suddenly spoke, ¡°That¡¯s right. The name of this supernatural ability is the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. It¡¯s the work of my entire life. Kid, how much you can comprehend and how many transformations you can achieve will be up to you.¡±

    ¡°Brother ox, you still haven¡¯t left!¡± Li Qingshan beamed, but the ox fell silent, like it was dead. He understood now. This was the final message the black ox had left behind when he sealed the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine into his sea of consciousness.

    However, he never explained why it was called the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, or why there were only eight transformations here? However, Li Qingshan no longer cared about that. He scanned past the eight silhouettes around him, filled with shock inside.

    He finally understood why he always felt like the supernatural ability the black ox had taught him was nowhere near as wondrous as the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. As it turned out, he had not even properly cultivated the first transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the Ox Demon Transformation. If he succeeded in cultivating all nine transformations, then what would Fu Qingjin be? What would the Sword Collection palace be? He would definitely be heading to beyond the Nine Heavens, while the nine provinces in this world would not be able to contain his existence.

    Brother ox had truly left behind something impressive to him.

    Li Qingshan calmed down and devoted his focus to the Ox Demon Transformation. The profound truths it contained were much more complex and far-reaching than what the black ox had originally explained to him. Back then, he had only given him a rough explanation of it all because he was limited in his ability to understand, barely enough for him to make progress and cultivate.

    Only when he comprehended it carefully right now did he feel enlightened. In particular, the aura that the ox demon figure radiated with was his best teacher. As he comprehended the cultivation method, he subconsciously replicated the ox demon¡¯s movements.

    From Xiao An¡¯s perspective, Li Qingshan¡¯s flesh seemed to fluctuate like waves, trembling strangely and giving off a startling aura.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan felt slightly perplexed. As his comprehension of the ox demon gradually deepened, he did not sense endless strength or great freedom to do whatever he wished, but deep sombreness and helplessness.

    A mantra suddenly appeared in his mind. ¡°The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the ox demon figure again, and it no longer seemed the same. It was the same ox demon, standing with an indomitable spirit and endless strength, stuck and sinking in the mud. Its strength was boundless, but it was unable to use it; it was all nothing, like a hero at his end in front of a lamenting hegemon.

    TL: The lamenting hegemon is a reference to Xiang Yu, the hegemon-king of Western Chu in Chinese history, over how Xiang Yu laments over the death of his lover, consort Yu. (

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Yu#Song_of_Gaixia

    )

    Li Qingshan shook his head before touching the tiger-like silhouette that flapped its wings to his right. A roaring tiger seemed to leap out from the darkness, radiating with surging malice and murderousness. It took Li Qingshan by surprise before he beamed with delight.

    This was the second transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the Tiger Demon Transformation. It was battle hungry and murderous, wanting to destroy the world. Even the battle intent and killing intent that belonged to Strongboulder, known as a Rock of Slaughter, seemed like child¡¯s play before the tiger demon.

    Li Qingshan immediately realised that the Tiger Demon Transformation brother ox had taught him was even less complete. Certain important components had basically been purposefully omitted. The tiger demon was a demon of slaughter, so its power should have been greater.

    However, when Li Qingshan focused and comprehended it, the frenzied killing intent immediately dominated his mind. He actually felt the urge to kill everything in the world. A mantra also appeared all of a sudden. ¡°The Tiger Demon Forges its Bones, with a Frenzied Heart.¡±

    Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression in a hurry to suppress this sudden murderousness. He had abruptly become drenched in cold sweat. He knew if brother ox had taught him the original version right from the beginning, he would have already become a bloodthirsty madman.

    Looking at the tiger demon figure, it was a whole different sight again. Its tiger eyes were filled with blood-red killing intent, frenzied and insane.

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. Since it was called the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, and these two belonged to the demonic path, the spirit turtle should have been divine. He casually pressed his hand against the spirit turtle¡¯s silhouette.

    The spirit turtle appeared and multicoloured light unfolded resplendently. The rising and falling back was layered with criss-crossing inscriptions, constantly manifesting the good and the ill. Its aura was completely different from the tiger demon and ox demon¡¯s, sacred and noble, sagacious and peaceful. Even though it was also a beast, it could not be labelled as a daemon, much less a demon. Instead, it was a god that had transcended mortality.

    Li Qingshan comprehended its will and immediately felt like his heart had emptied out, purged of all desires. Instead of devoting all his strength to constantly fighting others, he would be better off sitting and observing the aura of the world, the fluctuations in fate.

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan!¡±

    When Li Qingshan comprehended the Ox Demon Transformation and became sombre, Xiao An was not worried. When Li Qingshan comprehended the Tiger Demon Transformation and radiated with murderousness, Xiao An only became slightly concerned. But when Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became serene and tranquil, peaceful yet distant, Xiao An¡¯s expression changed drastically. She went up to shake his shoulders, calling him by his name.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. His pupils were as calm as stillwater, having lost some emotions and desire. It was a chilling sight. Only when he saw Xiao An clearly did some of his intense feelings return, like a few buckets of dye had been thrown into a clear pool of water.

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. He shook his head with a bitter smile. Originally, he had thought the Spirit Turtle Transformation was a little safer, so he lowered his guard, but never did he expect that gods were even better at harming people than demons.

    He suddenly understood. Over all these years, even though the spirit turtle suppressed the ox demon and tiger demon, there was still an endless demonic nature that could not be washed away. If he only practised the Spirit Turtle Transformation, his character would definitely change drastically. He would become a proper cultivator who purged his minds of desires.

    Exactly because of the conflict between the demonic and the divine, he could maintain the human nature within him, such that he was still that Li Qingshan.

    The third mantra appeared in his mind too. It was an auspicious one for once. ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, Foreboding Fate.¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like he had benefited tremendously from the complete cultivation methods of the three transformations. If he could spend some time and comprehend them carefully, his strength would definitely climb even higher.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was not like regular cultivation methods. He could focus on a single one, or alternate between them. Each transformation was independent to one another, yet also closely linked.

    A thought crossed Li Qingshan¡¯s head. In other words, should I learn a fourth transformation? Since brother ox¡¯s chosen to give me the cultivation method at a time like this, it should be fine.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand before lowering it again. The fourth transformation had to be a divine transformation. If he accidentally chose a demonic transformation, the Spirit Turtle Transformation would not be able to keep his daemon qi suppressed, and his mind might suffer from irreversible effects.

    He contemplated the five remaining figures for a while. Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze landed on the figure above the spirit turtle. According to the order, that should have come after the Spirit Turtle Transformation.

    The dark figure was a huge bird that flew in the air, flapping its wings with a long tail dragging behind. Its posture was graceful, such that even though it was just a dark silhouette, the feeling it gave off was magnificent and glorious.

    Li Qingshan no longer hesitated. His hand landed on it, and a clear cry rang through his sea of consciousness, resounding and grandiose, graceful and mild.

    Li Qingshan had heard countless musical instruments and countless songs before, but none of it could compare with the cry. It was like a magnificent symphony, condensing into the most beautiful musical notes.

    A phoenix!

    Li Qingshan stared at the soaring phoenix for a very long time. It was so magnificent and noble that it seemed like a flowing ball of fire.

    The phoenix was the chief of birds, the king of avians. Even regular people were very familiar with this divine bird. It was rumored to possess the five virtues, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness, and it was of noble and pure character. It did not perch unless it was a wutong tree, and it did not drink unless it was morning dew.

    TL: Wutong trees (Chinese parasol trees) are known as the favoured resting places of phoenixes in Chinese mythology.

    And, whenever it died, it would blaze with fire before undergoing a rebirth in flames, obtaining an even more beautiful body and greater life force. It was known as a ¡°phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a¡±, cycling again and again and obtaining eternal life.

    Spirit turtles possessed longevity, but there would still be a time when they met their end. However, phoenixes were truly undying birds.

    The phoenix circled around slowly and landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. Only then did Li Qingshan discover that its darkness had already vanished. Perhaps it was because he had already made a decision!

    The phoenix used its vermillion beak to peck him gently and tremendous amounts of information flowed into his head. Li Qingshan obtained the cultivation method of the fourth supernatural ability, the Phoenix Transformation. It was known as the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a.

    PS: The planning¡¯s basically done, enough for a hundred thousand or so characters. Any holes are guaranteed to be filled. It¡¯ll be fascinating enough. However, I¡¯m going to put in some painstaking effort this time and come up with a plan of a million or so characters, just in case you say I don¡¯t have any moral integrity.

 Chapter 423 â€“ The Soaring Dragon Emerges, the Heavenly Secrets Change

    The Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a entered Li Qingshan¡¯s head. At the same time, he comprehended its spirit, the phoenix¡¯s dignity and its noble, pure heart. It was different from the spirit turtle¡¯s clear, reflective mental state, more like a virtuous sage of the past.

    The arrival of the phoenix ushered peace.

    As a result, Li Qingshan obtained the fourth mantra¡ªThe Phoenix Undergoes Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, with an Undying Heart.

    Daoism possessed techniques of praying and aversion, which were split into two streams of thought. Those who prayed prayed for blessings and those who averted averted disasters, which had to do with the dispelling and elimination of disasters. The phoenix possessed the power of nirv¨¡?a, or rebirth, possessing an undying heart. Even in the face of life-threatening danger, it was fearless, let alone mere disasters.

    As Li Qingshan was touched by the mantra, he could not help but sigh over how the mantras for the ox demon and tiger demon both sounded like depressing curses, while the mantras for the spirit turtle and phoenix were pleasant blessings. Brother ox, who created these supernatural abilities, was still a demonic daemon after all!

    And, these eight supernatural abilities corresponded to four gods and four demons, so what would the final one belong to?

    Dismissing his various doubts, Li Qingshan settled down to comprehend the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, but he opened his eyes again before long. Sure enough, it was not that simple.

    The spirit turtle lorded over water, and Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was completely oriented towards water. Yet, the phoenix happened to lord over fire. As the spirit turtle sunk into the deep sea, the phoenix danced in the nine heavens. One was peaceful, while the other was vigorous. Their natures were complete opposites.

    The concept of a balance between fire and water, the unity of movement and peace, was nothing rare in the cultivation world. However, that was only for regular cultivators. The special nature that these two divine beasts possessed was extremely pure. He would basically be dreaming if he wanted to make them exist in harmony.

    After cultivating for a few hours, Li Qingshan gave up temporarily. The wilderness was not a place to cultivate. He would be better off finishing what he needed to do and returning to the academy!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts became directed at the sumeru ring again. His eyes gradually lit up, shining brightly.

    Just the pills inside were probably more than enough for him to increase his cultivation by a single layer, let alone everything else.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances. Li Qingshan channeled his spiritual energy and extended his soul sense into the ring. The sumeru ring swung open, and an unbelievably large space appeared. There was too much to see inside, where everything glowed or flickered. Before Li Qingshan could even properly see what was in there, a golden streak of light shot towards him.

    The Soaring Dragon sword!

    Li Qingshan had an extremely deep impression of this sword. The blade of the sword was like a dragon¡¯s body, while the hit was like a dragon¡¯s head. It was covered in golden scales, glistening brightly. It seemed like a living dragon.

    And now, the sword actually sprang alive, flying out of the sumeru ring and shooting towards Li Qingshan. It was like a golden bolt of lightning, wanting to avenge its master. The sword thrummed like a dragon¡¯s roar.

    Everything happened right in his face, such that even Li Qigshan was rather flustered. Xiao An was a few steps away, which made it even less possible for her to assist him.

    Clang!

    At that critical moment, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rose up and blocked the Soaring Dragon sword. Before Li Qingshan could even let out a sigh of relief, he saw the Soaring Dragon sword bounce off and take off into the sky like a startled dragon.

    ¡°Capture it! It wants to run!¡± Li Qingshan called out and leapt up, but he was still a beat slower than the Soaring Dragon sword. It was just about to penetrate through the formation and the cavern.

    All of this had happened in a single instant. The Soaring Dragon sword was like a supreme swordsman, throwing its life on the line to launch an assassination attempt before taking off upon failure. Li Qingshan had never expected a sword to be so intelligent. It was inconceivable.

    Clang! A bone sword appeared and sent the Soaring Dragon sword flying. The Soaring Dragon sword circled around a few times before fleeing in a different direction. Twelve Skull Prayer Beads scattered and surrounded it, trapping the Soaring Dragon sword.

    The Soaring Dragon sword exploded with light, and its dragon¡¯s roar became even louder. With a series of clings and clangs, it shook away the Skull Prayer Beads, but it immediately became drastically slower. As it turned out, the twelve Skull Prayer Beads had turned into twelve thumb-sized Skull Demons, clinging onto the sword desperately.

    The Skull Demons possessed startling physical strength, enough to rip apart rock, even surpassing regular Daemon Generals. However, the Soaring Dragon sword actually managed to continue flying about, squirming around in the cave like a golden snake. Whenever it was stopped by Xiao An, it seemed to grow even more frantic. This continued until a huge hand grabbed the hilt firmly, unleashing the Tremors of the Ox Demon and the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas.

    The Soaring Dragon sword let out a long cry before being sent back into the sumeru ring and sealed up.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief, but he suddenly felt uneasy inside.

    A lone mountain pierced the clouds, like a single island within the sea of clouds. Below, it was not connected with the ground in any shape or form. It just hovered there, alone and aloof.

    This was the Sword Collection palace¡¯s renowned Sword Collection peak. Its cliffs and precipices were covered in swords, either covered in rust or entangled by vines. They all seemed to be nothing special at all. The mountain had hidden away their edge, making them wait quietly for their next master.

    Because swords would be pulled out, there were many sheathe-like grooves among the swords. The moment the Soaring Dragon sword emerged from the sumeru ring, the Sword Collection peak sensed it, and one of the grooves suddenly erupted with light, dispersing the clouds. It was like a mother calling for her travelling child¡¯s return.

    Every single sword would automatically return to the Sword Collection peak after its master died. However, even when the light had subsided, the Soaring Dragon sword still had not returned. It shook up the entire Sword Collection palace.

    On the main peak of the Sword Collection palace, in the Heaven Reliant palace, a middle-aged man swung his hand. ¡°Invite over the Divining Elder.¡±

    The middle-aged man¡¯s appearance was simple and refined, with his hair flowing freely. Before him was a map that covered all nine provinces. He drew an invisible line on the map with his gaze. Upon closer inspection, this coincided perfectly with the direction and angle from the streak of light that the Sword Collection peak had emitted.

    With a few coughs, an old man with white hair dressed in white stepped into the palace as he leaned against a strangely-shaped sword. He seemed to be tottering about, where just a gust of wind could blow him over, but every single step he stood was extremely steady.

    ¡°Greetings, palace master.¡±

    The middle-aged man frowned slightly at the sight of the Divining Elder, as just a few years ago, the Divining Elder had not been reduced to this. In order to find the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s murderer, he mobilised the heavenly secrets, but he happened to touch on something and suffered from a backlash of the heavenly secrets. Within a single night, all his hair turned white, and he fell unconscious for seven days and nights. When he woke up, he only said a single thing quietly to the middle-aged man,

    ¡°No matter what it is, it¡¯s not something that anyone in this world can deal with. I¡¯d advise the palace master to drop this matter for now. There may be a favourable turn in the situation in the future.¡±

    ¡°Has there been a favourable turn?¡± asked the middle-aged man.

    Clang! The Divining Elder drew the Sword of Divination, and his aura changed drastically. His eyes became as deep as the sea, and the Sword of Divination split into black and white along the ridge. A eight trigrams diagram circulated rapidly near the edge as the black and white blended together into chaos.

    A while later, the Sword of Divination flew up, and the tip of the sword landed firmly on the map, landing on the line that the middle-aged man had drawn mentally. His eyes suddenly lit up, and the entire palace seemed to dim.

 Chapter 424 â€“ An Acquaintance Unchanged

    Fu Qingjin was more alert than ever. The Soaring Dragon sword had appeared here. In the message, the Divining Elder had been so stern that he dared not be careless, not even in the slightest.

    Very soon, he sensed the abnormal activity of the spiritual qi of the world there. Fu Qingjin found a cave. The cave was not very deep, such that he reached the end very soon. There was nothing in there anymore, but he could sense someone had cast down formations here.

    A streak of golden light fell from the ceiling, landing in Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes. Through the crack, he could see the sky outside.

    That¡¯s right. It had to be here. The Soaring Dragon sword had not managed to escape, but the sword qi had already pierced the sky.

    Fu Qingjin closed his eyes. As the sun shifted overhead, the streak of sunlight vanished before long.

    Fu Qingjin snapped his eyes open. First of all, the person was not particularly powerful, below the second heavenly tribulation at the very least. Otherwise, he would have been able to suppress the Soaring Dragon sword before it could emit sword qi. Second of all, the person should have been a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Daemon Generals could not open sumeru rings. Moreover, he should have been rather powerful, as stopping the Soaring Dragon sword was anything but easy.

    Only one question remained. Did this person obtain the sumeru ring through a coincidence, or was he connected to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death?

    There were approximately a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Clear River prefecture. All he had to do was investigate where they were when the Soaring Dragon sword emerged. Then, he could use a process of elimination, and he would definitely be able to find some clues.

    There were no absolute hermits among cultivators. Human life was limited and people could be found no matter where they hid, especially with Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    Fu Qingjin made his way out of the cave as his eyes flickered with cold light. He had to retrieve the sumeru ring and the Soaring Dragon sword no matter what!

    Near the shore of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes, within the ripping reeds, Xiao An opened her hand, and the sumeru ring flashed. She thought about something before tossing the sumeru ring into her mouth and swallowing it with a gulp.

    ¡°Is it just you?¡± At this moment, Qian Rongzhi arrived by striding on the water, looking around.

    Xiao An nodded.

    ¡°Did he tell you to come find me?¡±

    Xiao An nodded again.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qian Rongzhi was very confused.

    ¡°Why?¡± Qian Rongzhi crouched down and propped up her cheeks.

    Xiao An stopped talking. She thought back to the cave when she parted with Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan had said, ¡°Xiao An, looks like we can¡¯t open this sumeru ring without proper preparation in the near future. I felt that something was amiss earlier. The Sword Collection palace might have discovered our location already from that moment just then.¡±

    ¡°From now onwards, we¡¯ll split up. I¡¯ll go find Ru Xin so that she can refine pills for me, while you¡­ you¡¯ll go find Qian Rongzhi and get her to gather corpses for you so that you can continue forging Skull Prayer Beads. Didn¡¯t you say forging eighteen of them will allow you to cast formations? I think it¡¯ll be up to you to kill Bloodshadow.¡±

    Killing either Strongboulder or Bloodshadow required enough strength to make the battle completely one-sided. Otherwise, once he failed, he would not be able to remain among the daemons anymore. Strongboulder was impregnable, while Bloodshadow was as fast as lightning. Both of them were tough bones to chew. If he wanted to guarantee their deaths, he had to possess strength that completely overwhelmed them.

    Among all the people that Li Qingshan knew, basically all of them were more trustworthy than Qian Rongzhi. However, there was no one more suitable for this than her. Only a person as meticulous and secretive as her could guarantee complete secrecy when handling this matter. Even Li Qingshan paled in comparison to her in this regard.

    However, her nature of constantly acting in her own interests had instead become a safeguard at a time like this. Although Li Qingshan did not necessarily like this nature of her, their cooperation had always resulted in success.

    Xiao An said nothing, so Qian Rongzhi just stopped asking. She pushed the pile of spiritual stones back. ¡°I¡¯ll find him when it comes to remuneration. What kind of corpse do you need? Corpse Soldiers and Corpse Generals that have already been refined, or will any do?¡±

    ¡°Any will do¡­ but don¡¯t kill mindlessly.¡±

    ¡°Did he tell you this too? Heh, why would I spend all that effort? The last thing I¡¯d need to do with the current circumstances is kill mindlessly.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to a good place.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want me to be with you.¡± Xiao An lowered her head.

    ¡°Fine then. Sometimes I really want to kill him. Don¡¯t glare at me, I¡¯m just kidding. The weather¡¯s perfect!¡±

    The rippling surface of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes reflected their figures, as if they had been gilded with gold. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s smile seemed to become slightly warmer too.

    ¡°Let me rest a little. We¡¯ll set off immediately, we¡¯ll set off immediately.¡± Qian Rongzhi lay down on the dried grass, resting her head on her arms and shutting her eyes. A gorgeous, little snake winded across her face. It was a strange and terrifying sight to behold, but her face was extremely peaceful.

    When Li Qingshan saw Ru Xin again, she was healing the sick in a small city by the mountains. Dressed in white clothes, she smiled warmly as she stood among the people. Wherever her hand passed by, the wounds would all heal, and the diseases would be cured. Everyone knelt on the ground and lowered their heads, constantly referring to her as goddess, bodhisattva, or great immortal.

    Her expression became even gentler, and she told them all to stand up. Under the setting sun, a halo seemed to appear on her head, which made her seem noble and pure, just like a goddess.

    ¡°Oh great benevolent bodhisattva Ru Xin, my chest hurts. Do you have any medicine for it?¡± Li Qingshan came up with an idea and withdrew his aura, pushing aside the crowd and going up to her.

    Ru Xin heard a familiar voice ring out from behind her. Looking back, her eyes flashed brilliantly, and she smiled. ¡°If your chest hurts, that means you have a wicked heart. The only way to heal it is to dig out the heart and cut away the wicked flesh. However, I can tell that your heart has become wicked through and through. Even immortals won¡¯t be able to save you. You are beyond help.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll dig it all out and give it to you.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. After three years, this old acquaintance of his had not changed at all, which was truly a joyous matter.

    However, he unintentionally infuriated everyone there with that smart comment of his. In particular, the younger men were filled with indignation. ¡°What are you supposed to be? Why have you come to joke around?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape! Beat him up!¡±

    An old man rushed over and threw a punch at Li Qingshan, treating Li Qingshan as a rascal. Li Qingshan tilted his head and dodged, but he did not fight back. With his current strength, a slight movement could kill a whole swathe of people.

    Ru Xin burst out laughing. Not only did she withhold from explaining, but she even said, ¡°Thank you all for upholding justice and fighting for me.¡±

    ¡°Move side! I¡¯m her husband!¡± Li Qingshan roared out, immediately stunning the entire crowd. Afterwards, he grabbed Ru Xin and pulled her out.

    Ru Xin did not put up a fight. She clasped her hands at everyone with a smile, allowing him to drag her away.

    Everyone was stunned. In particular, the younger men were all ashen. Their hearts were broken. She actually had a husband!

    It was a small city, but actually it was more like a large town. There were grey tiles and whitewashed walls, with a small stream flowing through the place and leafy neighbourhoods.

    Li Qingshan dragged Ru Xin to a quiet pavilion. To one side was the flowing stream and to the other were houses with wisps of smoke rising up slowly from the chimneys. Looking up, the entire city was smoking from its chimneys.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°My dear husband, it¡¯s time for you to let go!¡±

    ¡°Your dear husband is reluctant to.¡± Li Qingshan thought of a smart remark and teased her.

    ¡°If you¡¯re reluctant to, then break it off with the girl from the Han family. Otherwise, I¡¯d have to explain everything to her.¡±

    ¡°Looks like fate just opposes us being together.¡± Li Qingshan let go and shrugged.

    ¡°You¡¯ve established a foundation too? Sigh, I originally wanted to show you the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and give you a fierce beating so that you cough up your remaining Blue Butterfly flowers. Looks like I won¡¯t be able to do that now.¡± Ru Xin rubbed her wrist. Her beautiful pupils slanted slightly as she smiled widely.

    ¡°I¡¯m very tempted to try that. How¡¯s it? Foundation Establishment feels great, right? You¡¯ll have to thank me for that.¡± Li Qingshan sat on a bench in the pavilion by the stream.

    ¡°That makes two of us.¡± Ru Xin sat down beside him.

    ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been serving as a roaming doctor ever since you emerged from seclusion, healing regular people. To be honest, it¡¯s made me look at you in a new light.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just completing the missions from the academy.¡± Ru Xin smiled slightly, giving an explanation.

    As it turned out, the consequences of war were not as simple as daemons massacring cities. Corpses constantly caused plagues. If it were not for the work of the disciples of the school of Medicine, probably even more people would die of disease than to the jaws and claws of daemons.

    ¡°And it¡¯s not just that simple. Bandits are running amok right now. Many people are using the chaos to pillage and plunder. They¡¯re even more vicious than daemons. The schools of Confucianism and Legalism have sent out many disciples to maintain stability in the various regions. They¡¯re in even more danger than I am. Creatures like people really love to kill one another!¡± Ru Xin sighed slightly as her smile faded.

    ¡°You seem slightly melancholic?¡± Li Qingshan studied Ru Xin in interest. He had noticed that her gaze darted about, clearly thinking about something. Even when the Academy of the Hundred Schools was attacked by the White Lotus cult and suffered numerous losses, she had never behaved like that.

    ¡°What, have I enchanted you? You better go break it off with the girl from the Han family quickly!¡± Ru Xin stroked her hair and smiled and spoke just like before.

    ¡°Enough joking around. Do you still have time to refine pills?¡±

    Li Qingshan stated his reason for finding her. Just as Ru Xin considered his request, a bare-footed girl with her hair tied up in buns ran over. She shoved an apple into Ru Xin¡¯s hand. ¡°Big sister, I picked this from the mountains. Thank you for curing my dad.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what a good girl. It¡¯s going to rain soon, so you better hurry back and help your mother with the laundry!¡± Ru Xin smiled and rubbed the girl¡¯s head, biting into the apple with a crisp crunch.

    The girl answered her and scuttled off. She called out from afar, ¡°It¡¯s going to rain! Bring the clothes inside!¡±

    Ru Xin spat out the apple flesh in her mouth before casually tossing the apple behind her.

    ¡°Why¡¯d you throw it away? That¡¯s someone¡¯s good will after all.¡± Li Qingshan caught the apple. The bite mark on there was neat, which only demonstrated how perfect her teeth were.

    ¡°Obviously because it¡¯s disgusting. I¡¯ve saved the person, I¡¯ve accepted her good will, and I¡¯ve eaten the apple. There¡¯s no need to torture my mouth any further.¡± Ru Xin suddenly said mischievously, ¡°Don¡¯t tell you saw me take a bite and you wanted to¡­¡±

    Before Ru Xin could finish, she heard a plop. The apple landed in the water and floated away.

    Li Qingshan patted his hands. ¡°How did you know it¡¯s going to rain? Your affinity is wood, if I recall correctly!¡± There were clouds in the sky, but it was still sunny. He too could sense the gathering and variation of the moisture in the air, but he was still unable to say with certainty that it would rain.

    ¡°It¡¯s just an offhand remark. Do you want to gamble a True Spirit pill on it? If I win, we¡¯ll set off immediately. I¡¯ve created a new dwelling, so I¡¯ll take you there and show you around.¡±

    ¡°Can I not gamble?¡±

    However, before long, the sky became shrouded by dark clouds and autumn rain descended. Ru Xin extended her hand craftily, like her scheme had just succeeded.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan placed a True Spirit pill in her hand.

    The rain became heavier, forming a curtain outside the pavilion.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the rain.¡± Ru Xin frowned and gazed at the mountains to the west.

    ¡°There¡¯s daemon qi!¡±

    Li Qingshan sensed it too. The rolling daemon qi in the distance surged into the clouds. At the same time, a rumble rang out in the distance, growing closer and closer.

    The two of them arrived at the top of the mountain and saw a yellow, muddy flow suck up loose rock and branches, howling as it rushed over.

 Chapter 425 â€“ Ru Xinâ€™s True Form

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s stop the flood first!¡±

    Ru Xin extended her hand and waved it. Verdant leaves expanded to the size of doors and scattered, forming a dam in the flood¡¯s path.

    ¡°Do you really think you can stop me with your puny tricks?¡± A sneer rang out from afar. A strange catfish swam in the muddy flow. Its wide, pitch-black back seemed like an isle. Surprisingly, it was a Daemon General. Shadows flickered about in the water, hiding many daemon soldiers, driving the flood together.

    The pouring rain all gathered towards the flood, making the flood even more powerful. It smashed through the dam of green leaves violently.

    The residents of the city heard the disturbance, and all of them emerged from their homes to investigate, only to be met with this shocking sight. A dragon¡¯s roar rose up, going from soft to resonant. At the same time, a crystalline water dragon several dozen meters long condensed from the sky full of rain. It rushed down, slamming towards the strange catfish that was behind the flood.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s first time using a technique as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was so effective that even he himself was taken aback.

    The catfish¡¯s colossal, pitch-black body suddenly leapt out of the water, slapping apart the water dragon with its tail. It used the water to make the flood even more violent. Containing colossal boulders, it flowed downwards like thousands of horses freed from their reins.

    The strange catfish made use of its geographical and environmental advantage, not in hopes of killing the two of them, but in hopes of killing off the entire city. This was no longer something Foundation Establishment cultivators could stop.

    Li Qingshan wanted to fly down and use his spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core to suppress the flood. He hoped that Ru Xin would be careless, and she would fail to notice this strange ability of his. However, Ru Xin ended up saying, ¡°I¡¯ll go stop the flood. You go kill the daemon!¡±

    ¡°What? How are you supposed to stop it?¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could even finish his question, Ru Xin had already flown down. As she watched the roaring flood grow closer in the valley, her eyes suddenly became completely blue, like a peaceful lake. At the same time, her drifting hair became a light blue, while her skin seemed to become translucent like water. She leapt into the flood.

    Despite his astonishment, Li Qingshan took a step forward, and turbulent waves rose up below his feet. When he took another step, he had already reached several hundred meters away. The rain in the air pulsed with the waves of air he gave off as he directly plunged into the flood.

    Ocean Wielding¡ªThe Tidal Creation Form.

    Immediately, the spiritual qi in his sea of qi swelled up like the tides of the ocean, continuously with an unstoppable aura. Originally, Li Qingshan could not use this move when he had not practised the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, so now that he used it, it actually filled him with indescribable delight. Without further thought, he struck out with a palm strike.

    Bang! The turbid waves parted, and the catfish Daemon General slipped away, but the other aquatic daemons that supported its attack were not so fortunate. They were sent flying despite not receiving the brunt of the attack, dying then and there.

    Li Qingshan dove into the flood headfirst and was immediately met with the catfish¡¯s huge, toothy mouth, and it swallowed him in a single gulp. The strange catfish was stunned. It originally wanted to chew Li Qingshan to pieces, but Li Qingshan had thrown himself into his belly, so it smiled viciously instead. Its stomach fluids could dissolve even metal.

    Suddenly, a sharp pain appeared in its belly. The strange catfish tossed and turned violently in the flood. Not only had it failed to digest Li Qingshan, but Li Qingshan had made a mess inside it. Suddenly, a figure burst out, and it was no other than Li Qingshan. He clutched a daemon core that shone with faint, blue light. It trembled constantly, but it was unable to break free.

    The catfish knew that it was unfortunate enough to have run into a powerful opponent. It yelled out, ¡°I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡± With that, it tried to blow up its daemon core, but a huge, pitch-black hand suddenly pressed down on its head, gripping it firmly. The hand then tightened and crushed it to pulp before tossing everything into a hundred treasures pouch, guts and all.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes grew scarlet. He scanned around and silenced all the remaining daemons by finishing them off. He obtained seven or eight daemon cores and over a dozen corpses, all of which he stowed away in his hundred treasures pouch.

    Downstream, Ru Xin immediately felt the pressure on her lessen, but even without the control of daemon qi, the flood had already developed properly. Combined with the pouring rain, the flood grew to a wall of water over a dozen meters tall. Just the sight of it was enough to strike fear into people¡¯s hearts.

    Even when Ru Xin used her other ability, it was extremely difficult. She was gradually giving way, while the ¡°water Ru Xin¡± she had conjured also showed signs of collapse.

    In the mountain city, there were no longer any people who still paid attention to this. Every single one of them had grown ashen from panic, kneeling on the ground, praying with sincerity, and calling out for help. To Ru Xin, these cries and calls seemed to be right by her ear, which made her smile bitterly inside. It¡¯s useless even if you beg me. I¡¯m not an actual supernatural being after all. I¡¯m just a mere cultivator who¡¯s just set off on the path of cultivation.

    She had never thought she would still be so powerless even when she exposed herself before him.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Li Qingshan descended from above, landing towards the front of the flood. The raging waters immediately settled down, but the danger still lingered. The wall of water continued to rise. If this continued, it would directly flatten the entire city like a tsunami.

    But in that moment, Li Qingshan seemed to have forgotten about all of this. He stared straight at Ru Xin. Only now could he see her true form clearly. Not only had her eyes changed in colour, but a pair of blue fins had sprouted behind her ears. There were a pair of even larger fins on her back, transparent like silk and moving around as freely as wings. Below her waist, her beautiful legs had turned into an azure fishtail, swaying elegantly in the water.

    ¡°Have you stared enough? If you have, help me out!¡± Ru Xin said in irritation.

    ¡°Alright then! Get out of the way!¡± Li Qingshan smiled, like a child who had just learnt the secret of an adult, which Ru Xin found to be extremely irritating. Without saying anything else, she moved to one side.

    The wall of water immediately collapsed. When the people of the city saw this, cries rose up from everywhere. They fell back on their bottom as their legs became jelly. However, all they saw was the gushing water swirling upwards towards the sky.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s arms constantly whirled around, unleashing the Vortex Form as the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core in his body glowed brilliantly. He flew high into the air.

    Now that the strange catfish had been slain, the dark clouds had dispersed, allowing the sun to emerge. Sunlight scattered on the swirling river that filled the sky, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

    With a powerful swing, he scattered the water like a splash of ink on paper. In that instant, the river in the sky drained away and shattered in the air, actually raining cats and dogs. It left all the people in the city drenched.

    The water spray surged, leaving behind a rainbow across the city. Cheers rang out everywhere.

    Li Qingshan returned to the valley between the two mountains, and Ru Xin had already transformed back. She was so relaxed that she behaved like nothing had happened at all.

    Li Qingshan was unable to hold back his curiosity. He immediately asked, ¡°You¡¯re merfolk?¡±

 Chapter 426 â€“ The Eight Gates of Golden Locks, the Illusory Water of Invisibility

    ¡°I¡¯m not different then,¡± Ru Xin said in an exasperated manner. ¡°If you want me to refine pills, then keep your mouth shut.¡± Leaping up, she stepped onto a verdant leaf and drifted off in the wind.

    Li Qingshan followed behind her on a cloud, unable to help himself as he studied her back. Merfolk were also one of the otherfolk. They resided in water, mainly around the shore of the South sea. They were beautiful and good at singing, able to spin water into silk, and their tears could become pearls.

    The Mist province was much larger than the Green province. He was unable to imagine how she had managed to traverse almost fifty thousand kilometers to settle down here. After seeing her true form, she had only become even more mysterious.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m half-Merfolk. What do you think of it?¡± Ru Xin was unable to put up with Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze anymore, so she suddenly stopped the verdant leaf and spoke up in annoyance.

    ¡°Nothing really. Actually, you were quite beautiful just then, especially your eyes,¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely. Perhaps because they condensed the essence of nature, there were many races of otherfolk known for their beauty, while the Merfolk were among the most beautiful. It was said that their eyes possessed a mysterious power, and direct eye contact had to be avoided, or it could enchant people.

    Ru Xin¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She found Li Qingshan to be very strange. When regular people saw otherfolk, they would either be shocked and surprised or they would be repulsed. He did not react like that at all, which made her feel closer to him. Her nervousness and anxiety settled down. She pointed at her eyes with a smile. ¡°The Condensed Jade pearls refined from my eyes are priceless.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback before sneering. ¡°And I had thought it was something impressive. There¡¯s something on me that¡¯s worth much more than your pair of beads.¡±

    Ru Xin had originally mentioned it to test him, but she never expected him to get competitive instead. She had no idea on how to respond. She was rather curious about what he was talking about, but the phrase ¡°beads down below¡± suddenly crossed her mind, which made her take off.

    Li Qingshan was perplexed. I¡¯m talking about my daemon core. What were you thinking of?

    A hundred and fifty kilometers south-west of Clear River city were a few dozen mountains that rose and fell. They were known as the Chain mountains. They were not exactly a blessed land, but spiritual qi was abundant, which made it a good place to cultivate.

    The two of them moved through the enshrouding mist and landed on a cliff face. Ru Xin waved her hand, and the scenery before them twisted, revealing the entrance to a dwelling. Two large words were engraved above, ¡°Ru Xin¡±.

    ¡°Please, fellow Li.¡± Ru Xin made a gesture for him to come in.

    The cave was complete with stone tables and chairs. Everything was arranged neatly and elegantly in nature, without a speck of dust. The curling incense only made the place even more otherworldly.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Do you want tea? If you don¡¯t, I¡¯m not going to bother. You¡¯re not having any, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll have some.¡±

    As Ru Xin prepared the tea, Li Qingshan did not hold back and inspected the entire place, in and out. Suddenly, he heard a clatter in the front room, and Ru Xin yelled out, ¡°Li Qingshan, get your ass over for your tea.¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the room, picked up the tea cup, and took a small sip. He said slowly, ¡°This place might be peaceful and quiet, but if a daemon attacks, it¡¯ll be bad.¡±

    ¡°The formations can last for a while and sending a distress signal to the academy is very convenient too. Moreover, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m made out of paper, completely useless. Let¡¯s not talk about this. Take out the remaining Blue Butterfly flowers. With my current ability, refining a few True Spirit pills won¡¯t take very long at all.¡± Ru Xin brushed him off.

    Li Qingshan placed down the tea cup and opened his hundred treasures pouch. Blue Butterfly flowers fluttered out rapidly, but that was not the end of it. Then he took out the spiritual herbs he had collected underground one by one.

    ¡°Thousand-year Dark Blood ginseng, thousand-year milkvetch¡­¡± Ru Xin was taken aback as she appraised the spiritual herbs one by one. Her eyes lit up. She had refined pills for so long, so she had seen quite a large variety of spiritual herbs. However, all of these spiritual herbs were either millenium-old or centuries-old. Every single one of them were spiritual herbs people could only dream of, yet Li Qingshan had pulled them out like vegetables. She had even forgotten how to speak for a moment.

    ¡°Alright, just these for now.¡±

    ¡°Fellow Li, please have some tea.¡± Ru Xin smiled softly and lifted up the tea cup.

    ¡°Right here!¡± Li Qingshan snorted and opened his mouth.

    ¡°Sigh, to think you¡¯d actually believe me.¡± Ru Xin threw the cup on the table before picking up the spiritual herbs and carefully examining them. ¡°Where did you get all these spiritual¡­ Forget it. Heh, we¡¯re rich. Looks like my two years of doing good hasn¡¯t gone to waste.¡±

    The two of them arrived in the alchemy room. Ru Xin took out the Crystal Resin cauldron before taking out various spiritual herbs. She immediately began refining.

    Li Qingshan backed out silently. Ru Xin looked back. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m off to set up a dwelling.¡±

    Li Qingshan had plans to set up a dwelling a long time ago. There were too many prying eyes in the academy, which really made cultivation inconvenient. It was even more so when it came to his daemon cultivation. After seeing Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling today, he made up his mind.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to watch this time?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m too busy. No time.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame me if any pills go missing.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just kill the donkey once it¡¯s done it¡¯s job. Even you won¡¯t be able to escape.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand without even looking back.

    Ru Xin was slightly surprised as she quipped, ¡°You¡¯re the donkey.¡± Li Qingshan had already made his way out of the dwelling, and his laughter gradually vanished. Originally, she thought he would spend some time with her refining pills, and it would be rather troublesome, but she never expected him to leave so eagerly, which instead made her feel rather lonely.

    She suddenly smiled. He was clearly so deeply shrouded with mysteries, yet she never doubted him and thought he would actually turn against her and show no mercy. Even just thirty percent of the pills refined from these spiritual herbs were enough for any two cultivation sects to turn against each other and declare war.

    She shook her head and dismissed these thoughts. Sitting with her legs crossed, she activated the Crystal Resin cauldron and began refining pills.

    Li Qingshan returned to the academy and notified Liu Chuanfeng about how he wanted to set up a dwelling outside. Afterwards, he found Xiao An. ¡°Have you already spoken with Qian Rongzhi?¡±

    ¡°Yep. She¡¯s already gathered around seventy or eighty thousand.¡±

    ¡°So quickly?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    As it turned out, collecting corpses was not all that Qian Rongzhi did during these years. She had done plenty of backstabbing and killing too. She had accumulated forty or fifth Corpse Soldiers within her possession alone, and they were all elites that had been carefully refined. She sold off all the other corpses of lower quality, or she probably would have possessed a hundred and ten or twenty thousand corpses. And, she was well acquainted in the academy, so she could gather seventy or eighty thousand just by asking around, which she passed onto Xiao An for now.

    ¡°She didn¡¯t accept the spiritual stones. She said she would find you instead.¡±

    ¡°That works too.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. He thought about how it really had been a correct decision to leave this matter to her. ¡°Let¡¯s go set up a dwelling!¡±

    ¡°A dwelling?¡±

    ¡°Our home.¡±

    ¡°Home.¡± Xiao An repeated softly. Her heart created by the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty suddenly heated up. She nodded firmly. ¡°Alright!¡±

    Just as the two of them were about to leave, Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi arrived together. One of them possessed a picturesque appearance, as handsome as ever, while the other had a pair of straight eyebrows and twinkling eyes, radiating with valiance. After undergoing the heavenly tribulation, they became even more enchanting. As they stood together, they were like two perfect pieces of jade.

    Li Qingshan went up to receive them. ¡°What brought you here?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, I heard you wanted to set up a dwelling. Do you need our help?¡± Hua Chengzan said enthusiastically. Han Tieyi never liked talking, so he just stood there coldly.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Isn¡¯t it just digging out a cave?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t say that. You can¡¯t go without formations if you want to set up a dwelling. This Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks might not be the best formation, but it should be enough to protect your dwelling. You can call it a gift for succeeding with Foundation Establishment.¡± Hua Chengzan was just speaking modestly. The Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks cost tens of thousand spiritual stones at the very least. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would struggle to destroy it if they were alone. Moreover, it could lock in spiritual qi, such that even regular mountains would become fantastic places to cultivate as time went on.

    Li Qingshan was touched. He accepted the entire set of formation discs and banners. Right now, he did not exactly lack a few tens of thousand spiritual stones, but all of it came from unknown sources. If he spent them carelessly, it was very easy for him to draw suspicion. Hua Chengzan¡¯s formation was basically giving him exactly what he needed when he needed it, but there was nothing he could give back in return. Everything he carried on him was stolen goods.

    Suddenly, he thought of something. He took out the strange catfish¡¯s daemon core that he had just obtained from his hundred treasures pouch. ¡°It would be rude of me to not reciprocate. Please take this.¡±

    Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi¡¯s gazes were drawn over. Hua Chengzan accepted the daemon core and said in surprise, ¡°This is a Daemon General¡¯s daemon core. Where did you get this?¡±

    Li Qingshan told him the entire story. Han Tieyi¡¯s eyes flashed as he stared at him. Hua Chengzan said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about this daemon too. It¡¯s already flooded many cities and towns. I never thought it would die to your hands.¡±

    Apart from gift-giving, he had come to persuade Li Qingshan to not cultivate single-mindedly and forget about the matters of the academy and the Hawkwolf Guard, but never did he expect him to kill a Daemon General right off the bat, so what else could he say? Even if he entered seclusion for another year or two, no one could criticise him.

    And, the value of the daemon core surpassed the worth of the Eight Gates Formation of the Golden Locks. He fiddled around with it before returning it to Li Qinshan. ¡°I haven¡¯t come to make an exchange, so why would I want your daemon core? If you don¡¯t have a use for it, I can purchase it from you, but you cultivate the water element, and the daemon core¡¯s the water element too, so it suits you the most! You better keep it for yourself!¡±

    Li Qingshan was actually very reluctant to give it away too. Since Hua Chengzan had said that, he just obliged and stowed the daemon core away. As long as his cultivation could increase, did he have to worry about not being able to pay him back?

    ¡°Brother-in-law, where¡¯s your gift?¡± Li Qingshan teased.

    Sure enough, Han Tieyi rummaged through his hundred treasures pouch and seemed to pull out something, but his hands were empty.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. Only after careful observation did he make out a transparent sword around a meter long. Although it did not glow at all, Li Qingshan could clearly sense it was a supreme grade spiritual artifact.

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°This Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility comes from general Han¡¯s personal collection. When you use it, both the wielder and the sword can turn invisible, making it a perfect weapon for secret assassinations. He¡¯s basically accepting you as his son-in-law, Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°My father¡¯s never said that,¡± Han Tieyi said. Hua Chengzan ignored him and asked, ¡°Where do you plan on setting up your dwelling?¡±

    ¡°The Chain mountains.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­¡± Hua Chengzan shut his mouth and glanced at Han Tieyi.

    Han Tieyi was just about to pass the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility to Li Qingsan when he suddenly tightened his grip and pulled it back. Li Qingshan grabbed his arm. ¡°Brother-in-law, how can you take back something you¡¯ve given out? This is a gift from my dear father-in-law.¡±

    Han Tieyi tried to pull his hand back, but it did not even budge. He was secretly surprised. What strength!

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t mess around. Don¡¯t forget, you still owe me a punch!¡±

 Chapter 427 â€“ Defeating Tieyi with Cloud Parting, Chu Tianâ€™s Killing Intent Rises

    ¡°What do other people have to do with matters between us?¡± Han Tieyi took a step and chased after him, wielding his finger as a blade and swinging down viciously.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not holding back! Cloud Parting Form!¡± Li Qingshan brought his palms together and pushed them forward in an ordinary manner. Han Tieyi¡¯s face changed as he felt like a huge tsunami was slamming towards him. It completely drowned out the sky, making it impossible to dodge.

    Swish! A wheel of blue light whistled past, making the bamboo sway and surge in waves.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s clothes were ruffled. He secretly thought in admiration, Qingshan has only gone through the heavenly tribulation recently, yet his control over spiritual qi is already so meticulous, and it possesses tremendous power too. Taking him head on probably isn¡¯t a good plan. Sure enough, Han Tieyi was like a floating boat within the surging waves, drifting back several dozen meters and landing gently, but he was completely unscathed. He pushed off his feet again and lunged towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Cloud Parting Form.¡± Li Qingshan pushed out his hands calmly again. With the support of the tremendous spiritual qi cultivated by the Arts of the Boundless Ocean and the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core assisting him in mobilising the spiritual qi of the world, it basically cost him nothing to use the Cloud Parting Form.

    All Han Tieyi could do was retreat again. He had personally handed the Arts of the Boundless Ocean to Li Qingshan, so he understood exactly what it was about. The greatest highlight of the cultivation method was its boundlessness and vastness. For some reason, this advantage seemed especially prominent when Li Qingshan used it. When he had first returned after establishing a foundation, no one had thought such a tremendous aura would belong to a cultivator who had broken through to Foundation Establishment recently.

    In short, he could not afford to take him head-on. All he could do was search for an opportunity and finish him off in a single strike.

    However, Li Qingshan seemed to fall in love with this move. Regardless of what Han Tieyi unleashed, he remained standing exactly where he was. In the blink of an eye, he had already pushed out over a dozen Cloud Parting Forms.

    Han Tieyi¡¯s battle skills were wide-reaching and flexible, but he happened to be helpless against Li Qingshan.

    Originally, he had wanted to wait for Li Qingshan to deplete all his spiritual qi and become exhausted, but he never expected his attacks to grow smoother and more vigorous over time. Han Tieyi had been forced back over a dozen times. He had not even managed to touch Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes.

    Hua Chengzan burst out laughing. ¡°Qingshan, you shouldn¡¯t bully an honest person.¡±

    Even with Han Tieyi¡¯s mental fortitude, he cursed inside out of anger. His face became even colder. He took a step and the tiling below shattered. At the same time, he drew his weapon. The tassel on the spear danced like fire as he merged with the spear, striking out like a dragon in an attempt to forcefully destroy Li Qingshan¡¯s Cloud Parting Form.

    ¡°Oh my, the brother-in-law¡¯s angry,¡± Li Qingshan said before pushing out with his hands again. Han Tieyi raised an eyebrow, but he was not met with a cloud-parting tsunami. His spear thrust struck nothing. When he looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s face again, he saw a strange smile rise up. Oh no, I¡¯ve fallen for this bastard¡¯s ploy! He wanted to alter his attack, but it was already too late. Li Qingshan extended his right hand and grabbed him, unleashing the Vortex Form and went from pushing to pulling. Han Tieyi¡¯s figure shifted to the side slightly, and Li Qingshan¡¯s left fist whistled over.

    A clash between the powerful only depended on a single moment.

    The spear in Han Tieyi¡¯s hands suddenly became as flexible as a snake. With a twist and turn, it stabbed directly towards Li Qingshan¡¯s heart.

    Li Qingshan pulled his fist back and retreated, taking the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility with him. He drifted away with Xiao An as his laughter rang out from the cloud in the distance. ¡°Since we¡¯re one family, I¡¯ll forget about this punch. Li¡¯l bro Tieyi, if you run into any trouble in the future, feel free to come find your brother-in-law! Haha!¡±

    ¡°This guy¡­ Tieyi, are you fine? That¡¯s a draw.¡± Hua Chengzan saw Han Tieyi standing silently with his spear and asked in concern.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a draw. It was close, but I lost.¡± Han Tieyi gazed at the sky and rubbed his face that had almost been struck. Who knew what he was thinking about.

    ¡°Victory and defeat is commonplace in the school of the Military. Moreover, when it comes to a real life-or-death struggle, you would have never allowed the enemy to get in your head so easily. I know that towards Ru Xin, you feel¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop talking. I¡¯m not you,¡± Han Tieyi interrupted him coldly. It was human nature for people to fall in love, but not everyone had to become blinded, lost and grief-stricken over the word of love.

    ¡°Alright, alright. You¡¯re both real men with hearts of steel. Only I am a sentimental little girl.¡± Hua Chengzan lamented as he rubbed his face.

    Even Han Tieyi could not help but curl his lips at this sight as his eyes hid a smile. His small emotional knot vanished.

    ¡°Sir, Fu Qingjin of the Daemon Suppression alliance is outside. He wishes to see you. He wants to ask about a few things.¡± A legalist disciple reported.

    Hua Chengzan had already stopped joking around. He exchanged glances with Han Tieyi. They both wondered about the same question, ¡°What¡¯s brought him here?¡±

    Just around when Li Qingshan left the academy, he ran into an extremely familiar figure. Fu Qingjin stood with his arms crossed and his head tilted back, looking at the sky. He lowered his head back down and glanced past Li Qingshan indifferently.

    Li Qingshan frowned, brushing past him on his cloud, but he heard Fu Qingjin say, ¡°Please hold on, fellow cultivator.¡± In the blink of an eye, he arrived before him.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to ask where you were yesterday,¡± Fu Qingjin said slowly.

    ¡°Why¡¯re you asking that?¡± Li Qingshan immediately became alert. Just as he had expected, the appearance of the Soaring Dragon sword had left behind traces, which was why the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had warned him.

    ¡°Nothing really. I¡¯m just asking?¡± Fu Qingjin smiled warmly in an extremely patient manner, even nodding towards Xiao An. However, his courtesy was more like the courtesy that a modest and good-natured king would show to his subordinates. He had good intentions, but it was unsettling.

    Even if they felt displeased, regular cultivators would still be forced to show some respect and answer him. However, the two of them did not get along too well. Xiao An completely ignored him, while Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ll be wherever I want to be. What¡¯s it got to do with you?¡± He directly sailed off on his cloud.

    Fu Qingjin did not stop him, nor did he chase after him. He just watched him leave as he pondered to himself. At this moment, Hua Chengzan received the news and came to receive him. Fu Qingjin asked, ¡°May I ask who the person that just left is? How come I¡¯ve never seen him before?¡±

    Hua Chengzan was slightly surprised, confused by what his intentions were. He gave him a short introduction to Li Qingshan.

    In the right hand behind Fu Qingjin¡ªhidden in his sleeve¡ªwas a curved, slender horn. He thought to himself, The truth.

    Another person appeared on his large, mental list of suspects, Li Qingshan.

    Fu Qingjin did not chase after him, which made Li Qingshan even more alert. This person is much more shrewd than the three elders.

    Flying for a little longer, a bright streak of five-coloured light rushed over from below. Chu Tian bellowed out, ¡°Li Qingshan, so what if you¡¯ve reached Foundation Establishment? Are you bold enough to face me and test yourself against my Palm of the Five Elements?¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. Only if my enemies could be as ¡°adorable¡± as the one before me. He smiled as a result. ¡°Alright. If I won¡¯t even smack a face offered up to me, why did I establish a foundation at all?¡±

    Ever since the meeting last time, Chu Tian had become pent up with fury. Coupled with hearing how Li Qingshan had actually gone to find Ru Xin, even wanting to set up his dwelling in the Chain mountains, he basically flew into a rage. This was basically no different from becoming a couple.

 Chapter 428 â€“ Qing Xiao

    True qi of the five elements shone brightly and condensed into a large hand above Chu Tian¡¯s head. However, his mind gradually settled as he stared at Li Qingshan coldly. He began to recall the various times he had been humiliated by him. Li Qingshan, today¡¯s the day you die.

    Li Qingshan exchanged glances with Xiao An. Even a lion uses its full strength to catch a rabbit, so let¡¯s leave out all the nonsense later. We¡¯ll work together and kill him instantly, just in case he makes more trouble in the future. Xiao An agreed, clenching the Skull Prayer Beads.

    The setting sun cast their shadows on the sparse forest below. Their eyes clashed. A battle to the death could break out at any time.

    Li Qingshan frowned and glanced at the distance, rubbing Xiao An¡¯s head and studying Chu Tian curiously. Did fate really protect him because he was a Reincarnated Celestial?

    ¡°Chu Tian, what are you doing?¡± Wei Yangsheng flew over quickly and called out loudly from afar.

    Chu Tian arrived here for an ambush as soon as he heard how Li Qingshan wanted to set up a dwelling. He thought he had been secretive, but his face always gave away what he was thinking. Radiating with murderousness and sneering every now and then, anyone could tell there was something wrong with him. The moment Chu Tian left the academy, confucian disciples reported this silently to Wei Yangsheng.

    ¡°School leader, what brings you here?¡± Chu Tian¡¯s expression changed as he stowed the item away again. He was afraid to unleash it.

    ¡°Junior brother Li, what are you doing?¡± Wei Yangsheng ignored Chu Tian. He greeted and asked Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Chu Tian is challenging me. Don¡¯t stop him, senior brother. I¡¯d like to see what he¡¯s capable of,¡± Li Qingshan said. He could also sense something amiss. Chu Tian was arrogant, but he was not actually stupid after all. Was he unable to tell the difference between their strength? Since he was bold enough to challenge him, he definitely possessed some kind of powerful trump card.

    ¡°Chu Tian, is this true?¡± Wei Yangsheng asked in surprise. Just who was Li Qingshan? Let alone a Qi Practitioner, even Wei Yangsheng himself had no confidence in being able to defeat him. Challenge him? Are you sick of living? You¡¯ve even chosen such a remote location. If Li Qingshan gets carried away with his murderousness, do you really think you¡¯ll survive?

    ¡°School leader, leave me alone! This is a matter between us!¡± Chu Tian waved his hand in annoyance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get angry, senior brother.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He knew Wei Yangsheng remained here because he still did not want Chu Tian to suffer too much. However, Chu Tian right now was someone of absolutely no importance to him. It did not matter even if he left him alive. There was still ample time ahead.

    Chu Tian frowned and became frantic. His fist tightened before he loosened it again. In front of Wei Yangsheng, he was unable to use that item. Surely he could not kill Wei Yangsheng as well? They had spent so many years together, so he did become somewhat attached to him. His anger had yet to reach the point where he would even turn against his friends. However, if he did not use that, how was he supposed to win?

    If he forfeited like this, it would be embarrassing, so he still clung onto a small sliver of hope. He had basically perfected his true qi of the five elements now. If he unleashed the Protection of the Five Elements, he was capable of keeping himself safe even when he faced Foundation Establishment cultivators. Once he returned, he could say that Li Qingshan was helpless against him even after reaching Foundation Establishment, and it would still be his victory.

    Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. He spread out his arms and used the Vortex Form conveniently, swirling the invisible spiritual qi of the world and creating a huge vortex in the blink of an eye. It spun rapidly, unleashing a great suction force and even kicking up a violent breeze. Some of the trees with shallowers roots below had even been ripped out of the ground, sucked into the vortex and torn to shreds.

    Wei Yangsheng¡¯s expression changed slightly as he backed away by another few dozen meters. He thought, Is the Arts of the Boundless Ocean really this powerful? It¡¯s fantastic news that the academy has gained such a powerful person, but Chu Tian is probably going to be in for some bad luck. For a moment, he had no idea whether he should be delighted or worried.

    Chu Tian was startled. He gritted his teeth and unleashed his true qi of the five elements desperately in an attempt to stabilise himself. However, he was like a fallen leaf in a whirlpool, sucked towards the centre helplessly. Suddenly, he roared out and swung the Palm of the Five Elements violently towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan smiled. The spin of the vortex reversed and Chu Tian flew out again, watching helplessly as Li Qingshan grew further and further away. The vortex reversed again, and he was sucked back. This repeated for who knew how many times. All Chu Tian felt was the world spin around him as he became light-headed. He could not even put up a fight.

    Foundation Establishment cultivators had always possessed an absolute advantage in power over Qi Practitioners. Chu Tian might have been able to protect himself before regular Foundation Establishment cultivators with his true qi of the five elements, but how could Li Qingshan be compared to a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator?

    Li Qingshan simply sat down on the cloud and wielded the spiritual qi of the world, sending Chu Tian wherever he wished. He was completely toying with him.

    Wei Yangsheng let out a soft sigh. He wanted to speak up, but he stopped himself. Teaching Chu Tian a lesson would be good too. If a Qi Practitioner had leapt out in front of him and wanted to make trouble, being toyed with would be a gentler fate to suffer.

    Chu Tian roared furiously, ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll fuck-¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll what?¡±

    With a flash, Li Qingshan arrived in front of Chu Tian and swung down with his hand. Chu Tian¡¯s protective true qi shattered and collapsed.

    Bang!

    Like a balloon, Chu Tian flew into the remote forest. There was a boom, and the trees trembled. Dust rose up everywhere.

    Li Qingshan wanted to pursue, but Wei Yangsheng stopped him and coaxed him. ¡°Junior brother, please just drop the matter. Do it for me. He¡¯s learnt his lesson.¡±

    Chu Tian leapt up from the crater he had created. He stared at Li Qingshan, completely overcome by fury. ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Weren¡¯t you challenging me? What¡¯s this got to do with me? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve come specially to cheer me up? Thank you then, I am in a much better mood now.¡±

    ¡°Chu Tian, why don¡¯t you apologise?¡± Wei Yangsheng grabbed Chu Tian and shot him a glance.

    ¡°You- you- you-¡± Chu Tian looked at Wei Yangsheng before looking at Li Qingshan. He was clearly hiding a powerful trump card, but he was unable to use it. He felt so frustrated and furious that he actually burst out into tears with a wah.

    Li Qingshan was the one who became very embarrassed now. He clasped his hands towards Wei Yangsheng. ¡°Senior brother, I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡±

    Wei Yangsheng was exasperated by Chu Tian. He said earnestly, ¡°Little Tian, we¡¯re all from the academy. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s killed your parents or stolen your wife, so why must you invite humiliation like this? Even if you want to redeem yourself, you¡¯ll have to establish a foundation first!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother¡­ if you hadn¡¯t¡­ if you hadn¡¯t¡­¡± Chu Tian choked out between his sobs.

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t what?¡±

    ¡°Wah!¡±

    The Hawkwolf Guard of Clear River city was bustling with activity. Hua Chengzan descended from above and stepped in.

    ¡°Commander Hua, you¡¯ve come.¡± The many people all greeted him.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve come.¡± Hua Chengzan nodded towards them one by one. He made his way up the stairs quickly and entered through the door.

    Wang Pushi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and said without even looking back, ¡°Where is he? Didn¡¯t I tell you to bring him back to receive orders?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°He said he wanted to set up a dwelling, so I let him go for now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re far too lenient with him. He¡¯s reached Foundation Establishment, and he¡¯s a Hawkwolf guard. He¡¯s a disciple of the academy on top of all of that. He has his responsibilities. What kind of impression is he giving off if he enters seclusion whenever he wants to and sets up a dwelling whenever he wants to? What would everyone else say?¡± Wang Pushi turned around and said sternly. Compared to three years ago, his appearance had not changed much. He just seemed slightly more weathered.

    ¡°But he just killed a Daemon General.¡±

    Wang Pushi was taken aback. ¡°He still can¡¯t be permitted to do whatever he likes.¡± However, his tone had softened. Even among the school leaders of the academy, not everyone was capable of killing a Daemon General. Although Li Qingshan did whatever he liked, without any control at all, no one could nitpick what he did. As a matter of fact, they would even praise him.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin just came. He asked me where I was yesterday. He seems to be investigating something.¡± Hua Chengzan mulled over the conversation he just had with Fu Qingjin, wanting to deduce something from it. As the leading figure of the Daemon Suppression alliance in the Clear River prefecture, there would be a profound reason regardless of what he did.

    ¡°What¡¯s he investigating?¡± Wang Pushi frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. From his tone, it sounds like someone did something huge yesterday. He also mentioned that he wanted to do something big soon, and he wanted our cooperation. He said it would greatly benefit us too.¡± Hua Chengzan crossed his arms and sank into his thoughts, rubbing his chin with one hand as he tried to guess what Fu Qingjin was thinking.

    In the Chain mountains, a white cloud flew around freely between the mountains. Li Qingshan and Xiao An were looking for a suitable place to set up their dwelling. In just a while, they had already toured through the several dozen mountains of various sizes there.

    Finally, Li Qingshan chose a mountain. It was not particularly lofty or precipitous, but it did possess some delicate beauty. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work!¡±

    ¡°Yep.¡± Xiao An nodded.

    They circled around the mountain again and found a natural cave. Li Qingshan condensed the pulses of water in his right hand into a huge drill, and the rock fell to the ground as dust. He expanded the cave, turning it into the entrance of their dwelling.

    Li Qingshan ventured deeper. Before long, he had dug out a huge hole in the middle of the mountain. He had basically created the most simple dwelling possible.

    In the end, he took out the formation discs and banners and set up the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks. He saw eight words and the eight gates flash in order around the mountain, ¡°Resting, Life, Pain, Limit, View, Death, Wonder, Beginning.¡± The eight trigrams circulated around the mountain peak before suddenly stabilising and drooping down. It vanished at the same time, as if it had merged with the mountain. The spiritual qi of the mountain was firmly locked in.

    TL: To be added

    Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction. From that moment onwards, no one could enter the mountain easily unless they had his permission. If he cultivated here, he did not have to worry about his daemon qi leaking out and drawing attention.

    Arriving in front of the dwelling, Li Qingshan flattened the rock there with a wave of his hand. He said to Xiao An, ¡°My handwriting is no good, so you do it instead!¡±

    Xiao An bit her lip. The bone sword protruded from her hand. With a few flicks, rock fragments fell down with her beautiful penmanship. Three large, sunken words appeared, ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home.¡± Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s home.

    ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home dwelling. What a strange name. But that doesn¡¯t matter. From today onwards, this is our home.¡± Li Qingshan inspected it with crossed arms, radiating with vigour. Xiao An smiled.

 Chapter 429 â€“ As the Spirit Turtle Wills, the Heavenly Secrets Become Unfathomable

    Within the spacious centre of the mountain, Li Qingshan took out the daemon core of the strange catfish. The daemon core was of the water element, so the power it contained was perfect for him. He opened his mouth and swallowed the daemon core.

    A tremendous energy was unleashed within his body. Although it was not explosive, the power was enough to claim the lives of regular Foundation Establishment cultivators. Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, and even then, he struggled slightly to keep it suppressed. His body immediately began to change, rapidly stretching and expanding, reverting to his most primitive form as a daemon.

    Tremendous daemon qi directly pierced the mountain, rushing towards the sky. The Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks immediately came into use, locking in this aura. If he were in the academy, he definitely would have given himself away, but he did not have to worry about that here.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core shone brilliantly and revolved rapidly, using everything it had to suppress the energy and gradually absorb the daemon core. Only then did Li Qingshan¡¯s figure slowly recover.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan would be fine, Xiao An sat down beside him and summoned the Corpse Soldiers. She unleashed the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration and Pale Flames of Bone Smelting, alternating between the two as she refined a corpse.

    Ten days later, a Skull Prayer Bead was completed. Fourteen tiny Skeleton Demons leapt around in the surroundings, as if they were welcoming their new companion.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation had reached the most critical juncture too. During the three years of secluded cultivation, he had never stopped practising the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Originally, he thought he could easily break through to the fourth layer of the spirit turtle with the water element daemon core, but only now did he discover that it would not be so easy. Even if he absorbed the entire daemon core, he would still be lacking a little.

    This was the essence that a Daemon General had condensed and refined over centuries or millennia! As his cultivation progressed, his daemon core¡¯s demand for resources grew at an astonishing pace. If he just sat there and absorbed the spiritual qi of the world, who knew how many years it would take him before he broke through.

    Li Qingshan suddenly remembered he had obtained a few daemon cores of lower quality as well when he killed the strange catfish. They were basically all of the water element too, so he gulped all of them down, making up for the final part he was lacking.

    As Fu Qingjin undertook his investigation, the Divining Elder had never stopped searching. A sumeru ring was equivalent to a miniature world. Apart from the owner, no one could find out what was going on in there, let alone sense the Soaring Dragon sword¡¯s aura.

    The Divining Elder pondered to himself for a while before setting his target to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring again. It was difficult to find out about the matters of different worlds, but a ¡°gate¡± would always remain in this world, at least until the other world was destroyed. Although it would not give off any aura at all, he could still use it to grasp its trace.

    A few years ago, the Divining Elder had tried this, but he ended up suffering a backlash, leaving him heavily injured. What injured him was not the black ox himself, but the soul sense he had left behind in the sumeru ring. If it were not for the soul sense, the Sword Collection palace would have sniffed out Li Qingshan already and ripped him to shreds with their divination techniques.

    Li Qingshan thought the black ox had already left, but little did he know that the black ox¡¯s power had been constantly protecting him throughout these years. And now, with the disappearance of the soul sense, Li Qingshan seemed to turn into a child who had lost his final layer of protection. Not only did he have to survive in this world by depending on himself, but he also had to face enemies well beyond what he could handle right now.

    ¡°Rise!¡± The Divining Elder¡¯s hands danced about like a lotus flower, stretching and performing seals with unbelievable speed. The Sword of Divination let out a long thrum and rose up. The tip of the sword pointed down, right over his head.

    ¡°One with the Sword!¡±

    The Sword of Divination fell, piercing and melding into the top of the Divining Elder¡¯s head. The diagram of yin and yang appeared in the Divining Elder¡¯s pitch-black pupils, constantly revolving as he gazed at the map.

    In that instance, his gaze seemed to pierce the many mountains and rivers, gazing over the entirety of the Clear River prefecture. He was trying to find the tiny sumeru ring in this land that stretched fifteen hundred kilometers.

    He did not need any investigations, any analyses, any questions, or any thoughts. He directly asked fate itself, appealing to the heavens for an answer.

    No one knew how long he had wandered in the river of fate. The corner of the Divining Elder¡¯s lips suddenly curled in delight. He had finally found it!

    It was like finding a ray of sunlight in the darkness. All he had to do next was follow this ray of sunlight and trace it back to its source.

    The Divining Elder completely stopped worrying too. During the previous divination, the great disaster had appeared with this ray of sunlight. He had vaguely made out the back of a figure. It did not give off any hostility, nor did it purposefully attack him, but that was the most terrifying part of it all, as its existence alone had made his divination completely collapse.

    If it were not for merging with his sword and having the Sword of Divination enduring most of the damage, his sea of consciousness would have almost received a devastating blow. This felt no different from an insect that had actually flown a little too close to the crater of a volcano. The volcano would continue to sputter and surge like before, completely neglecting the existence of the insect, but just a wisp of smoke it produced was enough to kill the insect.

    The Divining Elder followed the ray of sunlight and suddenly encountered some interference. It alarmed him, but he calmed down again very soon. It seemed like his target also knew divination, except from the contact earlier, he could tell that his target was weaker than him.

    Xiao An, who was refining her Skull Prayer Beads, lurched inside. She frowned slightly and began to practise the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots.

    The Divining Elder immediately sensed the interference intensify. The ray of sunlight began to twist, and the path he followed became obscured. A clash between practitioners of divination was more profound and mysterious than any other clash.

    The Divining Elder smiled, filled with confidence. He nullified Xiao An¡¯s interference bit by bit, advancing towards his target steadily.

    Li Qingshan had absolutely no idea that Xiao An right beside him was currently embroiled in a battle like that with the Divining Elder over five thousand kilometers away. He just comprehended the variation with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression silently until his mental state attained absolute peace.

    Something seemed to be brewing and growing restless within the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core that was shaped like a turtle shell, like the birth of the universe. Suddenly, the turtle shell shuddered, and a pair of eyes lit up, deep and sagacious.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. His pupils shone with deep, blue light. In that instant, he seemed to feel what regular people described as ¡°something clicking into place¡±. Many questions and problems that he had racked his brain over suddenly seemed to become clear. Even the entire world became clear.

    After breaking through to the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, the profound inscriptions on the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core became clearer. He began to radiate with an invisible power that spanned deeply into the vast river of fate, kicking up a ripple.

    The Divining Elder snapped open his eyes in surprise. Just when the answer was about to be presented before him, the ray of sunlight vanished completely, like it had been obscured by a dark cloud. He was unable to find its source anymore.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally roused.¡± Xiao An let out a long sigh of relief.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head. Although he did not exactly know how to use the spirit turtle¡¯s ability of divination, hiding and obscuring had always been the spirit turtle¡¯s instincts. It did not just hide him as a person from divination, but his entire fate; in particular, it hid the fate of those closely attached to him.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t sense it? Someone tried to use divination to find us, or should I say, it.¡± Xiao An looked at the sumeru ring in her hand.

    With that, Li Qingshan seemed to recall something. He frowned. ¡°It felt like¡­ someone was spying on me earlier, which made me very uncomfortable, so I just hid¡­ Why would I think of something like this?¡±

    Xiao An brought her palms together and smiled. ¡°According to the buddhist scriptures, twenty moments pass within a flick of a finger, and twenty thoughts occur during a single moment. This is just one of your thoughts. You obviously won¡¯t sense it normally.¡±

    Li Qingshan bent his finger and flicked it. He smiled. ¡°So that¡¯s four hundred thoughts. That should be the so-called unconscious mind, right?¡±

    Many thoughts would flash past at lightning speed, such that even the person themself would not know they had thought of something like that. After reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, not only had Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi increase drastically, but he had become more meticulous and intricate with his thoughts too, reaching an unprecedented state.

    Li Qingshan paced around. He even understood the protection that the black ox¡¯s soul sense offered now. He was very touched. Brother ox must have calculated his cultivation progression accurately. After reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, even if he could not foresee everything, at least he would not be killed through something like this. That had basically eliminated one of his worries.

    He smiled. As for how he would take his next step, he already had an idea.

    The Sword Collection palace definitely had a way to locate the Soaring Dragon sword, which was why Fu Qingjin had asked him a question like that. If he wanted to remove any items from the sumeru ring or make the Soaring Dragon sword his, he had to find a suitable location that could both allow him to avoid the Sword Collection palace¡¯s search and weaken the Soaring Dragon sword.

    A place like that was not actually difficult to find. It was right below Li Qingshan¡¯s feet. If he continued to venture downward, to even greater depths, he could use the interference from the underground magnetic field.

    ¡°Xiao An, what do you think?¡± Li Qingshan told Xiao An his thoughts.

    ¡°Smart.¡± Xiao An praised sincerely.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud before sighing again. His fate had been led underground once more. However, he was in no hurry to set off. There was no need for Northmoon to appear so soon.

    Talking with Xiao An a little more and checking on her results, Li Qingshan calmed down. He then took out the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility to refine. It would be a combination made in heaven if he used it with the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility.

    In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed. Autumn went and winter came. The mountains became covered in snow.

    The Crystal Resin cauldron opened once more. Ru Xin stretched her neck and stood up, taking out the refined pills from the cauldron and storing them into bottles. She took a glance and found that still a lot of the spiritual herbs from Li Qingshan remained.

    I wonder how he¡¯s doing, getting me to do all the hard work! Let me go get some air!

    Just as she thought that, someone touched the formation. Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from outside, ¡°Ru Xin, open up.¡±

    Ru Xin opened the formation and the entrance to the dwelling, erupting on a rant right off the bat. ¡°Don¡¯t yell out like that in the future! If I were refining pills, what would happen if I become distracted? Is it going to be on me or on you?¡±

    ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t refining pills. How¡¯s the refining going?¡± Li Qingshan entered without any invitation.

    ¡°How did you know?¡±

 Chapter 430 â€“ Fu Qingjinâ€™s Questioning, Strongboulder Comes Knocking

    ¡°Where is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan extended a hand. A wisp of cloud formed a bridge, extending into the distance through the mountains.

    Ru Xin followed the winding cloud bridge, making her way around the mountain in front of her. She travelled quite a short distance and arrived in front of Li Qingshan¡¯s dwelling. Looking at the three words, Qing Xiao¡¯s Home, she sank into her thoughts and fiddled around with her hair. ¡°So close? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re planning to do something to me!¡±

    ¡°You overestimate yourself. I¡¯m just protecting my pills, as well as the alchemist¡­ In other words, you were cultivating in your dwelling that day?¡± Fu Qingjin crossed his legs and fingers as he stared at the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect right before him with a slight smile.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect seemed rather uneasy. ¡°Fellow Fu, What¡¯re you asking this for? Of course I was cultivating in the sect.¡±

    Fu Qingjin took out a curved, slender horn from behind, which flashed. ¡°Have you heard of the xiezhi before?¡±

    TL: A xiezhi is a mythical Chinese beast that can tell the innocent from the guilty, which you can read about here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiezhi

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s a divine beast that can see through deception. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is a xiezhi¡¯s horn. I hope you tell me the truth, as it¡¯s very important.¡± Fu Qingjin fiddled with the Green Ruins sword absentmindedly.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect¡¯s face twisted. This was his secret. He definitely could not let anyone know. However, he glanced at the Green Ruins sword before glancing at the xiezhi¡¯s horn and became conflicted. In the end, he said, ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll tell you. That day, I ventured underground¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, I understand.¡± Fu Qingjin turned around as he stood up. He had already achieved some initial results with his investigation of all the Foundation Establishment cultivators within the Clear River prefecture. Some had been questioned personally, while others had clear evidence that they were not present. However, there were also a few Foundation Establishment cultivators who refused to cooperate, and they all belonged to the academy. In the end, there were a total of seven suspects, with the prime suspect being Li Qingshan.

    As if he had just been spared, the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect let out a long sigh of relief. As it seemed, Fu Qingjin was not investigating that matter.

    ¡°You were engaging in trade with the night roamers, weren¡¯t you?¡± That one sentence from Fu Qingjin made the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect¡¯s heart lurch violently. ¡°Liaison, you must listen to me¡­¡±

    With that, Fu Qingjin turned into a streak of green light and flew off, leaving the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect standing there in daze.

    Leaving the Vermillion Clothes sect, Fu Qingjin arrived in the sky. He did not go off to find the suspects one by one for questioning. Instead, he found his bearings and took off in the direction of the Boundless mountains.

    Those directly connected to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death were the Dark Queen¡¯s cat daemon and Gu Yanying. Neither of them were existences the Sword Collection palace could investigate. However, there must have been other witnesses deep within the Boundless mountains.

    These witnesses definitely would have been daemons. Constrained by the treaty, it had been very difficult for the Sword Collection palace to do anything. Coupled with the Divining Elder¡¯s warning, the entire matter came to a grinding halt. But now, the treaty had been lifted within the Clear River prefecture, and the Diving Elder had confirmed that the power not of this world no longer interfered. They could finally undertake a large, formal investigation.

    They would definitely be able to get to the bottom of the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death by approaching the matter from two directions.

    Arriving near the edge of the Boundless mountains, he discovered that the huge crater left behind from the destruction of the Green Vine mountain had already turned into a city. It was enveloped by various formations with many human cultivators moving around in there. It was even busier than the Town of Flowing Clouds of the past.

    Ever since the treaty had been lifted, many human cultivators chose to enter the Boundless mountains and not anywhere else. They would still be able to kill daemons, and clearly, being above ground brought people relatively more relief. There were many more spiritual herbs in the Boundless mountains that bathed in sunlight too.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s gaze then shifted to the east. Milliped had blown up his daemon core there, leaving behind a pit. It seemed desolate on the surface, but Fu Qingjin knew that a city of night roamers was prospering below the thick rock and soil. It was rumored that these night roamers did not attack humans, remaining neutral instead.

    And, according to the information Fu Qingjin had received, the governors of the city were two night roamer sisters. The people that the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect traded with should have been them too. This was not a coincidence. Compared to facing life-threatening risk to kill and plunder, obtaining the scarce resources from underground through trade was much more favourable.

    The prosperity of the city in the Green Vine mountain¡¯s crater was very closely linked to the stance they had taken. Who knew how many resources had been exchanged through these two cities.

    Centred around Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°throne¡±, the web-like tunnels were flattened and smoothed out under the efforts of the night roamer craftsmen, just like long, underground corridors.

    The slender tip of a finger brushed past the smooth walls. Ye Liubo walked through there with a deep sense of pride. This was the fruit of her efforts over the past three years.

    Ye Liubo followed alongside her, fiddling around with a formation banner. ¡°Sister, I didn¡¯t think the human would even be willing to sell a formation like that to us. He even seemed to be a member of some Daemon Suppression alliance. Aren¡¯t they the enemy of our underground world?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re daemons, so what¡¯s wrong with that? Black Gold ore is very useful for forging artifacts. The Daemon Suppression alliance is incapable of excavating and mining underground, so of course they¡¯ll have to rely on us.¡±

    As they conversed, the two of them arrived in a cavern. This was a newly-established village of night roamers. Every single night roamer bowed deeply towards Ye Liusu when they saw her. This was not just out of a fear for power, but also out of respect for Ye Liusu.

    Beyond Li Qingshan¡¯s territory, the internal strife between the night roamers had never stopped. Instead, it intensified, extending all the way to the surface and upholding the Spider Queen¡¯s wishes. As they assassinated human cultivators, they also became each other¡¯s prey.

    However, under Ye Liusu¡¯s rule, this place completely upheld Li Qingshan¡¯s will. All internal conflict had stopped, making it a unique region of peace.

    Many night roamers who had grown tired of fighting or lacked the ability to fight gathered here, becoming sir Northmoon¡¯s servants willingly, which was equivalent to leaving the control of the other clans. During the time Li Qingshan spent in secluded cultivation, his servants under him had already reached five figures.

    Ye Liusu smiled. She had proven that night roamers did not have to kill one another in order to survive, that they too could live their lives in peace and happiness.

    ¡°Liubo, set up the formation!¡±

    Ye Liubo deployed the formation, and a spherical barrier enveloped the cavern.

    Ye Liusu nodded in satisfaction. Now, even if they were under attack from ignorant human cultivators, they would still have enough time for reinforcements to arrive.

    ¡°Just when is master going to emerge from seclusion?¡± Ye Liubo kicked a pebble.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret. He¡¯ll rouse sooner or later.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes flashed. When he roused, she wanted to personally thank him and tell him, ¡°You¡¯re right. I am special.¡±

    The pebble flew into the darkness, but it did not produce any sounds after that.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Be careful, Liubo!¡±

    The pebble shot back with ten times the speed, but it shattered against the barrier of the formation.

 Chapter 431 â€“ Startling the Two Daemons with the Strengthened Abilities

    ¡°Everyone, back away!¡± Ye Liusu spread out her arms like she was protecting her people as she ordered loudly, but it was already too late. The formation was unable to stop the Rock of Slaughter¡¯s wondrous power. The eyes of half the night roamers in the village became scarlet red as they lunged at their own clansmen.

    Ye Liubo waved her hand, and the bright yellow piece of embroidery Li Qingshan had bestowed to her wrapped up the night roamers, sending them far away from Strongboulder.

    ¡°Sir Strongboulder, please contain your power. This is sir Northmoon¡¯s territory.¡± Ye Liusu clasped her hands. Strongboulder gave her a greater headache than what any human cultivator could.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have ears? I¡¯ve come exactly for him!¡± Strongboulder swaggered forward, stopped by the formation.

    ¡°Sir Northmoon is currently in seclusion. He may not be able to see you.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s bold enough to even defy the Spider Queen¡¯s orders?¡± A man with a rosy face and delicate features in a cloak strolled over from behind Strongboulder. He seemed to move at a leisurely pace, but it only took him a blink of an eye to be right in their faces. As he spoke, he revealed his sharp canines.

    ¡°Sir Bloodshadow.¡± Ye Liusu could sense that the situation was bad. She tried to stand her ground. ¡°If it¡¯s just for the Spider Queen¡¯s orders, why would the two sirs have to come here together and in person?¡±

    ¡°Ye Liusu, your actions have always displeased the Spider Queen. Not only are you avoiding battle by remaining passive, but you¡¯ve even engaged in trade with humans. If it were not for the bit of merit that bastard Northmoon has earned, we would have come to destroy you a long time ago.¡± Bloodshadow¡¯s daemon qi filled the cavern. Just the pressure of the daemon qi made the formation tremble. Over the past three years, who knew how much fresh blood he had drunk. His strength had increased too.

    ¡°We haven¡¯t been avoiding battle by remaining passive. We¡¯re building up strength.¡± Ye Liusu justified herself powerlessly.

    ¡°Is this a toy you exchanged from the humans?¡± Strongboulder knocked the barrier. Suddenly, he flew into a rage and punched the barrier. The entire cavern trembled as stalactites fell down from above. The barrier immediately became riddled with cracks.

    But only in that instant did she realise her feebleness. Strongboulder and Bloodshadow¡¯s combined efforts could destroy everything she had built up over the past three years in a single instant, as easily as how they destroyed human cities.

    ¡°We don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re avoiding battle or building up strength. We only have one message to pass on. The Spider Queen¡¯s patience is limited!¡±

    Bloodshadow sneered while Strongboulder smiled viciously. It was time for them to pay back Northmoon for the humiliation he had caused them due to their defeat!

    The two daemons rushed over and alarmed all the night roamers. The personal guards under Ye Liusu¡¯s lead all rushed over together. They looked at one another, but they did not stop them.

    The two daemons arrived in the central cavern that Li Qingshan resided in. Because the night roamers had been afraid to disturb Li Qingshan, only here remained the same as three years ago.

    Within the sea of Blue Butterfly flowers, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone sat on the stone bed. Milliped curled up nearby and ingested spiritual qi. He had recovered a lot of his strength, becoming much larger than before. When he saw Strongboulder stride over, he lunged out, spitting out a pink gas.

    Strongboulder¡¯s figure suddenly pulled upwards, turning into a large stone giant and stepping down on Milliped before immediately turning back. He could transform at will. He went up and reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. ¡°Wake up!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo cried out. It crossed a great distance and reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears.

    Li Qingshan slowly opened his firmly-shut eyes. His ruby-like eyes glistened. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Bloodshadow said from one side, ¡°Where¡¯s your original body? The Spider Queen wants to see you. We want to see you too, to settle an old debt!¡±

    ¡°Lift your foot!¡± Li Qingshan saw Milliped struggling under Strongboulder¡¯s foot, and his gaze suddenly coldened.

    ¡°Are you angry? If you are, then hurry up and come. I¡¯ve already become far too impatient to fight you.¡±

    ¡°If you take too long, your servants are all going to die.¡± Bloodshadow waved his hand, and a night roamer guard began to twitch all over. Bright-red blood oozed rapidly out from every single pore of his, flying into Bloodshadow¡¯s hand. He extended his tongue and licked it.

    Rings of light, like ripples, radiated from Li Qingshan. All the night roamers the light reached felt tranquility blossom inside. The light moved through Strongboulder¡¯s arm and reached his body.

    Strongboulder suddenly sensed the battle and killing intent that raged within him eternally settle down, which took him by surprise. He took a step back and released Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure flickered in the centre of the ripples, sometimes blurry and sometimes clear. Yet, he also seemed like a reflection in the ripples. Only his daemon qi constantly rose up.

    The flower in the mirror, the moon in the water, were just reflections¡ªWatermirror¡¯s Image. The mirror could shatter, and the water could be disturbed, but the flower and moon would remain the same. Since his original body had changed, his reflection altered too.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s deepened comprehension of this innate ability, achieved after reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle and condensing the essence of the spirit turtle.

    His mirror clone would not vanish because it had run out of daemon qi anymore. As long as he used this innate ability again, his mirror image would recover its original form, like flattening out the water ripples and allowing the bright moon to be reflected again.

    The mirror clone right now seemed like he had just reused the Watermirror¡¯s Image. As his original body strengthened, the daemon qi of his mirror clone strengthened too. And, the original Watermirror Image only possessed thirty percent of his strength, which had become forty percent now.

    In that instant, the strength of Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone multiplied.

    ¡°And I had thought it would be something impressive. Looks like this is all there is to it.¡± Bloodshadown sneered.

    Even with his multiplied daemon qi, a huge difference still existed from these two powerful daemons who had grown stronger.

    Bloodshadow curled his hand at Li Qingshan, and Li Qingshan¡¯s blood immediately began to surge, as if it wanted to burst out of his body. He only uttered a single word, ¡°Suppress!¡±, and the blood immediately settled down.

    Bloodshadow¡¯s face twisted viciously, and his canines protruded. He extended his right hand and wrenched it back. He refused to believe that he could not even deal with a clone of Northmoon after three years of cultivation.

    Countless light-blue hexagons rose up from Li Qingshan, circling around him in a dazzling array and randomly reflecting everyone before finally coming to a stop. It formed a smooth barrier of light, which completely isolated Li Qingshan from Bloodshadow¡¯s ability to control blood.

    This was still the same innate ability he had grasped first, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. However, with his breakthrough to the fourth layer, especially after obtaining the full cultivation method from his sea of consciousness, his comprehension of it had reached a whole new level.

    Most of the spirit turtle¡¯s mystical abilities had to do with its turtle shell. By hiding within its shell, it created a whole world of its own, allowing the world to change and time to flow around it while completely unaffected. No matter how profound the heavenly secrets were or how wondrous the techniques were, was there anything that could bypass a spirit turtle¡¯s shell and affect the spirit turtle itself?

    In the instant the spirit turtle opened its eyes, Li Qingshan¡¯s severance from the surroundings had surpassed what Bloodshadow could overcome. As a matter of fact, it was no longer an issue of daemon qi quantity.

    Bloodshadow was taken aback. His ability was actually useless.

    ¡°So much for fancy tricks! Eat my fist!¡± Strongboulder recovered his battle intent and murderousness and threw a punch. He was certain the fragile barrier would shatter under his punch. With his fearsome physical prowess, there were no tricks that could be used in a frontal clash like that.

    The barrier of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was as smooth as a mirror. Strongboulder clearly saw himself on the other side of the attack, but he did not worry at all. It was clearly just a reflection. When that thought flashed through his head, his punch landed on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, colliding perfectly with the punch in the mirror.

    Strongboulder was dumbfounded, as he clearly sensed a legitimate force emerge from his reflection, blocking his punch perfectly. Although it was slightly weaker than him, it did nullify most of the force in his punch.

    Strongboulder and Bloodshadow were both shocked. The strength and ability they were most confident in were actually useless before Northmoon. Most importantly, standing before them right now was not Northmoon in the flesh, but just a clone.

    Just what had he attained through cultivation in the past three years?

    ¡°You can¡¯t even deal with my clone, and you want my original body to come? Alright then, just you wait. I will make you pay for what you¡¯ve just done.¡± Seeing how Bloodshadow and Strongboulder were about to lash out again, Li Qingshan dispersed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and just sat down on the ground.

    Actually, he had already come up with a rough idea of the move he had just used during his three years of secluded cultivation. However, he had only been able to unleash it now. These two innate abilities of the spirit turtle were linked together in the first place.

    In particular, the Watermirror¡¯s Image had many aspects worth considering. It definitely was not as simple as a mere clone technique. However, this move required tremendous mental effort, so he could not use it at will. This was why he refused to give them an opportunity to continue fighting after establishing his strength.

    Bloodshadow was surprised and unsettled inside. Suddenly, he no longer felt so confident about the cultivation he had developed over the past three years. He dared not dismiss the statement that Li Qingshan had spat out anymore either. He did not exactly regret killing the night roamer guard. He just felt slightly uneasy.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯d like to see just how powerful your original body is!¡± Strongboulder became even more riled up by that and was convinced he could not waste his strength on a clone. As a result, he just glared at the seated Li Qingshan.

    Just Li Qingshan¡¯s clone had managed to keep the two powerful Daemon Generals at bay. Various thoughts flickered through the eyes of all the night roamer princesses. This was the person they had sworn loyalty to. Their loyalty was not sincere, only considering the interests of their clans, but at a time like this, they could not help but succumb to the power he had demonstrated.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo cried out happily and lunged over, throwing herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms and unleashing a series of kisses.

    Ye Liusu let out a sigh of relief. Aside from her relief, she felt slightly at ease too. From what Bloodshadow had just said, she already understood that everything she had created over these three years had already reached the moment of life or death. The Spider Queen only needed to pass a single order, and everything would go up in flames.

    Although I won¡¯t run away from my responsibilities, this is already beyond what I can bear.

 Chapter 432 â€“ Even Deeper Underground

    Strongboulder and Bloodshadow raised their heads. Tremendous daemon qi was rapidly drawing closer. They both smiled. However, his daemon qi had actually grown so much over the three years.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s face lit up. ¡°He¡¯s here.¡±

    The wings of wind were not in the shape of wings right now. Instead, they seemed like two spraying whirlwinds, pushing Li Qingshan ahead swiftly. The cavern rapidly rose and fell.

    If he flew at such high speeds underground in the past, he probably would have lost control already and ran into a wall head-first, but now, his mental processes were intricate and meticulous, and his control over daemon qi was almost miraculous. He moved faster and faster instead.

    In the blink of an eye, the space ahead of him opened up. Ye Liusu, the night roamers, and the two Daemon Generals, Strongboulder and Bloodshadow, all appeared before him. Their expressions varied.

    Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes. He did not slow down at all, running right into them like a swooping bird of prey.

    Strongboulder suddenly rose up and threw a punch. It expanded to the size of a pillar and pierced the air like a clap of thunder.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and clenched his fist. Bloodshadow arrived beside him in a flash and struck out viciously with his claws.

    The simultaneous attacks from the two powerful Daemon Generals did not fluster Li Qingshan at all. He shifted his gaze and looked at Bloodshadow.

    Met with the clear, still eyes, Bloodshadow felt like he had been seen through. Before he could even react, he felt his wrist tighten.

    As if Li Qingshan had been anticipating this, he casually grabbed Bloodshadow by the wrist and pulled him forward.

    Strongboulder¡¯s colossal punch landed on Bloodshadow with full force, and blood erupted from his mouth. He seemed like he had delivered himself to Li Qingshan to serve as a meat shield.

    With a flap of his wings, Li Qingshan did not slow down at all. He brushed past Strongboulder¡¯s huge arm, gripping Strongboulder¡¯s head and flying off.

    All of this happened in a single instant. Even Ye Liusu felt rather dazzled. In the blink of an eye, he had easily taken away the two powerful enemies that had forced her into a corner.

    A great rumble rang out from underground in the distance.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone that remained in the cavern spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll venture underground to see the Spider Queen right now. Ye Liusu, tell me about the situation over the past three years.¡±

    With Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo in the lead and the other night roamers behind them, they all said, ¡°Greetings, sir!¡±

    Ye Liusu began to tell him about everything that had occurred during the three years, as well as the trade with the humans.

    Li Qingshan listened quietly. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re pretty capable, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all because of the inspiration master¡¯s given me,¡± Ye Liusu said. It was exactly because Li Qingshan had begun the trade between human and underground resources that she did this.

    ¡°Have the clans been offering up spiritual herbs on time?¡± Li Qingshan was not particularly fazed by Ye Liusu¡¯s actions. Who didn¡¯t want to live a better life? Apart from spiritual herbs, he was unable to directly convert other resources into his cultivation right now. If he sold them above ground, it would easily attract suspicion, which was not worth what the resources could be exchanged for.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan did not choose to pursue the matter, Ye Liusu let out a sigh of relief inside. She immediately offered up a hundred treasures pouch. Li Qingshan opened it and took a look. His eyes lit up, and he smiled. Ru Xin¡¯s got plenty to do now.

    Deeper underground, Strongboulder was trapped in Li Qingshan¡¯s grip as he threw a punch at Bloodshadow furiously.

    ¡°Piss off! This is my battle!¡±

    With a plop, Bloodshadow was forcefully smashed to pieces, turning into droplets of blood. It twisted in the air and turned into a whip of blood, lashing at Strongboulder viciously. Fragments of rock scattered as a deep, white mark was left behind.

    It made Strongboulder even more furious. He turned around and charged towards this rival of his. Li Qingshan simply let go of them, continuing to fly towards Cobweb city. Bloodshadow and Strongboulder exchanged glances before lunging at Li Qingshan together.

    The three daemons basically constantly ventured deeper in their entanglement. The collisions of the three powerful groups of daemon qi shook up the underground world.

    Spider Queen Lolth emerged from Cobweb city and arrived on the high terrace, gazing out with the frown.

    Li Qingshan shook his arms, and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell suddenly expanded, pushing aside Bloodshadow and Strongboulder. With a flap of his wings, he landed on the high terrace, arriving before the Spider Queen. ¡°Ma¡¯am, I¡¯ve returned.¡±

    Strongboulder and Bloodshadow arrived right behind him. Before the Spider Queen, they were afraid to act up.

    Spider Queen Lolth studied Li Qingshan first. ¡°Your daeon qi really has grown by quite a lot. If I hadn¡¯t sent Strongboulder and Bloodshadow, did you plan on remaining in seclusion?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

    The Spider Queen said coldly, ¡°Do you know what the night roamers under your command have done in the past few years?¡±

    Bloodshadow said, ¡°That¡¯s colluding with the enemy. Ma¡¯am, please punish these night roamers and relinquish the authority to rule over the night roamers from Li Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°I just learnt about it. It¡¯s just a few transactions. Can you even call that colluding with the enemy?¡± Li Qingshan understood the Spider Queen¡¯s cruelty and brutality very well. She basically detested peace like that. His past efforts were basically nothing to her. Once he displeased her, she would never show any mercy.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve already emerged, I await your upcoming performance.¡± The Spider Queen looked at Li Qingshan threateningly with her vicious gaze. She turned around and returned to the hall as soon as she said that. Her long dress dragged behind her. ¡°My patience is limited. Do not disappoint me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand, I understand,¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and said softly.

    ¡°As long as you understand.¡± In Bloodshadow and Strongboulder¡¯s eyes, he had obviously weakened in vigour before the Spider Queen¡¯s pressure. From the clash earlier, they had also discovered that Li Qingshan had not become absurdly powerful. His daemon qi was still below theirs. If they actually began fighting, the outcome would not be predetermined. It was clearly just an offhand remark when he said he would make them pay.

    However, they failed to notice the flickering light in Li Qingshan¡¯s clear eyes between his drooping hair. It was not particularly sharp or murderous, just peaceful and confident. He did not need any of these people on the path he would take. All he needed to do was follow his heart and do whatever he wanted.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone said, ¡°Liubo, summon all the matriarchs and have them gather here.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    ¡°Everyone else is dismissed. Liusu, you stay here.¡± Li Qingshan patted Milliped¡¯s head. ¡°You aren¡¯t injured, are you?¡±

    Milliped swayed around to indicate that he was fine. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine.¡± He thought inside, Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll help you recover your strength very soon. I just need to obtain a daemon core that suits you.

    Ye Liusu asked, ¡°May I ask if master has any orders?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just us, so there¡¯s no need to be so polite. Come sit down.¡± Li Qingshan patted the stone platform beside him. Ye Liusu wavered slightly before sitting down gently. She asked apologetically, ¡°Did the Spider Queen reprimand you because of me?¡±

    ¡°How did you know? Whatever, you¡¯re not the one responsible for it. You¡¯ve already done very well.¡± Li Qingshan stared ahead. The conflict of their ideologies definitely did not appear with the night roamers alone. He was not afraid of challenges, even liking battle, but he did not become blinded in the endless slaughter like the tiger demon, losing his target.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s heart softened. She stared at the handsome, flawless face silently. In that moment, she felt exactly what Ye Liubo constantly said, He¡¯s utterly enchanting!

    ¡°Liusu, the Spider Queen¡¯s already given me orders. The times of peace are going to end. We must enter the battle.¡±

    Although Ye Liusu had been expecting this, she still could not help but let out a gentle sigh. Once they lost their neutrality, the trade could not continue, and who knew how many night roamers would lose their lives in all this.

    Li Qingshan changed the topic. ¡°Oh right, how¡¯s the propagation of your ideology been going?¡±

    ¡°There are many people who agree with me, but they¡¯re all regular night roamers. They lack the ability to protect themselves. As for the strong ones, they all snort in contempt. They all think I¡¯m out of my mind.¡± Ye Liusu returned to her senses and felt rather helpless. When she remembered how they would be sucked into the war soon, she became even gloomier.

    ¡°Habits developed over all these years won¡¯t change so easily.¡± Li Qingshan patted her shoulder to comfort her. Afterwards, he said, ¡°The humans have a saying, where the new cannot come without destroying the old. Perhaps this might be an opportunity.¡±

    ¡°An opportunity?¡±

    ¡°An opportunity to remove the differences between the clans and unite all the night roamers.¡±

    Growing up underground, Ye Liusu¡¯s character was different, but she was still influenced by those around her. She was not unfamiliar with these tactics. Her own mother, Ye Mingzhu, had discussed this aspect with her countless times.

    ¡°Even when the weak shout themselves hoarse, no one cares. However, even the whisperings of the strong can leave behind a firm impression.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°I understand now.¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s gaze became determined.

    ¡°As long as you understand.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. No one liked to serve someone else, or act like a fool to amuse others. Li Qingshan hated it. Of course, with his current strength, it was insufficient for him to confront the Spider Queen. However, he could not let her order him around.

    There would be a day when the Spider Queen would discover that all her loyal subordinates were dead, with only a group of treacherous night roamers remaining. When that day arrived, she would have to personally partake if she wanted to continue playing that perverse game of hers.

    Were Daemon Commanders unkillable? Li Qingshan refused to believe that.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan¡¯s original body ventured even deeper underground. The air grew colder, such that the dripping water turned to ice. He personally witnessed an underground river freeze up.

    However, after venturing past a certain depth, the temperature began to rise again, soaring with no sign of stopping and becoming scorching, enough to melt metal. The underground rivers gradually lessened, and fire-red rivers of magma gradually increased, flowing freely.

    Within his senses, the auras of living creatures lessened, almost being reduced to none. It had truly become a world of deathly silence.

    Li Qingshan stopped and took in a few rapid breaths. He felt a similar discomfort to altitude sickness. He was forced to maintain the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell as he ventured forward. Even cultivators would call this place a forbidden zone.

    However, he smiled instead, as he could clearly sense the interference from the underground magnetic field gradually growing stronger. He could not even use the simplest techniques he knew. He could only barely use his innate abilities as a daemon, but even they were beginning to be affected.

    Li Qingshan took out the sumeru ring. Gritting his teeth, he continued forwards, venturing a little deeper just to be certain.

    In the Boundless mountains within Black Rat mountain, a large rat scurried into a cave and reported, ¡°Great king, great king! There¡¯s a human outside.¡±

 Chapter 433 â€“ The Phoenixâ€™s Embryo

    If he could toss aside everything, with just a single friend beside him to travel through the mountains, wouldn¡¯t that be better than all the conflict in the secular world? Everything would be reduced to ruins anyway, so he might as well have nothing in the first place.

    Suddenly, he felt daemon qi draw close. A rat emerged from a snowy den and spotted Fu Qingjin, but it did not attack him. Instead, it yelled out as loudly as it could, ¡°The great rat king has arrived! Oof!¡±

    Subsequently, sixteen rats standing on two feet burst out of the snow with a throne-like carriage on their shoulders, trampling over the messenger rat.

    A fatty with a thievish, shrewd appearance and a crown on his head sat on the throne. He pointed at Fu Qingjin and yelled, ¡°You human, who are you? Where are you from? Where are you headed? You better cough up the truth.¡±

    Even with Fu Qingjin¡¯s vast knowledge and experience, he was still taken aback by this sight. He laughed. ¡°I¡¯m Fu Qingjin. I¡¯ve come to ask the great king about something.¡±

    ¡°Please tell me the truth, great king. I may be able to spare your life then.¡±

    When he said the second sentence, a while had already passed. In the Green Ruins Illusion, his crown fell to the ground, and the great rat king knelt on the step below. He pleaded for mercy, ¡°Please spare me, great immortal. I¡¯ll definitely tell you everything I know.¡±

    Fu Qingjin stood on the step with the xiezhi¡¯s horn in his hand. ¡°A few years ago, did a cat daemon pass through your territory?¡±

    The great rat king¡¯s eyes swiveled around. ¡°I- I think there was, but I also don¡¯t think there was.¡±

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn was unable to distinguish the truth behind something so vague. Fu Qingjin then drew the Green Ruins sword.

    After being taught a lesson, the great rat king told him everything that had happened that day. He no longer dared to hide anything.

    Fu Qingjin continued to ask, ¡°Did the daemon really possess a pair of horns, scarlet hair, scarlet pupils, the hooves of an ox, and the tail of a tiger?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡±

    Fu Qingjin glanced at the xiezhi¡¯s horn, which had not reacted. He let out a long sigh. ¡°I see now. Northmoon, so you¡¯ve always been involved.¡±

    ¡°Great king, great king!¡±

    A streak of green light descended from above, brushing past right before the great rat king. When he checked his hand again, the crown had already been cut into two. He cried out and fled into the hole. The sixteen carriage-bearing rats followed closely behind. The carriage was simply abandoned there.

    A while later, the messenger rat pushed the carriage off itself and scurried into the hole too.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face had been dyed red by the magma. He currently stood within a lake of magma, where the surroundings were completely fire-red. Tough rock no longer existed here. All of it seemed like balls of fire, slowly melting in the lake of magma.

    If he ventured any deeper, he would probably reach the mantle. Li Qingshan wiped away the sweat oozing out from his forehead. Let alone regular spiritual artifacts, even hundred treasures pouches that differed from regular spiritual artifacts could not be used here. Only the sumeru ring remained unaffected.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Suddenly, he felt like he was a hobbit that had arrived at Mount Doom with the One Ring from the movies. Before he knew it, the word ¡°movies¡± had already become an extremely foreign term. His past life gradually drifted away. However, everything that happened to him right was even more magnificent than the movies.

    Li Qingshan put on the sumeru ring slowly. Just when he was about to open it, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he removed the ring, hiding it away. He turned his head and listened and sensed closely.

    He sensed the aura of life in the distance. Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s actually something living here. However, this aura of life was not from higher up, but from somewhere on the same level as him, or even deeper, deep within the mantle and slowly surging and breathing with the mantle. It was in an extremely serene state.

    Li Qingshan was alarmed. Even he could not last very long if he ventured any deeper unless he succeeded with cultivating the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. However, that did not mean he could swim about freely in the mantle.

    At that depth, the interference from the underground magnetic field would be even more severe, like destroying order and returning to chaos. He would not even be able to use innate abilities. Moreover, the mantle contained terrifying fire poisons and legendary earth bubbles that were completely unpredictable. The power of an exploding earth bubble was not something a Daemon General could endure.

    In short, something that could venture so deep into the mantle would definitely be a tough nut to crack. Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and slowly backed away.

    ¡°Why have you come here?¡±

    Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind him. Li Qingshan turned around quickly and saw Spider Queen Lolth with her bright-red dress that dragged along the ground standing nearby, casting a questioning gaze towards him.

    After confirming that the sumeru ring was hidden away, Li Qingshan bowed. ¡°I¡¯ve come here to cultivate.¡±

    ¡°To cultivate? Aren¡¯t you¡¯re not of the fire element, yet you¡¯ve come here to cultivate?¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s questioning voice became shrill. As a matter of fact, a strand of killing intent surged silently, wrapping around Li Qingshan like spider silk.

    A droplet of sweat dropped from Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead. He thought rapidly. Just how had he set off the Spider Queen? Was it just because of his unexplained appearance here? No, it definitely had something to do with the aura in the mantle. This was directly below the Spider Queen¡¯s territory. Since he could sense the existence of the aura, why couldn¡¯t the Spider Queen?

    This was probably a great secret of the Spider Queen. By accidentally running into her, he might have already attracted even more suspicion from her, which tempted her to silence him with death.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core let out a warning like a siren, telling Li Qingshan just how much danger he was in right now. The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, Foreboding Fate my ass. Couldn¡¯t you give me a warning sooner? However, he understood that this was the mantle and the magnetic field interfering with the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core.

    Elsewhere, Li Qingshan possessed some confidence even if he directly fell out with her, but here, he was in a state of absolute disadvantage.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I want to practise both water and fire, which is why I¡¯ve come here. I hope ma¡¯am Spider Queen doesn¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Spider Queen made her way over slowly and grabbed Li Qingshan by the wrist before reaching around his waist. ¡°You¡¯ve made me rather curious.¡± The elemental affinity of daemons were fixed at birth. Normally, they only possessed one element. Li Qingshan¡¯s explanation only made her even more doubtful.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s magnificent face was inches away, and her beautiful body was pressed against his. From Li Qingshan¡¯s perspective, he could even see the deep gully between her snow-white peaks.

    If he were standing under the shade of a tree by a lake, accompanied by a murmuring beauty, just how pleasant would that be? However, the reality was he was surrounded by black and red rock, standing before a lake of fire, and the vicious Spider Queen seemed to be cursing him.

    Li Qingshan was pushed to one side by her and right below was the churning magma. If he did not give her a satisfying answer, she would push him into the lake of magma mercilessly. He would be reduced to nothing.

    ¡°If the Spider Queen wishes to see it, I¡¯ll demonstrate it.¡± Li Qingshan broke away from the Spider Queen and leapt into the centre of the lake.

    ¡°Please satisfy my curiosity, Northmoon.¡± Spider Queen Lolth smiled with crossed arms.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°No problem.¡±

    However, he murmured inside, Phoenix, oh phoenix. Please don¡¯t disappoint me.

    Ever since he had obtained the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, Li Qingshan had never given up on comprehending it, but it would end in failure every single time. The main reason for this was the existence of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    Even though they both represented peace and tranquility, how could an absolute existence of water allow for a pure existence of fire?

    However, as Li Qingshan looked around, his heart skipped a beat. Perhaps he could actually practise the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a here.

    Sparks rose up and vanished from the lake of fire, like tiny, dancing fire fairies. This place did not allow for any existences of water. The power of the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had been almost completely suppressed. However, this instead presented an opportunity.

    His daemon qi swelled, kicking up waves of fire. Li Qingshan¡¯s body rapidly grew, transforming into his original form. He turned into a colossal creature that stood over a hundred feet tall, standing within the lake of magma like a black pillar that upheld the cavern.

    Although he would lose some of his agility and flexibility in his original form, this was a daemon¡¯s most powerful state.

    ¡°This would be the first time I¡¯ve seen your original form. You really are a descendant. That would be no wonder,¡± the Spider Queen said softly.

    Only offspring of daemons above Daemon General were called descendants. They differed from regular beasts the moment they were born. Instead, they possessed great power akin to exotic beasts. However, very few powerful daemons were willing to do that, as they would lose power. In particular, the mother of the offspring would even go through a long period of weakness.

    However, this did make the Spider Queen a little less suspicious. At least there was an explanation for his cultivation speed, or he definitely would have been receiving support from elsewhere. The Spider Queen nodded at Li Qingshan¡¯s ox horns and tiger tail too. If he were a blend between two species, a blend between two bloodlines, it would make sense that he could practise two elements.

    ¡°However, I do recall that you can control a second power aside from water, which is wind!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know if you keep watching, ma¡¯am Spider Queen,¡± Li Qingshan said and stopped paying attention to her. He allowed the magma to swallow him. The scalding pain engulfed him as the vicious fire poison invaded his body.

    He did not circulate his daemon qi to fend it off. Instead, he withdrew all of his daemon qi into the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core, drawing the fire element into his body. He began to practise the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a

    Immediately, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes seemed to light up like fire, blazing brightly. At the same time, a sense of nobility and purity rose up from his body. That was the phoenix¡¯s dignity, standing aloof from others.

    The Spider Queen furrowed her brows slightly and watched on silently. He really did seem to be able to control the fire element.

    Although Li Qingshan¡¯s body suffered from burning agony, both inside and out, the joy within him had drowned out all of the pain, as sure enough, practising the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a was much smoother here. The rampaging fire element gathered together under his control, turning into a blazing ball of fire that constantly revolved.

 Chapter 434 â€“ The Hour of War

    His scarlet eyes flickered like flames as his scarlet hair danced like fire.

    Half of Li Qingshan¡¯s body had been swallowed by the magma. Suddenly, he let out an earth-shattering roar and kicked up a great wave in the lake of magma. The various colours of magma, dark red, scarlet red, bright red, golden red, seemed to be blended together, hissing with white smoke that filled the entire cavern.

    Rolling flames surged over, colliding against the dim barrier in front of the Spider Queen before shattering. It made her face flicker. Who knew what she was thinking.

    Li Qingshan recovered his humanoid form and spread out his arms, laying back on the lake of magma and bobbing up and down. His burn marks rapidly recovered, and the vicious fire poison settled down. Something that imitated the phoenix¡¯s embryo had finally been condensed in his body.

    When he raised his hand, the fire gathered in his hand automatically, abiding to his will.

    Was this the first layer of the phoenix?

    Li Qingshan shook his head. No, something was still missing. This was just a temporary work around against the problem. As long as he was unable to merge fire and water, he would not be able to properly practise the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. However, this was already quite a large step forward. He had basically gained a grasp over the fundamentals.

    Just when he was about to prop himself up, a soul sense pierced the magma and his body, reaching his sea of consciousness. Li Qingshan ¡°saw¡± the turbulent magma and the violent explosions of the earth bubbles. Among all of that was a golden, glistening infant sleeping soundly.

    Don¡¯t tell me this is the Spider Queen¡¯s son?! A thought crossed Li Qingshan¡¯s head, and it was so absurd that it was funny. Even the Spider Queen herself could not reside safely in the depths of the mantle.

    The infant suddenly snapped open its eyes. In that instant, Li Qingshan felt like he had been seen through. Before he could even closely tell what was going on, a strand of spider silk flew over, wrapped around him, and directly dragged Li Qingshan out of the lake.

    ¡°What did you see?¡± asked the Spider Queen as her face pressed in.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t see any¡­ thing¡­ An infant. Who is he? Or should I ask, what is it?¡± Li Qingshan changed his mind halfway. If it were a blessing, then it was a blessing, but if it were a curse, it would be unavoidable. Instead of making the Spider Queen doubt him, he would be better off trying to get to the bottom of this.

    If they fell out, then he could toss out the phoenix¡¯s embryo he had just condensed and blast her into disarray, giving him the opportunity to slip away.

    Li Qingshan appeared a hundred steps away in a flash. ¡°I didn¡¯t see him. He was looking at me.¡±

    ¡°Then did he say anything to you?¡± A hint of nervousness appeared on the Spider Queen¡¯s face. She placed her hand on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and tightened her grip.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart shivered. Daemon Commanders really were something else. ¡°He only looked. He said nothing at all.¡±

    The Spider Queen¡¯s expression varied, sometimes vicious and sometimes peaceful. Li Qingshan was already prepared with the phoenix¡¯s embryo, poised for anything.

    In the end, the Spider Queen¡¯s murderousness faded away. From Li Qingshan¡¯s demonstration earlier, she could tell that Li Qingshan had indeed come for cultivation. He had intruded upon this place accidentally. As long as he had not been sent here under someone¡¯s command and was not scheming something, she was reluctant to kill this powerful daemon at a time like this.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention this to anyone. If even part of it leaks out, I¡¯ll¡­¡± The Spider Queen turned her head and kissed Li Qingshan¡¯s cheek gently. Her bright-red tongue brushed past Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    A strangely stimulating sensation filled his mind. However, Li Qingshan understood that this was not a display of love, but a threat. Or perhaps, it was all the same to her. Binding them like S&M, raping them, and then killing them was her natural body.

    ¡°I almost can¡¯t help myself. I¡¯ll go leak this piece of news right now.¡± Li Qingshan wrapped his arm around the Spider Queen¡¯s waist with a smile. He felt like he was playing with fire.

    The Spider Queen laughed aloud. Her laughter was sharp, like a trembling spider¡¯s web. Yet, it was strangely pleasant at the same time.

    Li Qingshan dismissed his suspicions. He was afraid to open the sumeru ring here now. As he left, Li Qingshan glanced back at the lake of magma again.

    However, just what was that?

    Deep within the mantle, the infant closed his eyes again. In that instant, it seemed to see the phoenix, but that was just an illusion. That undying bird had already flown away from this world.

    It¡¯s been another millenium. Ink dragon, I can feel it. Your age is coming to an end.

    Returning to the depth of Cobweb city, Li Qingshan took his leave with the Spider Queen. Although he never obtained an opportunity to open the sumeru ring, he had gained a grasp over the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, so at least it had not been a waste.

    However, as he ventured further away from the mantle, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core immediately unleashed its power completely again. He could not help but withdraw the power of the phoenix embryo, but even then, it still felt foreign. This was not something he could rush, so Li Qingshan set the matter aside, focusing his attention on his clone instead.

    A special meeting hall had already been erected in his territory. In the centre was a beautifully-sculpted long table. There were six seats to the left and right. The six matriarchs were all present, seated on both sides. The dangling light illuminated the varying expressions on their faces.

    There was a new face among them. This was a replacement that occurred very naturally within the clans of night roamers, and there would never be a need to ask about the fate of the previous matriarch.

    Li Qingshan arrived at one end of the table. Ye Liubo pulled out his chair for him, and he sat down slowly. The six matriarchs all stood up together. ¡°Greetings, sir Northmoon. Congratulations on emerging from seclusion.¡±

    Li Qingshan brushed them aside. The news of how he had dealt with the provocation from the two powerful Daemon Generals with his clone obviously could not hide from their ears. None of them wanted to disrespect this rising star among the Daemon race.

    ¡°Please be seated.¡± Li Qingshan yawned and leaned against one hand. ¡°Since I¡¯ve already emerged, it¡¯s time to move around a little, just in case the Spider Queen feels like I¡¯ve been neglecting my duties. What suggestions do you have?¡±

    ¡°Bring the map.¡± Ye Mingzhu clapped her hands, and a guard brought over a mental map. She unfurled it on the stone table. ¡°This is a map we¡¯ve obtained from the humans.¡± Afterwards, she pointed at a speck on the map. ¡°This is a human city. Sir, you can start there and gift it to the Spider Queen.¡±

    Bang! Li Qingshan slammed the table and stood up. ¡°Do you think the Spider Queen will be satisfied with a mere city of regular people?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ye Mingzhu stroked the map and several dozen specks of light lit up. ¡°This is the location of human sects we¡¯re aware of. However, they¡¯re all protected by formations, and they have mechanical turrets from the school of Mohism. All of them are difficult bones to chew. And, once they¡¯re under attack, they will receive reinforcements from other sects very quickly.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good news!¡± He casually pointed at a speck nearby. ¡°We¡¯ll go with here. I require you all to partake in this battle.¡±

    ¡°Sir, we still have to manage our clans¡­¡± ¡°That won¡¯t do.¡± ¡°We can send clansmen to assist sir.¡± Apart from Ye Mingzhu, the matriarchs immediately objected. Who was willing to leave their dens and venture above ground? They were not afraid of the power that human cultivators possessed. They were just afraid the elders of their clans would use this opportunity to usurp them.

 Chapter 435 â€“ Night Raiding with Phantom Roaming

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Very good. I¡¯ll give you two hours to gather your subordinates. Of course, I just need those who have undergone a heavenly tribulation¡­ Quickly. The sun¡¯s about to set.¡±

    The sky gradually darkened, but Clear River city was still bright lit. Above the Hawkwolf Guard, Wang Pushi stood with his arms behind his back, overlooking the shining city. As the prefectural city under the tight protection of cultivators, Clear River city was the only city that had not been attacked by daemons.

    A streak of green light shot over, making a turn and descending from above. Fu Qingjin landed on the roof gently with a person in his hand.

    ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°The person who caused our dispute three years ago. I¡¯m handing him to commander Wang now for punishment. This is a demonstration of my sincerity.¡± Fu Qingjin tossed the person before Fu Qingjin. The disciple of the Vermillion Clothes sect who had undertaken a massacre in the past cried out in fear. ¡°Senior Fu, sir Fu, I¡¯m a disciple of the Daemon Suppression alliance! I¡¯m a disciple of the Daemon Suppression alliance! You can¡¯t do this!¡±

    Wang Pushi stepped on his throat and asked, ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Cooperation,¡± Fu Qingjin said. ¡°In the past three years, daemons have been running amok, throwing countless people in danger. The death count is unfathomable. Yet, due to our dispute, we are unable to stand united, impeding each other instead. I think now¡¯s the time for us to settle this dispute, band together, and end this matter with the daemons for good.¡±

    ¡°End this matter? How are you going to end it?¡± Wang Pushi frowned. What a boast.

    ¡°We¡¯ll gather all the cultivators and launch a counterattack underground to slay daemons.¡± Fu Qingjin waved his hand in high spirits. He was filled with convincing confidence. Regardless of how dispirited and laid back he usually seemed, as long as he wanted to, he seemed to be born with the charm of a ruler.

    Wang Pushi sank into his thoughts. ¡°This isn¡¯t something I can decide alone. I need to discuss with the other school leaders.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know for now. Please pass on my message, commander Wang. In five days¡¯ time, I will be inviting all Foundation Establishment cultivators to join the Daemon Suppression alliance in the parlour. I will explain my thoughts to them.¡±

    Fu Qingjin clasped his hands and leapt off the roof, taking his leave.

    A net that Fu Qingjin had personally weaved, planned, and prepared wrapped around Li Qingshan, but Li Qingshan was still unaware. Even if he knew, it would be useless. This was not some scheme, but a legitimate strategy.

    Not only was Fu Qingjin doing this for the Soaring Dragon Elder, but he also wanted to gather strength and defeat the daemons in one fell swoop. This was the third reason.

    The moon rose up from between the branches, illuminating the tranquil, secluded valley. There was a winding string of structures in the valley, standing like a forest. The eaves and arches were primarily vermillion. They were so grand and extravagant that they could not be the handiwork of regular people.

    An invisible formation enveloped everything, blocking the entry of all intruders. Among the many buildings, the special structures were still the erect turrets. This was a crystallisation of the school of Mohism¡¯s engineering. Li Qingshan had experienced their power first hand in the past. If someone tried to attack the formation, they would have to endure their blasts first.

    It was easy to defend and difficult to attack. It had a very tight security. This was the Vermillion Clothes sect.

    Only when Li Qingshan saw it in person did he understand what Ye Mingzhu meant by a tough bone to chew. Although the formation before him was not on par with the Duality Formation of Disintegration, it still would not be that easy to breach if he did not possess a Soaring Dragon ship.

    Flickering figures stood silently within the forest on the slopes of the valley.

    Their leader was obviously Li Qingshan, who stroked his chin in thought.

    Behind him, there were many other powerful night roamers apart from his ten personal guards and the six matriarchs. In order to prevent any problems from arising when they were gone, the matriarchs had truly made abundant arrangements. The group they brought was so powerful that even Li Qingshan was stunned. Afterwards, he laughed to himself in thought, Conscripting them by force really was a good idea.

    ¡°Do you have any plans on breaching the Vermillion Clothes sect?¡± Li Qingshan asked through daemon qi. He could not come up with any other idea apart from launching a direct attack, as the formation was present. Unfortunately, the last thing night roamers were adept at were direct attacks. Encircling them and defeating the reinforcements they called would be a good idea, but it would depend on whether the others bit the bait or not.

    Ye Liusu instead said, ¡°I have a plan that can allow us to breach the Vermillion Clothes sect without sustaining any losses.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    ¡°In my opinion, the formation isn¡¯t exactly flawless. As long as we can unleash an ability as night roamers and use Phantom Roaming, we can pass through the formation and assassinate the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect. By then, these mechanical turrets and even the formation will be ours.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. If that really were possible, it would save a great deal of trouble. All he had to do was kill his way through the sects one by one. His losses would be minimised, while his gains would be maximised.

    A matriarch expressed her doubts, ¡°But only those who have undergone two heavenly tribulations can use Phantom Roaming.¡±

    Once night roamers underwent two heavenly tribulations, they could basically become phantoms. Not only could their bodies pass through all visible and invisible barriers, but their weapons could pierce the protective techniques or arcane artifacts of opponents. They could reach anywhere and breach anything. They would become the most terrifying assassins.

    Ye Mingzhu smiled. ¡°That is indeed impossible if we¡¯re alone, but with so many people here, we just need to work together and open up a phantom path. We¡¯ll still be able to send in a person or two.¡±

    Work together? The matriarchs all looked at one another. This was not a concept that existed in their heads. Apart from the Spider Queen, no one could order them to work together, but now, there was Li Qingshan. He smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    But who was going in?

    Alone and without any support, they would be lambs for the slaughter if the assassination attempt failed. They would be thrown into the most dire of circumstances. Just looking at the erect turrets gave them chills.

    Ye Liusu stood forward silently, while Ye Liubo followed behind her with a smile. ¡°Me too.¡±

    Under the lead of the six matriarchs, all the powerful night roamers poured their strength together, forming a clump of darkness that was hazy like smoke. Even at a time like this, their power was withdrawn, without the slightest sliver leaking out.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo were waiting for that moment of opportunity. The six matriarchs suddenly moved together, tossing the clump of darkness towards the Vermillion Clothes sect below. Sure enough, it passed through the formation silently, like it was paving a path of darkness.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo used Night Roaming at the same time, leaping into the path of darkness.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect paced around in his room alone, carefully considering everything that had happened recently.

    He recalled the resentful gaze of his disciple who had been taken away and used as a bargaining chip by Fu Qingjin. He could not help but sigh slightly. However, he did not feel like he did anything wrong. Preying on the weak had always been the law of this world. It would be your fortune that your sect was willing to protect you. Now that the sect refused to protect you, that would be your fate. There was nothing to resent.

    Compared to that, he found more pity in being unable to engage in the trade underground anymore. He began to ponder. From Fu Qingjin¡¯s recent movements, he could clearly tell he was making a move. Compared to engaging in trade with those strange otherfolk, cutting them down with his blade and plundering their belongings befitted the philosophy of the Vermillion Clothes sect more.

    The moonlight cast a shadow against the wall. The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect suddenly looked back, only to see Ye Liusu gripping a curved dagger and standing silently in the moonlight. ¡°W- why have you come here?¡±

    What answered him was a streak of resplendent, silver light.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect bellowed out. The blood-red blade on his waist moved like a dragon, dyeing the entire room blood-red in an unstoppable manner. Suddenly, a yellow satin wrapped around his head, and his vision darkened. He heard a strange screech, and his back began to ache. A dark dagger had stabbed into his back. The blood-red blade lashed out backwards, but Ye Liubo retreated gracefully.

    The dagger in Ye Liusu¡¯s hand followed a mysterious trajectory, sweeping towards his throat in an untraceable manner.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect was overcome by both surprise and anger. He shone with red light as he deflected the two daggers. He stood like a deity in vermillion clothes, grasping a long blade as he stared at Ye Liusu murderously.

    ¡°How did you enter here?¡±

    The formation was still operating, and there were no signs that it had been tampered with. Otherwise, he definitely would have sensed it. Everything that occurred tonight was strange. He had to seek help from the Daemon Suppression alliance immediately. Suddenly, he felt a wave of numbness spread out from his back¡ªthe dagger was poisoned, laced with terrifyingly potent poison.

    Over the past few millennia, the night roamers had directed all of their efforts into alchemy and apothecary, which still bore some results. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could not ignore their poison. In the blink of an eye, the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect turned green.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo revolved around the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect; it was as if they were performing a graceful dance. They turned into two black fairies, merging into the night silently. All that remained was a bright yellow satin drifting about, running through the moonlight.

    The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect¡¯s eyes narrowed. All he felt was death approaching him. The disciples of the Vermillion Clothes sect who heard the disturbance gathered over from all directions, but it brought him no comfort at all. It only made him feel even colder.

    Attack with the turrets? Send a distress signal to the Daemon Suppression alliance? His mind moved rapidly. The bright yellow satin suddenly expanded to ten times its size and loomed over him.

    ¡°Shatter!¡± The blood-red blade in the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect¡¯s hand expanded. With a single move, he unleashed bloody attacks in all directions, such that his blade aura swept about like a storm. The moment the disciples arrived outside, they saw the streaks of blood-red light tear the room and courtyard to pieces. A faster disciple had even been sucked into the blade aura, cut to pieces immediately. He was reduced to a pile of flesh, which alarmed the other disciples into backing away hurriedly.

    The bright red satin pulsed, pliable, tough, and undamaged. However, it was unable to fall down, hovering in the air like a yellow cloud and shrouding the moon.

    The daggers flashed, like the crescent moon, like a falling star. The light they gave off criss-crossed before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

    Time dripped away. All there was was a rumble of collapsing structures, and an uproar erupted in the valley.

    ¡°Prepare to go on the offence to assist them,¡± Li Qingshan ordered sternly. Although his chances of victory were extremely large, he still had to consider the worst outcome. They were his most important and most trusted subordinates among the night roamers. He could not allow anything to happen to them.

    Ye Mingzhu said, ¡°It¡¯s just the master of the Vermillion Clothes sect, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. They definitely won¡¯t disappoint you, sir Northmoon.¡±

 Chapter 436 â€“ Ambushing Fu Qingjin

    A slash had appeared across his neck as blood poured out from his chest, soaking his vermillion clothes. Yet, the colour of the blood was a dark green. The bright yellow satin hovered about, falling out of the air and covering his face filled with reluctancy. He collapsed on the ground loudly.

    Although a Foundation Establishment cultivator¡¯s life force still paled in comparison to a Daemon General¡¯s, wounds to the body no longer mattered so much as someone who had become one with nature. Otherwise, Ye Liubo¡¯s first strike would have ended his life. However, the poison attacked all aspects. Foundation Establishment cultivators were still incapable of achieving complete independence from their bodies.

    The Vermillion Clothes sect could be regarded as a battle-oriented sect, and their sect master¡¯s strength ranked towards the top in the Clear River prefecture. In a direct confrontation, even several Ye Liusus would struggle to finish him off in a short amount of time.

    However, the concept of assassination had always been about catching the opponent off-guard and killing them despite being weaker. The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect had lowered his guard due to the formation, so he suffered a fatal strike from Ye Liubo. Victory had already been decided the moment he was poisoned.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo emerged from Night Roaming and knelt on the ground, breathing heavily. Both of them were covered in several dozen brutal wounds. The master of the Vermillion Clothes sect¡¯s final strike had truly been startling. The blade he wielded was anything but ordinary.

    ¡°It¡¯s otherfolk! Kill them! They¡¯ve killed the sect master!¡± ¡°How did they get in here? Why didn¡¯t the formation give off any warning?¡±

    As the disciples of the sect cried out, Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo smiled at one another. They made their way over to the corpse of the sect master like no one else was present and began to search through it.

    A tenth layer disciple lunged over, swinging his blade. There was a flash from the curved dagger, and he was bisected. Despite being injured, they still were not people who could be threatened by these regular disciples, as they had undergone a heavenly tribulation.

    Seeing this, the disciples hesitated and staggered back before scattering off in all directions. Ye Liusu had already found the formation disc, deactivating the formation.

    Black figures flew into the Vermillion Clothes sect, tailing behind each disciple like their own shadows. A few cries rang out, but the valley fell silent very soon.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings, flew along a straight line, and landed on a turret, surveilling the entire valley. All the night roamers returned before him, offering up the hundred treasures pouches they had obtained. None of them dared to keep it for themselves. The hundred treasures pouches of Qi Practitioners was not worth this kind of risk.

    Li Qingshan did not hold back, accepting all the hundred treasures pouches. In the end, he received the sect master¡¯s hundred treasures pouch from Ye Liusu and smiled. ¡°The two of you hold the greatest merit in this attack. Once this is all over, I will reward you accordingly.¡± He also said to the other night roamers, ¡°I¡¯m just holding onto all the spoils for now. I will reward your clans according to your contributions once we return underground.¡±

    Ye Mingzhu said immediately, ¡°Wise be sir Northmoon. We will definitely work as one team and demonstrate our loyalty to you, sir.¡± The other matriarchs all cursed her inside for being a bootlicker, but they were afraid to fall behind, just in case they lost out in the very end when they split the spoils.

    ¡°As long as we work together, there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t overcome.¡± Ye Liusu was riled up. This was the first time she had felt so relaxed as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but she also understood she would never feel so relaxed if it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s command.

    The other night roamers did not necessarily agree with her, but they did accept everything Ye Liusu had done.

    As Ye Liusu advocated for her belief of unity, Ye Liubo snuck over and hugged Li Qingshan around the waist. She handed the blood-red blade from the sect master to him and bit his ear. She spoke with a sickly sweet voice, ¡°This¡¯ll be a gift from me, alright?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. Even you¡¯re mine. Are your injuries fine?¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the blood-red blade, and he could not help but praise, ¡°A good blade.¡±

    The blood-red blade was extremely sharp, having surpassed the boundary of regular spiritual artifacts already. This was the keepsake of the masters of the Vermillion Clothes sect, having been passed down through the generations. It had been refined countless times.

    It was not as flexible as regular arcane artifacts with fancy tricks or abilities, but it only seemed more practical and suited Li Qingshan better. Even when he faced Fu Qingjin¡¯s Green Ruins sword, he would not lose out by too much now.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a few small scratches. I¡¯ll be fine with a bit of rest. There won¡¯t be any scars. Though, the blade qi is a bit troublesome. All you say is that I¡¯m yours, so why don¡¯t you want me?¡± Ye Liubo sulked.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips. He pressed his hand against her back and purged the blade qi. He smiled. ¡°Stop flirting around.¡± He raised his hand and said, ¡°Mingzhu, bring the map. Where¡¯s the closest sect?¡±

    The moon hung high as stars covered the sky.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings and flew over the wilderness. Black figures followed behind him silently along the ground. Only a night breeze passed by wherever they were.

    Very soon, a chain of mountains appeared on the horizon. Li Qingshan furled his wings and shot off rapidly. That was his next target.

    The night roamers became more practised as they went. Towards the end, they could even send in four people through the formations instead of two, and regular sects only possessed a Foundation Establishment cultivator or two. They assassinated them with a crushing advantage, almost undefeatable. The Foundation Establishment cultivators did not even have a chance to send out a distress signal.

    They only failed once. The formation of the Rose Clouds sect was relatively special. It was mist that enveloped several dozen kilometers, which could not be breached with Phantom Roaming. As a result, they moved onto their next target.

    Just like that, Li Qingshan destroyed four sects consecutively with his group in a single night, killing three Foundation Establishment cultivators. They had a bountiful harvest.

    Ye Mingzhu unfurled the map. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s quite late now. The next target is here.¡±

    ¡°What sect is it?¡±

    ¡°The Bronze Cauldron sect. They¡¯re known for forging artifacts, so they should be easy to deal with.¡±

    Fu Qingjin sat on a nameless peak, absorbing the spiritual qi of the world. He had already cast out his net. All he had to do was wait for the right moment to reel it in, and he would be able to end this lengthy journey of his. He would be able to take her back to the Sword Collection palace.

    Through everything that happened during these three years, witnessing the various tragedies caused by daemons, she must have understood the importance of strength, no longer possessing such naive thoughts anymore. He was reluctant for her to go through such pain, but it was a crucial step to take.

    At this moment, the tablet of the Daemon Suppression alliance on his waist suddenly began to flash. Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°It¡¯s a distress signal from the Bronze Cauldron sect.¡±

    Green light rose up into the air, and Fu Qingjin arrived at Bronze Cauldron mountain on his sword. As he gazed down, even he could not help but be shocked despite his mental fortitude.

    The prosperous Bronze Cauldron sect had basically been reduced to ruins, like a huge beast had trampled through it. There was not a single complete structure in sight. All that remained was a large, bronze cauldron standing alone in the ruins.

    What had happened? Fu Qingjin arrived before the bronze cauldron. ¡°Sect master Chen, are you inside?¡±

    Sect master Chen¡¯s anxious voice rang out from inside, ¡°Be careful, fellow Fu!¡±

    An hour ago, Li Qingshan launched a surprise attack on the Bronze Cauldron sect with the night roamers. Phantom Roaming succeeded once again. However, as they waited for the formations to be taken down from the inside, the mechanical turrets continued firing away, blasting out with streaks of light and forcing back a few night roamer assassins into scattering and hiding.

    Li Qingshan rose up and transformed mid-air, landing back down loudly. Streaks of light shot over, and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell constantly assembled and disassembled, blocking the attacks.

    Boom!

    With a great boom, shockwaves swept out around the iron roof, ripping aparts all the structures within the turrets and sending them flying. As for the disciples of the sect who stood on the ground, they all exploded as pieces of flesh. Bronze Cauldron mountain trembled and became covered in cracks, closed to collapsing.

    All the night roamers were dumbstruck by this apocalyptic sight. He had reduced the Bronze Cauldron sect to ruins in the blink of an eye. If Li Qingshan massacred cities, he would be even more effective than Strongboulder and Bloodshadow.

    After the shockwave settled, the night roamers responsible for the assassination returned. They raised their heads and reported, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s been some issues.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed down. He had noticed the source of the issues a long time ago. Only a single bronze cauldron remained fine within the ruins, as if even his shockwaves could not destroy it so easily.

    ¡°He¡¯s hiding in there. There¡¯s nothing we can do.¡± Just when the night roamers began their assassination, the master of the Bronze Cauldron sect immediately summoned out a cauldron and hid in there.

    ¡°Can you use Phantom Roaming?¡¯ Li Qingshan patted the bronze cauldron, and it clanged loudly. The cauldron was actually an extremely rare arcane artifact, the sect treasure of Bronze Cauldron mountain. It was extremely tough and sturdy such that even the night roamers were helpless against it.

    Ye Mingzhu said, ¡°We should be able to, but entering the opponent¡¯s cauldron should put us in an extremely disadvantageous position.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll just wait for him to come out,¡± said Li Qingshan. An arcane artifact cauldron for forging artifacts was extremely rare. Since he had come across it, how could he just leave without it? He was tempted to carry the whole thing back. He refused to believe a mere cauldron could stop him.

    Ye Mingzhi said, ¡°About that¡­ The sun¡¯s rising soon. He¡¯s probably sent out a distress signal already.¡± Although the influence from sunlight had already become extremely miniscule to night roamers at their level, this influence would slowly build up and still cause quite a bit of trouble. In particular, if they wanted to open another phantom path, it would not be that easy anymore.

    ¡°Alright then. Retreat!¡± Li Qingshan immediately changed his mind, turning and leaving decisively. He exchanged glances with Ye Liusu.

    The group retreated to below the mountains, and Ye Liusu ordered everyone to lay in ambush there. They also took out all the mechanical cannons they had gathered along the way, carrying out Li Qingshan¡¯s original plan of drawing in the reinforcements and defeating them.

    The blood-red blade reflected Li Qingshan¡¯s face, ¡°Retreat? You¡¯re dreaming! I¡¯m still not satisfied yet! Since sneak attacks won¡¯t work, we¡¯ll just lay in ambush here. If that still doesn¡¯t work, we¡¯ll just forcefully break through and use our momentum to deal a heavy blow to Fu Qingjin of the Daemon Suppression alliance.¡±

    They waited until a streak of green light descended from above. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. He never thought he would catch a big fish right from the beginning.

    He had the blood-red blade in hand, many subordinates around him, and countless cannons prepared. If he grasped this opportunity, he might be able to kill Fu Qingjin then and there and end their conflict prematurely.

    Li Qingshan leapt out from the forest and waved his blade at Fu Qingjin, ¡°Fire!¡±

    Right now was the darkest moment, right before daybreak. In a single instant, countless streaks of light illuminated the night sky, weaving into a net.

    Fu Qingjin turned around dumbfoundedly. The streaks of light rushed over along a slightly curved trajectory.

 Chapter 437 â€“ Clashing

    Li Qingshan cast his gaze through the dust. Fu Qingjin had not managed to escape in time. The Green Ruins sword pointed at the sky, wielded right before him. On one side was his dancing green robes and black hair, while on the other, he had already turned into starry specks of light, scattering and condensing.

    In the final moment, he unleashed the Green Ruins Illusion. He was struck by the streaks of light, but he just dispersed into specks of light.

    ¡°Continue firing!¡± Li Qingshan waved his blade and roared. No matter how powerful the Green Ruins sword was, its power could not be endless. He seemed invincible, but that was only because he had not been forced into dire situations. He wanted to test the limit of the Green Ruins sword, so he did not let this heaven-sent opportunity slip by.

    Light fell light rain, spraying over the top of Bronze Cauldron mountain. The rumbling reached hundreds of kilometers away as the mountain was sliced away. Fu Qingjin constantly disassembled and reassembled, remaining just as composed as ever.

    This lasted for fifteen long minutes. Fu Qingjin frowned as the Green Ruins sword in his hand thrummed gently. He never expected he would actually fall into such an awkward predicament from a moment of carelessness. Northmoon, I¡¯ve underestimated you.

    He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of essence blood onto the Green Ruins sword. The sword shone brightly with green light, and he merged with it, turning into a green streak that shot into the air.

    ¡°Now!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Having been waiting for this the whole time, he suddenly unfurled his wings and swung out with the blood-red blade, emitting a streak of light that forcefully severed the green light.

    Fu Qingjin was not angered at all. Instead, he smiled. The Green Ruins sword produced ripples of green light, and the ruined palaces and walls unfurled in the air. Before he knew it, Li Qingshan had fallen into the Green Ruins Illusion once again.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo strode through the air, following behind him closely and ready to strike at any time. They swung their weapons at Fu Qingjin, but they missed. They directly passed through the green light, looking back in surprise. The Green Ruins Illusion was like a mirage in the sky, visible but beyond reach.

    Fu Qingjin said gloomily, ¡°Even if you have ten thousand people on your side, only you will face me in the end. Are you prepared, Northmoon?¡±

    Ye Liubo said loudly, ¡°Quick, open a phantom path.¡± Although she had not clashed with Fu Qingjin before, this liaison of the Sword Collection palace had made a name for himself even underground. He had clashed with Strongboulder and Bloodshadow several times, gaining the upper hand every single time. Although he never managed to kill the two daemons, he would force them to return underground every single time with some wounds.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Li Qingshan said indifferently as he stared at Fu Qingjin. The Green Ruins Illusion was different from formations. It was completely under Fu Qingjin¡¯s control. Even if she managed to force her way in, she would just be expelled again. ¡°From now onwards, Ye Liusu will be in charge. Kill and injure as many cultivators of the Daemon Suppression alliance as possible.¡±

    ¡°As you wish, master.¡± Ye Liusu shot towards the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had come to provide assistance, while the remaining night roamers followed behind her. Mid-air, they had already merged with the darkness, vanishing completely.

    The Foundation Establishment cultivators changed drastically in expression. Never had they seen so many night roamers that had all undergone a heavenly tribulation gathered together.

    ¡°Mountainous Sword Qi!¡± A middle-aged cultivator in the robes of a daoist priest drew the sword from his back, conjuring countless blurs of swords that revolved around him like a mountain of swords. If he wanted to face several night roamers, this would be enough to protect himself, as night roamers were not good with direct confrontations. However, what he faced right now were several dozen of the strongest assassins the night roamers had to offer.

    Cling! Clang! Clang! Cling! With a series of collisions, the night roamers flickered like ghosts, and the Mountainous Sword Qi was forced back.

    The middle-aged cultivator was shocked. He snatched out a handful of Thunderbolt bombs and scattered them, stopping the night roamers¡¯ attacks with a series of explosions. He rode away on his sword in a hurry.

    Ye Liubo sneered. She relinquished her sword and pulled out a bow, drawing it to full. A black arrow had already condensed between her fingers. Behind her, over a dozen night roamers did the same. Among the night roamers, archery was something they had to know.

    A rain of black arrows pierced the smoke from the explosions, leaving behind black trajectories silently.

    The middle-aged cultivator called to the other Foundation Establishment cultivators, ¡°Save me, fellows!¡±

    With the philosophy of ¡°a dead fellow¡¯s better than a dead me¡± in mind, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators took off without even looking back. They were not crazy enough to throw their lives at several dozen night roamers who had gone through heavenly tribulations yet.

    The middle-aged cultivator did his best to block a few arrows. The robes on him began to stir. It was actually an extremely rare protective supreme grade spiritual artifact, which helped him block seven or eight arrows. If he faced a single night roamer, he would have basically been undefeatable, but faced with an absolute disadvantage in numbers, the robes did not have time to recover its strength at all. It was pierced by the arrows in a single instant, riddling the middle-aged cultivator with holes. He fell out of the sky.

    His ¡°fellows¡± had not managed to escape so easily either. The six matriarchs all went up to block them. Speed was one of their advantages. They did not have a lot of opportunities where they could kill so many Foundation Establishment cultivators with such ease.

    ¡°Are you thinking you can unsettle me like this?¡± As Fu Qingjin spoke, he used the Green Ruins Illusion to recover the strength he had used up earlier.

    ¡°I never planned on unsettling you at all. How is it? You never imagined this, did you?¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands. He actually did not launch a preemptive attack. Instead, he began conversing with Fu Qingjin in interest.

    He had never been one to blabber. He utterly detested those who wanted to monologue and pose around when they possessed an absolute advantage, only for the tables to turn against them later.

    It was the exact opposite, as a matter of fact. After witnessing the speed that Fu Qingjin had unleashed earlier, he understood he had no so-called advantages at all. Now was clearly not the time for him to throw his life on the line for a great battle against Fu Qingjin. If Fu Qingjin wanted to leave, he would not be able to stop him.

    At their level of cultivation, one-against-one battles were often all like that. Victory and defeat was easy to determine; life and death was not.

    Moreover, winning this held no significance to Li Qingshan at all, which was why he purposefully put on a front to convince Fu Qingjin had a chance to kill him, just to keep him here. His helper was already on the way.

    When he saw Fu Qingjin, Li Qingshan understood this was a heaven-sent opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Daemon Suppression Alliance. His clone began to take vigorous action underground. The helper he was looking for was not Xiao An.

    In the underground cavern, Bloodshadow stared at Li Qingshan coldly. ¡°You¡¯re bold enough to intrude upon my territory?¡±

    ¡°Fu Qingjin is on Bronze Cauldron mountain, locking in combat with my original body. If you want revenge, then come!¡± Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. Only Bloodshadow could catch Fu Qingjin with his startling speed and end him for good.

    ¡°Is that the truth?¡± Bloodshadow¡¯s expression changed. He resented Li Qingshan no less than Fu Qingjin. Both of them had humiliated him before.

    ¡°Whether you believe it or not is up to you.¡± Li Qingshan turned around to leave and Bloodshadow appeared before him in a flash. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously off to find Strongboulder, Dragonsnail, oh right, and ma¡¯am Spider Queen. I want to report to her that a good opportunity for a counter attack is here.¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way around Bloodshadow and flew off. He did not know any battle tactics or strategies. He just suddenly discovered he had been dealt a good hand, and he wanted to win big.

    War was not a game that could be won through scheming alone. Playing his cards right was nowhere near as complicated and profound as novels had described it. Varying factors were everywhere. A single coincidence could change the direction of the entire war.

    And, what truly determined the victory was still the strength of the opposing sides. At the very least, the united night roamers right now were stronger than the half-hearted members of the Daemon Suppression alliance.

    It only took Fu Qingjin a single thought to think through all this. He had gained an inkling of Li Qingshan¡¯s objective too. However, he remained as calm as ever, smiling instead. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. However, even if the blood demon and rock demon are here, you still won¡¯t be able to kill me.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind if I try.¡± Li Qingshan sat down on the mossy steps. ¡°I hope your subordinates are as tough as you. All of your arrogance just comes from a single sword.¡±

    Deep underground, Strongboulder smiled viciously. ¡°You want me to assist you?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m advising you to use this opportunity to attack other sects. This is the perfect opportunity.¡± Li Qingshan left as soon as he came. Strongboulder was unable to match Fu Qingjin¡¯s speed, and the Rock of Slaughter¡¯s power probably would not be particularly effective either. However, he would be perfect for attacking other sects.

    Fu Qingjin was right. Absolute confidence in killing him had never existed in the first place. However, he could destroy the Daemon Suppression alliance at the very least.

    ¡°Does a wise king not rule without using others? Have you achieved everything just by depending on yourself alone?¡± Fu Qingjin said slowly. He arrived near the broken walls to Li Qingshan¡¯s right and sat down. He smiled. ¡°A group of Foundation Establishment cultivators aren¡¯t as important as you think they are. Compared to them, I care about you much more. In just a few years, you¡¯ve gone from being a daemon, no, a daemonic beast to what you are right now. That¡¯s truly astonishing.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and smiled. ¡°They, however, are very important to me.¡± Without the battles, without so many spoils, would he still be standing here right now?

    ¡°Is it just through the pills that the cat daemon gave you? No, that¡¯s nowhere near enough. You have other fortuitous encounters,¡± Fu Qingjin said to himself.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯m fortunate.¡± Li Qingshan gazed down carelessly. The Foundation Establishment cultivators were like a herd of elk surrounded by a pack of wolves, gradually giving away. Another died.

    ¡°Oh right, do you know who killed the Soaring Dragon Elder?¡± Fu Qingjin asked suddenly as he clutched the xiezhi¡¯s horn within his sleeve. He had remained here exactly to get to the bottom of this. This was what mattered to the Sword Collection palace. Everything he said before this was just in preparation for this. He was striking while Li Qingshan was unprepared.

    The enemy obviously would not tell the truth, but with the xiezhi¡¯s horn, he believed he could find the truth.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth, but he wavered. With a thought, he shut it again before just shutting his eyes. He could not afford to be careless when speaking to this person.

    Green light flashed through Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes. He smiled. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve already learnt what I want to know. Actually, you¡¯re not particularly good at hiding what you¡¯re thinking. That person¡¯s the source of all your power, right?¡±

 Chapter 438 â€“ The Fist and the Sword

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, you really like to blabber, don¡¯t you? Life and death isn¡¯t decided through words. Why don¡¯t you speak with your sword?¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and swung the blood-red blade wildly, striking every single speck of green light with precision. The specks of green light split into two. Just when they were about to scatter, the blade moved like a shadow and struck them at the same time. The green light then split in half again, and the flashes from the blade split up with it.

    The blade was swung violently and furiously, but Li Qingshan¡¯s pupils remained clear and unperturbed, shining slightly with blue light. Time seemed sluggish, passing extremely slowly. The movement and trajectory of every speck of green light became extremely clear.

    Clang! There was a clash of metal. The specks of green light condensed into the Green Ruins sword and collided with the blood-red blade, and Fu Qingjin flew backwards, slightly surprised. His face finally lost its sense of ease. ¡°A mental state of intricacy!¡±

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s great powers did not originate from the Green Ruins sword alone. He also had access to the tremendous heritage of the Sword Collection palace. He was a disciple chosen from thousands who had undergone elite training and education.

    If the Academy of the Hundred Schools and the smaller sects were akin to regular schools, then the Sword Collection palace would be a training class for geniuses. In regular schools, memorising the curriculum and being able to use the knowledge skillfully made a good student, while for the latter, completely understanding the curriculum under a teacher¡¯s guidance would only make them qualify as a genius. It was the same realm of cultivation, but their strengths were completely different. Even if he just wielded a regular spiritual artifact sword, regular Foundation Establishment cultivators would still struggle to defeat him.

    ¡°A mental state of intricacy? Is that what you call it?¡±

    After reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, Li Qingshan could sense the beginning and end of each thought in utter tranquility, which went through countless profound processes. If he combined it with the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core, he could sense fate with even greater precision. If he used it with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, he could reflect attacks right back at his opponents. He had used it with his blade swings earlier, forcing back Fu Qingjin. He had never been able to tell whether it was just talent or something else, but he finally learnt what it was today from Fu Qingjin.

    Li Qingshan swung down. A wave of blood-red blade aura turned violently, exploding with blood-red light and dyeing the Green Ruins Illusion completely red.

    ¡°Green Ruins Tribulation, Myriad Swords Bloom!¡± Fu Qingjin chanted and stabbed out. The green light collided violently with the blade aura, piercing the blade aura with a flash and moving straight towards Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead.

    Li Qingshan tilted his head to dodge and took a step forward. A Green Ruins sword suddenly shot up from where he had shifted his foot. He twisted his feet and leaned backwards, and a streak of light brushed past his face. Before his foot could even land on the ground, streaks of green light erupted from the earth. Each sword moved faster than the last.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s feet shifted gracefully, traversing through the streaks of light like a vicious tiger bounding through a jungle. He strode forward at a steady pace while his gaze remained locked on Fu Qingjin the entire time.

    The streaks of light grew even thicker, so he casually swung his blade and opened a path in the forest. He sneered loudly. ¡°My misfortune? Then I really am lucky.¡±

    Fu Qingjin smiled. ¡°It¡¯s only just begun.¡± Forming a sword seal with his hand, he pointed upwards. Green Ruins swords flew into the air one by one and hovered there. They turned around together, pointing towards Li Qingshan and turning into a wave of sword rain. They all thrummed loudly as they fell with a whistle.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. He moved rapidly, producing a wheel of blurs with the blood-red blade. The sound of colliding metal rang out constantly.

    However, the sword rain seemed to be endless. The countless Green Ruins swords arranged themselves into rings of sword formations around Li Qingshan, flying over from every angle and direction. Even when they were repelled, they would just turn around and fall back into formation.

    Fu Qingjin only smiled indifferently. Li Qingshan was gradually swallowed by the Green Ruins swords.

    A roar of the tiger demon pierced the clouds, and the sword formation halted. Li Qingshan unfurled his wings of wind and burst out, arriving above Fu Qingjin in a flash and swinging down.

    Before his blade had even reached him, Fu Qingjin turned into specks of green light and scattered, merging with every single Green Ruins sword. The countless Green Ruins swords gathered into a long dragon, flickering with green light as it rushed over.

    By imbuing the green light into the swords, Li Qingshan would struggle to harm him even with his blade in hand. Meanwhile, the Green Ruins Illusion replenished Fu Qingjin¡¯s power endlessly while completely severing Li Qingshan¡¯s connection to the spiritual qi of the world. His daemon qi would diminish with every bit he used.

    Fu Qingjin had been undefeatable right from the beginning, which was why he had conversed with Li Qingshan at such great ease, like a hunter staring at his prey in his trap. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan was mid-air, so he could not even use his innate ability of the Strength of the Earth. He truly felt trapped.

    In the face of imminent danger, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly became clear. He lowered the blade that he relied on to hold his ground against the Green Ruins sword, as if he had given up on the battle against Fu Qingjin. He threw a straightforward punch without any fancy tricks. It seemed to pause and swell larger with every inch it travelled. It seemed sluggish.

    Fu Qingjin laughed inside, Is this his final, crazy attempt to put up a desperate fight by throwing his own flesh at the Green Ruins swords?

    The moment the fist and the swords collided, something unexpected happened. The Green Ruins swords shattered one by one. The tips of the swords had not even come into contact with Li Qingshan¡¯s fist when they were destroyed by an invisible power. The moment they shattered, even the green light within them was put out speck by speck.

    Cracks rapidly expanded. Wherever they passed by, the ruins collapsed, shattering into green light. The rumbling reached fifty kilometers away, even louder than the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar. He seemed to strike a huge, invisible bell.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up. He had been holding back the power of his tremors that possessed the greatest destructive power exactly for this opportunity. With his mental state of intricacy, he layered the power of tremors such that he could even take down an entire mountain.

    Li Qingshan collapsed the sword dragon in a single breath, destroying the myriad swords in a single instant and forcing out the real Green Ruins sword. Li Qingshan sneered viciously and converted all of his daemon qi into the power of tremors, pouring all of it into the Green Ruins sword.

    The Green Ruins sword screeched and flew back into Fu Qingjin¡¯s hand. His shabby, faded robes had been reduced to tatters, and he was no longer graceful at all. His face had become sheet-white too, having been heavily injured. In the Green Ruins Illusion, he had originally turned his body into specks of light to avoid damage, but that instead allowed Li Qingshan to unleash the full potential of his destructive powers.

    The Green Ruins sword had been damaged too, which directly affected his mind. It made him extremely surprised and furious. He stared at Li Qingshan. ¡°What power is that?¡±

    ¡°Go ask the king of hell!¡± Li Qingshan lunged over and expanded to over a hundred feet tall, reverting to his original form. His head was as tough as metal as he brandished his sharp fangs and claws, just like a black, demonic tiger roaring out wildly. His tiger tail lifted up the blood-red blade and turned into a blurry, red streak, swinging towards Fu Qingjin¡¯s waist. At the same time, his tiger claws lashed out, ready to unleash his power of vibrations at any time. He was covered in weapons that could kill.

 Chapter 439 â€“ A Letter of Challenge

    At this moment, the east began to glow dimly. The night roamers were afraid to scatter from one another now. They just remained below Bronze Cauldron mountain and raised their heads to watch the battle in the Green Ruins illusion.

    The world seemed to have become a stage, where other people were all hidden spectators below the stage. Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin stood in the centre of the stage, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. The outcome of their battle was about to determine the situation of the Clear River prefecture, as well as the lives of countless people.

    There were also a few spectators who resided in the dark private boxes, quietly hiding themselves and watching on with various different thoughts in mind.

    They saw the Green Ruins Illusion turn into a sea of sword qi, invading all openings at all costs and surrounding Li Qingshan completely.

    Ye Liubo became extremely nervous. She muttered to herself, ¡°Master is undefeatable.¡± Ye Liusu patted her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re completely right. Believe in him!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung the blade with his tail, producing countless blood-red flashes that clashed and wore away the sword qi. He swung his fists and hooves madly like a demon, throwing them at the empty space and producing a series of cracks. The power of tremors spread out in all directions, destroying the many layers of sword qi. With a fierce roar, a sound wave spread through the sea of sword qi, clearing the sky and making the dark blue of dawn visible.

    However, before he could even appreciate it, he suddenly shuddered. A chilling killing intent attacked him from behind.

    Fu Qingjin leapt out from the sea of sword qi and produced green ripples with each step. The Green Ruins sword was like a green bolt of lightning that shot across the night sky, and the sea of sword qi began to move with that, gathering on the sword and allowing the sword to tear through the sky.

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell gathered into a reflective wall, clearly reflecting Fu Qingjin¡¯s figure. Fu Qingjin was not as tough or dense as Strongboulder. He immediately sensed that the figure in the mirror possessed a similar aura to him.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes coldened. No matter what ability you use, how can you block the Green Ruins sword¡¯s edge? ¡°Shatter!¡±

    The tips of the swords connected and ripples appeared on the surface of the mirror. The reflected Fu Qingjin twisted and vanished. Cracks spread across the mirror before shattering loudly.

    Li Qingshan grinned widely, revealing his mouth full of sharp teeth. A blade aura thirty meters long emerged from the blood-red blade, swinging towards Fu Qingjin. ¡°Die!¡±

    Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s intricate control, he still struggled to block the full-powered attack from such a powerful arcane treasure like the Green Ruins sword. However, that was enough. Fu Qingjin¡¯s killing strike had been weakened. Both the power and the sword intent was no longer as sharp as before. A clash between the powerful only depended on a single moment.

    Clang! With a screech of metal, a sword fell out of the sky.

    Li Qingshan failed to hit Fu Qingjin. Instead, he hit the Green Ruins sword. In the final moment, Fu Qingjin had fused with the sword and hid in there, escaping with his life intact. However, he did suffer rather severe injuries.

    Li Qingshan held back his temptation to call him shameless. He roared, ¡°Stop him!¡± Little did he know that in Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes, his innate abilities were just as shameless.

    The night roamers responded swiftly. Even without his order, they had already risen up, but the Green Ruins sword was even faster. It turned and twisted through the air, weaving between the night roamers like a bolt of lightning and flying off in the south-east direction.

    With just a slight difference in strength, it was very difficult to prevent the strong from fleeing through numbers alone unless it was an assassination or ambush.

    Li Qingshan cursed. ¡°Bloodshadow, have you fucking watched enough?!¡±

    There was a cold snort, and Bloodshadow shot out. With his speed, he had arrived a long time ago, but he would much rather watch Li Qingshan be finished off by Fu Qingjin and then take advantage of the weakened Fu Qingjin. Why would he ever work with Li Qingshan? The opportunity had appeared now, and he refused to let Fu Qingjin escape for nothing too.

    With a flash, Bloodshadow stopped the Green Ruins sword. The cloak around him expanded and turned into a blood-red barrier, wrapping around the Green Ruins sword. The Green Ruins sword could pierce everything, but when it came to the red light, it began to falter. It weaved left and right, searching for an opening.

    Fu Qingjin had clashed several times with Bloodshadow. He understood exactly how much the barrier of blood could corrupt weapons. If regular spiritual artifacts came into touch with it, they would lose all of their abilities, being reduced to a piece of regular metal. It was more terrifying than any form of damage.

    Normally, Fu Qingjin would not have cared. The sword was protected by sword qi and its glow, so at worst, all he had to do was go back and refine it for another few days. However, the Green Ruins sword had been damaged again and again today. Its sword qi and glow had already become extremely dim. If it became covered by this corrupting blood, it really would become powerless.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, to think even you would have today!¡± Bloodshadow sneered sinisterly and drew in the barrier of blood. Fu Qingjin had already become a sitting duck. He was unable to hide, and he was faced with dire circumstances. However, he recovered his composure and flew towards Bloodshadow.

    Why would Bloodshadow be afraid of an injured Fu Qingjin? He went up to receive him with a sneer. This was the perfect opportunity for him to kill him and get his revenge.

    Li Qingshan reverted to his humanoid form, flapping his wings of wind and lunging over. He definitely would not let Fu Qingjin¡¯s hundred treasures pouch just go to Bloodshadow. At this moment, an omen of warning rose up inside him. He came to a screeching halt and retreated.

    Bloodshadow had no idea why he did that. In a single instant, he had already approached Fu Qingjin. Fu Qingjin held a scarlet talisman in his hand. The inscriptions on the talisman suddenly lit up.

    Light flooded the surroundings as a scorching, white bolt of lightning thicker than a tree. It twisted around for a few hundred meters and was just like a dragon. In a single moment, Bloodshadow¡¯s sneer turned into fear. By then time he returned to his senses, the lightning dragon had already penetrated his chest.

    Fu Qingjin brushed past Bloodshadow. He did not even bother to use an ounce of strength to finish him off.

    A very long time seemed to pass before the rumbling arrived. The clap of thunder from nowhere shook up the very earth.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Not only was it a scarlet talisman, but it was probably of the mid or even high grade. If Fu Qingjin had used that right from the beginning, the outcome of the battle would have been difficult to predict. His joy over the victory vanished, turning into caution. He had still underestimated the Sword Collection palace.

    Fu Qingjin broke out, but he did not flee. He hovered in the air, but his face was filled with sighs, and he even seemed slightly annoyed. After witnessing the power of the Lightning Dragon talisman, no one dared to approach him carelessly anymore.

    A while later, Fu Qingjin did something no one had expected. He bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan in the distance. ¡°Northmoon, I must apologise to you for how I¡¯ve underestimated you in the past.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback slightly. ¡°Is this begging for mercy?¡±

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°No, it¡¯s a letter of challenge.¡±

    ¡°Then unleash your talismans and face me in a grand battle again!¡± Li Qingshan said boldly and fearlessly as his blood boiled.

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°As a sword practitioner, I don¡¯t rely on other objects unless I face imminent death. This is an unwritten rule of the Sword Collection palace.¡±

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms and mocked, ¡°Isn¡¯t a rule like that useless to you? Stop posing around. Use whatever you have! If you don¡¯t have enough, the Sword Collection palace is welcome to deliver some to you.¡±

 Chapter 440 â€“ A Righteous Strike

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s eyes flashed. He gazed at Li Qingshan deeply. ¡°You really aren¡¯t like a daemon. A pity!¡± With that, he merged with his sword and shot off.

    Li Qingshan watched the green light take off. He did not waste any energy to chase after it either. A golden ray of light lit up in the east, dyeing all the clouds and stretching thousands of kilometers away.

    The bright moon remained in the west, hanging high above Li Qingshan. The cultivators in the distance all saw this and murmured, ¡°The moon demon.¡±

    Following the terrors of the blood demon and the rock demon, he who had fallen silent for three years made a name for himself through a single battle. With strength even greater than the two former daemons, he earned the name of the moon demon, casting a shadow over the hearts of all cultivators.

    The night roamers succumbed to his figure in the sky, lowering their heads. The matriarchs all handed over the hundred treasures pouches obediently.

    Ye Liusu went up. ¡°Master, we should¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan scanned past them and flew down. He landed on the bronze cauldron that tried to slip away before raising his hand. ¡°Mingzhu, the map.¡±

    As the red sun rose up in the east, the bright moon gradually faded away. However, so what if it was day? Now, the greatest threat, Fu Qingjin, had been heavily injured, no longer capable of battle. This was a fantastic opportunity to attack the Daemon Suppression alliance.

    ¡°Northmoon, you screwed me over!¡± A spiteful voice rang out from the forest. Bloodshadow¡¯s pale-white face was twisted; no, his entire body was twisted, filling in the hole in his chest. Having been directly struck by the destructive lightning dragon, a part of his body had directly vaporised, leaving behind an injury that could not be healed. His three years of sucking blood and cultivation had basically vanished in a single moment.

    Li Qingshan mocked him. ¡°So you¡¯re still alive. Why don¡¯t you check yourself before you think about taking advantage of me? You better piss off, or I¡¯ll send you off!¡±

    ¡°Y- you¡­¡± Bloodshadow pointed at Li Qingshan as his face became even paler from anger. Not only had he failed to benefit, but he even ended up being heavily injured from taking part this time. He had truly been humiliated.

    Li Qingshan returned with his blade on his shoulder. Just when he was about to speak, another omen of warning rose up inside him.

    The east suddenly lit up as an aura of righteousness rushed into the clouds. Gazing over, it actually originated from a tiny, skinny old man, covered in wrinkles. His stiff expression radiated with righteousness, shooting over from the east with a sword like the unstoppable rise of the sun.

    He was the head scholar of Pine Sough academy, Wen Zhengming. He had been paying attention to the situation of the Clear River prefecture the entire time, especially to Jiang Shancheng¡¯s murderer. He had received the news and rushed over the moment Li Qingshan appeared, but due to the rules, he was unable to show himself. Afterwards, he saw how arrogant the wretched daemon behaved and could not help himself any longer.

    Wen Zhengming opened his mouth and blasted Li Qingshan¡¯s ears like a clap of thunder. ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡±

    The sharpness from the sword pricked his eyes. Li Qingshan thought of the Soaring Dragon Elder again, and his heart sank. A Golden Core cultivator. He bellowed out, ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡±

    Hexagonal pieces of faint blue light stacked before Li Qingshan. He was afraid to use the mirror reflection again, and it was not only because of the severe mental exhaustion he had gone through. It was also because with his current power, he probably could not even reflect a hundredth of the attacker¡¯s strength. All he could do was use the simplest and most direct method to defend.

    If Wen Zhengming changed his move, then Li Qingshan would be able to escape from the sword intent.

    However, Wen Zhengming would never pull back his sword once he had swung it. He was straightforward, just like his own character. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered layer after layer. This was something that even Fu Qingjin could not achieve.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were clear as he forced his mind to settle down. He spread his arms, and his scarlet hair danced. The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core revolved rapidly as he poured all of his daemon qi into the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. I¡¯m no longer the same Li Qingshan of the past. Even if a Golden Core cultivator wants to kill me, it won¡¯t be that easy!

    The night roamers all paled in fright, staggering back in retreat. They were unable to face the terrors of Golden Core cultivators. They were afraid to attract his attention. Only Ye Liusu remained where she was.

    The bright yellow satin expanded to several meters across and flew towards Wen Zhengming. The moment it came in contact with the righteous aura, it ripped to pieces.

    Ye Liubo cried out, turning into a shadow and flying towards Wen Zhengming. She stabbed down viciously with her dagger, and with a bang, she was sent flying, knocking down countless trees.

    ¡°Liubo!¡± Ye Liusu cried out.

    Wen Zhengming¡¯s righteous aura had been shaken up slightly, and it had shattered three layers of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell beforehand. It was a spent force.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s anger was stirred. He withdrew the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and spat out an oval bead. This was the phoenix¡¯s embryo he had condensed in the magma underground.

    Boom! It was like another sun had risen up from the ground, yet also like the surging eruption of a volcano.

    ¡°The World Flattened with Humanity and the Sword!¡± Even Wen Zhengming¡¯s serious expression changed slightly. He bellowed out slightly, and his sword rose with the wind. His righteous aura surged, and he swung down, splitting through the flames right down towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan swung the blood-red blade with a violent roar. He did not retreat, advancing instead to fight with his life on the line. However, the sword swing ended up being deflected, brushing past him and landing on Bronze Cauldron mountain, cutting through the layers of rock and soil. Bronze Cauldron mountain was split in half as the two sides collapsed loudly.

    Wen Zhengming lowered his head, and all he spotted was an invisible strand of spider silk wrapped around his sword. He gazed behind Li Qingshan and snorted coldly. ¡°Spider daemon!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. Before he knew it, Spider Queen Lolth was already standing behind him. She smiled. ¡°You really haven¡¯t disappointed me.¡±

    ¡°Save me, senior Wen!¡± The bronze cauldron flew out from the rock and soil behind Wen Zhengming. A call for help rang out.

    The Spider Queen did not even glance at it. With a flick of her finger, the bronze cauldron suddenly fell down out of the sky, falling silent.

    This time, Li Qingshan had to hold his breath and stare hard to tell what had happened. The bronze cauldron that had remained undamaged after countless attacks from him had been pierced by a crystalline thread even thinner than a hair. When it returned to the Spider Queen¡¯s hand, it had already become a bright-red thread. A Foundation Establishment cultivator had been easily slain by the Spider Queen like she was swatting a fly.

    Wen Zhangming was quite far away, so he was unable to react to it. He was filled with anger. ¡°Wretched daemon!¡±

    ¡°Come!¡± The Spider Queen spread her slender arms. Her scarlet red evening dress exposed her cleavage. She seemed extremely alluring. She seemed like she wanted to hug Wen Zhengming¡¯s sword. The smile on her face was gorgeous and venomous, truly quite a sight.

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. Once this battle began, the Clear River prefecture would no longer be a chessboard. With a flash, Ye Liusu had already used the explosion earlier to retreat into the distance with Ye Liubo. Only then did she ease up slightly. Ye Liubo was unconscious, but at least she was still alive.

    Wen Zhengming¡¯s robes surged as his righteous aura gushed out. They were on the verge of a great battle.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s smile suddenly stiffened. A voice that Li Qingshan found extremely familiar rang out in the sky. ¡°A¡¯Luo, long time no see again.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, a figure landed between the Spider Queen and Wen Zhengming. Her white clothes were even paler than snow, and she seemed to hover there like an immortal. She held a jade fan in her hand; her smile was as graceful as the wind. It was Gu Yanying. The spectators behind the scenes finally could not help themselves but to leap on stage one by one.

    Gu Yanying purposefully glanced past Li Qingshan mysteriously. She had wanted to teach this disobedient kid a lesson three years ago, but she became distracted by something else. By the time she remembered it again, he had already begun his secluded cultivation, and that lasted three years. He made a mess the moment he emerged, as if he was trying to make back all the time he had lost.

    Gu Yanying moved away from the two powerful human and daemon cultivators. She said to Li Qingshan with a delightful smile, ¡°You actually made head scholar Wen use the Triple Wealth style. That¡¯s impressive of you.¡±

    ¡°You flatter me.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts were intricate now, which made him even more confident that Gu Yanying should have noticed his secret. Did she find out now? Or three years ago, when he joined the Academy of the Hundred Schools? Or perhaps she knew right from the beginning.

    She had countless opportunities to deal with him, so why didn¡¯t she? Was it because they were both human-daemon hybrids? Or perhaps she was afraid that brother ox who had slain the Soaring Dragon Elder had been watching over him carefully?

    ¡°Gu Yanying, get out of the way!¡± The Spider Queen gritted her teeth.

    ¡°Commader Gu, these daemons have been so arrogant. I uphold the righteous path, so I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye to it. If you¡¯re willing to assist me in purging daemons, then please do so. If you aren¡¯t, then please move aside and don¡¯t get in my way.¡±

    Both of their auras gathered on Gu Yanying, trying to force her to leave.

    Gu Yanying gently tapped her forehead with her fan in frustration. She sighed. ¡°It really is difficult for me to satisfy the two of you.¡± Her eyes swiveled, and the corner of her lips curled up. ¡°Looks like all I can do is listen to my heart.¡±

    Li Qingshan had a feeling she was talking to him, and that she was slightly melancholic. Regardless of which side they chose, whether it be the humans or the daemons, they would never be able to obtain true peace. All they could do was walk their own path, but it would be a path of solitude that no one understood. Both sides would treat them as despicable traitors.

    Li Qingshan thought of something. Looking at her graceful demeanor, independent and aloof from the word, her beauty unmatched in the world, his heart flittered slightly. He could not help but ask himself if his feelings of the past had changed at all.

    ¡°I have said that I¡¯d continue taking responsibility over this war as long as no one interferes with it. However, I don¡¯t think the two of you can be convinced with mere words.¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s smile vanished. With a swish, she unfurled her fan. ¡°If any of you are dissatisfied with me presiding over this matter, then come attack me!¡±

    The Spider Queen snorted gently and curled her finger back, ready to flick it at any time.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward and said softly, ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, we¡¯ve already gained an upper hand in the war.¡±

    The Spider Queen looked back. ¡°You mean?¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t get too greedy.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. If they flipped the chessboard now, he would immediately be faced with an endless pursuit from Wen Zhengming. Instead of that, he would be better off benefitting sufficiently from this chessboard. There would be a day when he could leap out of the chessboard and cut down all of these people who dared to toy with him.

    The Spider Queen considered it for a while. She also found it to be quite a waste to destroy the fantastic situation Li Qingshan had created. The great war would happen sooner or later, so there was no need for her to be so eager. She withdrew her daemon qi, turned around, and left.

 Chapter 441 â€“ Allocating Rewards

    ¡°With how indecisive you are when it comes to choosing a side, you¡¯ll definitely end up suffering one day, fellow Gu. Please take care.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, great confucian Wen. However, the matters in the world are never perfect. There has to be sacrifices.¡± Gu Yanying clasped her hand and took off into the sky, sweeping away the clouds.

    In the blink of an eye, the three spectators who could not help but leap on stage returned to the darkness once again. Below Bronze Cauldron mountain that had completely collapsed, Li Qingshan fished out the bronze cauldron. It was slightly damaged, but it was still an arcane artifact after all.

    The night roamers who had scattered out of fright gathered together again silently. They were still uneasy. There was not a single organisation that would forgive soldiers deserting their commander when it mattered.

    ¡°Sir, where are we going now?¡± Ye Mingzhu studied Li Qingshan carefully, but she was unable to tell what he was thinking.

    ¡°We¡¯re going back!¡± Li Qingshan ordered. He had already lost the element of surprise if he wanted to continue attacking. The night roamers were not accustomed to moving around under the sun either. With these two disadvantages, it would be a bad idea to keep fighting.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to continue our attack?¡±

    ¡°Liubo¡¯s wounds come first.¡± Li Qingshan made his way through the crowd and arrived before Ye Liubo. She was still unconscious.

    Li Qingshan touched her face and sensed a brutal aura rampaging through her body. It was the reason why she was unconscious. It was Wen Zhengming¡¯s aura of righteousness. Fortunately, Wen Zhengming had been focusing on him the entire time, so she had only been injured on reflex. If Wen Zhengming even paid the slightest attention to her, she would have died already.

    Every single heavenly tribulation represented a realm of cultivation, and the gaps between the realms would only grow larger with each tribulation, like a chasm that could not be filled in.

    Ye Mingzhu reported with a frown. ¡°The aura¡¯s extremely tenacious, and it seems to suppress the powers of us night roamers. It¡¯s extremely difficult to deal with.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell gathered together, wrapping around her and hoisting her into the air like a crystal coffin.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh. This battle had taken an extremely great toll on him. He had only managed to recover some of his daemon qi and his mental energy just now.

    His eyes grew clear, and the daemon core revolved. The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Ye Liubo shuddered and winced in pain. The righteous aura within her seemed to be alive, moving left and right to avoid Li Qingshan¡¯s power. At the same time, it caused Ye Liubo even greater damage.

    ¡°Master,¡± Ye Liusu said in concern.

    Above the clouds, Wen Zhengming glanced back. The spider daemon had killed a Foundation Establishment cultivator right in his face, but it was not like he had not achieved the same.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead became covered in sweat. It was clearly just a strand of righteous aura, yet he actually felt like he was unable to suppress it even when he used all of his daemon qi. It was like an army thrown together in a hurry being pitted against a few dozen elite soldiers. If this continued, Ye Liubo would lose her life before long.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind and bellowed out, ¡°Suppress!¡± The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell pressed in from all directions and into Ye Liubo¡¯s body. It completely cut off the righteous aura¡¯s paths of retreat, and it was depleted in the end.

    ¡°Impressive, wretched daemon!¡± A cold light flashed through Wen Zhengming¡¯s eyes. He wavered slightly, but he still chose to continue on his path in the end, albeit furiously.

    A while later, Ye Liubo woke up slowly. She saw Li Qingshan and said feebly, ¡°Master, are you fine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously fine.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened, and he withdrew the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell with a smile. He placed a healing pill into her mouth and picked her up. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Ye Liubo felt rather flattered before becoming filled with delight. She wrapped her arms around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck and pressed her head against his chest. She seemed to be living in happiness.

    The group returned to the underground dwelling, and Li Qingshan placed Ye Liubo on the stone bed. ¡°Rest up!¡±

    Afterwards, he took out all the hundred treasures pouches he had obtained through the battles and began to allocate everyone¡¯s rewards.

    ¡°Liusu, count through them.¡±

    Ye Liusu stepped up under his orders and opened the hundred treasures pouches one by one, tallying up everything that they contained.

    They had killed a total of nine Foundation Establishment cultivators and countless Qi Practitioners. The spoils they had received were extremely abundant. Just the supreme grade spiritual artifacts amounted to seventeen, with over a hundred high grade spiritual artifacts and almost a thousand other spiritual artifacts.

    Any single one of them was enough to light up any night roamer¡¯s eyes. The various pills formed a dazzling array as well, almost too many to count. By the time Ye Liusu took out the talismans, formations and various puppets, she had almost filled the entire cave, turning it into a huge treasure trove.

    ¡°My share first.¡±

    Li Qingshan picked out the pills that were beneficial to him first. Just the Virtue Accumulation pills amounted to four. Coupled with the other high level pills, they were enough for him to cultivate the ox demon to the fourth layer.

    Afterwards, he took the few scarlet talismans. Although all of them were either inferior or low grade, they were still quite powerful. Most importantly, they did not possess any prominent special characteristics. Even if he used them as a human, people would not wonder about their origins.

    As for the spiritual artifacts, all he chose was the military tablet for controlling Corpse Soldiers. He was prepared to give it to Xiao An as a gift along with all the other corpses. As for the other spiritual artifacts, he had no use for them, and they were difficult to sell, so he did not take a single one.

    But most importantly, the blood-red blade and the bronze cauldron were already in his possession.

    The blood-red blade would be for his identity as a daemon. The primary reason why he had crushed Fu Qingjin in battle this time was because Fu Qingjin did not understand what his innate abilities were capable of, so it was no wonder that Fu Qingjin would be reluctant to accept his defeat, issuing a vow like that. If Li Qingshan wanted to defeat him again in the future, these tricks would not work anymore. It would be the real thing. With this blood-red blade in hand, at least he would not suffer too much.

    As for the bronze cauldron, he could leave it in his dwelling for forging artifacts. With his cultivation at Foundation Establishment, he should be able to use it. He had not even mastered the basics for artifact forging, but with this powerful artifact in his possession, he would probably be able to create some spiritual artifacts if he spent some time learning, right?

    After choosing, Li Qingshan looked back and said, ¡°Liubo, choose three supreme grade spiritual artifacts!¡±

    Ye Liubo stared at Li Qingshan eagerly and bit her lip. ¡°Master, can I have a different reward?¡±

    ¡°Stop messing around. Go.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze softened. After all, this was the first time someone had shown him such loyalty in his entire life.

    Ye Liubo was rather reluctant to oblige, but under his gaze, she was unable to turn him down. She had not thrown herself into life-threatening danger in vain.

    Under everyone¡¯s envious and jealous gazes, Ye Liubo picked and choosed before deciding on three spiritual artifacts, which were a protective shield, a small bow glistening with silver light, and a golden bracelet that she wore on her wrist.

    This girl has really earned his favour. I would¡¯ve treated her better if I had known before, Ye Mingzhu thought. Not only had Ye Liubo taken away three supreme grade spiritual artifacts, but she also had the priority in choosing, so she obtained the best supreme grade spiritual artifacts out of all of them.

    ¡°Liusu, you take two as well. It¡¯s all thanks to your strategy that we could win the battles so easily.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡± Ye Liusu bowed and went up to take two spiritual artifacts. She knew this probably had something to do with the fact that she had not fled when it mattered. However, she wondered inside whether she would be able to be like Ye Liubo if she did not carry the mission of revitalising the night roamers on her shoulders.

    Li Qingshan turned around and said with hostility, ¡°Now for you lot.¡± His hand slid down the shiny supreme grade spiritual artifacts. ¡°There¡¯s twelve remaining. The six clans should have received two each, but those who fled will lose half of their spoils. Do you have any objections?¡±

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, the matriarchs all lowered their heads. None of them dared to object. Although it pained them, they instead let out a sigh of relief when they considered how Li Qingshan could have lost his temper instead. They went up to pick one each.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Liusu, you can allocate the rest!¡±

    Ye Liusu accepted his orders and split up half of it first. She split it into seven portions, with the additional portion going to the personal guards. That was equivalent to declaring the establishment of a new clan. Only with authority could she implement her beliefs.

    The matriarchs looked at one another and exchanged glances. They were filled with doubt. The personal guards were all overjoyed, being able to obtain a share for themselves was obviously good news. Who cared about who was in charge? All that mattered was they would be obtaining benefits.

    Li Qingshan nodded. After the allocation of rewards, he stowed the tremendous amount of remaining resources away and began to think over the battle earlier. He left his mirror clone here to deal with any possible issues, while his main body returned to the dwelling in the Chain mountains.

    The sky had lit up completely now. In the Chain mountains, the Qing Xiao dwelling.

    Xiao An seemed to sense something. She emerged from the dwelling and gazed into the distance. A white cloud shot through the sky with a long tail. She smiled in relief.

    ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± Li Qingshan picked up Xiao An and said in her ear, ¡°The battle was very satisfying. I taught that bastard Fu Qingjin a proper lesson. Here¡¯s a gift.¡±

    As he said that, he shoved a hundred treasures pouch into Xiao An¡¯s hands. Before Li Qingshan had begun fighting, he had told the night roamers to collect the corpses. The hundred treasures pouch contained all the corpses from the battle, including the corpses of the nine Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    With that, she would be able to strengthen the Skull Prayer Beads even further. She would be able to begin the next step in the plan.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head, and his eyes narrowed. He saw Qian Rongzhi flying over.

    Qian Rongzhi landed on the flat platform gracefully. She bent over and placed a hundred treasures pouch into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. She smiled. ¡°This is what you wanted.¡± She straightened herself out and stuck her hand out. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to settle your debt.¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the hundred treasures pouch and ran some numbers. He took out two True Spirit pills. ¡°Is this enough?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes lit up as she smiled happily. ¡°It¡¯s enough. You¡¯re just as considerate as before.¡± Suddenly, she grew serious. ¡°Let¡¯s get serious now. The academy has called an emergency meeting. All Foundation Establishment cultivators have to return for discussions.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought inside, Just as expected.

    ¡°Are you going to ask what happened?¡± Qian Rongzhi asked absentmindedly while she thought, Seems like he just returned.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Li Qingshan asked in an unfazed manner.

    ¡°Eleven Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Daemon Suppression alliance were slain, with seven sects destroyed. Among them, the rock demon killed two, while the daemon who slew the three elders three years ago and devastated the Green Vine mountain struck again. Leading several dozen Foundation Establishment level night roamers, they killed nine people. He¡¯s now known as the ¡®moon demon¡¯. This is the situation right now. What do you think about it?¡±

    In the academy, Liu Zhangqing was stern. He used as few words as possible to tell everyone about what happened last night.

 Chapter 442 â€“ Ru Xinâ€™s Memories

    If any regular people were present, they would definitely reevaluate their composed and aloof impression of cultivators. Expressions of shock and thought filled everyone¡¯s faces.

    They were independent from the Daemon Suppression alliance, even with many conflicts and disputes existing between them, but so many cultivators who were almost no different from them had died all of a sudden. What they felt was no longer just sympathy over the deaths of fellow humans. Instead, they felt truly threatened or even fearful.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows in thought, as if he was lamenting over the horrors of the war.

    Ru Xin stared at him, as if he was extremely fascinating.

    However, ever since Qian Rongzhi warned him, Li Qingshan had decided to strengthen his abilities as an actor. In particular, he could not afford to show even the slightest opening before these observative people.

    As a result, no matter how Ru Xin stared at him, he remained like the sculpture, ¡°The Thinker¡±. Ru Xin lost interest very soon. She let out a sigh lazily and leaned against her hand, gazing at the shimmering Lake of Dragons and Snakes outside the window. Memories flooded back to her like the tide.

    The shimmering light turned into balls of fire, turning the sky red. Fire-red figures soared through the flames like spraying sparks. Their fire hair scorched; they roared furiously like erupting volcanoes and flames surged out of their mouths, filling the skies like a meteor shower.

    The sea water overflowed the dams, destroying the forests and drowning out the landscape. Thousands of fish-tailed merfolk swam within the water, chanting and singing together. No one would have imagined the gentle, tactful merfolk could actually produce such a startling war song unless they had heard it in person.

    The singing rose into the sky like invisible rope, pulling the sparks into the sea water, drowning and extinguishing them. However, they too were charred to ashes under the attacks of the meteors. Every now and then, the song of the merfolk around her would become elated and sorrowful. Crystalline tears would even flow from their eyes, turning into translucent pearls that sank into the bottomless ocean.

    ¡°You don¡¯t think he¡¯s powerful? I¡¯ve heard that even Fu Qingjin of the Sword Collection palace interfered in person, but he ended up being injured, retreating in defeat.¡± ¡°He just had an advantage in numbers, that all.¡± ¡°An advantage in numbers? I think you¡¯ve been in secluded cultivation for far too long. You¡¯ve basically been living under a rock. Three years ago, he faced the elders of the three mountains together and killed two of them. He also frightened the Green Vine Elder to the point where he was too afraid to leave the mountain. He only worked up the courage to move around a little after obtaining a Duality Formation of Disintegration, but he still ended up dying.¡±

    Li Qingshan took some secret pleasure in all of that when he heard it. He even closed his eyes in the end, just in case a smile oozed out through his eyes. However, he grew bored of it before long, so he opened his eyes, emerging from his state of ¡°The Thinker¡±. Looking around, his gaze landed on Ru Xin¡¯s face, and he noticed something.

    Ru Xin¡¯s eyes were shrouded in haze, as if her mind was in an extremely distant place. As sunlight fell on her bright and delicate face, all of her emotions vanished before he knew it. She was like a beauty sculpted from white jade, so beautiful that she no longer seemed alive.

    For some reason, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. He asked her secretly, ¡°Ru Xin, are you thinking about a man?¡±

    Ru Xin returned to her senses and answered, ¡°I may be, but it¡¯s definitely not you.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me that you can¡¯t think about me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather think about the moon demon instead of you. I heard he¡¯s a handsome man!¡± The mocking expression that Li Qingshan found great familiarity in returned to Ru Xin¡¯s face. She shot a glance at Li Qingshan, like he was welcomed to check himself in the mirror.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Then you better keep thinking!¡± It left Ru Xin slightly surprised.

    Han Tieyi noticed all the ¡°flirtatious glances¡± going on between them and raised an eyebrow. Hua Chengzan said to him secretly with a smile, ¡°The two of them sure are relaxed. We should learn from them.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing raised his hand to give a sign, and the hall fell quiet. ¡°Fellows, many of you have been in secluded cultivation the entire time, so you might not be familiar with this daemon. Commander Wang, please give an introduction to him!¡±

    Wang Pushi¡¯s stern face was so cold that it seemed like steel. He stood up and arrived at the front, hanging up the painting Chu Danqing had created in the past.

    ¡°This is the moon demon. His actual name is Northmoon. Regarding his strength, I¡¯ve received news that he¡¯s defeated the stone demon and the blood demon in the past and was nominated as the commander of the night roamers by the Spider Queen. He¡¯s spent the past three years in secluded cultivation. Through the battle last night, he¡¯s demonstrated extremely great influence and leadership. The Daemon Suppression alliance or even us pale in comparison in this aspect.¡±

    The two major human organisations impeded one another, such that both of them were afraid of unleashing their full strength in a battle against the daemons, just in case they were weakened and allowed the other organisation to take advantage of them.

    Wang Pushi continued, ¡°If you still don¡¯t have a clear understanding of his strength, then hear me out. Earlier this morning, fellow Fu of the Sword Collection palace ventured to Bronze Cauldron mountain to provide reinforcement, though he did fall for an ambush, which cost him a lot of spiritual energy. Afterwards, fellow Fu managed to trap the moon demon in the Green Ruins Illusion. In order to wait for reinforcements, the moon demon did not attack him immediately. By the time fellow Fu had recovered most of his spiritual energy, their battle unfolded and ended with fellow Fu¡¯s defeat.¡±

    The hall immediately fell quiet. Over the past three years, they had gained a deep impression of the stone demon and blood demon¡¯s strength and terrifying deeds. Among the humans, Fu Qingjin¡¯s reputation soared the most, even surpassing some of the veteran late Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet, the ¡°moon demon¡± had actually defeated all three of them.

    However, Li Qingshan managed to notice a few other things from that. Old Wang had originally been extremely displeased with Fu Qingjin, yet he constantly referred to him as ¡°fellow Fu¡± now.

    Wang Pushi let out a heavy sigh. ¡°From today onwards, we¡¯ve gained a terrifying opponent. The circumstances have become extremely dire. Yesterday, fellow Fu brought the murderer of the Hawkwolf guards from the Vermillion Clothes sect to Clear River prefecture. He seems to be intending on proposing an alliance. I was thinking we could respond to this proposition either way, so I don¡¯t want to say anything more. I have no choice but to invite you all to discuss this now.¡±

    Li Qingshan had never expected Fu Qingjin to have already begun taking actions behind the scenes. If he had not struck first, Fu Qingjin would probably be leading many cultivators in a large-scale attack. However, speaking of which, he was also the major impetus behind the alliance between these two factions. External pressure would always result in internal peace.

    The hall fell silent before becoming noisy again. However, they primarily discussed how they would form the alliance. There were very few objections.

    Obviously, Li Qingshan would not try to stick out like a sore thumb. Wang Pushi saw how he remained silent and called on him, ¡°Kid, tell me, what do you think we should do?¡±

 Chapter 443 â€“ The Person in the Painting

    Wang Pushi snorted heavily. He was rather displeased by how he was called ¡°old Wang¡±. He knew this was Li Qingshan¡¯s reply to being called ¡°kid¡±. However, he agreed very much with what the brat said, and he did possess some of the right to call him that now. As a result, he decided to ignore how he had referred to him.

    After some further discussion, everyone decided that Liu Zhangqing would lead the negotiation with Fu Qingjin along with a few other school leaders. However, with Fu Qingjin injured and the Daemon Suppression alliance receiving a heavy blow, they were unsure whether the meeting in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain would go ahead as planned.

    Li Qingshan did not care too much about this meeting. He just felt that Fu Qingjin had chosen a very good location to hold it. As a sect, the Sect of Clouds and Rain should have joined the Daemon Suppression alliance, but since it was based in the Clear River city, it had always been mingled with the academy. It existed within a grey region between the two factions. Qiu Haitang could be regarded as a clever and capable person, so she could mediate between them.

    After the meeting ended, Li Qingshan and Ru Xin bickered secretly as they made their way out.

    Liu Chuanfeng glanced at Li Qingshan in the crowd and wanted to say something. Li Qingshan sensed him and turned around, but Liu Chuanfeng ended up shirking away like a mouse that had just seen a cat, lowering his head and leaving. He left Li Qingshan rather confused.

    Suddenly, Chu Danqing appeared before them. He bowed towards Li Qingshan first before asking Ru Xin, ¡°Senior sister, could you send someone to take a look at my master?¡±

    ¡°Danqing, you¡¯ve reached Foundation Establishment too? What¡¯s wrong with your master?¡± Li Qingshan noticed he had already reached Foundation Establishment. The naivety had vanished from his face. He no longer seemed as dazed as when he first left the mountains. Instead, he was anxious, and it clearly had nothing to do with the daemons.

    ¡°My master has been feeling rather unwell.¡± Chu Danqing forced out a smile before looking at Ru Xin again.

    Ru Xin said in confusion, ¡°Hasn¡¯t my master been taking care of master Chu¡¯s body the entire time?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. That dark-skinned old man sure was blunt and direct. He could have comforted him a little at the very least. He wondered whether Ru Xin had turned out like this because of his influence.

    ¡°Since my master¡¯s said that, it might be¡­ Fine, I¡¯ll take a look.¡± Ru Xin originally wanted to turn him down, but when Chu Danqing¡¯s pleading gaze became almost pitiful, she changed her mind and agreed.

    Chu Danqing thanked her several times, leading the way in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan knew he was probably just doing everything he could do and was touched by his filial piety. He could not help but let out a sigh. He thought of something and followed along as well.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Why¡¯re you coming along?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°To visit, obviously. You can say there¡¯s a bit of fate that master Chu and I met.¡± He paused slightly and changed the topic. ¡°I have a few works of calligraphy that I¡¯d like master Chu to appraise.¡± He had remembered the three pieces of the Cursive Sword Caligraphy.

    They were on the verge of an alliance and on the brink of a great battle. Increasing his strength as a human was his priority right now. If he could restore these three fragments of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he could potentially obtain a powerful arcane artifact. In the past, he was worried it would lead to trouble, but now, there was nothing to worry about. Paintings and literature had always gone hand in hand. He could not really depend on Liu Chuanfeng, so he would have to find a painter for this instead.

    Chu Danqing¡¯s worries eased up slightly. He smiled. ¡°Thank you, senior brother. My master likes calligraphy very much. Perhaps he¡¯ll feel a little better after appreciating a few works.¡±

    Through these years of construction, the school of Painting had become quite the sight to behold. There were sculpted pillars and painted walls, small bridges and flowing water, forming a pleasant scenery.

    Although the war had never stopped, the school of Painting primarily focused their efforts on painting and not actual battles in person. As a result, they normally did not have to carry out any dangerous missions. They were mainly responsible for painting on the island and handing them over to the academy, which would give the other disciples an additional safeguard. They had not lost many disciples, so it was bubbling with activity.

    As they moved around, they were all dressed in white, but it was unlike the pure-white of the school of Medicine. They painted pictures of birds, flowers, landscape, and people. The streams gurgled as the fish swam through them. They would move about freely, which was difficult to put into words.

    Under Chu Danqing¡¯s lead, Li Qingshan and Ru Xin arrived before a residence surrounded by pine and cypress trees. The flowers and plants at the front were impervious to the cold, blooming brightly. Butterflies fluttered between the flowers. It was a wonderful sight to behold.

    ¡°Master Chu¡¯s paintings truly are almost divine.¡± Li Qingshan held a butterfly in his palm. Through his soul sense, he could feel that the butterflies and flowers were not real.

    Chu Danqing scratched his head in some embarrassment. ¡°I painted all of these. You¡¯re too kind, senior brother. They¡¯re nowhere near as great as the wonderful techniques of the school of Novels that can conjure anything and everything. Could you wait outside for a moment, senior brother?¡±

    ¡°The school of Novels is nice, but it¡¯s a pity that it relies on the external environment so much. It can¡¯t be compared to how painters can just remain in seclusion and paint. Alright, you better go!¡± Li Qingshan nodded with a smile. He had almost forgotten about his identity as the primary disciple of the school of Novels.

    However, when he peered inside his body, he discovered that the power of belief gathered within his Divine Talisman of Great Creation had already become extremely abundant before he knew it. He could not help but beam. Now this is the virtue of the school of Novels. Even if I toss it to the back of my mind, it¡¯ll gather power endlessly.

    Liu Chuanfeng took a rather passive stance, but as the one truly behind the Cloudwisp association, Sun Fubai had never stopped pouring in his efforts. His efforts and perseverance were the primary reason why he had managed to accumulate so much power of belief. If he refined the Divine Talisman of Great Creation again with his spiritual energy, he would be able to reach a whole new realm. He would not have to rely on the figures and objects in the novels anymore. Instead, he would be able to directly turn fiction into reality, the intangible into the tangible. He would be able to do whatever he wanted. It would be an impressive source of power.

    It made him think of Liu Chuanfeng. As it seemed, it was time for him to return to Cloudwisp island to take a look and plan for the future. He had a vague feeling that this power would play a critical role at a certain moment in the future.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve come, you might as well come in too!¡±

    Chu Shidao¡¯s old, feeble voice rang out from the residence. Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s ignorance of the medical arts, he could tell he was growing feeble and his life was coming to an end from his voice.

    ¡°Please.¡± All Chu Danqing could do was invite him in. Li Qingshan and Ru Xin stepped in. The decor in the residence was very simple and elegant.

    Chu Danqing followed closely behind them, but his face became slightly gloomy. The residence was arranged in exactly the same way as where he learnt how to paint in the mountains. That was the place that had made him feel the warmest in his entire life. To a little beggar who lived day-to-day wandering the streets, it was basically paradise that was only mentioned in the legends. Yet now, it only amplified his sorrow.

    ¡°Danqing, you¡¯ve returned.¡± A regular woman in a coarse dress emerged from behind to welcome them.

    Chu Danqing said with respect, ¡°Mistress, this is senior sister Ru Xin and senior brother Li.¡±

    ¡°Are you the Li Qingshan who won the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms from us? I¡¯ve heard many things about you.¡± The woman bowed gracefully. Without any makeup on, she studied Li Qingshan somewhat curiously.

    Li Qingshan was astounded. He had learned that Chu Shidao took a painting as his wife a long time ago. Was it her? However, she was not as startlingly beautiful as the rumors claimed her be. She was only on par with a pretty woman of humble origins at most. However, even until now, he had not sensed a hint of fakeness from her. Her lively aura of life and her eyes filled with emotion were no different from a real person¡¯s.

    Now this was called truly divine!

    ¡°This way please,¡± the woman said.

    They arrived in a bedroom. Chu Shidao laid on a bed. He propped himself up and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not too well, so please forgive me for failing to welcome you at the door.¡± His white hair was messy. Although his face was sunken and on the decline, his bearing still held up. The woman arrived behind him quietly and combed his hair for him. She gently hummed a tune to herself, not worried at all.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, senior. Please allow me to check your pulse.¡± Ru Xin approached him, but Chu Shidao waved his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m not a doctor, but I still can calculate how much time I have. Danqing, you¡¯ve done something pointless again.¡±

    ¡°Danqing is doing all of this out of his devotion to you, yet an old thing like you won¡¯t even appreciate it.¡± The woman smacked Chu Shidao¡¯s head gently.

    Chu Shidao lost his temper. ¡°I¡¯m teaching my disciple a lesson! Why do I need you butting in? Get out!¡±

    The woman walked towards the wall without saying anything. A yellowing, blank scroll hung there. She walked right into it, turning into a painting that stared at Chu Shidao at ease.

    Li Qingshan thought, Even Chu Shidao is losing control over his anger despite his cultivated character in the face of death, but you can¡¯t blame him for that. It has already reached a time like this, yet this ¡°mistress¡± is still so unfazed. She¡¯s just a painting after all. No matter how human-like she seems, she won¡¯t understand human feelings.

    Chu Shidao pointed at the painting and yelled, ¡°Danqing, roll up the painting. Don¡¯t let me see her.¡±

    Chu Danqing was troubled, but he was afraid of defying his master. He bowed at the painting. ¡°Mistress, master is in a bad mood. You¡­¡± Before he could even finish talking, the ¡°mistress¡± turned around. Chu Danqing went up to roll her up, passing her to Chu Shidao.

    Chu Shidao let out a long sigh as the anger on his face melted away like ice. He smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve made a fool of myself before the two of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Senior, your body comes first, so why must you be angry over a painting? If you find her dissatisfying, you can just switch her out for another painting.¡±

    Chu Danqing frowned. She was not just a painting, but a gentle woman who had watched him grow up. She was akin to his mother.

    Chu Shidao smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t have the leisure. Even if you give me another century, I won¡¯t be able to paint her.¡±

    His gaze deepened, and he stroked the painting gently. ¡°When I painted her, I was still a mere Qi Practitioner who had barely grasped the basics. Let alone the lack in charm, I even did a bad job with her appearance. I originally wanted to paint an unmatched beauty, yet this was all I could manage. She could barely leave the painting scroll, and she did not seem alive at all. Even when she spoke, she was like a parrot. She was completely absent-minded. She would always knock over the inkstone whenever she grinded ink for me.¡±

    ¡°After- afterwards, for some reason, she just became more and more¡­ Actually, I was the same as Danqing. Although I liked painting, I never actually planned on marrying a painting. Life is unpredictable!¡± Chu Shidao sighed with a smile. He held the scroll like he was holding a great treasure. He was completely attached to it.

 Chapter 444 â€“ Origins of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy

    Ru Xin nodded. ¡°I still have a lot of Water of Recollection.¡±

    Chu Shidao shook his head. ¡°I already have enough memories¡­ Can you refine a medicine with the opposite effects?¡±

    If it were opposite to the Water of Recollection, wasn¡¯t that just Water of Oblivion? Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that just granny Meng¡¯s Soup of Forgetfulness?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Chu Shidao nodded with a smile and stared at the painting in his hand absentmindedly.

    Ru Xin suddenly understood something. ¡°Senior, you want to make her¡­¡±

    Chu Shidao¡¯s eyes rippled like water. ¡°I¡¯ll be venturing down the path of yellow springs soon, and she can¡¯t come with me to the Bridge of Helplessness. Surely I can¡¯t drink granny Meng¡¯s Soup of Forgetfulness alone, right?¡±

    TL: All of this is a reference to the underworld in Chinese mythology. The path of yellow springs is one that leads to the next life, while the Bridge of Helplessness is a bridge that every soul must cross to reincarnate. The Soup of Forgetfulness is drunk on the bridge.

    ¡°Master, h- how can we do that?¡± Chu Danqing¡¯s expression changed drastically.

    ¡°I have my plans.¡± Chu Shidao raised his hand and said to Ru Xin, ¡°There¡¯s not a lot I can give you. Here¡¯s three taels of Evening Dew cinnabar. You can use it for refining medicines. You can treat that as remuneration.¡± He fished out a metal, circular box used for holding pigments from his hundred treasures pouch and passed it to Ru Xin.

    Ru Xin opened the box of pigments, and a red colour, similar to a light or a haze, seeped out. Like the evening dew under the setting sun, it varied with countless different colours. Faint red, blood red, violet red, and so on dyed the entire room. It was as if the colours of the sunset had been sealed within the tiny box. Not only was it extremely beautiful, but the spiritual qi it contained was startling too.

    Ru Xin returned it with gratitude. ¡°This is just too precious. I can¡¯t accept it. I will do my best to fulfill senior¡¯s request, but I might not manage to. Sometimes, forgetting is even more difficult than remembering.¡±

    ¡°Whatever makes you happy, master.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you plan on asking me to return the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a mere painting, so why would I do that?¡± Chu Shidao took out a picture book and laid it out in his hands. It was the Magic Brush Ma Liang Li Qingshan had used in the past to defeat Chu Danqing. ¡°This is your masterpiece!¡±

    Chu Danqing was perplexed. He had flipped through the picture book before. The workmanship was clumsy, nothing worth mentioning. Yet, Chu Shidao would flip through it again and again, like he was rather fond of it.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, senior.¡± Li Qingshan was rather confused too.

    ¡°I had nothing to do when I was bed bound, so I painted a few things according to it. They¡¯re not real works, just something to pass time.¡± As Chu Shidao said that, he passed a paperboard to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan accepted it and took a look. The same title was written at the top, which gradually merged into a puddle of ink. It turned into various characters and scenes, running around and talking in there. The plot was unfolding.

    With their abilities, the fish painted by painters could swim, while the birds could sing. All of this was the basics. Making the subject of the painting leave the restraints of the paper was truly grasping the art. To Chu Shidao, this was only something to pass time like a doodle, but the lively appeal it contained left even Li Qingshan stunned despite all his experience with movies and animations.

    What was this supposed to be? Was he a master animator? How happy would young children be if they saw something like this? No, even adults would become attached to it!

    ¡°Painting and literature go hand in hand. The school of Novels and the school of Painting both count as lesser schools of thought within the academy. However, if we can work together, there is great room for development. It was exactly you who reminded me that the art of painting could be used like this.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re completely right, master Chu!¡± Li Qingshan already began thinking. Let alone animation, even movies would not prove to be a problem with what painters were capable of. Moreover, all of the scenes would be absolutely stunning, greater than any form of special effects from his past life. What would 3D be when compared to that? When they reached a climax, it could directly fly out of the screen. It would be startlingly effective, and it could remove the barrier of knowing how to read. The rate at which the power of belief accumulated would become much faster too.

    Chu Danqing frowned. ¡°Master, are you saying that I should also condense a Divine Talisman of Great Creation and go gather the power of belief?¡±

    Chu Shidao grabbed Chu Danqing and Li Qingshan¡¯s hands and said sincerely, ¡°Both of your names have the word ¡®Qing¡¯. You can say that it¡¯s destiny. If you can work together with absolute sincerity, what can¡¯t you manage?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, Fu Qingjin also shares the word ¡®Qing¡¯ with me!

    ¡°I will, master.¡± Chu Danqing obliged as he always would and looked towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan patted Chu Danqing¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, senior. I admire Danqing¡¯s conduct as a person very much. We¡¯ll definitely collaborate properly and achieve great things.¡± He would write the script, while Chu Danqing would paint, and they could go on tour. When they split the earnings in the end, they would not be splitting money, but the power of belief. That would be wonderful.

    Chu Shidao let out a satisfied smile. Ru Xin joked, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that the two Qings are both men, or they could dual cultivate.¡±

    Li Qingshan shot a glance at her, while Chu Danqing coughed a few times.

    Chu Shidao said, ¡°It would be wrong of you to say that. Those who find each other compatible become partners of love, while those who share the same goal and mindset become partners of cultivation. Doesn¡¯t the latter surpass the former?¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°You¡¯re only bold enough to say that when mistress isn¡¯t here.¡±

    Chu Shidao stroked the painting. ¡°Heh, she¡¯s my confidant. There is no concept of gender when it comes to confidants.¡±

    Alright, we better change the topic! Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh right. I have three scrolls of art here. I¡¯d like senior to appraise them.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Chu Shidao accepted the three scrolls of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy from Li Qingshan. He unfurled them one by one, and his eyes suddenly shone resplendently. He stared at the three pieces of calligraphy like he wanted to engrave it into his heart. His face was filled with shock at first before being replaced by endless pity.

    Li Qingshan asked in a hurry, ¡°Senior, do you recognise the origins of these three works?¡±

    Chu Shidao let out a long sigh. ¡°The origins of these three works are anything but simple. They¡¯re so old that they even predate the Great Xia empire. Have you heard of the Five Absolutes of the Nine Provinces before?¡±

    ¡°May I ask which five seniors are they?¡± Li Qingshan said. What a name. There were so many talents and freaks in the world, yet who dared to claim they were absolute? After understanding the size of the nine provinces, he expressed admiration from the bottom of his heart to these people who dared to take on this in their nickname. These five people must have been extraordinary figures of great might.

    Chu Shidao shook his head. ¡°The Five Absolutes of the Nine Provinces is not five people, but one person.¡±

    ¡°One person! Who might they be?¡± The three of them were all astounded.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard a few words about him from my master. Legend has it that he was a Reincarnated Celestial. After awakening his innate knowledge, he possessed unbelievable intelligence and power. Because he was unrivalled in the aspects of the sword, the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, people called him the Five Absolutes Immortal, or the ¡®Heavenly Lord of the Five¡¯. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, the calligraphy must be by him.¡±

    Li Qingshan beamed inside. The origins of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy were impressive, just as expected. It was no wonder that it could earn a word of praise from the black ox despite being a mere spiritual artifact. If he could collect all the fragments, wouldn¡¯t it make him unstoppable?

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Senior, the world has always been filled with powerful figures, and there should be a lot of cultivators who are skilled in the sword and calligraphy too!¡±

    Chu Shidao turned to Chu Danqing and asked, ¡°Danqing, have you noticed it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡± Chu Danqing picked up one of the scrolls and inspected it closely. ¡°Apart from the art of the sword and calligraphy, there seems to be the art of paintings in here too.¡±

 Chapter 445 â€“ A Battle of Interests

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Then is it possible to merge these three fragments into one?¡±

    ¡°If you can split it apart, then you can obviously merge it back together. I¡¯m not particularly talented, but I can try comprehending the divine techniques of this senior and attempt to repair it.¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. ¡°If senior can help me out, I definitely won¡¯t let senior go to such lengths for nothing.¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t do that. Master, your body¡¯s already in such a state, so how can you waste your energy?¡± Chu Danqing shoved the Cursive Sword Calligraphy back into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. ¡°Sorry, senior brother, but this can¡¯t happen. Master should rest now.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unable to say anything more. He could only try seeking another method to go about it.

    ¡°Do you just want me to lay in bed and wait to see the king of hell?¡± Chu Shidao slammed the bed and roared at Chu Danqing, ¡°Give me the painting. Li Qingshan don¡¯t you want an arcane artifact?¡±

    Once Chu Shidao became carried away, no one could stop him. In the end, Li Qingshan left behind the three fragments of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and took his leave.

    A white cloud rose into the air, and the vast ground receded rapidly. The wind whistled, making their clothes ruffle.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh. ¡°They¡¯re basically a family. They¡¯re so devoted and concerned for each other that it¡¯s admirable.¡±

    Ru Xin sat on the cloud with her legs crossed. ¡°As cultivators, becoming overly wrapped up in our feelings might not necessarily be good. Only by forgetting your emotions and becoming impervious to your feelings can you achieve enlightenment and become an immortal.¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll just go without becoming an immortal.¡±

    A strange smile appeared on Ru Xin¡¯s face, like she was looking at a stubborn child. Li Qingshan said, ¡°What, have you been enchanted by my charm?¡±

    ¡°A little.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯re too late.¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever heard of proximity being an advantage?¡± Ru Xin huddled towards Li Qingshan. Her breath was ticklish, and she smiled gently. Her water-like gaze was filled with indescribable hints of affection.

    It was not like Li Qingshan had just met her, so why would he fall for it again? ¡°Stop messing around. Can you really refine this Water of Oblivion?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°I¡¯ll try! Perhaps I might need it too.¡±

    The most difficult part about forgetting your emotions had always been the ¡°forgetting¡± part.

    Corpses flew into the fire one after another, melting away instantly and merging with the clump of white fluid in the centre of the fire, which scattered in all directions. Sometimes, it fell into the mouths of the skulls; sometimes, it dripped down.

    As she continued to forge Skull Prayer Beads, it was not just an increase in number anymore. Her overall strength was rapidly increasing, and the quantity of corpses she needed would increase too. After who knew how many corpses, the white fluid gradually consolidated into a perfectly round bead. Another Skull Prayer Bead had been forged.

    Xiao An stood up and smiled sweetly. ¡°I¡¯ve almost completed the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.¡±

    The so-called Foundation Establishment realm was actually about establishing a foundation for her. After all these years of arduous cultivation, she had barely managed to build up sufficient progress with both her mind and body, establishing an adequate foundation for the supernatural ability of another world.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Am I supposed to praise you for cultivating quickly or criticize you for cultivating slowly? If you reach the first layer, how well would you hold up against Bloodshadow?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°He definitely won¡¯t be able to escape. Even if I fight you, I might not necessarily lose!¡±

    ¡°Girl, I¡¯ll show you my power right now!¡± Li Qingshan lunged over with a smile, and Xiao An fled far away, letting out a series of chime-like giggles.

    Before darkness had descended, many sects in the Clear River prefecture did the same thing. They dismantled their formations and stowed away their mechanisms and puppets before glancing back reluctantly and taking off into the sky. They abandoned the sects they had managed for all these years and undertook a large-scale migration.

    Because the migrating groups were all composed of Qi Practitioners, they did not move quickly, but whenever they ran into another sect, they would merge and travel towards their destination together.

    The sky was darkening, and the setting sun dyed the clouds red. Hua Chengzan stood on a sword and gazed down from above. He saw glimpses of light as cultivators of various sects flew through the red clouds like fireflies.

    Then he glanced at the crescent moon that rose up in the distant horizon and said to Han Tieyi beside him, ¡°I never thought a single moon demon would be able to throw Fu Qingjin and the entire Daemon Suppression alliance into such dire circumstances.¡±

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°I¡¯d like to try clashing with him.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°I really hope you don¡¯t get the opportunity.¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, a scarlet figure shot across the sky, arriving above the Rose Clouds sect. His wings of wind were wondrous as his scarlet hair danced about. His ruby-like eyes locked onto Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi.

    Hua Chengzan leapt in fright inside and smiled bitterly. ¡°You¡¯ve actually jinxed it.¡± Han Tieyi grew stern, poised for battle at any time.

    Li Qingshan left his original body in his dwelling to ingest pills and cultivate and sent his clone to investigate the movements of the Daemon Suppression alliance. He planned on leading a few more raids, and if it were possible, destroy a few more sects, which would strengthen the academy¡¯s bargaining position in the upcoming negotiations, allowing him to subdue Fu Qingjin and the Daemon Suppression alliance from various directions.

    As a result, he ran into the large-scale migration and arrived here by following them. However, he ended up running into Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi, who had come to investigate. Seeing how they were basically on the edge of their seats, Li Qingshan smiled inside before lowering his head and looking at the Rose Cloud sect.

    Hua Chengzan eased up and dragged the riled-up Han Tieyi with him in a silent retreat. Since he had no intentions of fighting, that would be for the best. Let alone their slim chances at victory, even if they did win, they would not be able to stop him from leaving. Right below was the headquarters of the Daemon Suppression alliance, so surely he would not attack them, right?

    The cultivators of the Daemon Suppression alliance sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s existence and spread out fearfully. The Qi Practitioners flew even faster through the rosy clouds while the Foundation Establishment cultivators all served as the vanguard. They raised their heads to study the figure who had forced them into their current circumstances. They felt both hatred and fear. No one stepped forward for a battle. They just stared at one another silently.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression changed slightly. Despite being alone, he could deter thousands of cultivators from coming forward and challenging him. Just what kind of might was that? Now this was Northmoon! However, when he saw him in person, he did not find him as vicious or violent as he imagined him to be. His relaxed demeanour gave off an indescribable sense of peace and tranquility.

    Before Fu Qingjin entered seclusion to rest, he had ordered everyone to avoid battles and ignore the provocations of the daemons just in case they fell for a scheme. He made everyone stick to this simple principle to cope with whatever situation arose. Fu Qingjin had designated the Rose Cloud sect as the headquarters of the Daemon Suppression alliance in the Clear River prefecture. It was enveloped in countless powerful formations and surrounded by countless mechanical turrets. If Li Qingshan were bold enough to come, he would be throwing himself into the belly of the beast.

    ¡°Looks like Fu Qingjin isn¡¯t there.¡± Li Qingshan muttered to himself and shoved his hands into his pockets. He embarked on an invisible path paved with stars in the sky and travelled into the distance.

    Everyone could not help but ease up.

    Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi exchanged glances and only became sterner. Now an opponent like that would be truly terrifying. Forging an alliance was definitely a matter of great urgency now.

    The next day, the Daemon Suppression alliance sent a message that the negotiations about the alliance would be pushed back indefinitely under the reason that Fu Qingjin was healing in secluded cultivation. This was expected. Fu Qingjin would never negotiate with the academy in a feeble state.

    But very soon, everyone realised how clever and vicious this move that Fu Qingjin made was. It did not target the daemons, but the academy.

    In the Hawkwolf Guard of Clear River city, Wang Pushi and Hua Chengzan were discussing with one another when the door thumped three times.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, commanders. Another office has been breached by the daemons today. Seventeen Hawkwolf guards have fallen in battle.¡± Hua Chenglu was dressed in scarlet clothes. After three years of cultivation, she had finally reached the seventh layer and was promoted to a Scarlet Wolf guard. The neat and tidy Scarlet Wolf uniform originally added a flair of valiance to the people who wore it, but it only made her beautiful figure seem even more graceful.

    Wang Pushi slammed the table as he radiated with coldness. The sects could turn a blind eye to everything, but the various schools of the academy had the responsibility of governing over its citizens in place of the emperor. They had to send people to various places constantly to kill the daemons that made trouble. With the sects taking a step back, not only had the Hawkwolf Guard suffered heavy losses recently, but the academy had too.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°I never thought they¡¯d get us good instead. He wants us to understand the principle that we¡¯re in the same boat. He wants to throw us into a disadvantage when we undertake the negotiations for the alliance.¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°They¡¯re the ones who started it all, turning the entire Clear River prefecture into a hellscape, yet as soon as the situation turns against them, they shrink back. They¡¯ve managed to hold the citizens of the prefecture as hostages against us. How despicable, Fu Qingjin, Sword Collection palace!¡±

    Hua Chengzan raised his head and let out a sigh. ¡°The rock demon and blood demon are massacring people everywhere. They¡¯ll be difficult to stop even if we send over more people. The fortunate thing is that the moon demon hasn¡¯t done anything. Even the night roamers seemed to have withdrawn, or the situation would be even more difficult to deal with. However, that just makes everything more worrying. We can¡¯t hesitate at all when it comes to forming the alliance.¡±

    Wang Pushi frowned. At a time like this, whoever contacted the other side first would be thrown into a disadvantage.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Chenglu, has Zijian been well recently?¡±

    Hua Chenglu said rather helplessly, ¡°I¡¯ve tried convincing her to focus on cultivation, but she¡¯s been in a very bad mood. She doesn¡¯t want to remain in the academy. She wants to lend a helping hand. I¡¯ve already gotten her father to try to change her mind.¡±

    In the past three years, Hua Chengzan had been even more protective of Yu Zijian than his own sister, Hua Chenglu. After all, this had to do with the successor of the Violet Clouds sword. If she died in battle, the Sword Collection palace would definitely unleash its wrath, and the situation would become even worse than losing the war. He had even made special arrangements for Yu Shukuang and the people she knew. If it were someone else, they would not even have the time to celebrate, but Yu Zijian was rather different.

    Hua Chengzan pondered for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll allow her to go out for training and toughening up. You better choose some safer missions for her right now!¡± However, once she left the protection of the formations, were there any missions that were absolutely safe?

    This was a battle of interests between two organisations, yet even he felt rather displeased with using such a kind-hearted girl as a bargaining chip. But at a time like this, he had no other choice. As a member of the academy, he had to take the academy¡¯s overall interests into account, just like how he should fight daemons because he was a human.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Hua Chenglu hesitated. ¡°Fine, but I have to go on the mission with her!¡±

    After Hua Chenglu left, Wang Pushi asked in confusion, ¡°How is Yu Zijian related to all this?¡±

    Hua Chengzan thought about it before deciding to tell him everything.

    After hearing it all, Wang Pushi said, ¡°I see. I¡¯ve noticed a long time ago that you seem to care a little too much about this Yu Zijian. You even made me think you¡¯ve moved on. This is a good move. However, we need a Foundation Establishment cultivator to watch over them constantly from the shadows. We need someone we trust who isn¡¯t too weak, and they have to be able to hide themselves.¡±

 Chapter 446 â€“ A Promise of the Pas

    Li Qingshan received the message and arrived at the Hawkwolf Guard in Clear River city. He entered through the door. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Kid, we got a mission for you.¡± Wang Pushi studied the neatly-dressed Li Qingshan and nodded in satisfaction. No matter how unruly he was, he was still a reliable choice.

    ¡°What mission?¡± Li Qingshan thought, Just as expected. He had a rough understanding of the circumstances the academy faced. Fu Qingjin¡¯s actions had instead erased the lingering hint of guilt within him. Even the people who started it all stopped caring, so what was there for him to be guilty about as someone who merely responded to their actions?

    Hua Chengzan strolled over in thought and arrived beside Li Qingshan. ¡°You know my younger sister and Yu Zijian, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°What do you think of them?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re both good girls. What, you want to propose an engagement in my place and marry your sister off to me?¡±Li Qingshan smiled.

    Hua Chengzan smiled too. ¡°You do have the right. If you can get Qiongzhi and Chenglu to nod, I won¡¯t intervene. Your mission is to protect them secretly.¡± Because the reason behind the mission had to be kept a secret, it was rather strange. Why would regular Foundation Establishment cultivators be patient enough to protect two Qi Practitioners? Clearly, his good impression of them was extremely important.

    ¡°I know exactly what to say. It¡¯s been three years. You¡¯ve become prettier, Chenglu! Jokes aside, where are they going under my protection?¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Nowhere special. They¡¯re just completing some simple missions.¡±

    Li Qingshan was perplexed. ¡°You want a Foundation Establishment cultivator to protect two Qi Practitioners? The two of you sure are good at coming up with ideas. Since there¡¯s danger, why don¡¯t you just have the two of them stay put? You can send me off to complete the missions instead.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said rather apologetically, ¡°This touches on an extremely important matter, which I can¡¯t explain to you. And, not only do you have to keep this a secret from them, but you can¡¯t let anyone else learn about it either. I know it doesn¡¯t make much sense. I don¡¯t really trust anyone aside from you¡­¡±

    ¡°You trust me, yet you still won¡¯t come clean? Alright, I¡¯m not going to trouble you any further. Don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m there, no one can even touch a hair on them.¡±

    ¡°No. If there isn¡¯t life-threatening danger, you absolutely cannot intervene. All you have to do is watch over them. You can just treat this as training for them!¡±

    ¡°Now that¡¯s interesting. You¡¯ve really made me curious!¡±

    Leaving the Hawkwolf Guard, Li Qingshan turned towards the Cloudwisp association. He did not use any techniques, walking on foot instead and blending into the crowd.

    However, reality was the exact opposite. Because of the war, the prefectural city had become the only place of safety. Countless people had uprooted their entire families to move here, which led to the exceptional prosperity.

    Most cultivators did not share the concept of celebrating the end of a year, but this sight made Li Qingshan recall the past. Before long, he arrived before the Cloudwisp association.

    The fiery-red archway was labelled with two large words, ¡°Cloudwisp Association¡±. Lanterns had been hung up everywhere, radiating with jubiliance. A performance was being held inside.

    It included everything, from opera to storytelling to singing, yet the price was extremely cheap. Just a few copper coins were enough to spend an entire winter afternoon there, seated comfortably in the theatre, drinking hot tea and eating snacks, forgetting about what troubled them by becoming immersed in the stories. It had already become a prevailing custom in Clear River city.

    Li Qingshan made his way through the archway and tossed out a few silver taels, entering the newly-constructed theatre. He was met with a wave of heat. All the seats were filled, amounting to around a thousand people. An old man currently stood on the stage, telling a story loudly. The story he told happened to be about the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. The inscriptions on the ground amplified his voice such that it reached all corners clearly.

    In a private box at the back, Sun Fubai and Liu Chuanfeng sat before one another.

    Sun Fubai grumbled, ¡°Junior brother, since you saw Qingshan, why didn¡¯t you discuss the upcoming plans with him?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°How am I supposed to discuss it with him? It¡¯s so chaotic out there. We can¡¯t go forward with any of our plans. It¡¯s just within the Clear River prefecture. We can simply go without it. If we mention these difficulties, we¡¯re going to be lectured again.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s being lectured? Fubai, long time no see. Your cultivation has advanced yet again.¡± He saw Sun Fubai seated in a round-backed armchair. He was dressed in a set of thin, grey robes, and his hair was all white, but he seemed even more energetic than before. True qi surged through his body, filling all his meridians. He was approaching the peak of the tenth layer.

    Sun Fubai suddenly stood up and beamed. ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re finally here!¡± He studied him up and down and was filled with delight. ¡°I heard you established a foundation. Just as expected, just as expected! It¡¯s fantastic, fantastic I say!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down and learned the situation that the Cloudwisp association faced with development from Sun Fubai. Sure enough, just as Liu Chuanfeng had said, they had made very good progress within the prefectural city, but the situation elsewhere was horrendous. Bandits rose up in swarms as daemons ran amok. Everyone¡¯s lives were under constant threat, so who would still be in the mood to listen to their stories?

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Especially now, some moon demon or whatever has emerged and made the Daemon Suppression alliance pull out all together like cowards. Perhaps the Clear River prefecture will become a world of daemons before long.¡±

    Sun Fubai frowned. ¡°Junior brother, how can you say something so pessimistic?¡±

    ¡°The situation will get better. War won¡¯t continue forever. We need to make preparations right now and win over everyone. I paid a visit to the school of Painting a while back¡­¡± Li Qingshan told them what Chu Shidao had proposed.

    Sun Fubai¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Qingshan, if you¡¯re too busy, then you can go to the school of Painting and take a look instead, junior brother.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t go and find him right now. Master Chu¡­ isn¡¯t too well.¡±

    Sun Fubai nodded, expressing that he understood. He smiled. ¡°Qingshan, the moment you return, it¡¯s like our school of Novels has grown a backbone. The various schools are all undergoing a transition from the old to the new, so you can step down, junior brother.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng grew nervous. He was afraid of seeing Li Qingshan exactly because he was afraid this would be mentioned. Just when he began having some fun as the school leader, having gained a few disciples now too, he was supposed to step down. He found this very difficult to accept. Fortunately, Li Qingshan declined the offer, which made Liu Chuanfeng ease up. He poured him a cup of tea in a hurry.

    Sun Fubai suddenly asked, ¡°Qingshan, you practise the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, right?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± Li Qingshan thought of something. This was not exactly a secret in the academy, so there was nothing strange with Sun Fubai knowing about it.

    Sun Fubai began to recall the past. ¡°I had this cultivation method back then in my bookstore, but it was only the first half. I ended up giving it away to a strangely-large, dark-skinned fellow.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°It¡¯s still a cultivation method. How can you just give it to him?¡±

    Sun Fubai said in exasperation, ¡°It¡¯s all because your book embarrassed me. The large fellow was quite a straightforward person. He even said he would show me the cultivation method if he somehow managed to assemble it. I never thought you¡¯d be practising the cultivation method now.¡±

 Chapter 447 â€“ Yu Zijianâ€™s Changes

    ¡°Just take a look!¡± Li Qingshan shut him up and shoved the jade slip into his hands.

    Sun Fubai thought, His straightforwardness really resembles that person a little. Most people treat a special cultivation method like a treasure the moment they get their hands on one. They¡¯d never show it to someone else so easily.

    Sun Fubai skimmed through it before passing the jade slip back. ¡°Sure enough, the power of this cultivation method is startling. The most special part about it is it suits your character very much, Qingshan. It¡¯ll definitely achieve glory in your hands.¡±

    ¡°I believe the school of Novels will also achieve glory in your hands, Fubai.¡± Li Qingshan placed a True Spirit pill into Sun Fubai¡¯s hand.

    ¡°T- that¡¯s far too precious! I really can¡¯t accept it this time!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your efforts over all these years that I¡¯ve managed to gather so much power of belief. If the school of Novels could gain another Foundation Establishment cultivator, what can¡¯t we handle as long as the three of us work together?¡±

    They conversed a little more before Li Qingshan left the city, arriving by the banks of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. He gazed at the swathe of reeds and thought back to the times he spent there with Han Qiongzhi. He thought to himself, I wonder how Qiongzhi is doing. Has she established a foundation yet?

    He sat down within the veil-like mist and took out the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility. He stroked the blade gently and produced rings of rippling light. Both the sword and he vanished completely.

    He dismissed his thoughts and sank into his sea of qi. The lively water spiritual energy was like the surging ocean. Within the sea was a Divine Talisman of Great Creation, which seemed slightly dull. Ever since he established a foundation, he had been busy, primarily focusing on the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. Now, he could finally settle down and push his cultivation of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation forward.

    The sea of qi surged violently as waves flew out from the surface of the ocean one after another, circling around the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. The rings formed a ball of water, like a great cocoon, which gradually seeped into the Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    By late morning, the mist gradually dispersed.

    The ball of water condensed in Li Qingshan¡¯s body shattered loudly. The Divine Talisman of Great Creation shone brightly as the twisted inscriptions became even more complicated and profound. Within the surging light, everything seemed to appear, whether it be plants, bird,s or beasts. It contained anything and everything.

    Li Qingshan appeared out of nowhere. He surged and distorted before turning invisible again. A jackdaw appeared out of nowhere, standing on thin air.

    Imbuing it with some of his soul sense, he raised his arm, and the jackdaw took off. There was a ruffle of features and countless jackdaws scattered in the sky, turning into black specks.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had the compound eyes of insects. Countless images merged together to form the scenery of the entire Lake of Dragons and Snakes, like he had set up countless cameras. It covered a startlingly large range.

    Conjuring these jackdaws had not taken much power of belief. The glow from the Divine Talisman of Great Creation had only dimmed slightly before being replenished by newly-gained power of belief. However, the range that his soul sense could cover experienced a drastic increase. Although he could not use it for close investigations, he could see and hear.

    In the academy, a group of young disciples passed through the Formation of Dragons and Snakes as specks, crossing through the lake and arriving on the banks. A jackdaw descended from the sky, landing on a bare branch. Its pitch-black, pea-sized eyes reflected their figures.

    Through its eyes, Li Qingshan spotted Hua Chenglu immediately. She had become even more beautiful. Dressed in scarlet clothes, she was like a rose in full bloom, giving off an enchanting fragrance that drew in butterflies and bees. The eyes of the male disciples nearby were basically glued to her as they greeted her, trying to catch her attention.

    She smiled at them like equals, giving off a sisterly bearing of bravery. She no longer possessed a hint of immaturity anymore. Time had slipped by before she knew it, turning this girl who once feigned maturity into what she had wanted to become.

    ¡°Zijian, let¡¯s go!¡± Hua Chenglu said gently. Only then did she show some real gentleness.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Yu Zijian said softly.

    ¡°How did she become like this?¡± Li Qingshan frowned slightly. He saw Yu Zijian with her hair tied up. She was dressed in the robes of a daoist priest, carrying a sword. It made her seem slim and graceful, like a feeble willow in the incoming wind.

    However, she no longer resembled the her of the past very much anymore. She had lost the radiance she had in his memories, becoming silent and quiet. Her brows were constantly furrowed, as if she was constantly worried. With her head lowered, she seemed like something loomed over her mind constantly.

    She was also a woman in her prime, but due to her lack of radiance, she was an orchid that sagged due to the rain and dew.

    ¡°Junior sister Yu, this must be your first time out for a mission, right? Being a little nervous is unavoidable. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a few daemonic beasts. There won¡¯t be any danger.¡± Sun Yi patted his chest. He was also a disciple of the school of Daoism, having reached the eighth layer of Qi Practitioner. His cultivation was the highest among the group. Although he did not show it, he did treat Yu Zijian with some contempt inside.

    Even geniuses like Chu Tian would constantly be sent on missions, facing the same danger as other disciples. He could no longer recall how much danger he had faced or how many deaths of juniors and seniors he had witnessed already.

    Yet, Yu Zijian had been placed in protection the entire time. All she had to do was cultivate on Wuwei island, yet she achieved absolutely nothing in these three years. She was only a seventh layer Qi Practitioner. She had failed to live up to her title as a genius.

    ¡°It¡¯s the second time.¡± Yu Zijian¡¯s voice was very soft such that Sun Yi missed it. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my second mission.¡± Yu Zijian raised her voice slightly.

    ¡°Are you talking about that time?¡± Sun Yi and the other cultivators could not help but scoff slightly. Sun Yi even felt slightly disgusted and discontent inside. He never thought she would still bother to bring up the mission from last time that had embarrassed the entire school of Daoism.

    On Wuwei island, the slovenly daoist priest gazed over from a high vantage point and furrowed his brows slightly. His robes were just as faded and shabby as before, but his cultivation had grown deeper. He had already become recognised as the figure most likely to undergo the second heavenly tribulation within all of Clear River prefecture.

    He gazed in the direction which Yu Zijian had left in and patted the stone railing gently. ¡°Zijian, oh Zijian!¡±

    Three years ago, he had personally arranged the training mission that time. He had even shut down Hua Chengzan¡¯s objections with curses. The edge of treasured swords had to be polished. Experiences like this were very crucial to cultivators, and it was just a simple investigation mission.

    However, the end result was completely beyond his expectations. When she returned from that mission, she had become scared out of her wits. Rumors rose up in the academy that the genius of the school of Daoism had been frightened out of her mind. She made a very great fool out of herself, as if she was trying to prove that no matter how great a person¡¯s talent was, it would be useless if they were lacking mentally.

    As a result, he stopped forcing her to do anything, and she stopped undertaking missions. She remained on Wuwei island the entire time cultivating, yet her cultivation did not take a single step forward all the way until now.

    Hua Chenglu grabbed Yu Zijian¡¯s hand. It felt icy-cold.

    ¡°I¡¯m the leader of the mission now, so the orders will all come from me. Outside isn¡¯t safe like the academy. If you¡¯re afraid, it¡¯s best if you back out right now.¡± Sun Yi subconsciously glanced at Yu Zijian again.

    The group took off on their own artifacts. Soon after they had left, the jackdaw let out a cry and rose into the sky. Li Qingshan leapt up and tailed behind them. The mist around her became even thicker. Just what had she gone through?

    This doubt even became a form of anger. He held extremely special feelings for her.

    Hua Chenglu glanced back at Yu Zijian and felt even more ashamed. She thought back to three years ago. That was a small city two hundred kilometers west of Clear River city, which experienced a great plague. Due to the traces of daemon qi, they suspected it to be the work of daemons, so they sent them over to investigate.

    It was not a particularly dangerous mission. Powerful daemons were not ones to snoop around like that, and Hua Chenglu had plenty of life-saving medicines and talismans on hand. As long as they did not run into a Daemon General, there should not have been too many problems, no matter how dire the situation became.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, the people who have fallen ill are all here.¡± Under a grey-robed old man¡¯s lead, Yu Zijian stepped into a gloomy clinic with the afternoon sun on her back. With the sword on her back, she seemed valiant and completely incorruptible.

    The clinic was deathly silent. There were no moans or groans at all. Countless men and women lay strewn on the ground. They did not even respond when Yu Zijian walked past them, as if they had already accepted their fate, awaiting their deaths. They gave off a rotting smell prematurely.

    Hua Chenglu hated the smell, so she stood in the sun within the courtyard.

    The old man served up tea. ¡°Please have some tea, ma¡¯am.¡±

    Hua Chenglu accepted the tea. Just when she was about to take a sip, she glanced at the old man. He stared fixedly at the cup in her hand, and when he noticed Hua Chenglu glancing over, he forced out a smile, wanting to express good will, but it only made him even more sinister.

    Hua Chenglu remembered Hua Chengzan¡¯s warnings. She took out a jade needle and placed it in the tea. The needle did not respond. She found her overcautiousness to be rather funny. It would only be strange if she were in a good mood with so many sick people around, but she also felt slightly proud over her own cautiousness. She said to the old man, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will find the source of the plague.¡±

    She took a sip of the tea before looking over at the clinic. She saw Yu Zijian frowning as she inspected every patient. She found her diligence to be rather admirable.

    Yu Zijian checked another sick man and raised her head, speaking confidently, ¡°They all have very faint traces of daemon qi.¡± The moment she raised her head, a black spot swam across the whites of the man¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t need to be so meticulous. I have a Daemon Searching compass. We¡¯ll find the daemon and finish it off.¡± Hua Chenglu pulled out a compass-like spiritual artifact from her hundred treasures pouch.

    Daemons could hide their daemon qi, but they would always leave behind some faint traces. The Daemon Searching compass could sniff out these traces just like a hunting hound and find where the daemon was. It was extremely flexible.

    The compass needle spun wildly, which made Hua Chenglu frown. Daemon qi was everywhere, interfering with the compass. However, as the needle spun, it finally stabilised, pointing towards the entrance of the clinic.

    Hua Chenglu turned around and said to the old man, ¡°Move over.¡±

    The old man backed down to one side with his head lowered. Hua Chenglu said, ¡°Thanks. Zijian, let¡¯s go!¡± Picking up the tea cup, she made her way out of the courtyard, but the moment she brushed past the old man, the compass needle spun and locked onto the old man firmly.

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s expression changed. She tossed aside the tea cup and reached towards the blade on her waist. She called out, ¡°Zijian, be careful! The daemon is right here!¡±

    The tea cup was smashed to pieces and tea splashed everywhere. There was a black speck, even smaller than a needlepoint, on the tea leaves.

    Outside the clinic, the old man¡¯s face gradually twisted into a vicious smile that did not belong to a human. His teeth protruded from his mouth, radiating with daemon qi.

 Chapter 448 â€“ Ghost City

    The old man radiating with daemon qi lunged over with unbelievable speed.

    In a single instant, life-threatening danger enveloped Hua Chenglu. Despite all the powerful talismans in her possession, it seemed to be too late to use any of them.

    White light filled the clinic. Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes narrowed as she flew out. The Nine Yang sword was like a white rainbow, penetrating numerous patients in the way and piercing the old man.

    A black smoke spurted out from the wound, flying towards Hua Chenglu.

    The jade tablet on Hua Chenglu¡¯s waist produced a ring of verdant light, and the black smoke smacked into it. Unable to penetrate it, the smoke changed directions and turned towards the wall.

    Although the protective jade had saved her life, Hua Chenglu still ended up collapsing. Yu Zijian caught her. At this moment, a series of shrill cries and groans suddenly rang out from behind. Yu Zijian looked over.

    Blood splattered across the ground where the Nine Yang sword had passed by. The bright red colour was dazzling. The sick people who had been pierced seemed to awaken from their nightmares, crying out on the ground. Strands of black smoke surged out from their wide-open mouths, merging with the larger wisp of black smoke near the wall.

    They were not zombies or puppets, but living people. Yu Zijian was dumbfounded. I was the one who killed them!

    ¡°Zijian, it hurts so much! There¡¯s poison in the tea!¡±

    Before Yu Zijian could accept the reality of what she had done, Hua Chenglu had already fallen into debilitating pain. Her temperature fluctuated, sometimes scorching hot and sometimes as cold as a corpse.

    ¡°Chenglu, use your cultivation to purge the poison!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not poison, but my children.¡± The ball of black smoke produced a strange buzz.

    Yu Zijian focused her true qi on her eyes and saw a startling sight. The black smoke was not actually smoke, but countless tiny black insects. She lowered her head to check on Hua Chenglu again, and she had already become soaked in cold sweat. She fed a healing pill to her in a hurry.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Before long, all of her organs will be destroyed, and she¡¯ll die. You¡¯re next!¡± The smoke buzzed. With bulging eyes, all the people under the control of the black insects squeezed their way out of the clinic frantically, producing inhumane growls.

    Yu Zijian was afraid to strike so carelessly again. She lifted up Hua Chenglu and flew towards the wall. Her sword whistled as she stabbed towards the smoke.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent my children into every single well here. Originally, I wanted to enjoy this city full of blood and flesh slowly, but you¡¯ve actually come to interfere. You can all die!¡±

    The sea of people suddenly sprang alive and snarled together, and a terrifying sound wave rushed into the air with the buzzes of the black insects. The sea of people surged like the tide towards Yu Zijian.

    With a rumble, dust filled the air as the walls directly collapsed under their weight.

    Yu Zijian leapt up with Hua Chenglu in her arms, gazing over the black mass from above. She had no idea whether it were a few thousand or a few tens of thousand. Both her body and mind began to sink. Staring at the countless, hollow eyes, she became rather dazed.

    Hua Chenglu whispered into her ear with difficulty, ¡°Zijian, go!¡±

    Yu Zijian immediately returned to her senses. Before she touched the ground, the Nine Yang sword let out a lengthy thrum and stopped three meters above the ground, brushing past the sea of people and flying out of the city with Yu Zijian on top.

    Countless arms reached over, like a sight from the bottom of hell.

    A middle-aged woman suddenly leapt up. Despite being under the daemon¡¯s control, this was still beyond her physical capabilities. Her legs snapped with a crack, but her hands managed to touch the corner of Yu Zijian¡¯s clothes. The other humans under control all leapt up too, throwing themselves at her.

    Yu Zijian gazed ahead with pursed lips, pushing the sword control technique she had learned from the school of Daoism to the limit. The Nine Yang sword left behind a curved streak of white light, shooting over the sea of people. The daemon qi trailed closely behind her. Glancing backwards, she saw the black smoke composed of countless tiny insects surging in pursuit.

    However, the Nine Yang sword was still a supreme grade spiritual artifact personally bestowed upon Yu Zijian by the leader of the school of Daoism. Although Yu Zijian was unable to unleash its full power, she still moved with startling speed. She gradually shook off the black smoke, shooting over the city walls.

    The black smoke circled around above the city walls and let out a regretful hiss, but it was afraid to pursue any further. It understood its limitations. It was not skilled in open combat, and humans possessed some powerful techniques, so if it became heavily injured, it would be bad. Instead of that, it would be better off breeding and strengthening itself through the several tens of thousand prey in the city. Out of the two that had come, it had managed to kill one, so it was enough.

    The daemon qi gradually grew further away, and Yu Zijian decelerated rapidly. The Nine Yang sword under her skid over thirty meters before coming to a screeching halt. Gazing back, she saw how the daemon did not come in pursuit. Deep, lingering fear immediately welled up inside her as her back became covered in cold sweat.

    Daemons like that were extremely rare. It was actually composed of countless black insects, and it was so clever. If this continued, the entire city of people would be slaughtered. Yu Zijian had always been a kind-hearted person, so she was immediately overcome with sorrow after witnessing something so tragic. She had even forgotten about fear. She was tempted to cut down the daemon right then and there.

    However, she gritted her teeth instead and lowered her head. ¡°Chenglu, we¡¯ve escaped. We¡¯ll go back right now. You have to hold on!¡±

    Hua Chenglu forced out a smile. Just when she wanted to open her mouth to say something, a mouthful of blood gushed out. She became completely sheet-white as she said feebly, ¡°Zijian, I can¡¯t hold on for much longer.¡±

    Her cultivation as a Qi Practitioner was already rather impressive, but the organs were still the weakest part of a human¡¯s body. Countless tiny black insects were currently wreaking havoc in there. If her control over true qi was as intricate as Li Qingshan¡¯s, then she would have been able to kill the black insects, but it was completely impossible for the current her.

    Yu Zijian¡¯s heart became filled with pain with that. Tears rolled down her face. ¡°Chenglu, don¡¯t be so foolish. You won¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°I never thought I¡¯d die on my first mission. How¡­ embarrassing. Tell my elder brother that I¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop, I don¡¯t want to hear it!¡± Yu Zijian covered her ears.

    The black smoke let out a sharp buzz as it sneered. ¡°Children, eat her organs!¡±

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°It hurts! It hurts so much!¡±

    Yu Zijian was filled with despair. She raised her head instinctively, wanting to look for someone to help her, no matter who it was. A stalwart figure appeared in her mind naturally, but there was nothing in the wilderness around her at all. There was only her best friend moaning in pain in her arms, on the brink of death.

    Faced with a situation like this, some people would break into tears, while others would become frantic. However, her gaze gradually became determined under this unbearably great pressure.

    ¡°Chenglu, hold on. I won¡¯t let you die. I¡¯ll definitely kill the daemon. I¡¯ll save you and everyone else!¡± Yu Zijian placed Hua Chenglu on the ground and took her hundred treasures pouch, taking off on the Nine Yang sword and flying back towards the city with determination.

    Hua Chenglu extended her hand, but she was unable to say anything at all. All she could do was watch as the violet figure vanished from her vision. Afterwards, she completely fainted from the pain.

    After who knew how long, the dim sky began to rain. Droplets of rain fell from the hanging clouds, stretching out into drizzle and falling onto Hua Chenglu¡¯s face. Her face that had become twisted from pain eased up before she knew it.

    Hua Chenglu felt the coldness on her face and opened her eyes slowly. The pain had already vanished from her body. For some reason, the black insects she had ingested settled down, no longer gnawing and ripping away at her body crazily. Instead, it lurked within her silently, like regular insects. Even their daemon qi had become extremely faint, almost gone entirely.

    ¡°Did Zijian succeed?¡±

    Hua Chenglu was filled with joy from surviving. She immediately mobilised her true qi to purge these tiny insects that had lost their intelligence and only moved according to their instincts from her body. Gazing in the direction of the city gates, she frowned again before propping herself up and making her way towards the small city.

    The rain grew heavier, forming a curtain before the city walls. Hua Chengzan entered through the curtain, passing through the gloomy gates and returning to the city that had almost taken her life.

    The state of the city left her shocked. A large swathe of structures before her had been razed to the ground with traces of fire. This was the power of a protective supreme grade talisman Hua Chengzan had handed to her. She could vaguely make out countless charred figures on the ground, which had been washed by the rain.

    Travelling further ahead, corpses appeared before her one by one. They had either been burnt to a crisp by Lightning Summoning talismans, or they had shattered into pieces after being frozen by Frigid Ice talismans. However, most of them had been pierced or cut apart. They had been slain by a sword.

    ¡°Zijian! Zijian!¡± Hua Chenglu became worried and called out her name. Her voice imbued with true qi boomed through the silent city, but she did not receive a single reply.

    The sky grew darker, probably because it was already dusk. Finally, Hua Chenglu found her before a destroyed ancestral hall.

    She hugged the Nine Yang sword, sitting with her head lowered on the grey stone steps. The rain moistened her hair, which made it stick to her face. Then, the rain dripped down along her clean cheeks and suddenly turned red. She was covered in blood. Under the rain, blood permeated her surroundings. Only the Nine Yang sword shone like snow.

    She stared at the grey tiles before her. Suddenly, a pair of feet appeared on the tiles and a gentle call rang out from above, ¡°Zijian. Zijian, are you fine?¡±

    ¡°Chenglu, I won¡­ But I only saved you¡­¡± Yu Zijian seemed to return to her senses. She raised her head slowly and smiled with difficulty. Her face was completely moist, perhaps from the rain or perhaps from tears.

    Hua Chenglu saw her smile, and her heart ached. She felt even greater pain than when the black insects gnawed at her. There was nothing she could say.

    A few streaks of light shot across the air. One of them was Hua Chengzan.

    Afterwards, Hua Chenglu heard from her knowledgeable elder brother that the daemon they had run into was extremely rare. It was known as a ¡°miasma daemon¡±.

    Among the carapace daemonic beasts, some were overly simple and small, without a shred of intelligence. They even paled in comparison to ants, making it basically impossible for them to become actual daemons. However, if they gathered near spiritual veins or spiritual grounds, there was an extremely slim chance that they would develop intelligence over countless years, turning into an existence akin to miasma. Destroying them was very easy. All they had to do was kill most of them.

 Chapter 449 â€“ Blue Bird

    If it were not him but some other Foundation Establishment cultivator, they would never bother with a mission like this. Towards the end, he just laid down on the sword and closed his eyes, beginning to practise the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    After reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, he could connect with the water spiritual qi in the surroundings as easily as eating or drinking. Endless spiritual energy gathered in his dantian, powering the sea of qi to produce ebbing waves.

    Four hours later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes, and the spiritual energy within his sea of qi had become very plentiful, constantly churning away. The cultivation had been startlingly effective.

    Just like the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, his cultivation of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean had reached the fourth layer, basically early Foundation Establishment. As long as he continued cultivating like this, breaking through to the fifth layer would just be a matter of time.

    This obviously was not just due to the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core. The cultivation speed of humans had always exceeded that of daemons. A thousand years of bitter cultivation for a daemon might have only been equivalent to a century or two of cultivation from a talented human. They were not joking when they called humans the paragon of animals.

    However, any old daemon, even a tiny one, could live for a few centuries. Even human Foundation Establishment cultivators could not come close. These were the unique advantages that they could only envy one another over.

    Li Qingshan practised as both, so he could feel the differences even better. He truly could not underestimate the cultivation of humans at all. If it were not for the constant ingestion of pills, his cultivation as a human probably would have vastly superseded his cultivation as a daemon already.

    And, in the future, it would definitely become more and more difficult to obtain pills. By then, even if Li Qingshan became very powerful, enough to hold large-scale massacres for spoils, the pills that could satisfy him would still become rarer.

    Perhaps by then, his daemon side would have to depend on his human side.

    At this moment, Yu Zijian and the others on the ground finally arrived at the tiny city for their mission. Li Qingshan immediately sensed a tiny daemonic beast hidden in there. It might have been an extremely vicious monster to regular people, but it did not pose any threat to them at all.

    This bustling sight also made Yu Zijian recall the past. She subconsciously gripped the hilt of her sword as she stared into the emptiness before her.

    Li Qingshan simply stood there. In that instant, he thought she had discovered something, but he soon realised she was only blanking out. Gazing at her face that had visibly become thinner, he could not help but take pity on her. Zijian, oh Zijian. What has happened to you?

    Hua Chenglu fished out the Daemon Searching compass and determined the location of the daemonic beast very soon. However, the daemonic beast was rather clever. It had already burrowed an escape tunnel in the ground. As soon as it caught a whiff of them, it immediately dove into the ground.

    However, these people seemed to be well-prepared for a situation like this. Most of the daemons came from underground, so all of them knew how to burrow through the earth. If they could not even track them down, what were they hunting daemons for?

    Hua Chenglu patted her hundred treasures pouch, and a few mechanical snakes flew out, waving their heads and tails about. They shone with a metallic lustre as the segments of their bodies curled up before pouncing out vigorously like a spring. They shot into the tunnel in pursuit.

    The mohist ideology had always been about love and pacifism, but their engineering could be pushed to the limits through war. They could create powerful mechanisms and puppets that could deal with various circumstances. Because they did not have any particularly high requirements on the user, and they could be adjusted to various cultivation levels, there was an extremely high demand for them across the Clear River prefecture.

    As the machines of war were created in the mohist factories one by one, any ideology would become worthless. Only existence and victory held meaning.

    Before long, the mechanical snakes choked the daemonic beast to death and returned to the surface. They lost two of the snakes, and the mission was completed.

    Fate was unpredictable. Sometimes, catastrophe would seem imminent, but it would take a turn for the better and become a blessing instead. Yet other times, it would feel like smooth sailing, only to run into an unfathomable storm and capsize.

    Everyone let out a sigh of relief and began to discuss how they would split the remains of the daemonic beast. These items were worth quite a lot. The bones could be ground into dust for refining pills, while the hide could be used for forging artifacts. Even the flesh had a use. If it were consumed regularly, it would bring countless benefits to the body.

    A series of cheers rose up from the surroundings. The people of the city all viewed them as heroes. Only Yu Zijian continued to grip her sword, lowering her head with a frown. What she heard instead was countless wails as those people she had cut down rolled about and took their last breaths.

    At this moment, a crisp song jerked her back to her senses. A blue bird landed on her shoulder, singing happily like it was completely unafraid of humans. It was lively and touching.

    Just when Yu Zijian extended her hand over, the blue bird used its vermillion beak to peck the tip of her finger gently. She could not help but smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s not afraid of humans. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s a daemon!¡± Sun Yi said cautiously.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible? It doesn¡¯t have any daemon qi. It was probably a pet that managed to escape. Seems like it likes you very much, Zijian.¡± Hua Chenglu saw her smile for once, and she felt happy inside too.

    Li Qingshan stood nearby, smiling to himself.

    They did not encounter any accidents. After contacting the academy, a new mission arrived very soon. It was already late now, so they decided to rest for the night. They would undertake their necessary daily cultivation and set off tomorrow.

    All was silent in the dead of night. Hua Chenglu sat with her legs crossed. After completing her cultivation, she saw Yu Zijian seated by the window, leaning against her arms as she played around with the blue bird.

    Hua Chenglu responded to that, ¡°Zijian, you¡¯re not cultivating?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. I¡¯ll do it later. It seems to like me very much.¡± Yu Zijian touched the blue bird¡¯s feathers. The moonlight scattered across the window sill as she smiled gently.

    Hua Chenglu wanted to say something, but she faltered. She made up her mind in the end and said, ¡°Zijian, let¡¯s go back!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Yu Zijian asked in confusion.

    ¡°Do you know why my brother has suddenly permitted you to undertake these missions? It¡¯s so he can use you to force out the Sword Collection palace. If this continues, you¡¯ll be in danger.¡± Hua Chenglu finally gave into her inner guilt and cast down a formation in the room before telling her the truth.

    However, the blue bird continued to flap its wings, remaining in Yu Zijian¡¯s hand. After a careful inspection from Hua Chenglu, she had confirmed it was just a regular bird, without anything special at all.

    Li Qingshan sat on the eaves and became slightly surprised. Why is Zijian connected to that bastard? How¡¯s it possible to force him out with just her?

    ¡°Using me?¡± Yu Zijian had almost forgotten about the man who fished with his sword. Now that she thought of it, he had wanted to take her to the Sword Collection palace in the past.

    ¡°The Sword Collection palace seems to have destined you as the successor of the Violet Clouds sword among the Ten Renowned Swords. The Violet Clouds sword and the Green Ruins sword come as a pair of yin and yang swords. Once one emerges, they both emerge. Their fates are deeply intertwined. Even if a few thousand or a few million people die, Fu Qingjin might not necessarily care, but if you are in danger, it¡¯ll definitely force him to take action, which will end this stalemate and earn the academy an upper hand in their disputes with the Daemon Suppression alliance,¡± Hua Chenglu said in one breath.

    Li Qingshan had already become filled with shock. He never expected Yu Zijian¡¯s fate with the Sword Collection palace to actually run so deeply. If this were the case, his mission made complete sense.

    Oh right, and that shitty pair of yin and yang swords or whatever it was. Suddenly, it brought Li Qingshan great displeasure. How is that bastard Fu Qingjin worthy of her? What fate? Watch as I dismantle this fate!

    However, he soon thought of something and became rather confused. Fu Qingjin had arrived in the Clear River prefecture a long time ago, so why hadn¡¯t he taken her to the Sword Collection palace already, idling away here instead? Even an idiot would know that cultivating in the Sword Collection palace was much better.

    Yu Zijian smiled. ¡°I see. Chenglu, thank you for telling me. Thank you for accompanying me.¡±

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°You¡¯re forbidden from thanking me. You¡¯ve saved my life! Why don¡¯t we leave right now? I¡¯ll go talk with my brother. If it doesn¡¯t work out, you can just go find Fu Qingjin. You can stop thinking about that Niu Juxia or whoever it is. Didn¡¯t your father say he¡¯s safe and sound? You can¡¯t wait around here for your entire life for him, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a sudden understanding. As it turned out, she had remained behind for him. His emotions surged inside as warmth filled his heart. He was tempted to leap out right now and tell her his identity so that she would stop worrying.

    However, upon further consideration, he held himself back. It was not just for the mission, or for concealing his identity. If she really stopped worrying, wouldn¡¯t that mean she would return to the Sword Collection palace with Fu Qingjin?

    Yu Zijian smiled softly with some of her radiance of the past. ¡°Chenglu, aren¡¯t you afraid of your brother Chengzan the most?¡±

    ¡°Since when have I been afraid of him? If I tell him to do something, he¡¯ll never defy me. It¡¯s all his fault this time for coming up with such a bad idea. I¡¯ll get him to apologise to you once I get back. Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Let¡¯s go!¡± Hua Chenglu¡¯s face reddened as she said in disdain.

    Yu Zijian shook her head firmly and declined. ¡°Chenglu, you should go back. You shouldn¡¯t accompany me! I don¡¯t blame your brother. I feel rather grateful to him instead. If I had a use like this, why can¡¯t I be used?¡±

    Hua Chenglu grabbed Yu Zijian¡¯s hand. ¡°What are you saying? It¡¯s all because of me that you¡¯ve already¡­ If you get hurt further, I really don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do.¡±

    Yu Zijian said seriously, ¡°Niu Juxia told me to make proper decisions and not be indecisive like my mother, or I¡¯ll end up regretting it. I¡¯ve never regretted saving you. Even if I could choose again, I¡¯d go with the same choice. Now, this is my choice too.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed slightly. She had truly grown up, and she treated what he had said so seriously. He smiled in a self-deprecating manner and gazed at the moon. Making choices was easy, but just how many people could bear the burden of their choices?

    Hua Chenglu felt rather relieved. She sat back down on the bed. ¡°Alright, I can¡¯t win against you. To think you¡¯d actually believe in what that big, dark-skinned man said. However, don¡¯t send me away. This is my choice too. If we really come into actual danger, then we can go out together on the same day.¡± Then she pouted and said, ¡°What Fu Qingjin? I think we should just stick together. That¡¯ll be more like it.¡±

    Yu Zijian smiled. ¡°Then, why don¡¯t we become sisters?¡±

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Alright! However, I have to be the older one. I¡¯ve already had enough being the younger sister.¡±

 Chapter 450 â€“ The Water of Oblivion, Success with the Calligraphy

    ¡°Be careful, Zijian!¡± Hua Chenglu cried out. A wild boar daemon that stood as tall as several adults charged towards Yu Zijian with a pair of long, curved, snowy-white tusks, just like a huge elephant.

    They faced a real daemon in the mission this time. The level of danger could not be compared to the previous missions. Sun Yi and the others launched shining techniques, but they only left behind shallow marks when they landed on the wild boar daemon.

    Wherever the wild boar daemon passed by, the buildings and structures collapsed with a rumble, directly paving a path. Its might made everyone¡¯s expressions change drastically except for Yu Zijian, who was right in its path. She seemed extremely composed. The Nine Yang sword in her hand turned into a streak of white light and shot towards the wild boar daemon.

    The sword pierced the wild boar daemon¡¯s blood-red right eye, and the boar let out a violent squeal. It shook its huge head violently, wanting to stab its tusks through Yu Zijian. It was willing to throw its life away to drag her down with it.

    Even at a time like this, Yu Zijian did not show the slightest hint of fear. Instead, she was composed and relieved to a certain extent. She had experienced much more terrifying situations than this before. This was her choice. No matter what the consequences of her choice were, all she could do was accept it.

    The wild boar daemon¡¯s swinging tail suddenly became taut, but no one noticed this detail because its colossal body completely blocked their vision. They just saw the wild boar daemon come to a sudden halt.

    The Nine Yang sword pierced its head through its eye, turning its brain into mush. Yu Zijian used this opportunity to leap up over the wild boar daemon, and its colossal body struck the ground heavily. Due to all the momentum it possessed, it slid for another dozen or so meters, taking down a small building with it before finally coming to a stop.

    ¡°Zijian, are you fine? The strike just then was just too risky.¡± As soon as Yu Zijian landed on the ground, Hua Chenglu rushed over, both concerned for her and also grumbling to her.

    ¡°If we let it run amok any longer, who knows how many more buildings it¡¯ll destroy and how many more people will die. This bit of risk is worth it.¡± As Yu Zijian said that, she felt rather puzzled. During the critical moment earlier, no one sensed how the wild boar daemon halted clearer than her. It did not seem like the wild boar daemon had lost its balance due to becoming heavily injured. Instead, it felt like something else had interfered with it.

    ¡°Zijian, nicely done!¡±

    Sun Yi and the others gathered over. Through the past few missions, their impression of Yu Zijian had changed drastically. They did not find her as timid as the rumors said she was at all. Instead, she was extraordinarily decisive and courageous. Many of the times, even they could not help but sigh over how much better she was than them.

    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t take risks like that again in the future. The lives of regular people cannot compare to the value of ours.¡± Sun Yi frowned.

    Just like every other time, everyone emerged from their hiding places like startled rats or rabbits after the daemon had been slain, gazing over from afar fearfully.

    ¡°But they don¡¯t seem any different from us at all.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not looking down on them. I was born as a regular person too. However, only when we survive can we kill even more daemons and save even more people,¡± Sun Yi said righteously.

    ¡°Senior brother¡¯s got a good point. Zijian understands.¡± Yu Zijian lowered her head without disputing what he said, but she had no intentions of changing what she believed.

    It was just like how people were most likely looking down on you when they say something along the lines of, ¡°I¡¯m not looking down on you¡±. To cultivators, treating regular people as ants seemed to be a form of talent. Even the weakest of Qi Practitioners could achieve this with ease. However, she was unable to. It was just too difficult for her. It pained her when she saw others shedding tears. This was her weakness, but also her choice.

    At this moment, a familiar bird song appeared in the sky. A blue bird circled around as it descended, landing on the mountainous corpse of the wild boar daemon.

    Yu Zijian smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come again!¡± The blue bird seemed to bring her good luck. She looked at the sky. The bird was like a protector god, watching over her silently.

    The people of the city overcame their fears and gathered over. They gazed at her like they were looking at a god.

    They received a message from the academy, telling them to return and rest up. They eased up. After spending all this time outside, they could finally embark on their return journey.

    Li Qingshan wondered, Is it because Fu Qingjin has made a response? With this period of cultivation, he had made great progress with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    After reaching Foundation Establishment, the effect that the body played gradually shrank, and the effects of the meridians and acupoints had basically become negligible. What mattered more was the comprehension and connection with the spiritual qi of the world, as well as a person¡¯s mentality and character.

    Yu Zijian waved her hands at the cheering people. She sat down on the Nine Yang sword and shot off in the direction of the academy. She said seriously to the blue bird perched on her shoulder, ¡°You better not poop on me!¡± She had recovered much of her former radiance and cheeriness.

    The hearts of people might have been delicate, but it would constantly grow stronger and firmer through trials and training.

    Returning to the academy, they all returned to their respective schools. Yu Zjian and Sun Yi returned to Wuwei island. Halfway up the mountain path, they saw the slovenly daoist priest standing in the pavilion on the mountainside. Yu Zijian said in surprise, ¡°Master, why are you here?¡±

    Sun Yi clasped his hands. ¡°Greetings, master!¡±

    The slovenly daoist priest waved his hand to dismiss Sun Yi. He said to Yu Zijian happily, ¡°To wait for you, obviously. How do you feel? Do you feel better after going out for some air? You definitely do look better.¡± He studied Yu Zijian and smiled in satisfaction.

    Sun Yi was filled with indescribable envy or even jealousy. As the person most likely to break through to Golden Core, the slovenly daoist priest, Zhou Tong, could be regarded as one of the most prominent figures in the entire prefecture. Normally, he spent his time in secluded cultivation for his breakthrough. Even the leaders of the other schools could not seek an audience with him whenever they wanted. Yet, he had specially come here to wait for her. What kind of honour was that?

    It¡¯s just a Pure Yang constitution. The world is so unfair. Sun Yi was sour. If he knew that a Foundation Establishment cultivator had been watching over her carefully the entire time, and it had nothing to do with her talent or cultivation, his feelings would probably become even more mixed.

    ¡°Fortunately, I didn¡¯t disappoint you this time, master!¡± Yu Zijian pursed her lips.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never disappointed me, including the mission last time. Others may think you¡¯re soft, but this is exactly where you stand out. Those who don¡¯t persevere and only focus on small gains obviously won¡¯t be able to understand. What I was afraid of the most was having that compromise your character.¡± The slovenly daoist priest shook his head gently and gazed over the Lake of Dragons and Snakes.

    ¡°Divine swords can only be forged through thorough tempering, and fate has never been a good blacksmith. Sometimes, they go too hard and reduce something that was supposed to become a treasured sword into scrap metal. But seeing how you are right now, I don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    ¡°Girl, temper yourself properly. You¡¯re not a piece of regular metal. Once I overcome the next heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll formally accept you as my disciple!¡±

    Among the many disciples of the school of Daoism, only she had received a promise like that from him aside from Juechenzi.

    Li Qingshan returned to the Chain mountains. The Skeleton Demons ran around and made trouble in the spacious cavern like monkeys. These Skeleton Demons were extremely interesting. They were like clones of Xiao An, which she could control as she wished, yet they were also self-conscious, even possessing their own intelligence.

    After being taught a few lessons by Xiao An, they no longer dared to provoke Li Qingshan when they saw him. They moved out of the way obediently.

    Xiao An waved her hand, and the Skeleton Demons turned into prayer beads, returning to her pale, slender wrist. There were exactly seventeen beads, just a single bead away from scaling to greater heights and using the eighteen Skull Prayer Beads to create a formation.

    As for the skeleton under her flesh and blood, it had become even more crystalline, with its glow withdrawn and vaguely radiating with a buddhist nature. She had reached the juncture of the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Looks like this game of chess is almost ending.¡±

    Even though no one had realised that yet.

    Once the time was right, the two of them would work together to annihilate Strongboulder, slaughter Bloodshadow, destroy the Daemon Suppression alliance, and kill Fu Qingjin, painting in a full stop to this drawing of war. Afterwards, he would be able to reunite with Han Qiongzhi and spend some more time with Xiao An, writing some novels, gathering some power of belief, oh right, and properly learning how to forge artifacts. He had obtained an arcane artifact like the bronze cauldron through sheer luck, so there was no reason for him to run around in such a busy manner.

    Just as he daydreamed about the beautiful future, Xiao An interrupted his thoughts. ¡°Yesterday afternoon, Chu Danqing came looking for you. He said your item has been completed.¡±

    Li Qingshan beamed in joy. He lifted up Xiao An and gave her a kiss. He smiled. ¡°My good thing is here.¡±

    In the residence within the school of Painting, Chu Shidao had already become completely bedbound. Not only was his face withering, but even his eyes had begun to lose their shine. He stared at the fluid within a tiny bottle. Due to his trembling hand, the golden fluid trembled as well.

    He was rather excited as he asked Ru Xin, ¡°This¡­ is¡­¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the Water of Oblivion you wanted, senior. I¡¯ve tried it. It¡¯s quite effective.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic. Lass, you truly are a master of refining medicines. It¡¯s no wonder that that geezer Hua Ci praises you so much¡­ Cough, cough, cough,cough.¡± Before Chu Shidao had even finished talking, he was hit by a coughing fit. His chest heaved violently.

    ¡°Master!¡± Chu Danqing was worried. He sat beside the bed and stroked Chu Shidao¡¯s back gently, channeling spiritual qi into his body to steady Chu Shidao¡¯s breathing.

    ¡°You dumb child, don¡¯t waste your cultivation for nothing!¡± Chu Shidao grabbed Chu Danqing¡¯s arm with his withered hand. In that instant, he became extremely stubborn. He was like a bottomless lake right now. They would be going nowhere no matter how much water was poured into him.

    At this moment, he suddenly heard a voice from outside, ¡°Junior Li Qingshan has come to visit.¡±

    ¡°Perfect. He¡¯s come too.¡± Chu Shidao grinned, which was vaguely enough to make out he had basically lost all his teeth by now.

    Li Qingshan entered the residence and was taken aback when he saw Chu Shidao¡¯s state. Most of his joy vanished as he grew stern. He clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you for your efforts, master.¡±

    Chu Shidao fished out a scroll, not from his hundred treasures pouch, but from under his pillow. He handed it to Li Qingshan. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look?¡±

    Just like the Cursive Sword Calligraphy Li Qingshan had first obtained from the Black Wind stronghold, the calligraphy scroll did not seem special at all. It did not give off any spiritual qi or glow at all. However, when he slowly unfurled the scroll, he suddenly shivered inside, and all his hairs stood on end. It was a reaction to danger.

 Chapter 451 â€“ Jiaping City, Strongboulder Emerges

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone, and a spirit turtle appeared in his sea of consciousness, suppressing the sword intent. The figure wielding the sword was reduced to ink strokes before dispersing.

    Only then did he make out the rugged ink strokes scattered on the scroll. A stroke of the sword was a stroke of the brush, and a stroke of the brush was a stroke of the sword. In that instant, the hundred swords had struck out together, dancing and weaving into an earthshaking sword style. However, there were still flaws unfortunately. It was not everything.

    However, those few strokes alone were like the horns of kylins and the claws of dragons. He could already sense the power of its original form.

    Li Qingshan was utterly delighted. This was an arcane artifact through and through.

    ¡°It might just be an inferior arcane artifact, but it¡¯s probably no weaker than regular low grade arcane artifacts. As I repaired it, my understanding of the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s epoch-making talent only grew deeper. Qingshan, your strength will definitely increase tremendously with this.¡± Chu Shidao sighed.

    ¡°Thank you, senior.¡± Li Qingshan stowed the Cursive Sword Calligraphy away and bowed deeply.

    Chu Shidao waved his hand with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. I¡¯m a little tired. You¡¯re welcome to leave, the two of you!¡±

    After Li Qingshan and Ru Xin had left, Chu Shidao said, ¡°Danqing, I can tell that this child Qingshan is valiant and courageous, placing great emphasis on debts of gratitude and grievances. Now that this has been done, seek help from him if you encounter any problems. He shouldn¡¯t turn you down.¡±

    ¡°Master¡­¡± Chu Danqing¡¯s heart warmed up, unable to say anything more. As it turned out, he had done all of this for him.

    ¡°None of your senior brothers and sisters are easy people to deal with. You must confront them slowly. There¡¯s no need to search for the location of the Painting Tomb in a hurry.¡±

    As if he was speaking his last words to him, tears immediately pooled in Chu Danqing¡¯s eyes.

    Chu Shidao smiled. ¡°My dumb child, don¡¯t be sad. Life and death are all set by fate. You should go. I want to talk to your mistress a little.¡±

    Leaving the school of Painting, Li Qingshan said to Ru Xin, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually refine it. Why have you been ignoring me the whole time?¡±

    Ru Xin looked back and asked in confusion, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He went up and tugged her sleeve. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I know you, so please stop pestering me.¡± Ru Xin shook him off in displeasure and took off on her artifact.

    ¡°I may have. I forgot. However, since I¡¯ve forgotten it, it¡¯s not worth remembering. No matter what we had going on between us, none of it matters anymore. Goodbye, fellow Qingshan.¡± Ru Xin clasped her hands as soon as she said that and sped up resolutely. She flew away.

    Li Qingshan watched her grow further away as he remained stunned for quite a while. Suddenly, he returned to his senses and began cursing aloud, ¡°None of it matters my ass! You damn woman! You took all those spiritual herbs from me! You better spit it all out right now!¡±

    In the distance, the corner of Ru Xin¡¯s mouth curled into a smile. This bastard is getting more and more clever. Fooling him is really quite difficult now.

    Li Qingshan used tremendous effort, almost attacking Ru Xin¡¯s very dwelling, before finally getting everything he needed from her. However, Ru Xin stuck to her statement the entire time. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, but since you insist these are yours, I¡¯ll give them to you.¡±

    Afterwards, even Li Qingshan began to wonder a little whether she had actually drunk the Water of Oblivion and forgotten about him. After receiving this batch of pills, Li Qingshan cultivated for a few more days in his dwelling, converting it all into his own cultivation. When he had nothing to do, he would study the sword intent within the Cursive Sword Calligraphy together with Xiao An.

    Yu Zijian¡¯s group set off once more, and Li Qingshan could not help but take to the road again as their babysitter. The missions allocated to them this time were clearly much more difficult than the last. The group encountered many dangers. If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s secret protection, they probably would have sustained a few injuries and losses already.

    Li Qingshan knew Hua Chengzan was placing pressure on Fu Qingjin with this, and he had probably even included Hua Chenglu¡¯s confession and Yu Zijian¡¯s reaction in his calculations. He wanted to force Fu Qingjin into yielding.

    Winter had already passed now. The ground began to heat up again.

    Yu Zijian flew above the Clear river on her sword. The two sides were both lush with vegetation.

    ¡°Junior sister Yu, up ahead is Jiaping city.¡± Sun Yi closed the distance between them.

    ¡°Yep.¡± Yu Zijian nodded. After facing life-threatening danger again and again, she had become more and more composed, and her halted cultivation finally broke through again, having reached the eighth layer now. With a supreme grade spiritual artifact, the Nine Yang sword, in hand, she had basically become the strongest among them. No one dared to brush her aside anymore.

    Gazing at the city that appeared in the distance, Li Qingshan was slightly touched. I never thought I¡¯d get the opportunity to come back here.

    The flowing river suddenly made a turn, and the two banks turned into human settlements, replaced by households. With the three years of war, Jiaping city no longer possessed its former prosperity, but its influence remained, still possessing some of the scale of the past.

    The iron hawk on the mountain continued to stare fiercely, like it was flying, but the other structures on the mountain were severely damaged. The branch of the Hawkwolf Guard here had already been dismantled. It was not under the protection of any powerful formations, nor were any powerful cultivators stationed here. They even struggled with regular daemons. It would just become a living target if it remained behind.

    Li Qingshan landed on top of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain and gazed over the entire city. He remembered a few matters of the past and lamented slightly inside, but all of this happened in a single instant. He dismissed his thoughts and expanded his senses, but he failed to sense the existence of daemon qi in the city. As it seemed, the trouble-making daemon had already left. There was no need for him to keep such a close eye on them then.

    However, he could sense a Qi Practitioner in the city. He leapt off the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, gliding over to a structure that seemed like a garden. He found the surroundings to be rather familiar. He thought about it and recognised it to be the district government.

    Li Qingshan arrived in the garden silently and saw a person sitting beside a pond, cultivating. He revealed himself and smiled. ¡°Sir Zhou, long time no see.¡±

    Zhou Wenbin jerked to his senses and looked over. He saw a large man standing behind him. He was so close, yet he had actually failed to sense him at all. Even now, he did not give off the slightest aura at all. He found the face to be extremely familiar. Listening to how he spoke, he suddenly remembered. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Li Qingshan!¡±

    The teenager of the past had completely become a grown man now. His bronze face, his tall nose bridge, his steady gaze, and his consolidated bearing gave off an indescribable presence. It inspired admiration.

    ¡°I heard you already established a foundation. Is that true?¡± Zhou Wenbin was well-informed. He had heard many rumors about Li Qingshan the entire time, but he was never really convinced Li Qingshan had established a foundation even right now. When he first saw him, he was only an insignificant first layer Qi Practitioner. Just how long had it been since then?

    ¡°It only happened recently. Sir, your cultivation has progressed drastically too, hasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°The younger generation will always surpass the older! The younger generation will always surpass the older. Compared to you, I¡¯ve basically just been wasting away time.¡± Zhou Wenbin stood up in a hurry and invited Li Qingshan to sit down.

    The two of them sat before one another and talked about what happened after they had separated. Zhou Wenbin was clearly slightly overcautious as he faced Li Qingshan. The difference in status between Qi Practitioners and Foundation Establishment cultivators was tremendous. Unless they had extremely deep ties, they basically never stood on equal footing.

    No matter how old, no matter how much time spent cultivating, Qi Practitioners would always have to refer to Foundation Establishment cultivators as seniors. Even though Li Qingshan had not put on any airs, Zhou Wenbin still felt extremely unnatural. As he gazed at his junior of the past, he had leapt up in just a few years to a level he would never be able to reach. It was impossible for him to not feel even a hint of envy or reluctance to accept this.

    Li Qingshan originally had nothing to do, so he revisited this old place to catch up with an acquaintance of his. However, with the conversation, he could not help but feel that the world remained the same around him while people changed. A chasm had already appeared between them, such that they could not even talk freely anymore. As a result, he lost interest in the conversation too, preparing to stand up and take his leave.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He would develop a slight connection with the ground as long as he was standing on it, and at that moment, he could feel something emerging from underground.

    Hua Chenglu held the Daemon Searching compass and moved through the streets and alleyways with Yu Zijian and everyone else, searching for traces of daemons. The needle on the compass would turn from time to time, sensing the residual daemon qi that daemons had left behind before reverting to its original position.

    They continued searching until they reached a busy street. Originally, people flowed to and fro on the street, bustling with activity, but with their arrival, it immediately fell silent. The pedestrians all stopped and stared at them, while the bosses and shopkeepers in the stores by the street stopped too, making their way out to take a look. The existence of cultivators was not exactly a secret to them, but women as beautiful as them were not common.

    Hua Chenglu had already grown accustomed to gazes like that, so she was completely unfazed. She just stared at the compass in her hand. Seeing how the needle refused to budge, she raised her head and said, ¡°Looks like there¡¯s nothing this time.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good too. We can go rest.¡± Yu Zijian raised her head and looked at the sky, searching for the blue bird.

    However, in complete silence, everyone¡¯s gazes towards them changed.

    Cultivators are all indomitable existences. With my status, all I can do is look at beauties like them. They¡¯ll just end up in the arms of other men in the future. I hate this. Since I can¡¯t obtain her, they can just go die. A spark of danger suddenly rose up in a waiter in front of a restaurant.

    What beautiful women they are. Why must they be so beautiful? I¡¯ve heard cultivators all possess eternal youth. This is completely unfair. I want to rip off their faces. Let¡¯s see whether they can still smile like that. A middle-aged woman in a brothel ground her teeth enviously. Vicious thoughts emerged one by one.

    Old Li next door has borrowed my money, but he still hasn¡¯t returned it, even now. That¡¯s completely unforgivable. This bastard is better off dead. An old man carrying a bird cage suddenly thought.

    ¡°Stop hitting me! I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± A child who had been pressed against a chair, viciously spanked by his mother, suddenly roared out furiously. He put up a desperate struggle as his eyes became blood-red.

    Thoughts emerged. Killing intent bloomed.

    In that instant, everyone¡¯s eyes became filled with malice and killing intent.

    Hua Chenglu checked the compass in her hand, and it began to spin wildly like a windmill. It spun faster and faster. ¡°Everyone, be careful. There¡¯s daemon qi approaching. It¡¯s tremendous and very dangerous.¡±

    Rumble! The ground shook gently, and wild laughter appeared from underground.

 Chapter 452 â€“ Running Across Each Otherâ€™s Better than Actively Seeking Ou

    The ground cracked, and a huge boulder burst out from the earth. An invisible, terrifying power swept through the entire city in an instant. In everyone¡¯s eyes, even the sky turned blood-red, but what was dyed red was not the sky, but their eyes. Regardless of their age or gender, their eyes all glowed red due to being filled with blood.

    In the busy streets, everyone became frenzied, growling as they lunged at the people beside them. Their eyes were filled with hatred as they ground their teeth; it was like they were facing their mortal enemies.

    ¡°Oh no, the rock demon is slaughtering the city!¡± Sun Yi¡¯s face changed drastically and cut down the people who lunged towards him. It was rumored that people would kill one another in madness wherever the rock demon went. He could slaughter an entire city without doing anything.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Hua Chenglu felt herself become restless and ingested a Pill of Soothing as she spoke anxiously.

    Before she had even finished speaking, a voice rang out from beneath her, ¡°To where?¡±

    The ground began to ripple like water, and Strongboulder emerged. He stared at them with a vicious smile, like he was staring at a group of puppets. He had no intention of fighting. Killing them was easy, but Strongboulder wanted to rile up their killing intent and malice before he killed them so that he could feed off them.

    Sun Yi was filled with fear, but under Strongboulder¡¯s gaze, his fear turned into hysteric hatred and killing intent very soon. He charged towards Strongboulder.

    Strongboulder threw his fist gently, and with a thud, Sun Yi¡¯s head exploded like a watermelon, and pulp of red and white sprayed over Strongboulder. He let out a laugh. The two remaining Qi Practitioners could not withstand it any longer either and rushed over. They were ripped apart like dolls as the ground became covered by their slippery organs.

    Strongboulder licked the blood on his hand and admired the slaughter that was everywhere. Only a moment had passed, but tens of thousand people had already killed one another.

    In that moment, Jiaping city turned into a blood-soaked purgatory as malice radiated into the air. Strongboulder took in a deep breath and sucked in this malice, converting it into daemon qi and making his power as a Rock of Slaughter even greater.

    Suddenly, Strongboulder sensed something and gazed in the direction of the district government¡¯s office. There were still other Qi Practitioners! His hand expanded violently and plunged into the ground. A crack stretched into the distance.

    However, before he could finish, the huge hand closed around him and crushed Zhou Wenbin to pulp with ease. Succeeding with the attack, the huge hand collapsed and shattered, only leaving behind a bloody mess.

    Li Qingshan found this situation to be extremely troublesome; it was not because he feared Strongboulder¡¯s power, but because protecting two Qi Practitioners in the face of this power was anything but easy. Even if he transformed, it would still be difficult, let alone under the current circumstances.

    However, he could not afford to think too much about it. The streets and buildings receded around him rapidly, and he arrived on the busy street in the blink of an eye. The street was no longer noisy. It was deathly silent now. Blood formed streams as corpses were scattered everywhere. It was a chilling sight.

    Only when Li Qingshan saw how Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu were still alive did he let out a sigh of relief. He hid his aura even more carefully and slowly approached them.

    Hua Chenglu continued to hold on arduously through the power of the Pill of Soothing, resisting the invading killing intent. However, she knew she was probably done for this time. Who knew how many times she had heard of the infamous rock demon already. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators could not necessarily survive before him. Zijian, looks like we¡¯re really going to be going out on the same day.

    As for Yu Zijian, she seemed to have become frightened out of her wits by the sight around her. She stood still like a statue, without moving at all.

    Strongboulder let out a soft expression of surprise and looked at Yu Zijian¡¯s face. She had not been infected by the Rock of Slaughter¡¯s power, becoming a bloodthirsty, frenzied madmad. She did not even give off a hint of murderousness or malice.

    ¡°Why?¡± Yu Zijian croaked. Her memories from three years ago flooded her head. She felt like she was reliving the moment with everything going on around her, with countless living people dying horrible deaths right in front of her.

    Indescribable pain filled her chest, drowning out her hatred and resentment. When she said that, tears had already begun coursing down her cheeks, as if she was asking Strongboulder, yet also asking herself.

    ¡°There¡¯s no why. Do you hate it? If you hate it, come kill me!¡± Strongboulder was rather surprised. She was a mere Qi Practitioner, yet she was actually completely resistant to the Rock of Slaughter. He extended his hand at Yu Zijian and withdrew all of his power, directing it towards Yu Zijian instead.

    Her heart beat violently, urging her to kill.

    Yu Zijian moved, but she did not charge over madly like Sun Yi and everyone else. Instead, she straightened herself out, wiped away her tears, and drew the Nine Yang sword. The noon sun seemed to flow across the blade like water as she pointed it towards this undefeatable opponent. Her gaze was sorrowful yet determined, without a hint of madness or fear.

    ¡°Interesting! It¡¯ll be even more interesting when I kill you!¡± Strongboulder laughed.

    There was a flash of white light, and the Nine Yang sword swung towards Strongboulder¡¯s indestructible body. Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes widened. She could already see the fate when her sword snapped, and she died.

    Strongboulder just spread his arms, completely neglecting the attack. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he raised his arms, as if he wanted to block, but it was already too late. The Nine Yang sword landed on him, and he was sent flying like a spinning top, smashing through several dozen buildings consecutively.

    Even Yu Zijian was surprised by the power of her strike, while Hua Chenglu behind her saw a large figure flash by. Before they could even return to their senses, they felt their waists tighten as the surroundings rapidly receded around them.

    Li Qingshan could not bother with hiding himself anymore. He grabbed them by the waist and fled into the distance as quickly as he could. He had landed a strike on Strongboulder while he was careless, but he had failed to cause any meaningful damage. Before anything else, he had to take them to somewhere safe first.

    Hua Chenglu saw a ripple of blue light, and Li Qingshan¡¯s figure appeared. She said in surprise, ¡°Have you been following us the entire time?¡± Normally, help would have never arrived so quickly, so only one explanation remained. He had been following them the entire time. If that were the case, all the dangerous situations they had encountered that turned into nothing made sense.

    After three years, she saw Li Qingshan once again. However, Yu Zijian immediately became troubled with something else. He¡¯s Niu Juxia!?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Now¡¯s not the time to talk about that. He¡¯s right behind us.¡±

    Hua Chenglu turned around and took a look. With a great rumble, Strongboulder burst out of the rubble and shot into the sky like a cannonball. Before the dust had even settled, he fell back down like a meteor, shooting towards them.

    Strongboulder stared at Li Qingshan with extreme fury. Due to a moment of carelessness, the human had actually managed to land a sneak attack. He radiated with murderousness like an ill omen.

    In a different time and place, Li Qingshan would be very willing to fight Strongboulder to the death, but the circumstances right now were rather inappropriate. However, it was very difficult for him to escape from Strongboulder with just his cultivation as a human.

    Suddenly, shimmering light filled his eyes. He had arrived above the Clear river again. Li Qingshan came up with an idea and dove headfirst into the river.

    The river suddenly surged, rushing upwards with a roar. It turned into a huge dragon, opening its mouth and receiving Strongboulder with a growl.

    Strongboulder completely ignored it. The water dragon ripped away at his body and smashed into him, but it failed to even leave a mark. With a wave of daemon qi, he directly rushed through the water dragon, smashing into the Clear river loudly.

    Not only did the shockwave empty out that section of the river, but even the structures on the two banks were completely destroyed. He arrived on the flat riverbed and failed to find the three of them. The destroyed water dragon fell as rain before suddenly turning into mist that enveloped the region.

    The mist was thick like clumps of cotton, reducing visibility to absolutely nothing. Not only did it restrict sight, but it also interfered with the sensing of aura.

    ¡°Mere trickery!¡± Strongboulder sneered. With a gush of his malicious aura, the mist immediately began to disperse. He vaguely made out three figures who fled into the distance. It was Li Qingshan, who carried Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu with him.

    Strongboulder leapt up and smashed viciously into Li Qingshan¡¯s back, but when he came into contact with Li Qingshan, the three figures dispersed like mist. In the moment before, Strongboulder had clearly sensed the aura of living people from them.

    With a rumble, Strongboulder smashed into the ground and formed a huge crater. He became even more vexed. He had killed many Foundation Establishment cultivators before, but never had he been toyed with twice while even failing to land a single blow. With the time he had wasted, they had probably fled far away already.

    Sunlight fell down from above, projecting a shadow onto Strongboulder¡¯s face. Strongboulder suddenly raised his head and saw Li Qingshan appear, just standing beside the crater with a sword in hand and staring at him. ¡°Are you the rock demon?¡±

    Li Qingshan had followed the Blaststream Water Dragon with a technique of shrouding mist. Then, he used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to turn fiction into reality, attracting Strongboulder¡¯s attention in the opposite direction. Afterwards, he used the Invisibility technique to hide Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu, suppressing their auras as well. He had already fled thousands of meters away in a single instant.

    Hearing the rumble in the distance, Hua Chenglu calmed down. The rock demon was terrifying, but this man was extraordinarily powerful too.

    But at this moment, Li Qingshan thought of something and suddenly stopped. He summoned a cloud and left it in front of them before turning around and leaving.

    Hua Chenglu asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going off to kill the rock demon, obviously,¡± Li Qingshan said like it was as clear as day. Running across each other was better than actively seeking out each other. Who cared if the time was right or not? It would be fate if they ran into each other.

    ¡°Alone!?¡± Hua Chenglu said. The horrors of the rock demon had been deeply engraved in her heart. Even the mid Foundation Establishment One Thought master had died to his hands, while Li Qingshan was only at early Foundation Establishment. He was basically seeking his own doom if he did this.

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Li Qingshan pointed out, and a streak of green light shot across the sky.

    Fu Qingjin finally could not help himself any longer and interfered. Li Qingshan caught the scent of something called opportunity from all of this, so he returned to the crater. Strongboulder leapt out of the crater, lunging straight towards Li Qingshan. Suddenly, he felt a hint of danger. A stream of green light stabbed towards the back of his head.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin!¡± Strongboulder growled furiously. The sword qi was extremely familiar. He would know who it was even without seeing it with his eyes. He dared not treat the Green Ruins sword like any regular weapon. An armour of rock and soil suddenly erupted from his body, and the sword qi stabbed three inches deep before dispersing by itself.

 Chapter 453 â€“ White Bone Breakthrough

    She forged the last Skull Prayer Bead. The eighteen prayer beads circled above Xiao An¡¯s head, forming a mystical formation. Suddenly, they all turned into skulls and spat flames at Xiao An.

    The flames stripped Xiao An¡¯s flesh away from her, revealing the translucent, white bones underneath. Under the flames, they became even shinier, like they were sculpted from white jade. However, they were also imbued with a buddhist light that jade lacked.

    Xiao An brought her palms together, like a disciple of buddhism being inducted into nunhood. However, she did not kneel, staring at the sky instead. The roaring firelight in her eye sockets seemed to be able to pierce the thick rock, gazing towards the Western Paradise or Sukh¨¡vat¨©, the hall of buddhas.

    Regular skeletons roused a feeling of horror within people, but with the posture she held right now, she seemed solemn and sacred, radiating with righteousness.

    Xiao An slowly lowered her head, and the flames cloaked her body, like a multicoloured k¨¡?¨¡ya. She murmured softly.

    ¡°Right now, right here, I vow that all my actions, my intentions, are for ending the many buddhas, for slaughtering the boundless creatures, just so I can assist him in reaching beyond the Nine Heavens, right by his side.¡±

    With that vow, the flames vanished, and the eighteen skulls turned into eighteen Skull Prayer Beads, returning to her slender, pale wrist.

    Breakthrough to the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty!

    The door to Qing Xiao¡¯s Home opened loudly. With a flash, Xiao An took off into the air, flying towards Li Qingshan¡¯s location.

    Faced with Strongboulder¡¯s frenzied attack, Li Qinghan did not dodge at all. In the moment he was struck by the punch, he dispersed as a splash of water. Strongboulder¡¯s vicious smile stiffened slightly. He knew he had been played yet again.

    This was a water technique. Although it could never compare to his innate ability, the Watermirror¡¯s Image, it was enough for drawing away some attacks.

    Li Qingshan used the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility again to hide himself, retreating to a safe distance.

    Fu Qingjin glanced at where he was. The Green Ruins sword let out a long thrum, and the Green Ruins Illusion rose up, enveloping Strongboulder.

    Strongboulder roared angrily, ¡°Fu Qingjin, don¡¯t you know anything else? This trick alone can¡¯t hurt me!¡± He radiated with malice, so condensed that it was black. The Green Ruins Illusion immediately began to twist.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly received a message from Xiao An and learned that she had already forged the eighteen prayer beads, reaching the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. He beamed inside, and his eyes immediately became filled with confidence.

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An to hide first and wait for an opportunity. Xiao An nodded and turned away towards the earth. She swung her white bone sword around and directly burrowed through the ground.

    Looking at the Green Ruins Illusion again, Fu Qingjin and Strongboulder were actually rather helpless against one another.

    Strongboulder was clad in armour, so the sword qi from the Green Ruins sword could no longer do anything to him. Even if Fu Qingjin managed to get through the rock armour, he was unable to harm his actual body. The only thing Strongboulder was afraid of was the Green Ruins sword, but even if he were struck by it, it would leave behind a mark at most. As long as it was not a fatal wound, he could recover in the blink of an eye with a surge of daemon qi. Even Fu Qingjin was rather helpless against him despite his extraordinary sword techniques.

    As for Fu Qingjin, he was basically undefeatable as he stood within the Green Ruins Illusion. No matter how many attacks landed on him, he would just scatter as green light before reassembling. He was indifferent. Clearly, the power of the Rock of Slaughter was unable to shake the will of the Green Ruins sword.

    Having cut off Strongboulder from the spiritual qi of the world, he might have been able to win if he dragged this out blindly, but under the surges of Strongboulder¡¯s malicious aura, the Green Ruins Illusion gradually began to twist and shatter, with holes appearing from time to time. If Strongboulder wanted to flee, no one could stop him.

    Fu Qingjin brought his fingers together like a sword and slid them across the Green Ruins sword. He chanted softly, ¡°Myriad Sword technique!¡±

    Thousands of Green Ruins swords tore through the air, their blades thrumming and their sword qi surging.

    Strongboulder¡¯s beady eyes shone brightly. He was unable to absorb the spiritual qi of the world here, so he would probably lose the upper hand if they kept fighting. He let out a wild laugh. ¡°I¡¯ll play with you next time!¡±

    The black aura of malice gathered on his fist, and he pushed to the right. The halls and structures began to twist like a transitioning scene of a movie, caving into a huge hole that revealed the scenery outside the illusion.

    The first person Strongboulder saw was none other than Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You want to stop me with just this much?¡± Strongboulder leapt out and threw a punch at Li Qingshan.

    With just his cultivation at early Foundation Establishment, Li Qingshan did indeed possess no right to stop Strongboulder. Neither the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility nor the Arts of the Boundless Ocean could harm Strongboulder properly, let alone kill him.

    With a shake of his hand, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy unfurled in the wind. Hundreds and thousands of ink strokes merged together as a sword as black as ink burst out of the paper.

    Strongboulder and the ink sword collided, but there was no noise. The ink sword dispersed silently.

    However, Strongboulder¡¯s unstoppable bearing that could tear through anything had been forcefully severed by the sword intent. At the same time, he felt an extremely sharp strand of sword qi pierce his indestructible stone skin, right through his body. It plunged through the daemon qi and directly headed towards his daemon core. It made his heart leap in fright.

    Li Qingshan slowly raised his hands.

    The Rising Tide Form¡ªhis sea of qi seemed to swell like the tide, endlessly and continuously.

    The Cloud Parting Form¡ªthe rising tide turned into a tsunami, reaching towards the sky and parting the clouds in an unstoppable manner.

    A hand pressed against Strongboulder¡¯s chest. Wave-like blue light rippled outwards with a dazzling array of colours.

    Strongboulder had been forcefully slammed back into the Green Ruins Illusion. Fu Qingjin glanced at Li Qingshan in appreciation and did not let this opportunity slip by. The hole that Strongboulder had created immediately closed up.

    Strongboulder was furious. He opened his mouth and coughed, forcing out the strand of sword qi with some rock fragments, but he still sustained some internal injuries. By the time he turned around to look, he could not find Li Qingshan anymore. Only countless Green Ruins swords filled Strongboulder¡¯s surroundings in formation, trapping him firmly.

    ¡°Go!¡± Fu Qingjin ordered, and the swords took off like rain. The swords spun like sawtoothed blades, chipping and grinding away Strongboulder¡¯s armour.

    After sending Strongboulder back in there with the palm strike, Li Qingshan immediately ingested a recovery pill, sitting down to recover his spiritual qi. The palm strike was powerful, but it consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual qi. Combined with using the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, which was now an arcane artifact, he had directly consumed thirty percent of his spiritual qi. If they actually began fighting, he definitely would not be Strongboulder¡¯s opponent.

    It was completely impossible for him to defeat Strongboulder as an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, if it were just doing an odd job or two, lending a helping hand every now and then, it was not too difficult. If he wanted to swoop in while they were both heavily injured, then he had to make Strongboulder stay behind and wear down Fu Qingjin.

    However, through this, he became very satisfied with the power of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. It could injure Strongboulder even with his defences. If a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator had received this attack instead, they probably would be dead already.

    Strongboulder¡¯s vicious smile disappeared. His armour had been chipped away from him, and his body had become covered in many sword wounds. Unable to replenish his energy with the spiritual qi of the world, his daemon qi was nowhere near as vigorous as before either. The rate at which his wounds healed had obviously become much slower.

    Strongboulder let out a mad roar, and his arms expanded in size by ten times. He swung them around madly like two huge pillars of stone, smashing apart the Green Ruins swords around him. Riling up his malicious aura, he punched down.

    As long as he made contact with the ground, he would be able to flee through the earth. The reason why he could slaughter countless cities, make a name for himself as the rock demon, and go through countless battles without having a single person keep him behind was exactly because of this innate ability.

    When the strength of one¡¯s opponent was similar, preventing them from escaping was very difficult to achieve. Even Fu Qingjin was helpless in this respect.

    The Green Ruins Illusion gave way once again, but what Strongboulder saw was not the ground he was looking for, but flowing water.

    Fu Qingjin had unleashed the Green Ruins Illusion near the Clear river. In order to prevent Strongboulder from escaping through the ground, Li Qingshan had dug out a huge pit under the Green Ruins Illusion before filling it with water.

    Li Qingshan just floated on the water, holding the unfurled Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his hand and launching the ink sword.

    Strongboulder wanted to dodge, but the ink sword moved with lightning speed, and he had been caught off-guard by Li Qingshan. At such a close distance, in such a narrow space, how could he dodge?

    Strongboulder had almost gone crazy from anger and resentment. He ignored the ink sword that shot towards his chest and began to swell up, crushing down towards Li Qingshan like a mountain. At the same time, two stony arms reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders. As long as he killed Li Qingshan or forced him back and returned to the ground, he would obviously be able to force out the sword qi and recover his wounds.

    The Vortex Form!

    Li Qingshan pushed out with both arms. The water surged and revolved rapidly, turning into two huge vortices and wrapping around Strongboulder¡¯s arms. He nullified Strongboulder¡¯s terrifying power by conquering the unyielding with the yielding.

    Strongboulder¡¯s arms swelled once again, and the terrifying power directly ripped apart the vortices. Before absolute power, all tricks seemed so futile. Seeing how he was just millimeters away from Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders, Strongboulder sneered. By then, all he had to do was use some force and rip him apart¡­

    Of course, Li Qingshan would not just die on the spot with his body as a daemon, but it would give him away to Fu Qingjin.

    At this very moment, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation lit up. A third arm extended from Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, rapidly growing and reaching out like a vine.

    The arm happened to resemble Chu Tian¡¯s Palm of the Five Elements slightly, but it was much smaller, even smaller than Li Qingshan¡¯s arm. There were not just five colours either, but a dazzling array of colours.

    Just like that, a tiny arm pressed against Strongboulder¡¯s chest, and his indestructible, grey, stony skin actually collapsed slightly.

    Afterwards, under Strongboulder¡¯s absolute refusal, he was struck back into the Green Ruins Illusion. His way out sealed up once more.

    That¡¯s the power of belief. Fu Qingjin returned to his senses after a moment of surprise. Only then did he remember Li Qingshan¡¯s identity as a disciple of the school of Novels, which made him smile. Everything made sense now. With his assistance, perhaps there really was a chance to kill Strongboulder here and now.

    This was the most primitive use of the power of belief, to use it to directly attack or defend instead of conjuring anything, and it could only be used after refining the Divine Talisman of Great Creation again. It was much more effective than Li Qingshan had been anticipating, but it had depleted quite a lot of power of belief too, which pained him. There was nothing he could do. He would always feel like that whenever he used this consumable power.

 Chapter 454 â€“ Swooping in for the Kill

    Before Strongboulder could even force out the sword qi, Fu Qingjin merged with his sword and charged over, pulling Strongboulder into a battle.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. He rolled up the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and sat down on one side, meditating to recover. The Cursive Sword Calligraphy was powerful, but the amount of spiritual qi it depleted was startling.

    If it were not for the extremely abundant spiritual qi and extremely fast recovery rate granted by the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, regular cultivation methods really might not have been able to power the arcane artifact.

    Even now, he could not use it consecutively. He had to recover with each use.

    However, he still had a trump card that he had yet to use!

    A sword as black as ink hovered above the sea of qi in his body.

    After receiving the Cursive Sword Calligraphy from Chu Shidao, he had refined it once again. This time, he could also store the sword qi of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his dantian, which he could use at whim.

    However, it was no longer over a hundred strands of messy sword qi. Instead, it had condensed into an ink sword.

    Li Qingshan had yet to try out its power, but if he combined it with the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility, it definitely would be able to give his opponents a surprise.

    At this moment, Strongboulder suddenly let out a furious roar. He pierced through the Green Ruins Illusion and rushed into the air.

    A while later, the earth began to shake. Looking down from above, several large mounds swelled up in Jiaping city. The earth shattered, and the buildings collapsed, radiating with daemon qi.

    Where Li Qingshan meditated swelled up too. With a rumble, a hole appeared in the ground, and a blood-red tongue extended out, sweeping towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. Strongboulder had finally run out of options and summoned his subordinates. The seven or eight clusters of daemon qi all corresponded to powerful daemons among Daemon Generals. He used the Wave Treading Form and avoided the long tongue before turning himself invisible with the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility and concealing his aura.

    Colossal figures all standing over thirty meters tall burst out of the ground in their true forms. Some seemed like toads, some seemed like wolves, and there were even a few that were strangely shaped, making it impossible to tell what kind of wild beast they were originally. They all opened their gaping mouths and roared at Strongboulder in the Green Ruins Illusion.

    Fu Qingjin was unfazed. The Green Ruins Illusion expanded with Strongboulder, but the waves of daemon qi and malice that slammed against it grew thinner.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, I hadn¡¯t come today to kill you, but since you insist on it, you better leave your life behind!¡± Strongboulder¡¯s voice was extremely resonant, like it originated from within a huge boulder. As he said that, he slammed his hand towards Fu Qingjin.

    Strongboulder also ordered, ¡°Little ones, kill the human on the side!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh. Plans truly were not foolproof. As it seemed, it would not be so easy for him to watch on from the side anymore.

    The senses of daemons were extremely powerful, let alone those that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation. He might have been able to hide himself away from their senses if they were not actively looking for him, but if they were, he would struggle to avoid detection.

    Waves of daemon qi swept over, locking onto Li Qingshan¡¯s position very soon. The huge, earthen-yellow wolf bit viciously at him.

    Li Qingshan dodged the bite and arrived on the side of the wolf¡¯s head. He materialised and swung the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility towards the wolf daemon¡¯s neck.

    The sword was still transparent, but it shone with a streak of bright blue as it ripped through the wolf daemon¡¯s fur before running out of power.

    Only then was his real attack revealed. A strand of sword qi black like ink directly pierced the wolf daemon¡¯s tough flesh.

    It was the trump card Li Qingshan had been holding onto the entire time, the strand of black sword qi within his dantian. He had completely merged the sword intent and sword techniques he had comprehended from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy into the strike as well. He did not strike often, but when he did, he would strike with full force.

    The wolf daemon let out a painful howl, and the black sword qi erupted as a wave within the centre of his neck, just like ink. Afterwards, its huge head fell from its shoulders loudly. It had actually been beheaded in a single stroke. Daemons had strong regenerative powers, but when they suffered a fatal wound like that, they would still die on the spot. Blood flowed out like a river.

    Li Qingshan shoved the entire wolf daemon, corpse and daemon core, into his hundred treasures pouch efficiently. He looked around and saw the daemons gathered around him, glaring at him furiously. In a single instant, claws, fangs, and innate abilities all flew his way.

    Li Qingshan moved about swiftly on his sword. The surging daemon qi was locked onto his location the entire time, so all he could do was constantly unleash the Wave Treading Form, waving between the attacks of the daemons. As soon as he emerged from poisonous mist that was right in his face, the toad¡¯s tongue swept over once again. Waves surged below his feet, and he changed directions, avoiding the attack by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    Every time he used the Wave Treading Form, he would flash before vanishing. He seemed like he was teleporting around.

    The Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility was not completely useless. It could not achieve absolute invisibility, but as long as it could mislead the opponent¡¯s eyes, dazing them for even a moment, it would be enough for him.

    He seemed to be under constant danger, but there actually was not much danger at all. With just some effort, Li Qingshan broke out of the daemons¡¯ encirclement and arrived in the sky. He had obtained a daemon core, which was quite nice.

    When Strongboulder saw how easily Li Qingshan had broken out of the encirclement he had arranged, he ground his teeth in utter hatred. He knew no benefit would arise if he continued fighting this battle, so he suddenly shrank.

    ¡°Xiao An, Strongboulder is about to run. Get ready.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Xiao An had already arrived beneath Jiaping city. Fu Qingjin was not an easy target to deal with, which he understood the most. However, Strongboulder had used up most of his daemon qi, and he was peppered with wounds, so now was definitely the perfect opportunity to kill him.

    However, Fu Qingjin was no better. His clothes were extremely tattered, and the Green Ruins sword had dimmed visibly. Li Qingshan silently wondered to himself just how great of a chance he had to kill him if he worked with Xiao An.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you here no matter what today.¡± The exhaustion on Fu Qingjin¡¯s face suddenly vanished. Cold light flashed through his eyes, and he radiated with bleakness as he said that.

    He raised his hand, and in between his fingers was a scarlet talisman. He called out, ¡°Wind!¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, a tornado sprung up from beneath Strongboulder, sweeping him into the sky. It connected with the sky like a black dragon.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. Didn¡¯t you say you wouldn¡¯t use talismans?

    The wind from the tornado was thousands of times sharper than any sword or blade. It was like a huge meat grinder, scraping away rock fragments from Strongboulder.

    Fu Qingjin sheathed his sword, and the Green Ruins Illusion dispersed with it. He stared at Strongboulder in the air. All of his attention had been focused on a single point.

    In that instant, the sword erupted from its sheath with a flash, and he vanished. A perfectly-straight streak of green light pierced through the air, crossing through the tornado.

    The tornado seemed to be cut in half. It twisted a few times, refusing to disperse, before turning into a gale of fierce wind. Strongboulder fell from the air. His eyes were wide open, as if he refused to believe he would actually die here. A tiny hole had been pierced through his chest. He landed heavily on the ground.

    Fu Qingjin separated from the Green Ruins sword and glanced back. He frowned slightly and murmured, ¡°Did I still fail?¡±

    Strongboulder leapt up to his feet. Despite his heavy injuries, he roared at the sky, ¡°Fu Qingjin, I¡¯ll never die! I¡¯ll slaughter another hundred cities with each attempt at my life!¡±

    Fu Qingjin contemplated his choices. If it were not for the other daemons present, he could give him a chase. However, even he was reluctant to enter underground without good reason under the current circumstances. Killing someone at the same level of cultivation really was not easy. All he could do was watch as the daemons sank into the ground.

    However, he failed to notice how Li Qingshan stared at Strongboulder like he was staring at a corpse. Xiao An and her eighteen Skeleton Demons were already waiting down there.

    Li Qingshan pulled his gaze away and flew towards Fu Qingjin slowly. Piercing cold light was hidden in the depths of his eyes, and he was already holding a few scarlet talismans between his fingers, hidden in his sleeve. They could not match Fu Qingjin¡¯s talismans in grade, but he would definitely be able to give him a surprise once he used them.

    He was able to mobilise his accumulated power of belief instantly too and turn it into a powerful, lethal force. Most importantly, he still had his daemon form and the innate abilities.

    He had a seventy percent chance at success.

    He had a seventy percent chance to kill Fu Qingjin, to eliminate a great source of trouble here and now, but there was also a thirty percent chance that Fu Qingjin would escape and thus prevent him from using the identity of Li Qingshan to walk among the world of humans ever again.

    Everything flashed through his mind, and he made his decision. He would gamble on it. If he was afraid to gamble when he had a seventy percent chance at success, could he still be called a man?

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan, right? Your sword style is very impressive and very special.¡±

    ¡°You must be Fu Qingjin. Your sword style is very impressive too.¡± Li Qingshan let out a gentle sigh and answered him calmly. He silently stowed the talismans away and looked back.

    A few streaks of light shot over in the sky in the south-western direction as well as the north-western direction. The reinforcements from the Daemon Suppression alliance and the Academy of the Hundred Schools had arrived.

    Do I really have to fight him again just like what I promised? Li Qingshan found this slightly unfortunate, but with some further thought, it was fine if he did not gamble too. As his cultivation grew, his chances at victory would only increase, not decrease. Killing Fu Qingjin here would be ¡°checkmate¡±, and the game of chess that was the Clear River prefecture would come to a complete end.

    There were two possible outcomes in the future. One was that both sides had understood the brutality of war and decided to uphold the Treaty of Kings, maintaining peace, but this possibility was almost negligible. It was much more likely for war to swallow the entire Green province.

    They had eaten the appetizers already, so everyone could roll up their sleeves and prepare for a hearty meal. A shrimp like him probably would not even count as a single dish, so it was best if he waited a little longer.

    Fu Qingjin was not angered by Li Qingshan¡¯s arrogance. Instead, he said with sincerity, ¡°Thank you for your assistance, sir.¡±

    He appreciated Li Qingshan¡¯s performance during the battle very much. Not only was he extraordinary with the sword, but he maintained a clear mind in battle and did not actively avoid danger. The rarest part about it was he had broken through to Foundation Establishment already despite being so young. Even in the Sword Collection palace, he would be regarded as a talent.

 Chapter 455 â€“ Freezing Strongboulder with the Ice Flame of Soul

    Li Qingshan said coldly, ¡°Even without me, you wouldn¡¯t die in a place like this, fellow Fu. You have plenty of talismans from the Sword Collection palace anyway.¡±

    ¡°I still have to thank you,¡± Fu Qingjin smiled, basically admitting he was under no danger at all.

    Actually, he was truly thankful to Li Qingshan for saving Yu Zijian, but he did not mention it openly.

    Li Qingshan had vaguely realised that too, but he did not state it either.

    Fu Qingjin sighed gently. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to use something like that either unless I had no other choice. This isn¡¯t our Sword Collection¡¯s palace path of the sword. However, the rock demon poses a great threat. He¡¯s slaughtered millions of people and countless cities already. In order to kill him, I could not afford to care so much anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed to hear the funniest joke in the world as he laughed aloud.

    ¡°Why do you laugh, sir?¡±

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t broken the Treaty of Kings first, why would these daemons run amok above ground in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s called the Treaty of Kings, how can a measly person like me break it? I¡¯m just going with the flow.¡± Fu Qingjin naturally possessed the bearing of a lord who ordered people around at whim. He sounded like he was treating his subordinates courteously and condescendingly, as if they should feel flattered because of him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about running away from the responsibility. You¡¯re connected to this one way or another.¡± Li Qingshan refused to play along. It made him feel even more displeased, as a matter of fact. He had been trying everything to tie up these loose ends involving him, yet all Fu Qingjin did was take an easy step back and push aside his responsibilities.

    Fu Qingjin smiled. He really was unable to shirk away from this anymore, so he changed the topic. ¡°Sir, could I take a look at the arcane artifact you used earlier?¡±

    ¡°With how great the Sword Collection palace is, why would you need a measly arcane artifact of mine?¡±

    As they said that, the streaks of light arrived. The group from the academy was led by Wang Pushi and Hua Chengzan.

    ¡°Qingshan, are you fine?¡±

    Hua Chengzan literally leapt up in fright when he heard his sister and Yu Zijian had run into the rock demon slaughtering a city. Despite his incredible intelligence and all the calculations he had made, a situation beyond his control like this was exactly what he was afraid of.

    If it really were the rock demon, then let alone two measly Qi Practitioners, even Li Qingshan would be in danger.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I even killed a Daemon General. Don¡¯t forget to record this under my name when you get back, old Wang. Oh right, I am a Foundation Establishment cultivator now after all. I should have been promoted to the same standing as you a long time ago!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan told them roughly what he had gone through.

    Hua Chengzan clapped his hands together and praised, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re a genius!¡±

    The other cultivators present could not help but reevaluate Li Qingshan too, I didn¡¯t think the school of Novels would produce someone like him after all the time I spent in secluded cultivation. Not only did he save two Qi Practitioners in front of the rock demon, but he¡¯s even bold enough to turn back and assist Fu Qingjin in killing the rock demon. He even managed to kill a Daemon General when he was encircled by them. Not only would you require wits to achieve this, but it would require absolute guts too.

    If it were them instead, just going back to save two Qi Practitioners would require careful consideration. It would be like walking on a tightrope, where just the slightest carelessness could cost them their lives.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had not thought that much at all. Even if he gave a handicap to Strongboulder, he would not be able to kill him. A person who was not afraid of falling from the tightrope would obviously be brave enough to dance around there gracefully, which instead led to gasps of admiration from those who did not know the whole story.

    Fu Qingjin finished his conversation with the cultivators of the Daemon Suppression alliance before glancing at Hua Chengzan deeply, basically warning him.

    Afterwards, he clasped his hands at Li Qingshan with a smile. ¡°If everyone from the academy could be like fellow Qingshan, brave, resourceful, and open-minded, what couldn¡¯t you achieve? What daemons can¡¯t you kill?¡±

    The cultivators from the Daemon Suppression alliance were all surprised. Rarely did they see Fu Qingjin treat someone else so politely.

    In the depths underground, Strongboulder shook off his Daemon General subordinates and reached an extremely deep cavern by moving through the earth. After confirming that no one was chasing after him, he eased up inside. His face was sunken as his teeth creaked from how hard he grit them.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you suffer a horrible end, Fu Qingjin, and that kid too!¡±

    He had been quite heavily injured this time, having been pierced all the way through by Fu Qingjin¡¯s fusion with his sword. This was not a simple stab wound. All of the powerful sword qi and sword intent within the attack was enough to destroy his organs.

    If he were some regular Daemon General, he definitely would have died on the spot. It was exactly because he was a stone daemon, possessing no vital points on his body, that he managed to hang on tenaciously.

    Just as he tried to force out the sword qi before returning to his territory to heal.

    Cling~ Cling~ Clink~

    In the darkness, a shiny, snow-white bead bounced over. The bouncing sound was extremely prominent in the silent underground world.

    Strongboulder found this rather strange. His beady eyes moved up and down with the bead until it arrived before him. He picked up the bead and wondered, What¡¯s this? Seems like bone.

    He was unable to sense even a hint of aura from it. He tried to crush it casually, but the bead refused to budge. He became more and more surprised. There really were not a lot of items in the world that could not be crushed by him.

    Clink! Clank! Clonk! Like beads of various sizes falling into a jade bowl, over a dozen beads bounced over loudly. They arrived beside Strongboulder¡¯s feet and leapt up like they were alive.

    ¡°Who¡¯s trying to act all mysterious? Get your ass out here right now!¡± Strongboulder called out.

    Despite how sharp his senses were, he was unable to find even a sliver of a living creature¡¯s aura in the darkness, no matter how hard he searched.

    He felt slightly uneasy, but with how fearless he always was, he was confident he could escape through the earth no matter how bad the situation was. These beads agitated him as they leapt up and down, so he kicked them. The ones he touched actually stuck to his foot.

    He lowered his head and discovered that the bead in his hand was stuck to his hand too. Looking closely, it had turned into a tiny skeleton, hugging his finger firmly. It expanded to the size of an infant in the blink of an eye, grabbing Strongboulder¡¯s entire wrist. Its jaws clattered as it let out strange, chattering laughter.

    The eighteen prayer beads turned into eighteen skeletons. Like eighteen monkeys, they clung onto Strongboulder¡¯s limbs, back, and neck. They clung onto every part of him.

    ¡°And I had thought it would be something impressive! Is this all?¡± Strongboulder sneered, but his smile suddenly stiffened. The slender arms of white bone unleashed startling power, causing his entire body to tighten up and become immobilised.

    When Xiao An went from fourteen to eighteen Skull Prayer Beads, the power of all the Skeleton Demons had increased yet again. Every single one of them could handle a regular Daemon General. When the strength of eighteen of them was poured together, even Strongboulder was helpless, not to mention that he had just gone through a great battle and was currently weakened.

    ¡°Petty tricks!¡± Strongboulder suddenly expanded, and his head touched the ceiling. The eighteen Skeleton Demons expanded with him, becoming extraordinarily bulky, and their power became even greater. They weighed down on Strongboulder like a small mountain.

    Strongboulder collapsed on his knees helplessly. Looking up, a tiny skeleton, ¡°solemn and sacred¡±, was already standing right in front of him before he knew it.

    Strongboulder¡¯s Rock of Slaughter would influence the thoughts of all living creatures, rousing their killing intent. However, in that moment, the skeleton influenced his thoughts instead. His killing intent had been completely washed away, replaced by an omen of death.

    There was no difference between white bone and great beauty. Form had already become emptiness.

    The tiny skeleton was like a collector of souls from the underworld, preaching the absolute truth of life and death to him. No one could escape it, and no one could change it. All attempts of struggle were pointless.

    ¡°What are you!?¡± Strongboulder broke free from that mental state violently. He unleashed a wild roar and erupted with his remaining daemon qi, which filled the entire cavern.

    The cavern suddenly began to writhe, like the guts of a monster. The stalactites bit towards Xiao An like the long teeth of a monster.

    Strongboulder was filled with confidence. No matter what it was, challenging him underground would only result in death for them. He was definitely going to crush them to death with this innate ability of his.

    Xiao An took a step forward. She raised the sword of white bone and plunged it into the hole in Strongboulder¡¯s chest.

    The hole left behind by the Green Ruins sword had become extremely large with Strongboulder¡¯s expanded body. It was large enough to fit an entire person in there.

    As a result, Xiao An¡¯s white bone sword hit nothing, and Strongboulder sneered even harder.

    Xiao An possessed the ability to reduce blood, flesh, and bones to flames, but Strongboulder was a strange rock, possessing neither blood, flesh, or bone. Neither the Blood Flames of Corpse Incineration or the Pale Flames of Bone Smelting were effective against Strongboulder. She could suppress Bloodshadow, but she seemed to be suppressed by Strongboulder now.

    The flickering fire in Xiao An¡¯s eyes sockets suddenly became an icy blue.

    Icy blue flames suddenly surged out of the white bone sword too, filling the hole in Strongboulder¡¯s chest. The eighteen Skeleton Demons opened their toothy mouths and spat out icy blue flames as well, enveloping Strongboulder completely.

    Strongboulder laughed freely. He had a natural resistance to various techniques. The last thing he was afraid of was a fire attack. Even the scorching lava, the flames of the earth, could not melt him.

    His laughter suddenly halted. He felt a deep chill. It did not come from his body, but from the depths of his very soul. He shivered for the first time in his life. So cold!

    ¡°Ice Flames of Soul Refinement!¡± Xiao An chanted. After reaching the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, she had finally grasped the three flames¡ªCorpse Incineration, Bone Smelting, and Soul Refinement.

    With the three together, she could completely kill him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll drag you down with me!¡±

    Strongboulder felt colder and colder. He knew the only thing awaiting him would be death if this continued. Out of pure madness, he wanted to blow up his daemon core, but he discovered that the daemon core directly connected to him was already beyond his control.

    Before he knew it, the cavern stopped surging, and Strongboulder¡¯s daemon qi dispersed.

    It was not just the daemon core. He could not even move a single finger. He had been frozen by this piercing, bitter cold. Not only had his thoughts halted, but even his fear came and went, as if he had been reduced to the same, senseless rock of the past.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ no¡­¡±

    Xiao An closed her boney hands and wrenched the frozen soul from Strongboulder¡¯s body.

    Strongboulder collapsed loudly, turning into a strange rock that landed before Xiao An. It flickered with light senselessly, radiating with intense malice.

    The Ice Flames of Bone Refinement receded back into Xiao An like the tide, merging with the two other flames. It turned into a white flame that was almost transparent, flickering in her eye sockets.

    This was the foundation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty¡ªthe Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

 Chapter 456 â€“ Gathering at the Parlour of Clouds and Rain

    She waved her hand, and the eighteen prayer beads returned to her pale, slender wrist. Long, seaweed-like hair draped down, covering her body that was just as slender and pale.

    At this moment, on a whim, she spread her arms and raised her head. Like a sprouting willow in spring, her body gradually stretched upwards.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s group returned to the academy. Hua Chengzan specially held a banquet at the Hua estate to welcome him back.

    After washing and grooming herself, Hua Chenglu emerged from the back and specially toasted him, thanking him for saving her life.

    Li Qingshan emptied his cup and smiled. ¡°Never did I think that the girl back then would end up becoming such a beauty now. If your big sister Han hadn¡¯t been a step faster, I probably would not be able to help myself but to ask you to pledge yourself to me.¡±

    Hua Chenglu reddened, but she did not back down. ¡°Never did I think either that the brat back then would become such a heroic figure. If big sister Han hadn¡¯t been a step faster, I probably would not be able to help myself but pledge myself to you too.¡±

    She left Li Qingshan surprised, who asked seriously, ¡°Han Tieyi is not here, right?¡±

    That led to a roar of laughter. Hua Chenglu stamped her foot. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Hua Chengzan even jokingly said, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re not even afraid of the rock demon. How can you be afraid of tiger Han?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If he¡¯s here, I¡¯d like to go three hundred cups with him.¡±

    ¡°Brother, why didn¡¯t you tell me this beforehand?¡± Hua Chenglu then grumbled. Who knew how many private conversations he had eavesdropped on during their missions.

    Hua Chengzan immediately raised his cup and apologised to his younger sister. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not just you. Even I was left in the dark without the slightest clue of what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Before she returned to her seat, Hua Chenglu blinked her eyes and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Big brother Li, don¡¯t forget you still owe me a favour.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and expressed, ¡°As long as it¡¯s not pledging me to you, I¡¯ll do whatever I can.¡±

    ¡°Zijian, it¡¯s your turn now.¡± Hua Chenglu understood the value of his word very well. She returned to her seat and pushed over Yu Zijian who was beside her.

    Yu Zijian offered up a cup of alcohol, but her eyes were fixed on Li Qingshan. His smile eased up slightly, but he continued to smile with his eyes. ¡°What, is there something on my face?¡±

    ¡°Zijian, you¡¯ve done very well with the missions this time. I find it very admirable,¡± Li Qingshan praised.

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°Do you just admire everyone that¡¯s a beauty?¡±

    ¡°Haha, basically.¡±

    With both the host and the guest thoroughly satisfied, Li Qingshan took his leave from the banquet. Hua Chengzan accompanied Li Qingshan to the entrance and whispered to him, ¡°I just received the news. In three days time, still the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Negotiations about the alliance.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°That works too. At least your efforts haven¡¯t gone to waste.¡±

    ¡°You already know?¡±

    ¡°I know a bit. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t blabber.¡±

    ¡°You should pay a visit to the Han family too.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡± Li Qingshan patted Hua Chengzan on the shoulder. He leapt up and arrived mid-air before taking a step and flying into the clouds. With a few flashes, he vanished into the horizon.

    Hua Chengzan stared at the sky for quite some time before sighing gently. ¡°What impressive judgements.¡± Who knew whether he was talking about Gu Yanying or Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan returned to the Qing Xiao dwelling. Xiao An was already waiting there. She took out the strange rock that Strongboulder had left behind.

    The Rock of Slaughter flickered with blood-red light, dimming and brightening over time like a beating heart. This was her gift for him.

    Li Qingshan stroked the uneven surface of the Rock of Slaughter gently. Countless riling scenes of slaughter and of war poured through his head, tempting him to fight and slaughter too.

    He suppressed this urge and sighed gently. ¡°A loose end has finally been tied up.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan¡­ look at me¡­¡± Xiao An called at him extremely softly and murmured.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You seem a little different today?¡± Li Qingshan turned his head and finally noticed what was different about Xiao An. He circled around her.

    Her seaweed-like hair seemed to have become even longer, and she stood slightly taller too, almost past his waist. Her delicate facial features had become even more distinct, now with a hint of breath-taking beauty.

    Li Qingshan clapped his hands together. ¡°You¡¯ve grown a little.¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t grow, I¡¯ll attract suspicion.¡± Xiao An lowered her head and explained it like that.

    Although a profound cultivation could delay ageing or even rejuvenate youth, Xiao An¡¯s cultivation was nowhere near that profound.

    Because she had been practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty the entire time, she was unable to change the size of her skeleton. Fortunately, she had been avoiding the eyes of others for the past few years, and she did not attract much attention in the first place. However, as time went on, she would definitely attract suspicion.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and pressed his hands against Xiao An¡¯s cheeks, rubbing them happily. ¡°Very good. Very beautiful. Though, don¡¯t grow too much all of a sudden.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Xiao An became disappointed. With his encouragement, she originally wanted to keep growing!

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you really plan on growing up completely in a single breath!¡± Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond.

    ¡°I could.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t. You¡¯ll scare people like that. Don¡¯t worry, I can wait.¡± Li Qingshan lifted her up with a smile before becoming troubled again. ¡°If you get any bigger, I won¡¯t be able to carry you on my shoulders.¡±

    ¡°This is enough.¡± Xiao An wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured.

    ¡°Look at this.¡± Xiao An broke free from his arms and opened her mouth towards her hand. She spat out a misty, azure-blue object.

    ¡°That¡¯s Strongboulder!¡± With a closer glance, Li Qingshan noticed that it resembled Strongboulder. Suddenly, he understood that this was Strongboulder¡¯s soul.

    Xiao An removed the Ice Flames of Soul Refinement, and Strongboulder seemed to awaken from hibernation. He recovered his senses and immediately tried to fly away.

    Pale, white flames surged in from all directions like a cage, trapping him in Xiao An¡¯s hand. As soon as Strongboulder came in contact with the flames, he felt bone-chilling coldness, forcing him back.

    Li Qingshan huddled over in amazement.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Strongboulder was surprised, fearful, and furious. Suddenly, he recognised Li Qingshan. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    ¡°Then who am I?¡± Li Qingshan snickered, and his pupils gradually turned scarlet.

    ¡°Northmoon! It¡¯s you! You¡¯re a human! No, you¡¯re half-daemon?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not your problem.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. It was no wonder both the main characters and the antagonists would monologue in those various stories, as it just felt too fucking satisfying.

    ¡°Xiao An, he can¡¯t escape, right?¡± Li Qingshan asked in confirmation. He liked the beginning of this story, but he did not want an ending where the tables turned.

    ¡°Absolutely not. I can refine him.¡± After achieving the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, not only could she refine blood, flesh, and bone to nurture her white bone, but she could even refine souls to strengthen herself.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then. I have a whole heap of stuff to say to him!¡± Li Qingshan stopped worrying. He ignored Strongboulder¡¯s curses and threats and cleared his throat. He put on an act and said, ¡°Strongboulder, oh Strongboulder. Do you know why you¡¯ve failed?¡±

    He spoke until he became parched. After having his fill, Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Xiao An, torture this bastard properly for me, and see if you can get any useful information out of him.¡±

    Afterwards, he returned to where the Rock of Slaughter lay and patted it. ¡°This might be a good material for forging artifacts!¡±

    Deep underground, in Cobweb city.

    Spider Queen Lolth snapped open her eyes and summoned Dragonsnail. She asked coldly, ¡°Strongboulder¡¯s aura has vanished. Investigate who was behind this. The Daemon Generals under Strongboulder will now serve you.¡±

    There definitely were not a lot of humans or daemons capable of killing Strongboulder silently within the Clear River prefecture. Apart from some of the heavy-hitters from the Daemon Suppression alliance and the Academy of the Hundred Schools, she thought of Northmoon.

    If it really were a case of murder, Dragonsnail would never do it, while Bloodshadow was currently healing. As a result, the only one capable was Northmoon who came from unknown origins.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Even Dragonsnail was slightly surprised inside. Strongboulder had actually fallen in battle despite his strength. He felt certain things were escaping his control.

    Following the traces and questioning the Daemon Generals who had gone to slaughter the city with Strongboulder, he finally arrived in the cavern where Strongboulder had been slain.

    A buddhist glow continued to flow through the cavern. Dragonsnail frowned. ¡°Is this the handiwork of a disciple of buddhism?¡±

    Within the Clear River prefecture, there did not seem to be any powerful figures of buddhism apart from those in the school of Buddhism of the Academy of the Hundred Schools. At the very least, none of them could kill Strongboulder silently.

    He could recall that a monk Strongboulder had once killed seemed to be closely connected with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. He had managed to heavily injure Strongboulder with the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga right before his death. If the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had sent a disciple for revenge, then it would be beyond his control, let alone avenging Strongboulder.

    Dragonsnail returned to Cobweb city and reported this to the Spider Queen.

    The Spider Queen only dismissed her suspicion of Northmoon after hearing Dragonsnail¡¯s theory before sinking into her thoughts again. The Sword Collection palace, the Umbral Yin sect, and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were the three great sects of the Green Province. Every single one of them was a colossal existence that required Daemon Kings to contend with.

    However, if a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga really was responsible for this, there was no reason for them to be so secretive. Were they trying to avenge their disciples while maintaining the current situation, or were they trying to warn them that the massacring of cities could not continue¡­

    The Spider Queen licked her bright, red lips. ¡°Send orders to Northmoon and Bloodshadow. Strongboulder is already dead. I want them to massacre a hundred cities in revenge!¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s actions had drawn away the Spider Queen¡¯s doubts. As for Dragonsnail, his investigation had already taken up three days.

    Today, the Parlour of Clouds and Rain seemed rather deserted. The regular people had all been blocked from entering. Only cultivators could enter.

    Regardless of whether they were actually cultivated people or they were purposefully putting on an act, they all spoke under their breaths. Only the disciples of the sect of Clouds and Rain who moved between them demonstrated some of their past liveliness.

    ¡°School leader Liu, it¡¯s been a long time since you last visited. Are you no longer satisfied with us now that you¡¯ve reached Foundation Establishment?¡± A few seductive women clung around Liu Chuanfeng, which filled him with awkwardness. He barked powerlessly, ¡°Begone! Begone!¡±

 Chapter 457 â€“ The Order to Slaughter Cities

    ¡°Little brother, you look so familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?¡± ¡°How are you so sturdy?¡±

    Some of them brushed past him gently as others lightly touched Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. They did not possess absolute beauty, but they were still attractive. Combined with their full figures and revealing clothing, they were extremely charming.

    Even Li Qingshan began to be taken away by his imaginations, as it had been some time since he had last done it.

    ¡°Back down.¡± Qiu Haitang walked over.

    The women immediately retreated to one side and bowed. ¡°Sect master.¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled and bowed gracefully. ¡°I¡¯ve made the two of you wait. Please come with me.¡±

    Meeting Li Qingshan once again, she could not help but reevaluate him. He was not handsome like Hua Chengzan, but he did have a sturdy stature and a lively expression. Just by standing there, he radiated with a sense of power and firmness. Never had she thought that the ignorant young man who had stood up to her would have already grown up into a figure like this.

    Qiu Haitang said to him secretly with a smile, ¡°If you¡¯re interested, Qingshan, I can make some arrangements for you. Of course, Qiongzhi won¡¯t know.¡±

    After three years in secluded cultivation, Li Qingshan reached Foundation Establishment in a single breath. He accomplished this at the tender age of his early twenties, and then he killed two Daemon Generals in a row. He was one of the prominent figures of the cultivation world in the Clear River prefecture right now, a young cultivator who surpassed most cultivators in his generation. He even surpassed Hua Chengzan and everyone else, almost earning him the title of the greatest prodigy.

    Qiu Haitang was afraid to brush him aside. Thinking about his past disputes with the Sect of Clouds and Rain, she and the entire sect would be in quite a lot of trouble if she failed to handle their relationship properly and he clung onto those past grievances.

    However, Li Qingshan had assisted her in killing Wei Zhongyuan in the past, so their relationship was not all bad. Qiu Haitang believed it would not be a problem at all to make him forget about their past disputes with what she was capable of and improve their relationship.

    ¡°Unless it¡¯s Haitang yourself, the risk is not worth it!¡± Li Qingshan studied Qiu Haitang. With her splendid attire, she was like a flowering crabapple. Her appearance seemed no different from three years ago, but her worries had vanished from her face. It seemed like she had already let go of what she had been clinging onto. He felt like it had all been due to his efforts.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s memory, he already possessed a very deep understanding of Qiu Haitang. He had set off ¡°fireworks¡± with her, and he had seen her most frail side. He had heard her speak her mind. Their relationship had even exceeded that of regular friends. This sense of familiarity just flowed out naturally.

    ¡°It¡¯s a joke, it¡¯s a joke.¡± Li Qingshan knew that his abilities as an actor were not enough. He showed an opening from just a slight carelessness, so he tried to dismiss it in a hurry.

    ¡°With your youth, talent, and heroic bearing, I¡¯m instead not worthy of you, Qingshan.¡± Qiu Haitang took advantage of that to improve their relationship, but she maintained her distance from him. She felt like Li Qingshan¡¯s behaviour probably originated from the complacent arrogance of youths.

    It was reasonable for a person as young as him to develop some outrageous thoughts with how high his cultivation was. However, she did not feel anything special towards Li Qingshan at all.

    Thinking up to there, another figure appeared in her mind. Although they had only met twice, both times so fleeting, the impression he had left behind was so deep that she would never be able to forget him.

    Of course, he had already become known as a terrifying existence called the ¡°moon demon¡± now. Humans and daemons were destined to travel down different paths, so there were no possibilities for them to become entangled again. However, if she did meet him again, he should not kill her. She did have that confidence.

    The mechanism of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had already been activated, dividing into two layers. Qi Practitioners mingled on the bottom, while above was a meeting that only Foundation Establishment cultivators had the right to join in.

    This made Li Qingshan think about the elaborate banquet in the Hua family three years ago. Now, he saw many of those familiar faces once again. As he stepped on the cloud elevators and traveled up with Qiu Haitang, those people all raised their heads and stared at him, becoming smaller and smaller.

    Among them was the first senior brother of Horned Rhinoceros mountain. Who knew what his name was, but he refused to accept this. Although the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner was only a step away from Foundation Establishment, it had never been an easy step to take. Three years would often not be enough.

    Arriving upstairs, the surroundings immediately became much more spacious. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators had already gathered there, keeping each other company. They did not worry about any taboos as they spoke, all talking about the huge matters that happened recently in the Clear River prefecture.

    The battle between Fu Qingjin and Strongboulder three days ago was obviously the most popular topic. As one of the people directly involved, he garnered a lot of attention the moment he set foot on the floor.

    Fu Qingjin nodded at Li Qingshan in acknowledgement. Li Qingshan did not want to come off as overly impolite, so he clasped his hands back at him. Seeing Wei Yangsheng and a few others, he went over and greeted them. They all congratulated on his repeated victories.

    Before long, basically everyone was present. Everyone retreated into the surroundings.

    The leader of the school of Mohism tossed out a wooden box. The box began to swell and change rapidly, letting out a mechanical clicking. Before long, it had expanded into a circular, stepped stand.

    Everyone took their seats. The academy and the Daemon Suppression alliance took up many of the seats. Those who were directly involved in the discussions sat towards the bottom, while those uninvolved sat towards the top to listen along, which was convenient for them to speak up at any time too. It saved them from a lot of the trouble of being seated according to seniority.

    The meeting had finally begun. The representatives from both sides, Liu Zhangqign and Fu Qingjin, arrived in the centre of the stand to make a speech one after another before engaging in a debate.

    Li Qingshan watched on from a corner towards the back. After listening on for a while, he found it rather boring, so he lowered his head and began cultivating. This meeting would definitely take some time.

    He had already become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but his experiences were still rather lacking, and he was not skilled at debating either. Instead of all that, he would be better off settling down and increasing his cultivation.

    The fragrance of medicine appeared from beside him. Li Qingshan knew it was Ru Xin, but he ignored her.

    ¡°Wake up!¡±

    A thunderous voice assaulted his ear drums, which made Li Qingshan shudder all over. He glared at Ru Xin beside him.

    ¡°Leave me alone.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly frowned heavily before closing his eyes again.

    ¡°Oh my? Your temper has grown.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s temper had not actually grown. Instead, in the cavern underground, he just happened to receive the Spider Queen¡¯s orders to slaughter cities.

    ¡°Master, what should we do?¡±

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s main body moving about outside, his mirror clone watched over underground so that he could react to anything unexpected.

    He opened his eyes. Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo stood to his left and right, awaiting his orders.

    Li Qingshan asked in thought, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    Ye Liubo suggested, ¡°If we move independently, there might be losses. Should we gather the matriarchs again? Night roamers may not be accustomed with large-scale killing, but if we work together, it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. Among the techniques that night roamers are capable of, there¡¯s something called ¡°Gathering Nightshroud¡±. It can cover a very large range. It¡¯s not particularly powerful, but it¡¯s more than enough to deal with regular humans.

    Little did she know that Li Qingshan had no interest in carrying out this order at all. Even if he tossed his morals and ethics aside, contemplating purely his interests, what benefit would killing regular people bring? It would cause many problems instead.

    The current war might have been restricted to the Clear River prefecture, which he could rampage through freely with his cultivation as a Daemon General. However, there would be one day when this game of chess ended and stronger cultivators could become uninhibited from their constraints.

    The cultivators on the side of the academy prohibited such acts the most. Let alone others, even Gu Yanying would not allow a Daemon General that slaughtered entire cities without batting an eye to run freely through the territory she governed.

    The Sword Collection palace was just a powerful organisation among the many sects of the Green province, but slaughtering regular people was forbidden by the entire empire. This would definitely lead to the consequence of being specially hunted down in the future. The combined strength of the academy was far more terrifying than a single Sword Collection palace. He could go into hiding, but it would be impossible for him to keep everything he had built up underground after so much effort.

    He was not afraid of battle, but he did not want to become involved in pointless battle, not to mention all the people he was familiar with that he could not lay his hands on in the academy. Taking a step back, if he killed everyone, who would still read his novels and help him gather the power of belief?

    Only an idiot would do something that brought no benefit and only detriment.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°Now is without a doubt the perfect opportunity to carry out this order.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°The Daemon Suppression alliance and the Academy of the Hundred Schools are currently holding a meeting in Clear River prefecture. Most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators are attending it.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°I purchased this information from the humans.¡±

    ¡°This is a heaven-sent opportunity. Master, let¡¯s go make a great mess!¡± Ye Liubo¡¯s eyes shone.

    Li Qingshan noticed the uncertain and worried expression on Ye Liusu¡¯s face. ¡°Liusu, you don¡¯t seem particularly willing.¡±

    ¡°Master doesn¡¯t seem to derive his power from slaughtering cities like Strongboulder or Bloodshadow.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    Ye Liusu suggested, ¡°This matter brings no benefit at all, and it¡¯ll probably lead to a destructive blow to Night Roaming folk. Please give this matter careful consideration, master.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why do you think that?¡±

    Ye Liusu gave an explanation similar to Li Qingshan¡¯s analysis. Her objective was for the night roamers to return above ground, so they could live under the stars and moon again. Falling out with the humans for a conflict between daemons and humans was completely meaningless.

    Li Qingshan admired her secretly. She did not possess so many avenues of information like him, yet she was still able to see so far. Her insight was truly impressive.

    ¡°Sister, it¡¯s just killing a group of regular people. Will the consequences really be so severe?¡± Ye Liubo felt like she had come up with a good idea for once, but she had been overshadowed by her elder sister yet again.

    ¡°All chest and no brains.¡± Li Qingshan patted Ye Liubo¡¯s cheek. ¡°Hmph!¡± Ye Liubo directly grabbed his hand and stuffed it between her impressive breasts.

    Li Qingshan did not pull his hand out, enjoying himself between her soft breasts. He asked, ¡°Liusu, looks like you¡¯ve learnt quite a lot about the human world recently. I don¡¯t like wasting time on something like this, but how should we deal with this?¡±

 Chapter 458 â€“ Intentions Revealed

    ¡°Liusu, apart from the Rose Cloud sect currently occupied by the Daemon Suppression alliance and the academy¡¯s Clear River city, are there any other places we can attack in the Clear River prefecture? It has to be strategic points to the war. Only then can it hold up before the Spider Queen as an explanation.¡±

    Ye Liusu saw how he approved of her suggestion, so she smiled and came up with a suitable counterplan.

    ¡°There are. We can target spiritual stone mines!¡±

    As the currency in the world of cultivation, spiritual stones were also important items of use. They were all mined from the individual spiritual stone mines before being forged by artifact blacksmiths into regular spiritual stones.

    This was one of the most important resources to cultivators. Without spiritual stones, the mechanisms and puppets of mohism would all be rendered useless.

    Fu Qingjin was able to gather all the sects together, but he was unable to take these spiritual stones along with him.

    Ye Liusu took out a mental map and indicated certain spots. ¡°There are over a dozen larger spiritual stone mines in the Clear River prefecture right now¡­¡±

    ¡°Gather everyone!¡± Li Qingshan swung his hand. He had to launch an attack as soon as possible so that he could draw over everyone¡¯s attention before the daemons began massacring cities.

    In the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and glanced at Fu Qingjin from afar. You may be an enemy, but I hope you receive my warning.

    He turned towards Ru Xin. ¡°Earlier, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Why are you sitting beside me?¡± Ru Xin glanced at him before turning away again.

    Li Qingshan shrugged and let out a smile.

    As his summoning orders were being carried out in a hurry underground, the meeting continued in a systematic manner.

    Through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, he saw two worlds, one dark and one light. They both symbolised the centres of the world of humans and the world of daemons. Even though the Clear River prefecture was just a chessboard, he believed he was a rook that could move freely, one that could affect the developments of the entire chessboard.

    TL: The chess reference here is actually a reference to the chariot piece in Chinese chess. It¡¯s a piece that moves in basically the same way as the rook does in western chess, except it¡¯s the piece that can move most freely and quickly through the board in Chinese chess, thus making it one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, piece in Chinese chess.

    With the Spider Queen¡¯s orders, the middlegame had finally arrived.

    In the meeting, both sides bickered over every single point, refusing to relent no matter what it was.

    The disputes stopped. Everyone¡¯s gazes landed on him.

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°I just received news that the rock demon is dead.¡±

    After a moment of silence, everyone became riled up again. ¡°What? When?¡± ¡°Did he succumb to the injuries dealt by that strike from fellow Fu?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! My disciples have finally been avenged!¡±

    Various sounds reached Mind Enlightenment¡¯s ears, but it only turned into a buzz. Only five words continued to echo through his head. The rock demon is dead. In the end, it turned into a verbal murmuring, ¡°The rock demon is dead.¡± He exclaimed, ¡°Master!¡± His face was already covered in tears.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Mind Enlightenment from afar and muttered quietly, ¡°That¡¯s the end to that grievance. We no longer owe one another anything.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised with how quickly Fu Qingjin had received the news. The death of the rock demon had been announced with the Spider Queen¡¯s orders to massacre cities, but the news had not been spread very far.

    Just where did he receive this news from?

    The hall became filled with a jubilous atmosphere. The rock demon had slaughtered countless and caused great damage. The number of regular people who died to his hands had reached into the millions a long time ago, and he had killed countless cultivators too. He was like a great shadow, looming over everyone¡¯s heads. Now that he finally faced retribution, of course they would all be overjoyed.

    Even the cultivators with extremely impressive self-restraint could not help but smile. Some people even began to dance about.

    However, Fu Qingjin¡¯s next words immediately diluted the joyous atmosphere while attracting even more suspicion from Li Qingshan.

    ¡°The daemon queen has already sent out orders to massacre cities. She wants a hundred cities slaughtered in revenge for the rock demon.¡±

    Just as everyone was surprised, Li Qingshan contemplated a certain question. How had the information been leaked?

    Fu Qingjin seemed to be using some kind of high level voice transmission spiritual artifact earlier, or it would have been impossible for the message to be transmitted across such great distances, even overcoming the interference from the underground magnetic fields.

    Daemon Generals could refine spiritual artifacts and use them, but spiritual artifacts like that normally came in pairs or groups. If they were to be refined, they would be refined together. Fu Qingjin would never move around with an item radiating with daemon qi on him, so it must have been the doing of a night roamer.

    Who was this night roamer? There sure were a lot of hidden secrets in the world!

    However, Fu Qingjin did not mention anything regarding attacking spiritual stone mines, which made Li Qingshan relax slightly. As it seemed, it was not someone from his personal guards, but a clansmen possibly. Otherwise, he would have his mirror clone turn the entire place upside down right now to sniff out the damned spy.

    It was not necessarily bad news that Fu Qingjin had learnt about this beforehand. At least it could save countless cities, reduce the casualties of this war, and speed up the progress of the war.

    ¡°Fellow Fu, is that true?¡± Liu Zhangqing could not help but stand up. He was solemn. As the prefect of Clear River, he had the responsibility of safeguarding his citizens in the place of the emperor. More importantly, it had to do with the accumulation of merit for all confucian disciples.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The daemons are leading a large-scale attack, yet we¡¯re still here bickering over puny matters. What do you think about this, sir Liu?¡±

    Wang Pushi¡¯s brows became firmly furrowed as Hua Chengzan let out a soft sigh.

    The situation had instead pressed the academy against the wall. All of the advantages they had built up had vanished. It was impossible for the academy to turn a blind eye to the lives of millions. If the Daemon Suppression alliance just stood aside, and they had to face the daemons alone, they would definitely suffer severe losses.

    Liu Zhangqing said after a moment of consideration, ¡°Please set the rules, fellow Fu. As long as they¡¯re not too excessive, we¡¯re willing to accept them!¡±

    But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Fu Qingjin did not take advantage of the situation to maximise his benefits. Instead, he said, ¡°You¡¯d be underestimating me if that¡¯s what you say, sir Liu. The objective of the Daemon Suppression alliance is to purge daemons and protect the common people. How can we pressure everyone into favourable agreements?¡±

    ¡°Our alliance must be centred around a common goal. If we continue to clash endlessly over our own interests, will it be different from the past at all? We¡¯ll go with what we roughly discussed earlier as the rules. As for certain details, we¡¯ll set them aside for now and discuss them in the future. What do you think, sir?¡±

    ¡°Fellow Fu is a man of noble character. You have my admiration.¡± Liu Zhangqing bowed deeply.

    Fu Qingjin had spoken perfectly. Even the people in the academy who were very displeased with the Daemon Suppression alliance and Fu Qingjin in the past found that he truly lived up to his reputation as a disciple of the Sword Collection palace. He possessed a great bearing that regular people struggled to match.

    ¡°Please forgive me for making this decision for everyone. As people seated here, we¡¯re all fellow cultivators to one another, so we should be standing together and helping one another in the first place. I do believe I don¡¯t need to elaborate on the principle of mutual dependence, right? Over the past three years, who hasn¡¯t lost people to the hands of daemons? Compared to our interests, purging daemons and avenging them is more important. Fellow Li Qingshan of the school of Novels has already made a model example out of this point.¡±

    As Fu Qingjin spoke enthusiastically, he suddenly pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°A few days ago, it was exactly fellow Li Qingshan of the academy who obstructed Strongboulder from fleeing despite the tremendous danger, which led to his heavy injuries and eventual death!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes swept over to Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan had no idea on how to react inside. Out of pure coincidence, he had instead become the ice breaker of the meeting, also earning great praise due to the rock demon¡¯s death. If it were not for his other identity, his goodwill towards Fu Qingjin would probably skyrocket right now.

    Li Qingshan stood up and clasped his hands. ¡°Fellow Fu, you are too kind to me. As a Hawkwolf guard, this has always been my responsibility. The One Thought master of the academy died at the rock demon¡¯s hands, and I had personally witnessed the brutality of his actions too, so I can¡¯t just stand aside and let him run about freely.¡±

    Mind Enlightenment¡¯s heart heated up. He felt like he had gone a little too far with what he did to Xiao An. He felt rather ashamed.

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°Well said.¡± Then he said to Li Qingshan secretly, ¡°I hope your performance today won¡¯t bring me disappointment.¡±

    Under great, external pressure, the meeting about the alliance came to an end very quickly. They immediately began discussing countermeasures to the orders of slaughtering cities.

    At this moment, Fu Qingjin changed the topic. ¡°Forgive me for wasting everyone¡¯s time, but there¡¯s something critical that I hope the fellows of the academy can assist me with.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Feel free to mention it, fellow Fu. As long as we can assist you, we¡¯ll never shirk away from it.¡±

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°Some of you might know a little already. I¡¯ve carried out most of the investigations already too, so all that¡¯s left is to tie off a few remaining loose ends, as some fellow cultivators have refused to cooperate. However, as this has to do with the death of the Soaring Dragon Elder of our Sword Collection palace, I really must handle it with my full attention.¡±

    Everyone remembered how Fu Qingjin ran around questioning people a while back. ¡°Where were you that day, and what were you doing?¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He could sense the situation was taking a bad turn. With how much Fu Qingjin was rambling, he felt like he was about to reveal his true intentions.

    Touching on the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death, Liu Zhangqing was prudent too. ¡°Please elaborate, fellow Fu! Just what has happened?¡±

    ¡°Recently, the Soaring Dragon sword emerged, and the Sword Collection palace determined its location. That¡¯s right, it was that day. I just want to ask a few more fellows where they were that day.¡± Fu Qingjin¡¯s gaze was like a sword, sweeping across everyone present, including Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan was unperturbed and let out a small sigh of relief. I¡¯m supposed to tell you the truth just because you¡¯ve asked? However, he felt slightly uneasy for some reason.

    ¡°How are you so certain that the people you¡¯ve asked already aren¡¯t suspects?¡± Wang Pushi immediately stated his doubts.

    Fu Qingjin let out a sigh. ¡°Commander Wang, have you heard of the xiezhi?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said to be a divine beast that can tell guilt from innocence, the truth from lies.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is one of the secret treasures of our Sword Collection palace, the xiezhi¡¯s horn. It also possesses the ability to detect lies. As a result, may the fellow cultivators who did not tell me the truth back then answer my question again?¡±

    Fu Qingjin lifted up his hand, and sure enough, the xiezhi¡¯s horn was in there, radiating with a divine aura. He had already set up the situation, so there was no need for him to keep hiding anything. If that person really was here, he would definitely be able to force them out. With so many cultivators present, he would not be able to flee no matter what he was capable of.

    As he pulled out the xiezhi¡¯s horn, Fu Qingjin took note of everyone¡¯s expression, especially the suspects high on the list.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart turned cold. Suddenly, he understood why Fu Qingjin had asked him so many questions for no reason on Bronze Cauldron mountain. It all made sense now! He could not help but experience some lingering fear. If he had spoken carelessly back then, Fu Qingjin would have gotten him good. Even if he did not expose his true identity, Fu Qingjin would probably still be able to deduce many things.

 Chapter 459 â€“ Judgemen

    Liu Zhangqing considered it. Fu Qingjin had already demonstrated so much commitment to this, and he had taken such a great concession in the negotiations too. If they still refused to cooperate, it would be far too unreasonable of them.

    He looked back and asked the people of the academy, ¡°Do you have any objections?¡±

    Everyone remained silent, only glancing at one another.

    If someone objected at a time like this, they would probably garner actual suspicion. None of them could afford to become involved with the death of an elder of the Sword Collection palace.

    ¡°Fellow Fu, please go ahead. I believe no one in our academy will be connected to this, and if there really is someone, we definitely won¡¯t side with them. We¡¯ll definitely make them give the Sword Collection palace a proper explanation.¡±

    ¡°You have my admiration for how impartial you are, sir.¡± Fu Qingjin clasped his hands. He strolled over to the semicircular stand where everyone sat and scanned around. No matter who he saw, their hearts tensed up.

    In the end, Fu Qingjin¡¯s gaze landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s face, and he smiled.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart tensed up too. This bastard buttered him up good, but never did he think he would be the one questioned first. If he really were questioned, he would give himself away regardless of whether he answered or not.

    What was he supposed to do next? Admit he had found the sumeru ring? But that would be a lie, and it would be picked up by the xiezhi¡¯s horn. Fu Qingjin would definitely get to the bottom of this.

    Or perhaps he could directly kill his way out of here, but that would be even worse. If Fu Qingjin wanted to prevent him from leaving, he would unleash the Green Ruins Illusion. Unless he transformed, he was unable to break out at all, but if he did transform, there were almost a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators here. They would not simply idle around.

    Fu Qingjin had cast out an all-encompassing net. Once he reeled it in, Li Qingshan would be thrown into dire straits.

    Various thoughts flickered through his head. Fortunately, Li Qingshan had already established some foundations with his ability to act, so he frowned slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re suspecting me, fellow Fu?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± Before Fu Qingjin had even finished speaking, a roar of laughter erupted, as the xiezhi¡¯s horn in his hand actually lit up.

    ¡°The xiezhi¡¯s horn truly lives up to its reputation.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    The xiezhi divine beast passed impartial judgement. It only knew right and wrong, regardless of who it was.

    Fu Qingjin smiled bitterly and rubbed his nose. He said clearly, ¡°I admire your courage and adaptability very much, so I really don¡¯t hope it¡¯s you. I want to question you last.¡±

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn did not respond, proving he was telling the truth.

    Stop kidding around.

    He had avoided it for now, but the danger was nowhere close to being over. It had just been temporarily delayed. Li Qingshan thought long and hard. Just how was he supposed to fool the xiezhi¡¯s horn? The ox demon? The tiger demon? The spirit turtle? None of them seemed to work.

    Fu Qingjin paced around a little more and arrived before the slovenly daoist priest, Zhou Tong. He bowed deeply. ¡°Please answer me, senior!¡±

    Fu Qingjin had questioned Zhou Tong in the past, but as the person closest to Golden Core in all of Clear River prefecture, he had developed an unscrupulous character where he did whatever he wanted. Why would he pay any attention to Fu Qingjin?

    But given the current situation, even Zhou Tong was forced to answer. He said seriously, ¡°You¡¯re a real fucking likable kid!¡±

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn lit up brightly, leading to another roar of laughter. Zhou Tong said, ¡°It sure is useful!¡±

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°Please continue, senior!¡±

    ¡°I feel joy from the bottom of my heart when I see you!¡± The xiezhi¡¯s horn lit up once more.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin is wise and kind-hearted¡­ The Daemon Suppression alliance is justice and righteousness¡­ May the Sword Collection palace prosper for many generations to come¡­¡±

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn flashed constantly, and Zhou Tong resorted to cursing aloud. The people of the academy laughed a few times, but when they saw the faces of the people from sects becoming more and more warped, the laughter gradually died down.

    Only Fu Qingjin continued to smile. ¡°Senior, if you haven¡¯t had enough, I can make some time and let senior go on for three days and three nights. However, please don¡¯t forget that the daemon armies underground have already begun assembling. A hundred cities will be reduced to hells of blood before long.¡±

    Zhou Tong¡¯s cursing came to a sudden halt. No matter how uncontrollable he was, he was still a person after all. In the face of a righteous cause, even he could not act stubbornly and recklessly. He gazed at Fu Qingjin deeply. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen that Soaring Dragon Elder or whoever you¡¯re talking about, let alone some Soaring Dragon sword.¡±

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn finally dimmed, and Fu Qingjin clasped his hands again. ¡°Thank you, senior.¡± He proceeded to the next suspect.

    Li Qingshan smiled gently too, but he was extremely nervous inside. I need to interrupt this meeting before he gets to me!

    ¡°They¡¯re in a meeting in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain? Let me go take a look!¡± Underground, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone notified Ye Liusu before unfurling his wings of wind and flying out from underground. He rushed into the sky and accelerated, producing a few sonic booms as he shot towards Clear River city.

    However, Fu Qingjin¡¯s next few suspects suddenly began to cooperate very smoothly. Even someone like Zhou Tong had to cooperate obediently, let alone them. They were even more afraid of offending the Sword Collection palace. Even if they were reluctant to tell him where they were and what they were doing that day, all they had to say was they had never seen the Soaring Dragon sword, and it would basically be enough.

    The lie-detecting property of the xiezhi¡¯s horn made the questioning process as simple as possible.

    When his mirror clone had only flown half of the distance, they had already gone through most of the suspects. Only three remained, and it would just take a few words before it reached him.

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist firmly. Suddenly, a pale hand grabbed his fist. It was smooth and warm. It came from Ru Xin.

    Due to the obscuring table they sat behind, his subconscious movements were hidden away from the eyes around him, but they were not hidden away from Ru Xin beside him.

    Li Qingshan shivered and looked over. Ru Xin behaved like nothing had happened at all, focusing on the outcome of Fu Qingjin¡¯s questioning like everyone else. However, there was a sliver of concern in the corner of her eye.

    The stretch of structures appeared on the horizon. The Clear River prefecture was in view. Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone stared at the city, but he slowed down instead. He withdrew his aura and approached silently.

    It was already too late¡­

    Fu Qingjin finished asking the second last suspect. Only Li Qingshan remained.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s suspicion increased drastically. Almost a hundred scorching gazes gathered on him.

    Hua Chengzan became slightly nervous, Han Tieyi furrowed his eyebrows slightly while Liu Chuanfeng was completely dumbfounded. Everyone Li Qingshan had befriended and gotten to know in the academy over these years cast over gazes of worry, concern, and undispellable suspicion towards him.

    If he interrupted the meeting right now, he would basically be giving himself away. Li Qingshan had already prepared himself for the worst. His mirror clone was for reinforcing him, just in hopes of creating a chance to kill his way out.

    ¡°I do hope my judgement is wrong.¡± Fu Qingjin stared at Li Qingshan. His slightly blue pupils were as clear as water.

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn glowed dimly. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s not true at all. Ask me whatever you want!¡±

    He appeared completely calm, but this was not an obstacle he could get past with acting anymore. The battle began.

    Fu Qingjin tightened his left hand and placed the slender and curved xiezhi¡¯s horn between them.

    Vaguely, a one-horned xiezhi seemed to be crouching between them, like a solemn judge of law, ready to make its final judgement. Friends or foes, success and failure, or even life and death would depend on this verbal exchange.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s right hand pressed against the Green Ruins sword without any attempt of hiding it.

    Li Qingshan seemed extremely relaxed. He did not even stand up. He made a gesture of invitation.

    Finally, Fu Qingjin asked the questions he had asked countless times before again, ¡°Where were you that day and what were you doing?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He opened his mouth, and when he began to speak, his mind suddenly sank into chaos.

    ¡°I forgot!¡±

    Fu Qingjin was taken aback. The cultivators present were all overcome with disbelief too. This answer was unable to satisfy anyone.

    After reaching Foundation Establishment and splitting open a sea of consciousness, not all cultivators necessarily developed eidetic memory, but their thought processes and memories would be much clearer than regular people. They would still be able to recall whatever they wanted.

    As a matter of fact, even regular people would not forget about something so recent completely. They would still have some impressions, yet he actually claimed he had forgotten.

    If this was a normal interrogation, it would basically confirm the suspicion on Li Qingshan. However, Fu Qingjin glanced at the xiezhi¡¯s horn in his hand, and it remained still, without reacting at all. It meant that Li Qingshan¡¯s forgetfulness was not an excuse. He had truly forgotten.

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°It was a few months ago. Who still remembers something like that? I was probably cultivating!¡±

    Fu Qingjin would never relent. His gaze was as sharp as swords as he stared into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He continued questioning, ¡°What about the Soaring Dragon sword? Have you seen the Soaring Dragon sword before? Be direct. Just tell me yes or no.¡±

    Yes, I¡¯ve seen it!

    Li Qingshan basically reacted with so much certainty without even thinking at all. Not only had he seen the Soaring Dragon sword before, but he even knew its shape and size.

    Afterwards, as he tried to recall it, his eyes suddenly became slightly lost. The glistening Soaring Dragon sword turned into mist and dispersed.

    His memories gave him the exact opposite as an answer. Not only had he never seen the Soaring Dragon sword before, but this was even his first time hearing about the Soaring Dragon sword, even though Fu Qingjin had clearly asked the cultivators so many times earlier.

    That was the only reply Li Qingshan could give. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t.¡±

    The xiezhi¡¯s horn did not light up. The xiezhi divine beast seemed to judge Li Qingshan to be innocent, proving he had nothing to do with the Soaring Dragon Elder.

    It was impossible to tell whether Fu Qingjin¡¯s reaction was disappointment or relief.

    Don¡¯t tell me I was mistaken? The person who obtained the sumeru ring is not a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Clear River prefecture, but from somewhere else, or perhaps a night roamer? But why would a night roamer make a special trip to the surface just to open the sumeru ring?

    However, anything was always possible in this world.

    The lead had come to an end! Fu Qingjin could not help but admit the feebleness and powerlessness of human intelligence before the unfathomable, unpredictable world. He would only be able to gain a grasp over the tracks of fate if he possessed the arts of divination like the Divining Elder.

    Liu Zhangqing let out a sigh of relief and smiled. ¡°Fellow Fu, are you satisfied now?¡±

 Chapter 460 â€“ The Past is Easy to Forge

    ¡°People aren¡¯t perfect. All we can do is strive for the better.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. Suddenly, a gentle voice rang out in his ear.

    ¡°You owe me this time.¡± Ru Xin¡¯s lips curled into a slight smile as she spoke to him secretly.

    I owe you this time? Li Qingshan tried to think, but his memories were like sand sculptures on the beach, collapsing under the waves. He furrowed his brows and pressed his hand against his forehead. He was afraid to recall anything else.

    What was going on? He clearly knew the answer, yet he was afraid to think too much about it.

    A while earlier, Ru Xin held Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. After a while of consideration, she shoved a tiny bottle into his hand. The bottle rippled with golden fluid. It was the Water of Oblivion Ru Xin had only refined recently.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes slightly and glanced at Ru Xin before looking towards Fu Qingjin below.

    It was almost up to him.

    He could no longer care about the effects and side-effects of the Water of Oblivion. He grabbed Ru Xin¡¯s soft hand and tightened around it slightly, expressing his gratitude. Her hand was warm, smooth, and gentle, but he had no time to properly appreciate it.

    He changed his posture in a very natural manner, placing his elbow on the table as his hand covered his mouth. The Water of Oblivion flowed down his throat in a scorching manner.

    Because Li Qingshan sat towards the back and everyone¡¯s attention was gathered on Fu Qingjin and the questioned cultivators, Li Qingshan did not attract any attention with his subtle movements.

    In the beginning, Li Qingshan did not sense anything strange when the Water of Oblivion reached his stomach. He raised his head and did find the resplendent ceiling lights rather dazzling.

    When he lowered his head again, Fu Qingjin had already returned to the platform in the centre, standing beside Liu Zhangqing. The danger had already passed by.

    ¡°The large-scale invasion of daemons will be a great danger to Clear River city as well as us. The oath of the Daemon Suppression alliance, the responsibilities of the academy, will completely depend on this battle. We must pour our strength together and defeat the daemons, fighting side by side!¡± Liu Zhangqing waved his hand in an enthusiastic manner.

    What beautiful spring scenery! Li Qingshan sighed inside.

    Through another pair of his eyes, he currently stared at the Clear river that flowed east. It just happened to be the end of spring, where the weeping willows on the two banks were shrouded in mist. The weather had already grown very warm, but it had yet to reach a level where it was scorching.

    As he walked through the spring breeze, he felt like he had just drunken some good liquor. He felt tipsy.

    What was I doing? I can¡¯t think about it! It¡¯s useless even if I do think about it. Is this called getting lost on the road of life?

    Nearby on a road, there was a banner labelled ¡°Tea¡± swaying in the wind.

    Old man Liu had already run this tea stand for thirty-one years. This was a road that everyone had to use if they wanted to enter the prefectural city from the west. Merchants and visitors flowed to and fro. If they became thirsty or tired, they would sit down at his stand to rest and have a bowl of tea. Business was still booming.

    Since three years ago, business gradually took a turn for the worst, but he was very content with what he already had, at least compared to those who had fled here with their entire family. He was located on the edge of the prefectural city. The greatest city within fifteen hundred kilometers watched over his tiny tea stand from behind.

    There were no daemons that would come to make trouble here. Even if a few ignorant ones appeared, they would be dealt with quickly and cleanly by the sirs in the city.

    Business today was alright. In threes and fives, over a dozen customers sat at his tea stand, conversing among themselves leisurely. Among their discussions, they could not avoid mentioning the horrors of daemons.

    Old man Liu smiled as he listened along. He did not feel pressured at all. Suddenly, he saw the vegetation on the river bank rustle, and a person seemed to sit down. He called him over, ¡°Sir traveller, you must be tired from all the travelling. Why don¡¯t you come here and have a cup of tea and quench your thirst!¡±

    The other customers all looked over too. All they saw was a person standing up, and the first thing they noticed was his head of fiery, long hair, which seemed to burn. His scorching, scarlet eyes could make people shiver even under the light of day.

    ¡°D- daemon!¡±

    Everyone shuddered inside. None of them were unfamiliar with the word daemon, but they had only heard about daemons that could assume human forms. Never had they seen one before. It was said that all those who had seen one were dead. And, it was said that even the great sirs in the cities who could use magic were not their opponents. They had no idea whether that was true or not.

    Old man Liu was tempted to slap himself across his face. With his unlucky mouth, what was he calling out for? He immediately turned around to flee.

    However, with a scarlet flash, the daemon had already arrived right in front of him. He lowered his head and said to old man Liu, ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had¡­¡± Before Li Qingshan had even finished speaking, he heard a thud, and old man Liu¡¯s legs gave way, falling onto his knees. He soon remembered this was a daemon and pleading for mercy was useless, so he just straightened himself out to play dead!

    The other customers all shrieked and howled as they scattered.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip and poured himself some tea, drinking a cup. Unsatisfied, he picked up the entire teapot and directly poured it into his mouth.

    The tea was not particularly good tea, but over the past few years he spent cultivating, he had almost forgotten the feeling of being ¡°human¡±. Having some tea once more was quite the sensation.

    Gazing at Clear River city in the distance, a thought crossed his head. I probably want to go there, right?

    As a result, Li Qingshan made his way towards the city at a leisurely pace with a teapot in one hand and a willow branch in the other.

    In the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, everyone had become riled up with Liu Zhangqing¡¯s motivational speech. They were eager to get a piece of action. There were not people who could be fooled with just a few words, and they understood the dangers of war too.

    Actually, in the past three years, millions of regular people had lost their lives. Countless Qi Practitioners had too, but when it came to Foundation Establishment cultivators, there were not a lot who died at all. If the moon demon had not emerged, it would have only been ten or twenty percent at most.

    With their levels of cultivation, they would always possess a few methods to protect their own lives, whether it be talismans or arcane artifacts. As long as they knew how to respond to the situation without biting off more than they could chew, escaping from danger was not particularly difficult for them.

    However, if they killed daemons, they would obtain precious daemon cores as well as their other remains like bones, flesh, and hide, all of which was extremely precious. It was possible to say that killing a Daemon General was equivalent to obtaining a treasure trove of items.

    If the daemon cores they obtained matched their elemental affinity, they could even take a great step forward with their cultivation, earning them an opportunity to break through to higher realms that they originally had no chance at reaching.

    Moving around alone might have been dangerous, but with so many people together, what were they afraid of? Even if they ran into the stone demon or blood demon, they had countermeasures against them. Everything would be fine as long as they did not get too unlucky and run into the moon demon.

    ¡°We¡¯re well-informed on the enemy right now, and we have the advantage of striking first. If we plan carefully, we¡¯ll definitely catch the daemons off-guard. I¡¯m not particularly skilled in this aspect, so could you come up with some strategies for us, general Han?¡± Fu Qingjin requested politely.

    Han Anjun, who had remained silent the entire time, accepted the responsibility and stood up, arriving in the centre with a flash.

    The very aspects that the school of Military focused on had always been mobilising troops, battle formations, strategies, and the military law. Even Fu Qingjin could not claim he surpassed Han Anjin when it came to a large-scale operation of mobilising all the cultivators in the entire prefecture.

    ¡°There are only a few dozen Daemon Generals underground right now, and they lack organisation and a leader. The rock demon is dead, while the blood demon is injured. They¡¯re nothing worth worrying about. Only the moon demon and the several dozen Foundation Establishment night roamers under his command are a problem.¡±

    When they heard the moon demon being mentioned, everyone felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over them. Their enthusiasm was completely extinguished. If they ran into the night roamer army led by the moon demon, fleeing would not be as easy as running into the rock demon or blood demon.

    Fu Qingjin let out a gentle sigh. He knew that this was an unavoidable obstacle. As he murmured, ¡°Northmoon,¡± even he found him rather troublesome. He had never expected the Daemon race of the Clear River prefecture to produce such a powerful daemon.

    Not only did he possess an extremely powerful cultivation, but he also possessed intelligence that regular Daemon Generals lacked, having united a great group of night roamers under his banner. Anyone who wanted to destroy this force would have to pay a heavy price.

    As a member of the cultivation community in the Clear River prefecture, Qiu Haitang also listened along from a corner. She knew she would no longer be able to maneuver between the two organisations and remain uninvolved once the alliance was forged. As she watched how they reacted when the moon demon was mentioned, she found it rather funny, and she felt rather proud too.

    She had seen the moon demon, no, Northmoon, in person before. She had even forced him into a heart-to-heart conversation on the Soaring Dragon ship. In retrospect, she sure was audacious back then! He was a cruel and vicious daemon after all!

    However, he did not seem as terrifying as they described him to be in her impression. Although he was rather irritable, he was actually very mischievous or even rather gentle. Sometimes, he seemed more like a big child to her, also possessing feelings of love inside.

    At this moment, a Scarlet Wolf guard responsible for surveilling the surroundings of Clear River city reported, ¡°Commander, a daemon has entered the city.¡±

    Was it about to begin? Everyone shivered and prepared themselves to purge daemons.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a daemon, isn¡¯t it? What¡¯re you so flustered for?¡± Wang Pushi became displeased at how unsettled the Scarlet Wolf guard was.

    ¡° I think¡­ I think¡­ it¡¯s the moon demon!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Wang Pushi¡¯s expression changed. It was not just him. The other Foundation Establishment cultivators were all taken aback too. Most of their motivation to purge daemons vanished into thin air.

    Liu Zhangqing immediately fished out the Watermirror disc. Stroking across it, the scenery of the entire city immediately appeared on there. The west side of the city had descended into turmoil and people shrieked and fled.

    Everyone could not help but raise their heads and look into the Watermirror disc.

    Under the control of his spiritual energy, the scenery in the Watermirror disc rapidly expanded. A devilishly handsome face filled the entire disc. He seemed rather lost and lethargic. As if he had suddenly sensed something, he looked around before narrowing his eyes, locking onto Liu Zhangqing¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°So there you are!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing staggered backwards slightly in fright as he cried out, ¡°Oh no, the moon demon is going to slaughter the prefectural city!¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t the formations respond?¡±

    ¡°The moon demon can conceal his aura.¡±

    As it turned out, they had set up a formation within the vicinity of Clear River city when the war first began. It did not restrict the entry and exit of regular people, but as soon as it sensed even a hint of daemon qi, it would give off a warning, and the formation would activate. As the person watching over the city, Liu Zhangqing would be able to respond immediately. However, Li Qingshan had hidden his aura away completely, thus making his way in here with ease.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s heart sank. He had personally witnessed the state that he had reduced Bronze Cauldron mountain to. The moon demon seemed to be able to cause earthquakes. If he really wanted to slaughter cities, he would probably be even more efficient than the rock demon or blood demon, and he would be almost unstoppable.

    He could imagine just how many buildings and structures would collapse once he produced an earthquake. Clear River city would be reduced to ruins! This bastard rarely struck, but when he did, it would always be startling.

    Li Qingshan had no interest in slaughtering the city at all. After drinking the Water of Oblivion, he had forgotten many things before he knew it. The more important they were to him, the more he was afraid to think of them, as he was afraid of forgetting. However, he could still remember that he wanted to come to the prefectural city, and he still felt angry inside.

 Chapter 461 â€“ The Past is Difficult to Forge

    Fu Qingjin, if it weren¡¯t for you, why would I have drunken, drunken¡­

    Who¡¯s Fu Qingjin? What did I drink?

    Clatter!

    ¡°Fuck this shit!¡± Li Qingshan finished off all the tea. He smashed the teapot on the ground, tossed the willow branch aside, and strode off towards the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, get your ass out here!¡±

    Even though I have no idea who you are!

    They had requested all Foundation Establishment cultivators to attend the meeting in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain this time, but it clearly was not the case.

    In the academy, within a residence of the school of Painting.

    Dismissing all his uniformed disciples, Chu Shidao propped himself up on the bed and stood up. He arrived beside the window and gazed at the brilliant spring scenery outside. The glistening water flickered between the willow leaves.

    His eyes began to glisten too. I really don¡¯t want to die!

    Having cultivated his entire life, his reason and the thing he pursued was still about a single word, longevity, because if he lived, there would be hope, and everything before him right now would be his.

    He forced himself to turn away. He took out a painting from his bosom carefully and unfurled it slowly.

    The person in the painting currently stared at him with her pitch-black, inky eyes. Her cyan dress and her rouge lips had been painted by him in the past, stroke by stroke, but looking at it again, she no longer resembled the her of the past anymore.

    ¡°A¡¯Yan, I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    As soon as Chu Shidao said that, a gust of fragrance hit his face. It was not the fragrance of rouge, but the fragrance of ink.

    ¡°You always shove me into your bosom. You¡¯re going to dry out the pigments.¡±

    A woman emerged from the painting and snatched the scroll from Chu Shidao¡¯s hand, hanging it up on a wall properly.

    As if she had failed to notice the aura of death gradually growing heavier on Chu Shidao¡¯s face, she touched her skin in the mirror and made her way to the kitchen at the back without even asking what he wanted to eat. A while later, the smell of fire and smoke arrived, followed by the smell of food.

    Chu Shidao leaned against the table and sat down. He took out a gamboge jug of alcohol and set it on the table. Without much hesitation, he opened the lid and tipped in the golden fluid he had obtained from Ru Xin.

    Before long, A¡¯Yan served up the dishes. Chu Shidao took a bite. ¡°It¡¯s salty.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to eat it, then don¡¯t eat it,¡± A¡¯Yan said in exasperation.

    The alcohol was poured into two cups. With a gentle clink in their hands, they each drank the alcohol and remained silent.

    ¡°Are you hiding something from me?¡± A¡¯Yan stared at Chu Shidao with some suspicion. Today, there was something obscured in his eyes, which she struggled to read.

    ¡°What can I hide from you?¡± Chu Shidao lifted up the cup again with a smile.

    Before long, the jug of alcohol was emptied.

    ¡°This alcohol is so strange. Why do I feel tipsy?¡± A¡¯Yan propped up her forehead. Her head felt rather heavy.

    ¡°I feel a little tipsy too.¡± Chu Shidao smiled. The matters of the past rose up like smoke, like dust, before all dispersing. Dispersing with it was the final shred of life that remained in him.

    With a gentle clank, the cups and dishes on the table jolted together. Chu Shidao leaned on the table, without moving at all. He had passed away all of a sudden.

    With a clatter, A¡¯Yan stood up abruptly and pushed back her chair. ¡°Hmm? W- who are you?¡±

    Before her sorrow could even fill her, it had turned into confusion. The harder she thought, the harder she tried to grasp at something, the more it would all just turn into wisps of clouds in her hands.

    Her face heated up for some reason. She touched her cheek. It was already moist. Tears flowed endlessly.

    The spring scenery outside the window seemed even more brilliant.

    Just as everyone¡¯s attention was drawn away by the moon demon in the Watermirror disc, Ru Xin paid no attention to the arrival of this terrifying daemon at all. Instead, she asked in concern, ¡°Are you fine?¡±

    When Li Qingshan faced Fu Qingjin, he seemed extremely calm, but Ru Xin could sense his nervousness. This had nothing to do with her sharp wit. Li Qingshan¡¯s acting had been flawless.

    Perhaps they had achieved a tacit understanding? Ru Xin snorted in contempt. What benefit would come from achieving a tacit understanding with him? But at the same time, she could not help but worry for him too. She immediately thought of the existence of Water of Oblivion.

    She had never drunk the Water of Oblivion before. Instead, she had found a few regular people. Enticed by a great sum of money, no one would be interested in their memories. As a matter of fact, they had never even imagined they would actually possess something worth so much silver. As a result, they sold it without the slightest hesitation.

    The effects seemed decent. Her Water of Oblivion was obviously nowhere near as potent as granny Meng¡¯s Soup of Forgetfulness, which could wash away everything in a person¡¯s memory. Otherwise, she would have never offered it to Li Qingshan.

    Its effects were basically the opposite to the Water of Recollection. The Water of Recollection allowed the consumer to remember whatever they wanted to remember, while the Water of Oblivion made the consumer forget whatever they wanted to remember. During the refinement process, she had referred to the formula for the Water of Recollection and chosen many medicines with opposite effects before tweaking it further.

    It was exactly because of this that ensured she would remain the same as before while removing her memories of Chu Shidao painting her.

    The xiezhi divine beast was known for being able to discern lies, but it could only rely on a person¡¯s conscience to see through lies. If the very mind itself had forgotten, even the xiezhi was unable to distinguish anything.

    ¡°I seem fine, don¡¯t I?¡± Li Qingshan stared at Ru Xin. There was not even a hint of unfamiliarity in his eyes.

    ¡°You still remember me?¡± Ru Xin said in surprise. He should be forgetting whatever he recalled right now.

    ¡°No matter how I forget, I won¡¯t be able to forget you!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head, as if he was resisting the effects of the Water of Oblivion desperately, wanting to carve the woman before him into his head so that he could never forget her.

    Ru Xin¡¯s heart began to thump, while her cheeks became slightly flushed.

    ¡°You still owe me a lot of pills!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s next words left Ru Xin slightly stunned. Smiling like she always did, she said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you give up the remaining pills for the Water of Oblivion?¡±

    ¡°Since when!?¡±

    ¡°Oh my, you¡¯ve forgotten.¡±

    ¡°You better stop trying to trick me! How can I forget? Give me some Water of Recollection. That¡¯s the cure!¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand. Although it was unable to fool the mystical powers of the xiezhi, controlling his thoughts and suppressing the power of the Water of Oblivion was not particularly difficult with the spirit turtle.

    But with that, his head felt rather sluggish, so he asked the person behind it all for the cure.

    Ru Xin frowned. ¡°If you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you just recall it?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. ¡°You¡¯re angry?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Ru Xin returned to her senses, but she discovered that she did feel a little peeved.

    Li Qingshan smiled mischievously. ¡°Looks like I really do need to discuss this with Qiongzhi.¡±

    ¡°Discuss what?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing strange for a man to have multiple wives and concubines, right?¡± Li Qingshan snickered. Back then, he had been quite ambitious in this respect. Thinking about how even a bastard Chu Tian could swagger around with multiple women in his embrace, he did not seem to find he was asking for too much.

    This thought sprang up and grew like weeds. When he looked at Ru Xin again, he looked at her slightly differently.

    The two of them had been communicating secretly the entire time, just in case someone noticed something was amiss. They had both been staring ahead, communicating from the corner of their eyes.

    However, when she heard that, Ru Xin turned over, smiled sweetly, and riled up her spiritual qi, bellowing into Li Qingshan¡¯s ears thunderously, ¡°You better keep fucking dreaming!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve won!¡± Li Qingshan smiled silently. His lips moved, purposefully mouthing that.

    Whenever they were together, they constantly joked with one another, such that they would claim victory whenever the other lost their calm. As for how serious these jokes would become, even Li Qingshan himself was unable to put his thumb over it.

    However, he would always have a very easy time when he was with Ru Xin. Ru Xin did not probe into the fact that he needed to drink the Water of Oblivion to fool Fu Qingjin, but she must have learnt some secrets about him, such as how he had seen the Soaring Dragon Elder, or even the fact that the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s sumeru ring was on him.

    However, he was not worried at all, placing a strange form of trust in her. Seeing how Ru Xin was still grumpy, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If you want to keep the pills, then keep them! It¡¯s not like there¡¯s a lot left. It¡¯s just a bottle of medicinal water. It¡¯s nowhere near enough for me to forget about you. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re granny Meng!¡±

    Who knew what Ru Xin felt when she heard that. Suddenly, she returned to her senses. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m granny Meng¡­ Seems like the Water of Oblivion isn¡¯t particularly effective on cultivators. Surely master Chu will be fine, right? She¡¯s just a painting after all.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Having sensed the disappearance of Chu Shidao¡¯s aura, the disciples of the school of Painting could no longer care about the rules anymore. They barged into the residence and cried out before all shedding tears endlessly. They sobbed painfully.

    They then saw their ¡°mistress¡± standing in front of the dining table at a complete loss. Her face was covered with tears, but she did not seem particularly sad. She seemed extremely confused. As a result, they all felt extremely displeased. Master has lost his mind. Is a painting like this really worth his entire lifetime of efforts?

    No one paid any attention to her either. The group of people carefully laid Chu Shidao on the bed and draped a white cloth over him, carrying him off to the main hall for now. They wanted to wait until his direct disciple Chu Danqing returned before making any decisions.

    Her hand remained outstretched in the air, with no one around her anymore, but she had no idea what to do. She felt like she had returned to a century ago, when she had first been painted.

    Painted!

    She suddenly turned around and gazed at the blank canvas on the wall. She stared at the corner of the canvas, at the faded, dark-red seal. She read the two words ¡°Chu Shidao¡± again and again.

    Within a bamboo loft, a young man frowned. Although he was very displeased with this clumsy piece of work he had created, he still stamped his seal into the corner enthusiastically.

    That was their first meeting.

    Time flowed past like water, and her memories that had dispersed like dust, like smoke, gathered together once more. The first time she spoke with him, the first time she cooked for him, the first time she argued with him, as she had purposefully destroyed a newly-painted beauty of his. Who told him to stare at it like he was head over heels?

    A gentle smile gradually appeared in her eyes. A century passed in a hurry, like she had lived through it all once again. She suddenly smiled. ¡°How¡­ can I forget?¡± Then she cursed, ¡°You old thing, you sure are bored enough.¡±

    As she spoke and cursed, she walked into the blank canvas.

    A disciple returned to collect Chu Shidao¡¯s clothes and items, planning to wash up Chu Shidao and change him into new clothes once Chu Danqing returned, only to discover that ¡°she¡± was no longer there anymore.

    Looking around, he saw the painting on the wall. The beauty was no different from before, smiling gently, except her smile gradually blurred.

    The disciple rubbed his eyes forcefully, doubting his eyes.

    The beauty in the painting gradually melted away, turning into pigments of rouge and cyan and bleeding from the canvas.

 Chapter 462 â€“ Arranging the Battle

    Among the screams, people scattered in all directions chaotically. The busy streets immediately became extremely desolated.

    All that was left was a child, around eight or nine, sitting in the centre of the street, bawling out loudly. Countless pairs of eyes looked over from the two sides of the streets, through cracks in doors and windows. All of them trembled in fright. As they watched the daemon approach the child, they all felt like the child was done for.

    As they imagined the horrific sight that was about to unfold, many of them could not help but close their eyes.

    In the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, the cultivators saw this through the Watermirror disc too. It was already too late for them to save him.

    The child raised his head and saw the figure strolling over. He became stunned from fear before erupting in tears. Normally, his mother said daemons would eat him whenever he was mischievous, so his fear for daemons had been deeply ingrained within him since young. Only a single thought remained in his head, I¡¯m really going to be eaten!

    ¡°Kiddo, you¡¯re blocking the great Northmoon¡¯s path! Why don¡¯t you piss off?¡± Li Qingshan bared his teeth. The child quivered before scampering off to the side of the street. Hearing a resonant laughter from behind, he could not help but look back, but the figure had already travelled away. His scarlet hair drifted about, like a flickering bundle of fire.

    Daemons did not seem as terrifying as his mother described them to be.

    In the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, the Foundation Establishment cultivators were all mildly surprised. He had actually done nothing? It must have been because regular people were like ants in his eyes, so he was reluctant to stoop to their level! However, if he was so reluctant to stoop to their level, why did he speak to him instead?

    Their fear of the moon demon was deeply ingrained because the moon demon had killed a large number of Foundation Establishment cultivators, making him the existence that threatened them the most.

    Liu Zhangqing was relieved. As it seemed, the moon demon had no plans on slaughtering the city. With further thought, he recalled that the moon demon had never been like the rock demon or the blood demon, who liked to massacre people. As a matter of fact, he had never even caused any problems for the Academy of the Hundred Schools, not even the slightest inconvenience.

    Wang Pushi also recalled how he only killed the Lone Grave Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder on the Green Vine mountain back then, letting the disciples of the Green Vine mountain escape with their lives intact. He was not a daemon that killed blindly.

    In other words, he has been specially targeting Fu Qingjin and the Daemon Suppression alliance with everything he has done. This is clearly just for counter-attacking and revenge!

    Fu Qingjin said in thought, ¡°Northmoon, oh Northmoon. You really are different from regular daemons!¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s pink lips curled up slightly, with the same comfort as seeing an acquaintance of the past again. She had not been wrong. Behind his terrifying infamy was a simple and passionate heart, which made him seem approachable. She actually could not help but worry for him as she watched him enter the belly of the beast.

    Ru Xin found the moon demon¡¯s confusion expression rather familiar. Looking at Li Qingshan beside her, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. She was stern.

    The effects of the Water of Oblivion gradually faded away, so his mirror clone had obviously returned to his senses at the same time too.

    A clone from the Watermirror¡¯s Image was a reflection of his main body. No matter what Li Qingshan¡¯s main body went through, it would be reflected in his clone.

    Raising his head, the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had already arrived before him.

    Li Qingshan smacked his forehead and thought, I¡¯ve already gotten out of the situation, so why¡¯d I still make my clone come here?

    He wanted to turn around and leave, but it was already too late. He currently stood at a crossroad, and figures emerged from the streets in all directions. On the towering structures in the surroundings, resentful gazes landed on him one by one.

    Basically all the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Clear River prefecture were there, trapping him in an encirclement.

    Li Qingshan was obviously among them too. He stared at the moon demon coldly without the slightest hint of fear, as if he was ready to call out, ¡°Die, moon demon!¡± at any time and rush over for a battle to the death with this daemon who had shaken up the entire prefecture.

    Facing almost a hundred cultivators alone, the moon demon was fearless. A murderous aura rushed into the air, circling above the city, which made everyone tense up.

    The formation activated. A barrier of light enveloped the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, protecting the Qi Practitioners in there. The light twisted the colours of the sky, enveloping the entire city.

    The Qi Practitioners in the parlour all eased up, and some of the Qi Practitioners even became excited, standing by the window and bellowing through the formation, ¡°The moon demon has already become a sitting duck! He¡¯s dead for sure!¡± ¡°Kill this daemon! For revenge!¡±

    However, most of the Qi Practitioners just stared at this terrifying daemon of the legends silently, ¡°So this is the moon demon!¡± They looked down on the Qi Practitioners who bellowed out, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go out and yell at him?¡±

    The Foundation Establishment cultivators all furrowed their eyebrows in thought. Why had the moon demon come? Where were the night roamers? They all believed the moon demon was not stupid enough to throw himself into the enemy¡¯s net, but little did they know it was all because the moon demon had a little too much to drink, even though he had not drunk alcohol!

    ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡± Mad laughter filled the sky. Li Qingshan placed his hands on his waist and swayed back and forth from laughter. Even his molars were visible.

    This was a small mistake on his behalf, but he would be losing a clone at most. It would be nothing.

    There were many ingenious clone techniques in the world. Their clones would be extremely flexible and could share the main body¡¯s strength, but the main body would often be affected when the clone was injured, or the clone might even develop self-consciousness and break away from the main body.

    However, there was no need for Li Qingshan to worry at all with the Watermirror¡¯s Image. Even if the flower in the mirror or the moon in the water shattered, the actual flower or moon would be completely unaffected.

    If the flower did not move and the moon stayed put, the mirror image would not change either. It was a little troublesome when it came to control, but after reaching the fourth layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and developing an intricate mind, this problem had basically been dealt with.

    Not only did the laughter shut up the bellowing Qi Practitioners, but even the Foundation Establishment cultivators became more afraid to move recklessly. If he did not have something to rely on, the moon demon would have never behaved like this.

    Ru Xin stood near Li Qingshan and bore a serious expression on her face for once, but she asked him secretly, ¡°Does this moon demon have issues?¡±

    You¡¯re the one with issues! Your whole family has issues!

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and said seriously, ¡°That¡¯s something women can¡¯t understand. The moon demon possesses a wild, brutal aura of valiance. Even enemies can not help but be impressed!¡±

    ¡°Really? I don¡¯t feel it at all!¡± Ru Xin rubbed her chin before studying the moon demon again. Li Qingshan¡¯s face heated up slightly.

    The moon demon¡¯s laughter came to a sudden halt. He said sternly, ¡°Fu Qingjin, I¡¯m bold enough to come, yet you¡¯re not bold enough to meet with me?¡±

    When all the Foundation Establishment cultivators appeared, Fu Qingjin had instead vanished.

    With a flash of green light, Fu Qingjin appeared behind the moon demon, standing sideways. ¡°You¡¯re just a clone, so are you worth meeting? Northmoon, if you have something you want to say, go on ahead!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not look back at Fu Qingjin. He thought very hard just what he was supposed to say. Surely he could not say, I¡¯m just passing by. I don¡¯t actually have any matters here, so you do you.

    Ru Xin¡¯s scornful voice rang out in his ears again, ¡°What valiance? If I had a clone, I¡¯d be bold enough to do the same.¡± Li Qingshan became so infuriated that he was tempted to directly transform, capture this bastard, and give her a thorough spanking.

    He thought of something. Perhaps this is a chance!

    The moon demon said, ¡°Fu Qingjin, I¡¯ve heard since a long time ago that you want to fight me to the death. I¡¯ve waited all this time, but what? You¡¯ve fallen silent. Turns out you¡¯re just scheming and coming up with traps with this group of people, leaving me with nothing better to do.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your main body? I can clash with you right now.¡± Fu Qingjin pressed against his sword. His gaze was sharp, no longer possessing even a hint of laziness, like a drawn sword.

    ¡°Are you looking for a chaotic battle? As well as massacring the weaker people on your side? That¡¯s completely tasteless. I only want to kill you. I only want to destroy your Daemon Suppression alliance!¡±

    It¡¯s true! Liu Zhangqing thought, Only if all daemons were as reasonable as this moon demon.

    The moon demon said, ¡°The fifth of the fifth month, the Boundless mountains, just you and me, a battle to the death!¡±

    Everyone looked at one another. A great battle was clearly on the brink of erupting, yet the moon demon had instead sent over his clone to arrange a battle. The timing was a little too strange.

    ¡°What about this battle?¡± Fu Qingjin stroked his hilt gently, contemplating what Northmoon was trying to say.

    ¡°We won¡¯t participate, just in case it undermines the atmosphere of the deathmatch.¡±

    Li Qingshan finally expressed his true intentions, which was to avoid this battle!

    Because he had to participate in the battle under the identity of ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, ¡°Northmoon¡± would not be able to participate. Although he could fool everybody with his clone, he would give himself away as soon as he began fighting. He definitely would not be Fu Qingjin¡¯s opponent.

    The circumstances were very disadvantageous to him, so he came up with this idea. He used the prearranged battle to prevent Fu Qingjin from fighting, and he would also have a reason that could appease the Spider Queen. It was basically perfect.

    ¡°What about your clone?¡± Fu Qingjin studied him.

    ¡°My clone obviously won¡¯t participate in this battle either.¡±

    ¡°Very good! I agree!¡± Fu Qingjin said decisively, but he had already come up with his own plans inside.

    The threat that Northmoon posed was tremendous. Not only did it come from his own strength, but it also came from the night roamers he led. Without Northmoon as a commander, it was very likely for the night roamers to remain in a state of disunity, which would benefit them greatly. It might even have a direct influence over the outcome of this battle.

    After reaching this agreement, Fu Qingjin was extremely magnanimous. He made Liu Zhangqing open the formation and let the moon demon¡¯s clone leave.

    Li Qingshan snickered. Actually, I¡¯m still participating in this battle!

    ¡°Fellow Fu, this isn¡¯t a scheme by the daemons, right?¡±

    The cultivators returned to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, and Liu Zhangqing asked in worry.

    ¡°Please use the Technique of Aura Observation to watch over any movements across the entire prefecture, sir Liu. I will keep watch in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. I¡¯ll enter battle the moment he appears.¡±

    Fu Qingjin pondered to himself. He could not fight, but he could give a few talismans and pills to the cultivators of the Daemon Suppression alliance he trusted. The items all came from the Sword Collection palace, so they were extremely powerful. They would definitely be able to deal a heavy blow to the daemons.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s clone returned to his dwelling underground. The matriarchs had all been gathered already, ready to set off at any time.

    ¡°The humans have already learnt about the Spider Queen¡¯s orders. They¡¯re currently making preparations in Clear River city. This battle probably won¡¯t be as easy as last time.¡±

 Chapter 463 â€“ The Son of Heavenâ€™s Aura Observation, the Battle Begins

    Ye Liusu and the others were all confused. They were on the brink of battle, so how could he not participate as the force they relied on the most?

    ¡°I¡¯ve agreed to a battle with Fu Qingjin. We¡¯re fighting on the fifth of the fifth month. Before this, I won¡¯t partake in any battles in order to condition myself. Fu Qingjin will do the same. You¡¯ll have to rely on yourselves for this battle. The spoils you receive will obviously all go to you.¡±

    Only then did everyone understand the reason. They were filled with both joy and worry as they became uncertain as for how to react.

    Large-scale, open conflict was different from ambushes and assassinations. Facing human cultivators in a direct confrontation obviously came with extremely great risk. However, the benefits they would receive from each human cultivator they killed was just as tempting.

    After telling them that, Li Qingshan turned his back on the night roamers and returned to his dwelling, only to see Milliped curled up on the stone bed. Winter had clearly passed already, yet this guy was still hibernating. He was having the time of his life by sleeping every day.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s tense mind eased up. He smiled. ¡°Even if you cultivate for another few centuries, it won¡¯t make a difference if you continue like this. No wonder you¡¯re so simple.¡± He patted Milliped¡¯s tough carapace on his head as he thought to himself, I have to find a suitable daemon core for you this time.

    Before long, Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo arrived together. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You¡¯re done discussing?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯re still going to focus on attacking spiritual stone mines. Killing regular people and becoming enemies with the Great Xia empire brings no benefit at all.¡±

    ¡°As long as you understand that.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He did not want to run into his subordinates on the battlefield either.

    ¡°However, I¡¯m just afraid they won¡¯t submit to me.¡± A sliver of worry appeared on Ye Liusu¡¯s delicate face. She paled in comparison to them when it came to both strength and seniority. If he were present, then even the matriarchs would not act up, but if he were not there, it would be difficult to say.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be up to you then.¡±

    Li Qingshan was indifferent. The only people he was somewhat attached to among the night roamers were the two standing right before him, or more accurately, it was just Ye Liubo alone.

    Ye Liusu was a very impressive subordinate, but her loyalty to him would never surpass her loyalty to her ideals. As a matter of fact, Li Qingshan even suspected her to be Fu Qingjin¡¯s informer.

    If Ye Liusu died, Li Qingshan would feel pity and a little sadness, but he would not be too sorrowful. He would just be losing a capable subordinate. However, Ye Liubo was different.

    ¡°Liubo, if you don¡¯t want to go, you can just stay back!¡± Li Qingshan looked at Ye Liubo, and his gaze became much softer.

    Both Ye Liubo¡¯s strength and brains were nowhere close to her elder sister¡¯s, but her loyalty towards him was unmatched. She had even tried sacrificing herself for him in the past. As a result, he spoilt her very much. Even if he would be questioned, he would still want her to remain somewhere safe.

    ¡°Thank you, master, but I want to lend my elder sister a hand.¡± Ye Liubo was extremely touched, but after a moment of hesitation, that was still what she decided on.

    ¡°As you wish, but do be careful. Take these talismans to protect yourself. They aren¡¯t for fighting, so don¡¯t use them without good reason.¡± Li Qingshan took out a few scarlet talismans and handed them to Ye Liubo.

    ¡°Master,¡± Ye Liubo murmured before directly throwing herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Liusu, take good care of her.¡± Li Qingshan patted Ye Liubo¡¯s plump bottom.

    ¡°I will.¡± Ye Liusu replied. She actually felt slightly envious of this affection he showed, and she even felt a hint of jealousy that she refused to admit.

    With the Spider Queen¡¯s order, the cold, desolate underground seemed to become the churning lava. It gradually began to rise up and surge.

    Under Bloodshadow and Dragonsnail¡¯s lead, basically every daemon joined in on this operation. They were prepared for a massacre above ground.

    At the same time, in Clear River city.

    The moon demon had paid a visit, but the meeting still came to a proper end.

    The first order they issued together was not directed towards daemons. Instead, it was directed to the handful of clans and sects that had not even joined the alliance. Some of these Foundation Establishment cultivators had constantly been maneuvering around between the two sides, remaining uninvolved with the entire matter.

    ¡°These orders cannot be disobeyed. You have one day to report to the prefectural city, or your sects and clans will be destroyed! The world will no longer tolerate your existence!¡±

    The machines of war assembled by all the cultivators in the Clear River prefecture sprang alive, ready to enter battle.

    Liu Zhangqing returned to his government office. He washed up and changed his clothes, changing out of the confucian robes he often wore into his robes as an official that he rarely wore. He took out his official¡¯s seal bestowed to him by the empire.

    On a large square in front of the office, the mohist disciples busied about, taking out various machines and constructing a tower as quickly as possible.

    When Liu Zhangqing emerged from his office, the tower had already reached over three hundred meters tall, plunging into the clouds. Raising his head and looking up, it seemed to tilt, as if it could collapse at any time.

    He took in a deep breath and made his way towards the tower. Step by step, he climbed to the platform on the very top. The entire prefectural city sat below his feet as a group of birds flew past him.

    Liu Zhangqing cast his gaze to a place even further away. The Divine Talisman of Great Virtue within him suddenly shone with resplendent light. He seemed to become a burning torch as his eyes suddenly erupted with light.

    The landscape vanished, turning into blurry mist. The city below his feet vanished, turning into wisp-like smoke and rising straight up into the air like a beacon.

    The beacon of smoke became smaller and smaller. Liu Zhangqing felt like his soul was rising towards the endless sky. Even more beacons of smoke rose up in the horizon, appearing in his view. They were of various different colours and sizes, but none of them were as large as the beacon of smoke that Clear River city had become.

    Finally, Liu Zhangqing spotted thousands of beacons, forming a rough outline of the entire prefecture.

    Every single beacon represented a city, village, or settlement where humans gathered.

    The Fortune Viewing technique was a secret technique that had existed since ancient times. Not only was it a technique for sensing and investigation, but it also had an element of divination. It could see the fortunes of people, and it had almost become a lost technique to this day.

    What Liu Zhangqing used was not this Fortune Viewing technique, or he would have never been able to see all fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture. Instead, he used the renowned ¡°Son of Heaven¡¯s Technique of Aura Observation ¡±.

    TL: Not sure if you can tell, but in chinese, the Technique of Aura Observation and Fortune Viewing technique are the same, but the semantics vary drastically. The Chinese is ¡°ÍûÆøÊõ¡±, where ¡°Íû¡± means seeing/observing/viewing and ¡°Êõ¡± means technique. ¡°Æø¡± in the Fortune Viewing technique refers to ¡°ÆøÔË¡±, which is karmic fortune/fate, while in the Technique of Aura Observation, it refers to qi/aura/presence. If you can¡¯t tell already, single characters like ¡°Æø¡± can mean a lot of different things in Chinese.

    When the founding emperor founded the Great Xia empire, becoming revered as the son of heaven and leading humanity to prosperity, he was also tasked with the responsibility of governing his citizens. However, with the nine provinces stretching several hundred thousand kilometers in all directions, governance was anything but easy, so he created this ¡°Son of Heaven¡¯s Technique of Aura Observation¡±. He could see far as long as he had a high vantage point, allowing him to see the situation of the nine provinces.

    The ¡°aura¡± referred to the aura of the living, which was also the aura of humanity.

    If the many nobles and lords allowed kind heartedness and justice to spread, if they administered and governed harmoniously, then humanity would prosper, and this ¡°aura¡± would strengthen, which was what they wanted.

    If they mismanaged their citizens and led them to poverty, then this ¡°aura¡± would decline as a result. The son of heaven would then summon his subjects from their various lands to reprimand and punish them.

    With Liu Zhangqing¡¯s identity, he would obviously never claim to be the son of heaven. He could not even call it the ¡°Lord¡¯s Technique of Aura Observation.¡± It was only a ¡°Prefect¡¯s Technique of Aura Observation¡±.

    However, only Liu Zhangqing who had been recognised as the prefect by the empire could use this technique, and all he could do was observe the prefecture. However, it followed the same principle as the ¡°Son of Heaven¡¯s Technique of Aura Observation¡±.

    He had no need to visit the various lands to check on the various district magistrates. All he had to do was perform a single, routine aura observation every year from the prefectural city, and he would be able to punish or reward the district magistrates accordingly.

    Liu Zhangqing cast his gaze out and could not help but sigh. The ¡°aura¡± for basically everywhere was in decline. Resentment was surging with the aura of many places directly vanishing, which represented it was no longer occupied by humans.

    If it were not for the war, the Marquis of Ruyi only needed a single glance from a vantage point, and he would dismiss him from the position of prefect immediately.

    He dismissed his thoughts and focused on observing the movements across the entire prefecture. He would be able to make a timely response no matter which city the daemons attacked.

    After who knew how long, a beacon of smoke in the south-east direction shuddered and began to weaken. With each sliver that vanished, it represented the deaths of countless lives. The smoke was filled with a sensation of fear too.

    Liu Zhangqing had familiarised himself with the human geography of the Clear River prefecture a long time ago. He immediately said, ¡°Great Gold pass has daemons attacking!¡± Before he had even finished, a beacon of smoke in the north rapidly began to decline.

    Before long, several dozen beacons began to tremble, covering all directions of the prefecture.

    There was a saying that the wrath of the son of heaven could dye a thousand kilometers scarlet. The Spider Queen¡¯s order could not be defied. She was not joking when she said she wanted a hundred cities slaughtered.

    Liu Zhangqing¡¯s heart sank. He reported a string of location names without stopping.

    ¡°Han Tieyi, Hua Chengzan, venture to Great Gold pass. Once you arrive, immediately report back on the daemons. If they¡¯re weak, kill them. If they¡¯re strong, retreat. Do not become entangled in battle.¡±

    Under the tall tower, Han Anjun also issued a string of orders, and Foundation Establishment cultivators rose up, rushing off in all directions. Regardless of their reputation, they could only serve as chess pieces now.

    The people in the city had all locked their doors and windows.

    On the square, the Qi Practitioners circled around the tower a few times outside, watching this unfold in shock. At a time like this, they did not even have the right to be used as chess pieces. However, as the flames of war spread, no one would be able to remain uninvolved.

    The situations seemed severe, but it was just a probing process right now. They would mobilise their troops properly after understanding the direction of attack of the daemons.

    In the beginning, Han Anjun would go into some detail with the instructions, but towards the end, he would only say a name and a location.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, Nine Rivers city.¡± When he mentioned Li Qingshan¡¯s name, Han Anjun paused slightly and stared at him deeply.

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He drew the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility and rode off on it, concealing himself.

    It had finally begun.

    Near dusk in the wilderness that had been dyed red by the setting sun, a lonely antelope grazed on the grass with its head lowered below a small hill.

    Perhaps because it was late spring, the delicious taste of the grass made it drop its guard. It had completely failed to notice a pair of orangey-yellow eyes staring at it from a bush nearby. Under the descending night, the eyes shone with a green glow.

    The panther lowered itself even further to the ground, approaching the antelope silently. The antelope seemed to sense something and raised its head, but it was already too late. The panther¡¯s powerful body pounced out from the bush with lightning speed, landing on the antelope. Its canines plunged into its neck, making it take its last breath.

    Just as the panther enjoyed the delicious food it had caught, there was a rumble, and even the ground shook slightly, followed by another rumble. It was getting closer. The panther sensed danger, but it was reluctant to abandon the prey it had just caught.

 Chapter 464 â€“ The Chaos of War

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 Chapter 465 â€“ Dragonsnail Plans an Ambush, Zhou Tong goes Daemon Slaying

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 Chapter 466 â€“ Avoiding Ties of Karma, Regular People are No Different From Ants

    They wanted to squeeze out the last shred of life in him with this pincer attack.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind calmed down, like a grand ocean that was completely flat.

    In that instant, he seemed to witness the trajectory of every single quill, but this feeling only remained for a single moment. The Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility in his right hand had swung towards the incoming rain of quills already. The blade of the sword flashed with the reflected silver moonlight.

    At the same time, he sent a palm strike towards the incoming Dragonsnail, unleashing the Rising Tide Form and the Parting Clouds Form in a single breath. His true qi moved like the tide, layering and cascading in his palm strike, but it did not erupt. Only during the moment before Dragonsnail was about to reach him did it turn into a cloud-parting tsunami.

    If it were some other time, his sword techniques might have been useful. If he faced regular Daemon Generals, this palm strike of his should have done the job.

    However, he currently faced an ambush from a powerful commanding officer of the daemons. Dragonsnail had only brought a single Daemon General with him to ambush Li Qingshan, which only demonstrated his confidence in succeeding.

    With a cling and a clang, Li Qingshan¡¯s sword that was slightly slower only managed to knock away the two quills flying towards his head. His chest, belly, arms, and legs were struck at the same time, leading to seven or eight bloody holes running right through his body. One of these holes just happened to pierce the location of his heart.

    With a bang, Dragonsnail confronted Li Qingshan¡¯s palm strike scornfully. With his unbelievably great power and extremely tremendous daemon qi, he directly smashed through the tsunami, launching Li Qingshan away as he spurted with blood.

    Just like the disciples of the school of Music, Li Qingshan fell out of the sky.

    Dragonsnail was extremely confident that he had already shattered Li Qingshan¡¯s organs with that palm strike of his. Not to mention, his heart, a vital point, had been injured too. Death was certain for him.

    But just in case, he nodded towards the hedgehog Daemon General. The hedgehog Daemon General rushed towards Li Qingshan eagerly, ready to enjoy the delicious taste of human cultivators.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Before everyone had noticed it, he was already holding a scarlet talisman between his fingers. It burst into flames and turned into ashes as light wrapped around Li Qingshan.

    Fortunately, I have this Escape talisman, or that old bastard would have gotten me good!

    Li Qingshan could sense the circulation of his spiritual qi return to normal. No matter what Dragonsnail¡¯s innate ability was, he clearly could not cover such a large range. He immediately unleashed the Wave Treading Form without the slightest hesitation, flying off into the distance.

    Escape talismans were relatively precious among the various types of talismans available. Even their weakest versions could be scarlet talismans. Using one when facing imminent death was like gaining a new lease on life.

    Having used an Escape talisman of the lowest quality, Li Qingshan could only escape to five kilometers away, and he did not know any escape techniques, which made it highly restrictive. He could only move five kilometers once he used it, not an inch more or less. He could only escape to somewhere within his view, and there could not be any obstacles in between.

    These various restrictions made the Escape talisman almost useless. Not only was he unable to use it in a closed region, five kilometers was not far at all either for someone at his cultivation. He could cross that distance in a single breath.

    It would be particularly restrictive in a situation like earlier. If he tried to use it right off the bat, he would probably be interrupted the moment he took it out. Even if he managed to use it, he would probably be startlingly slow under Dragonsnail¡¯s strange ability, allowing Dragonsnail to respond in time.

    He¡¯s so heavily injured, so how can he still move around freely? Dragonsnail¡¯s expression changed. A hint of anger flashed through his eyes as he directly pursued Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan eased up. Dragonsnail was not fast. Let alone Bloodshadow, he was not even as fast as Strongboulder, but he was still a bit faster than Li Qingshan. The distance between them rapidly decreased.

    There¡¯s no need for me to catch up to him. I just need to be close enough for my ability to reach him. Dragonsnail squinted his eyes. His ability expanded like a great net, extending towards the fleeing Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan had thought of that too, so how could he just let Dragonsnail succeed? He unfurled the Cursive Sword Calligraphy and launched another ink sword before using several techniques together. He cast down a water curtain before summoning a cloud giant, blocking Dragonsnail¡¯s path, and in the end, he stuck a Tailwind talisman to himself.

    Dragonsnail swallowed the ink sword in a single gulp, smashed the water curtain with a single palm strike, and directly pierced the cloud giant. He only slowed down slightly three times. His speed was virtually unaffected.

    But when he spotted Li Qingshan again, he had already ridden off into the distance on a swift gale, widening the distance between them again.

    Dragonsnail slowed down and gave up on the pursuit.

    Clear River city was not particularly far away anymore. Having reached this point, the ambush had basically failed already. Continuing his pursuit would instead be a bad idea.

    Dragonsnail¡¯s aura travelled away before vanishing. Li Qingshan descended from the sky, sat down, and began meditating to recover his spiritual qi.

    The holes through his body had mostly recovered by now, only leaving behind faint marks. His heart began to thump once more too. With his powerful life force, many vital points were no longer vital points to him. All he had to do was protect his head.

    I¡¯m still not strong enough. If I directly transformed and killed this bastard, would it still be so troublesome?

    No, if I were stronger, I¡¯ll just go and conquer Lolth. Wouldn¡¯t I have even more freedom if I were a Daemon Commander?

    Raising his head and looking into the distance, the glowing Clear river city was right ahead. At this moment, the sky in the distance flashed, followed by the muffled sound of thunder a very long time after.

    What loud thunder. The thunder is probably from almost five hundred kilometers away. That¡¯s definitely not regular lightning. Probably even my Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell would not be able to block it easily.

    Li Qingshan lamented inside. There were countless powerful masters in the world, and this was just the measly Clear River prefecture, restricted to Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    If this game of chess ended and the war spread, Daemon Commanders and Daemon Kings would be running amok with Golden Core and Soul Nascence cultivators everywhere. His cultivation at Daemon General would be nothing anymore. Running into any one of them would be enough to end his life. Just Wen Zhengming from Pine Sough academy alone was a great issue.

    Having faced the dangers tonight, he desired an increase in strength and cultivation even more. He had to break through to the fourth layer of the ox demon and tiger demon as soon as possible.

    Changing into a new set of clothes, he strode off towards Clear River city.

    The burnt stick in the slovenly daoist priest Zhou Tong¡¯s hand was obviously no ordinary stick. Instead, it was a true arcane artifact.

    During his travels in the past, he encountered an ancient cycad that had almost become a daemon. It had been struck by lightning, only leaving behind a tiny piece. After several decades of refinement, he forged it into an arcane artifact and named it ¡°Lightning Slaughter¡±. It was extremely powerful.

    Zhou Tong practised the Divine Heaven Method of Lightning Wielding. When he powered Lightning Slaughter with that, the destructive power was so great that even other arcane artifacts would pale in comparison. His unruliness might have been due to the cultivation method¡¯s influence, but he had what it took to back up this unruliness.

    The region where Bloodshadow originally stood had turned into a great pit of several hundred meters wide, reaching the structures on the sides.

    From the destruction alone, it did not seem particularly extraordinary. Li Qingshan could achieve something like that easily. However, unlike other techniques, the power of lightning normally could not destroy rock or soil, yet the bolt of lightning had directly vaporised several hundred tonnes of rock. The pit glistened under the moonlight, having crystallised under the heat.

    ¡°What a coward!¡± Zhou Tong snorted. The bastard had managed to escape.

    In the final moments, Bloodshadow raised his cloak, which turned into a blood-red barrier that blocked the bolt of lightning. It earned him a moment, which he used to escape.

    If they actually clashed, who knew what the outcome would be. Bloodshadow¡¯s ability to control blood posed a huge threat to cultivators. Originally, he could have used that opportunity to approach Zhou Tong, but Bloodshadow refused to take on even the slightest of risks. He directly fled instead.

    It made Zhou Tong furious, but there was nothing he could do. He was known as the greatest in the Clear River prefecture, but he was slightly slower than Bloodshadow.

    Zhou Tong shot off on his sword, throwing the pitch-black city behind him. However, he could not help but glance backwards and let out a gentle sigh before leaving resolutely.

    All of the firelight in the city had been put out.

    In a study room, all of the vases and porcelain had shattered, scattered across the ground. A scholar collapsed on his table. Just earlier, he was studying under lantern light, but now, there was not a shred of life left in him. Blood gradually soaked his books. He bled from his orifices. He had been directly killed off by the shockwave.

    Not a single living creature remained in the city, whether they were male or female, young or old, reptilian, insect, or mammalian.

    Some of them died to Bloodshadow. Most of them died to Zhou Tong¡¯s bolt of lightning.

    Against an opponent like Bloodshadow, Zhou Tong was afraid to hold back, nor could he afford to hold back. If he had to think about the fates of regular people when he struck, holding back his full strength, the one who would die would be him.

    As for Bloodshadow, he would still be able to slaughter cities, and he would continue to do so. As a result, this was the only choice Zhou Tong had. There was nothing else he could do.

    Even though he refused to admit that, reality was like cold steel. Regular people were no different from ants.

    It was just a clash between immortals, a disaster for regular people.

    In Clear River city, the meeting in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had ended a long time ago, but the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had been transformed into the headquarters of the human cultivators. It manifested their determination to protect the several million lives within the city.

    ¡°Qingshan, that¡¯s another one!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, senior!¡± ¡°Sir, you truly are amazing!¡±

    Cultivators moved around in the parlour in a bustling, noisy manner. When they saw Li Qingshan return, they all bowed and greeted him.

    The news of another Daemon General dying at Li Qinngshan¡¯s hands had already become known. He was treated like a hero.

    Recently, he had been running around in the Clear River prefecture, saving the lives of countless cultivators and establishing many good ties of friendship. However, he only nodded slightly in response, without making any other gestures back. It made him seem rather arrogant in the eyes of some.

    Actually, it was just because Li Qingshan was reluctant to establish any more ties with others and meddle with karma. Although he had only randomly learnt these terms from the scriptures that Xiao An read, he actually found it to be rather reasonable and logical now. Since he understood the path he had to take, it would be better if he had fewer friends and acquaintances, just in case they died and caused him grief.

    Arriving on the top floor, the leaders of the schools of Confucianism, Legalism, the Military, and so on were all present, as well as Fu Qingjin and a few Foundation Establishment cultivators he was unfamiliar with. They all crowded around a large mental map of the Clear River prefecture, as if they were discussing something.

 Chapter 467 â€“ A Dangerous Mission

    Li Qingshan listened along silently. He must have been recalled this time because of the blood demon. He too had heard about the various deeds Bloodshadow had done. Ever since the large-scale war began, Bloodshadow had become the greatest threat to human cultivators.

    Bloodshadow¡¯s strength was equivalent to the peak of Foundation Establishment. Apart from the slovenly daoist priest and a handful of other people, most Foundation Establishment cultivators were not his opponents. And, if they lacked any life-saving measures, running into him alone would basically be a death sentence. It would be difficult to escape before his unmatched speed.

    Perhaps Li Qingshan¡¯s luck had just been fantastic, or Bloodshadow was simply too lucky, as they actually had not run into each other at all in the past month.

    The fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture was not exactly large, but it was not exactly small either.

    Listening in, Li Qingshan managed to work out roughly what had happened. They had first made the leader of the school of Yin-yang, Ma Buyi, calculate which cities Bloodshadow could potentially attack before setting up ambushes there, but it ended in failure.

    Wang Pushi frowned and asked, ¡°Old Ma, could you narrow it down to a single city? If we set up a trap then, we¡¯ll definitely be able to kill this scourge for good!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes landed on Ma Buyi, some eager. Just as the saying ¡°A foresight of three days could lead to wealth of millennials¡± implied, if they knew about the opponent¡¯s movements beforehand, any person could become an unmatched general in battle.

    Liu Zhangqing watched over the entire situation with the Son of Heaven¡¯s Technique of Aura Observation, but all he grasped was the present. Ma Buyi¡¯s divination could connect with the future.

    Ma Buyi was dressed the same before. He wore a set of coarse clothing and a long hat, standing with his arms behind his back. Hearing that, he let out a long sigh and smiled helplessly.

    ¡°You sure have made it difficult for me. The matters of the world have always been mysterious and unpredictable. Moreover, I¡¯ll have to predict what the blood daemon, such a powerful daemon, is doing, so how am I supposed to achieve that? This has already exceeded the capacity of Foundation Establishment cultivators like me.¡±

    Daemons were all extremely sensitive to danger, and Bloodshadow was extremely vigilant. Perhaps he would turn around and leave the moment he sensed something was wrong. By then, their ambush and arrangements would all go to waste.

    The war between humans and daemons was like a wrestling match. They had to carefully utilise every bit of strength they possessed.

    For example, Dragonsnail and Zhou Tong could have gone to other places tonight. It would be a death sentence for any opposing Foundation Establishment cultivators or Daemon Generals that ran into them. Yet, they wasted their time on a failed ambush in the end. The losses involved could not be directly estimated.

    ¡°But¡­¡± Ma Buyi glanced at Li Qingshan on the side and thought of an idea.

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°If Xiao An has established a foundation, we should be able to work out a more precise location. Qingshan, how has Xiao An¡¯s cultivation been going? Does she have a chance at breaking through to Foundation Establishment soon?¡±

    As Ma Buyi said that, everyone looked towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°The Xiao An you speak of is that genius of your academy, right? Even if she establishes a foundation, she¡¯ll just be an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. How can she be compared to you? How can we place our hopes on a little girl?¡±

    The sect master of Horned Rhinoceros mountain voiced his objections. He rippled with muscles, standing tall and wide. He seemed like a tower of metal. A bony spike protruded from his forehead like a horn, a manifestation of having reached an extremely profound realm with the Horned Rhinoceros¡¯ Arts of Mountain Splitting. His cultivation had already reached late Foundation Establishment. As he spoke, his voice boomed out. He was extremely imposing.

    As he looked towards Li Qingshan, his eyes would always be filled with undisguised scorn. He was a mere junior up on his luck, getting on the good side of the Han family and obtaining a powerful spiritual artifact, which allowed him to kill a few Daemon Generals. That was the only reason why he was highly praised.

    A few years ago, Li Qingshan had humiliated Cheng Kaishan by defeating the first senior brother of Horned Rhinoceros mountain in public. Afterwards, Li Qingshan broke through to Foundation Establishment, while the first senior brother remained as a Qi Practitioner. He believed the battle had left behind a permanent shadow in his heart.

    He did not hate Li Qingshan to the core, constantly thinking about revenge, but he was unable to take a liking towards him.

    The others were very disappointed too. They had thought Ma Buyi had come up with a good idea. Even geniuses needed time to grow. Going from a regular person to a tenth layer Qi Practitioner in just a few years was startling enough, but she was just a Qi Practitioner.

    ¡°The Xiao An you speak of has never shown herself. As our disciples bleed on the battlefield, she¡¯s hiding in a safe place. That¡¯s not exactly appropriate, is it?¡± a madam questioned. She was the Cloud Elder of the Rose Clouds sect.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He wanted to retort, but Liu Zhangqing spoke up before he could, ¡°Xiao An has already been accepted as a disciple by the Annihilum Light Chan Master. We are in no position to dispatch her around. If she¡¯s injured, we won¡¯t be able to explain ourselves to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. I hope the Cloud Elder can understand.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re missing a measly Qi Practitioner anyway.¡±

    Just when an argument was about to break out, Fu Qingjin shot a glance at the Cloud Elder, and she snorted coldly before dropping the matter. If Xiao An actually fell in battle and the Annihilum Light Chan Master came for an explanation, the Rose Clouds sect would not be able to bear the consequences.

    Ma Buyi shook his head in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Now this is something you don¡¯t know about. Divination is different from other techniques. It places great emphasis on talent. Xiao An could wield yin, yang, and the five elements from the moment she began cultivating. Her talent for divination exceeds even mine. After teaching her the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots, I originally wanted to give her some proper guidance, but in the end, she basically comprehended everything I had comprehended over the years in a single afternoon. She basically needs no guidance from me.¡±

    ¡°Even without the Annihilum Light Chan Master of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, I still wouldn¡¯t send her on any missions. Her talent definitely should not be used on dealing with a few daemons. Instead, it can be used to influence the entire war. As long as she has the time, she might even be able to influence the entire Green province. At the very least, I¡¯m confident that her divination will exceed mine as long as she breaks through to Foundation Establishment!¡±

    Everyone became hopeful once more with what Ma Buyi said. An extra, powerful practitioner of divination could play a role that even rivaled a peak Foundation Establishment master like Zhou Tong in a war like this.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Actually, Xiao An has already considered what school leader Ma is thinking. She has been attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment lately. She should have a good chance.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not lying.

    After killing Strongboulder, Bloodshadow became Xiao An¡¯s next target, but Bloodshadow constantly moved around. It was impossible for her to search the entire world for him either. As a result, she tried to predict Bloodshadow¡¯s movements with the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots, but a cultivation at Qi Practitioner was just too low. Hence, she wanted to break through to Foundation Establishment with her fleshly body before predicting again. However, she wanted to kill him alone. She never considered working together with these people.

    Ma Buyi said, ¡°Please give this True Spirit pill to her for me.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing also said, ¡°I have one on me too. I hope it can assist her so that she can assist us.¡±

    In order to kill this great opponent of theirs, they did not hold back at all with precious True Spirit pills. They were extremely generous. In the blink of an eye, four True Spirit pills had been offered. One of them even came from Fu Qingjin.

    ¡°I must thank you all in Xiao An¡¯s place. I¡¯m certain she won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± Li Qingshan did not hold back, accepting the True Spirit pills. Xiao An is going to be finishing off this great opponent of yours, so she deserves some remuneration!

    ¡°Qingshan, actually I¡¯ve recalled you this time to give you a certain mission. This mission is extremely dangerous. You¡¯re free to accept it or turn it down.¡± Han Anjun frowned gently and seemed slightly troubled.

    ¡°You have always issued military orders like they are absolute, never discussing with us when handing down missions, general, so why are you wavering today? Don¡¯t tell me you plan on going easy on Li Qingshan just because he¡¯s your son-in-law?¡± Cheng Kaishan said unhappily.

    Han Anjun only mentioned a single question and that was enough to leave Cheng Kaishan speechless.

    ¡°Where is Han Tieyi right now?¡±

    Han Anjun had also sent Han Tieyi to ambush Bloodshadow. The dangers involved in the mission were self-explanatory. He would be sucked dry by the blood demon with even the slightest carelessness. What he implied was, I¡¯ve never even given special treatment to my own son, let alone a son-in-law.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already killed five Daemon Generals. If I recall correctly, you¡¯ve only killed two so far, right, sect master Cheng? What are your orders, general? Please be straightforward. I, Li Qingshan, am not a coward!¡± Li Qingshan understood they were approaching the main topic the moment Han Anjun spoke. He glanced at Cheng Kaishan before clasping his hands.

    ¡°I want you to venture underground and investigate Bloodshadow¡¯s den!¡±

    Han Anjun knew the ambushes could potentially end in failure, so he made new arrangements beforehand, which was Li Qingshan.

    Everyone no longer looked at Han Anjun in the same light. They felt that it was not because he did not show nepotism, but rather he was very displeased with this son-in-law of his, wanting to push Li Qingshan to his death. This mission was not just dangerous. It was basically certain death.

    ¡°Han Anjun, I¡¯ve misspoken. You¡¯re a true man!¡± No matter how unhappy Cheng Kaishan was with Li Qingshan, he could not help but develop some admiration towards Han Anjun. Being tough on others was nothing. What was difficult was being tough on yourself.

    ¡°General, I don¡¯t think that¡¯s appropriate. No one has any idea what the situation underground is like. There¡¯s the daemon queen underground too. Qingshan is just an early Foundation Establishment cultivator, so this is no different than sending him off to his death. We should wait until Xiao An breaks through to Foundation Establishment first!¡± Hua Chengzan tried to dissuade him.

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. Xiao An had also suggested in the past for her to directly venture underground and kill Bloodshadow, but he stopped her. Bloodshadow¡¯s den was extremely deep underground and extremely close to Cobweb city. He would never let Xiao An take this risk.

    This father-in-law had basically lost his mind. He doesn¡¯t even view his son-in-law as a proper person! Sure enough, this Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility didn¡¯t come for free!

    ¡°I can¡¯t place all my hopes on a child. I¡¯m not sending you to kill Bloodshadow. I just want you to use the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility to investigate so that we can prepare for the worst. With risk comes reward. Of course, you¡¯re welcome to turn it down.¡±

 Chapter 468 â€“ Only Tomorrow is Worth Looking Forward to, Only Today is Worth Treasuring

    ¡°I ran into some trouble along the way¡­¡± Li Qingshan gave them a rough overview about Dragonsnail¡¯s ambush and hid the detail that his heart had been pierced. ¡°¡­ Unfortunately, I was unable to save them. I¡¯d say this Daemon General is even more powerful than the rock demon and blood demon. Please be careful if you run into him in the future, everyone.¡±

    After listening to Li Qingshan¡¯s story, everyone realised he had not just run into some trouble. Instead, he had almost lost his life out there.

    It was rare of him to remain so calm and unfazed, seated on the side, listening along earlier and only explaining this calmly when the matter had been brought up, as if the one in danger was someone else, not him. His composure and bearing truly were startling.

    Han Anjun nodded in satisfaction inside, but he also could not help but sigh, Qiongzhi, oh Qiongzhi. You really have an eye for men. This one is anything but mediocre. He is already showing signs of greatness. Even I can¡¯t tell what step he will take now. This Li Qingshan is not someone you can control.

    Cheng Kaishan snorted and questioned, ¡°If the daemon you described really was that powerful, how did you manage to escape as a cultivator at early Foundation Establishment? What even more powerful than the blood demon and rock demon? You were probably just careless, wanting to shy away from your responsibilities!¡±

    This was what made Dragonsnail terrifying. Actually, quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators had already died at his hands. He had managed to conduct the war between the entire Daemon race and the humans for so long, yet still remain completely unheard of.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to remain unconvinced.¡± Li Qingshan leaned against the back of the chair and did not argue.

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°Qingshan might be right. According to the news I¡¯ve received, there is indeed a Daemon General like that underground, known as Dragonsnail. He¡¯s the most trusted by the Spider Queen, but there has never been any news of him directly interfering in the past three years. Even his abilities remain a mystery. Today is the first time I¡¯ve heard anything about it.¡±

    ¡°Either he has never struck before, or his attacks have never ended in failure. With Qingshan¡¯s description, I think the latter is more likely. Even I find this ability to be rather troublesome.¡±

    Hua Chengzan agreed and said, ¡°Recently, a few Foundation Establishment fellows have died extremely strangely. None of them are weak, and they have plenty of life-saving measures. If they ran into regular Daemon Generals, they could always escape even if they were not their opponent. Yet, when they died, Bloodshadow was clearly moving around somewhere else. Looking at it now, they probably all died to Dragonsnail.¡±

    When they looked at Li Qingshan again, they no longer looked at him in the same light. There were plenty of mid or even late Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been targeted and killed by Dragonsnail, yet only he managed to escape. It probably was not luck alone. Little did they know that if Li Qingshan really were just a regular early Foundation Establishment cultivator, he would be as dead as a corpse right now.

    In the end, everyone decided to wait for now and see how Xiao An progressed with her cultivation. If she really lived up to their expectations, it would obviously be for the best.

    Han Anjun asked for Li Qingshan to return the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility. He said he would find someone to repair it. As it seemed, he still planned on sending Li Qingshan on that mission if nothing worked out.

    Li Qingshan did not mind. The underground that seemed like the gates of hell to other cultivators was absolutely nothing to him. He was not particularly worried whether the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility could be repaired either.

    If regular cultivators had a supreme grade spiritual artifact like that damaged, they would be utterly heartbroken, but Li Qingshan had seen his fair share of supreme grade spiritual artifacts already. He even had a few arcane artifacts, so he did not care at all.

    Actually, he had become slightly unhappy with the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility a long time ago. The invisibility had only been effective in the beginning. He could even be directly seen through by Daemon Generals with sharper senses.

    Moreover, the power of the artifact was a little low. If it were not for the strand of sword qi in his dantian, all he would be capable of would be angering the opponent even if he had surprise on his side. He would not even be able to cause a heavy injury.

    Right now, he was more like an assassin¡ªsneaking over, sword qi in the dantian, Cursive Sword Calligraphy. If he used up these three tricks and the opponent was still alive, probably all he could do was flee.

    If only he had an arcane artifact sword!

    However, arcane artifacts had always been items that arose from luck, not searching. Finding one that was compatible with his element would be even more difficult. Swords were weapons for attacking and killing. Metal element swords appeared the most, while water element ones appeared the least.

    He possessed the sect treasure of Bronze Cauldron mountain, the Bronze Cauldron of the Four Cardinal Directions. He could attempt to refine artifacts for himself, but unfortunately, the world was a mess right now. He had absolutely no time to settle down and learn how to forge artifacts.

    As a matter of fact, he did not even have the leisure to cultivate. All he could do was make this war end as soon as possible.

    When Li Qingshan returned to the Chain mountains, dawn had not even arrived. The mountains rose and fell in the misty clouds, seeping in the moonlight. It was enough to inspire a feeling of transcendence within people, enough for them to forget about all the fighting and killing.

    Li Qingshan could not help but slow down. He glanced at Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling from afar before passing through the protective formations, landing at the entrance. Dense spiritual qi immediately surrounded him. After a period of accumulation, the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks gradually demonstrated its powers.

    Li Qingshan entered the dwelling and spotted Xiao An seated with her legs crossed. Her seaweed-like hair flowed down her back. She was surrounded in flames, currently cultivating.

    Li Qingshan did not interrupt her. He took out a jar of spiritual alcohol and casually leaned against the wall, taking a sip. He slowly settled down with that.

    On the surface, Xiao An was at the budding age of thirteen or fourteen. Just like the poem ¡°Aged thirteen and o¡¯er, pretty, slender and charming, a bud on treetop, she¡¯s to bloom in early spring¡±, her appearance that was deemed to be the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty by the Sect of Clouds and Rain had begun to demonstrate its beauty.

    She was bare, already possessing the femininity of a young lady. Li Qingshan witnessed her entire enchanting figure.

    She obviously did not feel inconvenienced, while Li Qingshan had grown accustomed to it too. There was not the slightest temptation. Instead, he was rather delighted.

    He felt like he was watching a shrub, an orchid, thriving and growing under his close care.

    Of course, what he fed it was endless amounts of flesh and blood.

    Her jade-like skin was almost transparent under the firelight, such that the white bone inside could be made out from time to time.

    For one instant, she was a woman of heavenly beauty. In the next instant, she was a terrifying, deathly skeleton.

    Even Li Qingshan was able to capture a hint of the buddhist nature and truths it was conveying. He took another sip and smiled. Xiao An¡¯s cultivation had progressed even further.

    Through this period of cultivation, Xiao An had finally consolidated her cultivation of the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. The first thing she did next was not forge more prayer beads or continue with cultivating white bone, but to refine her body again.

    White bone was the foundation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, but she could not go without great beauty either.

    White bone represented death, where all was emptiness. Great beauty represented life, where everything tangible was present.

    The former was like the middle of winter, the ice three inches thick and completely desolate, while the latter was like early spring, when everything bloomed and prospered.

    Only by combining the two, merging life and death such that she could alternate between them freely, could she truly reach the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    After who knew how long, the flames gradually died down, merging into her body. Her skin seemed flawless, pale like snow and shining with the lustre of jade. It also contained roaring vitality and spiritual energy.

    Originally, her power only came from the white bone, and her body was just an illusion. Although it was completely perfect, endowed with extraordinary talent, it was no more powerful than a regular person¡¯s body.

    But now, it had merged with the essence from all the flesh and blood, such that her feminine body possessed enough power to rival regular Daemon Generals.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Xiao An threw herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms like a swallow returning to its nest.

    A strange fragrance like sandalwood filled his arms. As he touched the jade-like skin, it felt indescribably fine and soft, such that even precious jade completely paled in comparison. He truly understood what ¡°as fine as jade¡± meant now.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose. He suddenly felt rather embarrassed, finally remembering the fact that they were of different genders. He took out a dress and lectured her as he dressed her, ¡°Look, Xiao An, you¡¯re not a child anymore. As a girl, you can¡¯t just let other people see your body. Raise your hand!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re other people,¡± Xiao An raised her hand and slipped it into the sleeves as she said in confusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m no different.¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    Xiao An raised her head and looked at Li Qingshan. Her brilliant pupils suddenly flashed, and she smiled, which seemed like flowers blooming. Even Li Qingshan was taken slightly aback.

    ¡°What are you smiling for?¡±

    Xiao An smiled gently. She shook her head and said nothing.

    ¡°Turn around.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head helplessly. He had no idea whether it was because most of her immaturity had vanished as her body grew that she seemed to mature overnight, now possessing certain thoughts that even he was unable to guess.

    Xiao An turned around obediently and allowed Li Qingshan to tie up her waistband.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re like a princess now.¡± Li Qingshan studied in satisfaction.

    Princess!

    Xiao An¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She found that form of reference to be rather familiar. Some of her lost memories rose up, but she immediately dismissed them to one side.

    It had already been several years since Li Qingshan last mentioned he would take her home. She seemed to have forgotten about it completely too.

    The matters of yesterday were not worth mentioning. Only tomorrow was worth looking forward to. Only today was worth treasuring.

    Li Qingshan took out the True Spirit pills he had obtained from the Parlour and Clouds and Rain and mentioned Ma Buyi¡¯s plan.

    Hearing that, Xiao An began cultivating in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    Before long, all of the true qi in her body had been converted into spiritual qi. She continued to meditate for a little longer until the seven types of spiritual qi filled her dantian. Only then did she stop and say, ¡°I¡¯m done.¡±

    She had even managed to succeed with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, so practising the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots now obviously took no extra effort. It did not pose any difficulty at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let other Qi Practitioners see you, or you¡¯ll drive them crazy.¡± Li Qingshan sighed with a smile.

    Several days later, in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    The upper echelon of the Daemon Suppression alliance and the Academy of the Hundred Schools gathered together once more.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s news from the Chain mountains made everyone eager and excited. They discussed among themselves.

    ¡°Has she really established a foundation? She¡¯s not even twenty this year!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. A few years ago, she was still a regular person. Compared to her, we¡¯re all mediocre.¡±

    ¡°Once they¡¯re here, we¡¯ll obviously find out. I¡¯d like to see just how impressive she¡¯s supposed to be!¡±

 Chapter 469 â€“ Divining with All Seven Lots, Great Sword of Heavy Water

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s eyes lit up, slightly amazed.

    He had been born with a handsome, flawless face and both Qiu Haitang and Hua Chenglu who he had regular contact with were rare beauties. Even his dream lover was a supreme beauty like Gu Yanying.

    Originally, he thought he would never be amazed by beauty again, but now, that was exactly what he felt. Even more to his disbelief, the person that amazed him was a budding young girl around thirteen or fourteen years of age.

    Today, Xiao An was not dressed in any special manner, or even rather casual. She had no concept of beauty and ugliness, and a grown man like Li Qingshan would never spend time to dress her. However, none of it impeded her beauty.

    She did not have an enchanting smile, only glancing past everyone calmly with her pitch-black eyes. They were like calm, deep pools, unable to reflect anyone. However, that empty expression of hers possessed indescribable, bizarre charm on her face.

    Qiongzhi, oh Qiongzhi. You really are in trouble. Hua Chengzan could not help but worry for his good friend.

    Whether it¡¯s Gu Yanying beyond reach or Ru Xin within arm¡¯s reach, probably neither of them pose a threat as great as this kid! When Qingshan was still a Qi Practitioner, he went as far as standing up against Qiu Haitang, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, for her sake, willingly offending an entire group of school leaders for her. What about now? What about the future?

    Qiu Haitang was standing right behind Hua Chengzan. Although she had already given up on him, they remained as very good friends. She obviously would not miss out on the excitement with everything that was happening today.

    After all these years, she saw Xiao An again. Aside from her amazement, she could not help but experience deep pity and envy.

    She¡¯s already so charming despite being so young. If she practised the cultivation methods of my Sect of Clouds and Rain instead, just who would still be able to withstand her once she grew a little older? If I had her beauty, even little Hua that infatuated, blind lover would probably change his mind!

    If it¡¯s just the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty, then so be it. What¡¯s even more terrifying is her unbelievable cultivation talent. This Li Qingshan¡¯s good fortune is basically out of control. That¡¯s the only reason why he¡¯s managed to find an unbelievable wonder like her.

    Qiu Haitang suddenly frowned. Though, is it really good fortune? The disaster of beauty, being able to overthrow kingdoms, isn¡¯t all just for say. As the ancient saying goes, ¡®With the Heavenly Aspect, the world is thrown into chaos¡¯ I doubted it a little, but looks like it¡¯s actually true now.

    ¡°Qingshan, is this Xiao An?¡±

    It was no wonder that the Annihilum Light Chan Master of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would travel thousands of kilometers to accept her as a disciple despite how aloof and outstanding he was. He seemed like he was lowering himself and making a fuss out of something, but this was actually a clever move to take. Otherwise, even the Sword Collection palace and Umbral Yin sect would fight over a disciple like her!

    In the cultivation world, even ten thousand mediocre people could not rival a single genius. This point was made extremely obvious through this war. They were at Foundation Establishment, yet a single Fu Qingjin was worth more than ten regular Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Yes. She doesn¡¯t really like to talk. Everyone, let¡¯s begin!¡±

    ¡°The quiet room has already been prepared. I also want to witness Xiao An¡¯s divination with the seven lots.¡± Ma Buyi stepped forward and bowed towards Li Qingshan and Xiao An individually.

    ¡°You¡¯re far too polite, senior.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head. ¡°Xiao An, it¡¯s fine, right?¡±

    Xiao An nodded and entered the room with Ma Buyi. Everyone else waited outside for the results.

    ¡°General, how is it looking with my Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility?¡±

    Li Qingshan found Han Anjun. Although he did not care too much about this sword, it was still a supreme grade spiritual artifact, and one he had obtained through legitimate means.

    ¡°It¡¯s damaged beyond complete repair.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing we can do. Thank you for your efforts, general.¡±

    Li Qingshan had been anticipating this. The stuff that Dragonsnail spat out definitely would not be anything good. If it were a regular spiritual artifact, then it would only become slightly weaker at most with some damage. However, the primary function of the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility was to conceal the user. It would become useless even if it gave away only a small part of the user.

    Han Anjun then took out a great, azure sword and only said three words, which was the sword¡¯s name¡ªHeavy Water Sword.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. It was another water element supreme grade spiritual artifact. Clans sure had foundations that ran deep!

    It was not an arcane artifact, but not everyone possessed arcane artifacts among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Most of them still used supreme grade spiritual artifacts. Arcane artifacts and spiritual artifacts only differed by a single word in name, but it made all the difference in their effects, power, and quantity. Arcane artifacts could not be obtained easily.

    In the past when Li Qingshan led the night roamers and destroyed multiple sects, only Bronze Cauldron mountain and the Vermillion Clothes sect had arcane artifacts. They were all sect treasures, items that represented the legacy of the sect.

    Li Qingshan was already much better off than most other people with the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his possession. He was not greedy either. Finding a water element supreme grade spiritual artifact sword was rare enough. At the very least, he could unleash the power of the sword qi in his dantian with it.

    ¡°As it¡¯s a gift from the father-in-law, I must oblige.¡± Li Qingshan joked before accepting the Heavy Water sword without hesitating. His arms sank the moment the sword entered his hand. The sword was quite hefty.

    Li Qingshan beamed inside. The heavier the sword was, the better he could make use of the advantage of his strength, unleashing greater destructive power. It suited his personality more than the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility too. It was even compatible with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, far more appropriate for him than the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility.

    Han Anjun no longer said anything about the way he was referred to, unlike the past when he maintained his opposing stance over this marriage. He had already achieved his objective of making Han Qiongzhi independent, and Li Qingshan¡¯s performance lately had been very outstanding.

    Of course, Li Qingshan did not do what Hua Chengzan suggested, which was frequently visiting the Han family. He would never go out of his way for someone to like him. If he handled it badly, it would only worsen their relationship. He stuck with his decision of walking his own path. He just did his best to complete Han Anjun¡¯s military orders.

    Even this aspect left Han Anjun very satisfied. The so-called favours and etiquette of the mundane world never worked with him, and he looked down on men who used petty tricks and sucked up to people verbally. At the end of the day, he had admired Li Qingshan very much right from the beginning. He just did not have a high opinion of this relationship, but people had to take responsibility for their choices.

    As the patriarch of the Han family, all he had to do was cover his responsibility of ¡°roping him in¡±. However, his method of roping him in seemed more like a formality.

    Li Qingshan moved over to one side and immediately began refining the Heavy Water sword.

    At this moment, the door to the quiet room opened again, and Ma Buyi walked out.

    ¡°School leader Ma, how was it?¡± ¡°Have you found anything?¡±

    Ma Buyi waved his hand and said to Hua Chengzan, ¡°Commander Hua, please give me the information on the blood demon.¡± Then he added, ¡°Xiao An needs it.¡±

    The Hawkwolf Guard had begun gathering all the information they could gather on Bloodshadow since three years ago and undertook analysis. Hua Chengzan had even tried replicating the blood demon¡¯s thought process to predict which cities he would attack next, but he had not been particularly successful.

    ¡°If you could find out through analysis, why do we still need divination?¡± someone asked.

    Ma Buyi did not give an explanation. Actually, even he was not too certain about that.

    The nature of divination was a method of learning information. It did not rely on any deductions or logic. Instead, it directly asked for the answer from fate. It did require some information as a foundation to increase the accuracy of the divination, but overly complicated and detailed information was unnecessary.

    In the room, Xiao An sat on a huge mental map of the Clear River prefecture. With a thump, she opened her eyes and saw Ma Buyi pile up a stack of documents as tall as a man in front of her.

    ¡°It¡¯s all here.¡±

    Xiao An waved her hand, and the documents all fluttered into the air, arranging themselves neatly in stacks. They almost filled the entire room before beginning to revolve around her.

    Without any pattern or form of order, the pages flashed past her, and the information on there entered her eyes clearly, yet she did not seem like she was looking. In the end, she simply shut her eyes.

    Ma Buyi could not help but back into a corner. He was clearly the one who taught Xiao An the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots, yet he was at a slight loss on what Xiao An was trying to do now.

    At this moment, seven clusters of light lit up around Xiao An, turning into seven lots.

    ¡°Divining with all seven lots!¡± Ma Buyi¡¯s expression changed.

    Time passed slowly. Everyone stopped talking and waited in silence. The outcome of the divination directly tied into the lives of the people around them, as well as the future of the Clear River prefecture.

    ¡°Done!¡± There was a whisper that surprised everyone slightly. They all turned around, only to discover it had come from Li Qingshan in a corner. He held a great, azure sword in one hand and seemed completely satisfied. The sunlight and the glow of spiritual qi flowed through the sword beautifully.

    Li Qingshan had already refined the Heavy Water sword. Because the Heavy Water sword was ownerless, the refinement process had been easier. All he did was pour in waves of spiritual qi with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean before leaving behind an imprint of his soul sense.

    Through the refinement process, he completely understood the functions of the Heavy Water sword. There was actually just a single move, and it was extremely simple and crude.

    It was expending large quantities of spiritual qi in one go, making the sword expand to ten times its size to launch a devastating attack. Li Qingshan named it as the Siege Breaking strike.

    If the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility was an assassin¡¯s sword, then the Heavy Water sword would be a true warrior¡¯s sword.

    As a matter of fact, this sword was not even suited for artifact control. It was only suited for close combat, which most cultivators disliked. Even Qi Practitioners with water affinity would normally take a more nimble and flexible approach with their sword techniques. They would not use such a large sword.

    However, it was perfect for Li Qingshan. He could finally unleash the power of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. His battle prowess was about to multiply.

    ¡°Is she still not done?¡± Li Qingshan stood up and looked around. He was probably the most relaxed out of all of them.

 Chapter 470 â€“ Karma, the Heart of the Sword

    No one had imagined they would be clashing first when there was still some time until the fifth of the fifth month.

    In the room, the seven lots dispersed together, turning into streaks of light. Paper fluttered through the surroundings.

    Xiao An casually grabbed a piece with a brush in her other hand. She wrote a few simple words before folding it and handing it to Ma Buyi.

    ¡°Don¡¯t show it to too many people.¡±

    The heavenly secrets could not be divulged, not because there were terrifying consequences once they were divulged, but because it could easily become inaccurate once divulged. If everyone knew the results of the divination and news reached Bloodshadow¡¯s ears, he would know about the ambush and the divination obviously would not be accurate.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ma Buyi opened the piece of paper and took a glance. He could not help himself as disbelief filled his face. A precise time and location was actually written on there.

    It had to be mentioned that not only did the results of his divinations only provide a rough location, even the time would be very vague, covering a large period. And, this was already very impressive. Foresight had never been so simple.

    Ma Buyi had already stated in the past that Xiao An would definitely be better than him with divination once she reached Foundation Establishment, but in reality, he was wrong. She was not just better than him. She had completely exceeded him.

    As he thought about how he had said, ¡°This isn¡¯t something a Foundation Establishment cultivator can achieve.¡± when Wang Pushi asked him to predict Bloodshadow¡¯s future movements, he basically reddened slightly. As it turned out, it was not beyond the capabilities of Foundation Establishment cultivators. It was just beyond his capabilities.

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Just as Xiao An was about to leave through the door, Ma Buyi called out and stopped her from behind.

    Xiao An stopped, but she did not look back. She waited for him to speak.

    ¡°Fellow Xiao An, please relieve me of my confusion. What was all this information for?¡± Ma Buyi bowed deeply.

    ¡°For karma.¡± The karma Xiao An spoke of was the karma of buddhism. Actions came with consequences.

    Apart from relying on her extraordinary talent, she was able to predict Bloodshadow¡¯s future movements so precisely because her method of divination did not just originate from the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots anymore, but the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The eminent monk of buddhist who became the White Bone Bodhisattva was the best among the best in this respect. If they did not even know about the fate awaiting them, how could they make the claim that they would destroy buddhism?

    There was a specialised section for this in the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. It was much more profound than the sections for forging artifacts or refining pills. It was not called the Divination section. Instead, it was directly called the Section of Predestination.

    Predestination was fate set in stone. It could not be changed. Even the person who carried out the divination would be bound to their predestined fate.

    For example, practitioners of divination like Ma Buyi and the Divining Elder actually only saw the very surface of the river of fate. There, the waves surged without control, filled with unknown and uncontrollable factors.

    As for true predestination, it lay in the very depths of this river of fate. It also experienced undercurrents, but it was much more stable compared to the surface. Whoever managed to dive down to there would be able to grasp the future.

    Xiao An had only gained a small inkling about this Section of Predestination through the foundation she had set with the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots after consolidating her cultivation at the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. By following the traces of karma, she could see through the waves of the river of fate and grasp a hint of invariability within the endless variation.

    Karma? Only then did Ma Buyi remember Xiao An was actually a disciple of buddhism. However, no one could connect this young lady of unrivalled beauty to the solemnity of buddhism.

    As Ma Buyi pondered this, Xiao An had already left through the door.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Looks like fellow Fu insists on going easy on me?¡± Li Qingshan studied the surroundings before looking at Fu Qingjin again.

    The Clear River prefecture was covered in bodies of water. It had many rivers and lakes. Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin were currently on a lake near the prefectural city. Here, it would clearly be very beneficial for Li Qingshan to unleash his powers, which was why he mentioned that.

    ¡°The landscape here is as beautiful as a painting. It¡¯s a good place to try your sword. I¡¯d like to see the limit of your sword style.¡± Fu Qingjin smiled gently.

    ¡°Then you better keep your eyes open!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed the Heavy Water sword on his back and swung it hard. He kicked up a huge wave as he lunged towards Fu Qingjin.

    Fu Qingjin wielded his hand like a sword, and the tips of his finger ripped with green light. He swung it down gently, cutting through the huge wave like he was cutting through paper.

    The huge wave parted, and a figure appeared. Li Qingshan burst out of the wave and swung down with the Heavy Water sword with enough power to split mountains and rivers.

    As if he had been anticipating this. Fu Qingjin ignored the incoming sword and lunged forward. Using his fingers like a sword, he stabbed it straight towards Li Qingshan¡¯s heart.

    It was a clash of life and death the moment they began fighting, a battle to the death.

    Boom! A huge slash appeared in the calm lake surface, kicking up huge waves of over a dozen meters tall and shaking up the entire lake.

    Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin brushed past one another, standing back-to-back.

    ¡°Very good. You have the talent to become a good swordsman.¡± Fu Qingjin turned around and a strand of hair fell gently.

    ¡°Really? What talent?¡± Li Qingshan looked back and asked. His chest throbbed slightly. If the sword qi on the tip of Fu Qingjin¡¯s finger had pierced another three inches deeper, it would have reached his heart.

    ¡°Showing no fear in the face of danger, bold enough to throw your life on the line.¡±

    Fu Qingjin lifted up his fingers and brought them close to his forehead. Rippling with green light, it dyed his forehead and hair green. He swung it conveniently, and it extended into a meter-long stream of light. He arrived with a flash. Before he had even launched an attack, the trail of his sword had already weaved a great net, enveloping Li Qingshan firmly.

    Sword intent pierced his forehead, making Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness ripple. He could not help but feel dispirited and pessimistic. He felt like it was impossible to stop the attack and all attempts of struggle were futile.

    Li Qingshan roared out and cut through the sword intent. The Heavy Water sword turned into numerous blurs, like a master of calligraphy wielding a brush valiantly to create a majestic work. It immediately crushed Fu Qingjin¡¯s net.

    Before the lake could even settle down, an even larger wave appeared. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, it turned into endless strands of sword qi that shot towards Fu Qingjin wave after wave.

    ¡°What an exquisite sword style. I think I¡¯ve seen it somewhere before.¡±

    Fu Qingjin was like a single row boat in the raging waves. He rose and fell with the waves, as if he could capsize at any time, yet remaining perfectly fine the entire time as he went with the flow. Only when he had no other place to dodge would he gently slash out with his finger and nullify the danger. He closely observed Li Qingshan¡¯s sword style.

    When Fu Qingjin worked with Li Qingshan last time against Strongboulder, he caught a hurried glance of Li Qingshan¡¯s sword style and found it familiar. Today, the sense of familiarity appeared once again.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s sword style both originated from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Fu Qingjin had once clashed with Xiao An before, so this sense of familiarity was not without reason. He had spent his life learning the sword, so his sensitivity and understanding of the sword even surpassed his memory of people¡¯s faces. As long as he had seen it once, he would keep a record of it and never forget it.

    But after observing for a little longer, he was unable to match it up to any of the sword styles in his memories. It was not like this had never happened before. He knew far too many sword styles, and the inherited memories from the Green Ruins sword basically covered everything too. It was just like how it was simply too easy to find two people who looked alike within a sea of people, so it did not attract any suspicion from him.

    Although Li Qingshan had comprehended his sword style from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, his ability to understand and comprehend completely paled in comparison to Xiao An¡¯s.

    If Xiao An could comprehend one hundred percent, then he could only comprehend thirty percent, and the sword style would be more straightforward, forceful, and valiant, just like his character. As a result, it became very difficult for Fu Qingjin to connect the two.

    The Heavy Water sword missed once again. Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, and the muscles on his arms rippled. Through brute strength, he forcefully changed the path of the sword, slapping it towards Fu Qingjin.

    Resplendent green light appeared on the tips of Fu Qingjin¡¯s fingers as they pressed against the flat blade. This was the weakest point of the sword. However, as he knocked away the Heavy Water sword, he also felt his finger ache, as if it had been broken. He was startled inside. What strength!

    He was afraid to take it on directly, so he used the force to drift away into the distance.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, you won¡¯t even draw your sword. Are you looking down on me?¡±

    Taken away by the battle, Li Qingshan could no longer bother with this fake courtesy. With a clang, he hoisted the Heavy Water sword onto his shoulder and barked in a straightforward manner.

    Not only did wielding the sword take great strength, but it depleted his spiritual qi rapidly too, but the Arts of the Boundless Ocean came into effect at a time like this. His depleted spiritual qi would replenish rapidly such that he would always have enough.

    ¡°The Green Ruins sword won¡¯t be directed towards friends. You wouldn¡¯t want a sword you¡¯ve just obtained to be damaged, right?¡±

    Fu Qingjin stroked the hilt gently and smiled with quite the bearing. He was like a courteous lord purposefully lowering himself to talk heart to heart with the generals and advisors he liked, without any insincerity.

    Li Qingshan found it cringeworthy. Who¡¯s your friend? In another month¡¯s time, I¡¯ll cut you down in person.

    Fu Qingjin continued, ¡°Your sword style is very impressive, but it seems incomplete. It¡¯s rather rigid between moves, which leads to openings.¡±

    ¡°Openings or not, it¡¯s enough as long as I can kill with it.¡± Li Qingshan could not help but admire and admit that this bastard¡¯s sword technique sure was impressive, having surpassed his own. He had actually managed to see through the flaws of his sword style so quickly in battle. He would probably have to suffer a little in this aspect when it came to their battle to the death in the future.

    Apart from Fu Qingjin¡¯s own talent and hard work, the legacy from the Green Ruins sword played a vital role too. The past masters of the Green Ruins sword were all outstanding figures. They might not remain here in person anymore, but their heart of the sword would forever remain in the sword.

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°Please lend me your sword.¡±

    ¡°Take it!¡± Li Qingshan was surprised by the request before tossing the Heavy Water sword over. I¡¯d like to see what you¡¯re planning to do.

    The moment Fu Qingjin gripped the hilt, his aura suddenly changed, becoming unruly and beyond control. He swung out with the Heavy Water sword, unleashing a forceful, unruly, and valiant sword style.

    Li Qingshan found it rather familiar. ¡°Isn¡¯t that my sword style!?¡±

    However, all of the flaws had been fixed, such that it flowed freely from move to move. It became much smoother and more natural, and its power had increased too.

    ¡°This sword style doesn¡¯t suit me, so I can¡¯t unleash the limits of its power. All I can do is demonstrate it. I hope it can assist you. We should return.¡±

 Chapter 471 â€“ Bloodlight Escape

    However, he would never let any opportunities of strengthening himself slip by. He completely memorised the sword style that Fu Qingjin displayed earlier. Before great grievances, small favours were not enough to make him waver.

    Spring went and summer came. The weather was hot and humid. The thick, dark clouds piled on the sky, awaiting a storm.

    The crows cawed noisily as they circled around in the air, refusing to land. They were like specks of black sesame scattered across the sky.

    If someone managed to take note of the trajectories of all these crows, they might have been able to detect some kind of pattern after an hour of observation.

    A streak of blood-red light stuck close to the ground. The gales of wind it kicked up rushed past a few crows and ripped them to pieces. Black feathers scattered in the sky.

    However, these pitch-black feathers vanished before they even reached the ground.

    ¡°He¡¯s here,¡± Li Qingshan whispered into a jade tablet for communication. He stood on a tall mountain in an extremely distant place, gazing at the black shadow that protruded from the horizon.

    A city stood there, but now, it was a trap.

    He did not make his way over. With his cultivation at early Foundation Establishment, he had no right to participate in the ambush this time. Of course, this was also a form of protection.

    The sky was so dark that it seemed like dusk. Bloodshadow had already arrived at the city gates. Suddenly, he sensed a hint of uneasiness, as if something was brewing, just like the clouds in the sky.

    But at the same time, the fragrant smell of fresh, enticing blood attracted his attention.

    There was a rumble of thunder, which made his heart lurch. It made him think of the divine lightning the slovenly daoist priest had summoned. Then he sneered at himself. If it were just that ox-nosed daoist, he could escape safely if he ran into him another ten or a hundred times.

    Even regular wild beasts could sense the arrival of death. At his cultivation, his senses had become even sharper. He did not sense any life-threatening danger, so he strode into the city without worrying.

    A crow perching on the city gates let out a strange caw before taking off.

    ¡°Your predictions sure are divine. Looks like there¡¯s no need for you to do anything this time.¡± Li Qingshan smiled brilliantly and looked back.

    Xiao An sat on a grey rock under a large pine tree, staring at an insect on the branches in a daze as her seaweed-like hair flowed freely. She was as serene as an orchid. Hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s words, she shook her head gently.

    ¡°He won¡¯t die here.¡±

    ¡°I only said he would come. I never said he would die.¡± Xiao An smiled beautifully. Only then did she seem like a young girl. ¡°It¡¯s the exact opposite. I made sure he would never die here.¡±

    Some of the childishness vanished from her voice, replaced by a sense of clarity. It was extremely pleasant, like it possessed a wondrous power that could comfort the souls of people.

    ¡°Is it really that accurate?¡± Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. He felt very amazed even though he had no idea how all of this worked.

    ¡°It really is that accurate.¡± Xiao An copied Li Qingshan and blinked her eyes too. ¡°But it won¡¯t be this accurate everytime, because he¡¯s entangled in many ties of karma, and he has very deep karma with me.¡±

    ¡°What karma?¡±

    Rumble! Several bolts of lightning rained down from the sky together, like a huge dragon diving down.

    ¡°It has begun!¡± Li Qingshan turned around quickly and gazed at the lonely city on the horizon.

    ¡°You again!¡±

    Bloodshadow was reduced to a miserable state by the consecutive bolts of lightning as he stared at Zhou Tong before him in surprise and fury. Why did this damned ox-nose always know where he would appear?

    ¡°It¡¯s not just me this time! Wretched daemon, prepare to die!¡± Zhou Tong sneered as if the outcome was already set in stone. He relished with delight.

    That kid Xiao An¡¯s divination sure is accurate!

    Bloodshadow behaved as cautiously as he normally did. Without saying anything more, he flapped his cloak and took off into the air. He moved faster than the lightning, running head-first into a barrier of light.

    In each direction outside of the city, eight Foundation Establishment cultivators planted down eight formation banners, immediately trapping Bloodshadow in the formation as they rushed into the city together.

    How could they be so certain that I¡¯d appear? Oh no, I¡¯m in danger this time! Bloodshadow became pale-white.

    Not only had Xiao An predicted a location, but she had even predicted an extremely precise time as well, which was why they were able to gather the strongest group of cultivators the Clear River prefecture had to offer. They had to make sure Bloodshadow would die.

    It was not just Zhou Tong. The other cultivators all relished with delight too. Practitioners of divination were definitely precious in this day and age, and with her accuracy, it basically made her something akin to a rare treasure. All of them praised her inside.

    The time is actually completely right, down to the very second.

    She truly is a genius. With her divination, defeat will be certain for the daemons!

    Even the Cloud Elder who had been displeased with Xiao An¡¯s avoidance of the war thought, We have to protect this child. We can¡¯t let the daemons get close to her.

    With their various thoughts, the nine powerful cultivators did not utter a single word, cutting right to the chase. They unleashed their strongest moves at the same time to kill Bloodshadow.

    The rain fell like buckets, while the sky was as dark as night. Six streaks of light tore through the air. They were actually six arcane artifacts.

    Various trapping and restricting techniques were unleashed at the same time. Strands of golden light turned into chains, jangling about and sealing up the space everywhere. Thick trees rose up from the ground, extending their branches and blotting out the sky.

    All of this had been planned beforehand. Their teamwork was perfect. However, with Bloodshadow¡¯s speed, he was fast enough to escape before these techniques managed to wrap around him.

    A handsome, pale cultivator in white robes among the nine cultivators opened his mouth and spat out a single word towards Bloodshadow, ¡°Freeze!¡±

    He was not loud, but it reached everyone¡¯s ears clearly. Even from fifty kilometers away, Li Qingshan could vaguely make out his words.

    ¡°This is the school of Names¡¯ Freezing curse. Bloodshadow really won¡¯t be able to escape this time.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    The hundred schools all had their own wondrous arts. The school of Names focused on concepts and words, using language to express a hint of the truths of the world. They inherited the curses and jinxes of ancient cultivators and were known to imbue powers with every word they spoke. They could injure without the opponent even knowing.

    Among the thousands of curses, the most famous one was probably the Freezing curse. It was more convenient than any technique for trapping the opponent.

    In that instant, Bloodshadow became immobilised. All he could do was watch helplessly as the chains condensed from Geng Metal spiritual qi wrapped around him firmly, and the trees formed a huge cage. Seven or eight spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts hurtled over together, grinding him into mince meat.

    ¡°The blood demon is still not dead! Don¡¯t stop!¡± Liu Zhangqing called out.

    Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth¡ªvarious powerful techniques of all five elements landed on Bloodshadow.

    In particular, the slovenly daoist priest Zhou Tong raised the Lightning Slaughter wooden sword towards the sky. Thunder boomed without end as a thick, flashing bolt of lightning pierced the sky, lingering for a very long time.

    The leader of the school of Names¡¯ Freezing curse was unleashed again and again, disrupting each of Bloodshadow¡¯s attempts at escaping.

    The crows that Li Qingshan had conjured from his power of belief scattered into the distance and watched from above, allowing him to take in this sight from various different angles. He was secretly shocked.

    An encirclement like this is just too terrifying. Let alone escaping, you won¡¯t even have the opportunity to fight back. As soon as you tear through a technique, seven or eight more would have struck you already. If it were me, I¡¯d probably barely manage to put up the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, and all I¡¯d be able to do is just watch as my daemon qi was expended. No matter how much daemon qi I have, no matter how quickly it recovers, I still won¡¯t be able to withstand something like that.

    Though, setting up a trap like this is anything but easy. Both daemons and cultivators are extremely sensitive to life-threatening dangers. If it were not for the fact that they had grasped his movements, Bloodshadow should have been able to come and go as he pleases even if he faces the nine of them, moving about freely. The divination is still the part that is more terrifying. No, I have the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core, so I should have quite the talent in this aspect. I need to learn from Xiao An in the future.

    Li Qingshan turned around and asked, ¡°Oh right, what did you mean by karma earlier? Bloodshadow is clearly done for now, so why did you say he wouldn¡¯t die here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s waiting for me.¡± Xiao An leapt off the rock and flew off into the distance.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Off to kill Bloodshadow.¡± Xiao An smiled.

    ¡°But Bloodshadow is not in that direction.¡±

    Just when Li Qingshan was about to chase after her, he thought about it and stopped himself. Since Xiao An made him wait here, she definitely had her reason.

    He was not worried about Xiao An¡¯s safety. After reaching the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, probably only the Spider Queen could pose life-threatening danger to her, as well as that ¡°guy¡± hidden deep below the magma. There was no need for him to worry too much.

    However, as he watched her figure disappear into the horizon, he experienced a strange sense of melancholy, like ¡°My child has grown up and is independent now¡±. He really could not go without his strength increasing anymore. At least, he could not pale in comparison to Xiao An.

    He also had to surpass the pressure that Fu Qingjin and Dragonsnail could cause him.

    ¡°Blood demon, today is the day you die.¡± Seeing how the blood demon was close to death, Zhou Tong let out a great laughter.

    The leader of the school of Names had already uttered ¡°Freeze¡± eleven times, having reached his limit. He also eased up at this moment.

    Bloodshadow, who had been reduced to a blood-red piece of meat, suddenly began to separate and twist. A sinister face appeared there.

    Innate ability, Bloodlight Escape!

    With a bang, the chunk of flesh exploded. Violent energy pushed away all the arcane artifacts and techniques. Only a blood-red daemon core revolved about as it took off as a red flash with a swish.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± Liu Zhangqing said in a hurry.

    Even if he had not said that, Zhou Tong still would have extended his finger over. A serpentine bolt of lightning shot over.

    However, when the blood-red light ran into the formation, it actually passed through directly and sailed across the sky. The lightning slammed against the barrier heavily.

    Everyone in the city was left dumbfounded. How had Bloodshadow managed to escape given the current circumstances?

    ¡°The blood demon is just a daemon core now. He might be dead already,¡± Liu Zhangqing said bitterly.

    Everyone wanted to believe that, but none of them could believe that! In that instant, the blood demon had clearly abandoned his body and taken off.

    Was Bloodshadow dead?

    Of course not!

 Chapter 472 â€“ Incinerating Bloodshadow with SamÄdhi, the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase

    Li Qingshan murmured, and the direction that the blood-red light fled in just happened to be the direction Xiao An had travelled off to. As he thought about the twisted expressions of Zhou Tong and the others right now, he could not help but smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my Xiao An will help you deal with this great enemy. I can¡¯t accept those True Spirit pills for nothing.¡±

    Having undergone a heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon General, Bloodshadow obviously possessed two innate abilities. The first one was a sound wave with an extremely large range of attack.

    The second innate ability was the Bloodlight Escape. He could cross five hundred kilometers in a single instant, which was a hundred times more powerful than Li Qingshan¡¯s Escape talisman. Even Golden Core cultivators would struggle to hunt him down.

    However, whenever he used it, he would have to abandon all of his flesh and blood, which took a great toll on him. As a result, he would never use it unless he faced life-threatening danger.

    As for his ability to control blood and the powerful vitality that allowed him to stay alive even when he was reduced to mince meat, they were the same as Strongboulder¡¯s abilities as a Rock of Slaughter. It was an ability they were born with, not an innate talent.

    This was also the reason why daemons with special bloodlines were stronger than regular daemons.

    The torrential rain doused Bloodshadow. His face was pale-white, as if he did not even have the power to block the rain with his daemon qi. He leaned against a tree in exhaustion. His face was filled with resentment as he ground his teeth, thinking about revenge.

    Suddenly, his face lit up. He sensed a vigorous cluster of vitality. This was the exact supplement he needed right now.

    Bloodshadow made his way over to the other side of the tree. A young girl just happened to be sitting there, staring at a sparrow on the tree branch with her head raised. She seemed to be sheltering from the rain. Hearing the noise, she lowered her head and took a look. Her clear eyes reflected Bloodshadow¡¯s figure perfectly. She was completely calm.

    ¡°A Foundation Establishment cultivator!¡±

    Bloodshadow shivered inside, having sensed the spiritual qi within the girl. He had already become extremely shaken up. Afraid it was another trap, he wanted to retreat.

    The girl did not move at all. The flowing blood under her jade-like skin gave off an intoxicating fragrance. Bloodshadow had never smelled something so tempting before.

    The thunder continued to boom. The tree basically held up the surrounding region as the thunderstorm outside formed curtains of rain.

    ¡°How dare you come so close to me. This is just your bad luck. I¡¯ll drain your blood first so that I can recover some daemon qi.¡±

    All of the blood in the girl surged and rampaged. With a bang, it erupted from her body.

    Bloodshadow gulped down the blood. He immediately felt refreshed. The taste was just far too delicious.

    However, to his surprise, the girl did not resist or put up a struggle. She did not even show any pain or fear. She just continued to stare at him calmly, which made him, the blood demon who had killed countless beings, feel strangely uneasy.

    He felt like a frog that had caught a snake¡¯s attention. Under the threat of his natural predator, his body stiffened, unable to move.

    ¡°What are you looking at!?¡± Bloodshadow was agitated. He struck with lightning speed, sending his fingers into her clear eyes.

    When his fingers were just an inch away from her eyes, Bloodshadow suddenly froze.

    W- What¡¯s going on? Why can¡¯t I move anymore?

    The frog had yet to notice, but the lethal venom had been injected a long time ago.

    Every inch of Bloodshadow¡¯s body that had merged with the blood suddenly burst into flames. It began to burn vigorously.

    With a boom, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone oozed out from every single pore on Bloodshadow, setting him alight and turning him into a torch.

    The fire swayed and happily set Bloodshadow¡¯s blood, flesh, and bones alight while freezing his soul. All he could do was watch as he burned.

    The great vitality he depended on to make a name for himself, the great vitality he took pride in, had now become the perfect fuel for the flames.

    In that instant, deep fear filled Bloodshadow¡¯s eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not human¡­¡±

    The fear vanished as his eyes were burned away. His voice halted as his tongue turned into fire.

    With a swish, the blood-red daemon core shot off into the distance.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s inhuman.¡±

    TL: An insult in Chinese is to label someone as not a human. It¡¯s basically calling them inhuman, used for cases of inhumane cruelty or savageness. Xiao An is basically retorting Bloodshadow¡¯s (true) statement that she¡¯s not human.

    Xiao An¡¯s clear eyes turned, and she grabbed the daemon core. The daemon core trembled and struggled violently in her hands.

    Her right hand gripped it firmly, immobilising the blood-red daemon core. Suddenly, it began to shine with dazzling, red light. It had already given up on escaping. Bloodshadow wanted to blow up his daemon core and drag her down with him.

    She brought her left hand over the daemon core, forcefully drawing out a half-transparent, mist-like soul. It vaguely resembled Bloodshadow.

    The red light dispersed, and the daemon core rested silently in her hand.

    Three words naturally appeared in her mind¡ªBlood Sea Banner.

    A while later, a bolt of lightning shot over from afar. Zhou Tong did not place his hopes on catching up to Bloodshadow. The reason why he pursued was just to do everything he was capable of.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Zhou Tong sensed Xiao An¡¯s aura from extremely far away. He descended from above on the Lightning Slaughter.

    ¡°Have you seen Bloodshadow?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already dead.¡± Xiao An told the truth.

    ¡°You killed him?¡± Zhou Tong was overcome with both joy and surprise.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Did you predict he would escape here?¡± Zhou Tong was at a slight loss as for how to react. If that were the case, didn¡¯t it mean Xiao An had predicted they would fail to make Bloodshadow remain behind?

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you-¡± Zhou Tong forcefully stopped talking half-way. There had been a whole group of them who surrounded Bloodshadow, yet he still managed to escape. How could he still bring himself to question this girl?

    ¡°Senior Zhou, the heavenly secrets must not be divulged!¡± Li Qingshan made his way over from afar with a wide grin. He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head heavily. ¡°Well done!¡±

    At this moment, several other streaks of light shot over. Liu Zhangqing¡¯s group had arrived too. After learning the end result, they could not help but look at one another. Apart from joy, there was astonishment on their faces too.

    She had reached Foundation Establishment at a tender age of thirteen or fourteen, deploying the troops and hiding her killing intent. She killed the blood demon the moment she struck.

    These mid and late Foundation Establishment cultivators seemed to have become her subordinates, yet they were unable to speak a single word of complaint. Instead, they had to thank her. Were there any schools or sects that did not have disciples that died to the blood demon?

    She could no longer be described with just ¡°genius¡±. As they looked at Xiao An who snuggled by Li Qingshan¡¯s side with a rare smile, all of them felt speechless. At the same time, they gained a deeper understanding for the mental depth and terror of practitioners of divination.

    What was terrifying was not the practitioner themselves, but the fate they could control.

    However, no one doubted whether Xiao An had the ability to kill Bloodshadow or not. When Bloodshadow fled, all of them could tell he was heavily injured. All of them dismissed their doubts when taking the terrifying talent Xiao An had demonstrated into account.

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain was adorned with decorations, filled with a long-lost, boisterous atmosphere. They celebrated the death of the blood demon, as well as the efforts that Zhou Tong and everyone else had put in.

    However, the main focus of the banquet was obviously Xiao An.

    Qiu Haitang activated the mechanism and opened the walls in the centre of the parlour so that the Qi Practitioners could witness the ¡°heroes¡±. It added some liveliness to the atmosphere.

    Just as Qiu Haitang had expected, both upstairs and downstairs immediately fell silent the moment Xiao An appeared before everyone. Both men and women were amazed, with many male cultivators falling in love at first sight.

    Qiu Haitang shook her head gently. ¡°This is the power of the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty.¡±

    When everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn away by Xiao An, Li Qingshan instead sensed a gaze of disdain cast his way. Turning around, he discovered it to be Ru Xin, who stood nearby.

    Because Ru Xin was a doctor, her primary mission was not to purge daemons, but to heal injured cultivators and refine medicine. As a result, she never got the opportunity to see Li Qingshan as of late.

    ¡°I never thought you would be someone like that!¡± Ru Xin communicated. Her gaze moved around between Li Qingshan and Xiao An, filled with shame, as if she was embarrassed to have a friend like this.

    ¡°You can piss off!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and replied viciously.

    Ru Xin felt her mind buzz. Li Qingshan possessed the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar, so he was much more powerful with mental communication. It made her frown and rub her forehead.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a joke, so do you have to be so serious? Have I actually hit the mark and pissed you off from embarrassment? It¡¯s not like I look down on you. I¡¯ll just call you even worse than a beast at most.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll call me even worse than a beast, and you¡¯ll still look up to me? Oh, I forgot. You¡¯re even worse than a beast too. You¡¯re half-human, half-fish!¡±

    ¡°Oi, Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone too far with that! Though, have you finally admitted you¡¯re even worse than a beast?¡±

    ¡°Who has admitted that? I¡¯ll go overboard because I want to. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    ¡°You better be careful, just in case I divulge you are connected to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death. You¡¯ll be cut down the moment you step out the door.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to silence this person, no, fish, with death.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s merfolk, not fish!¡±

    ¡°Once you return to the Chain mountains, I¡¯ll give you a good gift.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic. What gift?¡±

    As the two of them secretly squabbled, the celebratory banquet officially began.

    Xiao An just sat there emotionlessly. She did not eat or drink, completely ignoring all the praises and gazes of admiration. Instead, Li Qingshan emptied all the cups of alcohol the moment they were poured on her side, talking and laughing with ease.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Everyone, may I have your attention! Now, I shall be representing the academy in bestowing this arcane artifact to Xiao An. This was offered up by fellow Ma, the heirloom treasure of the leader of the school of Yin-yang.¡±

    As he spoke, he took out a lot from his sleeve. It was jade-like yet also bamboo-like lot less than a foot long, verdant green and transparent. He passed it to Xiao An.

    ¡°So this is an arcane artifact. It doesn¡¯t seem particularly special?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase that school leader Ma never parts with? He¡¯s actually managed to bring himself to take it out.¡±

    Among the discussions, Ma Buyi stood up too. ¡°Xiao An, this Bamboo- Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase is rumored to have been created with the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots. The two complement each other. Originally, there were seven lots, as well as a lot pot. Although only a single lot has been passed to me now, it¡¯s still an arcane artifact. I hope you can make good use of it. I believe it will definitely shine resplendently in your hands!¡± Then he glanced at the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase again. His eyes were filled with reluctance.

    The Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase was not just an arcane artifact, but an extremely rare arcane artifact for divination.

    No matter how much Ma Buyi admired Xiao An, he would have never given this away for nothing. He had only done this after a lengthy persuasion from Liu Zhangqing and everyone else. In the end, they had basically purchased this from him with the resources of the academy before bestowing it on Xiao An.

    Their objective was obviously for Xiao An to play an even greater role in the war. And, if it were not for the pressure from the war, Ma Buyi would have never sold it.

 Chapter 473 â€“ A Clear Conscience Brings Peace of Mind, the Mind is Perturbed by Ru Xinâ€™s Charm

    The information gathered by the Hawkwolf Guard played a vital role in allowing Xiao An to predict Bloodshadow¡¯s movements and his death. Bloodshadow killed too much, leaving behind too many ties of karma.

    He was like a tiny fish swimming through the river, leaving behind clear ripples in the water.

    She did not analyse the information using logic. Instead, she grasped the threads of fate that regular cultivators were unable to see, which was why she managed to predict Bloodshadow¡¯s movements so accurately.

    If she were to predict Dragonsnail¡¯s movements instead, then she would be left at quite a loss as for where to start. Even if she just tried blindly, it would never be so accurate.

    From a certain perspective, it was exactly because Bloodshadow was fated to die in her hands that led to this deep tie of karma, which allowed her to do this. In other words, if she were unable to predict so much, she would not have been able to kill Bloodshadow.

    The components of karma, cause and effect, were intertwined. As a matter of fact, they were two sides of the same coin, which formed a mysterious, almost unpredictable predestination. It was much more profound than any techniques the world had to offer.

    Xiao An had only scratched the surface so far. She was nowhere close to understanding it thoroughly. However, the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase would bring great assistance to her divination. At the very least, it could allow her to dive a little deeper into the river of fate.

    ¡°I must thank you all for your great generosity in Xiao An¡¯s place!¡± Li Qingshan raised his cup up high and downed it all.

    Apart from the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase that went to Xiao An, Li Qingshan received some rewards too. Without saying, his contribution in the Hawkwolf Guard had increased drastically yet again.

    A resplendent smile stretched over his face as he downed alcohol jar after jar, like he was drinking water. It led to a series of cheering and applause.

    Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan, and the corner of her lips curled up silently. Although she appeared to be quite inhuman sometimes, no one could rival her in terms of intelligence. She just never cared about what others thought and felt. But for him, she had an extremely detailed understanding. She understood what bothered him mentally.

    Ru Xin gazed over from afar and also found him rather different today. It was as if he had returned to a few years ago when she had met him for the first time.

    Today, Li Qingshan felt extremely satisfied inside, and it was not only because of all the benefits he had received.

    However, he would never use this as an excuse to shirk away from his responsibilities. As a man, even if he made a mistake, he would accept and bear the burden. If he constantly tried to cover it up, even distancing himself from his own cover-ups, then it would only twist his conscience. He would just be a hypocrite.

    The right or wrong in this had nothing to do with what other people thought. Everyone had a set of scales in their hearts. Perfection, unparalleled kindness, and justice had never been what he pursued. All he wanted was to maintain a clear conscience.

    In the past, after he had gained power, he did not seek revenge against his elder brother and sister-in-law who had abused him for all those years. He did not use it to vent his pent-up fury. Instead, he tossed behind a bag of silver, exactly because of these two words.

    After killing the rock demon and the blood demon, he personally believed he had settled a few ties of karma, having upheld his responsibility. It was like a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He was filled with indescribable relief and delight.

    Of course, no one had the right to judge him on this outcome, to say ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve completely been overthinking¡± or ¡°Your sins are much deeper than that. Killing two daemons is nowhere near enough to redeem yourself¡±.

    If he felt it was enough, then it was enough. Although he had once sworn he would finish off both sides of the war and end the war for good, but through this period of understanding, he felt this was no longer his responsibility. It even exceeded his abilities to a certain degree, so he just cast this directly to the back of his mind.

    While he did not completely agree with Fu Qingjin¡¯s chessboard metaphor, he did find it somewhat reasonable. Right now, the war was restricted to the Clear River prefecture, where he could still play a role. Once it spread even further, what could do with his current cultivation?

    Forget it! If he wanted to fight, then he could fight to his heart¡¯s content! And, once he became tired of the issues from balancing both sides, he would be better off making use of this opportunity to swoop in and benefit from the demise of others so that he could increase his cultivation quickly. Only then could he protect those important to him. Only then could he reach beyond the Nine Heavens sooner.

    As a transmigrator, he did not really conform to the concept of ¡°upholding his word no matter what¡±. The circumstances constantly changed. He would never allow a single word to tie him down, even if it originated from his own mouth.

    He had clearly taken a step forward, possessing much greater knowledge now, yet he had to stick with the conclusions he had drawn from his past understandings. That was no different from purposefully making things difficult for himself.

    ¡°They¡¯re retreating! They¡¯re retreating!¡±

    A young cultivator rushed into the Parlour of Clouds and Rain excitedly and called out loudly.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Take your time!¡± Liu Zhangqing said sternly.

    ¡°Sir prefect, we have received news from various directions that all the daemons have retreated back underground. It¡¯s all because of sir¡¯s great leadership that allowed us to kill the blood demon and weaken the daemons¡¯ momentum.¡± As the young cultivator spoke, he did not forget to suck up to Liu Zhangqing.

    The news of the blood demon falling in battle reached Dragonsnail¡¯s ears very quickly. He immediately made a decision to withdraw all their forces.

    Among the four great Daemon Generals under the Spider Queen¡¯s command, Northmoon was locked up in secluded cultivation, so only he remained. There was not a lot he could do alone. Continuing to persist had already become pointless. It would only lead to even greater losses.

    Daemons had lengthy lifespans, but they cultivated slowly too. Every daemon they lost would take a century to make up for.

    However, the wartime chaos from the past few years had drastically reduced the population of the Clear River prefecture too. It was equivalent to destroying most of the foundation of the cultivation society of the prefecture. It would take them a century to recover too.

    Cheers erupted in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. They all tossed aside their cultivated composure.

    Over the past few years of battle, who knew how many seniors and juniors they had lost. Who knew how many times they had faced life-threatening danger. They were finally witnessing the light of victory. Who could still control their emotions at a time like this?

    ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon, everyone. We still need to continue with our efforts. Only then can we completely smash the Daemon race¡¯s ambitions.¡± Liu Zhangqing cleared his throat twice before finally suppressing the excitement inside.

    Cheng Kaishan said, ¡°Fellow Fu, both the rock demon and blood demon have already fallen in battle. Now, as long as you can kill the moon demon too, we¡¯ll win this war.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± Fu Qingjin said nonchalantly.

    Kill me? Then why don¡¯t you try it!

    Tipsy, Li Qingshan smiled and thought to himself.

    The celebratory banquet became an even grander celebratory banquet. It lasted deep into the night before disbanding.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An returned to their dwelling in the Chain mountains. Ru Xin also accompanied them.

    Now that the fighting had come to an end, there was no need for her to constantly refine pills to save people. She could take a break now. She wanted to go back and rest up. She was still thinking about the ¡°great gift¡± Li Qingshan had promised her, so along the way, she gave into her curiosity.

    ¡°Where¡¯s my great gift?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it once we get back.¡± Li Qingshan smiled mysteriously.

    Returning to the chain mountains, Li Qingshan sent Xiao An back to the dwelling first before returning to Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling with her.

    Li Qingshan cut right to the chase, directly pulling out all the spiritual herbs in his hundred treasures pouch and piling them up on the stone table.

    Most of them were spiritual herbs that the six clans of night roamers had offered up during his three years of secluded cultivation. There were also a few that came from killing and robbing cultivators of the Daemon Suppression alliance, which also amounted to quite the sum. He had held onto them for all this time, leaving them in his hundred treasures pouch, as Ru Xin had neither the time or effort to deal with them.

    ¡°Is this the great gift you were speaking of?¡± Ru Xin said in surprise. The amount of spiritual herbs Li Qingshan had taken out last time had already surprised her, but comparing it to this time, she realised she had still underestimated it.

    Never had she seen so many spiritual herbs in her life. Just the amount alone had completely surpassed what Li Qingshan had taken out in the past, and they were nowhere close in terms of value too.

    One a thousand-year spiritual herb could match a whole pile of regular, cultivated spiritual herbs. Yet, there were a hundred stalks of thousand-year spiritual herbs at the very least before her, piled up like vegetables. How could she not be shocked?

    ¡°Same as before. You¡¯ll gather the other spiritual herbs, and once you refine them, you can have thirty percent.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t do. I¡¯ve refined too many pills lately. Now, I feel sick just from seeing spiritual herbs. Just thinking about alchemy gives me a headache,¡± Ru Xin rubbed her forehead and said in fake distress.

    That was to hide the quivering emotions in her eyes. If she converted all of them into spiritual stones, there would probably be enough to fill her entire dwelling. Most importantly, the origins of these spiritual herbs were enough to expose many things, which only confirmed her suspicions.

    She had never considered receiving trust on a level like this.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re getting such a good deal already, yet you¡¯re still not satisfied. If you don¡¯t want to do it, then I¡¯ll go find someone else.¡± That was what Li Qingshan said, but he had no intentions of leaving.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you get that old father-in-law Han of yours to help you out? With the Han family¡¯s influence, finding a few suitable alchemists won¡¯t be difficult at all. You¡¯ll save the thirty percent you¡¯ll have to share with me too.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one I trust, alright? Are you happy now? Stop it. Are you going to refine it or not?¡±

    This kind of trust could not be built up overnight, but at a time like this, Li Qingshan felt like he could trust her with many things, which even included a few important secrets.

    Ru Xin found that soothing. For some reason, she chucked to herself. In other words, even Han Qiongzhi doesn¡¯t know these secrets about him! Wait, why am I comparing myself to her?

    ¡°So be it. Since you¡¯re already pleading with me like this, I¡¯ll refine it. Though, you probably haven¡¯t even counted your spiritual herbs, right? Even if a stalk or ten go missing, you wouldn¡¯t know!¡± Ru Xin accepted all the spiritual herbs and blinked her eyes with a smile.

    ¡°Who said? If even a stalk goes missing, I¡¯ll be questioning you.¡± Slightly taken aback, Li Qingshan refused to back down.

    In reality, she was completely right. He had indeed not counted it. If Ru Xin wanted to steal his spiritual herbs, there was no need to go to such great lengths at all. She could just directly claim a few cauldrons of pills were destroyed during the refining process, or she could under-report the sum of pills. There were plenty of methods for her to embezzle him.

    ¡°Just by you?¡± Ru Xin said in disdain.

    ¡°Do you want to try it?¡± Li Qingshan shot a glance at her.

    ¡°Come at me then!¡± Ru Xin shot a glance back at him with contempt, but she suddenly felt rather uneasy. Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed slightly before she knew it.

    They were a man and a woman in a room alone, staring at one another.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan felt rather tempted. Perhaps it was the alcohol at work, or perhaps it was because the burden had suddenly been lifted from his mind. Through his tipsiness, Ru Xin¡¯s gentle face and wonderful, graceful figure possessed an indescribable charm. She was enchanting.

 Chapter 474 â€“ Spiritual Stone Mines

    Her gaze drifted away, perhaps provoking him or turning him down.

    ¡°I¡¯ve grown sick a long time ago.¡±

    Li Qingshan retorted immediately, only to remember he should have responded with something sickly sweet like ¡°I can never get enough¡±. This was an almost automatic defensive response he had developed from spending time with her.

    ¡°You, oh you!¡± Ru Xin smiled and shook her head gently. Who knew whether it was disappointment or relief.

    ¡°You might be rather good-looking, but it¡¯s nowhere near enough to seduce me!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled too, recovering his composure. He did not wish to see their relationship destroyed because of what he felt on a whim.

    ¡°Right back at you! If you¡¯re sick of it, then piss off. Don¡¯t get in my way of refining pills.¡± Ru Xin stood up to see him off.

    ¡°But I haven¡¯t even finished my tea.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s finished.¡± Ru Xin picked it up and emptied it before shooing Li Qingshan out the door.

    When Li Qingshan left, he wanted to say something, but all he saw was the door being slammed in his face. As he gazed at the stone door, he felt rather reluctant to just let this end like this.

    Ru Xin stared at the stone door too as light rippled through her eyes. It seemed frigid, yet also passionate.

    The two of them simply stared at one another with the heavy, stone door there, unable to see one another. However, their gazes did not shift at all.

    Li Qingshan suddenly smiled, turning around and leaving on a cloud. He crossed his arms leisurely. He just dismissed it as becoming slightly muddle-headed for once during his long journey of cultivation. It was fine if he was reluctant. There was still plenty of time ahead.

    Ru Xin let out a gentle sigh and sneered. ¡°Coward.¡± Suddenly, she began to rub her head in distress. ¡°With all these spiritual herbs, how long do I have to refine them for!?¡±

    She was not completely joking with what she had said earlier. Recently, she had become rather tired of refining pills, but with so many benefits laid out before her, she would put up with it no matter how tired she was.

    The night deepened. The rain eased up slightly, but it continued to patter endlessly, drenching the earth and mountains.

    With the arrival of spring came the season of rain.

    It also rained a thousand kilometers south-west.

    There was a great, ruptured mountain. The mountain was teeming with spiritual qi, which indicated the presence of a spiritual stone vein. Within the rupture, scattered pieces of spiritual stones shone gently.

    Her brows were slightly furrowed on her delicate face, as if she was considering something. Her dark blue skin did not affect her beauty at all, adding a mysterious sense of charm instead.

    ¡°Sister, the daemons are retreating. What should we do? Dammit, to think they didn¡¯t contact us!¡± Ye Liubo followed closely behind. Her appearance was only slightly lacklustre to Ye Liusu, but with her curves, she possessed a romantic charm that even Ye Liusu failed to match.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    Leading the army of night roamers, Ye LIusu attacked the various spiritual stone mines scattered throughout the land. Some mines were heavily guarded, protected by powerful cultivators, but compared to their army, they were nothing. Although they had suffered quite a lot of casualties, only a single night roamer who had undergone the first heavenly tribulation died in battle. The resistance that they faced was rather weak.

    The biggest problem did not actually come from the daemons or the humans, but from themselves.

    Although Li Qingshan had given Ye Liusu the task of commanding them, the various forms of strike, both open and secret, immediately began to spread through the ranks without his presence. The powerful night roamer who fell in battle died to extremely strange circumstances.

    From a certain perspective, these battles no longer had anything to do with their interests. Instead, it was a form of instinct. They would harm one another as soon as the opportunity presented itself, even if it offered no benefits. It was no different from, ¡°You¡¯re too perfect in this area, so I couldn¡¯t help myself but to kick you. It¡¯s been quite some time since kicking someone has been so satisfying¡±.

    This was the aspect that troubled Ye Liusu the most. Sometimes, she would even think in anger, Are night roamers like them really worth all my effort? However, a thought like that would vanish in a flash. It was not enough to influence an idealist like her.

    Through the various trials, she developed a leader¡¯s bearing, and her supporters gradually increased. They all found Ye Liusu extremely admirable.

    Ever since the Daemon Suppression alliance and the Academy of the Hundred Schools forged an alliance in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, they placed most of their focus on attacking the daemons that ran amok on the surface. After all, spiritual stone veins were important, but they could always steal them back if they lost them. It was not like they could be uprooted and taken away. At most, they would just lose out on some spiritual stones.

    On the other hand, death was permanent. If the Clear River prefecture had actually been decimated, not only would the academy be unable to recruit any suitable disciples, the various sects would be no different. Humans had short lifespans, and the lifespans of cultivators were not particularly long either. Going a few generations without accepting any new disciples was definitely enough to end a sect¡¯s legacy and lead it to its demise.

    Although none of them cared about the lives of regular people after becoming cultivators, all of them understood the foundation of the cultivation community lay among these regular people who produced generations after generations.

    As a result, these attacks from the night roamers essentially went unimpeded. Instead, they were more than willing to use these mines to keep the night roamer army busy and reduce the pressure they faced on the battlefield. As long as they defeated the daemons, did they have to worry about losing these mines for good?

    Ye Liusu gazed at the night rain and said after quite a while of thought, ¡°Let¡¯s retreat too. We can¡¯t stay behind and serve as the vanguard for them.¡±

    ¡°But we only managed to claim these mines after so much effort.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll give up on them all,¡± Ye Liusu said resolutely.

    The battle had been on the safer side, but they had not exactly reaped a bountiful harvest either. Although they had obtained large quantities of spiritual stone ore, the spiritual stone veins underground had always been much more plentiful than the ones on the surface. Mining underground was much safer too.

    Moreover, night roamers were nowhere near as knowledgeable as humans when it came to using spiritual stones.

    That was because spiritual stones could not be directly used the moment they were mined. They had to be further refined, purified and concentrated to obtain the type of spiritual stones regularly used for battle and cultivation. Otherwise, the spiritual qi would be extremely impure, making it very difficult to use.

    Night roamers obviously did not possess the technique to refine them, so they were not particularly enthusiastic about something like mining. Obtaining all this ore was rather useless.

    Of course, there were spiritual stone mines with very high levels of purity, but they were claimed by various Daemon Generals. Let alone venturing into their territory for mining, even if they managed to sever the spiritual stone vein from below, that was enough to lead to war!

    Ye Liubo smiled. ¡°Fair enough. These shitty rocks don¡¯t seem to be of any proper use anyway. I¡¯ll go call everyone right now. I just happen to be missing master too. The rain is so pretty!¡±

    There will be a day when we can shower under the rain as we please, Ye Liusu thought to herself.

    Cultivators observed the army of night roamers from extremely far away through techniques. They saw them abandon the mines and leave in a winding mass. The cultivators immediately returned to the mines and reestablished the formations, commencing with the excavation again.

    ¡°Sir prefect, the night roamers have retreated too. We¡¯ve retaken all the spiritual stone mines already, except rebuilding what we had will lead to some difficulties.¡±

    In Clear River city, Liu Zhangqing listened to the report of a subordinate and stroked his long beard in thought. After the battle ended, the first thing he asked about was the situation of the spiritual stone mines. Spiritual stone mines to cultivators were like gold mines to regular people. They were extremely important. Normally, a single spiritual stone mine was enough to spark a great conflict between two sects.

    The night roamers were very dissatisfied with their spoils this time, but it did cause quite a loss to the human cultivators. Apart from the spiritual stones themselves, the defensive formations and mechanisms and the puppets for mining had all been destroyed. It would take them quite the effort to establish everything again.

    ¡°How long will it take before we recover our previous functionality?¡±

    ¡°Over a month at the very least.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already lost most of the month.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing let out a sigh. The three years of war had already depleted many of the resources they had accumulated over the years. Once they lost their supply of spiritual stones, many powerful mechanisms and puppets would be rendered useless and many formations would not be available for use. Cultivators would not be able to draw out the spiritual qi within spiritual stones to recover either. The consequences would be unthinkable.

    ¡°Please invite the leader of the school of Miscellany, Gou Dai, over!¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan returned to the dwelling and spoke a little with Xiao An, he felt a series of disturbances from around him. With a thought, the exquisite patterns carefully carved by the night roamer craftsmen filled his eyes.

    A few blue butterflies fluttered about, illuminating a small range. Beside him, Milliped had already woken up from his sleep. Who knew where he had wandered off to.

    The original dwelling had also been sealed up by a carefully sculpted stone door. Behind the door were many obscure auras that silently drew closer.

    ¡°Sir Northmoon!¡± ¡°Master.¡±

    The stone door opened, and the night roamers returned from above ground. They immediately reported back to him, passing through the Blue Butterfly flowers like shadows and arriving before the stone bed, performing a bow together.

    Unable to help herself, Ye Liubo immediately became tempted to throw herself into his arms, but looking at the surroundings, she managed to hold herself back. She stood behind Ye Liusu obediently.

    The social hierarchy was clearly divided in the underground world. If she acted fearlessly just because she had her master¡¯s trust and damaged his bearing, it would be bad. She did not want him to dislike her. Just as she thought of that, she suddenly saw Li Qingshan waving his hand at her with a smile. ¡°Liubo, come over here!¡±

    Ye Liubo could no longer care anymore, diving into his arms. The matriarchs all witnessed this and could not help but blame their own daughters. They had also served Northmoon for so long, so why hadn¡¯t they received the same level of favour from him?

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back. How are the spoils of the battle?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked despite already knowing the answer. The night roamers had not become too involved with this battle, so he was not too worried about Ye Liubo¡¯s safety. However, seeing her standing before him safely still brought him great joy.

    As for his so-called dignity or bearing or whatever that was, he did not care at all. People of power naturally possessed a dignified bearing, while the weak only knew how to pose around in a futile manner.

    Before Ye Liusu could reply, he lowered his head and ran his hand down Ye Liubo¡¯s back gently. He asked in concern, ¡°You weren¡¯t injured, were you?¡±

    ¡°Please check for yourself later, master.¡±

 Chapter 475 â€“ Sooner or Later, there will be Revenge

    ¡°Ore? How much?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s interest was piqued. There was not a single cultivator who could find fault in possessing too many spiritual stones. Although it was just ore, it would still be a sizeable sum once he found someone appropriate to refine it.

    ¡°Our Spider Shadow clan is willing to offer all the ore to sir Northmoon.¡±

    Ye Mingzhu was observative. Through Li Qingshan¡¯s actions and responses, she could tell that Li Qingshan was interested in these ores, so she immediately stepped forward and offered up a hundred treasures pouch.

    Li Qingshan accepted the hundred treasures pouch and took a look. The ore inside twinkled like stars. Based on a rough estimation, the amount should be enough to refine several tens of thousand regular inferior spiritual stones, so he accepted it happily.

    ¡°The Spider Shadow clan should be praised for their loyalty. Though, I have said that I won¡¯t be taking any spoils from this battle, so I¡¯ll give you a few spiritual artifacts as a reward instead!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your reward, sir Northmoon.¡± Ye Mingzhu smiled and accepted his reward without holding back.

    The other matriarchs immediately became tempted too. These spiritual stones truly did not hold much value to them. A few spiritual artifacts would be much more practical, and they could express their loyalty too. It was a deal that came at no cost to them.

    Before long, Li Qingshan obtained a few extra hundred treasures pouches. If the ore was all refined into spiritual stones, there would be three or four hundred thousand at the very least. In exchange, he had only offered up a few useless mid and high grade spiritual artifacts.

    While he could find Ru Xin for refining pills, he had no suitable choice for forging artifacts. Then Li Qingshan began thinking about the Bronze Cauldron of the Four Cardinal Directions in his possession. Once he returned to the academy, he had to properly understand exactly what was required to refine spiritual stones.

    They waited until all the night roamers had scattered, with just Ye Liubo remaining in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s feelings for her were originally the same feelings as a master had for their pet, but it was somewhat different today. The deep gully right in front of her drew in his gaze. She curled up on him seductively, basically demanding him to take her. Lust suddenly rose up in him, and a certain part of his body began to respond uncontrollably.

    ¡°I have no idea whether I¡¯m injured or not, so please inspect me closely, master.¡± Ye Liubo sensed this response and smiled complacently, clinging on to him even more firmly. Her full chest pressed against his abdomen, leaving completely no space between them.

    Gradually, his hands were not restricted to her exposed skin anymore. Whenever they ran into the obstructing armour, he would directly take them off, caressing every inch of her skin. Ye Liubo¡¯s eyes were filled with delight as she leaned against him, heaving and moaning gently without control. Her gaze gradually misted up.

    Before long, only a pair of slender shoes remained on her body. The blue patterns on her seductive body shone magnificently, allowing Li Qingshan to admire her however he liked. This was not the first time he had seen Ye Liubo naked, but she seemed particularly tempting right now. It made him gulp as he remembered it had already been three years since he had last tasted flesh.

    Li Qingshan suddenly stopped and whispered into Ye Liubo¡¯s ear, ¡°The only thing that a master can do to his pet is to spoil her.¡±

    ¡°Then please spoil me good, master!¡± Ye Liubo suddenly straightened herself up, and her chest jiggled. Her provoking gaze was furious, dissatisfied with a hint of pleading. She pouted. ¡°Ever since I met master, it has been so many years since I last had a man. You have no idea how tantalising it is being alone.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have many ¡®concubines¡¯?¡± Li Qingshan was rather puzzled by this. He knew night roamers did not really have a concept of maintaining their chaste, nor would he bind her to the conventions of humans. Of course, this was because he did not treat her as his lover.

    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten rid of them a long time ago. I only want to give birth to your children, master,¡± Ye Liubo said so seriously that she seemed like Ye Liusu when she mentioned her dream of the night roamers returning to the surface.

    Because night roamers were matriarchal, female night roamers often had many ¡°concubines¡±. They only knew who their mother was, not their father. Rearing descendants and becoming a mother was still regarded as a rather sacred matter among the race. After all, those with the greatest authority in a clan were known as ¡°matriarchs¡±.

    Yes, she was no longer interested in just a night of joy. Instead, she wanted to use this body to continue each other¡¯s bloodlines.

    ¡°To think you could actually put up with something like that!¡± Li Qingshan had no idea about how to respond. Then just what would we produce? A third human, a third daemon, and a third night roamer?

    ¡°Everything I have belongs to master¡ªmy heart, my body, and in the future, my children.¡± Ye Liusu grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and placed it on her perky chest, allowing him to feel her beating heart before sliding it to her abdomen.

    Li Qingshan was extremely moved by this. Alright fine, he admitted that his heart was not the only place that had been moved.

    With how everything had unfolded, what else could he say?

    Sorry, Qiongzhi. A certain person will be breaking the shackles of conventions and the boundaries of society to experience a friendship beyond a normal friendship with his pet.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind. He was just about to do something that would make him stoop to a level even lower than a beast.

    The stone door opened loudly, and Ye Liusu walked in. As if she had seen nothing at all, she said, ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen orders you to visit Cobweb city immediately.¡±

    Li Qingshan was thick-skinned, but even with that, he was unable to maintain this posture with a naked woman under the gaze of another lady. Moreover, the Spider Queen was not someone he could brush aside either.

    He gently placed Ye Liubo on the side and made his way off the stone bed. He tidied his ruffled clothes and shook off his lust with that.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo said with hidden bitterness. She could not help but shoot a glance towards Ye Liusu. She had endured for all these years for this opportunity. Just when success was in sight, all her efforts were reduced to nothing. How could she simply accept this?

    ¡°This is something I¡¯ve promised to you.¡± Li Qingshan glanced back and winked before breaking out in laughter helplessly. He found it all extremely interesting.

    Making a child? I still haven¡¯t tried that before. Should I try it with Qiongzhi? I wonder whether she¡¯ll be willing or not. Though, while the various sensations are the same with a mirror clone, is that still possible?

    He did not feel like Ye Liusu had interrupted anything. What¡¯s mine will always be mine. Am I supposed to be afraid there won¡¯t be an opportunity in the future?

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and left behind a fierce gale and a great laugh, ruffling the heavy curtains.

    ¡°Liusu, did you hear that? Did you hear that? Master is promising me this!¡± Ye Liubo was left dazed for a while before ravishing with joy.

    ¡°Hear what? Promise what? You better dress yourself first!¡±

    ¡°Making a child!¡±

    ¡°Congratulations on no longer having to deal with it with your hand.¡± Ye Liusu was surprised before commenting with a smile.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s all your fault, or I would have succeeded already!¡±

    Only with Ye Liusu¡¯s comment did Ye Liubo remember she was in the heat from the encounter earlier. There was already a moist patch between her legs.

    ¡°Do you want me to leave so you can do something about that first?¡± Ye Liusu smiled.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. Patience, patience. There is no enjoyment without patience.¡± Ye Liubo sucked in a deep breath. Since master had already promised her, this would definitely happen.

    It was like how normal people handled going to a buffet. They would starve themselves for a few meals first, planning to crawl in and crawl out on their knees.

    TL: I¡¯ve adapted this analogy slightly by changing the cultural cues, but it still might not make sense. By crawling in and crawling out of the buffet, the analogy is basically implying that you¡¯ve starved yourself so much before the meal that you have to crawl in on your knees, and during the meal, you¡¯ve stuffed yourself with so much food that you can¡¯t walk properly, so you need to crawl out on your knees.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°Creating an offspring between a daemon and a night roamer probably won¡¯t be that easy.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go at it a few extra times until we succeed. What, do you also want to partake, sister?¡± Ye Liubo snickered like her scheme had just succeeded. It would be for the best if she took part, but if she did not, it did not matter either.

    ¡°I have no interest.¡± Ye Liusu gazed at Ye Liubo as she waited happily, and her feelings became rather mixed. She was already closing in on her goal. What about herself?

    ¡°Northmoon, do you know that Bloodshadow is dead?¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived in Cobweb city, and sure enough, Spider Queen Lolth was waiting for him on the high terrace. However, only Dragonsnail out of the three powerful Daemon Generals by her side remained.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just heard about it. How did he die?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised as he asked casually. He did not feign any sadness.

    ¡°He was ambushed by humans.¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s face was rather ugly. If Dragonsnail was her brains, then Bloodshadow and Strongboulder would be her left and right hands. Now that they had both been severed, even she felt extremely unhappy despite her vicious nature.

    ¡°Losses are unavoidable in war, so please don¡¯t take it to heart, ma¡¯am Spider Queen. Even without them, the Daemon race won¡¯t be defeated.¡± Li Qingshan played along as he felt extremely satisfied inside.

    ¡°You sure have had it comfortable! And, those night roamers never openly clashed with the humans. It¡¯s all because of what you taught them! You¡¯re actively avoiding the battle!¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s voice coldened as she stared at Li Qingshan with her venomous gaze.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been in secluded cultivation, preparing for my battle with Fu Qingjin. You had agreed to that, ma¡¯am Spider Queen. I was also the one who ordered the night roamers to attack the spiritual stone mines, but that is to sever the humans¡¯ supply of spiritual stones. At the very least, these spiritual stone mines are much more important than cities of regular people, and their defences are tight too. We have directly clashed with human cultivators, so how can you say that we¡¯ve been actively avoiding the battle?¡±

    Li Qingshan reasoned with her perfectly, which made the Spider Queen even more displeased. She suddenly swung her hand towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan felt a blur before him and unleashed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell instinctively, blocking the Spider Queen¡¯s slender, fair hand. In a single instant, it caved in and became covered in cracks.

    Bang!

    Li Qingshan was sent flying, slamming heavily against the wall. The entire cave shook.

    ¡°I¡¯m teaching you a lesson, so how dare you talk back? How dare you resist!?¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s icy-cold voice reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears, which made his understanding of a certain fact even clearer. If the powerful wanted to be unreasonable, it would be futile even if the weak had a silken tongue.

    The Spider Queen was like a vicious, capricious little girl. She cherished the toys that brought her joy to a certain degree, but if they could not bring her joy, she would toss them aside or even rip them apart forcefully and amuse herself through that.

    ¡°This is my punishment. Don¡¯t get any other ideas. I have always favoured you too much and given you too much freedom. You are only permitted to win in your battle against Fu Qingjin. You are forbidden from losing. Do you understand?¡± In consideration of the fact that Li Qingshan was still of some use, the Spider Queen did not continue, only warning him coldly.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Li Qingshan remained calm, even smiling. He was no longer the child from the country, still wet behind his ears. There was no need for him to grind his teeth or become wrapped up in anger and resentment.

 Chapter 476 â€“ The Fourth Layer of the Ox Demon, to Never Admit Defea

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mental state was not particularly affected, but with the battle on the horizon, he temporarily cast his lust aside to focus on a period of proper cultivation. He left Ye Liubo grumbling.

    However, Li Qingshan still made some preparations. He ordered the night roamers to speed up their herb gathering process and offer them all up.

    The war had continued for many years now. Many of the territories underground had been emptied out. The zones originally forbidden to the night roamers were now available. Daemons were even more ignorant about the usage of spiritual herbs than night roamers. All they knew was protecting spiritual herbs that could be directly consumed, so they should have left behind even more spiritual herbs in comparison to the night roamers.

    In order to speed up the process, Li Qingshan handed all the random spiritual artifacts and talismans in his hundred treasures pouch to Ye Liubo. As long as they offered up spiritual herbs of relatively good quality, she was free to award these items to others.

    The Spider Queen was not easy to appease. Just in case she turned against him some time, he would take all the benefits he had collected from her and take off. The world was vast. Whether human or daemon, where couldn¡¯t he go? Why did he have to put up with her?

    Li Qingshan had only consumed a small portion of the pills Ru Xin had refined so far. Most of it still remained in his hundred treasures pouch, as he never got the opportunity to convert them into his cultivation.

    In Qing Xiao¡¯s Home, Li Qingshan took out all the pills in his hundred treasures pouch. All of them were of decent quality.

    The spiritual herbs that the night roamers had offered up were of relatively higher quality. They might not have been millennia old, but they were centuries old. As a result, most of the pills refined were of very good quality, enough for him to use. However, there was also a small fraction that had already become rather useless to him. It was a pity to discard them, but there was no point for him to consume them either.

    As his cultivation progressed, he could circulate the spiritual qi of the world faster and faster. Even his own body gradually developed a spiritual nature. Just the spiritual qi in a drop of his blood was probably more abundant than most pills. It had obviously become useless to consume any more of these pills.

    Once he reached a certain point, probably even pills refined from millennium-old spiritual herbs would become useless. As a result, his territory underground was no longer as important as when he first obtained it. Once he squeezed out a little more value from it, there was no need for him to be bound by it and be ordered around by the Spider Queen.

    His pitch-black body made him seem like a demon god as his scarlet hair poured down like a waterfall. His eyes shone brightly, like they were burning with fire. They radiated with a primitive, beatial, and demonic nature

    When he carved out Qing Xiao¡¯s dwelling, he did not go after anything else. The only thing he had in mind was size, and it was precisely to deal with the current situation. The mountain they had chosen stood several hundred meters tall. Together, Li Qingshan and Xiao An had basically hollowed out the entire centre.

    From the ground to the ceiling, there was roughly six hundred meters. If Li Qingshan had not crushed the walls to the point where they were as tough as steel with his abilities, the mountain would have caved in on itself from its weight a long time ago.

    As a result, even when standing straight, Li Qingshan did not feel cramped. He studied his body and opened his great, toothy mouth, letting out a chuckle. The tiger¡¯s tail swayed freely behind him, leaving behind a series of blurs.

    From a certain perspective, he was even more satisfied with his original form than his humanoid form. His humanoid form was very handsome, but compared to his original form, it was clearly nowhere near as imposing or bold.

    He could not help but admit that the black ox had an eye for things, choosing Li Qingshan. If it were not for his strange tastes as a transigrator, probably this form alone would be beyond what regular people could accept, let alone feeling good about it.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and made a scooping gesture, making all the pills on the ground fly into his hand. He shoved them into his great mouth and gulped it all down without even chewing.

    If other cultivators witnessed this, their jaws definitely would have dropped from pure astonishment. They would think he was sick of living and was trying to commit suicide.

    These pills were not all the same. Just the conflicting medicinal effects were enough to claim his life, and their intense efficacy could directly blow up a person.

    Sure enough, after swallowing these pills, Li Qingshan¡¯s belly immediately began to swell, growing larger and larger like a balloon. He seemed like he was ten months pregnant. The ear-piercing sound of stretching metal filled the dwelling.

    A hint of caution appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He bellowed out, ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡±

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core shone resplendently, forcefully suppressing the chaotic effects from the pills.

    However, even with that, it seemed to struggle to keep it suppressed. His daemon qi erupted from his body, lifting up his scarlet hair. If it were not for the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks that kept the rolling daemon qi locked it, daemon qi could probably even be spotted from very far away.

    The daemon core could only suppress, not absorb. The effects of the pills merged with Li Qingshan¡¯s limbs, bones, and organs strand by strand. They ached slightly as countless capillaries ruptured, only to repair themselves immediately.

    In the blink of an eye, who knew how many times this destruction and reconstruction had occurred already.

    Li Qingshan only had a single objective with this, which was to break through to the fourth layer of the ox demon.

    Finally, Li Qingshan¡¯s belly stopped swelling. Supporting his stomach, he sat down and rubbed his great belly.

    ¡°To think I had said I wanted to make a child with someone else. I seem like I bear a child right now! Xiao An, don¡¯t I look like the laughing buddha?¡±

    Xiao An leapt up gracefully and landed on his belly. Looking at how ominous he seemed, she covered her mouth as she laughed. ¡°Not one bit.¡±

    ¡°Then what do I look like?¡±

    ¡°You look like Li Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I look like Li Qingshan. What am I impersonating others for?¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great roar of laughter. In this world, she was probably the only one unaffected by his appearance, bloodline, cultivation, and other external features. No matter what he became, he was still only Li Qingshan in her eyes.

    As for Xiao An, whether she was a ghost, a white skeleton, or a great beauty with the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty, she did not change either in his heart.

    Xiao An settled down on one side and took out Bloodshadow¡¯s daemon core that reeked of blood. She sniffed it gently, and the heavy, sanguine smell left her extremely satisfied. It was the perfect material for refining the Blood Sea Banner.

    After a moment of consideration, she stowed the blood daemon core away again and took out the Skull Prayer Beads. The level after eighteen prayer beads was twenty-one. She was only off by three.

    Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, almost a month had gone by.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s belly had completely turned back to normal. His iron hooves were planted deeply into the ground as he grabbed the ground firmly with his claws. His spine arched like a mountain as he butted his horns upwards forcefully.

    Standing upright between heaven and earth with an indomitable spirit!

    Although his vigour was still nowhere close, his bearing was extremely similar to what he had seen in the past from the ox demon¡¯s figure in his sea of consciousness.

    There were no unnecessary movements. He no longer swung his arms and feet around. He even stopped using the Ox Demon Stamps its Hooves, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide, and the Ox Demon Butts its Horns. He simply stood there without moving, just like a statue.

    However, a sense of power filled the absolute stillness, like a great bow that had been fully drawn. His muscles were stretched and expanded to the limit, even tougher than rock or steel.

    But under the cold, hard skin, his blood surged and his soul burned, without resting for even the slightest moment.

    His scarlet pupils flickered with red light. Although the upper half of his body still remained mostly humanoid, no one standing there would connect him with the word ¡°human¡±.

    The effect of the pills he had swallowed in one gulp had completely kicked in, but this time, the Ox Demon Transformation that had always been the easiest to practise became especially difficult.

    ¡°It¡¯s still not enough. Something is still missing! Pills? No! What is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan was dripping with sweat as two white clouds of scorching steam sprayed out from his nostrils. The medicinal effects began to wear off.

    The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud!

    The ominous mantra appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart again. He deeply comprehended a sense of sombreness like a hero at the end of their path, a form of helplessness like great strength that could not be used.

    However, there seemed to be something else among all this. The ox demon¡¯s figure appeared in his sea of consciousness once more.

    He stared at the figure for a long time and suddenly developed a sense of doubt.

    Why? It clearly knew it was stuck deep within the mud, so why did it still struggle? Wouldn¡¯t it sink even deeper the more it struggled? It had already tried everything it could, and since it did not work, why not stop and take a break? Why did it continue to torture itself painfully?

    In the past, the Hegemon King of Chu lost the Battle of Gaixia. As he listened to the lamenting songs of Chu all around, he said, ¡°My strength plucked up the hills, My might shadowed the world; But the times were against me, And Zhui runs no more; When Zhui runs no more, What then can I do? Ah, Yu, my Yu, What will your fate be?¡± Afterwards, although he managed to break out of the encirclement of the Han army, fleeing to the banks of Wu river, he sighed to himself. ¡°I have no face to return and see the elders of Jiangdong.¡± before slitting his own throat. He became the classic example of a hero at the end of his path, leaving behind a heroic lament passed down and sung throughout the ages.

    TL: This basically refers to the downfall of the Hegemon King of Chu, Xiang Yu, right before the founding of the Han dynasty. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiang_Yu#Defeat_and_downfall

    Li Qingshan had learnt this poem from the textbooks of his past life, but there had been a similar example. Thousands of years later, there was another marshal who had been surrounded by the enemy army who also left behind a seven-word poem, printed in his textbook. It remained as a clear memory to Li Qingshan.

    So what if I lose my head today? Pioneering has never been easy, riddled with battles. Off I go to the underworld to call upon my fallen comrade in arms, ten thousand we stand to slay the king of hell!

    TL: This is a poem by a Chinese communist army commander, Chen Yi, when he was surrounded by the enemy and thought he was done for in 1936.

    The heroic bearing of facing death unflinchingly even surpassed the Hegemon King of Chu who blamed everything but himself and refused to return to Jiangdong.

    As these thoughts flashed through his head, only an instant had passed in reality.

    ¡°I understand!¡±

    The red light in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly flashed, like firelight. Afterwards, when he looked at the ox demon¡¯s figure, he saw something different.

    He saw the ox demon enduring and persisting with its extraordinary endurance. Even if it was all to no avail, even if fate had predestined it and destiny could not be changed, it would never give up, fighting to the end.

    It could be destroyed, but it would never be defeated!

    The flickering light in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes gradually settled down, and the streams of air from his nostrils eased up as if he could remain like that for a century, for a millennium.

    Suddenly, the same forceful and vigorous bearing as the ox demon¡¯s figure began to radiate from his body!

    He had reached the fourth layer of the Ox Demon Transformation!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body gradually turned back to normal. Unlike the past, he did not ravish with joy, nor was he in a hurry to test how much his strength had increased by.

 Chapter 477 â€“ The Day of the Battle

    His bright, black pupils seemed extremely peaceful. It was different from the state of emotionlessness and desirelessness when he practised the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Instead, it was a form of firmness that reached as deeply as his bones.

    Endless power radiated from his body, connected with the boundless earth. They were indivisible.

    In the past, whenever he broke through with the Ox Demon Transformation, he would always carefully test his new strength. He did this to enjoy the increase in his strength, as well as to maintain control over his increased strength.

    But this time, he did not feel any joy from the drastic increase in his strength. Instead, he discovered a boundary, such that just simple actions like moving his arms and legs were riddled with obstacles. He was unable to unleash the strength to his heart¡¯s content.

    However, his strength clearly increased, and not just by a bit. Who knew how many times greater it was compared to before.

    His strength in the past was basically enough to rival the strength-type Daemon General with a special bloodline, Strongboulder.

    Yet right now, he could completely overwhelm Strongboulder with only a single hand, or directly crush Strongboulder¡¯s almost-indestructible body. This aspect alone had completely exceeded the level of a Daemon General.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was an unparalleled ability created by the black ox. It seemed extremely ordinary at the beginning. When he was at the first layer of the Ox Demon Transformation, all he could do was harass a few figures of the jianghu. He could not even defeat a few stronger Qi Practitioners.

    But as time went on, the changes brought on by each layer was world-shaking. His strength swelled upwards by compounding on itself. The difficulty of cultivation did rapidly increase, but the efficiency of his cultivation increased too. He could not help but think about the classical story of the wheat and the chessboard.

    A clever vassal had invented the game chess for a bored king. The king was extremely interested, asking him what he wanted as a reward. As a result, he mentioned a ¡°simple¡± request, asking the king to reward him with some wheat. He asked the king to place a single wheat kernel on the first square, two wheat kernels on the second, four on the third, and so on.

    The king agreed to it happily. In the very beginning, the request seemed extremely simple, taking up very few wheat kernels, but before he had even filled half the board, the king discovered that even if he took all the wheat available to the kingdom, he would not be able to fulfill this ¡°simple¡± request.

    Moving entire mountains to fill whole seas, plucking stars and grabbing the moon from the night sky would probably all become the norm. He remembered what brother ox had once said, ¡°I can directly give you the power to sweep through this world.¡± Only when he thought of it now did he realise just how modest brother ox had been.

    He had a feeling that even if the person chasing after him that day was not the Soaring Dragon Elder, but some figure who stood at the very peak of the nine provinces, they probably still would not have been able to cause brother ox much trouble. But relatively speaking, the person who managed to force brother ox into such a state would clearly be even more terrifying.

    The reason why I feel my strength is bound is because I know my strength is nowhere near enough!

    Li Qingshan clenched his hand gently. He felt despair. A suffocatingly tremendous pressure weighed down on him.

    He never felt despair in the past, as he had never dared to face this goal properly. He had just maintained a mindset of making each step count. It would be for the best if he could reach his goal, but if he could not, then there was nothing he could do.

    It was just like how a child said, ¡°I want to be a scientist¡±, or ¡°I want to be an astronaut.¡± It was as easy and simple as that.

    Once the child became a teenager, an adult, gaining even greater power and even greater intelligence, they would realise the distance between their dream and themselves. They would feel despair. Of course, this would not cause too many problems, as most people would choose to give up in the next moment and switch to a more realistic goal.

    However, those who wanted to persist would be forced to endure despairing torture.

    Li Qingshan smiled slightly. If I don¡¯t sink into this kind of despair, how am I supposed to demonstrate the ox demon¡¯s spirit of never admitting defeat?

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan had crossed this mental journey that could not be put into words, carrying a ¡°mountain¡± on his shoulders.

    To the other side of the cavern, Xiao An remained in a meditative state. She sat with her legs crossed and her hands in seals. Twenty prayer beads revolved above her head. As long as she forged one more, the Skull Prayer Beads would evolve again and reach a whole new realm.

    However, the forging process of the last prayer bead was extremely difficult. It was much more difficult than refining the twenty other prayer beads.

    Li Qingshan did not disturb her. Calculating the time, there were still a few more days before the fifth of the fifth month, the day of the battle.

    I hope I can break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon. Li Qingshan remembered something and took out the Rock of Slaughter from his hundred treasures pouch.

    Strongboulder¡¯s soul had been drawn out by Xiao An, so his body had reverted to its original form, the Rock of Slaughter. The daemon core remained in the rock too.

    At first glance, the Rock of Slaughter did not seem particularly special, but it was so tough that even the arcane artifact blood-red blade could only leave behind a mark. If Li Qingshan used the power of his tremors, perhaps it would have been effective, but he was afraid of destroying the daemon core inside. If he accidentally set it off and it blew up, it would be bad.

    Coupled with the fact that Li Qingshan could not use an earth element daemon core, he just left it in his hundred treasures pouch and did not think too much about it. He just wanted to wait until he made some progress with artifact forging to see if he could create a weapon with it.

    But at this moment, Li Qingshan came up with a new idea. He exhaled gently and extended his hand over, grabbing the Rock of Slaughter firmly.

    A great power gradually seeped out, passing into his fingers. He actually dug his fingers into the Rock of Slaughter bit by bit before using some more force and breaking off two pieces.

    He checked it, and sure enough, it was merely regular rock, which made him doubt whether this thing could be forged into an artifact or not. It was just regular rock, so why was it so tough?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hands flew into a flurry and fragments and powder flew into the air. Before long, he had ripped apart the huge Rock of Slaughter, finding a grey daemon core inside. It possessed extremely powerful earth element energy, which the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core would struggle to digest.

    However, the power that Li Qingshan wanted to make use of was something else.

    A powerful killing intent radiated from the daemon core, enough to drive cultivators crazy. Just as Li Qingshan had expected, the daemon core did not only contain all of Strongboulder¡¯s power. It was also the nucleus to the Rock of Slaughter.

    Li Qingshan casually tossed the daemon core into his mouth and swallowed it with a gulp. Immediately, killing intent rushed through his head. His eyes immediately turned blood-red.

    He no longer suppressed it with the spirit turtle. Instead, he comprehended the killing intent closely.

    In his sea of consciousness, the tiger demon appeared, leaping up and unleashing a vicious roar at the sky. It unfurled its wings and sped around, brandishing its claws and teeth, wanting to kill and fight to its heart¡¯s content. However, there were no enemies in the empty sea of consciousness.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body bent over. His claws protruded, and his teeth lengthened. His breathing became hurried as his heart beat faster and faster!

    He was tempted to rush out of the dwelling immediately and find someone, human or daemon. All he wanted was a massacre, to slaughter everything in sight.

    I mustn¡¯t! Li Qingshan suddenly pressed against his chest, as if he wanted to force this killing intent back inside.

    At this moment, he suddenly thought of Yu Zijian. In Jiaping city, she did not rely on anything at all, yet she managed to resist the power of the Rock of Slaughter.

    ¡°Even a Qi Practitioner girl could do that, yet I can¡¯t?¡±

    Actually, as a woman, Yu Zijian was naturally kind-hearted. She had been stunned by the horrific sight before her, which made her think of the past, filling her with sorrow.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan possessed the boldness and valiance of a man, and there was a bloodthirsty and battle-hungry aspect to him too. Not only was he unable to use anything else to distract himself right now, but he instead poured all of his attention into the killing intent, so it was a hundred times more difficult.

    The fifth of the fifth arrived quickly.

    The endless Boundless mountains seemed like the rising and falling seas. The perilous peaks formed the colossal waves.

    The surroundings were pitch-black. Rain poured down, swept about by the rain, sometimes falling northward, sometimes perpendicular to that, or even sometimes flying up towards the sky. It seemed like a thunderstorm above the sea.

    Fu Qingjin stood alone on one of the waves, completely drenched by the rain. However, he did not waste even a shred of strength to block the rain. Instead, he seemed like he was enjoying it, allowing the rain to fall on his face while listening to the whistling wind by the cliffs.

    Suddenly, a smile appeared on his handsome face. He tightened his grasp around the Green Ruins sword on his waist.

    A scarlet figure spun and pierced through the cloud layer in a hurry. A ray of golden light abruptly appeared in the darkness, illuminating Fu Qingjin¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan slowed down in the light. The wings of wind behind him folded up slightly as he descended gradually.

    The sunlight dyed the droplets of rain, turning them into thousands of golden specks that danced around him. With his flawless appearance and calm expression, he seemed more like a god, not a diabolical daemon.

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡±

    Fu Qingjin was slightly surprised. As a true swordsman, he had already committed everything about his opponent to heart. He had even undergone countless simulations in his head.

    It was possible to say that he could confidently claim he was one of the few people who understood Northmoon the most in the world.

    But meeting him again, he discovered everything he had been anticipating had been overturned and shattered.

    He did not just see a change in strength from Li Qingshan. His entire vigour was completely different, which made him feel like he was facing a new opponent.

    Aren¡¯t daemons supposed to cultivate extremely slowly? Northmoon, how did you achieve this?

    ¡°Have I?¡± Li Qingshan answered calmly. Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core was still in his belly, affecting him in the same way as before.

    In only a few days, he had undergone pain and struggle that regular people could never even imagine, yet he still failed to break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon. Sure enough, cultivation was becoming more and more difficult.

    The ever-growling tiger demon became even more excited now, urging him to a battle to the death with Fu Qingjin.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan actually hoped Fu Qingjin was a little stronger, strong enough to force him into dire straits. Only a true battle to the death could stimulate the tiger demon¡¯s bloodthirstiness and craziness, allowing him to use this opportunity to break through to the fourth layer.

    Suddenly, he discovered that he no longer placed so much importance on this battle that he originally cared so much about. Even his grievances with Fu Qingjin had become negligible. All he saw before him was a chance to become even stronger, a stepping stone leading to beyond the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°However, defeat is certain for you today,¡± Fu Qingjin said firmly.

 Chapter 478 â€“ A Battle Under the Clear Sky

    In the past, he would never accept Fu Qingjin posing around, wanting to teach him a proper lesson. But right now, he saw the absolute confidence of a swordsman, who was also filled with a certain will.

    This was a good opponent!

    ¡°But I¡¯d like to say the same thing to you. Your defeat is certain with this battle!¡±

    Fu Qingjin smiled. ¡°In the past, I only treated you as a measly daemon with good luck, but I must admit that the current you indeed threatens me a little. If I get the chance, I will kill you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d hope you can escape from my hands with your life intact instead.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why?¡±

    ¡°Killing a disciple of the Sword Collection palace with a renowned sword is a very troublesome matter,¡± Li Qingshan said in an unconcerned manner.

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re going to be holding back?¡± Fu Qingjin¡¯s face sank as his lips curled into a cold sneer.

    ¡°That¡¯ll depend on what you¡¯re capable of. Once my killing intent is roused, even I won¡¯t be able to control myself. If you can escape, then fate is on your side. If you can¡¯t, then I¡¯ll have to deal with some troubles.¡±

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and smiling, gazing at Fu Qingjin from above as if Fu Qingjin had already been defeated and he was considering at leisure whether he should finish him off or not.

    Fu Qingjin discovered he had already lost the upper hand in this verbal clash, so he no longer said anything. The Green Ruins sword thrummed as he drew it from its sheath, declaring an end to this conversation.

    Li Qingshan drew his blood-red blade. With a casual swing, the blade aura cut through all the rain in the air.

    The clouds ebbed and surged, filling the hole that Li Qingshan had created very quickly. The golden light vanished, and the surroundings sank back into darkness.

    Faint, green light rose up from Fu Qingjin¡¯s body and wrapped around him, isolating him from the fierce wind and rain. His green robes and hair began to float.

    He was like a torch within the endlessly dark night, burning on the cliff and becoming brighter and brighter.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi rushed into the sky. His scarlet hair danced around like fire. His blood-red pupils locked onto Fu Qingjin and murderousness surged around him like wind.

    He raised the blood-red blade high into the sky before suddenly pausing. He smiled. ¡°You sure have brought a lot of helpers!¡±

    Within the dark clouds, a brilliant bolt of lightning twisted and turned rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the bolt of lightning had pierced the clouds, but it moved much slower than regular lightning. At a closer glance, it was Zhou Tong riding over on his Lightning Slaughter wooden sword.

    Lightning Slaughter flew into his hand. He raised it high up, pointing it at the sky as he began chanting.

    ¡°As the Lord commands, may the thunder god and lightning goddess cast the divine lightning to slay the daemons!¡±

    Light poured through the dark clouds. Countless bolts of lightning weaved into an electric net, turning into a colossal bolt of lightning that fell right towards Li Qingshan. The surroundings were dyed white.

    Suddenly, Fu Qingjin fished out a scarlet talisman from his sleeve. It turned into a long, slender, golden sword and shot out, catching Li Qingshan in the middle of a pincer attack.

    Further away in the sky, specks of light twinkled like stars. There were many Foundation Establishment cultivators. They were slower than Zhou Tong, but they all hurried over as quickly as they could.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, but he did not move. Over a dozen meters above his head, the golden sword and the lightning collided.

    ¡°Fellow Fu, what are you doing?¡± Zhou Tong said in surprise and anger.

    ¡°This is our battle,¡± Fu Qingjin said indifferently.

    ¡°You idiot! Why would you still bother with fighting alone against a daemon? Take a look for yourself!¡± Zhou Tong pointed at the distant mountains. Black figures flashed past the mountains as daemon qi erupted from the underground caverns, rapidly drawing closer.

    Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin¡¯s battle definitely did not only impact their lives and sense of honour. It also impacted the direction of the entire war.

    If Li Qingshan fell in battle, then only Dragonsnail would be left, which would not be enough to prop up the situation. The night roamers would lose their leader and fall into disunity again. If Fu Qingjin died, then no one would be able to continue leading those sects. The Daemon Suppression alliance of the Clear River prefecture would collapse, and their alliance with the academy would not be able to continue either.

    Even without these consequences, Fu Qingjin and Li Qingshan¡¯s individual strength alone was enough to tamper with the scales of victory. As a result, neither side dared to be careless. They all brought their full strength.

    The battle between the two of them had evolved into a decisive battle between humans and daemons.

    Daemon Generals, powerful night roamers, and Foundation Establishment cultivators all converged towards the two of them. They were like countless sparks, about to collide together.

    A great battle was on the verge of breaking out!

    Suddenly, swathes of sunlight fell from the sky. The sun shrouded by the thick, dark clouds emerged, radiating with endless light and warmth.

    Tornadoes ripped apart the thick clouds. Everyone could not help but raise their heads. A figure in white clothes even paler than snow stood under the azure skies.

    ¡°Commander Gu!¡± Liu Zhangqing, Wang Pushi, and the others all cried out in surprise.

    ¡°Gu Yanying!¡± In Cobweb city, Spider Queen Lolth currently watched this unfold through a mirror. Her face coldened.

    Gu Yanying held a jade fan. With a gentle swing, fierce gales sucked up the dark clouds, making them recede into the distance. A while later, she had carved out a region of clear sky that stretched a hundred kilometers across. She pulled back with her fan and pointed down.

    ¡°No one is allowed to interfere with their battle. Whether you¡¯re human or daemon, as long as you set foot in the sunlight, you will be executed without mercy. Zhou Tong, what¡¯re you staring at me for? What do you think? Dragonsnail, do you really think I can¡¯t see you just because you¡¯re hiding underground?¡±

    ¡°Fine then! I¡¯ll leave!¡± Zhou Tong snorted and rode off on his sword. Only when he reached fifty kilometers away and entered the shade of the clouds did he stop. He was utterly furious, but he was unable to vent it. The other Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately retreated too. None of them could bring themselves to object.

    Without saying anything at all, Dragonsnail lead all the Daemon Generals back to the depths underground.

    Originally, there was no need for the night roamers to come under Li Qingshan¡¯s suggestion. However, the Spider Queen¡¯s orders could not be defied. Now that they saw Gu Yanying¡¯s powers, it made them even more afraid to resist. They all backed far away.

    So she¡¯s Gu Yanying. If I had that kind of power, would I still have to worry about being incapable of leading the night roamers to prosperity? Ye Liusu stared at the white figure on the horizon.

    Gu Yanying stood on the battlefield under the clear sky that she had personally carved out and nodded towards Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin. ¡°You can continue. It¡¯s a battle between commanders now.¡± She smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯m just an arbiter. No matter who gets killed, I won¡¯t interfere.¡±

    ¡°Then thank you for assistance, commander Gu.¡± Fu Qingjin clashed his hands.

    ¡°Northmoon, is there anything else you want to say?¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s gaze landed on Li Qingshan again. She felt like he would leave her surprised every time she saw him. Never had she seen someone grow so quickly. Others might have had various speculations over the deaths of the blood demon and the rock demon, but she knew it was all connected to him.

    Apart from that, she also felt some attachment to him, as if she was seeing her past self.

    During the three years of secluded cultivation, just how many struggles and hardships have you gone through? Have you ever made a choice between humanity and the Daemon race? Though, at the end of the day, you won¡¯t be able to make a choice, nor do you have to make a choice. To people like us, the only side we can ever be loyal to is ourselves. We won¡¯t ever be accepted by either side. This is also true freedom.

    As Gu Yanying stared at Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan stared right back at her. As the dream lover who had once made him fall in love at first sight, she was just as beautiful as when he first saw her. Her splendour had not dimmed at all, not even by the slightest. His past longing for her had now become some understanding. He understood why she could be as unrestrained as the wind, which made her even more enchanting.

    What else do I want to say?

    Li Qingshan thought of something. He raised his arm, pointed it straight at her, and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve fallen in love with you at first sight!¡±

    His voice filled the entire sky, such that even the thunder in the distance became soft. For a moment, there was only silence.

    The cultivators were all stunned. When they returned to their senses, they all reacted in various ways and began discussing among themselves.

    ¡°Has he lost his mind? He¡¯s a daemon for heaven¡¯s sake!¡± ¡°Though, commander Gu also seems to be¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s a toad lusting after a swan¡¯s flesh. He¡¯s only a measly Daemon General. If he pisses off commander Gu, she¡¯ll have him slaughtered right here and now.¡±

    ¡°Northmoon¡­ he sure is much bolder than me.¡± Hua Chengzan murmured, left at quite a loss as for how to react. However, he also could not help but develop some admiration towards Northmoon. Only daemons could be so direct!

    Fu Qingjin finally became stunned. The great battle was on the verge of beginning, yet he decided to profess his love towards the arbiter. Moreover, the person he was professing his love to was the renowned daughter of the Hawk God. Northmoon, looks like I¡¯ve still underestimated your conceitedness.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo pouted unhappily. This woman¡¯s chest is nowhere near as large as mine, nor are her buttocks anywhere close enough to feast your eyes upon. You can tell with a single glance that she¡¯s no good for birthing and raising children!

    The Spider Queen¡¯s face sank. A Daemon General under her command was expressing good will towards her arch nemesis, which made her even more displeased with Li Qingshan.

    Of course, not a lot of people could guess where he had actually fallen in love with her at first sight.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Gu Yanying widened her eyes, making them round like a pair of hawk eyes.

    ¡°That¡¯s all!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled resplendently. He was no longer the young, wandering gallant of the past, nor was he the infatuated type like Hua Chengzan. He merely said what he wanted to say and did what he wanted to do. As for what Gu Yanying would think or do, it was no longer that important. As long as I¡¯m satisfied, who cares what the outcome is?

    ¡°First of all, you have to survive! And, even if you say something like that, I¡¯m not going to favour you.¡±

    Gu Yanying began smiling as well, shaking her head slightly and making her black hair drift through the air. If men were all so straightforward, then being loved by others would not be something troublesome anymore.

    As she said that, Gu Yanying directly took off into the horizon. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from view.

    Li Qingshan gazed into the horizon. The surrounding landscape suddenly began to change. Dilapidated palace walls and broken towers rose up. He no longer stood on thin air, but cracked, granite bricks covered in moss.

    A desolate, dilapidated aura filled the surroundings. It was impossible to distinguish the real from the fake, and his connection with the spiritual qi of the world was suddenly severed. He had fallen into the Green Ruins Illusion once again.

    ¡°Just how many times do you plan on using the same move on me?¡± Li Qingshan turned around and said to Fu Qingjin nearby.

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s effective, I¡¯ll use it as many times as I want.¡± Fu Qingjin walked over slowly with his sword.

    Liu Zhangqing, who watched on from a distance, let out a deep sigh. ¡°The Green Ruins sword is simply too powerful. As long as the Green Ruins sword is present, fellow Fu possesses a geographical advantage no matter who he faces. He stands in an undefeatable position.¡±

    Even a powerful Daemon General like Strongboulder could only use his malice to create a hole and escape when he faced the Green Ruins Illusion. It was impossible to defeat Fu Qingjin inside there.

    However, Li Qingshan did not seem to have come here today to run away!

    As Li Qingshan laughed aloud, he took a step forward and threw a punch at the air.

    In that instant, countless cracks pervaded the surroundings, covering the entire Green Ruins Illusion like spider webs. The dilapidated walls shattered like scenery on a canvas, all of it turning into fragments.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression changed. He raised his sword to parry. The power of tremors was startlingly great. He was sent flying through the air full of fragments.

 Chapter 479 â€“ Severing the Sword

    All the human cultivators were dumbfounded. During the few years Fu Qingjin had dominated in the Clear River prefecture, everyone had learnt about the Green Ruins Illusion¡¯s power. Even the rock demon and blood demon could only flee when they encountered it.

    None of them imagined it would simply shatter with a casual punch like this!

    Having broken through to the fourth layer of the ox demon, Li Qingshan¡¯s strength had not merely multiplied. His innate abilities of the ox demon had strengthened too. With the two combined, the power of a single punch from him was more than ten times greater than before.

    They were basically equal in the past. Now that he had become ten times stronger, even Fu Qingjin, a genius disciple of the Sword Collection palace and a successor of one of the Ten Renowned Swords, would find it a little too much to bear with.

    Whether it¡¯s humans or daemons, the rate at which their strength increases slows down as their cultivation progresses, but he¡¯s the opposite. With each break through, his strength increases by a startling amount. It¡¯s unbelievable. Gu Yanying sighed inside.

    ¡°So this is your so-called certain victory. It¡¯s far too disappointing.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not chase after him. He suppressed the tiger demon¡¯s roaring killing intent and said in some disappointment.

    ¡°Myriad Sword technique!¡±

    Fu Qingjin came to a halt and swung his hand. The Green Ruins sword flew into the air and turned into a speck of green light, like a twinkling star in the clear sky. Following a flash, the star multiplied into thousands.

    Then he pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°Green Threads as a Net!¡±

    The thousands of specks of light descended from above, turning into thousands of streaks. They were in twists and turns, like hair drifting through the air. At first glance, they seemed aimless, without even a hint of sharpness. However, the net completely enveloped Li Qingshan, leaving him with nowhere to dodge.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally getting a little interesting.¡±

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled slightly as he lamented to himself. He allowed the net to fall over him.

    ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ve been too careless. If you tell me the truth regarding the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death, I might consider sparing you. Otherwise, the Sword Net of Green Threads will cut you to pieces with a single thought of mine.¡±

    ¡°Run!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll end up killing you.¡±

    ¡°Split!¡± Fu Qingjin called out. The Sword Net of Green Threads immediately tightened, but it failed to draw a single droplet of blood. The sword qi that could cut through stone and jade pressed against Li Qingshan¡¯s skin deeply, but it was unable to cut through that thin layer of skin.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression changed. He formed a seal with one hand and pointed it at the sky. ¡°Go!¡±

    The Green Ruins sword fell like a meteor with a long, green tail trailing behind.

    ¡°Shatter!¡± Li Qingshan shuddered, and the green threads snapped. Blood-red light surged into the air as he landed a strike on the Green Ruins sword.

    The Green Ruins sword dimmed, thrown far away. Fu Qingjin paled slightly. He had merged with the Green Ruins sword, so if the sword was damaged, his mind would be injured too.

    He called back the Green Ruins sword in a hurry, but he saw a sudden, scarlet flash. He could not think too much about it as he flew backwards in retreat. A sharp flash shot across his eyes. The mountain he was standing on earlier had been split open by the swing, collapsing towards the two sides.

    Oh no. I didn¡¯t expect his strength to be this great. The Sword Net of Green Threads was actually so futile against him. Now that I¡¯m separated from my sword, I¡¯m at my weakest point. If he pursues relentlessly, I¡¯ll be in danger.

    ¡°Grip your sword firmly!¡±

    What Fu Qingjin worried about did not happen. After unleashing that swing, Li Qingshan hovered in the air, staring at him quietly. He waited for him to retrieve the Green Ruins sword.

    ¡°You will pay for your arrogance!¡±

    The Green Ruins sword flew back to him, and Fu Qingjin grabbed it. He felt deeply humiliated.

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡± Li Qingshan placed the blade over his shoulder casually.

    Fu Qingjin closed his eyes, and the Green Ruins sword thrummed gently. He recovered his composure, and his bearing changed drastically. When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had already become green, with dilapidated walls floating through them vaguely. It was the scenery of the Green Ruins Illusion.

    ¡°Are you done?¡± Li Qingshan said impatiently.

    With a flash, Fu Qingjin vanished and arrived before Li Qingshan. He began swinging his sword.

    Li Qingshan swung down fearlessly just like before. The blade and sword collided, and he felt like he had struck cotton, completely absorbing the force. The Green Ruins sword trembled elastically as it completely nullified the terrifying force within the blade. The tip of the sword trembled like a flickering snake¡¯s tongue, hiding a crafty killing strike.

    What a powerful sword style. This is no longer Fu Qingjin¡¯s power, but the mental legacy left behind in the Green Ruins sword by those old coots! He¡¯s even bold enough to use the heart of the sword. Looks like kiddo Fu has been forced into a tight spot. Interesting. Absolute technique against absolute force. Who will win in the end? Gu Yanying was slightly surprised before understanding what was going on.

    What made the Sword Collection palace powerful was that every single sword contained the mental legacies of countless seniors. They were like teachers and masters available every hour of the day. As long as someone excavated slowly and inherited the legacies, they could naturally become an unparalleled swordsman.

    For a renowned sword like the Green Ruins sword, there had been plenty of wielders who had undergone three heavenly tribulations and condensed a ¡°Sword Nascence¡±. They had left behind their extraordinary path of the sword in the Green Ruins sword.

    Even with this shortcut, the master of the sword would only be able to take one step at a time, unable to accept the sword intent in one breath and unleash the extraordinary sword techniques.

    There was only one method, which was to replace the wielder¡¯s heart with the heart of the sword. It was letting go of the wielder¡¯s will, allowing the will of the Green Ruins sword to enter its wielder, which was equivalent to letting an ancestral spirit possess them. The slightest carelessness could make the wielder lose themselves and turn them into sword slaves. It was truly a taboo technique from the Sword Collection palace.

    Li Qingshan became excited. Red light flashed in his eyes as his blade shone like a blooming flower, blooming with flashes of light. He was like a vicious tiger mauling at Fu Qingjin.

    Fu Qingjin was completely unfazed. Swords knew no fear or hesitance. All they knew were to push the sword style in their memories to the limit. He ignored the incoming strikes and stabbed his sword into the attacks.

    With a clang, the tip of the sword struck the blood-red blade perfectly. Like it had pierced the throat of the tiger, the flashes immediately subsided, and a mark appeared on the blade. The light from the sword drifted about, sliding past Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, and a deep, bloody gash immediately appeared.

    Li Qingshan began laughing instead. He did not even use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. He raised his sword and knocked the Green Ruins sword away before slashing down viciously.

    In a single instant, Fu Qingjin had already stabbed out three times. As if he had predicted all of Li Qingshan¡¯s responses, each strike was more vicious and resolute than the last.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s bold, extravagant blade style seemed to meet its nemesis. He was constantly suppressed by the Green Ruins sword. Often, he would be interrupted before he could even begin his swing. Despite his great strength, he was constantly picked apart by Fu Qingjin¡¯s ingenious swordsmanship.

    He suffered over a hundred wounds in a short while, but his smile only grew wider. Now this is the battle that I want!

    Regardless of how many wounds he suffered, his attack did not weaken at all. It only became even more frenzied.

    Li Qingshan did not take a single step back. He swung the blade aura around, meeting the sword with his blade without using any abilities at all. However, this did not give him the upper hand. He suffered a thousand injuries, but he had yet to land a single attack on Fu Qingjin.

    ¡°Master, use your abilities!¡± Ye Liubo called out anxiously.

    The flames of hope lit up in the hearts of the human cultivators. If this continued, they had a chance at victory.

    To match the opponent¡¯s strength with your weakness is not a clever decision. Wait, he¡¯s gradually growing accustomed to Fu Qingjin¡¯s swordsmanship. Originally, Gu Yanying objected to his battle tactic to a certain degree, but she suddenly realised it was becoming more and more difficult for the Green Ruins sword to harm him, while his sword was growing closer and closer to Fu Qingjin¡¯s body.

    He¡¯s battle hungry and skilled at battle. If he were to enter the six realms, he would definitely be an asura of endless slaughter!

    The flashes and blurs of weapons filled the surroundings. The two of them battled from the sky to the ground, gradually becoming blurry until only scarlet and green remained. They constantly collided.

    All of their gazes were fixed to it. They forgot to breathe.

    The two of them suddenly parted. A bloody hole had appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s throat, but he began laughing madly. His voice reached hundreds of kilometers away.

    A horrific wound stretched from Fu Qingjin¡¯s left shoulder to his right waist. There was not any flesh or blood within the wound, only specks of green light.

    I¡¯m willing to take a thousand slashes in exchange for a fraction of strength.

    If this continues, I¡¯ll be devoured by the Green Ruins sword intent! Under Fu Qingjin¡¯s cold outer appearance, a voice moaned painfully. The sliver of a struggle flashed across his eyes.

    However, his realisation came too late. Sword intent had already begun to surge. In a daze, he saw a person in green staring coldly at him. The person in green¡¯s appearance was blurry, with many faces vaguely overlapping together, both men and women. The person clutched a clear, shiny Green Ruins sword, while Fu Qingjin¡¯s hands were empty.

    The blood-red blade whistled madly, spitting out an aura several hundred meters long that pierced the landscape and slashed across Fu Qingjin¡¯s waist. The struggle in his eyes completely vanished. He did not check the wound on his waist. He only stared at Li Qingshan.

    The wounds closed up instantly. With a flash of green light, he arrived before Li Qingshan. He completely ignored the blood-red blade that fell down from above and stabbed towards Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead, as if he wanted to take Li Qingshan down with him. Normally, only when Fu Qingjin merged with his sword could he demonstrate such speed.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He could sense there was something wrong with Fu Qingjin, so he turned his head in a flash, and a gash appeared on his chest. He raised his fist and threw it at Fu Qingjin¡¯s face, but it did not feel like he had struck someone¡¯s body. At a closer glance, Fu Qingjin¡¯s body shone with a metallic sheen.

    ¡°Is my opponent now this sword? That¡¯s far too boring.¡±

    The Green Ruins sword stabbed out again. Li Qingshan raised his hand to catch it, and his palm ached, having been pierced by the Green Ruins sword. He grabbed the blade of the sword and shook hard, but Fu Qingjin seemed to be glued to the hilt. His ears, eyes, mouth, and nose all shone with light.

    Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to block the light and unleashed the power of tremors, shattering Fu Qingjin¡¯s sword-wielding hand and finally separating him from the sword. As if his soul had been sucked away, he shut his eyes and hurtled towards the ground.

    Li Qingshan gripped the trembling Green Ruins sword with his left hand and constantly poured his power of tremors into it to prevent it from turning into light and escaping. He raised the blood-red blade in his right hand and swung down viciously.

    Clang!

    The Green Ruins sword produced a sorrowful thrum, and a mark appeared on the sword.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Fu Qingjin jerked awake and cried out involuntarily.

    Clang!

 Chapter 480 â€“ A Broken Sword

    Li Qingshan let out a crazed burst of laughter and swung down with his blade.

    With a crack, the fracture expanded across the entire sword.

    The treasured sword renowned throughout the word was severed into two pieces just like that. Green light poured out from the crack, permeating the surroundings.

    Regardless of the toughness of the sword, it was unable to escape the fate of being destroyed when it sustained such forceful damage without the support of spiritual qi.

    Fu Qingjin felt like a bolt of lightning had just struck him. He was thrown into a daze, spraying with blood violently.

    The blood-red blade and the Green Ruins sword had clashed countless times. They had already become riddled with damage. Now, it turned to fragments with the Green Ruins sword.

    Fu Qingjin flew into a frenzy, lunging over madly. This was a sword that had been passed down in the Sword Collection palace throughout the ages. This was a sword even more important than his life. If he lost this sword, what right did he still have to return to the Sword Collection palace and face the palace master, the elders, and his master!?

    He took out a handful of scarlet talismans from his hundred treasures pouch. He could no longer care about whatever oath he had sworn. He wanted to drag Li Qingshan down with him.

    Li Qingshan casually tossed out the hilt of the blade and struck Fu Qingjin¡¯s chest.

    With the Green Ruins sword broken, both Fu Qingjin¡¯s body and mind suffered extremely heavy damage. His cultivation had receded drastically, so it was impossible for him to dodge or block that. He was unable to turn into green light and drift away anymore, nor did he possess a body as tough as metal.

    With the sound of cracking bones, the talismans were thrown into the air.

    ¡°Fu Qingjin, that¡¯s the end to our grievance!¡±

    Li Qingshan held back the killing intent in his heart. Having reached a point like this, slaughter had already become pointless. Leaving Fu Qingjin to bear with the pain of losing the Green Ruins sword was the best revenge there was.

    A daemon core that came from a thousand years of cultivation for a sword that had been passed down for a thousand years. This was very fair.

    Fu Qingjin fainted once again.

    Before they knew it, the dark clouds had gathered over once more. The battlefield under the clear skies gradually shrunk.

    ¡°We¡¯ve failed!¡± Liu Zhangqing murmured. The gloominess infected all the cultivators.

    This was not only a single failure. The one-sided strength the moon demon had demonstrated left everyone astounded. In this realm of cultivation, did he still have any opponents? If he wanted to massacre them all, just who could stop him?

    ¡°Northmoon, I order you to kill him!¡±

    A voice seeped out from underground, clear like silk. Everyone heard it. The Spider Queen saw how Li Qingshan wanted to let Fu Qingjin go, so she issued an order.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He extended his hand and scooped up the unconscious Fu Qingjin. As long as he tightened his grasp gently, a genius of the Sword Collection palace would die here.

    Just as everyone thought he would follow the Spider Queen¡¯s order and deal with this problem for good, he instead tossed Fu Qingjin towards the human cultivators in the distance, leaving everyone surprised.

    Liu Zhangqing caught Fu Qingjin and glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise. ¡°Fellow Hua Ci, please tend to him immediately!¡±

    ¡°I hope that even without this sword, there will be a day when you can still stand before me and take me on in a real battle.¡±

    In his groggy state, Fu Qingjin vaguely heard a familiar voice say that.

    The Spider Queen was stunned. She never expected Li Qingshan to actually defy her order. Her beautiful face twisted into a mess.

    ¡°Northmoon, I order you to kill them all, or you will face the worst punishment possible!¡±

    Alright!

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings of wind and arrived before the cultivators in a flash. His scarlet eyes glanced past the face of every cultivator.

    ¡°Get him together, everyone! I refuse to believe we can¡¯t even deal with one of him with all of us!¡± Cheng Kaishan bellowed out loudly. The cultivators were all on the verge of fighting. They flashed with light as they gripped spiritual and arcane artifacts in their hands, poised for battle at any time.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed, smiling silently. Figures appeared one by one behind him. The night roamers had all gathered over, proving it was not only one of him.

    Faced with this colossal disadvantage, Cheng Kaishan¡¯s face sank. He was unable to say anything else.

    ¡°Wait. Moon- Northmoon, what do you want to say?¡±

    Liu Zhangqing stopped the cultivators and went up to receive him. He remembered how he had chased away a crying child in Clear River city in the past. He was not bloodthirsty.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth and let out a great yawn. He waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Don¡¯t bug me again in the future.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s go!¡± Liu Zhangqing was taken aback at first before beaming in joy. He thanked him with a bow before turning around and telling everyone that.

    Many of them were dissatisfied, but at a time like this, who was still bold enough to stay behind and play the hero? They all rode off on their artifacts. Even Cheng Kaishan left with the group, afraid to fall behind.

    Underground, the Spider Queen flew into a rage. She ground her teeth. ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and thought to himself, Lolth, don¡¯t even think about using me as entertainment anymore. Of course, I don¡¯t mind pleasing you in a different way.

    However, as the cultivators all retreated, one person remained where he was, without budging at all. He glared at Li Qingshan. He was the greatest within the Clear River prefecture, the slovenly daoist priest, Zhou Tong.

    He was wrapped in sparks as his messy daoist robes glowed with light. He seemed like a deity.

    The Lightning Slaughter wooden sword in his hand flickered with lightning, like a bolt of lightning directly plucked out of the sky. He directly pointed it at Li Qingshan as he glared at him furiously.

    ¡°Fellow Zhou, don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew!¡± Liu Zhangqing called.

    Zhou Tong turned a deaf ear to him. ¡°Moon demon, are you bold enough for a battle to the death with me? I¡¯ll make you know that the Clear River prefecture has other people even without the disciple of the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    ¡°Alright, come at me!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. I¡¯ve almost forgotten, but we also have a small grievance between us. I¡¯ll use this opportunity to settle it as well!

    Rumble!

    Zhou Tong pointed at the sky and electricity swam through the clouds. A bolt of heavenly lightning descended and struck Li Qingshan.

    Lightning was the punishment of the heavens. Among the various different techniques, it was second to none in terms of destructive power. A bolt of lightning even thicker than a tree with countless smaller sparks wormed into Li Qingshan¡¯s body, wreaking great havoc. His entire body became numb as even his bones shuddered.

    Just as Li Qingshan wanted to use the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core to suppress the power of the lightning, he suddenly discovered that his body was rapidly recovering with his powerful life force as it was being destroyed. And, after recovering, a refreshing feeling overcame him, like his body had been forged.

    The sea of qi in his dantian was filled with flashing lightning and thunder, constantly weaving around the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core. However, as Li Qingshan¡¯s strongest defence, the daemon core could not be destroyed by a few bolts of lightning.

    He actually felt like he was facing a tribulation. It was very satisfying.

    ¡°How satisfying!¡± Li Qingshan just stood there, allowing the lightning to rain down on him.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see just how long you can last!¡±

    Zhou Tong was furious. He moved with his sword, conjuring numerous blurs to receive Li Qingshan. He appeared from every single angle as bolts of heavenly lighting slammed against Li Qingshan endlessly.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed without budging at all. His head full of scarlet hair stood on end. As he shook his head, he spat out a poem.

    ¡°From whichever direction the winds leap, I remain strong, though dealt many a blow!¡±

    Continuing like this won¡¯t work. This bastard¡¯s body is just too tough. Regular lightning won¡¯t be enough to heavily injure him. The Divine Heaven Method of Lightning Wielding is powerful, but it consumes spiritual qi far too rapidly. I can¡¯t even replenish it in time with spiritual stones. Northmoon, since you¡¯re so arrogant, I¡¯ll have you witness the power of true heavenly lightning!

    Zhou Tong thought to himself and withdrew the numerous blurs. He performed a series of ritualistic daoist gestures and began chanting. The Lightning Slaughter sword in his hand glided up and down, and with a crackle, he produced arcs of lightning.

    Overhead, the dark clouds became brighter and brighter, but no lightning fell. The rumbling thunder was like a colossal beast building up energy.

    A figure wrapped in lightning rose up from Zhou Tong¡¯s body. His mouth protruded like a hawk¡¯s with a pair of wings on his back. He wielded a mallet in one hand and a chisel in the other. It resembled the form of the legendary Lord of Thunder.

    Although this was a world of cultivators, no one dared to claim they were god. Even the most powerful soul nascence cultivators lacked the right to. He was borrowing the power of gods, which only demonstrated how terrifying the attack was.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core immediately let out an omen of warning. If he could endure the power of lightning, then it was forging. If he could not, only death would await him.

    ¡°Lord of Thunder¡­¡± Zhou Tong roared out furiously with the vague rumbling of thunder. However, before he could even say ¡°Strikes the Daemon¡±, Li Qingshan, who had been playing the role of a living target obediently the entire time, arrived with a flash and grinned.

    ¡°Give it here!¡±

    ¡°Be careful, fellow Zhou!¡±

    Zhou Tong was just about to unleash his ultimate move, so he was immobilised. All he could do was watch as Li Qingshan grabbed the Lightning Slaughter sword and forcefully ripped it out of his hands with brute strength.

    Rumble! The dark clouds in the sky erupted with a string of lightning, turning the landscape white and drowning out the startled cry.

    Having lost Zhou Tong¡¯s control, the terrifying move of the ¡°Lord of Thunder Strikes the Daemon¡± ended without resolving properly.

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯ll let you rough me up as you please?¡± Li Qingshan said with hidden meaning. He weighed the Lightning Slaughter sword in his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯ll spare your life, but let me keep this to fiddle around with!¡±

    Although the Lightning Slaughter was an item connected to the slovenly daoist priest¡¯s life, his power to control the sword remotely obviously paled in comparison to Li Qingshan¡¯s fourth layer of the ox demon.

    Zhou Tong stared at the Lightning Slaughter sword in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Overcome with humiliation and fury, his face became twisted. He was forcefully dragged away by Liu Zhangqing. He did not put up much of a struggle, as he knew if he continued, he would only be inviting humiliation.

    Never would he think that the disaster he faced today would be connected with the karma he had sown several years ago.

    Li Qingshan pointed out. ¡°Is there anyone else who refuses to accept this? I¡¯ll specially deal with the discontent today!¡±

    ¡°Let me try out this daemon!¡± Cheng Kaishan called out.

    ¡°But if you do plan on continuing, I¡¯m going to start killing.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his fingers and glanced at Cheng Kaishan indifferently.

    Cheng Kaishan felt all his hairs stand on end. He saw how Li Qingshan had no intention to kill, which was why he contemplated taking on the moon demon in battle. Even if he was defeated, it would not exactly be humiliating. However, when he heard Li Qingshan say that, he immediately became filled with regret.

    ¡°Fellow Cheng, keep your cool. The daemons have the advantage. We must consider the greater picture!¡±

    ¡°Fine. Today, I¡¯ll spare-¡± Cheng Kaishan immediately used this to get out of the situation without humiliating himself. Originally, he wanted to say ¡°I¡¯ll spare you.¡± but upon further thought, if he ended up angering the moon demon with that, it would probably be difficult to pull out, so he simply shut up unhappily.

    ¡°Mighty be sir Northmoon!¡±

    Among the celebratory cheers of the night roamers, the cultivators all flew away in low spirits.

    Just when Li Qingshan gave up on stopping the war, the war had instead approached a premature end due to his will.

    With all these grievances resolved, he was filled with utmost delight.

    However, he understood that the chaos was nowhere close to coming to an end. Once the game of chess came to an end, the chess players could finally break free from their final restraints and enter the stage gloriously.

    His troubles had only just begun. Whether it was the Sword Collection palace that had lost its sword or Wen Zhengming who had lost his disciple, they all viewed him as a mortal enemy. However, these matters were still far away in the distance.

    Ye Liubo said anxiously, ¡°Master, how do you plan on dealing with ma¡¯am Spider Queen¡¯s side of things?¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. Gu Yanying had already vanished. He lowered his head and smiled.

 Chapter 481 â€“ The Spider Queenâ€™s Wrath

    ¡°All of you may leave!¡±

    Under the revering gazes of the night roamers, Li Qingshan waved his hand without even looking back as he strode towards the stone bed.

    Milliped raised his head as if he sensed something. His pink carapace clacked around. He had already become very large, taking up the entire stone bed even when he was curled up. However, he was still much weaker compared to before.

    The stone door closed loudly. Li Qingshan patted Milliped¡¯s head and took out a daemon core, placing it before him. It was the daemon core from the lizard Daemon General.

    Milliped had no concept of courtesy. He swallowed it in one gulp and curled up like a snake.

    A while later, resplendent light seeped out from his carapace, becoming brighter and brighter and blurring Milliped¡¯s figure. The light swelled at a visible rate, exceeding the size of the entire stone platform before slowly shrinking again. Milliped¡¯s body shrunk with it.

    The light dispersed, and the dazed Milliped in a pink cloak appeared before Li Qingshan again. He rubbed his bald head and stared around with his slightly bulging eyes, still rather uncertain about what exactly had happened.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud freely. He was filled with delight. Seeing Li Qingshan chuckle, Milliped also began to grin and laugh.

    Their resonant laughter echoed through the cavern, continuing for quite a while.

    Li Qingshan opened his hundred treasures pouch afterwards and took out jars of fine alcohol. He removed the clay seals, and the fragrance of alcohol filled the surroundings.

    There were many cultivation sects that would plant a few crops with spiritual qi aside from spiritual herbs, which were for feeding their disciples and for making spiritual alcohol.

    Among the many hundred treasures pouches Li Qingshan had obtained, many of them contained spiritual alcohol. After accumulating them over time, he actually ended up with several hundred jars. They all varied in class and age.

    However, while he did have fine alcohol, he struggled to find a drinking buddy, nor was he in the mood to drink. Now that he had both a drinking buddy and a drinking mood, these jars of alcohol finally saw the light of day again.

    Milliped sniffed the fine alcohol. His eyes widened as he began to thirst for it.

    ¡°Come drink!¡± Li Qingshan passed a jar to Milliped while holding one for himself. He touched the jars gently.

    Milliped picked up the jar and glugged it all down. He wiped his mouth. ¡°Tasty! Food!¡±

    The two of them simply sat down and ate as they drank. Aside from lifting their jars and touching them, there was not a lot of talking.

    However, Li Qingshan felt extremely delighted. Pouring the spiritual alcohol into his mouth, it washed away the gloom in his heart. He had also resolved something on his mind, and he was able to drink till they were drunk with Milliped. Nothing was more delightful than this!

    Milliped hugged a jar of spiritual alcohol. Half-way through it, he suddenly shut his eyes and collapsed on the stone bed. His snores rose up thunderously as he simply fell asleep like that.

    The jar tipped over, alcohol flowed freely, and the fragrance of alcohol permeated the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan stood up with a jar in hand, tottering about slightly. He had already become completely drunk. He raised his head and drank the last drop in the jar before tossing it far away. He heard a clatter, and it had been smashed to pieces.

    Spider Queen, I¡¯m coming!

    Li Qingshan bellowed out at the top of his lungs and strode away.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯ll be dangerous!¡±

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo stood outside the door, blocking Li Qingshan¡¯s path. They were both worried.

    ¡°How will it be dangerous?¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled them in by their necks and asked with a drunken smile with the two beautiful faces right in front of him.

    ¡°You disobeyed ma¡¯am Spider Queen¡¯s orders in public. She¡¯ll definitely punish you!¡± Ye Liubo was frantic, but as she gazed at his tipsy face, she could not help but be taken away by it.

    ¡°Daemons are forbidden from killing one another, but with how vicious and cruel and the Spider Queen is, she¡¯ll never let the matter drop.¡±

    Ye Liusu had never been in such an intimate situation with a man before. She did everything she could to keep herself calm, but she was just as concerned as Ye Liubo. Of course, she was also concerned about the future of the entire Night Roaming folk. Without him, the night roamers would probably descend into chaos again.

    But if he continued to grow in strength, there might even be a day when he could directly order the clans to disband. He was her hope.

    Li Qingshan nodded. Right when he was about to speak, Ye Liubo immediately offered up her lips, sucking the saliva from his mouth. His arms wrapped around her waist firmly.

    Li Qingshan plunged his hands into her clothes, fiddling recklessly with her full figure. Ye Liubo let out a stifled moan from her throat as her kissing became even more intense.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s heartbeat sped up slightly. She moved backwards, wanting to break free from this. Li Qingshan pulled her in forcefully, embracing her firmly with one hand. The two delicate figures pressed against his body firmly and intimately.

    Ye Liusu watched their intimate interaction rather helplessly from such a close range. Her face heated up slightly as she felt a hint of jealousy that even she failed to notice.

    A long while later, their lips parted.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯m scared!¡± Ye Liubo embraced him even more firmly.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. I still haven¡¯t even gotten you to make a child for me!¡±

    Ye Liubo agreed gently and leaned against Li Qingshan¡¯s chest meekly.

    Li Qingshan drew out his hand rather reluctantly. He looked over and lifted up Ye Liusu¡¯s pointy chin.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes widened unexpectedly as Li Qingshan lowered his head and kissed her on the lips. He did not do anything more than that, but he did whisper into her ear.

    ¡°Once I come back, I¡¯ll give you a gift. You best think about what gift you¡¯ll give to me!¡±

    Gazing at her pointy ears that differed from humans, he could not help but lick them gently. She shuddered all over.

    His invasive gaze started on her delicate face, moving past her proud-standing chest, her thin, straight waist, and arriving on her slender, perfect legs. She was not as seductive as Ye Liubo, but she was enchanting in a different way. Her noble and proud bearing could incite a man¡¯s urge to conquer.

    Ye Liusu lowered her head, her face crimson. For a moment, she actually did not know how to answer. She did not know what his gift was, but she knew exactly what he wanted. All she told herself was she could not turn him down, as this was a sacrifice she was making towards her dream. She refused to admit she had also become somewhat tempted.

    Most female night roamers were indulgent. They did not suppress or hide their desires at all. They had no concept of so-called chaste or promiscuity. As a princess of the Spider Shadow clan, the matriarch¡¯s child, Ye Liusu possessed a noble bloodline that the other princesses struggled to match. However, her body also possessed the same scorching desires.

    It was not like she had never felt any envy towards the promiscuous lifestyle of other night roamers. The reason why she avoided men was not only because she wanted to focus on cultivation for her dream. Rather, she was proud and found those grovelling, ignorant, and lowly male night roamers beneath contempt.

    He was the first man who had ever interested her. Although he was a daemon, he possessed such great strength and intelligence, and he actually understood and supported her thoughts, which was the reason why she could stand here today.

    If it were possible, she was willing to continue like this with him. Perhaps, they could even have a bit of fun. There was nothing she could do, right? This was her master¡¯s request.

    Li Qingshan pushed them away gently and made his way into the depths while laughing aloud. Danger filled the path ahead of him, but it also brimmed with endless glory.

    Living in the world, he was obviously supposed to take on challenges as he wished and enjoy himself to his heart¡¯s content. Only then would this great life of his not go to waste.

    ¡°Sister, you won¡¯t be able to escape this time. The kiss earlier was your¡­¡±

    Only when Li Qingshan vanished in the darkness did Ye Liubo look away and smile at Ye Liusu.

    ¡°He¡¯s our master. I¡¯m his servant. I¡¯ve seen this happen plenty of times, so it¡¯s nothing,¡± Ye Liusu interrupted in a composed manner. She could not help but purse her lips.

    ¡°Will master really be fine?¡± Ye Liubo began to worry again.

    ¡°The Spider Queen shouldn¡¯t defy the rule of the daemons and kill a clansman unless¡­¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes that resembled the night sky flickered, and she became slightly worried.

    ¡°Unless what?¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡±

    ¡°Northmoon, how dare you betray me!¡±

    In Cobweb city, Spider Queen¡¯s Lolth¡¯s shrill voice echoed through the cavern like it was ripping through the heavy darkness.

    The water and magma interweaved as billows of white smoke rose up and turned into clouds, making it even darker.

    The city was deathly silent. The quiet whispers that usually echoed through the streets and the quiet, lonesome figures outside had all vanished. They were like insects that had all stopped chirping before the dignity of a predator.

    Li Qingshan folded up his wings and landed on the extended terrace. He stared straight into the Spider Queen¡¯s eyes. Her beautiful face had become twisted from anger. Her eyes seemed to be dripping with venom. It was chilling.

    However, all he did was answer indifferently, ¡°You have no idea what ties of comradeship are, so how can you even mention betrayal?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The Spider Queen raised her hand and lashed out at Li Qingshan¡¯s face viciously. If a regular Daemon General received this attack, their heads would probably explode as they died on the spot.

    Bang!

    Li Qingshan raised his arm and blocked the Spider Queen¡¯s hand. The two forces collided viciously, and Cobweb city shook. A fierce gale ravaged through the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan shook slightly and felt a wave of pain from his arm. The power behind Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s slap was extremely insidious. It could actually penetrate the tough Ox Demon Forges its Hide.

    With a crack, a tiny fracture appeared in the bones of his arm.

    Li Qingshan rejoiced instead of becoming surprised. He had managed to receive the open attack of a Daemon Commander. That demonstrated the fourth layer of the ox demon was already on par with Daemon Commanders in terms of strength.

    A vast chasm existed between each layer, and as his cultivation increased, this chasm would grow wider and deeper. It had ceased to be something that could be made up with quantity alone.

    Hypothetically, how many regular Daemon Generals would be needed to kill the Spider Queen?

    The answer: no amount was enough. Any number that came would end up dead. That would be the case unless they managed to trap her and basically pile their lives on her and wear her down like that. They also had to ensure they wore her down faster than she could recover daemon qi, and only then would it be possible for them to kill her. However, the chances of that were so small that it was virtually impossible.

    Yet, Li Qingshan used the unmatched ability passed down to him by the black ox, the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, to forcefully cross this chasm. Although he had only crossed a small portion of it, it was still enough for him to stand proud.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s eyes narrowed. Li Qingshan¡¯s strength surprised her, making her feel deeply threatened. Afterwards, she sank into hysterical fury. She would never allow any subordinates to challenge her dignity.

    ¡°You will regret this!¡±

    Swish!

 Chapter 482 â€“ Infidelity With His Life on the Line

    Li Qingshan thought. In the critical moment, hexagonal pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew together, assembling into over a dozen protective layers. However, the black shadow pierced eleven of them in a single breath before slowing down slightly.

    Only then did Li Qingshan make out what it was. As it turned out, it was a spider¡¯s sharp, long leg. The tip of the leg shone coldly, clearly laced with life-threatening poison. A single move of hers was enough to set off heavy warnings in him.

    It slowed down, but it had only slowed down to a speed where he could see it clearly. In reality, it still moved with startling speed. With the injection of the Spider Queen¡¯s insidious daemon qi, the indestructible Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell became as frail as paper.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s sharp swordsmanship and Zhou Tong¡¯s lightning bolts both paled in comparison to this, but this was merely an ordinary strike from the Spider Queen.

    Only three layers of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell remained when the leg finally ran out of power, coming to a halt.

    A Daemon General had used his innate ability to block the attack of a Daemon Commander. That was truly a proud feat, but Li Qingshan did not ease up at all.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell can stop her to a certain degree, but it depletes daemon qi far too rapidly. I won¡¯t be able to block many times before I run out of daemon qi. Then, I¡¯ll really become a lamb to the slaughter.

    At this moment, seven other, similar legs extended from behind the Spider Queen. They turned into seven shadows and stabbed towards him.

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms and protected his vital points. He was afraid of using the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell again. This was the helplessness that came with a difference in cultivation. Even though he possessed powerful innate abilities, he was afraid of using them.

    Streaks of blood spattered and darkened in the air. Eight, deep wounds appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders, arms, legs, and knees. The Ox Demon Forges its Hide had been forcefully ripped apart.

    The Spider Queen was displeased with this result. Originally, she planned to lop off Li Qingshan¡¯s limbs before slowly torturing him, but the toughness of his skin was simply unexpected.

    However, the end result would all be the same.

    Toxins entered Li Qingshan¡¯s body through the wounds, spreading rapidly like something living. It dissolved his skin, flesh, and bones.

    ¡°Suppress!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out, and the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core shone brightly. Waves of light suppressed the toxins like clear water, halting their spread before forcing them out of his body.

    The Spider Queen frowned. She opened her red lips slightly and spat out an invisible strand of silk, but it was even more terrifying and elusive than the legs.

    ¡°Tremor!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his arms and bellowed out. He threw a punch at the Spider Queen¡¯s face, launching a desperate counterattack.

    The Spider Queen took a step back. She was not afraid of his punch. She just did not want to be hit by him. However, she ended up retreating first in this battle, which made her utterly furious.

    Li Qingshan had never planned on landing a punch like that on the Spider Queen in the first place. His fist struck the air, and the power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon whistled out.

    The shockwave ripped open cracks in the air between them, tearing through the spider silk and spreading in the direction of the Spider Queen without harming the terrace beneath them.

    After reaching the fourth layer of the ox demon, Li Qingshan had reached a new level with this ability of the ox demon. It had become his most powerful offensive ability.

    ¡°What is this power!?¡±

    The Spider Queen felt her skin sting as if it were about to be ripped apart. Her snowy-white skin immediately became a silvery-grey, flashing with a metallic sheen.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s strongest attack had only managed to leave behind a series of hairline cracks on her body, like fractures on a vase.

    A wound like that was absolutely nothing to her. She made a full recovery in the blink of an eye, but it completely aggravated her. A Daemon General under her command had forced her back and injured her. She had truly been humiliated. She opened her mouth and screamed.

    Cobweb city trembled gently. Countless pieces of loose rock fell down as Li Qingshan felt an ear-piercing buzz fill his mind.

    The night roamers that were still in the city all clutched their ears and began circulating their true qi and spiritual qi to block. The weaker ones directly died as they bled from their orifices. The other night roamers dared not to linger around for any longer, fleeing out of the city.

    Spider Queen Lolth remained in human form with the upper half of her body, while the lower half had already become a spider. She was like a precise killing machine, radiating with a terrifying and strange sense of beauty. She spread her silver arms in a striking position.

    The Spider Queen vanished. All Li Qingshan saw was her scarlet red dress that dragged along the ground dance like flowing fire.

    So fast! She¡¯s become even faster! I almost forgot she¡¯s also a carapaced daemon. The toughness of her body is her strong point.

    Li Qingshan spread his wings and glided backwards, stopping in the middle of the air. He raised his right arm and called out, ¡°Wait!¡±

    The Spider Queen appeared, stopping on the edge of the terrace. Her blood-red eyes stared straight at Li Qingshan. There were no emotions that befitted her humanoid form. It was just a stare of death that a predator gave to its prey.

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me! You can¡¯t break the rules of the daemons!¡±

    Li Qingshan said that like he was regretting his actions, making one last struggle in the face of death. However, there was no fear on his face at all. There were even hints of excitement.

    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you. I will torture you viciously. I will make you feel fear and despair, such that you¡¯ll wish you were dead!¡±

    A malicious sneer appeared on the Spider Queen¡¯s silvery-grey face, like a delicate mask.

    ¡°Is that all you want? You just want me to wish I was dead? Is that enough to satisfy you?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± The Spider Queen became rather puzzled.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t I mentioned it a long time ago already? Now, I accept your invitation.¡±

    Li Qingshan walked over, reaching a distance of absolute danger. He extended his hand towards the Spider Queen who seemed like a seductress in the legends.

    Curious, the Spider Queen did not attack him or immediately try to kill him. She suddenly understood what he was saying and turned back to human form. Her skin turned back to a snow-white. She extended her hand and lifted Li Qingshan¡¯s chin as her scarlet lips curled into a pretty, bloodthirsty smile.

    ¡°You really are a brave child. Though, that suits my tastes perfectly!¡±

    By ¡°taste¡±, she definitely meant it literally.

    ¡°Perhaps. I just want to have some fun before dying.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulling her in. They made their way up the terrace, towards her palace.

    Mortal enemies in battle had become close lovers in that instant, but this was not some shitty plotline of ¡°love from hatred¡±. Instead, it pushed their antagonism for one another to the limit. It hid the most terrifying killing intent.

    The rule that daemons were forbidden from killing one another was not absolute. Habits and nature surpassed this rule. The Spider Queen had a natural tendency to kill and devour her mate. If Li Qingshan took the initiative to sleep with her, then he would become a target that she had to kill. Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea would not be able to blame her.

    I¡¯ll give you a reason to break the rule and kill me!

    Li Qingshan thought. Wherever they walked past, the terrace collapsed loudly, as if it was cutting off his path of escape, while up ahead was the Spider Queen¡¯s dark, gloomy nest.

    Normal battles were worth absolutely nothing to the tiger demon. Even with Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core he had devoured, the effects of foreign substances would be extremely limited.

    Only through battle, battle between life and death, frenzied, maddening battle, would the tiger demon be excited and unleash its true power.

    If he was unable to break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, his chances of escaping from the Spider Queen¡¯s hands would be pitifully small. It would be very likely for him to end up as the Spider Queen¡¯s food, dooming him for good.

    However, when he made up his mind and decided to carry that heavy promise of beyond the Nine Heavens on his back, it became fated that he would not be able to hide anymore and advance forwards carefully, cautiously and safely. All he could do was stride ahead and throw himself into the face of danger.

    The Spider Queen was obviously extremely terrifying, but compared to the enemies of brother ox, she was probably just a tiny spider!

    Remember, don¡¯t lower your head to anyone, to anything. You have once ridden on my back.

    Lofty sentiments rose up in Li Qingshan. His fear, his worries all vanished. In the moment he stepped through the door, a strange thought crossed his mind.

    Qiongzhi, you can¡¯t blame me. This is infidelity with my life on the line!

    The Academy of the Hundred Schools, Benevolence island, within a white room enveloped by formations.

    This was a room completely sealed off from the outside world. There were no windows. Apart from a bed, there was not a single piece of furniture. The six snow-white walls were layered with flickering inscriptions.

    However, these formations and inscriptions were not for killing or trapping, but for healing.

    ¡°My sword, my sword!¡±

    Fu Qingjin jerked awake. He extended his hand and reached about randomly, as if he was trying to grab something.

    He had a nightmare. In the nightmare, he lost something extremely important. If it was possible, he would rather use his own life to trade for that item.

    ¡°It¡¯s broken.¡± Ru Xin said straightforwardly as she stood to one side with her arms crossed, earning herself a glare from Hua Ci.

    As the two most skilled in medicine within the Clear River prefecture, the two of them were responsible for healing Fu Qingjin. Fu Qingjin¡¯s wounds were not particularly heavy. His injured organs and shattered bones might have been fatal to regular people.

    However, they could be easily healed for cultivators. And, most of these injuries did not come from the moon demon, but from using the heart of the sword. They had come from the Green Ruins sword overusing the body.

    ¡°It¡¯s broken?¡±

    Fu Qingjin murmured to himself. Ru Xin¡¯s two, simple words were like lightning to Fu Qingjin.

    The memories he refused to accept gradually filled his mind.

    The nightmare had become real!

    ¡°Fellow Fu, your life bound weapon was destroyed, so your mind was injured. If you spend your time recuperating quietly, your cultivation won¡¯t regress too much. You¡¯ll still be able to maintain your Foundation Establishment cultivation.¡±

    Hua Xi was dark-skinned and skinny, not particularly attractive, and his voice was rather cold. However, it did have a power to comfort others.

    ¡°Though, you¡¯ll just be a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator, and one at early Foundation Establishment. Regaining control over the Daemon Suppression alliance won¡¯t be possible.¡± On the contrary, Ru Xin¡¯s face was fair, gentle and delicate, while her voice was soft and amiable, yet what she said could shatter hearts.

    Hua Ci could no longer bother with glaring at her anymore. He continued to comfort patiently, ¡°You¡¯ve already been extremely fortunate that your life and cultivation¡¯s intact. As for anything else, it¡¯s best if you stop obsessing over them. It¡¯ll be detrimental to your recovery.¡±

 Chapter 483 â€“ Chu Tian Emerges from Seclusion

    ¡°If you want to talk more nonsense, get out of the room!¡± Hua Ci barked.

    ¡°I¡¯m only letting him know about the current situation so that he can accept reality. It¡¯s stimulation therapy. You dark-skinned old man, don¡¯t be so fierce with me. We¡¯re both Foundation Establishment cultivators now!¡±

    Hua Ci¡¯s face became even darker, but he felt rather helpless. He apologised to Fu Qingjin, ¡°Fellow Fu, my disciple¡¯s words have always been unpleasant, so please don¡¯t take them to heart.¡±

    Ru Xin sighed gently. ¡°Anyway, just recuperate in peace! It¡¯s not like you have anything you can count on anymore now that the Green Ruins sword is gone.¡±

    Fu Qingjin stared at the snowy-white walls before him in a daze. His face changed constantly as he recalled everything that had happened in the past. The more he thought, the more furious he became, and the more pain he felt. In the end, a mouthful of blood spurted out, and he collapsed on the bed, fainting again.

    ¡°Are you satisfied now?¡± Hua Ci examined Fu Qingjin¡¯s pulse in a hurry. Only when he confirmed the man had just fainted out of anger did he stop worrying.

    ¡°Humans sure are fragile!¡± Ru Xin lamented.

    ¡°Why did you set him off like that?¡±

    Hua Ci was rather confused. He understood that Ru Xin was a person with a sharp mouth, but rarely did she go out of her way to target someone like this. Especially when it came to someone she was unfamiliar with, she knew self-restraint extremely well. At most, she would joke around a little.

    ¡°I just find him annoying.¡±

    Ru Xin shrugged and turned around. With a wave of her hand, a door appeared on the snowy-white wall.

    A group of cultivators from the Daemon Suppression alliance waited outside. They gathered over as soon as they saw Ru Xin and began blurting out.

    ¡°How is fellow Fu doing?¡± ¡°How are his wounds? Has it affected his cultivation?¡±

    ¡°You have no reason to worry, everyone. Fellow Fu¡¯s injuries are fine. His life bound weapon was damaged, which injured his mind. He needs to recuperate quietly, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t disturb him for now. I¡¯m going back to my dwelling. I¡¯ve specially prescribed him some medicine that can soothe his mind.¡±

    Ru Xin bowed gently and calmly answered them. Her voice was soft, like the meekest and kindest girl in the world.

    ¡°Contact the Sword Collection palace!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already contacted them, but they¡¯ve given no reply.¡± ¡°The daemons are completely out of their minds. They¡¯ve actually destroyed one of the Ten Renowned Swords, the Green Ruins sword. The Sword Collection palace will never let this matter be.¡±

    ¡°I think the moon demon has absolutely no interest in fighting with us. Otherwise, he could have easily killed us all. The war shouldn¡¯t continue any longer. With all our disciples, surely we can¡¯t remain in the Rose Cloud sect forever.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. We¡¯re cultivators, so we should focus on cultivation and pursuing longevity and enlightenment. Why must we be constantly entangled in conflict like regular people? Why don¡¯t we just engage in peace talks with the daemons?¡±

    ¡°Peace talks? You want to be a traitor?¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the traitor? You better make this clear!¡±

    They¡¯ve always been in conflict, engaged in constant scuffles with one another. They had just forcefully mashed together. Now that Fu Qingjin¡¯s control is gone, they¡¯ve immediately fallen into disunity, each with their own thoughts. Let alone waging war against the daemons, but it would already be quite impressive if they managed to avoid going to battle with one another.

    Ru Xin thought to herself. She passed through the corridor, and the sounds of discussion gradually vanished. She arrived outside. The sky was overcast with endless drizzle. Mist surged atop the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. The many islands of the academy were shrouded in the rain and mist.

    Gazing into the distance, Cloudwisp island stood hazily within the mist. She murmured to herself extremely softly, ¡°The moon demon, Northmoon¡­ Li Qingshan?¡±

    All these startlingly precious spiritual herbs, the close connection to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death, the behaviour after drinking the Water of Oblivion, and, even until now, his absence.

    These various clues merged together and called upon a certain answer, but she stopped thinking too deeply into it.

    Who doesn¡¯t have secrets? Why should I probe into it?

    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m his woman.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    At this moment, Ru Xin gazed over and saw a streak of five-coloured light rush into the sky above Contention island. It flew over to Cloudwisp island, circled around a few times, before suddenly changing direction and flying towards her.

    ¡°Ru Xin!¡±

    The five-coloured light landed on Benevolence island and dispersed. Chu Tian¡¯s figure appeared, radiating with arrogance. He smiled confidently and gazed at Ru Xin with deep love, calling her name.

    ¡°Chu Tian?¡± Ru Xin raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°I reached Foundation Establishment!¡± Chu Tian held his chest up in high spirits. Five-coloured light flowed around him as he seemed like a proud rooster.

    ¡°Oh. Congratulations.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve always known that you have a very favourable impression of me, senior sister. But, I¡¯m aware that a mere Qi Practitioner, a puny man, is unworthy of you. Now, I, Chu Tian, am willing to accept your feelings. I will protect you forever!¡± Chu Tian said slowly.

    ¡°This-¡± Ru Xin, who had always been so clever with her mouth, was actually left speechless this time. There was nothing she could say in response to him. She felt like a bolt of heavenly lightning from Zhou Tong had struck her.

    ¡°I may have many women, but my feelings towards you all are sincere. I will treat you all as equals. You will all be my most beloved women!¡±

    ¡°This-¡± Ru Xin originally thought Chu Tian would slowly mature after going through many aspects of life and being set back a few times by Li Qingshan. Only now did she learn she had been far too naive.

    There were many cultivators on Benevolence island, who all looked over now.

    Ru Xin felt a sense of deep humiliation for Chu Tian. She felt uneasy, afraid to answer him. She felt like if she answered him, she would be pulled into a situation that was just as embarrassing and be completely humiliated.

    If Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth was even half as sharp as this bastard¡¯s, I¡¯d never bicker with him again!

    ¡°I know, it¡¯s all because of Li Qingshan. He pesters you shamelessly, getting in our way. I will prove to you that compared to a genius like me, Li Qingshan is an insignificant piece of trash!¡±

    Seeing Ru Xin¡¯s ¡°hesitance¡±, Chu Tian immediately discovered exactly where the issue lay. The issue was his great enemy, Li Qingshan!

    He had gone to Cloudwisp island to find Li Qingshan immediately after emerging. Although he had just reached Foundation Establishment, he was much more powerful than regular early Foundation Establishment cultivators, as he practised the Palm of the Five Elements. He was absolutely confident he could get his revenge.

    With Ru Xin¡¯s behaviour, old and new hatred filled his mind. He bristled with danger.

    ¡°I know where he is!¡±

    Riding on five-coloured light, Chu Tian took off into the air.

    ¡°Oi, wait!¡±

    Ru Xin remembered that if her conclusion was correct, then it was very likely he was not in his dwelling. If an observant person discovered this, it would probably raise suspicion.

    ¡°The moon demon is so powerful. The Green Ruins sword is now broken, while the Lightning Slaughter sword is lost. Just who else does our Clear River prefecture have that can contend with him?¡±

    The Foundation Establishment cultivators of the academy gathered on Contention island for a meeting. They were all rather dejected. The advantage they had built up over the three years of war had been reduced to nothing. The scarlet-haired, scarlet-eyed figure weighed on their hearts like a mountain.

    ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s no need for us to contend with him. I don¡¯t think the moon demon has ever actively worked against us. He has only been targeting the Daemon Suppression alliance the entire time. He might be a daemon, but that doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t be reasoned with!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing stroked his long beard. Right now, he had a particularly favourable impression of the moon demon. Originally, the moon demon could have slaughtered them all, but he even went as far as defying the Spider Queen¡¯s orders to spare them. His behaviour could be interpreted as an attempt to make peace.

    And, the phrase, ¡°From whichever direction the winds leap, I remain strong, though dealt many a blow¡± had been extremely lofty and fascinating. Let alone daemons, most of his confucian disciples could not even create a poem like that. He was a daemon, but he was still worth admiring.

    Of course, without a foundation of great strength, it would be impossible for Liu Zhangqing to think like this even if Northmoon recited the anthology of Three Hundred Tang Poems.

    ¡°I agree with sir prefect. Actually, even if humans and daemons can¡¯t get along peacefully, there¡¯s no need for us to take it as far as mutual destruction. For example, the Mist province right now. The Treaty of Kings ceased to exist a long time ago, and there are no limitations on conflict, yet a new order has arisen from the conflict. It hasn¡¯t descended into full-scale war like us.¡±

    ¡°When the founding emperor united the world, did he not have the support of daemons? It was the founding emperor who granted the title of the Ten Daemon Kings, allowing them to stand on equal footing with the various lords and kings of the eight provinces. The Hawk God is even the highest commander of our Hawkwolf Guard. No matter how powerful the Sword Collection palace is, are they bold enough to look for trouble with him in the Dragon province? Purging the world of daemons has always been absurd and unrealistic.¡±

    ¡°The Green province has gone for several millennia without war, leading to far too many cultivators and daemons. They have accumulated too much strength, which they needed to release. The Treaty of Kings is no longer suitable for the given circumstances. As a result, I don¡¯t think the higher ups set up this game of chess for us to exterminate one another, but for us to find a balance.¡±

    Hua Chengzan spoke eloquently, truly taking the future and the bigger picture into account. He earned a series of nods from the other cultivators.

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Then where do you think this balance is?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that. That¡¯s not something we can decide alone. The moon demon is a good opportunity for us to sit down and talk about it. I¡¯m just worried right now that the moon demon has openly disobeyed the Spider Queen, so she¡¯ll never let him off so easily. If that¡¯s the case, we might really have to keep fighting until one side perishes completely.¡±

    ¡°In other words, I should be praying for his well being!?¡± Zhou Tong, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly kicked over the table and raged.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Senior Zhou, if we really can talk with the moon demon, we might not necessarily be unable to retrieve the Lightning Slaughter sword.¡±

    There was nothing Zhou Tong could say with that. He was not a sword cultivator, but to him, the Lightning Slaughter sword was worth no less than the Green Ruins sword to Fu Qingjin, as it was a crucial item for surviving his second heavenly tribulation. No matter how ill-tempered he was, he could not neglect his own life.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Then let¡¯s see how the daemons respond.¡±

    At this moment, a powerful aura rushed into the air.

    Wei Yangsheng opened the window and took a look. He smiled. ¡°Junior brother Chu has reached Foundation Establishment!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing beamed inside. Just like that, his school of Confucianism had gained another Foundation Establishment cultivator. Hearing Chu Tian shout Li Qingshan¡¯s name, he sighed. ¡°He still can¡¯t let go of his grievance with Qingshan.¡±

    Wang Pushi said, ¡°Where has that kid run off to recently anyway? Even when we message him, he doesn¡¯t respond.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°He¡¯s probably cultivating in the Chain mountains. He might have reached an important point, so he can¡¯t reply¡­ Hmm? Chu Tian seems to be flying off in the direction of the Chain mountains!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look! We can¡¯t let them fight to the death!¡± However, what Liu Zhangqing implied was giving them another opportunity to see who was stronger.

    Chu Tian was a disciple of confucianism after all. Having been defeated so many times, even Liu Zhangqing became embarrassed. Now that he had attained an initial mastery over the Palm of the Five Elements, he should be able to win for once and redeem some of his lost pride.

    All Ru Xin saw were streaks of light rising up from Contention island, with Liu Zhangqing in the lead.

 Chapter 484 â€“ The Guardian King Subdues Demons

    The lingering clouds and mist hovered between the mountains, moving with the wind and rain.

    Rain water flowed down the stone plate with the three words ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home¡± engraved.

    Behind the heavy stone door was a large, empty cavern. White flames burned upwards, like an upside down waterfall of fire.

    Unlike regular flames, they were peaceful and quiet, giving off no sensation of heat at all. Instead, they were indescribably, bone-chillingly cold.

    Twenty skulls surged up and down in the flames, opening their mouths and closing their jaws, creating a chatter. It sounded like a soul-stealing song from hell, yet it also sounded like the chanting of countless monks.

    It was evil and sacred, eerie and majestic.

    The source of the flames was Xiao An. Her seaweed-like hair rippled like the fire. It was like the flames and skulls all came from her imagination.

    Xiao An formed a seal with her hands as she chanted a sutra. She seemed like a meditating monk at first glance, but the seal was not a buddhist seal, and the sutra was not a buddhist sutra.

    Suddenly, she pointed at the sky, and all the flames condensed with that. All the skulls gathered together, revolving above her head. She opened her mouth and spat out a white prayer bead. As it spun around, it turned into a huge skull, pure-white and shiny, glimmering with light.

    The lustre of the other twenty prayer beads improved with that, becoming even more powerful.

    Xiao An waved her hand conveniently and the twenty-one skulls turned into twenty-one prayer beads, returning to her wrist and forming a string.

    She had finally taken another step forward with the demonic artifact of white bone, the Skull Prayer Beads. At the same time, she had completely consolidated the first layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, advancing with her cultivation.

    The twenty-one prayer beads represented the ten bh¨±mi, the ten p¨¡ramit¨¡ and buddhahood of buddhism. In her hands, they obviously possessed a completely different implication. Those who were not well-versed in buddhism would not be able to understand.

    TL: I believe the twenty-one prayer beads basically represent the different steps to buddhist enlightenment. The ten bh¨±mi are ten different steps, while the ten p¨¡ramit¨¡ are ten different qualities that enlightened beings possess. You can read more about them here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bh%C5%ABmi_(Buddhism)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%81ramit%C4%81

    On the surface, the string of prayer beads shone with pure, buddhist light. They were righteous, legitimate buddhist artifacts.

    It was possible to say that she alone was equivalent to an army of cultivators. She could influence the division of power within the entire prefecture.

    Xiao An thought of Li Qingshan and became slightly uneasy. She immediately took out the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase and used the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots to practise divination.

    Before long, she received the results, which made her expression change slightly.

    The divination revealed that Li Qingshan was in danger. He was basically surrounded with killing intent and an aura of death. He was in dire straits.

    Xiao An immediately climbed to her feet, but she heard calls and curses from outside.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, get out here! I know you¡¯re in there!¡±

    Chu Tian used the Palm of the Five Elements and sent it towards the entrance of the dwelling. Five kinds of spiritual qi¡ªmetal, wood, water, fire, and earth¡ªrose and fell in an endless cycle.

    In the beginning, the hand flickering with five-coloured light was only a few meters across. As it rapidly absorbed the spiritual qi of the world, it reached several dozen meters across in the blink of an eye, slamming against the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks and producing a great boom that echoed through the mountains.

    The Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks obviously could not be destroyed so easily, but the person inside was unable to sit still anymore with the disturbance.

    Sure enough, the door to the dwelling opened loudly a while later.

    A slender figure walked out. Xiao An scanned around, and her gaze skimmed past the mountains wrapped in mist, landing on Chu Tian. She hid a white bone sword in her sleeve, deciding to kill this person first.

    Chu Tian felt his head buzz. He directly became dumbstruck. So beautiful. That was beauty he was unable to describe. He had spent his entire life as an unrestrained romantic, having lovers everywhere, but this was the first woman that had managed to make him fall in love at first sight. If he could obtain her, he was willing to pay any price.

    Xiao An had never been one to blabber. Since she had made up her mind, she immediately went about it.

    But at this moment, a few streaks of light shot over from the horizon.

    ¡°Chu Tian, don¡¯t be impulsive!¡± Liu Zhangqing called out.

    The bellow finally made Chu Tian return to his senses. He clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m Chu Tian. May I ask for your esteemed name, ma¡¯am? If I have disturbed you, please forgive me!¡±

    Xiao An said nothing. She considered whether she should kill all the people here and then rush off to help Li Qingshan. No matter where she wanted to go right now, she probably could not shake off these people, which would only increase their suspicion.

    Perhaps there were a few acquaintances of Li Qingshan among them, but to her, Li Qingshan took priority over everything else. Even if he would scold her after this, she still would not bat an eye.

    ¡°Xiao An, where¡¯s Qingshan?¡± Seeing how it was her who had come out to receive them while Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen, Liu Zhangqing could not help but become rather puzzled. With Li Qingshan¡¯s nature, he would definitely accept all forms of provocation or challenge.

    ¡°Cultivating.¡± Forced to answer, Xiao An spat out a single word.

    In the blink of an eye, over twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators had hurried over. This was a battle among the geniuses of the academy. Basically everyone wanted to catch a glance of it.

    Of course, there were a few who were uninterested, but just a handful. The central force of the academy had basically all gathered here.

    If she led them into the dwelling and activated the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks, she had a certain degree of confidence in being able to slaughter them all.

    ¡°What? You¡¯re Xiao An!?¡±

    Chu Tian was taken aback. Obviously, he had a deep impression of this genius that even surpassed him. However, he never imagined the little girl of the past would actually turn out like this.

    ¡°Tell Li Qingshan to drag his ass out here!¡± Chu Tian almost went crazy from jealousy as his hatred for Li Qingshan intensified further. However, he had already made up his mind to viciously defeat and humiliate Li Qingshan so that he could save Xiao An from his demonic grasp and then take good care of her.

    Unity between geniuses went without saying, right?

    Xiao An remained silent.

    ¡°Chu Tian, don¡¯t forget about the courtesy of confucianism. Xiao An, so many of us have come, so why don¡¯t you invite us in?¡±

    Under the gazes of numerous pairs of eyes, Xiao An lowered her head and rubbed the Skull Prayer Beads on her wrist. She was just about to invite them in like what Liu Zhangqing had said.

    Suddenly, she thought of something and said, ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Liu Zhangqing was stunned.

    ¡°He¡¯s cultivating. He can¡¯t be disturbed,¡± Xiao An answered calmly. She scanned the horizon from the corner of her eye. Someone was watching from the sky, even higher than Foundation Establishment. She could not kill them.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s just afraid! He knows he¡¯s not granddaddy Chu Tian¡¯s opponent, so he¡¯s decided to hide and be a coward. He¡¯s sent you out to deal with me. Can¡¯t be disturbed? Hmph, I¡¯ll do exactly that.¡±

    Chu Tian used the Palm of the Five Elements and swung it towards the mountain again.

    ¡°Chu Tian, don¡¯t act recklessly!¡± Liu Zhangqing said. If Li Qingshan really was at a crucial moment in cultivation and ended up suffering from qi deviation due to being disturbed, it would be bad. At this moment, a streak of golden light shot past him.

    Xiao An raised her right hand, but what flew out was not the white bone sword, but a vajra sword. A curved streak of light forcefully severed Chu Tian¡¯s Palm of the Five Elements.

    Xiao An took a step forward, and golden light surged from her body, turning into a guardian king that stood several dozen meters tall in the blink of an eye. It wielded a huge vajra sword as it glared at Chu Tian furiously.

    Xiao An had not spent any special effort on practising the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual. Compared to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, it was like comparing the curriculum of a primary school to the curriculum of a university. It was far easier to cultivate than the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots. It was just a matter of making use of what she already knew.

    Mind Enlightenment was among the crowd too. When he saw Xiao An unleash the avatar of the guardian king, he was stunned. He practised this cultivation method too, and he had even used it to clash with Xiao An in the past. That was the reason why he ended up spending three years wall-facing, finally achieving enlightenment.

    He was confident that his comprehension of this cultivation method had already surpassed Xiao An¡¯s, as her time and energy was split between multiple cultivation methods. Only now did he realise the difference between them. When he unleashed the guardian king¡¯s avatar, it seemed like a statue in a temple. Although it also flickered with light, it seemed to be coated in a shell of golden paint. It still seemed like an inanimate object.

    Yet, Xiao An¡¯s avatar had eyes flowing with light and a sash that drifted about slowly. Every single crease in its robes were distinct, constantly rippling about.

    Its face was also filled with fury, but from the delicate details, its expression seemed alive. Its muscular body was filled with power, like a real guardian king had actually appeared before them.

    ¡°You- Alright, I¡¯ll show you my power first then!¡± Chu Tian was alarmed, but it also roused his fighting will, which made him want to unleash the fruits of his cultivation and demonstrate to Xiao An. I¡¯m a genius on par with you, not a piece of trash like Li Qingshan!

    At this moment, Xiao An took a step forward and stepped into the air.

    The avatar began to change as well. Its colossal body gradually shrunk as its muscly arms gradually became slender. The distinct lines melded together too.

    The anger on its fierce expression was slowly pacified, turning into the gentle face of a woman. Her appearance was rather similar to Xiao An¡¯s, also possessing a red mole between her eyebrows. She wore a golden crown on her head, which made her seem gentle and majestic, magnificent and solemn.

    ¡°This-¡± Mind Enlightenment was tongue-tied. He had never heard that the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual could undergo such a transformation.

    Guardian kings were protector gods who served as guards to the buddha. Most of them wielded vajras, which was why they were also called vajra. Legend had it that they were originally fiends, and the buddha subdued them. All of them resembled fierce-looking men. Never had there been a vajra that looked like this.

    The guardian king leapt up, and its sash flew into the air.

    Chu Tian dared not hold back. He struck out with full force.

    The Palm of the Five Elements filled his vision. The guardian king extended her slender hand, matching Chu Tian¡¯s palm strike.

    You had just gotten lucky earlier. Now that you¡¯re actually taking me on in an open confrontation, don¡¯t blame me for injuring you.

    Chu Tian thought. Just as he felt proud of himself, an unbelievably tremendous power emerged, forcefully collapsing the Palm of the Five Elements.

    Spiritual qi scattered, and the guardian king leapt out from the five-coloured light, swinging down with the vajra sword in her right hand!

    ¡°Protection of the Five Elements!¡± Chu Tian bellowed out. He raised his hands towards the sky, and the five elements in him condensed together, rapidly circulating about.

    The strike was not particularly sharp. It just fell ordinarily.

    Blood spattered, and the vajra sword directly cut through the Protection of the Five Elements, landing on Chu Tian¡¯s right arm.

    Chu Tian was fear-stricken. He pulled himself back in a rapid retreat, wanting to say something, but a slender hand of golden light emerged with a flash and grabbed him by the throat. His skin split open, and his flesh was ripped apart, reaching all the way to his vertebrae. She wanted to forcefully snap his neck.

    The reversion of victory happened far too quickly. No one had imagined Chu Tian could not even withstand a single attack from Xiao An, nor did they imagine her to strike so viciously. Xiao An was about to behead Chu Tian, but it was already too late for them to save him.

    An old monk with a grey beard and hair in monk¡¯s robes arrived before Xiao An in a single step. Emotion and praise filled his eyes.

 Chapter 485 â€“ The Maze-like Cobweb City

    All the night roamers had fled far away, returning to their cities. They were afraid of becoming involved with the greatest social upheaval underground in the past millennium.

    As for the large figure who carried the Spider Queen towards her chamber, everyone labelled him as dead inside before gloating over the fate that awaited him. They did so even though that was their newest ruler, even though he was much more benevolent than the Spider Queen.

    But they could not help it. This was the nature of night roamers. They would cheer for the misfortune of others, particularly for those stronger than them.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s steps were extremely firm, and the female daemon in his arms was extremely light. Her black hair that had been tied up draped down, swaying gently with his footsteps.

    The hysterical, sharp, and venomous anger had already vanished from her face completely. Her graceful body rested in his arms meekly, and her slender arms wrapped around his neck. Her scarlet lips formed an enchanting smile, kissing Li Qingshan¡¯s neck gently and leaving behind a soft, moist mark.

    In truth, she did not really care about the end result of this game of chess. Bloodshadow and Strongboulder¡¯s mysterious deaths displeased her, just like two chess pieces she found extremely convenient to use had suddenly been snatched from her.

    She only had one goal in mind with everything she did¡ªto please herself.

    Great power and a lengthy lifespan would always make people reveal their true selves. Human cultivators might have been bound to morals and ethics, but daemons had always done whatever they wanted.

    Having reached this stage of the game, something darted out all of a sudden, making it unexpectedly interesting. This was all thanks to him. When she considered she would soon entangle with him before tasting his blood and flesh, all of her dissatisfaction, no matter how great, vanished without a trace.

    She would restrain him firmly and nibble away at his limbs bit by bit while he remained conscious. Would he howl out and plead for mercy? Or would he resist in silence?

    She was as excited as a little girl in love. Sweet anticipation filled the unknown future. It had already been many years since she last experienced this sensation.

    The sound of footsteps echoed through the gloomy hall. Li Qingshan dared not relax his guard.

    When her lips kissed his neck, who knew whether she would bite down deeply in the next moment and inject lethal poison into him. When she wrapped her arms around him, who knew whether she would snap his neck in the next moment.

    According to past information, the Spider Queen would not usually take such action. She would only kill and eat after she had enjoyed herself.

    At the same time, her body gave off a strong, primitive temptation, with her enchanting appearance, graceful figure, voluptuous chest, and slender legs.

    Even the seductive Ye Liubo paled in comparison to her.

    Li Qingshan slowly became excited. His blood flow increased as his heart beat sped up as well.

    Conquering powerful members of the other gender seemed to be an instinct of males, like defeating a powerful opponent. The lethal, omnipresent danger instead became the most enchanting part of her many charms.

    Passing through the long corridor, Li Qingshan finally arrived in the very centre of Cobweb city, the chamber of the Spider Queen, or in other words, the spider¡¯s nest.

    It was an unbelievably vast hall. Even if a thousand people gathered here, it would not feel cramped at all. The beautiful sculptures and murals eulogised her strength and cruelty.

    In the centre of the hall, sixteen pillars surrounded a circular stone platform that seemed to take up half the size of the moon.

    If it were not for the draping layers of black veil and the thick, silken bedding, basically no one could imagine it was a bed. It seemed more like an altar.

    In the rumors of the night roamers, it basically symbolised exactly that. No one could leave here alive.

    Li Qingshan began to chuckle. His laughter echoed through the spacious hall, breaking the ancient silence.

    The Spider Queen leaned against her arm, laying on the soft bedding as she gazed at Li Qingshan in abundant interest.

    At that moment, she did not seem proactive. She was like a noble queen, waiting for her servant to please her. Her figure protruded from under her scarlet dress.

    Li Qingshan did not consider himself as a servant. With a rip, he directly tore off her long dress. Her snowy-white figure was completely presented before him.

    Li Qingshan did not hold back, throwing himself on top and directly grabbing the plump, snowy peaks he had been longing for all this time. He actually struggled to gain a proper grasp with a single hand, moulding them to whatever shape he wanted. He did not show any tenderness at all. The strength he used was enough to twist steel.

    The Spider Queen only began to giggle. She raised her hands and wrapped them around his neck, burying his head viciously into her chest.

    Deep among the drapes, soft laughter, gasps, and moans rose and fell together, echoing through the empty hall.

    ¡­¡­

    In the darkness, after who knew how long.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone in the darkness. The Spider Queen lay atop his body with her disheveled hair draping down. Her face was blushed in an enchanting manner, and their bodies remained closely connected, giving off a smooth, scorching sensation.

    The frustration he had pent up across all the years had finally been released. He did not treasure her tenderly at all, completely going about it on her soft, charming body as an invader and conqueror. Combined with his great strength that was enough to split mountains, it was almost brutal.

    From how she frowned from time to time, it seemed to cause her quite a lot of pain too. After all, there was not a particularly large difference between them in terms of strength alone.

    However, this seemed to suit the Spider Queen¡¯s tastes, finding pleasure within. Although she would constantly fight back with her claws and teeth, leaving behind injuries on him, it was more like a response of ecstasy than revenge.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vigour seemed endless, pouring it all into a similarly bottomless gully.

    The Spider Queen propped herself up and touched Li Qingshan¡¯s face. She smiled. ¡°I¡¯m really quite reluctant to kill you, but I still want to eat you more.¡±

    To her, this had also been an unprecedented experience of pleasure. She pursed her lips and licked Li Qingshan¡¯s face gently with her tongue, as if she was debating between her lust and her appetite. However, the end result had obviously been set in stone already.

    Prey would only continue to exert itself if you gave it some hope. She had already decided on squeezing out the final bit of use from Li Qingshan.

    Now!

    Li Qingshan knew the time had come. If he continued, he would only be wasting away his physical strength. Using the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he suppressed the lust within him, and his mind immediately cleared up.

    He directly used the power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon, wanting to knock the Spider Queen away for a battle to the death.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    An extremely loud moan interrupted Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts. There was some pain, but most of it was pleasure.

    The Spider Queen laid down on Li Qingshan again as she grumbled, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use this earlier?¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea on how to respond. I haven¡¯t practised this innate ability for you to use it like that.

    He also felt secretly astounded. He had unleashed the power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon while maintaining direct bodily contact. Even if the Spider Queen was a Daemon Commander with an extraordinarily tough body, it was impossible for her to go unscathed. It only meant she was truly a deviant.

    ¡°Continue!¡± the Spider Queen grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s throat and ordered sternly. To her, as long as the injuries were not too severe, they would not pose much of a problem. She could recover in the blink of an eye. However, the waves of pain from the bottom of her heart had completely become a part of her pleasure.

    Li Qingshan thought that if they began fighting right now, a large difference still existed in their strength. Before he could break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon under the pressure, she would have instantly slain him already. This was a good opportunity to waste away her daemon qi. Even though it was merely small wounds, it would definitely still play an effect once it accumulated to a certain degree.

    As a result, Li Qingshan rested his head on his arms and constantly launched ¡°attacks¡± at the Spider Queen. He had the Strength of the Earth anyway, so he recovered rather quickly.

    When he looked at the Spider Queen¡¯s ecstatic expression, he thought of a saying for some reason, Even if I tremor another thousand times, I won¡¯t even be a millimetre closer to your heart¡­

    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to stay here forever as my servant and pay for your actions, I can consider temporarily sparing you.¡±

    After who knew how long, the Spider Queen caressed Li Qingshan¡¯s face. She seemed much more weary than before, and sweat covered her smooth, white skin. Her voice had become much softer too.

    At least it proved that Li Qinshan¡¯s efforts had not been useless. Her heart was a millimetre closer now, considering how it was possible for her to never find such a convenient, humanoid toy again. Her lust began to overwhelm her appetite.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned down this request mercilessly. Making him remain here forever as a prisoner was impossible. It was the exact opposite of his original intentions of coming here.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pity. Though, that¡¯s not for you to decide.¡± The Spider Queen opened her mouth and spat out a strand of spider silk, wrapping around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck.

    Li Qingshan had already been prepared. He threw a punch.

    Of course, he focused all of his power of tremors in that punch this time.

    Unexpectedly, the altar-like bed suddenly collapsed. They fell down together.

    Just how much strength did the two of them possess? Although they also had great control over their strength, after spending so much time entangled, there would still be moments when they forgot to control their power.

    To be able to last until now, the bed already proved how exquisite the craftsmanship of night roamers could be.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sudden attack was the final straw.

    Beneath the heavy, stone bed was a huge, cylindrical cave. It had a ceiling that was almost a thousand meters tall, passing through the entire city. Circular staircases were scattered in the surroundings.

    This was the path Li Qingshan had taken the first time he had come to Cobweb city.

    As they fell, the two of them finally separated. The Spider Queen opened her mouth, but she no longer spat out only a strand of silk.

    Li Qingshan dodged the silk, but it expanded beneath him instead, turning into a spider¡¯s web. Catching him off-guard, it wrapped around him, trapping him firmly in the centre like an insect.

    The Spider Queen landed on the edge of the web. Her slender arms overlapped as she stood gracefully on a strand of silk. Her face had a hint of lethargy as she rubbed her smooth abdomen.

    ¡°Northmoon, I originally wanted to spare your life, but upon further consideration, I might have your child in me already. It can¡¯t go without the nourishment of its father¡¯s flesh and blood, right? For the sake of our child, you can die in peace!¡±

 Chapter 486 â€“ The Spiderâ€™s Venomous Kiss

    ¡°Y- y- I will never spare¡­¡± Chu Tian clutched his wound and gazed at Xiao An, overcome by surprise and anger.

    If his arm had only been cut off, then it should not have been too great of an issue as long as he reattached it in time and underwent treatment. However, since it was destroyed, then it would be troublesome.

    Even for daemons with their vigorous life force, it would take quite the effort to regrow limbs. To humans with pitifully weak life force, it was extremely difficult, essentially impossible for it to self-heal.

    However, before Chu Tian could say much at all, Liu Zhangqing covered up his mouth and bowed. ¡°Greetings, Annihilum Light Chan Master.¡±

    Chu Tian was trying to declare revenge right in front of the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard against his beloved disciple. Even if buddhism was about benevolence, they were still fierce like guardian kings. Even if he killed Chu Tian on the spot with a palm strike, Liu Zhangqing would not be able to vent his grievances anywhere.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master nodded gently, and the shine in his eyes subsided. His expression immediately became blank, which happened to share some master-disciple resemblance with the always expressionless Xiao An.

    Liu Zhangqing let out a sigh of relief inside. If he were an elder of the Sword Collection palace, Chu Tian would have been a dead man already. If he came from the Umbral Yin sect, it would be even worse. Even his soul probably would have been taken away by now.

    The other cultivators around all went up and bowed too. This was the most basic courtesy they had to show towards cultivators of a higher realm. Surprised gazes all swept past Xiao An uncontrollably.

    For the entire time, everyone had treated divination as her greatest power. They did not place much focus on her strength.

    After all, a Heavenly Meridians prodigy was only worth something as a Qi Practitioner. Once they reached Foundation Establishment, they would be in an entirely different world. Only with today did they learn what the capable was almighty meant.

    Among them, Liu Zhangqing had personally taught Chu Tian the Palm of the Five Elements, so he understood the power of this cultivation method the most. Even he could not penetrate Chu Tian¡¯s Protection of the Five Elements so easily.

    The new was truly superseding and replacing the old. Geniuses would always emerge in swathes when the world was changing, becoming as numerous as schools of carp migrating. Ten years ago, Hua Chengzan had already been regarded as a startling genius. Talent like what Chu Tian possessed was already equivalent to one-in-a-century geniuses.

    Yet, under Xiao An¡¯s radiance, even Chu Tian was overshadowed. He had come for revenge, only to dig his own grave.

    ¡°Chu Tian, Chu Tian!¡± Liu Zhangqing was the first to notice that something was amiss. He called out his name several times, but Chu Tian did not respond. ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s suffering from qi deviation!¡±

    If handled well, simultaneous cultivation of the five elements resulted in mutual promotion of the five elements, but if handled badly, it resulted in mutual regulation. It was much easier for something to go wrong compared to practising a single type of spiritual qi. In the past, it had been relatively easy for Chu Tian to control five types of true qi with his Five Elements constitution. However, spiritual qi was different from true qi. After establishing a foundation, the advantages that came with a constitution diminished drastically. A much larger focus was placed on the cultivation of mentality and temperament.

    Chu Tian had always been a rash and short-tempered person. He had rushed over here for revenge the moment he succeeded with Foundation Establishment before becoming heavily injured and overwhelmed with anger. He had fluctuated between his positive and negative emotions far too quickly, which was beyond what his mind could withstand.

    Chu Tian¡¯s eyes were wide open. Although he did not faint, the flow of qi and blood in his body completely reverted, leaving him immobilised.

    Liu Zhangqing was afraid to recklessly suppress what was going on with his spiritual qi. He was afraid of setting off the five element spiritual qi in Chu Tian¡¯s body and making it become even more violent.

    ¡°Prefect Liu, hand him to me!¡± Ru Xin drifted over. With a wave of her hand, a large, green leaf lifted up Chu Tian. She prodded a few pressure points on his chest before returning to the academy.

    Everyone had become rather worried with what they saw. Qi deviation was a great menace among cultivators. Only heavenly tribulations were more threatening than that.

    Once they encountered that, their cultivation would regress drastically if they were lucky, or they would die on the spot if they were unlucky. Even if Chu Tian managed to keep his life intact, he was basically regarded as dead as a genius.

    From the beginning to the end, Xiao An did not even glance at Chu Tian. She had basically been expecting all of this with that strike of hers. Even if the Annihilum Light Chan Master had not interfered, she would never kill Chu Tian in front of so many people. That would lead to a lot of trouble.

    Chu Tian had not suffered from qi deviation just because of his rash and short-tempered mentality.

    There was basically nobody who understood the value of the body to a cultivator better than her. Having condensed flesh and blood and refined her body countless times, she possessed an extremely deep understanding of every single blood vessel and meridian that ran through the body.

    The human body was like a world, complete with yin, yang, and the five elements. Perhaps this object known as a vile skin-bag in buddhism was not as tough as the bodies of daemons, but it did hold a cultivator¡¯s soul. Once balance was lost in a certain part, resulting in damage, it would set off a chain of reactions.

    If a regular person lost an arm, they would be disabled at most, but to cultivators, particularly someone like Chu Tian who cultivated the five elements, the effects would be much more than that. She understood this the most as someone who practised seven types of spiritual qi.

    However, Chu Tian did lose his balance much faster than she had anticipated. But regardless, he would not be able to cause any more problems.

    There were many insightful and knowledgeable cultivators present, but no one had thought of this. Even Liu Zhangqing believed that Xiao An had only cut off Chu Tian¡¯s arm after being angered.

    This was because her behaviour the entire time seemed rather naive, or perhaps dim. She seemed like she had absolutely no concept of how to conduct herself. That was only because she basically never responded with emotions or feelings aside from when she was with Li Qingshan. Her ability to comprehend and her intelligence that even the black ox had praised had been completely unleashed.

    Ru Xin drifted away on the green leaf and glanced at Xiao An from afar. This child is a little terrifying!

    Xiao An dispersed her guardian king¡¯s avatar and brought her hands together, bowing towards the Annihilum Light Chan Master. ¡°Disciples One Will greets master.¡±

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master had no other reason for coming this time. He had been paying attention to the situation of the Clear River prefecture the entire time, and he had told Mind Enlightenment to constantly send him information regarding Xiao An.

    He had been prepared to take action the moment Xiao An reached Foundation Establishment.

    Foundation Establishment was only the foundations of a formal disciple in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Only with this foundation could they comprehend buddhist dharma of greater depth. However, reaching Foundation Establishment at such a young age was very rare even with the past disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in perspective.

    However, that happened to be when the war in the Clear River prefecture was most intense, with various people observing. It was inconvenient for him to directly fetch her, as it would weaken the strength of the human cultivators.

    He waited until the decisive battle between Li Qingshan and Fu Qingjin, when the chess game began showing signs of coming to an end. He rushed over immediately and ran into this out of pure coincidence, and he chose to watch on silently from the sky. He wanted to see what level the youngest disciple of his could reach after establishing a foundation.

    In the end, even his heart that had become as still as an ancient well began to ripple. He was quite overjoyed by this. If she had not been born with the roots of wisdom and a natural aptitude for buddhism, how could the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual transform like that? If it were not for the fact that the Green province had no esoteric buddhist sects, he basically would have suspected her to be the reincarnation of a certain eminent monk.

    Then, the Annihilum Light Chan Master said, ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered me with whether you¡¯re willing to return to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with me.¡±

    ¡°The chaos in the prefecture has yet come to an end. The daemons stand strong, and it is a deciding moment of the academy¡¯s fate. I am indebted to the school leaders¡¯ kindness, so I cannot leave right now. Please forgive me, master.¡±

    Xiao An said expressionlessly as she tried to think of a method to get away from everyone so that she could venture underground and lend Li Qingshan a hand.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master was present. No matter where she went, she would struggle to avoid his watch, and it would only lead to problems for Li Qingshan. If his identity were exposed, neither the Human nor Daemon race would accept him anymore. He would become a traitor spurned by both sides.

    This time, Li Qingshan was helpless. He could only rely on himself. Perhaps this had been his plan all along.

    Deeply entangled in the spider¡¯s web, Li Qingshan struggled as hard as he could. He possessed almost-divine strength that could split open mountains, yet he was unable to break free from the spider¡¯s web composed of thin strands of silk.

    A Daemon Commander¡¯s daemon qi flowed through them. Let alone the silk Lolth had spun with care, even a piece of rotten wood would become as tough as steel once imbued with a Daemon Commander¡¯s daemon qi.

    The Spider Queen was completely bare. She moved her perfect, slender legs and walked towards the intersection of the silk with her especially petite feet. The part between her legs was vaguely visible. Her dark hair flowed from her snowy shoulders, covering her proud, erect chest. The lingering charm that followed intercourse remained on her face.

    Her figure and posture was enough for most men in the world to throw themselves at her like moths to a flame. Even if they knew it would be certain death, they would still want to catch a whiff of her.

    ¡°Just stop struggling and save some strength. That way, I can still use you a few more times. Though, I¡¯ll have to eat your arms and legs first.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯ve already gotten slightly sick of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed loudly. The power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon filled his body, unleashing from every inch of muscle on him. The spider web trembled violently.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s expression changed, becoming twisted with fury. Who knew whether it was because of what Li Qingshan said or what he did, or perhaps a combination of the two.

    In that instant, she vanished from her location, lunging towards the centre of the web. It was better to describe her speed as instantaneous movement rather than lightning-fast.

    Her claws reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders at top speed. If she managed to gain a grasp, Li Qingshan would have to leave behind his forelimbs even if he objected. Otherwise, he would become wrapped up in close combat that he had no chance of winning.

    However, Li Qingshan seemed to be prepared. His right arm suddenly broke free from the web, directly hurling towards the Spider Queen¡¯s beautiful face.

    Li Qingshan had begun using the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression a long time ago to push his mental processes to a state of intricacy. In the moment the Spider Queen vanished, he experienced a strange sensation as if he could predict her next move. It did not come from close analysis. It was purely a feeling.

    With his punch, the Spider Queen¡¯s sudden lunge seemed more like delivering her face to his fist.

    Bang!

    However, Li Qingshan failed to achieve the intimate contact with her face as he wished.

    In that critical moment, the Spider Queen used her superior reaction to catch Li Qingshan¡¯s fist. A silvery-grey colour began to spread, dyeing her entire body rapidly, which made her seem like an exquisite metal sculpture.

    The power of Tremors of the Ox Demon produced cracks in her silver palm, but that was it.

    ¡°These puny tricks of yours only have some use in bed!¡± the Spider Queen said coldly, biting towards Li Qingshan¡¯s neck.

    This time, it was no longer a passionate kiss, an intense act of love. Instead, she wanted to inject venom directly into his body. This was completely different from the weak poison on her legs.

 Chapter 487 â€“ Facing the Spider Queen

    The constant warnings from the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had already become pointless. All it told Li Qingshan was, You can die at any time. Obviously, he knew that already. He needed no warning.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s venomous teeth were inches away, but her left hand maintained a firm grip over Li Qingshan¡¯s right fist, while her right hand grabbed his left shoulder like a vice, pushing him firmly against the web. He could not move.

    Li Qingshan could not dodge, nor could he escape. He could only take her on in a battle to the death.

    ¡°The Ox Demon Butts its Horns!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head. He completely unleashed the pair of sharp ox horns engraved with ¡°Northmoon¡±, butting towards the Spider Queen¡¯s throat.

    Even the Spider Queen was reluctant to clash with the toughest part of Li Qingshan¡¯s body. She tilted her head gently to avoid it. Although she had failed to deliver a venomous kiss as she wished, this was not enough for Li Qingshan to break out of the dire straits she had placed him in.

    The slender fingers on her right hand had already stabbed into Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. Crippling his arm was merely an issue of time. Simultaneously, eight legs turned into eight blurry shadows as they darted out from behind her.

    This time, they were not stabbing out, but ¡°embracing¡±. They were like eight extended arms, reaching around Li Qingshan and pulling him firmly into her arms.

    An enchanting smile that Li Qingshan found extremely familiar appeared on her silvery-grey face. It only appeared during the extreme pleasure of intercourse. If intercourse gave her physical pleasure, then she was experiencing mental pleasure currently. She was enjoying the primitive delight of hunting prey as a predator, but it made her seem especially cold and eerie.

    Once she embraces me, I probably won¡¯t be able to break free ever again! I refuse to believe my innate ability only has a use in bed. Tremors of the Ox Demon, shatter!

    Li Qingshan unleashed as much of the power of tremors as he could again. He felt like thousands of zither strings had snapped on him as the tough spider web finally ripped apart from the vibrations.

    He used all of his strength to forcefully wrench his fist back from the Spider Queen¡¯s hand. A few streaks of blood spattered from his shoulder, now with five additional bloody holes. He had directly abandoned a portion of his flesh.

    Finally, his body was free once more. He fell downwards, and the wings of wind unfurled to their full extent, sweeping downwards like wind blades.

    However, Li Qingshan had already achieved his objective. He had widened the distance between them with a flap of his wings.

    The wings of wind condensed once more and flapped desperately, rushing downwards as quickly as they could.

    Fortunately, the Spider Queen was not particularly proficient at moving through the air. This was expected; after all, she was a daemon that lived underground.

    The Spider Queen flipped in the air and landed on the vertical wall dexterously, running downwards along the wall.

    Each step she took would blast open a gaping hole in the wall. Using this to advance, she accelerated instantaneously, turning into a silverish-grey shadow. She completely shook off the rising dust and falling rocks behind her.

    As the king of the underground world, she had never required the ability of flight in the first place.

    In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance between them once more. The Spider Queen smiled at Li Qingshan and opened her mouth, spitting out swathes of silk that rapidly fell towards Li Qingshan.

    If Li Qingshan dodged, then the web would unfurl beneath him and trap him once again. However, he came up with a plan with only a single thought. Taking in a deep breath, he opened his mouth wide and whistling gales surged out violently like a passing typhoon.

    The spider web was extremely tough, difficult to break with brute strength alone, but it was exceedingly light. It began to shift from the fierce gales or open up prematurely.

    Li Qingshan used this breath of his to widen the distance between them once again.

    With a great boom, he travelled through several thousand meters and struck the bottom in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan came to a halt.

    How could the Spider Queen let such a good opportunity slip by? Suddenly, she stopped and bent her slender legs, like springs being pushed to the limit. She unleashed all of her power abruptly and shot downwards like a silver streak.

    At this moment, she had completely lost interest in fooling around anymore. To be able to escape from her hands consecutively, he possessed strength that definitely did not belong to a mere Daemon General. He basically showed signs of crossing the chasm between Daemon General and Daemon Commander.

    Not only did he have numerous innate abilities, but he also grew at a startling rate. If she allowed him to continue growing, eating him would become more and more difficult. She definitely could not allow him to escape again. She had to trap him in spider silk as soon as she caught him, and then she could deal with him slowly!

    This thought flashed through her head. Suddenly, she saw a scarlet figure appear on a spiral staircase on the side. It leapt up and lunged over. Its scarlet hair and eyes were exactly the same as Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    The Spider Queen was slightly taken aback before realising this was his mirror clone.

    Li Qingshan had already begun mobilising his mirror clone to set up an ambush the moment he entered the Spider Queen¡¯s chambers. He had been waiting for this moment.

    The mirror clone was much slower than his original body, so he had it lying in ambush here. Moreover, it had launched an attack when the Spider Queen had struck out with full strength, when she was unable to maneuver freely.

    The Spider Queen did not dodge, but she did raise a hand and grab the mirror clone¡¯s head. Her fingers dug in viciously, and with a crack, blood began to flow.

    Li Qingshan felt his head ache. His mirror clone and he had always been sharing the same mind. It was not a regular clone; instead, it was equivalent to another body of his.

    There was absolutely no time to use daemon qi to repair the mirror clone. The crushed head of the mirror clone shattered like a watermelon as blood and brains scattered everywhere.

    The sensation was absolutely horrible.

    But at last, he had stalled the Spider Queen for a moment. By the time she looked over again, Li Qingshan had already vanished. A hole the size of a person appeared in his place.

    ¡°You think you can escape?¡± The Spider Queen sneered and rushed into the hole as well.

    Soil squeezed inwards from all directions. The path ahead had also been sealed. She was unable to sense Li Qingshan¡¯s aura at all.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s eyes lit up, and four halos appeared in her eyes. Her gaze immediately penetrated the rock and soil, seeing where Li Qingshan was.

    Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you won¡¯t be able to escape from me.

    She began to circulate her daemon qi, smashing through the rock and soil in direct pursuit. At her level of cultivation, an obstruction of soil was almost no different from air or water. She could easily carve out a path.

    The thick soil and rocks parted to the two sides in front of Li Qingshan before closing up again behind him. After reaching the fourth layer of the ox demon, his usage of the power of tremors had increased in intricacy, and he vaguely gained some ability to control earth.

    Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core in his belly shrank before he knew it. The daemon core was of the earth element, so the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core composed purely of the water element could not absorb it. Instead, it had merged with his body, making him even tougher.

    After digging who knew how deep, he became surrounded in thick earth all around. The tremendous, venomous daemon qi behind him rapidly drew closer.

    Finally, Li Qingshan stopped, turned around, and faced the incoming daemon qi.

    His battle spirit began to rouse!

    He did not want to flee either! Fleeing blindly would only prevent the tiger demon from freely unleashing its murderousness, making it even more impossible to break through to the fourth layer.

    He was choosing an appropriate place to fight, as well as waiting for an appropriate moment for battle.

    Now, it was here. It was time.

    Come, ma¡¯am Spider Queen!

    I¡¯ll have you witness the power of your child¡¯s father!

    Although the earth was not a particularly effective obstacle to the Spider Queen, it was like a human swimming through water; it would not be as easy as walking along the ground. Her speed would still be affected to a certain degree.

    By now, the smile on her face had already vanished completely. It had been replaced with vicious, terrifying killing intent. Although she enjoyed the process of hunting prey, if the prey managed to escape too far away, the predator would only appear to be incompetent.

    Suddenly, she saw Li Qingshan stop.

    ¡°Have you finally given up on the pointless struggle?¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s voice reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears through the thick earth.

    Li Qingshan instead made his way towards her. His expression was calm and composed as he said, ¡°The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud. As long as I still have a shred of strength left, I will continue my struggle forever, even if I am in dire straits, even if I have no chance at victory!¡± He smiled and changed the topic. ¡°Not to mention that I already have a thirty percent chance at victory now.¡±

    ¡°What? Thirty percent? Are my ears deceiving me? Do you really think you have a geographical advantage by remaining in the soil?¡±

    The Spider Queen sneered. Her hand shining with a silvery-grey lustre pierced the earth easily. With her five fingers together, she stabbed it towards Li Qingshan¡¯s heart like a sharp blade.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s response, unsurprisingly and simply, was a punch. But this time, he did not use the Tremors of the Ox Daemon. He even purposefully minimised the consumption of daemon qi, using the strength of his body alone.

    And, his fist did not pierce the rock and soil like the Spider Queen¡¯s attack. Instead, earth began to amass in layers on the fist, like a huge, heavy glove. However, the power and speed behind the punch did not decrease at all.

    As a result, the Spider Queen only saw a huge boulder amassed from earth hurtling towards her, but she completely ignored it. Her hand cut through Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°glove¡± easily, and using her superior speed, she skimmed past the punch and stabbed towards Li Qingshan¡¯s heart with great precision.

    As for the incoming rock, it crumbled as soon as it made contact with her silvery-grey skin, unable to pose a threat at all.

    Since she knew Li Qingshan¡¯s strength was relatively greater, there was obviously no reason for her to take on his attacks openly. All she needed to do was use her superior speed and reactions to gain an absolute upper hand.

    Even if Li Qingshan could predict her next move, she could react in time and block his attack or avoid his defences. Although they were deep underground, his disadvantageous circumstances did not seem to change at all.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s sharp, red nails came in contact with the skin on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. All she needed to do was push a little harder, and it would pierce him through the heart. A hand extended over from the side suddenly and gripped her wrist firmly.

 Chapter 488 â€“ Back to the Wall

    It was just fish swimming through water. No matter how fast or nimble they were, they would always cause disturbances in the water.

    However, Li Qingshan did not use these ¡°disturbances¡± to deduce her location. Instead, he directly fused with the earth. When she split open the earth, he could grasp the trajectory of her movements with how the earth shifted. Naturally, his reactions became slightly faster.

    His strength seems to have increased. My strength is already regarded as rather powerful among Daemon Commanders. That means he has indeed reached the realm of Daemon Commanders in a certain aspect. Is this all really because of his bloodline as a descendant?

    The Spider Queen pulled her hand back, but it failed to budge, which left her slightly surprised.

    One of the two major innate abilities that came with the fourth layer of the ox demon, the Strength of the Earth, had changed before he knew it.

    If the thick earth only served as a powerful backing to him in the past, then he now seemed to have merged with it, with strength flowing through him at all times. It was as if he could continue fighting for eternity.

    ¡°Hmph, you want to engage in close combat with me? You¡¯re digging your own grave!¡± The Spider Queen made use of the situation to advance boldly.

    In that instant, Li Qingshan¡¯s pupils became clear. The boundless sea in his pupils clearly reflected the Spider Queen¡¯s figure. All he saw was an image of a slender, silvery-grey blur sweeping towards his waist like a battle-axe.

    He could even estimate the power of this strike. His kidney would definitely become heavily injured.

    Yet, the Spider Queen had only just begun lifting her leg.

    Li Qingshan rejoiced slightly. The spirit turtle possessed the ability to divine the future and foresee danger.

    However, after reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, he had never come across any opponents that had forced him into such dire straits. As a result, this power had never been unleashed.

    Only during this battle today did this feeling become clearer and clearer between the constant life-threatening danger.

    Sure enough, people were made with pressure. Daemons were also made with pressure.

    Speaking positively, the spirit turtle was obviously a divine beast that pursued good fortune and avoided disaster. Speaking negatively, it was just a coward, afraid of death and fleeing in the sight of danger, avoiding all threads of karma and taking on absolutely no risk at all.

    Boom!

    The Spider Queen¡¯s foot landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s hand!

    The Ox Demon Butts its Horns!

    Li Qingshan produced a crazy howl that resembled both an ox and a tiger. Using both hands, he forcefully dragged the Spider Queen over and lowered his head to butt her.

    Boom!

    The Spider Queen twisted her body. The free foot stamped viciously on Li Qingshan¡¯s head, kicking off to free her arm and leg and using the force to fly off. The tremendous shockwave pushed aside all the soil beside them, creating a small cavern.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head spun. Although the skull was the toughest part of him, he still experienced splitting pain after taking on a kick from her. He shook his head hard and laughed wildly. ¡°Once I defeat you, I¡¯ll fuck you again!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s quite arrogant of you!¡± the Spider Queen barked furiously, but she felt surprised inside.

    What was going on? She clearly still possessed the upper hand. She had even landed a kick on him earlier, so why was he becoming even more arrogant and fearless? He did not behave like he had a thirty percent chance at victory, but rather that victory was already within his grasp. Did he have some sort of powerful trump card?

    ¡°An old brother of mine once told me that if I don¡¯t even have the courage to say a few bold words, I might as well go back to farm work!¡±

    Li Qingshan had no trump card at all. He only felt extremely delighted. He was fighting the terrifying Spider Queen underground, beyond the light of day. If he lost, then only death would await him. If he won, there would be quite an impressive reward.

    Even if he could spend an entire life in the mountain village peacefully and happily, it would not be able to compare to the glory of this moment. He had cast the issue of death aside a long time ago. Right now, he was merely enjoying himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re just bluffing!¡±

    The Spider Queen sneered. Her silvery-grey body vanished and appeared before Li Qingshan. She raised her arms high into the air as eight shadows whistled over.

    Every single part of her body¡ªher hands, legs, knees, and elbows¡ªcould be unleashed as lethal weapons. Like a heavy storm, it landed on Li Qingshan. His head, chest, belly, and legs were basically attacked at the same time.

    Li Qingshan lost his senses that came with the earth. Even if he could predict the Spider Queen¡¯s movements, his reactions could not keep up with the Spider Queen¡¯s responses.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Thunderous rumbles constantly erupted on Li Qingshan¡¯s body. The force leaked into the surroundings. Just when the cavern began showing signs of collapse, it was immediately crushed and made even tougher.

    The eight legs danced about as messy shadows, leaving behind wound after wound on Li Qingshan¡¯s tough skin. In the blink of an eye, toxins ate away the wounds, turning them horrifically bone-deep.

    A silvery-grey shadow circled around Li Qingshan, ripping off chunks of his flesh and devouring it. All Li Qingshan could do was barely guard his vital points.

    However, his wild laughter had never stopped.

    Ignoring his wound-ridden body, he refused to let a single opportunity to attack slip by with the spirit turtle¡¯s predictions, barraging the Spider Queen¡¯s body as if he wanted to trade injuries with her.

    The Spider Queen endured a few punches too, but her response was nothing special, as not only were his punches without any innate abilities, he had not even used daemon qi. It was only brute force.

    After another series of clashes, the Spider Queen pulled back.

    ¡°What, are you tired? Keep going!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked. He no longer had a single piece of his body intact. Cracks riddled even his bones inside. It was impossible to connect his face to the concept of handsomeness anymore.

    His left cheek had completely collapsed¡ªthe result of a side kick. As for his right face, it was even more terrifying. The venom had eaten away at it, leaving his gums and teeth completely exposed.

    His throat gurgled as if he was laughing, but he could no longer use his facial muscles to express this feeling. Only his eyes continued to shine as he stared at the Spider Queen.

    He was right. The Spider Queen did feel slightly exhausted. Even with her powerful body as a Daemon Commander, it was impossible for her to maintain such intense attacks. She gazed at Li Qingshan and thought to herself doubtfully, Isn¡¯t he tired?

    The part that astounded her the most was not even this. His reactions and speed seemed to be gradually increasing, and he was extremely sensitive to lethal attacks. He would often be able to dodge in the most effective way in the critical moment and avoid lethal wounds.

    Of course, the price for that was often a horrific wound. If it were not for the fact that the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had replaced the function of most organs, he would have collapsed already.

    ¡°Why should I waste energy on a corpse?¡±

    The Spider Queen sneered. Her venom had already invaded every part of his body. Although the venom in her legs was not as potent as what she could directly inject him with, it was still relatively terrifying when it built up bit by bit.

    Now, she only needed to wait for the venom to kick in and completely destroy Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    ¡°Then you might be disappointed.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    At this moment, Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core that Li Qingshan struggled to digest in his belly suddenly erupted with rings of greyish yellow light.

    The Strength of the Earth was an ability that connected with the boundless will of the earth, and this earth element daemon core was condensed from the essence of the earth. Normally, it would not be easy for him to digest it.

    But at this moment, when his body was on the verge of collapse, the earth all around him provided aid to him, the child of the earth on the brink of death.

    Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core began to respond too, spinning around and releasing waves of daemon qi that merged with his body.

    His wounds recovered at a visible rate. Black, poisoned blood flowed out from them. The residual poison no longer posed as too much of a problem, as after digesting Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core, his body had become stronger and stronger.

    The Spider Queen could not help but be taken aback. She did not know about Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core. She thought Li Qingshan had been hiding an ability that could heal his wounds.

    ¡°What, are you done resting? Or have you used up all your strength in bed and no longer possess the energy to fight? If that¡¯s the case, you might as well just bend over!¡±

    Li Qingshan twisted his head. With a crack, he moved a few dislocated vertebrae back into place. As he smiled viciously, his eyes gradually went from being scarlet to blood-red.

    As he devoured Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core, the killing intent in the daemon core completely erupted all at once.

    In his sea of consciousness, the tiger demon roared wildly and bounded about, becoming larger and larger and filling his entire sea of consciousness. It brandished its teeth and claws as it broke out, like it had broken out of a cage.

    A tiger¡¯s markings appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. His long canines protruded, and his hands turned into tiger claws. A tiger tail dragged behind him, waving around like a steel whip. He had turned into a humanoid tiger.

    Wondrously, his mind became exceptionally clear in that moment, as if his soul had been projected from his body, gazing over himself from above.

    Li Qingshan arched his back and bent over. His murderousness and killing intent was completely withdrawn, like a vicious tiger about to pounce onto its prey. There were no singing birds or chirping insects. The entire forest fell silent.

    This is my best opportunity at breaking through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon. Once I fail, I don¡¯t have a second daemon core to heal myself-

    His thoughts came to a halt. Violent killing intent dominated everything.

    Roar!

    With a tiger¡¯s roar, his murderousness skyrocketed!

    The Spider Queen could not help but take a step back before feeling deeply humiliated. Had a mere Daemon General frightened her? Even if you recover a hundred times, I¡¯ll defeat you a hundred and one times. No, this time, I¡¯ll kill you here.

    Her layered pupils locked onto the incoming Li Qingshan. She opened her mouth slightly, but silk did not spray out immediately. Instead, she paused for a moment to build up daemon qi. Just how powerful would an attack be when even she needed to build up to it?

    In that instant, thousands of strands of silk emerged from her vermillion lips.

    Her spider silk had previously managed to pierce the arcane artifact, the Bronze Cauldron of the Four Cardinal Directions, and kill the sect master of Bronze Cauldron mountain inside. Its penetrative power was so great that it was even sharper than the Green Ruins sword that Fu Qingjin wielded.

 Chapter 489 â€“ The Fourth Layer of the Tiger Demon

    Once she lost that component, all that remained for her to do was ¡°eat¡±. However, before she ate, she still wanted to have some fun. She wanted to cut off his limbs and treat him as a toy in bed. After all, prey that could satisfy her desires were simply too rare.

    As a result, she had never really planned on killing him, which was why Li Qingshan had managed to last until now. If she tried to kill him right from the beginning, perhaps it would have been completely impossible for Li Qingshan to burrow into the ground alive.

    The close combat earlier seemed extremely intense, but she had plenty of opportunities and methods to kill Li Qingshan. But that way, it would be very difficult for her to control her power. It was possible for her to kill him directly, and if she forced him into dire straits, it was possible for him to directly blow up his daemon core.

    It was exactly because of these various considerations that she had chosen the unwise plan of wasting away Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi and physical strength. By then, it would already be too late if he wanted to blow up his daemon core.

    However, the situation did not unfold as she had expected. Not only did Li Qingshan avoid being worn out, but he even riled up in vigour instead and used his daemon qi extremely conservatively.

    The situation was becoming complicated, which was rather disadvantageous to her.

    Of course, that was all, just disadvantageous.

    She recovered from her exhaustion in a single breath. Although she had depleted a lot of daemon qi, it recovered quickly too.

    Most importantly, she had decided to ¡°kill¡± at this moment.

    The moment she made up her mind, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core in Li Qingshan¡¯s body gave off a stern warning. It was almost an omen of death.

    The strands of spider silk all flew over. Li Qingshan could not make any response in time. No matter what action he took, he could not avoid the fate of becoming riddled with holes.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out and hexagonal pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell layered in front of him.

    Time seemed to slow down. A ripple seemed to be produced as each strand of silk came in contact with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, but it was impossible to discern because hundreds of strands struck the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell at the same time.

    Instead of being penetrated, it was probably better to describe the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell as being annihilated.

    The silk was not as light as the spider web, which could have been blown away with fierce gales.

    The other side of the thousands of strands of silk were still attached to the Spider Queen¡¯s mouth as she constantly channeled in daemon qi. Let alone fierce gales, even axe-swings could not make a single strand budge.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was destroyed layer after layer. Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi plummeted as the strands arrived right in front of him.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    With a pair of blood-red eyes, Li Qingshan punched out again and again, using the Tremors of the Ox Demon to snap all the silk.

    However, the silk strands were endless. At a time like this, even if he wanted to turn around and flee, it would be too late.

    Innate abilities consumed daemon qi extremely rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the daemon qi that Li Qingshan had conserved arduously the entire time so that he could use it at a critical juncture had almost run out.

    Yet, all the Spider Queen did was stand there, constantly spitting out silk. With this move alone, she had pushed Li Qingshan into unprecedented danger.

    This move, the Myriad Threads, also took quite the toll on her. However, as a Daemon Commander, both the quality and quantity of her daemon qi and her recovery rate was well beyond what a Daemon General could match.

    In a battle that purely depended on daemon qi consumption, the outcome went completely without saying.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi had almost run out, but he continued to hold on without any intentions of blowing up his daemon core, the Spider Queen¡¯s bright, red lips curled into a victorious smile. His desire to survive was much greater than what she had imagined. If she had known this earlier, she would have never held back in the beginning.

    If this continued, she would achieve her original objective. Subduing a Daemon General who had run out of daemon qi was extremely simple.

    Li Qingshan threw another punch, but there were no shockwaves anymore. His daemon qi had finally run out.

    In that instant, thousands of threads pierced and swallowed him, pushing him until he slammed into the wall behind. He could not move anymore.

    The Spider Queen breathed in gently. Her skin went from silvery-grey back to the smooth, snowy-white. As her plump hips swayed from side to side, she arrived before the humanoid figure that had been completely covered in webs.

    With a wave of her hand, Li Qingshan¡¯s face appeared without the slightest injury.

    In the final moment, she had shifted the threads that shot towards his head, just in case she killed him. Of course, she avoided a certain part down below too.

    Apart from those two parts, his body had been completely penetrated by threads, whether it was his limbs or organs. He was like an insect that had been nailed down by thousands of thin needles, completely immobilised. Even blowing up his daemon core had been reduced to a wild wish.

    At this moment, even if he broke through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, it would be too late.

    The Spider Queen gently caressed Li Qingshan¡¯s handsome face before suddenly landing a slap on his cheek, leaving behind a clear palm print. Then she lifted him by the chin and said, ¡°Now, who¡¯s fucking who?¡±

    ¡°Me fucking you obviously!¡± Before Li Qingshan could finish, there was a smack, and he was slapped across the face again. His face turned and his scarlet hair flew into the air.

    Li Qingshan continued to smile viciously despite facing absolute despair.

    He had already used all of his tricks. He had already tried everything he could and did everything he could. When he had completely refined Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core, when he had the greatest hope of breaking through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, all of it had ended in failure before he could even launch a single attack back.

    If he had succeeded, all of this would have been different!

    However, there were no ifs in life.

    The killing intent from Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core receded like the tide, only leaving behind the bitterness of failure. Sure enough, fate never went along with plans!

    Hah, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m the Hegemon King of Chu. If my strength is insufficient, then my strength is insufficient. Why should I blame fate?

    Do I feel despair? Perhaps!

    However, as long he was still alive, even for a second, he would continue struggling until the end. He gazed at the Spider Queen with shining eyes. He did not spit a mouthful of bloody saliva towards her like those revolutionaries. Instead, he calmly tried to put up a struggle, but it was still futile.

    Although the Strength of the Earth continued to replenish his physical strength endlessly, every inch of his muscle had already been pierced by the threads. They no longer listened to him. He could not even move his little finger.

    The Spider Queen admired this sight in satisfaction. She had finally subdued this stubborn beast. There had never been a prey that made her so excited before.

    A hand landed on him below, fiddling around it gently. She licked his face with the tip of her bright-red tongue and whispered into his ear, ¡°Serve me well and I¡¯ll let you live a little longer. If you can satisfy me, I might even spare your life, so you can continue leading the night roamers and serve me diligently.¡±

    To those in despair, nothing was more tempting than hope, just like how drowning people would even desperately clutch at a straw.

    Giving him a shred of hope, taming him bit by bit before killing him in the most brutal fashion possible. This was the fate she had set up for him. Only like that could her anger be pacified.

    ¡°I still have something on me that your silk can¡¯t pierce.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My bones.¡±

    The bones throughout Li Qingshan¡¯s body could truly be described as the toughest part of him. Even the unstoppable spider silk could only pierce his skin and flesh, forced to bypass the bones.

    At this moment, inspiration suddenly flashed through his head.

    Even in death, the tiger¡¯s bones stand!

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll break them personally,¡± the Spider Queen said viciously. Abruptly, she saw Li Qingshan shudder and move, leaving her slightly surprised.

    ¡°Even if all my limbs and organs have been pierced, my bones can still move.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan¡¯s bones began to move. Indescribable agony filled every inch of him. All of his flesh that the spider silk had nailed down was being tugged at, but it did not budge. It was as if he was trying to forcefully separate his bones from his flesh.

    Blood flowed along the strands, drenching the ground in the blink of an eye.

    Even the torture of death through slow slicing felt enjoyable compared to this.

    The Spider Queen smiled again. She enjoyed this kind of death struggle in the face of despair the most, but Li Qingshan¡¯s expression left her rather dissatisfied.

    His face did not become twisted from the pain. Instead, it smiled. He thought of a person.

    Probably only that mad woman Qian Rongzhi can endure something like this. I won¡¯t lose to her. No, I won¡¯t lose to myself!

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan felt like he had been filled with wisdom. All became clear.

    I understand!

    The figure of the tiger demon appeared in his sea of consciousness again, continuing to howl at the sky. There were clearly no enemies around it, yet it waved its claws and brandished its teeth as if it was fighting something invisible, as if killing intent had filled its mind, sinking into a frenzy.

    The Tiger Demon Forges its Bones, with a Frenzied Heart!

    But this time, Li Qingshan saw something completely different. The tiger demon did not fight in a frenzy without knowing who its opponent was.

    Even if the world was destroyed, even if it killed all life, it would only have one eternal enemy¡ªitself.

    If it could not defeat itself, no matter how many opponents it defeated, it was still weak.

    Those who dominate others are strong, but those who overcome themselves have strength.

    In order to defeat this enemy forever, all it could do was fight constantly, again and again, to defeat fear, to defeat pain, to defeat setbacks, and to defeat challenges.

    Even if it forgot about everything and sank into madness, it could not stop.

    I thought the fourth layer of the tiger demon was the same as the three previous layers, only requiring the external pressure of survival and death to stimulate my killing intent and potential for a breakthrough. But that¡¯s not true. This is the tiger demon¡¯s true reason for fighting endlessly.

    In the instant Li Qingshan came to this realisation, an intense aura of malice rushed out of his body. It was so wild and so violent that he seemed like he wanted to challenge the world.

    The Spider Queen was slightly shocked, taking a step back, but she felt no humiliation. She could clearly feel that Li Qingshan had made another breakthrough, like a demonic blade released from its seal. She actually felt danger.

    However, she soon relaxed again and smiled in a self-deprecating manner. He was heavily injured and without a shred of daemon qi. Even if he broke through, how was he supposed to escape from her hands?

    As if Li Qingshan was responding to her thoughts, daemon qi flowed into him from nowhere.

 Chapter 490 â€“ Iâ€™m Very Vengeful

    It was the power of belief in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    The reason why Li Qingshan had not used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation the entire time was not because he was saving it, having anticipated he would break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon at this moment. Instead, given the situation earlier, even if he converted all of his power of belief into daemon qi, it would only help him last a little longer at most.

    Compared to that, he was better off saving it and coming up with a way to transform this all-capable Divine Talisman of Great Creation into a final safeguard. Finally, it came into extraordinary use.

    The Spider Queen sensed that something was amiss. She swung her hand towards Li Qingshan¡¯s neck, even turning silvery-grey in the process, wanting to directly behead him.

    Li Qingshan twisted his head and caught her wrist in his mouth. A shining, scarlet pupil on his turned head stared at the Spider Queen.

    The Spider Queen felt her wrist ache, slightly shaken up. She felt something had already changed.

    This time, not only could Li Qingshan keep up with her speed, but his sharp teeth could even pierce her silvery-grey skin. The taste of blood flooded his mouth. It was particularly sweet.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The Spider Queen was furious. Her left hand grabbed his head and her fingers dug in. Li Qingshan¡¯s head was about to suffer the same fate as his mirror clone.

    However, she failed to pierce anything this time.

    The Tiger Demon Forges its Bones. When Li Qingshan broke through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, his skeleton underwent another process of forging, becoming even tougher and harder than before. His bones were naturally strengthened too.

    However, he was still immobilised. Even though he unleashed the power of tremors to shake off everything around him the instant his daemon qi recovered, he still could not shake apart several thousand threads in a short while.

    She had failed to achieve anything with two consecutive strikes, and the opponent was immobilised the entire time. This left the Spider Queen alarmed and furious. She pulled back, and after a slight pause, thousands of silk strands sprayed out from her mouth, shooting towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    He was unable to move his arms, so he could not disperse the threads with his fists like earlier. If he forcefully tried to block with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, it would fall and collapse in only a few seconds.

    Li Qingshan seemed to be done for, unable to escape this time around. However, he grinned wildly as he performed the same action as the Spider Queen, opening his mouth and sucking in hard.

    However, what he spat out was not silk, but a stream of air that went on to receive the silk.

    The strands scattered everywhere as soon as they came into contact with this stream of air.

    The fourth layer was an extremely important layer. Among the three cultivation methods that Li Qingshan possessed, the spirit turtle and ox demon had both undergone startling changes with the fourth layer.

    Of course, this might have been a false impression of his. Perhaps his powers would undergo a natural evolution once they had accumulated to a certain degree. Regardless, with the breakthrough to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, the two innate abilities corresponding to the tiger demon both evolved.

    The stream of air was none other than one of the first innate abilities he had comprehended, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar.

    With the Ox Demon Tramples successfully shedding its status of a ¡°useless ability¡±, it had never been able to change, and its power was barely satisfactory too, so it became the ability that Li Qingshan used the least.

    But at this moment, there were not any wild, whistling winds anymore. All the power had been condensed, turning into a stream of air as thick as an arm. It no longer seemed as powerful as before.

    However, the sharpness it contained even outmatched Fu Qingjin¡¯s sword qi, which was why it could scatter and rip the Spider Queen¡¯s silk.

    Calling it the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar was no longer appropriate. Just like how the Ox Demon Tramples had become the Tremors of the Ox Demon, he could call this move the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath from now on!

    He¡¯s able to conceal his aura. He definitely must have hidden a portion of his daemon qi earlier, fooling me and preventing me from noticing. Northmoon, I refuse to believe your daemon qi is endless.

    That was how the Spider Queen thought. She went with the same tactic as before and spat out spider silk endlessly, but she made up her mind to give him absolutely no more opportunities. She would not stop until he was completely dead.

    The breath and the silk constantly collided, one wearing away the other and producing an ear-splitting noise, like a thousand zithers plucked at the same time, resulting in a chaotic symphony.

    The drifting silk was tossed around, slicing past the walls and digging in deeply. The ceiling was sliced apart and boulders fell in thunderously. As they landed on the breath one by one, they were silently cut into two.

    Compared to the Tremors of the Ox Demon, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath was without a doubt much more effective at obliterating the spider silk, but it also depleted daemon qi. Most of the daemon qi that Li Qingshan had completely replenished moments earlier had been depleted before long.

    However, unbeknownst to the Spider Queen, Li Qingshan¡¯s trump card, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, could endlessly replenish his daemon qi. He was not afraid of using it up at all.

    Gradually, the Spider Queen began to grow frantic. Less than thirty percent of her daemon qi remained.

    Right from the beginning of the battle, her daemon qi had not been at a hundred percent. In pursuit of extreme pleasure in bed, she had allowed Li Qingshan to use the Tremors of the Ox Demon to directly wreak havoc in her body.

    Perhaps a single tremor was nothing to her, but after countless times, the accumulated damage was no longer a small deal. It depleted twenty percent of her daemon qi for recovery.

    She thought that ten or twenty percent of daemon qi should have made no difference at all. She would not even have to use ten percent of her daemon qi to deal with Li Qingshan. However, during the battle that came after, Li Qingshan was an unexpectedly difficult opponent. Yet now, his daemon qi seemed endless.

    Just what is going on? Is he really just a Daemon General?

    Finally, all the spider silk in Li Qingshan¡¯s body snapped. He shuddered once more, and all of it flew out like needles as he broke free from the restraint.

    The Strength of the Earth immediately came into effect. The wounds that riddled his bright-red heart gradually closed up, and it began to beat once more. Thousands of needles piercing him was brutal, but it was relatively easy to recover from.

    Pulses of water spiritual qi surged out from his sea of qi, filling his body. The cool, comforting sensation immediately stopped the pain. Although he was afraid of using spiritual qi carelessly in front of the Spider Queen, it was fine if he only used it inside his body.

    Depleting all of his spiritual qi, a high-spirited, unscathed Li Qingshan stood before the Spider Queen once more. He stopped the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath and laughed wildly. ¡°I¡¯ll fuck you right now!¡±

    The Spider Queen felt like she was trapped in a ridiculous dream. No matter how many times she knocked him down, he would always be able to stand up again and challenge her.

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, the incoming silk seemed to have slowed down all of a sudden. He bent over slightly, and the spider silk flew past his face.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s eyes shone. The spider silk suddenly changed in direction, sweeping over like snakes.

    Li Qingshan swung his hand conveniently and cut through the silk with his sharp tiger claws. Just when he wanted to lunge towards the Spider Queen, he suddenly came to a halt and leapt up gently. Countless strands of silk shot past beneath him.

    It seemed like a white snake had abruptly raised its head and looped back around, lunging towards him with its huge mouth.

    Li Qingshan came to a halt. His claws danced wildly in a flurry and ripped the silk apart. Then, he spat out another stream of air. The air swam around him like a snake, shaking off any incoming strands of silk that wanted to use the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

    Li Qingshan was like a vicious tiger running and turning within a thick forest knit from spider silk. None of the vegetation could touch him.

    The Spider Queen was stunned. The speed and agility Li Qingshan currently displayed seemed to be completely on par with hers.

    He was a Daemon General with¡­ the strength of a Daemon Commander, the speed of a Daemon Commander, and the reactions of a Daemon Commander?

    A while later, the Spider Queen¡¯s daemon qi dropped to twenty percent. She finally stopped spitting silk.

    Li Qingshan used this opportunity to lunge at the Spider Queen, but he saw a sinister smile appear on her face.

    Reel it in!

    With a thought, a huge web spun from countless strands of silk emerged from the rock and soil, closing around Li Qingshan from all directions.

    A while earlier, when her threads clashed with Li Qingshan¡¯s breath, countless strands of silk had been knocked away, deeply embedded into the surrounding walls.

    She did not abandon these threads. Instead, she controlled the threads, weaving them together. She was like a spider patiently weaving a web and waiting for prey to fall into it.

    Li Qingshan responded immediately. A stream of air struck the web, but it only caused a ripple. He punched out again and again, but the power of tremors struggled to tear through the web too.

    Every single thread that went into the web was as thick as a finger, composed of immeasurable strands of silk. It was much tougher than any web she could casually spit out. Once caught, even if he possessed endless power, even with his Tremors of the Ox Demon, it would be impossible for him to break free.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out and countless hexagonal pieces formed a sphere, holding back the web.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how long you can last!¡± The Spider Queen sneered. She drew in her hand, and the web tightened. Cracks immediately appeared on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell as the threads dug in. It was as if the shell could shatter in the next moment.

    ¡°Are you prepared?¡± Li Qingshan laughed wildly.

    ¡°What?¡± The Spider Queen furrowed her brows.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Li Qingshan studied her snow-white body, and his eyes shone with an abusive light. He was about to return all the oppression and humiliation he had gone through.

    ¡°You¡¯re dreaming!¡± the Spider Queen barked. The web tightened, and with a crack, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell became riddled with fractures.

    ¡°In truth, I discovered your scheme a long time ago. How could you fool me with everything that goes on in the earth?¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    ¡°If you discovered it, why didn¡¯t you flee?¡± The Spider Queen was unconvinced, but she could not help but become doubtful inside.

    ¡°I was afraid you might flee.¡± Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a flaw with this web.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered loudly.

    Li Qingshan raised a finger. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    The Spider Queen only vaguely saw two violent blasts of air from Li Qingshan¡¯s back. He vanished in that instant.

    She was alarmed, but by the time she had responded, it was already too late. Li Qingshan crashed into her with the web.

 Chapter 491 â€“ I Said I Would and I Will

    This feeling had been with her from the day she gained intelligence until the day she broke through to Daemon Commander. After all these years, no one, nothing, had managed to make her feel fear again.

    Have I been defeated? No, how can I be defeated?!

    The Spider Queen began to struggle desperately. She grabbed his arms and lifted her leg, kicking him in the back.

    Li Qingshan smiled viciously. He weighed heavily on the Spider Queen¡¯s snow-white body like a mountain. No matter how she struggled, she did not budge at all.

    His arms became riddled with bloody marks, and his back ached from the kick. However, her attacks had ceased to be as sharp as they were in the beginning. They seemed rather powerless.

    Having battled until now, the Spider Queen¡¯s daemon qi was on the verge of running out, and exhaustion filled her entire body. Her strength was no longer as great as when she first started off.

    As for Li Qingshan¡¯s body, it had become stronger after breaking through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon. He had also used the power of belief to constantly replenish his daemon qi. Due to the Strength of the Earth, he felt no exhaustion at all. In particular, his strength grew further after digesting Strongboulder¡¯s daemon core.

    As she grew weaker and he grew stronger, she was no longer able to maintain an upper hand in close combat.

    The Spider Queen used her remaining daemon qi to tighten the web, trapping Li Qingshan and choking him by the neck. Her eight legs shot towards him rapidly.

    Without even batting an eye, Li Qingshan threw a punch at her belly. It possessed his original strength from the ox demon, the power of tremors, as well as some strengthening from the power of belief.

    In that instant, the Spider Queen became dyed with a layer of silvery-grey. The power of tremors was released wave after wave and cracks began to appear on her silvery-grey skin. Before she could even recover, a second punch fell.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Li Qingshan completely ignored the tightening web and incoming legs. He simply hurled his fist at her again and again, venting his emotions viciously.

    The web gradually slackened and the legs became powerless. Towards the end, they could not even pierce his Ox Demon Forges its Hide.

    Ripples appeared on the Spider Queen¡¯s metallic skin, recovering some of the texture of skin. The silvery-grey colour gradually receded, turning back into snow-white.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s punches had depleted the last shred of daemon qi in her. There was no longer enough to maintain the innate abilities.

    Afterwards, he patted the Spider Queen¡¯s face. ¡°How is it, ma¡¯am Spider Queen? Haven¡¯t I served you well? You love this kind of service!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± The Spider Queen¡¯s face twisted, sinking into hysterical anger. She opened her vermillion lips, wanting to spit out a strand of silk to pierce Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Smack!

    A crisp slap landed on the Spider Queen¡¯s face, throwing her face to one side. She suddenly turned back, only to be met with another slap.

    Whenever she turned her head and tried to spit out silk, she would earn a slap. After over a dozen slaps, she finally gave up on this action that only invited humiliation. She kept her head turned to one side, staring at Li Qingshan with one eye. This scene was exactly the same as before, except hatred filled her eyes.

    Boom!

    Another fist landed on her abdomen. Li Qingshan had not done it in response to this resentful gaze, but rather, it was because he sensed signs of daemon qi beginning to gather in her body. Daemon Commanders gathered daemon qi far too quickly.

    If she ends up escaping due to a moment of carelessness and flees blindly, catching her again will be difficult. I still have a lot of things I haven¡¯t done yet!

    Li Qingshan thought of something. With a wave of his hand, pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell scattered, forming a faint blue sphere that enveloped them perfectly. It immediately blocked out the spiritual qi of the world.

    He was replicating Fu Qingjin¡¯s Green Ruins Illusion. Recovering daemon qi required absorbing the spiritual qi of the world. However, this move did not really have any value in battle, as he also would not be able to absorb the spiritual qi of the world once encased. Under normal circumstances, the Spider Queen could smash through this cage in a single move.

    But now, this was perfect.

    Li Qingshan eased up and let go of the Spider Queen¡¯s throat, caressing her face gently. He slid down to her clavicle and then to her plump, white chest.

    Now, it was time for him to enjoy the spoils of battle.

    To Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, the Spider Queen did not put up any desperate resistance. Instead, she slowly turned her head back as if she was afraid of aggravating him. A hint of weakness that he had never seen appeared on her mesmerising face.

    ¡°You¡¯ve won!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan was delighted, but also slightly disappointed. As he watched the extremely proud Spider Queen yield beneath him, he felt great excitement and joy, but he had yet to unleash his ruthless imaginations!

    ¡°In the past millennium, you are the first to defeat me, as well as the first to satisfy me to such a degree. I¡¯m willing to become your woman, to birth a powerful child for you.¡±

    The Spider Queen slowly propped herself up and embraced Li Qingshan. Her soft breasts pressed against his firm chest like they had melted as she gently kissed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with her scarlet lips, making her way up until she reached his neck.

    During the intercourse earlier, she had kissed him countless times, but never had she been so gentle and docile.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ruthless thoughts seemed to settle down too. He plunged his head into her hair, caressing it gently. He smiled faintly as if he enjoyed it very much.

    The Spider Queen¡¯s kisses became more and more intense, but her expression suddenly changed. She bit down viciously. Hidden behind her cherry lips were extremely sharp fangs, which contained the most potent venom.

    As long as she injected it all into him in one go, it would spread to his head very quickly, and she would be able to turn the tables. At the very least, she could escape from this cage and recover some daemon qi for another battle.

    ¡°I knew your old habits would die hard. And, if you want to be my woman, you don¡¯t even have that right!¡±

    Li Qingshan only felt his neck prick slightly, but his smile remained. He grabbed the Spider Queen by her hair and tugged viciously.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had given him a clear warning long before she had launched the attack. Li Qinshan had completely taken apart her scheme before she could even inject the venom. All she managed to leave behind were two faint, red specks.

    ¡°Northmoon, I will definitely kill you! I will skin you alive and feast on your flesh!¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, I can understand your deviant thoughts a little. Hearing an opponent who¡¯s in no shape to fight back speak such wishful words sure is fucking satisfying! We better change to a better position!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and pressed the Spider Queen¡¯s head against the ground, forcefully flipping her over. The sight made his eyes light up slightly.

    Unlike her hideous original form, her human form was extremely beautiful. However, even after the countless times of intercourse they had gone through, he had never gotten the opportunity to admire her from this angle, probably due to the principle of never showing your back to the opponent!

    Her round buttocks were extremely plump, perking up as she struggled. It waggled gloriously, but her figure would suddenly narrow at her waist, perfectly slender for grasping such that it even seemed slightly exaggerated. The curve along her back was extremely beautiful too.

    Her breasts seemed extremely plump as well. There was basically no better description for her apart from a bewitching figure.

    Li Qingshan let out a toothy grin. Now that¡¯s a prize I like!

    ¡°If you dare¡­ I¡¯ll blow up my daemon core!¡± The Spider Queen turned her head desperately and threatened angrily.

    ¡°Forget it. You won¡¯t blow up your daemon core unless your life is threatened. Don¡¯t be like a human when you speak. Even if you actually plan on blowing it up, I never take back something I¡¯ve said.¡± Li Qingshan laughed wildly before suddenly bending over, whispering gently into her ear, ¡°My dear, I¡¯m here.¡±

    Cobweb city was dead silent. The night roamers returned carefully like they were treading on thin ice. Only after confirming there were no auras or disturbances did they relax slightly, but they still refused to enter the city.

    On the empty land below Cobweb city where the magma and water merged, the six clans assembled together, whispering and discussing among themselves.

    ¡°Did sir Northmoon really enter ma¡¯am Spider Queen¡¯s chambers?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t just enter. He seems¡­ like he¡¯s done for.¡±

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to return to ma¡¯am Spider Queen¡¯s direct command again. Northmoon? Heh, I think he¡¯s gotten ahead of himself with his arrogance. Does he really think he can escape with his life intact from a Daemon Commander as a mere Daemon General? He¡¯s probably become ma¡¯am Spider Queen¡¯s food already.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, master will never die. Do you really think that a group of foolish women like you are worthy of guessing master¡¯s strength?¡±

    The night roamers all discussed with whispers as if they were afraid of breaking the silence of the city. However, this voice was loud and emotional, filled with unparalleled confidence like lightning that tore through the dark clouds.

    Ye Liubo leapt forward, glancing past each night roamer sharply.

    All the night roamers shut their mouths, gathering their eyes on Ye Liubo. Their gazes were filled with hostility.

    ¡°Ye Liubo you traitor! You just strut around with borrowed feathers, helping Northmoon in abusing us. We haven¡¯t even gotten to you yet, yet you¡¯re actually leaping out yourself. Be prepared to pay with death!¡±

    A matriarch said sinisterly. The faces of the night roamers all sunk quietly. For a moment, who knew how many daggers and swords were drawn.

    Black shadows faded in and out, ready to merge into the darkness at any time and carry out a fatal assassination.

    Apart from being strong enough himself, the main reason why the night roamers were willing to obey Li Qingshan was because of the Spider Queen¡¯s orders.

    The nature of these night roamers prevented them from truly yielding to anyone. Betrayal and slaughter was something as easy as breathing to them. Even Ye Liusu had her own pursuits and plans. Only Ye Liubo was absolutely loyal to him.

    During the three years of secluded cultivation, the person behind why the night roamers had offered up so many spiritual herbs was not actually Ye Liusu, but Ye Liubo. She had frequently used Li Qingshan¡¯s name to force the six clans into collecting spiritual herbs. She received special attention from Li Qingshan too, which also incurred a lot of trouble stemming from envy and hatred.

    Death was now certain for Li Qingshan¡ªeven if he managed to scrape by, all he could do was flee. He would never dare return underground again, making it even more impossible for him to continue ruling over them. As a result, the many conflicts erupted all of a sudden.

    Ye Liubo became a target for all. Who knew how many powerful night roamers that had undergone a heavenly tribulation present only required a single breath to take Ye Liubo¡¯s life.

 Chapter 492 â€“ To Kill or Not to Kill

    The cavern had not been naturally formed. There were no craggy stalactites or stalagmites, only shattered rocks scattered about.

    Within the loose rock pile was an azure sphere composed of countless hexagons.

    The sphere was half-transparent, but it was hazy. As a result, it was impossible to make out what was going on inside as if a layer of mist had condensed on the inner layer.

    There was a great thunk, and a hand pressed against the sphere. It was a woman¡¯s hand. Her fingers were slender, and her palm was very small. It was extremely beautiful.

    However, the strength it unleashed was not small at all. There were a series of cracks like ice breaking apart, and the azure sphere became covered in fractures.

    It was possible to imagine that she could probably shatter the sphere with only a few more strikes.

    The mist dispersed slightly, making it possible to vaguely make out a woman¡¯s face. Probably any man who saw her would be left dumbfounded, sighing over her beauty. She had a mature, mesmerising face, possessing an extra hint of bewitching charm compared to pure maidens.

    Although her face was filled with shame and anger, an aloof sense of pride was still clearly visible as if it had become part of her bearing, making her seem like a queen. It would have been impossible for her to develop this bearing unless she held great status and authority, but it only aroused a desire to conquer within men.

    Her long, dark hair was a mess, but it was still possible to imagine how noble it seemed when styled.

    Her cherry lips were frozen in a cold angle, definitely used for all the orders she issued regularly. But at this moment, they constantly opened and closed, exhaling white mists as if she was cursing but also as if she was moaning.

    However, due to the sphere, not a single sound leaked out.

    Looking deeper into the sphere, it only became even more blurry. A snow-white figure seemed to be wrapped in silk, laying in an extremely inelegant pose on the ground. Her body shook uncontrollably as the two snow-white mounds trembled violently. Below were two specks of brightly-coloured red, like two red cherries in a snowy landscape, shaking back and forth with the mounds.

    It was enough for someone to fantasize various beautiful thoughts.

    Thunk!

    There was another sound. She used all the strength in her to deal a second palm strike while gritting her teeth, and the cracks became even larger and denser. As it seemed, she probably did not need many more strikes, just one more, to shatter the sphere and break out.

    In the blink of an eye, the cracks on the sphere vanished, and the cavern fell silent again.

    After who knew how long, the azure sphere suddenly vanished. A great cloud of white mist dispersed, and it became vaguely possible to make out a standing man inside. His scarlet hair drifted about like fire.

    The mist dispersed completely, and Li Qingshan yawned and stretched, taking in a deep breath of the refreshing spiritual qi of the world. His thoughts were extremely clear as his heart felt exceedingly satisfied. If it were not for the insufficient spiritual qi, perhaps he would have broken through a few dozen cultivation realms already, enough to climb to the Nine Heavens.

    Though, the sensation earlier felt like he had already paid a trip to beyond the Nine Heavens. He looked at the ground again.

    Hmph, you want to eat me? I¡¯ll let you feast to your heart¡¯s content!

    The Spider Queen lay on the ground with her eyes shut as if she had fallen unconscious. Her snow-white body was dripping with sweat, all traces from some fun in bed.

    Although she put up a very fierce struggle in the beginning, Li Qingshan served her in plenty of ways that she loved such that she no longer had the strength to resist anymore towards the end, allowing him to do what he wanted. She had even been extremely cooperative. She no longer tried to bite him with her venomous fangs as they embraced once another either.

    Naturally, they never took any safe measures either. Of course, Li Qingshan had to admit that this was his favourite. Though, he was uncertain whether she was actually submerged in pleasure, or she still thought, Since I can¡¯t put up a struggle, I¡¯ll just enjoy it! Or perhaps it was a combination of the two.

    ¡°Oi, mother of my child, stop playing dead. If you keep playing dead, I¡¯ll actually kill you.¡±

    Li Qingshan crouched down and patted the Spider Queen¡¯s cheek. He obviously would not be fooled by this act, as in the moment he released the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, the surging spiritual qi of the world immediately began to gather towards her.

    Originally, it was only an empty threat, but now that he mentioned it, he could not help but think of something, Do I kill her or not?

    Right now, Lolth was in her weakest state, so it was the perfect opportunity to kill her. Once she fully recovered, it would be difficult to tell who would be killing who.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s current strength was basically equivalent to having a foot planted in the Daemon Commander realm. He could annihilate almost anyone or anything that had not undergone the second heavenly tribulation. Right now, even if all the Foundation Establishment cultivators and Daemon Generals of the Clear River prefecture gathered together, he could still deal with them with composure. And, even if he encountered Daemon Commanders and Golden Core cultivators that had undergone two heavenly tribulations, staying alive was no longer an issue.

    However, defeating them would be virtually impossible. The reason why Li Qingshan had managed to win this time was because he was rather lucky. Spider Queen Lolth had been too careless. Her vicious nature could be described as the very reason for her failure.

    If it were not for the fact that she wanted to capture Li Qingshan alive, derive pleasure from torturing him and then have a raw feast, she would have never ended up in such a situation. Not to mention that there was a deeper reason behind all this. After becoming a Daemon Commander, it had already been many years since she last fought someone to the death.

    Even the skills of a natural hunter would rust and regress if they never met an equivalent opponent, preventing them from unleashing their full strength. On the other hand, Li Qingshan had never stopped fighting since he first picked up a blade and killed someone.

    In terms of actual strength, the disparity between Li Qingshan and the Spider Queen was anything but small. As a carapaced daemon, she was not weak even among Daemon Commanders.

    Li Qingshan checked his Divine Talisman of Great Creation. He had directly used up thirty percent of the power of belief he had accumulated throughout the years, all used to replenish his daemon qi. Although he possessed the extraordinary cultivation method, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, such that the quality of his daemon qi did not pale too much in comparison to Daemon Commanders, he was nowhere close in terms of quantity. After all, it had only been a few years since he faced the heavenly tribulation. Even though he had consumed many pills, the foundation he accumulated over time was still extremely shallow.

    It would be too much for him to bear with if he fought against her two more times, or even just one more time. If it were not for the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that could replenish his daemon qi, did he have any chances at victory at all? Even if he somehow managed to defeat her, he would struggle to keep her subdued like this.

    Lolth would never be stupid enough to wait until her daemon qi ran out again. If a Daemon Commander wanted to flee, how could he stop her as a mere Daemon General? Only endless revenge would await him.

    He was not deluded enough to think he would be able to get along peacefully with the Spider Queen in the future unless a certain hidden interest of hers had been revealed, where she liked to submerge herself in the delight of being conquered¡­ wait, this isn¡¯t fucking smut!

    This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity¡­

    ¡°If you want to kill me, then I¡¯ll blow up my daemon core and take you down with me!¡±

    Lolth suddenly opened her eyes and stared at Li Qingshan. To his surprise, there was no longer any hatred or resentment, only suffocating coldness and stillness.

    Her voice was feeble, even slightly hoarse, but Li Qingshan instead became afraid to dismiss this threat of hers. He felt extremely surprised inside. He discovered that she had become slightly different from the Spider Queen Lolth in his memory.

    Actually, Lolth was not playing dead. She was not naive enough to think she could fool Li Qingshan like this. Instead, she was tasting the lingering feeling of what she had just gone through, tidying her thoughts.

    This entire matter had obviously utterly disgraced her, but she did not find disgrace in the matter itself. She had no concept of being defiled. It had nothing to do with love. Reproducing was the most ordinary matter in the natural world.

    She felt disgraced because someone weaker than her had conquered her. If Li Qingshan were a Daemon King, she would not put on any resistance at all, as in the natural world, the strong obviously had the right to choose their partner.

    The issue was that Li Qingshan was merely a Daemon General and her subordinate at that. He had gone against her and insulted her despite being nowhere near as powerful as her. Naturally, she was furious and completely refused to accept this.

    Li Qingshan would have never thought that he had actually guessed correctly.

    Although it was humiliating, Lolth did indeed experience unprecedented pleasure. The extreme pleasure that came from pain and powerlessness reawakened a certain part in her heart that had become numb from her easy and comfortable life.

    She seemed to have returned to the past when she was still a spider. Hunger and danger were everywhere, and she had to abuse and slaughter every single day, or she would be abused and slaughtered by cruel nature instead.

    The heavy darkness was no longer filled with emptiness and boredom. She had found the meaning of cultivation once more.

    If Li Qingshan found out about how great of a significance his actions were to her, he would definitely be filled with complacence. Perhaps he really might hope he could conquer the proud Spider Queen.

    Unfortunately, he had guessed the start incorrectly, but he was right with the end result.

    Lolth was prepared to carry out a hunt, not for revenge, but to carry through with the instincts nature had endowed her with.

    ¡°How can I bring myself to? You¡¯re the mother of my child!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a toothy grin as if he was backing down and afraid she would actually do that.

    As a daemon who had spent her life fighting for survival the moment she was born, her will to survive was deeply embedded in her instincts. This was why even if she voiced a threat again during intercourse earlier, he did not take her seriously. However, once her life was being threatened, he would never underestimate her resolve.

    A Daemon Commander blowing up their daemon core was not something to joke around about.

    This was still due to the fact that Li Qingshan¡¯s strength was insufficient. If he were a Daemon Commander too, he would have great confidence in staying alive, and Lolth would not be able to threaten him like this. As a result, forcing her to submit in order to survive would not necessarily be impossible.

    However, the killing intent in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart instead intensified. His hand slid down her face, grabbing her by her beautiful neck that was as slender as a swan¡¯s.

    I think she¡¯ll turn into quite the trouble. Killing her before she blows up her daemon core is probably impossible, but if I use up the remaining seventy percent of my power of belief, I should have a chance at surviving considering the toughness of my body.

    As if a thick layer of dust had been wiped away, the Spider Queen became extremely sensitive to danger. Her body immediately tensed up, and the daemon core in her body was on the verge of exploding.

    This was an icy stalemate that appeared every day in the natural world. When a lion hunted a buffalo, it also had to worry about whether the buffalo¡¯s horns would kill it.

    Should I feign submission for now? No, once I show any weakness, it¡¯ll only consolidate his determination.

 Chapter 493 â€“ Where the Dream Lies

    Li Qingshan¡¯s opportunity to kill her slipped by bit by bit.

    Finally, Li Qingshan took action. He drew back his hand slowly.

    Was he going to spare her, or was this the premonition of an attack?

    Lolth dared not be careless, afraid that he was trying to toy around with her.

    Li Qingshan had already made up his mind inside.

    I even spared Fu Qingjin, yet I¡¯m afraid of revenge from her? Yes, when a Daemon Commander loses her mind, she won¡¯t be something that can be compared to a Foundation Establishment cultivator who overly relies on his sword. Oh, so I¡¯m supposed to spare those who pose a smaller threat and kill those who pose a larger threat? Isn¡¯t that just posing around, bullying the weak and fearing the strong?

    Against someone like Fu Qingjin, even if they fought for another century, he would have never broken through to the fourth layer. The path leading to beyond the Nine Heavens would definitely be filled with twists and hardships. He could clearly imagine the horrific wounds on brother ox as if they were right before his eyes.

    Compared to the enemies he would face in the future, Lolth was absolutely nothing. I¡¯ll just keep this little spider as a stepping stone for my advance!

    However, Li Qingshan was reluctant to let Lolth off so easily. He sat down to the side and crossed his legs, smiling. ¡°I know you refuse to accept this and think I won unconventionally. That¡¯s not exactly wrong. However, victory is victory and defeat is defeat. I¡¯ve won this battle. Will you admit that?¡±

    ¡°I admit that,¡± Lolth said coldly. This had always been the most basic principle of the natural world. Fairness and justice meant nothing. There was only a boundary between life or death.

    ¡°From today onwards, I no longer listen to your command. I possess the right to rule over half of the underground territory. The daemons will go to you, while the night roamers will go to me. That¡¯ll be my spoils of this battle. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll work. However, not half, but all of it. From now onwards, your command is my command. You are welcome to enter my chambers as you please. In human terms, you are my husband.¡±

    Lolth said calmly before even revealing a chilling, enchanting smile at the end.

    ¡°You¡¯re planning to kill your husband!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud, revealing what she was thinking in a single sentence.

    The thing that Lolth feared the most was Li Qingshan taking off after finishing up with this. With his ability to hide his aura, she really would not be able to find him, and with his powers, it would be very easy for him even if he wanted to go to another province. As a result, she cast out bait in an attempt to make him remain in this territory.

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to only challenge me again when you have absolute confidence. Next time, I might not necessarily be so generous, mother of my child!¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he held Lolth by her chin, shaking her head around.

    ¡°Just in case you¡¯ll become paranoid, constantly on edge, and just so I can find you, let¡¯s agree on a time to meet for next time!¡±

    Lolth smiled as she gently slid her hand across her chest as if she was afraid the bait she cast out was too little and he would not bite. At this moment, she had completely turned back into that calm predator.

    ¡°Now, as one of the rulers of this territory, tell me just what that thing in the magma is.¡± Li Qingshan asked the question that had been on his mind for a very long time.

    Lolth¡¯s face suddenly changed. She became uncertain as if she was wondering whether she should answer him and how she should answer him.

    ¡°What do you want to know about me?¡±

    Before she had even spoken, Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed too. An immature yet ancient voice directly rang out in his mind. This might have been a strange description, but that was truly what he felt. The voice was as immature as the first cry of an infant after being born, yet as ancient as the final words of an old man who had witnessed all of the changes of the world around him.

    Li Qingshan shuddered. Was this the¡­ they were several hundred kilometers from there at the very least!

    However, he immediately calmed down and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not important. What is important is, who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He did not know how to answer.

    The voice continued, ¡°Forget it. That¡¯s not important either.¡±

    ¡°Then what is important?¡±

    ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to ask me where I come from too!¡± Li Qingshan laughed. He had asked the three supreme questions of life right off the bat. Was this guy public security hidden deep underground?

    The voice fell silent. Perhaps Li Qingshan had hit the mark.

    Li Qingshan merely laughed. ¡°My name is Northmoon. I come from whence I come and I go to whence I go!¡±

    ¡°That touches on some profound truths of chan.¡±

    ¡°Are you a human or a daemon?¡±

    Actually, what Li Qingshan wanted to get to the bottom of the most was not this. He wanted to know whether he was friend or foe. Lolth clearly knew him, so by that logic, they should have been from the same side, yet even when Lolth faced death, she had never sought help from him. He could clearly sense everything happening here, but he chose to watch on from the side.

    ¡°Are you really called Northmoon? And what about you? Are you a human or a daemon?¡±

    Li Qingshan continued to smile, but compared to his gaze, it became slightly forced. Had he realised something? His identity as half-human, half-daemon could be described as his greatest secret. Once it was divulged, the consequences would be unthinkable. If a regular person found out, Li Qingshan would even consider killing them to silence them, but the ¡°infant¡± underground was clearly not someone he could silence.

    Perhaps he¡¯s not too certain either, which is why he asked. Perhaps he¡¯s only probing me. I can¡¯t let him trip me over!

    ¡°Forget it. This isn¡¯t important either!¡±

    Just as Li Qingshan considered how he was supposed to answer, the voice interrupted him again, which left him extremely dissatisfied.

    ¡°Then what is important?¡±

    As Li Qingshan said that, he found that rather familiar. Sure enough, the voice immediately answered, ¡°Haven¡¯t I already asked it? Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°How is where I¡¯m going relevant to you?¡±

    ¡°It is relevant to me, as we¡¯re going to the same place.¡±

    ¡°Then tell me where I¡¯m going.¡±

    ¡°Beyond the heavens.¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Li Qingshan shuddered inside.

    ¡°I knew from the first time I saw you that your ambitions are anything but small. As frogs in a well, isn¡¯t the purpose of our lifetime of cultivation to climb beyond the well and take a look at the world outside?¡± The voice that had remained calm and mild, without many fluctuations in tone, suddenly roused up, now filled with lofty sentiment.

    He referred to himself modestly as a frog in a well, but Li Qingshan immediately knew he was anything but that. He viewed the nine provinces as a well, trapping him in there and bringing him discomfort. Was there anything he could say with an even loftier sentiment than that?

    There was another side that Li Qingshan failed to consider. The frog might have been modest, but in this well, it could still lord over everyone else, an existence with no natural predator.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. We do share the same path. I also want to venture beyond the Nine Heavens!¡± Li Qingshan developed some more respect and spoke much more politely, but he only recognised him as a fellow traveller on the same path. Their statuses were no different, and he did not grovel at all. This was the pride the black ox had given him. He would never lower his head or submit before anyone.

    Li Qingshan could roughly tell what the voice was saying. The so-called venturing ¡°beyond the heavens¡± was the objective of all cultivators. They wanted to break free from the restraints of this world and venture to a higher, more distant world. That did not necessarily mean he knew about his promise with the black ox.

    ¡°I¡¯m wrong.¡±

    The voice fluctuated again, filled with shock this time.

    ¡°How are you wrong? Have I said something wrong?¡± Li Qingshan was confused.

    ¡°I still ended up underestimating you. Beyond the Nine Heavens. Sigh, even to me, this objective is far too distant, well beyond my reach, something that I won¡¯t even consider.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we talking about the same place? Beyond the Nine Heavens¡ªis that very far?¡±

    Li Qingshan had mentioned these four words many times, but he actually had no exact concept of it. He had only faced the first heavenly tribulation so far, so thinking about that was a little soon. Remaining down-to-earth and cultivating was more important.

    However, having run into someone who knew the path coincidentally, he could not help but ask just where the destination of his dream led to.

    ¡°Far? Hehe, I only want to climb out of this well, but you want to fly through the sky!¡±

    ¡°Is it really that difficult?¡± Li Qingshan was tongue-tied. This comparison was not too exaggerated. Just how deep could the well be and how far could the ground be from the sky?

    ¡°No, no, no. This is a little too simple. If it¡¯s just flying through the sky, then even I have some hope. As long as you continue, going from a frog to a bird is not completely impossible. However, you want to become a star! It truly is an impressively great ambition. You¡¯re probably the only one with this dream across all nine provinces and the billions of lives that live here.¡±

    Curiosity filled the voice as if it wondered how Li Qingshan had such an unrealistic dream.

    I await you beyond the Nine Heavens, for the time when you stand beside me.

    The black ox¡¯s words when he left echoed through Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. Only now did he realise just what it was implying.

    Li Qingshan fell silent. He naively believed he was only carrying a mountain on his shoulders.

    ¡°What, have you become frightened? Seems like I¡¯m just overthinking. Looks like you just added ¡°Nine Heavens¡± by mistake! I¡¯ve spoken too much. Let me ask you again. You also want to go beyond the heavens, right?¡±

    The voice seemed relieved, yet also slightly disappointed.

    Did brother ox add the two words by mistake? The answer was very obvious, No!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s reply was the same. ¡°No, I want to go beyond the Nine Heavens.¡±

    He raised his head and laughed wildly. His face was glorious.

    ¡°You¡­.¡±

    Once upon a time, there was a frog that leapt around at the bottom of a well. It trained its legs, anticipating the moment that it leapt out of the well. At this moment, a tiny tadpole swam over and said, ¡°Frog, frog! I want to become a star!¡±

    The frog told the tiny tadpole patiently, ¡°Stars are very, very distant, and tadpoles can¡¯t become stars. I think you¡¯ll have a very good chance at becoming a frog.¡±

    The tadpole considered it. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll become a frog first¡­ then I¡¯ll become a star!¡±

    The frog was left speechless.

    The awe-inspiring bearing that Li Qingshan gave off suddenly crumbled. He scratched his head in distress. ¡°But what kind of place is beyond the Nine Heavens? Hey, you look like you know a lot. Tell me about it. We can probably travel together.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of place that is. I¡¯ve only heard that it¡¯s the centre of the trichiliocosm, the place where gods and buddhas roam freely.¡±

    ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t get an answer out of you anyway. Though, as long as I make my way up step by step, I shouldn¡¯t get lost, right?¡±

    Only after a very long time did Li Qingshan understand that the ¡°nine¡± in the Nine Heavens was not a quantifier, but an adjective.

    Nine was the limit of numbers, implying infinity!

 Chapter 494 â€“ A Phoenixâ€™s Feather

    Li Qingshan had basically determined that the infant had no hostility towards him. As for this ¡°small help¡±, it was probably the original reason why he had suddenly appeared.

    ¡°Do you know the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know about that in the Green province?¡±

    ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has a cultivation method called the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the special cultivation method of their sect. And then?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no and then. You just have to fetch me the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    ¡°And you call that something small? You want me, a Daemon General, to enter the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and steal their special cultivation method?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. If I had that ability, why¡¯d I still be mouthing off with you? I¡¯d go for another hundred times with Spider Queen Lolth right now!

    ¡°This is much easier than venturing beyond the Nine Heavens. Don¡¯t turn me down so quickly. Why don¡¯t you hear me out about what I can help you with?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°A phoenix¡¯s feather.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had obtained the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a a long time ago, but cultivation had never been smooth with it. If he could obtain a phoenix¡¯s feather, perhaps that was an opportunity. He might even be able to increase the Phoenix Transformation¡¯s power.

    ¡°How do I know if you¡¯re telling the truth or not?¡±

    ¡°You can verify with me after you obtain the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± The voice receded like the tide, growing distant.

    ¡°You want to exchange a bird¡¯s feather for the secret cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. That is far too stingy of you. Since you want it so much, why don¡¯t you retrieve it yourself?¡±

    ¡°I have my struggles.¡± The voice drifted off.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you give me the phoenix¡¯s feather first so that I can increase my cultivation? I¡¯ll have a better chance too.¡±

    ¡°I await your assistance, fellow traveller of the same path!¡± The voice echoed, gradually wearing away.

    Lolth happened to be in the middle of a conversation with Li Qingshan when she suddenly saw him become dazed. She pulled away from Li Qingshan in a flash and waved her hand. All of the silk and web gathered towards her, layering and weaving together to form a tight suit that wrapped around her body.

    Of course, this was not because of embarrassment or anything along those lines. Clothes woven from the tough silk served as the best armour.

    ¡°But I still don¡¯t know who you are.¡±

    A while later, Li Qingshan returned to his senses and opened his eyes. He still felt rather frustrated.

    When he saw Lolth¡¯s attire, he could not help but smile. ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to be? Fishnet lingerie? Do you want me to help you take it off again?¡±

    ¡°You can try it.¡± Lolth smiled. She had already recovered ten percent of her daemon qi, but this measly ten percent could not be underestimated. Even if Li Qingshan struck with his full strength right now, going as far as to expend all of his power of belief, it would be impossible for him to capture her again.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have plenty of opportunities, mother of my child. I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡± Li Qingshan smiled confidently and flapped his wings of wind, taking off.

    Lolth clenched her fist, but she felt her heart ease up slightly. Li Qingshan no longer asked about the identity of the ¡°infant¡±, and she was more than willing to avoid answering him. Little did she know they had already had a conversation.

    If she found out the ¡°infant¡± had referred to Li Qingshan as a ¡°fellow traveller of the same path¡± at the very end, she would definitely be so shocked that her mouth would be hanging agape. Afterwards, she would reconsider how she treated Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Ye Laixiang, you¡¯re bold enough to launch an attack, yet I¡¯m supposed to be afraid of fighting back? Once master returns, he¡¯ll definitely kill you all to avenge me.¡±

    In Cobweb city, Ye Liubo remained calm and fearless under the glares of the night roamers, loudly mocking the matriarch of the Bat Shadow clan.

    ¡°Do you really believe he¡¯ll be able to return? Hehe!¡± Ye Laixiang let out a nervous laugh.

    The six clans had never gotten along, and the hatred between the Bat Shadow clan and Spider Shadow clan ran extremely deep. And, ever since Li Qingshan ascended to the top, the Spider Shadow clan had been the ones who benefited the most, while the status of the Bat Shadow clan constantly plummeted. They repressed their hatred to the bottom of their hearts, where it constantly brewed and fermented.

    Ye Liubo said, ¡°Hmph, even if the entire Bat Shadow clan dies, he won¡¯t die!¡±

    Ye Laixiang played around with a snake-shaped dagger in her hand and sneered. ¡°Alright, then don¡¯t hide. I¡¯d like to see whether he¡¯ll actually avenge you or not.¡±

    ¡°Does the Bat Shadow clan want to declare war?¡± Ye Liusu stepped forward from the crowd.

    ¡°So what if we want to declare war? You¡¯re just a junior, yet you¡¯re still bold enough to tell me what I can and can¡¯t do? Do you really think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking? You just want to unite the night roamers and become the matriarch yourself. Why don¡¯t you check yourself first? Without Northmoon¡¯s support, you¡¯re nothing!¡± Ye Laixiang barked.

    Over the past few years, Ye Liusu had been constantly recruiting the night roamers who refused to take part in the internal strife among the clans, constantly shaking at the foundations of the clans. She had offended a few clans even more than Ye Liubo.

    With Ye Laixiang stepping forward, the gazes of the other matriarchs became unfathomable too.

    Ye Liusu frowned slightly. She could clearly feel ice-cold killing intent locking onto her from somewhere. The atmosphere fell apart all of a sudden, as if she had returned to the past when night roamers struggled against one another.

    Ye Mingzhu stood forward and said, ¡°I¡¯d advise you all to calm down for now! Liusu has been working diligently for our entire race. You¡¯ve all witnessed the fruits of her efforts from the past few years! By working together and letting go of conflict, all of us will benefit.¡±

    ¡°Benefit? Ye Mingzhu, you just want your daughter to rule over us! You better think about it carefully then! Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo are betraying ma¡¯am Spider Queen and siding with the traitor Northmoon! Their crimes cannot be forgiven! If we work together right now and exterminate them, that¡¯ll net us great merit! If you want to protect them, then your Spider Shadow clan will be exterminated too!¡±

    As she said that, Ye Laixiang constantly exchanged glances with the other matriarchs. Through their secret conversations, they finally reached a temporary agreement, obviously not to demonstrate loyalty towards the Spider Queen, but for the large quantities of resources that Ye Liusu controlled.

    Silently, several orders were passed down. The powerful night roamers of the five clans all surrounded Ye Liusu, Ye Liubo, and the others.

    Ye Mingzhu considered it before also waving her hand. The elders and masters of the Spider Shadow clan became part of this encirclement, but they were the furthest away, only forming the outskirts.

    The personal guards under Ye Liusu¡¯s leadership formed a ring with their backs pointing to the centre. They gazed at the surroundings vigilantly, but they seemed rather hesitant, as they had originally come from these clans too.

    ¡°Apart from Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo, the others have just been misled. It¡¯s not too late for you to return to your clans, or you¡¯ll suffer the same fate as these two traitors!¡±

    Ye Laixiang became more and more complacent. She believed that she only needed a single word and her daughters would return to her side again. The other matriarchs all issued summons too, calling back their princesses who had been sent over to serve as spies.

    They all thought, Once she loses this force, the organisation that Ye Liusu worked so hard to manage will immediately crumble. It¡¯s hilarious that she really thinks she¡¯s still in charge.

    But to everyone¡¯s surprise, while quite a few people did waver, none of them immediately stepped forward and returned to their clans.

    Before they knew it, Ye Liusu had managed to influence everyone around her with her ideal and true feelings.

    The corner of Ye Liusu¡¯s lips curled slightly as if she was rather relieved. She glanced back and said sincerely, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°The situation is dangerous right now and master¡¯s fate is unknown, but I believe he will definitely return. However, I don¡¯t want to force anyone into risking their lives with me. No matter who wants to return to their clan, I won¡¯t be stopping you. If you can protect your lives because of this, the time we spent as sisters would have been well worth it.¡±

    A tall night roamer went up and placed her hand on Ye Liusu¡¯s shoulder. She smiled. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve called Northmoon master, but he¡¯s never satisfied me in bed, nor do I trust him. However, I do trust you, Ye Liusu!¡±

    Another night roamer said, ¡°If master doesn¡¯t return, then we can found a clan together. You can be the matriarch, Liusu!¡±

    ¡°We followed Northmoon because of ma¡¯am Spider Queen¡¯s order. Whether he betrays anyone has nothing to do with us. I refuse to believe ma¡¯am Spider Queen can¡¯t tell the difference between right and wrong.¡±

    ¡°You all¡­¡± Ye Liusu¡¯s heart warmed up. She was strangely touched and left speechless.

    Ye Laixiang said furiously, ¡°Ye Liusu, even with your silken tongue, you won¡¯t be able to escape death today!¡±

    ¡®If you want to take her life, you better kill me first!¡±

    An icy voice rang out. The cool Ye Liuxing stood forward, leaving the encirclement. She gazed at Ye Liusu deeply, her eyes filled with indescribable emotions. Her voice became slightly gentler. ¡°I will be leaving the Spider Shadow clan and serving under you.¡±

    Ye Liubo witnessed all of this and felt happy for Ye Liusu from the bottom of her heart. She thought, Sister, this is where your charm lies. Master is right. You are special!

    Not only did the inducement fail to collapse Ye Liusu¡¯s organisation, but it instead assisted her in growing her influence. The matriarchs were all stunned. Were these really right roamers? Where had their cold, suspicious dispositions gone?

    Following their surprise, they felt even more threatened. They secretly made up their minds. No, Ye Liusu must be eliminated, or she might actually unite the clans!

    ¡°Liuxing, I don¡¯t think you need to leave the Spider Shadow clan, as from now onwards, Ye Liusu is the new matriarch of the Spider Shadow clan!¡±

    Ye Mingzhu smiled, but she felt rather reluctant inside. This was an opportunity to strengthen the Spider Shadow clan. Once the two organizations merged together, the Spider Shadow clan would surpass the five other clans and even have an actual chance at uniting them.

    They had gone from one against six to two against five. A difference still seemed to exist, but over the past few years, both Ye Liusu and the Spider Shadow clan had already built up a very substantial supply of resources through Li Qingshan¡¯s trust and favour. They possessed countless talismans and puppets. If they actually began fighting, they would not necessarily lose.

    Ye Liusu beamed with joy. ¡°Yes, mother!¡±

    ¡°Liusu, this is all I can do to assist you!¡± Ye Mingzhu nodded slightly, but she smiled bitterly inside. She had no idea whether this daughter who was different from the rest was a blessing or a curse.

    However, from a different perspective, if Ye Liusu had been just as heartless as the other night roamers, Ye Mingzhu would have never passed the position of matriarch to her so easily, even if she was her daughter by blood.

    Now, the Spider Shadow clan was outside, while Ye Liusu and the others were inside. They had surrounded their enemies instead.

    The two sides confronted one another. A great battle was about to erupt.

    ¡°Ye Mingzhu, have you made up your mind about betraying ma¡¯am Spider Queen and supporting the remnants of the traitor Northmoon?¡± Ye Laixiang said coldly.

    ¡°Traitor Northmoon? Are you speaking about me?¡±

 Chapter 495 â€“ Ye Liusuâ€™s Choice

    Ye Liusu was similarly relieved. Joy and ease that left even her rather surprised flooded heart, as if as long as he was here, anything, no matter how great, could be dealt with.

    He actually managed to return alive. Though, the Spider Queen never changes her habits. He must have used some kind of trick and escaped alive. He definitely won¡¯t be able to remain underground anymore, let alone continue to rule over us.

    Ye Laixiang¡¯s expression changed suddenly as she thought like that. Then, she said with composure, ¡°So what if I¡¯m talking about you? Northmoon, do you think you can still strut around like before? You¡¯ve betrayed ma¡¯am Spider Queen. You¡¯re the enemy of all night roamers now.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s work together and capture him. When ma¡¯am Spider Queen returns, she¡¯ll definitely reward us. Anyone who still dares to associate with him will truly be traitors. Once ma¡¯am Spider Queen arrives, you¡¯ll all die a horrible death!¡±

    Ye Laixiang knew she had already offended Li Qingshan through and through. Afraid that he would kill her on the spot out of anger, she decided to strike first and draw all the night roamers to her side. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, it was impossible for him to openly take on several dozen night roamers who had undergone the first heavenly tribulation.

    She changed the topic. ¡°Ye Liusu, what do you have to say? Will you swear fealty to the Spider Queen, or will you swear fealty to this traitor?¡±

    Ye Liusu¡¯s eyebrows scrunched up as she became even more distressed. Earlier, it was possible to say that she had only submitted to him because of the Spider Queen¡¯s orders. But with his reappearance, this excuse no longer worked anymore.

    She had to make a choice!

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on Ye Liusu again.

    It had already been a while since Li Qingshan arrived. He noticed their dispute from afar, so he secretly eavesdropped on them. He wanted to see who was bold enough to speak ill of him behind his back. He had only appeared when the situation was worsening to pacify it.

    Originally, he planned on killing Ye Laixiang right off the bat and making an example out of her, but with the current situation, there was instead no need for him to be so hasty. He was also very curious about what choice Ye Liusu would make.

    Actually, he also understood that the best way to guarantee loyalty among subordinates was giving them no opportunity to betray him, but Ye Liusu was not merely a subordinate to him.

    If she chose to betray him, Li Qingshan could understand her choice. After all, she had her dreams and ideals, so making a choice like that would not be strange. Of course, once he dealt with the situation, he would definitely give her some ¡°punishment¡±. He could understand her decision, but that did not mean he could accept it.

    The idea of the gift would obviously be thrown out the window too. Since she only treated him as a tool to achieve her objectives, then what did her ideals have to do with him? It was exactly because he had given her much more than that that he was looking forward to seeing what she would choose.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s delicate face was conflicted. She was unable to make a choice over this matter. If she continued to stand by his side, then she would no longer be able to remain in this territory anymore. She could only go into exile with him. Everything she had built up over the years would be wasted, and even her life might be in danger.

    If she were a regular night roamer, perhaps this would have been a very easy choice to make. Basing a decision off the costs and benefits was commonplace. However, she could not, not to mention the figure with scarlet hair and scarlet eyes meant much more than that to her.

    ¡°Sister, we can¡¯t betray master. Without master, would we even be standing here today?¡± Ye Liubo grabbed Ye Liusu¡¯s hand and said anxiously.

    ¡°You bitch, shut your mouth! He¡¯s no master! He¡¯s a traitor!¡± Ye Liuxing said coldly.

    Ye Liusu looked towards Ye Mingzhu with uncertainty, hoping to receive her mother¡¯s wisdom as assistance.

    Ye Mingzhu only said, ¡°Liusu, I believe you will make the correct choice.¡±

    Her words were highly ambiguous, as if she was persuading Ye Liusu to immediately betray Li Qingshan, yet also like she was objecting to that. That was because even she was rather uncertain too, not because she was actually loyal to Li Qingshan, but because she sensed how unusually relaxed Li Qingshan was.

    Northmoon should be thinking about fleeing as far as he can right now, so why is he watching on in such a relaxed manner? Has the situation changed, and the Spider Queen decided to spare him? But that¡¯s completely impossible. Even Ye Mingzhu was rather unsure about what was going on. She could only let Ye Liusu make her own decision.

    Why aren¡¯t you fleeing? Are you waiting for me? Ye Liusu looked at Li Qingshan from afar. His gaze seemed to be filled with anticipation. Ye Liusu touched her lips gently. The remaining warmth of that kiss reached the bottom of her heart.

    Saying that love was blind and it made people irrational was not wrong at all! She let out a gentle sigh and said resolutely, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m just not suited to be a leader. I can¡¯t carry the heavy burden of a matriarch, nor am I suited to lead my sisters. From now onwards, Ye Liusu is only Ye Liusu.¡±

    As if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders, she was unable to describe whether she was feeling relief or disappointment. She held Ye Liubo¡¯s hand and walked towards Li Qingshan, confronting his scarlet eyes calmly as she murmured to herself inside, Everything I gained because of you has been once again lost because of you. This is nothing to feel pity over!

    Li Qingshan smiled back at her as he felt at great ease. He murmured, ¡°You won¡¯t regret your choice today.¡±

    ¡°Stop them!¡± Ye Laixiang ordered sternly. She had no confidence in being able to kill Northmoon, but she was extremely confident about killing them. Now that the situation was certain, she would possess the greatest merit once the Spider Queen returned.

    Just when she was feeling complacent, she felt her throat tighten. Her eyes widened in disbelief as fright filled her face.

    No one had managed to see what had happened, but Li Qingshan was already standing in front of Ye Laixiang, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up gently.

    Only then did the other night roamers return to their senses before all becoming stunned. Like Ye Laixiang, they became filled with disbelief.

    Underground, everyone knew about Ye Laixiang¡¯s strength. Even among the six matriarchs, she ranked towards the top, or as humans divided the cultivation realms, she was at late Foundation Establishment. This was also what gave her the confidence to challenge Li Qingshan.

    But now, Li Qingshan had subdued Ye Laixiang without any room for resistance. No one had grasped his movements. A heavy, cold feeling filled all of their hearts. If his target had been them, or anyone else present, no one would have been able to escape! If he wanted to carry out a massacre, who could stop him?

    In this region, probably only the Spider Queen can move with the same speed. She¡¯s probably done for! Ye Mingzhu thought to herself.

    ¡°Mighty be master!¡± Ye Liubo cheered and threw herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms before crying out, ¡°Be careful, master!¡±

    A curved shadow swept past, slicing towards Li Qingshan¡¯s throat. It was the dagger that was curved like a snake in Ye Laixiang¡¯s hand. The weapon glistened with a dark sheen, clearly coated in poison. Her strike was well-hidden and vicious, truly an assassin¡¯s attack. At the same time, her figure gradually faded away as if she had turned into a shadow. She escaped from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    However, the struggle was destined to be futile. The dagger fell powerlessly half way along its trajectory, while Ye Laixiang returned to normal, her face filled with shock. The power of tremors filled her surroundings, resulting in a series of bone-shattering crick-cracks. Li Qingshan tossed her onto the ground, and she immediately crumbled and became completely incapacitated.

    ¡°Master, we better go!¡± Ye Liusu arrived beside Li Qingshan and advised softly. She was already prepared to flee with him. Perhaps this fate was not so bad.

    ¡°Go? Go where?¡± Li Qingshan wrapped his hand around Ye Liusu¡¯s waist. The tenderness in his gaze made her somewhat glad about her choice for some reason. She also seemed to understand something, casting a questioning gaze back at him.

    Li Qingshan announced loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve already defeated the Spider Queen. From today onwards, I am the only ruler of the night roamers!¡±

    This announcement was even more shocking than the great strength he had demonstrated prior. It echoed through the cavern, silencing the surroundings.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could the likes of you defeat ma¡¯am Spider Queen ?¡± Ye Laixiang shrieked.

    She had spoken the minds of all the night roamers. To them, the Spider Queen was like a god¡ªundefeatable and undefiable. Even Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo became stunned, staring at Li Qingshan like they no longer knew who he was.

    Li Qingshan turned his head and listened carefully before smiling. ¡°Seems like no one is refuting that!¡± Then he became serious. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not the traitor, but you are!¡±

    Before Ye Laixiang could say anything, he whistled with his fingers, and a stream of air turned and twisted, piercing her head and leaving behind a clear hole. Afterwards, he conveniently stowed her corpse away in his hundred treasures pouch.

    Everyone gasped. A matriarch had been crushed like an insect.

    Li Qingshan only had a foot planted in the Daemon Commander realm, but killing an opponent like that had already become extremely easy. The difference between major realms of cultivation had always been greater than the difference between people and insects. People might not necessarily be able to catch insects, but as long as an opponent like Ye Laixiang was within Li Qingshan¡¯s range of vision, they were basically dead already.

    At this moment, daemon qi appeared from underground, reaching the top of Cobweb city. Everyone was familiar with this daemon qi. The Spider Queen had returned!

    But aside from that, she did not do anything else. She completely ignored what was going on in front of the city as if she was indirectly confirming Li Qingshan¡¯s words.

    ¡°Do you still have any objections?¡±

    ¡°Our Spider Shadow clan is willing to serve sir Northmoon as our master. We are your servants. We will follow wherever you go, and your wish is our command.¡± Ye Mingzhu finally responded, stepping forward and bowing solemnly.

    He had even managed to defeat ma¡¯am Spider Queen. What kind of strength was that? Had he become a Daemon Commander already?

    Although she had obeyed Li Qingshan in the past, she had never accepted that she was his servant. At most, she was a subordinate and he was her superior. But now, she led the entire clan to swear fealty to him, becoming his servants willingly.

    The four other matriarchs followed close behind. None of them had even the slightest shred of discontent anymore, yielding to absolute power. The other night roamers were thrown into an uproar too, performing the most solemn bow to him. Even the Bat Shadow clan that had just lost their matriarch was no different.

    However, Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡±

    Ye Mingzhu asked, ¡°Please enlighten me, sir. Where have I gone wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°From today onwards, clans no longer exist among the night roamers. I am your only master. Ye Liusu, listen up!¡±

    Although he spoke seriously, he had no intentions of letting Ye Liusu go. All she could do was reply in his arms, ¡°Yes.¡±

 Chapter 496 â€“ Ru Xinâ€™s Story

    However, he had the confidence now, as well as the right. This all came from his personal strength. Only with absolute strength was there absolute authority. There was no need for him to rack his brains with tricks and tactics.

    Those who obey me will prosper. Those who defy me will die.

    Brute force could not deal with everything, probably because the amount of force involved was insufficient.

    In the past, the Spider Queen wanted them divided and at war with each other, so they were divided and at war with each other. Now, Li Qingshan wanted them united, so they had to unite together.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s expression changed a few times. At first, there was joy and surprise¡ªnot only had she avoided the need to flee, but she had instead obtained even more. The great cause of unity she pursued had been easily achieved with a single word from him.

    Only afterwards did she become filled with some lingering fear. If she really had followed the ancient, scheming principles of night roamers and betrayed him, then she would lose everything. Most importantly, she would lose his heart forever. She would never receive such warm protection again.

    When she thought of that, she could not help but lean closer in his arms, showing her delicate side to Li Qingshan for once. Having gone through this together, they had become one step closer. However, if Li Qingshan did not possess absolute power, she would never behave like this with her pride and perseverance even if she was smitten with him.

    ¡°Thank you for your gift.¡± Ye Liusu raised her delicate face as her eyes that seemed like the night sky shone with light.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t my gift.¡±

    Even Li Qingshan himself had never imagined he would be able to defeat Lolth and force her to accept a treaty with him. Originally, he planned to use this opportunity to break through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon before taking off for good.

    By then, claiming a territory above ground and signing a non-aggression pact with the Academy of the Hundred Schools would not be particularly difficult with his strength. It would basically assist Ye Liusu in completing her dream of the night roamers returning to the surface.

    Looking at Ye Liusu¡¯s curious face, Li Qingshan only smiled. He planned on giving her this surprise later.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return to the territory first. I¡¯ll leave the rest up to you!¡±

    Li Qingshan gently patted Ye Liusu¡¯s perky buttocks and let her go. In the past, he would never do this, as it would only make her look down on him for no good reason. But now, it seemed extremely natural.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, Northmoon welcomes your challenges at any time. Hahahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned towards Cobweb city and said loudly before unfurling his wings of wind. Then he took off into the air with Ye Liubo without the slightest care.

    ¡°Will ma¡¯am Spider Queen do something to my sister?¡±

    The fierce gales whistled by as the caves twisted and changed so rapidly that even Ye Liubo struggled to see them clearly, so she stopped looking, focusing on his face instead. In his arms, all she could hear was the sound of wind, but she could not feel a single breeze. This feeling left her charmed, but upon further thought, she began to worry for Ye Liusu.

    She still referred to Lolth respectfully as ma¡¯am Spider Queen even when no one was around, which only demonstrated the extent of Lolth¡¯s power and influence. Li Qingshan did not make her change the way she referred to her. She could never go wrong with maintaining a bit of respect towards the strong.

    ¡°Probably not. Right now, she¡¯d much rather keep her around as something holding me back so that I stick around!¡±

    Li Qingshan had already gained a rough understanding of Lolth¡¯s mentality. After turning back into a predator, she placed all of her focus on him, biding her time and waiting to deal a lethal strike. She would not do something that was purely detrimental just to vent her anger.

    A while later, they returned to the territory.

    Ye Liubo continued to cling onto him like a koala, refusing to get down.

    ¡°Oh right, what reward would you like?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Ye Liusu¡¯s complete loyalty had left him surprised and overjoyed, but this girl¡¯s performance had never left him disappointed before.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Ye Liubo pouted her lips and nudged him.

    ¡°Maybe not today!¡± Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. Even if he had all the lust in the world, it would have been dispelled after the battle with Lolth. If he had not been completely satisfied, he would have never let Lolth go either. Right now, even without the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, he felt a little like his mind was as still as water, without any worldly desires.

    ¡°Fine.¡±

    Ye Liubo was immediately disappointed, but she had no intentions of disobeying him. She struggled to hide her lament.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little too hasty right now. Let me make some preparations, then I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan whispered into her ear, comforting this small, loyal pet that he adored. After that, he left behind his mirror clone and left the underground world in a hurry. He had been gone for so long. Who knew if anything had happened on the other side. Xiao An was probably anxious from waiting!

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was indeed related to him to a certain degree. Wanting to steal their special cultivation method was virtually impossible. Even if he underwent another heavenly tribulation, he still would have no confidence in this. The task of obtaining the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga would probably fall onto Xiao An¡¯s shoulders.

    Did that strange infant underground, the ¡°frog in the well¡±, sense the existence of an opportunity because of this?

    Lolth¡¯s challenge would arrive very soon. If she did not fight, then so be it, but once she struck, she would be striking to kill.

    Right now, everything that Li Qingshan possessed was based on the victory he had achieved earlier. If he failed to match Lolth, then not only him, but even Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu who depended on him would suffer.

    Only by obtaining the phoenix¡¯s feather and reaching the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation could he increase his odds.

    Sparing Lolth obviously left behind a huge problem. However, it also pressured him into constantly thinking of ways to increase his strength, afraid to slack off for even a second.

    Just by looking at the results, this choice was relatively better. If he really decided to kill her, the strange infant underground probably would not simply stand by and watch on.

    Not to mention that the death of a Daemon Commander was anything but trivial.

    Maybe even the leader of the Daemon race in the Green province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, would respond. After all, even after so many years, the Sword Collection palace was still clinging onto the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death, refusing to simply let the matter go.

    Even the best result would be another Daemon Commander coming over and claiming this territory, adding countless new variables and making the situation even more unpredictable. Compared to that, he would be better off keeping the various variables within his control.

    Li Qingshan slowly thought through the matter. He was filled with a grand ambition, showing no fear or intention to cower at all.

    ¡°Come! No matter how many times, I will defeat you viciously, and then go at it again!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the Chain mountain silently, but Xiao An was no longer in the dwelling.

    Did she encounter something unexpected? However, the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks was in perfect condition, and with her current strength, the only one that could threaten her in the Clear River prefecture was the Spider Queen.

    Just when he was rather confused, a neighbour visited. Li Qingshan opened the formation and invited Ru Xin into the dwelling.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back. How was your trip?¡± Ru Xin studied the extremely spacious dwelling, which only confirmed her thoughts further. If he were a regular cultivator, why would he make his dwelling so exaggeratedly large?

    Perhaps left intentionally or otherwise, but there were even a few strangely large claw marks on the floor of the dwelling. And, the aspects that sparked doubt were much more than these.

    It was no wonder why Xiao An refused to let the group of people inside. Otherwise, all of them would find this rather strange as long as they were human!

    She only glanced past these parts hastily before turning her gaze back to the ¡°mystery man¡± in front of her. At first glance, he seemed exactly the same as when they had first met. Even the aura he gave off was the same, However, his bearing had changed. It had become even more high-spirited and confident, filled with fighting will. It only gave her a single feeling. He had become even stronger.

    ¡°It was alright! Do you know where Xiao An went?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not go out of his way to hide anything. Their relationship had already reached a state where they could understand one another without talking. Perhaps due to clearing out his desires, when Li Qingshan saw Ru Xin again, his passion had faded away. He cherished their friendship more than ever.

    Even though he had a grand dream of taking all the beauties in the world as his wives, beauties were common, while confidants were rare.

    ¡°The Annihilum Light Chan Master of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga came, yet she refused to let anyone enter her dwelling, so all they could do was go to the academy together.¡±

    ¡°The Annihilum Light Chan Master? Tell me exactly what happened.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. The strange infant underground sure was capable. As the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he should know the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga. Couldn¡¯t Li Qingshan just get him to pass it onto Xiao An and then exchange it for the phoenix¡¯s feather?

    ¡°Sure. One spiritual stone per word. I already said thirty-two words earlier, but considering our friendship, I¡¯ll just give them to you as a freebie.¡± Ru Xin extended her hand like she deserved it.

    ¡°Our friendship sure is worth a lot!¡±

    To his surprise, Ru Xin furrowed her brows and began thinking as if she was seriously considering their friendship. Suddenly, her brows eased up again.

    ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t even really have a friendship. Hurry up and cough up the spiritual stones, or I¡¯ll refuse to answer any more questions.¡±

    ¡°Am I the novelist or are you the novelist? Are your stories really worth that much?¡±

    ¡°Fifty-six spiritual stones! Oh wait, it should be fifty-nine spiritual stones. If I include that sentence, it¡¯s sixty-four spiritual stones! No, it¡¯s wrong again. It should be¡­¡±

    ¡°Damn woman, you¡¯re even including what you said at the very beginning! You¡¯re still counting! Even talking to yourself counts as words!?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to not listen.¡±

    ¡°Alright, talk!¡± Li Qingshan refused to pay a single spiritual stone to her.

    ¡°Please settle the bill first.¡±

    Li Qingshan exhaled in frustration and directly tossed out a great pile of spiritual stones.

    Ru Xin did not hold back, accepting the spiritual stones with a smile. She said, ¡°A long, long time ago¡­¡±

    ¡°It was just a few days at most!¡±

    ¡°You think you¡¯re so clever! Do you know what I¡¯m going to say? Stop interrupting me. A long, long time ago, there was a child called Chu Tian. He was a Reincarnated Celestial and a clever, kind-hearted boy- wait, forget I said those four words. I¡¯m not going to charge you for them. I¡¯ve helped you save four spiritual stones. Hehe.¡±

    ¡°Hehe my ass! You¡¯re charging me over that entire monologue, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s already exceeded twenty words.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    After learning all about Chu Tian¡¯s appearance, figure, background, and origins, Li Qingshan finally heard Ru Xin say he succeeded with Foundation Establishment and had come to the Chain mountains to challenge him. He could not help but begin paying attention too.

    At this moment, the story came to a halt.

 Chapter 497 â€“ The Chant of Deva-NÄga

    The malice of the tiger demon had already merged with his bones. A sliver of it appeared. If regular people saw him right now, they would truly be frightened to death. Even cultivators would lurch inside and develop some fear.

    However, Ru Xin merely drank her tea with composure, completely ignoring Li Qingshan¡¯s actions. The corner of her lips even seemed to curl up into a complacent smile. Whenever they clashed verbally, they would emerge victoriously if they could make the other lose their temper. Now, it was basically a victory for her, so she was delighted inside.

    Li Qingshan ground his teeth, truly unable to do anything to her. Even vicious tigers could not extend their claws and teeth at friends.

    And, while he said he was angry, he actually experienced a rare sense of peace inside. As he drank the tea and listened to the story that she rambled on about, the shadow from the underground world seemed to recede from his body bit by bit.

    Before he knew it, he was no longer the moon demon, and he recovered some humane sensations. His tense heart loosened up. As a result, he played along with her. If any old person wanted to scam him out of his spiritual stones, they had better check whether they had enough lives to.

    In order to hear the entire story, Li Qingshan could only pay up obediently.

    ¡°Thank you for your patronage! I won¡¯t be refunding any extra payments, but you do have to make up for it if you¡¯re short!¡±

    Fortunately, after succeeding with her ¡°scheme¡±, Ru Xin had no intentions of purposefully extending the story any further. She gave him a simple explanation about what had happened, but even with that being the case, she had earned almost ten thousand spiritual stones.

    ¡°This bastard Chu Tian sure is clueless,¡± Li Qingshan said casually. He did not take this too seriously. A trouble-making clown like Chu Tian was no longer worth his attention.

    More importantly, the Annihilum Light Chan Master actually wanted to take Xiao An to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Although Li Qingshan did plan on visiting there with Xiao An, it was rather inappropriate right now.

    A visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would definitely not take three or five days. It would be rather fast if it took three or five years. The issue was he had just set up some groundwork in the Clear River prefecture for himself. He had yet to reap the fruits of his labour. If he left now, it would be far too great of a pity.

    Now that he had forcefully unified the night roamers, the spiritual herbs he collected would not be offered up like before. Instead, he could directly take it from them. His harvest would definitely be much, much greater than in the previous years.

    Even though regular pills were already useless to him, as long as he accumulated enough spiritual stones, he was more than able to visit the Ruyi commandery or even better places. He refused to believe he could not find and buy pills he could use.

    He was like a farmer, toiling in the land laboriously and shedding who knew how many droplets of sweat. Finally, he reached autumn, the season of harvest he had been longing for all this time after so much difficulty. However, then he had to let go of the land and go start up a new field. No one would be willing to accept that.

    And, he had yet to deal with the latent issue of the Spider Queen, which made it even more impossible for him to leave like this.

    Of course, there was a way to deal with this, which was to have Xiao An cultivate in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga alone while Li Qingshan remained in the Clear River prefecture, doing whatever he wanted.

    However, Li Qingshan did not even consider this idea. Like the promise he had given in the past, only death could separate the two of them.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. His expression changed several times before he suddenly stood up. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the academy and take a look.¡± If that old monk decided to act on his own and forcefully take Xiao An back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, that would be horrible.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to fret. A master from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga won¡¯t resort to something so rude and unreasonable, as long as you don¡¯t insist on marrying their genius disciple.¡± Ru Xin seemed to read his mind. As she spoke, she sounded like she was testing him.

    ¡°Why would I marry her for no good reason?¡±

    ¡°As long as you have no interest.¡± Ru Xin eased up before pressing Li Qingshan back into his seat. Suddenly, she brought up something completely random. ¡°Did you know, this world originally had gods.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had no idea why she had abruptly mentioned this.

    ¡°This is another story.¡± Ru Xin smiled.

    ¡°You want to scam more spiritual stones from me?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Forget it. Considering how cooperative you were earlier, I¡¯ll tell you this story for free.¡±

    ¡°Even if you want me to pay, I have to be willing first. Go on!¡±

    ¡°Your mind is elsewhere, so forget about it today. I¡¯ll tell you once your mind settles down. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go to the academy.¡± Ru Xin stood up complacently and made her way out through the door. Her lips curled into a somewhat mysterious smile.

    I¡¯m not taking over ten thousand spiritual stones from you for nothing.

    In the great buddha¡¯s hall of the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple, the monks were all silent as they stood around.

    The rings of spiral incense fell bit by bit as curling smoke dispersed. The figure of buddha smiled with his head lowered.

    An old man and a young girl sat in front of the buddha, discussing the dharma. One was as withered as wood, while the other was tender like a flower.

    As they listened to them speak, the monks were all left at a loss. Even Mind Enlightenment was not too certain he understood everything.

    Xiao An seemed to be absorbed in her thoughts, lowering her head and thinking hard from time to time. Often, it would only take her a short while before she raised her head and continued.

    The joy on the Annihilum Light Chan Master¡¯s face that had been described as withered deepened. When he saw her several years ago, they had only agreed on their master-disciple relationship. They had not conversed too much. Today, he originally planned on giving her some guidance, but none of his difficult questions managed to stump her.

    She developed her own style with buddhism, comprehending certain things by herself. Although her understanding for most things was still rather shallow, she did mention words of elegant wisdom from time to time, which instead made him feel like he was interacting with a senior.

    And, it was only ¡°shallow¡± in comparison to him, the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard who had spent several centuries on the buddhist dharma. There was probably no one among the internal disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that could match her. He was only filled with praises for her inside.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was not a simple cultivation method. It contained the life¡¯s work of an eminent monk of buddhism, which was equivalent to having a bodhisattva as a teacher, pointing out a path for her among the buddhist scriptures that were as vast as the sea. She used this as a foundation to read buddhist scriptures far and wide before coming back and practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. The two processes supplemented each other, allowing her to advance step by step.

    She felt like she had benefited quite a lot from the discussion with the Annihilum Light Chan Master. However, the bodhisattva was still the White Bone Bodhisattva after all, so Xiao An was unable to actually tell him what she had comprehended. Otherwise, he would not be approving and praising her. Instead, he would fly into a rage. With lightning speed, he would directly annihilate this heretic who blasphemed the buddha.

    Most of Xiao An¡¯s attention was not on the discussion. Instead, she was thinking about Li Qingshan¡¯s safety. However, as she was always expressionless and her replies were clever and alert, even the Annihilum Light Chan Master failed to notice this. If he found out Xiao An had only been using minimal effort to deal with him, who knew whether he would become angered and displeased or even more delighted.

    Xiao An¡¯s dark pupils were perfectly still. Through her eyes, the gloriously-adorned hall seemed to become a transparent black and white. The rich fragrance of sandalwood was light yet tasteless. The Annihilum Light Chan Master opened and closed his mouth, mentioning subtle buddhist dharma that only slipped through her mind. The sound of morning bells and evening drums were barely discernible and distant too.

    This was not because her senses were not sharp, but rather she was close to a state of emptiness and formlessness as described by buddhism. Regular buddhist disciples could spend three years facing a wall, and a moment of this was enough to enlighten them and allow their cultivation to leap forward. She was in this state right now.

    Thunk!

    Xiao An heard a loud sound, and she turned around in delight. Li Qingshan stepped into the great buddha¡¯s hall. He formed an extremely distinct contrast to his surroundings. His bronze skin, shining eyes, and resonant laughter broke the silence.

    Li Qingshan arrived beside Xiao An and bowed deeply. ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Greetings to the Annihilum Light Chan Master. I¡¯ve heard how Xiao An had the pleasure to study under a renowned master like you. Having witnessed the solemnity of your bearing, you truly do live up to your name, Annihilum Light Chan Master.¡±

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master did not even glance at Li Qingshan, like he did not exist. All he could see was Xiao An. As the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard in the Annihilum Light Chan Master, he could be regarded as powerful even among cultivators who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation.

    However, he was not looking down on Foundation Establishment cultivators like Li Qingshan. Instead, that was merely his nature. Prior to meeting Xiao An, he had already practised meditative silence for twenty years.

    Meditative silence was extremely renowned among chan sects, which focused on letting go of the obsessions of speech. However, it was rumored in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that his meditative silence was not for cultivation at all but purely because he did not want to talk and waste time expounding the buddhist dharma to others.

    During the half a day he had spent here, he had almost spoken more words to Xiao An than everything he had said in the past decade in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. If the disciples of the Bodhi courtyard found out about this, their jaws would definitely drop and begin suspecting whether their master was actually an imposter or not.

    But clearly, the Annihilum Light Chan Master was not particularly fond of Li Qingshan who had just barged in.

    Mind Enlightenment went up and tried to persuade him gently. ¡°Junior brother, it¡¯s best if you leave for now!¡±

    ¡°In the past, the One Thought master said I had a destiny with the buddha. I¡¯d like to listen to the Annihilum Light Chan Master¡¯s profound buddhist dharma and see whether I actually have a destiny or not.¡± Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An, finding himself a cushion to sit down on.

    Xiao An smiled faintly. The moment of beauty left all the monks in the hall slightly stunned. Some who did not have self-restraint naturally developed some impure thoughts.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master frowned. He had no idea what the Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty was, but he could not help but think of a legend. In the legend, when the buddha attained buddhahood under the bodhi tree, the demonic m¨¡ra came to stop him, conjuring celestial maidens to delude his enlightened heart.

    He had never seen celestial maidens, but her smile made her buddhist nature fade away, going from a buddhist genius to a celestial maiden conjured by demons. This was also the first time he truly took notice of her appearance before realising he had probably been over worrying. She was still a child after all, so having some impure thoughts was unavoidable. If she really was completely pure and stainless, then it would be unbelievable. She would resemble a demon more that way.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master turned his withered face, and his eyes recovered their turbidity, finally looking at Li Qingshan. His still heart suddenly rippled.

    He was the only obstacle to her cultivation!

    ¡°As the buddha says, three pairs of listening ears may be too many for certain dharma. You want to listen to my sermons, but I wonder if you have that right, sir?¡±

    TL: ¡°Three pairs of listening ears may be too many¡± is a Chinese saying that describes something as top secret. Basically, you want to keep it between two people (two pairs of ears), without a third person knowing (the third pair of ears).

    In contrast to the hoarseness when he gave sermons, the Annihilum Light Chan Master¡¯s voice suddenly became mighty, grand, and magnanimous with a hint of a lingering dragon¡¯s roar. It fell from above, pouring directly into Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed and immediately dismissed his thoughts. His soul began to shake as he felt like electricity was running through his body.

 Chapter 498 - A Godless World

    Rumor has it that the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga possesses the ability to suppress all daemons, demons, ghosts, and monsters. Sure enough, it¡¯s true. Has he discovered something? Which is why he¡¯s purposefully testing me?

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master had not realised Li Qingshan¡¯s original form as a daemon. Instead, he had other thoughts in mind. Not only could the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga suppress all daemons, but it could also purge the evil thoughts and desires from a person¡¯s heart.

    If Li Qingshan truly had some inappropriate intentions towards Xiao An, he could use this to eliminate them, saving any unnecessary troubles that might have happened with his visit. If he refused to let them go, then he would suffer extreme agony.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s face only changed slightly before recovering. As a matter of fact, he was even calmer and more composed than when he first arrived.

    Is my judgement wrong? If that¡¯s the case, I don¡¯t have to make things too difficult for him. People are creatures of feelings, so it¡¯s unavoidable if you can¡¯t always let go. If I use force, I would be resorting to a lesser method of dealing with this. I¡¯ll develop ill will with my disciple. The Annihilum Light Chan Master stopped the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression ability to suppress anything, pacifying the unsettled ox demon and tiger demon and becoming as calm as a meditating old monk. When the spirit turtle submerged in the sea, it was as still as a rock. Of course, this was also because the Annihilum Light Chan Master had never unleashed his true strength, or fleeing frantically would be the only thing Li Qingshan could do apart from transforming and fighting him.

    ¡°Is this the ultimate cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile.

    ¡°Seeing how open-minded and level-headed you are, you do indeed have some destiny with the buddha, sir.¡±

    ¡°What? The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡± The monks were all stunned. Apart from Xiao An, no one else had sensed anything from the probing and clash earlier.

    ¡°Could you pass it onto Xiao An?¡± Li Qingshan tried his luck.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan arrived on Benevolence island alone as he sighed inside, The phoenix¡¯s feather sure won¡¯t come easily!

    ¡°This special cultivation method is different from other cultivation methods. Only my senior brother, the abbott, has the right to pass it to other people. And she¡¯ll have to undertake a series of tests before that.¡±

    There was nothing Li Qingshan could do. He agreed to pay a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with Xiao An once he dealt with the matters in the Clear River prefecture. That was what Xiao An had been planning in the first place too. The Annihilum Light Chan Master had nothing to say, so he continued giving sermons to Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan made his way to the school of Medicine, thinking about the second story Ru Xin wanted to tell him. Back then, he was worried about Xiao An, so he was in no shape to think too much about it, but looking at it now, he felt that it bore great significance.

    Ru Xin¡¯s mouth was unforgiving, but never did she actually try to scam him out of his spiritual stones. He could feel that even if he had given her the spiritual stones reluctantly, she would not have accepted them.

    Asking around a little, Ru Xin was not on Benevolence island. She had gone to the library on Contention island.

    Suddenly, a gaze filled with hatred was cast over. Li Qingshan raised his head and looked over. There was a twisted face behind a window upstairs that he found rather familiar. It was Chu Tian.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand with a smile, and the face became even more twisted. At this moment, a woman arrived by the window, and surprisingly, it was Qian Rongzhi. She dropped her gaze and glanced at Li Qingshan. Her expression was rather strange as she quickly closed the curtains.

    ¡°Is she guarding her prey?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Little Tian, stop looking. There will be a day when you become even more powerful than him.¡± There was no pity in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes. Instead, they were filled with trust and anticipation.

    This was a gaze that no man could resist when they were in dejection. Chu Tian was no different. He shuddered before throwing himself into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s arms. He began sobbing.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything anymore!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi rubbed his head gently with her gloved hands. Her gaze was gentle like a mother gazing at her own, dejected child.

    However, the hell snake began to move, slithering around on her body reluctantly. She also comforted it like a mother.

    Be patient. There¡¯ll be food very soon.

    Chu Tian had indeed lost quite a lot of things. After Ru Xin brought him to Benevolence island, his symptoms of qi deviation stabilised miraculously. Afterwards, Qian Rongzhi rushed over, her eyes red as she stuttered.

    Under Chu Tian¡¯s forceful questioning, she ended up telling him an extremely unfortunate piece of news. During the time he spent in secluded cultivation, the two girls who had joined the academy with him died in battle. He was childhood friends with the two girls, deeply attached to them.

    Chu Tian was overcome with sorrow and experienced qi deviation again, almost dying.

    Afterwards, a miracle occurred to him again, keeping his life intact as if fate really protected his life. However, his cultivation did regress drastically.

    ¡°You still have me!¡± Qian Rongzhi turned her head away as if seeing this broke her heart. She could not help herself as tears rolled down her cheek.

    And, only me.

    The venomous snake hissed.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Fubai, why are you here?¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived at the library, but he ran into an acquaintance, Sun Fubai.

    The sunlight poured in through the window as Sun Fubai sat back in a rocking chair leisurely, reading a book, just like when they had first met.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve come.¡±

    Only after a conversation did Li Qingshan learn that the library originally belonged to the school of Novels. The structures on Contention island all came with obligations, which were mostly handled by people various schools sent over.

    However, as the school of Novels had originally declined to the point where they almost lost Cloudwisp island, possessing no disciples and unable to support any instructors, the library had fallen under the obligations of the school of Confucianism. Now that the school of Novels was prospering again, it returned to the hands of the school of Novels.

    Sun Fubai had reached a crucial moment for his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, so he dropped his matters in the Cloudwisp association and returned to the library to cultivate himself. Under his management, a complete structure had already been set up in the Cloudwisp association, so there was no need for him to personally tend to everything.

    Books filled the bookshelves. The smell of wood and books was refreshing. However, the vast building was mostly empty, without many people inside.

    The chaos brought by war had yet to be pacified. The people who were in the mood to read books and the books regarding cultivation were all on higher floors. Most of the books downstairs were classics, or on history, philosophy, and literature, which were very difficult for cultivators to take note of.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about school leader Ru, right? She¡¯s right over there. She came a long time ago. So she¡¯s been waiting for you!¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡±

    Li Qingshan had already sensed her aura. Navigating his way through the mountainous bookcases and piles of books, he finally found her in a corner.

    There were many books piled on the table, but she was not holding a single one. She crossed her legs high up on the table, smiling brightly while leaning on her hands.

    There were two floor-to-ceiling windows. The sunlight was wonderful, dyeing her black hair golden.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Li Qingshan sat down in front of her, casually picking up a book and flipping through it before tossing it back onto the table.

    ¡°To tell you the second story.¡±

    ¡°What story?¡±

    ¡°A story about gods.¡±

    Ru Xin removed her legs from the table. With a wave of her hand, the curtains were drawn with a rattle, blocking out the sunlight. A shadow enveloped her face. She crossed her arms and placed them on the table, leaning forward and stifling her voice. ¡°Did you know that the nine provinces originally had many gods? These gods obviously couldn¡¯t be compared to the gods and buddhas in heaven. At most, they were only some minor gods, and the places they governed were not large either, such as a mountain or a river.¡±

    ¡°Most of them were mountain or water daemons. Perhaps they might not have been particularly powerful in the cultivation world, but in the eyes of regular people, they already possessed powers to summon clouds and rain at whim. They seemed all-powerful. And, as long as they remained in their territory, their strength would be greatly enhanced. They would possess quite the power.¡±

    ¡°What about now? Why aren¡¯t there any more left?¡± Li Qingshan seemed to understand something, but he failed to grasp the main point of all this.

    ¡°After the founding emperor established the nine provinces, not a single god existed in the world.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°And then there¡¯s no and then. I¡¯m done with my story.¡± Ru Xin waved her hand again, and the dazzling sunlight flooded in.

    ¡°Is this your story?¡± Li Qingshan stared at her with widened eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve paid anything, so why should I make it so long? If you want to know, read it for yourself!¡± Ru Xin patted the pile of books, filling the air with dust that drifted about in the sunlight.

    She stood up, about to leave.

    ¡°Hold on.¡± Li Qingshan stopped Ru Xin, but he had no idea where he should start with his questions. Just a certain thought of his became clearer and clearer. He glanced past the tall pile of books. She must have spent quite the effort digging up these damned books from the musty selection here!

    ¡°If you have something to say, just spit it out.¡±

    ¡°If you had said ¡®make it quick¡¯ instead of that, it would be a little more pleasant to my ears.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze swept past her perky bottom viciously. He was very tempted to deal a vicious slap there.

    Immediately, he forgot about keeping her around for the rest of his life as a confidant. He only thought about how pressing her down over his legs and viciously spanking her would be the greatest enjoyment when she ran her mouth blindly.

    ¡°Will I receive spiritual stones if you feel pleasant?¡± Ru Xin found that rather inappropriate as soon as she mentioned it.

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan sniggered. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on how you make me feel pleasant.¡±

    Ru Xin turned around and left without saying anything more.

    Li Qingshan suddenly remembered something. ¡°Do you know what Qian Rongzhi is doing by Chu Tian¡¯s side?¡±

    ¡°In the Mist province, interfering with a person¡¯s hunt is even more severe of an offence than stealing their wife!¡± Ru Xin waved her hand without even looking back, passing through the corridor of floor-to-ceiling windows. She flickered in and out of the sunlight, disappearing at the end of the corridor.

    ¡°Hunting? She¡¯s thinking the same thing as I am. It¡¯s a pity that I have too many prey, or I wouldn¡¯t mind having a hand in it.¡±

    Li Qingshan murmured to himself before picking up the book he had tossed on the table again. He carefully studied the cover. The title of the book had already become blurred, and the words were in an extremely simple style. He only managed to make out two words, ¡°on Gods¡±.

    Unless they were left untouched in hundred treasures pouches, items like books could never withstand the passage of time no matter how proper the protection they received was.

    For once, Li Qingshan settled down and began reading. Only then would he live up to the pain-staking efforts she had gone to in finding these books from the vast selection here.

    Under the reflected sunlight, time passed bit by bit.

    Just like what Ru Xin had said, gods did exist in the very beginning. They were primarily divided into mountain gods and water gods. Bodies of earth and bodies of water could be refined like spiritual and arcane artifacts, but unlike imprinting them with soul sense, the process involved drawing out a sliver of soul sense and condensing it into a god seal.

    The founding emperor conquering the world was not as simple as defeating everyone in the world and then establishing the eight kings and ten Daemon Kings. Otherwise, the Great Xia empire would have immediately collapsed the moment he left, returning to the age of chaos.

    Instead, he undertook a series of procedures to prevent this. The most important procedure was forging the great cauldrons of the nine provinces. The materials that went into forging these cauldrons were the god seals collected from throughout the world.

    The nine cauldrons suppressed the nine provinces. From then onwards, even if daemons claimed mountains and bodies of rivers again, they would not be able to refine them.

 Chapter 499 - Water God Seal

    Li Qingshan was not surprised by the fact that Ru Xin had managed to guess his identity as Northmoon. He was not Superman, who only needed to take off a pair of black-rimmed glasses and change into a set of tights with an ¡°S¡± to fool the reporter that was the female protagonist forever.

    Either there was something wrong with the female reporter¡¯s head, or she had never really taken a man like him seriously. As someone who liked her, Superman¡¯s tastes sure were not particularly impressive.

    Li Qingshan personally believed his tastes were much better. Ru Xin¡¯s intelligence was quite rare in the world. She had purposefully made a fuss to lead him here, digging up a great pile of books for him to read. Surely she could not say something like:

    Hey, I know who you are! Becoming a water god is so great, but it¡¯s just a pity you were born too late! You know about it now, but it¡¯s forever beyond your reach! Hehehehe.

    Hold on!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression suddenly became rather strange, as he imagined Ru Xin saying something like that complacently, he felt like she was actually capable of doing something like that.

    He coughed gently and dismissed these random thoughts. He calmed down and continued flipping through the books.

    By dusk, the sunlight had become an orangey-red, casting long shadows of him on the floor.

    Li Qingshan finally reached the last book, and he became even more eager. If he could refine a body of water and turn it into his water dwelling, his cultivation speed would definitely increase drastically. And, with his geographic advantage, even if Golden Core cultivators came to make trouble, he could deal with them easily. He could go on the attack as opposed to being on the defence.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Oi, Ru Xin, what are you trying to do? Are you fooling with me?¡±

    It was already late. Li Qingshan arrived on Benevolence island, looking for Ru Xin in her alchemy room to denounce her. Disappointment and anger filled his face from finding absolutely nothing.

    ¡°Ah, you¡¯ve finally noticed! How clever!¡± Ru Xin chuckled as if she had succeeded with her scheme. However, she felt rather disappointed inside.

    ¡°So you already knew!¡± Li Qingshan flew into a rage before calming down again and smiling.

    ¡°Knew what?¡± Ru Xin asked in exasperation.

    ¡°I was¡­¡±

    ¡°An idiot.¡± Ru Xin interrupted him.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with Xiao An.¡± Li Qingshan did not lose his temper. He only sighed gently.

    ¡°Why?¡± Ru Xin gazed at the cauldron before her and asked in an unconcerned manner, but her heart shuddered slightly.

    ¡°You read all the books I gave you?¡± Others might have had no idea which superior Li Qingshan had offended, but Ru Xin knew very well. She became rather flustered inside for some reason.

    ¡°I read some of them, but they seem to be useless, so I guessed you were playing a trick on me. Sigh, if only that were possible. That way, I would be able to hold off that superior of mine.¡±

    ¡°You idiot!¡± He was clearly just one step away.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m not going to get mad at you today. Actually, there¡¯s something I want to tell you before I leave.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze suddenly became filled with tenderness.

    Ru Xin¡¯s gaze met his before shifting away again. ¡°What about those books?¡±

    She would not make any attempt to persuade him to stay, but at the very least, she had to make him understand the current situation completely. This idiot!

    ¡°They¡¯re still in the library!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Ru Xin had specially told Sun Fubai to stow the books away and prevent anyone else from touching them if Li Qingshan failed to read through all of them.

    ¡°Hahahaha, who¡¯s the one being fooled now?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly laughed aloud and raised his right hand.

    ¡­¡­

    An hour earlier, he noticed something thin inserted between the first page and the front cover the moment he opened the last book. It seemed like water or ice, completely transparent, and it was jagged, shaped like a dragon. It formed a simplistic but impressive glyph.

    Li Qingshan could tell with a single glance that it was anything but ordinary. However, it did not even give off a sliver of spiritual qi, and it was extremely delicate. If he had not flipped to this page, he would not have discovered what the book was hiding.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He looked around, and only after confirming that no one was around did he channel a sliver of spiritual qi into the ice glyph.

    The ice glyph immediately began to move, raging like the rivers yet also coiling like dragons and snakes. Under the glow of the setting sun, it seemed to be alive.

    Sure enough!

    Li Qingshan picked up a book he had just read through and flipped to a certain page. There was a description on there.

    ¡°The Mountain God Seal is like metal, while the Water God Seal is like ice and jade. They are both shaped like dragons.¡±

    Combining the information from so many books, a rough, blue image gradually appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    After forging the cauldrons of the nine provinces, no one was able to condense god seals anymore. Afterwards, the world became godless.

    However, this was not absolute. With how many mountains and bodies of water there were in the world, there would always be some god seals that managed to slip by. Because they came from the same origins as the cauldrons of the nine provinces, they could not be suppressed.

    However, while they could not be suppressed, the nine cauldrons could sense these actions of stealing from their ¡°network¡±. Once caught, the empire would definitely punish those people with an iron fist.

    However, this lead to another question. This god seal might not necessarily be condensed in the Clear River prefecture, so could it still be used here?

    There was no answer to this question. He only gained a complete understanding of the history, rise, and fall of the existence of gods from all the books he had read, but they did not go into detail about the usage of god seals.

    And, using a god seal in this day and age was clearly an act of treason. Even if books like that did exist, they would not be present in the library.

    ¡°Looks like the answer is right here!¡±

    Li Qingshan cast his gaze onto the last book with the Water God Seal again. At first glance, the book seemed no different from the others, just having been soaked in water before, and the material of the paper was rather different. Through the decorative designs of the first page, he could tell that the book should not have come from the library, but from Ru Xin¡¯s personal collection.

    Li Qingshan calmed down and read through it page by page. He discovered calling it a book was rather inaccurate. More accurately, it was a series of notes. It was the notes of a Hawkwolf guard who carried out missions in the Mist province.

    It contained records of how a few daemons, demons, and monsters in the Mist province used this remaining god seal to refine the treacherous terrain there, claiming themselves to be kings. They were extremely difficult to exterminate.

    Sure enough, according to the information recorded in the notes, god seals were only divided into Mountain God Seals and Water God Seals, but they were not limited to certain regions. As long as they released the spiritual qi of the mountains and waters they had refined, they could just use them elsewhere.

    The Hawkwolf guard had complained plenty about this.

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy inside.

    The notes should have been quite old. By now, the Mist province had already descended into chaos, and the Hawkwolf Guard had already withdrawn their organisation to the level of commanderies. It was no longer clear who was exterminating who.

    In other words, offices of the Hawkwolf Guard on the same level as the Clear River prefecture no longer existed in the Mist province.

    That was expected. After several years of war, the Clear River prefecture had already withdrawn its lowest level of Hawkwolf Guard offices too, concentrating their strength in all aspects. If the war developed further, such that even Daemon Commanders like Spider Queen Lolth ran amok freely, then it would also make perfect sense to withdraw offices like the Hawkwolf Guard in the Clear River prefecture.

    After reading the final page of the notes, Li Qingshan gained an inkling about the origins of the god seal.

    There were many Water God Seals throughout the Mist province. They had not been left behind from before the age when the founding emperor established the nine provinces.

    There were territories outside the nine provinces that could completely avoid the suppression of the great cauldrons of the nine provinces. They could condense god seals outside and then bring them to the nine provinces.

    However, this was anything but easy to achieve. Condensing god seals required extremely great time and effort, frequently calculated using decades. If it were just for the sake of sale, it was a horrible idea where the losses outweigh the gains.

    The Hawkwolf guard even suspected a connection to the Merfolk of the South sea, as Merfolk were naturally born with the other ability of controlling water, so condensing Water God Seals was relatively easier for them. At the same time, they had lengthier lives too. As it seemed, the Hawkwolf guard¡¯s guess had been mostly correct.

    Ru Xin happened to possess the bloodline of Merfolk.

    Li Qingshan could also be regarded as a member of the Hawkwolf Guard, but never had he heard of something like this, probably because the Green province was a close neighbour of the Dragon province. If any daemon were bold enough to make trouble, probably even the Dragon King of Ink Sea would not allow it. However, now that the Treaty of Kings was falling apart and conflict sprung up everywhere with plenty of bloodshed, something like this was no longer a big deal.

    He had even committed murder and arson, so why did he have to worry about stealing some resources?

    ¡°This sure is a great gift!¡±

    If it were not for the fact that he was in the library, Li Qingshan was almost tempted to laugh out loud. If Ru Xin had been standing in front of him, perhaps he would have hugged her and kissed her a few times.

    The spiritual stones he had given away, over ten thousand of them, were absolutely nothing in comparison to the value of the god seal. Even in the Mist province, a similar god seal could fetch an astronomical price, and they were probably even rarer in the Green province.

    If Li Qingshan were to buy it, he would be more than willing to spend the sum even if it cost a hundred thousand or a million spiritual stones. Was there anything else that could increase his cultivation speed while ensuring his safety? Was there anything more important than that?

    In hindsight, Li Qingshan realised that Ru Xin¡¯s tricks were actually more like a test.

    If he did not have the patience to listen to her, or he turned her down because he was stingy with spiritual stones, he would not have even gotten through the first story, so there obviously would not be a second story. If he ignored and dismissed her efforts, refusing to read through them one by one, then he would have missed out on the priceless god seal.

    It¡¯s right there. It¡¯ll just depend on whether you have the patience or not.

    Was obtaining her heart the same?

    Li Qingshan stowed the book and god seal away. Then he explained a few things to Sun Fubai before rushing over to Benevolence island.

    ¡­¡­

    As Ru Xin gazed at the god seal in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, she had no idea whether she should be angry or happy.

    If he had not read through all the books, why did he only visit now? Normally, she never would have fallen for this, but his farewell managed to throw her mind into a mess.

    ¡°Looks like even without a test, there¡¯s still a prize for me! Lady Ru Xin sure is softhearted!¡± At this moment, Li Qingshan did not possess a single shred of might or malice that belonged to daemons. He was more like a child who had managed to steal some candy, extremely proud of himself.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve obtained it, you can hurry up and piss off. Stop interfering with my alchemy.¡±

    Ru Xin waved her hand impatiently, like she was shooing away a fly. The red glow of the setting sun stretched from her cheek to her slender neck.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms and embraced her firmly as he said with great seriousness.

    Medicinal fragrance filled his mind, and her feminine figure filled his arms.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave the Clear River prefecture so casually. Even if I do leave, I will return. I have far too many attachments here.¡±

    Before Ru Xin could respond, Li Qingshan let go of her and made his way out the door.

    ¡°How impressive.¡± Ru Xin snorted with disdain after being dazed for a moment.

    At this moment, there was someone else on Benevolence island who had finally obtained her reward after a series of trials.

 Chapter 500 â€“ The End to Mad and Arrogan

    No one came to visit Chu Tian, whether it was his senior and junior brothers of the school of Confucianism or the women he had a relationship with in the past.

    If Chu Tian had been an amiable person, even if his cultivation regressed drastically, he would not end up like this. At the very least, he would still have received some sympathy and respect.

    However, he had never been a likable person. Normally, others were only polite with him because of his talent. They were probably all hiding deep envy aside from that.

    Thoughts like ¡°Even an idiot like him can cultivate so quickly, so why can¡¯t I? The heavens sure are unfair!¡± were unavoidable.

    As a result, when they learned about his qi deviation, they all secretly rejoiced. ¡°To think you would have today!¡± No one was willing to waste time on a cripple anymore.

    There was only one person who cared for him without abandoning him¡ªQian Rongzhi.

    However, seeing how concern alone would be useless, a sliver of pity suddenly appeared in her eyes. ¡°Little Tian, even if you can¡¯t cultivate anymore, I¡¯ll look after you for the rest of your life.¡±

    Like a cat that had its tail trodden on, Chu Tian responded emotionally, ¡°I still can cultivate! Those people who look down on me will definitely live to regret it!¡± However, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s pity only deepened. Suddenly, he fell silent, sinking into his thoughts before saying, ¡°Rongzhi, there¡¯s a secret I want to tell you. I¡¯ve never told anyone about this secret before.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Qian Rongzhi was uncertain.

    ¡°Watch carefully!¡± Chu Tian extended his right hand, and a verdant vine grew from the centre of his palm bit by bit. It was tiny, but it gave off a feeling of strength that came with age.

    Qian Rongzhi experienced a strange feeling. The vine grew in Chu Tian¡¯s palm, but it led to another world.

    ¡°Little Tian, is this an arcane treasure?¡±

    This had exceeded her expectations somewhat. In the past, she had plenty of chances to capture Chu Tian alive and then interrogate him through torture. However, she never did that because she had no idea what Chu Tian¡¯s trump card was and what powers he possessed. She acted as such just in case all of her efforts ended in vain and caused her more harm than good.

    As a result, she bided her time, just for this moment.

    ¡°No. This is a Heaven Climbing Vine. Its seed was buried in my soul when I was born. As long as I have it, I¡¯ll definitely be able to recover my cultivation!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, little Tian!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes sparkled as she thought, Thank you, Xiao An.

    It was late, in the middle of the night.

    Chu Tian lay on his bed, motionless, with his eyes wide open and staring directly upwards. A colourful little snake slithered across his face, climbing onto a fair-skinned arm.

    She patted the tiny snake¡¯s head. ¡°If I didn¡¯t have you, fetching the seed of the Heaven Climbing Vine sure would have been difficult.¡±

    Chu Tian had never been a particularly clever person. Since he had divulged his greatest secret, Qian Rongzhi learnt everything about the Heaven Climbing Vine very quickly too. She also finally understood the secret to why Chu Tian could cultivate so quickly.

    Qian Rongzhi opened her hand, and the Heaven Climbing Vine grew slowly. The verdant stalk was so slender and fragile, yet it could clearly overcome the invisible obstacles between spatial realms, leading to another world.

    Immediately, extremely pure spiritual qi flowed through the vine and into her body. Even for a blessed land like the academy that had been improved on for thousands of years, its spiritual qi was nowhere near as dense as the spiritual qi from the vine.

    Probably because the Heaven Climbing Vine was still very young, there actually was not a lot of spiritual qi. It could not even rival the spiritual qi drawn from a spiritual stone. However, this was no longer merely a difference in quantity, but a difference in quality too.

    As the spiritual qi circulated through her body and melded with her, she felt like she had returned to that night when she slaughtered the entire Qian family. She felt indescribable delight.

    You had something so wondrous and it still took you so many years to establish a foundation! You really do have the brains of a pig!

    Qian Rongzhi glanced at Chu Tian on the bed in disdain. Even regular people without any talent at all could cultivate relatively quickly as long as they had the Heaven Climbing Vine to constantly nurture their bodies.

    And, the Heaven Climbing Vine had appeared on him from the moment he was born, yet it was still so feeble. This clearly meant that Chu Tian only knew to extract spiritual qi with it. He had not properly nurtured the vine itself.

    From a certain perspective, the Heaven Climbing Vine and the tiny, colourful snake were extremely similar. If the tiny, colourful snake was a curse from hell, then the Heaven Climbing Vine would be a blessing from heaven.

    This was also where her opportunity came from. If she had been anyone else, then she would not have been able to remove the Heaven Climbing Vine from Chu Tian¡¯s body so easily. The Heaven Climbing Vine was an ethereal existence such that no others could even touch it apart from Chu Tian. They could only sense its existence.

    At most, they would only be able to coerce Chu Tian into letting them make use of the spiritual qi extracted by the Heaven Climbing Vine. However, this would be completely different from right now. They could even be stabbed in the back if they were not careful. The Heaven Climbing Vine was not only for cultivation. It could also bypass all defences and directly penetrate the opponent¡¯s body, sucking away their spiritual qi or even life force. This was what Chu Tian had been relying on when he tried to challenge Li Qingshan as a Qi Practitioner the other day. And, if Chu Tian really ran out of choices, he could even directly destroy the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    The tiny snake slithered along Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hand and entwined around the Heaven Climbing Vine, hissing and flickering its tongue.

    One was brightly-coloured, while the other was subdued and elegant. One was lively, while the other was serene.

    They were polar opposites, yet they contrasted perfectly off one another.

    ¡°Thank you, little Tian.¡± Qian Rongzhi withdrew the snake and vine, gently caressing Chu Tian¡¯s face. The smile on her face became more and more sincere as the killing intent in her heart grew heavier and heavier.

    She had many ways to deceive everyone up her sleeve. Although he could no longer pose any threat to her, only dead people were the safest, right?

    Just when she was about to strike.

    Thump, thump, thump. There were a few knocks on the door.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes, which were as cold as a snake¡¯s, shifted slightly.

    ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin, I was just about to go and look for you. Little Tian is experiencing qi deviation again.¡±

    The door opened. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face was filled with panic and worry as the corner of her eyes glistened with the trace of tears.

    ¡°Really? Don¡¯t tell me he heard some good news from you again!¡± Ru Xin crossed her arms and ruminated.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told him! I shouldn¡¯t have told him!¡± Qian Rongzhi murmured to herself, her fist clenched in self-blame.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you can go for now! It¡¯s so late. A lone man and woman spending a night together isn¡¯t a good idea.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid! I want to take care of him!¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve already taken plenty of care of him. Let¡¯s hope you don¡¯t care for him to death and break the rules here.¡± Ru Xin smiled faintly.

    ¡°This¡­ alright¡­¡± Qian Rongzhi shivered inside and lowered her head. She felt a terrifying presence from Ru Xin.

    She clenched her fist even more tightly before glancing back at Chu Tian on the bed. Having lost the Heaven Climbing Vine, he seemed to have become a vegetable. His eyes remained wide open and motionless such that specks of dust had already begun to gather on there.

    In truth, his situation was much worse than a vegetable¡¯s. It was said that vegetables still possessed a degree of consciousness, but having undergone the painful torure of the hell snake, his sea of consciousness had completely collapsed. All he did was continue breathing.

    No matter how impressive Ru Xin¡¯s medical skills were, she would not be able to cure him anymore.

    Thinking up to there, Qian Rongzhi moved over to the side, brushing past Ru Xin.

    The door to the ward closed again, separating the two of them.

    ¡°Is this the end to the mad and arrogant?¡± Ru Xin shook her head as she murmured softly to herself. Behind her, a hideous, terrifying figure, humanoid yet also not, vanished with a flash.

    Qian Rongzhi loosened her hand. The Heaven Climbing Vine and hell snake returned to her body. She made her way towards the end of the corridor resolutely. She would not be returning.

    From that moment onwards, a curse and blessing existed on her at the same time. No one knew which direction she would be heading in the future.

    After parting with Ru Xin, Li Qingshan discovered the sermon on An¨¡srav¨¡? island was still ongoing.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master wanted to pass on a few extra things to his disciple before he left and have a closer relationship to her.

    As for Xiao An, she stopped worrying after learning about Li Qingshan¡¯s safety, placing all of her focus on the discussion of dharma with the Annihilum Light Chan Master to increase her comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master could not help but become even more delighted. As it turned out, this disciple of his had not even unleashed her true ¡°powers¡± earlier. He became even more afraid of becoming careless.

    Just when Li Qingshan wanted to return to Cloudwisp island and slowly consider how he would use the Water God Seal, Wang Pushi sent him another message, telling him that he was waiting for him in the office in Clear River city.

    When Li Qingshan had transformed into Northmoon, he had already ignored many messages. He had to go this time so he went.

    Only when he arrived in the city did he discover that Wang Pushi was not the only one waiting for him.

    In the large hall, Wang Pushi and Hua Chengzan sat in the centre. Behind them on the wall was a valiant hawk with its wings unfurled, forged from scarlet bronze. It gazed at Li Qingshan with shining eyes, which made him think of Gu Yanying.

    Almost a hundred Hawkwolf guards stood to the left and right according to their positions and cultivations. This was basically all the Hawkwolf guards they could spare from the entire Clear River prefecture.

    ¡°Old Wang, don¡¯t tell me you plan on denouncing and punishing me for what I¡¯ve done with such a great group you¡¯ve assembled!¡± Li Qingshan joked as the door behind him closed loudly.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you deserted from the battle, hiding in your dwelling to cultivate. What crimes do you think you deserve?¡± Wang Pushi asked right in his face.

    ¡°I was at a critical juncture for cultivation, and I only broke through after so much difficulty. How can you call that deserting? Moreover, it¡¯s not like I knew you would run into so much danger.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged and shot a glance at Hua Chengzan. He asked secretly, ¡°What the hell is old Wang doing?¡± Even if he missed a few messages, surely it did not warrant so much anger!

    ¡°You¡¯ll know in a second.¡± Hua Chengzan studied Li Qingshan and noticed a sharp change in his bearing. He knew he was not lying. Who knew how difficult each breakthrough would be for a cultivator. No one was like him, entering seclusion almost every day for a breakthrough.

    ¡°How dare you talk back! Hell of Ice!¡± Wang Pushi leapt to his feet, and the temperature in the room plummeted.

    Apart from Hua Chengzan, all of the Hawkwolf guards could not help but shiver, but they had only been indirectly affected. Wang Pushi¡¯s true target, Li Qingshan, became covered in frost in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan felt bone-chilling coldness, freezing his flesh, blood, and skeleton such that he was immobilised. The coldness even penetrated his sea of qi, wanting to freeze it altogether.

    Coupled with it was indescribable pain. The Ice hell was the same as the Venomous Snake hell, both one of the many minor hells. However, it was a fair bit off from the pain brought on by Qian Rongzhi¡¯s true hell snake.

 Chapter 501 â€“ Scarlet Hawk Commander

    Once disciples of legalism cultivated to a certain degree, they could draw a sliver of aura from the endless hells and merge it with their cultivations for life.

    When they struck, their attacks would possess the great solemnity of hell, suppressing the vigour of the enemy. Every attack would cause pain from the very depths of the enemy¡¯s soul, stirring up their minds.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to do, but this kind of probing is very boring!¡±

    Li Qingshan remained composed, ignoring the pressure and enduring the pain.

    Wang Pushi¡¯s face changed. The sound of shattering ice rang out.

    Li Qingshan strode forwards. He radiated with chilling coldness, leaving behind a frozen footprint with each step. His body seemed rather sluggish, but that was because he refused to expose his strength.

    Without using his abilities that involved daemon qi, he unleashed the Arts of the Boundless Ocean and waves of spiritual qi surged forth in his sea of qi, purging the coldness. However, there were still slivers of coldness that continued to cling onto him, making it difficult to remove, but he ignored them.

    The tea cup by Wang Pushi¡¯s side had already turned into ice. Suddenly, cracks appeared on its surface, and it exploded loudly.

    The temperature plummeted once again. The chilling coldness wormed through all openings.

    The Hawkwolf guards all retreated to the edge of the hall, forced to use true qi to resist the coldness. They turned their heads away, afraid to look at Wang Pushi. Even a glance from the corner of their eye would make them shiver inside.

    They were like criminals who had committed unforgivable sins standing before their judge. No matter how violent and wicked they were, they still shook in fear, afraid to confront the solemnity of law.

    Crack. Crack. The sound of freezing rose and fell. Frost crawled up the columns and the entire hall.

    Another sound gradually drowned out the sound of freezing, which came from Li Qingshan. It was the sound of waves. Spiritual qi tried to surge out of him and into his surroundings like the tide. His bearing did not weaken, only growing stronger instead.

    Li Qingshan continued to advance step by step at a steady pace. He stared right into Wang Pushi¡¯s eyes, paying no regard to the law.

    The coldness of the Hell of Ice slips in through all openings, while my cultivation realm is above his too. The invading coldness should have injured him a long time ago, so why does he seem perfectly fine? This kid really is something else. Perhaps commander Gu¡¯s order was not without reason.

    In terms of spiritual qi, Li Qingshan possessed many advantages with his cultivation as he practised the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. As for the Wang Pushi, he was unable to demonstrate any of the advantages of his cultivation method on Li Qingshan.

    Finally, Li Qingshan reached a meter away from Wang Pushi and stopped.

    Two types of spiritual qi clashed violently between them, like ice sealing the ocean in winter only for the waves to smash it apart.

    ¡°Alright, just enough will do. If you continue, we might be able to stand it, but the building won¡¯t.¡±

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s hands landed on Li Qingshan and Wang Pushi¡¯s shoulders at the same time.

    Both of them withdrew their spiritual qi. The armed chair that Wang Pushi originally sat on suddenly shattered into ice shrapnel.

    ¡°Commander, please issue the order!¡± Hua Chengzan took a step back, standing beside Li Qingshan. He was solemn for once, referring to Wang Pushi respectfully as commander.

    ¡°As commander Gu has ordered, Li Qingshan has rendered outstanding meritorious service, and his performance has been exceptional. He is hereby promoted to the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture!¡± Wang Pushi said rather reluctantly at the end.

    With that, not only did Li Qingshan become stunned, but the other Hawkwolf guards were all surprised too. They had been ordered to assemble here, but they never thought it would actually be something as major as that!

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand why Wang Pushi had gathered everyone here. As it turned out, Gu Yanying had promoted him to commander.

    Is it because she¡¯s afraid I¡¯ll go to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so she¡¯s giving me some benefits? No, it¡¯s not just benefits. I can¡¯t simply turn down my role as a commander if I don¡¯t want to do it. If I want to leave the Clear River prefecture, I¡¯ll need her permission as my commander too.

    Of course, Li Qingshan did not believe Gu Yanying had developed feelings for him because of his confession. She probably still only treated him as a relatively important chess piece.

    Hua Chengzan clapped his hands, and Hua Chenglu in scarlet clothes walked in from a side door. She carried a brand-new set of uniform for the Scarlet Hawk commander, with a tiny, scarlet bronze hawk tablet placed on top. She smiled. ¡°Congratulations, big brother Li. No, it should be commander Li.¡±

    ¡°I was wondering why old Wang was in such a bad mood. So he¡¯s been fired!¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    Wang Pushi shot him a vicious glance. Hua Chengzan explained in a hurry, ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense, Qingshan. Old Wang has being promoted to a White Wolf guard. He¡¯s going to the Ruyi commandery and leaving the mess that is the Clear River prefecture. This is fantastic news for him.¡±

    Wang Pushi was indeed rather displeased, but it was not because of himself. Being promoted to White Wolf guard and going to the Ruyi commandery had always been his dream. He just felt like the position should have gone to Hua Chengzan instead. However, after a series of tests, he could not help but admit that Li Qingshan was indeed stronger than Hua Chengzan. He did have the ability to hold the position of commander.

    ¡°You got lucky, kid. You managed to earn commander Gu¡¯s favour.¡±

    ¡°Heh. That¡¯s called strength!¡±

    Li Qingshan, however, was thinking about something else. Right now, the war had only recently come to a close, yet Gu Yanying was already transferring a senior general of the war away. Clearly, she was extremely confident that the humans and daemons could not continue fighting.

    And where did this confidence come from? It was probably all from him!

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan changed into the Scarlet Hawk commander uniform, standing with his arms behind his back. He strut around complacently with a valiant bearing. He had truly become the commander of the Clear River prefecture Hawkwolf Guard now.

    Wang Pushi and Hua Chengzan retired to the side, giving him the room in the centre.

    ¡°Greetings, commander!¡± Almost a hundred Hawkwolf guards assembled again and bowed together, greeting him loudly.

    Li Qingshan glanced past these people and thought to himself, So this is my squadron in the future? Hmm, looks like Qian Rongzhi isn¡¯t here.

    In the past when he discussed the three minor pillars of the Clear River prefecture with that protector Yan or whoever he was from the Iron Fist school, never did he think that he would become a part of them in the future. However, from his current perspective, it did not seem like a big deal at all.

    The Hawkwolf guards all changed in expression as they had their own thoughts. Some of the Hawkwolf guards had even gone out drinking with Li Qingshan before. The kid from the countryside a few years ago had actually become their superior.

    Hua Chengzan clapped his hands again, and a banquet of over a dozen tables was arranged to celebrate for Li Qingshan and to send Wang Pushi off. This was only the internal farewell banquet of the Hawkwolf Guard. In the future, the Academy of the Hundred Schools would definitely hold one too. Wang Pushi would not be going anywhere for now.

    ¡°Little Hua, this position should have gone to you. How about we exchange our positions?¡± During the banquet, Li Qingshan also realised why Wang Pushi was so unhappy, so he spoke to Hua Chengzan with a smile. He really did not care about this position.

    ¡°Do you think this is shopping, where you can exchange whatever you want?¡±

    Hua Chengzan felt Li Qingshan¡¯s sincerity as well, and the sliver of ill feeling in his heart completely vanished. He was quite touched by his gesture. He raised his cup and toasted. ¡°This is called the younger generation surpassing the older. Boss Gu has an eye for talent. Hopefully you can watch my back a little in the future.¡±

    ¡°No problem, no problem. Though, the matters of the Hawkwolf Guard will be entirely up to you. I¡¯m only responsible for watching over and fighting.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled bitterly. ¡°No problem, no problem.¡±

    Following the banquet were a series of matters regarding the transition of power.

    After taking on the duty of a commander, Li Qingshan was allowed to choose an item from the storage room of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    I hope I can find a fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. With this perfect wish in mind, he passed through the layers of formations and finally set foot in there, but he was left deeply disappointed. After several years of war, there were not a lot of items left in there.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you hold on for now? Given the current situation, the Ruyi commandery might resupply us very soon.¡± Hua Chengzan had almost managed to sniff out something from Gu Yanying¡¯s command. It seemed like the war had truly come to an end.

    During the war, the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture had become a lone island, with virtually all contact cut off from the outside world. As for the cultivators in there, they were basically forced to fight, forbidden from fleeing unless they had some special connections. Even if they managed to escape, they would be hunted down. The people inside obviously were not resupplied with any talismans or pills.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Li Qingshan nodded even though he had failed to find what he wanted.

    However, Li Qingshan discovered that the position of commander did come with quite a few benefits. First of all, the treatment and remuneration he received had improved by quite a bit, but Li Qingshan did not really care about this aspect given his wealth.

    What mattered the most was the elevation in status. He had gone from a lackey on the outskirts to a decision-maker. He could directly influence many important decisions of the entire Academy of the Hundred Schools, and he possessed access to many confidential pieces of information. As a system of violence that answered directly to the empire, they possessed their own information system.

    These documents and pieces of information seemed disorderly and unsystematic, spanning from astronomy to geography, but at certain times, they could potentially play a critical role.

    After completing the matters for the handover, it was already morning.

    Li Qingshan played the role of an irresponsible boss, leaving everything up to Hua Chengzan as he returned to the Chain mountains alone.

    The mental map of the Green province unfurled with a swish before locking onto the tiny Clear River prefecture.

    Li Qingshan began to choose. He was choosing a suitable place for him to establish a water dwelling. His gaze first landed on the great river that flowed through the entire prefecture, meandering like a dragon.

    Although it was ¡°tiny¡±, the Clear River prefecture covered an area even larger than the entire Jiangnan region from Li Qingshan¡¯s past life. As for the Clear river, it could rival great rivers like the Yangtze river or the Yellow river.

    The Clear river began in the Boundless mountains. It stretched over five thousand kilometers long, and the area it covered could reach over a million square kilometers. If he could refine it, he would basically receive divine help with both cultivation and fighting.

    Even if he faced a Golden Core cultivator, Li Qingshan was confident enough to maintain the upper hand.

    However, Li Qingshan took out the Water God Seal and examined it according to the books he had read.

    God seals were mostly divided into two types, but they could vary drastically in quality. Refining a creek could also condense a Water God Seal, but it would not be able to hold a large river. The only way about it was to use the creek as a foundation and constantly develop and strengthen the god seal.

    I don¡¯t know whether the Water God Seal can hold the waters of the Clear river. If I tried to refine it and it turns out it¡¯s not enough to hold it, that¡¯ll be funny. It¡¯s not like I have any competitors right now. Let¡¯s take it one step at a time and go slowly!

 Chapter 502 â€“ The God of the River

    The aorta among them was obviously the Clear river.

    Although Li Qingshan did not aim to refine the Clear river right now, that was his still end goal. It had not changed.

    As a result, the river he chose had to be connected to the Clear river. This was not difficult at all. Finding a river that was not connected to the Clear river in the Clear River prefecture was more difficult.

    Following that was the choice of geographic location.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s finger traced along the Clear River prefecture from the Boundless mountains. He stopped halfway and drew a circle.

    This place was relatively close to his territory underground. It was very likely for the underground river in the territory to be connected with the waters there.

    He used only rivers to connect the two territories. At the same time, the underground river also led straight to Cobweb city.

    And, there was a large lake within the circle.

    The Clear River prefecture was littered with lakes of various sizes. Even if there were not ten thousand, there were still a few thousand of them. However, there were only three or four that were the largest. The Lake of Dragons and Snakes was among them, but it was not the largest in the prefecture.

    The reason why the Academy of the Hundred Schools had been constructed there was mostly in consideration of the fact that the prefectural city was relatively close and spiritual veins ran through the region, which made it rich with spiritual qi. Under the circumstances of being unable to refine water systems, the size of these systems was not particularly important.

    The lake that had caught Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes was called Clear Court lake. It was truly the largest lake in the Clear River prefecture.

    If the god seal was not enough to refine the Clear River prefecture, then he could take a step back. Refining Clear Court lake first was a good idea too.

    This would all depend on the level of the Water God Seal Ru Xin had given him.

    God seals were like cups, varying in size. Although water could be emptied out, the cup still remained. They could still hold water if they were taken elsewhere.

    If the god seal had once refined a major river like the Clear river, then it would be able to hold the same quantity of ¡°water¡± again. If it could not, that did not necessarily mean Li Qingshan would be forced to stick with creeks and streams in the future.

    As long as he broke free from the restraints of the cauldrons of the nine provinces, he obviously could go from small to large and gradually increase the size of this container so that it could hold even more rivers and lakes.

    Regular people who saw Clear Court lake for the first time would stand on its shore and gaze out, probably mistaking it for a sea.

    Li Qingshan sensed the dense water spiritual qi within the lake as soon as he arrived on the surface. As a water-elemented Daemon General, just cultivating in the lake could bring many benefits.

    There were numerous cities and towns on the shore. He could tell with a single glance that they were populous places of prosperity in the past, but many settlements suffered from the experience of warfare. However, he could still see many fishermen floating on the surface as specks of light.

    Li Qingshan had been confident when he first saw it on the mental map, but when he saw the lake for himself, he began to doubt whether the god seal in his possession could hold it or not.

    ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll find a river first and try with that!¡±

    Li Qingshan unfurled the mental map again and found a large river that flowed into Clear Court lake. He flapped his wings of wind and arrived at the outlet in the blink of an eye.

    However, he gave it some further thought and continued upstream. He found a smaller river that flowed into the larger river. It was a smaller river, but it was still over thirty meters across.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try with this smaller river first!¡±

    Li Qingshan dove into the water head-first, and the contents from all those books appeared in his head. Through their descriptions, he gained a rough understanding of the way to refine water systems. He possessed the Water God Seal, and he was refining a masterless body of water, so it should not have been particularly difficult.

    Wielding the god seal, he channeled his daemon qi into it first. The god seal lit up, coiling and moving around like a dragon or a snake.

    Then, Li Qingshan released his daemon qi. His tremendous daemon qi reached the riverbanks very quickly. The surface of the raging waters immediately flattened out to a mirror-like finish, without a single ripple. A while later, it turned back to how it was before.

    Li Qingshan moved upstream as he constantly unleashed his daemon qi, immersing the surroundings.

    Refining water systems was a delicate job. Although the god seal in his hand could save him a lot of trouble, he still had to traverse the entire water system and immerse every part of it with his daemon qi.

    The affluent was not particularly long. Six hours later, Li Qingshan finally traced his way back to its source. A faint-blue, meandering track was left clearly in his sea of consciousness.

    Li Qingshan withdrew his daemon qi and pointed at the Water God Seal in his hand.

    The Water God Seal gave off a glow similar to water ripples. When the glow settled down, a small part of the seal lit up. The meandering track was exactly the same as the one in Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. Only a small part had lit up, which meant the smaller river was nowhere close to the maximum amount the Water God Seal could hold. His confidence for refining Clear Court lake increased a little.

    At the same time, he sensed that the entire water system was under his control. Water spiritual qi merged with his body through the Water God Seal. Although it was not very powerful, it triumphed in the fact that it was endless.

    From that moment onwards, he had become the god of this river. Even without daemon qi, he could control the water there as he wished.

    What came next was refining the main river.

    The rain drizzled endlessly. An old fisherman currently sat on the nose of his boat with a straw rain cape and a bamboo hat in the centre of the river, fishing. He would pick up the flask of alcohol beside him from time to time and take a sip. He had as much leisure as he could have.

    Suddenly, he saw the float sink. He reeled his line in a hurry.

    The thin fishing line became taut, but it refused to budge. Had he hooked onto a rock?

    The small boat tilted slightly and the old fisherman could vaguely make out a huge shadow that swam by in the water. Shocked, he tossed down the fishing pole and retreated frantically.

    With a splash, a carp leapt out from the water.

    This should have been a sight that the old fisherman had seen his entire life, but he became stupefied with fright. His mouth hung agape. That was because the carp was even several times larger than his boat.

    The carp also stared at him with widened eyes and opened its huge mouth in an attempt to swallow the old fisherman. It was covered in fiery-red scales, but there were ink-like splotches of black on its back, which slightly seemed like a black lotus.

    ¡°Fish monster, don¡¯t even think about making trouble!¡±

    The old fisherman¡¯s reactions were fast. He kicked off the nose of the boat. The boat was submerged by the water before suddenly shooting back up due to buoyancy. He pushed off it to leap into the air, shooting towards the riverbank. He was actually a first-rate master.

    Boom!

    The carp had crushed the boat to pieces as shards of wood shot in all directions. A huge hole appeared on the surface of the river, forming a whirlpool.

    The old fisherman ached all over, as the wooden shrapnel had injured him. However, he could no longer worry about that. He lowered his head to check the surface of the water. The carp landed in the water before floating back up, opening its mouth, just waiting for him down below.

    The old fisherman was a martial arts master, but he could not fly, much less know how to use some divine technique like pushing off his right foot with his left. He had nowhere to draw force from in the air, so all he could do was watch as he fell towards the fish¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°I¡¯m done for!¡±

    At this moment, the carp suddenly closed its mouth and turned around, diving back into the water.

    With a plop, the old fisherman landed in the water. Just when he was about to swim over to the riverbank, he noticed that the water surface upstream had suddenly become extremely smooth, drifting downwards like a mirror.

    ¡°What is it this time?¡± The old fisherman¡¯s face changed drastically. Clearly, the fish had been frightened away by this.

    In the blink of an eye, not a single ripple remained in the water around him. Something brushed past him. In that instant, all of his hairs stood on end as his mind froze up like it had fallen into a cavern of ice. His limbs all stiffened as he directly sank into the centre of the river.

    A while later, the surface of the river turned back to normal, and the old fisherman reappeared on the surface. He spat out a mouthful of water and collapsed on the riverbank. He was in a sorry shape.

    He wanted to eat fish, but he ate no fish. Instead, a fish had almost eaten him. The waters of rivers and lakes were too deep. As it seemed, he could only fish in streams in the future.

    There seems to be daemon qi up ahead. I better catch up and take a look.

    When Li Qingshan refined the smaller river, he did not come across a single proper daemon, probably because it was far too shallow, unable to support daemonic beasts that had transformed into daemons.

    When he refined the larger river, he finally encountered a few. However, most of them had not even condensed a daemon core. However, they were much larger than other members of the same species. Their intelligence was lacking, having yet to properly evolve from beasts.

    It made his plan to capture a few underlings to serve under him fall through. Now that he finally ran into one that bore some proper resemblance to daemons, he could not help but take special note of it.

    ¡°You sure flee quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan continued swimming forwards, but the daemon qi had already vanished. He could only advance slowly if he wanted to refine the water system.

    The larger river was much wider than the smaller river and there was much more water. Although Li Qingshan had already gained some experience with refining water systems, he still remained rather slow.

    However, upon further thought, he stopped worrying. Underground, the blackwater salamander and ice frog were both water-elemented daemons among the daemon soldiers under his command. By then, he could just dispatch them here.

    Two days later, early in the morning.

    Li Qingshan finally returned to his starting point, the end of the river and the shore of Clear Court lake.

    Welcoming the rising sun in the east, he opened his hand, and the Water God Seal flashed. Light poured out like waves as a thin streak of light unfurled, implying that the regions of water under Li Qingshan¡¯s control had expanded.

    Only around a tenth of the Water God Seal had been filled. The god seal that Ru Xin had given him was truly of a higher quality. It was completely sufficient for refining Clear Court lake.

    Li Qingshan no longer hesitated anymore, leaping into the vast Clear Court lake.

    Clear Court lake was not circular. Instead, it was an irregular semi-circle. It was shaped like a running rabbit.

    In the belly of the rabbit, which was also the centre of Clear Court lake, was a lone island shrouded in mist and illusionary formations. Only on some special occasions would the criss-crossing structures of various heights be visible, rising and falling with the terrain they stood on.

    As a result, there were rumors that Clear Court lake possessed an immortal¡¯s island, but that was only the belief of ignorant people. People who truly understood the cultivation world all knew this was where the sect of Clear Court lake stood.

    As the saying went, deep mountains and great marshes hid figures of power. The island was abundant with spiritual qi, making it an excellent, blessed land of cultivation.

    As a renowned sect of the Clear River prefecture, Clear Court sect was also an important member of the Daemon Suppression alliance of the Clear River prefecture. In order to fend off the attacks of night roamers, they too had moved to the Rose Cloud mountains.

 Chapter 503 â€“ The New Master of Clear Cour

    Since it could claim such a blessed land, the Clear Court sect was obviously not without a foundation. The master of the Clear Court sect, Yang Pinghu, was known as the Master of Clear Court. He had already reached late Foundation Establishment. Although a gap still existed between him and Zhou Tong who was at peak Foundation Establishment, he was still confident about holding off even the moon demon to a certain degree with the many formations around the island and his cultivation.

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s bad news! Bad news!¡±

    This day, Yang Pinghu happened to be in his dwelling, cultivating arduously, and the calls of a disciple rang out from outside. He was rather displeased, but he still stopped cultivating and opened the door. If not for something urgent, his disciples would have never disturbed him.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s made you so frantic?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s daemon qi in the lake.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that? There are daemons in the lake, so there¡¯ll obviously be daemon¡­¡± Yang Pinghu furrowed his brows unhappily. With the immensity of Clear Court lake, aquatic creatures would often accumulate sufficient spiritual qi and turn into daemons. His Clear Court sect had stood here for a thousand years. They had slain plenty of daemons in the past, so why would they be afraid of some measly daemon qi?

    However, when he casually scanned around with his soul sense, he was left surprised. He understood why his disciple had become so frantic. The daemon qi did not come from a certain location. Instead, it pervaded the entire lake, surrounding the island from all directions.

    With how immense the daemon qi is, it belongs to a Daemon General at the very least. But what¡¯s he scattering his daemon qi so much for? Is he trying to refine Clear Court lake? That¡¯s impossible, unless¡­ unless he has a Water God Seal!

    As the master of a sect and as someone who had lived several decades longer than Li Qingshan, he was extremely rich in knowledge and experience. With a single thought, he guessed roughly what was going on. He became even sterner.

    If a daemon water god really appears in Clear Court lake, then will there still be any room left for me and my sect? Hmph, you better get through me first if you want to become a water god!

    Yang Pinghu would not be venturing out and taking on the Daemon General in a battle to the death. As long as the formations of the Clear Court sect remained intact, the Daemon General would not be able to refine Clear Court lake completely and become a water god.

    But as he thought about it, he did not find it sufficient, so he also contacted the Academy of the Hundred Schools and the various larger sects. Surely they could not turn a blind eye to a matter so big.

    The process of refining Clear Court lake was much more difficult than refining a mere river.

    As for the ¡°holdout¡± right in front of him, if they were willing to move obediently, then so be it. If they were not, there would definitely be some forceful dismantling.

    ¡°Get out here, those inside!¡± Li Qingshan burst out of the water and rode on the tips of the waves as he called out loudly.

    His bellow was like a bolt of lightning, striking the formation on the edge of the Clear Court sect and kicking up a wave thirty meters high. The thick mist that lingered all year round showed signs of dispersing.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s the moon demon!¡±

    The voice rang through the entire island. Yang Pinghu saw a red figure, and his expression changed drastically. Originally, he thought it was some water element Daemon General taking advantage of the situation to make some trouble, but he never thought it would be the moon demon in person.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you five minutes to dismantle the formation and get the hell out of here. Once the five minutes passes, I¡¯ll personally destroy the formation. By then, I¡¯ll feed the entire Clear Court sect to the fishes!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everyone. The moon demon is alone. Our formations won¡¯t be destroyed so easily. Reinforcements will arrive very soon.¡± Yang Pinghu comforted his disciples before calling out loudly, ¡°Moon demon, don¡¯t even think about this! How dare you attempt something condemned by the world and try to take the position of a water god for yourself. You¡¯ll definitely die a horrible death in the future. If you¡¯re clever, backing away right now is still not too late.¡±

    Li Qingshan only replied with a single word, ¡°Ten!¡±

    Yang Pinghu¡¯s eyebrows leapt up. Didn¡¯t he say five minutes?

    ¡°Nine!¡± Li Qingshan laid on his side on the wave, propping up his head with one hand. He was completely unconcerned.

    ¡°Master, let¡¯s just flee. He even managed to destroy a Duality Formation of Disintegration!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yang Pinghu barked. A person¡¯s renown was as important as a tree¡¯s shadow. He also felt greatly pressured.

    ¡°Eight!¡± Li Qingshan had no intentions of relying on intimidation alone. He counted even faster, filled with impatience, as if he was in a hurry to finish counting so that he could carry out a massacre.

    ¡°Fellow Yang, you have to hold on! You can¡¯t let the moon demon get away with what he wants! We¡¯re hurrying over to reinforce you right now!¡± At this moment, the academy sent back a message. It was Liu Zhangqing.

    As the prefect of the Clear River prefecture, how could Liu Zhangqing simply watch as a daemon became a water god in his territory? He had already gathered the school leaders as an emergency to discuss their counterplan.

    Yang Pinghu¡¯s expression became even uglier. Hold on? For how long? Right now? How fast is that? He is about to finish counting. He had some confidence in his formations, but what if they were not enough?

    Even if they managed to stop him this time, what was he supposed to do when the army of night roamers came the next time?

    ¡°Six, five, four, three, two, one.¡± Li Qingshan finished counting in a single breath and leapt up from the top of the wave. His body swelled rapidly in the air.

    With a great boom, he kicked up towering waves.

    A colossal figure landed in the lake. His scarlet hair flowed like a waterfall as his eyes shone like fire. His distinct muscles seemed to be cast from iron as he stood with the size and weight of a mountain, yet also possessing violent explosive power. He was already standing in a relatively deeper part of the lake, yet it only reached up to his waist.

    Li Qingshan clenched his fists and moved his shoulders about, stirring up the lakewater. He took a step forward, radiating with malice.

    As the disciples of the Clear Court sect stared at the black, incoming figure, they all shivered inside as they became ashen.

    Yang Pinghu¡¯s face paled slightly. He said to himself inside, Don¡¯t be afraid. You¡¯re a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, and you possess a geographic advantage. The moon demon is only a Daemon General.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go! Please just promise you won¡¯t harm the disciples of my Clear Court sect!¡±

    Yang Pinghu bellowed out and flew up from the island, arriving in the sky. He stopped on the edge of the formation so that he could escape back into it at any time. His face was filled with grief, indignation, and helplessness as if he would stay behind for a battle to the death with Li Qingshan if it were not for the safety of his disciples.

    ¡°Piss off.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand impatiently as his voice boomed thunderously. Destroying the formation was not difficult, but he did not want to waste daemon qi and drag out the time he spent refining the Clear River prefecture. Who knew when Spider Queen Lolth would challenge him.

    Right when Yang Pinghu wanted to collect the formation banners, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Wait! You can go, but leave the formations behind. Don¡¯t touch the puppets and turrets you¡¯ve constructed here either.¡±

    Yang Pinghu¡¯s face changed, but under the stare of the scarlet eyes, he chose not to touch a single item on the island in the end. He handed the formation discs and the other items for controlling the formations to Li Qingshan before scurrying away with his disciples.

    Li Qingshan circled around the island and felt very satisfied. The island was very vast, and the structures on there were elegant and exquisite, yet also possessing a great sense of style. Additionally, there were many special plants and animals on the island for people to admire.

    The Clear Court sect had only managed to build up to such a scale after a thousand years, yet it had all fallen into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands so easily now. He had plans on turning this place into his water dwelling. Although he was of the water element, his original form was not an aquatic lifeform after all, so he did not particularly like living in water.

    As long as he possessed the god seal, it was not like he could not cultivate on the island.

    Li Qingshan admired his spoils quickly. Just when he was about to continue refining the lake, he suddenly raised an eyebrow and sneered. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    Yang Pinghu understood very well. Right now, many sects in the Clear River prefecture had been destroyed, so there were plenty of alternative places for cultivation. Protecting his own life was more important. If anyone wanted to oppose the moon demon, they were more than welcome to do so, but he would not be doing something so stupid.

    But now that he had finally escaped, he felt deep resentment after his delight and relief died down. Never had he endured such humiliation in his life. His cultivation dwelling had been forcefully stolen from him after all, so how could he not be resentful? As a result, he ground his teeth.

    ¡°Damned moon demon. Once I overcome the next heavenly tribulation and reach Golden Core, I¡¯ll definitely cut you into pieces. Only then can I pacify my hatred.¡±

    If that were all he did, then so be it. It was not like Li Qingshan could hear him, and even if he did, he would not care too much either. However, right when he was about to leave Clear Court lake, he grew more furious the more he thought about it. Suddenly, he came up with an idea and sent his disciples away first before landing on the shore of the lake alone.

    Yang Pinghu extended his arms and water spiritual qi extended to the depths of the lake, dispersing the daemon qi that pervaded the water.

    He was also of the water element, possessing the ability to refine Clear Court lake. However, he did not have a Water God Seal, so no matter how much effort he put in, it would be useless. He would only be able to cause some troubles for Li Qingshan.

    He only had a single objective. Even if he could not harm Li Qingshan, he wanted to properly irritate him and vent a little.

    The other aspect to this was so that he could give the Academy of the Hundred Schools and the Daemon Suppression alliance an explanation. He obviously had quite the confidence to be bold enough to do this. He was very far from the centre of the lake. Even if Li Qingshan managed to sense it, he would have fled already.

    With my cultivation at late Foundation Establishment and such a large distance between us, what can the moon demon do to me?

    Just as he thought about that, he saw a scarlet figure shoot across the surface of the lake, gliding over.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The surface of the lake exploded violently after the scarlet figure flew past, leaving behind a gully thirty meters deep.

    ¡°How can he move so quickly!¡± Yang Pinghu was alarmed. He pulled out a bident and rode away on it in a hurry. He was afraid to remain for even a second longer.

    The Dragon Seizing bident was a heirloom arcane artifact of the Clear Court sect. Although it was of inferior quality, it could still allow him to fly much faster than regular spiritual artifacts.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s regular speed could already rival Daemon Commanders. Combined with his wings of wind, even though it made turns more difficult, his speed for moving in straight lines was so fast that even the Spider Queen struggled to react in time.

    Three thousand meters, three hundred meters, thirty meters. The distance between them rapidly closed.

    Yang Pinghu was filled with utmost regret. If he had known earlier, why would he have done something so unnecessary? However, he also knew it was too late for regret now. He bellowed out, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± He had no time to use any techniques at all. Three scarlet talismans flew out.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! With those three sounds, three enormous fireballs swallowed Li Qingshan, but in the next second, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure burst out of the flames. His scarlet eyes shone like fire as he radiated with malice.

    ¡°I spared your life, yet you still tried to cause trouble! Die!¡±

    The Dragon Seizing bident turned into a blue streak of light, shooting towards Li Qingshan. However, before it could even unleash its power as an arcane artifact, Li Qingshan seized it in one hand. His other hand reached towards Yang Pinghu¡¯s head.

    Another scarlet talisman was ignited, turning into a golden barrier¡ªshattered! His protective spiritual qi surged out violently¡ªshattered!

 Chapter 504 â€“ Unstoppable

    Yang Pinghu knew he was done for. His eyes were wide open and filled with deep regret, refusing to accept this.

    ¡°You cannot be spared!¡±

    Li Qingshan gripped the Dragon Seizing bident firmly and plunged it into Yang Pinghu¡¯s chest. When it emerged from his back, the tip had already been dyed red.

    Yang Pinghu widened his eyes in resentment, immediately dying on the spot.

    The past sect masters of the Clear Court sect had used this Dragon Seizing bident to seize and kill countless daemons in this Clear Court lake. Yet in the end, the sect master himself died to his own heirloom arcane artifact. It sure befitted the principle of karma.

    ¡°How uptight!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head, casually tossing Yang Pinghu¡¯s corpse into his hundred treasures pouch.

    Actually, Yang Pinghu had many different techniques at his disposal, but faced with such speed and an attack like that, he actually could not even use a single technique at all apart from wielding the Dragon Seizing bident and tossing out a few life-saving talismans.

    The difference of an entire realm was a difference among worlds.

    With the fourth layer of the ox demon, Li Qingshan already rivalled the Spider Queen in terms of strength, raw power, and life force. He had also almost been captured alive countless times. After breaking through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, his other aspects were basically equivalent to a Daemon Commander apart from insufficient daemon qi.

    In a direct confrontation with a Daemon Commander out to kill, Yang Pinghu might have been able to last a moment if he had practised the cultivation methods of Body Practitioners before, but he did not. As a result, he did not even last for a moment.

    Li Qingshan opened Yang Pinghu¡¯s hundred treasures pouch and checked through it. Everything that a millennium-old sect had built up was quite impressive, but regular talisman and pills obviously no longer interested him.

    ¡°Hmm? This is an Origin Spirit pill!¡± Li Qingshan took out a dark-golden pill. Its spiritual qi was completely withdrawn. It did not even give off any fragrance. It was rather hefty in his hand, making it seem more like a metal ball.

    Origin Spirit pills had a similar function to True Spirit pills. They were pills for breaking through to the Golden Core realm, but the difference in their value was something else. And, they truly never appeared on the market.

    So far, Li Qingshan had only obtained one from the Green Vine Elder¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. He had gained another now, which gave him some extra guarantee when he tried to condense a Golden Core in the future.

    He picked up the Dragon Seizing bident again. The bident split into two, shining with light. Profound glyphs vaguely appeared as the bident turned into a two-headed snake.

    Li Qingshan filled in the small region that Yang Pinghu had destroyed¡ªYang Pinghu had sacrificed his life for it, the life of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he only managed to waste fifteen minutes of Li Qingshan¡¯s time. He even geared him up with equipment instead. Afterwards, Li Qingshan casually refined the Dragon Seizing bident.

    The shape of the bident changed slightly. The two prongs curved slightly like the horns of an ox. From a certain perspective, it suited him better.

    So that¡¯s how you use this thing. Li Qingshan casually placed the Dragon Seizing bident on his shoulder and returned to the waters that belonged to the Clear Court sect, continuing with his job.

    Suddenly, he sensed daemon qi in the distance. It was the one that had slipped by in the river. For some reason, he found the daemon qi rather familiar.

    ¡°Get over here!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed the Dragon Seizing bident in the direction of the daemon qi, and the prongs that resembled snake heads suddenly parted, shooting over as two streaks of light. They turned into ropes of water that dove into the depths of the lake.

    Before long, there was a splash, and a great, red carp burst out from the water, having been tied up. As the ropes wrapped around it, it rapidly shrank too.

    ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the floundering carp between his prongs and recognised it with a single glance. It was the carp he had fed with pills back then in Ancient Wind city before being released into the lotus pool of the Qian estate.

    Afterwards, the Black Lotus Altar Lord slaughtered the city. The carp gave him the lotus pod the Altar Lord had left behind. In turn, he fed it a few more pills before releasing it into the waters of the Clear river.

    He had never expected to see it here, and it had become so large after a few years, even having condensed a daemon core. Clearly, it had benefited quite a lot from the effects of a lotus seed from the Altar Lord.

    The carp suddenly stopped struggling, staring straight at Li Qingshan as if it also managed to recognise Li Qinghan. Afterwards, it opened its huge mouth as if it was asking for pills.

    ¡°You actually managed to recognise me!¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Had he accidentally leaked his daemon qi while cultivating in Ancient Wind city, which it memorised? That would not be too strange. Back then, it was only a regular carp, so there was nothing he thought too much about.

    He casually fished out a pill and fed it to it.

    ¡°Alright, now you¡¯re one of my underlings. You can say it¡¯s fate. The only way you can repay me is by turning into a beauty and paying with your body. Speaking of which, are you male or female?¡±

    The carp swallowed the pill and floundered around happily. Who knew whether it had understood what he was saying.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and tossed it back into the water. It swam around before returning to its original size.

    The Dragon Seizing bident sure had some usages!

    Sensing a few more clusters of daemon qi surging in the lake, Li Qingshan smiled and dove into the water, continuing with his refinement of the lake.

    The huge, red carp swam beside him. He had basically enlisted his first daemon soldier for this water dwelling.

    As Li Qingshan refined Clear Court lake, he managed to shock the cultivation world of the Clear River prefecture yet again.

    The school leaders held a meeting in the academy.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Li Qingshan?¡± Liu Zhangqing frowned. Li Qingshan was now the Scarlet Hawk commander. His identity and status varied drastically compared to the past. Technically speaking, it was mandatory for him to attend a meeting like this.

    ¡°I¡¯ve contacted him, but he wants to cultivate in seclusion, so he¡¯s left it up to me!¡± Hua Chengzhan said helplessly.

    ¡°He sure is clever. Who doesn¡¯t want to cultivate?¡± Liu Zhangqing said in displeasure, but he did not think too much about it.

    However, Hua Chengzan did find it rather strange.

    When Superman appeared, the male protagonist was never present. Only an idiot would find nothing wrong with that.

    Technically speaking, there had only been two times when the moon demon was present and Li Qingshan was not, but this was already enough to form a clue to clever people. And, when Li Qingshan appeared, the moon demon never seemed to appear, or he only sent his clone.

    This did not necessarily mean Hua Chengzan had begun to suspect Li Qingshan of anything because of this. No one could connect a Scarlet Hawk commander with a daemon so easily. At most, Hua Chengzan guessed that this was his tactic to avoid direct confrontation with the moon demon.

    However, as the clues appeared one by one, there would be a day when he would discover something before anyone had realised anything was wrong. So-called clever people were just people who took note of every single detail.

    ¡°That guy, he had clearly come to my dwelling yesterday to linger around, disturbing my alchemy, yet he has entered seclusion today.¡± Ru Xin seemed to confirm Li Qingshan was avoiding conflict, but she unintentionally pulled Li Qingshan away from his connection with the moon demon.

    ¡°But even I wouldn¡¯t be willing to make trouble with the moon demon right now. The late Foundation Establishment sect master of the Clear Court sect could not even withstand a single attack from him before losing his life. People like us value our lives even more than gold.¡± Hua Chengzan instead defended Li Qingshan.

    His saying at the end, ¡°value their lives even more than gold¡±, received the recognition of all the cultivators present. The descendants of the wealthy dared not take a single risk that could endanger their lives. All of them pursued longevity, so none of them were willing to risk their lives with someone else.

    Speaking of which, Li Qingshan had spent three years in secluded cultivation, avoiding the most dangerous part of the war before rendering a fantastic service very quickly after establishing a foundation. He had even been promoted to Scarlet Hawk commander. And last time, during the decisive battle between the moon demon and Fu Qingjin, everyone had taken on huge amounts of risks, where even Zhou Tong almost died, but he had been missing yet again.

    Liu Zhangqing could not help but sigh inside, This kid knows when to advance and retreat just too well! Perhaps only like that can you be counted as a legitimate cultivator. Nothing, no matter how major, is more important than your own life and cultivation.

    Zhou Tong said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Yang Pinghu, that bastard, was afraid of trouble and had been tricked into leaving by the moon demon, how would he have died so easily?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°If the moon demon wanted to trick them, he would have turned against him the moment he left. Why would he have waited to strike after Yang Pinghu had made it to the shore? I think Yang Pinghu was afraid of trouble, yet also reluctant to simply accept this, so he got in the way of the moon demon refining the lake from the shore. He probably thought the moon demon would not be able to do anything to him as long as he kept his distance, which was why he ended up killed.¡±

    ¡°Then are we only supposed to watch as he becomes a water god!?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°We can constantly send people in from all directions to disturb the process and prevent him from refining the lake. However, according to the speed that the moon demon displayed when he rushed to the shore, we¡¯ll probably have to pay with a life each time.¡±

    ¡°And, according to my analysis, his current strength has probably become extremely close to Daemon Commander already. A difference in strength as large as that can no longer be made up with using strategy. Honestly, there¡¯s no longer anyone who can stop him in the entire Clear River prefecture.¡±

    The two words, ¡°Daemon Commander¡±, made everyone fall silent.

    Liu Zhangqing let out a long sigh. ¡°So it¡¯s true. I¡¯ve already reported this to the Marquis of Ruyi. Great general Han and commander Gu already knew about it too! If we can end this game of chess, then smaller figures like us don¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡±

    The feeling of being used as chess pieces was not fantastic, especially when they were used in a hopeless game of chess that already neared checkmate.

    However, everyone present had thought it through. The Clear River prefecture had basically passed the news onto the Ruyi commandery the moment they received it. If there really were any countermeasures they could take, they should have received a reply immediately.

    No, these observers had probably noticed something unusual long before them, as they still had not ended it. Whether the game of chess could end was probably beyond the control of even those three now.

    Those who had undergone the first heavenly tribulation had already become ants in the eyes of those who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation. And yet, what were they in the eyes of the ¡°kings¡± who had undergone the third heavenly tribulation and reigned over the Green province?

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Ru Xin, Fu Qingjin is still on Benevolence island, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s in complete dejection, walking around randomly with his broken sword everyday. When you run into him at night, you¡¯ll even think he¡¯s a wandering ghost.¡± Ru Xin smiled. She was probably the most composed out of everyone present.

    Who would have thought that she was single-handedly responsible for the major incident of the moon demon becoming a god this time?

    Liu Zhangqing said, ¡°Check with him again and see if the Sword Collection palace has given any form of response!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ru Xin agreed happily.

    Afterwards, Liu Zhangqing laid out his hands. ¡°You can all go back and cultivate. I¡¯ll let you know if we reach a conclusion. If you have nothing to do, please avoid Clear Court lake.¡±

 Chapter 505 â€“ The God of Moon Court Lake

    In the distance, a few mountainous islands stood quietly in Clear Court lake. Their clear reflections on the water surface rippled with the rosy red of the setting sun.

    The clouds blazed in the western sky, varying resplendently in colour, from a melted gold, a golden-yellow, to a brilliant violet and scarlet red. It seemed like a dazzling array of dancing beasts in the air.

    In the eastern sky, the deep-blue curtain of light fell silently. A crescent moon sat quietly between the clouds along with some cold, sparsely-scattered stars.

    The lights on the fishing boats were already lit, glimmering as specks as they drifted about. They embarked on their return journeys.

    The songs of fishermen led to ripples upon ripples.

    Suddenly, the ripples vanished.

    The fishermen on the nose of their boats gazed at the water surface in surprise. What vanished were not only the ripples, but also the waves that had continued since time immemorial.

    Abruptly, Clear Court lake settled down. There was not a single ripple on the surface as far as the eye could see. It was as if a huge, invisible hand had gently flattened the surface, making it smooth like a mirror.

    At this moment, the mountains in the distance collapsed. The setting sun, sunset glow, crescent moon, and cold stars all fell from the sky.

    The boats seemed like they were drifting through the sky. It was beautiful. However, the fishermen were all stunned. Even the oldest, most knowledgeable fisherman could not explain the sight before him.

    A young boy on a boat extended the oar into the water curiously and stirred it around, but there was no sound, nor any waves. There was not even the slightest ripple. Water seemed to flow around the oar automatically no matter where it went.

    People all gathered on the shore in the cities, towns, and villages around Clear Court lake. They watched on in a daze from the tall, lakeview buildings and from small, stone bridges.

    The strange sight seemed to forebode a disaster, but an indescribable sense of magic filled the scene. It sucked away everyone¡¯s gazes such that they were unable to look away.

    Two young men stood on the top of a tall tower by the lake. One had a pair of straight eyebrows and twinkling eyes, while the other one was flawlessly handsome. They were both men with a rare degree of handsomeness. The evening wind ruffled their clothes gently.

    They were just like everyone else, staring straight at the mirror-like Clear Court lake. They wanted to say something, but something seemed to be stuck in their throats, so they said nothing.

    Han Tieyi¡¯s reply was only silence. He gripped his fists as his eyes shone.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Don¡¯t be crazy! Last time, we had already been fortunate enough when he didn¡¯t attack us at the Rose Cloud sect. The difference between your strengths is only larger now.¡±

    Helpless, Han Tieyi let go of his fist. He could not help but acknowledge that.

    Almost another month had passed since the meeting in the academy. No one had interfered with what was going on.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea did not express an opinion on the internal struggle between Lolth and Northmoon.

    The provincial lord¡¯s estate had not sent anyone over to interfere or obstruct this soon-to-be water god.

    The Sword Collection palace sent no one as reinforcements, nor did they send anyone to bring Fu Qingjin back. They allowed him to stay on Benevolence island.

    The chess players seemed to be watching silently, wanting to see what this unexpected chess piece that Northmoon was would do. They became slightly curious about these minute changes in the situation of the chess game that should have had a conclusion that they were already aware about.

    The war did not seem to come to an end. However, the Clear River prefecture had completely fallen silent already, watching the performance of this ¡°moon demon¡± quietly.

    The flames in the west gradually died down. The curtain of night was pulled over the sky, now littered with stars.

    In the depths of Clear Court lake, Li Qingshan curled up his body like an unborn fetus, hiding within the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profund Shell. The god seal hovered before him, glowing with gentle, blue light and illuminating his face. His eyes were slightly closed, and his expression was peaceful.

    He could see very clearly that a huge swathe of water had appeared on the god seal. It was shaped like a running rabbit, almost filling the entire god seal.

    The feeling of refining Clear Court river was completely different from refining the two rivers earlier.

    As his daemon qi permeated the entire lake, he gained a lake in his heart. It was so tranquil and peaceful that he felt like he had returned home.

    That did make sense. Although he was of the water element, he never really submerged himself in water. This was the first time he had obtained a lake like this.

    He had already reached the fourth layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, but only at this moment did he seem to understand the Spirit Turtle Transformation and himself.

    He had a feeling that he could sleep here for a century, a millennium.

    All of the annoyances and everything that tied him down in the mortal world no longer had anything to do with him. His lifespan was lengthy enough to watch the seas rise and fall, turning into fields.

    Even though the lifespans of daemons surpassed that of humans, it was not endless and without a limit.

    The strongest aspect of the spiritual turtle was not suppressing seas or divination, but its extremely lengthy lifespan.

    There were no enemies worth worrying about. He had plenty of time, while his enemies would be defeated by time in the end.

    Given these circumstances, whether it was killing or fighting, did it not all seem so unnecessary?

    I¡¯m so sleepy. Let¡¯s just sleep for a while here!

    Just a while¡­

    A century¡­

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± A voice penetrated the lakewater and landed on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, but it was blocked. It failed to reach inside.

    The Water God Seal hovered in the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, using the power of an entire lake to replenish the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. Even a Golden Core master would not be able to get through it easily.

    Yet, Li Qingshan clearly seemed to hear it. He woke up and opened his eyes.

    A beautiful young girl peered through the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell at him with her dark eyes. Her seaweed-like hair drifted silently in the lakewater.

    Li Qingshan grabbed her hand and kissed her forehead gently before flying up and bursting out of the water.

    An array of stars filled the lake. A resplendent, blue star rose up between the water and the sky. The Water God Seal shone with dazzling light, rising up rapidly with Li Qingshan.

    In the next moment, everyone saw it.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and grabbed the star. The light subsided and merged into his body.

    ¡°From today onwards, this lake will be known as Moon Court lake.¡±

    His voice glided across the surface of the water, spreading in all directions. The ripples he kicked up rapidly grew, reaching every single corner of Clear Court lake, no, Moon Court lake.

    At that moment, everyone heard it.

    At that instant, thousands of folds covered Moon Court lake. The interrupted sound of water flow rose up once again as the rolling waves surged endlessly, tearing apart the stars.

    The groups of people on the boats and on the shore all knelt in the direction of the voice, exclaiming, ¡°Bless and protect us, god of Moon Court lake!¡±

    Regular people had no idea what cultivation was. They only knew something powerful had descended upon the lake, and the power it possessed was no different from the gods in legends.

    ¡°Ignorant.¡±

    Han Tieyi said coldly. From today onwards, the daemons in the lake could make trouble as they pleased. There would be no cultivators coming to purge the daemons. They were actually bowing towards the existence behind all the troubles in the future.

    Hua Chengzan smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Perhaps the moon demon will really bless and protect them.¡±

    ¡°You seem very happy that he¡¯s become a god.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t exactly call this happy, though I am a little relieved. If the provincial lord¡¯s estate or the Sword Collection palace really sends someone over, they¡¯ll definitely be a master who has overcome two heavenly tribulations. Once they clash, all the settlements and fields by the lake will be flooded with water. The war will become even more intense. There will be absolutely nothing we can do anymore.¡±

    ¡°And, godhood is a form of power, as well as a form of restraint. It places emphasis on defence, not offence. From today onwards, the moon demon won¡¯t be leaving Clear- Moon Court lake so easily anymore. Isn¡¯t that something worth celebrating over?¡±

    As Hua Chengzan said that, he suddenly took off, flying towards the centre of the lake.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Han Tieyi asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go have a talk with him!¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and gazed at the starry sky. He smiled. ¡°Now is still not the time to sleep!¡±

    He turned around and dove back into the water, asking Xiao An, ¡°What brought you here?¡±

    ¡°I missed you.¡±

    ¡°Your master left?¡±

    ¡°He left. He gave me an arcane artifact. Look.¡± Xiao An took out a glistening wheel of dharma, and sure enough, it was an arcane artifact, and a mid grade arcane artifact at that.

    TL: A wheel of dharma is often used as a symbol to represent buddhism. I¡¯ve attached an image below:

    upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/...

    The arcane artifacts Li Qingshan had obtained so far were all inferior arcane artifacts that had not even made the cut, including the Dragon Seizing bident he had recently obtained and the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. But it did make sense. Although they surpassed regular spiritual artifacts, barely enough to be regarded as arcane artifacts, they were still at a very low level.

    Regular Foundation Establishment cultivators could only play around with supreme grade spiritual artifacts at most. Even those in possession of inferior arcane artifacts were a rarity, let alone those with a mid grade arcane artifact like this.

    ¡°He really has walked out of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga after all! He sure is generous!¡±

    A wheel of dharma¡¯s full name was a wheel of righteous dharma, also known as a golden wheel. It possessed the great power to destroy evil and unleash righteousness, representing a smooth and unhindered journey to enlightenment. As it spun endlessly, it could destroy the mental afflictions of all.

    The wheel of dharma in Xiao An¡¯s hand was known as the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare. The upper half was a perfectly round wheel, with three rings in total. The centre was shaped like an eye that was currently closed, radiating with twelve golden spokes. On the outer ring were twelve blue knobs. At the top were five balls of golden flames that varied in size, representing the five great Wisdom Kings.

    TL: Wisdom Kings are guardians of Buddhism and are wrathful representations of buddhas. This is why you often have them glaring fiercely, to scare off demons that may interfere with enlightenment and the spread of the buddhist dharma. You can read more about them here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_King

    The lower half was a pedestal, which could be wielded in one hand. It was shaped like a lotus and was an extremely rare mid grade arcane artifact of buddhism.

    However, the greatest thing Xiao An had gained from this was not the arcane artifact, but her deeper understanding of the buddhist dharma.

    As the head monk of the Bodhi courtyard and as someone who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation, the Annihilum Light Chan Master was a genius. He spent several centuries studying the buddhist dharma, so his guidance was something buddhist scriptures alone could not provide.

    After the Annihilum Light Chan Master left, Xiao An immediately gained the confidence to forge the Blood Sea Banner.

    Together, they had completely consolidated their foundation in the Clear River prefecture.

    Having become the god of a lake, surging water spiritual qi entered his body through the god seal before merging with the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core. Even without pills, his cultivation was basically guaranteed to progress at a certain rate. If he could refine the waters of the Clear river too, what effect would that have? He looked forward to it very much.

    However, there were disadvantages too. From today onwards, the Water God Seal could not travel too far away from the bodies of water he controlled. The further away it was, the weaker its control would be. If he travelled five thousand kilometers away, it was possible for him to lose all connections. By then, he would have to refine Clear Court lake again.

    And, even if he travelled a short distance away, the power in the Water God Seal would begin to flow away.

    Of course, it was possible for him to leave the Water God Seal behind under the control of another aquatic creature. However, that was equivalent to giving away his status as a water god.

    The Moon Court lake only recognised the seal, not the person. If the aquatic creature refused to return the Water God Seal, then it would be an issue. No matter who controlled the seal, their strength would increase dramatically in the lake.

    He could leave it with a relatively weaker subordinate, ensuring he could suppress them with absolute power, but it would be another issue if enemies invaded from outside.

    This was the trouble with becoming a god. He had lost his freedom. As a result, when Li Qingshan announced that he had become the god of Moon Court lake, there were many people who became relieved.

 Chapter 506 â€“ Desiring the Watermirror

    However, the scenery in the mirror was not the bottom of the lake, but underground.

    Li Qingshan sat in the underground cavern, constantly gathering spiritual qi to maintain the existence of the mirror clone. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and gazed over with his other pair of eyes, but he saw nothing.

    Bang!

    Li Qingshan lifted his hand, and his fingers pressed against the surface of the mirror. His mirror clone stood up and leapt into the air, disappearing from the underground cavern.

    The reflection distorted, displaying the pitch-black bottom of the lake. Everything returned to normal.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure walked out of the mirror.

    It did not take up any of Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi. His clone was still the same clone. He had directly summoned it to his side from underground.

    Li Qingshan smiled. After refining Moon Court lake, he gained a deeper comprehension about the changes with two of his innate abilities, mastering them further. The more he understood about them, the more he found them to be filled with profundity.

    From that moment onwards, his mirror clone was no longer a shadow composed of a cluster of daemon qi. It became even more connected to his original body, tightly linked.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan waved the Dragon Seizing bident and stabbed through the hand of his clone before raising his right hand as if he was in thought. The moment his clone¡¯s hand had been pierced, he also felt a stabbing pain. A red mark appeared on there.

    In other words, if my clone is injured, my original body will be injured too? This Watermirror¡¯s Image sure isn¡¯t as simple as it seems.

    This seemed like bad news. Li Qingshan could no longer use his clone as cannon fodder without the slightest care anymore. But in reality, this was extremely good news to Li Qingshan right now.

    Ignoring everything else, he could now give his clone the god seal without worrying about anything and leave his clone with the responsibility of gathering water spiritual qi in the lake. When he required it, he could receive this water spiritual qi. If his clone encountered a powerful enemy, he could directly summon his clone to his side, so he did not have to worry about losing the god seal. Afterwards, he could rush over with his original body for revenge.

    The only thing he found slightly unfortunate was only his original body could summon his clone. If his original body could move through the mirror too, then that would essentially be teleportation. It would be more useful than any escape technique or movement technique out there. It would be equivalent to an additional life.

    ¡°It¡¯s him!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head, sensing a familiar aura above the lake.

    ¡°Fellow Northmoon, I am Hua Chengzan of the school of Legalism. I have come to visit you,¡± said Hua Chengzan as he arrived above the lake and admired the scenery. Then he turned around and asked Han Tieyi, who rushed after him, ¡°What¡¯re you coming here for?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m willing.¡±

    ¡°Fine then,¡± Hua Chengzan said helplessly. There should not have been any dangers with this trip of his anyway.

    ¡°You can come down!¡± Li Qingshan said resonantly. Suddenly, the surface of the lake parted. In the centre were a flight of water stairs that led down.

    Han Tieyi became cautious. Entering the water domain under the control of a powerful water daemon was basically no different from walking into the belly of a beast. However, as he watched Hua Chengzan make his way down the stairs, all he could do was follow along. Speaking of which, he would not be Northmoon¡¯s opponent even if he did not enter the water.

    Further ahead was a long tunnel. As they walked through the tunnel, they could clearly make out the scenery under the water.

    Suddenly, two specks of light lit up in the dark waters. A cluster of daemon qi gradually approached them. Hua Chengzan stopped and turned around, seeing a huge, red carp swimming straight towards them.

    Han Tieyi gripped his spear, ready to strike, but Hua Chengzan stopped him.

    With a splash, the huge carp leapt through the tunnel with a significant amount of water spray, brushing past them.

    Han Tieyi lowered his spear, and the two of them continued forwards. Their vision abruptly opened up. The tunnel led to a great hall. There were no pillars, only an empty space, shaped like a droplet of rain that had hit the ground.

    There was a tall throne in the centre. The moon demon sat there. The huge, red carp swam up from below the ¡°floor¡±, gathering near him and opening its mouth.

    Northmoon smiled, rubbing the huge fish¡¯s head and feeding it a pill. ¡°This guy sure is bold. He¡¯s not afraid of others involuntarily killing him!¡±

    Then he glanced at the oversized crab daemons, soft-shelled turtle daemons, and shrimp daemons and cursed, ¡°You cowards, if you don¡¯t get up here right now, I¡¯ll stew you all into soup!¡±

    They swam up in a hurry, standing in two rows. These were the underlings Li Qingshan had subdued with the Dragon Seizing bident. They were not powerful, but they were enough to keep up his appearance.

    Hua Chengzan was left at quite a loss over how to react. Everyone knew about the fierceness and brutality of the moon demon, yet when he saw it for himself, he simply felt there was a slight difference.

    However, as he approached the throne, he immediately sensed the power aura from him. Steadfastness, frenzy, and tranquility gathered on a single person, making it quite difficult to explain. The further he walked, the greater the pressure. When he was still ten meters away from the throne, he stopped. He actually felt like he was unable to take another step closer.

    ¡°Why have you come? Have you come to congratulate me? Or have you come to kill me?!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes turned cold as he stared brightly at these two old friends from the academy. He did not want to come off as too polite, just in case he gave away any openings and damaged his reputation as the moon demon.

    All Hua Chengzan felt was surging malice colliding into him like a landslide of a tsunami. Han Tieyi took a step forward and placed his spear vertically in front of Hua Chengzan.

    ¡°All of you piss off! Oh, I¡¯m not talking about you!¡±

    Li Qingshan withdrew his aura and bellowed while pointing down. As it turned out, before Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi had even responded, the soft-shelled turtle daemons had already retracted into their shells. The crab and shrimp daemons were frightened into a mess too. Hearing the order, they immediately felt like their lives had been spared, scrambling for the deeper waters.

    ¡°I want to ask fellow Northmoon to return senior Zhou Tong¡¯s Lightning Slaughter wooden sword.¡± Hua Chengzan understood he had no right to discuss a ceasefire with Northmoon given his identity. His request to return the Lightning Slaughter sword was more of a form of probing.

    Before the situation had been confirmed, making rash contact with the moon demon would definitely lead to castigation from all. However, if he had come to retrieve Zhou Tong¡¯s Lightning Slaughter sword, then it would be different.

    ¡°Zhou Tong? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°The daoist priest who challenged you using lightning last time.¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re talking about this!¡± As if he had come to a realisation, Li Qingshan fished out the Lightning Slaughter sword and tossed it gently into the air. Electricity surged as sparks flew.

    ¡°But, why should I return it to you? This is my spoil of the battle.¡±

    ¡°The Lightning Slaughter sword is of no use to you, sir. We can offer you something else in exchange.¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned forward and said with raised eyebrows, ¡°Right now, aren¡¯t your lives and hundred treasures pouches both mine?¡±

    ¡°If you really do want them, feel free to take them, sir!¡±

    Hua Chengzan spread out his arms in a free and easy manner.

    However, he felt extremely nervous inside. According to his analysis, Northmoon had not even directly killed Yang Pinghu of the Daemon Suppression alliance, sparing his life, so the possibility for him to kill them was almost negligible. However, daemons were temperamental, so they could not be analysed using normal logic. No matter how clever a person was, they could not avoid accidents.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. With a wave of his hand, the water palace collapsed loudly. Water flooded in from all directions.

    Just when Hua Chengzan and Han Tieyi thought he was about to strike, Li Qingshan leapt up gently and vanished into the waves behind him.

    ¡°I heard the Academy of the Hundred Schools has a treasure called the Watermirror disc. If you want the sword back, bring the Watermirror disc for exchange!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s interest had been piqued the first time he saw the Watermirror disc. There seemed to be a possible connection with the spirit turtle¡¯s ability, the Watermirror¡¯s Image. If he could obtain it, perhaps his comprehension of the Watermirror¡¯s Image could reach an even higher level.

    Then, Li Qingshan handed the Water God Seal to his mirror clone before withdrawing all of his aura and returning to the Chain mountains silently with Xiao An.

    In Moon Court lake, Li Qingshan controlled his clone to swim towards a smaller lake near Moon Court lake. The quality of the Water God Seal truly was something else. Even the Moon Court lake was unable to fill the whole thing. There was still a bit left over on the edges.

    However, it was not enough to accomodate the Clear river. Li Qingshan wanted to continue refining the bodies of water in the surroundings until he filled up the Water God Seal.

    Arriving before the small lake, the Water God Seal shone brightly, and Li Qingshan devoted all of his attention towards it. However, he no longer used only his daemon qi, but all the spiritual qi from Moon Court lake too.

    In under two hours, the qi filled the entire lake, and the Water God Seal obtained another region of water and more power.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Sure enough, it was the same as what the books detailed. Once he had a larger body of water under his control, refining the smaller bodies of water around him would become extremely easy.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan continued to work diligently, refining most of the water in the surroundings. Finally, he filled the Water God Seal to the brim. The tremendous water spiritual qi seemed endless as if it wanted to leak out. It left Li Qingshan emotionally moved.

    Suddenly, he experienced a flash of inspiration. The mental cultivation method of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean filled his head.

    Although Moon Court lake could not rival an actual ocean, it did resemble an ocean to a certain degree. It would bring great benefits to Li Qingshan¡¯s human cultivation too. He had truly received some unexpected results from pure accidents.

    Li Qingshan believed that as long as he had some time to quietly comprehend it, he would definitely make a breakthrough with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. It made him think that no matter how impressive the Ocean sect had been, it was impossible for them to possess their own domain of water to cultivate in.

    Was this the limit? Of course not.

    After all, the world was not created with god seals. They had been refined from nothing. The greatest value in this Water God Seal was that it could circumvent the blockage of the nine provincial cauldrons.

    Li Qingshan arrived at the outlet of another small river that flowed into Clear Court lake, and he became slightly stern.

    At the same time, Hua Chengzan had returned to the academy with Li Qingshan¡¯s condition, calling an emergency meeting yet again. This time, Li Qingshan was not absent.

    The academy sent a message, so he rushed over with Xiao An. Currently, he sat in the meeting with Xiao An, wanting to see whether he would actually achieve his objective or not.

    ¡°The Watermirror disc? Absolutely not!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing declined straight away. The Watermirror disc was the treasure of the academy, wielded by past leaders of the school of Confucianism. Its origins were extremely ancient, said to be a relic ancient cultivators left behind. As a matter of fact, it could not even be valued with the standards of present-day spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts.

    Although it did not possess the slightest offensive or defensive ability, it managed to prove its extraordinary value just by itself.

 Chapter 507 â€“ The God-like Spirit Turtle

    ¡°It¡¯s so-so. I really need to thank you, miss Ru Xin!¡±

    Li Qingshan stretched his neck as he sat to Liu Zhangqing¡¯s left in his impressive Scarlet Hawk commander uniform.

    To Liu Zhangqing¡¯s right was Han Anjun. Just the change in his seating position demonstrated how different his status was now. It filled Liu Chuanfeng who sat in the corner with envy.

    There were quite a few Foundation Establishment cultivators who belonged to the Academy of the Hundred Schools in the Clear River prefecture. Some had high degrees of seniority and others had powerful cultivations, but in a formation meeting, the people who sat at the very top would always be the prefect, general, and commander. Even Zhou Tong who was known as the greatest in the Clear River prefecture could only sit in a lower seat.

    This was a form of orthodox status. Liu Zhangqing¡¯s status went without saying; the empire recognised him as someone who stood at the top in terms of status. While Han Anjun only led the school of the Military, he could directly enlist the disciples of the academy during times of crisis. As for the Hawkwolf Guard, they were a system of violence that answered directly to the empire.

    They represented the three traditional authorities of politics, the military, and policing.

    While the schools of Buddhism and Daoism were filled with talents and possessed a deep foundation, they could not interfere with these matters as religious figures.

    Li Qingshan even tried to persuade Liu Zhangqing otherwise. ¡°Don¡¯t fret, sir Liu. The Watermirror disc isn¡¯t something the moon demon can obtain just because he¡¯s asking for it!¡±

    Hua Chengzan also felt that the moon demon¡¯s demands were very exorbitant. If the moon demon had taken something else, then so be it, but the issue was it happened to be the Lightning Slaughter wooden sword¡­

    ¡°Kid, that¡¯s easy for you to say. That¡¯s my sword, for heaven¡¯s sake!¡± Sure enough, Zhou Tong became rather restless. The Lightning Slaughter wooden sword was a critical arcane artifact for his second heavenly tribulation. It was something that tied into his life. Now that he had the opportunity to take it back, how could he not become interested?

    ¡°Please calm down, senior Zhou. I¡¯m just considering the bigger picture!¡± Li Qingshan thought to himself, Heh, of course I know it¡¯s your sword. If it wasn¡¯t your sword, I wouldn¡¯t have taken it!

    ¡°Hmm. The Watermirror disc is precious, but the Lightning Slaughter wooden sword is a rare arcane artifact too. There might even be the chance for it to become an arcane treasure in the future. It¡¯s a real pity if we lose it. Sigh, let¡¯s just discuss what we¡¯ll do!¡±

    Li Qingshan said a whole lot, but everyone felt like he had said nothing at all.

    It was true. There was nothing Li Qingshan could say. Opposing the exchange was opposing himself, while supporting the exchange would easily attract suspicion, right?

    The discussion gradually intensified, so Li Qingshan split his focus, dealing with the meeting in the academy on one side while focusing on the glistening Moon Court lake on the other!

    He raised his head and saw a creek gurgling as it flowed down a mountain.

    The creek was even smaller than the river Li Qingshan had refined in the beginning. If it were not for the fact that it meandered through the mountains and forests, it probably would not even be enough to condense a god seal.

    Li Qingshan stood over the outlet as his surging daemon qi moved upstream. Under the support of the god seal, it filled the entire water system in the blink of an eye.

    If there was still space in the Water God Seal, he could have merged it into the god seal with great ease and then expanded the bodies of water under his control slightly.

    However, the god seal was already full, unable to accept even an additional stream.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and felt an extremely thin, blue band of light stretched into the mountains and forests.

    He extended his hand, and with a scoop, he removed the band of light and wrapped it around the Water God Seal.

    Sure enough, this process was much more difficult than directly using the Water God Seal to accept the water system. It was equivalent to recondensing a god seal.

    If it were not for Ru Xin¡¯s water god seal, he would not be able to overcome the suppression of the nine provincial cauldrons and condense a god seal even with a creek like this.

    The Water God Seal spun like a spindle. The blue band wrapped around it like thread, again and again in an endless fashion.

    As the condensing process continued, Li Qingshan gradually grasped the trick. The Water God Seal spun faster and faster. He also felt like this process was not as difficult as it was described in the books.

    It¡¯s probably because I¡¯ve already become a higher water god, while the creek is simply too small!

    Li Qingshan spent a few more hours before finally refining the creek. The Water God Seal in his hand changed once more. It remained the same size, but the patterns on it did become a little more complicated.

    Even if he scattered all the power inside, the level of the Water God Seal would have still increased slightly. This was an aspect that would not change.

    Is it because I practise the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression? Li Qingshan became filled with enthusiasm as he came up with another guess.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s guess was correct. Regular daemons, even water daemons who had become Daemon Commanders, would require a few days at the very least to condense a god seal from the creek.

    Creating something from nothing had never been so simple unless one was born with that ability, possessing the bloodline of a divine beast.

    The spirit turtle happened to be the most renowned water divine beast. Its status was equivalent to the phoenix¡¯s status to fire.

    The crux of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was ¡°transformation¡±. It could grant a regular, human teenager the abilities and power only the strongest demonic and divine beasts in the world possessed.

    Spirit turtles could even suppress boundless oceans, let alone a mere mountain creek.

    Divine beasts possessed the adjective ¡°divine¡± in the first place. They were born with divine powers, which was why the scenery when Li Qingshan refined Moon Court lake was different from regular daemons, resulting in a magic phenomenon.

    Yep, they¡¯ve finally reached a conclusion!

    The meeting at the academy entered a stalemate once again. Liu Zhangqing refused to part with the Watermirror disc, and while Zhou Tong wanted his Lightning Slaughter wooden sword back, it was difficult for him to bring it up.

    Only at the very end did they barely reach a conclusion, which was to have Hua Chengzan visit the moon demon again and ask if he could change his conditions.

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll pay another visit, but it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t hold any high hopes.¡± Hua Chengzan sighed and stood up.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Zhou Tong stood up abruptly.

    Hua Chengzan was unable to discourage him. All he could do was smile bitterly while allowing him to come along. ¡°Senior Zhou, you have to remain calm when we get there. You mustn¡¯t clash with the moon demon again.¡±

    The two of them traveled through the night and returned to Moon Court lake. Only after wandering around for quite a while did they find the moon demon Li Qingshan on a small island in the lake.

    Hua Chengzan raised an eyebrow as he found the situation even stranger than the last time they met. The moon demon crouched on the sandy beach as he tended to a barbeque.

    A plucked chicken was skewered on a tree branch, turning on a fire as he lathered it with some sauce he had found from somewhere.

    ¡°My Lightning Slaughter sword!¡±

    Zhou Tong was cautious. Only when he got closer did he see the tree branch that Li Qingshan turned was the unimpressive Lightning Slaughter sword, leading to a miserable shriek.

    ¡°It¡¯s my Lightning Slaughter sword,¡± Li Qingshan corrected him before biting viciously into the chicken.

    Hua Chengsan took a step forward and bowed politely. He expressed cheerfully, ¡°The Watermirror disc belongs to the academy. It¡¯s not something that we can decide to give away, so why don¡¯t you change your condition? It¡¯s not like you have any use for the Lightning Slaughter wooden sword anyway, so why not exchange it for something useful instead?¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s it useless?! This is a crucial tool to my secret cooking technique, the dual roasting of lightning and fire. What am I supposed to do if I can¡¯t eat it in the future anymore?¡± Li Qingshan waved the roast chicken around furiously. As he watched Zhou Tong¡¯s face darken, he thought, Heh, I was right. Your shitty tree branch can only be used for a roast, and the food cooked with it takes especially bad.

    As Hua Chengzan caught the burnt smell wafting from the roast chicken, he had no idea on how to respond. There was nothing he could say.

    ¡°Moon demon, you drive me crazy!¡± Zhou Tong bellowed out as he crackled with lightning.

    Li Qingshan pointed with the roast chicken. ¡°You are bold enough to attack me?¡±

    ¡°Senior, please calm down!¡±

    Hua Chengzan went up to stop Zhou Tong. He did not do anything in the end. He had a violent temper, but he was no idiot. He would never do something as useless as throwing an egg at a rock.

    And, he could clearly sense that the moon demon had become even stronger. He had become even stronger than when he stole the Lightning Slaughter sword from him!

    If Zhou Tong knew the person standing before him right now was merely a clone, and he had actually failed to see through it, who knew what he would feel?

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity, oh it¡¯s a pity. It¡¯s far too tiring to eat while holding it up. I¡¯m only missing a good plate. That¡¯s all I need for this to be perfect.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head as he said to himself, ¡°If you really refuse to give it to me, I¡¯ll just fetch it for myself in the future.¡±

    Hua Chengzan shivered inside. As it seemed, the moon demon had truly set his mind on the Watermirror disc. The exchange this time no longer involved only these two items. It would also affect the future situation. If the exchange were successful, then it would be a very good beginning. They could bring the pointless war to an end.

    However, if it were not, it was possible for the moon demon to reignite the war. By then, even the best situation would be the Ruyi commandery becoming involved, and the Clear River prefecture would turn into a mire of warfare again.

    Li Qingshan obviously did not want to declare war against the academy. He had far too many acquaintances there. If he accidentally caused the death of father-in-law Han or his brother-in-law, then his relationship with Han Qiongzhi would truly before some half-assed drama.

    Not to mention, with how great the situation was right now, he would never be stupid enough to actively destroy it. As long as no one could reign him in, he would continue to refine these rivers and lakes one by one. There were no negative consequences with that.

    It was not like it cost him anything to throw some threats around!

    Hua Chengzan dragged Zhou Tong away and returned to the academy, telling Liu Zhangqing everything that had happened.

    This time, they did not hold a meeting. It was just the three of them. Liu Zhangqing¡¯s expression changed again and again, unsure as to what to do.

    ¡°Prefect Liu, do you trust this lowly daoist?¡± Zhou Tong asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite, senior. Of course I do.¡±

    ¡°The Lightning Slaughter sword gives me an additional thirty percent confidence in overcoming the heavenly tribulation at the very least. If I succeed, I¡¯ll definitely come up with a way to retrieve the Watermirror disc. If I fail, then I¡¯ll still make it up to you with something else. As long as the threat of the moon demon remains, I will continue to watch over the Clear River prefecture.¡±

    ¡°If I fail the tribulation, the Lightning Slaughter sword shouldn¡¯t be destroyed. It¡¯ll probably absorb the power of lightning and become even more powerful, so it can replace the Watermirror disc. We can put this transaction in writing and send it to the Ruyi commandery. It¡¯ll be a deal between the moon demon¡¯s and my name. What do you think?¡±

    In that instant, Zhou Tong seemed extremely calm as he clearly explained everything.

    Hua Chengzan thought about it before understanding what was going on. What worried Liu Zhangqing the most was still the Ruyi commandery. The Marquis of Ruyi had not sent any reinforcements, but he had never told him to assist the daemon¡¯s growth in power under its threats either.

    By saying that, Zhou Tong had essentially lifted Liu Zhangqing¡¯s responsibilities from his shoulders.

 Chapter 508 â€“ Neck and Neck

    ¡°Hmph, I definitely won¡¯t just leave the matter be. How dare he use my Lightning Slaughter sword to roast chicken!¡± Zhou Tong¡¯s face twitched again.

    After the meeting in the academy had ended, Liu Chuanfeng extended a grand invitation for Li Qingshan to return to the school of Novels and take a look. Li Qingshan turned him down.

    Liu Chuanfeng feigned anger. ¡°Qingshan, the school of Novels is the school you originally came from. That¡¯s far too inappropriate of you to just walk by without going inside.¡±

    Unable to turn him down, Li Qingshan arrived on Cloudwisp island.

    Passing through the gloomy bamboo forest, the bamboo loft shimmered with lamplight.

    Li Qingshan sensed the existence of many auras. This place would never be as quiet and empty as before again.

    Under Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s order, a great group of children huddled over. The eldest was only fifteen or sixteen, while the youngest only seemed to be seven or eight. They all called out together with their childish voices, ¡°Greetings, first senior brother!¡±

    Afterwards, they stared at Li Qingshan with sparkling eyes. Liu Chuanfeng had mentioned the glorious deeds of Li Qingshan frequently to encourage them and also to bring up the results of his arduous guidance as it was convenient.

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. After three years of war, probably only the school of Novels had become even more prosperous than before.

    The main reason was the school of Novels never had any decent disciples in the first place. New disciples like them were second or third layer Qi Practitioners at most. Even getting the school of Mohism to create a few random puppets was better than sending them to their deaths.

    Some people were destroyed because they were too powerful, while some people managed to remain alive safely because they were too weak.

    He sat down for a talk and before he knew it, a few hours had passed.

    Li Qingshan stood up and bid farewell, wanting to return to the Chain mountains with Xiao An, only for Hua Chengzan to stop him. He had just finished his discussion with Liu Zhangqing and was right about to invite Li Qingshan back to the Hawkwolf Guard to preside over the situation.

    Never had he heard of a Scarlet Hawk commander who stopped showing up after the day of his promotion. Now that the war had come to a conclusion, there were a thousand things waiting to be done for the Hawkwolf Guard. They needed him to watch over everything.

    ¡°Little Hua, I¡¯ll leave everything up to you. I want to spend some time in secluded cultivation.¡±

    Never had he heard of a cultivator who entered secluded cultivation so often either.

    Secluded cultivation was not simply locking yourself up in your dwelling. Cultivators only chose secluded cultivation once their cultivation had reached a certain bottleneck, or they had reached a certain degree of accumulation.

    ¡°Heh, I comprehended some things recently.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not lying. He had yet to carefully comprehend his experience and lessons from the battle with the Spider Queen. At the same time, he had not consolidated his comprehensions from refining Moon Court lake yet. Both of these took time.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± What else could Hua Chengzan say? The most important thing to cultivators was still cultivation. Everything else, such as the Hawkwolf Guard or the overall situation of the world, was of much lesser importance. ¡°Though, the path of cultivation is about advancing step by step. If you¡¯re far too eager for instant success, it¡¯ll merely slow you down. It¡¯ll be easy for you to suffer from qi deviation.¡±

    ¡°I know. You should be careful when you deal with the moon demon too. Hopefully you don¡¯t go out to beat a tiger, only to get injured yourself.¡± Li Qingshan obviously understood the principle of taking one step at a time. He had not actually spent much time or energy on the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    He also needed to practise the extremely profound ability, the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, at the same time, as well as maintain his status in the world of daemons. Time had never been enough for him. He had always wanted to learn artifact forging too, but he never had the leisure.

    Hopefully the situation could mellow out for a period and give him some more time to cultivate once this war ended!

    ¡°The tiger is too vicious. It¡¯s not something I can beat up. I just want to keep the tiger satisfied so that it hurts fewer people.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That won¡¯t be easy. We¡¯ve gained an impressive rival in love after all.¡±

    ¡°A rival in love.¡±

    Suddenly, Hua Chengzan discovered he had miscalculated one aspect. The moon demon had publicly professed his love from Gu Yanying, so how would the Marquis of Ruyi respond? The exchange this time would probably lead to unexpected problems.

    However, the development of the situation seemed to confirm Hua Chengzan¡¯s thoughts. The Marquis of Ruyi had never turned down Liu Zhangqing¡¯s petition, but he would be reluctant to agree to it.

    Liu Zhangqing refused to hand over the Watermirror disc so easily, and the matter had been shelved like that.

    Li Qingshan obviously would not panic. The one panicking should be Zhou Tong. It had been a moment of inspiration for him in the first place. If this insignificant move of his succeeded, then that would be for the best, but if it failed, it was not a pity either.

    Actually, he had already forgotten about this.

    In Qing Xiao¡¯s Home, Li Qingshan shut his eyes as blue light ebbed like the tide from his body, producing the vague sound of waves.

    He devoted all his focus to that apart from saving a part of it, so his clone could continue refining bodies of water and expanding the god seal.

    His attention was completely submerged in his sea of consciousness. The boundless sea of consciousness was like a huge mirror, clearly reflecting two figures.

    One was Li Qingshan. The other was Spider Queen Lolth.

    From their first meeting to every single meeting afterwards, he did not omit a single conversation that they had. It then went to the intercourse in Cobweb city, the bitter battle under Cobweb city, and his indulgence and venting after victory. It covered everything.

    Li Qingshan seemed like he was reminiscing a lover, recollecting every single expression and movement she had made.

    From a certain perspective, enemies were indeed closer than lovers. Hating a person would lead to constant thought about them every single day, while it was very difficult to achieve this with only loving a person.

    Of course, Li Qingshan did not hate Lolth. His memories mostly triggered excitement and fervour.

    Her wounds, her daemon qi, should be completely recovered already! So why hasn¡¯t she come for revenge yet? Is she preparing some sort of secret weapon?

    The tiger demon growled in his heart, desiring another battle with her! He could imagine the battle to be extremely difficult, but that was what made it interesting.

    He was no longer the same Li Qingshan of the past either. Gaining control over Moon Court lake held extraordinary significance to him. Apart from the direct benefits, it also affected his mentality.

    He submerged his mind in the illusionary figure of the spirit turtle that radiated with an extremely tranquil aura to comprehend and feel it.

    To another side of the dwelling, Xiao An cupped her hands, holding the blood daemon core she had obtained from killing Bloodshadow in between them.

    The blood daemon core changed its shape like water as it produced a strange hiss, like the wails of ghosts from hell.

    Xiao An freed up her left hand and waved it upwards.

    Twenty-one Skull Prayer Beads scattered, turning into skulls as they circled above her head.

    She raised the blood daemon core in her right hand with some difficulty. Its shape had already changed completely, becoming a thin disc. It rippled like flowing water.

    Suddenly, she pushed upwards, and the blood daemon core flew up. The skulls opened their mouths together, spraying Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone at the blood daemon core.

    She had formally begun to refine the Blood Sea Banner.

    At the same time, in Moon Court lake.

    Li Qingshan refined the surrounding waters without even resting for a second. Under the control of the same will, his main body and his clone advanced at the same time to become stronger.

    Before he knew it, four months had passed.

    Li Qingshan used half a month to refine a great river that stretched over five hundred kilometers before coming to a temporary stop. He gazed at the Water God Seal in his hand. It was as translucent as before, glowing with blue light, except the patterns had become even clearer and more complicated. It was no longer completely flat. Instead, it became slightly three-dimensional.

    And, he could clearly sense the waters radiate outward in all directions from Moon Court lake. Moon Court lake was like a beating heart, and the rivers were the vessels that delivered blood.

    However, seeing how Spider Queen Lolth had not come to challenge him, he caught the scent of danger. Perhaps the concept of time to daemons was different from humans.

    Li Qingshan dared not be careless, but he would not worry too much about it either. He believed he definitely became stronger faster than Lolth.

    If she really were willing to drag it out, then that would work too. If she waited a few decades or a century, then it would no longer be a battle of life and death. She could simply bend over and wait for him to visit.

    After resting for a moment, Li Qingshan continued to search for bodies of water connected to Moon Court lake that he had yet to refine. What he wanted to find the most was the water system connected to the underground river, but he never managed to find it.

    He could not help it. There were far too many rivers connected to Moon Court lake, and every single one of them meandered about, making it very difficult to determine their direction from one end. Some seemed to lead underground, but after flowing underground for a while, they would surface again.

    Some clearly flowed in the direction of the territory, but upon flowing into some mountains, they would take a few turns and veer off elsewhere.

    ¡°Just where is it?¡±

    Li Qingsha muttered to himself in the Chain mountains. He opened his eyes and checked on Xiao An. She was still focused on refining the Blood Sea Banner.

    Within the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone that burned quietly, a long, blood-red banner had already taken form. Li Qingshan could already sense the great power it was hiding, surging boundlessly like the ocean.

    I thought it would be very easy to find. If I had known earlier, I would have gotten her to divine for me. Oh right, why don¡¯t I try the spirit turtle¡¯s ability of divination?

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan came up with an idea. Throughout the four months, he had gained an even deeper comprehension of the Spirit Turtle Transformation. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and the Watermirror¡¯s Image were not the only aspects that had become more profound.

    He had gained a deeper comprehension of the abilities that spirit turtles possessed in the first place too.

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes again. The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core in his body flickered with light. At the same time, his clone five hundred kilometers away held the Water God Seal and sensed the ripples in Moon Court lake.

    Vaguely, he placed his mind in the centre of Moon Court lake. A towering, mountainous island stood there.

    Suddenly, he saw it. There was a vortex beneath the island.

    Beneath the island was a cavern, which swallowed the lakewater endlessly.

    He had always been looking at the edge of the lake, but he had never paid particular attention to the scenery of the lake, as a vortex like that was far too common in Moon Court lake. It was not worth any special attention.

    And, by looking at the size of the hole, it was impossible for it to create a river as grand as the one underground. In the past, even if Li Qingshan discovered the hole, he would not have taken note of it.

 Chapter 509 â€“ In the Ruyi Commandery

    In the beginning, the flow was very small, small enough to condense a single god seal.

    However, as the river water surged, more and more rivers converged together and the flow became greater and greater, plunging into the depths underground like it was unstoppable.

    After another series of twists and turns, the flow gradually established. It moved in the direction of the underground territory.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed as he poured all of his efforts into it without hesitation. The underground river was much larger than any rivers he had refined so far. He could probably only refine it after quite the effort.

    However, once he refined it, he would establish a connection between the two territories, and his foundation in the Clear River prefecture would become even more consolidated.

    In Qing Xiao¡¯s Home, Li Qingshan stood up and nodded towards Xiao An before leaving the dwelling.

    It was time for his main body to take action.

    At the end of the day, his clone only possessed a portion of his daemon qi, and it did not possess the divine powers of the spirit turtle. When he concentrated on cultivating, using his clone to save time was a good idea, but he still had to tend to real issues in person. It was more convenient that way.

    And, it was time for him to return underground and check on the situation. He had to take a look at how Ye Liusu was going with her great cause of unification.

    The blackwater salamander remained in his deep, underground lake, swimming around freely. He cultivated slowly with the speed of a daemon. Perhaps in a decade or a century¡¯s time, he would also become a powerful Daemon General, but right now, he was only a weak daemon.

    Among the many underground daemons, the daemons in Li Qingshan¡¯s territory were probably the most fortunate. They safely avoided the war that might have threatened their lives.

    The blackwater salamander suddenly sensed an unstoppably powerful daemon qi merge with his region of water. The water it could freely control originally had frozen into a prison in that instant.

    In the black water, two specks of azure light appeared. In a blur, a spirit turtle swam past. The specks of blue light were the spirit turtle¡¯s eyes. It was clearly burdened with a large shell on its back, but its movements were filled with elegant and agile beauty, like it was dancing through the sky.

    Compared to the directly-observable, tremendous daemon qi, another indescribable aura appeared. That was an aura of divinity, like a king on tour through his territory, like a god drawing up a divine kingdom.

    Wherever it went, no matter how violent the water flow was, it would all settle down like its gaze.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s main body arrived beneath Moon Court lake. When he first began refining the underground river, he found it to be surprisingly easy. The deeper the underground river went, the heavier the flow became, and the way he refined it was actively expanding the Water God Seal, yet it felt as easy as refining a small river with his clone.

    The speed at which he refined waters with his clone was fast enough to leave everyone in the dust. If they could witness the efficiency of his original body, they would probably be left dumbfounded.

    At this moment, in the commandery city of Ruyi, there was indeed a group of people who were left stunned.

    A glowing map covered a large wall. There were no cities or settlements on there, only mountains, rivers, and other geographic features. The mountains that rose and fell and the rivers that twisted and turned seemed like a huge dragon squirming on the ground, with its head and tail touching. However, it did not seem messy at all. It possessed the beauty of nature.

    The waters were blue, but a small region had been dyed a bright red. Looking at its shape, it matched Moon Court lake and the surrounding waters.

    ¡°My lord, this is the landscape from the Green Province cauldron. The speed at which the moon demon, no, Northmoon refines the landscape has suddenly increased,¡± an old man reported.

    The Marquis of Ruyi wore the same fancy hat and was still dressed in violet, except his chilly expression as if he was forcing a smile had vanished. It had been replaced by caution or even vigilance.

    The spread colour of red was like carbuncles on his body. That¡¯s right, the Ruyi commandery was territory that had been passed down through his clan for thousands of years. It was like an extension of his body.

    He did not mind if daemons ran amok. He did not care either no matter how many regular people and cultivators died. However, refining the landscape and claiming to be a god was directly provoking his authority.

    The right hand hidden within the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s large sleeve clenched into a fist. He felt an urge to barge through the door right now, rush to the Clear River prefecture, and kill him.

    Actually, he did not even have to do anything personally. With a single order, mobilising a handful of Golden Core cultivators would be nothing difficult at all. Just the Golden Core cultivators who served in his marquis¡¯ estate amounted to three.

    However, he could not do this. He was not a chess piece, but he only dared to remain as a spectator. Let alone tampering with the chess pieces in this game, even respecting the rule of remaining as a silent spectator was the basics of the basics.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± The Marquis of Ruyi looked around. To his side stood two people on equal footing.

    One was a middle-aged man. He was dressed in military uniform as his face was as stiff as a block of metal, without the slightest expression. His hands remained by his side as he stood sternly, like a glacier that never melted.

    If Li Qingshan were present, he would definitely find a great resemblance to Han Anjun. He was Han Qiongzhi¡¯s uncle, the great general Han Anguo.

    ¡°If this daemon remains, he¡¯ll definitely become a source of great trouble.¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi nodded slightly, agreeing to that. ¡°To think that Liu Zhangqing has actually reported to me that he wants to give the Watermirror disc to him. What is he thinking?¡±

    The other person was obviously Gu Yanying, still dressed in clothes whiter than snow as she stood with her arms behind her back. Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing her pale forearms that seemed clean and smooth. The graceful smile hung forever on her face, making it impossible to guess her thoughts. She was like the invisible yet ever-changing wind.

    ¡°Heh, now that¡¯s interesting.¡±

    ¡°Yanying, aren¡¯t you a little too unfazed?¡±

    When the Marquis of Ruyi looked at her, even his gaze softened slightly, without the bone-deep arrogance of a marquis.

    Of course, this was not only because of his feelings for her. Gu Yanying¡¯s status was exactly the same as his. No one knew the exact depth of her cultivation, not to mention there was the shadow that enveloped the entire sky of the Great Xia empire behind her.

    Compared to her, even the mighty Marquis of Ruyi was merely a measly, local noble.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a game of chess. Why must we be so serious?¡±

    ¡°This is the ancestral property of my clan.¡± The Marquis of Ruyi smiled bitterly as he stared at her. The part about her that enchanted him the most was not her absolute beauty, her noble status, or even her bearing that was as ungraspable as the wind.

    Instead, it was a boldness of vision. Wind might not move, but air was omnipresent, filling the nine provinces.

    Everyone said the Clear River prefecture was a game of chess, but apart from the few at the very top, who could actually treat it as a game of chess?

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just give him the Watermirror disc and see how big of a wave he can create?¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s behaviour truly matched a spectator¡¯s, watching on without any problems with it developing out of hand.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°He is one of my admirers after all.¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s lips curled. She made no mention about the overall situation, making no effort to hide likes and dislikes.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re saying to give it to him, then we¡¯ll give it to him! What can I do about how unfortunate I am to end up in such a predicament? I probably should sympathise with this Northmoon.¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi sighed, tossing the warning of ¡°If this daemon remains, he¡¯ll definitely become a source of great trouble.¡± to the back of his mind in the blink of an eye.

    He did not want to come off as overly unsophisticated in front of her. Of course, this was not the primary reason. Recently, he had been under quite a lot of pressure too. Zhou Tong had indeed become very frantic to retrieve his Lightning Slaughter sword. He managed to find a figure that the Marquis of Ruyi could not turn down to speak for him.

    Gu Yanying made no mention of the situation, but the Marquis of Ruyi had already analysed it countless times internally. He considered the benefits that came with Zhou Tong undergoing the heavenly tribulation. What Gu Yanying said was only a prelude to his decision at most. With how long he spent cultivating so far, how could he do something so stupid just for the sake of someone¡¯s feelings?

    Of course, it was possible to say the prelude was very important too. The Marquis of Ruyi felt caution or even vigilance towards Northmoon instinctively. It was far too unnatural for a daemon¡¯s cultivation to climb so rapidly, so he should have done everything he could to either slow him down or stamp him out. If it were not for Gu Yanying¡¯s words, he might have followed through with this idea.

    And in the future, he would absolutely regret his decision today, which also proved that something like a boldness of vision could not be feigned. Some people really did not care about that.

    As they spoke, Han Anguo maintained the usual style of the Han family, standing by silently without objecting at all.

    Only when he was about to leave did Gu Yanying suddenly ask, ¡°Has your niece succeeded with Foundation Establishment?¡±

    ¡°She just went through the heavenly tribulation two days ago. She¡¯s currently recovering.¡± Han Anguo cast a questioning gaze at her, wondering why she had suddenly mentioned Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°Have her report to me tomorrow!¡± Gu Yanying said straightforwardly.

    Han Anguo was rather confused. He had no idea why she was treating Han Qiongzhi with such kindness and generosity, but being promoted directly to the White Wolf guard could never be bad. He did not want Han Qiongzhi to return to the Clear River prefecture right now either, at least until the situation had completely stabilised there. As a result, he nodded. ¡°Alright.¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi smiled. ¡°You¡¯re talking about esteemed niece Qiongzhi, right? You should try and put another word in with her as her uncle. Just what does she want in exchange for the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms painting? Does she really think I¡¯ll rip her off?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be up to her.¡±

    The great general¡¯s estate.

    ¡°No, I have to return!¡± Han Qiongzhi said firmly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already agreed to it. The commands of your superiors are absolute. As a Hawkwolf Guard, Gu Yanying is your commanding officer. You should follow her orders. Alright, stop being so stubborn. You¡¯re not a child anymore.¡±

    For once, Han Anguo¡¯s expression was gentle, which filled the young men and women present with envy. Since when had their father been so amiable with them? Not to mention, ever since Han Qiongzhi had come, their lives had become much better, so they all put in a word with Han Qiongzhi too.

    ¡°Yeah, sister Qiongzhi, just stay here. He even told you to wait for him!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so good about that Li Qingshan anyway? It¡¯s been so long and you¡¯ve heard nothing from him. He hasn¡¯t even written you a letter.¡±

    Han Anguo said coldly, ¡°He personally slew four Daemon Generals, all while fighting alone. He has even been promoted to the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture now. Before you complain about others, why don¡¯t you check yourselves first?¡±

    They were immediately silenced, but they were still extremely unconvinced. That¡¯s just because we never had the opportunity. Once this Li Qingshan comes, we¡¯ll definitely see who¡¯s stronger.

    Han Qiongzhi was slightly surprised. She had spent her entire time in secluded cultivation so that she could break through to Foundation Establishment. She had only found out now that Li Qingshan had already become the Scarlet Hawk commander, but she was happy nonetheless considering her uncle was praising him.

 Chapter 510 â€“ Gift and Choices

    After comprehending the wonders of the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, his ambition began to swell. He was no longer content with refining this underground river. The range would exceed his territory, but were there any Daemon Generals bold enough to stop him?

    As a result, whenever he encountered a fork, he would split his daemon qi. Even with the divine powers of the spirit turtle, this process still became extremely slow.

    However, he was in no hurry, pushing forwards slowly so that he could construct a huge, underground net of water for himself.

    At the top of Cobweb city in the dark chambers, a snowy-white figure was vaguely visible through the layers of curtains.

    Lolth laid on her bed, completely unclothed. Her crimson lips parted slightly, spitting out a thread as her ten fingers flew about. Even her eight legs waved around in a dazzling array. The spider silk was constantly spun and twisted as if she was weaving something.

    She was serious and focused. Although she was naked, there was nothing erotic about it at all. She seemed extremely natural.

    At the same time, her cold, noble, and ruthless bearing had completely vanished.

    Right now, she seemed more like a craftsman, an artisan, carefully tending to her creation, having forgotten about the world outside. There were no distractions from the outside world that could influence her.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s act of refining water systems en masse still ended up alarming her.

    Lolth raised her head and clearly sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi spread and permeate the surroundings. She bit her crimson lips gently. A spiteful light flashed through her eyes, but it vanished in an instant. She lowered her head again and continued focusing on the work at hand.

    Actually, this was the way a spider killed¡ªspending lengthy amounts of time on preparation for the moment of surprise when the prey stepped into the net.

    ¡°Croak croak! Great king! Great king!¡±

    The ice frog leapt around in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. The ice spring it occupied was also a source of a water system that Li Qingshan wanted to refine.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re almost up to that step, so let me lend you some assistance.¡±

    The ice frog had always been one of the strongest daemon soldiers under Li Qingshan¡¯s command, and it seemed to possess a rather special bloodline, which was why it could use the power of ice.

    Even a few years ago, it was already very close to the Daemon General realm. After a few years of arduous cultivation, it had basically arrived at the cusp. However, the time required for the actual breakthrough would still be calculated using years.

    Immediately, the ice frog radiated with resplendent, blue light. The extreme coldness from the daemon core within its body permeated the surroundings.

    With a plonk, the ice frog turned around and leapt into the ice spring.

    ¡°You better turn into a beauty to pay me back!¡±

    Li Qingshan sniggered. He felt the ground tremble slightly, and the spring suddenly lit up, shining with the glow of lightning. Afterwards, it flickered and grew brighter and brighter.

    Quite a while later, the trembling gradually subsided, and the glow of lightning slowly dimmed.

    A delicate young man with icy-blue hair crawled out from the spring. He said, ¡°Croak croak! thanks, great king!¡±

    After a careful inspection, Li Qingshan confirmed he was indeed a young man and not a young woman. He said in disappointment, ¡°Fine then. Looks like I¡¯m unlucky. I¡¯ll give you a name. You can be¡­ Li¡¯l Blue! Sigh, let¡¯s hope Li¡¯l Red is female.¡±

    Abiding to his absolutely tasteless naming style, Li Qingshan casually named the ice frog ¡°Li¡¯l Blue¡±. As for the ¡°great name¡± of ¡°Li¡¯l Red¡±, he had also come up with it on the spot. He felt like it suited the huge red carp very well.

    ¡°Croak, croak! Alright!¡±

    The ice frog of the past, or Li¡¯l Blue right now, obviously had no objections. He still did not have an idea of which human names were good or bad. Only until many years later did he come to understand, but when he began to resent it, it was already too late.

    Li Qingshan directed Li¡¯l Blue to swim upstream and continue cultivating in Moon Court lake. Afterwards, he conveniently flooded the spring with daemon qi, completing the refinement of another water system.

    Right when he wanted to continue with his journey, he felt a familiar aura rapidly grow closer. Li Qingshan smiled and withdrew all of his aura, taking a step back and merging with the rock wall.

    A figure stepped out of the darkness. Ye Liusu arrived by the spring. She wore a luxurious, black cape as she wore a silver circlet. A silver, crescent moon hung on her forehead, which made her seem mysterious and noble.

    She looked around, unable to hide her anticipation, but she failed to find Li Qingshan and became slightly disappointed.

    ¡°Are you looking for me?¡±

    Suddenly, a hand hugged her from behind. Her body tensed up before relaxing again, leaning in his arms softly.

    ¡°Master, I- I sensed your daemon qi.¡±

    Afterwards, I left behind the group of night roamers to directly come and see you. Her face heated up slightly as she felt something she had never felt before. She felt extremely peaceful in his arms. Her exhaustion from dealing with the schemes of all the night roamers faded away silently.

    ¡°How has your great cause of unification been going?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been alright, because master¡­¡±

    ¡°You should change the way you refer to me! That doesn¡¯t suit you.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Although making the proud, independent Ye Liusu call him master was something that made him very happy, it was exactly because of this that she could never be like Ye Liubo and call him that from the bottom of her heart, filled with true feelings.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not really a good idea!¡± Ye Liusu hesitated and turned around, looking at Li Qingshan with twinkling eyes. ¡°I just won¡¯t call you master when no one¡¯s around, alright?¡±

    ¡°Whatever you want.¡±

    Ye Liusu smiled faintly, taking the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck and offering up a kiss in a rather bashful and inexperienced manner. She stopped very quickly as her eyes were filled with undisguisable affection.

    She did not want to remain as only a servant to him. When she chose to abandon everything and wander the world with him, she understood what she wanted. This wish had only intensified, and he had heard her voice inside, feeling extremely happy.

    ¡°Do you want your gift?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Yep.¡±

    Ye Liusu possessed none of the power and prestige of the past great king Ye Liusu right now. The coldness and resolve she showed in front of the night roamers had completely vanished. She was as docile as a teenage girl in love.

    ¡°Then close your eyes.¡±

    Li Qingshan traveled upstream with Ye Liusu, passing through the current and finally arriving in Moon Court lake. He passed through the many formations and arrived in the Clear Court sect of the past, the Moon Court dwelling of the present.

    ¡°Alright. Open your eyes!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Ye Liusu opened her eyes and saw the rising and falling halls and pavilions under the moonlight.

    ¡°We¡¯re in Moon Court lake. I¡¯ve already refined it. This island originally belonged to a sect called the Clear Court sect, but I¡¯ve chased them away. From now onwards, it is the Moon Court dwelling, as well as the territory you wanted under the stars!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at the sky. It just happened to be late at night, so the brilliant moon hung in the sky, surrounded by stars.

    ¡°This is¡­ my¡­¡±

    Ye Liusu¡¯s heart seemed to drift towards the stars with Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    She had intended to establish a territory above ground since a long time ago, but she understood human cultivators were not amicable with otherfolk. Acting rashly would only turn the night roamers into targets.

    She had this ideal, but she still had to listen to her rational side. Not to mention it all meant nothing if she did not possess a territory she could fall back onto.

    Now, Li Qingshan had personally delivered the territory she could only dream of to her, completing her long-cherished wish. The surprise and joy she felt went without saying.

    Ye Liusu returned to her senses and pushed Li Qingshan onto the ground. She was unable to express her feelings with words anymore. All she could do was embrace him with all the strength she had in her.

    Li Qingshan laid on the soft grass and saw the corner of Ye Liusu¡¯s eyes moisten. They glimmered like stars, turning into tears very quickly. She became a weeping beauty, becoming even more beautiful and enchanting.

    He also became filled with a faint feeling of joy, wiping away the tears for Ye Liusu. He held her delicate face and gently kissed her lips.

    Ye Liusu made a clumsy response, extending the tip of her tongue into his mouth. He immediately sucked it and began tasting it.

    Li Qingshan pulled off the black cloak on Ye Liusu. She was dressed just like when they had first met. The simple, black armour only covered her most important parts such that both her thin waist and slender legs were exposed. A flowery pattern extended across her skin, making her mysterious and alluring.

    Li Qingshan rolled over on top and smiled. ¡°When we first met, I think we were like this.¡±

    Ye Liusu turned crimson from embarrassment. Back then, never did she think there would be a day when she would lie beneath him willingly. Her eyes suddenly began to flicker. ¡°Actually, I have another wish.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I read a book by humans about the matters between a man and woman. They were the only ones for each other. If one of them died, the other would not be able to live any longer either. It made me very envious. It made me wish I also had someone like that. However, this kind of feeling will never appear among night roamers, and I never dared to wish for it either until I met you.¡±

    Ye Liusu was rather embarrassed, but she was very calm, as if she was waiting for him to do anything he wanted to her.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. Listening to her sincere words, he was very touched, but from Ye Liusu¡¯s expression, he could not help but think of Han Qiongzhi.

    Had she emerged from seclusion yet? Had she succeeded with Foundation Establishment? When would she return?

    Li Qingshan rolled onto the grass and gazed at the sky full of stars. He murmured, ¡°The only one.¡± The stars turned into Han Qiongzhi¡¯s longing face as he felt a tinge of guilt inside.

    The tender love he usually showed to Ye Liubo was merely a master¡¯s affection to a pet, not to mention nothing had actually occurred yet, so he felt no guilt. As for what he went through with Lolth, it was more like a great adventure filled with danger and excitement. Even his fate had been unpredictable, so he had no time to feel guilt even if he wanted to.

    However, with Ye Liusu, he had truly fallen in love. He was unable to avoid it.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ye Liusu propped herself up and asked in confusion.

    Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms and shook his head with a smile. ¡°Nothing. I just thought of something I had promised, but I failed to uphold it.¡±

    Fortunately, this was not his former life, or he really would have committed the most heinous of crimes. In this day and age, even the icy-cold Han Anjun had a great group of concubines. This was why despite the constant rumors between Ru Xin and him, Han Anjun had never killed his way over and ordered him to move out of the Chain mountains.

 Chapter 511 â€“ Great Danger

    Li Qingshan gazed at the stars, and in a daze, he saw Han Qiongzhi¡¯s fuming face. He smiled gently and let go of Ye Liusu, standing up. He looked back at the western horizon and saw a streak of light fly over.

    Li Qingshan leapt up, arriving in the air and blocking Hua Chengzan¡¯s way.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come again.¡±

    ¡°We agree to your conditions. We can give you the Watermirror disc, but you have to give us the Lightning Slaughter sword first.¡± Hua Chengzan was slightly surprised before calming down. As soon as he finished, he saw Li Qingshan wave his hand and toss out the Lightning Slaughter wooden sword.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid we¡¯ll change our minds?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Only if you have plans of never leaving the Academy of the Hundred Schools again.¡±

    Hua Chengzan sighed gently. This was the confidence that came with absolute strength. Afterwards, he removed the Watermirror disc from his hundred treasures pouch. The Watermirror disc reflected the moonlight in the sky, which seemed like a full moon being held in Hua Chengzan¡¯s hands. It radiated with bright and pure light.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he smiled. ¡°How good is this? Everyone can coexist in peace, taking what we need and cultivating in peace.¡± He accepted the Watermirror disc before turning around and returning to the island.

    Hua Chengzan had prepared many things to say, but he actually had no opportunity to say it. However, what Li Qingshan said happened to be his objective. He actually felt rather lost after achieving his objective so easily.

    Li Qingshan returned to the island. Ye Liusu saw the Watermirror disc in his hand and asked curiously, ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°The treasure of the Academy of the Hundred Schools.¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at the Watermirror disc in his hand, and his mind was sucked in involuntarily as if the lover of his dreams was standing right before him, naked. He actually felt like he was unable to shift his gaze.

    This had originally been an idea he had come up with on the spot, but looking at it now, it was no longer that simple anymore. As Li Qingshan channeled in his daemon qi, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core in him suddenly responded, emitting rings of light.

    Li Qingshan had refined many arcane artifacts and spiritual artifacts before, but this was the first time the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had such a violent response.

    The Watermirror disc¡¯s function definitely was not as simple as surveillance.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°Master, it¡¯s far too empty here. I¡¯ll go bring some clansmen. They¡¯ll definitely be happy.¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the Watermirror disc away and pinched her cheek. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise, but you sure know jealousy well, Liusu.¡±

    Ye Liusu held his hand, and her gaze became tender and full of concern. ¡°Cultivation takes priority. I know, the Spider Queen won¡¯t leave the matter be.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, fair enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded, wanting some intimate contact. He had plenty of time ahead of him. If Lolth defeated him, then there was no point thinking about anything. Ye Liusu¡¯s lovely dream would end prematurely too. A failure could only protect his measly life at most. He still had to draw a clear line between his priorities.

    Li Qingshan kissed Ye Liusu on the lips gently as a farewell kiss, but she actually pulled him in, kissing him passionately.

    It was as if her passion and boldness as a female night roamer had completely erupted after expressing her feelings, but that was not actually the case.

    In that instant earlier, she had no idea what Li Qingshan had promised, but with her female instincts, she could feel he was thinking about another woman.

    Who was that woman? Ye Liubo? Impossible, because she could feel that was not the affection a master showed to a pet, but the affection of a man to a woman. Moreover, the affection was even deeper than what he showed her.

    She found this rather difficult to accept. Although she knew it would be impossible for him to be all hers, she still made up her mind to claim a spot in his heart. She believed that she, Ye Liusu, was no worse than any other woman.

    Li Qingshan never would have guessed so many thoughts had already passed through Ye Liusu¡¯s head in such a short time frame. All that could be said was once a woman fell in love, their thoughts would become ten times as nimble.

    Through the passionate kiss, Li Qingshan¡¯s lust had been aroused once more. He fiddled around with her perky, supple bottom with one hand as his other hand landed on her chest. The tough, black armour obviously could not stop him. With a gentle flick, it was shaken apart.

    Her perky chest emerged vividly. Although it was nowhere near as full as Ye Liubo¡¯s, the naked upper half of her body possessed a sculpturesque beauty.

    Just when he was about to do something, Ye Liusu instead pushed him away violently. When their lips parted, Ye Liusu bit down forcefully on his lip as if she was trying to leave behind some kind of mark on him.

    With a wave of her hand, the black cloak landed on her body again, covering all of her skin. She bowed. ¡®Master, this subordinate will be taking her leave. Please focus on cultivation!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his head and saw a feeling of ¡°resentment¡± from her gaze for the first time. As he watched Ye Liusu vanished into the lake water, he rubbed the mark on his lip and shook his head. It would be best if he ignored the matters weighing on a woman¡¯s mind.

    He was not Hua Chengzan, an infatuated romantic who placed the word ¡°love¡± on the highest pedestal.

    He had fallen in love with Gu Yanying at first sight, but never had he longed for her constantly, becoming lovesick for her. He felt no regret in being able to express what he felt back then after all these years. As for whether Gu Yanying would actually accept it or not, it was not even important anymore.

    Although he had also once considered pursuing something like sincere love, after his entanglement with Han Qiongzhi, he had basically used up all of his feelings for this life.

    Right from the beginning, he had never planned on devoting his life to a woman or several women. Romantic relationships were definitely important, probably enough to match his pursuit of power and desire for battle.

    However, it still paled in comparison to his dream of beyond the Nine Heavens, his promise to brother ox.

    In the eyes of women, men always seemed rather heartless. That was because the world of men always seemed overly vast, but nowhere near as vast as the ambition within them.

    The north wind called the warriors, to leave the warmth of their homes to run towards the boundless ocean. Even they were unable to stop themselves.

    This was where the meaning of life lay within the endless adventure and pursuit.

    Li Qingshan gathered his focus and discarded his other thoughts. He also arrived in Moon Court lake, planning to properly study the Watermirror disc and see whether he could increase his strength again.

    In the depths of the water, Li Qingshan stared at the Watermirror disc. As his daemon qi surged and channeled in, he immediately discovered the residual imprint Liu Zhangqing had left behind.

    He had erased it before long, but during the process, he discovered something. It seemed that even Liu Zhangqing had not been able to completely refine the Watermirror disc.

    Elsewhere, Zhou Tong basically snatched the Lightning Slaughter wooden sword from Hua Chengzan¡¯s hand when he returned to the academy. Zhou Tong caressed the sword like he was caressing his lover that he had not seen in a very long time.

    As for Liu Zhangqing, he asked Hua Chengzan while grieving like he had just lost his parents, ¡°You gave him the Watermirror disc?¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing let out a heavy sigh at first before becoming slightly irritated. ¡°The Watermirror disc is something ancient cultivators left behind. He¡¯s dreaming if he thinks he had refine it so easily as a daemon.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so!¡±

    Li Qingshan had already begun refining the Watermirror disc, and he immediately sensed the startling power in there. Was this a legendary arcane treasure? Li Qingshan shook his head. That was impossible. Even Golden Core cultivators rarely possessed arcane treasures.

    Perhaps it was because of the spirit turtle, or perhaps Li Qingshan and the Watermirror disc were truly compatible, but he did not encounter any problems like Liu Zhangqing had hoped apart from spending quite a lot of time. He easily refined the Watermirror disc completely, unlocking the other functions that Liu Zhangqing could not use.

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is! It really is a great treasure! It¡¯s a great treasure!¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed before coming up with another idea. If he used the Watermirror disc to use the Watermirror¡¯s Image, would there be any other wondrous effects?

    There was no concept of time to those isolated from the world.

    In the blink of an eye, autumn had already passed and winter had arrived. Moon Court lake turned into a gleaming landscape of snow.

    Ye Liusu had already migrated some of the night roamers to Moon Court lake, beginning a new life there, while Li Qingshan had never stopped, refining as many water systems as possible. With each river he refined, it would be an additional portion of power and an additional safeguard.

    This day, Li Qingshan happened to be traversing through the gloomy depths underground. He followed another underground river and arrived in the territory of another Daemon General. The Daemon General sensed his daemon qi and avoided him from far away, absolutely refusing to see him.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. A snowy-white thread of silk suddenly shot out from underground, piercing towards his neck.

    Li Qingshan had already shifted his body, so all it pierced was the blur he left behind.

    The spider silk trembled, emitting Lolth¡¯s voice, ¡°Northmoon, it¡¯s time for you to come and die!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He was just about to agree to her and charge into the lair of the enemy alone again.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core suddenly emitted an extremely solemn warning, actually even more intense than last time.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. This was impossible. His current strength was more than ten times greater than when he risked his life last time. He had also gained so many trump cards, and he still had seventy percent of the power of belief left in his Divine Talisman of Great Creation. And, with the speed of his wings of wind, even if he could not win, he would still be able to escape.

    Despite all these seemingly-advantageous conditions, such a great danger still actually existed!

    However, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core clearly told him that confronting the Spider Queen this time would be one of the most dangerous situations he would encounter in his life.

    ¡°Haha, mother of my child, you¡¯re too slow. Let me finish with what I¡¯m doing right now, and I¡¯ll definitely come to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan intended on waiting for Xiao An to forge the Blood Sea Banner and emerge from secluded cultivation before venturing underground. It would introduce an additional safeguard to this battle.

    With his strength right now, it was impossible for him to break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, so there was no possibility for him to suddenly become more powerful on the spot. Taking another risk like that had become completely pointless.

    ¡°I want you to come right now!¡±

    ¡°Right now? You¡¯ve made me wait for so long, so you give me some time too!¡±

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll give you a month.¡± Lolth¡¯s voice vanished in that instant.

 Chapter 512 â€“ Seeing the Spider Queen Again

    The fear when she was killed was frozen on her face. As the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone roasted her, her face twisted very soon, becoming part of it. The flames burned even more vigorously, only leaving behind a set of white bones, which then became a droplet of bone fluid that merged with the Blood Sea Banner.

    Even more corpses followed, flying into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone one by one.

    Just like this, she went through who knew how many corpses in who knew how long.

    A thick, curved array of bones ran through the entire Blood Sea Banner like a backbone, with over a dozen white bones that were slightly more slender propping up the Blood Sea Banner like ribs. At the top of the spine was a vicious skull that bit down on the Blood Sea Banner with its jaws lined with sharp teeth.

    At first glance, it seemed like the skeletal structure of half a person, with their arms spread open and ribs parted, having merged completely with the Blood Sea Banner. The spine extended downwards into Xiao An¡¯s hand.

    The flagpole was complete, but something still seemed to be missing.

    The little finger on Xiao An¡¯s right hand suddenly snapped off. Blood, flesh, and bone all merged into the Blood Sea Banner. The flagpole immediately became coated with a translucent cover, and the redness of the banner became even brighter.

    The roaring Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged into the skull on the top of the Blood Sea Banner violently. Its two eye sockets suddenly lit up with flames.

    Xiao An waved her hand again, spitting out a mist-like figure. It was Bloodshadow¡¯s wailing soul. It sank into the surging sea of blood and immediately merged with it.

    The Blood Sea Banner was complete!

    Xiao An stowed the Blood Sea Banner away and stepped out of the dwelling. She took out the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility and concealed herself before taking off in the direction of Moon Court lake.

    The curtain of night descended over Moon Court lake. The fishermen in the lake all reeled in their nets, returning home.

    Their lives had not been affected, not even in the slightest. Instead, they discovered that ever since the god of Moon Court lake arrived, the lake had been much more peaceful.

    The aquatic monsters that originally made trouble had all vanished. They all developed more and more respect towards the god of Moon Court lake. Many of the fishermen had already begun worshipping the lake god on their boats.

    As for the water dwelling of Moon Court in the centre of the lake, it all seemed like they had awakened from a dream.

    The island had an extremely vast area, so housing several tens of thousand night roamers was no trouble at all. After completing the unification, Ye Liusu had been constantly migrating night roamers over.

    The shade of death that once enveloped the entire race no longer existed. Ye Liusu established law and order here. They no longer had to cling onto their weapons firmly to protect themselves from the possibility of assassinations and sneak attacks at any time.

    ¡°Compared to where I grew up, this place is basically like a dream!¡±

    Two figures stood in a delicate pavilion built into the side of a mountain. As Ye Liubo watched a group of kids have fun, she said to Ye Liusu beside her, ¡°Sister, your dream has finally come true.¡±

    The corner of Ye Liusu¡¯s lips curled slightly, only to be drowned out by worry immediately. She glanced back at the centre of the island. There was a small inner lake there, which was connected to Moon Court lake underneath.

    The surroundings of the small lake was a forbidden zone that no night roamers could set foot in. Even she would not set foot in there unless something urgent came up, as that was where Li Qingshan cultivated.

    ¡°Are you worried about master? Don¡¯t worry, master will never lose!¡± Ye Liubo said with complete confidence.

    ¡°You, oh you!¡± Ye Liusu sighed with a smile. She patted Ye Liubo¡¯s head. ¡°What a great pet of his!¡±

    Ye Liubo refused to play along. ¡°Even you call me that too, sister!¡±

    That¡¯s because I¡¯m being jealous of you! Ye Liusu sighed inside. She was able to entrust everything to him, to believe in him with everything she had, without anything to worry for at all. Yet, Ye Liusu had many more needs, which were difficult to realise like her dream.

    At the end of the day, it was still because of the difference in their backgrounds. Ye Liusu¡¯s background was noble and prosperous. She possessed extraordinary talent, which was why she developed dreams that regular night roamers did not have, which was why she could come into contact with human literature, which was why she developed a concept of love that resembled human females.

    Ye Liubo, on the other hand, was essentially born in the slums of Blacklustre city. She had climbed her way out of there herself, so her thoughts were much simpler and more realistic. She was already satisfied with the affection she received.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s expression suddenly stiffened. She sensed someone touch the formation. Raising her head, she saw a white blur passing through the formation before sailing through the air, rushing past the pavilion and landing in the small lake in the centre of the island.

    It moved so quickly that even Ye Liusu had failed to make out what it was. And, it did not give off the slightest aura either, so she could not even tell whether it was a human or a daemon.

    Most of the night roamers on the island failed to sense a single thing.

    The central control of the formation was obviously in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession, while Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo had been granted partial control. Any other humans or daemons could not pass through the formation so easily.

    ¡°In other words, he let in the white figure!¡±

    Ye Liubo leapt off the pavilion. Her elegant, nimble movements made her seem like a leaping carp. She merged with the darkness, leaving behind ripples of black.

    Ye Liubo called out, ¡°Sister, didn¡¯t master say that no one should disturb him?¡±

    Ye Liusu completely ignored her. She could not control her desire to learn everything about him.

    ¡°And I had thought you wouldn¡¯t make it in time!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat in the centre of the lake with the Watermirror disc in his lap. Suddenly, he felt a response from the formation, and he became slightly delighted. In the blink of an eye, Xiao An had arrived before him. She had returned to her skeletal form, but she could now switch between the forms of great beauty and white bone freely. There was no longer an issue of having to refine her body again.

    Xiao An said nothing. She simply sat in his arms, fiddling around with the tiny Blood Sea Banner in her hand like she was showing off.

    How could she not come? Last time when he faced death, she was unable to be by his side, so she had been filled with regret. Didn¡¯t she cultivate all this time just so she could remain by his side and assist him in reaching beyond the Nine Heavens? Otherwise, what was the meaning of living?

    The moment he saw Xiao An, the omen of warning from the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core in Li Qingshan¡¯s body immediately weakened. More importantly, his heart settled down.

    From the beginning to now, who knew how many times they had confronted death together. As long as she was watching over him, he was confident he could escape whatever danger he faced.

    As a result, when Ye Liusu arrived on the edge of the lake, she saw the flawlessly handsome Northmoon embracing a translucent skeleton in his arms. He revealed comfort and peace she had never seen before, and tender feelings that could not be described with words filled his eyes. This was purely a gaze without any distracting thoughts.

    Reflected in the calm waters, this formed a rather eerie sight that gave off a strange atmosphere.

    Ye Liusu could not help but develop a feeling that there was nothing in the world that he would cherish more than the skeleton in his arms, and there was no one who could get between them.

    ¡°Liusu, why have you come here?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and peered through the bushes along the edge of the lake.

    ¡°Ah, nothing. I was just worried for you, master, so I came to take a look.¡±

    Ye Liusu emerged from the darkness. The skeleton in his arms turned its head. Its eye sockets burned with pale-white flames that were almost transparent, glancing past her gently.

    She shivered inside, immediately lowering her head. She was not a little girl who had not seen the darkness of the world. Who knew how many brutal and horrific sights of the underground world she had witnessed a long time ago already, but the moment her eyes met with the small skeleton¡¯s, indescribable terror assaulted her heart. But at the same time, she happened to feel something else, an eerie feeling of holiness.

    ¡°Croak, croak! Vice leader!¡±

    Vice leader? Ye Liusu suddenly remembered. Wasn¡¯t that the tiny skeleton that had accompanied him the first time he had appeared underground? It was strange that she had not thought of this immediately.

    ¡°It¡¯s time!¡±

    Li Qingshan said that as he stood up and strode across the calm lake surface. Just like in the past, Xiao An sat on his left shoulder, clinging onto his head with her right arm. This was a rather strange combination, but as he walked, there was also a strange sense of harmony as if it was natural.

    ¡°Mind the house. Wait for me to return.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. With that, the wings of wind abruptly unfurled behind him, and he vanished from where he was in an instant.

    Only a while later did wild gusts of wind arrive, blowing Ye Liusu¡¯s long hair in the air. Looking over, he was already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Sister, just what was that?¡± Ye Liubo hurried over, also having spotted Xiao An on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. You should be asking who that is. I only know that it seems to be as important to him as he is to you.¡± Ye Liusu shook her head gently as her feelings became mixed.

    Li Qingshan did not take off. Instead, he moved like a zigzag, making a few turns around the structures and people in his way before plunging into Moon Court lake, heading towards the hidden river.

    His control over the wings of wind had strengthened yet again. Part of it was because he had gradually grown accustomed to the fourth layer of the tiger demon¡¯s power, but the most important part was the deepening of his comprehension of the Spirit Turtle Transformation. As his thoughts grew more intricate, all of his innate abilities became more intricate when he used them.

    The wings of wind that could allow him to accelerate instantly would definitely become even more practical in the future. They were also one of his decisive trump cards to winning this battle, or the greatest ability for his escape.

    Moving through the underground river, he made his way to the end along the channel he had used when he visited Cobweb city the first time. The flow turned into a waterfall.

    Li Qingshan spotted Lolth at first glance. She currently stood on the top of Cobweb city, on a pointy tower.

    Lolth was no longer dressed in her long, red dress that seemed more like an evening dress. Instead, she wore something that resembled a set of black tights, covering every inch of her body. However, it still clearly outlined every bewitching curve of hers. It was perfect.

    Li Qingshan admired her figure once again. Is this the trump card she¡¯s spent over half a year preparing for me? She¡¯s just woven a sexy set of tights?

    No, that definitely isn¡¯t everything. No matter how powerful the defences of this garment are, it¡¯s impossible for the spirit turtle to feel so threatened.

 Chapter 513 â€“ Bone-eating Venom

    From meeting her eyes once again, Li Qingshan knew he could not depend on her making any mistakes with her battle tactics anymore. She had already turned back into that natural predator, the being who calmly wove the net.

    Strands of spider silk criss-crossed throughout the large cavern. Some were as thick as rope, while others were so thin that they were invisible to the naked eye.

    At first glance, it seemed like a disorderly mess, but upon closer examination, each strand balanced and complemented one another, forming a three dimensional net. It possessed a geometric beauty.

    At the same time, Lolth also stared at Li Qingshan, studying the greatest prey she had ever met.

    Simply by standing there at ease, he gave off an imposing bearing like the unbroken mountains or surging seas. Without a question, he had become even more powerful than before, and he had done so at an unbelievable speed.

    To daemons, time should have been something that passed by extremely easily, yet he seemed to seize every second to become stronger. Compared to his current strength, what left her even more stunned was still the rate at which he improved.

    If she could not capture him while he was still a fledgling, there would be a day when he would break free from the spider web like a bird and fly off into the sky.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally come.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Mother of my child, that¡¯s quite the attire. I do believe it¡¯ll be even more interesting when I rip it off you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you!¡± Lolth smiled gorgeously, like a legendary Poisonfeather bird, magnificent yet highly venomous.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that we¡¯ll tear down this place when we fight later? The night roamers have spent a lot of effort building this for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at Cobweb city behind her. Ever since Ye Liusu unified the night roamers, the colosseum built specially to please the Spider Queen had emptied out. It had become a ghost city.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a boring toy. Do you want to continue spouting nonsense, Northmoon?¡±

    Lolth had never tried to understand the craftsmanship and sculptures of the night roamers. To her, there was no basic difference between a majestic city of delicate beauty and an empty cave. It only provided her with more places to watch the conflict between the night roamers from above. And, as long as she wanted to, she could get the night roamers to build her another hundred cities for her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come. I want to fu-¡±

    However, Li Qingshan would never be stupid enough to walk into the opponent¡¯s trap willingly. Lolth had chosen here to fight with him, which was what he would have wanted too because right beneath his feet was the end of an underground river.

    As it was simply too close to Cobweb city, and he did not want to provoke Lolth beforehand, he had never refined it. However, seeing how he was making this trip exactly to take her on in battle, that was no longer something that bothered him.

    The discharge of the waterfall came to a sudden halt. The surging water constantly roared behind Li Qingshan as the water level rapidly rose until it filled the entire cavern. The pressure from the shapeless water was beyond imagination. The surroundings of the cavern cracked, but not even a droplet of water crossed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    Li Qingshan stood tall with his arms crossed, like a dam. Surging daemon qi permeated the river flow behind him. He tamed the river like he was taming a wild beast.

    Lolth also became stern. She knew she could not allow Li Qingshan to build up his strength any further.

    The tower beneath her feet collapsed. She had already crossed several thousand meters and arrived in front of Li Qingshan. With a wave of her right hand, a black whip unfolded. It suddenly sprung alive as she channeled her strength and daemon qi into it, like a dancing black dragon as it shot towards Li Qingshan.

    She¡¯s actually using a weapon!

    Li Qingshan frowned, afraid to be careless. The strongest part of daemon cultivators were their bodies. With Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s strength, the power behind a casual swipe or bite completely surpassed the power of regular arcane artifacts.

    Yet, she was actually giving up the claws and teeth she was born with and the legs she had grown accustomed to. That in itself explained some issues. As it seemed, the whip had also been woven from silk, but that was very normal. Although daemons could use daemon qi to refine human spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts, they often were not suitable for the way daemons fight, adversely affecting the strength they would unleash.

    Daemons of relatively higher intelligence would mostly choose to create a suitable weapon from materials they could produce themselves. But for some reason, the whip was the same as her clothes, all pitch-black. Normally, items woven from spider silk should have been snow-white and translucent.

    These thoughts flew through Li Qingshan¡¯s head in a flash. He drew out the Dragon Seizing bident and spat out two streams of water, revolving together and catching the whip. He was not seeking to vanquish the enemy with that, just to earn some time.

    With the warnings of the spirit turtle, Li Qingshan dared not show the slightest negligence in this battle. Although he had the powerful support of Xiao An, that was more of a safeguard than anything else. He would not let Xiao An interfere unless he was truly about to die.

    As a result, he had made up his mind as soon as he arrived in Cobweb City. He wanted to be on the defence first. As long as he could refine the river behind him, he would be able to connect his water systems directly from Moon Court lake to here. As long as he succeeded with that, he would be undefeatable.

    As soon as the two streams of water wrapped around the black whip, they were dyed pitch-black. Spiritual qi scattered and receded.

    The omen of warning in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand intensified. He unleashed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell instinctively, forming a hemispherical barrier.

    Boom! It sounded like a clap of thunder right by his ear.

    Basically the moment the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell had assembled, Lolth¡¯s whip landed on it heavily.

    A long crack immediately appeared on the barrier in front of Li Qingshan.

    He was not worried in the beginning. His comprehension of the Spirit Turtle Transformation had deepened, so the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell had become tougher. It could not be shattered so easily. As long as he earned a little more time, he would be able to refine the river. With the endless supply of spiritual qi, it was even possible for him to hold his ground and drag Lolth into a battle of endurance.

    However, the crack was clearly black, and it rapidly spread and seeped into the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell like it was alive. In the blink of an eye, it had eaten away a crack, and it continued to expand.

    The whip is poisonous! What kind of poison can even eat through the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell?!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. As his strongest defensive innate ability, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell possessed a special characteristic of being able to block out everything. It had been shattered from overwhelming force in the past, but never had it been eaten away by something before.

    He had once personally experienced Lolth¡¯s venom, but it definitely was not as potent as that. Otherwise, a slight brush with it would have been enough to eat away half of his body.

    ¡°Take a look! Nortmoon, this is my true strength. Do you really think you can defeat me?¡±

    Lolth shrieked as her smile twisted. This was the pleasure of revenge. She did not seem to do anything special, but the poisoned whip writhed and stabbed into the crack in the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. This was no longer a regular whip, but an extension of her body.

    Li Qingshan would never let the whip touch him. Pouring out with daemon qi, the Dragon Seizing bident in his hand that seemed like a two-headed snake immediately sprang alive. Two snake heads opened their mouths and bit down on the poisoned whip.

    At the same time, he channelled his daemon qi to repair the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell in an attempt to trap the whip. After all, the arcane artifact had been forged from extremely tough materials and humans thoroughly tempered them. Imbued with his daemon qi, it should have been able to stop the whip for a while at the very least.

    However, the black poison spread onto the Dragon Seizing bident mercilessly. The imposing, twin-headed snake from moments earlier immediately began to wither away, losing its power to seize dragons, while Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi only managed to block the spread of the poison for a moment.

    In a single clash, the Dragon Seizing bident had been destroyed.

    Like a venomous dragon that had broken free, the whip unleashed a dazzling dance. Blurs enveloped Li Qingshan¡¯s surroundings, filled with an aura of death.

    Even if he came into contact with a smear of the poison, he would have to pay an extremely horrific price.

    Li Qingshan instead calmed down. He spat out the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath which entangled with the whip, but as soon as it made contact, even the wind turned black.

    Logically speaking, toxins could only eat away at tangible objects, yet Lolth¡¯s bone-eating venom could even eat away spiritual qi and daemon qi.

    Fortunately, Li Qingshan¡¯s breath was endless. He finally managed to stop the whip¡¯s advance slightly, but Lolth had yet to even strike properly.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath could stop the whip at most, but the eight legs behind her must have also been smeared with the same venom. How was he supposed to stop them?

    The battle had just begun, but Li Qingshan already understood why the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had given him such a stern warning. There really would be life-threatening danger in this battle.

    As a Daemon Commander, Lolth possessed three innate abilities. Li Qingshan had witnessed two of them in the past. One was the gaze that could pierce any obstacles, making it convenient for her to chase down prey. The other was turning silver all over, granting her a powerful defence.

    However, there was one more that Li Qingshan had yet to witness. It also happened to be her only offensive innate ability, the Bone-eating Venom.

    Indeed, she had injected potent venom into Li Qingshan¡¯s body countless times during the clash last time, but the effects had not been satisfactory. However, that was merely an aspect a venomous spider possessed naturally. It was nowhere close to an innate ability.

    That was because the innate ability was not the type that could be used on the spot. Instead, it required tremendous amounts of daemon qi and effort to further refine her venom.

    Who knew how many years it had already been since she had last met an opponent that could put up a fight, so why would she normally go out of her way to use this innate ability and refine the terrifying Bone-eating Venom?

    Without her only offensive innate ability, she was like a toothless, clawless tiger. She still possessed her physical strength, but she was unable to unleash even a hint of lethal power to kill. As a result, she suffered a defeat in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands in an extremely frustrating fashion.

 Chapter 514 â€“ The Spider Queenâ€™s True Strength

    She pulled back her right hand and raised it, straightening out the whip and dispersing the wind around it as a black spear. She turned to her side slightly with the spear right in front of her while bending her slender, right leg slightly and staring at Li Qingshan from the side.

    Li Qingshan finally realised he was unable to keep Lolth¡¯s whip trapped with the breath alone. The whip could be flexible or rigid. When it was flexible, it could be maneuvered in a thousand different ways, but when it was rigid, it was indestructible. In her hands, it basically felt like it was part of her.

    With the majestic Cobweb city as a backdrop, her graceful, pitch-black figure made her seem noble like the queen of the night, possessing an aura of desolation that Li Qingshan had never witnessed before.

    A great sense of danger rose up inside, but at the same time, Li Qingshan¡¯s excitement began to surge, dancing like the wind and blazing like fire. It was heavier than love, more intense than desire.

    He could not help himself as his lips curled into a vicious smile. He let out a wild laugh and exhaled violently. The breath that was originally only as thick as an arm suddenly swelled and whistled over.

    Then he reached forward as if he had grabbed something and pulled violently. The rocks in the surroundings began to pulse like skin, hurling violently towards Lolth.

    The breath whistled and twisted as it collided against Lolth, blowing her dark, long hair backwards. Creases appeared on her black tight suit, but the wind failed to penetrate or rip through it.

    The rock and soil had basically buried Lolth completely, only leaving a single eye exposed, still staring fixedly at Li Qingshan. Her figure suddenly blurred. She was clearly in the same, standing posture, but she had already taken a great stride forward, pushing out with her right hand suddenly.

    She crushed the earth around her, reducing it to dust in a single instant. The spear struck like lightning, piercing all obstacles as it headed towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    It was an unstoppable and unparalleled force.

    If this were the past, this attack definitely would have been enough to kill Li Qingshan on the spot. He would have absolutely no chance of escaping alive.

    But it was different now. Li Qingshan had already been prepared. Everything he did earlier was just for earning some time. He bellowed out and brought his hands together, ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡±

    Surging daemon qi condensed around him, conjuring a figure of a spirit turtle. The figure was obviously fake, but the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell on the back of the figure was real.

    As it lay there silently, even falling mountains and flowing seas could not make it budge.

    In the instant the black spear and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell collided, the underground world of eternal darkness suddenly erupted with blinding light.

    In the moment they clashed, Li QIngshan¡¯s eyes suddenly became as calm as water. He lowered and raised his body cleverly, avoiding the head of the spear and forcing it to glance across the hemispherical turtle shell, leading to a miss.

    Sure enough, the turtle shell also became dyed with a layer of black. It would be completely impossible for him to continue to hold his ground with this alone.

    However, Li Qingshan had never considered that. At that moment, the figure of the spirit turtle dispersed, and the figure of the tiger demon appeared. The black stripes across its forehead were clearly visible.

    Li Qingshan bent over, just like how the tiger demon built up strength before it killed its prey.

    He stopped giving off even a single hint of viciousness in that moment. Instead, a certain calmness poured out of his scarlet eyes as he gazed at Lolth right in front of him.

    His tall, straight body bent together, like a great bow that had been drawn to full length. Every single tendon, every single muscle in his body was a tightened bowstring. His shoulder blades suddenly rose up on his back, and the wings of wind unfurled.

    Roar! There was an earthshaking howl of a tiger!

    Lolth sensed heinous malice slam right into her.

    In that instant, all emotions had vanished from Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes. All that remained was a red light of bloodthirstiness and battle-hungriness. With two long, tailing streaks of scarlet light, he lunged towards the Spider Queen.

    Faced with Lolth¡¯s steady advance, Li Qingshan advanced too instead of retreating. In an unavoidable confrontation, the courageous would emerge victoriously!

    The poisonous whip became flexible again and swept over, targeting Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. She wanted to stop his lunge, but she was one step too slow. Under the instantaneous acceleration of the wings of wind, even Lolth seemed to struggle to react in time.

    However, she remained as calm as before. Rings of light flickered through her eyes as she used her innate ability. Despite Li Qingshan¡¯s alarming speed, he immediately slowed down in her eyes.

    She could clearly make out every strand of floating hair, every change in his expression. The droplets of water from jumping drifted through the air slowly. His body was fully extended in his lunging posture, but it was also filled with a beauty of strength.

    The eight long legs unfolded from behind her. Each leg possessed a similar black to the whip and was completely unreflective. They stabbed towards Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, throat, heart, and other vital points.

    However, there was still a sliver of clarity in the depths of Li Qingshan¡¯s frenzied eyes. With a thought, eight pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell scattered, hovering in his surroundings and slowing down his legs slightly.

    Li Qingshan used this opportunity to form a fist with his claw, hurling it violently at Lolth.

    All of this had happened in a split second. Lolth raised her hand to catch his fist firmly, but with the acceleration of the wings of wind, Li Qingshan pushed his strength to the limit.

    Even Lolth was unable to oppose this force. She leaned backwards, revealing an opening for an instant.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s left fist landed on her chest.

    Tremors of the Ox Demon!

    Boom!

    Lolth was sent flying, sailing below the waterfall. Her black tight suit ripped open, revealing her deep cleavage, but it was all a silvery-grey. She had used her defensive innate ability once again.

    However, there were still a series of hairline cracks. Li Qingshan had concentrated all the power of tremors into a single point.

    She was still in the air, but daemon qi had already surged over and repaired the damage. Her skin became white again too. Threads pulled and wove together over the opening in the tight suit, automatically repairing itself.

    He¡¯s become even faster and his destructive power has become even stronger. If it were not for this battle suit, my wounds would be much worse.

    Lolth stared at Li Qingshan by the side of the cavern. There was no fury in her eyes from being injured and forced back. Instead, they were extremely calm, estimating Li Qingshan¡¯s current strength.

    From the punch, it seemed like Li Qingshan¡¯s full strength could only injure her slightly, nothing for her to be too concerned about. But this time, she would not become careless because of anything.

    She still gripped the black whip firmly in her right hand, which she raised gently.

    The moment Li Qingshan had completely unleashed the force of his lunge, when he thought he had forced back the enemy, his mind was still tense, but a slight physical opening was unavoidable, and her eyes allowed her to grasp all openings.

    Li Qingshan felt his wrist tighten. The whip reached towards him, trying to drag him off the cliff.

    Li Qingshan stomped down, and the rock cracked. The Strength of the Earth endowed him with unbelievable physical strength, immediately stabilising his figure.

    Suddenly, a numb feeling rapidly spread through his fist. The same feeling also began to spread through his hands and many other parts of his body.

    I¡¯m clearly not injured! This venom is vicious! She purposefully allowed me to hit her with that punch just so the whip had an opportunity to get me.

    The eight legs had managed to pierce the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, but just how fast was Li Qingshan with his lunge? In the end, they only managed to brush past his body. They had even failed to penetrate the Ox Demon Forges its hide, so they could not be regarded as wounds at all.

    But now, the eight marks rapidly expanded and deepened, eating away at his flesh silently. In the blink of an eye, they turned into eight horrific wounds.

    As for his fist that had come into contact with Lolth¡¯s tight suit, a layer of skin vanished in the blink of an eye, revealing his bones that possessed a metallic lustre. The toxins actually seeped into his bones wildly.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, suppress the venom!

    Daemon qi surged through Li Qingshan¡¯s body, suppressing the spread of the venom for now. He wanted to purge it from the body, but the venom stuck to his body hard and fast. At the same time, the whip below his feet continued to release toxins endlessly.

    It was different from being poisoned last time. Currently, he felt absolutely no pain. His foot just shrunk silently, and it continued to shrink.

    The difference in the venom was like Lolth right now. She had ceased her wild profanity and sharp curses. Instead, she simply sapped away his life force silently and quietly.

    Li Qingshan wielded his hand like a knife, swinging down viciously at the whip.

    However, the resilient daemon qi inside made his hand rebound away.

    The toughness of the whip itself had already exceeded his imaginations. This was the result of patiently weaving for over half a year. Every single thread she spat out was even stronger than steel.

    And, the whip was composed of a hundred thousand threads, woven together in an extremely clever fashion before being further refined into a single object.

    Under the control of Lolth¡¯s will, the whip extended like a snake and slithered up his body, wrapping around his thigh, wrapping around his waist, wrapping and wrapping!

    Li Qingshan did not even feel like he was being bound, as wherever the whip passed by, his body began to numb. There was no pain, only nothingness.

    Lolth did not use this opportunity to rush over. Instead, she maintained her distance from Li Qingshan and watched quietly, seizing every second to recover her daemon qi and physical strength.

    When prey fell into their web, spiders would not strike immediately. Instead, they would wait until they used up all their strength struggling and became completely non-threatening before enjoying themselves slowly.

    So I still underestimated her!

    Li Qingshan originally heard she was relatively strong among Daemon Commanders, so he thought there was nothing particularly impressive about being a Daemon Commander at all. In hindsight, he had been far too conceited.

    She had personally shown him the terrors of a carapaced Daemon Commander. Her innate abilities might not have been so dazzling and complicated, but with the simplest coordination, they completely transformed her into a machine of slaughter.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon qi let out a shrill warning. Death was pressing closer. Thinking he could escape at any time just because he possessed the wings of wind was merely a hilarious fantasy.

    The slightest carelessness would lead to certain death.

 Chapter 515 â€“ The Secret of the Watermirror Disc

    Stalagmites fell down from above, landing in the channels of magma and creating red-hot splashes.

    Li Qingshan had sealed up the river, so the red-hot magma had already taken over the entire interwoven network.

    Lolth laughed. The more the prey struggled, the faster they would die. Her poisonous whip was not something that could be broken out of with brute strength, but in consideration for Li Qingshan¡¯s constant, miraculous performance, she gripped the whip firmly and channeled in daemon qi endlessly to subdue Li Qingshan¡¯s struggle.

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had already risen to over three meters tall, but not only did he fail to snap the whip, but the whip dug into his body deeply instead. His bones were exposed as the toxins ate away his body. He had been thinned to the bones.

    He bore no resemblance to a human at all anymore. Instead, he was a vicious, wound-ridden monster putting up a desperate fight.

    Even at a time like this, the vicious sneer across his face did not vanish. The pain from the invading venom only riled up his fighting spirit. He used his large hands that had been reduced to bones to grip the whip firmly before wrenching it like a tug-of-war.

    ¡°Get over here!¡±

    Lolth responded immediately. She pushed against a thread of spider silk as thick as a wrist that stretched across the entire cavern.

    The thread bent like a bowstring, contending with Li Qingshan¡¯s strength.

    She would not strike rashly. She would only deliver a final blow the moment the venom had sapped all the life from his body.

    Li Qingshan sniggered and suddenly let go. Lolth felt her hand slacken as she was set flying by the long thread of spider silk. She thought, Oh no!

    Taking advantage of the moment when she lost her balance, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure suddenly shrunk, turning back to human size. He unfurled his wings of wind, and with a swish, he flew upwards.

    The whip twisted about below like a venomous snake.

    Lolth was not overly disappointed by how Li Qingshan had managed to break free, as he had already sustained extremely severe injuries. If he did not use his daemon qi to suppress the venom, death would be certain for him, but how would he ever earn that opportunity before her?

    Fortunately, I¡¯m not unprepared! Li Qingshan understood that too and exhaled gently.

    Under Lolth¡¯s gaze of disbelief, the horrific wounds on his body actually recovered at a visible rate, and not even a shred of daemon qi on him had been depleted.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    Lolth cried out involuntarily. Let alone a Daemon General, even a Daemon Commander could not recover from her venom so easily.

    Li Qingshan laughed wildly. The venom in his body had vanished into thin air, and the remaining wounds obviously recovered in the blink of an eye without the interference of the venom.

    However, he thought inside, I never thought I¡¯d be forced to use my first trump card so quickly. If it weren¡¯t for this, all I can do right now is make a strategic retreat. The mirror clone can¡¯t last much longer either!

    At the bottom of the smaller lake on the island in the centre of Moon Court lake, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone sat with his legs crossed. He placed the Warmirror disc that rippled with light on his knees, reflecting his appearance.

    Suddenly, horrific wounds appeared on his body one by one, along with pitch-black poison, as if an invisible beast was mauling away at his body viciously. When the mauling stopped, his mirror clone was on the brink of shattering. The mirror clone seemed like it would collapse completely very soon under the invasion of the toxins.

    Li Qingshan seemed like he had been prepared a long time ago. He had prepared many items like recovery medicines and detoxification pills in his mirror clone¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. He grabbed handfuls of them and shoved them into his mouth violently. Only then did he barely manage to keep the venom at bay.

    Li Qingshan used the hint of divine nature from the spirit turtle to unlock an ability in the Watermirror disc that even Liu Zhangqing had failed to discover.

    Apart from surveillance, the Watemrirror disc had another function, which was ¡°reflection¡±. It could store the user¡¯s reflection in the Watermirror disc, and when the original body was injured, they would be directly reflected in the water¡¯s ¡°reflection¡±.

    Although the amount of damage it could sustain was extremely limited, it was enough to save lives at certain crucial moments. All that could be said was the Watermirror disc truly lived up to its reputation as an arcane artifact ancient cultivators forged. The ability was truly powerful and strange.

    Originally, probably two lashings from Lolth¡¯s poisonous whip would have been enough to reach the limit of the reflection. However, Li Qingshan also happened to possess the ability of the Watermirror¡¯s Image, which was a match made in heaven with the Watermirror disc.

    When Li Qingshan used the Watermirror disc to conjure his mirror clone, his mirror clone would become his ¡°reflection¡±, while the mirror clone that possessed a portion of Li Qingshan¡¯s original daemon qi could probably endure more than a hundred times more than the regular reflection.

    As a result, Li Qingshan moved all of his poisoned wounds to his mirror clone in a single breath, which was why this strange sight of self-recovery had occurred. He basically had an extra life.

    Of course, he did not mind using this to cut down on Lolth¡¯s confidence, but he had never expected Lolth¡¯s offences to be so great. Li Qingshan¡¯s original plan had been even better than this.

    Originally, his plan was to reflect all of the injuries the Spider Queen inflicted onto his mirror clone, and then use daemon qi for his mirror clone to recover while replenishing daemon qi with the Water God Seal. This would form a perfect cycle and essentially turn him into something unkillable. He would have definitely been able to battle Lolth until she reached despair, kneeling over and basically asking to be conquered.

    But now, while the pills did have some effect, they were unable to heal him completely. They could only make him last a little longer at most and help Li Qingshan endure a few more wounds.

    However, Lolth had no idea what was going on. The feeling that she experienced when she clashed with Li Qingshan last time appeared once again, as if he could stand up again no matter how many times he was knocked down, dragging it out and whittling her down until she was utterly exhausted.

    She shook her head and discarded this thought. She stared at Li Qingshan coldly. ¡°I will never lose this battle!¡±

    The whip began dancing wildly like a venomous dragon, whistling and roaring as it struck.

    While Li Qingshan did manage to win one round and cut down Lolth¡¯s confidence, she was still a tough nut to crack. He had no idea how to defeat her. If she struck him, he would be poisoned. If he struck her, he would also be poisoned. If he were poisoned a few more times, the mirror clone would definitely collapse. Something as common as poison had become a trump card that could be used for both attack and defence in her hands.

    And, once the whip entangled him again, breaking free would not be so easy.

    As a result, the choice that Li Qingshan made was to retreat! He retreated without the slightest hesitation, directly backing into the surging water behind.

    When the frenzy of the tiger demon and the endurance of the ox demon were useless, he required the spirit turtle¡¯s patience.

    Li Qingshan crossed his legs in the water and sat like a meditating monk. The spirit turtle¡¯s figure appeared around him once again.

    Like a venomous dragon squirming, the whip lashed, pierced, wrapped, and surged in thousands of different ways, attempting to enter through any hole available. It was like a black storm. It tore apart and pushed back the river, landing directly on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    Rumble! The entire world seemed to shake, but Li Qingshans¡¯ eyes were extremely tranquil. He thought to himself, Seventeen!

    The black venom constantly spread and ate away at the shield, but whenever it was about to eat its way through, Li Qingshan would condense another layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    Without a doubt, this depleted his daemon qi rapidly. Fighting until now, he had already used up around thirty or forty percent of his daemon qi, while Lolth had placed great emphasis on conserving her physical strength and daemon qi with the experience of her battle with Li Qingshan last time.

    With how she caught her breath several times, she had not even used up ten percent so far. As long as she had a bit of time, she would be able to make a full recovery again very quickly.

    Thirteen. Li Qingshan continued to count down. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was being stripped layer by layer as the whip approached his body very quickly.

    Lolth flicked her hand, and the whip wrapped around the thin, final layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell around Li Qingshan. Once she tore through that, the whip would wrap around him again, but this time, she would never give him the opportunity to escape.

    When Li Qingshan had only counted down to seven, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell cracked and the whip came for him. Lolth arrived before him with a single step and reached viciously towards the top of his head with one hand.

    Fucking hell, this isn¡¯t how the script goes!

    Li Qingshan grumbled inside. He raised his left hand and blocked Lolth¡¯s arm while grabbing the arm that stabbed towards his chest with his other hand. He felt his body tighten; the whip had entangled him again. And, it did not coil around him in a snake-like fashion like last time. Instead, it tied itself into knots and binded Li Qingshan, containing all of his strength.

    Lolth opened her mouth and spat out a strand of silk that shot straight towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan also opened his mouth and exhaled, knocking away the silk.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath was useless against the whip, but it was still very effective against this move.

    However, Lolth seemed like she was completely ignorant of that fact. She spat out silk endlessly as her eight legs began to dance. They did not stab at Li Qingshan, instead weaving the scattered silk together and wrapping it around Li Qingshan.

    The highly-adhesive spider silk wrapped around Li Qingshan layer upon layer, turning him into something like a cocoon.

    Meanwhile, the whip continued to tighten, injecting him with venom.

    The mirror clone in Moon Court lake shattered loudly, having reached its limit. The Watermirror disc sank to the bottom of the lake.

    From that moment onwards, Li Qingshan was forced to endure these wounds alone.

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had become completely immobilised, like an insect that had accidentally walked into a spider¡¯s web, like it was his end.

    Seeing how the prey had finally landed in her web, Lolth¡¯s heart eased up, but she refused to pause with what she was doing. She constantly increased the thickness of the web in an extremely patient manner.

    However, just when Li Qingshan had been immobilised, losing all ability to resist, his eyes had already become filled with calmness and confidence, which Lolth found highly unpleasant. She plunged two fingers towards his eyes.

    In a daze, the scene gave him a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu again.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to blow up my daemon core! I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡±

    Li Qingshan roared furiously as he opened his mouth, and the daemon core shaped like a turtle shell flew out. It turned into a streak of blue light and arrived before Lolth, dyeing her face azure, which then rapidly became a silvery-grey. She raised her defences to brace for the possibility.

    ¡°I¡¯m just saying. Huu, it¡¯s finally made it in time!¡±

    The Water God Seal in Li Qingshan¡¯s body suddenly lit up and gained the pattern of another water flow. Li Qingshan had finally extended his control over the waters to Lolth¡¯s Cobweb city.

 Chapter 516 â€“ The Bones Stand and the Tiger Lives

    He felt like his mind was being extended indefinitely, finally connecting with the territory he had tended to for a very long time.

    His thought processes became vast and boundless with it. He was still trapped in the web, but his gaze towards Lolth seemed like he was looking down on her from above.

    The river that Li Qingshan had blocked and oppressed the entire time seemed like it could not help itself any longer. It roared and surged with desire as it burst forth.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vision emptied out and lit up, entering a mental state of intricacy. He pushed the Water God Seal and poured all of its power into a single point, which was the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core!

    The daemon core suddenly accelerated, twisting and turning sharply. Powered by the surging water, it was like a whistling cannonball being fired from a cannon.

    Lolth managed to grasp these changes with the innate ability of her eyes. She was not particularly surprised, as if she had been expecting everything.

    However, as she watched the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core shoot over, she actually felt like she was unable to respond in time. All she could do was grip her whip and retreat rapidly. Even at a time like this, she did not forget to take Li Qingshan with her. As long as he left the region of water, he would be completely at her whim.

    She raised her other hand to block the trajectory of the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core. She only needed to block it slightly, and it would provide her with the force to pull even further away.

    By then, no matter what Li Qingshan was capable of as a water god, it would all be useless. She had countless different ways to kill an utterly-vulnerable opponent.

    Lolth had truly responded to these changes quickly. Just the thought process alone demonstrated she had completely recovered her powerful instincts as a hunter.

    However, none of this was destined to develop like what she had been expecting.

    First of all, she had underestimated the power behind the daemon core.

    Like how dripping water could wear through rock, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core was like a droplet of water, but behind it was the water from boundless rivers and lakes. All of their power had been concentrated on this droplet of water.

    The moment it struck her hand, it paused slightly before passing right through, striking her in the chest.

    Disbelief filled Lolth¡¯s eyes. The black tight suit over her chest ripped apart as her silvery-grey skin caved in deeply. Blood spattered.

    Boom!

    Lolth was thrown far away like a kicked ball.

    Cling! Clang! Clung! Clang!

    The spider threads that criss-crossed through the cavern snapped like zither strings as she smashed through them.

    Li Qingshan found it to be quite the pity. If he had managed to directly strike her body, he definitely would have caused quite the damage, or even pierce her all the way through. However, piercing through her hand was equivalent to piercing two layers of the poison suit. Another layer still remained when it struck her chest in the end. The attack had been worn down layer by layer, minimising her injuries.

    The daemon core bounced back, and Li Qingshan swallowed it conveniently, but he discovered the daemon core had also been contaminated with a layer of black venom. However, with a flash, the toxins had been purged. Her venom could eat away the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, but it was not particularly effective against the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core.

    Li Qingshan had still been pulled along by the poisonous whip, so he was obviously dragged into Cobweb city against his will. Looking around, he discovered he was in her chambers. The large, obsidian bed draped with curtains was nearby.

    Li Qingshan sniggered. ¡°Mother of my child, you can say we¡¯re revisiting this old place.¡±

    Lolth straightened herself out. The tight suit over her chest constantly twisted and tangled in an attempt to repair itself, but clearly, it would not be so simple. After quite a long time, it had only pulled together barely. It struggled to hide her voluptuous chest.

    All human emotions ceased to exist in her eyes. Her pupils had constricted to points that resembled the tips of needles as she stared at Li Qingshan closely. Then she asked in a hoarse voice that sounded like dragging nails across a chalkboard.

    ¡°How are you still alive?¡± The venom she had injected him with was enough to slaughter a hundred cities, yet he was still able to laugh.

    ¡°Haha, I still want to witness the birth of our child!¡±

    Under the layers and layers of webbing, Li Qingshan had already gripped the Blade of the Drinking Poisonfeather. He had plunged the hilt shaped like a Poisonfeather bird¡¯s beak into the whip, sucking away the poison.

    However, after absorbing the venom, even the blade itself turned back. The spiritual qi and inscriptions it had been imbued with was rapidly eaten away, following the footsteps of the Dragon Seizing bident, but it did temporarily deal with the urgent issue Li Qingshan was facing.

    Lolth sensed that something was wrong and drew back the whip. She discovered a part of the whip had already recovered the translucent white of normal spider silk, which made her frown. Who knew how much effort and time went into refining every drop of venom. She originally thought that casually unleashing it on him would make him suffer, but she never expected him to be so difficult to deal with.

    ¡°Listen. This place is almost going to be flooded with water. If you have any killing moves, you better use them quickly, or I¡¯m going to come for you.¡±

    At this moment, the sound of surging waves rolled over from all directions. The river rampaged and poured into the huge cavern where Cobweb city resided. Hissing white steam rose up the moment it made contact with the magma.

    Lolth suddenly straightened out her whip with a flick and made a move that Li Qingshan was extremely familiar with, targeting his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll send you off to see the king of hell right now!¡±

    She took a step forward, and the spear suddenly thrusted out, shooting towards the immobilised Li Qingshan as a straight, black streak.

    ¡°Keep dreaming!¡±

    Fierce gales surged, and the wings of wind unfurled freely. They were not real wings, but condensed from daemon qi. He was unable to break out of the silk with physical strength, but it was unable to prevent him from using daemon qi to unleash abilities.

    Li Qingshan resembled a huge egg that had grown a pair of wings. With a swish, he took off into the air, avoiding the thrust of the spear and flying backwards.

    But why would Lolth let him slip through her fingers? He had only flown to the entrance when he felt his speed suddenly reduce. Before he knew it, a thread of silk had caught him.

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings as he tried to fly away desperately. He sounded very arrogant, but having been caught by the whip again, the potent venom caused him quite the trouble. Having used his daemon qi for the wings of wind just now, the venom immediately showed signs of spreading again.

    Lolth sneered and tugged hard while he was mid-air, so he had nothing he could push off of or hold onto. Despite his extraordinary physical strength, he was unable to use it, so he was dragged back again.

    Li Qingshan looked over and discovered Lolth had let go of the whip, unfurling her arms and extending her eight legs with her lips slightly parted, like she wanted to give him a great big hug followed by a deep kiss.

    Oh no! Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!

    Under Lolth¡¯s passionate hug, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell produced a painful groan and became riddled with cracks. However, the most terrifying part was still the toxins from her poisonous suit that tried to eat through and penetrate anything it touched.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell only lasted for a few seconds before shattering loudly. In that moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became rather strange, while Lolth¡¯s face was twisted with hatred. She hugged her firmly before kissing him deeply on the lips. She kissed him so seriously and in such a cherisable manner.

    Li Qingshan felt his lips sting before losing all sensation. He knew what had happened without even checking. His lips were probably gone already, but this was just the beginning¡­

    Which part of her was most venomous? It was not the whip, nor her clothes, but her venomous fangs. She had injected the most primitive and purest Bone-eating Venom into his body.

    The venom was so potent that it could not be compared to catching a splash on the skin. Even Daemon Commanders would probably be poisoned to death by that bite.

    The venom flowed into his lungs through his throat. Wherever it flowed to, he lost sensation.

    In the blink of an eye, all of his organs had vanished. He had been eaten away inside out, only leaving behind his thin bones.

    Li Qingshan could only feel a bloody fluid sloshing around in his belly before all flowing away. The sensation was absolutely horrible.

    But even then, he did not waver. He did not even plan on calling Xiao An to save him.

    The water level rapidly rose up around Cobweb city.

    This place had already become his region of water!

    Suddenly, the Water God Seal in Li Qingshan¡¯s body erupted with light. Endless spiritual qi surged into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. His daemon qi recovered rapidly like the rising tide; it seemed gradual, but in the blink of an eye, it would claim the lengthy coastline¡ªit was unstoppable. It fended off the venom in his body desperately.

    However, the venom continued to maliciously rob Li Qingshan of his flesh and blood. The water and venom constantly clashed in a stalemate, wasting away the venom.

    Within Li Qingshan¡¯s body, his flesh and blood would suddenly vanish from the invading venom, before regrowing under the nourishment of the water spiritual energy.

    It was an extremely strange sight and the sensation could not exactly be described with words either.

    ¡°Go die!¡± Lolth plunged her hands into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes madly.

    In that instant, his vision blackened. Li Qingshan had been blinded!

    Even more viciously, she plunged them into his brain and stirred it into a mess.

    If he had been a regular Daemon General, death would be certain once his organs and brain were destroyed, no matter how tenacious his life force was.

    However, Li Qingshan did not stop resisting because of this. He had been through many trials too. After breaking through to the fourth layer of the tiger demon, his body no longer possessed these evident vital points.

    Even if he had been stripped of his flesh and blood, he could still remain standing proudly as long as his tiger bones remained. The daemon core continued to shine. He would not be knocked down. The slight pain from that basically seemed like a game compared to the strange sensation he was experiencing with his body.

    ¡°Why won¡¯t you die!?¡±

    Lolth grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s skull viciously with her ten fingers, producing an ear-piercing screech and making sparks fly, but she only managed to leave behind ten shallow marks. She poured the skull with venom, leading to swathes of white smoke and charring it black, but that was it.

    It was Bone-eating Venom, but it was unable to eat away his tiger bones. As long as the bones stood, the tiger lived.

    She was about to lose her mind from anger. She was clearly much more powerful than him, she could clearly overwhelm him with ease, yet he was able to put up a struggle again and again!

 Chapter 517 â€“ An Insect in a Web

    Two faces met one another. One possessed absolute beauty, filled with vengefulness and fury, while the other was filled with viciousness and malice, laughing weirdly like it was mocking the futility of her hatred.

    With all of his flesh and blood stripped from his body, Li Qingshan was left with only the lower layer, the skeleton. It remained standing, glistening with a metallic lustre. However, it rapidly dimmed under the invasion of the venom.

    Li Qingshan knew even if his bones were tougher than arcane artifacts, he would not be able to last very long if he simply allowed the venom to eat at it. However, after connecting with the underground river, he came up with a countermeasure.

    Resplendent blue light burst forth from Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    If the five elements were ranked according to how suited they were for healing and recovery, wood would definitely take first place. Water could only claim second. However, when it came to purging poison, water would definitely rank at the top.

    The venom was vicious, but under the surging daemon qi, it was diluted and purified bit by bit. The metallic lustre of the bones gradually recovered as fibres of flesh extended from them like willow branches sprouting in spring, wanting to grow a new body.

    With the support of the Water God Seal, he basically did not have to worry about his consumption of daemon qi at all. Although the venom that had been most threatening to him would continue to affect his movements, it was not a deadly issue anymore.

    He managed to infer her venom should have required special refinement to produce. If that were the case, he would simply waste it away! He refused to believe the venom she had refined was infinite.

    Why would Lolth wait for Li Qingshan to recover? She clenched her fists and barraged his skull violently, producing hollow booms that shook up the entire city.

    Under the terrifying force, his skull began to change shape slightly. A few small cracks appeared. At the end of the day, the Tiger Demon Forges its Bones was not indestructible.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely kill you!¡±

    Lolth declared coldly. Suddenly, she sensed danger and retreated backwards.

    Rip! Li Qingshan¡¯s glistening, bone claws pierced through the web and wrapped around Lolth¡¯s waist, pulling her into his arms firmly as if he was still unsatisfied with the kiss from earlier. His mouth riddled with teeth pressed against her lips and fierce wind passed through his hollow chest, speaking with a raspy voice.

    ¡°Mother of my child, it¡¯s my turn!¡±

    Lolth¡¯s face changed. She felt a stream of air rush into her mouth like a condensed tornado, but the power had not diminished at all. It was even more terrifying than a real tornado.

    Like a high-speed turbine stirring up her innards viciously, her face twisted from pain. She pressed her hands against Li Qingshan¡¯s face and pushed hard, flying away in retreat. She landed on one knee and spat out a mouthful of blood viciously, which contained fragments of her organs.

    With the poison suit equipped combined with her powerful defensive innate ability, even a full-powered strike from Li Qingshan would struggle to deal a lethal wound, but her innards were still relatively weak.

    Back to Li Qingshan, there were two more rips, and his legs that had been reduced to bones broke free from the great cocoon. They stomped on the ground loudly, causing it to crack and sink and sending rock fragments flying everything.

    The silk that Lolth had spun on the spot obviously could not be as tough as the poisonous whip.

    And, ever since he had become trapped, he had never stopped using the Tremors of the Ox Demon to destroy the structure of the silk. The damage had constantly accumulated until now.

    He swung his extremely-sharp bone claws at his body wildly, finally breaking free from the restraints of the web and regaining his freedom.

    A savage, robust skeleton that seemed to be forged from metal stood proudly.

    Li Qingshan thought, I sure match Xiao An right now!

    However, Xiao An¡¯s white bones seemed relatively slender, even giving off a sense of holiness, while Li Qingshan¡¯s bones had their edge on full display, radiating with malice.

    At this moment, Lolth suddenly let out a sharp burst of laughter containing twisted pleasure. Her laughter came to a halt.

    ¡°I never thought you could force me to this point. Northmoon, looks like I still underestimated you, but from the moment you set foot in Cobweb city, your fate had been determined, which was death!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan felt like sharp killing intent had surrounded him as if he had entered an encirclement with ambushes all around him.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had been confused the entire time too. From the beginning till now, he had encountered many dangers, but they were completely disproportionate to the initial warning from the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core.

    Now, the answer was about to be known.

    The foot that Li Qingshan had lifted to take a step forward suddenly froze in the air. He could not move it at all. This time, he had become truly immobilised. He could not even move his finger. Even his daemon qi felt like it had become restricted, unable to unleash it as he wished.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on!? There¡¯s clearly not a single thread on me, yet I feel like I¡¯m bound by thousands of threads?!¡±

    Lolth spread her arms. The threads that criss-crossed the cavern suddenly flashed and began to tremble.

    In that instant, it sounded like thousands of zither strings had been plucked. With the sharp thrum, Cobweb city was carved into pieces silently and collapsed, falling into the surging water and kicking up huge waves.

    The chambers shattered as well. Li Qingshan no longer stood on anything, but he remained frozen in the air, like he was stuck in a huge, invisible web.

    The criss-crossing threads with geometric beauty finally revealed their true purpose in that moment. They formed a huge trap that resembled the formations of humans.

    Formations were not an original creation of humans. Instead, they were replications of the omnipresent principles of nature that humans had discovered and studied through the use of tools like spiritual stones and formation banners. However, daemons were usually accustomed to using their own powers. Rarely did they use any foreign objects, just like how tigers and wolves were accustomed to fighting with their teeth and claws and not with weapons.

    However, Lolth was an exception. When she was still a tiny spider, her primary tool of survival was her web. Even the significance of venom paled slightly in comparison to that.

    Very clearly, when she climbed to the throne of Daemon Commander step by step, she did not give up on this unique skill of hers. Instead, she learnt how to weave larger and better webs.

    Unfortunately, Li Qingshan had become an insect within a web. He thought, So this is her trump card!

    Lolth exhaled gently, and a hint of exhaustion appeared on her face for once. Clearly, activating the web took her quite the effort. She stared at Li Qingshan viciously, but she was in no hurry to attack him, as when she smashed into Cobweb city earlier, she had snapped a few threads. She began to repair them one by one.

    Li Qingshan became filled with dismay. Originally, he could still sensed the spiritual qi of the world as well as his vast region of water, but as the web was repaired strand by strand, it felt like a great door being gradually closed.

    Once he lost his connection to the spiritual qi of the world and the support of the Water God Seal, he would become a body of water without a source. Once Lolth returned to finish him off, all he could do would be wait for his death. Even if he managed to erupt with strength on the spot somehow, it would be impossible for him to break free from the web she had weaved meticulously.

    Suddenly, a dragon¡¯s roar filled the entire cavern.

    By now, the water had already flooded almost half of the cavern, and the water level continued to climb rapidly. A huge dragon¡¯s head suddenly protruded from the surface. A water dragon lunged towards Lolth as she meticulously added to the web. The dragon consisted of thousands of tonnes of water, like it was rising up into the sky.

    Lolth sneered in disdain. She did not even look at it.

    The water dragon passed through the web and was carved into pieces by the threads, failing to affect Lolth at all.

    The lethality of flowing water had always been limited unless he concentrated all of its power onto his daemon core like right at the beginning, and only then would it be possible to injure her. Li Qingshan was bold enough to use this move again, but it would only achieve those effects in a surprise attack. If she were prepared, he would not even have enough time to cry if she directly caught the daemon core.

    As for directly controlling the water to attack her, the effects would be truly feeble. In Lolth¡¯s eyes, this was clearly his final struggle. As long as she repaired the final strand, she would be able to do whatever she wanted with him.

    Boom!

    The water dragon had been carved into pieces, but thousands of tonnes of water still collided violently against the ceiling of the cavern with great force.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s true target.

    After Cobweb city had been carved into pieces, the unbelievably large cavern had lost its most important pillar of support. If it were not for the night roamers who constantly reinforced the walls in the past millennium, the entire cavern would have collapsed from its own weight a long time ago.

    The collision this time was like the final straw on the camel¡¯s back.

    Rumble! As if the earth was roaring furiously, a huge crack spread out like lightning, yes also weaving together like a spider web.

    Thousands of tonnes of earth collapsed.

    ¡°Do you think you can avoid death like this?¡± Lolth casually waved her hand, and the poisonous whip shattered a few boulders falling towards her. The other boulders were easily carved into pieces by the fine threads just like the water dragon.

    And, her threads were an entity of their own. The destruction of the surrounding walls did not affect them. The web was her absolute domain.

    Li Qingshan paid no attention to her. He produced a bellow that revelled in joy, cheering for this natural sight of earth crumbling.

    The rock and soil fell down, and the water level rose rapidly, swallowing Li Qingshan in the blink of an eye.

    The cheering vanished. The spirit turtle¡¯s figure appeared around Li Qingshan in the water, but it had never been so clear before.

    The water was his world.

    The spirit turtle suppressed, sinking to the bottom.

    All of the threads pulled downwards with him, moaning from almost ripping.

    Lolth¡¯s face changed drastically. She never thought he would still be able to put up a struggle even at a time like this. She only required one thread to seal him off for good, but looking at the situation, the other threads would rip before she could fix the last thread.

    However, if she returned now to subdue him, it would take quite the time before she could make his death absolute. As long as there was a hole in the web, he would continue to struggle.

 Chapter 518 â€“ Youâ€™ve Offended Me and You Still Want to Leave

    This was not merely an issue of speed. When his thought process slowed down, he struggled to enter a state of mental intricacy, which prevented him from unleashing the limits of his strength. As the circulation of his daemon qi slowed down, the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas lost the pressure from before. Although he could still maintain it, the spider web gradually recovered its original shape, no longer sagging downwards anymore.

    Lolth followed the principle of doing everything she could to kill her prey. There was no concept of a fair battle. Right from the beginning, she had gotten Dragonsnail to hide in the surroundings so that he could strike at any time, to prevent Li Qingshan from fleeing with the wings of wind if he refused to enter the web.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood why the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core warned him of such great danger. Dragonsnail¡¯s innate ability was truly strange and powerful. A clash between the powerful could be decided in a single moment. If his speed suddenly decreased by thirty percent, he would become a sitting duck.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see what other moves you have!¡±

    Lolth stared at Li Qingshan viciously, only to discover he had become overjoyed instead of surprised, breaking into great laughter.

    ¡°What are you laughing for?¡± Lolth asked in bewilderment, but she did not slow down at all as she repaired the net.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing at you for bringing about your own doom. If you hadn¡¯t called someone else, I¡¯d really be quite embarrassed!¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan finished speaking, there were several rumbles, and the earth flew into the air. Twenty-one Skull Prayer Beads emerged together from all directions of the cavern, turning into huge, vicious Skeleton Demons in the air. Their sharp teeth chattered together like eerie laughter as their eye sockets all burned with pure-white flames. They ignored everything else, directly tearing at the web.

    Lolth¡¯s expression changed. She could not sense the presence of the Skeleton Demons, but a dangerous, terrifying aura clearly enveloped her.

    With a flash, she had already arrived behind a Skeleton Demon. She raised her leg and swept it violently, directly sending the Skeleton Demon flying and crashing into the wall loudly.

    In that instant, her figure appeared at various locations of the web, like over a dozen clones had appeared. The whip moved with her, dancing like a venomous dragon.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Like a string of thunder, the huge Skeleton Demons were sent flying by her as if they could not pose a threat to her at all.

    The Skeleton Demons that the whip had sent flying all climbed up as well. They were riddled with dark marks, but the marks actually seemed like they were unable to seep any deeper. Singed by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, the toxins had been purged.

    ¡°What are these!?¡±

    Lolth¡¯s expression became uglier and uglier. These were the skeleton monsters under the influence of Dragonsnail¡¯s ability. They had already become much more sluggish. If they managed to recover their original speed, how vicious would they be?

    The Skeleton Demons climbed up tirelessly, destroying the web. Lolth darted around and not a single Skeleton Demon could withstand a strike from her.

    However, she rapidly depleted her daemon qi. She began showing signs of exhaustion before long, and her breathing became rather ragged.

    Cling! Clang! Clung! Cling! The threads snapped one by one.

    Li Qingshan could move his arms now. Lolth suddenly looked back, and her gaze burned with spite.

    ¡°Do you think just summoning these monsters will let you escape?¡±

    She actually stopped worrying about the web entirely. The poisonous whip extended over. The power of the net still subdued him, and under the influence of Dragonsnail¡¯s ability, he obviously could not react in time. The whip wrapped around him firmly.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh. There sure was a lot of binding and tying in this battle, all kinds of S&M play!

    As long as I break out of the encirclement of these bone monsters and take him out of this region of water, I¡¯ll still have the upper hand! Lolth dragged Li Qingshan away with this thought in mind.

    Boom!

    A huge snail shell smashed through the rock and fell into the cavern. There were markings that corresponded to a large swathe of cracks on the side of the snail shell, having been smashed in forcefully.

    ¡°Dragonsnail!¡± Lolth suddenly raised her head.

    ¡°Save me, ma¡¯am Spider Queen!¡± Dragonsnail was fear-stricken. He had completely lost his usual calmness and composure. He had hid so well, so he never expected to still be discovered. However, he was not afraid of being discovered. He was afraid of the enemy¡¯s strength.

    A white figure appeared with a flash. A crystalline skeleton chased after Dragonsnail, stepping on his shell and thrusting the white bone sword deeply into the crack before surging out with Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and setting him ablaze in a glorious manner.

    As soon as Dragonsnail began howling, he seemed to be frozen, unable to produce another sound again.

    Xiao An raised her right hand, and the twenty-one Skeleton Demons turned back into twenty-one Skull Prayer Beads.

    Lolth could see that the situation was unfavourable, so she wanted to flee with Li Qingshan, but having been slowed down, the Skull Prayer Beads shot towards her. They were like planets among the galaxies that travelled along their own trajectories, yet conforming to an unchanging rule.

    Eighteen of the Skull Prayer Beads were already enough for a formation. Xiao An originally planned to use it against Bloodshadow, but she never got around to it. Now, she finally used it on Lolth, and there were twenty-one beads this time, making them even more powerful.

    The Skull Prayer Beads changed in shape again, turning into cartwheels-sized skulls that sprayed out the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Lolth felt like she was in great danger. She used her daemon qi to block the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and advanced boldly, swinging her hand to knock a skull away. If she had not moved, then so be it, but now that she did, all of the Skull Prayer Beads began to revolve rapidly.

    Immediately, two skulls blocked her path and three skulls slammed towards her viciously, as if an invisible thread strung all the Skull Prayer Beads together, setting off a chain reaction.

    Lolth was fast, but she was unable to break free so easily. Her pupils coldened and eight rings appeared. Through her eyes, the Skull Prayer Beads immediately slowed down, allowing her to see through them.

    Her eight legs danced wildly, where each strike possessed alarming power. She knocked away the incoming skulls one by one and forcefully carved out a path, breaking out of the formation.

    The Skeleton Demon Formation was powerful and basically guaranteed victory against any Daemon General, but against a Daemon Commander, and a carapaced Daemon Commander with a tough body at that, it still seemed a little insufficient.

    Suddenly, Lolth felt her hand sink. Li Qingshan abruptly became dozens of times heavier, pulling her downwards.

    Having broken free from the web and without Dragonsnail¡¯s interference, his daemon qi recovered in the blink of an eye. He immediately unleashed the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Sea before opening his mouth and unleashing a breath. The breath entangled with Lolth, unable to harm her but enough to interfere with her movements.

    As Lolth gazed at Li Qingshan who glistened with a metallic lustre, she felt like she had entered a nightmare filled with bones and skeletons.

    She gritted her teeth and abandoned Li Qingshan in an extremely resolute manner.

    She knew that if this continued, not only would she fail to kill Li Qingshan, but her situation would become worse and worse, or maybe even become as bad as last time.

    Lolth managed to free up one hand. The twenty-one Skull Prayer Beads were unable to stop her anymore. If a Daemon Commander wanted to flee, no one could stop her unless a Daemon King intervened.

    There was a flash of white, and Xiao An blocked her path. There was no sword aura or sword qi, just a lethal sword intent enveloping and locking onto her before stabbing over like a streak of white light.

    The Skull Prayer Beads scattered once again. As long as she obstructed Lolth, she would fall into the Skeleton Demon Formation again.

    There was a blood-red flash, and a horrific slash appeared on Lolth¡¯s chest. She had not actually dodged, directly receiving the attack to force her way out! She could clearly sense that the tiny skeleton before her was in control of the twenty-one skeleton monsters and possessed terrifying strength no less than Northmoon¡¯s.

    At this moment, she sensed that something was amiss. Lowering her head, she saw white flames spread through her wound, devouring her flesh and blood and burning even brighter. Her skin suddenly became a silvery-grey, but the flames burned even deeper along the wound. It was even more potent than her venom.

    This time was unlike last time. She still had around half of her daemon qi remaining, so she managed to circulate her daemon qi and purge the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone with quite some difficulty. Still shaken, she tossed out a threat.

    ¡°Northmoon, I¡¯ll definitely kill you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve offended me, and you still want to leave!? Use the ultimate move!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    Xiao An opened her mouth and spat out a palm-sized banner, pinching it between her fingers and waving it. The Blood Sea Banner fluttered through the air.

    Lolth glanced at the deep, blood-red colour and felt indescribable coldness creep up through her heart. She became even more afraid to linger around any longer, directly diving into the depths of the walls.

    In that moment, the world became blood-red.

    Lolth looked around. There was no longer any rocks or water, only an endless, surging sea of blood. The heavy smell of blood did not assault her nose alone, but every single pore of her body.

    A feeling of feebleness and powerlessness rose through her heart. This was the deepest despair.

    The sea of blood was endless. She could neither return to where she had come from, nor venture to the other side.

    White bones floated through the sea of blood. With a single glance, Lolth had a feeling that her fate in the end would be the same as the white bones. She would become a member of the sea of blood.

    The sea of blood surged violently. Boney hands reached towards the sky one by one as if they were pleading to the heavens for a ray of hope. However, hope did not exist in this hellish scenery, only a bone-deep hatred for the living. Thousands of skeletons turned their skulls over, gazing at Lolth with their empty eye sockets.

    It made even the malicious Lolth blank out. She felt a chilling coldness.

    The waves of blood surged as the skeletons broke out of the sea of blood, lunging over together.

    ¡°Petty tricks!¡± Lolth sneered. Her whip swung around her, and she smashed apart hundreds of skeletons in a single stroke, all falling into the sea of blood.

    The space around her immediately emptied out, only to be filled with even more skeletons. They had no fear or hesitance. They did not even roar or howl. They merely used everything they had in an attempt to grab Lolth with their boney claws and drag her to the depths of the sea of blood.

    In a short while, even Lolth lost count of the number of skeletons she had smashed through, but the skeletons seemed endless. There were no signs of them lessening.

    ¡°I can¡¯t sense the existence of the spiritual qi of the world here at all, so I can¡¯t recover my daemon qi. I need to find a way to break free. How despicable, Northmoon!¡±

 Chapter 519 â€“ Welcome to Try, Welcome to Try Again

    ¡°The Blood Sea Banner sure is high-handed. Probably even that bastard Fu Qingjin¡¯s Green Ruins Illusion pales in comparison!¡±

    Li Qingshan could clearly see Lolth being swallowed up on the Blood Sea Banner that rippled like the ocean. Fu Qingjin¡¯s Green Ruins sword only managed to generate a Green Ruins Illusion, while Xiao An¡¯s Blood Sea Banner created its own space.

    Actually, the Green Ruins sword was still superior, but as a successor, Fu Qingjin was unable to unleash the Green Ruins sword¡¯s strength, while Xiao An had personally forged the Blood Sea Banner. As such, it obviously appeared slightly stronger.

    And, the current Blood Sea Banner was the same as the Skull Prayer Beads. It was only a basic form, still extremely far away from true completion. Once it truly reached that stage, it would be well beyond something a measly Green Ruins sword could rival.

    There was a great boom in the sea of blood, and the mountain of bones scattered. The skeletons shattered and landed in the sea of blood.

    The surface of the sea finally settled down, but it rapidly gathered and produced new skeletons.

    Xiao An pointed out with a finger. Lolth suddenly turned around and was met with a roaring wave composed of blood sweeping towards her.

    It was boundless, stretching towards the sky. It could not be avoided. It could not be dodged.

    The vigour alone was enough to make people shiver.

    The colossal wave arrived right before her. Lolth¡¯s figure became as tiny as an ant¡¯s.

    In the moment the wave slammed down, ringed patterns appeared in her pupils in a strange and mysterious fashion. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, emitting two streaks of light as she peered through the wave before her. She no longer saw the boundless sea of blood, but the underground landscape. She immediately took off.

    The two streaks of light directly shot out of the Blood Sea banner. Lolth¡¯s most inconspicuous innate ability came into wondrous effect. It was actually the nemesis of all formations and illusions.

    Xiao An needed to manage the Blood Sea Banner, so she was unable to enter the banner and fight. With a wave of her hand, the Skull Prayer Beads flew in.

    Lolth¡¯s eyes narrowed as twenty-one Skull Prayer Beads shot straight towards her. She gritted her teeth and twisted her body, allowing them to hit her. Her speed was virtually unaffected. Right when she was about to break out, she saw Li Qingshan¡¯s wretched face again.

    ¡°Let me do it!¡±

    Through the Water God Seal, Li Qingshan had replenished all of his daemon qi. Even half of his wounds had recovered, now covered with layers of flesh and blood, which did make him seem even more terrifying than when he was only a skeleton.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings of wind and lunged at Lolth. ¡°Mother of my child, don¡¯t be in such a hurry to leave!¡±

    Lolth was furious and filled with resentment. The poisonous whip flogged Li Qingshan¡¯s body viciously. His flesh and blood spattered everywhere. His lunge had been stopped, but he had completely cut off her path of retreat.

    When his flesh and blood landed in the sea of blood, it immediately kicked up a surge; the blood devoured it and converted it into part of the sea.

    Li Qingshan was fearless. He accelerated rapidly with the wings of wind and slammed heavily into Lolth, spreading his arms and laughing strangely as he embraced her firmly. They plunged into the sea of blood together.

    The sea of blood was unable to distinguish between friend or foe. It was hostile to the living, devouring all flesh and blood.

    Even as the master of the Blood Sea Banner, Xiao An required all her strength to prevent the blood from attacking Li Qingshan, but in the blink of an eye, he was reduced to a tall skeleton again.

    However, as the target of the attacks of the Blood Sea Banner, Lolths¡¯ condition was even worse. She was forced to use her daemon qi to fend off the corrosion of the blood. Her poison suit became blood-red in the blink of an eye.

    Vicious poison dyed the region black, but it was nothing compared to the boundless sea.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Lolth by the neck and wrapped his legs around her waist, riding firmly on top of her. He laughed loudly as he hurled punch after punch at her body while she put up a desperate struggle. They bobbed up and down in the sea of blood, kicking up huge waves.

    Unable to break free from Li Qingshan, Lolth tossed aside her whip and gripped Li Qingshan¡¯s cervical vertebrae madly with both hands. Under the terrifying force, the vertebrae crackled, becoming riddled with cracks very soon. Li Qingshan¡¯s life force was tenacious, but only death would be waiting for him if his neck were broken.

    Li Qingshan tried to break free from her grip, but he actually failed to. Having lost his flesh and blood, his strength had plummeted.

    This was how a single counterattack from a Daemon Commander could be life-threatening even if they were in the most disadvantageous position.

    But how could Xiao An simply watch Li Qingshan be injured? Taking advantage of their stalemate, the Skull Prayer Beads flew over and wrapped around Lolth¡¯s wrist, turning back into a string of beads.

    The twenty-one Skeleton Demons tugged together, forcefully prying Lolth¡¯s hand away and pressing it against her back while gnawing at her wrist constantly. If it were not for her innate ability that had turned her skin into an indestructible silvery-grey, her bones probably would have been stripped bare in the blink of an eye.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan clenched his hands together and raised them high into the air, smashing down heavily like a hammer.

    Lolth felt like a hill had crashed into her. There was a great boom, followed by powerful tremors that shook through her entire body.

    Wherever the shockwave reached, her poison suit that the sea of blood had eaten away ripped and tore apart. Her silvery-grey body directly sank into the depths of the sea of blood.

    Water filled the entire cavern, instead holding up the rapidly-collapsing ceiling. Xiao An held the Blood Sea Banner as she stood in the water silently. The flames in her eye sockets flickered as she stared at the Blood Sea Banner closely.

    Before long, Li Qingshan leapt out of the Blood Sea Banner. ¡°Haha, I finally got her!¡±

    Li Qingshan also learned just how great of a difference existed between defeating a Daemon Commander and subduing or killing one. Without the assistance from Xiao An¡¯s Blood Sea Banner, he would have never been able to prevent her from escaping. As a matter of fact, if he were careless, it was even possible for him to die from a counterattack.

    In the end, while he did manage to subdue her, stripped bare like last time, he obviously could not do anything that would be a bad influence on children in front of Xiao An.

    And, he had been reduced to bones. He was in no shape to even if he wanted to do something.

    In the Blood Sea Banner, Lolth lay among the blood sea. Her daemon qi had already been completely depleted, and her skin returned to its original, snowy-white colour. Her physical strength was close to being completely drained too.

    She could neither see the surface of the sea, nor could she see the bottom, as if she was floating in the centre. The blood constantly ate away at her life force.

    If she were a normal Daemon General, she would be reduced to a puddle of bloody fluid before long, merging with the sea of blood and increasing the Blood Sea Banner¡¯s power.

    But as a Daemon Commander, her body was extremely tough, but she could only last a little longer at most. With her connection to the outside world severed, she could not even recover her daemon qi. All she could do was inch closer to death like this.

    The unprecedented feeling of fear and death enveloped her. This was a sensation she had not experienced in a very long time.

    Stuck in the sea of blood, not only did it injure her body, but her mind was heavily affected as well. This was the deep despair of helplessness, boundless like the sea of blood.

    She used her remaining strength to wail out.

    ¡°Sir Golden Cicada!¡±

    Xiao An asked, ¡°Do we want to kill her?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin, and his eyes flashed. ¡°It¡¯s not like we can¡¯t!¡± A familiar voice immediately rang out by his ear. ¡°Please hold on. Spare her life.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. So you¡¯re called Golden Cicada. What do you have to say?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s objective was to make the voice speak up. He thought, Sure enough, he has quite the connection to Lolth to cultivate in this underground region.

    ¡°So you still found out my name, but it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t let anyone know about it.¡± Golden Cicada¡¯s tone sounded slightly like a warning. ¡°If you kill her, the Dragon King of Ink Sea won¡¯t just let this matter be.¡±

    ¡°Fine then. I won¡¯t kill her.¡± Li Qingshan was extremely straightward with his reply to Golden Cicada¡¯s surprise.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan called towards Xiao An.

    ¡°Wait, are you going to leave like this?¡± Golden Cicada asked.

    ¡°I never said I¡¯d let her go! I¡¯ve already spared her once, but she still sticks to me like a limpet. Surely I can¡¯t just let her make attempts at my life for nothing and destroy my weapon for nothing.¡±

    Li Qingshan spoke like it was common sense. Since killing her would cause problems, then he would keep her suppressed in the Blood Sea Banner forever, but very clearly, as the blood constantly ate away at her, her cultivation would definitely regress drastically. It was even possible that she would not be able to maintain her cultivation at Daemon Commander anymore.

    His thought process was very straightforward. Since you want to protect her, then you need to cough up something, for example, the phoenix¡¯s feather.

    Golden Cicada fell silent.

    ¡°Since we are travellers on the same path, we should assist one another. I¡¯ve promised you that I will definitely do everything I can to obtain the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga for you. Actually, after we parted last time, I came across a nice opportunity. If I were to go back on my word, wouldn¡¯t killing me be a piece of cake with your strength?¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step further and expressed with great sincerity.

    ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll give you what you want.¡±

    After discovering Xiao An, who stood by Li Qingshan¡¯s side, Golden Cicada¡¯s profound sliver of perception of the heavenly secrets became more and more intense. He could basically confirm the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga would appear on Li Qingshan.

    And, Li Qingshan¡¯s words at the end managed to reach his heart. He remained underground to avoid trouble and unnecessary ties with other people so that he could focus on cultivation and take that final step, but it did not mean a Daemon General could toy with him.

    ¡°Release her!¡± Li Qingshan was overjoyed inside and nodded towards Xiao An. With how generous Golden Cicada was, he did not come off as too cheap.

    With a flap of the Blood Sea Banner, Xiao An tossed out Lolth. She gazed at Li Qingshan resentfully, and when she saw Xiao An, her gaze became filled with hostility, as well as a smear of deep fear. Having been suppressed in the sea of blood, although it had only been a short period of time, it felt as lengthy as a century to her. It caused her lingering despair.

    Her gaze was resentful, but it no longer possessed a sense of condescension like she was above Li Qingshan.

    If it were last time, then she would still be filled with great unwillingness to accept her defeat. But this time, under the trap she had cast down, Li Qingshan had forcefully carved out a path of survival, forcing her to find a helper to subdue him. Yet, in comparison, the helper Li Qingshan had found was so powerful.

    A huge chasm existed between Daemon Commander and Daemon General, but Li Qingshan used various methods to make up for this chasm, earnestly proving he was not a weakling completely at her whim.

    ¡°I-¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try, you¡¯re welcome to try again!¡±

 Chapter 520 â€“ Obtaining the Phoenix Feather

    Lolth was unable to hear Li Qingshan and Golden Cicada¡¯s conversation. When she heard Li Qingshan mention ¡°fellow Golden Cicada¡±, she could not help but become surprised. ¡°What did you call sir Golden Cicada?¡±

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t challenge me, I¡¯ll be challenging you!¡± Li Qingshan studied Lolth¡¯s enticing body again and laughed aloud.

    ¡°The phoenix feather is right here. You and that¡­ friend beside you, come and take it!¡±

    Golden Cicada sank into silent thought. Through his observations of the battle, he clearly knew Li Qingshan had received powerful reinforcements, but he was unable to see Xiao An, and he was unable to detect her aura either with his senses. Even he found this to be extremely strange, developing a hint of curiosity.

    If Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas to hide his aura, then Xiao An¡¯s would be the ¡°nothingness¡± between life and death. She had no aura to hide in the first place.

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan asked vigilantly.

    ¡°She¡¯s very special. Don¡¯t worry, I have no ill intentions towards you. Perhaps I might even be able to assist her.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    With benefits up for grabs, Li Qingshan agreed very happily. This did not necessarily mean he had dropped his guard. Golden Cicada¡¯s behaviour had always been relatively gentle, and he still needed him to retrieve the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, so there was no reason to turn against him.

    If there really was life-threatening danger, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core would definitely warn him. So far, he had not developed the ability to divine and predict various random things, but it was enough as long as it was effective in this aspect.

    Under Lolth¡¯s surprised and doubtful gaze, Li Qingshan unfurled his wings of wind and flew downwards into the earth with Xiao An. Wherever he passed by, the rock and soil would automatically part and create a tunnel. Even though he would run into large pieces of ores that he could not shift so easily, he only needed to produce a breath and sparks would fly, forming a tunnel in the blink of an eye.

    This continued until he arrived at the depths underground, before the lake of magma.

    Just when Li Qingshan had caught his footing, a golden-red feather floating on the lake of fire immediately drew his attention away. He was unable to shift his gaze after that.

    The slender feather was around a foot long, extending into a gradual curve. The patterning on the end was like a huge eye, constantly producing a bright and gentle glow.

    Li Qingshan needed no explanation. He knew this was definitely a feather of the legendary phoenix. Nothing about it could be wrong.

    Like how it was possible to learn about a leopard from a single spot, he seemed to be able to imagine the pure and noble bearing of a phoenix unfurling its wings from seeing this one feather.

    Li Qingshan immediately strode across the lake of fire and extended his hand towards the phoenix feather. Right when he was about to touch it, he could not help but shy back, like a mortal reaching towards glowing charcoal with their bare hands, afraid of getting burnt.

    However, when the tip of his finger touched the phoenix feather, it did not feel scorching at all. Instead, there was an indescribable warmth. The wonderful, graceful sensation was unable to be described through language.

    After that, he sensed a powerful aura of life.

    The heart of a phoenix was pure and noble, but not arrogant. The fire of a phoenix was scorching hot, but not wounding.

    Li Qingshan held the phoenix feather between his fingers, admiring it in complete amazement. He imagined how beautiful a real phoenix would be.

    At the same time, Golden Cicada was also observing Li Qingshan. They had carried out their conversation last time from a great distance apart after all, and no one could ignore the interference from the underground magnetic field.

    As a result, while they did have a conversation, his impression of Li Qingshan was still the same as last time when Li Qingshan ventured deep underground and demonstrated a hint of the phoenix¡¯s aura.

    However, now that Golden Cicada saw him again, he could not help but be taken aback.

    That was because the aura of the phoenix on Li Qingshan was extremely feeble, almost non-existent. However, there were three other tremendous auras.

    One was as heavy as a mountain, one was as fierce as the wind, and one was as tranquil as the sea.

    Each aura represented a bloodline legacy from a powerful lifeform, yet it happened to be that none of them paled in comparison to the phoenix.

    Lolth well and truly deserved her defeat. She did not even know what she was up against!

    This was utterly unheard of for Golden Cicada. It was impossible for him to be born like this. Merely obtaining one of these powerful bloodlines would have required extremely great luck.

    He definitely carried a huge secret on him. He was a mere daemon who did not even know what the Nine Heavens were, yet he earnestly said he wanted to venture beyond the Nine Heavens. As it seemed, it definitely did not arise from conceit.

    Golden Cicada did not know about the existence of the black ox, but he could vaguely sense a lofty figure standing behind Li Qingshan.

    Afterwards, Golden Cicada directed his focus to Xiao An and immediately became stunned. The feeling of shock was much more intense than when Li Qingshan saw the phoenix feather. He murmured to himself, ¡°Neither living or dead, formless and non-self.¡±

    Golden Cicada had an extremely deep connection with buddhism, which was why he had requested Li Qingshan to retrieve the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga for him. Now that he saw the successor of the White Bone Bodhisattva, how could he not be surprised and shocked?

    Sure, Li Qingshan and Xiao An were still very weak, but they were like tiny seeds. Some seeds could only grow into grass, while others had the potential to become towering trees.

    Golden Cicada originally wanted to investigate the origins of their legacies out of curiosity, but now, he had instead given up on that.

    The person who could plant these two seeds was definitely well beyond what his current level of cultivation could fathom. If it were not for the fact that he had already arrived on the edge of the well and could catch a glimpse of the world outside, he would not even be able to understand what they represented.

    In particular, Xiao An possessed a strange and erroneous buddhist truth about her, completely divergent from all of his understanding of buddhism and even defying it. However, it also conformed to it perfectly, making it impossible to pick out anything wrong.

    He absolutely refused to think too much about it. It would bring absolutely no benefit to his cultivation, but be detrimental instead.

    To the other side, Li Qingshan held the phoenix feather, but he was unable to draw out the power inside. He tried using the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. In his sea of consciousness, the figure of the phoenix spread its wings and produced a long cry.

    In that instant, the phoenix feather exploded with light, enveloping Li Qingshan.

    A powerful life force poured into Li Qingshan¡¯s body endlessly. His flesh and blood rapidly grew and merged together at a visible rate.

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had made a full recovery. His scarlet hair draped down as he clenched his fists. Never had he felt so at ease before.

    Whether it were the hidden wounds from Lolth or the residue from consuming pills, all of it had been wiped clean.

    The phoenix feather in his hand had only dimmed slightly. Let alone the other uses, even if he only treated it as life-saving medicine, he would basically gain a few extra lives.

    ¡°You really have gained the phoenix feather¡¯s recognition.¡± Golden Cicada sighed. In other words, that was four bloodlines, four different powers. All of them were the most powerful legacies.

    Earning the ¡°recognition¡± seemed extremely easy to Li Qingshan, but if regular people rashly used the power in the phoenix feather, they would face the risk of being incinerated to death.

    Perhaps because it was for healing, or perhaps because the power in the phoenix feather was relatively mild, the spirit turtle had not reacted intensely, which made Li Qingshan overjoyed. He felt like he had found a door right when he had been driven into a corner. As long as he pushed through the door, he would arrive in a brand new world.

    Li Qingshan was greedy. ¡°There¡¯s¡­ just this one?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully you uphold your word soon! This is for your little friend.¡±

    With that, Golden Cicada fell silent. A ?ar¨©ra glistening with golden light flew out of the magma lake, landing in Xiao An¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan breathed out deeply. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I hate owing people favours!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An returned to the flooded Cobweb city. Lolth had already vanished, but she had been heavily injured and the web, poison suit, and poisonous whip she had gone to such great lengths to weave had all been destroyed.

    It was probably impossible for her to make any trouble for now, and by the time she recovered, Li Qingshan would have climbed to somewhere higher already.

    Xiao An took out a snail shell.

    ¡°This is Dragonsnail¡¯s shell!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised inside. In his eyes, Dragonsnail had already been relatively mysterious. Naturally, he seemed relatively powerful too, so Li Qingshan never expected Xiao An to kill him so easily.

    Dragonsnail was powerful among Daemon Generals, but Xiao An¡¯s strength approached Li Qingshan¡¯s. Actually, if Li Qingshan wanted to kill Dragonsnail, it would not take him much effort either.

    Moreover, Xiao An¡¯s Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone had a crushing advantage in terms of destructive power over weaker opponents. Once the flames contaminated them, they would be done for unless they were Daemon Commanders like Lolth who could use their powerful and pure daemon qi to forcefully purge it.

    Dragonsnail obviously did not have the necessary strength, so the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone had frozen his soul, and his flesh and blood had been set alight. He did not last very long before dying.

    In the end, he only left behind this snail shell and a daemon core.

    Just like that, all three powerful Daemon Generals under Lolth¡¯s command had died at Xiao An¡¯s hands.

    Xiao An placed the snail shell in Li Qingshan¡¯s palm. Li Qingshan shoved it into his hundred treasures pouch casually, but he discovered he was unable to shove it in. Only after a close inspection did he discover the snail shell possessed its own space. It was like a large hundred treasures pouch with many items stored inside.

    After Bloodshadow and Strongboulder had died, Dragonsnail took over, especially ambushing and killing powerful human cultivators. The spoils of the battles had been rather abundant, with many precious spiritual herbs obtained. Clearly, it was all because of Dragonsnail¡¯s relatively greater intelligence, allowing him to plan and scheme very far into the future, but now, Li Qingshan benefited from it instead.

    Dragonsnail might have been a wiser one among the daemons, but he could neither disobey Lolth¡¯s orders, nor was he Xiao An¡¯s opponent. Before absolute strength, resourcefulness often seemed useless.

    ¡°The snail shell should be a good material for forging artifacts.¡±

    Having dealt with a great problem bothering him and obtaining the phoenix feather he had been yearning the entire time, Li Qingshan was completely satisfied. Now, he needed to find a way to completely refine the phoenix feather and merge with it so that he could reach the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation.

    He also had to continue expanding his water territory. If it were not for the Water God Seal today, he would have never been able to deal with Lolth even if he worked with Xiao An. As a matter of fact, he would have faced the danger of running out of daemon qi and being killed instead.

 Chapter 521 â€“ The Lord of Thunder and the God of Water

    The curtain of night was heavy. Enveloped in dark clouds, the sound of thunder boomed constantly as the world flickered.

    A familiar figure stood in the sky criss-crossed with lightning. His shabby priest robes ruffled despite the absence of wind, and electricity crackled on him as if a god of lightning had come down to the mortal realm.

    Was that not Zhou Tong?

    This old daoist priest has already undergone the heavenly tribulation! Li Qingshan thought. He looked at the sky again and discovered that Zhou Tong was not alone. A Soaring Dragon ship docked in the sea of clouds.

    Standing on the deck were the various school leaders with Liu Zhangqing at the front.

    Huge cannons erupted with streaks of light, barraging against the formation and making it flicker. It was on the verge of shattering.

    During the time Li Qingshan refined the Watermirror disc, Zhou Tong had refined his Lightning Slaughter wooden sword again and finally taken the step, condensing a ¡°Divine Lightning pearl¡±, which was the so-called Golden Core realm.

    After resting up slightly, the first thing he did was come for revenge.

    Seeing how they had a Golden Core cultivator at the lead now, the Academy of the Hundred Schools riled up in confidence too. They brought out the Soaring Dragon ship that the school of Mohism had spent many years building to provide assistance.

    Liu Zhangqing¡¯s face flickered due to the lightning. He also wanted to take back his Watermirror disc, so he glanced down at the Moon Court dwelling urgently, but after some consideration, he said to Juechenzi on the side.

    ¡°Juechenzi, looks like the moon demon really isn¡¯t here. You should convince your master to hold back a little once he gets through the formation so that he doesn¡¯t cause wanton massacre.¡±

    The war had died down after so much difficulty, but even when the moon demon possessed the upper hand in the past, he had never hunted them down. If Zhou Tong wanted to vent, then so be it, but if this would lead to war again, then he would rather go without the Watemirror disc.

    It was exactly because of this that they had remained on the sidelines. Otherwise, if they used the Dragon¡¯s Roar with the main cannon on the Soaring Dragon ship, the Moon Court dwelling would have been destroyed a long time ago.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Yeah. Even if the moon demon comes, all we need him to do is hand over the Watermirror disc and have him leave Moon- Clear Court lake.¡±

    Juechenzi was troubled. ¡°About this¡­ master is having quite the time right now¡­¡±

    Zhou Tong¡¯s voice boomed out like thunder, reaching the Soaring Dragon ship. He had a violent temper, but he kept a clear record of his debts. He also knew the moon demon had held back before, so he obviously refused to stoop even lower than a daemon.

    ¡°Ox-nose, those are some big words! Just whose life do you plan on sparing?¡±

    A violent bellow erupted from the lake, drowning out the wind and thunder in the air. Li Qingshan stood with his arms behind his back, gazing at the sky. His scarlet hair drifted in the wind, blazing like fire.

    Zhou Tong¡¯s eyes lit up, and he pointed the Lightning Slaughter sword at Li Qingshan. He bellowed out thunderously, ¡°Wretched daemon, you¡¯ve finally found the courage to come out. Are you bold enough to face me in battle?¡±

    The lightning gathered together on Zhou Tong, making him blaze and flicker. He seemed like a sun conjured from lightning, continuing to absorb electricity from the cloud layer and becoming larger and larger such that it became visible even from five hundred kilometers away, possessing terrifying destructive power.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°I think you just don¡¯t want to keep that stupid sword of yours anymore! You¡¯ve brought it to me for roasting chicken!¡±

    Their voices were grand and resounding, echoing through the surroundings like a conversation between two gods.

    Li Qingshan hit a sore spot with that. Zhou Tong¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Alright, wretched daemon. Looks like you won¡¯t feel despair until you face death.¡±

    ¡°Alright, old priest. Looks like you won¡¯t give up until you see roast chicken. I can see you¡¯ve reached Golden Core, but so what? Rain, clouds, thunder, and lightning, disperse!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan extended his hands and pulled them apart like he had grabbed something.

    A rip abruptly appeared in the dark clouds that spanned the sky. Like the slowly-unfolding curtains of a stage, they revealed the sky full of stars and the crescent moon.

    Moonlight enveloped the Soaring Dragon ship. All the cultivators were stunned, and their faces had become pale-white from the moonlight.

    This power was basically beyond belief. It was not something a Daemon General could possess. It almost resembled how Gu Yanying had carved out a battlefield in the sky back then.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°That might be the power of a water god. The moon demon might not have undergone the heavenly tribulation, but he¡¯s become stronger too. This battle probably won¡¯t be easy.¡±

    However, the other cultivators were rather convinced. No matter how powerful the moon demon was, he was only a Daemon General. How could he be the opponent of a Golden Core cultivator?

    Zhou Tong immediately lost his geographical advantage, unable to absorb the power of lightning from the clouds anymore. His expression became stern. He pointed out and channeled with the Lightning Slaughter sword in his hand.

    The lightning that resembled a scorching sun, illuminating the surrounding region, suddenly flashed, turning the world white.

    By the time everyone recovered, all that remained in their vision was the trace of a jagged bolt of lightning. Who could dodge something that moved so fast?

    A huge hole had appeared on the surface of Moon Court lake, stretching over a hundred meters across. Not only had the lake water evaporated, but even the rock below had melted. Who could contend with such power?

    However, Li Qingshan managed to dodge in the moment the bolt of lightning fell. He unfurled his wings of wind and turned into a scarlet streak of light, piercing into the sky.

    Lightning blazed and crackled. Even the cultivators on the Soaring Dragon ship struggled to keep their eyes open.

    No matter how fast the moon demon was, he could not be faster than lightning. No one could escape an attack like that. And, a casual strike from the current Zhou Tong was stronger than all of his full-powered attacks that summoned the heavenly lightning in the past. He only needed a single strike to decide the battle. This was the great power of a Golden Core cultivator!

    However, they discovered very soon that they were wrong! The moon demon¡¯s figure flew freely between the lightning, turning, darting about, and soaring. He was like a divine bird that clashed with lightning, yet not a single bolt of lightning was actually able to hit him.

    Zhou Tong was surprised as well. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. The flashing trajectories of lightning appeared in them, but these flashed had not been left behind after the lightning had struck. Instead, they came from before the lightning erupted. Otherwise, even with the wings of wind¡¯s speed, he would still seem slow if he tried competing with lightning.

    It was possible to say that if the opponent dodged the moment Zhou Tong struck, they were basically too late already.

    In the past, in order to unleash lightning with enough power, Zhou Tong had to perform a series of ritualistic daoist gestures and go to quite some lengths, which gave the opponent time to dodge beforehand.

    Now, a casual strike of his possessed startling power, and it would be endless. This was what made lightning terrifying. As someone who practised the Divine Heaven Method of Lightning Wielding, Zhou Tong did indeed have the strength to strut around proudly.

    Although he had only just undergone the second tribulation, he could probably look down on all early Golden Core cultivators already. When it came to a real battle to the death, even some mid Golden Core cultivators would not necessarily be his opponent.

    However, Li Qingshan used the power of the spirit turtle to peer into that moment of the future. In the blink of an eye, he approached Zhou Tong. No matter how powerful a cultivator¡¯s techniques were, their feeble bodies were still their greatest weakness.

    ¡°Be careful, senior Zhou!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve been waiting for this!¡± Zhou Tong suddenly slammed his hand against the scorching sun of lightning before him.

    Boom!

    In that moment, countless bolts of lightning were released like a wild dance of silver snakes, weaving into a net of electricity together with an unbelievably loud clap of thunder.

    Even the cultivators on the Soaring Dragon ship high in the sky felt their ears buzz, becoming mildly stunned.

    Although they clearly knew Zhou Tong stood on their side, they could not help but become overwhelmed with shock and horror. The interwoven net of electricity was a zone of death. If they fell in there, no matter how many Foundation Establishment cultivators there were, there would only be death for everyone.

    Li Qingshan had already responded a moment earlier. However, even though he could see the trajectories of the lightning, he was unable to dodge in the dense net of electricity. Originally, he planned on unleashing the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to block forcefully, but he suddenly thought of something and waved his hand.

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell assembled into a huge mirror. He unleashed two abilities of the spirit turtle simultaneously.

    The violent lightning landed on the mirror, and most of it was reflected.

    Li Qingshan stood behind the mirror, completely unscathed. He thought, The effectiveness of this move seems to be limited in close combat, but it seems to be quite effective against techniques, particularly against the flashing lightning from Zhou Tong.

    Zhou Tong¡¯s eyes widened immediately. Having undergone the second heavenly tribulation, not only did he condense a Divine Lightning pearl, but the Lightning Slaughter sword had become even more powerful after being further forged in the heavenly tribulation, yet his attacks had actually been blocked so easily.

    It had not been easy at all for Li Qingshan. Although the reflection seemed to triumph over Zhou Tong¡¯s lightning, it took a great toll on his mind to maintain the mirror. His daemon qi plummeted as well.

    Normally, he would consider retreating, but he was right above Moon Court lake, so there was no need for him to fear a consumption of daemon qi at all. Taking advantage of Zhou Tong¡¯s shock, he flew much closer.

    He extended his hand when he was still thirty meters away from Zhou Tong. His arm suddenly swelled up and lengthened, turning into a huge, pitch-black limb that loomed over Zhou Tong¡¯s head.

    Zhou Tong erupted with lightning, and Li Qingshan felt like he had been electrocuted. There was severe pain, followed by a feeling of numbness that spread through his body. His movements slowed down, but he gritted his teeth and continued to reach down.

    A bolt of lightning flew through his fingertips. Zhou Tong¡¯s figure changed drastically as the lightning weaved together into the figure of the Lord of Thunder, holding a mallet in one hand and a chisel in the other. He had finally unleashed the ultimate move he had never managed to use in the past that he could now use at will. It was much clearer too, almost tangible.

    Zhou Tong roared out furiously, ¡°With the hellish might of gods, the Lord of Thunder strikes the daemon!¡±

    Boom!

    The Lord of Thunder struck his mallet against his chisel, and a bolt of lightning shot out, shining with a vague violet colour.

    Li Qingshan knew he was unable to reflect this ultimate move. With a flap of his wings of wind, he dodged beforehand, but the trajectory of the lightning suddenly changed, piercing through the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell viciously and striking his body.

    Li Qingshan shuddered all over. He actually lost control over his body at that moment. The wings of wind shattered as he directly fell towards Moon Court lake.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    How could Zhou Tong let such a fantastic opportunity slip by? He unfurled a pair of lightning wings and took off in pursuit. The Lord of Thunder constantly struck the chisel of lightning in his hand as bolts of violet lightning landed on Li Qingshan again and again.

    The lightning would rip apart the daemon qi Li Qingshan had just gathered, and his body had become completely numb from the electricity. He entered a state where he was unable to put up any resistance.

    Clashing with a Golden Core cultivator really is very dangerous! It¡¯s also so unpredictable. Just the slightest carelessness might cost me my life.

    The Water God Seal in Li Qingshan¡¯s body produced ripples of light, which reached the edge of Moon Court lake in the blink of an eye.

    The peaceful lake water suddenly began to bubble.

    Swoosh!

 Chapter 522 â€“ The Broken Sword, the Pill, and the Choice

    In particular, the fishermen who lived on their boats suddenly felt like they were in free fall. They darted into their cabins in fear and surprise, only to see the surface of the lake had suddenly fallen by a feet. A colossal hand composed of water reached into the air from the centre of the lake.

    ¡°Grandfather lake god is angry!¡±

    Shock and fear was written across all of their faces. Someone bellowed out with that and everyone dropped to their knees, constantly lowering their heads.

    On a small, stone bridge near the shore, a person stood alone as his green student¡¯s robes drifted in the air.

    Fu Qingjin pressed his hand against his sword and stared ahead. ¡°Northmoon, have you already become like this?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A few months ago, deep into autumn, on Benevolence island, by the Lake of Dragons and Snakes.

    A lonely figure held a broken sword, sitting on the shore alone. There was no Green Ruins Illusion, nor was there a dangling thread.

    ¡°Why¡¯s this Fu Qingjin acting like he¡¯s lost his wits!?¡± Hua Chenglu arrived on Benevolence island to check on a Hawkwolf guard who had been injured during a mission. She spotted Fu Qingjin¡¯s figure from afar.

    Yu Zijian said, ¡°Shh, Chenglu, be quieter. Don¡¯t let him hear you.¡±

    The conversation reached his ears clearly, but he behaved like he had not heard it at all. He stared at the severed edge of the Green Ruins sword. What had been severed was not just the edge, but all connections with the outside world.

    The Daemon Suppression alliance had already become a matter of the past. Gradually, no one visited him anymore.

    The Sword Collection palace neither punished him nor called him back. He only received two distant words from his master. ¡°Take care.¡± It was two simple words, yet it left him stumped no matter how hard he thought about it.

    His wounds had recovered a long time ago, but he had no idea where to go, so he simply stayed here. He remained in this foreign land like a lone soul.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have a line, so how are you going to fish?¡±

    The sound of footsteps grew closer and a voice rang. It was Yu Zijian. Fu Qingjin did not turn around, nor did he answer her.

    In the past, he had once believed fate bound him to this young girl because of the Green Ruins sword. Now that the sword was broken, the tie no longer existed. No matter how he looked at her, she was merely a regular woman. Perhaps she really did have the talent to inherit the Violet Clouds sword, but what did that have to do with him?

    Yu Zijian remembered how she was like in the past and let out a faint sigh, but her gaze had never been so calm and distant before. She asked a question, ¡°Is this sword really that important to you?¡±

    Fu Qingjin remained as silent as a rock.

    ¡°Coming!¡± Yu Zijian turned around and answered. Then she said to Fu Qingjin, ¡°Someone had once told me that dilemmas will always exist in the world, and we always have to make choices. Nothing is perfect.¡±

    It was a simple word of advice, but it shot through Fu Qingjin¡¯s head like inspiration. The hand that held his sword trembled slightly. Only after Yu Zijian had left did he mutter with a voice that only he could hear.

    ¡°Nothing is perfect. All glory will be reduced to ruins at the end of the day!¡±

    His master¡¯s voice rang out beside his ear again.

    ¡°Qingjin, do you know about the origins of this Green Ruins sword? Our Sword Collection palace had a senior who was originally the monarch of a kingdom. Of course, Great Xia did not exist back then. The nine provinces were still littered with various kingdoms. In order to deal with the threat of an enemy kingdom, he went out in search of help, accidentally entering an immortal¡¯s dwelling and obtaining an immortal¡¯s legacy. He was utterly overjoyed, but by the time he left the dwelling, he discovered several decades had already passed.¡±

    ¡°His family and friends had all passed away, and his kingdom had already fallen to the opposing kingdom a long time ago. He wanted revenge, only to discover that the opposing kingdom had been destroyed in the chaos of war a long time ago too. He was filled with endless melancholy and merged this with the sword. That is the sword intent that the Green Ruins sword possesses. Endless prosperity will all be reduced to ruins one day, covered and hidden away by green moss¡­¡±

    Fu Qingjin lifted up the Green Ruins sword and said gently, ¡°Even you aren¡¯t able to be an exception?¡±

    The next day, Fu Qingjin left the academy. He passed by every single city that had been destroyed during the war, imagining their former glory. He seemed to have washed off the dust obscuring his eyes. The entire world had become different.

    Day by day, the Green Ruins sword remained broken like before, but slivers of green light merged into it.

    This time, it was not the sighs of the senior from the ancient times, nor was it the sighs of past masters of the Green Ruins sword. Instead, it was Fu Qingjin¡¯s own comprehension.

    After visiting who knew how many cities, he finally understood the Green Ruins sword was not actually broken. In that moment, the Green Ruins sword suddenly erupted with an unprecedented glow, and before he knew it, he was standing in the Green Ruins Illusion again.

    A figure stood under the collapsed palace walls in the distance. He turned around and smiled faintly.

    He was a rather dignified man. His appearance was very unfamiliar, but his expression was extremely familiar. His aloofness and melancholy had once appeared on his own face countless times.

    Fu Qingjin smiled as well. He smiled very brightly, like before he had picked up the Green Ruins sword.

    From then onwards, one of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace became a broken sword.

    Having retrieved the Lightning Slaughter sword after so much difficulty, Zhou Tong was cultivating in peace in his dwelling, preparing for his breakthrough to Golden Core. Suddenly, he felt someone touch the formation, and he frowned, stepping out of his dwelling.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    Zhou Tong had been slightly angry already. Seeing the visitor, he became very angry. ¡°Fu Qingjin, what brings you here?¡±

    Fu Qingjin opened his hand. A violet pill rested in there.

    Zhou Tong¡¯s anger vanished. ¡°That¡¯s an Origin Spirit pill!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Faced with the incoming hand, Zhou Tong snorted in disdain. With a wave of the Lightning Slaughter sword, he turned into a bolt of lightning and passed through the palm. He moved no slower than Li Qingshan¡¯s wings of wind.

    In that moment, an electrical current spread through the water from inside out, lighting up the huge hand. It collapsed loudly like a landslide.

    This ox-nose sure is difficult to deal with after the tribulation.

    Li Qingshan stabilised himself, and with a shudder, he dispersed the violet electricity. He exhaled deeply and gazed at Zhou Tong in the sky who resembled a god of thunder.

    Their gazes clashed and sparks seemed to fly.

    With a streak of lightning, Zhou Tong rushed down. The figure of the Lord of Thunder did not seem to be able to keep up with his speed. It fell behind and revealed Zhou Tong¡¯s figure. Electricity crackled around the Lightning Slaughter sword, making the wooden sword of unimpressive appearance glow with blinding light.

    Li Qingshan stood on a water dragon and ascended bravely. He clenched his fist firmly as the power of tremors constantly gathered without being released. A ring of black cracks condensed as if he could rip through the space there.

    His ear suddenly twitched, and he swung his hand to the side.

    The two of them rushed past one another. The lightning shot through in a straight line while the water dragon shattered.

    A fist-sized hole appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. He turned around and bellowed, ¡°Again!¡±

    Zhou Tong turned around. He was unscathed, but he was anything but calm. ¡°Why!?¡±

    ¡°Why what? Stop wasting time, you bastard!¡±

    On the Soaring Dragon ship, Liu Zhangqing said in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with senior Zhou?¡±

    ¡°Look at the surroundings of the lake. The moon demon was distracted earlier.¡± Hua Chengzan also experienced indescribable surprise, as well as a hint of admiration.

    ¡°Nothing seems to have happened at all, so why would he be distract-¡± Liu Zhangqing followed Hua Chengzan¡¯s hand and gazed into the distance. He was unable to see anything strange, but his heart suddenly shuddered, and he understood what had happened.

    When the lightning dispersed the colossal hand of water and caused it to collapse, it had created a huge pit in the lake, kicking up massive waves several dozen meters in height that spread out in all directions. More accurately, they were no longer merely waves, but tsunamis that would only appear in seas.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s figure vanished from the small stone bridge, standing on a pier by the shore. He gripped his sword, ready to cut down the incoming waves, only to see the waves collapse for no reason. Only then did he lower the Green Ruins sword and gaze into the horizon.

    Among the mortals¡¯ cheers of gratitude for the lake god, Fu Qingjin¡¯s expression became rather dazed for a moment.

    The settlements on the shore should have been reduced to a mess, but they were perfectly fine instead. Clearly, the moon demon had split his focus to stop the waves during the clash, which allowed Zhou Tong to pierce him with his sword.

    On the Soaring Dragon ship, everyone realised this fact. They looked at one another and had no idea what to say.

    ¡°Why did you receive my attack when you could have dodged it?¡±

    Without a doubt, Zhou Tong had noticed it much more clearly than everyone else. He did not become complacent at all. In the past when he clashed with Bloodshadow, he had killed an entire city of people with a bolt of lightning. It did bring him some slight discomfort, but under the righteous cause of purging daemons, he felt no shame or regret at all.

    But now, he was fighting for the sake of his personal grievance, yet Li Qingshan was instead willing to receive an attack from him in exchange for saving countless lives. Their identities seemed to have reversed. The concept of ¡°purging daemons and demons¡± no longer seemed so righteous anymore.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m willing. Cut the bullshit, let¡¯s go again. You can just treat that as giving you a handicap!¡±

    In the moment earlier, Li Qingshan heard countless calls and cries. Faced with the incoming wave, some people called out something along the lines of, ¡°Save us, grandfather lake god!¡± There were also crying from children and women. As a result, he used the Water God Seal with a single thought and dispersed the wave.

    He was no saint. If this really were a battle where his life could be determined by a single moment, he would have never cared about the fates of mortals. However, if he could save several hundred thousand lives at the cost of receiving a strike, the choice was as clear as day. He did not feel like he had done anything good.

    ¡°Forget it. You¡¯ve received a strike from me, so our grievances are settled with that!¡±

    There was nothing else Zhou Tong could say. Suddenly, he let out a deep sigh and turned into a bolt of lightning, flying off on his sword. He arrived on the Soaring Dragon ship. ¡°Sir Liu, this battle is pointless. I will find a way to make it up to you regarding the Watermirror disc.¡±

    If they continued fighting and Li Qingshan had to receive more injuries for the sake of the people near the shore, he really could not afford to embarrass himself like that. Speaking of which, it was not like he was the Marquis of Ruyi. So what if the moon demon had occupied this region of water to cultivate in? What did that have to do with him? Having reached Golden Core, he had already leapt out of the game of chess. There was no need for him to behave like how others wanted him to behave anymore. As for those who stood at the very top, it was not like regular people knew what they wanted anyway.

    ¡°As you wish, senior.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing clasped his hands before issuing an order. The Soaring Dragon ship turned around and flew off towards the academy. Basically everyone let out a sigh of relief. The strength Li Qingshan had demonstrated was simply too shocking. He could basically contend with Golden Core cultivators, and with a geographic advantage, even Zhou Tong might not necessarily be able to defeat him. This would be for the best for everyone.

    From this day onwards, there were no longer any cultivators in the Clear River prefecture who were stupid enough to declare war against the moon demon anymore.

    ¡°What a strange one!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin. With a surge of daemon qi, the wound on his chest recovered rapidly. It was absolutely nothing compared to his battle with Lolth.

    Suddenly, he detected a familiar aura. He looked over, and his gaze became extremely hostile, spotting the green figure on the pier immediately.

 Chapter 523 â€“ The Game Ends

    Fu Qingjin squinted his eyes. The splashing water dispersed as Li Qingshan¡¯s figure with drifting scarlet hair appeared.

    Everyone on the Soaring Dragon ship watched on from afar.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that Fu Qingjin?¡±

    ¡°With how powerful the moon demon is, regular Foundation Establishment cultivators aren¡¯t his opponent at all.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if a disciple of the Sword Collection palace dies here.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve waited quite some time for you!¡± Li Qingshan sneered and strode over, throwing a punch.

    Fu Qingjin did not dodge. He only said two words flatly, and the fist stopped before his face. The fierce wind blew away his black hair.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows in great surprise. Only after closely studying Fu Qingjin did he notice how he had changed. Although his appearance and attire were still mostly the same, he seemed like a different person in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    The change in his bearing could not be described with words, but if a description was absolutely necessary, then his condescension had vanished, and his constantly-sighing gaze had become clear and certain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not your opponent. You¡¯ve won this game of chess.¡±

    When Li Qingshan dispersed the colossal wave, Fu Qingjin knew he had lost, and not simply in terms of strength.

    ¡°What the hell are the two of you doing? I only casually spared the lives of a few mortals, didn¡¯t I? Do you really have to overreact like this?¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled back his fist. He could not help but experience a feeling of, ¡°I haven¡¯t even shown you my true strength, and you¡¯ve already been defeated.¡±

    ¡°How hilarious. Even a daemon can show benevolence. What have all my actions of the past been in comparison then?¡±

    Fu Qingjin said in a self-deprecating manner. Upon breaking free from the influence of the Green Ruins sword and looking back at everything he had done, he found it all ridiculous. He was like a child under the influence of adults, forcefully trying to imitate the mature tone of adults, yet losing his most-important shred of innocence.

    Suddenly, there was a wild gust of wind, and Fu Qingjin returned to his senses. A fist had already landed heavily on his face, sending him spinning. He smashed through several walls before finally coming to a stop.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying, but I do feel much better.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his fist, turned around, and made his way back to Moon Court lake.

    Fu Qingjin laid in the fragmented brick and tiles in a bad shape and gazed at the night sky filled with stars. He said softly, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°No need to thank me!¡±

    With a boom, Li Qingshan stomped down on Fu Qingjin¡¯s chest, immediately creating a great pit. Rock fragments flew everywhere.

    Fu Qingjin coughed up a mouthful of blood and stared into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He raised his right hand and pointed at the sky. ¡°Northmoon, your trouble is coming.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me!¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously understood. When one side admitted defeat, that was the end of the chess game.

    There would not be any more rules that prevented powerful cultivators from interfering. By refining bodies of water, he must have crossed the bottom line of certain people. They would never simply leave the matter be.

    When he possessed an absolute advantage, he did not make use of it to hunt down everyone; instead, he dragged out the game of chess and earned himself more room to develop.

    Now that Zhou Tong had given up and Fu Qingjin had admitted defeat, there was no point in continuing with this game of chess.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face became stern. ¡°Then I might as well kill you and eliminate any future problems!¡±

    ¡°And what benefit would that bring you?¡±

    Fu Qingjin smiled. He personally believed he was not the moon demon¡¯s opponent, but after comprehending the true intent behind the Green Ruins sword, he was not without some life-saving measures. And, he obviously had made ample preparations given how he was bold enough to come to Moon Court lake.

    There was a flash of lightning in the sky, followed by booming thunder. Zhou Tong said, ¡°Moon demon, release him!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at Zhou Tong before looking at Fu Qingjin. He sank into his thoughts. Zhou Tong had a fiery temper, and he never had a good impression of Fu Qingjin, so why would he specially rush over to save him now?

    Looking at Zhou Tong¡¯s expression, he was not completely willing either. There was a hint of reluctance.

    Fu Qingjin said, ¡°Senior Zhou has already agreed to become a guest elder of our Sword Collection palace.¡±

    Becoming a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace brought extremely great benefits, and they basically had no responsibilities either. Even the master of the Sword Collection palace could not order them around without good reason. They only had to promise a single thing, which was to provide assistance when the Sword Collection palace faced devastating peril. However, as a large sect of sword cultivators with such deep foundations, the Sword Collection palace probably would not encounter something like that even in the next few millennia.

    Coupled with an extremely precious Origin Spirit pill thrown into the deal, Zhou Tong had no reason to turn this down. The Sword Collection palace was not receiving the short end of the stick either. If Zhou Tong ascended in the future or fell in battle, the Lightning Slaughter sword that possessed extremely great potential would definitely be left behind on Sword Collection peak. Perhaps it might enter the ranks of the Ten Renowned Swords in the future.

    Their further objective was so that the successor of the Violet Clouds sword, Yu Zijian, could formally join the Sword Collection palace. Having reached this step on the chessboard, Fu Qingjin had admitted defeat, but the Sword Collection palace had not lost.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows before loosening them again. He had also obtained everything he wanted from this game of chess. He obtained a region of water that he could treat as a foundation, he had pushed all three transformations of the ox, tiger, and turtle to the fourth layer, and he had also found a way to gain a grasp over the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a.

    ¡°With how you¡¯ve said it, I really am tempted to try it!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered viciously. His right foot suddenly turned into a hoof, and he stomped down hard. His daemon qi surged, turning into pulses of tremors.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s body emitted rings of green light, enveloping Li Qingshan¡¯s hoof and covering it in a layer of green moss. He felt his strength, daemon qi, and shockwaves all disperse.

    Clang!

    The Green Ruins sword exited its sheathe as half a broken sword, sweeping past Li Qingshan gently. The bladeless sword left behind a layer of green moss on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, and the feeling of powerlessness immediately seeped in.

    Li Qingshan snorted coldly. He opened his mouth and spat out a gust of wind that collided against the protective green light over Fu Qingjin. Sure enough, it was rapidly dispersed and worn away, while his breath was endless. In the blink of an eye, the green light had visibly thinned.

    No matter how deep Fu Qingjin¡¯s comprehension of the Green Ruins sword was, no matter how profoundly powerful the Green Ruins sword was, none of it was able to change his reality of being a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was impossible for him to outlast Li Qingshan who had Moon Court lake as a support.

    There was a bolt of lightning and the Lightning Slaughter sword shot past with a flash, severing the breath.

    Scarlet hair drifted around, green light streak about, and lightning flickered on the pier. The three of them clashed, but all of them were holding back. Otherwise, just a few half-minded techniques and abilities would be enough to reduce the small city by the lake to a pile of rubble.

    But a short while later, a streak of green light seemed to shoot away with the lightning following close behind, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan did not chase after them. After a moment of consideration, he turned around and dove into Moon Court lake.

    Returning to his dwelling, Ye Liusu, Ye Liubo, and the night roamers immediately rushed over to him. Li Qingshan comforted them all before arriving in the small lake on the island, picking up the Watermirror disc, and peering at the image in the mirror.

    He could vaguely sense that danger was currently approaching. He needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible, and only then would he be able to keep this water dwelling, no, continue to expand his territory.

    Perhaps he should return and investigate exactly how the Ruyi commandery had responded and whether they would send any people over to cause trouble. If the Ruyi commandery did respond, then they would definitely require his cooperation as the Scarlet Hawk commander.

    Knowing thyself and knowing thy enemy makes you undefeatable in battle.

    But upon further consideration, Li Qingshan did not rush back in a hurry. That would be too much of a coincidence otherwise. Even if the Ruyi commandery were to respond, it would not be that quickly!

    Thinking like that, Li Qingshan sat down again in the lake, taking out the Water God Seal.

    The regions of water could provide him with endless water spiritual qi, but they still required time to generate it sliver by sliver. After his difficult battle against Lolth, the water spiritual qi in the regions had already become much thinner.

    If he poured all of the remaining water spiritual qi into his daemon core, it would be nowhere near enough. It would only be stupid. Daemon cultivation had always consumed massive amounts of spiritual qi, not to mention he practised something as powerful as the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine.

    The power of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine would become greater the further his cultivation advanced, but the difficulty of cultivation would increase too. Breaking through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle definitely could not be achieved overnight.

    And without any suitable pills, his daemon cultivation was destined to slow down for a period of time. With that being the case, he would be better off cultivating in a different direction.

    Li Qingshan placed his attention on his sea of qi. The spiritual qi in there was much more abundant than when he first established his foundation.

    He had basically practised the Arts of the Boundless Ocean for two years now. Although he never placed much focus on it, he had never stopped practising it either.

    Even though he would use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to enter a meditative state whenever he entered secluded cultivation, he would still divert some focus to this cultivation method. Actually, the amount of time and effort he had spent on his human cultivation was no less than regular cultivators, and the effects could be described as much better.

    However, going from early Foundation Establishment to mid Foundation Establishment could not be achieved so easily. It required talent, it required resources, and it required comprehension. With the three combined, even spending a decade on the breakthrough was nothing surprising.

    This opportunity just happened to be available for Li Qingshan.

    The Arts of the Boundless Ocean had always placed a relatively higher requirement on the cultivator¡¯s talent, but probably even the creator of the cultivation method had never imagined a person¡¯s talent in the future would be so high.

    After reaching the fourth layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, Li Qingshan¡¯s body possessed the aura of the spirit turtle¡¯s bloodline. His talent for water cultivation was so high that even many water exotic beasts paled in comparison. Using it for the Arts of the Boundless Ocean was essentially overkill.

    Talent was not an issue!

    Li Qingshan brought his hands together and pressed the Water God Seal against his belly. The Water God Seal that had always been both tangible and ethereal merged with the sea of qi, constantly gathering water spiritual qi.

    The remaining water spiritual qi in the regions of water was inadequate for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, but it was more than adequate for the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    Compared to daemon cultivation, human cultivation had always consumed far fewer resources, not to mention he was not making a major breakthrough either, and he had two years of cultivation as a foundation.

    Resources were a small issue too!

    The last part was comprehension.

    This was probably a great problem to all cultivators. So-called bottlenecks were often caused by this one word.

 Chapter 524 â€“ Mid Foundation Establishmen

    If cultivation was about fetching water, then talent would be equivalent to the water bucket. A larger water bucket would obviously lead to fewer trips. The resources would be the water. If the water could not fill the bucket, then it would be a waste of talent.

    All of these efforts would be for the final objective of pouring the water into the water tank. Insufficient comprehension was equivalent to an incomplete tank. No matter how much water was fetched, it would all be pointless.

    The matter of comprehension had nothing to do with intelligence, but an ability to understand. If they could comprehend it, then they would comprehend it. If they could not, then they could not. It would be useless even if someone explained it to them till their jaws ached.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ability to understand obviously could not be regarded as impressive. At the very least, there was no way for him to compare with Xiao An. However, comprehension was also about luck. He had his own luck, which was this vast Moon Court lake. As the god of Moon Court lake, he could naturally comprehend the feeling of the ¡°boundless ocean¡± to a certain degree.

    And that was enough.

    Talent, resources, and comprehension were all present, establishing a foundation. However, the Arts of the Boundless Ocean had another issue. It was a rare cultivation method that focused on both qi and the body. If the body was not tempered, it would be very difficult to use Ocean Wielding or unleash the true power of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body had already been tempered to the realm of Daemon Generals, so this was obviously not something he had to worry about. He cycled through the Arts of the Boundless Ocean again and again as the spiritual qi in his sea of qi increased bit by bit until it was full.

    His sea of consciousness had also begun rippling indefinitely. After who knew how long, a rumble resonated through his head.

    Li Qingshan had finally reached the fifth layer of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, reaching mid Foundation Establishment. He opened his eyes and felt his soul sense become clearer and more sensitive, and the spiritual qi in his body had become more and more vast.

    ¡°It¡¯s time I went back and took a look.¡±

    Li Qingshan called Xiao An and used the Invisibility technique, returning to the Chain mountains silently.

    Large flakes of snow drifted down freely, coating the Chain mountains in a silver glow.

    Right in front of the Qing Xiao dwelling was another perilous mountain. A figure sat with her legs crossed on a protruding face of the mountain. Yu Zijian was covered in snow, but her eyes were as determined as always.

    The news that Zhou Tong had become a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace had spread through the academy. There were many disciples of the school of Daoism, but Zhou Tong only took her with him.

    However, she did not leave with Zhou Tong happily and immediately for the Sword Collection palace. Instead, she left the academy and arrived before the entrance of the Qing Xiao dwelling. She did not knock on the door either. She simply sat there, and before she knew it, five days had already passed.

    Countless rumors ran amok, but she was completely unconcerned.

    She wanted to wait, to wait for him to emerge, to wait for an answer!

    Fu Qingjin urged her to go to the Sword Collection palace as soon as possible; she turned him down. Hua Chenglu wanted to accompany her and wait here; she chased her away. Zhou Tong simply let her be, in absolutely no hurry at all.

    ¡°Zijian, what are you doing here?¡±

    The formation twisted, and the door to the dwelling opened loudly. Li Qingshan stepped out of the dwelling and asked in surprise. He knew the matter of Yu Zijian accompanying Zhou Tong to the Sword Collection palace had already been set in stone, and he had no intention of obstructing it either. This was her luck, or perhaps, fate.

    Seeing Li Qingshan, Yu Zijian¡¯s heart quivered, and she stood up slightly. With a flash of white light, the snow on her melted away, turning into curling wisps of white smoke. She cut right to the chase. ¡°May I ask if you¡¯re Niu Juxia or not?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh inside. Before he knew it, the klutzy, kind-hearted girl had also developed such a determined gaze, but his answer was extremely firm.

    In the current day and age, there was no longer a need for Niu Juxia to exist. He would be better off existing as a memory in her head!

    Yu Zijian smiled complacently. She smiled like a little fox that had managed to steal a chicken. It was slightly clear, yet also slightly relieved.

    It made Li Qingshan think about when he first met her several years ago. He frowned. Have I given myself away? My acting should have been flawless!

    When Yu Zijian lifted her right hand from behind her back, Li Qingshan immediately understood. The xiezhi¡¯s horn shone in her hand.

    ¡°You liar!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose, lowered his head, and smiled bitterly. The lie he had upheld for all these years had been seen through. It really was quite embarrassing.

    Yu Zijian¡¯s gaze trembled. She suddenly rushed up and gave Li Qingshan a hug. ¡°I¡¯m going to be leaving. No matter who you are, no matter what you¡¯ve done, I believe you¡¯re a good person!¡±

    Li Qingshan was touched. Her thoughts had ceased to be as simple as the past a long time ago. Through his identity of ¡°Niu Juxia¡±, she could deduce far, far too many things, but she did not mention it, nor did she ask about it.

    ¡°Go. Go do what you want to do and go be the person you want to be. Don¡¯t be afraid of pain and don¡¯t be afraid of sacrifice. As long as you make it high enough and far enough, there will be a day when we can meet again!¡±

    Li Qingshan patted her back before pushing her away gently.

    ¡°Yeah, definitely!¡±

    Yu Zijian backed away and glanced at Li Qingshan deeply again before turning around and taking off, vanishing into the snow.

    Li Qingshan felt slightly melancholic. He laughed at himself for that and turned around, returning to the dwelling. He rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°We have to prepare to set off too. I wonder whether Qiongzhi has succeeded with establishing a foundation.¡±

    ¡°Greetings, commander!¡±

    ¡°Commander, you¡¯ve returned.¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived in the office of the Hawkwolf Guard in Clear River city. All the Hawkwolf guards he came across along the way bowed towards him. Their gazes were rather surprised at first before becoming replaced by shock.

    Only after Li Qingshan had walked past did they discuss quietly, ¡°I haven¡¯t mistaken it, have I? That aura¡¯s¡­ mid Foundation Establishment!?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it can¡¯t be wrong. I think so too!¡±

    ¡°Just how long has it been since he established a foundation!?¡±

    ¡°Looks like commander is also the type to hide his talent!¡±

    If there were still people who were dissatisfied with his irresponsibility and tardiness, then this cultivation speed was enough for everyone to shut up before becoming completely convinced.

    What were ¡°cultivators¡±? The emphasis was placed on the word ¡°cultivation¡±. As long as they could advance at an ungodly rate, then nothing else mattered anymore.

    Li Qingshan arrived upstairs and saw Hua Chenglu standing beside the floor-to-ceiling windows in low spirits. He could not help himself as his eyes lit up. Hua Chenglu had truly inherited the fantastic bloodline of the Hua family. As she stood there, she looked quite like a saddened beauty. He approached her and smiled. ¡°Girl, what are you thinking about? Where¡¯s your elder brother?¡±

    ¡°Commander¡­ you¡¯ve already reached mid Foundation Establishment!¡± Hua Chengzan turned around and was also surprised.

    ¡°You sure have ended up pretty, girlie!¡±

    ¡°What girlie? And pretty, really?¡± Hua Chenglu curled her lip, objecting to how Li Qingshan described her. Li Qingshan might have been a Foundation Establishment cultivator already, but he did not behave arrogantly at all. She was happy to accept him as a good friend too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I come from the country. It¡¯s a pity I already have your elder sister Han. Otherwise, I¡¯d buy some betrothal gifts and go to the Hua family to ask for your hand in marriage.¡±

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Commander, you shouldn¡¯t talk nonsense. Did you know that elder sister Han has already reached Foundation Establishment?¡±

    ¡°What! Where is she right now?¡±

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy even though he had never worried for Han Qiongzhi¡¯s safety. Foundation Establishment was as the cultivation realm suggested. It was only building a foundation for future cultivation, so normally, it should not have been too dangerous, not to mention she had someone as powerful as Han Anguo watching over her. However, hearing her succeed still brought him relief. One less thing weighed on his mind now.

    ¡°She¡¯s still in the Ruyi commander. She¡¯s remaining there to serve as a white wolf under commander Gu. Her post is even higher than yours now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Li Qingshan nodded before suddenly turning around and leaving.

    ¡°Where are you going, commander?¡±

    ¡°To the Ruyi commandery, of course,¡± Li Qingshan said like it was common sense. In the past, she was in secluded cultivation, and he was unable to leave the Clear River prefecture. Now that nothing was stopping him, he obviously had to go and reunite with her.

    ¡°Hold on. Qingshan, you¡¯ve emerged! Sure enough, you¡¯ve made quite the progress yet again!¡±

    Hua Chengzan also sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s aura. He came out to take a look and could not help but experience a certain helplessness of, ¡°I¡¯ll just become depressed if I compare myself with you¡±. From the moment he had met Li Qingshan, he had never stopped advancing forward. If this continued, Golden Core would be nothing difficult at all for him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I just got lucky, that¡¯s all. I can see you¡¯re close too.¡±

    Hua Chengzan had always been a genius, and he had succeeded with Foundation Establishment a few years before Li Qingshan. In the past, he had been stuck as a Qi Practitioner for many years due to love, but it did give him an extremely firm foundation. He was close to breaking through soon too.

    ¡°Luck has never been a factor in cultivation. Though, you did miss another good show.¡±

    ¡°Really? Tell me about it.¡± Li Qingshan feigned interest.

    Hua Chengzan told him about everything that had happened in the Clear River prefecture during the time he spent in secluded cultivation one by one.

    ¡°I think it¡¯d be better to see fewer of these ¡®good shows¡¯. I didn¡¯t expect the moon demon to become so powerful already. If he goes crazy, there¡¯ll be quite the danger. I definitely won¡¯t be loitering around near Moon Court lake before I reach Golden Core. Alright, I¡¯m going to go. I¡¯ll have to trouble vice commander Hua to continue with your efforts.¡±

    Li Qingshan patted Hua Chengzan¡¯s shoulder and was about to leave.

    ¡°Wait, there¡¯s something else¡­¡±

    Before Hua Chengzan could finish, a cold bellow rang out from the window, ¡°To think such a timid and overcautious person would be worthy of becoming a Scarlet Hawk commander!¡±

    When Li Qingshan first heard the voice, he had yet to sense the existence of an aura, but as soon as he had heard a few words, a small, thin, and tremendous figure had already appeared before him.

    The small and thin was referring to his size. The tremendous was referring to his aura.

    ¡°Who are you? State your name!¡±

    Li Qingshan shouted out, but he recognised this person with a single glance. He was slightly surprised. Wen Zhengming of Pine Sough academy! He¡¯s come so quickly! Looks like he¡¯s in a hurry to avenge his disciple. I really can¡¯t leave even for a moment!

    However, Li Qingshan had already clashed with a Daemon Commander like Lolth and a Golden Core cultivator like Zhou Tong, so he was not exactly afraid of this Wen Zhengming right now. He thought to himself, It¡¯s not like I know this bastard. If I kill him, then I kill him. He should end up dropping some good loot.

    Wen Zhengming completely ignored Li Qingshan. Hua Chengzan shot a glance at Li Qingshan and bowed politely. ¡°I¡¯m Hua Chengzan. Greetings, senior. May I ask where the other three seniors are?¡±

    Li Qingshan bowed as well, but his heart lurched, Other three?! Seniors?!

    In other words, it was not one person making trouble for him this time, but four. Four Golden Core cultivators.

 Chapter 525 â€“ Seeing Qiongzhi Again

    ¡°They will be here when they arrive. Give me all the information on that wretched daemon.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but praise, How meticulous!

    Four Golden Core cultivators would be facing a single Daemon General. He was outnumbering the weaker opponent by four-to-one, yet he still wanted to closely study any information regarding the opponent. He showed no conceit or arrogance at all. An attitude like this in itself was already rather terrifying.

    It would be fine if he did nothing, but once he struck, it would be certain death.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Please come with me, senior!¡±

    Before Wen Zhengming left, he lectured Li Qingshan again, ¡°You must live up to the responsibilities of your position. Since you¡¯re a Scarlet Hawk commander, how can you only think for yourself and neglect the greater good of the world around you? You are to blame for daemons running amok!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The matters of the world will obviously have people of the world to handle them. Now that the war has finally come to a close after so much difficulty, the common people require peace and contentment to rebuild their homes. If it weren¡¯t for the sake of your disciple¡¯s revenge, why would you have lowered yourself to such a level in the first place, senior? I just wonder how many people by the shore of Moon Court lake will suffer once the battle begins.¡±

    ¡°You are not worth my attention, boy. As long as daemons remain, the world will struggle to find peace. How can you only focus on what goes on before you?¡± Wen Zhengming said furiously.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Well said, senior. It¡¯s just a pity that the lowly words of this junior carry little weight and my cultivation is low. Even if I go to Moon Court lake, I¡¯ll only be seeking my own doom. Since senior has such a thorough understanding of the greater good, please do go dragon slaying in Ink Sea. I¡¯m more than willing to follow along.¡±

    He was basically implying, You¡¯re just harassing the moon demon, a mere Daemon General, yet you still claim you¡¯re purging daemons for the greater good? If you really come across an opponent you can¡¯t defeat, won¡¯t you piss off like everyone else? If you¡¯re bold enough to risk your life with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, I¡¯m bold enough to accompany you!

    Though, once we get to a critical moment, I¡¯ll definitely have to call out, Sir dragon king, don¡¯t shoot! I¡¯m one of you!

    Wen Zhengming became even more furious. To think a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator was bold enough to speak to him like that! He held back his anger and snorted coldly, leaving in a huff.

    No matter how they attacked him, Li Qingshan only had a single response, which was to unleash the spirit turtle¡¯s special characteristic of patience and forbearance. With a ¡°Spirit Turtle Holes up in its Shell¡±, he would cope with anything they threw at him with the same response!

    With his current strength, dealing with a Golden Core cultivator was still rather difficult. Dealing with four basically guaranteed defeat. He would not even necessarily be able to escape even if he wanted to. A battle where defeat was certain was obviously pointless.

    Hua Chenglu whispered, ¡°Commander, you don¡¯t even know him? Senior Wen is one of the four grandmasters of confucianism in our Ruyi commandery.¡±

    The four grandmasters of confucianism!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The alias did ring a bell. ¡°May I ask who the four are?¡±

    Hua Chenglu explained it to him. As it turned out, Wen Zhengming was actually the weakest among the four grandmasters of confucianism. He was only an early Golden Core cultivator, while the other three were all at mid Golden Core.

    ¡°I never thought his highness the marquis would actually send the four of them together. It¡¯s certain death for the moon demon this time.¡±

    The Ruyi commandery was only a commandery, but the actual area it covered was even larger than all of China. They were truly worthy of the title of ¡°grandmaster¡±.

    Not necessarily, Li Qingshan thought. He said to Hua Chenglu, ¡°Alright, I understand. I¡¯ll be taking my leave first. If you plan on returning to the academy, I can accompany you.¡±

    ¡°Commander, this is something major to our Clear River prefecture, so how can you just leave?¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°I¡¯m a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator. What right do have I to become involved in something so big? The sky has to rain and brides have to get married. What am I supposed to do?¡±

    Hua Chenglu burst out laughing. ¡°What brides have to get married¡­ Oh right, commander, if you want to see elder sister Han, there is a way!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What way?¡±

    ¡°To think the Hawkwolf Guard has a place like this.¡± Li Qingshan stood in a room covered in inscriptions.

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°This is our secret reporting room. It¡¯s been specially established for contacting the White Wolf guards in the commandery city when we need to.¡±

    The various rooms in the Hawkwolf Guard served different purposes. During the hand-over last time, Li Qingshan had only gained a rough understanding of a few relatively important rooms. He had only glanced past the other places. He did not know about how Wang Pushi had once reported to Gu Yanying with Chu Danqing about the existence of ¡°Northmoon¡±.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Commander, have a good conversation with sister Han. I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± Hua Chenglu told Li Qingshan where to put in the spiritual stones before leaving.

    The inscriptions lit up, and the figure of an envoy in black appeared in the room. He said politely, ¡°Sir, what are your orders?¡±

    Li Qingshan took in a deep breath. He had actually become slightly nervous. ¡°Let me see Han Qiongzhi.¡±

    Before long, a figure appeared before Li Qingshan, but she was not Han Qiongzhi.

    Gu Yanying said leisurely, ¡°Little bro Qingshan, long time no see! How have you been?¡±

    ¡°Commander Gu!¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. This was the woman he had once fallen in love with at first sight. Even though she was only an illusion right now, she no longer seemed so unreachable. He replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯m still living in good health!¡±

    ¡°Probably neither of us thought there would be a day when we can meet with our current identities back then outside Qingyang city!¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed slightly. Originally, she found Li Qingshan slightly special at most, but never did she think he could grow to such a level and grow so quickly. Under his identity of a Daemon General, he had actually managed to clash with a Golden Core cultivator and force the Sword Collection palace into temporarily stopping their investigation of the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death.

    ¡°Yeah. I really didn¡¯t think of that.¡± Li Qingshan sighed too. ¡°Oh right, is Qiongzhi in the Ruyi commandery, commander Gu? Could you get her to see me?¡±

    ¡°Are you really that sick of talking with me?¡± Gu Yanying said with a faint smile.

    ¡°Hey, of course not. If commander Gu doesn¡¯t mind, I¡¯m more than willing to talk with you for three whole days and nights.¡±

    ¡°Great scholar Wen is with you, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°You best remind him that with regards to this rising star of the Daemon race, ¡®that one¡¯ in Ink Sea won¡¯t just sit on the sidelines and allow them to do whatever they want with him, such as executing him.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback before remembering, So I also have an organisation, and I¡¯m some rising star of the Daemon race too!

    Without a doubt, the one who had been the most dazzling in this game of chess was him. He had directly influenced the progress of the war, even clashing with Zhou Tong at the end. Although it never developed into a proper battle, it still brought everyone great shock.

    The chess piece that even left the chess player slightly surprised obviously attracted attention from everywhere.

    As a result, the Marquis of Ruyi unleashed the ¡°four grandmasters¡± right off the bat and scattered many backup plans across the board just to kill this genius of the daemons.

    However, as Gu Yanying had said, would the Dragon King of Ink Sea really allow them to do this?

    Li Qingshan suddenly came to a realisation. He no longer felt the situation was as bad anymore. He had never thought of this because he had fallen out with his superior, clashing who knew how many times in bed and out. He had never depended on Lolth assisting him.

    However, from a different perspective, what went on between him and Lolth was merely internal conflict. Once human cultivators attacked, she clearly understood the principle of being in the same boat. As it seemed, he should contact her again. At most, he would offer up his handsome body again.

    And that ¡°sir Golden Cicada¡± in the magma underground¡ªhe should have been a prominent figure among the Daemon race too.

    Once he got back, he had to properly investigate that fellow¡¯s identity and origins. In the world of cultivation, ¡°nameless masters¡± never existed. The stronger a figure was, the deeper their trace throughout history would be.

    As Li Qingshan pondered, Gu Yanying smiled and vanished. Before long, a familiar figure appeared before Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s voice trembled slightly. As she said that, her eyes became slightly teary.

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡± Li Qingshan took a step forward, wanting to pull her into his arms, but his hands passed through her figure and only then did he remember it was all an illusion. He smiled self-deprecatingly. His nose tingled slightly too.

    How long had it been? Four years? Five?

    Even to cultivators, this was not a short time. He had countless things he wanted to say, but he actually had no idea how to start right now. All he could do was stare at her silently.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Have you prepared the dowry?¡±

    ¡°Not even a cent!¡± Han Qiongzhi bit her lip. She wanted to cry, and she wanted to laugh right now. He still remembered their engagement.

    ¡°This is all the information on the moon demon. His body is tough, probably close to the level of Daemon Commanders already. Coupled with the support from the god seal, the quantity of his daemon qi and his recovery rate probably even exceeds that of Daemon Commanders.¡±

    ¡°And, he doesn¡¯t seem to possess two innate abilities like regular Daemon Generals. It¡¯s possible that he has more than four, or even five. In particular, the wings of wind on his back allow him to fly with unparalleled speed.

    Hua Chengzan retrieved all the information on the moon demon and also gave a rough explanation and analysis, outlining Li Qingshan¡¯s powers, strengths, and weaknesses.

    Wen Zhengming only nodded along, listening extremely carefully. Only when Hua Chengzan was done did he ask, ¡°What about his character?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve had a lot of contact with him. What is his character like? Is he prudent or conceited, crafty or courageous? As mentioned in the arts of war, attacking cities is inferior; attacking the heart is superior.¡±

    Not only did Wen Zhengming want to understand Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, but he also wanted to understand his character so that he could come up with some strategies that corresponded to his personality. He was as serious as when he studied. His grievances from his dead disciple failed to influence his judgement at all.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°That would be difficult to say. Sometimes, he does seem extremely conceited, but that is often when he has the strength to back it up. He¡¯s not exactly crafty, but he¡¯s not someone who would fall for tricks easily.¡±

    ¡°Then with his personality and strength in mind, what kind of strategy do you think will guarantee his death, commander Hua?¡±

    Wen Zhengming demonstrated only modesty. None of it was an act as he asked for guidance from Hua Chengzan who was only an early Foundation Establishment cultivator with great seriousness.

    ¡°With senior¡¯s learnedness and ability, this junior dares not demonstrate his incompetence.¡± Hua Chengzan took a step back and bowed.

    ¡°Even among any three people, I can learn something from at least one of them. I am but a bookworm. I am not skilled in the arts and stratagem of war. I¡¯ve heard how commander Hua is highly resourceful, so please do give me guidance.¡±

    Wen Zhengming brought his hands together and his huge sleeves fluttered in the air, performing a great, formal, confucian bow of seeking knowledge to Hua Chengzan. He was filled with sincerity.

    A Golden Core cultivator bowing to a Foundation Establishment cultivator was like a person walking along before suddenly bowing to an ant. If it were not the fact that he was a confucian, if it were not for the fact that reputation no longer meant anything to him, even a Golden Core cultivator with the best temperament in the world would not do something like that.

    ¡°You treat me with too much regard, senior!¡±

 Chapter 526 â€“ Ten Millennia is Too Shor

    Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi told each other everything they wanted to say and agreed on a time to meet again. Only then did Li Qingshan leave the room reluctantly. A smile remained on his face.

    At the same time, Wen Zhengming left the Hawkwolf Guard, taking off into the air.

    A cloud hovered in the sky above Clear River city. If someone were bored enough to stare at it for a long time, they would discover it was different from regular clouds. It did not drift with the wind.

    Wen Zhengming passed through the cloud. A huge Soaring Dragon ship was docked in the cloud.

    Shuffling about on the deck were all confucian disciples in the robes of scholars. Just the Foundation Establishment cultivators among them amounted to over a dozen, yet none of them engaged in any idle chit chat.

    All of their gazes were focused on the three men dressed as confucian scholars on the nose of the ship, standing in the wind. When they saw Wen Zhengming arrive, a talented scholar in white clothes called out loudly, ¡°Junior brother Wen, how was the investigation?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, senior brothers. I already have a plan in mind. This time, we can settle both the commandery governor¡¯s task and Shancheng¡¯s revenge.¡±

    ¡°Golden Cicada? I think I¡¯ve heard it somewhere. It sounds rather familiar.¡±

    Ru Xin fiddled with her hair and sank into her thoughts, but no matter how serious her expression was, she always seemed like she was joking around slightly.

    She currently stood before a medicine cabinet. The tall cabinet behind her and the drawers of various sizes were completely soaked in a heavy medicinal fragrance, forming a bitter and refreshing smell.

    As she thought, she controlled a medicinal pot, carefully brewing something. She would wave her hand from time to time and a drawer would open with a few medicinal items flying out.

    Li Qingshan stared at her dazed expression and also became slightly dazed.

    Ru Xin returned to her senses. As if she had just noticed Li Qingshan, she said, ¡°What brought you here?¡±

    Li Qingshan shot a vicious glance at her. ¡°I- Hurry up and think!¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, you¡¯re asking about a daemon, right?¡±

    ¡°Possibly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s roughly a yes then. I didn¡¯t think, I didn¡¯t think¡­¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and tell me!¡±

    Ru Xin laid out her hand and curled her finger. Only after offering up a sum of spiritual stones as the fee for the information did she smile. ¡°Have you heard about the Seventy-two Daemon Kings before?¡±

    At the same time, in the underground of endless darkness, eight eyes flickered with light, radiating with a heavy and dangerous aura.

    A black figure drew closer unscrupulously, even richer in colour than the darkness.

    ¡°Mo Yu, why have you come?¡± Lolth¡¯s voice rang out in the darkness.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need it!¡±

    Lolth was rather surprised. As the most trusted Daemon Commander under the Dragon King of Ink Sea, Mo Yu¡¯s relationship with the Dragon King of Ink Sea was like one of disciple and master, son and father. He was equivalent to the ¡°prince¡± of the daemons across the entire Green province. His cultivation had already reached the peak of Daemon Commander. Even facing three or five regular Golden Core cultivators alone was no issue for him.

    However, it was exactly because of his esteemed status and great strength that he barely showed himself to others anymore. Most of the time, he remained in Ink sea, cultivating arduously. He would never intervene unless it truly reached a point when it mattered. The Dragon King of Ink Sea was not lacking any subordinates either, so sending him over was rather strange.

    ¡°You have a daemon called Northmoon as a subordinate. He seems to be very impressive. Tell him to come see me.¡±

    ¡°Sir, are you the envoy of the dragon king?¡±

    Li Qingshan studied Mo Yu. His appearance was nothing unusual, just deathly pale. He was draped in pitch-black feathers, which seemed like the rich, dark, night, radiating with a heavy feeling of ill omen. The ominous feeling was so heavy that even the spirit turtle would respond, warning Li Qingshan to keep his distance.

    However, the powerful aura he gave off was enough for Li Qingshan to confirm he was a powerful support.

    ¡°You were the one who killed Dragonsnail,¡± Mo Yu said emotionlessly. He was clearly asking a question, but his voice was completely flat. He sounded like he was reading an obituary.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. He scanned past Mo Yu and glanced at Lolth in the cavern. That was a terrifying spider that could make a person jerk awake from a nightmare before frightening them to death again.

    ¡°How dare you break the rule that forbids daemons from killing one another.¡±

    ¡°He wanted to kill me. I can¡¯t just sit by and let him do so!¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the king¡¯s orders, I would kill you right now.¡± He spoke with the same flat, stiff tone as if he was stating a fact. He radiated with a great confidence of, ¡°If I want to kill you, then that¡¯s your fate.¡±

    Before an existence who stood at the peak of Daemon Commander, a Daemon General, even a rising star among the Daemon race who possessed great talent, was absolutely nothing.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to try it!¡± Li Qingshan laughed instead of losing his temper.

    ¡°You want me to try it.¡± Apart from the moment at the beginning when their eyes met, Mo Yu never looked at Li Qingshan again. Now, he turned around, and his dark, hollow eyes stared straight at Li Qingshan.

    In that moment, Li Qingshan could also sense the trembling aura of death, but it only left him even more unconvinced. He sneered.

    He could sense that for some reason, this powerful reinforcement from Ink Sea demonstrated great prejudice and hostility towards him. Even his sheet-white, emotionless face was unable to hide it.

    Li Qingshan met his eyes. ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You really are accustomed to talking wildly. Looks like you¡¯re very confident, and you don¡¯t need my assistance.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s assistance,¡± Li Qingshan said proudly. Since it was obvious Mo Yu did not take a liking to him, he would not warm up to him and try to please him either. He would not seek help from him.

    Mo Yu smiled. The corner of his lips curled up at first before stretching to a startling width. It was like an eerie smile painted on a mask. The ominous feeling grew heavier. He stared at Li Qingshan and spoke like he was making a declaration.

    ¡°You will die.¡±

    The black feathers suddenly expanded, and he vanished. Only a clump of darkness that twisted and collapsed like a dark hole sucked Mo Yu away, distorting, shrinking, and vanishing.

    Li Qingshan originally planned on relying on this relationship, but now all that was left was a bad taste in his mouth like he had just eaten a fly. He no longer considered forging an alliance with Lolth either, leaving immediately.

    He refused to believe that he, Li Qingshan, would not be able to survive without the Dragon King of Ink Sea! Having grown up in loneliness, he would never consider placing all his faith in any person.

    ¡°Do you know why Mo Yu is so hostile to you?¡± Lolth walked out of the cavern and turned back into human form. She smiled bewitchingly as she felt very delighted inside. She wore a poison suit, but it was clearly much coarser compared to the one she wore during her battle with Li Qingshan.

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously because of the wonderful words you put in for me.¡±

    ¡°No. Since you¡¯ve gained sir Golden Cicada¡¯s recognition, I can¡¯t be bothered dealing with you like that.¡± Lolth¡¯s hips swayed from side to side as she approached Li Qingshan, wrapping her arms around his neck.

    ¡°I think you just find it humiliating!¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist. Embracing such a delicate and seductive body should have been something that brought great comfort, but the parts of him that touched her immediately grew numb from the poison. The feeling began to spread.

    However, she clearly had not had enough time to further refine it, so the venom was not particularly potent.

    Lolth¡¯s expression stiffened. Li Qingshan had hit the spot. In order to deal with a Daemon General under her command, a Daemon Commander like her even had to work with someone else, and the tables were still turned against her in the end. To her, this was truly a deep disgrace.

    She touched Li Qingshan¡¯s face and said venomously, ¡°I will personally kill you. If Mo Yu becomes involved, then I won¡¯t even be able to get a hand in this before you disintegrate.¡±

    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± Li Qingshan was curious. He had never met Mo Yu before, so there should have been no grievances between them at all.

    ¡°Have you forgotten about what you said when you fought Fu Qingjin?¡±

    ¡°What I said?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He recalled everything that happened that day and suddenly came to an understanding. ¡°You mean Gu Yanying?¡±

    Lolth smiled again. ¡°Don¡¯t you know Mo Yu¡¯s identity? The Dragon King of Ink Sea spends most of his time in secluded cultivation. He¡¯s basically the dragon king¡¯s spokesperson, ruling over the daemons of the Green province in his place. If he says you¡¯ll die, you won¡¯t be able to live. If that¡¯s the case, you might as well die to my hands. I can even let you have some fun again.¡±

    ¡°Even with his cultivation and identity, he still plays these games of fighting over a woman¡¯s favour?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. It was no wonder Mo Yu said he was accustomed to talking wildly. His confession to Gu Yanying basically came off as wild words of lusting after a woman he was not worthy of in the eyes of others.

    He was not a romantic like Hua Chengzan, nor was he determined to obtain Gu Yanying. But at a time like this, it did rile up his fighting spirit. If I do end up winning over Gu Yanying some day, I¡¯d like to see just what kind of expression this arrogant Mo Yu will have.

    As it seemed, these games of fighting over a woman¡¯s favour had nothing to do with identity or strength. As a matter of fact, it did not even have anything to do with lust and feelings under certain circumstances. It was purely a masculine instinct.

    ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you really think you¡¯re worthy enough of contending for a woman¡¯s favour against him? He just casually ¡°took care¡± of you, and you couldn¡¯t even withstand it.¡± Seeing Li Qingshan in dire straits, Lolth felt great joy too.

    ¡°He¡¯s merely a slightly larger fly, that¡¯s all. I¡¯ll swat him to death sooner or later!¡± Li Qingshan broke away from Lolth and directly set off for the surface.

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll be swatted to death by the dragon king!¡±

    ¡°The dragon king? If I were fated to be as useless as him, I might as well die right now!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly looked back.

    Lolth was stunned. She was not loyal to the Dragon King of Ink Sea from the bottom of her heart, but she still felt respect towards this prominent figure of the Daemon race, the ruler of the daemons in the Green province.

    Perhaps some cultivators hated the Dragon King of Ink Sea to the very core, but probably never had anyone connected him to the word ¡°useless¡±. However, Li Qingshan showed absolutely no intention to scorn or insult him from his expression. Instead, he was extremely serious, or even somewhat solemn.

    He was speaking from the bottom of his heart!

    The Great Xia empire had been established several millennia ago and that was also when the Dragon King of Ink Sea became the ruling Daemon King of a region. Coupled with the process of regular daemons cultivating to Daemon King, his age probably approached ten millennia already.

    Yet, the time the black ox had given Li Qingshan was just ten millennia!

    As Golden Cicada had said, the nine provinces were like a well. There was an infinitely vast world up above and even further up was beyond the Nine Heavens.

    If he spent ten millennia only to become a Daemon King, it would mean he completely failed. He would not have even completed half the journey. He would have let down all the trust brother ox had placed in him. He would only be a useless piece of trash. Even if he died, there would be no regret.

    Ten millennia is too short. All I can do is seize every moment!

 Chapter 527 â€“ Just Let Them Be

    Heavy snow drifted across Moon Court lake.

    ¡°Moon demon, are you bold enough to face me in battle?¡±

    A tremendous voice descended from above, rolling like thunder as it kicked up great waves.

    Wen Zhengming¡¯s long robes ruffled in the wind and snow. It was very difficult to believe that a voice like that could come from such a skinny and small chest unless one witnessed it in person.

    He scanned the surface of the lake attentively and thought through his plan again. He would be responsible for issuing a challenge at the beginning and drawing the moon demon out of the lake before showing weakness and retreating in defeat, fleeing for his life through the air. In the end, his three senior brothers would join the battle, and the four of them would work together and cast the Sword Formation of the Four Seasons. The moon demon would then be done for, with only death as his escape.

    The plan did not sound particularly complicated. It was just provoking and agitating the enemy, misleading the enemy with a false impression of weakness, faking a hurried retreat, before unleashing an encirclement of ambushes. They were all common strategies the school of the Military used.

    However, plans were not necessarily better the more complicated they were. The more complicated a plan was, the more that could go wrong. The crux of the issue was still about who used it and what kind of opponent they were using it against.

    The various matters of the past indicated the moon demon would always strike back viciously against challenges. He should have been the same this time. Once he began fighting, he would be stepping into a trap!

    But a while later, heavy snow continued to drift across the lake, yet Northmoon was nowhere to be seen.

    Wen Zhengming came up with an idea and arrived outside the central island. The island was shrouded in heavy mist that was as thick as milk. It was impossible to make out the island.

    Don¡¯t tell me he just happens to not be in Moon Court lake? These night roamers are all his subordinates. If I attack there, I¡¯ll definitely be able to force him out.

    Wen Zhengming pressed his hand against the hilt of his sword and became slightly more cautious. He passed through the thick mist slowly, but he did not sense any attacks, nor did he run into any obstructing formations. He made it onto the island as easy as that.

    The scenery there was the same as before. The buildings rising and falling constantly, but there was not a single shadow to be seen, nor was there any aura. The entire place had been evacuated already.

    ¡°Junior brother Wen, what is this all about?¡±

    Wen Zhengming said, ¡°Looks like the moon demon is no longer here, and he¡¯s evacuated all the otherfolk.¡±

    ¡°No, he definitely won¡¯t just abandon his position as a water god. The Water God Seal cannot leave the region of water for too long. He¡¯s definitely still in Moon Court lake. He probably caught wind of us, which was why he hid beforehand. We can¡¯t be careless. It¡¯s very likely for Ink Sea to send other wretched daemons to support him.¡±

    ¡°The plan is already useless. All we can do is take on a little more risk and search for him in the water!¡±

    ¡°If the four of us work together, what danger will there be unless the Dragon King of Ink Sea personally intervenes?¡± the talented scholar in white said proudly, ¡°As long as he doesn¡¯t flee the moment he sees us, we have a seventy percent chance at killing him on the spot.¡±

    A mere obstruction of water posed no obstacle to the four of them at all. They were about to dive into Moon Court lake and carry out their search.

    ¡°Hold on, someone is spying on us!¡±

    The scholar in white¡¯s expression changed. He had the highest cultivation, vaguely serving as the leader of the four.

    The other three sensed it too. Wen Zhengming said, ¡°It must be Northmoon, that wretched daemon. Can we locate him?¡±

    The scholar in white closed his eyes before shaking his head gently a while later. He sensed that the entire shoreline was spying on them. They were unable to accurately determine the moon demon¡¯s location.

    All of this was clearly reflected in the Watermirror disc.

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed and the Watermirror disc placed over his knees. He currently resided deep underground, within a twisted river that branched from the main flow.

    The place was extremely well-hidden, but to Golden Core cultivators, they could still find him with their senses of auras even if he were hidden beneath the earth.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s body did not give off even the slightest aura. He had merged with the flowing water.

    He seemed to have become a spirit turtle, diving to the depths of the seas. No one could find him and all the disputes of the world had nothing to do with him. He only waited for the passage of time, for the seas to be replaced with land.

    Li Qingshan had practised the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression for many years now, but this was the first time he had behaved in accordance with the spirit turtle¡¯s nature. He came to a slight comprehension.

    The strongest aspect of the spirit turtle was not for battles against others, but pursuing good fortune and avoiding calamities.

    Originally, he had been troubled over failing to come up with a way to deal with the combined attack of the four grandmasters, but now, he suddenly discovered that by taking a step back, the world was his. No matter how powerful the four grandmasters were, it would be useless if they could not find him. At the end of the day, they were the ones wasting time, not him.

    Realising that, his aura became more and more obscure, basically ungraspable.

    Even if someone with a higher cultivation stood right before him, they would struggle to sense his existence once they closed their eyes. Even if they used their soul sense, it would only glide past him and overlook him.

    As a result, their first search was destined to end in failure.

    Around dusk, they met up on the island again. Their complexions were rather ugly.

    Moon Court lake was already so vast and the moon demon had dug out countless rivers and branches, with most of them leading to the complicated underground. Yet, they were unable to sense even a hint of daemon qi, so they were afraid to let any affluent slip by.

    Even after spending an entire day, the four of them had yet to search through all the water. With such a wide region, finding the moon demon was as difficult as finding a needle in the ocean.

    Moon Court lake was obviously not as large as the ocean, but the issue was the moon demon would not stay put like a needle either. He would not wait for them to come find him. Clearly, as long as they approached where he was hiding, he would immediately change his position.

    As a result, even if they went over the place like a fine-toothed comb, it would all be useless.

    And, in the water, their soul senses were already suppressed. If they ventured underground, they would have to deal with the influence of the underground magnetic field too, shrinking their searching range to something extremely small.

    ¡°If this continues, we¡¯ll probably never find where the moon demon is.¡±

    ¡°The wretched daemon truly is despicable!¡±

    Wen Zhengming¡¯s face was completely sunken. Originally, he had come with complete confidence to purge daemons and avenge his disciple, but he actually ended up with nothing.

    After that, the tip of the scholar in white¡¯s ears twitched. He heard the unnatural flow of water near the shore in the south-western direction. He rushed over in a flash while the other three followed closely behind.

    The surface of the lake for that region had suddenly become as flat as a mirror. A series of words appeared.

    ¡°You four big dumbos, you want to harass the weak and the outnumbered. If you have the balls, come at me one at a time. Watch as your grandfather Northmoon, skins you alive!¡±

    Wen Zhengming conveyed secretly, ¡°Senior brother, can you use this as a lead to find the moon demon?¡±

    The scholar in white shook his head. Having become a water god, the moon demon had virtually merged with Moon Court lake. He could control the water here like it was his limb. With the statement alone, it was far too difficult to find where he was.

    He came up with an idea. ¡°Alright. Moon demon, I¡¯ll come alone then. Let¡¯s see what you can do to me! Junior brothers, please leave for now. I¡¯ll try the moon demon alone!¡±

    Wen Zhengming and the other two exchanged glances. If it were their senior brother, then preventing the moon demon from escaping for a moment or two was nothing difficult at all. By then, they could rush back and provide assistance. That way, they would still be able to kill the moon demon.

    The scholar in white dove into the water again. An arrow floated before him to indicate the direction. He beamed with joy inside. The moon demon was conceited and battle-hungry. Sure enough, he was unable to help himself, wanting to clash with them. This was his greatest weakness.

    He followed the arrow and arrived before a cavern. Another line of words appeared.

    ¡°Are you really alone?¡±

    The scholar in white said proudly, ¡°Of course. Just me alone is enough to kill you.¡±

    The words dispersed with a ripple, turning into three words, ¡°This way please.¡±

    Under the guidance of the water arrow, the scholar in white constantly ventured deeper underground. As he advanced through the twisting and turning underground river, he was amazed by the complexity of the underground geography. If the moon demon had not revealed an opening himself, finding him truly would be difficult.

    After travelling for a while, he suddenly sensed that something was amiss. He recalled the path he had already travelled.

    Aren¡¯t I going in circles?

    At this moment, another line of words appeared in the water, ¡°Are you certain you¡¯re alone?¡±

    The scholar in white gritted his teeth. ¡°Feel free to check for yourself. What, are you afraid?¡±

    ¡°Then come!¡±

    The scholar in white continued on his way until he approached the end of an underground river. An extremely spacious cavern appeared before him.

    He contacted his three junior brothers, telling them to prepare themselves as he called out loudly, ¡°Moon demon, I¡¯m here!¡±

    As he said that, he barged into the cavern. He blanked out. There was absolutely no one there, only a huge word that stretched several meters across, ¡°Idiot!¡±

    The scholar in white had basically spent two hours only to receive a single-word evaluation like that. No matter how shrewd he was, no matter cultured he was, he still found it rather unbearable. With a palm strike, he shattered the word ¡°idiot¡±.

    ¡°Cowardly daemon!¡±

    The water flowed rapidly and turned into another three words.

    ¡°Hahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan had not placed all of his focus onto Moon Court lake. Instead, he split some of his focus to spy on the four grandmasters, or use his clone to toy around with them.

    His original body had already returned to the Chain mountains by now, contemplating how to merge with the power in the phoenix feather.

    As the four grandmasters whittled away their time and found absolutely nothing, he was seizing every moment to cultivate in an attempt to become stronger.

    He had drained the spiritual qi of the water regions with the Water God Seal recently, so now was perfect for giving them time to recover.

    Li Qingshan had already grown accustomed to the ox demon¡¯s resolve and the tiger demon¡¯s endless fighting. Retreating to avoid conflict and hiding away had originally been actions he would take when he had no other choice, but only now did he discover the spirit turtle¡¯s approach; as it turned out, it had quite the wisdom behind it.

    Strong like the wind? Just let them be. I will be like the mountain they blow on. Insolent like the moon? Just let them be. I will be like the river they shine on.

    TL: This is a poem that comes from the novel Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre by Louis Cha. It is the mantra of the Jiuyang Zhenjing, the martial arts manual that the main character, Zhang Wuji, practises. The raws actually do not include the entire mantra, so I¡¯ve adjusted the poem slightly so it conveys the correct meaning. I personally think this is a fantastic translation of the entire poem, which is also what I¡¯ve worked off of:

    https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/%E2%80%9D%E4%BB%96%E5%BC%BA%E7%94%B1%E4%BB%96%E5%BC%BA-%E6%B8%85%E9%A3%8E%E6%8B%82%E5%B1%B1%E5%B2%97%E3%80%82%E4%BB%96%E6%A8%AA%E4%BB%BB%E4%BB%96%E6%A8%AA-%E6%98%8E%E6%9C%88%E7%85%A7%E5%A4%A7%E6%B1%9F%E2%80%9C%E8%BF%99%E6%A0%B7%E7%BF%BB%E8%AF%91%E5%AF%B9%E5%90%97%EF%BC%9F.3725415/#post-19010673

    You can read more about the novel and the martial arts manual here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heaven_Sword_and_Dragon_Saber

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiuyang_Zhenjing

    Over the next few days, the four grandmasters used various different methods in an attempt to find Li Qingshan, but it all ended in failure. They even tried using the weakest out of the four, Wen Zhengming, as bait to lure Li Qingshan into fighting.

    Li Qingshan obviously ignored them. He placed all of his attention on the phoenix feather.

    Three days later, the four grandmasters retreated. Even Wen Zhengming who was eager for revenge did not remain behind.

    Golden Core cultivators had lengthy lifespans, but they could not be wasted away like this.

 Chapter 528 â€“ I Found I

    Before the four grandmasters had left, they destroyed all the structures on the Moon Court dwelling. They said it was to prevent the moon demon from leaving behind any foundations, but they could not help but treat it as venting.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up. Their behaviour meant they had completely lost their patience.

    This only proved the four grandmaster¡¯s so-called assault of certain death and the so-called ¡°You will die¡± said by Mo Yu was a joke.

    Buildings could be rebuilt if they were destroyed. That was nothing.

    The four grandmasters returned to the Soaring Dragon ship. Suddenly, they looked back and saw a line of colossal words floating on the surface of the lake, ¡°If you think you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you level Moon Court lake too?¡±

    Anger surged in the scholar in white¡¯s heart. His face reddened. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Moon demon, we won¡¯t just let this end like this!¡±

    Though, it would be rude to not reciprocate! You¡¯ve made a mess out of my home today, wanting to kill me. If the opportunity ever presents itself in the future, I¡¯ll definitely pay a visit to your places too. I¡¯ll visit places like Pine Sough academy. By then, don¡¯t blame me if I kill anyone I see.

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses. His gaze landed on the phoenix feather before him again.

    The phoenix feather hovered in the air, sometimes drifting up and sometimes drooping down, leaving behind a trajectory of scarlet fire.

    After spending several days, he could already control the phoenix feather freely, but he was rather stumped about what to do next. Was he supposed to stick the feather in himself and he would be a phoenix? Surely not!

    Xiao An stood up gracefully and her seaweed-like hair draped down.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan had arrived at an impasse, she suddenly walked over, grabbing one of Li Qingshan¡¯s fingers with her small hand and holding the phoenix feather gently between two fingers. She stabbed down, right into the tip of Li Qingshan¡¯s finger. Blood oozed out before the phoenix feather immediately absorbed it, like a quill absorbing ink. Blood filled up the hollow shaft of the phoenix feather, spreading to every single barb and making them even brighter in colour.

    But at the same time, a power poured into the wound, and the injury recovered immediately. The feather automatically activated its healing properties.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Li Qingshan suddenly felt his IQ was rather insufficient.

    Xiao An grinned before returning to one side. It obviously had not been a wild guess. When Li Qingshan studied the phoenix feather, she read through large quantities of relevant material.

    Li Qingshan scooped up Xiao An and kissed her forehead heavily. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do without you!¡±

    As they waited in the guest room, they looked at one another and all felt rather dishevelled.

    Before long, the Marquis of Ruyi strode over to receive them. He bowed first. ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait. So how were the results of the battle?¡±

    A hint of awkwardness and shame appeared on their faces as they felt even more furious inside.

    Their visit to the Clear River prefecture this time was like clenching their fists firmly only to punch thin air. Despite all of their abilities, there had been no opportunity for them to use it, being mocked by that wretched daemon instead.

    However, they obviously could not mention that. The scholar in white clasped his hands. ¡°Sir, the wretched daemon is far too crafty. He hid himself and concealed all of his aura. We were unable to find him.¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi blamed himself. ¡°It¡¯s because of my insufficient preparations that you¡¯ve gone to such tremendous efforts. You are hardly to blame. I will send people for fellow Feng right now.¡±

    The scholar in white eased up and smiled. ¡°As long as fellow Feng divines for us, there¡¯ll be nowhere for the wretched daemon to escape to or hide.¡±

    This so-called ¡°fellow Feng¡± was called Feng Buquan. He was Ma Buyi¡¯s master and the most prominent figure of the school of Yin-yang throughout the entire commandery. Anything he said would always come true, and his word was basically prophetic. He was rather renowned throughout the entire Green province for his divination.

    With the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s great power and influence, a streak of light flew over from the horizon before long, landing in the courtyard outside the guest room.

    His eyes drooped and his mouth was slanted, hunch-backed and extremely disfigured. One of his eyes was even a muddy grey as if it was blind. He stood there in a twisted posture, eyeing everyone with his single eye. He said in a hoarse, unpleasant voice, ¡°Marquis, why have you summoned me?¡±

    He seemed extremely rude, even if he had no intentions to be rude.

    The scholar in white frowned slightly and felt slightly uncomfortable. If it were not for the aura he radiated with, no one would have connected him to a Golden Core cultivator.

    The scholar in white lamented slightly inside, This fellow Feng had been such a handsome figure in the past. Just because one of his divinations failed and he suffered a backlash from the heavenly secrets, he ended up like this. The arts of divination are truly far too dangerous.

    The Marquis of Ruyi only showed more respect. He explained everything to Feng Buquan.

    Cultivators skilled in divination had always been extremely rare, and those who could reach Golden Core were basically mythological existences. In the past, Feng Buquan had been a figure who could enter and leave the provincial lord¡¯s estate as he pleased. Although he had fallen in status now, he was still not someone the Marquis of Ruyi dared to neglect.

    Feng Buquan said, ¡°Now that¡¯s easy. I¡¯m willing to venture to the Clear River prefecture with the grandmasters!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi smiled. ¡°That would be for the best. Once you kill this wretched daemon, you¡¯ll have many thanks from me.¡±

    When Feng Buquan heard ¡°many thanks¡±, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he smiled stiffly.

    The four Golden Core cultivators immediately became five.

    As the marquis of the region, his family had governed the Ruyi commandery for several millennia. The ties and connections he had reached every corner of the commandery.

    He could basically mobilise all the cultivators of the Academy of the Hundred Schools. He only sent Wen Zhengming and his three senior brothers because of the blood feud between the moon demon and Pine Sough academy. Sending four Golden Core cultivators to kill a single Daemon General could already be regarded as overkill.

    If he wanted people, he could find ten Golden Core cultivators if he wanted to. As long as he spoke, even sect masters and elders of those independent sects would have to show some respect to him.

    He had never considered personally taking part, nor did he ever doubt a Daemon General would have to die if he wanted him to die.

    Wen Zhengming¡¯s group arrived above Moon Court lake again. Feng Buquan pulled out a glistening compass from a shabby bag on his waist. The compass was divided into several rings, all engraved with strange glyphs. It began to spin wildly.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, the phoenix feather left behind wound after wound on his body. The wounds seemed to possess two invisible sips, being ripped open on one side yet closing up on the other, without leaving behind a single trace.

    The phoenix feather turned into a scarlet streak of light and danced wildly around Li Qingshan, like it was executing him by slow slicing.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brighter and brighter as if he could not feel any pain at all. The phoenix feather shone brighter and brighter too. As it filled up with blood, the power it contained merged with Li Qingshan¡¯s body sliver by sliver.

    When it used up its final sliver of power, the phoenix feather had become blood-red too.

    Xiao An reminded him. ¡°The heart!¡±

    ¡°The Phoenix Undergoes Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, with an Undying Heart!¡±

    With a swish, the phoenix feather plunged into Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, piercing his skin, flesh, and blood and into his heart.

    In that moment, his heart stopped beating and fell silent.

    Li Qingshan pushed the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to the limit. In his sea of consciousness, the phoenix raised its head and let out a long cry.

    The phoenix feather suddenly began to burn, turning into a ball of fire. The blood-like red was filled with powerful life force.

    Burning out, transforming, reborning!

    Just like a miniature cycle of nirv¨¡?a.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart also lit up with red light, shining brighter and brighter, right through his skin until a ball of fiery red was visible. A dancing phoenix could vaguely be made out.

    Bang!

    Just like the first clap of thunder in early spring, the rivers of ice shattered, and the world awakened again.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart thumped vigorously, transporting the mysterious power in the phoenix feather to every inch of his body through his blood vessels. It scorched like fire.

    Li Qingshan could not help but stand up. As the power danced wildly, he raised his head and legs unconsciously, filled with a wondrous sense of beauty. He moved his arms like a phoenix flapping its wings.

    His surroundings became filled with dazzling red light, illuminating the entire dwelling.

    Only quite a while later did the red light gradually subside. Li Qingshan landed on the ground and clutched his thumping heart as he felt extremely happy.

    A powerful life force filled his body. He was now confident that if he fought with Lolth again, he would definitely be able to maintain the upper hand.

    With the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, he had finally refined the phoenix feather, now possessing a shred of the phoenix¡¯s bloodline. Although he had yet to truly reach the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation, he believed as long as he returned underground and condensed the phoenix¡¯s embryo again in the endless sea of fire, he would definitely succeed!

    Right when Li Qingshan was about to set off, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core suddenly responded violently. He immediately understood what was going on. Someone is using divination to calculate my position. Those old coots really aren¡¯t going to let me go this easily!

    Li Qingshan snorted coldly. He settled his mind and shut his eyes.

    Under the eager gaze from four pairs of eyes, the compass spun rapidly.

    Feng Buquan¡¯s forehead became covered in sweat, but he was unable to find the moon demon¡¯s location at all, The target should be in possession of a method to conceal the heavenly secrets!

    As the spirit turtle dove into the abyss, no one knew where it was.

    However, Feng Buquan refused to give up so easily, as he could sense the sliver of an opening in the target¡¯s power, like a ray of light in the darkness.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He had suppressed the spirit turtle¡¯s power, which allowed him to refine the phoenix feather. As his comprehension of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression deepened, he had basically limited the spirit turtle¡¯s repulsion as much as he could.

    Normally, nothing about it felt wrong, but in an intense clash of heavenly secrets, it would show itself. His bloodline raged, and his daemon qi surged.

    It was like a pebble in a shoe. It was not fatal, but it did feel horrible.

    Xiao An held the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase and touched Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead gently with it, practising the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots and immediately patching up the opening.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. He smiled.

    The compass stopped spinning. Feng Buquan¡¯s expression stiffened and his mouth hung agape, completely unaware of the dribbling drool.

    The scholar in white asked in a hurry, ¡°Fellow Feng, how¡¯s it?¡±

    As if he had been electrocuted, yet also like he had just woken up from a nightmare, Feng Buquan lurched up. He bounded around like a large, strange monkey as he called out madly.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found it! I¡¯ve found it!¡±

    Wen Zhengming asked, ¡°Fellow Feng, you¡¯ve found where the wretched daemon is hiding?¡±

    Feng Buquan suddenly grabbed Wen Zhengming by the shoulders. He gripped him so firmly that even Wen Zhengming experienced an ache of pain. He stared at Feng Buquan in shock, only to see a muddy tear roll out of his blind eye, while his good eye was filled with wild joy.

 Chapter 529 â€“ Emerging From the Cocoon as a Phoenix One

    Many years ago, he had also been searching for a person and there had also been many thanks.

    The clash of heavenly secrets, the entanglement of ties of gratitude and grievances, was like yesterday, still vivid before his eyes.

    The person he was searching for was like a kite hidden within a sea of clouds, with all of their heavenly secrets concealed.

    He had managed to grasp a trace after so much difficulty, only for a fierce gust of wind to bombard him.

    The string of the kite snapped, hurling into the sky and vanishing for good. Originally, he thought it had already fallen to the ground somewhere, becoming a regret he was unable to forget or correct.

    Never did he think that the obscure string would appear before him once again today.

    If it were not for these deep ties of fortune, he almost would have forgotten it. It was exactly because of such deep ties that he vehemently believed he had not mistaken it.

    This was the will of the heavens!

    ¡°Fellow Feng, fellow Feng!¡±

    The scholar in white called out his name several times, and Feng Buquan returned to his senses. He wiped away the tear on his face. Under the amazed gazes of the four grandmasters, he discovered that his twisted spine had straightened out before he knew it.

    ¡°With how overjoyed you were, have you discovered the location of the wretched daemon, fellow Feng?¡± Wen Zhengming asked in confusion. Surely he did not have to cry with joy over something like that.

    ¡°The wretched daemon? Oh right, I didn¡¯t. All heavenly secrets that point to him have been shrouded. I can¡¯t predict his location.¡±

    Feng Buquan secretly felt some regret. He should not have lost his composure like that earlier, even calling out ¡°her highness the Dark Queen¡±. If an observant person heard that, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    ¡°I¡¯ve let down the marquis and the heavy responsibility he¡¯s placed on me. I am ashamed to return, so please apologise for me, grandmasters!¡± He clasped his hands. Although he was as disfigured as before, his straight posture vaguely possessed some of his past gracefulness again.

    Feng Buquan drifted away. The four grandmasters looked at one another as they were unsure what had happened with Feng Buquan.

    However, they could not return like this and seek help from the Marquis of Ruyi again. They would come off as far too useless. As a result, they began to discuss among themselves.

    ¡°The night roamers must have fled underground. Why don¡¯t we go underground and hunt them down so that we force the wretched daemon to show himself?¡±

    ¡°Demons are all heartless. Why would he risk his life for a few night roamers? It probably won¡¯t be that simple.¡±

    Under Xiao An¡¯s company, Li Qingshan returned to the lake of magma again. The fire spiritual energy was most intense there, which had a very powerful suppressing effect on the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core. It was most suitable for a breakthrough of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a.

    The heavy smell of sulfur and the surging, golden-yellow magma formed a never-changing landscape, and the violent fluctuations in the magnetic field were alarming.

    If it were not for their past contact, Li Qingshan basically would have never believed that Golden Cicada could remain in a place like this.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King truly lived up to his name!

    Li Qingshan waited for a while. No voice rang out in his sea of consciousness, so he nodded at Xiao An and leapt into the magma. He did not use his daemon qi to protect his body. In a place like this, even mobilising his daemon qi had become difficult.

    The scorching sensation of the magma against his skin ached slightly, but it was extremely satisfying too.

    It made him think of the sensation of a hot shower. At the same time, a power resonated with his bloodline. This was something he had not felt the last time he came here.

    Li Qingshan simply spread out his arms and laid on the surface of the lake. His scarlet hair dispersed as the flames swept over like snakes, licking his body.

    It swallowed and enveloped his body very soon.

    It formed a fire-red cocoon of flames.

    The day when he emerged from the cocoon would be the moment when he spread his wings.

    Two stone lions crouched before one another. The door was wide open as a few chilly gales whistled by.

    A person arrived before the steps and picked up the board by his feet. He rubbed it gently and filled the air with dust, revealing the three words ¡°Proud Sword Manor¡±.

    Yu Shukuang glanced inside. After a moment of hesitation, he did not end up entering.

    Because there were many caves that led underground around Salt Mountain city, daemons ran amok and heavily destroyed the place.

    The prosperous Proud Sword manor of the past had already been reduced to ruins, and the entire Salt Mountain city had been reduced to a ghost city. No one lived here anymore.

    Yu Shukuang had come back to visit a grave. He wanted to tell his wife that Zijian had already found a new home. She had gone to the Sword Collection palace to cultivate.

    However, when he arrived outside the city, he was shocked. He rushed over to the grave.

    The gravestone still stood firmly, but there was a great pit behind the gravestone. The coffin inside had vanished too.

    The coffin had already been buried for over a decade. It no longer gave off any smells that could attract the attention of wild beasts or daemons. And, from the traces of digging, it was clearly the handiwork of a human.

    Even if it were graverobbers, they would not take the coffin with them. Who would spend so much effort to unearth a person¡¯s remains?

    Yu Shukuang¡¯s face sank heavily. He suddenly remembered someone. Ma Chaoqun!

    In a cave, a Daemon General shaped like a lynx pounced forward. With a gust of foul air, it moved with startling speed.

    There was a white flash, and the Daemon General had been beheaded. Wen Zhengming grabbed the daemon core casually and stowed it into his hundred treasures pouch.

    The four grandmasters could not find Li Qingshan, but finding other daemons was far too easy.

    Under the detection of their soul sense, even night roamers who were skilled at concealing their auras and carrying out assassinations were as prominent as fireflies in the darkness.

    They immediately kicked up a bloody storm underground. Wherever they passed by, whether it was night roamer or daemon, only the fate of death awaited them. They could not even block a single attack.

    After all, Daemon Generals who could challenge those at higher cultivation levels like Li Qingshan were far too rare.

    ¡°Sister, our scout has been killed!¡±

    Ye Liubo reported to Ye Liusu in a hurry. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s orders, all of the night roamers had retreated underground. They did not know who the four grandmasters were, but they did know the four grandmasters were not people they could stop.

    ¡°Continue moving underground!¡± Ye Liusu ordered resolutely. She took the lead and continued migrating with the night roamers.

    The scholar in white suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.

    Wen Zhengming asked, ¡°Senior brother Tang, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The scholar in white opened his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a great group of night roamers below us, around ten kilometers away. None of them have undergone the second heavenly tribulation. They¡¯ve currently travelling downwards. There¡¯s also tremendous daemon qi twenty-five kilometers away on the same level as us. It should belong to that spider daemon.¡±

    ¡°Which one do we go for?¡±

    The scholar in white said, ¡°Dealing with the leader first ensures a quick victory. Let¡¯s kill the wretched daemon first and then crush the group of night roamers.¡±

    Ye Liubo said, ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be chasing after us!¡±

    Several tens of thousand night roamers travelled in a hurry through the caves. The winding group meandered like a snake, but they did not produce any noise at all.

    ¡°We can¡¯t be careless. Continue downwards. With the interference from the underground magnetic field, finding us won¡¯t be easy anymore. Afterwards, we¡¯ll split up.¡±

    ¡°Split up? Won¡¯t we just be taken out one by one?¡±

    ¡°The enemy this time cannot be triumphed over through numbers alone. Otherwise, master would have never gotten us to retreat beforehand.¡±

    Ye Liubo said with worry, ¡°I wonder how master is doing.¡±

    ¡°With what master is capable of, protecting himself won¡¯t be an issue. Let¡¯s move quickly!¡±

    Whenever they came across a branch in the road, they would split up. The group scattered very quickly until only Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo remained together in the end. The surrounding temperature had already become scorching while the rocks began to glow red.

    A droplet of sweat fell to the ground, immediately hissing into a cloud of white mist. Ye Liubo was rather irritated as she cut down the stalagmite in front of her with a swing.

    ¡°Damn it! Only if I were a little stronger!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more.¡±

    Ye Liusu was in a similarly bad mood, but due to her level-headed nature, she did not show it. She had just established a territory on the surface, only to be forced underground again and even deeper underground than before. She had only just united the night roamers under one banner, yet she was forced to personally dismantle them again.

    ¡°But master will definitely deal with them!¡± Ye Liubo said with full confidence.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Ye Liusu was not particularly optimistic about this. The surface of the Green province belonged to humans. Even Daemon Commanders could not move about freely on the surface. However, since she had chosen to depend on him, all she could do was believe in him.

    There was a great rumble from above. The cave shook violently as soil rained down.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ve probably run into the Spider Queen. Let¡¯s continue on our way!¡±

    Li Qingshan curled up like an infant and lay in the huge cocoon of flames, awaiting his birth.

    The surging fire spiritual energy condensed into a scarlet-red phoenix¡¯s embryo in his body. It was covered in delicate, golden inscriptions, pulsing with light like it was a living creature breathing.

    The rhythm of Li Qingshan¡¯s heartbeat and breathing gradually synced with it, becoming closely related.

    A thought suddenly crossed his head, Why does this feel like being pregnant?

    But Li Qingshan soon discovered hatching this embryo was anything but easy. Probably even ten months of pregnancy would be nowhere near enough. It made him frown slightly. It was only the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, yet the difficulty had completely surpassed what he originally imagined.

    The phoenix¡¯s embryo constantly absorbed the fire spiritual energy like it was insatiable. According to the current rate of progress, even spending a year would be regarded as short.

    This was not too long to a daemon, but the exact thing he happened to lack the most right now was time.

    Suddenly, an extremely familiar voice rang out in his head. ¡°I¡¯ll lend you a hand. Get ready!¡±

    In the depths of the magma, Golden Cicada watched this as he gently waved his tiny, tender hand. Great waves were immediately stirred up in the lake of fire as flames that were several meters tall flew towards Li Qingshan as fire snakes.

    ¡°Alright, much thanks!¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. As soon as he said those three words, he could no longer spare the effort to talk anymore. He pushed the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a desperately, absorbing, converting, and leading the fire snakes into the phoenix¡¯s embryo one by one.

    The phoenix¡¯s embryo devoured the flames happily, going from a scarlet-red to gold. The inscriptions on the surface became brighter and brighter too.

    Li Qingshan was afraid of being careless. Just a single fire snake was enough to incinerate an entire city! If he lost control over even one of them and it erupted in his body, it could heavily injure him.

    The fire snakes became more and more concentrated, wild and violent, but they did not exceed the limit of what Li Qingshan could withstand. It basically gave him a true demonstration of what a Daemon King was capable of.

    After who knew how long, the lake of fire settled down again and fire snakes stopped flying out. The phoenix¡¯s embryo flickered with dazzling light like a miniature sun. It had reached its limit.

    Within the scorching flames, Li Qingshan felt like he was about to melt away. Suddenly, he felt his back itch. He pushed his shoulders back and two bones grew from his back, running into the barrier very soon and preventing them from spreading out.

    He could not help but twist his body and swing his arms, punching the huge cocoon of flames around him.

 Chapter 530 â€“ Emerging From the Cocoon as a Phoenix Two

    With a great boom, the cocoon of flames exploded.

    Circular shockwaves pushed the magma away wave after wave, stirring up roaring fire.

    Li Qingshan stood in the sea of fire. Under the red glow, his perfect body seemed like a statue forged from bronze. He kept his eyes closed and his head down as his fire-like hair danced fiercely.

    Li Qingshan breathed gently. This moment felt like a new life.

    This was the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a.

    ¡°Congratulations on advancing with your cultivation.¡± Golden Cicada¡¯s voice rang out in his head.

    ¡°Thanks. What else do you need me to do? Please let me know.¡±

    ¡°Save Lolth.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and magnificent red light flowed through them. A pair of gloriously beautiful wings suddenly unfurled behind him.

    They were not wings composed from energy like the wings of wind. Instead, they were real wings, the wings of a phoenix.

    Fire swept towards him. He bent over slightly, and the wings furled up too. Streams of wind wrapped around him as he used the wings of wind at the same time. The two powers of wind and fire merged perfectly.

    Pushing hard with his feet, there was a thump and the wings suddenly unfurled. He had already soared off into the air, leaving behind a long trail of fire.

    Xiao An waved the Blood Sea Banner and followed close behind.

    Li Qingshan followed Lolth¡¯s aura and penetrated through the layers of soil and rock. When he grew close to her, he concealed all of his aura again, approaching silently.

    Suddenly, he frowned. When he used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to conceal his aura, the power of the Phoenix Transformation put up a violent struggle. He was unable to hide his aura perfectly.

    In his body, the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had already changed. It had gained a smear of bright-red, attached to the azure daemon core. It constantly shifted about, but only on the surface. It was unable to penetrate any deeper.

    According to the standard of humans, the demonic transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine focused on the body, while the divine transformations focused on qi. As a result, even with his Tiger Demon Transformation and Ox Demon Transformation at the fourth layer, the spirit turtle suppressed them with relative ease, yet it was rather helpless against the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation, leading to an intense rejection.

    Although he had managed to succeed with the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a after quite some effort, he had not truly reached the state where water and fire merged, let alone the realm when water and fire supplemented one another. If he continued cultivating the Phoenix Transformation, this rejection would probably become stronger.

    He remembered that a few cultivation methods in the cultivation world were about simultaneously practising water and fire. He would have to properly research the tricks behind this once he returned to the academy.

    With the advantage in strength of the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, he forcefully suppressed the phoenix¡¯s aura. If he fought against anyone in this state, he would not have become stronger. Instead, he would have become weaker due to the internal exhaustion of his energy.

    The rumbling and tremors grew closer and closer. Li Qingshan burst out of the earth and found the place rather familiar. It was the great valley where he had originally clashed with Bloodshadow and Strongboulder.

    The four grandmasters each wielded a sword, standing in four corners and assembling a formation, trapping Lolth inside.

    Lolth¡¯s hair was a mess. She seemed to be in a rather sorry state, but her eyes became calmer and more vicious. She leapt forth, lunging towards the weakest among them, Wen Zhengming. She completely ignored Wen Zhengming¡¯s incoming sword, directly reaching towards his shoulder with her claws.

    ¡°The fierce cold of winter seals the land in ice.¡±

    The leading scholar in white chanted slowly. The sword in his hand danced gracefully as frigid sword qi swept over with snowflakes.

    A layer of ice immediately appeared on Lolth¡¯s body. She felt a wave of coldness penetrate her bones, completely immobilising her. With a shudder, the ice on her cracked.

    The scholar in white thought, This wretched daemon really is a carapaced Daemon Commander after all. Her body truly is tough. If she were a regular Daemon General, she¡¯d be frozen into a block of ice with that strike. She really would be a difficult opponent if I fought alone.

    ¡°The soughing wind of autumn turns white due to frost!¡±

    Taking advantage of Lolth¡¯s frozen state, Wen Zhengming pulled back with his sword. With a dance of sword qi, Lolth became covered in a layer of white dew as soon as she had shattered the ice. She slowed down once again.

    At this moment, the two other grandmasters struck together.

    ¡°The bloom of spring brings clear, bright rain.¡± ¡°With the sweltering of summer, the sun blazes like fire.¡±

    Drizzle as thin as hair fell continuously and gently, invading every single opening, but it contained extremely sharp sword qi. It could even penetrate Lolth¡¯s fine poison suit, even trying to seep into her body through her pores.

    Lolth¡¯s skin immediately became a silvery-grey. She had unleashed her innate ability and only then did she manage to block this flexible yet deep-reaching attack. However, a ball of scorching fire that seemed like the scarlet sun then hurled towards her from behind. Caught in the sword formation, there was nowhere for her to dodge.

    With a great boom, firelight illuminated the valley.

    Lolth was swallowed by the fire. The four grandmasters swung their swords together as they faced the fire. Their four swords wove into a net, disappearing into the flames.

    The flames subsided, and a great big hole had been burnt in the back of Lolth¡¯s poison suit, and her body was covered in slashes. However, with her innate ability of perfect defence, she had managed to forcefully block the attacks.

    However, she did use up quite a lot of daemon qi. A visible sign of exhaustion appeared on her face. She had already tried to break out of the encirclement countless times, but every single time ended in failure.

    Hidden away, Li Qingshan discovered there was not a lot of damage to the sides of the valley. Logically speaking, a clash between four Golden Core cultivators and a Daemon Commander would be earth-shaking. There would be nothing strange even if the entire valley was destroyed.

    The current situation only demonstrated they controlled every bit of their strength to remain in the sword formation, without anything going to waste. Coupled with how Lolth was outnumbered four to one, she would be whittled away to death if this continued.

    As it seemed, it was not without reason the Golden Cicada assisted him. He was originally contemplating on killing with a borrowed knife. If the four grandmasters were unable to find him, it was possible for them to venture deeper. By then, crushing them would be no different from playing a game with the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s strength.

    He never expected Golden Cicada would be reluctant to interfere, but he did help him instead, which basically achieved Li Qingshan¡¯s objective anyway.

    ¡°Mother of my child, the father of your child has come to save you!¡±

    Li Qingshan secretly snuck his way into the wall near Wen Zhengming. He bellowed out all of a sudden and burst out. Before his voice had even reached Wen Zhengming, he had already arrived behind the latter. The speed he had erupted with in that instant even left him surprised.

    I never thought the combination of the phoenix wings and wings of wind would result in such a great effect. In the future, anyone who tries to hunt me down will only be able to suck on the wind I produce!

    The figure of the ox demon appeared on Li Qingshan as he butted his horns viciously into Wen Zhengming¡¯s chest. Lolth raised an eyebrow, rather surprised, but she did not let this fantastic opportunity slip past. She lunged towards Wen Zhengming again to form a pincer attack with Li Qingshan.

    With Wen Zhengming¡¯s cultivation at early Golden Core, he was in great danger when a carapaced Daemon Commander and Li Qingshan who was no weaker than the former surrounded him. Even if he managed to escape with his life intact, the Sword Formation of the Four Seasons would definitely fall apart.

    Wen Zhengming beamed with joy instead of becoming alarmed. He called out, ¡°Wretched daemon, you¡¯ve finally come! Freeze!¡±

    Without even looking back, he flew forwards, raised his sleeved arm, and a paper talisman flew out. It turned into a single word, ¡°Freeze¡±, and Lolth immediately became immobilised.

    The three swords arrived with lightning speed. The sword qi turned into threads, wrapping around Li Qingshan. In that moment, he experienced the powerlessness of melting in the spring breeze, the bone-chilling coldness of being frozen in ice, followed by the scorching heat of being incinerated by fire.

    The tip of his horns were only a feet away from Wen Zhengming, but it suddenly seemed extremely distant.

    ¡°Changing of the Seasons!¡±

    Wen Zhengming struck backwards, uniting with the three other swords.

    In that moment, Li Qingshan only felt like sword qi surrounded him in all directions, constantly revolving and changing.

    As if the four grandmasters had agreed beforehand, they abandoned Lolth at the same time, shifting their target to Li Qingshan. This was not something that could be achieved with on-the-spot reactions. Instead, they had carried out countless meticulous thoughts, taking all openings into consideration.

    The weakest of them, Wen Zhengming, was like bait, luring Li Qingshan into the situation of death.

    The scholar in white said, ¡°Moon demon, do you think we didn¡¯t consider you¡¯d launch a sneak attack against us? And that we¡¯ll be completely unprepared?¡± Afterwards, he waved his hand. ¡°Junior brothers, use the Sword Qi of the Four Seasons to kill this wretched daemon first!¡±

    The Freezing talisman could only last for a moment at most. The spider daemon would break free very soon. If they allowed the two daemons to work together, it really would become rather troublesome.

    However, they possessed absolute confidence that if they used the strongest killing move of the Sword Formation of the Four Seasons, they would be able to kill the moon demon in a single stroke. By then, it would not be too late for them to unleash the sword formation again and kill the spider daemon at leisure.

    ¡°Spring Thunder sword!¡± ¡°Summer Rain sword!¡± ¡°Autumn Wind sword!¡± ¡°Winter Snow sword!¡±

    Green, yellow, scarlet, and white. Four strands of sword qi shot into the air together, filling Li Qingshan¡¯s field of vision.

    Falling deep into the sword formation, Li Qingshan experienced an intense omen of warning.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell only managed to block it for an instant before shattering loudly. The Sword Qi of the Four Seasons constantly revolved and changed, linking together end to end meticulously and assaulting all openings.

    Li Qingshan seemed to be thrown into a stone mill, being forcefully ground into dust.

    Li Qingshan immediately used the special ability of the Watermirror disc. His mirror clone hidden in the water shattered in that instant, drifting away like dust. Every single strand of daemon qi had been used up.

    His flesh and blood spattered everywhere, forcefully ground away into a skeleton that was riddled with thin slashes.

    The scholar in white eased up and clasped his hands. ¡°Congratulations on your revenge, junior brother Wen!¡±

    Wen Zhengming let out a smile of relief too. All of this had happened in an instant. By the time Lolth had broken free from the Freezing talisman, the four grandmasters had already assembled the sword formation again.

    Seeing this, Lolth was secretly shocked. If they had unleashed this move right from the beginning, she would have never lasted until now. They had saved this killing move for when the moon demon bit the bait, but also to launch a sudden attack when she had used up everything, taking away her opportunity to blow up her daemon core.

    Daemons could be crafty, but it was very difficult for them to match the strategies of humans. Most importantly, humans were capable of far too many different things, like talismans, sword formations, and regular formations. It was possible to say that even if the four grandmasters worked together, they were not Lolth¡¯s opponent if they only fought with their own strength. It would be a nightmare the moment she managed to get close to them. However, with these various means available to them, they could instead endanger her life.

    ¡°Do you think you can kill him just like that?¡±

    Lolth said in disdain when she heard the scholar in white. Only she understood the most how difficult it was to kill him.

    Wen Zhengming¡¯s heart lurched. The moon demon who should have been dead through and through lunged over. It had taken a great mental toll on them to use the Sword Qi of the Four Seasons, and as the weakest among the four, Wen Zhengming had relaxed slightly due to his ¡°revenge¡±. He was unable to dodge immediately, which allowed Li Qingshan to grab him firmly.

 Chapter 531 â€“ Killed Off and Opportunity

    Lolth raised her hand and caught it. It became as straight as a spear with a tremble, and the tip thrusted straight towards the immobilised Wen Zhengming. All he felt was his forehead ache from the chilling killing intent.

    ¡°Be careful, junior brother!¡±

    The three grandmasters paled in fright and swung their swords at Lolth. Never did they think that Li Qingshan could still do something like that even after being stripped of his flesh.

    However, Lolth was completely focused. She did not even glance at them. At that moment, only Wen Zhengming existed in her eyes!

    With Wen Zhengming trapped, the Sword Formation of the Four Seasons had already fallen apart. Even though the three swords were all rare arcane artifacts, they were still not enough to get through her defensive ability.

    Thrust!

    It was like a white bolt of lightning falling from the clouds in heaven. No matter what obstacles it ran into, it would not even waver.

    The three swords basically landed at the same time, kicking up sparks. The spear rapidly spun in her hand and it produced a deep yet ear-piercing thrum. It knocked the swords away without being derailed at all.

    No matter what you throw at it, you can¡¯t block the sharpness of this thrust.

    Staring death in its face, Wen Zhengming erupted with dazzling righteous qi and forcefully broke free from Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    Having been reduced to bones, he did not die, but he was unable to unleash the great strength of the ox demon either.

    But at this moment, rings of fire suddenly coiled around Li Qingshan¡¯s boney body. Wherever, the flames passed by, his flesh regrew, just like the legendary rebirth in fire. The muscles on his arms twisted as he forcefully crushed down on the white light from Wen Zhengming.

    A jade tablet hanging from Wen Zhengming¡¯s waist suddenly shattered.

    The spear passed through Wen Zhengming¡¯s head, but it did not feel like it had pierced anything tangible. Wen Zhengming turned into a soul-like figure.

    Li Qingshan fell through with his grip and Wen Zhengming flew to one side. Wen Zhengming¡¯s face was completely sunken. If it were not for his life-saving countermeasure, he would have almost failed miserably with this simple mission and died here.

    Now, Wen Zhengming no longer feared any tangible attacks. He did not have any weaknesses on him, but he could still control his sword and use techniques. As both daemons before him were weakened, he only needed to assemble the Sword Formation of the Four Seasons with his three senior brothers again, and they would definitely be able to kill them here.

    Wen Zhengming wanted to take off with his sword, but the banner constantly extended and expanded with him, enveloping the entire valley. Looking back, the sea of blood surged as far as the eye could see. When he returned to his senses, he had already entered the sea of blood.

    ¡°Junior brother Wen!¡±

    The three grandmasters rushed over to provide assistance, but Li Qingshan and Lolth¡¯s combined efforts blocked them. All they could do was watch helplessly as Wen Zhengming was sucked into the Blood Sea Banner.

    Revitalised, Lolth was about to chase after them, but she suddenly felt her waist tighten. Li Qingshan had wrapped his arm around her waist before pulling her backwards forcefully and throwing her into the Blood Sea Banner as well, producing a faint halo.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings and grabbed Xiao An, turning around and fleeing immediately.

    The three grandmasters tailed behind him on their swords in hot pursuit, but they immediately discovered Li Qingshan¡¯s speed was far more startling than what the information from the Hawkwolf Guard detailed. He actually managed to widen their distance immediately.

    Little did they know that Li Qingshan completely refused to move at top speed. Flying swiftly through the twisting and turning underground caves basically took up all of his focus. It was even more tiring than fighting.

    Upon increasing the distance between them, he suddenly stopped and turned around. He shattered the space there with his fists, and great cracks filled the surroundings. The earth rumbled and trembled like a magnitude 12 earthquake. Rock and soil rose and fell violently.

    Afterwards, he withdrew his daemon qi and dove into Xiao An¡¯s Blood Sea Banner as well. Xiao An took off with the Blood Sea Banner on her shoulder.

    The mega earthquake failed to harm the three grandmasters at all, but it did bring them quite a lot of trouble. It made their hearts sink.

    All traces of them had been destroyed, and they still could not sense even a hint of their auras. They pulled closer and searched around, but they found nothing. They could only hope that Wen Zhengming managed to repel them. As long as he gave off a sliver of aura, they would be able to rush over and save him.

    On the surface of the boundless sea of blood, Wen Zhengming stood with his sword in hand with a sunken face. Lolth stood nearby.

    As for Li Qingshan, he eyed him viciously from behind. In the moment earlier, he had made a decision based on his instincts. Severing a finger of the enemy is better than grazing all ten.

    With Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and Lolth¡¯s strength, killing the four grandmasters together was virtually impossible. A moment of carelessness could even turn the tables and lead them to their deaths instead. Just with the Sword Qi of the Four Seasons along, if he took it on again, he would probably be done for.

    And, it would be very difficult for Xiao An to suppress a Golden Core cultivator with the Blood Sea Banner if she were alone. Right now, he was using an advantage in numbers to cement his victory.

    Lolth gazed at Wen Zhengming who had already become a sitting duck before looking at the familiar sea of blood around her. She could not help but think, When I oppose them, they¡¯re without a doubt a great headache, but when I work with them, the battle becomes unexpectedly easy.

    When the four Golden Core cultivators assembled a sword formation together, even she was completely helpless against them. However, as soon as he struck, not only did he save her, but he even managed to forcefully bring a Golden Core cultivator with him.

    ¡°Come, come, come! You want revenge, come for revenge. If you have grievances, let¡¯s get them settled!¡± Li Qingshan made a gesture of invitation and said to Lolth.

    Lolth let out a snort, but she was in no hurry to fight. She smiled gorgeously. ¡°Do you have any last words? Let¡¯s hear them.¡±

    Wen Zhengming said with composure, ¡°Just do it! If I really end up dying here, then that¡¯s fate. However, you might be able to kill me, Wen Zhengming, but you won¡¯t be able to kill the righteous path of the world. You won¡¯t be able to kill the countless disciples of confucianism. Lowly wretched daemons, only death awaits you for the heinous sins you commit.¡±

    Even Li Qingshan developed some admiration for his spirit of being able to cast aside the issue of death. Hearing what he said, he smiled. ¡°The righteous path of the world? Whose righteous path?¡±

    ¡°The path of humanity is the righteous path! Man of all creatures is the one endowed with intelligence! Why else do you think you all transform into humans?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then if I were human, I¡¯d be part of the righteous path too? Forget it. Who cares if it¡¯s some path of humanity or some shitty path? Carving it up and splitting it into groups is merely a waste of time. Today, you¡¯ve ended up in my hands, and that serves you right. If I were to die in your hand some other day, I wouldn¡¯t complain either.¡±

    With that, he surged with malice.

    The sea of blood surged with a colossal wave. Wen Zhengming cut through the wave in a single stroke and Li Qingshan leapt forth, striking the sword with his claws.

    Clang! The sword was sent flying.

    The poisonous whip twisted like a snake and coiled over. The tip was slightly black like it was a snake¡¯s tongue, plunging into Wen Zhengming¡¯s body.

    Even though he had already become ethereal, the venom still spread very quickly.

    Wen Zhengming was still hiding many tricks up his sleeve, but if he fought alone, he could not even defeat Lolth, let alone when she had Li Qingshan¡¯s assistance and the Blood Sea Banner suppressed him.

    The sea of blood surged. There was no other possible outcome for this battle.

    Wen Zhengming said nothing else. Even on the brink of death, he was fearless. He wanted to blow up his golden core, but Xiao An¡¯s Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone swallowed him.

    In the moment Wen Zhengming fell in battle, two figures shot over. In that moment, Li Qingshan and Lolth clashed a hundred times before brushing past one another.

    A hundred treasures pouch had appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, while Lolth held a golden core.

    With an opponent like him and an ally like her, it had always made Li Qingshan wonder whether the path he took was correct or not. Even though he was neither human or daemon anymore, he actually still understood the righteous path that Wen Zhengming was talking about.

    However, it was pointless to say anything else. When he faced suffering, he did not see any righteous path. The assistance he received did not come from a confucian gentleman of upright character, but a demon among demons, a daemon among daemons.

    The first thing he had taught him was to rely on himself and rely on the blade in his own hand. So what if there were countless disciples of confucianism? Did Li Qingshan even exist in any of their eyes?

    ¡°Hand it over!¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand towards Lolth.

    ¡°Did you really think the two of you could kill him without my strength?¡± Lolth clutched the golden core in her hand. The power it contained tempted her very much.

    ¡°I saved your life- No, you can say whatever you want. I¡¯m not going to be negotiating with you. Hand it over!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank, and the malice he gave off grew heavier. The sea of blood began to surge again like a huge, roaring beast wanting to devour her.

    Lolth wavered for a while before tossing out the golden core reluctantly. It flew through the air as a dazzling curve before landing in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan stowed the golden core away and only then did he ease up. He smiled. ¡°That¡¯s more like it! Now, let¡¯s go find the other three. We can split the spoils evenly. It¡¯s three against three now!¡±

    And, the opponents¡¯ sword formation had been destroyed. Most importantly, they must have been occupied by anger and hatred. Injured animals were terrifying because of their wildness, but once humans lost their rationality, they would become extremely feeble.

    ¡°Junior brother Wen is dead!¡± The scholar in white suddenly stopped and shuddered.

    ¡°What! How¡¯s that possible!?¡± The expressions of the other two changed drastically. They were in disbelief.

    Anyone who reached Golden Core would possess many life-saving countermeasures. They could never be killed so easily. However, the strange, red banner did become a blood-red shadow that loomed over their hearts. Arcane artifacts that created their own region of space were far too rare.

    As if it were to verify what the scholar in white had said, the moon demon¡¯s daemon qi surged once more, like a lantern in the darkness, drawing them over. However, Wen Zhengming¡¯s aura did not appear with it. Clearly, he was likely dead already.

    ¡°We have to avenge him!¡±

    Their eyes reddened slightly as they surged with murderousness.

    The scholar in white stopped his two junior brothers and said reluctantly, ¡°Let¡¯s retreat!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re feeling, but now¡¯s not the time. We aren¡¯t going to let our junior brother¡¯s death slide like this.¡± The scholar in white¡¯s eyes shone coldly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d actually retreat! They sure are decisive!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt the three auras burst through the earth before vanishing from the underground world in the end. Although he could catch up to them if he tried, he would be alone and he could be killed off if he was not careful. It was possible for the tables to turn with that.

    And, he had another important thing to do!

    Now, there was no longer anyone who could prevent him from refining the Clear river. This opportunity could vanish in the blink of an eye. He had to do it before the Ruyi commandery responded.

    Taking Xiao An with him, Li Qingshan found a hidden river and travelled upstream, arriving in Moon Court lake very soon.

    He burst out of the water and flapped his wings, spraying the air with water. They seemed like pearls under the sunlight. He pushed his speed to the limit. Mountains appeared in the horizon before being thrown behind very quickly again.

 Chapter 532 â€“ Lord of the Clear River Waters One

    Among the mountains, a spring let out a trickle. No one would have thought it was the source of the great Clear river.

    The meltwater and the clear springs of the mountains merged with it, droplet by droplet.

    As the water meandered through the mountains, it grew larger and larger, twisting and surging, advancing without stop.

    Originally, Li Qingshan could only fly above the water. Afterwards, he directly leapt into the water and his daemon qi permeated from his body, enveloping the entire flow.

    He knew that time was tight. With a tense heart, he pushed the Water God Seal as hard as he could, using every bit of daemon qi to refine the river water.

    The process should have taken an extremely long time, long enough for the Ruyi commandery to respond in time and easily destroy his wild ambitions. However, when he refined water with his original body, he moved with startling speed.

    When regular daemons refined bodies of water, they were like common people rising in a revolution. It would take them tremendous physical and mental efforts to carry out. Only then could they gradually sweep across the entire world.

    Wherever the spirit turtle passed by, it was like the arrival of the blessed son of heaven in person. All of the water would automatically submit to it.

    Pushing forward, he left the Boundless mountains very quickly. If he continued, he would arrive in an area littered with human activity. It would probably be very difficult to fool the cultivators of the Clear River prefecture with his actions. If they actually come to stop him, they would pose quite a large issue.

    Once he was delayed and the Marquis of Ruyi responded, probably even more and even stronger Golden Core cultivators would immediately rush over.

    Let¡¯s see who dares to get in my way!

    ¡°Oh no! Sir, the moon demon is refining the waters of the Clear river!¡±

    In the Academy of the Hundred Schools within the Lake of Dragons and Snakes, the news reached Liu Zhangqing¡¯s ears very quickly.

    ¡°What about the four grandmasters?¡±

    Liu Zhangqing asked in surprise. Right now, the four grandmasters should have forced the moon demon into fleeing for his life. Why would he be bold enough to refine more water systems in such a brash manner?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but apparently a few people saw the grandmasters return to the Ruyi commander, and- and-¡±

    ¡°And what? Spit it out,¡± Liu Zhangqing said impatiently.

    ¡°There only seems to be three of them!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Liu Zhangqing was surprised and terrified. He turned around and made his way towards the door in a hurry. Right when he arrived at the door, he stopped and said, ¡°Keep a constant eye on the moon demon¡¯s whereabouts, but don¡¯t approach him.¡±

    When he arrived in a place similar to the reporting room of the Hawkwolf Guard, awaiting to see the Marquis of Ruyi, a disciple reported to him that the moon demon had already refined a third of the Clear river.

    ¡°What!?¡± Liu Zhangqing reacted violently. Although the upstream section of the Clear river had a relatively smaller flow, making it easier to refine, it made absolutely no sense for the moon demon to be this quick.

    And, the Marquis of Ruyi happened to be doing something else. He still had not appeared.

    ¡°To the person on the other side, please report to the marquis again that Liu Zhangqing has something urgent to report!¡±

    By now, the four, now three, grandmasters had returned to the commandery city of Ruyi. They had arrived in the governor¡¯s estate to see the Marquis of Ruyi.

    The Marquis of Ruyi paced around with his hands behind his back. His face was terribly sunken. Originally, he thought it had already been overkill to send the four grandmasters together and success was guaranteed.

    Yet, not only did they fail to kill the wretched daemon, but they had even lost one of their own instead! They were Golden Core cultivators after all! They could not be compared with Foundation Establishment cultivators. Wen Zhengming and his Pine Sough academy could be regarded as one of the foundations of his reign, but now, it had been forcefully severed from him.

    ¡°Did you fall for an ambush of the daemons?¡± the Marquis of Ruyi cast aside his guilt and asked. This was the most reasonable explanation.

    The scholar in white shook his head. ¡°It was only the spider daemon, the moon demon, and a skeleton monster.¡±

    ¡°Just by them, just-¡± The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s eyes widened. He raised his hand and pointed right at the scholar in white¡¯s face before letting out a snort and lowering it heavily.

    The scholar in white felt extremely displeased inside. We only became involved in this mess because of your orders. Now that junior brother Wen has suffered a horrible fate, not only do you give no comfort, but you instead blame us.

    As the leader of the four grandmasters, he was different from Wen Zhengming¡¯s stubbornness and frankness. He had always been known for his great pride, so he clasped his hands.

    ¡°My junior brothers and I will avenge junior brother Wen. We¡¯re just giving a word of advice to the marquis right now to be careful of what the moon demon is capable of. We¡¯ll be taking our leave then!¡±

    ¡°You- fellow Tang, how can you say that? Fellow Wen¡¯s revenge is also my revenge¡­¡±

    ¡°Marquis, sir Liu of the Clear River prefecture has something urgent to report,¡± at this moment, the envoy reported again.

    ¡°Get him to wait! He¡¯s utterly imcompetent!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi became even more displeased over how Liu Zhangqing had handed the Watermirror disc to the moon demon, but he forgot that if it were not for his command in the past, Liu Zhangqing would have never done that.

    It took the Marquis of Ruyi tremendous effort before he managed to pacify the three grandmasters. The scholar in white said, ¡°It would be best for the marquis to see prefect Liu. Perhaps it might be related to the moon demon.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s hear it together.¡±

    The four of them arrived in a secret room behind the governor¡¯s estate. The Marquis of Ruyi heard from Liu Zhangqing and spoke with a sunken face.

    ¡°What! You say the moon demon is refining the Clear river? There¡¯s no need to worry. I¡¯ll send people over right now. We¡¯ll definitely kill the wretched daemon this time.¡±

    Not only did he not worry, but he instead felt it was a rare opportunity now that the moon demon had come to the surface. This wretched daemon sure was insatiable. He had grown arrogant with his success. The Clear river was not that easy to refine.

    ¡°But sir, the moon demon has almost refined half of it already!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi immediately lost his temper. ¡°Why do I even keep you around!? I order you to stop the moon demon regardless of the price. Otherwise, there¡¯s no need for you to remain as the prefect. I¡¯ll be heading over right now!¡±

    The figure of the Marquis of Ruyi vanished, and Liu Zhangqing backed out of the room. He was irritated.

    Stop the moon demon? How am I supposed to stop the moon demon? Even the four grandmasters you sent were helpless against him. I¡¯m just a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator. What can I do?

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s orders were absolute, so all he could do was hold a meeting with the school leaders. However, he had already made up his mind to avoid the Clear river at all costs.

    In the world of cultivation, obstructing a person¡¯s cultivation led to grievances even more severe than killing their parents or stealing their wives. The moon demon definitely would not be soft-hearted this time. Once they caught his attention, they were probably done for.

    His position as the prefect was important, but it could not be more important than his life.

    Even prefect Liu who had his title directly conferred to him by the Marquis of Ruyi was thinking like this, so it was as clear as day what the other school leaders and powerful members of the academy thought.

    There were plenty of courageous people among them, but who would be willing to do something useless that would clearly bring about their own destruction? The moon demon had already taught them a bloody lesson with how Yang Pinghu of the Clear Court sect ended up.

    ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t need to directly confront the moon demon. We only need to interfere with his refinement process. With how long the Clear river is, we can go upstream and wreak havoc while he¡¯s in the middle section right now. We can delay him until the reinforcements of the Ruyi commandery arrive.¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s orders could not be defied, so someone came up with an idea. The idea had a degree of safety, so they all agreed to it reluctantly before dispersing.

    Han Tieyi stood up suddenly, only to see Hua Chengzan still seated, without any intention to move. Thinking about how even the greatest brain of the Clear River prefecture had remained silent during the intense discussion earlier, he cast a questioning gaze at him.

    ¡°If only it were that simple.¡± Hua Chengzan smiled helplessly. The idea was far too simple, so simple that anyone could think of it. There was no need for him to speak up about it, but would he really not think of it?

    The figure with drifting, scarlet hair appeared in Hua Chengzan¡¯s head. He was bold enough to continue with his actions that garnered condemnation from everyone whilst in the eye of the storm, so he was clearly rather confident. If a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators tried to stop him, they would probably pay with their lives.

    The cultivators arrived at various places throughout the Clear River prefecture, preparing to wreak havoc.

    Huge, vicious skeletons burst out of the water, kicking up great waves and blocking their paths. Xiao An¡¯s twenty-one Skeleton Demons were scattered along the river to watch over Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan had issued an order too. ¡°Apart from the father-son duo of the Han family and Hua Chengzan, kill the others without mercy.¡±

    Familiarity is familiarity, but if you insist on working against me, don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless.

    In the beginning, the cultivators did not take these skeleton demons that were clearly under someone¡¯s control seriously, but as soon as they clashed, they realised they were absolutely wrong.

    When their spiritual artifacts landed on the skeleton monsters, they could only produce a few sparks. Only arcane artifacts could leave behind some marks on them. However, once these monsters approached them, they would tear through their protective spiritual qi in a single stroke.

    Having been refined again and again by Xiao An, every single Skeleton Demon now possessed tremendous physical strength. They could move as swiftly as the wind, and they had absolutely no weaknesses or flaws either. Even clashing with late Foundation Establishment cultivators posed no issue.

    Compared to the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s mission, their own lives still took priority. These cultivators had originally planned to strike and run. They refused to remain in the same place, just in case they angered the moon demon, making him directly fly over and destroy them. Now that they ran into such powerful monsters, they became even more afraid to stay put. They fled as soon as they made contact.

    The Skeleton Demons did not chase after them. They simply stood guard in the Clear river, wanting to see who was bold enough to approach the water.

    The leader of the school of Miscellany, Gou Dai, silently approached where the waters of the Clear river flowed out of the Boundless mountains. He clutched a Glazed Mirror of Invisibility in one hand, hiding his body and aura perfectly. Even if someone stood face to face with him, they would struggle to discover him.

    Li Qingshan had also obtained a Glazed Mirror of Invisibility in the past, but that was merely a mid grade spiritual artifact. The one in Gou Dai¡¯s hand was similar in design, but it was a supreme grade spiritual artifact, two whole levels better than Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    Throughout several millennia of development of artifact forging, many ¡°standard form¡± artifacts had been produced to fulfill the various requirements of ¡°invisibility¡±, ¡°defence¡±, and so on.

    Similar to the five main cultivation methods of practising qi, they took the various strengths and weaknesses into account and maximised their effect. The future artifact smiths only needed to forge them according to the standard.

    However, as their level of proficiency differed, the strength of the artifacts would vary.

    Gou Dai¡¯s confidence did not come from this Glazed Mirror of Invisibility alone. In his other hand was a small bottle that swished with liquid.

    As the leader of the school of Miscellany, neither his cultivation or strength was particularly powerful, but he did collect many strange and bizarre items, which could play a wondrous effect when it mattered.

    This bottle of Spiritual Condensing liquid had originally been a precious material for forging artifacts. As long as he poured it into the river, not only would it disturb the moon demon¡¯s daemon qi, but it would also condense the water spiritual qi in this region. When the moon demon returned and tried to refine this region again, it would become extremely troublesome.

    As for him, he would have done the Marquis of Ruyi a great service without encountering any danger. He was trying to maximise his profits with little risk.

    Right as he thought of that, a skeleton had arrived before him before he knew it without producing any noise.

    Gou Dai¡¯s heart shivered. He immediately froze up.

 Chapter 533 â€“ Lord of the Clear River Waters Two

    Xiao An¡¯s fiery eyes stared at Gou Dai quietly, and she tilted her head slightly. She was extremely intrigued by this person that had clearly been discovered yet still stood without moving.

    Gou Dai let out a sigh of relief inside. As it seemed, the skeleton could not actually see him, or it would have launched an attack immediately. He studied the skeleton carefully, only to see a small, blood-red banner in its left hand and something that Gou Dai found rather familiar in its right.

    Isn¡¯t that¡­ the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase!? Has Xiao An been killed too? No, isn¡¯t she still in secluded cultivation and hasn¡¯t emerged yet? Or perhaps¡­

    He stared at the tiny skeleton in disbelief before hearing a spurt. His chest ached. He slowly lowered his head. A bony hand had been plunged into his heart already.

    Gou Dai¡¯s expression immediately became twisted with absolute viciousness. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had a powerful life force, so he would not die immediately. He wanted to launch a counterattack before death, but a heavy sensation of coldness had already spread through his body, freezing his soul.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone devoured him mercilessly. Xiao An took the Glazed Mirror of Invisibility from him and checked it before stowing it away. She lifted up the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase again and began divining.

    Detecting and covering openings, seeking out potential danger, and eliminating them one by one.

    Many rivers converged in the Clear river. It had already become a roaring flow of water, spanning a great area as it raged along.

    Li Qingshan burst out of the water and looked at Moon Court lake from afar. He was filled with lofty sentiments. Having reached here, he had refined half of the Clear river, and he could now borrow strength from the waters of Moon Court lake.

    He raised his arm high into the air. In his palm was the Water God Seal.

    Turbulent waves erupted on the surface of Moon Court lake. The lakewater surged, pouring into the Clear river wave after wave. The river flow suddenly sped up, and his speed of refinement became even faster.

    Within the raging waters, a speck of red appeared. Li¡¯l Red wagged his tail from side to side as he swam over, raising his head and lifting up Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan felt like he was riding a horse as he travelled with the flow. In high spirits, he recited loudly, ¡°From both banks the cries of apes unending, my skiff has passed thousands of mountains.¡±

    TL: The poem, An Early Departure from White Emperor City, is by Li Bai, who I think I¡¯ve mentioned in the past. You can read about it and its context here:

    https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:Departing_from_Baidi_in_the_Morning

    At the end of the river was a great marsh.

    The red glow from the setting sun in the west filled the sky. A wave suddenly rose up in the horizon that had been dyed red, and the wave carried a large fish with a person standing atop, growing from far to near as if they had descended from the sky.

    With the end in sight, a smile also stretched across Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He looked back only to see several streaks of light shooting across the air, rushing towards him at full speed. In the lead was the Marquis of Ruyi in splendid robes and with a jade belt around his waist.

    The Marquis of Ruyi was enveloped in layers of scarlet light, making him seem like a meteor. This was the great energy condensed from the power of belief of the millions of lives in the Ruyi commandery over thousands of years of ruling.

    In the moment he saw the moon demon, his eyes shone with cold light, and he moved even faster, throwing the group behind.

    Li Qingshan completely ignored his mental exhaustion and pursed his lips firmly, bringing his hands together before spreading them out and conjuring the figure of the spirit turtle. He sped up, accelerated, and sped up again under the cascading waves, making a final sprint towards the end.

    ¡°Wretched daemon!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi raised his hand, and a scarlet jade seal flew out. The major rivers and renowned mountains of the Ruyi commandery were engraved on the seal, full of artistic design, and at the very top was a coiled serpent.

    The seal was known as the Seal of Mountains and Rivers. It had been forged from a single block of jade when the ancestral emperor established the nine provinces, conferring the marquises with their nobility. Not only was it a representation of identity and status, but it also possessed great power.

    The Seal of Mountains and River flew into the air and expanded along the way. In the blink of an eye, it towered like a mountain.

    A great shadow enveloped the region. Li Qingshan raised his head, and the Seal of Mountains and Rivers descended from above, crushing down heavily. Just by looking at it, he felt like he would suffocate, and even with his startling speed, he could not help but develop a feeling that he could not dodge it.

    He was like a monarch who could take the life of a great general who led an army of thousands with only a single golden tablet and an imperial edict. If the lord wanted his subject to die, the subject had to die.

    The Seal of Mountains and Rivers was not a simple spiritual or arcane artifact. Instead, it was similar to the Peachwood Prayer Sword Li Qingshan had seen in the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect in the past. It possessed the mighty power of belief.

    The Peachwood Prayer Sword had been worshipped by the successive disciples of the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect for several centuries, while the Seal of Mountains and Rivers had gathered all the power of belief from the millions of lives throughout the entire Ruyi commandery. After several thousand years, its power had not merely multiplied by ten thousand fold. Even Golden Core cultivators would be reduced to a dead soul if they were crushed by it.

    If the Marquis of Ruyi wanted to fight, he had no need to use anything else. All he had to do was unleash the Seal of Mountains and Rivers and he could basically dominate the Golden Core realm. He would be invincible.

    Boom!

    With a violent rumble, the Seal of Mountains and Rivers crushed down on Li Qingshan viciously, stamping the earth.

    The ground shook, and the flow of the great river was severed.

    The Marquis of Ruyi smiled indifferently. He was only a Daemon General. Even if he were somewhat capable, how could he be his opponent? He had been taking him far too lightly all this time.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi was slightly stunned. The Seal of Mountains and Rivers that stood several hundred meters tall like a mountain was actually being forced up bit by bit.

    Li Qingshan had transformed, going from a handsome man to a fiendish daemon. He stood over sixty meters tall with dark skin and protruding teeth. He was ferocious, standing with an indomitable spirit. He supported the Seal of Mountains and Rivers with both hands as his iron hooves dug deeply into the ground.

    The pressure from above was alarming, but it incited his ox-like stubbornness instead. He let out a moo-like bellow, which sounded like a rumble from the depths of the earth¡ªlong and deep, yet filled with power even greater than thunder. The muscles on his body twisted together, and his arms in particular swelled up until they seemed like two huge pillars that held up the sky.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± That was the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s first thought. Someone had actually managed to use brute force to stop the Seal of Mountains and Rivers.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how long you can last!¡± The Marquis of Ruyi sneered and leapt up, landing on the Seal of Mountains and Rivers as well as the body of the serpent that had become enormous.

    The pressure from the Seal of Mountains and Gods suddenly increased drastically. Li Qingshan dropped down on one knee as he used his entire body to support the Seal of Mountains and Rivers on his back. His blood vessels ruptured as his tough tiger bones produced an ear-piercing sound of screeching metal.

    The Strength of the Earth flowed into his body endlessly. He gritted his teeth as he stopped the Seal of Mountains and Gods firmly. Victory was already in sight, yet he was unable to take another step forward.

    ¡°Moon demon, today is the day you die!¡± The Marquis of Ruyi laughed in satisfaction.

    At this moment, the three grandmasters had arrived too. Gazing at the figure below the Seal of Mountains and Rivers, they no longer resembled refined scholars at all. There was only bare hatred and killing intent.

    Once they struck, they would definitely use a startling killing move without holding back at all. The immobilised Li Qingshan had become a perfect target, but as long as they relaxed even in the slightest, the Seal of Mountains and Rivers would crush them into pulp.

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡±

    Li Qingshan gulped down Wen Zhengming¡¯s golden core. He had never tried ingesting the golden cores of Golden Core cultivators, nor did he know the effects, but at a time like this, he could no longer afford to care so much.

    Golden core, explode!

    The golden core exploded loudly, turning into extremely pure spiritual qi. It completely surpassed any pills Li Qingshan had ingested before. This was what Wen Zhengming had painstakingly developed after ingesting who knew how many pills and after who knew how many years.

    He practised the Ox Demon Transformation madly, converting all of the spiritual qi into the most primitive strength.

    Under the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s dumbstruck gaze, he stood up inch by inch and violently unleashed an earth-shaking bellow. He pushed upwards as hard as he could, throwing the Seal of Mountains and Rivers and the Marquis of Ruyi into the air.

    Making use of this, Li Qingshan flapped his wings and threw himself out from under the seal regardless of the cost. He drew in all the daemon qi scattered in the surging waters of the Clear river and lunged towards the end of the river, his final destination.

    ¡°Stop him!¡± the Marquis of Ruyi called out furiously and in surprise.

    Three streaks of light criss-crossed and slashed out like halos.

    Li Qingshan did not even look at them. He did not even waste a shred of daemon qi to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    Blood spattered. The light ripped through his skin and tore through his flesh.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! There were three metallic thrums. These were the sounds of the streaks of light landing on his bones.

    However, despite all of this, nothing could stop Li Qingshan¡¯s lunge. He was like a vicious tiger descending from the mountains, a dragon diving into the ocean, pressing forward with indomitable will.

    With a great boom, Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal body collapsed in the great marsh, filling the air with splashes. His momentum continued to carry him forwards, skidding for several hundred meters before coming to a stop. He did not move at all as if he had expended everything he had in him.

    The shadow enveloped Li Qingshan again. Upside down, the Marquis of Ruyi pushed against the Seal of Mountains and Rivers, treating the earth as his paper and stamping down heavily.

    Li Qingshan rolled over. As he stared at the whistling Seal of Mountains and River that filled up his vision, he grinned widely, revealing his pale-white teeth as he let out a great laugh.

    ¡°Hahahahahahaha!

    The surging rivers of the Clear river, from its source thousands of kilometers away to its end here, merged with the daemon qi, leaping above the waters.

    The Water God Seal flickered with unprecedented radiance. It began to swell, growing to twice its size. A slender water pattern coiled around it like a dragon or a snake. It was the waters of the Clear river.

    ¡°You better keep laughing!¡± The Marquis of Ruyi gritted his teeth as he radiated with dazzling, scarlet light, merging with the Seal of Mountains and Rivers.

    Bang! Water seeped out in all directions and droplets of water splashed into the air.

    The Marquis of Ruyi did not feel like he had struck anything solid. Instead, he felt like he had landed on a ball of cotton. A flexible yet tenacious power emerged from below.

    Li Qingshan was not fighting alone. Behind him were the raging waters of the Clear river, the gushing Moon Court lake, and countless other water systems of various sizes. They conjured waves upon waves and streams upon streams of light, surging together to prop up the Seal of Mountains and Rivers.

    With this power as assistance, Li Qingshan lifted the Seal of Mountains and Rivers easily. You¡¯re the marquis of a commandery, but I¡¯m also the water god of a river!

    The three grandmasters arrived, but this time, they each clutched a violet talisman. Clearly, they had even taken out their treasures just so they could drag the moon demon to his doom.

    The river rushed over, turning into an enormous geyser that rushed into the air and deflected the Seal of Mountains and Rivers.

    Before the three grandmasters could even surround him, they saw a flash, and the moon demon¡¯s trace vanished. All they saw was a scarlet streak of light piercing through the sky.

    Nothing concerned Li Qingshan anymore. He flapped his wings of wind and fire and shook off the four of them in the blink of an eye. He let out a great chuckle. ¡°What shitty Marquis of Ruyi? I think this is all you¡¯re capable of!¡±

    Suddenly, he remembered how Yang Pinghu was once known as the Lord of Clear Court, so he laughed.

 Chapter 534 â€“ Within South Hub City

    An armoured giant that stood several hundred meters tall appeared on the horizon.

    The giant that stood as burly as a mountain pressed down on his sword. At a closer glance, it was not a true giant, but a statue. However, it was unbelievably large and happened to resemble one in both appearance and spirit. Even every single crease in its skin was clearly visible, and its eyes shone with lustre.

    He was the first lord of the Green province, bearing the title of the Mighty King of Chu. He raised his head and gazed at the boundless Ink sea, like he was warning and keeping the dragon king hidden in the sea at bay.

    Beside the statue, on the shore of the sea, stood a grand city. The royal palace littered across the land that rose and fell as an unbroken chain, forming a single, lofty and glorious body. Combined with the infiltration of time, it was coated in a faint green lustre.

    Waves surged and slammed against the city walls, like it was a huge piece of rock withstanding thousands of years of erosion and collision from the Ink sea. However, as it stood within the rising mist of the sea, it also seemed ungraspable.

    Feng Buquan¡¯s emotions surged inside. What a familiar sight!

    Standing before him was the greatest city of the Green province, South Hub city.

    When Feng Buquan stepped into South Hub city, he could not help but feel like everything was still the same, yet everyone had changed. With no time to lament, he directly made his way to the central region of South Hub city.

    Guards wielding weapons and adorned in armour stood there like guardian kings in temples, protecting the place and eyeing up any passers-by. None of them actually possessed a cultivation below Foundation Establishment, and they both practised qi and tempered the body. They were powerful. They were figures who could dominate an entire region no matter where they went.

    Feng Buquan had once been an esteemed guest of the provincial lord¡¯s estate, so he was familiar with the process. With his presence reported up, he was granted an audience by the Dark Queen very soon.

    Within a quiet and beautiful pavilion that could see the sea in the distance, a woman sat quietly by a window. A crescent moon hovered above the sea of clouds. Her expression was chilly as she gently caressed the cat in her arms as she cast her gaze outside. She was not looking at the sea, nor was she looking at the moon. Her gaze simply drifted about, gazing at the empty space.

    On the contrary, it was the cat that used its dark green eyes that shone like fireflies to study Feng Buquan. Afterwards, with a meow, it revealed an extremely human-like expression of boredom. It lowered its head to lick its claws, revealing the delicate, silver moon that hung on her forehead.

    The Dark Queen finally turned her head and looked at Feng Buquan. The cat let out a meow, and all the female attendants backed away. Afterwards, she said indifferently, ¡°Speak!¡±

    Feng Buquan glanced at the cat, but the cat directly responded, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡±

    Feng Buquan remembered the name of the cat and sighed inside. He bowed deeply. ¡°Your highness, I¡­ found her.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    The Dark Queen suddenly stood up. Her voice was chilly and dignified, but it also trembled emotionally.

    The cat landed on the ground lithely, glancing at her master in some confusion and letting out a displeased meow.

    Feng Buquan said, ¡°I found her. I sensed a hint of the heavenly secrets that belonged to her.¡±

    ¡°Where is she!?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but she¡¯s definitely still alive, alive in this world!¡±

    The Dark Queen clenched her hands firmly. Her knuckles whitened as her nails stabbed into her palms. Within the piercing pain, she forced herself to calm down.

    ¡°Feng Buquan! I recall you once told me that her life force was drained and death was certain. It¡¯s been so many years, and now you suddenly come to tell me that she¡¯s still alive? And you still don¡¯t know where she is?¡±

    Her voice and expression were both indifferent, without a hint of sternness. However, under the glow of the moon, the shadow behind her constantly grew, climbing up the walls and the ceiling. It was sinister and horrifying, dancing around madly and manifesting her inner perturbance.

    Feng Buquan raised his head. ¡°I did!¡±

    ¡°Make it clear for me.¡± The Dark Queen closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

    Feng Buquan told her everything that led to it. A powerful daemon called ¡°Northmoon¡± had appeared in the Clear River prefecture and obtained a Water God Seal from somewhere, refining regions of water en masse. The four grandmasters could not find him even when they worked together, so the Marquis of Ruyi requested him to carry out a divination. In the end, he sensed the thread of heavenly secrets that had been severed for all these years again. That was her existence.

    The Dark Queen asked, ¡°And then? Did you divine again?¡±

    ¡°I did, but I found nothing.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s merely a false impression.¡±

    ¡°My blind eye, my limp leg, my hunched back, and my heart are all telling me this is no false impression.¡± Feng Buquan was rather emotional too.

    The Dark Queen had also noticed that Feng Buquan¡¯s blind eye had become much clearer, and his hunched back had also straightened out. When he walked in, he no longer limped as badly as when he left back then.

    These disabilities had all arisen from the backlash of the heavenly secrets when he clashed with someone in the past. A clash between practitioners of divination could be even more dangerous than a clash between regular cultivators at times. Just lighter consequences involved shortened lifespans, while heavier consequences involved dying on the spot. The injuries they suffered would not be as straightforward as flesh wounds either. Instead, they would be much deeper, closely related to fate.

    Technically speaking, as long as a Golden Core cultivator like Feng Buquan did not die, they had methods to regrow their limbs and recover their sight even if their arms were severed and their eyes were blinded. However, nothing could heal the disabilities on his body, as they had already become his ¡°fate¡±, like a dead knot.

    In the past, in order to remunerate Feng Buquan for these sacrifices, the Dark Queen had used the strength of both the provincial lord¡¯s estate and the Umbral Yin sect, yet it was still unable to heal him. Yet now, it had taken such a clear turn for the better. The dead knot seemed to be showing signs of loosening.

    Feng Buquan said, ¡°In the past, I could calculate she was already dead, but now, I can¡¯t even calculate whether she¡¯s alive or dead.¡±

    The Dark Queen was finally fazed. She was not absolutely clueless about the heavenly secrets and divination. A situation like this clearly implied the heavenly secrets had changed one way or another. She murmured, ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    ¡°This is an extremely important clue. According to my understanding, this Northmoon is extremely closely related to the Soaring Dragon Elder of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s death. The Sword Collection palace sent Fu Qingjin to the Clear River prefecture primarily to investigate this.¡±

    Reaching there, Feng Buquan glanced at the cat on the table. Right now, she was the one who was most closely related to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death. If she had not fled for the Dragon province, why would the Soaring Dragon Elder die there so strangely?

    ¡°You said Northmeown!? You said Northmeown!?¡±

    The cat suddenly began calling out. When she heard Feng Buquan mention Northmoon, she found it extremely familiar, but she also struggled to believe it. When she left the Ice Sword cliff, he was still a long way away from Daemon General, yet now, even a group of Golden Core cultivators were helpless against him. That did not line up at all.

    ¡°Yes. He has a pair of horns, which are engraved with the words ¡®north¡¯ and ¡®moon¡¯,¡± said Feng Buquan. He had not brought the good news to the Dark Queen rashly. Instead, he specially carried out a series of investigations, particularly focusing on the only clue so far, the Daemon General called Northmoon.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be wrong! It must be Big Blacko! It must be Big Blacko! I want to go to the Clear River prefecture! I want to go to the Clear River prefecture!¡±

    The cat leapt up and turned into a young girl in dark green. She grabbed the Dark Queen¡¯s arm and shook it forcefully. The tail behind her had yet to transform away completely, so it waggled around excitedly.

    The Dark Queen was slightly taken aback. ¡°Northmoon is the Big Blacko you speak of?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s Big Blacko about?¡± Feng Buquan did have a rough understanding that Northmoon and Xuanyue were both related to the Soaring Dragon Elder¡¯s death, but he was not particularly familiar with the inside details.

    The Dark Queen rubbed Xuanyue¡¯s head. ¡°Yue¡¯er came across a daemon in the Boundless mountains¡­¡±

    ¡°Let me, let me!¡± Xuanyue excitedly narrated what she went through in the Boundless mountains after meeting ¡°Big Blacko¡±. Afterwards, she smiled complacently. ¡°He even admitted me as his master! Meowhahaha!¡±

    ¡°Do you know if there¡¯s anyone else by Northmoon¡¯s side?¡±

    Even Feng Buquan had never expected the origins of the name ¡°Northmoon¡± to actually come from the young girl¡¯s claws standing right before him. The thread of heavenly secrets had clearly appeared that day to cover Northmoon¡¯s location. He definitely had a close connection to it.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be Li¡¯l Whitey!¡±

    ¡°And who¡¯s Li¡¯l Whitey?¡±

    ¡° A little skeleton who didn¡¯t like to talk. Big Blacko is really nice to it.¡± Xuanyue wrinkled her nose, rather unhappy about this.

    ¡°A skeleton!¡±

    Feng Buquan suddenly turned his head and looked at the Dark Queen. There was nothing that was born as a skeleton. In order to be reduced to bones, it had clearly died once before reviving due to some certain reason.

    The severance and reappearance of the thread all seemed to be explained now.

    The Dark Queen was speechless. Her mind shuddered as she struggled to keep her emotions under control.

    She had already heard this story from Xuanyue countless times. In the beginning, she had been perplexed by just how the Soaring Dragon Elder had died, but towards the end, she even lost the interest to investigate. She simply listened along quietly. She had not grown sick of it, but she did lose her initial interest.

    However, never did she think it would actually be hiding such a deep secret. An insignificant, measly side character in the story might have been a crucial existence in her life.

    The pieces of the shattered puzzle flew together one by one, vaguely assembling into an image.

    However, there were still many points of doubt. If that really was her, if she really had been revived from death, why had she not returned? Why did she not tell Gu Yanying her identity on the Ice Sword cliff?

    Even if it were all true, could a senseless and mindless skeleton still be regarded as her child?

    The Dark Queen exhaled deeply, afraid to develop too much hope. She said in a cold tone, ¡°I want to see them.¡±

    Xuanyue called out, ¡°Let me come along! Let me come along!¡±

    Feng Buquan said, ¡°Definitely not.¡±

    The nine commanderies of the Green province had also been carved up by the three great sects. The Ruyi commandery was located towards the north, within the range of influence of the Sword Collection palace. Only the south was the headquarters of the Umbral Yin sect.

    As a result, when Xuanyue escaped last time, the Dark Queen could only leave it up to Gu Yanying, unable to tend to the matter in person. And, the Daemon Suppression alliance also developed vigorously in the north, but it had absolutely no activity in the south.

    The central region where the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga resided was a buffer zone. Basically as long as disciples of the two sects set foot in each other¡¯s territory, they would be risking their lives.

    Moreover, the war between the daemons and humans in the Clear River prefecture was showing signs of development. If a cat daemon like Xuanyue went there, she would be no different from walking into the belly of the beast. Even her nine lives would not be enough for her to use.

    ¡°You ugly monster!¡± Xuanyue pulled a face at Feng Buquan before turning to the Dark Queen and immediately behaving pitifully. ¡°Please, master!¡±

    The Dark Queen considered it for a moment before actually nodding in agreement. ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

 Chapter 535 â€“ The Raging River

    Since the vine was his, what would be the difficulty in harvesting the fruit?

    Refining bodies of water had always been relatively difficult when it was a small river merging with a large one and rather easy when it was a large river swallowing up a small one.

    Without even leaving the waters of the Clear river, Li Qingshan simply passed by the mouths of the river and used the Water God Seal to constantly devour the major and minor rivers and lakes in the Clear River prefecture. Given the circumstances, no one could stop him anymore.

    Even deliberate obstruction would barely be of any use. Unless they guarded the place and constantly contended with the waters of the Clear river, they were unable to cause too many problems.

    And, Li Qingshan could simply give up on the region of water temporarily and take over other water systems. Surely the Marquis of Ruyi could not send several dozen Golden Core cultivators to watch over every region of water in the Clear River prefecture!

    And, once they were alone, they faced the risk of being slain.

    Perhaps the Marquis of Ruyi had realised this too, so it had been extremely easy for him to refine the waters along the way. He basically ran into no obstacles at all.

    The Water God Seal constantly extended and changed. Li Qingshan spread out his arms. His heart raged with the river water.

    In the Ruyi commandery, in the same, dim room, the Marquis of Ruyi stared at the map on the wall with an extremely twisted expression. An extensive, twisted shape had appeared on there, bright red in colour.

    The redness continued to extend, infiltrating and dyeing the surrounding bodies of water. It moved extremely quickly, like the rapid spread of poison.

    In a daze, the red colours turned into a smiling face. The Marquis of Ruyi recalled how the wretched daemon had humiliated him and clenched his fist. He was tempted to obliterate him. He turned around and looked at Gu Yanying. ¡°If you had intervened back then, this wretched daemon would have never succeeded with your speed.¡±

    If she had intervened, Li Qingshan¡¯s effort would have fallen apart before he even made it to the end, but he still would have faced the risk of being killed.

    Gu Yanying laid out her hands. ¡°I never expected a Daemon General would be so difficult to deal with either!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi felt like his face was on fire. As the marquis of the Ruyi commandery, a Golden Core cultivator with a Seal of Mountains and Rivers in hand, he could not even capture a Daemon General.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let him run free anymore.¡± Killing intent appeared in Han Anguo¡¯s eyes. At that moment, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s kill him!¡±

    Gu Yanying said easily, but something else weighed on her mind.

    The Dark Queen is on tour in the north because she wants to come to the Ruyi commandery and see me? Not only is the conflict between humans and daemons gradually intensifying right now, the turmoil of the Green province and the conflict between the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect can erupt at any time too. Why is she risking her life to enter the range of influence of the Sword Collection palace at a time like this?

    Logically speaking, she should have a great entourage around her, surrounded by guards, if she¡¯s going on such a public tour. Even the Sword Collection palace would not dare to act rashly, but that¡¯s still something you have to guard against!

    Most importantly, even she had not been informed of the Dark Queen¡¯s true objective behind this visit, which highlighted many issues with the visit. Combined with how Feng Buquan had left the Ruyi commandery to visit South Hub city, there was profound significance behind all of this.

    Feng Buquan had called out that he wanted to see the Dark Queen after he tried to predict Northmoon¡¯s location for the Marquis of Ruyi. Was this related to him again?

    Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. I really find it more and more difficult to see through you.

    Originally, she treated him as a regular half-daemon. At most, he had some potential, but it would take a century at the very least before he would truly be of use. Never did she expect him to rise up so quickly, basically soaring up into the sky in a single stroke.

    However, the trees that protrude from the forest are always the ones that get blown down. Do you understand this principle?

    The waters of the Clear river raged along for millennia without ceasing.

    Cities and villages scattered densely and prospered on the two banks of the river. It was like a silver ribbon that threaded together the most resplendent pearls of the Clear River prefecture. All lives and production were unable to exist without the word ¡°water¡±.

    Several thousand years ago, the banks of the river had once been littered with temples. Regular people offered up incense to avoid floods and pray for rain. Only when the Great Xia empire was established and the world became godless did the practice gradually fade away. But today, it showed signs of revival again. Many places underwent construction.

    The name of ¡°Northmoon¡± had shaken up the cultivation world of the Clear River prefecture before reaching the world of mortals through various channels and avenues. The ¡°moon demon¡± became the ¡°moon god¡±.

    A temple with red walls and green tiles stood on the shore of Moon Court lake. Wisps of smoke from incense curled about, filling the entire room with fragrance before leaking out through the doors and windows.

    There was a hubbub of noise outside, with the deafening sound of gongs and drums and the roar of firecrackers.

    A person who seemed to be in charge of the temple called out and thousands of mortals dropped to their knees and bowed, bowing towards the statue shaped from wood and clay in the depths of the temple.

    The statue had scarlet hair, red eyes, and heavy facial features. His face was shaped auspiciously, with a full forehead and a round jaw. He stared ahead with a piercing gaze. His chin even had a few dignified wisps of long hair. As he stood there majestically, he was dressed in colourful armour, with a large, bright-red cloak around him.

    In the moment everyone lowered their heads, Li Qingshan who resided in the depths of the Clear river suddenly sensed something. He took out the Water God Seal and took a look. Many specks of light had appeared in it. They were extremely small, so small that he would have never discovered it if he had not looked carefully.

    Is this¡­ the power of belief?

    Then Li Qingshan inspected the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Under close observation, he discovered they shared many similarities. Even the twisted, meandering shapes shared a hint of profoundness. However, the power of belief inside was similar in nature, yet also slightly different.

    When Li Qingshan used his soul sense to inspect the specks of power of belief, he vaguely heard countless thoughts, voices, calls, and prayers. He took out the Watermirror disc and immediately found the temple on the shore of the lake.

    When he saw the statue in the temple, he could not help but become stunned. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s supposed to be me?! Since when did I look so rustic? And I even have a beard!

    However, with all certainty, on the plaque above the temple entrance were three large gilded words, ¡°Moon God Temple¡±, which left him at a loss as to how to react. Clearly, this was the common folk¡¯s primitive imagination of a powerful god.

    When Li Qingshan stopped the wave, he had only done so because it was convenient, but it left behind an unforgettably deep impression among the common people. There was a great fear for his tremendous power, yet also a great joy from escaping with their lives intact, so they built the temple.

    Li Qingshan could sense many prayers for rain from the power of belief, so with a wave of his hand, dark clouds surged over from the horizon and brought heavy rain.

    There was a great cheer in front of the Moon God temple, and more specks of light appeared in the Water God Seal.

    Li Qingshan burst out laughing. It was no wonder that the Marquis of Ruyi behaved like a cat that had its tail trodden on. Clearly, the position of a water god was not as simple as occupying a river.

    If the Seal of Mountains and Rivers represented ¡°political power¡±, then the Water God Seal would probably be a manifestation of ¡°religious power¡±. If religious power were on the rise, then political power would naturally diminish and decline.

    Although the power of belief did not seem to be of much use to him, it was fine as long as he could mess with the Marquis of Ruyi. If he continued with his great undertaking as a water god, he would definitely be able to erode away the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s power.

    The terrors of the Seal of Mountains and Rivers was still fresh in his memory. He could not help but admit that if he fought alone, he really was not that bastard¡¯s opponent.

    After ingesting Wen Zhengming¡¯s golden core, he converted it all into the strength of the ox demon. He had only managed to push away the Seal of Mountains and Rivers and avoid the fate of being crushed to death with the explosive power, but he still did not possess the strength to completely overwhelm the seal.

    It was just a pity that he still could not break through to the fifth layer of the ox demon, or he would be absolutely confident that he could play around with the Seal of Mountains and Rivers like it was a toy. However, if he really did reach the fifth layer of the ox demon, he would have to worry about whether the spirit turtle could keep it suppressed or not.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. His senses constantly extended, reaching every affluent connected to the water. He could feel boundlessly powerful surging through his body. While the power did not come from him, but the Water God Seal instead, he obviously had a way to convert it into a portion of his own power.

    Li Qingshan took in a deep breath. The Water God seal shone with dazzling blue light and roaring water spiritual qi surged towards him, like rivers flowing into the ocean.

    He continued with his original plan, practising the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. The first layer, the second layer, the third layer, the fourth layer, the fifth layer¡­

    The sea of qi rapidly filled up, reaching its limit. At the same time, he sensed the will within the vast waters. He easily arrived at the peak of mid Foundation Establishment. He only needed to take another step forward and he would reach late Foundation Establishment.

    Just like that, Golden Core no longer seemed so far away.

    Foundation Establishment cultivators were already regarded as proficient cultivators in the cultivation world, having stepped through the gates of cultivation. However, they only possessed identities of disciples in large sects like the Sword Collection palace and Umbral Yin sect. No one knew how many Foundation Establishment cultivators there were in the Green province. Their reputation would only be limited to a single prefecture.

    Golden Core cultivators, on the other hand, possessed some basic renown. There were not a lot of them throughout the entirety of the Green province, and they were all figures with a reputation. Even in large sects, they could hold positions of elders. With how large the nine provinces were, they would receive a degree of respect no matter where they went.

    The lord of the Green province had a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators as guards, yet he treated Feng Buquan as an esteemed guest. Even though the highly limited number of practitioners of divination played a factor, it was still enough to demonstrate the tremendous difference between their identities.

    It was possible to say that if Li Qingshan broke through to Golden Core before the age of thirty, he would be a rare, almost-matchless prodigy. The entire Green province would be stirred up as a result, and he would immediately become a target that various large organisations would want to rope in. It was even possible for him to be directly summoned to the Dragon province to take office in the imperial court, giving him a limitless future.

    Apart from an increase in strength, there were countless external benefits too.

    Within his sea of qi, the spiritual qi pulsed again and again, but he was unable to break through to the sixth layer of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. He knew it would be pointless to continue like this, so he stopped absorbing the water spiritual qi.

    Li Qingshan exhaled gently. Sure enough, the breakthrough to each cultivation realm was difficult. Even minor realms of cultivation were no exception. Breaking through to Golden Core would probably be even more difficult. Apart from water spiritual energy, he also required accumulation and comprehension.

    However, he was not disappointed. As long as he continued to accumulate experience and constantly tried, it would be enough. He believed there would be a day when he succeeded.

    After becoming the Lord of the Clear River Waters, the raging waters and endless spiritual qi had become his foundation. It had already become his greatest capital.

 Chapter 536 â€“ On Burial Mound Mountain

    Instead, they were short hills. There was no clear division from hill to hill. While they were called mountains, they were actually hills.

    Spiritual veins rarely passed through such terrain, and spiritual qi was relatively scarce. Cultivators normally would not establish sects here.

    However, there was an exception, which was the Burial Mound mountain of the three mountains from the past. As a sect that primarily focused on refining corpses, they did not emphasise on spiritual veins, but suitable ¡°corpse-nurturing lands¡±.

    The hills were like huge burial mounds, turning them into natural places for accumulating yin qi and corpse qi. Followed by modifications made by generations upon generations of cultivators from the Burial Mound mountain, it was enveloped in gloom all year round. Even the sunshine seemed feeble.

    If any mortals accidentally entered this place, they would stiffen up and fall dead before long before climbing back up again soon.

    Yu Shukuang stood at the base of the hills and frowned as he gazed at Burial Mound mountain. Through the information network of the Hawkwolf Guard, he had finally found out that Ma Chaoqun was currently in Burial Mound mountain. He had changed his allegiance and become a disciple of Burial Mound mountain.

    Ever since the deaths of the Green Vine Elder and the Golden Pheasant Elder, the ¡°holy land of the three mountains¡± had fragmented and fallen apart. However, a first elder who had been cultivating in seclusion then emerged for the Burial Mound mountain to manage the situation.

    The rumor was that this first elder had crawled out of the coffin. As for the exact details, no one knew about them.

    After several years of war, the other sects all sustained losses, but Burial Mound mountain instead prospered more than before. The gloominess that enveloped Burial Mound mountain was much heavier than when the Lone Grave Elder was still alive.

    If the corpses of mortals who died in the war were left to rot, it would lead to disease outbreaks, but both incineration or burial was extremely troublesome.

    Most of them had been gathered and transported to Burial Mound mountain before being converted into zombies and bound to commanding tablets under the corpse refinement of the secret techniques of Burial Mound mountain. They were transformed into a force to contend with the daemons.

    Yu Shukuang knew about all of this. He worried inside, Surely Ma Chaoqun isn¡¯t that crazy! He did love his wife deeply, but he did not wish to see her rise again as a corpse.

    With his identity as a Hawkwolf guard, he entered Burial Mound mountain with great ease. The surroundings immediately grew dimmer. Figures flickered through the gloom, either standing in groups or moving around alone. There were an extremely great number of them, and they all produced various strange sounds, but it did not seem lively at all. Even Yu Shukuang was unable to tell which were corpses and which were people.

    The disciple who guarded the entrance received him. After learning he had come to see Ma Chaoqun, his pale face became more enthusiastic. He immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll go invite my first senior brother over right now.¡±

    ¡°First senior brother!¡±

    Yu Shukuang was rather surprised, but the disciple was already long gone. He left behind a zombie to lead him along another path.

    He was brought to a stone room that resembled a coffin chamber to wait, politely declining the tea on the table. Standing behind him was the corpse who held the tea jug and served as an attendant. He stared at the tea cup with his hollow eyes as if he was waiting for Yu Shukuang to drink it. It truly was unsettling.

    After waiting a while, Yu Shukuang grew bored. He stood up and paced around. He felt rather worried inside, Don¡¯t tell me that guy fled after knowing I came. However, he was a disciple of the Burial Mound mountain after all, so apart from paying a proper, formal visit, there was nothing else Yu Shukuang could do.

    He turned around and his heart suddenly tightened, almost drawing the sword on his waist. Before he knew it, a figure had appeared at the door.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    The person did not answer. The corner of his lips twitched stiffly as if he was sneering.

    Yu Shukuang frowned and said in surprise, ¡°Ma Chaoqun!¡±

    It was not his fault for being so surprised. The Ma Chaoqun right now bore almost no resemblance to the Ma Chaoqun in his memory.

    Ma Chaoqun¡¯s nickname was the ¡°Pitted Madman¡±. He had quite a mad aura about him, but the person before him was extremely sunken. Both his face and his figure was terrifyingly gaunt. His complexion was so horrible that he had almost even overlooked his pitted skin.

    What brought Yu Shukuang even more surprise was Ma Chaoqun¡¯s cultivation. He was actually a tenth layer Qi Practitioner.

    Yu Shukuang was merely a sixth layer Qi Practitioner right now, and that was only because of his daughter, because Yu Zijian had received quite a lot of support from the Hua family. He could already be regarded as rather quick. As for Ma Chaoqun, he had never been a particularly talented person, or he would not have spent so many years on Pheasant¡¯s Grace mountain.

    It was no wonder the disciple earlier called him first senior brother!

    However, Yu Shukuang did not fear his cultivation. He barked, ¡°Ma Chaoqun, where did you take Zi¡¯er¡¯s corpse?¡±

    He originally thought Ma Chaoqun would feign ignorance before viciously mocking his attempt at retribution. However, never did he think that Mao Chaoqun would be extremely frank. ¡°Come with me!¡± Afterwards, he turned around and left.

    All Yu Shukuang could do was follow behind him. Ma Chaoqun¡¯s footsteps were rather stiff, but he moved as fast as the wind. Before long, they arrived before a stone door. From the quality of the stone door, it could already be regarded as rather luxurious on Burial Mound mountain. They stepped inside and a long passageway appeared.

    Yu Shukuang caught the smell of blood, which grew heavier and heavier, enough for him to feel nauseated. It was no longer just the reeking of blood anymore. There was also a foul smell of rot. Simply by taking a breath of it, he felt like his chest had been filled with filthy pieces of cotton.

    They passed through a series of stone doors. At the end of the passageway was a huge, underground palace. A circular pool of blood occupied most of the underground palace. Severed limbs floated in it as it constantly bubbled, producing a series of glugging sounds, like the pool of blood was alive.

    It was clearly extremely thick, but when he cast his gaze over, he felt like it was bottomless.

    The moment he stepped into the underground palace, Yu Shukuang¡¯s gaze was drawn away by the crystal coffin in the centre of the blood pool. Compared to the foul pool of blood, the crystal coffin seemed so pure.

    Within the coffin lay a beautiful woman dressed in violet. Her cheeks were rosy and her face was peaceful. She seemed like she was sleeping.

    Yu Shukuang could never forget that face. He called out uncontrollably, ¡°Zi¡¯er!¡± He turned around and asked with an expression of confusion of whether he should be angry or happy, ¡°What did you do?¡±

    He could not help but admit that the fact he was not seeing a walking zombie brought him some comfort. At a closer glance he discovered the crystal coffin that Zi¡¯er laid in seemed to be connected with a messy series of cables, connected with the blood pool.

    Ma Chaoqun said, ¡°I¡¯m doing what you can¡¯t do.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I want to revive her!¡± Human emotions appeared on Ma Chaoqun¡¯s face. There was a combination of complacency, excitement, and fanaticism.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Yu Shukuang said. Let alone Qi Practitioners, even Foundation Establishment cultivators, no, Golden Core cultivators could not revive the dead.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t love her enough!¡± Ma Chaoqun pointed at Yu Shukuang as his voice echoed through the underground palace. Afterwards, he threw himself on the crystal coffin and caressed in an enamoured manner through the coffin.

    ¡°Do you see? Zi¡¯er, this is the man who sweet-talked you, who kept on saying he loved you whole-heartedly, yet also made you lie in the pitch-black ground, unable to see the light of day. I was the one who saved you. I was the one who let you down. If I hadn¡¯t left back then¡ª it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. We can still be together.¡±

    His confusing drivel gave Yu Shukuang chills. He¡¯s actually gone mad!

    After Zi¡¯er¡¯s death, he had never touched another woman, constantly grieving over her. He could be regarded as quite a rare, lovesick man. However, compared to Ma Chaoqun¡¯s insanity, he only felt inferior.

    Yu Shukuang backed away slowly. He felt extremely uneasy inside. He needed to return and find reinforcements. He had to find the two commanders. They would definitely help him out and bring back Zi¡¯er¡¯s corpse.

    Ma Chaoqun suddenly turned around. ¡°She¡¯s your wife. Can you really just bring yourself to leave like this? You better stay behind to accompany her too!¡± He leapt over the pool of blood and lunged towards Yu Shukuang.

    He¡¯s been planning on killing me right from the beginning! Doesn¡¯t he care about my identity as a Hawkwolf guard? Oh right, he no longer cares about anything now!

    Yu Shukuang exclaimed inside. He struck out with a flash. The moment he stabbed Ma Chaoqun¡¯s throat, he wondered, Why isn¡¯t he dodging? However, the sword showed no mercy and his true qi channeled in, plunging into his throat but unable to pierce all the way through.

    A sneer appeared on Ma Chaoqun¡¯s face. He advanced over, pressing against the sword until it curved. His right hand grabbed Yu Shukuang¡¯s throat like it was made from steel, lifting him up like a chicken. He walked over to the pool and pressed him down.

    ¡°For her sake, you can go down too!¡±

    The pool of blood bubbled and a vicious face appeared, opening its mouth and staring at Yu Shukuang. Am I going to die here today?

    ¡°Chengzan, nothing has happened lately, right?¡±

    As per usual, Li Qingshan paid a visit to the Hawkwolf Guard first, patting Hua Chengzan on the shoulder in an unconcerned manner.

    All Hua Chengzan could do was force out a smile. A Golde Core cultivator had died, the moon demon had united the regions of water, and the Marquis of Ruyi had retreated helplessly. Were these supposed to be something?

    However, he still did not appear this time! It seemed like as long as the moon demon appeared somewhere, he would never be there. However, just how did he predict these turmoils again and again? It was probably because of Xiao An¡¯s divination of the seven lots, right? Sure enough, having a practitioner of divination by his side really did allow him to pursue good fortune while avoiding calamities.

    They were technically major matters, but as it had nothing to do with them, they became minor. He remained happily uninvolved just like before, increasing his cultivation at an almost-exaggerated speed. Although he was still at mid Foundation Establishment, his aura had grown by far too much compared to the last time they had met. If this continued, the Clear River prefecture would probably produce a never-before-seen young Golden Core cultivator.

    However, Hua Chengzan also felt rather perplexed. How could his cultivation advance so quickly? His startling talent and an exceptional ability to comprehend could be explained one way or another, but where did he find so many resources from?

    Hua Chengzan had no intentions of suspecting this friend of his, but his sharp and inquisitive nature made him think that there were many suspicious aspects involved.

    Of course, every suspicious aspect could be explained after some effort, but together, coming off as slightly strange was unavoidable.

 Chapter 537 â€“ The Strange Hand in the Blood Pool

    A cold bark echoed through the underground palace.

    ¡°Sect master!¡±

    Ma Chaoqun turned his head stiffly and saw a tiny, skinny old man in black the size of a child in the passageway. He walked into the underground palace, his face withered like a skeleton¡¯s as he radiated with yin qi and corpse qi. Impressively, he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and late Foundation Establishment at that.

    He was the elder who revived Burial Mound mountain, the current sect master of Burial Mound mountain.

    ¡°Release him!¡±

    The old man ordered. Yu Shukuang was only a measly Qi Practitioner. He did not take him seriously originally¡ªif he died, then so be it. However, he was also a Hawkwolf guard, so he dared not be careless. The Academy of the Hundred Schools was currently rising in power. If a Hawkwolf guard died on his Burial Mound mountain, it would be no laughing matter.

    However, Ma Chaoqun did not release Yu Shukuang. Instead, he pressed him towards the blood pool.

    Yu Shukuang widened his eyes as the blood pool filled his face. The smell of blood grew heavier and filled his eyes and nose. He felt an indescribable sense of great horror from the depths of his heart. As if he had become stricken with fear, he was unable to move.

    The moment the tip of his nose approached the blood pool, it stopped.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡±

    A hand that resembled a chicken¡¯s claw grabbed Ma Chaoqun¡¯s arm firmly. The old man had never thought his first disciple who had always been so obedient would actually defy his orders. He grabbed Yu Shukuang with his other hand and tossed his aside casually.

    Launched into the air, Yu Shukuang flew away from the blood pool and slammed heavily against the wall. Having scraped by with his life intact, the blood pool he stared into earlier seemed to want to suck him into another world.

    Just as the old man wanted to teach this disciple of his a proper lesson, he suddenly felt there was something wrong with the pool of blood. The smell of blood was nothing to him¡ªhe had no sense of smell¡ªand he had seen plenty of sights that involved mountainous piles of corpses and seas of blood before.

    Pools of blood on Burial Mound mountain were used to refine blood corpses. It seemed very chilling to regular people, but it was nothing special to him. However, there was something different about this pool of blood as if something was hiding beneath. He tried extending his soul sense into it and his expression suddenly changed drastically.

    ¡°This- How dare you! No wonder your cultivation progressed so quickly!¡±

    Before Ma Chaoqun could reply, he slammed his hand towards the top of Ma Chaoqung¡¯s head. Overcome by surprise and fury, he actually showed no mercy at all, wanting to execute the first senior brother of Burial Mound mountain on the spot.

    However, he sneered without a hint of fear.

    Splash!

    A great wave suddenly arose from the pool of thick, dense blood. A huge, withered hand extended out and grabbed the old man like it was grabbing an insect. His bones shattered and ruptured like firecrackers before the hand pulled itself back into the pool.

    The pool of blood surged a few times before settling down very quickly.

    All of this had happened in an instant. A late Foundation Establishment cultivator had simply vanished silently like that. Let alone putting up a struggle, he had not even been able to let out a shriek.

    ¡°Thank you for saving my life, sir!¡± Ma Zhaoqun knelt on one knee and stood up, about to chase after Yu Shukuang.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to chase after him! Let him draw in even more people. I need even more corpses.¡± A dry, hoarse voice rang out from the pool of blood.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go gather all the disciples right now.¡± A sliver of viciousness flashed through Ma Chaoqun¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯ve really troubled you for the past three years. You haven¡¯t disappointed me, so I won¡¯t disappoint you either.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Ma Chaoqun was overjoyed. Ever since he began hearing the voice, he had never stopped working hard. He could finally see a ray of hope now.

    When the old man tossed out Yu Shukuang, he immediately fled for his life. Only when he escaped from the underground palace did he glance back and discover that Ma Chaoqun was not after him. Had the old man killed him? He dared not return and verify his thoughts.

    No, I need to report this to the Hawkwolf Guard!

    Without much effort, Li Qingshan found a few cultivation methods that simultaneously practised water and fire in the library of the academy. Sure enough, they explained in detail how to merge fire and water and make them supplement one another. This was the most difficult aspect of it all.

    After reading for a while, a thin, azure water flow rose up from Li Qingshan¡¯s palm, coiling up like a spirit turtle. At the same time, a tiny ball of fire lit up, dancing about like a phoenix.

    Under his control, the water and fire collided together and engaged in a violent clash, like two mortal enemies. The water wanted to extinguish the fire, while the fire wanted to burn away the water. How was this merging water and fire? In the end, the water gained the upper hand and suppressed the fire, but the fire only lost the upper hand temporarily. As long as an opportunity showed itself, it would fight back vigilantly.

    There was not a single trace of merging together. Li Qingshan shook his head, stowed the water and fire away, and returned the books. The usage of the information in the books was very limited. It was easy to balance out regular fire and water, but both the spirit turtle and the phoenix were the purest embodiments of water and fire.

    They were powerful because of how pure they were, but it also made the water and fire more intolerant of one another.

    ¡°Commander, you¡¯re here!¡± Hua Chengzan paced over and appeared between two bookshelves.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Li Qingshan turned around and asked. Normally, Hua Chengzan would not refer to him as commander.

    ¡°One of our Hawkwolf guards, Yu Zijian¡¯s father, ran into some trouble.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What trouble?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk as we go.¡±

    Letting Li Qingshan walk in front, Hua Chengzan glanced from the corner of his eyes and discovered the cultivation method that Li Qingshan had been studying was called the Study of Water and Fire. Then he looked away.

    Doesn¡¯t he have the Arts of the Boundless Ocean already? What¡¯s he looking at this third-rate cultivation method that can only be practised till Foundation Establishment for?

    ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about?¡± Li Qingshan patted Hua Chengzan on the shoulder. Hua Chengzan raised his head and met his eyes that had contrasting whites and dark irises. He shivered inside and shook his head. ¡°Nothing.¡±

    The two of them returned to the Hawkwolf Guard together and saw Yu Shukuang. Listening to what he went through, Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°It is a little strange. Let¡¯s go and take a loo-¡±

    He paused because he suddenly sensed an omen of warning. He could not help but become confused. With his current cultivation, he could escape without losing his composure even if he ran into Golden Core cultivators and Daemon Commanders. Just what would he be running into during this trip that would actually be so dangerous?

    However, he was an old acquaintance of Yu Shukuang and he also cared about Zijian¡¯s mother. He was also the Scarlet Hawk commander and someone had just tried to kill a Hawkwolf guard. Whether it was from an emotional or a logical sense, he could not turn a blind eye to this.

    Of course, the omen of warning was not very strong. He only had to be a little more careful. If this was a warning where it was basically certain death, he would not simply walk to his death either. It was a pity that Xiao An was currently refining that old man Wen¡¯s remains and soul, or he would be even safer.

    Li Qingshan, Hua Chengzan, and Yu Shukuang arrived at the outskirts of Burial Mound mountain together. They gazed at the gloomy mountain from afar.

    Yu Shukuang roughly indicated the location and Li Qingshan said, ¡°Old Yu, you should just stay here!¡±

    ¡°Yes, commander!¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°What, you think it¡¯ll be dangerous?¡±

    ¡°It never hurts to be on the safe side. Let¡¯s just be a little more careful!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and drew the Heavy Water sword, placing it on his shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s hope we see the sect master of Burial Mound mountain bringing his traitorous disciple Ma Chaoqun to us in chains and apologising to us as soon as we enter!¡±

    The warning from the spirit turtle had completely eliminated this possibility already.

    The two of them arrived before the entrance of the sect with a single leap and Hua Chengzan suddenly asked, ¡°Qingshan, are you very familiar with Yu Shukuang?¡±

    He struggled to disguise this feeling of familiarity. Especially when Zijian¡¯s mother was mentioned, Li Qingshan did not become curious about the details involved, and Yu Shukuang had not given a detailed explanation either. He felt like Li Qingshan knew exactly what had happened, but the two of them should not have had a lot of contact.

    ¡°We happened to meet a few times in the past. Let¡¯s announce our presence!¡± Li Qingshan changed the topic, but he remembered a saying, You can fool everyone for a moment, you can fool one person for eternity, but you can never fool everyone for eternity.

    Particularly with fooling a person with sharp senses and accustomed to thinking deeply. That would be even more difficult.

    Hua Chengzan called out and announced the reason for their arrival. The haze on Burial Mound mountain weighed heavily as there was no reply at all.

    The two of them exchanged glances and walked over. They passed through the formation with ease and entered Burial Mound mountain.

    There were no sneak attacks or ambushes that they had imagined. All was silent.

    The chilly winds whistled as the sky was without any moon or stars. There was not a single shadow to be seen on the mountain. Even the zombies that roamed everywhere had vanished. They could not sense any auras either.

    This situation was even stranger than a hundred thousand Corpse Soldiers encircling them. Where did all of the Burial Mound mountain¡¯s disciples go?

    Hua Chengzan joked, ¡°Commander, I want to go home.¡±

    Li Qingshan patted Hua Chengzan¡¯s shoulder with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ll leave as soon as we get a glance.¡±

    Following the direction that Yu Shukuang had indicated, the two of them arrived before the entrance of the underground palace. Wind whistled through the passageway like howls of ghosts.

    Even without any warning from the spirit turtle, Li Qingshan knew this place was anything but good. He said to Hua Chengzan, ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll go in and take a look!¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°I¡¯ll become scared if I¡¯m alone!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Then follow along behind me!¡±

    With one at the front and one at the back, the two of them passed through the passageway and arrived in the underground palace.

    ¡°Oi, Ma Chaoqun, get out here and die!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. The smell from the blood pool was truly unpleasant, and it made the warning intensify. He spotted the crystal coffin above the blood pool with a single glance, as well as the woman who resembled Yu Zijian.

    Meanwhile, Ma Chaoqun who resembled almost nothing of his past self stood behind the crystal coffin. He stared at the person in the coffin with great affection. He raised his head and looked at them coldly.

    ¡°Another two!¡±

    Creak! Crack! Crick! Thump! A series of mechanisms were activated and among the sounds of rubbing against rock, stone doors fell one by one, sealing off the passageway. Inscriptions appeared on the doors. Clearly, they could not be destroyed so easily.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the pool of blood.¡± Hua Chengzan studied the inscriptions engraved around the blood pool and found them extremely familiar as if he had read about them in a book somewhere before. He tried sending his soul sense into the pool, and his expression changed drastically.

    ¡°Oh no! Qingshan, destroy the pool of blood!¡±

    As Hua Chengzan said that, three scarlet talismans flew out of his hand.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! The scarlet talismans exploded into three scarlet-red fireballs that rapidly swelled in the air. Li Qingshan could sense the great power hiding inside. Let alone the tiny pool of blood, they were even enough to flatten an entire city.

    Talismans that powerful were extremely rare. Often, they would be reserved for life-threatening moments, yet Hua Chengzan used three right off the bat. When they exploded in the underground palace, they could even threaten his own life, but in that moment, he could no longer care so much.

    Li Qingshan did not know what Hua Chengzan was worrying about, but he did trust his judgement. With a swing of his sword, the Heavy Water sword that had already been huge suddenly swelled to ten times its size. He cleaved down as if he was trying to destroy everything.

    Ma Chaoqun, the crystal coffin, and even the pool of blood were all included in the sword¡¯s trajectory.

 Chapter 538 â€“ The Gate of Hungry Ghosts

    The pool of blood surged, spattering blood everywhere. A large, withered, greyish-white hand with long, sharp nails extended out and splayed its fingers, enveloping the three fireballs. They stopped growing in size, shrinking instead until they were completely extinguished. At the same time, it used its index finger and middle finger to easily catch the Heavy Water sword.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed suddenly. Even though he had not used the strength of the ox demon, the strike was still not something anyone could catch easily with two fingers.

    However, the feeling that the hand gave him already resembled a terrifying monster. If its entire body crawled out from the pool of blood, then even if he assumed his daemon form, he probably still would not be its enemy. He had never thought the Burial Mound mountain would actually be hiding such a terrifying thing.

    Hua Chengzan abruptly experienced a great sense of crisis. Before he could even respond, a great force smacked into him violently, launching him into the air viciously. He stared at Li Qingshan in shock as he sailed through the air.

    What struck him was not the terrifying, strange hand, but Li Qingshan.

    Has he discovered my suspicions and wants to silence me with death?

    Li Qingshan was stern. Without even looking at Hua Chengzan, he placed his sword across his body, assuming a defensive posture.

    Boom!

    The withered hand smacked against Li Qingshan. The ground beneath him immediately cracked and collapsed as he sank to his waist.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body could be considered as lofty, but under the hand, it was like a tiny nail being hammered into a wall.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Hua Chengzan came to a realisation. Li Qingshan had saved him. With his reactions, he would not have been able to respond to the hand¡¯s attack. If it were not for Li Qingshan, he would have been reduced to a pile of pulp already. He would be as dead as he could be.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The owner of the hand was rather surprised. If regular Foundation Establishment cultivators took on that attack, death would be certain for them. Not only did this puny cultivator possess endless strength, but his body was as tough as steel too. He gave off a feeling that he was indestructible.

    ¡°If you¡¯ve stared long enough, get going!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Hua Chengzan. Before he could finish, the hand suddenly closed around him, dragging Li Qingshan into the pool of blood.

    Hua Chengzan rushed to the side of the pool, only to see that the blood had already settled. His heart completely sank. Suddenly, the pool of blood began to surge violently like boiling water. The entire underground palace shook.

    He gritted his teeth, turned around, and left. He would be of no help even if he remained here. Instead, he would waste his opportunity to escape that Li Qingshan had earned for him with his life.

    Grabbed by the hand, Li Qingshan constantly descended towards the depths of the pool. The gurgling blood constantly surged towards his ears and nose. A ring of faint, blue light rose up, pushing away all the blood.

    Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. There was actually a dim light at the bottom of the pool, but it did not resemble any glow of spiritual qi. Instead, it was like sunlight. He tried extending his soul sense into the bottom of the pool.

    At that moment, a boundless world unfolded in front of his eyes before his soul sense immediately broke off. A blade seemed to cleave apart his soul sense. However, he would never be able to forget the landscape he saw momentarily.

    White bones scattered the lands and blood flowed as rivers. The miserable gathering clouds and rolling mists obscured all celestial bodies in the sky.

    Zombies roared at the skies madly, wrapped in extremely thick corpse qi. Not only were there Corpse Generals, but there were even Corpse Commanders.

    If that was not alarming enough, the number of Corpse Generals amounted to tens of thousands like they were common soldiers. They gathered in noisy groups, strewn across the wilderness, while the number of Corpse Commanders amounted to over a hundred.

    The number of Corpse Soldiers could no longer be described with words. They filled his entire vision, stretching as far as the eye could see.

    At the very centre of this horrifying image was a dried corpse standing over three hundred meters tall, reaching towards the sky. The corpse qi on his body could basically be described as rising clouds. His eyes shone as two specks of horrible, green light as his arm extended towards the sky as if it was holding it up.

    It was a legendary Corpse King!

    What is this place? Why are there so many zombies!?

    The omen of warning in his heart was set off like a police siren. If he were dragged in there, then even if he had ten lives, it would be nowhere near enough!

    Li Qingshan immediately reverted to his original form. His body tightened, and he pushed the fingers away from his body. Tremors of the Ox Demon! The faint blue Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell swelled up as well, pushing apart the five fingers of the huge, withered hand.

    Bang!

    The pool of blood exploded loudly, and Li Qingshan burst out. The wings of the phoenix unfurled gloriously as his scarlet hair drifted through the air. He landed beside the pool and dared not remain for a second longer, rushing out of the palace.

    The huge, withered hand tailed right behind him. It snatched down, brushing Li Qingshan¡¯s back, merely millimetres away.

    The phoenix wings were ripped to pieces, turning into scarlet feathers that drifted through the air.

    Li Qingshan lunged forward as hard as he could. The warning vanished, and he let out a deep breath. Only then did he feel the severe pain from his back.

    His back seemed to have become plowed farmland. His flesh had been turned inside out, having gained three bone-deep injuries. Even suffering three strikes from an anti-cavalry blade would not be so horrific.

    The protruding flesh became a dark green as the colour rapidly spread. He had been poisoned.

    The huge hand reached about madly in the surroundings, shattering and crushing the tough rock like mud. However, it could not extend too far away.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been infected with corpse poison! You won¡¯t last long!¡±

    A dry, hoarse voice boomed out, making the entire underground palace tremble.

    ¡°What are you?¡±

    With a wave of his hand, the scattered feathers turned into specks of fire and returned to his body, transforming his flesh and blood contaminated with corpse poison into fire. When the flames subsided, he had already made a full recovery, completely unscathed.

    There was no reply. The huge hand pulled back into the pool as if it had also realised it was unable to do anything to Li Qingshan like this.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Ma Chaoqun and considered whether he could kill off this bastard and steal back the crystal coffin under the interference of the withered hand.

    The pool of blood surged, rapidly beginning to revolve. It formed a huge whirlpool as the level of liquid began to drop like someone had pulled out the stopper.

    The crystal coffin sank rapidly, spinning with the vortex. Ma Chaoqun threw himself at it and hugged the crystal coffin firmly.

    With a series of glugs, the pool of blood was drained, leaving behind a huge, circular space of emptiness. The walls were layered from brick, extending downwards to the unknown depths.

    Suddenly, the hole produced a powerful suction force. Fierce winds surged over as they whistled.

    The suction force was so great that the underground palace finally gave way, trembling and collapsing. A huge boulder fell in front of the entrance, and the wind halted for a moment, but the boulder was rapidly ripped apart. The hole seemed like a huge, greedy mouth, devouring everything madly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure began to waver too. He dared not remain for any longer, rushing out of the place.

    Hua Chengzan happened to be waiting at the entrance. He saw Li Qingshan and was overjoyed. ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed Hua Chengzan and took off into the air. He only stopped when he arrived at an extremely high altitude, lowering his head to look.

    The yin qi that enveloped Burial Mound mountain for thousands of years formed a colossal vortex, all surging madly towards a single point. The surroundings of Burial Mound mountain had never been so clear before.

    Burial Mound mountain collapsed at a visible rate, forming a colossal pit. The pit continued to grow, swallowing the earth in the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said sternly, ¡°A Gate of Hungry Ghosts!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s a Gate of Hungry Ghosts?¡±

    ¡°Have you heard about the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra before?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t tell me this hole is connected to the Hungry Ghost realm?¡±

    TL: There are six major realms of rebirth in buddhist cosmology (as well as corresponding entities), which are the realms of deva (deity-like beings), asura (demi-god-like beings who exhibit extreme anger and wrath, particularly towards deva), humans, animals, preta (hungry ghosts, beings of insatiable hunger and thirst with small mouths and long necks due to being overly greedy in their past lives) and naraka (hell). You can read more about it here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra_(Buddhism)#Realms_of_rebirth

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. Among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, every single realm was extremely vast. In comparison, the World of the Nine Provinces was almost negligible in size. The sight he saw earlier was the Hungry Ghost realm, and that probably could only be regarded as a small spectacle in the Hungry Ghost realm.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve already sent a message back. We need to seal off this gate as soon as possible, or there¡¯ll be a lot of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Li Qingshan expressed his agreement. Just with what he saw earlier alone, a Corpse King, a group of Corpse Commanders, and a pile of Corpse Generals could throw the entire Green province into chaos, let alone a puny Clear River prefecture or the Ruyi commandery.

    ¡°But how do we seal it? There¡¯s no way in hell I¡¯m going to the other side.¡± If he were accidentally sucked into the Hungry Ghost realm, he would be done for.

    Hua Chengzan laid out his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t know either. We can only wait until others arrive and then confer with them. This is probably already beyond what Foundation Establishment cultivators can handle.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Just Ma Chaoqun, that puny Qi Practitioner, actually managed to cause something so major!¡±

    Hua Chengzan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not just Ma Chaoqun. Burial Mound mountain has always been a corpse-nurturing land where yin qi gathers. Over the several years of warfare and turmoil, the number of corpses that have been delivered here have probably reached the tens of millions. Burial Mound mountain has already become a living Hungry Ghost realm. Its boundary with the Hungry Ghost realm became extremely weak. We only focused on combating the daemons, but we neglected this point.¡±

    ¡°Ma Chaoqun then cooperated with the powerful undead in the Hungry Ghost realm, working from both inside and out. That was how he managed to establish this Gate of Hungry Ghosts.¡±

    ¡°Then we better move a little further away!¡±

    Li Qingshan said. Even if the Corpse King was stuck due to being too large, unable to emerge from the hole, there were still many Corpse Generals and Corpse Commanders. If they surged out together, then no matter how powerful he was, he would still be swallowed by a sea of corpses and forcefully whittled to death. However, if Xiao An were here, she could use the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, and it should be extremely easy for her to deal with them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The Gate of Hungry Ghosts doesn¡¯t open so easily. The more powerful they are, the harder it is for them to pass through. Right now, it¡¯s only equivalent to having opened by a crack. Probably even Corpse Generals won¡¯t be able to squeeze through. However, as time goes on, that¡¯s not going to hold true.¡±

    Hua Chengzan finished speaking and the final sliver of yin qi was sucked into the pit. The pit stopped growing and changing, and the surroundings became clear and bright.

    Boom! Like a volcanic eruption, a pillar of black mist erupted violently, connecting the earth with the sky, making the ground shake and shrouding the sky.

    Erupting with it were thousands of corpses. Corpse Soldiers were thrown into the air one by one, scattering all over the ground. Some climbed up again, while others had their bones shattered to pieces and were completely immobilised, only for other Corpse Soldiers to immediately cover them up.

    Li Qingshan could not help but become dumbfounded. This sight was literally unheard of and never before seen. It seemed- it seemed like a huge ¡°zombie geyser¡±!

    The Corpse Soldiers rolled along the ground like droplets of water.

    ¡°Stop them. It¡¯ll be bad if we let these Corpse Soldiers spread out.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said urgently. The Corpse Soldiers were not particularly powerful to them, but they were basically undefeatable monsters to mortals.

    A ball of fire descended from above, constantly swelling in the air and slamming against the sea of corpses. Thousands of Corpse Soldiers were reduced to ashes as the shockwave rushed out, sending countless Corpse Soldiers flying. A huge, empty circle appeared in the sea of corpses.

 Chapter 539 â€“ Sea of Corpses

    Li Qingshan descended from above and smashed into the sea of corpses.

    At that moment, the ground sank and earth was thrown into the air. Hundreds of Corpse Soldiers were knocked into the horizon.

    The Heavy Water sword expanded to ten times its size and produced rings of blue light as Li Qingshan swung it about. Wherever it passed by, corpses would be cleaved apart and sent flying. He crushed them like paper and was unstoppable.

    Hua Chengzan cooperated in the air, raining down with extremely powerful techniques one after another. The Corpse Soldiers were gathered together and they did not know to dodge, so he would often be able to kill off an entire swathe with a casual technique.

    However, after swinging for a while, Li Qingshan discovered that not only had the Corpse Soldiers in his surroundings failed to decrease, but they even increased instead. He pulled back his sword and flew into the air, exchanging glances with Hua Chengzan. Both of them were shocked.

    In a short while, they had killed over ten thousand Corpse Soldiers together, and they were all relatively powerful Corpse Soldiers. There were not even that many Qi Practitioners throughout the entire Clear River prefecture. However, they had not even managed to reduce the rate at which the Corpse Soldiers piled up.

    Once the Corpse Soldiers left the pit and scattered, killing them would not be so easy anymore.

    ¡°They¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Hua Chengzan gazed into the horizon. A Soaring Dragon ship pierced through the clouds and flew over. When it was still five kilometers away, hundreds of streaks of light criss-crossed and sailed through the air, sweeping along the ground and vaporizing thousands of Corpse Soldiers.

    Thousands of puppets rained down from above, locking into battle with the scattered Corpse Soldiers.

    They had finally managed to contain the sea of corpses slightly.

    ¡°Sir Liu, you¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived on the deck of the Soaring Dragon ship, only to see Liu Zhangqing and the Foundation Establishment cultivators behind him all shocked. While the opening of a Gate of Hungry Ghosts caused them a very great impact, only when they saw this for themselves did they understand how terrifying it was.

    So what if they were Foundation Establishment cultivators? If they fell into this sea of corpses, they would probably be gnawed to death in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already reported this to the Marquis of Ruyi. Reinforcements will be arriving soon. Right now, we need to stand together and contain the Corpse Soldiers!¡± Liu Zhangqing cut right to the chase and flew down first.

    But compared to the sight right now, even ten moon demons running amok would be nothing. If the Gate of Hungry Ghosts really opened by a little more, then the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture would become a land of death. There would be no need for a prefect anymore.

    The other cultivators followed closely behind. They unleashed their various abilities, casting formations and unleashing techniques, tearing apart the Corpse Soldiers madly.

    Under Han Anjun¡¯s arrangements, they each watched over a region and established a dam, stopping the tide of corpses.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s horizons widened again. He had remained in the Academy of the Hundred Schools for many years, but only now did he truly witness what each school was capable of. Under the terrifying pressure, no one dared to hold back.

    Among them, the school of Mohism did the most. Huge puppets rampaged through the sea of corpses and cleaved through the waves, all possessing the strength of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    The teeth and claws of the Corpse Soldiers could only make sparks fly and leave behind marks on their tough armour.

    In the air, the Soaring Dragon ship lent great support too. Streaks of light flashed through the air constantly, tearing through the sea of corpses.

    But a while later, the ¡°corpse hole¡± in the pit suddenly retracted violently and expanded, spurting out even more zombies.

    The sea of corpses could no longer be described as ¡°thickly dotted¡±, but rather ¡°layers upon layers¡±. The thickest part stood several storeys high as it flooded the surroundings like waves. If they ran into mountains, they would directly smash into them, and if they ran into valleys, they would directly fill them.

    The huge puppets had already been completely swallowed, turning into huge, bulging mounds in the sea of corpses.

    Li Qingshan guarded the slope of a mountain. He did not need to think at all. He only needed to swing his sword constantly and slaughter the incoming waves of Corpse Soldiers. Broken limbs and bodies formed a great pile before him in the blink of an eye, but the Corpse Soldiers were endless.

    If it were not for the relatively fast recovery that the Arts of the Boundless Ocean granted him, if it were not for the fact that his physical strength was almost endless, he would have collapsed from exhaustion a long time ago.

    Even he was like that, so the other Foundation Establishment cultivators were much worse off. Some of them had already given up on guarding their positions, flying into the air.

    On the eastern slope, the current leader of the school of Daoism, Juechenzi, wielded a sword and struck firmly. Just a flash of his weapon would be enough to pierce several dozen Corpse Soldiers. He also experienced troubles with his circulation of spiritual qi, so he took off into the air, but he suddenly felt his body sink.

    A Corpse Soldier had leapt out of the sea of corpses and lunged over, grabbing Juechenzi¡¯s foot. It opened its mouth filled with protruding teeth and bit down viciously.

    Its corpse was so dense that it approached Daemon General. It was equivalent to a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. It was powerful among Corpse Soldiers, but it was nothing before a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    Spiritual qi blocked its teeth, and with a swing of his sword, Juechenzi chopped off the Corpse Soldier¡¯s arms. However, having been momentarily delayed, over a dozen more Corpse Soldiers lunged over.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Juechenzi flew up as hard as he could. He took out a life-saving escape talisman, and with a flash, it turned to ashes, but he remained exactly where he was.

    A shadow enveloped him. Filled with shock, he raised his head to take a look. The sky had become covered by a layer of sinister clouds before he knew it.

    The sea of corpses suddenly produced a great wave, composed of thousands of Corpse Soldiers. Their vicious, greyish-white faces filled Juechenzi¡¯s face, slamming against him heavily and swallowing him.

    A vortex immediately appeared in the sea of corpses. At the centre was Juechenzi. The Corpse Soldiers pushed towards the centre madly as their vicious arms tugged at every inch of his body.

    Juechenzi circulated his spiritual qi madly, but never had it been so sluggish before. Blood oozed out, his limbs were torn from his body, and he erupted into a mess of bones and blood. The Corpse Soldiers all feasted on pieces of his flesh.

    Juechenzi¡¯s aura vanished.

    ¡°Juechenzi!¡±

    There were a series of cries. Within the endless slaughter, all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators looked down on these Corpse Soldiers in an almost-numbing way, as if they were unable to pose any realistic threat apart from their sheer numbers. Even if they could not stop them, they could always choose to retreat.

    However, at that moment, they suddenly came to their senses. Even ants could kill an elephant if there were enough of them, and these Corpse Soldiers were not ants.

    The huge puppets were riddled with damage and covered in Corpse Soldiers. Gradually, they experienced difficulties with moving and they collapsed on the ground heavily, swallowed and ripped apart by the sea of corpses.

    Before they knew it, the claws and teeth of the Corpse Soldiers had become more powerful.

    Black smoke rose into the air, forming a huge, dark cloud before they knew it. It spread out seemingly-slowly, but in the blink of an eye, it had already enveloped a large area, and wherever the shadow covered, vegetation would wither and water would turn red. Life would be destroyed.

    A miserable layer of gathering clouds and rolling mist permeated the surroundings that refused to disperse with wind.

    It was like the scene Li Qingshan saw in the Hungry Ghost realm with his soul sense.

    Under the shadows, even he felt discomfort. Suddenly, he realised that zombies were not the only things invading. Instead, it was the entire Hungry Ghost realm.

    The living were all suppressed within the miserable layer of mist, while the dead gained the upper hand, becoming stronger and faster.

    The humans and daemons had been at war for many years, but only at that moment did many people understand just what war was.

    ¡°Come back, everyone!¡± There was a bellow from the Soaring Dragon ship. The leader of the school of Mohism¡¯s beard bristled as his eyes shone like fire.

    The cultivators all flew into the air. This time, they were all careful, clearing out a large region of their surroundings before taking off so that they could avoid the same tragedy as Juechenzi.

    The dragon head on the front of the ship suddenly opened its mouth. Specks of light gathered towards it.

    The main cannon, the Dragon¡¯s Roar, had been activated, targeting the corpse hole in the pit. The dragon¡¯s mouth was enveloped in a light haze, undergoing a lengthy phase of accumulating power.

    An extremely blinding beam of light pierced through the clouds and illuminated the surroundings, shooting straight into the pit.

    Golden light poured out of the scorching-white colour. Rings of right radiated from the stream.

    The Soaring Dragon ship was pushed five kilometers away as wooden shrapnel flew everywhere. The glass was on the edge of shattering. The dragon head on the front of the ship melted away and was destroyed the moment it unleashed the beam of light.

    They had poured all of the Soaring Dragon ship¡¯s remaining spiritual energy into this attack. The destructive power was so great that even Golden Core cultivators would struggle to endure a direct blow.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts suddenly stopped spurting zombies, and the huge, withered hand that Li Qingshan was extremely familiar with extended out. It could only extend up to its wrist back then in the underground palace, but half of its forearm was visible now.

    It faced the direction of the incoming beam of light and its five fingers trembled, like plucking at the strings of a zither. The hand closed and tugged in an extremely profound fashion, and the beam of light deflected slightly, landing on a hill several kilometers away from the pit.

    Boom!

    A hemispherical ball of light rose up from the ground, rapidly growing larger. It unleashed dazzling light, even more blinding than the sun.

    Li Qingshan could even make out the violent tremors on the ground with his eyes.

    The light dissipated slowly, but the bright glow lingered clearly in his eyes. A mushroom cloud surged into the air.

    The hill had been reduced to a basin and tens of thousand Corpse Soldiers had been instantly vaporised. The shockwave had blasted away even more of them, shattering their bones and tearing them to pieces.

    Most of the Corpse Soldiers were cleared away. They no longer formed the horrifying, mountainous and sea-like swathes like earlier, while the remaining scattered Corpse Soldiers were unable to stand up immediately.

    However, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts in the pit was perfectly fine. The black smoke only trembled slightly like it was a colossal pillar forged from steel. Even the violent shockwave failed to shake it.

    The huge, withered hand clenched into a fist and lifted up a black barrier, enveloping the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    Only then did Li Qingshan truly witness the terrors of a Corpse King. It definitely was not as simple as possessing brute strength. It was highly intelligent too.

    Although it could not even use a tenth of its powers due to the boundary limits, its ingenuity with making use of its power completely exceeded what Foundation Establishment cultivators could achieve.

    The strike from the Soaring Dragon ship was powerful, but a machine emitted it at the end of the day. It was not under the precise control of cultivators.

    The Corpse King used ingenuity to triumph over absolute power, easily receiving the strike and saving the Gate of Hungry Ghosts from destruction.

    Although it had lost large numbers of Corpse Soldiers, they were cannon fodder to make time in the first place. Nothing was more worthless than Corpse Soldiers in the Hungry Ghost realm.

    The withered hand pulled back and thousands of Corpse Soldiers surged out of the gate. They did not run around wildly in a mess, assembling in a neat array instead.

    A zombie clad in armour, riding a zombie horse, followed closely behind. It glanced around, clearly intelligent.

 Chapter 540 â€“ A Great General Among Corpses

    The Corpse General waved his hand, and a black cloud of corpse qi rose up from his body, carrying almost ten thousand Corpse Soldiers towards the Soaring Dragon ship.

    The Corpse General from the Hungry Ghost realm could actually use techniques, reducing the cultivators¡¯ advantage of flight to nothing.

    Liu Zhangqing let out a long howl, and the sword in his hand rose up, turning into a streak of white light and shooting towards the Corpse General!

    The Corpse Soldiers layered upon each other to block, assuming a standard defensive posture. The sword pierced through several dozen Corpse Soldiers before running out of force.

    Only then did the Corpse General take action. A smile appeared on his stiff face as he swung down viciously towards the flying sword with his pitch-black blade.

    The flying sword produced a miserable thrum, wanting to fly back. The squadron around the Corpse General were powerful Corpse Soldiers that resembled personal guards, restraining the sword with everything they had.

    Liu Zhangqing¡¯s face changed as he urged the flying sword desperately. At this moment, the dark cloud arrived over his head, and his connection with the flying sword weakened drastically.

    The Corpse General gripped the hilt of the sword, and with a surge of corpse qi, the light on the sword rapidly dimmed before becoming enveloped by black qi. It had actually been refined on the spot.

    Hanging the sword on his waist casually, the Corpse General grinned with his toothy mouth and let out a soundless sneer, gazing at the cultivators on the Soaring Dragon ship scornfully.

    Only then did everyone notice that the Corpse General seemed to be sending the corpse cloud towards them recklessly, but he had carefully controlled it within the range of the dark clouds.

    With his intelligence, he did not resemble a zombie at all!

    Over the years, Burial Mound mountain had obtained large quantities of corpses, and they had refined many Corpse Generals. However, Corpse Generals under the control of military tablets were only powerful puppets at most. They were worlds apart compared to the Corpse General standing before them.

    Liu Zhangqing¡¯s heart ached. It was painful to have his spiritual artifact stolen from him, but he could no longer care about that anymore. Even more Corpse Soldiers were surging out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, and the Soaring Dragon ship had lost all of its fighting capacity.

    He ordered loudly, ¡°Strike together!¡±

    The Corpse General swung the blade in his hand and almost ten thousand Corpse Soldiers shifted around, adjusting their formation with great speed and precision. The corpse qi from almost ten thousand Corpse Soldiers actually merged together and rose into the air, forming a huge, black shield.

    Han Anjun¡¯s expression changed. This bore some resemblance to the military formations of the school of the Military.

    Military formations placed very high demands on the disciples who used them. They needed long periods of practise and consolidation before they could become connected in will and mind. But even with that being the case, when they faced real battle, they would still be influenced by various emotions like fear, fury, and so on, leading to the collapse of the military formation.

    However, that was clearly something Corpse Soldiers did not have to worry about. Under the Corpse General¡¯s control, he could wield them like his own arm, forming the most ingenious combination. Compared to the difficulty of becoming connected in will and mind, these Corpse Soldiers simply had no will or mind. Even if they were cleaved through the head, they would not be fazed.

    A military formation assembled like that was without a doubt even more pure and powerful.

    Among the cultivators present, no one understood the power of military formations better than Han Anjun. Perhaps the individual Corpse Soldiers were not powerful, but once they poured their strength together, it would go from quantity to quality. Even he dared not underestimate their power.

    The Corpse General did not charge over single-mindedly, so for a moment, the cultivators had no idea what to do.

    They stood in the air, in a distant stalemate.

    The Corpse General rode the corpse horse, controlled the corpse cloud and led the Corpse Soldiers, pressing over slowly as the dark clouds in the sky spread out. Despite facing almost twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, he gave off the demeanour of a great general like he was taking his time and devising strategies from his tent.

    This is a cultivator of the Hungry Ghost realm!

    Li Qingshan felt like his horizons had widened yet again. He could no longer treat the opposing Corpse General as a ¡°monster¡± anymore. He was clearly a cold, powerful cultivator, even though the way he cultivated was vastly different from humans, from daemons, from all living creatures.

    The Corpse General had indeed not taken Liu Zhangqing and the other cultivators seriously, but that did not mean he was confident enough to completely defeat them.

    That was because slaughter was truly commonplace in the Hungry Ghost realm. Its intensity was well beyond what Liu Zhangqing and the others could imagine. Let alone facing a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators who were equivalent to Corpse Generals when he had a geographic advantage, he had faced situations involving Corpse Commanders, Corpse Kings, or even higher existences countless times already. Even putting up a struggle was pointless. All he could do was accept his fate.

    Sometimes during the struggles on the battlefields, the only way to survive was to completely depend on luck. Having been through all that, the sight before him was no longer particularly significant anymore.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°We can¡¯t afford to waste any more time!¡±

    During this period of stalemate, a few more Corpse Generals climbed out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. They varied in sizes and appearances, where one of them clearly did not resemble a human¡¯s corpse at all.

    However, their eyes all flickered with intelligent light. The first thing they did after emerging was assembling the Corpse Soldiers. They glanced at the sky, but they did not launch an attack immediately.

    Instead, they allowed the original Corpse General to face off with the cultivators in a stalemate. They instead led their armies out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts and assembled a huge military formation, like some kind of wondrous formation.

    The Corpse Soldiers served as the formation diagram, while the Corpse Generals served as the crucial points. No one would have imagined that measly Corpse Soldiers of the lowest level actually had so many wondrous uses if it were not for the fact that they had witnessed it in person.

    In the moment the formation was completed, the black pillar of smoke from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts immediately became even thicker. They were working together from both inside and out to widen the Gate of Hungry Ghosts so that even more and stronger undead could enter this world from the Hungry Ghost realm.

    Once the Gate of Hungry Ghosts widened to the point where the owner of the withered hand, the ¡°Corpse King¡±, could enter, then it truly would be the end of the world.

    If they remained passive like this, the situation would become more and more disadvantageous.

    Whether it was to fight or to flee, they had to make a decision fast.

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    Han Anjun called out coldly, flying over and landing on the top of the dragon head, raising his spear and pointing it at the Corpse General.

    He was also a general!

    Before he set off, he had already received military orders from the great general Han Anguo. They could not flee from this battle. They had to hold their ground until reinforcements from the Ruyi commandery arrived.

    Military orders were absolute!

    The Soaring Dragon ship suddenly set off, smashing towards the corpse cloud like a furious, roaring dragon.

    The Corpse General did not back down. He waved his blade again, pointing it straight at the sky. Surging corpse qi rose from the bodies of the Corpse Soldiers, turning into a hundred-meter-long edge that swung down towards the Soaring Dragon ship.

    The Soaring Dragon ship had almost depleted all of its energy. It could not even activate its defensive formations. The colossal blade swung down and split the Soaring Dragon ship into two with a single stroke, clearly exposing its internal structure. Wooden shrapnel flew about like rain.

    The momentum of the broken hull carried it forward, smashing into the corpse cloud viciously. Countless Corpse Soldiers were sent flying, falling to the ground.

    The central furnace exploded loudly, swallowing the entire corpse cloud.

    The military formation collapsed!

    With a single measly Corpse General, how could he be the opponent of all these cultivators? Everyone wanted to kill him quickly and relieve themselves of any future problems, but they discovered that the Corpse General had already rushed off towards the Gate of Hungry Ghosts on his corpse horse with a wisp of smoke.

    The Corpse General had turned around without hesitation as early as after swinging his sword. The corpse horse treaded on four clumps of thick smoke and sparks, taking off like the wind with startling speed.

    It completely contrasted against his composed demeanour from earlier. The only way to describe him was fleeing for his life. For a moment, everyone struggled to make an appropriate response.

    He was like an ancient general¡ªno matter how valiant he was on the front lines, as soon as he fell to an ambush and faced certain defeat, he would take to his heels without even caring about his family. Victory and defeat were common in battle. All of this was just so he could rise from the ashes again in the future.

    The cultivators pursued for a while, but they were forced to stop. The closer they were to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, the heavier the aura of death became. Even the energy of the world became extremely feeble.

    The chilly wind whistled, worming into their bodies through every single pore and snatching at their life force greedily.

    If there were Qi Practitioners present, they would probably lose their lives in a short while.

    Although the lives of the cultivators were not under threat, their strength diminished drastically, and the miserable mist and clouds obscured their visibility. All they could see was that over twenty Corpse Generals had already climbed out from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts from its surroundings, and Corpse Soldiers flooded the region like the sea.

    They no longer possessed any advantages at all, whether it be in terms of quality or quantity.

    Charging forwards would only lead them to their deaths.

    Meanwhile, using techniques and spiritual artifacts from afar would struggle to achieve anything.

    What were they supposed to do!?

    The cultivators looked at one another. Even with how valiant and fearless Han Anjun was, he would not choose to lay his life down pointlessly.

    They were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

    ¡°Qingshan, if this continues, the entire Clear River prefecture will become a land of the dead. All of the nine provinces might even become a part of the Hungry Ghost realm,¡± Hua Chengzan suddenly conveyed to Li Qingshan secretly.

    Li Qingshan replied with a non-committal ¡°yep¡±. He knew he had not fooled Hua Chengzan¡¯s eyes with his actions in the underground palace.

    How could a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator take on a strike from a Corpse King and escape even after being dragged into the pool of blood? Even if he had weakened drastically because of the limiting boundaries, he was still something powerful enough to rival Daemon Kings.

    The Hungry Ghost realm definitely did not have any existences like water or mountain gods. That was definitely a land of death. If these zombies managed to invade this world, his career as a water god would be over too. And, the Hungry Ghost realm definitely was not suited for the living to cultivate.

    However, Li Qingshan had no plans to take action. Even if the ¡°moon demon¡± could slaughter these Corpse Generals and Corpse Soldiers and temporarily slow down the opening of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts when he took action, the huge, withered hand would definitely strike again. He had already tried clashing with it after transforming, and it had been very difficult.

    Now that the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had already opened up so much more than before, the withered hand definitely would have become even more powerful. Combined with its terrifying tricks, it was extremely dangerous.

    Li Qingshan was not arrogant to the point where he was bold enough to look down on a Corpse King. As a result, he replied to Hua Chengzan, ¡°If the sky falls, you always have the tall ones to hold it up.¡±

    Hua Chengzan was taken aback before forcing out a smile. ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. These Corpse Generals seem terrifying, but to Xiao An, they might be highly nourishing. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone just happen to suppress these things.

    Li Qingshan had already told Xiao An to rush over, but he also asked her to hide, to see and wait without taking action.

    He was afraid that when the stronger people arrived later and saw them ¡°step forward for a just cause¡± to ¡°save the world¡±, they would destroy them first without even batting an eye.

 Chapter 541 â€“ The Three Pillars

    They did not communicate with one another, but they coordinated with tacit understanding. They constantly adjusted the formation in a tense but orderly fashion, leading a million Corpse Soldiers to guard the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    The solemn silence was deathly still.

    They were like an extensive yet delicate machine of war, ready to be activated at any time.

    There was a saying, ¡°Within the tens of thousands, people resembled mountains and seas,¡± so what kind of concept was ¡°a million¡± Corpse Soldiers? It was virtually unimaginable unless someone saw it with their own eyes.

    Centred around Burial Mound mountain, over a hundred hills in the surroundings had been completely covered by Corpse Soldiers, rising and falling like the waves of the sea. It spanned as far as the eye could see. It was truly a ¡°sea of corpses¡±.

    Under the dark clouds, the hilly terrain had been completely converted into a land of death and danger, and it constantly spread into the surroundings.

    The cultivators were all forced back to fifty kilometers away. They did not attempt any more attacks.

    Under the lead of the Corpse Generals, the Corpse Soldiers constantly adjusted their formations and expanded their arrays, turning into an unshakable military mountain. Simply a glance of it was enough to throw the heart into uncontrollable turmoil, filled with a sense of despair and powerlessness.

    Would mobilising all the cultivators in the Ruyi commandery be enough to breach this military mountain?

    And, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts was still rapidly opening wider, surging out with even more and even stronger undead.

    Victory was completely impossible!

    The end of the Clear River prefecture was here!

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes and clenched his fist, but he was not afraid. Instead, he felt irrepressible excitement. A grand sight like this could never be seen in a mountain hamlet!

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts opened wider, but the black pillar of smoke instead began to thin.

    Dark clouds no longer shrouded the sky directly above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The sky had become grey.

    The sun seeped out with dismal light. There was no warmth or life, only cold stillness.

    This was not a sight that could bring relief!

    The mist-like coldness coiled like strands in the air.

    The world was beginning to be converted into the Hungry Ghost realm.

    At this very moment.

    A gust of wind arrived!

    Like a sharp paper cutter, it sliced through the clouds in the air.

    The magnificent, resplendent light that poured out of the crack in the clouds was like a signal from god, landing on this land of death, on the boundless sea of corpses.

    A glorious, white hawk unfurled its pure-white wings, riding on the light as it descended from above like a shadow from heaven.

    It moved like a swift flash, yet also like an ever-fleeting gust of wind.

    Even Li Qingshan had to gather his focus before he could barely make out the figure.

    That was not a hawk, but a person.

    Gu Yanying!

    Her speed left Li Qingshan lost in wonder. If he pushed the wings of wind to the limit and beat his phoenix wings as hard as possible, he could achieve the same speed after substantial effort, but he would not be able to maneuver about as freely and as skillfully as Gu Yanying. Moreover, she was clearly still holding back.

    Gu Yanying seemed to sense something and suddenly turned her head, looking at Li Qingshan from afar. She seemed to smile at him before sailing off towards the Gate of Hungry Ghosts!

    Probably only Li Qingshan managed to capture that ¡°swift¡± smile of hers.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°Be careful, commander!¡±

    Was she not flying to her death?

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Gu Yanying was powerful, but what she faced was an army of a million. She probably did not know about the horrors of the military formation, and she would be weakened by the Hungry Ghost realm.

    The hundred Corpse Generals roared out together, lifting their weapons high into the air. The Corpse Soldiers immediately responded, except the disturbance they made was akin to a natural disaster, like the awakening roar of a colossal beast.

    A hundred wisps of smoke rushed into the air, coiling and entangling as they surged towards Gu Yanyng.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s figure became even more fleeting, weaving between the thick pillars of smoke.

    However, the smoke merged together and sealed off all of her space to dodge. She waved her delicate, jade folding fan, and a few streams of air rushed out, severing a few wisps of smoke.

    The Corpse Generals immediately changed their formation. They wanted to go from offence to defence, but they were too slow.

    Gu Yanying landed in the very centre of the military formation like a white bolt of lightning. Vicious faces revolved around her.

    With her clothes whiter than snow, she drifted around like she was flying as streams of air circulated around her, blocking the invading chilly winds.

    The hundred Corpse Generals roared furiously together and lunged over.

    Although they had no time to control the military formation, the corpse qi from the Corpse Soldiers under their command gushed over, enveloping every single one of them in a greyish-black cloud. With their auras connected, they unleashed an ingenious combined attack, tearing away at the foolish opponent who had walked straight into the enemy¡¯s ranks.

    She raised her head, her eyes as sharp as hawk¡¯s.

    She swung her fan. A hundred heads flew into the air.

    The smoke dispersed, and the Corpse Generals had all been slain.

    From armies of thousands, she had taken the heads of their commanding officers so easily that she could do it with her eyes shut.

    Having lost the leadership of the Corpse General, the army of a million immediately showed signs of collapse.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    The cultivators roused with vigour and cheered. She had already reverted the seemingly-hopeless situation in a single instant single-handedly. They felt like they had just gone from hell to heaven.

    Li Qingshan also rubbed his chin and murmured inside, Truly the woman who caught my eye!

    ¡°Yanying, your atmospheric winds have become even sharper than before!¡±

    Hearty laughter surged through the clouds and a huge, square seal descended from above, falling onto the sea of corpses like a mountain. It directly crushed ten thousand Corpse Soldiers to death while sending a hundred thousand more flying.

    The Marquis of Ruyi stood on the serpent¡¯s body on the top of the Seal of Mountains and Rivers. He gazed at Gu Yanying with undisguised admiration.

    Even if he used the Seal of Mountains and Rivers, he had no confidence in being able to kill a hundred Corpse Generals in a single stroke. If it were not for her startling speed, if it were not for her all-conquering atmospheric winds, she would have had to face the combined attack of a million-strong army.

    Let along Golden Core cultivators, even cultivators at higher realms would have to weigh their options carefully.

    The Seal of Mountains and Rivers flew up and returned to the Marquis of Ruyi, turning back into a tiny stamp. The words ¡°Forever Presiding Over the Mountains and Rivers¡± appeared on the ground, with two smaller words ¡°Ruyi¡± in the corner.

    They were smaller words, but each was the size of a public square. They were as dignified and majestic as they could be.

    Gu Yanying smiled and stowed her folding fan away, walking towards the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The gate had stopped spewing out zombies. With her hands on her back, she bent over and gazed into the Gate of Hungry Ghosts in a leisurely manner.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Be careful,¡± only to discover several other voices had rung out at the same time. One of them came from the Marquis of Ruyi.

    The huge, withered hand suddenly extended out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts like a serpent emerging from the ocean, reaching towards her. It was even swifter and more forceful than when it reached towards Li Qingshan.

    Gu Yanying pulled back ubruptly, and her hair and clothes drifted forwards. However, the same leisurely expression remained on her face.

    The entire arm of the wither hand extended out. As one advanced and one retreated, they were only inches apart.

    Corpse qi circulated between the five fingers like a vortex, producing a great suction force.

    Gu Yanying halted. She was about to be caught by the hand.

    The Seal of Mountains and Rivers descended from above, stamping down violently.

    A streak of black emerged from one side like a dragon, stretching over the sky and biting towards the wrist of the withered hand.

    With her folding fan in hand, Gu Yanying thrusted it forwards and atmospheric winds revolved like a drill.

    Boom! The Seal of Mountains and Rivers crushed down heavily on the hand. Han Anguo¡¯s figure appeared, and he thrusted his spear into the wrist. The atmospheric winds sliced through the corpse qi vortex and into the palm.

    The hand suddenly closed, but Gu Yanying had already pulled away, completely unscathed. Together, the three pillars of the Ruyi commandery taught the withered hand a lesson.

    Their powers were so great that even the Hungry Ghost realm struggled to keep them suppressed.

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s Seal of Mountains and Rivers relied on the power of belief. Han Anguo was a powerful cultivator of the body, so he relied on himself, while Gu Yanying¡¯s atmospheric winds, just like the underground magnetic field, was an extremely special existence.

    Having grabbed nothing, the withered hand was suddenly lifted up into the air, shaking off the Seal of Mountains and Rivers and retreating back into the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The three of them retreated from the range of the hand. The three of them had only caught the withered hand off-guard, but even their combined attack failed to heavily injure a mere arm of his.

    Although they could be regarded as the best of the best among second heavenly tribulation cultivators, they were still lacking a lot if they wanted to properly contest against the Corpse King.

    In a triangular formation, they surrounded the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Her highness the Dark Queen will be here shortly!

    The three of them had originally been waiting to receive the Dark Queen in the commandery city of Ruyi. None of them expected this to happen, so they rushed over here immediately. They obviously contacted the Dark Queen too.

    ¡°Good!¡± Han Anjun nodded, and the Marquis of Ruyi eased up too.

    Technically speaking, the Dark Queen had reached the peak of the second heavenly tribulation a long time ago, but due to certain reasons, she had never been able to break through, preventing her from reaching the realm of ¡°kings¡±, so why would the three of them place such great trust in her?

    It was all because the Umbral Yin sect was known for their ghost control techniques, and they were closely connected to the Hungry Ghost realm. It was said that the sect possessed a controllable Gate of Hungry Ghosts that was specially provided for disciples to train and cultivate in.

    There was nothing strange about that. The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra had always been omnipresent. Just like how the school of Legalism drew power from the Hell realm to cultivate, allowing them to use techniques like the Hell of Ice, the school of the Military also borrowed strength from the Asura realm that dictated warfare and slaughter.

    Gu Yanying could not help but think of an extremely widespread rumor among the upper echelon of the Green province cultivation community.

    If the Umbral Yin sect faced a devastating disaster, then they would open the Gate of Hungry Ghosts to the limit regardless of the consequences, such that no one would be able to seal it. They would allow countless Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings to flood the nine provinces, turning the World of the Nine Provinces into a part of the Hungry Ghost realm.

    As it seemed, it was very likely for this rumor to be true. And, the Umbral Yin sect had probably spread this rumor intentionally, turning it into the strongest form of deterrence.

    After the establishment of Great Xia and the ushering of an age where the ¡°righteous path¡± prevailed and the ¡°demonic path¡± diminished, it was not without reason that the Umbral Yin sect that had once been the greatest demonic sect in the Green province could remain and prosper.

    Most importantly, this deterrence was not a furious attempt at mutual destruction. According to the cultivation methods of the Umbral Yin sect, even if the Hungry Ghost realm truly descended, the disciples of the Umbral Yin sect would still be able to survive. As for the other cultivators, they would have to die first.

    Thinking up to there, Gu Yanying shifted her gaze and looked at Li Qingshan again.

    The Dark Queen¡¯s visit this time is closely related to this kid. She¡¯s even brought an old acquaintance of his with her. So what is all of this for? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s actually connected to that?

    Li Qingshan looked back and met her eyes, but Gu Yanying had already shifted her gaze away with a smile. He lowered his head, feeling slightly uneasy inside.

    When he heard the two words ¡°Dark Queen¡± being mentioned from afar, he immediately recalled the endless wind and snow on the Ice Sword cliff, as well as that cat that had somehow become his master.

 Chapter 542 â€“ Revival

    The mountainous Seal of Mountains and Rivers flew high into the air before falling again loudly.

    The ground shook, and the hills collapsed. Wherever it reached, Corpse Soldiers were all crushed or sent flying, leaving behind huge words on the ground.

    Having lost the leadership of the Corpse Generals, the million-strong army immediately fell into disunity. In the blink of an eye, most of them had been wiped out.

    He fought an army of a million alone. Just saying that was breathtaking, let alone witnessing it in person.

    In the presence of a beauty, the Marquis of Ruyi obviously had to properly show off.

    If she had been an ordinary woman, then she definitely would have been swept off her feet by such a lofty approach.

    Strength had always been the greatest charm of a man.

    Gu Yanying watched with a smile and said nothing.

    She held a bronze coin in her hands hidden within her sleeves. It constantly rolled and jerked between her ten slender fingers as she tried divining.

    She was slightly surprised. According to the divination, the situation was supposed to become even more dangerous for some reason.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan also sensed the omen of warning rapidly increasing, gradually reaching the cusp of danger.

    That¡¯s strength. The million-strong army has been destroyed, and the withered hand has been forced back into the Hungry Ghost realm. It hasn¡¯t sent out any more soldiers either. Once the Dark Queen arrives and we seal up this Gate of Hungry Ghosts, wouldn¡¯t it all be over? There must be something else!

    Gu Yanying looked back, into the distance.

    A splendid carriage glided across the horizon.

    The four large, fine horses that pulled the carriage were all half-transparent. Their hair drifted about like drizzling rain as they moved lithely and silently. They were fast and agile.

    The curtain of the carriage was lifted up, revealing a cold noble face that gazed in the direction of Burial Mound mountain. A cat¡¯s head poked out from beside her, also looking with her.

    The Dark Queen frowned slightly. She had never thought it would have opened to such a degree already in such a short amount of time. The rate at which the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra eroded the worlds was increasing.

    Seeing the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s actions, the Dark Queen¡¯s expression changed slightly. Oh no.

    A million Corpse Soldiers and a hundred Corpse Generals had all died in this hilly region. They had been killed, but the corpse qi in their bodies permeated the surroundings, shrouding it with a layer of thick, black mist.

    The land strewn with corpses vaguely resembled the sight of the Hungry Ghost realm that Li Qingshan had witnessed.

    Fierce winds surged and the surroundings cleared and brightened up.

    Liu Zhangqing and the other cultivators became relieved. As it seemed, the Corpse King was at the end of his wits and chose to give up.

    Li Qingshan and Hua Chengzan exchanged a glance, both shocked.

    They had personally witnessed how the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had opened, how it first sucked away all the yin qi and corpse qi on Burial Mound mountain.

    This was definitely not giving up, but the signs before an even more intense eruption.

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The ground trembled like a primordial being was awakening from its slumber to destroy this world.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan realised something. Perhaps this was all the Corpse King¡¯s plan. The several million Corpse Soldiers and the hundred Corpse Generals were all just sacrifices.

    The trembling abruptly stopped, and the Gate of Hungry Ghosts suddenly expanded to ten times its size, but it remained silent, giving off an uncomfortable feeling of disparity.

    The surroundings darkened all of a sudden.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes only to see black mist pour out in all directions like a flood. It had reached fifty kilometers away in the blink of an eye.

    A crystal coffin flew high into the air in the centre of the darkness.

    The translucent, crystal coffin refracted the sunlight to shine with rainbow colours.

    A beautiful woman in violet slept silently. Her eyelashes trembled before her eyes snapped open.

    Crack! A fracture appeared on the crystal coffin, rapidly spreading and covering the entire coffin.

    Clink!

    With the gentle, crisp sound like a glass cup falling to the ground, the crystal coffin scattered as white powder.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er!¡±

    Ma Chaoqun climbed out of the pit. Corpse qi had corrupted his entire body. All of his flesh had withered as if he had become an old man. He reached towards the sky as a few droplets of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.

    ¡°Ma Chaoqun, I¡¯ve done what I promised you.¡± A thunderous voice erupted from the pit.

    ¡°Yes. Thank you, sir. Are you seeing this, Yu Shukuang? Hahahaha!¡±

    Like a madman, Ma Chaoqun swung his arms about in the air. He staggered and fell backwards into the huge, gaping Gate of Hungry Ghosts. He could feel his soul being drawn away from his body bit by bit.

    When the Gate of Hungry Ghosts erupted, he resided in the boundary between the Hungry Ghost realm and the World of the Nine Provinces. Although he was under the intentional protection of the Corpse King, he was far too weak. The aura of death had already invaded his body deeply, sapping away his last shred of life. He had simply clung on with willpower alone.

    Now that the will had been fulfilled, he immediately arrived at the end of his life.

    Gazing at the sky, the beautiful figure seemed to be cloaked in a halo under the sunlight before gradually blurring.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er, I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Had she really been revived? Was she still her after being revived?

    Ma Chaoqun did not think about it. He refused to think about it. Perhaps what he was after in the end with all of his efforts was not to take off as a pair and fall in love again, but to say those two words to her.

    Darkness enveloped all.

    Zi¡¯er lowered her head and gazed into the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The figure had already vanished into the darkness. She clutched her heart as it ached slightly.

    A shadow loomed overhead. The Seal of Mountains and Rivers crushed down like a mountain.

    Gu Yanying frowned. She actually found the female zombie that had just been revived rather dangerous. The jade folding fan opened with a flap and invisible strands of atmospheric winds surged out, slicing through everything.

    Han Anguo stood tall and strong, rushing into the air and thrusting his spear towards Zi¡¯er.

    When the three of them worked together, even the Corpse King had suffered.

    Zi¡¯er raised her head. All that was left in her eyes were the whites. She threw a punch at the Seal of Mountains and Rivers.

    Compared to the colossal Seal of Mountains and Rivers, her slender arm was basically a living example of the idiom ¡°a mantis trying to stop a chariot¡±.

    The Marquis of Ruyi bellowed out, ¡°Die!¡±

    Boom!

    Rings of light rippled into the surroundings, and the Seal of Mountains and Rivers flew back up. Disbelief filled the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s face. His chest suddenly ached as a metallic sweetness filled his mouth.

    He summoned the Seal of Mountains and Rivers back into his hand, only to see a small, sunken mark at the bottom of the seal. At a closer glance, it was clearly the imprint of a fist.

    The power behind Zi¡¯er¡¯s punch had actually been unbelievably great. After throwing the punch, she used the knockback force to fly down before suddenly raising her body, like her body had snapped in half. The atmospheric winds whistled past her ears.

    Afterwards, she reached behind and grabbed the spear before turning around and sending Han Anguo flying. She completely avoided the tip of the spear.

    Her actions were very stiff, completely ignoring fluidity. They seemed extremely abrupt, but they were extremely clever too.

    Li Qingshan noticed that a wisp of black smoke had extended out from Zi¡¯er¡¯s back before he knew it, directly leading to the depths of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The Corpse King had definitely not revived Ma Chaoqun¡¯s lover out of kindness. Instead, he used her as a puppet.

    The three of them were basically clashing with the Corpse King now. In terms of pure strength, ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± did not possess the power to crush any one of them, but the Corpse King was now free from the restraints of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, allowing him to unleash all of his skills in battle.

    ¡°Severe the smoke on her back!¡±

    A noble woman descended from above. She reached out from afar, and a colossal ghost vaguely appeared behind her, extending its huge, phantasmal hand. It whistled over, targeting exactly the black smoke. It vaguely resembled the might of the Corpse King¡¯s huge, withered hand.

    ¡°That¡¯s Xuanyue¡¯s master, the Dark Queen! She sure is powerful!¡± Li Qingshan lamented inside. He discovered that despite all being second heavenly tribulation Golden Core cultivators, their strength still differed drastically. With that attack alone, even ten Wen Zhengmings would not be her opponent.

    The moment the Dark Queen appeared, Xiao An became stunned. She walked out of her hiding spot unwittingly and stared at the figure in the sky. Memories surged out like the tide, smashing against the icebound ocean and riddling the frozen surface with cracks. Ever since she had begun practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, she had never responded so violently to anyone apart from Li Qingshan.

    She clutched her head and crouched down, experiencing a wave of pain for the first time in quite a long while. Her head felt like it was about to split open.

    So familiar. Who is she? I clearly know¡­

    However, Xiao An never gave off any aura in the first place, and the region was shrouded in black mist, so no one noticed her existence.

    Zi¡¯er suddenly descended. It seemed less like flying and more like being dragged down, avoiding the huge, phantasmal hand.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The Dark Queen¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly turned around, gazing into the distance. Something seemed to be there, but she was unable to make it out through the black mist.

    She had no time to check amidst the battle. After being momentarily distracted, she turned around again and looked at Zi¡¯er. Out of everyone present, she knew best that opening a Gate of Hungry Ghosts to the point where Corpse Kings could pass through was anything but easy. That would be something that impinge on the laws of this world, resulting in many limitations.

    Among the many demonic sects of the past, there had been many uncontrollable people of absolute lawlessness. However, only the Umbral Yin sect had ever used opening the Gate of Hungry Ghosts as a threat.

    As long as ¡°kings¡± were unable to enter, then they would not be able to shake the foundations of the nine provinces. No matter how many Corpse Soldiers, Corpse Generals, or even Corpse Commanders they sent out, they would struggle to escape the fate of being destroyed.

    But if a Corpse King tried squeezing in from the outside, it would block the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, and its subordinate undead would not be able to enter. Defeat would be guaranteed once again if time went on.

    The Corpse King had carefully nurtured a corpse as a ¡°puppet¡± before using a thread of its aura to control it. It gave the undead sufficient space to enter through, and it could lead the undead. It was basically the best of both worlds. If they could not kill this ¡°puppet¡± as soon as possible, it would become troublesome.

    Gu Yanying rushed over with a flash, swinging her fan at the wisp of black smoke.

    A hideous, winged corpse beast with pieces of flesh clinging from its bone charged out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Leaving behind a trail of black smoke, it lifted Zi¡¯er onto its back and bit at Gu Yanying vicious.

    Corpse Commander! Gu Yanying shivered inside and retreated.

    Within the black mist, another man dressed as a mourning son with a white mourning hood and wielding a mourning stick stumbled out from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Apart from having a pale complexion, he seemed no different from a living person, but the aura he gave off left everyone present stunned.

    TL: The corpse is dressed in a way where it¡¯s basically mourning for the death of its parent(s). The Chinese mourning attire in this case looks like this:

    And a mourning stick looks like this:

    ¿ÞÉ¥°ôµÄ×÷ÓÃÊÇÊ²Ã´£¿Å©´å°×ÊÂÖÐµÄÐ¢×ÓÉ¥ÕÈ½²½â-È¤ÀúÊ·

    A Corpse Commander had finally appeared.

    The man looked around, and his expression suddenly underwent a startling series of changes. His eyebrows drooped down, and his mouth opened slightly, making a human expression of great grief as he began wailing in tears.

 Chapter 543 â€“ The Ease and Difficulty of Living and Dying

    A cultivator clutched his head and let out a wail. With a bang, his sea of qi exploded, turning into a ball of bloody mist.

    ¡°Retreat! Retreat!¡± Liu Zhangqing ordered loudly.

    A battle on such a level had already become something they could no longer partake in. The aftermath of the battle alone was enough to kill them.

    Li Qingshan retreated as well, but he intentionally maintained his distance from the rest of the cultivators. He frowned and gazed at the depths of the black mist.

    Why hasn¡¯t Xiao An retreated?

    The atmospheric winds whistled, forcing the Corpse Commander in mourning attire to halt with his crying. He bent his knees forward and suddenly leapt up. The mourning stick whistled towards Han Anguo in an overhead swing like the miserable wails of ghosts.

    Hearing the sound was already enough to cause splitting pain to the mind and aches to the body for a regular cultivator. However, Han Anguo¡¯s heart was as tough as steel. Completely unfazed, he brandished his spear and received it in a battle. Immediately, sand and stone was thrown into the air as blasts of air rocketed the region.

    Just like that, a corpse and a person became entangled. Only an aura of death and murderousness was on a constant rise.

    After unleashing the strand of atmospheric winds, Gu Yanying became entangled with the winged corpse beast. The two of them constantly maneuvered and chased after one another in the air. Apart from when they changed directions, it was impossible to make out their figures. Only two different sharp sounds of wind could be made out, constantly climbing higher and entangling together.

    The corpse beast was powerful, but Gu Yanying was confident enough to kill it within a few strikes under normal conditions. The powerful talismans in her sumeru ring were sufficient to reduce the corpse beast to pieces.

    As they were above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, she could still use the atmospheric winds freely, but it was unavoidable for other techniques and talismans to be affected. On the contrary, the corpse beast had its might redoubled, growing fiercer as it fought.

    However, Gu Yanying¡¯s speed was superior, making her almost untouchable. As long as she had some time, the corpse beast would end up dead anyway, but time happened to be tight right now.

    The Marquis of Ruyi could no longer worry about whether the Seal of Mountains and Rivers would be damaged anymore. If this continued, he would probably end up losing the entire Commandery of Ruyi. Pointing down, the Seal of Mountains and Rivers rose up and expanded.

    Together with it was a strange howl, like thousands of voices murmuring at the same time, merging into a wish that echoed through the heavens.

    A huge figure brushed past her. It was a one-eyed, one-horned giant, or more accurately, a Daemon Commander transformed from the corpse of a giant. He stood over a hundred meters tall, rippling with muscles. He was colossal and robust, and his legs were short and stocky like two huge pillars.

    He lifted his huge hands and pushed upwards.

    With a great rumble, the giant Corpse Commander was crushed into the ground. He was pressed down all the way to his waist as his entire body crackled with bone fractures. His corpse qi constantly surged, on the verge of collapse, but he did stop the Seal of Mountains and Rivers forcefully.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± still did not raise her head or glance above. She only stared at the Dark Queen, as well as the colossal figure that faded in and out behind her.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts spewed out beings furiously. In a short while, another several hundred thousand Corpse Soldiers under the lead of a few Corpse Generals charged out. The Corpse Generals raised their hands and their corpse qi all gushed into the giant Corpse Commander¡¯s body.

    The giant Corpse Commander riled up in vigour and slowly lifted the Seal of Mountains and Rivers, actually defeating the seal in a trial of strength. This was a feat that even the current Li Qingshan could not achieve.

    Over a dozen more streaks of golden light flew over from the horizon. Under the urgent summoning of the Marquis of Ruyi, most of the Golden Core cultivators in the Ruyi commandery had rushed over.

    As for the masters and elders of sects, the Marquis of Ruyi could not order them around, but they were all members of the Daemon Suppression alliance. The Sword Collection received the news and immediately ordered them to come and provide support.

    The power of the human cultivators swelled drastically.

    However, the Dark Queen¡¯s heart sank because powerful auras leapt out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts one by one too. They varied in shape and size such that half of them were not even humanoid, belonging to the various races of the living creatures among the six realms, but all of them had now joined the ranks of the dead. When they were still living, they were separated from one another by their races, but after death, they could instead fight alongside one another. It was quite ironic.

    Any single one of them would only be stronger than the reinforcing Golden Cultivators, not weaker. There were no undead produced by the limitless fighting and devouring of the Hungry Ghost realm that were not skilled in battle.

    As for the Golden Core cultivators, no matter how capable they were, they would all be limited in this aspect. The fruits of several millennia of peace were obtained upon reaching Golden Core, so even the opportunity to fight against others became very scarce. Only large sects like the three sects of the Green province could use various means to maintain an intense level of struggle to train their disciples.

    And, these Corpse Commanders could even gather the power of other Corpse Soldiers and Corpse Generals, which made them terrifyingly powerful.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts was equivalent to a portal. If one Corpse Commander could pass through, then that meant even more Corpse Commanders could pass through. Golden Core cultivators might have been extremely precious and scarce in the World of the Nine Provinces, but there were countless Corpse Commanders in the Hungry Ghost realm.

    The nine provinces might have been vast, but compared to any one realm of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, it would be like a pond to the ocean.

    Once the two were linked, any old ripple from the ocean could completely flood the pond. If they could not seal off the Gate of Hungry Ghosts in time, the consequences would be unfathomable.

    A great war was on the verge of breaking out, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, it was not between humans and daemons, but the living and the dead.

    The Dark Queen hesitated. If all these Golden Core cultivators worked together, she would have some confidence in succeeding if she tried sealing off the Gate of Hungry Ghosts right now.

    However, the well-off dared not take even a single risk that would endanger their lives. With her identity, there was no need for her to take this risk at all. The Umbral Yin sect had never been an upright sect that burdened itself over the fate of the world. She had not come to the Clear River prefecture for this either.

    As a result, she no longer hesitated anymore. She merely signaled to Gu Yanying, turned around and took off into the distance, expressing she had completely given up on sealing the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    The other Golden Core cultivators who had just arrived all stopped as well. For a moment, they had no idea what to do.

    Gu Yanying let out a gentle sigh, also planning to retreat. Having achieved so much whilst opposing a Corpse King from the Hungry Ghost realm, she had already reached the limit of what she could do. All that was left was her to see how the ¡°kings¡± of the Green province would respond.

    It¡¯s not like I own this world.

    Their thoughts were exactly the same as Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    Han Anjun also began to pull back while fighting. On the other hand, the Marquis of Ruyi recalled the Seal of Mountains and Rivers only to discover that the Seal of Mountains and Rivers had dimmed drastically, and a lot of its power of belief had been consumed. It had sustained many hidden traces of damage from the corrosion of corpse qi, which filled him with anguish.

    At the same time, the colossal Corpse Commander corpse beast crouched before the Gate of Hungry Ghosts like a hill.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± stood on its head, gazing ahead proudly like a king overlooking his domain. His Corpse Commander guards had already surpassed ten in the blink of an eye.

    Gu Yanying and the others were unable to pose any threat to her anymore, and if the other Golden Core cultivators were bold enough to approach her, all that awaited them would be death.

    Beneath her, Corpse Soldiers gushed out like the tide, assembling into various military formations under the directions of Corpse Generals before forming great arrays under the Corpse Commanders¡¯ commands.

    In the blink of an eye, another million Corpse Soldiers had gathered again, possessing even sturdier and grander military might.

    Her command seemed to possess a transformative power. The million-strong army began to move, changing their formations as corpse qi filled the air. They were like a vicious beast that devoured everything.

    The power of the Corpse Soldiers gathered on the Corpse Generals and the power of the Corpse Generals gathered on the Corpse Commanders.

    In the end, all of the power gathered on her. As a Corpse King, organising battles like this in the Hungry Ghost realm had already become as common as dirt, and their opponent this time was pitifully weak.

    However, he did know that the truly powerful members of this world had yet to take action. Perhaps they were currently on their way, or perhaps they were still observing, but without a doubt, this was his best opportunity.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± unfurled her arms and opened her vermillion lips slightly. She said in a hoarse, dry voice, ¡°All of you better stay behind!¡±

    She lifted her hands into the air, cupping a glaze-like eye with both hands. It did not glow at all, but space began to ripple like water.

    ¡°Is that a space-devouring beast¡¯s eye!? Even I¡¯ve only ever heard about it! How can he possess one? No wonder he¡¯s so bold!¡±

    The Dark Queen¡¯s face changed and immediately accelerated. She refused to remain for a second longer.

    The other Golden Core cultivators did not react slowly either. Two of them had even taken out Escape talismans that could take them five hundred kilometers away.

    However, all of this was already too late.

    The speed of the ripples could not be described with words. In comparison, the actions of the cultivators made them seem like they had come to a standstill.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts twisted and suddenly expanded, like a huge mouth taking a vicious chunk out of the World of the Nine Provinces.

    By the time everyone returned to their senses, they discovered the world had already changed.

    The sky had completely turned into the deathly grey of the Hungry Ghost realm. The chilly winds whistled as heavy clouds hung gloomily.

    The ground had become piled with white bones while the rivers flowed with black blood.

    Centred around Burial Mound mountain, a radius of several hundred kilometers had begun to ¡°overlap¡± with the Hungry Ghost realm. Although it had not been completely ¡°digested¡± yet, it was only a matter of time.

    No matter how powerful the Escape talismans were, they could not directly pierce the boundary between worlds.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± finally could not help but laugh madly. Just like that, even if figures who had undergone the three heavenly tribulations of this world arrived, there was nothing they could do to him.

    He shut his eyes again, and her face became filled with great comfort and delight. The ever-present suppression and restraint from the world had completely vanished.

    At the same time, all of his actions had gained the recognition of the ¡°will¡± of the Hungry Ghost realm. He could sense the surging aura of death gather towards him.

    The cultivation of his original body that remained in the Hungry Ghost realm became even stronger. If he could completely devour this world and kill all of its living creatures, he would be able to go from a Corpse King to a Corpse Emperor, or to an even higher cultivation realm. None of it was impossible.

    Sure enough, he had not wasted the eye of a space-devouring beast that he had only obtained through luck, and the efforts he spent searching for a viable ¡°world¡± would all pay off.

    Now, all he had to do was wait for the Hungry Ghost realm to completely digest this space so that he could use it as a foundation and constantly expand into the surroundings.

    Before that, he had to kill these cultivators first. Apart from devouring other worlds, killing powerful members of the living was the greatest offering to the Hungry Ghost realm.

    Xiao An!

    A black, semi-transparent barrier blocked his way, drawing a clear boundary. One side was life and the other death. Li Qingshan made his way toward the side of death without the slightest hesitation.

 Chapter 544 â€“ The Flames of the Phoenix

    That was the situation in the space the Hungry Ghost realm devoured.

    Li Qingshan smiled and broke free from Hua Chengzan¡¯s grasp, leaping into the dark world of death. Looking back, dark mist enshrouded his vision. He could not see Hua Chengzan anymore. He could not even sense the aura of the outside world anymore.

    As his air drifted through the air, it turned scarlet. Northmoon appeared and gazed around with his scarlet eyes.

    He and Xiao An both possessed spiritual artifacts for communication, which was why they could sense each other¡¯s locations. However, under the influence of the Hungry Ghost realm, they were unable to sense anything.

    Why didn¡¯t Xiao An retreat?

    As he pondered that, the black mist before him suddenly surged, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

    A Corpse General riding a corpse horse rushed over with almost ten thousand Corpse Soldiers behind him. He was cloaked in corpse qi, making it almost impossible to see him. Only a pair of green eyes shone brilliantly as he raised the war hammer in his hand high into the air with bone-deep hatred for the living.

    Corpse qi condensed into a black, colossal war hammer, slamming down heavily.

    Earth was thrown into the air and a pit appeared on the ground, but Li Qingshan had already vanished.

    The Corpse General was stunned. Suddenly, he raised his head and saw a huge figure descend from above, throwing a punch.

    The surging corpse qi condensed into a huge, black shield before him.

    Li Qingshan sneered. His fist landed on the shield, and the corpse qi shook and dispersed violently. His punch continued along the way, reducing the Corpse General and his horse to a pulp.

    Hmm? Someone else has entered? It¡¯s that half-daemon! If this person becomes a zombie, he¡¯ll definitely be extremely powerful, but there seems to be some kind of power on him that repels the aura of death.

    Zi¡¯er stood in the centre of the land of death and studied the surrounding region of several hundred kilometers. She thought of that before deciding to kill the second heavenly tribulation cultivators first, especially that woman who controlled ghosts.

    The Dark Queen¡¯s face was sunken. There were no less than five Corpse Commanders in the surroundings who converged around her. If it were just five Corpse Commanders, there was no need for her to be afraid, but behind them was the support of a million Corpse Soldiers. Not only were their attacks extremely powerful, but their corpse qi was endless too.

    ¡°Meowster! Meowster!¡±

    Within the mist, a familiar call seemed to ring out.

    ¡°Why did she come in?¡±

    The Dark Queen¡¯s expression changed, becoming slightly distracted.

    Immediately, the corpse qi around her surged into the air and swept over like a tsunami.

    The Dark Queen raised her hand, and the huge ghost appeared.

    A dark green, petite figure called out loudly as she advanced through the thick mist.

    ¡°Where did meowster go? She¡¯s not going to be in any danger, right?¡±

    Xuanyue furrowed her brows. Suddenly, her cat ears trembled, and her hair pricked up. She turned around and bared her teeth.

    Rumble! Within the thunderous shaking, the pebbles on the ground leapt up and down. A hundred thousand Corpse Soldiers under the lead of seven Corpse Generals swarmed over like an avalanche.

    Corpse qi condensed above the army into a lunging, black monster.

    Let alone her, a Daemon General, even a Daemon Commander would struggle to withstand the full brunt of that.

    With a flash, she vanished from the location, having used Shadow Displacement, but she was only displaced three hundred meters away, unable to escape from the corpse army. In this region, innate abilities were no longer so effective.

    She clenched her fist and staggered backwards before immediately turning around and fleeing. She arrived at the edge of the region very soon, raising her foot but unable to step out.

    A huge chasm invisible to the naked eye separated the region from the outside world, serving as a boundary between life and death.

    Dying was easy, but coming back alive was not!

    She turned around, her large eyes filled with anxiety. She murmured to herself.

    ¡°No, no, I have to find a way, but what can I do here? Meowster, Xuanyue is going to die for you. Although I¡¯ve always tried to escape, I haven¡¯t exactly let you down. Damned Big Blacko, your master I am also about to die because of you. You¡¯ve let me down tremendously!¡±

    The army rushed towards her like the tide. It was suffocating.

    Xuanyue closed her eyes as her last thought flashed through her head, I wonder if I can be revived if I die in a strange place like this.

    The pain she imagined did not arrive. She opened her eyes and saw a conspicuous smear of scarlet. It seemed so dazzlingly beautiful in the gloomy, grey world.

    A figure stood before him, his body tall and straight and his scarlet hair drifting through the air. He did not seem particularly burly, but he gave off a lofty, unshakeable bearing like a mountain.

    He knelt on one knee and struck the ground with both hands lithely and forcefully.

    Xuanyue called out, ¡°You idiot, it¡¯s already too late to kneel for forgiveness!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression stiffened and shot an exasperated glance at her.

    ¡°How dare you glare at me at a time like this¡­ I¡­¡±

    Xuanyue shut up. Cracks emanated from his fist.

    The steady ground abruptly turned into a raging beast, shaking violently. The thickly-dotted Corpse Soldiers were like lice on the beast¡¯s back, thrown into the air viciously.

    Several tens of thousand Corpse Soldiers blotted out the sky, directly shaken to death. The military formation collapsed.

    The seven leading Corpse Generals reeled right and left as their minds shuddered.

    The phoenix wings took off, and Li Qingshan turned into a streak of scarlet light. He struck seven times and killed off all the Corpse Generals, looping around and flying towards Xuanyue.

    ¡°Who are you? What are you trying to do?¡±

    Xuanyue felt her body lighten, having been picked up, and they took off. His cool, scarlet hair brushed past her cheeks, which were rather ticklish. Her eyes lit up, and she extended her hand to touch the pair of curved horns on Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan smiled as he allowed her to touch them.

    As she gently stroked them, the two words, ¡°north¡± and ¡°moon¡±, became very distinct.

    Xuanyue was gradually filled with disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Big Blacko!?¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the energetic young girl who was no different from before as she stared at him in surprise. He could not help but laugh aloud.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t let you down at all! Let me repeat myself, you¡¯re not my master!¡±

    Xuanyue put up a struggle. ¡°How can Big Blacko be so beautiful and so strong? You must have disguised yourself!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you keep moving about, I¡¯m going to leave you behind!¡±

    Xuanyue glanced down and saw the boundless sea of corpses. She immediately stopped moving about. She blinked her eyes and said in a daze, ¡°You really are Big Blacko.¡±

    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re bad through and through!¡±

    Li Qingshan held back the urge to drop her. Wind whistled beside him as a white figure flew with them. She waved her hand leisurely and greeted them. ¡°Long time no see, the two of you!¡±

    ¡°Could you keep your distance from us?¡± Li Qingshan glanced behind. There were three Corpse Commanders tailing in pursuit at the very least, and they were all swift flying corpse beasts. Once they caught up, they would be extremely difficult to shake off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so alienating!¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Who has been alienating you?¡±

    ¡°You are one of my admirers after all! Help me out!¡±

    Gu Yanying even extended a hand over and patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder. Without even waiting for his reply, she suddenly veered away.

    Li Qingshan sighed and turned around, flying back in the opposite direction with an arc. He casually tossed Xuanyue in his arms high into the air, approaching the three Corpse Commanders as a pincer attack with Gu Yanying.

    A scream from Xuanyue rang out, ¡°Big Blacko, you traitor!¡±

    Gu Yanying brought her right hand backwards, and the delicate, jade folding fan opened with a flap. Sharp atmospheric winds coiled around it, and she swung out with it in front, sending the winds off with a whistle.

    Li Qingshan came up with an idea. The phoenix wings on his back ignited fiercely. The wind strengthened the fire, allowing them to spread several dozen meters across while leaving behind a trace of firelight throughout the sky.

    ¡°That¡¯s!?¡± Zi¡¯er raised her head.

    The three Corpse Commanders had already experienced the power of Gu Yanying¡¯s atmospheric winds, so they refused to take them on forcefully. They each dodged, and the atmospheric winds brushed past their bodies. Even with thick layers of corpse qi as protection, the atmospheric winds still sliced through them easily like a hot knife through butter.

    Looking back, their faces were all dyed red. The flaming wings smacked against them while blotting out the surroundings.

    The three Corpse Commanders ignored it. In this space, there were no abilities or techniques that could threaten their lives apart from attacks like atmospheric winds. Coupled with the million-strong army as support and their protective corpse qi, it made them even more fearless.

    With a hiss, the thick corpse qi began to melt like butter.

    The phoenix wings slammed against the Corpse Commanders heavily, sending sparks flying.

    The indestructible bodies they had cultivated over millennia began to burn, melting away like the corpse qi.

    ¡°How is this possible!?¡± ¡°What is this fire!?¡± Cries rang out.

    The attack was so effective that it left even Li Qingshan rather surprised. Originally, he planned on wearing away their protective corpse qi before engaging them in close combat and creating an opportunity for Gu Yanying to kill them in a single stroke with her atmospheric winds. However, he never thought he could directly set them on fire and burn them until they began howling out.

    Neither Li Qingshan nor Gu Yanying let this fantastic opportunity slip by. They turned around and brushed past one another.

    In that moment, their noses almost touched as their eyes met. Gu Yanying smiled faintly as if she was thinking of something, while Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, like he had returned to that moment when they first met.

    Two fierce gusts of wind surged and rubbed against one another, whistling past each other.

    With a wave of her fan, the head of a Corpse Commander flew into the air. The flames on his body had not completely extinguished yet.

    Li Qingshan directly flew away with a Corpse Commander. His wings of fire closed around him as he left behind a long tail of fire like a meteor. The Corpse Commander let out miserable wails as it was incinerated in the flames.

    All of this had been completed during high-speed flight. The two of them turned around at the same time, targeting the remaining Corpse Commander that was shaped like a strange bird.

    The strange bird had reacted the fastest. When the phoenix wings slammed against them earlier, only some of the flames had reached it because it was in the centre, which it put out very quickly. By the time it returned to its senses, its companions had already been killed off, becoming the only one left alive.

    With a sharp cry, it dove down, fleeing towards the sea of corpses.

    Seeing how she could not reach it in time, Gu Yanying stopped while Li Qingshan continued, one at the front and one at the back.

    She swung her fan, and the fierce wind pushed Li Qingshan along. He flapped the wings of wind on his back violently as the flames blazed even more intensely.

    Suddenly, he accelerated and caught up with the strange bird Corpse Commander immediately. His wings closed around it and burned it to death!

 Chapter 545 â€“ The Black Coffin Locks the Souls

    Li Qingshan flew back, only to see Xuanyue standing furiously in the air with her hands on her hips. ¡°You traitor, ogling up that bird woman!¡±

    Bird woman! Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow with no idea how to respond.

    Thump! The folding fan smacked Xuanyue over the head and Gu Yanying said, ¡°I¡¯m right here!¡±

    Xuanyue groaned in pain while clutching her head, baring her teeth at Li Qingshan. Gu Yanying studied the wings behind Li Qingshan and said with some surprise, ¡°Phoenix?¡±

    There was a saying where ¡°all birds paid homage to the phoenix¡±. The phoenix was the sovereign of avians, and it possessed an impressive, dignified bearing of nobility and purity. It was particularly clear to her.

    ¡°Am I worthy of you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s unworthy of you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s you, you wretched daemon!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi rushed over. Several Corpse Commanders had surrounded him, but he forced his way out when ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± had been distracted for a moment. The hair ornament on his head had been destroyed such that his hair flew around in a messy manner. He seemed rather disheveled.

    He flew into a rage as soon as he saw Northmoon, and when he saw him conversing with Gu Yanying, he noticed a rare hint of gentleness on her face, which gave him even more reason to lose his temper.

    Before Li Qingshan could even respond, Xuanyue leapt forward. ¡°Who¡¯re you cursing as a wretched daemon?¡±

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re¡­¡± The Marquis of Ruyi recognised the Dark Queen¡¯s infamous cat. ¡°Go away. I¡¯m talking about the wretched daemon behind you. Why don¡¯t you hurry up and die?¡±

    Li Qingshan yelled back, ¡°So it¡¯s you, you bastard! Your grandfather Northmoon will send you off to the next world right now!¡±

    With a flip of his hand, the Marquis of Ruyi lifted up the Seal of Mountains and Rivers. ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡±

    Gu Yanying did not try to pacify them. She pointed down. ¡°Look below!¡±

    The two of them could not help but look down, only to see over a dozen Corpse Commanders glaring at them.

    Zi¡¯er did not make the Corpse Commanders engage them immediately. If they were not speed-focused Corpse Commanders, they would not even be able to touch them. They would only be killed off instead. Corpse Commanders were different from Corpse Soldiers. Every loss was a huge one.

    Most importantly, time stood on Zi¡¯er¡¯s side. She only needed to wait and victory would be hers.

    ¡°Corpse King!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi immediately lost interest in fighting. Once the Corpse King actually took action, death would be certain.

    ¡°You sure are very relaxed!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but admire Gu Yanying¡¯s level of composure. There were many people who did not fear death, but rarely could anyone remain so unfazed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t overestimate me. If there¡¯s really a chance for me to die, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to smile either. If I want to leave right now, I do have a way out, but it¡¯ll be just me at most. There¡¯s nothing I can do about the two of you.¡±

    Gu Yanying said with her soul sense, so her voice directly rang out in their ears. She did indeed possess a way to cross the boundary and leave, but she had to do it before the Hungry Ghost realm completely devoured the region. Otherwise, she would be powerless too.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you leave?¡± ¡°It¡¯s far too dangerous here. If you have a way, then please leave first, Yanying!¡±

    Li Qingshan and the Marquis of Ruyi said at the same time. They exchanged glances and killing intent bubbled.

    ¡°There are a lot of reasons. Time is tight, so I¡¯m not going to go into detail. When this place is about to completely assimilate with the Hungry Ghost realm, I will leave, but before that, let¡¯s try to do something!¡±

    Gu Yanying was clearcut with everything, so straightforward that it could be displeasing. Unconsciously, she gave off a sense of cold alienation as if she was telling a group of people on the brink of death:

    I won¡¯t die. I hope all of you can live. I¡¯ll be working hard towards this as well. If none of you can live, then all I can do is bid you farewell and survive alone.

    She could not help but come off as cold and heartless, yet she was also faultless.

    Li Qingshan wondered. Perhaps when a person truly became so graceful and unconstrained that nothing tied them down anymore, they would come off as blunt and cold like this!

    The Marquis of Ruyi said, ¡°Then what should we do now?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°First of all, we need to seal the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, which requires her highness the Dark Queen¡¯s power. If she falls in battle, then I¡¯ll probably have to take my leave in advance. Secondly, we need to deliver her highness the Dark Queen to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. We need to concentrate our strength as much as possible and save her highness the Dark Queen. After that, we need to save the other fellows as quickly as possible and converge for a decisive battle.¡±

    They had said all of that using soul sense, and they had not wasted much time either.

    Li Qingshan nodded in agreement. The priority was still to seal off the Hungry Ghost realm and destroy this region. With Xiao An¡¯s ability, she would not be in any danger anyway as long as she hid herself in a pile of bones.

    At this very moment, there was a golden flash within the thick, black mist. The light that surged out was like a golden meteor landing, growing brighter and brighter.

    Soon afterwards was a great boom and waves of air rushed out.

    The Marquis of Ruyi was alarmed. ¡°A Golden Core cultivator has blown up his golden core!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s our opportunity. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Golden cores were a crystallisation of a cultivator¡¯s many years of arduous cultivation. The power of the explosion was startling, pushing away the thick, black mist. The landscape on the ground immediately cleared up, which only seemed even more terrifying.

    In that moment, Li Qingshan remembered the scene he had witnessed in the Hungry Ghost realm with his soul sense. He had no time to think about it as Gu Yanying had already flown off.

    Over fifty kilometers away in the south-eastern direction, an illusionary ghost that stood three hundred meters tall roared and growled. Although it was injured again and again, it managed to hold off the Corpse Commanders.

    Li Qingshan was secretly shocked. The Dark Queen was actually so powerful. Not only was the teamwork of the Corpse Commanders perfect, but they were even fighting with the strength of a million Corpse Soldiers and countless Corpse Generals. If that were him, he probably would not be able to last for even a while.

    Even if he reverted to his original form, he would only reach the knees of the colossal ghost.

    Gu Yanying said with some regret, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that her highness the Dark Queen has something holding her back mentally, preventing her from unleashing the strength of this Void-bellied Ghost King. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t be in so much trouble today.¡±

    Under the encirclement of the Corpse Commanders, the Void-bellied Ghost King rapidly dimmed. Suddenly, it opened its huge, pit-like mouth and sucked in hard. The aura of death rushed in, and its figure consolidated again. It threw out a punch and chilling winds whistled. A few Corpse Commanders scattered and dodged it, but it did kill countless Corpse Soldiers and Generals.

    Li Qingshan was even more astounded. And you say she hasn¡¯t unleashed its full strength!

    If she truly could unleash it, then even if she faced a third heavenly tribulation cultivator, she probably would still be able to put up a fight. Controlling Ghost Kings for battle with a Golden Core cultivation was the strength of the Umbral Yin sect. It was no wonder that they stood on equal footing with the Sword Collection palace.

    The Umbral Yin sect¡­ The Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique¡­ Xuanyue¡­ Something holding her back¡­ child¡­

    Certain pieces of memories hidden in the depths of his mind abruptly surged out. Li Qingshan shook his head, refusing to think too much about it. He had no time to think about it either.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± no longer watched over the entire situation either, directly leading a few Corpse Commanders over to block them. She said, ¡°I¡¯ve won.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡± Li Qingshan studied ¡°Zi¡¯er¡±. Although she possessed great skill in battle, her personal strength was only at Corpse Commander. She was even slightly weaker than regular Corpse Commanders. She was not undefeatable.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± looked at Li Qingshan and said, ¡°Descendants of the phoenix truly are rare, but your powers are far too weak. Otherwise, all I¡¯d be able to do is retreat.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s reply was burning flames of the phoenix.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± raised her hand and surging corpse qi condensed into a wall. It no longer seemed like qi, but more like pitch, constantly writhing about.

    The flames of the phoenix smashed into it and immediately melted away a great chunk, but it was unable to penetrate it. The corpse qi churned and filled in the hole in the blink of an eye.

    The flames of the phoenix could overwhelm corpse qi, but if the quality and quantity of corpse qi completely surpassed it, there was nothing it could do.

    ¡°The Hungry Ghost realm should reward me with even more if I kill a being with ¡®eternal life¡¯! The Black Coffin Locks the Souls!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± smiled and raised her hand. The black wall suddenly extended.

    ¡°Oh no! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The three of them flew up swiftly, but the Corpse Commanders had been prepared beforehand, lunging out of the walls.

    Li Qingshan set a Corpse Commander alight with his wings, and the Corpse Commander immediately retreated into the black wall, extinguishing the flames. Meanwhile, Gu Yanying and the Marquis of Ruyi each repelled a Corpse Commander too, but they were all slowed down.

    When they looked around again, the black wall condensed from corpse qi had already filled their vision. It was everywhere, having condensed into a black coffin and locking them inside. Clearly, this move had been prepared beforehand. It could not be breached easily.

    Li Qingshan witnessed the terrifying powers of a Corpse King. Even though he only faced a puppet right now, the techniques he used while borrowing the power of his subordinates was still powerful enough.

    After locking them up, the black coffin began to constantly shrink. They were locked within the black coffin, but the Corpse Commanders could come and go freely, constantly launching sneak attacks and obstructing their attempts to destroy the coffin.

    The Marquis of Ruyi swung the Seal of Mountains and Rivers and stopped a Corpse Commander. He asked frantically, ¡°What do we do?¡±

    ¡°Our plan has failed. Let¡¯s hope her highness the Dark Queen can last a little longer.¡±

    Gu Yanying had absolutely no confidence in that. At the end of the day, how could a plan they had hatched on the spot rival a scheme a Corpse Commander had been plotting for all these years? She was only doing what she could and leaving the rest up to fate. She was close to her limit too!

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± turned around and looked at the Dark Queen. She raised her hand again and corpse qi constantly gathered and condensed without firing, just like the prior signs of an attack from the main cannon of a Soaring Dragon ship.

    The Dark Queen abruptly looked back. She sensed danger. If she still could dodge earlier, then having fought until now, she had become rather feeble.

    A deathly streak of light pierced the Void-bellied Ghost King silently.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King roared as its figure constantly dimmed before finally dispersing. It returned to the Dark Queen¡¯s shadow.

    The Dark Queen¡¯s forehead was drenched with sweat. She fell to the ground powerlessly as she heaved slightly, but her eyes were as chilly as before.

    ¡°Am I actually going to die here today?¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± waved her hand, and the Corpse Commanders swarmed over.

    A long, blood-red banner burst out of the layers upon layers of bones, emerging from underground. It wrapped around the Dark Queen like a dragon.

 Chapter 546 â€“ The Sea of Blood Has No Bounds

    The Dark Queen took out a soybean-sized pill from her sumeru ring and placed it into her mouth, closing her eyes to rest.

    Under the many layers of white and corpses, almost-transparent white flames flickered quietly in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets, clearly reflecting the Dark Queen¡¯s appearance.

    The long-forgotten past that she refused to remember forcefully burst out, making it unavoidable.

    Her sea of consciousness raged like the ocean. Countless memories were forcefully linked and glued together messily.

    She saw the towering, magnificent estate, she saw the great state that gazed at the sea, she saw the deep rift valley, and she saw the Dark Queen!

    All of these images reflected a child in the end. These were her memories.

    The child was wrapped in a verdant-green waistband, dressed in black, luxurious clothes that were riddled with images of dragons and snakes. She was pretty and had a chilly expression, both unfamiliar and familiar.

    Who was she?

    Who am I?

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± watched as her subordinate Corpse Commanders vanished into the long, blood-red banner, and her expression finally changed. Arcane artifacts and treasures that could generate a space of their own were all extremely powerful. They were not what regular people could possess.

    The ¡°power of the domain¡± it gave off was not as powerful as the space that the Hungry Ghost realm had devoured, but it would be very difficult to break free from without any countermeasures.

    ¡°Get out here!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± brought her hands together in a seal, and with a yell, corpse qi surged out and condensed into a vicious head. It shot off into the air with a long trail of black corpse qi.

    It burrowed violently into the land where the long, blood-red banner had erupted from.

    With a boom, the ground suddenly bulged as waves of soil were thrown into the surroundings. The bulge erupted soon afterwards, and the terrifying power it unleashed enveloped the Dark Queen.

    Countless remains were blasted into the air, falling down like a storm.

    Even the Dark Queen had vanished.

    ¡°Has she been finished off? The arcane artifact should have been disabled!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± frowned. She was actually unable to detect their aura.

    The group of Corpse Commanders vanished suddenly along with the long, blood-red banner. They were nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Her majesty the Dark Queen¡¯s aura has vanished.¡±

    In the huge, black coffin, Gu Yanying¡¯s expression changed; she let out a glum sigh. She seemed like she had run out of choices.

    Li Qingshan asked in surprise, ¡°Really? You can sense it?¡±

    Sure enough, she was hiding many different abilities; this made perfect sense. As the only beloved daughter of the Guardian Hawk God, her status was probably greater than most princes and princesses of the Great Xia empire. If it were not for the Hungry Ghost realm restricting and limiting almost everything, she probably could clear out the entire place with her talismans single-handedly.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not certain whether she¡¯s dead or alive.¡± Gu Yanying nodded. A bronze coin appeared in her hand, and she flicked it a few times, but she was unable to reach a conclusion with her divination.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Are you going to be leaving?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m considering it. Why don¡¯t the two of you discuss among yourselves and decide who will blow up their golden core or daemon core to destroy this black coffin and send me off?¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s expression became uglier, while Li Qingshan laughed loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    ¡°Then forget it. Men sure are unreliable. I can only rely on myself!¡± Gu Yanying smiled before suddenly becoming stern. ¡°She¡¯s here!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± turned around and brought her hand over the black coffin. ¡°Let¡¯s deal with these three first!¡±

    She twisted her hand violently, and the black coffin began to shrink abruptly. In the end, it had been reduced to the size of a room. She closed her fingers and said, ¡°Live Burial!¡±

    Within the remains that ¡°Zi¡¯er¡¯s¡± corpse qi face had blasted into the air, an inconspicuous little skeleton curled up within the huge bones that a corpse beast left behind.

    She had stowed the Blood Sea Banner away in her mouth, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone became extremely dim too. All that was left were two hollow sockets. Her white bones no longer gave off the same shiny lustre anymore either.

    She seemed no different from a regular skeleton now.

    Who could find a droplet of water in an ocean?

    Like what Li Qingshan had said, she only had to lie down casually within a pile of remains, and she would be ridiculously safe.

    The Dark Queen opened her eyes again and gazed at the boundless sea of blood below in shock. She saw the Corpse Commanders who had lunged at her earlier currently fend off the constant pounding of the blood sea.

    White skeletons wandered about in the sea of blood. They were not powerful, but they seemed endless. They lunged over with each pounding of waves.

    Over twenty huge skeletons circled around in the surroundings constantly, spraying white flames at the Corpse Commanders.

    However, these Corpse Commanders were all extremely tough. Even without the support of Corpse Soldiers and Generals, they could still rampage through the sea of blood like there was no one else around. Even the Skeleton Demons were unable to stop them.

    However, the Dark Queen discovered they wrapped themselves up firmly in corpse qi, refusing to let the sea of fire or sea of blood come into contact with their bodies. This was no longer merely caution, but also a form of fear.

    And, their numbers seemed to have decreased by two compared to when they surrounded her earlier.

    As the Dark Queen had guessed, the Corpse Commanders were indeed filled with fear. When they had first been trapped here, they completely ignored the blood and fire.

    Their bodies were so tough that even if a flying sword was thrusted at them, it would not necessarily be able to penetrate their skin.

    And, they possessed no weaknesses on their bodies. Even if they were beheaded or torn apart, they would not die. They were even tougher than Golden Core cultivators who had trained their bodies all these years like Han Anguo.

    That was until the flames burned their bodies and the blood splashed on them.

    A Corpse Commander had directly been incinerated. His indestructible body was like dry firewood in fierce flames, burnt to a crisp in the blink of an eye. And that was not even the most horrifying. The other one had the lower half of its body melted away by the blood, letting out maddening shrieks before the sea of blood swallowed them soon after.

    The willpower they had forged like steel in the Hungry Ghost realm immediately crumbled in the sea of blood. Under the constant invasion of despair they had not experienced in a very long time, their minds were thrown into a mess.

    The sea of blood had no bounds. Even with repentance, there was no shore of salvation.

    TL: It a ¡°corrupted¡± version of a Chinese buddhist saying, ¿àº£ÎÞ±ß£¬»ØÍ·ÊÇ°¶, which basically translates to ¡°The sea of bitterness has no bounds. Repent and the shore is at hand¡±, or as the English saying goes, ¡°Repent and ye shall be saved¡±. It basically means that no matter what heinous deeds you¡¯ve committed, no matter how far you¡¯ve ventured into the sea of bitterness and suffering, the shore is right there as long as you look back¡ªthere is still salvation as long as you repent.

    Only an endless sinking into misery awaited them. It was even more terrifying than roaming the Hungry Ghost realm and even more cruel than the punishments of the Hell realm.

    The Blood Sea Banner was still very weak, but it still contained the despair of a bodhisattva!

    ¡°Where is this? Let¡¯s work together and force our way out of here!¡±

    Following the bewilderment and confusion, the Corpse Commanders gradually calmed down and repelled the Skull Prayer Beads together. They stood with their backs against each other as they observed the surroundings cautiously. They gathered their corpse qi together, condensing into a swelling, black sphere that hovered in the air.

    Sure enough, the space began to twist and ripple. They could vaguely make out the familiar aura of the Hungry Ghost realm and the Corpse Commanders all riled up with vigour.

    At this moment, the Dark Queen appeared. Having refined the pill, not only did her strength recover, but even her vigour had been revitalised. She felt like she had spent three whole days and nights resting. She bore no resemblance to how she ran out of strength from a bitter battle earlier.

    It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s helping me, right now is the best opportunity for killing these Corpse Commanders!

    The Dark Queen¡¯s gaze was chilly, noble, and composed. A black figure extended from her shadow, reaching over three hundred meters tall in the blink of an eye and turning into the Void-bellied Ghost King. It slammed down with its hand.

    The sea of blood surged with violent waves as the Corpse Commanders scattered. The black sphere they had condensed after so much difficulty immediately collapsed.

    The Dark Queen possessed the strength to contend with this group of Corpse Commanders in the first place, and not only had the Corpse Commanders lost two of their companions, but they had also lost the support of the corpse army.

    And, the sea of blood constantly interfered with their actions and influenced them. When the Dark Queen appeared and destroyed the black sphere, the feeling of despair filled their minds immediately. They felt like it was useless no matter how they resisted, where they were better off simply giving up.

    Although they managed to suppress this thought very quickly with their great willpower, their reactions still became delayed. And, they had to contend with the feeling of despair constantly, preventing them from unleashing their full strength.

    As a result, the tables turned, and the Dark Queen easily gained the upper hand, suppressing the Corpse Commanders firmly. She fought them to the point where they fled for their lives, properly venting her feelings from earlier.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King swung its hand at a Corpse Commander. A huge shadow enveloped it!

    A sliver of despair appeared in the Corpse Commander¡¯s eyes. He thought to himself, Even if I dodge this strike, what then? I¡¯ll still end up dead! No, how can I think like that? Oh no!

    He was distracted. By the time he returned to his senses, the huge hand had already filled his vision as the gust of wind rushed into his face. Dodging was already too late. He was sent flying viciously, falling into the sea of blood.

    The Dark Queen knew this was nowhere near enough to kill a Corpse Commander. Right when she was about to go after him, she saw the region of blood surge violently and heard a horrific howl from the Corpse King. She could not help but become slightly taken aback.

    She had had a lot of contact with the Hungry Ghost realm. She knew the minds and willpower of these zombies were almost numbingly tough. There was no pain that could faze them. Even when destruction descended upon them, they would not feel fear. As a result, almost all bewitching or enchanting techniques would struggle to be of any effect on them.

    Just what terrifying thing can make a Corpse Commander let out a horrific howl like that?

    As it turned out, the attack from the Void-bellied Ghost King had not smacked the Corpse Commander to death, but it did disperse his protective true qi. When he fell into the sea of blood, it was like he fell into a vat of sulfuric acid.

    If the Corpse Commander had immediately circulated his corpse qi, he would have been able to force away the blood and escape from the sea of blood. However, under the furious corrosion of the blood, a feeling of great horror and great despair filled his heart, throwing his mind into chaos. He was like a drowning person that did not know how to swim, that only knew to struggle instinctively and desperately, but the more they struggled, the deeper they sank. His body was reduced to blood very soon, becoming a part of the sea of blood. He only left behind a set of bones that floated above the sea.

 Chapter 547 â€“ A Farewell, a Great Blaze

    Li Qingshan curled up like an infant as the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rose up in layers, blocking the invading corpse qi before being eaten away and penetrated very soon.

    His first line of defence shattered. Then he enveloped himself in the burning phoenix wings. Although the flames of the phoenix could suppress corpse qi, it was still very weak after all. It gave way very soon in the violent explosion, and the wings shattered. His second line of defence had been breached too.

    But fortunately, after breaching two lines of defence, the power of the explosion had begun to weaken. His Ox Demon Forges its Hide forcefully withstood it, but a great chunk of his daemon qi was expended.

    The Marquis of Ruyi was in much worse shape. He clearly did not possess such powerful defensive techniques like Li Qingshan. His luxurious clothes had been reduced to tatters, and even his skin had been dyed black, clearly contaminated with extremely potent corpse poison.

    His clothes were official robes that the Great Xia empire specially designed for the governors of commanderies. It had been passed down through the generations. Like the Seal of Mountains and Rivers, not only was it a representation of identity and status, but it also possessed extremely great power.

    When he wore it, the serpents on the clothing protected him like an indestructible fortress. Now that it had been forcefully ripped apart beyond repair, he had turned pale. He was filled with pain.

    Only Gu Yanying stood with her hands behind her back, just as graceful as before. Her demeanour was completely unaffected. She seemed to be unscathed, but there were traces of corrosion on the hem of her clothes and the cuffs of her sleeves. The moment she emerged, she used a gaze as sharp as a hawk¡¯s to search for the Dark Queen¡¯s trace, but she found nothing.

    ¡°Is the Dark Queen dead?¡±

    Fifty kilometers away, there was another great rumble. A Golden Core cultivator had fallen in battle and detonated their golden core.

    The fierce wind ruffled her clothes wildly as her long, black hair drifted through the air.

    Gu Yanying calculated quietly. ¡°According to the auras, another Golden Core cultivator has fallen in battle, except they failed to blow up their golden core in time. The remaining cultivators have probably reached their limit too. If this continues, they¡¯ll probably fall one after another. The Hungry Ghost realm has almost completely devoured this region.¡±

    ¡°Yanying, what should we do?¡±

    For the first time in his life, he had experienced the horror of death. Remembering how the extravagances of his life, the fine wine and beautiful women, the great path of longevity, would all be leaving him, even his teeth began to chatter.

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°What shitty Marquis of Ruyi? Normally you swagger around on your high horse, but when it matters, you just become a coward!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi flew into a rage. ¡°How dare you insult me, wretched daemon!¡±

    Gu Yanying said with surprise, ¡°You sure are very composed.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If I faced life-threatened danger, I wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to smile either. However, these zombies aren¡¯t enough to claim my life!¡± Afterwards, he said to the Marquis of Ruyi, ¡°How about this? If you give me your sumeru ring, I¡¯ll save your life!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think- You have a way out?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°I do have a way out, but upon further thought, I think it¡¯s more satisfying to retrieve it from your corpse!¡±

    In the sea of blood, the Void-bellied Ghost King grabbed the last Corpse Commander and plunged it viciously into the blood. A while later, the sea of blood settled back down.

    ¡°May I ask who it is that has provided me with assistance? Please show yourself! The Umbral Yin sect will definitely show many thanks!¡±

    The Dark Queen stowed the Ghost King away and gazed around. With how strange and powerful their methods were, the person must have been extraordinary, and they were actually able to suppress these undead. If she could recruit them for the Umbral Yin sect, they would definitely be of great use.

    The landscape around her changed, and the sea of blood vanished. They had returned to the sky above Burial Mound mountain.

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± suddenly looked back and frowned. Two figures appeared, one large and one small, one human and one skeleton, facing one another.

    They had appeared, while the Corpse Commanders had vanished. Had they already killed the Corpse Commanders?

    That was impossible!

    The Dark Queen¡¯s pupils dilated, reflecting a small skeleton. Its white bones shone with a glossy lustre, radiating with a holy light as its eye sockets burned with white fire.

    Twenty-six prayer beads wrapped around its slender, left wrist as it clutched a long, fluttering, blood-red banner in its right hand.

    Xiao An also stared at the beautiful woman before her, only inches apart.

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Dark Queen extended her hand. An indescribable feeling flowed through her heart. There was no reason or evidence, but from the moment she saw it, she knew that important object that she had lost many years ago had appeared before her again.

    ¡°Your highness, you¡¯ve come out.¡± The Marquis of Ruyi was overjoyed.

    ¡°Master- Hmm? Li¡¯l Whitey, you¡¯ve grown bigger too!¡±

    Xuanyue, who had been hiding in the sky with ¡°Moon Concealment¡± the entire time, saw the Dark Queen appear and also showed herself before rushing over.

    Li Qingshan saw Xiao An and became relieved. He smiled and wanted to say something, but he quickly thought of something, The Dark Queen¡­ Xiao An¡­ the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique¡­ South Hub city¡­ Don¡¯t tell me?

    His expression suddenly changed. An invisible hand seemed to grip his throat. He was unable to utter a single word.

    Gu Yanying glanced at Li Qingshan in astonishment, To think that there are also times when this man who¡¯s unafraid of anything will be afraid. It¡¯s for this little skeleton, so that Xiao An.

    As she knew Li Qingshan¡¯s identity, she obviously managed to guess the white skeleton was Xiao An. It was not just Li Qingshan. The Dark Queen¡¯s behaviour was very strange too. Since when had this chilly, proud woman ever exhibited an expression like that?

    In this region that the Hungry Ghost realm was about devour, three people completely forgot about their surroundings. They completely forgot about victory and defeat, life and death. All that remained was the people before them.

    There was ravishing joy from finding what was previously lost, there was wavering dilemma, and there was the fear of loss.

    Li Qingshan retreated and dodged it. The Dark Queen¡¯s hand touched nothing.

    Xiao An gazed at the Dark Queen as she constantly backed away. She silently murmured inside, Farewell, queen mother!

    The pretty, familiar yet unfamiliar child overlapped with her before separating again. She turned around resolutely and flew towards Li Qingshan, throwing herself into his arms and embracing him firmly.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. He grinned from ear to ear, smiling like a child. Sensing the emotional turmoil in Xiao An¡¯s heart, he rubbed her head and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go for a great battle!¡±

    Xiao An broke free from Li Qingshan¡¯s embrace and waved her arm. The twenty-six Skull Prayer Beads scattered and landed within the sea of corpses.

    Wielding the white bone sword, Xiao An leapt down.

    ¡°Stop it!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± experienced a great sense of danger and ordered loudly. Several dozen Corpse Commanders abandoned their opponents and flew over, charging towards Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan lifted his arm, bringing it in front of Gu Yanying who wanted to help out. ¡°Get the Dark Queen to prepare for sealing off the Gate of Hungry Ghosts! We¡¯ll press forward into the enemy¡¯s den!¡±

    What? Gu Yanying was utterly shocked. Was she supposed to fend off several million Corpse Soldiers, as well as so many Corpse Generals and Commanders, alone?

    The group of Corpse Commanders arrived with surging corpse qi. With a wave of the Blood Sea Banner, they all vanished into thin air, and their corpse qi dispersed.

    She could not kill them all, but keeping them trapped for a while was no problem.

    When the Blood Sea Banner had first been refined, it was in its weakest form. Through constant battle and devouring enemies, the Blood Sea Banner had become more and more powerful. After reducing the Corpse Commanders who encircled the Dark Queen to blood, the Blood Sea Banner had never been so powerful before.

    These Corpse Commanders had very tough bodies and their corpse qi was powerful. They could even lead Corpse Generals and Corpse Soldiers to strengthen themselves.

    However, that was it. They were not capable of anything else. They did not have the powerful innate abilities of daemons, nor did they have the flexible techniques of humans. As a result, breaching the Blood Sea Banner became very difficult.

    Xiao An descended from above. The Blood Sea Banner stretched over three hundred meters long, dancing about like a blood dragon as it silently devoured the sea of corpses.

    Thousands, tens of thousand, hundreds of thousand!

    The Corpse Generals and Corpse Commanders could still fend off the sea of blood, but these Corpse Soldiers clearly lacked the ability. They were reduced to blood as soon as they entered the sea of blood, strengthening the Blood Sea Banner¡¯s powers.

    The skeletons they left behind floating in the sea of blood. They were much more powerful than the white bones regular people left behind in the very beginning. Within the sea of blood hid a sea of bones that constantly lunged and mauled at the Corpse Commanders.

    The Skeleton Demons that had scattered did not stand around idly either. They opened their huge, vicious, teeth-ridden mouths and spat out gushing flames.

    Thousands of Corpse Generals led an army several million strong to surround these Skeleton Demons. They all fell into military formations as corpse qi condensed into vicious monsters in the air. Terrifying weapons were swung at the Skeleton Demons.

    The corpse qi on Corpse Soldiers had always been much thinner. The Corpse Generals had mobilised their corpse qi to unleash various attacks, which made the Corpse Soldiers lose their final layer of protection.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Wherever the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone went, they were like sparks that landed in a pot of oil. A great blaze rushed into the air and spread rapidly, reaching an unstoppable size in the blink of an eye.

    Burning in the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, the Corpse Soldiers became a part of the flames one by one, stoking the fire.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone turned into great swathes of fire clouds, surging through the air while spitting out thousands of tongues of flames like colossal, constantly-transforming beasts, licking the sea of corpses on the ground.

    Having lost their subordinates, the Corpse Generals could only circulate their corpse qi and hold on for dear life in the sea of fire. But at most, they would only last a little longer in the sea of fire.

    Under the violent surging of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, their protective corpse qi collapsed and was torn apart very soon, reduced to great torches of fire.

    The entire world was burning!

    ¡°What a great fire!¡± Li Qingshan shouted out in admiration.

    The others were all speechless. The firelight made their faces flickered.

    Gu Yanying frowned firmly. What is this fire? How come I¡¯ve never heard of it? And how is it so powerful? She personally believed she possessed great knowledge and extensive experience, but now she saw a fire even she had never heard of before. Their fortuitous encounter truly had been unfathomable.

    ¡°White flames!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± widened her eyes. The flames caused her a vague sense of fear, which made her suddenly remember an extremely widespread rumor within the Hungry Ghost realm. A long, long time ago, white holy fire had once descended from above and incinerated everything.

 Chapter 548 â€“ The Buddha Slaying Sword Embryo

    In the depths of this chilly, noble queen¡¯s eyes, there was a sliver of confusion and a sliver of grief!

    Only when the great fire reached the sky did she return to her senses. She saw the white figure flying freely above the sea of corpses, waving the long, blood-red banner. She was invincible!

    This was her current power!

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s mind shuddered. How can I possibly defeat an opponent like that? Even if I mobilise all the cultivators of the Ruyi commandery, could I even succeed?

    In truth, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone were only extremely effective against undead. Against cultivators, particularly Golden Core cultivators, it was not necessarily that powerful. However, as the Marquis of Ruyi had faced constant life-threatening danger, his mind was already in a great mess. He had been viciously frightened.

    As for the other Golden Core cultivators, they had become completely dumbfounded as they watched this terrifying sight that resembled the end of the world unfold before they could even feel relieved over their survival.

    The flames had no concept of friend or foe. They also had to protect themselves with spiritual qi. One of the Golden Core cultivators had already been on their last breath within the encirclement of Corpse Commanders and had almost blown up his Golden Core. When the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone reached him, he also erupted into flames with a boom.

    ¡°I refuse to accept this! I¡¯ve planned for so long, only to fail because of an absurd legend!¡±

    ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± drew in her arms and rushed into the air, heading right towards Xiao An.

    The figure of a colossal ghost blocked her way like a mountain. It was the Void-bellied Ghost King that the Dark Queen had summoned. It looked down on ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± as it swung its huge hand towards ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± viciously.

    Like the sky had collapsed, it actually felt like she was suffocating. ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± crossed her arms and assumed a defensive stance. She was struck with an unparalleled force, sent flying violently.

    Her cultivation was merely equivalent to Corpse Commanders. Now that the corpse army had been destroyed by Xiao An, there was no longer anything she could rely on. She obviously was not the Dark Queen¡¯s opponent.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King took a step forward, stomping down on ¡°Zi¡¯er¡±.

    Boom!

    Rock was thrown into the air as the ground cracked, forming a deep pit.

    The wisp of smoke on ¡°Zi¡¯er¡±¡¯s back tugged her, which was why she managed to avoid the attack. Wind and fire assaulted from the left and right as Gu Yanying and Li Qingshan brushed past each other.

    The wisp of black smoke on her back had suddenly been severed. She blinked her eyes as if she had awoken from a great dream before closing them again. She spread her arms and fell into the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    By now, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had already turned into a huge abyss. She vanished in the blink of an eye.

    Gu Yanying looked back and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fantastic that your highness is safe and sound.¡±

    The Dark Queen nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve made you worry, my sister.¡± She turned around, and her gaze landed on Li Qingshan.

    In that moment, Li Qingshan experienced a false impression that the gaze had pierced right through him. The Void-bellied Ghost King behind the Dark Queen seemed like it could swing its hand at him at any time.

    The Dark Queen shifted her gaze away very soon and sighed gently. ¡°Let¡¯s seal the Gate of Hungry Ghosts first!¡± It was not like she planned on stopping if she did not receive a satisfying conclusion.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡±

    A hoarse, ear-piercing voice rang out and echoed loudly through the Gate of Hungry Ghosts until it reached the sky.

    Boom! A huge, withered hand extended out of the abyss, grabbing the edge of the pit. With a violent tug, a colossal figure leapt out.

    Li Qingshan finally saw the Corpse King¡¯s appearance. At first glance, he seemed like a dried, human corpse, but he was countless times bigger. Vicious-looking bone spikes protruded from his body while radiating with an unmatched pressure.

    Due to the restrictions of the boundary, only the top half of his body extended out from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, but he was still as tall as a small mountain. The black corpse qi that coiled around his body resembled the mist that lingered among mountains. His eyes akin to small lakes shone with a brutal green light as they stared viciously at the Void-bellied Ghost King. He swung his claws violently.

    Four streaks of brutal, black light ripped through the air, targeting Xiao An in the distance. What made him feel threatened the most was not the woman before him who could control the Ghost King, but this tiny skeleton. As long as he could kill it, the several dozen Corpse Commanders under his command would be able to break free.

    An even taller mountain blocked the Corpse King. The Void-bellied Ghost King forcefully took on the streaks of black light, staggering a few steps back. A few horrific claw marks appeared on its body. It threw a punch with a furious howl.

    On the wasteland, a corpse and a ghost, two colossal beings, stood on the spot without dodging at all as they attacked one another furiously. One was unable to dodge, while the other remained in place to protect the ¡°person¡± behind it.

    This sight also left Li Qingshan shocked. He felt like he had returned to the primordial battlefield between gods and demons. However, he saw the Void-bellied Ghost King rapidly dim after receiving a few strikes.

    On the other hand, the Corpse King became braver as he fought. Although he was unable to completely overcome from the powers of the boundary and reach this space from the Hungry Ghost realm, his strength was not something a mindless Ghost King controlled by a second heavenly tribulation cultivator could rival. As long as he lasted a little longer, the Hungry Ghost realm would completely devour this region, and by then, this would be his world!

    ¡°Your highness, I¡¯ve come to assist you!¡± the Marquis of Ruyi called out. The Seal of Mountains and Rivers expanded to its limit and crushed down towards the Corpse King.

    The Corpse King forcefully endured a palm strike from the Void-bellied Ghost King as he landed a punch on the Seal of Mountains and Rivers with the back of his hand. The seal was directly knocked several dozen kilometers away, becoming riddled with cracks and growing dimmer and dimmer.

    Blood spurted out of the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s mouth violently. He wiped it away before mobilising the Seal of Mountains and Rivers again like he was mad, crushing down on the Corpse King.

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying flew through the air, kicking up streams of wind and fire. Compared to the Corpse King, they seemed like two tiny months constantly lingering around. Even though the phoenix fire and atmospheric winds possessed great power, they only left behind burns and cuts on the Corpse King¡¯s colossal body.

    The other cultivators also understood they had reached the final moment. Whether they survived or not would completely depend on this battle. They all rushed over.

    At this very moment, Li Qingshan experienced a warning of extreme danger. He beat his wings furiously and circled around in the air.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone swept through the entire region, sparing no Corpse Soldiers or Corpse Generals, while Corpse Commanders were all sucked into the Blood Sea Banner. The Blood Sea Banner surged and twisted constantly as if it could rip apart at any time.

    Although the Blood Sea Banner had already become even more powerful, it was still a struggle to keep several dozen Corpse Commanders suppressed.

    The rolling Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone swept back, channeling into the skull at the top of the Blood Sea Banner before flowing through the spine, the ribs, and the tailbone from top to bottom. The pole made from bone acquired a completely new look, becoming even more lustrous and smooth, supporting the banner of the blood sea.

    When she first forged the Blood Sea Banner, she had only succeeded barely, as there were insufficient remains. She did not even have enough for herself, let alone providing for the Blood Sea Banner.

    Yet now, just the Corpse Soldiers she had refined approached ten million.

    Before ¡°Zi¡¯er¡± appeared, the Corpse Soldiers that rushed out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had already reached several million. Although they had all been killed or crushed to powder by the Seal of Mountains and Rivers, their remains were still scattered across the ground.

    Xiao An accepted them all, letting none go to waste. The issue of insufficient remains no longer existed, so she forged the Blood Sea Banner again, allowing it to reach the peak of its current stage.

    Then she controlled the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, making it sweep over and turn into a huge fire tornado, channeling into the top of her head. Her bones absorbed the flames madly like a sponge, sucking up all the flames within a radius of several dozen kilometers. Only then was she satisfied, and she stopped absorbing.

    Every bone of hers possessed a lustre akin to the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, a smooth white that was almost transparent. She had finally pushed the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to the limits of the first layer, but she reached a new bottleneck. In order to break through, not only did she require tremendous amounts of corpses, she also required a deeper comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The Skull Prayer Beads were the same. After forging the twenty-six Skull Prayer Beads to their peak, she struggled to forge a twenty-seventh. As it seemed, she needed to reach the second layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty before she could forge it.

    Once she reached twenty-seven prayer beads, the overall strength of the Skull Demons would undergo a qualitative breakthrough.

    By then, a single Skull Demon would be able to contend against a Golden Core cultivator, and the Skull Demon Formation they assembled would become even more powerful. She would be powerful enough to dominate all opponents of the second heavenly tribulation.

    The Blood Sea Banner surged again. The Corpse Commanders were working together to break out. Xiao An tossed the twenty-six Skull Prayer Beads into there, assembling the Skull Demon Formation to temporarily suppress them and buy time.

    Xiao An raised the white bone sword in her hand high into the air, pointing it at the sky. She began to chant inside.

    The sky full of fire began to revolve violently around the tip of the sword, forming a great vortex. It emanated outwards with each revolution, filling the entire sky.

    A stream of fire channeled into the tip of the sword.

    The white bone sword that was only a meter in length seemed like a bottomless hole, swallowing the sky of fire like a whale.

    Within the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, the most powerful weapon was neither the Blood Sea Banner nor the Skull Prayer Beads, but the ¡°Buddha Slaying sword¡±.

    Buddhahood¡ªcomplete enlightenment¡ªwas the highest attainment of buddhism. They had leapt out of the six realms, no longer bound by the five elements. They possessed endless power and infinite wisdom.

    Even the creator of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty only dared to proclaim the title of the ¡°White Bone Bodhisattva¡±, with no right to call himself the ¡°White Bone Buddha¡±. Yet, to name this sword ¡°Buddha Slaying¡±, it was both his ambition and evidence of this sword¡¯s power.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone transformed from millions of Corpse Soldiers and thousands of Corpse Generals all merged into the white bone sword, without a sliver remaining.

    The sea of corpses vanished. The flames vanished. However, the surroundings did not clear up or brighten. The sky remained gloomy, enveloped with mist that never dispersed.

    The white bone sword did not undergo any alarming changes. It only lengthened slightly, and its overall shape even became slightly cruder than the original white bone sword.

    Did the forging process fail?

 Chapter 549 â€“ Four Golden Core Into the Belly

    Li Qingshan felt like his heart was in his throat as he desperately turned and weaved. If he were struck, then no matter how powerful his life force was, all that awaited him would be death.

    The fingernail turned with him like a flying sword. Right when he was unable to dodge it, a sudden gust of strong wind appeared from the side, pushing him along.

    The fingernail the size of a stone beam whistled past him as a few strands of his scarlet hair drifted through the air.

    Li Qingshan nodded at Gu Yanying. If it were not for Gu Yanying¡¯s fan swing, becoming heavily injured would be unavoidable even if he managed to survive. Afterwards, if he took on another attack or two, he would be in danger.

    Gu Yanying was not under attack. Clearly, the Corpse King¡¯s attacks were selective. They targeted those who could not defend or dodge.

    If it were not for the spirit turtle¡¯s warning, Li Qingshan probably would have been heavily injured. Gazing down, another two Golden Core cultivators had fallen in battle. Li Qingshan even recognised one of them. They happened to be one of the four grandmasters.

    Another three Golden Core cultivators sustained damage of varying degree. Light damage referred to shattered lifebound arcane artifacts and a severed arm, while heavy damage was having the lower half of their body completely crushed. That person had only managed to hold on with the life force of a Golden Core cultivator, but he was still on his last breath.

    Before the Golden Core cultivators could even complete the encirclement, they had been frightened out of their wits.

    This was the horror of a Corpse King. An entire realm of cultivation separated them. Even though he could not unleash his full strength, he was still not something a group of Golden Core cultivators could treat with scorn. If they wanted to stop him, then they better be prepared to die!

    The Dark Queen¡¯s Void-bellied Ghost King forcefully took on three fingernails and was on the cusp of collapsing. It would probably give way with one more attack.

    The Dark Queen glanced behind before looking at the Corpse King again and taking in a deep breath.

    Fierce wind whistled as rolling yin qi surged into the Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s cavernous mouth. Its body consolidated once more as its belly bulged high into the air.

    ¡°You still won¡¯t give up!¡±

    The Corpse King pressed his hands against the ground, and his body pulled a little further out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. His aura became even more powerful and intense. Rings of corpse qi coiled around his arm as he struck the Void-bellied Corpse King¡¯s belly.

    During that, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts opened even wider. The Corpse King¡¯s strength did not wane, instead growing greater and greater. Although he had lost countless subordinates, the entire Hungry Ghost realm was supporting him in expanding its territory.

    The Corpse King said, ¡°All of you will die here today!¡±

    And that strange skeleton. While its white flames were terrifying, they were unable to breach his protective corpse qi. Its strength was only around the level of a Corpse Commander. He refused to believe something so weak could destroy the Hungry Ghost realm.

    ¡°As long as I can use my full strength, I can kill it in a single palm strike.¡±

    The omen of warning in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was growing more intense!

    An opponent as powerful as that was well beyond what he could handle with his current cultivation. He would already be fortunate if he were able to escape.

    But there was nowhere to escape. He would not escape either!

    When facing an undefeatable opponent, some would feel fear and despair, while others would rouse and get their blood pumping. He was the latter.

    He glanced at Xiao An from afar. Xiao An had already helped out tremendously by destroying the corpse army and suppressing several dozen Corpse Commanders. It was up to him now.

    His fighting spirit began to bubble, and there were no more unnecessary thoughts in his head. He only thought about how he could defeat the opponent.

    ¡°Send me off!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gu Yanying waved her folding fan, and a tornado-like gust of wind pushed Li Qingshan along with a great and gentle force.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings, and his entire body blazed. He pushed his speed to the limit, leaving behind a long trail of flames like a burning meteor. He sailed across the sky and descended.

    He¡¯s just bringing about his own doom, like a moth to a flame! That was what everyone present thought at that moment.

    The Corpse King raised his hand, about to crush this overconfident moth.

    The fire made a turn, flying over the Corpse King¡¯s head and landing five kilometers away.

    The Marquis of Ruyi realised what he was doing. He widened his eyes and called out, ¡°The golden cores!¡±

    Li Qingshan would never launch a suicide attack. His target was not the Corpse King, but the golden cores left behind by the two Golden Core cultivators the Corpse King killed in a single strike.

    Were there any Golden Core cultivators present that would stop him?

    With a scoop, Li Qingshan obtained two golden cores, along with two hundred treasures pouches. He casually shoved the two golden cores into his mouth before turning around. However, he still did not charge toward the Corpse King.

    In the battle earlier, a Golden Core cultivator had been killed before he could blow up his golden core, which had fallen to the ground, while another cultivator had been incinerated by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Li Qingshan had locked onto the positions of the two golden cores a long time ago.

    Everyone only saw a streak of firelight revolve around the Gate of Hungry Ghosts from afar a few times!

    He had obtained another two golden cores.

    Li Qingshan directly shoved them into his mouth before flying off into the distance. Four golden cores were in his belly.

    Gu Yanying cried out, ¡°Spit it out, quick!¡±

    Every golden core contained the essence of several centuries of cultivation from a Golden Core cultivator. It was true that they contained great energy, but consuming them like that was not cultivation, but suicide.

    He had consumed four golden cores together, and their elements were completely different. It was possible to imagine the outcome when four golden cores exploded in the body. No matter how tough his body was, no matter how great his life force was, it would all be torn to shreds. He would be more dead than dead.

    Li Qingshan smiled at Gu Yanying, but the smile became vicious very soon. His handsome, flawless face was replaced by the fierce, hideous face of a daemon. His body stretched upwards, three meters, fifteen meters, thirty meters, sixty meters¡­

    Having transformed into his original daemon form, his eyes shone like embers as his hair burned like fire. A huge pair of fire wings raged behind his body, no longer possessing the resplendence of the phoenix, but more unscrupulous and turbulent.

    Li Qingshan dropped to his knees loudly. The powers in the four golden cores erupted in his body at the same time, rampaging around furiously.

    He used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to suppress it desperately while bringing tranquility to his mind and allowing his thoughts to become intricate. He did everything he could to control and lead every portion of the power.

    But even with that, his muscles bulged like they were tumours before exploding loudly and turning into balls of fire.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    It was as if countless bombs were buried in Li Qingshan¡¯s body, and they were set off consecutively.

    In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a single part of him that was complete. It had all turned into fire that blazed vigorously. If he had not reached the first layer of the Phoenix Transformation already, he probably would have been on the verge of death.

    Through the flames, it was possible to clearly make out a hideous skeleton standing proudly.

    Crack! Crack! Fractures appeared on the bones. Even the sturdy tiger bones were unable to withstand the power of four golden cores exploding simultaneously. They were like cracks that riddled a dam, basically on the cusp of collapsing.

    The Marquis of Ruyi had also become dumbfounded by his maddening actions. ¡°H- Has he lost his mind? This wretched daemon!¡±

    The Corpse King laughed wildly. ¡°Is this your ray of hope? I haven¡¯t even done anything, and you¡¯re already close to death.¡±

    He was out of his mind if he thought he could breakthrough by simply swallowing a few golden cores on the spot!

    In the sea of blood, the Skeleton Demon Formation was torn apart, returning to Xiao An¡¯s wrist. Their colour had even become slightly dim. Only when the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone drifted across them did they recover their lustre.

    The Blood Sea Banner had finally reached its limit with suppressing several dozen Corpse Commanders. If she tried to continue, she would damage the Blood Sea Banner.

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan in worry before settling down and shaking the Blood Sea Banner.

    Several dozen Corpse Commanders of various strange shapes and sizes flew out.

    The cultivators all changed drastically in expression. The moon demon had forcefully swallowed several golden cores and was on the brink of death. The Corpse King was so ferocious too, and now they also faced a pincer attack from so many Corpse Commanders. Death was basically certain.

    These wretched daemons truly were not reliable!

    Xiao An lifted the Buddha Slaying sword embryo silently.

    The Corpse Commanders had broken free after all this, so they were utterly fuming. They immediately gathered their corpse qi for revenge, only to see there was not a single Corpse Soldiers remaining on the ground for them to command. They could not help but be taken aback.

    They had only been suppressed in the Blood Sea Banner for a short moment, yet the situation outside had changed so drastically.

    Xiao An did not care about what they thought either. She swung the Buddha Slaying sword embryo backwards and leapt up, shooting towards the group of Corpse Commanders like a bolt of lightning. She actually wanted to face off against several dozen Corpse Commanders alone.

    Even Gu Yanying began to think her mental capacity was a little lacking. These two basically could not be understood with conventional thinking!

    Why would the Corpse Commanders be afraid? They roared as they received her, but they did not lose their calm. Their auras linked together, weaving into a huge, flawless net. They wanted to trap her in the net before ripping her to shreds.

    The one that lunged at her was the mourning-stick-wielding Corpse Commander who matched Han Anguo evenly earlier. He let out a sharp wail that could sway the minds of people like an invisible, sharp pick. The mourning stick in his hand turned into hundreds of blurs, yet every single blur was a real attack, raining down on her head like a storm.

    The other Corpse Commanders used various attacks too as punches, teeth, claws, and corpse qi all rushed over.

    Xiao An brought the Buddha Slaying sword embryo before her calmly and began swinging it skillfully. She was like a master of calligraphy unleashing a wild scribble, free and easy, taking great delight in the process.

    She passed through the net the Corpse Commanders weaved. The Corpse Commanders who confronted her directly all became stunned in the air.

    The Corpse Commander dressed in mourning attire gazed at the mourning stick in his hand. It suddenly broke into two pieces along the middle, falling to the ground. Then he lowered his head and gazed at himself. Slashes criss-crossed his body, first as black lines before expanding and separating.

    His face was filled with disbelief. He used his hands to cover his wounds as black corpse qi flowed out between his fingers.

    In that moment, he was carved into pieces, falling out of the sky.

    In a single clash, five Corpse Commanders had been cut to pieces.

    It was true that the Buddha Slaying sword embryo did not possess any powers yet. It was only especially tough and sharp, so sharp that whether it was the protective corpse qi or the Corpse Commanders¡¯ indestructible bodies, none of them seemed to exist before it.

    ¡°What sword is that? Even my atmospheric winds aren¡¯t that great.¡± Gu Yanying was stunned. Her atmospheric winds were powerful, but collecting and refining them was extremely troublesome. It was nowhere near as convenient as a sword.

    Only now did Han Anguo remember his battle with the Corpse Commander in mourning attire earlier, which left him even more speechless. Originally, he thought it was about time to teach the daemons a lesson and clean up the matters of the Clear River prefecture, but he no longer possessed that confidence now.

 Chapter 550 â€“ The Fifth Layer of the Ox Demon

    He slowly raised a leg with difficulty, switching to a half-kneeling pose before suddenly raising his head, clenching his fists and spreading his arms, letting out a furious roar at the sky.

    The flames surged madly as his scarlet hair drifted, dyeing the sky red.

    The ox demon stands with its horns towards the heavens! This was a will to never yield!

    Within the flames, his flesh and blood constantly regrew as his strength skyrocketed.

    ¡°He actually withstood it!¡± Gu Yanying was greatly shocked. That was four golden cores after all.

    More accurately, it was five. There had also been a golden core from Wen Zhangqing.

    The great strength of the ox demon was boundless.

    However, that was not enough. It still was not enough!

    It was not enough to defeat the Corpse King, and it was not enough to break through to the fifth layer of the ox demon.

    Li Qingshan suddenly turned. The flames swept around and changed into the shape of pupils in his eye sockets, gazing at the injured Golden Core cultivator who had half his body destroyed.

    With a tiger¡¯s roar, he lunged over.

    In that moment, everyone saw the flames on him transform into a winged, scarlet tiger, surging with malice and raging killing intent.

    ¡°Stop, wretched daemon!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi yelled out, but he was unable to stop him in time, nor did he have the power to stop him.

    ¡°Wretched daemon, I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡± the cultivator roared crazily. His golden core began to revolve and radiate with resplendent light, about to blow up with terrifying power.

    The tiger claws condensed from fire kept it from moving before conjuring the figure of the spirit turtle. The trembling golden core settled down reluctantly.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, suppressing all restlessness.

    The fire tiger extended its tongue and swept the golden core into its mouth, nodding slightly as if it was satisfied. It turned its head and glanced past the other cultivators.

    The hearts of all cultivators sank completely. They faced internal and external strife. Both the Corpse King and the daemon were extremely terrifying.

    Never had they thought this battle would actually end up so horrifying.

    ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡±

    The Seal of Mountains and Rivers smashed down. It was covered in cracks, but it was still tremendously powerful.

    The fire tiger had already vanished from there. With a trail of flames, it lunged over and pressed down the other injured Golden Core cultivator, directly swallowing his golden core.

    However, by the time Li Qingshan attacked him, all was too late. The spirit turtle could suppress the golden core before it exploded.

    There were only two people present who could stop Li Qingshan. One was the Dark Queen, while the other was Gu Yanying, but neither of them had any intentions of stopping him.

    The other cultivators were completely worn out from the battle. Even if they wanted to save them, they had to consider whether they had that ability or not.

    Although the Marquis of Ruyi constantly tried to smash him with the Seal of Mountains and River, he climbed higher and higher into the air, just hurling constant abuse.

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had killed three Golden Core cultivators, swallowing another three golden cores.

    To the cultivators¡¯ relief, Li Qingshan¡¯s hunt ended with that. He began another round of refinement.

    Everything had happened in a split second. From when he roared out to the three pounces, a lot had happened, but it all occurred within a few seconds.

    If any mortals were present, they would not have even been able to grasp what had happened, let alone respond.

    In total, Li Qingshan had swallowed eight golden cores!

    ¡°What¡¯s he trying to do that actually requires so many golden cores? Is he trying to break through to Daemon Commander? That¡¯s impossible. Once he triggered the heavenly tribulation, even if he survives it narrowly, he¡¯ll be on his last legs. He won¡¯t be of any assistance to this battle!¡±

    No, I can¡¯t let him continue like this. The Corpse King also felt that something was amiss, so he immediately summoned all the Corpse Commanders.

    There was no response!

    The Buddha Slaying sword embryo blocked their path. It seemed as ordinary as before, without any glow of a ¡°divine artifact¡±.

    Xiao An had basically poured half of the corpses she had refined into this Buddha Slaying sword embryo.

    As the fragments of the Corpse Commanders fell down, they turned into Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and merged into the Buddha Slaying sword embryo. Only then did the sword become coated in white, half-transparent light that surged about.

    A skeleton head arrived beneath Xiao An. She stepped onto it gently and rose as she raised her sword.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! That sword is simply too terrifying!¡±

    ¡°What! This formation again!¡±

    The Corpse Commanders scattered, but they were forced back together by the huge, house-sized skulls.

    The skulls cackled, wrapped in white firelight as they constantly revolved.

    When Xiao An released them from the Blood Sea Banner, she had also released the twenty-six Skull Prayer Beads that she had reforged, assembling the Skeleton Demon Formation.

    Normally, it would only take Corpse Commanders a few seconds to break out of the Skeleton Demon Formation.

    The light from the sword passed by in a flash. Xiao An did not pause at all, pushing off a skull and using the force to leap back into the formation. She shuttled back and forth. Soon, it became impossible to make out her figure. Only a streak of white light shot around inside the Skeleton Demon Formation.

    The Skeleton Demon Formation constantly shrank before dispersing with a boom in the end. Not a single Corpse Commander remained. Only flaming pieces of corpses were left, which all merged together and channeled into the Buddha Slaying sword embryo. They vaguely formed a skeleton sitting in a lotus position on the hilt of the sword.

    She had finally achieved initial success with the Buddha Slaying sword embryo.

    It was not only the cultivators. Even the Corpse King had been taken aback as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

    Perhaps the legend was true!

    I need to kill it, regardless of the cost!

    The Corpse King¡¯s eyes shone with cruel, green light. The nails on his ten fingers burst forth like bamboo shoots in spring. He hurled them forwards, all targeting Xiao An.

    Ten streaks of black light shot over furiously.

    A streak of black light pierced the Void-bellied Ghost King, and it was unable to last any longer, dispersing and revealing the Dark Queen. Her black hair drifted in the air as she suddenly turned back. ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Gu Yanying immediately swung her delicate, jade folding fan to provide support in a hurry. She had already become extremely confident in her guess. When the Golden Core cultivators died to the ¡°moon demon¡± earlier, the Dark Queen had not even batted an eye, yet she had paled in fright so much over this ¡°other being¡±. She probably was not even that concerned over her own life.

    However, the Corpse King seemed to have anticipated this a long time ago. With a swing of his huge hand, a fierce wind rushed over like a tornado and forced Gu Yanying to slow down. She could no longer provide any assistance in time.

    The flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets burned brightly as she stared straight ahead. She wielded the sword with both hands, even relinquishing control over the Blood Sea Banner and Skull Prayer Beads.

    All that was left in her heart was sword styles, sword techniques, sword moves, and sword intent. There was her comprehension from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, as well as her insight from her awakened memories. Afterwards, it all vanished, reduced to nothingness.

    A skeleton sat in the lotus position.

    Slaying buddhas!

    The Buddha Slaying sword emitted a streak of light that was several meters long. With a flash, a fingernail was cut in half, sweeping past her.

    Xiao An retreated. The light moved steadily, making a turn back and cutting apart another fingernail.

    Sword swing, sword swing, sword swing!

    The streak of light danced wildly, cutting through four fingernails in a single breath. The fifth fingernail filled her vision, but she was unable to stop it anymore.

    She parried with the Buddha Slaying sword embryo. Xiao An said in an unflinching manner, ¡°This is the limit.¡±

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Five huge fingernails that resembled stone beams struck Xiao An one after another.

    In that instant, her white bones became riddled with cracks as the sound of fractures resonated like thunder. Even the colliding booms were unable to drown them out.

    Boom! Dust filled the air.

    Xiao An slammed heavily into a hill, and her aura vanished.

    No matter how powerful the Buddha Slaying sword embryo was, it had to be wielded with her own strength!

    Xiao An had only undergone one heavenly tribulation so far. She was able to kill a group of Corpse Commanders an entire cultivation realm above hers with the Buddha Slaying sword embryo, but her strength was insufficient when she faced the killing strike of a Corpse King.

    This was an absolute difference in strength, which could not be made up for with external objects.

    Having swept away a several-million-strong Corpse Soldier army, Xiao An who carried everyone¡¯s hopes on her shoulders had also reached her limit.

    Over half of the Golden Core cultivators had fallen in battle. The Dark Queen had failed. The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s face became filled with despair. ¡°It¡¯s over! It¡¯s all over!¡±

    Gu Yanying raised her head and looked at the hazy, grey sky. Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze that was as sharp as a hawk¡¯s pierced through the region, vaguely making out constantly twinkling, green stars.

    They were not stars, but the eyes of countless undead. There were countless existences as powerful as the Corpse King among them, as well as even stronger existences who were well beyond what the current World of the Nine Provinces could handle.

    They were like a flock of vultures, circling above the heads of those about to die so that they could swarm over and pick apart their corpses once they collapsed and died.

    Compared to the World of the Nine Provinces, this place is already closer to the Hungry Ghost realm. The Hungry Ghost realm is about to descend. Do I leave? No, there¡¯s still one more. He hasn¡¯t spoken yet.

    Moo!

    The bellow of an ox rose up, oppressive and drawn-out as if it originated from the depths of the earth.

    The ground trembled slightly. The entire region was shaking.

    The hills rose and fell together like the turbulent seas.

    An iron hoof took a step forward. The ground sank and cracked.

    Invisible tremors radiated in all directions.

    Hundreds of mountains collapsed in silence.

    The curved horns were like the crescent moon that hung high in the sky as their edges shone with a sharp light.

    The word ¡°moon¡± was etched on there.

    His scarlet pupils resembled the arrival of a malevolent star. Rumors had it that its appearance would always bring about destruction and war.

    He strode over, making his way towards the Corpse King. With every step he took, the ground would shake in an oppressive manner.

    Even the Dark Queen moved out of the way. She felt like a huge mountain was pressing forward.

    He arrived before the Corpse King, and two streams of air gushed out of his nose. He raised his head and asked, ¡°How dare you harm her!?¡±

    ¡°Harm? No, I killed it! The next one¡¯s you!¡±

    The Corpse King lowered his head and looked down from above. He was extremely relaxed.

    It was as if he had seen the crack of dawn, and the red sun would soon rise up. Victory would be arriving shortly.

    He felt himself grow stronger and stronger. It came from both himself and the reward of the Hungry Ghost realm. No one could repel him at this time, in this place!

    Li Qingshan lowered his head, formed a fist, and threw it.

    Dense, black cracks dispersed from the fist.

    His punch was as heavy as a mountain. At first glance, it seemed sluggish as if it pushed forward inch by inch.

    Whenever it pushed forward slightly, the black cracks would layer upon each other. In the very end, it became pitch-black. It was like a black glove that piled up countless tremors.

    ¡°You¡¯ve bitten off more than you can chew!¡±

    The Corpse King let out a great laugh. He stood with his arms crossed as he looked down from above. His huge, withered hand clenched into a fist as rolling corpse qi coiled around it. He raised it high into the air, extending it to the limit. The bone spike on his elbows seemed even more vicious.

    Like a roaring dragon, it descended from above to destroy everything.

 Chapter 551 â€“ Battle

    Under the vast, gloomy sky, two mountainous figures faced one another.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face had neither fury or hatred, only tranquility.

    As tranquil and unmoving as the earth.

    Divine strength emerged from every corner of his body and the earth below him, accumulating into an ocean drop by drop and merging with his body.

    Boundless like the earth.

    The entire world vanished. The vicious Corpse King who stood as imposing as a mountain gradually blurred in his eyes. Even the colossal, incoming punch no longer emitted any pressure.

    That was merely a ¡°rock in his way¡±, something that a person would always come across in their lives.

    All he had to do was shatter it!

    Gazing into the resolute and tranquil eyes, the Corpse King became slightly perturbed as well.

    Just what is this puny daemon? If he possesses the flames of the phoenix, then so be it, but he has so many variations. Looking at his aura, it¡¯s only at the level of overcoming a single heavenly tribulation, yet he possesses great strength that even Corpse Commanders struggle to rival. Even with that being the case, we¡¯re still worlds apart, yet he¡¯s bold enough to challenge me? Fine, I¡¯ll grind you into mincemeat then!

    With a thought, four bone spikes suddenly protruded from his fist, whistling towards Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Before their punches had even collided, the spikes would have pierced Li Qingshan already.

    The punch became even more dangerous, yet Li Qingshan remained unfazed.

    Having changed his attack on the spot, it meant he was lacking in confidence.

    Before he knew it, the momentum had shifted slightly.

    The flow of time recovered.

    The black shockwaves immediately shattered the bone spikes. The destructive power was so great that even the Corpse King felt shocked.

    The moment when the two fists collided actually resulted in momentary peace.

    The overly loud sound was like a colossal being, unable to worm into a person¡¯s narrow ear channels, instead leading to a false impression of silence.

    Following that moment, the world seemed to sink into rumbling and shaking that never stopped.

    The tranquil ground immediately began to surge like the violent waves of an ocean. Hills rose and collapsed as cracks opened and closed, without a single moment of pause.

    Dust filled the air, rising into the sky.

    Black corpse qi poured from the Corpse King¡¯s body like an avalanche, crushing the fragmented daemon qi and completely swallowing Li Qingshan. It pressured, ripped at, and seeped into his body.

    Li Qingshan did everything he could to direct the Corpse King¡¯s power into the earth. He held his head high as he looked straight into the Corpse King¡¯s eyes, letting out a thunderous growl.

    His arm that seemed to be forged from black iron swelled up, bulging and riddled with blood vessels.

    The iron hooves produced two deep pits behind him without him taking a single step back.

    Cracks appeared on his skeleton as they produced the sound of twisting metal. He completely disregarded it, simply pouring all of his strength into the punch.

    He refused to budge!

    The Corpse King¡¯s eyes widened, filled with disbelief. The force behind his punch had actually failed to reduce the measly daemon to mincemeat.

    Instead, a wondrously great power emanated from the measly daemon¡¯s fist, shattering his strength and corpse qi.

    This sight stunned all of the cultivators present. He was holding his ground against a Corpse King. Was this truly something a Daemon General could do?

    Gu Yanying sighed in praise inside. What power! How impressive!

    He definitely isn¡¯t an ordinary daemon. Just what kind of fortuitous encounter did he come across that provided him with the source of such great strength? The Dark Queen ingested another pill. As she recovered, she looked for Xiao An with her brows furrowed, but she found nothing.

    The Marquis of Ruyi and Han Anguo exchanged glances. They also became extremely conflicted inside. They felt fear, yet they also hoped the moon demon could repel the Corpse King.

    The daemon had the momentum. Force could not overwhelm him!

    This power is far too strange. How can I lose to you!?

    His dignity as a king had been viciously provoked. The Corpse King also began to roar. Corpse qi coiled around his arm like snakes and dragons, merging with it and turning it pitch-black before pressing forward viciously.

    Thump!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal body was sent flying. He spun around in the air and landed firmly on the ground, leaning on one hand. However, he still slid several hundred meters before coming to a halt due to the great momentum.

    He really is a Corpse King after all. His physical strength is something else. Though, that¡¯s only because my Tiger Demon Transformation and Spirit Turtle Transformation are only at the fourth layer. They¡¯re unable to endure and rein in the power of the fifth layer of the ox demon, or I wouldn¡¯t lose to him. What a pity!

    He took on a Corpse King as a Daemon General and managed to survive a punch, yet he still felt dissatisfied, believing he had not unleashed his full strength!

    If the Dark Queen and the others found out about his thoughts, they would never believe it.

    However, that was the reality of the situation. Simply by throwing a punch, before even colliding with the Corpse King¡¯s fist, his bones had become riddled with countless tiny cracks. Even his tiger bones that were as sturdy as steel could not withstand it.

    And, even if he used the spirit turtle to pacify his sea of consciousness, entering a state of intricacy, he was unable to completely control the flow of every bit of power.

    Like a child swinging a large blade, it was already strenuous enough for him to point the blade at the enemy. He could not unleash the power of the blade at all, and he would even injure himself if he were not careful.

    The three transformations were connected. If any of them lagged behind, it would prevent him from unleashing his full strength.

    This was the power of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. A single layer of difference among the nine transformations would make his strength grow in an overwhelming manner.

    Whether his strength had multiplied by twenty times, fifty times, or even more, he was unable to estimate it right now, nor did he have the time to estimate it.

    He gritted his teeth firmly as he forced down the surging blood. The flames of the phoenix coiled around him and healed his wounds. He stood up and made his way towards the Corpse King again.

    The Corpse King said coldly, ¡°I¡¯d like to see how many of my punches you can withstand!¡±

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Again and again, the ground shook violently.

    The hilly terrain around Burial Mound mountain had undergone a devastating change through the constant earthquakes. It had been reduced to a yellow desert.

    Within a range of fifty kilometers, every single pebble seemed to be carefully crushed and ground, reduced to thin sand.

    The Corpse King stood above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts without moving at all, sending Li Qingshan flying again and again and filling the air with sand and dust.

    But every single time, he would stand up immediately, making his way back towards the undefeatable opponent.

    The Corpse King¡¯s face became twisted as he gazed at the incoming Li Qingshan like he was looking at a monster.

    From the constant clashes, Li Qingshan¡¯s strength grew. Under the tremendous pressure, he gradually forced out the strength of the ox demon.

    If he could not be completely destroyed, he could not be defeated.

    Gu Yanying noticed how the Corpse King¡¯s arm trembled and how it would only stop after a while. She thought in disbelief, He¡¯s harmed the Corpse King. Probably no one would believe me if I mentioned it.

    But then she shook her head. But that¡¯s all. His great strength alone is not enough for him to defeat the Corpse King. The Corpse King has chosen to engage him like this purely because of his dignity as a king. Otherwise, he¡¯ll struggle very much once the Corpse King uses his various techniques and abilities. More importantly, the Corpse King is currently undefeatable. He¡¯s not afraid of wasting time at all.

    The specks of green light in the surroundings grew clearer, like an ocean was extending over from the distance. She could already make out blurry figures¡ªmonstrous, twisted, colossal, obscure, and all forms of bizarre.

    Li Qingshan threw another punch.

    Under those gazes, the Corpse King felt deeply humiliated. ¡°Since you want to die so much, I¡¯ll give you what you want!¡± He opened his huge, withered hand and avoided Li Qingshan¡¯s punch, grabbing Li Qingshan by the wrist with three fingers and wrenching him in.

    Li Qingshan had never been able to control this overly great strength in the first place. Both his reactions and skills in battle paled in comparison to the Corpse King.

    His punch missed.

    Boom! Black shockwaves scattered, shaking up the space there.

    At the same time, the other huge, withered hand grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head from above.

    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡±

    Gu Yanying let out a gloomy sigh. The Hungry Ghost realm was about to descend. The final scene she had caught was indeed fascinating. It had not disappointed her.

    In the end, she gazed at Li Qingshan deeply, actually feeling some pity inside.

    Originally, we could travel along this path of cultivation together, at least for a while, but I never thought we¡¯d have to bid farewell so soon. Perhaps there is a day when we meet again among sa?s¨¡ra.

    Right when Gu Yanying wanted to turn around and leave, she suddenly felt something was amiss. Despite facing imminent death, the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled slightly, and he let out a gentle sigh.

    A huge, half-transparent white sword rose up from behind him, plunging into the Corpse King¡¯s hand and penetrating all the way through.

    The blade of the sword suddenly turned into white flames, worming into the wound furiously.

    When he fought a battle to the death, how could she not be present?

    Xiao An had refined the Corpse King¡¯s ten fingernails and healed her wounds before secretly making her way over underground, all for this opportunity. She channeled the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone into the Corpse King¡¯s body.

    Their teamwork required no words. They completely understood each other tacitly.

    An extremely-terrifying sensation of coldness sank into the Corpse King¡¯s heart. As he gathered his corpse qi, he was only able to suppress the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, but not extinguish it. The white flames slowly spread from the centre of his palm. He swung his hand hard.

    Boom!

    His palm exploded, and a huge, gaping hole appeared. Only then did he manage to purge the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    How could Li Qingshan let such a great opportunity slip by? The burning phoenix wings spread out, reaching almost three hundred meters in length. The vague cry of a phoenix could be heard as he rose into the air, hurling both fists at the Corpse King¡¯s chest.

    The series of dazzling, eye-catching attacks were simply to hide the true killing strike.

    Below him, the Buddha Slaying sword embryo spat out another streak of light thirty meters long, swinging from left to right quietly, right towards the Corpse King¡¯s waist.

    However, the Corpse King understood extremely well where the true threat lay. He raised his arm and swung it hard. Corpse qi turned into a huge wave and sent Xiao An flying. Only then did he free up a hand to stop Li Qingshan.

    Although Xiao An had charged over immediately, a vigilant Corpse King would not fall for a trick like that so easily again. Meanwhile, the last smear of azure in the depths of the horizon was gradually being devoured by pale-white.

    It was over. Even if Li Qingshan and Xiao An worked together, they were unable to defeat a serious Corpse King, let alone in such a short amount of time.

    Li Qingshan was confident he could crush this bastard single-handedly if the tiger demon and spirit turtle both reached the fifth layer, but time waited for no one.

    Gu Yanying glanced past their battle and let out a gentle interjection of surprise. Li Qingshan¡¯s punch that had missed left behind a thin, black crack in space. She called out, ¡°Strike the space around him!¡±

 Chapter 552 â€“ Shatter

    Even if he struck the Corpse King, it could not cause any lethal damage, so he might as well as see just what fantastic plan this bird woman had in mind!

    I think I shattered something?

    Li Qingshan could vaguely make out a shattering sound.

    The sound was extremely gentle, like the hum of a mosquito. However, if he settled down and listened closely, it was like the sky had collapsed, enough to shake his soul.

    The invisible space was like a transparent, glass container. Black cracks criss-crossed and littered the space like lightning. They were as fleeting as lightning, closing up and vanishing.

    The Corpse King¡¯s huge withered hand, enveloped in rolling corpse qi, swept through the air like a black cloud before looming over it. It was completely unaffected by the shockwave.

    It seems useless!

    As Li Qingshan thought of that, a piece was suddenly cut away from the ¡°black cloud¡± above his head. The cut was so smooth and straight that it seemed like someone had carried it out with a ruler.

    Silently, three pillar-like fingers were cut off, falling out of the sky.

    Li Qingshan moved out of the way, avoiding the fingers, only to see the cuts were smooth and neat, surpassing anything that any weapon could achieve. It also left him stumped. What is going on?

    When he gazed at the sky closely, he discovered that while the cracks the shockwave created had vanished, a long, slender trajectory remained.

    Due to being overly thin, he was unable to notice it if he were not paying attention. It was probably even thinner than a hair on the Corpse King, if he had hair.

    The black thread was not a regular pitch-black or inky-black. Instead, it could not be described with words. It seemed to suck away all light. Simply by looking at it, it felt like his field of vision had been carved up.

    It was like a rip in a canvas. Everything painted on the canvas would split apart with the rip, no matter what it depicted, whether it was powerful or weak, as the very object that contained their existence had split open.

    Don¡¯t tell me¡­ this is the shattering of space!? His punch can actually shatter space!

    The Corpse General who always had a card up his sleeve, who always had the situation within the palm of his hand despite all the unexpected accidents, finally showed a sliver of fear.

    Everything in the universe was contained in space that corresponded to them, whether it were the World of the Nine Provinces or the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    All the creatures of the six realms, corpses, ghosts, daemons, and humans, had to live in a certain region of space.

    The Corpse King was already extremely powerful, but even he did not have that ability.

    It was the Hungry Ghost realm that constantly devoured other worlds. He only took advantage of it and made the most out of the opportunity to create some advantages for himself and obtain some benefits. Moreover, he had only achieved this with the use of the eye of a strange beast like the ¡°space-devouring beast¡±.

    Only the gods and buddha of legends could traverse the void and the many worlds, unaffected by the various worlds.

    Never could he have ever imagined that a puny daemon could cause something like this.

    That was unless he possessed extremely great strength in the first place. Once figures in a painting reached a certain level of strength, they could leave the painting and ascend to higher worlds, called ¡°ascension¡±.

    But that was impossible!

    Either that, or the power he grasped was at a very high level, having completely surpassed this world.

    Li Qingshan checked his hand and thought with some disbelief. I never thought the Tremors of the Ox Demon would be so powerful after reaching the fifth layer with the Ox Demon Transformation.

    Suddenly, a soul sense rang out in his sea of consciousness, ¡°Stop staring around. This region is hovering through the void, being tugged at by the World of the Nine Provinces and the Hungry Ghost realm at the same time. It¡¯s already become extremely fragile, and the Gate of Hungry Ghosts happens to be its most fragile location. It¡¯s like its Achilles¡¯ heel. That¡¯s why you can destroy it like this. If this were a complete world like the nine provinces, you¡¯ll never achieve something like this!¡±

    That was what Gu Yanying said, but she dared not underestimate it. The quality of power he possessed was well beyond her initial imagination! Coupled with those various abilities and transformations, probably no one across the entire nine provinces could match his fortuitous encounter! Not even herself!

    After all, he was merely a Daemon General right now. He had cultivated for a very short period of time, and his control over his power was not extensive. If he continued to advance like this, he would reach Daemon Commander or even Daemon King.

    Even the older, reputed Daemon Kings would have to yield to a Daemon King with boundless strength who could shatter space with a punch. No, the entire Great Xia empire would tremble because of him.

    I see!

    Li Qingshan understood now, but he was not disappointed. His confidence swelled.

    He reached out with both hands as the power of tremors constantly accumulated and coiled around his fingers, building up without erupting on his hands like two black cocoons. He built up terrifying power until he was unable to compress it anymore before finally pushing them forward.

    The Corpse King let out a furious roar. The three severed fingers suddenly rose up, twisting and whistling towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan felt extreme danger. Shockwaves surged from his hands, sending him flying.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The three fingers exploded before him at the same time. The bones turned into flying shrapnel as the flesh and blood barraged him like a thunderstone. Every fragment and droplet possessed extremely great destructive power, no weaker than the explosion of three golden cores.

    Li Qingshan brought in his phoenix wings and surrounded himself with fire. He was blasted away viciously, reaching over fifty kilometers away. He flipped through the air several dozen times before stabilising himself.

    Even though he avoided the centre of the explosion, he was still heavily injured. His internal organs had been shaken to bits, while his brain was a slush. He had gone blind in both eyes and deaf in both ears. Jagged bones protruded from his body, riddled with cracks.

    The Corpse King opened his mouth and exhaled. A black flow gushed towards Li Qingshan as the foul smell overwhelmed his nose. It was like a black, poisonous dragon, possessing a potently-poisonous aura of death.

    Once it struck him, even the flames of the phoenix would be extinguished, and his tiger bones would be reduced to a puddle of fluid.

    These were abilities that the Corpse King would only use when he fought opponents of the same level in the Hungry Ghost realm, when it directly corresponded with his breakthrough to Corpse Emperor.

    It was extremely difficult to build up the corpse fluid. He had never even considered using it at a time like this, but he could not give Li Qingshan the opportunity to approach him again.

    ¡°Go, Northmoon! The outcome of this battle depends entirely on this!¡±

    At this critical moment, Gu Yanying instead urged Li Qingshan to attack. Her fingers loosened slightly and a half-transparent feather flew over gently. It did not move particularly quickly, drifting and flickering about.

    In the blink of an eye, it landed before the Corpse King and exploded silently. It turned into a spherical barrier that rapidly swelled and enveloped the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    As if he were standing on the ground where waves of heat rose up underneath the scorching sun, the surrounding landscape twisted and changed. The Corpse King was surprised and doubtful, but he did not sense any form of threat or restraint. He only interpreted it as an attempt at deception.

    ¡°Little bro Qingshan, it¡¯s up to you.¡±

    Her voice entered Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness along with a wispy laughter. Even when she was in a situation of life and death, she was able to remain so relaxed and composed. Even when she faced imminent death, she was able to remain as graceful as the wind.

    ¡°It¡¯s up to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and grinned hideously. On his back, the wind whistled, and the flames surged.

    Boom! Like a flaming meteor, he went up to receive the poisonous-dragon-like corpse fluid with a long trail of fire, rushing towards the Corpse King.

    From afar, the corpse fluid seemed like a trickle, but when he arrived up close, it was like a raging river as it tossed and surged while pouring out.

    Around him, the sounds of howls, strange laughter, and weeping rose up from everywhere. Countless undead danced about outside the region, and one could even make out their appearances with the naked eye. Some of them were even larger than the Corpse King. Tremendous auras tried to penetrate the region, truly an alarming sight.

    This was the moment when the Hungry Ghost realm was about to descend!

    Whether he could hide or not, only death awaited him!

    The flames of the phoenix burned even more intensely, illuminating the sky. He ignored the figures around him and the corpse fluid before him as he shot right towards the Corpse King.

    At this critical moment, a white figure leapt onto Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. Xiao An waved the Blood Sea Banner and a river of blood poured out with an even greater disturbance, rushing into the corpse fluid like a blood dragon.

    The two dragons entangled in the air. The poisonous dragon constantly lunged about, trying to reach Li Qingshan, but the blood dragon kept it firmly trapped.

    Corpse fluid and blood constantly spattered about, producing swathes of dark red smoke.

    Li Qingshan constantly strode ahead. He did not even glance at the intense battle above him that directly affected his life. He focused on advancing¡ªadvancing, advancing, and more advancing!

    He kicked up yellow sand behind him, but before it could even fall back to the ground, he was already several kilometers away.

    The Corpse King felt threatened. He spat out as much corpse fluid as possible, no longer caring about how much he used. The poisonous dragon whistled and tore apart the blood dragon before coiling downwards.

    Li Qingshan was still five kilometers away from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts when he paused for a moment. His knees bent slightly as he raised his iron fist into the air. He unleashed a ring of shockwaves beneath his iron hooves.

    He let out a furious roar!

    The poisonous dragon struck nothing. Li Qingshan had taken off like a cannonball, landing a punch on the distorted space.

    Boom!

    The space shot violently. Black cracks rapidly spread out from his fist, filling the space above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    Like the cracked ground, the distorted space fractured into pieces. Unlike the tiny cracks earlier, they were like black abysses now.

    Li Qingshan could not help but think about the four words, ¡°the shattering of space¡±. Otherwise, he would not have been able to describe what he was currently seeing.

    ¡°No!¡±

    The Corpse King howled furiously, actually pulling his legs out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts and lunging towards Li Qingshan. He fell like a mountain. He was unstoppable.

    Li Qingshan had already used up his final shred of daemon qi and strength. He turned back to the size of a regular human as he raised his head and watched the Corpse King lunge over.

    His shoulders suddenly tightened. Looking back, Gu Yanying had grabbed him by the shoulders like a hawk catching a rabbit, lifting him into the air.

    The huge, withered hand extended over, reaching towards them as it pierced through the air. It rapidly closed the distance between them, actually moving even faster than Gu Yanying!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was in his throat, but he heard Gu Yanying say, ¡°Relax!¡± She slowed down. Looking back, the tips of the sharp fingers were about to touch her face when they suddenly stopped.

 Chapter 553 â€“ Seal

    ¡°Thanks!¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    Sharp, mocking laughter and sneers of disdain rose up like the tide in the Hungry Ghost realm. The glowing, green eyes all gazed at the carved-up Corpse King greedily as if they were not looking at a dried corpse. Instead, it seemed like they were people who had been starved for three whole days, looking at a table of delicious food.

    At this very moment, the chunks of the Corpse King¡¯s body flew together and assembled once again. He let out a furious roar, actually still alive.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King rose up from the ground, and its mouth opened to an unbelievable size like opening a massive bag, pointing it at the Corpse King and sucking hard.

    The Dark Queen who had been preparing the entire time finally took action.

    Corpse qi oozed out of the severing wounds across the Corpse King¡¯s body, sucked into the Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s mouth.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s stomach swelled up like it was heavily pregnant. Its figure became more and more consolidated, and its aura became greater and greater too.

    The Corpse King finally showed fear. He swung his arms madly as he put up a desperate struggle, but he was unable to stop his aura from leaking away.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Gu Yanying explained, ¡°The reason why the Hungry Ghost realm is called the Hungry Ghost realm is because the undead in there can only constantly devour one another to constantly grow stronger and survive. Look, the Corpse King would much rather put up a struggle here than return to the Hungry Ghost realm. He still has a chance of surviving here, but if he returns, the only fate awaiting him would be being carved up and feasted on.¡±

    There was something else Gu Yanying had not mentioned. If the Dark Queen devoured a Corpse King, her strength would definitely increase drastically, and her cultivation had reached the peak of the second heavenly tribulation a long time ago. If she could overcome the thing holding her back mentally, she had quite the confidence with overcoming the third heavenly tribulation. The situation of the Green province would change once again.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone swept over, covering the Corpse King and severing his slim chance of survival.

    The Corpse King was heavily injured and suppressed by the Void-bellied Ghost King, so he could no longer stop the spread of the fire. His divided body was immediately set alight, turning into a great blaze in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Argh! I refuse¡­ I refu¡­¡± The Corpse King let out a final groan. He had never thought he would die in such a world, to a group of people like this.

    The flames fueled by the Corpse King¡¯s remains were especially distinct and contrasting in colour. Clearly, it was well beyond what regular Corpse Generals and Corpse Commanders could produce.

    Xiao An did not continue to forge the Buddha Slaying sword embryo. Instead, she gathered it all carefully. This was critical for her breakthrough to the second layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The white flames roared, illuminating the entire region. The light even reached the Hungry Ghost realm.

    There were countless gasps of surprise in the Hungry Ghost realm. The legend of the ¡°white holy fire¡± was extremely widespread in the Hungry Ghost realm.

    Now, it truly appeared!

    The Dark Queen immediately got to work with sealing the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. She took out a pale-white item that resembled a sharp pick. Li Qingshan could vaguely make out countless hideous corpses and ghosts embracing one another on there.

    The Dark Queen tossed it into the air, and it expanded to over thirty meters long. The undead became clearer. It hovered in the air like a huge sword, slowly and sturdily planting into the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    The black cracks all closed up when they encountered the pale-white sword, unable to damage it.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°This is?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°A Key of Hungry Ghosts!¡±

    To be bold enough to use the powers of the Hungry Ghost realm, the Umbral Yin sect understood its horrors the best. They had prepared numerous countermeasures to prevent Gates of Hungry Ghosts from devouring and invading the space around them. This was one of them.

    However, the Dark Queen was rather worried inside. If another Corpse King or Ghost King appeared and kept the Gate of Hungry Ghosts open, they would only need a few seconds, and the Hungry Ghost realm would completely descend.

    However, bewildered by the white flames and the shattered space above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, there were no undead bold enough to charge over and risk their lives immediately. All of them hesitated.

    Just like that, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts rapidly closed.

    The reluctant roars and howls from the Hungry Ghost realm flooded over like a tsunami. The undead all reacted, lunging over.

    However, as the Key of Hungry Ghosts turned, the sounds rapidly receded and grew distant. The hideous figures of the undead gradually blurred. In the end, only the glimmering specks of green light remained before dimming and vanishing.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts slammed shut.

    The voices and figures all vanished in that instant, locked up in another world.

    Gu Yanying clapped her hands. ¡°We¡¯ve succeeded!¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s eyes heated up. He could not help but feel like he wanted to cry. This was the feeling of surviving a great disaster. It was simply fantastic.

    The Dark Queen looked back, gazing at Xiao An again. Her brows furrowed slightly as she wanted to say something, but she faltered.

    Her originally-chilly gaze became filled with an indescribable sense of tenderness. Even though there was no evidence and she had never received any response, she had already become extremely certain inside.

    Feng Buquan had become convinced of Xiao An¡¯s existence because of that thread of fate.

    Yet, the Dark Queen and Xiao An were basically closely linked, their lives joined with one another. This in itself was a fetter that could not be described with words.

    Xiao An stowed the Buddha Slaying sword away. Without even caring about the Dark Queen¡¯s dejection, she turned around and returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s side.

    Li Qingshan also let out a sigh of relief. He gazed into the distance, but he only saw complete darkness outside the region. ¡°How are we supposed to leave this place?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°The eyeball of the space-devouring beast has already sealed this place. It¡¯s been separated into a region of its own. However, as long as the Hungry Ghost realm hasn¡¯t completely devoured it, returning to the nine provinces is simply a matter of time.¡±

    Sure enough, a smear of azure appeared in the depths of the sky. The haunting mists and clouds gradually dispersed.

    The region shifted away from the Hungry Ghost realm, currently returning to the World of the Nine Provinces.

    They had finally brought an intense battle to an end, grasping their survival against all odds. Relieved smiles infected everyone¡¯s faces.

    The Dark Queen gazed at Xiao An for a long while, but she refused to speak the entire time as if she was trying to call her back with her gaze. Her gaze contained indescribably mixed emotions, like guilt, concern, relief, sorrow¡­

    She only muttered inside constantly, My Yue¡¯er! My Yu¡¯er!

    Restless, Xiao An simply hid behind Li Qingshan, clutching her head with her hands as if she wanted to cover her non-existent ears. Although she wanted to sever the past, the memories of the past continued to surge, bothering her endlessly.

    That was everything she had gone through before practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, as well as her entire life. Wanting to just swing a sword and sever it all away was easier said than done.

    ¡°Your highness, the two monsters are both powerful and vicious beings. If we let them escape here, they¡¯ll definitely turn into great sources of trouble in the future.¡± The Marquis of Ruyi gazed into the distance, but he conveyed silently to the Dark Queen with his soul sense.

    It had to be acknowledged that he was quite perceptive. If the Dark Queen took action, Li Qingshan and Xiao An truly would not be her opponent right now. The Void-bellied Ghost King had become even stronger after devouring the Corpse King¡¯s aura, and with this reunion, her mental shackles holding her back had also begun to budge. She was completely capable of unleashing even greater strength with the Void-bellied Ghost King.

    Even if she faced a regular Soul Nascence cultivator at this moment, the Dark Queen was confident enough to take them on in battle. To make matters even worse, Li Qingshan was extremely frail currently, and he was trapped in this region, unable to escape.

    After witnessing Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s performance, the Marquis of Ruyi became determined to kill them. Otherwise, once they broke free from this region, they would still end up making a mess out of the entire Ruyi commandery. Probably even his life would be at risk then.

    The Dark Queen retracted her gaze, lowering her head, and looking at the Marquis of Ruyi. She recovered her chilliness, ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Marquis of Ruyi was forced to turn around and bow at the Dark Queen. He was frantic inside. She had cultivated for all these years too, so why did she not understand the principle of a sudden sneak attack? Though, to be bold enough to state it in the open, perhaps it proved she possessed absolute confidence.

    At the same time, he contacted Gu Yanying with his soul sense, ¡°Yanying, prepare to take action. We need to kill these two daemons here, or the entire Ruyi commandery, or even the entire Green province, will be in danger.¡±

    Gu Yanying tapped her chin with her folding fan. She began to ponder. If she had guessed correctly, his request sure was startling!

    She frowned and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Yanying, do you really plan on colluding with daemons? Aren¡¯t you afraid of shouldering the blame from sir Hawk God?¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi was furious. Why was she like that too? What was wrong with both of them? Wouldn¡¯t they raise the moon demon¡¯s guard like that? He also vaguely felt that something was amiss.

    ¡°He is him. I am me!¡± Gu Yanying raised an eyebrow and became displeased.

    The Dark Queen asked indifferently, ¡°Who do you think I should kill first?¡±

    The Marquis of Ruyi could not bother with thinking carefully. He said reluctantly, ¡°I think the skeleton monster should be killed first. The moon demon is merely a spent force. There¡¯s no need for your highness to take action against him.¡±

    His calculations were very precise. The moon demon¡¯s aura had declined completely. As long as he was careful, taking him down was no problem. However, the skeleton demon was unfathomable, so it would be best for the Dark Queen to take action.

    He completely ignored the fact that if it were not for them, he would have died already.

    The other cultivators suddenly realised too that the battle had yet to completely end. Now that the foreign issue was dealt with, they immediately turned against one another.

    The main conflict in the World of the Nine Provinces was still between humans and demons. Even though they had been in the same boat earlier, that was definitely not enough for any gratitude. With how the moon demon and the skeleton monster had performed, they needed to kill them in their cradles.

    They all picked up their weapons as well, ready to strike and encircle them, to avenge the fellows that the moon demon had just slain!

    The Dark Queen lowered her gaze, and the Void-bellied Ghost King with its bulging stomach suddenly struck. It swung its hand, but it did not swing it towards Li Qingshan or Xiao An, but the Marquis of Ruyi standing right in front.

    ¡°Your highness!¡±

 Chapter 554 â€“ To Not Return, to Accompany Forever

    The sudden change in the situation took all the cultivators by surprise. Han Anguo¡¯s face sank heavily as he tightened his grip around his spear.

    The scholar in white could not help but recall Feng Buquan¡¯s words when he behaved erratically, as well as the Dark Queen¡¯s strange behaviours. His eyes were filled with surprise and doubt as he was on full alert.

    Li Qingshan had never thought the Dark Queen would strike so ruthlessly either. He frowned and thought, She may be of noble status, but killing a marquis who was conferred by the Great Xia empire is no laughing matter. I wonder how she¡¯ll clean up after herself.

    The Dark Queen gave him an answer immediately. After killing the Marquis of Ruyi, she did not recall the Void-bellied Ghost King immediately.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s huge, hideous head rotated slowly. His colossal body abruptly moved, striking flagrantly.

    Gusts of wind kicked up the yellow sand, blowing into his face.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes before widening them.

    Within the sky filled with sand, the Void-bellied Ghost King rushed about quickly, unleashing a massacre. It basically killed off the remaining Golden Core cultivators one by one with a single strike each.

    Li Qingshan wanted to say something. A hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned around, only to see Gu Yanying gazing into the distance and shaking her head gently.

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses. The last sight he saw was Han Anguo merging with his spear, charging towards the Ghost King countless times larger than him. His gaze was as firm as steel as the spear burst forth from his hands, whistling and spinning like a tornado. It pierced the Ghost King¡¯s huge hand, directly targeting the Dark Queen¡¯s head.

    Boom!

    Following that sound, the fierce wind subsided, and the sand settled.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King grabbed the spear like it was holding a toothpick. Han Anguo¡¯s aura vanished.

    Li Qingshan remembered how the Arts of the Boundless Ocean he practised had only been assembled by borrowing his power. He was also Han Qiongzhi¡¯s uncle. He could not help but become heavy-hearted.

    The Dark Queen rubbed her forehead gently. There was a red mark on there, but apart from that, she was unscathed.

    She turned around. Her expression was as chilly as frost as the hem of her clothes swayed slightly. She hovered in the Void-bellied Ghost King, approaching the three of them.

    The smear of azure in the centre of the sky began to spread and permeate sliver by sliver. A white sun radiated with light before rapidly descending in the west. The sky had been dyed red too before becoming a dark blue very soon. A lone moon hung high in the air.

    Li Qingshan was unable to observe this bizarre phenomenon as he stood in the desert soaked in moonlight.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    She wants to kill everyone! Li Qingshan shivered inside. He was forced to admit that the Dark Queen did possess that strength right now.

    The Void-bellied Ghost King extended its arm, reaching towards Li Qingshan. It did not move quickly, but it did lock onto Li Qingshan¡¯s aura firmly, sealing off any room to dodge.

    Completely exhausted, Li Qingshan was unable to dodge at all.

    Xiao An leapt out and there was a flash of her sword.

    The Dark Queen drew back her hand, now with a slash in her palm. She closed her hand firmly and gazed over coldly. The flames flickered in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets as she met her gaze.

    ¡°Your highness, it¡¯s quite late already. It¡¯s time for us to return.¡±

    Gu Yanying gazed at the sky. The rate at which everything changed was currently slowing down silently.

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve guessed it already. If you can keep this secret, you will obtain the friendship of the Umbral Yin sect.¡±

    The Dark Queen shifted her gaze away and dispersed the Void-bellied Ghost King with a wave of her hand as she said that to Gu Yanying.

    She had not carried out a massacre on impulse. Cultivators were thorough with their thoughts, let alone Golden Core cultivators. Every single one of them were well-versed with how to deal with people. The Marquis of Ruyi had come from an aristocratic background and had become rooted in fear and hatred, which was why he was unable to see through her strange behaviour. However, that did not mean other cultivators had not noticed or seen through it. Silencing them was necessary.

    The very belief of a demonic sect like the Umbral Yin sect was to view human lives as nothing. They were not bound by any laws or morals at all, completely doing whatever they wanted. Even if it were not for this secret, she probably would still do the same for the cultivators¡¯ golden cores and belongings. Every additional golden core gave her greater confidence with overcoming the third tribulation.

    As for Gu Yanying, she was on rather friendly terms with her. Moreover, Gu Yanying stood aloof from the world and was not a so-called person of the ¡°righteous path¡±. Although she could be rather heartless, she was not sinister.

    Most importantly, the Dark Queen had no confidence in being able to kill her here. This was how people of the demonic path did things. As long as they could increase their cultivation, even by only a bit, it would be worth it no matter how many ¡°fellows¡± they had to kill. To her, cultivators like the Marquis of Ruyi had enjoyed peace for far too long. They had forgotten about the age when cultivators fought and killed one another.

    Gu Yanying lowered her head slightly and bowed gracefully. ¡°Please exchange this friendship for three golden cores.¡±

    The Dark Queen immediately tossed three golden cores to Gu Yanying. One of them was pure-white and out of the ordinary. It was the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s golden core. Gu Yanying ingested it without minding at all and began meditating to refine it.

    Only then did the Dark Queen relax, completely extinguishing the killing intent inside.

    They no longer said anything afterwards, waiting quietly to return to the World of the Nine Provinces.

    Li Qingshan had no idea whether Gu Yanying and the Dark Queen were communicating with their soul sense.

    However, from the beginning till the end, the Dark Queen and Xiao An did not speak a single word to one another.

    Only when the sky brightened did the surroundings gradually clear up. The rate at which the celestial bodies in the sky moved about returned to normal.

    As soon as they returned to the World of the Nine Provinces, Li Qingshan dove into the ground immediately with Xiao An. He completely refused to look back. He could sense several tremendous auras shining in the night sky like torches. Several strands of soul sense swept past him as if they wanted to see through him completely.

    In that moment, the spirit turtle gave off several warnings. Every single one of them was as terrifying as almost certain death, but no attacks rained down.

    The sky was enveloped with thick clouds that constantly churned about. Half a claw could be vaguely made out, black as ink, as it traversed through the clouds. On the other side of the sky, a sword that leaned against the heavens seemed to stand in opposition.

    That was a clash that the current Li Qingshan could not become involved in, the game among the kings.

    A man stood in the air with his hands behind his back. His clothes were black, and his hair was combed back meticulously. His eyes were filled with an imposing sense of dignity as his soul sense chased after Li Qingshan and Xiao An. His brows were furrowed as if he was thinking of something.

    The Dark Queen flew into the horizon, arriving beside this man and bowing. Only then did the man retract his gaze, looking at the Dark Queen. He was slightly surprised. ¡°You¡¯re close to undergoing the tribulation?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± The man nodded, but his brows remained locked. He did not seem particularly happy.

    Gu Yanying bowed. ¡°Greetings from subordinate Gu Yanying, lord of the province!¡±

    The man happened to be the Fierce King of Chu who governed the fifteen thousand kilometers of the Green province. ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine, or I¡¯d really have no idea how I would tell sir Hawk God about this. Just what exactly happened inside?¡±

    At this moment, a streak of light arrived. A woman wielding a sword approached them and bowed towards the Fierce King of Chu before looking at Gu Yanying. Her expression was cold and her gaze was as sharp as a sword, but she completely overlooked the Dark Queen¡¯s existence.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to hear it too.¡±

    ¡°Your majesty the Light Queen has arrived too!¡±

    Gu Yanying gave a rough explanation of everything that happened, but she obviously covered up and changed a lot of details.

    The Light Queen clasped her hands at the Dark Queen. ¡°Younger sister, you¡¯ve done a tremendous job with sealing the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Once we get back to the estate, I¡¯ll definitely give you a toast.¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu swung his hand. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s disperse!¡±

    Just like that, the powerful auras that watched from the sky or from afar receded, and the dark clouds dispersed.

    Before she returned, the Dark Queen glanced back at the boundless earth. Yue¡¯er, it¡¯s still not time right now, but I¡¯ll be bringing you home very soon!

    Li Qingshan constantly ventured deeper underground. Only when the underground magnetic field completely wrapped around him and he was unable to sense anymore soul senses did he stop. He exhaled deeply and smiled. ¡°It sure was dangerous this time.¡±

    Although it was a very close shave, he did manage to break through to the fifth layer with the Ox Demon Transformation, allowing him to witness the future powers of the ox demon. As long as he had the time to familiarise and digest everything, his personal strength would definitely increase drastically. Even if he ran into Golden Core cultivators, he would have the confidence to defeat them.

    There was no reply. Xiao An seemed rather distracted, only replying after she realised he had said something, ¡°Y- yeah!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms. His expression changed constantly as he faltered. Only after a long while of hesitation did he ask, ¡°Have you remembered where your home is?¡±

    Xiao An nodded before shaking her head firmly.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If you want to go home and take a look, I¡¯ll accompany you. I¡¯ve promised this to you. Hehe, didn¡¯t I even carve a tablet for you? Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s fine¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice gradually grew softer. Who knew who he was trying to comfort. His voice was rather hoarse and he held her firmer. If it really were like what he had guessed, why would the mighty provincial lord¡¯s estate allow her to remain by his side? However, perhaps that would be slightly better for her.

    Xiao An stood up and took out the scholar wood tablet. One side had the word ¡°south¡± carved into it, while the other had the word ¡°An¡±. The craftsmanship was crude and the characters were ugly. There were even traces of being burned by fire, but she held it preciously in her hand.

    ¡°No matter how many dangers, difficulties, obstacles, and hardships there are, there will be a day when I send you home!¡±

    Under the moonlight, the young man had promised seriously. The scene was just like the red mole on her forehead, something she could never forget about.

    The scholar wood tablet with the words ¡°south¡± and ¡°An¡± carved in was evidence.

    With a crack, Xiao An closed her fingers around it, and the scholar wood tablet split open. It was crushed to pieces as splinters flew everywhere.

    Li Qingshan was stunned, only to hear Xiao An say, ¡°I¡¯m going nowhere. Don¡¯t cast me aside either. I will remain by your side forever, all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens, unless death parts us!¡±

    ¡°Where is this? Didn¡¯t I die?¡±

    Opening his eyes slowly, he looked at the gloomy sky and the ground piled with endless bones and corpses. A figure climbed up, supporting himself by leaning on the huge, withered tree by his side. Suddenly, he discovered that his hand had become just as withered as the dead tree, pale-white and icy-cold.

    He immediately noticed the peculiarities of his body. He did not have to breathe, and when he touched his chest, his heart no longer beat either. All of his bodily functions had ceased. He had become a corpse.

    It was true. He was already dead, but this world happened to be the paradise of the dead. The living could not survive here.

    Oh right, I fell into the Hungry Ghost realm. ¡°Have we met somewhere before?¡±

    Ma Chaoqun gazed at the vast wasteland. Right as he thought of that, a voice suddenly rang out behind him. Ma Chaoqun turned around and saw a violet figure standing there gracefully. Her eyes were clear and her skin was fair. She seemed very much alive, but that was only because of how powerful she was. She was unable to hide the powerful aura of death she gave off.

 Chapter 555 â€“ Aftermath

    The Dark Queen could just go and die. No one could take her away from his side.

    However, he discovered a horrible problem very soon.

    With the current fourth layer of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he was unable to suppress the fifth layer of the Ox Demon Transformation.

    In other words, unless he also reached the fifth layer with the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he could not turn back into human form and return to the academy. However, the difficulty in this would definitely be greater than reaching the fifth layer with the ox demon or the tiger demon.

    The ox demon and tiger demon determined the strength of his body, while the spirit turtle determined his cultivation. Once he broke through to the fifth layer, he would be standing firmly in the realm of Daemon Commanders. He would even gain a footing in this world.

    Sigh, what was he supposed to do? He still had many ties in the society of humans.

    Qiongzhi should be very sad over losing her uncle! I even once considered taking him on as my master. I didn¡¯t think the first time we met would also be when death takes him.

    Although he was connected to Han Anguo in a certain way, they had never met after all, so there were not exactly any deep emotional ties between them. If he could save him, then he would save him. If he could not, then there was nothing he could do. He could only leave it up to fate. After all, if Li Qingshan died, Han Anguo would not feel miserable for him either. However, he was worried about Han Qiongzhi becoming overly sad. Fortunately, the people the Dark Queen had killed were not the Han father-son duo, or he would truly become conflicted to death.

    This was the difference between being close and being distant. He could go as far as to risk exposing himself to save Hua Chengzan, but if it were Hua Chengzan¡¯s parents or siblings instead, he would have to give it some consideration. At most, he would do what was within his means. After all, reasonless affection did not exist in the world.

    I wonder if Hua Chengzan is going to divulge my identity. Probably not, right? I saved his life after all.

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°You should return to the dwelling first and handle any situations that may arise. If no one comes looking for us, just say I suffered some internal injuries and am healing in seclusion. I¡¯ll return to Moon Court lake and try and see whether I can use the power of the Water God Seal to suppress the ox demon. If I can¡¯t, then I probably won¡¯t be able to return to the surface any time soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan rested his head on his arms as he leaned against the boiling-hot stone wall. He gradually recovered his daemon qi as he tidied through his thoughts, considering what he should do next.

    ¡°Northmoon!¡± An enchanting, curvaceous figure walked out of the darkness. Lolth licked her bright-red lips. Her absolute beauty was mesmerising as she asked with a smile, ¡°Are you injured?¡±

    After a tough battle, Li Qingshan seemed to be in a rather horrible shape, and he had only recovered twenty or thirty percent of his daemon qi.

    And, after breaking through to the fifth layer of the ox demon, he was unable to conceal his aura anymore, so he was obviously discovered by the owner of this territory, Lolth. She had come to investigate.

    Noticing his current shape, Lolth¡¯s eyes lit up. She felt like this was a heaven-sent opportunity to redeem her pride.

    Li Qingshan shot a glance at her. ¡°Yeah, do you want to take care of me?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Lolth said with pleasure before looking around. ¡°Where¡¯s that skeleton friend of yours? Why isn¡¯t it taking care of you?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s busy, so she left first already.¡±

    ¡°You mean, it¡¯s just us here?¡± Lolth smiled as she approached him slowly.

    ¡°Yeah, just us.¡±

    Li Qingshan finished speaking and the poisonous whip whistled through the air like a bolt of black lightning. He extended his hand and grabbed the whip, so the whip coiled around his arm.

    Lolth¡¯s red lips curled. She tugged the whip backwards and it became taut.

    Li Qingshan did not budge at all. He maintained his sneer as he pulled backwards. ¡°Come!¡±

    Lolth felt an unbelievably great force pass through the whip as she was pulled over helplessly. She went with it by lunging at Li Qingshan, waving her spider legs about as her fangs protruded.

    Li Qingshan casually threw a punch. He did not even look at Lolth. Shockwaves surged out in all directions.

    Lolth¡¯s skin became silver in colour. She had experienced this move from him countless times already. Even if he landed a direct blow on her, she would not care, let alone when it landed on empty space.

    However, the moment she came into contact with the shockwaves, she immediately sensed that something was amiss. It was already too late for her to dodge. Every single bone in her body and every inch of her skin shook. Even her daemon qi showed signs of being shaken apart. She was thrown away helplessly, smashing into the stone wall and sinking over thirty meters deep.

    Wherever she passed by, shockwaves emerged from her body, shattering all of the rock and creating a huge, funnel-shaped cavity. She lay at the bottom of the funnel.

    Lolth¡¯s jaw trembled as she was unable to say anything. Her face was filled with shock. The part of the poison suit over her chest had been ripped apart, exposing her voluptuous breasts as well as a deep gully. Cracks appeared on her silver skin.

    Even her strongest defensive ability was unable to block the power from the Tremors of the Ox Demon. If the punch had landed on her, the outcome would have been unthinkable.

    At the very beginning, the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine did not seem particularly powerful. When Li Qingshan reached the first layer of the ox demon, he was merely a master of the jianghu. However, the growth that came with each layer afterwards became more and more startling.

    When he could not even unleash the full power of the fifth layer of the ox demon, he was already strong enough to engage a Corpse King with an extremely tough body in a trial of strength. In terms of brute strength, he had probably approached the peak of this world already.

    Although the Tremors of the Ox Demon could not shatter space in the World of the Nine Provinces, its power was still not something that could be endured by anybody.

    He¡¯s become even stronger yet again, countless times stronger than before. This is impossible. Is he really a daemon?

    Lolth¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief; she was unable to accept this reality. She had clashed with Northmoon several times in the past. Although it had ended with her defeat every single time, all of them involved intense battles, with plenty of opportunities for her to prevail. Yet now, she could not even withstand a single punch from him. How was she supposed to accept this? And he was actually still a Daemon General right now!

    Regardless of whether she could accept it or not, she made the most correct choice immediately¡ªflee!

    The tiger demon lunged and the phoenix danced. Wind and fire whistled, vanishing in a flash. Li Qingshan arrived before Lolth and pressed his arms right beside her. Their noses were almost touching as he smiled viciously.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d take care of me?¡±

    After the battle of Burial Mound mountain, the tiger demon had not been able to break through to the fifth layer, but he did gain a deeper comprehension. His control over the wings of wind and fire had become more natural.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡± Lolth spat out a thread, shooting towards Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead like a streak of white light. At the same time, she wormed into the rock behind her, wanting to escape from the range of his arms.

    ¡°Tremor!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out and grabbed her by the shoulders, unleashing the power of tremors madly.

    Rings of shockwaves weaved in the air into black cracks that resembled lightning around him.

    The spider silk shattered in the air. As if a bolt of lightning had struck her, Lolth shook violently in the air. Her poison suit was ripped apart, reduced to shreds. It fluttered through the air like butterflies before being reduced to dust and exposing her silver body.

    A while later, even her daemon qi had been dispersed. Unable to maintain her innate ability, the silver colour receded, exposing her naked, pale body. Her chest stood plump and erect, jiggling like jelly from the lingering tremors as the two bright-red cherries danced about.

    Lolth was filled with shock. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Since you refuse to take care of me, I¡¯ll take care of you!¡±

    When the lord of the Green province arrived, he dismissed the school leaders to return to the academy. This was no longer something they could partake in.

    The school leaders were all stricken with worry in the academy. If the Hungry Ghost realm truly descended, then all they could do was flee for their lives, and they still had no idea where they would flee off to.

    Liu Zhangqing glanced around and asked, ¡°Chengzan, where¡¯s Qingshan?¡±

    In a corner, Ru Xin lowered her gaze as she thought of something.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s thoughts happened to be running wild. Hearing that, he was taken aback momentarily. ¡°He seems to have returned to his dwelling already.¡±

    Now, he knew Li Qingshan¡¯s identity, but he had no idea what he should do. Technically speaking, he should have exposed him, but ¡°Northmoon¡± had never targeted the academy, even giving them rather special treatment. He had spared him multiple times, even saving his life this time. With how much he owed him, it would be no exaggeration even if he were to give him his life. How could he sell him out?

    Ru Xin furrowed her brows slightly as she became rather doubtful. There¡¯s no reason he wouldn¡¯t partake in something like this. Wait, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s in there too!

    Liu Zhangqing sighed. ¡°He sure is straightforward. It¡¯s probably caused him quite the impact again! After all, nothing is more important than your personal cultivation. Foundation Establishment really is just foundation establishment!¡±

    Including him, no one present had not been impacted. In a great battle like that, the lives of Foundation Establishment cultivators were basically no different from dust.

    Hearing that, Hua Chengzan instead eased up. The war between humans and daemons was not something a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator like him could partake in. If he became involved rashly and ignorantly, it would only claim his life pointlessly. I better just stick with cultivating and increasing my own cultivation! Though, I wonder how Qiongzhi would respond once she finds out.

    This wait lasted for several days. Sunlight and moonlight constantly replaced one another outside the window.

    Everyone felt more pessimistic than optimistic, but they refused to leave, afraid they would miss out on immediate news and thus face a great disaster.

    ¡°Fellows, there¡¯s news. The Gate of Hungry Ghosts has been sealed.¡±

    The puppet that the leader of the school of Mohism had left behind watched over the situation constantly. Now, he had finally spoken.

    Everyone eased up. They almost could not help but cheer aloud. However, they then saw the leader of the school of Mohism¡¯s face change, speaking only after faltering.

    ¡°I saw Gu Yanying and her highness the Dark Queen. Yep, and that cat daemon. The other cultivators have all fallen in battle!¡±

    Crack! The cup in Han Anjun¡¯s hand broke. Although his expression remained as resolute as before, his lips were trembling.

    The room was thrown into an uproar. That was a group of Golden Core cultivators for heaven¡¯s sake! There had been so many renowned figures, yet they actually all just died like this!

    Hearing how Gu Yanying was still alive, Hua Chengzan eased up slightly. Then he asked in a hurry, ¡°Was there anything else? Did anyone else emerge?¡±

 Chapter 556 â€“ A Conclusion

    The small lake that gave off the smell of sulphur gurgled as it churned about. He currently leaned against a scorching-hot boulder by the lake. All of the tension he had built up in the battle had been released. He felt the comfort of being at ease.

    Only then did he look at the plump, mesmerising figure in his arms. The craziness from earlier was still visible before his eyes. He let out a smile. Suppressed by his absolute power, all of her struggles were useless. In the end, she simply gave up, choosing to cooperate with him instead, very much like if she could not resist, she would just enjoy it.

    He gently slid his hand down her back, following a beautiful curve until he reached her plump, full bottom, slapping it gently.

    Smack!

    Lolth opened her eyes. There was no longer any hatred or enmity anymore. Instead, there was actually a mesmerising laziness. Leaning against him, she had never been so docile before.

    Their strength had completely pulled apart now. Li Qingshan had already demonstrated his strength in full, proving to her that he possessed the right to mate with her. All of the hatred from the past that could not even be considered as proper hatred could only be regarded as flirting before the deed.

    For the weak to hate the strong, not only was it pointless, but it would even bring them no benefits for survival. To daemons, being humiliated by the weak was something worth hating over, while submitting to the strong was not shameful.

    Li Qingshan pushed away the figure in his arms that could bewitch any man and swam up the underground river alone.

    Suddenly, he turned back and said, ¡°You and your territory, all belong to me.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Lolth was very straightforward. With his strength, possessing all of that was natural. As a matter of fact, it was even lacking.

    Li Qingshan smiled. The simplicity and straightforwardness of the world of daemons was what he liked most. There was no right or wrong, no morals of laws. It was the survival of the fittest, natural selection.

    Only when his figure vanished did Lolth let out a long sigh.

    If only she had killed him the moment she saw him.

    Near Moon Court lake, the rain poured down, the winds whistled, and the turbid waves filled the air.

    Passing through the churning surface and venturing all the way down, blue light shone dimly.

    At the bottom of the lake, within a semi-transparent sphere of light formed from countless hexagons, a flawlessly handsome, slender and imposing man hugged his knees and curled up.

    He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth, revealing his four canines. His scarlet hair that reached past his waist floated in the water like burning fire.

    The sphere of light pulsed like a beating heart.

    The figure of a spirit turtle appeared as if it was doing everything it could to suppress something.

    A smear of black appeared in the drifting, scarlet hair, permeating the surroundings bit by bit. His appearance changed with that, no longer as handsome anymore. He became as ordinary as a stone statue.

    Boom!

    There was a great eruption deep under water, sending a pillar of water over thirty meters into the air. The rain shot horizontally into the horizon.

    However, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell disassembled.

    Unbelievably, the raging waters settled down like it had become a huge mirror. The rain gradually lightened, now falling sparsely. As the drizzle landed on the surface of the mirror, it kicked up ripples, which intersected and merged with one another.

    Li Qingshan exhaled deeply. He spread his arms and floated quietly on the surface.

    His face was still handsome. His hair was still scarlet. He had still ended up failing.

    He raised his right hand, waving it gently from left to right.

    The clouds scattered, and the rain dispersed. The moonlight illuminated the surroundings like it was daytime as the stars twinkled throughout the night sky.

    ¡°How beautiful!¡±

    He sighed emotionally and forgot about his worries. He stood up, seeing the specks of firelight by the shore of the lake and listening to the voices near the firelight. This was the life of mortals. It had its own sense of tranquility and peace.

    He realised very soon that this was merely a false impression. The lives of mortals were filled with pain. Having gone from being a cowherd to where he was today, how could he forget about his origins and do some reminiscing or whatever that was? He was foolishly hooking himself with his own lies.

    Even if the happiness were real, he would never cling onto it. What he pursued had never been so-called ¡°happiness¡±. Gazing into the depths of the stars, he laughed aloud. Since he had no intentions of turning around, then he would continue forwards!

    Li Qingshan leapt up, turning into a streak of red light and shooting into the horizon. Looking down, the world was bright and clear. Moon Court lake occupied a huge area, while the Clear river in the distance raged endlessly, extending into the distance.

    The Marquis of Ruyi has been finished off. The group of Golden Core cultivators have been finished off. Right now, the Ruyi commandery is leaderless, so who can still stop me? I¡¯ll continue refining water systems and strengthen the power of the Water God Seal. I refuse to believe I can¡¯t break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle after I refine all the water in this region!

    ¡°Master, you found her? Li¡¯l Whitey is it?¡±

    In the carriage flying towards the Umbral Yin sect, Xuanyue curled up in the Dark Queen¡¯s lap as she raised her head and asked curiously.

    The Dark Queen¡¯s expression coldened and said with a sternness that Xuanyue had never seen before, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    She frightened Xuanyue to the point where she shuddered and her hair stood on end. Only then did the Dark Queen¡¯s expression slowly soften, stroking Xuanyue gently. ¡°You must not mention this to anyone, or I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    She stopped there, but Xuanyue shivered. Ever since leaving Burial Mound mountain, her master seemed to have changed. Her feeling of lament had vanished, replaced by a dignified bearing of resolution.

    As she stroked her, her movements were just as gentle as before, but it now lacked a sense of tenderness. She no longer looked at her either, instead staring into the endless darkness. A fire blazed in her eyes.

    Perhaps, this was how she had been originally. Perhaps, this was the bearing that a demonic cultivator was supposed to possess.

    A man suddenly appeared in the carriage, completely overlooking the guards in the surroundings and the many formations on the carriage.

    He was disheveled, with his hair covering most of his face. His skin was pale-white as his eyes shone brightly. He wore a set of black robes, and the hem of his clothes and his cuffs were ragged, coiling about like black fire. He gave off an indescribable sense of power and influence.

    ¡°Sect master!¡± The Dark Queen bowed as she showed respect.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally returned. Looks like you¡¯ve benefited quite a lot from this trip!¡± the master of the Umbral Yin sect said.

    The Dark Queen told him about everything that happened near the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, but it was completely different from what Gu Yanying had said. She confessed that she killed the Marquis of Ruyi and everyone else, but even she did not disclose Xiao An¡¯s identity.

    ¡°Very good!¡± The sect master revealed a sunken smile. ¡°Do these whelps really think the world of cultivation is filled with happiness, a place where they can be at ease and lengthen their lives? Have you captured their souls?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Torture them first and see if you can force out anything useful from them, then send them off to be sacrificed to the Myriad Ghost Banner. If you can overcome the heavenly tribulation, the position of sect master will definitely be yours in the future. The Myriad Ghost Banner will end up in your hands sooner or later. Turmoil is about to arise. The principles of the cultivation world have been twisted by the Great Xia empire for so long. It¡¯s about time for it to demonstrate its true colours.¡±

    The sect master revealed his ghastly-pale teeth as he grinned silently.

    Xuanyue shivered, shrinking into the Dark Queen¡¯s arms.

    The Dark Queen stroked Xuanyue to comfort her as she thought, Master, even if you refuse to give me the position of sect master, I¡¯ll never accept your decision. You have no idea how my child has turned out. Although she¡¯s lost her identity as a human, it¡¯s nothing compared to the power she¡¯s obtained.

    Yue¡¯er, oh Yue¡¯er. You are my flesh and bone. Even if you¡¯ve turned into white bone, you¡¯re mine. You¡¯ll return to my side one day! If we work together, the Green province is ours.

    To the boundless Hungry Ghost realm, a Corpse King¡¯s death could only be considered as a small splash. It could not create too big of a disturbance, so it settled down very quickly.

    However, the appearance of the white flames kicked up a ripple that spread into the distance rapidly.

    After who knew how long, a wisp of black smoke sailed across the sunken sky, shooting off into the distance. A mountain range stood several hundred kilometers long like a colossal beast crouching on the horizon.

    Only by arriving closer could someone realise the mountains were not mountains, but an actual, colossal beast. More accurately, it was the remains of a colossal beast. It was impossible to imagine just how powerful and terrifying it had been when it was still alive.

    Vicious, bone spikes of various sizes jutted straight into the air like mountain peaks. In particular, the lone horn on the colossal beast¡¯s skull was unscalable.

    Figures stood atop the lone peak. They varied in appearance and size, but their auras were all similarly strong, even greater than the Corpse King¡¯s. They were currently holding a discussion.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened? Why have we all been summoned here so urgently?¡± Some were perplexed.

    ¡°What? The legendary white holy fire appeared?¡± Some were bewildered.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a legend, isn¡¯t it? The colours of flames vary in the first place. As we stand in the trichiliocosm, no one can be too powerful, so how can they destroy the Hungry Ghost realm? It¡¯s merely a Corpse King. If he¡¯s dead, then he¡¯s dead. Do we really have to assemble over something as small as that?¡± Some were scornful.

    ¡°Cough, cough. All of you, shut up! What a ruckus. Do you want me to eat you all?¡±

    A hunched-back figure arrived on the huge horn with a walking stick. He was wrapped in white bandages as he carried a few large flags on his back, all depicting vicious beasts.

    His first sentence was as feeble as an old man on his deathbed, but what came afterwards seemed like the colossal beast below them had revived. It was a roar, shaking up the surroundings.

    All of the undead fell silent and bowed towards him frantically.

    He raised his walking stick and ordered, ¡°Open a Gate of Hungry Ghosts as soon as possible and enter that world!¡± His voice became weak again. ¡°Cough cough, only the young and weak will overlook legends.¡±

    The undead dared not ignore him. They all stated their ideas, ¡°The trichiliocosm has its laws. If we forcefully enter, we¡¯ll be suppressed by that world, which will be extremely detrimental to us.¡±

    ¡°Even if we open a Gate of Hungry Ghosts, we can¡¯t enter that world. However, there seems to be a sect called the ¡°Umbral Yin sect¡± in that world that is closely connected to the Hungry Ghost realm. We can make a deal with them.¡±

    ¡°If we use the undead from that world, the suppression we¡¯ll face will be weaker.¡±

    ¡°He¡± said, ¡°Find undead from that world. It¡¯s fine if they¡¯re a little weaker. We can feed them slowly. Go contact the Umbral Yin sect and give them what they need, or even support them in becoming the rulers of that world. Our condition is that they must kill the owner of the flames.¡±

    He tapped his walking stick, and his voice suddenly became deafening. ¡°If none of that works, then have the Hungry Ghost realm devour that world!¡±

    Volume Afterword

    It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve written an author¡¯s word, so let¡¯s use this opportunity to say something. However, despite being an author who¡¯s written several million characters, I always find it difficult to express what I want to say every single time. How strange!

    What should I say? Can I make it moving? Can I make others smile?

    If I can¡¯t, then what¡¯s the point?

    I¡¯ve never been a confident person, but I do have a great pile of things I take pride in!

    I proudly believe that I can reach beyond the nine heavens some day and pluck the moon and stars from the sky. Afterwards, I¡¯ll lower my head and discover I¡¯m just at the level of the ¡°¡®Three Talents of the Crouching Ox¡¯¡±. I¡¯ll ask myself with a bitter smile whether I can call someone ¡°strong¡± if they can just kill a tiger with a single punch.

    As a result, when I see comments of criticism, I¡¯ll read through them all carefully if they have substance.

    But when I come across some over-the-top praises and commendations, I¡¯ll regularly stop reading half way out of embarrassment, giving it an upvote before closing the window. Woah, I can relax a little. I¡¯m very happy, but it feels so embarrassing!

    As a result, I often can¡¯t even bring myself to ask for things like votes. I always have to pluck up my courage and cast away my shame every time I ask. Hah, it¡¯s like a confession! Hehe, please view my requests for votes like how you would face a confession! Even if there aren¡¯t votes, at least you can say ¡°you¡¯re a good person¡±!

    Anyway, I want to become better, so good that I can eliminate this feeling of lowliness and inability, so good that I can confidently accept these praises.

    This volume is the shortest volume of Legend of the Great Sage. I¡¯ve written exactly what I¡¯m least skilled in and least inspired and passionate about, but it is the most complete. It has the complete composition of a piece of writing, filling in holes, digging new holes, twists, suspense, and the development and closure of foreshadowing clues.

    In writing, this is a summary of one and a half million characters, using a very clever way to realise my attempt at the ordinary~

    I don¡¯t lack inspiration or writing style. I need this ordinariness. Another word for it would be ¡°foundation¡±.

    To me, this has been another case of practice and improvement. I believe I can offer up an even better novel now.

    Actually, if I wanted a better income and results, I would continue to use my talent to write female characters and write a love story of ambiguity. That should be the more correct choice. Instead, it shouldn¡¯t be abandoning what I¡¯m good at to go for what I¡¯m bad at, writing a story of levelling up and battle.

    However, I won¡¯t be able to reach beyond the nine heavens like this.

 Chapter 557 â€“ Refining the Lake of Dragons and Snakes

    An empty coffin sat on the mourning altar.

    Below, the descendants of the Han family were dressed in mourning attire, kneeling on the ground. However, underneath their white clothes was sturdy armour.

    The sandalwood incense burned quietly. There was not a single sob. Only the endless sound of autumn rain could be heard from outside.

    Outside the mourning hall, armoured soldiers stood in formation with their weapons. The rain fell on their icy-cold armour. All of them were sorrowful.

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s funeral was being carried out at the same time. A downcast cloud loomed over the entire city.

    ¡°Commander Gu arrives!¡±

    A messenger reported. The soldiers all lifted their weapons as their armour clanked like thunder.

    Gu Yanying made her way over down the centre of the path. She stepped into the mourning hall, paid her respects, and offered up incense. She did not say much, turning around and leaving immediately. Her gaze swept past the descendants of the Han family in front of the mourning altar, only to see Han Qiongzhi among them. She glanced past her before flying out the door.

    She pierced through the cloud layer and began to drift down gently like a feather. She lay between the white clouds.

    She rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes, crossing one leg over the other leisurely as she took a small break.

    After lying for a while, she frowned and changed her posture. She laid on her side before flipping over before eventually leaning on the clouds. She tossed and turned a full cycle before returning to her original, flat posure. She recited slowly, ¡°His life is like floating; his death is like resting. He ¡®does not dream when he is asleep, does not worry when he is awake.¡¯ Sorrow and joy are perversions of integrity; happiness and anger are transgressions of the Dao; likes and dislikes are failings of the mind.¡±

    Her voice gradually softened, falling asleep peacefully.

    Han Qiongzhi was dressed in full mourning attire. Her eyes were very red as her tears trickled down. She thought of her uncle¡¯s voice and expression when he was still alive and the various forms of care and concern he had shown her. Her heart was a tangled mess. She shoved her fingers into the spacing between the bricks, but she refused to let out a single sob.

    Han Anjun stood up and said, ¡°You better all wipe away your tears. The spirit of my departed brother remains. He¡¯s already ventured to the final home of all disciples of the school of the Military to continue battling in the Asura realm. There¡¯s nothing worth crying over!¡±

    He exhaled deeply, turned around, and offered up another stick of incense. However, he was worried inside. He had fallen in battle against the Hungry Ghost realm. If he ended up in the Hungry Ghost realm, it would be bad.

    Han Qiongzhi thought, Qingshan, where are you? Have you received my letter? I really want to see you!¡±

    ¡°The moon demon is here!¡±

    The Academy of the Hundred Schools was thrown into a panic.

    Hua Chengzan was currently in secluded cultivation. He could hear the disturbances, only to see huge waves reaching towards the sky above the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. A huge figure was crossing through the lake, passing through the mist and making his way towards the academy with heavy footsteps.

    His curved horns were like a pair of crescent moons as his scarlet eyes flickered like embers. He gave off a heavy pressure simply by standing there.

    He was actually still alive!

    Liu Zhangqing had yet to recover from the sorrow of the loss of his dear disciples. Standing on a tall building on Contention island, he lamented at the sky, ¡°Why has my Clear River prefecture been dogged by bad luck?¡±

    The other cultivators were ashen as well. They could only hope the Formation of Dragons and Snakes could halt the moon demon¡¯s advance.

    On Cloudwisp island, Liu Chuanfeng called out, ¡°Come with me, everyone!¡±

    The disciples of the school of Novels, both young and old, huddled around him in a hurry. They followed behind him as the disciples asked, ¡°Master, are we going to face the moon demon in a battle to the death?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about time for our school of Novels to demonstrate its power.¡± A young man swung his fist viciously.

    Liu Chuanfeng remained silent. He brought the disciples to a dense bamboo forest. His expression was fervent and solemn as he ordered, ¡°Everyone, lie down!¡±

    The disciples were all confused, but they still abided to his order and laid down.

    Liu Chuanfeng laid down too and began focusing his attention on the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Gradually, his figure vanished, replaced by a huge, dead log, and the disciples all turned into logs of various sizes too, strewn across the bamboo forest.

    Liu Chuanfeng ordered with his soul sense, ¡°Hide your aura as much as possible. Don¡¯t let the moon demon discover us!¡±

    ¡°Umm, master, aren¡¯t we going to face the moon demon in a battle to the death?¡±

    ¡°You can go. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m stopping you!¡±

    After a moment of silence, someone said, ¡°But master, this is a bamboo forest. Why would there be dead trees?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Your master has his own brilliant plan¡­ Am I supposed to conjure bamboo this thick?¡±

    Although he no longer worried about any punishment from the Marquis of Ruyi, even the Marquis of Ruyi was dead, so who could still stop the moon demon? Liu Zhangqing completely disregarded his identity and roared at Hua Chengzan, ¡°Chengzan, go find ma¡¯am Gu to slay the daemon!¡±

    He made up his mind. He would never remain in a state of constant alarm and be some prefect anymore. Instead, he would be like Li Qingshan. He would find some remote dwelling to cultivate in seclusion.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression was mixed. Perhaps she had seen through Li Qingshan¡¯s identity a long time ago, which was why she paid special attention to him. Why would she come and slay daemons?

    However, he probably did not come to the academy to start a slaughter. Hua Chengzan only noticed daemon qi permeating the upper stream of the Lake of Dragons and Snakes before suddenly realising. Yes, he wants to refine the Lake of Dragons and Snakes.

    On Benevolence island, Ru Xin crossed her arms in relief. Sure enough, this guy truly would not die so easily.

    ¡°Moon demon, didn¡¯t you say you want to coexist with us in peace? Why have you gone back on your word? Don¡¯t you know that the Academy of the Hundred Schools is the foundation of the Great Xia empire? Don¡¯t you know about the consequences of attacking here?¡±

    Liu Zhangqing unleash his talent of eloquence as he questioned loudly while hinting with threats, only in hopes that the moon demon would reconsider his actions.

    Li Qingshan was scornful. Didn¡¯t the White Lotus Mother almost do the same with you back then?

    In the thick mist, a huge figure swum around. A strange fish lunged over viciously with its mouth filled with horrific teeth, but strangely enough, it did not give off the slightest hint of daemon qi.

    Not only was entering the thick mist around the academy like a mortal entering dense, confusing mist, but it could also turn into a powerful mist beast. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators would suffer when they faced it.

    Li Qingshan recalled when he first entered the academy, he had once seen this fish¡¯s figure. Back then, he found the strange fish to be so colossal, radiating with a terrifying aura.

    Now, he casually gripped the strange fish like he had caught a dog. He allowed the strange fish to struggle as much as it wanted, but it could not break free. Afterwards, he clenched his hand and crushed it.

    The monster dispersed as mist before reassembling as a long snake that coiled around him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body shuddered, unleashing the power of tremors. The Lake of Dragons and Snakes around him seemed to be ripped apart. It surged violently. The snake dispersed and did not condense again. Even the mist that surrounded the academy all year round began to scatter gradually.

    He arrived before the Formation of Dragons and Snakes and said with his metallic voice, ¡°Open the formation! I¡¯ll leave as soon as I refine the Lake of Dragons and Snakes!¡±

    ¡°T- that¡¯s impossible, unless you-¡±

    Before Liu Zhangqing could even finish, Li Qingshan had already thrown a punch.

    Boom!

    Rings of light surged into the surroundings in the sky, away from Li Qingshan¡¯s fist.

    The crucial points on the various islands erupted with light, supporting the Formation of Dragons and Snakes and fending off Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying power. The formation constantly twisted.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Liu Zhangqiong widened his eyes, filled with fear. Ever since the White Lotus cult infiltrated, the academy had reinforced the Formation of Dragons and Snakes. How could it be pushed so far with brute force alone?

    Tremor!

    A crack appeared on the Formation of Dragons and Snakes. Liu Zhangqing had already become completely speechless. When he considered the fate awaiting him for rejecting the moon demon once he breached the formation, he could not help but gulp.

    ¡°Hold on! Shut up! I can open the formation as long as you promise you won¡¯t harm the disciples of my academy¡­¡±

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Li Qingshan completely ignored him. He threw consecutive punches and the crack constantly widened. The entire formation collapsed.

    Hmph, I might not be able to shatter space, but that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t shatter your puny formation!

    Li Qingshan strode towards Contention island and glanced at Cloudwisp island in the process. With how sharp his eyesight was, he spotted the contrasting dead logs in a single glance. He could not help but be at a loss as for how to react. This bastard sure was a genius!

    He held back his urge to throw a punch that way, turning around instead. He bent over and brought his face up to the tall building, asking Liu Zhangqing, ¡°Is there anything else you want to say?¡±

    Liu Zhangqing shook his head. Li Qingshan left as soon as he refined the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. He had yet to even open the Golden Core cultivators¡¯ hundred treasures pouches he had obtained. The academy truly did not possess anything that could interest him anymore.

    However, it was still not enough. If he wanted to suppress the ox demon, he needed even more and even vaster expanses of water.

    Li Qingshan directed his gaze to the end of the Clear river.

    ¡°Piss off, Northmoon. This is already beyond Lolth¡¯s territory!¡±

    Above the marsh that the waters of the Clear river flowed into, Li Qingshan was constantly devouring and refining water when a bald, naked man leapt out of the marsh. He was sturdy, standing over three meters tall as his entire body rippled with muscles. He was like a bodybuilder.

    Daemon qi surged from his body, on par with Lolth¡¯s. He was actually a Daemon Commander too.

    Li Qingshan had never thought the ones obstructing his plan to refine water would not be humans, but a daemon, and a powerful Daemon Commander at that.

    Within the territory of the Ruyi commandery, Lolth was obviously not alone as a Daemon Commander. Otherwise, with how many Golden Core cultivators there were in the Ruyi commandery, they would have dealt with her a long time ago. The power of the daemons did pale slightly in comparison to the humans, but the difference was limited.

    Lolth¡¯s territory roughly spanned the region underneath the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River province. The special characteristic of her territory was that it was not particularly large in area, but it reached very deep into the earth. It was equivalent to more than ten Clear River provinces.

    Other regions obviously had other Daemon Commanders, and they also covered a territory more than ten Clear River prefectures.

    In reality, because of her identity as a carapaced Daemon General, Lolth¡¯s body was much tougher than regular Daemon Generals, and her three innate abilities covered both offence and defence flawlessly, even propelling her ability to fight and kill to the limit. As a result, her territory was relatively larger.

    ¡°You know me?¡± Li Qingshan was confused.

    ¡°I¡¯ve obviously heard about the strongest Daemon General beneath Lolth. However, no matter how powerful a Daemon General is, they¡¯re still a Daemon General. It¡¯s not too late for you to piss off right now, or I¡¯ll teach you a thorough lesson and have you understand what your identity is!¡±

 Chapter 558 â€“ Above the Marsh

    Overall, it was a little more shallow, but its advantage was its vast area. If he could refine it, then the benefits he would receive might even exceed the Clear river. Perhaps he would be able to accumulate enough power to suppress the ox demon.

    ¡°Is this marsh your territory?¡±

    Li Qingshan reeled in his gaze, directing it at the burly Daemon Commander before him. He refused to believe any Daemon Commander was bold enough to move around on the surface. The Ruyi commandery neighboured the Dragon province, which was the nucleus that ruled over the Great Xia empire. It was not a place remote like the Mist province.

    ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The burly Daemon Commander bellowed, giving no explanation. How dare a measly Daemon General question him!

    At the same time, he opened his mouth to an unbelievable degree and spat out a half-transparent gas. It rapidly moved through the air, stretching into an oval as it flew towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, spread his fingers, and grabbed the gas. He felt a tremendous force applied to his palm, actually causing it to ache slightly. ¡°You really are a Daemon Commander. All of you are quite capable.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± The Daemon Commander¡¯s eyes popped out all of a sudden. The gas was one of his innate abilities. It was so powerful that even Daemon Commanders dared not receive it directly, yet this Northmoon had managed to block it with a single hand.

    He caused Li Qingshan quite the surprise. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to respond as exaggeratedly as a cartoon character!¡±

    The Daemon Commander had no idea what he was saying. The gas pushed hard, but it refused to budge anymore. He suddenly sneered, and the gas distorted violently.

    Li Qingshan felt that an explosive power was about to erupt in his hand. He suppressed it momentarily with the spirit turtle, tossing it behind him casually.

    Boom!

    With a great rumble, a huge pit was created in the marsh from the blast. The fierce wind surged like a typhoon, and muddy water shot off like bullets.

    A tree became riddled with holes before being uprooted by the fierce wind. It flew into the air, rushing past Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan patted his hands and continued with the topic from earlier. ¡°Since this territory isn¡¯t yours, it¡¯s mine. Please piss off, alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind. You better stay here so Lolth can offer up a piece of territory to pay off your ransom!¡±

    The Daemon Commander immediately flew into a rage. He leapt up with his two feet, slamming towards Li Qingshan.

    No different from before, Li Qingshan simply raised a hand like normal.

    Li Qingshan became completely surrounded by the gas.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    When the gas exploded, the Daemon Commander rushed into the centre of the explosion against the wind with a sneer, only to see Li Qingshan maintaining the same posture as before. His arm was raised and his scarlet hair fluttered about. While his body was riddled with many wounds, it was nothing compared to how tough a daemon¡¯s body was.

    After breaking through to the fifth layer of the ox demon, his innate abilities were not the only things that had strengthened. His ox hide had truly become much tougher than before. For the first time, it had surpassed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, becoming his strongest defence.

    The Daemon Commander¡¯s eyes suddenly popped out again. He felt like the battle was going extremely badly. He wanted to halt himself, but there was a flash of scarlet and it arrived before him, only inches away. A hand pressed down on his huge, bald head as an overwhelming and terrifying power was applied down.

    ¡°I said to stop behaving like a cartoon character! If you make me laugh while fighting, what am I supposed to do if I ruin the atmosphere?¡±

    Li Qingshan roared. He gripped the Daemon Commander¡¯s bald head and spun around three times in the air before throwing him at the ground.

    With a boom, the Daemon Commander was thrown deep into the marsh.

    The marsh suddenly swelled. Something seemed to be rapidly growing beneath the marsh, reaching the size of a hill.

    A pair of eyes the size of ponds bulged out, lifting up the mud. It opened its fissure-like mouth and let out a thunderous cry.

    ¡°Croak!¡±

    Li Qingshan exhaled. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s my mistake.¡±

    Within the drizzling rain, a small village sat peacefully between two mountains. The chaotic sound of galloping hooves broke the peace. A group of bandits arrived in the valley and the only one-eyed rider drew his blade and pointed it at the village.

    ¡°Brothers, you wanna do this?¡±

    ¡°We do! We do! We do!¡± the mountain bandits called out together.

    ¡°Steal money, steal food, steal women! We¡¯ll kill anyone who blocks our way!¡± the bandit leader called out as his horse reared.

    ¡°Kill them all! Kill them all!¡±

    At this moment, there was a rustle in the bushes. The bandit leader¡¯s ears caught the rustle, and he called out, ¡°Who¡¯s there!¡± He swung his hand and a caltrop flew out. He was a master of the jianghu who used throwing knives.

    Clang! The caltrop seemed to strike something, flying back out of the bush. The mountain bandits huddled over and swung their weapons wildly. The bush collapsed, but no one was there.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this? It seems like a letter!¡±

    A short, small bandit knelt on the ground and blinked his eyes. Sure enough, a letter laid on the grass. They had no idea what kind of paper it was, as it remained dry even in the rain. A series of words, ¡°For Qingshan; Private and Confidential¡±, were written on it. He extended his hand to grab it and the letter moved, and it moved extremely quickly.

    Only then did the mountain bandits notice what was beneath the letter.

    A skeleton the size of an index finger held the letter. It seemed rather hideous, but with how small it was, there was nothing frightening about it.

    ¡°What is this strange thing!?¡± the bandits called out.

    ¡°It might be a treasure! Capture it!¡± the bandit leader ordered.

    Swish!

    The skeleton turned into a streak of white light and vanished. The short bandits suddenly froze up and a bloody hole appeared on his forehead. What spurted out was neither blood or brains, but white flames.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The white light shot through the bushes and the bandits froze up one by one.

    Within the whinnying sound of a horse, the bandit leader held the reins and slowly backed away. He waved his blade around madly, only to see the tiny skeleton stop right before him.

    ¡°This one has offended the great immortal! Even death cannot atone my offence! Please punish me, great immortal!¡±

    The bandit leader fell off his horse with a thump. He knelt on the ground and bowed his head constantly.

    The skeleton began to swell, becoming a Skeleton Demon several meters tall. It held the bandit leader in its hand with a strange cackle and did not refine him with the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, shoving him into its mouth instead. It chewed with a series of crick-cracks, sputtering blood everywhere.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaargh! Aaaaaaaaaaargh!¡± The shriek alarmed the tiny village between the mountains.

    Thump!

    As it was feasting, the Skeleton Demon¡¯s head tilted and fell to the ground heavily as if a huge, invisible hand had flicked its head.

    The Skeleton Demon climbed back up. Its head spun around a few times and it rapidly shrank, turning back to the size of an index finger. It picked up the letter and dove into the bushes.

    Xiao An gently brought her thumb and middle finger together. Her hand resembled a lotus flower as she sat in the main hall of the An¨¡srav¨¡? temple, gazing at the statue of buddha while listening quietly to the bells. Hidden within her sleeve, the string of shiny, white prayer beads on her wrist was missing a bead.

    Once it got too far, it would take her even more effort to control the Skull Prayer Beads. However, with the Skeleton Demon¡¯s strength, delivering a letter was nothing difficult.

    After recovering her past memories, her thoughts had become even more nimble. In particular, she understood the codes of conduct much better, but with it came many distracting thoughts and mental afflictions.

    In terms of ¡°the ability to comprehend¡±, she instead paled in comparison to the old Xiao An now. Although she had been rather muddle-headed, the pureness of her thoughts were better for comprehension than her newfound cleverness and sensibility.

    She had come before the buddha to purge the cleverness and sensibility and consolidate her will to destroy buddhism.

    She did not want to be her past self. She wanted to forget her past name and only be his Xiao An.

    However, she was lacking something for the second layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, preventing her from breaking through. She needed an even deeper comprehension of the buddhist dharma.

    Xiao An murmured to herself, ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    A huge bullfrog had flipped over, lying on the marsh with its white belly up as if it were a lone island in the endless swamp.

    Li Qingshan laid on the lone island, basking in the sun as he gradually recovered his daemon qi.

    The bullfrog Daemon Commander was a little weaker than the Spider Queen, but he did have an innate ability that could reflect foreign powers. It took him quite the effort to deal with him.

    The bush rustled, and the Skeleton Demon leapt out, flying over to him.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Qingshan cleared away his messy, scarlet hair to the back of his head and accepted the letter from the Skeleton Demon. Looking at the words, he recognised them. ¡°Qiongzhi!¡±

    He immediately opened and read it carefully. His mood gradually grew heavier.

    The letter was not long, but it was written in bits and pieces. There were traces of tears at the bottom. He reached the last sentence.

    ¡°Qingshan, I really want to see you!¡±

    Li Qingshan blanked out for a moment. He felt rather ashamed inside. He had underestimated this uncle Han¡¯s position in Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart.

    His parents had died long ago, and he had grown up in loneliness. He had never experienced any so-called ¡°family affection¡± from his elder brother and sister-in-law. Underestimating the weight of those two words was unavoidable.

    He stood up and imagined her teary, sorrowful face. He was tempted to rush to the Ruyi commandery immediately and stand by her side, but when he looked at himself, all he could do was let out a long sigh. Right now, he could not even suppress his daemon qi. Thinking up to there, he suddenly made up his mind. His gaze became resolute.

    The Skeleton Demon circled around the huge bullfrog as the fire in its eyes shone brightly. It was very interested in such a large chunk of quality flesh. Finally, it could not help itself anymore and swelled to several meters tall, biting down viciously.

    ¡°Croak!¡± The bullfrog let out a frightful cry and leapt several dozen meters into the air, fleeing into the distance in a panic.

    Just when the Skeleton Demon wanted to chase after him, Li Qingshan grabbed its neck and shoved the letter back into its hands.

    He gazed into the horizon and said to himself, ¡°I¡¯ll rush over as soon as I can. Wait for me!¡±

    In the Umbral Yin sect, the Dark Queen took out the souls she had captured. She ignored the pleas and curses from the Marquis of Ruyi and everyone else. They had plenty to enjoy later.

    This was probably the misfortune of cultivators. If mortals died, their souls would return to sa?s¨¡ra, which instead made them almost immortal.

    Cultivators seemed to possess lengthy lives, but that was only if they died from old age. If they were killed in battle, their souls might not necessarily have the opportunity to return to sa?s¨¡ra.

    If their cultivations were higher, then it also meant the cultivations of the cultivators that killed them were higher too. Their souls were basically unable to escape the fate of being captured and killed. This was the so-called true destruction, dooming them eternally.

 Chapter 559 â€“ No Oneâ€™s Allowed to Leave

    ¡°If his soul has remained in the World of the Nine Provinces, that¡¯ll be troublesome. However, in that sealed region, the only place his soul can venture to is the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Has he been sucked into the Hungry Ghost realm, or is he currently facing judgement in the Hell realm? No, with his character and aptitude, he¡¯s probably been accepted into the Asura realm!¡±

    Although the school of the Military had methods to connect with the Asura realm, the Asura realm was boundless, so finding a newborn asura was absolutely impossible. There was nothing for her to worry about.

    She stopped worrying and began torturing and interrogating the souls of the Marquis of Ruyi and everyone else for their cultivation methods. Although it was useless to her, she could offer it up to the Umbral Yin sect in exchange for resources. They were absolutely necessary for a sect to gather.

    Light poured in through the window and into the gloomy hall.

    Han Qiongzhi stood by the window. She finished reading the letter, but she was unable to hide her disappointment. In the end, he had not even given her a precise time. He only said as soon as possible.

    ¡°Qiongzhi, we¡¯re setting off.¡±

    Han Anjun entered the hall. The funeral rites were complete. Today was the day for interment.

    Han Qiongzhi asked a question, ¡°Father, does cultivation come before all?¡±

    Han Anjun said, ¡°Then why else would we be called cultivators? Turmoil is about to erupt. If you don¡¯t have strength, you won¡¯t even be able to protect your own life, just like your uncle. He hasn¡¯t done anything wrong. As a father, I don¡¯t like the way he treats my daughter, but as ¡®fellow cultivators¡¯, I must recognise him.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi shook her head gently and said bitterly, ¡°I understand, I understand. That¡¯s why women are always in the minority in the cultivation community. Men sure are cold-hearted!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not cold-heartedness. It¡¯s just that his greatest passion is not the feelings between a man and a woman. He¡¯s shrouded in a layer of mist, which even I cannot see through. However, his ambitions are anything but small. If you really want to become partners with him, then all you can do is attempt to understand his path. If you share the same path, then that would be for the best. If you don¡¯t, there¡¯s no need to force it either.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was taken aback. Although they had already engaged in intimate contact countless times already, she would still be left at a loss if she was asked what his ¡°path¡± was. In retrospect, she had never been able to see through the layer of mist around him either.

    They interred him in the ancestral grave of the Han family, establishing a cenotaph.

    Outside the cenotaph was a row of simple buildings. All of his blood relatives would stand watch there for a hundred days.

    Han Qiongzhi chose a simple room and walked in. She gazed into the horizon. ¡°I will wait for you and try to understand your path.¡±

    Light shimmered on the Water God Seal. It had gained an area of marsh, becoming even more resplendent.

    The Water God Seal drained all the water spiritual qi that had accumulated in the marsh over the past millennium, all flowing into the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core was like a whale taking in water, absorbing all of the spiritual qi without holding back. However, it still seemed dissatisfied, showing no signs of breaking through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle.

    Li Qingshan exhaled deeply. The Spirit Turtle Transformation determined his cultivation, and it had always taken up more resources than the ox demon or tiger demon. However, he still had never expected the breakthrough to the fifth layer of spirit turtle to actually be so difficult.

    But from a different perspective, this was instead a good thing. The more accumulation he required, the greater the benefits the breakthrough would bring. Currently, the ¡°quality¡± of his daemon qi was already on par with Daemon Commanders, but his ¡°quantity¡± was still insufficient.

    If he could break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle, then both the quantity and quality of his daemon qi would completely surpass Daemon Commanders. Even when he faced those ¡°kings¡±, he would have what it took to speak up.

    Li Qingshan continued on his way. What awaited him was obviously constant battles. Daemon Commanders were extremely territorial and none of them could be dealt with through talking alone. However, none of the Daemon Commanders were his opponent either.

    With how powerful and ingenious his innate abilities were, Li Qingshan used force to triumph over both force and trickery.

    Time passed by. In the blink of an eye, it was already two months later.

    Autumn left and winter came. Snow drifted through the air.

    A river bound in ice meandered along the ground. Beneath the ice, the river water raged.

    A man with scarlet hair ignored the icy-cold climate and travelled on the ice. Wherever he passed by, the ice would shatter loudly, and the slumbering river would toss and turn like a waking dragon, while he was standing on the dragon¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the snowy sky and let out a white breath before gazing ahead again. This river that was no smaller than the Clear river finally reached its end too. He had almost refined it completely.

    If this one was included, he would have refined four large rivers and eight large lakes. These lakes and rivers were all major rivers and lakes that could rival the Clear river and Moon Court lake. There were countless other bodies of water too.

    He was already very far away from the Clear River prefecture now. He had basically followed the twisting rivers and traversed the entire Ruyi commandery. The spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core finally showed signs of filling up, and the fourth layer of the spirit turtle had finally almost been pushed to the peak. Now, both the quality and quantity of his daemon qi had achieved or even surpassed the level of Daemon Commanders.

    However, a new problem arose at the same time. As the spirit turtle strengthened, the pressure that the phoenix faced gradually intensified. It had even become sluggish for him to use the phoenix wings. Once he truly broke through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle, then the balance he had narrowly achieved would probably be broken.

    By then, perhaps the spirit turtle would completely suppress the phoenix and reject this power that was a polar opposite. His cultivation of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a would become even more difficult.

    There was a hint of exhaustion on his face too. Although he could recover his daemon qi through the Water God Seal and he could recover his strength through the Strength of the Earth, he had been constantly battling, refining bodies of water, before battling even more.

    In order to see Han Qiongzhi as soon as possible, he seized every second. He did not relax mentally for even a moment.

    Li Qingshan pondered with his brows furrowed for a moment before deciding to continue on his way. He would refine this river first before deciding what to do next. Right when he was about to refine the river, it suddenly ended in failure.

    Li Qingshan looked back in the direction of the river. ¡°Someone is making trouble upstream! That¡¯s strange. I¡¯ve already defeated this territory¡¯s Daemon Commander. Who can still obstruct me? Have the humans finally responded and sent someone?¡±

    He unfurled the phoenix wings and soared into the sky, arriving upstream very soon. He was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Surprisingly enough, the one that got in his way of refining the river was the bullfrog Daemon Commander he had defeated first. He currently had his mouth wide open as he looked at Li Qingshan in a mocking manner.

    ¡°How bold of you. This isn¡¯t even your territory, so why are you here¡­ Hmm? All of you, come out!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The spirit turtle actually detected a sliver of danger. Combined with the bullfrog Daemon Commander¡¯s arrogant attitude, he immediately understood what was going on and called out.

    The haze in the air twisted, revealing multiple Daemon Commanders. Li Qingshan was very familiar with this move too. It was the innate ability of a Daemon Commander he had defeated a month ago. In order to deal with him, it had taken him quite the effort.

    Sure enough, when he looked at the Daemon Commanders, there were many familiar faces.

    Li Qingshan scanned past them. There were thirteen Daemon Commanders in total, some defeated by him and some he had never seen before. Most of the Daemon Commanders within the Ruyi commandery had appeared.

    They all leered at Li Qingshan as powerful clusters of daemon qi rushed into the air. They were hostile.

    The bullfrog Daemon Commander let out a strange croak. ¡°How¡¯s that, Northmoon? You afraid now? Hand over your Water God Seal and bow to us in apology and we¡¯ll spare your life.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re bold enough to try and kill me?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. Daemon Commanders all occupied their own territories. Rarely did they band together like this, and he had not even seen some of the Daemon Commanders before. He did not have any disputes with them, yet they had actually come to gang up on him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve defied your superiors and encroached upon our territory. Even if we kill you, the dragon king won¡¯t blame us,¡± the bullfrog Daemon Commander said viciously. Laws could not punish too many people. It was impossible for the Dragon King of Ink Sea to punish them over the death of a ¡°Northmoon¡±.

    ¡°I defeated you and spared your life, yet you¡¯re shameless enough to gang up on me?¡±

    Battles for territory among daemons had their own set of rules. Defeat was defeat. This was why Li Qingshan had never gotten Xiao An to assist him, just so he could avoid any Daemon Commanders unconvinced with their defeat and hassling him endlessly. Their actions had basically broken the rules.

    And, rivers and lakes on the surface were not particularly important to them unless they were water Daemon Commanders. As a matter of fact, it did not even count as their territory. There was absolutely no need for them to go to war like this.

    There were far too many things that made no sense.

    ¡°Cut the bullshit!¡± The bullfrog Daemon Commander let out a strange bellow and reverted to his original form. He crouched on the ground and opened his mouth, spitting out a huge bubble.

    ¡°Come!¡± The exhaustion in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes vanished, shining with a blazing light instead.

    In that moment, over a dozen abilities dazzled his eyes. There were direct attacks and abilities to ensnare the opponent. There were far too many to see, let alone dodge.

    Light illuminated the air as streams of air swept out violently.

    Even if a Daemon Commander was sucked in, only death would be awaiting them.

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and struck the space heavily. Around him, black shockwaves dispersed outwards as black cracks spread out like spiderwebs, shattering and tearing apart the countless abilities.

    The phoenix wings unfurled and fire and wind blazed and danced. He created a trail of fire as he broke free from the encirclement.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him escape!¡± Some Daemon Commanders called out.

    ¡°Escape? Hmph!¡± Li Qingshan flapped his wings, approaching the Daemon Commander closest to him in the blink of an eye and used the ¡°Tiger Demon Digs Out the Heart¡± he had not used in quite some time.

    In human form, the Daemon Commander was a stocky, dark-skinned man. Two long, sharp teeth protruded from his mouth as he butted them towards Li Qingshan. He was a wild boar daemon.

    He completely ignored Li Qingshan¡¯s strike. One of his innate abilities was his thick hide. In terms of defence, he was even more powerful than Lolth.

    Clang! Li Qingshan extended the horns on his head and caught the tusks.

    Black cracks coiled around his slender, white arm, piercing the wild boar daemon¡¯s hide and digging out a bloody heart. He directly shoved it into his mouth, chewed it a few times before swallowing.

 Chapter 560 â€“ Mo Yu Appears Again

    He had become even stronger, much stronger than when they fought with him before.

    Over the past two months, Li Qingshan had been constantly refining bodies of water. As he pushed the fourth layer of the spirit turtle to the limit, he could gradually unleash the true power of the fifth layer of the ox demon bit by bit. He grew stronger with each step forward.

    The wild boar daemon shrieked, ¡°If you kill me, the dragon king will never spare you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hands slid past his body and grabbed his wrists. He planted a foot on his chest and pulled hard.

    With a tearing sound, he forcefully ripped off the two stocky arms of the wild boar daemon. Blood sprayed out like geysers.

    The wild boar daemon squealed and fell down. Li Qingshan lunged over and grabbed his heels, placing his foot between his legs before pulling hard again and ripping his legs off.

    The wild boar daemon had lost all of his limbs, but Li Qingshan still did not spare him. He formed a claw and dug it into his abdomen, pulling out a handful of bloody organs before punting him in the head. Brain matter splattered, and he was sent flying.

    The power of tremors then emerged, and the wild boar¡¯s entire body crackled like firecrackers. By now, all of his bones were broken, his limbs were severed, and his organs had been ripped out. He was on his last breath, only remaining alive due to his powerful life force as a Daemon Commander.

    ¡°You better piss off and go cultivate for another century!¡±

    Even for Daemon Commanders, recovering from such severe wounds would be difficult if they did not possess any healing innate abilities.

    Li Qingshan could vaguely guess who was behind this.

    If he killed any of the Daemon Commanders here, he would definitely end up with the crime of murdering a clansmen, and with how he was a loner among the daemons, it was impossible for this to receive a clear resolution.

    By then, the Dragon King of Ink Sea would not even have to take action. He only needed to expel him and probably both the master of the Sword Collection palace or the lord of the Green province would not mind spending some time to kill a threatening wretched daemon.

    Li Qingshan obviously would not fall for this. I can¡¯t kill you, but I can cripple and disable you. I¡¯ll use the most brutal methods possible to make you experience the consequences of opposing me.

    With how horrific it was, the Daemon Commanders all began to consider retreating, but when they remembered that person¡¯s orders, they refused to flee.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get him together! His daemon qi won¡¯t be able to last too long!¡±

    Violent booms and bellows rang out like thunder, reaching hundreds of kilometers away. Light flashed, winds surged, and blood spattered.

    However, under the Strength of the Earth, his physical strength was inexhaustible. He reverted to his original form and used his ox hide alone to endure the attacks, fighting in the most primitive way possible.

    Escape was no longer possible for any Daemon Commander that ended up in his hands. They were all ripped apart.

    Blood poured down like rain, dyeing the ice river red.

    Li Qingshan bathed in blood as his scarlet hair danced. He fought furiously as the ice river beneath his feet broke. He could vaguely hear mad laughter that resembled a tiger¡¯s roar rushing into the air, only to suddenly realise it was his laughter. As a result, he laughed even more violently.

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±

    What clansmen? Isn¡¯t there still endless conflict? I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re from the Daemon race or the Human race. I am a race of my own, and I don¡¯t need to work with anyone. Everyone who blocks my way is my enemy. I will use these hands to rip apart all those who block my path!

    The Daemon Commanders were utterly horrified. As long as they could still move, they no longer cared about anyone¡¯s orders anymore, scattering and fleeing for their lives.

    The bullfrog Daemon Commander reverted to his original form and pushed hard with his feet, leaping over fifty kilometers away.

    An iron hoof descended from above, pushing him to the ground and stomping down on him.

    The bullfrog Daemon Commander struggled desperately. He turned his head and spat out bubbles.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! They blew up small mountains and blasted open huge pits.

    Li Qingshan pressed the bullfrog Daemon Commander¡¯s head into the earth with his hand as his hoof gradually dug into the latter¡¯s skin.

    With a crack, the bullfrog Daemon Commander¡¯s spine was forcefully crushed. He lay on the ground with his limbs splayed out messily.

    ¡°Do you know how I roasted frogs when I was young?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked. Without even waiting for his reply, a black claw plunged directly into his mouth and grabbed a handful of soft tissue, pulling at it messily.

    ¡°Save me, sir Mo Yu!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt a hint of danger. A black shadow in the sky enveloped him. Li Qingshan looked back and laughed madly. ¡°Mo Yu, have you finally run out of patience and decided to take action?¡±

    ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ve brutally abused your own clansmen. Do you know what crimes you¡¯ve committed?¡± The deathly Mo Yu unfurled his black wings and descended from above. This powerful, arrogant prince of the Green province daemons had become even paler now.

    As Li Qingshan had expected, Mo Yu was behind everything, and this was no longer just about jealousy anymore.

    Northmoon made him feel deeply threatened. Not only did he cultivate at a startling speed, but he had managed to overwhelm the Daemon Commanders of the Ruyi commandery as a Daemon General. If he were allowed to continue refining regions of water, probably even he would not be able to keep him at bay once he became a Daemon Commander. It also impacted the struggle for the throne among the Green province daemons.

    ¡°As a daemon, you make me sick to be able to say something so hypocritical! If you find me displeasing, then come kill me!¡± Li Qingshan stood on the bullfrog Daemon Commander beneath him, raised his hand, and spread his fingers.

    Mo Yu stood in the air, staring into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Li Qingshan stared right back at him without holding back. Black feathers began to drift down from above, leaving behind smears of black.

    Li Qingshan dared not be careless. Since Mo Yu could become the prince of the Green province daemons, he was definitely much more powerful than regular Daemon Commanders. He would not be surprised at all if he possessed the ability to contend with regular Daemon Kings.

    He was ready, poised for any attacks that would rain down on him at any time, but the feathers did not fly over and attack him. They simply drifted through the air as if the entire sky had been dyed black. It was filled with an ominous feeling.

    The vegetation on the ground immediately died, their vitality severed, but they maintained a false, verdant impression. They would only wither completely several days later. The wild rabbits hibernating deep underground would never wake up again either.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He clearly possessed boundless strength, yet in that moment, he felt like he was unable to support his body anymore. With a bang, one of his knees dropped to the ground as if his soul had separated from his body.

    His heartbeat became slower and slower, his breathing gradually stopped, and his thought processes halted too.

    This was the feeling of death!

    ¡°Gaze of Death!¡±

    One of Mo Yu¡¯s innate abilities could directly bypass all of the enemy¡¯s defences and directly extinguish their flames of life. People killed by him would all be unscathed. They all seemed like they had suddenly died on the spot.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually stupid enough to exchange gazes with me! I¡¯ll simply kill you right here and then seek punishment from the king!¡±

    While daemons did possess an iron rule that prevented them from killing one another, leading to severe punishment if they broke it, but rules and laws had always just been used to restrict the weak.

    Suddenly, a cry rose up from soft to loud. It possessed beauty that could not be described with words.

    The phoenix wings suddenly expanded to several dozen meters across, and the phoenix that had become rather haggard under the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression blazed with dazzling flames of life under the threat of death.

    The sky full of feathers vanished together. As it turned out, it was merely an illusion.

    Mo Yu was mildly surprised. He had never seen a Daemon General who could put up a struggle against his Gaze of Death. Northmoon¡¯s body contained a powerful life force that clung on persistently.

    ¡°But do you really think you can escape from your fate of certain death like this?¡±

    His black irises flowed like liquid, filling his entire eye. In the blink of an eye, there was not a shred of white left in Mo Yu¡¯s eyes. They were filled with a terrifying, eerie aura.

    The raging flames of life immediately dimmed like a black veil had covered it, suppressing and extinguishing it.

    Black feathers drifted through the sky again like black snow.

    This was a clash between life and death, a battle between the phoenix and the crow.

    The phoenix was a divine bird, but it was far too young and feeble right now such that it was inferior to the crow in strength.

    ¡°You better stop, the two of you!¡±

    A voice rang out, and with a flash, Gu Yanying appeared between Mo Yu and Li Qingshan, blocking their vision of each other and ending their clash.

    ¡°Yanying, move aside.¡± Mo Yu frowned.

    Gu Yanying raised her hand, and a circular Ink Dragon talisman dropped down. The Ink Dragon talisman that an ink dragon seemed to be coiled around suddenly sprung alive. It opened its eyes and looked at Li Qingshan first¡ªLi Qingshan experienced intense pressure, the dignified pressure of a king¡ªbefore looking at Mo Yu.

    ¡°Stop where you should.¡±

    No one knew who he was directing those words towards, but since the boss of the Green province daemons had told them to stop where they should, both Li Qingshan and Mo Yu were forced to stop.

    ¡°You will die!¡± Mo Yu¡¯s lips pulled backwards, revealing that eerie, mask-like smile before producing a strange, sharp cry like a crow. ¡°Caw!¡± His daemon qi plummeted.

    Li Qingshan shivered, but nothing seemed wrong to him.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan was perfectly fine, Mo Yu frowned again. He spread out his black feathers and vanished into the distorting, collapsing darkness.

    Gu Yanying stowed the Ink Dragon talisman away and yawned. She said with her soul sense, ¡°Oi, I¡¯m the White Hawk commander of the Ruyi commandery after all. It¡¯s time for you to run.¡±

    ¡°What did he do to me?¡±

    ¡°The Death Bringer Curse. It¡¯s his most terrifying innate ability. It directly reduces the target¡¯s lifespan depending on their strength and race. That caw of his earlier took away a century of life from you at the very least, but it seems like your lifespan is plenty long.¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. Mo Yu¡¯s ability sure was strange and powerful. If he used it on daemons, then so be it, but if a human cultivator lost a century of life all of a sudden, that was even more terrifying than being stabbed ten times. In particular, a few older cultivators might even die on the spot.

    But as it seemed, Mo Yu also had to pay a price to use this move. He could not use it consecutively, or he would be invincible if he simply cawed a bunch of times the moment he saw people.

    This extremely terrifying innate ability was not particularly effective against Li Qingshan. Like the Chinese saying, ¡°A millennia a tortoise, ten millennia a turtle.¡± even he had no idea how long an almost-godlike spirit turtle¡¯s life span was. Moreover, the phoenix was a symbol of eternal life.

    However, losing a hundred years of life for no reason still left Li Qingshan with a horrible taste in his mouth. Then he asked, ¡°How do I undo the curse?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very simple. Kill him.¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, I could have killed him,¡± Li Qingshan said. However, he also understood that just with the innate ability Mo Yu had used when he left alone, killing him would not be that easy.

 Chapter 561 â€“ The Promised Land

    Gu Yanying shielded her eyes and gazed into the distance. ¡°He sure is fast!¡±

    ¡°Big sis, are you going to just spare the moon demon like this and allow him to continue refining bodies of water?¡±

    A young woman flew over. She had large eyes and thick brows, with a bright and clear expression. If it were not for her swelling chest, she could have easily been mistaken for a boy. She wore the uniform of a Hawk Wolf commander, making her the figure only second to Gu Yanying in the Hawkwolf Guard of the Ruyi commandery.

    ¡°What else am I supposed to do?¡± Gu Yanying shot a glance at her. ¡°Call me commander.¡±

    ¡°Big sis, you can¡¯t go easy on him just because he¡¯s interested in you! Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t that mean you can¡¯t kill a single man in the world? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re actually interested in him, and you¡¯ve even come specially to rescue him?¡±

    Gu Yanying held the girl¡¯s chin and pressed her face up close. ¡°Are you jealous? Even without me, he wouldn¡¯t die here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it.¡± The girl¡¯s face reddened as she shook her head.

    ¡°His powerful reinforcements will arrive very soon. If he can last until that child comes, Mo Yu really might be in some danger.¡± Gu Yanying released the girl.

    ¡°She¡¯s that powerful?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯ve had enough fun, you better return to the Dragon province! The Green province is becoming less and less peaceful. Once you become involved in a battle like earlier, even you will be in danger.¡±

    ¡°Big sis, stop trying to coax me. I¡¯m not returning. The confrontation between imperial brothers and sisters has already led to bloodshed for the position of Marquis of Ruyi. It only shows that the Ruyi commandery is a great place that everyone wants to be in,¡± the girl said seriously. Who knew whether she was joking around or truly ignorant.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming here as marquises, not as a follower like you.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being a follower? I¡¯m constantly under big sis¡¯s care. You¡¯ll have to deal with a monster like the moon demon if you become the marquis. And, my imperial brothers and sisters can¡¯t even obtain this position of a follower even if they want to!¡±

    ¡°Then you better follow me around!¡± Gu Yanying spun around and took off into the air like a white hawk, turning into a white speck in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Wait for me, big sis!¡± The girl followed behind in a hurry, calling out from afar.

    Gu Yanying had not been the only one spectating Li Qingshan¡¯s battle with the Daemon Commanders. There were many other cultivators who used various methods to observe from afar. When they saw how the daemons were suffering from internal strife, they all cheered inside.

    As a result, Li Qingshan continued on his way with refining bodies of water, no longer encountering any obstructions.

    Apart from those peak second heavenly tribulation people and daemons, only the kings who had undergone the third heavenly tribulation could subdue Li Qingshan. There were already very few figures that could pose life-threatening danger to him.

    He arrived at the end of another great river. The surging daemon qi refined the river and the Water God Seal shimmered, now with another thick trajectory.

    Li Qingshan could sense the daemon qi in the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core had already reached the absolute peak. Once he devoured all the water spiritual qi of this river, he would basically be able to break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle. Afterwards, the heavenly tribulation would basically descend upon him.

    Was he going to use this opportunity to break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle, undergo the heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon Commander, or was he going to remain at his current level and wait until the Phoenix Transformation caught up so that water and fire were balanced out and he managed to merge them?

    Li Qingshan considered that question for a while before deciding on the former.

    Normally, he would probably choose the latter. Although the long term benefits were not necessarily better than the benefits right before him, it was not like he was facing any life-threatening danger right now. Proceeding step by step in an orderly manner was obviously the best choice. Focusing on quick successes and instant benefits would only drastically increase the difficulty of cultivation later on, which would do more bad than good.

    But right now, she was waiting for him!

    Li Qingshan began absorbing the water spiritual qi, pouring it into the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core.

    He comforted himself inside, This should also be a form of choice! If I can become a Daemon Commander, I might not be able to oppose the kings, but I¡¯ll be able to protect myself to a certain degree. At the very least, I¡¯ll have the confidence to triumph over opponents like Mo Yu. I¡¯ll basically have a stable footing in the World of the Nine Provinces and can take my time with everything else.

    Li Qingshan gradually shone with a resplendent, blue light, conjuring the figure of the spirit turtle again.

    The eighty-ninth day.

    Han Qiongzhi meditated with her legs crossed. Seeing the window light up, she murmured that inside before opening the window and gazing out, only to discover the sun had not risen yet. It was merely the reflection of the snow. She had actually made a mistake.

    ¡°Sister, stop waiting for that heartless guy. He¡¯s not going to come.¡± A young girl walked over from behind. The days when she had fun with Han Qiongzhi in the garden were gone forever. The pain from losing her father had made her become much more mature all of a sudden.

    ¡°I¡¯m going out for a stroll.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi did not respond to that and left through the door. The world was completely white as huge snowflakes continued to drift through the sky. The graves had been covered in thick snow, turning into mounds in the snow.

    A tall figure walked over from afar, trudging through the snow. He walked in such a familiar way.

    Han Qiongzhi rubbed her eyes and murmured, ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    The tall figure sped up his pace, and Han Qiongzhi could not help but speed up too. They went from walking to running.

    The two figures overlapped, embracing one another firmly.

    ¡°Apologies. I¡¯ve come late.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi buried her face in his chest. Tears had already begun falling down her face like rain.

    Descendants of the Han family emerged one by one from the row of simple buildings and witnessed this. Han Anjun and Han Tieyi were among them too, but they remained silent. All they could hear was the sound of falling snow.

    Under Han Qiongzhi¡¯s lead, Li Qingshan arrived before Han Anguo¡¯s cenotaph. He bowed with respect while holding incense and thought to himself, Uncle Han, I couldn¡¯t save you back then, which I am truly sorry for. I will help out with the matters of the Han family as much as possible. I hope your soul can rest easy.

    His breakthrough to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle had failed in the end. As the water spiritual qi gathered, it pushed the daemon qi in the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core to the very limit, but he encountered an unexpected yet also expected ¡°bottleneck¡±.

    Breaking through with the ox demon required devouring various pills and resources. Breaking through with the tiger demon required frenzied battles to the death.

    As for the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, it was similar to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, requiring the existence of a level of comprehension to break through. At the very least, that was not something that the current Li Qingshan who was bothered with various thoughts could achieve.

    He attempted the suppression with the power of the peak fourth layer spirit turtle. Coupled with the Water God Seal¡¯s support, he finally suppressed the ox demon and tiger demon, turning back into human form.

    However, the suppression had been extremely forced and difficult, such that he was unable to use any of the spirit turtle¡¯s abilities anymore. He could not predict danger with great precision, and he struggled to conceal his aura.

    As a result, whether he was in human or daemon form, he was unable to hide his spiritual qi or daemon qi.

    As for innate abilities like the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, they became even more impossible to use. The mirror clone he had created with the Watermirror¡¯s Image also directly collapsed the moment he made this decision.

    And, he was unable to freely interchange between Li Qingshan and Northmoon anymore. Once he released his daemon qi, suppressing it again would take a tremendous amount of effort. He could basically imagine the spirit turtle using everything it could to suppress the ox demon and tiger demon below itself.

    Li Qingshan exhaled deeply inside. He had made it in time at long last.

    He did not feel any regrets in failing his breakthrough to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle. Instead, it brought him relief. This was the best choice for him. He could slowly cultivate the Phoenix Transformation like this.

    ¡°You don¡¯t mind him coming so late?¡± A young man in black could not help but question. His facial features resembled Han Tieyi slightly. He was one of Han Anguo¡¯s sons.

    The other descendants of the Han family were not particularly friendly either. With Han Anguo¡¯s death in battle, even some family and friends that they were not particularly close with had come and paid respects a long time ago, yet as the son-in-law of the Han family, Li Qingshan had actually done something like this. He made Han Qiongzhi stand watch over the grave alone, only hurrying over when the mourning period was about to end. He was truly as rude as he could be, and it made them feel he was not worthy of her.

    Han Qiongzhi wanted to speak up, but Li Qingshan had already arrived before her. ¡°I won¡¯t apologise, nor will I try and explain myself. The school of the Military doesn¡¯t seem to accept reasons, no matter how eloquent. If you find anything displeasing, just come at me!¡±

    ¡°You!?¡± The young man in black was taken aback.

    ¡°What, afraid?¡± Before Li Qingshan had even finished speaking, the young man launched a palm strike at Li Qingshan. With a thump, Li Qingshan allowed the palm strike to land on his chest. ¡°To think you¡¯re actually a descendant of the Han family with such a weak and powerless attack.¡±

    The young man in black was furious. He no longer held back anymore, using a battle skill and unleashing a barrage of attacks. Blasts of air rushed into the surroundings, sweeping up the snowflakes in the air.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi cried out, but Han Anjun stopped her. ¡°He knows what he¡¯s doing.¡±

    ¡°Have you hit me enough? How useless. Why don¡¯t you all come at me together?¡±

    Li Qingshan stood like a rock in the ocean. Having endured countless horrific wounds before, a Foundation Establishment cultivator¡¯s attacks were basically no different from a scratch.

    Hearing that, the other descendants of the Han family were unable to hold back either. They all joined in, launching attacks at him.

    Li Qingshan also began fighting back. After going through all those battles, he was now returning and fighting with his identity and strength as a Foundation Establishment cultivator. At first, he found it rather unfamiliar and was rather unaccustomed to it, but he developed skill and ease very soon. He pushed the Arts of the Boundless Ocean and Ocean Wielding, the complementary cultivation method and battle skill, to the limit.

    The sky lit up and the sunlight illuminated the translucent, snowy ground. The descendants of the Han family all lay on the ground, gasping for breath.

    Li Qingshan sat on the snow. He seemed rather tired.

    His exhaustion was not an act. After going through several months of battles and refinement, his mind was indeed extremely tired. He had finally managed to hold on until he saw her, and after relaxing, he was unable to hide it anymore. He pushed off his knees and stood up.

    Han Anjun nodded towards Li Qingshan. These descendants of the Han family did not actually hate Li Qingshan or anything. It was just that their emotions had been repressed for far too long, and they needed a battle like this to vent.

    Li Qingshan had given them the battle. He used his own method to pacify their frustration with him while also proving his strength. He did not mind what the people of the Han family thought of him, but he did not want Han Qiongzhi to be questioned so much by her own clansmen because of him. They were her family after all.

    In the gloomy Hungry Ghost realm shrouded in dreary mist and clouds, Han Anguo wielded a crude blade fashioned from the ribs of some unknown animal. There was not a hint of confusion on his face. He was as determined as ever. He swung down with the blade and beheaded a corpse beast.

    At this moment, a blood-red vortex appeared in the space there, rapidly growing in size like a great gate. A voice rang out.

    ¡°True warrior, your soul does not deserve to rot away in this land of death. Come, the endless battle awaits you!¡±

    Han Anguo¡¯s eyes shone. He dove into the blood-red vortex without even looking back.

 Chapter 562 â€“ The Heavens Are So Far Away

    In the dark room, Han Qiongzhi touched Li Qingshan¡¯s face with her hand.

    Before she knew it, the flagrant youth of the past had already become a man. His jawline seemed to become more defined, while his gaze was as resolute as steel. As her father had said, she was unable to make clear of what it was hiding. The reason for exactly why he was so resolute seemed to be a mystery.

    Her instincts told her that during the few years they spent apart, he had been through many things, far more than she could ever know or imagine, enough for him to develop a sense of unfamiliarity.

    He was like a statue. He seemed no different on the surface, but as long as she touched him gently, she could tell. The material he was made from was completely different, such that every single detail had become different.

    Li Qingshan grabbed her hand and said gently, ¡°You¡¯re no different. You¡¯ve become much thinner.¡± And much more mature.

    Han Qiongzhi let out an interjection of agreement and leaned against him in his arms gently. Li Qingshan embraced her firmly as he thought inside, Qiongzhi, I¡¯ve already become very strong. I can protect you.

    Perhaps he was fated to let go of many things on his path to the Nine Heavens, but he refused to let go of this person in his arms. He recalled a line from a movie in his past life, ¡°Who said you can¡¯t roam the jianghu with your wife by your side?¡±

    TL: Referring to the movie ¡°Ashes of Time¡±, released in 1994.

    The room was tranquil. They simply listened to the sound of falling snow outside.

    The two of them spent that night fully clothed, listening to the sounds silently.

    Li Qingshan did not even have a hint of lust. Instead, he felt extremely peaceful.

    In that moment, the battle-hungry, bloodthirsty Northmoon seemed to depart from him. His long-departed heart as a human returned to his chest, giving off warmth.

    Only when the sun was about to rise did Han Qiongzhi hesitate and ask gently, ¡°Qingshan, are you hiding something from me?¡±

    Li Qingshan held her by the shoulders, separating them from one another. He stared into her eyes and nodded gently. ¡°I am.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi found the gaze slightly stifling as she also felt vague hints of fear.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. He had decided to hide it no longer.

    At that very moment, he was unable to tell anything that could deceive her. Even if she were unable to accept it, even if she would run out and disclose this secret to the world, he would accept the consequences calmly.

    The moment he was about to speak, a hand pressed against Li Qingshan¡¯s lips. He was slightly taken aback, only to hear Han Qiongzhi say, ¡°I¡¯m a little afraid.¡±

    She felt like if she learnt about this secret, it would destroy the feeling of peace and tranquility between them and distance them.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it anymore. You¡¯ve refused to tell me this the entire time, so you must have your reason! Tell me when you think it¡¯s appropriate, alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan hesitated for a moment. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Her mind had yet to recover from the sorrow of losing her uncle. If he burdened her with something like that right now, it would probably exceed what she could cope with, which would instead be detrimental to her acceptance.

    For the next few days, Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi frequently trudged through the snow as they roamed through the nearby mountains and forests. Most of the time, Li Qingshan was the one talking, telling her about what had happened after they separated. He no longer wanted to hide anything, so he covered it up without any lies, leaving many ¡°blanks¡± in his stories.

    Most of the time, Han Qiongzhi listened along quietly. She would ask a few questions every now and then, but she would never question him closely as if she was afraid of bursting this beautiful bubble. It only made Li Qingshan want to protect her even more.

    During the other times, Li Qingshan would often spar with the descendants of the Han family in the open space outside the cemetery.

    Watching over the grave was not about being cooped up in the building and lamenting all day long. The school of the Military had never placed a particularly great emphasis on these forms of mere courtesy. As a result, they gradually forgave Li Qingshan for his ¡°rudeness¡±. They would seek guidance from him modestly or gather around him and listen to his experiences with actual combat in the chaos of war.

    The battle prowess that Li Qingshan demonstrated was truly powerful. When he fought, he did not use any one-sided power. Their speed, strength, and spiritual qi was roughly the same, yet he could easily emerge as the victor. This left the descendants of the Han family extremely unconvinced with their defeat, yet they were also forced to admire him. The school of the Military respected and admired the strong.

    In reality, through the constant sparring, the strength that Li Qingshan used decreased as he went. He obviously did not do this just to gain the recognition of the descendants of the Han family.

    Recently, his strength had grown far too quickly. He required some time for consolidation to integrate what he had learnt from the numerous life-threatening battles.

    In the beginning, he was still using the same strength as his opponent to fight, but as he constantly suppressed it, he only used the strength of an early Foundation Establishment cultivator towards the end. He completely cast aside his powerful body as a daemon to train his skills in battle.

    And while his father-in-law Han Anjun was nowhere close to him in terms of strength, he did come from an aristocratic family with a very deep heritage, so his many skills and ideas in battle still allowed Li Qingshan to benefit tremendously.

    They had reached the hundredth day of watching the grave. After this day, they could take off their mourning clothes and return to their usual lives.

    With a thump, Han Tieyi was launched far away. He slid over thirty meters along the ground before coming to a stop, kicking snow into the air. He raised his head, only to see Li Qingshan extending his hand over with a smile. He grabbed the hand and stood up. He could not help but admit that Li Qingshan had already left him behind on the path of cultivation.

    He did not have the support of a clan. He did not have the guidance of a master. He did not even have a proper legacy. Even his primary cultivation method, the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, was incomplete, and he had joined the school of Novels. There really were so-called talented geniuses in the end. As it seemed, it was not without reason that he could stand beside the monstrous Xiao An and be so close with her.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone too soft on him!¡± Han Qiongzhi called out from afar, leading to noise and laughter from the descendants of the Han family, ¡°Big sister Han, you sure are vicious!¡± ¡°A younger brother just can¡¯t compare with your man.¡±

    After all, no one could dwell in sorrow forever. This was not the spirit that the school of the Military advocated. Otherwise, if they lost a fellow comrade in true war and became ridden with sorrow, unable to fight anymore, were they still disciples of the school of Military anymore?

    Han Tieyi was unfazed. He asked, ¡°You should be close to breaking through to late Foundation Establishment already!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m close.¡±

    Similar to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle, he lacked an opportunity and a degree of comprehension. However, with this period of cultivation, Li Qingshan could vaguely sense that the Arts of the Boundless Ocean was close to breaking through, but the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression still refused to budge.

    After all, the difficulty of the two were on completely different levels. They were worlds apart with how they affected Li Qingshan.

    ¡°How fast!¡± Even Han Tieyi could not help but sigh. Since Li Qingshan had said that he was close, then he truly was close.

    Minor realms of cultivation were not as difficult to break through as major realms of cultivation, but they still required a relative amount of time and energy. Every single step forward was extremely difficult.

    As long as Qi Practitioners had the guidance of their masters, the support of sufficient resources and enough talent, basically all of them could reach Foundation Establishment. This was the simplest, first step in the cultivation world.

    Of course, it was not actually that simple. The resources alone daunted many cultivators. The True Spirit pill that played a critical role in the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment was not something every Qi Practitioner could possess. If they wanted to break through by only relying on themselves, it would be far too difficult.

    Only after reaching Foundation Establishment could they be regarded as mastering the basics, allowing them to formally start cultivating. It was also the true beginning of the cultivation world. Even if they had sufficient resources, it would still be riddled with difficulty. Otherwise the large, resource-rich sects like the Sword Collection palace and Umbral Yin sect would not have so few Golden Core elders.

    And, the second heavenly tribulation would not be as ¡°gentle¡± as the first one. If they completely relied on other people or external objects and not themselves, there was a good chance they would die to the tribulation.

    Han Tieyi was only at early Foundation Establishment right now, close to breaking through to mid Foundation Establishment. His talent could already be considered as impressive. He had advanced vigorously under the support of his clan, and he had basically forsaken all leisure, so how could he not sigh over Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation speed?

    In the Academy of the Hundred Schools, there was also someone else who struggled as she crawled through these gates of the cultivation world.

    In the seclusion dwelling below Contention island, the sound of thunder subsided.

    A charred figure twisted about and struggled to her feet. She let out a fit of violent coughing at first, followed by gentle laughter from the depths of her throat. It gradually grew louder until it became hysterical, maddening laughter. She behaved like a cobra raising its head.

    An aged and robust vine climbed out of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body. It coiled around her, and the charred layer on her body peeled off. It was impossible to tell whether it was her clothes or her burnt skin. She was like a black snake shedding its skin. Snow-white skin grew as a colourful little snake slithered happily on it.

    Afterwards came a new round of torture, even at a time like this. No matter when it was, the pain would never be absent. It would only grow more intense, unprecedentedly intense.

    She collapsed on the ground again. Her limbs writhed, like grubs over a fire. It seemed eerie and disgusting, but the more the pain intensified, the more resplendent her smile became. Even the torture from hell was unable to twist her inner joy.

    When all of this settled down, she laid on the ground and lifted an arm into the air, pointing at the stone ceiling above. The Heaven Climbing Vine crawled up along her arm as the hell snake coiled around it, hissing as it flickered its forked tongue.

    ¡°Hehe, the heavens are so far away!¡±

    ¡°Commander, I¡¯ve come to collect the higher cultivation method of the school of Legalism.¡±

    Hua Chengzan currently sat before the window as he dealt with the matters of the school of Legalism when Qian Rongzhi entered through the door and greeted him. She had changed into a new set of clothes, and her regular smile had become even gentler.

    ¡°Rongzhi! Congratulations on reaching Foundation Establishment!¡± Hua Chengzan was mildly surprised before congratulating her with a smile. However, he was astounded inside. Qian Rongzhi was shining with vigour. Her bearing had changed drastically. The sinister feeling had all but vanished, actually giving off a strange sense of charm instead. It left him amazed.

    However, he was not tempted by her at all. Instead, he sighed emotionally inside, She has finally become something even more vicious.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to commander¡¯s fostering!¡±

    After a simple conversation, Hua Chengzan handed the new cultivation method to Qian Rongzhi and carried out a routine explanation. ¡°The powers of the Hell realm are great, but they¡¯re dangerous at the same time. You need to be extremely cautious when you interact and use them. The slightest carelessness can lead to extreme pain. There have been many disciples of legalism who¡¯ve committed suicide out of madness during cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, commander. I will be careful,¡± Qian Rongzhi said modestly.

    ¡°Have you chosen the hell you¡¯ll be interacting with?¡±

    Hua Chengzan could not help but ask when Qian Rongzhi bade farewell and was about to leave.

 Chapter 563 â€“ The Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. The snow had just given away to the sun, and the skies were blue.

    ¡°Thirty!¡±

    Han Tieyi raised an eyebrow. Although he said ¡°hope¡±, his expression was filled with confidence. He did not seem like he was talking wildly, but declaring a simple truth, and nothing about it seemed impressive to him.

    A handful of Golden Core cultivators had already died to Li Qingshan¡¯s hands already, which was why he did not place too much attention to it. His current goal was a beeline to the highest ¡°realm of kings¡± of the nine provinces, so he could not help himself as he gave off a sense of ¡°arrogance¡±.

    The other descendants of the Han family were amazed as well. He was not someone overly dependent on the Han family, but in the cultivation world, the strong would always be respected.

    Han Anjun could not help but study Li Qingshan deeply when he heard that. Thirty-year-old Golden Core cultivators were very rare across the nine provinces. By then, his name would definitely echo through the world!

    Ever since he laid his eyes on him, he already knew he was anything but mediocre and unambitious, but never had he thought there would be a day when he could mention the words ¡°Golden Core¡± so easily. That was an objective even he had yet to reach. If he had to consider for the Han family, having a son-in-law like him was basically a blessing from heaven.

    After Han Anguo died in battle, the heavy responsibilities of the patriarch landed on Han Anjun¡¯s shoulders. Never had his burden felt so heavy before. If it were not for all the Golden Core cultivators of the Ruyi commandery who had died in battle and how the positions of the new Marquis of Ruyi and great general were undecided, the many resources that the Han family took up would have been carved up and taken away a long time ago.

    A clan with only Foundation Establishment cultivators was only a small clan. However, a prodigious figure could change all of that. If Li Qingshan could use this talent to take on a powerful master, then the Han family would be able to brave the turmoil safely. Perhaps they might even end up with more than what they started with.

    The snow began to fall again very soon. In the crooning winds, the hundred days were up, and the descendants of the Han family took off their mourning clothes before the grave.

    Li Qingshan patted Han Qiongzhi¡¯s shoulder. Han Qiongzhi looked back and smiled, but the rims of her eyes had reddened. She rested her head against his shoulder gently.

    At this moment, she sensed something and suddenly looked back.

    She squinted her eyes and peered through the snow and wind, suddenly catching a glimpse of the amazing beauty.

    Her appearance was even more beautiful than she had imagined. She was the epitome of alluring beauty¡ªno, it was not merely her appearance. Her pale clothes were wrapped around her waist by a blue silk band, accentuating her thin, slender figure. Her long, black hair that reached all the way to her knees drifted through the wind.

    A pair of bare feet trudged over the translucent snow, advancing forwards firmly. Whether it were mountains of corpses or rivers of blood, nothing could make her footsteps waver. Her eyes were like deep, still pools of water, gazing straight ahead hollowly, yet also seeming like they took in everything there was in the world.

    Compared to the simple title of ¡°beauty¡±, she possessed a charm that could not be described with words. As a matter of fact, it was even enough for people to neglect her gender.

    Who was she? Why was she here?

    ¡°Xiao An, you¡¯ve come.¡± Li Qingshan looked back and smiled, but a sliver of surprise flashed through his eyes.

    In the past, Xiao An had no concept of clothing. They were merely a layer that covered her body. But now, although she was dressed extremely simply, she gave off a feeling that this was her most optimal attire, radiating with unprecedentedly wonderful beauty.

    As it seemed, it was probably a side-effect left behind from the recovery of her past memories. However, all people had a degree of love for beauty, so it was not necessarily a bad thing.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi exclaimed. How could she connect the person before her to that blank-faced child? Although he had mentioned Xiao An¡¯s changes to her, this was still well beyond her imagination.

    The descendants of the Han family nearby ogled at her. Regardless of their gender, they were unable to shift their gazes.

    Xiao An arrived beside Li Qingshan and grabbed his hand quietly. Her face was as blank as always, but her hollow gaze livened up in that moment as if it expressed everything she was thinking.

    Han Qiongzhi felt like she had been ignored before realising she was not the only one who had been ignored. Instead, it was everyone, the entire world. Only he existed in her eyes.

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time to go.¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed to understand what she wanted and nodded with a smile. He rubbed her head naturally, and she lowered her head slightly. Her red lips curled up, and the world full of ice and snow melted.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked, speaking up to break free from this feeling of being cut off.

    ¡°Oh, I mentioned it to you. The Annihilum Light Chan Master paid a special visit, remember?¡± Li Qingshan explained. Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had reached a bottleneck. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga represented an optimal opportunity to her. He could also complete his promise to Golden Cicada.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving right now!?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi asked in surprise, but she felt relieved inside for some reason. Disciples of buddhist sects like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were clearly forbidden from developing feelings of love, or she really would have no idea what she would do.

    ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll return as soon as possible.¡±

    Li Qingshan hugged Han Qiongzhi and bade farewell again. Seeing how reluctant she was to see him leave, his heart skipped a beat, and he declared loudly to Han Anjun, ¡°General Han, once Qiongzhi¡¯s three years of mourning comes to an end, I will propose a marriage to the Han family again to complete our engagement.¡±

    Han Anjun remained as silent as always. It was different now. No matter what perspective he looked at it from, he could not turn him down any longer.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes immediately pooled with tears. She turned her head away and wiped her eyes against her arm as she let out a smile. ¡°Alright, come back soon. Be careful on the way.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. Clouds rose up beneath his feet, and he vanished into the wind and snow with Xiao An.

    Before he went to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, there was one more person Li Qingshan had to see¡ªGu Yanying. He was still a Scarlet Hawk commander after all. He had not been a particularly diligent worker most of the time, but without his superior¡¯s permission, he could not leave his post without formally submitting a request for leave. And, there was something that he wanted to ask her help for.

    The white cloud landed outside the Ruyi commander, in front of a tall, precipitous mountain.

    The stairs led straight up. Li Qingshan raised his head. At the top of the mountain, a silver hawk spread its wings as if it was clashing with the wind and snow.

    Li Qingshan made Xiao An wait below and climbed up the mountain alone. As soon as he came into contact with the formation, a voice called out, ¡°Who has come?¡±

    The stairs before him twisted with light and shadow, and a man in white appeared out of nowhere.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°The Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture, Li Qingshan, wishes to see commander Gu!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re Li Qingshan. Commander Gu has already given instructions that you can go to the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind to see her when you come.¡±

    The White Wolf guard who watched the mountain studied Li Qingshan curiously. The Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind was where commander Gu cultivated. She rarely ever received guests there, so why did she give Li Qingshan such a great privilege?

    ¡°The Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind?¡±

    The wind and snow vanished before his eyes. The sky seemed to be painted with blue.

    Green lotus pads covered the rippling lake as pink lotuses bloomed between the leaves.

    With a gust of warm wind, the lotus pads rippled up and down, delivering a wave of fragrance like the height of summer.

    The thick spiritual qi and heavy fragrance of flowers merged with the warm winds. It was over ten times denser than the Academy of the Hundred Schools in the Clear River prefecture. Just taking in a deep breath was enough to refresh the mind.

    From the outside, the lake only seemed like a small lake at most, but upon stepping through the formation, Li Qingshan discovered that the lake was extremely large, on par with Moon Court lake. It stretched as far as the eye could see, just like the poem verse ¡°the lotus leaves with their endless green touches the skies.¡±

    TL: The poem is referring to Leaving Jingci Temple at Dawn to Send off Lin Zifang, which you can read an array of different translations in the following links:

    https://hglennie.blogspot.com/2017/12/english-translation-little-pond.html

    https://chinagrep.com/poems/chinese-poem-xiao-chu-jingcisi-song-linzifang/

    http://www.8phd.com/index.php/primary-courses/grade5a/video/346-t3b17

    The lotus leaves and flowers bloomed endlessly against the seasons and against all logic with an unexpected sense of glory.

    The formation that envelops this place is something else. It can actually twist space. It¡¯s probably the handiwork of a ¡®king¡¯, and it can¡¯t be destroyed so easily.

    Li Qingshan thought to himself as he shot across the surface of the lake. He heard the pleasant sound of chimes and flew in that direction, making out a delicate waterside pavilion clustered with lotus pads and flowers very soon. Wind chimes hung from the eaves.

    Compared to the expansive lake, the waterside pavilion was unexpectedly small.

    Gu Yanying walked out. Her long hair reached her waist, drifting gently in the warm breeze. A smile appeared on her face. She lacked a hint of valiance compared to before, actually giving off the feeling that she was at home.

    On the terrace by the lake was a rattan table and a few rattan chairs.

    Li Qingshan did not hold back, personally pulling out a chair and sitting down. Gu Yanying picked up a tea pot and personally poured him a cup, pushing it before him.

    Li Qingshan stared at the tea before him and joked, ¡°If Li Qingshan was just Li Qingshan, would he receive treatment like this?¡±

    ¡°Since when wasn¡¯t Li Qingshan Li Qingshan? It¡¯s just a cup of tea.¡± Gu Yanying smiled and sat down before him.

    Li Qingshan could not help but recall how she had invited him to a cup outside Qingyang city. Back then, he had yet to understand just how great of a distance existed between them. Compared to then, the way she treated him had not changed intrinsically at all.

    To her, it had just been a cup of alcohol!

    She was as composed as before, while he had developed far too many thoughts in comparison. He finished the entire cup of tea and cut right to the chase. ¡°I¡¯ve come to put in a notice for leave with you, commander, so that I can send Xiao An off to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no problem.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something else that I¡¯d like commander¡¯s assistance with. Please pass this Origin Spirit pill to general Han Anjun.¡±

    Li Qingshan had thought this through. Han Anjun was currently at late Foundation Establishment. If he possessed this Origin Spirit pill, his chances at reaching Golden Core would definitely increase drastically. It could also make up for his regret of failing to save Han Anguo slightly.

    However, he was unable to explain the origins of the Origin Spirit pill. It was far more precious than True Spirit pills could ever be.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing major, but I think you should still be the one to give it to him! You can just say I gave it to you. This is quite the lavish gift. Let alone marrying off his daughter, even selling off his daughter might be possible.¡±

    The issue regarding the origins of the Origin Spirit pill that caused Li Qingshan the greatest headache had been resolved as a result. He was obviously willing to accept the good graces that came with it too. Surely it would give him some bonus credit once he told Han Qiongzhi everything!

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°If you have any other troubles in the future, feel free to come and find me. My identity can still be of some use.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He sure was ¡°privileged¡±.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ll have some things that I need your assistance with too. Hehe, just ¡®Li Qingshan¡¯ probably would not receive treatment like this.¡± Gu Yanying stood up and paced around, looking back with a smile.

    ¡°Just mention it, commander.¡±

    Sure enough, there was no free lunch in the world, but Li Qingshan instead preferred this kind of mutual benefit as equals.

 Chapter 564 â€“ To Be Unfazed By Emotion

    A warm breeze arrived. The wind chimes jingled, and the lotus leaves rose and fell.

    Li Qingshan had never seen Gu Yanying with an expression like that. Of course, it was not like they had met a lot of times in the first place. He was curious what could make her so solemn.

    Gu Yanying stood on the side of the terrace with her hands behind her back. ¡°In the past, outside the Boundless mountains, someone had once said something to me. Back then, I didn¡¯t give a reply, as that person did not particularly care about my reply, but right now, I think it¡¯s best if I give a clear reply.¡±

    Outside the boundless mountains! Li Qingshan recalled it. There, he had confessed to Gu Yanying in front of countless people.

    Back then, a great difference still existed between their strength, but today, never had they been so close before. Even if a difference still existed, it was not insurmountable. As a matter of fact, Li Qingshan was even confident that he would surpass her sooner or later and become stronger than her.

    Then, what would her reply right now be?

    Li Qingshan could not help but become rather eager. He checked his surroundings again and felt like he was extremely close to success.

    Gu Yanying bent over slightly. ¡°Thank you for your interest, but I can¡¯t accept it unfortunately.¡±

    So she¡¯s specially called me out just to put me in the friend zone.

    Li Qingshan grinned and had no idea how to react. Although he had vaguely guessed this result, he still felt rather disappointed. He said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m still too weak!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re so weak that you can rival a Corpse King in terms of brute strength with only a single heavenly tribulation. Your luck well surpasses mine, and the rate at which you grow is even more startling. I¡¯m confident that your future strength will definitely exceed mine, just¡­¡±

    Gu Yanying spoke extremely sincerely. She was definitely not trying to brush him aside. She paused there and dipped her index finger in the tea, writing six words on the table.

    ¡°To be unfazed by emotion,¡± Li Qingshan murmured.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°In times of need, we can provide one another with mutual help and relief. We can support each other today, but if any of us leaves the other behind in the future, there¡¯s no need to be overly attached. Even a parting of life and death could be dismissed with a single smile.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable!¡± Li Qingshan nodded. As it turned out, it was not emotionlessness, but being unfazed by emotion.

    For a moment, Li Qingshan had no idea what to say. This woman clearly had something that needed his assistance. Even if he would not agree to it, she could avoid the topic altogether and make use of his affection towards her. Yet, she had to draw a clear boundary between them, leaving absolutely no room for any ambiguous feelings.

    As a matter of fact, if he refused to give up on his feelings for her, it would be downright impossible for them to work together. He could not help but grieve for Hua Chengzan. His infatuation and regretlessness might have been able to move any woman in the world, but it was completely useless against her.

    ¡°You may have a fortuitous encounter and a legacy, but your foundations are too shallow. For example, the many resources from underground. You have always struggled with converting them into your own strength. There¡¯s also the issue of your identity. It can fall apart at any time right now. You won¡¯t be able to hide it from observant and perceptive people forever. I think I can help you out in many of these aspects.¡±

    Seeing how Li Qingshan remained silent, Gu Yanying thought he was still hesitating, so she increased her bargaining chip, solemnly persuading him to give up on meaningless emotions so that he could focus on pursuing the great path of cultivation.

    ¡°I accept, but not because of the various conditions you¡¯ve offered. If others have no interest in me, I¡¯m not one to become entangled with them. I¡¯m going to be a person with a family very soon. Don¡¯t overestimate your charm.¡±

    ¡°Alright. You really are a man I admire.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled and immediately switched out the tea for alcohol. She filled their cups to the brim before clinking hers with Li Qingshan¡¯s, downing it all in one gulp.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You can tell me just what you need my help with now.¡±

    ¡°Now¡¯s not the time. You will obviously know by then. I feel like as long as I give you some time, you¡¯ll become even more powerful. By then, the chances of success will become greater too.¡±

    ¡°If you only help me out with a pile of trifles, yet want me to risk my life needlessly when the time comes, wouldn¡¯t it be very difficult for me to accept?¡±

    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any life-threatening danger. If there is danger, I will state it clearly. You are more than welcome to turn me down. There¡¯s no need to feel embarrassed either, as I won¡¯t insist on a single request. If you are tied down by the favours you owe and do something against your convictions, you probably can¡¯t blame anyone else either.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not lose anything and gained a powerful support instead. The way they cooperated was for her to deliver the goods first before accepting payment. If he felt like it was not worth it, he could even decline paying. There was nothing he could be displeased about, but she left him slightly dissatisfied by not viewing him as a man.

    The two of them stood side by side, gazing at the endless lotus pads.

    Gu Yanying suddenly said, ¡°I won¡¯t fall in love with anyone, if that makes you a little happier.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in a much better mood now.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good then. Sigh, female cultivators just have it tougher than men. Their tribulations of attachments are the heaviest, making it extremely easy for them to adversely impact their cultivation. Even I¡¯m unable to transcend my own gender. As a result, it¡¯s best if I just avoid the danger altogether without being involved in this matter.¡±

    Li Qingshan fell silent for a while before asking, ¡°What if you can¡¯t uphold what you¡¯ve said?¡±

    Gu Yanying only smiled. She raised her head and gazed at the white clouds drifting past on the horizon. A question like that was not worth answering at all!

    Li Qingshan gazed at the side of her face. He could not help but admit that her charm was truly extraordinary.

    TL: Less of a translation note and more of a clarification for the interaction between Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying, as well as Gu Yanying¡¯s philosophy.

    The other thing is how Gu Yanying won¡¯t fall in love with anyone. This does not imply Gu Yanying is afraid of falling in love, or becoming overly attached, or afraid of losing the person she loves¡ªshe¡¯s not afraid of anything in this case. She knows what will happen if she falls in love and this is a conscientious, rational choice she¡¯s made regarding the path of cultivation she¡¯s chosen. Of course, she might just end up falling in love, but the consequences will be far worse than just becoming attached to someone. She¡¯ll essentially be going against the belief she¡¯s been holding onto all this time and the path she¡¯s chosen.

    If you haven¡¯t realised, this is also where her ¡°graceful, unrestrained bearing¡± comes from. She refuses to be tethered down by anything, making her free like the wind, yet also making her seem a little heartless at times.

    Leaving the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, the heavy fragrance of flowers had yet to completely vanish. Heavy snow drifted through the air right before him.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An and rode off on a cloud, heading into the horizon. He did not glance back even once the entire time.

    Sitting on the cloud, he opened the mental map of the Green province. He could still remember the word of advice she had given him, ¡°The Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner.¡±

    He smiled gently. ¡°The nine provinces are like a well, trapping me in here. I¡¯m just a tiny tadpole. I better leap upwards as hard as I can! I can¡¯t let this bird woman look down on me.¡±

    Although riding clouds was nowhere near as fast as flying in his daemon form, it was still extremely fast. He reached the edge of the Ruyi commandery very soon and shot past it without halting at all. It was like he had crossed through an invisible barrier, stepping into a higher land.

    Although there was as much as five thousand kilometers between them and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, Li Qingshan was in no hurry. When he came across any particularly touching sights, he would stop and take a look, witnessing the fine landscape and scenery of many lands.

    Apart from Xiao An behaving differently from the past, the journey was extremely smooth, taking up two days.

    Suddenly, a steep, magnificent mountain appeared on the horizon.

    Li Qingshan passed by many renowned mountains and rivers along the way, but none of them could rival this mountain in bearing.

    It was not particularly tall or large, but it had a solemn bearing to it in the way it stood on the land.

    The mountain was covered with buddhist pagodas, and the halls formed an unbroken chain with eaves that curled up and protruded corners, giving off the sound of chanting.

    ¡°We¡¯re here! This is the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the mental map of the Green province away and descended far away. Regardless of the sect, none of them liked cultivators flying over them. Li Qingshan was confident in his strength, but he was not confident enough to provoke this large buddhist sect.

    At this very moment, the red sun rose up from the east, gilding the entire mountain with a layer of gold.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, gazing at it from bottom to top. The silhouette of the mountain was like a giant buddha sitting cross-legged. The obscure chanting was like the gentle recitals of the great buddha, awakening the people of the world from their blinding obsessions.

    Under the sunlight, the golden hall at the very top gave off rings of golden light like the halo behind the great buddha. It accentuated its dignified aura of holiness, enough for people to drop to their knees and prostrate themselves even if involuntarily.

    He understood why this mountain was called Great Buddha mountain now.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and regained his composure. Looking at Xiao An, her gaze was fixed on the great buddha. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone blazed in the depths of her eyes.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head, and she nodded.

    The two of them purposefully slowed down, passing through the thick forest and arriving on the mountain path.

    Perhaps this could not be regarded as a ¡°mountain path¡± anymore. It was over three hundred meters wide, rising and falling, twisting and turning on the mountain like a dragon, extending towards the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. If this world had not been a world of cultivation, it would be extremely difficult to construct such a path even using the modern technology from his past life.

    Even more shockingly, the great path was covered with travellers. The closer it was to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the denser they became. Just by gazing over, Li Qingshan had spotted over a hundred thousand people; clearly, there were more paths like this elsewhere on Great Buddha mountain.

    Countless men and women, old and young, prostrated themselves with each step, making their way towards Great Buddha mountain. There was even a grey-haired old woman who did the same. Whenever she took a step, she would throw herself onto the ground in prostration such that Li Qingshan even began to worry about whether she could climb back up or not. Beside her was a child, probably her grandson. He still seemed rather muddle-headed, but he still copied the old woman, bringing his hands together and prostrating with each step.

    They did not talk. It was silent and solemn, yet as harmonious as if they were siblings. The sunlight illuminated their faces, which were sincere and determined, glowing with peace and happiness. This was the glow of resolute belief.

    Even non-believers would be influenced by this sight. Li Qingshan also brought his hands together and bowed towards Great Buddha mountain in the distance.

    As a transmigrator, he did not believe in anything, but he did respect the beliefs of others. The life of mortals was filled with pain. Not everyone had the opportunity to become a cultivator or was allowed to attempt to break free from the shackles of fate. Holding onto belief like this was not a bad thing.

    People would always need some consolation. Non-believers would always look down on the word ¡°belief¡±, but they would buy and drink alcohol without restraint, wallowing in the internet, gorging themselves on indulgences like food, sex, or gambling. They were not necessarily more clever than people prostrating to the statue of a buddha.

    Not to mention that buddhas actually existed here. They were powerful figures that possessed great wisdom and great strength. The Western Paradise Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Hell realm Naraka existed as well. Accumulating good karma and being reborn in paradise was all real.

    Thinking up to there, Li Qingshan gained a clearer understanding of what the word ¡°buddha¡± represented. They were existences with powers well beyond his imaginations. He glanced at Great Buddha mountain in the distance again and said to Xiao An with his soul sense, ¡°If they don¡¯t provoke us, there¡¯s no need for us to actively work against them either.¡±

 Chapter 565 â€“ The Chan Monastery of Deva-NÄga

    They were unable to advance any further upon reaching there. Two guardian gods stood to the sides of the gate with great vigour, each wielding a weapon. At first glance, he even mistook them to be two statues.

    But suddenly, their eyes swiveled and landed on Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan¡¯s breathing halted slightly. It really is the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga after all, just the two guardian gods who watch over the entrance of the monastery can make me feel threatened.

    Looking back, there were thousands of buildings established at the foot of the mountain, specially for regular monks to provide guidance to their believers, ranging from residences, arrangements for food, and even the issuing of silver taels.

    Unlike the temples of his past life, a sect like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga did not require the donations of mortals, nor did it profit from the land it owned. It only required mortals to contribute their belief to them. Having accumulated over numerous millennia, just how terrifying of a force would this be?

    ¡°Those standing below the steps, why do you not bow?¡±

    A monk in charge of reception asked loudly from a high wall that resembled the walls of a city. He was already different from those mortal monks. Instead, he was a Qi Practitioner, a true disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Several tens of thousand people were prostrating themselves in the square at the bottom of the mountain, so Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s standing figures stood out very much.

    In particular, everyone who saw Xiao An along the way was left stunned. The young men even forgot to bow, ogling straight at her. Even when the monk for reception saw Xiao An, he could not help but be taken aback before lowering his head in a hurry and muttering ¡°amit¨¡bha¡± a few times.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°We aren¡¯t believers. Instead, we¡¯ve come to see the Annihilum Light Chan Master.¡±

    ¡°Senior uncle Annhilum Light is currently in secluded cultivation and is not receiving guests. It¡¯s best if you return!¡±

    Before the monk for reception could even finish speaking, a streak of golden light suddenly rose up from the majestic halls on Great Buddha mountain, landing at the entrance and turning into an old monk. It was the Annihilum Light Chan Master in the flesh, gazing at Xiao An gladly.

    ¡°One Will, you¡¯ve finally come.¡±

    ¡°Senior uncle Annhilum Light.¡± The monk was taken aback, bowing in a hurry.

    Xiao An brought her palms together in an orderly manner and bowed. ¡°Master.¡±

    ¡°Come with me!¡± The Annihilum Light Chan Master waved his arm, and the huge gate behind him opened loudly. Sunlight poured through, landing on Li Qingshan¡¯s face and making him squint his eyes.

    ¡°The gate¡¯s opening!¡± ¡°The gate¡¯s opening!¡±

    Calls rang out from below the mountain. The gate to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga normally never opened. The disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga all entered through a minor entrance below. The only ever opened the main gate to receive important guests.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master glanced at Xiao An before waving his hand.

    The melodious sound of a bell rang out from the top of the mountain at first, and afterwards, the entire mountain rang with bells, drowning out the chanting and spreading across the entire Great Buddha mountain.

    The monk for reception was stunned. He studied Li Qingshan and Xiao An closely. Let alone two Foundation Establishment cultivators, but even two Golden Core cultivators had no right to receive such treatment.

    The girl seemed to be senior uncle Annhilium Light¡¯s final disciple, but she was a disciple at most, which made her even less qualified.

    Golden light shone brilliantly. The sounds of bells rose and fell together. It was grand and imposing.

    Li Qingshan eased up slightly inside. As it seems, the Annihilum Light Chan Master still views Xiao An with great importance, so he probably won¡¯t allow her to suffer any abuse. Actually, he was purely overthinking. With Xiao An¡¯s current strength, how many people could abuse her across the nine provinces?

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master walked at the front and Xiao An followed closely behind, so Li Qingshan followed along too. The Annihilum Light Chan Master glanced back at him, and Li Qingshan smiled at him, so he said nothing.

    Xiao An followed the light and stepped into the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Her seaweed-like hair and her pale clothes were dyed with a layer of golden light.

    The entire Great Buddha mountain had been disturbed. The various head monks emerged from their courtyards and gazed at the entrance in the distance.

    Among the various head monks, the Annihilum Light Chan Master had always approached matters discreetly, indifferent to most affairs, yet he had done something so conspicuously today, leaving many people astounded.

    He represented the entire Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, presenting a new disciple with a courteous reception and respect. He was also expressing to the entire Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga just how much he valued her, so that no one, not even the abbot of the monastery, should underestimate her.

    But did she truly deserve something like this?

    The buddhist pagodas that stood in great numbers resembled a forest, blocking the sunlight. They glowed with a gentle, golden light, hiding wondrous power. This power was not brutal in any way or form. Instead, it was like the sunlight, the rain, and the dew, silently nourishing the surroundings. It was filled with warmth and benevolence, enough to fill people with admiration.

    They stored the ?ar¨©ras of past, revered monks. ?ar¨©ras were equivalent to the golden cores of regular cultivators. They could only be condensed after undergoing the second heavenly tribulation. Just the boundless forest of pagodas was enough to demonstrate how deep the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s foundations ran.

    He was unable to sense it when he looked at it from afar, but as he stood among them, he could feel their solemn dignity. These pagodas were all over thirty meters tall. Some of them were even larger than Li Qingshan¡¯s original daemon form.

    Li Qingshan thought, These pagodas probably aren¡¯t just for remembrance. Instead, they¡¯ve become part of Great Buddha mountain, probably some form of defensive formation.

    Xiao An did not look around as if she was not walking through a cluster of pagodas and under the gazes of thousands, but walking alone through a spacious forest.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master smiled, while the many observers in the monastery secretly applauded her. This ¡°One Will¡¯s¡± bearing really was something else.

    On the other hand, Li Qingshan looked around like a tourist visiting a historic sight, but he was also unfazed by all the pagodas.

    On the peak of Great Buddha mountain, within the grand hall.

    Li Qingshan had never seen such a majestic hall before. It was like another mountain sitting on top of the mountain. He understood it to be the ¡°buddha¡¯s head¡± of Great Buddha mountain.

    Gazing into the hall, the over three-hundred-meters-tall buddha sat in the centre while overlooking the people of the world. Bodhisattvas and arhats stood beside it, with guardians of dharma, the eight legions, dragons, elephants, and various other buddhist beings and creatures depicted on the walls.

    A monk stood before the buddha with his palms together. He was bald and beardless, and he wore a great, red kasaya. He seemed to be around forty years old, but his eyes were as deep as the sea.

    He differed from Li Qingshan¡¯s benevolent, compassionate impression of monks. The middle-aged monk stood there silently, but he hid a dignified aspect of force. He stood no more than two meters tall, but before the three-hundred-meters-tall buddha, he did not seem small at all. Instead, he possessed a dauntless spirit like he stood beside the buddha.

    He was the current abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Dauntless Monk, as well as one of the ¡°Monk Kings¡± conferred by the Great Xia empire. Beside him were head monks of the various courtyards. They all differed in appearance, some old and some young, some male and some female, some benign in appearance and some sunken and cold in appearance, some with hair and some without hair.

    However, the auras they gave off were all more powerful than the last. Li Qingshan had killed a few Golden Core cultivators in the past, but he would never dare to be careless if he faced any one of them, let alone the ¡°Dauntless Monk¡±. If it were not for his aspirational mindset, he basically would not have even been able to stare directly at him.

    Within the realm of Foundation Establishment, Fu Qingjin from the Sword Collection palace could sweep through them all. Gu Yanying would be unfazed by regular Golden Core cultivators, but even she found the Soaring Dragon Elder who wielded the Soaring Dragon sword to be troublesome. As for the Dark Queen, she had even demonstrated the terrifying strength to crush other Golden Core cultivators right in front of Li Qingshan. Despite all being in the same realm of cultivation, their strength could be worlds apart.

    None of the three great sects of the Green province possessed an undeserved reputation. The Golden Cicada Spirit King had become one of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings several thousand years ago, yet he still relied on luck and schemes to obtain the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, afraid to openly rob or steal it.

    If Xiao An had gone to the Bodhi courtyard with the Annihilum Light Chan Master, this obviously would not have happened. Normally, Xiao An would settle down first before visiting the various courtyards to pay respects to the head monks, and it would even depend on luck whether she could see the ¡°Dauntless Monk¡± or not.

    However, since the Annihilum Light Chan Master had already opened the main gates and rung the bells, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would obviously make a response and test whether this ¡°One Will¡± actually possessed the right to receive such treatment.

    The grander the reception, the more pressure she faced. The Annihilum Light Chan Master told Xiao An to wait outside as he entered the grand hall alone, bowing towards the Dauntless Monk before taking up one of the empty positions.

    As her master, he had already given Xiao An the opportunity. Whether she could grasp it would be up to her. If she succeeded and proved herself, then she would receive endless glory. The entire monastery would support her cultivation. If she failed, then she would have made a laughing stock out of herself, while he would come off as unperceptive and incapable.

    Xiao An nodded slightly towards Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan stuck out his thumb to encourage her.

    She stepped over the high door sill with a bare foot, stepping into the grand hall. She raised her head to gaze at the buddha, lowered her head to look at the Dauntless Monk, before lowering her head again to look at her reflection in the shiny floor. She walked over slowly and sat down on an empty cushion under the gazes of all the monks.

    A monk said, ¡°You see the buddha, yet you do not bow. How rude and unruly of you.¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°I only see statues of stone and clay. Where be the buddha?¡±

    ¡°The light of the buddha illuminates all, bringing salvation to all living creatures. The buddha is omnipresent.¡±

    ¡°All I see is me, not all living creatures.¡±

    Li Qingshan knew they had already begun their debate over the dharma. He did not really understand it, but he could tell how firmly Xiao An stood to her position. He secretly began to worry, Joining the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga peacefully should be the right course of action. Why must she oppose them firmly? This ¡°Dauntless Monk¡± clearly lives up to his name. You can tell with a single glance that he¡¯s not an easy nut to crack. If you irritate him, it probably won¡¯t do you any good.

    The various head monks took turns in putting forth questions, barraging her like a storm. They launched vicious assaults and rebuked her loudly. Xiao An, on the other hand, was unfazed, replying one by one in an orderly manner.

    Li Qingshan suddenly discovered that the Annihilum Light Chan Master simply stood there silently while the corner of his lips curled into a smile as if he was extremely satisfied. Then he looked around and realised that many disciples of the monastery stood quietly outside and listened along with focus, either learning something or being left at a loss.

    As a result, he stopped worrying. So these monks buy into this kind of thing.

    By late morning, convincing arguments were made one after another as they constantly put forward difficult questions. Xiao An answered them with composure, her voice pleasant like the jingling of pearls cascading into a jadeite plate.

    The various head monks were all secretly convinced. With such wisdom and talent, she truly did deserve the most solemn of welcomes.

    The Dauntless Monk who had remained silent the entire time suddenly took a step forward. He erupted with golden light, turning into a guardian king that stood over three hundred meters tall, glaring at Xiao An. He wielded a pillar-like vajra in one hand, and the entire hall suddenly fell silent.

    With a clang, the hall caved inwards, becoming covered in cracks. Clearly, he had truly unleashed the wrath of a guardian king.

    He swung down with the vajra violently.

 Chapter 566 â€“ The Dauntless Guardian King

    The many disciples outside the hall were all shocked and dumbfounded. Even the head monks were completely taken aback, at a loss over why the abbot had become so wrathful.

    The Dauntless Monk launched a powerful strike like a god splitting open a mountain. No one could stop him.

    Has he been secretly observing the entire time and seen through Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, which is why he¡¯s suddenly trying to kill her?

    Li Qingshan rushed into the grand hall, but it was already too late.

    Boom! A wave of air gushed through the hall, producing a hollow whistle as it sent Li Qingshan flying out!

    ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    Li Qingshan was utterly furious. The Dauntless Monk¡¯s strike was so powerful that he could even crush a mountain. Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was powerful, but her cultivation was still low after all, so how could she withstand that?

    Overcome with rage, he no longer cared about anything. He was about to revert to his original form and throw his life at the Dauntless Monk.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    Suddenly, a voice rang out in his head. It came from Xiao An. Li Qingshan calmed down immediately.

    Even if the Dauntless Monk noticed something, he would not launch a surprise attack like this as a man of his bearing. He could easily denounce her publicly before taking action and subduing her. They were in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Even if there were ten Xiao Ans and a Li Qingshan, it would be useless.

    Earlier, Li Qingshan had only been mentally perturbed due to his concern. Once he calmed down, he immediately realised how strange it was.

    The violent winds settled down. The colossal, pillar-like vajra stopped above Xiao An¡¯s head, and the surging hostility vanished completely, like going from a storm to clear skies in a single instant.

    It felt very abrupt, but that only demonstrated that the Dauntless Monk¡¯s control over his power had already reached a highly intricate level, and it also showed he had not used his full strength.

    Xiao An sat on the cushion, her expression as blank as ever. Her seaweed like hair drifted with the wind, and she did not even lean back. She stared ahead with a hollow gaze, completely ignoring the huge vajra. She had basically reached the epitome of being unfazed by no matter what happened before her.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll kill you?¡± The three-hundred-meter-tall guardian king gazed at the tiny Xiao An. The wrath on his face vanished as he opened his lips and spoke with a booming voice, echoing through the entire grand hall.

    ¡°If you want to kill me, I can¡¯t stop you, so fear is useless. If you don¡¯t want to kill me, then why would I fear?¡± Xiao An said calmly.

    The Dauntless Monk asked. However, the true objective behind his strike earlier was not to test whether Xiao An possessed great courage and whether she was suitable for learning the Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King.

    The talent and ability to comprehend that Xiao An had demonstrated was unbelievably high. Even in his youth, he was nowhere close to her. As a matter of fact, it was even possible for her to be the most outstanding disciple of the monastery throughout history. However, there was something he could not make out within her hollow gaze, which caused him hints of fear and alarm.

    Her entire being was like a cluster of nothingness. He was unable to tell what she desired, let alone reach her disposition. If someone like that devoted themselves to buddhism, then they would definitely become an eminent monk of buddhism, but if they possessed demonic thoughts, then no one could stop the misfortunes they could cause. As a result, he took action to test her.

    Apart from purging daemons and demons, the demon-subduing vajra that the Dauntless Monk had swung possessed the power to subdue demonic thoughts. This move was called ¡°A Blow and a Shout,¡± a secret technique within chan buddhism. If her demonic thoughts were weak, then they would directly collapse from the blow. If they were too powerful, then they would be triggered and revealed, allowing him to see what her disposition was like.

    TL: A blow and a shout is an actual thing in Chinese buddhism. It¡¯s basically the master of a monk using a staff to smack his disciple over the head while shouting out, serving as a sudden warning or a reminder for disciples of buddhism. The origin of this story is basically a monk called Lin Ji, who was studying under chan master Huangbo. Lin Ji asked the chan master what buddhism was about, only to be met with a blow over the head from the chan master. Lin Ji put up with the pain and asked again, only for the same thing to happen again. This happened three times before Lin Ji shut up and went to study the buddhist texts himself, becoming enlightened as a result. Of course, the meaning of the phrase has deviated from its origins, so I wouldn¡¯t say to think too much about it.

    However, the end result left the Dauntless Monk rather disappointed. He did not sense any demonic thoughts at all, as if he had just struck air. Was her heart truly without even the slightest hint of wickedness or malice? But that was completely impossible. Only recently-born infants who were not even self-conscious yet could achieve that. Once they grew a little older, greed and a combative drive would arise naturally.

    Or perhaps the cultivation of her mind had reached that stage?

    Even the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Dauntless Monk, was unable to imagine what overwhelming effect the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had on her mentally. Even Li Qingshan still possessed influence over her only because of the impressions left behind in the past, which made her behave a little more ¡°human¡±.

    Other times, she was a skeleton with no appearance or sense of self, neither dead nor alive. She did not fall into the concept of good or evil, wrong or right, so what demonic thoughts were there to subdue?

    Since his test had resulted in nothing, the Dauntless Monk could only accept the fact that a genius like her existed in the world. He guessed that she might have been the reincarnation of some eminent monk, only behaving in such a peculiar way due to the influence of her past life. This was without a doubt the most logical explanation. Whenever the world was thrown into chaos, prodigies would always emerge en masse. Even if there was something wrong with her, he only needed to give her some proper guidance, and he was confident she could return to the correct path.

    However, the Dauntless Monk obviously would not mention everything he was thinking, just in case she developed any feelings of repulsion. He merely went with the flow and mentioned how he wanted to teach her the Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King.

    If she had been a regular disciple, then it would have been a tremendous honour in being tested by the Dauntless Monk alone. Even if he stated his intentions, the disciple would be moved to tears out of gratitude. However, facing a monstrous prodigy like her, even a Monk King like him had to reconsider a few things.

    He was not valuing her present, but her future. If she developed like normal, then a great prodigy was about to rise up, deeply influencing the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga or even all nine provinces. Even the Dauntless Monk could not help but become rather eager about that.

    The monks outside the hall all returned to their senses, becoming filled with amazement and admiration. She had gained the Dauntless Monk¡¯s recognition the moment she joined the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and he even wanted to pass the Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King to her personally. It was such a special honour that he was basically nurturing her like she would become the future abbott.

    The various head monks all changed slightly in expression as well, gazing at the Annihilum Light Chan Master like they had realised something.

    I never thought this Annihilum Light completely devoted to the buddha, who never bothers with secular affairs, would actually scheme so far ahead. I¡¯ve truly underestimated him.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master closed his eyes gently and revealed a smile of relief. He had achieved his objective. From now onwards, no one in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would be bold enough to do anything detrimental to her.

    Yes, while they were all disciples of buddhism, which focused on a benevolent mind, conflict still existed wherever people existed. Apart from a conflict of interest and authority, there was also a conflict of ideologies and orthodoxy. Even the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was not all filled with good will towards one another. There were quite a lot of disagreements between the head monks.

    The Bodhi courtyard possessed quite the status in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but the Annihilum Light Chan Master hated taking part in these conflicts and disputes the most, so it was a lone force. Like how trees that protruded from the forest would always be the ones blown down, it was very likely for Xiao An¡¯s exceptional talent to incur jealousy and antagonism.

    Although he disliked conflict, the Annihilum Light Chan Master still possessed great wisdom, so he came up with a way to deal with this problem once and for all, which was for her to join the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with infinite glory. Then, she would gain the Dauntless Monk¡¯s recognition in front of everyone, earning her an aloof status in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    The Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual that Xiao An practised in the past was only a foundation. If she continued upwards, there were guardian kings of fire, guardian kings of strength, and other forms that each had their own purposes.

    The Dauntless Monk practised the Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King. His dharma name was not originally ¡°Dauntless¡±, but by now, everyone only knew him as the ¡°Dauntless Monk¡±. They had completely forgotten his original dharma name already.

    Cultivation methods that ventured past the third heavenly tribulation were the ultimate knowledge of this world. They were methods that each sect kept as a secret to themselves, and they would also have the guidance of seniors who practised the same cultivation method. Something as great as that was basically a great opportunity that regular cultivators could only come across through luck.

    However, Xiao An hesitated for a moment before bowing gently. ¡°I wish to learn the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    ¡°The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    An uproar arose from outside the grand hall. The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga was the highest, most secretive cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Normally, only the head monks of each courtyard had the right to practise it. Even regular elders did not possess that right. She was a new disciple, yet she was still dissatisfied with the abbot personally teaching her the Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King, wanting to learn the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga instead.

    Even the buddhist disciples who focused on cleansing their minds of desires could not help but experience envy. They refused to accept this. They all found her overly greedy, unable to appreciate what was right before her.

    Li Qingshan grew nervous too. His main objective of coming to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was for the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga. If he brought the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga back to the Golden Cicada Spirit King, then apart from completing his promise of the past, the Golden Cicada Spirit King might even offer him some benefits from being put into a good mood.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King wanted to leap out of the well, but there were many things he could not take with him. Even if he only left a fraction of them to Li Qingshan, it would be a great treasure.

    ¡°Do you really want to learn it?¡± The Dauntless Monk dispersed the avatar of the dauntless guardian king and furrowed his brows slightly. The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga was renowned, but if she really did learn it, it was not necessarily more practical than the Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King that he could personally teach her. Why was she neglecting what was right in front of her for something much further away?

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao An said firmly. Her foundation was based around the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty in the first place. The Dauntless Scripture of the Guardian King might have been precious, but compared to the former, it was nowhere close. It was not essential to her. The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, on the other hand, was a cultivation method she could unleash, and it was more useful to her.

    ¡°Alright, I can promise you that,¡± the Dauntless Monk said resolutely before diverting the conversation, ¡°However, you need to undergo the second heavenly tribulation and condense a ?ar¨©ra before you can unleash the power of the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga. I¡¯ll teach you the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga then.¡±

    He obviously could not teach the treasured cultivation method of his sect to a disciple who had just joined. As a result, he set down a condition. No matter how great her talent was, undergoing the second heavenly tribulation was not something she could complete overnight. It would allow him to carefully understand her disposition and nurture her loyalty to the monastery.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Xiao An agreed without hesitation. She was only a step away from the second layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. As long as she cultivated for a while in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and overcame this obstacle, she could basically undergo the second heavenly tribulation. By then, as long as she had the support of sufficient resources, condensing a ?ar¨©ra was just a matter that would occur naturally. She could basically imagine she would never lack resources in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Afterwards, the Dauntless Monk specially arranged a place of cultivation for her, isolating her from the other disciples, just in case she influenced them with her appearance.

    Normally, if buddhist cultivators could not even control a hint of lust within them, they would be better off directly jumping off Great Buddha mountain. However, her beauty was far too powerful, just like the legendary daughters of m¨¡ra that obstructed the path to enlightenment. Disciples who lacked sufficient mental cultivation could be influenced very easily.

 Chapter 567 â€“ The Demon Suppression Hall

    Noticing the Dauntless Monk¡¯s hostile tone, he purposefully mentioned his identity as a Hawkwolf guard to make these monks reconsider what they wanted to do to him.

    The Dauntless Monk asked, ¡°Who allowed you to set foot in here?¡±

    ¡°The Annihilum Light Chan Master-¡± Li Qingshan looked towards the Annihilum Light Chan Master, but never did he expect the old monk to not be looking at him at all. His head was lowered as he gazed down, remaining perfectly silent. His heart lurched. Crap, I¡¯ve been duped by this monk.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master had never permitted him to follow along, so obviously he would not admit to it right now.

    Xiao An said, ¡°He came with me. He didn¡¯t know the rules of the monastery, so please forgive him, abbot.¡±

    The Dauntless Monk could not help but glance at Xiao An deeply. This was the longest she had spoken for apart from when debating over the dharma ever since she set foot in the grand hall. Even when she spoke with him earlier, she had reduced her words to the bare minimum.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°The ignorant have no crimes. Please forgive me, masters. I will leave right now.¡±

    The Dauntless Monk¡¯s gaze swept past the Annihilum Light Chan Master and Li Qingshan and seemed to understand something. He said, ¡°This is the inner courtyard of the monastery. Only disciples of my monastery have the right to set foot in here. If outsiders enter here without invitation, then it is viewed as intrusion, and they will be executed without mercy.¡±

    Li Qingshan was startled. Surely these monks don¡¯t need to be so vicious!

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master said to the Dauntless Monk with his side facing him, ¡°Abbot, he did indeed come in with me. Although I never gave him permission, his crimes do not warrant death. Since only disciples of the monastery can set foot in here, why don¡¯t we just accept him as a disciple? That¡¯ll be the best of both worlds.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitched, finally understanding what this Annihilum Light was scheming.

    He¡¯s clearly afraid I¡¯ll influence Xiao An¡¯s cultivation, so he just downright tricked me into entering the monastery so that he can turn me into a monk. By then, all I can do is reduce my desires to nothingness and give up on drinking and sex. And, if I become a disciple of the monastery, he can obviously do whatever he wants with me. Sure enough, if they aren¡¯t bald, they aren¡¯t vicious, and if they¡¯re aren¡¯t vicious, they aren¡¯t bald.

    However, he was unable to approach this forcefully either, just in case it led to a schism with her. As a result, he came up with this brilliant plan, killing several birds with one stone. It would be quite a rare opportunity for Li Qingshan to join a sect like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with such ease too. Although Li Qingshan¡¯s talent was not as monstrous as Xiao An¡¯s, he was still a genius, which was a good thing for the monastery.

    The Dauntless Monk nodded. ¡°That is an idea.¡±

    ¡°Definitely not. I already have a family, and I need to carry out my duties as a Hawkwolf guard. I really can¡¯t just set aside my responsibilities.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, only to see Xiao An had actually become eager over this prospect. He smiled bitterly to himself. You¡¯re so clever, yet you¡¯ve actually become so blinded right now. They¡¯re doing this to separate us. Why would they let me see you whenever I want?

    ¡°In other words, you don¡¯t want to?¡± The Dauntless Monk furrowed his brows. If he were a White Hawk commander, then he would care a little more, but a measly Scarlet Hawk commander was absolutely nothing.

    ¡°Yes. I have never cultivated good karma in my life, with a special liking towards conflict and sins. I tamper with all of the indulgences and vices, whether it be alcohol, sex, greed, or pride. When the masters discussed the dharma earlier, I didn¡¯t even understand a single word. If I remain in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, I¡¯ll probably disturb this peaceful, pure land of buddhism. I better go!¡± Li Qingshan turned around to leave as soon as he finished.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never cultivated good karma in your life, and you have a special liking towards conflict and sins. Hmph, imprison him in the Demon Suppression hall until he repents and mends his ways!¡± The Dauntless Monk ordered. Two huge, mighty guardian gods flew down from the walls on the side, pressing towards Li Qingshan.

    This seems to be the handiwork of the school of Painting. The two guardians in the paintings are probably even more powerful than regular Golden Core cultivators.

    Only now did Li Qingshan notice the wall painting around the grand hall. The divine generals, demons, monsters, and protectors were all true to life, extending from the walls to the highest part of the ceiling.

    He vaguely found it rather familiar. Shifting his gaze, he noticed a bright, red seal the size of a table on the western wall, expressing three words, ¡°Five Absolutes Immortal¡±. The wall paintings were actually by the legendary Five Absolutes Immortal, and they had accumulated several millennia of power of belief, making them even more powerful than they were originally.

    Xiao An suddenly stood up and stood in front of Li Qingshan, blocking them.

    ¡°The monastery has its rules. No one is exempt from them. If you want to stick up for this person, then you can enter the Demon Suppression hall and reflect on yourself too!¡±

    An idea flashed through the Dauntless Monk¡¯s eyes, and with a wave of his hand, even more guardian gods flew down from the wall paintings. Li Qingshan clenched his fist before loosening it again, placing it gently on Xiao An¡¯s shoulder.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master blocked the guardian gods and arrived before the two of them. ¡°Come with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances and followed the Annihilum Light Chan Master. They left the grand hall, and under the gazes of the disciples of the monastery, they made their way to the back of the mountain.

    ¡°Monk, how dare you screw me over!¡± Li Qingshan questioned the Annihilum Light Chan Master aggressively through his soul sense.

    ¡°The Demon Suppression hall is not a place of punishment, but a place of cultivation. Take care,¡± the Annihilum Light Chan Master only said that before ignoring Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan had researched many things about the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga beforehand. He knew the monastery had a special Disciplinary courtyard. If disciples ever did wrong, they would obviously be sent there to be punished, and the head monk of the Disciplinary courtyard would keep an eye over them, so why were they being sent to some Demon Suppression hall instead?

    Just what did the Dauntless Monk have in mind with this?

    ¡°Is this the Demon Suppression hall?¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived at the back of the mountain with the Annihilum Light Chan Master. In a peaceful valley, the mossy, stone pillars formed a simple gate. It was very large and grand, but it was close to falling apart.

    In front of the gate, a fat monk snored away thunderously on a great, grey rock. His bare belly rose and fell like a small mountain. He gave off a heavy scent of alcohol and still held the leg of a lamb in one hand.

    Li Qingshan dared not be careless. This monk who ate meat and drank alcohol did not emit any aura at all, but with the senses of the spirit turtle, he knew he was no weaker than the Dauntless Monk.

    The fat monk opened an eye and glanced over. ¡°Annihilum Light, why¡¯ve you brought them here?¡±

    ¡°Senior uncle Unraging, I¡¯ve come under the abbot¡¯s orders to send them into the Demon Suppression hall for reflection.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Unraging Monk rolled over and asked with a chuckle, ¡°So what did you do?¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed that the great, grey rock he was lying on was engraved with the three words, ¡°Demon Suppression hall¡±.

    ¡°Your abbot wanted me to become a monk, and I refused.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, interesting, interesting. If I had such a beautiful girl, I¡¯d never be a monk too. Why must senior brother make things difficult for you?¡±

    The Unraging Monk glanced at Xiao An and patted his belly. All of his fat jiggled as he laughed.

    The laughter was extremely infectious. Even Li Qingshan could not help but smile. ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga really should have a master like you as their abbot instead.¡±

    The Unraging Monk shook his great big head around like a rattle-drum. ¡°How uninteresting would that be? Hmm? This girl seems to be a disciple of buddhism.¡±

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master gave a rough explanation of everything that had happened. The Unraging Monk studied the two people before him as if he was in thought as he maintained a wide smile the entire time. He muttered to himself.

    ¡°You¡¯ve never cultivated good karma in your life, and you have a special liking towards conflict and sins. You do have quite the courage to say something like that in front of my senior brother. Why don¡¯t you just become my disciple? It¡¯ll save you a trip into the Demon Suppression hall. Under me, apart from sex, eating meat and drinking alcohol isn¡¯t particularly forbidden. How does that go again? The buddha passes through my belly, but alcohol and meat remain in my heart.¡±

    TL: The saying is a slightly incorrect version of what Ji Gong had once said. Ji Gong is known to openly eat meat and drink alcohol despite monastic codes and stumbles from place to place in tattered and dirty robes, but he is kind-hearted and always willing to help out the common people if they are in need. The full, correct saying is, ¡°Alcohol and meat pass through my belly, but the buddha remains in my heart. If the common people were to imitate me, it would be no different from sinking into the demonic path.¡± More on Ji Gong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ji_Gong

    ¡°Senior uncle, you¡¯ve gotten it the wrong way around,¡± the Annihilum Light Chan Master reminded. A sliver of surprise had appeared on his wrinkled face. The Unraging Monk was a great buddhist cultivator who had undergone three heavenly tribulations. His status in the monastery was so great that it completely exceeded the various head monks.

    However, his words and actions were twisted, and he did not abide to the buddhist precepts, spending most of his time guarding the Demon Suppression hall. Originally, with his cultivation, no one could stop him even if he wanted to leave the monastery, but he instead chose to stay behind and guard the Demon Suppression hall. Just like that, a century had already passed with him guarding the place.

    He found it troublesome, so he never had any disciples before, but never did the Annihilum Light Chan Master imagine he would actually mention accepting a disciple today. That was an astronomical opportunity. If Li Qingshan had such a master, he might not be able to run amok through the nine provinces, but if anyone wanted to touch him, they would have to consider the consequences.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the same.¡±

    As the Unraging Monk spoke, he fished out a great gourd of alcohol and took a few gulps before passing it to Li Qingshan.

    Sniffing the overflowing aroma, Li Qingshan took a small sip. He felt like liquid fire had just flowed through his throat and into his belly. There was a fiery pain, as well as an indescribable sense of satisfaction. He had actually never tasted such strong alcohol before, and it contained extremely dense spiritual qi.

    Li Qingshan could not help but suck hard, yet alcohol flowed endlessly out of the gourd. He drank several litres in one gulp, yet there was still no end in sight.

    ¡°That¡¯s some great alcohol, but I don¡¯t want to be a monk.¡±

    Li Qingshan drank over fifty litres of alcohol before placing down the gourd, wiping his mouth as he said that. He was hiding a great secret. With the divine powers of the spirit turtle, even great cultivators of the third heavenly tribulation could not see through him, but once they spent some time together, he could not say for sure that he would be able to keep this secret. By then, they would go from master and disciple to enemies.

    ¡°Damn brat, why¡¯d you only tell me after drinking!? Forget it then, you better pay a visit to the Demon Suppression hall!¡±

    The Unraging Monk had only thought of that spontaneously. If Li Qingshan refused, he would not care either. He extended a finger.

    The stone gate opened loudly, revealing a murky cave that gave off a gloomy sense of coldness. Peering inside, it seemed bottomless. The feeling it gave off was somewhat similar to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts as if it led to another world.

    The Unraging Monk swung his hand, and a tremendous but gentle force swelled up behind them. Li Qingshan flew into the cave helplessly and so did Xiao An.

    In the air, they linked their hands as they hurled into the Demon Suppression hall.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go too deep or too far!¡±

    The Unraging Monk¡¯s voice rang out from behind, growing more and more distant until it became so indiscernible that it sounded like it came from thousands of kilometers away.

    The stone gate slammed shut, and the voice was cut off. All light vanished.

    ¡°Senior brother, aren¡¯t you afraid that this one-in-a-millennium genius will experience danger in the Demon Suppression hall?¡±

    The Unraging Monk yawned and turned around. Before they knew it, the Dauntless Monk was already standing beside the grey rock with his hands behind his back.

    ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t venture too deeply into the Demon Suppression hall, what danger will there be? If she were to die so easily, then she wouldn¡¯t be a prodigy anymore. I want to test her disposition again.¡±

    The Dauntless Monk answered. Although the result of his testing had ended with nothing, the sliver of unease remained in his heart.

    However, Xiao An¡¯s behaviour earlier allowed him to discover an opening¡ªLi Qingshan.

 Chapter 568 â€“ Within the Demon Suppression Hall

    Several thousand years ago, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had once produced a buddhist genius known to be unrivalled, yet in the end, the monastery suffered tremendous losses, almost falling into decline. With this as a lesson, how could the Dauntless Monk afford to be careless? He asked the Unraging Monk again, ¡°And why do you want that kid as your disciple?¡±

    ¡°I just find him pleasing to the eye,¡± the Unraging Monk said as he chuckled. He could sense something special from Li Qingshan.

    Just when the Dauntless Monk wanted to ask further, the Unraging Monk said, ¡°Look, they¡¯re already there.¡±

    It was as if they had been sucked into a black vortex, reaching the bottom of the water, passing through and setting foot in a different world.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An stood hand in hand. They looked around, only to see they had already arrived in a magnificent room. The ground was layered with golden tiles, while gold leaf covered the walls, detailed with graceful patterns. It resembled an imperial palace, forming a clear contrast with the gate that was close to falling apart.

    However, when Li Qingshan studied the surroundings carefully, he discovered this was not an imperial palace, but a prison.

    The room they were standing in was a cage. Before him was a row of glistening bars, blocking the path out, while opposite of the bars were similar rooms.

    Li Qingshan walked over and pushed gently. With a clank, the prison door opened.

    He arrived in a wide passageway, which was also beautifully decorated, but on the two sides of the passageway were various cages of different sizes.

    Li Qingshan asked in confusion, ¡°Why is the Demon Suppression hall built like a prison?¡±

    When the Demon Suppression hall was first constructed, it did indeed function as a prison. The monks of the monastery would capture and subdue demonic cultivators, throwing them into the Demon Suppression hall to be detained, giving them the opportunity to turn over a new leaf.

    However, during the several millennia since the Great Xia empire was established, the world experienced peace and tranquility, and demonic cultivators faded away from public sight. The conflict between good and bad ceased to exist. Even if cultivators made trouble, there was the Hawkwolf Guard that could capture them or hunt them down. There was no need for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to do anything.

    True, large sects would always remain vigilant. They were aware of the nature of bloody conflict of the cultivation world. They would never be corroded away by the false impression of ¡°a peaceful world¡±. They ground their blades constantly, ready to confront bloody conflict at any time. If buddhist scriptures, dharma, and benevolence were the only things they had relied on, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would have been destroyed countless times already.

    While internal competitions could maintain a competitive mindset, it was nowhere near true conflict. As a result, whether it be the Sword Collection palace or the Umbral Yin sect, they all established facilities like these.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    A shrill shriek rang out from the end of the passageway, filled with pain and refusal. It echoed throughout the magnificent prison, enough to send chills down the spines of people.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed as he withdrew his aura. He flew over to the end of the passageway with great speed and agility, only to see a group of people kneeling on the ground, huddling into a group. Fresh blood flowed out between them, dyeing the golden tiles red.

    Among them was a child around seven or eight with his guts spilling out. They were grabbing his innards and shoving them into their mouths. The child was still alive, putting up a desperate struggle as he shrieked in pain and hatred.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed. The group of people looked over, all covered in blood and hideous. It basically resembled the classical scenes of zombie films from his past life.

    But to Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, they did not lunge over immediately. The burliest man among them even wiped the blood from his mouth as he asked, ¡°You a newcomer?¡±

    The tone of his voice was rather strange, but he was clearly intelligent and not a mad, wild beast. Yet, he behaved like he was not doing anything wrong at all. The child continued to scream. It was truly as strange as it could get.

    ¡°Release him!¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback before shouting out coldly. He had never thought something as tragic as cannibalism would happen in the renowned Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. These monks were far more vicious than he had imagined them to be.

    ¡°Do you want some?¡± The burly man¡¯s expression changed, but his tone seemed like he was talking about a pig or a lamb, not a child.

    At this moment, Xiao An arrived too, standing beside Li Qingshan. The burly man¡¯s eyes lit up, filled with undisguised lust. His crotch actually responded immediately, and he stood up without the slightest hint of shame.

    The other men were no different. They opened their mouths and drooled. They were clearly people, yet they seemed to become wild beasts in the heat all of a sudden.

    ¡°Is that woman yours? Give her to me or die!¡±

    The man pointed at Xiao An and said to Li Qingshan. Before he had even finished, there was a bang, and his head exploded like a watermelon. Brain matter and blood covered the golden walls nearby.

    ¡°You better use your head before you talk!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled back his leg as he said that.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    The other men lunged over wildly. Veins popped from their bodies, their muscles bulged, and teeth protruded from their mouths, producing howls like wild beasts.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The group of people all collapsed as headly corpses. Blood flowed on the ground with broken bones and brain matter splattered everywhere.

    Li Qingshan was bewildered. These people had bodies far tougher than regular people, but they also did not seem like cultivators. They could not even be regarded as wild beasts. Wild beasts would always flee when they faced danger, but they seemed to be completely under the control of their urges.

    The child no longer shrieked. He propped himself up and extended his hand, covering his belly and shoving all the organs and intestines back inside. His life force was unbelievably tenacious. Afterwards, he threw himself at a headless corpse nearby and began ripping away at it, not for revenge, but purely because he was hungry and wanted to eat something.

    Li Qingshan found this all absurd. He actually had no idea what to say. After the child had his fill, the wound on his belly had basically recovered completely.

    The child asked rather bashfully, ¡°Thank you for saving me. Can I follow you?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Who are they? Why were they¡­¡± Li Qingshan paused for a moment. ¡°Eating you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Duoge. This is my dad. I don¡¯t know the others. Why were they eating me? Obviously because they were hungry!¡± The child called ¡°Duoge¡± pointed at the first man that Li Qingshan had killed with a kick and answered innocently.

    Afterwards, he waved his arm around and advertised himself. ¡°I can fight for you. If you get hungry, you can eat me too. My flesh is very tender.¡± His eyes swivelled craftily, and he pointed at the corpses on the ground, including his father¡¯s. ¡°These are enough to eat for many days!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt mentally overwhelmed. These ¡°people¡± were not powerful, but the things they did and said was horrifying. It proved that their natures were twisted to the limit, so hideous that it was repulsive.

    A father had brought a group of people to eat his child. The child treated his father as food. If any regular people were present, probably even their view on life and values would be heavily impacted.

    Actually, there had indeed been many disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga who were unable to endure the mental pressure when they undertook trials in the Demon Suppression hall, thus losing their minds and going crazy. With such flimsy willpower, they were not worth treasuring no matter how talented they were.

    Is it just because they¡¯re trapped in here and they have nothing to eat, which is why they kill and devour one another? No, it¡¯s not that simple. These people carry out these things like that¡¯s simply how the world works. They aren¡¯t bound by any form of conscience, nor are they tortured by so-called humanity.

    The Dauntless Monk had been observing everything inside the Demon Suppression hall the entire time. He discovered that Xiao An had remained unfazed the entire time. Even the light in her eyes had not rippled. This was no longer just simple indifference or coldness, but disregard. She disregarded the bloody sights and disregarded the horrific feasting.

    The Dauntless Monk had no idea whether he should be happy or worried. Everyone wanted their disciples to have firm willpower, but with how firm hers was, it was rather eerie or even terrifying. It completely exceeded her age. There was only one thing he could be certain about. She did not have a so-called ¡°heart of compassion¡±.

    As for this Li Qingshan, he had not been soft-handed at all. Originally, the Dauntless Monk had considered whether he should remind them that the beings standing before them were not truly humans, but looking at it now, it was completely unnecessary.

    ¡°Duoge, do you know if there¡¯s an exit somewhere?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked. Although he knew the Dauntless Monk would not let them go so easily, he still had to try and find the exit himself.

    Duoge said, ¡°There¡¯s no exit. Once you come in, you can never leave.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then aren¡¯t there any special places?¡±

    Duoge hesitated. Li Qingshan said immediately, ¡°Take us there!¡±

    Duoge dared not decline. He picked up a corpse and pointed at the other corpses. ¡°It¡¯s very far away from here. You better bring those along to eat on the way!¡± He was worried Li Qingshan and Xiao An would run out of things to eat and eat him instead.

    ¡°Leave the corpse behind! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    As a result, Duoge tossed the corpse behind and strode ahead to lead the way. He glanced back reluctantly. That was not an attachment to his father, but an attachment to food.

    ¡°There¡¯s meat!¡± ¡°There¡¯s food to eat!¡±

    Soon after they had left, another group of people arrived, throwing themselves on the ground and eating. They gorged themselves happily.

    The prison was like a maze. The passageways twisted and turned and forks constantly appeared. The area it covered was so great that it even exceeded Great Buddha mountain. This was definitely not a regular hall built underground.

    They constantly came across others along the way. Basically all of them were young men, who lunged over like bulls in the heat as soon as they spotted Xiao An. All of them possessed tremendous strength, and they moved as swiftly as the wind. They could basically rival Iron Plate corpses.

    Li Qingshan obviously killed his way through them without holding back. He discovered some of them possessed deformities, showing that they were clearly non-human, such as swellings on their foreheads, bulging backs, discoloured skin, and sharp teeth and nails. Normally, the more prominent their deformities were, the more powerful they were.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s doubts also grew heavier and heavier. Just what kind of people were they? Why had they become like this? And why were they imprisoned in the Demon Suppression hall?

    The further they went, the stronger the enemies became. Some of them even exceeded the level of Corpse Soldiers, approaching the strength of Corpse Generals. He could not help but recall the Unraging Monk¡¯s warning.

 Chapter 569 â€“ Demonfolk

    Xiao An¡¯s voice rang out in Li Qingshan¡¯s head. Li Qingshan continued forwards like nothing had happened at all. ¡°Then are you supposed to show some kindheartedness?¡±

    ¡°Tricks and guises won¡¯t be able to fool him. This is fine, but I can find some opportunities to use some buddhist techniques and dismiss his worries.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. So far, Xiao An had yet to fight. Since she wanted to demonstrate some techniques, it obviously had to be on opponents that were powerful enough, so they had to continue onwards!

    Along the way, basically everyone they came across was male, who rushed over crazily as soon as they saw Xiao An. They basically came across no females. According to Duoge, females were too weak, so most of them had already been eaten. As for him, his father was already doting on him very much by only eating him now.

    Li Qingshan was unable to comment on this form of doting. They turned around another corner, and an indigo man lunged over with a swift gust of wind. The power and speed behind this lunge was so startling that it had already reached the level of Steel Plate corpses, and his target was Duoge leading the way at the front.

    Duoge cried out. Li Qingshan twisted his right arm and created a vortex-like sucking, drawing Duoge over. Afterwards, he pushed out conveniently, and the vortex turned into a water tornado with a whistle, piercing the man and tearing him to pieces. Flesh and bone scattered everywhere.

    It had been quite a few years since Li Qingshan began fighting and killing. He had claimed countless lives with his hands.

    However, rarely had it been more hardcore than the time he had spent in the Demon Suppression hall. His strength was far too great now. A casual strike of his could tear bodies apart, sending organs flying everywhere. It was an extremely bloody sight to behold.

    However, the thin, dark-skinned Duoge, only seven or eight years old in appearance, would cheer every single time with a face filled with excitement.

    Li Qingshan forbade him from taking corpses with him, so he scooped up the flesh messily and shoved it into his mouth, eating away happily like he was snacking.

    There was nothing Li Qingshan could do either. He could not be bothered with stopping him.

    The child was born with a demonic nature. He had absolutely no concept of good and bad, right and wrong. Or perhaps, all the people here were like that, bearing no resemblance to those who grew up in human society.

    However, if they were savages that grew up in the wilderness, they should not have been capable of such clear thought and language. And even wild beasts were not so savage.

    He really had no idea where the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had found these people. He did not mind judging people in the most pessimistic manner possible, but the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was still an orthodox buddhist sect after all. Surely they would not go as far as to capture these people and then turn them into something like this!

    Duoge raised his head and looked at Li Qingshan in veneration. ¡°Venerable, are you a Demon General? You¡¯re so powerful even without demonifying!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m a human. What¡¯s demonifying?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a human!¡± Duoge took a step back in fright. He had always thought Li Qingshan was no different from him.

    ¡°What¡¯s so scary about humans?¡± Li Qingshan was stumped. This child was not even afraid when he saw Li Qingshan massacre his clansmen, yet he actually became afraid when he heard he was a human.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell me!¡±

    ¡°I heard¡­ I heard that humans are extremely lowly and kindhearted. They like to do foolish things like helping others selflessly, and they feel no shame in that, taking pride in it instead. They constantly attack us under that belief. They want us to become as foolish and lowly as them.¡± Duoge faltered.

    Why was kindheartedness grouped with loneliness, turning it into a word of negative connotation?

    Li Qingshan rubbed his head. He found it rather painful to understand. This was no longer merely evil, but a complete reversion of right and wrong, as if under their ideology, anyone who did good and made personal sacrifices would be extremely disgraceful and foolish.

    He vaguely understood the meaning behind the Demon Suppression hall now. If these people were not suppressed here, every single one of them would be beings of great wickedness outside.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I just save you earlier? Isn¡¯t that taking pleasure in helping others? Doing what¡¯s righteous?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, definitely not. I can help you lead the way, and I can help you fight. If you¡¯re hungry, you can even eat me. This is all within your calculations. This is definitely not taking pleasure in helping others. You¡¯re very clever and very powerful, a demon among humans of great wickedness and evil!¡±

    Duoge paled in fright as he trembled in fear, justifying himself in a hurry. In the end, he even extended his thumb and gave Li Qingshan the honourable title of a ¡°demon among humans.¡±

    The feeling was like someone asking you, ¡°You think I¡¯m a bitch, an idiot, and a piece of trash?¡± It was very difficult to not take that as an infuriating threat.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched, and he forced out a happy expression. He sucked in a deep breath and raised his head, yelling at the ceiling.

    ¡°Release me! I¡¯m completely unqualified to be in this Demon Suppression hall!¡±

    Compared to this child, he felt like he could be considered as a peerless well-doer¡ªoh wait, that was a curse here.

    The Unraging monk laughed aloud, while the Dauntless monk shook his head. ¡°These demonfolk are as dense as always. They don¡¯t know they should repent and mend their ways. Even this little demonfolk is filled with wickedness.¡±

    ¡°Demonfolk are planted with a demon heart the moment they¡¯re born. Their five skandhas, their five aggregates of clinging, blaze brightly. They have no concept of good and bad, completely inverting right and wrong. Probably only the buddhas of the Western Paradise can lead them to salvation. It¡¯s well beyond what we are capable of. There¡¯s no need to lose your temper over them, senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Junior brother, we might not be able to lead them to salvation, but we can exterminate these nemeses of buddha. We can halt their growth and prevent them from making even more trouble. We can¡¯t view them as humans, or become softhearted because of their age.¡±

    The Dauntless monk said as he seemed to indirectly warn the Unraging monk. The Unraging monk laughed aloud, but he said nothing.

    Their voices echoed through the long passageways, but there was not a single reply.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh and asked Duoge, ¡°What¡¯s the demonification you speak of?¡±

    ¡°All demonfolk can demonify, just like this!¡±

    Duoge clenched his fists, and his small face became bright red, even letting out straining sounds. In the end, only the colour of his eyes changed slightly, and his body loosened. Eagerness filled his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯m still too young. Once I grow up, I¡¯ll definitely become an extremely powerful Demon King.¡±

    ¡°Demonfolk, Demon King¡­¡± Li Qingshan murmured. If he did not consider these strange words and actions, then Duoge behaved no different from regular children. They wanted to be scientists, presidents, and so on.

    Li Qingshan patted Duoge¡¯s head and no longer said much more. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going. Are there any stronger opponents here?¡±

    ¡°Venerable, you truly are a brutal and vicious demon among humans. The place we¡¯re going to has a lot of powerful people to kill!¡± Duoge¡¯s eyes lit up and admiration filled his face.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard my grandfather mention that it actually doesn¡¯t matter even if you¡¯re a human. As long as you have a demon heart, everyone can become demons. You will definitely become a powerful Demon King in the future.¡±

    He was solemnly trying to comfort Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan shook his head with no idea how to respond. He waved his right hand gently, and a rolling cloud rose up, lifting up Duoge as well. Afterwards, he said, ¡°You just have to lead the way. We can get to the place you speak of faster.¡±

    The cloud took off with a swish. Duoge leaned at the front, constantly giving out directions. The cloud shot through the maze-like Demon Suppression hall just like that.

    They flew past thousands of cages. Li Qingshan could imagine the past, dignified glory of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga suppressing daemons and demons when this place had been filled with prisoners. After thousands of years of rest and recuperation, the monastery had only grown stronger. If he revealed his identity, he probably would not be able to escape the fate of being suppressed.

    ¡°Demonfolk¡± appeared before them one by one. If they did not block their way, then Li Qingshan ignored them, but if they were bold enough to block their way, Li Qingshan would not be bothered with taking action either. He would just fly right through them.

    He could modify the toughness of the cloud he rode on, and it moved with startling speed. Anything that was struck by it would have its bones shattered as blood sprayed into the air. However, with how tough these ¡°demonfolk¡± were and how powerful their life force was, who knew whether they actually died or not.

    The passageway gradually widened, and the twists and forks gradually decreased.

    However, more and more ¡°demonfolk¡± appeared, all of them growing stronger and stronger. Some even wielded weapons like blades, spears, swords, and halberds, and they became even more disfigured too.

    The advance of the cloud obviously slowed down too.

    Bang! The cloud smashed into a blade-wielding ¡°demonfolk¡±, and his blade flew into the air.

    Duoge leaned out of the cloud, and with a scoop, he caught it. He tossed aside the bone club he had recently obtained and placed the bloody, long blade on his back, but it was even longer than him, so it formed quite a funny sight. However, he was very happy, as innocent as a regular child who had found a beloved toy.

    Li Qingshan felt rather sorrowful. He was not a person overflowing with sympathy, but he would always be a little softer towards children. Children were always so feeble and vulnerable, completely bound by their environments. They were unable to fight back if they were abused, and they believed everything that people told them, whether it was true or not. By the time they had grown up and could make decisions for themselves, they would have been twisted beyond all recognition already.

    Perhaps I was reminded of my past self!

    Li Qingshan exhaled and rubbed Duoge¡¯s head. Duoge¡¯s head shrank back and turned away, cautious and uneasy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. As long as you don¡¯t have any ill intentions towards me, I won¡¯t kill you, nor will I eat you. I¡¯m not demonfolk, but a foolish human.¡±

    Duoge tried to say something, but he had no idea what to say!

    A pair of huge, gilded doors appeared at the end of the passageway. Over a dozen strangely-shaped demonfolk gathered around it, either sitting or standing on the ground. Between them were two demonfolk fighting desperately as the others on the side cheered on.

    ¡°Kill him! Kill him!¡± At the same time, the others eyed them covetously, ready to feast on the flesh of the loser. When they saw the cloud approach, they all looked over. Only the two demonfolk in the centre continued to brawl with one another furiously, tearing at each other¡¯s bodies viciously with their sharp teeth like two rabid fighting dogs.

    A demonfolk originally sat on the ground and leaned against the gilded door. Suddenly, he stood up. His height had completely exceeded that of regular humans. He was riddled with muscle, standing like an iron tower. He had a crown bulging from his head like a beetle¡¯s horns.

    The ¡°beetle demonfolk¡± emerged from the ground, striding towards Li Qingshan with heavy steps. The other demonfolk all formed a path for him. Only the two demonfolk continued to tear at one another.

    The beetle demonfolk did not even look at them, striding right through the two. Squelch! Crack! Blood spattered and bones shattered. The bodies of the two demonfolk were squashed apart, but the upper halves of their bodies still embraced each other firmly, ripping away at one another as hard as they could.

    The beetle demonfolk arrived before Li Qingshan. His eyes shone with lust as he stared straight at Xiao An. Thick drool spilled out of his mouth.

 Chapter 570 â€“ The Demon Suppression Statuary

    ¡°Woman!¡±

    The beetle demonfolk let out a furious roar, and his skin turned blue. The crown on his head protruded, extending into a huge horn that rammed towards Li Qingshan viciously.

    ¡°Venerable, be careful! He¡¯s demonfied!¡±

    Duoge called out. If Li Qingshan died, then only death would await him too. He would not be able to escape the fate of being eaten.

    Li Qingshan casually caught the horn. The beetle demonfolk continued to advance, but he felt like a mountain was standing before him, utterly immovable.

    Li Qingshan pulled gently, and the beetle demonfolk felt an irresistibly tremendous force pull him over against his will. Afterwards, he felt his neck tighten, and Li Qingshan had already wrapped his other arm around his neck.

    Li Qingshan pulled gently with both hands, ripping his skin and flesh open, revealing pale-white bone. Blood spurted out like a geyser. He forcefully ripped off the beetle demonfolk¡¯s huge head and tossed it into the air like a basketball.

    With a thud, it landed against the gilded door, smashing to pieces and becoming stuck there.

    The several dozen demonfolk roared furiously, all demonifying and killing their way over.

    A while later, the corpses of demonfolk were scattered across the ground, and the blood had even formed a thin layer. Only the two demonfolk left with the top half of their bodies continued to tear at each other mindlessly.

    Li Qingshan walked over to the gilded door and kicked them aside. They slammed into the golden walls with a splat, reduced to mincemeat. They merged as one as they slowly slid down.

    ¡°Duoge, what¡¯s behind the door?¡±

    ¡°A lot of very powerful demonfolk, but no Demon Generals. Demon Generals can¡¯t seem to come up?¡± Duogo rummaged through the beetle demonfolk¡¯s chest excitedly.

    Demon General? They¡¯re probably equivalent to Corpse Generals! Li Qingshan pondered for a moment. ¡°Can¡¯t come up? You mean there are more prisons down below?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I fled my way up from down there, or I would have been eaten long ago.¡± Duoge buried his head in there as he searched, without even minding when his face became caked in blood. ¡°Hmm? Why isn¡¯t it here?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought of the Unraging monk¡¯s warning again¡ªDon¡¯t go too deep or too far.

    I see now.

    The Demon Suppression hall did consist of only a single floor. According to what Duoge said, the weaker demonfolk would all flee to the top floor out of a fear of being eaten, while the strongest demonfolk were probably all suppressed as low as possible.

    ¡°How many floors are there?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Li Qingshan only saw a black, tumour-like object in Duoge¡¯s hands. There was a hint of green, and at first glance, it resembled a hideous, shrunken head. It gave off a strange aura with a hint of sweetness within the stink.

    He could not help but feel disgust as if he had just witnessed blasphemy, rot, and filth, smelling the very embodiment of sins.

    ¡°This is a demon heart.¡± Duoge licked his lips.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no interest in eating some unknown object removed from someone¡¯s head. Although it contained power, the power would bring him no benefit at all. If he ate it, he would probably require the power of the spirit turtle to suppress and purge it.

    ¡°Can you award it to Duoge, venerable?¡±

    ¡°Eat it if you want!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, venerable!¡±

    Duoge was overjoyed. As if he was afraid Li Qingshan would change his mind, he shoved the demon heart into his mouth in a hurry and gulped it down. He almost even choked, only managing to force it down by thumping his chest.

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk both saw this. The Dauntless monk said, ¡°How foolish. This will only strengthen this little demonfolk¡¯s demonic nature.¡±

    Li Qingshan pressed one hand against the gilded door and slowly drew the Heavy Water sword. ¡°Little Duoge, what¡¯s the most offensive curse word among demonfolk?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good person!¡± Duoge said after some thought.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face stiffened. ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Pushing hard, the gilded doors opened extremely quietly.

    The first thing that Li Qingshan saw was a pair of widened eyes, glaring right at him. His heart lurched violently, and all of his hairs stood on end. He was truly alarmed.

    There¡¯s actually such a dangerous enemy here!?

    However, once he settled down, he discovered it was not a living person, but the statue of a demon male in his prime, standing over a dozen meters tall. He was bare-chested, revealing his sturdy body. He wore a pair of shorts below.

    The statue was not looking at him. Instead, it gazed upwards, looking at the sky.

    However, it was far too life-like. The emotions that it contained were so intense that it seemed to spring out vividly, which was why Li Qingshan was put under a false impression.

    The demon pale spread his arms as hard as he could. His face was viciously twisted, his veins bulged, and his teeth protruded. His ten fingers turned into claws as if he was undergoing ¡°demonification¡±, about to take on an invisible opponent in a great battle.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not a demon! He¡¯s a human!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s attention was completely drawn away by the statue. Only when he heard the sounds in the surroundings did he return to his senses. Around the statue was a huge, circular square. Including the doors behind him, there were a total of nine gilded doors around the square.

    As it seemed, this was the very centre of this ¡°maze¡±.

    Looking at the square, over a dozen demonfolk stood around here and there. The aura every single one of them gave off was even greater than the beetle demonfolk from before. They maintained their distance from one another, all focusing on the statue of the demon.

    For once, there was a female demonfolk among them. Clearly, the strong were revered regardless of their gender. There was no food here, so the only way to survive was to devour one another.

    Xiao An¡¯s appearance led to a series of restlessness. Greedy and hungry gazes were cast over one by one.

    However, compared to the regular demonfolk, they clearly had better control over their desires. They studied Li Qingshan as they tried to estimate his strength. If Li Qingshan were a weakling, then what awaited him would be a hellish sight.

    Li Qingshan scanned around, but he looked at them like they were already dead.

    He sucked in a deep breath and stressed every single word.

    ¡°You- are- all- good- people!¡±

    There was a commotion among the demonfolk. They all stood up as if they had just been severely insulted.

    Seeing how it was effective, Li Qingshan grinned and continued, ¡°Your whole family are good people! You¡¯ve been good people your whole lives!¡±

    The demonfolk all sank into rage. They demonified and rushed over.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze instead skipped over them and landed on the statue of the demon again. He noticed something, He¡¯s not demonifying. It¡¯s the exact opposite. He¡¯s resisting demonification.

    The demonfolk arrived right before him, and the Heavy Water sword became over thirty meters long¡ªSiege Breaking strike.

    Li Qingshan gripped it firmly with one hand as it whistled out horizontally, cutting through seven powerful demonfolk. Sword qi erupted in their bodies, tearing them to pieces.

    Li Qingshan clearly saw the shockwave from the sword qi being blocked by an invisible barrier when it reached a few meters away from the statue. He understood something else. The statue is probably the centre of the hall.

    Li Qingshan strode forwards. With a flick of his wrist, the Heavy Water sword whistled back.

    As if he had pulled a veil of blood over him, sprays of spurting blood bloomed before him. Countless bloody, dismembered corpses swept past like a storm.

    Li Qingshan simply ignored all of this. He only raised his head and continued to stare. The demon¡¯s eyes are not filled with fury, but pain.

    Just what was this statue hiding?

    Only the female demonfolk rushed towards the gilded door opposite of Li Qingshan. She was not under the control of lust, and her desire to survive had triumphed over her fury.

    Li Qingshan tossed over the Heavy Water sword without even looking. It sailed over as a blue arc, passing through the demonfolk¡¯s body before returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    The demonfolk froze up and exploded.

    Li Qingshan finally arrived before the stature. From this perspective, the demon male was extending his arms towards the sky.

    ¡°He¡¯s not fighting anyone, but praying. Praying for what? To who?¡±

    ¡°I heard that as long as you can understand the secret in the statue, you can escape from here,¡± Duoge said suddenly.

    ¡°The statue possesses some kind of cultivation method.¡±

    Xiao An arrived behind Li Qingshan and said firmly.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and nodded.

    He was not a supreme genius like Xiao An, but the feeling that the statue gave him was far too familiar.

    When brother ox had passed the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine to him, he had used a similar method. The eight demonic and divine figures still remained in his sea of consciousness, and they definitely hid an inheritance greater than what the statue before him offered.

    He had already comprehended the true spirit of the ox demon and tiger demon from the figures. Now that he looked at this statue, he felt like it was not too difficult to understand.

    ¡°Impressive. He actually managed to notice the Demon Suppression Statuary with a single glance.¡±

    The Unraging monk chuckled. When regular people saw the statue, they would only think it was a relatively more vivid and realistic statue. Who would have thought it would actually be hiding something else.

    ¡°Noticing it is one matter. Whether he can comprehend it or not is another.¡±

    The Dauntless monk said without approval, but he was rather perplexed inside. Li Qingshan did not come off as a person with an exceptional ability to comprehend, so how had he managed to notice the secret in the statue at first glance?

    The existence of the Demon Suppression Statuary was a secret that was no longer a secret in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Among the past disciples who entered the Demon Suppression hall for trials, plenty of them had been talented and bright, noticing the existence of the Demon Suppression Statuary. However, never had anyone managed to comprehend this cultivation method. They could not even comprehend the simplest first layer.

    Even with the Dauntless monk¡¯s current level of knowledge and cultivation, he could only detect part of the statue¡¯s very essence, unable to truly comprehend it.

    It was rumored that this cultivation method was not prepared for the monks of the monastery, but for the demonic prisoners who were once locked up here. It required people with an extremely strong demonic nature to cast aside their wickedness and repent, going from the demonic to buddhism.

    However, this clearly was anything but simple. Not a single demonfolk had managed to comprehend it over the past few millennia.

    The Unraging monk put forward a question. ¡°If he really comprehends the Demon Suppression Statuary, what are we supposed to do?¡±

    Speaking of which, the Demon Suppression Statuary was the greatest cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Even the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga paled in comparison. However, because no one had ever managed to practise it throughout all these millennia, it was not renowned. If an outsider managed to learn it, then¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s utterly impossible!¡±

    The Dauntless monk said flatly. Over the past few millennia, whether it were the monks of the monastery or the demonfolk imprisoned here, there had been countless figures of extraordinary intellect, yet none of them managed to comprehend the Demon Suppression Statuary. How could a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator like him achieve that?

    Even if he truly possessed an exceptional ability to comprehend and understand, he was a Hawkwolf guard, so what demonic nature could exist within him? If there was no demonic nature, what demons was it supposed to suppress?

 Chapter 571 â€“ Remorselessness of the Demon Hear

    The Unraging monk shook his head with a smile. ¡°The human heart is deep and deceptive. Normally, it only shows the tip of the iceberg, and it¡¯s bound by common customs and courtesy, making it even more unpredictable. With how cruel and ruthless his attacks were earlier, I don¡¯t think they were only to triumph over the opponent anymore. Everyone has a buddha nature within them, but everyone also has a demonic nature within them. You can¡¯t deny that, can you, senior brother?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t deny that, but if his demonic nature truly is so unbearable, why would he be so kind to the cannibalistic little demonfolk?¡± The Dauntless monk pointed out. Duoge was currently searching for the demon hearts scattered across the square with his head lowered.

    Demon hearts were made of something different. They were the only remains not destroyed by Li Qingshan¡¯s sword qi.

    ¡°Perhaps he has always been suppressing the demonic nature within him.¡±

    The Unraging monk said, but even he himself felt it was quite unlikely. If one¡¯s demonic nature could be suppressed so easily, then the world would be filled with kind-hearted people. Why would they still need the Demon Suppression Statuary?

    Never did they think that Li Qingshan was constantly using the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, a cultivation method even more wondrous and powerful than the Demon Suppression Statuary, to suppress his demonic nature. Otherwise, he would have become a demon a long time ago.

    Xiao An stared at the ¡°Demon Suppression statue¡± and shook her head before long, giving up on comprehending the Demon Suppression Statuary it contained.

    ¡°What, even you can¡¯t comprehend this cultivation method?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously. He had never seen anything that could stump Xiao An.

    Xiao An said, ¡°The statue is a part of the entire Demon Suppression hall. It¡¯s called demon suppression and not demon slaying or demon purging, which only demonstrates the creator of this place didn¡¯t create the Demon Suppression hall to kill or torture. He had a heart of benevolence.¡±

    ¡°The cultivation method it hides should be for the people of the demonic path and the demonfolk imprisoned here so that they can suppress their demonic nature, becoming aware of their errors and turning back from their wrong path. I have no demonic nature within me, so I can¡¯t practise it.¡±

    Outside the Demon Suppression hall, the Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk exchanged glances. They were both surprised. In a short while, she had seen through the objective of the creator of the Demon Suppression hall, as well as the function of the Demon Suppression Statuary. It was unbelievable.

    However, neither of them believed what she said about how she had no demonic nature. She was clearly directing it towards them.

    ¡°I understand why you¡¯re so cautious now, senior brother.¡± The Unraging monk shook his head, and his smile vanished for the first time.

    With such wisdom at such an age, it would either be a great blessing or a great curse for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to have her as a disciple.

    However, they did not know that Xiao An was not lying.

    Although she possessed unbelievable talent for cultivation and comprehension, there was no so-called ¡°demonic nature¡± within her as she was almost emotionless and without disposition. Even if she could comprehend it, she could not practise it.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty could be regarded as a path that led from buddhism to the demonic. It was the exact opposite to the Demon Suppression Statuary. She never had any demons in her heart to suppress in the first place, while Li Qingshan was different.

    It can suppress one¡¯s demonic nature. Can it be used to suppress the ox demon and tiger demon?

    Li Qingshan came up with an idea. After reaching the fifth layer of the Ox Demon Transformation, he often had a feeling he was unable to keep it suppressed. Forcing the suppression took him quite the effort, both mentally and physically. If he could learn the Demon Suppression Statuary, would it help out?

    And, the level of this cultivation method did not seem low. At least, it was much higher than the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. These bald asses had locked him up in here as a test without a second thought, so if he could learn this cultivation method, at least he would have received something in exchange.

    Li Qingshan circled around the ¡°Demon Suppression statue¡± before turning around, facing the statue with his back. He studied it with his soul sense as he changed his posture, making it exactly the same as the statue.

    When he first extended his soul sense into the statue, he did not feel anything special. Taking Xiao An¡¯s advice into account, he tried easing up on the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression of the ox demon and tiger demon.

    In that moment, his expression changed. His eyebrows flew up, and his eyes widened. He raised his head and gazed at the empty air, his lips pursed thinly.

    The demonic nature of the ox demon was immoveable no matter what. The demonic nature of the tiger demon surged with viciousness and violence.

    He spread his thickened arms as veins and muscles rippled across his body. He produced a soundless roar from his chest as if he was clashing with an invisible opponent.

    Duoge, who happened to be collecting demon hearts and shoving them into his mouths, leapt up in fright and staggered backwards, falling back onto his bottom with his mouth hanging agape. He even forgot to swallow the demon hearts. He stared right at Li Qingshan, experiencing an urge to kneel and worship him.

    While Li Qingshan had saved him originally, he did not feel grateful. Gratitude was not an emotion that existed in the hearts of demonfolk. Only ¡°good people¡± would feel gratitude and an urge to repay it.

    After learning Li Qingshan was a human, he feared his strength and sang many ¡°praises¡±, but that was not what he felt inside. In particular, after Li Qingshan showed him kindness, he felt strange inside. It consolidated his belief that humans were just as weird as they were rumored to be.

    But in that moment, Duoge was filled with sincerity, wanting to throw himself on the ground in veneration, just like how monks revered eminent monks who had achieved profound virtue.

    The venerable truly is a demon among humans. Even those Demon Generals are nowhere close to him. He¡¯s already so powerful without a demon heart. If he has a demon heart and becomes a demonfolk, wouldn¡¯t he become even greater?!

    ¡°What¡¯s this!?¡± Even with the Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk¡¯s cultivated composure, they were stunned right now. How could he, someone who started off as a mortal, possess such a powerful demonic nature!?

    The strength of the demonic nature within Li Qingshan was well beyond what anyone could imagine.

    The ox demon¡¯s obstinate perseverance could not even be changed by gods and buddhas, while the tiger demon¡¯s will to fight the world around it was a maddening frenzy.

    The demonic nature of demonfolk seemed powerful. They were emotionless, and they ignored all concepts of morals, but that was simply due to the influence of their demon hearts.

    So-called demonic nature arising from indoctrinated ideologies and twisted thoughts were as puny as maggots compared to the ox demon and tiger demon. They were essentially the same as the mortals who paid respects to Great Buddha mountain, but instead of believing in the buddha, they believed in the demonic.

    True demons ran amok freely, doing whatever they wanted. Once they made up their minds, they would not regret it even if they died multiple times.

    This was the ¡°demonic nature¡± that Li Qingshan possessed. The various desires and killing intent were merely byproducts resulting from the demonic nature. They were unable to shake his conscience.

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s face was completely sunken. His fists were clenched firmly within his sleeves. With how heavy his demonic nature was, it was basically unheard of in the world. If he had met this child outside, he basically would have tried to kill him on the spot regardless of the consequences!

    He turned towards the Unraging monk. ¡°Junior brother, if he can¡¯t comprehend the Demon Suppression Statuary, we definitely can¡¯t let him leave the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, no, the Demon Suppression hall.¡±

    The Unraging monk shook his head. ¡°Senior brother, I know you utterly loathe evil like you have a grudge against it, and you¡¯ve sworn to purge the world of evil demons for the sake of the buddha. However, even if our chan sect focuses on seeing the true nature, he hasn¡¯t committed any sins yet, so how can we punish him because of the demonic nature within him?¡±

    The Dauntless monk frowned. ¡°You want to protect him?¡±

    The Unraging monk avoided the question. He only said, ¡°He has such a heavy demonic nature within him, yet he can keep it all within him without acting on it. That¡¯s completely impossible to achieve unless he possesses great willpower. Perhaps he is the most optimal choice for practising the Demon Suppression Statuary, the fated person that the Demon Suppression hall is waiting for.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true.¡±

    The Dauntless monk said. Going from kindheartedness to wickedness only took a single thought, but realising the errors and mending the ways was anything but easy. There had been so many demonfolk and demonic cultivators in the Demon Suppression hall, yet none of them had ever succeeded with the Demon Suppression Statuary and emerged from the hall.

    It was possible to say that the Demon Suppression hall had never achieved the function that its benevolent creator had hoped it might. At the end of the day, it was only a prison, a ground for trials.

    ¡°Will he become the groundbreaking first person to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    Li Qingshan carefully controlled the subtle balance between the spirit turtle and the ox demon and tiger demon, just in case he accidentally released daemon qi. The Dauntless monk did not seem like a softhearted person, but little did he know that just by the demonic nature he had released, the Dauntless monk had already made up his mind about killing him.

    At this moment, the Demon Suppression statue began to glow, giving off an unprecedented, dim, golden light. The entire Demon Suppression hall trembled.

    It was exactly within this struggle and wavering, this repression and release, that coincided with the will within the Demon Suppression statue.

    The Unraging monk¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s right, sure enough!¡± The Dauntless monk¡¯s expression eased up slightly.

    Li Qingshan locked onto the Demon Suppression statue firmly with his soul sense. He could vaguely sense the existence of something. It seemed like a form of comprehension, yet it was also like a scripture. However, a barrier continued to exist. A while later, the statue dimmed, and Li Qingshan¡¯s body loosened.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, it¡¯s still ended in failure, hasn¡¯t it?¡±

    The Dauntless monk brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name, but the Unraging monk beside him knew this was the Dauntless monk making up his mind about purging demons.

    Li Qingshan asked Xiao An, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t really look like it.¡±

    ¡°Really? I also feel like something is lacking.¡±

    The will in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart and the will within the statue did not match at all. Instead, they deviated from one another, which was why he could not obtain the Demon Suppression Statuary within the Demon Suppression statue.

    He sank into his thoughts for a while, turning towards the statue in thought.

    A powerful demonic nature exists within my heart, but I don¡¯t feel pain, nor do I pray for anyone¡¯s help, much less do I have any interest in repenting and changing my ways to completely destroy this demonic nature. If this demonic nature doesn¡¯t exist, then Li Qingshan will no longer be Li Qingshan.

    He bellowed out suddenly, ¡°No matter what you¡¯re hiding, hand it all over!¡±

    The Demon Suppression statue suddenly erupted with unprecedentedly resplendent light as if all the light in the entire Demon Suppression hall had gathered there.

    The light reached a limit, and two streaks of golden light shot out of its eyes, landing in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Li Qingshan shuddered as if he had received a heavy strike, staggering a step back. An image suddenly appeared in his head, rapidly revolving about. It was the Demon Suppression statue right before him.

    The first form of the Demon Suppression Statuary, Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart.

    Although he was born as a demonfolk, he had experienced the taste of kindness and love. He felt remorse over his past actions, so he wanted to break free from the restraint of the demon heart to develop a will of his own.

    But gradually, the figure of the demon male turned into Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. His expression was not pained, nor was he praying for anything. There was only pride and resolve. He would not feel remorse over anything he had done in the past.

    Remorselessness of the Demon Heart.

 Chapter 572 â€“ Establishment of the Demon Hear

    After producing the two beams of light, the Demon Suppression statue rapidly dimmed, and Li Qingshan stood before the statue silently for another long while. Only after becoming completely well-versed with the first form of the Demon Suppression Statuary did he open his eyes. He was slightly intrigued.

    Although he had guessed that the cultivation method hidden within the statue had to be different from normal, he had never expected the Demon Suppression Statuary to be so wondrous, and it did not conflict with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary could also be regarded as a cultivation method for the body. It could drastically strengthen his physique. However, the method of practising it was completely unheard of. It actually utilised the demonic nature within him, converting it into his own strength through the constant suppression and struggle.

    In order words, if demonic cultivators practised the Demon Suppression Statuary, they did not have to abandon their original cultivation method. It would still serve as the foundation of their cultivation, but an additional method of cultivation would be layered on top of that, essentially doubling their might. There was even the chance for them to obtain great strength that surpassed their current realm of cultivation.

    Simply that aspect alone made the cultivation method very rare. The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine that Li Qingshan practised possessed a similar function.

    However, not only was learning this cultivation method extremely difficult, but practising it was layered with difficulties too. Some comprehension on the spot definitely would not be enough.

    During the cultivation process, if the demonic nature was too weak, then it could easily be completely suppressed, making it impossible to learn the remaining part of the cultivation method and thus being limited to the third or fourth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary at most.

    When regular wicked people repented, they would become regular kind-hearted people at most. Only when people of great wickedness and evil repented and changed their ways could they achieve great benevolence and virtue. In other words, for those with insufficient demonic nature, they would not be able to unleash the full power of the cultivation method even if they managed to comprehend it.

    But if their demonic nature was too powerful and unable to be suppressed, they would suffer from qi deviation and basically blow up on the spot. No demonic cultivator would continue to commit evil with it after practising the Demon Suppression Statuary. Once their cultivation failed, only death awaited them.

    It was possible to imagine that basically no one could reach the ninth layer with the Demon Suppression Statuary; this cultivation process was no different from walking on a tightrope.

    This cultivation method is basically made specially for me. I definitely have enough demonic nature, and it will grow stronger as I cultivate. I virtually have an endless amount of the most important resource for practising the Demon Suppression Statuary already, and with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, there¡¯s absolutely no danger of me suffering from qi deviation.

    Whether it was the ¡°Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart¡± or the ¡°Remorselessness of the Demon Heart¡±, he needed a demon heart before all that. The first statue of the Demon Suppression Statuary also contained the method to condense a demon heart.

    Li Qingshan remembered the things Duoge had been eating. When he considered how he would be condensing one of those in his body, he felt rather disgusted, but for the sake of cultivation, he could not care so much anymore.

    He immediately crossed his legs and sat down, gathering his demonic nature to condense a ¡°Demon Heart of Remorselessness¡±.

    ¡°What do you think, senior brother?¡±

    The Unraging monk stared at Li Qingshan. His eyes shone brightly as a smile oozed out of his mouth, just like a smiling buddha. Only at that moment did he demonstrate the great power on par with Monk Kings.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. It¡¯s all up to him now.¡±

    The Dauntless monk brought his palms together, closed his eyes, and uttered the buddha¡¯s name. He did not practise the Demon Suppression Statuary, but he did understand how parts of it worked. He knew that upon practising this cultivation method, it was equivalent to becoming wrapped in invisible chains. All they could do was constantly suppress their demon heart and demonic nature and never deviate from the righteous path, or what awaited them would be destruction.

    The thoughtful and benevolent senior who created the Demon Suppression hall was simply amazing. However, having received a successor like him after several millennia, perhaps Li Qingshan truly did have a destiny with the buddha.

    The Unraging monk then asked, ¡°If I were to accept him as my disciple, would you allow that, senior brother?¡±

    ¡°If he were willing to join the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, then there was no need for him to pay a visit to the Demon Suppression hall in the first place.¡±

    The Dauntless monk was basically implying he recognised Li Qingshan now.

    Reaching mid Foundation Establishment in his twenties already proved his talent, and he had comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary that no one had managed to comprehend for several thousand years. That was a destiny with the buddha. He would definitely become someone extraordinary in the future.

    And, in comparison, the Dauntless monk was instead less worried about Li Qingshan than Xiao An. Although Li Qingshan had claimed he had a special liking towards ¡°conflict and sins¡±, he was clearly a person who drew a distinct line between black and white. And, bound by the Demon Suppression Statuary, there was even less of a reason to worry he would do anything detrimental to the monastery.

    The Unraging monk smiled. ¡°But he¡¯s practising the true secret cultivation method of our monastery right now. Even if he doesn¡¯t want to join the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, senior brother probably won¡¯t permit it.¡±

    The Dauntless monk thought silently for a while. ¡°Do you really want to accept him as your disciple?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always room to change my mind. Let¡¯s keep watching for now!¡±

    Li Qingshan practised the Demon Suppression Statuary as he gradually released the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression, allowing the ox demon and tiger demon to loosen up. Extremely heavy demonic nature gathered in his chest without dispersing.

    Demonic nature had always been an invisible will that could only be sensed. However, under the function of the Demon Suppression Statuary, it was converted into a visible aura that sprayed out.

    Li Qingshan was wrapped in a dark-red aura. It surged about, turning into various hideous faces, filled with greed, wrath, ignorance, fury, and hatred. At a closer glance, they all resembled Li Qingshan, but in contrast, Li Qingshan sat like an old monk in meditation with his face sunken.

    The demon qi was like thick smoke, rising right up to the ceiling of the Demon Suppression hall. Cries, roars, and sounds of cold slaughter could be vaguely made out as it grew louder and louder. It was like a clash between armies thousand strong.

    Duoge curled up on the ground firmly, utterly afraid to move. He constantly muttered, ¡°Please calm down, venerable. Please calm down.¡±

    Li Qingshan refused to let the ox demon and tiger demon unleash their demonic nature, just in case the Demon Suppression Statuary was unable to keep them suppressed, giving him away.

    As a result, with a thought, the surging demon qi began to spin. It wormed into the top of Li Qingshan¡¯s head like a tornado, all vanishing in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone with a dark-red light. His chest bulged as the surging demon qi gathered towards a single point.

    There was a great rumble in his head, and the demon qi vanished.

    Li Qingshan could not help but stand up. He gathered his focus and gazed into his body, discovering that a dark-red crystal had appeared in his brain. It had many faces, shaped like a rhombus.

    Hmm? This is the demon heart, but it seems rather different from the ones that Duoge had been eating. It resembles a buddhist ?ar¨©ra.

    He had no idea that only demon hearts from the weakest demonfolk would look like that, foul and hideous in appearance. As for powerful demonfolk, their demon hearts were all condensed like rocks.

    It was extremely rare even among the Demon race for a demon heart to become such a clear and sharp crystal. Most of them belonged to powerful members of the Demon race with great willpower. Li Qingshan could be regarded as a supreme genius among the Demon race for possessing a demon heart like this while at his level of strength.

    However, as long as he possessed a demon heart, he could use the various techniques from the Demon Suppression Statuary. The way the Demon Suppression Statuary defeated its opponents was far too interesting. Li Qingshan was eager to try it out.

    The Demon Suppression hall had a total of nine floors, which was equivalent to a Demon Suppression statue on each storey. Upon assembling the nine, that would be the complete Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ¡°Duoge, how do we enter the next floor?¡±

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished, the pedestal below the Demon Suppression statue let out a great flash, and a door appeared. A few frantic figures rushed into the chamber. When they saw Li Qingshan in the way, they yelled out, ¡°Get out of my way!¡±

    This was the highest floor of the Demon Suppression hall. Those powerful Demon Generals were unable to come up here, and they were powerful demonfolk close to Demon General. With only Li Qingshan blocking their path, they obviously did not take him seriously.

    Li Qingshan licked his lips. His eyes immediately became dark red, reflecting the figures of the demonfolk.

    Demon suppression!

    Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! Spurt! The demonfolk stiffened. As if an invisible hand had crushed down on them, they were reduced to piles of flesh.

    Duoge¡¯s mouth hung agape from surprise. He had no idea what had just happened.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary could suppress more than the demonic nature in his heart; it could also suppress the demonic nature of others.

    This method of attack was extremely special. Not only was its power relative to the strength of Li Qingshan¡¯s demonic nature, but it was also relative to the opponent¡¯s demonic nature as well. The stronger their demonic nature was, the more powerful it would be.

    If this move was used on an infant, it would not even be able to touch a single hair. However, it possessed overwhelming power when used on these regular demonfolk.

    Originally, he dared not use his daemon abilities in the Demon Suppression hall, which greatly limited his strength. But now that he possessed the Demon Suppression Statuary, he had something perfect for subduing these demonfolk.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way towards the gaping door.

    Duoge faltered and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Venerable, it¡¯s best if you hide your woman! There are a lot of very powerful Demon Generals down there.¡±

    Because Xiao An had remained on the sidelines the entire time, Duoge thought she was merely Li Qingshan¡¯s woman. With the great strength that Li Qingshan had demonstrated, he would not be in any danger even if he ventured to the next floor. However, navigating around among demonfolk with a woman like her was basically walking into a pack of wolves with fresh meat. They would definitely become swarmed.

    ¡°My woman?¡± Taken aback, Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head and laughed. ¡°She¡¯s not my woman.¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head and dodged Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Her lips pouted slightly as she became unhappy.

    Even little Duoge who had no concept of relationships between men and women was dumbfounded. Li Qingshan was no different. It was extremely rare for her to display an expression like that. Li Qingshan extended his hand around her shoulder and smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m her man, can¡¯t you tell?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The fighting lackeys obviously walk at the front. She hasn¡¯t fought because there hasn¡¯t been any opponents worth her time.¡±

    Li Qingshan said. If he did not possess the Demon Suppression Statuary and was unable to use his powers as a daemon, Xiao An was indeed much more powerful than him. However, against these demonfolk, it would prove nothing even if she fought. She had to kill some stronger people down below.

    Unbeknownst to him, his actions of casually hugging and touching the genius disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had already greatly displeased the abbot of the monastery, the Dauntless monk. He could not help but snort coldly, tempted to pull him out of there right now and lop off his hand.

 Chapter 573 â€“ Complete Demonification

    ¡°You need to keep a proper eye over your disciple.¡±

    Although the Dauntless monk was displeased, he instead relaxed slightly inside. Xiao An¡¯s behaviour all along had been too perfect. One was unable to find any flaw at all, which instead brought unease.

    Now that she behaved like a regular girl, she seemed much more normal. These feelings between a man and a woman could be eliminated with gradual guidance.

    Li Qingshan walked towards the open door and suddenly asked, ¡°Duoge, don¡¯t you like women?¡±

    Duoge said, ¡°I¡¯m still young, so I don¡¯t like women. Otherwise, even I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do. I can only control myself once I become very strong.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. You need to learn how to control yourself. You can¡¯t let your demon heart twist your conscience.¡±

    Duoge nodded blankly and murmured the word ¡°conscience¡±. If an eminent monk of buddhism had tried to persuade him to do that, he might not have necessarily accepted it, but since even the venerable had said that, it could not be wrong.

    Li Qingshan stepped into the doorway, and his surroundings twisted as if he had been sucked into a vortex. When he returned to his senses, he had already appeared in a golden room, similar to the prison on the upper floor. However, when he raised his head and looked around, he noticed the ceiling was even higher up now.

    It only made him more certain about the impressive origins of the Demon Suppression hall. The height of these two floors alone had already exceeded what Great Buddha mountain could hide. If this were to continue, then the height and area of the Demon Suppression hall would probably even exceed Great Buddha mountain and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    He waited for a while in the prison, but he did not see Xiao An or Duoge appear.

    ¡°Oh no, I didn¡¯t expect we¡¯d be teleported randomly and not to the square on the lower floor. I forgot to hold Xiao An¡¯s hand. But with Xiao An¡¯s strength, she shouldn¡¯t be in any danger. I only need to look around for her, that¡¯s all.¡±

    Watching Li Qingshan and Xiao An pass through the door first, Duoge picked up a few scattered demon hearts on the ground and shoved them into his mouth, but he began to hesitate inside.

    The demonfolk on the next floor would definitely be more powerful than the ones on this floor. If he ventured down with his strength, safety was not guaranteed at all. And, after eating these demon hearts, he could feel his body surging with vigour. His strength had increased drastically, and he no longer faced much danger on this floor. It was a good opportunity for him to escape from them.

    ¡°I can obtain even more demon hearts and become even stronger if I follow them. It¡¯ll be worth it to take some risk.¡±

    Before he walked through the door, Duoge raised his head and glanced at the towering Demon Suppression statue again. He was rather confused. He¡¯s clearly not injured, so why is he in so much pain?

    He became somewhat lost. He recalled how he had also been in pain when he was almost eaten earlier. His body was not all that ached. He felt pain somewhere else that he was unable to locate, somewhere far, far away.

    He subconsciously rubbed his chest. His heart thumped loudly.

    Was that his conscience?

    To demonfolk, as long as their demon hearts were not destroyed, they would not die even if their hearts were pierced, so they would often forget about its existence.

    He heard that as long as he understood the secrets in the statue, he could go home. Go home? He shook his head. His mother had already been eaten. There was no such thing as home anymore.

    Suddenly, he pressed against his chest. The strange sensation appeared again. His nose tingled and burned slightly.

    His small, dark face scrunched up into a ball. He hated this feeling!

    Fortunately, another voice rang out in his heart at this moment. ¡°Quick, follow them, or there will be no more demon hearts to eat. Such a great opportunity rarely appears. You have to make good use of them!¡±

    He let out a breath, and the strange feeling finally vanished. However, when he stepped through the door, the image of the Demon Suppression statue was firmly embedded in his mind. The pair of pained eyes stared right at him.

    The moment Duoge touched the ground, he felt his body grow heavy, having been pressed firmly against the ground.

    ¡°Look at what I¡¯ve caught. Heh, it¡¯s a small one. Seems like he came down from above. How brave. He¡¯s just enough for a meal for me.¡±

    A fierce-looking fatty pinned Duoge to the ground with one foot. He carried a bloody butcher¡¯s blade in one hand as he showed off to his companion on the side, waving the blade around Duoge. As he laughed aloud, he revealed his mouth full of sharp teeth.

    ¡°Venerable, venerable! Save me!¡±

    Duoge cried out in fright, but no one paid any attention to his calls. That was merely the howls of food.

    ¡°What enough for a meal for you? Those who see it get a share as well. Cut him right down the middle. We can have half each!¡±

    A demonfolk tall and thin like a bamboo pole stood beside the fat demonfolk. His arms were so abnormally long that they almost touched the ground. He looked like a gibbon. He grabbed one of Duoge¡¯s arms as he made a ruckus unhappily.

    ¡°Let go! I caught him, so why should I give you half? I¡¯ll give you an arm at most to have a taste.¡±

    ¡°An arm? Quit dreaming. No, all I want is half!¡±

    The fat demonfolk pinned Duoge to the ground firmly, while the thin demonfolk extended his other hand and grabbed Duoge¡¯s other arm, tugging him hard and refusing to let go.

    Duoge felt like his body was about to be ripped apart and let out a painful wail.

    Swish! There was a flash of a blade and blood spattered.

    The thin demonfolk staggered backwards. His abnormally long arms had been cut in half. He was filled with surprise and anger. ¡°How dare you¡­¡±

    The fat demonfolk lifted the butcher¡¯s blade and pointed it at him. ¡°Since you refuse, I¡¯ll eat you too then.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see who¡¯s eating who!¡±

    The thin demonfolk¡¯s waist suddenly elongated, lunging towards the fat demonfolk like a snake. Long tentacles grew from the severed stump of his arms, wrapping around the fat demonfolk¡¯s neck.

    Duoge¡¯s body crackled. Who knew how many bones in his body had been crushed. He was in great agony.

    However, his body became unbearably hot as his demon heart thumped heavily like a drum.

    Duoge had devoured several demon hearts all at once. The demonic power in each one was several times greater than what he possessed, so it should have erupted a long time ago. However, he had been right next to the Demon Suppression statue earlier, which constantly gave off the power to suppress demons. Now that he had left the Demon Suppression statue¡¯s side, this power erupted immediately.

    And, because he was too young, he did not understand the risks that came with recklessly eating demon hearts.

    Foul demon qi surged out, wrapping around his body. His small, skinny hands completely turned into pitch-black claws, scraping around the golden ground and producing ear-piercing screeches, sending sparks flying.

    Bone spikes erupted from his body, extending out of his joints. His eyes completely turned into a bright violet as he bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m going to eat you!¡± In the end, the bellow completely became a wild¡¯s beast¡¯s roar as he put up a fierce struggle.

    ¡°He has completely demonified! Kill him quick!¡± The fat demonfolk experienced a violent force of resistance beneath his foot. Even with his strength, he struggled to keep it from breaking free.

    The thin demonfolk cried out, ¡°How can he possess such power!?¡±

    Demonification was the most basic power of demonfolk. Once they used it, their strength would multiply.

    However, demonfolk focused on becoming one with the demonic nature. If the power of their demon hearts was too great, and they were unable to keep it under control, it would take over their bodies. They would lose all rationality and become violent, wild beasts, completely demonifying.

    Even vicious demonfolk never hoped to end up like that, which was why they were extremely careful when they devoured demon hearts. Normally, eating the demon hearts of demonfolk weaker than them would not have any effect. It would only make their demon qi impure. However, while devouring the demon hearts of powerful demonfolk could increase their strength, it was very easy for them to lose control and completely demonify.

    The butcher¡¯s blade was swung viciously towards Duoge¡¯s neck. With a clank, it missed and struck the ground.

    Duoge pulled himself out from under the foot, lunging towards the fat demonfolk. With a spurt, he dove into his great big belly. The fat demonfolk seemed heavily pregnant, except a hand extended from here and a leg burst out from there.

    The thin demonfolk waved his tentacles around with no idea what to do. The fat demonfolk¡¯s face was filled with malice. He lifted the butcher¡¯s blade and stabbed it into his own body, plunging right through him. In a short while, he stabbed himself seven or eight times. Blood spattered and covered the walls and ground. It was an extremely bloody sight to behold.

    With a clatter, the butcher¡¯s blade fell to the ground. The fat demonfolk¡¯s chest bulged, and it erupted with a bang.

    Duoge burst out of his body with a demon heart in his mouth. His body was riddled with horrific slashes. Standing on four legs, he was like a vicious, little beast. He chewed up the demon heart messily and swallowed it. His wounds began to recover at a visible rate.

    Another three bone spikes grew from his head like horns; his body had swelled up as well. His mouth stretched from ear to ear, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth.

    He had completely lost his human shape. Swiveling his head, his violet eyes locked onto the thin demonfolk and he lunged over. The thin demonfolk turned around to run, but it was already too late. Duoge threw him onto the ground.

    With a crack, Duoge¡¯s mouth opened to an unbelievable angle before closing together violently. A semicircular chunk vanished from the thin demonfolk¡¯s shoulder. At the same time, Duoge swung his claws about and became covered in blood spatter.

    The tentacles coiled around him loosened. Duoge abandoned the corpse and leapt over to one side. After eating the two demon hearts, his body had become even larger. His small, skinny body had now become as sturdy and agile as a panther¡¯s, and he was several times larger than a panther. He was covered in sharp spikes, which made him seem extremely hideous.

    Lowering his head and sniffing the ground, he turned around and leapt onto a wall, running off into the corridor.

    ¡°The little demonfolk has become a demonic beast. He can¡¯t turn back anymore.¡± The Unraging monk sighed gently. During the century of guarding the Demon Suppression hall, who knew how many times he had seen similar events already.

    ¡°Are you sympathising with demonfolk, junior brother? He might be young, but his demonic nature is deeply rooted. They only have themselves to blame for all of this. They can¡¯t blame anyone else,¡± the Dauntless monk said coldly.

    ¡°You¡¯re right, junior brother. Let¡¯s check on your precious disciple instead. Her situation doesn¡¯t seem too great!¡±

    When Li Qingshan stepped through the door, Xiao An sensed something and extended her hand, wanting to grab him, but she was too late. Her surroundings dimmed and brightened, but when she looked around, she could not see even a trace of Li Qingshan anymore. She thought to herself, Did we end up separating?

    She was standing in a relatively large cell, equivalent to a spacious hall. It was beautifully decorated just like everywhere else. Several dozen demonfolk either sat or stood around, with a few females among them.

    This was probably a nest of demonfolk, and as long as a community existed, there would be a leader.

    On the eastern side of the hall, a demonfolk with a head of tumours sat on a platform constructed from white bone. He radiated with a powerful aura as several female demonfolk sat around him.

    Clearly, he was the master of this nest, the leader of the demonfolk here, a powerful Demon General.

    The moment he saw Xiao An, the Demon General¡¯s eyes shone with undisguised, sunken light. He pushed aside the demonfolk around him and walked down from the platform.

 Chapter 574 â€“ The Wisdom Kingâ€™s Glare

    Under the control of their demon hearts, they possessed very few vital points on their bodies. Even disciples of the school of the Military who practised both qi and the body paled in comparison. The inner courtyard disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would often suffer against them during their trials. As a matter of fact, some of them had even been slain in the past from a moment of carelessness.

    He thought, One Will possesses extraordinary talent and a great understanding of the buddhist dharma, but she¡¯s still young after all. She might not necessarily be this Demon General¡¯s opponent.

    Within the Demon Suppression Hall, even a Monk King like the Dauntless monk was bound by its rules. He was forced to descend floor by floor too. If Xiao An encountered any danger, he was afraid he could not rescue her in time.

    However, life-threatening danger like this provided the best opportunity to observe a person¡¯s disposition. Whether they were courageous or cowardly, calm or fear-stricken, none of their emotions could be hidden.

    As a result, he observed patiently. ¡°One Will, don¡¯t leave me disappointed.¡±

    ¡°Did you come down from above?¡± the demonfolk extended his forked tongue and licked around his face as he asked with ill intention.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think the humans would have such a beautiful woman.¡± A demonfolk drooled.

    ¡°Hmph, look at how soft and tender her flesh is. She must taste nice.¡± The female demonfolk on the throne of white bone snorted coldly, filled with envy.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be quite a pity. We¡¯re obviously going to eat her once we¡¯ve had enough fun! Hahaha!¡±

    There was lust, envy, and evil snickers. Xiao An¡¯s expression remained as blank as ever as she was surrounded by the leering demons. She gazed ahead hollowly with her eyes, ignoring everything. She turned around and made her way towards the exit, which made the demons even more complacent.

    ¡°You want to leave?¡± An extremely tall and large demonfolk blocked Xiao An¡¯s way like a wall. Xiao An¡¯s footsteps did not slow down at all. The moment she collided with the demonfolk, there was a flash of golden light, and a bloody door opened in this ¡°wall¡±.

    The closed eye in the centre of the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare suddenly opened, emitting a beam of golden light that pierced the Demon General¡¯s chest.

    The Unraging monk laughed. ¡°So Annihilum Light already gave the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare to her. You don¡¯t have to worry then, senior brother.¡±

    As a purely-offensive arcane artifact, the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare possessed extremely great destructive power. The golden light it had emitted could basically pierce through everything.

    The Dauntless monk shook his head. ¡°If she becomes careless because of this, it won¡¯t do her any good.¡±

    The Demon General lowered his head in some surprise as if he had never expected her to possess such a powerful weapon. He snickered inside, Do you really think you can kill me like this? I¡¯ve seen plenty of foolish monks like that.

    Right when he was about to lunge over and catch her off-guard, the beam of golden light suddenly separated, multiplied from one to ten, then to one hundred. At the same time, the light spun rapidly, cutting through the Demon General¡¯s body like it was paper. It revolved around in the centre for a while before dispersing.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    The Demon General took another step forward before collapsing completely and falling apart as a pile of flesh. Some of it continued to writhe, but no matter how great his life force was, he was unable to assemble himself.

    The other demonfolk were all taken aback. Their faces were still frozen with greed and lustful smiles before plopping onto the ground as pieces.

    The nest of demonfolk immediately fell silent, without a single trace of life. Blood flowed, and the sanguine smell filled the surroundings.

    Xiao An¡¯s steps had not become flustered at all. The throne assembled from white bones behind her collapsed loudly.

    The Dauntless monk was mildly taken aback, but it was not by the power that Xiao An had demonstrated. Instead, he was surprised over how she could actually use the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare to such a level!

    With her cultivation, unleashing the full power of the arcane artifact was already very difficult, yet she easily managed to split one beam into a hundred, and every single beam was so accurate and effective.

    The Unraging monk sighed. ¡°With that move alone, there are no demonfolk on the second floor of the Demon Suppression hall that can touch her.¡±

    Xiao An arrived in the corridor. There were seven paths that extended off in different directions.

    It was completely impossible to find one¡¯s bearings in the Demon Suppression hall. The concept behind its design was not for its prisoners to find their direction easier either. Sometimes, even if they chose the correct direction, it was very likely for the path to come to a dead end. Without any directions, it was truly a maze.

    However, Xiao An simply glanced around and chose the correct path leading to the statue room. Her right foot halted, and she whistled off into the air.

    Although the structure of the first and second floors were completely different, she had already grasped their pattern. Her sharp deductions and reasoning left the two monks gasping in admiration.

    Soon after Xiao An had left, a nimble, black figure arrived in the hall. Having completely demonified, Duoge was attracted by the heavy smell of blood, so he found his way over.

    His body had become even larger as bone spikes extended from all over him. He threw himself onto the segmented Demon General first, extending his long, red tongue that curled across the ground. He swept up the fragmented flesh into his mouth and swallowed it all.

    Afterwards, he lunged towards the remains of the other demonfolk. In the blink of an eye, he had cleaned out the demonfolk nest, which obviously included several dozen demon hearts.

    His black demon qi grew even thicker, coiling around his body. With the sound of stretching bones, his body swelled and grew larger once again. The demon heart in his body had become extremely large, thumping like a great drum. Suddenly, he crossed a boundary and raised his head, letting out a roar.

    Boom!

    With a clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning pierced through space and struck Duoge.

    Electricity crackled as the golden hall trembled gently.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°The little demonfolk is undergoing the tribulation. He¡¯s quite fortunate.¡±

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°He¡¯ll die from madness in the end anyway, so how can you call that fortunate?¡±

    ¡°Heavenly tribulations¡± were the supreme laws of the world and an invisible examiner. They were present everywhere, and they tested all creatures that wanted to escape mortality and obtain eternal life. Whether it were gods, demons, humans, or daemons, no one could escape its judgement.

    Lightning writhed like dragons and snakes, coiling around Duoge¡¯s body and punching holes through him. Duoge let out a violent, painful roar as his demon qi immediately weakened.

    So painful!

    Under the violent lashing of lightning, a sliver of clarity appeared in Duoge¡¯s head. The Demon Suppression statue appeared in his mind again, and its painful posture seemed to align with his current situation.

    Deep within the corridors, Xiao An stopped and glanced back before stepping over a pile of flesh and continuing on her way.

    ¡°What is this sound? It¡¯s thunder. There¡¯s obviously no thunder here. Is someone undergoing a tribulation?¡±

    Li Qingshan listened closely before turning around and facing the male demonfolk before him. ¡°When demonfolk undergo the heavenly tribulation, they become Demon Generals like you, right?¡±

    ¡°Which race¡¯s Demon General are you? Why have I never seen you before?¡±

    The Demon General carried two blades on his waist and another two on his back as he studied Li Qingshan cautiously.

    ¡°I never answer questions from corpses.¡±

    After replying with this classical line, Li Qingshan became like a child who had just been given a new toy. He raised his hand in great interest and enveloped the Demon General with his fingers. With this move alone, he had already crushed over a hundred demonfolk throughout his journey here.

    The feeling was truly similar to crushing ants during his youth, except the effect was much more satisfying. Standing right before him was an oversized ant, the type that could bring him exceptional pleasure when he crushed him.

    The Unraging monk asked in confusion, ¡°Why does this kid¡¯s demonic nature seem to have strengthened after practising the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡±

    When it came to things like killing intent and malice, Li Qingshan was much more powerful than these demonfolk. Normally, he kept it under control and refused to unleash it. Now that an opportunity had presented itself to him, he might as well just do what he wanted. What was wrong with using the demonic path against demonfolk?

    ¡°What did you do?¡± The Demon General¡¯s expression changed. He clutched his chest, taking a step back. He felt like a boulder was weighing on his body, and the aura within him was being stretched and pulled apart.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make me repeat myself,¡± Li Qingshan said impatiently before pulling back his hand and murmuring to himself, ¡°Looks like the effect on Demon Generals is limited.¡±

    ¡°Why? Even if you kill me, it won¡¯t bring you any benefits.¡±

    Wave Treading Form!

    Li Qingshan stopped blabbering. Waves rose up beneath his feet as his fingers curved like the claws of a tiger, reaching over towards the Demon General¡¯s head.

    The Demon General let out a furious roar and another two arms extended out from his back, drawing the four blades and swinging them in a flurry.

    Tsunami Form!

    Li Qingshan shifted his hands from claws to open palms. Surging spiritual qi turned into a colossal tsunami, filling the wide corridor and slamming against the flurry of blades.

    The flurry and tsunami vanished at the same time. Li Qingshan¡¯s palm pressed against the Demon General¡¯s chest gently, no longer possessing any power. With the four-armed Demon General¡¯s powerful body, he had not even sustained a scratch.

    However, the four-armed Demon General¡¯s flesh began to surge, rising and falling and fluctuating. In the end, he exploded with a thump.

    ¡°Taste my fist of justice!¡±

    Li Qingshan sniggered. The Demon Suppression Statuary sure was interesting. Right now, he was completely the embodiment of justice. He did not have to worry about what was right or wrong at all. He only had to throw a punch over. If you¡¯re a good person, you¡¯d obviously be fine, but you can go die if you¡¯re a bad person!

    Li Qingshan continued on his way towards the second Demon Suppression statue. There should be even more and stronger Demon Generals there!

    He did not have Xiao An¡¯s level of judgement, but after learning the first form of the Demon Suppression Statuary, it had suppressed the ox demon and tiger demon to a certain degree. As such, the spirit turtle¡¯s predictive ability had recovered by a lot. With a clear destination in mind, finding the correct path was no issue.

    A while later, Li Qingshan pushed through the gilded doors rather eagerly, only to be mildly surprised. He sighed with a smile. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re still faster!¡±

    Xiao An currently stood before the second Demon Suppression statue as she wielded the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare. Her surroundings were strewn with remains.

    Li Qingshan arrived beside Xiao An and asked, ¡°Have you seen Duoge?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s undergoing the tribulation.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the thunder earlier was from him!?¡±

    In the golden hall, Duoge laid on the ground. Most of his body had become charred black, but his chest rose and fell, still breathing.

    The tumour-like demon heart in his body had become extremely small and firm like a rock. It constantly emitted demon qi. The charred black flaked off his body piece by piece as his wounds slowly recovered. Suddenly, he leapt to his feet, becoming ten times more nimble than before. He had become a Demon General.

 Chapter 575 â€“ The Chains of Demon Suppression

    The demon male knelt on one knee with his back hunched over. His face became vicious, already clearly demonstrating the special characteristics of demonification.

    His muscles swelled, filled with explosive power as they shone with a violent-blue sheen. In particular, his arms were layered with bright-red, armour-like keratin, which made them seem extremely large. His mouth opened like he was roaring, the inside jagged with sharp teeth. He seemed extremely vicious.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and faced the Demon Suppression statue. He used his soul sense to comprehend the idea within before striking a pose the same as the statue. However, many differences still existed.

    The demon male clearly put up extreme resistance against demonifying, battling with his demonic nature inside. However, not only did Li Qingshan put up no resistance at all, but he was basically demonifying intentionally.

    After achieving the first form of the Demon Suppression Statuary, achieving the second form was something that came about naturally.

    Suddenly, the Demon Suppression statue lit up with golden light, and its eyes released two beams of light, landing in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes and entering the depths of his sea of consciousness. The original image of demon suppression changed accordingly.

    The second form of the Demon Suppression Statuary¡ªthe Immovable Demonic Nature!

    The demon heart that resembled a dark ruby released rings of hazy light.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body immediately began to expand. Originally, he only seemed sturdy, but not particularly strong, as his skeletal frame was abnormally large and thick, propping up his flesh. As such, it gave off the false impression of him being thin.

    However, he seemed to become a strongman in the blink of an eye. His body pulled upwards by a foot, while his arms had become even stronger and thicker than a regular person¡¯s thigh. His skin became slightly red, and a piece of armour-like, dark-red keratin appeared and covered his arms and shoulders.

    ¡°So this is demonification!¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist before loosening it. He threw a straight punch all of a sudden, and with a bang, the air exploded. Although it was nowhere close to his daemon form, the might it possessed could be considered as startling among Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    The Unraging monk was secretly amazed. Originally, this form was extremely dangerous. When attempting demonification for the first time, it was very easy to lose control over the demonic nature inside. However, there was not even a hint of confusion or losing control in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. They remained as clear as ever. Had his control over his conscience and himself truly reached such a level?

    After achieving the second form of the Demon Suppression Statuary, the suppression over the ox demon and tiger demon strengthened slightly yet again, which made him loosen up quite a bit. The spirit turtle was gradually released from the tremendous pressure.

    ¡°Let¡¯s continue!¡± Li Qingshan riled up with vigour and said to Xiao An. His ears twitched, vaguely hearing the roars of a vicious beast from deep within the maze.

    Xiao An grabbed his hand and Li Qingshan tightened his grip over hers as they made their way to the third floor of the Demon Suppression hall.

    Killing their way over together, they were virtually unstoppable. Li Qingshan committed another two Demon Suppression statues to heart.

    However, when they arrived on the fifth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, the rate at which they encountered enemies and the number of enemies they encountered increased abruptly. They finally began to feel that the pressure was increasing.

    Basically every demonfolk they came across was a Demon General, and unlike the Demon Generals they had met in the beginning, these Demon Generals were all extremely powerful. They were equivalent to mid and late Foundation Establishment cultivators among humans, and they could frequently use some powerful and strange techniques.

    There were even techniques like formations and combined attacks, and the illusions and mesmerising techniques were completely impossible to guard against. If they were regular Foundation Establishment cultivators, they probably would have been in constant danger already, struggling to advance any further.

    The Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare emitted a resplendent beam of golden light, shooting straight down the corridor and striking a female Demon General.

    The female Demon General seemed like a woman in her thirties, except her chest was completely uncovered, and her clothing was highly exposing. A promiscuous smile stretched across her face. There were even a few male Demon Generals behind her who all seemed like followers.

    The female Demon General waved her hand, and the air before her twisted and turned. The golden light entered the space, constantly turning and shifting, before vanishing into nothingness in the end.

    This was the first time that Xiao An¡¯s ever-successful Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare had been nullified so easily, and it was before the opponent had even demonified. However, Xiao An was not surprised either. There were already a few Demon Generals who could block this attack on the fourth floor.

    The female Demon General cast her gaze past Xiao An, landing on the huge, dark figure behind her.

    Li Qingshan had completely demonified already. He stood over three meters tall and seemed extremely burly. His entire body seemed to be covered in dark-red armour while his head was wrapped in helmet-like keratin, only exposing a pair of dark-red eyes. Just by standing there, he gave off a fierce and brutal aura.

    He carried the Heavy Water sword on his back like before, but the colossal sword of the past was no different from a regular sword to him now.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Why are you with a person of buddhism? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been bewitched by this woman?¡±

    The female Demon General shot an envious glance at Xiao An. ¡°What¡¯s so interesting about human women? She just has a good outer appearance, that¡¯s all. Come with big sister. Big sister will let you taste true paradise.¡±

    Following that was a charming giggle as she covered her mouth, but she was not smiling inside at all. She thought, Demonficiation is the strongest state of demons, but if you lose control, it¡¯s extremely easy for you to be devoured by the demonic heart and completely demonify into a demonic beast. You can¡¯t use it rashly unless it actually matters, so why can he maintain his demonified state perpetually, without any signs of losing control?

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan agreed extremely happily before changing the topic. ¡°But my tastes are a little special. Normal women probably can¡¯t stand it.¡±

    ¡°Big sister loves special tastes!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, and he extended his hands.

    With a jangle, black chains emerged from thin air, criss-crossing together and binding the female Demon General firmly.

    ¡°So little brother has a taste for this!¡± The female Demon General smiled as she shuddered violently. Her expression changed, and her smile vanished. The black chains did not merely lock up her body, but the demon qi in her body too.

    ¡°I¡¯m still not done yet!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he strode over.

    He had comprehended the ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression¡± together with the third form of the Demon Suppression Statuary. It was basically perfect for suppressing and capturing these demonfolk.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± The female Demon General ordered angrily. A few vicious figures immediately lunged over from behind her. The male Demon Generals had all demonified.

    With a golden flash, Xiao An blocked the Demon Generals. She used the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual for the first time and conjured up a golden avatar. The golden Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare remained in her hand as if it had completely fused with the golden avatar.

    The golden wheel spun, spitting out a meter-long streak of light upwards. The stand served as the hilt, the wheel served as the guard, and the golden light served as the edge, conjuring hundreds of streaks of light as it pushed forward.

    All of the light vanished with a flash, and Xiao An dispersed the avatar, turning back to normal. The Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare was hidden in her sleeve. The Demon Generals fell backwards and disintegrated, their bodies collapsing from the sword qi.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no need for senior brother to worry. If she does not possess a buddha nature and the root of wisdom, how can she unleash this buddhist cultivation method and buddhist arcane artifact to such a degree?¡±

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°Several thousand years ago, did Golden Cicada, that wretched daemon, lack a buddha nature or the root of wisdom?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different. One Will is a human after all. If Golden Cicada were a human, he would have become the abbot of the monastery already.¡±

    The Dauntless monk fell silent. He felt like the Unraging monk¡¯s words made some sense. He might have been worrying too much. That wretched daemon in the past had almost stolen the position of abbott, but if he truly had been a human, he probably would have become a revered, eminent monk already, venerated by future disciples of the monastery.

    The female Demon General was overcome with both surprise and fear. With a strange shriek, her body swelled rapidly, going from a beautiful woman to a swollen, ugly monster in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan did not care. The more they demonified, the heavier their demonic nature became, and the stronger the suppression from the Chains of Demon Suppression was. The Chains of Demon Suppression dug deeply into her swollen skin as Li Qingshan grabbed her face with a single hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a fast one!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    The female Demon General let out one final scream, and the demon qi in her body surged violently, torn apart furiously by the Chains of Demon Suppression. In the end, she exploded to pieces with a thump.

    The two of them stepped over the remains and continued on their way, killing everything.

    Finally, they arrived at the very centre of the fifth floor, right in front of the gilded doors. The structure of every floor in the Demon Suppression hall varied drastically. Only the gilded doors remained the same.

    In the golden square, the Demon Generals split into two sides, eyeing the other side with hostility, wanting to force them back. At this exact moment, the gilded doors opened slowly, and the Demon Generals looked over, only to see two figures appear.

    One was a huge, sturdy man, radiating with demon qi, while the other was a glistening woman of absolute beauty. They each held a strange sword in their hand, and they harboured no good intentions.

    ¡°Those who don¡¯t want to die can piss off!¡±

    When Li Qingshan had just said half of that, a beam of golden light shot out from beside him, piercing a Demon General. Xiao An lifted up her golden sword and pointed the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare at the Demon Generals.

    Li Qingshan shot a glance at Xiao An, and she stuck out her tongue at him.

    ¡°It¡¯s a buddhist avatar! Kill them!¡± The Demon Generals roared furiously and lunged towards them.

    ¡°Forget it. I didn¡¯t mean it anyway.¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his left hand and black chains extended out from thin air, wrapping around the Demon Generals. He gripped the Heavy Water sword firmly in his right hand and swung backwards, charging towards the Demon Generals together.

    Growls, shrieks, roars, and the sound of clashing weapons layered together into a chaotic and vigorous song. Severed limbs and fresh blood constantly flew out of the open doors.

    A Demon General¡¯s head flew out of the gilded doors, hit a wall, and rolled to the ground. Long strands of hair then sprouted from beneath his severed neck. It crawled quickly through the door and over the strange ¡°legs¡±. As soon as it found its body, a huge leg stomped down, crushing the head to pieces.

    Li Qingshan ground his foot forcefully. The Heavy Water sword grew to over thirty meters long, unleashing a colossal sweep. With a bloody storm, he severed several Demon Generals lunging over. He said to Xiao An behind him, ¡°This place is quite interesting!¡±

    At the very least, cutting down these Demon Generals was much more satisfying than cutting down those Corpse Commanders. Ripping apart and crushing these grotesque figures truly was much more satisfying than killing people who were dead in the first place.

 Chapter 576 â€“ The Sixth Floor

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An stood back to back in the centre of the storm, creating the winds that ripped through everything.

    The winds subsided, and the battle stopped.

    Li Qingshan swung the Heavy Water sword downwards, splattering the ground with a thick streak of blood.

    Notches appeared on the sword. It was riddled with cracks, on the edge of shattering.

    High grade spiritual artifacts were no longer enough to endure such a battle.

    Li Qingshan was riddled with wounds. Many of the injuries were close to his vital points.

    Outnumbered and unable to use his daemon powers, it was impossible for him to remain unscathed. If it were not for the Demon Suppression Statuary¡¯s extraordinary effectiveness against these Demon Generals, he would not have even been able to last ten seconds even if he pushed his talent for battle to the limit.

    Xiao An¡¯s golden avatar was also riddled with wounds, but upon dispersing the avatar, she was completely unharmed.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity we can¡¯t collect these corpses.¡±

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An through his soul sense with a slight sense of pity. The two monks were not idiots. They definitely could not afford to do anything strange that would raise suspicion.

    Xiao An said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. These aren¡¯t substantial anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded and turned towards the Demon Suppression statue, comprehending the fifth form of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    Outside the Demon Suppression hall, the Dauntless monk stopped worrying completely, while the Unraging monk had already vanished from beside him. He had entered the Demon Suppression hall, so he was ready to save them at any time.

    Although slain geniuses could not be considered as geniuses, this was still the fifth floor of the Demon Suppression hall. Even if they sent in a group of the most outstanding disciples of the monastery, it was highly likely for them to be completely annihilated.

    But in the end, the battle prowess that Li Qingshan and Xiao An demonstrated left him deeply astounded. Their teamwork was virtually flawless. Their coordination could no longer be described as tacit. They were basically mentally linked.

    A special connection seemed to exist between them, far more complicated than the relationship between a man and a woman.

    The Demon Suppression statue emitted two beams of light again, and Li Qingshan shut his eyes. His body radiated with black demon qi, which lingered on his wounds. The injuries began to writhe, closing up at a visible rate.

    From this aspect alone, he was already no different from demons. He possessed life force that far exceeded any human.

    A while later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and dispersed the demonic nature and demon qi. He had become even fiercer and stronger, and his level of demonification had become deeper.

    ¡°I think I look pretty good!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and water rippled before him, forming a mirror. He saw a hideous, human figure before raising his eyebrows and making an evaluation like that.

    Of course, this ¡°pretty good¡± was in comparison to his original daemon form. When it came to his judgement of appearances, he had never used beauty and ugliness as a standard. He had his own strange set of standards. He had always found his original daemon form, together with the ox hooves and tiger claws, much more satisfying than his humanoid daemon form, the handsome, red-haired man.

    His appearance after demonifying was another style compared to his original daemon form. He basically maintained his humanoid figure. Apart from growing taller, he only seemed like he had put on a set of extremely fitting and flagrant armour.

    But in the eyes of regular people, he was truly a terrifying monster.

    ¡°Yep!¡± Xiao An raised her head and nodded seriously, praising him with admiration from the very bottom of her heart.

    ¡°I have to say, out of all the people I know, you have the best tastes!¡±

    Li Qingshan chuckled and laughter reverberated through the surroundings.

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk both witnessed this. There was nothing they could say about their standards of beauty.

    ¡°Do you think we should still visit the sixth floor?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked. He was very tempted to go and learn the sixth statue of the Demon Suppression Statuary, as he had learnt the Chains of Demon Suppression on the third floor.

    This was no coincidence. For many ancient cultivation methods, a special juncture would often come with every three layers. If cultivators could comprehend a technique and battle skill that complemented their cultivation method, it would stop them from being distracted by anything else, and it could also ensure they could protect their lives to a certain degree.

    Along the way, the role that the Chains of Demon Suppression had played could be considered as vital. Against many Demon Generals that were difficult to defeat, he only needed to unleash the Chains of Demon Suppression, and he would be able to overwhelm them completely, achieving victory with great ease.

    However, with the fifth floor as a boundary in the Demon Suppression hall, venturing down further would definitely result in even greater danger. After learning the fifth form of the Demon Suppression Statuary, the pressure on the spirit turtle had basically been relieved, and it had recovered some of its sharp senses over the future. It could sense the existence of danger.

    Of course, if he could use his full strength freely, Li Qingshan believed that even the seventh floor would be no problem, much less the sixth floor. However, the fate awaiting him if he reverted to his daemon form in the Demon Suppression hall would probably be venturing straight down to the ninth floor and being suppressed there for ten thousand years.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Let¡¯s continue!¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re so confident!¡±

    Xiao An said nothing and fished out a scarlet talisman from her hundred treasures pouch.

    ¡°I sure have been forgetful.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Among battles between cultivators, talismans had always held an extremely important position. They could serve as sudden attacks that could turn the tides of the battle.

    Throughout the years, Li Qingshan had gathered quite a lot of different talismans. Let alone scarlet talismans, he even had violet talismans. However, during battles at his level, rarely was there the opportunity to use talismans, so he forgot about them.

    Then Xiao An took out a few bronze bangles for controlling corpses. Every single one of them hid a Corpse General. They had also been one of the spoils Li Qingshan had obtained from his battle at Burial Mound mountain. There were all from the hundred treasures pouches of the Golden Core cultivators who had been killed.

    Li Qingshan had passed them to Xiao An to be refined. Xiao An had already accumulated everything she required for her breakthrough to the second layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. She only lacked comprehension, so she kept them around for whenever the need arose.

    Of course, these refined Corpse Generals that could be controlled were worlds apart from the Corpse Generals of the Hungry Ghost realm. And, if they were ever used before Corpse Commanders or Corpse Kings, they would change sides basically immediately. However, they were enough for rushing into battle.

    Li Qingshan no longer had any second thoughts. The two of them continued on their way, stepping through the door.

    The heavy smell of blood even made regular Demon Generals afraid to approach this place, but a colossal figure rushed over out of instinct. Duoge burst in and had another sumptuous feast.

    The sixth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, the central square.

    Almost a hundred Demon Generals gathered beneath the Demon Suppression statue, studying the secret within the statue, hoping that there would be a day when they could leave this prison.

    The atmosphere in there was quite heavy and solemn. The Demon Generals had no interest in fighting one another. As they observed the Demon Suppression statue, their gazes would drift past the front of the statue from time to time.

    A dishevelled, indifferent man sat there with his legs crossed. He had a strangely-shaped sword radiating with demon qi placed across his knees.

    The sword was pitch-black like ink, but it was not completely straight. Instead, there were knobs, like it was a pagoda. It was almost three meters long, which made it obvious what kind of stature was required to wield a sword like that freely.

    The strangest part of the sword was the guard and hilt. It was not made of gold, metal, rock, or wood, but a clump of coiled flesh and blood vessels. At the very centre was a bowl-sized eye, with only the whites of the eye and no iris. It was completely bloodshot, which made it seem extremely eerie.

    The other Demon Generals all remained a few meters away from him, afraid to get any closer. They even seemed like they were afraid to breathe too loudly.

    ¡°What the fuck are you all doing?! Piss off, don¡¯t block the path!¡±

    A bellow broke the silence. From the door beneath the Demon Suppression statue, a demon radiating with a fierce aura suddenly leapt out and swung his hand towards the cold man.

    The place occupied by the cold man was definitely the most optimal position for studying the Demon Suppression statue, but it also happened to be a place where demons coming up from below had to pass through.

    The eyes of the demons were filled with a mocking pleasure over what was about to happen, Sir Lietu is a genius of the Demon race. Although he has fallen back down from the Demon Commander realm, he¡¯s still not someone who can be handled by Demon Generals, not to mention he wields the ¡°Evil Eye¡±.

    Lietu waved his right hand gently, and a gust of foul air swept through the square.

    The fierce Demon General staggered past Lietu. A vicious wound stretched from his left shoulder to his right waist, spraying with blood. He turned around. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡±

    Suddenly, he discovered that something important seemed to be missing. He lowered his head and checked his chest.

    Lietu currently had his head lowered, fiddling around with a black, pebble-like demon heart. There was a thump behind him, and the fierce Demon General collapsed on the ground.

    Without even looking back, he placed the demon heart into the strange eye in the centre of the sword hilt. The eye pulsed and absorbed the black demon heart. As if the sword had been completed, a black iris appeared in the eyeball. The eyeball swiveled around, and every Demon General that it saw shivered inside.

    The many blood vessels coiled around the black iris, and the entire hilt twisted violently. Foul air whistled out, blowing Lietu¡¯s hair into the air and filling the entire hall. All of the Demon Generals felt like they were suffocating.

    The entire sword shone with black light as if the dark night had descended. The glistening colour of gold in the surroundings immediately dimmed. Only the Demon Suppression statue remained the same as before, watching all of this unfold from above.

    But a while later, the eyeball forced out the demon heart, which fell to the ground with a clink. It felt like it had just eaten something disgusting and spat it back out with great disdain.

    Lietu shook his head. ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s still not enough. The demon hearts of Demon Generals are unable to satisfy the Evil Eye. It requires even stronger demon hearts. I need to recover my strength as soon as possible and kill my way back onto the seventh floor so that I can find a suitable demon heart.¡±

    His sharp ears suddenly twitched as he sensed auras of death gathered outside the door. The other Demon Generals were afraid of Lietu, but none of them were weak. They all sensed it too and became vigilant.

    Thump!

    The nine gilded doors suddenly opened at the same time, and a hundred Corpse Soldiers swarmed in.

    The Demon Generals were unsurprised. As it turned out, it was merely some Corpse Soldiers.

    Lietu frowned, sensing that something was amiss. There were plenty of demonfolk that could control corpses, but these Corpse Soldiers were originally humans. Where did all these human corpses come from in the Demon Suppression hall? It was completely impossible for those bald asses from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to use something like this.

    The eyeball on the Evil Eye sword in his hand swiveled, noticing how the backs of every Corpse Soldier was plastered with talismans. They all tore apart at the same time, shining with light.

 Chapter 577 â€“ Mine

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An killed their way to the outskirts of the sixth floor before beginning their preparations. Li Qingshan had obviously come up with this move that terrorists used all too frequently. Originally, he only wanted to catch them off-guard so that he could launch a sudden attack.

    But from the moment he stuck on the first talisman, Li Qingshan became like a child who wanted to test out the maximum power of some firecrackers. He took out all of the destructive talismans of fire and lightning and stuck them on. Afterwards, with an order from Xiao An, the suicidal Corpse Soldiers all rushed in together.

    The Demon Generals had not responded slowly, unleashing their various defensive techniques. However, the circular square only had nine doors in total, and not all the Corpse Soldiers Xiao An had arranged charged in. Nine remained behind, specially for closing the doors!

    The nine gilded doors opened and closed. Everything happened in a single instant.

    Boom!

    All of the Corpse Soldiers were torn apart by the lightning and fire first. The flames surged and the electricity crackled, swallowing the Demon Generals and slamming them against the walls heavily, but the fire and lightning and firmly stopped. It rebounded and was compressed before becoming even more violent. Who knew how many times that process occurred in a single moment, completely unleashing the full force of the explosion.

    The entire Demon Suppression hall shook violently. Only after a very long time did the shaking completely stop.

    Li Qingshan crouched outside the door, plugging his ears with his index fingers as he shook his head violently. He stood up and whistled in disbelief. He had never thought the combined explosion of these talismans would be so great that even he would become slightly dizzy.

    Li Qingshan extended his thumb at Xiao An.

    ¡°Probably all of them inside have been blown up to death!¡±

    Li Qingshan estimated that even if he were blocked up in a place and blown up like that, he definitely could not emerge unscathed either. No matter how powerful the Demon Generals were inside, they probably would not have been able to escape death.

    However, Xiao An shook her head. She could clearly sense a powerful aura of life remaining behind the door.

    ¡°Then I need to see just whose life is so tough. Surely it¡¯s not a Demon Commander!¡±

    Xiao An stopped Li Qingshan. A few Corpse Generals leapt out from behind her and entered through the door first.

    There was a sharp flash, and the Corpse Generals at the front suddenly fell backwards, but the lower half of their bodies maintained the charging posture. They were like wheat that had been cut down by a sickle, splitting in half along the waist.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Qingshan stared ahead, only to see a demon male currently standing in front of the Demon Suppression statue. He wielded a strange, long sword in his hand. A glisten of light flowed through the sword, and the hollow eyeball on the hilt stared fixedly at Li Qingshan.

    His clothes were tattered and parts of him were charred, but his aura had not weakened at all. His eyes were filled with fury and killing intent. Probably everyone would feel the same if they were caught by surprise with something like that. And, if it were not for the sword in his hand, he definitely would have received even more severe damage.

    The ground beneath him was littered with charred remains. Some of them still writhed, with a shred of life remaining that could be extinguished at any time.

    Lietu said sternly, ¡°Do you really think you can kill me with something like that!? You can pay with your blood!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Bastard, your life sure is tough.¡±

    Li Qingshan drew the Heavy Water sword and the tip struck the ground with a clank. He grabbed the sword with both hands as he cried out inside, How close!

    To be able to react immediately under these circumstances, this guy definitely isn¡¯t some regular Demon General. The strike was not enough to pose life-threatening danger to me, which was why the spirit turtle gave no warning. However, if I had stepped into it, I¡¯d have to use strength beyond Foundation Establishment to dodge it, which will lead to suspicion. Though, that sword sure is interesting!

    The moment Li Qingshan spotted the strange sword, his eyes became glued to it. It was not only because of the great, strange power it gave off, but also because the design of the sword suited his tastes very much!

    He¡¯s no regular Demon General. The demon qi he gives off is extraordinarily pure. Even among Demon Commanders, there aren¡¯t many who can reach that level!

    Lietu studied Li Qingshan too, or more accurately, it was through the ¡°Evil Eye¡¯ in his hand. The Evil Eye¡¯s gaze directly passed through Li Qingshan¡¯s body, spotting the location of his dark-red demon heart.

    Demon hearts were not like the cardiovascular organ. They could condense anywhere inside a demonfolk¡¯s body, making them extremely difficult to be targeted as a vital point. Lietu had used this exact ability of the Evil Eye to dig out the demon heart from the fierce Demon General earlier.

    He sensed the pulses of the ¡°Evil Eye¡±, desiring the opponent¡¯s demon heart. Situations like this rarely ever occurred. In the past, he had killed many Demon Commanders in order to strengthen the Evil Eye demonic sword, but not every demon heart could satisfy the ¡°Evil Eye¡±.

    If he could obtain this Demon General¡¯s demon heart, then he would be able to unleash the Evil Eye¡¯s power, and he could return to the seventh floor immediately.

    ¡°Your sword is mine!¡±

    ¡°Your demon heart is mine!¡±

    The two of them blurted out at the same time. Even their intonations were no different, but unfortunately, this was not a mutual understanding among friends, but the desire to kill as enemies.

    There was another flash of sharp light as Lietu rushed over, swinging his sword along the way.

    Li Qingshan refused to be careless. He had personally witnessed what had happened when Xiao An¡¯s Corpse Generals were killed. He knew what terrifying power a sharp sword could display in the hands of a master.

    With a great bellow, he lifted the Heavy Water sword over his head, unleashing the Siege Breaking strike and swinging down violently.

    Clang!

    With a gentle thrum, the broken tip of the sword spiraled through the air, striking the ceiling before falling to the ground, sending sparks flying.

    The Heavy Water sword returned to its original size. A third of the sword had been cut off.

    Lietu sneered. I¡¯ll cut you in half with my next slash!

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He changed to a single-handed grip and grasped the sword firmly, swinging out diagonally. He extended his free hand towards Lietu.

    Chains of Demon Suppression!

    With a metallic jangle, black chains criss-crossed through the air, wrapping around Lietu.

    ¡°What?¡±

    Lietu was dumbfounded. He felt his demon qi surge uncontrollably right when he was about to swing out with his certain-kill strike. Under the firm entanglement of the Chains of Demon Suppression, he was immobilised on the spot. Even his demon qi seemed to freeze up. The broken sword had already arrived by his face.

    Who knew how many Demon Generals with all sorts of techniques Li Qingshan had managed to kill with this move. It was basically ever successful. However, he did not feel the satisfying feedback of a strike running all the way through from the broken sword. Instead, it seemed to be stuck.

    Lietu¡¯s mouth protruded out like a canine¡¯s, biting down firmly on the blade. He closed his mouth forcefully, and his sharp teeth pierced into the sword. Cracks spread rapidly, and with a crack, the Heavy Water sword had actually been forcefully shattered with a bite. Lietu stared at Li Qingshan with a sneering smile.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He glanced at the empty hilt before plunging it viciously into Lietu¡¯s head. ¡°Do you really think you won¡¯t have to compensate me, idiot?¡± He extended his hand to steal the strange sword from him.

    The eyeball in the centre of the hilt suddenly pulsed. The thumb-thick things that resembled blood vessels wrapped around the hilt suddenly sprang alive and swarmed over, plunging into Lietu¡¯s hand and completely merging with him. The sheen that flowed through the sword slid up into the hilt before being delivering into Lietu¡¯s hand through the ¡°vessels¡±.

    This had been completed in a split second. By the time he had become ¡°one with the sword¡±, Lietu¡¯s body produced a hundred stands of sword qi, pulverising the Chains of Demon Suppression. There were even several dozen strands that shot towards Li Qingshan.

    It had happened right beside him, so it was too late for Li Qingshan to dodge. He had lost his weapon too, so he was unable to parry or block. If he truly were a regular mid Foundation Establishment cultivator, then he probably would have been diced on the spot.

    A streak of golden light inserted itself between them. The golden sword in Xiao An¡¯s hand was like a huge, golden brush. It splashed around and danced liberally, unleashing a flurry of strokes. With a wild scribble, she wrote a huge, Chinese character of the word ¡°sword¡±.

    Blood spattered from Lietu¡¯s body. He staggered back by a few steps and said in surprise, ¡°A golden avatar of buddhism!¡±

    Currently, Xiao An resembled a gilded statue that had just been completed in a temple. However, while the craftsman possessed almost-divine skill, he had misunderstood the monks¡¯ request, creating a heavenly maiden of absolute beauty instead of a glaring guardian king. She wore a golden crown with a golden ribbon draped over her. There was a red mole on her forehead as she stood on the ground bare-footed, coming off as gentle and graceful, beautiful and solemn, but the sense of stateliness had not been reduced at all.

    Lietu felt greatly threatened, but he still had an option. He could retreat to the seventh floor from here. If they were bold enough to chase after him, then they would be doomed.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave this guy to you!¡±

    Li Qingshan said suddenly before making his way around Lietu, arriving before the Demon Suppression statue and studying it closely. Just like that, he had sealed off Lietu¡¯s path of escape.

    Rarely do we come across such a suitable opponent, so let¡¯s just leave him for Xiao An to demonstrate her skills. We killed our way over here. Those two damn, peeping monks should be satisfied now!

    The Dauntless monk and Unraging monk were not just satisfied. They basically felt rather overjoyed. In the world of cultivation, studying under a renowned master or joining a large sect was not easy, but finding a genius disciple was very difficult too.

    Not only did the two of them have quite the destiny with buddhism, but they were skilled in fighting and killing too. They would definitely strengthen the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s renown in this age of chaos.

    This came off as rather conflicting. After all, in the eyes of the secular world, monks were supposed to cleanse themselves of all desires and embrace benevolence. However, if that were all to the monks of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, then the current Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would not exist anymore, nor would they have to use a brutal place of slaughter like the Demon Suppression hall to train their disciples.

    Even the buddha had to unleash a lion¡¯s roar to subdue the demons of heresy, to have his statue gilded in gold and revered by the living creatures, let alone these disciples and grand disciples under him.

    However, while the Dauntless monk was satisfied with Xiao An, the one who caught the Unraging monk¡¯s eye was instead Li Qingshan. Gazing at Li Qingshan who stood before the sixth Demon Suppression statue, the Unraging monk thought to himself.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary, oh the Demon Suppression Statuary. I originally thought it was a great fortune left behind by that senior for me, but I never thought I¡¯d still be able to meet you. We¡¯re basically master and disciple designated by the heavens. Kid, even if you don¡¯t want to accept me as your master this time, it won¡¯t be up to you to decide.

 Chapter 578 â€“ The Sixth Layer of the Guardian King

    Lietu gripped his sword firmly, completely on edge. Before him stood a formidable enemy he rarely encountered.

    What¡¯s she doing?

    Just as the Dauntless monk was rather confused, Xiao An gave him an answer. The golden avatar suddenly erupted with light, and it actually started showing signs of melting away. Golden liquid poured down from the beautiful face.

    ¡°She¡¯s breaking through!¡±

    The Dauntless monk was mildly surprised. He never thought Xiao An would choose to break through on the spot when she was confronting an enemy. A disposition like that was impressive, but she would be greatly disadvantaged if she failed.

    The golden avatar was like a man of wax in fire, melting to a blurry, humanoid clump. Xiao An practised the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual silently, and the golden avatar gradually began to condense again, consolidating once more. The avatar became even more refined and exquisite, having broken through to the fifth layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, reaching ¡°mid Foundation Establishment¡±.

    The Dauntless monk smiled. The surprises that this child had brought him were endless. If this continued, she could reach peak Foundation Establishment before the age of twenty, and she had a chance at becoming the head monk of a courtyard before the age of thirty. Even throughout the entire history of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, there had only been a handful of such peerless geniuses.

    At this moment, he had made up his mind completely to toss aside all of his doubts and guide her properly so that she could accept the benevolence of the buddha.

    The golden avatar reflected in Lietu¡¯s eyes, which made his irises narrow. He felt the threat become even greater, also realising that the opponent had just broken through earlier, which made him feel regretful. He had been far too careful. If he had known beforehand, he would have used this opportunity to launch an attack and catch her off-guard.

    It was too late for regret now. His sword was directed towards her, poised to strike.

    However, Xiao An closed her eyes once again.

    ¡°What¡¯s she doing this time?¡±

    The Dauntless monk was taken aback before seeing the golden avatar that Xiao An had just condensed melt away once more. Surely she was not breaking through again!

    Even with everything the Dauntless monk had witnessed in his life, he had no idea what to say. He had seen audacious people before, but never had he seen someone so audacious. He had seen talented geniuses before, but never had he seen a genius so talented.

    ¡°Not so easy!¡±

    Xiao An raised one hand and formed a seal, resplendent like a lotus flower. At the same time, she lifted the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare with her other hand, which emitted a streak of golden light.

    The golden light collided with the black light, and the buddhist light and demonic energy clashed violently in the air, constantly wearing each other away and emitting a strange, sharp drone. It spread out into a wall of light between them.

    The energy that leaked out surged like ripples, sweeping across the entire square. It completely crushed the Demon Generals who continued to hold onto their last gasp, turning them into dust. In the end, only sturdy demon hearts remained where they were. Most of them were like pebbles, but there were a few that were slightly shiny.

    What is she? She can actually devote all of her attention to breaking through while holding off an opponent? Or is that merely a diversion?

    Lietu was not a timid coward, but when he fought Xiao An, he had to keep an eye over Li Qingshan behind him. Although Li Qingshan had said he would not fight, how could Lietu, a demonfolk, trust a promise from the opponent?

    Whatever. I¡¯ll kill her first. Demonify!

    Lietu made up his mind and released turbulent demon qi. His hair began to flutter in the air as his body swelled up. His limbs extended, becoming abnormally long.

    His face twisted into a triangle as the midline running down his face protruded like the ridge of a sword. A sturdy layer covered his eyes, which shone with a sharp light. At the same time, his nose became two, long slits. A single horn that resembled a sword protruded from his forehead, stabbing into the sky. It seemed like he had put on a strange mask.

    His entire body resembled a mask, shining with a metallic lustre like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath.

    He swung his sword backwards, and his body tilted forwards, shooting towards Xiao An like a launched javelin. He actually ignored the threat of the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare.

    Golden light shot out, sweeping past Lietu, but it dimmed drastically after penetrating his protective demon qi. In the end, it only left behind some singes, unable to pierce him so easily.

    In a flash, the Evil Eye swung over. It was still over three meters away, but the whistling of sword qi directly pierced the ears; it was as chilling as the shrieks of countless ghosts.

    If the sword landed, she would not emerge unscathed even with the golden avatar¡¯s protection. Moreover, she was currently breaking through. Not only was she unable to dodge, but her golden avatar basically had no defensive power either. As it seemed, breaking through on the spot had not been the correct decision.

    Xiao An waved the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare. The melted, golden fluid flowed into it, turning into a hilt and a blade and recondensing a vajra sword.

    A complicated and magnificent pattern covered the golden sword, with a few simple and elegant glyphs engraved on there. It completely merged with the Wheel of the Wisdom King¡¯s Glare, but it had never seemed so complete and compatible before. It was as if the two were one object in the first place.

    Clang!

    The two swords collided and produced a thunderous explosion, but neither the Evil Eye sword or the vajra sword were damaged.

    Lietu was astounded. The Evil Eye sword had been unstoppable, yet it was unable to cut through the vajra sword. With a thrust and a flick, Lietu tried to knock the vajra sword away and run his sword through Xiao An¡¯s chest.

    The vajra sword responded to the circumstances, sticking firmly to the Evil Eye sword like its shadow. The two swords slid and ground against each other, unleashing a series of sparks. No matter how Lietu wielded his sword, he was unable to knock away the vajra sword.

    The Dauntless monk sighed inside. She can actually wield this vajra sword of extreme rigidness with such flexibility. It¡¯s not only her understanding of the buddhist dharma. Even her swordsmanship is ingenious.

    Lietu let out a fierce howl and pulled back his sword. Looming over Xiao An and merging with the sword, he swung madly.

    The streaks of light from the sword rained down like a storm. Flexibility came with an inability to hold the ground and defend. Faced with such an extravagant sword style, it was impossible for Xiao An to receive these strikes as easily as earlier no matter how ingenious her swordsmanship was.

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Like a string of thunder claps, Xiao An remained where she was, without moving at all, but seventeen or eighteen arms seemed to extend from her body, wielding the vajra sword to the point where she stood like a sturdy fortress. It was like she could not be shaken at all no matter how violent the storm was.

    But a while later, the golden avatar condensed once again. Every single crease and wrinkle in the skin was clearly visible now, and the sense of stateliness it emitted became grander. Just like that, Xiao An had broken through to the sixth layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual naturally.

    She had managed to succeed under such circumstances! The Dauntless monk already had no idea what he could say. All he could do was silently adjust the plan he had in mind. If this continued, perhaps she had a chance at condensing a ?ar¨©ra and undergoing the second heavenly tribulation before the age of twenty. Just how many people had managed to achieve this throughout history? Compared to this, could that wretched daemon Golden Cicada even be called a buddhist genius?

    Xiao An opened her eyes and glanced at Lietu indifferently. If she could use the Buddha Slaying sword embryo, killing this demon would only take a single strike, but she faced the same issue as Li Qingshan. She could not directly use the great power of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, so she made use of the situation to practise the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual.

    It was like she had finished the content from university before sitting a test for primary schoolers. It would only be strange if she had any issues.

    Xiao An silently sensed the power flowing through her. It should be enough to kill him now.

    She took a step forward. Golden light erupted and sword qi swelled as she switched from defence to offence.

    Li Qingshan had been staring at the sixth Demon Suppression statue the entire time. When Lietu gained the upper hand earlier, he had not even glanced back, but he suddenly turned around and said, ¡°Oh right. I want that sword, so be careful not to break it.¡±

    She was in such a dangerous battle, yet he still reminded her to keep the enemy¡¯s weapon intact! If it were not for witnessing their unbelievable teamwork earlier, the Dauntless monk basically would have wondered if they even cared for one another.

    Xiao An agreed to his request.

    Lietu became even more furious. They basically treated him like a lamb to the slaughter.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh right. You there, if you leave the sword behind, I can let you leave this place alive.¡±

    Before Lietu could even answer, Xiao An said, ¡°Definitely not.¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. Xiao An rarely ever objected to his suggestions.

    Xiao An said, ¡°He said he wanted your demon heart earlier. As it seems, the sword requires suitable demon hearts to unleash its power. We aren¡¯t really suited for entering the seventh floor, so his demon heart is the best choice available.¡±

    ¡°I see. Alright then. Butcher him!¡±

    After stating his request relaxedly, Li Qingshan turned around and gazed at the Demon Suppression statue. Before long, the Demon Suppression statue lit up.

    Xiao An leapt up gently and turned into a streak of golden light. The Evil Eye sword fell down, landing on the golden light.

    Xiao An raised her hands and caught the blade, pushing right up to Lietu. The vajra sword plunged straight towards him. Lietu extended his hand to grab the vajra sword in a panic.

    Both of them grabbed each other¡¯s sword with one hand while gripping their own sword with the other and pushing it towards the opponent, refusing to relent. The two swords broke free from their restraints at the same time, falling towards their enemy.

    Lietu clutched his abdomen and pushed Xiao An away, spurting with blood. Sword qi that contained buddhist powers wreaked havoc inside him.

    On the other hand, Xiao An did not take a single step back, and an extremely distinct slash appeared on her golden crown. Logically speaking, the head was a much greater vital point than the abdomen, but Xiao An was not afraid of exchanging strikes since she had the protection of the golden avatar.

    After reaching the sixth layer of the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual, the golden avatar had become far tougher than anything a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could achieve at the same level of cultivation. Cutting through her golden avatar was not something a Demon General could achieve.

    Dammit! If I had a suitable demon heart, that strike would have been able to split her head in half!

    As that thought flashed through his head, the golden figure arrived right before him again. Sword qi swept out.

    Xiao An only attacked without defending, allowing Lietu to leave behind slashes on the golden avatar while forcing him backwards. Blood constantly spurted from his body. A golden streak swept past and three of his fingers sailed through the air.

    Li Qingshan kept his eyes shut and said without even looking back, ¡°If you get any closer, I¡¯m going to take action too.¡±

    Lietu was utterly furious. Suddenly, he leapt backwards, arriving in the air and plunging his sword into his chest.

    Li Qingshan was astounded. Don¡¯t tell me this guy has lost his mind from anger!

    ¡°I want to kill you both! Evil Eye, give me power!¡±

 Chapter 579 â€“ The Demon Suppression Tower

    Thrum! Clang! With a series of metallic sounds, several dozen swords burst out of his body, stabbing out of his back, arms, neck, and even mouth.

    Lietu¡¯s demon qi erupted. His body was covered with swords like a strange, twisted hedgehog of metal. He crouched on the ground, staring at Xiao An in resentment, having merged with the sword completely.

    This was extremely similar to complete demonification. It was very difficult to turn back from. The Evil Eye would gradually devour him until he became a part of the sword. Basically every master of the Evil Eye had met their end like this, while the Evil Eye grew stronger and stronger.

    However, before he was completely devoured, he would obtain great strength, enough to kill them.

    ¡°Even if I die, I¡¯ll drag you all down with me!¡±

    The eyeball became completely embedded in Lietu¡¯s chest. It swiveled around, and a speck of green light suddenly appeared in the centre, turning into a green iris. It stared at Xiao An.

    The iris was Lietu¡¯s demon heart. His arms and legs had all become long, sharp swords. Pushing off from the ground, he vanished.

    Xiao An swung down with her sword, and with a clang, two swords collided. She had struck the arm that Lietu swung towards her.

    ¡°Die!¡± Lietu howled fiercely.

    Cling! Clang! With a string of metallic sounds, several dozen swords burst out of his body, stabbing towards Xiao An¡¯s golden avatar.

    His long arm that was as sharp as a sword wrapped around the golden avatar conveniently, wanting to bisect Xiao An along the waist like a huge guillotine.

    No matter how powerful Xiao An¡¯s swordsmanship was, she could only forcefully endure a strike like that with her golden avatar.

    These swords were as sharp as the Evil Eye itself. After obtaining Lietu¡¯s demon heart, they even became much sharper. The golden avatar gave way, and the swords dug in by several inches. Any further and they would reach Xiao An¡¯s body. There was a sword only inches away from her forehead.

    Xiao An dispersed the golden avatar swiftly, using the opportunity to break free from Lietu¡¯s restraint with her petite figure.

    Isn¡¯t this merely a temporary relief that¡¯ll lead her to her demise? Without the protection of the golden avatar, a single strike will be enough to threaten her life, the Dauntless monk thought, only to see Xiao An recondense her golden avatar. All the damage from before had vanished.

    When Xiao An struck again, she was much more careful, just in case Lietu caught her again. However, losing the upper hand now became unavoidable.

    Even if Xiao An managed to land a blow on Lietu with her vajra sword, his swords would block it, so she achieved nothing. On the other hand, as the fusion between Lietu and the Evil Eye deepened, their attacks grew more and more swift. A sudden thrust left behind a deep mark in the golden avatar.

    Lietu turned into a rotating storm of metal, filling the air with golden power every time he collided with the golden avatar. And, he moved faster and faster too, giving Xiao An no time to condense her golden avatar again.

    A while later, the magnificent and detailed golden avatar was reduced to a horrible shape.

    Xiao An was already pushing the Guardian King¡¯s Scripture of Demon Subdual to the limit, but Lietu¡¯s strength completely surpassed Demon General after merging with the sword. A regular cultivator would have become riddled with holes from a single clash with him.

    ¡°A little help here!¡± Xiao An said.

    ¡°Alrighty!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back with a smile. He waved his hand, and the pitch-black Chains of Demon Suppression criss-crossed over, extending towards Lietu.

    ¡°Useless!¡±

    Lietu barked. Several dozen swords emerged from his body, cutting and tearing apart the Chains of Demon Suppression. Suddenly, a black shadow loomed over him; he looked up, only to see a nine-layered tower, pitch-black like ink. It had appeared out of nowhere, imposing and dignified, utterly unstoppable.

    The second move of the Demon Suppression Statuary, the Demon Suppression Tower!

    Boom!

    The entire square shook violently. The Demon Suppression Tower fell from above, trapping Lietu inside.

    ¡°Sure enough, this move is plenty devastating,¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Release me!¡±

    Lietu¡¯s bellows rang out from the Demon Suppression Tower. After merging with the Evil Eye, it constantly devoured him. If he could not kill the two of them quickly, then he would be completely devoured in the end, becoming a part of the sword. In the end, he would only benefit Li Qingshan at his own expense.

    He struggled desperately. Swords plunged out of his body, but the black tower was not as fragile as the Chains of Demon Suppression. The swords rapidly weakened before they had even approached the tower, and the demon qi in his body was rapidly suppressed.

    Lietu was very tough. He threw himself against the tower madly, shaking and swaying the Demon Suppression Tower; it was like it could tip over at any time.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand again, and nine Chains of Demon Suppression flew over with a clank. They wrapped around the Demon Suppression Tower before pinning it to the ground and pulling themselves taut. The Demon Suppression Tower immediately stopped shaking. Sounds of collision continued to ring out, but the Demon Suppression Tower did not even budge anymore.

    ¡°Done. So this is the true usage of the Chains of Demon Suppression. They work with the Demon Suppression Tower for suppression. Just how many people can escape this?¡±

    Having learnt a new, powerful trick, Li Qingshan was overjoyed. The only issue he had with it was the moves in the Demon Suppression Statuary focused on suppression and not killing in a single strike.

    The Chains of Demon Suppression can still trap the opponent before I kill them, but the Demon Suppression Tower completely isolates the opponent from me. If this Lietu doesn¡¯t die by himself, I have to move the Demon Suppression Tower before coming up with a way to finish him off. How troublesome!

    Li Qingshan studied the black Demon Suppression Tower and suddenly thought of something. It also has nine floors. Don¡¯t tell me this is how the Demon Suppression hall looks like? If the Demon Suppression hall is actually a Demon Suppression tower, how large will this tower be? It¡¯ll probably be even larger than Great Buddha mountain.

    Suddenly, a fierce and brutal aura burst through a set of gilded doors and entered the square. The colossal figure had basically squeezed through the doorway, and its protruding teeth were even sharper than spears, producing foul gusts of air.

    ¡°Another one! Hmm? Are you Duoge?¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed the deep-violet pupils of the monster and remembered how Duoge looked like when he held his breath to demonify.

    Roar! Duoge unleashed a threatening howl, like a vicious beast about to launch an attack.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d actually turn out like this. Is it because he ate too many demon hearts?¡±

    Li Qingshan could sense that the demon qi on Duoge was extremely violent and powerful. He had to maintain the Demon Suppression Tower and Chains of Demon Suppression, so he was unable to spare any effort to suppress Duoge as well.

    Duoge glanced at Li Qingshan and Xiao An too before looking over them and staring at the Demon Suppression statue. The Demon Suppression statue gazed right back at him. In the end, Duoge lowered his head; his gaze landed on those scattered demon hearts, eyeing them greedily.

    Li Qingshan came up with an idea. Using the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, he conjured a monster exactly the same as Duoge, just even larger and more vicious. He created it in front of Duoge, and it let out a roar.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this? He even knows illusion techniques?¡±

    The Dauntless monk was mildly surprised. He was highly knowledgeable, but he did not possess much understanding of the school of Novels that had fallen into decline.

    Duoge shrank back slightly, becoming angered immediately. He lunged over viciously, but he hit nothing. The monster twisted and vanished as soon as he touched it. With his current level of intelligence, he had no idea what this was all about, so the situation left him in a small daze.

    Li Qingshan instead used this opportunity to wave his hand. With a gust of wind, all of the demon hearts swept into his hand; he said to Duoge, ¡°You want them?¡±

    Duoge lunged over with a growl. He was extremely large, but he was highly nimble with the lunge.

    The more demon hearts he devoured, the more violent and demonified he became, but he was unable to control this urge. He was like a person lost at sea, unable to help themselves as they drank seawater. The thirst could not be described with words.

    Li Qingshan turned around and threw as hard as he could, tossing all the demon hearts behind him.

    Duoge did not hesitate, immediately giving up on Li Qingshan and sweeping over Li Qingshan¡¯s head in pursuit of the demon hearts. The demon hearts all flew towards the Demon Suppression Tower.

    ¡°Rise!¡±

    Li Qingshan sniggered. The Chains of Demon Suppression slackened, and the Demon Suppression Tower flew high into the air.

    Having been suppressed in the Demon Suppression Tower, Lietu finally gave up on the pointless struggle. However, when he crossed his legs and sat down, he discovered that the rate at which the Evil Eye devoured him was not as fast as he imagined it to be. Under the tower, his mind recovered some clarity, and he came to an understanding.

    This tower can suppress demonic natures and demon qi. However, it is not just mine, but the Evil Eye¡¯s too. This is a good opportunity for me to gain complete control over the Evil Eye! I refuse to believe he can keep me suppressed here forever. As soon as he stops the technique, I¡¯ll rush out and kill them¡ªno, I¡¯ll have them taste the Demon race¡¯s torture of slow death.

    Right as he thought about that, his surroundings suddenly brightened. He responded extremely quickly, immediately standing up and brandishing his swords, only to see almost a hundred demon hearts flying over with a huge, vicious demonic beast following behind. The killing intent on his face turned into shock.

    In the middle of the air, Duoge swept out with his long, red tongue and swallowed the demon hearts from almost a hundred powerful Demon Generals. His colossal body followed along his original trajectory and dove towards Lietu. His large, deep-violet eyes suddenly noticed the eye on Lietu¡¯s chest, as well as the demon heart in the eye. He immediately became like a dog that had spotted a bone, and his pounce became even more determined.

    He immediately pushed Lietu down onto the ground.

    Boom!

    In the air, the Demon Suppression Tower became even larger and more dignified, falling down once more and suppressing Duoge and Lietu at the same time.

    This was the benefit of the Demon Suppression Statuary. The greater the demonic nature and demon qi, the more powerful the moves would become.

    After suppressing both of them, the tower instead became even more stable, as they were not working together to break free, instead becoming locked in an intense battle.

    Li Qingshan sat on the sharp tip of the tower as furious bellows and bestial roars rang out from beneath his bottom.

    Having merged with the sword, Lietu was extremely powerful, but Duoge had become extremely crazy after completely demonifying. He had just devoured almost another hundred demon hearts, so he definitely was not weak either.

    Lietu was unable to settle down and slowly control the Evil Eye anymore either, or the only fate awaiting him was being devoured. He could only plead to the Evil Eye for more power while it gradually devoured him. The sliver of clarity in his heart vanished, and he gradually went crazy too.

    In the narrow space, a man and a beast engaged in an unavoidable close combat, tearing and stabbing away at one another madly.

    ¡°When they¡¯ve fought enough, I¡¯ll open the tower. When that happens, finish off the sword person first and steal the sword.¡± Li Qingshan told Xiao An from atop the tower.

    Xiao An asked, ¡°Then what about Duoge?¡±

    ¡°If we can help him recover his sanity, then that would obviously be for the best. If we can¡¯t-¡± Li Qingshan paused. ¡°Then we kill him!¡±

    A while later, the sounds of battle from within the Demon Suppression Tower did not die down at all. Instead, it became louder and shriller. They waited for another ten minutes before it gradually died down.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances. He called out, ¡°Rise!¡±

 Chapter 580 â€“ The Traitorous Demon Sword

    Duoge waved his teeth and claws about with Lietu beneath him. His claws filled with power pressed down on Lietu¡¯s shoulders firmly, completely ignoring the swords that pierced through him as he mauled at Lietu desperately with his bloody mouth. His scarlet tongue constantly swept about, wanting to swallow the demon heart in Lietu¡¯s chest.

    Lietu no longer bore any resemblance to his past self. Sword-like spines covered his body, penetrating deeply into Duoge, but they were unable to stop his huge, teeth-ridden mouth from constantly pressing down. The smell of the demon heart attracted Duoge. He did not care at all about how many holes there were through his body.

    Blood flowed out like spring water, dyeing the golden ground red.

    Originally, Lietu possessed the ability to see the location of the demon heart with the Evil Eye sword in hand. No matter where his opponent¡¯s demon heart was hidden, he could take it out in a single strike. However, who knew how many demon hearts Duoge had eaten as he followed Li Qingshan and Xiao An. He was unable to digest them immediately, so they were all stored in his body, preventing the Evil Eye from discerning the location of the true demon heart.

    Lietu raised his head, blurrily making out Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s existence. He could feel his will being assimilated into the Evil Eye. He would be completely devoured before long.

    ¡°Aaaaaaaargh!¡±

    Lietu let out a hysterical roar of despair. The swords all pulled back into his body, and his chin dropped to an unbelievable angle. A streak of light suddenly shot out of his mouth, moving as fast as lightning as it aimed straight at Li Qingshan.

    As it happened right next to him, Li Qingshan was unable to dodge, or perhaps it would be better described as being unable to use his true power to dodge. He remained composed as the Demon Suppression Tower descended from above, enveloping him with a boom.

    That had been from a moment of inspiration. Indeed, as it turned out, not only could the Demon Suppression Tower trap the opponent, but it also could protect its user. Although it could not kill the opponent, it was still an extremely practical move.

    And, he could feel the glow of his demon heart subsiding drastically inside the Demon Suppression Tower. The Demon Suppression Tower was not for suppressing evil demons alone. More importantly, it was for suppressing his own demonic nature.

    He could not help but recall the third Demon Suppression statue, the figure of the demon man wrapped in chains. He must have used chains for self-restraint and a tower for self-suppression when he was unable to control his madness.

    However, it was pitch-black in here. He was unable to see what was going on outside.

    Lietu¡¯s desperate counterattack was definitely valiant. Probably even the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell could not block it easily, but it was unable to pierce the Demon Suppression Tower. That was not because the Demon Suppression Tower was more powerful than the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, but because the Demon Suppression Tower possessed a power to suppress demons. It specially restrained demonfolk, so no matter how powerful their attacks were, they would be whittled down to a shell of their former strength when they landed on the Demon Suppression Tower.

    Duoge used this opportunity to lunge at the eyeball. Li Qingshan waved his hand in the Demon Suppression Tower and black chains flew out, wrapping around Duoge.

    Duoge put up a violent struggle, and the chains broke one by one before even more chains immediately replaced them. He had already become heavily injured from the battle earlier, so he no longer possessed his original ferocity.

    Lietu¡¯s final strike finally ran out of energy too. He collapsed onto the ground powerlessly, turning into a corpse.

    The Demon Suppression Tower flew up once again, falling over Duoge. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t just let you eat the sword that has caught my eye.¡±

    At this moment, something unexpected happened. Duoge¡¯s scarlet tongue suddenly extended rapidly, and a mouth with long, vicious teeth opened up, biting towards the eyeball in Lietu¡¯s chest.

    Xiao An was about to swing her sword and sever the tongue when something else happened again. Lietu¡¯s corpse began to move again, flying towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Hmph, so you even know to play dead!¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and grabbed Lietu¡¯s neck, but to his surprise, Lietu did not put up a struggle. He only stiffened up without moving at all as his flesh and blood rapidly withered away. Only the eyeball in his chest remained the same.

    A while later, a black residue scattered across the ground, and Lietu vanished completely. All that was left was a strange sword in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Interesting. Looks like divine swords aren¡¯t the only ones with intelligence. Demonic swords are the same. This sword actually knows how to avoid trouble and how to defect to the enemy. Not bad, not bad.¡±

    Li Qingshan stroked the sword and said with a smile. This demonic sword that had just lost its master seemed extremely docile. Its eyes swiveled around, even actively transmitting its power to Li Qingshan as if a voice was whispering into his ear, ¡°I¡¯m very sharp. I¡¯m very strong. Take me. I will help you kill all your enemies!¡±

    If regular people obtained a strange, demonic sword like that, they would not be able to help themselves but to develop some disgust even if they loved its power and could not bear to part with it or see it destroyed. However, Li Qingshan liked it very much. He said to the strange eyeball on the hilt.

    ¡°Sword, oh sword. Probably every single master you¡¯ve served has suffered this fate! You¡¯ve abandoned and betrayed them all, but that¡¯s not your fault. You¡¯re merely a sword. There¡¯s nothing you can do if they¡¯re too weak.¡±

    People always hoped that everything would be loyal to them. Their women had to be loyal, their friends had to be loyal, and even their dogs and horses had to be loyal. However, eternal loyalty never existed. If horses were loyal, they would be ridden. If dogs were loyal, they would be ordered around.

    Li Qingshan had no plans to be loyal to anyone, nor did he need anyone or anything to be loyal to him.

    ¡°From today onwards, your name will be ¡®Betrayal¡¯. Yep, the Demonic Sword of Betrayal. I¡¯ll just call you ¡®Traitorous Demon sword¡¯.¡±

    The sword shone brightly as if it was making a gleeful reply.

    Li Qingshan smiled. If he did not want the sword to betray him, then all he could do was constantly grow stronger and do his best to survive. He casually placed the Traitorous Demon sword over his shoulder. The sword was over three meters long, which was perfect for once he demonified.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze passed through the Demon Suppression Tower. He saw Duoge roaring madly as he constantly threw himself against the tower.

    He was heavily injured, but the power from several hundred demon cores constantly surged through his body. His wounds rapidly recovered, and he demonified even more.

    Li Qingshan sighed gently. He was unable to connect this monster to the skinny, dark-skinned child. He dispersed the Demon Suppression Tower with a wave of his hand.

    Duoge lunged towards him. The difference in their sizes was very great, so he resembled a tiger pouncing towards a rabbit.

    Duoge was much stronger than a tiger, but Li Qingshan was no rabbit. He took a step forward with his left leg and anchored himself like a nail driven into the ground. He sucked in a deep breath as his pectoral muscles heaved into the air, bringing his right arm back and extending it to the limit like a battering ram ready to strike. He launched a vicious punch at Duoge¡¯s head.

    Duoge hurtled through the air and slammed into a wall. He climbed to his feet and shook his head. A few of his teeth were broken as blood oozed out in his mouth.

    The punch contained a great power of demon suppression. After reaching the sixth statue of the Demon Suppression Statuary, the demon heart in Li Qingshan¡¯s body had become shinier and clearer, and his destructive power towards demonfolk had become greater too.

    Duoge let out a violent howl and lunged over again. Death was not a concept to him. With a thunk, he sailed through the air again, leaving behind a long trail of blood on the ground.

    Li Qingshan pulled back his fist. With his crude method of attack, he could only crush those weaker opponents who posed no threat to him. If Lietu had not been trapped in the narrow Demon Suppression Tower that prevented him from moving and maneuvering about, he probably would have cut Duoge to pieces a long time ago.

    If Li Qingshan wanted to kill Duoge, it would not take him too much strength either. However, as he gazed into the violet eyes, the figure of that child seemed to appear before him. Then, he recalled the demon man in a painful struggle against his demonic nature that all the Demon Suppression statues depicted.

    ¡°I hope you can feel this pain!¡±

    Li Qingshan said softly as he watched Duoge lunge over. There was a flash before his eyes, and suddenly, he could see the demon hearts that twinkled in Duoge¡¯s body like stars. He could even clearly discern the quality of these demon hearts and whether the demonic nature they contained was pure or not.

    Glancing at the Traitorous Demon sword on his shoulder, Li Qingshan opened his fist and extended his index and middle finger, pressing them against Duoge¡¯s head viciously.

    The power of suppressing demons entered his body, and a demon heart in Duoge¡¯s head immediately dimmed, no longer shining anymore. Its demonic nature had been suppressed.

    Seems like it¡¯s effective! Li Qingshan twisted his body and allowed a huge claw to fly past him. He struck the mid-air Duoge with a hook, and two demon hearts in his jaw dimmed as well.

    Li Qingshan parted his legs and unleashed both fists. At that moment, he seemed to grow a hundred limbs. The fists rained down on Duoge¡¯s abdomen like a storm.

    Duoge constantly trembled in the air, roaring and growling furiously, trying to fight back. Li Qingshan¡¯s final punch sent him flying.

    Duoge only stood up after a flip. His demon qi plummeted, and a sliver of clarity appeared in the depths of his violet eyes. Li Qingshan channeled the power of suppressing demons into his body with each punch, having extinguished several dozen demon hearts now.

    With a flash, Li Qingshan arrived beside Duoge. His feet shifted as his posture changed, barraging Duoge with punches. With each punch, a demon heart dimmed.

    In the end, only a single demon heart continued to shine in his abdomen. Who knew how many demon hearts it had merged with. It became the size of a fist and had an uneven surface, shining with colourful light.

    ¡°Wake up!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed and struck Duoge¡¯s abdomen with a palm strike. It penetrated deeply into him and light spilled out. Li Qingshan had poured all of his power of suppressing demons into the palm strike.

    Suddenly, he came to an understanding. So this is demon suppression, not demon slaying or demon purging. Because the demon senior who created this cultivation method was also a demonfolk, he was not seeking to slay all demons, but to save those demons who were controlled by their demon hearts.

    A tiny figure burst out of the colossal body of the demonic beast. It was Duoge in his original shape.

    Li Qingshan caught him and placed him onto the ground gently. ¡°I¡¯ve already done everything I can. As for whether you can wake up, that¡¯ll be entirely up to you.¡±

    The Dauntless monk saw this and thought, This child seems vicious and violent, but he most definitely has a buddha nature. He has a heart of benevolence.

    Duoge furrowed his brows as his eyelashes trembled. His expression changed as the Demon Suppression statues appeared in his mind, gradually blurring and turning into himself in the end.

    The same expression of pain appeared on his face. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at Li Qingshan. ¡°Venerable¡­ I feel horrible!¡±

 Chapter 581 â€“ Accepting a Master

    Li Qingshan rubbed his head. Just cry. Pain will always surpass everything that has been indoctrinated into you and the senseless numbness. Even wild beasts know sorrow.

    Duoge was able to turn back from completely demonifying this time all thanks to the profound wonders of the Demon Suppression Statuary. Li Qingshan¡¯s assistance and his own comprehension had both been vital, immediately freeing him from the demon heart and allowing him to feel the many emotions of regular people.

    He had gone through an intense battle and experienced a wave of emotions he had never felt before. After crying bitterly, Duoge slowly fell asleep.

    Li Qingshan looked back, gazing at the doorway underneath the Demon Suppression statue. He experienced an urge to venture on and go to the next floor. He now possessed the Traitorous Demon sword and the Demon Suppression Tower. His strength had increased drastically.

    Xiao An grabbed his sleeve and shook her head gently. Li Qingshan nodded. If he ventured down any further, true Demon Commanders would definitely appear. Troublesome situations would arise even from the slightest negligence.

    ¡°Come down. Come down. I¡¯ll give you the greatest power there is!¡±

    At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out in his head. It was extremely imposing and had a strange buzz to it, enough for people to do its bidding involuntarily.

    Li Qingshan was momentarily dazed before returning to his senses immediately. ¡°Who are you? Where are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m on the very bottom. As long as you come, I¡¯ll give you the greatest power there is so that you can run about freely and do whatever you want.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh. ¡°Hah. You better wait until you can run about freely and do whatever you want yourself before you tell me these things. Compared to being a prisoner, I think I¡¯d be better off sticking with the jailors.¡±

    Even when the Unraging monk wanted to take him as his disciple, he had declined, let alone risking his life to look for a prisoner. Do you really think I¡¯m an idiot?

    ¡°How dare you speak to me like that!? Do you know who I am!?¡± The voice flew into a rage immediately.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head buzzed. The strange buzz suddenly became louder, like several dozen steel saws being used on his head. It was unbearably painful. His expression changed, but he continued to mock. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. You piece of trash, if you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you come and kill me?¡±

    The voice immediately fell quiet. Suddenly, the ground beneath him began to shake. The entire Demon Suppression hall rumbled as if a vicious beast was breaking free from its suppression.

    Surely not today, right? How¡¯d I manage to come here on the exact day he emerges!? Li Qingshan was stunned.

    At this moment, a huge, fat monk with a smile stretching from ear to ear walked over with his sleeves drifting in the air, holding a lamb leg in one hand and a gourd of alcohol in the other.

    He wore a pair of shabby straw sandals. With each step he took, the shaking of the Demon Suppression hall reduced by a little. When he arrived before Li Qingshan, the Demon Suppression hall had settled down completely. He was the Unraging monk.

    The Unraging monk was quite tall and large, but he only reached up to Li Qingshan¡¯s waist after the latter demonified. However, as he walked over, Li Qingshan only felt like a mountain was being pushed towards him.

    The Unraging monk chuckled. ¡°My good disciple, why don¡¯t you formally acknowledge me as your master?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I didn¡¯t want to become a monk?¡±

    ¡°You have a destiny with the bud- bah, we have a destiny together!¡± The Unraging monk extended his hand and pressed it against Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, revealing a mysterious smile.

    Due to the difference between their heights, the Unraging monk originally needed to leap up if he wanted to reach Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. In the eyes of bystanders, it seemed like Li Qingshan had reverted to human form out of his own free will and allowed the Unragin Monk to touch him.

    However, when Li Qingshan glanced at the chubby hand on his shoulder, he understood exactly what had happened. When the hand extended over, an incomparably tremendous yet extremely familiar power suppressed all of his demonic nature and demon qi.

    Suddenly, he understood what the Unraging monk meant by ¡°we have a destiny together¡±. This was the power of suppressing demons from the Demon Suppression Statuary! And, it was clearly much more powerful and pure than his own. Perhaps the Unraging monk had completely comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary already!

    As it turned out, the Unraging monk was actually the first person who had managed to practice the Demon Suppression Statuary in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Li Qingshan could not help but study this plump, amicable face oozing with smiles. Who would have thought in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Unraging monk who was equivalent to a Monk King actually possessed such an intense demonic nature inside.

    He did not know, but over a century ago, the Unraging monk was known for being easily angered and killing ruthlessly. Only when his personality changed drastically later on did he become easygoing and beaming with smiles like right now. However, Li Qingshan could vaguely guess that the Unraging monk might be even more dangerous than the Dauntless monk.

    Li Qingshan cursed inside, Sure enough, if they aren¡¯t bald, they aren¡¯t vicious, and if they¡¯re aren¡¯t vicious, they aren¡¯t bald. Monks are all up to no good. Afterwards, he deliberated and said, ¡°Master, I¡¯m going home to get married very soon, so I really can¡¯t afford to be converted into a monk. Please just spare me!¡±

    No matter how powerful that voice earlier was, it was still suppressed beneath the Demon Suppression hall, making it equivalent to a caged beast. However, the beast right before him was standing outside its cage, with a claw placed on his shoulder.

    ¡°You are the first one to learn the Demon Suppression Statuary in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. The Demon Suppression Statuary is a supreme cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, a secret method that is not taught to outsiders. My senior brother said you intruded upon the inner courtyard, but that¡¯s just an excuse. He won¡¯t do anything to you at the end of the day. However, now that it involves this cultivation method, do you think he¡¯ll still spare you even if I spare you?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, then all we can do is cripple your demon heart and take the Demon Suppression Statuary away from you. Everything you¡¯ve gained from this trip will be reduced to nothing.¡±

    ¡°Then you better do it, master. That woman is deeply in love with me. I cannot afford to let her down.¡± Li Qingshan exhaled deeply.

    ¡°Hmm? I didn¡¯t expect you to be the infatuated type given how heartless you seemed.¡± The Unraging monk shot him a glance and clicked his tongue in wonder.

    ¡°You¡¯re the infatuated type. Your whole family is the infatuated type. I¡¯m a heartless, real man,¡± as Li Qingshan said that, he felt like he was becoming closer to a demon for some reason. Was it because of the demon heart he had condensed?

    ¡°Forget it, you don¡¯t need to be a monk.¡± the Unraging monk waved his hand.

    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, master!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands.

    ¡°But you still have to acknowledge me as your master!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°Secular disciples are not forbidden from marriage. Eating meat and drinking alcohol are no problems either. You don¡¯t have anything to complain about now, do you?¡±

    The Unraging monk scratched his bald head and smiled bitterly. With his status and cultivation, there were enough people who wanted him as their master to line up all the way from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to South Hub city. He went out of his way to accept this kid as his disciple, yet he still found all sorts of excuses to turn him down.

    ¡°Could I ask one more question?¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    ¡°Ask away!¡±

    ¡°Will there be any benefits?¡±

    ¡°What benefits do you want?¡± The Unraging monk chuckled. Li Qingshan felt his shoulder tighten. The Unraging monk¡¯s voice erupted in Li Qingshan¡¯s head. ¡°If you don¡¯t agree right now, would you believe me if I say I¡¯ll wipe you off the face of this world?¡±

    ¡°My great master, please accept a bow from your disciple!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not unreasonable. It was not like he had to remain in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as a monk anyway, and he would have a powerful figure who had undergone the third heavenly tribulation as a master, so why not?

    But monk, oh monk, you better not regret it in the future after forcing me to become your disciple today.

    The Unraging monk smiled. ¡°Very good. From today onwards, you are my first disciple. You can inherit my legacy in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan snickered and said nothing.

    The Unraging monk touched Duoge¡¯s face gently, and Duoge woke up. He spotted a huge, round face like the full moon and leapt in fright inside. Right before him was the most terrifying existence among humans¡ªa monk!

    It was rumoured that humans were extremely foolish and lowly already, while monks were at the top of the list. Their revered leaders had actually done something as unbelievably foolish as cutting off their own flesh to feed hawks, and if anyone refused to be as foolish as them, they would beat up and kill them.

    Out of fright, Duoge hid behind Li Qingshan in a hurry. Although he had broken free from the restraint that his demon heart had over his mind, certain inherent beliefs could not be changed so easily.

    The Unraging monk asked with a smile, ¡°Do you want to leave the Demon Suppression hall?¡±

    ¡°I do!¡±

    Duoge said immediately. After breaking free from the demon heart¡¯s restraint, he immediately sensed how unfortunate it was to be trapped in here, forced to fight and kill his own clansmen. Even if there was only a shred of opportunity of leaving this place, he would go for it.

    ¡°As you accept me as your master, you can leave here.¡±

    The Unraging monk said. This little demonfolk had managed to recover from absolute demonification. Although he had not changed yet, he had already gained some comprehension over the Demon Suppression Statuary. If he received some further guidance, then perhaps he was the most optimal choice to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary as someone born as a demon.

    Duoge immediately began to hesitate. For him to accept a monk as his master was like a devoted buddhist monk accepting a demonfolk as a master. It was very difficult to accept.

    This was also evidence of him breaking free from the demon heart¡¯s restraint. He had developed a conscious will and judgement. In the past, he probably would have agreed eagerly as long as there were benefits, without any regard for whether it was right or wrong.

    ¡°Just accept him as your master!¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and grabbed Duoge by the back of his neck, lifting him out and placing him before him. He had already reached this point. There was nothing else he could say.

    ¡°Venerable!¡±

    Duoge turned around in surprise, glancing at Li Qingshan before glancing at the smiling Unraging monk. He dropped to his knees and performed a few solid bows. He thought, Since even the venerable has mentioned it, there¡¯s obviously a great reason to do so. The venerable will never harm me!

    Despite demonifying and going crazy, many of the memories still remained intact. He knew Li Qingshan had saved him again, and a strange feeling he had never experienced before filled his heart. That was gratitude and trust, emotions that demonfolk did not possess.

    ¡°I only have the two of you as disciples under me. In the future, you should help each other as junior and senior brothers¡­ Forget it, it¡¯s all some nonsense. Do you have any alcohol cups?¡±

    Li Qingshan took out a few alcohol cups. The Unraging monk filled three of them before picking up one for himself. He chuckled. ¡°Come, a toast from your master!¡± With that, he downed it all.

    Even Li Qingshan found this rite of accepting a master rather strange, but having a guy like him as a master might not be a bad thing!

 Chapter 582 â€“ Farewell

    The vegetation was lush and verdant, illuminated by the setting sun. Who knew how much time had passed already.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. One Will, come with me!¡±

    The Dauntless monk brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name quietly. His robes touched the ground as he stared at Xiao An with a pair of cold and wise eyes. No matter what she meant to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he would not let this opportunity to guide her slip by.

    He believed there would be one day when she could understand the true essence of the boundless sea of bitterness and the great path of benevolence.

    ¡°Yes, abbot.¡± Xiao An brought her palms together too and returned the bow.

    ¡°Once you become an inner courtyard disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, you cannot hold onto any secular thoughts or desires anymore. Until the day you possess the right to learn the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, you cannot leave the mountain or see anyone outside of the courtyard. Can you do this?¡±

    Xiao An turned her head towards Li Qingshan. By ¡°outside of the courtyard¡±, it was obviously referring to him. In other words, as long as she had not undergone the second heavenly tribulation, she could not see Li Qingshan again.

    Li Qingshan considered the request silently. Although he was reluctant inside, he still nodded. She was only a single step away from the second heavenly tribulation. Once she broke through, that would mean a whole new world unfurling around them again. Before that, focusing on cultivation was not necessarily a bad thing.

    Xiao An said gently, ¡°I can do it.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go to the grand hall right now and formally hold your ceremony for joining the sect before the buddhas. I will carry out the tonsure personally.¡±

    Out of the past disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, probably no one had ever received such honour when they joined the monastery. However, Xiao An frowned slightly after hearing that.

    Li Qingshan interrupted him and asked, ¡°Abbot, I noticed that not all head monks of the monastery were bald.¡± That was including Xiao An¡¯s master in name. He had a head of messy hair.

    ¡°One Will, are you a head monk?¡± the Dauntless monk asked Xiao An without even looking at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± replied Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan wanted to say more, but the Unraging monk patted his shoulder with a smile. ¡°What are you panicking for? It¡¯s not like you can¡¯t regrow it if you don¡¯t have hair!¡± He earned a glance from the Dauntless monk, but all he did was laugh.

    Upon thinking about it, it made perfect sense. With Xiao An¡¯s ability, growing her hair was a matter of a few seconds. There was no need for him to argue over this.

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°Junior brother, accepting a disciple is a major matter. Do you want to come to the grand hall with me?¡±

    With the Unraging monk making an exception and accepting disciples, not only was this a major matter of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but it was even a major matter of the entire Green province. Every single cultivator who had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, whether they were human or daemon, whether they were ascetic or secular, bore great weight in this world. Their names were echoed tens of thousand kilometers away. Every single word they uttered and action they took would affect the overall situation, let alone something as major as accepting disciples.

    The Unraging monk raised his head and glanced at the golden hall at the top of Great Buddha mountain. He smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that for an outcast like me. My two disciples probably don¡¯t like things like that either. Not to mention that we¡¯ve already performed our rite.¡±

    That was what the Dauntless monk would have preferred too. The Unraging monk¡¯s two disciples both possessed great potential, but one of them was a demon, while the other was a so-called ¡°secular disciple¡± who refused to become a monk. If this were made public, the reputation of the monastery would not benefit at all.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The Dauntless monk turned around, and Xiao An followed closely behind.

    Li Qingshan accompanied Xiao An along the way, while the Dauntless monk walked at the front. He stepped over a tall door threshold and suddenly said, ¡°Please stop right there.¡± Any further was the inner courtyards of the monastery, and Li Qingshan was only a secular disciple.

    All Li Qingshan could do was stop, watching as Xiao An stepped over the threshold. Then she turned around, and their eyes met. They opened their mouths, wanting to say something.

    The sun was setting right now, so the residual glow of the sun landed on Xiao An, which made her seem even more beautiful and gorgeous. She seemed like someone who did not belong to this world. Li Qingshan stood facing away from the sun as the rays of light outlined his tall, large figure.

    The Dauntless monk shifted his gaze, and the great, vermillion gate closed loudly, blocking their gazes from each other.

    The only colour before Xiao An had vanished. The world had become a half-transparent pale-white. Emptiness was form. From today onwards, she would only be accompanied by buddha statues and the sounds of morning bells and evening drums. She did not hate a life like that, but she would much rather be by his side.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and clenched his fist. He experienced an urge to punch down the gate and pull her back out. The gate was not tough, but no one had ever been bold enough to do that throughout history, as this was the gate to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, representing stern and undefiable authority.

    He was not afraid of authority. He believed that only strength could resolve everything. He believed that as long as he constantly became stronger, there would be a day when he could see her whenever he wanted, with no one able to stop him.

    He stood there for a while longer, only to hear the chanting at the top of the mountain rise up to the clouds. He heard the Dauntless monk¡¯s dignified voice ringing out from the distance, announcing to the world that they had accepted her into the monastery. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had finally embraced her, giving her the greatest honour.

    The cultivation community of the entire Green province would know that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had accepted a disciple, and they treated her like treasure.

    Li Qingshan stood in front of the gate alone, listening along for a while before scratching his head and turning around to leave.

    He returned to the Demon Suppression hall again. The Unraging monk sat on the grey rock cheerfully as he held an object between his fingers. It glistened under the sunlight, actually a demon heart, and the quality was so high that even Lietu¡¯s demon heart paled in comparison.

    Duoge sat in front of the rock with his head raised, gazing at the demon heart in a daze like a child who wanted candy.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Call me master ten thousand times, and I¡¯ll give it to you.¡±

    Duoge immediately said, ¡°Mastermastermaster¡­¡±

    The Unraging monk chuckled loudly. He was extremely happy.

    Li Qingshan was speechless. These actions of his did not resemble an eminent monk of buddhism at all. Li Qingshan walked over and clasped his hands. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve come to bid farewell.¡±

    Although he had already taken the Unraging monk as his master, he had far too many secrets on him, so it would be best if he used this opportunity to get away. And, he had no interest in the buddhist dharma, so the Unraging monk was unable to teach him anyway.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d refuse to stick around, my damned disciple. Fortunately, I have a good disciple here. Look at how willingly he calls me master.¡± The Unraging monk smiled as he rubbed Duoge¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan thought, If there were benefits, I¡¯d probably call you master a little more willingly too.

    ¡°Since you have no interest in staying, then go!¡±

    Li Qingshan never expected the Unraging monk to agree so easily. He said in a hurry, ¡°Thank you, master.¡± He turned around and left, but before he had even taken a few steps, he heard the Unraging monk tell Duoge, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the statues in the great hall, right? Let me explain the true meaning behind the Demon Suppression Statuary to you then. Only by suppressing that demon heart of yours can you truly understand how it feels to be a person.¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way back silently and sat down beside Duoge. He had sensed a long time ago that the Unraging monk had received the true legacy of the Demon Suppression Statuary, and with his cultivation, he must have seen all nine statues already. Coupled with his cultivation and comprehension over all these years, his understanding of the Demon Suppression Statuary must have surpassed what he learnt from browsing through them quickly and skimming the surface.

    ¡°Hmm? Damned disciple, why¡¯d you come back?¡± the Unraging monk asked with a smile.

    ¡°You can just call me by my name.¡±

    ¡°Forget it, damned disciple. Since you want to hear it too, just listen along then. You can¡¯t say I haven¡¯t shown a sense of honour towards you as your master.¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. What is he on about? A sense of honour is the thing that holds master and disciple together? Do you think we¡¯re roaming the jianghu? Whatever. As long as I can learn something.

    TL: ÒåÆø (y¨¬q¨¬), which I¡¯ve translated as a sense of honour here, is a pretty big concept in wuxia novels and roaming the jianghu. It¡¯s basically showing a sense of honour towards your friends, such as holding onto their secrets even when threatened with death or not forgetting about them when you¡¯ve become much more powerful. A more informal, modern way of understanding this is basically ¡°being a bro¡±, except the Unraging monk clearly can¡¯t say something like ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for not being a bro¡± given the context.

    But after waiting for a while, the Unraging monk only smiled silently. Li Qingshan asked in confusion, ¡°Master?¡±

    The Unraging monk pointed at Duoge with a smile. As it turned out, Duoge had yet to finish up with calling him master ten thousand times! Finally, when Duoge finished up, the Unraging monk slowly stowed the demon heart away under Duoge¡¯s eager gaze and said kindly.

    ¡°You¡¯re still too young right now, so I¡¯ll hold onto it for you. I¡¯ll give it to you in the future!¡±

    Duoge pouted, but he dared not say anything. He just felt that monks were not as foolish as they were rumored to be.

    Li Qingshan vaguely remembered how all the red envelope money he had received in his past life had vanished like that. He could not help but say, ¡°Master truly is a good monk with a strong sense of honour!¡±

    Duoge had realised this ¡°big monk¡± right before him was anything but easy to deal with a long time ago. Hearing Li Qingshan describe him as ¡°good¡±, he panicked inside, Isn¡¯t that a curse word? The venerable is standing up for me, but it¡¯ll be bad if he angers this monk. He said in a hurry.

    ¡°The venerable is wrong. Master is a bad monk. He¡¯s bad through and through, the worst monk in the world. Master is a great demon among monks!¡±

    He tried to suck up to the Unraging monk a little and save Li Qingshan¡¯s hide.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback before bursting out with laughter uncontrollably.

    The Unraging monk¡¯s expression was a little strange. He saw how hard Duoge tried to come off as sincere, so he scratched his big, shiny head. ¡°About this¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed Duoge¡¯s head. ¡°Oh you. There¡¯s no need to call me venerable anymore. Just senior brother will do.¡±

    ¡°S- senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you. While what you said earlier was not exactly wrong, the people of this world all like to hear themselves being praised as ¡®good¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Damned disciple, what do you mean by not exactly wrong? What¡¯s so bad about your master?¡± The Unraging monk feigned anger.

    Duoge only interpreted that as the Unraging monk actually losing his temper. He panicked inside again and swiveled his eyes in thought. He sure had responded fast as he said loudly, ¡°Master is a good monk! Master¡¯s entire family are good monks!¡±

    That did sound a lot more sincere than before.

    ¡°Pft!¡± Li Qingshan opened his mouth, revealing his white teeth. He could not help but burst out in laughter again.

    ¡°Damned disciple, if you do so much as let out another sound of laughter, I¡¯ll seal your mouth off!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped laughing and thought, Even a powerful dragon is unable to crush a snake in its local habitat. I won¡¯t be stooping to the same level as a monk like you.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Stop chattering. Do you know who created the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡±

    They finally approached the main topic. Li Qingshan sat seriously and shook his head, expressing that he did not know.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary was obviously nowhere close to the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine or the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, but who knew how many times more powerful it was compared to cultivation methods like the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. In this world, it could be regarded as a cultivation at the very peak. Just what kind of person was the creator of this cultivation method?

 Chapter 583 â€“ A String of Prayer Beads

    Fucking hell! Li Qingshan cursed inside.

    The Unraging monk continued with a smile, ¡°Actually, who created a cultivation method isn¡¯t important. What is important is what the cultivation method can bring us. Damned disciple, you¡¯ve already reached the sixth statue with the Demon Suppression Statuary. You can freely use the Chains of Demon Suppression and the Demon Suppression Tower, but can you be regarded as having grasped it completely?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only grasped twenty or thirty percent of it,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    Even the Arts of the Boundless Ocean required him to constantly cultivate and comprehend in order to break through, let alone the Demon Suppression Statuary that was more profound. All he had done was take advantage of the intensity of his demonic nature and how he did not have to worry about his demonic nature running out of control.

    ¡°At least you know your limitations somewhat. You might have me as your master, but you probably have no interest in listening to actual buddhist classics, so let¡¯s just talk about the profound wonders of the Demon Suppression Statuary instead!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡±

    Li Qingshan brought his palms together and lowered his head, answering politely. No matter how proud he was usually, he was receiving careful guidance for free, so he had to accept it with a modest mindset. He listened along closely.

    Duoge copied Li Qingshan and brought his palms together in a hurry. ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    The Unraging monk smiled. ¡°A century ago, your master I was once known as the ¡®Raging Monk¡¯. I could not stand any of the injustices of the world. Whenever I saw the kind-hearted being harassed, I would only ever be relieved if I killed the perpetrator, regardless of their identity or cultivation. During the several years I spent travelling outside, who knew how many lives I had claimed. The rage within me blazed fiercely, and my mind became lost, severely breaking the precept of anger. Before I knew it, I had already entered the demonic path¡­¡±

    The Unraging monk sat on the rock, telling them patiently what he had gone through in the past, including why he had been punished to stand guard over the Demon Suppression hall and what led to him learning the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    Li Qingshan listened along quietly, sighing over the Unraging monk¡¯s journey before gaining much enlightenment from his experiences with comprehending the Demon Suppression Statuary. Before he knew it, the sun had set, and the sky had become covered with stars.

    The days cycled through, and before he knew it, a month had passed.

    Before the Demon Suppression hall, the vegetation stood lush and verdant. The scenery remained the same.

    He stretched and woke up, rubbing his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d actually lose to that old monk with drinking. He must have used his powers secretly and cheated, taking advantage of the fact that my cultivation is not as high as his.¡±

    The thunks of a wooden fish rang out beside him. Looking over, he saw the Unraging monk sitting in the shade of the mountain on a tall meadow, striking the wooden fish with one hand while holding prayer beads in the other.

    Li Qingshan rolled over, leaning on his side as he asked in wonder, ¡°Master, you chant scriptures too?¡±

    ¡°Your master I am a monk, so I obviously have to chant scriptures.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the buddha pass through your belly, but alcohol and meat remain in your heart?¡±

    The Unraging monk opened his eyes and smiled. ¡°Today, your master is holding a banquet in his heart, inviting the buddha to dine on meat and alcohol. I need to chant a little to play my role as a host.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. His laughter echoed through the valley, startling a few birds.

    ¡°If I were the buddha, I¡¯d wipe you off the face of the world with a palm strike right now, master.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re not the buddha.¡± The Unraging monk smiled. His smile contained an indescribable sense of buddhist truth, which made Li Qingshan remember that this big, smiling monk was a great master who had undergone three heavenly tribulations.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Junior brother hasn¡¯t come out yet?¡±

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Soon. He has already made it to the fourth floor. He¡¯s basically at his limit now.¡±

    ¡°Master, why don¡¯t you just teach us the entire Demon Suppression Statuary, and that¡¯ll be that?¡±

    Recently, Li Qingshan had been listening day and night to the Unraging monk explain the true essence of the Demon Suppression Statuary. He felt like he had benefited tremendously, and he gained some recognition for this easygoing and fearless master of his. However, he also became more curious about the next part of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°If you want to learn the whole thing, then you¡¯ll have to kill your way down floor by floor. The Demon Suppression Statuary cannot be inherited through other methods. It cannot be passed on using words.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m very confused. If the first statue of the Demon Suppression Statuary is on the top floor, then only the weaker demonfolk have an opportunity to see it. Their demonic nature will never be strong enough, so even if they do comprehend it, they¡¯ll never really achieve anything great. Meanwhile, the stronger demonfolk are all suppressed at the very bottom. Wouldn¡¯t they never get the opportunity to learn the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡±

    ¡°Once you make it to the lowest floor of the Demon Suppression Statuary, you¡¯ll understand.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that day will come sooner or later.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good if you have that confidence. However, before you undergo the third heavenly tribulation, I won¡¯t permit you entering the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall.¡±

    ¡°Just what is suppressed down there?¡±

    ¡°When you see him in the future, you¡¯ll know.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. No matter who he is, I¡¯ll butcher him sooner or later.¡±

    Li Qingshan rested his head on his arms and gazed at the sky. It had already been a month since he last saw Xiao An. He felt rather empty inside. Only when he remembered she was right round the corner did he find some peace.

    Actually, the Unraging monk had basically explained everything he needed to explain regarding the Demon Suppression Statuary during the past few days. What came next was Li Qingshan¡¯s gradual comprehension, but he did not choose to do this immediately.

    Having left for so long, the power of the Water God Seal had already declined by quite a bit, and without the assistance of the Water God Seal, the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression immediately became unstable. The Demon Suppression Statuary had only managed to achieve a supplementary function.

    It was about time for him to return, and if he remained here, he would probably only give himself away. And, he still had many entanglements in the Clear River prefecture that he could not get away from so easily.

    If it were not for these reasons, he was willing to remain in the valley, keeping watch over the glistening peak of Great Buddha mountain quietly until the day she returned.

    Right as his thoughts wandered, the Unraging monk said, ¡°He¡¯s back!¡±

    Before long, Duoge flew out of the Demon Suppression hall. He had clearly become much stronger as his violet eyes shone brightly. After receiving the Unraging monk¡¯s advice and guidance, he entered the Demon Suppression hall and properly learnt the first three forms of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ¡°Master! Senior brother!¡± Duoge said excitedly. Because he had suppressed his demon heart, his mannerisms now resembled a regular child¡¯s more.

    ¡°Well done. Have a drink!¡± Li Qingshan rolled over and tossed a pot of alcohol over.

    Duoge caught the pot and drank it all. Looking at the pots and jars littered on the ground, he said unhappily, ¡°Master and senior brother have drunk so much alcohol behind my back!¡±

    ¡°Who told you to come out so slowly? If you had been a little later, you wouldn¡¯t even have been able to see me.¡±

    Duoge was mildly surprised. ¡°You¡¯re leaving, senior brother?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve basically learnt everything I need to learn. If I don¡¯t go home and spend some time with my wife, am I supposed to stay here and spend time with monks?¡±

    ¡°Spending time with monks is pretty good too!¡±

    Duoge said reluctantly. During this period, he had experienced human warmth he had never experienced before. He understood the warm feelings that people held for one another. He was no longer that little demonfolk who did not even feel sorrow over the death of his father.

    ¡°You¡¯re still young!¡± Li Qingshan chuckled and bowed towards the Unraging monk. ¡°Master, junior brother has finally come out. I still have many matters and attachments to the secular world that I have yet to deal with, so I will be bidding farewell to master. If you have anything else you need to tell me, please tell me now, master!¡±

    ¡°Both of you come over.¡± The Unraging monk shooed Li Qingshan off the grey rock and sat down on it himself. He held his wrist and did not assume any special pose, waiting for the two of them to gather before him.

    ¡°Having accepted you as my disciples, I should give you a gift, but the time was just not right in the past. Now that my damned disciple is going to be leaving, I can¡¯t stop him either, so I have something for both of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s interest was piqued. Finally time for gifts. With master¡¯s cultivation, surely the gift would not be shabby, but there¡¯s no need to call me a damned disciple at a time like this!

    ¡°Duoge, you¡¯ve been the most well-behaved, way better than this damned disciple, so I¡¯ll give you yours first!¡±

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips and snorted, but when he saw the Unraging monk¡¯s gift, he could not help but become stunned.

    The Unraging monk took out a great string of prayer beads. There were a hundred and eight in total, and each one was a different colour, varying in size. However, they all glistened brightly, shining with various colours.

    If they were merely regular gemstones, then so be it. The issue was every single prayer bead was a demon heart. The demon heart that the Unraging monk had originally used to tease Duoge was among them too.

    They were not a hundred and eight prayer beads, but the demon hearts of a hundred and eight Demon Commanders. In the cultivation world, they were basically equivalent to a hundred and eight golden cores.

    Duoge was completely dazzled, thrown into a trance. He even forgot to speak.

    ¡°During the century I¡¯ve watched over the Demon Suppression hall, I¡¯ve happened to assemble this string of prayer beads, so I¡¯ll give it to you today. Duoge, as a demonfolk, your demon heart has already merged with your body. It cannot be removed. If you wish to continue on the path of cultivation, then the best way would be to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary.¡±

    ¡°You can wear this string of prayer beads. The power and demonic nature within them will influence you. Hopefully you can guard your conscience without becoming misled by your demonic nature. These are not a hundred and eight demon hearts, but a hundred and eight bodhi, a hundred and eight enlightenments. Afflictions, or kleshas, are bodhi.¡±

    The Unraging monk hung the string of demon heart prayer beads around Duoge¡¯s neck gently. Duoge gulped, holding back his urge to just eat them as he lowered his head.

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

    Li Qingshan already knew that the seal over the Demon Suppression hall was not absolute. Instead, it was connected to a certain world of demons. Every once in a while, it would draw in many demonfolk, which was why it could serve as the trial grounds for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Having guarded the Demon Suppression hall for all these years, it was not strange at all for him to have accumulated so many demon hearts. With this string of prayer beads, not only would Duoge have the opportunity to learn the entire Demon Suppression Statuary, but his personal cultivation would probably increase rapidly too. This was truly an extremely rare and precious opportunity.

    Li Qingshan could not help but become eager. Just what might his gift be?

    He was not eager for demon hearts. Due to the demon heart condensed from the demonic nature of the tiger demon and the ox demon being too pure, it instead could not allow for the existence of other demon hearts. Even if he received demon hearts, all he could do was feed them to the Traitorous Demon sword. Not to mention that the string of demon hearts should have been everything his master possessed.

    Might it be the renowned Great Dragon pill of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?

    It was rumored that the Great Dragon pills could purge a myriad of poisons and heal all wounds, not just wounds of the body, but wounds of the soul too. It could even eliminate inner demons, allowing the consumer¡¯s cultivation to progress rapidly. It was known as the ¡°ultimate pellet¡± that could cure everything in the cultivation world.

    That was how he thought, only to see the Unraging monk pull out another string of prayer beads from his sleeve.

 Chapter 584 â€“ Secular Disciple

    There were only eighteen prayer beads, and they were worn on the wrist. They seemed to be made out of wood and were perfectly round, all the same size. Only a single prayer bead was relatively large. They did not shine at all and did not seem special, no different from regular prayer beads.

    However, Li Qingshan was not worried. Just like how a wise head would keep a closed mouth, powerful arcane artifacts and treasures were probably the same. The Unraging monk seemed like he wore these prayer beads often, so they must have been extraordinary. As the first disciple, the treatment he received could not be any worse than Duoge¡¯s, right?

    And, the Unraging monk¡¯s behaviour left Li Qingshan even more convinced about this. He glanced at the prayer beads in his hand reluctantly before saying.

    ¡°Damned disciple, give me your hand.¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and the Unraging monk personally slipped the prayer beads onto Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist.

    Li Qingshan was secretly confused. He was unable to sense any pulses of spiritual energy like this. He tried extending his soul sense into it, and he did not find anything special either. However, since his master treasured it so much, there must have been something else to it!

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°This string of prayer beads by itself is not some powerful arcane artifact, but they have been handed down to me by my master in person, so they hold great significance. In particular, after entering my possession, I wore it all the time, touched and wore it down by me every single day. They are soaked with my blood and sweat, so do take good care of them and do not lose them.¡±

    Isn¡¯t the difference in treatment a little too great!? Li Qingshan glanced at the demon heart prayer beads around Duoge¡¯s neck again, tempted to pluck them from him and throw them viciously at the Unraging monk¡¯s smiling face. Bald ass, are you looking down on me? Apart from blood and sweat, there¡¯s probably pork grease, lamb grease, and beef grease too! I saw you eating and drinking with this on with my own eyes!

    Li Qingshan fantasised viciously. Of course, he could not actually do that. Li Qingshan casually clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you for your generous gift, master. I¡¯ll be taking my leave now.¡± The prayer beads on his wrist only felt more greasy now. He was tempted to take them off immediately.

    The Unraging monk did not seem to sense Li Qingshan¡¯s displeasure. He chuckled. ¡°Before you go, you should pay a visit to the Courtyard of Secular Affairs and collect a set of uniforms for secular disciples and register yourself!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Li Qingshan replied lazily.

    ¡°Don¡¯t run amok under your master¡¯s name outside. If I find out, I won¡¯t spare you!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Li Qingshan became a little impatient. Do I look like the type who likes to strut around under borrowed authority?

    ¡°Whenever inner courtyard disciples leave the mountain, they can have a line of the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga embedded in them, which they can use to save their lives at times. However, you¡¯re just a secular disciple, so you don¡¯t have that right.¡±

    Li Qingshan shot a glance at him. Since I don¡¯t have the right, why¡¯d you mention it in the first place? He said, ¡°Understood, I¡¯m going!¡± and turned around, making his way out of the valley, only to hear the Unraging monk say.

    ¡°So, if you encounter any danger, you can mention my dharma name. It should earn you some respect. If it¡¯s useless, then crush the largest prayer bead on the string, and I¡¯ll rush over immediately and defend you.¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped and looked back suddenly, only to see the Unraging monk sitting there, smiling away just like before. He waved his hand. ¡°Go, damned disciple!¡±

    The Unraging monk did not merely have some respect. In the Green province, even if Li Qingshan provoked the lord of the Green province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, the Unraging monk had the right to speak up for him. As for figures one level lower, they would have to show Li Qingshan quite the courtesy and consideration once they heard the Unraging monk¡¯s name.

    The prayer beads were basically equivalent to a life-saving talisman. Li Qingshan glanced at the prayer beads on his wrist. His actions earlier did seem a little narrow-minded. He turned around and bowed deeply. ¡°Yes, master. I¡¯ll be going now.¡±

    Li Qingshan left the valley and remembered what the Unraging monk had told him to do. He climbed up Great Buddha mountain again and arrived before the monastery, only to see an acolyte monk sweeping the leaves. He went up and asked, ¡°Young sir, may I ask where the Courtyard of Secular Affairs is?¡±

    The acolyte monk pointed at the foot of the mountain, ¡°There. It¡¯s all down there. The main hall is on this side of the mountain.¡±

    Li Qingshan had noticed the large swathe of structures on the foot of Great Buddha mountain a long time ago. They layered upon each other row upon row, all resplendent and magnificent in design, basically wrapping around the entire mountain. It was like the hem of the great buddha¡¯s clothes that touched the ground. It would only stop near special places like the Demon Suppression hall.

    As it turned out, these all belonged to the Courtyard of Secular Affairs, but in terms of area, none of the courtyards on Great Buddha mountain was anywhere close to it.

    Not only did the Courtyard of Secular Affairs take up the greatest area in the monastery, but it was also the courtyard with the most monks. There were numerous responsibilities they undertook, and one of them was receiving the pilgrims who had come from far and wide, providing them with lodgings and food. It would be impossible to accommodate them all without so many buildings.

    Li Qingshan strolled through the monastery, looking around as he went. He became even more amazed by the scale of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Regular ancient temples were all a single monastery hidden within many mountains, but the structures of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga stretched over the entirety of Great Buddha mountain. Even the scale of the prefectural city of Clear River was no match for it.

    Finally, he arrived outside the main hall of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs. The flow of people around him gradually decreased, no longer as noisy as the other places of the courtyard. Instead, this place seemed extremely quiet, littered with ancient cypress trees as the twitter of birds rang out time to time.

    Li Qingshan strolled in. No one stopped him. He could make out a few voices from the distance, so he followed the quiet path and arrived before the hall. He saw a man and woman talking quietly.

    ¡°Senior brother Wang, what gift have you brought for senior brother Yong this time? Could you enlighten us about what you¡¯ve chosen?¡±

    The female cultivator asked. She seemed like she was already in her forties or fifties, and upon considering the many methods cultivators possessed to retain their youth, she must not have been young. She remained at Foundation Establishment, so she was basically unable to break through again in the remainder of her life.

    ¡°It¡¯s merely a small gift. It¡¯s not worth mentioning.¡± As for senior brother Wang, he seemed even older. His face was like the bark of a pine tree, and he carried a sword on his back.

    Both of them were at Foundation Establishment. They seemed to be dressed in monk robes, but the style was slightly different from actual monk robes. They also wore prayer beads on their wrists.

    Li Qingshan did not hide his aura, so before he had even approached them, they had looked over.

    ¡°Sir, where have you come from? Is there anything you¡¯re looking for here?¡± Senior brother Wang noticed Li Qingshan¡¯s extraordinary bearing and composure. And, he was young, yet he had already reached mid Foundation Establishment, so senior brother Wang dared not brush him aside, asking politely.

    Li Qingshan strode over and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve come to register myself as a secular disciple. What brings you here?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re secular disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. May I ask what your age is, sir?¡± Senior brother Wang asked curiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m fortunate enough to be in my twenties.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not even thirty yet! Sir, you can be regarded as a genius. Even if you want to become an inner courtyard disciple, there won¡¯t be any issues at all. Why do you want to become a secular disciple instead?¡±

    Senior brother Wang was surprised. Originally, he thought Li Qingshan was skilled in retaining a youthful appearance and was actually forty or fifty already. He never expected him to be so young, reaching mid Foundation Establishment when he was in his twenties. He could definitely be regarded as a genius, but what was a genius like him becoming a secular disciple for?

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had a great number of secular disciples. Most of them lacked sufficient talent, so they had no right to become an inner courtyard disciple. However, they had spent enough time to become Foundation Establishment cultivators, so they could register for the identity of secular disciple and take it easy under the shade of the great tree that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was. Even if they could not learn the greatest cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, even cultivation methods one level down surpassed those core disciples of regular sects received.

    There were countless Foundation Establishment cultivators in the world, but there were truly only a handful who could reach Foundation Establishment in their twenties and thirties, particularly with independent cultivators. After all, they lacked the support of sects and clans. Most people made it to Foundation Establishment by taking their time.

    ¡°The abbot originally wanted me to become a monk, except I still have ties to the secular world, so I refused. But they also refused to let me go, so all I could do was become a secular disciple,¡± Li Qingshan said helplessly.

    ¡°The abbot? Ah! You mean the Dauntless abbot?¡±

    The female cultivator cried out before stifling her voice in a hurry. She gazed at Li Qingshan in disbelief. She was taken aback by how he mentioned the Dauntless monk without the slightest hint of respect.

    ¡°Yeah. Who else is there otherwise?¡±

    Li Qingshan spoke like he was stating a basic fact. Li Qingshan was able to remain unpressured before the Dauntless monk because he basically could clash with any second heavenly tribulation cultivator already with his actual cultivation, and he was confident he would constantly improve. There would be a day when he could stand with the Dauntless monk and everyone else on equal footing; he might even surpass them, so he had no mental weakness either.

    However, in the eyes of regular Foundation Establishment cultivators, the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Dauntless monk, a Monk King conferred by the Great Xia empire, was basically like a god. If they could earn even a glance from someone like that, that was something worth boasting about.

    Not to mention that the Dauntless monk had personally suggested accepting him into the inner courtyard. That was basically infinite glory, yet he actually turned him down, and his reason was something along the lines of ¡°some ties to the secular world¡±. What a waste of such a great opportunity. The two of them basically wished they could take his place.

    Fellow Wang remembered something and asked, ¡°Sir, are you perhaps Li Qingshan from the Ruyi commandery?¡±

    ¡°I am. You know me?¡±

    Li Qingshan had stayed in the back of the mountain for over a month, but little did he know the news of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s most glorious reception of Xiao An, followed by the Dauntless monk personally carrying out tonsure for her, had already spread through the cultivation world of the Green province.

    At the same time, Xiao An¡¯s dharma name, One Will, boomed through the province. She had already earned the title of the greatest disciple of the monastery. Even now, the impact she caused still lingered about. The matter of Li Qingshan turning down the Dauntless monk publically in the grand hall before being sent into the Demon Suppression hall for punishment obviously did not stay as a secret from these secular disciples.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard many things about you. I¡¯ve heard many things about you,¡± senior brother Wang repeated as the female cultivator said, ¡°We¡¯ll be seniors and juniors in the future, so there¡¯s no need to be so polite. I¡¯ll just shamelessly call myself ¡®senior sister¡¯ then.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan conversed with them a little longer. Right when he was about to enter the main hall, senior brother Wang said in a hurry, ¡°You can¡¯t go in right now!¡±

 Chapter 585 â€“ Who Are You Supposed to Be

    Senior brother Wang said, ¡°Senior brother Eternal Faith has currently granted permission for another senior brother to see him. We¡¯ll have to wait until that senior brother comes out. You can go ahead of us.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. We can stick with the rules. Though, I do wonder who this senior brother Eternal Faith is, considering how much respect he demands for himself. He even needs to ¡®grant permission¡¯ for others to see him.¡±

    ¡°Since you want to become a secular disciple, junior brother, then you have to know about this. Senior brother Eternal Faith is the first disciple under the head monk of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs, the Distant Enlightenment Chan Master. He¡¯s basically our first senior brother too. Normally, the Distant Enlightenment Chan Master spends his time studying the buddhist dharma, so senior brother Eternal Faith handles the matters of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs.¡±

    ¡°Heh, that sure is impressive.¡±

    Seeing how Li Qingshan was unconvinced, senior brother Wang stifled his voice. ¡°You better not underestimate senior brother Eternal Faith. Our merits, rewards, and punishments all depend on senior brother Eternal Faith. As a mighty Monk King, even if you verbally offend the Dauntless abbot, junior brother, he won¡¯t stoop to your level, but¡­¡±

    He stopped right there. Li Qingshan laughed and also stifled his voice. ¡°I get it. It¡¯s easy to win approval from the king of hell, but his lackeys are another matter. It¡¯s often like that. If he doesn¡¯t provoke me, then there¡¯s no reason for me to provoke him either.¡±

    As it seems, this senior brother Eternal Faith isn¡¯t a particularly open-minded person. I¡¯ll be a little more careful when I talk later. I might not be afraid of him, but avoiding trouble altogether would be for the best. I still have to consider his influence considering we¡¯re beneath Great Buddha mountain.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan accepted his advice, senior brother Wang was rather ¡°satisfied¡±. He stroked his beard and said, ¡°Young man, remember to keep your edge hidden. You possess great talent, but if you don¡¯t know how to deal with people, you¡¯ll suffer greatly.¡±

    When Li Qingshan heard how he tried to advise him like his experienced elder, he found it rather funny, but it was out of kind intentions after all, so he did not talk back, simply smiling silently.

    From all that, Senior brother Wang entered a talkative mood. ¡°Have you brought a gift with you this time?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°What gift? For who?¡±

    ¡°For senior brother Eternal Faith, obviously.¡± Senior brother Wang¡¯s expression seemed to say, ¡°How are you so bad at understanding what¡¯s going on?¡± He also seemed like he was extremely pained, like he was looking at a junior who did not live up to expectations.

    Although they were secular disciples, they were still under the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so they had to know at least a little about the buddhist classics, and they could not act recklessly or outrageously. As a result, every once in a while, the secular disciples from various places would pay a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and the monks of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs would test their understanding of buddhism and their behaviour. If they could not pass, it would be very troublesome. There was even the chance for them to lose their identities as secular disciples.

    As a result, Eternal Faith¡¯s authority became even greater. Among the secular disciples, there were plenty of people who had absolutely no interest in buddhist scriptures like Li Qingshan. All they needed was a gift to ensure that they passed. As time went on, it became a standard practice.

    When secular disciples returned from outside, they would always bring some gifts when they paid a visit to this senior brother Eternal Faith. They were not necessarily precious, but the thing was there were many secular disciples. It was about accumulation in terms of quantity.

    ¡°But my master didn¡¯t tell me anything about that!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and smiled faintly. He was the mighty first disciple of the Unraging monk, yet he still had to give gifts to some first senior brother of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs? That was basically a joke!

    ¡°Who¡¯s your master?¡±

    The female cultivator interrupted their conversation with a question. The real reason why they became secular disciples was because there was no one in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga willing to accept them as their disciple. Otherwise, joining any other courtyard would be far better than remaining in the Courtyard of Secular Affairs.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to think about that yourself! And, not every senior necessarily knows about the conventions involved. Thankfully, you ran into me. Otherwise, you¡¯ll suffer if you went inside unprepared.¡±

    Senior brother Wang patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with sincere advice. He thought that Li Qingshan had only taken on his master when he was merely a Qi Practitioner. Otherwise, if he had a reputed master to study under, why would he become a secular disciple of the monastery?

    ¡°Buddhist disciples also accept bribes?¡±

    From what was implied, if Li Qingshan did not give any gifts, things would even be made difficult for him. He could not help but raise his voice as he was rather surprised.

    Senior brother Wang said in fright, ¡°You can¡¯t run your tongue carelessly like that. This is a friendship between seniors and juniors. How can you call it bribery?¡±

    ¡°Who out there is making a fuss in the pure land of buddhist cultivation?¡±

    A middle-aged monk walked out of the hall, raising his eyebrows that spread out and faded away towards the end. He stared straight at Li Qingshan with a hint of annoyance.

    Li Qingshan stared straight back at him. This must be that senior brother Eternal Faith. His appearance was nothing special. His head was so smooth that it shone brilliantly, and he was slightly plump, standing there with a bulging belly. He truly did have some prestige about him. Standing nearby behind him was a small, skinny male. He must have been the fellow that entered ahead of senior brother Wang.

    ¡°Senior brother Eternal Faith!¡± Senior brother Wang and the middle-aged female cultivator brought their palms together and bowed in a hurry.

    Eternal Faith did not return the gesture. He directly questioned Li Qingshan, ¡°Who are you? How dare you intrude upon our Courtyard of Secular Affairs?¡± He thought to himself, You bastard, this is your first time here, so if you don¡¯t know the rules and you haven¡¯t brought a gift, so be it, but how dare you say I¡¯m accepting bribes? You really have no idea what I can do to you. I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. I¡¯ve come to become a secular disciple.¡±

    ¡°Secular disciple? Is what you¡¯re doing right now supposed to be a buddhist greeting? Secular disciple isn¡¯t a status you can earn just because you want to!¡±

    Eternal Faith¡¯s face changed. As an inner courtyard disciple of the monastery, he had obviously heard about Li Qingshan before.

    This kid is unruly and rude. He¡¯s even bold enough to defy the abbot¡¯s orders. He well and truly deserves being sent into the Demon Suppression hall. Look at him, after some punishment, he has still ended up running over, all crestfallen, to become a secular disciple. Now that he has run into me, I better kill some times with him and make him learn what is called respecting your seniors.

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly as senior brother says. With how rude and impolite he seems, you can tell with a single glance that he comes from some backwater place. How can he possess the right to become our senior or junior brother?¡± The small, skinny man behind Eternal Faith chimed in with a flattering expression.

    ¡°Kid, why don¡¯t you apologise to first senior brother Eternal Faith quickly?¡± Senior brother Wang urged loudly, and the female cultivator shot glances at Li Qingshan too.

    ¡°Fucking bullshit!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face twisted, revealing his teeth. An aura of malice radiated from him naturally, making everyone present leap in fright. Their auras were all suppressed, and they felt like the surroundings had darkened.

    His bellow was like a tiger¡¯s roar through the mountainous forests. The chirps and twitters of insects and birds immediately fell silent. The surrounding silence was frightening.

    Normally, the tiger demon and ox demon were both suppressed by the spirit turtle, but ever since he condensed a demon heart, they seemed to find a path to leak out. He practised the Demon Suppression Statuary, but right from the first form, it had been ¡°Remorselessness of the Demon Heart¡±. He had never even considered repressing and restraining his demonic nature, so now that he was set off, he obviously showed his true colours.

    ¡°W- what a fierce and crude rule-breaker! How dare you bellow in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    Eternal Faith pointed at Li Qingshan, experiencing humiliation-turned-anger from being stunned by a person whose cultivation was not even as great as his. He became even more astounded. He had also undergone trials in the Demon Suppression hall before. None of those demonfolk or even Demon Generals could make him feel so pressured.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. Originally, he wanted to mention the Unraging monk¡¯s name, but upon further thought, Master has specially reminded me not to use his reputation. I haven¡¯t even left the mountain, just going from the back of the mountain to the front of the mountain, and I¡¯ll be breaking this vow. That would be rather inappropriate. This person doesn¡¯t want me to become a secular disciple, which is perfect. I¡¯ll just not be one then.

    As a result, he smiled. ¡°Do you really think I want to become this nuisance of a secular disciple? I¡¯m not going to stoop to the same level as a little man like you who accepts bribes.¡± He directly turned around and left. The most important part was establishing his relationship with the Unraging monk as master and disciple anyway. Whether he became a secular disciple truly made no difference.

    ¡°Who did you say is a little man?¡±

    Eternal Faith barked. As the primary disciple of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs, he was normally surrounded by secular disciples trying to get on his good side. Never did anyone insult him right in the face. Originally, he wanted to spend his time and make things difficult for Li Qingshan, but he never anticipated Li Qingshan to not care about the identity of a secular disciple at all, leaving as soon as he mentioned it, giving him no opportunity to vent his anger.

    Li Qingshan could not even be bothered with answering him. Senior brother Wang opened his mouth to speak, but he was afraid of offending Eternal Faith, so he shut his mouth again in the end. He thought, This kid is far too rash. He¡¯s actually bold enough to offend senior brother Eternal Faith right under Great Buddha mountain. Does he really think the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga is easy to harass and step over like a group of vegetarians? No wait, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga is vegetarian.

    TL: ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re vegetarian?¡± in Chinese basically means ¡°Do you really think you can just walk all over us?¡± or ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re easy nuts to crack?¡± I would normally go with the other translations, but clearly there is also the connection of monks being vegetarians here.

    ¡°Stop right there!¡±

    Eternal Faith raised his hand, and a wooden fish flew out from his sleeve, swelling up in the wind until it reached the size of a carriage, hurtling towards Li Qingshan.

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan stopped and turned around. As he gazed at the incoming wooden fish, he asked without being fazed at all, ¡°What else do you have to say?¡± The wooden fish was about to strike him.

    ¡°Be careful!¡± The female cultivator cried out.

    It¡¯ll be bad if I end up crushing him to death! Eternal Faith thought.

    With a boom, the wooden fish smashed beside Li Qingshan, kicking soil into the air and immediately creating a great pit in the ground.

    ¡°You¡¯ve smashed a great hole in this tranquil land of buddhism, great master.¡± Li Qingshan was fearless as he smiled scornfully.

    Eternal Faith thought quickly, If he wants to leave, I really have no excuse to make him stay. If I strike with brute force, I probably won¡¯t be able to explain myself to master. Oh right, I almost forgot the reason why he was sent into the Demon Suppression hall.

    Eternal Faith said confidently, ¡°Since you¡¯re not a secular disciple, how dare you intrude upon our Courtyard of Secular Affairs? You¡¯ve already broken the rules of our Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and it¡¯s a repeat offence! You must be punished!¡±

    Most of the responsibilities of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs dealt with receiving believers and secular disciples, which was why Li Qingshan had managed to make his way all the way to the hall smoothly, but if a person was determined to punish someone, they could always find a way to do so.

    Li Qingshan, does that sound familiar? Don¡¯t tell me you want to pay another visit to the Demon Suppression hall? Eternal Faith thought complacently. You can say I¡¯m borrowing the Dauntless abbot¡¯s wisdom a little.

    He immediately managed to piss off Li Qingshan with that. Li Qingshan had been thrown into the Demon Suppression hall for no good reason. Although it was a blessing in disguise in the end, and he benefited quite a lot, he still felt rather unhappy about this, but he had to yield considering he was in their territory.

    Now that someone had dared to use this to threaten him, it was basically bearding the lion in its den, provoking the tiger right in his face.

    ¡°Who are you supposed to be? You even have the balls to copy the Dauntless monk?¡± Li Qingshan sneered and strode towards Eternal Faith, radiating with vicious might.

    Eternal Faith had originally been brimming with confidence in subduing him, but when the pair of eyes shining with dark-red light glanced at him, he immediately became rather frantic inside. He ordered, ¡°Juniors, capture this rule-breaker!¡±

 Chapter 586 â€“ Save Me!

    Even though they dared not offend senior brother Eternal Faith, the person on the other side seemed like a tough nut to crack as well. He was already a genius, and it was rumoured he had an extremely close relationship with ¡°One Will¡±. Even the small, skinny man who had been echoing Eternal Faith earlier refused to take action carelessly, afraid he would be dragged into some kind of trouble.

    As they hesitated, Li Qingshan had already arrived before the steps, his large, tall figure going straight for Eternal Faith.

    ¡°Damned rascal, eat my A Blow and a Shout!¡±

    Eternal Faith was overcome with both alarm and anger. The wooden fish mallet suddenly turned into a huge club that resembled a wooden beam, swinging down towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan felt his head ring as if he had been struck. His mind blanked out. He actually felt like he was unable to block this blow.

    This strike definitely was not as simple as swinging an arcane artifact. Instead, it was one of the secret techniques of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga called ¡°A Blow and a Shout¡±. It was used with blunt weapons. Before the huge club had even hit him, the attack had already struck.

    At the same time, wind whistled behind his head. The wooden fish that struck the ground flew back up, and a crack suddenly ran through the centre, opening its huge mouth and trying to swallow Li Qingshan like a huge beast. It emitted a great force of suction.

    The wooden fish mallet and the wooden fish were both arcane artifacts, forming a set. They were extremely powerful, which only demonstrated the heritage of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and Eternal Faith¡¯s wealth. This strike alone was basically enough to vanquish all regular Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    This kid is just at mid Foundation Establishment. How can I be frightened by him?

    The three secular disciples on the side let out a sigh of relief instead. With how impressive senior brother Eternal Faith was, he obviously did not require their unnecessary assistance. Senior brother Wang thought, This kid is bound to suffer for completely ignoring the advice of his elders. Now that senior brother Eternal Faith is going to be teaching him a lesson, he well and truly deserves it.

    Caught in a pincer attack, Li Qingshan was unable to dodge. He brought his hands together and performed a series of seals. A thin veil of water rose up¡ªVeil of the Water Curtain.

    This kid can actually endure my A Blow and a Shout! Hmph, and he uses techniques pretty quickly too, but does he really think he can block attacks from an arcane artifact with a measly defensive technique? Eternal Faith sneered.

    ¡°How can a technique be so powerful!?¡±

    Eternal Faith was not the only one astounded. The eyes of the three secular disciples on the side widened too.

    When Li Qingshan fought, he rarely used techniques. Now that he used one today, it was unusually effective. Having reached the peak of the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, he seemed to possess the spirit turtle¡¯s bloodline. A casually-cast water element technique was like the handiwork of a god, and he had the amplification from the Water God Seal as well.

    After blocking Eternal Faith¡¯s two arcane artifacts, Li Qingshan simply pushed his hand forward, and faint-blue water spiritual qi cascaded and accumulated, like a great wave constantly growing taller before becoming a tsunami in the end.

    Ocean Wielding¡ªThe Tsunami Form.

    He struck the wooden fish mallet with a palm strike.

    With a great bang, the wooden fish mallet broke free from Eternal Faith¡¯s control and smashed through the roof of the great hall, hurtling away into the distance.

    As the force behind Li Qingshan¡¯s palm strike rang out, he circulated the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, and the spiritual qi in his body rose like the tide, continuously and endlessly. A wave crashed down before the last had even subsided, sending the palm strike towards Eternal Faith.

    Eternal Faith retreated in a hurry. He had actually used his body to send an arcane artifact flying! Did he practise both qi and the body!? Eternal Faith could vaguely sense he had potentially bitten off more than he could chew today. Sure enough, a rule-breaker who dared to make a ruckus in the grand hall truly was rather capable.

    However, his courage immediately swelled up again. This was the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s Great Buddha mountain. How could they allow any outsiders to run amok? And, this was all that he was capable of.

    Clang!

    When Li Qingshan struck Eternal Faith, the sound that rang out was like the great boom of a bell. A huge, golden bell appeared around Eternal Faith. Li Qingshan¡¯s hand pressed against it, but he was unable to destroy it.

    Right as Li Qingshan thought how he truly was rather capable, living up to his status as an inner courtyard disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he shifted his gaze and noticed that Eternal Faith¡¯s robes glowed with a gentle golden light. A palm print also appeared there, and he came to an understanding. As it turned out, his robes were also an arcane artifact.

    Fortunately, I was cautious and wore this set of Protective Robes of the Golden Bell!

    Eternal Faith rejoiced inside. Throughout all these years, he had been handling the various matters of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs. As such, he had not even visited the Demon Suppression hall in quite some time. He did not have any opportunity to fight, so Li Qingshan¡¯s sudden palm strike had almost caught him off-guard.

    The Courtyard of Secular Affairs held an extremely special position in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Most of the time, only those disciples with insufficient talent and were unenthusiastic about buddhism would join the Courtyard of Secular Affairs. And, the courtyard was burdened with the various affairs of the secular world, so their true strength could be regarded as the weakest among the courtyards.

    If he had been a disciple of some other courtyard, he would not have been pushed into such a miserable position by Li Qingshan even without so many arcane artifacts. He could have relied on his personal cultivation.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Looks like a bald ass like you has accepted quite a lot of bribes over the years.¡±

    ¡°Cut the nonsense!¡±

    Eternal Faith bellowed out. Golden light flowed out of his body and another golden avatar appeared. With the golden bell on the outside and the golden avatar on the inside, he could truly be considered as impervious. He was undefeatable. Standing before the hall, he stared at Li Qingshan like he was saying, ¡°What can you do about me?¡±

    Li Qingshan withdrew his hand and pulled back. He could kill Daemon Commanders as a Daemon General, but with his identity as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he definitely was not any Golden Core cultivator¡¯s opponent. Covered in arcane artifacts, he truly did find Eternal Faith rather troublesome to deal with.

    Of course, if there was enough room for a proper battle, Li Qingshan was confident he would still emerge victoriously in the end. However, this was Great Buddha mountain, and he could see figures flickering between the cypress trees. The other secular disciples had all noticed the disturbance and gathered over. They asked, ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Eternal Faith retrieved the two arcane artifacts and solemnly struck the wooden fish with the wooden fish mallet a few times. He pointed the wooden fish mallet at Li Qingshan and said, ¡°This person has slandered me as someone who takes bribes, making a ruckus in the pure land of buddhist cultivation and intruding upon our Courtyard of Secular Affairs. When I spoke up to point out his misdeeds, he actually responded violently, trying to harm me. Although our Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga embraces benevolence, we cannot allow this wrong-doer be. Juniors, let¡¯s capture him together and send him to the Disciplinary courtyard.¡±

    The monks all agreed loudly, surrounding Li Qingshan. They flickered with golden light and conjured golden avatars; they were all Foundation Establishment cultivators. Basically every single one of them possessed an arcane artifact.

    Faced with the attacks of so many arcane artifacts, he would struggle to hold them off no matter how powerful his techniques were. If he were a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator, he probably would have been crushed to pieces immediately.

    Eternal Faith smiled. Victory was within his grasp. He said to Li Qingshan, ¡°If you give up and let yourself be captured, you can still live. Otherwise, we might have to defile this pure land of buddhism with blood.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud and scorned Eternal Faith. ¡°You said you wanted to punish me? Even if you have another thousand people, it¡¯ll be useless.¡±

    Eternal Faith shook his head. ¡°You still talk wildly despite the predicament you¡¯re in. Your madness is only lamentable!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then you¡¯re welcome to try me!¡±

    Li Qingshan kicked up a splash beneath his feet, leaping into the air with his arms stretched out; he was like a vicious tiger lunging over for the kill.

    Eternal Faith¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he became a little more timid, but how could he retreat in front of so many juniors? He was protected by the golden avatar and the golden bell anyway, so there was nothing Li Qingshan could do to him. He ordered, ¡°Do it!¡±

    At the same time, he struck the wooden fish in his hand again and again. The thumps seemed to strike Li Qingshan¡¯s heart, directly attacking his soul. Now this was the most powerful way to use this set of arcane artifacts. At the same time, the monks all lunged over together. They probably could take down Li Qingshan in an instant.

    Li Qingshan smiled. With how powerful his soul was, he completely ignored the thumpings of the wooden fish. The most powerful way to use the arcane artifacts instead became the most useless against him. He crossed his arms.

    With a jangle, black chains criss-crossed together. Eternal Faith¡¯s expression changed. The sounds of the chains seemed to ring out from the depths of his heart. Wielding the wooden fish mallet with his golden avatar, he swung it at Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead.

    However, from the corner of his eye, he spotted the shock on the other monks¡¯ faces, all gazing above his head as they called out, ¡°Be careful, senior brother!¡±

    A nine-layered tower appeared above Eternal Faith¡¯s head. It was shaped like a buddhist pagoda, but it possessed a dignified power that could suppress all, descending from above.

    Boom!

    The Demon Suppression Tower enveloped both Li Qingshan and Eternal Faith, and half of the front of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs¡¯ great hall collapsed. Cracks emanated outwards on the ground.

    The last sight that the monks saw was Eternal Faith¡¯s wooden fish mallet looming over Li Qingshan¡¯s head, about to strike him, except Li Qingshan¡¯s lips had curled into a confident smile.

    A monk raised his hands and drew everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone. With senior brother Eternal Faith¡¯s cultivation and all his arcane artifacts, why would he be afraid of this rascal? It¡¯ll just be a moment before he captures the rascal.¡±

    ¡°Help me! Ahhh!¡±

    As soon as he finished speaking, Eternal Faith¡¯s fearful calls and shrieks rang out from the Demon Suppression Tower.

    The monk¡¯s expression changed, and he yelled, ¡°Everyone, rescue senior brother from there!¡±

    Over a dozen arcane artifacts flew up together, smashing into the Demon Suppression Tower heavily. The monks were brimming with confidence. With such a powerful attack, they could even tear apart a small mountain, but the end result left them stunned.

    The Demon Suppression Tower stood firmly on the ground, without budging at all. They had not even left a mark on the tower¡¯s surface.

    What arcane artifact was this!? It was actually so tough!

    In the Demon Suppression Tower, Eternal Faith¡¯s miserable cries rose and fell constantly.

    Someone else came up with another idea. ¡°Dig a tunnel under the tower and rescue senior brother like that.¡±

    A group of people immediately got to work. In the blink of an eye, they had excavated a tunnel and arrived beneath the tower, but they only found a black bottom as tough as the tower itself. They immediately became powerless.

    ¡°Quick, go call the head monk!¡±

    Suppressed in the Demon Suppression Tower, Eternal Faith noticed that the golden bell and golden avatar were still around him, so he came to his senses and called out, ¡°Li Qingshan, do you think these evil tricks will work? I¡¯m protected by the golden bell and golden avatar. What can you do to me? Li Qingshan? You¡­¡±

    Eternal Faith shrieked out in shock. Demon qi curled around Li Qingshan as his figure erupted. His sturdy body became covered in a layer of keratin like he had equipped a set of armour. He seemed to have put on a helmet too, which only revealed his eyes that shone with dazzling, red light.

    Eternal Faith backed away. ¡°Save me!¡±

 Chapter 587 â€“ Eye of the Sword

    Thunk!

    Li Qingshan punched out vigorously, his fist piercing through the air and slamming into the golden bell. The golden bell contorted and changed in shape, sinking in deeply. Its golden light scattered strand by strand.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    Eternal Faith cried out. The imprint of a punch appeared on his robes, and it showed no signs of fading away. His Protective Robes of the Golden Bell were an arcane artifact for heaven¡¯s sake!

    Although it was only an inferior arcane artifact, it should not be fragile to the point where it would sustain so much damage from a single punch. If that punch had downright landed on him, would he still be alive?

    Li Qingshan glanced at his fist. From his expression, it seemed like he was rather dissatisfied with the power of the punch.

    Although his strength had increased drastically after demonifying, the destructive power was still nowhere close to the true power of the ox demon and tiger demon. Otherwise, a casual punch would have been enough to reduce Eternal Faith¡¯s robes to dust.

    However, he was currently right below Great Buddha mountain. Even though he was in the Demon Suppression Tower, he refused to use his powers as a daemon carelessly. Who knew whether the Dauntless monk and his junior brother were currently watching or not.

    If he could not tear apart Eternal Faith¡¯s defence quickly, then the powerful figures of the monastery would probably arrive to support him. By then, he would not be able to teach him a fierce lesson anymore.

    Suddenly, he was hit with a gust of wind to the face. The wooden fish opened its mouth again and tried to swallow Li Qingshan, while the wooden fish mallet quietly circled around him and flew towards the back of his head. It remained the same size as a regular wooden fish mallet, so it was extremely easy for the attack to succeed if he were careless.

    Li Qingshan leapt up, avoiding the lunge from the wooden fish and reaching backwards without even looking back. He caught the wooden fish mallet before quickly falling down and landing heavily on the wooden fish.

    The two arcane artifacts trembled desperately, but they were unable to break free from his restraint.

    After demonifying, these two arcane artifacts alone were unable to pose any threat to him anymore. Li Qingshan smiled and drew a strange sword from his hundred treasures pouch, the Traitorous Demon sword.

    The eyeball on the hilt swiveled, and its pupils locked onto Eternal Faith firmly. Eternal Faith shivered inside, actually feeling like he had been completely seen through.

    He felt like his gaze had passed through the golden bell, the golden avatar, and even his skin, flesh, and bones, seeing something that was even more fundamental. He saw the demonic nature in Eternal Faith¡¯s heart, a clump of swirling, black mist.

    Everyone had a demonic nature. Although Eternal Faith was a buddhist disciple, he was greedy and easily angered. His demonic nature was even heavier than regular people¡¯s. Afterwards, Li Qingshan pulled back his gaze and stopped on Eternal Faith¡¯s golden bell.

    The strange eyeball on the hilt of the Traitorous Demon sword trembled. Suddenly, Li Qingshan saw a thin, black line on the bell, but he was unable to see anything with his naked eye, nor did he find anything with his soul sense.

    What¡¯s that?

    Li Qingshan thought. He swung the Traitorous Demon sword and tried slashing along the black line.

    The sword passed by with a flash. Eternal Faith was about to mock Li Qingshan¡¯s futile efforts before suddenly shivering. His robes had been cut open silently, revealing his chest and belly and the pale white fat on there.

    The glow dispersed, and the golden bell vanished. The robes had lost their protective function.

    How is that possible!? My Protective Robes of the Golden Bell! That must be a coincidence! Eternal Faith¡¯s eyes widened. He struggled to believe that a protective arcane artifact could be destroyed silently like that.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the Traitorous Demon sword in his hand and said in praise, ¡°Good sword!¡± As it turned out, the black line was where the gap in the robes existed. He was rather taken aback with joy. Ever since he obtained this sword, he had never properly studied it. He never expected it to have such a special ability.

    The Traitorous Demon sword was originally called ¡°Evil Eye¡±. Its strongest aspect was not how sharp its edge was or its toughness. Instead, it could use its ¡°eye¡± to see many things that were invisible to the naked eye, such as the flaws and gaps that had always existed in items.

    Lietu had managed to kill a powerful Demon General and take his demon heart in a single slash through this exact ability.

    However, the true strength of an ability like that could not be unleashed without a suitable demon heart serving as the iris. Afterwards, when Lietu merged with the sword, he had used his own demon heart as the iris, but his mind was clouded. He was trapped in the Demon Suppression Tower, caught in a close-ranged battle to the death with the crazy Duoge, which completely prevented him from unleashing the power of the sword.

    After that, he died, and the Traitorous Demon sword ended up in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. Originally, making the Traitorous Demon sword yield was not easy. When regular demonfolk obtained the sword, they would have to spend day and night interacting with it and refining it. It would take them a few months at the very least before they could unleash this power.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s demonic nature was far too pure and powerful, and he did not fear the special characteristic of the Traitorous Demon sword at all, even bequeathing it with the name of ¡°Traitorous Demon¡±. As a result, the Traitorous Demon sword seemed to run into the perfect master and was willing to be used. Even before Li Qingshan could carefully study it, it offered up its powers actively.

    Just like how every person had their faults, Eternal Faith¡¯s Protective Robes of the Golden Bell were not as flawless as they seemed. It had flaws.

    Especially after blocking a direct palm strike and a punch from Li Qingshan, the ¡°flaw¡± became even more obvious, but it was still invisible to the naked eye. However, as Li Qingshan had the Traitorous Demon sword in hand, he could see these flaws.

    It was like a clash between two armies, where one side possessed a natural fortress that could hold out against all. If the other side were to launch a direct attack, then perhaps even an army of a hundred thousand would struggle to emerge victoriously. However, as long as they had a guide and a narrow, secret path into the natural fortress, they only needed to send a group of elite, and they would be able to triumph over their enemies.

    The Traitorous Demon sword served as the guide here.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t come over here! This is the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga! You can¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Eternal Faith put on a tough front despite his lack of confidence inside. He pushed his powers desperately, and the golden avatar shone even brighter. He grumbled inside, So this Li Qingshan¡¯s real identity is a demonfolk. Since I¡¯ve seen his true identity, he definitely won¡¯t let me escape. He wants to silence me with death. If I had known this earlier, why would I have said so much just to redeem my pride?

    He wanted to redeem his pride not only because of low tolerance, but also because he believed he possessed an advantage and thought Li Qingshan was a sitting duck, someone he could do whatever he wanted to. Never did he think he could force him into such dire straits even when surrounded by so many people.

    Li Qingshan smiled indifferently and closed his eyes, sending his soul sense into the Traitorous Demon sword. The evil eye on the hilt let out rings of light.

    Afterwards, he ¡°saw¡± the golden light on Eternal Faith dim. On his golden avatar, splotches of black appeared. They were all weaker points of the golden avatar. There were even a few black specks that were particularly dark.

    Openings!

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. The Traitorous Demon sword pressed forward, passing through the air and stabbing into one of the black specks.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes again, only to see the golden avatar glistening with golden light. There were no black splotches or black specks at all. However, cracks had appeared on the golden avatar where his sword had made contact with it.

    Li Qingshan smiled and drove all of his strength and spiritual qi into the strike. The tip of the sword plunged in.

    Clang!

    With a sound like metal had been ripped open, the indestructible golden avatar of buddhism shattered and dispersed. Eternal Faith was like a hermit crab that had just lost its shell. Disbelief filled his face, no longer possessing a hint of unruly arrogance.

    Eternal Faith urged the wooden fish as hard as he could as he reached into his hundred treasures pouch frantically. He still had many powerful talismans in his possession, enough to turn the tables. However, as soon as his fingers touched his hundred treasures pouch, the icy-cold edge of a sword pressed against his neck.

    He never expected Li Qingshan to tear through his two layers of defence so quickly and easily such that he had not even prepared mentally for it. There were many techniques and items he had not used. This was the result of not fighting in a long time.

    ¡°If you move again, say bye bye to your head!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Eternal Faith felt a prick of pain on his neck and warm fluid flowed down. He immediately became too frightened to move again. As he gazed at the dark-red pupils, his face contorted. He seemed like he wanted to cry, yet also laugh. He was certain Li Qingshan was trying to silence him, so he wanted to say something flattering and beg for his life. He normally heard things like that all the time, yet he was completely unable to utter any of them now.

    With a jangle, Chains of Demon Suppression draped down, tying up Eternal Faith like a christmas present and hoisting him into the air. Eternal Faith feigned composure. ¡°If you kill me, you won¡¯t be able to escape death either!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to piss me off to the point that I actually kill you, you better shut up!¡±

    Eternal Faith dared not utter another word, but hope rose up in his heart. He really is afraid of killing me. He thought viciously inside, Once I get out, you better watch how I deal with you!

    ¡°Hmph, do you really think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking? You¡¯re a little man who takes bribes. That¡¯s what you do, yet I¡¯m forbidden to say you are? I originally planned on ignoring you, yet you sure were proactive with coming after me, refusing to let me go. You even dared to do some imitations, playing those games of trying to frame me verbally. Why don¡¯t you check yourself? There¡¯s a saying from my hometown: Don¡¯t take my discreteness as a reason for you to walk all over me. Have you heard of it before!?¡±

    Eternal Faith was obviously too afraid to answer.

    Li Qingshan took out a whip from his hundred treasures pouch. It was only a high grade spiritual artifact, and he had even forgotten where or who he had obtained it from. Coupled with how he was not skilled with whips, he originally thought he would never use it, but he never expected an opportunity would present itself today.

    Grasping the handle, he shook it forcefully and circled it over his head before lashing out viciously. With a crack, a bloody mark immediately appeared on Eternal Faith. His body trembled as he let out a squeal like a pig about to be butchered.

    Although he had been restrained, his spiritual qi still protected him, so he should not have been so miserable. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s whip possessed the power of demon suppression. Eternal Faith had demons in his heart, so he was unable to avoid punishment.

    Eternal Faith began cursing again, and Li Qingshan let out a laugh. He swung the whip around, making it dance like a dragon as he whipped Eternal Faith viciously, feeling great joy inside. He could sense that the monks outside were attacking the Demon Suppression Tower, but he did not care at all.

    The special characteristic of the Demon Suppression Tower was that the stronger the demonic nature of those being suppressed was, the sturdier it would become. Eternal Faith was a little man, but his demonic nature was not exactly heavy. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s demonic nature was far too strong, so as he stood inside, the Demon Suppression Tower became extremely sturdy, more sturdy than it had ever been.

    He felt another tremor from below his feet, and he ignored it again. If the senior who created the Demon Suppression Statuary did not even have a tower footing when he came up with the Demon Suppression Tower, and they could simply burrow in through the earth, then what the fuck was he on about with demon suppression?

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, what is going on here?¡±

    Outside the Demon Suppression Tower, an old monk suddenly appeared without any sign at all. His hair and beard were all grey, and he seemed very gentle and solemn. He was the head monk of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs, the Distant Enlightenment Chan Master.

 Chapter 588 â€“ Return

    The monks made a ruckus. Some called him master, while others called him head monk. Combined with Eternal Faith¡¯s shrieks from the Demon Suppression Tower, the situation was a mess.

    Distant Enlightenment frowned and gave off an invisible aura and pressure. The surroundings immediately settled down.

    ¡°Eternal Benevolence, tell me what is going on.¡±

    A middle-aged monk with an honest and tolerant appearance stepped forward. ¡°Master, I¡¯ve only just arrived too. Apparently senior brother Eternal Faith became caught in a dispute with someone called Li Qingshan, and he ordered us to capture him. That Li Qingshan summoned this tower in response, which enveloped both of them.¡±

    The Eternal Benevolence monk was famous for his honesty in the Courtyard of Secular Affairs, so Distant Enlightenment trusted his word the most. He described what he saw and heard. He did not listen to what Eternal Faith had said to describe Li Qingshan as a wrong-doer.

    Li Qingshan!

    Distant Enlightenment¡¯s heart skipped a beat. When One Will first entered the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he was also at the grand hall. This stubborn man left quite an impression on me. Afterwards, One Will returned, and the abbot personally carried out tonsure for her, yet Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen. I thought he was still imprisoned in the Demon Suppression hall, but it looks like he has already come out. I wonder why he has come to my Courtyard of Secular Affairs and why he is fighting with Eternal Faith.

    Listening to Eternal Faith¡¯s shrieks, Distant Enlightenment was mildly angered. How dare he beat up his disciple right in his face. He was looking down on his Courtyard of Secular Affairs a little too much. With a wave of his hand, Eternal Faith originally thought the tower would fly away, but he never expected it to not even budge.

    Distant Enlightenment was surprised. What kind of technique was this? How was it so sturdy?

    At first glance, he found it oozing with demon qi, so it seemed like a technique of the Demon race, yet it happened to possess a buddhist solemnity that completely contrasted against that, making it majestic and inviolable. He had never even heard of something like this before.

    He parted his hands and clenched his fists. His body glistened with golden light, conjuring the avatar of a guardian king that stood over ten meters tall. It spread its muscly arms and hugged the Demon Suppression Tower firmly, pulling it upwards.

    The force from the guardian king was anything but little. The Demon Suppression Tower shuddered before being lifted up bit by bit.

    However, the more he stirred his demon heart and released his demonic nature, the larger the Demon Suppression Tower became. At the same time, he practised the Demon Suppression Statuary, and the Demon Suppression Tower grew another few meters taller.

    Distant Enlightenment refused to give up. The two of them were locked in stalemate for a while longer before a boom occurred. The Demon Suppression Tower struck the ground firmly.

    The monks cried out in alarm. Originally, they thought that Li Qingshan was as good as captured now that Distant Enlightenment had stepped in, but they never expected that even upon using his guardian king¡¯s avatar, Distant Enlightenment still could not shake the strange tower.

    Distant Enlightenment dispersed his golden avatar helplessly. He did possess other powerful techniques and he was confident he could get through the tower, but if he did that, the disturbance would be far too great. Facing trouble in their own sect would do no good to the monastery¡¯s reputation.

    This Li Qingshan is actually so capable. With his cultivation at the first heavenly tribulation, he can actually contend with my golden avatar. He¡¯s not someone who I can afford to underestimate.

    ¡°Sir Li, please come out. You are more than welcome to tell this lowly monk just how my disciple has offended you. This lowly monk can handle the matter impartially.¡±

    ¡°You monks all abuse your superior advantages to harass a lone man like me. If I were to come out, wouldn¡¯t I still be harassed by you?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from the tower. All of the monks became angered.

    ¡°Harass you? This seems to contrast a little from what this lowly monk is seeing.¡±

    ¡°Emptiness is form. You can¡¯t just look at the surface for anything. Doesn¡¯t the master understand a principle like this?¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, this lowly monk has learnt a lesson. May I ask just how my disciple has harassed you? If he really is in the wrong, this lowly monk is willing to apologise for his misdeeds.¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re quite cultured. You¡¯re much better than this horrible disciple of yours. Forget it. Since you want to know, I¡¯ll tell you.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan told him how he wanted to become a secular disciple, how he heard secular disciples needed to give gifts, and how he angered Eternal Faith just by saying, ¡°buddhist disciples also accept bribes.¡± followed by how Eternal Faith made things difficult for him. He simply described everything like that, without embellishing the truth at all.

    Seeing how straightforward he was, Distant Enlightenment already began to believe him a little. He had caught wind of Eternal Faith accepting ¡°gifts¡± a long time ago, but he focused on cultivation, so he did not pay any heed to such a small matter. He never thought it would actually lead to something like this today, but he was still not entirely convinced.

    ¡°How can this lowly monk just believe your side of the story?¡±

    ¡°My side of the story? Hmph, it wasn¡¯t only the two of us back then. You¡¯re more than welcome to ask secular disciple senior brother Wang and check whether I¡¯ve told even a single lie.¡±

    Ever since the monks had rushed over, senior brother Wang and the other two secular disciples retreated to one side and watched on to see how everything would unfold.

    Hearing Li Qingshan mention him, senior brother Wang was alarmed inside, cursing Li Qingshan for repaying his kindness with enmity, wanting to drag him down too. He stood forward reluctantly and bowed towards Distant Enlightenment. ¡°Greetings, head monk.¡±

    ¡°Feel free to tell me everything. There¡¯s no need to worry about anything, nor are you allowed to hide anything. The monastery has plenty of methods to discern lies and verify truths.¡±

    As a result, all senior brother Wang could say was, ¡°The situation earlier was basically as L- Li Qingshan described. It has only been a form of etiquette as disciples of the same courtyard between senior brother Eternal Faith and us. There was nothing to do with bribes. Li Qingshan had misspoken beforehand, which was why senior brother Eternal Faith lost his temper. Please give us your wise judgement, head monk.¡±

    Although he refused to lie before Distant Enlightenment, he was still biased towards Eternal Faith as he spoke. Li Qingshan irritated him; he thought,. Even if there really had been bribery, what¡¯s it got to do with you?

    Distant Enlightenment¡¯s eyebrows became even more furrowed. If that were the case, Eternal Faith had truly gone too far.

    ¡°Sir Li, I¡¯ve already understood the entire story now. You can come out!¡±

    ¡°Just understanding is not enough. Tell me how you plan on handling this.¡±

    ¡°My disciple has behaved inappropriately and broken the rules of the monastery. I will personally take him to the Disciplinary courtyard for punishment, and I will apologise to you. It is my Courtyard of Secular Affairs¡¯ honour to have you as a secular disciple.¡± Distant Enlightenment sighed and bowed slightly.

    Li Qingshan secretly praised, Now this old monk has got the bearing. It was not like he was someone who refused to let bygones be bygones, so he immediately withdrew his demonic nature and recovered his human form before waving his hand and dispersing the Demon Suppression Tower.

    Eternal Faith was already on his last gasp from the whipping. He was a bloody mess. He did not even have the strength to shriek out anymore. With a thought, Li Qingshan removed the Chains of Demon Suppression, and he fell to the ground heavily.

    ¡°Senior brother Eternal Faith!¡± the monks all cried out and glared at Li Qingshan.

    Although Eternal Faith was a standard little man in Li Qingshan¡¯s dictionary, he was skilled at handling the affairs of the courtyard and had always been very generous. He did not always keep all the gifts he received for himself, treating everyone equally instead, which was why he had managed to rally all the disciples earlier. The disciples of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs all admired him. Even when their cultivations exceeded his, they would not contend for his position of first senior brother.

    With a wave of his hand, Distant Enlightenment swept Eternal Faith to his side. Golden light sprinkled over him, and Eternal Faith¡¯s wounds immediately recovered. He gradually opened his eyes and called out, ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, Eternal Faith, you¡¯ve always been so sharp and intelligent, so why have you done something so stupid today?¡±

    ¡°The master truly has handled everything impartially. You have my admiration. As for becoming a secular disciple, it¡¯s fine even if I don¡¯t become one.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands before striding out of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs.

    Eternal Faith gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. Resentment filled his eyes. Never had he experienced so much humiliation before, and it had occurred in front of so many junior brothers and his master. Suddenly, he raised his voice and called out in a rather shrill manner.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him go! He¡¯s a demonfolk!¡±

    ¡°What! Eternal Faith, you cannot speak nonsense like that!¡±

    Distant Enlightenment became alarmed. He immediately used his soul sense to carefully check Li Qingshan, but under the Demon Suppression Statuary, Li Qingshan did not even give off a hint of demon qi.

    Eternal Faith said angrily, ¡°I personally saw him demonify. Otherwise, how could he have gotten through my robes and golden avatar so easily with his strength? If I am lying, I am willing to enter Av¨©ci and endure eternal suffering.¡±

    Distant Enlightenment¡¯s face changed. For a buddhist disciple to swear such a solemn vow, it basically could not be false. Demonfolk were the hated enemies of buddhism. If Li Qingshan was a demon, then he had to capture him regardless of whether he was in the right or the wrong. He would either be killed on the spot or sent into the Demon Suppression hall.

    However, Li Qingshan ignored all of it, continuing on his way out. Distant Enlightenment called out sternly, ¡°Please hold on, sir Li!¡±

    ¡°What else do you want to ask, master?¡± Li Qingshan only felt his wrist tighten, having been grabbed firmly by Distant Enlightenment. If he did not mention the Unraging monk¡¯s name today, he probably could not get out of this situation. He sighed inside, Master, oh master, you can¡¯t blame me for this.

    ¡°There are a few matters that require sir Li to resolve. May I ask which sect or school the technique of the tower that sir Li used earlier belongs to?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Orthodox buddhism, obviously!¡± And, it was even the supreme cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    ¡°I practised buddhism since young, and it has already been over three centuries since then, so why have I never heard of such a powerful buddhist technique? I instead found it radiating with demon qi, like it¡¯s a demonic technique used by demonfolk?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re only listening to one side of the story again, master. I¡¯ll also swear that if I am a demonfolk, I am willing to enter Av¨©ci and endure eternal suffering.¡±

    Distant Enlightenment began to hesitate. He glanced past Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist, and his gaze suddenly froze. He asked, ¡°Hmm? Where did you get this string of prayer beads from!?¡±

    The string of prayer beads seemed like nothing special, but Distant Enlightenment remembered very clearly that it was something that never left the senior at the back of the mountain, so why was it in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Someone gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°Impossible!¡±

    Distant Enlightenment knew exactly how significant the string of prayer beads were to the senior. They could basically be treated as an item of inheriting his legacy. He would never give it away so easily.

    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t given to me, am I supposed to have stolen it?¡±

    Distant Enlightenment thought, That¡¯s even more impossible. Just how many people are there in the world who can steal from that senior? If that senior really gave it to him willingly, then¡­

    Li Qingshan hintingly said, ¡°Master, do you think I came to the Courtyard of Secular Affairs to become a secular disciple because I had nothing better to do?¡±

    Distant Enlightenment slowly let go and brought his palms together. ¡°This lowly monk understands. Please continue on your way, sir!¡±

    Li Qingshan also brought his hands together and bowed. ¡°Thank you, master!¡± He strode off in the direction of the Clear River prefecture.

    ¡°Master!¡± Eternal Faith called out, utterly refusing to accept this.

    Distant Enlightenment slowly turned around, hinting at him to say no more. He gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s figure as he gradually travelled into the distance. Whether this child is a human or a demon completely depends on that person¡¯s judgement!

 Chapter 589 â€“ The New Marquis of Ruyi

    He sucked in a deep breath and let out a great bellow, ¡°Until we see each other again!¡±

    His voice echoed through the mountains. The many pilgrims below all raised their heads and looked at the horizon. They had no idea what was going on.

    Li Qingshan laughed a few more times before turning around and taking off without hesitation. He travelled at full speed along the way, without stopping at all, returning to the Ruyi commandery in a day and night. He reported back to Gu Yanying first. He did not even visit the Hawkwolf Guard, instead going directly to where she cultivated before calling out.

    ¡°Commander Gu, your subordinate Li Qingshan seeks an audience with you.¡±

    Before long, a door opened in the formation. Li Qingshan flew over the small lake, crossed over the boundless stretch of lotus flowers, and arrived in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind. Gu Yanying was already waiting for him on the terrace, smiling from afar. ¡°Your trip has taken quite the time.¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived on the terrace. He could not help himself as his heart skipped a beat. Gu Yanying stood in the breeze with her clothes whiter than snow, charming and graceful. Her charm could not be rivaled by any regular woman.

    However, when he remembered their previous conversation, he immediately dismissed his thoughts. He had always been able to pick up or let go of his emotions at a whim. He had never been a passionately-devoted person like Hua Chengzan. Coupled with how he had already agreed with her last time, it was even less likely for him to change. He said relaxedly, ¡°I ran into some small problems that took some time.¡±

    Gu Yanying took note of his facial expression and the tone of his voice. She could not help but smile. She stopped worrying. He truly was a courageous and resolute man.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve benefited quite a lot.¡±

    Li Qingshan ruminated over everything for a while before smiling. ¡°You can say that I¡¯ve gained more than I¡¯ve lost. So how¡¯s it? Do you need my help now?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. It¡¯s still not time yet.¡± Gu Yanying struck the palm of her hand gently with her folding fan, clearly knowing exactly what she was doing.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to ask you for your help first. I want you to assist me with something small.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°You can say that I¡¯ve been through quite a lot of battles, whether big or small, so I¡¯ve accumulated many spoils. However, how I should handle these spoils and convert them into my own strength is quite a problem. Do you have any ideas?¡±

    Demonification and the Traitorous Demon sword were both his trump cards. He did not want to use them unless he had to. As a result, he wanted to have a few powerful arcane artifacts at his disposal. Actually, he already possessed plenty of arcane artifacts, but he could not use any of them freely. He felt like he was guarding a mountain of gold, but he was unable to mine it.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Actually, even if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it, I wanted to discuss it with you anyway. If you can properly make use of the many resources from underground, the benefits they can bring will be far greater than you¡¯ve imagined.¡±

    ¡°That would obviously be for the best.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Matters that posed great problems to him were extremely easy to handle for Gu Yanying. With her network of connections, she obviously possessed ways to deal with these ¡°spoils¡±. However, that was also the only reason a foundation existed for their cooperation.

    Li Qingshan took out a portion of his spoils. Just the arcane artifacts among them numbered five. He had found them all from the hundred treasures pouches of the Golden Core cultivators from the battle at Burial Mound mountain. Plenty of them were personal weapons of those cultivators, who made a name for themselves with them. Once one or two of them entered the market, it would immediately lead to an investigation.

    Apart from that, there were also many miscellaneous items like pills and cultivation methods. Together, they were worth quite the sum as well.

    ¡°Sure enough, your spoils are plentiful. However, that shouldn¡¯t be all, right? Since you want to exchange them, you might as well take them all out! Little bro Qingshan, it¡¯s not like your older sister I covet these items of yours,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    Even Golden Core cultivators could become green with greed when they saw these items, but they were not worth her attention.

    Li Qingshan was convinced. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what I want. Deals and transactions still depend on whether the price is appropriate or not.¡±

    Gu Yanying opened her folding fan and waved it gently. ¡°I¡¯ll just guarantee your satisfaction then.¡±

    Li Qingshan studied her for a while. ¡°Fine then! Here, take it all.¡±

    In one go, he took out all the spoils he had accumulated, which included a vast array of items such as cultivation methods, formations, arcane artifacts, spiritual artifacts, pills, and talismans. There was everything a person could imagine. Li Qingshan only kept a few violet talismans to protect himself in the future.

    Gu Yanying looked through them quickly and roughly estimated their value. As she went through them, she would make a few comments about some arcane artifacts or cultivation methods. Afterwards, she accepted everything and put them all away in her hundred treasures pouch.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°So where are my things?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I carry those items around on me. Let¡¯s go pay a visit to the Arsenal of Arms!¡±

    ¡°The Arsenal of Arms? Surely you don¡¯t plan on having me shop around and then purchase everything that catches my fancy for me!¡±

    In the past, Li Qingshan¡¯s first proper weapon came from the Arsenal of Arms. After entering the world of cultivation, he dealt with them a few more times. He knew that the Arsenal of Arms had an extremely large range of influence. They basically undertook all the transactions involving artifacts throughout the entire Ruyi commandery. If he wanted to look for a few suitable arcane artifacts, the Arsenal of Arms would obviously be the best choice. However, if he purchased from there, the price would be much higher.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    The two of them left the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind and arrived in the Ruyi commandery together.

    As the very core of the entire Ruyi commandery, the commandery city of Ruyi was much more extensive than the prefectural city of Clear River. The city spanned dozens of kilometers, layered with buildings of differing designs that towered into the clouds. Most of them were made from wood and stone, which gave them an antique flavour, but various strange colours filled the city too, which did not make it resemble an ancient city.

    The city was so advanced and convenient that probably even modern cities pale in comparison. Li Qingshan could clearly see wooden compartments that resembled trams sliding down the streets, stopping from time to time to let go and let on groups of people. Clearly, it was the handiwork of the school of Mohism.

    It was around dusk right now, so the lights were being lit up for the evening. However, what lit up were not candles, but glimmering specks of light like spherical balls of lightning that appeared from thin air. The specks of light scattered across the criss-crossing streets, extending in all directions.

    In the blink of an eye, the commandery city of Ruyi became submerged in a sea of stars. It was magnificent.

    Clearly, it was the formation that enveloped the entire commandery city coming into effect. The mortals who lived here all seemed like they had already grown accustomed to it.

    However, it did leave Li Qingshan who was in the sky amazed. Suddenly, he noticed that the entire city was decorated with lanterns and streamers as if they were celebrating something. He asked, ¡°What festival is it right now?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Oh right, you still don¡¯t know. The new Marquis of Ruyi has already taken office. You¡¯ll be able to see him tonight.¡±

    ¡°Tonight?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a banquet in the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s estate tonight. You can come along with me.¡±

    ¡°Why would I go?¡±

    ¡°This prince from the imperial family of the Dragon province cannot be compared with Jiang Fu. You should consider it!¡± Gu Yanying finished speaking and flew down.

    Li Qingshan considered it for a moment before flying down too. ¡°I might as well then.¡±

    No matter who became the Marquis of Ruyi, he would definitely be the greatest thorn in their backside. Knowing thyself and knowing thy enemy makes you undefeatable in battle.

 Chapter 590 â€“ Five Arcane Artifacts

    Gu Yanying walked in, and Li Qingshan followed closely behind. As soon as he stepped through the door, before he could even look around, an attendant received them. The attendant was surprised at first when he first saw Gu Yanying before showing respect.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, you¡¯ve come to check on us!¡±

    Loud greetings immediately rang out from all the floors. Almost a hundred cultivators made their way down, all saying, ¡°Greetings from your subordinates, ma¡¯am!¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought this was because of Gu Yanying¡¯s identity as the White Hawk commander, but he noticed something was amiss as soon as he heard how they referred to themselves. They were not Hawkwolf guards, so why did they call themselves ¡°subordinates¡±? And, this did not seem like they were receiving an esteemed guest.

    Gu Yanying relieved him of his confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the Arsenal of Arms is my business? If you want any arcane artifact, pick away. There¡¯s nowhere in the Ruyi commandery with more arcane artifacts than here.¡±

    ¡°You really do know how to make money, and you sure are extravagant.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but remember how Hua Chengzan would always call her ¡°boss Gu¡± whenever he mentioned her. Now, he finally understood the reason why.

    ¡°You can all go back to what you¡¯re doing. Old Wu, take commander Li to the storeroom above for a look!¡±

    Gu Yanying dismissed everyone with a wave of her hand before giving an order to an honest-looking Foundation Establishment cultivator who seemed to be in his forties or fifties. He was the shopkeeper of this Arsenal of Arms store, and he was in charge of receiving guests.

    Old Wu could not help but study Li Qingshan. How could he let an outsider into an important place like the store room? Even if he received important guests, he would only invite them to a private room.

    However, since the order came directly from Gu Yanying, he refused to defy her. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    Under old Wu¡¯s lead, they arrived on the top floor. They passed through who knew how many alarm systems and formations and opened several gates before reaching the treasury of the Arsenal of Arms.

    With what I¡¯m capable of, getting through these formations on the outside is nothing difficult, but who knows what those gates are made of. They¡¯ve been imbued with great power. I¡¯d probably struggle to get through them even with the Traitorous Demon sword in hand.

    Shopkeeper Wu closed the gate and stood straight. ¡°Ma¡¯am, we¡¯re here.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the arcane artifacts inside.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ might not be appropriate.¡± Shopkeeper Wu hesitated and glanced at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Stop faltering around! Go!¡±

    Gu Yanying urged with a smile. Her voice was very gentle, like he was an old friend and not a subordinate.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    With no other choice, shopkeeper Wu arrived before the eastern wall. He formed a seal and muttered a chant. Another gate opened on the clean, smooth wall, and he turned around. ¡°Please!¡±

    Finally, Li Qingshan arrived in the true treasury of the Arsenal of Arms. Looking around, there were almost a hundred different items, placed in individual display cases. There were common blades, swords, and armour among them, as well as various wondrous items hidden behind films of light, obscuring their glow.

    However, Li Qingshan knew that every single one of them was an extremely precious arcane artifact, and they were worth far more than the countless spiritual artifacts outside combined.

    Old Wu offered up a jade slip, and Li Qingshan sent his soul sense into it. Inside the jade slip was information regarding all of these arcane artifacts. Regular customers probably could only purchase these arcane artifacts through this jade slip and could not directly enter this room to pick and choose among the actual items.

    Gu Yanying glanced around. She made her way over to a display case and extended her hand in. Her fair hand passed through the film of light slowly. By the time she drew them out again, she was already holding a set of almost-transparent gloves. They shone with lacy rings of light. They were a low grade arcane artifact.

    ¡°Come, try this on.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a fantastic choice, ma¡¯am. The ¡®Gentle Wave gloves¡¯ don¡¯t require any special introduction. All they do is make water element techniques and battle skills a lot faster and a lot stronger when used. They¡¯re perfect for this fellow to use,¡± shopkeeper Wu introduced with great expertise.

    In a battle to the death, being even a split second faster might be the difference between life and death, let alone ¡°a lot¡±.

    Li Qingshan put on the gloves, and their glow became withdrawn. He discovered that the gloves were so light that he felt like he was wearing nothing. He could even make out his fingerprints clearly. They were like the blue waves of a lake, coloured when looked at from afar, but colourless when scooped up in the hands.

    He held his hands. Even his sense of touch had not been affected at all. Just how functional would something so light and handy be?

    He parted his hands again and silently circulated his spiritual qi. The moment the thought occurred to him, a tiny water swirl had appeared. The entire process had been free and smooth as if it had not taken him any additional effort at all.

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy inside. If he possessed this, then he could definitely multiply the strength of Ocean Wielding. It suited him even more than the Heavy Water sword. If he had been wearing these gloves when he clashed with Eternal Faith, he was rather confident he could smash through his robes with a single punch.

    Old Wu was secretly amazed too. The water swirl was only the size of a thumb, but it whistled like a tornado. The power it contained could probably pierce through rock, and he was merely testing it out. If he used the technique seriously, just how powerful would that be?

    ¡°Alright, this¡¯ll be one!¡±

    Li Qingshan said firmly before simply keeping the gloves on his hand, without taking them off. He continued choosing.

    He was constantly amazed. He felt every single arcane artifact was so special and powerful, and basically the introduction for every single one of them was very long, providing various kinds of information regarding the arcane artifact.

    He had always liked fighting and been skilled at fighting. Whenever he got to an arcane artifact, he would basically imagine the battle skill that could unleash the greatest strength of the arcane artifact automatically, so he took even longer.

    ¡°You¡¯re too slow. If you continue like this, you¡¯ll miss out on the banquet. You better just leave it to me!¡± Gu Yanying waited for a while before stowing her folding fan away and extending her hand.

    Li Qingshan only felt a gentle breeze and the jade slip was in her hands. He smiled helplessly.

    Gu Yanying began browsing through the arcane artifacts seriously. Although these arcane artifacts all belonged to her, she did not understand every single one of them. However, she was still much faster than Li Qingshan. Before long, she had chosen a jade pendant, a waistband, a set of soft armour, and a pair of shoes. All of them were obviously arcane artifacts, and they each possessed their own strange powers.

    Li Qingshan obviously did not question her insight and understanding. All he could do was accept them. As he looked at the side of her beautiful face that thought seriously, he could not help but develop some other feelings again. He felt like he had been taken out by a wealthy girlfriend to choose a set of fitting and expensive clothes so that he could attend a luxurious soir¨¦e.

    Li Qingshan smiled self-deprecatingly. You still won¡¯t give up, will you? He set these thoughts aside and put on everything Gu Yanying had chosen. He acquired a brand-new look, now possessing an impressive bearing.

    ¡°Commander Li, your attire truly is very elegant!¡±

    Shopkeeper Wu managed to infer Li Qingshan¡¯s name and identity from their conversation, so he praised in a hurry, but he thought inside, Anyone who wears five arcane artifacts will be extraordinarily elegant. Though, whether he can unleash their powers is quite the question.

    ¡°That should be enough,¡± Gu Yanying studied Li Qingshan and said in thought.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He also felt extremely satisfied inside. As long as he could refine all of these arcane artifacts, his strength would increase by severalfold, and he would have made up for his disadvantage of being too weak as a human cultivator. It would no longer be so awkward in many situations that were inappropriate for him to use his powers as a daemon. The next time he entered the Demon Suppression hall, he was bold enough to attempt the seventh floor now.

    ¡°Can I choose a few more?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine even if I give you all the arcane artifacts here, but you¡¯ve basically reached your limit already by wielding five arcane artifacts. If you have any more, the arcane artifacts will conflict with one another, and it will be detrimental to their usage.¡±

    If it were not for the arcane artifacts all belonging to the water element and Li Qingshan¡¯s god-like talent of controlling water from the spirit turtle, simultaneously wielding three arcane artifacts was basically the limit.

    Having accepted bribes for all these years, Eternal Faith definitely had more than three arcane artifacts in his possession, but he only used three when he faced Li Qingshan.

    Shopkeeper Wu was dumfounded. Although Gu Yanying had always been a generous person, this level of generosity was unheard of. Just what had this person done to receive such good graces from her?

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll have you hold onto it then. We¡¯ll see once I think of anything else I need! Hmm, is this an alchemy cauldron?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze drifted around; he spotted a pure-white cauldron that seemed to be carved out of white jade in the display case at the very top of the wall.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The cauldron is called the Jade Melting cauldron. It¡¯s only a mid grade arcane artifact, but it¡¯s worth the most among the arcane artifacts here,¡± Shopkeeper Wu said.

    Originally, smithing and alchemy cauldrons that rarely came about were the easiest to sell, but due to being simply too expensive, many cultivators could only give up on it regretfully after seeing it.

    ¡°I also want this Jade Melting cauldron.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up as he spoke up immediately. Ever since Ru Xin had given him the Water God Seal, he had always wanted to find a suitable gift to return the gesture. This Jade Melting cauldron was basically perfect.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you also knew alchemy.¡±

    ¡°I have a friend who¡¯s skilled in this aspect.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°A beauty from the school of Medicine, Ru Xin, right? You sure are a passionate person.¡±

    ¡°You already know the answer to that question, but I only treat her as a close friend, that¡¯s all,¡± said Li Qingshan. With Gu Yanying¡¯s identity, even investigating the past three generations of his family was no issue, so there was nothing strange about her knowing Ru Xin.

    ¡°From your tone, you sound like you¡¯re going to give this to her?¡± Gu Yanying leapt up gently and grabbed the Jade Melting cauldron. It fitted within one hand, and it was propped up by three long, curved legs. It was covered with a pattern of clouds, and it seemed detailed and delicate in design.

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°Are you aware that this alchemy cauldron is worth even more than the five arcane artifacts on you combined?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°And what about it?¡±

    ¡°You better refine your arcane artifacts quickly. There¡¯s probably going to be a bitter battle tonight.¡± Gu Yanying casually tossed the Jade Melting cauldron to Li Qingshan and made her way out of the storeroom.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°A bitter battle?¡±

 Chapter 591 â€“ Banquet One

    The Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s estate was located right at the centre of the commandery city. It was surrounded with tall walls with crenellations that rose and fell. Soldiers patrolled atop the walls, vigilantly checking the surroundings. It gave off a sense of authority naturally, a city within a city.

    A slightly-plump, middle-aged man who resembled a caretaker paced around at the entrance. He constantly glanced at the moon in the sky, estimating the time. He was anxious. Why had commander Gu still not come?

    That was how he thought when a figure in white clothes pierced through the sky and landed in front of the marquis¡¯ estate. She was a beautiful woman in clothes whiter than snow. The corner of her lips curled into a slight smile as she waved her jade folding around gently. She seemed like she had appeared out of thin air, kicking up a slight breeze. Her white clothes swayed with the breeze.

    A large, tall man arrived right behind her, with a bronze face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. He stood quietly behind the beautiful woman like a guard, but he did not seem meek at all. Instead, he gave off a natural sense of dignity.

    They were Gu Yanying and Li Qingshan. This was the first time Li Qingshan had come to the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s estate. He had visited the Forbidden Palace in his past life. The lofty imperial palace that had served as the residence of the emperor through the two dynasties of Ming and Qing basically seemed as simple and crude as a common house compared to the marquis¡¯ estate.

    Upon considering how someone else had already taken over the marquis¡¯ estate that the Jiang clan had managed for several millennia, replacing its master, he could not help but think of a lyric he had once read. His lips moved slightly as he muttered it to himself.

    Only Gu Yanying managed to hear his words, and she said, ¡°Where once the swallows knew the mansions of the great, now where would they fly to nest and mate?¡± She could not help but glance at him, feeling mildly surprised inside. He had a crude air about him, but never did she think he had such literary talent.

    TL: This is lyric poetry from the Song dynasty, which was adapted to another poem later on. It¡¯s referring to Wuyi Lane in Nanjing. I¡¯ve used a pre-translated version of the adapted poem and tweaked it so it fits the meaning of its original lyrical form. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuyi_Lane

    ¡°Commander Gu, you¡¯re finally here. His highness has already been waiting for a long time. If you still didn¡¯t come, I¡¯d be punished.¡± The caretaker saw Gu Yanying and beamed with joy, approaching her and bowing.

    ¡°Caretaker Zheng, is Thirteen still so strict with his rules? He actually got you to receive me in person.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m probably a little more familiar with this estate than his highness.¡±

    With a wave of her hand, Gu Yanying turned into a white blur and shot into the gates. The caretaker followed along in a hurry, actually also moving with startling speed, sticking close behind Gu Yanying like her shadow as he called out loudly, ¡°Commander Gu has arrived!¡±

    Even though Gu Yanying was not using her full strength, he was able to keep up with her regular speed, which was extraordinary enough.

    Li Qingshan was surprised inside. Only now did he realise that the caretaker Zheng who seemed like a servant was actually a Golden Core cultivator. He had concealed his aura far too well, and combined with his overly-submissive behaviour, he did not give off the bearing that belonged to a Golden Core cultivator at all. As a result, Li Qingshan misjudged him.

    Just what kind of a person was the new Marquis of Ruyi? Having a Golden Core cultivator as a friend or a guest of the estate was easy, but having one as a servant was unimaginably extravagant.

    Li Qingshan followed the two of them and passed through gate after gate until he reached the centre of the marquis¡¯ estate. He noticed a large, magnificent palace from afar. Under the moonlight, it was wrapped in a scarlet glow, which made it seem like it was burning.

    On the square in front of the palace, a man with a fancy hat and luxurious robes stood with his hands behind his back, facing the wind. ¡°Yanying, if you still hadn¡¯t come, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to help myself and would have started the banquet first.¡±

    His voice was harsh to the ear, even slightly shrill, like a jackal howling at the moon. It pierced through the air, tempting people to block their ears.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes, only to see that the man had a darker face and a pair of slightly-bulging eyes. There was even a faint scar over his right eye. His appearance was anything but handsome, nowhere near as elegant and graceful as the previous Marquis of Ruyi, Jiang Fu. However, he gave off a sense of heaviness and force simply by standing there, well beyond what Jiang Fu could rival.

    Next were his robes. They were not embroidered with the serpents of the Marquis of Ruyi, but five true dragons. This was the bearing of a descendant of the imperial family of Great Xia. From a single glance, Li Qingshan knew that this person was far, far more difficult to deal with than Jiang Fu. If this person insisted on opposing him, then he would probably serve as quite a troublesome enemy.

    ¡°Thirteen¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m already Eleven now!¡±

    Gu Yanying was like a feather, landing right in front of the man gently. However, before she had even finished talking, the man interrupted her. His gaze towards Gu Yanying also shone brightly, possessing the most natural admiration of a man towards an outstanding woman, but he also seemed like he would never change his ways just because of a woman like her.

    ¡°It has only been a few years, yet you¡¯ve advanced by another two ranks.¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought that the descendants of the imperial family were ranked according to their seniority, but as it seemed, that was completely false. Instead, it resembled something like a battle ranking.

    ¡°You better just call me by my name, Si Qing!¡± Si Qing smiled. His gaze skipped over Gu Yanying and landed on Li Qingshan. Although the glow of the arcane artifacts on Li Qingshan was already withdrawn completely, how could it fool his eyes?

    His gaze caused Li Qingshan quite the distaste, as he did not seem like he was looking at a human. It was more like he was gazing at a racehorse or a fighting dog, even evaluating his strengths and weaknesses inside.

    ¡°This must be your subordinate. Looks like you still haven¡¯t forgotten about the traditions of the Dragon province, but your insight has worsened. He¡¯s merely at mid Foundation Establishment, and he¡¯s already armed to the teeth with arcane artifacts. He probably still hasn¡¯t even grown accustomed to it!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°I think you¡¯ve been stuck in the Dragon province for too long, and it¡¯s narrowed your mind.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Si Qing stared at Li Qingshan for a while and smiled. ¡°Sure enough, his murderousness is completely withdrawn, without even a hint leaking out, like a tiger resting in the forest. If he can take a step further and reach late Foundation Establishment, he really might be able to give me some anticipation.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but stare at Si Qing. He showed no respect or fear at all. Si Qing¡¯s face sank slightly, and his smile vanished. ¡°Though, his unruliness remains untamed. You really do need to teach him the principle of respecting the strong.¡±

    ¡°Not everyone can be tamed. Let¡¯s go in.¡± Gu Yanying changed the topic and glanced at Li Qingshan, expressing that he should avoid openly clashing with him. Li Qingshan lowered his gaze and said nothing, making him seem rather haughty.

    ¡°Please!¡± Si Qing raised his hand. He did not take the rudeness of this Foundation Establishment cultivator too seriously. Were people supposed to care when a dog bared its fangs at them? Not to mention a dog that was about to die.

    They entered the palace together, only to see several dozen tables arranged on the two sides of the hall. The people on one side were all dressed in white¡ªGu Yanying¡¯s subordinates and colleagues of the Hawkwolf Guard¡ªwhile the attires of the people on the other side were divided into a few colours.

    The seat at the very front for both sides was empty, facing one another from afar. Clearly, they were reserved for Gu Yanying and Si Qing. However, there was no seat for the host. This kind of arrangement was rather strange. A banquet was supposed to be about bringing endless joy to both the guests and the host, yet it seemed more like a formal negotiation.

    ¡°Greetings, commander Gu!¡±

    The White Wolf guards saw Gu Yanying and all stood up and bowed. Li Qingshan spotted Han Qiongzhi at first glance, while Han Qiongzhi looked back quietly as well. Li Qingshan nodded towards her. Afterwards, he found Wang Pushi, but from the corner of his eye, he actually discovered another acquaintance¡ªQiong Rongzhi.

    Although Qian Rongzhi sat at the end, she was dressed in white. She had been promoted to White Wolf guard some time recently. She smiled gently at Li Qingshan, seeming indescribably tender.

 Chapter 592 â€“ Banquet Two

    After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, Qian Rongzhi obviously did not remain as a regular Scarlet Wolf guard. She visited Gu Yanying and stayed behind as a White Wolf guard.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He could sense that Qian Rongzhi¡¯s bearing had changed yet again. The cold and sinister feeling had basically vanished from her, but Li Qingshan would never forget about her insanity.

    This woman has become even more dangerous. Anyone who gets on her bad side will probably face quite a lot of trouble.

    However, he was unaware that to Qian Rongzhi, his changes were even more startling. In her eyes, he gazed around complacently, like a vicious tiger roaming through the forest, proudly displaying the character for ¡°king¡± on his head. However, his teeth and claws were all hidden away, refusing to show his fierceness so easily.

    TL: As you all know, tigers have stripes, and the Chinese character for ¡°king¡± is Íõ, so it looks like tigers have the ¡°king¡± character on their foreheads.

    Originally, I thought I could reduce the distance between us, but I didn¡¯t think he would still be so powerful!

    As they both thought about each other, a young girl with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a bright face called out loudly, ¡°Big sis, over here!¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed that she was wearing the uniform of a White Wolf commander and how her seat was only slightly behind Gu Yanying¡¯s.

    He thought, She must be Gu Yanying¡¯s assistant, the White Wolf commander! I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually look like this. She might still look like a young girl, but her real age must be far greater. That only proves she possesses extremely great talent. She reached an extremely high cultivation at an extremely young age, so the rate at which she aged obviously slowed down, which is why she still looks like a young girl.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Under formal circumstances, you need to call me commander or ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Does it even matter?¡± The young girl pouted. Her behaviour and mannerisms resembled a young girl¡¯s too.

    However, with what he had experienced at the entrance, Li Qingshan dared not underestimate anyone. He stared straight at her. Although her aura was completely hidden away, he could still see certain things with the senses of the spirit turtle.

    Sure enough, she was also a Golden Core cultivator!

    The young girl immediately shot a glance at Li Qingshan and said harshly, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his gaze again like he was embarrassed.

    Si Qing smiled. ¡°Little sister Bao¡¯er has run out of patience a long time ago. Let¡¯s just treat it as a reunion of acquaintances today, so there¡¯s no need to rigidly adhere to all these rules. Please sit down!¡±

    As soon as Gu Yanying sat down, the young girl huddled over, leaning against her side. ¡°I¡¯ll sit here too!¡±

    Si Qing frowned. ¡°If a bumpkin doesn¡¯t know any etiquette or courtesy, so be it, but Si Bao, you cannot break the rules!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re a prince, and I¡¯m a princess! Why should I sit slightly behind you? Si Qing, I only called you elder imperial brother to show you a bit of face! Would you believe me if I say I can beat you up until you call me big sister?¡±

    Si Bao leapt up and snorted with great contempt, raising her bushy brows. The bearing she gave off was no weaker than Si Qing¡¯s, and it was rather similar to his.

    ¡°Your humble elder brother will naturally be there to experience it during the next Gathering of Dragon Ascension. I¡¯m only afraid you don¡¯t have the courage to participate!¡±

    Li Qingshan was very surprised. From their conversation, the two should both be descendants of the imperial clan. Having reunited after so long, even if they were not close, they still should have been able to cope with each other. He had never expected them to break out in full dispute, on the verge of fighting, over the simple issue of seating.

    They were basically like two street thugs who could break out into a vicious fight with a simple, ¡°The fuck you looking at?¡± ¡°The fuck¡¯s wrong with staring at you?¡± They did not exhibit the self-restraint and patience that descendants of the imperial clan and Golden Core cultivators were supposed to possess at all.

    ¡°Alright, Bao¡¯er, just sit wherever you want to sit. Look at you, you¡¯re behaving like a fighting cock.¡± Gu Yanying pulled Si Bao back, and Si Bao leaned against her, whispering in her ear, ¡°Heh, I¡¯m just cutting him down to size first and showing him what¡¯s what!¡±

    Li Qingshan saw there were two seats to Si Qing¡¯s left and right, except they were located slightly towards the back. They were beneath Si Qing but above everyone else behind, possessing a status roughly equivalent to Si Qing¡¯s. Two people sat there. When Si Qing and them entered the hall earlier, only they had not stood up to greet them.

    One of them was a military general dressed in armour. His great beard was peppered with grey hairs, dangling from his chin all the way to his chest. He sat there valiantly with his eyes wide open as if he was glaring at Si Bao.

    The other one was a pale-faced scholar. He propped up his chin with one hand while swinging a black feather fan gently in the other. Within his sunken eye sockets were a pair of deep and serene eyes, also gazing at Si Bao.

    ¡°Please calm down and sit, your highness. What benefit will bickering with a woman bring?¡± Not only did he completely look down on Si Bao with the tone of his voice, but he also seemed to stand on equal footing with Si Qing.

    ¡°You¡¯re completely right, brother Jia.¡± Si Qing returned to his seat and sat down before declaring the start of the banquet. However, the atmosphere in the hall only grew heavier. It did not seem like a joyful banquet.

    Li Qingshan was about to make his way over to the empty seat beside Han Qiongzhi when Gu Yanying waved at him. ¡°Qingshan, you should sit here. It doesn¡¯t look good if it¡¯s empty!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not hold back. He arrived at the secondary seat to Gu Yanying¡¯s side, crossing his legs and sitting down boldly, earning him another glance from Si Bao. That was originally her seat.

    The many White Wolf guards behind him were stunned. This was not merely an issue of seating. Cultivation, age, and experience had all been taken into account precisely to determine who sat where perfectly. It could basically represent their identity and status within the Hawkwolf Guard, and it was also a form of the most basic courtesy.

    Even when Si Bao wanted to sit with Gu Yanying, Si Qing had criticised her as discourteous. By doing this, Gu Yanying was essentially ranking Li Qingshan higher than everyone else. This was not a trivial matter, earning him many envious gazes. They all conversed with their soul sense.

    ¡°Who is he?¡±

    ¡°I think he¡¯s called Li Qingshan, the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture!¡±

    ¡°Only a Scarlet Hawk commander? He¡¯s merely at mid Foundation Establishment, so why does he deserve to sit in front of us?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s that renowned coward, the commander of secluded cultivation?¡±

    Ever since Li Qingshan became the Scarlet Hawk commander, he had left everything up to Hua Chengzan. Apart from investigating Burial Mound mountain with Hua Chengzan, he had not handled a single formal affair. He had made quite a name for himself among the Hawkwolf guards because of this.

    Si Qing took note of this. ¡°Looks like Yanying really does favour this child very much. I need to warn you then. You better not let him die at my hands later on.¡±

    Before Gu Yanying could reply, Si Bao chimed in, ¡°I don¡¯t think you have that ability!¡± At the same time, she said to Li Qingshan through her soul sense, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re sitting in my seat, so let¡¯s see if you have the right later on.¡±

    Li Qingshan was confused. What are they on about? They talk like they¡¯re about to fall out with each other and battle it out. He vaguely realised that Gu Yanying probably had another reason in mind for choosing all of his arcane artifacts so seriously.

    ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll go with a battle to the death then!¡± Si Qing roused with vigour. Excitement filled his face, clearly displaying the interest he felt.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Just victory or defeat will be enough.¡± Gu Yanying waved her hand with a smile.

    ¡°Battles are dangerous. There¡¯s only a thin line between life and death. He might not necessarily get the opportunity to forfeit and beg for mercy.¡± Si Qing took a sip of the alcohol in the cup as he smiled murderously.

    As they spoke, various delicacies that Li Qingshan had not even heard of were served up one after another like running water. In particular, the jugs upon jugs of fine alcohol were faint in colour and gave off no fragrance at all, but it was like a fiery explosion when Li Qingshan took a sip. A heavy fragrance directly rushed through his mind as the fiery, scorching sensation plunged right into the bottom of his heart. It was indescribably satisfying.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to get drunk on this alcohol, so don¡¯t be greedy. There are still matters to deal with later on!¡± Gu Yanying specially warned Li Qingshan with her soul sense.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The more I drink, the more energetic I become. Just what is it that¡¯s so serious?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll obviously find out later.¡±

    At this moment, the sound of traditional stringed and woodwind instruments rang out from behind a heavy curtain. An extremely moving note trembled as the rising and falling singing invoked an inexpressible sorrow of parting. Even Li Qingshan could not help but be fazed by it, listening on quietly.

    The smell of flowers assaulted the hall. Petals of flowering crabapples scattered in the hall with the wind, pure-white, pink, and bright red.

    Women dressed in thin clothes with elegant figures glided over like fairies from heaven. They danced with the music, reaching the centre of the hall before suddenly spreading out, giving off rings of haze like blooming flowers. They revealed a slender woman in the very centre, but she wore a white mask, faintly outlining a flowering crabapple.

    The women in the surroundings were already so glamorous, so Li Qingshan could not help but imagine how beautiful the woman in the centre would be. Li Qingshan found the woman¡¯s figure to be slightly familiar.

    The music gradually sped up, and the dancing gradually increased in intensity. They constantly changed their postures as they glided through the empty hall, enough to dazzle everyone while giving off a mesmerising sensation.

    As they all drank the fine alcohol in their cups and watched this mesmerising performance, everyone seemed enchanted. However, Li Qingshan noticed that Si Qing remained indifferent, filled with boredom. Though, the military and civil officers to his left and right did watch on closely.

    Gu Yanying raised her cup and toasted from afar. ¡°Si Qing, this dancing might pale in comparison to battle dances, but it¡¯s still quite a special performance!¡±

    Si Qing said, ¡°With how indulgent his lifestyle has been, it¡¯s no wonder that the Marquis of Ruyi would die. I heard he actually also had improper thoughts towards you. He¡¯s basically as reckless as he can get. If you had actually accepted him, the crown prince would probably pay a visit to the Ruyi commandery and personally execute that toad.¡±

    Si Bao said, ¡°Imperial brother, don¡¯t you work so hard just because you want to replace big brother Ming and become the crown prince yourself?¡±

    ¡°What nonsense. How can I be compared to imperial brother Ming? I¡¯d be fortunate if I can just consolidate my position as the Marquis of Ruyi.¡±

    Si Qing¡¯s expression changed before gradually recovering. In the end, he cast his gaze towards Gu Yanying again. Whether he could consolidate his position as the Marquis of Ruyi would completely depend on her.

    After the Marquis of Ruyi Jiang Fu and the great general Han Anguo had fallen in battle, only Gu Yanying remained out of the three major pillars. She had already become the person with the greatest authority in the entire commandery.

    Gu Yanying had remained in the Ruyi commandery for such a long time. She had a powerful background and was easygoing, treating people generously. As a result, all cultivators of the Ruyi commandery, whether they belonged to the Academy of the Hundred Schools or the sects, would show her some respect. She could even influence the Daemon race and change the overall situation of the Ruyi commandery.

    For example, the startlingly-powerful and sinful Northmoon daemon seemed to have quite a friendly relationship with her. As a result, as soon as Si Qing arrived in the Ruyi commandery, he invited none other than Gu Yanying first to a banquet under the guise of catching up. It was all so that he could probe her out and determine who was dominant.

    Gu Yanying changed her posture, spreading out her legs and crossing one over the other. She accepted the alcohol Si Bao offered up and drank it all. She smiled. ¡°Then that¡¯ll depend on just how capable you are.¡±

 Chapter 593 â€“ Banquet Three

    The palace ablazed with light overlooked the entire commandery city, as well as the entire Ruyi commandery.

    Currently, this place served as the centre of the entire region, and it was all because of the existence of two people, Gu Yanying and Si Qing, or more accurately, a daemon too¡ªNorthmoon.

    Li Qingshan had overwhelmed several dozen Daemon Commanders in a brutal fashion. Although no one understood why the daemons were fighting among themselves, the terrifying strength he had demonstrated in the battle left the entire Ruyi commandery shocked.

    The name Northmoon was no longer something that was mentioned casually. Instead, he became the most terrifying enemy in the hearts of human cultivators.

    The three of them could basically determine the overall situation of the entire Ruyi commandery.

    Gu Yanying and Si Qing¡¯s gazes passed through the dancing and collided mid-air, sending sparks flying.

    Li Qingshan, however, sat quietly with his eyes down. The soft armour on him flowed with light as he refined it. After taking a seat, he had directed all of his focus to refining the arcane artifacts on him apart from drinking heavily, preparing for the bitter battle Gu Yanying described.

    He could sense the surrounding atmosphere becoming more and more tense, but he instead became slightly excited.

    Si Qing placed down his cup and said loudly, ¡°Alright, all of you back down!¡±

    The dancers who glided about like petals all landed on the ground. They each bowed towards Gu Yanying and Si Long, about to take their leave.

    ¡°Hold on! You with the mask, you¡¯ve really been disrespectful with how you bow to his highness!¡±

    The sturdy military general to Si Long¡¯s side with a braided beard suddenly spoke. He stared at the masked woman with his extremely invasive eyes as if he wanted to see through the mask.

    The woman bowed elegantly. ¡°May I ask for your name, sir?¡±

    Her voice was quite magnetic, very pleasant to the ear. Li Qingshan confirmed his thoughts as soon as he heard it. She was Qiu Haitang. Afterwards, he carefully studied her figure. Although she wore a set of loose, colourful clothes, it still struggled to hide her proud figure, which was filled with a mature and enticing charm.

    He smiled inside. It really has been quite some time. Just how many people possess a figure like that? Though, why has she come here to perform?

    E Dan. Normally, you would have no right to learn my name!¡±

    ¡°May I ask what sir E Dan has to say?¡± Qiu Haitang asked, neither too humble nor too haughty.

    ¡°I just want to see what you look like. If you¡¯re ugly and you defile my eyes, then I¡¯ll punish you severely. However, if you¡¯re pretty and charming, you will be heavily rewarded.¡±

    This was the unscrupulousness that the strong showed to the weak, able to put forth endless exorbitant demands.

    Si Qing, who placed great emphasis on etiquette, chose to remain silent at a time like this. He was slightly displeased by how Qiu Haitang had bowed to Gu Yanying first, so he allowed E Dan to make trouble.

    If the weak sat a little to the front, or if they bungled the order they should bow in, it was rudeness, or even great disrespect. However, when the strong wanted to tease a woman in public, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

    Qiu Haitang remained silent for a while, letting out a gloomy sigh from underneath the mask before removing the mask gently.

    She had not performed this dance willingly. Instead, she was no longer the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain and had been sent to perform by the new sect master. The sect master had also instructed her to charm and get on the good side of this prince Si Qing. She refused to do so, so all she could do was wear the mask.

    The current sect master could tell she was unwilling, so she did not compel her to perform without a mask. After all, she felt that wearing a mask added a hint of mysterious charm, which might lead to an even better effect.

    E Dan¡¯s eyes lit up. Her face was like a flowering crabapple sleeping in spring, white with hints of red. She was solemnly beautiful yet also charming to the bone. She was truly a rare beauty. Coupled with that figure of hers, she would definitely be fantastic in bed.

    ¡°Sure enough, you do have some charm. You will be heavily rewarded!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±

    E Dan smiled. ¡°But if you want your reward, you¡¯ll have to return to my chambers with me.¡±

    If she had been a woman hungry for power, seeking every opportunity to become involved with these prominent figures of the Dragon province, she would probably agree immediately.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, but there¡¯s no need for you to go so far for me.¡±

    E Dan¡¯s smile coldened before gradually recovering. He asked, ¡°Are you a virgin?¡±

    This question itself was already quite humiliating. Qiu Haitang closed her lips and refused to answer. She had never thought the cultivators from the Dragon province would actually be so rude.

    ¡°If you are, I¡¯ll accept you into my harem. Of course, I¡¯ll have to check for myself too. If you¡¯re not, then you will be heavily punished. Hahahaha!¡±

    As if he had just said something extremely fascinating, E Dan laughed aloud.

    The Hawkwolf guards were all furious. Although most of them did not know Qiu Haitang, this woman had clearly been called here by Gu Yanying. Insulting her was equivalent to provoking Gu Yanying. And, everyone would feel irritated if an outsider harassed a beauty of the Ruyi commandery like that anyway.

    However, taking E Dan¡¯s impressive cultivation in mind, they were furious, but they dared not speak up. Only E Dan¡¯s laughter echoed through the entire hall.

    Si Bao was unable to bear with it anymore. Right when she was about to speak up, she suddenly heard a sneer from behind.

    ¡°That¡¯s utter dogshit!¡± Li Qingshan had downed many cups already, so he was slightly tipsy. After hearing E Dan¡¯s words, how could he hold himself back?

    ¡°Kid, who are you talking about!?¡± E Dan¡¯s laughter came to a halt as he glared at Li Qingshan as if he was in disbelief that a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator would actually speak to him like that.

    Qiu Haitang looked over too and stared at Li Qingshan in surprise.

    ¡°Is there another dog here? Sigh, if this dog is a purebred with a pure colour for a coat, I¡¯ll spare him. But if it¡¯s a dogshit mongrel, then I¡¯d like to see how dog meat tastes.¡±

    ¡°Get over here!¡± E Dan scrunched up his eyebrows and bellowed at Li Qingshan.

    With a bang, the cups, plates, and bowls before Li Qingshan shattered, splattering food everywhere.

    A layer of ice armour rose up from the soft armour on Li Qingshan, leaving him unscathed. He stood up slowly, even holding a jug of alcohol, as he looked up at E Dan.

    ¡°Sure enough, a mongrel! Your words are like flatulence, and your flatulence is like talking! All of it is dogshit!¡±

    This was no longer mockery and sneers, but a naked insult right to the face. Si Qing¡¯s expression changed as well, while E Dan¡¯s face went from red to violent and then to black.

    Si Bao giggled. It was no wonder her big sis valued this person so much. Just this courage alone was very rare. She said to Li Qingshan with her soul sense, ¡°Curse away. I have your back!¡±

    E Dan took a step forward. With a great bang, the entire palace seemed to shake as his aura crushed down on Li Qingshan like an ocean.

    Qiu Haitang was only indirectly affected, yet she felt like she was about to suffocate. What a powerful sense of malice!

    Li Qingshan tossed the jug of alcohol aside like he was not affected at all, walking over to E Dan. He stared straight at E Dan with his eyes that clearly contrasted between the dark irises and eye whites, shining vaguely with red light.

    E Dan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This gaze! How despicable! If it weren¡¯t for today, I only need a single hand to crush this little animal to death! But I can¡¯t do that during the banquet considering the bigger picture.

    During the banquet, it was very common for each side to provoke the other. If Gu Yanying and Si Qing targeted each other¡¯s subordinates, then they would be stooping too low in terms of status. However, if anyone began fighting because they could not help themselves, then the situation would be different.

    ¡°You little animal, do you think you can live under the wings of someone else for your whole life?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try and kill me, you mongrel?¡±

 Chapter 594 â€“ Banquet Four

    ¡°You!¡±

    E Dan grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s collar with one hand and threw a punch at his face. If the punch landed, then he would definitely die on the spot with his brains splattering everywhere.

    Bang! Fierce winds surged through the surroundings, ruffling everyone¡¯s clothes.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi cried out.

    The fist stopped firmly before Li Qingshan, blasting aside the air.

    Li Qingshan showed no fear, and his sneer instead became heavier. E Dan¡¯s fist trembled as veins bulged on his forehead as if he could follow through with the punch at any time.

    ¡°E Dan.¡±

    The scholar with the black feather fan suddenly spoke up. Perhaps this kid was a sacrificial pawn that Gu Yanying had specially found for this. If he actually lost his temper and killed a Hawkwolf guard on the spot, the situation would become extremely disadvantageous.

    E Dan slowly let go of Li Qingshan¡¯s collar and said viciously, ¡°Qing Shan. That¡¯s your name. I¡¯ve remembered it!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan,¡± Li Qingshan corrected him with a smile as he thought, If I don¡¯t butcher a mongrel like you in the future, I¡¯ll write my surname backwards.

    The Hawkwolf guards all looked at his proud figure. There was both admiration and plenty of pity in their eyes. They no longer felt so dissatisfied with him taking the secondary seat.

    Just as E Dan had said, Gu Yanying was strong, but she could not protect a person forever. Especially during clashes among great organisations, a Foundation Establishment cultivator that became involved could be utterly crushed from the slightest carelessness. Provoking the strong like this was not a very clever decision. In the future, if an opportunity presented itself to E Dan, he would kill him in a single strike. As long as he left no evidence behind, no one could do anything to E Dan.

    Li Qingshan returned to his seat and nodded at Han Qiongzhi, expressing that she did not have to worry.

    He had not decided to do this completely on a whim or to play the hero. Gu Yanying had helped him launder all the resources he had accumulated for free, so he obviously had to pay her back, standing up for her and demonstrating his value.

    Si Qing said, ¡°Let¡¯s cut the talk and get down to the business. Yanying, have you chosen your fighters?¡±

    ¡°You can go!¡± Gu Yanying waved her hand with a smile, and Qiu Haitang bowed to take her leave before glancing at Li Qingshan deeply. She said with her soul sense, ¡°Thank you for your assistance, commander Li. Once we return to the Clear River prefecture, I will definitely properly thank you in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.¡±

    The rash kid from the country of the past had already become a man of indomitable spirit in the blink of an eye, but he was just the same as before, standing tall and proud, challenging the strong fearlessly.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Gu Yanying smiled as she clapped her hands gently. ¡°Qian Rongzhi, Yan Xixin, please come to the front.¡± She paused before she said, ¡°Li Qingshan, you can wait for now!¡±

    Li Qingshan only heard a noise from behind, and a late Foundation Establishment White Wolf guard stood up and made his way to the front. His cultivation must have been towards the apex among White Wolf guards.

    Qian Rongzhi emerged from the corner, but she left everyone astounded. Li Qingshan was still at mid Foundation Establishment after all, but she was only at early Foundation Establishment. Without any impressive identities or backgrounds, it had already been very startling that she had been directly promoted to White Wolf guard, yet she had been specially chosen by Gu Yanying now.

    Li Qingshan noticed how the two of them were carrying at least two arcane artifacts on them each. If it were only the White Wolf guard known as Yan Xixin, then so be it, but it was impossible for Qian Rongzhi to be that wealthy. Even if she did possess such wealth, she would never show it considering the type of person she was. They had probably been prepared for them by Gu Yanying too so that they could handle the bitter battle tonight.

    As for Si Qing¡¯s side, three people stood forward too. One was an old man with peppered hair in a long gown, one was a bare-chested, burly man riddled in scars, and the last one was a small, short dwarf who resembled a monkey.

    The three of them were all at late Foundation Establishment, and they were all geared with arcane artifacts. Although they remained silent, Li Qingshan could sense a faint aura of murderousness coiling around them. He was extremely familiar with this feeling.

    Li Qingshan thought, These three people have probably all gone through a myriad of battles and killed countless people. Only by undertaking countless battles to the death can you develop a bearing like that. And, they¡¯re armed with arcane artifacts, so they¡¯re definitely well beyond what regular Foundation Establishment cultivators can handle. However, with how peaceful the world has been, how did they manage to develop something like this?

    ¡°The three of them are my fighters. I think I have far too great of an advantage over you. Yanying, were you intending to go easy on me?¡± Si Qing smiled like victory was within his grasps.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Cut the nonsense. If you like to speak so much, then why don¡¯t you tell us the rules of this battle? Are we going with the convention of a revolving team battle?¡±

    Si Qing seemed extremely interested. Perhaps due to drinking alcohol, his face glowed red. It was completely opposite to the bored demeanour he had when watching the performance earlier. There was basically a hint of fanaticism.

    ¡°Most of the people over there should be from the Green province, so you might not understand the traditions of our Dragon province too well. Allow me to explain. The customs and culture of the Dragon province are oriented towards battle and revere warriors. Even the games played among children involve clashing with wooden swords, and these swords are replaced with real swords when they grow older. Basically everyone practises martials arts, and anyone with some talent will enrol in the Academy of the Hundred Schools and focus on cultivation.¡±

    Li Qingshan had heard about it too. In the Dragon province, cultivation methods were extremely widespread. Regular people could come into contact with Qi Practitioner cultivation methods with ease, and the number of cultivators they possessed were much higher than the eight other provinces. Under these circumstances, powerful figures obviously rose up in great numbers.

    Centred around the imperial clan of Great Xia, all official positions, whether civil or military, were occupied by cultivators, while esteemed positions like the three ducal ministers, the nine ministers, and the six ministries were all held by great cultivators of the third heavenly tribulation. However, Li Qingshan had no idea why Si Qing was saying all this. Was he showing off the strength of the Great Xia empire?

    Si Qing paced around the centre of the hall and said loudly with his voice that was shrill like a jackal¡¯s, ¡°As a person of the Dragon province, do you know what we normally love the most? It¡¯s attending arenas to watch fighters kill each other!¡±

    Basically all the cities in the Dragon province, whether big or small, had arenas. Meanwhile, those who took part in these battles in the arena, also known as duels, were called ¡°fighters¡±. They could range from regular martial artists pitted against bears and tigers while wielding weapons to cultivators battling it out with arcane or spiritual artifacts.

    The arena was always in a great commotion. Under the cheers of thousands of people, people died, and the sand became splattered with blood every moment of the day. Even brothels and facilities of entertainment like the Parlour of Clouds and Rain were unable to rival the popularity of arenas.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the three people there and said with his soul sense, ¡°Commander Gu, so this is the bitter battle you speak of!¡± He felt rather unhappy. Although he was quite battle-hungry, he refused to serve as the pastime of ¡°higher people¡± like fighting cocks and dogs.

    ¡°Do you know how the princes and princesses of the imperial clan come about?¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°They were obviously born from the emperor and his consorts.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not. The emperor hasn¡¯t even seen most of the present princes and princesses in the very beginning until the day they became princes and princesses.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡±

    ¡°In the Great Xia empire, any child with the bloodline of the imperial clan has the right to become a prince or princess.¡±

    ¡°Then how many princes and princesses do they have to confer?¡± Li Qingshan asked in surprise. Great Xia had been around for several millennia, constantly propagating and widening their family tree. There were probably millions or even tens of millions of people with the bloodline of the imperial clan now.

    ¡°If they want to become princes or princesses, all they have to do is register, and they will receive the best guidance from the imperial court and be able to use the resources of the imperial clan. They¡¯re arranged to fight in a duel every once in a while. Less than a tenth actually become princes and princesses in the end.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the other ninety percent are¡­¡±

    ¡°Dead. They either walk out in infinite glory, or they¡¯re carried out. They won¡¯t even have the right to be buried in the imperial tomb. The chances of survival are far too low, so the number of people who register aren¡¯t as high as you imagine it to be, but of course, it¡¯s not low either. The Si family has never lacked geniuses.¡±

    Li Qingshan was astounded. The way they groomed princes and princesses was basically like how they would nurture gu. It was extremely brutal. Only true geniuses would be confident enough to take part in such an elimination, and those who survive in the end would definitely be geniuses among geniuses.

    Right from the beginning, he felt Si Qing was much more difficult to deal with than the Marquis of Ruyi Jiang Fu, but he could not help but raise his guard a little more now. He dared not look down on him or be careless at all anymore. And, he also understood what Gu Yanying meant by ¡°Thirteen¡± and ¡°Eleven¡± earlier. Clearly, that was not a ranking based on age, but on strength.

    Even among the princes and princesses, Si Qing was outstanding. The difficulty in becoming a prince or princess was high, but they would receive the support of the entire imperial clan upon succeeding, so it would not be strange at all if they possessed powerful cultivation methods or even arcane treasures.

    His true strength had probably exceeded regular Golden Core cultivators. Even if he was like the Dark Queen, possessing methods to challenge Soul Nascence cultivators, it would not be strange at all. This was also the only way for a Golden Core cultivator to serve him willingly as a caretaker.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Si Bao in front of him again. She obviously became a princess in the same manner, and with how she was bold enough to stand up to Si Qing, she must have been extremely powerful as well. He truly had not thought of that.

    He also understood what Gu Yanying was saying. Duels were not merely bloody games to serve as pastimes. Even the emperor of Great Xia had probably undertaken countless duels before ascending to the throne.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°In the Dragon province, duels are a rather sacred thing. There are some rules about duels that even exceed the law. Even the emperor cannot change them without good reason. Pay close attention. If you break them, even I will struggle to help you.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded and listened quietly to Si Qing.

    In the cultivation world, duels were not a form of low-level entertainment to numb citizens or comfort nobles who were in search of bloodiness and excitement. At the same time, fighters were not slaves or some kind of special, lowly existence who used their lives to fulfill the deviant interests of higher people either.

    Basically every cultivator of the Dragon province had participated in duels with others as fighters. In many places, especially in large clans, the coming-of-age ceremony for their children would often be a duel, inviting all of their friends and family to serve as witnesses.

    The children would have to personally kill a powerful wild beast or even a daemonic beast to prove that they had the right to adulthood. If they failed the challenge, then they were not adults. This would continue until they either succeeded or died in battle.

    Si Long gave a vivid explanation about some traditions and rules regarding duels, and the Hawkwolf guards were all shocked by the sight he described. They were speechless.

    Si Bao¡¯s gaze drifted away. She remembered the foul air and sharp teeth that assaulted her face several years ago and subconsciously rubbed her right arm.

    It was a daemonic beast several times larger than her with a smooth and slick hide. It studied her with its deep eyes while chewing her arm. Blood spilled out from the corners of its mouth, landing on the snowy, white ground.

 Chapter 595 â€“ The First Battle

    This was one of the iron rules of the arena. Unless the fighter personally admitted defeat, no one could interfere with the duel.

    She widened her eyes as if she had blanked out from fright, or perhaps she could not let down the hopes placed on her, refusing to let go of her dignity as a genius.

    The daemonic beast swallowed her arm and leapt up, lunging towards her. Even now, she was unable to forget its elegant and fierce posture. Death stared her right in the face.

    A white figure rushed out. With a splash of blood, the daemonic beast collapsed on the ground. The duel had been interrupted, and she fainted.

    Afterwards, she learnt that while the person held great status, she had broken the iron rules of the sacred duel, also suffering a rather severe punishment.

    ¡°Bao¡¯er, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Gu Yanying noticed Si Bao¡¯s strange behaviour and asked.

    ¡°Screw duel. How boring. It¡¯s not like this is the Dragon province. Let¡¯s drink, let¡¯s drink!¡± Si Bao filled two cups to the brim and shoved one into Gu Yanying¡¯s hand while keeping the other for herself. She clinked the cups before drinking it all.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I almost forgot. A ¡®dragon fighter¡¯ is sitting right next to me!¡±

    ¡°Dragon fighters¡± were the highest honour of fighters. They were titles the Great Xiao empire conferred, and they possessed great glory.

    ¡°That title is worth nothing to me!¡± Si Bao said in disgust. Afterwards, she managed to reattach her arm, and she did not lose another duel again. However, she was simply unable to understand why Si Qing, no, basically everyone around him, was so enthusiastic about duels and liked it so much.

    When the daemonic beast had almost eaten her, she had subconsciously looked at her mother, only to see a contorted face roaring, ¡°Bao¡¯er, kill it! Kill it!¡±

    As the cultivation community of the Green province had become lazy and laid-back with the peace of the world, the Dragon province remained submerged in this crazy atmosphere throughout the years. Bloodthirstiness and battle-hungriness flowed through the veins of every single citizen of the Dragon province.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly. He had never thought the Dragon province was such a good place. If an opportunity ever presented itself in the future, he would definitely go there and take a look, but he basically had an opportunity tonight.

    Based on the tradition of the Dragon province, when two parties encountered a dispute they were unable to settle, they could deal with it using a duel.

    With a flip of his hand, Si Qing tossed an item into the air. It expanded as it sailed through the air, landing in the centre of the hall and standing firmly. At first glance, it seemed like a huge tent. It was round at the bottom and pointed at the top. Its surface was covered in inscriptions, producing rings of light. A dragon shimmered, wrapping around the entire thing.

    ¡°A Dragon Arena!¡± Si Bao was mildly surprised. She had never thought Si Qing would actually bring out this.

    If ¡°dragon fighter¡± was the greatest honour a fighter could receive, then ¡°dragon arenas¡± were the strongest among arenas. They required tremendous amounts of resources and effort to create, which could instead be used to forge countless arcane artifacts. And, once they were created, they had no offensive or defensive capabilities.

    If it were not for the wealth and the enthusiasm towards duels of the imperial clan in the Dragon province, there were no cultivators or sects that would create a Dragon Arena.

    ¡°Same rules as before, a revolving team battle. We¡¯ll have a total of three people fighting, with the next person taking their place if they die in battle or admit defeat. Pills, talismans, puppets, and so on are forbidden. Only arcane artifacts on you are permitted!¡±

    Si Qing waved his hand, and the old man in a long gown walked up first, entering the Dragon Arena before everyone else. Originally, the order that people fought would be hidden away, just in case the opponent could come up with counter-tactics. Si Qing demonstrated plenty of confidence by doing something like this.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Alright. Rongzhi, you go first. If you win, I¡¯ll reward you with the three arcane artifacts on you.¡±

    The Hawkwolf guards were all amazed and envious. They never thought the reward for a battle would be so great. That was three arcane artifacts after all. Just how many dangerous missions did they have to complete normally to earn enough contribution for a single arcane artifact?

    They could not help but think, The three people on the other side are powerful, but if I had a few arcane artifacts on me, victory is not completely impossible!

    ¡°Yes, commander,¡± Qian Rongzhi lowered her head. She showed no joy or fear. Before this woman, all acts were useless, or she would have never been chosen to participate in the duels in the first place.

    She had already made up her mind. If there was something amiss about the situation, she would immediately forfeit. The three arcane artifacts were not that enticing to her.

    ¡°Commander, your subordinates requests to partake in the duels!¡±

    Before Qian Rongzhi had even finished speaking, Li Qingshan heard a voice filled with dissatisfaction ring out from behind. He glanced back, only to see that was from a late Foundation Establishment White Wolf guard. His face was frosty and proud, roughly thirty or forty years old. He must have been a genius too, with a great chance at undergoing the second heavenly tribulation. He was also equipped with a few arcane artifacts.

    Clearly, Gu Yanying had never expected Li Qingshan to make it perfectly in time, so she had already arranged three people for the duels. This fellow colleague had been one of them. He was already displeased with being switched out on the spot, and now that he heard such great benefits existed, he was unable to stay put anymore.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Wei Ke, you aren¡¯t suited for battles like these.¡±

    ¡°Your subordinate insists.¡± Wei Ke refused to accept this. The commander is looking down on me far too much. With my strength, am I supposed to be even more incapable than a woman who just established a foundation?

    Hua Chengzan had once enjoyed the wonderful title of the ¡°greatest genius¡± in the Clear River prefecture, while Wei Ke also had that title in the Leping prefecture. However, unlike Hua Chengzan, he did not sink to degradation from a bunch of setbacks. Instead, he maintained that title even until now, reaching his current realm of cultivation smoothly. He had always been favoured by Gu Yanying, so of course he was rather narrow-minded.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I¡¯m willing to forgo this opportunity and let Wei Ke take my place.¡±

    Gu Yanying originally frowned, but when she heard Qian Rongzhi¡¯s words, she could not help but smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be able to escape. If you don¡¯t do your best later on, I won¡¯t spare you.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said nothing more, simply lowering her head even more. The hell snake slithered rapidly across her body as if it was choosing its prey.

    Si Bao berated him, saying, ¡°Wei Ke, the commander has already confirmed her choice, so why don¡¯t you back down quickly?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s easy to deal with. We can just add a person, can¡¯t we? Your highness, didn¡¯t you obtain an impressive fighter lately?¡± The pale scholar waved the black feather fan and chuckled.

    Si Qing said, ¡°But brother Jia, that bastard¡¯s unruliness remains untamed. He has tried to escape several times already.¡±

    ¡°Only wild beasts can contend with wild beasts. I think if we don¡¯t send him into battle, it¡¯ll probably be very difficult to kill this little brother surnamed Li here and now.¡± Jia Zhen glanced at Li Qingshan, his eyes deep and sunken.

    Li Qingshan grinned resplendently, revealing his teeth.

    Gu Yanying nodded towards Wei Ke and said, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, commander!¡±

    Wei Ke was overjoyed. He stepped into the Dragon Arena with his head held high, and his surroundings changed. Extremely-vast empty space constantly extended off into the distance. There was a tiny black speck in the distant horizon, which was the old man in a long gown who had entered first.

    From Li Qingshan¡¯s perspective, the tent gradually became transparent. From above, he saw a vast region several dozen kilometers across, with Wei Ke and the old man facing one another in there.

    He felt like he was watching cricket fighting. The Dragon Arena served as the cricket pot, while the two people were the tiny crickets.

    Si Qing said, ¡°Yanying, you can pick the battleground first!¡±

    Wei Ke was about to approach the old man for a battle to the death when the surrounding landscape suddenly twisted. When he returned to his senses, the earthen ground beneath him had already become fine sand, while the flat land had turned into rising and falling sand dunes, obscuring the old man.

    In the beginning, he suspected it to be an illusion, but when he grabbed a handful of sand, he discovered it was real. The surroundings were even filled with dense earth spiritual energy.

    He beamed inside. If that were the case, his chances at victory had increased yet again. His cultivation affinity was the earth element, so under these circumstances, he could obviously unleash a hundred and twenty percent of his strength.

    Li Qingshan was surprised too. As it turned out, this was the so-called ¡°picking a battleground¡±.

    Dragon Arenas were not as simple as a space developed for duels. They were layered with multiple different spaces, where each layer was a different environment. They could be deserts, swamps, mountains, or rivers, and it was all just to increase the interest and unpredictability of the duels.

    Choosing a suitable environment and earning a favourable geographic position could allow people to strike first and change the outcome of the duel. Gu Yanying had chosen this desert as the battleground of the duel after much consideration.

    And, in an open desert like this, no matter how much experience the old man had in battles, he would struggle to make use of the environment. All he could do was fight recklessly with his own strength before evening up the difference in their strength a little.

    In the desert, Wei Ke used a technique. With a rumble, the ground beneath him trembled, and the sand gathered into eight tall towers. Eight colossal earth puppets emerged, shaking off the sand on them.

    Wei Ke glanced at the earthen-yellow ring on his hand, and his confidence swelled, This Clay Idol ring truly is an arcane artifact after all. Its power is startling. After I combined it with my own techniques, it has become even more powerful. Any single one of these eight earth puppets can defeat Qian Rongzhi. Victory is mine.

    In the distance, a golden streak of light whistled over with a long trail, flying past the sand dunes. Wei Ke controlled the puppets in a hurry, standing guard right in front of him.

    The golden light arrived nearby, and only then did he make it out to be a golden spike. It was covered with strange inscriptions as it revolved rapidly, passing through a puppet with ease and arriving before Wei Ke¡¯s chest.

    Wei Ke summoned a green flying blade, which collided with the golden spike and produced a clang. The golden spike was sent flying. Fortunately, his flying blade was a high grade arcane artifact, while his opponent¡¯s golden spike was only an inferior arcane artifact.

    Right when Wei Ke eased up and was about to launch a great counterattack, he suddenly heard a series of whistles through the air. They were dense in number, singing shrilly through the air.

    Wei Ke¡¯s pupils widened, reflecting specks of golden light. Several dozen strands of golden light formed an array, crossing over the sand dune and shooting over.

    An arcane artifact that came in a set!

    The number of spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts a cultivator could wield was limited. However, if they came in a set, then they were not bound by this limit. However, spiritual artifacts like that were already extremely rare, let alone arcane artifacts.

    Gu Yanying frowned, while Si Qing smiled. ¡°The Heart Piercing Spikes of the Heavenly Spirit, amounting to a total of thirty-six. Although every single one of them are only of inferior grade, their combined strength suffices just enough.¡±

    A while later, Wei Ke was brought out of the Dragon Arena. His face was filled with panic and a refusal to accept what had happened, lying on the ground without moving at all. There was a bloody hole in his head.

    Originally, he had a chance to reach Golden Core, but now, everything was over. Dead geniuses were not geniuses.

 Chapter 596 â€“ Hatred

    Right when he had basically consumed all of his spiritual qi, unable to last much longer and thinking about cutting his losses, the opponent unleashed a special attack. The thirty-six Heart Piercing Spikes of the Heavenly Spirit merged together into one and launched a full-powered strike, piercing through his protective arcane artifact in a single stroke and killing him on the spot.

    As a spectator, Li Qingshan saw everything with great clarity. The old man had actually been hiding in a sand dune. Although the Heart Piercing Spikes of the Heavenly Spirit were arcane artifacts that came in a set, they could not be used from several dozen kilometers away, and the user of the arcane artifact would basically be completely vulnerable when they used it.

    They could not even spare the effort to unleash their protective arcane artifacts. If Wei Ke had managed to calm down right from the beginning, searching for the old man and throwing his life at him, then the old man definitely could not maintain such a ferocious attack, and the outcome of the battle would be unknown.

    However, he had been far too flustered. The missions of the Hawkwolf Guard were all carried out with an absolute advantage in information, numbers, and strength. It had probably only been a little more dangerous when they targeted the White Lotus cult in the past, but they probably had Gu Yanying and Si Bao presiding over the operation, so they were not at an absolute disadvantage. Wei Ke immediately panicked when he faced a crushing disadvantage like this.

    If it had been Wang Pushi instead, he definitely would not have been so useless after going through several years of bloody war between the humans and daemons in the Clear River prefecture.

    As he thought of that, Li Qingshan refined another arcane artifact on him. Only one remained.

    Gu Yanying let out a gentle sigh. She went up to close Wei Ke¡¯s eyes, and his expression returned to normal. She retrieved the arcane artifacts and ordered, ¡°Rongzhi, you¡¯re up now. Only victory is permitted!¡±

    Gu Yanying was not someone who was harsh to her subordinates. When Wei Ke entered the arena earlier, she had even specially warned him to be careful. Now that it was the early Foundation Establishment Qian Rongzhi¡¯s turn to face the same opponent, she had ordered her to win. Not only were the Hawkwolf guards surprised, but even Si Qing took another good look at Qian Rongzhi.

    Qian Rongzhi only answered with a ¡°yes¡± obediently before entering the Dragon Arena with her head lowered.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°Do you need to change the battlefield?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi shook her head, so docile that Li Qingshan basically wondered whether she had been replaced by someone else.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heart was filled with hatred. After successfully establishing a foundation, she broke through the greatest bottleneck she faced due to her insufficient talent. The cultivator¡¯s willpower, ability to comprehend, and toughness of their souls began to play a more important role.

    Her ability to understand had never been weak, while her willpower was extraordinarily tough. Through the constant refinement of pain from the hell snake, her soul was pure and powerful too, far greater than what any regular cultivator possessed. She also had the Heaven Climbing Vine to absorb spiritual qi from another world. She could be described as going directly from being mediocre to a genius.

    When she thought she could finally ease up and gradually plan and develop, she had been ¡°promoted¡± to White Wolf guard, constantly under Gu Yanying¡¯s watch. That basically felt like a pair of eyes glued on her constantly, reading all of her thoughts. Everything she possessed, even her life, seemed like it could be taken away from her at any time. It was far more miserable than blending around in the Academy of the Hundred Schools under the identity of a measly Qi Practitioner.

    Gu Yanying had not shown any hostility at all. As a matter of fact, it was possible to say she treated her with special care, but her existence alone was a torture to Qian Rongzhi.

    She was favoured and privileged in the world, beautiful, powerful, and loved by everyone. That graceful bearing of hers probably came from never enduring any pain or hardships, while that proud heart of hers had probably never been crushed or trampled on by anyone.

    Everything that Qian Rongzhi had never possessed, everything that Qian Rongzhi could only desire, just happened to be like muck to her. Even that cold, merciless Li Qingshan, someone as vicious as a tiger, viewed her in a special light.

    Gu Yanying, there will be a day when I dig out your eyes and rip off your wings so that you understand how it feels to crawl along the ground!

    With a thought like that, Qian Rongzhi stepped into the Dragon Arena.

    In order to prevent any unfair sneak attacks or ambushes, the duel would only begin after a while. This was also to the new fighter¡¯s advantage, as they could use the time to find the opponent, prepare techniques, or ready their arcane artifacts.

    Logically speaking, after witnessing the duel earlier, Qian Rongzhi should have been looking for her opponent and then launching a vicious attack. Sure enough, she readied her arcane artifacts immediately, and a barrier of light rose up around her, followed by another one. Her three arcane artifacts were actually all defensive.

    Afterwards, she used the final bit of time before the duel began to cast a defensive technique on herself before crossing her legs and sitting down.

    Just how afraid of dying is she? Everyone could not help but think that. They had no idea how to respond.

    The old man in a long gown was mildly surprised too. Originally, he thought that she would launch a powerful barrage of attacks at him, and he obviously had a way to deal with it considering all the battle experience he possessed, but never did he think his opponent would actually be so pessimistic with no interest in offence at all.

    Li Qingshan thought, That¡¯s not a bad move to take. The power behind arcane artifacts is connected to the cultivator¡¯s cultivation. Her cultivation is nowhere close to Wei Ke¡¯s, so if she only uses a single defensive artifact, it¡¯s extremely likely for it to fail from a single strike, which would cost her her life on the spot.

    And, with her cultivation at early Foundation Establishment, using two arcane artifacts simultaneously is basically her limit. The only way for her to use three arcane artifacts is if she stays put and focuses on defending, but doesn¡¯t that guarantee her defeat?

    Only defending would always lead to defeat in the end. Among the five elements, metal based attacks were the strongest, and her spiritual qi was nowhere near as plentiful as her opponent¡¯s. Even though this move was her only choice, it had also cut off her sliver of chance at victory.

    Li Qingshan personally believed he was skilled at fighting, but even he was unable to understand what Qian Rongzhi was trying to do. Was she objecting to Gu Yanying? But she was not the kind of person to do something as useless as that.

    Then he saw Gu Yanying standing with her arms crossed, smiling as if she had anticipated this a long time ago. Thinking about it, it made sense. She had been the one who gave the three arcane artifacts to Qian Rongzhi in the first place. At the same time, he was simply unable to think of how Qian Rongzhi could defeat such a powerful opponent in her position.

    She knows defeat is certain for her, so she wants to waste away my spiritual qi like this. How can a person be that foolish? This is the perfect opportunity for me to recover my spiritual qi. You¡¯re in no hurry, so there¡¯s even less of a reason for me to be frantic.

    That was how the old man thought as he downright continued to hide in the sand dune, catching his breath and recovering. As long as he could restore all of his spiritual qi and defeat Qian Rongzhi in a single strike, then he could enter the third duel in almost perfect condition.

    But before long, he felt yin qi surge in his surroundings. Black snakes silently slithered through the sand before he realised it, swarming over to entangle and bite him.

    I see! Li Qingshan thought.

    As Qian Rongzhi powered the arcane artifacts, she had secretly used the methods of the school of Legalism to launch a sneak attack against the old man underground.

    But how are such inferior techniques enough to deal with an opponent like him? Li Qingshan shook his head secretly.

    The old man rejoiced instead of panicking. He let out a great laugh. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for this moment!¡±

    The black snakes gathered over, but a layer of golden light blocked them, so they were unable to advance any further. As it turned out, the old man had already been prepared. If she held her position and did nothing, then so be it, but as soon as she tried attacking, she would definitely have to split her focus and deplete her spiritual qi. It was the optimal time for him to kill her in a single strike.

    These were not real hell snakes, only shadows possessing a sliver of the aura of the real thing at most, conjured from Qian Rongzhi¡¯s spiritual qi. Otherwise, if she could use the true powers of hell, it would be extremely terrifying regardless of whether they were minor or major hells.

    Thirty-six streaks of golden light burst out of the sand dune where Qian Rongzhi stood, rushing into the air. They merged into a single Heart Piercing Spike of the Heavenly Spirit, glistening with golden light as it shot through the air in an unstoppable manner.

    This was the move that Wei Ke had died to.

    It had already been extremely difficult for Qian Rongzhi to wield three arcane artifacts. Now that she split her focus, the situation became even worse. With a clang, the tiny, rhombus shield on the outside was sent flying. The golden light plunged straight in, piercing another barrier.

    Out of the three defensive layers Qian Rongzhi had set up, only a single one remained, and it clearly was unable to stop the Heart Piercing Spike of the Heavenly Spirit¡¯s full-powered strike.

    Facing life-threatening danger, Qian Rongzhi finally frowned, exhibiting an expression of pain and torment.

    ¡°Are you afraid? It¡¯s already too late!¡±

    The old man showed excitement that completely contrasted against his age. Killing enemies in the arena and seeing their regretful, fearful faces was something that brought him the greatest joy.

    Right as he thought that, a sense of danger abruptly filled his heart. Among the dense, black snakes, an extremely colourful, tiny snake suddenly leapt out, colliding with his protective barrier and passing through somehow, biting his neck.

    He had already placed all of his attention into his strike, so he was unable to dodge in time. Immediately, intense agony filled his entire body.

    He had been through countless battles. Who knew how much damage and pain his body had been through already. Even if his arm was cut off, he would not bat an eye, but this pain was unbearable for anyone, or why else would hell use it?

    Even Li Qingshan with his steel-like willpower would rather have his flesh shaved from his bones again than let the tiny snake get him. He thought, I didn¡¯t think she could already make the snake leave her body!

    Back to Qian Rongzhi, she seemed to be in great pain, but there was not even a hint of regret or fear on her face. Instead, there was a faint sneer.

    Having lost its master¡¯s control, the Heart Piercing Spike of the Heavenly Spirit only continued on with its momentum, clearly not enough to penetrate an arcane artifact. It turned back into thirty-six spikes and fell out of the air.

    Qian Rongzhi leapt up. She was already holding a spiritual artifact sword in her hand, targeting the sand dune the old man occupied. From left to right, she swung her sword.

    With a flash, a part of the sand dune had been sliced off, together with an old man¡¯s head that hurled into the sandy air.

    He had been entangled by the hell snake, so even his thought process came to a halt from pain. His soul sense and techniques all stopped functioning. When Qian Rongzhi beheaded him, his brain instead recovered some clarity, and he praised loudly, ¡°What a snake!¡±

    The two of them had stood in a stalemate for such a long time, only taking a single move to determine their fates. It seemed simple, but who knew how many times they had clashed mentally with their schemes.

    The twist in the events left everyone dumbfounded.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    Seeing a subordinate being killed, Si Qing did not feel pained at all. Instead, he laughed and clapped his hands loudly before raising a cup and drinking to his heart¡¯s content. ¡°She has actually nurtured a true hell snake. This loss was well-deserved. With her willpower and perseverance, she already has the right to practise the Illustrations of Naraka.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi had killed her opponent and won three arcane artifacts, but she showed no joy at all. She crouched down silently, and the tiny snake followed a black trajectory, slithering back onto her wrist and vanishing into her skin again.

    The hell snake was one of her greatest secrets. At crucial times, it could achieve something as wondrous as turning the tables, but she had now exposed it before everyone under Gu Yanying¡¯s coercion.

    Once the opponent was aware and prepared, the effects would diminish drastically. It was equivalent to losing a life-saving trump card. The venomous snake had its fangs plucked out. As a result, she hated Gu Yanying even more, hating her down to her bones.

 Chapter 597 â€“ Accepting a Disciple

    Because Qian Rongzhi¡¯s colourful, tiny snake came from hell, it existed between the tangible and the intangible. It was very difficult to discover using the soul sense of cultivators, making it a powerful weapon for sneak attacks and assassinations. However, it was still visible to the naked eye. As long as he maintained a certain distance from his opponent, it would not be so useful anymore.

    It was at this exact moment that the surrounding landscape twisted and changed, going from a rising and falling desert to a vast wasteland littered with orangey hills, dyed bright red by the setting sun.

    Qian Rongzhi sat on a hill. She set up the three defensive artifacts again and started recovering.

    The scarred man extended his hand towards Qian Rongzhi before closing it forcefully.

    Rumble. The hill beneath Qian Rongzhi began to tremble, collapsing loudly, and she just hovered in the air. Suddenly, a huge, earthen-yellow hand reached towards her from below, having been transformed from the collapsed mountain.

    Qian Rongzhi was unfazed, watching as the five fingers closed around her firmly. The tiny, rhombus shield on the outside released a resplendent glow, but the barrier of light it created constantly twisted under the pressure from the earthen hand.

    She was like a firefly in a child¡¯s hand, releasing its glow in vain, extinguishing at any time.

    However, she completely focused on defending this time, pouring all of her attention into the three defensive artifacts. Although two minor realms of cultivation separated them, defensive arcane artifacts could not be overwhelmed so easily with one measly technique.

    The scarred man smiled viciously and drew a black, octagonal war hammer with a long handle.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°A high grade arcane artifact! With your subordinate¡¯s cultivation, wielding a high grade arcane artifact should still be a little difficult, right?¡±

    Wielding mid grade arcane artifacts at Foundation Establishment was basically the limit already. As for high grade and supreme grade arcane artifacts higher up, they could not unleash its full strength even if they managed to refine it somehow. They would be like children wielding huge blades. If they forcefully used it, it would even damage their soul sense.

    Si Qing smiled. ¡°The Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions he wields doesn¡¯t completely rely on soul sense. You¡¯ll see if you keep watching, Yanying.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled and said nothing. She thought to herself, Just as Si Bao anticipated, he¡¯s still the same as before. Even without Qingshan, defeating him in three rounds won¡¯t be anything difficult.

    The scarred man lifted the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions high over her head. He swung it around and around. With each cycle, the handle would become longer, and the head of the hammer would become larger.

    The sound of wind whistled loudly as an earthen-yellow tornado reached towards the sky, filling the air with dust. Even the setting sun became a hazy yellow.

    As it turned out, not only was the scarred man¡¯s cultivation extraordinary, but he was even a powerful Body Practitioner too. He combined his brute strength and soul sense to wield the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions, which allowed him to unleash startling power.

    The scarred man¡¯s figure blurred within the tornado. The Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions suddenly stopped revolving, but the tornado continued to whistle loudly. A huge, octagonal war hammer extended out, smashing towards Qian Rongzhi. The disturbance it created was like a natural disaster, absolutely frightening.

    Taking advantage of how Qian Rongzhi could not move, he pushed the power of this strike to the limit, wanting to smash through her three layers of defence in a single strike and crush her into mince meat.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expression remained the same with no surprise or fear. She uttered three words indifferently.

    Boom!

    With a great rumble, the earth shook violently, and a shockwave kicked sand and dust over thirty meters into the air, expanding into the distance. At the same time, fissures spread out in all directions.

    Only after a very long time did the dust settle.

    The scarred man¡¯s face was unnaturally red. His face was contorted, becoming even more hideous. His chest rose and fell as he heaved violently, but it was not only because of his strike. He stared fixedly at the unscathed Qian Rongzhi.

    In the final moment, his earth-shaking strike had landed a few meters away from her. The shockwave it created was not enough to get through her protective arcane artifacts.

    Qian Rongzhi stowed the three defensive arcane artifacts away, leaving herself completely vulnerable. The scarred man only needed to use a single technique and he could heavily injure her, but he could only watch helplessly as she turned around to leave.

    The three words that Qian Rongzhi had uttered were, ¡°I admit defeat!¡±

    Arenas were bloody and brutal, but it was not a matter of life or death every single time, or they would never be able to afford to go through so many people no matter how many geniuses they had. Normally, the duel would come to an end as long as one side admitted defeat, and the other side would be forbidden from killing them. If they did, they would break the iron rules of the duel and face extremely severe punishments. It would not even be strange if they paid with their own lives.

    If the scarred man had already launched the strike and was unable to control it anymore, it would already be too late for Qian Rongzhi to admit defeat. She would lose her life for nothing. However, she happened to have grasped the limits of his control, the moment when he was about to launch the attack but had not launched it yet.

    The scarred man already struggled with controlling this attack a little. If he were allowed to carry through with it, then so be it, but he had forcefully changed his strike in the final moment. His arms burned with pain, having held his breath until he groaned. He was already secretly injured. At the same time, his aura that could tear through everything had reduced drastically.

    Li Qingshan had always despised her behaviour, but even he could not help but cheer for her inside right now. The actions she had taken seemed simple, but it required a careful grasp over the rules and her mentality, as well as willpower that could not be shifted by anything. If Wei Ke had even half of her willpower, he would not have died here.

    Qian Rongzhi walked out of the Dragon Arena and bowed towards Gu Yanying. ¡°I¡¯ve managed to do what you asked, commander!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Very good.¡± Even Si Bao became filled with admiration over Gu Yanying¡¯s ability to judge people.

    ¡°Yanying, this subordinate of yours is truly extraordinary. She only used a single attack from beginning to end, yet she left one of my powerful fighters dead and the other injured, while she managed to walk away calmly, completely unscathed. May I ask if she has a master? I¡¯d be interested in taking her on as my disciple. I wonder if Yanying is willing to part with her?¡±

    Si Qing did not have much lust after women, but he did favour powerful fighters who could battle very much. Qian Rongzhi managed to catch his fancy quite well.

    Although Qian Rongzhi had exposed one of her great secrets, the extraordinary willpower and ability she had demonstrated earned everyone¡¯s recognition. She had both lost and gained something with that.

    Gu Yanying nodded at the White Wolf guard Yan Xixin, and Yan Xixin immediately accepted her orders, entering the Dragon Arena to face the scarred man, giving him no opportunity to catch his breath. Only then did she carefully consider Si Qing¡¯s proposal.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it! Even if she¡¯s taking on a master, it¡¯ll be me!¡±

    Before Gu Yanying could even reply, Si Bao cut off Si Qing immediately. It was not just to rub him in the wrong way, but also because her impression of Qian Rongzhi had changed completely after the two battles.

    There had always been far fewer female cultivators in the world than male cultivators. Even if they possessed talent, their nature limited them, and they often possessed insufficient courage and willpower, which made it even rarer for them to reach Qian Rongzhi¡¯s level. As a result, she considered accepting a disciple and messing around a little.

    Qian Rongzhi immediately knelt down on the ground, bowing her head towards Si Bao. ¡°Thank you for your generosity, commander. I¡¯ve been thinking of taking on a master for a long time already. I¡¯m willing to have the commander as my master.¡±

    At the same time, she calculated inside, I planned on finding a suitable master in the first place, which will make the path of cultivation easier, and I¡¯ll have access to even more resources. This is a heaven-sent opportunity. As long as I can establish this relationship, even Gu Yanying can¡¯t target me too much, giving me an additional safeguard. And, Si Bao is much easier to deal with than Gu Yanying. Not only will I receive many benefits for free, but I can also shorten my distance from Gu Yanying too.

    ¡°Hehe, I haven¡¯t accepted any disciples yet! Since you¡¯ve been thinking of taking on a master for a long time already, then you can be my first disciple, Rongzhi!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face stiffened, and all of her hairs pricked up, as the speaker was not Si Bao, but Gu Yanying.

    Si Bao was sitting with Gu Yanying. Qian Rongzhi had only called her commander, so Gu Yanying¡¯s words made perfect sense, as if Qian Rongzhi had always wanted her as her master.

    Gu Yanying smiled at the kneeling Qian Rongzhi and jokingly said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, my dear disciple? Why won¡¯t you stand up?¡±

    ¡°Your disciple¡­ your disciple is overjoyed. To be able to accept me as your disciple, I will never let master be disappointed.¡± Qian Rongzhi raised her hand slowly, gazing at Gu Yanying¡¯s smiling face and revealing an expression of great sincerity, except her complexion was rather pale.

    Gu Yanying broke out into laughter. However, it was not because she was touched or delighted, but because she found this extremely novel and interesting. As she gazed at her disciple with her sharp gaze, it would be better described as her staring at a peculiar object.

    Si Qing said, ¡°Congratulations on accepting such a great disciple, Yanying. She¡¯ll definitely become an outstanding talent with just a bit of guidance.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s most definitely true.¡± Gu Yanying stared straight at Qian Rongzhi and smiled.

    The Hawkwolf guards all congratulated Qian Rongzhi in admiration. Who knew how many young geniuses in the Ruyi commandery had once asked Gu Yanying to be their master, but she turned them all down flatly. Having gained a master like her, a tremendous opportunity had basically fallen into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s lap.

    However, this tremendous opportunity had fallen into her lap so heavily that it left Qian Rongzhi light-headed. She wanted to get a little closer to her and wait for opportunities to get revenge, but she had never thought she would become so close. This was far too dangerous to her right now.

    She was like a tiny snake in the talons of a great hawk soaring through the sky. The snake could only allow it to toy with it. As soon as it tried to bite back, the talons would loosen, and the snake would be smashed to death.

    Si Bao was perplexed. Gu Yanying had once said she had absolutely no plans to take on any disciples even across her entire life so that she could focus on cultivation. Why had she suddenly changed her mind? This Qian Rongzhi was very impressive, but she could not be regarded as particularly outstanding or startling. At the very least, she was nowhere close to that greatest disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga whose name echoed through the Green province.

    Gu Yanying touched Si Bao¡¯s smooth cheeks with a smile and said nothing. With Si Bao¡¯s personality, she would never turn down Qian Rongzhi¡¯s bow, but this game was a little too dangerous for her.

    Like the clash with the White Lotus Mother in the past, having a disciple like this would be quite interesting.

    As all of this unfolded, the battle between the two cultivators in the Dragon Arena had already reached a white-hot intensity.

 Chapter 598 â€“ The Great Banyan Tree King

    The surroundings had already gone from a wasteland to a glacier. The ice was over thirty meters thick, clearly to limit the scarred man¡¯s earth element techniques.

    Under these circumstances, not only would it take up tremendous amounts of spiritual energy for the scarred man to use earth element techniques, but they would also be nowhere near as effective as they were in the wasteland earlier either. Even the rate at which he recovered his spiritual qi slowed down slightly. He could only depend on the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions to launch attacks.

    Snow drifted through the air. Wind whistled wildly as the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions tore through the beautiful landscape, swinging over. Not only was it vicious, but it was also startlingly fast under the simultaneous control of the scarred man¡¯s soul sense and brute force.

    Yan Xixin slid to the left, but he was still unable to escape from the range of the war hammer¡¯s attack, so he tilted his huge shield slightly. With a great boom, pieces of ice were smashed into the air on his right side. They were all as sharp as blades, brushing past his body viciously. Fortunately, he had the armour to block it all.

    The scarred man grunted as some of the power rebounded back at him.

    Not only could the huge shield in Yan Xixin¡¯s hand redirect most of his power, but it could also reflect a small part of it. That should not have been enough to cause him any real harm, but when Yan Xixin blocked the attack, he immediately slashed out with his sword.

    Blood splattered from the scarred man¡¯s shoulder. He let out a furious roar. A small wound like that was nothing, but the battle was extremely dissatisfying. He seemed to have gained the upper hand firmly, but he was unable to stop himself as he gradually slid towards the abyss of defeat.

    His battle experience was extremely plentiful. He purposefully revealed openings many times to lure Yan Xixin into attacking, but Yan Xixin played it safe, completely unswayed by the bait. However, whenever the scarred man tried to recover, Yan Xixin would immediately press closer to him and pressure him.

    The scarred man wielded the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions even more violently than before, but everyone present could tell that the outcome of the duel had already been determined. Although Yan Xixin¡¯s reactive fighting tactic was very safe, it was extremely reliable too, trumping over his opponent¡¯s battle tactic extremely well. It took a far smaller toll on him compared to his opponent.

    Si Qing said, ¡°Yanying, so this is the trump card you managed to nurture!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really not an expert in this aspect.¡±

    Wei Ke¡¯s miserable defeat did leave her rather surprised. Fortunately, Qian Rongzhi had made up for his failures, while the true trump card was originally Yan Xixin. But now that she had Li Qingshan as a safeguard, there was even less reason for her to worry. She was confident that even if this guy faced all four of them, he would not lose.

    Si Bao mockingly said, ¡°Si Qing, it¡¯s been so many years, yet you¡¯re still so unskilled with duels. Advancing and retreating where necessary and able to both attack and block is the superior way. Battles tactics that involve momentary domination can only defeat weaker opponents. Once your offence is thwarted, all you can do is admit defeat.¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed with her very much. In his past life, there was a saying with regards to soccer, ¡°Offence sells tickets. Defence wins championships.¡± Fierce charges and attacks seemed intense and fascinating, but playing steadily and safely guaranteed victory.

    He also began to reflect on the way he fought all this time. Had he been overly reliant on the tiger demon¡¯s claws and fangs and neglected the profound shell of the spirit turtle? When he faced opponents of similar strength, it would often be very difficult to achieve victory in one fell swoop through a powerful attack. Instead, it would also require defence and patience.

    Si Qing sneered and replied, ¡°Pursuing victory mindlessly has already deviated from the true meaning of duels. I¡¯ve always objected to your title as a dragon fighter. And, there¡¯s no need to boast right now. The true outcome has yet to be determined!¡±

    However, Yan Xixin won the round before long, but with his fighting style, he obviously could not take the opponent¡¯s life. Just this aspect alone turned off Si Qing. When Qian Rongzhi had killed a powerful subordinate of his, he praised her ecstatically, but now that the scarred man had emerged alive, there was not even a hint of joy on his face. He completely disapproved of Yan Xixin too.

    Li Qingshan smiled inside and thought, I couldn¡¯t tell, but this guy is so enthusiastic about this! Even going on about some true meaning of duels!

    He did not know that many people in the Dragon province were like this. Duels had already become sacred. There were not a lot of people who did whatever it took just to achieve victory.

    The battleground of the third duel had already changed to an extremely dark and thick forest. The huge trees plunged into the sky like skyscrapers, unbelievably large and thick. Their broad, dark-green leaves blotted out the sun in the sky.

    The ground was completely covered in roots. Aerial roots dangled down in the air as verdant snake-like vines coiled around the vegetation in the thick, milk-like mist. And, if someone paid attention to them, they would discover they squirmed about.

    Li Qingshan had also witnessed the lushness of tropical rainforests in his past life, but compared to this jungle, it was basically comparing a child to a giant.

    A cultivator as skinny and small as a dwarf moved between the trees as swiftly as the wind under the shrouding of mist and darkness. Not only did he conceal all of his aura, but his figure had completely merged with the surroundings.

    If they had not been spectating from the outside, where their viewing angle was locked onto the fighters at all times, probably even a moment of negligence would be enough to lose sight of him. No one knew whether it was because of his arcane artifacts or because of the wonders of his cultivation method. Perhaps, it was a combination of both.

    An environment like this was without a doubt an assassin¡¯s paradise, and the dwarf was the strongest assassin.

    ¡°I specially collected this rainforest from the Mist province. It contains a part of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s roots.¡±

    Si Qing said proudly. The value of Dragon Arenas was not completely inherent. Instead, it also depended on the special and peculiar battlegrounds collected. It was like stamp collectors gathering precious stamps one by one, finding great pleasure throughout the entire process.

    The Great Banyan Tree King!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind shuddered. He had heard about him, one of the Ten Daemon Kings, greatest Daemon King of the Mist province, a long time ago. How had Si Qing of all people managed to collect a part of his roots?

    Si Bao said, ¡°You¡¯re merely taking advantage of the tree king¡¯s mild nature. Since you¡¯ve come to the Green province now, are you bold enough to touch even a scale on the dragon king?¡±

    Gu Yanying took a sip of alcohol and smiled. ¡°The tree king¡¯s roots span thousands of kilometers. Who knows how many creatures depend on them, so gathering a root or two is nothing special at all. However, since something special like that exists, this battleground definitely won¡¯t be a regular battleground.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If you can find the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s roots and drink its sap, then you can rapidly recover your spiritual qi. And, it¡¯ll fill you with energy as if you¡¯ve just set foot into the arena.¡±

    Conversations outside originally could not be heard within the Dragon Arena, but Si Qing¡¯s voice rang out clearly in the rainforest so that both fighters knew about this, ensuring the fairness of the duel.

    Li Qingshan felt even more shocked. Although banyan trees had the reputation of being able to grow into a forest from a single tree, just how large was the Great Banyan Tree King to span thousands of kilometers?

    He frowned and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t this unfair then? The forest is so thick. Your people will obviously be extremely familiar with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s root, but how are we supposed to distinguish it?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to miss it as long as you have eyes.¡±

    Si Qing laughed aloud. With a wave of his hand, the depicted scenery departed from the two fighters, rising high into the air and overlooking the entire rainforest from the Mist province. All he saw was a huge, towering tree jutting out of the forest, even taller than those trees that resembled skyscrapers. The crown of the tree was like a cloud, blotting out the sky. It was the reason why the rainforest was so dark.

    E Dan even sneered. ¡°Bumpkin!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with arguing with him. He widened his eyes and gazed at the towering tree as he thought, And they only call this a root? What¡¯s his main body like then? He found it even more difficult to imagine how majestic the Great Banyan Tree King would be.

    The determining factor of this duel was clearly who could obtain more tree sap from this ¡°root¡±.

    Yan Xixin flew out of the sea of trees immediately and grasped his bearings, rushing towards the towering tree in the centre. Meanwhile, the dwarf darted through the forest, moving even faster than him. He arrived near the giant tree, but he did not get any closer. Instead, he lurked near a path where Yan Xixin would definitely pass by to launch an ambush.

    Si Qing continued, ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s root is gentle. It won¡¯t even fight back when it¡¯s damaged. However, the sun vines on him aren¡¯t so easy to deal with.¡±

    Yan Xixin shivered inside. Sure enough, withered, yellow vines coiled around the huge tree. Apart from being extremely thick, there was nothing particularly conspicuous about them. However, there were plenty of dangerous, carnivorous plants among the rainforest of the Mist province that stretched fifty thousand kilometers. Among them, sun vines possessed the greatest infamy.

    If cultivators became entangled by them, they would completely go numb, and in the blink of an eye, their cultivation would leak away completely, followed by their vitality. It was rumored that even their souls would not be able to escape in the end, trapped in the sun vines forever.

    Sun vines normally only grew on the roots of the Great Banyan Tree King. Only the Great Banyan Tree King could support them permanently. If other trees became entwined, they would wither away very quickly.

    As Yan Xixin contemplated what he would do, a black figure darted out of the sea of trees, moving like lightning. He had remained vigilant the entire time, so he immediately blocked with his huge shield. With a clang, the two of them brushed past one another, and a mark appeared on the shield.

    He was secretly surprised, This dwarf moves far too quickly, so quickly that I actually struggle to determine where his attacks come from, so I can¡¯t rebound his attacks.

    The two of them clashed in the air. The dwarf¡¯s attacks were swift and sharp, but Yan Xixin held his ground firmly. He could not be defeated so easily. He thought, In order to maintain this speed and attack, it¡¯ll definitely take a larger toll on him than me.

    But a while later, the dwarf suddenly shot backwards towards the towering tree. The withered, yellow vines suddenly sprang alive, extending towards the dwarf madly and becoming dancing dragons and snakes.

    The dwarf used his startling speed to maneuver wildly between the sun vines. There had been multiple times when he was almost caught. He had to pull in his body violently in order to dodge.

    His figure was already different from a regular person¡¯s, so he was like a ball when he pulled himself in, launching towards the huge tree. With a flash of light in his hand, he cut through the thick tree bark and jade-green tree sap spurted out, landing in his mouth. Immediately, he riled up with vigour, and his spiritual energy recovered completely. Then, he launched himself out again, leaving the giant tree to continue his battle with Yan Xixin.

    From beginning to end, he had not stopped for even a second.

 Chapter 599 â€“ Fire Devouring Folk

    Si Bao thought, Oh no. Originally, we still had a sixty percent chance of victory with this round, but with this, we probably don¡¯t even have a thirty percent chance.

    Gu Yanying expressed for her to not worry and glanced backwards.

    Li Qingshan had already refined the five arcane artifacts, drinking heartily as he watched the duel in the Dragon Arena. His expression seemed rather similar to Si Qing¡¯s.

    Right now, he agreed with what Si Qing said very much. Duels truly were more interesting than dancing. Of course, if sect master Qiu were naked, that would be a whole different story.

    Si Bao directly turned around and glanced at Li Qingshan, If we lose this round, then Si Qing will still have two fighters, and they¡¯ll both be in perfect condition. Big sis trusts him so much, but is he really that powerful?

    Li Qingshan grinned back at her, which Si Bao found extremely dissatisfying. ¡°What¡¯re you grinning for? You¡¯ve drunken so much! Have you already come up with an idea?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, but when I go in later, hic, I¡¯ll obviously have one,¡± Li Qingshan said. There was no need for him to find a way to deal with the rainforest environment. If Yan Xixin lost, they would obviously change the battleground.

    Si Bao could see there was no drunkenness in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes at all. Instead, they blazed with a will to fight, shining even brighter than before.

    A while later, only forty percent of Yan Xixin¡¯s spiritual qi remained, while the dwarf was unscathed. He launched towards the huge tree again. Not only did he want to win this round, but he even wanted to maintain his strength and win the next one.

    He did this to prevent Yan Xixin from forfeiting when he had basically run out of spiritual qi. If that happened, he would not be able to make use of this advantageous environment anymore.

    Yan Xixin¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. Now! He stowed his shield away and used a technique. A swathe of yellow sand rose up in the sea of trees, whistling towards the dwarf and swallowing him.

    This was not a real sandstorm, but the earth element technique ¡°Shrouding Sand¡±. It was specially used to obscure the opponent¡¯s six senses, to cut off their soul sense. If earth element cultivators encountered an undefeatable opponent, they could easily escape with this move.

    The dwarf sneered coldly. He showed no fear at all. He watched as the sand swept over, but before it could even approach him, the sun vines extended out and produced a gentle glow.

    Yan Xixin was currently maintaining the technique, but he suddenly discovered that his spiritual qi was being depleted at a rapid rate. If he tried to keep up the technique, all of his spiritual qi would be drained away before long.

    Si Qing smiled. ¡°Yanying, this move your subordinate has taken isn¡¯t particularly clever. Even if spiritual and arcane artifacts become entangled by sun vines, they¡¯ll lose all of their powers before long. It¡¯s even more difficult for techniques to be of any use.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi took note of this. The sun vines were rather similar to the Heaven Climbing Vine she possessed, but there was nothing strange about that. Many vines were parasitic plants. Draining spiritual qi could be considered as their instincts.

    Strange plants like sun vines and Heaven Climbing Vines only amplified these instincts, while Heaven Climbing Vines possessed the ability to cross through worlds. It was far more powerful than sun vines, except it was far too difficult to nurture.

    Ever since she reached Foundation Establishment, she basically spent all the resources she had built up over the years to buy spiritual water so that she could nourish the Heaven Climbing Vine. Despite her efforts, it was not even a foot tall. Although the rate at which it siphoned spiritual qi had become slightly faster, she did not use any of it at all, leaving it all to the Heaven Climbing Vine to nourish itself.

    This required extremely great willpower. With the purity of the spiritual qi the Heaven Climbing Vine siphoned, it was extremely enticing to cultivators. It was basically like drugs from Li Qingshan¡¯s past life. They would become addicted after tasting it once.

    Chu Tian did not necessarily have much difficulty in understanding the principle of accumulation and delayed gratification, but he was unable to resist the temptation of the pure spiritual qi. Coupled with how he wanted to maintain his title of ¡°genius¡±, he was eager for quick successes and benefits.

    Any additional restraint and accumulation now would lead to additional benefits in the future. If the Heaven Climbing Vine could grow to the level of sun vines one day, then who could still be her opponent in the world?

    These thoughts had only flashed through her head with lightning speed. With another slash, the dwarf obtained another mouthful of tree sap.

    The sand that had its spiritual qi drained smashed into him. Yan Xixin continued to maintain the technique tirelessly, but it was merely a sandstorm now. It was unable to interfere with cultivators like him.

    The dwarf launched back. As soon as he left the vicinity of the sun vines, he felt the sand suddenly become denser, bombarding him like secret weapons. However, this had always been an offensive technique without any lethal power, so it obviously could not get through his protective spiritual qi.

    A sword slash whistled over. The dwarf had been anticipating a sneak attack, so he dodged it with ease. Afterwards, another huge sand man rushed out of the sand, lunging towards him with its arms outstretched.

    The dwarf destroyed the sand man with a wave of his hand, and a figure burst out of the sand man¡¯s chest. It was Yan Xixin. He had hidden in the sand man to approach him.

    The dwarf sneered inside, Puny tricks. Are you trying to force me back into the range of the sun vines? Even if you ignore the fact that it¡¯s impossible, what can you do to me even if I do retreat?

    He drifted backwards, and the impact from the sand immediately plummeted. If Yan Xixin were bold enough to pursue him here, then that would be equivalent to walking towards his doom. The sun vines would definitely choke him to death.

    However, Yan Xixin charged over without even looking back, casting aside his sword and shield and wrapping his arms around the dwarf firmly. The dwarf paled in fright. If he had been elsewhere, he could dodge with ease, but he had already entered the range of the sun vine. The dancing vines attacked him from all directions, basically sealing off all of his room to move about.

    He never thought Yan Xixin would be bold enough to charge in here either, so although he was fast, he was unable to avoid being caught. The two of them rushed towards the towering tree, but before they could even approach the trunk, sun vines swept over wildly, wrapping them up into a ball of vines in the blink of an eye.

    It was easy for the dwarf to break free from Yan Xixin¡¯s embrace, but it was impossible to break free from the sun vines. He could feel his spiritual qi flood out of his body like a dam had given way as his body weakened and grew numb. It was impossible for him to muster the strength to fight back. He was in shock as he called out with difficulty.

    ¡°The spiritual qi in me surpasses yours. If you don¡¯t admit defeat quickly, not only will I win, but you¡¯ll lose your life for nothing too. Even your soul won¡¯t be able to escape.¡±

    Yan Xixin said calmly, ¡°I might die, but your cultivation will basically be crippled. And, my body is tough with plenty of vitality, so the one who dies first might not necessarily be me!¡±

    The dwarf¡¯s expression changed drastically. If he really lasted until Yan Xixin died, not only would his cultivation be completely gone, but he would be heavily injured too. His future in cultivation would basically be destroyed. To a cultivator, this was basically something as horrifying as death.

    Li Qingshan felt admiration towards Yan Xixin. Yan Xixin was not particularly talkative, nor was he confident like Wei Ke, but he was over ten times more vicious and decisive than Wei Ke. He had forcefully changed this battle of certain defeat to mutual destruction.

    The dwarf¡¯s viciousness was riled up too. ¡°Then let¡¯s see who gives way first!¡±

    But in the blink of an eye, the spiritual qi the dwarf had recovered from drinking the banyan tree sap had been drained away completely. Tiny vines directly plunged into his body, sucking away at his body. On the other hand, Yan Xixin showed pain on his face, but there was no fear or hesitation at all.

    Watching as his cultivation was about to be reduced to nothing, the dwarf finally gave in and called out, ¡°I admit defeat!¡±

    The way assassins fought was about fleeing far away if their first and only strike failed. Although he possessed plenty of courage and decisiveness, he was unable to persevere. He could not help but consider for his own safety, refusing to go ahead with something as foolish as mutual destruction.

    Si Qing¡¯s face sank. With a wave of his hand, the towering tree and the vicious sun vines all vanished from the Dragon Arena. They had returned to the original empty battlefield.

    Yan Xixin and the dwarf fell out of the air together. For a moment, neither of them could move.

    In the blink of an eye, Yan Xixin¡¯s cultivation had already fallen to mid Foundation Establishment. He had paid quite a heavy price for this victory. Fortunately, the basis of his cultivation was not damaged, so he could gradually recover as long as he had sufficient pills.

    He removed his helmet, revealing his honest and ordinary face. He was also badly shaken, but he smiled victoriously.

    The dwarf left the Dragon Arena and knelt down before Si Qing in a hurry, requesting for punishment. He knew that Si Qing hated weak and spineless people the most.

    Si Qing had been extremely displeased. However, after considering how one of his three most powerful fighters had already fallen in battle, perhaps it would be good too if he could preserve his life. Victory was guaranteed in the last round anyway, so he relaxed and said indifferently, ¡°Stand up! Victory and defeat are common in battle. Bring that bastard over.¡±

    Clank! The sound of rattling chains rang out from the back of the palace. A cart with a cage on it was pushed over, and the temperature in the hall suddenly increased.

    Li Qingshan only saw a ball of blazing fire trapped in the cage. Only after a closer glance did he realise it was not fire, but a completely naked man. He sat down with his legs crossed, covered in large, thick chains. The shackles were all engraved with inscriptions, clearly made for subduing cultivators.

    The man did not move at all, but the feeling he gave off was like a volcano that could erupt at any time. He hid explosive power.

    He was riddled with muscles and extremely sturdy. The colour of his skin was anything but normal, a reddish-yellow like blazing fire. His hair stood on end, rising upwards, which seemed even more like flames. He had a scarlet-red horn on his forehead with a tiny, scarlet-red tail on his back. Li Qingshan could tell with a single glance that he was not human.

    Li Qingshan was surprised inside. This is my opponent! I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be an otherfolk!

    Gu Yanying was surprised. There were many otherfolk in the Dragon province, but Fire Devouring folk were violent and bellicose in nature. They could not live in the Dragon province. Most of them dwelled in lands of remote wilderness, with the majority in the Mist province. How had one ended up in Si Qing¡¯s hands?

    Si Qing said, ¡°This was one of the spoils I captured when I was hunting for suitable battlegrounds in the Mist province. It took quite the effort to capture him.¡±

    He turned towards the otherfolk and said, ¡°Zhu Lie, I only have a single question for you. Do you want to live or do you want to die? I¡¯ve basically run out of patience already. If you want to die, then I¡¯ll give you what you want today. If you want to live, then pick up your weapon and fight!¡±

 Chapter 600 â€“ Fighting Zhu Lie

    However, Zhu Long was like a trapped beast, frequently trying to run away. Si Long gave him plenty of punishment and torture to wear away his feral nature. At the same time, he gave him delicious food or even seductive women that the Mist province lacked to erode at his willpower.

    Now, it was finally time for his efforts to bear fruit.

    Under Si Qing¡¯s stern and eager gaze, Zhu Lie opened his mouth and spat out four words after quite a long while. ¡°I want to live!¡±

    Si Qing laughed aloud, overjoyed. He waved his arm.

    Clank! Clatter! Jangle!

    Zhu Lie¡¯s shackles were removed, striking the ground loudly. The cage opened up.

    With a whoosh, Zhu Lie turned into a ball of fire and charged out of the cage. Waves of heat swept out into the surroundings, the flames directly reaching towards Si Qing. The hot wind made his robes ruffle loudly.

    Si Qing did not move at all. He stared into Zhu Lie¡¯s blazing eyes, displaying unwavering determination. If you run away or attack me again this time, only death awaits you.

    Before this determination, Zhu Lie finally lowered his head. ¡°Where is my weapon and armour?¡±

    This guy is going to be a tough opponent. If I don¡¯t use the Demon Suppression Statuary, defeating him truly won¡¯t be easy with just the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    Li Qingshan thought. The abilities of otherfolk had always been stronger than regular people, and Fire Devouring folk were renowned for being battle-hungry among otherfolk. With his strength at mid Foundation Establishment alone, defeating an otherfolk who was equivalent to peak Foundation Establishment was almost impossible.

    Gu Yanying said without looking back, ¡°Li Qingshan, if you lose this round, I won¡¯t spare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan skewed his lips. ¡°Victory and defeat are common in battle. Commander, are there any rewards if I win this final round?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Kid, you have quite the appetite, don¡¯t you. Aren¡¯t you satisfied with these arcane artifacts?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m satisfied! I¡¯m very much satisfied!¡± Li Qingshan said, but he communicated through his soul sense, Did I exchange for these arcane artifacts or did I win them?

    ¡°That¡¯ll be up to you. A real man shouldn¡¯t haggle over every single detail. The duel is about to begin. Get ready to fight!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the Dragon Arena and thought, At least I¡¯ll be able to explain their origins and avoid any suspicion with these arcane artifacts! If I lack anything in the future, I¡¯ll just demand them from this woman!

    The Dragon Arena immediately became a sea of fire. Golden-yellow and fiery-red lava flowed slowly on the ground as the ash shrouded the sky.

    He was in no hurry to admit defeat. At the very least, he had to understand the opponent¡¯s origins and techniques to increase his final colleague¡¯s chances at victory as much as possible. Naturally, this final colleague was Li Qingshan.

    Suddenly, light poured through a black cloud, and a huge fireball smashed through the cloud, rushing over from the horizon with a long tail like a meteor. It was still over five kilometers away, but it was already unstoppable.

    Yan Xixin¡¯s expression changed; he said firmly, ¡°I admit defeat!¡±

    When he uttered those three words, the meteor was already less than three kilometers away. The waves of heat assaulted him, and Yan Xixin¡¯s face was dyed red, but the meteor had no intentions of stopping.

    Si Qing said, ¡°Zhu Lie, do not forget about the iron rules of the arena!¡±

    With a great boom, the meteor exploded loudly, turning into thousands of sparks.

    Zhu Lie leapt out, lifting a fiery-red trident high into the air and stabbing down at Yan Xixin¡¯s head. He completely ignored Si Qing¡¯s order. Making him agree and submit was already his limit. Pent-up fury and killing intent to vent filled him, so why would he spare any opponent?

    Yan Xixin was in no state to fight back. Just when he was about to die, the trident stopped right in his face, where the tip was only an inch away from his eye. The dense aura of flames it contained slowly erupted, about to turn Yan Xixin¡¯s head to ash.

    A pale, slender hand extended out from thin air, grabbing the scorching hot handle. Zhu Lie stared at the beautiful woman in white before him in surprise and anger. He poured all of his strength into his trident, but it would not advance even an inch further.

    Gu Yanying waved her left hand gently. Zhu Lie and his flames flew backwards, tumbling away at a speed even greater than when he first arrived. In the end, he landed in a river of lava. She brought Yan Xixin out of the arena. ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the next round!¡±

    Although Zhu Lie had tried to kill him without any consideration for the rules, it never ended up happening. If she allowed Zhu Lie to kill Yan Xixin, then not only would Zhu Lie pay with his life, but she would even directly win the next round and the overall duel. However, she did not want to sacrifice Yan Xixin.

    ¡°Yanying¡¯s bearing is extraordinary as always. You have my admiration!¡± Si Qing forced out a faint smile. He had been in the wrong here. He secretly made up his mind to properly deal with Zhu Lie after winning the duel.

    Zhu Lie leapt out of the lava. His face was twisted viciously, his anger intensified, and his killing intent burned violently like fire.

    At this exact moment, Li Qingshan stood up and entered the Dragon Arena. Immediately, the sounds of waves rose up. The entire battlefield went from being a boundless sea of fire to a vast, deep-blue lake.

    Li Qingshan could not help but smile, but he was also rather disappointed.

    He understood what Gu Yanying was trying to say. Truly, only victory was permitted with this round. If he still could not win even when possessed such an advantage, then he was better off hanging himself.

    The three prior victories had basically followed Gu Yanying¡¯s original plan, while the last round was basically a free win. However, exactly because it was far too easy, Li Qingshan instead felt rather disappointed.

    On the other hand, Zhu Lie was unworried as if he had grown accustomed to this. Roaring flames ignited on his trident, and he swung it backwards. ¡°Damn water, evaporate away!¡±

    Si Qing said, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think you can defeat Zhu Lie with some mere geographical advantages! Water trumping over fire only holds for conventional thinking. In the Mist province of the south, the Fire Devouring folk and Merfolk also understand this logic, but they have waged war for years. Are you telling me that your subordinate¡¯s talent for controlling water even surpasses Merfolk?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You only really know for sure once you try it in this world.¡±

    Li Qingshan parted his hands. The almost-transparent Gentle Wave gloves emitted azure light. The surface of the lake immediately began to surge violently as a water dragon whistled over, followed by a second one, a third one¡­ In the blink of an eye, nine water dragons rushed into the air, coiling around and lunging towards Zhu Lie.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Si Qing was mildly surprised. ¡°Isn¡¯t he only at mid Foundation Establishment? How can he do something like this?¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. This was already his current limit, and he had only achieved this with the amplification of the Gentle Wave gloves. Of course, this was merely the limit of his human cultivation.

    He thought to himself, I already possess an advantage like this. If I still end up using the Demon Suppression Statuary and the Traitorous Demon sword, it¡¯ll be meaningless even if I win, and I¡¯ll reveal my trump card for nothing. I refuse to believe that I can¡¯t defeat this measly fire devourer with all these arcane artifacts and the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    Zhu Lie opened his mouth and spat out roaring flames. The flames reduced the nine dragons to clouds of white steam before they could even approach him, drifting over the surface of the lake.

    ¡°Interesting!¡±

    Li Qingshan rejoiced instead of being surprised. He formed a seal and went with the flow, using a technique. Immediately, the mist became thick like milk, reducing visibility to a minimum. He hid his aura in the heavy mist, but he could clearly see Zhu Lie.

    However, Zhu Lie was completely unaffected, charging towards Li Qingshan. He was not as swift and elusive as Gu Yanying, but he was still startlingly fast. He swung down with the scarlet-red trident violently. ¡°Do you think you can disguise that stink of yours just like this? Die!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed the tip of the trident with his left hand and twisted his body, throwing a punch at Zhu Lie¡¯s chest with his right hand. Water spiritual qi coiled around his hand like a whirlpool. Zhu Lie punched back, and the fierce flames smashed through the whirlpool, colliding with Li Qingshan¡¯s fist.

    The two of them clashed with brute strength as water and fire collided violently, equally matched with one another. However, fire was far more destructive than water. Li Qingshan could feel his hands become red-hot, where even breathing became scorching.

    Zhu Lie¡¯s chest swelled, and Li Qingshan thought, Oh no, he¡¯s going to spit fire again!

    A single breath from Zhu Lie had nullified the nine water dragons he had summoned with his full strength, so he understood the power behind this attack. In his opinion, they should not be called Fire Devouring folk, but Fire Spitting folk.

    Li Qingshan felt his body colden before heating up again. The cold came from his soft armour, which immediately lit up with inscriptions and formed a thick layer of ice armour. The heat came from the arriving flames.

    Zhu Lie was surprised at first before grinning viciously. He never thought Li Qingshan would actually be bold enough to confront him directly, which was perfect for him to vent his fury. The flames he spat out became even more intense, becoming scarlet-red in colour.

    Under the flames, the ice armour began to melt very quickly. Li Qingshan used the Arts of the Boundless Ocean to channel his spiritual qi, and only then did he gain control over the situation, but his spiritual qi depleted rapidly.

    Suddenly, Zhu Lie shut his mouth and brought his head down in a headbutt. With a clank, most of the ice armour shattered. The scarlet-red horn pierced through bit by bit. It would not take long for it to pierce his defence.

    With a thought, the waistband on Li Qingshan let out a ring of water. As soon as it came into contact with Zhu Lie, it all surged over to him, surrounding him in a ball of water.

    The ball of water was different from regular water. It was extremely heavy and thick like glue. Zhu Lie immediately became immobilised like an insect trapped in resin, turning into amber over time. The flames on his body were suppressed as well.

    Sure enough, these arcane artifacts can help me quite a lot in battle. If I could slash out with the Traitorous Demon sword right now, I¡¯ll definitely be able to behead him!

    Li Qingshan thought as he launched a palm strike. Although it contained the great force of the Cloud Parting Form, it was nowhere close to the power that the Traitorous Demon sword had in vanquishing foes.

    With a bang, the ball of water was smashed apart, and Zhu Lie flew out. The ice armour around Li Qingshan shattered as well.

    As it turned out, in the moment he sent Zhu Lie flying, Zhu Lie¡¯s trident had emerged from the ball of water and struck the chink in the ice armour. Meanwhile, the fire-red armour had mostly blocked the force of Li Qingshan¡¯s palm strike. Their fighting spirit surged.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go for another three hundred clashes!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan rushed over to receive him. His entire body began to spin, turning into a water tornado as he collided violently with the ball of fire.

    Steam surged and obscured their figures. Fire and water raged as they flashed about. The sounds of collisions rang out constantly. Who knew how many times they had clashed in that moment!

    Yan Xixin murmured to himself, ¡°This makes no sense!¡±

 Chapter 601 â€“ To be Good-natured like Water

    Yan Xixin said, ¡°I personally believe I¡¯ve seen my fair share of battles between cultivators. Li Qingshan¡¯s performance is valiant and extraordinary, completely surpassing his cultivation at Foundation Establishment. Even I would not be able to withstand such attacks from Zhu Lie!¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    Yan Xixin thought about how he should word it and said, ¡°His moves are extremely ingenious, while his usage of and timing with techniques and arcane artifacts is even more meticulous. Even I can only sigh in admiration.¡± He paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°But if it were not for this, he probably would have been defeated a long time ago. The fire element¡¯s strengths lie in explosiveness and destruction, while the water element emphasises forbearance and recovery. A direct confrontation like this is very disadvantageous to him.¡±

    It was like two armies waging war. Even if one army deployed exceptional tactics, it would be very difficult for them to emerge victoriously if their overall strategy was wrong.

    Gu Yanying nodded. ¡°His character is indeed a little staunch.¡±

    Yan Xixin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he closed it again. He gazed at the Dragon Arena in worry and wondered, He primarily cultivates the water element, so how is his temperament so staunch? Or in other words, how is he able to understand the true meaning of the water element with how staunch he is?

    The elemental affinity of cultivators had a very close connection to their character and temperament. Normally, those with talent for the fire element would have a relatively fiery temper. Throughout many years of cultivation and the accumulation of spiritual qi, this special characteristic would become more obvious.

    Out of the water element cultivators Yan Xixin knew, they were all relatively gentle people. None of them were as firm and staunch as Li Qingshan, which made him extremely confused.

    Little did he know that basically all of Li Qingshan¡¯s talent for the water element had come from the Spirit Turtle Transformation. The spirit turtle would already be doing fantastically if it could suppress the ox demon and tiger demon, so how could it still influence Li Qingshan¡¯s personality?

    The pent-up anger in Zhu Lie became more and more violent. The trident sprayed with flames as he swung it at Li Qingshan wildly.

    Li Qingshan matched his attacks with attacks without holding back at all and gradually realised something that was amiss. No matter how brutal and overbearing the Ocean Wielding he used was, his opponent¡¯s moves would definitely be even more vicious and violent than his.

    The spiritual qi in his dantian depleted rapidly. Less than thirty percent remained, and that was only because he had the arcane artifact jade tablet accelerating his spiritual qi recovery. He could recover water spiritual qi slightly faster, but it was nothing like several fold faster. The benefits would only become more evident the longer the battle dragged out. If this continued, it would be very difficult for him to win without using the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    During the battle, Li Qingshan had also been considering a question that had troubled him all this time¡ªhow to merge water and fire!

    He only saw two colours, red and blue. One burned and ascended as if it wanted to burn the sky, while the other flowed and descended as if it wanted to fall into an abyss. They demonstrated completely different properties, constantly mixing and surging. There was absolutely no possibility of merging at all.

    Fire and water had no feelings. If it were regular fire and water, then so be it, but the spirit turtle¡¯s water and the phoenix¡¯s fire he wanted to merge together were the most pure powers in the world, so how was he supposed to merge them?

    He felt rather vexed. He felt like he had misunderstood something the entire time.

    With his mind in disarray, his attacks faltered slightly. Zhu Lie caught the opportunity and swung down with his trident. Li Qingshan could only raise his arm in time and block before falling down and plunging into the lake water. With a thunk, he caused a huge splash, sinking directly to the bottom of the lake. By now, only ten percent of his spiritual qi remained.

    Si Bao raised his cup. ¡°Looks like the outcome has been decided, Yanying.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi became anxious, while Yan Xixin became even more nervous. He had risked his life to set up this fantastic situation. If he lost, then all of it would go to waste. This Li Qingshan might have some talent, but there¡¯s no need for commander Gu to favour him this much!

    Si Bao cast his gaze at Gu Yanying as if she was saying, Look at the person you chose! He¡¯s nowhere near as powerful as you described him to be! However, she was extremely understanding too. Defeat was much more likely than victory if any Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Ruyi commandery faced the violent and vicious Zhu Lie.

    Gu Yanying lowered her head and fiddled around with her cup. ¡°If he wants to win, how can he lose?¡± It was a simple statement, but it displayed her absolute confidence. Han Qiongzhi shuddered and thought, Can I trust him this much?

    Her trust in Li Qingshan came from her feelings, but true trust came from understanding. Gu Yanying¡¯s understanding of Li Qingshan completely exceeded Han Qiongzhi¡¯s.

    The strongest water daemon of the Ruyi commandery, Northmoon, would lose to an otherfolk that had not even undergone the second heavenly tribulation? What kind of joke was that? Even if he could not win with his human cultivation, he only needed to use his daemon abilities slightly, and he could immediately turn the tides.

    Zhu Lie followed Li Qingshan closely, pursuing right behind him.

    The firelight illuminated the surface of the lake as waves of heat rapidly assaulted Li Qingshan. The trident parted the lakewater, directly plunging towards Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and cast these thoughts aside. Whatever. I¡¯ll win this round first! If I lose to a minor figure like this, I¡¯ll look horrendous!

    He exhaled gently and held back his urge to strike out. Two flows of water suddenly shot out backwards from the shoes on his feet as he charged forwards violently.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about escaping!¡± Zhu Lie roared furiously. He opened his mouth and sprayed out. A stream of fire pierced the lakewater, extending towards Li Qingshan.

    Waves began to surge under Li Qingshan¡¯s feet as he used the Wave Treading Form, abruptly accelerating and leaping to one side. The flames brushed past him, not enough to penetrate his protective spiritual qi. And, the water had still adversely affected its power to a certain degree.

    Huge waves appeared on the surface of the water. Below the surface, Li Qingshan fled as Zhu Lie pursued. Li Qingshan used the Wave Treading Form to constantly change directions. Zhu Lie was vicious, but there was nothing he could do to him immediately, making Zhu Lie so angry that he cursed aloud.

    ¡°You human coward! You looked like you had some balls earlier, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d cower so soon!¡±

    If I used my true strength, I can reduce you to mince meat with a single punch! Li Qingshan thought.

    Hearing such words caused him great dissatisfaction, but he had no plans on breaking the rules he had set down right from the beginning, which involved using the Demon Suppression Statuary and the Traitorous Demon sword. If he wanted to win, then he could only rely on his geographic advantage, make time, and recover spiritual qi.

    The more intense the battle grew, the clearer his thoughts became. As he fled, he flicked his fingers randomly and sent water arrows flying out. Zhu Lie became even more furious, pursuing him relentlessly.

    As Li Qingshan maneuvered around, the jade tablet on his waist flickered with light. The spiritual qi in his body recovered slowly but surely.

    He had used the water element as his foundation for cultivation for all this time, but he mostly relied on the fangs and claws of the tiger demon and the abilities of the ox demon to triumph over opponents.

    Even when he assumed his human identity, he relied on his tough body to use Ocean Wielding, to wield the Heavy Water sword and launch powerful attacks to overwhelm the opponent. This was the first time he purely used water element techniques to fight.

    In the beginning, it felt extremely repressive. He did not like this style of battle. He still preferred taking his opponent by storm and landing every single attack on flesh. However, he could only silently endure for the sake of victory.

    Although Zhu Lie¡¯s flames were violent and vicious, they could not last for too long and gradually dimmed. As for Li Qingshan¡¯s spiritual qi, he had already recovered fifty percent of it. The scales of victory had begun to tip. If he actively approached Zhu Lie now and engaged in attacks for attacks like earlier, Zhu Lie would definitely be the first to give way.

    However, Li Qingshan was in no hurry to take action. Instead, he seemed to be in thought, vaguely understanding the reason for the problems. Suddenly, he recalled a saying.

    To be Good-natured like water. Water benefits all living things while avoiding conflict, occupying a place where all others loathe. It is akin to the Dao.

    To be good-natured like water, yet I am vicious and brutal. Water must ¡°avoid conflict¡±, yet I am filled with fighting spirit.

    The water element is about triumphing over force with gentleness, remaining discreet and enduring silently. It is about going with the flow, yet I forge ahead valiantly, doing whatever I want. Even if I temporarily shrink back and endure in silence, it¡¯s only because of my circumstances. I stop doing that and behave flagrantly as soon as the opportunity arises.

    For all this time, my temperament and the temperament of water have been completely opposite.

    My temperament is staunch. Even when I practise a water cultivation method, I¡¯ve chosen the destructive Arts of the Boundless Ocean. Although I have the god-like talent of the spirit turtle, and I control vast amounts of water in the Ruyi commandery, I haven¡¯t truly merged with and understood the utmost flexibility and gentleness of water.

    It¡¯s no wonder that I¡¯ve become stuck at a bottleneck after I reached the fourth layer of the spirit turtle. I¡¯ve always wanted to merge water and fire, yet I haven¡¯t even merged with and understood the word ¡°water¡±!

    Li Qingshan sighed inside, but he became reinvigorated. He had finally found an answer to what had troubled him for all this time!

    Suddenly, his expression became calm and peaceful, while his movements became gentle too. He was like a fish swimming around in a lake.

    He stopped intentionally using techniques. As he retreated, he waved his arms around, drawing circles freely. The water flow binded around Zhu Lie like silk bands.

    Zhu Lie waved his trident and easily ripped through them, but the water bands wrapped around him endlessly.

    Zhu Lie wanted to catch up to Li Qingshan and take him on in a battle to the death, but it became even more impossible for him to get closer with the water bands obstructing him. The flames on his body became even weaker. Even his roars became rather hoarse!

    Gu Yanying struck her palm gently with her delicate, jade fan and smiled. ¡°The outcome has been decided.¡±

    Si Qing furrowed his brows firmly. Losing this battle had completely taken him by surprise. As he stared at Li Qingshan, he thought, Such an ability to control water definitely isn¡¯t something a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator can possess.

    A while later, Li Qingshan had already gained the upper hand. Zhu Lie held on desperately, but his fighting spirit had already been mostly eroded away. He did not follow the rules of the arena, so the concept of forfeiting did not exist to him. He only thought of dying here, which would save him from the torture and humiliation the Si Qing outside would give him.

    By now, Li Qingshan only needed to approach him and give him a few kicks and punches to emerge victoriously, but he forcefully held back this urge. Since he understood the source of his problem already, he had to find a way to deal with it.

    Since his temperament was incompatible, then he would start with his temperament and change the way he acted. He silently swore, From today onwards, I¡¯ll do whatever a tortoise- oh wait, it¡¯s a spirit turtle. I¡¯ll do whatever a spirit turtle does. Sigh, it¡¯s basically all the same anyway!

    Normally, based on his past temperament, he would have rushed over a long time ago to rip Zhu Lie apart and dig out his organs so that he could vent his anger.

    But now, he constantly took in deep breaths as he muttered to himself inside.

    Li Qingshan, take it slowly. There¡¯s no hurry. There¡¯s still plenty of time. This otherfolk might have a foul mouth, but he¡¯s just a pitiful person oppressed by that bastard Si Qing. Why do I have to kill him? If I look closer, doesn¡¯t he seem quite handsome too?

    Zhu Lie¡¯s face was contorted. ¡°If you want to kill me, then kill me, but don¡¯t even think of humiliating me!¡±

 Chapter 602 â€“ The Outcome Decided, the Generalâ€™s Call

    Zhu Lie howled about and charged right over. This time, Li Qingshan did not dodge. Right as the trident was about to reach his waist, he raised his right hand, and a stream of extremely pliable and tough water wrapped around the trident. It followed the pole and wrapped around Zhu Lie, trapping him in the water.

    ¡°Hurry up and forfeit, and I¡¯ll spare you dog life!¡±

    Zhu Lie cursed loudly. His voice passed through the water, becoming unclear.

    Li Qingshan shrugged helplessly. A crude and powerful hand immediately plunged into the water, grabbing Zhu Lie firmly by the throat.

    Li Qingshan pulled Zhu Lie closer in a brutal manner and said with a heavy voice, ¡°My patience is limited. Let me ask you one last time. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?¡±

    All of Zhu Lie¡¯s hairs stood on end. He stared into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes in surprise and confusion, catching something that seemed like a flash of dark red light. A ruthless malice forced its way into his heart. Originally, he would not show fear even if he died in battle, but he could not help but become slightly afraid from that moment onwards.

    This was the fear a weak creature would naturally experience when it faced its natural predator. This person definitely isn¡¯t as simple as he seems on the surface!

    Li Qingshan completely tossed ¡°to be good-natured like water¡±, ¡°to be flexible and gentle¡±, and whatever that was to the back of his brain. As long as Zhu Lie was bold enough to say he wanted to die, he would rip his head off immediately and kick it around like a soccer ball. When the tiger doesn¡¯t demonstrate its might, do you really take me for someone you can simply walk all over?

    Finally, his instincts for survival gained the upper hand. Zhu Lie said softly, ¡°I want to live.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°I admit defeat,¡± Zhu Lie said reluctantly.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Li Qingshan forced out the gentlest smile he could and released Zhu Lie. He thought, I want to fix my temperament for once, yet you still dare to irritate me. How can I let you die so easily?

    However, Zhu Lie found his smile much more chilling compared to his vicious expression earlier. He was like an extremely fierce wild beast who forced himself to behave gently. It was extremely eerie.

    Li Qingshan stepped out of the Dragon Arena and said to Gu Yanying, ¡°I haven¡¯t let you down, fortunately.¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯ve won.¡±

    Clap! Clap! Clap!

    Si Qing began clapping first. He smiled. ¡°Yanying, your subordinate truly has hidden himself well. I candidly admit my defeat.¡±

    E Dan and Jia Zhen¡¯s faces were completely sunken. This meant that they had lost their first battle in the Ruyi commandery. The great benefits that regular cultivators could never even imagine had all been reduced to nothing with the outcome of this duel.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°It¡¯s no problem. As the saying goes, even great external forces cannot triumph over local powers, so there¡¯s no need to take it to heart. Si Qing, when do you plan on holding the ascension ceremony? Please let me know so that I can carry out my responsibilities as the host and handle it for you.¡±

    Si Qing stowed the Dragon Arena away and put on a tolerant act. ¡°The outcome of the battle is a mere trifle. What matters is that I¡¯ve witnessed the talents of the Ruyi commandery, and I saw a few fascinating duels. However, I still feel a little unsatisfied.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Why¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°The Ruyi commandery spans thousands of kilometers. Who knows how many talents there are. I probably haven¡¯t even witnessed a hundredth of them through this duel. I¡¯ve heard that the Ruyi commandery has always had a tradition of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, but because daemons attacked the Clear River prefecture, you were forced to put that on hold. Since I have succeeded the post of Marquis of Ruyi, I should restart the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, summon the talents of the nine prefectures, and demonstrate the Ruyi commandery¡¯s strength to deter the Daemon race!¡±

    Si Qing said as he exchanged glances with E Dan and Jia Zhen. The three of them all smiled. Clearly, they had been planning this excuse for a long time already.

    This was the authority of the Marquis of Ruyi, and Gu Yanying had no reason to stop him. However, she did know that the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures probably would not be as simple this time. She sighed inside.

    Si Qing has a cruel personality. He¡¯s bloodthirsty and murderous. It probably isn¡¯t the Ruyi commandery¡¯s good fortune to have him as the Marquis of Ruyi.

    When the banquet dispersed, Li Qingshan made his way towards Han Qiongzhi after bidding farewell to Si Qing when E Dan suddenly barked, ¡°You little bastard, you better be careful when you go out at night!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. Right when he was about to call him ¡°mongrel¡± a few times, Han Qiongzhi stopped him and shook her head gently at him. Worry filled her face. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who knew when life-threatening disasters would descend upon him with how a vicious Golden Core cultivator like E Dan had remembered him.

    Sigh, I really have to be good to others as a person. Good-natured like water! What am I bickering with a dead person for?

    Li Qingshan thought and stopped paying attention to E Dan, leaving with Han Qiongzhi.

    E Dan thought he was afraid, so he let out a wild burst of laughter. His vicious gaze then paused on Han Qiongzhi. Hmph, I¡¯ll deal with the Han family sooner or later too.

    After all the guests had dispersed, Si Qing¡¯s face sank before inviting E Dan and Jia Zhen into a secret room for discussion.

    Si Qing said, ¡°I never thought we¡¯d actually get off on the wrong foot. Gu Yanying is just as difficult to deal with as always!¡±

    ¡°I really want to crush her head!¡± E Dan clenched his hands, and they grinded and creaked. However, he also knew that even if he neglected her identity and the fact that no one was bold enough to touch her, probably nobody could confidently say they could kill her unless they had undergone the third heavenly tribulation.

    Jia Zhen shook his head. ¡°From what I observed, Gu Yanying is not necessarily our enemy. She completely focuses on cultivation, with no interest in fame, wealth, power, or influence. Everything she does is to increase her cultivation. As long as we don¡¯t go overboard with her, she probably won¡¯t actively make problems for us.¡±

    Si Qing nodded. ¡°She¡¯s always been like that. If it were not for the fact that I was confident we could win this duel, I would have never arranged this banquet. What do you think about her subordinate, Li Qingshan?¡±

    E Dan said, ¡°He¡¯s merely an overconfident genius, a minor figure who has no idea about how things work. I¡¯ll make him die a graveless death sooner or later!¡±

    Jia Zhen said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He won¡¯t be able to survive past the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. There¡¯s no need for you to take action in a hurry either, just in case you leave behind traces that¡¯ll give yourself away. Our priority right now is still to handle that wretched daemon Northmoon.¡±

    Si Qing said, ¡°How can we let someone snore away right beside where we sleep?¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived at the estate of the Han family in the commandery city with Han Qiongzhi, which was also the great general¡¯s estate in the past. Gazing over, the scale of the structures were so grand that they only paled in comparison to the marquis¡¯ estate. The Han family had occupied it throughout the generations.

    Passing through the pavilions, terraces, and halls, Li Qingshan arrived at the depths of the estate and greeted his soon-to-be father-in-law, Han Anjun.

    The crystal lights shone brilliantly. Han Anjun¡¯s face was as cold as before, standing there seriously like a metal sculpture. After hearing about what had happened during the banquet from Han Qiongzhi, he said, ¡°You have a great future ahead of you, so you shouldn¡¯t have openly confronted E Dan. Only true men can put up with humiliation and disgrace, or it¡¯s all just foolhardiness.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, general. I¡¯m under commander Gu¡¯s care, so he can¡¯t do anything to me.

    Han Anjun fell silent for a while before responding, ¡°Perhaps he¡¯ll be the great general of the Ruyi commandery before long.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan was mildly surprised, but it made perfect sense upon thinking about it. The position of great general was not hereditary. Han Anguo had died in battle, so they obviously needed a replacement. Since Si Qing could obtain the position of Marquis of Ruyi, he could also obtain a great general. In terms of strength alone, E Dan completely possessed the right.

    He said apologetically, ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get the Han family into trouble.¡± He was a Scarlet Hawk commander, so E Dan could not touch him, but the Han family would be exposed to his forceful control.

    ¡°You have to stop yourself from acting so rashly in the future. The Han family isn¡¯t as weak as you think. And, even without you, E Dan would never give up on the position of great general. However, for him to obtain this tiger tablet won¡¯t be so easy either.¡±

    As Han An spoke, he took out a tiger tablet. The tiger tablet was shaped like a black tiger. It was not too big, and the sculpting was not detailed, making it seem very much like a mass-produced product. However, it seemed to leap out of the tablet with its fierce posture.

    Like the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s Seal of Mountains and Rivers, the tiger tablet was the representation of the great general, as well as something that had been passed down through the Han family.

    The position of great general was not hereditary, but the Han family had an extensive family tree and knew how to raise their descendants. As such, a suitable successor would often appear in the clan before the previous great general had even passed away. Just like this, all the disciples of the school of the Military of the entire Ruyi commandery were connected to the Han family.

    As the current patriarch, if Han Anjun lost the tiger talisman, then he would have let down his ancestors. As a result, whether Li Qingshan offended E Dan or not no longer mattered. E Dan had always viewed the Han family as a thorn in his side.

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°Why can¡¯t Foundation Establishment cultivators succeed to the position of great general?¡±

    Han Anjun said, ¡°After you left, I also went on a journey. I went to South Hub city and met with the Great General King. Out of consideration of our past, the Great General King did not agree to E Dan succeeding to the position of great general, allowing the position to remain with my Han family before temporarily dismissing the matter. There¡¯s obviously nothing that E Dan can do to our Han family right now.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Obviously.¡±

    The ¡°Great General King¡± was the greatest figure from the school of the Military in the Green province. He was someone impressive who stood on equal footing with the lord of the Green province, leading all soldiers and generals of the Green province. As long as he put out a word, E Dan would never act rashly no matter how vicious he was.

    Han Anjun shook his head slightly. ¡°The position of great general cannot be dismissed forever. I plan to enter the Asura Field and cultivate arduously. As long as I can break through to the second heavenly tribulation, the tiger tablet will remain with my Han family.¡±

    He recalled what the Great General King had said, Anguo is a dear general of mine, and the Han family has been a clan of generals for many generations. Although you¡¯ve encountered difficulties, there¡¯s no reason for you to give up hope. I can see you possess your elder brother¡¯s bearing, so are you bold enough to enter my Asura Field for training?

    ¡°The Asura Field!¡± Han Qiongzhi exclaimed. Clearly, this Asura Field was not a safe place. She wanted to say something, but she decided to straighten out her body and say proudly, ¡°May success come your way, father. May you undergo the heavenly tribulation soon and revitalise the renown of our Han family!¡±

    Han Anjun said in delight, ¡°Qiongzhi, you¡¯ve grown up.¡±

    ¡°I also wish for success to come your way, general. Be sure to not miss the day of our wedding. This pill can be the engagement present.¡±

    ¡°This is¡­ an Origin Spirit pill! Where did you get this from?¡±

    Even with Han Anjun¡¯s composure, he could not help but be taken aback when he saw the Origin Spirit pill in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. After all, the pill was far too precious, especially to him right now.

 Chapter 603 â€“ Even When Abandoned, To Never Complain

    ¡°Sure enough, commander Gu values you extraordinarily. She specially gave this to you for your second heavenly tribulation! You better keep it. I can¡¯t accept such a precious gift.¡±

    Han Anjun calmed down immediately. He shifted his gaze away from the Origin Spirit pill and gazed at Li Qingshan deeply. His explanation did not completely convince him.

    ¡°Then that would mean you oppose my marriage with Qiongzhi!¡±

    Li Qingshan said as he shot a glance at Han Qiongzhi. The Origin Spirit pill was not essential to him, but it was quite important to the Han family.

    Han Qiongzhi said after some hesitation, ¡°Father, just accept it. You can do it for the sake of the Han family.¡±

    Han Anjun contemplated with his eyes closed for quite a while before letting out a long sigh and accepting the Origin Spirit pill. Afterwards, he bowed deeply to express his gratitude. How could Li Qingshan accept such a great gesture from him? He shifted to the side and avoided the bow.

    However, what Han Anjun said after straightening himself left Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi completely surprised.

    ¡°In the very beginning, I didn¡¯t find the two of you a suitable match. I still stand by my belief right now.¡±

    ¡°The Han family is great and influential, while I¡¯m just a kid from the mountains. Our status is a little striking.¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, but in consideration of the spirit turtle¡¯s forbearance and patience, his brows eased up again. He spoke with a smile, but he could not help himself as his tone objected slightly to Han Anjun¡¯s words.

    Han Qiongzhi also said with discontent, ¡°Father, so much has happened already, yet you still say something like that. You want to temper your daughter, but has your daughter ever disappointed you¡­¡±

    Han Anjun raised his hand to stop Han Qiongzhi from continuing. He gazed at Li Qingshan and said, ¡°Qingshan, I don¡¯t hold any prejudice towards you. Actually, I thought you were a talent right from the beginning, and everything that happened afterwards completely exceeded my expectations. It¡¯s even possible to call you a startling genius. You are already on a path to achieving greatness. I¡¯m not belittling myself, but my daughter is a little unworthy of you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m looking for a companion to charge into battle with. Are you telling me I¡¯m supposed to find a woman with a similar cultivation?¡± Li Qingshan said in objection. He held Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand to express his determination.

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He could not help but admit that Han Anjun¡¯s words had been very insightful. He had basically dismantled Li Qingshan¡¯s character. Even Li Qingshan had no idea how many powerful enemies he would encounter on his way to the Nine Heavens. He was confident he could protect Han Qiongzhi, but what about her family?

    He felt Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand tighten slightly. He said, ¡°General, I also think my character has been a little too intense lately. I plan to restrain myself a little and comprehend the flexibility and gentleness of water. I might not necessarily offend a lot of people.¡±

    When he said that, even he was slightly unconvinced. Even if he spent another century comprehending, he still would have stepped forward during the banquet today. No matter how far his cultivation of the Spirit Turtle Transformation progressed, it was unable to change his character completely.

    Han Qiongzhi stood forward too. ¡°Even if we encounter any risks, we¡¯ll shoulder them together.¡±

    ¡°Qiongzhi, you¡¯re no longer a child. You¡¯ve made a choice today, and I respect your decision. However, if he ever abandons you in the future, you can¡¯t complain.¡±

    Han Anjun let out a long sigh and left, leaving behind Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi, who stared at one another speechlessly. Just which father would curse their own daughter like this? And, he spoke with so much certainty as if Li Qingshan had already become fickle and faithless.

    Something that Han Anjun did not mention was that he had once asked Ma Buyi to tell Li Qingshan¡¯s fortune through reading his face. Ma Buyi had said, ¡°This child is ambitious. He definitely isn¡¯t someone with flimsy aspirations. However, it¡¯s exactly because of his lofty ambitions that he¡¯s the exact opposite of the saying, ¡®The romance of love is everlasting, while the glory of heroes is momentary.¡¯¡±

    That night, Li Qingshan did not stay at the great general¡¯s estate. Instead, he left the Ruyi commandery with Han Qiongzhi and ventured to a tiny mountain with abundant spiritual qi and beautiful scenery. This was the cultivation dwelling Han Qiongzhi had specially carved out after reaching Foundation Establishment.

    The two of them embraced one another, gazing at the tiny lake under the moonlight in the distance as it reflected the tranquil, silver light. They said nothing for a long, long time. Originally, reuniting was supposed to be delightful, but Han Anjun¡¯s words had cast a shadow over it all.

    ¡°Thank you for your Origin Spirit pill.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was originally a straightforward person, but she had been through a lot lately. Right now, her clan was at a dangerous juncture, and her father evaluated the most reliable man by her side as someone who would leave her in the end. She was depressed, nowhere near as decisive as before.

    Sure enough, he could not stay here for too long either. He would have to return to the Clear River prefecture very soon to continue upholding his responsibilities as the Scarlet Hawk commander.

    ¡°How can the phrase ¡®thank you¡¯ be mentioned between us? And, if you really want to thank me, that¡¯s not the way to thank me.¡± Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms with a smile, lowering his head and kissing her on her red lips while his hand rested on her buttocks mischievously. He purposefully wanted to break the silent atmosphere this way.

    However, as her delicate body entered his embrace, his lust that he had long suppressed rose up uncontrollably. Han Qiongzhi¡¯s response was unexpectedly intense too, wrapping her arms around his waist as she whispered, ¡°Love me!¡±

    Li Qingshan picked her up, abandoning the moonlit scenery and entering the dwelling.

    Behind the veils of silk, a desperate entanglement was unavoidable. Only when Han Qiongzhi became absolutely exhausted, having run out of strength and begging for mercy, did he stop, embracing each other as they fell asleep.

    This seemed to completely wash away the mild discontent from earlier. However, Han Qiongzhi muttered that sentence incessantly inside. Even when she fell asleep, it continued to haunt her endlessly.

    If he ever abandons you in the future, you can¡¯t complain.

    Li Qingshan had completely cast aside this matter already. After Han Qiongzhi fell asleep, he felt like he was still brimming with energy. He did not feel sleepy at all, so he continued focusing and contemplating the ways of water.

    In the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, Gu Yanying studied her new disciple with interest. ¡°My good disciple, am I supposed to call you Qian Rongzhi or Shangguan Rongzhi?¡±

    ¡°Obviously Qian Rongzhi.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi quivered. This was the last secret she wanted people to learn about, but it was not because she felt humiliated by it. Even within the cultivation world, massacring all of her family would incur deep disgust. If Chu Tian knew she had done something like this, she probably could not have fooled him so easily.

    ¡°Looks like you really detest the word ¡®Shangguan¡¯. Ancient Wind city was destroyed because of the White Lotus cult, but that Shangguan town experienced a great fire without reason and had been razed to the ground. Not even a dog had managed to escape from there. I wonder why.¡±

    ¡°Your disciple is unsure. It must have been some fire element daemon making trouble!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi did not purposefully feign ignorance. She only replied calmly. In order to completely obliviate everything, she had paid another visit to Shangguan town while the war was ongoing.

    Gu Yanying stared at Qian Rongzhi for a long time before smiling in the end. She changed the topic. ¡°The hell snake is the gift that the White Lotus Mother gave you, right?¡±

    It took a very long time for Qian Rongzhi to reply. ¡°Yes. She hated me for betraying her, so inflicted me with this vicious curse so that I go through plenty of pain and torture every single day and night.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Would you like your master to find a way to relieve you of it?¡±

    ¡°The venomous snake is closely adhered to my soul. It¡¯s immune to everything, so it might be very difficult to remove. I can still put up with this level of pain, so there¡¯s no need for master to go to such lengths.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi trembled inside. The colourful little snake also began to slither across her body restlessly. In the beginning, she had always wanted to get rid of this tiny snake.

    But now, the hell snake had already become one of her most important trump cards. In particular, it was vital to her arduous practice of legalist cultivation methods. If Gu Yanying truly managed to remove it from her, it would be quite the loss.

    However, she soon stopped worrying. The tiny snake came from the Hell realm, possessing special characteristics that nothing in this world exhibited. Although it was visible to the naked eye, it existed in a completely different plane. Let alone regular weapons, even powerful techniques and arcane artifacts would struggle to harm it. No matter how capable Gu Yanying was, there was nothing she could do about it.

    Gu Yanying extended her hand. Qian Rongzhi gazed at her perfect, slender hand, at a loss as for what she wanted.

    ¡°I still haven¡¯t tried the sensation of the Venomous Snake hell yet!¡± Gu Yanying was curious.

    ¡°I dare not.¡± Qian Rongzhi lowered her head.

    ¡°Hold my hand. I know you want to do that.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± Qian Rongzhi said, You asked for it, so don¡¯t blame me. The affluent you can also taste my pain!

    She gently held Gu Yanying¡¯s hand. It was warm and smooth at first touch as if her bones were made of hard jade and her skin was made of soft jade, indescribably pleasant. Killing intent blazed in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heart. Will I be able to kill her when she¡¯s overcome by pain and loses her composure? We¡¯re in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, so it¡¯ll definitely take some time before anyone discovers this, while the benefits I can obtain from her are unbelievably great.

    As she thought that, she heard Gu Yanying laugh. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem as unbearable as I imagined it to be. Is it because my sense of shame is far too great, and I don¡¯t have a lot of hatred? But that makes no sense!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes widened, gazing at Gu Yanying in disbelief. That was definitely not forced laughter. This was pain that could drive people to death! How could she endure it?

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Hurry up and send out the little snake!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi felt indescribable anger. She felt like Gu Yanying was mocking and deriding everything she endured. She made up her mind, and the colourful, little snake slithered out along her arm, biting down viciously between Gu Yanying¡¯s thumb and index finger.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s expression changed slightly. Her smile finally vanished from her face as she said slowly, ¡°You¡¯ve nurtured it very well.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi felt disbelief. She can actually still speak! However, then she heard Gu Yanying say, ¡°I¡¯ll remove it for you right now!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi immediately sensed a slight breeze drift over from Gu Yanying¡¯s body. The breeze was invisible and untouchable. It could not even blow away a single fallen leaf. As a matter of fact, it was completely unrelated to the flow of air in this world, but she could clearly sense it.

    Gu Yanying furrowed her brows. Pain filled her beautiful face as if she was enduring something. Meanwhile, the colourful, little snake released its fangs and wanted to retreat as if it had seen a ghost. However, an invisible force caught it. The little snake squirmed around, unable to break free as it was gradually drawn into Gu Yanying¡¯s hand.

    Suddenly, Qian Rongzhi pulled her hand back. Looking down, the colourful, little snake was still there. It shrank back into her body, afraid to show itself again.

 Chapter 604 â€“ Master and the Snake

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s heart was in turmoil. She actually possessed a way to deal with the hell snake. In that case, killing her only became even more difficult.

    ¡°You can actually sense it. You truly are my disciple after all. Within the vast, boundless Hell realm, there¡¯s a hell called ¡®Hot Wind¡¯. This is your master¡¯s trump card, so don¡¯t tell anyone without good reason, or I¡¯ll make you taste the power of the Hot Wind hell. You¡¯re not the pioneer of using the power of the Hell realm to cultivate. Instead, it¡¯s what the school of Legalism is skilled in the most.¡±

    ¡°In other words, you¡­¡±

    Surprised, Qian Rongzhi had even forgotten to call her master. She recalled what she had said, ¡°I still haven¡¯t tried the sensation of the Venomous Snake hell yet.¡± If that were the case, she was the same as her. She also endured the torture of hell.

    Everything made sense now. That was why she could remain unfazed when the venomous snake bit her. It was impossible for people who had not been through such pain to remain so composed.

    Gu Yanying did not describe what the punishment of the ¡°Hot Wind hell¡± was or what kind of pain she had to endure from it. However, through her behaviour earlier, the pain definitely was not lighter than the ¡°Venomous Snake hell¡±.

    ¡°As long as there are benefits, enduring some hardships is nothing, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Gu Yanying blinked her eyes and smiled brightly. However, Qian Rongzhi understood very well that there were no hardships at all. It was basically the worst pain there was in the world.

    ¡°You think you¡¯re very special and very unfortunate. That¡¯s very normal. Young people are always under that impression, but actually, it¡¯s not just you and me. The school of Legalism has a supreme cultivation called the Illustrations of Naraka. The cultivation method you practise right now is an extension of it, but it only imitates its form and does not bear its true essence.¡±

    When Qian Rongzhi heard that a cultivation method so suitable for her existed, she did not react on the surface, but thoughts filled her mind rapidly.

    ¡°Do you know what the prerequisites are to practising the Illustrations of Naraka?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s to draw the power of hell into your body, just like how you¡¯ve drawn the venomous snake into your body. After that, you need to temper yourself through great pain. But if you want to cross through realms and find the true power of hell, it¡¯s anything but simple. Although it¡¯s unfortunate you obtained a hell snake, it¡¯s also your fortune. Right now, your soul and soul sense completely exceeds a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator¡¯s.

    ¡°You¡¯ve experienced how it feels, so of course you know it isn¡¯t easy. However, you¡¯re not the only one with such resolve. Throughout history, there have been countless people with great willpower. Your master happens to be one of them.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi was confused. To her, Gu Yanying was blessed by the heavens. She was born with everything. All she had to do was open her mouth, and she would obtain any resource or cultivation method that she wanted. Having inherited half of the Hawk God¡¯s bloodline, her talent was already startling. As long as she cultivated step by step, overcoming the third heavenly tribulation would not be too difficult for her.

    Why did she have to practise a self-mutilating cultivation method like this? Once she drew the power of hell into her body, it would basically erode away all the pleasures of life even if she could endure it, yet she still managed to smile most of the time.

    ¡°Because this cultivation method is powerful enough!¡± Gu Yanying gazed at the sky. Her sharp gaze seemed to reach an extremely high place. ¡°The hawk wants to fly high. Apart from its own strength, how can I give up on this gust of powerful wind?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi gazed at her beautiful face and finally felt a shred of respect towards this ¡°master¡± she had obtained so strangely. She said calmly, ¡°Commander Gu, you clearly know I¡¯m not a kindhearted or docile person, so why do you still want me as your disciple? Is it just to amuse yourself?¡±

    All acting and disguises were useless before this woman. Since she already knew about her past, she might as well just lay it bare and directly get to the bottom of this.

    Gu Yanying lowered her head and tapped her folding fan on Qian Rongzhi¡¯s head gently. ¡°Why have you stopped calling me master?¡±

    It brought Qian Rongzhi great discomfort. Those who knew her true colours either feared her like snakes and scorpions or despised and detested her. Why would she behave with such intimacy? For a moment, she had no idea how to face her. All she could do was say obediently, ¡°Master.¡±

    Gu Yanying said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t hate you. As a cultivator, you are more qualified than most people I¡¯ve seen. Just this aspect alone earns you the right to be my disciple. And, you do bring me a lot of amusement.¡±

    ¡°Then all I can do is serve as master¡¯s amusement.¡± Qian Rongzhi thought to herself, Everyone who dares to amuse themselves with me is dead.

    ¡°From the perspective of a human, you¡¯ve killed your parents and your siblings. You¡¯ve already committed all great sins, but you¡¯re still missing one, which is killing your master. If the opportunity ever presents itself in the future, you¡¯re welcome to try!¡±

    Gu Yanying patted Qian Rongzhi¡¯s shoulder with a smile. Within her large, round eyes, she seemed to be already imagining the scene of her baring her fangs at her when her feathers had grown out fully. By then, would the hawk devour the snake, or would the snake rip the hawk to pieces?

    When others accepted a disciple, they were tempted to make their disciple swear a stern oath to show eternal loyalty, but she did the exact opposite. Danger to her was a crucial part to the game. The White Lotus Mother had been expelled from her domain a long time ago, while Northmoon who was supposed to pose the greatest threat to her had instead become an important ally.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled as meekly as she could. ¡°I¡¯ll just do whatever I can to fulfil master¡¯s request.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled extremely widely. ¡°Logically speaking, I need to give you a gift since you¡¯ve become my disciple, but this gift isn¡¯t particularly easy to obtain, so I need to prepare a little.¡±

    As a result, a few days later, still in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, Gu Yanying took out the gift she had prepared. ¡°My disciple, look at what this is.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi trembled, and all her hairs stood on end. Gu Yanying had taken out several dozen hell snakes sealed in amber. Even though she personally believed she could already withstand the pain of venomous snakes biting away at her, the consequences of becoming entangled with all these venomous snakes were still unimaginable.

    She could only grit her teeth and say reluctantly, ¡°Thank you for your great kindness, master!¡±

    ¡°It really hasn¡¯t been easy for your master to find so many hell snakes for you. Try it out quick.¡±

    Gu Yanying said with an eager gaze. Her smile possessed the naivety of a child¡¯s, which made Qian Rongzhi shiver even more. She actually wanted Qian Rongzhi to accept the several dozen snakes into her body at once, not one by one in an orderly manner.

    Qian Rongzhi was unable to turn her down. The moment before her mind became completely governed by pain, she heard Gu Yanying say, ¡°If you can survive, I¡¯ll teach you the Illustrations of Naraka.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi woke up, only to discover that Li Qingshan was no longer by her side. She could not help but feel like she had lost something. Putting on her clothes and getting out of bed, she arrived outside the dwelling. Gazing into the distance, he currently stood within the small lake between the mountains.

    The surface of the lake had become as smooth as a mirror, without the slightest ripple.

    Han Qiongzhi tidied her clothes and arrived by the lake. ¡°What are you doing so early in the morning?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°So early in the morning? You¡¯ve slept for an entire day.¡± A scarlet smear swept past the bottom of the lake below his feet. He split his focus to control his clone, erasing all of his aura as he swam towards the entrance of the lake. With Han Qiongzhi¡¯s cultivation, she obviously struggled to notice this.

    Han Qiongzhi glanced at the sky, and only then did she realise the sky was already glowing with the rosy colour of dusk. When she remembered their entanglement last night, she could not help but redden slightly. She had truly used up every bit of strength in her. It was not only because of the desire she had built up over these years, but also because of the worry and unease she was unable to put into words.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You seem all distracted. Are you still thinking about those pessimistic words your father said? Weren¡¯t you very energetic last night?¡± Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms gently and smiled lovingly.

    At the same time, his clone left the small lake and accelerated, entering a large river very soon. This was one of the water regions Li Qingshan had already refined. The Water God Seal glowed brilliantly, connecting with all the water again.

    His mirror clone did not stay put at all. Instead, he accelerated again, swimming in the direction of the Clear River prefecture. Having been gone for so long, he wondered how the night roamers under his command were doing. He wondered if the sisters Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo were doing well.

    When he thought about the intimate contact he had with them in the past, he felt like it had already become an extremely distant matter. Of course, this was not actually a long time ago at all to cultivators.

    Although he had also once fallen in love, he would only focus on the thing right before him once he left. Rarely did he ever have time to reminisce about the past.

    Like what Ma Buyi had said, a person¡¯s energy would always be limited. He spent most of his time with his head buried in cultivation or gazing up at the Nine Heavens. He could not become overly distracted by matters of love.

    ¡°You went too far last night!¡± Han Qiongzhi rebuked and randomly pinched Li Qingshan¡¯s waist. Towards the end of the ravishing pleasure last night, she had become completely submerged in the sea of desire, allowing him to do whatever he wanted.

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°You can¡¯t satisfy your husband, so don¡¯t blame him for finding someone else!¡± Through the entanglement last night, he had yet to release all of his desires, so now that he embraced her, it roused his desires again. A certain part of his body immediately responded.

    Li Qingshan originally thought she would lose her temper like she did in the past and make him swear he would never have a second woman in his life. However, he never thought she would push him again. ¡°Then go find some pleasure in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain by yourself. Don¡¯t come and bother me. I don¡¯t have the spare time to do something like that with you. You saved the great boss Qiu of the parlour, so she¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s free. You can pick the disciples from her sect as you please. Who knows, she might even accompany you personally!¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea that as soon as the period of watching over the grave of Han Anguo ended, Han Anjun had forcefully ordered Han Tieyi to openly take on concubines. Because it was not a formal marriage, it did not really defy the rule of three years of mourning. He could procreate as much as possible and extend the Han family¡¯s lineage.

    Li Qingshan instead became rather embarrassed. ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I had only lost my temper in the moment. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m actually interested in her or anything.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, men!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face was filled with doubt.

    Li Qingshan began to daydream. Qiu Haitang was definitely a stunner. If she insisted on pledging herself to him in order to pay him back for his kindness, it would probably be very difficult for him to turn her down. However, when it came to matters like this, he had to admit that the Spider Queen was definitely the one who proceeded the most smoothly and left him the most satisfied.

    Right as his thoughts ran amok, he received a punch in the gut from Han Qiongzhi. Li Qingshan put on a painful expression obediently before lingering for a few more days in Han Qiongzhi¡¯s dwelling. After deciding when they would meet up again, he returned to the Clear River prefecture in search of a certain person.

    This person was also endowed with startling talent, understanding the nature of water extremely well, and she had probably even grown up in water.

 Chapter 605 â€“ Chu Tian

    Turning around, he returned to his dwelling. As he gazed at the words ¡°Qing Xiao¡±, he could not help but sigh. ¡°I wonder how Xiao An is doing in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    Although he had already returned to the Clear River prefecture, part of his mind was left at the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. When he recalled the past and contemplated the days to come, his mind became filled with an array of thoughts for a moment, unable to control his emotions.

    He exhaled deeply and dismissed all his thoughts and feelings. Right now, she must be working hard towards her breakthrough to the second heavenly tribulation. They would probably meet again before long. He also had to focus on cultivation. He could not allow her to surpass him.

    Without entering the dwelling, he turned around and made his way towards the academy. Rising up on a cloud, he arrived above the Lake of Dragons and Snakes in the blink of an eye. As he gazed at the rippling light, it brought him great ease, as he had already refined the Lake of Dragons and Snakes. All the regions of water here were like home to him.

    He stood in the air, raising his head slightly and closing his eyes. The rivers and lakes all appeared in his head. The bodies of water he had refined were all like an extension of his blood vessels. He could sense their existence; they wrapped around him gently, enveloping him.

    When he opened his eyes again, they became filled with confidence. This is what I¡¯ve established through a decade of fighting. My time hasn¡¯t gone to waste.

    With this as a foundation, he could definitely comprehend the true meaning of water and climb to a higher level with his cultivation.

    The cloud dispersed, and he leapt down. He moved faster and faster, the lake filling his vision as the wind whistled past his ears. The sight before him distorted; he had already passed through the Formation of Dragons and Snakes in the blink of an eye. He determined the location of the school of Medicine¡¯s Benevolence island and unleashed the Wave Treading Form several times. In merely a few steps, he landed gently on the tallest structure in the centre of the island.

    A group of disciples from the school of Medicine all raised their heads and looked at him. Admiration filled their eyes. Most of them had joined the Academy of the Hundred Schools even earlier than Li Qingshan. It could be said that they had personally witnessed how this unlucky disciple of the school of Novels underwent a meteoric rise and climbed to the position of Scarlet Hawk commander.

    ¡°Commander Li, are you looking for senior sister Ru Xin?¡± a young medical disciple asked.

    ¡°Senior sister Ru Xin is currently studying some medical classics with master Hua Ci. They¡¯re preparing for the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. No one is allowed to disturb them, so you might have to wait a while, commander. I¡¯ll go make you some tea.¡± The medical disciple bowed in a hurry.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unable to sense Ru Xin¡¯s aura. She must have been in a formation. However, when he wrinkled his nose, he immediately caught her scent drifting through the air, and he strode away.

    The medical disciple wanted to say something else, but in the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had already vanished. He made his way around a fake mountain, passed through a park, and arrived behind the main hall, in front of a stone door.

    Sensing the obstruction of a formation, Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Ru Xin, are you in there? There¡¯s something I want to discuss with you.¡± Meanwhile, he thought, Medical classics aren¡¯t even that urgent. I¡¯m giving you a mid grade arcane artifact alchemy cauldron, so why don¡¯t you hurry up and receive me on your knees?

    There was no reply even after a while. Right when Li Qingshan grew impatient, the stone door suddenly opened. He stepped in, and the door slammed closed again.

    Before him was a long passageway. Milky-white light hovered on the walls, illuminating the utmost of details.

    Li Qingshan followed the passageway all the way to the end and saw a spacious room. Books filled the numerous bookshelves, while the glass containers all held strange organs.

    However, none of this managed to draw away Li Qingshan¡¯s attention. All of his focus right now was on Ru Xin, no, the naked man behind Ru Xin.

    The man was roughly in his twenties. His appearance was nothing special, and his stature could be regarded as sturdy.

    Li Qingshan exclaimed, ¡°Chu Tian!¡±

    Indeed, the man was Chu Tian. His eyes were shut, and he did not move at all. It was like he was dead already. He was submerged in a large glass container, completely bare. A light-blue fluid filled the container, which Li Qingshan found slightly familiar.

    A string of bubbles appeared in the container. The exterior was covered in inscriptions, reaching all the way to the ground. It was a huge formation.

    Apart from Ru Xin, there was a dark-skinned, old man standing in the room as well, the original leader of the school of Medicine, Hua Ci. He currently frowned as he stared at Chu Tian in the container as if he had failed to sense Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival at all.

    Ru Xin exhaled gently and made her way over to Li Qingshan. She seemed slightly exhausted. A gentle smile appeared on her face. From her outer appearance alone, she was truly the best representation of ¡°as gentle as water¡±, but Li Qingshan knew this was merely a false impression.

    Ru Xin studied Li Qingshan from head to toe first before asking in complete surprise, ¡°You¡¯re still alive?¡±

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°I¡¯m alive and healthy!¡±

    Ru Xin said with plenty of pity, ¡°The insight of the old monks from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga truly isn¡¯t that special then! I¡¯d thought you¡¯d be purged!¡±

    ¡°Even if I die, I¡¯ll pull you down with me!¡±

    ¡°Even though you¡¯re so infatuated with me, I can¡¯t accept it because- because- I¡¯ve already seen the body of another man!¡± Ru Xin¡¯s eyes glistened as if she was extremely touched before turning her head away sorrowfully in the end.

    At that moment, Li Qingshan felt like he had lost control over all the muscles in his face. He had no idea what expression to make, and his urge to choke her to death bloomed once again. He sucked in a deep breath and asked, ¡°Just what is going on here?¡±

    He had always thought Qian Rongzhi had already sucked Chu Tian dry, but it seemed he still had a breath in him.

    Ru Xin laid out her hands helplessly. ¡°Master said that since he¡¯s on Benevolence island, he¡¯s a patient of the school of Medicine. We have to uphold our responsibilities to the very end.¡±

    The two of them walked over together. Li Qingshan asked in wonder, ¡°It¡¯s just healing the sick, so why¡¯re you doing this all so secretively?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re obviously afraid of trouble from a certain person. She¡¯s already great commander Gu¡¯s esteemed disciple now. There¡¯s a great future ahead of her. If she learns there¡¯s still a possibility for Chu Tian to be cured, she¡¯ll definitely pay him a visit.¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed very much with what she said. With what that woman was capable of now, even if Chu Tian were alive and kicking, he probably was not her opponent, let alone when he was half-dead. He could not help but walk towards Chu Tian. ¡°Have you always been trying to save him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we tried many ideas.¡±

    ¡°Spending so much effort to save an idiot really isn¡¯t worth it.¡±

    ¡°You can treat it as studying medicine for us! And if he truly can awaken, he might not necessarily be an idiot. He might even become smarter than you all of a sudden. Have you noticed what the liquid in there is? Don¡¯t you find it a little familiar?¡±

    ¡°This is¡­ the Water of Recollection! You¡¯re trying to make him recover the memories of his past life?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly remembered what it was. He had quite a deep impression of the function of the Water of Recollection. ¡°But is it really that effective?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we increased the dosage, but it¡¯s probably still useless. I¡¯ve checked many books. There have been many incidents of celestials recovering their past memories, but that¡¯s only when their cultivation reached a certain level. I¡¯m only doing what I can and hoping for the best. It might end up working. Who knows.¡±

    ¡°His mind has completely collapsed anyway. If he can¡¯t find his past memories, then even if he awakens again, he¡¯ll be like what you said, a complete idiot or an imbecile, the type that doesn¡¯t even know how to handle his bodily instincts and functions.¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and asked, ¡°Can it work?¡±

    Ru Xin shook her head. ¡°Who knows! Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll talk outside.¡± Without even notifying Hua Ci, she told Li Qingshan that and made her way out.

    Li Qingshan gazed at Chu Tian for a while longer. He waved his hand to bid farewell, about to turn around and leave.

    Chu Tian¡¯s eyes suddenly snapped open, staring straight at Li Qingshan. His gaze was so stubborn, completely fixed on him.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Hey, hey! He¡¯s awakened!¡±

    Ru Xin had already entered the passageway. She said without even looking back, ¡°This is merely a momentary reflex of his muscles. Let¡¯s go. Stop dilly-dallying.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked closely. Chu Tian¡¯s gaze was blank and hollow, and his eyes closed up slowly again a while later.

    He could not help but curl his lip and say to him with his soul sense, ¡°You might have offended me a lot, and you well and truly deserved it to be reduced to such a state. However, I still hope you can come back to life. Hehe, I¡¯m such a good person. Looks like I¡¯ve already understood some of the true meaning of being ¡®good-nature like water¡¯.¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and caught up with Ru Xin, but unbeknownst to him, the voice expanded through the depths of Chu Tian¡¯s sea of consciousness, kicking up a ripple in a pool of stagnant water.

    Hua Ci and Ru Xin had also tried this method numerous times in the past to awaken Chu Tian, but it had never achieved anything. Li Qingshan¡¯s soul sense was so powerful that even Golden Core cultivators paled in comparison. Ru Xin and Hua Ci¡¯s soul senses were far inferior.

    Hua Ci gazed at Chu Tian for a while longer before shaking his head. He had basically done everything he was capable of already. Although the school of Medicine had even more methods, this was all he could do with his current cultivation. He was not a stubborn old man who had to save Chu Tian no matter what. Just like how doctors could not cure death, he could only do his best.

    The room dimmed down, and Hua Ci made his way to the entrance too. The milky-white lights on the two sides of the passageway gradually dimmed with his footsteps.

    In the end, only the glass container of Water of Recollection remained behind, shining with a dim, blue light. Chu Tian was submerged there, without moving at all, just like before.

    Of course, Hua Ci still did not know that the treatment they had persisted with for all this time was not all useless.

    Li Qingshan arrived in Ru Xin¡¯s alchemy room with her and took out the Jade Melting cauldron, tossing it at her. ¡°Here!¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. As someone skilled in alchemy, a cauldron like that was basically something she could only dream of.

    ¡°This is the Jade Melting cauldron!¡±

    ¡°How did you know? Oh, you must have visited the Arsenal of Arms in the commandery city too!¡±

    Li Qingshan remembered that the Arsenal of Arms was only a store, and the Jade Melting cauldron had originally been one of their products for sale.

    Ru Xin was extremely skilled in alchemy. In order to increase her efficiency, she had obviously spent plenty of time examining the various alchemy cauldrons available on the market. The Jade Melting cauldron was the best cauldron she could find, but it was far too expensive.

    Although she had helped Li Qingshan refine pills and accumulated a sum of resources over the years, these renowned and precious pills could not be sold off so easily either. In particular, most of their original materials were spiritual herbs from underground, which made her even more afraid to sell them en-masse.

    She fiddled around with the Jade Melting cauldron in surprise and joy. ¡°You¡¯re giving this to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m only taking it out to show you. I¡¯ll be taking it back afterwards.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Ru Xin ignored what he said and revealed a happy smile like a child. Just like that, Li Qingshan felt it had all been worth it. He smiled. ¡°As long as you like it!¡±

    Ru Xin stared at Li Qingshan. She controlled her turbulent emotions and seriously contemplated her next words.

    ¡°Filial piety¡­ can truly even touch the heavens!¡±

 Chapter 606 â€“ Planning and Preparing

    Li Qingshan cursed aloud, extending his hand to take back the Jade Melting cauldron. How dare you take advantage of me even at a time like this.

    Ru Xin turned around and coughed twice, speaking with an old, hoarse voice, ¡°My dear son, your mum¡¯s headache feels much better with the bit of filial concern you¡¯ve shown.¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed her shoulder. There was a flash of light near her shoulder, and it gave off a pliable, soft blue glow. He was unable to grab her firmly, his hand sliding off.

    Ru Xin¡¯s feet slid away, moving seven or eight steps away from him. She rebuked loudly, ¡°You¡¯ve given it away already, and you¡¯re still trying to take it back! Is this what a proper man would do?¡±

    ¡°Whether I¡¯m a proper man or not is not for you to decide.¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand. The centre of his palm glowed with light, expanding like a vortex and producing a great suction force.

    Ru Xin swayed towards him. She grabbed the Jade Melting cauldron in one hand and casually swung the other backwards. A band of blue light also flew towards the centre of the swirl, and it collapsed immediately.

    Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Alright! Then watch this!¡±

    Within the narrow space, the two of them moved about, unleashing various techniques.

    Li Qingshan completely unleashed everything he had comprehended about water during the past few days. He used the water spiritual energy to conjure a myriad of things. Whether it was entanglement or powerful attacks, Ru Xin ingeniously nullified them all one by one. The bottles and jars in the room remained untouched.

    Of course, this was also because Li Qingshan had not used his full strength. This was not a spar. He only wanted to see Ru Xin¡¯s comprehension of and capabilities with water. Sure enough, Li Qingshan was not disappointed. If she assumed her Merfolk form, she would probably be even more skilled.

    The two of them scrambled around the alchemy room for a while, but in the end, Li Qingshan¡¯s reactions were still a little faster. He managed to trap her. In order to prevent her from escaping, an arm wrapped around in front of her, while the other reached towards the Jade Melting cauldron. He laughed. ¡°I¡¯d like to see where else you can escape to!¡±

    Suddenly, Ru Xin called out for him to stop, which stunned Li Qingshan. He discovered that they were currently a little too intimate. With his hand around her, it was as if she was leaning against him in his embrace. Her black hair drifted about like clouds as her slender, beautiful nape seemed like it was made out of jade. All of it was inches away.

    Li Qingshan wrinkled his nose and caught the heavy fragrance of medicine, together with an indescribable, faint scent.

    Ru Xin asked with a smile, ¡°Does it smell good?¡±

    Ru Xin used her slender fingers to tidy her black hair. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve become carried away by lust, making you second-doubt yourself now that you¡¯ve seen someone else, wanting the new after having grown tired of the old, wanting to be faithless? You want to let down the first young miss of the Han family!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Definitely not. I never second-doubt myself when I see someone else, nor do I grow tired of the old when I want the new. Although I do get a little carried away by lust, I¡¯m not exactly faithless. In around another three years is the day of our marriage. I¡¯ll definitely send you an invitation when that time comes around.¡±

    The smile on Ru Xin¡¯s face faded slightly as she gazed at Li Qingshan with her eyes that were as gentle as water. Li Qingshan felt like something had changed in there, but he was unable to grasp it.

    Ru Xin asked, ¡°Will that be fine?¡±

    ¡°What fine?¡± Li Qingshan was confused.

    ¡°Nothing. Well, you¡¯ve given away your alchemy cauldron, you¡¯ve taken advantage of me, so it¡¯s also about time you left.¡± Ru Xin waved her hand like she was driving away sheep.

    ¡°You want to chase me away right after benefiting? And who¡¯s taken advantage of who! I still have something else I need your assistance with.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I want to deepen my comprehension of water.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t your comprehension much greater than mine?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s merely using brute force through my talent. In terms of actual comprehension, I¡¯m nowhere close to you.¡±

    After several days of consideration, Li Qingshan understood why he still lacked a comprehension of water despite reaching the fourth layer of the spirit turtle. That was because the talent that the spirit turtle had brought was far too powerful. He could control water as easily as controlling his own limbs and fingers.

    It was exactly because everything had come too easily that he lost the desire to explore it. He spent most of his time and effort on how to refine even more regions of water so that he could increase his strength.

    Instead, it was those regular cultivators who possessed insufficient talent that were forced to constantly refine their understanding and comprehend diligently. This could also be regarded as a trade-off, but he believed making up for what he paid as the price would not be difficult.

    Ru Xin glanced at the Jade Melting cauldron in her hand. ¡°Alright, for the sake of the filial love you¡¯ve shown me.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m going to choke you to death in person sooner or later.¡±

    At this exact moment, Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s calls rang out from outside the alchemy room. ¡°Qingshan, are you in there? If you are, please answer. There¡¯s something I want to discuss with you.¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°It¡¯s probably related to the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. You better go. I¡¯ll refine the Jade Melting cauldron for now. Once you¡¯ve handled all your matters, we can find a suitable place to cultivate.¡±

    ¡°Can you stop being so strange? Forget it, I¡¯m going!¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered. When she decided to be gentle, her voice, tone, and expression would all be as gentle as they could get. It could basically melt people¡¯s hearts. However, having grown accustomed to her foul mouth, he felt very unaccustomed to when she behaved like this.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°My good son, you better piss off!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a bitter smile. He had truly asked for that this time.

    Watching Li Qingshan leave, Ru Xin sat down and began refining the Jade Melting cauldron, but she was unable to find peace mentally. She murmured, ¡°Is this fine?¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived outside the door and discovered it was not only Liu Chuanfeng who had been waiting here all this time. Sun Fubai stood to one side cheerfully with a radiant vigour.

    ¡°Fubai, you¡¯ve reached Foundation Establishment! Congratulations, congratulations!¡± Li Qingshan paced over and congratulated him.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your assistance, Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°May I ask why all of you are looking for me?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile.

    Li Qingshan looked around and saw Liu Zhangqing, Hua Chengzan, Chu Danqing, Han Tieyi, and so on.

    When Li Qingshan descended from the sky, the entire academy learnt that he had returned. He was no longer the insignificant minor figure of the past anymore. As a matter of fact, many matters had to involve him.

    Hua Chengzan had come so that he could handle the matters of the Hawkwolf Guard. As the vice commander, he could handle affairs in his place, but there were still many matters that required his decision as the commander.

    Liu Zhangqing had come to discuss the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures with him. This was something major that had to do with the glory of the Clear River prefecture, so he had to be involved as the Scarlet Hawk commander.

    A great group of Foundation Establishment cultivators huddled around him, wanting to pull him aside first to discuss important matters. There was also Han Tieyi who remained silent and Chu Danqing who faltered, as well as a few familiar faces standing in the distance, which included Hao Pingyang, Li Long, and so on. Clearly, their cultivations were too low, so they were too afraid to gather over and stand with these school leaders.

    Li Qingshan shook his head inside. Sure enough, he had a lot of matters he had to deal with during his return this time. He said after some thought, ¡°How about this, everyone? I¡¯ll return to the Cloudwisp island first, and then I¡¯ll visit you individually.¡± He greeted Hao Pingyang and everyone else in the distance with a nod.

    Liu Chuanfeng felt utterly honoured. He felt like Li Qingshan truly had a kind heart and a strong sense of personal loyalty.

    Returning to Cloudwisp island, bamboo still covered it, but the pathway was completely clean. As they approached the bamboo loft, they heard the murmur of people. The school of Novels had gained many more disciples again, becoming much more likely. It was no longer as desolate as in the past.

    Sun Fubai recalled the past and could not help but sigh a little. They had gone from the miserable circumstance where they had no disciples and even their school leader was a Qi Practitioner to three Foundation Establishment cultivators present in the school. Even the disciples began accumulating. The situations were basically worlds apart.

    ¡°This is all because of you, Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I only came up with a few ideas. You had a hand in this too with your skillful management.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°We¡¯re going to hold the entrance examination soon. We¡¯ll rope in a few more disciples then, and it¡¯ll probably be even more lively.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Really? I feel like it has already been so long since the last entrance examination.¡±

    Because of the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s death, Liu Zhangqing had to continue with his role of prefect at the end of the day. Under his control, the various schools banded together and reorganised the entire prefecture.

    The school of Mohism repaired those damaged cities, rebuilding the homes of common folk. The disciples of confucianism took on roles of district magistrates, restoring order and governance. The schools of Legalism and the Military worked together to strengthen their suppression of active bandits.

    The school of Agriculture passed out various seeds. These seeds had all been rinsed in spiritual qi, so their first harvest yield would be extremely startling. They also sent out disciples of agriculture to help with the farming and pass out grain to ensure that no one would starve.

    The Clear River prefecture walked out of the shadow of war. The common folk all recovered their peace and quiet, so Liu Zhangqing wanted to restart the entrance examinations and accept disciples from abroad so that they could replenish the forces they had lost through the war.

    Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Yeah. We have to take it up a notch with the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time. That¡¯s the only way for us to accept even more disciples in the upcoming entrance examination.¡±

    ¡°How will these exhibition matches work?¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°The various schools will first separate and compete in their respective fields. The school of the Military will perform military formations, the school of Music will compete with music, and so on. As for our school of Novels, it¡¯ll obviously be our ability to turn fiction into reality. The main competition comes after.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How powerful are the school of Novels from other prefectures?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng sighed heavily. ¡°Originally, they were basically the same as us in the past. They were all pitiful. Some prefectures didn¡¯t even have formal school leaders. If it had not been one of the ten standard schools the founding emperor designated, we would have been abolished a long time ago. But in recent years, they¡¯ve copied our idea, and their situation improved as well.¡±

    ¡°On the other hand, the Clear River prefecture had been at war for several years, so instead of developing, the Cloudwisp association shrunk. I really can¡¯t say that victory is guaranteed for us this time around.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You can call this bringing prosperity to one, bringing prosperity to all. It¡¯s not necessarily bad if the school of Novels can restore its reputation.¡±

    Sun Fubai said, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve already contacted the various prefectures. We want to establish an association that spans the entire Ruyi commandery. The larger of an audience we have, the closer to the limit we can push the power of the school of Novels. They¡¯re quite interested too. As a result, the battle has become even more important. It¡¯s not only for the entrance exam. It¡¯ll also determine which prefecture can occupy the dominant position.¡±

    With the books Li Qingshan had plagiarised so far, if he could publish them across the entire Ruyi commandery, the rate at which he gathered the power of belief would definitely multiply. Because of the war, the population of the Clear River prefecture had fallen drastically, while the eight other prefectures were not particularly affected. It was an extremely vast market.

    But thinking about it the other way, the schools of Novels in other prefectures must also want to expand their influence. By then, just publishing whose work first would be an issue. If this was handled badly, it could lead to a dispute, so the dominant position was relatively important.

    As they spoke, the three of them arrived before the bamboo loft. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go in and properly plan and prepare!¡±

 Chapter 607 â€“ The Secret of the Painting Tomb

    ¡°Danqing, what have you encountered that has made you so anxious?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from behind. Chu Danqing turned around in joy, only to see Li Qingshan stride into the room and sit down before the window without holding back, leaning against the small table.

    He discussed with Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai for a while and came up with a few ideas before leaving Cloudwisp island. He understood his strengths and weaknesses very well. In terms of attachment to and understanding of the school of Novels, he paled in comparison to Liu Chuanfeng. In terms of meticulousness and dealing with matters, he paled in comparison to Sun Fubai. He would not be of much help even if he stayed behind, so he was better off dealing with all these matters before learning about water from Ru Xin.

    ¡°If you require me to fight anywhere, I can guarantee victory. As for everything else, I¡¯ll leave it all to you.¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan bade farewell and took his leave, visiting the school of Painting that was relatively closer first.

    ¡°Qingshan, your cultivation has progressed yet again!¡±

    Chu Danqing sighed as he sat down on the other side of the table. He wanted to pour some tea, but Li Qingshan had already picked up the teapot, pouring a cup for himself before downing it all. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s been a while. You¡¯ve picked up on these civilities.¡±

    He could still vividly recall Chu Danqing¡¯s tactlessness when he first met him. Now that he had been through matters of the world, his innocence and gullibility had faded away. In particular, with how his eyebrows were pinched in worry, he seemed much more mature.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t civilities. Your cultivation¡­ Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about this for now. I have¡­ Sigh, I really don¡¯t know where to start.¡± Chu Danqing had originally made up his mind about asking Li Qingshan for help, but he had never asked for assistance before, so he had no idea how to mention it to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile receded. He placed the teacup on the table. ¡°I still haven¡¯t forgotten the kindness that master Chu has shown me. If you have any difficulties you need my help with, just mention it. I won¡¯t object at all. Honestly, what I hate the most is never forgetting about the great kindness someone has shown me, let alone clinging onto favours owed even until death. It feels horrible to be in debt to someone. I¡¯d prefer paying back their kindness straightforwardly.¡±

    Chu Danqing ruminated for a while. ¡°You know that my master had more than just me as his disciple¡­¡±

    As it turned out, Chu Shidao had many more disciples other than Chu Danqing. There were three who were the most outstanding, all having undergone the first heavenly tribulation and reached Foundation Establishment.

    But ever since then, they set up their own schools and sects. They personally believed they had already obtained Chu Shidao¡¯s true legacy, so they no longer treated Chu Shidao with much courtesy. As a matter of fact, they became envious of Chu Shidao¡¯s reputation and status, so they secretly brought up misdeeds of the past and spread rumors.

    Chu Shidao was dispirited. He refused to argue with his disciples, which was why he retired deep into the mountains, taking on Chu Shidao as his last disciple and diligently guiding him to adulthood.

    Li Qingshan slapped his thigh. ¡°If I were to meet such ungrateful scum, I¡¯ll definitely turn them into pulpy scum for real!¡±

    ¡°For real?¡± Chu Danqing was unable to understand what Li Qingshan was implying. He had no idea that Li Qingshan could crush people into pulp.

    ¡°Keep going. Since you don¡¯t have any contact with them anymore, what¡¯s it got to do with them?¡±

    ¡°A few days ago, they suddenly came and visited master¡¯s grave. I thought they had finally realised their errors and decided to change, but I never thought they would begin discussing how to split up master¡¯s estate afterwards. They hadn¡¯t even participated in master¡¯s funeral!¡± Chu Danqing was extremely furious.

    When Chu Shidao was buried, the war between the humans and daemons still raged. No cultivators were bold enough to enter a place as dangerous as the Clear River prefecture. Now that the situation had gradually settled down, the people that needed to come obviously came.

    Li Qingshan nodded. Chu Shidao¡¯s primary estate was obviously paintings. Any single painting from him could be used as a spiritual artifact, and some of his finer works were even equivalent to arcane artifacts in power. Importantly, they did not have a particularly high demand on the cultivator¡¯s strength and cultivation.

    For example, the Heavenly Maiden Scatters the Blossoms Li Qingshan had won, even Qi Practitioners could use it and summon out the heavenly maiden, yet it could rival the power of Foundation Establishment cultivators, which made it worth even more than regular arcane artifacts. With property like that up for grabs, it was no wonder that Chu Danqing¡¯s senior brothers and sisters would become restless.

    Chu Danqing took out an invitation card created from ink. ¡°I managed to evade this situation that day, but I really won¡¯t be able to evade it this time.¡±

    Li Qingshan took the invitation card and studied it. An ink-black carp suddenly became alarmed and swam around. He said in confusion, ¡°Do they really deserve a piece of the estate just because they asked for it? And, you¡¯re in the Clear River prefecture, so with the support of prefect Liu and other fellow cultivators, where would the three of them find the courage to touch you? Why must you be so worried?¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°This is a matter between my seniors and I. It has never been a matter where outsiders should become involved in. Qingshan, you might not be a part of the school of Painting, but my master trusted you very much. Sigh, my three seniors are all people with a certain level of status identity now, so they would never stoop to the level of fighting if it were only for these paintings. However, this is connected to a secret treasure too. If I insist on ignoring them, it¡¯ll lead to great trouble if they divulge the secret out of anger.¡±

    Li Qingshan became curious. ¡°What secret treasure?¡±

    Chu Danqing sucked in a deep breath. ¡°The secret of the Painting Tomb!¡±

    ¡°Painting Tomb?¡±

    ¡°In the past, the Five Absolutes Immortal left behind everything he had learnt in the five absolute tombs of the sword, zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting for people who were destined to find them. This is an extremely-widespread legend across the nine provinces. Actually, you can¡¯t even call it a legend anymore, as fortunate cultivators will enter one of the tombs and obtain a legacy every few decades or centuries, allowing them to rise up meteorically.¡±

    Anticipation filled Chu Danqing¡¯s eyes, but it was not exactly for a meteoric rise. It was rumored that the only reason the school of Painting could survive until now was because of the Five Absolutes Immortal. As a disciple of the school of Painting, it would be his great fortune to see one of his paintings.

    As soon as Li Qingshan heard Chu Danqing mention this person, he gathered his focus. Even the murals in the grand hall of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were by him, which made it evident how powerful he was in the past. The legacies he left behind would basically be priceless. Even his heart skipped a beat when he heard about it.

    ¡°In other words, you know where the Painting Tomb is?¡±

    Chu Danqing shook his head. ¡°No one knows where it is. Actually, the five absolute tombs don¡¯t exist in this world, or they would have been thoroughly explored and emptied out a long time ago. Why would we ever get a chance?¡±

    ¡°Rumor has it that the five absolute tombs each have a space of their own, drifting through the nine provinces. No one knows where they are, nor does anyone know how to enter them. Even those great masters past the third heavenly tribulation cannot force their way in. They can only rely on their luck. Even if cultivators are fortunate enough to enter the place, they¡¯ll often only catch a glimpse of the entire place before being teleported out.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°In other words, master Chu found some clues as well?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re merely some groundless clues, yet they somehow managed to reach my three seniors¡¯ ears. If I knew where the Painting Tomb was, I would have entered the place and accepted a legacy a long time ago. Would they still be able to trouble me?¡±

    Chu Danqing smiled bitterly, but Li Qingshan noticed that his expression was rather unnatural. Clearly, he was not telling the truth. This definitely was not everything Chu Danqing knew about the Painting Tomb. However, he soon came to a realisation.

    This was connected to such a great sum of wealth, so great that even brothers connected by blood would be willing to turn against one another. He was not close to Chu Danqing at all, so caution was essential. He only had to help him deal with his seniors, and that would basically be paying back Chu Shidao. He had no need to worry about anything else.

    Right as he thought like that, Chu Danqing¡¯s voice directly rang out in his mind, communicating with him through soul sense. ¡°Actually, I know when and where the Painting Tomb will appear next, as well as the method to enter. I¡¯m only afraid they¡¯re eavesdropping somehow, so I specially said that to mislead them.¡±

    Li Qinsghan could not help but laugh. Would you call that being sharp-witted or honest? He felt much better inside, and he also used his soul sense. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll turn against you when the opportunity arrives and steal your legacy?¡±

    ¡°Master said you¡¯re heartless and cruel, but not someone who forgoes friendship in the face of benefits. And, the Painting Tomb is large enough. By then, we might be able to enter together and take a look, but I can¡¯t guarantee that.¡± Chu Danqing laughed, bearing some resemblance to his innocence of the past. He also seemed even more honest.

    Li Qingshan slammed the invitation card against the table. ¡°Since they want a discussion, then let¡¯s discuss with them!¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°Even if I die, I won¡¯t let them have this!¡±

    Li Qingshan left the school of Painting. After a moment of consideration, he visited the school of Legalism and saw Hua Chengzan.

    Hua Chengzan remembered Li Qingshan¡¯s other identity, Northmoon, as soon as he saw him. However, he also remembered how he had saved his life, as well as how the Clear River prefecture would have never returned to peace if it were not for him. And, he had saved Qiu Haitang in the marquis¡¯ estate a few days ago.

    With the kindness he had shown, even if Hua Chengzan had to pay him back with his life, it would be worth it. He secretly made up his mind to tell no one about this.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve finally come! Let¡¯s go to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain!¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯re we going to the parlour?¡±

    ¡°Haitang told me to contact her as soon as you got back. She¡¯s holding a banquet to thank you in the parlour.¡±

    Sigh, so it¡¯s only a formal thank-you in other words. Those stories about pledging yourself to your savior are all a lie!

    Li Qingshan lamented inside, but it was only a man¡¯s daydream at the end of the day, so he did not truly feel any disappointment. He smiled. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then let¡¯s invite a few more people and have a good time!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan invited Hao Pingyang, Li Long, and so on to the banquet. Apart from Han Tieyi, everyone attended the banquet happily.

    Hua Chenglu learnt about it and grumbled about going, so Li Qingshan obviously invited her along. Upon considering how he had never handled any matters nor was he close with his subordinates despite being a commander, he simply invited along all the Hawkwolf guards in Clear River city.

    As a result, it became quite an event. Even the various school leaders who were on friendly terms with Li Qingshan caught wind of it and went to check it out. In the very end, a great group of people had already gathered around him when he visited the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    Standing before the parlour again, he recalled his past few visits. Both his status and mentality had changed drastically now. The parlour was ablaze with lights, illuminating the surroundings. Qiu Haitang had already come out in person to receive Li Qingshan.

    Seeing how so many people had come, Qiu Haitang was surprised as well. She only saw Li Qingshan standing in front of the crowd, with respected Foundation Establishment cultivators of the academy all standing beside him as if they were following him as their leader. Even prefect Liu was among them, which made her sigh inside.

    In the blink of an eye, of course he has become someone else altogether!

 Chapter 608 â€“ In the Parlour of Clouds and Rain

    Li Qingshan and Chu Danqing exchanged glances. They could not help but laugh aloud.

    Qiu Haitang asked in confusion, ¡°Commander, why do you laugh?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve said everything I hate in a single breath.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand and laughed loudly. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me! After all, ¡®thank-yous¡¯ mean nothing before great kindness! Since you won¡¯t pledge yourself to me, it¡¯s useless even if you thank me a thousand times.¡±

    The surroundings fell silent. Just who would bring up things like ¡°¡®thank-yous¡¯ mean nothing before great kindness¡± and ¡°pledge yourself to me¡± again and again after doing some good? Qiu Haitang was completely taken aback. She reddened slightly and stared at Li Qingshan with a mixed gaze, thinking to herself.

    Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s interested in me? Yeah, so much for fancying myself as clever, I completely missed this point. If he wasn¡¯t interested in me, why would he take on so much risk to help me? If he only stopped E Dan, then so be it, but he even went as far as to fall out with him completely. He was clearly standing up for me!

    Sigh, he has offended E Dan for my sake, so he really might die to a scheme before long. Even if I do pledge myself to him, he well and truly deserves something like that, though from what Chengzan said, isn¡¯t he already engaged to the young lady of the Han family?

    Qiu Haitang thought quickly. Li Qingshan had once put everything on the line to stand up for her, refusing to let her be humiliated before everyone no matter what. Right as she contemplated how she would reply, she heard Li Qingshan continue.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. All you have to do is serve up some good alcohol and good meat so that I can have a jolly session with everyone, and we¡¯ll be in the clear. There¡¯s alcohol tonight, so we¡¯ll get drunk tonight. By the time you really approach your last breath and become an old granny, what¡¯s the point even if you still remember it?!¡±

    There was a roar of laughter. Everyone had heard how he completely fell out with a powerful Golden Core cultivator from the Dragon province for the sake of Qiu Haitang in the marquis¡¯ estate. If they had been in his shoes, they definitely could not smile so easily even if they did not go as far as losing their appetite from worrying day and night. They secretly admired his courage.

    With some hidden bitterness, she glanced at Hua Chengzan. Hua Chengzan lowered his head and cleared his throat. She smiled. ¡°Commander- no, Qingshan, if you truly are interested, how can I hold myself back? Though, I do have to be married to you in a formal manner, under the witness of our friends and family. Only then can we become cultivation partners.¡±

    Basically all the men present become envious. Qiu Haitang¡¯s beauty was renowned. There was basically no one who did not know about it within the cultivation community of the fifteen hundred kilometers of the Clear River prefecture. Never had anyone managed to get close to her. As a matter of fact, some people thought that even if they had to fall out with E Dan, it was not completely unacceptable if something as great as this was on the line.

    Li Qingshan shook his head firmly. ¡°That won¡¯t work. Qiongzhi will kill me!¡±

    Everyone laughed aloud again. Qiu Haitang laughed too. ¡°Then you can¡¯t blame me for refusing to pledge myself to you.¡±

    She felt a tinge of regret the moment she said that earlier, but when she saw how Li Qingshan turned her down without the slightest hesitation, she could not help but become slightly disappointed. Though, that was not exactly because she was interested in Li Qingshan, but purely because of her instincts as a woman.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine. As long as there¡¯s alcohol and meat.¡±

    Li Qingshan entered the Parlour of Clouds and Rain with everyone and glanced upwards. When Qiu Haitang mentioned how she could agree to his demands, he immediately felt a sense of hostility, but the hostility vanished as he turned her down publicly.

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain is hiding a Golden Core cultivator. I wonder who they are. Don¡¯t tell me E Dan has come for revenge?

    As a result, he raised his guard and immediately made his mirror clone hurry over so that it could provide assistance at crucial times. E Dan probably would not take action in the eye of the public. He could definitely strike when he was alone; no, he did not even have to be alone. He only had to kill all eyewitnesses. He definitely possessed the strength and cruelty to do something like that. If that happened, Li Qingshan would not be able to maintain his disguise anymore. He would be forced to show his true form and cooperate with his clone to see if he could kill E Dan on the spot!

    Like in the past, the banquet was arranged on the rooftop of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. It was possible to admire flowers and the moon and see the entire glow of the prefectural city from there.

    Everyone sat down in their seats, and Li Qingshan obviously occupied the seat of honour. Qiu Haitang had arranged this banquet to thank him after all. In the past, Qiu Haitang would carry out her responsibilities as a host and go around toasting to the school leaders so that everyone would be happy, but she sat with Li Qingshan today, specially serving him and keeping him company.

    Li Qingshan did not hold back, emptying his cup the moment she filled it with alcohol. Although he would not grope around, it was still extremely delightful to have a great beauty with such a mesmerizing figure and charming bearing to fill his cup and urge him to drink. He incurred everyone¡¯s jealousy.

    Sure enough, Qiu Haitang did not mention another ¡°thank you¡±. She only mentioned how they first met. ¡°Back then, I thought you were just an ignorant country bumpkin, but I never thought¡­¡±

    ¡°You never thought there would be a time when you drank with me, right?¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he clinked cups with her.

    The unhappy experiences of the past sounded more like interesting stories now. Qiu Haitang did not do everything to please him, but she was docile and meek. It was not only because she owed Li Qingshan, but also became of his extraordinary strength. Originally, his young age was worth despising, but now, it accentuated his extraordinary talent instead.

    By the time they had become familiar with one another, Qiu Haitang had become somewhat tipsy. Her plump, smooth cheeks were slightly flushed, making her even more charming. She said gently, ¡°Be honest with me. Did you kill the West Gate Granny and the others?¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s not something I can tell you!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. Having reached this point, it did not matter even if he admitted it. As the Scarlet Hawk commander, defeating those stronger than him and killing a few Qi Practitioners who dared to oppress him in the past was nothing bad at all. Instead, it brought him glory.

    But in that moment, he felt the sense of hostility appear again before vanishing very soon once more.

    ¡°Forget it. I knew you wouldn¡¯t tell me. It¡¯s not like we needed them anyway.¡± Qiu Haitang did not care. In the past, she had even used Li Qingshan¡¯s strength to kill Wei Zhongyuan, who was scheming after her. The lives of a few measly Qi Practitioners truly were nothing.

    After several rounds of toasting and drinking until they were tipsy, Liu Zhangqing walked over and toasted. ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve yet to discuss the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures with you!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What¡¯s there to discuss? Just make your arrangements, sir prefect. I can guarantee I¡¯ll emerge victoriously wherever you need me to fight.¡±

    This was not a boast from Li Qingshan. He also had a slight understanding about the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. It was primarily for the disciples of the hundred schools to compete with one another. At most, it would be some Foundation Establishment cultivators. How could he lose?

    Liu Zhangqing shook his head inside. He felt like Li Qingshan had become slightly carried away with his success and began to overestimate himself. The Academies of the Hundred Schools in the various prefectures were filled with talents and powerful people. With his cultivation at mid Foundation Establishment, how could he claim certain victory?

    He had also heard a little bit about Li Qingshan¡¯s battle with the fire devourer. He had a geographic advantage during that battle, and he still almost lost. He had only managed to turn the tides in the end after quite some difficulty. He did not feel like Li Qingshan was particularly powerful.

    ¡°Qingshan, please hear me out as your senior. It¡¯s good to be young and aggressive and motivated, but conceit leads to easy failure. You also have to learn to hide your edge at times.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, sir prefect?¡± Li Qingshan sensed that Liu Zhangqing was implying something the moment his cup reached his lips.

    ¡°You stood forward for a just cause and saved fellow Qiu, which was for the best. I can also feel your glory! However, there was no need for you to fall out with E Dan so much.¡±

    ¡°It has happened already, so what can I do?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Grievances are better resolved than deepened. To be able to reach his realm of cultivation, he definitely won¡¯t be someone unreasonable. If you could speak through commander Gu and give him an apology, it¡¯ll cause you some embarrassment, but it¡¯ll save you a great deal of trouble. Sigh, he is a trusted subordinate of the prince after all.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing said earnestly, but it was not just for Li Qingshan to consider. The Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures were happening soon. The Clear River prefecture had just been through a war, so it was already extremely disadvantageous for them. Li Qingshan had offended an important figure beside prince Si Qing, making matters even worse. E Dan only needed to pull some strings, and they would be in great trouble.

    Qiu Haitang said with deep concern, ¡°Prefect Liu speaks with great reason. Real men are flexible, able to stoop down or stand tall depending on the situation. Once you undergo the second heavenly tribulation, you¡¯ll always be able to stand tall. I know you¡¯re a real, proper man.¡±

    Li Qingshan began laughing aloud, drawing over everyone¡¯s gazes. Actually, Liu Zhangqing had not been speaking loudly earlier, but basically everyone present had sharp ears. They had all been listening along attentively. They were all waiting to see how Li Qingshan would answer him, but they never expected him to laugh aloud.

    ¡°Thank you for your concerns and kind intentions. Prefect Liu is knowledgeable and well-experienced with this world, so if you don¡¯t mind answering me, if a Qi Practitioner were to insult you publicly, would you be able to endure it? Sect master Qiu has personally seen E Dan, so do you think he¡¯s an open-minded and forgiving fellow?¡±

    Liu Zhangqing and Qiu Haitang both became speechless. Liu Zhangqing seemed gentle and polite, but that was to Li Qingshan. Normally, when he governed the Clear River prefecture, he could kill without batting an eye. If someone happened to be bold enough to insult him publicly, he would definitely kill them in a single strike. Even if he could not kill them on the spot, he probably would not drop the matter, which led to a heavy sigh from him.

    Qiu Haitang also felt that getting a vicious and uncivilised bastard like E Dan to let go of his grievances was completely impossible. ¡°It¡¯s all because of me¡­¡±

    ¡°Even if it weren¡¯t you, I wouldn¡¯t have just sat tight and watched on. And, even if he can forgive me, I won¡¯t forgive him. There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about. Just that old dog won¡¯t be enough to take my life.¡± Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. Killing intent vaguely appeared.

    ¡°You little animal, how dare you insult my master!¡± With a bellow, several cultivators in black descended from above, dispersing the lively atmosphere and pressing against their weapons, glaring at Li Qingshan.

    Qiu Haitang recognised them. They sat behind E Dan during that day in the marquis¡¯ manor. As it turned out, they were E Dan¡¯s disciples.

    The music stopped, and the cultivators all stood up. The atmosphere on the rooftop immediately became tense.

    Only Li Qingshan remained seated, drinking by himself. He said, ¡°So it¡¯s the group of pups led around by the old dog!¡±

    ¡°Some esteemed guests have arrived. Forgive me for failing to anticipate your arrival. Haitang, why don¡¯t you show the esteemed guests their seats?¡±

    At this moment, an old woman with a face full of wrinkles and a head of grey hair suddenly appeared, all amiable and polite. Apart from Li Qingshan, no one had managed to see where she had come from.

    She carelessly revealed her aura, stunning everyone present. A Golden Core cultivator!

 Chapter 609 â€“ My Heart Already Belongs to Someone Who Goes by the Name of Northmoon

    The cultivators in black were all dressed in casual wear, radiating with murderousness. A single glance at them was enough for one to tell that they were people who had been through struggles of life and death. Their leader was a fierce man in his thirties, who studied the old woman.

    ¡°My surname is E, and my name is Feng. You must be sect master You of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Sure enough, you do have a bit of a bearing, well beyond what a certain little animal can match!¡± He glanced at Li Qingshan as he spoke. Li Qingshan drank by himself as he thought, These people probably didn¡¯t come specially to deal with me, or they wouldn¡¯t have stayed calm for so long. Let¡¯s see what they want.

    ¡°What sect master You? You can just call my granny You. You¡¯ve taken the trouble of traveling a great distance to pay a visit to my Sect of Clouds and Rain, so may I ask just what is the matter?¡±

    E Feng spoke rudely, which irritated granny You slightly, but she remained friendly on the surface; this was because she knew the person standing behind them was E Dan and prince Si Qing to a certain extent.

    She had managed to undergo the second heavenly tribulation after quite some difficulty, but she was the weakest kind of Golden Core cultivator out there. Because her beauty had withered away with her age, she was no longer able to make much use out of the arts of charm she was most skilled in. She knew she had no more chance at advancing any further, so why would she be bold enough to offend some of the most powerful people of the Ruyi commandery?

    Seeing how Li Qingshan did not talk back, E Feng even thought he had grown fearful. He thought, This little animal is going to die sooner or later anyway, so wasting words on him here really isn¡¯t worth it. Today, I¡¯ll show you that the person you wanted to save won¡¯t be able to escape from our clutches at the end of the day. We¡¯ll slap you across the face viciously before so many people!

    ¡°A woman of your Sect of Clouds and Rain has caught our master¡¯s fancy. These are the betrothal gifts, so have her return with us immediately so that she can get married to master. We¡¯ll even have to call her young mistress by then.¡±

    The cultivators in black let out a roar of laughter. As E Feng spoke, he took out a great pile of gold, silver, and jewels, forming a small mountain in the blink of an eye. The resplendence they shone with was dazzling.

    Even granny You who had decided to treat them with courtesy could not help but change in expression slightly, while the cultivators of the Clear River prefecture all frowned. These precious jewels and metals might have been priceless to mortals, but they were basically no different from muck to cultivators. They could get as much of it as they wanted to.

    As the person in concern, Qiu Haitang said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve already said that I won¡¯t marry your master. You better take these things and leave!¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t marry our master?¡± E Dan shot a glare at her. He had truly inherited E Dan¡¯s legacy with that vicious expression of his. ¡°Granny You, what do you have to say?¡±

    ¡°About this¡­¡±

    ¡°Our master will become the great general of the Ruyi commandery soon. We¡¯ve already shown your Sect of Clouds and Rain plenty of respect by offering up a betrothal gift in person. Do you really want to disappoint our master?¡±

    E Feng glanced at granny You, completely unfazed by her identity as a Golden Core cultivator. He did not even try to hide his threat.

    ¡°How are they cultivators? They¡¯re basically no different from common thugs! With disciples like this, I can already imagine what their master is like. Qingshan, you were right. I¡¯ve been too naive.¡±

    Liu Zhangqing frowned heavily and communicated with Li Qingshan. The school of Confucianism had always placed great focus on etiquette and courtesy. These people were the most unforgivable.

    Li Qingshan only smiled. Who said cultivators were supposed to be cultivated and courteous? The demonic cultivators that once ran amok through the nine provinces had done plenty of inhumane things without a shred of conscience.

    Cultivation was about seeing your own nature. Nobody was born a virtuous gentleman of great morals. From a certain perspective, people like E Dan could be regarded as staying true to their own nature too.

    As for me, I¡¯ll obviously stick with my own nature and completely slaughter these eyesores!

    ¡°H- h- how could I dare to do something like that!?¡± Granny You personally believed she was a resourceful smooth talker, but she could only hold onto her anger when met with such vicious and unruly people. She was absolutely helpless.

    ¡°Granny You, the fate of your Sect of Clouds and Rain is completely at our whim. If you can¡¯t give up on this disciple right now, then you¡¯ll lose much more than her in the future. Are you going to agree to it or not?¡±

    E Feng took it a step further, actually pressuring a Golden Core cultivator as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    He was not entirely strutting around under his master¡¯s influence either. He was at late Foundation Establishment. Although Golden Core was a major realm of cultivation away, granny You had never been skilled with open conflict. She basically devoted her entire life to scheming and plotting, so there had only been a handful of times when she truly fought. Now, not only did her beauty fade with age, but her body had weakened with age as well.

    E Feng, on the other hand, was in the prime of his life. Who knew how many times he had fought in arenas, and he was geared with arcane artifacts. If they actually began fighting, he was confident he would not lose to this old coot.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ll agree to it then!¡±

    Sure enough, granny You was absolutely spineless. She was becoming more and more afraid of dying. She had made it to Golden Core after so much difficulty, so why would she ever be willing to die just because of E Dan¡¯s fit of rage?

    With that, not only did everyone present sigh, but Qiu Haitang even cried out, ¡°Sect master!¡±

    ¡°Haitang, how has my Sect of Clouds and Rain treated you?¡±

    Granny You spoke softly, sounding as kindly as an old grandmother. She basically radiated with kindliness, silently using her arts of charm. At the end of the day, she had not gone through the second heavenly tribulation for nothing. The way she used it was basically flawless and unconscious. Even Qiu Haitang who was skilled in this exact art failed to sense it. Only Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes turned cold.

    Qiu Haitang lowered her head. ¡°The kindness that the Sect of Clouds and Rain has shown me is as lofty as mountains and as deep as seas. If it were not for the Sect of Clouds and Rain, I would have sunken into the fiery pits of brothels long ago, with my youth sapped and my beauty withered away. I might be dead already.¡±

    Granny You said, ¡°Right now, you¡¯re not doing this for me, but for the entire sect. Your cultivation has come to a standstill because you don¡¯t have a dual cultivation partner to balance out yin and yang. If you are married to great general E, you will have endless resources, and your cultivation will definitely progress drastically. I¡¯m only temporarily occupying the position of sect master right now. The Sect of Clouds and Rain will still be returned to you in the future.¡±

    ¡°I- I- I-¡± Qiu Haitang faltered as her expression changed again and again, clearly in great mental conflict.

    The surroundings fell quiet. Even a pin drop could be heard. No one said anything. The Sect of Clouds and Rain was not a part of the academy, so they did not have many ties with them. And, this was an internal matter of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. Since even their sect master had already said something like that, were they supposed to oppose a Golden Core cultivator? Not to mention that there was an imposing figure like E Dan behind all of this.

    Qiu Haitang cast her gaze towards Hua Chengzan instinctively. She said she had already let go of him, but he had still been the man she had been infatuated with for all these years after all. Hua Chengzan straightened himself out and faltered a few times. He glanced at Hua Chengzan before still choosing to lower his head in the end, avoiding her gaze.

    If he were alone, then even if it would cost his life, he would still stand on Qiu Haitang¡¯s side. However, he was not alone. He represented the entire Hua family. If he offended E Dan, it was very likely to bring unimaginable disaster to the Hua family. By then, his younger sister and even his parents would be dragged in.

    If he did this for the sake of a single woman, that would be far too selfish of him. Although he enjoyed the authority and resources brought on by his family, it also came with responsibilities and duties. However, he could not help but ask himself what he would do if Gu Yanying faced the same situation. There was no other answer. He would definitely stand forward without any regard.

    Qiu Haitang was dejected and extremely disappointed. She had truly given her heart to the wrong person after all! Her master had been right. Throughout the ages, those who possessed the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty were all women who suffered from love-sickness, and they were fated to never have their love reciprocated, dying in melancholy. She was simply unable to escape this curse.

    ¡°You can stop with the ¡®I- I- I-¡¯. Come with us!¡± E Dan looked at Li Qingshan complacently. ¡°How¡¯s that? The woman you risked your life to save is still going to end up being fucked by our master. Hahahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed as well. He laughed louder and louder, shaking up the surroundings and reaching high into the sky.

    Bang! Bang! The cups, bowls, and plates all exploded. The weaker Qi Practitioners all covered their ears.

    Qiu Haitang instead felt her mind clear up. Her face was moist; she had been coursing with tears before she knew it. She understood she had fallen for granny You¡¯s arts of charm and anger filled her.

    ¡°Sect master You, you¡¯re a senior, yet you use something like this against a junior to ingratiate yourself with an outsider. Don¡¯t you feel any shame at all? Today, even if I have to die, I¡¯ll never agree to it. If E Dan insists on marrying me, all he¡¯ll marry is a corpse!¡±

    ¡°Age without morality only makes you a pest. The ancient sages really haven¡¯t been trying to deceive me!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter vanished, and his expression turned cold.

    TL: ¡°Age without morality only makes you a pest¡± comes from the Analects of Confucius. He is the ancient sage Li Qingshan is referring to.

    ¡°Here¡¯s not a place for you to make trouble!¡±

    Granny You was furious. She extended her hand that resembled a rat¡¯s claws and grabbed Qiu Haitang by the shoulder. She glanced at Li Qingshan, but she refused to burst out with anger. E Dan stood behind E Feng, while Gu Yanying stood behind Li Qingshan. She had to be careful; she was afraid of offending either one of them, so she poured all of her anger at Qiu Haitang.

    Qiu Haitang was unable to put up a fight at all. She immediately felt her body soften as she became bitter with anger inside. She felt like there was no one in the world that could help her anymore. Even if Li Qingshan was willing to risk his life for her, how could he contend against a Golden Core cultivator?

    A figure suddenly appeared in her head. That person was so powerful and arrogant. If he were here, then even if E Dan paid a visit in person, they would not be bold enough to do whatever they pleased!

    ¡°My heart already belongs to someone. If you dare to use any more force against me, he¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    E Feng said, ¡°Heh, I¡¯d like to see just who will never spare my master.¡±

    Qiu Haitang said firmly, ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    ¡°What North- You mean that wretched daemon, Northmoon? You¡¯re colluding with wretched daemons! Do you know the crimes you¡¯ve committed?¡±

    E Feng suddenly paused, remembering who Northmoon was. He was the number one enemy of prince Si Qing in the Ruyi commandery. He had learnt many things about him through the various pieces of information. Although he had never seen him in person, he had a deep impression of his horrifying strength. He had basically heavily injured all the Daemon Commanders in the Ruyi commandery alone. What kind of strength was that?

    As a result, while he said the second half like he was unconcerned, he could not help but stifle his voice a lot. He became much less imposing.

    ¡°Now don¡¯t you be pigheaded!¡±

    However, granny You could not help but loosen the hand she grabbed Qiu Haitaing¡¯s shoulder by. Although she did not believe Qiu Haitang¡¯s words, it would be bad just in case she was telling the truth. Northmoon would come knocking and what was she supposed to do by then?

    The word ¡°Northmoon¡± seemed to possess wondrous magic, making everyone¡¯s expressions change. Surprise, fear, worry, and unease was written across all of their faces.

    Even the Lake of Dragons and Snakes had been refined by Northmoon, so the disciples of the academy¡¯s impression of him went without saying. Some Qi Practitioners could not help but glance around as if Northmoon would suddenly leap out of the darkness.

 Chapter 610 â€“ Waiting for a Tsunami

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve been frightened?¡± E Feng recovered his composure very soon. He could not retreat in defeat from hearing just a name after all. If that happened, then even without Northmoon, E Dan himself would butcher him. Even if Qiu Haitang was telling the truth, Northmoon was nowhere to be seen, so what could he do? As long as he handed her to E Dan, he no longer had to care about what came next.

    Qiu Haitang took advantage of this to break free from granny You¡¯s ¡°rat claws¡±. She took out a jade tablet and held it high into the air. ¡°As long as I crush this jade tablet, he¡¯ll come and save me immediately!¡±

    It was merely an ordinary, white piece of jade, but in that moment, it was like a magnet, drawing over everyone¡¯s gazes firmly.

    E Feng shivered inside. The jade tablet flickered with light. It was indeed a transmission tablet, but he had no idea whether Northmoon really was on the other end. He could only closely study Qiu Haitang¡¯s expression.

    However, women had always been born with natural talent for acting, while Qiu Haitang was among the best of the best. She had practised the arts of charm for several decades now, so she gave nothing away through her expression or bearing. Even E Feng could not help but become slightly hesitant.

    Seeing how she had managed to fend off E Feng with this, Qiu Haitang eased up slightly inside. She had to find a way to get out of here as quickly as possible. She could not remain in the Ruyi commandery anymore, but how was she supposed to get out of here?

    E Feng and his fellow juniors were like voracious wolves. Why would they let prey that was already in their hands escape?

    Qiu Haitang said to Li Qingshan through her soul sense, ¡°I have one last unreasonable request.¡±

    ¡°Feel free to mention it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to get away from here later. If the situation is bad, please cover for me. If it doesn¡¯t work out, then I¡¯ll slit my throat on the spot. I refuse to be disgraced. If I manage to escape here alive, you¡¯ll definitely get what you want in the future. Don¡¯t worry, Qiongzhi won¡¯t know.¡±

    Qiu Haitang had become rather dispirited. She felt that while Li Qingshan was not the one she loved, he was far better than E Dan at the very least. She had nothing she could pay him back with except for herself for getting him to risk his life repeatedly for her.

    Qiu Haitang could not help but smile wryly inside. Do you really believe I have some sort of connection with Northmoon? Apart from that momentary meeting through chance a few years ago, I only saw him once from afar after that.

    E Feng suddenly shuddered. Disbelief filled his face as he pointed behind Qiu Haitang, towards Li Qingshan. He cried out, ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    Everyone looked in the direction E Feng pointed in, at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan shuddered all over. How did this guy see through my identity!?

    Qiu Haitang was momentarily distracted. With a fierce gust of wind, E Feng directly snatched at the jade tablet in her hand. Qiu Haitang hesitated. If she truly crushed the jade tablet, then her lies would all be revealed. With her hesitation, the jade tablet ended up in E Feng¡¯s hand.

    Only then did everyone realise E Feng had purposefully tricked Qiu Haitang. They secretly cursed him as shameless, but their hearts that rested in their throats also settled back down again. Apart from Hua Chengzan, no one knew E Feng¡¯s gesture had just revealed the truth.

    E Feng tossed the jade tablet around in his hand and said complacently, ¡°Looks like I was wrong. Though, animals have always been the same as wretched daemons. You thought I actually believed this could summon Northmoon? Do you truly think I didn¡¯t do my research about you beforehand? You better return obediently with us! Even if Northmoon comes, all he can do is flee in defeat against my master!¡±

    Although he seemed like a common thug, he was meticulous and prudent, or he never could have survived until now.

    Qiu Haitang sneered. ¡°If you have the balls to, just crush it then!¡±

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m afraid to?¡±

    ¡°I think that¡¯s exactly what you are, afraid!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, do you take me for a fool? Cut the nonsense! Get over here!¡± E Feng suddenly struck, casting a silver net that loomed over Qiu Haitang.

    With Qiu Haitang¡¯s cultivation, facing E Dan was basically no different from a Qi Practitioner facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator. There was no room for her to fight back at all. She could only use the arts of charm to captivate E Feng.

    E Feng was thrown into a slight trance. He found the woman before him to be utterly pitiful such that he was unable to bring himself to do something like this. However, his willpower was far greater than regular Foundation Establishment cultivators. He bit the tip of his tongue, and his mind immediately cleared up, but a water vortex whistling over met him. Li Qingshan had finally taken action.

    E Feng completely disregarded it in disdain. Two cultivators in black leapt out from behind him and struck the water vortex violently. Their cultivations paled in comparison to E Feng¡¯s, but they were still Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, they shuddered the moment they came into contact with the water vortex, discovering an uncontrollably great force that was endless, cascading like waves.

    They could not help but stagger backwards, where they would leave behind a deep pit with each step. They retreated to before E Feng in the blink of an eye, both filled with shock. It seemed nothing special when he clashed with the fire devourer, but they never thought he could unleash the violent side to gentle water to such a degree.

    Seeing how their companions were unable to stop it, another two cultivators in black took action. They pressed their hands against their backs, cooperating flawlessly to use the strength of four people against the lone Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan suddenly remembered how Ru Xin had defeated his water vortex. He raised his hands, and the water vortex spun rapidly in the opposite direction, erupting with its greatest might.

    Boom!

    The four cultivators in black staggered backwards. Li Qingshan cut right to the chase and threw a punch at E Feng.

    He was fighting five people alone, yet he could still maintain the upper hand. This was no longer merely a matter of strength and technique, but also a raging bearing of invincibility.

    Everyone could not help but cheer, and the Hawkwolf guards called out the loudest.

    ¡°You little animal!

    E Feng cursed furiously as he drew his blade to receive Li Qingshan¡¯s attack. Li Qingshan suddenly pulled back his aura, and all of the glow gathered in his right hand, turning into a perfectly transparent bead of water. With a flick of his finger, the bead of water shot out, piercing through E Feng¡¯s protective spiritual qi and striking the jade tablet with great precision. The jade tablet immediately shattered.

    Ocean Wielding, the Water Bead Form!

    He condensed the power of the boundless ocean into a single bead of water, unleashing startling might. Li Qingshan had studied this move a long time ago, but he had never been able to grasp its main points. With a flash of inspiration today, he used it on the spot. Originally, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance of failure, but he happened to succeed.

    Li Qingshan let out a loud laugh. ¡°Since you¡¯re afraid to, I¡¯ll help you out!¡±

    E Feng¡¯s heart leapt in fright as he became furious from embarrassment. His blade spat out a streak of light several meters long as he swung it towards Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan waved his hands madly and random streams of blue light immediately filled the space before him.

    As the blade passed by each stream, it would be drawn away. E Feng felt like he was losing control over his blade. In the end, the strike landed on the floor beside Li Qingshan, producing a crack over thirty meters in length. If the Parlour of Clouds and Rain had not been constructed from special materials by mohist craftsmen, he basically would have split the whole place into two.

    Ocean Wielding, the Turbulent Flow Form!

    The ocean surged turbulently as the billows churned wildly. The more vicious and powerful the enemy¡¯s attack was, the harder it was to control. When they entered the turbulent flows of the ocean, they could not help but lose their original target.

    By the time the combined attacks of the four cultivators in black arrived, Li Qingshan had already pulled out. He did not show the slightest hesitation when he advanced and retreated, making the difficult task of destroying the jade tablet in E Feng¡¯s hand seem easy. It led to another wave of cheers.

    E Feng raised his hand and stopped his junior brothers. This little animal¡¯s powers were startling, and the identity of Scarlet Wolf commander protected him. They could not kill him here, nor were they able to.

    The matter at hand right now was that the jade tablet had been destroyed. Would Northmoon be coming or not?

    This also happened to be the question that everyone wondered about!

    Li Qingshan smiled at Qiu Haitang, but Qiu Haitang only smiled even more bitterly inside. You might as well have come up with an idea to escape with me! However, she showed none of it on her face. Instead, she sneered. ¡°Just you wait!¡±

    E Feng laughed madly. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d be afraid of a measly wretched daemon, mentioning him again and again to frighten me?¡± However, he did seem a little like he was only putting on a tough front.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid, then just wait here with me.¡±

    Having reached this point, Qiu Haitang had no other choice but to brave it out. She obviously knew that even if they waited for a few years, Northmoon would not come.

    ¡°I have matters to attend to, so why would I have time to waste here?¡± E Feng made his way towards Qiu Haitang. There was a flash before her, and Li Qingshan¡¯s tall, large figure shielded Qiu Haitang.

    E Feng knew that it was impossible to take down Li Qingshan quickly, so he said to granny You, ¡°Sect master You, this is an internal matter of your Sect of Clouds and Rain, so how can you let an outsider butt in?¡±

    ¡°Haitang, stop being so stubborn!¡± Granny You barked, about to take action.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and said in an unconcerned manner, ¡°Just wait until Northmoon gets here. If he asks what happened here, I wouldn¡¯t mind telling him about it.¡±

    Granny You¡¯s courage immediately evaporated.

    E Feng said, ¡°You¡¯re a mighty Scarlet Hawk commander, yet you¡¯re actually colluding with wretched daemons. If this woman is lying, then so be it, but if she is telling the truth, then you¡¯re protecting a wretched daemon¡¯s ally!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°Why don¡¯t you file a complaint then?¡±

    E Feng ground his teeth in hatred, but there was nothing he could do. Hawkwolf guards had a special status. In the Ruyi commandery, no one had the right to judge him apart from Gu Yanying, but no one knew that this commander Gu¡¯s relationship with this wretched daemon was much deeper than any other cultivator in the Ruyi commandery.

    ¡°You really are a foolish animal. You¡¯ve been all wrapped up in a woman¡¯s lies. I¡¯ll wait here then! I¡¯ll wait for that Northmoon!¡±

    E Feng made up his mind and cast aside all of his worries. He was confident Qiu Haitang was only trying to stall. He refused to believe that Northmoon would actually come.

    Time passed by slowly. The crescent moon hung quietly in the sky as the rooftop was frighteningly silent. Some people even became covered in sweat, wanting to take their leave early, but they were also afraid of others mocking them.

    Let alone the others, even the mighty prefect, Liu Zhangqing, felt uneasy. Even if Northmoon comes, surely he won¡¯t butcher everyone, even those uninvolved, right?

    The night breeze drifted by. The prefectural city bustled with human activity and blazed with light everywhere. However, the rooftop was like a dark island floating on the ocean, trembling gently and waiting for an unforeseen tsunami to arrive.

    PS: Legend has it that you can summon a certain dragon by assembling seven Alliance Heads~ Woah, he actually appeared! Dragon, oh dragon, please make my wish come true! I want to write ten- no wait, I want ten Alliance Heads!

 Chapter 611 â€“ Northmoon Arrives

    She could still remember the first time. She was still a little girl dressed in simple clothes, leaning by the side of the roof. Amazement filled her face as her eyes shone, unable to believe such a bustling and beautiful sight existed in the world.

    Today was probably the last time she saw this sight again!

    In that moment, the memories of the past flooded through her head before drifting away with the night breeze. The young girl rapidly grew up into a woman like a budding willow twig, until now.

    She smiled faintly. Having set aside life and death, she instead found solace. As she stood among everyone, she was like a goddess, awe-inspiring and forbidding.

    The hideous grin on E Feng¡¯s face gradually grew heavier. Finally, he was unable to help himself anymore as he bent over and laughed aloud. His wild laughter was like the howl of a jackal. He spread his arms and spun around.

    ¡°Hah, tell me, just where is the wretched daemon? Didn¡¯t you say he would come and save you immediately? How come I don¡¯t even see a trace of him after so long?¡± Then he pressed himself into Qiu Haitang¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you were lying to us? C¡¯mon, just admit it! Oi, little animal, how does it feel to be fooled by a woman?¡±

    Everyone relaxed and began discussing among themselves. ¡°Why would Northmoon come? She¡¯s only trying to keep up her appearance at the end of the day.¡± ¡°Forget it. This is a matter of the Sect of Clouds and Rain. This has nothing to do with us!¡± ¡°But she has made commander Li look bad!¡±

    Granny You was furious and displeased. ¡°Children sure know how to be mischievous. Commander Li, this is an internal matter of our Sect of Clouds and Rain, so please step aside!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly pointed behind E Feng and called out, ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    E Feng was momentarily surprised. He squinted his eyes. ¡°Do you really think that I¡¯m a kid? So much for using a trick like¡­¡±

    Suddenly, he felt the rooftop become extremely quiet. Everyone looked in the direction Li Qingshan pointed towards before seizing up like the Freezing curse had hit them all. However, their expressions twisted and changed with alarm, fear, trepidation¡­

    As for granny You, she was like a startled old hen. She shrank up, seeming even shorter.

    E Feng slowly turned around¡­

    Under the crescent moon, a flawlessly handsome man with scarlet hair and eyes stood on the edge of the rooftop. Even the moon seemed to be dyed red. Behind him was a resplendent sea of lantern light. His long hair and clothes ruffled in the night breeze.

    Silently, the tsunami had arrived. Northmoon was here.

    ¡°Oi, woman, why¡¯d you call me here?¡±

    Northmoon glanced around the rooftop with his scarlet eyes before looking at Qiu Haitang.

    Met with the red eyes, the cultivators all could not help but shrink back. With a swish, they cleared out a great space as if Northmoon¡¯s gaze contained some kind of invisible spell.

    ¡°Northmoon.¡±

    Qiu Haitang could not help but take a step over. She had no idea how to answer him. She had already prepared herself for death, yet the savior she had blurted out descended from the sky all of a sudden. She was thrown into a trance as well as if she suspected something had gone wrong with her memories from several years ago.

    In the eyes of the spectators, this was obviously the behaviour of a woman meeting the lover they could only dream of, a display of emotion so intense that she could no longer control herself.

    The cultivators in black were all shocked, while E Feng¡¯s back became covered in cold sweat. He forced himself to calm down. He had to fight this battle with wit and not brute strength. He had to restrain Qiu Haitang as soon as possible and keep this wretched daemon at bay through fear!

    He looked around from the corner of his eye. The heavens were smiling at him. Li Qingshan had already backed away to one side before he knew it. Qiu Haitang stood there alone, truly as delicate as a flowering crabapple. He communicated with his companions in a hurry. They only needed a single move, and they could restrain her!

    Right when they were about to strike, a gust of warm wind swept past his face. E Feng widened his eyes. He felt like time had come to a standstill, with only a single person unaffected. Northmoon walked past him leisurely, arriving beside Qiu Haitang.

    We can¡¯t win! We definitely can¡¯t win! We won¡¯t even be able to escape! E Feng wailed inside.

    Northmoon brought his hand around Qiu Haitang¡¯s especially thin waist. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking?¡± He glanced at the pile of precious jewels and metals. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s body stiffened as she opened her cherry lips slightly. As she gazed at Northmoon, her memories from a few years ago became extremely vivid. He seemed to have leapt directly out of her memories, but she was unable to read anything from his scarlet eyes.

    However, having reached this point, she had no choice but to play along. She leaned against him and grumbled in a flirtatious manner, ¡°These people wanted to force me into marrying E Dan. These precious jewels and metals were the betrothal gift¡­¡±

    She told him everything that had happened patiently, going into special detail over how E Feng called Northmoon a wretched daemon. She mentioned everything and went into vivid detail over things like, ¡°I won¡¯t be afraid even if the wretched daemon comes.¡± and ¡°He¡¯ll flee from the sight of my master.¡± Although she did not tell any lies, she could not help but spice up the details, which made E Feng and the others seem even more despicable.

    With each sentence Qiu Haitang uttered, E Feng and his companions would tremble. She basically attacked them with every single word. The delight of revenge flashed through Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes. Regardless of why Northmoon had come, only death would await these people after he had heard all this!

    Northmoon listened to the end silently and could not help but smile. ¡°Oh? Now that¡¯s very interesting!¡± He extended his hand and touched Qiu Haitang¡¯s smooth, full cheek in a half-joking manner and said tenderly, ¡°I¡¯ve made you suffer.¡±

    ¡°This is all just a misunderstanding. We have no intentions of opposing you, sir. Our master is great general E Dan, who has also admired you for a very long time, sir. We didn¡¯t think fellow Qiu actually had someone already. We thought she was trying to deceive us with some outrageous claims. If we¡¯ve offended you in any way or form, please forgive us, fellow Qiu!¡±

    E Feng changed his insolent demeanour in the blink of an eye, coming off as courteous. He addressed Northmoon respectfully as sir before bowing deeply towards Qiu Haitang in the end. He seemed extremely sincere, bearing absolutely no resemblance to the common thug who spoke carelessly anymore.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. It¡¯s all a misunderstanding. I was just about to pass the position of sect master to Haitang and return to the mountains so that I could cultivate in seclusion!¡±

    Granny You rubbed her hands and said with a smile. When Qiu Haitang told her story, she did not forget to mention her. Granny You dared not show the slightest discontent. She squeezed that old face of hers into a smile like a flower. When she looked at Qiu Haitang, she put on a pitiful guise, silently using the arts of charm.

    Qiu Haitang could not help but feel, Granny You is already so old. Just how many years does she have left in her anyway? She¡¯s still my senior after all. She was only doing this for the sake of the Sect of Clouds and Rain!

    Smack! There was a crisp slap.

    Northmoon conveniently slapped granny You across the face. Her protective spiritual qi immediately crumbled under the powers of the Tremors of the Ox Demon. Her face twisted to one side, and her head was lifted into the air. Over a dozen teeth flew out of her mouth.

    ¡°Your smile is disgusting. Keep it to yourself!¡± Northmoon said restlessly.

    Granny You was surprised, angered, and fearful. She clutched her swollen face and became even more afraid to attack him or smile. She murmured, ¡°Yes, yes!¡±

    Smack! There was another crisp slap.

    Northmoon backhanded granny You. He waved his hand and said, ¡°Forget it. You better keep smiling. You look even more hideous when you don¡¯t smile!¡±

    The world spun around granny You. Not a single tooth remained in her mouth. She stood there awkwardly, unable to cry or smile.

    Qiu Haitang returned to her senses and knew that she had been charmed. Originally, she felt very furious, but when she saw granny You¡¯s miserable state, she could not help but burst out with laughter. As she thought about how she had once swaggered around on her high horse and coerced her again and again, she felt great delight.

    Smack! There was another slap.

    Even the kindest of souls had a temper, let alone a mighty Golden Core cultivator. Granny You said in surprise and anger, ¡°You- I-¡±

    ¡°If you like it, I can keep slapping her for you!¡±

    Northmoon paid absolutely no attention to granny You as he spoke to Qiu Haitang softly. He was unable to imitate how King You of Zhou lit the warning beacons to fool his nobles, but slapping a person around was still very easy to achieve.

    TL: ¡°King You of Zhou lighting the warning beacons to fool his nobles¡± is basically a story from Chinese history about how a beautiful woman can end an entire dynasty or kingdom (Yes, there have been numerous instances of beauties literally toppling cities or kingdoms for being too beautiful). King You of Zhou had an extremely beautiful concubine by the name of Bao Si, but she rarely smiled. King You would try to please her by falsely lighting the beacons as the warning of an attack, where his nobles would rush to the palace. Only then did Bao Si ever laugh. Basically, he did this too many times, and when an actual attack happened, the nobles were nowhere to be found. It¡¯s quite similar to the Boy who Cried Wolf. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_You_of_Zhou

    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡±

    Qiu Haitang lowered her head and replied softly. Her face was slightly red, knowing he was standing up for her. She was unable to describe whether this gesture had moved her or she was feeling something else. She felt slightly light-headed.

    In the moment earlier, she was still being oppressed by granny You, harassed by E Feng, and cold-shouldered by everyone else, with only Li Qingshan willing to help her¡ªwhen she thought up to there, she could not help but glance back, only to see that Li Qingshan had retreated far away, smiling and nodding at her.

    When she looked around now, was there still anyone who did not look at her with a gaze filled with alarm? They were only afraid she would drag them into this mess with a single sentence. Even if they managed to survive through luck and only endured a few slaps, they would still be utterly humiliated. In particular, E Feng and his companions were ashen. They were as alarmed as stray dogs.

    Then she saw Hua Chengzan¡¯s extremely mixed expression. She smiled brightly, no longer clinging onto him at all. She discovered she actually felt rather complacent inside. Hmph, go think about your Gu Yanying. I have someone who wants me too!

    Qiu Haitang bit her lip, tugged Northmoon by the collar, and pointed at E Feng¡¯s group. ¡°Them too!¡±

    E Feng and his junior brothers cursed incessantly inside, calling her damn woman and wretched bitch. They smiled dryly.

    ¡°Sir, if you refuse to spare us, our master E Dan and prince Si Qing will never just let the matter be. Why must we make such a great mess out of a single misunderstanding?¡±

    Northmoon waved his hand. ¡°Since it¡¯s merely a misunderstanding, why don¡¯t you piss off now?¡±

    Hearing that, E Feng and the others were overjoyed. They felt like they had just been spared. They thought, Hmph. Sure enough, he still has some qualms. This wretched daemon will definitely die a horrible death in the future! They wanted to toss out a few threats, but they were too afraid to do something like that, so they clasped their hands and turned around to leave.

    Qiu Haitang was rather reluctant to simply let them go, but she did not forget it was all an act right now. If she fell out with him over something small and displeased him, it would not be worth it.

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    E Feng and his juniors had already arrived on the edge of the rooftop. They only needed to take a few steps forward, and they would be free, but Northmoon¡¯s despicable voice rang out behind them. They gulped and turned around. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sir?¡±

    ¡°You forgot your betrothal gifts!¡± Northmoon glanced at the pile of precious jewels and metals. E Feng¡¯s group eased up inside and walked back over. Right when they were about to stow the mountainous pile of treasure away, they heard Northmoon say, ¡°Wait, is this how you¡¯re going to take it away?¡±

    ¡°Sir, how would you like us to take it away?¡±

    Northmoon pointed at the pile of treasure with his chin. ¡°Eat it!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± E Feng exclaimed. How were they supposed to eat these gems and metals?

    Northmoon smiled. ¡°You have to eat the words you uttered, and you also have to eat the items you brought. I don¡¯t even want to see a single sycee of silver remaining!¡±

    PS: Woah! The dragon is so powerful! Congratulations to the envoy of the dragon, ¡°?Precious Copernicium?¡±, for donating as much as three Alliance Heads, honorably elevated to Great Alliance Head and making my wish come true. Alright, I can¡¯t go without expressing my gratitude. You know already, but I¡¯m not made for things like mass releases and so on, but we will return to the ¡°8 am, 6 pm¡± release schedule tomorrow!

 Chapter 612 â€“ Eat I

    Qiu Haitang immediately revealed an enchanting smile. She agreed and said, ¡°Good idea!¡±

    E Feng¡¯s expression twisted. His forehead bulged with veins. ¡°Northmoon, don¡¯t go too far with the harassment!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t go too far with the harassment? Are you talking about me?¡± Northmoon asked Qiu Haitang beside him, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m harassing them?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get a little more serious with the harrassing. Eat it!¡±

    Northmoon picked up a golden sycee and tossed it out casually. The mirror clone only possessed a portion of his power, but the strength of the ox demon was still terrifying despite the reduction.

    The golden sycee contorted the moment he threw it out, turning into a streak of golden light and striking a cultivator in black¡¯s protective arcane artifact before piercing through his body.

    The cultivator in black lowered his head in disbelief and gazed at the hole through his chest. He let out a high-pitched cry, which was better described as out of fear than out of pain. He was not afraid of fighting others, but the feeling where he could be casually crushed had completely sapped his courage.

    The golden sycee flew off into the distance, and only then did the sharp whistle arrive. Fierce wind rushed through the rooftop, and the expressions of all the cultivators changed. A single golden sycee could become a terrifying, lethal weapon in Northmoon¡¯s hands. He could butcher Foundation Establishment cultivators like how he butchered chickens.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go all out on him!¡± E Feng bellowed out, but there was not even a hint of confidence in his voice.

    ¡°Looks like you won¡¯t eat all of this obediently. All I can do is help you out.¡±

    A pair of beautiful, flame wings suddenly unfurled on his back. In the eyes of the spectators, he split into five in that moment, appearing beside E Feng and each of the four cultivators in black. Each figure only launched a single strike, either a convenient pat or a gentle poke.

    The five cultivators in black who had leapt up to throw their lives at him all collapsed on the ground, but they were completely unscathed. Northmoon had only suppressed their spiritual qi and bodies with the power of the spirit turtle. All of them widened their eyes, completely immobilised. Their arcane artifacts and hundred treasures pouches had been taken away during the process.

    E Feng was paralysed on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s our misfortune to end up in your hands today. If you want to kill or cut us up, go ahead!¡±

    Northmoon praised them. ¡°Alright! I admire men like you. I won¡¯t kill you, nor will I cut you up. I just want you to eat!¡± He lifted up the wings of flames on his back, and the pile of precious gems and metals immediately melted away, hovering in the air and fluctuating around.

    The pile of treasure they had used to humiliate Qiu Haitang had instead become what hastened their deaths. Although their bodies were tough, and their life force was powerful, how could they contend with this scorching, liquid metal without using spiritual qi? Their powerful bodies only prolonged the pain.

    With a hiss, white smoke rose up, and before long, a burnt smell appeared. The liquid metal poured down their throats, flowing through their bodies. Li Qingshan blew out, and the liquid metal immediately cooled and solidified, turning them into five gold and silver people.

    The brutal methods of daemons made the cultivators present afraid to even let out a peep of noise. However, many of them cheered inside. So much for being arrogant and looking down on us. Sure enough, only a horrible death awaits you!

    Northmoon turned around and asked Qiu Haitang, ¡°Has that calmed your anger?¡±

    Actually, he was calming his own anger. These mongrels called me little animal, little animal endlessly. Do you know how important it is to watch your mouth now? I¡¯ll butcher you pups and then I¡¯ll go butcher that old dog E Dan.

    Qiu Haitang was extremely touched. ¡°I¡¯m calm now.¡±

    ¡°Do you want this one dead too?¡± Northmoon pointed out, and granny You leapt up like the ground had scalded her. She cried out, ¡°Spare me, sir Northmoon! Spare me!¡±

    Qiu Haitang finally felt some reluctance. Even she had no idea whether this was the continued influence of the arts of charm. She bit her lip and shook her head gently.

    ¡°Let¡¯s spare her!¡±

    Granny You was overjoyed. Northmoon arrived before her in a flash and grabbed her by the neck. With a gentle squeeze, an old head sailed through the air, calling out, ¡°I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡±

    She wanted to blow up her golden core, but Northmoon¡¯s other hand had already plunged into her body and fished out the golden core. Then he collected her hundred treasures pouch and shoved her corpse into his hundred treasures pouch conveniently. He wanted to save up a little as a gift for Xiao An in the future.

    As for E Feng and his four junior brothers, they could stay as performance art for E Dan to study!

    Then he scolded Qiu Haitang. ¡°You sure are long in hair and short in wit. You can spare her, but will she spare you?¡±

    Qiu Haitang said pitifully, ¡°Then why did you ask me?¡±

    ¡°I was just asking around. Let¡¯s go!¡± Northmoon extended his hand towards her.

    ¡°Go?¡± Qiu Haitang seemed slightly lost.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to stay here?¡± Northmoon tilted his head.

    ¡°I- I- I¡¯ll go with you!¡±

    Qiu Haitang called out. She grabbed the hand before her, and Northmoon placed his hand around her waist, taking off into the air. She looked back, only to see the rooftop growing further away and smaller. The figures below faded away, becoming indistinct very soon. She only saw Li Qingshan waving his hand at her from afar.

    The Clear River city¡¯s sea of lanterns gradually receded into the distance. Only when they arrived in the air, where the wind whistled past her ears, did she turn around and look at the side of his face. ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± Her voice was so feeble that she even surprised herself.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once we get there!¡±

    ¡°What are you going to do to me?¡±

    ¡°What do you want me to do to you?¡±

    Northmoon could not help but smile. Qiu Haitang found his smile rather familiar, but the devilish aura inherent to daemons disguised it. She was unable to guess his real identity no matter what. Li Qingshan was straightforward, but Northmoon did whatever he pleased.

    Qiu Haitang only felt her heart thump wildly, afraid to maintain eye contact with him. ¡°I want to return to my dwelling and collect my things!¡±

    ¡°How troublesome. Where¡¯s your dwelling?¡± The two of them made a sudden turn and flew off in the south-western direction.

    Following Northmoon¡¯s departure, everyone on the rooftop could not help but let out a sigh of relief and ease up. Northmoon had not even looked at them more than he needed to from beginning to end, but his fierce, heavy aura weighed heavily on everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Everyone discussed what had happened vigorously. Hua Chengzan said to Li Qingshan through his soul sense, ¡°I hope you can take good care of her.¡±

    Li Qingshan directed all of his focus to the mirror clone, currently enjoying the sensation of Qiu Haitang¡¯s soft, delicate body. When he heard that, he only smiled. He called out, ¡°Bring the alcohol!¡±

    Granny You had been killed, and Qiu Haitang had left. The disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain were fearful and uneasy, so they did not dare to disobey Li Qingshan¡¯s order. They cleaned up the rooftop before delivering fine alcohol and delicious food. However, no one even approached the statues cast from gold and silver.

    Li Qingshan raised his cup high into the air. ¡°Everyone, the performance earlier was extremely fascinating. Let¡¯s keep drinking!¡±

    Most of them had already lost the mood to drink after going through what happened earlier. However, when they heard Li Qingshan, they could only raise their cups, or they would come off as being scared out of their wits by Northmoon. They thought, This commander Li sure has quite the composure!

    In the commandery city of Ruyi, E Dan¡¯s heart lurched. Something has happened to E Feng and the others! He immediately rushed over to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in Clear River city.

    On the rooftop, the banquet continued, except everyone seemed a little forced when it came to drinking and talking. Only Li Qingshan truly entered higher and higher spirits as he drank. He seemed like he was drinking alone, but the person who accompanied him earlier had not actually left his side. Instead, she had become even closer to him.

    E Dan descended from above, destroying everyone¡¯s last bit of urge to drink. He stared at Li Qingshan viciously at first before looking at the five metal people. ¡°What happened here? Who did this?¡±

    There was silence. No one was bold enough to answer him. Li Qingshan stood up with a jar of alcohol in his hand and said drunkenly.

    ¡°Your disciples came looking for a wife for you. Unfortunately, fellow Qiu had already given her heart away to someone else. Your disciples went a little too far, and he came knocking, committing a bit of murder along the way, and that was how they ended up!¡±

    ¡°Who? Tell me exactly. I¡¯ll definitely tear him to shreds!¡±

    E Dan¡¯s face was beet red, like a volcano that could erupt at any time. These disciples had all been the most capable under him. Nurturing them had not been easy either. Originally, he thought carrying out a mission like this would be a piece of cake to them, but he never thought they would end up murdered.

    He did not believe that Li Qingshan was capable of such a feat. Logically speaking, if E Feng and the others worked together, they would not be entirely helpless even if they faced a Golden Core cultivator.

    E Dan gave off a terrifying aura that was even stronger than Northmoon¡¯s earlier. He was like a beast in human form, currently experiencing a fit of rage. The cultivators all worried for Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He let out a belch and spat out a name, ¡°Northmoon! He¡¯s probably at Moon Court lake. If you want revenge, you can probably still make it if you move a little faster!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing could not help but sigh inside, Only those with valiance and courage can remain like this!

    E Dan was very confident in his strength, but he had no confidence that he could triumph over that ¡°Northmoon¡±. He could only eliminate his plan of immediately rushing over for revenge. The five contorted people of gold and silver Northmoon had left behind seemed to be mocking him. He was driven crazy by anger and resentment. With a wave of his hand, the five people were reduced to powder.

    Li Qingshan comforted with a chuckle. ¡°Sir, please calm down!¡±

    E Dan was tempted to personally butcher this gloating little animal right now, but upon recalling Si Qing¡¯s instructions, he held back this killing intent. I¡¯ll let a little animal like you stay complacent for a few more days.

    E Dan departed angrily. Li Qingshan lifted up his jar of alcohol and emptied it. ¡°Now that¡¯s satisfying! I enjoyed myself very much with the banquet today. I cannot express my gratitude for your attendance. Let¡¯s disperse for today. We¡¯ll get drunk together another day!¡±

    The cultivators had long since wanted to leave. When they heard that, they complied gladly, all standing up and bidding farewell. Li Qingshan returned to the Academy of the Hundred Schools with everyone else, just in case E Dan was plotting something.

    Liu Zhangqing stayed behind, but it was obviously not for some company with women. The Sect of Clouds and Rain could be regarded as one of the sects with a very deep foundation in the Clear River prefecture. They had not sustained particularly large losses during the war either, so they preserved most of their strength. Now that granny You was dead and Qiu Haitang had left, it was a good opportunity to swallow this force of cultivators.

    Obviously, a leaderless group of Qi Practitioners could do nothing in response. However, Liu Zhangqing refused to go too far, as he truly was rather worried what would happen if Qiu Haitang returned to become the sect master some day!

    Elsewhere, Li Qingshan returned to the academy and immediately began meditating and cultivating, as he had to concentrate on his clone. When he closed and opened his eyes again, he saw Qiu Haitang¡¯s beautiful figure as she gathered her things.

 Chapter 613 â€“ In the Dwelling

    Despite being a woman as well, Qiu Haitang¡¯s dwelling had a completely different style to it. Although it was also carved out of a mountain, the stone walls were polished to the point where they were reflective. There were complicated and magnificent patterns everywhere, and the faint fragrance of flowers drifted through the air.

    There was a thick carpet on the ground with large, delicate wooden furniture scattered throughout the different rooms in the dwelling.

    Li Qingshan ignored Qiu Haitang¡¯s gaze. As if he was at home, he strolled around and opened a few cabinets, only to discover that they were mostly closets. They were divided into different types, with some specially for cloaks, some specially for dresses, and so on. If he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he basically would have never believed there were so many different types of clothing to a woman, and she had over a hundred different pieces for each type.

    Li Qingshan arrived in front of another closet. Right when he was about to open it, Qiu Haitang hurried over and leaned against it. ¡°I¡¯ve already made tea for you. Won¡¯t you just sit down and stay put for a while?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so great about tea? If you want to give me something to drink, I want alcohol!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrow as he spoke. Because of E Feng and E Dan, the banquet had been interrupted twice, even forced to end prematurely. He had yet to drink to his heart¡¯s content, or rather, he was in an even better mood to drink now. If there was anything more delightful than watching an arrogant enemy lose his composure out of anger, then it would definitely be personally killing the enemy.

    Tonight, he had experienced both.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll fetch some liquor for you.¡±

    Qiu Haitang was helpless before this powerful daemon. She could only lower her head and rummage through her hundred treasures pouch, finding a jar of spiritual alcohol and passing it to him. Li Qingshan removed the mud seal and took a few gulps.

    ¡°Are you happy now? Just go and sit down. I¡¯m still tidying up! Ah!¡± Qiu Haitang felt her waist tighten as she entered his embrace involuntarily. Her proud, soft chest pressed firmly up against his chest. Although a few layers of clothes separated them, it struggled to block the wonderful sensation of softness and elasticity.

    Li Qingshan waved his finger and the closet opened. He could not help but laugh aloud, as underwear filled the closet. It was no wonder why Qiu Haitang had been so nervous.

    ¡°Release me!¡±

    He could not help but imagine how Qiu Haitang would look if she wore it. And which piece was she wearing right now? Li Qingshan lowered his head and gazed down, peering into the deep, snow-white cleavage.

    ¡°Stop touching my things!¡±

    Qiu Haitang became even redder, and her struggle became even more intense. Her gaze was bashful and flustered, bearing no resemblance to the composure of sect master Qiu in the past, but she was more enchanting and charming than ever. Li Qingshan felt his crotch heat up and lowered his head. ¡°If you keep moving, even I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do.¡±

    ¡°You- you-¡±

    Qiu Haitang also discovered the response of a certain body part of his and immediately stopped squirming around. She felt like she had just escaped a den of wolves, only to end up in the mouth of a tiger. The vicious tiger could easily rip apart the wolves, but her situation of being a lamb to the slaughter had not changed at all. The only difference was she had voluntarily thrown herself into the mouth of the tiger.

    Li Qingshan wrinkled his nose and caught a perfumy fragrance, but it also seemed slightly different from a floral fragrance. Actually, he had already caught the fragrance on her back then during the banquet when she drank with him. Originally, he thought it was from her cosmetics, but at a closer glance, she had not applied anything at all.

    And, with his sharp sense of smell, the fragrance was not perfume either. Instead, it originated from her body. He buried his head into her neck, and the fragrance filled his nose. He could not help but suck in a deep breath, filling his lungs with fragrance. The tip of his nose and his lips made contact with her neck, which was as soft and smooth as jade.

    He was like a vicious tiger gently sniffing a flowering crabapple. As a matter of fact, he was even afraid to use too much strength, just in case he destroyed the gentle petals. Suddenly, her body trembled slightly.

    Li Qingshan raised his head, only to see her eyes firmly shut and her long eyelashes trembling like tiny fans. He could not help but smile. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to eat you. What¡¯re you afraid for?¡±

    Qiu Haitang opened her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid!¡±

    Li Qingshan brought the jar of alcohol to her lips with a smile. Qiu Haitang turned her head away stubbornly. Her large eyes became misty. Originally, she thought he would continue with trying to get his way with her, but she never expected him to release her. Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯re already a full-grown adult, so why¡¯re you still crying like a little girl?¡±

    ¡°I originally thought you were a good daemon, but I didn¡¯t think¡­ I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so despicable. You¡¯re basically no different from that E Dan!¡±

    Qiu Haitang covered up her neck and became bright red. She thought of when they first met. Back then, she had also been in dire straits, and he descended from the sky and saved her, even going as far as to console her emotions, nothing like what he did right now!

    ¡°Surely I¡¯m a little better than E Dan? Go tidy up your things!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and casually shoved the undergarment into his clothes. Lifting up the jar of alcohol, he continued to idle around. The dwelling was extremely large. He climbed up the steps, passed through a circular doorway, and arrived before the door to the highest room.

    Opening the door, silver moonlight flooded the entire place. He could see the moon and stars in the night sky when he raised his head. The ceiling was made from a piece of transparent crystal that had been specially forged. As such, the sky was visible, but it was impossible to peer inside.

    There was a soft bed in the centre of the room. This place must have been used for resting and cultivation.

    Li Qingshan rested his head on his arms and crossed his legs, laying back on the bed. He sipped his alcohol as he gazed at the sky, his mind drifting very far away.

    A while later, Qiu Haitang returned. ¡°I¡¯ve gathered everything. We can go now!¡± She pouted slightly as she seemed rather displeased. She thought, Apart from him, no one else can protect me. I have no choice but to follow him. However, she refused to admit she felt a little eager inside. Even she had no idea what she was eager about.

    ¡°What¡¯re you in such a hurry for?¡± The starry sky left Li Qingshan entranced.

    ¡°If we stay here, E Dan might catch up to us. He¡¯s probably already learnt about E Feng and his disciples¡¯ deaths.¡± Qiu Haitang arrived before him.

    ¡°Then that would be for the best. Don¡¯t worry. As long as I¡¯m here, no one will be able to hurt you.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly tossed aside the jar of alcohol. He pulled her into his arms, rolling over and pressing down on her delicate body, whispering into her ear as he laid on top of her. His desires blazed brightly in his body.

    ¡°You might have saved me, and I have no other choice but to follow you right now, but if you want to humiliate me forcefully, I¡¯d rather die!¡± Qiu Haitang shut her eyes as if she was ready to lay her life down for a just cause.

    Li Qingshan found this to be extremely interesting. He held her chin. ¡°Do you think you can die just because you want to? I said no one can hurt you, which includes you yourself!¡±

    ¡°Are you going to stand by your word?¡± Qiu Haitang suddenly opened her eyes, glistening from the moonlight.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    ¡°Then what about you?¡±

    ¡°What about me?¡±

    ¡°What if you hurt me?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°How could I bring myself to?¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re hurting my heart right now.¡±

    ¡°How witty of you!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed involuntarily, pinching her nose and restraining his desires. He rolled over to the side and placed his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his arms. ¡°Am I still hurting your heart like this?¡±

    Seeing how it was effective, Qiu Haitang felt slightly complacent inside, but she also understood if he truly wanted to unleash his powers in bed, a few words would never be enough to stop him. She could only lean against his shoulder obediently and think to herself, I¡¯m just making do like this so that I don¡¯t irritate him.

    The room was silent. Li Qingshan gazed at the stars and began thinking about beyond the Nine Heavens again. He had no idea what kind of place that was. He thought of brother ox and Xiao An and wondered if they were well right now. In the end, the sky full of stars turned into Han Qiongzhi¡¯s furious face, and he thought to himself, Qiongzhi, oh Qiongzhi. You gave me permission to visit the Parlour of Clouds and Rain anyway, though all I did was find the sect master to accompany me.

    In the end, his thoughts returned to the present. E Dan and Si Qing were both great enemies of his. He had to increase his cultivation as quickly as possible. He would spend half a day at most with the matters of the academy before going to find Ru Xin and study the meaning of water with her.

    Qiu Haitang opened her eyes, gazing at his face that was in thought. Gradually, she no longer objected to this posture, instead finding some peace.

    ¡°Why did you come to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?¡± Qiu Haitang broke the silence and asked the question that weighed the heaviest on her mind.

    ¡°It was a coincidence.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°How was it so coincidental?¡± Qiu Haitang was unconvinced.

    ¡°I knew the new Marquis of Ruyi had arrived, so I¡¯ve always been investigating him. I learnt you were harassed in the marquis¡¯ estate and specially came to comfort you.¡±

    Li Qingshan came up with some lies without much thought, but never did he think Qiu Haitang would be extremely convinced. She was touched. She pressed a little closer to him, ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d still remember me. I thought you forgot about me long ago.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled inside as he said tenderly, ¡°But it seems like you¡¯ve already replaced me with someone new, so all I can do is watch on and protect you in secret.¡±

    ¡°Someone new? Since when?¡± Qiu Haitang widened her eyes as if she had been wrongly accused. When she heard how he had been secretly watching on and protecting her, she felt slightly touched.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you attend to the man beside you very eagerly?¡± Li Qingshan put on a jealous act.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Li Qingshan? You don¡¯t have to think too much about it. He¡¯s my saviour. He risked his life for me and offended E Dan. I only felt sorry for him, so I held a banquet to thank him. I don¡¯t feel anything else towards him. When I first met him, I wanted to kill him very much, you know?¡±

    Then she mentioned how she became acquainted with Li Qingshan. She did not even hide the matter of him killing Wei Zhongyuan for her. Even Qiu Haitang herself had no idea why she explained everything so seriously, but when she saw how discontent he was, she could not help but smile. She no longer felt angry over how he took advantage of her earlier.

    ¡°In other words, I need to properly thank him too!¡±

    Li Qingshan was originally joking, but he felt rather strange inside after everything she had told him so far. He could tell that Qiu Haitang truly had no interest in Li Qingshan at all. Instead, she held special feelings towards Northmoon, someone she had not seen many times at all.

    Logically speaking, it had been a piece of cake for Northmoon to save her, but Li Qingshan had truly risked his life.

 Chapter 614 â€“ Heart of Rouge, Thread of Lovesickness

    In truth, this was normal. When Qiu Haitang first met Li Qingshan, not only did she oppose Li Qingshan, but he was still a teenager. He seemed like a crude child from the countryside, so why would she think like that?

    On the other hand, Northmoon had appeared when she experienced the greatest pain and was the weakest. He had presented himself as a young man of flawless handsomeness, and he played the role of ¡°a friend of women¡±. Afterwards, the two of them worked together to destroy the Green Vine mountain, an event filled with excitement and romance. As a result, he left behind the deepest impression possible.

    Qiu Haitang grumbled, ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with you? Even if he has to be thanked, it¡¯s me thanking him. I¡¯ve already promised to pledge myself to him to pay him back.¡±

    ¡°Then would you like me to send you over so that you can complete your promise?¡± Li Qingshan pulled with some force and Qiu Haitang laid on him. She turned her head away. ¡°Whatever you want. I¡¯m long in hair and short in wit anyway, and I have no free will either!¡±

    Li Qingshan found this funny inside. Women sure could be petty. His face stiffened. ¡°I think I better just kill him.¡±

    Qiu Haitang said in a hurry, ¡°Don¡¯t! I owe him for his kindness!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with me anyway.¡±

    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s got something to do with you. Are you happy now? Thank him however you want to thank him, but you can¡¯t harm or kill him!¡±

    Qiu Haitang was truly afraid he would do something like that. He had been butchering people during both times they met, while the name ¡°Northmoon¡± had never brought on a gentle, kind-hearted impression in the eyes of the cultivators. Instead, it represented flagrance and slaughter, where he was capable of anything once he lost his temper.

    ¡°That won¡¯t work. I¡¯ll be the one losing out otherwise.¡± Li Qingshan set up a trap to lure her in.

    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I want you to properly thank me first, and then I¡¯ll give him some benefits. After all, you can¡¯t call that humiliating me forcefully or hurting your heart!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re doing. You¡¯re using my words against me. You¡¯re saying all of that just to¡­¡± Qiu Haitang grumbled, thoroughly experiencing the craftiness of daemons. She had shut him off earlier, so he turned around and twisted her words against her.

    ¡°Just to what? Love between a man and a woman, assimilation between yin and yang, is perfectly justifiable. That¡¯s something you said!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You just won¡¯t admit it, won¡¯t you?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and kissed Qiu Haitang¡¯s lips. He discovered that not only were not stiff, but they were so tender that they seemed like they could break from the slightest touch.

    Li Qingshan did not go too far. He asked with a smile, ¡°How does it feel?¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s mind was in a mess. She was unable to control herself, so how could she still answer him? Li Qingshan kissed her again, directly parting her lips and entangling his tongue with hers. Qiu Haitang was thrown into an even greater disarray, collapsing limply on Li Qingshan. Kissing until they were aroused, Li Qingshan placed a hand on her breasts that were so full that they seemed like they were about to rip her clothes, struggling to get a good grip over the sheer size. He smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s see whether I¡¯ve hurt your heart or not.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    Qiu Haitang grabbed his hand. Li Qingshan was already aroused, so he could no longer care so much anymore, but when he saw the pleading gaze in her eyes, he could not help himself as his heart softened. Harassing a feeble woman because of his momentary urges was not something a proper man would do. He had taken advantage of her already anyway, so he scooped up Qiu Haitang.

    ¡°Looks like no one¡¯s coming. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Leaving the dwelling, Li Qingshan did not travel off in the direction of Moon Court lake. Instead, he arrived in a mountain range, within a tranquil valley. There was a beautiful, little lake in there.

    When Li Qingshan discovered this place when he was refining bodies of water, he found the scenery very nice, and the spiritual qi here was quite dense. It was not suitable for establishing a sect, but it was extremely suitable for carving out a dwelling and cultivating alone.

    Li Qingshan made Qiu Haitang wait on the shore as he dived into the lakewater. A while later, the surface of the water parted into two, presenting a path. Qiu Haitang entered the lake through the path, following it until she reached the very bottom.

    She only saw that a huge space had been hollowed out at the bottom of the lake. The ceiling was made out of the huge piece of crystal originally in Qiu Haitang¡¯s dwelling, so she could see the rippling light and swimming aquatic life when she raised her head.

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and smiled. ¡°How is it?¡±

    Qiu Haitang was happy with it inside, but she said, ¡°It¡¯s like a prison. I¡¯m going to suffocate to death.¡±

    ¡°Being in prison is still better than being someone¡¯s concubine, right? Isn¡¯t that cultivation in the first place? If you had cut out some of your random thoughts and properly focused on cultivation, you wouldn¡¯t have been so weak!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still not¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still not what?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked mischievously. He did feel a little like he was keeping a secret mistress. However, he probably would not have too much time to pay ¡°visits¡± to this beautiful mistress, not to mention this beautiful mistress did not want any ¡°visits¡± from him either.

    ¡°Hmph, nothing!¡± Qiu Haitang snorted coldly and did her best to recover her composure from when she was sect master Qiu.

    ¡°Here, take it!¡±

    Li Qingshan took our granny You¡¯s hundred treasures pouch and golden core and handed it to her. He had glanced through the hundred treasures pouch, but there was nothing that caught his eye. She was not even as wealthy as E Feng and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators. Granny You had persisted for many years before finally making it to Golden Core, so any resources that she had would have been mostly consumed already. After becoming a Golden Core cultivator, she had been finished off before she could even build up anything.

    The golden core could not truly be regarded as a ¡°golden¡± core. Instead, it was completely pink and slightly gentle and charming in appearance. It was not a regular golden core. Instead, it was like the Ocean pearl that the Arts of the Boundless Ocean could condense, a special golden core condensed from a special cultivation method. With how unrelated their elements were, it would not bring much benefits even if he ate it.

    Qiu Haitang was rather surprised. According to her knowledge, the golden core condensed from the Major Method of Clouds and Rain was not like this. If she refined it blindly, it would definitely lead to only detriment. Granny You must have had a fortuitous encounter elsewhere, so she shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡±

    Their relationship right now was already rather strange. If she accepted something so precious from him, then she really would seem like a concubine.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. I told you to take it, so just take it! If you dare to speak up to me again, I¡¯ll give you a thorough spanking!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her plump bottom that propped up her dress. It definitely would be quite the sensation, which instead made him rather eager for her to talk back. As it went, ¡°Don¡¯t say that I didn¡¯t warn you¡±.

    Under his scarlet eyes shining with a nefarious light, where would she find the courage to talk back? Shee accepted the golden core and hundred treasures pouch, which instead left Li Qingshan slightly disappointed.

    In the end, Li Qingshan gave her a jade tablet and imbued it with a sliver of his soul sense. ¡°It¡¯s relatively reclusive here, and you¡¯re protected by formations, so you shouldn¡¯t be in any danger. If you really do face any critical issues, crush it. Even if I can¡¯t rush over immediately, I¡¯ll moziblise the water immediately and help you fend off the enemy. This is called helping someone to the end.¡±

    ¡°Will you be leaving?¡± Qiu Haitang suddenly became rather reluctant to see him go.

    ¡°If I stay for any longer, I can¡¯t guarantee that I won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged with a smile. He leapt up and shot out of the lake water without even looking back, unfurling his wings and taking off into the air.

    Qiu Haitang gazed upwards for a while before lowering her head and sighing. She thought, If you could stay here forever and accompany me, so what if I let you do whatever you want to?

    The moment the thought occurred to her, she leapt in fright. However, upon further thought, she realised that even if it were against her will, she would not allow a man to force himself on her. Even if it did happen, she would not feel a hint of resentment or blame either. She would only blame him for leaving too decisively and too heartlessly.

    She refused to think too much about it. She cast down the formations first before arranging her new home under the lake and nodding in satisfaction. Although it was a little small, she did not have to bother with the matters of the Sect of Clouds and Rain anymore, nor would there be anyone to disturb her. Like he said, this was a good place to cultivate in peace.

    Sigh, what am I thinking of him again for? He might not even come back in the future. She could not help but sigh inside, but immediately, another voice leapt out, He didn¡¯t get his way today, so he¡¯ll definitely come back. Hmph, men- no, male daemons!

    Even if he does return, so what? With how he does whatever he wants, how can he be tied down by a mere woman? One voice said.

    Aren¡¯t you a little too unconfident in yourself? Didn¡¯t he specially come to see you and feel jealous because of you? He came both times to save you from danger. You¡¯re fated to be together! The other voice argued.

    The two voices made a racket by themselves. Qiu Haitang lowered her head and checked granny You¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± A pink jade slip appeared in her hand. Jade slips like these were mostly used to record cultivation methods. The last thing that Li Qingshan lacked was cultivation methods, so it obviously did not catch his attention.

    Qiu Haitang remembered the strange golden core that belonged to granny You. She shut her eyes and gathered her focus, directing her soul sense into the jade slip. Much later, she opened her eyes and became amazed.

    As it turned out, the cultivation method was called the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge. It was even more profound and wondrous than the Major Method of Clouds and Rain. The foundation of the Major Method of Clouds and Rain was still based on sexual intercourse and dual cultivation. The arts of charm were merely an extension of its functions. Both men and women could practise the cultivation method.

    However, only women could practise the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge, and it inherently came with an ability to charm.

    Rouge was originally what mortal women smeared on their cheeks and lips, cosmetics that accentuated their beauty. However, unrivalled beauties like Qiu Haitang who were born attractive had naturally-painted lips and faces like flowers blooming in spring in the first place. Cosmetics instead became unessential.

    However, the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge was as its name suggested. It was like it applied rouge to the heart, increasing a woman¡¯s charm from their very basis. The further they cultivated, the more charming they would become. Even if they did not purposefully use arts of charm, they could still mesmerise everyone and everything. The golden core condensed was known as the Rouge Heart.

    Simply avoiding sexual intercourse as a requirement had solved the greatest problem Qiu Haitang currently faced. She was reluctant to give her chaste to someone so easily, so she had never had a cultivation partner. She did not have to worry anymore with this cultivation method.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder granny You managed to undergo the heavenly tribulation successfully despite being so old and being in secluded cultivation alone. It¡¯s all thanks to this cultivation method!¡±

    However, granny You had already become too old, so she was unable to unleash much of the cultivation method¡¯s charms anymore. On top of that, she confronted Li Qingshan who practised the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, so she was unable to escape death in the end.

    To Qiu Haitang¡¯s joyous surprise, the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge also recorded a few techniques with wondrous effects: Gentle Hands of Red¡ªwith merely a gentle wave of the hand, the opponent¡¯s body would become limp and immobilised; Rouge Beauty¡ªthe moment it was used, even the most vicious enemies, regardless of men or women, could not hurt or harm the user.

    In hindsight, Qiu Haitang must have fallen for this move. She had never been a particularly softhearted person. After all, she had ordered Wei Zhongyuan¡¯s death without even batting an eye. Granny You who she was not even familiar with had coerced her into such a horrible position, yet she still could not help but speak for her when her life was at stake.

    The technique that interested Qiu Haitang the most was called, ¡°Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red¡±. With your chaste as the medium, it could only be used once in your life, but it could make a man fall deeply in love with you for the rest of his life, regretlessly infatuated and longing for you tirelessly.

    Even forged steel would wrap around your finger at your whim. Even the unromantic would become the romantic!

 Chapter 615 â€“ The Meaning of Water

    Qiu Haitang shook her head and dismissed this absurd thought. Not only would the technique blind the man with love, the woman would be the same. If she still refused to be lovesick, the red thread would fade in colour, and she would waste her only opportunity for nothing.

    She sank into her thoughts again. She could only use this technique once in her life, so she had to be extremely prudent. She became slightly excited inside. They all say that those who possess the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty never have their love reciprocated and will die in melancholy. I don¡¯t believe this at all. Master, oh master, watch as Haitang breaks this predestined fate!

    If she had obtained this cultivation method a few years ago, she definitely would have used it on Hua Chengzan without the slightest hesitation, but it took her quite a lot of thought before she could make any decision now. After thinking long and hard, she decided to not think about this for now. She would grasp the cultivation method first.

    Originally, changing her cultivation method was not this easy. However, the Major Method of Clouds and Rain and the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge had many similar aspects. They both involved Profound Yin spiritual qi, and she happened to have a Rouge Heart in her possession.

    Hmph, Northmoon, if you ever dare to force yourself onto me, don¡¯t even think about getting away scot-free, without taking any responsibility!

    Qiu Haitang smiled proudly and immediately sat down. She held the Rouge Heart in her hand and began practising the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge.

    Gradually, a dense, red light spread out, permeating her surroundings and making the pitch-black bottom of the lake an extremely magnificent place.

    On one side, Li Qingshan controlled his mirror clone to continue refining the rivers and lakes of the Ruyi commandery. In the past, he had refined many large rivers and lakes, but he had done so in a hurry. Now, he was carefully experiencing the process. He wanted to refine all the bodies of water within the Ruyi commandery so that he could make preparations for breaking through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle and the second heavenly tribulation.

    On the other side, he spent half a day dealing with the majority of the matters in the academy before going to the school of Medicine to find Ru Xin.

    In the alchemy room, Ru Xin had already refined the Jade Melting cauldron. She was currently refining a cauldron of pills, but her eyebrows were slightly furrowed. She seemed rather uneasy. Suddenly, she heard Li Qingshan calling for her outside, so she stood up and opened the door. A smile immediately appeared on her face.

    ¡°Congratulations, congratulations! Sir, you¡¯ve conquered another beautiful woman! You¡¯ve found your partner for life now!¡±

    Ru Xin interrupted him. ¡°Then why have you come here?¡±

    ¡°Stop making me explain all the time. Didn¡¯t we agree on it?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, looks like you didn¡¯t end up getting your way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not as lustful as you think I am!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not boasting with that. If he truly were lustful in nature, then the night roamers had all those women for him to enjoy. There was so much variety in type and age that even a harem of three thousand paled in comparison.

    As long as the night roamers developed properly, he could easily sleep with a different one every day without doubling up, all the way until the end of time. However, if he spent all his time and energy on this, that would simply be stupid.

    Ru Xin could not help but admit that too. Even the weaker Qi Practitioners of the academy would often do things like going drinking with women. It truly was anything but strange for them to have a few consorts outside the academy. Li Qingshan could already be considered as rather self-disciplined in this respect.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go then, you lustless man!¡± Ru Xin stowed her cauldron away. She no longer had to attend to the cauldron at all times now.

    ¡°To where?¡±

    ¡°Obviously to a place of cultivation!¡±

    Ru Xin took off into the air, and Li Qingshan followed closely behind. They left the academy and arrived in the sky.

    Ru Xin shut her eyes as if she was sensing for something. A while later, she determined her direction and flew off towards the south.

    Li Qingshan gazed into the distance. The horizon was a line of black clouds.

    Gentle drizzle drifted down from the dark skies, swept about by the wind like white mist, silently nourishing the earth.

    Ru Xin descended and landed on open plains. The verdant, green grass reached all the way up to her waist.

    ¡°So you were looking for a place with rain!¡± Li Qingshan landed close behind her.

    ¡°This is the first lesson!¡±

    Ru Xin extended her right hand. The drizzle in the surroundings revolved and danced around, gathering in her hand and forming a white ball of water.

    ¡°How difficult can that be?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, and all the drizzle within three hundred meters of him was violently drained away, forming a semi-spherical space without a single droplet of rain and condensing into a huge ball of water in his hand.

    As long as he wanted to, even draining all the drizzle within five kilometers of him would not be difficult. In terms of control over water, even Ru Xin, a merfolk, paled in comparison.

    ¡°You idiot, not like that! Look closely!¡±

    Ru Xin brought the white ball of water before Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan discovered that every single droplet of rain was flying around, but they did not merge together. They seemed to be dancing about randomly, but they did not collide even a single time.

    Ru Xin¡¯s gaze drifted like the light drizzle as if she had entered an extremely deep recollection.

    Li Qingshan tossed away the huge ball of water and extended his hand again, gathering the drizzle once more. He discovered that maintaining the overall shape of the ball while maintaining the trajectories of the thousands of droplets of water at the same time was not easy.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Ru Xin casually tossed her ball of water at his face. It turned into mist mid-air and flooded Li Qingshan¡¯s face. The moment he felt some of the moisture, the ball of mist dispersed. He asked in surprise, ¡°Let¡¯s go? But you haven¡¯t even said anything yet.¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°What do you want to hear from a lesson that doesn¡¯t even cost you a dime?¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°How much do you want?¡±

    ¡°Forget about it. Hold onto that thing in your hand!¡±

    Ru Xin took off and arrived in a small, fenced courtyard on the edge of a village. A guard dog barked madly at her. She shot a glance at it, and it immediately whimpered, scurrying back into its kennel with its tail between its legs.

    Afterwards, she pointed at the tank of water in a corner and shot a glance at Li Qingshan in the same way. ¡°Stick your head in there!¡±

    ¡°What kind of cultivation is this? I¡¯ve even seen many large rivers and lakes, so what can a tank of water do? Don¡¯t even think about fooling me!¡±

    Ru Xin smiled, or more accurately, she forced out a smile. ¡°Immediately!¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at her for quite a while before walking over to the water tank helplessly and plunging his head in there.

    In the house, a farmer¡¯s wife with a kitchen knife in her had peered through the crack in the door fearfully and saw a strange sight. A woman in white as beautiful as a goddess stood in the centre of the courtyard as a large man plunged his head into the water tank.

    Much later, Ru Xin knocked the side of the water tank and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± She still did not give any explanation.

    Li Qingshan rushed here and there with Ru Xin, witnessing all kinds of water, from wells to puddles, from small trickles to deep pools.

    Only the ball of water that Li Qingshan still held in his hand since the very beginning felt a little like cultivation. The rest was all performance art, or more accurately, being fooled.

    For example, the well he leapt in was actually a dry well. He said, ¡°There¡¯s no water in here at all!¡± Ru Xin answered, ¡°Exactly because there¡¯s no water.¡± before sealing the well for a whole day. As Li Qingshan sat at the bottom of the well, he was even prepared to commit murder.

    If anyone else dared to fool him like this, he would have smashed their heads in with a punch long ago. However, although Ru Xin¡¯s various demands truly seemed no different from performance art, very stupid and very pointless, they also seemed to be hiding great meaning.

    For the sake of his great cause of cultivation, Li Qingshan could only put up with it.

    He felt like Ru Xin seemed to be in a rather bad mood. She did not even joke around, her face overcast. Only when he finished cultivating, or in other words, when he had been successfully fooled, would she let out a smile as if the clouds had cleared up.

    Of course, he was not a romantic who was willing to do various stupid things to make a beauty smile. All of this was for the sake of cultivation. Yep, exactly that! Even if he found the smile quite nice, he was only playing his role as her friend.

    Several days later, under the dripping eaves of a ruined mountain temple, Ru Xin sat on the stone steps and propped up her face, gazing at the gloomy skies in a silent trance.

    Li Qingshan sat beside her, gazing at the droplets of water. Just like all their predecessors, they landed on the groove in the tiles and were smashed to pieces.

    And what was the meaning of this performance? She still did not explain it.

    Li Qingshan listened to the sound of rain. His mind gradually settled down, and he recalled the various kinds of water he had come across during the past few days.

    The water trapped in the tank silently seeped through every crack. The bottom of the dry well was filled with moisture. The deep pool seemed bottomless at first glance, while the muddy and shallow puddles clearly reflected the sky, as well as her face.

    Ru Xin suddenly stood up and yawned. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s about time to go back.¡±

    ¡°Just what is the meaning of all this?¡± Li Qingshan could not help but ask.

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Ru Xin shrugged.

    ¡°In other words, you admit you spent the last few days fooling me!¡± Li Qingshan pushed closer to her in a confrontational manner.

    ¡°Do you know what you mean to me?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback, and his feet stopped.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like how I don¡¯t know what I mean to you either. Water has no fixed form, just like how all is impermanent. All I can do I get you to see and feel. As for the meaning, all you can do is ask yourself and look at your own hand.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the ball of water in his hand. Under Ru Xin¡¯s request, he had maintained it the entire time. Before he knew it, it already began showing signs of stability. There was still a difference compared to Ru Xin¡¯s, but he had already improved a lot.

    ¡°I¡¯ll admit you have a point!¡±

    Ru Xin quietened down. ¡°Those words weren¡¯t from me. My mother told me that!¡±

    ¡°Your mother!? Did she also make you plunge your head into a water tank or lock you up in a dry well?¡± The actual question Li Qingshan wanted to ask was not this, but he was unable to bring himself to ask that when he saw her expression.

    ¡°Why would my mother play tricks on me!?¡± Ru Xin stared at him in surprise like he was an idiot.

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes before smiling gladly. She¡¯s finally back to normal at least.

    Ru Xin suddenly took out a neatly-folded Communication talisman. She listened quietly for a while and said, ¡°My master is calling me. Hmm? Chu Tian is awake!¡±

    ¡°I better see for myself too then!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He also knew that cultivation was not something that could be accomplished in a single stroke. Since he had already seen what he needed to see, what he needed to do next was comprehend in peace and search for the meaning within.

    The two of them took off into the sky together. When they passed through the clouds, Li Qingshan suddenly asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, of course I wouldn¡¯t know what I mean to you. And, if you want to know what you mean to me, you can just ask me. People aren¡¯t water. They can help one another to understand!¡±

    Above the clouds, the sun shone brilliantly as the blue sky stretched as far as the eye could see. The pure-white sea of clouds rose and fell, extending into the horizon.

    Ru Xin was mildly taken aback. She smiled resplendently. ¡°Perhaps!¡±

 Chapter 616 â€“ Awakening

    Suddenly, Chu Tian¡¯s eyes opened once again, gazing into the darkness before him. They were no longer hollow and empty, shining with a hint of intelligence.

    Where is this?

    Thunk! In struggle, he threw a punch at the glass, followed by a second punch, a third punch¡­ His fist became a bloody mess very soon as blood spread through the faint, blue Water of Recollection.

    Crack! The glass fractured! His strikes became even more forceful as the cracks rapidly spread. In the end, the glass shattered with a whoosh. The Water of Recollection poured out, and he fell onto the ground. He wanted to prop himself up, but he felt feeble for a moment, unable to move at all.

    The light in the passageway approached from the distance, lighting up one by one. In the end, even the surroundings lit up. Hua Ci arrived before Chu Tian. ¡°You¡¯ve finally awakened!¡±

    Chu Tian faltered for quite a while before barely making out. ¡°Who are you? And who am I?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi gradually opened her eyes. She discovered that she was lying on a bed and covered with a thin blanket. She heard the sound of waves from below, and the smell of lotus flowers was everywhere.

    In a daze, she felt like this tiny room was heaven, as she had just returned from hell.

    This is¡­ the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind!

    After blanking out momentarily, her memories returned very soon, filling her head. She propped herself up, and the thin blanket slid off her body. Only then did she realise that she was bare. She subconsciously rubbed her skin. Her skin that had been ripped to pieces had already recovered, just as smooth and bright as before, but it did seem a little pale due to a loss of blood.

    She climbed out of bed and walked over to the mirror, only to see an enchanting figure in the reflection with tall breasts, a smooth belly, and slender legs. Her appearance was not unrivalled, but it could be regarded as beautiful.

    However, her face was gloomy, completely lacking the pride or dissatisfaction a woman would have when they checked themselves in the mirror. Her gaze was calm and unperturbed, like she was gazing at a rotting corpse.

    She turned her body and showed her back to the mirror, but she continued to stare at the mirror. The posture was extremely strange, like a human gorgon.

    A snake also existed on her clean, smooth back. It was still the colourful, tiny snake, but it had become much larger, forming a figure-eight and biting its tail as if it was trying to devour itself. However, it did not move at all as if it had fallen asleep.

    A smile appeared on her pale face.

    However, she would never simply await her doom. She maintained a sliver of clarity in the pain that almost collapsed her mind, urging the original, colourful snake to devour the other venomous snakes one by one.

    Devouring mindlessly, the colourful, tiny snake even ended up treating its own tail as another venomous snake, trying its hardest to devour itself. It had only settled down and fallen asleep under her comforting. That was also when she fainted.

    Qian Rongzhi looked away and made her way out of the door.

    Gu Yanying sat on the edge of the terrace, holding a long fishing pole in her hand with the line dangling in the lake of lotuses. She looked back. ¡°Have you slept well?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi went up and knelt down formally, lowering her head. ¡°Qian Rongzhi sincerely asks master to pass on the Illustrations of Naraka!¡±

    Gu Yanying extended her hand and gently felt Qian Rongzhi¡¯s face, sliding down to her neck and gripping it gently. ¡°Perhaps killing you right now would be the best choice, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°I concur, or your disciple will end up killing you sooner or later, master!¡±

    ¡°My foolish disciple, why must you torture yourself like this?¡±

    Gu Yanying let out a long sigh and showed a hint of pity. This was not an act, but it made Qian Rongzhi even more furious than any humiliation or coercion. She straightened herself, and the hell snake on her back immediately awakened, flickering its forked tongue.

    ¡°And why must you torture yourself like this, master?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait and see what happens. Heh, I¡¯ve caught one.¡± Gu Yanying swung the fishing pole, and a carp leapt out of the lake. She swung it towards Qian Rongzhi. ¡°Go cook it and treat your master to some filial respect!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi was taken aback. She had never done something like that in her entire life. Although she had been harassed in the Qian family, she was still a Qi Practitioner after all.

    ¡°Go. I¡¯ll never pass the greatest, secret cultivation method of the school of Legalism to you so easily or casually!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived in the underground stack room on Benevolence island with Ru Xin and saw Chu Tian wrapped in a blanket, sitting there quietly. His cultivation had been completely destroyed, no stronger than a mortal, but he gave off a feeling deep like an abyss and lofty like a mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯ll leave here up to you. He has recovered some of his memories from his past life, but the memories of his current life seem to be completely missing. However, you can¡¯t be too certain about that either.¡±

    Hua Ci handed things over to Ru Xin and made his way out. He had already completed his responsibilities as a doctor.

    Li Qingshan and Ru Xin glanced at one another before looking at Chu Tian on the ground.

    ¡°Fellows, please tell me why I have lost the memories of my current life, as well as why I suffered such heavy wounds.¡±

    Chu Tian asked. Actually, what he wanted to ask the most was where had the Heaven Climbing Vine buried in the depths of his soul had gone? Did the two of them take it?

    Li Qingshan was unable to adjust to this. If the original Chu Tian was a rowdy primary schooler, then the person before him was a level-headed university professor. They were poles apart.

    ¡°Why? Heh, because you were a bastard!¡±

    Chu Tian showed interest. ¡°Please elaborate!¡±

    Li Qingshan roughly explained all of the bastard things Chu Tian had done in the past. Chu Tian let out a long sigh and bowed deeply. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be so unbearable in this life. It¡¯s no wonder I ended up like this. If I have offended you, please forgive me.¡±

    ¡°To think that you can actually turn over a new leaf. You¡¯re a Reincarnated Celestial, so just which celestial heaven did you come from, and how¡¯s it like up in the heavens? Tell me!¡±

    Li Qingshan crouched down and studied Chu Tian carefully. He was extremely interested in the world outside the well Golden Cicada mentioned.

    ¡°I have recovered some of the memories from my past life, but they¡¯re incomplete. I probably won¡¯t be able to answer these questions right now.¡±

    ¡°Who knows if you¡¯re lying or not. You might even be faking your apology while holding onto your grudge against me, thinking about how to get revenge in the future. I might as well smack you to death right now.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand. He was about to swing down, when Ru Xin stopped him. ¡°It took my master so much effort to awaken him!¡±

    ¡°I was the one who had been rude and provoked you in the beginning, so even if I get killed, I deserve it. I¡¯ve only lost an arm, so how can I resent you? If I can recover my memories, I¡¯ll tell you everything you want to know that is in my knowledge.¡±

    Chu Tian silently eliminated the possibility of Li Qingshan taking the Heaven Climbing Vine. He found Li Qingshan¡¯s voice to be extremely familiar. When he was unconscious, this seemed to be the voice that awakened him.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll spare you for now. You better start anew and watch yourself!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled back his hand. He was not afraid of revenge from Chu Tian at all. So what if he was a Reincarnated Celestial? His cultivation had been reduced to nothing. By the time he reached Golden Core, who knew how many years would have passed already. By then, finishing him off would still be the matter of a single strike.

    However, what surprised him was Chu Tian had not even batted an eye before the solemn murderousness he had shown earlier. Instead, he seemed to be thinking about something else. Let alone the original Chu Tian, even people like Liu Zhangqing were nowhere close in terms of willpower and disposition.

    Ru Xin stepped aside. ¡°Alright. Since you¡¯ve already awakened, you can go. I must warn you that it¡¯s best if you conceal your identity and leave silently, or your life might be in danger.¡±

    Chu Tian asked, ¡°Is it related to the woman called Qian Rongzhi?¡±

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. In the past, he had only mentioned that Chu Tian well and truly deserved to become acquainted with Qian Rongzhi when he berated Chu Tian¡¯s various misdeeds. He did not expect him to remember it firmly.

    ¡°If it were simply qi deviation, why would I have been moved to such a secretive place for retreatment? I might have offended this fellow before me, but he¡¯s broadminded. He would never stoop to the level of making trouble for a cripple, so I must have another powerful enemy somewhere outside. Please tell me about her. Although I have nothing of worth on my right now, I¡¯ll definitely pay you back for saving my life once I recover some more of my memories.¡±

    Chu Tian said with great sincerity. He had already rained the original Chu Tian with curses. As his reincarnation, he had been born with talent greater than regular people, and he possessed an exotic treasure like the Heaven Climbing Vine, yet he had only undergone a single heavenly tribulation in the span of two decades. He was basically a piece of trash, and his behaviour was so atrocious that he would not even acknowledge the saviour of his life, wanting him to perish by himself.

    Thankfully, he was very fortunate, facing such misfortune and somehow getting out alive, even awakening some of his past memories prematurely and avoiding the conflict between the memories of the two lives. It could even be described as a blessing in disguise. His priority right now was to understand the current situation and understand what kind of world this was. Only then could he gradually plan out his recovery.

    Ru Xin roughly explained Chu Tian¡¯s origins, background, and basic relationship with other people in the Academy of the Hundred Schools. She basically supplemented Li Qingshan from an objective perspective, and she also mentioned how Qian Rongzhi came to visit him in the end.

    In the end, she allowed Chu Tian to remain here and recuperate, leaving him with some food and books.

    After Li Qingshan and Ru Xin left, Chu Tian murmured softly, ¡°Qian Rongzhi!¡±

    When Li Qingshan berated him for his numerous ¡°misdeeds¡± and even threatened his life, he was able to remain calm. However, whenever he heard the name ¡°Qian Rongzhi¡±, his emotions would surge uncontrollably, leading to a sliver of deep hatred.

    His memories were already lost, but the will actually still remained. The hatred was so deep that even he felt surprised.

    ¡°Looks like the Heaven Climbing Vine has probably been taken away by this Qian Rongzhi. I need to find a way to retrieve it. And, if I don¡¯t release myself from this hatred, it¡¯ll be detrimental to cultivation in the end. I need to resolve it!¡±

    After leaving Benevolence island, Li Qingshan returned to the Qing Xiao dwelling and began a new round of cultivation. He wanted to look through what he comprehended during the past few days before converting it into actual cultivation.

    Time passed bit by bit. Before he knew it, Chu Danqing¡¯s calls rang out from outside the dwelling.

    ¡°Qingshan, are you in there?¡±

 Chapter 617 â€“ Late Foundation Establishment, the Hundred Beasts Formation

    He had witnessed the various forms of water. He possessed god-like talent. He was the lord of countless rivers and lakes. However, he had never considered the meaning of water.

    Was the meaning of water softness? That seemed right.

    Was it goodness? That was probably correct too.

    Streams trickled, while rivers raged gloriously. The white clouds were soft, but the ocean was deep.

    The water in the tank nurtured life, while the water under the eaves hid allegories.

    It was as if every single form of water possessed a deep meaning. Because water was everchanging and took no fixed form, it only made it more difficult to find its meaning.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. Countless droplets of water condensed into a smooth mirror.

    Innate ability, Watermirror¡¯s Image.

    He stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long time before suddenly smiling. He realised that he was not searching for the meaning of water, but the meaning of ¡°me¡±. Just like the water mirror, if it reflected flowers, then it was flowers. If it reflected the moon, then it was the moon.

    That was why Ru Xin had not answered his water. What good-natured like water? What triumphing force with gentleness? What others said was meaningless. Water could take on a myriad of forms, so all he had to do was ask himself, What type suits you the most?

    Was it the gracefulness of the clouds? Was it the forcefulness of the rivers? Or the steadiness of dripping water?

    No, none of them! There was only a single type that suited him. Ru Xin had never shown him it, but it had always been deeply embedded in his memory. It was the boundless ocean. It could surge violently, and it could be completely flat. Apart from the vague word ¡°boundless¡±, there was nothing else that could easily summarise the ocean.

    The ocean was probably the most difficult to imitate.

    All rivers converged in the ocean. It was boundless in capacity.

    How much pain and setbacks did a person have to go through to be able to calmly accept all of the grit and sediment? And how much forbearance and intelligence was needed to suppress the ever-surging sea of consciousness?

    Li Qingshan was still unable to answer these questions. He was still too young, but he was not dejected, as he was still very young. He had plenty of time to experience it all. He believed even the ancient oceans began accumulating from a single droplet of water.

    He spread his arms with a smile, and his mind expanded into the surroundings indefinitely, sensing the endless water spiritual qi and gathering it towards him. He lit up with blue light, shining brighter and brighter.

    With a boom, all of the light dispersed. He had finally reached the sixth layer of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, and at the same time, he had also broken through to late Foundation Establishment.

    Outside the Qing Xiao dwelling, Chu Danqing happened to be running out of patience when the formation suddenly opened up, and Li Qingshan strode out. ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait. Let¡¯s go meet up with them!¡±

    Chu Danqing was mildly surprised. He smiled. ¡°Qingshan, congratulations on breaking through again! Golden Core is in sight!¡± The more powerful Li Qingshan was, the more confidence he had when meeting up with them.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s called an Ocean pearl for me. Let¡¯s go! We can¡¯t make them grow reckless from waiting!¡±

    Although he still could not break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle, he was no longer in a hurry either. He could already see the direction he had to head off in. There would be a day when he managed to merge fire and water.

    The two of them travelled eastward and arrived at the boundary of the Clear River prefecture. The mountains stood like huge pillars or sharp swords, extending towards the sky. White clouds drifted between them, which formed a precipitous and beautiful landscape.

    ¡°Look, it¡¯s right there!¡±

    Chu Danqing pointed at the tallest mountain among them. It was surrounded with sheer cliffs such that even monkeys would struggle to climb up them. Only birds could scale the mountain. However, two men and a woman sat at the very top, overlooking the other mountains as they sipped tea or alcohol. All three of them seemed graceful and unrestrained like immortals.

    ¡°Little junior brother, you¡¯re late. Who¡¯s this?¡± the eldest male cultivator asked.

    The three of them gazed over from afar. The eldest male cultivator seemed to be in his forties or fifties. He gave off the greatest sense of maturity and level-headedness among them. No one could tell he was one to betray his master.

    ¡°First senior brother, this is my friend, as well as the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture, Li Qingshan.¡± Chu Danqing introduced.

    ¡°Friends? It¡¯s a gathering between juniors and seniors, yet you¡¯ve called an outsider to come along. What is the meaning of this?¡±

    The female cultivator squinted her eyes and studied Li Qingshan, finding the name rather familiar. She was in her thirties, with a thin and beautiful appearance. She wore a palace dress, and she was quite a beauty. However, her cheekbones protruded slightly, which made her seem rather mean.

    Chu Danqing replied in a way that was neither rude or submissive, ¡°Second senior sister, master told me before he passed away that if my seniors were to ever come and find me, I had to bring commander Li along to preside over the situation and ensure fairness.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan. You must be that commander Li who triumphed over the otherfolk in the marquis¡¯ estate. I¡¯ve long heard about you. Now that I¡¯ve seen you with my own eyes today, you truly are valiant. However, we¡¯re dealing with matters between our seniors and juniors today, so it might be inappropriate for you to take part, commander. Our master has been senile, so if he¡¯s a little muddle-headed, please forgive him.¡±

    The last third senior brother said politely. He maintained a smile on his round face the entire time, but he seemed a little fake, like a merchant trying to sell a product. He spoke politely, but he wanted Li Qingshan to leave.

    With his reminder, the first senior brother and second senior sister both stiffened in expression. No wonder it sounds so familiar. So he¡¯s that ¡°Mad Tiger¡±.

    The news regarding the clash between Gu Yanying and Si Qing in the marquis¡¯ estate spread like wildfire, and with it, Li Qingshan made a name for himself. However, the main reason why he became renowned was not because he defeated the fire devourer Zhu Lie and helped Gu Yanying in winning the crucial round, but because he had openly cursed E Dan. With something that insane and reckless, everyone called him ¡°Mad Tiger¡±.

    When the three of them studied Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan was also studying the three of them. The strongest was the first senior brother at late Foundation Establishment, while the second senior sister and third senior brother were both at mid Foundation Establishment. They were not exactly a threat. Chu Shidao was rather good at guiding his disciples. Unfortunately, all he managed to teach them was how to paint, not how to develop a decent moral character.

    Chu Danqing wanted to introduce the three of them to Li Qingshan, but Li Qingshan interrupted him. ¡°Even if you tell me, I won¡¯t be bothered with remembering it. If the three of you have anything to say, spit it out! I will make my personal judgement.¡± What he hated the most was messing around with these empty gestures of courtesy and politeness, let alone when it was with three scums like them.

    The first senior brother and second senior sister were mildly angered. Only the third senior brother managed to maintain a smile, but it was rather forced.

    The second senior sister said, ¡°You aren¡¯t very polite, are you, commander Li?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and arrived on the edge of the cliff, gazing at the mountains below.

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°Seniors, just what do you have to say? You can be frank!¡±

    ¡°Little junior brother, master doted on you in the past, and we were envious of you too. All we could do was work hard on cultivating so that we didn¡¯t embarrass our master. Anyone who mentions us will all mention ¡®master Chu¡¯ in reverence too, so you better not think we¡¯re coveting master¡¯s property. You¡¯re more than welcome to keep those for yourselves, but you have to tell us what our master¡¯s final words and instructions were at the very least.¡±

    The first senior brother justified with fairness and reason. If an outsider were to hear this, they would have thought that not only did Chu Danqing want to keep all of the property for himself, but he even purposefully refused to tell them their master¡¯s last words and instructions because his master favoured him more.

    However, Chu Danqing understood that these so-called ¡°last words¡± and ¡°instructions¡± were all regarding the secret of the Painting Tomb.

    Before he could even answer, the second senior sister said, ¡°What first senior brother said is perfectly reasonable, but there is something I cannot agree to. You are more than welcome to keep the other painting, little junior brother, but surely you have to hand over the painting of master¡¯s wife so that we can take turns in looking after and paying our regards.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told you! The mistress has already gone with master!¡±

    Chu Danqing had once heard Chu Shidao vaguely mention that the first senior brother had betrayed him for the sake of fame and gain, while the second senior sister was a little different. In the past, she had been on very good terms with Chu Shidao, even exceeding what should have existed between a master and a disciple. However, only the painting existed in Chu Shidao¡¯s eyes, which led to envy and eventually hatred. Even with the temptation of the Painting Tomb, she did not forget about the painting, wanting to vent her anger and hatred.

    ¡°A painting commited suicide? Do you think that anyone will believe a lie as ridiculous as that? Don¡¯t tell me you plan on keeping it all for yourself so that you can appreciate it alone?¡±

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re shameless¡­¡± Chu Danqing was so exasperated that he became speechless.

    ¡°I¡¯m shameless? So I¡¯m not allowed to mention what you¡¯ve done? I don¡¯t even want to hear those last words. Hand over the painting, and I¡¯ll leave right now. Do you really think you can keep it for yourself and turn it into a family treasure so that you can pass it down through your descendants once you¡¯re done with it? What a great fucking idea!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. He skidded over and arrived before the second senior sister in the blink of an eye. He raised his right hand and landed a solid slap across her face. He had completed these movements like the flowing clouds and water, with indescribably smoothness and ease.

    After reaching late Foundation Establishment, the strength of his human cultivation had increased drastically. Combined with his arcane artifacts, he was already standing at the apex of Foundation Establishment cultivators. The second senior sister was only at mid Foundation Establishment. And, painters had never been skilled in close combat in the first place, so she was unable to react at all. Although she was protected by spiritual qi, the endless spiritual qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand instantly dispersed it.

    She clutched her face and glared at Li Qingshan in surprise and anger. ¡°How dare you¡­¡± There was also a hint of fear. He¡¯s only at late Foundation Establishment, only a minor realm of cultivation higher than me, so how is he so powerful?!

    ¡°A slap across the face is already a light punishment for telling blind lies. If you utter another word of nonsense, would you believe me if I were to say I¡¯ll make you stay behind and turn you into a family treasure, passing you down through my family once I¡¯m done with you?¡±

    With a wave of her hand, a series of painting scrolls flew out and unfurled behind her. There were many hideous monsters and beasts painted on them, ready to leap out at any time. The first senior brother and third senior brother also powered their spiritual and arcane artifacts to protect themselves in a hurry, taking out painting scrolls one by one. The strength that Li Qingshan had demonstrated had alarmed them.

    The first senior brother said, ¡°Looks like you simply insist on getting involved, commander!¡± The third senior brother said, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that those who talk much err much? Trouble comes from sticking your nose where it doesn¡¯t belong!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°That¡¯s right, and you plan on touching me?¡±

    Suddenly, the surroundings twisted and distorted. Wild beasts leapt out from thin air, and their roars and growls echoed through the mountains.

    ¡°The Hundred Beasts Formation Diagram!¡±

    Chu Danqing exclaimed. The Hundred Beasts Formation Diagram required a total of a hundred beasts. Every single painting was an extremely-common beast, like a beast of prey or a domesticated animal, but the strength of every wild beast was akin to early Foundation Establishment. Assembled in a formation, it only made their strength even more alarming. The formation had been activated so quickly, so it must have been prepared beforehand to be used against him.

    The second senior sister flew into the sky and bellowed, ¡°Li Qingshan, die!¡±

 Chapter 618 â€“ The Might of a Violet Talisman

    The first and third senior brothers were both surprised. They never thought she would take action on a whim. When they set down this trap, they had planned to capture Chu Danqing and coerce him if he refused to oblige. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival had destroyed their plans right from the beginning.

    They were not exactly afraid of how powerful Li Qingshan was. Instead, they were worried about his identity as a Scarlet Hawk commander. As soon as they began fighting, it would be opposing the Hawkwolf Guard. There was also that unfathomable commander Gu who he seemed to be in good graces with.

    ¡°The two of you can stop being so fussy like a woman. Ruthlessness is the mark of a truly great man. If you want the secret to the Painting Tomb, you better take action now. We¡¯ll kill this bastard Li Qingshan, and then we¡¯ll capture Chu Danqing. I have plenty of ways to make him spit out the truth!¡±

    The first senior brother and third senior brother exchanged glances. Their eyes surged with killing intent. However, when they met Li Qingshan¡¯s calm and indifferent gaze, they both shivered inside and backed out of the formation.

    The first senior brother said, ¡°We can discuss everything calmly. Why must we fall out with each other? Commander Li, do you understand the situation you¡¯re in now? When my junior sister is set off, no one can stop her!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If I were to say I had changed my mind and no longer plan on becoming involved, will you let me leave in one piece?¡±

    Chu Danqing was just about to fish out his painting scrolls. When he heard that, he could not help but widen his eyes. Don¡¯t tell me he wants to abandon me because the situation looks bad!

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± The second senior sister bellowed, and the hundred beasts roared together, leading to a gust of foul air and shaking up the mountains. It was a startling sight to behold. Li Qingshan simply stood with his arms behind his back, unfazed like before.

    ¡°About this¡­¡± The first senior brother hesitated, while the third senior brother became troubled too.

    Li Qingshan evaluated the three of them instinctively. The first senior brother was level-headed and afraid to take risks. The third senior brother was flexible and slippery, thus lacking backbone and rigidity. Instead, the second senior sister was the most vengeful and possessed the greatest offensive power.

    However, the primary methods of the school of Painting involved controlling the creatures in the paintings. This was equivalent to the difference between a commander and a military general. Intellect triumphed over courage, so the first senior brother and third senior brother were still a little stronger. When they began fighting, he had to kill them first.

    The first and third senior brothers were finally persuaded. Taking this risk was worth it for the secret of the Painting Tomb!

    The first senior brother let out a long sigh. ¡°We¡¯ve already reached a point of no return, just like how an arrow on a drawn bow must be shot!¡±

    An evil smile appeared on the third senior brother¡¯s slippery face. ¡°Commander Li, don¡¯t blame us for being cruel. You insisted on getting involved with this, seeking your own doom.¡±

    Since the three of them had already made up their minds, when they looked at Li Qingshan and Chu Danqing again, they were like sitting ducks in their eyes, posing absolutely no threat at all.

    If the three of them worked together, coupled with the Hundred Beasts Formation Diagram and the scrolls they had accumulated, they would possess a crushing advantage. No matter how vicious and how powerful Li Qingshan¡¯s techniques and arcane artifacts were, only death would await him.

    The second senior sister said, ¡°Since your strike earlier was unable to kill me, then I¡¯ll kill you. If you drop to your knees right now and give me a hundred bows, followed by a hundred slaps across your face, I can still consider sparing your life.¡±

    ¡°If I wanted to kill you all, it would be as easy as butchering chickens.¡± Li Qingshan let out a wide smile before bringing his hand in front of him. Light glimmered between his fingers.

    ¡°What are you holding in your hand?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a recording stone. A copy of what you¡¯ve said has already been saved. I¡¯ll basically be able to explain myself now with commander Gu.¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the recording stone away in his hundred treasures pouch. He never planned on discussing with them peacefully in the first place before he had even come to the meeting with Chu Danqing.

    ¡°Do you think you can still live?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not answer. He patted Chu Danqing¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Stow the paintings away. All you have to do is focus on protecting yourself.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    ¡°Trust me.¡±

    Chu Danqing stowed his painting away, only leaving behind a few defensive paintings that formed impenetrable walls around him. Li Qingshan also activated his defensive arcane artifacts and cast down a few defensive techniques, enveloping him and Chu Danqing.

    ¡°And I was wondering what you were capable of! Looks like you just want to hole up like a turtle!¡± The second senior sister let out a shrill laugh.

    The first senior brother said, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste anymore time, just in case it leads to unnecessary trouble. Let¡¯s do it!¡±

    The hundred beasts lunged over, as well as the venomous insects and vicious beasts the three of them had summoned from other paintings. It filled their vision and swallowed them.

    It had to be mentioned that painters truly did have outstanding aspects. As long as they had enough time, it was completely possible for them to build up an army. The painter stood alone, so he could only try and take out the painter first, but this was no longer possible now that he was trapped in the formation.

    Li Qingshan raised his head slightly and wrinkled his nose, determining the location of the three people. If he only used what he was capable of as a human cultivator, he was confident he could break out of the formation, but the situation would definitely be extremely dangerous. He would not be able to look out for Chu Danqing, and he was reluctant to have another person learn about this secret of his.

    Before anyone had realised it, he was already holding a thin talisman between two fingers on his right hand, a violet talisman!

    He raised his right hand gently, and the violet talisman floated out. Under the control of his soul sense, it slipped through the cracks between the vicious beasts unbelievably, reaching mid-air before shattering and erupting!

    A scarlet ball the size of a human head suddenly expanded by a hundred times, rising up from the mountains like a red sun. The scarlet light swallowed up all the beasts one by one. Before this violent power, the measly strength of early Foundation Establishment basically seemed insignificant. The impressive Hundred Beasts Formation Diagram lasted for a moment before being reduced to ashes.

    The red sun shone brilliantly, illuminating the entire sky. Time seemed to come to a standstill in that moment. It felt like quite a long while had passed before they heard the thunderous boom.

    A wave of air whistled past. The thick trees and shrubs were easily uprooted, torn apart in the air. The residual shockwave also bent and broke numerous trees, and many of the lush mountains seemed like they had been flattened.

    Chu Danqing¡¯s head rang, temporarily blinded in both eyes. As he waited for his vision to slowly recover, he discovered a portion of the mountain beneath him had been shaved off. The defensive techniques Li Qingshan had used, as well as his several defensive paintings, had all been reduced to ashes. He was shocked. This is the power of a violet talisman!

    Talismans were divided into yellow, scarlet, and violet. Violet talismans were the most valuable, as only Soul Nascence cultivators could create them. Basically only Golden Core cultivators possessed them, and it was virtually impossible for Foundation Establishment cultivators to obtain them. It went without saying how precious they were.

    The power they possessed was obviously extremely great. In the past, when Gu Yanying clashed with the Soaring Dragon Elder, they had each used a violet talisman. Li Qingshan had only managed to get his hands on a few after killing a swathe of Golden Core cultivators. He never had the opportunity to use them, so now that he casually used one, the effects were quite nice.

    The greatest downside with talismans was they had no concept of friend or foe and were difficult to control. If it were not for the hundred beasts on them that served as meat shields, probably even Chu Danqing would have been injured.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Chu Danqing raised his head, searching for Li Qingshan¡¯s trace. He happened to see Li Qingshan smash through the first senior brother¡¯s panic-stricken face with a punch before flicking his finger and shooting a translucent bead of water, piercing the third senior brother¡¯s round head.

 Chapter 619 â€“ Thereâ€™s Alcohol Tonigh

    Li Qingshan took action valiantly the moment the power of the explosion reached the limit. He used the blinding light to kill the first senior brother and third senior brother in a single stroke. The two of them had died without even knowing how they died. Their last thought was, ¡°How can he possess a violet talisman!¡±

    Even the several hundred paintings they had painted could not match a measly talisman. One was the handiwork of Foundation Establishment cultivators, while the other was the handiwork of a Soul Nascence cultivator. The two were basically worlds apart.

    Li Qingshan turned around to search for the second senior sister, only to see a green streak of light rush off into the horizon, flying northward.

    The second senior sister used a Fifty-kilometer Escape talisman and shot off into the distance quickly. Her ears continued to ring, and her mind had yet to settle down from the shock. No wonder he was so confident. The might of a violet talisman is far too terrifying.

    If it were not for the fact that she was the furthest away from the mountain and had not been Li Qingshan¡¯s first target, she probably would have been slain on the spot before she could even use the Escape talisman.

    ¡°You think you can leave?¡± Waves surged beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s feet. With a gentle step, he shot off like an arrow, chasing right after her.

    The second senior sister reached over fifty kilometers away immediately and violently coughed up a mouthful of blood. Although only the residual shockwave had reached her, the violet talisman still left her rather injured. Her entire body screamed in pain.

    I can¡¯t stop. I have to go. I have to change my location and hide, or death will still be awaiting me when he follows my tracks and catches up to me!

    She erased her aura and did her best to prop herself up, choosing a random direction. She was just about to take off. She glanced backwards, and her eyes narrowed, paling in fright. ¡°How¡¯s that possible!?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure suddenly leapt out from the horizon, charging over aggressively.

    ¡°How can he be so fast? Oh right, he even has a violet talisman, so how can he not possess Escape talismans? Dammit!¡±

    But this time, the second senior sister was wrong. Li Qingshan did not go out of his way to collect Escape talismans. He only flapped his wings of wind and fire a few times once he left Chu Tian¡¯s field of vision.

    She gritted her teeth and took out another talisman, taking off as a streak of light.

    ¡°This bitch sure has a lot of Escape talismans. Hmm? Why¡¯d she stop?¡± All Li Qingshan saw was before the streak of light had even vanished into the horizon, it had stopped.

    Li Qingshan strode over on his waves and arrived before the second senior sister. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you escaping?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what do you want me to do to spare me?¡±

    It was not that the second senior sister did not want to escape. She had used Escape talismans consecutively while injured, so her injuries acted up, and her spiritual qi was in a mess. She was basically on the verge of qi deviation.

    ¡°If you drop to your knees and give me a hundred bows, followed by a hundred slaps across your face, I can consider it.¡±

    Although he had said he wanted to maintain a broad-mind, following the example of the boundless ocean, Li Qingshan could not help but admit his current nature was still very bad. He was very vengeful.

    ¡°You-¡±

    The second senior sister gazed at Li Qingshan. His face was not twisted at all. A battle like this where he trounced the weak was unable to rouse his enthusiasm and fighting spirit. As a matter of fact, he even found it rather boring.

    ¡°You what?¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and opened his hands, reaching towards her left chest. However, his desires obviously had not been roused, as in the next moment, his five fingers pierced her rather lacking chest and dug out a bloody heart.

    The Tiger Demon Digs Out the Heart. This move had always been his favourite!

    The second senior sister only saw his lips curl slightly. His eyes seemed to flash with red light as an aura of malice directly filled her heart. Then she remembered the scene of when her first senior brother and third junior brother had been killed. He really will kill me without batting an eye, like butchering a chicken!

    Fear drowned out everything. Her legs softened, and she actually knelt down, bringing her head to the ground. She felt a deep sense of humiliation as she called out, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hand hovered in the air. He was very surprised. Just a moment earlier, you still acted like you were welcoming death, so why have dissolved like a pile of mud in the blink of an eye? Can you show a little bit of a Foundation Establishment cultivator¡¯s backbone? With how shrewd she seems, doesn¡¯t she know I¡¯m just enjoying myself?

    When people faced death, there were not a lot who could actually welcome it. She clearly did not possess that kind of courage. Even if she knew Li Qingshan was just enjoying himself with what he said earlier, those who were about to drown would still desperately clutch at a straw. Even merely living a moment longer would be fine.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already expressed yourself through this gesture, I¡¯ll consider it!¡±

    The second senior sister gritted her teeth. Her mouth was filled with the sweet, metallic taste of blood as she slowly raised her head before bringing it to the ground. She thought, Li Qingshan, if I survive today, I¡¯ll definitely cut you to pieces in the future!

    With that, Li Qingshan instead became rather embarrassed. He had killed countless people in this life, and he had plenty of brutal methods to do so, but this was the first time his enemy had actually dropped to their knees and lowered their heads. If a man had been so sickening, he would have kicked them across the face immediately. However, if it had been such a beautiful female cultivator with a special bearing, he could put up with it a little.

    This is basically an eye for an eye for me. But don¡¯t tell me she really thinks I¡¯ll spare her just from bowing a few times and slapping herself across the face a few times!

    The second senior sister bowed her head a few times. In the end, even her last bit of backbone vanished. She said constantly, ¡°Commander Li, I had been thoughtless, so please, spare my life! I won¡¯t ever do it again!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk once you¡¯re done with what you have to do!¡± Li Qingshan grinned as his demon heart began to show signs of rousing.

    The second senior sister finished with kowtowing and began slapping herself left and right.

    Then, Li Qingshan ordered, ¡°Raise your head!¡±

    The second senior sister raised her head. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were misty. She was begging for mercy, and her cheeks had become bright-red from the slapping.

    ¡°Who told you to stop? Continue!¡±

    ¡°Y- yes!¡±

    The demonic nature in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart blazed brightly, and his gaze also began to burn invasively, basically wanting to peer through her clothes. Under these circumstances, the second senior sister instead raised her chest, perhaps intentionally.

    Li Qingshan licked his lips and thought, If I make these thoughts in my mind into reality, it¡¯ll be interesting.

    Just like how the things that laws forbid us from doing would often be very interesting, if absolute authority led to absolute corruption, then absolute strength was absolute cruelty. If the Great Xia empire and the Hawkwolf Guard did not exist, this would definitely be a world where demonic cultivators ran amok!

    When the second senior sister completed her hundred slaps across the face, Li Qingshan crouched down and placed his left hand on her shoulder. He smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve considered it seriously¡­ You better just die!¡±

    He held a bloody heart in his right hand. The second senior sister lowered her head and discovered a bloody hole in her chest. Her expression twisted madly as she extended her hands and grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders. She said hoarsely, ¡°Li Qingshan, I curse you! I curse you to a horrible death!¡±

    ¡°Perhaps there really might be a day when I die a horrible death, but at the very least, I won¡¯t lower my head to someone else or slap myself across the face when I die! Thank you for offering up such a great performance before your death.¡±

    Li Qingshan casually took her hundred treasures pouch. The reason why he had not acted on his demonic nature was definitely not because he had suddenly found his conscience. Instead, Chu Danqing had appeared on the horizon, currently hurrying over quickly.

    With how soft-hearted kiddo Chu is, he probably won¡¯t be able to bring himself to do something like this when he sees how pitiful and dishevelled she is. By the time she bows her head and slaps herself across the face a few more times, he might even try to speak for her. If I kill her then, I¡¯ll come off as too cruel instead, so I might as well just finish her off. Though, I do miss Lolth a little all of a sudden. If I have the time, I need to pay a visit.

    Chu Danqing arrived nearby, and sure enough, he let out a long sigh. He saw his second senior sister kneeling on the ground with her cheeks bright red and could not help but say, ¡°Qingshan, you could have killed her in a single strike. Why must you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that boring. She was the one who strongly insisted on this, wanting me to spare her. Stop being so fussy. I¡¯ve dealt with your trouble, so let¡¯s go back and drink in celebration!¡±

    Li Qingshan took absolutely no offence from that, patting Chu Danqing on the shoulder with a smile. Everyone had their own nature. If Chu Danqing had not been the type of person to treat enemies with sympathy, he would not have been so honest with him earlier. Li Qingshan had resolved another grievance, so he was in a very good mood.

    Chu Danqing silently collected his second senior sister¡¯s corpse. ¡°Sigh, killing my own seniors has never been what I wanted, but they were up to no good, so it served them right. Qingshan, if it weren¡¯t for you, I probably would not have been able to escape from their murderous scheme.¡±

    ¡°Does anyone else know about the secret of the Painting Tomb?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°This¡­ is a matter of great significance, so they shouldn¡¯t have told anyone else, right? Speaking of which, even if others know, as long as they don¡¯t come after me, why would I silence them with death over a single secret?¡±

    Chu Danqing saw that Li Qingshan radiated with murderousness, so he was afraid his murderous nature had been roused and wanted to carry out a massacre, refusing to even spare his three senior¡¯s family and disciples.

    ¡°What are you thinking? I¡¯m a mighty Scarlet Hawk commander after all. How can I do something like that? I¡¯m just asking so that we can make preparations beforehand!¡±

    Li Qingshan had indeed considered eliminating all possible future troubles earlier, but it was merely a thought. At the end of the day, this was still Chu Danqing¡¯s matter. Since Chu Danqing had already said something like that, why did he have to go out of his way to do something unnecessary?

    The two of them returned to the academy. Li Qingshan¡¯s breakthrough to late Foundation Establishment spread like wildfire and shocked the Academy of the Hundred Schools once again. His cultivation speed was basically astounding. As it turned out, he was not boasting when he said he wanted to break through to Golden Core before the age of thirty!

    Li Qingshan dealt with everyone who had come to congratulate him. Afterwards, he called Hua Chengzan, Han Tieyi, and so on and simply sat down on the ground in the bamboo forest on Cloudwisp island, drinking away with them.

    Li Qingshan raised a toast. ¡°There were far too many unnecessary people last time, and E Feng and his groups of pups had come to make trouble. We couldn¡¯t drink to our satisfaction. Today, we¡¯ll drink until we¡¯re drunk!

    After three rounds of drinking, Li Qingshan had already polished off several jars of alcohol. Seeing Hua Chengzan falter again and again, he pulled him aside to the lakeshore. ¡°You¡¯re worried about her, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Is she well?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already arranged a safe place for her to settle down in. If you want to know, I can tell you. Don¡¯t worry, I still haven¡¯t gotten around to doing anything yet. By the time I really do something, it¡¯ll really be too late.¡± Li Qingshan sniggered.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯m burdened with far too many responsibilities, and I¡¯m far too weak. Please pass on a message for me. Tell her¡­. That I¡¯ve let her down. In the next world, I¡¯m willing to work like a horse to pay back her love,¡± Hua Chengzan said in guilt.

    ¡°Forget it, forget it! There¡¯s alcohol tonight, so we get drunk tonight! There are flowers that can be plucked, so just pluck them! Yet you talk about something as boring as your next life. You better punish yourself with three cups- no, three jars!¡±

 Chapter 620 â€“ An Omen of Warning

    Chu Danqing walked out of the bamboo forest with a flushed face. His drinking capacity had improved by a lot. He also found tonight extremely satisfying. Having killed his three seniors, he did feel some sympathy and pity, but his excitement and joy still gained an upper hand over him.

    Chu Shidao¡¯s retirement in the mountainous forests out of dejection was closely related to these three wretched disciples. He had basically cleaned them up for his master.

    ¡°We¡¯re obviously talking about the women that you love the most! C¡¯mon, let¡¯s keep drinking!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great laugh and put his hands around their shoulders, returning to the clearing in the forest.

    The bamboo forest was dim as moonlight shimmered about.

    Han Tieyi rested his hand on a jar of alcohol as he sat before a grey rock. His expression was frosty and serious, silently drinking cup after cup.

    The zither music was quiet and beautiful. Qin Xin sat at a table, playing the zither. Her ten fingers plucked and played the strings gently and slowly, producing music endlessly. It was like a clear stream, enough for people to forget about their worries. After a period of arduous cultivation, she had finally reached Foundation Establishment, becoming the leader of the school of Music.

    Mind Enlightenment held prayer beads in his hand as he listened closely, but what he drank was water. Everyone present was a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the younger generation, while the seniors like Liu Zhangqing and so on conscientiously avoided joining in. When they saw the three of them return, they all greeted them.

    In particular, they paid special attention to Li Qingshan. Although everyone present was talented, who knew how far off they were from Golden Core. They could not even be certain whether they could face the second heavenly tribulation or not. He was the only one who had truly touched the boundary of Golden Core, and he was still so young.

    Originally, he was the youngest among them, but everyone seemed to follow him as their leader. Although they were all reserved, not exactly currying favour or trying to get on his good side, they did intentionally befriend him.

    ¡°The three of you were gone for a while, so you missed most of the song. Do you want me to play it again?¡± Qin Xin smiled as she stroked the zither. She said ¡°the three of you¡±, but her eyes were fixed on Li Qingshan.

    Wei Yangsheng said, ¡°That¡¯s unfair, Qin Xin. Why do we have to listen to it again?¡±

    Qin Xin said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome to seal off your sense of hearing for now. I¡¯ll call you when I¡¯m done!¡±

    ¡°Definitely not. Then I¡¯ll be losing out even more.¡±

    As for Hua Chengzan who had always been so refined, he actually made his way over to the alcohol jars and drank to the three of them, leading to a great cheer.

    Chu Danqing said loudly, ¡°With such beautiful scenery on a fine day and such outstanding people, it¡¯s perfect for painting!¡± As he said that, he took out his paints and brushes and began painting. Right when he was about to bring his brush to the paper, he stopped again and shook his head. ¡°Something¡¯s still missing!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s missing?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only zither music. There¡¯s no sword qi.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s also poems!¡± Wei Yangsheng drew his sword and stood up, reciting poems as he wielded his sword. He kept his sword qi and might withdrawn, moving about gracefully.

    Li Qingshan nodded. The swordsmanship of the school of Confucianism truly was extraordinary. He walked over to Han Tieyi¡¯s side and sat down. ¡°Tieyi, I heard you¡¯ve been experiencing some good fortunes with respect to love! You better not use up too much of your vitality, or you¡¯ll embarrass the Han family when it comes to the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures!¡±

    Han Tieyi glanced at him in disdain. ¡°If you¡¯re envious of me, you can be like this too.¡±

    Li Qingshan replied, ¡°But no one is forcing me to have a lot of children. The Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures probably won¡¯t be simple this time round. You gotta be prepared.¡±

    ¡°You have to be the same too. With the Great General King¡¯s orders, E Dan won¡¯t be able to do anything to the Han family for now, but if the opportunity ever arises, he¡¯ll definitely try and find a way to kill you. He¡¯s most terrifying exactly when he bides his time and does nothing. I wouldn¡¯t want my elder sister to become a widow before she has even moved in with her husband.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m a son-in-law of the Han family after all!¡±

    At this moment, Chu Danqing completed the last stroke and finished the Night Banquet in the Bamboo Forest painting. Everyone gathered around to take a look, only to see that the painting had vividly captured everyone¡¯s voice and countenance. The most wonderful part of it all was they could even hear the zither music and see the sword qi fly about.

    Qin Xin could not help but ask, ¡°Danqing, you¡¯re in such a great mood tonight, so why don¡¯t you tell us what you went off to do with Qingshan?¡±

    Chu Danqing¡¯s mind cleared up; he could not help but glance at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan nodded in response. The deaths of three Foundation Establishment cultivators was anything but small. If they purposefully tried to hide it, they would come off as guilty instead.

    Chu Danqing roughly told them what had happened, but he hid the secret of the Painting Tomb, as well as the matter of the violet talisman. He finished the story in a single breath, and the bamboo forest fell silent completely. Only the rustling bamboo in the wind could be heard.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on Li Qingshan once again. Apart from respect, there were also hints of fear. He had faced off against three Foundation Establishment cultivators together and killed them all before coming back and holding a jolly banquet like nothing had happened at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s not because I was bloodthirsty, just that I was left with no other choice. If I did not kill, then I would be killed.¡± Li Qingshan took out the recording stone and played what the three people had said again helplessly.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be so bold! They¡¯ve gotten off easy by just dying!¡± Wei Yangsheng fumed and everyone else chimed in too. However, no one present was an idiot. They all thought inside, You even prepared a recording stone, so you were probably left with more than one choice!

    Under his straightforward appearance was plenty of strategy and scheming. As it seemed, he also had something to rely on to be bold enough to oppose E Dan openly. However, if they could have a powerful friend like him, that would be for the best!

    ¡°Danqing, why didn¡¯t you call us too? We could have helped you out.¡± ¡°With Qingshan taking action, does he even need us?¡± ¡°Haha, fair enough!¡±

    Compared to poem recitals, zither performances, and paintings, the most primitive slaughter was still better at winning over people at the end of the day. This was the exact reason why duels prevailed in the Dragon province.

    They did not disperse until deep into the night.

    Li Qingshan was already mostly drunk, with only a bit of clarity left, while his clone continued refining bodies of water. He left the Academy of the Hundred Schools and was about to return to the Qing Xiao dwelling.

    But he thought of something else and flew into an underground cave, transforming and concealing his aura, turning back into Northmoon. He smiled. ¡°Ma¡¯am Spider Queen, I¡¯m coming!¡±

    He flapped his wings of wind and sped through the twisting caves, finding Lolth¡¯s aura very soon. He smiled and directly dove through the rock and soil, arriving in a huge, open space. Spider silk entwined together into a huge web.

    A frosty, beautiful woman in a black tight suit stood at the centre of the web, staring at him with hostility. ¡°Northmoon, why have you come?¡±

    ¡°Obviously because I¡¯ve been thinking of you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled drunkenly and studied the surroundings. ¡°Hmm? This is Cobweb city!¡±

    Or more accurately, it was the cavern where Cobweb city once stood. During the battle before, Cobweb city had been destroyed, and the cavern had caved in before water flooded in. However, as time went on, the water receded once more, and the cavern stabilised again. Lolth returned here and turned it into her nest.

    Li Qingshan arrived before Lolth in a flash and pushed her against the web. Laying on top of her, he smiled. ¡°They say that a night together as husband and wife leads to a life of endless devotion. Have you been thinking of me?¡±

    Lolth said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about killing you!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t try something like that again. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to hold back my killing intent. It¡¯ll be bad if we fall out completely.¡±

    Li Qingshan touched her beautiful face, gently sliding down to her chest and grabbing a handful, fiddling around with it freely. Although it was still a little lacklustre compared to Qiu Haitang¡¯s grandness, it was much firmer and more elastic, where it seemed to push back with a slight squeeze.

    His desires were immediately set alit. His lust that had not been completely released with Han Qiongzhi, his drive that Qiu Haitang had roused, and his demonic nature and cruelty that the second senior sister had stirred all erupted in his body while he was drunk.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Lolth moaned gently as she felt her breast ache. Li Qingshan¡¯s fingers dug in deeply. The strength of the fifth layer of the ox demon was so great that even her body struggled to endure it slightly, but he completely ignored it, using some more force.

    When he embraced Han Qiongzhi intimately, he still had to be careful, afraid of hurting her, even when the spirit turtle had already suppressed most of his strength. That was even more significant when he made love to her, but he no longer had to worry about so much if he was with Lolth.

    He lowered his head and kissed her scarlet lips as his hands explored every single part of her body. Every bit of contact would cause her pain, but lust gradually filled her eyes.

    A while later, Li Qingshan raised his head and asked, ¡°Do you want me to rip it apart, or are you going to take it off yourself?¡±

    Lolth spread her arms, and the black tight suit she had woven together carefully unraveled like silk connected to a loom. Her white, smooth body was completely exposed to Li Qingshan. The two specks of red trembled slightly on the snowy peaks as her slender legs overlapped together, sitting in an extremely enchanting pose.

    After Li Qingshan forcefully conquered her, she could no longer freely search for sacrificial offerings like in the past until she killed him. Her body had also become filled with lust. As a daemon, she was mostly unable to hold back on her desires, not to mention that yielding to the strong was a part of her nature.

    Regardless of whether she still felt hatred or discontent, he had already demonstrated his great strength, so he possessed this right. Moreover, he was the only male that possessed the right to procreate with her right now.

    ¡°Northmoon, I will definitely kill you with my own hands. As for now¡­ Ah!¡± Before Lolth could even finish, Li Qingshan had already struck her swiftly, beginning a new round of battle.

    After going for a few times, Li Qingshan yawned in satisfaction. He had completely sobered up. Lolth slept soundly to his side.

    I¡¯ve found a moment of peace in my busy lifestyle for once, but while this place is nice, it¡¯s not where I belong. Once I rest up, I can continue cultivating!

    At this exact moment, he suddenly sensed a great danger and immediately raised his guard. It¡¯s a warning from the spirit turtle. Someone is coming after me! Don¡¯t tell me Lolth wants to use some sort of trick against me again? I can¡¯t spare her this time.

    Li Qingshan waited for a while, but nothing happened around him. No, this isn¡¯t it. It¡¯s the mirror clone!

    In that moment, he devoted all of his attention to the mirror clone hundreds of kilometers away. His mirror clone was currently controlling the Water God Seal and refining a river.

    Although he was still unable to see any trace of the enemy, he could vaguely sense an invisible net being cast around him. For the spirit turtle to sense such great danger, the enemy was definitely much greater than the three idiots of the school of Painting!

    So it¡¯s them!

 Chapter 621 â€“ Talks of Peace

    However, the sense of danger Li Qingshan experienced did not weaken at all. Instead, it grew stronger. The enemy must have used a method to conceal their figures and aura!

    Li Qingshan made a prompt decision and stopped refining the river, erasing his aura completely before swimming upstream, changing his position. He was like a spirit turtle submerging into the sea abyss, completely vanishing without a trace. No matter how sensitive the enemy¡¯s soul sense was, they would struggle to find him.

    Afterwards, he used his six senses to search for the enemy. Sure enough, his sudden disappearance caused some confusion among the enemy. Although they still did not give off even a sliver of aura, their thought process wavered momentarily, which provided a direction for the spirit turtle¡¯s senses.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, Foreboding Fate!

    There are three enemies, and they¡¯re people who I¡¯ve associated with in the past. Yep, so it¡¯s them. Sure enough, they couldn¡¯t help themselves and have come to make trouble?

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile, but his gaze was very solemn. The three people were Si Qing, E Dan, and Jia Zhen. They surrounded him from different directions.

    Although they were only Golden Core cultivators, Li Qingshan dared not be careless. He did not forget how the Dark Queen had annihilated all the Golden Core cultivators back then on Burial Mound mountain.

    To be able to stand out in the brutal selection of princes and rank eleventh, Si Qing was probably as powerful as the Dark Queen. Moreover, even Si Qing treated Jia Zhen and E Dan courteously, so their cultivations went without saying.

    If the three of them struck together, it would definitely be devastating. They would not give up unless they reached their objective.

    They¡¯ve come for me, so I¡¯ll play along and use the clone to probe them out! However, I need to wait for them to strike first and avoid the full brunt of the blow. The clone¡¯s strength is still too weak after all. If I fail to recall the clone using the Watermirror¡¯s Image and they kill it, I¡¯ll lose the Water God Seal, and it won¡¯t be worth it.

    Si Qing constantly scanned the ground with his jackal-like eyes, but he was unable to find a single trace of Northmoon. He instead became even more excited and his lips curled into a smile. ¡°This Northmoon really is as troublesome as the rumors have suggested!¡±

    Aside from duels, the game he loved the most was hunting, but unfortunately, it was already very difficult for him to find suitable prey with his current strength, unless he underwent trials in the places of wilderness like the Mist province.

    Northmoon, I will definitely claim your head personally and treat it as my most prized collection!

    Jia Zhen¡¯s face sank. Ever since he had come to the Ruyi commandery, he had begun preparing for killing Northmoon, ranging from the innate abilities he used every battle and the speed limit of when he flapped his wings to his regular techniques when attacking and defending and an analysis of his disposition and so on¡­

    Finally, he had come up with a perfect plan to hunt him down, but something had gone wrong right from the first step. He could not divine him, nor could he find his accurate location. Moon Court lake seemed to be his dwelling, but through his investigations, it was only a place a group of night roamers occupied. Many formations protected the area. It would be very difficult to achieve a surprise attack.

    At their realm of cultivation, defeating an opponent was easy, but killing them was far too difficult. If they could not kill in a single strike, it would lead to endless trouble, such that they would be better off maintaining the current situation.

    In the end, he used the great cauldron in the marquis¡¯ estate and observed the real-time situation of the bodies of water being refined to find his location, yet his target seemed like he had sensed something, hiding away in the final moment.

    ¡°Old Jia, what do we do now?¡±

    E Dan communicated to Jia Zhen from another side. The impression he had left in Li Qingshan and everyone else¡¯s heart was that he was a brutal and restless person. Northmoon had a grievance of killing his disciples and stealing his woman from him. In particular, E Dan had personally nurtured E Feng, who even took on his surname. He was closer with him than an actual son. Such a great grievance was enough to drive a normal person crazy, such that they would do everything for revenge.

    Right now, he actually behaved extraordinarily calmly. There was not a hint of restlessness in his eyes. His body was relaxed and at ease. His normal behaviour was merely an extremely good disguise. If anyone truly treated him as a brute, they would definitely pay a heavy price.

    ¡°Wait! Northmoon is rather arrogant. As long as we wait until he runs out of patience and comes out to provoke us first, we¡¯ll strike together!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Si Qing and E Dan nodded in agreement.

    The sun rose up bit by bit. Unable to see one another, they fell into a silent stalemate, waiting for the other side to show an opening first. The sun rose to the zenith. The scorching sunlight scattered on the ground and water vapour rose up hazily.

    Lolth woke up from her slumber and saw Northmoon sitting beside her, gazing right ahead as if he was looking at some extremely distant place.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re awake! The new Marquis of Ruyi is currently targeting my clone with his two lackeys. I¡¯m taking them on in a battle of patience!¡±

    Li Qingshan casually pulled Lolth into his arms. His lust had already faded away, but it was still a very pleasant sensation.

    Having been so tenderly embraced by him, Lolth found it very difficult to grow accustomed to. She sneered and said, ¡°What? There¡¯s times when you¡¯re afraid too?¡±

    Smack! Li Qingshan slapped her on her plump bottom mercilessly. ¡°This isn¡¯t called being afraid. This is called temporary forbearance. After all, didn¡¯t I call you ma¡¯am Spider Queen in the past and serve as your amusement? Yet now, I¡¯ve turned the tables and become your man.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to stay complacent for long!¡± Lolth¡¯s eyes were filled with viciousness, and her voice seemed to be dripping with venom, enough to strike fear into the hearts of everyone.

    Li Qingshan smiled gently and muttered to himself, ¡°The new Marquis of Ruyi is a prince from the Dragon province. Standing behind him is a whole group of Soul Nascence cultivators, and I¡¯ve fallen out with the Daemon race prince of the Green province, Mo Yu, so the Dragon King of Ink Sea probably won¡¯t support me. If I want to kill him, not only will I require the strength to defeat him, but I also need to become unafraid of his background somehow.¡±

    Lolth said maliciously, ¡°If you can kill him, I¡¯ll admit you¡¯re my man!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud and grabbed her by the chin. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether you admit it or not. I just want your body anyway. I have no interest in your heart, so you better just keep it for yourself! Though, I have to say that I love it when you refuse to accept me, yet there¡¯s also nothing you can do about it!¡± Afterwards, Lolth made the expression that he loved most again.

    Time passed by slowly. Li Qingshan teased Lolth, so he did not feel bored. By wasting time with them using his clone, he was not afraid even if he lasted until the end of time. Suddenly, he came to a realisation. This was the way the spirit turtle fought!

    Although it was holing up in his shell like a coward, no one could do anything to him, while he had a lengthy lifespan and could destroy all enemies through time.

    The sun began to set in the west. Si Qing said, ¡°Looks like he knows about our power and refuses to come out. E Dan said, ¡°How about this? Why don¡¯t we scare him? He¡¯s right in this region anyway.¡±

    Jia Zhen said, ¡°Let¡¯s retreat for now! We¡¯ve already lost the optimal opportunity. If we take action right now, we¡¯ll only alert him and scare him away. What do you think, your highness?¡±

    ¡°My imperial father has once told us that the most important property to hunting is not courage or intelligence, but patience.¡±

    ¡°As you say, your highness!¡±

    The three of them then silently retreated as if they had never been here in the first place. However, they had wasted an entire day for nothing, so they could not help but feel rather vexed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come uninvited before leaving without bidding farewell. Just what has brought you here? You might as well tell me about it!¡±

    Before the three of them could even travel far away, a voice rang out from afar. The bastard Northmoon flapped his wings and stared at them with his arms crossed, smiling.

    Si Qing said, ¡°I¡¯ve long heard about your great name, Northmoon. Now that I¡¯ve tried you, sure enough, you do live up to your reputation!¡± Jia Zhen and E Dan silently flanked around him again.

    ¡°Then I¡¯d advise you to stop trying any further, just in case it leads to any misunderstandings, or do you insist on fighting until one of us dies?¡±

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and retreated to five kilometers away, maintaining his smile but raising his vigilance to the limit. He had already prepared the Watermirror¡¯s Image, ready to recall his clone the moment they struck.

    Jia Zhen¡¯s heart skipped a beat. In the information he had collected, Northmoon possessed this special characteristic, which was that he rarely went out of his way to make trouble. He did not have much hostility towards humans either, devoting all of his focus to cultivation. Only when people came to stop him and deal with him would he strike valiantly and kill them all.

    He had played a decisive role in ending the chess game that was the Clear River prefecture. Otherwise, with his actual strength, even uprooting the Academy of the Hundred Schools and the various sects would not be difficult. However, he was able to bide his time again and again, even sparing the people of the academy and letting them leave peacefully at Bronze Cauldron mountain. Beneath his arrogant and flagrant appearance, he was rather prudent and knew when to advance or retreat.

    This was his virtue, but not something they could not use!

    ¡°We¡¯ve come today because we want you as a friend.¡±

    ¡°Heh, the way you humans make friends sure is special!¡± Li Qingshan mocked.

    ¡°We were just confirming whether you had the right or not. If you didn¡¯t live up to your reputation, then you would have deserved it even if you were killed off. The strong never makes friends with the weak,¡± Si Qing said indifferently, vaguely understanding Jia Zhen¡¯s intentions. By saying that, it did not go against his identity, and it made perfect sense. It was convincing.

    ¡°That is true, but don¡¯t the Human race and the Daemon race oppose one another?¡±

    Jia Zhen said, ¡°That¡¯s not the case. When the founding emperor conquered the world, he had also borrowed the strength of the Ten Daemon Kings. Doesn¡¯t the White Hawk commander of the Ruyi commandery, Gu Yanying, possess the bloodline of daemons? Clearly, whether we¡¯re friend or foe has nothing to do with our race. Instead, it has to do with our mutual interests. If interests collided, then let alone clansmen, even brothers connected by blood are willing to go to war with one another. You should have experienced this already, sir.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That makes even more sense. Though, I¡¯d like to ask where exactly is our mutual benefit? Surely we can¡¯t request each other to go against our interests?¡±

    Jia Zhen said, ¡°With how intelligent you are, sir, can you really be fooled by the likes of us? Our mutual interests must be found together. Peaceful coexistence surpasses risking life-threatening danger and going for each other¡¯s throats, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! That¡¯s exactly what I was thinking too!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud.

 Chapter 622 â€“ A Promise of Alliance

    Si Qing made a promise, but the killing intent in his heart did not lessen at all. Misleading was also a part of hunting. In order to deal with intelligent prey, he had to use intelligence too.

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, but I want to refine the waters of the Ruyi commandery¡­¡± Northmoon¡¯s eyes lit up as if he was very interested yet rather doubtful.

    ¡°You can refine the rivers and lakes of the Ruyi commander freely. We won¡¯t obstruct you at all,¡± Si Qing said generously, but he thought inside, Your Water God Seal is mine. Only by refining the mountains and waters before combining it with the power of belief of the people can you refine the true Seal of Mountains and Rivers. Its power is so great that even Soul Nascence cultivators cannot be careless when facing it.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You sure are much more generous than Jiang Fu. Not bad, not bad!¡±

    Jia Zhen said, ¡°A coincidental meeting is far better than an invitation. Why don¡¯t you return to the marquis¡¯ estate with us so that we can discuss how we rule over the Ruyi commandery?¡±

    ¡°About this¡­ Is there anything good in the marquis¡¯ estate?¡±

    Si Qing said, ¡°Delicious food and wine; music and dance; rare and precious treasures; whatever you want!¡±

    ¡°Are there any beauties?¡±

    ¡°So Northmoon has an interest in this. There are numerous beauties for you to freely choose from.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great, but I just wonder if any of these beauties are prettier than Qiu Haitang? Oh right, I think I killed a few people a few days ago. They claimed to be the disciples of some E Dan person. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re E Dan!¡± Li Qingshan smiled as his gaze drifted over to E Dan¡¯s face.

    E Dan showed no anger at all. Instead he laughed aloud. ¡°Sect master Qiu is obviously a rare beauty. Great minds sure do think alike, but she¡¯s not the only beauty in the world. Once we return to the marquis¡¯ estate, we can admire and evaluate the various beauties of the Ruyi commandery together. As for my disappointing disciples, if you¡¯ve killed them, then you¡¯ve killed them. You¡¯ve saved them from running around and embarrassing me. I really need to thank you for this!¡±

    ¡°Fellow E truly is a straightforward man. I like it!¡± Li Qingshan praised loudly, but he thought inside, If you had spoken like this right from the beginning, why would I have my mind set on killing you?

    ¡°It¡¯s quite late now. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I await your arrival in the marquis¡¯ estate.¡± Si Qing clasped his hands and flew away with Jia Zhen and E Dan.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin. He watched the three of them vanish into the horizon as he smiled in thought. ¡°This sure is interesting. Heh, these crafty humans, but I¡¯m no different from you!¡±

    The three of them directly returned to the estate. E Dan asked, ¡°Will he buy this?¡±

    Jia Zhen swung his feather fan gently. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what I said earlier made no sense? Don¡¯t worry, no matter how cautious someone is, they¡¯ll lower their guard as time goes on. We can still make good use of him before we kill him. The death of your son will definitely be avenged.¡±

    The three of them glanced at each other while smiling. At this moment, caretaker Zheng came in and reported, ¡°Your highness, a Qi Practitioner wishes to see you!¡±

    ¡°A Qi Practitioner? Send him away!¡±

    ¡°He says he has a great secret to offer up to your highness!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Then send him in. If he¡¯s just trying to amuse me, hmph!¡±

    A while later, caretaker Zheng brought in a jittery young man. He dropped to his knees as soon as he saw Si Qing. ¡°Greetings, your highness!¡±

    Si Qing did not answer back, gazing at him from above indifferently. Caretaker Zheng said, ¡°If you have anything to say, make it fast!¡±

    ¡°Please avenge my father, your highness!¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Who¡¯s your enemy?¡± Si Qing said with some displeasure.

    ¡°The Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture, Li Qingshan!¡± The young man was overcome with rage as he ground his teeth.

    ¡°That Li Qingshan again. Didn¡¯t you say you had a secret to tell me?¡±

    ¡°Will you carry out my revenge for me, your highness?¡±

    ¡°Raise your head. Are you trying to bargain with me?¡±

    ¡°I would never. It¡¯s just that the secret touches on something major¡­¡± The young man made eye contact with Si Qing, and he immediately turned sheet-white.

    ¡°Speak. There¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t say here.¡±

    ¡°I- it has to do with the Painting Tomb!¡±

    ¡°The Painting Tomb!¡±

    As it turned out, Chu Danqing¡¯s first senior brother had always been cautious. Before he left, he told this secret to his most beloved son just in case. In the end, he really did not end up returning, and the news of Li Qingshan killing the three spread very quickly.

    The son was wracked with hatred and fear. Not only was Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation great, but he had Gu Yanying as a backer too. He even held a recording stone as evidence. With his strength, not only was revenge absolutely impossible, but he was even in constant fear about Li Qingshan coming to tie up loose ends. In the end, he made up his mind to offer this secret up to prince Si Qing who also had grievances with Li Qingshan, just to avenge his father and seek refuge.

    Si Qing listened to the entire story and said, ¡°In other words, you only know who possesses the secret of the Painting Tomb, and you only heard that from your father? The veracity of this piece of information is worth doubting.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s definitely true. Please believe me, your highness. I¡¯m willing to offer up my head as guarantee.¡±

    ¡°Apart from you, no one else knows about this?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely no one!¡±

    Si Qing patted his shoulder kindly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will avenge your father, as well as you!¡±

    Li Qingshan left the underground cavern and returned to Moon Court lake. With a wave of his right hand, the water before him condensed into a mirror. A while later, his mirror clone walked out.

    Li Qingshan took back the Water God Seal and began practising the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. After breaking through to the sixth layer, his dantian could hold even more spiritual qi. It was like how an expanded pool could hold even more water.

    This would require ingesting large quantities of pills to develop. However, having reached his realm of cultivation, his demand for pills became even greater too. Low level pills like Qi Condensing pills already caused more harm than good now, while high level pills were not so easily obtained.

    Unless they possessed a background like Gu Yanying or Si Qing, most cultivators were forced to devote large amounts of time and effort to absorbing and refining spiritual qi bit by bit in order to cultivate.

    But now, Li Qingshan was borrowing the power of countless rivers and lakes to cultivate, which saved him an immeasurable amount of time and effort.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and sat down. Specks of light hovered out from the Water God Seal, merging with his body and seeping into his dantian. After being refined, it turned into raging, pure spiritual qi.

    The sun rose, and the moon fell. Day and night alternated and time flew by. His dantian had finally reached a state of saturation with water spiritual qi. It was no longer able to accept another strand.

    Li Qingshan slowly opened his eyes. Although his foundation was still rather unconsolidated and his mental cultivation was lacking, he had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment from the perspective of spiritual qi alone. He could basically see the gates of the Golden Core realm already.

    Perhaps I might undergo the second heavenly tribulation with my human identity! Looking at the time, the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Provinces seem to have begun already!

 Chapter 623 â€“ The Lotus Falls

    In the Marquis of Ruyi¡¯s estate, Si Qing stood on a thirty-meter-tall terrace, holding a cup of alcohol in one hand while resting the other hand on the railing, gazing into the distance.

    Soaring Dragon ships levitated in the air, shooting over from the horizon as streaks of light.

    At the entrance to the estate, there was an immense flow of people, all cultivators from various places in the Ruyi commandery. They had come to congratulate him on becoming the Marquis of Ruyi and to partake or spectate the upcoming Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures.

    Si Qing looked back and let out a long laugh with his jackal-like voice. ¡°Thank you all for gathering here! Si Qing will drink a toast of respect!¡± He drank all of the alcohol in his cup.

    A banquet had already been arranged on the terrace, with many cultivators seated. There were men and women, ascetic and secular cultivators. Every single one of them possessed an extraordinary bearing. There were both cultivators from the academy and cultivators from sects. To be seated there, there was only a single standard, which was they had to be Golden Core cultivators who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation.

    Gu Yanying was also among them. She lifted up her cup and smiled. Si Bao ignored Si Qing and sat with her, asking about Qian Rongzhi, ¡°How is she doing? Is she taking part in the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures?¡±

    Everyone raised their cups, congratulating Si Qing once again.

    Only then did Gu Yanying answer Si Bao. ¡°Her? She¡¯s currently cultivating!¡±

    At this very moment, Qian Rongzhi rowed a skiff, causing ripples among the sea of flowers in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind. The refreshing breeze in the air had the flowers bob up and down, permeating with fragrance. It seemed like paradise.

    However, her face was not relaxed at all. As her gaze searched through the sea of flowers, she utterly cursed Gu Yanying inside.

    All of this was because of what Gu Yanying had said before she left. ¡°I want to drink lotus seed soup!¡±

    As a result, Qian Rongzhi was forced to search through the sea of flowers. Originally, it was an extremely easy task with the lotus flowers that spanned as far as the eye could see, but the climate of this space had always been maintained to resemble spring or summer. Lotus flowers frequently bloomed but basically never withered away. Meanwhile, lotus seeds were things that only ripened after the lotus flowers had withered and fallen away during autumn or winter.

    And, the sea of flowers was part-real, part-illusionary. Sometimes, when she saw a lotus flower, she would extend her hand over, only to find nothing. As a matter of fact, she could not even fly through the air and search with her soul sense. She was forced to row the boat and look for them slowly.

    She basically seemed like she was intentionally using her as amusement, wanting to trap her here for the rest of her life as a slave and prevent her from rising up. If that were the case, she had to find a way to get out of here as soon as possible.

    However, what Gu Yanying said in the end dismissed this thought of hers. ¡°During the past few days, your behaviour has been satisfactory, so let¡¯s just say this is your last test. If you can complete this task, then I¡¯ll teach you the Illustrations of Naraka. If you can¡¯t, then I¡¯ll expel you, and you¡¯ll be free to go wherever you want!¡±

    As a result, all Qian Rongzhi could do was be patient and continue searching. Her mind gradually settled down, and the heavy smell of flowers seemed to pervade her body. The hell snake fell into a slumber again, no longer gleefully feasting on her pain.

    She truly did not feel pain anymore. Not only the pain from the hell snake, but all of her worries, fury, envy, and hatred had settled down too. She had virtually already forgotten living in this world was such a relaxing and joyful matter.

    She stood at the front of the boat in frustration and gazed back. The Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind had already vanished. She had already become completely lost in the sea of flowers.

    Her memories of the past flooded out in a continuous stream. Her mother washed the clothes nearby and warned. ¡°Be careful!¡± She completely turned a deaf ear to her mother¡¯s warnings and stared at the tiny fish in the clear, shallow stream, only to miss. Her father walked along the ridge in the fields, making his way home as he carried fish he had caught in the paddies while she skipped behind. The boy next door secretly brought her some crunchy candy for her to eat before even visiting her afterwards with a scrunched-up face of sadness¡­

    Had these things really happened before? Then why had she forgotten about them?

    She vaguely understood this was very much related to the sea of flowers, but were these memories all real? Or should she say, were they all merely illusions the strange sea of flowers created? She was uncertain, but her eyes did become slightly moist. She felt a strange sense of grief inside. The feeling was not painful. Instead, it was like the tears of happiness, bitter while sweet.

    In a trance, she saw a lotus flower in the distance wither and fall away at a visible rate, turning into a lonely lotus pod in the blink of an eye. Even the verdant-green stalk yellowed and withered away as if it had already used up all of its life force during the lengthy flowering phase. Unable to support the weight of the lotus pod, there was a plop, and the lotus pod fell into the lakewater.

    Qian Rongzhi could not afford to think too much anymore. She dove into the water to scoop up the lotus pod. Because of the countless lotus leaves, it was pitch-black in the water, and it was surprisingly deep. Lotus stalks extended throughout the pitch-black depths like an underwater forest.

    However, they were unable to obstruct her vision. She saw exactly where the lotus pod had landed. Like a fish, she made her way around the stalks, extending her hand over to scoop it up. However, the moment she touched the mud, her body shuddered, and her pupils dilated.

    Lotus stalks wormed out of the mud, extending and growing rapidly. The force was so great that it even lifted her upwards, bursting through the surface of the water and blooming into numerous flowers.

    She seemed to understand something. As she sat on the nose of the boat, she closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, letting the fragrance permeate her lungs.

    Beside her, lotus flowers began to wither and fall away. She allowed the lotus pods to fall into the deep, dark water before extending out of the mud and blooming once again, multiplying and multiplying, filling the surface of the lake, clustering around the skiff, piling on top of one another, and completely swallowing her.

    Vaguely, the sound of sniffling appeared before turning into hysterical, painful sobbing.

    On the terrace, Gu Yanying sensed something, and her lips curled into a faint smile. At this very moment, a great gust of wind arrived on the terrace, making her clothes and long hair flutter. All the cultivators present, even including the buddhist monks, could not help but be touched by her beauty. They all secretly praised that she truly was the daughter of the Hawk God.

    Si Qing said, ¡°Yanying, I¡¯ve heard lately that your subordinate, Li Qingshan, accomplished something great yet again. He flaunted his strength by killing three Foundation Establishment cultivators of the school of Painting.¡±

    Gu Yanying nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about it too, but apparently the three of them had arranged an ambush beforehand and wanted to catch him in a deathtrap, but they were not strong enough and were killed by him instead.¡±

    Si Qing said, ¡°Then you might as well have him explain everything clearly. This occurred in the Ruyi commandery. As the Marquis of Ruyi, I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye to something like this.¡±

    Gu Yanying exhaled. ¡°Sure!¡± Afterwards, she said, ¡°Li Qingshan, get over here! His highness the prince wishes to see you!¡± Her voice was not very loud, but it moved with the wind, reaching the ears of the cultivators, which made them all look at one another.

    A while later, they did not see Li Qingshan appear. Jia Zhan said, ¡°Looks like just the two of you are unable to demand his presence! Speaking of which, if he even refuses to show up on a day like today, that¡¯ll be disrespectful of him.¡±

    E Dan said, ¡°I think he has already fled to avoid punishment because he knows he has already commited a great crime. Commander Gu, you better send out a warrant for his arrest right now!¡±

    Before he could even finish, a streak of blue light shot over. Li Qingshan yelled, ¡°You¡¯re the one who has fled to avoid punishment. Your whole family has fled to avoid punishment!¡±

 Chapter 624 â€“ The Soaring Cloud Terrace

    The cultivators on the ground all stared at the figure in the sky with differing expressions.

    Caretaker Zheng flew up and blocked Li Qingshan. ¡°Flying is forbidden above the marquis¡¯ estate!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear that the marquis wishes to see me?¡± Li Qingshan did not stop.

    ¡°Then please land on the ground and walk over to the Soaring Clouds terrace to be called in.¡±

    Caretaker Zheng was frosty, completely behaving like he was handling official business with absolutely no room for negotiation. It formed quite a contrast with his humility when he received Gu Yanying that night.

    Before Li Qingshan could even turn around, caretaker Zheng parted his hands and yellow light flooded out, draping down over Li Qingshan.

    He thought, I only showed you some respect for the sake of Gu Yanying that day, but are you really going to look down on a mighty Golden Core cultivator like me? I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what today!

    Among the cultivators below who had come to partake in the celebration, most of the cultivators from other prefectures had heard about Li Qingshan too. When they saw this, they all shook their heads inside. This Li Qingshan is far too arrogant. No matter how powerful he is, he can¡¯t be stronger than a Golden Core cultivator. Being suddenly slammed against the ground in front of all these people will be humiliating!

    Li Qingshan did not stop at all. He raised the corner of his lips and lifted his hands, pushing them forwards. A great wave surged, growing an inch taller with each inch covered. In the end, it turned into a huge tsunami over thirty meters tall, colliding viciously with the yellow light.

    Boom!

    The tsunami surged and was smashed to pieces, scattering as light. At the end of the day, it was still a little tough for him to take on a Golden Core cultivator with a cultivation at Foundation Establishment, but Li Qingshan¡¯s objective was not to defeat caretaker Zheng, nor did he have any plans to confront him directly. The moment the two forces collided, he pulled back his hand and stepped down with both feet, making waves surge.

    Caretaker Zheng shuddered. The force behind the tsunami was surprisingly great. The yellow light had dimmed slightly, and its advance had been momentarily halted.

    A figure suddenly rose up, breaking free from the range of the yellow light and making a quick turn in the air, shooting towards the Soaring Clouds pavilion like an arrow.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Caretaker Zheng pivoted himself suddenly and launched a violent palm strike. In the moment earlier, he had taken him lightly, and he had held back slightly for the sake of Gu Yanying. He no longer held back now. If Li Qingshan made it to the Soaring Clouds pavilion, he would be completely humiliated. He poured all of his strength into this strike.

    From the ground, the yellow light seemed like a huge fly-swatter, while Li Qingshan was the tiny fly. The cultivators from the Clear River prefecture all cried out, ¡°Dodge it!¡±

    If that landed on him, he would definitely be heavily injured. If he were a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was even possible for him to be killed on the spot. Golden Establishment cultivators had always possessed crushing strength before Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    Li Qingshan turned in the air and spread his arms, unleashing the Turbulent Flow Form. The region within several meters of him turned into turbulent rapids, but the power behind the yellow light was far too great. All of the turbulent flow dispersed wherever it passed by, unable to change the trajectory of the attack at all.

    ¡°Mere tricks!¡± Caretaker Zheng sneered and pushed a little harder.

    With a thunk, Li Qingshan was sent flying.

    ¡°What!¡± Caretaker Zheng¡¯s face immediately changed instead, as Li Qingshan had not been launched away, instead flying right in the direction of the Soaring Clouds pavilion. He was even smiling.

    Although he could not change the trajectory of the attack and avoid injury, he could redirect where it struck him. Using this force, Li Qingshan¡¯s flying speed suddenly doubled.

    Caretaker Zheng was unable to catch up anymore either. All he could do was watch helplessly as Li Qingshan flew towards the Soaring Clouds pavilion. Right when was about to collide with the pavilion, he gently waved his hands like willow branches in the height of spring, producing an extremely gentle force and drifting upwards. Then he leapt over the railing and slid to the centre of the terrace. After that, he turned around and gained his footing before facing Gu Yanying and Si Qing and exhaling deeply. He folded his hands.

    ¡°Greetings to commander Gu and your highness. May I ask why you have summoned me in such a hurry?¡±

    A series of cheers rang out far away from the terrace. For the sake of Si Qing¡¯s dignity, the Golden Core cultivators did not say anything, but they were all secretly amazed. Those were some impressive moves. He managed to achieve his objective under the obstruction of a Golden Core cultivator, and he even managed to do so so easily. It¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s gained commander Gu¡¯s trust at such a young age!

    ¡°Your highness!¡± Caretaker Zheng made his way to the terrace too. His gentle face now seemed rather exasperated.

    ¡°Old Zheng, you better go receive the guests first!¡±

    Caretaker Zheng shot a vicious glance at Li Qingshan¡¯s back. Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself, kid! You¡¯ll find yourself facing a horrible death in the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures!

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°His highness has a few questions to ask you. All you have to do is answer truthfully.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, your cultivation sure has progressed rather quickly!¡±

    Si Qing studied Li Qingshan as he felt indescribable surprise. Just how much time had passed since their last meeting? Yet he had gone from mid Foundation Establishment to late Foundation Establishment. If he were already about to break through the bottleneck, then it would be nothing strange, but the issue was his aura had already reached the level of peak Foundation Establishment.

    Not only did this imply that he possessed extremely great talent and ability to comprehend, but it also implied he had someone¡¯s great support from behind. However, according to the information, he had not taken on any masters. As it seemed, Gu Yanying truly valued this kid very much.

    But that was not strange either. Reaching peak Foundation Establishment in their twenties would be regarded as extraordinary even among the princes of the Dragon province. In a place like the Ruyi commandery, they were definitely outstanding geniuses. As a result, he became even more determined to kill him, or things would be much more difficult once he underwent the second heavenly tribulation and reached Golden Core.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to commander Gu¡¯s fostering. I have no idea when I¡¯ll be able to pay back her great kindness!¡±

    Li Qingshan bowed slightly towards Gu Yanying and put on a grateful appearance. He had already learnt to push everything onto Gu Yanying by now.

    Gu Yanying only smiled. She knew he was reminding her. Oi, you still owe me money!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you know why I¡¯ve called you here?¡± Si Qing¡¯s voice suddenly sank, like a threatening, jackal¡¯s growl. The atmosphere on the terrace became tense.

    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    ¡°Have you killed anyone recently?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it. ¡°I have killed three people!¡±

    Even if the Golden Core cultivators present did not know who Li Qingshan had killed in the beginning, they could easily ask each other and find out during that time. Seeing how he answered in such an unfazed manner, they all frowned slightly.

    The Green province had enjoyed several millennia of peace. The concept of peace had already become deeply ingrained in people¡¯s hearts. Grievances and murder were a little more common between Qi Practitioners, but they would all cherish their lives a little more in comparison when they reached Foundation Establishment. Even when it came to conflict between the hundred schools and the sects, very rarely did they reach a life-or-death struggle, let alone killing fellow colleagues of the hundred schools.

    If they had tried to kill each other over a bit of benefit and conflict, then basically the entire cultivation community would be thrown into disorder, and the Green province would become a lawless place like the Mist province.

    ¡°You worked with Chu Danqing and helped him murder his own senior brothers and sisters. You are a Hawkwolf guard that represents the school of Legalism, so tell me, what crime have you committed?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest, your highness, I¡¯m really not from the school of Legalism, so I¡¯m really not that familiar with the laws of Great Xia. However, if other people want to kill me, surely I can¡¯t just stay put and let them kill me! Speaking of which, this should be called justifiable defence. Let me add just one more thing. The three of them had all been killed by me. Chu Danqing had done nothing the entire time.¡±

    Li Qingshan explained everything that had happened before taking out the recording stone from his hundred treasures and playing the recording, proving he was not lying.

    Only then did everyone learn the true story. They thought, If this really is the case, the three of them have really been seeking their own doom. Even if they were killed, they deserved it. Though, he even managed to take on three people while being ambushed. This Li Qingshan sure is vicious.

    Jia Zhen remarked sinisterly, ¡°I know you¡¯re a novelist, and what you¡¯re skilled in the most is making fiction into reality and bending the truth. Who knows if you captured them first before forcing them to say that. There¡¯s nothing difficult to forge the voices in the recording stone either!¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re determined to incriminate me, you¡¯ll always find a way to do so. If you insist on badgering on like this, then there¡¯s nothing I can say.¡±

    Li Qingshan said flatly as if he could not be bothered with refuting. Gu Yanying was here anyway. Without concrete evidence, it was impossible for the three of them to frame him with merely a few words.

    Si Bao smiled. ¡°Si Qing, all he did was kill three treacherous, despicable people who sold out their master for the sake of glory. Do you have to behave like you¡¯re about to go to war?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll set this matter aside for now.¡±

    Bang!

    E Dan suddenly slammed the table. ¡°You worked with that wretched daemon Northmoon to kill several of my disciples. What crimes have you committed with that?¡±

    When he mentioned Northmoon, the Golden Core cultivators all leapt up inside. Whether it was Northmoon¡¯s actions of refining the water in the Ruyi commandery en-masse or his terrifying battle record of taking on virtually all the Daemon Commanders in the Ruyi commandery at once, they had all made him the most famous and most powerful daemon in the Ruyi commandery.

    Now that the situation between the humans and daemons was becoming tense, Northmoon was definitely a sword hanging over the heads of all the cultivators in the commandery. Once a full-blown war erupted, he would behead everyone. There were not many people present who were confident they could survive a direct clash with him either. This was basically a horrible situation to Golden Core cultivators who had lengthy lifespans and a noble status.

    The accusations truly were growing larger and larger!

    Li Qingshan countered with a question. ¡°May I ask how I worked with Northmoon and killed your precious disciples?¡±

    ¡°When I asked you what happened back then, you actually dared to mislead me with lies. Only afterwards did I get to the bottom of everything. Tell me clearly. My disciple E Feng had already snatched over the jade tablet used to contact Northmoon in that bitch Qiu Haitang¡¯s hand. Weren¡¯t you the one who personally shattered the tablet, which summoned Northmoon in the end?¡±

    ¡°None of your disciples believed the jade tablet was real. I actually broke it when I clashed with them. Who knew whether it could actually summon the moon demon. You¡¯re afraid to find the moon demon for revenge, so you find me to vent your anger. You¡¯re basically just harassing the weak and fearing the strong. It¡¯s completely unreasonable!¡±

    ¡°When I fought the daemons in the Clear River prefecture, who knew how many times I risked my life in order to kill a few Daemon Generals, yet you now suspect I have a connection with the Daemon race. How absurd!¡±

    Li Qingshan behaved furiously, like he had just experienced injustice. Gu Yanying could not help but smile.

 Chapter 625 â€“ Northmoon Comes with Blessings

    Gu Yanying happened to be enoying the show. When she heard that, she could not help but stand up. ¡°It¡¯s such a joyous occasion, so why must we haggle over these minor details?¡±

    ¡°Commander Gu, my disciples were ruthlessly killed by the moon demon. Are you saying this is merely a minor detail?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, slip of the tongue,¡± said Gu Yanying. The moon demon who ruthlessly killed your disciples is standing right before you, so why are you glaring at me?

    ¡°I won¡¯t let this matter be until I get a satisfying conclusion!¡± E Dan was vicious.

    ¡°What do you want to do? You¡¯re welcome to make it clear!¡±

    Li Qingshan knew he had handled the matters in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain rather improperly, giving E Dan a reason to hassle him, which he would not let go of so easily. Even Gu Yanying would struggle a little to protect him.

    ¡°The only punishment befitting of colluding with daemons is death. We just happen to be in need of your head for an offering for such a joyous occasion!¡± E Dan took a step forward. His aura was like an ancient beast¡¯s, where even the Golden Core cultivators present found it difficult to breathe.

    At this exact moment, a black line appeared on the horizon and spread rapidly. A swathe of dark clouds flooded over, instantly turning the sunny skies into drizzling rain.

    A scarlet figure passed through the clouds with a streak of wind and fire, shooting over here.

    ¡°Flying is forbidden above the marquis¡¯ estate!¡± Caretaker Zheng went up to receive him. He was surprised and furious. He had just made a huge fool of himself, so he wanted to see which ignorant fool dared to take advantage of his bad luck. Did they really think the caretaker did not possess a temper?

    However, when he made out the person¡¯s appearance, his eyes narrowed suddenly. Northmoon!

    He had a head of drifting, scarlet hair, a handsome and flawless appearance with a devilish smile, and a pair of horns engraved with ¡°North¡° and ¡°Moon¡±. Apart from the moon demon, who else could he be?

    Most of caretaker Zheng¡¯s fury was immediately extinguished. He had no idea what to do with the arcane artifact he was already holding in his hand. During his hesitation, Northmoon brushed past him and did not even glance at him.

    ¡°Northmoon, how dare you¡­¡± ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s get him together and take down this wretched daemon!¡±

    Northmoon arrived on the Soaring Clouds terrace in a flash. With a swish, all of the Golden Core cultivators stood up, flickering with lights of various colours as they drew their arcane artifacts, gazing at Northmoon vigilantly as he strode over. None of them paid any attention to Li Qingshan anymore.

    Only Gu Yanying lowered her head and smiled gently. Si Bao asked in confusion, ¡°Big sis, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Oh, nothing!¡±

    Northmoon did not look at the Golden Core cultivators on the two sides either. Right from the moment he set foot on the Soaring Clouds terrance, his eyes had been locked onto Si Qing. An enthusiastic smile oozed out on his face, and he walked over to Si Qing¡¯s side, wrapping his arm around his neck like they were very close. ¡°Little bro Si Qing, I¡¯ve come to congratulate you!¡±

    Si Qing stiffered all over and looked at Jia Zhen. Now is the perfect time to kill Northmoon!

    Jia Zhen shook his head gently. Northmoon did not conceal his aura, but from the aura he demonstrated, he did not seem particularly strong. He was clearly stating to them intentionally that this was not his original body.

    And let alone the Water God Seal, he did not even have a hundred treasures pouch on him, which was why he was so fearless. If they struck right now, all they would kill would be an insignificant clone, and they would fall out with Northmoon completely. Their previous efforts would all go to waste.

    Si Qing sucked in a deep breath and smiled. ¡°Fellow Northmoon, you¡¯re here!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you being so polite for? Aren¡¯t we allies? I obviously have to come and congratulate you on such a joyous occasion! Didn¡¯t you say you even wanted me as a guest a few days ago? Calling me fellow Northmoon would be treating me like an outsider. You can just call me A¡¯yue. I¡¯ll call you A¡¯qing!¡±

    Northmoon laughed aloud as he smacked Si Qing¡¯s shoulder. Despite the composure Si Qing had developed while competing with the other princes in the Dragon province, even his forehead bulged with veins right now.

    The expressions of the Golden Core cultivators all became strange. None of them lashed out with the arcane artifacts they were already holding, and they had no idea whether they should disperse their protective spiritual qi either. They felt rather awkward as they stood there and thought to themselves.

    So prince Si Qing is actually so familiar with Northmoon? He¡¯s actually managed to get him to come celebrate with him!

    Err, let¡¯s just say prince Si Qing is extraordinarily capable and possesses startling charm!

    With a swish, Gu Yanying opened her jade folding fan, covering the lower half of her face, but smiles oozed out of her eyes.

    ¡°Come, come, come. I¡¯ve even written my word of congratulations already. What do you think?¡±

    Northmoon brought Si Qing towards the terrace with his arm around his shoulder, pointing at the sky.

    Si Qing raised his head and gazed over, only to see a line of huge, glistening characters in the sky shrouded by dark clouds. This was the effect of sunlight peeking through the clouds.

    The other Golden Core cultivators followed along, all looking over. And, it was not just the Soaring Clouds terrace either. The cultivators from the various prefectures of the entire Ruyi commandery were the same, such that even the common folk of the entire commandery city raised their heads and observed this rare sight.

    The words written with the clouds were, ¡°Prince Si Qing possesses endless might, accomplished in the office and on the battleground, showing kindness to all for generations on end, uniting the world.¡± He even placed his signature at the bottom, ¡°From Northmoon¡±.

    Si Qing laughed aloud. ¡°Then thank you for your blessings- A¡¯yue.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re too kind!¡± Northmoon pointed at the sky, and the clouds rapidly closed together, forming a new row of characters. ¡°May friendship between humans and daemons last forever! For the sake of peace, not war!¡±

    The cultivators all looked at one another. They all found the moon demon¡¯s reputation terrifying, but his thought process aligned with theirs. Speaking of which, ever since Northmoon heavily injured the group of Daemon Commanders that day, the daemons of the Ruyi commandery became much more quiet. The war that was on the brink of erupting actually settled back down miraculously.

    If Northmoon really could achieve an alliance with Si Qing, the Marquis of Ruyi, then they would be able to avoid a lot of pointless water. Everyone recognised Si Qing a little more now.

    Li Qingshan peered through the eyes of his mirror clone and made eye contact with Si Qing. He smiled inside. If you want to be patient and scheme, then I¡¯ll let you be patient and scheme to your heart¡¯s content. You¡¯ll be accepting my deep friendship no matter what, regardless of whether you want to or not.

    Si Qing continued to smile, but he fumed inside, This damned daemon is clearly playing along! He¡¯s forcing me to admit our relationship as allies before everyone. But I have to calm down. Now is still not the time to turn against him!

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was thinking, A¡¯yue! We may be of different races, but we¡¯re all fellow cultivators in the cultivation world¡­¡±

    ¡°Fellow cultivators are nothing. I think we¡¯re quite agreeable, so why don¡¯t we just become brothers here and now?¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Si Qing was taken aback. Who and who were becoming brothers? You can go die, you wretched daemon!

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to? Don¡¯t tell me you were lying to me that day?¡± Northmoon¡¯s face suddenly sank slightly.

    ¡°Of course not. Though, as a prince, I need the imperial family¡¯s permission to become brothers with other people.¡±

    Northmoon¡¯s face immediately cleared up and began laughing. ¡°I see. But as forthright men, there¡¯s no need to bother with these empty rules and etiquette. You just have to get your imperial family or whatever it is to give permission quickly. Virtuous younger brother, I¡¯m a little older than you, so forgive me as I¡¯ll be calling myself your foolish elder brother. Hahahaha!¡±

    The group of people returned to the Soaring Clouds terrace. Northmoon released his arm from Si Qing¡¯s neck and made his way over to Gu Yanying, leaning forward and saying tenderly, ¡°Yanying, you¡¯re here too!¡±

    Gu Yanying only smiled. She said with her soul sense, ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t forget about what you agreed to!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, how boring.¡±

    Northmoon straightened himself out, turned around, and asked, ¡°A¡¯dan, where are the beauties you spoke of? Send them over so I can take a good look at them.¡±

    E Dan was taken aback, only just realising Northmoon was referring to him as A¡¯dan. He said, ¡°The beauties are coming right up!¡±

    Northmoon did not hold back at all and squeezed onto the same table as Si Qing. Suddenly, he frowned and pointed at Li Qingshan who stood in the centre. ¡°Who are you? Stop standing there like a rigid pillar. Shoo, go away. Hmm? You look a little familiar. I saw you that night in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Are you called Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡± Li Qingshan bowed slightly as he thought to himself, Is this supposed to be a monologue or a dialogue?

    Northmoon said, ¡°Why are you standing here? With your cultivation, you still don¡¯t deserve to be here!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I was summoned by his highness the prince. He said I colluded with wr- daemons that night in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain and killed fellow E Dan¡¯s disciples.¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes immediately gathered on E Dan. Just earlier, Li Qingshan¡¯s crimes had been colluding with Northmoon, but in the blink of an eye, Northmoon had come to form an alliance with Si Qing. When it truly came to colluding with daemons, just who was colluding with daemons right now?

    ¡°Li Qingshan, shut your mouth!¡± E Dan suffered in silence, unable to say anything.

    ¡°Oh? Did this really happen? A¡¯dan, you¡¯re still attached to them? I was the one who killed them, so if you have anything you want to ask, you can just ask me! If you still feel angry and want to vent your anger, I¡¯ll let you punch me three times!¡± Northmoon raised an eyebrow and pulled apart his clothes, revealing his bare chest.

    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯ve misunderstood. Why would I care about something as petty as that? I only find this kid an eyesore.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. Let¡¯s have a cup together and drink away our grievances!¡± Northmoon raised his cup, clinking it with E Dan¡¯s before drinking it all. Afterwards, he said to Li Qingshan rather restlessly, ¡°You¡¯re done here, so why don¡¯t you leave? Oh right, Haitang told me to thank you!¡±

    He leaned over slightly and said to Si Qing, ¡°How unfortunate. I was in such a hurry today that I didn¡¯t bring anything with me. Virtuous brother, do you have anything? Just reward him with an item or two and send him away!¡±

    You were clearly afraid we¡¯d finish off your clone, so you purposefully didn¡¯t bring anything with you!

    Si Qing ground his teeth in hatred, but he continued to smile. ¡°That¡¯s not a problem!¡± He pulled out a black hoop from his sumeru ring and passed it to Northmoon. Northmoon fiddled around with it and realised. This isn¡¯t an arcane artifact. It¡¯s a demonic artifact! Although the demonic nature was extremely well-hidden, it was unable to fool his senses as he practised the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    Sure enough, why would this bastard Si Qing be up to any good? Demonic artifacts can only be used by demonfolk. If regular cultivators refine them unknowingly, it¡¯s very likely for the demonic nature to be drawn into the body, causing them to suffer qi deviation! But it¡¯s perfect for me right now.

    Northmoon casually tossed the black hoop at Li Qingshan. ¡°Take it!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I don¡¯t deserve this, so I can¡¯t take it!¡±

    Northmoon immediately became displeased. ¡°You¡¯re trying to turn down something I¡¯m giving you? Don¡¯t get too ahead of yourself!¡±

    All Li Qingshan could do was accept the black hoop ¡°helplessly¡± and leave the Soaring Clouds terrace.

 Chapter 626 â€“ Singing Loudly

    ¡°Qingshan, are you fine?¡± Han Qiongzhi approached him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. His highness treated me very well. He even gifted me something!¡± Li Qingshan showed off the black hoop in his hand with a smile.

    Han Qiongzhi was bewildered. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°I still have to maintain order. You better go and see prefect Liu. We can take a look around together later.¡±

    The White Wolf guards patrolled the surroundings in groups of two. The woman in the uniform of White Wolf guards standing nearby waited for Han Qiongzhi. Seeing Li Qingshan gaze over, she nodded at him in acknowledgement, and Li Qingshan returned the gesture with a smile. ¡°You better go! Your friend is waiting for you!¡±

    Before the Soaring Clouds terrace was a huge square divided into nine groups. They were led by their respective prefects, while the Scarlet Hawk commanders and generals stood to the left and right. Each group was further divided into over a dozen different colours, which were the attires of the disciples of each school of thought. Coupled with the spectating cultivators from sects on the side, there were over ten thousand people, yet it did not feel crowded at all.

    This was also the first time Li Qingshan had seen so many cultivators standing together. He could not help but be amazed. ¡°It really is a grand gathering!¡±

    He passed through the square and discovered that the group from the Clear River prefecture was the smallest among the nine provinces, nowhere close to the flourishing numbers of the other prefectures. However, having been baptised by war, the disciples of the Clear River prefecture possessed a different bearing and edge about them.

    Everywhere would fall silent when he passed by. Everyone stopped their conversations and gathered their attention on him. At first glance, he did not seem special at all. He still seemed very young with his bronze face, but having been weathered by wind and frost, it gave off a sense of level-headedness that exceeded his age. However, it was still chiseled, making him seem so resolute that it was almost arrogant and unyielding.

    He had a tall and sturdy frame, walking along calmly. His expression was not as arrogant as it was rumored to be. His head was slightly lowered as if he was in thought. However, his gaze drifted about. Everyone could sense that he was not taking any of them seriously, like a vicious tiger silently prowling through the jungle, possessing a natural ease about him.

    As for the regular disciples, they thought, Just a few years ago, he was still a backgroundless nobody. If he can achieve this, why can¡¯t I? As a result, some lofty aspirations were ignited within them.

    ¡°Qiongzhi, your Qingshan is basically at peak Foundation Establishment already, right? He sure does cultivate at an alarming speed. I heard back then that you were the one who proposed the marriage, junior sister Han. Your insight sure is admirable! You got any clever tricks you can teach me? Recently, my family is also pressuring me into getting married. They¡¯re clearly looking down on me!¡±

    Ding Min said in distress. Ever since Han Qiongzhi became a White Wolf guard, she had been the one who led her around to familiarise with the surroundings. As a result, the two of them became good friends. She also came from an aristocratic clan. If she were unable to advance any further on the path of cultivation, then she would be burdened with the responsibility of fostering descendants for the clan.

    ¡°What insight could I have? I just liked him, that¡¯s all.¡± Han Qiongzhi drew her gaze back from Li Qingshan and smiled valiantly. ¡°You know how I¡¯m like, Ding sis. If something catches my heart, I stop caring about everything else.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s your good fortune. I sure am jealous of Qian Rongzhi! Gu Yanying actually accepted her as a disciple. Your Qingshan is favoured by the commander too, so why don¡¯t you just beg him to ask commander Gu to accept you as a disciple too! Guiding one is no different from guiding two after all!¡±

    ¡°I hate begging people the most, and I don¡¯t want him to beg others for me either.¡±

    ¡°You blockhead!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived among the ranks of the Clear River prefecture and nodded towards Chu Danqing, expressing that all was fine. Afterwards, he stood beside Liu Zhangqing and waited quietly for the ceremony to begin. The people beside him could see he was in thought and had no interest in talking, so they did not disturb him. He readily embraced this peace and placed all of his focus on his clone.

    Under Northmoon¡¯s enthusiastic request, Si Qing arranged for some female dancers to perform. He did not have any interest in such things, but Jiang Fu had kept quite a lot of people like that in the estate. When he inherited the position of Marquis of Ruyi, they had come in the process, so he was able to gather enough people on the spot, albeit after some difficulty.

    Northmoon continued to sit with Si Qing, crossing his legs without the slightest amount of self-consciousness, picking up Si Qing¡¯s alcohol cup and drinking from it without even batting an eye. Though, he did not use Si Qing¡¯s chopsticks, just directly using his bare hands to grab the food. He watched attentively as he drank, his eyes glued to the dancers¡¯ special parts as if he wanted to swallow them all in one gulp.

    Si Qing was unhappy inside, but seeing how Northmoon behaved, he exchanged glances with Jia Zhen and E Dan and exhibited a sense of joy like his scheme had succeeded. Whether it was humans or demons, they could be controlled as long as they had desires.

    Gu Yanying laughed inside. This kid sure knows how to act!

    Big sis, you said Northmoon is impressive, but he doesn¡¯t seem special at all to me. You better be careful just in case he gets pulled to Si Qing¡¯s side and works with him to deal with you! Si Bao said to Gu Yanying with some worry.

    ¡°I know what to do.¡±

    ¡°Heh. Big sis, as long as you flaunt your beauty a little, you¡¯ll make this Northmoon change sides mid-battle!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll be underestimating him a little too much if that¡¯s what you think.¡±

    E Dan smiled at Northmoon. ¡°How are these women? Are any to your liking?¡±

    ¡°The women aren¡¯t bad, but the songs they sing are all so soft. It¡¯s completely powerless. I feel drowsy from listening to it!¡±

    ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d understand music so well? Then what has a sense of power? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the roar of wild beasts?¡± Si Qing smiled.

    The cultivators could not help but smile. To think that even uncivilised daemons would blindly criticise the music of humans. He was basically asking to be humiliated. The moon demon was very powerful, but they still possessed a natural sense of superiority as humans. They only treated him as an extremely-powerful wild beast.

    Northmoon acted like he was unable to tell Si Qing was mocking him. He leapt up from his seat. ¡°Speaking of which, when I was refining the river that night, I looked up and saw the stars, which put me in a great mood and I sang this song. I¡¯ll broaden your horizons today!¡±

    He arrived beside the musicians in a flash. The musicians were also all female, scattering in fright.

    He completely ignored them. He picked up a zither and casually plucked a few strings before shaking his head and throwing it by his feet. Afterwards, he picked up a reed-piped sheng and blew it blindly a few times before tossing it aside.

    TL: A sheng a Chinese wind instrument made from reeds. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheng_(instrument)

    The cultivators looked at one another, communicating secretly through their soul sense, ¡°Is the moon demon serious?¡± ¡°Forget it, just treat it as a monkey show!¡±

    Northmoon¡¯s eyes drifted out the window before suddenly lighting up. He flew out before flying back in, carrying the huge drum used to report time in his hands and placing it on the ground with a thud.

    Afterwards, he swung the drumsticks, thumping away. A fast-paced rhythm suddenly appeared.

    Northmoon sang happily at the top of his lungs, ¡°East flows the river! The stars shine ¡®round beidou! Hey! Hey! ¡®round Beidou ah! Friendship in a bowl of wine ah!¡±

    TL: This is from a very well-known, catchy Chinese song, ºÃºº¸è, or Song of Heroes. It was made in the nineties for a television adaptation of Water Margin. You can listen to the original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-47s8ES5Ik

    Or, you can listen to some ¡°English¡± versions:

    https://youtu.be/MSov6ACvKjw?t=225

    https://www.bilibili.com/video/av8062362/

    The moment he bellowed out, it echoed through the clouds and reached kilometers away. Let alone leaving Si Qing and the others dumbfounded, even Gu Yanying felt like she had just quivered.

    I have no idea what it means, but it seems very powerful!

 Chapter 627 â€“ The Beginning

    Afterwards, they looked at one another with no idea what was happening on the Soaring Dragon terrace. It would have been easier for them to accept if a great battle had suddenly erupted on the Soaring Dragon terrace. What was this singing all about?

    ¡°We¡¯ll go if you say go! I¡¯ll go, you¡¯ll go, we¡¯ll all go ah! Hey hey we¡¯ll all go ah! With our heads raised at the sky ah!¡±

    Northmoon struck the drum and sang as if there was no one around. When he reached ¡°With our heads raised at the sky¡±, he felt like it suited him very much. When he listened to it in his past life, it did not sound particularly special, but it put him in high, valiant spirits as he sang it today.

    Originally, he had intentionally done this to create trouble in Si Qing¡¯s ceremony, but he ended up being in a great mood for this. He unfurled his clothes, revealing his bare chest and struck the war drum deafeningly as his scarlet hair blazed like fire.

    Although everyone felt like this song completely defied conventional music theory, it was more like a tune sung by northerners, possessing a riling, liberal sense of hot-bloodedness that broke away from convention. It did not sound bad at all, and even if they were unaccustomed to his crude voice, they could not help but be stunned by his vigour.

    Enemies surrounded him, yet he sang to his heart¡¯s content, making his enemies fearful and worried, afraid to act recklessly. On and below the terrace, the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery listened along attentively, so how delightful was that!

    ¡°Seeing injustice on the road! Give a shout and give it a blow! Roaming the world valiantly ah!¡±

    When Li Qingshan reached the last word, there was a great thunk, and the war drum shattered from the drumming. He let out a great laugh.

    Si Bao elbowed Gu Yanying. ¡°This guy sure is something else!¡±

    Si Qing clenched his fist firmly. This damned daemon!

    Li Qingshan tossed the drumstick out the window. ¡°Bring me alcohol! I¡¯ll perform the song, Nunchucks, now!¡± Since you can¡¯t stand that song, I¡¯ll sing another song that you won¡¯t be able to endure even more! I don¡¯t care how you feel or if you want to listen to it or not. He experienced an urge to turn Si Qing¡¯s ceremony into his personal concert.

    TL: Nunchucks is a rap by Jay Chou. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR-0wptI_u0

    No one had any idea what nunchucks were, but they knew they could not let him continue anymore. They all tried to persuade him. ¡°You¡¯ve already broadened our horizons with that song. There¡¯s no need to keep singing.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s roughly time. We can announce the beginning of the ceremony!¡±

    ¡°Really? Since you¡¯ve already said something like that, A¡¯qing, then I¡¯ll perform for you next time,¡± Northmoon replied like he still had not had enough. He went with the flow and wrapped his arm around Si Qing¡¯s shoulder like they were close brothers.

    ¡°This place of yours is fantastic. It¡¯s way better than my dwelling. The beauties are fair and soft too. Sigh, you have no idea. All of the night roamers are pitch-black!¡± Liubo, Liusu, don¡¯t blame me. I¡¯m making the enemy lower their guard.

    With how familiar Northmoon behaved with him, Si Qing could not come off as too cold. He cleared his throat gently. ¡°If you¡¯d like to, then you can continue.. I can order people to specially build a residence for you.¡±

    Originally, he wanted to use the fine alcohol and delicacies of the marquis¡¯ estate to erode away Northmoon¡¯s willpower, but as soon as he considered the consequences of Northmoon staying behind, he corrected himself in a hurry.

    ¡°That¡¯s far too troublesome. And, what¡¯s the point if I¡¯m all alone? I¡¯m willing to stay here and drink and have a merry time with you. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go talk!¡±

    Si Qing personally believed that he was not even afraid of death, but when he heard that, his heart skipped a beat. He was afraid he would not be able to hold back his killing intent, which would waste all of his previous efforts. He silently warned himself, Si Qing, you have to be patient. The most important part of hunting is patience. This prey really is unexpectedly difficult to deal with!

    Northmoon basically pulled Si Qing with him to the terrace facing the square. Gu Yanying walked beside them, while the Golden Core cultivators stood up and followed behind them.

    By now, the clouds in the sky had already dispersed. Sunlight scattered in the surroundings brilliantly. Everyone raised their heads and looked at the three most powerful people in the Ruyi commandery, or more accurately, a person, a daemon, and a half-human, half-daemon.

    Si Qing began talking with his unique jackal-like voice. To his relief, Northmoon did not interrupt him and embarrass him in front of so many people, or he truly would have lost his temper. Northmoon merely smiled foolishly and kept his arm around his neck, pressing up close¡­

    Li Qingshan discovered basically all the leaders in the world could not go without some buzzwords and cliches when they spoke. They would express their gratitude toward everyone before bringing up things like ¡°pool our efforts together¡± or ¡°we¡¯re all in the same boat¡± like they were worthless. In the end, he formally announced the beginning of the ceremony.

    Vertical scrolls draped down from the nine Soaring Dragon ships. They were words of blessing each prefecture had gifted to Si Qing.

    ¡°It¡¯s completely lacking in vigour!¡± Northmoon shook his head in disdain.

    ¡°It¡¯s just their kind intentions. It¡¯s obviously nothing compared to our friendship.¡± Si Qing¡¯s eyes twitched. Today, everyone came with gifts. Just a wretched daemon like you came with no gift, even taking something from me and giving it to that Li Qingshan.

    Afterwards, a grand performance similar to an opening ceremony unfolded. The banquet was moved out of the covered area and onto the terrace. Northmoon continued to sit with Si Qing without the slightest care in the world.

    Si Qing forced out a smile. ¡°A¡¯yue, you¡¯ve traveled a long way, so why don¡¯t you go rest up? I¡¯ll have those beauties serve you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not tired. The performance here is still quite interesting.¡±

    Si Qing gritted his teeth. ¡°The competition between the schools of Miscellany is first. I¡¯ll have someone accompany you!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already? I haven¡¯t brought my hundred treasures pouch!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. If anything catches your fancy, it¡¯ll just be on me.¡±

    Northmoon was angered. ¡°Am I the type of person to take advantage of friends?¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ you can just treat it as borrowing from me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. What about you?¡±

    ¡°I have to stay here and watch over everything!¡±

    ¡°Then forget it. I¡¯ll stay here with you. Come, let¡¯s drink!¡±

    You fucking wretched daemon, can you stay away from me? Si Qing roared inside as he raised his cup helplessly. ¡°Alright then!¡±

    The grand ceremony continued all the way until dusk. Thousands of fireworks were launched into the air, bursting apart brilliantly in all sorts of shapes and sizes. It was far richer in variety than any fireworks Li Qingshan had seen in his past life. Mingling with the glow of the setting sun, it was magnificent. This was obviously the handiwork of the school of Mohism.

    Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi stood together as they watched the fireworks. Han Qiongzhi turned her head and gazed at his face that constantly flickered with colourful lights from the fireworks, like he had been smeared with make-up. Sometimes he seemed rather funny, but at other times, he seemed rather eerie or even terrifying.

    Li Qingshan noticed her gaze and looked over. He asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Nothin!¡± Han Qiongzhi grabbed his hand.

    When the red glow had completely vanished in the west and the fireworks had died down, Si Qing stood up on the Soaring Clouds terrace and loudly announced the beginning of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. Following the order used in the past, the first competition was the school of Miscellany!

    Li Qingshan looked back. Before he knew it, nine stores of miscellaneous goods already formed a ring.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go for a stroll!¡±

 Chapter 628 â€“ A New Cursive Sword Calligraphy

    As a result, whenever it came to the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, the schools of Miscellany would all take out their prized items to sell, and the price would often be extremely discounted.

    The cultivators of the various schools and sects temporarily set aside their misunderstandings and disputes and all surged into the stores, buying what they required. Everyone was radiating with joy, and it was a very lively sight to behold.

    Apart from the nine stores of miscellaneous goods, there were many cultivators who took advantage of this opportunity to sell their own goods. Many mechanical structures rose up loudly as restaurants and tea houses spread out. The empty square had turned into a huge city in the blink of an eye, glowing with lights.

    Fireworks would even illuminate the night sky from time to time. The place was enveloped in an atmosphere of jubilance.

    Li Qingshan understood the intention of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures a little. It was a grand gathering that the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery would take part in. It emphasised exchange and communication; it was not a battle to the death between the various prefectures and schools.

    Li Qingshan did not have anything particular he wanted to buy, while Han Qiongzhi mainly wanted to enjoy strolling around with him. The two of them made their way through the stores idly, pointing at some interesting things from time to time and talking. In the eyes of the passers-by, they were a pair of lovers.

    Li Qingshan suddenly let out an interjection of surprise. He discovered the messy brush strokes on a certain scroll did not form a painting. Instead, an unruly aura filled the entire scroll. He found it very familiar. It was part of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy.

    This part was only a mid grade spiritual artifact, located in an inconspicuous corner with no one to care for it. This was not strange. When Qi Practitioners chose spiritual artifacts, spiritual artifacts that coincided with their elemental affinities would definitely take priority. Only then would it be satisfactory when they used it, allowing them to unleash several times their strength.

    The Cursive Sword Calligraphy was powerful, but it placed a huge toll on true qi. At the same time, the profound sword style it was hiding could not be comprehended by everyone. It definitely was not an optimal choice for cultivators.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°This one seems to form a set with the one you possess.¡±

    According to his guesses, the fragments of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy had scattered after being broken apart, but it was basically impossible for them to scatter too far away. They were most likely all within the vicinity of the Ruyi commandery.

    And, the fragments were not actually suited for regular cultivators. Even if someone managed to come across a piece, they would not treasure it too much. They would probably be more than willing to exchange it for a spiritual artifact that suited their elemental affinity. As a result, there was nothing strange for them to end up in the stores of miscellany as time went on. He could use this opportunity to look around. Perhaps he might find a few more fragments.

    Han Qiongzhi had no problem with that, but after visiting all nine stores, Li Qingshan did not find a trace of another part of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. He could not help but scratch his head. ¡°Was I mistaken?¡±

    ¡°Do you want me to see if I can do anything?¡± The connections of the Han family spanned the entire commandery.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no need. I¡¯m only fulfilling my small urge to collect.¡± Right now, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in his possession was only an inferior arcane artifact. Even if he obtained a few more fragments, he could elevate it to low grade at most, and he would have to trouble Chu Danqing.

    The two of them left the stores and walked along the noisy streets, appreciating the scenery on the sides of the street. To Li Qingshan, this was a rare moment of peace, except he could not help but think of Xiao An again. He had spent most of the times of peace in his life by brother ox¡¯s side, followed by Xiao An¡¯s side.

    He could not help but hold Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand. He had lofty aspirations, but he treasured every moment of peace, as well as every single person that could bring him peace.

    Li Qingshan suddenly frowned and pulled Han Qiongzhi into an alleyway on the side.

    ¡°Qingshan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked.

    ¡°Nothing. There¡¯s just someone following us!¡±

    Li Qingshan explained. Although he had always been the centre of attention as he walked down the street, there had only been a single gaze that constantly drifted around him, following him steadily.

    He gazed at the entrance of the alleyway and said flatly, ¡°Please stop lurking around. Come in here, and we can have a talk!¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand, commander Li. I have no ill intentions. I just have something I¡¯d like to discuss with you, commander, except I never got the opportunity! Why don¡¯t we go to a tea house on the side and have a cup?¡±

    A Qi Practitioner in grey entered the alleyway lithely and quickly. He seemed to be in his thirties, and his appearance was very ordinary. Combined with his cultivation at the ninth layer, he was the type that would not stand out in a crowd.

    ¡°If you have something to say, make it quick!¡±

    ¡°Did you buy a piece of calligraphy earlier, commander? I was wondering if you could sell it to me? And, in my knowledge, you have something else that¡¯s similar in your possession, commander. I¡¯m willing to pay a high price to purchase it!¡±

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. Originally, he thought this was another scheme from Si Qing, but he never thought the Qi Practitioner had come for the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. He took out both calligraphies and unfurled them with a swish.

    ¡°Are you talking about them?¡±

    The man in grey¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. His gaze wandered around the calligraphies as if he was appraising them. ¡°Yes I am. May I ask if the commander is willing to part with them?¡±

    ¡°You sure do talk big for a Qi Practitioner. This one¡¯s an arcane artifact. Can you afford it?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought to himself, As it seems, I was not mistaken. I am not the only one collecting the Cursive Sword Calligraphy!

    ¡°I don¡¯t really have any other hobbies, but I¡¯m smitten with calligraphy. When I see one that catches my eye, I¡¯ll buy it even if I have to break the bank. You can say I¡¯m from a bit of an aristocratic clan, so I do have some wealth. If you¡¯re willing to sell it, commander, I¡¯ll always be able to find a way to buy it!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your surname?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi studied this person. There were not actually too many prominent clans in the Ruyi commandery, and they were all in contact with one another. Back when Han Anguo was the great general, the various clans would send descendants over with words of blessings whenever they had a celebration.

    Of course, each clan had many descendants, so it was impossible for her to recognise them all. However, the most suspicious part for her was this person¡¯s appearance was far too ordinary. He did not seem like he came from an aristocratic clan.

    ¡°My clan is far too insignificant. It¡¯s nowhere close to the Han family, so even if I do mention it, you probably haven¡¯t heard about it, fellow Han.¡± The cultivator in grey bowed slightly and told a lie before looking at Li Qingshan again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to sell them unfortunately. Qiongzhi, let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan stowed the Cursive Sword Calligraphies away again, called Han Qiongzhi, and made his way out of the alleyway.

    ¡°Please hold on, commander. The two calligraphies aren¡¯t of much use to me, so please state a price!¡± the cultivator called out behind Li Qingshan.

    Please state a price? He really is speaking bolder and bolder! Li Qingshan thought of something, but he did not stop. ¡°No matter what you offer, I won¡¯t be selling them!¡±

    ¡°Commander, you better not regret it in the future for missing out on such a great opportunity!¡± The cultivator in grey was rather exasperated. The two calligraphies were far more complicated than an arcane artifact and spiritual artifact to him. If he could not complete the mission, he would definitely be punished when he returned.

    ¡°Regret it?¡± Li Qingshan stopped and suddenly looked back. He actually detected a hint of a threat, which was rather unbelievable to him. A mere Qi Practitioner was threatening him?

    The cultivator in grey trembled and stumbled back a few steps. ¡°What are you thinking? Deals may fall through, but that shouldn¡¯t affect our relationship!¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t regret it. If you want calligraphy, you better look elsewhere. Stop following us.¡± Han Qiongzhi pulled Li Qingshan along and returned to the main street.

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed quite a bit. They all say a leopard can¡¯t change its spots, but it looks like it¡¯s not accurate!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. In his memory, Han Qiongzhi was a young lady with a fiery temper.

    Han Qiongzhi rolled her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re in the marquis¡¯ estate right now, so we can¡¯t fight here. I¡¯m a White Wolf guard after all. I¡¯m responsible for maintaining order.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not that petty, where I¡¯ll resort to violent means if someone has offended me by a tiny bit.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled before glancing back at the alleyway. He held Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand and merged into the flow of people.

    On the Soaring Clouds terrace, Li Qingshan teased Si Qing a few more times as Northmoon. He could feel Si Qing¡¯s killing intent grow heavier and heavier. He no longer dared to continue, just in case they actually ended up falling out, which would be the last thing he wanted. As a result, he casually said, ¡°I¡¯m tired!¡±

    Si Qing¡¯s face lit up as if he had just received a signal. ¡°Caretaker Zheng, please take A¡¯yue to his residence to rest!¡±

    Northmoon grabbed Si Qing by the sleeve. ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯ll keep drinking in the residence, A¡¯qing!¡±

    ¡°I still have to receive the fellow cultivators, so maybe some other day!¡± Si Qing¡¯s face stiffened and waved his hands in a hurry to decline.

    ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll be going first!¡± Northmoon waved his hand. He arrived in a magnificent palace under caretaker Zheng¡¯s lead, with fancy eaves and corners as well as carved beams and painted rafters. It was like the palace of an immortal.

    ¡°Welcome, sir Northmoon!¡±

    A group of women knelt down gracefully at the entrance to the palace. They were all dressed in the same style of dress that dragged along the ground. All of them were beautiful, varying in appearance and figures. They were all rare beauties, and their bearings were exceptional. They definitely were not some common women.

    ¡°Who¡¯re they?¡±

    Northmoon could see that every single one of them practised qi. Their cultivation was nothing special, roughly around the second or third layer of Qi Practitioner, but they could still be regarded as cultivators after all. The woman in the lead had even opened her sea of qi and reached the sixth layer.

    ¡°There¡¯ll all palace attendents for serving you. This good fortune in love is truly envious.¡± caretaker Zheng smiled in a way that all men understood.

    ¡°They¡¯re also cultivators, so of all the things they could do, why did they choose to do this?¡± Northmoon was rather confused. A cultivation at the first or second layer of Qi Practitioner could run around freely in the world of mortals, so why did they become attendants?

    ¡°None of them originally possessed the talent to cultivate. They had been chosen when they were young and were bestowed pills, which is why they¡¯re barely able to practise qi now. Actually, they¡¯re all just slaves. They were sold to the marquis¡¯ estate. They¡¯re not actual cultivators.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Northmoon nodded. Jiang Fu sure knew how to burn money for him to do something as tasteless as that. Nobles truly lived off the fat of the land!

    He took this as a lesson. If Jiang Fu spent a little less attention on sensual pleasures, perhaps he would not have been squatted to death by a single smack from the Dark Queen. Now, it all fell into that grandsonny Si Qing¡¯s lap before being offered to his grandfather Northmoon as gifts.

 Chapter 629 â€“ Assassination

    However, this was not like what Li Qingshan thought, just for fulfilling momentary lust. Instead, it was also for creating descendants. The children between cultivators would basically all possess the talent to cultivate. As such, larger aristocratic clans would all make these preparations to preserve the bloodline of their clan. The concubines that the Han family had arranged Han Tieyi to take on were mostly women like this.

    And, for the women, this was an opportunity to change their fate and become cultivators. Even if they would be cultivators of the lowest level, they would still possess healthier bodies, longer life spans, and more beautiful appearances than mortals. They would be able to enjoy a lavish lifestyle that mortals could not imagine, and once they produced a talented child, the rest of their life would basically be guaranteed.

    Caretaker Zheng took Northmoon on a tour through the palace first. The decorations in the palace were extremely beautiful. It had all the facilities a person could ever need. It even had a special cellar that stored several hundred jars of fine alcohol.

    Then they arrived behind the palace, only to see white steam permeating the air. It was an open-air hot spring. The sides of the pool were made from softer, white jade, while the surrounding walls depicted images of enchanting women. These women were all scantily dressed, graceful and casting out gentle glances. Within the steam, they seemed like a dream, like they were alive. This was obviously the handiwork of the school of Painting. The female attendants all arrived by the pool, making the dream into a reality.

    Caretaker Zheng smiled. ¡°Fellow Northmoon, these are all his highness¡¯ kind intentions, so please enjoy yourself. I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡±

    Northmoon smiled, taking off all of his clothes and leaping into the pool, immediately crossing his legs and entering a meditative state. He made the women look at one another, at a loss as for what to do.

    Si Qing heard caretaker Zheng¡¯s report and slammed his table heavily before letting out a long sigh. ¡°Sure enough, this wretched daemon can¡¯t be swayed by fine alcohol and fine women considering how quickly he¡¯s risen up.¡±

    ¡°Little strokes fell great oaks. Constant effort brings success. There¡¯s no rush.¡± Jia Zhen swung his feather fan.

    ¡°There¡¯s no rush? I think he was clearly using his clone today to mess with me. Am I supposed to continue putting up with him?¡±

    ¡°Yes. As long as we refine the Asura Field and find the location of his original body, I¡¯d like to see if he can still escape from the palm of our hands!¡± Si Qing opened his fingers before clenching his hand violently.

    Actually, Si Qing had overestimated what Northmoon, or in other words, what Li Qingshan was thinking. He was not the kind of hopeless romantic who would only cling to one good thing in life. Most of the time, he would just eat if there was to eat and drink if there was to drink. He would not hold back. Normally, he would kindly accept all of these ¡°gifts¡±, but Han Qiongzhi was beside him right now. If he were to use his clone to fool around even now, even he would not be able to forgive himself.

    The competition between the schools of Miscellany would continue for a few more days. Some cultivators searched for what they wanted tirelessly, but there were other cultivators who returned to their arranged residences. With the vast size of the marquis¡¯ estate, accommodating these cultivators posed no issue at all.

    It gradually grew later into the night. After an entanglement, the two of them went to sleep together. Li Qingshan opened his eyes and slowly drew his hand out from under Han Qiongzhi. He knew he could not fool the person beside him with these actions, so he leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek, saying softly, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan erased his presence and hid his figure, melding into the night. Han Qiongzhi opened her eyes and held back the urge to follow along and see what he was doing. Qingshan, just what is your secret?

    Li Qingshan wrinkled his nose. Among the many, complicated smells, he found the one he was looking for, the smell of the cultivator in grey who wanted to buy his pieces of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Afterwards, he followed the invisible track and stalked after him.

    He was not petty enough to hold onto a grudge and search for revenge over a slight offence. Instead, the incident today made him think of a minor matter from a few years ago. Under Green Vine mountain, he had obtained a piece of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, and a masked man in black pursued him, wanting to kill him.

    Were the two connected in some way?

    Many guards of the estate and Hawkwolf guards patrolled the area, sparing no corner. There were also numerous warning formations operating in secret, maintaining a heavily-guarded interior.

    Li Qingshan moved between the building like there was no one around.

    The Invisibility technique was the signature water element technique. With Li Qingshan¡¯s current cultivation and talent, he could achieve exceptional effects with it. Even without objects like a Glazed Mirror of Invisibility or the Illusory Water Sword of Invisibility, he could still fool regular Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    And, it was no problem at all for him to use the senses of the spirit turtle to avoid the warning formations. He arrived before a tall building. The smell vanished into a room on the fifth floor. Li Qingshan arrived silently and listened carefully, but he heard nothing at all. He could not sense any auras either. Clearly, they had set up a formation that isolated them from the outside world.

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips and gathered his soul sense, condensing it into a point and penetrating the formation silently like piercing a needle through window paper. He could now clearly hear the voices of people, and there was more than a single person.

    This feat seemed easy, but it required an extremely powerful soul sense to achieve. He practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, so the powerful wills of the ox demon, tiger demon, spirit turtle, and phoenix filled his sea of consciousness, constantly colliding and clashing together, fire against water, divine against demonic. It tempered his soul sense and made it extremely powerful, such that even the soul sense of regular Golden Core cultivators paled in comparison.

    There were a total of seven people in the room. Apart from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the rest were Qi Practitioners. None of them were dressed in anything special, making it impossible to tell whether they came from any schools or sects. It was like they were intentionally trying to be discreet.

    The cultivator in grey knelt on the ground and pleaded with the Foundation Establishment cultivator. ¡°Sir, he turned me down flatly. There was nothing I could do!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, Li Qingshan. He truly is as unruly as the rumors suggest. He really knows how to push his luck!¡± The Foundation Establishment was a stern old man who turned around furiously.

    Li Qingshan thought, Why don¡¯t you check yourself in the mirror and take a good look at yourself? You¡¯re ancient, and you¡¯re only at mid Foundation Establishment. Let alone Golden Core, you don¡¯t even have much of a hope at reaching late Foundation Establishment. Though, just what is this bastard relying on for his self-confidence to become so swollen?

    The stern old man paced around with his hands behind his back. ¡°Niu Juxia seems to have vanished into thin air. Even the two pieces of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy in his possession have gone missing. We have to obtain the two pieces in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession. Only then can we report back to that sir. You¡¯ve failed to complete your mission, so punishment is unavoidable!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. Sure enough, these guys are connected to it! They seem to be serving a figure that¡¯s even more powerful. The so-called Three Absolutes Calligraphy they¡¯re collecting is the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Not only is that person tremendously wealthy, but he¡¯s quite strong too, which is why these guys are so arrogant under his protection.

    Who knows how many fragments the Three Absolutes Calligraphy have been split into. They can¡¯t be collected by Qi Practitioners. Probably even Foundation Establishment cultivators aren¡¯t capable of something like that. The ¡°sir¡± they speak of might be one of the Golden Core cultivators I saw today on the Soaring Clouds terrace. However, Li Qingshan felt rather confused. They¡¯re only collecting a few spiritual artifacts, so why do they have to be so secretive? Oh, it¡¯s probably because they¡¯re afraid of inflating the price, which would make everything more difficult!

    The cultivator in grey showed fear. ¡°Hold on. Sir, I discovered something strange today!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°On the arcane artifact Three Absolutes Calligraphy in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession, I found some of the strokes extremely familiar. They¡¯re extremely similar to the one junior brother Liu lost when Niu Juxia killed him.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain?¡± The stern man¡¯s face stiffened. Every single Three Absolutes Calligraphy seemed basically the same in the eyes of a layman, all just strokes of ink, but there were actually many differences between each piece. They had been dealing with them for all this time, so they were able to distinguish between them.

    A Qi Practitioner on the side added, ¡°It is strange now that you mention it. Basically all the fragments of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy are spiritual artifacts, so why would an arcane artifact appear out of nowhere?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Niu Juxia is connected to Li Qingshan somehow?¡±

    The stern old man pondered for a while. ¡°I will report this to the sir and ask him to take action personally. I refuse to believe we can¡¯t handle a measly Li Qingshan!¡± A sinister smile appeared on his face. ¡°Since you won¡¯t give us what we want, then you better not blame us for bringing your path as a genius to an end!¡±

    The other Qi Practitioners laughed too. They were all independent cultivators. Their talent was not particularly outstanding and no sects wanted them, which was why they had been gathered to serve the old man. They instinctively envied and hated geniuses.

    ¡°Then come at me!¡± A voice suddenly rang out by their ears at the same time. The doors swung open before slamming shut immediately, but they saw no one. Only a breeze swept through the room as if the wind had blown open the door.

    All of the stern old man¡¯s hairs stood on end. He experienced life-threatening danger and pulled back in retreat. Right when he wanted to activate the defensive arcane artifact on him, he discovered he remained exactly where he was before quickly falling towards the ground. He widened his eyes in disbelief, only having just noticed the pain from his neck.

    Before he knew it, he had already been beheaded. His body had stumbled back, but his head remained in the air. As for the Qi Practitioners, they all froze up on the spot. Some of them were even at a loss, having no idea what had happened.

    Li Qingshan used one of his innate abilities, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath. He truly did not have to put in much effort at all against a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a group of Qi Practitioners. He only needed to exhale. This was the marquis¡¯ estate after all. If he made too great of a disturbance and gave Si Qing and the others a reason to persecute him, then that would be bad. As a result, he killed them in a single strike.

    Before their heads had even struck the ground, they became wrapped up in a gust of wind. Even their corpses were sent into Li Qingshan¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. After confirming that he had not left behind even a hint of the smell of blood, Li Qingshan took the seven hundred treasures pouches and left the room silently.

    After looking through the hundred treasures pouches with his soul sense, Li Qingshan could not help but sigh emotionally. ¡°There really are different ways out when you think you¡¯ve hit a dead end. You sure can get some unexpected results from pure accidents!¡±

 Chapter 630 â€“ Honesty

    Originally, Li Qingshan wanted to return to Han Qiongzhi¡¯s side, but he immediately changed directions now.

    Chu Danqing was currently meditating in his room. Suddenly, he heard knocking on the door, but he saw no one when he opened it. Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out by his ear. ¡°I¡¯ll come in and talk!¡±

    The door was closed again, and Li Qingshan¡¯s figure appeared. Chu Danqing said in surprise, ¡°Qingshan, aren¡¯t you accompanying senior sister Han? Why have you come to my place?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I need your help with.¡± Li Qingshan cut right to the chase and took out all the fragments of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. ¡°I was wondering if you were as capable as master Chu and could assemble these fragments?¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°Wait, so- Where did you get these from?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that- fine, I¡¯ll tell you. I stole them just now.¡± Li Qingshan considered and felt like it was still better for Chu Danqing to know what was going on, so he roughly explained what had happened.

    ¡°Qingshan, you really do become more bold the more capable you are, to actually take action in the marquis¡¯ estate. These people have really been down on their luck to plot against you. So it¡¯s actually called the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. That sure is fitting. However, considering this is connected to a Golden Core cultivator, there¡¯ll probably be quite a lot of trouble.¡±

    ¡°Who cares. Can you repair it or not?¡±

    ¡°Of course I can. My master already mentioned it the last time he repaired it for you. It¡¯s a pity that my cultivation is insufficient, but using the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black makes it much easier to assemble these fragments!¡±

    Chu Danqing¡¯s face was filled with pride and confidence, as well as some embarrassment.

    Chu Shidao had already discovered the way to assemble these fragments, and Chu Danqing understood the entire process, which saved him the largest bit of trouble. Moreover, he was brimming with vigour, so it would actually be much easier for him than Chu Shidao, who already had a foot in the grave back then. Coupled with the assistance from his Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, he could be described as the optimal choice for this job.

    ¡°Alright then. Looks like I¡¯ll make you bleed this time. You can take these paintings as remuneration.¡± Li Qingshan took out his spoils from killing Chu Danqing¡¯s three seniors.

    Chu Danqing said sternly, ¡°Qingshan, I can¡¯t accept these.¡±

    ¡°Being able to study the work of the Five Absolutes Immortal will greatly benefit my painting ability. This is already the greatest remuneration you can give me.¡±

    Chu Danqing refused to accept them no matter what. If Li Qingshan insisted on paying him, he would rather not do this job at all.

    Li Qingshan never liked haggling around either. ¡°Fine then! I couldn¡¯t tell, but you sure are stubborn.¡±

    Chu Danqing smiled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you persistent too, Qingshan?¡± He faltered before saying, ¡°Actually, I hope that I can become accomplished with painting one day and specially paint a painting of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m not a beauty, so what is there to paint?¡±

    ¡°Painters like painting beauties, but I¡¯d rather paint the heroes of the world, and then establish a gallery of heroes so that people of the future can all look up to their glorious demeanours!¡± Chu Danqing¡¯s eyes shone.

    ¡°I believe a day like that will arrive!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Though unfortunately, I¡¯m no hero.

    Li Qingshan turned invisible again and secretly returned to his residence, arriving by Han Qiongzhi¡¯s side. She laid on her side with her eyes shut as if she was sleeping. Li Qingshan laid down behind her and pulled her into his arms gently, covering her chest naturally. He whispered into her ear.

    ¡°What, aren¡¯t you going to ask me where I went?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll obviously tell me what you want to tell me,¡± Han Qiongzhi said with her eyes shut, without responding to his intimate contact.

    Li Qingshan forcefully turned her around, and only then was she forced to open her eyes. She pursed her lips and said nothing, but Li Qingshan was able to read exactly what she was thinking, I¡¯ve already been so considerate with you, so how can you be discontent?

    Li Qingshan experienced a great urge to protect and treasure her. She had never been a delicate woman, and after everything that had happened so far, she had developed a sense of tenacity.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you then. I killed a few people just now, and then I paid a visit to Chu Danqing.¡±

    Smack! Han Qiongzhi knocked his hand away and sat up. ¡°Stop touching and feeling. Talk properly. I¡¯m listening!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat up too. He told her everything that had happened. He did not even hide his identity of Niu Juxia and how he killed the masked cultivator under Green Vine mountain in the past.

    ¡°Niu Juxia!¡± Han Qiongzhi murmured. Although she did not have any impression of ¡°Niu Juxia¡±, just the fake identity alone was enough for her to think of many things. If she investigated it carefully, there would be even more mysteries she could think about.

    ¡°This is one of my secrets.¡±

    ¡°So you really were the one who killed Zhuo Zhibo!¡±

    ¡°Who let that old bastard go too far?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi let out a long sigh. ¡°Actually, I¡¯d rather just hear from you that you have another woman outside. If only your secrets were so simple.¡±

    ¡°Uhh, about that. I do have another woman outside.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could even finish speaking, Han Qiongzhi threw a slap over. Li Qingshan caught her hand. ¡°Hey, hey, isn¡¯t this what you wanted to hear?¡±

    ¡°Damn men. Don¡¯t forget what you promised me in the past! You can¡¯t even keep your word, and you¡¯re faithless!¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Didn¡¯t you say it didn¡¯t matter afterwards?¡±

    ¡°Never! Who is she?!¡± Han Qiongzhi wrapped her hands around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck, baring her teeth like a furious panther and staring at Li Qingshan viciously.

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed your mind so quickly!¡± Li Qingshan felt like he had just been fooled. How stupid of him. This was clearly the last thing women could put up with.

    ¡°Forget it. I know I¡¯m not some charming woman. If you ever get tired of me and want to go find some other woman, just tell me. Stop being so indecisive, unlike a man at all, or I¡¯ll end up looking down on you.¡± Han Qiongzhi suddenly released him and turned around again.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I¡¯m not some charming man either. If you ever get tired of me and want to find some other man, just tell me. Stop being so indecisive, just like a woman, or I¡¯ll end up looking down on you,¡± Li Qingshan said seriously.

    ¡°You¡¯re saying I¡¯m not like a woman? Hmph, I¡¯ll never find some other man. Being fooled and deceived once is enough.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing I can do. Though, according to my earnest observations, you¡¯re still very much like a woman, Qiongzhi.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    He could not act recklessly and do whatever he wanted, even having to behave carefully, but having a fitting partner came with its form of peace and happiness. Although he was tempted to embrace all women that fell into his lap, she was both the most ordinary and the most special existence to him.

    It was daytime. Perhaps because Li Qingshan had carried everything out too cleanly, but the disappearance of the cultivators did not raise any attention. Everyone¡¯s attention had been drawn away by the competition between the schools of Miscellany. The schools of Miscellany would stock new items every day, and their value would climb higher and higher. The atmosphere of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Provinces gradually heated up.

    In the empty room, a cluster of darkness suddenly twisted and expanded, turning into a pitch-black figure who looked around.

    ¡°The smell of death pervades this place! They¡¯ve died!¡±

 Chapter 631 â€“ The Battle of the Schools of Novels One

    Several days later, following a large auction that combined the nine stores of miscellaneous goods, the competition between the schools of Miscellany came to an end.

    However, due to the toll from the war, the Clear River prefecture ranked last in the end, but that was expected. What came next was the competition between the schools of Music. As the graceful music rose up, the raucous and lively town turned into a grand concert.

    The Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures continued in an orderly fashion, and Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi spent all of their time together by each other¡¯s sides as if they had returned to when they were passionately in love. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s intentional honesty, Han Qiongzhi gradually learnt about his secretive past, which brought her great joy.

    Of course, he refused to mention anything along the lines of having another woman outside again.

    Finally, the competition between the schools of Novels formally began. The matches between the regular disciples came first. They all pushed their Divine Talismans of Great Creation to the limit, turning fiction into reality and making their imaginations come true. They unleashed an endless variety of attacks, which left the spectating cultivators amazed. Sure enough, the school of Novels had its specialty for the founding emperor to designate it as one of the ten standard schools.

    However, these matches were merely appetizers. When the matches between the disciples ended, it was time for the Foundation Establishment cultivators to take the stage, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense. Avoiding Liu Chuanfeng, the leaders of the schools of Novels from the eight other prefectures all exchanged glances. They seemed to be communicating through their soul sense.

    ¡°The first match, the Clear River prefecture against the Lecheng prefecture!¡±

    Under Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai¡¯s encouraging gazes, Li Qingshan smiled at Han Qiongzhi and made his way onto the stage, leading to a series of cheers. However, he waited a while, but he did not see his opponent appear. He glanced around, and the disciples from the schools of Novels all trembled.

    ¡°No, this is unfair!¡±

    The school leader from the Lecheng prefecture, Wang Luocheng, called out. Originally, he was supposed to face Li Qingshan in this match, but after personally witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s clash with caretaker Zheng, he felt like he had absolutely no chance at victory at all. Fortunately, they had already come up with a plan to restrain Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s unfair about this?¡±

    The disciples from the other prefectures all agreed. ¡°Yeah. Even if you win like this, you¡¯re just winning because of your arcane artifacts. Any cultivator can win like that. Does that still have anything to do with our school of Novels?¡±

    ¡°If you want to compete, then compete with your own strength.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was furious. ¡°Wang Luocheng, you better stop with the nonsense. None of the matches in the past were like this!¡±

    In the past, the schools of Novels were all broke. They would be doing quite well if they could whip out a single inferior arcane artifact. Even though the situation now had improved drastically, there were no school leaders armed to the teeth with arcane artifacts like Li Qingshan.

    Wang Luocheng shook his head like a rattle drum. ¡°The past is the past and the present is the present. The rules have to be changed. If you won¡¯t agree to it, we¡¯ll have the marquis make the decision!¡±

    The disciples from the other prefectures all called out, ¡°Have the marquis make the decision! Have the marquis make the decision!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng wanted to continue arguing, but Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t use arcane artifacts.¡± As he said that, he stowed away all the arcane artifacts on him. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±

    If Si Qing ends up getting involved, that kid won¡¯t favour me anyway. Do I even need arcane artifacts to deal with a group of measly people like you?

    ¡°It¡¯s still unfair! Your cultivation is at late Foundation Establishment, already the highest among us, and you¡¯re skilled in water element techniques. When we start fighting, you can easily defeat us even if you don¡¯t use the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. It completely defies the point of the exhibition matches.¡±

    Seeing how easily Li Qingshan agreed to his demands, Wang Luocheng rejoiced inside and continued making demands. So much for being arrogant. You¡¯ve offended the marquis, so you¡¯re completely at our whim now.

    The disciples from the Clear River prefecture were indignant. Since when were there any battles where cultivators were supposed to fight without even using techniques?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t use techniques!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just techniques. Apart from the arts of the school of Novels, you¡¯re forbidden from using all other battle skills and techniques!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan happily agreed to him once again.

    ¡°You seem to have practised the arts of Body Practitioners¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m supposed to be tied up when I fight against you? I have practised the arts of Body Practitioners, and my body is relatively tough. What? Am I supposed to stab myself and suffer some heavy injuries first before it¡¯s fair to you?¡±

    It led to a roar of laughter. Even the cultivators from the hundred schools from other prefectures found these demands rather unreasonable. Their eyes were filled with disdain as they felt sympathy for Li Qingshan. How did someone like him end up in the school of Novels?

    The school of Novels was renowned for their obscenity. The ¡°Smut Novel technique¡± was not Liu Chuanfeng¡¯s original creation. None of the Academies of the Hundred Schools were particularly fond of it.

    The school of Novels in the Clear River prefecture had primarily been revived through Li Qingshan. Although the schools of Novels in other prefectures copied the Cloudwisp association¡¯s management and strengthened themselves, their status was still not particularly impressive. Some disciples even showed signs of developing the ¡°Smut Novel technique¡±, even replicating Li Qingshan¡¯s partnership with the school of Paintings by paying hefty prices to invite disciples of the schools of Painting and inventing something like the ¡°Erotic Comic technique¡±.

    After all, only children liked to read fairytales, while this was suitable for both the young and the old. Simply reading it once would not be enough. They would even stow them away secretly and read them repeatedly. When they entered the mood, they were even tempted to replace the main character and enter the book to go at it. Sure enough, it led to a large quantity of power of belief, but their reputation obviously became even worse.

    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to, then we obviously have no objections!¡±

    Wan Luocheng shook his head as if he was invincible as long as he was shameless. After tasting the sweetness of the Cloudwisp association, he could already see a vast path of cultivation unfold before him. In order to claim the dominant position within the Greater Cloudwisp association, he had to tie up Li Qingshan with restrictions until he could not even move.

    Li Qingshan was speechless. This bastard sure did resemble Liu Chuanfeng of the past. He thought about it and said, ¡°How about this? In order to save time, I¡¯ll take on all eight of you at the same time. I won¡¯t use any arcane artifacts, techniques, or battle skills, but you can. Surely that¡¯s enough to make you happy!¡±

    The spectators were thrown into an uproar. These were all components to a cultivator¡¯s strength. He was already taking the enemy a little lightly by forbidding himself from using them while permitting the enemy to use them, yet he still wanted to take on eight people at the same time? Wouldn¡¯t that lead to certain defeat?

    Although most of them had heard of Li Qingshan¡¯s reputation, the only time they had truly witnessed him fight was above the marquis¡¯ estate. His two clashes with caretaker Zheng were rather ingenious, but he could never have done that without his powerful arcane artifacts and clever usage of battle skills.

    ¡°You mustn¡¯t, Qingshan!¡± Liu Chuanfeng called out in objection, but Li Qingshan turned a deaf ear to him. Sun Fubai said, ¡°Junior brother, Qingshan knows what he¡¯s doing. His decision isn¡¯t something we can change, so let¡¯s just wait and see!¡±

    ¡°Do you mean it?¡± Wang Luocheng¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Si Qing, who spectated from the Soaring Dragon terrace far away, smiled disdainfully. ¡°Yanying, this subordinate of yours doesn¡¯t seem to be particularly clever!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Actually, he¡¯s the same as you. He hates suspenseless fights without the slightest difficulty.¡±

    ¡°Do you think he can compare to me?¡± Si Qings squinted his eyes.

    ¡°I think his future accomplishments will definitely surpass yours. Of course, they¡¯ll probably surpass mine too.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. There were probably not a lot of people who understood better than her what kind of circumstances he had started off in and how far he had developed so far. She could feel that on the future stage of the nine provinces, he would definitely play the role of a relatively important character. He might even have the chance to stand with the many kings.

    Even right now, a simple clone of his can cause an endless headache for a mighty prince like you.

    Even Si Qing became slightly fazed by such a great evaluation from Gu Yanying. ¡°Looks like you really do have a high opinion of this child, but most of the geniuses in the world all end up dying early.¡± Very soon, I¡¯ll personally nip him in the bud.

    ¡°Geniuses who die early aren¡¯t geniuses.¡±

    Back to the stage, Li Qingshan said proudly, ¡°Of course. Stop wasting time. Come at me!¡±

    Wang Luocheng and the seven other school leaders all reached an agreement. ¡°We¡¯ll take down Li Qingshan first!¡±

    Immediately, eight Foundation Establishment cultivators stood up and took out their spiritual and arcane artifacts, surrounding Li Qingshan. All of them were hostile, just lacking hideous grins to constantly express their complacence.

    There was a hubbub in the surroundings, but they ignored it. Their thick skin had not been developed in a single day. Some of them were afraid Liu Chuanfeng would not accept the outcome of an unfair battle like this, so they called out, ¡°School leader Liu, don¡¯t forget about our original agreement!¡±

    By now, all Liu Chuanfeng could choose to do was have complete faith in Li Qingshan. He said sternly, ¡°I won¡¯t forget about it.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ve heard about you a long time ago too. I want to thank you for coming up with ideas and reviving our school of Novels. However, there¡¯s a saying that ¡®arrogance leads to madness¡¯. You might not have realised it yourself yet, but all mad people are like this. I¡¯d advise you to quickly come to your senses. No matter how powerful you are, you¡¯re merely a toothless tiger right now, so you better give up obediently, just in case we damage the relationship between the schools of Novels.¡±

    Wang Luocheng smiled, wanting to sway Li Qingshan with words.

    Li Qingshan smiled too. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Even if I can¡¯t win, I won¡¯t let you win either.¡±

    Wang Luocheng¡¯s expression changed slightly. If Li Qingshan truly launched a wild attack against just him, suffering some injuries would be unavoidable, which would become a great disadvantage in his matches against the other prefectures. So this was what he had been thinking. Wang Luocheng could not help but feel some regret. Why¡¯d I have to be the one who stood forward? Why¡¯d I say so much? He smiled shamefully.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. All of us discussed and agreed on the matter from before. It¡¯s not just my decision, so there¡¯s no need to place all the blame on me!¡±

    ¡°Really? May I ask who came up with such a wonderful plan then? I¡¯d like to properly thank him!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced past the faces of the seven other people. They either held their heads high, expressing their innocence, or their gazes wavered, afraid to make eye contact. They were all afraid Li Qingshan would launch a mad and desperate attack and target them.

    Clang!

    A guard struck the gong, echoing loudly in the surroundings.

    ¡°The match begins!¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned forward. With a bang from below his feet, he produced two holes in the ground. He had already taken off, lunging madly towards Wang Luocheng. He was like a vicious tiger that had emerged from his cage. He was unstoppable!

    He truly did not use any techniques or battle skills, but his murderousness tempered through a myriad of battles was faster than any technique or battle skill. He charged straight towards Wang Luocheng.

    Wang Luocheng stiffened up as if he saw a beast in human form that wanted to rip him apart alive. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone with scarlet light, piercing him like two sharp swords and leaving him completely fear-stricken!

 Chapter 632 â€“ The Battle of the Schools of Novels Two

    Wang Luocheng had many hobbies in his life, from dog-walking and cock-fighting to drinking with women and playing with women and so on. He was skilled in several of them, but fighting did not happen to be one of them. Li Qingshan¡¯s murderousness stunned him, where even his thought processes slowed down. He retreated instinctively, hoping that someone else would block Li Qingshan for him.

    However, perhaps because the others had never expected Li Qingshan to strike without batting an eye, combined with his imposing manner, everyone else faltered as well. After all, the school of Novels had never been known for their battle prowess. Because the power of belief did not come easily, they were unable to regularly train and spar. They were more willing to conjure some beauty and train and spar in bed.

    Of course, some were truly slow, while others wanted Li Qingshan and Wang Luocheng to waste away one another. In the end, both of them would be heavily injured, and two of their competitors would be immediately eliminated. As their eyes drifted about, they discovered none of them were idiots.

    As a result, an encirclement of eight people immediately turned into a one-against-one battle between Li Qingshan and Wang Luocheng. Wang Luocheng returned to his senses. He had just been betrayed, so he cursed inside, Novelists are never up to any good! He recovered some of the functionality of his stunned brain and immediately used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to conjure a great gate formed from steel. It was a foot thick.

    At the same time, he desperately powered his protective spiritual artifact. As long as he could stop Li Qingshan for a while, the others would not simplu stand by and watch on. As a result, the encirclement would be reestablished.

    However, before Wang Luocheng could even catch his breath, there was a great boom, and the huge gate caved in and twisted. Li Qingshan emerged like he had smashed through a gate of paper, reaching towards his face with his open hand.

    Only very few people managed to make out that when Li Qingshan collided with the gate, his hands pushed and pulled several dozen times, destroying the very integrity of the gate.

    Wang Luocheng was shocked. He let out a strange cry and let a flying sword emerge from his sleeve, stabbing straight towards Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. The sword shone brightly; it was an arcane artifact. Although it was the weakest, inferior arcane artifact, it still could not be underestimated.

    Liu Chuanfeng could not help but stand up. He was furious and worried. How was he supposed to stop the flying sword with his protective spiritual qi alone, unable to use any protective techniques or arcane artifacts?

    Li Qingshan smiled. He bent and flicked a finger on his left hand, deflecting the flying sword with a clang. At the same time, he formed a fist with his right hand and struck Wang Luocheng¡¯s chest.

    With a bang, Wang Luocheng¡¯s protective glow scattered, launched away while coughing up blood. His protective spiritual artifact had already been reduced to pieces. With only a thin layer of protective spiritual qi, how was he supposed to stop Li Qingshan¡¯s fist?

    Wang Luocheng was only at early Foundation Establishment. He was already two minor cultivation realms weaker than Li Qingshan, and his cultivation method paled in comparison to the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, let alone the difference that existed given his untempered body. Li Qingshan had not even used the strength of the ox demon. He even held back slightly in the end, or killing Wang Luocheng with a single punch would have been nothing strange at all.

    Wang Luocheng fainted on the spot, and the disciples of the school of Medicine carried him off the stage for treatment. Li Qingshan turned around and faced the remaining seven people, raising a finger. ¡°One!¡±

    Although the entire process involved a lot of wit and courage, in the eyes of the spectators, Li Qingshan had finished off a Foundation Establishment cultivator in a single lunge.

    ¡°His reputation truly is well-deserved. Even without using arcane artifacts or battle skills, uncle-in-law is still so fierce! Tieyi, is he really a disciple of the school of Novels? I think he¡¯s clearly a disciple of our school of the Military!¡±

    The leader of the school of the Military from the Yong¡¯an prefecture was overcome by surprise. The other leaders of the schools of the Military stood to one side, gathered around Han Tieyi. The Han family had held the position of great general for all these years, so all the disciples of the school of the Military were past acquaintances and subordinates. They were all on friendly terms, which was why they referred to Li Qingshan as ¡°uncle-in-law¡±.

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°He really should have joined the school of the Military.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately, he¡¯s a disciple of the school of Novels, or if he were to represent the Clear River prefecture, we can just forfeit.¡±

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°Do you really think you can win right now?¡±

    ¡°Kid, don¡¯t get cocky. Your uncles will test you this year and see whether you measure up to your father or not.¡± Everyone laughed aloud. Someone said, ¡°Look, the uncle-in-law is striking again!¡±

    A dim, blue haze rose up around Li Qingshan like an illusion as he thought, This is an exhibition match between the schools of Novel after all. If I don¡¯t use the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, they won¡¯t be content even if I win, so I might as well leave them convinced.

    He poured all of his attention into the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Slivers of power of belief were drawn out, gradually weaving into the figure of a person, forming his bones, blood vessels, and meridians. Never had Li Qingshan used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation so seriously before.

    ¡°Everyone, use your full strength!¡±

    The seven remaining cultivators all returned to their senses. After witnessing how ferocious Li Qingshan was, how could they still be thinking about anything else? If he truly managed to defeat all eight of them alone, then it would be humiliating. If Li Qingshan learnt what they were thinking, he would definitely be extremely surprised. You still have a sense of shame!?

    Four spiritual artifacts and three arcane artifacts whistled towards Li Qingshan together. At the same time, they conjured weapons, natural disasters, and vicious beasts with their Divine Talismans of Great Creation, which surged towards Li Qingshan together.

    There were a myriad of attacks, leading to an impressive display of power, which made all of the spectators think that the school of Novels was not as useless as they were rumored to be.

    Li Qingshan rose up into the air, leading the attacks into the sky.

    The figure he carefully crafted had already taken shape. He was a young man in blue, and he was dressed in a very rustic attire. Even his face was grimy, but his facial features were straight and delicate, radiating with a sense of righteousness. He clasped his hands. ¡°I am Zeng A¡¯niu, and I hope the seniors can show me some guidance!¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. Originally, he wanted to draw away the attacks and have this Zeng A¡¯niu make use of the opportunity and launch a sneak attack, but he never expected him to be so upright and straightforward in character. He was identical to his depiction in the novel.

    As it seemed, the characters conjured by novelists were not regular puppets. As the cultivation of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation progressed, the characters they conjured would become more life-like. Only through the forceful control of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation could they make these characters do things against their nature.

    No one expected Li Qingshan to spend so much time and effort to conjure a country bumpkin like this. However, one of the school leaders had specially studied Li Qingshan¡¯s works before, so he called out loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t be careless! He¡¯s Zhang¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up, I¡¯ll destroy you all!¡± Zeng A¡¯niu bellowed out and interrupted him. He raised his hands into the air. ¡°The power of dragon-slaying, the strike of heaven-reliant!¡±

    His rustic, honest face immediately lit up, blazing with an imposing manner. His muscles burst through his clothes as he moved around gracefully like a butterfly. A huge, silver sword appeared over his head, with a golden dragon coiled around the hilt. He swung down forcefully.

    Silver light filled the surroundings as extremely-sharp sword Qi whistled out, cleaving down on the seven people.

    Even Li Qingshan was taken aback. Woah! I almost forgot this was the adapted version! He¡¯s no longer that pitiful man who failed to start a harem, but the cool, awesome, wicked leader of the demonic cult who cut through Mount E¡¯mei in a single strike!

 Chapter 633 â€“ The Battle of the Schools of Novels Three

    Zeng A¡¯niu was awe-inspiring, radiating with sword Qi. The seven cultivators fled from him wherever he passed by. No one could stop his edge. They all channelled the Divine Talisman of Great Creation and conjured various powerful figures and vicious beasts to stop him, but they were all cut down in a single stroke, thrown into utter disorder.

    These guys sure are surprisingly weak!

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense that whether it was the swordsmanship or the battle style of the conjured Zeng A¡¯niu, they all resembled his, which allowed him to understand something new.

    Words were limitless. He could write a character as powerful and as clever as he wanted to, but when he truly conjured the character, they were limited by two aspects. One was the amount of power of belief, while the other was the author himself.

    No matter how wonderful and extraordinary a person¡¯s imagination was, it could not surpass the limits of what they knew. If a novelist did not even have an inkling about swordsmanship, then even if they wrote a supreme swordsman, the character would only be an idiot with the sword if they were conjured. No matter how realistic the characters seemed, they were not living creatures after all, just projections of the novelist¡¯s imagination.

    Like how even an omnipotent god could not create a rock he could not lift, novelists were unable to write characters that surpassed their imaginations. They might have been life-like in the novels, but their true colours would show once they conjured them through the Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    This was exactly the problem that the seven cultivators faced. They lacked battle experience, so while the characters they conjured possessed a cultivation at Foundation Establishment, their battle prowess was a mess. As a result, despite also using the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, the Zeng A¡¯niu that Li Qingshan conjured was able to gain the upper hand while facing seven other people.

    Li Qingshan refused to waste any time. He flew into the air, turned around, and leapt down. The remaining seven people did not even know the most basic coordination, let alone proper teamwork. They were scattered apart by Zeng A¡¯niu. In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, they were basically riddled with openings, almost no different from facing against them one by one. He threw three punches and two kicks. With that, another two people fainted and were out of the battle.

    ¡°Five!¡± Li Qingshan extended his open hand, about to finish off the remaining two people as well in a single stroke.

    ¡°Stop, no more! You win, okay?¡± The two remaining actually forfeited and admitted defeat. Within the hubbub, they directly left the stage.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and Zeng A¡¯Niu dispersed like mist. Because he had never been killed, he did not use up much power of belief.

    ¡°We did it!¡± Liu Chuanfeng waved his fist fiercely. Just like that, the Cloudwisp association would be able to spread across the entire Ruyi commandery. Sun Fubai stroked his beard and smiled.

    The surroundings erupted with a roar of admiration. Although Wang Luocheng and the seven others appeared rather disheveled under Li Qingshan¡¯s attacks, they were still eight Foundation Establishment cultivators after all! They were not eight newbies. Li Qingshan had managed to defeat them without using any arcane artifacts or techniques, and he had achieved victory so easily. It was unbelievable.

    Gu Yanying said to Si Qing, ¡°Looks like he hasn¡¯t achieved his objective! Did you expect this result?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because his opponents are far too weak. Although they¡¯re all Foundation Establishment cultivators, he¡¯s on an entirely different level. Even if you double the number of opponents he¡¯s facing, the results won¡¯t change. Even if a tiger has its teeth and claws removed, it¡¯s still not something a herd of sheep can defeat. He truly is a genius worth treasuring!¡±

    Si Qing actually admired Li Qingshan from the bottom of his heart.

    Gu Yanying furrowed her brows slightly before easing up. As it seemed, Si Qing had made up his mind about finishing him off. If he were not Northmoon, this truly would be quite troublesome. Who would emerge victoriously in the end from this fierce struggle?

    She did not have high hopes for Si Qing, but she did not feel that Li Qingshan could deal with Si Qing. At their realm of cultivation, determining victory or defeat was easy, but determining life or death was difficult. The present situation would probably last for a very long time, until Northmoon showed an opening and was killed off, or he possessed the strength where he no longer had to fear the Great Xia empire¡¯s revenge.

    On the side of the stage, Wang Luocheng woke up under the treatment of the school of Medicine, sitting on the side and regulating his condition. He raised his head, only to see Liu Chuanfeng striding over slowly. He pointed at them and swaggered around on his high horse.

    ¡°Hmph, you group of despicable people might be crafty and treacherous, but under this school leader¡¯s power and influence, you¡¯ve still ended up yielding in submission! You really have been asking for this! From today onwards, I am the leader of the Greater Cloudwisp association. Do any of you have any objections?¡±

    Li Qingshan might have won, but he felt slightly embarrassed right now for some reason. Like everything else, he had to maintain a bottom line and not go too far. If you strut around before them like this, wouldn¡¯t everything fall apart if you piss them off and they refuse to cooperate with you anymore?

    But to his surprise, Wang Luocheng immediately stood up and flattered him with a smile. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. We tried to stop the unstoppable, and we completely overestimated ourselves. These puny tricks are obviously ineffective against junior brother Li, as well as senior brother Liu. When you take control of the Cloudwisp association in the future, please take good care of us, senior brother Liu!¡±

    The other defeated school leaders gathered over too and congratulated their association leader Liu Chuanfeng.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. These guys who wrote novels truly were absolutely spineless. Little did he know that it was primarily due to his efforts. Even now, Wang Luocheng was still shaken up from the clash earlier, so where would he find the courage to stand up against him? He was the kind of person who would never be convinced until he fought, and he would be absolutely convinced after he fought.

    Time passed by quickly. The exhibition matches passed by one after another. The mechanisms of the schools of Mohism, the buddhist dharma of the schools of Buddhism, the divination of the schools of Yin-yang, and so on all broaden everyone¡¯s horizons, allowing the sect cultivators to witness the heritage and strength of the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    A month passed in the blink of an eye. The last match was an exhibition battle between the schools of the Military. Although they all used their full strength, it seemed more like a battle of goodwill than a battle to death. In the end, the disciples led by Han Tieyi emerged victorious, which also brought the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures to a satisfactory end.

    All they were waiting for now was Si Qing¡¯s final speech, and this grand gathering of the cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery would come to an end. Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Si Qing stood up on the Soaring Clouds terrace again and said loudly, ¡°The exhibition matches this time have allowed me to witness the specialities of the various schools and prefectures¡­¡±

    After giving routine praise to the cultivators of each prefecture, he explained the great significance of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time. Li Qingshan was bored out of his mind from the speech, but Han Qiongzhi was reluctant for this to end, almost wishing for the exhibition matches to continue like this forever. She gazed at the Soaring Dragon terrace.

    ¡°Northmoon doesn¡¯t seem to be there!¡± Meanwhile, she studied Li Qingshan¡¯s expression. During this time, Li Qingshan told her about many of his secrets and his matters of the past, which did indeed make her think of many things.

    ¡°He has probably left!¡±

    Li Qingshan said. Where was he supposed to find all that time to waste on Si Qing? He had made his clone bid farewell and leave a long time ago so that he could continue refining bodies of water. If it were not for the sake of getting his original body out of trouble, he would not have appeared at all.

    However, before he bid farewell, Si Qing came up with a strange request. He wanted him to send over some daemons and night roamers to take part in the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. He said it was for the sake of increasing communication and pacifying their relationship, and he promised many benefits on top of that.

    Li Qingshan did not know what wicked scheme Si Qing was thinking of, but under the principle of disagreeing with his opponent over everything, he did not agree to it in the end. He could obtain all these benefits from Gu Yanying anyway, and he still had to worry about being screwed over, so there was truly no point for him to waste any more words on Si Qing.

    However, Li Qingshan could vaguely sense that the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time would not end so easily.

    Sure enough, as Si Qing spoke, he suddenly changed the topic. ¡°The only pity is that our fellow cultivators from the sects could only serve as spectators and could not participate. Even for the cultivators from the various schools, most of you could not participate, which took away a lot of the glamour. As a result, I¡¯d like to add another event after the traditional exhibition matches. All cultivators can participate and benefit from it!¡±

    Si Qing spread his arms and announced in high spirits with his jackal-like voice. He was slightly excited. Li Qingshan could sense that his expression right now was very different compared to when he rambled earlier. It definitely was not an act. His heart sank slightly. Here it is!

    The cultivators below the terrace all discussed. ¡°More competitions? And everyone is supposed to participate?¡± ¡°There are so many people, so how will it work out? If it¡¯s one against one, who knows when we¡¯ll be done!¡± ¡°Who cares? As long as there are benefits up for grabs!¡±

    Everyone looked at one another, including the Golden Core cultivators on the Soaring Dragon terrace. They had no idea what Si Qing was thinking. They all waited for Si Qing to announce how the last competition would be carried out while thinking of various different things.

    After exchanging glances with E Dan and Jia Zheng behind him, Si Qing took out the Dragon Arena and tossed it onto the stage below. First, he roughly introduced the general situation with regard to the Dragon Arena before announcing the rules of the final competition.

    All cultivators who were willing to participate could collect a specially-made medal. They differed depending on their respective cultivations, and the medals were split into various levels. Each metal represented a cultivator¡¯s achievements in battle. What the cultivators needed to do was try their best and steal the medals in the hands of others

    The competition would last for a total of ten days. After the ten days, the Dragon Arena would open up again, and the cultivators would be able to use the medals in their possessions to exchange for resources like spiritual stones and so on.

    It was a battle royale between tens of thousands of people!

    Li Qingshan understood what Si Qing was thinking now. As it turned out, this was his objective for Northmoon to send people over. What was he trying to do? Was it merely to fulfil his twisted hobbies? It probably was not as simple as that!

    And, would the cultivators of the various sects and schools truly do as he wished and take part in this battle royale?

    Immediately, a Golden Core cultivator objected, ¡°Your highness, a competition like this might be inappropriate compared to the peaceful exchanges that have always been proposed by the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures!¡± Even a Golden Core cultivator from the Academy of the Hundred Schools disapproved of this. ¡°We¡¯re proper cultivators, yet we have to fight one another like gu insects in a jar? This is outrageous!¡±

    The other cultivators all kept their opinions to themselves. Gu Yanying exchanged glances with Si Bao, vaguely guessing what Si Qing was trying to do¡ªhe wanted to refine the Dragon Arena into an Asura Field!

    Asura Fields were similar to Gates of Hundred Ghosts. They were a secret treasure connected to the Asura realm of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. To open a Gate of Hundred Ghosts, it required a place piled up with corpses like Burial Mound mountain, followed by the careful arrangement of formations.

    To refine an Asura Field, it required establishing a great battlefield, where powerful cultivators could fight against one another mindlessly. The violent killing intent and battle intent conformed with the Asura realm, and an Asura Field would descend.

    When the founding emperor conquered the nine provinces, he had created a few Asura Fields of various sizes in the process. The first Dragon Arenas were replicas of Asura Fields.

 Chapter 634 â€“ The Asura Field, the Three Absolutes Calligraphy

    Although the intensity of the battles were nowhere close to the wars waged across the nine provinces, later cultivators could use secret techniques to accumulate the slaughter and battle intent and let them constantly ferment. The process was relatively slow, but upon reaching a certain level, the very nature of the Dragon Arena would change, and it would be converted into an Asura Field.

    By then, the Dragon Arena would cease to be a large-scale toy that consumed tremendous amounts of resources. Instead, it would be an arcane treasure that could connect with the Asura realm, possessing a multitude of powers. This was the reason why the imperial clan in the Dragon province constantly constructed Dragon Arenas. No amusements were purely for the sake of amusement.

    The Great General King of the Green province, Wu Geng, happened to possess an Asura Field like that. The most outstanding disciples of the school of the Military in the Green province had all trained in there before. Only the most tenacious warriors could pass the ordeals.

    However, the method to refine an Asura Field was a great secret. Even with Gu Yanying and Si Bao¡¯s identity, they only knew about how it roughly worked. As for the exact process and what kind of formations and inscriptions were required, they were completely clueless.

    ¡°Big sis, this is such a vicious idea from Si Qing. He wants to use the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery to make his wild ambition come true. Should we stop him?¡± Si Bao communicated to Gu Yanying secretly.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see!¡±

    Gu Yanying said after some thought. The Hawkwolf Guard possessed very great authority, but they could only watch over the Marquis of Ruyi. They could not directly interfere with his administration of government affairs. If she forcefully got in the way, then she would have completely fallen out with Si Qing. After all, obstructing a person¡¯s path of cultivation was like killing their parents.

    However, while he could order around the Academy of the Hundred Schools, why would these sect cultivators answer his call? She wanted to see how he would handle this!

    Si Qing said proudly, ¡°Right now, the world is chaotic and on the brink of war. If we continue with our past traditions and hold these exhibition matches that are no different from games, how will we be able to handle the turmoil in the future? If you really do refuse to participate, I can¡¯t stop you, but do take a look at the value these medals represent first!¡±

    Everyone below the Soaring Dragon terrace was thrown into an uproar, as the medals regular Qi Practitioners received were worth a thousand spiritual stones, and the medals would be worth more with higher cultivation. There was absolutely no need for them to fight and kill anyone. If they simply held onto the medal in their possession, it would be quite a sum.

    As for late Foundation Establishment cultivators like Li Qingshan, the medals they received could be directly exchanged for an arcane artifact. Probably no one could turn down something so great.

    The Golden Core cultivators looked at one another and thought, Si Qing sure is going to some great lengths. He has taken out a tremendous sum of spiritual stones, as much as several tens of million, all at once, as well as countless spiritual artifacts, aracne artifacts, talismans, and pills. He has basically come to spread fortune far and wide.

    Si Qing said, ¡°In this competition, all the disciples, guards, and servants of my estate will be participating and contending against you! If you¡¯re willing to participate, then collect a medal and prepare to enter the Dragon Arena. For the sake of fairness, everyone will be transported to a random location in the Dragon Arena. Do you still have any objections?¡±

    Since there were benefits up for grabs and the reason behind this was so impressive, who was still willing to offend Si Qing? They all expressed that they had no objections.

    There was a hubbub beneath the Soaring Dragon terrace. The sect cultivators discussed among themselves.

    ¡°Senior brother, should we participate?¡± ¡°Of course we should. Let¡¯s go in together and hide. The Dragon Arena is very large.¡± ¡°How disappointing of you. I want to obtain a few medals and exchange for a True Spirit pill so that I can break through to Foundation Establishment!¡± ¡°How can we compare to you, first senior brother?¡±

    ¡°Anyway, if you really can¡¯t win, just hand over the medal. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll lose anything!¡±

    As a result, most of the sect cultivators registered and collected a medal, while the cultivators from the academies of the nine prefectures obviously had to follow the Marquis of Ruyi. They had to participate, but they all seemed interested.

    Long periods of peace and the peaceful atmosphere of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures obviously made most cultivators believe that this final competition was merely a ¡°game¡± prince Si Qing arranged to win everyone over and make everyone participate.

    Gu Yanying shook her head gently. She knew this was already going ahead. Si Qing had taken out a tremendous amount of resources despite the costs. He had won over the recognition of the cultivators. Both sides were happy with it. Intense battles had always been a part of the Dragon province¡¯s tradition. Even if this was reported to the imperial court, they would only praise Si Qing¡¯s actions. They would never berate him.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and carefully read the words on the black curtain. It detailed the way the Dragon Arena worked, as well as some simple rules.

    All forty-one battlefields in the Dragon Arena would be activated. By flying off in any direction, they could enter another battlefield. This was equivalent to several hundred kilometers across in all directions, which was anything but small. However, in order to avoid a few people actively avoiding battles, a few battlefields would vanish with each day. The cultivators in them would be transported to a battlefield nearby.

    After losing their medal, they still had to remain inside for the ten days. They had to wait until the competition ended before they could leave. This was so that cultivators who had lost their medals had the opportunity to reobtain their medals.

    Everything seemed to make perfect sense, but Li Qingshan gradually furrowed his brows. He vaguely caught the heavy scent of blood.

    Si Qing must be thinking of using this opportunity to finish me off. He is sending in all of his disciples and guests. There¡¯s no less than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators, and they all must have prepared many powerful tricks up their sleeves so that they can give me a fatal blow!

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Qingshan, you have to be careful. Commander Gu just passed orders for all White Wolf guards to continue with upholding order!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s frown eased up, and he smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll probably be in for a big massacre this time!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, let¡¯s discuss our plan!¡±

    Liu Zhangqing was stern. After being baptised by war, he refused to treat any form of battle carelessly. However, even he did not believe there would be much danger in the competition this time. After all, everyone was human. Deciding victory or defeat was enough. The crux of this all was how to gather together as quickly as possible so that they could collect as many medals as possible.

    After a series of discussions, the gong rang again, and the final competition formally began. Everyone entered the Dragon Arena.

    Before Li Qingshan stepped into the Dragon Arena, Chu Danqing suddenly rushed over and passed a painting scroll to him.

    ¡°You¡¯re done so quickly!¡± Li QIngshan said in surprise before noticing that Chu Danqing was pale and completely over-exhausted.

    ¡°I originally wanted to hand it to you after you came back. You¡¯ll probably be in danger this time, so quickly refine it again after you enter the Dragon Arena. The Three Absolutes Calligraphy will definitely be of great use!¡±

    During the past month, Chu Danqing spent all of his time in his room repairing the Three Absolutes Calligraphy apart from attending the matches between the schools of Painting. He used up a lot of his Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, and his understanding of its power grew even deeper.

    ¡°Thanks! You be careful too!¡± Li Qingshan accepted the Three Absolutes Calligraphy and shoved all of the paintings he had obtained as spoils from the battle into Chu Danqing¡¯s arms before stepping into the Dragon Arena.

 Chapter 635 â€“ Ready

    The tall mountain was the very centre of the battlefield, giving an extremely vast view. Li Qingshan had a bird¡¯s-eye view of the surroundings, only to see black specks appear in the distant snowy land. There were roughly two hundred people, and there were a few Foundation Establishment cultivators among them. Although they had all kept their auras hidden away, they could not fool Li Qingshan¡¯s senses. However, he did not know any of them.

    It¡¯s more crowded than I imagined it to be!

    A region of several dozen kilometers across was indeed an extremely vast region for mortals, but it was not that large to cultivators. It would only take half a day at most for Qi Practitioners to explore the place, let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    Would it be a chaotic encounter right from the beginning?

    As Li Qingshan observed his surroundings, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators sensed him too. They raised their heads and looked through the wind and snow. When they made out his familiar figure, their faces all changed.

    Li Qingshan!

    Afterwards, they all took off without the slightest hesitation, flying off in all directions. They were only afraid they would be a little too slow, and he would catch up to them and take their medals.

    The eyesight of Qi Practitioners was not as powerful, and they lacked sharp senses. Obscured by the wind and snow, they could only see a few kilometers away at most. The Foundation Establishment cultivators gave off light when they flew away, which led to some disturbances, but seeing how the balls of light were not flying towards them, they all eased up.

    Many Qi Practitioners took out their medal and stared at it with fervent light. As long as they managed to keep this item for ten days, then all would be well. If they were lucky, perhaps they could even collect a few more. The stronger Qi Practitioners began to silently approach the weaker auras nearby.

    Li Qingshan stood on the top of the mountain and had no intentions to chase down everyone. He was not particularly interested in collecting medals. He was primarily here to deal with the vindictive attacks of Si Qing, E Dan, and Jia Zhen¡¯s subordinates and disciples.

    He took out a glazed ball that resembled a compass. The bright red needle was fixed firmly in a single location. This was the item of contact Liu Zhangqing had given to him. All the cultivators from the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture possessed one. They all pointed towards Liu Zhangqing.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s speed of flight, it would not take him very long to reach where they converged. Being together with them would without a doubt assist him. However, after a moment of consideration, Li Qingshan stowed the glazed ball away.

    He was absolutely confident that his current position had already been sold out. Once his enemies gathered enough force, they would rush over without the slightest hesitation; a battle to the death would follow.

    He was actually still a little worried. Once he converged with Liu Zhangqing and the others, he would cause troubles for all of them. I¡¯d still be better off dealing with my own problems by myself! Let¡¯s see whether it¡¯s actually you who destroys me, or it¡¯s actually me who massacres your disciples and grand disciples!

    Si Qing¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from the sky. ¡°Thank you all for participating. In order to give you the opportunity to unleash your full strength, there will be no one monitoring your actions. You are welcome to use everything you have to obtain medals, as well as other spoils of battle so that you can guarantee your final victory.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to say that in here, not everyone will survive the ten days, but none of the dead or the weak are worth any sympathy. Only the living, the strong, can survive. For the sake of this path of cultivation, fight and kill with everything you have!¡±

    Without a doubt, he said that to establish the atmosphere of the chaotic battle, which cast a shadow over everyone¡¯s hearts. Even the naive optimists suddenly felt the competition probably would not be as simple as it originally seemed.

    ¡°In other words, no matter who kills who, it¡¯s all within the rules?¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered in response to this statement of ill intent. He sat down on the top of the mountain and sent his soul sense into the Three Absolutes Calligraphy in his possession, beginning the refinement.

    This was a forest of jagged stone that aligned with the spiritual qi of the world, forming a natural maze-like formation. Faint, white mist permeated the place, making the strange rocks resemble vicious demons and beasts. If a mortal were to set foot in it, they would definitely be trapped in there for the rest of their lives.

    It originally existed on the boundary between the Dragon province and the Harmony province. Si Qing had collected it for the Dragon Arena. Afterwards, a formation master consolidated it, which made it a special battleground.

    A young disciple of the school of Yin-yang currently carried a compass, finding his way. He was not anxious at all. Instead, he smiled confidently. Apart from being skilled in divination, the school of Yin-yang was rather knowledgeable in destroying formations, and he happened to be among the best of the best.

    The heavens are basically smiling at me! I can both advance on the offence and retreat on the defence with this place. As long as I grasp the operation pattern of this formation, I¡¯ll be able to use this favourable geography to my advantage. If I fail with my attacks, I can retreat into the formation. Even Foundation Establishment cultivators can¡¯t do anything to me if they don¡¯t understand the wonders of this formation!

    Right as he thought of that, a black shadow suddenly shot towards him. Frantic, he was unable to dodge in time, and the black shadow brushed past him. Looking back, the black shadow had already vanished into the forest of stone.

    He was still shaken. He was not even certain whether that was a person at all. If it were a human, the black shadow was a little too small. He took another step forward before suddenly collapsing on the ground, noticing tremendous pain from his waist. He had been completely reduced into two, bisected along his waist while alive. His internal organs flowed out with his blood.

    ¡°Aahh!!!¡± In a panic, he let out a deafening scream, but it was absorbed by the forest of stone and unable to travel particularly far away.

    He managed to calm down after great difficulty. Before he could even think about whether the black shadow was responsible for this, he reached for his recovery medicine in a hurry, only to discover that the hundred treasures pouch that was supposed to be on his waist had already vanished. His heart immediately sank.

    With his cultivation at the ninth layer of Qi Practitioner and the fact that he was not a disciple of the school of Medicine, it was impossible for him to heal a wound like that by himself. Moreover, a strange power had been imbued into the horrific wound along his waist. It had completely died off the moment he had been cut apart, unable to heal.

    ¡°Save me! I want to leave!¡±

    However, there obviously was no reply. If he wanted to leave here, then he had to wait ten days. All he could do was watch helplessly as he bled, soaking the soil around him and waiting for the arrival of death in pain. In despair, he began screaming again.

    He struggled to understand why the black shadow wanted to kill him. If he wanted his medal, then he could have given it to him. Suddenly, he remembered what Si Qing had said¡ªonly the strong could survive!

    The black shadow moved through the forest of stone like it was its own backyard. He was one of the fighters from the banquet that night, the dwarf. His expression seemed as relaxed as if he had just crushed an ant.

    It was a battle that his victory was originally guaranteed in, but he ended up losing, directly allowing Li Qingshan to choose an advantageous battleground for the final battle. He was believed to be the reason for their defeat, so he suffered severe punishment from Si Qing. He felt furious inside, so he was especially vicious when he struck.

    Very soon, he arrived at the centre of the forest of stone. A few people were already waiting there. Every single one of them was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and they all gave off a faint aura of murderousness. Their leader happened to the scarred man who wielded the high grade arcane artifact, the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions.

    The dwarf asked, ¡°How¡¯s the prey?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still on the snow mountain. He hasn¡¯t moved yet.¡±

    The scarred man¡¯s eyes seemed to be able to see through space, allowing him to see Li Qingshan¡¯s location. As the owner of this Dragon Arena, it was far too easy for Si Qing to cheat.

    They had a total of three missions this time. The first was to provoke the cultivators into killing each other, the second was to take back as many medals as possible, and the last was to kill Li Qingshan. They were relatively confident with the first two missions, while the last mission was the most troublesome.

    ¡°Is he the person they¡¯re converging towards?¡±

    ¡°No, the cultivators of the Clear River prefecture haven¡¯t approached him. They¡¯re gathering around another person. He seems to be the only one there as if he¡¯s waiting for us!¡±

    ¡°Waiting for us! We have nineteen Foundation Establishment cultivators. Doesn¡¯t he know?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s exactly because he knows that he¡¯s chosen to remain there, wanting to deal with us all alone. It¡¯s like what his highness had guessed. He¡¯s an arrogant bastard!¡±

    The scarred man swung his Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions viciously, striking the ground with a great boom. The ground shook and fierce winds filled the surroundings.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably treating us like the trash from the school of Novels!¡±

    A cold, sinister light flashed through the dwarf¡¯s eyes. He had witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s battle against eight other people, but he did not find it particularly impressive. He alone could slaughter eight pieces of trash who did not know how to fight at all.

    ¡°He¡¯s underestimating us, but that¡¯s for the best. I¡¯ll definitely smash him into mince meat!¡±

    ¡°When do we set off?¡±

    ¡°Wait until everyone has assembled. That was his highness¡¯ orders!¡±

    No one dared to defy Si Qing¡¯s orders, so they waited in the forest of stone, preparing to gather all of their strength and tear Li Qingshan to shreds. As for the several hundred Qi Practitioners who were relatively weaker under Si Qing and the others¡¯ command, they had already entered this huge, chaotic battle, making sure to stir up a lot of turmoil.

    Hua Chenglu raised her head and looked around, but she could not see the sky. Layers above layers of leaves completely blocked off the light. The surroundings were as dark as night. She took out the glazed ball and began travelling in the direction of the needle before suddenly halting.

    ¡°Come out!¡±

    There was a rustle in the tree canopy, and a man in black flew down. A sliver of surprise flashed through his eyes. There were plenty of pretty women among cultivators, but such great beauty was rare. However, he immediately recovered his composure and said coldly.

    ¡°Hand over your medal!¡±

    Hua Chenglu frowned. The enemy was a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, far more powerful than her. And, from the way he was dressed, he should have been Si Qing¡¯s subordinate, so he was probably even more difficult to deal with than regular tenth layer Qi Practitioners.

    The man in black was not expecting to obtain her medal with just that. Right when he was about to strike, an item flew towards him. It was not fast, so he caught it with ease. It was exactly the medal he wanted, which left him surprised.

    ¡°Take it and move aside!¡±

    Hua Chenglu had never really cared about the value of the medals. Let alone a thousand spiritual stones, even if they were worth ten thousand spiritual stones, so what? If Si Qing had not passed an order with his identity as the Marquis of Ruyi and made all the disciples of the academy take part, Hua Chengzan would have never let her set foot in this Dragon Arena.

    If she began fighting here, it would definitely attract a lot of attention. Her priority was still to gather with everyone else. She could always find her lost medal again.

    ¡°Hold on! Your hundred treasures pouch too!¡± The man in black¡¯s lips curled. The cultivators of the Ruyi commandery sure are naive. It¡¯s no wonder his highness wants us to teach them a lesson.

 Chapter 636 â€“ A Bunch of Trash

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s frown deepened. The dark, moist jungle suddenly became lurking with killing intent. The twisted, gnarled roots and vines that draped down from above all sprung alive like snakes.

    This was a wood element cultivator. He smiled. ¡°Who knows whether you¡¯re hiding medals or not!¡±

    ¡°I just came in here, so how am I supposed to have a second medal?¡± Hua Chenglu was furious, and she noticed that the situation was rather wrong. If he were a regular cultivator, he would not have badgered her anymore after obtaining her medal.

    ¡°I need to check just in case. If you refuse, I¡¯ll have to take action. Of course, I¡¯ll have to look through your body too.¡± The cultivator in black licked his lips and smiled with ill intention.

    ¡°Go die!¡± Hua Chenglu took out a scarlet talisman. It turned into a raging ball of fire and rushed towards the cultivator in black. The vines and roots hissed from the heat, all receding.

    Boom! Fire rushed through the canopy of leaves. A flower of flames bloomed in the endless sea of trees.

    After saying that, Si Qing directly waved his hand, and the images that displayed the situation inside the Dragon Arena vanished. The Dragon Arena had completely become a sealed-off black box.

    ¡°Your highness, how can you say that? Aren¡¯t you basically asking for our cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery to kill one another?¡±

    An old man in violet was surprised and furious on the Soaring Clouds terrace, questioning Si Qing loudly. The other Golden Core cultivators changed in expression as well, unable to understand what benefit Si Qing could derive from this.

    Not only had the regular cultivators failed to anticipate that danger might have existed in the Dragon Arena, even these Golden Core cultivators had never expected it. A desperate battle like this would drastically diminish the strength of the cultivation community in the Ruyi commandery, and it would make Si Qing lose all of his prestige. He had to cough up tremendous amounts of resources too. There was basically only detriment.

    Without the knowledge of how an Asura Field was refined, even the most clever people in the world could not guess Si Qing¡¯s intentions, let alone imagine he would make a decision like this.

    Originally, under the circumstances where they could spectate the situation in the Dragon Arena, the cultivators would definitely hold back a little when they fought inside. Otherwise, even if the rules permitted it, they would come off as overly vicious, and they could completely fall out with a certain aristocratic clan or sect if they were careless, leading to endless problems. The spectatorship of these people formed an invisible restraint, preventing the situation from spiralling out of control.

    Si Qing turned around slowly with a smile of amazement on his face. ¡°What a bunch of trash!¡± Putting up with Northmoon had already worn away his patience long ago. Now that he had achieved his objective, he immediately revealed his vicious true colours.

    Right from the very beginning, he never had any plans to properly administer the Ruyi commandery like Jiang Fu and treat it like family estate that he could pass down through the generations. Instead, he wanted to use all the resources that the Ruyi commandery could offer to increase his strength. He was even willing to kill the golden goose and leech everything the Ruyi commandery had, leaving it crippled.

    In simpler terms, a cultivator¡¯s world still referred to personal strength. So-called ¡°power¡± and ¡°influence¡± did possess their value, but absolute strength could completely overlook power and influence.

    If killing all the Golden Core cultivators before him could guarantee Si Qing in undergoing the third heavenly tribulation and reach the realm of kings, he would definitely do so without batting an eye. And, as long as he succeeded, not only would the imperial clan leave him unpunished, but they would even find ways to cover this up for him.

    ¡°What did you say?!¡± To be able to reach Golden Core, none of the cultivators present were untalented. They had reached their current position under countless praise. The term ¡°trash¡± was far too foreign and distant to them.

    Si Qing waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯m helping you train your disciples, yet you spout so much indecisive nonsense! If you aren¡¯t trash, then what are you?¡±

    ¡°Si Qing, you¡¯re a proper prince. Do you still think you can continue with the position of marquis by insulting us like this?¡±

    ¡°Open the Dragon Arena and let out all of our disciples!¡±

    The Golden Core cultivators finally responded, feeling fury from the depths of their heart. They began to glow, radiating with alarming auras that rushed into the clouds.

    During the battle of Burial Mound Mountain, the Golden Core cultivators who fell in battle all belonged to the Academy of the Hundred Schools. The orthodox forces that belonged to the Great Xia empire had been heavily weakened. If it were not for Gu Yanying¡¯s presence, the sects would have taken advantage of the situation and boldly expanded a long time ago.

    As a result, most of the Golden Core cultivators who had been invited to the Soaring Clouds terrace belonged to sects. There were a few Golden Core cultivators that belonged to the academy. However, due to Si Qing¡¯s identity as a prince, they had to remain silent. And, all they could do was stand on the side of the ¡°Marquis of Ruyi¡± if they truly began fighting. They all looked at Gu Yanying for help.

    These Golden Core cultivators from sects were not particularly worried about Si Qing¡¯s identity, but they were rather fearful of Gu Yanying. Gu Yanying had spent many years in the Ruyi commandery. Her power and influence was much greater than the recently arrived Si Qing.

    If she stood on Si Qing¡¯s side, then Si Bao definitely would not simply watch on, and the Golden Core cultivators of the academy would be forced to follow her lead. Just like that, the difference between their strength would not be so great anymore, and they might have to accept this slap to the face.

    To Si Qing, Gu Yanying¡¯s attitude was extremely important too. For a moment, everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on Gu Yanying.

    ¡°A¡¯qing insists on taking it his own way, so how can I stop you!¡± Gu Yanying strolled over and arrived on the edge of the terrace, deciding to keep her nose out of this. Si Bao obviously followed over.

    Although hearing her refer to him as A¡¯qing caused Si Qing frown a little, her decision to not interfere made him ease up slightly. His largest problem had already been dealt with.

    ¡°The scenery here is quite nice! You¡¯re all welcome to take a look!¡±

    Gu Yanying turned around and called towards the Golden Core cultivators of the academy. They were all relieved. They bowed towards Si Qing indifferently and politely before arriving by Gu Yanying¡¯s side. Although they were forced to acknowledge Si Qing¡¯s identity, none of them recognised him from the bottom of their heart.

    The cultivators from the sects all riled up with vigour. Sure enough, Gu Yanying was not with him. Given that, their enemy were only three people, but they did all come from the Dragon province. They could not be underestimated. Moreover, this prince¡¯s identity was a little troublesome.

    ¡°Oi, why are the two of you still there?¡± Gu Yanying then said, referring to Jia Zhen and E Dan.

    ¡°As you wish, commander.¡± Jia Zhen waved his black feather fan as he smiled, leaving Si Qing behind and walking over. E Dan followed closely behind with his hands by his side, glancing back at the sect cultivators and grinning hideously.

    Like that, only Si Qing remained to face these Golden Core cultivators. They all looked at one another with no idea what Si Qing was trying to do.

    ¡°Yanying truly be the one who knows me!¡± Si Qing praised her loudly. Then his face sank. ¡°You¡¯ve spent all these days eating and drinking, watching those boring matches. You must be tired of it already!¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say? You want us to compete against you one by one? Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± None of them were idiots. With Si Qing¡¯s cultivation at peak Golden Core and his cultivation method from the imperial clan, probably no one present was his opponent in a one-against-one battle.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the time to take on trash one by one. Come at me together! Your opponent is only me! You fear Northmoon just because he defeated a group of Daemon Commanders. From today onwards, you will fear me too!¡±

    Si Qing¡¯s eyes blazed fervently. Watching duels could never surpass the delight that came from personally taking part.

    On the Soaring Clouds terrace, a streak of black light shot into the sky. Over a dozen streaks of light, all varying in colour, followed closely behind.

 Chapter 637 â€“ The Three Graves, Five Classics, Eight Chains and Nine Mounds

    Flying swords turned into sharp streaks of light, criss-crossing through the air and sealing off Si Qing¡¯s ability to maneuver about. Even without any practice, their cooperation was flawless. They were determined to teach Si Qing a lesson.

    A dragon¡¯s roar rang out endlessly, originating from the horizon.

    Si Qing transformed into a black dragon around a hundred meters in length, complete with scales and claws. He burst through formations and the light, moving about freely above the city. With a sweep of his tail, he sent a Golden Core cultivator flying.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°I never expected him to have reached such a level with the Black Emperor Dragon Classic. It¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s ranked eleventh.¡±

    The imperial clan of Great Xia had many supreme cultivation methods, which were known as the Three Graves, Five Classics, Eight Chains and Nine Mounds. The Black Emperor Dragon Classic that Si Qing practised was one of the Five Classics. It was an extraordinary cultivation method. Not only could it be practised to the realm of kings, but it could also allow the cultivator to directly ascend from this world. It was extremely powerful.

    To regular Golden Core cultivators, possessing a cultivation method that could be practised to Soul Nascence, taking them through the third heavenly tribulation, was already everything they could hope for. They were unable to imagine the power of the Black Emperor Dragon Classic.

    Si Bao said sternly, ¡°With this cultivation method alone, Si Qing is undefeatable. If he wishes to fight, then he can fight. If he wishes to leave, then he can leave. No one can stop him.¡±

    The Golden Core cultivators refused to back down. They unleashed their ultimate techniques, hurling devastating attacks that could split mountains and sever rivers towards the black dragon.

    The black dragon¡¯s colossal body suddenly shrank to an extremely small size, only a few meters long, avoiding most of the attacks. The dragon could be prominent or obscure, large or small. It could be large enough to usher the clouds and small enough to be almost invisible.

    It was rumored that when this cultivation method was practised to its limit, the cultivator could turn into the size of a mustard seed, allowing them to directly pass through all obstructions, whether it be fire, water, mountains, or rocks. Si Qing had yet to reach that level, so he could not avoid some of the attacks, but none of them were able to pierce his black scales.

    It was possible to imagine that once the battle ended, the prosperous city would be reduced to ruins apart from the marquis¡¯ estate protected by formations. The population of millions would be decimated. Mortals were truly the ones to suffer in a battle among immortals.

    Gu Yanying leaned against the raling and gazed composedly at the streaks of light that contained terrifying power, descending from the sky like meteors.

    A black shadow suddenly swept over above. The Dragon Arena had suddenly risen up, swelling in the air and becoming something akin to a colossal island, hovering in the sky. It was also like a huge protective umbrella, absorbing all of the attacks.

    ¡°What a good plan!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. The Dragon Arena had not only absorbed the attacks. It had also absorbed the blazing battle intent and raging killing intent from their battle.

    As it turned out, Si Qing had intentionally aggravated them verbally so that he could fight them all alone. It was a part of his plan. And, if he worked together with E Dan and Jia Zhen, then dominating these Golden Core cultivators would be too easy, which was detrimental to the refinement of the Asura Field.

    Gu Yanying turned around, and her sharp eyes passed through the various obstructions, spotting a heavy ball of darkness hiding within a dim alleyway, giving off an icy-cold and deathly aura.

    If a rat had not unknowingly approached the ball of darkness and died on the spot, even she would have almost overlooked it.

    He had come too!

    The jungle consisting of twisted roots and a blanketing canopy erupted with flames, carving out a clearing that had been burnt black. The man in black had completely vanished.

    The brilliant sunlight fell from above, and the scorching winds dispersed the moist air. Withered branches that were still burning fell down. In a battle among Qi Practitioners, a scarlet talisman was enough to determine victory.

    ¡°A good dog doesn¡¯t block the way. Just because you¡¯re the prince¡¯s dog doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m afraid to kill you! Huuu, I can¡¯t stay here. I better leave quickly!¡±

    Right when Hua Chengzan was about to continue on her way, she suddenly felt the ground under her feet shudder. Roots that were even denser and more packed than blood vessels in the human body burst out of the earth, squirming around like thousands of snakes and insects. They all reached over and tied her up firmly.

    Within the burnt earth, the man in black leapt out, caked in rock and soil. Although he was a little dirty, making him seem rather dishevelled, he was clearly unharmed.

    The moment Hua Chenglu unleashed the scarlet talisman, he had used an Earth Submerging talisman, burrowing deep underground and avoiding most of the damage. Although it was only a high grade yellow talisman and he had to find a way to burrow his way back out of the ground, it was exceptionally effective at certain times.

    He was still badly shaken. He had never expected Hua Chenglu to be so vicious despite how young she was, directly using a scarlet talisman right off the bat. If his response had been a little slower earlier, he would have been blasted to fine bits. His face twisted viciously. If I let you die easily, I¡¯d no longer be a man!

    Hua Chenglu struggled hard, but how could she break free? The roots firmly tied up her hands, such that she could not even access her hundred treasures pouch. She was like a beautiful butterfly stuck in a spider¡¯s web.

    The man in black walked over before suddenly hearing a violent rumble in the air. It abruptly drew closer, making him raise his head in surprise.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan poured his soul sense deep within the Three Absolutes Calligraphy and saw a wondrous sight he had never seen before. The strokes hovered through the space like a sky full of stars. He had refined many arcane artifacts already, but this was the first time he had encountered something like this.

    Sure enough, the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was not an ordinary arcane artifact. It was worth his bit of initiation!

    On the snowy, windy mountain, the Three Absolutes Calligraphy shone with resplendent light as he channeled his spiritual qi into the arcane artifact. It started glowing brighter and brighter.

    Beneath the snow mountain, the Qi Practitioners were currently confronting one another, clashing with their weapons and glued together in battle. Even if someone noticed the twinkling light at the top of the snow mountain, they would be in no position to pay any regard to it right now.

    Battles like this unfolded throughout the entire Dragon Arena. While Si Qing¡¯s words made them stir a little inside, they did not immediately throw their lives at one another like Si Qing had wanted. They all held back.

    After determining the outcome of the battle, they would utter things like, ¡°Admirable¡± and ¡°You¡¯ve gone easy on me.¡± No matter how furious or unhappy with the result they were, they all maintained the principles of the cultivation community on the surface.

    As a matter of fact, there were even many Foundation Establishment cultivators who refused to fight Qi Practitioners of other schools and sects in consideration of their status. Even if they took action, they only took their medals. Never would they rob them or kill them. The standard behaviour left behind by several thousand years of peace could not be disrupted by a few words from a certain person.

    Si Qing seemed to have made a miscalculation in this aspect. This was not the Dragon province after all. There was not an atmosphere for those bloody battles. Although the cultivators were not exactly righteous, they were not demonic cultivators.

    Sure enough, they¡¯re trash from top to bottom. They have no idea what guts and killing intent are. Even after coming so far, these old bastards refuse to kill me. Only that Li Qingshan has got some backbone. Looks like I have to use that move!

    Si Qing who danced through the air as a black dragon split off a part of his focus as he clashed with the Golden Core cultivators.

    In the Dragon Arena, there was a flash of blood-red light. Throughout the battlefields, the azure skies became coated in a layer of blood-red. The blood-red colour was so weak that even cultivators would struggle to notice anything different when they stared at it attentively.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan opened his eyes, raised his head, and looked at the sky. He only saw thick, frozen clouds and the howling wind and snow. In that moment earlier, the tiger demon suppressed by the spirit turtle and resting in his sea of consciousness let out a deep growl.

    Boundless killing intent loomed over, but the killing intent was far too thin and chaotic. There was not a clear source, nor did it specifically target him.

    What¡¯s that kid Si Qing doing now?

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes again as he thought of that, plunging his mind into the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. He had never stopped channelling spiritual qi into the arcane artifact during the process.

    The Three Absolues Calligraphy was like a whale taking in water, greedily accepting his spiritual qi. Only when thirty percent of his sea of qi had emptied out did it stop. Its glow reached the limit.

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. He was at peak Foundation Establishment, and his spiritual qi surpassed regular Foundation Establishment cultivators. The Three Absolutes Calligraphy was only a mid grade arcane artifact! Before he could think too much about it, he knew the storm was about to arrive from his experience with refining the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in the past.

    Sure enough, all of the spiritual qi in the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was converted into sharp sword Qi in that moment, running up against the flow through his meridians and raging violently through his body.

    At the same time, in the empty world filled with various brush strokes, the strokes suddenly swelled up and became full like they had been filled with air. They hurtled towards him together with extremely sharp sword intent.

    Li Qingshan seemed to see the Five Absolutes Sword Immortal wielding his brush as a sword, waving it around madly after drinking. Although it was almost illusionary, he had absolutely no doubts that if these brush strokes struck him, his soul would definitely suffer severe damage.

    Against a pincer attack like this from inside and outside, he would be heavily injured even if he managed to survive if he were a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    His body shuddered and his muscles rippled, becoming a hundred times tougher than rock. His shut eyes became scarlet red for a moment. The sword Qi rampaged through his body, but it was unable to burst through the body of the ox demon that was as heavy as a mountain. He forcefully guided them into his sea of qi.

    However, they continued to stir up waves in his sea of qi like huge fish. Not only did the sword Qi fail to weaken, but they instead became sharper and swifter after absorbing even more spiritual qi.

    If he were a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator, then all he could do was watch helplessly as his spiritual qi was siphoned away before being forcefully ripped apart by the sword Qi. And, before this, his consciousness would already be torn apart by the sword intent. Who would have thought refining a mid grade arcane artifact would hide such terrifying danger?

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Li Qingshan bellowed inside, and the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core sank down into the sea of qi, suppressing all of the sword qi. The spirit turtle¡¯s figure that had directly appeared in his sea of consciousness blocked all of the sword intent.

    Originally, he thought he had succeeded already with this, but the Three Absolutes Calligraphy showed no signs of being refined. With a thought, the figure of the tiger demon leapt out, opening its gaping mouth and swallowing all the sword intent.

    Success!

 Chapter 638 â€“ Incomplete Sword

    In the end, all of the strokes linked up with one another like building blocks, forming the black body of a sword. It roughly stretched from the tip of the sword to the sword¡¯s centre, but it was incomplete.

    The radiant glow on the Three Absolutes Calligraphy immediately began to subside. Li Qingshan opened his eyes, only to see the scroll was no longer covered in criss-crossing strokes. Instead, it formed an incomplete sword like the sword in his sea of consciousness.

    The strands of obstinate and unruly sword qi in his sea of qi automatically merged together. There were now three identical swords, one on the scroll, one in his sea of consciousness, and one in his dantian. They all possessed the essence of calligraphy, painting, and the sword.

    So this is what the Three Absolutes Calligraphy originally looked like. The complete Three Absolutes Calligraphy must be depicting a sword, but after being separated, all the brush strokes were split up, which lead to a marvellous combination of strokes like that.

    Refining the Three Absolutes Calligraphy is basically even more dangerous than confronting a Golden Core cultivator. If I hadn¡¯t practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, I probably would have been done for!

    Li Qingshan relaxed the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression, and the incomplete sword in his dantian automatically began absorbing spiritual qi again. He was mildly surprised, but he discovered very soon that this absorption could be controlled. And, as it continued, the sword Qi would become sharper.

    He could recover spiritual qi very quickly anyway with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, so he allowed the incomplete sword to absorb spiritual qi. He ingested a pill that could recover spiritual qi and waited to see how far it could grow.

    At this moment, he felt a ball of spiritual qi rapidly approach him. The surrounding temperature suddenly plummeted.

    Are they finally here?

    He raised his head and looked around. A blue ball of ice descended from above, wrapped in a cold current.

    However, the strange part was the ice ball did not target him. Instead, it landed far away at the foot of the mountain, kicking up an icy storm and swallowing the space within around a hundred meters.

    A Qi Practitioner reacted a little slowly and was sucked in. Immediately, he was reduced to an ice statue before turning into dust. Even the spiritual artifact sword in his hand was not spared.

    What powerful coldness.

    He vaguely recalled seeing a frosty woman on the Soaring Clouds terrace. She was probably the master of the Ice Couple palace, but because she was only at early Golden Core, he had not paid too much attention to her.

    Is something happening outside?

    Li Qingshan was clueless about Asura Fields, so he was unable to guess the reason behind this. He wanted to send his clone over to take a look, which would also give him an additional card he could use in emergencies. However, the clone was currently refining the water with the Water God Seal, so he refused to take this risk.

    Fortunately, the carp he had named as Li¡¯l Red happened to be circling around his clone, asking for pills to eat as it splashed around. He came up with an idea and said, ¡°Open up your mouth!¡±

    Li¡¯l Red immediately opened his huge mouth. His blank eyes seemed to be filled with anticipation.

    Li Qingshan sealed off the Water God Seal¡¯s aura and left some of his soul sense in there before tossing it into Li¡¯l Red¡¯s mouth. ¡°You sure are lucky. Hurry up and swim back to Moon Court lake! If you lose it, hmph, have you heard of a dish called sweet and sour carp?¡±

    Li¡¯l Red opened his huge mouth again as if he wanted to try out the taste of that dish.

    Smack! Li Qingshan slapped his head. ¡°That means I¡¯ll be throwing you into the pot!¡±

    Li¡¯l Red immediately dove into the water. His figure rapidly shrank to the size of a regular carp, turning into a red smear and swimming towards Moon Court lake.

    Right now, the forces of the human cultivators were all caught up in the commandery city, while he had beat up the entire Daemon race of the Ruyi commandery until they feared him. Basically, everyone would be either fleeing or surrendering at the rumor of his arrival in all the regions of water he had refined.

    He was unable to think of any ignorant bastard who would be bold enough to intercept and kill his subordinate. After dealing with this, his clone took off, directly plunging into the depths of the clouds and flying towards the commandery city.

    Beneath the huge snow mountain, Li Qingshan thought in confusion, Don¡¯t those guys want to kill me? Why are they taking so long?

    He could not be bothered with remaining here and waiting for them, and he only possessed half of his spiritual qi now under the absorption of the incomplete sword. Although he was confident he could slaughter them all, even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, so he might as well walk around and go elsewhere. He could think about it once he recovered his spiritual qi.

    In the maze-like formation of the stone forest, eighteen Foundation Establishment cultivators had already gathered together. Someone said impatiently, ¡°Why isn¡¯t the fire barbarian here yet?¡± ¡°Yeah, with his cultivation, he should have arrived long ago!¡±

    The scarred man said, ¡°Looks like he¡¯s not planning to converge with us!¡±

    The dwarf said, ¡°The barbarian has no concept of teamwork. We¡¯d do better without him. We¡¯re not waiting for him anymore. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Hmm? The prey has begun to move, and he¡¯s moving very quickly. Chase him!¡±

    Hua Chenglu also heard the whistle from the distant horizon. Through the circular clearing in the canopy, she saw greyish-white, house-sized boulders. One of them flew over in their direction.

    The man in black¡¯s eyes became filled with shock. He could not be bothered with dealing with Hua Chenglu anymore. He used another Earth Submerging talisman and burrowed deep into the ground.

    Rumble! The huge boulder smashed against the ground. The ground was like a huge drum that had just been struck viciously, creating a giant crater. A shockwave that spread out in all directions followed. Such power definitely was not as simple as a boulder falling out of the sky. It had been imbued with the powerful spiritual qi of a Golden Core cultivator.

    Hua Chenglu was not unlucky enough for the boulder to directly smash into her, but the boulder landed only a few dozen meters away. She felt her body shake as even her bones became numb. The shockwave tore over in an unstoppable manner, sending her flying into the sky.

    Only a single boulder failed to strike the ground. Instead, it happened to hurtle towards the great banyan tree in the centre of the sea of trees, caught by the interwoven sun vines and crushed to pieces.

    ¡°Ouch!¡±

    Hua Chenglu groaned and sat up in a pile of dead wood. She felt her entire body ache painfully. She removed the protective talisman on her neck; it had already been completely destroyed. If this protective talisman had not automatically activated at a critical time, it would have been horrible.

    The ground nearby shifted, and the cultivator in black crawled out. As he laid on the ground, he vomited blood mouthful after mouthful. He had used the same move, but he had miscalculated drastically this time.

    The shockwave was merely a wave of air generated from the collision, but the tremors the boulder created possessed the powers of a Golden Core cultivator. By hiding underground, his organs were shaken to pieces, sustaining extremely severe internal injuries.

    Hua Chenglu immediately felt like her body had stopped aching. She leapt up from the ground and unleashed a flying blade, swinging viciously towards the man in black¡¯s head.

    ¡°Haha, go die, you ground beetle!¡±

    ¡°The one who¡¯ll die is you!¡±

 Chapter 639 â€“ Live Bai

    The man in black rolled against the ground, making the flying blade miss. He had already shoved a pill into his mouth. The flying blade turned around and pressed towards him again.

    Roar!

    He let out a beast-like growl as his legs erupted with alarming power, rushing towards Hua Chenglu with speed that completely surpassed what Qi Practitioners could possess.

    He had consumed a pill that could unleash the potential of his body. It was unavoidable that pills like these came with side effects, but he was forced to use it now that he faced a life-or-death situation. If Hua Chenglu took out another scarlet talisman, his life would be in danger. Meanwhile, he primarily practised the wood element, which specialised in healing and nourishment. He could take his time and recover after this.

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s mouth opened slightly, taken aback. She no longer wanted to kill the cultivator in black anymore. She kicked off the ground with her slender legs, and she had already rushed into the air. A pair of beautiful wings unfolded on her back as she climbed higher and higher.

    The wings were made from overlapping metal plates, a crystallisation of the mechanical arts of mohism. Then she painted them according to her tastes, which made them seem like a pair of real wings.

    Regular Qi Practitioners all lacked methods to fly high in the sky. As long as she reached a certain altitude, he could not touch her. However, it went without saying that the pair of wings had come at a lofty price.

    The moment she was about to fly out of the sea of trees, her ankle suddenly tightened. A verdant vine had wrapped around it, the spiritual artifact that belonged to the man in black. He tugged hard. ¡°Get down here!¡±

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Hua Chenglu screamed and fell out of the sky. A thick, powerful hand gripped her slender neck firmly.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep running!?¡± The man in black smiled viciously. His face was bulging with veins, which made him seem terrifying. A great difference existed in their cultivation and experience in the first place. After consuming the pill that unleashed the potential of his body, the man in black possessed a crushing advantage.

    ¡°If you kill me¡­ my elder brother won¡¯t spare you!¡± A sliver of pain appeared on Hua Chenglu¡¯s beautiful face, but her gaze was as stubborn as ever.

    ¡°Kill you? Don¡¯t worry, I can¡¯t bring myself to part with you just yet! I¡¯ll find a secretive location and process you slowly. We still have ten days! By the time your elder brother finds you, you¡¯ll already be a corpse and completely bare!¡±

    Hua Chenglu could not help but become afraid. If that was the fate awaiting her, she would much rather die right now. Was he really a cultivator?

    ¡°Big brother, where are you?¡±

    ¡°Cough cough, your actual brother isn¡¯t here, but there is a big brother Li!¡±

    The man in black suddenly turned around and saw the speaker. He was a large, tall, young man, who currently stared at him like he was a corpse. His face immediately changed. ¡°L- Li Qingshan¡­ don¡¯t come over, if you come over, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    Before he could finish, he saw a flash, and Li Qingshan had already arrived before him. He casually smacked the man in black¡¯s shoulder, and he immediately collapsed on the ground like his bones had vanished from his body.

    Hua Chenglu also fell down with him, almost hitting the ground, but Li Qingshan managed to catch her by the waist. He asked in concern, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Although her protective talisman protected her, the blow from the boulder earlier still caused her some injury. However, amidst a nerve-wracking battle, she was in no shape to tend to them. Now that the threat was eliminated and her mind eased up, her body began to ache all over again.

    Only when water spiritual qi channeled out from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand did she feel much better. She coughed dryly and rubbed her neck. ¡°I was almost in trouble. Fortunately, you made it in time, big br- commander Li!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d I become commander so quickly?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He had become acquainted with her very early on. Although they did not have much contact back then, he did have a very good impression of her. Now that the young girl of the past had become a great beauty, he could not help but sigh over the passage of time.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my cultivation being too weak, I¡¯ll just continue calling you that then!¡±

    Hua Chenglu stuck out her tongue, a little embarrassed. The current Li Qingshan could no longer be compared to the past. An invisible chasm existed between their cultivations, while their identities and statues were already worlds apart. Seeing how he still remembered their old relationship and did not look down on her, she was delighted. She asked in confusion, ¡°Big brother Li, how did you know I was here?¡±

    It was not a coincidence that Li Qingshan had shown up here. In order to recover his spiritual qi as fast as possible, he had specially come looking for the great banyan tree, planning on collecting some tree sap to drink like the dwarf. He happened to hear Hua Chenglu¡¯s cries, so he rushed over.

    ¡°So it¡¯s here. Fortunately, you came, or who knew what would have happened,¡± Hua Chenglu said, still badly shaken. Then she became furious and sent her flying blade towards the man in black who had collapsed on the ground.

    ¡°Hold on! I still have a use for him!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her flying blade and removed the hundred treasures pouch from the man in black, as well as two medals. He tossed them to Hua Chenglu. ¡°Compensation for the mental harm this bastard has caused you.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, a white cloud descended slowly. It was filled with people, and from how they were dressed, they were all Si Qing¡¯s subordinates. There were a dozen or two of them. Although none of them moved, they were all still alive.

    These were the prisoners Li Qingshan had captured along the way. He casually tossed the man in black into the pile and said in thought, ¡°This should be enough!¡±

    Hua Chenglu asked in surprise, ¡°Big brother Li, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Feeding the tree!¡±

    ¡°Feeding the tree?¡±

    ¡°I should say feeding the vines to be more accurate. It¡¯s quite a long story, so I¡¯m not going to bother with explaining myself. I¡¯m going to go, so you better go and converge with everyone else!¡± Li Qingshan stepped onto the cloud. Hua Chenglu grabbed him by the sleeve. ¡°Big brother Li, can I come with you?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? There might be danger if you come with me!¡± Li Qingshan said. Who knew when those people would rush over to kill him.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid. I¡¯m begging you!¡± Hua Chenglu brought her palms together and pleaded.

    ¡°Fine then. Get on!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it and felt it was rather unsuitable for Hua Chenglu to cross through so many battlefields alone. He had seen along the way that the battles between the cultivators had suddenly become extremely intense. He had to collect the tree sap as quickly as possible before sending her over to Liu Zhangqing.

    He let Hua Chenglu onto the cloud and flew over to the great banyan tree. Collecting tree sap was anything but easy. He had to pass through the crazy sun vines first.

    However, as a cultivator, he was not exactly faster than the dwarf in terms of speed. He was much larger and taller too, which only made it even more difficult to maneuver between the sun vines. Moreover, he did not have a good understanding of the attack patterns of the sun vines yet, so he refused to make an attempt rashly, just in case he accidentally used his powers as a daemon and gave himself away.

    As a result, he came up with this idea. He would use these people as bait to draw away the attacks of the sun vines, and then he would strike while they covered him.

    Hua Chenglu gasped. ¡°So big!¡±

    ¡°Throw this guy over and see what happens!¡± Li Qingshan picked up the man in black and handed him to Hua Chenglu. He wanted to test out how responsive the sun vines would be, and this would basically be letting her kill her enemy with her own hands!

    The man was immobilised, but his eyes were filled with fright. He obviously understood the terror of the sun vines.

    ¡°Is this feeding the tree?¡± Hua Chenglu lifted up the man in black happily before lowering him again. ¡°Can you climb a little higher with the cloud?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°There are trees underneath to soften his fall. I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t fall to his death!¡±

    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s guaranteed to die. If he survives, you can just toss him again!¡±

    Hua Chenglu adjusted the man in black¡¯s position so that he faced the tree. With a yelp, she tossed him towards the great banyan tree as hard as she could. After all, she was also a cultivator. Even though she was only a Qi Practitioner, tossing out something that weighed a few dozen kilograms was still very easy. The man in black hurtled towards the tree.

    Swish! A sun vine as thick as an arm pierced him immediately, wrapping around him a few times and reducing him to a dried corpse in the blink of an eye.

    Hua Chenglu covered her mouth. Never did she expect the vines to be so powerful, and it had only been a relatively thinner sun vine that had responded earlier. The huge sun vines that wrapped around the tree trunk like dragons did not even move. It was as if they could not be bothered with such small prey.

    ¡°That¡¯s a little unideal!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin in thought. Suddenly, he came up with an idea and picked up a prisoner, tossing him out. He threw out the person even slower than Hua Chenglu. The prisoner in the air let out a roar of despair and circulated his true qi desperately, wanting to escape in the opposite direction.

    When Li Qingshan threw him out, he released the seal on him as well.

    Immediately, over a dozen sun vines responded. One of them was as thick as Hua Chenglu¡¯s waist¡ªof course, it was only so thick, but it was still an improvement.

    ¡°I see!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and kicked the cloud, springing all the people into the air. He struck out several times, sending them off in different directions while releasing their seals. They knew they were probably done for, but all of them put up a fervent struggle before impending death, circulating their true qi at full strength.

    Several hundred sun vines began to dance about madly. Li Qingshan was about to charge in when he heard a bellow from behind, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± When the first syllable had been yelled out, the voice was still far away, but it had already pressed to five kilometers away by the last.

    Li Qingshan looked back. The Foundation Establishment cultivators from the marquis¡¯ estate had arrived. Seeing how Li Qingshan was using their subordinates and disciples as live bait to feed the golden vines, they were all furious.

    The dwarf used a movement talisman and shot off towards Li Qingshan as a streak of light. He could tell what Li Qingshan was planning at first glance. He could not allow him to collect the tree sap and recover his spiritual qi.

    As long as he kept him busy for a moment, he could stop him right before the great banyan tree and cut off all of his escape routes. If he tried barging in recklessly, then all the dwarf had to do was interfere with the movement patterns of the sun vines a little, and he would not be emerging again. This was a move he had learnt from the duel last time.

    Li Qingshan never expected them to arrive at such an inconvenient time either. He frowned slightly, grabbing Hua Chenglu and rushed towards the great banyan tree.

    The dwarf lit up with delight and cursed, ¡°Idiot!¡± He was about to interfere with the sun vines a little, only to see a strange sword suddenly appearing in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, being swung at him from afar.

    The sword qi that absorbed half of Li Qingshan¡¯s spiritual qi flowed from his dantian to his arm. Then it headed to the Traitorous Demon sword, becoming even sharper before whistling towards the dwarf.

    ¡°Do you think a move like that is effective against me?¡± He was about to dodge when he felt a terrifying sword intent directly enter his sea of consciousness, making him seize up for a moment. He experienced life-threatening danger. He activated his protective arcane artifact instinctively and brought his dagger before him to block.

 Chapter 640 â€“ Eating the Tree

    Hua Chenglu could hear the sun vines whistling past her ears. She glanced behind at the group of almost twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators in pursuit, and her heart leapt into her throat. Only now did she understand what he meant by she might be in danger if she came with him.

    This was not simply danger. This was basically almost certain doom.

    Although he had erased his aura, over a dozen sun vines still swept over, almost completely sealing off his path forward and only leaving a gap the size of a skylight. The small dwarf could pass through it with ease, but he was in trouble.

    ¡°Hang onto me tightly!¡±

    Hua Chenglu felt her waist tighten, having been grabbed by his large hand. She went from being carried on his side to being carried in his arms. His other hand passed by her perky bottom and grabbed her legs. Before she could even think about it, she clung onto him firmly out of instinct, pressing her face against his chest and becoming wrapped in a strong, masculine smell.

    Li Qingshan took a step back and waves surged from under his feet. The two of them were vertical, with their heads forward and legs back, spinning as they passed through the skylight-sized gap by a hair¡¯s breadth.

    Thump! Hua Chenglu heard a rumble before realising that was the sound of his heartbeat. Compared to her jittery little heart that was beating frantically, his heartbeat was powerful and calm. Even when facing such terrifying danger, it did not become flurried at all.

    Her nervous and terrified feelings calmed down as a result. She did not regret following him at all, because she was confident that no matter what danger she faced, this man would be there to protect her.

    Suddenly, she remembered that when they first ran across one another by chance, he had stood forward in front of her without hesitating at all, facing the undefeatable West Gate Granny. She had forgotten how she felt back then. Thinking about it now, she seemed to have missed something for all these years, which left her a little lost.

    Li Qingshan had faced danger countless times already, so something like this was truly nothing. With the Wave Treading Form and the arcane artifact shoes, he constantly maneuvered about, overcoming each obstacle and arriving next to the great banyan tree in the blink of an eye.

    However, just to be safe, he still used the evil eye on the hilt, observing the ¡°points of weakness¡± in the wooden wall. As the evil eye let out a ring of strange light, he immediately saw something different. He could not help but be mildly surprised. He discovered many dark, circular markings under the bark.

    The bark seemed to be hollow underneath. Were there boring insects in the tree?

    Without any time to consider whether one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Great Banyan Tree King, would suffer from insect problems, he glanced back. Si Qing¡¯s lackeys had already pressed over. When he made his way out again later, if he could not tear through them in a single stroke, then he would be caught in a pincer attack from the sun vines. If he were alone, then so be it, but the problem was he had to take some small baggage, Hua Chenglu, with him.

    He made up his mind. He was going to be in danger anyway, so he might as well go in, take a look, and satisfy his curiosity. He swung the Traitorous Demon sword around and dove head-first into the great banyan tree with Hua Chenglu.

    The wooden wall caved in, forming a circular hole. It extended inwards endlessly, where the surface was extremely neat and smooth.

    A ray of light suddenly illuminated the dark space. The two figures that embraced one another firmly rushed into the darkness with the light.

    Li Qingshan caught his footing and looked around. The bark of the great banyan tree was alarmingly thick, almost reaching ten meters, and it was filled with extremely dense spiritual qi.

    If it were not for the strange ability of the Traitorous Demon sword, he would have never discovered the hidden hole inside no matter how powerful his soul sense was, much less reach the hole in a single stroke. He would not be able to avoid the tragic fate of running into the tree.

    However, he had made it in here at last. Li Qingshan exhaled and discovered Hua Chenglu was still clinging onto him firmly. He could not help but smile. ¡°Hey, you can let go now!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Hua Chenglu let go in a hurry. Her face was bright red. Her heart that had calmed down after so much difficulty began to thump violently again, but not out of fear. She feigned calmness by looking around, and her eyes gradually became accustomed to the darkness, only to find a long cave leading off to who knows where!

    ¡°Are we in the tree?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    The ray of light suddenly began to vanish. Li Qingshan turned around, only to see the tree bark close up at an alarming rate, healing perfectly very soon. Complete darkness set in.

    Hua Chenglu could not help but inch a little closer to Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll give you something nice to eat!¡± He picked up the tree bark that resembled a pillar from a buddha¡¯s hall. It gave off an extremely refreshing smell.

    ¡°The tree?¡±

    Hua Chenglu extended the tip of her tongue hesitantly and licked it gently. Immediately, wood spiritual qi surged into her body. A faint taste filled her mouth, and the hidden injuries from the battle rapidly recovered. She could not help but lick it a few more times.

    ¡°You could just break off a piece. When are you going to lick it until? Here!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but laugh aloud, breaking off a piece and passing it to her. However, her demeanour earlier truly was very enchanting.

    Hua Chenglu also realised her actions earlier were rather inelegant, which made her cheeks burn. She accepted the wooden piece and shoved it into her mouth, biting down hard before exclaiming in pain. She clutched her cheek and stamped her foot. ¡°You¡¯re bullying me! How am I supposed to chew something so tough?¡±

    ¡°Then just suck on it slowly!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. He found the topic of the conversation to be very interesting, going from licking to biting to sucking. He gazed at her pink, glossy lips and wondered who would be fortunate enough in the future.

    Hua Chenglu was no longer a child. She had spent plenty of time in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain too, so how could she not notice the teasing words he said? If another man had spoken to her like that, she would have lost her temper long ago, but she was unable to get angry at him.

    She said in discontent, ¡°Big brother Li, you¡¯re so inappropriate. So much for calling you big brother. When I get back, I¡¯ll tell big sister Qiongzhi and my elder brother!¡± That was what she said, but even if Hua Chengzan and Han Qiongzhi interrogated her, she would never tell them this.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. It¡¯s all my fault. It¡¯s just like what they say, a friend¡¯s sister is off limits!¡±

    Li Qingshan carried the pillar of bark and casually broke off a piece, shoving it in his mouth and chomping away. The bark was very tough, but it was not tougher than his teeth. The grassy scent hid hints of sweetness, which made it feel a little like eating sugar cane. He chewed until it ran out of taste and spat it out before breaking off another piece. The spiritual qi in his dantian suddenly began to recover much faster.

    He took out the Three Absolutes Calligraphy again and condensed another strand of sword Qi in his body, allowing it to freely absorb his spiritual qi and grow stronger. He thought, Just half of my spiritual qi has already made it so impressive. If it takes all of it, then wouldn¡¯t that mean it can even kill Golden Core cultivators?

    Hua Chenglu saw how delighted he was with eating the bark. She shoved another piece into her mouth and muttered ambiguously, ¡°Hmph, as long as you know!¡±

 Chapter 641 â€“ Thereâ€™s Daemon Qi

    By the time the people in pursuit arrived before the great banyan tree, Li Qingshan had already vanished into the tree hole, while the dwarf was frozen midair, maintaining a defensive posture.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡±

    Among the questions, everyone finally noticed his abnormality. His eyes were bulging as his mouth was half open, producing a puzzling sound. His body trembled gently as if he was doing everything he could to endure and hold back something.

    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    The scarred man frowned and patted him on the shoulder gently. The dwarf¡¯s eyes rolled up; he suddenly widened his mouth, letting out a twisted sound like someone had grabbed him by the neck. He who already seemed rather strange became especially frightening.

    However, his frightening state only lasted for a second. There was a bang, not too soft or loud, and the dwarf exploded in the air, turning into a ball of bloody mist.

    Everyone was stunned. Their gazes all gathered on the scarred man, as it seemed like his hand had killed the dwarf. The scarred man also stared at his hand, becoming stunned on the spot.

    The slash that Li Qingshan unleashed did not produce an alarming disturbance, and only the dwarf truly experienced the terrifying sword intent it was hiding. No one expected the dwarf to die to the slash.

    Before they could even return to their senses, countless strands of sword qi immediately pierced through the bloody mist and shot off in all directions, scattering everyone instantly.

    The scarred man flew over thirty meters away before stabilising himself. His iron arms, which could even split open rock, were covered in bloody gashes. Some of them even reached his bones.

    The others were struck by the sword qi too. Although they all possessed protective arcane and spiritual artifacts, it had happened right in their face, and they were stunned, so they were unable to activate them in time. The sword qi easily cut through their protective spiritual qi, leaving behind gashes on them.

    The wounds were not life-threatening, but it was a heavy blow to their morale. They looked at one another, all frightened. Through a clash with Li Qingshan, one of their strongest, the dwarf, had been killed in a single strike. He died mysteriously, and almost everyone was injured in the process.

    The dwarf was a rather eccentric figure, but they all recognised his strength as great. Let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators, he could protect himself to a certain degree even if he faced regular Golden Core cultivators. Despite raising his defences, he was still unable to avoid death.

    ¡°Is he really a Foundation Establishment cultivator? He might be a Golden Core cultivator hiding his strength!¡± Someone questioned in surprise and bewilderment. He could not help but admit this guess was truly quite reasonable, but immediately, he was refuted. ¡°Of course he¡¯s a Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he were a Golden Core cultivator, he would have slaughtered us all without batting an eye. Why¡¯d he still be hiding?¡±

    ¡°Then how is his attack so powerful?¡±

    The person was rendered speechless. Someone else speculated. ¡°The sword he was holding earlier was quite peculiar in design. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s an arcane treasure?¡± ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. How can a Foundation Establishment cultivator power an arcane treasure?¡± ¡°Yeah, even Golden Core cultivators won¡¯t be in possession of something like that!¡±

    The large group of people discussed among themselves, unable to hide the worry on their faces. The mission they originally believed to be extremely easy had suddenly become so troublesome. It was unexpected.

    The scarred man growled. ¡°All of you, shut up! That strike of his seems like nothing special, but it must have come at an extremely great cost. He won¡¯t be able to use it consecutively, or with just him and his sword, he would have slaughtered us all! Why would he still run?¡±

    His guess was right. Li Qingshan¡¯s slash did not possess so much power purely because of the sword qi. Otherwise, even if it had absorbed half of his spiritual qi, all he would achieve in the end would be sending the dwarf flying and leaving him heavily injured. He definitely would not be able to kill him in a single strike.

    In that moment, he had used the ability of the Traitorous Demon sword and found a weak point. All of the sword qi whistled in through there and invaded his body like wildfire, ravaging everything madly. The dwarf mobilised his spiritual qi in an attempt to suppress it, but he encountered the same situation as Li Qingshan. Not only was he unable to suppress the sword qi, but the sword qi even absorbed his spiritual qi and constantly grew stronger.

    As a result, the dwarf seized up in the air, desperately trying to maintain his body that was on the verge of collapse. The contact from the scarred man immediately broke the final bit of balance, and he was unable to suppress the sword qi any longer, so it all burst out of his body.

    The sword qi had only become so powerful after absorbing the spiritual qi of two people. However, after absorbing the dwarf¡¯s spiritual qi, it lost its strange ability to devour spiritual qi and grow stronger. Otherwise, at least another three or four of these cultivators would have died.

    And, after slashing out, not only did Li Qingshan have to build up the sword qi again, but a lot of the demon heart that served as the pupil on the Traitorous Demon sword¡¯s hilt had been depleted. However, the terrifying power from combining the Three Absolutes Calligraphy and the Traitorous Demon sword had already been demonstrated thoroughly, and both of these items had the possibility of growing stronger.

    After hearing the scarred man¡¯s explanation, they were all well-versed in battle after all, so they found it to be extremely reasonable and composed themselves very quickly.

    ¡°Then what do we do now?¡±

    ¡°We wait! No matter where he comes out from, he¡¯ll be under attack from the sun vines first. We¡¯ll stop him from emerging, and he¡¯ll be dead for sure!¡±

    ¡°What if he never comes out?¡± ¡°Yeah, with how disadvantageous the current situation is, I think we¡¯d be better off avoiding him. We still need to collect the medals. We can¡¯t waste all of our time on him!¡±

    ¡°It won¡¯t be long before this battlefield vanishes. He¡¯ll be forcefully transported to a battlefield nearby. We¡¯ll be transported with him, and we¡¯ll be gathered together!¡±

    The scarred man said. Si Qing had set this rule to increase the intensity of the battles.

    Everyone smiled in understanding. They all felt that the rule his highness Si Qing set down was truly clever. If Li Qingshan discovered in the blink of an eye that the great banyan tree protecting him had vanished and was surrounded by them instead, just how would he react?

    By then, before Li Qingshan could even swing his sword, their lethal strikes would have arrived already. It would be enough to kill him a few times over.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s take a look inside. It¡¯s best if you find somewhere safe and hide. I¡¯ll go finish them all off and come back for you!¡±

    Li Qingshan strode off towards the depths of the cave. This was no longer just out of curiosity. Instead, he could sense extremely dense wood spiritual qi in the depths of the cave. The piece of bark he had obtained was already so great. If he dug out a piece of the pith, it might be even more nourishing.

    And, he needed to rest up and recover his spiritual qi. He planned on nurturing the incomplete sword in his dantian with all of his spiritual qi and seeing what would happen.

    ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous, so why would you go out? Can¡¯t we just stay in here?¡± Hua Chenglu caught up to him in a hurry. She also understood that Li Qingshan would be facing a pincer attack once he set foot outside, which would involve extraordinary danger. And, the thought of staying behind in this pitch-black tree hole alone made her very uneasy.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the rules of the competition? Many battlefields will vanish with each passing day. We¡¯ll be directly teleported to a nearby battlefield, and it¡¯s very likely for us to be gathered together. By then, I¡¯ll be fine, but you can¡¯t keep hiding in my arms!¡±

    Li Qingshan said as he walked. Noticing how worry loomed over Hua Chenglu¡¯s beautiful face, he teased her again.

    Hua Chenglu was in no mood to respond to his joke. She wanted to say, ¡°We might not be so unlucky and all end up in the same battlefield.¡± However, as the master of the Dragon Arena, Si Qing clearly would never give up unless Li Qingshan was dead, so perhaps they really might be so unlucky.

    If she had not been with him, he might not necessarily have forcefully made his way through the sun vines and entered this tree hole. It was completely possible for him to directly escape. She stopped and lowered her head. ¡°Sorry, big brother Li. I¡¯m an encumbrance to you.¡±

    She vaguely understood that this was where the chasm between the strong and the weak lay. Even if the strong was not arrogant and the weak was willing to be close with them, they still walked in two different worlds. Once they encountered danger, it would be impossible for them to fight alongside one another. She suddenly felt rather sad.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say something so disheartening. What encumbrance? Even if I carry you in one hand and wield the sword in the other, I can still slaughter them all! Though, I was afraid of scaring you earlier, so I held back with my murderousness a little, letting them live a little longer.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, purposefully putting on an arrogant facade.

    Hua Chenglu smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you!¡± She knew that Li Qingshan was very powerful, but there were almost twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators. Moreover, she had heard Hua Chengzan mention that these cultivators from the Dragon province were all extremely tough.

    However, the sight that Li Qingshan described left her slightly excited for some reason. Weapons would be raining down from all directions as he held her against his chest, wielding his sword freely and quickly among the powerful enemies as she listened to his heartbeat fearlessly and stared at his face. She shook her head and dismissed these thoughts in a hurry.

    What am I thinking about these for? He¡¯s already engaged to big sister Han. And even if he wasn¡¯t engaged, how could I¡­

    Seeing her shake her head, Li Qingshan thought she did not believe him, so he smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve seen it for yourself. Didn¡¯t I already kill that dwarf while holding you?¡±

    ¡°Huh? You killed him?¡±

    Hua Chenglu was astounded. All she saw was Li Qingshan swing his sword and the dwarf assume a defensive posture. She never thought he would die to that strike.

    ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t need to worry. Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan patted her shoulder and made his way into the depths of the cave. He took a few steps before turning around and saying, ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s something I forgot to say.¡±

    Hua Chenglu happened to be surprised by his strength. Seeing how serious he was, as if he had something important to tell her, she dismissed her thoughts in a hurry and asked, ¡°What is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Girl, you¡¯ve developed very nicely!¡±

    ¡°Big brother Li!¡± Hua Chenglu crossed her arms before her chest, completely embarrassed.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s the last time!¡±

    The two of them followed the tree hole that they had no idea what had carved it out and constantly advanced through the mountainous banyan tree. The tree hole did not lead directly towards the pith. Instead, it constantly twisted and turned.

    A rustling sound suddenly appeared in the darkness. It was still very soft in the beginning, but the further they advanced, the louder it became. It was ear-splitting.

    ¡°Big brother Li, what is that sound?¡± Hua Chenglu frowned.

    ¡°We¡¯ll know very soon!¡± Not only had Li Qingshan noticed this sound long ago, but he had also sensed the existence of a cluster of daemon qi. Si Qing¡¯s Dragon Arena actually had daemons!

 Chapter 642 â€“ Burrowing Mites

    ¡°What, you¡¯re not afraid anymore?¡± Li Qingshan asked in surprise.

    ¡°Hehe, aren¡¯t you right next to me?¡± Hua Chenglu let out a toothy grin. Her teeth were pure-white, and her nose wrinkled slightly, still a little childish, tempting Li Qingshan very much to pinch her cheeks.

    Li Qingshan recalled what happened when they met unexpectedly. Back then, she only seemed to be thirteen or fourteen. She had already left home, even using mechanical ships to flatten the Island of Cherishing Flowers. She could be regarded as possessing quite the adventuring spirit. As if he had remembered something, he suddenly smiled.

    ¡°Hey, what are you smiling for?¡± Hua Chenglu became ill at ease under his stare.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about when we first met. In comparison, you were much more serious back then.¡± Li QIngshan smiled and waved his hand. A cloud rose up beneath their feet and lifted them up.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already been like this- Ah!¡±

    With a swish, the cloud took off, leaving behind a long, wispy trail.

    Hua Chenglu let out a cry of surprise. Wind buffeted her face as she shot off into the darkness. She grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand before letting go again in a hurry. Her cries of surprise also turned into soft cheers of joy.

    They did not fly for too long when the space around them suddenly opened up. They arrived in a spacious hole. Daemon qi filled the entire cavern, together with a deafening rustle. Li Qingshan understood what it was now. It was the sound of chewing.

    A huge, white burrowing mite wriggled around as it bit into the banyan tree with large mouthfuls.

    The tremendous daemon qi made Hua Chenglu¡¯s breathing become a little forced. A dim, blue barrier of light wrapped around them, and only then did she ease up. She glanced at Li Qingshan gratefully and said.

    ¡°This tree sure is unlucky. It¡¯s being eaten by insects and being strangled by vines.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. How unlucky, but what can I do?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed as his body tensed up, as that did not come from him, or the strange insect right before him. Instead, it sounded out from everywhere, echoing through this space. The voice was ancient and senile.

    Li Qingshan composed himself very quickly and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Who are you sir? Please show yourself!¡±

    The burrowing mite that had been focusing on eating the wood had been alarmed as well. It suddenly turned around. Actually, there was not much difference between the ends of its body at all. Only the vicious mouthparts distinguished the two ends, constantly opening and closing and flowing with transparent drool.

    A primitive and cold murderousness assaulted Li Qingshan. The burrowing mite violently shrank up. This was the sign that came before an attack.

    A Daemon General, and a carapaced Daemon General that was relatively difficult to deal with. Only when it heard him did it respond, which meant its senses and intelligence were very weak. Although it had undergone the first heavenly tribulation, it probably could not even assume human form, so there was no need for him to take it too seriously.

    The burrowing mite¡¯s shrunken body violently stretched out, and it sprayed a thick, green liquid from its mouthparts.

    A wall of water rose up out of thin air, blocking the green liquid like a dam, but the green liquid ate a huge hole through it in the blink of an eye. However, having been impeded, the green liquid ran out of power and landed on the ground, creating a swathe of acidic, white smoke.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°No wonder it can eat such tough wood!¡±

    Seeing how the acid was useless, the burrowing mite directly lunged over, moving its countless legs together and hurtling over like a train.

    Hua Chenglu felt like the huge insect had already arrived before her after blinking. She was unable to respond in time at all. She felt her waist tighten, flying over the colossal burrowing mite before landing safely on the ground.

    Li Qingshan rested the Traitorous Demon sword on his shoulder and glanced backwards. Carapaced Daemon Generals truly possessed very powerful bodies. From such a short range, probably most Foundation Establishment cultivators would not be able to react to a single charge.

    The burrowing mite missed and came to a screeching halt. A thin mark appeared down the centre of its colossal body, growing wider and wider from head to toe.

    Against an attack riddled with openings like this, Li Qingshan did not have to use the evil eye at all. He only swung his sword casually and cut the mite in half.

    However, the burrowing mite¡¯s daemon qi did not vanish. It did not even weaken by much, nor did any fluid flow out from the cut through its body. Instead, it constantly grew until it healed completely, turning into two smaller burrowing mites that turned around and charged over again.

    ¡°What a tenacious life force!¡± Hua Chenglu said in surprise.

    ¡°Interesting. This must be its second innate ability!¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and smiled at Hua Chenglu in his arms. ¡°Didn¡¯t you miss it earlier? You can take a proper look this time! I¡¯d like to see how many times I can cut it apart.¡±

    Before Hua Chenglu could even reply, her body moved with his, and she saw a flurry before her eyes. All she saw was the sword flickering about, leaving behind sharp traces in her vision that did not disperse even after a long time.

    The huge burrowing mites had been constantly cut in half, split into two, into four, and then into eight. They swarmed over as they clicked their mouthparts. In the blink of an eye, who knew how many burrowing mites filled their surroundings, becoming a sea of insects. Every single one was the size of a wild boar, constantly wriggling around as they continued to swarm over tirelessly.

    After refining the new Three Absolutes Calligraphy, Li Qingshan gained a new understanding over the way of the sword it contained. Perhaps because of his constant cultivation, his ability to comprehend had become much better than the past. These burrowing mites were perfect for him to practise his swordsmanship, which he was prepared to use when slaughtering Si Qing¡¯s lackeys once he left here.

    Every single stroke he unleashed hid countless different forms, perhaps powerful and heavy or perhaps light and graceful. However, they all merged as one, hidden away in the stroke. These burrowing mites that did not know to dodge were the perfect targets.

    As he held Hua Chenglu, he advanced and retreated in the swarming sea of insects like he was on a leisure stroll. He was at great ease, constantly splitting open the sea of insects. At this moment, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and saw a hedgehog-sized mite rapidly fleeing towards the cave.

    These insects actually also know to run. Looks like survival is an instinct that all creatures possess!

    Li Qingshan surged with azure light, violently charging through the sea of insects and grabbing the burrowing mite. He closed his hand around it violently, but he failed to crush it. Instead, it scattered as even more mites that were even smaller.

    The countless burrowing mites behind him seemed to be alarmed at the same time, all lunging over. Bang! Bang! Bang! They all exploded as balls of acid in the air.

    Li Qingshan let go of Hua Chenglu and the Traitorous Demon sword. Without even looking back, he pushed his left hand forwards while capturing a table-tennis-ball-sized mite in his right hand. He crushed it gently, and it revealed a milky-white daemon core. It constantly trembled around, wanting to escape.

    Li Qingshan used the power of the spirit turtle and immediately suppressed it before tossing it into his hundred treasures pouch. The thousands of burrowing mites scattered immediately. The ancient voice rang out once again.

    ¡°Oh my, don¡¯t let them escape, or they¡¯ll keep chewing away!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought of something. With a wave of his hand, a stream of water flew out, turning into thousands of ribbons that pinned down all of the burrowing mites on the spot.

    ¡°Fellow, are you¡­ the Great Banyan Tree King?!¡±

 Chapter 643 â€“ By Not Contending

    However, he realised that the voice still originated from everywhere. It was not purposefully trying to hide its location. And, according to what it said, there was only a single answer.

    The speaker was the great banyan tree, as well as the greatest Daemon King of the Mist province, the Great Banyan Tree King.

    He could not help but feel some respect. In the past, when he investigated the Golden Cicada Spirit King, he had also seen some rough information regarding the Seventy-two Daemon Kings. The Great Banyan Tree King was the one with the longest lifespan. He was renowned for his longevity and wisdom.

    Normally, the stronger a Daemon King was, the more the other races would fear him. However, the Great Banyan Tree King was revered by all races throughout the entirety of the Mist province. Daemons obviously went without saying, but the rarest part of it all was whether it were the humans who viewed themselves as the legitimate race or the otherfolk that came in all shapes and sizes, they all revered him like their own ancestor. Some tribes even worshipped him as a god.

    According to the historical records, when the founding emperor swept through the nine provinces, he had once visited the Mist province and sought guidance from the Great Banyan Tree King over how to govern the world, asking him about the way of administration used by ancient sages and lords of virtue.

    A figure like him was no longer simply ¡°powerful¡±. Li Qingshan dared not brush him aside either, but he never expected the voice to say, ¡°I am indeed a banyan tree, but I am no Great Banyan Tree King.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°But in my knowledge, this banyan tree comes from the Great Banyan Tree King.¡±

    ¡°If you were to pluck a hair from yourself, could I call that hair you?¡±

    When Hua Chenglu heard Li Qingshan mention the Great Banyan Tree King, she had already become speechless from surprise. To a Qi Practitioner, the Great Banyan Tree King of the Ten Daemon Kings was a figure that was who knew how realms away. The difference that existed between them could no longer be described as a chasm. Instead, it was truly an abyss.

    She also noticed that Li Qingshan had already wrapped his arm around her waist before she knew it, pulling her closer. However, he gripped the Traitorous Demon sword firmly in his other hand as his eyes shone with interest. No matter who he was facing, he could not drop his guard, nor would he cover in fear. Even when he faced the legendary Great Banyan Tree King, he would still refer to him calmly as ¡°fellow¡±.

    Despite how big this tree is, it¡¯s actually only a hair to the Great Banyan Tree King. I¡¯d really like to see for myself just what his main trunk in the Mist province is like.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and smiled. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on how you put it. There are a myriad of horses in the world, with white horses only making up for a small number of them. Does that mean white horses aren¡¯t horses? It might just be a hair, but it still contains all the information about me, so how can I say it¡¯s not me?¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±

    The ancient voice let out an extravagant laugh. The entire banyan tree shook gently as the branches and leaves swayed together. The people waiting for them outside looked at one another, clueless as to what was happening inside.

    Hua Chenglu could sense that the entire space was shaking, subconsciously pressing a little closer to Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan cast a comforting gaze at her and said with his soul sense, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. A hair still isn¡¯t enough to deal with me!¡±

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s lips curled slightly. Just earlier he had said with assurance that a hair was the whole thing.

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. White horses are horses. I am the Great Banyan Tree King!¡± The laughter subsided, and the Great Banyan Tree King admitted to it sombrely.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°May I ask what you require, fellow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m older than you by ten thousand years, so surely I deserve to be called senior.¡±

    ¡°Whatever you like, senior.¡± Li Qingshan could not be bothered with bickering over these empty forms of courtesy, but he thought inside, Older than me by ten thousand years? If I were to cultivate at the same speed as you, I¡¯d be done for.

    ¡°But, I still prefer fellow.¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°Old people sure are difficult to handle.¡±

    Hua Chenglu shot a glance at Li Qingshan in a hurry. That was the Great Banyan Tree King for heaven¡¯s sake. Even Si Qing would treat him with great respect. If he angered him, then that would be terrible.

    ¡°Old person? Hehe, young fellow, this old person wants you to help him out,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Recently, the insects population in me has gotten a little out of control, so please clear them for me! Also, the vines around me have gotten a little too tight, so please find a way to loosen them a little. It would be even better if I could get some rain.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unable to understand what was going on. ¡°With your ability, can¡¯t you deal with a few measly insects and vines yourself? Why would you need the help of someone else?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a tree!¡±

    What kind of answer was that? Li Qingshan corrected him. ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King.¡±

    ¡°If you drop the ¡®king¡¯, I¡¯m actually just a great banyan tree. Have you ever seen a banyan tree catch insects by itself?¡±

    Only with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s explanation did Li Qingshan understand that originally in the Mist province, a complete ecosystem revolved around the great banyan tree. If there were insects, then there were birds to eat the insects. Sun vines were vicious, but there were also creatures that could keep them at bay.

    However, after Si Qing moved it into the Dragon Arena, the birds and beasts had obviously been either expelled or killed, and this ecological chain had been broken.

    ¡°Even if that makes sense, there¡¯s a saying where plucking a single hair can affect the entire body. Surely you can¡¯t just let someone dig you up, roots and all, while sitting on the side indifferently! If I hadn¡¯t come, wouldn¡¯t the insects have devoured you and the vines strangled you to death?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said with deep meaning, ¡°If I were to fly into a rage over a single plucked hair, I wouldn¡¯t be able to grow until today. Moreover, travelling around can always make you more knowledgeable. If you hadn¡¯t come, I could just ask others for assistance. That kid Si Qing won¡¯t watch me wither to death either. The worst-case scenario is losing a hair, but if I can¡¯t even bear to part with a single hair, then I¡¯ll end up parting with my entire body.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He muttered to himself, ¡°By not contending, not even the world can contend with him.¡±

    He vaguely understood that this was his way of survival. Although he already possessed the unbelievable power of kings, he still followed the principles of nature, living the way a tree would.

    Even if people stripped his bark, even if the vines drained his tree sap, even if burrowing mites ate his body, he would not abuse his power. Instead, he would do his best and maintain the balance of nature, providing a home to creatures of all races. If any enemies were to attack him, these vines and insects would all fight for him.

    This was different from yet also similar to the wisdom of the spirit turtle. He seemed vulnerable, refusing to fight back even when damaged, but this instead maintained his most optimal way of survival. Li Qingshan had only heard of people hating wolves and tigers, but never had he heard of anyone hating trees.

    ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s quite profound,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    Li Qingshan released Hua Chenglu and folded his hands. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m willing to help you out, fellow!¡±

    He was already convinced that the Great Banyan Tree King had no ill intentions. He could even put up with the insects that devoured its body all this time, refusing to use his powers to purge them, so what ill intentions could he have towards them?

    He also found the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wisdom and knowledge very admirable. This was just like how people would always rise up and revolt, fighting with their lives on the line when facing an oppressive thug who wielded a dangerous weapon. On the other hand, if they faced a gentle, wise old man with a cane, they would bend over and ask for guidance, possessing the absolute power to win people over.

    As for Li Qingshan, the thing he paid the most attention to was a clear account of his debts of kindness and grievances. Since he had eaten his bark and drunken his tree sap, he obviously should pay him back. He could also obtain the burrowing mites¡¯ daemon cores, so it could be described as guaranteed benefit. Before he knew it, he had naturally become a part of this ecosystem.

    If the Daemon King of the Green province was this Great Banyan Tree King and not the Dragon King of Ink Sea, he definitely would have gotten along with him much better.

 Chapter 644 â€“ Tempted by a Gif

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled. ¡°If you can do what I asked, I have a small gift for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. A small gift from the Great Banyan Tree King probably was not something useless. Although he knew it was not particularly likely, it would be nice if he could receive another phoenix feather.

    ¡°Then let me thank you ahead of time. Though, how am I supposed to find the insects hiding in the bark?¡±

    The banyan tree¡¯s bark was even tougher than rock, and it was filled with dense spiritual qi, making it difficult for soul sense to penetrate.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯ll lead the way for you.¡±

    The wall to Li Qingshan¡¯s right suddenly twisted into a door opening, leading towards the burrowing mites.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a banyan tree do that!¡± Li Qingshan joked, basically replying to what the Great Banyan Tree King had said, Have you ever seen a banyan tree catch insects by itself?

    ¡°I¡¯m the Great Banyan Tree King!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled softly. It was impossible to live and thrive without principles, but it would be no different if they stuck to the principles rigidly without any flexibility. All was impermanent. All was for the sake of better survival.

    ¡°Can you make this hole a little bigger?¡± Li Qingshan saw the hole, except it was less than a meter wide. If he had been a regular person incapable of flight, he would probably be forced to crawl on his knees.

    ¡°Kid, don¡¯t be so picky!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said. Clearly, making holes in his own body was not enjoyable.

    All Li Qingshan could say to Hua Chenglu was, ¡°Chenglu, just stay here and wait for me! I¡¯ll come back for you once I deal with the insects, but I might also go straight outside. I¡¯ll have senior tree king tell you when the time comes.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Li¡­ I think I can squeeze in.¡± Hua Chenglu pouted. She did not want to be left behind here alone.

    ¡°Fine then! You better not say your big brother Li is taking advantage of you then.¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms with a smile. With a red face, all Hua Chenglu could do was deliver herself into his arms, wrapping her hands around his waist. She muttered to herself in a self-comforting manner. ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time anyway.¡±

    A faint fragrance filled Li Qingshan¡¯s nose, as if it had combined the fragrance of a thousand flowers. He had once caught this smell on Hua Chengzan, so it must have been connected to their cultivation method.

    He was unable to pay close attention during the battle earlier, but right now, her waist felt so thin and gentle that he would wrap his hand around it with ease, while her chest was full and firm. She was indeed a flower in bloom, ready to be plucked. He lowered his head and smiled. ¡°It really is nice.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going!¡± Hua Chenglu glowed red, afraid to raise her head and look at him. All she could do was urge him to go.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Or in other words, they seemed disgusting, but they were filled with protein, providing many nutrients. He could still feed them to Milliped if nothing worked out.

    He leapt into the long passageway. Azure ebbs of water surged in the surroundings. Compared to flying, it was better described as sliding through the tunnel. The path was not a straight line. Sometimes, they would suddenly enter a hole an insect burrowed, swerving around and changing directions.

    Hua Chenglu did not feel anything during the battle earlier, but now that they focused on travelling, there was nothing that could distract her. A masculine smell constantly invaded her nose, while his hands on her waist and back gradually seemed to become scorching, passing through her thin clothes with a burning sensation.

    She could not help but try to pull a little further away from him, but during a sharp turn, she could not control herself and pressed against him firmly again. It was as if he was constantly pressing and touching her breasts, except it was not with his hands. Her face became utterly flushed.

    In the blink of an eye, they arrived in another cavern.

    A white burrowing mite even slightly larger than the one before currently munched away.

    Li Qingshan lifted up the Traitorous Demon sword. The demon heart in the hilt produced a ring of light, and he slashed out with a flash. A huge gash appeared in the burrowing mite, and before it could even respond, Li Qingshan had already rushed into the wound with the flash of his sword, scooping out his hand before leaping out again. He held another daemon core in his hand, directly suppressing it with the powers of the spirit turtle.

    Having lost its daemon core, the burrowing mite directly went from a Daemon General to a regular daemonic beast. Its body shrank rapidly, reaching the size of a grown man in the end. Right when it was about to flee, a wave of blue light surged and enveloped the burrowing mite, crackling as it turned into ice and giving off white, cold mist.

    The Ice Seal technique!

    Li Qingshan did not practise frigid spiritual qi like the Ice Couple palace, but it was still a piece of cake for him to deal with a daemonic beast with this technique. He wanted to shove it into his hundred treasures pouch, but he failed.

    As it turned out, the burrowing mite had been frozen, but it was not dead. As a result, Li Qingshan took out a delicately-crafted bug pouch and placed it in there. He did not know how to refine gu and insects, but a live insect that had once cultivated to Daemon General should have been worth quite a lot! He could always feed it to Milliped if nothing worked out.

    Li Qingshan said loudy, ¡°Next one!¡±

    ¡°Your sword is very interesting.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King never expected him to kill a burrowing mite so easily. He also noticed the peculiarity with the Traitorous Demon sword.

    This is a demonic sword, but only demonfolk should be able to use demonic swords. Is he a demonfolk in hiding? And, the power he uses to instantly suppress the daemon core is even more out of the ordinary.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If I don¡¯t have the tools, why¡¯d I accept the job?¡±

    If he were a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator, just finding a way to kill these burrowing mites would be a problem. Even if they defeated them after much difficulty, it would still be very difficult to kill them if countless burrowing mites swarmed over together. With the Traitorous Demon sword in hand, Li Qingshan could find the daemon core in a single glance, and then he could suppress it with the spirit turtle¡¯s power, which made it seem extremely easy.

    However, the Great Banyan Tree King understood extremely well that as the fundamental source of power for daemons, daemon cores were not some weak point. As a matter of fact, they could be described as a strong point. When it mattered, they could even be wielded like how humans controlled artifacts to attack the enemy. They could only be directly suppressed if the enemy were an entire cultivation realm higher, and it still would not be suppressed so easily.

    It¡¯s no wonder I vaguely sensed a slight change in the heavenly secrets when Si Qing dug me up from the Mist province in the past. Sure enough, I¡¯ve met someone interesting. This child is anyone but ordinary. It¡¯s fate for me to meet him.

    The Great Banyan Tree King thought as he opened up another path.

    ¡°Are you alright? Do you want to stay here and rest up?¡±

    Li Qingshan sensed that Hua Chenglu¡¯s breathing had become rather uneven, her heart was beating much faster, and even her body temperature had risen by a few degrees. It was not like he was an innocent young man who had no experience with women. He could obviously guess that perhaps it had something to do with him, which made him smile slightly.

    Her clothes were woven from precious spiritual silk. It seemed stiff, but it was actually extremely light. By embracing each other so closely, he could basically imagine an outline of her figure.

    Hua Chenglu bit her lip and shook her head gently. She did not want to stay here alone, and if she did separate from him right now, she would basically be admitting she was experiencing this strange feeling.

    Li Qingshan smiled at her futile attempt to cover up how she felt and set off again. He could not help but admit that holding her in his arms truly was a nice feeling. He teased her again in a very irritating way. ¡°You better not blame me if I flatten them!¡±

    It made Hua Chenglu, who was already embarrassed out of her mind, a little crazy. Didn¡¯t you say a friend¡¯s sister is off limits? All men are damn sex fiends! None of them are up to any good! Even if you flatten them, it¡¯s none of your business!

    She stared at Li Qingshan while gritting her teeth, like a cat with its hair standing on end, which made Li Qingshan laugh aloud. As he killed along the way, he was truly invincible, taking down the insects wherever he passed by.

    There were only seven that had reached Daemon General, as well as a few hundred regular daemons. There were even more daemonic beasts that were weaker, basically in the thousands.

    Li Qingshan did not stop at all, but it still took him seventeen or eighteen hours before he froze all the burrowing mites and stuffed them into his bug pouch. He checked the time, and the twenty-four hours were almost up, or a whole day in other words. The battlefield would vanish very soon.

    He had benefited quite a lot with this trip, and he had fulfilled his original objective. Although he did not stop for a single moment, he primarily used up his mental energy and the energy in the Traitorous Demon sword¡¯s demon heart. His spiritual qi had been slowly recovering the entire time, and his dantian was already full now.

    The sword qi of the incomplete sword had become even stronger, having absorbed a total of seventy percent of his spiritual qi. However, after passing fifty percent, its absorption rate slowed down the more it absorbed. It would probably take him more than a few days to nurture the sword qi with all the spiritual qi he had.

    And, he had only achieved this in the great banyan tree, where spiritual qi was denser than any place of cultivation. It was no wonder that there were a total of seven burrowing mites that managed to reach Daemon General despite being carapaced daemons that cultivated slowly. Seventy percent was enough to kill people anyway, so there was no need for him to seek perfection.

    Li Qingshan stopped and folded his hands.¡±Fellow, it¡¯s about time. I¡¯m going to be leaving soon!¡±

    Then, Li Qingshan said to Hua Chenglu in his arms, ¡°Chenglu, just stay here for a while. I¡¯ll go lead those people to another battlefield! They¡¯ve guarded this place for such a long time, so there probably aren¡¯t any other cultivators left in this battlefield. When you get transported, you¡¯ll probably be alone, so there shouldn¡¯t be much danger. However, you still have to be prepared. Don¡¯t hold back with your talismans.¡±

    ¡°Ah- alright!¡±

    Hua Chenglu only returned to her senses after being momentarily lost, answering him but still clinging firmly to his waist. She had spent almost an entire day in this posture, hanging off him like a koala and accompanying him in his battles throughout the banyan tree.

    She did not find it boring at all. As a matter of fact, she did not even notice the passage of time. Between the battles, Li Qingshan would tease her from time to time, while she gradually became accustomed to her position, no longer feeling so nervous and bashful anymore. She recovered some of her usual cleverness and fought back without backing down, leaving Li Qingshan stumped many times.

    However, there was one time when she was a little vicious, and Li Qingshan casually smacked her across her perky bottom. This was an unconscious habit he had developed during the time he spent with Han Qiongzhi, Lolth, Ye Liubo, and his other women. Afterwards, he felt like he had gone a little too far. They embraced each other firmly only because of the circumstances, while the small talk and teasing was all joking around. However, he was definitely acting indecently with that smack.

    He apologised in a hurry. Hua Chenglu clutched her bottom as if a bolt had struck her out of the blue. Then she completely flew into a rage. She threw a fuss about how she wanted to get off him immediately. Li Qingshan was in the wrong, but how could he let go of her at a time like this? His repeated apologies were useless, so he simply stopped talking. It was not like he could take the smack back.

    It was also at this moment that his clone arrived in the commandery city. As he gazed at the battle in the sky, Li Qingshan was shocked inside. Si Qing was taking on so many Golden Core cultivators alone without losing the upper hand. He truly deserved his title of the eleventh prince. As a result, he devoted all of his attention to his clone, studying and observing the techniques and abilities his great enemy used attentively.

    Hua Chenglu also fumed silently, no longer hugging him. She only allowed him to hold her like a large child. This lasted for over an hour before she finally wrapped her arms around him again, pressing her face against his chest.

    By now, the dust from the great battle finally settled. Li Qingshan returned to his main body and discovered that her anger had dissipated. Right when he was about to say something to relieve the atmosphere, Hua Chenglu let out a gentle sigh and said first.

    ¡°Big brother Li, I know you didn¡¯t do it on purpose. You¡¯ve helped me and saved me again and again, so I shouldn¡¯t be so stubborn. But you already have big sister Han, yet you still provoke me like this. I can¡¯t help but get angry. My cultivation might be very low, but I¡¯m not a woman that anyone can flirt around with.¡±

    If I weren¡¯t engaged to Qiongzhi already, would she be a little less angry? Heh, I better stop getting ahead of myself! Li Qingshan thought. He smiled. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not angry anymore. As they say, elder brothers are like fathers. You can treat me as teaching you a lesson in your father¡¯s place.¡±

    ¡°Even my father has never hit me, and you were clearly in the wrong, so what gives you the right to teach me a lesson!?¡± Hua Chenglu fumed. You were clearly in the wrong. I¡¯ve gone so far to forgive you, yet you still act like you have reason on your side?

    ¡°At worst, you can just hit me back. Women sure are petty.¡±

    ¡°Bah! Who wants to hit you back? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m your mother!¡± Hua Chenglu was unable to hold back her smile. Sigh, why do I cultivate so slowly? Back then, he was clearly around the same as me, and I¡¯m much younger than him too!

    This clever, beautiful, and endowed daughter of an aristocratic family had always been someone that everyone admired, yet when she spent time with Li Qingshan, she felt a little inferior inside. The cultivation community was one that revered the strong. Cultivation was the most important standard of evaluation, or even the only standard of evaluation most of the time.

    In order to prompt their disciples and descendants to work hard on cultivation, clans and sects would even establish this notion firmly within their minds. Starting with Qi Practitioners, they had to call those a layer higher senior brother or sister, bowing when they saw them, let alone a talented, peak Foundation Establishment genius like Li Qingshan. He was someone who was enveloped in an invisible halo. Hua Chenglu was deeply affected by this mentality, which also made her even more afraid to take Li Qingshan lightly.

    After going through this incident, Li Qingshan no longer dared to talk and act so recklessly anymore. He would definitely think before he spoke. He had always been someone who did whatever he wanted. If there were flowers to be plucked, then have them plucked. If the Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu sisters truly wanted to do it with him, he probably would not turn them down.

    However, he would not go out of his way and intentionally chase after women either. Hua Chenglu was an absolute beauty, one that could interest all men, but in terms of enchantment and appeal, she was nowhere close to great sect master Qiu. Even with Qiu Haitang, he did not look back and long for her after helping her settle down, all because his greatest pursuit was not about love.

    There had only ever been one woman who gave him an urge like that, but she had dumped a bucket of cold water over him, making him completely give up on that thought.

    Hua Chenglu noticed the difference in his tone and was slightly touched. As it seems, he really does care about my feelings.

    Li Qingshan casually asked her about some things regarding the Hawkwolf Guard and Hua Chengzan. Hua Chenglu answered them one by one before asking him a few things too. However, their lives were far too distant from each other, and their thought processes were worlds apart, so there was not much they could talk about.

    Li Qingshan was not an eloquent person who knew how to please women, only somewhat capable of making some snide remarks and joking around indecently. As a result, they could not go too deeply into each topic, and the atmosphere was not as lively as before.

    He could not be bothered with finding things to talk about either, devoting a little more attention to his clone so that he could observe what was happening outside. He wanted to see whether he had an opportunity to steal the Dragon Arena and drive A¡¯qing mad with anger. Just the thought of Si Qing¡¯s expression after losing the Dragon Arena left him utterly delighted.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan had suddenly fallen silent and sunken into his thoughts, sniggering to himself, Hua Chenglu asked, ¡°Big brother Li, what are you laughing about?¡±

    ¡°Ah, nothing!¡± Li Qingshan was caught off-guard. Of course, he could not say he was looking for a way to piss off his highness Si Qing.

    Hua Chenglu felt like their relationship seemed to have become much more distant, which made her a little sad again.

    ¡°You¡¯re brushing me aside!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°How could I? I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll make you mad if I talk.¡±

    Hua Chenglu said, ¡°Am I really that irritable?¡±

    ¡°Then you better guarantee you won¡¯t get mad again if I talk!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that!¡±

    ¡°Then how can I speak carelessly and offend great young miss Hua?¡±

    ¡°Stop trying to patronize me! As long as you don¡¯t grope around, I¡¯m not that petty of a person.¡±

    Li Qingshan sniggered. ¡°It was quite a nice sensation. I wonder who will be fortunate enough in the future.¡±

    As it turned out, he was recalling the feeling of her bottom earlier when he sank into his thoughts, while his laughter was a naked laugh of perversion. Hua Chenglu ground her teeth. ¡°Anyone but you!¡± Her grumbling voice and Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter echoed through the deep, dark caves.

    By the time Hua Chenglu returned to her senses, the journey had already come to an end. She was unable to describe whether it was long or short, just that she had never spent such a long time together with a man before in her life, let alone with such close contact. They were so close that they seemed to become joined. Separating now actually made her feel lost.

    As she listened to him, all she could think about was whether he would be in any danger alone, and she could not help but think of the worst-case scenario. If he accidentally slipped up, what if he were killed? Afterwards, she began to panic over her own imagination, so she asked loudly.

    ¡°Senior tree king, my big brother Li has helped you clear so many insects. Now that he¡¯s in danger, how can you just turn a blind eye to it?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ancient voice boomed out, ¡°Don¡¯t fret. Li Qingshan, you agreed to do three things for me. You¡¯ve only done one right now, and you plan on leaving already?¡±

    Li QIngshan said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I can¡¯t stand by my word. It¡¯s just that time isn¡¯t permitting. Even if I don¡¯t leave right now, I¡¯ll be forcefully transported to another battlefield a little later, and I¡¯ll be in trouble by then.¡±

    ¡°That kid Si Qing might be the owner of the Dragon Arena, but he doesn¡¯t have power over everything in this Dragon Arena. If you want to stay behind, you can obviously stay behind.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Although he was only ¡°a hair¡±, a king was still a king. As a result, he began laughing. ¡°Really? Why do I feel like Si Qing has opened his door to trouble by moving you in here, senior? Though, I really do want to kill them all!¡±

    ¡°I might as well tell you a little. Si Qing has specially asked me for the gift I¡¯m going to give you, but I never agreed to it!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m tempted.¡± Li Qingshan understood that some precious things could not be exchanged for no matter how many spiritual stones were offered. ¡°Chenglu, what do you think?¡±

    Hua Chenglu nodded firmly. The journey had yet to end¡­

 Chapter 645 â€“ Yielding

    The black dragon suddenly opened its mouth, revealing its rows of dagger-like teeth. It spat out a black smoke that enveloped a Golden Core cultivator. The cultivator was originally protected by his clothes, so he was not too concerned, but his clothes rapidly turned black, losing their powers. He retreated in a hurry out of fright, flying over five kilometers away instantly.

    The cultivators gradually became shocked, How is he so powerful?

    He practises the imperial clan¡¯s Black Dragon Emperor classic. It¡¯s more powerful than any of our cultivation methods.

    Emperor level cultivation methods truly are extraordinary.

    Sure enough, Si Qing was prepared when he challenged us. He¡¯s clearly using us to assert his dominance. We¡¯ve been fooled.

    The cultivators all considered retreating. If it were not for the fact that their disciples and descendants were still trapped in the Dragon Arena by Si Qing, they probably would have fled already.

    ¡°Prince Si Qing, do you truly plan on falling out with the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery? You can¡¯t defeat us today, and we can¡¯t defeat you either. Why don¡¯t we just settle this peacefully and stop here!¡±

    The cultivators could see that Si Qing was impressive, so they all stopped underestimating him, becoming deeply worried instead. Gathered here today, perhaps they did not fear Si Qing, but once they separated, they would be in trouble if Si Qing suddenly wanted to settle their debt afterwards. And, there were still the unfathomable Jia Zhen and E Dan who had yet to fight.

    There was nothing they could do given the current circumstances. So what if they were Golden Core cultivators? If they met even stronger existences, they would still be forced to lower their heads and yield.

    Although the battle continued, the battle intent and killing intent provided to the Dragon Arena diminished drastically. Si Qing frowned. This battle had been completely dissatisfying. He coiled up and said viciously, ¡°You really are a bunch of trash. Are you thinking of running now? Do you really think I can¡¯t kill you?¡±

    If it weren¡¯t for the sake of collecting battle intent and the fact that I don¡¯t want to reveal my trump card so early on, I would have crushed the trash you are a long time ago.

    Golden Core cultivators were not nobodies. Just the death of any single one of them would be major news, and the Great Xia empire would be forced to make a response.

    Under these circumstances, it was easy for Si Qing to maneuver about skillfully and remain invincible, but ripping apart the limbs of these Golden Core cultivators and smashing them all like what Northmoon had done to the Daemon Commanders was very difficult to achieve.

    He thought, The strong should be able to do whatever they want, yet they¡¯re bound by these rules and laws, allowing these weak trash to make a constant ruckus. If I ascend to the throne one day, I¡¯ll definitely turn the world back to normal.

    The cultivators all looked at one another. None of them answered Si Qing. Whether it was calling them trash or saying he could kill them, he could ramble by himself!

    Clap! Clap! Clap!

    Gu Yanying clapped her hands three times and smiled. ¡°A¡¯qing, you should be lenient where you can. You can watch your mouth a little too. Everyone, since you¡¯ve all witnessed each other¡¯s abilities, then please hear me out. It¡¯s best to bury the hatchet!¡±

    Si Qing found the battle to be rather dissatisfying, but he still managed to achieve his original objective, which was making all the sect cultivators succumb to him and collect enough battle intent and killing intent. If he kept fighting, it would bring no benefit, so he went with what Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Since Yanying has already spoken up, I¡¯ll leave this matter be today. I just wanted them all to understand that the Ruyi commandery still belongs to Great Xia and that they aren¡¯t the ones in charge of the cultivation community!¡± Si Qing reverted back to human form and went off in a huff.

    No matter how discontent the Golden Core cultivators were, all they could do was make use of the current situation to get out of the battle. They all flew back to the Soaring Cloud terrace. Their faces were all worried. Originally, they thought it was finally their turn to come into power in the Ruyi commandery ever since the hundred schools suffered a heavy blow from the battle of Burial Mound mountain. Never did they think that a few people who were even more vicious would take their place, which instead made the situation worse than in the past.

    Li Qingshan hid his mirror clone in a dark place and thought, What a pity. These sect cultivators sure are cowardly. He was only too anxious to see the Golden Core cultivators and Si Qing fight until they were both heavily injured, which would allow him to swoop in and steal the Dragon Arena. However, he also understood that even if Gu Yanying had not stepped in to mediate, this battle would not have continued.

    Suddenly, he felt Gu Yanying¡¯s gaze drift over gently. Although she had only glanced past him, Li Qingshan knew she had discovered him. This bird woman¡¯s eyes sure are potent!

    Gu Yanying glanced at the cluster of darkness hidden within an alleyway in the commandery city again. It had already vanished. From beginning to end, only she had noticed the existence of the darkness, and only she had managed to see that the darkness had not left. Instead, it entered the Dragon Arena through the huge shadow it had cast under the sun.

    She smiled. Things were becoming more and more interesting.

    The Dragon Arena rapidly shrank and arrived before Si Qing again. He sent his soul sense inside, checking on Li Qingshan¡¯s whereabouts first. He looked through it, but he actually failed to sense Li Qingshan, which surprised him. Don¡¯t tell me he escaped while I was distracted! That¡¯s impossible!

    He immediately recalled there was only one place where he was unable to sense anything in the Dragon arena. He focused his attention on the rainforest battlefield where the Great Banyan Tree King resided, and sure enough, he saw the scarred man and the others surrounding the banyan tree.

    Li Qingshan, do you think there¡¯s nothing I can do to you just by hiding in the tree? Si Qing sneered inside. However, he would not be breaking the rules he set in the beginning. He would patiently wait for the twenty-four hours to pass.

    Suddenly, he noticed that two people were missing. One was Zhu Lie, while the other was the dwarf.

    Si Qing found Zhu Lie¡¯s whereabouts very soon. He was currently fighting against a woman in white in the lake battlefield. The woman¡¯s cultivation was not exactly high, but her control over water was masterful. She was even more nimble in water than fish. Although Zhu Lie was powerful, he was unable to do anything to her for the moment, but as it seemed, killing her was merely a matter of time.

    How dare this barbarian defy my orders and not hunt down Li Qingshan. Once the competition ends, I¡¯ll teach him a good lesson again.

    However, no matter how Si Long looked around, he was unable to find the dwarf. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s entered the great banyan tree with Li Qingshan? Or is he dead already?

    Although he could immediately get an answer by contacting his subordinates, he could not be bothered with something like that. In his eyes, Li Qingshan was already a dead man. As for the dwarf, if he were dead, then he was dead. He was a cowardly piece of trash anyway.

    Then he checked the situation in the other battlefields and smiled in satisfaction. Just like he had originally planned, the fighting and killing gradually intensified.

    The cultivators, in particular the Qi Practitioners, were currently under the influence of the Dragon Arena. Their attacks were becoming vicious, but this was merely the beginning. He was slightly excited. After saving up and being patient for so long, he would be succeeding very soon.

    Finally, he waited until the twenty-four hours had passed. He immediately controlled the Dragon Arena to move everyone in the rainforest battlefield to a nearby battlefield, but his smile soon stiffened, and his eyes narrowed. What¡¯s going on!?

 Chapter 646 â€“ Imbuement of Wisdom, Three Days of Foundation Establishment One

    The scarred man¡¯s group had made their preparations. They first unleashed a large formation and enveloped everyone inside. Their arcane artifacts all shone with light from powerful techniques that were charged up and ready to go. They were only waiting for Li Qingshan to appear so that they could deal a lethal blow.

    The landscape around them twisted and changed, going from a rainforest to a desert. The sun blazed, and the air became arid, both restraining Li Qingshan¡¯s water element techniques and preventing him from escaping.

    However, when they had prepared everything, Li Qingshan did not appear. They all looked at one another, clueless as to what went wrong.

    ¡°Sir tree king, why must you interfere with the operation of my Dragon Arena and keep Li Qingshan there?¡±

    Si Qing¡¯s voice echoed through the entire rainforest with a questioning tone.

    The rainforest was originally his proudest battlefield. The great banyan tree could provide many extremely-valuable resources, but it was still one of the Ten Daemon Kings after all. Although he followed the way of nature and stood aloof from the world, Si Qing could not be too rude to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said already. I¡¯m not some Great Banyan Tree King, and you don¡¯t need to call me sir. I want to keep this little friend of mine around for a few days so that he can help me clear out the insects and vines on me. I¡¯ll send him out afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Senior, you¡¯re my guest here, so I will definitely carry out my role as the host and leave you as satisfied as possible with anything you require. Please let out Li Qingshan, senior, and I¡¯ll be able to help you out.¡±

    After transplanting a branch of the Great Banyan Tree King into the Dragon Arena, Si Qing had once apologised to him politely before even accepting him as his master. However, the Great Banyan Tree King completely ignored him. Then Si Qing asked for a certain item, and he was obviously turned down as well. He was utterly furious, but he could not turn against him either, so he let these burrowing mites that multiplied rapidly and had lost their natural predators be, wanting to make the Great Banyan Tree King suffer a little. He never expected to give Li Qingshan an opportunity instead.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing big, so I dare not trouble your highness.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King spoke with the same gentle tone the entire time, but it gave off a feeling like he would not be changing his mind, turning down Si Qing without being too rude or too polite. Si Qing cursed inside, This old coot!

    Against a king, even the most good-mannered king, Si Qing was powerless. All he could do was take a step back. ¡°May I ask how many days you require?¡±

    ¡°Three days at the least, five days at the most.¡±

    Si Qing realised that if the Great Banyan Tree King truly insisted on protecting Li Qingshan, there was not a lot he could do. After all, he could not rip out this great banyan tree, dig out Li Qingshan and butcher him, even though he was completely capable of something that.

    The Great Banyan Tree King would not even have to look for revenge if that happened. As long as the news made it out, the Great Xia empire would immediately punish him, the eleventh prince, and give an explanation to the Great Banyan Tree King. Kings the founding emperor conferred could not be offended by anyone. Defying and offending superiors was a great crime.

    Si Qing was gloomy inside. His joy from making the Golden Core cultivators succumb to him vanished completely. He secretly made up his mind to overcome the third heavenly tribulation as soon as possible and reach the realm of kings.

    æ¦ÇìÓë´óéÅÊ÷ÍõµÄ¶Ô»°£¬´«ÈëÆáºÚµÄÊ÷¶´ÖÐ£¬ÀîÇàÉ½Óë»¨³ÐÂ¶ÏàÊÓÒ»ÑÛ£¬Â¶³öÎ¢Ð¦¡£The conversation between Si Qing and the Great Banyan Tree King reached the pitch-black tree hole. Li Qingshan and Hua Chenglu exchanged glances and smiled.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for protecting me, fellow!¡±

    ¡°Looks like your grievance with Si Qing runs very deep. I can protect you for five days, but I won¡¯t be able to protect you on the sixth day. By then, you¡¯ll still have to find a way to deal with it yourself.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King felt this child was extraordinary, so he tried testing him with that, guessing he would probably ask for his help. Never did he expect Li Qingshan to smile deeply. ¡°My path of survival is a little different from yours. All I seek is following my heart and killing to my satisfaction. The more enemies the better!¡±

    ¡°Aggression leads to easy failure.¡±

    ¡°Passivity leads to vulnerability!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King began laughing again. His laughter subsided, and he asked, ¡°Are you prepared to complete the second task?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°I¡¯m skilled with water element techniques, so summoning some spiritual rain is no problem. However, the sun vines are vicious, and they can absorb techniques and spiritual qi. May I ask how am I supposed to kill them?¡±

    If he could not contain the sun vines first, the sun vines would absorb probably most of the spiritual rain. Despite his strength as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was rather helpless against these strange, twisted vines.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°This will require the lassie beside you.¡±

    ¡°Her?¡± ¡°Me!¡± Hua Chenglu widened her eyes. She was unable to imagine why the Great Banyan Tree King well beyond her reach would require help from a measly Qi Practitioner like her. Li Qingshan was rather confused too. This girl might be very cute, but probably even the thinnest sun vines could kill her.

    ¡°Is your cultivation method called Method of Springtime Bloom?¡±

    ¡°It is. How do you know, senior?¡±

    The Method of Springtime Bloom was a secret method passed down through the Hua family. It was an extremely special wood element cultivation method, gathering the essence of a hundred flowers to practise. Although it could not charm or enchant people, it could multiply the practitioner¡¯s charm, allowing them to possess the beauty and fragrance of a hundred flowers. This was why the clan had many handsome men and beautiful women. They were renowned for this even among the aristocratic clans.

    ¡°Not only do I know, but I even thoroughly understand the entire cultivation method. I even know that fellow Qingshan¡¯s cultivation method is called the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, which comes from the late Ocean sect. However, this sect did not exist for a very long time, and no one from it ever visited the Mist province, so this is all I know about it.¡±

    With his lifespan that had already lasted ten millennia so far, the cultivation methods that the Great Banyan Tree King knew were basically as vast as the open sea. His knowledge was so extensive that no one could match him.

    Li Qingshan thought of something. The greatest problem he faced with the Arts of the Boundless Ocean was that he had no master to give him guidance. He could only rely on himself to fumble around. Although he had managed to reach the sixth layer with his exceptional talent, the Great Banyan Tree King would definitely be able to give him some good suggestions with his knowledge and wisdom.

    He took out the jade slips to the Arts of the Boundless Ocean and Ocean Brawling. ¡°If you¡¯d like to, you¡¯re more than welcome to look through them. If you could give me some guidance, I¡¯ll be filled with gratitude.¡± He felt an invisible power pass through his body, and the jade slips in his hand flashed.

    ¡°Oh, this cultivation method really is a little interesting. Your cultivation hasn¡¯t deviated from it, but you are still lacking some comprehension. Let me look through it carefully, and then I¡¯ll tell you in detail. Let¡¯s get down to business first. Sun vines are not aggressive only during one special time, which is when they bloom.¡±

    Hua Chenglu immediately understood what the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s objective was. The Method of Springtime Bloom possessed the ability to impel flowers to blood. ¡°But with my cultivation, I won¡¯t be able to impel such large sun vines at all!¡±

    ¡°If your cultivation is insufficient, then you can just increase it. I can make you break through to Foundation Establishment within three days, but you¡¯ll have to pay a small price.¡±

    With that, not only did Hua Chenglu become stunned, but even Li Qingshan was taken aback. Hua Chenglu was only an eighth layer Qi Practitioner right now. She did not cultivate slowly, but it definitely was not fast either. She was not a genius like Hua Chengzan. At this rate, it would take her another decade at the very least before she established a foundation successfully.

    Casually imbuing her with a little of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wood spiritual qi could allow her cultivation to advance drastically and remould her body, but breakthroughs also required personal comprehension. Sufficient resources was not enough. Growing up, she had never lacked pills or resources either.

    If it had not been the Great Banyan Tree King who said that, the two of them definitely would have treated it as a great boast.

    ¡°What price? But I have nothing on me!¡±

    ¡°Have you heard of the Wisdom Imbuement technique before?¡±

 Chapter 647 â€“ Imbuement of Wisdom, Three Days of Foundation Establishment Two

    Hua Chenglu shook her head. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°¡®Wisdom Imbuement¡¯ is a special technique created by buddhism. It can directly imbue someone else¡¯s mind with your comprehension of the buddhist dharma. No matter how sinful that person has been, they will cast aside evil, embrace good, and be converted to buddhism once they undergo the imbuement. Or, no matter how thick in the head they are, they will be completely awakened and advance valiantly on the path of cultivation! To turn the wicked into the good, to turn the ignorant into the wise, is known as wisdom imbuement.¡±

    ¡°To think there¡¯s actually such a wonderful technique in the world! In other words, all I have to do is undergo the wisdom imbuement, and I¡¯ll be able to break through with ease! May I ask what I need to do?¡±

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes shone brightly. She did not have bad talent, but her ability to comprehend was a little lacking. After all, not everyone was a genius.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything at all.¡±

    ¡°But didn¡¯t you say I had to pay a small price?¡±

    ¡°Chenglu, I¡¯d advise you to not go forward with this wisdom imbuement!¡±

    Li Qingshan listened to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s explanation and felt that something was amiss. No matter how he thought of it, wasn¡¯t this so-called ¡°brainwashing¡±? And it was actual brainwashing.

    ¡°Why?¡± Hua Chenglu looked at Li Qingshan with a frown. She was confused.

    ¡°If you completely accept someone else¡¯s ideas, are you still you? Is there still a point no matter how powerful and clever you become?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is the so-called price I speak of. The reason why this strange technique is not widespread is because it¡¯s been deemed forbidden by buddhism. The monk who created this technique also died of madness!¡±

    ¡°Madness!¡± Hua Chenglu was startled and frightened.

    The Great Banyan Tree King told them a story from the past patiently. Several thousand years ago, there was a virtuous, eminent monk in the Lightning province in the west, known as the Jade Wisdom Chan Master. He often felt pity over how people could not comprehend his exquisite buddhist dharma. He read about broadly and contemplated for an entire decade before finally coming up with this special technique.

    He first tried it on the most ignorant and stubborn disciple in the monastery. Sure enough, the disciple lived up to his expectations. In a single night, he understood all the buddhist classics in the monastery thoroughly and could even recite them backwards. Even the smartest disciple in the monastery paled in comparison to him. His cultivation advanced drastically too.

    A good friend happened to visit, so the Jade Wisdom Chan Master demonstrated his achievements. Never did he expect his friend to sigh upon seeing the situation in the monastery. ¡°You¡¯ve mistaken, monk! If you use this technique, is there still any difference between buddhism and the demonic?¡± After he said that, he left the monastery.

    The Jade Wisdom Chan Master thought his friend was envious of him, so he was rather unhappy, but he did not take him too seriously either. This continued until the assembly of dharma that they held each month. Almost a hundred disciples sat together in the large hall, but they all spoke like they had been cast from the same mould. Even their expressions and tones were basically the same.

    An assembly of dharma was originally supposed to involve a staunch and intense debate, but it had become peaceful all of a sudden, without the slightest dispute. It was like a lifeless pond of stagnant water. Even the young acolytes, only eight or nine years old, behaved like they were old men. The Jade Wisdom Chan Master seemed to see a hundred Jade Wisdom Chan Masters muttering to himself. He gradually became horrified, but it was already too late for regret.

    The Wisdom Imbuement technique was different from other techniques. Once it was used, it was very difficult to reverse. As a result, on one stormy night, the Jade Wisdom Chan Master shouted madly, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you all! I¡¯ll kill you all!¡± He committed suicide.

    Such a horrifying story made Hua Chenglu pale. She did not want to become a ¡°Jade Wisdom Chan Master¡±. Sure enough, there was no free lunch in the world. Shortcuts did not come so easily.

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled. ¡°Lassie, you don¡¯t have to be so afraid. There is no good and bad. It only becomes a problem when you go too far. There is no good and bad with cultivation methods either. As long as I limit myself, you won¡¯t become someone else.¡±

    ¡°When I carry out the imbuement, I will do my best to only pass onto you my comprehension of the Method of Springtime Bloom so that your ability to comprehend is strengthened. And, I¡¯ll limit it to Foundation Establishment to minimize the influence on your character, but paying a small price will still be unavoidable. These are the pros and cons, so consider it yourself!¡±

    With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ten millenniums of wisdom and comprehension, it would not be merely Foundation Establishment if he imbued Hua Chenglu all of a sudden. She would even have her foundation to condense a Golden Core, but Hua Chenglu would be completely swallowed up as a person too. However, if he limited himself, it would reduce both the benefits and the detriments. Although there would still be an influence, it could not twist and erase Hua Chenglu¡¯s thoughts completely.

    To Li Qingshan, he could not accept even the slightest twist in his thoughts. Even though he admired the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s way of survival very much, he had still rebuked rudely with ¡°passivity leads to vulnerability¡± when he was taught the lesson of ¡°aggression leads to easy failure¡±. No matter how great yours is, it¡¯s still yours. I have my own persistence!

    Hua Chenglu hesitated. She lowered her head and thought for a while before raising her head again. ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±

    ¡°Chenglu.¡± Li Qingshan pressed down on her shoulder with a frown.

    ¡°Big brother Li, if you don¡¯t complete the three tasks, you won¡¯t be able to receive senior¡¯s gift! You can just treat this as me paying you back for saving my life!¡± Hua Chenglu let out a toothy grin, at ease and beautiful.

    ¡°You can forget about that! I haven¡¯t reached the point where I value a gift more than you just yet!¡± Li Qingshan said flatly. Making a young girl sacrifice herself for him was something his dignity could not allow. He wanted to say that, but he knew she would stick to her decision even more firmly if he did, so he smiled again. ¡°Compared to some gift, I still think letting me spend some intimate time with you is a little more enticing, Chenglu.¡±

    Hua Chenglu shot a glance at him and raised her chin. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± She burst out laughing. ¡°I¡¯m kidding! I¡¯m nowhere near that great. Big brother Li, you¡¯re a genius. You don¡¯t know the difficulty that we mortals face when we cultivate. Apart from you, probably no one can go completely without being tempted by changing a little in exchange for the multitude of benefits, like saving a decade or even two decades¡¯ worth of time, an immeasurable amount of pills, an increase in cultivation, and so on.¡±

    Li Qingshan said sternly, ¡°This is not a laughing matter. You have to consider it carefully.¡±

    Hua Chenglu shook her head gently. ¡°I don¡¯t need to consider it anymore. If I still don¡¯t make any progress with my cultivation, I¡¯ll probably have to obey my father and be married off to the descendant of another aristocratic clan in a few years¡¯ time.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You have your elder brother, and you also have your big brother Li. Probably no one can force you into anything. You can slowly choose someone you like.¡±

    Hua Chenglu pressed her hands against her chest. ¡°It¡¯s not against my will. This is my responsibility. My father and brother doted on me while I was growing up, basically granting me whatever I want. This is a form of awareness that I¡¯ve possessed long ago! Not to mention, whether you like someone or not is not reliable either. Even if you like them today, you might not like them in the future. Being arranged for marriage is still more practical.¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed to see the serious, little Hua Chenglu from all those years ago again. He rubbed her head. ¡°You¡¯re so young, yet you¡¯re already so pragmatic. You don¡¯t even have a hint of your elder brother¡¯s passion!¡±

    Hua Chenglu grabbed his large hand and removed it forcefully. ¡°You¡¯re groping around again. Hmph, I¡¯m not stupid like my elder brother. As long as I establish a foundation successfully, I won¡¯t have to worry about the marriage anymore. I¡¯ll stay unmarried for my entire life and copy Gu Yanying. I¡¯ll make you damned men die from envy.¡±

    A Foundation Establishment cultivator in their early twenties, whether they were male or female, would all be geniuses their clans treasured. They had quite a lot of autonomy over matters big and small. Unless she was completely willing, she would not become a tool for marriage. Different cultivations were directly connected to the identities and statuses of cultivators, or even the fate of their lives.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That works too, just in case you make me jealous. Though, if you change your mind one day, don¡¯t forget about your big brother Li. It¡¯s just like what they say, gotta keep the good stuff between us!¡±

    Hua Chenglu called out, ¡°Don¡¯t- even- think- about- it!¡± She changed the topic. ¡°Though, if there are any more interesting adventures like this, you have to call me along. I won¡¯t drag you down anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head in an exaggerated manner. ¡°By then, I¡¯ll already be a Golden Core cultivator. I¡¯ll probably still be forced with one hand.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you with freeing up a hand to carry me.¡± Hua Chenglu blushed slightly. Her eyes were filled with anticipation. I want to see even more sights. I want to be respected by you and everyone else. I don¡¯t want it to be that one day, when I see Zijian again, I can no longer be her friend!

    There was nothing more Li Qingshan could say. ¡°Since this is your choice, all I can do is support you!¡±

    Hua Chenglu raised her head and said, ¡°Senior tree king, I¡¯ve already decided. May I ask how I undergo the Wisdom Imbuement?¡±

    ¡°Come on in!¡±

    Another hole suddenly appeared in the wooden hall, leading straight to the centre of the banyan tree. Li Qingshan had been circling around the centre the entire time as he hunted down the burrowing mites. Although the insects had managed to riddle the bark with holes, the pith was even sturdier, so they could not eat it.

    Hua Chenglu took in a deep breath and glanced at Li Qingshan. Right when she was about to enter the hole, Li Qingshan arrived beside her and said, ¡°Fellow, you planned all of this, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°This is fate. The heavens delivered you before me.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the tree hole. ¡°Then can I come in and take a look?¡± Although he trusted the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s moral character, he had to be cautious no matter what. If he turned him down, perhaps he would make Hua Chenglu reconsider.

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    ¡°The hole is far too small. Let me in first¡­¡± Hua Chenglu was rather troubled. The hole was even smaller than the tree holes they travelled through earlier. Before she had even finished speaking, Li Qingshan pulled her firmly into his arms with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can just squeeze together a little!¡± Afterwards, he leapt into the tree hole with her.

    ¡°You¡¯re almost squeezing me to death!¡±

    A while later, Hua Chenglu pushed Li Qingshan away viciously. Her entire body ached. With his great strength, he seemed like he was trying to knead her into his body.

    ¡°Don¡¯t act so spoiled. You almost squeezed me to death too.¡±

    Li Qingshan casually responded and gazed at this strange opening. It was shaped like an upside-down bowl, around the size of a living room. This was the very centre of the great banyan tree. The spiritual qi in here was so thick that it almost seemed to materialise. He felt refreshed from simply taking a breath.

    ¡°Lassie, come to the centre and relax your mind and body.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice became even grander.

    Hua Chenglu stood in the centre. Verdant aerial roots grew from the surroundings, coiling around her limbs softly and pressing against her major acupoints with precision. Another dozen or so pressed against the acupoints on her head. Her legs were lifted from the ground, hovering in the air.

    The base of all the aerial roots lit up with dark green light at the same time, moving along the roots and reaching Hua Chenglu¡¯s acupoints. She shuddered all over as extremely pure wood spiritual qi was channeled into her body. At the same time, vast and complex information entered her mind.

 Chapter 648 â€“ Imbuement of Wisdom, Three Days of Foundation Establishment Three

    Hua Chenglu let out a soft groan, filled with both pain she did not want to bear and indescribable joy. Extremely pure wood spiritual qi rushed into her body, immediately dispersing and replacing the true qi she had built up over a decade of arduous cultivation. Afterwards, it merged with her body strand by strand, circulating according to the Method of Springtime Bloom.

    The first layer, the second layer¡­ In the blink of an eye, her cultivation was elevated to the eighth layer of Qi Practitioner again. Then it advanced forward until she reached the ninth before getting to the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner! All of the meridians in her body were opened and connected by the spiritual qi, which also happened to be countless times more pure and powerful than the true qi she had originally cultivated, welling up and filling her sea of qi in her dantian.

    Even though the great banyan tree was only a hair to the Great Banyan Tree King, and the spiritual qi he had channeled into Hua Chenglu was a hair¡¯s hair, it was so great to a measly Qi Practitioner that she struggled to endure this gift.

    Originally, this would have been the limit. Perhaps the Great Banyan Tree King could purge her body of impurities and let her make minor breakthroughs as a Qi Practitioner, but he could not forcefully make her break through a major realm. It would still require her own cultivation and comprehension, but who knew how long that would take.

    ¡°Lassie, clear your mind and guard it. Don¡¯t forget who you are!¡±

    Suddenly, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in her head, the complete opposite from his request earlier for her to relax earlier. Hua Chenglu recovered a sliver of clarity from the great joy of her breakthrough and thought to herself, I¡¯m Hua Chenglu!

    The vast, complex information erupted violently. In the past, she seemed to be trapped in a dark maze, constantly fumbling around and looking for a way out for the sake of her path of survival and path of cultivation.

    In that moment, the tall walls of the maze suddenly collapsed. Blazing, white light flooded in. The haze and darkness that troubled her ceased to exist. Even her body seemed to have vanished, only leaving behind her soul, rapidly expanding in the light.

    She was like someone who had spent their entire lives blind, deaf, and mentally disabled suddenly able to see, hear, and think clearly. It felt like thousands of years had passed, yet also like only an instant had passed. She was completely submerged in great joy and thought for some reason, So this is the paradise mentioned by buddhism!

    She was called Hua Chenglu, but that was only a name. Something had vanished, something had changed, and something had appeared out of nowhere, completely merging with her and now inseparable.

    But without a doubt, she had become stronger, whether it was her mind or her body, but she also seemed to miss a lot of things. If a child could become as mature as an adult overnight, they would miss out on the innocence of childhood and the rashness of youth. The child perhaps would never be able to understand what price they had paid. There would only be an additional blank in their memories.

    The aerial roots returned into the tree and Hua Chenglu drifted down like a gentle flower petal.

    Boom!

    Lightning emerged from nowhere, baptising all creatures that wanted to remould themselves.

    Hua Chenglu did not panic at all. She spread her arms and welcomed the lightning.

    Ru Xin was a little annoyed. As soon as she entered the Dragon Arena, she immediately went off to meet up with Liu Zhangqing and everyone else, but she ran into an unwelcome guest along the way, a man wielding a fiery-red trident who burned violently¡ªZhu Lie.

    Ru Xin did not want to fight anyway, while Zhu Lie happened to be following Si Qing¡¯s orders, heading towards the forest of stone to unite with everyone so that they could kill Li Qingshan. He was not particularly happy with carrying out the order and would much rather find another opportunity for a battle to the death with Li Qingshan, but he did not have much choice as a captive.

    On the mirror-like surface of the lake, these two people who rushed off towards different places brushed past one another.

    Ru Xin sighed. Fire devourers had always been good at fighting, and the flames they unleashed possessed startling power. This guy was much more difficult to handle compared to regular late Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    A streak of fire suddenly sped over, blocking her path. Zhu Lie furrowed his brows as the flames in his eyes leapt around, staring into Ru Xin¡¯s eyes.

    She was exceptionally beautiful, which made him confirm her face did not exist in her memories. He was not tempted by her charm either. Instead, he experienced a strange feeling. This woman made him feel an intense sensation of loathing. The loathing was almost instinctual, tempting him to relieve himself by killing her.

    However, he considered his current situation, how he probably would feel the same no matter which human cultivator he saw. If it were only this sense of loathing, he would have never gone out of his way to turn around and rush back. The loathing also contained an indescribable sense of familiarity. It was like he had run into an acquaintance in a place far from home.

    This feeling was so novel and special that it was unforgettable. In his memory, he had only experienced this feeling once before, so he asked.

    ¡°Have we met somewhere before?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been to an uncivilised place like the Mist province. You may have mistaken me for someone else.¡±

    Ru Xin smiled and gazed at Zhu Lie. She was doing her best to search her memories, but she found nothing. She had seen far too many fire devourers. After all these years, all that remained in her memories were furious balls of fire and twisted, raging faces.

    Zhu Lie no longer said anything more. He suddenly struck out with his trident, blazing with fire as it shot towards Ru Xin like a meteor. Since you won¡¯t admit it, I¡¯ll kill you and see! This was how fire devourers handled things.

    Before death, people will always divulge many secrets. If they still refuse to confess their secrets, then they can just take the secret with them to the afterlife! It is not like killing a measly early Foundation Establishment cultivator would take much time anyway.

    Ru Xin was already prepared. In the moment Zhu Lie raised his trident, she directly plunged into the water. These damned fire devourers!

    The trident missed. The scorching flames illuminated the surface of the lake as white mist rose up. Ru Xin¡¯s voice rang out from beneath the water, ¡°I heard a fire devourer was serving Si Qing as a dog, going around biting people under his orders. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s you!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Zhu Lie thrust the trident viciously towards the origins of the voice. With a boom, the surface of the lake was split open. Under the invading flames, a white figure flashed past, but it slid to one side gracefully the moment the flames were about to reach it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that among the otherfolk, Fire Devouring folk have the shortest temper. They¡¯re all proper men with violent natures who would rather die than submit. Looks like rumors really aren¡¯t reliable. As it turns out, you swagger around on your high horse when you¡¯re matched up against those weaker than you and you suck up to those stronger than you. I¡¯ve heard that Si Qing has quite the liking towards men, tsktsk!¡±

    Ru Xin hit Zhu Lie¡¯s sore spot. His flames immediately surged ten meters into the air.

    ¡°Very impressive. You¡¯ve infuriated me. Do you know that the more angry fire devourers are, the stronger their flames become?¡±

    ¡°Tsk!¡± Ru Xin dove deep into the water.

    Zhu Lie originally thought he could finish off Ru Xin in a few moves, but he discovered she was even more slippery than Li Qingshan, completely avoiding a direct confrontation with him and swimming around like a fish in the water. No matter how violent his flames were, she would always be able to grasp their weak points ingeniously and nullify his attacks wave after wave. It was as if she knew all of his abilities, moves, and even method of battle like the palm of her hand.

    He clearly possessed a crushing advantage, yet he was unable to triumph over her immediately, which made him even more suspicious. Between the attacks, Ru Xin¡¯s sneers and remarks would constantly ring out from the bottom of the water, agitating him so much that he roared out. He could no longer care about Si Qing¡¯s orders anymore. His attacks became even more violent, refusing to give up until he killed her.

    Ru Xin ran into danger again and again. If it were not for all the talismans she had accumulated, she would have come close to losing her life many times. She pursed her lips firmly, and her expression did not change at all, like a jade statue.

    The constantly-invading flames, the ceaseless running, and the endless rainforest. These memories that she had already forgotten suddenly became clear once again. The blood continued to drip, without fading in colour at all. The pain was still so vivid like it was yesterday. Flames reignited in the depths of her eyes.

    After fighting for another hour, Zhu Lie grasped the opportunity and lunged down, thrusting his trident towards Ru Xin¡¯s back. Ru Xin suddenly turned around, and a smile stretched across her face. It was completely different from her usual, gentle expression. It was as flagrant as fire and filled with aggression.

    A strange, hideous figure suddenly appeared behind him. It was a strange humanoid wrapped in bandages. The white bandages were soaked in blood and pus, making them lose their original, pure-white colour. The body exposed between the gaps was festering and rotten, covered in disgusting nodules. Some parts were only skin and bones as if even the flesh had been scraped away, while other parts were completely swollen, extremely foul and repulsive.

    It went up to receive Zhu Lie as soon as it appeared. Zhu Lie frowned slightly. He was wrapped in flames and dressed in sturdy armour. Even regular weapons would struggle to harm him, so he was confident he could block any attack. How could he give up on his opportunity to kill her over a mere figure?

    The hideous figure moved with alarming speed, passing through the flames and armour silently and lunging into Zhu Lie¡¯s body.

    Zhu Lie experienced an ominous feeling. His body stiffened, and his trident paused for a moment. Ru Xin used this opportunity to evade.

    Zhu Lie touched his chest and discovered that apart from stiffening up in the very beginning, he felt nothing else. That was all the figure seemed to be capable of. As it turned out, it was merely a bluff. She had almost gotten him.

    However, as time went on, he began feeling uncomfortable all over. In the beginning, it was only a small discomfort. His body felt hot and cold and slightly itchy, and he could not control the flames as freely as before. Afterwards, his head began to spin. Eventually, it became filled with pain like it was about to explode. Red rashes appeared all over his body, so itchy that he almost could not help but scratch them.

    He mobilised the flames desperately, wanting to dispel the uncomfortable feeling, but it was completely useless. Although his attacks were still vicious and he possessed the upper hand firmly, he no longer posed a lethal threat to Ru Xin.

    ¡°What did you do to me?¡± Zhu Lie bellowed furiously, having lost his previous might already. His neck swelled up and bulged.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re sick, but fortunately, you¡¯re quite lucky. I¡¯m a doctor!¡±

 Chapter 649 â€“ The Flower That Balances Water and Fire

    ¡°Plague ghosts¡± were not evil spirits. It was like how the ¡°gods of plagues¡± in the legends were actually gods that dispelled diseases.

    Plague ghosts feasted on diseases, accumulating them in their bodies. Once they reached a certain level, they could throw themselves at the enemy. Because they were immaterial like ghosts, barely anything could stop them from delivering the nasty diseases into the enemy¡¯s body.

    However, the bodies of cultivators had always been extremely tough, and a body like Zhu Lie¡¯s was among the top of the list. Regular diseases were unable to affect him much at all.

    Only by devouring a tremendous amount of diseases could they determine victory or defeat, which also meant the cultivator had to spend large amounts of time treating and curing mortals.

    The plague ghost Ru Xin refined had only reached its current level through accumulation during the years of war in the Clear River prefecture. During the war, pestilence was widespread, allowing her to gather countless diseases.

    As a result, while plague ghosts were powerful, there were not a lot of medical disciples that chose to refine them. The world had been at peace for too long. No one was willing to spend time on something like this.

    And once the cultivator became somewhat accomplished with the plague ghost, it would be even more terrifying than potent poison. Toxins could always be purged, but diseases would constantly grow and spread. For each moment that passed without treatment, the situation would worsen.

    Zhu Lie was unable to hold back the discomfort in his lungs, covering his mouth and coughing violently. When he checked his hand, he found it covered in blood. He could feel the condition of his body constantly worsen like a structure termites had eaten away, about to collapse at any time. Vicious determination filled his mind.

    I¡¯m probably under the effect of this woman¡¯s gu. As long as I kill her, the gu will obviously vanish. Even if I can¡¯t achieve that, I¡¯ll still pull her down with me!

    Ru Xin seemed to have been expecting this the entire time. She pulled far away and called out, ¡°You can stop dreaming. Even if you kill me, your sickness won¡¯t improve. Instead, it¡¯ll erupt instantly and kill you on the spot. In the Mist province¡¯s language, it¡¯s death gu!¡±

    The Mist province was an undeveloped land. There were many vicious and mysterious ways to refine gu, and death gu was the most fiendish among them all. They could only be activated by sacrificing the user¡¯s life, taking down the enemy and perishing with them.

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about. I just want to ask you, do you want to return to the Mist province?¡± Ru Xin¡¯s eyes shone brightly, her expression and mannerisms vastly different from before. Even Li Qingshan who knew her extremely well had never seen this side of her. The battle seemed to reignite something inside her that had been laying in silence for all this time.

    Zhu Lie said nothing. Fire devourers were full of valour and vigour. If he were to die on a battlefield, he would definitely go ahead with it fearlessly, but the situation right now was a little different. Si Qing had subdued him at first before Li Qingshan defeated him. His will to embrace death had already been mostly eroded away. The diseases and pain he suffered from were rapidly worsening. He could not help but experience an urge to live on.

    ¡°So what if I do?¡±

    ¡°If you do, then I¡¯ll stabilise your diseases? But you need to cooperate with me for the treatment. You¡¯ll obey me for ten days.¡±

    After a moment of thought, Zhu Lie finally lowered his head and said, ¡°Alright!¡±

    As soon as he said that, he felt the pain on him recede like the tide, but Ru Xin had merely suppressed the diseases, embedding them in his organs, brain, and marrow. Once they erupted, they would completely tear Zhu Lie apart.

    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Zhu Lie originally thought Ru Xin wanted him to help her collect medals, but he never expected Ru Xin to say, ¡°I want you to tell me about the local customs and practices of the Mist province. I heard the main base of the fire devourers in the Mist province is on Firemelt mountain. Where are you from?¡±

    When Ru Xin asked this question, her expression became even stranger. She licked her lips subconsciously. A desire she was unable to suppress burned and spread through her like a nefarious fire.

    ¡°Firemelt mountain is the holy grounds of my race. It¡¯s not a place where anyone can stay. Normally, we only gather there during the holy war!¡± Zhu Lie could only answer truthfully.

    The holy war!

    Ru Xin¡¯s eyes flashed. Fire devourers were violent and frequently waged war against other races, but only when they fought the Merfolk of the South sea would they call it a ¡°holy war¡±. Moreover, every holy war would involve the strength of the entire race, fighting devastating battles to no end.

    ¡°When was the most recent holy war?¡±

    The two of them followed up each other promptly in the conversation. It even seemed like they had already buried the hatchet if viewed from the eyes of others. However, Ru Xin maintained a certain distance from Zhu Lie the entire time, asking him about the Mist province with great patience.

    When the final bolt of lightning vanished, Hua Chenglu opened her eyes and released her soul sense, sensing that the entire world had changed. It looked completely different in her eyes.

    This was both from her comprehension of breaking through a major realm of cultivation, as well as the effects of the Wisdom Imbuement. The influence of the latter was probably even deeper than the former.

    ¡°Congratulations, Chenglu!¡±

    Li Qingshan went up to receive her with a smile. He felt a little strange inside. In his eyes, Hua Chenglu had changed drastically. Her beauty and figure were already almost perfect, but she was still lacking a little in terms of bearing. Let alone Gu Yanying, she probably even paled in comparison to the venomous Qian Rongzhi. No matter whether he liked or hated them, it was all a distinct sign that only appeared through undergoing trials and ordeals.

    Right now, Hua Chenglu overflowed with a gentle and touching aura, like morning dew resting on a flower petal, producing a rainbow under the sunlight. She had already begun exhibiting peerless beauty.

    Of course, this was only his first impression. As for any more specific changes, even Li Qingshan was unable to put it into words. He thought, Hopefully this isn¡¯t a bad thing!

    Hua Chenglu called out ¡°big brother Li¡± with a giggle before meditating and adjusting her condition. She recovered her spiritual qi very soon before asking, ¡°How long has passed already?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Two and a half days!¡±

    ¡°Then we better hurry up and begin!¡± Hua Chenglu said that as she entered the hole, leaving the centre of the tree.

    Unable to take advantage of her, Li Qingshan rubbed his nose and said to the Great Banyan Tree King, ¡°This girl originally had some interest in me, but after what you¡¯ve done, she¡¯s completely lost interest! How are you going to compensate me?¡±

    He had not idled around during the past two days either. He constantly asked the Great Banyan Tree King questions about cultivation, and they got to know each other. They joked around quite a lot. As for whether Hua Chenglu was interested in him or not, he did not actually care very much.

    ¡°Thoughts are unpredictable. How can you be certain whether it was intentional or not from a single glance?¡±

    ¡°Then thank you for all the guidance during these days, fellow!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s understanding of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean allowed him to benefit tremendously. He was now a little more confident about condensing an Ocean pearl and breakthrough through to Golden Core.

    Of course, he did not forget to ask about the problem of merging water and fire either. The Great Banyan Tree King told him a few ways, but these ways could clearly only balance out regular fire and water, unable to balance out the spirit turtle and the phoenix. Li Qingshan was afraid to say too much. However, a legend that the Great Banyan Tree King mentioned piqued Li Qingshan¡¯s interest.

    ¡°Legend has it that in a place where fire burns in the depths of the ocean, a strange flower will bloom the moment the flames erupt before immediately withering away. It¡¯s born with balanced fire and water spiritual qi, and it¡¯s a symbol of peace between Merfolk and Fire Devouring folk. Perhaps it also symbolises that their peace is as brief as the flower¡¯s bloom.¡±

 Chapter 650 â€“ The Fruit of Wisdom

    Li Qingshan sat down with his legs crossed in a tree hole near the canopy. He chanted something softly as he devoted all of his attention to casting a technique. Even with his ability to control water, using the Spiritual Rain technique over such a large area was not an easy feat. He required the accompanying incantations.

    The spiritual qi in his dantian receded like the tide as the cloud constantly grew thicker. Sunlight was unable to pass through anymore, and it obviously went from white to black. Rain filled with spiritual qi constantly accumulated; it was like a sponge filled with water, waiting for a satisfying rainstorm.

    As for Hua Chenglu, she arrived at the very bottom of the great banyan tree. The roots of the great banyan tree and the sun vines twisted and entangled with one another. Very soon, she found a suitable location and pressed her hands against the roots of the sun vines, using the Method of Springtime Bloom to produce a rainbow-like glow from her hands.

    The sun vines that resembled dragons in size trembled under this small force. With their instinct to absorb spiritual qi, they accepted all of this power, and the trembling constantly intensified.

    Basically no technique could harm mature sun vines, but the objective of this power was not to attack but to impel. Like how people immune to poison were still vulnerable to aphrodisiacs, blooming and fruiting as plants ran deep within their instincts.

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s spiritual qi was completely drained very soon. Immediately, an aerial root wrapped around her, channeling pure wood spiritual qi into her body.

    The sun vines developed flower buds first. A while later, golden sun flowers bloomed resplendently. The glow they produced was as radiant as the sun.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°Alright, I feel much looser now. Thank you! The nectar from the sun vine flowers is very precious to you, so go collect some!¡±

    Hua Chenglu eased up and smiled. Ever since she entered the Great Banyan Tree King, she finally saw light again. It had only been a few days, but it felt like an entire lifetime.

    Li Qingshan also received the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s message. His chanting stopped, and with a swoosh, the ¡°sponge¡± in the air seemed to be violently wringed out. Rain poured down, sprinkling on every leaf before flowing down along the bark. The sun vine flowers bloomed even more resplendently under the dark rain.

    Li Qingshan arrived outside the tree hole. He saw Hua Chenglu busying about from flower to flower like a butterfly. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in his ears again, ¡°Come take your gift!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived at the end of the path and saw a pitiful little flower on a thick branch. It seemed to be composed of thousands of fluffy stamens, white in the centre and fading to red on the edges. It did not stand out very much, completely unable to compare with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s colossal body or the huge, resplendent sun vine flowers.

    ¡°Is this the gift?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, don¡¯t rush!¡±

    Time seemed to speed up. The colour of the tiny flower deepened before turning into a tiny fruit that went from green to yellow.

    Of course, it still did not stand out very much.

    ¡°Pick it quick,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said, urging him. His voice sounded rather lethargic.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and picked the fruit. He fiddled with it in his hand. ¡°Thank you, fellow, but is this fruit edible?¡±

    He checked it with his soul sense, but he did not sense much spiritual qi inside. Instead, it gathered another type of power, which was a powerful will similar to soul sense. He had absolutely no idea what it was for.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, give me the fruit in your hand, and I¡¯ll forget about all the grievances between us!¡±

    Si Qing¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from the sky, and it sounded a little urgent. When he saw the banyan tree bloom and fruit, even his eyes widened. The Fruit of Wisdom!

    He had once requested the Great Banyan Tree King submissively exactly for this Fruit of Wisdom. The Great Banyan Tree King had always been known for his wisdom. The fruit he produced could not allow cultivation to advance drastically and skyrocket, but it did contain a crystallisation of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wisdom, able to unlock the wisdom and ability to comprehend within people.

    This was different from the brainwashing and instillment of the Wisdom Imbuement technique. Instead, it was enlightenment and development, similar to the ¡°A Blow and a Shout¡± from buddhism. The effects of this blow would vary. If regular people received it, their minds would clear up a little at most. It might not even have any other effects. However, it had wondrous effects on cultivators whose cultivation had halted due to a bottleneck.

    In order to undergo the third heavenly tribulation and reach the realm of kings, Si Qing obviously needed a Fruit of Wisdom very much, but the Great Banyan Tree King denied his request. The mental effort and energy required to produce a Fruit of Wisdom was even more than performing Wisdom Imbuement ten times.

    Li Qingshan had only killed a few burrowing mites and cast a technique, yet he received such a generous reward, which made Si Qing even more envious.

    Hearing Si Qing¡¯s words, Li Qingshan obviously understood that this was something good, so he immediately shoved it into his mouth and chewed away. The taste was much more sour and astringent that he imagined it to be, but as soon as he thought of Si Qing¡¯s ugly expression, his mood immediately took a turn for the better. He leaned against the branch and ate happily.

    Si Qing¡¯s expression did become as ugly as he imagined it to be. After Li Qingshan provoked him time and time again, he had already run out of patience. Li Qingshan was only a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he used Gu Yanying as his backing to behave so arrogantly.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you will definitely die!¡±

    ¡°Heh, just the bunch of trash under you are capable of something like that?¡±

    Li Qingshan spat out a seed with a smile before blanking out slightly. It was like a flash of inspiration had crossed through his mind. The inspiration was like an invisible string, threading together a lot of the disorderly information in his head.

    However, if he were to describe the effects in detail, he would truly be stumped. His cultivation had not grown at all, and his soul sense had not strengthened either. However, the questions regarding the Arts of the Boundless Ocean he had asked the Great Banyan Tree King during the past few days suddenly became clear. Originally, he only listened to the Great Banyan Tree King and memorised his words so that he could slowly digest it in the future, but right now, he had understood some new things.

    Apart from the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, the other cultivation methods, as well as the usage of moves in battle and minor details in life all underwent some indescribable changes. No matter what he thought of, he felt it was different from the past. It was as if he was looking at these problems from a new light and perspective. It was a very special and very novel feeling.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°Others can teach you knowledge, but they can¡¯t teach you wisdom. Although the fruit is known as the Fruit of Wisdom, you still need to search for true wisdom yourself. I believe there will be a day when you stand before me again, even wiser and stronger than now.¡±

    ¡°Of course. You¡¯re a good person- no, you¡¯re a good tree. Thank you for helping me, but there will be a day in the future when you also need my help.¡±

    Li Qingshan said seriously. He had benefited quite a lot from this trip. Just Si Qing¡¯s behaviour demonstrated the value of the banyan fruit. It was probably greater compensation than what he deserved; it was like how even the debt of a single meal must be returned, and the grievance of a hostile glare must be resolved.

    A puny Foundation Establishment cultivator was saying to a Daemon King who had reigned as a king for millennia, ¡°You will also need my help.¡± This was definitely as arrogant as he could be in the eyes of others. They would definitely mock him. ¡°With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s identity, who knows how many people are willing to help him out. What gives a kid like you the right to say that?¡±

    However, the Great Banyan Tree King would not brush aside this wild boast. Instead, his mysterious feeling became even more intense. Like how the Golden Cicada Spirit King firmly believed the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga would appear on Xiao An, this was not divination, but a form of gut feeling that people who had reached the realm of kings like them possessed.

    ¡°Though by then, it won¡¯t be as simple as killing some insects and watering some plants.¡±

    ¡°Just as I wished. Perhaps we might even get the chance to venture outside this well and take a look together in the future!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very similar to something an old friend of mine said.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought of something. The Golden Cicada Spirit King and the Great Banyan Tree King must have known one another. Their temperament and nature were probably different from the other Daemon Kings.

    According to a book he had read, there were plenty of ruthless and cruel Daemon Kings, with not a lot that were easy to get along with. It was probably a rarity for Daemon Kings to be as gentle as them. The Great Banyan Tree King upheld the path of nature, while the Golden Cicada Spirit King had always practised buddhism. To be able to meet them was truly a blessing.

    However, he could not seek confirmation right now. A fragrance assaulted him from behind. Hua Chenglu heard Si Qing¡¯s voice and rushed over. ¡°Big brother Li, are you alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled at her before suddenly looking back. Peering through the rain and gazing at the end of the rainforest, over a dozen black specks appeared. Si Qing had already become all too eager to have him killed, so he directly transported his lackeys over here.

    Li Qingsha basically felt the same. Hua Chenglu wanted to say something else.

    Li Qingshan leapt out into the rain. The sky full of spiritual rain that continued to fall was pulled and guided along, condensing towards him and chasing after him. It was as if he had unfolded open a huge pair of water wings, soaring into the horizon.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes in the scarred man¡¯s group shone viciously. They unleashed various attacks that collided together. The distance of less than ten kilometers was basically reduced to nothing in the blink of an eye.

    In that moment, the rainforest vanished.

    Hua Chenglu held her breath, only to discover that Li Qingshan and Si Qing¡¯s lackeys had all vanished from the battlefield. She cried out, ¡°Big brother Li!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°You still can¡¯t help him right now, so just stay here for a few more days!¡±

    Hua Chenglu nodded firmly as if she had made up her mind about something. She flew towards the sun vine flowers that bloomed resplendently.

    As each question was met with an answer, time passed by slowly. Zhu Lie was very cooperative, basically telling her everything he knew, but he did not yield. Fire devourers never yielded to anyone, whether it was her or Si Qing. He was waiting for an opportunity.

    He understood the rules of the competition extremely well. The lake battlefield would vanish very soon, and everyone would be transported elsewhere. By then, it would be the optimal opportunity for him to kill her. He refused to believe the technique this woman full of falsehoods had used on him was death gu. Even if it were, he had to take a gamble, as he had already remembered where he had once seen her.

    He calculated silently. There were still fifteen minutes remaining before the transportation¡­

    Ru Xin suddenly fell silent. She smiled. ¡°Time sure waits for no one! I once swore that I would butcher all fire devours. Hehe, that¡¯s really some innocent talk of a child. My happy childhood is gone forever, but you can count as the first!¡±

 Chapter 651 â€“ Killing Them All One

    Zhu Lie¡¯s face changed drastically. He erupted with flames, charging towards Ru Xin without any regard. Ru Xin continued to smile as she flew backwards. The two of them rapidly pulled closer before slowly pulling away again.

    Various vicious diseases erupted in Zhu Lie at the same time. His body swelled up, his skin festered, and Ru Xin in his vision gradually blurred. His eyes became hazy, almost becoming blind.

    ¡°You can die with me, you crossbreed!¡±

    Zhu Lie let out a fierce roar like a wild beast on the verge of death. His heart glowed brightly, thumping violently. His heart was almost about to explode. The hearts of fire devourers were like daemon cores to daemons. It was the centre where their power gathered. Once they blew it up, they could unleash alarming destructive power.

    From such a close distance, death would be almost certain for Ru Xin.

    ¡°A trapped beast continues to fight. Sudden stop of the heart!¡± Ru Xin spread her fingers with a smile and closed her hand gently.

    In that moment, all of Zhu Lie¡¯s power seemed to be drained from his body. Since birth, his heart fell silent for the first time, no longer beating anymore, and the flames on his body were extinguished as a result. He maintained his charge towards Ru Xin, doing his best to raise his trident and stab it at her.

    Ru Xin turned to one side, brushing past him. Her pale, jade-like hand plunged straight into his chest, digging out a bright-red heart. It rapidly hardened in the wind, becoming a fire-red stone¡ªthe Heart of Melting Fire!

    Diseases completely devoured Zhu Lie¡¯s body, causing him to die and rot. The plague ghost appeared from his body and returned to Ru Xin.

    Ru Xin let out an indiscernible sigh and glanced at the sky. A bloody red gradually seeped through the azure-blue. She could vaguely sense she was probably under some kind of influence from the Dragon Arena, which was why she struggled a little to control her killing intent.

    However, once the wild beast was released, how could it be locked up again?

    Li Qingshan left the great banyan tree and sensed an extremely distinct change. Murderousness had condensed in the air, while the sky had been dyed by a smear of blood-red. The tiger demon in his sea of consciousness growled with bloodthirstiness. If it were not for the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression, probably even he would be influenced.

    With the refinement almost complete, the Dragon Arena could not be compared to an actual Asura Field, but it had already developed some resemblance. The cultivators from the sects and schools all engaged in blind slaughter, no longer holding back at all. In only a few days, thousands of cultivators had fallen in battle, which served like fuel to the flames, seemingly making the air burn.

    Li Qingshan smiled, and his figure suddenly vanished. Although he did not turn invisible, all of the attempts to lock onto his aura failed. A hint of disorder appeared between the coordination of arcane artifacts, revealing an undetectable opening. He took advantage of the opportunity and slashed down. The net collapsed.

    Right when he wanted to use the situation and chase after a few people, he suddenly felt his body grow heavy, slowing him down against his will. He knew he had already fallen for his enemies¡¯ technique, which should have been some kind of earth element technique. At the same time, at least seven techniques landed on him. Techniques were not as great as arcane artifacts, but they covered an extremely vast range, so all he could do was endure it. Among them, at least another four were techniques that slowed him down or limited his movements, so he immediately began to struggle to take another step forward.

    The arcane artifacts flew over again with this opportunity. Every single one of them possessed the power to kill. The scarred man let out a bellow, and his arms swelled and thickened. The Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions became extremely large, smashing down from above.

    Everyone eased up inside. Do you really think you can take on all of us together? Outnumbered, Li Qingshan was about to meet his doom from a single clash.

    Clang!

    A pitch-black tower appeared out of thin air. All of the arcane artifacts landed on it and were rebounded with clings and clangs, but the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions¡¯ collision immediately drowned them out. The crook of his thumbs immediately ripped open, and the great rebounding force left him with internal injuries. As he stared at the pitch-black, unscathed tower, he felt disbelief.

    Even Golden Core cultivators could not directly endure this strike of his, yet it was unable to smash through a strange tower. Little did he know that even Golden Core cultivators could not open Li Qingshan¡¯s Demon Suppression Tower, and that was even a head monk from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Everyone was surprised, but they were not afraid. They called out, ¡°Assemble the formation!¡±

    Immediately, eight cultivators took out the formation banners they had prepared a long time ago and surrounded the tower from eight directions, assembling the Sweeping Wind Formation of the Eight Directions. Immediately, the surroundings began to whistle madly with wind, sweeping up blades that slashed at the Demon Suppression Tower. It possessed the ability to build up damage and take down almost anything.

    But to the Demon Suppression Tower, it was no different from a breeze, completely unconcerned about it. It even failed to leave behind a mark.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The cultivators used their strongest attacks to barrage the Demon Suppression Tower. A great rumble filled the entire desert.

    Under these attacks, the Demon Suppression Tower tottered gently, almost collapsing. Eight Chains of Demon Suppression flew out from the surroundings and binded the Demon Suppression Tower in the air, preventing it from shaking anymore.

    My demonic nature gushes endlessly. My sins are endless.

    To Li Qingshan, this was his greatest defence only second to the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    No wonder he¡¯s so arrogant. Turns out he has a method to remain undefeatable! The scarred man was secretly surprised. He ordered loudly, ¡°Everyone, take turns controlling the formation banners. Conserve your spiritual qi. Let¡¯s see when he can last until!¡±

    Everyone nodded, and their faces twisted hideously. The stronger the arcane artifact or technique was, the more spiritual qi it would consume. If he only defended, then the only fate awaiting him was running out of spiritual qi.

    This was a very logical conclusion, but the secret cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was powered by the demonic nature of those suppressed in the tower.

    Inside the tower, the reason why Li Qingshan did not charge out immediately and kill them all was because he could sense his demonic nature bubbling. During the battle, the tiger demon was becoming more and more restless. It had already been rather difficult for the spirit turtle to suppress the ox demon and tiger demon. Under the influence of the Dragon Arena¡¯s killing intent, the tiger demon that had always been frenzied was acting up more and more.

    Before he dealt with the problems outside, he had to deal with the problems inside. Besides, compared to his own problems, the attacks outside were nothing. He comforted the tiger demon and split up the malice, sending one cluster to the dark-red demon heart, which became even clearer. He sent the other straight into the sword qi in his dantian, making the sword intent even sharper and more dangerous.

    A while later, Li Qingshan let out a tiger¡¯s roar, no longer hiding and suppressing the demonic nature in him. Instead, he released it in a different way. His body swelled to three meters tall as he became covered in vicious-looking armour, so red that it seemed like he was bleeding.

    He wielded the Traitorous Demon sword in his right hand while holding a black hoop in his right. It was the demonic artifact Si Qing was forced to give to him on the Soaring Clouds terrace. He originally wanted to harm him with it, but it was perfect for him. It was known as the Demon Reining hoop.

    Seeing how the Demon Suppression Tower showed no signs of being destroyed, the Foundation Establishment cultivators gradually became stern, ¡°He must be holding on through spiritual medicine that can rapidly recover spiritual qi. As long as we keep attacking him for a little longer, we¡¯ll definitely be able to force him out!¡±

    Before they had even finished talking, the Chains of Demon Suppression pulled away. The moment everyone beamed with joy, they saw the Demon Suppression Tower hurtling over, smashing into the formation with a boom. All of the cultivators who wielded the formation banners had the wind knocked out of them.

    ¡°Maintain the formation! Don¡¯t let him escape!¡±

    The Demon Suppression Tower flew high into the air, revealing the hideous Demon General inside, which left everyone shocked. How has he become like that? They powered the formation even more frantically.

    The wild wind landed on Li Qingshan, clanking loudly. The thick armour on him became covered in countless marks in the blink of an eye. Almost an entire layer had been shaved away.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand and swung out with his sword!

    The evil eye on the hilt released a ring of light before shrinking. The blood-red flash from the sword tore through its vision, as well as a cultivator who maintained the formation. Under his shocked gaze, he was split into two down the middle.

    The Sweeping Wind Formation of the Eight Directions was destroyed!

    The wind stopped.

    At the same time, the Demon Suppression Tower rampaged about under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, blocking countless attacks and completely scattering the encirclement of Si Qing¡¯s lackey¡¯s.

    There were still many techniques that landed on him, but they were all blocked by the armour and nullified by demon qi. Li Qingshan did not stop, sweeping backwards with his sword. With a flash of blood-red light, a head hurtled into the air with blood.

    His Three Absolutes sword qi was channeled into the Traitorous Demon sword, stored in there without being released. The sword intent possessed the tiger demon¡¯s frenzied murderousness.

    Simply by directing the sword at someone, the killing intent would stun them, making them unable to dodge. And, the evil eye would see through them, making them unable to block. No matter what enemy he faced, they all fell before a single stroke.

    In that moment, he had endured who knew how many attacks. His defensive arcane artifacts were damaged, and his demonic armour was covered in cracks. He used this opportunity to swing out five times, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!

    Only ten people remained out of the seventeen cultivators.

    Li Qingshan scanned past them with two specks of red light that were his eyes. Everyone¡¯s faces changed, overwhelmed with shock.

    The battle went from the sky to the ground. Suddenly, a huge hand condensed from sand reached out of the desert and grabbed Li Qingshan. The scarred man swung the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions with a furious roar and smashed down with it.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s demon qi surged, shaking off the huge hand before throwing a punch at the Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions.

    Boom! The armour that covered his arm shattered into pieces, scattering in the surroundings.

    The scarred man¡¯s eyes were completely widened as his hands dripped with blood. The Earth Shattering Hammer of the Eight Directions tore out of his grip and spun through the air. He suddenly felt his neck tighten, now wrapped by a black hoop. The Demon Reining hoop constantly tightened, digging into his flesh.

    With a spurt, the thick neck was forcefully crushed apart. The last thing he said was, ¡°So you¡¯ve already been hiding your strength!¡±

    During his battle with Zhu Lie, everyone saw how he had been forced into dire straits before turning the tables and triumphing after so much difficulty. Everyone thought that was the limit of his strength.

    ¡°Do you really think you can kill me with a bunch of useless people?¡± Li Qingshan let out a long laugh. The Demon Reining hoop flew back into his hand, and he pointed his sword at the sky. ¡°Thank you for your generous gift!¡±

    Si Qing saw this and clenched his hand. His face changed drastically.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± The remaining ten cultivators all riled up their courage and rushed towards Li Qingshan. However, they could not defeat him even when they had an advantage in numbers, let alone now after some of their companions were already dead. Li Qingshan fought hard, but not only did he feel no exhaustion, but his killing intent instead surged, still not satisfied yet.

    In the blink of an eye, another four people died. The remaining six people were stricken with fear, scattering and fleeing for their lives.

    With a wave of his hand, the Demon Suppression Tower suppressed one, the Chains of Demon Suppression binded one with a rattle, and the Demon Reining hoop wrapped around one. Without showing any mercy at all, he killed them all with a swing of his sword.

    Si Qing could no longer care about these rules anymore. He controlled the Dragon Arena, wanting to send Li Qingshan out and directly kill him without any regard.

 Chapter 652 â€“ Killing Them All Two

    Li Qingshan killed the people with delight while making preparations, holding onto the prayer beads from the Unraging Monk in his hand. Si Qing might not necessarily be able to accept this. If he truly tried to kill him without any regard, then he had no other choice either. He would be forced to bring out the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as a shield. Probably even Si Qing would think twice by then.

    But a while later, nothing happened at all. Li Qingshan was taken aback. Si Qing sure is shrewd, to even be able to put up with something like this!

    Si Qing was taken aback as well before flying into a rage. As it turned out, before he knew it, the bottom of the Dragon Arena had already become dyed with a layer of pitch-black, and it was rapidly spreading. It actually wanted to steal the control over the Dragon Arena from him.

    For a moment, he was unable to think about Li Qingshan anymore. He circulated his powers in a hurry to contend with the darkness as he bellowed in surprise and anger, ¡°Who is it that¡¯s being so bold!?¡±

    The darkness was completely unfazed, blindly expanding across the entire Dragon Arena.

    After these days of preparation, he¡¯s finally taken action!

    Gu Yanying thought as she stood on one side, watching on with interest. Jia Zhen and E Dan were unable to help out in a battle like this, while the Golden Core cultivators had no idea what was going on. However, when they saw how panic-stricken Si Qing became, all of them felt delighted.

    Li Qingshan had no idea what was happening outside, but since Si Qing did nothing, he would continue his massacre. His soul sense had already locked onto the three fleeing Foundation Establishment cultivators. He leapt into the air and shot off in pursuit.

    The sight around him changed, having reached another battlefield already. However, it no longer bore any resemblance to its original shape. Lights flashed and techniques criss-crossed, reducing the original landscape to a mess. Almost a thousand cultivators engaged in a melee within a region of several dozen kilometers. Every single one of them had become blinded by the killing.

    The murderousness and battle intent continued to rise, merging with the Dragon Arena. The redness in the sky grew heavier.

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. Si Qing was truly out of his mind. What was he trying to do?

    Right as he chased after Si Qing¡¯s lackeys who managed to flee, he saw a few familiar people from the corner of his eyes.

    Hua Chengzan and Wei Yangsheng led over a dozen Qi Practitioners as they struggled to maintain a formation. They were currently surrounded by a group of cultivators and were closed to collapsing.

    What is going on exactly? Am I going to die here today?

    No matter how clever Hua Chengzan was, he never could have guessed Si Qing¡¯s plan. Even if he managed to guess it, there was nothing he could do in response. The weak were always so powerless before the strong.

    Boom! A huge man clad in armour descended from the sky, landing heavily on the ground thirty meters away from him. A few Qi Practitioners reacted a little too slowly, so they were launched away by the shockwave. Their bones all shattered, basically on the brink of death.

    The huge man rippled with muscle and radiated with demon qi. His bright-red eyes swiveled around. The vicious aura he gave off was shocking.

    Hua Chengzan knew with a single glance that even if he were in perfect condition, he would not be his opponent, let alone now when he was exhausted. He only blinked his eyes and the huge man vanished, sweeping around Hua Chengzan¡¯s group with a red whirlwind before stopping in front of Hua Chengzan.

    Hua Chengzan looked around. Two Foundation Establishment cultivators and several dozen Qi Practitioners had been launched away. All of them had a horrific slash across their vital points.

    Li Qingshan did not use the Traitorous Demon sword¡¯s ability at all to kill these people. He easily achieved this through the sharpness of the sword qi. After an intense battle, only thirty percent of his spiritual qi remained in the sword qi he nurtured, but he became even more nimble with his control over it.

    ¡°Monster!¡±

    Cries rang out. Facing such a vicious being, even the Qi Practitioners who were influenced by the murderousness and had lost sight of themselves staggered backwards in fright.

    Wei Yangsheng gritted his teeth, stabbing at the monster with his sword. However, he knew his life would probably be over here.

    ¡°The two of you, it¡¯s me. Where are the others?¡± Li Qingshan casually caught Wei Yangsheng¡¯s sword, and his face guard slid open.

    Hua Chengzan was taken aback. The face was cruder and much more twisted, but he could vaguely make out Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. He could not help but exclaim, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Hua Chengzan explained the situation to him. Only then did Li Qingshan learn that originally, Hua Chengzan and the others went with their plan right from the beginning, gathering together in a battlefield. The leader of the school of Yin-yang, Ma Buyi, divined that there would be great danger in this competition, so they held their ground without any plans to fight anyone.

    However, the developments caught everyone by surprise. When their original ambush against Li Qingshan failed, Si Qing¡¯s lackeys carried out their other missions instead. They carried out a massacre in the various battlefields. Against their combined charge, there was not a single sect or academy that could stop them. Immediately, they sustained heavy losses.

    And, as time went on, the battlefields constantly vanished, and the killing intent constantly vapourised. Whenever they were transported, everyone in the battlefield would be gathered in a single location, which basically led to an immediate melee every single time. By now, they had all been dispersed, with chaotic battles going on everywhere. There was no need for ten days at all. Probably another day or two was enough for most of the cultivators to die.

    The only thing worth celebrating was Si Qing¡¯s lackeys had suddenly all vanished at the same time as if they had been transported away. However, they had no idea when they would launch a sudden attack, which left them uneasy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them. I¡¯ve killed all of them except three, who managed to escape. I was just about to chase after them! If that¡¯s the case, come with me. We¡¯ll gather everyone together first.¡±

    Li Qingshan said. In the beginning, he never expected the situation to develop like this either. He thought Si Qing was merely creating an opportunity to kill him. As it seemed now, it was not that simple. He could not help but become rather worried about Ru Xin, Chu Danqing, and everyone else¡¯s safety.

    For the moment, he could not be bothered with dealing with the three stray mutts. It was not like they could flee anywhere in the Dragon Arena. He only had to wait for another day or two to pass, and there would only be a single battlefield remaining. It would be even more convenient to kill them by then.

    ¡°What! You killed them all?¡± Wei Zhongsheng was shocked. Everyone had witnessed the strength of those people. They could basically be described as crushingly powerful. They all thought Li Qingshan had already fallen to their murderous plans when he did not meet up with them in the beginning, even worrying for him!

    Looking at Li Qingshan¡¯s current shape, Hua Chengzan wondered to himself. This is probably the strength he¡¯s been hiding, but why does it look like the legendary demonification? However, he also understood that now was not the time to ask about something like that.

    ¡°Qingshan, have you seen Chenglu?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s doing very well. She¡¯s already broken through to Foundation Establishment. There¡¯s something wrong with the Dragon Arena. Do you know any way to make these people calm down?¡±

    As they spoke, a few more almost-frenzied Qi Practitioners rushed over rashly, and Li Qingshan butchered them in a single stroke. Although Li Qingshan had no idea what Si Qing was trying to do, he would definitely oppose him. You want them to kill each other? Then I¡¯ll make them coexist peacefully.

    Hua Chengzan cried out, ¡°But Chenglu is only an eighth layer Qi Practitioner!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll understand when you see her.¡±

    Wei Yangsheng said, ¡°If junior brother Mind Enlightenment chants the Peace Spreading mantra, or if junior sister Qin Xin plays the Mind Clearing tune, then perhaps it might have some effect.¡±

    ¡°Where are they?¡±

    ¡°Dispersed.¡±

    ¡°Just talking is useless.¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and kicked up a whirlwind. His chest bulged high into the air, and he unleashed a deafening bellow that was like a clap of thunder from the sky. Sound waves swept off into the surroundings. The Foundation Establishment cultivators were fine, but the Qi Practitioners all felt their eardrums shudder as their heads ached slightly. Their minds that killing intent had enveloped cleared up slightly.

    Li Qingshan did not know some sort of technique like the Lion¡¯s Roar from buddhism, but he practised the Demon Suppression Statuary, so he imbued his voice with the power of demon suppression, deterring everyone¡¯s demonic nature. However, this bellow alone was clearly nowhere near enough. Cultivators continued to fight and kill endlessly in the distance.

    Li Qingshan flew into the air and tossed out the Demon Reining hoop, drawing them in one group after another and reining in the Qi Practitioners who fought most viciously. At the same, the Chains of Demon Suppression whistled out and bound a few Foundation Establishment cultivators who were blinded by the slaughter. However, he only subdued them. He did not kill them. He brought them all into the air together.

    ¡°Stop fighting. I¡¯ll kill whoever that keeps fighting! Fucking hell, you¡¯re still fighting. Eat this, my hidden weapon!¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously had not prepared some ¡°hidden weapon¡±. As a result, he extended his finger, and the Chains of Demon Suppression suddenly wrapped around a Qi Practitioner and threw him away. As he screamed out, he smacked into another Qi Practitioner and was smashed to pieces.

    For a moment, the shrill screams of people facing death and the whistling of the ¡°hidden weapon¡± filled the air. Just like this, Li Qingshan killed over a dozen people and finally controlled the situation.

    Although basically everyone was bubbling with killing intent under the influence of the Dragon Arena, their minds slowly cooled down under the threat of death. They all raised their heads.

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Si Qing has set up a scheme for us to kill each other, so don¡¯t fall for it and lose your lives for nothing, idiots. The Dragon Arena can influence your mind. Everyone, start meditating immediately and guard your mind. I¡¯ll count to three. If anyone is still standing, I¡¯ll kill them!¡±

    Li Qingshan counted to three and not a single cultivator stood anymore. As a result, he nodded in satisfaction. He placed all the cultivators he had reined in on the ground too. The faces of the Foundation Establishment cultivators were very ugly, but they still managed to clasp their hands at Li Qingshan, while the Qi Practitioners who had not been knocked away by the huge hidden weapons threw themselves onto the ground, almost tempted to prostrate themselves at him.

    However, Hua Chengzan noticed that most of the people Li Qingshan tossed out were dressed as Si Qing¡¯s subordinates. But clearly, Li Qingshan was not mentally burdened by killing a few innocent people either. If they angered him, he could even kill all the cultivators here, let alone a few.

    ¡°I still have to go to the other battlefields. You stay here and keep an eye on them. Don¡¯t let them kill each other. If I come back and I still see fighting, I¡¯ll make you all bleed one by one. There are still a few more days until this competition ends, so none of you¡¯ll be able to escape punishment!¡±

    Li Qingshan gathered all the Foundation Establishment cultivators present and threatened them without holding back at all. Their mentality and cultivation completely surpassed what Qi Practitioners possessed. Once they calmed down, the influence on them was much weaker, and they could suppress the Qi Practitioners too.

    Whether they were from sects or the hundred schools, the Foundation Establishment cultivators all said, ¡°We would never!¡± Under Li Qingshan¡¯s threatening gaze, none of them had any doubts that they would be cut down as soon as they showed the slightest objection.

    ¡°Good! I¡¯ll go find the others!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately set off to the other battlefields. No matter what Si Qing wanted to do, he would definitely screw it up for him.

 Chapter 653 â€“ Killing Them All Three

    Li Qingshan moved from battlefield to battlefield, yelling out at first to capture their attention before making an example out of people by killing them. In the end, he would talk and gather all the Foundation Establishment cultivators to retain order. After gaining experience, he performed his job even more smoothly.

    This was obviously all built on the precondition of absolute strength. He was already at peak Foundation Establishment, and combined with his demon heart, demonification, and a powerful weapon like the Traitorous Demon sword, he could even take on regular early Golden Core cultivators. There were no Foundation Establishment cultivators that could oppose him.

    Apart from his strength, the power of demon suppression from the Demon Suppression Statuary played a crucial role. No matter how frenzied and bloodthirsty a cultivator was, basically all of them would recover their rationality very quickly once they were wrapped in the Chains of Demon Suppression.

    Wherever Li Qingshan passed by, battles would end immediately. Then, he would gather everyone together. The cultivators from the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture all gathered around him. Most of those who fell in battle were Qi Practitioners, and most of the Foundation Establishment cultivators were still alive. Ru Xin and Chu Danqing were fine, which brought him relief.

    Afterwards, he made the buddhist monks gather together and chant buddhist scriptures and the disciples of the school of Music play their instruments. Afterwards, he made the cultivators of the various schools and sects use techniques that could calm the mind to resist the influence of the Dragon Arena. He had finally placed the situation under his control. The rising murderousness and boiling battle intent gradually settled down.

    Si Qing was clashing against the mysterious black shadow. When he saw this, he could not help but panic. He was tempted to carve Li Qingshan to pieces, but he could not split his focus at all right now. His opponent was extremely powerful, and he possessed a dense power of death, invading and eating away at his life force.

    There had never been a lot of people who could fight equally against him. He had already guessed who he was. ¡°Even the crown prince of the Green province daemons would desire my useless arena?¡±

    ¡°Si Qing, do you think I don¡¯t know how Asura Fields are refined?¡±

    Si Qing¡¯s face changed. ¡°I am a prince of the Great Xia empire. Aren¡¯t you afraid of the imperial court punishing you for stealing from me?¡±

    Mo Yu said, ¡°You¡¯re sacrificing so many cultivators, yet you¡¯re not afraid of the imperial court¡¯s punishment?¡±

    Both of them possessed noble statuses, and they both knew very well that so-called laws and rules were merely restraints the strong had placed on the weak. Only those without backing would worry about them. If Si Qing could refine an Asura Field fearlessly, then Mo Yu could steal it fearlessly. Was the Great Xia empire supposed to declare war against the Dragon King of Ink Sea over something as measly as this?

    Their backings canceled each other out, so at the end of the day, it would still be up to their respective abilities. Mo Yu understood the value of the Asura Field very well. In the past, he might not have tried to steal it, but right now, there was a daemon he wanted to kill very much.

    ¡°Give me the Asura Field. I¡¯ll give it back to you once I kill Northmoon.¡±

    How could Si Qing believe him? He sneered. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m easy to trick like a kid? If you stop right now, I¡¯ll guarantee you that I¡¯ll kill Northmoon.¡±

    Mo Yu said nothing more. Although Si Qing was the owner of the Dragon Arena, he had made several days of preparations, reaching the core of the Dragon Arena after much difficulty, so how could he give up? It was not like he had to worry about Jia Zhen and E Dan surrounding him. Once he stole it successfully, he could immediately use his innate ability. Who would be able to stop him then?

    With the Dragon Arena as the medium, two forces tugged constantly. Si Qing¡¯s strength was brutal, but Mo Yu¡¯s power of death clung on firmly, tightly adhered inside the Dragon Arena. For a moment, they were evenly matched.

    Although the battles in the Dragon Arena had stopped, their killing intent and battle intent flourished, channeling into the Dragon Arena constantly and converting it into an Asura Field.

    ¡­¡­

    Great snowflakes drifted through the air. A while later, the ground was covered in a sheet of snow, covering all of the blood and corpses. Several thousand cultivators sat on the snowy ground without moving at all, allowing the snow to fall on them.

    Logically speaking, Qi Practitioners were all immune to the winter cold and summer heat, but the snowflakes contained a power of frigidness. The weaker Qi Practitioners could not help but shiver slightly, but their minds became calmer and calmer. As they listened to the chanting, they recalled what they went through in the past few days and shivered in fear.

    Countless cultivators had been slain, many of which were their seniors, juniors, disciple, or lovers. If Li Qingshan had not appeared, probably most of the people here could not escape that fate. They felt both gratitude and admiration towards him, as well as deep fear.

    As for Si Qing, they felt deep hatred, whether they were cultivators of the sects or the hundred schools. Is he allowed to treat us inhumanely, making us kill one another like gu insects to satisfy his twisted interests simply because he¡¯s a prince?

    Their hatred tormented them like fire, and their killing intent that had been pacified after so much difficulty began to bubble once again. Qi Practitioners would leap up from the snowy ground from time to time with their eyes completely red, waving their weapons around. Only slaughter could pacify this fury.

    But a pitch-black chain would immediately shoot over and bind these people, pulling them into the pitch-black Demon Suppression Tower. Everyone could not help but stare at the lofty figure standing in front of the Demon Suppression Tower, trembling in fear inside. Everyone had witnessed how Li Qingshan killed people. He was not soft-hearted at all. He cut them down like vegetables.

    ¡°C- commander Li, is that disciple of mine¡­ still fine?¡± asked an old cultivator in worry as he watched his disciple enter the Demon Suppression Tower.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not enough to kill him!¡±

    The Demon Suppression Tower had always been able to filter out the influence of the Dragon Arena and suppress demonic natures. With the natures of these Qi Practitioners, basically all of them were suppressed instantly. With the situation under control, Li Qingshan did not want to kill people blindly either.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to know!¡± The cultivator stopped worrying and bowed deeply, retreating back into the ground.

    ¡°Qingshan, it¡¯s all thanks to you, or we¡¯d all be in danger. I didn¡¯t think, I didn¡¯t think it would be so dangerous this time!¡± At the end of the day, Liu Zhangqing did not have the courage to openly denounce Si Qing. The others were the same, but they struggled to hide the fury and dissatisfaction on their faces.

    ¡°That bastard Si Qing wants us all to die. I¡¯ll go to the last battlefield immediately and slaughter his remaining lackeys!¡±

    Li Qingshan visited four battlefields, but he failed to find the three people who had managed to escape. Only the battlefield with a forest of stone remained, as it had a natural formation. He chose to stabilise the situation first before freeing himself up to hunt them down.

    Liu Zhangqing sighed. ¡°I wonder what benefit he¡¯ll get from doing this.¡±

    ¡°Si Qing wants to refine this Dragon Arena into an Asura Field!¡± Han Tieyi said coldly. As a military disciple from an aristocratic clan, he had heard a few things about how Asura Fields could be refined from Dragon Arenas. He was not too familiar with the exact method, but after going through all this, it was as clear as day.

    Following Han Tieyi¡¯s explanation, everyone came to a realisation and hated Si Qing even more. He was actually trying to sacrifice several thousand lives, the foundation of the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery.

    Li Qingshan became even more determined. He refused to let him succeed! Very clearly, once Si Qing refined the Asura Field, he would be the first on the list to take out.

    ¡°Qingshan, tell me you¡¯re fine with how you¡¯ve transformed!¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in his ears. Li Qingshan saw worry flash through his eyes. Hua Chengzan knew Li Qingshan¡¯s secret. Seeing how he demonified, he thought it was some daemonic technique and that he had probably given away his secret.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is an orthodox buddhist cultivation method!¡±

    If Li Qingshan were to say it was a demonic art, Hua Chengzan would be a little more convinced, but from how he teemed with demon qi, how could Hua Chengzan draw a connection with buddhism at all? He asked with a bitter smile, ¡°I can¡¯t find Chenglu anywhere. Hopefully she hasn¡¯t entered the formation. What would we do then?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t she coming over right now?¡± Li Qingshan pointed into the distance with a smile.

    A figure flew over from the horizon, glistening with golden light. As it turned out, she was a beautiful woman. Her bearing was something else, immediately attracting everyone¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Big brother Li!?¡±

    Hua Chenglu arrived before Li Qingshan, raising her head and asking in surprise. She had never seen Li Qingshan like this either. After Li Qingshan left, she finished gathering the nectar of the sun vine flowers. The nectar held extremely great value to her, a practitioner of the Method of Springtime Bloom. She also became covered in glistening pollen.

    ¡°Chenglu!!¡±

    However, Hua Chenglu was nowhere near as surprised as Hua Chengzan and everyone who knew her. When she entered the Dragon Arena, she was clearly still a Qi Practitioner, still very far away from the tenth layer, so how had she become a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the blink of an eye? And, from her aura, she had almost reached the level of breaking through to mid Foundation Establishment.

    Although there were plenty of fortuitous encounters in the cultivation world, a fortuitous encounter that could make someone reach such a level in a mere few days was unheard of.

    Li Qingshan sniggered. ¡°What, you don¡¯t recognise me?¡±

    ¡°This is fantastic!¡±

    Hua Chenglu lit up with delight. After Li Qingshan vanished, she had always been worried. Now that she saw he was perfectly fine, she finally let out a sigh of relief. After undergoing the Wisdom Imbuement, she understood the feelings in her heart, but she understood even better that probably nothing would end up happening between them. However, now that she saw him again, her emotions actually ran a little out of control.

    Even though his demonified appearance seemed extremely vicious and hideous in the eyes of others, in her eyes, he even outshone the handsome Hua Chengzan. Whether he was handsome or ugly, no one could replace his existence.

    Hua Chengzan was as quick-witted as people came. He immediately noticed that something was wrong with Hua Chenglu¡¯s expression and was secretly alarmed. He asked, ¡°Chenglu, how did you reach Foundation Establishment?¡±

    This was also the question that everyone wanted to ask. Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Hua Chenglu remained calm. Just how self-assured she had become was enough to surprise everyone, but they all heard her say, ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but it¡¯s all thanks to big brother Li!¡±

    Immediately, everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on Li Qingshan. They found him even more difficult to see through now.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That was your own good luck. I just happened to be there, that¡¯s all.¡± Suddenly, he heard Ru Xin¡¯s snickering voice in his ears, ¡°Congratulations on capturing another beauty¡¯s heart, fellow Li.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at her with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve done many reckless things when I was drunk, but all I fear is disappointing beauties due to my fickleness of love. Are you perhaps jealous, fellow Ru Xin?¡±

    TL: The first sentence is from a poem by Yu Dafu, which was written about the execution of the Five Martyrs of the Leave of Left-Wing Writers in 1931 by the Kuomintang. The poem is filled with gloom and fury, lamenting over the situation back then and the fate of the country. It basically merges the feeling of fury over how the government repressed the common people while allowing the doctrine of the Japanese Empire to invade the land with the feeling of concern over the fate of the country.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°After this comes to an end, there¡¯s something I must request your help for.¡±

    Rarely did Li Qingshan ever see her behave so sternly, and he could vaguely feel that she had changed, but he was unable to explain exactly where. As a result, he said, ¡°Does the word ¡®request¡¯ even have to exist between us? Even if you want the stars and moon in the sky, there will be a day when I can retrieve them for you.¡±

    Plucking the moon and stars from the night sky was a wild wish of his.

    Ru Xin pondered silently for a while. ¡°Stop trying to coax me with some boasts. I¡¯ll never fall for your tricks!¡±

    ¡°Haha, you even managed to see through that!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt up and took off, barging into the maze-like formation of the forest of stone to finish off Si Qing¡¯s lackeys.

 Chapter 654 â€“ Deducing the Formation

    In the centre of the forest of stone were three Foundation Establishment cultivators and several dozen Qi Practitioners. They were all disciples and subordinates of Si Qing, Jia Zhen, and E Dan. As Li Qingshan pacified several battlefields for the bigger picture, these people had all been forced here.

    ¡°He¡¯s come! I can sense his aura!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ll operate the formation from here. He definitely can¡¯t reach us!¡±

    That was what they said, but fear filled everyone¡¯s faces as if it were not a human, but a monster that wanted to rush over and tear them apart.

    In the maze, the directions were mixed chaotically, such that even a person with the greatest sense of direction in the world could not distinguish north, south, east, and west. Even though there was a sun overhead, it was probably an illusion and trick as well. Looking for people in a place like this was even more difficult than finding a needle in a haystack for Li Qingshan.

    He arrived before a strange rock, raised the Traitorous Demon sword, and swung down. He did not understand the yin, yang, and the five elements, nor did he know any special techniques of deduction. He tried to break through it with brute force.

    Clang! The Traitorous Demon sword bounced off the strange rock, failing to even leave a mark behind. The formation that stretched several dozen kilometers was one integrated mass. The entire place would respond even if he attacked a single point. Even with the sharpness of the Traitorous Demon sword, he could not cut through it so easily.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He held the Traitorous Demon sword in his right hand laterally as he stroked the sword with his left hand. The Traitorous Demon sword produced a gentle thrum, and the evil eye stared straight at the strange rock.

    With a slash, the strange rock was split into two!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s frown remained. The surroundings twisted and changed, but the formation remained. Meanwhile, the demon heart that served as the pupil was only half of its original size, having been depleted quite a lot through these battles.

    Every battle spanned several dozen kilometers across, so there were probably thousands of these strange rocks. If he cut them down one by one, he was confident he could disrupt the formation in the end, but when was he supposed to cut them until? It would definitely take up a tremendous amount of time and effort, and he had to deplete the powers of this demon heart too.

    If I had known earlier, I should have brought a few people from the school of Yin-yang with me to get through the formation!

    Even if they were unable to turn him down and came to help, they would be extremely uneasy. After all, Liu Zhangqing and the others had clearly almost died, yet they kept it all to themselves, unwilling to utter a single word of complaint. This was the helplessness of the weak. Li Qingshan could not be bothered with forcing them to do something against their will either. This had always been his battle alone.

    The spirit turtle can forebode and divine fate, so I might as well try it and see if I can get through this formation!

    Li Qingshan remembered. The figure of the spirit turtle in his sea of consciousness suddenly began to move. The profound glyphs on its back criss-crossed, each producing a strange, ripple-like light that all melded together. It was as profound as it could get. In the end, it gathered into a huge ripple, spreading out into the surroundings from Li Qingshan.

    The ripple was invisible. It was neither light nor soul sense, but it did possess the mysterious principle of the world.

    Right when Li Qingshan felt rather confused, specks of light were suddenly reflected in his mind. It was a virtual arrangement of the formation.

    Those who understood formations could rely on this virtual image to calculate the location of the crucial points across the entire formation, the operating pattern, and so on. They would be like tourists with a map. It would be extremely simple no matter where they wanted to go.

    However, Li Qingshan was still stumped. I don¡¯t understand this at all! As a result, he continued to urge the spirit turtle. The profound glyphs on the spirit turtle¡¯s shell began moving again.

    Li Qingshan became rather dazed. He would nod at times and murmur to himself, ¡°Oh, like this¡­ I get it now¡­¡±

    A while later, he opened his eyes again, and a smile was already stretching across his face. He advanced forward confidently, making his way towards the depths of the maze. He would move to the left, move to the right, advance, and retreat at times, without the slightest hesitation at all. However, he steadily approached the centre of the maze, without taking a single unnecessary detour.

    The centre of the maze suddenly entered a flurry of confusion and alarm. ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s getting closer!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic. He¡¯s probably just roaming around blindly in the maze. He won¡¯t be able to reach here through luck alone.¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s approaching us very quickly, basically making a beeline for us. He¡¯s already seen through this formation. We have to change our position quickly!¡±

    Everyone scattered like birds and beasts. Before long, Li Qingshan arrived there and smiled. ¡°They sure do flee fast!¡±

    During that moment earlier, he used the power of the spirit turtle to deduce the operation patterns of the entire formation, clearing away all obstacles. This was something unbelievable to regular cultivators, but it was nothing difficult to the spirit turtle that could even stand among the ranks of gods.

    From the moment it was born, the spirit turtle possessed the form of the supernatural, rounded at the top like heaven, flat at the bottom like the earth. Its back rose and fell like hills, layered with profound inscriptions of all kinds of colour that were constantly at work. It knew when to advance and retreat, and it foretold the good and the ill with utmost confidence.

    Spirit turtles would never learn things like formations or divination. All formations and divination were later inventions and creations. Instead, it only studied and learned from nature. The existence of the spirit turtle itself conformed with nature. It was born with knowledge.

    This was also thanks to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s Fruit of Wisdom. Although it could not allow a person¡¯s cultivation to advance at once and make them wise, it unconsciously influenced everything, giving Li Qingshan a deeper comprehension of the powers of the spirit turtle.

    At the centre of the maze was a small clearing. There was an extremely-large strange rock that towered in the centre, coated in light that flowed like water.

    Li Qingshan understood that the strange rock was the central crucial point of the formation. As long as he destroyed it, the formation would be completely deactivated, and it would turn into a regular forest of stone.

    Destroying such a large and tough rock clearly was not an easy feat, but why did he have to destroy it?

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on the strange rock and sent in his soul sense. The strange rock shone brightly, producing a power that contended against him, but he suppressed it very soon. He forcefully claimed control over the maze. The entire maze began to operate.

    The three Foundation Establishment cultivators fled through the maze swiftly, refusing to remain for even a moment longer. As for the Qi Practitioners, the three of them had left them all behind. If they could buy some time, then it would be fantastic.

    They understood the maze extremely well. As they advanced and retreated along the way, they did not hesitate at all. They calculated that if they took a few more steps, they would arrive at the entrance of the maze, but when they made their way around a strange rock, they all paled in fright.

    Before they knew it, they had returned to the centre of the maze again, and their nightmare currently stood there with a sword in hand, his lips curling into a vicious smile.

    He swung his sword!

 Chapter 655 â€“ The Asura Field Descends

    The last stroke slid past a Qi Practitioner¡¯s throat with a scarlet splash of blood.

    With that, all of the lackeys Si Qing had sent in had been massacred. Li Qingshan felt satisfied inside and began laughing out loud. His battle intent surged, and his murderousness soared, but it also merged with the Dragon Arena unbeknownst to him.

    Suddenly, the entire Dragon Arena shuddered.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter stopped. All he saw was the colour of blood in the sky grow even heavier, completely turning blood-red from the original azure-blue. It began to spin slowly, forming a blood-red swirl and constantly spreading out into the surroundings until it filled the entire sky.

    Shouts inaudible to the ear rang out from the very depths of the swirl, which could only be heard with the heart.

    It was like an army of millions engaging in a bloody battle in the wilderness. There were no allies, only enemies. No one feared. No one retreated. They only constantly swung their weapons and advanced, fighting until a single person remained, standing on the battlefield and enjoying the glorious victory alone, letting out a hysterical bellow at the sky.

    Every single person who heard the shouts would tremble from the depths of their souls, both out of fear and desire.

    In his sea of consciousness, the tiger demon suddenly let out a growl. The desire to fight and kill suddenly became extremely intense. He was willing to fight anyone and anything to experience the hot-bloodedness and vigour of life as if this were the meaning to all existence.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. The spirit turtle released a calming and serene aura, comforting and diluting this desire to kill. At the same time, he used the Demon Suppression Statuary, making the demon heart devour all of the irrepressible demonic nature. This was basically the best nourishment the demon heart could receive. Only like that did he manage to forcefully suppress the tiger demon.

    This is the power from the Asura realm! The Dragon Arena is currently being converted into an Asura Field! Originally, I thought ending the battles could stop Si Qing from refining the Asura Field, but I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d still end up succeeding.

    Li Qingshan understood what was going on. He had once projected his soul sense into the Hungry Ghost realm, one of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. At the time, the absolute deathly stillness had shocked him. That was the urging of an entire world.

    Oh no, I need to rush back!

    Li Qingshan collected the corpses and hundred treasures pouches that belonged to the Qi Practitioners and rushed out of the maze, returning to the original battlefield. He immediately heard the deafening sounds of fighting and killing. The chanting and music had all been drowned out by the shouts, no longer audible.

    Several thousand Qi Practitioners currently engaged in a frenzied slaughter, ten times more brutal than the battles before. Even the most basic desire for survival had vanished. They swung their weapons and charged at the people around them, but they ignored the weapons that swept towards them. Even if they died, they still wanted to kill!

    This was the will from the Asura realm. Even a hint of it was not something the wills of Qi Practitioners could resist, and it was not only Qi Practitioners either. Seeing this, even a few Foundation Establishment cultivators became restless, becoming tempted to take part in it.

    Murderousness rushed into the air, and the blood-red swirl spun faster and faster in the sky. The fighting and killing on the ground became even more crazy.

    A Foundation Establishment cultivator widened his eyes that were completely bloodshot. He waved his sword around as he roared, ¡°Stop! Stop! All of you, stop!¡± With a swing of his hand, a golden arc whistled out, severing several Qi Practitioners along the waist. Having started killing, he was unable to control himself anymore, rushing into the battlefield and engaging in mindless slaughter.

    The situation was completely out of control, but Li Qingshan understood that no matter how loudly he bellowed, no matter how viciously he killed, he could not stop it anymore. Since he could not stop it, then he would not stop it. It was not like he was some hero. All he had to do was protect the people he was familiar with.

    As the swirl rapidly turned, the boundaries between the battlefields were torn to pieces. The terrains all became connected together, turning into a colossal battlefield that stretched several hundred kilometers.

    Li Qingshan flew over to the centre of the battlefield. He stood on the Demon Suppression tower and called to Liu Zhangqing and the others, ¡°Come with me!¡± Afterwards, he took back the Demon Suppression Tower and flew off into the distance.

    He glanced through the battlefield and spotted a familiar face. Although he was covered in blood, Li Qingshan could still tell he was Hao Pingyang from the school of Mohism, currently waving the Yellow Dragon¡¯s Cannon of Devouring Light as he fought against someone. A Chain of Demon Suppression extended over and curled back, pulling him in. Then he spotted Li Long from the school of Agriculture and pulled him in too, just in case he died in this chaotic battle. He conveniently saved a few disciples from the school of Novels too.

    When Liu Zhangqing and the others saw Li Qingshan, they seemed to have found their backbone. They guarded their minds as they followed behind him closely. As long as the other cultivators still had some rationality about them, they followed behind him in a hurry, charging out of this quagmire together. When they saw what Li Qingshan was doing, they rushed into the battlefield as well, picking up two Qi Practitioners and doing everything that they could to save their disciples.

    However, being attacked was unavoidable as they tried to save others. Some cultivators could not help but fight back, and with that, their murderousness began to burn like fire, completely running out of control. They even forgot about the objective of saving their disciples, all entering the battlefield like an invisible force was drawing them into the ¡°meat grinder¡±.

    Foundation Establishment cultivators were powerful, but their spiritual qi was not endless. They could kill around a hundred Qi Practitioners at most before they fell to the combined attacks of the frenzied Qi Practitioners.

    Only when they traveled over fifty kilometers from the battlefield and could no longer hear the sounds of fighting did Li Qingshan stop. Then he checked the cultivators behind him. Only around a hundred people remained.

    The Qi Practitioners were all unconscious, having been knocked out, as they would fight as long as they were conscious. As a result, there were only around twenty people who remained conscious. Everyone¡¯s faces were worried and badly frightened, and because they had to constantly repress the surging battle intent and killing intent inside them, their faces all seemed extremely twisted. Everyone understood one truth. The cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery was done for with this.

    Li Qingshan had grown accustomed to these sights, and he could suppress his murderousness, so he seemed quite calm. He summoned the Demon Suppression Tower again and tossed the unconscious Qi Practitioners inside. It was a little cramped, but they probably would not mind.

    Gazing out, the Dragon Arena was in full sight. There were glaciers, lakes, and deserts.

    Li Qingshan thought of something. Since the spirit turtle could calculate and deduce the workings of such a large maze, then could he deduce the operation patterns of the Dragon Arena too and find a way out?

    He had learned the most rudimentary basics for forging artifacts in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, so he knew forging spiritual artifacts required imprinting them with various inscriptions and glyphs. Meanwhile, forging arcane artifacts involved engraving even more complicated formations, so they had even more powerful functions.

    Li Qingshan immediately used the spirit turtle to observe and calculate. An invisible ripple spread out into the surroundings. Specks of light appeared in his mind. In a daze, the glacier and lakes all vanished. All that remained were fluttering inscriptions and operating formations.

    Any single one of the formations was countless times more complicated than the maze, and they were connected to one another, allowing them to influence one another, which only multiplied the complexity. It was like a finely-tuned machine, where each formation was a gear, locking onto one another and turning together.

    Only the Great Xia empire possessed the ability to forge Dragon Arenas. The complexity well exceeded Li Qingshan¡¯s imaginations. Probably even half a year would not be enough to calculate and deduce its operation patterns.

    After his shock passed by, he immediately dismissed his thoughts and ventured to the very core of the Dragon Arena. Since he was unable to deduce how it worked, then could he completely destroy the core?

    Suddenly, he saw two forces collide together in the very core of the Dragon Arena, fighting over the control of the Dragon Arena. One obviously belonged to Si Qing, while the other was a power filled with the smell of death. Li Qingshan was even more familiar with this force.

    Mo Yu! What¡¯s this guy doing here? No wonder Si Qing had no time to make trouble for me! Seeing his enemies going for each other¡¯s throats was obviously a joyous matter. However, no matter which enemy¡¯s hands the Asura Field ended up in, he would probably be the first target they would take out, so there was nothing joyous about this.

    But, perhaps this is a good opportunity!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flashed. He did not alarm them, taking it patiently and waiting until they exhausted each other out.

    Hua Chenglu noticed Li Qingshan staring off into the distance in a trance and asked, ¡°Big brother Li, what should we do now?¡±

    Li Qingshan could see that she was anxious, but she was still able to remain relatively calm. The effects of the Wisdom Imbuement truly were startling. Otherwise, with her original mentality, he would be forced to knock her out and toss her into the Demon Suppression Tower too. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not like there¡¯s going to be any danger now. Let¡¯s just wait and see!¡±

    The influence of the Asura Field had basically reached a limit, unable to make Foundation Establishment cultivators kill each other madly. Of course, that was if they did not fight others. The best-case scenario would be if they could not even see or think about it. It was like how everyone possessed lust. If they saw two beautiful women ¡°fighting¡± with one another with their eyes, it was very easy for this lust to be roused. However, it also made it relatively easy to control too.

    Hua Chenglu saw how he smiled freely and also felt at ease.

    ¡°Once this place completely converts into an Asura Field, there¡¯ll probably be asuras descending!¡±

    Han Tieyi said suddenly. His armour was mostly damaged, but he was still as frosty as ever, standing there as straight as his own spear. However, flames roared away in the depths of his eyes. As a military disciple who pursued the path of slaughter, the influence from the Asura Field on him was not actually that great.

    The cultivation of the school of the Military had always placed exceptional focus on training willpower. On the battlefield, it was obviously easier for experienced soldiers to remain calm than new soldiers. Moreover, he experienced a feeling of intimacy with the aura that permeated the place. The Asura realm had always been the final home that all disciples of the school of Military sought for.

    Only the souls of true warriors could avoid the judgement of the Hell realm and begin an endless battle in the Asura realm after they died. Of course, to regular people, this was probably no different from the tortures of hell.

    His father was currently in the Great General King¡¯s Asura Field, while his uncle was probably fighting somewhere in the Asura realm! Following the footsteps of his elder generation, his heart burned with fighting spirit, but it also gave him a different form of peace.

    ¡°Asura!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Not only was he not worried or afraid, but he was even extremely curious instead.

 Chapter 656 â€“ Asura

    The Animal realm was also known as the Daemonic Beast realm, the world where all daemons thrived. The word ¡°animal¡± was a derogatory term. Just like how the dragons and elephants that served as the mounts of gods and buddhas possessed unbelievable powers, once they offended their master, they would be cursed as ¡°animal¡±.

    TL: The Tiryagyoni realm, also known as the Animal realm, is known as the ÐóÉúµÀ (ch¨´sh¨¥ngd¨¤o) in Chinese. ÐóÉú is a curse word, which you label other people by. If you remember when Li Qingshan and E Dan first met during the banquet, Li Qingshan called E Dan a mongrel, while E Dan called him an animal. The ¡°Animal¡± in ¡°Animal realm¡± falls into the same context in this case as a derogatory word.

    The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were further divided into the three higher realms and the three lower realms. The three higher realms were Heaven, Human, and Asura, while the three lower realms were Animal, Hungry Ghost, and Hell. However, while Asura belonged to the higher realms, their karma paled in comparison to Heaven, so they were known as Not-heaven. The suffering in the realm even surpassed that of the Human realm, so it was sometimes listed with the three lower realms, together known as the four lower realms.

    Among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, Li Qingshan had already witnessed the power of the Hungry Ghost realm. A Corpse King who could not even use his full strength had left a devastating impact on the cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery. He did not understand the Asura realm too well right now. He only knew it was a world filled with battle and slaughter.

    In his understanding, asura possessed great strength and were classified as supernatural beings, but because they were bellicose and bloodthirsty, they were a form of wicked god. It was rumored that male asura were extremely ugly, while the females were extremely beautiful. They often opposed ?akra, the lord of the deva and the ruler of the Heaven realm, waging constant war. However, defeat was more frequent than victory.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how asura look like!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Battle-hungry blood flowed through his body. Wasn¡¯t the exact point of cultivating arduously to see things he could not see in the mountain hamlet? He obviously wanted to see this rather mysterious race with his own eyes. And, he was still waiting to give Si Qing and Mo Yu a surprise, so he definitely could not leave here right now.

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    Han Tieyi could vaguely feel he was close to breaking through to mid Foundation Establishment. He also desired a battle against the legendary asura.

    ¡°You two battle freaks!¡± Hua Chengzan said helplessly.

    Li Qingshan and Han Tieyi smiled at one another. The same light twinkled in their eyes.

    The swirl in the sky spun faster and faster, like a strange eye observing the battlefield on the ground.

    Suddenly, a figure descended from the very depths of the swirl, quickly falling towards the centre of the battlefield.

    ¡°So that¡¯s an asura!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were extremely sharp, making out the figure with a single glance. He was a male asura, bare-chested with his skin giving off a faint blood-red colour. His body was stocky like he had been carved from red rock, and he wore thigh guards below, depicting vicious faces. He wielded a pair of rod-like maces that shone with a blood-red sheen.

    Li Qingshan was rather disappointed, however. He could tell with a single glance that the asura¡¯s strength was basically at the standard of a high level Qi Practitioner. Although the power of asura differed from humans and daemons, he could still roughly tell how powerful they were. This asura definitely had not undergone the first heavenly tribulation. An opponent like that was unable to pique his interest.

    However, he also understood that this was probably similar to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. In the beginning, existences that were too powerful were unable to pass through. An invisible barrier existed between the two worlds.

    Unlike the legends, the asura was not particularly ugly. His face was large and square, with a large nose and mouth and a head full of greyish-white hair, which instead made him seem rather dignified. As it seemed, legends really could not be trusted.

    Li Qingshan shook his head gently as a strange smile appeared on his face. With this asura¡¯s cultivation, he would be heavily injured even if he did not fall to his death from such a high place, unless he knew some flying techniques. The cultivators would probably tear him to shreds instantly, so was there any mysteriousness or dignity about him left?

    Just as Li Qingshan thought that, he saw the asura suddenly raise his maces and strike the air violently. With a thunk, the air exploded, and his falling speed reduced slightly. At the same time, he spread his body, and his boulder-like muscles suddenly began to flow like water, constantly making subtle movements and making the air flow. He also swung his maces in a flurry. It seemed like a mess, but it corresponded with every single movement he made with his body. He rapidly slowed his fall.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile vanished, replaced by admiration and a hint of caution. Meanwhile, Han Tieyi¡¯s eyes blazed with light. Without using any technique, he had managed to accomplish something like that through his body alone. It was truly extraordinary.

    Li Qingshan personally believed that if he possessed the same stature as the asura, he probably could achieve this, but he definitely could not achieve it as easily as him.

    He liked fighting, and he was good at fighting, but that was only when it came to the overall situation, or the grasp over tactics and strategy. Even though he would often perform outstandingly in battle with unconventional moves, he was nowhere close when it actually came to the absolute ingenuity of his moves.

    He had only cultivated for around a decade, and he practised several different cultivation methods, spanning three different races¡ªhuman, daemon, and demon, so where was he supposed to find the time to study and polish his moves? There were some things that were very difficult to make up for with talent.

    Xiao An seemed to possess an extraordinary ability to comprehend, where she could comprehend the sword intent by looking through the Three Absolutes Calligraphy once, but that was with a foundation built up from the harsh education she had gone through over several years in the provincial lord¡¯s estate. Although her memories had temporarily gone missing, some things were still firmly embedded in her instincts.

    Li Qingshan never had an opportunity like that. The principle he had always followed was to be able to take on ten times more people alone. He was better off increasing his cultivation instead of polishing his martial arts so that he could use absolute strength to openly crush his opponents.

    But after seeing this asura, he stopped looking down on that. Even a regular asura possessed such exceptional skill. If he were a more powerful asura instead, he would probably be even more alarming.

    After all, apart from taking on ten times more people alone, there was also the concept of triumphing over brute force with ingenuity. Absolute skill was the same as absolute strength. They could all give a person a crushing advantage in battle.

    Watching the asura vanish into the horizon, Li Qingshan and Han Tieyi flew over without saying anything, only to see the asura land in the centre of the battlefield. There were still several thousand cultivators engaging one another on the battlefield, so his landing was like a droplet falling into an ocean, unable to cause any waves.

    The asura planted his maces into the ground, overlooking the entire battlefield like a lion surveilling its territory. A man an entire head taller than the asura appeared behind him. He was riddled with muscle, and there was an extremely evident bulge on his head.

    Li Qingshan had actually seen this person before. He was the first senior brother of Horned Rhinoceros mountain. He had once competed against Li Qingshan in terms of strength, but he did not seem to be particularly lucky, as he still had not broken through to Foundation Establishment after all these years. Perhaps it was exactly the match from the past that cast some form of shadow over his heart, preventing him from breaking through.

    However, he had still undergone the test of war. His body was even sturdier, and his bearing was even sharper than before. If Li Qingshan were to judge him, he could be considered as a peak expert among Qi Practitioners.

    Two streams of white air gushed out of the first senior brother¡¯s nostrils; he was like an angered rhinoceros, charging towards the asura.

    Red light flashed through the asura¡¯s eyes. In that moment, his expression became extremely vicious. His nose wrinkled up, and the corners of his mouth stretched to the sides, revealing rows of sharp, white teeth. He seemed angered, yet it was also like he was laughing aloud, instantly going from a regular man to a ferocious beast that could swallow a man in a single bite.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood why male asura were said to be extremely ugly. This was not ugliness that inspired disgust, but ugliness that inspired fear. He could not help but smile.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, show me how asura fight!¡±

 Chapter 657 â€“ Asura General

    Two streaks of light shot over from behind, which were Hua Chengzan and Hua Chenglu. They were worried for their safety, and they were relatively confident in their mental strength and cultivation, so they hurried over.

    Li Qingshan pointed at the battlefield and gestured with a smile. ¡°Look, you don¡¯t see a sight like that everyday!¡±

    Hua Chengzan gazed into the distance. Among the deafening bellows, various-coloured light flickered. The explosion of fire and the clashing of weapons formed a stunning chorus, drawing people in against their will to battle and fight. Hua Chengzan suppressed his mind in a hurry before glancing at Hua Chenglu beside him. She was much calmer in comparison.

    Suddenly, he sighed inside. After learning Li Qingshan¡¯s other identity, he no longer tried to compare himself to him anymore, but Han Tieyi was a good friend of many years. His cultivation had always exceeded him. Even when he was stuck at the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner for many years, he was still the first one to establish a foundation successfully. Yet, he had caught up and overtaken him, almost breaking through to mid Foundation Establishment.

    Now, even the cultivation of his not particularly talented younger sister was surpassing his. He had watched her grow up. It was completely impossible to say that he was not at least slightly despondent. He was determined to go back and properly cultivate.

    ¡°Can you save some more people?¡± Hua Chenglu was unable to accept this. There were still many people she knew in the battlefield.

    Li Qingshan personally believed he had already lived up to his duty and humanity for these strangers. He also had to constantly pay attention to the battle between Si Qing and Mo Yu, so he had no interest in taking on this burden, but that was not something he could say.

    Han Tieyi said, ¡°It¡¯s too late. They¡¯ve completely assimilated with the will of the Asura realm. However, their souls may end up belonging to the Asura realm once they die in battle.¡±

    Hua Chenglu asked, ¡°Is that an asura?¡±

    In the centre of the battlefield, the asura suddenly turned around lithely, kicking up a screen of dust. The first senior brother of the Horned Rhinoceros mountain missed. The metal maces in the surroundings circled around and struck his back heavily. He staggered a few steps forward before collapsing on the ground.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. The attack from a blunt weapon probably was not too effective against a cultivator who practised his body like the first senior brother of Horned Rhinoceros mountain. The strike had only landed because the first senior brother was overcome by murderousness, taking away his rationality and covering him with openings. It was not exactly ingenious.

    ¡°His spine is broken!¡± Li Qingshan was mildly taken aback. Spines were vital points to humans, but they could not be broken that easily. He soon understood what had happened. Like how the Traitorous Demon sword could see through weak points, spines were not indestructible.

    The asura seemed almost frenzied, but he was extremely precise with his attacks, clearly all killing moves that had been thoroughly tempered. And, he was clearly extremely familiar with the vital points and weak points of various enemies. He used a single strike to defeat an opponent of equal cultivation and was even slightly stronger from a certain perspective, making something like that seem as easy as cake.

    The asura smiled hideously as he struck the same location with his mace. The first senior brother of Horned Rhinoceros mountain widened his eyes and let out a roar. The asura lifted up his other mace and swung down again and again like he was striking rock, embedding the mace into the first senior brother¡¯s body. After striking him several dozen times, blood spurted out, and the first senior brother finally perished.

    All of this had happened in a short moment. The other Qi Practitioners all responded. Roused by the asura¡¯s aura, they all lifted up their weapons and rushed over. The asura¡¯s murderousness became even more intense, advancing instead of retreating, charging into the group. He swung his maces around madly, immediately kicking up a whirlwind of slaughter.

    Li Qingshan only saw that the asura was vicious with his attacks. There was not exactly a fixed pattern, but every single strike was precise and effective, all killing moves that had been tempered through countless battles and slaughter. Basically all the Qi Practitioners who faced him died to a single strike. A while later, a few more people died to his maces.

    However, in a chaotic battle like this, it was impossible to go unscathed unless he had three heads and six arms. His body gained a few deep wounds, but none of these wounds bled. Instead, they rapidly closed up.

    ¡°Just a low level asura like him possesses such life force. How extraordinary. I think that if the battle continues, he¡¯ll definitely be the last one to survive,¡± Li Qingshan said while rubbing his chin.

    The battle prowess of an asura like him was even greater than some Foundation Establishment cultivators unskilled in battle. If his opponent came from a sect like the Sect of Clouds and Rain that primarily practised the arts of charm, it would probably not be strange at all if the asura killed them.

    ¡°That¡¯s the undying body of the asura! Legend has it that powerful asura can even be reborn from a droplet of blood.¡± Han Tieyi explained everything he knew about asura.

    ¡°Reborn from a droplet of blood. Interesting!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    He believed that he could also be reborn from a droplet of blood once he practised the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to a certain level.

    As they spoke, another asura descended from the sky, followed by a third, a fourth¡­ More and more asura entered the battlefield, banding together very quickly. Their teamwork was ingenious, forming an army. They became more and more unstoppable, splitting up the battlefield and wantonly slaughtering the frenzied Qi Practitioners.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression changed slightly as well. Against such an asura army, all he could do was flee for his life.

    Li Qingshan asked Han Tieyi another question, ¡°If you possess the Asura Field, can you summon these asura to fight for you?¡± If that were possible, then it would basically be an endless source of fresh troops. If even more powerful asura were summoned, even he would find it troublesome.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but there is that possibility!¡± Han Tieyi said.

    The Great General King possessed an Asura Field, but the world had been at peace for too long after all. No one had personally witnessed him enter battles with the Asura Field.

    The battle came to an end very quickly. All of the cultivators were slain, but not a single asura fell in battle. The asura that descended from above had already reached a hundred, standing among the piles of corpses and puddles of blood with their eyes shut. The murderousness that pervaded the battlefield was absorbed into their bodies, and the colour of their skin became an even-brighter red.

    With a rumble of thunder, the omnipresent heavenly tribulation descended suddenly. Bolts of lightning struck an asura; the other asura moved away. Their eyes were filled with envy and caution as they surrounded the asura.

    The first heavenly tribulation was clearly unable to pose any threat to such a lifeform. The asura successfully underwent the tribulation without any surprises, becoming an Asura General. But in that moment, the hundred or so asura struck out at the same time, attacking the asura that had just undergone the heavenly tribulation from all directions.

    This incident even left Li Qingshan extremely surprised. They were still pooling their efforts together a while ago, so why had they suddenly turned against one another?

    The asura faced danger again and again, basically almost killed. Even one of his arms had been cut off, and basically half of his neck had been severed. The wounds on his body were extremely horrifying. If he were human, he would have died ten times over already.

    However, with his undying body as an asura, he clung on tenaciously, becoming accustomed to the change in his strength after undergoing the tribulation very soon. Gradually, he turned the tides and let out a thunderous roar, using his remaining arm to kill several asura together. His arm regrew with that, becoming more and more unstoppable.

    The battle between asura widened Li Qingshan¡¯s horizons. A while later, the Asura General completely gained the upper hand. The asura all suddenly stopped and dropped to one knee together towards the Asura General, revering him as their leader.

    The Asura General was satisfied. With a wave of his hand, the asura stood up and gathered behind him. If they still seemed a little like they were fighting alone earlier, then they had completely become an army now.

    The Asura General stared at Li Qingshan and the others with his blood-red eyes and belted, ¡°Have you seen enough? Come fight!¡±

    ¡°Just as I wished!¡± Han Tieyi leapt down from the hill, wielding his spear like a dragon.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just watch.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand to stop the siblings who also wanted to fight. He already reached a vague understanding of these asura¡¯s path of slaughter. If he had guessed correctly, the Asura General would not be using the power of the other asura.

    Sure enough, seeing Han Tieyi charge over alone, the Asura General raised his battle axe and flew over to receive him. The asura behind him all stayed put, simply watching.

    Immediately, their eyes locked together, and the spear and battle axe clashed countless times, sending sparks flying.

    Han Tieyi was restrained in every shape and form as soon as he began fighting, losing the upper hand. He had clearly undergone the first heavenly tribulation already many years ago, yet an Asura General that had just undergone the heavenly tribulation completely overwhelmed him.

    Even Han Tieyi who came from the school of the Military and was skilled at fighting was like that. If it had been a regular Foundation Establishment cultivator instead, they would have been even less of an opponent.

    ¡°Qingshan, why don¡¯t we watch from a closer place so that we can cover Tieyi?¡±

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s face was filled with concern. Soldiers were vicious and battles were dangerous. The slightest carelessness could have Han Tieyi beheaded, but with Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, he could obviously ensure Han Tieyi¡¯s safety.

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m standing here exactly so that I can¡¯t save him when it matters!¡±

    Hua Chengzan frowned. ¡°Why¡¯s that? Has he offended you?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Of course not. Tieyi is my brother-in-law no matter what you say. Even if he¡¯s offended me, I¡¯d never stoop to the same level as him. Instead, he¡¯s a warrior. Only when he has his back against the wall can he fight desperately and survive.¡±

    Hua Chengzan immediately understood what he meant. Han Tieyi wanted to use this battle to break through to mid Foundation Establishment. If he had a path of retreat or a safeguard, it would instead prevent him from unleashing his full strength. As a result, all Hua Chengzan could do was hold back his worry.

    Fierce gusts of wind whistled past his ears and pain filled various parts of his body. Han Tieyi gradually could not cling on for much longer, but he did not take a single step back, allowing blood to spatter from his body.

    The incoming axe swung over, something he could not block. He was already in dire straits, but despite walking on a thin line between life and death, he felt an indescribable pleasure. A reckless smile appeared on his frosty face. Suddenly, a power broke through the restraints and spread throughout his body. His spear seemed to spring alive, the spear head twisting to an unbelievable angle and pushing aside the battle axe.

    ¡°He did it!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Suddenly, he vanished from his location, jumping in between Han Tieyi and the Asura General. He held the spear in one hand and knocked the battle axe away with the other.

    Han Tieyi frowned, but Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Victory has already been determined. If you keep fighting, it won¡¯t benefit you at all. If you really die here, it¡¯ll be quite difficult for me to explain it to Qiongzhi!¡±

    Han Tieyi had broken through to mid Foundation Establishment, but he had lost too much blood in the battle. He was already completely exhausted, having depleted all of his spiritual qi. He completely clung on with willpower alone. On the other hand, the Asura General was still as imposing as ever.

    Han Tieyi backed away, and the other asura rushed over.

    Li Qingshan swung the Traitorous Demon sword and said to the Asura General, ¡°Once you rest up, we¡¯ll keep fighting!¡± As he spoke, his figure swelled, assuming his demonified form. He surged with murderousness.

    The Asura General stared at Li Qingshan like he was confronting a deadly enemy. He waved his hand to make the asura stop. Gradually, surprise filled his face.

    Suddenly, the Asura General dropped down on one knee towards Li Qingshan, leaving him astounded.

 Chapter 658 â€“ Stealing the Treasure

    Li Qingshan leaned on his sword. ¡°Why are you kneeling towards me?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re an even stronger asura!¡±

    The Asura General said with his head raised. As an asura, he could clearly judge the strength of his opponent. If it were only a powerful cultivator, it would not be enough to make him yield. It would just be a battle to the death. Asura never feared slaughter and death.

    However, he had only ever seen the violent murderousness that radiated from Li Qingshan on Asura Commanders or even Asura Kings. He already possessed such bearing even without undergoing the endless battles in the Asura realm, so he was basically a natural-born asura. As a result, the Asura General followed the rules of battle among asura and pledged his loyalty to him.

    The tiger demon¡¯s will to fight the entire world had already merged with Li Qingshan¡¯s mind, running through his path of slaughter. However, this nature was much more powerful than regular asura, which was why he could subdue these proud asura.

    This time, it could truly be described as a ¡°shudder of the tiger¡¯s body¡±, possessing endless might. Although he did not radiate with the domineering aura of a king, the effect was basically the same.

    ¡°Qingshan, what¡¯s this about?¡±

    The siblings rushed over, both astounded by this sight. It felt like nothing when they watched on from afar, but a hundred asura staring at you from so close was frightening. It was like a regular person facing a group of murderers. If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s presence, these asura would have swarmed over already and ripped them to pieces.

    Li Qingshan turned back to his original form and laid out his hands. ¡°They admitted defeat just because they¡¯re not my opponent.¡±

    ¡°They admitted defeat?¡± Hua Chenglu was in disbelief. You didn¡¯t even fight, so haven¡¯t they admitted defeat a little too easily? These asura don¡¯t look like the type that will admit defeat obediently no matter how you look at them.

    However, as long as he was present, no problems seemed to be a problem.

    ¡°Then the greatest danger has been dealt with.¡± Hua Chengzan eased up. After learning Li Qingshan was also called Northmoon, anything he managed to achieve did not surprise him anymore.

    Han Tieyi gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s back and sank into his thoughts instead. He did not understand where his violent aura of slaughter came from. This man seems to be hiding many secrets. Does Qiongzhi know about this? However, he soon remembered that since he had no ill intentions towards the Han family, why did he have to get to the bottom with everything?

    ¡°This Asura Field has only just been created. Summoning us is already its limit,¡± the Asura General replied.

    Li Qingshan nodded. Although the Asura Field had been successfully refined, converting it into a practical weapon for battle still required accumulation. It was no wonder that the blood-red swirl in the sky spun more slowly after a hundred asura had descended.

    Then he asked the asura whether they could leave the Asura Field. The answer he received was that it was possible, but only for battle. Remaining outside for long periods of time would damage their nature. Once they betrayed their heart of slaughter, the Asura realm would abandon them.

    Of course, this was only because he had just reached Asura General, and his heart of slaughter was not staunch enough. If he were like Li Qingshan, where his heart of slaughter would not erode away no matter where he resided, he would not be affected. It would also give him the right to attack the Heaven realm.

    Li Qingshan nodded. As it seemed, the Asura Field was a summoning tool, able to summon asura from the Asura realm to fight for him. And, as the Asura Field grew stronger, the asura summoned would be stronger too.

    However, there were many limits to its function. First of all, the strength of these asura had to be suppressed, or summoning an Asura King could wipe out the owner immediately. And, pure strength was not enough to make them yield. They had to be recognised as the same kind. Only battle-hungry and bloodthirsty people would work.

    Hua Chenglu sighed. ¡°I wonder when we can leave.¡±

    ¡°Just wait a little longer. The ten days will be over very soon.¡± It probably would not take that long.

    Li Qingshan suddenly asked the Asura General again, ¡°Hmm, I heard female asura are all beauties. Why are there all men here?¡±

    Hua Chenglu immediately rolled her eyes at him. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just asking. No matter how beautiful asura are, they¡¯re nowhere close to our younger sister Chenglu!¡±

    Hua Chenglu reddened as smiles flowed out from her eyes, clearly enjoying it very much.

    ¡°Cough, cough!¡± Hua Chengzan cleared his throat gently and shot a glance at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m flirting with you, so what¡¯re you coughing for? Not to mention that even my brother-in-law hasn¡¯t said anything!¡±

    Hua Chengzan said with bitter hatred, ¡°Even you yourself admit it¡¯s flirting! I¡¯ve really been careless with making friends, careless with making friends I say! Tieyi, you have to keep an eye on your brother-in-law for Qiongzhi¡¯s sake!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m already fortunate enough that he¡¯s not beating me up. You better keep an eye on your younger sister!¡± Han Tieyi said coldly.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Look at you, you make me sound like a tyrant who oppresses everybody!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have a vicious nature, how are you able to make these asura submit to you. Even if I defeat them, they¡¯ll never submit to me.¡± Then Han Tieyi said to the Asura General, ¡°We¡¯ll fight again a little later!¡±

    ¡°I decline!¡± the Asura General said.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Han Tieyi furrowed his brows, only to see the Asura General look towards Li Qingshan again. Although he had chosen to submit to Li Qingshan, he was still extremely discontent with how Li Qingshan had chosen to interrupt his battle.

    Li Qingshan gave him a kick. ¡°He wants you to fight, so fight! There¡¯s no need for all this nonsense. I definitely won¡¯t be interfering this time. Who cares if you kill each other. You both deserve it if that happens!¡±

    Eating the kick, the Asura General staggered a few steps back and folded his hands. ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s watch on from the side!¡±

    Li Qingshan placed his hands on the shoulders of the siblings and pulled them into the distance.

    ¡°Oppressment!¡± Hua Chenglu grumbled. Taking advantage of her privately was already enough, yet he still touched her in front of so many people. What an oppressive, despicable man!

    All Hua Chengzan could do was smile bitterly too. Even Hua Chenglu was not resisting such close contact right now. If she claimed she did not have any feelings for him, he would never believe it even if he were beaten to death. His own sister wanted to throw herself into someone else¡¯s arms, so what could he say as her elder brother? However, he understood Hua Chenglu¡¯s feelings a little.

    This time, if Li Qingshan were not present, then let alone Hua Chenglu, everyone else who entered the Dragon Arena would have ended up dead. Even if they managed to survive against Si Qing¡¯s lackeys, they would die to these asura. Si Qing had probably never planned on giving them the astronomical reward right from the beginning.

    Even now, the chance to escape this place was all up to Li Qingshan. Seeing how relaxed he was, Hua Chengzan stopped worrying. He would let him oppress him this time.

    In the centre of the Dragon Arena, the two powers transformed into an imposing black dragon and a crow that was pitch-black like ink respectively. Their clash became even more intense.

    Seeing the appearance of asura, Si Qing wanted to gain control over the Asura Field even more. Although these low-level asura were not of particularly great assistance to him, this was only the beginning. As long as there was sufficient time, he could assemble an army of asura.

    Compared to these asura, losing those subordinates was nothing. They came nowhere close in both battle prowess and loyalty. As for that Li Qingshan, he could kill him at whim.

    Thinking up to this point, he bellowed out, ¡°Sea-like Dragon¡¯s Might!¡±

    The black dragon erupted with light, suppressing the crow bit by bit. Mo Yu obviously refused to let up, resisting desperately as he cawed out.

    The ruined Soaring Dragon terrace was silent. Droplets of sweat rolled down Si Qing¡¯s face.

    The Golden Core cultivators exchanged glances. If they launched a sneak attack now, Si Qing would not be able to block it no matter how powerful he was. In order to save their disciples, they completely stopped worrying. Si Qing can be heartless, so we¡¯ll be unrighteous.

    Jia Zhen and E Dan worked together to separate these Golden Core cultivators from him, preventing the Golden Core cultivators from striking rashly. For a moment, they entered a stalemate as well. No one dared to act recklessly.

    Si Bao said, ¡°Big sis, when are they going to fight until?¡±

    ¡°Soon.¡± Gu Yanying smiled. Her gaze as sharp as a hawk¡¯s gazed at the Soaring Dragon terrace below her feet.

    The moment she finished talking, there was a great rumble, and a scarlet figure leapt out from the Soaring Dragon terrace, picking up the Dragon Arena and taking off. He was the daemon Northmoon, who had turned around and returned.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Jia Zhen and E Dan suddenly raised their heads, their faces changing drastically.

    Northmoon unfurled a pair of wings of wind and fire and shot off into the air with a trail of firelight.

    At the same time, in the centre of the Asura Field, the black dragon had triumphed over its opponent, but it was also completely exhausted. Suddenly, a spirit turtle descended from above, giving off a great, overpowering will and suppressing the black dragon and crow at the same time.

    ¡°Who is it!?¡± Si Qing and Mo Yu were both overcome with surprise and rage.

    ¡°My two good grandsonnies, have you even forgotten the voice of your grandfather Northmoon?¡±

    The spirit turtle suddenly spoke in human tongue; its voice was filled with complacence and mockery. In the blink of an eye, he had stolen control over the Asura realm, purging and ejecting Si Qing and Mo Yu¡¯s powers.

    Si Qing abruptly opened his eyes, only to see Jia Zhen and E Dan doing everything that they could to catch up to Northmoon. With a furious roar, he turned into a black dragon and chased after him.

    In the Asura Field, Han Tieyi was about to challenge the Asura General again when the landscape around him changed, discovering that he was now mid-air. Down below was the commandery city of Ruyi. He had already left the Asura Field somehow.

    Afterwards, he saw Hua Chengzan, Liu Zhangqing, and so on. They had all come out too. Li Qingshan was obviously among them. Everyone was stunned. Before they could even return to their senses, a black dragon whistled past them.

    At the same time, a black figure had been ejected from the Asura Field too. It was Mo Yu. He let out a strange, furious, and shrill cry, turning into a clump of twisted darkness before vanishing on the spot. When he reappeared, he was already behind Northmoon. Black feathers fell down and enveloped him.

    As Foundation Establishment cultivators, Liu Zhangqing and the others could not fall to their deaths at the very least. They each carried a few Qi Practitioners and descended from above. Before they had even touched the ground, the Golden Core cultivators surrounded them, asking about the situation regarding their disciples.

    Before Hua Chengzan and the others could speak, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from a sect languished tearfully. ¡°Sect maser, I¡¯ve been useless. T- they¡¯ve all died¡­¡±

 Chapter 659 â€“ Swooping In

    The other cultivators¡¯ gazes towards Li Qingshan and the others became extremely hostile. Originally, they were already anticipating some losses in the competition this time, but they never expected it to almost be complete annihilation.

    The Foundation Establishment trembled as he explained everything. The Golden Core cultivators all flew into a rage. Some of these dead disciples were like children to them, and some were actually children or descendants. They were extremely attached to them. These disciples were the foundations of their sect, yet they had all been sacrificed to refine the Asura Field, now all dead. They were overwhelmed with fury and hatred.

    ¡°Si Qing, this isn¡¯t over until one of us is dead!¡±

    On the Soaring Clouds terrace, Si Bao placed her hand on the railing and gazed at over a dozen streaks of light flying off into the horizon. She said, ¡°How fast. This Northmoon sure is bold. Though, how is he going to escape from Mo Yu?¡± She never thought the competition would actually end so quickly.

    Gu Yanying waved her folding fan gently and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s just a clone, so even if it¡¯s killed, it doesn¡¯t matter. Though, if he really does end up succeeding, Si Qing and the others are going to cry!¡±

    Si Bao said with admiration, ¡°Big sis, you anticipated this a long time ago, right?¡±

    ¡°How could I? That guy is very unpredictable.¡±

    Pitch-black feathers shot through the air as pitch-black streaks.

    Northmoon refused to underestimate the abilities of this crown prince of daemons. With only a mirror clone, he was definitely not Mo Yu¡¯s opponent. If Mo Yu caught him, Si Qing and the others would immediately arrive, and it would be even more difficult to escape.

    He turned around, and with a flip of his hand, he raised the Asura Field that had shrunken to the size of an alms bowl high into the air. It erupted with a suction force, drawing in the black feathers like rocks sinking into the ocean.

    He smiled. Apart from being able to summon asura, it was a great shield this time too. Not a single powerful attack could cause much harm at all if they were drawn into the Asura Field that spanned several hundred kilometers.

    There were two daemons high in the air, one pursuing and one fleeing, moving like flashing lightning.

    Failing with that attack, Mo Yu extended his ghastly-pale hand that resembled a corpse¡¯s and reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s throat with a flash.

    ¡°Tremor!¡±

    In a single moment, he lost feeling in his entire arm. Even the colour of his skin had become a deathly grey. The power of this clone alone was nowhere near enough to oppose a Daemon Commander as powerful as Mo Yu. He could not even survive a single strike.

    Whoosh!

    Mo Yu suddenly unfurled a pair of pitch-black wings that enveloped Li Qingshan completely, forming a black sphere before beginning to twist, collapse, and shrink.

    Jia Zhen waved his fan, and a bolt of scorching-white lightning hurtled towards Mo Yu. E Dan threw a punch, and the aura turned into a vicious wolf.

    But at that exact moment, the black sphere had already shrunk to the size of a fist, vanishing with Northmoon and the Asura Field. The lightning and the wolf both missed.

    ¡°No!¡± Si Qing roared hysterically.

    Five hundred kilometers away, a black speck appeared out of nowhere, turning into a black sphere. A pair of black wings unfurled. Mo Yu gripped Northmoon by the neck as he said sinisterly, ¡°You will die!¡±

    ¡°Everyone will die, but not today!¡±

    Northmoon¡¯s face became a deathly grey, but it exhibited an extremely-resplendent smile.

    Mo Yu suddenly noticed that something was amiss. When he checked Northmoon¡¯s hands, they were already empty. The Asura Field had vanished. Afterwards, Northmoon¡¯s figure began to ripple, gradually fading away.

    As if someone had kicked up a wave on the mirror-like surface of a lake, the various images reflected in the lake immediately rippled apart. As the ripple settled, Northmoon had already vanished.

    Mo Yu was stunned. His face that resembled a dead man¡¯s suddenly began to twitch and twist violently. He had spent several days to invade the Asura Field, even going as far as to fall out with Si Qing, yet in the end, his mortal enemy, Northmon, had swooped in and taken advantage of him. Repressed anger smouldered inside him. Suddenly, he raised his head and let out a crow¡¯s cry. All of the people and beasts that heard this caw on the ground below passed away immediately.

    Having watched the Asura Field he had refined vanish right before his eyes, Si Qing felt like he had been struck over the head. He was so furious that he wanted to cough up blood. Overwhelming killing intent assaulted him from behind. He turned around, only to see over a dozen furious Golden Core cultivators rushing over in pursuit. They used their strongest killing move as soon as they struck, without holding back anymore at all.

    ¡°You bastard, die!¡±

    Below the Soaring Clouds terrace, Li Qingshan smiled at Han Qiongzhi. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. Tieyi is fine too!¡± In his right hand hidden within his sleeves, there was a ripple of water, and it turned into a water mirror.

    The image in the water mirror twisted, and the palm-sized Asura Field appeared. He immediately used the spirit turtle to suppress its aura.

    This was his most flexible innate ability¡ªWatermirror¡¯s Image.

    In the very beginning, he could only create a mirror clone, but afterwards, he discovered he could reflect attacks. Even further afterwards, he discovered that no matter how far away, he could use the Watermirror¡¯s Image to directly summon his clone to his side. The items on the clone obviously came too.

    In the past, he had never imagined this move could be of any proper use. It only gave him the convenience of being able to summon his clone to his side when needed. It could help out, or he could summon his clone back in time if it were under attack, letting him avoid some losses.

    He never imagined it would achieve such wonders this time. Although he could not directly summon his clone to his side, he could secretly pass some ¡°stolen goods¡± over to his main body through the water mirror. Leaving his clone there was only to lure the enemy away.

    Having completely duped Si Qing and Mo Yu and obtained the Asura Field, Li Qingshan was in a great mood. When he gazed into the distance again, he saw Si Qing facing off against the Golden Core cultivators, which made him even more cheerful. Good things came in pairs.

    Heh, my good grandsonny A¡¯qing, you¡¯ve gone to such lengths and pains, yet it has still all fallen into the lap of your grandfather Northmoon in the end!

    If he thought closely, there were a lot of suspicious points to consider. How did Northmoon grasp the perfect timing to strike? And how was he able to locate the centre of the Asura Field as soon as he struck, stealing the control over the Asura Field? Even Mo Yu had taken several days before he slowly invaded the centre of the Asura Field.

    However, no one could have imagined that the real Northmoon had always been trapped in the Asura Field, calculating and analysing the entire Asura Field through the spirit turtle, which was why he managed to succeed in a single stroke.

    Suddenly, he felt a sharp gaze. Looking back, he smiled brightly at Gu Yanying on the Soaring Clouds terrace and said to Han Qiongzhi, ¡°I¡¯ll go have a talk with commander Gu.¡± He called Hua Chengzan along.

    Hua Chengzan caught up to him in a hurry, and the two of them arrived on the Soaring Clouds terrace, clasping their hands. ¡°Greetings from your subordinates, commander Gu, commander Si!¡±

    Si Bao said impatiently, ¡°Li Qingshan, tell me everything that happened. What happened inside?¡±

    Li Qingshan told her what happened, without any lies. However, he did skip over the matters connected to his secrets.

    When Si Bao heard that Li Qingshan had obtained the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s Fruit of Wisdom, she had already widened her eyes. When she heard how he took on eighteen people alone and defeated all of Si Qing¡¯s lackeys, she even showed disbelief.

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King would give the Fruit of Wisdom to a kid like you? You actually defeated so many Foundation Establishment cultivators alone? You better not be boasting, or I¡¯ll beat you up!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Just by you?¡±

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± Si Bao questioned her ears. There truly were no bounds to this kid¡¯s arrogance.

    ¡°Cough, cough, nothing. Hehe, I¡¯ve overreacted. I¡¯ve been provoked a little too much by people recently.¡±

    Gu Yanying held back Si Bao, who was about to blow up, and smiled. ¡°Alright, settle down. Keep going!¡±

    ¡°Afterwards, I visited each battlefield and stopped all of the battles before killing all of Si Qing¡¯s subordinates. However, the Asura Field descended afterwards, and it still ended up descending into chaos. In the end, only we were left, but we were quite lucky. We finally managed to escape there alive.¡±

    Apart from Li Qingshan, everyone felt like they had just survived a disaster, but probably only he was able to remain in a good mood. Even the Academy of the Hundred Schools from the Clear River prefecture that had the most survivors lost more than half of their disciples. However, Li Qingshan was not acquainted with any of them, so their deaths did not exactly sadden him.

    ¡°I can testify that everything commander Li said is true!¡± Hua Chengzan added.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s gaze drifted past Gu Yanying and Li Qingshan. He could not help but think, Does she know his other identity? Heh, I¡¯m such an idiot. If she didn¡¯t know, why would she give him so much special treatment?

    Both of them were people who resided between the Daemon race and the Human race, so they obviously possessed a natural understanding of one another. Both of them only did things that they wanted, and they were both unfathomable. Back then, under the snowy pine outside Qingyang city, it was actually a fateful encounter between them, while he was just an insignificant background character.

    He could not help but think of what Li Qingshan had said to him in the past, to either pursue her arduously or to let go of her with ease. Back then, he even said he had absolutely no idea how great of a distance existed between them and Gu Yanying. Before he knew it, many years had passed, and he could already stand on equal footing with her.

    When he thought up to there, he suddenly made up his mind. It was about time he made up his mind!

    Si Bao clapped her hands and smiled. ¡°Hah, Si Qing is going to be in trouble this time. He probably can¡¯t even maintain his position as the Marquis of Ruyi. I really want to thank that Northmoon!¡±

    If he had just used cultivators as sacrifices to refine the Asura Field, as long as he had a justifiable reason, the imperial court would probably do nothing to him. Perhaps someone might even admire Si Qing¡¯s great efforts. However, if he lost the Asura Field, then the situation would be entirely different.

    Dragon Arenas were all items the imperial clan forged using tremendous amounts of resources. They were equivalent to items the emperor bestowed upon them. Once they were lost, it would be a great crime. Now that this had happened, his actions of sacrificing cultivators would come off as atrocious and foolish.

    In short, evil could be covered up, but incompetence was unforgivable. The imperial court would definitely punish him.

    Si Qing understood this too. He had almost fallen into a rage after going through such sacrifices and pains to end up like this. He turned into a black dragon and roared furiously, spitting out rolling black smoke that formed a black cloud. He moved around inside, catching a Golden Core cultivator in his claws, just about to kill him.

    Jia Zhen said in a hurry, You mustn¡¯t, your highness!¡±

    Si Qing barely managed to keep his fury in check. He asked the Golden Core cultivator, ¡°Do you want me to spare your life?¡±

    The Golden Core cultivator happened to be extremely staunch. He said, ¡°I, Peng Shizong, have cultivated for my entire life. I can only endure insults so many times!¡± Immediately, he blew up his golden core. With a great boom, the dragon¡¯s claw was forcefully blown apart, and the black dragon suffered a colossal wound from the explosion. Blood and scales scattered into the surroundings like it was raining. Si Qing let out a furious and forlorn dragon¡¯s roar.

 Chapter 660 â€“ Displaced Anger

    The Golden Core cultivators cried out. They were all Golden Core cultivators of the Ruyi commandery, so they had all become acquainted with one another at least a century ago. Even if they were not particularly close with one another, they could not help but feel sympathy for the loss of one of their own when they saw the fate he faced.

    ¡°Si Qing, you¡¯re out of your mind!¡± ¡°To think that the mighty imperial clan would actually raise someone with the heart of a jackal like you!¡±

    Among the cries and curses, the attacks became even more violent.

    Si Qing was heavily injured and in a rage. The powers from the two sides clashed violently, illuminating the night sky in the distance. Fierce winds swept over from the distance, ruffling everyone¡¯s clothes on the Soaring Clouds terrace.

    A while later, three rings of light erupted on the horizon one after another. A series of booms followed. That was the final swansong of the Golden Core cultivators¡¯ several years of cultivation.

    After losing four people, the Golden Core cultivators finally scattered and left, but all with deep hatred.

    Si Qing turned back into human form. His clothes were tattered, and his hair was dishevelled. Many parts of his body were injured, which made him seem like he was in an especially sorry shape. He felt no joy from defeating his opponents at all. Instead, he felt rather lost. With how everything had ended up, what was he supposed to do next?

    ¡°Your highness, return to the estate first. We can discuss what we do next slowly!¡±

    Si Qing opened his eyes. His face was filled with ruthlessness, which then subsided. ¡°You¡¯re right, sir!¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t over yet. Prepare yourself for some ¡®displaced anger¡¯!¡±

    Gu Yanying gazed into the horizon, seeing the three of them fly over. She smiled towards Li Qingshan.

    Si Bao said, ¡°Kid, you better stay away from trouble for now. He¡¯s already become completely unhinged. If he really decides to act crazily, even we might not necessarily be able to keep you safe!¡± Although this kid is arrogant, defiant, and rude, he¡¯s still a member of the Hawkwolf Guard after all. Big sis is part of the reason why he fell out with Si Qing so much.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already contacted boss Jin. You¡¯ll be fine as long as you avoid this storm.¡±

    ¡°Why should I run and hide? He was the one who set the rules. It¡¯s not like I did anything, so why can he just ¡®displace his anger¡¯ on me? Moreover, he still owes me. Since when are creditors supposed to be afraid of seeing their debtors?¡± Li Qingshan stood with his arms behind his back, fiddling around with a string of prayer beads in his right hand. The largest prayer bead had already been crushed.

    I don¡¯t know who your ¡°boss Jin¡± is, but I have a boss too!

    ¡°Yes, commander!¡± Hua Chengzan bowed before shooting another glance at Li Qingshan, telling him to be careful. He flew off the Soaring Clouds terrace.

    Si Bao shot a glance at Li Qingshan. ¡°Kid, if you die, you better not say we didn¡¯t warn you. Leaving right now is already too late!¡±

    Si Qing, Jia Zhen, and E Dan had already returned. Si Qing noticed Li Qingshan standing beside Gu Yanying at first glance, and his eyes almost lit up with flames. This bastard had provoked him time and time again, killing his subordinates, destroying his plans, and he was even connected to that Northmoon.

    Northmoon had stolen the Asura Field and taken off. Overcome by both new and old hatred, he decided to vent it all on Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, why are you not kneeling?!¡± a fierce bellow erupted like thunder.

    Below the Soaring Clouds terrace, Liu Zhangqing and the others still had not left yet. They all looked up in worry. Han Qiongzhi suddenly looked up, immediately leaping onto the Soaring Clouds terrace, but before she had even approached the place, she already felt Si Qing¡¯s mountainous aura, flooding over like a black wave. She gritted her teeth and worked against the flow, arriving beside Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡± Li Qingshan was very touched inside.

    Han Qiongzhi smiled at him. Although she had no idea what he had done, she was willing to endure this prince Si Qing¡¯s thunderous wrath with him.

    Looking at Li Qingshan, Si Qing could tell he was not taking him seriously at all, which made him even more furious. With a wave of his hand, Li Qingshan vaguely heard a dragon¡¯s roar, and a black dragon claw reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s throat.

    Li Qingshan pulled Han Qiongzhi behind him and thought, Why is this monk so slow? Didn¡¯t he say he would rush over as soon as possible?

    A delicate, jade folding fan extended over from the side, tapping the claw gently, and the claw immediately pulled back. Si Qing said furiously, ¡°Gu Yanying, are you still going to protect him even now?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°He¡¯s still a Scarlet Hawk commander of the Hawkwolf Guard no matter what you say, and I¡¯m still a White Hawk commander of the Hawkwolf Guard no matter what you say. I can¡¯t just watch as he¡¯s killed without reason, right? What benefit will that bring you?¡±

    ¡°Kill without reason? He¡¯s a demon in disguise! It makes perfect sense for me to kill him!¡± Si Qing said with his jackal-like voice, filled with viciousness.

    Si Qing ground his teeth like he wanted to swallow Li Qingshan whole. If the treatment that otherfolk received among human cultivators was repulsion, where they could be captured at any time to serve as slaves, then the treatment of demonfolk would be much worse than otherfolk. Once they were discovered, all cultivators would try to kill them. Not only would these cultivators be innocent of any crimes, but they would even have rendered a great service to humanity instead, performing the heroic feat of purging demons and protecting the path of cultivation.

    Before the nine provinces had settled down and before Great Xia had been established, the Demon race from other worlds constantly tried to invade the place. Because of their chaotic and evil nature, they wreaked even greater havoc than the Daemon race. They could be described as enemies of the world, where everyone wanted them dead. Ever since Li Qingshan displayed his demonified form in the Asura Field, he was already a dead man in Si Qing¡¯s eyes.

    Even if he was a Scarlet Hawk commander, he could be directly executed without a second thought.

    ¡°Erm, demon?¡± Gu Yanying was taken aback and glanced back at Li Qingshan. Just how many more secrets was this guy hiding on him?

    Han Qiongzhi was surprised too. She had heard from Han Tieyi about how Li Qingshan had transformed. Was this perhaps the secret he had been hiding the entire time? However, it made no sense when she thought about it. It was rumored that demons were lustful and bloodthirsty, committing outrage freely, taking honour in evil and taking shame in kindness.

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands and said, ¡°Your highness Si Qing, you better not spout nonsense. Who¡¯s the demon? Where¡¯s the evidence?¡±

    ¡°Only demons can demonify and wield demonic artifacts. So many people saw you already, yet you still want to deny the truth? As for evidence, it¡¯s right inside you. Every demon has a demon heart. You better watch as I kill you and dig out your demon heart!¡±

    Si Qing said as he approached Li Qingshan, surging with murderousness. There was a white flash, and Gu Yanying blocked him again.

    ¡°You want to protect a demon?¡± Si Qing said, even regarding Gu Yanying as his enemy now.

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°Even if he¡¯s a demon, he should be personally dealt with by my Hawkwolf Guard. I¡¯ve already reported this to my superior. He¡¯ll be coming to investigate very soon. If he is a demon, I obviously won¡¯t spare him!¡±

    Although humans and daemons constantly clashed, their relationship was not entirely hostile. That was why she could maneuver between the two with her identity as a half-human, half-daemon. However, demons were different.

    Si Qing became a lot calmer. In the entire Green province, there was only a single person that Gu Yanying could refer to as her ¡°superior¡±. Li Qingshan¡¯s death was certain, but he had also made such a great plunder, so he probably could not escape punishment.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll wait for that sir to arrive then!¡±

    As soon as he finished talking, a golden streak of light shot over and descended from above.

 Chapter 661 â€“ Sir, Are You Perhaps Deaf?

    TL: A peng bird is a legendary giant bird from Chinese mythology. It is sometimes translated into ¡°roc¡±, but that¡¯s inappropriate for this novel. Why? You¡¯ll find out later.

    Everyone shivered inside. That was a single set of those clothes in all of the Green province. He was the highest-ranking officer of the Hawkwolf Guard throughout the entire Green province¡ªthe Gold Hawk commander.

    Across the thirty thousand kilometers of the Green province, the person who possessed the greatest status was obviously the lord of the Green province, the Fierce King of Chu. There were a few Soul Nascence cultivators and Daemon Kings, but there were only a handful who could stand on equal footing with the provincial lord. The Gold Hawk commander happened to be one of them.

    The old man did not give off a special bearing. Apart from his clothes that were rather eye-catching, not a single part of him stood out. A gentle smile often stretched across his round face, which made him seem more like a rich man than the commander of an entire province. Moreover, he possessed a very business-related name¡ªJin Fugui.

    TL: Jin means ¡°gold¡±, which is a relatively common surname in China. ¡°Fugui¡± basically means riches and honour.

    He was born into a merchant¡¯s family, and it was not some great merchant¡¯s great clan, but a small merchant who dealt in regular business. His parents were educated enough to not give him a name like ¡°Gousheng¡± or ¡°Naowa¡±, but they were nowhere near educated enough to give him a name that befit his current identity.

    No one had expected the son of a measly merchant to step onto the path of cultivation one day and undergo the third heavenly tribulation in a single stroke, reaching his current heights. The name was unsophisticated, but it was still a proper name his parents bestowed upon him. He could not change it carelessly, so he just accepted it.

    Gu Yanying waved with a smile. ¡°Boss Jin, these clothes still suit you so much!¡±

    ¡°Girl, you¡¯re saying something like that again to piss me off again!¡± Jin Fugui laughed before feigning a sigh. ¡°The Hawkwolf Guard is fantastic, except for this set of clothes. It¡¯s as tasteless as you can get. If you really have to talk unlucky, it¡¯s all because of this character ¡®gold¡¯.¡± However, who knew how many people wished they could wear such ¡°tasteless¡± clothes.

    TL: Remember, Jin Fugui¡¯s surname is ¡°gold¡±, and he¡¯s the Gold Hawk commander.

    Gu Yanying suddenly became solemn, clasping her fist and lowering her head. ¡°Greetings to commander Jin from subordinate Gu Yanying!¡±

    Si Bao, Li Qingshan, Han Qiongzhi, and the many Hawkwolf guards below the Soaring Clouds terrace all clasped their fists and lowered their heads too. ¡°Greetings, commander Jin!¡± The other cultivators who were not Hawkwolf guards all bowed politely.

    Si Qing bowed. ¡°Greetings from junior Si Qing, commander!¡±

    Jin Fugui turned around, and his smile subsided slightly. He returned the gesture. ¡°Greetings, your highness!¡± Although there was quite a large difference between their cultivations and identities, Si Qing was still a prince of Great Xia. He was still a subject of the imperial clan.

    Jin Fugui studied the Soaring Dragon terrace that was an utter mess and patted a broken pillar gently. ¡°I already know about what happened here. I will report this to the provincial lord and his majesty truthfully. I will neither exaggerate, nor will I try to hide any details.¡±

    He was polite and respectful, but he remained completely straight-faced, worlds apart from the intimacy he showed Gu Yanying. Si Qing knew it was impossible for this person to cover up anything for him. He had known this right from the beginning. If he could refine the Asura Field, it would be nothing even if he lost the position of Marquis of Ruyi, but nothing had turned out as planned in the end. When he thought up to there, he jabbed his fingernails into his hand.

    Holding back his deep regret and fury, he said calmly, ¡°I will obviously bear all the consequences, but before this, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to report to the commander.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Although many things happened during the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time, I did not go completely without learning anything. I discovered that a demon was hiding among the Hawkwolf guards and actually made it to the position of Scarlet Hawk commander, even claiming the title of genius. If he isn¡¯t eliminated soon, he¡¯ll definitely become a great source of trouble in the future.¡±

    ¡°A demon! Who are you talking about?¡±

    Jin Fugui¡¯s smile vanished. A demon had infiltrated the Hawkwolf Guard¡ªthis was a sizable matter.

    ¡°It¡¯s him, Li Qingshan!¡± Si Qing pointed out with his finger, like a spear wanting to pierce through Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡±

    Jin Fugui had noticed Li Qingshan a long time ago. He was indeed worthy of his title of genius to possess such a great cultivation at such a young age. And earlier, when he first arrived, this child had lowered his head and bowed like everyone else, but he did not have much respect in his eyes. Even when Si Qing identified him as a demon, he remained extremely calm, even smiling slightly in disdain.

    ¡°I saw it with my own eyes, so how could it be false? Everyone below the Soaring Clouds terrace are witnesses, but they¡¯re all good acquaintances of Li Qingshan, so they¡¯ll probably cover for him. Making them tell the truth will take quite the trouble. How about this? Commander, please relieve him of his identity as a Hawkwolf guard, and I¡¯ll immediately ¡®inspect¡¯ him. If he doesn¡¯t have a demon heart within him, you can punish me however you like, commander!¡± Si Qing said viciously.

    Clearly, this inspection would not be a gentle body check. Instead, he would dismember Li Qingshan and grind him into dust.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for all that trouble to find out whether he has a demon heart in him or not. Yanying, take a look and see whether he has a demon heart in him or not. He¡¯s your subordinate, so if he is a demon, you can execute him personally!¡± Jin Fugui said to Gu Yanying suddenly.

    Since Si Qing had already said something like that, he was absolutely confident. Although Li Qingshan remained very calm, someone who had been wrongly accused should not have been so calm.

    Gu Yanying frowned. He had asked her to do this clearly so that she could personally distance herself from the blame. After all, she would basically be directly responsible as the White Hawk commander if a demon managed to infiltrate the ranks of her Scarlet Hawk commanders.

    ¡°Commander!¡± Han Qiongzhi could not help but speak up. Li Qingshan pulled her hand, expressing to her that she should not worry. ¡°Commander, inspect away!¡±

    Gu Yanying met Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes again and said with her soul sense, ¡°Just what are you thinking? Before boss Jin, you definitely can¡¯t escape even if you expose your true form.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Why would I want to escape? Come!¡±

    This kid is still hiding another trump card up his sleeve!

    Gu Yanying widened her eyes, and her pupils suddenly constricted, like a pair of eyes that belonged to a hawk. Her gaze became almost tangible, piercing through Li Qingshan¡¯s body and sweeping up and down. She basically found the dark-red demon heart before long at all. She sighed and turned around, facing Jin Fugui. ¡°Yes, there is indeed a demon heart!¡±

    Si Qing smiled viciously, but Liu Zhangqing and the others waiting below the terrace all gasped with that.

    Jin Fugui let out a sigh, but he also stopped worrying. Fortunately, she had not tried to protect him through lying. She would just be making herself vulnerable for nothing. It would be completely pointless. The cultivation community was not a place where the truth could be hidden so easily.

    ¡°Looks like he¡¯s a demon who¡¯s naturally skilled at hiding, even fooling me. Li Qingshan, you might not have done anything bad, but humans and demons cannot coexist. This is written in the very laws of Great Xia. No one can save you. You better end your life yourself!¡±

    With that, Han Qiongzhi felt like lightning had just struck her, becoming sheet-white. There were a series of surprised cries from below the Soaring Dragon terrace.

    Li Qingshan said to Jin Fugui, ¡°Commander, just because someone possesses a demon heart, they¡¯re a demon?¡±

    Jin Fugui frowned. ¡°Stop quibbling. If you¡¯re a man, then accept death calmly!¡±

    In everyone¡¯s eyes, this was all a desperate attempt to survive after being caught in a hopeless situation. It seemed both powerless and pitiful.

    Although Si Qing felt extremely depressed today, he still felt some delight in seeing a genius who had always caused trouble for him and opposed him meet his end. E Dan took a step forward, rubbing his hands as he smiled viciously. ¡°If you won¡¯t end your life yourself, I can help you out. Though, it won¡¯t be so straightforward.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Some matters in the world just seem unresolved despite being already resolved, so wouldn¡¯t it be better for them to just be left unresolved? In my opinion, those who possess demon hearts are not necessarily demons!¡±

    A grand, vast voice boomed out from the horizon. Jin Fugui looked back, only to see that the voice originated from a figure the size of a bastard seed. The figure took a step and already grew to the size of a fist. With another step, he grew to the size of a child. When he took the final step, he had already made it onto the Soaring Clouds terrace. He was a large, plump monk in large, fluttering robes with his chest and belly showing.

    He took three steps through the air, but he had already crossed several hundred kilometers. Originally, he possessed quite the bearing of an eminent monk, except he held the golden leg of a lamb in one hand and a great alcohol gourd in the other, completely destroying his image of an eminent monk of buddhism.

    The Iddhi-vidh¨¡, or the Divine Foot knowledge!

    Si Qing remembered something. Buddhim had six abhij?¨¡, or six types of knowledge or powers. Only Monk Kings that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation at the very least possessed the right to practise them. This move alone explained this person¡¯s cultivation.

    TL: Abhij?¨¡is special knowledge or powers obtained through buddhist cultivation. There are a total of six of them, which are iddhi-vidh¨¡, dibba-sota, ceto-pariya-?¨¡?a, pubbe-niv¨¡sanussati, dibba-cakkhu, and ¨¡savakkhaya, or translated literally from Chinese, the Divine Foot knowledge, the Heavenly Ear knowledge, the Mind of Others knowledge, the Past Lives knowledge, the Heavenly Eye knowledge, and the Elimination of Mental Defilements knowledge. Basically, iddhi-vidh¨¡, or the Divine Foot knowledge, provides the ability of flight, transformation, and instant teleportation, which is what the Unraging monk used here. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abhij%C3%B1%C4%81

    He had begun gathering information about the Green province even before he came to the Green province, and he had mulled through everything he needed to know about every single third heavenly tribulation existence of the Green province. He could vaguely guess the identity and origins of this monk, except he did not know why he had suddenly rushed over. He felt rather uneasy inside. Was it because of Li Qingshan? But the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga should have been even more antagonistic towards demons!

    ¡°So it¡¯s you, the monk who eats meat and drinks. I thought you were going to guard the back of Great Buddha mountain for the rest of your life. Why have you suddenly come out?¡± Jin Fugui asked jokingly.

    There were only a handful of people with their cultivation in the entire Green province, so they all knew one another.

    Although the Unraging monk had already remained behind Great Buddha mountain for an entire century, the Raging monk of the past was infamous. He had committed countless murders, a renowned disaster throughout the entire Green province. If he had not originated from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Hawkwolf Guard would have eliminated him a long time ago. There had been plenty of contact between them in the past.

    The Unraging monk smiled. ¡°I was originally reluctant to step into the secular world again, but unfortunately, I¡¯ve become involved with a hint of bad karma. It¡¯s stopping me from finding peace in my six senses, or sadindriya.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve come too slowly. If you had come a little later, someone else would have ended me.¡±

    The Unraging monk¡¯s face changed, pointing at Li Qingshan with his index and middle finger while scolding. ¡°Damned disciple, I keep my eye off you for a single day and you leave the mountain and make trouble. Why don¡¯t you get over here and greet your master?¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes, walked over, and brought his palms together, saying unenthusiastically, ¡°Master, are you well?¡±

    Everyone was taken aback, doubting their ears. They actually referred to one another as master and disciple.

    Gu Yanying blinked her eyes, struggling to hold back her laughter.

    Jin Fugui was taken aback. ¡°Unraging, he¡¯s your disciple?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a damned disciple of mine, but if you have to, you can say that he¡¯s my first disciple.¡±

    The Unraging monk looked at Li Qingshan and nodded in satisfaction. He was already close to the second heavenly tribulation. He could not help but admit that when it came to cultivation, this disciple of his could leave any master satisfied.

    ¡°But he¡¯s not a monk!¡± Jin Fugui exclaimed. Having been deemed as the first disciple, he would not be a regular disciple. Instead, he would inherit the Unraging monk¡¯s legacy.

    ¡°A secular disciple! I¡¯m not one right now, but I¡¯ll definitely be one in the future!¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t be one in the future either!¡±

    Jin Fugui was left speechless for a moment. It was a petty matter, yet a colossal existence like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had suddenly become involved, and the one who stepped forward was even that bastard, the Unraging Monk. Suddenly, everything had become troublesome.

    Si Qing said sunkenly, ¡°Master, your disciple is a demon!¡±

    The Unraging monk smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already said that those who possess demon hearts are not necessarily demons. I said it so loudly. Sir, are you perhaps deaf?¡±

 Chapter 662 â€“ Breaking the Game

    Immediately, blood completely receded from Si Qing¡¯s face. Growing up, he had never been insulted in front of so many people, and he was currently helpless against the person who insulted him.

    Jin Fugui shook his head gently. Although he had gone from ¡°Raging¡± to ¡°Unraging¡±, a leopard could not change its spots. This monk had never been known for possessing a good temper.

    Jia Zhen waved his feather fan. ¡°Demons are demons, humans are humans. It¡¯s not something you can distort and quibble with language. The mighty Unraging monk of the mighty Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga actually wants to protect a demon?¡±

    E Dan droned, ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga might be able to block us from purging demons, but they can¡¯t block the mouths of the entire world. Commander Jin, please uphold justice.¡±

    They never imagined the Unraging monk to not even glance at them. He said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Damned disciple, how¡¯d you throw these people into a flurry? You better explain yourself clearly!¡± He completely reduced the two vicious people, Jia Zhen and E Dan, to mere accessories to the incident.

    Li Qingshan explained the entire story, from how he fell out with E Dan, to the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time and Si Qing¡¯s actions.

    When the Unraging Monk heard how Li Qingshan openly cursed E Dan in the hall, he took a bite of his lamb leg. ¡°Well cursed. That behaviour is no different from a beast¡¯s!¡± Then he heard how Si Qing¡¯s lackeys had ganged up against Li Qingshan, followed by how they were all killed. He took a sip of alcohol. ¡°Well killed. That bears great resemblance to your master¡¯s demeanour in the past!¡±

    ¡°A mighty prince from the imperial family, the leader of an entire commandery, would actually sacrifice the lives of thousands of cultivators for his personal gains. Someone so out of his mind truly should not live in this world. In the end, he lost everything, which you can say is the will of the heavens. Damned disciple, you¡¯ve done well!¡±

    When he listened to the end, the Unraging Monk laughed loudly at the sky, but his laughter seemed to contain the flames of fury that could burn down everything. Si Qing, Jia Zhen, and E Dan all changed in expression.

    Jin Fugui never had a particularly good impression of Si Qing. After hearing about everything, he had come to stand up for Gu Yanying before becoming even more reluctant to get involved. A Scarlet Hawk commander of my Hawkwolf Guard is someone you can execute just because you want to? Who do you take me for?

    ¡°Unraging, the status of master and disciple comes before the status of superior and subordinate, so I¡¯ll leave this child to you to take away. I believe the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga will judge him justly under the precepts of the monastery.¡±

    ¡°It would be wrong of you to say that, commander Jin. This damned disciple of mine refuses to be a monk, so why would I take him back with me? Since he¡¯s a Hawkwolf guard, then his punishment should obviously be up to you. Though, let me restate what I said earlier, those who possess demon hearts are not necessarily demons!¡±

    Suddenly, the Unraging monk erupted with demon qi, coloured like flames and twisting into faces of rage. Even the sky changed in colour.

    ¡°Demon King!¡±

    Jin Fugui took a step back in caution, staring at the Unraging monk in disbelief. With such a bearing, he was already a legendary Demon King. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was actually hiding a Demon King at the back of their mountain. This was even more unbelievable.

    Afterwards, he saw the Unraging monk in the demon qi bring his palms together, smiling widely like a smiling buddha, possessing the solemn bearing that only an eminent monk of buddhism could possess. A single glance was enough to comprehend the true meaning of ¡°casting aside the butcher¡¯s blade and attaining instant enlightenment¡±.

    The Unraging monk asked, ¡°Commander, do you know which hall I guard at the back of the mountain?¡±

    ¡°The Demon Suppression hall!¡±

    ¡°Then have you ever heard that the Demon Suppression hall possesses a cultivation method called the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡±

    ¡°I have heard of it. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ No wonder¡­ I¡¯ve never heard that someone managed to practise this cultivation method. I didn¡¯t think it would be your fortuitous encounter.¡±

    Jin Fugui was stunned at first before reaching realisation. In the past, although the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga managed to protect the Unraging monk, many people said he had already suffered from qi deviation and fallen into the demonic path, unable to make anymore progress again. Never did they think he would actually overcome the heavenly tribulation one day and reach the realm of Monk Kings.

    It also made perfect sense now why the Unraging monk would accept a secular disciple as his disciple. Li Qingshan clearly practised the Demon Suppression Statuary too, which was why he had a demon heart in him and why he could use the various abilities of the Demon race. In other words, he had a demon heart, but he was not a demon.

    ¡°Practising this cultivation method requires great obsession and great obstacles, but also great willpower and great wisdom. I came across one for once, so I decided to show a little more care to this damned disciple of mine, but that doesn¡¯t mean he can strut around, thinking himself as impressive and making unnecessary trouble for the commander. If he¡¯s done any wrong, please punish him freely, commander. There¡¯s no need to pay any attention to me.¡±

    The Unraging monk withdrew his demon qi and tossed his alcohol and meat aside, bringing his palms together and bowing. He was indescribably friendly.

    ¡°It¡¯s Great Xia¡¯s good fortune to have such an outstanding person in the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    ¡°I cannot stay in the secular world for long, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave first.¡±

    ¡°Take care, master!¡± Jin Fugui raised his hands with a smile.

    If a regular person who did not know what was going on had been watching, then this would seem like a wealthy man who was trying to do good and virtue bidding farewell to a monk politely after giving alms to a monk who had come knocking.

    Master, it¡¯s rare of you to come out. You should let me hold you a banquet so that you can feast to your heart¡¯s content for a good three days!¡±

    Seeing how the Unraging monk managed to pacify an almost-despairing situation with just a few words, Li Qingshan could not help but feel grateful over the kindness he had shown. Moreover, he wanted to ask about Xiao An.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯ll be no good feast. Having a damned disciple like you will probably only bring endless troubles and disaster. I really should just let you deal with the consequences you face alone!¡±

    The Unraging monk said in exasperation, but he did not say that purely out of exasperation. Everyone at his realm of cultivation had a vague sense over the obscure existence of fate, like how a single statement could end up being prophetic.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I originally wanted to deal with the consequences I face alone too, reluctant to drag down everyone else. However, there¡¯ll always be some ties of karma that remain unresolved in human life.¡± As he said that, he glanced at Han Qiongzhi deeply.

    ¡°Where are the prayer beads?¡±

    ¡°Right here!¡± Li Qingshan took out the string of prayer beads. The Unraging monk stroked it with his great sleeve, and the shattered prayer bead was repaired. Then he said, ¡°Damned disciple, take care!¡± Taking a step, he strode away through the air.

    Li Qingshan gazed into the distance as if he was in thought.

    Gu Yanying stared at his back and smiled inside. With this identity of his, he could wander the world freely. Si Qing had bitten off more than he could chew this time.

    ¡°Your highness, looks like it was all a misunderstanding. Scarlet Hawk commander Li Qingshan of my Hawkwolf Guard is not a demon like you speak of!¡± Jin Fugui said flatly.

    Jin Fugui¡¯s friendliness as a rich man had vanished completely. Clearly, this misunderstanding had displeased him. As long as he spoke a little firmer when he reported to the imperial court, it could lead to great misfortune for Si Qing.

    ¡°Then it looks like I was mistaken!¡±

    Si Qing gritted his teeth. Not only had he failed to kill Li Qingshan, but he had even been insulted for nothing instead. On top of that, he had antagonised two powerful cultivators, as well as the organisations behind the two great cultivators, which was basically a consequence even worse than refining the Asura Field. It left him so gloomy that he wanted to cough up blood.

    Jin Fugui nodded at Gu Yanying and was about to leave when Li Qingshan suddenly said, ¡°Commander, there¡¯s something else I¡¯d like you to preside over to ensure it is carried out fairly!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±

    Jin Fugui recovered some friendliness. Although Li Qingshan came off as rather unruly, he was still his subordinate after all, and he did indeed have the right to be unruly. With his cultivation, he had the opportunity of pushing past the second heavenly tribulation under the age of thirty. There were only a handful of geniuses like that across the entire Green province. As long as he did not die along the way, he could definitely stir up the nine provinces.

    Li Qingshan said nothing more and opened his hundred treasures pouch. With a smack, a small medal fell onto the ground, followed by a great rustle. Thousands of medals fell out like flowing water, forming a small mound before him.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Jin Fugui was rather confused.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, y- y- you!¡± Si Qing¡¯s face twisted slightly. He almost began to breathe fire.

    ¡°This is for the reward that his highness Si Qing promised. Basically all of them are here, so please tally them up, your highness!¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    Basically all the medals Si Qing had allocated were here. Even if a few were missing, there would be no more than a hundred.

    Back then in the Asura Field, when Han Teiyi challenged the Asura General again.

    Hua Chengzan advised Li Qingshan. ¡°Qingshan, you better gather these medals, just in case something happens.¡±

    Li Qingshan smacked his forehead. ¡°I almost forgot about this.¡± This had been a rule that Si Qing had set down in the first place, the main objective of this competition. From the lackeys he had slain, he had already obtained a thousand medals from their hundred treasures pouches.

    As a result, he ordered the asura to scavenge all the hundred treasures pouches from the battlefield littered with the remains of thousands of cultivators. Then he sent them off to other battlefields. He basically left the weapons scattered on the battlefields to them as a reward.

    The asura completed this task very easily, so Li Qingshan obtained thousands of medals.

    At this moment, Liu Zhangqing and the others arrived. Seeing the situation, they all took out their medals and handed them to Li Qingshan. It was no longer possible for them to exchange anything from their enemy, Si Qing, with these medals. Even if they were shameless enough to do so, Si Qing might not necessarily acknowledge it. As a result, they passed them all to Li Qingshan without holding back at all.

    A single medal could only be regarded as possessing some value, but it was not enough for Li Qingshan to take it seriously. However, when all of these medals were gathered together, that would be tens of millions of spiritual stones, as well as countless pills, talismans, spiritual artifacts, and arcane artifacts. It was truly a tremendous sum. He obviously could not let Si Qing get away scott-free, wanting to have this debt resolved properly.

    Si Qing¡¯s face darkened at times and turned green at others. He never planned on issuing these rewards. In his plan, all the cultivators would die, serving as sacrifices for the Asura Field, but he never expected that not only would someone survive, but they would even basically gather all the medals too.

    Jin Fugui looked at the trembling Si Qing and did not feel any pity at all. He had set the rules of the game himself, using absolute advantage and strength to subdue everyone, only to end up like this in the end. It was as funny as it could get.

    ¡°I will mention this to his majesty too!¡±

    Gu Yanying understood that the appearance of three people broke Si Qing¡¯s game¡ªMo Yu, Northmon, and Li Qingshan. Although she knew Li Qingshan and Northmoon were the same people, she did not know that even Mo Yu had been drawn over here by Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 663 â€“ The Lotus Seeds Have Already Rotted Away, I Am Still Me

    ¡°Master, you¡¯ve returned!¡±

    ¡°Looks like you didn¡¯t waste this time either.¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes shone slightly and also smiled.

    ¡°Rongzhi would never let down the great lengths master has gone to to nurture me. Please try out my culinary skills.¡± Qian Rongzhi presented the bowl before Gu Yanying. The lotus seeds were glistening and snow-white, perfectly round and full. There was a small, porcelain spoon in the bowl.

    Gu Yanying extended her hand to accept it when Qian Rongzhi suddenly said, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the wrong bowl!¡± Tipping her hands gently, the bowl fell and smashed to pieces with a clank. The lotus seeds scattered across the ground.

    Gu Yanying was mildly taken aback. Qian Rongzhi had already turned around and returned behind the curtains, emerging again immediately. She held another porcelain bowl in her hand, but when she brought it before Gu Yanying, it was a bowl of pitch-black mud. There was a small, porcelain spoon in the bowl too.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled with a hint of cruelty and resolve.

    Gu Yanying gazed at her and sighed. She suddenly felt rather exhausted. ¡°Why won¡¯t you give yourself an opportunity for your wounds to heal?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, master, but it¡¯s already too late. My wounds have already grown fetid, covering my body. If I were to shave away the rotten flesh, then nothing would remain!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi lowered her head slightly, gazing at the bowl of mud. If lotus seeds could not bloom into lotus flowers, then they could only rot away into mud. Just how many despaired lotus seeds did this bowl of mud contain?

    Gu Yanying was left momentarily speechless. Fleeing from suffering and sadness and pursuing happiness and joy was the instincts of all creatures. Even the buddha who had attained emptiness and non-self called the world he existed in ¡°great joy¡±¡ªparadise.

    People were most welcome to suffer, but if they understood how they could obtain happiness and joy and possessed the ability to obtain happiness and joy, yet they chose to conquer this instinct, willingly sinking into the mud, refusing to admire the lotus flowers and refusing to search for the lotus seeds, then even the buddha would struggle to bring them salvation.

    As a result, Gu Yanying said, ¡°You¡¯ll probably be even more talented with the Illustrations of Naraka than me!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. I originally thought I saw the shadow of my past on you, so I did many boring things. Looks like I was wrong.¡±

    ¡°Fortunately.¡± Qian Rongzhi drank the entire bowl of mud in a single gulp and smiled resplendently. ¡°I am still me!¡±

    Ru Xin returned to benevolence island, passing through the long passageway underground. The white light lit up with her steps, extending into the centre of the underground room.

    A man with a very ordinary appearance sat among a pile of books, meditating. He was Chu Tian. Through these several days of hard work, he had managed to squeeze his cultivation back to the second layer of Qi Practitioner.

    This speed was basically unforgivably slow to him. One reason for this was because of the many hidden wounds left over from the destruction of his cultivation, and the other reason was because he had insufficient cultivation resources. He could not make bricks without straw.

    ¡°Fellow Ru, I need some pills.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your mother. I already give you food and shelter, so am I supposed to give you pills too? Will you show me filial piety in the future? I came to check on you to see whether you died or not. Since you¡¯re not dead, you better just stay here then.¡±

    Chu Tian smiled. ¡°Fellow, you¡¯ve got quite the temper. What happened during the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures this time?¡±

    Ru Xin was mildly taken aback, noticing there was something wrong with her emotions. There was a ball of flames burning within her, spreading uncontrollably. She waved her hand.

    ¡°Alright, I can give you some regular pills, but if they¡¯re too precious, it won¡¯t do.¡±

    Chu Tian bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve managed to recall many things recently, which includes a cultivation method that I think is very suitable for you.¡±

    ¡°Really? What¡¯s it called?¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, one of the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. It incorporates the arts of alchemy, placing your body into an alchemy furnace and practising both qi and the body. Combined with the Daoist Arts of Cloud Furnace, it can lead to endless wonders. Although you¡¯ll have to endure quite a bit of torment and pain when you practise it, it¡¯s definitely worth it. There¡¯s probably only a small fistful of cultivation methods from this world that can compare to it. You can treat this as repayment to you and your master for saving my life.¡±

    ¡°What pills do you want? As long as you don¡¯t go overboard, I can provide all of them to you!¡±

    Ru Xin nodded. The value of a decent cultivation method went without saying to a cultivator, while a cultivation method that could be titled as a ¡°Heavenly Tome¡± definitely was anything but ordinary. Compared to it, these pills were nothing.

    ¡°I do have another request!¡± Chu Tian pulled out a medical classic from beside him. ¡°Please use the techniques of the school of Medicine to change my appearance. I want to go out and start over!¡±

    Ru Xin remembered something. The school of Medicine did have techniques to change appearances, but they were not frequently used. Not only did it require extremely great skill, but it also touched on the physiognomic fate, so it could not be changed so easily.

    And, changing appearances required some extremely-precious materials. One of them was ¡°merfolk muscle¡±. In short, it was flesh carved from the bodies of Merfolk of the South sea. Only then could the new appearance merge perfectly with the body. There were no regular cultivators who could afford these items.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll find a way to gather materials!¡±

    Ru Xin pondered about this for a while. There actually was no need for her to go to the South sea and capture a merfolk or carve flesh from her body. As long as she was willing to pay a great price, she could basically purchase all of these materials. If she really tried to use her flesh, it would be a guaranteed failure, as she was not Merfolk through and through.

    Fortunately, she had always been refining pills for Li Qingshan, so she built up quite a sizable sum of resources. Gathering the materials should not be too difficult.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be waiting here for the news of your success. I¡¯ll definitely pay you back once you help me with this!¡±

    As a result, Chu Tian passed on the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace and the Daoist Arts of Cloud Furnace to Ru Xin before explaining some of the important points. It was so wondrous that it left Ru Xin utterly amazed. The cultivation process was indeed difficult, basically refining herself like a pill. She required a top-of-the-line pill cauldron and even some supplementary materials.

    The cultivation process was extremely laborious too. As she endured the pain, she also had to control the interaction between water and fire with great precision. Once the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace was practised to a certain extent, she could turn her body into something akin to jade, making her impervious to damage and maintaining her youth forever. Her lifespan would be much longer than regular cultivators.

    In the end, Ru Xin gave a few pills to Chu Tian, and Chu Tian handed a portrait he had personally drawn to Ru Xin. Ru Xin glanced at it and saw a relatively youthful and striking face, but it made her think of something.

    ¡°Even if you change your appearance, it¡¯s still possible for her to see through your identity if you don¡¯t change your stature. That woman has a lot of suspicions.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely be able to find a way to retrieve what I¡¯ve lost.¡± Chu Tian smiled faintly, but it was filled with great determination that he would never allow to falter.

    In the Qing Xiao dwelling, the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks continued to operate mindlessly, guarding an empty dwelling until a figure appeared on the horizon, flying over quickly and landing at the entrance of the dwelling. The formation obviously let him in.

    Li Qingshan gently touched the three words ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home¡± that Xiao An had personally written. He could not help but look in the direction of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but his gaze obviously struggled to cross the many mountains. As a result, all he could do was look away before recalling everything he had gone through during the past few days.

    Sure enough, Si Qing was unable to produce such a great sum of resources. Even when Li Qingshan recalled his expression where he almost went crazy from poverty, he still found it extremely hilarious. In the end, he only barely managed to pay up thirty percent of the spiritual stones, talismans, and pills.

    Li Qingshan even wanted to put in a few snide remarks, but Jin Fugui¡¯s gaze stopped him. He said, ¡°You¡¯ll receive what belongs to you sooner or later. The imperial clan won¡¯t leave you unpaid, but you should also know when to stop. Even your master cannot necessarily handle everything. Unless you become a monk in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the world still belongs to the imperial clan.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan stopped badgering on about this. Everything he had obtained already left him extremely satisfied.

    After Jin Fugui took his leave, Si Qing immediately took off, rushing to the Dragon province to explain himself. He did not throw down any threats at Li Qingshan either, just glancing past him indifferently and saying, ¡°Li Qingshan, I admit I¡¯ve underestimated you, but this won¡¯t happen again. One day in the future, I will make you understand just how fortunate it would have been for you to die here today.¡±

    It was filled with absolutely irreconcilable hatred, which even made Han Qiongzhi shiver on the side.

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Cut the bullshit. Hurry up and pay me back!¡± Si Qing left furiously.

    Afterwards, Gu Yanying told Li Qingshan in private that Jin Fugui would be reporting this matter to the imperial court. With how prideful the imperial clan was, they would definitely settle Si Qing¡¯s debt for him even if they dismissed him as a prince. The punishment that Si Qing would receive would be slightly heavier too.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°With the size and prosperity of the Si clan, they¡¯re obviously not lacking the small bit of change they owe me!¡± It led to quite a few eye-rolls from Si Bao.

    However, Gu Yanying shook her head. ¡°But this might not necessarily be good. The imperial clan is already in enough pain from losing the Asura Field. Now that you¡¯re adding insult to injury, they just need to say something, and you¡¯ll be in great trouble. Bottom lines are not to be crossed!¡±

    Li Qingshan vaguely understood what Jin Fugui was trying to say, but he was not worried. There were two sides to everything, just like how good fortune followed disaster and disaster lurked within good fortune. Surely he could not be interested in receiving benefits while still being afraid of offending anyone.

    He would handle the problems as they came. The only thing he was worried about was the imperial clan directly sending a third heavenly tribulation cultivator to wipe him off the face of the world. If that happened, then there truly was nothing else he could do. He could only take off and get out of here.

    He also understood what Gu Yanying was trying to say. She was warning him against becoming complacent, just in case he dug a hole for himself.

    As a result, Li Qingshan said, ¡°After eating the Fruit of Wisdom. I think I¡¯ve comprehended quite a few more things. I plan on going back and entering secluded cultivation so that I can make a push for Golden Core.¡±

    ¡°If you need anything, you¡¯re most welcome to let me know.¡±

    Gu Yanying nodded. She also had an outstanding debt to Li Qingshan. However, now that Li Qingshan had the identity of the first disciple of the Unraging monk, there was no need for her to hide it so much. She could easily write it off as a form of investment.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I want to buy a few Virtue Accumulation pills, the more years the better.¡±

 Chapter 664 â€“ Recognising Me As Me, Kicking Up a Stir Once More

    Virtue Accumulation pills were different. Every single herb that went into its production could be planted in gardens. Of course, it would take a long period of time. The older the herbs were, the greater efficacy they possessed and the better the Virtue Accumulations pills refined from them would be.

    The most ordinary Virtue Accumulation pill was equivalent to a year of cultivation. Beyond that, there were three-year Virtue Accumulation pills, five-year Virtue Accumulation pills, and so on. Although absorbing the effects and removing the residue from the body would take some time, it could still drastically decrease the amount of time spent on cultivation. Although the spiritual herbs that went into its production could be farmed, they were still extremely expensive.

    However, if ingesting pills led to an unstable foundation, then the time saved would be spent on the bottleneck. No matter how great the medicine was, it could only serve as a powerful supplement, unable to completely replace the cultivator¡¯s process of cultivation. The cultivator still had to consider and bear the trade-offs themselves.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of Virtue Accumulation pills on me. The best one I have is a five-year Virtue Accumulation pill, but it¡¯s worth a hundred times more than regular pills.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡± Li Qingshan did not hesitate at all, buying five Virtue Accumulation pills. Three of them were regular Virtue Accumulation pills, one was a three-year pill, and one was a five-year pill.

    Afterwards, he lingered around for a few more days in the commandery city. Before he left, he gave the five-year Virtue Accumulation pill to Han Qiongzhi. They spent more time apart than together, so he could only make it up to her slightly in other ways.

    He could still remember how Han Qiongzhi¡¯s expression was rather strange as she held the Virtue Accumulation pill. Her joy from obtaining a precious pill had been completely drowned out by some other emotions. It was as if she wanted to turn him down, but she still accepted it in the end.

    Li Qingshan understood that perhaps he should stay here for some time, but he also knew it was time for him to set off again. He could not remain anywhere for anyone for lengthy amounts of time. All he could do was constantly advance, striving towards beyond the Nine Heavens. He did not even have the time to acknowledge his own feelings.

    As a result, after a parting kiss, he left.

    He tossed it up gently, and the Asura Field expanded, reaching the size of a yurt. Li Qingshan walked in, and his surroundings changed. An expansive land unfurled before him. At the same time, he assumed his form with the scarlet hair and pupils, spreading his wings and flapping them gently. The scenery around him immediately stretched into thousands of streaks of light, receding behind him rapidly.

    He stopped in front of the towering tree. The sun vines flowers were still blooming. The blooming period was not over, decorating the great banyan tree with resplendence.

    Li Qingshan declared loudly to the great tree, ¡°From today onwards, I am the owner of this place. I am Northmoon. Sir, you must be the Great Banyan Tree King of the Ten Daemon Kings!¡±

    Right now, the most important resource in the Asura Field was the Great Banyan Tree King. Not only could he provide him with tree sap that could quickly recover spiritual qi, but he could also bequeath him with wisdom and inspiration. He could ask him about many problems he encountered with cultivation. As a result, the first thing he did when he entered the Asura Field was visit him.

    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King said in surprise.

    ¡°It¡¯s me what? You¡¯ve seen me before?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback, but he showed none of it.

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°What are you blabbering on about? How can I be a lowly human?¡± Li Qingshan raised the pitch of his voice unhappily.

    The Great Banyan Tree King suddenly began to chuckle aloud. His colossal body shook gently. His laughter was filled with understanding.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that I sensed the Asura Field had been refined by someone inside. So it was all you. That kid Si Qing is probably about to cough up blood from anger.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body slackened. ¡°Fine then. How did you manage to tell?¡±

    ¡°I might have lived for over ten millennia, but I haven¡¯t grown that senile just yet. How could I not recognise you after seeing you a mere few days ago? Compared to your appearance and aura, your microexpressions, the way you talk, and your body language stands out just as much in my eyes.¡±

    Li Qingshan was forced to admit that sometimes, he could not fool everyone just by changing his face and surrounding himself in daemon qi. At the very least, he could not fool the Great Banyan Tree King who only grew more insightful with age.

    The reason why his dual identity had never been seen through was because most of the people he made more contact with under the identity of Northmoon did not know Li Qingshan, while the people that Li Qingshan was familiar with rarely had any contact with Northmoon. As a result, it led to an insufficient amount of information. Combined with the fact that his clone was there to confuse everyone, that was the only reason why he had managed to maintain this secret until now. With this as a lesson, he would definitely pay extra attention to this.

    ¡°Then please keep this secret for me, fellow!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. To me, this tiny secret of yours is nothing. I¡¯m keeping many more important secrets than that!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King had experienced the change of the ages, so while Li Qingshan¡¯s existence was a little strange, he did not stand out too much compared to the people of the past. Of course, this was only his current belief.

    With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s promise, there was no reason for Li Qingshan to worry anymore. As a result, he smiled. ¡°Since we know each other, then I¡¯ll get right to it. Actually, there are still many aspects of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean that puzzle me, so please give me some guidance, fellow!¡±

    On Moon Court lake, rain poured down heavily as the waves surged madly.

    A huge, red carp swam about and rolled around in the lakewater, sometimes bobbing to the surface and sometimes diving to the bottom.

    Bolts of lightning tore through the night sky, tailing behind it.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    Two beautiful, female night roamers stood on a tall lookout tower in the dwelling at the centre of the lake. One possessed a noble bearing, her eyes twinkling like stars, while the other was alluring, with large breasts and wide hips. They were Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo. Their gazes passed through the rain, plunging into the depths of the black water.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°The carp under master seems to be undergoing a tribulation!¡±

    Ye Liubo was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s just becoming a Daemon General, so why is there such a great disturbance?¡±

    Ye Liusu vaguely guessed why, but she did not mention it. This would only happen if the carp possessed the Water God Seal, but he would never hand the Water God Seal to anyone else unless he had no other choice. She could not help but become slightly worried.

    The carp named ¡°Li¡¯l Red¡± by Li Qingshan returned to Moon Court lake with the Water God Seal. The power in the Water God Seal obviously flowed into its body.

    So far, the Water God Seal had basically refined all the water within the Ruyi commandery already, whether it was above or below ground. The Ruyi commandery was extremely rich with water resources, enough to rival ten Jiangnans, so just how vast was the water spiritual qi?!

    Even just absorbing a thousandth of the spiritual qi was equivalent to consuming who knew how many pills for a water element daemon. And, daemons did not possess as many realms and bottlenecks as humans. The greatest struggle they faced was accumulating spiritual qi.

    With the Water God Seal as a foundation, it had reached the cusp of Daemon General in a mere few days, causing the heavenly tribulation to descend, and it obviously used the power of the Water God Seal to contend against the heavenly tribulation.

    Two figures appeared near a port on the shore of Moon Court lake. One was a brutal and fierce-looking man, while the other was a sunken-faced scholar with a black feather fan. They were E Dan and Jia Zhen.

    ¡°That bastard Northmoonactually dared to fool us. I won¡¯t be satisfied until I massacre all of his subordinates.¡± E Dan ground his teeth.

    ¡°Killing them all is too much of a waste. We better capture them and sell them off as slaves in the Dragon province. It can make up for quite a bit of our loss. Daemons and male night roamers can be sent into the arenas, while female night roamers should fetch a good price!¡± Jia Zhen waved his feather fan. He seemed extremely calm, but his eyes also blazed with wickedness.

    As Si Qing¡¯s left and right hand men, they had always been courteously received and deeply trusted by Si Qing. They had received many benefits because of Si Qing¡¯s identity as a prince. When the lord was worried, his ministers would be insulted. When the lord was insulted, his ministers would die. Now that Si Qing had been forced to return to the Dragon province for punishment despite just taking his position, they felt utterly humiliated. They had to get revenge.

    As a result, they cast aside all of their schemes and decided to crush him with absolute strength. After seeing the situation of the Moon Court lake, they reached the same conclusion.

    ¡°There¡¯s a daemon undergoing the tribulation. From the disturbance, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that wretched daemon Northmoon? He was already so powerful despite being a Daemon General. If he can break through to Daemon Commander, then just who can still keep him at bay in the Ruyi commandery?¡± E Dan frowned.

    Jia Zhen calculated by making a few hand signs. ¡°It¡¯s just the first heavenly tribulation, so it shouldn¡¯t be Northmoon. To be able to make such a disturbance¡­¡± He pondered for a while, and his eyes lit up. ¡°It¡¯s very likely for the Water God Seal to be in the daemon¡¯s possession!¡±

    As long as they obtained the Water God Seal, then they could make up for their loss of the Asura Field. If they could fuse it with a Mountain God Seal and refine the true ¡°God Seal of Mountains and Water¡±, then they would have basically accomplished their entire objective of coming here in the first place.

    Right when the two of them were about to take action, a voice suddenly rang out from behind.

    ¡°My good friends, it¡¯s really been some time! What has brought you to my humble abode all of a sudden today?¡±

    Within the rainstorm, a naked man with scarlet hair and scarlet pupils strode across the surface of the water. A devilish smile stretched over his handsome, flawless face. He was Northmoon, or more accurately, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone.

    Just like how when enemies met, their eyes would redden with rage, E Dan¡¯s eyes did indeed redden immediately. He gave off a violent aura, immediately scattering the rain around him. He stared at Northmoon like a monster who wanted to gobble him up.

    ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    Jia Zhen raised his fan and stopped E Dan. ¡°Northmoon, hand over the Asura Field, and we¡¯ll clean the slate between us. We¡¯ll leave immediately. Or, do you really plan on continuing until one side is dead?¡±

    However, he had already made up his mind inside. When Northmoon handed over the Asura Field, he would immediately steal the Water God Seal, clipping his wings before finding another opportunity to kill him.

    ¡°Ah, about that. I do admit that I am somewhat at fault, but the Asura Field isn¡¯t with me. It has been stolen by Mo Yu. I almost died at his hand. I only managed to escape after quite a lot of difficulty.¡±

    Northmoon laid out his hands and said helplessly.

    However, he secretly frowned inside. With this clone alone, he definitely did not stand a chance against either one of them. Even if his main body rushed over, he could not contend against their combined efforts. Unless Lolth was willing to help out, he did not have the slightest hope at winning at all.

    Although he had viciously screwed over Si Qing by playing along, he had never been in possession of any advantages when it came to a direct confrontation. The best result was taking back the Water God Seal despite the risks. He would be in no shape to worry about anything else.

 Chapter 665 â€“ The Stormy Night, the Battle for the Water God Seal

    This request was basically as simple as it could get for Li Qingshan. The Water God Seal had come from her in the first place, and she could not even use up a tenth, or even a hundredth, of the spiritual qi within the Water God Seal.

    Li Qingshan agreed happily. Afterwards, he bid farewell with Han Qiongzhi and found a small lake in the mountains, using the Watermirror¡¯s Image again and creating a mirror clone, which he sent to Moon Court lake.

    He never expected to run straight into this storm, as well as Jia Zhen and E Dan. The Water God Seal was at risk of being lost.

    As a result, he purposefully told some lies to mislead their senses. Mo Yu must not have gone out of his way to tell them he had obtained the Asura Field, right?

    As one of the people who had been fooled, Mo Yu indeed did not publicly announce his failure, and Si Qing did not have the opportunity at all to face him.

    Jia Zhen and E Dan exchanged glances. They truly were rather uncertain about whether the Asura Field was in Northmoon¡¯s hands. Logically speaking, there was instead a very great chance that it was not in his hands!

    As the crown prince of the Green province daemons, Mo Yu¡¯s strength and reputation even exceeded Northmoon¡¯s. In a one-against-one situation, he obviously had a better chance at victory. Back then, it was Mo Yu who had caught Northmoon and moved him elsewhere. Clearly, victory had been within his grasp.

    Jia Zhen suddenly asked, ¡°How do you know the Dragon Asura turned into an Asura Field?¡±

    ¡°I watched and waited for a very long time too. If I didn¡¯t even know what it was, why¡¯d I try and steal it? Sigh, I didn¡¯t think it would all be in vain. Mo Yu is A¡¯qing¡¯s enemy, as well as my enemy. We should work together against him and take back the Asura Field. If we were to get into a dispute, wouldn¡¯t others just get a good laugh out of us?¡±

    The more Li Qingshan spoke, the more he believed he really had a real fucking silken tongue. At the same time, he made his way towards them, expressing he had no ill intentions.

    ¡°That makes sense!¡±

    Jia Zhen nodded before suddenly turning around and flying off towards the depths of Moon Court lake. At the same time, E Dan threw a punch. The force of the punch turned into a vicious, black wolf head, producing a shrill howl. It opened its mouth filled with sharp teeth and chomped viciously at Li Qingshan.

    Regardless of whether the Asura Field was in Northmoon¡¯s hands or not, they were determined to steal the Water God Seal!

    However, as soon as the wolf howl appeared, it seemed to overwhelm his mind. His body stiffened, and the wolf head had already caught up to him like his shadow. He turned around and threw a punch, landing it on the wolf head and using the innate ability of the Tremors of the Ox Demon.

    Boom!

    The two forces collide violently. A thatched hut and several skiffs docked near a simple village were immediately destroyed, producing a great pit. All the rainwater within five kilometers away had been swept clean, shooting into the surroundings like bullets and piercing countless trees.

    At that moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s clone was heavily injured, and a sizeable chunk of his daemon qi had vanished. E Dan was even a little more vicious than he had imagined. He definitely could not be compared with regular Golden Core cultivators. He only needed one more strike to put his clone in danger of collapsing.

    He used the Watermirror¡¯s Clone urgently and channelled daemon qi into his clone from his main body. All of the wounds sustained and the daemon qi lost recovered very quickly.

    However, in that moment, Jia Zhen had already flown several kilometers away, wanting to retrieve the Water God Seal first before pincering Li Qingshan with E Dan.

    Li Qingshan waved his right hand, and a violet talisman flew out. He bellowed out, ¡°Freeze!¡±

    Jia Zhen¡¯s figure suddenly stiffened like a tiny insect glued to the space, completely immobilised. ¡°A Freezing talisman! E Dan, keep him busy!¡± He channeled his powers in a hurry. Although he never expected Northmoon to use a precious violet talisman right from the beginning, the Freezing talisman could not keep him trapped for too long. Instead, it made him stop worrying, as he became certain that this definitely was not Northmoon¡¯s main body.

    E Dan did not need Jia Zhen¡¯s reminder. Seeing how the punch was effective, E Dan followed up with another punch. The aura condensed into half a wolf. The wolf howl even drowned out of the crashing rain and lightning.

    If that landed on him firmly, then he probably would not have the time to recover at all. He would directly disperse. All Li Qingshan could do was flap the wings of wind and fire The huge wolf lunged over from behind. Without even looking back, he waved his hand backwards. ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡±

    Half-transparent hexagons formed a thin screen of light, covering his back. It clearly reflected the huge wolf¡¯s figure.

    E Dan did not take this small obstacle seriously at all. The huge wolf collided against the screen of light and ripped it apart easily, but a small part of the force was rebounded. The huge wolf twisted and exploded loudly.

    The shockwave alone caused Li Qingshan¡¯s back to ache, but he was in no shape to care so much anymore. Right now, he was in a race against Jia Zhen. If he could reach the Water God Seal before Jia Zhen and then immediately use the Watermirror¡¯s Image to hand the Water God Seal to his original body, then he would have won.

    He continued to fly over, only to see Jia Zhen staring at him sunkenly. His body trembled gently and flickered with light, about to break free from the Freezing talisman¡¯s restraint at any time. A foul gust of air swept over from behind, and E Dan swelled up in size, becoming a giant of almost thirty meters tall. His clothes were ripped apart, revealing the vivid tattoo of a black wolf on his chest. He roared furiously as he strode over, actually no slower than how fast he flapped his wings. He was truly surrounded by enemies.

    Jia Zhen¡¯s arm suddenly moved, waving his fan gently and pointing it towards the incoming Northmoon.

    The lightning in the sky seemed to receive directions and find their target in that moment. They gathered together into a scorching snake of lightning, crossing through the air with unbelievable speed and striking Li Qingshan.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s entire body shuddered. He felt no pain, only deep numbness. He was temporarily immobilised. Only afterwards did he feel agony everywhere. If Jia Zhen had not been under the effects of the Freezing talisman when he used this technique, then the bolt of lightning would have completely ended the race for Li Qingshan.

    Before he could even return to his senses, a fierce gust of wind arrived behind him. The enlarged E Dan extended his hand towards him. He only needed to close his hands around him forcefully, and his clone would immediately be reduced to pieces.

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and took out the second violent talisman. He activated it!

    With a flash of golden light, a steel fortress appeared around him. This was a defensive talisman.

    The steel fortress twisted and changed shape under E Dan¡¯s brute force, producing an ear-splitting sound, but it managed to forcefully stop him. Li Qingshan had already used this opportunity to fly towards the centre of Moon Court lake.

    Jia Zhen swung his fan away, and a whirlwind began to whistle, sucking Li Qingshan in.

    The clash on the shore reached the island in the centre of the lake. Ye Liubo exclaimed happily, ¡°Big sister, it¡¯s master¡¯s daemon qi!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s currently clashing with someone. Gather everyone quickly!¡±

    Ye Liusu passed an order. Beneath the lookout, the night roamers answered valiantly. As the commander of the night roamers chosen by Northmoon, she had already used her abilities to consolidate her authority even though it had already been a very long time since Li Qingshan last visited, gradually leading the night roamers back to their former glory.

    ¡°But how can we help master with just us?¡±

    Ye Liubo was willing to even die for him, but she also understood it was impossible to partake in his battles with their strength.

    ¡°Have you forgotten? Send everyone to the altar and have mother hold the ritual!¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What about you then, big sister?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be going outside!¡±

    ¡°Outside!?¡± Ye Liubo gazed in the direction of the lakeshore. The indirect shockwaves of the battle there were enough to make her shiver inside.

    ¡°I¡¯m not participating in the battle. I¡¯m going to retrieve the Water God Seal. Oh right, send someone to contact Spider Queen Lolth.¡±

    Before Ye Liubo could reply, Ye Liusu had leapt off the lookout, merging into the darkness. She did not understand the exact situation too well, but she could tell the Water God Seal played an important role in it all.

    With his strength, he could escape even if he could not defeat them. His chances of being directly slain were not large. However, if this Water God Seal were lost, then that would be a loss that could not be made up for.

    The pitch-black rain whistled down as Li Qingshan heaved heavily. In the moment prior, he had almost been finished off several times. He had already used up all of his violet talismans, but he only managed to stop Jia Zhen and E Dan¡¯s advance slightly, unable to harm them in any way.

    Both of them demonstrated terrifying strength that surpassed regular Golden Core cultivators. Either one of them possessed the power to fight against his original body. It was all thanks to the rare violet Freezing talisman he had used in the beginning that he managed to last until now, preventing Jia Zhen from using his full strength.

    However, the power of the Freezing talisman had run out too.

    Jia Zhen shuddered and broke free. He smiled in a sunken manner, but he felt a hint of regret inside.

    Originally, I was worried that was his original body, but it turns out it¡¯s just a mere clone. I should have just worked with E Dan right from the beginning and killed him. He wouldn¡¯t have even been able to use those violet talismans, Jia Zhen thought quickly.

    With a wave of Jia Zhen¡¯s hand, it was Li Qingshan¡¯s turn to be immobilised this time. The huge wolf enveloped him in the blink of an eye. He did not even have the time to recall his clone. His clone directly disintegrated, disappearing from the world.

    Before an absolute difference in strength, he could already be described as having tried his best by managing to put up such a degree of struggle.

    After waving his fan, Jia Zhen did not even check the result, sending lightning towards his original location.

    After carrying out Ye Liusu¡¯s orders, Ye Liubo waited on the shore, gazing at the sky full of wind and rain anxiously. Suddenly, she shuddered inside. ¡°Master¡¯s daemon qi has vanished! It can¡¯t be. That¡¯s merely master¡¯s clone. He might have erased his aura and fled. Master won¡¯t die!¡±

    ¡°What are you muttering about?¡±

    Ye Liusu walked out of the dark lake and water flowed off her body. She carried a slippery little child in her right hand, who only seemed four or five years old. He constantly kicked his feet and put up a struggle, but it did not seem like human behaviour.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°That fish!¡±

    Ye Liusu tossed the kid onto the ground, and the child wanted to return to the lakewater.

    Ye Liusu said coldly, ¡°You must be called Li¡¯l Red, right? There are people outside who¡¯ve come to steal the Water God Seal. Sir Northmoon has entrusted the Water God Seal to you, so if you lose it, I don¡¯t think I need to tell you the consequences, right?¡±

    After keeping them busy for a while, Li¡¯l Red finally underwent the heavenly tribulation and became a Daemon General. However, he was exhausted from the tribulation, so Ye Liusu easily caught him. She said nothing at all, directly bringing him to the water dwelling in the centre of the lake before explaining herself. When he heard that, Li¡¯l Red immediately stopped trying to approach the lake.

    Boom!

    A turbulent force slammed violently against the formation around the water dwelling. The formation on the outside was already on the verge of shattering.

    A giant arrived on the lake shore, with a scholar standing on his shoulder. He noticed Li¡¯l Red at first glance and pointed out with his feather fan. ¡°Hand over the Water God Seal, and we¡¯ll spare you lives!¡±

    PS: Hahahaha, defying the heavens worked! It¡¯s the last few days of this month already. Your votes are my motivation. Please watch as Dream Teller creates a legend of defying the heavens!

 Chapter 666 â€“ With a Punch Thrown, the Wind and Lightning Pale

    Under such pressure, even Golden Core cultivators would tremble inside. Ye Liusu maintained her composure. ¡°Please allow us to consider it!¡±

    ¡°No, you can¡¯t give the Water God Seal to anyone else!¡± Li¡¯l Red leapt a meter into the air and said with his tender, childish voice.

    ¡°We¡¯re just considering it, so what¡¯s wrong with that? We don¡¯t stand a single chance against opponents like that. Even if we lose the Water God Seal, sir Northmoon shouldn¡¯t blame us. However, we¡¯re probably incapable of making a decision over something so major, so we better return and gather everyone to discuss this.¡±

    Ye Liubo also behaved like she was considering it, exchanging glances with Ye Liusu. Handing over the Water God Seal was impossible. They wanted to buy some time first.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have that much time for you to consider. I¡¯ll count to ten. If you still don¡¯t hand over the Water God Seal, then you better be prepared to be buried with Northmoon!¡± Jia Zhen said in a sunken manner.

    They had only killed Northmoon¡¯s clone earlier. His main body would probably arrive very soon, and this would become troublesome.

    Without Si Qing, their combined efforts were not enough to kill him. If they had not made arrangements beforehand, then probably even the three of them would struggle to keep him from running away. Although they were undefeatable, there was truly nothing they could do if he fled as soon as he retrieved the Water God Seal.

    They did not believe Northmoon would care about the fate of these night roamers. He would find a way to avenge them afterwards at most. However, they did not believe the night roamers had any loyalty towards Northmoon either. Night roamers had always been renowned for their treachery and cunning. As long as they overpowered them and obtained the Water God Seal, then it would all be smooth sailing from then onwards.

    ¡°Ten, nine, eight¡­¡±

    ¡°Big sister, what do we do?¡± Hearing Jia Zhen¡¯s countdown, Ye Liubo became anxious inside. Sure enough, these two people were not so easy to fool. She glanced at Ye Liusu beside her, only to discover she was relieved.

    They refused to waste any time, which meant they were still worried. If they were completely worry-free, then they would let them take as much time as they needed. It would instead prove that the situation had already become the worst-case scenario. Probably even buying time would be useless.

    Jia Zhen counted to one.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll hand over the Water God Seal!¡± Ye Liusu said.

    Jia Zhen was unsurprised. E Dan slammed the formation with his huge hand and roared madly, ¡°Bitch, hurry up and hand over the Water God Seal!¡±

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°But you have to swear a solemn oath to the heavens that you definitely won¡¯t harm us after you obtain the Water God Seal! Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t we just be idiots if you turn against us after we give you the Water God Seal?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think a bitch like you has the right to make us swear a solemn oath?¡±

    E Dan became more and more furious. The black wolf tattooed on him radiated with raging daemon qi, which wondrously merged together with his aura. His body swelled up once again, and many parts of his body became covered in long, black wolf hair. His mouth protruded forwards, his spine arched upwards, and his eyes shone with a green light. He seemed half-human, half-wolf.

    ¡°Alright!¡± However, Jia Zhen agreed to it immediately, swearing a solemn oath to the heavens. He sneered inside, Do you really think a mere oath can restrain us?

    To cultivators, there were indeed a few oaths that could not be carelessly sworn, but these oaths only became a personal restraint when they were sworn sincerely from the bottom of their hearts. Otherwise, the strong could easily overwhelm the weak and make them swear eternal loyalty, or they would suffer the consequences of their oaths.

    And, even if an oath sworn from the bottom of the heart was broken, there would not be something like punishment from the heavens. It would only be easier to develop inner demons. Oaths with greater restraining powers required certain techniques or arcane artifacts. However, there was obviously no need for Jia Zhen to take a solemn oath seriously that was no different from a lie through his teeth.

    He had already made up his mind. A weak point would definitely appear in the formations during the moment they handed over the Water God Seal. By then, all he had to do was break through and capture all of the night roamers and daemons as slaves. Later, he could sell them off in the Dragon province.

    Ye Liusu considered it for a moment before sighing. ¡°Actually, forget about it.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Jia Zhen¡¯s face sank.

    Ye Liusu ordered Li¡¯l Red, ¡°Use the Water God Seal quickly to stop them for a moment. Sir Northmoon will be coming to our rescue very soon.¡±

    ¡°You bitch!¡±

    Jia Zhen¡¯s expression changed drastically. He never imagined that even ants would be bold enough to fool him.

    ¡°Jia Zhen, I told you already. That trick of yours isn¡¯t appropriate everywhere. It¡¯s just some third-rate formations. Even if there were some additional layers, they still can¡¯t withstand a blow of mine. When I get through the formation, I¡¯ll definitely finish off these two bitches!¡±

    E Dan had run out of patience a long time ago. He did not approve of Jia Zhen¡¯s thoughts of trying to scheme around and find shortcuts everywhere very much at all. As he said that, he threw a punch at the formation.

    Suddenly, a surging wave slammed against him from behind. His body over thirty meters tall staggered, and the punch landed on the formation, but it failed to achieve what it was supposed to. The barrier of light became riddled with cracks, but it continued to hold on firmly.

    It was Li¡¯l Red who had just transformed successfully wielding the Water God Seal.

    E Dan was not injured, but he was surprised inside, The power of the Water God Seal is actually so great. It already possesses so much power in the hands of a measly Daemon General who just underwent the heavenly tribulation. If Northmoon obtains it, wouldn¡¯t he be even more difficult to deal with? I need to get through the formation as quickly as possible!

    He let out a wolf howl at the sky and launched a flurry of punches with both fists like claps of thunder. The layer of formation collapsed the moment it was struck.

    Jia Zhen waved his feather fan around, barraging the formations with various techniques like a thunderstorm. It seemed disorderly, but he varied the type and element of his technique to target the special characteristics of each formation.

    Li¡¯l Red desperately controlled the Water God Seal to obstruct the two of them. However, with his cultivation at Daemon General and all the rivers and lakes of the entire Ruyi commandery, he was unable to unleash the full power of the Water God Seal at all.

    Most of the formations around the dwelling came from the major protective formations they had stolen from various sects during the war. Although they were already among the best of the best in the Clear River prefecture, these sects were only small sects with Foundation Establishment cultivators. To Jia Zhen and E Dan, two peak Golden Core cultivators, they could only be regarded as third-rate.

    Watching the formations being peeled away one by one, Ye Liusu became stern. Ye Liubo looked back and said anxiously, ¡°The altar still hasn¡¯t been activated?¡±

    Suddenly, a dark shadow rose up from the centre of the island, which made the dark night filled with heavy rain seem even more sunken.

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo both eased up. They left Li¡¯l Red here so that he could continue obstructing them with the Water God Seal as they flew towards where the shadow rose up from.

    In the embrace of a small hill, a pitch-black altar had already been constructed. The altar was carved with patterns that fell in line with the night roamers¡¯ style, as well as countless stars and mysterious inscriptions.

    Northmoon had told Ye Liusu to lead the night roamers back underground in the past. Aside from the defences from the numerous formations, the reason why Ye Liusu was bold enough to return to this Moon Court dwelling was because of this altar.

    Kneeling night roamers filled the surroundings of the altar. They all crossed their hands as if they were praying faithfully. Power gathered towards the black altar and rose upwards.

    Ye Mingzhu stood on the altar with her hair dishevelled, chanting away as her figure danced about madly like the fleeting, drifting shadow above her. It was like her shadow had been blown into the sky by this power, yet it also maintained a connection with her body, preventing it from being blown away.

    With the True Spirit pills Northmoon awarded to them, large numbers of night roamers who were caught in a bottleneck broke through the first heavenly tribulation. Coupled with the powerful night roamers that existed in the first place, there were over a hundred night roamers that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation now. And further outwards, there were thousands of regular night roamers that had not undergone the heavenly tribulation, all summoned here to partake in this mysterious ritual. They channelled all of their powers into the altar without holding back.

    Seeing this, Ye Liusu relaxed slightly. This way, they could buy a little more time, but she also became rather worried again. Just how much longer could the formations last? But at this point, overthinking would do nothing. She arrived before the altar with Ye Liubo and also dropped down on one knee. Both of them crossed their hands.

    The shadow above the altar gradually consolidated. Ye Mingzhu suddenly let out an inhuman howl, and the shadow completely consolidated. It seemed like a two-dimensional shadow had been pumped full of air. It was no different from Ye Mingzhu¡¯s figure now.

    Outside the dwelling, Jia Zhen and E Dan worked together and smashed through half of the formations before long. One by one, formation discs shattered and formation banners were reduced to dust. Li¡¯l Red had already collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion.

    At this moment, a familiar voice rang out from afar. ¡°My good friends, it¡¯s really been some time! What has brought you to my humble abode all of a sudden today?¡±

    He said the exact same thing as if time had flowed in reverse.

    Jia Zhen and E Dan glanced back at the same time. Northmoon flapped his wings of wind and fire and tore through the air like a scarlet bolt of lightning. The sky full of wind and rain gathered around him, truly surging with daemon qi.

    The two of them could not help but think, He¡¯s just a Daemon General, and he¡¯s already in possession of such great power and such flexible abilities. If he undergoes another heavenly tribulation and becomes a Daemon Commander, probably the only thing we can do is flee at the mere sight of him. Today, we¡¯ve completely fallen out with him. If none of us can undergo the third heavenly tribulation, then there¡¯ll be endless problems.

    However, with the arrow notched and the bow drawn, they already had no choice but to fire.

    As the voice rang out, Northmoon had already appeared before him. He said the same thing with a completely different tone and bearing, no longer possessing even the slightest hint of fakeness anymore. There was only naked viciousness.

    E Dan suddenly looked back. ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ve finally come! Jia Zhen, continue with smashing through the formations. I¡¯ll fight him! Northmoon, I am the first disciple under the Beast King of the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts from the Dragon province. Are you bold enough to face me in battle!?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. He simply transformed into his original form and threw a punch. It seemed slow, but it actually moved swiftly, pushing forward inch by inch. Tiny, black cracks gathered on the fist, basically providing him with a boxing glove.

    It was the same move¡ªTremors of the Ox Demon¡ªbut compared to the punch from his clone, who knew how many times more intense the bearing and force was.

    Boom!

    With a great rumble, even the wind and lightning paled.

    E Dan stumbled a few steps backwards. His eyes widened as his right arm trembled gently. Blood trickled down like a stream.

    This wretched daemon¡¯s strength was so great that it was basically beyond belief.

 Chapter 667 â€“ Intense Battle in the Lake, Each to Their Own Abilities

    An invisible shockwave expanded into the surroundings. In that moment, countless terrifying waves were shattered and torn apart. A large region of water recovered momentary peace before immediately becoming even more turbulent.

    Two colossal figures faced one another in the centre of the lake. A pair of scarlet eyes that glowed like embers and a pair of verdant wolf eyes clashed together in the air, sending sparks flying. They were filled with fury and bloodthirstiness.

    However, apart from fury and bloodthirstiness, there was a steady sense of strength; he was like a mountain, gazing down at E Dan before him.

    A pair of curved ox horns plunged into the air, and a pair of ox hooves stood on the ground. The deep lake water only reached up to his waist. The colossal waves constantly slammed against his chest that was pitch-black like rock.

    E Dan stood near the island, so he stood on land that was much higher, but he was still over a head shorter than Li Qingshan, forcing him to raise his head and gaze at this ¡°wretched daemon¡± who had spent much less time cultivating and possessed a lower cultivation than him.

    Blood flowed down from this right arm, dyeing the water red in the blink of an eye. Apart from the alarmingly-great strength, the terrifying power of tremors in the punch was the true reason for his injury.

    The shrill howl of a wolf completely tore through the night sky, coming from both E Dan and the mouth of the black wolf tattoo at the same time. His muscles rippled, and his bones extended, swelling in size once again. Strands of black, spear-like wolf fur erupted from his body, covering him completely and turning him into a black wolf standing on its hind legs. He even grew a long wolf tail that waved around wildly.

    Li Qingshan felt threatened too. He loathed this person very much, but he was a worthy opponent. Regular Golden Core cultivators definitely were not in possession of a body and power like that. However, he felt confused inside. Is he also half-human, half-daemon? What kind of place is the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts?

    The Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts was one of the large sects of the Dragon province, basically standing on equal ground with the three great sects of the Green province, or even surpassing them in certain aspects. They were specially responsible for tending to the Menagerie of Exotic Beasts for the imperial clan of Great Xia.

    E Dan¡¯s master, the Beast King, was the lord of the manor, a great cultivator renowned throughout the Dragon province. To be able to become the first disciple under the Beast King in the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts where strength was revered, E Dan was obviously much more powerful than his fellow cultivators.

    However, the more they released the beast soul, the easier it was for the beastial nature to influence them. As a result, most of the disciples behaved barbarously and violently, not bound by morals and rules. They did whatever they wanted, almost akin to the demonic path. And, the beast soul could even devour their souls if they were careless, turning into a sacrifice for the beast soul. Most disciples of the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts died to beast souls, so unless he had to, even E Dan was reluctant to release the power of the beast soul to such a degree.

    Roar! E Dan¡¯s back arched high into the air. He stomped his feet into the ground behind him and erupted with startling speed in that moment, lunging towards Li Qingshan.

    Why would Li Qingshan be afraid of a direct confrontation with him? He advanced firmly, throwing a punch.

    At this moment, he suddenly experienced an omen of warning, and there was a flash of white light.

    ¡°Come, lightning!¡±

    Jia Zhen pointed his feather fan at the sky. A lightning snake even thicker than a tree descended from above. Majestic lightning filled the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan shuddered. He was unscathed thanks to his powerful body, but every single moment mattered in a clash between the strong!

    Bang! E Dan pushed Li Qingshan into the lakewater violently, mauling away viciously and kicking up great waves.

    After reaching the fifth layer of the ox demon, Li Qingshan¡¯s ox hide became extremely tough. E Dan managed to reduce his throat to a bloody mess, but he was unable to rip it apart completely. Even if he managed to rip it away, he would not die as long as his tiger bones remained standing.

    ¡°Good!¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed instead of being surprised. He wrapped his arms around E Dan firmly, and with the Strength of the Earth as a foundation, he feared no one in a direct confrontation of brute strength.

    E Dan felt his waist ache as his bones groaned gently. He felt like he was about to be snapped in half. After spending quite the effort, he finally managed to rip apart Northmoon¡¯s throat, but what appeared was not blood, but flames. Northmoon seemed completely fine. If he could not break out of this situation soon, he would definitely be the first to die.

    However, he definitely did not choose close combat because he had lost his sense of rationality after releasing the beast soul. He growled, ¡°Jia Zhen, forget about the formations. Kill this wretched daemon first!

    The mud at the bottom of the lake suddenly began to rumble. Stone giants stood up from the soil at the bottom of the lake. Every single one of them was around twenty to twenty-five meters tall. They seemed like children beside Li Qingshan¡¯s figure that stood over sixty meters tall, but every single one of them was filled with strength. They grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hands and feet and tugged hard.

    After completely releasing the beast soul, E Dan¡¯s strength had already become alarmingly great. He was only overwhelmed because he had matched up against a monster like Li Qingshan. Now that he had the assistance of the stone giants, he immediately turned the tables and gained the upper hand.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body shuddered as he unleashed the power of tremors, shaking the stone giants to pieces, but in the blink of an eye, even more of them emerged as if they were endless. However, his daemon qi was not endless, so if this continued, he would definitely be the first to give way.

    This was obviously Jia Zhen¡¯s handiwork. As he watched the battle in the water, even he was surprised. This was the first time he had ever seen E Dan lose the upper hand in close combat, forcing him to rely on external assistance.

    The daemon had to be eliminated!

    He waved the feather fan again and again, unleashing various techniques. With each wave, E Dan would grow a bit stronger, becoming even more powerful. A defensive light enveloped him, such that even his wounds rapidly healed.

    He had not sent out a single ranged spiritual artifact or arcane artifact the entire time either. He only waved the feather fan around in his hand, but it seemed like a piece of cake for him to use techniques of the five elements. All of them were startlingly powerful, so even Li Qingshan could not afford to underestimate them.

    Li Qingshan had already left many people surprised when he wielded five arcane artifacts at the same time at Foundation Establishment, but at peak Golden Core, Jia Zhen wielded twice as many arcane artifacts as him. His hands were adorned with rings, a necklace hung around his neck, a pouch of fragrance hung from his waist, and he was dressed in special robes. There were a total of ten arcane artifacts, where none of them were below mid grade. The feather fan in his hand was even a priceless supreme grade arcane artifact.

    However, none of these arcane artifacts could directly attack the opponent like flying swords. They all strengthened his techniques and recovery rate. He was the exact opposite of E Dan, who did not rely on any external items. Jia Zhen pushed the specialty of human cultivators to the limit.

    Li Qingshan frowned. Sitting there and waiting for his doom had never suited him. With a violent wriggle, E Dan immediately struggled to keep him at bay. He called out at Jia Zhen, ¡°Stop treasuring those talismans of yours!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll obviously use them when I need to!¡± As Jia Zhen spoke, he tossed out a violet talisman, which stuck to E Dan¡¯s back.

    E Dan erupted with golden light, condensing the avatar of a guardian king around him. It was a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings that Li Qingshan had not seen in a very long time, but who knew how many times more powerful the violet talisman was compared to that yellow talisman of the past.

    At this moment, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind Jia Zhen, vaguely resembling Ye Mingzhu. However, it was completely pitch-black, without any facial features. It gripped a dagger-shaped cluster of darkness in its hand, plunging it towards Jia Zhen¡¯s back!

 Chapter 668 â€“ The Asura Field Unleashed, the Spider Queen Appears

    However, the dagger made from shadows passed through the numerous layers of defences silently, making Jia Zhen shiver inside. He wanted to dodge, but he was a step too slow. He felt his back ache as the black dagger pierced his heart.

    With a plop, Jia Zhen turned into a cluster of water and dispersed after being stabbed. His original body shifted over thirty meters away, gazing at the shadow as he recovered from the shock. He became both surprised and furious. He had almost messed up a simple task, almost dying to a mysterious assassination.

    The path of assassination had always been about striking when the enemy was unprepared and defeating the strong despite being the weak.

    On the black altar, Ye Mingzhu, who had originally been dancing about madly, had stopped as if she had lost control over her body. Right now, all of her consciousness had been drawn away from her body, channelled into the dark shadow.

    She was filled with endless delight as if she wanted to merge with the sweet curtain of night. If she possessed this power, just where couldn¡¯t she go? However, she also understood this power did not belong to her, and it could not be maintained for too long.

    However, her chances at overcoming the second heavenly tribulation had increased drastically with this experience. She had heard how a pill called the Origin Spirit pill existed in the world. If she could obtain one, then she would have a very good chance at undergoing the second heavenly tribulation and stepping into a brand-new realm of cultivation.

    ¡°Come, lightning!¡±

    Jia Zhen pointed his feather fan at the sky furiously, and the lightning roared down.

    Ye Mingzhu dismissed her thoughts. The shadow merged into the darkness once more, waiting for her opportunity to strike.

    Jia Zhen glanced around cautiously, unable to cast techniques recklessly like before anymore. Li Qingshan immediately felt like a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders. If this half-human, half-wolf thing could stay a little further away from him, it would be even better.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    In the lake, the wolf-man E Dan, enveloped in a guardian king¡¯s avatar, waved his fists madly and struck Li Qingshan. Every single punch could smash open mountains. Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s powerful body and tough hide, E Dan managed to smash his organs into pieces.

    The starlight scattered quietly on the sea of clouds. There was no rain there, only flickering lightning. The sound of thunder boomed out from the clouds.

    Suddenly, the cloud layer erupted, and two colossal figures burst out of the sea of clouds, breaking the silence.

    ¡°There¡¯s finally no one to disturb us anymore. Let¡¯s have a good conversation!¡±

    Li Qingshan planted his fist in E Dan¡¯s face, and the guardian king avatar became riddled with cracks. E Dan tilted his face back and flew away. At the same time, he stomped down on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest forcefully, producing a creaking of bones.

    When they parted, E Dan immediately opened his huge mouth and let out a wolf howl, while Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and unleashed a tiger roar.

    The two sounds basically rang out at the same time, criss-crossing and colliding mid-air.

    Boom!

    The thick clouds parted, forming a great hole. It was possible to make out Moon Court lake that had become very small from there.

    The light from the stars and the moon used the opening to sprinkle down on the lake pouring with rain.

    Ye Liubo raised her head. She was in a state of utter joy. ¡°I knew it. Master would never die. Master would never lose.¡±

    Ye Liusu nodded. ¡°Focus. Let¡¯s use our Night Roaming God to assist him!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    As a result, the two of them focused on praying, channeling their powers into the black altar.

    The Night Roaming folk had once worshipped the Night Roaming God. After being forced underground and becoming a part of Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s reign, they were forbidden from worshipping the Night Roaming God. That was until Ye Liusu united the night roamers once more and revived this faith from the ancient records, constructing an altar.

    The altar could condense the power of the entire race in a single person and exhibit startling power. It could allow the Night Roaming God to possess them so that it could descend. Under Ye Mingzhu¡¯s control, the shadow moved through the darkness and circled around Jia Zhen, sometimes close by and sometimes far away.

    Jia Zhen glanced around cautiously with his brows firmly furrowed. The sneak attack earlier had destroyed the life-saving arcane artifact on him, and the remaining arcane artifacts were unable to give him any sense of safety.

    As one of the seven great otherfolk races, the night roamers really do have some tricks. If I had been a regular Golden Core cultivator, I would have died from that attack from earlier. However, since you¡¯ve failed to kill me with that sneak attack, don¡¯t even think about touching another hair on me!

    Jia Zhen suddenly raised his right hand and channeled his powers into a ring with a gemstone on his ring finger. The transparent gemstone suddenly shone brightly, illuminating a rage of five kilometers and adding splendour to the streak of moonlight from the sky.

    Under the resplendent light, a black figure appeared vaguely, constantly twisting under the light like it had sunken into mud.

    ¡°Yin, yang, and the five elements promote and regulate one another. There are no techniques that cannot be defeated!¡± Jia Zhen said. The pure-white light condensed into a long spear in his right hand, which he hurtled at the shadow.

    The shadow swung its dagger and cut apart the spear, causing it to shatter in the air. However, its darkness had become slightly thinner.

    At the end of the day, night roamers still pursued the way of assassination, where they would flee as soon as their strike failed. It was impossible for Jia Zhen to maintain this radiance forever. He would have to give way some time, which was the assassin¡¯s opportunity. However, a direct confrontation like this was not what they were adept at either.

    At this moment, E Dan rushed through the clouds and descended from above. Many parts of the golden avatar around him were twisted and distorted, riddled with cracks and on the brink of shattering.

    A scarlet streak of light flew about around him, constantly smashing into his body, producing great, resonant booms. With each collision, the golden avatar collapsed slightly, and the cracks grew denser.

    That was Li Qingshan. He had reverted to his form of scarlet hair and pupils. He pushed his speed to the limit. Although E Dan could fly as well, he was clearly not as nimble as the winged Li Qingshan. Fighting in the air, he basically could not fight back at all, so he rushed back down without any regard.

    E Dan¡¯s eyes flashed. He saw the black altar, understanding it to be the source of the black shadow, so he targeted the Moon Court dwelling.

    Boom!

    E Dan slammed his head against the Moon Court dwelling, and the sound from the collision drowned out all of the thunder. His golden avatar completely shattered, destroying several formations in a single stroke. The remaining formations shook and crumbled, on the verge of shattering too.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, using the opportunity to take off and fly towards the dwelling.

    During his clash with E Dan, he seemed like he had firmly grasped the upper hand, but the situation had already become rather dangerous. Whether it was the wings of wind and fire or the power of tremors, they possessed alarming might, but that was all on the precondition of consuming vast amounts of daemon qi. He had never tried to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to defend exactly because of this reason.

    Once his daemon qi ran out, basically all of his innate abilities would be rendered unusable. Even if he possessed endless physical strength, he would still be a sitting duck. He could even face the danger of dying. Daemon General happened to be where his bottleneck was after all. He had always been waiting for an opportunity to retrieve the Water God Seal. Once he did, he could advance and retreat freely. Jia Zhen and E Dan would be powerless against him too.

    ¡°Stop him! Don¡¯t let him take back the Water God Seal!¡±

    Jia Zhen quickly repelled the shadow that had already become extremely thin and waved his feather fan at Li Qingshan. Bands of pure-white light wrapped around his hands and feet. At the same time, E Dan lunged back violently, unleashing a swipe with his huge claw.

    Li Qingshan suddenly took out an item, targeted E Dan with it, and snickered.

    ¡°The Asura Field!¡± Jia Zhen and E Dan cried out involuntarily at the same time.

    A blood-red swirl spiraled out of the Asura Field. E Dan was unable to react in time, hurling into the swirl head-first and vanishing.

    Li Qingshan broke free from the restraints and crossed through the remaining formations, entering the Moon Court dwelling and landing heavily on the sandy shore. He scooped up Li¡¯l Red in a single stroke and smacked his belly, making him spit out the Water God Seal. Afterwards, he took a quick glance at the area between his legs.

    ¡°Fuck, another male! So much for giving you such a feminine name like Li¡¯l Red. You can go mess around with Li¡¯l Blue in the future!¡± He tossed ¡°him¡± onto the sandy ground indignantly.

    ¡°Northmoon, so it really was you!¡± Jia Zhen¡¯s face sank. Northmoon had retrieved the Water God Seal. They had already lost half the battle.

    ¡°So what if it was me?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and smiled, swallowing the Water God Seal in a single gulp. He immediately felt endless water spiritual qi channelling into his body and spreading throughout him. His daemon qi recovered rapidly, and he felt refreshed.

    Jia Zhen threatened him. ¡°The Asura Field belongs to the imperial clan. Do you know the consequences for trying to claim it for yourself? You even offended Mo Yu. Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea won¡¯t protect you. You really are even more foolish than I imagined you to be.¡±

    ¡°The Water God Seal belongs to me. Do you know the consequences of trying to claim it for yourself? You even offended your grandfather. Even your grandmother won¡¯t protect you. You ask who your grandfather is? It¡¯s obviously still me. You really are even more foolish than I imagined you to be.¡± Li Qingshan completely dismissed Jia Zhen¡¯s threats with disdain.

    Jia Zhen¡¯s face changed. ¡°Wretched daemon, you have no idea of death and danger!¡±

    Li Qingshan barked, ¡°Cut the bullshit. Are you bold enough to face me in the Asura Field? Would you like to see me smash in your shitty heads in there? Or should I just smash in your shitty head here first?¡±

    Jia Zhen sneered. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m as foolish as you? You think you can keep E Dan trapped with this Asura Field that had just been refined? Of course, you¡¯re welcome to flee, but I¡¯ll massacre all the night roamers on the island, as well as all the daemons under your command! Are any of them particularly familiar with you? I¡¯ll give them some special treatment!¡±

    ¡°Then it looks like I have to shove you in there too!¡± Murderousness and malice erupted from Li Qingshan like a tsunami, ready to strike at any time.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have the energy to spare!¡± Jia Zhen¡¯s figure suddenly split into two, and then into four, and then into almost a hundred in the end, scattering into the surroundings and talking together.

    How crafty!

    Li Qingshan cursed inside. If he used the spirit turtle to divine, finding the real Jia Zhen would be nothing difficult. However, he currently had his right hand behind his back, maintaining the Asura Field. Jia Zhen was right. If he could keep E Dan trapped so easily and then finish off Jia Zhen in a one-on-one battle, he would have done so long ago. The battle earlier would have never happened.

    Right now, the surface of the Asura Field was constantly rising and falling. E Dan rampaged around inside, about to break out at any time. Instead, it took Li Qingshan tremendous amounts of effort and daemon qi to control the Asura Field and keep E Dan suppressed.

    Having been refined recently, the Asura Field was like a newborn baby. It possessed the potential to become an arcane treasure, but it did not have much combat capacity right now. After all, its original form, the Dragon Arena, had never been used for battle in the first place.

    The two of them faced one another with the remaining formations between them. Jia Zhen was waiting for E Dan to emerge, while Li Qingshan was trying to come up with a counterplan. For a moment, they entered a stalemate.

    ¡°Northmoon, looks like you¡¯re in trouble!¡±

    Suddenly, an extremely familiar voice rang out. Li Qingshan glanced backwards, only to see Lolth in her black tight suit standing on a rock nearby. Her vermillion lips curled slightly, completely as if she was watching a show. She clearly had no plans of lending any assistance.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re here, then cut the bullshit. Help me out. I can run away whenever I want to. Do you think they¡¯ll spare you then? They¡¯ll probably fuck you a hundred times!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, approaching Lolth as he spoke. As long as Lolth managed to keep E Dan busy in the Asura Field for a moment, he would be able to finish off Jia Zhen first.

    He did not doubt Lolth¡¯s powers. She was still a carapaced Daemon Commander after all, and she possessed a powerful, defensive innate ability. E Dan was vicious, but he lacked an attack like the Tremors of the Ox Demon. It would not be so easy for him to butcher Lolth.

    ¡°Hah, I never imagined there would be a time when you would ask me for help. Why should I help you? And what benefit will I get from helping you? Tell me! I want to watch you die!¡± Lolth smiled in an extremely bewitching way, looking down on Li Qingshan right before her. She recovered some of her prideful mannerisms as a queen.

    Li Qingshan stared right into her eyes and licked his lips. ¡°Yeah, if I win, I¡¯ll fuck you a hundred and one times to pay you back for your kindness!¡±

    Lolth exclaimed furiously and in surprise, ¡°What!?¡±

    ¡°Get in there!¡± Li Qingshan flapped his wings and lunged over, casting the Asura Field over her.

    Lolth never expected Li Qingshan to still attack her while he was facing off against a powerful enemy, nor did she know what an Asura Field was capable of. Before she could even respond, she had already vanished into the blood-red swirl, and the fluctuations in the Asura Field immediately stopped. Clearly, E Dan had already received this gift.

    As for whether they would fight or not, Li Qingshan was not worried at all. If a frenzied wolf and venomous spider were locked up in a cage, there definitely would not be a different result.

    As a result, he casually stowed the Asura Field away and turned around, saying to Jia Zhen, ¡°I want to make a bet with you!¡±

    ¡°Betting on what?¡± The numerous Jia Zhens spoke together, and their voices layered and echoed on top of one another.

    ¡°I want to bet there¡¯s an idiot between us!¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the many Jia Zhens.

    ¡°Who are you betting on?¡±

    ¡°Obviously you! Dead people can¡¯t use their heads!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt up, lunging straight towards the real Jia Zhen. He had only said that so he could use the spirit turtle to determine where the real Jia Zhen was.

    Tsunami-like waves rose up from the turbulent lake, sweeping straight towards Jia Zhen. As the true master of the Water God Seal, only Li Qingshan could unleash its true powers.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Jia Zhen used an escape technique without the slightest hesitation, turning into a streak of light and shooting off into the distance. He only needed to hold on for a while longer, until E Dan killed the Daemon Commander and broke out of the Asura Field. If they worked together, they would still be undefeatable.

    However, as he thought about that, he saw Northmoon arrive right beside him. He actually flew no slower than the streak of light.

 Chapter 669 â€“ The Spider Queen Forced into Battle, the Torrential Rain Pours

    Various kinds of terrains¡ªglaciers, forests, deserts¡ªstood with clear boundaries, littered across the expansive space as blocks. Every single block was exactly the same size. A blood-red swirl constantly spun in the sky.

    On a pure-white glacier in the distance, a black wolf-man that stood over thirty meters tall howled at the sky. Suddenly, he raised his head, and a pair of verdant eyes locked onto Lolth. In the next moment, the glacier exploded, sending ice and snow into the air. The wolf-man had already vanished.

    Lolth¡¯s pupils constricted. She raised her head, only to see a colossal shadow blotting out the sky, lunging towards her. The huge claw of a wolf whistled down.

    Boom!

    The sand dune that Lolth stood on had been completely flattened, transformed into a sandstorm that wreaked havoc.

    Lolth leapt backwards with the sandstorm, having dodged by a hair¡¯s breadth. She felt greatly shocked. He had lunged over from so far away, yet if it were not for her eyes¡¯ innate ability, she would have almost failed to respond in time. The wolf-man¡¯s speed and strength were already equivalent to the strongest of Daemon Commanders, definitely not something she could defeat. She ground her teeth in hatred for Northmoon.

    As she thought, a gust of foul air assaulted her. An enormous wolf head opened its gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth and bit towards her.

    Lolth opened her vermillion lips and spat out. A spiderweb unfurled and enveloped the wolf head, but E Dan simply swung his claws and sent Lolth flying. She hurtled into a rainforest, smashing through several dozen towering trees before coming to a stop.

    Lolth maintained a defensive posture. The tight suit on her arms was ripped to shred, revealing her silver skin. Her silver face twisted slightly as her eyes shone with fury and malice. No matter who it was that tried to kill her, all of them would have to pay.

    E Dan ripped away the web on his head forcefully and pulled off a few tufts of black wolf fur at the same time. His claw that had struck Lolth had been dyed with a layer of black venom, which constantly spread. He bit down and ripped off the flesh that the venom infected.

    The pain put him in an even greater frenzy, convincing him that Lolth was Northmoon¡¯s helper who had come to prevent him from escaping the Asura Field. He had to kill her. After releasing the beast soul, his mentality was already severely affected, but his instincts to fight and kill became sharper and sharper.

    Lolth climbed up to her feet quickly, gazing at the great banyan tree in the distance and immediately rushing over without any hesitation at all. The forest rapidly receded around her.

    As soon as she set off, the growling from behind rapidly approached her. It would probably take a few seconds at most before it caught up to her. She arrived before the great banyan tree and gathered her daemon qi in her eyes, forming mysterious, beautiful ripples. Her eyes lit up, piercing through the thick bark and seeing the tree holes hidden inside. She leapt up and shot towards one of the tree holes.

    E Dan arrived before the tree too, extending his wolf claw towards her while she was mid-air; it was like he was trying to catch a fly.

    Lolth spat out a strand of spider silk, which stuck to the tree. She tugged it and suddenly sped up, slipping between E Dan¡¯s fingers by a hair¡¯s breadth. At the same time, she swung the poisonous whip in her hand to smash apart the bark, diving into the tree.

    Before she could even catch her breath, there was a great boom from behind. Splinters flew everywhere. A claw plunged into the trunk, grabbing Lolth.

    Lolth was shocked. She released strands of silk again and again, binding herself to the great banyan tree. E Dan possessed great strength, but the silk was extremely tough. He was unable to pry her out immediately.

    E Dan let out a strange howl, and Lolth felt a great force wrap around her as if he was trying to crush her to death. She bit down on E Dan¡¯s hand viciously, injecting it with venom without holding back at all.

    The great banyan tree shook violently, and sun vine flowers scattered. Sensing that the home they depended on was being heavily damaged, the sun vines all awakened, dancing about once more and shooting towards E Dan.

    E Dan shivered inside. Even he refused to let these sun vines wrap around him. With a violent roar, he tugged hard and ripped apart all of the spider silk, wrenching Lolth out of the tree. He kicked off the trunk and leapt into the distance, but he felt his ankle tighten. A sun vine had caught him. The sun vines all surged over like snakes and dragons.

    He came to a sudden halt, but his reactions were extremely fast. With a swipe of his claws, he cut apart the sun vines and dove into the jungle. With a great rumble, who knew how many trees he had crushed, but at least he had escaped the range of the sun vines¡¯ attack.

    Suddenly, he felt his right hand grow numb, unable to use any force anymore. The venom had already infiltrated deep into his flesh. Lolth used this opportunity to break free, fleeing towards the great banyan tree that was surrounded in dancing vines.

    Boom!

    E Dan grabbed his poisoned right hand and stomped down on her.

    Above the lake, the rain became more and more violent. It was no longer simply rain; it was like an overflowing river from heaven, dousing the world with water and flowing to the edges of the world. Even the roaring thunder had settled down as if the rain had extinguished it.

    Under the control of the Water God Seal, rolling water spiritual qi gathered from across the Ruyi commandery, from every single river and lake, leading to such a phenomenon.

    In the pitch-black darkness, only two specks of light flickered around.

    Jia Zhen was surrounded in layers upon layers of protective light, which came from various powerful defensive techniques of yin, yang, and the five elements, but they did not clash or conflict with one another. The various colours melded together, reaching a strange harmony. It was like a fortress that could never fall.

    Regular cultivators would choose only one type out of yin, yang, and the five elements to practise. Only ancient cultivators would practise all seven, and the difficulty would not merely be seven times greater. Without startling talent, even starting off was impossible, let alone reaching late Golden Core.

    Jia Zhen happened to be a genius like that, which was why Si Qing relied on him as his right-hand man, referring to him as ¡°sir¡±.

    Not only did his powers surpass regular Golden Core cultivators, but yin, yang, and the five elements formed a cycle in his body. As such, the speed and power of his techniques were alarming. On top of that, he basically knew all the techniques, even able to use abstruse and profound elemental manipulation techniques with ease.

    His arcane artifacts only added brilliance to his splendour and made him even stronger. He was even skilled in divination. When combined with his strategy, it allowed him to take into account every single possibility. He could always be several steps ahead of his opponent. However, Northmoon¡¯s fate had always been hidden away, and even he was unable to peer into it.

    Even he had never expected to be reduced to such a sorry state in a small place like the Ruyi commandery. His hatred for Northmoon weighed as heavy as mountains.

    Jia Zhen asked sunkenly, ¡°Wretched daemon, do you think you can defeat me just because you trapped E Dan?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be defeating you. I¡¯m going to be killing you!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. The splendid phoenix wings blazed away behind him as he used the innate ability of the wings of wind at the same time. The wind stoked the fire, extending them to thirty meters across. With each flap, he could cross a startling distance, making a beeline for Jia Zhen. He was no slower than escape techniques.

    The two specks of light collided, emitting extremely radiant light. As it ripped through the darkness, it swallowed their figures.

    Around the black altar, the praying continued, and the shadow that had become extremely thin slowly recovered.

 Chapter 670 â€“ May Your Soul Become an Asura

    In that moment, even Li Qingshan himself had no idea how many times he had punched out, unleashing his valiant spirit to his heart¡¯s content. Before the reckless attacks, the fortress constructed from seven layers of light began to totter. Shockwaves and light collided and flared, illuminating his handsome and wild face.

    Moon Court lake sprang alive, like a colossal beast lying on the ground below, constantly roaring and growling at the sky. It was also like a murderous army under the lead of their only commander, constantly capturing cities and seizing territory.

    Li Qingshan felt endless delight, completely submerging in the passion of fighting. At the same time, he constantly rose up in the air, overlooking all the bodies of water in the Ruyi commandery.

    After refining all the bodies of water in the Ruyi commandery, this was the first time he had fought with the Water God Seal. His will and the boundless water merged together. He was the rivers and lakes that surged and roared away.

    Perhaps due to the enlightenment from the Fruit of Wisdom, or perhaps he had comprehended the meaning of the boundless ocean, his understanding of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean deepened yet again. He could feel he was already standing at the gates of Golden Core, with the Ocean pearl waving at him. He only had to take another step forward, and he would enter a brand-new world.

    He could ingest the Origin Spirit pill as soon as he returned this time and push for the second heavenly tribulation. However, he had to win this battle first!

    Jia Zhen became paler and paler as if the water was about to swallow him. Everywhere around him was whistling and raging water. He was basically unable to tell anymore whether he was in a lake or an ocean abyss.

    However, he was not a sitting duck. Whenever Northmoon struck out, he would definitely strike back. Vast lightning and eye-piercing, golden light was constantly summoned, whistling out towards Li Qingshan. He did not need to think. He only had to use his powers to unleash his mightiest techniques and barrage Northmoon with them blindly.

    Ripping apart his skin and tearing away his flesh, Northmoon was covered in heavy wounds. Basically his entire right arm had been reduced to bone, which was a horrifying sight.

    However, this only made his attacks become even more frenzied. As long as he did not receive consecutive attacks, these horrific wounds would heal extremely quickly. The flames only had to burn past them, and they would vanish completely.

    That¡¯s the flames of the phoenix! He has the bloodline of the phoenix! Jia Zhen had been through countless battles in his life, but for the first time, he felt like he had no chance at victory. He could not help but develop a thought, Don¡¯t tell me this wretched daemon can¡¯t die?

    With the Water God Seal as a foundation, he was not afraid of depleting his daemon qi. It was perfectly possible for him to maintain the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell the entire time, such that his wounds would not be so severe.

    However, in an intense battle, some conflict and clashing would appear between the spirit turtle and phoenix. As a result, he purposefully avoided using the innate abilities of the spirit turtle while making the phoenix constantly heal his wounds. He did so to avoid overstraining himself.

    Another colossal wave slammed over. A shadow even darker than darkness suddenly appeared behind Jia Zhen, which was the shadow that had almost taken Jia Zhen¡¯s life, the Night Roaming God that had descended from the ritual.

    Under the prayers of countless night roamers, it had recovered its strength, becoming even darker and more concealed. The dagger in its hand had been swapped out for a long, slender sword, which it stabbed out with smoothly like the flowing clouds, silently penetrating the layers of defensive light and approaching the back of Jia Zhen¡¯s head.

    Ever since the previous sneak attack, Jia Zhen had always been on guard. The feather fan in his hand lit up with white light, and he swept it at the shadow behind him. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Bang!

    The light and shadow collided, producing a sound like a collision between solid objects. The shadow twisted and retreated, becoming slightly thinner, but it still had not been destroyed. It immediately merged into the darkness again, waiting for its next opportunity.

    Boom!

    While Jia Zhen was distracted, Li Qingshan pushed the powers of his tremors to the limit and dispersed the outermost, yellow defensive light. The remaining six layers of light immediately lost their perfect equilibrium. Six still seemed to remain, but at least a great chunk of the defensive power had vanished.

    Jia Zhen¡¯s face changed drastically. Unable to hold his ground any longer, he immediately turned into a streak of light and fled into the horizon. As for E Dan¡¯s life, it really came down to that old saying, ¡°Better that he¡¯s dead than me.¡±

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and did all that he could to catch up, sticking closely behind the streak of light. Only when he chased for several hundred kilometers did he pull back his wings and hover in the air, watching as the streak of light vanished into the horizon. He shook his head gently. If Xiao An were here, just where could this bastard run off to after a sweep of the Blood Sea Banner?

    A pursuit like this would not lead to any results, and he could instead fall for a trap from his opponent if he were careless. At their realm of cultivation, hunting down an opponent of similar cultivation truly was difficult. It only demonstrated the importance of spatial arcane artifacts like the Blood Sea Banner and the Asura Field.

    And, if he still did not enter the Asura Field to provide assistance, Lolth would be finished off. She had already left him very surprised for lasting for so long.

    A bird in the hand was worth a hundred in the bush. If he allowed E Dan to escape and then Jia Zhen looped back, that would be stupid of him.

    As a result, Li Qingshan immediately erased all of his aura and dove into a river on the surface. He entered the underground river again, flying about randomly along the riverway.

    Before the ripples on the surface of the river had even settled, a streak of light shot over. Jia Zhen did return. He spread out his soul sense and searched before carrying out divination, but how could he find Li Qingshan¡¯s tracks? He frowned heavily. This time, E Dan was probably in danger!

    He was tempted to return to Moon Court lake and massacre the night roamers, but he was afraid of running into Northmoon again. If he were careless, his life might even be in danger. The night roamers were not worth that risk, and the strange shadow left him rather fearful.

    In the Asura Field, the blood-red swirl began spinning once again, unbeknownst to anyone.

    Lolth had been ripped in half along her waist. Her perky bottom and round, slender legs, or in other words, her terrifying spider abdomen and furry spider legs, were already nowhere to be seen.

    Only the upper half of her body lay on the grassy plains, her daemon qi completely depleted. She was hanging on by a single breath.

    E Dan failed to get her with that stomp, allowing her to slip away. It led to another series of darting around and confrontations using the terrain of the great banyan tree. However, before E Dan¡¯s one-sided strength, she was caught once again very soon. There was not a particularly intense clash, and she was reduced to such a state.

    Of course, E Dan had paid a certain price for this. He was forced to cut off his right arm that was filed with venom. Although he managed to regrow it immediately with his extremely-powerful body, it took up a lot of power. His breathing was slightly ragged, and a hint of frenzy gradually appeared in his verdant eyes.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    E Dan bellowed, slamming his claws towards Lolth.

    ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ll die a horrible death!¡±

    Lolth cursed powerlessly, about to blow up her daemon core when a black storm descended from above.

    E Dan¡¯s claws hung in the air. A familiar figure appeared before Lolth, holding up the huge wolf claws with a single hand. He glanced back and smiled. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    Even he felt a little sorry when he saw how tragic her condition was, but that was the consequence of trying to amuse herself while he fought!

    Li Qingshan originally thought Lolth would erupt with abuse or viciously curse him, but she said rather feebly, ¡°Save me!¡± He could not help but become surprised before laughing. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re technically my woman- er, female daemon!¡±

    With a thought, he delivered Lolth and the severed bottom half of her body out of the Asura Field.

    ¡°Northmoon!¡± E Dan growled, filling Li Qingshan¡¯s face with a gust of foul air as his claws whistled over.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body swelled up, reaching over sixty meters tall. He forcefully received the claw without moving at all, and a few brutal claw marks appeared on his chest, but he was unfazed. He looked down at E Dan from above and said with his metallic voice.

    ¡°E Dan, it¡¯s time for you to die!¡±

    E Dan recovered a sliver of clarity from his frenzy, suddenly feeling slightly uneasy. He could smell the scent of death. He leapt back nimbly and stared at Li Qingshan. From his eyes, he could already tell that only a single person would be leaving this battle alive. There would not be a second person.

    ¡°You forced me to do this. You better not regret it!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. Under his iron hoof, the ground shook. ¡°Come!¡±

    E Dan let out a howl of despair. After the howl rose to its apex, he cast aside all of his fear and despair as if the final shackle had collapsed. He completely released the beast soul, allowing the beast soul to devour his soul. He would never be able to recover human form or consciousness again.

    His back arched high into the air as his arms extended, basically draping onto the ground. Right now, E Dan seemed more wolf than human. This was the absolute power that came with absolute sacrifice. His aura spiralled upwards in a frenzy, already approaching the power of kings.

    Li Qingshan opened his huge mouth and let out an excited smile. He roared, ¡°Come!¡±

    Murderousness boiled as battle intent rose up. The blood-red swirl spun faster in the sky.

    A tiger¡¯s roar and a wolf¡¯s howl rose up at the same time. Li Qingshan and E Dan lunged at one another at the same time, colliding loudly in the air and smashing to the ground.

    In that moment, fists and claws came and went, spattering blood into the air.

    Both of them were neither human nor beast. They were like shamanistic gods of the primordial times, embroiling in the wilderness.

    Roars and howls rang out again and again. The ground cracked, like a war drum being struck again and again.

    The blood-red swirl was like a lone eye, watching this in satisfaction.

    The newly-created Asura Field was gradually elevating and approaching perfection with their battle. Even more asura descended from the sky. In the beginning, they were regular asura, but towards the end, an Asura General directly descended.

    They all watched their battle from afar, completely entranced by it. Their techniques and skills in battle might not be on par with true Asura Commanders, but this almost-primitive clash was something completely different.

    E Dan struck like the wind, actually injuring Li Qingshan again and again in the beginning. However, Li Qingshan did not take a single step back, suffering injury but not dying. The Water God Seal supported his daemon qi, while the Strength of the Earth supported his physical strength. He stared at the storm-like barrage of attacks and advanced with a crazy smile.

    After reaching its peak, E Dan¡¯s powers began to decline helplessly. No matter how great the power of the beast soul was, it was not endless.

    In the end, Li Qingshan pierced E Dan¡¯s chest with his pair of ox horns, hoisting him up and smashing him onto the ground. His iron hooves stamped down heavily on his chest, crushing his bones and making his chest cave in.

    Right when he was about to die, E Dan recovered a sliver of clarity. There was no fear. There was no pleading. He only said two words, ¡°You¡¯ve won.¡±

    ¡°May your soul become an asura!¡±

 Chapter 671 â€“ The Spirit Turtleâ€™s Warning, the Arrival of Impending Doom

    The five words ¡°Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts¡± filled an entire cliff that stretched over three hundred meters across.

    The cliff was covered with vague, totemic carvings of various beasts. There were both regular beasts and birds, as well as divine birds and exotic beasts that only existed in legends.

    Roar!

    A roar filled with ferity and fury shook up the mountains, making all the birds and beasts tremble.

    An old man with ruffled hair who seemed as dignified as a male lion appeared on the edge of the cliff, gazing in the direction of the Green province.

    ¡°Who killed E Dan!?¡±

    The moment Li Qingshan killed E Dan, he suddenly felt a deep chill, and the spirit turtle gave off a strong omen of warning.

    Even without divining through the spirit turtle, he could guess he had provoked an extremely terrifying figure by killing E Dan, and this figure was not someone he could contend with right now.

    Master, Beast King!

    He mulled over these two phrases before tossing it to the back of his mind. As his comprehension of the spirit turtle deepened, his omens of good and bad became more and more sensitive.

    This was a form of impending doom, but it was not imminent. After the Beast King learned about E Dan¡¯s death and found out who the murderer was from Jia Zhen, he would need to travel from the Dragon province to the Green province. It would all take time. Within the killing intent, there was a small chance of survival. Since he could not defeat him, then couldn¡¯t he just run?

    In short, if it were a blessing, then it was a blessing, but if it were a curse, it would be unavoidable. There was no need for him to fret.

    Li Qingshan yawned and stretched, gazing at the blood-red swirl in the sky. He had no idea whether E Dan¡¯s soul had already joined the Asura realm, or if the beast soul had devoured it, completely vanishing from the surroundings.

    He lowered his head and gazed at the greyish-black golden core in his hand. There was a faint, totemic image of a black wolf, giving off a feral and savage aura.

    Stepping out of the Asura Field, he arrived in a place over five kilometers below the surface. A small river gurgled away in the darkness. Lolth laid on the banks of the river nearby, completely unclothed.

    She seemed extremely feeble, but basically all of her wounds had already recovered. Only a streak of blood that had yet to recover remained on her waist. To a Daemon Commander with a powerful body like her, a wound like that was still not enough to claim her life, but it was still a heavy injury without a doubt. Even her scarlet lips had faded slightly.

    Lolth gazed at him. ¡°You¡¯ve won again.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, all thanks to you. Open up!¡±

    Very soon, she completely recovered from her wounds, and her lips recovered a lot of their colour too. She continued to stare at him with a strange gaze the entire time. In a daze, she kind of understood why the Golden Cicada Spirit King would regard him with special respect, even communicating with him as equals. There was something on him that was different from regular daemons, which allowed him to go from the measly Daemon General under her command to today.

    Lolth recovered some daemon qi. Li Qingshan patted her cheek. ¡°Alright, you can go back!¡±

    Lolth suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°Haven¡¯t you forgotten something?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°You said you¡¯d fuck me if you won. You¡¯ve won now!¡± Lolth licked her lips and said with a deep, seductive voice.

    Li Qingshan had entangled with Lolth numerous times in the past, but he had forced it every single time. She was unable to resist, so she went along with it reluctantly. This was the first time she had gone out of her way to propose sleeping together. He could not help but smile. This also meant she stopped trying to get revenge, completely accepting his existence.

    It was nothing like love. It was only recognising and yielding to the strong at most. However, this was already enough for Li Qingshan. He held her chin and smiled. ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯re not too stupid, or I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll really have to kill you one day! Wouldn¡¯t that be a waste?¡±

    In the very beginning, the reason why he did not kill Lolth was because of the law that prevented daemons from killing one another. Afterwards, he did it for the sake of the Golden Cicada Spirit King. As for the intercourse that brought him the most joy, it instead was not the most important reason.

    Whether it was women or female daemons, there were plenty of them in the world. No matter how lustful he was, there was no reason for him to stubbornly stick to a single one, let alone the fact that sex had never been his greatest pursuit.

    Once he became even stronger, strong enough to ignore these various rules and laws, he might dismiss it with a smile and forget about it if she still looked at him with the same resentful gaze. Alternatively, he might change his mind, deciding to settle some old debts and cut her down.

    ¡°That day won¡¯t arrive.¡± Lolth took the initiative, raising her head to kiss him on the lips.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand to stop her. ¡°I still have matters to attend to. You better go back and wait for my arrival. Oh right, don¡¯t forget to hide a little deeper. The storm still hasn¡¯t come to an end!¡±

    After seeing off Lolth, Li Qingshan¡¯s smile faded, immediately returning to Moon Court lake. The rain continued to pour, and the waves continued to surge, but it was no longer as intense as before.

    He saw the last few remaining formations still enveloping the Moon Court dwelling from the distance and stopped worrying. What he worried about the most was Jia Zhen returning and carrying out a massacre in the Moon Court dwelling.

    Although he did not have any special attachments to the night roamers, he still cared very much about Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo. They had done well during this battle. If it were not for the two sneak attacks from the shadow, Jia Zhen would not have fled so quickly, and he would be rather troubled.

    On the black altar, Ye Mingzhu continued to stand in the centre with her eyes shut. The shadow paced around her. Uncertain about the situation, she refused to disperse the Night Roaming God immediately.

    The night roamers with weaker cultivations in the surroundings had already fainted. Even some of the second heavenly tribulation night roamers began to totter about.

    Ye Mingzhu suddenly opened her eyes, gazing at the figure walking over between the mountains. The shadow merged into the darkness and appeared behind Li Qingshan, its sword poised to strike. Only when it saw he was Northmoon did it stop. Ye Mingzhu dropped to her knees in a hurry. ¡°Master!¡±

    The other night roamers saw his scarlet-haired, scarlet-pupiled figure and all beamed with joy, let alone Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo.

    No matter what, the fate of the night roamers from this region of the world had already become linked with his. And, it was truly through him that they were liberated from Lolth¡¯s reign, allowing them to live under the stars.

    Actually, the main reason was because Li Qingshan was too busy. He did not have enough time to oppress them. If he were as bored as Lolth, he probably could enjoy the decadent lifestyle of a ruler too. He just would not be as much of a deviant as her.

    Li Qingshan nodded, smiling at Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo in commendation. ¡°You¡¯ve done well. Today, everyone here will be rewarded!¡± He walked over to the black altar and knocked it gently. The altar seemed to be carved out of a single block of obsidian, possessing a strange power.

    Then he said to Ye Mingzhu, ¡°You¡¯re almost going to break through to the second heavenly tribulation!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    ¡°This is an Origin Spirit pill, which is used when humans undergo the second heavenly tribulation. I don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s effective on night roamers or not.¡± Li Qingshan casually tossed the pill over, and Ye Mingzhu caught it. She was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you for your reward, master. I want to ingest the pill right now.¡±

    Although she was a little exhausted after the battle, the power of the Night Roaming God lingered in her body, and her willpower had never been so powerful before. This was without a doubt a heaven-sent opportunity.

    ¡°Up to you.¡± Li Qingshan also wanted to witness the second heavenly tribulation so that he could make some preparations for his own upcoming tribulation.

    Ye Mingzhu immediately ingested the Origin Spirit pill, crossing her legs and sitting down on the altar. The shadow that roamed around her gradually dispersed, and her own power flowed out, enveloping her surroundings.

    With a thunderous rumble, lightning descended from above.

    The night roamers all retreated to the small mountains in the surroundings. On the mountain with the best positioning, Li Qingshan smiled at Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo. ¡°It has really been a while. You¡¯ve done well this time, so what reward would you like?¡±

    Ye Liubo grumbled, ¡°I thought you already forgot about us, master. Others say they¡¯re snowed under with work and could easily use a helper, but you have both a clone as a helper and your original body, yet you still don¡¯t visit us! I don¡¯t want any reward. I just want what you owe me.¡±

    ¡°What do I owe you?¡±

    ¡°Ah! Master, you actually forgot! I want a child!¡± Ye Liubo behaved like she was about to burst into tears.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. We¡¯ll have one as soon as we get back.¡± Li Qingshan agreed readily, and only then did Ye Liubo light up with pleasure. She wrapped her arms around his waist firmly as if she was afraid he would run away.

    Then Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What about you, Liusu?¡±

    ¡°I would never ask for too much. I just want some of your affection, and I¡¯ll be satisfied. Though, I do wonder which is easier when compared to making a child.¡±

    Ye Liusu looked back and smiled, her twinkling eyes staring straight into his eyes.

    Li Qingshan smiled. The elder sister was basically even more discontent than the younger sister. He lowered his head and kissed her gently.

    ¡°Sorry, I do indeed have a little too many matters to attend to. Although I killed one of them this time, his master is the Beast King from the Dragon province. He¡¯ll probably come looking for trouble very soon, so I can¡¯t stick around here just yet!¡±

    Ye Liusu was very touched. She never expected him to explain to her so sincerely, or even apologise to her. With his strength, there was no need for him to take her feelings into consideration at all. She said tenderly, ¡°You¡¯ve already given me enough, yet I¡¯m unable to help you with anything. However, I constantly worry about you. No matter what, all of me belongs to you!¡±

    ¡°Big sister?¡± Under Ye Liubo¡¯s surprised gaze, Ye Liusu reddened and lowered her head.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Would you like a child too?¡±

    ¡°I just want you to think about me.¡±

    Ye Liusu turned away and gazed into the valley. The crackling lightning constantly illuminated her face as she became rather worried. ¡°Can mother undergo the tribulation successfully?¡±

    Who knew how many years it had been since the night roamers in this region had a powerful existence that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation. The night roamers had always been killing one another. Once a genius like that appeared, the other clans would do everything that they could to kill them.

    On top of that, there was the suppression from the Spider Queen. She only needed to utter a single word to achieve what the other clans could not, recalling them to Cobweb city and devouring them. Lastly, there were no wondrous pills like Origin Spirit pills. Facing the second heavenly tribulation using their power alone was not an easy feat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If she didn¡¯t have the confidence, she wouldn¡¯t have chosen to undergo the tribulation right now.¡±

    According to Li Qingshan¡¯s observations, the might of the second heavenly tribulation was not particularly terrifying. At the very least, he felt like it would not be a problem to him. Of course, the source of this confidence was his unbelievably tough body.

    Ye Mingzhu was not as powerful as him, but she had been stuck at the bottleneck for numerous years, so she had developed an extremely thick and firm foundation. The Origin Spirit pill was merely a final push to her.

    Sure enough, when the last bolt of lightning fell, Ye Mingzhu stood up on the black altar, overjoyed.

    ¡°Everyone retreat underground! No, come to my side!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately ordered loudly. He gazed in the direction of the Dragon province. His impending doom was here!

    It had come so quickly!

 Chapter 672 â€“ The Beast Kingâ€™s Wrath, the Spirit Turtle Hides

    The cool breeze made his scarlet hair flutter, still moist from the rain and mist. This was a comfortable early morning.

    Li Qingshan stood on the tallest mountain in the Moon Court dwelling alone, gazing at the sky in the north solemnly as if he was waiting for something.

    Suddenly, an aura appeared in the northern sky. Its brutal nature ripped apart the clouds, allowing sunlight to sprinkle down. It was still extremely far away, but the surging aura was already rather stifling.

    After Jia Zhen fled, he immediately reported everything to Si Qing, who then passed it onto the Beast King. Having obtained his enemy¡¯s name and appearance, the Beast King set off immediately, rushing over from the Dragon province.

    His orange, beast-like pupils locked onto the figure with fluttering, scarlet hair immediately. Seeing the two words on his horns, he became even more certain he had not found the wrong individual.

    Bang! The air exploded and fierce winds howled, kicking up white ripples in the air.

    The Beast King whistled over, landing in front of Li Qingshan. The entire island shook and countless structures collapsed.

    Li Qingshan held his breath without taking a single step back, studying the ¡°Beast King¡±.

    He seemed to be in his fifties and was extraordinarily tall and large. He had a tall and wide nose bridge, and his eyes shone with vigour. His mouth drooped downwards, truly possessing a huge, gaping mouth. He seemed like a lion. As they stared at one another, he truly did give off the dignity of a king among beasts. He did not hide his aura, fuming away like a volcano about to erupt, about to destroy everything.

    Although he had technically defeated a ¡°king¡± in the past, that took the strength of who knew how many people, taking advantage of the favourable climatic, geographical, and human conditions before finally shattering space and taking the life of the Corpse King.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan had estimated that under normal circumstances, if he faced the Corpse King alone, even when he had already become much stronger now, even when he had the Water God Seal for support, the only fate awaiting him in the end was certain death.

    He only had a chance at surviving if he spotted him from afar and immediately turned around, flapped his wings, and fled. A great chasm of strength existed between the two realms of cultivation, which could not be made up for so easily. And, the Beast King before him was probably even stronger than the Corpse King.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who killed E Dan!¡± He growled like a lion.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    ¡°And yet you still remain here?¡±

    ¡°I need to see at the very least just what my enemy looks like, as well as confirm a few things.¡±

    ¡°Well you¡¯ve seen me now. Are you ready to die? I¡¯ll refine your soul into a beast soul!¡±

    The Beast king took another step forward, and his colossal aura rushed over like a tsunami.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t be dying at your hands!¡±

    Before he had even finished talking, a thick, boney hand grabbed him by the throat, so fast that he was unable to respond. A blur of the Beast King standing where he was still lingered in his eyes.

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself, ¡°Looks like others just can¡¯t be relied on. Only personal strength is true strength!¡±

    Suddenly, his body began to pulse, like ripples on the surface of water. His figure twisted before completely shattering apart and vanishing.

    This was merely the clone he had left here. He was nowhere near stupid enough to remain here with his true body and wait for the Beast King to come kill him. When he sensed the impending doom and realised the danger came from the north, he immediately made his decision, which was to flee!

    Just like how fleeing could triumph over all, the true meaning of the spirit turtle was to avert and evade misfortune and disaster, hiding away from the world.

    In simpler terms, he was simply holing up in his shell, preventing anyone from finding him. No matter how powerful the enemy was, they could not do anything to him.

    He left his mirror clone here to see what the Beast King was like, and also to see the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s response. There was no reason to say that only E Dan could kill Northmoon and Northmoon could not kill E Dan, or he would be killed off in vengeance.

    As the king of the Green province daemons, the Dragon King of Ink Sea was also the protector of all daemons in name. If he simply allowed powerful human cultivators to kill the Daemon Commanders and Daemon Generals under him, then he would be abandoning his duty.

    But in the end, the Dragon King of Ink Sea did not appear, which explained a lot of issues.

    With how great of a disturbance it had been above Moon Court lake, it was impossible for the Dragon Ink of Ink Sea to have not heard about it. The Beast King had rushed over here from the Dragon province aggressively, while the Dragon King of Ink Sea who happened to be in the Green province had not made it in time. Perhaps he was incapable, or perhaps he was reluctant, but it only led to a single conclusion. He could not rely on the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    ¡°Northmoon, no matter where you flee to, I¡¯ll kill you regardless and refine you into a beast soul!¡±

    A roar dispersed the clouds. The Beast King threw a punch at the mountains beneath him.

    Boom!

    Black cracks spread out into the surroundings, and the entire island shattered, sinking into Moon Court lake. The dwelling had been completely destroyed.

    Right now, Li Qingshan was making his way around in the depths underground. In order to cover his tracks, he did not even use his wings. Instead, he ran along the ground gracefully with a smile on his face. Sensing the weak tremors from the distance, the fine sand sprinkled down over him, and he concealed his aura even harder. He slowed down slightly and silently powered the spirit turtle¡¯s daemon core.

    The only thing he was worried about was having his location pinpointed through divination. With the Beast King¡¯s identity and cultivation, he could definitely find an extremely powerful practitioner of divination. He had to carefully guard against this.

    Fortunately, this aspect happened to be the spirit turtle¡¯s specialty. After eating the Fruit of Wisdom, he possessed a deeper comprehension of the usage of these powers, so he was not too worried. However, he did have to cast aside his identity as Northmoon temporarily.

    Entering the pitch-black, complicated underground caves, he was like a spirit turtle gradually diving into the sea abyss. No one could find his traces anymore.

    A small stream gurgled out from an inconspicuous cave in the Chain mountains.

    Li Qingshan strode out of the pitch-black depths, already possessing black hair, black pupils, and a bronze face.

    The sunlight shone resplendently, and all the vegetation was verdant. A figure in clothes even whiter than snow sat beside a small stream on a boulder nearby, gazing at him with a slight smile.

    Her black hair draped down beside her beautiful face like a waterfall, reaching her waist and moving with the wind. Compared to her past valiance, she seemed more graceful and unrestrained right now, but it was very difficult to describe her with words like charming or effeminate, perhaps because she would always be so confident and composed, perhaps because she had never treated herself as a woman.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He went up and clasped his hands. ¡°Greetings, commander Gu!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Little bro Qingshan, you¡¯ve made quite the trouble this time.¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands like he was powerless. ¡°Circumstances.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°I think you¡¯re finding great pleasure within it.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°There¡¯s an old saying from my hometown. Life is like sexual assault. If you can¡¯t oppose it, then enjoy it!¡±

    TL: Can¡¯t say I condone this.

    Gu Yanying raised an eyebrow. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like something the farmers from Crouching Ox village would say, and it¡¯s not like you¡¯re the one being assaulted. It¡¯s E Dan!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hopefully he enjoyed that final battle! Alright. You¡¯re not waiting here because you want to hear this from me, right?¡±

    Gu Yanying raised two fingers. ¡°Two matters. After you left, the king of the myriad beasts rushed underground and began massacring night roamers and daemons. The Dragon King of Ink Sea told him to return to the Dragon province.¡±

    ¡°This old beast sure is obedient.¡±

    ¡°Unless he wants to die in the Green province.¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King of Ink Sea can kill him?¡±

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. He had personally witnessed the Beast King¡¯s strength. After all, the higher the realm of cultivation was, the more difficult it was to kill one another. It was only possible to kill the Beast King with strength that completely surpassed him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not.¡±

    ¡°Mighty be my king!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but reevaluate the strength of the Ten Daemon Kings. They had been crowned as the Ten Daemon Kings several thousand years ago. After another few millennia of accumulation, every single one of them was a terrifying, old monster.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°The Dragon King of Ink Sea has already passed an order for Northmoon to visit the Ink Sea to see him!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Do you think Northmoon should go?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think Northmoon should go.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll just treat this like I never heard it.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded with a smile. He would never entrust his personal safety to a powerful existence¡¯s mood, and he hated playing the role of some subject or subordinate the most. He had far too many secrets on him. He might not necessarily be able to fool the dragon king¡¯s eyes.

    Of course, he could send his clone to the Ink sea, but something as rude as that would probably just infuriate the Dragon King of Ink Sea. Not every Daemon King was as gentle and forgiving as the Golden Cicada Spirit King and the Great Banyan Tree King. As a result, the best approach was to downright behave like he had never heard it in the first place.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Then there¡¯s still the second matter. Great Xia has a government office known as the Bureau of Astronomy. I know their supervisor. He¡¯s a muddle-headed old man, but also the most powerful naturalist from the school of Yin-yang across the nine provinces. The Bureau of Astronomy has an arcane treasure known as the Platform of Astronomy. It stands three meters tall, gathering yin and yang qi and the essence of the five elements, forged from meteorite. As long as the old man divines on there, he can basically find out about everything. Jia Zhen just happens to be on relatively good terms with him.¡±

    She brought up the problem that worried Li Qingshan the most in one fell swoop. He frowned and muttered, ¡°The Bureau of Astronomy, the Platform of Astronomy!¡±

    ¡°The old man does not divine for others so easily, much less use the Platform of Astronomy carelessly. Just Jia Zhen alone really won¡¯t be enough to convince him. However, if you add in the Beast King, prince Si Qing, and the imperial clan¡¯s desire to retrieve the Asura Field, that¡¯s enough for him to pay a visit to the Platform of Astronomy and calculate a certain person¡¯s whereabouts.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s truly terrible.¡±

    ¡°This is a Minor Formation of Five Elements Inversion. It can obscure the heavenly secrets. You cannot leave the vicinity of the formation within for at least the next three months. Combined with your own abilities, you should be able to get away. Oh right, entering the Asura Field will achieve a certain effect too.¡±

    Gu Yanying passed the formation to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan pondered silently for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s just say I bought this from you. We¡¯re in the clear now.¡±

    A formation that could obscure the strongest naturalist of the school of Yin-yang¡¯s divination was definitely invaluable, and what was even more precious was the information she had provided to warn him. If his position had been calculated while he was unaware, even his identity as Li Qingshan could very possibly be exposed.

    ¡°It¡¯s no different from lifting a finger for me. We had an agreement before, so of course I should watch your back a little. If you were finished off, who¡¯s supposed to complete the task you promised me?¡±

 Chapter 673 â€“ Gazing into the Distance

    Only after casting down the Minor Formation of Five Elements Inversion and obscuring the heavenly secrets did Li Qingshan stop worrying. Afterwards, he entered the Asura Field, and the same lush rainforest and towering tree appeared before him.

    ¡°Master.¡± Night roamers were currently busying about in the rainforest. When they saw Li Qingshan, they all bowed and greeted him.

    A shadow drifted over, and Ye Mingzhu appeared before him. She was dressed in the traditional, black armour of night roamers, which was unable to hide her mature and charming body. However, her existence was as flimsy and blurry as a silhouette, giving off a dark and obscured aura. It was as if she could merge away into the darkness at any time.

    ¡°Congratulations.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    There were even more night roamers and daemons in the depths of the dense jungle. Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo sensed his aura and rushed over. Milliped climbed on a big tree, while Li¡¯l Red and Li¡¯l Blue soaked in a pond within the trees.

    When the spirit turtle warned of the impending doom, Li Qingshan gathered all of the night roamers and moved them into the Asura Field. Afterwards, he left behind his clone. Meanwhile, his true body returned underground, moving as many of the night roamers and daemons he came across into the Asura Field as possible before the Beast King arrived.

    With the Asura Field that stretched several hundred meters across, holding them was obviously not an issue. The only problem was the influence from the murderous will of the Asura realm. Regular night roamers and daemons could not resist it, making it very easy for them to enter a frenzy.

    Even Li Qingshan, the master of the Asura Field, was unable to eliminate this influence, or the Asura Field would no longer be an Asura Field. However, there was a safe region, which was the land the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s canopy enveloped. Under the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s powers, even the powers of the Asura realm could not invade the place. The canopy that resembled a green cloud was large enough too.

    All of the night roamers and daemons gathered beneath the tree, but they were afraid of getting too close to the tree trunk. Some rash daemons had already experienced the power of the sun vines.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to master¡¯s gift!¡± Ye Mingzhu said politely.

    His strength was well beyond her expectations. He was not an opponent who could be defeated through assassination. Coupled with the fact that he had no actual interest in ruling the night roamers and that Ye Liusu was in power, she was technically in control as her mother, so there was no need to take this risk.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°Master, I want to leave everything regarding the night roamers up to my mother and focus on cultivation for some time.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve always said that you don¡¯t need to spend too much time and energy on these miscellaneous matters. It also makes perfect sense for the strongest to rule. Ye Mingzhu, you can continue with your position as matriarch from today onwards and rule over the Night Roaming folk!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, master.¡± Ye Mingzhu was overjoyed inside. Her desire for power had already become embedded in her bones.

    ¡°How do you feel about this place?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s very good. According to the records, night roamers lived in forests like this before we ventured underground!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head. The thick jungle that did not see the light of day seemed even darker under the shade of the banyan tree¡¯s canopy, like night. It really did seem very suitable for night roamers to live in. As a result, he asked the Great Banyan Tree King from afar.

    ¡°Fellow, are there night roamers in the Mist province too?¡±

    ¡°There are a lot of them, and most of them live under my shade.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ancient voice left the night roamers astounded. They had already been left speechless when they saw such a large tree. They never thought the tree would actually be a conscious daemon. Even Ye Mingzhu widened her eyes.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This is one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Great Banyan Tree King. Of course, this is merely one of his clones.¡±

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King!¡±

    Who didn¡¯t know about the renowned Ten Daemon Kings? In Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes, the Dragon King of Ink Sea had always been a figure of legend. She never thought she would see a Daemon King in person today, which filled her with some reverence.

    Then Li Qingshan asked, ¡°I want to remove these sun vines so that they can live under your shade safely. Will that be fine, fellow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just a tree. You don¡¯t have to ask what I think. However, their roots have already become interwoven with mine, so removing them by the roots won¡¯t be easy.¡±

    ¡°Then let me try!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled confidently and took a step forward. His body swelled to over sixty meters tall, and the sun vines coiled around him madly. He simply stood there without moving, allowing them to entangle around him. In the blink of an eye, the golden sun vines completely swallowed him. Every single sun vine siphoned away his daemon qi desperate.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Li Qingshan immediately suppressed all of his daemon qi, like an icebound ocean. For a moment, the sun vines were unable to suck it away either.

    Tremors of the Ox Demon!

    Li Qingshan converted his daemon qi into the power of tremors and released it around him. Instinctively, the sun vines absorbed all of the power of tremors, sparing not even a sliver.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He continued to release the power of tremors endless and gradually. Soon, the sun vines began to fluctuate as if they had reached a certain limit. Suddenly, they burst apart, reduced to shreds. The dim, golden fluid within the vines splattered into the surroundings like a rainstorm.

    The spiritual qi within the fluid was extremely dense. Li Qingshan exhaled deeply. He felt like he had just been baptised. All of his exhaustion from the battle had vanished. He was glowing with energy.

    Under the spiritual rain, the surrounding rainforest grew madly. The night roamers and daemons all leapt onto the canopy, enjoying this shower from above.

    Because of their instincts to absorb, even the thinnest roots of the sun vines buried deep within the earth had been shaken apart, completely removed by the roots. Perhaps there would be a day when they would regrow, but it would probably take a very, very long time.

    Under Ye Mingzhu¡¯s lead, the night roamers began building houses and dwelling among the twisted roots under the great banyan tree.

    Li Qingshan stood on the great banyan tree and gazed at the night roamers busying about below before gazing at the distant boundary of the Asura Field. He could not help but sigh a little with emotion. In the past, he could only sleep in the cowshed. Just how cramped had that been? Now, he possessed private territory that spanned several hundred kilometers. It truly did feel like an entire lifetime had passed.

    However, the weariness of the past was not worth lamenting over, as even now, he had yet to understand how great of a figure the black ox that had spent over a decade with him was.

    I await for you beyond the Nine Heavens, for the time when you stand beside me.

    He raised his head. Was the Asura realm high up and distant? Beyond the Nine Heavens was probably a place even higher up and even more distant!

    Don¡¯t lower your head to anyone, to anything. You have once ridden on my back!

    This saying had been engraved in his heart.

    He took out the reed flute he had not touched in a very long time and placed it by his lips, playing it rather ineptly. The melody that was not exactly pleasant drifted with the wind.

    The Great Banyan Tree King listened along quietly. He had heard much pleasant, beautiful music in the past, but never had he heard a flute like that.

    That was the great ambition to climb out of the well and see the world, the dream to turn into a star!

 Chapter 674 â€“ The Heavenly Tribulation Descends Once More, the Forgotten Pearl of the Ocean One

    By the time the sound of the flute came to an end, the sky had already darkened. After undergoing another evolution and breakthrough, the blood-red swirl in the sky of the Asura Field gradually dispersed, revealing the faint, red sky. It waited for the next battle to the death.

    Li Qingshan was about to leave the Asura Field and enter secluded cultivation so that he could break through to Golden Core. Suddenly, he felt a scorching gaze land on him from far below.

    Ye Mingzhu found a suitable place to consolidate her cultivation, while Ye Liusu led everyone to rebuild their homes. Everyone had their jobs. They would only raise their heads from time to time and gaze at the depths of the canopy.

    Only Ye Liubo sat on a branch with her legs crossed, staring straight at him. She had been listening closely to the flute, like it was music from immortals. That was better described as reverence towards a god than feelings of love.

    Li Qingshan smiled, leaping down from the great banyan tree. He flapped his phoenix wings gently and produced a beautiful arc, gliding over the rainforest and scooping her up, flying off to the mountains in the distance.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time for me to uphold my promise.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and smiled at her in his arms.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo exclaimed excitedly, hanging onto him firmly.

    ¡°You better just call me by my name!¡±

    ¡°But I prefer master.¡±

    ¡°Up to you.¡±

    Ye Liusu watched as he flew away from the great banyan tree and the rainforest. She felt a little bitter inside, but also happy for Ye Liubo. In the end, she instead felt relieved. When she listened to his flute earlier, she felt just how distant they were, and they would only grow more distant. He would never belong to a single woman.

    Wind whistled past her ears. Ye Liubo understood the strangeness of this world, but in his arms, never had she felt so at peace. She also felt indescribable joy. Nothing had even happened yet, but her eyes had already drifted away slightly.

    They flew through the desert that was experiencing a sandstorm where the asura were currently fighting. Several asura were fighting against one another for the sake of their status. When they saw Li Qingshan fly past, they all stopped swinging their weapons and stood sternly. That battle had already demonstrated to them who the indisputable ruler of this place was.

    Li Qingshan saluted them with a smile, only to see the asura greet him back with the same salute, making him shake his head with a smile helplessly. He continued on his way and only came to a stop in front of the snow mountain. He landed softly at the foot of the mountain. He could see the lake in the distance from here.

    ¡°Do you like it here?¡±

    Li Qingshan placed her on the pure-white ground and gently caressed her face before sliding down with his fingers. Her armour shattered open silently, and her voluptuous breasts leapt out, jiggling slightly. He continued downwards, and her thigh guards shattered too.

    Her beautiful body was on full display before him, only leaving behind a pair of long boots. The beautiful patterns special to night roamers eased up, and her dark-blue skin formed an extremely distinct contrast against the snowy ground.

    Ye Liubo looked at him eagerly and helplessly like a lamb about to be slaughtered. She murmured, ¡°Master.¡±

    Towards this cute ¡°pet¡± who offered everything she had up to him without holding back at all, Li Qingshan was instead not in much of a hurry. He teased her patiently out of interest. His index finger slid between her breasts and reached her delicate belly button, poking it gently.

    Ye Liusu trembled all over and let out a pleasant moan. Her round thighs overlapped, rubbing against one another gently. Even Li Qingshan had never expected her to be aroused so easily, so he teasingly said, ¡°How lewd!¡±

    Ye Liubo furrowed her brows and grumbled, ¡°It¡¯s all because of you, master¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk back!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he poked her pouting lips with his index finger before immediately sinking into warmth. She raised her head and sucked on the finger as her soft, smooth tongue rolled over, licking and sucking away like she was tasting some delicacy. Her eyes were blurred and filled with joy, both passionate and careful, like the most devoted fanatic trying to please her god.

    Li Qingshan felt his lust being ignited and the caressing became more passionate. He fiddled around with a mound of softness as he extended a hand beneath her, only to discover it was even moister than her mouth. All he heard was an elated moan. ¡°Master!¡± It was filled with desire.

    As a result, Li Qingshan stopped hesitating and approached her.

    Before the joy from making love had even dispersed, he had already returned to the dark centre of the mountain. Li Qingshan shook his head and took in a deep breath before lighting some incense, taking a shower, changing his clothes, and calming the mind. He made the most abundant preparations.

    Sitting down with his legs crossed, he closed his eyes. Everything that had happened recently¡ªfrom the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures to killing E Dan, everything including the battles, the conversations, the hatred, the gratitude, the hostility, the kindness, and so on¡ªflashed across his eyes, containing everyone and all the matters involved.

    Fury and joy, helplessness and desire surged through him at the same time. His eyes gradually became as calm as water, making everything settle down. Perhaps because he had eaten the Fruit of Wisdom, his mind became especially clear.

    In the end, all the people and matters faded away. Only the spiritual qi bobbed up and down in his sea of qi. It was only inches away, yet it seemed as deep and vast as the ocean.

    The time was right. It was about time for him to take this step.

    He took out an Origin Spirit pill, ingested it, and refined it.

    A strange feeling dispersed through his body. The sea of qi that had originally been peaceful suddenly began to surge restlessly. At the same time, his sea of consciousness began to surge as well as if it wanted to expand even further away, yet also like it wanted to contract into an Ocean pearl.

    The sensations conflicted as polar opposites, yet they were also extremely harmonious, allowing Li Qingshan to see the existence of that gate.

    He silently practised the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. He was in no hurry to break through. He silently comprehended the effects of the Origin Spirit pill, as well as the true essence of the ocean.

    A while later, the effects faded away, and the first Origin Spirit pill had been wasted away like that. Even Golden Core cultivators would find that rather wasteful, but he simply took out a second Origin Spirit pill calmly. However, he did not ingest it immediately. Instead, he sat there quietly, allowing time to pass by.

    Suddenly, a mysterious power activated the Minor Formation of Five Elements Inversion, making it operate away at full strength. However, even the wondrous formation could not block the probing of the power. It gradually passed through the fate that was as chaotic as a maze, going straight for him.

    He held his breath and waited, making the spirit turtle dive into the sea abyss and hole up in its shell, entering a world of its own. After passing through the formation, the power became rather feeble. It searched around for quite a while longer, but it was unable to grasp anything, so it returned fruitlessly.

    In the Dragon province, the Platform of Astronomy glowed faintly. Its surroundings were engraved with the celestial bodies and their passage through time. On the very top was a large eight trigrams diagram, and in the centre sat a healthy old man in graceful clothes with a special astronomic hat on his head.

    A while later, the old man opened his eyes. They were completely black without any irises, but they were clear like a tranquil pond. The sky full of stars was reflected in them. He murmured to himself, ¡°A difficult person to find. Yeah, the Minor Formation of Five Elements Inversion.¡±

    If he had to find him by divination, it was not exactly impossible. At the very least, he could determine his location, but he would have to pay a corresponding price. The dead damned disciple of the Beast King was still nowhere near enough for him to do that. If Si Qing himself had died, then that was more like it.

    ¡°I might not be able to find you, but does that mean I can¡¯t find the Minor Formation of Five Elements Inversion?¡±

    The sky full of stars in the old man¡¯s eyes flashed. As a formation that specially blocked divination, the Minor Formation of Five Elements Inversion did not have any abilities to defend or trap enemies. It was not a common formation, and it fetched for quite a price. There were not a lot of people who possessed one.

    To a powerful naturalist from the school of Yin-yang like him, a defensive measure like this was also a lead and an opening.

    A while later, a figure appeared before his eyes, going from blurry to clear. It was Gu Yanying. She smiled back at him, clasped her hands and bowed.

    This girl. The old man shook his head and made his way off the Platform of Astronomy. The moment he left the Platform of Astronomy, he suddenly hunched over from his tall, straight posture, and his clear eyes became turbid. Even the ruddiness on his face faded away, growing many wrinkled and gullies on his face out of nowhere. He placed his hands behind his back and slowly walked over, like a mortal.

    The Beast King, Si Qing, and Jia Zhen were currently waiting beneath the Platform of Astronomy. When they saw the old man, even the Beast King lowered his head and bowed, ¡°Sir supervisor, how are the results?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t find him.¡± The old man glanced at them. Suddenly, a sliver of surprise flashed through his eyes. In that moment, the power of the Platform of Astronomy had yet to completely disperse. However, he remained unfazed, turning around and leaving, but he walked very slowly, so the Beast King caught up to him with a single step. ¡°You should be able to find where he is at the very least, right? I don¡¯t want anything else. I just want to know where his true body is hiding.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t find him means I can¡¯t find him.¡± The old man waved his hand.

    The three of them were very taken aback. They understood the old man¡¯s abilities very well, let alone the fact that he had even used an arcane treasure like the Platform of Astronomy. Logically speaking, he should have even been able to calculate that wretched daemon Northmoon¡¯s time of birth, the eight characters of his horoscope, his identity, and his origins, so why was he unable to calculate his location?

    For this divination, the Beast King had paid a huge price, only to receive a result like this, so how could he accept it? He frowned, and his dignified face seemed even more threatening, but before this old man, his furious temper was completely useless.

    The old man stopped and looked back. His turbid eyes cleared up like before. ¡°Oh right, I have a word of advice for the three of you.¡±

    The three of them dared not ignore him. They all listened closely.

    The old man did not say some profound prophecy. ¡°Some matters in the world seem unresolved despite being already resolved, so it would be better to just leave them unresolved.¡±

    At this moment, Li Qingshan ate the second Origin Spirit pill. He still did not use it to breakthrough, choosing to observe quietly instead. Afterwards, he ate a third one and a fourth one. When he reached the fifth Origin Spirit pill, over a month had already passed.

    He checked the fifth Origin Spirit pill in his hand and stowed it away before continuing to meditate until the effects of the fourth Origin Spirit pill completely faded away. Afterwards, he devoted himself to practising the Arts of the Boundless Ocean until he could circulate through the first to the sixth layer at will, without any irregularities. It took him almost another two months.

    He used the Origin Spirit pill to find the existence of this gate, but he did not plan on breaking through with the Origin Spirit pill. Finally, with his own power, he reached this step, so it was obviously much more difficult.

    But he was in no hurry. He meditated patiently for another two months. It sounded like an extremely lengthy period of time, but it was like a moment as he cultivated. It was as if he was submerged in a dream. Eventually, dawn arrived one day. He opened his eyes, waking up from the dream. The surging spirit qi began to gather in his sea of qi, condensing into an Ocean pearl.

    At the same time, the furious roar of lightning rang out by his ears.

    Li Qingshan smiled.

 Chapter 675 â€“ The Heavenly Tribulation Descends Once More, the Forgotten Pearl of the Ocean Two

    Li Qingshan leapt up and rushed out of the mountain to receive the first bolt of lightning that descended from the sky.

    Boom!

    The scorching-white lightning immediately struck Li Qingshan, which filled him with a strange numbness. Even the depths of his soul trembled gently, shocked by the terrifying might of the world. Only afterwards did he feel deep pain.

    These were lethal bolts of lightning, as well as the greatest test the obscure heavens put forth for creatures who refused to accept their current shape. It was a heaven-sent opportunity to rise up and break through.

    The baptism of lightning rapidly depleted the spiritual qi in his sea of qi, but it removed the impurities at the same time, making the spiritual qi merge back together in a completely new way.

    Unlike the first heavenly tribulation, tribulation clouds amassed in the horizon, countless times greater in both presence and pressure, hanging low above the Chain mountains. Bolts of lightning crackled in the clouds, continuing to build up without striking down. Under its rampaging surface hid the profound truths of the world.

    The world flashed. The bolts of tribulation lighting were like the divine hammer of nature, striking down viciously on a piece of stubborn metal. If he could withstand this tempering process, then his will would become even better forged, but if he could not, then the only fate awaiting him would be obliteration.

    Under the intense pain, Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts instead became extremely clear and calm. If most cultivators could undergo the first heavenly tribulation without facing too much danger, then the danger of the second heavenly tribulation would be multiplied. Who knew how many cultivators had died to this step.

    But he felt no fear. Through practising the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, both his mental willpower and physical body had become extremely tough, reaching a level that far exceeded other Foundation Establishment cultivators. If he still could not survive the tribulation, then he well and truly deserved to die.

    At the same time, Ru Xin sat in the Jade Melting cauldron and practised the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace she had obtained from Chu Tian. Refining herself like a pill was not an easy feat, but she did not even frown. Completely bare, she was like a beauty carved from white jade.

    As a cultivator¡¯s foundation, the cultivation method was even more powerful than she originally believed it to be. She had undergone overwhelming changes in less than half a year of practising it, and her cultivation broke through to mid Foundation Establishment.

    Suddenly, she heard the rumbling of thunder. It possessed the might of the world, such that even her formations were unable to obstruct it.

    Don¡¯t tell me?

    Ru Xin thought and stopped cultivating, putting on a set of clothes and making her way out of the dwelling. She spotted the figure currently contending with the heavenly lightning and experienced indescribable shock.

    Although she knew his actual strength had already surpassed regular Golden Core cultivators a long time ago, strength alone could not make up for certain differences in cultivation and comprehension. By taking this step, he would reach a whole new realm and become a supreme genius of the cultivation community of the Green province.

    The rumbling of thunder merged together like an endless roar, swallowing him whole.

    Even Ru Xin was unable to stare right at it. She thought, It¡¯s no wonder many cultivators die to the second heavenly tribulation. It really does come with great danger, but I don¡¯t need to worry about him. I practise the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, so I have a pretty good chance too.

    The radiance from the lightning reached a certain limit, and there was a rumble in Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Spiritual qi gathered towards a certain point, forming a revolving, perfectly-round and azure pearl. It radiated with an aura that was vast and deep like the ocean.

    The second heavenly tribulation¡ªbroken through! The Ocean pearl¡ªcondensed!

    The clouds dispersed; the azure blue of the sky and the sunlight poured through.

    He spread his arms and let out a bellow. The mountains answered back with echoes.

    Suddenly, he raised his head and smiled at Ru Xin in the distance. In that moment, all the sunlight gathered on his face, making him seem extremely glorious. Having gone through dangers and hardship, he had finally taken another step forward.

    ¡°Congratulations on not being struck to death by lightning!¡±

    After tidying himself up a little, Li Qingshan arrived in Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling. Ru Xin served up tea and smiled gracefully.

    ¡°Even if you die, I won¡¯t die. Oh yeah, you¡¯ve changed quite a bit too!¡±

    Li Qingshan studied Ru Xin up and down. Her skin had always been extremely fair and smooth, but now it began to shine with a jade-like gloss, which made her seem a little less lively and more transcendental.

    Ru Xin hid nothing. She told him the entire story.

    ¡°The Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace. I didn¡¯t think this kid would have a use like this. Please don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll actually turn into a rock in the future, or what would be the point in that?¡±

    Li Qingshan extended a finger and prodded Ru Xin¡¯s cheek gently. Fortunately, it was still warm, soft skin.

    ¡°Move your dog paws,¡± Ru Xin said unflinchingly.

    ¡°Heh, if I were to capture him right now and give him a beating, do you think it¡¯s possible to obtain even more useful things from him?¡±

    Li Qingshan took it a step further, going from prodding to pinching, even extending his other hand over and pinching her other cheek. He pulled them to the sides, and her face that could be described as alluringly beautiful became rather strange, which made him laugh.

    Right when Ru Xin was about to fly into a rage, he let go. ¡°Here, that¡¯s the Water God Seal I promised, but it¡¯s best if you use it when it¡¯s still under my control. If its aura leaks out, or it mobilises the spiritual qi from the rivers and lakes, there might be great trouble!¡±

    The Water God Seal with a texture that seemed like it was surrounded in dragons and snakes shone with an azure light, possessing powerful spiritual qi. However, Li Qingshan could clearly sense that during this period, someone was stealing from him, using another Water God Seal to wantonly devour his water territory.

    Normally, he would not even have to visit in person. He only needed to power the Water God Seal and repel them. However, he knew with a bit of thought that this was definitely a trap the enemy had set down to lure him out, a so-called plan. Right now, even using the Water God Seal to gather spiritual qi for cultivation came with the risk of being exposed.

    As a result, he completely tossed this to the back of his mind. He had only managed to unite all the lakes and rivers across the Ruyi commandery through the divine powers of the spirit turtle.

    The founding emperor had forged most of the Water God Seals into the nine cauldrons, so even as a liberal estimate, it would be impressive if the other Water God Seal could even hold a tenth of the amount he had refined. Whether it was through large gulps or small nibbles, it would take them a few years at the very least before they could threaten his position as a water god, so he could let them run free for now. There would be plenty of time for them to cry in the future.

    ¡°Since there¡¯s trouble, then you better be a little more careful. It¡¯s fine if the Beast King rips you apart. Just don¡¯t drag me into it.¡± Ru Xin rubbed her cheeks and said in resentment, ¡°All of the pills I owe you are gone.¡±

    In the past, Li Qingshan had brought many spiritual herbs he had collected from underground to her for refinement. She refined most of them into pills and split them with Li Qingshan, but a small quantity still remained. Perhaps because she had no time to refine them, or perhaps she could not gather the other corresponding spiritual herbs, it was a final payment that had yet to be settled.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t mentioned it, I¡¯d forgotten about it already. I might have prince Si Qing as a huge creditor and I¡¯m not lacking those items, but you still have to pay off your debts. Why don¡¯t you just pay it off with your body? You can experience what ¡°fun in bed¡± means too before you turn into a rock.¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°I have four words to say!¡±

    ¡°Out of my mind?¡±

    ¡°Go fuck your grandfather!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. The Water God Seal flew out of his hand and produced two mist-like streaks of blue light, enveloping them. They both absorbed spiritual qi quietly and fell silent.

    Time passed by as they stared at one another. A while later, Ru Xin closed her eyes. Li Qingshan smiled and closed his eyes too, gazing at the Ocean pearl he had just condensed in his body as it spun away. It swallowed the water spiritual qi that flowed in greedily. Then it was refined and converted into his own powers. It was like a bottomless hole.

    The spiritual qi the Golden Core realm requires sure is frightening. If I didn¡¯t have the Water God Seal and I had to ingest pills and absorb spiritual qi to cultivate, the time I spend would definitely be calculated in years. Once the spirit turtle breaks through to the fifth layer, the water spiritual qi required will definitely become astronomical. I really can¡¯t go without the Water God Seal as my foundation.

    Ru Xin opened her eyes again and stared at his face before closing them once more.

    In the blink of an eye, several more days passed by. Just like how there was no concept of time to those isolated from the world, cultivation could always make people forget about the flow of time very easily. It felt like no different from a nap or a daydream.

    Li Qingshan consolidated his cultivation at Golden Core, and at the same time, he comprehended the various changes that came with the second heavenly tribulation.

    A breakthrough in his cultivation could not directly strengthen him by much. It would only temper his soul and body again, making his soul sense even stronger. After all, Northmoon who cultivated the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was far too powerful. The most important function of the Ocean pearl was helping him recover some of his daemon qi when it mattered.

    However, crossing through this great boundary was of utmost importance, whether he was human or daemon. The higher his cultivation, the closer he was to the supreme principles of the world. No matter how many cultivation methods and wondrous abilities there were, their final objective was to make the heavenly tribulations descend again and again.

    As if he had broken through a shackle, the ox demon, tiger demon, and spirit turtle that had come to a halt began to slowly grow in strength again. He gained a new understanding over the usage of his innate abilities too. Once he completely familiarised himself with this new understanding, it would give him a greater chance of victory against his opponents like Jia Zhen and Si Qing.

    Ru Xin opened her eyes as well, which were filled with the exhaustion and delight that followed cultivation.

    ¡°You seem to be in quite the rush to increase your cultivation lately!¡±

    Li Qingshan had noticed something amiss a long time ago. In the past, Ru Xin had never asked him to borrow the Water God Seal for cultivation. Although she had given it to him, Li Qingshan had gone through countless risks and dangers so that it could reach the current level. They were good friends, but she would never go out of her way to ask anything from him, let alone something as important as that.

    ¡°I remember a few grievances of the past, and I want to bring them to an end sooner.¡±

    ¡°What grievances? Let¡¯s hear them!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you.¡± Ru Xin declined immediately.

    Li Qingshan fell silent. He let out a sigh and placed his hand on her shoulder. ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll be sad.¡± Although they had agreed to not probe into each other¡¯s secrets, it was unavoidable that they got to know each other more and more.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Ru Xin was touched. ¡°Move your dog paws!¡±

 Chapter 676 â€“ A Rumor? A Lie? The Flower of Water and Fire That Does Not Exis

    ¡°Are you schizophrenic?¡± The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth twitched as he let go. Her touched expression only seemed to serve as a set-up for the foul words she spouted so that she could achieve enough of an impact.

    ¡°What¡¯s schizophrenia?¡± As if something dirty had touched her, Ru Xin patted her shoulder a few times.

    Li Qingshan gave a rough explanation and Ru Xin was taken aback. She said, ¡°So I¡¯m sick in the head too!¡±

    ¡°And quite sick too!¡±

    ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s something good I have to tell you.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    All Li Qingshan could do was follow along with how she changed the topic. After all, everyone had their secrets, which had nothing to do with the depth of their relationship. It was like how he would never tell anyone he was a transmigrator. If he insisted on finding out, it would instead be rude.

    ¡°The imperial court has dismissed Si Qing as the Marquis of Ruyi. He¡¯s even gone to the provincial lord¡¯s estate in South Hub city to apologise. He didn¡¯t even hold the position for a month. He¡¯s probably the marquis with the shortest reign in history.¡±

    ¡°He asked for it. During that month, it was like he had waged a war against the daemons. The strength of the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery plummeted. Even if the imperial court can keep him around, the provincial lord won¡¯t. Then who¡¯s taking over the position of Marquis of Ruyi?¡±

    Although Li Qingshan had guessed this possibility, he could not help but rile up with vigour when he heard it. Si Qing and Jia Zhen would probably hatch schemes to make trouble for him with each passing day they spent in the Ruyi commandery. But speaking of which, who was the one devouring his territory? Surely it was not the new Marquis of Ruyi, and surely he was not some other prince!

    ¡°They returned it to the Jiang family. A son of Jiang Fu is holding the position, but he¡¯s only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Commander Gu and great general Han are assisting him.¡±

    ¡°Great general Han!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, your old father-in-law came back. He has undergone the second heavenly tribulation too and taken on the position of great general.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. If that were the case, the Han family had basically reconsolidated their position in the Ruyi commandery. Coupled with Gu Yanying, the two most authoritative people in the Ruyi commandery were on good terms with him. No one could make trouble for him anymore.

    As a result, he could temporarily settle down and cultivate. He could live together with Han Qiongzhi, he could enter the Asura Field and engage in some procreation with Ye Liubo, or he could go underground and harass the Spider Queen. Once the Painting Tomb opened, he could go exploring. Life had never been so comfortable.

    Li Qingshan talked a little longer with Ru Xin and suddenly remembered something. He asked, ¡°Oh right, have you heard about the Flower of Water and Fire?¡±

    ¡°The Flower of Water and Fire?¡± Ru Xin¡¯s expression immediately became rather strange.

    ¡°Legend has it that in the depths of the South sea, when volcanoes erupt, water and fire merge¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anymore. I know about it.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could even finish, Ru Xin interrupted him. He beamed inside. ¡°So you have heard about it. Do you know where I can find it?¡±

    Ru Xin shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need to look for it.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s fake!¡± Ru Xin said firmly.

    Legends were only called legends when they were truly indistinguishable between real and fake, yet she was actually so certain it was fake, which left Li Qingshan very surprised. ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King told me this in person. He¡¯s spent ten thousand years in the Mist province.¡±

    ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean he knows everything. I¡¯d advise you to save the effort. This legend is a lie!¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s gaze drifted away as if she was gazing at an extremely distant place. The legendary Flower of Water and Fire did represent the peace between the two races, but there was a following part to this legend. If the Flower of Water and Fire bloomed regularly without withering away, then it would bring an extremely great disaster to the two races.

    In the Hawkwolf Guard of the prefectural city of Clear River, the bronze hawk spread its wings, overlooking and guarding this city.

    However, the entrance seemed rather deserted. This was obviously because of Si Qing¡¯s sins. If it were not for the fact that a part of the Hawkwolf guards were not disciples of the academy, or they were away carrying out missions and had not taken part in the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, then the office probably could not even function properly anymore.

    In a room on the top floor, Hua Chenglu was currently buried under official business. In the past, she lacked the ability to deal with these matters, but after undergoing Wisdom Imbuement, she became extremely proficient.

    Suddenly, she heard a few thumps outside the window and turned around in surprise, only to see a familiar figure standing outside the window with a resplendent smile across his face.

    ¡°Big brother Li, you¡¯ve emerged from seclusion!¡±

    Hua Chenglu was overjoyed, hurrying over to open the window and let Li Qingshan in.

    All Li Qingshan saw was Hua Chenglu dressed in the uniform of a Scarlet Wolf commander, which made her seem valiant and much more mature. ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve been promoted!¡±

    ¡°Subordinate Hua Chenglu greets the commander!¡±

    Hua Chenglu clasped her hands with a smile. Being able to work alongside him brought her joy, but the only issue was this big brother commander rarely spent any time in the office.

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°Just like what they say, work is not tiring when there are both sexes. I should have switched you in for my assistant a long time ago, and maybe I would have paid a few more visits here.¡±

    ¡°Then if you don¡¯t come in the future, I¡¯ll never accept it!¡±

    Hua Chenglu pouted slightly. No matter how mature she became, she could not help but behave like a girl in front of this man who had occupied her thoughts day and night for the past few months. The moment she spoke, she also realised she was behaving a little too familiar with him, and she blushed slightly, which made her seem extremely charming.

    She made Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skip a beat. Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can. Where¡¯s your brother?¡±

    ¡°My brother broke through to mid Foundation Establishment and was promoted to White Wolf guard. He¡¯s gone to the Ruyi commandery.¡±

    As soon as Hua Chengzan was mentioned, Hua Chenglu recovered some calmness. She could not help but remember what Hua Chengzan had said to her that time after they had returned to the Ruyi commandery. He was vague, but it was very clear what he was trying to say. He wanted her to maintain her distance from Li Qingshan. He was not a man that she could rein in.

    Li Qingshan sighed with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s finally gotten what he wants!¡± The hopeless romantic Hua Chengzan had finally gotten a little closer to his dream lover.

    With this brought up, Hua Chenglu¡¯s expression became rather mixed. ¡°My brother¡­ Oh right, commander Gu said to contact her immediately if you emerged.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what I was planning on doing too.¡±

    After leaving the Chain mountains, Li Qingshan¡¯s first stop was here so that he could contact Gu Yanying. Her identity and status was high enough to know a lot of secrets. He wanted to ask her who was stealing his water territory.

    Hua Chenglu watched as Li Qingshan stepped into the room for contacting the Ruyi commandery Hawkwolf Guard, and she sank into her thoughts. She felt like Li Qingshan¡¯s aura had changed slightly once again with his appearance this time, but she was unable to put these differences into words.

    Suddenly, a thought sprang up in her head, Don¡¯t tell me big brother Li has broken through to Golden Core? She soon shook her head, feeling that it was impossible. Golden Core was not that easy to break through to. Although he had bragged he could reach Golden Core before the age of thirty, a few years still existed before he reached thirty! Only by thinking like that would she find the distance between them not too far apart.

    Li Qingshan had erased his aura, which was not something she could see through. A while later, Li Qingshan walked out of the room with a thoughtful expression.

    He received a piece of good news from Gu Yanying. The imperial clan had paid off Si Qing¡¯s debt in whole, which was in a sumeru ring with Gu Yanying. She could pass it onto him at any time.

    This was obviously fantastic news, but Gu Yanying also warned him that it would be for the best if he did not expose his cultivation right now.

    This matter had already caused some discontent among those higher up, but they would not go as far as to lower themselves to deal with a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, if he exposed his current cultivation, he would definitely shock the world and become the centre of attention.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s original message was, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be transferred to the Mist province as a White Hawk commander, then you better maintain the current situation obediently!¡±

    This was what Li Qingshan wanted as well. He wanted a period of peace. The title of ¡°genius¡± never held any significance to him anyway. However, Gu Yanying¡¯s next words left him surprised. Those that were claiming his water territory were not human, but daemon. They wanted to use this method to force out Northmoon and then pass the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s order to him so that he would have to go to the Ink sea and present himself before the dragon king.

    Once he received the order properly, then he would immediately lose his place with the Dragon King of Ink Sea and the Daemon race of the Green province if he dared to brush it aside or turn it down. There was no reason needed. To rulers, disobedient subordinates deserved death.

    Li Qingshan originally thought he could find an opportunity and use his clone to kill them if they were not some powerful figure. Fortunately, he had not done that. He was still reluctant to directly face the Dragon King of Ink Sea. That was much more troublesome than the Beast King. He could just make the existence known as Northmoon disappear for a period of time!

    Hua Chenglu asked in concern, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ll return to the academy first. Oh right, I¡¯ll visit you regularly in the future.¡± Li Qingshan flew off.

    Hua Chenglu grumbled, ¡°What visit me regularly? This isn¡¯t the Parlour of Clouds and Rain!¡±

    In the room beneath Benevolence island, Chu Tian laid on a cold, jade bed quietly. The jade bed gave off white mist, which obscured his naked figure. Originally, his appearance was nothing special at all, but he was much more slender now, seeming slightly thin, but it matched his elegant bearing perfectly. The only pity was probably his overly-common facial appearance.

    By the side of the jade bed was a crane-shaped censer, which spat out a wisp of smoke. It curled around Chu Tian¡¯s surroundings like it was alive, giving off a heavy fragrance, allowing his body to relax. His skeletal frame seemed to loosen up joint by joint, lying on the bed limply. Even his mind drifted away.

    A white figure walked over to the jade bed and extended her hands. She took out a sharp knife only a few inches long and said, ¡°Are you ready? I¡¯m going to begin.¡±

    The indiscernible voice seemed to come from a faraway place. Through the cold mist and smoke, Chu Tian saw Ru Xin¡¯s face and used his last bit of strength to nod slowly before his mind rapidly sank away.

    Li Qingshan walked in through the passageway, standing with Hua Ci. He had left the Chain mountains with Ru Xin and knew she was giving Chu Tian a face-lift, so he obviously had to come take a look. All he saw was Ru Xin concentrating her attention as she slid the blade in her hand across Chu Tian¡¯s face easily, carrying out the surgery in an orderly manner.

    Hua Ci suddenly shot a glance at Li Qingshan and made his way out of the room. Li Qingshan followed along, rather confused.

 Chapter 677 â€“ Ru Xin as Forgiveness, Chu Tianâ€™s New Face

    Hua Ci organised his words. ¡°¡®Ru Xin¡¯ was not her original name.¡±

    ¡°Really? Then her original name is¡­¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s interest was piqued. He had always found this name rather special. He had never heard of someone with the surname ¡°Ru¡± before.

    ¡°Her original name is not important. I¡¯ll be honest with you. I gave her the name ¡®Ru Xin¡¯. Together, they read as forgiveness.¡±

    TL: Author is being quite tricky here. Ru Xin in Chinese is ÈçÐÄ (r¨² x¨©n), while forgiveness in Chinese is Ë¡ (sh¨´). If you can¡¯t tell, Ë¡ (sh¨´) is just a Èç (r¨²) on top of a ÐÄ (x¨©n). This is where her name comes from.

    ¡°Forgiveness! Forgive who?¡±

    ¡°Forgive herself. I originally thought she could already let go. I originally thought she could already let go and serve as a doctor in the Green province, but ever since the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures¡­¡±

    Hua Ci lamented, his face filled with worry.

    ¡°Why have you suddenly told me this, senior?¡±

    ¡°If she decides to go to the Mist province one day, you must stop her!¡±

    Hua Ci¡¯s eyes shone, which gave Li Qingshan the feeling of an old man passing on his will so that someone could take care of his child. Li Qingshan thought, He isn¡¯t as cold as he seems on the surface either.

    ¡°If something happens to her, I obviously won¡¯t just sit by. But, why forgive? Since she can¡¯t find relief, I¡¯ll just help her kill who she wants to kill!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s flat words were filled with confidence and resolve that resisted change.

    Hua Ci reevaluated Li Qingshan, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

    Li Qingshan wanted to ask about Ru Xin¡¯s past, but Hua Ci refused to tell him. ¡°You better get her to tell you herself!¡±

    Chu Tian woke up. He opened his eyes, only to discover he was in the same, pitch-black, underground room. He sat up on the jade bed and touched his face, which was wrapped in white bandages.

    ¡°Did it work?¡±

    ¡°It failed. Congratulations, your face has now been destroyed. You better not remove these bandages in the future, just in case you cause displeasure to anyone that sees you.¡± Ru Xin sat to the side.

    ¡°You¡¯re joking again, fellow.¡± Chu Tian could sense the changes on his face. The skin had completely merged together.

    Li Qingshan said curiously, ¡°Take it off and show us how you look.¡±

    During the time Chu Tian spent unconscious, Hua Ci carried out the follow-up treatment, so the injuries on his face had already recovered. Removing the bandages, he revealed a pretty face. His eyes twinkled like stars, his nose stood tall, and his eyebrows were long and slender. Apart from being slightly pale, he was a standard handsome man.

    ¡°How shameless!¡± Li Qingshan grinned. He had actually made himself so handsome. Li Qingshan became even more sincerely convinced about Ru Xin¡¯s face-lifts.

    Chu Tian picked up a mirror and took a look. He clasped his hands at Ru Xin first. ¡°Thank you for your assistance, fellow.¡± Then he smiled at Li Qingshan. ¡°This is what I looked like in my past life. It has nothing to do with handsomeness or ugliness. From today onwards, I am no longer Chu Tian!¡±

    On Cloudwisp island, the bamboo forest rustled. It had been lively for a time, but ever since the disaster of the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, it recovered its cheerlessness, which left the school leader, Liu Chuanfeng, constantly lamenting. However, he was already fortunate enough to survive. All he could do was look forward to the upcoming entrance examination and accept some talented disciples.

    But it did not come without at least some benefit. The schools of Novels in the eight other prefectures sustained losses far more severe than them. A good few of them were even downright annihilated, destroying their legacy. There was no longer a single prefecture left that could fight over the control of the Cloudwisp association with them.

    As a result, Sun Fubai expanded the Cloudwisp association across the entire Ruyi commandery with ease, establishing branches in each prefecture. The foundation of the school of Novels immediately multiplied by over nine times over, and their cultivation speed reached a whole new level.

    Liu Chuanfeng was currently working on writing a new novel. Suddenly, he sensed a familiar aura approaching him, and he set aside his brush. Sure enough, a tall, large figure strode over.

    After facing the second heavenly tribulation, Li Qingshan¡¯s Divine Talisman of Great Creation had completely evolved too, reaching a whole new realm. And, the power in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation constantly piled up, which he knew was probably due to Sun Fubai¡¯s efforts. This feeling where he did not have to spend much time or effort cultivating and could constantly grow stronger was quite nice.

    The news of Li Qingshan¡¯s emergence broke out and everyone visited Cloudwisp island to thank him, but they missed him altogether. Li Qingshan had already left the Clear River prefecture, flying to the commandery city of Ruyi. He arrived at the entrance of the great general¡¯s estate and saw Han Anjun after letting the guards pass on the message. Han Anjun now possessed a much sterner aura. As he stood there alone, he gave off the bearing of an army.

    However, after seeing Li Qingshan, he mellowed significantly, thanking him first. If it were not for Li Qingshan, it was basically certain that Han Tieyi would have lost his life in the Asura Field. This was a great kindness he had shown to both him and the Han family.

    Li Qingshan smiled without minding it. ¡°We¡¯re all family, so do you have to be polite? Seeing how you¡¯re safe and sound and have faced the second heavenly tribulation is truly delightful, father-in-law. I¡¯ll need you to take good care of me in the future.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re studying under the Unraging monk, so why would you need my care?¡± Han Anjun said as he took out a brocade box from his hundred treasures pouch and passed it to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan opened it and took a look, only to discover an Origin Spirit pill sitting inside. He passed it back to Han Anjun. ¡°You better save it for Tieyi! I don¡¯t need it. Just don¡¯t say those unpleasant things in front of Qiongzhi again and make her unhappy.¡±

    Han Anjun did not keep insisting. He knew Li Qingshan had won a speechlessly tremendous pile of resources from prince Si Qing, and he also knew Li Qingshan had given Han Qiongzhi a five-year Virtue Accumulation pill for cultivation, which was worth no less than an Origin Spirit pill. If he truly wanted to pay him back in full, it would be impossible.

    ¡°I¡¯m her father. There are some things I must say. Whether she listens or not is up to her. I¡¯m not going to keep gabbling endlessly,¡± Han Anjun said. Suddenly, he noticed that something was amiss. He stared at Li Qingshan, and his heart skipped a beat. He asked in some disbelief, ¡°You¡¯ve undergone the second heavenly tribulation?¡±

    Li Qingshan only used some regular methods to erase his aura and not the powers of the spirit turtle. It was obviously not an issue to fool Foundation Establishment cultivators, and Golden Core cultivators would miss it too if they did not check carefully. However, if they did study him carefully, they would notice what was wrong.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve noticed it, but please keep this secret for me. I can¡¯t divulge it for now.¡±

    Even with Han Anjun¡¯s unswerving willpower, he could not help but let out a long sigh. He had trained arduously for years, cultivating day and night. He faced countless dangerous trials in the Asura Field before finally taking this step, only to discover that this kid had already caught up in the blink of an eye. He was even showing signs of overtaking him. He could no longer be simply described as a ¡°genius¡±.

    Li Qingshan left the great general¡¯s estate, but he did not see Han Qiongzhi. As it turned out, she was currently in secluded cultivation, trying to refine and absorb all the effects of the Virtume Accumulation pill. It would take her quite some time.

    Before long, the entrance examination of the Clear River prefecture began again. Li Qingshan saw a familiar, handsome face among the disciples who partook in the tests this time. He shone brilliantly, even more dazzling than Chu Tian in the past.

 Chapter 678 â€“ Coming to a Stop, Having a Think

    Under the resplendent sunlight, Li Qingshan¡¯s mind drifted off for a moment. He recalled the final words the man called Chu Tian said in the underground room.

    Was Lin Xuan a name he came up with? Or was it his original name? He did not know. All he knew was this time, Qian Rongzhi would be in trouble. This would be an enemy even more terrifying than the likes of Si Qing and Jia Zhen.

    All the school leaders gathered in one room, gazing at a rippling surface of water. Because that wretched daemon Northmoon had taken away the Watermirror disc that they originally used, the water mirror they used to observe the new disciples was obviously something the one most skilled with water element techniques among them created, Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan leaned on the window sill and gazed at the rippling Lake of Dragons and Snakes lazily. It had truly been quite some time since he last enjoyed some peace like this. He felt like every single bone in his body had been separated, allowing him to relax.

    Actually, he did not spend this time idling around. He paid a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and reported to the Unraging monk his current cultivation. Even the Unraging monk was amazed by his terrifying cultivation speed, but the only pity he found was he had condensed an Ocean pearl and not a buddhist ?ar¨©ra.

    Afterwards, the Unraging monk gave him permission to enter the seventh floor of the Demon Suppression hall. He advanced steadily, and after a bitter battle, he finally made it to the seventh Demon Suppression statue and comprehended the seventh part of the Demon Suppression Statuary. He had only achieved this because he could freely demonify now, disguising himself as a demon so the other demonfolk would not attack him together.

    As a result, he took a step further with his cultivation, and his demon heart became more and more resplendent. After demonifying, he could take on mid or even late Golden Core cultivators. However, he did not manage to see the person he wanted to see the most, Xiao An. He only heard that she was cultivating arduously in the Bodhi courtyard, refusing to speak with anyone. People said she was practising meditative silence, but the Unraging monk said she simply did not want to talk to anyone.

    With quite a lot of reluctance, Li Qingshan left the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Before he left, the Unraging monk warned him. ¡°You¡¯re both going too fast. It¡¯s about time for you to come to a stop and have a think.¡±

    No matter how outstandingly talented they were, they required a certain amount of time for accumulation and consolidation. Powerful cultivators were not created overnight. This was why brother ox had given him ten thousand years.

    It might have been possible to merge the powers of the phoenix and spirit turtle, but he spent far too little energy and effort into it. He constantly thought he could deal with this one day and his cultivation would advance abruptly, but as it seemed now, it was not that simple. Since there were no shortcuts up the mountain, he would just climb up slowly!

    Right now, he sat lazily in the room while his mirror clone was deep underground, bathing in the magma and enduring the pain of being incinerated with fire. He was on the verge of collapsing at all times, so he had to constantly send daemon qi over to repair his clone. Only then could he sustain the clone.

    After undergoing the second heavenly tribulation, his comprehension of the principles of the world and the mysteries of nature grew deeper. He gradually found certain ways he could merge fire and water together, no longer clueless and at a loss as for what to do like in the past.

    ¡°Qingshan, once this ends, let¡¯s go for a few drinks in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain,¡± Wei Yangsheng said suddenly. Although he was not exactly trying to curry favour and fawn over Li Qingshan just yet, he did show deep reverence.

    Actually, while Li Qingshan had been unconcerned, he had always been a point of focus to everyone. Even Han Tieyi who was as cold and staunch as metal viewed him in a completely different light after the hints from Han Anjun. The only person who did not treat him seriously was the leader of the school of Medicine, Ru Xin, or at least that was how it seemed.

    ¡°Sure. The Sect of Clouds and Rain still hasn¡¯t been shut down?¡± Li Qingshan agreed happily. He was not some ascetic. If there was an opportunity to drink fine alcohol liberally, why would he turn it down?

    ¡°Even upon death, a centipede does not keel over, let alone something as large as a sect. Though, they do seem to be facing quite a few issues lately. They¡¯ve lost their backbone after all. Qingshan, why don¡¯t you just take over?¡± Liu Zhangqing continued the conversation with a smile and suggested to Li Qingshan.

    After granny You¡¯s death and Qiu Haitang¡¯s disappearance, the Sect of Clouds and Rain became leaderless. Not only were they fragmenting from the inside, but they faced numerous dangers from the outside too, becoming the target of many organisations.

    Liu Zhangqing originally wanted to use this opportunity to swallow it up, but upon further consideration, he gave up on that idea. Li Qingshan had taken on great risks to help Qiu Haitang escape, yet the benefits all fell to him in the end. If it led to any misgivings between them, then it would not be worth it at all. Through his identity as the prefect, he maintained the current situation of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, preventing it from dispersing while preventing anyone from claiming it.

    ¡°Me? Let me consider it!¡± Li Qingshan originally wanted to say, Why would I want that? However, he soon remembered that this did belong to Qiu Haitang¡¯s sect after all. If he had the opportunity in the future, returning it to Qiu Haitang was a good idea.

    The various tests were carried out in an orderly manner. In the end, the handsome young man known as Lin Xuan passed through the tests with ease and joined the school of Daoism, becoming a daoist priest, which brought great pity to the leader of the school of Confucianism, Wei Yangsheng, as well as much confusion to many people. Ever since Juechengzi died, the school of Daoism never had a proper leader. It completely relied on their primary disciple and a few professors to maintain the situation and pass on their daoist techniques. No one could make the decision to give him any additional benefits, while Wei Yangsheng had put forward rather impressive conditions.

    However, Li Qingshan understood that he had probably chosen the school of Daoism to avoid any special attention from a particular person. He would probably become the leader of the school of Daoism soon. Not only did he have a powerful cultivation method and cultivation experience, but Ru Xin had even agreed to provide him with sufficient resources for cultivation in exchange for detailed guidance over the Daoist Arts of Cloud Furnace and the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace.

    Li Qingshan could already see the rise of a new star.

    Liu Chuanfeng sighed. ¡°If only this child joined my school of Novels.¡±

    ¡°You better stop dreaming, junior brother. The school of Novels might be much stronger compared to the past, but true geniuses still won¡¯t take this path.¡± For this entrance examination, Sun Fubai had specially hurried back, accepting over a dozen disciples for the school of Novels.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If that bastard Zhou Tong hadn¡¯t gone so far, I would have never ended up in the school of Novels either.¡±

    Sun Fubai smiled. ¡°This was fate as well as great luck for us. I¡¯ll definitely do everything I can to not leave you disappointed, Qingshan. I¡¯ll tell you in detail when we get back, but the school of Novels also has brilliant prospects!¡±

    Returning to Cloudwisp island with the new disciples, the three of them said some words of encouragement, explained a few rules of the school of Novels, and allowed them to stroll around before they returned to the bamboo loft to discuss official business.

    Out of the dozen or so new disciples, the oldest was already twenty, while the youngest was only nine. After the three of them left, everyone let out a sigh of relief. The pressure from Foundation Establishment cultivators was far too great. Even just the aura they gave off unintentionally was enough for them to hold their breaths.

    The young man who was the oldest said excitedly, ¡°It really is him!¡±

    The youngest, the nine year old child, tilted his head in confusion. ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°The one who spoke at the end. The one with the largest stature. That¡¯s senior uncle Li Qingshan! Haven¡¯t you heard of him?¡± The young man stifled his voice, basically amazed by how he had not heard of Li Qingshan before.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve heard of him! He¡¯s the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture. Originally, he was a cowherd, but after around a decade of cultivation, he defeated a whole group of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the school of Novels during the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures! He¡¯s already close to breaking through to Golden Core, and he¡¯s not even thirty yet! He¡¯s the most outstanding genius of our Clear River prefecture- no, the entire Ruyi commandery!¡± a young girl said immediately.

    The young girl was so proud that it seemed like she was describing these feats as her own. Her eyes were filled with admiration.

    The young man sighed. ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t want anything else. I¡¯d be happy if I can establish a foundation before the age of thirty.¡± The others all showed admiration and anticipation too, becoming filled with confidence over their future lives in the school of Novels. The power of role models was endless.

    Although Li Qingshan was still a fair bit off from his goal of shaking up the world with his name, shaking up the Ruyi commandery with his name was no longer an issue. Before he knew it, he was already becoming something like a legend.

    In the bamboo loft, the three of them sat together. Li Qingshan picked up a tea cup and said to Sun Fubai, ¡°Fubai, it¡¯s been tough on you. Please accept my toast of tea instead of alcohol!¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng picked up his cup too, thanking Sun Fubai. If he had not rushed about outside, the Cloudwisp association would have never achieved its current accomplishments.

    Sun Fubai replied with a smile, ¡°My junior brother and I should be the ones to thank you. Qingshan, do you happen to have any money on you?¡±

    ¡°Money? You mean spiritual stones?¡±

    Sun Fubai shook his head with a bitter smile. ¡°No, just money. Gold and silver.¡±

    Originally, golden and silver were basically no different from scrap metal to cultivators at their level. However, when he tried to expand the Cloudwisp association and carry out Li Qingshan¡¯s plan to organise private institutions throughout the Ruyi commandery and teach the children of poor families how to read so that he could pave the foundation of the school of Novels, he discovered that they were truly short on money.

    Across the expansive territory of the Ruyi commandery, just building these private institutions would probably take hundreds of million taels of gold and silver. Coupled with recruitment and the fees to maintain the operations, it was an astronomical sum, and he would earn no money from these operations either.

    Sun Fubai had plenty of ways to gather money. He already had many salterns and gold mines under his control, which all poured with profits. However, if he insisted on carrying out a grand plan like this, there was still quite a large gap he had to make up for.

    After hearing Sun Fubai¡¯s explanation, Liu Chuanfeng said, ¡°Since we don¡¯t have money, then we can just develop slowly. Why do we have to be in such a rush?¡±

    Sun Fubai shook his head. ¡°But that¡¯s far too wasteful. It¡¯s just like if we have an empty plot of land. The more seeds we plant now, the more we can harvest in the future. Each year we miss is a year of harvest lost, so the more we invest right now, the better it will be.¡±

    Li Qingshan rummaged through his hundred treasures pouch and found a lot of silver notes and gold sycees. They were worth tens of thousand taels of silver.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m not going to hold back. If only we had more.¡±

    Li Qingshan contemplated and said, ¡°Regular sects won¡¯t save up too much gold and silver, but that doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t exceptions. The Parlours of Clouds and Rain accept customers from far and wide, and most of them are just regular people who use gold and silver. The Sect of Clouds and Rain should be quite wealthy!¡±

    Li Qingshan told them about Liu Zhangqing¡¯s suggestion, and Sun Fubai said immediately, ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. A single Parlour of Clouds and Rain is worth even more than ten money houses!¡±

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll go put in a word with prefect Liu,¡± Li Qingshan said. It had been quite some time since he last saw Qiu Haitang. He wondered how she was doing right now.

 Chapter 679 â€“ Love, Lies, and Change

    A while later, she opened her eyes and let out a gloomy sigh. Before she knew it, she had already remained beneath the lake for a lengthy period. She had never remained in secluded cultivation for so long; it was as if the world had forgotten her.

    Of course, only a single person knew she was here, but that person had clearly already thrown her to the back of his mind. These damned, heartless men!

    She had established a foundation many years ago, so she was well-grounded. After switching to the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge, she had already broken through to late Foundation Establishment with granny You¡¯s Rouge Heart. However, she had not refined it completely, so she was still a fair bit off from peak Foundation Establishment.

    Taking that step and condensing her own Rouge Heart was anything but easy. She did not have an Origin Spirit pill. Breaking through with her strength alone was far too difficult. She stood up and paced around the dwelling.

    If her cultivation had not progressed rapidly, she virtually would have doubted whether she could actually stay here for so long. Although she had grown tired of the noise and business, she only discovered after so much solitude that living alone was not easy either.

    She swept her dark hair behind her ears. Although she was a cultivator, her meaning of life, her reason of persistence, was definitely not just cultivation. She could not allow her beauty to silently wither away in the long river of time. All of her cultivation was for the sake of finding a man she loved before using the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red secret technique on him.

    Since human nature was fickle, then she would use a red thread to restrain it, to bind them together. Who would that be?

    At first, she thought of Hua Chengzan, but she immediately dismissed him with a smile. Although she had once loved him to the point where she had even cast aside her dignity, she had yet to become so insistent. If they had no interest, then what was the point of love that was purely maintained through a technique!

    Afterwards, the face with a devilish smile and scarlet hair like fire appeared before her eyes. She murmured, ¡°Northmoon¡­ you bastard!¡±

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    At this moment, a series of knocking sounds rang out overhead. Qiu Haitang raised her head and saw a familiar, smiling face above the crystal ceiling.

    ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    It probably hasn¡¯t been easy for her to stay here for so long!

    Seeing Qiu Haitang again, Li Qingshan could not help himself as his heart skipped a beat. Right now, she wore a set of plain and neat clothes, which gave her a sense of unadorned beauty. Already with a snow-white complexion, her skin now seemed glowing, perhaps due to staying in the gloomy depths of the lake for too long. She sat there naturally and gracefully as she gazed over with a pair of lovely and elegant eyes. At the same time, she gave off an indescribable sense of wondrous charm.

    To Qiu Haitang, he had changed quite a bit too. He had lost some of his flagrance, becoming much calmer and quieter. The way he looked at her brought her great satisfaction. However, when she recalled their intimacy in the past, it was as vivid as yesterday. Her mind began to ripple as she struggled to compose herself.

    She remained unfazed on the surface, serving up some tea; she acted polite, courteous but distant. She was blaming him for cold-shouldering her for all this time.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You¡¯re close to facing the second heavenly tribulation, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiu Haitang kept her talking at a bare minimum.

    ¡°Here.¡± Li Qingshan tossed a brocade box to her.

    Qiu Haitang accepted the brocade box, opened it, and took a look. She exclaimed softly, ¡°An Origin Spirit pill.¡±

    Li Qingshan placed his hands into his sleeves and left as soon as he turned around, leaving behind the cup of tea, completely untouched and curling with steam.

    ¡°Wait! Are you just leaving like this?¡± Qiu Haitang never thought he would leave without even batting an eye, without even the slightest hesitance, which left her slightly frantic.

    ¡°What else am I supposed to do? You don¡¯t seem like you want to talk to me.¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and said. If other people treated him negatively, he would not go out of his way to put up with them. Of course, if he used force, Qiu Haitang obviously would not stand a chance again him, but it was not like he was some sex fiend. There was no need for him to come here specially for something like that.

    ¡°You really are cold and heartless!¡± Qiu Haitang said furiously.

    His disrespectful and indifferent attitude immediately infuriated her.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If the heavens had a heart, if the heavens had emotions, they too would grow old. You¡¯re a cultivator after all. Looking at your talent, you better spend a little less time thinking about those matters of love and undergo the second heavenly tribulation sooner.¡±

    ¡°Go! Don¡¯t come back!¡± Qiu Haitang threw the Origin Spirit pill back forcefully.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re blaming me for never visiting you?¡± Li Qingshan caught the Origin Spirit pill. With a flash, he arrived behind her and brought his arm around her waist, speaking into her ears.

    ¡°I don¡¯t even care about that. Let me go!¡± Qiu Haitang snorted coldly and put up a forceful struggle.

    Li Qingshan could feel her voluptuous bottom rubbing around, but when he lowered his head, all that met him was a jiggling, snow-white gully.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give a simple explanation for myself. I cultivated for a while, fought against Si Qing and his cronies twice, and killed E Dan. Recently, his master has been trying to hunt me down. Have you heard of his master before? He¡¯s some Beast King from the Mountain Manor of Myriad Beasts in the Dragon province. He¡¯s really strong.¡±

    He said it with great ease, but it was soul-stirring to Qiu Haitang. E Dan was not that easy to kill, let alone some ¡°Beast King¡±. To a Foundation Establishment cultivator, that was a powerful figure from legends. She would definitely be done for if someone like him hunted her down.

    As she cultivated in peace in the secretive dwelling he had built for her, he had instead gained some terrifying, formidable enemies because of her, facing danger and fighting for his life outside. He had always been doing things for her silently. Originally, he could do whatever he wanted, but he never asked for anything from her.

    To her, his coldness and heartlessness immediately turned into silent responsibility, which left her feeling extremely sorry.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know¡­ I should have thought of this a long time ago. After killing so many of his disciples, E Dan would have never just left this matter be. It¡¯s truly fantastic that you¡¯re fine.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly good news to you. My enemies are your enemies. After all, everyone knows that you¡¯re my ¡®woman¡¯.¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted up Qiu Haitang¡¯s chin; she raised her head and met his eyes. She understood he had become angry because of how coldly she treated him, which left her smiling.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, I¡¯d be dead already. This might just be my fate.¡±

    Qiu Haitang sighed gently, feeling a hint of helplessness, but there was not much sorrow. A layer of hazy mist enveloped her eyes, making her seem even more enchanting.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe in fate or whatever it is. It all lies in your own hands at the end of the day!¡±

    Li Qingshan shoved the Origin Spirit pill into her hand and let go of her rather reluctantly. If he continued like that, he could not guarantee he would not do anything to her. Seeing her this time, he did not want to offend her too much for some reason, probably because he was not drunk!

    ¡°Can you tell me about what happened outside in detail?¡± Qiu Haitang turned around. She yearned to know what he had gone through.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan explained what Northmon had been through. He could not help but include some lies in between, filling in some blanks and embellishing some holes. The fakest parts all had to do with Qiu Haitang, like ¡°I had always been thinking about you then!¡± or ¡°Ever since I learnt that bastard E Dan had disrespected you, he became a target that I had to kill. Even if I would provoke some Beast King, that still did not faze me.¡±

    That was the type of person he was. If Qiu Haitang wanted to be distant with him, then he would not even bother with saying an extra word to her, but if she admitted to her mistakes, he was willing to say some good things and coax her. He had to admit this was rather difficult. As Li Qingshan said those things, even he himself felt a little unnatural. His acting ability was well below average.

    Qiu Haitang was a clever woman who was extremely skilled at reading faces and tones, so she should have been able to see through clumsy lies with a single glance. However, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe any of it.¡± while smiling bashfully. Towards the end, her eyes even shone with extraordinary splendour, becoming extremely touched. The tender feelings in her eyes rapidly strengthened.

    She allowed Li Qingshan to understand why they all said female cultivators had the heaviest tribulations of attachments, which was why they should not become involved in those matters without good reason. As he watched her show her joy from the bottom of her heart, he found that she was basically glowing, radiating with incomparable, enchanting charm. As a result, his sugared words gradually became smoother, to a point where even he himself almost believed them to be true.

    Yeah, back then, I might have actually been thinking about her. I had just been interrupted by that bastard E Dan¡¯s strange howl, which was why I had to kill him first!

    At a time like this, his hands were very well-behaved, only holding her hands and rubbing them gently, as admiring her flowing beauty right now and appreciating the tender feelings flowing through her eyes brought him enjoyment that even surpassed his carnal desires. Her bashful smiles, her concern, her flirtatious grumbling was all as enchanting as it could get. If he took advantage of her right now, he would instead ruin this beauty.

    Smiles oozed out of Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes. ¡°You really told him to call you A¡¯yue!¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I called him A¡¯qing, and there was A¡¯dan and A¡¯zhen too. You really should have seen their expressions back then.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re evil all the way through.¡± Qiu Haitang giggled to her heart¡¯s content. ¡°Why don¡¯t I call you A¡¯yue from now on too?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you A¡¯tang?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, that sounds horrible. You can just call me by my name.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan said tenderly, ¡°Haitang.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s sickly.¡± Qiu Haitang frowned, but her heart trembled in a strange, pleasant manner, making her cheeks blush.

    ¡°Si Qing arranged so many women for you, so why didn¡¯t you touch them? Or are you lying to me?¡±

    ¡°I swear to the heavens that this is absolutely true. It¡¯s only because when I compare them to my Haitang, they¡¯re like fireflies to the moon. They really can¡¯t interest me.¡±

    ¡°Since when did I become your woman?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you accept fate already?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who said it all lies in your own hands at the end of the day.¡±

    ¡°I take that back.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s already too late.¡±

    Of course, there were many holes in his story. Over such a long time, if he had truly yearned for her day and night, could he really not make some time to come and see her?

    However, she had automatically overlooked all of this. Even if she thought of it, she would only think that not only did he have to cultivate outside, but he also had to face powerful enemies. As such, he could not allow himself to be distracted. He did not want to drag her into misfortune either. If she blamed him for something like this, then she would basically be an ignorant woman who had no idea how priorities worked.

    She was not stupid, just overly infatuated. Hua Chengzan had never said these things to her, while she looked down on other men. For a woman who had always desired love, this was actually the first time she had heard these sugared words in her life. No matter how clever and sharp she was, she would still be a little dazed.

    This did not necessarily mean a few sugared words could fool her, or it would have never been Li Qingshan to be the one to say them to her. He had always helped her out, so his concern for her was not fake. It had touched her heart a long time ago, planting a seed in her heart. These words were merely an opportunity to make the seed sprout.

    Li Qingshan thought that if he could see data like levels of affection right now, her level of affection for him would have definitely swelled up by a huge chunk. Sure enough, unsung heroes were not the way to go. Suffering in silence was simply stupid. He had suffered what he needed to suffer, and he had broken the silence he needed to break. Achieving these results smoothly was perfectly natural.

    Towards the end, her gaze obviously became filled with tenderness and concern, basically enough to make his heart melt. As she gently and bashfully referred to him as ¡°A¡¯yue¡±, even half of his tiger bones melted away.

    When it was time to part, Qiu Haitang was reluctant. Li Qingshan suddenly asked, ¡°Haitang, do you have money?¡±

    Up until now, if a modern person had heard what he had just said, they would definitely treat this as some column in a magazine to swindle people out of their money through love.

    ¡°Things like silver notes.¡±

    Li Qingshan gave a further explanation. He vaguely remembered that when he gave her granny You¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, there were a lot of silver notes in there. Back then, he did not care about them at all. He only remembered them through Sun Fubai¡¯s reminder.

    ¡°I do.¡±

    Qiu Haitang would have never imagined that the original reason why he had come to find her was for silver notes that were mostly useless to cultivators, but even with all these silver notes, they would have never been able to purchase an Origin Spirit pill.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I have some uses for them.¡±

    As a result, Qiu Haitang took out all the silver notes in her possession, which was much more than what Li Qingshan originally expected. She had served as the sect master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain for all this time, having managed the earnings of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain across all these years. Granny You obviously would not care much about the money, so she allowed her to hold onto it.

    Before he left, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Haitang, don¡¯t ingest the Origin Spirit pill in a hurry. If you fail the tribulation, I¡¯ll be sad!¡± That was not a lie.

    ¡°Yeah, I will be careful.¡± Never had Qiu Haitang been so docile. Then she said rather bashfully, ¡°If you aren¡¯t busy in the future¡­ be sure to come and visit!¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± Li Qingshan smiled, pecking her gently on the lips before leaving gracefully.

    Qiu Haitang stood there stiffly, touching her lips. The gentle kiss had touched her much, much more than any of the ways he had taken advantage of her in the past.

    Only a while later did she return to her senses. She spread her arms and twirled around on the spot, feeling extremely happy. Her steps became light too. Sunlight seemed to be pouring into this gloomy dwelling at the bottom of the lake.

    Calming herself down after quite the difficulty, she began looking forward to the next time they would meet. She gazed at the Origin Spirit pill in her hand. She had to step up with her cultivation. Regardless of what he said, she believed there was fate involved.

    Li Qingshan left the lake, but he wondered whether he had actually handled the matters correctly earlier. However, he threw these thoughts to the back of his mind very soon. Right and wrong had never been so easy to distinguish in the world. He had already done it, so there was nothing to regret over.

    He passed these silver notes to Sun Fubai before attending a banquet at the Parlour of Clouds and Rain at night, formally claiming the Sect of Clouds and Rain as his, which gave him a source of wealth. The hundred-year plan of the school of Novels unfolded grandly. To Li Qingshan, this was not something particularly important. The Divine Talisman of Great Creation did not hold any great significance. As a matter of fact, it could be regarded as the least significant path among his many paths of cultivation. However, it truly affected the lives of millions.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s life suddenly became peaceful, but certain things were changing, even unbeknownst to him.

 Chapter 680 â€“ Returning to the Hometown One

    Time passed by in a hurry. Winter went and spring came, summer departed and autumn arrived. Time advanced along at an unprecedentedly steady pace.

    The unceasing autumn rain created thousands of ripples on the clamorous harbour of the prefectural city of Clear River, but even that was unable to put out the lively atmosphere. A dragon ship docked in the rippling river water, with a man standing on the very front of the ship. At first glance, he only seemed like a regular farmer. Having endured the wind and rain, his skin was tanned and rough. However, only with a closer glance would it be possible to notice the shining light in his dark eyes.

    The ship would be travelling against the flow. Li Long gazed in the direction where the Clear river meandered off to and experienced a multitude of thoughts.

    It had already been over a decade since he left his hometown. Even during times of celebration, he had not returned; it was not because he did not want to return, but because there was always endless farmwork. There were crops that were about to ripen waiting to be harvested, and the fields and gardens basically needed watering every single day.

    The Clear River prefecture had been through several disasters, but it did free up many plots of land filled with spiritual qi. A few destroyed sects still had their medicinal gardens, which required disciples of the school of Agriculture to tend to. He basically did not have any time to spare at all. This was a rare opportunity for cultivation to him.

    Under these circumstances, making him spend the time to travel thousands of kilometers to visit home once was basically impossible. All he could do was regularly ask people to send some silver notes home so that he could live up to his role as a filial son.

    Right now, his face was tanned and thin, and his clothes were old and worn-out. He seemed like a lump of soil that had just been dug out from the earth, reeking with a rustic aura. As such, even when the rain got a little heavier and he returned to the cabin, everyone around him would maintain their distance from him.

    Many years ago, he had left the Crouching Ox village and taken on a master in Qingyang city to study so that he could avoid this fate as a farmer, but at the end of the day, he had become a farmer through and through, which was truly rather funny. However, the leader of the school of Agriculture, earth elder Huang, had praised his appearance as the ¡°Framework of Earth and Wood¡±, describing him as a genius of the school of Agriculture. He told him he was planning on passing the position of school leader to him.

    A letter was delivered to Qingyang city from Crouching Ox village. Then it reached the headquarters of the Iron Fist school in the prefectural city through the network of the Iron Fist school before finally reaching his hands. Only after learning about his father¡¯s death from sickness did he gather his belongings in a hurry and set off on the path to return to his hometown.

    Before he set off, apart from entrusting a large piece of land to his junior brothers to look after, he specially paid a visit to a certain person, which happened to be the only one who shared the same hometown as him, Li Qingshan. He asked him whether he wanted to pass on a message, or if there was anything else he would like him to do.

    It took Li Qingshan quite a while to think back and recall a person called ¡°village head Li¡±. Then he told Li Long he was sorry for his loss. He did not show much sorrow either. So many years had passed already. The death of a mortal who was neither his family nor his acquaintance and had even offended him in the past was obviously unable to make him feel anything. He had never liked posing around.

    Li Long did not blame him either. During the years he spent away from home, he had only achieved his current cultivation because of the selfless assistance Li Qingshan had provided at several crucial times. Even though Li Qingshan had already become so powerful, he still treated him like an equal.

    Even to him, the old face gradually showed signs of blurring with each passing day. Only when he heard about the death did it suddenly clear up, but he did not feel particularly sad either.

    In the end, Li Qingshan did not have any message for him to pass on, which was to Li Long¡¯s expectations. Ever since he cut off his relationship with his elder brother and sister-in-law, his connection with the Crouching Ox village had become almost non-existent.

    This man had been different since young. Only when the witch filled him to the brim with purging water did he become a little more normal, but he still disliked playing with other children his age. If he had any spare time, he would go to Crouching Ox hill to let his ox graze and to play his flute. He seemed unsociable, eccentric, and unfriendly, which made everyone view him as an outsider. Although they did not directly reject him, they were not particularly attached to him either.

    Only many years later did Li Long suddenly realise how many of his peculiarities served as prior signs to his miraculous rise later on.

    The ship lifted the anchor and travelled against the flow. The prefectural city of Clear River gradually moved off into the distance. Li Long set off on his journey home.

    The ship passed through Jiaping city. This city that the rock demon had once decimated had now recovered its vitality. It was said that even the Hawkwolf Guard on the mountain had been reestablished.

    The ship continued onwards. Only when it reached the harbour he had initially set off from did he disembark and take out a seal, summoning a fine steed. This was the mount he had purchased for the sake of rushing around everywhere. He traveled for another day, and a familiar section of ancient city walls appeared in the distance. Suddenly, he realised that his hometown was not as distant as he originally imagined it to be.

    In front of the Iron Fist school, two burly men in black robes stood together with the pair of dignified stone lions, guarding the entrance. The passers-by all avoided them from afar.

    The man on the left looked at the sky and grumbled, ¡°When it starts raining, it really never ends. Achoo! We sure are unlucky to stand guard in such weather!¡±

    The man on the right shook his body. ¡°It¡¯s still better than summer. Just by standing there for an hour, you look like you just crawled out from a lake. Who can we blame for the fact that we joined the school too late and our martial arts are horrible? Let¡¯s go find a brothel later and have a good drink so that we can get all warm and toasty.¡±

    ¡°Once I become an innate master, I¡¯ll spend every night in a brothel.¡±

    ¡°Just by you?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me? Li Qingshan was even worse off than us in the past! He couldn¡¯t even afford to visit a brothel! I¡¯ve heard now that all the brothels in the Clear River prefecture belong to him. And that Li Long. Before, he belonged to our Iron Fist school, but it¡¯s said that he¡¯s already several dozen layers into the innate realm now!¡±

    ¡°The inante realm only has ten layers. Where¡¯d you get these several dozen layers from?¡±

    As they spoke, a tanned, thin man stood right at the entrance. His gaze drifted around. As he gazed at this familiar entrance, he was filled with countless laments.

    It was exactly because Qingyang city was relatively remote and near the Boundless mountains, right between the range of two daemon forces, that it was not particularly affected during the war with the daemons.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°You country bumpkin, the Iron Fist school isn¡¯t a place that you can check out. Stop looking around. Get out of here!¡±

    ¡°My name is Li Long, a disciple under school master Liu Hong. Please pass this on quickly!¡±

    Li Long did not recognise these two doorkeepers and knew that they were new disciples accepted after he had left. They sure were imposing by standing there, but their martial arts had not even reached the second or third-rate. They could only scare some common people. Otherwise, they would not have been told to watch the entrance.

    ¡°You said you¡¯re Li Long?¡±

    The two burly men widened their eyes. They had never met him, but they knew this name all too well. That was a powerful figure who had emerged from their Iron Fist school in Qingyang city, a great master several dozen layers into the innate realm. The Iron Lion Liu Hong would brag about him every time he drank.

    However, from the way this person was dressed, he did not resemble the legendary ¡°Li Long¡± at all. He clearly looked like he had just returned from the fields!

    However, the two did not dare to brush him aside. They knew that certain masters of the jianghu liked to pose around, so they immediately passed the message up. A while later, a dignified, middle-aged man in brocade robes walked out swiftly, but he was not Liu Hong. When he saw Li Long, he was taken aback, going up and grabbing his hands. ¡°Junior brother, it really is you!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Wang Lei.¡± Li Long recognised this person too.

    As it turned out, the Iron Lion Liu Hong had already passed the position of school master to his first disciple, Wang Lei. He had left the city and retired.

    Wang Lei patted Li Long¡¯s shoulder and demonstrated sorrow. ¡°Junior brother, I¡¯m sorry for your loss. Uncle had reached a very advanced age¡­¡± He said a few comforting words, but Li Long could obviously tell there was not much sincerity at all. It was only for the sake of courtesy.

    Li Long said, ¡°Life and death are decreed by fate.¡±

    Wang Lei passed orders, sending people to invite over Liu Hong, who had retired to outside the city. At the same time, he gathered all the disciples of the Iron Fist school, making them line up all the way from the screen wall inside to the entrance of the main hall.

    ¡°Junior brother, please!¡± Wang Lei extended his hand and walked at the front, showing off his status as the school master. He specially emphasised the words ¡°junior brother¡±, basically to remind him he was still his ¡°senior brother¡±.

    Their relationship had never been particularly amicable. Over a decade ago, Wang Lei had regularly been dissatisfied with the special treatment Liu Hong showed Li Long. Only after assuming the position of school master did this gradually stop annoying him. Now that he saw Li Long¡¯s dishevelled appearance, he could not help but feel rather delighted. He explained to Li Long the changes that had happened after he left the Iron Fist school, telling him how he led the good men of the Iron Fist school to realise his ambitions, placing the entire Qingyang city under his control.

    Out of the four original organisations, Li Qingshan had personally destroyed two of them. The Drawn Reins village had always been isolated from the world, becoming even more so after Huang Binghu had left. The Iron Fist school became the only organisation left in Qingyang city. As the school leader, Wang Lei obviously had great power and prestige, able to rally almost everyone at his call. Even the district magistrate had to watch out for him, and he had whole groups of women in his harem.

    He thought, Compared to being some cultivator outside, you probably don¡¯t even have it as easy or delightful as me as I serve as the local despot of Qingyang city.

    All Li Long could do was nod. In the past, Qingyang city had once seemed like the entire world to him, but now, it was merely a tiny city lying in an inconspicuous corner. There were no fertile fields, rich with spiritual qi, either. If Liu Hong were not here, he basically would not be interested in stopping here at all.

    The two of them sat in the central hall. Wang Lei asked with a smile, ¡°Junior brother, you haven¡¯t married and had any children during all the years you spent outside? What do you do normally?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s too much farmwork to do, so where am I supposed to find the time to get married and have children?¡± Li Long said. There had been a disciple of the school of Music who had been interested in him in the past, but he had absolutely no time to spend on anything else apart from farmwork, so nothing happened in the end.

    Wang Lei raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Farmwork!? Cultivators still have to tend to the fields?¡±

    Li Long smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a disciple of the school of Agriculture, so how can¡¯t I tend to the fields?¡±

    Wang Lei frowned and shook his head firmly. ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of cultivation?¡±

    ¡°I also found it boring in the beginning, but after a while, you start to find it pretty interesting,¡± said Li Long. He toiled in the fields, watching the fruit and vegetables ripen and the spiritual herbs grow. The whole time, the earth and the plants paid him back, allowing his cultivation to rapidly progress. It was an indescribable sense of joy.

    Wang Lei curled his lip, unable to understand him. He felt that Li Long was probably just being stubborn.

    In his eyes, farmers were only slightly better than beggars. He would rather die than spend a decade toiling in the fields. Sure enough, it was like being a large fish in a small pond compared to being a small fish in a large pond. As the imposing, majestic master of the Iron Fist school, he was obviously the large fish in the small pond, countless times better off than Li Long, the small fish in the large pond that happened to be the cultivating community.

    PS: Yesterday, I wrote five thousand characters and deleted three thousand of them, leaving behind two thousand. I might not even end up using them, so sorry about that. However, this process is actually quite interesting. I¡¯m a little further away from typing away mindlessly and just a little bit closer to writing.

 Chapter 681 â€“ Returning to the Hometown Two

    The galloping hooves kicked up yellow, muddy water as the horse sped through the rain, arriving before the Iron Fist school. The rider suddenly pulled the reins. With a whinny, the horse raised its hooves into the air.

    ¡°Old school master!¡± The disciples waiting outside saw the person and all went up to receive him and lead his horse over.

    Liu Hong leapt off the horse, no less nimble and powerful compared to the past. He tossed the reins aside and strode through the door. Arriving in the main hall, he noticed Li Long with a single glance and shuddered all over. ¡°You¡¯re really back!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡± Li Long rushed out of the hall too, dropping down to his knees on the wet ground with a plop. He had studied martial arts in the Iron Fist school with Liu Hong since young, receiving his guidance in many things. He was so close with him that it even surpassed his relationship with his father.

    ¡°Good, good, good! As long as you¡¯re back!¡± Liu Hong was emotional, helping Li Long up with both arms. They entered the hall, holding each other¡¯s arms before taking their seats respectively. Both of them were excited, actually unsure about what to say for a moment.

    ¡°Death is unavoidable if you live in this world, unless you¡¯re a cultivator like you. Only then can you transcend death. You can say your father lived a good life with the advanced age he reached, so there¡¯s no need for too much grief. You probably have to return to send me off too before long!¡±

    Liu Hong could not help but sigh when Li Long¡¯s father was mentioned. With his present age, he felt the threat from death growing with each passing day. He was extremely envious of cultivators who could lengthen their lifespans.

    ¡°How can you say that, master? Your body is still strong. You can definitely become a centenarian,¡± Li Long said sincerely.

    After almost a decade since Li Long saw him, Liu Hong seemed like he had suddenly grown much older. His face was covered with wrinkles, and a lot of his hair had greyed. Only through practising qi could the ageing process be slowed, so no matter how powerful of a practitioner of martial arts he was, he was unable to withstand the erosion of time. Becoming a centenarian could already be regarded as the limit.

    ¡°Yeah, master. Transcending death is nowhere near that easy. You¡¯ll be able to live a few years longer at most. As long as you live your life comfortably, it¡¯s not like a few years will make a difference.¡±

    Wang Lei was in his prime and his body was sturdy, so he did not take the concept of death too seriously. As he listened to how Liu Hong praised cultivators, he did not feel particularly happy inside. He would never envy his junior brother whose martial arts were not even as great as his back then.

    Wang Lei was unhappy inside. He was a mighty school leader after all, but Liu Hong still lectured him like a child. However, in the jianghu, the status of their master even surpassed the status of their father. Whether it were the orthodox or the unorthodox, killing your master was a crime that ranked at the top of the list. Everything he possessed came from Liu Hong, so he was unable to talk back.

    ¡°Senior brother is right. Life is about satisfaction. Cultivation also has its difficulties. A while ago, I almost lost my life. Honestly, it might not be any better than living your life out peacefully in Qingyang city.¡±

    Li Long persuaded. Although he had spent more time in the fields than having contact with people over the past few years, he could also understand certain things that Wang Lei was thinking, but he had no interest in comparing to see who was better. They already lived in completely different worlds, and he did not want to leave Wang Lei unhappy because of himself. After all, Liu Hong still needed to depend on him once he got a little older.

    Hearing how Li Long agreed with him, Wang Lei cheered up again. ¡°You really have understood many things after travelling around. It¡¯s just like what they say. No matter how great it is outside, it can never be better than home!¡±

    Liu Hong said in surprise, ¡°There¡¯s danger too in the Academy of the Hundred Schools? I heard it¡¯s like those immortal dwellings, where all aspects of life are on a completely different level compared to mortals.¡±

    Only now did he notice Li Long¡¯s appearance. He seemed very shabby, but at the same time, he noticed there was not even a speck of moisture on him despite kneeling in the rain earlier. He was still as dry and rustic as before.

    Li Long explained what he went through in the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures and sighed heavily. ¡°There were thousands of cultivators in that battle, but only a few hundred survived in the end. Many people with cultivations greater than me and techniques stronger than mine died. Even when I think about it now, my heart still flutters with fear.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think the cultivation community would be even more dangerous than the jianghu. I really have to thank that Li Qingshan!¡±

    Liu Hong was amazed. A battle on such a scale was well beyond his imaginations. It was countless times more dangerous than the battles of the jianghu. He found it even more difficult to imagine that the country kid from the past already possessed such exceptional abilities.

    ¡°Li Qingshan! I heard he has become someone prominent now!¡±

    Wang Lei behaved like he was listening to a myth, throwing him into a trance for a moment. He imagined how Li Qingshan stopped the fighting on the battlefield, sailing with techniques and dancing with weapons alone. Just how mighty was that?

    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s already become the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture. He¡¯s close to breaking through the second heavenly tribulation. He plans on getting married to great general Han¡¯s daughter.¡±

    Wang Lei clicked his tongue in amazement. ¡°That¡¯s really impressive. Master, you even gave him a beating back then!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not worth mentioning, it¡¯s not worth mentioning!¡± Liu Hong laughed aloud. Back then, when Li Qingshan demanded ten taels of silver for each punch, he had left him furious. Now that he thought about it, he had actually punched such a prominent figure, which instead made him feel very proud of himself.

    Li Long remembered the matters of the past and also began to smile unknowingly. After talking for a while longer, the sky gradually darkened.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Let¡¯s travel through the night to Crouching Ox village!¡±

    Wang Lei said, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to travel on the mountain paths when it¡¯s wet. Junior brother has travelled a great distance, and he hasn¡¯t even eaten. There¡¯s no need to be in such a hurry. Why don¡¯t you just rest in Qingyang city for a night and wait for tomorrow? Tonight, you can take a proper shower and change into a set of better clothes. That¡¯ll basically be returning home gloriously, with fame and riches.¡±

    ¡°He has to change into mourning clothes anyway once he gets back, so what¡¯s there to change into?¡± Liu Hong glanced at Li Long again. ¡°Though, why don¡¯t you just change into the mourning clothes here?¡± He was basically trying to say that he too found his current appearance unpresentable.

    The emphasis of returning home gloriously with fame and riches was on ¡°gloriously¡±. The smaller the village, the more they cared about this ¡°glorious¡± image.

    Li Long could only smile bitterly. Earth elder Huang had personally bestowed these clothes to him. Although it seemed very shabby after being passed down through the school of Agriculture for many generations, it was still a supreme grade spiritual artifact after all. It brought great benefit to his cultivation, so did it really draw so much contempt?

    ¡°Master, let¡¯s eat before we head over!¡±

    Wang Lei originally wanted to hold a great banquet in Qingyang restaurant to welcome and wash off the trail dust from Li Long, but after Liu Hong scolded him again, he held a banquet in the hall. He called over a few prominent figures of the Iron Fist school for company. The drink they drank was fine alcohol aged for over twenty years, and the food they ate was delicious local delicacies.

    Li Long only drank a cup of alcohol and ate a few mouthfuls before stopping. Wang Lei said, ¡°Junior brother, are they not to your tastes? I can get them to remake it!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m used to eating fruit and vegetables! I grew these myself, so why don¡¯t we all try it?¡± Li Long took out some fruit from his hundred treasures pouch and split it among the people at the table. He also took out a jar of fruit wine he had made himself.

    Throughout the years, basically everything he ate each day was the crops he had planted himself. They could basically replace the pills normally used for cultivation. He sold off the excess, and it would always fetch a decent price. As a result, as long as there was enough land and they were willing to put in the hard work, disciples of the school of Agriculture were all very wealthy.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s try it.¡± Wang Lei glanced at the hundred treasures pouch on Li Long¡¯s waist enviously. He sneered inside, Why does he seem like a poor relative from the country? He even brought some of his own produce.

    Upon tasting it, no one could stop anymore. For a moment, there was complete silence. Only when they finished off the fruit and alcohol did they exhale deeply, savouring the flavour.

    These regular fruits were actually more delicious than any of the delicacies on the table, making them feel entirely refreshed. The jar of alcohol went even more without saying. A faint scent oozed through their mouths as if it was rather light, but it immediately began to burn like fire. They felt like all their organs were being massaged as the fragrance lingered about. The fine alcohol they usually drank was as tasteless as water compared to this. To those who loved drinking, even losing a decade or two of lifespan would be worth it if they could drink alcohol like that daily.

    One of the leaders beamed with joy. ¡°My inner force has grown by quite a lot!¡± It was not only him. Everyone felt their bodies change. Not only did their inner force increase, but even some hidden injuries they had accumulated over the years healed without any prior signs.

    When they looked at Li Long again, they all felt deep admiration. Just some fruits he had casually shared with him were rare treasures in the jianghu! It would be very common for these items to lead to great bloodshed. After all, a simple spiritual ginseng back then had thrown Qingyang city into chaos.

    As a genius disciple of the school of Agriculture, the fruit and vegetables Li Long grew were basically on par with the spiritual ginseng. Although the spiritual ginseng was much older, it had not been tended to with care.

    ¡°Junior brother, these items mustn¡¯t have come easily!¡± Wang Lei¡¯s feelings were rather mixed. He no longer dared to look down on disciples of the school of Agriculture anymore. Li Long right beside him suddenly seemed unfathomable.

    ¡°It was very difficult in the beginning. It took me quite a while before I understood everything. You need to pay particular attention to the control over sunlight, rain, and dew. Most importantly, you also need the corresponding technique¡­¡± Li Long explained a few ways of farming from the school of Agriculture, but when he saw how everyone was completely lost, he stopped talking.

    Liu Hong stroked his beard, feeling great relief. Li Long had even prepared a jar of alcohol for Liu Hong, but upon considering its value, he no longer dared to take it out so boldly. He wanted to wait for the right time.

    After eating these things, everything else from the banquet had become tasteless. And, even though they did not feel full, they did not feel hungry at all.

    As a result, they set off through the night. Basically all the disciples of the Iron Fist school were rallied, travelling off to Crouching Ox village as a formidable group.

    Crouching Ox village was also drenched in rain. Only caretaker Liu and village head Li¡¯s homes were still lit. In a dark house to the west of the village, a man and a woman currently conversed.

    The woman said with a deep, gruff voice, ¡°Old man Li is dead, so Li Long will definitely return to the village. He¡¯s on speaking terms with Li Er, so we need to get him to pass a letter to Li Er. He¡¯s doing well now, so he can¡¯t forget about us. We¡¯re the ones who took care of him for so many years. If it weren¡¯t for us feeding him, he would have starved to death long ago!¡±

    That had once been the voice Li Qingshan hated the most, and this had also been his home in the past, or more accurately, the neighbouring, run-down cowshed had been his home in the past. A yellow ox now occupied the cowshed. There would also be a child playing a flute, riding on the back of the ox to Crouching Ox hill to let the ox out for grazing. However, there was no need for him to stay in the cowshed, and who knew how many times better off he was compared to Li Qingshan in the past.

    Elder brother Li rolled over in bed and said with a muffled voice, ¡°He¡¯s already severed his ties with us. We haven¡¯t spoken in all these years, so what¡¯s the point of sending a letter?¡±

 Chapter 682 â€“ Vengeance for Family

    Elder brother Li howled in pain. The sister-in-law grabbed him by the ear and forced him to turn around.

    ¡°I¡¯ve used up all the misfortune from my past eight lives to be married with someone as useless as you. You don¡¯t even have the courage to pass on a letter, so what¡¯s the point of keeping you around? Your brother sure is capable, but he¡¯s a heartless, unfeeling bastard!¡±

    The sister-in-law ground her teeth, her face warped with hatred. She hated the elder brother for his uselessness, and she hated Li Qingshan for his heartlessness.

    Over the years, the place that changed the most in the village would definitely be village head Li¡¯s household. They were already countless times better off than other farmer households, and ever since Li Long left, silver basically flowed back home unceasingly like water. They erupted with wealth, dismantling their original house to build a large courtyard. They ate and drank well every single day, and they no longer worked in the fields.

    Then she looked at her own household. They possessed a little more land than before, but they had lost one of their labourers, they had to cover the expenses for the ox, and they had to feed an additional mouth. They were instead much worse off than before. They had clearly heard that Li Qingshan was even wealthier than Li Long, but they could not even get a single penny from him, which left her grinding her teeth in hatred daily.

    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it all your shitty idea back then to take his farmland and chase him out of the house? Yet now you blame me! If you say another word of nonsense, I¡¯ll slap you across the face!¡±

    The elder brother became furious too. Over the years, many people in the village had mocked him, saying how his family had produced a decent man after so much difficulty, only for him to be as blind as a bat, chasing him away from home.

    ¡°Hit me! Hit me! You might as well beat me to death!¡±

    The sister-in-law squirmed around with her body that was as round as a ball and her thick arms and legs, making an unreasonable scene. Had she not regretted it to the very core either? However, what was done could not be undone. What was the point in still saying all of this now?

    ¡°Hmph, you crazy woman!¡±

    ¡°Even if you won¡¯t consider for us, you have to consider for ¡®pebble¡¯. Do you want him to toil away in the fields for his entire life with you?¡±

    Elder brother Li fell silent. Gradually, he began to change his mind. No matter how much grievance exists between us, so many years have passed already. We¡¯re still brothers by blood after all. Even if he blames me, he can¡¯t blame his own nephew! As long as he relents even slightly, that¡¯ll be endless good fortune!

    Entering through the door, there was a table for offerings, with a few plates of fruit and a lone lamp. Even without the night breeze, it was already tottering around, about to be devoured by the darkness at any time.

    Using the dim light, it was possible to make out a black, wooden statue. It had a hand on its waist and a blade in the other. Although it stood in a very imposing manner, the craftsmanship was very crude. It was possible to tell it was the handiwork of a rural carpenter with a single glance. However, it did bear some resemblance to Li Qingshan, or more accurately, Li Qingshan in his youth.

    This was the hut that Li Qingshan had originally used the wild boar to build. Afterwards, he earned the name of ¡°Tiger Butcher¡± for himself, so the people in the village built a special temple for him, using the hut as a basis, calling it the Tiger Butcher temple. There was even a special temple attendant who was responsible for cleaning it. Actually, he was just a childless, lame old man. Everyone in the village called him ¡°limp Liu¡±.

    Old man Liu¡¯s responsibility was to ensure that the lamp never went out at night, but it was not like anyone supervised him. On such a stormy, autumn night, he had shut the temple door a long time ago. He ate some pork and drank a cup of unstrained liquor before throwing his blankets over himself and going to sleep. When someone burst through the temple door and entered the temple, he was completely unaware.

    The person¡¯s stature was extremely thick and robust, and he was covered in facial hair, making it impossible to tell his age. When he stepped into the temple, he happened to be extremely dry. As he gazed at the wooden statue, his eyes shone with hatred. He ground his teeth. ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Suddenly, he took a step forward and threw a palm strike from afar. With a great boom, the statue split into pieces, but the wavering oil lamp continued to shine.

    Old man Liu shuddered all over and woke up. He was still bleary-eyed. ¡°Is it thunder?¡± He limped over to the hall and immediately spotted the sturdy, black figure. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish, the person launched another palm strike, and old man Liu exploded like the statue, turning into a scarlet, bloody mist. Only his head remained whole, which the person placed on the offering table before quietly uttering some prayers.

    ¡°Father, I¡¯ll complete your unfulfilled wish first and destroy the Crouching Ox village. This is the first one. There will be a day when I personally kill Li Qingshan!¡± Xiong Batian said viciously.

    If Li Qingshan were present, perhaps he would find him rather familiar. Of course, it was completely possible for him to have no impression of this person at all. Compared to the enemies he had killed afterwards, the master of the Black Wind stronghold, Xiong Xiangwu, was nothing.

    Xiong Batian was Xiong Xiangwu¡¯s son, but he had not been in Black Wind stronghold. Instead, he had been learning martial arts with his grandfather. When he learnt about how the Black Wind stronghold had been massacred, he was still a child. He understood that all he could do was silently and patiently wait for the optimal opportunity if he wanted revenge.

    However, after over a decade of waiting, he discovered that his enemy had already become a Scarlet Hawk commander, and his chances for revenge were becoming more and more miniscule. Only by massacring Crouching Ox village and slaughtering all of Li Qingshan¡¯s friends and family could he relieve himself of this hatred.

    Xiong Batian carried old man Liu¡¯s head in his hand as he made his way towards Crouching Ox village. He was determined to kill everyone and pile up their heads into a tower so that he could hold a memorial ceremony for Xiong Xiangwu and his uncles. That had always been the Black Wind stronghold¡¯s favourite symbol!

    Suddenly, he came to a halt, only to see a group of people on horseback travelling through the night rain and entering Crouching Ox village from afar. His face became frosty. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll kill whoever that comes today. The Drawn Reins village and the Iron Fist school too. Everyone who is connected to Li Qingshan must die!¡±

    Li Long¡¯s return led to a huge uproar in the courtyard of the Li family. His brothers, Li Hu and Li Bao, both came to receive him, sobbing away loudly. ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re back!¡± ¡°Before father passed away, he was still uttering your name. Why have you come so late?¡±

    By now, both of them had become plump, chubby, and fair from everything Li Long had sent home. They each grabbed one of Li Long¡¯s hands, treating him with so much familiarity like he had only left yesterday. The sobbing began to ring out from outside the mourning hall, filled with grief.

    Li Long silently changed into his mourning clothes and paid his respects. He entered the mourning hall and looked at the prepared body lying in the coffin. Two streaks of tears ran down his cheeks.

    Right after the ceremony was completed, Li Hu pulled him to a side room, and Li Bao followed over in a hurry. Li Long was perplexed, but when he listened to how they vied with each other, he understood that they were fighting over the family property after village head Li had passed away. They were at a stalemate, so they wanted to wait for Li Long¡¯s return so that he could preside over the matter. From how they glared at one another, they did not seem sad at all.

    Li Long felt disgust. Right when he was about to talk, he suddenly wrinkled his nose. ¡°There¡¯s the reeking of blood!¡±

    The heavy smell of blood passed through the rain and wafted over from the other side of the village.

    Li Long walked out in a hurry and arrived on the main street, only to see Xiong Batian walking over from the other side. He carried over twenty heads in his hands, whether they were man or woman, old or young. Blood was still dripping down. In a short while, he had already visited six households.

 Chapter 683 â€“ Plants vs. Zombies

    However, they were unable to see through the dark like Li Long. All they could make out was a blurry, black figure. Liu Hong was startled, and he came to a stop, but Wang Lei continued onwards, rushing towards the black figure. ¡°Who is it!?¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Li Long took a step forward, projecting his true qi out of his body as a hand and grabbing Wang Lei.

    A huge force overcame Wang Lei, sending him flying backwards uncontrollably. The place where he originally stood suddenly exploded, kicking soil and rain into the air. He shivered inside. If he had still been standing there, he would not even be a whole corpse anymore.

    ¡°A tenth layer Qi Practitioner!¡±

    Xiong Batian was alarmed. He never expected a tiny village to actually have a tenth layer Qi Practitioner. He tossed out the heads like hidden weapons before rapidly retreating. He had cultivated for all these years, but he was only at the eighth layer of Qi Practitioner. Even if he had another decade, he might not necessarily reach the tenth layer.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Li Long shot off with a flash in pursuit, avoiding the heads.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The heads exploded in the air one after another, sending countless bone fragments flying. It was much swifter and more dangerous than any hidden weapon from the jianghu. Li Long was protected by true qi, so he obviously did not fear such an attack, but Liu Hong, Wang Lei, and the disciples of the Iron Fist school were right behind him. If he ignored the attack, none of them would survive.

    Kicking down with both legs, he shot backwards and swung his hands around. There were not any special moves or tricks, but his movements were natural and graceful like he was working in the fields. True qi surged out and sent the bone fragments flying.

    There were a few howls. A few disciples of the Iron Fist school were still struck. Although it had not hit vital points, the wounds immediately blackened and hardened. They collapsed and convulsed on the ground, immediately dying on the spot.

    ¡°Corpse poison!¡±

    Li Long¡¯s eyes narrowed. If they were Qi Practitioners, then he could save them as long as they could last for a moment. However, these regular disciples were no different from mortals, so how could they withstand something like that? The poison would ravage their bodies and kill them as soon as they came in contact with it.

    By now, even Liu Hong had not reacted to what had happened. All he saw was Wang Lei rush out before flying back. With another blink of an eye, over twenty heads filled his vision, exploding together.

    Their extremely penetrative voices stirred up the entire courtyard of the Li family before spreading through the entire village and rousing many people from their sleep.

    Liu Hong said, ¡°Who was that earlier?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±

    Li Long¡¯s face was stern. If the person earlier was a cultivator who knew how to refine corpses, then massacring the entire village to refine corpses would be nothing strange. However, the matter clearly was not as simple as that, or he would not have beheaded everyone.

    With his cultivation as a tenth layer Qi Practitioner, killing an eighth layer Qi Practitioner was nothing difficult at all even if he were a disciple of the school of Agriculture that was not skilled with battle. However, once they started fighting, Crouching Ox village would definitely sustain heavy losses.

    And, from how the enemy attacked, it made him even more worried. With a flash, a hoe appeared in his hand. He called out, ¡°Who are you? Why are you making trouble in our Crouching Ox village? Don¡¯t you know about Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, Li Qingshan! You¡¯re not Li Qingshan! This has got nothing to do with you, so why would you risk your life for mortals? You should mind your own business!¡±

    Xiong Batian¡¯s voice rang out from the other side of the village.

    ¡°I¡¯m from Crouching Ox village, so how doesn¡¯t it have anything to do with me? It¡¯s still not too late for you to run away right now, or I¡¯ll definitely take your life.¡±

    Li Long had immediately understood what was going on. He could not help but find this both infuriating and ironic. This person definitely had grievances with Li Qingshan. Once he left the village, he would definitely chase him down and take his life!

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then you can stay here and die with Crouching Ox village!¡±

    Xiong Batian said some alarmingly big words. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a series of bronze bangles for controlling corpses. His other hand was the same. Powered by true qi, the bronze bangles lit up together.

    Li Long suddenly felt a tremendous cloud of corpse qi. Riding on his spiritual artifact, he arrived in the air, and his heart sank. It was like what he had been expecting.

    Densely-packed swarms of Corpse Soldiers appeared from thin air, radiating with an aura that was even colder than the autumn rain. Most of them were regular zombies, or not even zombies as they had not even been refined properly, just walking corpses converted by corpse poison and corpse qi, but they numbered one or two thousand, and there were many Iron Plate corpses among them.

    Against such an army of corpses, even a tenth layer Qi Practitioner would be whittled to death if they were alone unless they could kill the controller as soon as possible. However, his enemy was surrounded by these hordes of zombies, taking extremely careful precautions.

    During the several years of war between humans and daemons, combined with the rampant famine and banditry, the number of people that died ranged into the millions, and the arts of corpse refining were commonplace. Only when it led to the disaster of Burial Mound mountain did this practise slowly die away.

    However, basically every single Qi Practitioner of the Clear River prefecture was in possession of bronze bangles for controlling corpses. The enemy had used explosive corpses and corpse poison right off the bat, so he clearly practised a cultivation method that was relevant to corpse refining, which allowed him to control even more zombies.

    ¡°I swear that I will butcher the entire Crouching Ox village today, leaving none alive. I will avenge my father. It¡¯s not too late for you to escape right now, or once you fall into a tight encirclement, all that awaits you is death!¡±

    Xiong Batian was like a general. With a great wave of his hand, the army advanced, slamming against the huts and buildings. With a rumble, the earthen walls were directly pushed over, unable to stop this flood of corpses. He actually wanted to flatten the entire Crouching Ox village!

    Liu Hong¡¯s face changed drastically. He had witnessed the trials and hardships present in the jianghu, but never had he seen something so terrifying. It was as if a colossal, terrifying beast was lunging towards him from the darkness. As for Wang Lei, he was completely frightened out of his wits. His legs trembled as he yelled at the sky, ¡°Junior brother!¡±

    ¡°Be careful, everyone!¡± Li Long said before flying off towards the zombie army.

    At this exact moment, the disciples of the Iron Fist school who had been poisoned to death suddenly opened their eyes and slowly crawled up from the ground. Everyone around them scattered immediately. Li Hu and Li Bao basically scrambled away desperately for their lives.

    Liu Hong bellowed out and unleashed his ¡°Charge of the Heaven Cavalry¡±, hurling a fist at a corpse¡¯s head. With a thunk, the corpse¡¯s head split open like a watermelon, and it collapsed on the ground again.

    He leapt about, throwing his fists like the wind and unleashing his martial arts to the limit. He struck a head with each punch, making the rising corpses collapse on the ground again.

    These were merely regular walking corpses converted by the corpse poison. Although they possessed great strength and did not fear death, their reactions were delayed, so they did not pose a threat to masters of the jianghu like Liu Hong.

    The disciples of the Iron Fist school erupted with cheers. Liu Hong stood imposingly among the corpses, but his back was already drenched with cold sweat. He composed himself. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t be afraid! There¡¯s just a few corpses!¡±

    However, what Li Long faced right now were not only a few corpses, but thousands of them, covering all demographics. They pushed and shoved each other, even producing meaningless growls, which merged together into a terrifying cacophony.

    Before he knew it, the unending autumn rain had already stopped. The clouds dispersed, and the moon shone with cool light, illuminating a small part of the village. However, it was a nightmarish scene.

    The wave of corpses ignored all obstacles, rapidly pushing forward. Some walking corpses even fell over, trampled and crushed by the corpses behind them, returning to a pile of flesh in the blink of an eye. Cries and screams rang out of the collapsed houses, but they immediately came to a halt, having been ripped apart by the zombies.

    Li Long¡¯s palms were sweaty, but after going through the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, his mental tolerance for things like this had increased greatly. Although his life would not be in much danger today, he could only take a very small number of people with him away from here if he could not stop the zombie horde. His other family would all have to die. He took out a handful of seeds, and with a wave of his hand, they scattered out.

    The buildings in Crouching Ox village were not particularly packed. There was a lot of empty ground between the houses, turned into vegetable patches. A seed landed in a vegetable patch and immediately began to sprout, growing up rapidly and turning into a black thistle. It continued to grow and spread rapidly, covering the entire vegetable patch in the blink of an eye.

    The other seeds were the same. Thistles crew endlessly, weaving together into a wall of thistles. The black thistles were different from regular thorns. Every single spine was long and sharp, glistening with a metallic lustre.

    Xiong Batian did not take notice of it. The zombies were not even afraid of death, let alone pain. They dove head-first into the thistle wall. Originally, with the terrifying strength of the zombie army, they definitely could have ripped through it with ease.

    However, the roots to every thistle plant extended several meters underground, and they continued to spread. The thistles themselves were as tough as iron. As they were tugged at, they produced a metallic, grating sound.

    The thistle bushes were like monsters that had sprung alive, dancing about madly. The regular walking corpses would directly be pierced and torn apart as the thistles coiled and moved about, reducing the corpses to chunks of flesh. The thistles were like meat grinders working at full capacity. Even when they came across the refined zombies, they could keep them firmly entangled, drawing them in.

    The school of Agriculture was not skilled with battle, but they had their own ways to vanquish enemies, which involved wondrous plants. First, they would gather offensive plants and nurture their seeds over long periods of time so that they possessed great life force. That way, they could rapidly grow as soon as they touched soil. What Li Long sprinkled earlier were seeds to ¡°Iron Blood Thistles¡±.

    However, plants all needed to be rooted to the ground, so most of the time, they could only be used to defend. And, they could not distinguish between friend and foe, making them very difficult to control. Apart from the person who nurtured them, anyone who entered the thistle bushes would be under attack, but they were perfect for a situation like this.

    Li Long riled up with vigour, becoming a little more confident. He took out another handful of seeds and scattered them, but this time, nothing happened on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how much longer you can stop them!¡±

    Xiong Batian mobilised the army to concentrate their attacks on places where the thistle bushes were thinner. At the same time, he took out a bronze bell and swung it forcefully. The bell rung frantically, and the zombies became even more frenzied, pushing forward without any regard and forcefully tearing apart the thistles.

    Although the thistle bushes had killed many walking corpses, the corpse qi in their bodies were fatal to plants too. The thistles all withered away.

    The zombie army burst through the thistle bushes like a flood that had breached a dam. They were about to annihilate the tiny Crouching Ox village.

    A leading zombie stepped down with his left foot, and the pressure passed through the ground. Before anyone had realised it, a tuber shaped like a sweet potato had already formed underneath. Sensing the pressure, it exploded loudly and blasted the zombie away, causing the zombies in the surroundings to suffer collateral damage.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The zombie army advanced mindlessly, leading to a string of explosions. The seeds that Li Long had just scattered were known as ¡°Sweet Potato Mines¡±. Ancient disciples of the school of Agriculture regularly buried them in the surroundings of their fields to prevent wild beasts from destroying their crops.

 Chapter 684 â€“ Incinerating It All

    Countless terrifying voices beyond the understanding of regular people passed through the walls, filling the entire room, even draining their courage to take a look at what was happening.

    The yellow ox constantly mooed in the cowshed next door, filled with fear and despair.

    A child around eight or nine years old wormed out of his blankets and rushed towards the door.

    ¡°Pebble! What are you doing?¡± The sister-in-law suddenly discovered that the child beside her had vanished, which made her pale in fright.

    ¡°Old Yellow is still outside! I¡¯ll lead him in!¡±

    Pebble turned around and answered, having rushed out of the door already. He dared not look around, barging straight into the cowshed. A yellow ox was shaking its head and tugging at the rope restlessly, dripping with blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Old Yellow. Let¡¯s go back into the house!¡±

    Pebble undid the rope and leapt onto the ox¡¯s back, hugging the yellow ox¡¯s head. Only then did the ox calm down slightly. As soon as it set foot out of the cowshed, there was a great rumble, and a few zombies smashed down the courtyard wall, rushing in.

    Under the moonlight, their ferocious figures immediately left Pebble dumbstruck. The yellow ox immediately turned around and fled towards the other side of the village. Pebble leaned on the back of the ox as the wind whistled past his ears. Returning to his senses after quite some difficulty, he looked back and called out, ¡°Dad, mum!¡±

    However, the last thing he saw was his house collapsing. Bricks and rubble flew everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust. Before he could even worry or feel sorrow, a few zombies charged out of the dust, tailing right behind them. Their movements were stiff, but who knew how many times faster than the yellow ox they were.

    The zombie at the very front suddenly lunged over. His ten long and curved nails almost reached Pebble¡¯s bottom, reducing the back half of the yellow ox to a mess.

    Moo!

    The yellow ox let out a miserable cry and collapsed on the ground. Pebble was thrown off its back and hurtled towards a wall. He was about to have his head smashed apart. He shut his eyes firmly, but he felt his body lighten. A gentle and powerful wind wrapped around him. When he opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar man holding him in one arm while carrying a glowing hoe in the other.

    It seemed like a regular hoe for farmwork, but it plowed through the heads of the zombies with ease. Then it swung around with a silver arc and repelled over a dozen zombies that lunged over.

    Beneath them, trees grew furiously. Because these plants were extremely close together, they bunched up into a wall. Their roots below coiled together firmly.

    After the Iron Blood Thistles and Sweet Potato Mines whittled them down, the zombie army had sustained extremely heavy losses, with less than a thousand remaining. However, most of their casualties were weaker walking corpses. They had lost far fewer refined zombies, and they had not even lost a single Iron Plate corpse.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The flood of corpses smashed into the wall of trees fiercely, sending splinters flying and making the trees shake.

    Li Long frowned firmly. These trees were not offensive plants used for battle. Although he still possessed a few more seeds of offensive plants, it was a much smaller number, nowhere near enough to stop the flood of corpses. He gripped a handful of seeds firmly. His palms were full of sweat, but he did not toss them out in a hurry. Instead, he continued to plant trees that could form walls.

    Under the frenzied collision from the corpses, splinters flew everywhere and sap spattered about. However, while the zombies were strangely powerful, they were unable to smash through a sturdy wall composed of several hundred trees immediately.

    Surrounded by hordes of zombies, Xiong Baitan arrived before the wall of trees. His eyes shone with a vicious light. He never thought the enemy could actually obstruct him so much, using these strange plants to rapidly deplete the zombies under his control.

    The wall of trees stood over ten meters tall, and they were lush with foliage. Regular zombies struggled to scale past it; only the more nimble Iron Plate corpses could. However, once the Iron Plate corpses made it over, they would be separated from the majority. It would take an extremely great toll on a tenth layer Qi Practitioner to kill all of these Iron Plate corpses, but it was not difficult.

    What Xiong Baitan feared the most was becoming the target of a sneak attack once this happened. He treated these Iron Plate corpses as his bodyguards. Regular zombies were unable to keep the enemy locked in battle, so once he scattered some more seeds, his life really might be in danger.

    Although they could detour around the wall of trees, water paddies surrounded the village. Following the endless autumn rain, they were basically no different from swamps. The movements of zombies would definitely be restricted if they entered the paddies.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think I¡¯ve fallen for your plan? It¡¯s just a bunch of wood. Since we can¡¯t push it over, then we¡¯ll carve our way through!¡±

    Xiong Batian swung the bell, and the zombies parted to form a path. Xiong Batian personally led several dozen Iron Plate corpses to the wall, and the ringing of the bell suddenly sped up. The Iron Plate corpses at the front swung their claws around furiously.

    The tough wood was ripped apart like mud. In the blink of an eye, a huge hole appeared before rapidly extending inwards. Before long, they had carved out a passageway through the wall of trees.

    As soon as the first Iron Plate corpse emerged on the other side, a huge mouth riddled with teeth swallowed it in a single gulp. The huge mouth was actually a gorgeous, deep-purple flower, and the stalk connected to the flower squirmed like a snake. The stalk was connected to an even-thicker branch.

    There were a total of nine stalks like that, and every stalk had a total of nine flowers at their tips. It was like the legendary hydra, so it was known as the ¡°Hydra Flower¡±. The buds hunted like pythons, biting down on an Iron Plate corpse each.

    The Iron Plate corpses put up a fierce struggle as the soft stalks coiled over like snakes, immobilising them completely while secreting powerful, acidic digestive juices. Even the refined Iron Plate corpses stood no chance as the acid rapidly ate away at them.

    The Hydra Flowers blocked a total of eight tunnels through the wall. Coupled with Li Long, he was truly holding them off alone.

    Xiong Batian felt a tinge of regret. He should have taken a detour instead. However, with a thought, he came up with an idea. He ordered all the zombies to retreat back into the tunnels. Then, he ordered the Iron Plate corpses to dig to the two sides, avoiding these obstructing plants.

    No matter how powerful these plants were, they still could not move freely. Li Long would be forced to replant them if he wanted to continue defending.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how many more seeds you have!¡± Xiong Batian sneered.

    The seeds of offensive plants in Li Long¡¯s possession were truly close to running out. And, while planting these seeds did not take too much of a toll, the effects built up, and the true qi in his dantian was close to running over. He was holding a spiritual stone in his hand to recover.

    However, there was instead a sense of relief and ease on his face. A talisman flew out of his hand. It was only a regular Scorching Fire talisman. If he were lucky, he could kill an Iron Plate corpse at most. The Scorching Flame talisman erupted into a ball of fire in the air, but it did not fly towards any zombie at all. Instead, it flew towards the neat row of trees.

    Boom!

    The flames spread rapidly. The trees all blazed violently like torches. In particular, the fruits on the branches would immediately explode into a ball of fire as long as a tongue of flame gently licked them.

    To disciples of the school of Agriculture, there were only two types of plants that possessed any value. One was offensive plants, but that only occupied a very small fraction of them. Most of them were plants with practical usages, like fruits, vegetables, grain, and medicines.

    Among these trees, most of them were tung oil trees the school of Agriculture specially bred. Even their branches contained oil. Once they were set alit, even a storm could not put them out.

    A while later, the wall of trees turned into a wall of flames, turning the sky fire-red.

    Xiong Batian led the Iron Plate corpses to carve out a tunnel through the trees. The zombie army tailed right behind him, basically all arriving below the wall of trees, only to suddenly discover that the surroundings had already turned into a sea of fire!

    Basically every single corpse had been splattered with a lot of sap. Their withered bodies were rapidly ignited. Even for the Iron Plate corpses that were impervious to regular weapons, their iron plates began to distort and change shape under the flames.

    Xiong Baitan¡¯s face changed drastically. He emitted true qi from his body to fend off the flames. He could no longer care about the regular zombies anymore. Leading the Iron Plate corpses, he turned around and rushed out of the sea of fire, only to see a figure descend from above and land on the edge of the fire.

    Li Long stood on the firm ground with his feet bare. The firelight reflected in his eyes, making them shine. He gripped a hoe firmly with his crude hands. He scattered the last few seeds before him, which burst through the earth, grew, and danced around one by one, fighting alongside him.

    Large swathes of smoke rose into the sky. After momentarily clearing up, the sky was blotted out once again when the dark clouds gathered over, blocking the moonlight. The autumn drizzle fell slowly.

    On the boundary between rain and fire, the plants filled with vigour and the zombies reeking with an aura of death became locked in a fierce struggle.

    Li Long¡¯s eyes were fixed on Xiong Baitian the entire time. He raised his hoe high into the air before swinging down viciously.

    By the time the flames had burnt everything to ashes, the sun had already risen. The drizzle fell onto the grey charcoal; with a hiss, a curl of misty, dusty smoke rose into the air.

    Within the smoke and mist, Li Long lay on the scorching ground, gasping for air. He still gripped his hoe firmly as he gazed at the gloomy sky.

    He propped himself up and gazed out. The entire Crouching Ox village had already been reduced to ruins. With the wooden wall that had been burned to ashes as a boundary, one side was ruins the zombies had trampled, while the other was charcoal the flames produced.

    Although it began to rain afterwards, it was inevitable for the fire to spread.

    Li Long could not help but become frustrated. After a night of bitter battle, he had killed his enemy, but he had failed to save the village. He did not have Li Qingshan¡¯s resolve. This was the hometown where he had been born and raised after all. Countless familiar people and things had vanished overnight. He felt no joy from victory at all. Instead, his heart weighed heavily.

    ¡°Dad! Mum! Dad!¡±

    Sobbing and shouting rang out from behind. Li Long turned around, only to see a child digging furiously through the ruins, but he could not even shift a slightly larger stone. His tears and snot formed a mess on his face.

    Li Long¡¯s heart eased up for some reason. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    The child looked back. ¡°M- my name is Li Qingshi. Please, immortal, please save my dad and mum!¡±

 Chapter 685 â€“ Return

    Pebble wiped away his snot and tears. ¡°My mum said that I have to be like my uncle. I have to become someone impressive!¡±

    Li Long rubbed his head and crouched down. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to see him, alright?¡±

    ¡°M- m- my dad and mum are dead, right? Just like Old Yellow?¡± Pebble asked in fright.

    There was nothing Li Long could say in response. He sighed. He wondered how his master and everyone else was doing. With their skill, the fire should not have taken their lives, riht?

    At this moment, a group of people appeared in the ruins on the other side of the village. Spotting the two of them, the person at the front rushed over.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Li Long¡¯s eyes lit up. These people were the disciples of the Iron Fist school being led by Liu Hong, as well as many villagers.

    As it turned out, after the great fire had been lit, Liu Hong had led the disciples of the Iron Fist school to evacuate all the villagers, fleeing into the mountains nearby. Only when the sun had risen up and the flames had subsided did they find the courage to return.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine!¡±

    Liu Hong eased up, while Wang Lei¡¯s gaze towards Li Long became filled with reverence. The great fire that filled the air last night was basically the legendary handiwork of immortals. If it were not for him, probably everyone in Crouching Ox village would die.

    The villagers found their ruined homes with their family. Many of them sobbed. Pebble finally understood that his parents had suffered the same fate as Old Yellow. They would never be returning again. He began to wail loudly.

    Li Long was relieved that at least his battle had not been meaningless, but he was unable to cheer up inside. He said to Liu Hong, ¡°Master, it¡¯s time for me to go back.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wait until the burial?¡±

    ¡°My father¡¯s soul has already returned to the netherworld. All that remains is but a shell, and probably even this shell doesn¡¯t exist anymore!¡±

    Li Long gazed at Li Hu and Li Bao from afar. When the fire started, they could not even run away in time, so why would they still care about a dead corpse? It had been reduced to ashes with the courtyard of the Li family.

    It was strange now that he mentioned it. They were clearly brothers connected by blood, from the same mother and father, yet he found them to be so distant right now. It was as if they lived completely different lives. The so-called returning home gloriously had become meaningless.

    Once he left this time, he would probably never return to this hamlet again. Li Long thought of Li Qingshan again. Had he anticipated this already, which was why he was so resolute?

    ¡°What a huge river! What a huge boat!¡±

    Pebble leaned on the railing and widened his eyes, gazing at the raging Clear river. He gulped. He probably had yet to properly understand the meaning of death. He had already recovered some liveliness, enamoured by this wondrous sight he had never seen before.

    Instead, Li Long¡¯s heart still weighed rather heavily. As he gazed at Pebble from behind, he felt worried. Back then, he had acted on impulse to say that he would take him to see Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan had already severed his ties with the Li family. With that man¡¯s resolve, it definitely was not just for say. The fate of this pitiful child probably would not be so optimistic.

    The boat followed the flow of the river. By the time they arrived in Clear River city, it was already dusk. Clear River city blazed with light.

    Together, Li Long and Pebble disembarked from the boat. Everyone around them avoided them with faces of disgust. Li Long still seemed as rustic as ever, while Pebble was even worse off. He was as dirty and filthy as a young beggar. Li Long had not even given him a basic clean, let alone changing him into a new set of clothes.

    Pebble could not help but cower under the disdainful gazes, but when he saw Li Long striding ahead calmly, it brought him great ease.

    After disembarking, Li Long visited the Hawkwolf Guard to ask about Li Qingshan¡¯s whereabouts, learning he was holding a banquet in the Parlour of Cloud and Rain. As a result, he brought Pebble to the blazing Parlour of Clouds and Rain. Pebble raised his head and did his best to look up.

    The rooftop of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain was currently a scene of prosperity. The warm breeze was intoxicating as a celebration for the current peace unfolded.

    Basically all the Hawkwolf guards of the Clear River prefecture were gathered there, but most of them could only sit towards the end, as in front of them were Wei Yangsheng, Liu Zhangqing, and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even Han Tieyi was among them.

    Hua Chenglu was there too. She frowned as she gazed at Hua Chengzan, who sat in the secondary seat. This banquet was held for him, except he was drunk, and he held a woman in each arm like no one else was around, playing around with them. He would embrace them in intimate ways from time to time.

    If any other man behaved like that, they would inevitably come off as indecent and obscene, but when it was him, it was casual and elegant, like the outstanding son of an aristocratic family.

    Sitting behind the primary seat¡¯s white, jade table was a robust young man who leaned on his arms, smiling faintly. He fiddled around with an alcohol cup in his hand as if he was admiring the song and dance, but at a closer glance, it was possible to discover that his dark eyes were not focused at all.

    His appearance obviously stood no chance against a handsome dandy like Hua Chengzan, but he was like a tiger prowling through the forest, possessing a bearing that could look down on all. Even though he was silent, no one could neglect his existence.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Linglong pretty?¡±

    A woman pushed him gently from beside him. Her beautiful face formed a perfect, flirtatious pout. Her figure was very petite, like a fourteen or fifteen year old girl, except it curved delicately and exquisitely. Her gentle baby-face was extremely cute, giving off a special type of charm.

    ¡°Very pretty.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked down and replied in an unconcerned manner. This woman was indeed very pretty. She even possessed the Aspect of Exquisite and Smooth Beauty. Probably only Hua Chenglu out of everyone present was more beautiful than her.

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you looked at me at all?¡± Afterwards, she stifled her voice and whispered in his ear, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me commander Hua is jealous?¡± Her breath tickled his ears as she gently touched the rim of his ear with the tip of her tongue.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of being eaten by me because your cultivation is insufficient?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never be afraid.¡± Linglong stuck out her tongue, but sure enough, she sat up properly.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. She had been such a bashful child back then, but after a year of special treatment, she had become bold enough to tease him in public.

    ¡°Sir, sect master, there¡¯s a man called Li Long who wishes to see you. He¡¯s currently waiting in the warming house,¡± a female attendant reported.

    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s back.¡± Li Qingshan stood up and made his way downstairs to the warming house. ¡°You¡¯ve come back so soon! Let¡¯s have a drink together! Huh? This child is¡­¡±

    ¡°A few things happened¡­¡± Li Long thought about how he would phrase it as he explained everything that had happened. Pebble already knew the person he was seeing was his legendary, extremely-powerful uncle. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, his tiny face became bright red, and he stood as tall as he could.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again. ¡°I¡¯ve already severed my ties with the Li family. This child has nothing to do with me. You shouldn¡¯t have brought him to Clear River city!¡±

    Pebble deflated like a balloon. He felt both wronged and furious. He raised his head to say something, but when he met Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, he could not say anything at all. He lowered his eyes, and his eyes reddened as tears began to flow.

    ¡°I understand. However, I want to accept him as my disciple.¡±

    Li Long sighed. He had purposefully avoided cleaning up Pebble so that he could see a little more pitiful. If he could gain Li Qingshan¡¯s recognition, then he would be on a meteoric rise, but it still did not work out in the end!

    ¡°The name, Li Qingshi, is unsuitable. You better change it!¡±

    Li Long¡¯s eyes lit up again. ¡°Then, what should he be called?¡±

    ¡°Call him Li Xiaoyao!¡± Li Qingshan answered without even thinking before changing the topic. ¡°You¡¯re close to Foundation Establishment too. Here are three True Spirit pills. Qi Practitioners have no right to serve as people¡¯s masters.¡±

 Chapter 686 â€“ Trying to Forge

    Li Long gazed at the three True Spirit pills, and his heart stirred violently. The value of True Spirit pills to Qi Practitioners went without saying. With these three True Spirit pills, he would definitely be able to establish a foundation successfully and thus inherit the position of the leader of the school of Agriculture. However, he sucked in a breath and did not accept it.

    ¡°Benefits do not come without merit.¡±

    ¡°You helped me kill an enemy. That¡¯s the merit. Stop being so fussy! If I tell you to take it, just take it!¡± Li Qingshan shoved the True Spirit pills into Li Long¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I will take good care of this child.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s your problem.¡±

    Li Long clasped his hands and took his leave. Arriving outside the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, he crouched down and said to Pebble, ¡°From today onwards, you¡¯ll be called Li Xiaoyao. It¡¯s a very good name.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! It¡¯s not like he knows me, so why can he change my name?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re still young, but you¡¯ll understand certain things in the future. Oh right, don¡¯t mention your relationship with him to anyone in the future.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know me. I don¡¯t know him either! Uncle Li, you¡¯ve been nice to me, so I¡¯ll listen to you. If you want me to be called Li Xiaoyao, then I¡¯ll be called Li Xiaoyao!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to call me master instead in the future.¡± Li Long rubbed his head with a smile. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go grab some food and then give you a shower.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡±

    The two figures, one big and one small, merged with the flow of people. ¡°Xiaoyao, do you like agriculture?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s agriculture?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s farmwork.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then what do you like?¡±

    ¡°I like taking the ox out to graze, but Old Yellow is dead, so he can¡¯t graze anymore. I also like to play around with swords, but my sword is gone too. I can¡¯t play around with it anymore.¡±

    ¡°I better buy you a sword then!¡±

    In the warming house, Li Qinghshan stood around for a little longer and sighed gently. Although he had never lacked resolve, he was not heartless. The gentle sound of steps rang out from behind, and a warm, soft body pressed against his back, wrapping around his waist. ¡°You¡¯re already done talking, so why are you still here?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Linglong, do you think it was a blessing or a curse that you got to know me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously a huge blessing! If it weren¡¯t for you, sir, I¡¯d still be a regular disciple. Perhaps I might even be forced into prostitution.¡±

    A year ago, Li Qingshan formally took over the Parlour of Clouds and Rain in order to give the Cloudwisp association another source of wealth. All of the disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain presented themselves to him. He obviously had no time to manage the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, so he needed someone else for that.

    Linglong could still clearly remember what had happened back then. He had asked with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Linglong.¡±

    ¡°From today onwards, you are the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.¡±

    ¡°Huh!?¡±

    As a result, her fate changed in an overwhelming manner, and the greatest change was she now had a man. From the moment he chose her as the sect master, she had already become his in everyone¡¯s eyes. Even she believed that too.

    She was the sect master with the lowest cultivation in the Sect of Clouds and Rain¡¯s history, but no one dared to defy her. Her senior brothers and sister who had been so proud in the past all became docile. Even powerful Foundation Establishment cultivators would treat her politely in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. With her Aspect of Exquisite and Smooth Beauty, she became accustomed to this new identity very soon, keeping the Sect of Clouds and Rain in perfect order.

    Li Qingshan pulled her over and pinched her cheek. He smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it no different right now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m most willing, so how is it no different?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope you don¡¯t regret it in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words made Linglong stiffen up, but she soon brushed it aside. Li Qingshan was as prominent as the midday sun right now. Let alone the Clear River prefecture, he was even renowned throughout the Ruyi commandery. He also had one of the three great sects of the Green province, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, as his backing. Just who could still do anything to him?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never regret it.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go back. Let¡¯s take a look at how young master Hua is going with his drinking and if he¡¯s happy or not.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and said no more.

    As soon as they returned upstairs, Hua Chengzan pulled him aside. ¡°Where¡¯d you go? Don¡¯t tell me you went off to have some fun in secret? C¡¯mon, drink!¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the cup of alcohol he passed over and gazed at his handsome, flawless and smiling face. He asked suddenly, ¡°Is it effective?¡±

    Hua Chengzan was taken aback. A hint of sadness appeared in his smile. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be!¡±

    Over the past year, Hua Chengzan had truly changed a lot. He had gone from the infatuated romantic of the past to an obscene playboy who regularly slept at brothels drunk.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless, and yet you still keep drinking!¡±

    To Li Qingshan, Hua Chengzan was basically behaving like a little girl who did not have her feelings reciprocated, drowning himself in alcohol and sinking into depravity willingly. Li Qingshan had no problem with drinking and sleeping with women, but he was confident that when Hua Chengzan sobered up and saw the unfamiliar woman beside him, he would feel none of the joy that a regular man would experience. He might even feel pain from sullying himself.

    ¡°What else am I supposed to do?¡± Hua Chengzan smiled drunkenly. When he decided to let go, he felt relief at the very beginning, but even heavier pain and conflict soon followed. His heart lacked the sword of wisdom; he was unable to sever his feelings of love!

    Smack!

    A clear slap landed on Hua Chengzan¡¯s face. In that moment, the entire floor fell silent. Everyone ogled at Li Qingshan blankly. They never expected him to suddenly slap his good friend across the face.

    ¡°Big brother Li!¡± Hua Chengzan exclaimed. Han Tieyi stood up. His face changed too. Since young, Hua Chengzan had never experienced such humiliation.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up, brother. Weren¡¯t I turned down as well?¡±

    Hua Chengzan was irritated at first before smiling self-deprecatingly and rubbing the handprint on his face. ¡°I¡¯m different from you. You surpass me in almost everything, but you have absolutely no idea what love is. I might not be able to obtain her, but I cannot stop loving her!¡±

    Smack!

    Li Qingshan said nothing at all, delivering another slap across his face. ¡°You¡¯re making me sick saying something like that in front of all these people. These are slaps filled with friendship. You better comprehend it properly. Heh, I¡¯ve wanted to do this since a long time ago!¡±

    Han Tieyi yelled, ¡°Qingshan, stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed Hua Chengzan and rushed into the air, turning into a tiny, black speck in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Where are you taking me?¡± Hua Chengzan asked in alarm. The wind whistled by furiously. They left Clear River city behind, where it rapidly shrank and grew distant.

    ¡°To treat your problem!¡±

    A while later, a marsh appeared on the horizon, glistening under the glow of the moon. Hua Chengzan squinted his eyes. ¡°The Lake of Dragons and Snakes!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s sober up first!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly descended and pressed Hua Chengzan into the water, making waves surge and leaving behind a streak on the surface of the water. He entered the Academy of the Hundred Schools like this, arriving on the school of Medicine¡¯s Benevolence island.

    Hua Chengzan was lifted up by him helplessly. ¡°Why are you bringing me here?¡± Was the school of Medicine supposed to be able to treat his illness of the heart?

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Li Qingshan knocked on a door, and it opened. Ru Xin walked out in her white clothes. During the past year, she had practised the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace arduously, which made her skin glossy like white jade. Combined with her dark eyes, they seemed like dabs of paint. She looked at the drenched Hua Chengzan first before saying to Li Qingshan with an extremely disdainful tone, ¡°You¡¯re finally going to lay your hands on men!¡±

    ¡°Wrong, I don¡¯t like men, so can you help me out?¡± Li Qingshan said as Hua Chengzan trembled in fear inside. He had no idea why Li Qingshan had brought him to see Ru Xin. He was extremely clever, but Li Qingshan¡¯s actions could not be interpreted with normal logic. After all, he was a daemon who did whatever he wanted.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Castrate him!¡±

    ¡°No! Li Qingshan, you¡¯re crazy!¡± Hua Chengzan began to put up a violent struggle, but he stood no chance against Li Qingshan¡¯s divine strength. He could not even mobilise a sliver of spiritual qi.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a woman. I¡¯d like to see how you keep loving her once you¡¯re a eunuch! If you don¡¯t want to become a eunuch, it¡¯s not a problem either. Don¡¯t worry, school leader Ru is highly accomplished in medicine. Turning you into a woman is also possible.¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°I can give it a try! With fellow Hua¡¯s appearance, you¡¯ll definitely be absolutely alluring if you become a woman.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to become a woman!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then eunuch it is!¡±

    ¡°Not that either!¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°A hermaphrodite works too!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to become anything. Qingshan, calm down. This is my matter. It¡¯s got nothing to do with you!¡± With the rapid exchange between them, Hua Chengzan completely sobered up out of fright. Before the water on him had even dried, he became covered in another layer of cold sweat.

    ¡°I just can¡¯t put up with how wimpy you are. We¡¯re already here. Do you really think you still have a choice?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed mischievously and carried Hua Chengzan into the room, casually tossing him on the ground. He said to Ru Xin, ¡°How¡¯s the refinement of your Water of Oblivion going?¡±

    ¡°Through my re-refinement, the effects are quite good, but I¡¯ve never had a suitable guinea pig to try it on. After all, it targets cultivators.¡± Ru Xin put on a distressed face.

    Hua Chengzan sensed how all the restraints on his body had been removed. He scrambled for the door the moment he climbed to his feet, but when he heard that, he stopped again. ¡°Water of Oblivion?¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°A form of medicine that can make people forget about certain things. Is fellow Hua interested in trying it?¡±

    Over the past year, she was either cultivating or refining medicine. Chu Tian, or Lin Xuan right now, had requested her to refine more potent Water of Recollection so that he could recall even more memories from his past life.

    Among the Myriad Heavenly Tomes, the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace had always been the one that specialised in alchemy the most, and Ru Xin could be regarded as a genius in this aspect. Combined with Lin Xuan¡¯s assistance to improve the formula, the effects of the Water of Recollection was becoming even more potent. At the same time, she also refined some powerful Water of Oblivion that was the exact opposite to the Water of Recollection.

    Hua Chengzan gazed at Li Qingshan standing in the doorway and smiled bitterly. ¡°Looks like I have no other choice!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Castration is always an option!¡±

    Hua Chengzan looked back and asked Ru Xin, ¡°Is the Water of Oblivion¡­ truly effective?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll need your active cooperation. If you reject the medicinal effects mentally and insist on remembering it, then the effects will be much worse!¡± Ru Xin took out a bottle of faint, purple liquid and shook it around gently in her hand.

    Li Qingshan realised something. He glanced at her and frowned. ¡°If you¡¯re supposed to remember it, then remember it. What¡¯re you doing by trying to forget about it?¡±

    Although Ru Xin still refused to confess everything, Li Qingshan knew she held a great grudge inside. She refused to bring it up definitely because her enemy was extremely powerful, where there would be danger even with Northmoon¡¯s strength. As such, she refused to let him become involved. However, Li Qingshan had made up his mind a long time ago. No matter when she wanted to return to the Mist province, he would accompany her and help her bring this matter to an end.

    ¡°Do I need a wretched daemon like you to stick your nose into this?¡± Ru Xin rolled her eyes at him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do exactly that. I¡¯ll stick my nose into it. What can you do about it?¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± How could Hua Chengzan still not understand that Ru Xin clearly knew Northmoon?

    ¡°Cut the bullshit. Are you going to drink it or not?¡±

    Hua Chengzan gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll drink i!¡±

    He was willing to drink it all so that he could let go of his obsessions, so that he could forget about her.

 Chapter 687 â€“ Forgetting About Love

    He was unable to describe the taste. It was neither sweet nor bitter, just empty to the bone. Wherever it passed by, his heart began to numb as well.

    ¡°Fellow Hua, please close your eyes and try your best to recall what you want to forget so that the Water of Oblivion can come into effect!¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s voice seemed to come from a distant place. It was as flimsy and obscure as a strand of air; it was like the wind could scatter it at any time.

    Hua Chengzan closed his eyes. He did not have to try his best at all. Certain things could not be forgotten. From believing she was a fairy when they first met to the various conversations and scenes that occurred between them, everything flooded out from the depths of his memories eagerly. Every twinkle and smile from her was as sweet as it could get, but it was also the source of his pain.

    But suddenly, all of his memories faded as if water had washed them again and again. They drifted away uncontrollably.

    Hua Chengzan extended his hand subconsciously as if he wanted to grab these memories. He resisted almost instinctively, refusing to forget about her. However, his efforts instead pushed the effects of the Water of Oblivion to the limits.

    Li Qingshan watched on from one side, only to see Hua Chengzan frown heavily and kneel on one knee. His face was filled with pain and reluctance, which made Li Qingshan sigh. ¡°Perhaps compared to him, I really don¡¯t know what love is!¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Born as humans, who doesn¡¯t feel love? If you place a tea leaf in a pot of water, it¡¯ll become a pot of tea. However, if you place it in a tank of water, the taste will become very faint. If you toss it into a pond, can anyone still notice the difference?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Thank you for your praise. It¡¯s rare to hear something good come out of that mouth of yours, but we¡¯re not a pond. Instead, we are all-encompassing, accepting all rivers, turning into an ocean.¡±

    ¡°Actually, what I wanted to say is you¡¯re not human!¡±

    ¡°¡­ I know. You¡¯re not human either!¡±

    ¡°Otherfolk are also people!¡± Ru Xin raised her index finger and waggled it gently.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    At this moment, a violent knocking rang out from outside the door. Li Qingshan went to open it, and Han Tieyi barged in. Seeing Hua Chengzan kneeling on one knee with his eyes firmly shut and his face overcome with pain, he grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar. ¡°What did you do!?¡±

    ¡°Big brother!¡± Hua Chenglu helped Hua Chengzan up in a hurry. She looked back. ¡°Commander, how can you do this?¡±

    ¡°Chenglu!¡±

    Hua Chengzan slowly returned to his senses. He could still remember Li Qingshan bringing him to the academy, but he had completely forgotten about the reason. With how clever he was, he discovered many blanks had appeared in his memories very soon, and a few matters he still remembered made absolutely no sense. It was like a story that had been cut up into parts and scattered.

    Oh right, I just drank the Water of Oblivion, but what exactly did I forget?

    He recalled out of reflex, but he found nothing. All of his thoughts had been sucked into a hole, and his heart felt empty, but never did he feel so lively.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand gently, and Han Tieyi flew out, falling into the lakewater. He crouched down in front of Hua Chengzan and said curiously, ¡°Oi, Chengzan, do you still remember Gu Yanying?¡±

    ¡°So she¡¯s called Gu Yanying!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and said to Ru Xin, ¡°The quality of your medicine is no good. What¡¯s the point of just forgetting a name? I want a return and compensation!¡±

    Ru Xin frowned. ¡°But that¡¯s impossible! Don¡¯t tell me so-called infatuation can actually resist the effects of the Water of Oblivion?¡±

    Hua Chengzan stood up. His eyes shone with a bright and sharp light. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I have indeed forgotten about her, but through my other memories, I can still deduce her existence. I even roughly know her gender and identity. Fellow Ru¡¯s medicinal skills are truly outstanding. You have my thanks.¡±

    With his intelligence, using a large number of facts as a basis to fill in these blanks was nothing difficult.

    ¡°Big brother, is that true?¡± Hua Chenglu was overjoyed. If it were not for this holding him back, he would have established a foundation successfully a long time ago. It might have even been possible for him to reach late Foundation Establishment by now.

    Han Tieyi flew back. He too was taken aback when he heard that. He understood what it meant. He had known Hua Chengzan since young. His talent was already extraordinary, but he personally believed quite a large gap still existed between them in terms of talent and intelligence.

    ¡°To think I was worried about the many potential side-effects. If it were a regular person, then perhaps it would throw their thoughts into a mess, but seeing how well fellow Hua is, I don¡¯t have to worry. Since it works, pay up!¡± Ru Xin extended her hand.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This costs money?¡±

    Ru Xin shot a glance at him. ¡°Am I supposed to compensate you when it doesn¡¯t work, and then not charge you when it does? If you want to demonstrate your loyalty to your friends and keep up your appearance, pay it yourself.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How much?¡±

    ¡°A million spiritual stones.¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming!¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that fellow Hua isn¡¯t even worth a million spiritual stones? I¡¯ve turned him from a pig-headed piece of trash to a clever and sensible genius!¡±

    A pig-headed piece of trash! The corner of Hua Chengzan¡¯s eye twitched, but he never expected Li Qingshan to say firmly, ¡°Of course he¡¯s not worth a million spiritual stones!¡±

    ¡°Then how much do you think he¡¯s worth?¡±

    ¡°A hundred spiritual stones at most!¡±

    Hua Chengzan wanted to speak up, but he faltered.

    Ru Xin wanted to continue disputing with him, but after gazing at Hua Chengzan, she sighed. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just say that¡¯s reasonable. A hundred it is!¡±

    Hua Chenglu burst out laughing.

    A vein popped up on Hua Chengzan¡¯s forehead. What¡¯s this supposed to mean? Just earlier, you said I was a clever and sensible genius, but even after treating me, I¡¯m just worth a hundred spiritual stones? So after all this talking and bickering, it was just to indirectly curse me?

    ¡°Please stop discussing my worth!¡±

    Hua Chengzan bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Qingshan, thank you.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand in an exaggerated manner. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°But since medicine like this exists, why did you have to slap me twice?¡±

    ¡°About that, haha, alright, let¡¯s not bicker over the small details. Let¡¯s go back and keep drinking. We need to celebrate for you!¡±

    Hua Chengzan said helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s go elsewhere. Everyone happens to be here anyway. I think the bamboo forest on Cloudwisp island will do.¡±

    A few streaks of light flew through the night sky. Liu Zhangqing and the others returned to the academy too.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There are no beauties for company on Cloudwisp island!¡±

    Hua Chengzan said proudly, ¡°There are many beautiful women in life, but I only want a single person¡¯s heart!¡±

    Li Qingshan, Hua Chenglu, and Han Tieyi looked at one another. Had he been cured or not?

    ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not referring to commander Gu. We might not be fated to be together, but I believe there will be a woman waiting for me somewhere throughout the nine provinces. Before that, I¡¯m not going to sleep around and become entangled with other women.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to react. In other words, he was looking for another hole to jump into? Was this an instance of personality determining fate? Just this aspect alone made him very compatible with Qiu Haitang. Out of the two of them, one was highly skilled in dealing with people and affairs, while the other was as clever as they came, yet they just had to be almost-naively obsessive over the word ¡°love¡±.

    Li Qingshan felt deep admiration towards this. Although he possessed the ambition of the Nine Heavens, not everyone was supposed to be like him.

    Travelling to the corners of the world, fighting the oceans, picking the stars and moon from the sky, attaining immortality¡ªthese were all great, lofty, intense dreams, but to many people, perhaps it even paled in comparison to the ease and comfort of drinking a cup of tea at home. Living in the world, as long as a person could persevere and stick to their heart, that was enough.

    ¡°Big brother, you¡¯ll definitely find that person!¡±

    Hua Chenglu encouraged before glancing at Li Qingshan. She could not help but become slightly resentful. This promiscuous man completely paled in comparison to her elder brother in this aspect.

    Over the past year, Li Qingshan had spent a little more time at the Hawkwolf Guard. He seemed much more diligent, but actually, he paid no attention to anything just like before. He tossed it all to her. Every time he came, he would tease her, which made it feel like he had specially come to tease her. The most detestable part of it all was he still visited the Hawkwolf Guard as infrequently as before.

    Li Qingshan patted Hua Chengzan on the shoulder. ¡°You better give up. You¡¯re no longer a virgin.¡±

    Hua Chengzan shuddered. Sure enough, he behaved like he had just received a huge blow to his morale.

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh. Oi, are you still a man? Don¡¯t tell me you actually care about your ¡°purity¡±?

    ¡°That¡¯s happened already anyway, so you better just keep your eyes fixed on what¡¯s in front of you and cheer up for now! You better not see commander Gu again in the next second and pledge your very life to her at first sight. That¡¯ll be hilarious if that happens.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. Meanwhile, Hua Chenglu became worried.

    Ru Xin added, ¡°If you drink a lot of the Water of Oblivion, the effects will weaken.¡±

    Hua Chengzan sighed heavily. ¡°I¡¯ve already made a huge mistake, so I better not repeat it! I will submit a request to switch with Chenglu so that I can continue serving as the vice commander. I won¡¯t see commander Gu again.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ my cultivation is insufficient. I probably don¡¯t have the right to become a White Wolf guard¡­¡± Hua Chenglu became hesitant as her eyes shone with uncertainty.

    Hua Chengzan felt helpless over that. During the past year, he had been completely absorbed in the anguish he was immersed in, and he neglected his younger sister¡¯s guidance. Originally, he thought she would have a bit more control after receiving the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s Wisdom Imbuement, but he never thought she would still end up being stuck in trouble.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to become a White Wolf guard, just go back and enter secluded cultivation! Stop trying to take my vice commander away from me!¡±

    ¡°If you want to talk, go out and talk. If you want to drink, go out and drink!¡±

    Ru Xin asked for them to leave, so Li Qingshan went to Cloudwisp island and began a new banquet. Liu Zhangqing and the others drank a little more before returning to their dwellings, while the others bade farewell and took their leave in threes and twos. In the end, only Li Qingshan and Hua Chengzan remained, drinking with one another.

    Under the bamboo loft, serenity arrived with the late night. Hua Chengzan suddenly said, ¡°I want to see her!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped drinking. He obviously knew who Hua Chengzan was talking about. Apart from Qiu Haitang, there was no one else that he would require permission from him to see.

    ¡°When?¡±

    ¡°The sooner the better!¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll go after this cup!¡±

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯d rather you turn me down.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because it would prove you care about her enough.¡±

    ¡°If she changes her mind, I definitely won¡¯t insist on this happening. Going with the flow has always been better than insisting and then failing to get what you want.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only because you still haven¡¯t met someone you truly love. Even if you lose her, you won¡¯t feel too much pain.¡±

    ¡°If you want to talk about love again, I¡¯m going to start slapping you again before plunging you into water.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°You impure man, you should be drowned in a wicker basket!¡±

    TL: Drowning people in a wicker basket, or placing them into a wicker basket and dipping them into a river, leaving just their heads exposed, is a punishment for male adulterers in ancient China. Hua Chengzan is no longer a virgin, which means he¡¯s been sleeping around with ¡°other¡± women, making him an ¡°adulterer¡±.

 Chapter 688 â€“ Realm of Cultivation

    ¡°Little Hua!¡±

    ¡°Haitang?¡±

    The moment she looked back, Hua Chengzan basically failed to recognise her. Dressed in simple clothes, she was more beautiful than any of his memories of her, radiating with enchanting charm.

    This was not only because of practising the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge. When she emerged from the shadows of the past, listened to the soul-stirring, sweet words and regained her confidence, she obviously seemed like she was radiating with cheerfulness.

    Qiu Haitang shot a questioning glance at Northmoon. Li Qingshan crossed his arms. ¡°This man came and found me. He said he wanted to see you, and he had something to say to you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see him. Please get him to leave!¡± Qiu Haitang turned around. She did not want to have anything to do with him anymore, much less cause any misunderstandings.

    Li Qingshan looked at Hua Chengzan. Hua Chengzan was as clever as they came, but even he was left rather stumped about how he should face the woman he had left down severely.

    ¡°Haitang, it¡¯s best if certain things are made clear. If they hold you back, they¡¯ll be extremely detrimental to your cultivation.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and slid back. As he said that, he disappeared into the lakewater.

    ¡°Hua Chengzan, just what do you have to say for everything that¡¯s happened already?¡± Qiu Haitang sucked in a deep breath and said without even looking back.

    ¡°Failing to stand forward for you back then in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain is the greatest disgrace in my life. Ever since then, I¡¯ve always been tossing and turning restlessly, filled with regret. I¡­¡±

    Reaching there, Hua Chengzan choked, unable to continue.

    Qiu Haitang turned around slowly. Seeing him in his current shape, her heart softened. ¡°What¡¯s the use in saying all of this now?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s useless, but please believe me that if I were alone, I¡¯d be willing to die for you.¡±

    ¡°I believe you¡¯re not a cowardly and overcautious person. But, I want to ask you something. If it were Gu Yanying instead, what would you have done?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t remember her anymore.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t remember her?¡± Qiu Haitang widened her eyes in surprise. She would believe Hua Chengzan if he said he had forgotten about anyone else, just not this woman.

    Qiu Haitang let out a lengthy sigh. ¡°Then I really must congratulate you! I can answer that question for you. If it were Gu Yanying, you would have tossed aside everything on your mind, just so that you could win a smile from her. I understand how you would have felt.¡±

    ¡°But did you know? Back then, never in my wildest dreams did I want you to cast aside everything for me. I only wanted you to lie to me, to coax me. Everything that you could do for Gu Yanying, I could have done it for you too¡­ But that¡¯s all in the past now. You¡¯re doing well, and I¡¯m not doing bad either, right?¡±

    Qiu Haitang turned her head away and wiped the corner of her eye, letting out a long sigh. After saying these things, she felt her entire body lighten up. Hua Chengzan was still the same Hua Chengzan, but before she knew it, he had already lost the charm that drove her wild in the past.

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the only thing worth rejoicing over, or I¡¯d definitely be filled with regret for the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about these negative things anymore. I¡¯ll toast us to a cup of tea, to congratulate us from being able to emerge from our shackles and see the light of day once more. We really are childhood friends after all. We¡¯re basically unlucky in the same places.¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled faintly, recovering her composure.

    ¡°Fair enough. It¡¯s time for me to sober up too.¡±

    Two tea cups gently clinked together in the air and two pairs of eyes met. Everything in the past had gone from intense back to indifference.

    Li Qingshan stood on the surface of the lake, quietly sensing how the Water God Seal had changed. Over the past year, the power that devoured his water territory rapidly spread. It had already taken up a third of his territory now, and it showed no signs of slowing down.

    Clearly, they either had a huge Water God Seal or large quantities of Water God Seals. If all of this was just the Dragon King of Ink Sea trying to force him out, then it would be nothing strange at all if there were so many Water God Seals involved.

    He only brushed this aside with a smile. Even if he gave up the entire region of water, so what? It was not like he only wanted this region of water.

    He did not waste the past year. Under constant attempts and trails, the conflict between the spirit turtle and phoenix had weakened drastically. Although he was still a fair distance off from merging water and fire, he believed he could unlock the true innate ability of the phoenix very soon.

    This was all thanks to the two Daemon Kings, the Great Banyan Tree King and the Golden Cicada Spirit King. If Li Qingshan had nothing to do, then he would enter the Asura Field and strike up a conversation with the Great Banyan Tree King. His clone was located in the flames and magma deep underground, so the Golden Cicada Spirit King would talk with him too whenever he had time to spare.

    Whether it was cultivation or wisdom, they were existences that stood at the very apex of the nine provinces. Just a few simple pieces of advice would often be able to enlighten Li Qingshan and let him benefit tremendously. The value of this opportunity was immeasurable. It was also no coincidence that Li Qingshan had their good graces. The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine turned him into the most resplendent rising star of the Daemon race, and his aspirations beyond the Nine Heavens gave him the boldness of vision to speak as equals with these Daemon Kings.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s personal level of cultivation was very important too. After facing the second heavenly tribulation, perhaps his strength had not progressed in an overwhelming manner, but his realm of cultivation was closer to the very nature of this world. With that was a foundation, it greatly diminished the cultivation difficulty of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine.

    According to his estimates, as long as he could truly consolidate the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a and gain the two innate abilities that belonged to the Phoenix Transformation, then he would be able to reach Daemon Commander.

    By then, he would gain another four innate abilities and in total, he would possess twelve innate abilities. His original innate abilities would become stronger too. His overall strength would change qualitatively.

    At the same time, he would no longer have any opponents at the second heavenly tribulation, and it would be difficult for people at the third heavenly tribulation to kill him. He would possess the power to protect himself across the nine provinces.

    If he could reach the fourth layer with the Phoenix Transformation like he had with the Spirit Turtle Transformation, merge fire and water, and condense a daemon core of interpromoting water and fire, then he would probably reach peak Daemon Commander, giving him the strength to challenge Daemon Kings. If he took another step further, then he would become a true Daemon King. And, he would be one that possessed sixteen innate abilities. By then, he could run amok through the nine provinces freely. He would be able to do whatever he wanted.

    And by then, he would have only practised a measly four transformations from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine¡ªthe ox demon, the tiger demon, the spirit turtle, and the phoenix¡ªand he basically would have only progressed through half of each transformation. Probably by the time he burst out of this world and leapt out of the well, he would not have even completed a single transformation. He had no idea whether he would find the opportunity to witness the wonders of the remaining two demonic and divine transformations.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. His gaze pierced through the clouds, passing by the moon and stars until it reached a distant region of space. He extended his hand as if he wanted to pick a star from the sky. The corner of his lips curled into a smile.

    Ten thousand years? Why would I need that long?

    Hua Chengzan rose up from the bottom of the water. When he saw this, he became shocked for some reason. He followed his fingers and gazed out, but all he saw were dark clouds.

    What was he looking at? Just what in the sky was drawing him in?

    At a limitless height that no one had ever reached, in his heart so deep that even love was unable to influence, his dreams would never rest!

    Li Qingshan drew back his arm and looked over with a smile. ¡°How was the talk?¡±

    ¡°The way you looked earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    ¡°It was admirable and exciting.¡±

    ¡°Hah, I have no interest in men.¡±

    ¡°I feel the same. Thank you. I¡¯ve been wrapped up by this for so long. It¡¯s about time I set off once again.¡±

    Hua Chengzan raised his head and gazed out. After bringing the feelings of love and the feelings of being loved to an end and resolving all of his obsessions, guilt, and pain, could he return to his former glory and reclaim the title of genius?

    Of course, there was no point considering the title of the greatest genius. The greatest genius was standing right in front of him. As for the second greatest genius, that did not seem to be particularly likely either. Xiao An held that position firmly. However, apart from the two of them, he believed that he would not lose out to anyone.

    He did not say useless nonsense along the lines of ¡°Please take good care of her¡±. Instead, he clasped his hands and left gracefully.

    Li Qingshan returned to the bottom of the lake. Qiu Haitang sat in front of her dresser with her back towards him. She glanced at him through the mirror. ¡°Are you very close with him?¡±

    The lake was very deep, but she was worried, as she could obviously hear them if she eavesdropped carefully. She found the way they spoke to be very special, like close friends.

    ¡°I¡¯ve met him a few times, that¡¯s all.¡± Li Qingshan arrived behind her and brought his hands to her shoulder.

    ¡°You sure meet a lot of people.¡± Qiu Haitang was originally worried he might misunderstand, but seeing how relaxed he was, she instead became very displeased. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll run off with him?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He bent over and whispered into her ear. ¡°You know, earlier when I was outside, I was going crazy with jealousy, but I believed in you.¡± His messy, scarlet hair mixed with her dark, long hair. She felt a tickle on her neck; she raised her eyebrows, provokingly saying, ¡°If I actually changed my mind and rekindled my former love for him, what would you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d kill him, obviously. If you can¡¯t resolve it, then I¡¯ll resolve it for you.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of breaking my heart and becoming hated by me for the rest of my life?¡± The corner of Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes rose a little.

    ¡°No one can remain heart-broken forever. I think you¡¯re very easy to coax. Compared to being forgotten as a stranger, I think being hated for the rest of your life is a little better.¡±

    ¡°How forceful! I¡¯m not easy to coax at all!¡± Qiu Haitang bit her lip, but her eyes oozed with happiness.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan held her face and leaned over, kissing her on the lips gently. She did not put up any resistance, allowing the tip of his tongue to part her lips and taste her saliva. She even actively responded with her own tongue. Her soft body leaned against him as her voluptuous chest heaved gently.

    When their lips pasted, a string of saliva dangled, keeping them connected.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you very easy to coax?¡±

    Qiu Haitang turned around. ¡°I want to drink!¡±

    ¡°More drinking?¡± Li Qingshan smiled bitterly. Although he liked drinking, he had drunk a little too many times today.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to?¡±

    ¡°We can drink, but I¡¯ll only accept it in a certain way!¡±

 Chapter 689 â€“ Honey Trap

    ¡°Just tell me yes or no.¡± Li Qingshan pressed his forehead against her with a smile. Seeing how she was budging, why wouldn¡¯t he take advantage of it?

    ¡°You have to promise me one thing. No feeling around.¡±

    Normally, Qiu Haitang would have never agreed to such an over-the-top request, but after experiencing everything that happened today, she desired his embrace and intimate contact. Her eye rippled, vaguely scheming something. For the first time in her life, she was ready to truly take advantage of her beauty.

    ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± Li Qingshan agreed immediately.

    After a case of feigned hesitation, Qiu Haitang agreed to it in the end too.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. Over the past year, he had paid plenty of visits to the bottom of the lake, but it was primarily to talk about love. They had not been as intimate with each other compared to the past. He immediately brought his hands around her slender waist and lifted her onto his lap. With her soft, warm body in his arms, it felt like she was going to melt away.

    Qiu Haitang brought her hands around his neck and shifted her body, adjusting to a comfortable position. Her plump, round bottom rubbed against him gently, and Li Qingshan immediately felt his crotch heat up. A certain part of his body made a response.

    Qiu Haitang stiffened and lifted up her body in a hurry, shooting a glance at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan laid out of his hands. ¡°That¡¯s not feeling around. If I still didn¡¯t have even the slightest response when I embraced you like that, I wouldn¡¯t be a man.¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t a man in the first place!¡±

    Qiu Haitang sat down viciously to teach him a lesson.

    Li Qingshan gasped, but not out of pain. His body was tough, which included every part of him. He felt like he had been buried deeply in a clump of softness, which brought him delight he could not put into words. Instead, he made Qiu Haitang frown slightly, but she was helpless about that. However, seeing how he was attracted and tempted by her, it was not like she did not feel a hint of complacency.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the alcohol?¡± Li Qingshan brought his face up to hers and licked her lips. ¡°I want to drink three large cups!¡±

    Qiu Haitang took out several jars of alcohol from her hundred treasures pouch. She removed the clay seals, and a streak of light shot out. Fragrance oozed into the surroundings. It was extremely heavy.

    ¡°Thousand Days Drunk.¡±

    ¡°Thousand Days Drunk!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly recalled that when he took part in the entrance examination for the Academy of the Hundred Schools, he had made a bet with the slovenly daoist priest Zhou Tong and drank his jar of Thousand Days Drunk. That was why he had fallen unconscious for so long, forcing him to join the school of Novels in the end. He had never thought he would drink it again today.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes flickered slightly. ¡°You¡¯ve drunk it before?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve only heard about it before. I wonder if I¡¯ll actually become drunk for a thousand days if I drink it. I don¡¯t really believe it.¡±

    ¡°Then try it!¡± Qiu Haitang poured a cup of alcohol with a smile and delivered it to his mouth.

    Li Qingshan kept his lips firmly shut, refusing to drink it.

    With no other option, all Qiu Haitang could do was keep the alcohol in her mouth and lean over, delivering it to her lips. Her cheeks bulged slightly, so red that it seemed like she had applied a layer of rouge. She was utterly delicate and charming.

    Qiu Haitang leaned forward, so Li Qingshan leaned back. When she moved to the left, he moved to the right. They were extremely close to one another, their ears and hair brushing past one another. Right when the mouthful of alcohol was about to melt away in her mouth, she swooped in on him furiously and delivered the alcohol to his mouth, but when she wanted to pull away, she discovered that it was no longer possible.

    Li Qingshan embraced her firmly, stroking her back and sucking on her tongue. Her plentiful peaks pressed against his chest. Through the thin clothes, he could clearly feel their softness and richness.

    ¡°It really is fine alcohol!¡±

    With their mouths and lips as the cup, they drank again and again. Before long, basically all of the Thousand Days Drunk had been emptied out.

    The alcohol was truly easy to get drunk on. Li Qingshan went for three consecutive rounds, and he disliked using his daemon qi to neutralise alcohol, so he was already seventy percent drunk. But this time, he did not feel sleepy at all. His lust blazed more and more intensely. He kissed and licked her slender, white nape, and at the same time, he had tossed his promise to not feel around to the back of his mind. He caressed her body gently.

    ¡°A¡¯yue, don¡¯t!¡±

    Although Qiu Haitang had drunk a little less, her face was also completely red, and her gaze drifted about, lying limply in his arms.

    ¡°Don¡¯t what?¡¯ Li Qingshan smiled as he gently fiddled around with her chest.

    ¡°Don¡¯t abandon me.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t.¡±

    As a result, Qiu Haitang remained docile, without putting up any resistance. Only when he tried reaching inside her clothes would she grab his hand and stop him. She had not lost her senses from being drunk. Instead, she had begun to regard him as her love a long time ago. Her body was created for him, so she could enjoy his attention and attachment at ease. However, due to her bashfulness and her thoughts as a woman, she refused to let him succeed too quickly.

    Li Qingshan understood where her boundaries were and did not push them. Through her clothes, he massaged her plump breasts that changed shape in his hands. She closed her eyes gently, and her alluring face seemed drunk, but she was not drunk. Her eyebrows would react slightly to his movements from time to time, shy but also at peace. She knew she had already opened herself to him.

    Suddenly, he felt a tiny bulge of firmness in the softness. With his thumb and index, he pinched it gently.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Qiu Haitang let out a soul-stirring moan. She opened her eyes and shot a furious glance at him, but she put up with his unscrupulous actions.

    Li Qingshan thought of something. He took out another jar of alcohol and brought it to her lips. Qiu Haitang opened her mouth to drink, but he tipped the jar a little too far. The clear, transparent fluid flowed out from her lips and trickled down, flowing past her slender neck, flowing past her full breasts, and flowing past her belly. Wherever it reached, she felt a cool sensation on her scorching skin.

    When she returned to her senses, the jar of alcohol was already empty, having been tossed aside casually by Li Qingshan. The alcohol had drenched her clothes, making them stick close to her body. They were almost transparent, completely outlining her enchanting body. Her simple attire immediately became as provocative and seductive as possible.

    Qiu Haitang was embarrassed. She wanted to circulate her spiritual qi in a hurry to dry her clothes, but Li Qingshan grabbed her arm. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to touch my alcohol. I¡¯m going to start drinking.¡± Afterwards, he buried his face in her chest and began ¡°drinking¡± away. Now this was probably the land of warmth and softness they were talking about!

    Qiu Haitang embraced his head, and a sliver of clarity flashed through her wandering eyes. She whispered into his ears, ¡°Qingshan, do you love me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± Li Qingshan only noticed that something was amiss after he had said that. He stiffened slightly and raised his head. ¡°What did you just say? I didn¡¯t hear you properly.¡±

    Qiu Haitang pushed him away and said furiously, ¡°Li Qingshan, how long did you plan on deceiving me for?¡±

    Although infatuation could turn people into fools, she had never been a foolish woman. The many coincidences had raised her suspicion a long time ago, while bringing Hua Chengzan here and his conversation with Hua Chengzan on the surface of the lake had already pushed her doubts to the limit.

    She had gone as far as to use her appearance to carefully craft a honey trap, which was both propelled by her love, as well as to question him when he lowered his guard as much as possible so that she could relieve herself of these suspicions. The end result confirmed her thoughts, but only then did she discover that it was not so easy to accept. She would rather he be Northmoon, a daemon.

    ¡°I really have drunk too much today.¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head and sighed. At this point, arguing had already become pointless.

    ¡°I should have known a long time ago. How could Northmoon have appeared so coincidentally in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain? You were the one who shattered the fake jade tablet, and you were also the one who saved me. The moon demon can create clones. I really have been foolish to have actually been deceived by you for so long. What else do you have to say?¡±

    Qiu Haitang shuddered, and her clothes dried. Only the heavy smell of alcohol and the redness on her face that had yet to recede remained as proof of the charming time they had spent together earlier.

    ¡°I am me!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and laid out his hands. He took a step forward and pulled her forcefully into his arms. ¡°Congratulations, you don¡¯t have to break your promise anymore. You can pledge yourself to me.¡±

    Qiu Haitang put up a violent struggle. ¡°Let go of me!¡± To her surprise, Li Qingshan actually let go of her. He glanced up. The gentle glow of the rising sun rippled on the surface of the lake.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost morning. Thank you for your alcohol. It¡¯s time for me to leave.¡± Li Qingshan yawned and stretched.

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leave! Explain yourself!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, what else can I say? Just cultivate properly. Since you can¡¯t accept it, then there¡¯s no need to force yourself to. Bye bye!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and vanished into the water. He left without the slightest hesitance.

    Qiu Haitang was overcome with pain. She murmured, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go. You promised me¡­¡±

    The tiny dwelling recovered its peace, but it became deathly silent. Tears rolled down Qiu Haitang¡¯s face like rain. Only then did she discover unknowingly that he had already occupied such an important position in her heart.

    Was that saying really true? Those who possessed the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty would never have their love reciprocated?

    ¡°I¡¯m lying to you. You¡¯ll never be able to escape from the palm of my hand.¡±

    Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from behind, and a pair of arms embraced her gently.

    When Li Qingshan returned to the Academy of the Hundred Schools, it was already morning. Just like what he had said, she really was very easy to coax. He only had to apologise a little, show some gentleness and sincerity, and throw in a lot of sugared words. With that, she completely understood the difficulties he faced of being forced to hide his identity. At the same time, she expressed she should not have reacted so violently. Whether he was Li Qingshan or Northmoon, he had truly saved her regardless of danger.

    Li Qingshan even tried biting off more than he could chew. ¡°If you doubted my identity, you could¡¯ve just asked. Did you have to do something like that to deceive me? You sure overthink!¡± Yet, she ended up apologising sincerely instead, expressing that she would not do that again, which instead left Li Qingshan rather embarrassed.

    When Li Qingshan left fully satisfied, even complacent over his own charms, Qiu Haitang sat with her legs crossed in the depths of the gloomy lake water. Her expression was rather mixed. Never did she think the youth from the country back then would end up as her man, and she would actually fall in love with him. Fate truly knew how to toy with people.

    Her gaze became determined. She had to cultivate harder and condense the Rouge Heart so that she could use the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red. If this were the love she was fated to go through with, then she would do everything she could, regardless of the cost, to tie him together with her forever. Whether it was Han Qiongzhi or some other woman, no one could steal him away from her.

 Chapter 690 â€“ The Medicine That Merges Water and Fire

    On Cloudwisp island, the snowy bamboo stood proudly in the pure-white world, which made them seem even straighter and more verdant than ever before.

    Li Qingshan sat beside a furnace in the bamboo loft. He held a cup of hot tea in his hands as he faced the tiny lake in the centre of the island. The flying snow fell down, landing on the ice-sealed lake. He murmured to himself, ¡°Water and fire, water and fire¡­¡±

    He spent another few months; clearly, he had already grasped the vital parts, but there was a thin barrier he was unable to break through, which was a highly dissatisfying feeling.

    He took a sip of hot tea. He could not help but admit that sure enough, cultivation took up the most time, which was why both daemons and humans required lifespans of centuries and millennia to face the various difficulties. Succeeding in a single breath was not realistic. Impatience and restlessness was instead detrimental to cultivation.

    He practised the Arts of the Boundless Ocean in turn, and the Ocean pearl revolved. Waves of spiritual qi flowed through his entire body, producing a tsunami-like roar. The waves rose up before the previous could subside in an endless fashion.

    After over a year of cultivation, he had already completely consolidated the Ocean pearl. His sea of consciousness became stronger and stronger too. The strength of the arcane artifacts on him had all been multiplied. Coupled with the Demon Suppression Statuary that became even more powerful as his demon heart strengthened, there was almost nothing that could stop him anymore even without using the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine.

    However, if he wanted to go from early Golden Core to mid Golden Core, it would not be that simple. At this point, the time he spent on both his human or daemon cultivation would be calculated in years. It was a pity that he could not use the Water God Seal right now and mobilise all the spiritual qi from the bodies of water throughout the Ruyi commandery to cultivate, or he would be much faster.

    As long as he broke through to Daemon Commander, then he would possess enough strength to face the Dragon King of Ink Sea and break out of this situation!

    Li Qingshan caught something from the corner of his eye. A streak of light rushed through the sky, passing through the snow and landing on the icebound lake.

    Bang! The ice trembled and cracked open. Snow was sent flying through the air. Dressed in simple robes, Han Qiongzhi stood with a blade on her waist, as valiant and mighty as ever.

    ¡°Qiongzhi, what brought you here?¡±

    ¡°If I wanted beauties, how difficult could that be? You better not underestimate the school of Novels!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He snapped his fingers, and a beautiful woman materialised, fading into existence. She appeared in front of Li Qingshan and gazed at Han Qiongzhi in a provocative way, radiating with vigour. No one could tell that the Divine Talisman of Great Creation had conjured her.

    Clang!

    With a flash, a wave of air pushed the snowflakes into Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Han Qiongzhi snorted coldly and sheathed her blade away.

    A thin, bloody mark appeared on the beauty¡¯s neck. Her face was filled with shock and fear, just like a real person. Her current state was enough for people to feel pain and sympathy for her. Fortunately, something as terrifying as her head falling to the ground did not happen. Instead, she immaterialised, fading out of existence.

    Li Qingshan touched the tip of his nose. The blade aura had shot right past his eyes. He patted the space beside him. ¡°Stop standing there like a dumb idiot!¡±

    He also felt rather fortunate. Fortunately, he was not in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain and the person beside him was not Linglong. Otherwise, perhaps she would not cut her down in a single stroke, but she would definitely lose her temper.

    ¡°You¡¯re the dumb idiot!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said that as she sat down beside him, but she maintained quite a distance between them. Only when Li Qingshan opened his arms and pulled her in, kissing her on the head gently, did the discontent on her face silently melt away. She leaned against him quietly, watching the drifting snow as she quietly waited for a grand wedding.

    Over the past year, they had finally spent more time together than apart. In particular, during the time she had absorbed the Virtue Accumulation pills and emerged from seclusion, they spent a total of three months together. Apart from their daily cultivation, they basically spent every moment beside one another, reluctant to separate as if they had returned to their period of passionate love in the past.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan discovered that spending all this time together was not completely a good thing. No matter how passionate the love was, there would always be a time when it cooled off. Han Qiongzhi emerged from the shadow of the past, or in better words, she had cooled her head that had become giddy from love. She had really been quite violent-tempered. For a period of time, she was basically capricious. She even said something along the lines of, ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied with me, then call off the engagement. You¡¯re more than willing to marry the woman you like!¡±

    Li Qingshan could understand her apprehension. He had many secrets on him, and he did whatever he pleased, which left her uneasy, afraid that Han Anjun¡¯s prophecy would come true. At times like that, he was instead unable to say any sugared words. All he would do was embrace her firmly and unleash the patience of the spirit turtle, which allowed him to survive that difficult period.

    Afterwards, when everything settled down, Han Qiongzhi even felt rather embarrassed. She pinched his cheeks and said, ¡°It¡¯s best if we don¡¯t spend too much time together in the future. You sure look cute, but once I spend enough time with you, you really are quite annoying!¡±

    ¡°I also find you¡­¡± Before Li Qingshan could even finish, he felt his neck tighten. A pair of hands choked him firmly as Han Qiongzhi asked viciously, ¡°Annoying?¡±

    By the way, when they said those things, Han Qiongzhi was sitting on top of Li Qingshan crankily. Both of them were completely bare, confronting each other with sincerity.

    Faced with a ¡°naked¡± threat like that, all Li Qingshan could do was yield. He shook his head firmly, and only then did Han Qiongzhi let go of him in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± In the next moment, Li Qingshan rolled over and was on top.

    So-called ¡°cultivation partners¡± were people who could bring help to each other¡¯s cultivation. If the conditions were met, then even two men could be cultivation partners and cultivate together. However, when it came to ¡°partners of love¡±, there was no need for anything like that. Sometimes, they would instead negatively influence one another.

    As cultivators, personal independence was extremely important, but becoming husband and wife like regular people was about sacrificing a part of the independence to contribute to the family, which would lead to a dilemma that was difficult to resolve. It definitely was not as simple as finding each other annoying because they had spent too much time together.

    Even Li Qingshan who did whatever he wanted had almost chosen to directly break through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle for her sake in the past, embarking on a path that was much more difficult. The various dilemmas Han Qiongzhi faced because of him went even more without saying. No matter how deep their love for each other was, it could not withstand something like that.

    As a result, the two of them did not cohabit like that. Instead, they would meet up once in a while, ranging from every one or two days to every three or five days. They spent their remaining time on cultivation, which created a special way in how they got along.

    Han Qiongzhi was not the type of woman who would be trapped by this kind of love, bothered by it endlessly. She possessed some of the straightforwardness of a man. As a result, she opened her mind and let him do whatever he wanted without probing deeply into these secrets. If he had not been like that, she would not have liked him in the first place.

    However, when they were together, she definitely exercised her rights as his primary woman. She could not even put up with him making intimate contact with the women he conjured. She did not force herself to accept all of him, nor did she force him to do every little thing the way she would like him to.

    Actually, she was no less busy than Li Qingshan. Apart from cultivation, she also had responsibilities from the clan and missions from the Hawkwolf Guard. She was different from Qiu Haitang. She did not live purely for the word ¡°love¡±.

    She had also once sincerely told Li Qingshan that if he actually grew tired of her one day, all he had to do was tell her honestly. He would not be forced to do anything. She would personally pen the divorce letter and pass it to him.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan felt a familiar aura grow near. Ru Xin trudged through the snow. Perhaps because she sensed Han Qiongzhi¡¯s existence, she stopped and hesitated before continuing on her way, eventually appearing in his field of view. Her clothes were even whiter than snow, and her skin was like jade as she stood elegantly.

    Han Qiongzhi immediately broke away from Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. She stood up and clasped her hands. ¡°Fellow Ru, long time no see!¡±

    It had been a very long time since she had seen Ru Xin. Surprised filled her eyes. In the past, she was already a relatively outstanding beauty, but now, she gave off an icy-cold, transcendent feeling. If it were not for her lively eyes, she might have mistaken her for an extremely delicate jade statue. She could not help but develop a sliver of caution towards this woman who she had heard being mentioned with Li Qingshan the most.

    ¡°Fellow Han, apologies, I¡¯ve interrupted your intimate session.¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms with a smile. ¡°Actions over words. You can do it too!¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, an icy-cold blade was placed against his neck. Li Qingshan laid out his hands helplessly. ¡°Looks like we need to wait until this tigress is gone.¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Alright, big brother Qingshan. Just like usual?¡±

    ¡°Big brother Qingshan!¡± Li Qingshan felt like he had just been punched in the gut.

    ¡°Just like usual?¡± Han Qiongzhi raised an eyebrow and swung down. Li Qingshan ducked in a hurry, and the sharp blade aura swept over his head.

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s just a joke, so please don¡¯t misunderstand, fellow Han. Fellow Li has many beautiful women, but I¡¯m fortunately not one of them.¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier to cause misunderstandings if you say it like that?¡± Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°Hmph, misunderstandings?¡±

    ¡°When your wedding arrives, I will definitely offer up a lavish gift. Hopefully you haven¡¯t been cut down by fellow Han by then!¡±

    ¡°You two take your time. I¡¯ll take my leave for now.¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled Han Qiongzhi into his arms and said to Ru Xin, ¡°Alright, stop joking around. Come in and have some tea! You definitely didn¡¯t come here for nothing. Why are you looking for me?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the tea. I¡¯ve already refined the medicine you wanted.¡±

    ¡°Medicine? What medicine?¡± Li Qingshan could not recall him ever asking Ru Xin to refine some medicine for him.

    ¡°Hmm? You forgot? It¡¯s for erectile dysfunction¡­ Ah, almost slipped up with my mouth!¡±

    ¡°You already said it!¡± Li Qingshan said vexedly.

    ¡°I see now! No wonder!¡± Han Qiongzhi drew out her voice and looked at Li Qingshan with a disdainful gaze.

    Ru Xin took out a glass bottle filled with faint, red liquid and placed it into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. She patted his hand with a smile. ¡°Take good care of your body!¡±

    When the tips of their fingers touched, Li Qingshan felt that her hands were icy-cool, just like cold jade. Was it because of the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace?

    He gazed into her eyes. ¡°Tell me, what is this medicine exactly?¡±

    ¡°Medicine for balancing yin and yang, for merging water and fire. It can guarantee an early pregnancy and scaling to new heights. Why don¡¯t you test it out?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi heard ¡°balancing yin and yang¡± and ¡°an early pregnancy¡±. She became giddy.

    However, Li Qingshan heard ¡°medicine for merging water and fire¡± and ¡°guarantee scaling to new heights¡±. The meaning hidden in that left him extremely interested. He still wanted to say something else, but Ru Xin had already clasped her hands gracefully and trudged away through the snow.

 Chapter 691 â€“ Balancing Water and Fire, Rising Up to Daemon Commander

    Han Qiongzhi could not help but sigh. Even for someone whose thoughts were not as delicate, Han Qiongzhi could still tell that a strange sense of understanding existed between them, which left her feeling a little jealous. However, Ru Xin had been extremely composed, which prevented her from losing her temper, as that would make her seem petty instead.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the glass bottle in his hand. He had never said a single sugared word to this female confidante of his, even spending most of the time exchanging foul words, but their relationship was anything but normal. They only needed to say a single word to go through hell for each other.

    He had always been a man who liked fine alcohol, who liked fine women, and who did not disguise his desires. However, whenever he was with a beauty like her, rarely did he ever become worked up. She was truly an outlier.

    Han Qiongzhi said, ¡°What, you can¡¯t forget about her?¡±

    ¡°The world is going to keep spinning, so why can¡¯t I forget about her?¡± Li Qingshan stowed away the medicine preciously and stood up. He laughed aloud. ¡°How dare you look down on me earlier! I¡¯ll let you taste my power today!¡± As a result, he picked up Han Qiongzhi and made his way into the bamboo loft.

    Han Qiongzhi broke free from his grasp. ¡°Hell no! You better use your school of Novels techniques to deal with it!¡±

    Li Qingshan pushed her over on the bamboo floor boards and smiled. ¡°That won¡¯t be up to you to decide!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi gazed at him. ¡°You better try the effects of the medicine! I still have missions for the Hawkwolf Guard to carry out!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. After obtaining the medicine, he was eager to try it; he wanted to see if he could break through the final barrier and reach Daemon Commander. This desire was so great that it surpassed all lust, but Han Qiongzhi had travelled a great distance to come and visit him. He could not just abandon her here, right? He had to get along with her well, but he never expected her to see through him.

    ¡°Go do what you need to do. Do you think I¡¯ll be happy if you just try to get me off your back like that? When we do something like that, I hate it when you¡¯re half-hearted. The world is going to keep spinning, so why must you rush something like this? Cultivation takes priority!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi silently thought to herself, I might not be of any help to you, but I definitely won¡¯t become an obstacle in your path of cultivation.

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Li Qingshan held her face and kissed her deeply before smiling. ¡°I¡¯ll spare you today. I¡¯ll definitely make you beg for mercy next time.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face reddened. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Then her voice softened. ¡°After you finish cultivating, don¡¯t forget to come find me, or I¡­¡±

    ¡°Since the legendary Flower of Water and Fire doesn¡¯t exist, where did this medicine come from?¡±

    He was not too familiar with alchemy, but whether it were pills or medicine, it had to come from somewhere. It could only be produced by merging the effects of a few medicinal herbs.

    He thought long and hard, but he was unable to think of anything. He would have to ask her the next time he saw her.

    Li Qingshan removed the stopper and drank it all in one gulp. The taste was somewhat familiar for some reason, but before he could taste it closely, the liquid had spread through his body. After a slight refinement, it was immediately converted into a strange medicinal effect.

    He tried absorbing it into his daemon core, and a sliver of joy suddenly flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He held his breath as all of his muscles tensed up.

    It really was effective!

    The conflict between the two powers that originally opposed one another as water and fire, the spirit turtle and phoenix that struggled to merge together, was gradually being mitigated. Although this was nowhere close to merging, all he lacked was this step through the door. The thin barrier had finally been pierced through.

    It was like among the sky filled with dark clouds, a tiny crack had appeared, allowing a streak of light to pass through and enter Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    In that moment, the arduous comprehension he had developed over the past year filled his head. A solution finally appeared for the difficult problem that had troubled him for all this time. Li Qingshan riled up with vigour and shut his eyes, beginning a new round of cultivation.

    Time passed by in a hurry. When the rivers of ice melted and spring arrived, the mirror clone suddenly turned into a puddle of water in the depths of the endless earth, within the surging magma. Within the surging fire, it evaporated away.

    This also meant that Li Qingshan needed to devote all of his attention to the breakthrough. In the Qing Xiao dwelling, he opened his eyes. There was some exhaustion, but most of it was relief and joy. He said quietly, ¡°It¡¯s time!¡±

    He began practising the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a at the same time.

    The two could be described as the very source of his daemon core. Originally, if Li Qingshan wanted to practise one of them, he would have to suppress the other. This was the first time he practised them both at the same time, which would definitely lead to the most violent conflict between the two powers.

    The daemon core spun away, glowing with azure-blue and scarlet-red light at the same time. The azure-blue light was vast and expansive, filled with a peaceful and tranquil aura. The scarlet-red light was much smaller, but it was unending, like it could never be extinguished.

    Sure enough, the two powers clashed violently. The different lights became more and more blinding. They were so pure that they could not accept any other power, let alone a power that was the exact opposite.

    Instinctively, the spirit turtle wanted to suppress the phoenix to the very bottom of the ocean, extinguishing its final flicker of flames, while the phoenix did not back down either. It blazed brilliantly as if it wanted to evaporate away the ocean and burn the spirit turtle to death.

    Li Qingshan carefully controlled the two powers, neither allowing the spirit turtle to defeat the phoenix in a single blow, nor allowing the phoenix to gain the upper hand. He did his best to maintain a balance between the two powers. For a moment, they were at a stalemate.

    In such an intense clash, the two types of light criss-crossed, gradually showing signs of merging together. This was from the result of his past year of arduous cultivation, but it was also thanks to the assistance from the bottle of medicine from Ru Xin, which helped him save large amounts of time.

    Li Qingshan knew he had already reached the most critical juncture. Success or failure all depended on this moment. Suddenly, he released his control over the spirit turtle while pushing the mantra of the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to the limit.

    There was a rumble in his head, making Li Qingshan¡¯s head ring. The two coloured lights filled his mind. Behind him, the phoenix wings suddenly extended to the limit, almost unconsciously letting out a magnificent phoenix cry.

    The phoenix broke through the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression and spread its wings. The spirit turtle also seemed to recognise this power, no longer suppressing it anymore.

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses. He was overjoyed. He drew all the light back into the daemon core. The two powers were no longer so distinct anymore. Instead, they both contained each other, like a taichi diagram of red and blue, rapidly revolving around.

    Having faced numerous difficulties and obstacles, he had finally, truly reached the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a now. He gained the right to use the phoenix¡¯s innate ability, but he still had not comprehended what the phoenix¡¯s innate ability was exactly.

    His daemon qi had virtually lost control, rushing out violently. If it were not for the containment of the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks, it almost would have rushed into the air.

    When he subdued the conflict between the powers of water and fire, the daemon core recovered its perfectly-round state. At the same time, it underwent a qualitative change, advancing towards the realm of Daemon Commander.

 Chapter 692 â€“ The Realm of Daemon Commander, The Profound Light Illuminates All

    However, when the two powers in the daemon core conflicted with one another, he would instead be better off not practising the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. Now that he merged water and fire, he immediately began to break through.

    His daemon qi rapidly surged. The Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks that enveloped the mountain vaguely showed signs of being unable to keep it suppressed. The eight gates of Life, Death, Resting, Alarm, Obstruction, Opening, Wounding, and View constantly revolved, glowing with resplendent, golden light.

    Li Qingshan realised that if he let his daemon qi surge into the air, probably everyone within the range of fifty kilometers could see it. He would not be able to hide his identity as Northmoon anymore.

    He extended a finger, and the central formation disc of the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks flew out. He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed the blood on the formation disc. Immediately, the formation disc began to spin rapidly.

    Unleashing the power of the formation like this could make it last a little longer, but it would completely damage the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks.

    Li Qingshan could no longer care about that anymore. He stood tall. His black hair became scarlet; his skin darkened. A pair of iron hooves pressed against the ground as a pair of ox horns plunged into the air. He rapidly swelled up and grew taller.

    Three meters, ten meters, fifteen meters, thirty meters¡­ Even when he reached sixty meters, he showed no signs of stopping down. In the blink of an eye, he had reached ninety meters, but he continued to grow.

    If it were not for the fact that when he originally constructed the dwelling, he focused the most on space, hollowing the entire mountain, it would have collapsed by now.

    When Li Qingshan reached a hundred and twenty meters tall, he finally stopped growing. Two streams of white smoke rushed out of his nostrils, and a few tiger stripes appeared on his face. His scarlet eyes were murderous, shining like fire. He seemed even more terrifying and vicious compared to the past. Only the pair of phoenix wings on his back demonstrated a different magnificence.

    After many years of arduous cultivation, he had finally become a Daemon Commander. Li Qingshan bellowed out at the sky, filled with utter delight.

    At the same time, new innate abilities began condensing in the daemon core.

    The ox demon stood with an indomitable spirit, completely unshakable. The tiger demon battled the world, lunging about and roaring. The spirit turtle suppressed the territories in the ocean, obscuring itself and hiding away.

    However, something went wrong with the phoenix¡¯s innate ability. Originally, he thought he could directly unlock three innate abilities of the phoenix, but he only unlocked one.

    Regular Daemon Commanders all knew three innate abilities. They unlocked one from condensing a daemon core, unlocked another by transforming into a Daemon General, and unlocked the final one when they reached Daemon Commander. Every single transformation that Li Qingshan practised had its own system of abilities, so logically speaking, the phoenix should have had three innate abilities.

    And that was easier for him to accept. The phoenix¡¯s power was far too weak after all. It had barely reached a balance with the spirit turtle, but it still stood no chance against the spirit turtle in terms of strength, so there was nothing strange if he could not unlock three innate abilities. He believed that as long as he cultivated to the second and third layer, he would obviously gain those two innate abilities.

    However, what he found absolutely unacceptable was how he had no idea what the phoenix¡¯s innate ability was. It was neither an active ability like the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath, nor was it particularly similar to a passive effect like the Strength of the Earth. He only felt his life force become a little stronger.

    Li Qingshan possessed a total of ten innate abilities now, except the effects of the phoenix¡¯s ability were unknown. In other words, he possessed three times as many innate abilities as other Daemon Commanders. Even Mo Yu, who was known as the crown prince of daemons, only possessed a measly three innate abilities.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to take back what belongs to me! It¡¯s also time for me to see the people I need to see!¡±

    The largest lake in the Ruyi commandery was Calm Wave lake in the south. Calm Wave lake spanned three prefectures, extending as far as the eye could see. It was vast. The mortals that lived on its shores even believed this was what the oceans in the legends looked like.

    Because the lake water was calm and without waves, it was known as Calm Wave lake. The people who lived on the shore were mostly fishermen; their lives were very peaceful and comfortable. That was until a year ago when strange freak waves began to regularly dominate the lake, which swallowed many boats. Sometimes, the waves would even reach the shores, so the people who lived there would not be spared.

    Rumour had it that a powerful daemon had come to make trouble, but for some reason, those cultivators who flew around through the sky never came to purge it. This place had once been the largest region of water Li Qingshan had refined, but before long, the unknown daemon had devoured it.

    Right now, Li Qingshan stood on a white cloud in the sky, gazing down at below.

    Calm Wave lake truly was vast. Even at such heights, he was unable to see all of it. Li Qingshan could still remember it had taken him tremendous effort to refine this lake. Now that it had been stolen from him like this, he would be lying if he said he did not feel angry at all.

    If he had guessed correctly, the bastard that the Dragon King of Ink Sea sent was in this region of water. He could try out the spirit turtle¡¯s new innate ability first!

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and a hexagonal piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell appeared before him. A scene gradually appeared on there, which was Calm Wave lake below.

    With a thought, Calm Wave lake displayed in the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rapidly pulled closer. It shot past a flying swallow and stopped on a certain region of water. He could clearly see the waves on the surface of the lake. Then he passed through the surface to explore underneath.

    Li Qingshan waved his left hand and another piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell appeared, also displaying an image. However, it displayed the neighbouring region of Calm Wave lake, also beginning to search around.

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell appeared around him, forming a sphere. They all displayed different images, like they were different monitors showing different places.

    Standing among them, Li Qingshan felt like everything was under his control. This was the spirit turtle¡¯s new innate ability, the Profound Light Illuminates All.

    This innate ability was rather similar to the Watermirror¡¯s disc, and there were techniques with similar effects in the cultivation community. However, their results were worlds apart.

    The Watermirror disc could look through the entire Academy of the Hundred Schools at most. Even if he combined it with the Water God Seal, at most he could look through Moon Court lake. If he used techniques alone, their range would be even smaller.

    However, with this ¡°Profound Light Illuminates All¡±, as long as Li Qingshan wanted to, he could concentrate all of the power on a single piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, and he could even see what was going on hundreds of kilometers away. It would be in high definition too, basically like the spy satellites of his past life. It definitely bore strategic significance.

    And, he had only just grasped this innate ability. Once he grew accustomed and acquainted with it, the effects should become even more powerful. He could even imagine a day when he could just sit in his dwelling with a panoramic view of the entire nine provinces, just like how shut-ins could know everything going on around them without setting a single foot out of the door.

    Speaking of which, damned shut-ins really did resemble the spirit turtle. In order to avoid various dangers, they shut themselves in at home, browsing around through a screen every single day. As for the characters in games and personalities on forums, they were basically like the Watermirror¡¯s Image.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze stopped on a piece of Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. He smiled, revealing two sharp tiger fangs.

    ¡°Yep, found it!¡±

 Chapter 693 â€“ Innate Ability of the Ox Demon, Gravity of the Earth

    Through the illumination of the Profound Light Illuminates All, he saw a magnificent palace sitting in the region of deep water in the centre of Calm Wave lake. Water daemons swam around in the surroundings like guards. They moved around in an orderly manner, which formed quite a sight.

    Li Qingshan thought in wonder, He really is a Daemon Commander from the Ink sea. He sure knows how to play around. I just wonder about his strength.

    He could basically conclude that the water Daemon Commander the Dragon King of Ink Sea sent was probably much more powerful than those Daemon Commanders of the Ruyi commandery, but he did not particularly care about that. The only worry he had to consider was the Water God Seal in the enemy¡¯s possession. That represented the right to control over almost half of the water in the Ruyi commandery. Not only could it provide endless daemon qi, but abilities and techniques used with it would definitely be drastically enhanced.

    It was exactly because of this that it was very unlikely for the enemy to return the water territory obediently. As daemons, strength was still everything at the end of the day.

    Li Qingshan could wield his own Water God Seal and mobilise vast amounts of water to attack too, but when two powerful daemons that each controlled a half of the water in the Ruyi commandery began fighting, the water would probably reach everywhere. Countless lives would be lost. He was not exactly a kind-hearted person, but he did not want innocent casualties either unless he had absolutely no other choice. Moreover, there was no need for him to kick up such a great stir to deal with a Daemon Commander anyway. He only had to find the target and directly take him out.

    When he tried to take a look at the situation inside the palace, the scene remained stuck. It did not move. A pliable but tough force obstructed it. As it turned out, a spherical barrier enveloped the palace.

    ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All, together!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung out with his finger and pointed at the piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell that depicted the palace. The other pieces of Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew together and overlapped with one another, forming a hexagonal cylinder.

    The frozen scene suddenly pushed forward until it reached inside the palace and clearly depicted what was going on in there. Li Qingshan was surprised once again. They¡¯re actually holding a banquet!

    Seven or eight guests sat at the banquet; there were both males and females, all varying in appearances. Li Qingshan recognised a good handful of them, all Daemon Commanders he had once defeated. Despite being unruly Daemon Commanders, they all now used chopsticks obediently and rather unnaturally.

    An ugly, pasty, square-faced man sat there, holding a cup in his hand as he gazed around complacently. He gave off a unique aura, the aura of the strong.

    Li Qingshan knew that this was the enemy he had to deal with this time.

    The ugly man groaned. His head swiveled around as he scanned through the surroundings like he had noticed something.

    ¡°He¡¯s quite sharp.¡± Li Qingshan sniggered. He continued to study him fearlessly.

    The ugly man was in doubt. He had suddenly felt like someone was watching him, but he discovered nothing at all upon closer inspection. Only when he considered how it was impossible for anyone to enter the palace silently did he relax slightly.

    ¡°I hope big brother Sha can unite all the water territory in the Ruyi commandery soon and give that bastard a thorough beating and chase him out of the Ruyi commandery!¡±

    A fat man stood up and toasted. He was the bullfrog Daemon Commander Li Qingshan had once taught a vicious lesson to.

    ¡°How is it enough to just chase him out of the Ruyi commandery? We should have his limbs ripped from his body to go with big brother Sha¡¯s wine!¡± An old man immediately followed up, his face filled with hatred.

    ¡°Ripping off his limbs won¡¯t be everything. We even have to dig out his daemon core to nourish big brother Sha so that big brother Sha can become a Daemon King sooner!¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. We can¡¯t spare his life. We have to tear him to pieces. We¡¯ll each have a piece and taste his flesh.¡±

    ¡°I want to eat his brain!¡±

    ¡°I want to eat his heart!¡±

    When Northmoon was mentioned, all of the daemons put on a tough and fierce appearance and spoke up, each more vicious than the last. A while later, they had already divided up every single piece of flesh on Northmoon¡¯s entire body. Two Daemon Commanders even almost flipped the table over their dispute to see who would get his heart. One of them had never even fought Northmoon before.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. His face was bright red. He tried everything he could to hold it back, but he could hold it back no longer. With a spurt, he clutched his belly and collapsed on the cloud, breaking into laughter.

    ¡°With the likes of you, it¡¯ll be more fitting if you eat my cock! If it weren¡¯t for the sake of the Dragon King of Ink Sea, I would have torn you to pieces a long time ago!¡±

    With the joys that came with peeping, Li Qingshan was in no hurry to take action. He wanted to see what other hilarious things these daemons could come up with!

    At the same time, the ¡°big brother Sha¡± also laughed aloud. ¡°Thank you for your blessings, brothers, but I¡¯ve come in the place of sir dragon king to invite that bastard Northmoon to the Ink sea. There¡¯s really no reason to get all violent.¡±

    ¡°Big brother Sha, how can that be? We¡¯re still relying on you to avenge us!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t fret. Let me finish. This will depend on whether Northmoon is sensible or not. If he¡¯s willing to hand over the Water God Seal in his possession obediently, then so be it. But if he¡¯s not willing, then I¡¯ll let him taste some pain. However, under the orders of sir dragon king, we daemons are still forbidden from killing one another. We can lop off his limbs and take his daemon core at most.¡±

    Big brother Sha switched the conversation topic to something else, and a vicious light flashed through his small, beady eyes. Ever since he obtained the Water God Seal, he could sense that his cultivation rate had become much faster. If this continued, he could probably become a Daemon King in less than two centuries, so he desired Northmoon¡¯s Water God Seal even more.

    Although he had heard about Northmoon¡¯s glorious achievements in battle, his strength could not be compared to these local Daemon Commanders as a direct subordinate under the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He also had half the water territory in the Ruyi commandery as a foundation now. Combined with these Daemon Commanders, he was not afraid of Northmoon if they actually began fighting.

    Li Qingshan smiled even wider, except his smile gradually twisted viciously. He licked his lips. ¡°You want to eat me? Then I¡¯ll let you all get a taste of me!¡±

    He dispersed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and leapt out. He did not make his way down, instead flapping his wings and flying up into the sky.

    Fierce wind whistled by; gradually, it was no longer pure wind. It was imbued with a sharpness even more cutting than blades and swords¡ªatmospheric winds. Just like the underground magnetic field, it was a powerful force that determined the boundaries of this world.

    Li Qingshan continued to climb higher, and the atmospheric winds turned violent, roaring madly past his ears. However, they were completely invisible and omnipresent.

    Only when a stream of atmospheric winds brushed past his face and left behind a small, bloody cut did he stop climbing higher. He raised his head and gazed at the further depths of the windstorm. ¡°Diving into the earth is not easy, but climbing up into the sky seems even more difficult!¡±

    Then he gazed down. He had already thrown the clouds far behind, which had become very small. He could see the entire Calm Wave lake too; it seemed like the size of a pond.

    He unleashed the wings of wind violently. After becoming a Daemon Commander, the innate ability that belonged to the tiger demon had become more powerful and robust than ever. As he flapped them, they merged with floating slivers of atmospheric wind.

    Clouds followed dragons, and the wind followed tigers!

    TL: This saying comes from the Qian hexagram of the I Ching, Yi Jing, or Classic of Changes. It basically means mutual compatibility between certain things.

    The wind fed the flames, and the wings of the phoenix blazed brightly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, locking onto the palace at the bottom of Calm Wave lake. He suddenly descended.

    The ground shot towards him with startling speed. In the blink of an eye, Calm Wave lake had completely filled his field of vision.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s pupils dilated, and his heart tensed up. He never thought he would actually be able to move so quickly now!

    No longer suppressed by the spirit turtle, the power of the phoenix wings could finally be pushed to their limits. The wings of wind amplified them further, and the slivers of atmospheric wind assisted them.

    However, that was not all. The ox demon¡¯s new innate ability played a critical role too.

    As Li Qingshan fell, a circular shape suddenly sunk in on the surface of the lake, only a few meters across. Directly below it was the underwater palace. A similar hole had appeared on the roof of the palace.

    Big brother Sha currently sat under the hole. The moment before, he was still drinking happily with the Daemon Commanders, but in the next moment, he had collapsed on the ground in a horrible position. It was like an invisible force had pushed him down to the ground heavily. For a moment, he was actually immobilised.

    There was a messy clatter as all the cups and dishes on the ground were reduced to dust. The jade table in front of him, as well as the jade tiles around him, suffered the same fate, forming a circular region that had sunken in.

    ¡°Big brother Sha!¡± The Daemon Commanders all paled in fright.

    Big brother Sha lay firmly on the ground. His face was filled with shock, as he actually had no idea where the attack came from.

    As the water god of this region, no one could hide from his senses if they entered this water territory. Even if they could completely conceal their aura, they could not conceal their existence. As long as they entered the water, they would obviously have to part the water to advance. Yet, even after being attacked right now, he had yet to discover the enemy.

    The method of attack was far too strange. It was nothing physical, nor was it some ability or technique. Although it did not cause him any substantial damage, he felt like he was carrying a mountain on his back, completely immobilised.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    The Gravity of the Earth was the name of the ox demon¡¯s new innate ability, only a single word off from the Strength of the Earth. As its name suggested, it could control the gravity within a certain region, making everything as light as a feather or as heavy as a mountain.

    The reason why Li Qingshan could fall so startlingly fast was because he had been enhanced by this gravitational pull. As long as they dwelled in this region, no creature, absolutely nothing, could escape from this force. What attacked big brother Sha was the boundless earth, or in other words, he could not withstand his own weight.

    Big brother Sha could sense intense danger; it was as if imminent catastrophe was descending over him. He responded extremely quickly. With a sudden transformation, he turned into a huge, dark-green, softshell turtle, and he immediately felt much safer. He was extremely confident in the defences of the turtle shell on his back. Among his three innate abilities, the most powerful one was the shell.

    At that moment, all the Daemon Commanders felt tremendous daemon qi descend from above. Before they could even respond, they saw a flash of scarlet light in their eyes.

    Li Qingshan landed a punch on the turtle shell. He only paused for a moment, and he grinned.

    The unforgettable scarlet hair and eyes made all the daemons cry out, ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    Soon afterwards, the lake water surged in violently and swept them away. The magnificent underwater palace was immediately reduced to pieces, surging off into all directions.

    The banquet had come to an end.

 Chapter 694 â€“ Innate Ability of the Tiger Demon, Subservience to the Tiger

    The ground suddenly shook. Many people lost their footing and fell to the ground, and a small carriage almost rolled into the lake.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is it an earthquake?¡± Someone pointed at the sky and exclaimed, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Everyone in the surroundings gaze over. A straight streak of scarlet light pierced through the air and vanished into the surface of the lake. Some people said it was a meteor, but they were immediately rebuked. Were there any meteors that traveled with such a trajectory?

    As they discussed, a great boom rang out from the distance. Because it was overly far away, the boom was not particularly startling.

    Afterwards, everyone saw it. Wherever the scarlet light passed by, the clouds parted, vaguely forming a circular hole. A thin, white line rose up on the water, rapidly growing in size. A terrifying wave that no one had ever seen before rushed over.

    Everyone cried out in alarm and scattered like birds and beasts.

    In the centre of Calm Wave lake, the water over a hundred meters deep had been forcefully parted, forming a huge pit in the water.

    At the very bottom of the pit, Li Qingshan was upside down, having punched Sha Bie on his shell. The turtle shell flashed with light and produced totemic patterns filled with a primitive, simple, and indestructible will.

    This was the innate ability that Sha Bie took the greatest pride in. He was not a divine beast like the spirit turtle, but the turtle shell was still a lifebound item of his, something he had developed over a thousand years. He did not hold back with his spiritual qi, pushing his innate ability to the limit.

    The only way to kill him was to burst through the turtle shell, but unless he ran out of daemon qi, his shell could not be destroyed. Right now, he had the Water God Seal in his body, so his daemon qi was virtually endless. He was basically undefeatable.

    That was unless a Daemon King attacked him and used overwhelming strength to smash apart his shell, but how could a mere Daemon General achieve that?

    Crack!

    The sound of something breaking rang out, and his back ached. Sha Bie¡¯s eyes bulged out. ¡°Impossible!¡±

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s punch, the totemic patterns only remained for a split second before twisting and shattering. The indestructible turtle shell caved in and shattered like paper.

    And, what if Li Qingshan¡¯s most powerful method of attack was added into the equation too? His fist was pitch-black, wrapped in the power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon. Even the Corpse King had once suffered against this attack, and it had become even more lethal now.

    The so-called powerful defence and being in an undefeatable state was no different from a pretence to Li Qingshan.

    He directly pierced Sha Bie¡¯s colossal body. The power of tremors tore apart his flesh, shattering his last bit of fighting will.

    The mountainous islands on Calm Wave lake obstructed the tsunami-like wave. When it reached the shore, it had already subsided by a lot, but it was still several meters tall. It slammed against the banks.

    The power behind that attack had actually made the largest lake in the Ruyi commandery surge, only settling down after a very long time.

    The mortals all thought it was the might of the heavens, but even the cultivators cultivating near the lake became dumbstruck as their hearts shook.

    In the depths at the centre of the lake, water crashed down like an avalanche, stirring up the sand and grit on the bottom of the lake. The sediment only settled after a very long time.

    Li Qingshan shook his right hand viciously. He felt like the bones in his hand were about to break earlier. He said to Sha Bie¡¯s huge head beside him. ¡°Even I can¡¯t really withstand that strike of mine, so do you really think you can still withstand it?¡±

    His words were completely unwarranted. If he had not used his innate ability and immobilised Sha Bie, who would be stupid enough to stay put and try to block it forcefully?

    ¡°The Dragon King of Ink Sea sent me. Northmoon, how dare you try to kill your clansmen and disobey sir dragon king¡¯s orders!?¡±

    Sha Bie laid on the bottom of the lake, lingering on his last breath. Even his head was riddled with terrifying cracks. Before he could even understand what was going on, he was already heavily injured, on the brink of death.

    Fortunately, upon reaching his realm of cultivation, all daemons possessed extremely great life force. As long as they did not lose their daemon cores, they could even survive damage to their vital points. He mobilised his daemon qi to heal his wounds as he tried to use the dragon king¡¯s name to frighten Northmoon.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll just lop off your limbs and then take away your daemon core. Oh right, the Water God Seal too!¡±

    ¡°Sir dragon king bestowed the Water God Seal upon me. I¡¯m bold enough to give it to you, but are you bold enough to take it? I will give up on this water territory and leave here!¡±

    ¡°If you mention the dragon king again, I¡¯ll butcher you. Right now, this is just between the two of us!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He hated being threatened very much, but what he hated even more was the fact that he really was rather fearful of the Dragon King of Ink Sea. The more time he spent together with the Great Banyan Tree King and the Golden Cicada Spirit King, the more he understood about the terrifying strength of these older, reputed Daemon Kings.

    If he were a Daemon King who had just undergone the third heavenly tribulation, Li Qingshan would be confident enough to take him on in battle right now, but the Dragon King of Ink Sea had been crowned as one of the Ten Daemon Kings several thousand years ago. In an open confrontation, it was no longer an issue of victory or defeat. Even escaping with his life intact would be very difficult.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Since you¡¯re bold enough to take it, I¡¯ll give it to you. However, my daemon core is off-limits. If you want to coerce me into it, I¡¯ll blow up my daemon core, and that¡¯ll be that. You won¡¯t even obtain the Water God Seal. If you kill me, sir dragon king¡­¡±

    She Bie suddenly realised he had slipped up. Violent murderousness erupted beside him. His black eyes clearly reflected a handsome and twisted face. He thought, Oh no!

    ¡°Do you really think my words mean nothing? You better just die!¡± Li Qingshan slammed down with both hands.

    Sha Bie bellowed out and tried to blow up his daemon core so that he could destroy the Water God Seal too.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses, Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan slammed down on Sha Bie with his left hand and produced a ring of azure light, enveloping Sha Bie in the blink of an eye. He forcefully suppressed the daemon core. His right hand was enveloped in black cracks that rapidly spread across Sha Bie.

    Sha Bie¡¯s huge body shattered violently, only leaving behind a cyan daemon core and a Water God Seal that hovered in the water. With a swing of his hand, Li Qingshan stowed both the daemon core and the Water God Seal away.

    However, this was not over yet. He opened his eyes as wide as possible and let out a deep tiger growl.

    Sha Bie¡¯s figure appeared once again in the rippling lake water, fading in and out with the undulations. However, under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, he gradually consolidated. It was Sha Bie¡¯s soul that was supposed to have moved on into the afterlife. Meeting Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, his head blanked out. Suddenly, he began lowering his head towards Li Qingshan, showing great respect.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty good effect!¡±

    The third innate ability of the tiger demon¡ªSubservience to the Tiger.

    Why were ghosts subservient to the tiger? Legends had it that tigers possessed the power to control a myriad of ghosts, while those that a tiger ate would turn into a subservient chang ghost, or a haunt, following the tiger around to do evil and create even more haunts.

    TL: The name of the innate ability can be translated literally ¡°To Serve a Tiger as a Chang Ghost¡±. It¡¯s an idiom in Chinese that basically means to play the jackal to the tiger, or in other words, to help a villain do evil. I think translating it literally is a little clunky, which is why it¡¯s ¡°Subservience to the Tiger¡±, but do remember that this is applying to a special type of ghost, deceased beings that a tiger ate, which I am translating as haunts. You can read more about Chang ghosts here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_(creature)

    Li Qingshan¡¯s innate ability could convert the souls of the creatures he killed, whether they were human or daemon, into subservient ghosts, serving him with devotion. It was like a ghost control technique.

    PS: After all sorts of hardships, Qingshan has finally become a Daemon Commander, obtaining three more innate abilities. The book is close to crossing two million characters too. There¡¯s one more release today, so I need to gather my energy and beg furiously for monthly votes.

 Chapter 695 â€“ Slaughtering the Daemons, Collecting All the Water Spiritual Qi

    Since Sha Bie came from the Ink sea, he should understand the situation of the Ink sea. Since he killed Sha Bie, Li Qingshan definitely would have fallen out with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, so it was perfect for him to learn a bit about the Ink sea¡¯s situation through his mouth, so he could respond accordingly.

    Li Qingshan was indeed fearful of the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but that did not mean anyone could threaten Li Qingshan with the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s name. Having grown accustomed to treating the Golden Cicada Spirit King and the Great Banyan Tree King as equals, he truly did not want to remain in a lowly position and go see some sir dragon king. He had already fallen out with some shitty Beast King, so offending another one made no difference.

    As he gazed at the haunt that Sha Bie had turned into submit to him, Li Qingshan felt some pity. If only he possessed this ability sooner. Challenging the world with a group of his enemies could have been extremely delightful.

    Suddenly, he looked back and sensed clusters of daemon qi traveling away from Calm Wave lake. These guests who wanted to carve up his flesh had scattered and fled. Cold light flashed through his eyes. Since he had already done this, he might as well go all out!

    Due to the circumstances back then, sparing their lives had already brought Li Qingshan great discontent, yet they actually still dared to discuss how to deal with him here. They could all go and die!

    He casually tossed Sha Bie¡¯s haunt into the Asura Field, and Li Qingshan turned into a scarlet light, rushing into the air. He arrived high in the sky and waved his right hand. ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew together and displayed scenes in the directions that the cluster of daemon qi had fled off into. Very soon, they locked onto all of the escaping figures.

    Li Qingshan chose the closest one. With a flap of his wings, he kicked up some flames and shot off as a scarlet streak of light.

    A series of lamps were lit in a majestic hall within the Ink sea. It resembled a buddha hall, except there was no image of the buddha. One of the lamps was suddenly extinguished.

    These were no regular oil lamps, but life lamps. The one that had been extinguished belonged to Sha Bie who Li Qingshan killed.

    ¡°What? Old Sha is dead!¡±

    Suddenly, he thought of a possibility and became even paler. He turned into a black swirl and vanished from the hall.

    In the depths of the Ink sea, a huge dragon, pitch-black like ink, coiled up. It was as stern and dignified as a mountain, yet as gentle and elegant as clouds. The black dragon that Si Qing had transformed into through the Black Emperor Dragon Classic was like a tiny snake compared to it. It did not seem like a living creature at all.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea opened his eyes. A while later, he closed them again.

    Boom!

    A colossal bullfrog, the size of a small mountain, landed on the banks of Calm Wave lake heavily and crushed countless buildings and structures, leading to countless cries from humans. However, the bullfrog was in no shape to care about the ants around it. He kicked off powerfully with his two hind legs and produced two deep pits in the earth, leaping forward as hard as he could.

    He left the banks instantly. His seemingly-cumbersome body would travel several kilometers with each leap. Before long, he was already fifty kilometers away from the palace in the lake.

    Right now, he was overwhelmed with regret. He should have never participated in this banquet. He had personally witnessed Northmoon¡¯s viciousness before. That was not something he could contend with.

    And, from the hurried glimpse he had caught earlier, he discovered something even more startling. From the aura that Northmoon gave off, he had clearly already faced the second heavenly tribulation and reached Daemon Commander.

    If Northmoon were just a Daemon Commander, that was nothing. He himself was a Daemon Commander too. However, Northmoon was a terrifying existence that had defeated a great group of Daemon Commanders when he was still a Daemon General. Now that he had become a Daemon Commander, just how powerful would he be? If that strike earlier had landed on him instead, he would have been reduced to minced meat already. The worst part of it all was he had even blanked out for a moment, making him flee slower than the others.

    At this moment, a tremendous cluster of daemon qi rapidly drew closer. The bullfrog panicked and bounded away even faster, but in the blink of an eye, the daemon qi had arrived over his head.

    ¡°The first one!¡±

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and swooped down like a hawk catching a rabbit, lunging towards the bullfrog. When he neared the ground, he had already reverted to his original form, becoming a colossal existence standing around a hundred and twenty meters tall. Compared to him, the huge bullfrog seemed tiny.

    The bullfrog tried desperately to leap away, but his body suddenly weighed ten times more. Immediately, he fell out of the air. Before he could even respond, a hoof pushed him into the ground. The great strength and the intense gravity immobilised him. He was like a tiny frog under the claws of a vicious tiger.

    ¡°Spare me, fellow!¡±

    ¡°I already spared you once, but you didn¡¯t change your ways, so I think you¡¯re better off dead!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    With his tiger claws, he ripped apart the bullfrog with ease and killed him on the spot, digging out his daemon core and suppressing it with the spirit turtle. At the same time, he tossed the body into the Asura Field, prepared to make fried bullfrog out of him. As a Daemon Commander who had cultivated for all these years, he should taste quite nice. He felt a tinge of regret when he thought about the softshell turtle. If he had known about this earlier, he would not have shaken him into so many pieces. He could have stewed him into soup, which would probably be extremely nourishing.

    In the end, he converted the bullfrog¡¯s soul into a haunt. In short, he did not waste any part of him. Afterwards, he took off as a scarlet light again, chasing down the next Daemon Commander.

    With his speed that surpassed regular Daemon Commanders and the Profound Light Illuminates All to lock onto them, Li Qingshan hunted down the Daemon Commanders he wanted to eat one by one, converting them all into haunts. He obtained another eight daemon cores, where five of them were water daemon cores.

    Sha Bie was worried that Northmoon might launch an attack with his Water God Seal, which was why he intentionally befriended these water Daemon Commanders. He never thought everything would develop completely against his expectations, which all ended up benefitting Li Qingshan instead.

    However, Li Qingshan primarily practised the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a right now, so he had no use for these daemon cores at the moment. He tossed them all into his hundred treasures pouch for the day he needed them.

    After doing all that, Li Qingshan returned to Calm Wave lake and took out the Water God Seal he had taken from Sha Bie. With its original master dead, he easily suppressed and erased the remaining aura on the Water God Seal, uniting all the water in the Ruyi commandery once more. Afterwards, he even fused the two Water God Seals together, forming an even stronger Water God Seal that could contain even more regions of water.

    With a thought, the surging water spiritual qi gathered towards the Water God Seal in his hand. Then, he accepted it into the Ocean pearl in his body.

    After reaching Golden Core, the rate at which he could gather spiritual qi had become even faster, but it was nowhere near enough for the Ocean pearl. It had been empty the entire time. Now, he used the Water God Seal to fill the Ocean pearl up very quickly, approaching full capacity strand by strand.

    Li Qingshan was amazed. The spiritual qi Golden Core cultivators required truly was tremendous. The spiritual qi he had absorbed during that time was enough to make ten cultivators go from first layer Qi Practitioners to late Foundation Establishment.

    A while later, the Ocean pearl suddenly flashed, finally full.

    Although he had basically filled up the Ocean pearl, it was like force-feeding it with spiritual qi, where actually converting the spiritual qi into his own strength would still take large amounts of time for refinement. However, it did save him a vast amount of time, a decade at the very least. He no longer had to worry about gathering resources to practise the Arts of the Boundless Ocean.

    Li Qingshan did not stop gathering spiritual qi with that. He continued to absorb it endlessly, completely replenishing the daemon qi he had used up during the battle and even reaching a state fuller than before.

    The glow on the Water God Seal had already dimmed by a lot. The water spiritual qi in the lakes and rivers were not inexhaustible. Instead, they had been gradually accumulated over a long period of time. It had only become such a tremendous resource over thousands of years of accumulation, ever since the founding emperor of Great Xia made a clean sweep of the local gods.

    If there was a hundred percent in total, then Li Qingshan had already used up fifty to sixty percent of it in the past. During the year or so Sha Bie was here, he had never stopped absorbing spiritual qi, so he had used up ten to twenty percent. As such, only rough twenty to thirty percent remained. However, who knew how many pills a mere twenty to thirty percent was equal to and who knew how much time on cultivation could be saved with that.

    Now that he had directly fallen out with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, it would be very difficult for him to hold onto his position as a water god, so he obviously had to hurry up and take away everything he could to prepare for the days to come.

    However, the remaining twenty to thirty percent of spiritual qi left Li Qingshan rather troubled. He thought, Isn¡¯t there another place where I can store this spiritual qi? He directed his finger at the Asura Field, and the surging spiritual qi was all drawn in there.

    The climate in the Asura Field changed drastically. Dark clouds piled up in the air, enveloping several hundred kilometers in the surroundings. The clouds grew thicker and thicker, and torrential rain poured down, but it was not regular rain. It was filled with spiritual qi, like the spiritual rain the Spiritual Rain technique summoned.

    The rain fell into the lake, and the water level rapidly rose up, spilling out very soon. The water turned into rivers that surged across the land recklessly.

    The asura were currently in a stalemate with the haunts. As the water surged over, they all leapt to higher places.

    The water flowed through the lush rainforest, and the trees grew at a visible rate. Some of the older trees even began to develop a sliver of intelligence. This was a sign of becoming a daemon.

    The Great Banyan Tree King spread his branches and smiled. ¡°I really haven¡¯t been serving as his teacher for all this time for nothing!¡± The night roamers emerged from their treehouses. Seeing the miraculous rain pouring down, they all spread their arms and drank the rain.

    Although it was only twenty to thirty percent of the total spiritual qi, it was the accumulation of all the rivers and lakes in the Ruyi commandery across several millennia. It was enough to alter the Asura Field into a blessed land of cultivation. He could cultivate in there in the future.

    Li Qingshan drew the last sliver of water spiritual qi into the Asura Field, and the Water God Seal completely dimmed. The rays of the setting sun were already stretching across the sky. He exhaled and was about to leave when the spirit turtle suddenly gave off an omen of warning. He looked back.

    In the eastern sky, a black swirl appeared out of thin air and turned into a pitch-black figure. It was Mo Yu with his black cloak and his face as pale as a corpse¡¯s.

    ¡°Northmoon, it really was you!¡±

    After quite a journey, Mo Yu finally arrived above Calm Wave lake. He stared straight at Li Qingshan with his eyes filled with deathly stillness like he was looking at a corpse.

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s your grandfather?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He had gone on a slaughter today, and he would be settling a grievance too.

 Chapter 696 â€“ Fighting Mo Yu One

    The rays of the setting sun gradually subsided, and the stars appeared.

    Above Calm Wave lake, two figures confronted one another. One blazed like fire, with his lips curled into a flagrant smile, while the other was as gloomy as a shadow, his face so cold that it seemed like he was always wearing a mask.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve already become a Daemon Commander.¡±

    Mo Yu said in a lifeless tone, devoid of any fluctuations. However, shock filled him on the inside. Just how much time had Northmoon spent going from a Daemon General to a Daemon Commander? A decade? Perhaps even less than that! Even among human cultivators, that could be regarded as extremely fast. It was completely beyond belief to daemons.

    ¡°What, are you frightened out of your mind?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so bold. Do you know what crimes you¡¯ve already committed? You¡¯ve broken the rule of peaceful coexistence the dragon king set down, killing fellow clansmen.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°It has been much longer than a single day or two since you¡¯ve wanted to kill me, yet you still say something so hilarious right now. There has always been a single rule among daemons, which is the law of the jungle. If you really want to draw a clear line, then sure. I killed them because they wanted to kill me. I¡¯m killing you also because you want to kill me!¡±

    ¡°Kill me?¡± A fluctuation finally appeared in Mo Yu¡¯s tone, as if he had remembered a problem he had never considered before.

    This was not because he was foolish. Instead, it was a habit he had developed over thousands of years. As the crown prince of the Green province daemons, never had anyone threatened his life. Only he ever determined the deaths of others.

    Coming to Calm Wave lake and seeing Northmoon again, all he thought about was how to kill him so that Northmoon did not escape again. He never considered the possibility that he might be killed.

    With the reminder, he began to think. Back then, Northmoon was already powerful enough as a Daemon General. Now that he had become a Daemon Commander, what kind of strength would he possess? He could not help but regret not killing him off in a simple and direct manner back then.

    However, Mo Yu forgot about a problem. Even if he wanted to kill him, would Li Qingshan just let him kill him?

    ¡°Yeah, you better not forget you still owe me a debt. It¡¯s about time you paid it off!¡±

    Li Qingshan had once clashed with Mo Yu in the past and had a century of his lifespan shaved away by one of Mo Yu¡¯s innate abilities, the Death Bringer Curse. This was not a particularly lengthy time to Li Qingshan, but it still caused him great discontent.

    After a period of silence, Mo Yu said calmly, ¡°You will die.¡± He said it as if he was declaring some predetermined reality.

    When he reached there, he no longer said anything more. He swung his right hand, and all the ripples on Calm Wave lake below were flattened, extending off into the distance. It was like a huge mirror, reflecting the inky-blue sky as well as the crescent moon on the horizon.

    ¡°Watermirror Image!¡±

    The Northmoon in the reflected scenery suddenly moved and leapt out of the surface of the water.

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, let alone the fact that Mo Yu was no rabbit. With his innate ability that allowed him to move through space freely, killing him definitely would not be an easy feat.

    In the past, Li Qingshan rarely ever used his mirror clone in battle. He would only let his mirror clone launch a sneak attack at critical times, as the mirror clone was far too weak. It could basically withstand a single strike or two at most, and in intense battles, he had to concentrate and not split his focus.

    But right now, after Li Qingshan reached Daemon Commander, the two problems had both been resolved. First, his mirror clone was no longer so feeble. It benefited from Li Qingshan¡¯s increase in strength. Furthermore, Li Qingshan¡¯s soul sense had become much more powerful, enough to control two bodies at the same time in battle.

    As a result, the mirror clone could finally fight alongside him!

    The phoenix wings and wings of wind unfurled at the same time, and Li Qingshan and his mirror clone set off together, attacking Mo Yu from the sky and the lake.

    Mo Yu unfurled a pair of pitch-black, feathered wings, but the wings were not like the wings of birds. Instead, it seemed to be layered together with shadows, extending rapidly through the night sky. In the blink of an eye, the wings had reached over a hundred meters across as if they wanted to shroud the entire sky. An ominous feeling filled them.

    Black feathers drifted about and left behind black streaks. When the wings enveloped them, the aquatic life in the lakewater all died. Mo Yu stared straight at Li Qingshan as his black pupils flowed like liquid, filling his eyes and replacing all of his eye whites. It was eerie and terrifying.

    Gaze of Death!

    Li Qingshan halted, and a frigid coldness immediately penetrated his skin, seeping through his organs and straight into his soul.

    If someone could see Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°flames of life¡±, then they would have seen the flames flicker violently and dim slightly. Mo Yu¡¯s innate abilities truly were strange. They could ignore the enemy¡¯s speed, strength, and defence and directly attack them.

    Last time, Li Qingshan had suffered under this move. Even with his ever-burning flames of the phoenix, he had almost struggled to endure it. If Gu Yanying had not suddenly appeared and brought the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s order of ¡°stop where you should¡±, he basically would have been in life-threatening danger.

    This time, Mo Yu used his full strength right from the start, so how could Li Qingshan still stand a chance?

    Li Qingshan gradually slowed down, stopping in front of Mo Yu in the end. His face was completely sheet-white, and his heart seemed to stop beating. Even the blazing phoenix wings behind him had dimmed. Having lost the control of his will, his mirror clone was like a puppet with broken strings, collapsing into the surface of the lake.

    Mo Yu said as he resided in the centre of the darkness, ¡°You have become stronger, but to me, it means nothing. Do you really think that you can decide when you will die? When I said you would die, I didn¡¯t mean some time in the future. I meant right now.¡±

    As he said that, his shadowy wings suddenly extended and enveloped Li Qingshan like two pitch-black hands. Mo Yu made his way across a path paved from shadows towards Li Qingshan. Facing the immobilised Li Qingshan, he only needed a gentle swing of his hand to behead him, but he failed to notice the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curl slightly. Even if he noticed it, he would have only believed it to be twitching out of despair on the verge of death.

    The power of death was invading Li Qingshan¡¯s body endlessly, wanting to sever his life force. However, never had his flames of life been so powerful before. The phoenix was no longer the phoenix the spirit turtle suppressed either.

    The daemon core spun about and sent streams of warmth through his body, purging the coldness of death. This was the unending power of the phoenix.

    Mo Yu arrived in front of Li Qingshan and was prepared to swing his hand and behead him when his body suddenly sank. A force tugged him downwards, immediately alarming him.

    A fist coiled with black cracks was already in his face. Mo Yu was taken aback as if he did not even have the opportunity to use his teleportation ability. The fist smashed viciously into his corpse-like face.

 Chapter 697 â€“ Fighting Mo Yu Two

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s great strength that could rival Daemon Kings, just who could block a punch from him with their face? The power of tremors shattered the air and produced a rumble. The fist deeply embedded itself into Mo Yu¡¯s face.

    Bang!

    Mo Yu hurtled backwards. Li Qingshan smiled viciously, about to go after him, but darkness suddenly enveloped him.

    Although Mo Yu had been sent flying, the wings of darkness grabbed him firmly, drowning him out.

    The moment the light vanished, Li Qingshan saw that Mo Yu¡¯s collapsed face did not reveal any blood, flesh, or bone. Instead, it was a ball of pitch-black like flowing ink. Originally, he thought Mo Yu¡¯s original form was a crow, but it did not seem so simple anymore.

    Deep darkness filled Li Qingshan¡¯s surroundings. Li Qingshan flapped his wings, but he felt like he remained in the same spot the entire time. It was like he had fallen into a black hole, and all of his connections with the outer world had been severed. There was only an aura of death that attacked every opening on his body.

    Is this his fourth innate ability? Or is it a variation of his original innate ability? As some shitty crown prince, he really does have some skill in him!

    Li Qingshan was surprised, but not panic-stricken. Instead, he became rather excited. If Mo Yu were like Sha Bie, someone he finished off in a few moves, he would instead be disappointed.

    Since this was an ability that isolated him from the world, he had the perfect ability for destroying this boundary. He pulled back his fist slowly and immediately struck the space there in the most violent way possible.

    A black egg hovered silently above the mirror-like surface of the lake. Suddenly, the surface of the black egg bulged slightly and ripples emanated outwards.

    With a crack, a fracture appeared on the surface of the black egg. Soon afterwards, another part of it ruptured. Within the black egg, all of the directions were confounded together. Li Qingshan thought he punched in the same direction, but under Mo Yu¡¯s control, he constantly changed the direction he attacked. However, even with that being the case, destroying the black egg was only a matter of time.

    Mo Yu¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. Even if regular Daemon Commanders were powerful, it would all just be brute strength. Once they were trapped in the black egg, it would still be death. However, he never expected that Northmoon could actually break the black egg, and as it seemed, he had done so with great ease.

    Mo Yu took out a pitch-black bamboo flute and brought it to his lips, playing it slowly, but it produced no sound at all. The sound of the flute was directly transmitted into the black egg.

    Li Qingshan suddenly remembered that when he fought against Mo Yu last time, Mo Yu had cawed at him towards the end, which reduced his lifespan by a century. Although the flute was very different from the caw, they were extremely similar in essence.

    The Death Bringer Curse!

    Mo Yu¡¯s most terrifying innate ability had many variations. Through this pitch-black flute, he could push its power to the limits, no longer just reducing the enemy¡¯s lifespan, but directly destroying their will to live. In an intense battle like this, the consequences that came with losing the will to live went without saying.

    For a moment, even Li Qingshan lost some of his interest in living. A feeble feeling of weariness like an old man with a foot in the grave filled his mind. However, he immediately escaped from this feeling, not through the mental suppression of the spirit turtle, but through his own willpower.

    Drinking fine alcohol, sleeping with fine beauties, and fighting powerful enemies. There were plenty of interests in life. He found endless joy in contending against the heavens, contending against the earth, and contending against humanity.

    As a result, he laughed aloud and swung his fist. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The black egg shattered loudly. He said to Mo Yu, ¡°You¡¯ve used up your three tricks, so is that it?¡±

    Mo Yu¡¯s expression changed slightly. His innate abilities all possessed overwhelming power, so when he encountered an enemy he was unable to overwhelm, he was actually left at a loss over what to do.

    At this moment, the mirror clone lunged over from behind and pierced him with a punch, but all that remained was a blur. Mo Yu flapped his wings and took off. As an avian, his speed was startling too, but a scarlet streak of light intercepted him. Li Qingshan¡¯s speed was still superior after all.

    Li Qingshan used the Tiger Demon Digs Out the Heart, but he missed. The fierce wind he stirred up produced a great pit in the lakewater, kicking up a colossal wave.

    Mo Yu immediately vanished, appearing behind Li Qingshan and reaching towards the vital point of his neck.

    Originally, it seemed like he has to turn into a black swirl whenever he teleports, but it looks like that¡¯s only for long-range teleportations. In close combat, it¡¯s basically no different from instantaneous transmission. He received that punch of mine earlier just to trap me. It didn¡¯t seem to injure him in any way.

    As he thought, a piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew out automatically and blocked Mo Yu¡¯s attack. At the same time, he used the wings of wind to sweep back. Mo Yu teleported once again.

    In the night sky, a scarlet ball of light rampaged around, producing brilliant streaks. A black shadow constantly flashed around, appearing and vanishing suddenly without any signs.

    For a moment, neither of them could do anything to the other. It was basically impossible for Mo Yu to defeat Li Qingshan in close combat. Their speed was virtually the same, while his strength was nowhere close to Li Qingshan¡¯s. Even if Li Qingshan remained on the spot and allowed him to hit him, he would struggle to rip through his ox hide and break his tiger bones.

    However, it was not easy for Li Qingshan to capture Mo Yu as he constantly teleported around.

    ¡°Haha, didn¡¯t you say I would die today? You only flee, so how are you supposed to kill me?¡± Li Qingshan punched through a blur Mo Yu left behind and sneered loudly.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I would die before you? Come kill me!¡± Mo Yu retorted.

    What a troublesome innate ability. I need to find an opportunity to deliver a lethal blow. I refuse to believe I still can¡¯t kill you even with my ten innate abilities!

    Just as Li Qingshan contemplated a countermeasure, a familiar voice rang out from the horizon.

    ¡°The two of you, please stop for a moment and hear me out!¡±

    Gu Yanying descended from above. With such a great disturbance within the Ruyi commandery, she learnt the news of it very soon as the White Hawk commander and rushed over.

    ¡°Yanying!¡± Mo Yu frowned slightly. It was her appearance last time that made him lose the perfect opportunity to kill Northmoon.

    Li Qingshan feigned displeasure. ¡°Gu Yanying, what do you have to say?¡±

    But regardless, they both stopped. Gu Yanying smiled gently. ¡°Since neither of you can kill the other, you should stop for today. Northmoon, you can keep cultivating, and you¡¯ll definitely become stronger and stronger. Mo Yu, you¡¯re quite close to Daemon King, so why don¡¯t you seek revenge then?¡±

    To Li Qingshan, the rate at which his strength grew would definitely be faster than anyone else¡¯s as long as he had time. However, if Mo Yu could undergo the third heavenly tribulation, his strength would grow in an overwhelming way. This suggestion seemed very reasonable.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Who said I can¡¯t kill him?¡±

    Mo Yu said nothing. He did not believe there was the possibility of defeat today. Standing in an undefeatable position, as long as they kept fighting, he could definitely find an opportunity to deliver a lethal blow to Northmoon. Moreover, he had not even used his trump card yet.

    ¡°No matter who gets killed, I won¡¯t stop you. After all, that¡¯s what you want. However, if you keep fighting, both of you will die! Mo Yu, you¡¯ll die at Northmoon¡¯s hand, while Northmoon, you¡¯ll be killed by the dragon king! An outcome where you perish together is not amusing! As a friend of both of you, I have a responsibility to prevent something like this from happening.¡±

    Gu Yanying stopped smiling. Her gaze was like a hawk¡¯s.

 Chapter 698 â€“ One Has to Die, the Legend of the Ink Sea

    ¡°Like what I said. You¡¯ll die ahead of me. Even this woman doesn¡¯t hold high hopes for you!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly laughed and sneered at Mo Yu again.

    Mo Yu said flatly, ¡°Today, regardless of whether I survive or die, you will definitely die. However, there¡¯s no need for the dragon king to take action personally.¡±

    They both happened to be rather unconvinced over Gu Yanying¡¯s judgement. Mo Yu obviously did not think he would die. It was the exact opposite actually. He was still holding back, and he was prepared to overwhelm and kill Northmoon as long as Gu Yanying did not obstruct him.

    Li Qingshan believed that once he killed Mo Yu, all he had to do was conceal his aura properly and go back to being a Scarlet Hawk commander, and that would be enough. No matter how powerful the Dragon King of Ink Sea was, where was he supposed to find him? His only worry was that Gu Yanying might sell him out.

    Both of them happened to look at Gu Yanying at the same time. The resolve in their eyes went without saying. They wanted to continue this battle until someone died.

    ¡°Foolish men!¡± Gu Yanying brought her hand to her forehead and sighed. She shook her head. ¡°Alright. Since you insist, I definitely won¡¯t be interrupting this battle.¡±

    Gu Yanying chose to back away, moving away from Calm Wave lake. She spectated from the pavilion on the mountain to the western bank of Calm Wave lake, expressing her absolute neutrality. As a White Hawk commander, she should have been overjoyed to see two powerful Daemon Commanders become wrapped up in internal strife. She had already lived up to her responsibility to them by speaking up and telling them to stop.

    ¡°Big sis, they don¡¯t want to stop?¡±

    In the pavilion, Si Bao leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance, lifting up her thick brows slightly. A battle on such a level was extremely rare in this day and age.

    ¡°They¡¯re not going to stop until someone dies this time.¡±

    Gu Yanying nodded. She, who had always been so graceful and unworried, was quite solemn right now. Although she had never planned on becoming lovers with anyone, more friends always guaranteed a larger network she could access. Whether it was Mo Yu or Li Qingshan, they were both very important to her.

    ¡°Big sis, you don¡¯t have to worry. According to my observations, it¡¯ll end in a draw at most. Without using any abilities, Mo Yu can¡¯t even touch a hair on Northmoon, which really makes me question how he cultivated. He has actually already reached Daemon Commander, and he¡¯s just a mess of strength.¡±

    Si Bao calmly analysed her observations from their clash earlier. She was skilled with actual combat, and her words were convincing. To her, this battle would end in neither victory nor defeat at most.

    ¡°You underestimate the two of them too much. Mo Yu still has a chance to kill Northmoon, but once he fails, Northmoon will kill him. Northmoon thinks he can escape the dragon king¡¯s pursuit, but he won¡¯t be capable of that.¡±

    Gu Yanying leaned on her hands and the railing, gazing at the two figures on the horizon.

    ¡°Really? I¡¯ll have to take another look¡­ If it really does end up like what you said, big sis, then you won¡¯t be able to make use of them!¡± Si Bao smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, all I can do is make use of you.¡±

    Gu Yanying extended her hand to pinch Si Bao¡¯s nose. She was only joking when she said she would make use of them. Over these years of contact, she personally believed she had not let down any of them. If it were just being used one-sidedly, why would they maintain their relationship? It was not like they were idiots.

    She would help neither this time. She felt very much at ease.

    ¡°This time, she won¡¯t be able to save you,¡± Mo Yu said flatly.

    ¡°Yeah. Originally, she could have saved you this time, except you¡¯re not clever enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. If Mo Yu had agreed to a ceasefire, he would not pursue a battle relentlessly, basically doing it for Gu Yanying¡¯s sake. He would hope to not actually push the Dragon King of Ink Sea over the edge, where he would come out in person to hunt him down. However, Mo Yu was clearly determined to kill him, so he would definitely use this opportunity to bring this to an end.

    As he spoke, he smoothed all of his thoughts, like smoothing out every single ripple on the surface of the lake. Against Mo Yu who could appear anywhere, he actually closed his eyes like that.

    Here!

    His mind rippled slightly and developed an obscure feeling. Li Qingshan suddenly struck out, punching out diagonally towards his right back.

    Mo Yu had just shifted there, prepared to launch a sneak attack and disturb Li Qingshan, but he never expected a fist to flow over the moment he appeared. He was unable to dodge in time at all.

    With a great boom, the punch landed right on Mo Yu¡¯s chest. Even the air split open, becoming riddled with cracks. Mo Yu¡¯s body could already be regarded as tough among Daemon Commanders, but Li Qingshan¡¯s iron fists were unstoppable. He had still been blown away viciously, his chest rupturing and becoming riddled with vicious wounds. However, there were no organs inside, only a pitch-black liquid like ink that had been stirred up viciously into a mess.

    Li Qingshan was about to go after him, but Mo Yu had already teleported several hundred meters away. He stared at him in doubt and surprise and thought, Was it luck?

    Si Bao let out an interjection of surprise as she spectated the battle. She saw it very clearly. Northmoon¡¯s punch did not land out of luck; instead, it was filled with confidence. Had he grasped the patterns of Mo Yu¡¯s movements during the battle? But that did not seem too likely.

    Gu Yanying explained to alleviate her doubts, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? He has the ability to obscure the heavenly secrets and avoid being divined, which also means he can carry out some divination.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that he¡¯s using his premonition to grasp Mo Yu¡¯s movements? Just what kind of daemon is he?!¡±

    Si Bao widened her eyes in disbelief. Knowing divination was nothing, but being able to use it in such an intense battle and predict the opponent¡¯s next move was impressive. Even if he were slightly weaker, he could easily gain the upper hand. Was he supposed to be some exotic beast that naturally possessed the ability of foresight?

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t know. He seems to be a hybrid of many bloodlines; each bloodline is extraordinary, which is why he possesses so many innate abilities.¡±

    ¡°But maintaining this premonition will definitely take a great toll on his mind. He won¡¯t be able to maintain it for long periods of time.¡±

    ¡°However, even if Mo Yu¡¯s physique is different from regular daemons, just how many punches can he withstand?¡± Gu Yanying calculated silently. It was probably about time for Mo Yu to take out his trump card!

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings of wind and fire and turned into a streak of scarlet light, flying towards Mo Yu. Before he had even reached Mo Yu, he suddenly changed directions and lunged down. Sure enough, Mo Yu had shifted to the position he had been anticipating, allowing Li Qingshan to plant a kick on his shoulder and send him falling towards the lake. His entire shoulder collapsed, reduced to a clump of blurry, black liquid. He was unable to neutralise the power of shockwaves for quite some time.

    Right when he was about to fall into the lakewater, Mo Yu shifted again, but before he could even catch his breath, the smear of scarlet light had already arrived within arm¡¯s reach.

    Li Qingshan kept his eyes shut, flying around in the sky and constantly barraging Mo Yu¡¯s body. Even if his physique was extremely special and could withstand a tremendous amount of damage, it was virtually impossible for him to maintain his shape. Under the constant attacks, unable to fight back at all, the expression on his face became more and more human. It was filled with anger!

    The spirit turtle still remained at the fourth layer, waiting for the phoenix to climb to the same level of cultivation. Only when he achieved a balance between water and fire would the spirit turtle continue to progress. However, after reaching Daemon Commander, Li Qingshan could use the spirit turtle¡¯s powers more freely and flexibly. After his soul sense was strengthened, he could withstand a greater toll.

    With his speed, he could rush over with a single flap of his wings as long as he predicted where Mo Yu would teleport to next. As long as this continued, victory was merely an issue of time.

    Mo Yu shifted away once more, and Li Qingshan tailed him like a shadow, throwing a punch at his face. Mo Yu took out a painting scroll from his sumeru ring and unfurled it with a flap. It was blank.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°He¡¯s finally taken it out.¡±

    And what¡¯s this?

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He wanted to pull back, but it was already too late, so he threw his punch at the painting scroll. Who cared what it was. He would rip it apart first and see.

    The punch landed on the white paper and kicked up a series of ripples. A strange thing happened. The thin paper was not ripped in half. Li Qingshan¡¯s fist inched into the paper instead. The painting scroll suddenly rolled up and swept Li Qingshan inside completely.

    The painting scroll unfurled again in Mo Yu¡¯s hand, and Northmoon¡¯s figure appeared on it, remaining in the posture where he flapped his wings and threw his punch. Each strand of drifting, scarlet hair could be made out clearly, like a life-like copy of him.

    A sliver of delight appeared on Mo Yu¡¯s face. ¡°Northmoon, I¡¯ve put up with you for so long, so do you finally understand my power? I¡¯ll take you back to the Ink sea right now and hand you over to the dragon king.¡±

    Si Bao said in surprise on the pavilion, ¡°Mo Yu actually possesses such an exotic treasure for sealing and suppression! From its quality, it should be an arcane treasure at the very least!¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°But can he really suppress him? This is Mo Yu¡¯s lifebound item. If he didn¡¯t use this painting scroll, then it would be just like what you said. He could still escape. However, if the painting scroll is destroyed, he¡¯ll definitely be heavily injured!¡±

    ¡°His lifebound item? Why would his lifebound item be a painting scroll!?¡± Si Bao was stunned.

    Lifebound items normally referred to a certain part of a daemon that had been refined and cultivated, like Sha Bie¡¯s shell. It was closely connected to the life of the owner, and it possessed extremely great power. However, what kind of daemon had a painting as a lifebound item?

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Si Bao thought of the only possibility. The daemons in this world came in all different shapes and sizes. Who knew how many types there were exactly. Not all daemons were birds or beasts. Sometimes, when a rock or a well gained intelligence, they could also turn into daemons.

    ¡°Yeah, his original form is actually a painting, a crow inside a painting.¡± Gu Yanying nodded. Having reached this point, she no longer needed to keep this secret for him.

    ¡°That means¡­ the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡­ No wonder¡­¡±

    Si Bao suddenly understood many secrets, such as why Mo Yu had ¡°mo¡± or ¡°ink¡± as a surname and why the dragon king¡¯s son would be a crow.

    Gu Yanying said slowly, ¡°The Ink sea was not named after the dragon king. Legend has it that the Ink sea was once extremely clear, but an immortal dwelled by the seaside and liked to paint and write calligraphy, frequently washing his brushes in the sea. As time went on, the seawater blackened and became the colour of ink.¡±

    Si Bao had heard of this legend too, except there had always been many of these folklores. Most of them were exaggerated and strange, not worth her attention. Only when she heard it right now did she become surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the legend is true!¡±

    ¡°Who knows? Look, the time to determine victory has arrived.¡±

    On the snow-white paper, Li Qingshan, who had been sealed in the painting, suddenly swiveled his eyes, meeting Mo Yu¡¯s.

 Chapter 699 â€“ Victory Already Determined Both Inside the Painting and Ou

    The moment he was sucked into the painting, Li Qingshan saw a white world. He was unable to separate the sky from the ground, and it seemed boundless, yet also as cramped as a prison. He knew he had been trapped in the painting.

    He frowned subconsciously, having discovered that he was immobilised. He could not even make the simplest of actions. But to his joy, he could still mobilise daemon qi and use innate abilities. He immediately unleashed the powers of the Tremors of the Ox Demon in an attempt to rip up the painting from inside out.

    Black ink marks emanated away from him on the paper. They were shaped like cracks, but they rapidly dispersed.

    In the world within the painting, his ability with the great destructive power had been reduced to a non-threatening animation. The way which the world operated, even the way he existed, had been changed from its very core, introducing new laws.

    It went without saying that even if he used the flames of the phoenix, he would not be able to burn the painting. At most, he would produce a burning bundle of flame-shaped ink.

    Is this the so-called second dimension? This doesn¡¯t feel particularly great! Trapped in a difficult situation, Li Qingshan did not panic. Instead, he found a strange sense of novelty about it all, amazed by this wondrous move.

    Mo Yu gazed at Northmoon in the painting with utter delight. Nothing was more satisfying than watching his enemy being reduced to a tiny painting. He looked into the west at Gu Yanying who stood in the pavilion.

    Yanying, do you see this? I¡¯ve won this battle! You may be the cleverest woman I¡¯ve ever seen, but even you can¡¯t anticipate everything.

    Northmoon was far too fast. Mo Yu had no confidence in being able to suck him into the painting. He had bided his time for so long before grasping the opportunity and establishing his victory in a single stroke.

    Li Qingshan observed the white world quietly and gradually noticed that it was not pure-white, but slightly yellowed, like an ancient painting that had stood the test of time.

    Bah, doesn¡¯t that go without saying? This has always been a painting!

    He cursed inside. Suddenly, he realised that a few white figures existed in the white world. Compared to the yellowing environment in the surroundings, they were clearly much whiter. He could vaguely make them out as a bird perching on bamboo.

    Don¡¯t tell me these used to be in the painting? Bird, bamboo¡­ Li Qingshan suddenly recalled the black bamboo flute that Mo Yu played. Don¡¯t tell me this bird is a crow? The one trapped in the painting before was Mo Yu. No, he wasn¡¯t trapped. He has always been a painting! I see! I see!

    Li Qingshan thought of this important point, but it did not seem to be of much help to his current situation. Now was not the time for him to think about the contents of the painting. Instead, he was supposed to find a way to break out. He had to make himself move first.

    If it were the second dimension, then so be it. He had to be a moving picture at the very least!

    However, when he tried to unleash his limitless strength to move his body, he felt an omnipresent force pinning him down on the spot. He could not even twitch his muscles.

    The only thing worth rejoicing over was Mo Yu saying he would take him back to the Ink sea and hand him over to the dragon king. As it seemed, the painting could only suppress, and it was impossible to attack the suppressed target from outside the painting.

    That went without saying, or the painting scroll would be a little too overwhelmingly powerful. All Mo Yu would have to do was teleport behind the enemy and suck them in. If he could do that, couldn¡¯t he even butcher Daemon Kings as he pleased?

    Little did he know that Mo Yu was currently hesitating as well. As his lifebound item, he could obviously enter the painting and launch attacks, but the strength that Northmoon demonstrated earlier left him shaken.

    Li Qingshan would never wait obediently for others to handle him. He silently mobilised the power of the spirit turtle and began analysing the painting scroll.

    In the painting, he produced ripples that vanished at the edge of the paper. He gradually came to a sliver of understanding. The restraint did not come from the scroll, but himself. He had yet to ¡°adjust¡± to life as a person in a painting. This adjustment was not about becoming accustomed to it. Instead, it was about an understanding of laws.

    Hmm? What¡¯s this?

    ¡°Give up. All of your struggles are in vain. Today is the day you die.¡±

    Mo Yu¡¯s eyes were pitch-black, and his voice was hoarse and unpleasant, filled with a deathly aura. He used the Gaze of Death and the Death Bringer Curse at the same time, wanting to weaken Northmoon from outside the painting first. If he could snuff out his will to live, that would be for the best.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s blank pupils swiveled over suddenly, meeting Mo Yu¡¯s. He could see the world outside the painting. He blinked his eyes at first before his entire face began to move. He sneered and moved his lips.

    ¡°Mo Yu, you better save your efforts. I was wondering what kind of daemon you were. Turns out you¡¯re just a cluster of ink. This must be your final move already! Heh, what¡¯s so difficult about escaping from a painting?¡±

    Mo Yu was surprised. He never imagined Northmoon to adjust so quickly, so he immediately gave up on the thought of entering the painting. Although the world inside the painting was his territory and could place numerous suppressions on Northmoon, he really did not want to clash with him again. He would be better off bringing him back to the Ink sea!

    ¡°You can stop with the boasting. Do you think you can escape from the painting just by adjusting to the laws in the painting?¡±

    ¡°There are plenty of ways to break out. Let¡¯s try this move first!¡±

    An incomplete sword suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. The sword was pitch-black like ink. At the same time, his body began to move. He swung the sword gently at Mo Yu, and a sharp strand of sword qi emerged from the paper.

    ¡°This is!?¡±

    Even when he took on Li Qingshan¡¯s punches, Mo Yu was unafraid, but his expression changed when he saw the sword qi. He tilted his head in a hurry to dodge, but as it was last minute, a slash appeared on his pale-white face. Black blood flowed out, and the wound did not close up.

    The incomplete, black sword was the strand of sword qi that Li Qingshan had nurtured in his body from refining the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. After condensing the Ocean pearl, the sword qi had become more and more consolidated. Originally, it was merely a strand of sword qi, but Li Qingshan was able to clutch it in his hand and wield it like a real sword in the painting.

    When he analysed the painting scroll, Li Qingshan accidentally discovered a familiar seal, the seal the creator of this painting left behind. This painting actually shared the same origins as the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, so he naturally thought of the incomplete sword qi in his body.

    With the strike being effective, Li Qingshan laughed aloud. The incomplete sword in his hand turned into inky strokes, like a high-quality animation of ink and watercolours. Sword qi shot out.

    Whenever a strand of sword qi left the paper and turned into a proper strand of sword qi, Li Qingshan understood a little more. Although his sealing into the second dimension from the third dimension had been rather sudden, escaping from the second dimension was not exactly impossible.

    Right now, he understood three things at the very least. First, Mo Yu should have been a creation of the Five Absolutes Immortal, which was why the incomplete sword in his hand could overwhelm him. However, if that were the case, was the Dragon King of Ink Sea supposed to be something from a painting too?

    Secondly, as long as he destroyed this painting scroll, he would be able to heavily injure Mo Yu. If he could refine the painting scroll, there was even an opportunity to control him. The painting alone was an arcane artifact, and he could use it to threaten the Dragon King of Ink Sea. However, this was not particularly likely.

    Thirdly, the Five Absolutes Immortal was absolutely awesome. It was no wonder that even brother ox would speak words of praises when he saw an incomplete fragment of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy that was merely a spiritual artifact. Of course, he only spoke with a tone along the lines of ¡°this junior¡¯s got something in him¡±.

    The sword qi burst out of the painting strand by strand. Mo Yu seemed to be in an extremely tight corner. As long as the sword intent locked onto him, the sword qi would tail him relentlessly. He could only block it and not dodge it. If he had been some other Daemon Commander, then forcefully blocking a few strands of sword qi would have been nothing, except the sword qi overwhelmed him. Every strand that landed on him would definitely result in a wound.

    As a result, he became stuck between a rock and a hard place. Outside the painting, he was unable to directly attack Northmoon; all of his attacks would be converted into ink when they landed on the scroll. This was the law that the creator had set down to protect his painting. After all, the painting never inherently possessed the ability to suppress enemies. That was the case unless the power of the attack surpassed the law, but that would directly destroy the painting scroll. Mo Yu would never be able to accept that.

    If he rolled up the scroll, it would probably be ripped apart before long, and Northmoon would escape. After all, Mo Yu knew how the Three Absolutes Calligraphy had been ripped into so many pieces back then.

    He could only wait for the incomplete sword in Northmoon¡¯s hand to run out of power before immediately rolling up the painting, returning to the Ink sea, and handing him over to the dragon king.

    As he slashed away, the incomplete sword in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand became shorter and shorter. In the end, only the hilt remained. After all, it had only been condensed from sword qi. It was not inexhaustible.

    Before Mo Yu could even catch his breath, Li Qingshan fished out the real Three Absolutes Calligraphy, and the incomplete sword in his hand immediately recovered, becoming even sharper and more consolidated. As long as his spiritual qi did not run out, he could continue swinging away forever until the scroll had been ripped apart.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Now, Mo Yu understood who had killed his subordinates and stole the Three Absolutes Calligraphy during the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures. He recalled Gu Yanying¡¯s warning and considered letting out Northmoon and escaping.

    However, when he recalled Northmoon¡¯s various sneers and remarks, he made up his mind and took out a copy of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy too before leaping into the painting.

    Under no one¡¯s control, the painting fluttered down towards the lake. Gu Yanying¡¯s gaze was as sharp as a hawk¡¯s. She watched on from the pavilion, staring at the scene in the painting. They each wielded an ink sword and engaged in an intense battle. Clumps of ink dripped and danced about as they maneuvered through the yellowed paper. Their figures would overlap at times and separate at others.

    Mo Yu was obviously better adjusted to the laws in the painting than Li Qingshan, and he could use the scroll to suppress Li Qingshan. This was the reason why he was bold enough to leap into the painting. He gained the upper hand with ease.

    Si Bao constantly moved her head around, wanting to make out the front of the painting. ¡°Big sis, who will win?¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°Victory has already been determined!¡±

    As the painting fluttered through the night wind and finally succumbed to the pull of gravity, about to fall into the water, Mo Yu suddenly leapt out of the painting. He was riddled in wounds, and his brows were firmly furrowed. His ink sword had vanished, and he clutched his chest with one hand and grabbed the painting scroll with the other, shaking it violently. Li Qingshan was shaken out of the painting, hanging onto a Three Absolutes Calligraphy with his mouth and holding another Three Absolutes Calligraphy in his left hand.

    Mo Yu immediately unfurled his black wings in an attempt to flee. His hand tightened. He looked back, only to find Li Qingshan grabbing onto the other end of the painting.

    Mo Yu roared, ¡°Let go!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

 Chapter 700 â€“ A Battle of Life and Death, the Dragon Kingâ€™s Wrath

    As for Li Qingshan, he exhibited startling endurance. As time went on, Mo Yu gradually weakened instead. Li Qingshan landed three slashes on him, defeating him. Mo Yu wanted to escape now, except how could he get away so easily?

    Li Qingshan gripped the scroll firmly. Even if the Dragon King of Ink Sea was here, he could forget about prying it from his hands in a single piece. The painting did indeed possess wondrous powers, but it paled in comparison to some arcane artifacts forged from metal in terms of toughness. It definitely could not withstand the full-powered tugging of two Daemon Commanders.

    ¡°You- Northmoon- what are you trying to do?¡±

    In that moment, fury filled Mo Yu¡¯s face, but he immediately recovered his expressionless face of a corpse. Northmoon had the upper hand right now, but he did not strike immediately, so he was clearly planning something else.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let go first, and we can talk slowly?¡±

    Li Qingshan had noticed a long time ago that the painting was extremely important to Mo Yu. Otherwise, he would have directly teleported away after leaving the painting. It would take Li Qingshan quite some time before he could break free, and by then, Mo Yu would have been long gone already. He would not be able to chase him down. However, Mo Yu went as far as to release him just to take the scroll away with him.

    The reason why he was in no hurry to strike was obviously to maximise his benefits and minimise the conflict. If Mo Yu really came from the painting, then it was highly likely that as long as he refined the painting, he would be able to control him. If he possessed a hostage like him, then even the Dragon King of Ink Sea would have some second thoughts about taking action against him.

    Mo Yu¡¯s behaviour made him even more certain about his theory.

    ¡°What are your conditions? You can ask away, but don¡¯t even dream about this painting!¡± Mo Yu said firmly.

    The painting was the very core of his existence. Although he was self-conscious and had turned into a daemon that could cultivate, he was still unable to break free from this relationship. From a certain perspective, he was a so-called artifact spirit. If Northmoon refined him, the only fate awaiting him was being reduced to a servant.

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand just who should be talking right now.¡±

    ¡°If you destroy the painting, then you¡¯ll become a bitter enemy of the Ink sea, well beyond reconciliation. The Green province, no, the nine provinces, will no longer have a single place that can shelter you.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that if I let you go today, we can still resolve our grievances peacefully and become a pair of good friends?¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. A threat like that only made Mo Yu¡¯s bravado even more evident. If he did not subdue or kill Mo Yu today, was he supposed to wait until Mo Yu underwent the third heavenly tribulation and became a Daemon King before seeking revenge again?

    Mo Yu gazed at the sky. He let out a long sigh. ¡°Forget about it!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He¡¯s finally giving in! However, he saw Mo Yu¡¯s expression harden. With a great tug, there was a rip, and the scroll split into two pieces down the middle. Mo Yu would actually rather destroy it than hand it over to Li Qingshan.

    Light poured out from the rip, forming a white cluster of fluid. It fluctuated in shape as it tried to envelop Li Qingshan. This was the wondrous world that existed in the painting. Before it completely dispersed, Mo Yu had turned it into a final counterattack. If he were drawn in, even Li Qingshan would definitely suffer heavy injuries.

    However, Li Qingshan was constantly on guard, so how could he fall for that? He pulled back immediately, and the white fluid dispersed very quickly, merging with the space there. When he looked at Mo Yu, he had already dove into a black swirl with half of the scroll and vanished, completely severing the possibility of Li Qingshan repairing the painting.

    ¡°He sure does have some resolve, but with everything that has happened already, does he really think he can still leave?¡±

    Li Qingshan praised him before becoming stern. He flapped his wings and rushed into the air. As the world spun around him, pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell scattered.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again. ¡°The south west! The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, all of the shell pieces stacked together, extending off in the south west direction. Sure enough, he discovered Mo Yu several hundred kilometers away. He never thought he would flee in the opposite direction of the Ink sea. He sure had his wits about him.

    Li Qingshan turned into a streak of scarlet light and whistled off in the south west direction like a meteor.

    The moment Mo Yu completed his teleportation, black blood spurted out of his mouth violently. Ripping apart the painting had already caused him heavy wounds he could not heal right now. Suddenly, he shivered inside and gazed back. There seemed to be a scarlet eye several hundred kilometers away, staring straight at him. He forcefully controlled his injuries and immediately carried out a second teleportation, changing directions once again.

    ¡°Has he gone to the north now? The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    Mo Yu teleported three times in a row, constantly changing direction, but the feeling of being spied on followed him like a shadow. It was like a sword hanging over his head, ready to fall at any time.

    And, the distance he teleported became smaller with each time. When he carried out a final teleportation after much difficulty, he only shifted several dozen kilometers away, but he was still unable to escape from the surveillance. He knew this distance to Northmoon was merely the matter of a sprint.

    Mo Yu was already completely worn out, and his wounds violently acted up. The wounds left by the Three Absolutes Calligraphy had closed up after great difficulty, but they had ruptured again now, oozing with black blood.

    A while later, a scarlet streak of light leapt out from the horizon, gliding over swiftly. Mo Yu knew he had no chance at escaping, so he simply stood there, calmly watching the scarlet light draw closer. ¡°Northmoon, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    Li Qingshan exhaled. His breath expanded along the way, turning into a whistling tornado that swept towards Mo Yu.

    If I tear you to shreds, can you still recover from that?

    In the pavilion, Si Bao saw them vanish and was about to chase after Northmoon¡¯s scarlet light when a hand pressed down on her shoulder. Si Bao looked back in confusion. ¡°Big sis!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s time for us to go back.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to see the outcome?¡±

    ¡°Life and death has already been determined!¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head sternly. She hoped very much that Mo Yu could agree to Li Qingshan¡¯s conditions. That way, there would still be leeway. She could ask the Dragon King of Ink Sea to step forward, pay a price, engage in negotiations, and so on¡­

    However, she understood that Mo Yu would not accept it. She could try and persuade Li Qingshan to spare Mo Yu, but he would not agree to it either.

    She had heard plenty of ostentatious things like ¡°it¡¯s for your sake¡± before, but she understood how many people detested such things, posing around, predicting people¡¯s futures, and saying so-and-so would happen if they did not listen to them! Even if that really was the case, how many people could accept something like that wholeheartedly?

    She knew it was useless, but she still ended up saying it, and it still ended up being useless. There was nothing worse than watching something horrible happen while being powerless to stop it. From today onwards, the cultivation community would lose another two of her acquaintances!

    Mo Yu let out a miserable cry and turned into a black crow, circling around the beam of wind and flying towards Li Qingshan. He dripped with ink.

    Faced with the final struggle, Li Qingshan¡¯s face hardened. He silently raised his fist, prepared to send his opponent off on his final journey. Suddenly, he twisted around and punched backwards.

    The crow vanished and turned into Mo Yu again, who appeared right behind him.

    Against this lethal punch, Mo Yu spread his arms, completely fearless. He did not even show a hint of surprise. His lips curled slightly, and they opened and closed soundlessly.

    You will die!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. The moment the punch came in contact with Mo Yu¡¯s body, he turned into a clump of pitch-black ink and exploded loudly.

    He had blown up his daemon core to take him down with him!

    The might was ten times greater than any Golden Core cultivator blowing up their golden core Li Qingshan had ever seen. The ink seemed to dye the sky black. The black ball filled with the power of death swelled to the limit, like a black sun had appeared in the sky.

    Within a range of several dozen kilometers, all of the vegetation withered away and all humans and animals perished.

    Li Qingshan had already been expecting this, so he had taken precautions. The moment Mo Yu blew up his daemon core, pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew out and formed a firm sphere. After reaching Daemon Commander, the defences of the most basic ability of the spirit turtle, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, had become even greater.

    The black sun swallowed it silently. Immediately, cracks appeared on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, already on the brink of collapse. It only lasted for a moment before shattering loudly. The darkness swallowed Li Qingshan. The power of death faced off against his flames of life one last time, invading and attacking it.

    This was not because the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was not powerful enough. Instead, having fought until now, Li Qingshan had constantly used his innate abilities and constantly predicted Mo Yu¡¯s movements. Both his mind and daemon qi had taken an extremely great toll.

    The black sun slowly shrunk, disappearing in the end.

    Li Qingshan looked at the crescent moon and the sky full of stars. He exhaled deeply and smiled. ¡°Mo Yu, I just didn¡¯t die in the end!¡±

    The moment that the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell lasted for had blocked most of the damage, and fortunately, this explosive power had no guidance, only expanding off in all directions disorderly. Otherwise, he really would be in danger.

    After going through great difficulties, he had killed his enemy. That was as satisfying as it could get!

    But now was the time to run!

    Over five thousand kilometers away, before the life lamp had been extinguished, a pair of dragon eyes opened again. The Ink sea began to surge.

    In the Ink sea, the dragon king roared.

    In South Hub city, the lord of the Green province, the Fierce King of Chu, stood on the top of the city walls, gazing far into the depths of the Ink sea. His soul sense reached hundreds of kilometers away. All he saw was an ink dragon rise up into the air, coiling about and soaring through the sky like a colossal pillar that upheld the sky, crossing the distance between the sky and the sea. The Ink sea roared, wanting to follow along.

    ¡°Fellow Ink Dragon, what¡¯s happened?¡± the Fierce King of Chu asked loudly.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea did not answer him. He flew over South Hub city, travelling directly for a place over five thousand kilometers away in the south west direction.

    All of Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs stood on end. He experienced terror he had never experienced before. There were clearly no enemies within the range of his senses, but the feeling of danger was like a sword swinging towards his neck. Only a millimeter remained before his head hit the ground.

    He composed himself and took precautions with the spirit turtle, just in case divination locked onto his position. In the end, he erased his aura.

    However, something went wrong when he reached this step. During the explosion earlier, he had been covered in ink. Upon closer inspection, the ink did not simply stick to his skin; instead, it even reached as deep as his bones. Even his daemon core had been enveloped in an aura of death.

    It was unable to harm him, but he was unable to clean it all away quickly either. If he had guessed correctly, the Dragon King of Ink Sea and Mo Yu shared the same origins, so the splotches of ink were as prominent as a lantern in the dark. Even if he hid his aura, it would be completely useless.

    ¡°Is this Mo Yu¡¯s final Death Bringer Curse? Hehe, those in the past were all a joke. Now this is a fucking Death Bringer Curse. I gotta say, nicely done!¡±

    Li Qingshan praised as he flapped his wings, throwing himself into the atmospheric winds.

 Chapter 701 â€“ The End of the Road! Certain Death?

    When it came to the wings of wind, the ¡°wind¡± part was vital. Even Li Qingshan had discovered out of pure accident that by condensing the atmospheric winds, the wings of wind could speed up by quite a lot, but he could not sustain it for too long. As a result, he flew into the atmospheric winds, even if it came at the cost of injury.

    Slivers of atmospheric wind were woven into the wings of wind, allowing him to unleash unprecedented speed. He flew in the south west direction, or more accurately, away from the Ink sea.

    The atmospheric winds whistled past his ears and the ground receded rapidly. New landscape constantly appeared from the horizon, with far too many things for the eye to see. If it were not for the fact that he was facing imminent doom, it should have been an extremely exhilarating sight.

    However, even at such speeds, the feeling of danger inside him did not loosen up. Instead, it grew heavier.

    Li Qingshan understood the Dragon King of Ink Sea was definitely faster than him. The only advantage he had was a head start of five thousand kilometers. If he could not deal with the splotches on ink on him, being caught was just a matter of time.

    Fleeing blindly was useless. As a result, from the moment Li Qingshan discovered the function of the ink splotches, he immediately channeled his daemon core as hard as possible.

    The daemon core of water and fire spun away, shining with scarlet and blue light. The phoenix burned and the spirit turtle suppressed, purging the aura of death from the daemon qi sliver by sliver before expanding through his body and dealing with the ink that was firmly adhered to him.

    However, this process was very slow. They were like stubborn stains that would only fade a little after much scrubbing.

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings without pause, maintaining the greatest speed he could achieve as he fled into the distance. The situation seemed like the exact opposite of Mo Yu and him earlier. He could not help but sigh with a smile, Retribution sure comes quickly!

    He encountered the same issues that Mo Yu faced. First of all, his daemon qi could not last for much longer.

    After a bitter battle, he could not even rest for a second before beginning his desperate escape. Powering the wings of wind depleted daemon qi, and he understood that cleaning the ink splotches off his body took up even more daemon qi. If he had not been prepared beforehand, he would have run out already.

    His daemon qi was rapidly exhausted. Thirty percent, twenty percent, ten percent¡­

    The Ocean pearl suddenly began to spin. If the daemon core was the essence of his daemon cultivation, then the Ocean pearl was the crystallisation of his human cultivation. As it spun away, spiritual qi channeled into the daemon core and was converted to daemon qi.

    And, he still had one last trump card, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation!

    The Cloudwisp association had developed very well. As the greatest contributor, his novels had been promoted actively, so the rate at which the Divine Talisman of Great Creation gathered the power of belief was already ten times faster than before. It could be described as his final line of defence.

    However, there was another problem troubling him at the same time, which was exhaustion!

    Flapping the phoenix wings took an extremely great strain on his body. The ox demon was known for its endurance. Ever since he obtained the innate ability, the Strength of the Earth, he had virtually never felt tried again, but right now, exhaustion was creeping through his body silently and spreading bit by bit.

    Although he no longer needed to be standing on earth to use the Strength of the Earth, being so high in the sky still played a large effect, but if he left the layer of the atmospheric winds, his speed would immediately drop by a sizeable amount.

    He was facing issues both inside and out right now. He had yet to even face the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but he felt like his body was already close to giving out.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan stood in the air. His scarlet hair drifted with the wind and his scarlet eyes gazed towards the east.

    On the horizon, a darkness even heavier than the curtain of night spread over, obscuring the stars and moon. It was like a dark cloud. It filled half the sky in the blink of an eye, even reaching about the skies.

    Immediately, Li Qingshan experienced an almost-suffocating pressure and his mind shook because of it, but he immediately calmed himself down and yelled at the sky, ¡°Dragon King of Ink Sea!¡±

    The dark clouds were like ink in water, constantly surging about like living animals. Scales and claws could be vaguely made out from them. A pair of dragon eyes lit up and glanced past him indifferently, stabbing right through him like a sword, before looking away. The ink-like clouds shot over his head and after another blink of an eye, it had reached the other end of the horizon.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head, only to see a splotch of ink on his chest rapidly expand and spread. He frowned and his body erupted loudly, turning into thousands of droplets of water which fell into Calm Wave lake.

    Thousands of kilometers away, Li Qingshan was overcome with horror. Through the eyes of his mirror clone, he finally saw the Dragon King of Ink Sea who had travelled over five thousand kilometers just to kill him. Originally, he wanted to keep him busy for a moment, but his clone had dispersed from a single encounter.

    This was his most powerful mirror clone so far that possessed a portion of his strength. It was no weaker than any Daemon Commander, yet he actually failed to even see how the enemy had attacked him. Only when he was struck did he discover he had been pierced by a droplet of ink.

    With his life force, he would not necessarily die even if he became riddled with holes, but when it came to the droplet of ink, perhaps it was better described as destroying the innate ability, the Watermirror¡¯s Image, from its very basis than killing his mirror clone.

    The great will within the droplet of ink even pierced through his clone and tried to attack his original body. If it were not for the fact that his Watermirror¡¯s Image was different from regular clone techniques, that strike alone would have heavily injured his original body.

    This was no longer just a difference in strength, but a chasm between realms of cultivation. It was no wonder the Dragon King of Ink Sea could dismiss the Dragon province¡¯s Beast King or whoever he was with a single word, forcing him to give up on avenging his disciple. No matter what strategies and schemes were used, they were all useless before an opponent like that.

    However, he had already achieved his two objectives of sending out the mirror clone. The first one was to estimate the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s speed, but the end result was he would definitely be caught before he could clean off all the ink. The second was to estimate his strength, but the end result was he would be dead once he was caught.

    Right now, the situation of his original body was even worse than his clone¡¯s. Even if he could make out how the Dragon King of Ink Sea attacked him, he probably would not even be able to withstand a single strike.

    Although the distance between them right now probably could not be traversed by a mortal even if they spent their entire lives travelled, he was no different from a sitting duck with the danger he faced.

    He had considered seeking refuge from the Golden Cicada Spirit King or the Great Banyan Tree King before, but their relationship was just fellow cultivators. The Golden Cicada Spirit King admired him, but he did not owe him anything. All he wanted to do was leap out of this well and anything that got in the way of his objective would be his enemy. Although the Great Banyan Tree King had gone out of his way to give him special treatment, he would not be turning his back on the neutrality he had maintained for ten millennia to endure the wrath of the Dragon King of Ink Sea for him.

    When it came to fellows or fellow cultivators, that was referring to fellow cultivators on the same path. The part of ¡°path¡± came before the part of ¡°fellow cultivators¡±. They were only fellows when they were on the same path. If their relationship impeded their path, it would only ruin their friendship. Having been aware of this the entire time, Li Qingshan never planned on seeking refuge under anyone in the first place.

    He was at the end of the road. Was this already certain death?

 Chapter 702 â€“ Qingshanâ€™s Death, Phoenixâ€™s NirvÄ?a

    No, there¡¯s always a chance!

    Li Qingshan glanced down and discovered that before he knew it, the landscape below had already become different from the Green province. The dense vegetation formed a verdant sea, covering the rising and falling land. It was filled with a primitive, wild feeling.

    Huge, strange birds soared through the air lazily. Mist coiled through the dense jungle, giving off waves of daemon qi. If there were daemons bold enough to openly fly in the air and run along the ground in the Green province, the cultivators would butcher them very quickly.

    Have I reached the Mist province already?

    Li Qingshan had been flying in the south west direction the entire time. By now, he had already crossed over five thousand kilometers, entering the lands of the Mist province. The spiritual qi in the Ocean pearl was close to running out, and his body was utterly exhausted. The killing intent was staring him right in the face.

    He flew for a while longer and suddenly saw a stream of black smoke rise into the air. His eyes narrowed, only to see mountains appear on the horizon. However, these mountains were very different in appearance. They were barren, not covered in lush vegetation, and they lacked peaks. The stream of smoke originated from one of the mountains as rivers of fire flowed out from the opening.

    It¡¯s a volcanic cluster!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He felt like he had experienced a flash of inspiration, but he was unable to describe specifically what this inspiration was.

    His phoenix wings folded backwards, and he left the layer of atmospheric wind. He turned into a straight streak of scarlet light and threw himself towards the erupting volcano. The flowing lava scorched brilliantly. The phoenix wings became even more magnificent within the burning fire.

    The Strength of the Earth began to come into effect. Strength surged into his body, and the feeling of exhaustion vanished completely. Li Qingshan was relieved, but he dared not stop at all. He passed through the magma and dove into the depths of the volcano.

    Li Qingshan had experience cultivating in the magma underground. He used the powers of the Tremors of the Ox Demon ingeniously and carved out a path in the magma. The Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a greatly diminished the damage that the scorching heat and flames could cause him, and his ox hide could endure the remaining damage.

    Most importantly, while the surging magma did possess the underground magnetic field, it was not as powerful as deep underground. If this were underground, he never would have been bold enough to dive deeply into the magma.

    Sure enough, the ink faded much faster, but his speed as he travelled through magma was like a snail to a bird compared to travelling through the atmospheric winds. He was unable to unleash the wings of wind to their full potential, and the underground magnetic field would disturb him.

    With every moment he took, the Dragon King of Ink Sea would press several hundred kilometers closer.

    A while later, he reached the end of the magma. He needed to make a choice, either to stay in the magma to clean off the ink and gamble that he could clear off all the ink on him before the Dragon King of Ink Sea caught up, or return to the surface and continue to use his speed to buy time.

    However, Li Qingshan understood very well that regardless of the choice he made, he could not escape the fate of the Dragon King of Ink Sea catching up to him. The latter could just let him live a little longer.

    He had entered the magma because of that strange flash of inspiration, but what was the point of it? Was it only for him to waste some time for nothing? Or was it telling him to downright finish himself off quickly in the magma?

    To the south west of the volcanic cluster, hot springs of various sizes gurgled away, rising with white steam. With a rumble, flames burst out of the hot springs, and Li Qingshan rushed into the air again. He continued off in the south west direction, flying towards deeper depths of the Mist province.

    A while later, a swathe of dark clouds shot over the volcanoes, straight off into the south west direction.

    The ink was being cleansed bit by bit, with only a final part remaining, but Li Qingshan showed no joy. Suddenly, he looked back, only to see a black line appear on the horizon. The black line rapidly spread and expanded. A pair of dragon eyes that were as deep as ink locked onto him from hundreds of kilometers away.

    That happened when he was speeding through the sky. If he had stayed put, the black line probably would have swept through the sky in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan turned around and faced the front. He clenched his fists. The time to decide life or death was about to arrive!

    Of course, the only thing being decided was his own life or death.

    As a result, he stopped running away and dove towards the boundless earth. With a rumble, the ground shook. Countless towering trees were ripped apart and blown away, allowing the sun to illuminate his face. He stared into the distant sky with his scarlet eyes. The black clouds blotted out the sun, weighing down heavily. A dragon head the size of a mountain drooped down, staring at him.

    There was no hysterical hatred. There was no gushing killing intent. He was like a god overlooking the lowly, ant-like common people.

    Li Qingshan stood with his head and chest high. He stature pulled up from the ground, three meters, fifteen meters, thirty meters, sixty meters, a hundred and twenty meters!

    There was no panic from reaching the end of the road. There was no fear from the arrival of death. There was only battle intent that rushed into the air.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done something you shouldn¡¯t have!¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea said.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea was in no hurry. His voice was like the clouds that loomed down from the sky, formidable and boundless. Within a range of several hundred kilometers, whether man or beast, they all heard the voice. If they possessed some intelligence, they all stared at the horizon blankly. An existence that was far too overwhelming, overwhelming beyond belief, had instead lost its ability to strike fear. However, the more powerful the daemons and cultivators were, the more they could feel the trembling from the depths of their souls.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s already done, why do you still say ¡®should¡¯ or ¡®shouldn¡¯t¡¯? Come!¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms. His wings were glorious. He stood in high spirits as he said this.

    ¡°Come!¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea seemed to be rather intrigued by his courage, or perhaps better described as stubbornness. He sensed the influence of the ungraspable fate again and fell silent for a moment.

    Without even waiting for the Dragon King of Ink Sea to respond, Li Qingshan flapped his wings and rushed into the horizon. The closer he was to the Dragon King of Ink Sea, the more he could sense the powerful pressure.

    This battle was truly hopeless! It was certain death!

    He smiled and swung his fist at the dragon head!

    A few droplets of ink pierced through the air, but he no longer possessed the strength to dodge, so he did not dodge. His body ignited, first the glorious wings on his back, followed by his scarlet, fire-like hair. His blood filled with vigour turned into flames too, permeating his skin. Everything was set alit, turning into a ball of majestic fire.

    Like a rising meteor that pierced through the sky, he rushed into the sea of clouds that blotted out the sun!

    He shone! Followed by subsidence¡­

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, in the main hall.

    Xiao An sat with the buddha in silence, striking a wooden fish.

    Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk¡­

    The steady, unchanging sound of the wooden fish seemed like it could continue for a millennia. The buddha statues would remain unchanged even for ten millennia.

    Thunk! The wooden fish broke!

    Suddenly, Xiao An looked back. Her heart palpitated with fear, which appeared on her beautiful face. Ever since she entered the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, she had been known for meditative silence. She would speak with no one. But right now, she cried out.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    The firelight shone in the sea of clouds, dimming and extinguishing very quickly. The sky full of dark clouds gathered together and turned into a man in inky, navy robes. He stood with his hands behind his back as he sank into his thoughts for a moment.

    Everything had returned to peace. He had already gotten his revenge, but he did not see a daemon core or any other items. An Asura Field obviously should have been here too.

    There was nothing strange about this. He clearly knew he faced certain death, so he obviously did not want the opponent to benefit. He had probably cast them away on the way here!

    If the soul nascence of a Soul Nascence cultivator had fled, then they still had a chance at repossession and rebirth, but a measly daemon core was useless. His body had been completely destroyed, and even his soul had been incinerated in the flames.

    Northmoon is already dead!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea was absolutely convinced about this. He could still distinguish between his original body and his clone. He could clearly sense the severance of a sliver of fate. Although there were still parts he could not see through, just who could completely understand fate? Perhaps only the gods and buddhas in the Nine Heavens could do that! Perhaps they could not as well. There was no way he could know about this.

    At this moment, he suddenly remembered that according to his senses, Northmoon had slowed down over a region of volcanoes. It was very likely that he had left his daemon core and items there.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea returned to the volcanic cluster and leisurely searched around with his soul sense, entering deep into the magma. The further down he went, the stronger the interference from the underground magnetic field. In the end, he found nothing, so he stopped caring. He turned into a black dragon and vanished into the horizon.

    A daemon core and an Asura Field would never make any difference to him.

    Unbeknownst to the Dragon King of Ink Sea, as long as his soul sense ventured another five kilometers deeper, he would have found a daemon core. However, at this depth, the combined interference from the underground magnetic field and the magma was already great enough to prevent even a powerful Daemon King from using his soul sense easily. The Dragon King of Ink Sea would only find it if he ventured in there personally, but under the circumstances where his senses were suppressed to the limit, this was not an easy feat to achieve either.

    As a result, the daemon core just floated in the magma and flames quietly. Nearby, the ownerless Asura Field produced a ring of blood-red light, protecting itself from the magma.

    A short while ago, Li Qingshan was in the magma, stuck between a rock and a hard place and facing imminent death. He tried his best to search for the flash of inspiration in his head.

    In the rolling flames, he instinctively channeled the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, absorbing the fire spiritual qi and letting it circulate through his body for a full cycle before gathering in the daemon core.

    At this moment, the tenth innate ability he was simply unable to understand suddenly appeared before his eyes. It was actually in a state where he could understand and use it.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind shuddered. So this is the phoenix¡¯s innate ability!

    Legends had it that whenever a phoenix was close to the end of its life, it would throw itself into fire and be reduced to ashes, rebirthing in flames. People called this ¡°nirv¨¡?a¡±, symbolising unending life. The full name of the Phoenix Transformation was the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a!

    As a result, when he left the magma and continued fleeing, he had already left his daemon core and Asura Field in the magma. At the same time, he stored his Ocean pearl, demon heart, and Divine Talisman of Great Creation, as well as his Water God Seal and hundred treasures pouch, all in the Asura Field.

    Under his control, the daemon core and Asura Field sank into the depths of the magma together.

    The moment Li Qingshan burst into flames and disintegrated into ashes, the daemon core flashed with light that rapidly subsided.

    Only now did it begin to shine again, producing rings of scarlet light, gathering the flames of the earth and slowly revolving.

    The daemon core spun faster and faster, and the scarlet-red flames gradually solidified, turning into a fire-red embryo of a phoenix.

    PS: And that¡¯s the end to the ninth volume, ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a¡±. I¡¯ve just reached two million characters as well. We¡¯ll be setting off on a new journey very soon, so please look forward to it! When you look forward to it, don¡¯t forget to cast some votes and so on!

 Chapter 703 â€“ Rebirth in Chaos, a New Journey

    Suddenly, there was a streak of light. A sliver of consciousness awakened, hazy and utterly confused.

    Everything seemed to return to a long, long time ago, before Northmoon, before Li Qingshan, and even before Li Er. Back then, he still had no name, in the intersection between his past life and his current life. He curled up peacefully in his mother¡¯s womb, waiting for the day he would be born.

    He was unable to confirm whether he had actually undergone rebirth or if he had transmigrated to another world. Only when he sensed the liquid that was scorchingly-warm yet filled with life around him did he gradually become convinced that he was still alive, that he had won the gamble!

    As it turned out, the phoenix¡¯s ability could only be used in scorching fire. It was neither for attack, nor was it for defence. Instead, it was for rebirth, just like the legends.

    Bathing in flames, the phoenix underwent nirv¨¡?a rebirth.

    This made him think of Xuanyue. She possessed the ability to come back from the dead. While this ability did sound very powerful, Gu Yanying had labelled it as useless, which was not completely without reason. The phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a could only be labelled as such too. If he encountered any opponents he was unable to stop, his daemon core would probably be taken away. How could he still undergo rebirth calmly?

    Unless the enemy¡¯s strength completely exceeded his, he would never separate his daemon core from his body. By the time he faced such an enemy, it would already be too late, and if he did not face an enemy like that, there would be absolutely no need for this either. If it were not for Mo Yu¡¯s curse this time that had dyed him in ink, he could have erased his aura and escaped easily. It was a special circumstance. The chance that it would happen again was negligible.

    But no matter what, it had still helped him survive, so he could not ask for anything more. No matter what, it was still a legendary ability of ¡°eternal life¡±, and he could vaguely feel it was not so simple. However, what he wanted to know the most right now was when he could escape from his current state!

    He wanted to look around, but he could not open his eyes. He wanted to extend his arms and legs, but he could not sense his arms and legs. He discovered out of pure helplessness that he was a ball of liquid, and he was in an oval egg. He was uncertain whether it was divided into egg white and yolk.

    ¡°Life gets worse the more you jumble around¡± was probably referring to this exact situation! However, he jumbled around and ended up as an egg, which sure was terrible. Was this perhaps the legendary ¡°jumbled egg¡±, a ¡°bastard¡±?

    Bastard!

    He cursed inside. Although he had no fists to clench and no teeth to grit, he had still made up his mind. One day, he would go dragon slaying in the Ink sea and make that old dragon understand his power. He would hang him up on a wall as an ornament.

    His future was bright, his path was winding, but right now, all he could do was stick with hatching out.

    With nothing to do, he could only use his random thoughts to pass time. Suddenly, he thought of a saying, The heavens and earth were a chaotic mix, just like a chicken¡¯s egg. Pangu was born within. Eighteen thousand years later, the heavens and earth split apart, the light and pure yang qi rose up to the heavens, and the heavy and mixed yin qi fell to the earth.

    TL: This is the Chinese mythology of how the world was created, split open by Pangu. Before that, it was all primordial chaos. You can read about Pangu and the primordial chaos, »ìãç, here:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangu

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundun

    Before the world had been split open, the heavens and earth were chaos, just like a huge chicken¡¯s egg. Chaos was the beginning of all things and creatures, the source of all life.

    Right now, he had returned to chaos, tracing back to his source, like a towering tree that had turned back into a seed and was undergoing the process of sprouting and growing once again. However, it definitely would not be a simple repetition. Having experienced it all once before, the tree would definitely be able to grow even taller and thicker.

    Legends had it that after undergoing nirv¨¡?a rebirth, the phoenix would become even more powerful and magnificent. Li Qingshan seemed to understand something and began channelling the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, waiting for the day he would break out of his shell in the state of an egg.

    Time passed by bit by bit. In the depths of the magma, within the fire-red phoenix¡¯s egg, Li Qingshan realised he was no longer a jumble of liquid. His body was gradually taking shape. Slender bones, tender skin, and flowing blood was growing inch by inch. He had developed into an embryo.

    His thoughts became clearer; they had never been so clear before. During the process of rebuilding his body, his soul sense had been refined. Under his control, every single bone and meridian in his new body was condensed with the most logical and perfect structure. Although it was still very immature, it contained great potential.

    Moreover, this was not even the part that left him the most overjoyed. All this time, various conflicts existed in his body, not just the intolerance between the spirit turtle and the phoenix. The spirit turtle, the tiger demon, and the ox demon were also in a relationship of suppressing and being suppressed. Ever since he reached the fifth layer of the ox demon, suppression became extremely difficult.

    Even the relationship between the ox demon and tiger demon was actually disharmonious. The ox demon was as steady as a mountain, while the tiger demon roared like the fierce winds, so how could there be no conflict and counteracting? It was just not as obvious before even greater conflict.

    Each transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was an extremely powerful creature. They possessed a clearly distinct will. The ox demon had the persistence to never change itself, the tiger demon wanted to challenge everything, the spirit turtle submerged in the sea abyss, and the phoenix soared through the sky. The stronger they were, the more their differences and conflicts stood out. As they brought him strength and abilities that surpassed other daemons, it also led to an extremely great internal toll unknowingly.

    As for the demon heart, the Ocean pearl, and the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that represented different paths of cultivation, they were also riddled with conflict, interfering with one another. This was a price that had to be paid. Unless he spent vast amounts of time to balance them out, the higher his cultivation became, the greater the internal toll would be. Many times, once he had progressed to a certain stage, he would not even have the opportunity to balance them out.

    In other words, he should have been even stronger. He clearly had a hundred percent of strength, but he could only use seventy to eighty percent of it in the end. This missing twenty to thirty percent of strength could not be underestimated. If he possessed it before, then he would have been able to kill Mo Yu extremely easily. In a clash among the powerful, even a fraction of strength could make all the difference in the world.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea would have never been able to force him into these circumstances either, as he would have been able to fly faster and clean off the ink faster, enough for him to remove all traces and hide his aura, vanishing into the vast jungle of the Mist province before the Dragon King of Ink Sea caught him.

    Though, better late than never.

    His past body had gone up in flames. While this body reborn in chaos was still very young, it was an unprecedented opportunity. Only with the old destroyed could there be the new. He would have the opportunity to retrieve this lost strength.

    The phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a was not supposed to be used to feign death and slip away when he had reached the end of the road under an enemy¡¯s pursuit. Instead, it was for a new life that was even more glorious.

    Li Qingshan dismissed his thoughts and cast aside everything else, preparing himself for the day when he would hatch out of the egg.

    Perhaps due to him gathering the flames of the earth, the eruptions of the volcanoes above him became extremely frequent. Magma constantly erupted and gushed forth while ash obscured the volcanoes all day long. Before he knew it, the phoenix egg and the Asura Field were slowly moving upwards.

    Boom!

    With a deafening rumble, the volcano erupted again. Countless pieces of scorching rock were hurled hundreds of meters into the air, thrown into the distance along arcs. Among them was an oval phoenix egg that shone with a weak, scarlet glow. As the lava around it rapidly hardened in the wind, he already seemed no different from a regular piece of rock apart from his shape.

    Although he was still a mindless egg, a new journey had already begun!

 Chapter 704 â€“ An Eggâ€™s Fate

    With a bang, it smashed into the grey, rocky ground, leaving behind a ditch.

    A few hours ago, the volcano subsided, the lava slowly cooled, and the volcanic ash settled down. The egg laid quietly in the ditch.

    Smack! A droplet of water landed on the ground. Swish! A storm descended.

    White mist from the rainwater permeated the surroundings. When the rain fell into the crater, it evaporated into steam. Streaks of white steam and smoke emerged from each volcano, like warning beacons.

    The volcanic cluster that originally symbolised terror and destruction actually possessed a wondrous, otherworldly aura, except the air became even stuffier and more humid than before.

    When the rain let up slightly, over a dozen figures appeared on the ground. They only wore shorts, their exposed figures strong and robust. Their yellowish-brown skin was covered in colour. Who knew whether they were tattoos or drawings, giving off a savage and wild aura.

    The Mist province had always been known as the land of the southern barbarians, and the people who lived in the jungle of the Mist province were obviously known as barbarians. All of the barbarians carried a basket on their backs. They held a long pole in their hands, where the tip was a metal hook.

    At first sight, they seemed like a group of scavengers; this was not far off from the reality. However, they did not scavenge garbage or trash, but the rocks that erupted from the volcanoes.

    The ¡°scavengers¡± scattered, having a separate region to themselves. They all bent over and widened their eyes, searching across the ground. They used their poles to pry around before scooping items up and rubbing them firmly. If they were regular rocks, then they would directly cast them aside. If they possessed a shine or a sparkly gleam, they would beam with joy and toss it into the basket on their backs.

    The volcanic cluster was a dangerous land of death, but there were many precious mineral resources too. Metals that the flames of the earth had smelted were materials for forging powerful weapons. They could even potentially find priceless items like fire spiritual stones and fire crystals.

    At this moment, a young barbarian in the distance discovered something strange. The thing was only the size of a palm, and it felt weightless in his hand. There were some strange patterns on its surface, like a bundle wrapped in flowery cloth. The strangest part about it was fire could not burn it, and water could not wet it either. Not even a speck of dust stuck to it.

    ¡°C¡¯mere, c¡¯mere. Look at what this is,¡± the young barbarian called out.

    The tone of his voice was strange, but the language he used was no different from the one in the Green province. Although this world was much vaster than Earth, there were not that many languages. Even daemons spoke the same tongue.

    A group of barbarians huddled over and expressed their opinions about the Asura Field, but they were unable to tell exactly what it was either. Someone suggested to the young barbarian to pry it open and take a look. Perhaps it was hiding something good.

    The young barbarian refused, afraid of breaking it, but he gave into everyone¡¯s urging and pulled at it gently. Obviously, nothing happened to the Asura Field. It led to a roar of laughter, laughing at how he could not even pry apart a bundle and how useless he was.

    ¡°All of you, shut up!¡± The young barbarian gritted his teeth and used all the strength in him to pull, but still nothing happened to the Asura Field. The laughter became even more intense.

    ¡°Let me!¡± The sturdiest barbarian snatched the Asura Field over. His face reddened like a tomato, but the end result was no different. In the end, several barbarians worked together, but they were still unable to do anything to it, which confirmed that it was something extraordinary. Eventually, they returned it to the young barbarian. Everyone was envious of his luck.

    The oldest barbarian said, ¡°Kiddo, hang onto it. You might be able to exchange it for quite a lot of good things.¡±

    The barbarians returned and continued their search. They all widened their eyes a little more, hoping they could have the same luck. A while later, another person called out, gathering everyone over.

    The barbarian had discovered a strange rock. The rock was even larger than a person¡¯s head, and it was round like an egg.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a rock?¡± a barbarian said unhappily.

    His luck had not been too good. Not only had he failed to discover anything strange, but he even happened to collect the fewest amount of minerals.

    ¡°No, this is an egg! When I first picked it up, it even moved!¡± The barbarian who discovered the rock said with the utmost confidence.

    The two of them bickered, almost breaking out into a fight. In the end, they asked the old barbarian to appraise it. After holding and examining the egg for a while, he concluded from his many years of collecting rocks that this was a regular rock hardened from lava. It only happened to be shaped like an egg.

    ¡°Kiddo, you better save your strength! Toss it away!¡±

    Everyone scattered in a hubbub. The barbarian looked at the stone egg in his hand and still felt it looked like an egg. At the very least, it was an egg before it became a rock. However, since the old barbarian had said it was worthless, he hesitated for a moment before tossing it back into the ditch. If he brought this stone egg with him, he could not take a lot of minerals with him.

    A while later, the earth shook. Another volcano nearby began erupting, and the barbarians all dispersed from the region. The barbarian who had picked up the stone egg earlier passed by the ditch again. He glanced at it and stopped, picking up the egg again.

    The barbarians retreated down the mountain. Unfolding before them was a boundless blue sea. The rising and falling terrain were like waves in the sea, while this barren cluster of volcanoes was a lone island in the ocean.

    They arrived on the ¡°coastline¡± and dove into the seawater, crossing through like fish that had returned to the ocean. They moved through the jungle briskly, parting the annoying wide leaves and following a tiny path that was enveloped in greenery, almost indistinguishable from the rest of the forest.

    There were very few proper pathways in the Mist province. Most of them were like this tiny path. Even if the obstructing plants were hacked away, they would grow back in just a few days. If a path was not frequently travelled, the greenery would quickly swallow it again.

    Very soon, a village surrounded in wooden stockades appeared before their eyes, and they all eased up. There were always various dangers among the trees. The village still brought the most relief.

    The stone egg and the Asura Field laid in separate baskets, entering the barbarian¡¯s stockaded village.

    Several days later, a ground of several dozen people arrived before the village. They were armed with weapons and dressed in the same manner as regular barbarians. They tied a bandana to their heads, and they had a pouch over their shoulders. They gave off a feeling that they were highly capable.

    They sat on top of over a dozen pack animals that resembled oxen and horses. The powerful animals emerged from the jungle on a path with ease. In particular, the leading pack animal was the tallest and sturdiest. The person who sat on it was the leader of these people.

    He seemed to be forty or fifty years old. His coarse face was weather-beaten, while his grizzling hair had been tied into a huge braid. His eyes shone brightly, and the large pair of glistening, golden earrings on his ears were particularly eye-catching.

    ¡°Open up! Goldie is here!¡±

    ¡°Gold earrings¡± called out like he was singing. His voice was extremely penetrative, reaching across the entire village very soon.

    ¡°The merchants from Goldie fort are here!¡± ¡°Open the gates!¡±

    A series of yells rang out of the village, and the gates opened loudly. People lined the streets to welcome them as the merchants entered proudly.

    The barbarians who collected rocks a few days ago all laid out their rocks, inviting the merchants to pick through them. The merchants took out various goods for exchange.

    Gold earrings was currently drinking with the old village head when a subordinate suddenly entered and said to Gold earrings, ¡°Sir, please go and take a look. They¡¯ve discovered a wondrous item.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What wondrous item?¡±

    Gold earrings stood up immediately. Some precious minerals would appear from the volcanic cluster from time to time. His mission was to travel around the volcanic cluster and visit over a dozen villages before transporting everything he had exchanged for to the Fragrant Flower market to be sold. Once he completed this trade, he could make a tenfold profit. However, during the several decades he had spent in this business, there were not a lot of items that could be described as wondrous.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It seems to be made out of cloth¡­ but no one is sure¡­ They don¡¯t know its function either!¡±

    Gold earrings was taken aback. The men under his command could be regarded as knowledgeable and experienced, yet they could not even identify what it was made of, so he could not help but have his interest piqued. He went over to take a look, and his eyes immediately lit up. He did not know its function, but from the material alone, it was anything but ordinary. Was it perhaps a spiritual artifact?

    Despite his well-established inner force, he was unable to see any glow at all, but he was prepared. He took out a tiny insect from the pouch on his waist, and the insect flew over to the Asura Field, but it did not respond. He immediately became disappointed.

    The young barbarian held a demonstration in a hurry. He swung the blade he carried on his waist at the Asura Field a few times, and the Asura Field obviously remained unscathed.

    ¡°To be wrapped in such great cloth, there must be something good inside. It¡¯s worth a lot of money!¡±

    Gold earrings hesitated, but he still ended up paying a pot of salt and a blade for the wondrous item of unknown function. The wondrous item had definitely been refined through special means. Perhaps it could fetch a great price at the Fragrant Flower market. And, even if that failed, he would not be incurring a loss with how much of a smooth talker he was.

    The barbarian accepted the pot of salt and the blade happily. When the merchants were about to leave, a barbarian rushed over to the front and raised the stone egg high into the air.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good egg! A good egg! I don¡¯t want any blades, just salt!¡±

    He had brought back this stone egg after so much difficulty, but in the end, he was unable to sell it. Seeing how his fellow villager had obtained a pot of salt so easily, how could he simply accept this?

    Gold earrings accepted the stone egg and took a look. There were no signs of polishing; it was as if it was naturally formed. He placed it by his ear and listened before tapping it a few times. The sound was dense, so it did not seem to be hollow. Even if it really were an egg, it was a dead egg.

    ¡°This was found with the bundle. It had erupted from the volcano. It¡¯s definitely something good. It¡¯s a loss if you don¡¯t buy it!¡±

    Gold earrings made up his mind and ordered, ¡°Give him a pot of salt!¡±

 Chapter 705 â€“ The Bone Eating Tribe, an Eggâ€™s Flash

    Gold earrings lead the group of merchants. After entering through the city gates, they were like a droplet of water that had dripped into a lake. They vanished very quickly. Over a dozen days later, they finally emerged again.

    Gold earrings was still at the front. He had changed into a brand-new set of clothes, and his hair and beard had been combed again. He was brimming with joy, but it definitely was not because he had gotten some good sleep and a hot shower in the city. It was because the profits from this trip had greatly exceeded his expectations.

    The ¡°patterned bundle¡± of unknown function made it into the monthly auction of Fragrant Flower market and fetched a lofty price of a hundred taels of gold. Right now, that sum weighed heavily in the bag beside him. Even until now, he did not understand the function of the patterned bundle. During the auction, they only announced that it hid an ancient, precious treasure, but even the most powerful masters with the sharpest blades could not leave a single scratch on it.

    When he thought of that, he could not help but feel a tinge of regret. If he had known earlier, he could have handled it properly, and it definitely would have fetched an even higher price. However, the people who were interested in purchasing the patterned bundle were all people he could not afford to offend. If he were in Goldie fort, then perhaps, but in the Fragrant Flower market, he dared not cause any trouble, or there would most likely be problems on the way back.

    Just losing his items would be considered lucky. He would probably lose his life too. With a corpse casually tossed aside in the jungle, the smell of blood would draw over all the creatures and animals within several kilometers. Even his bones would be gone in a mere few hours.

    Right now, at least he could return peacefully. Although he carried a lot of gold and silver on him, he could deal with all the people that treasured gold and silver. Even if he could not deal with them, he still had the deterrence from Goldie fort. Basically nobody would want a grievance like that over some gold and silver. Of course, there were a lot of people who did not even take Goldie fort seriously, but these people would not treasure mere gold and silver.

    He called to the group behind, ¡°Men, stop being so mute. Get singing!¡±

    ¡°Alrighty, uncle Bao!¡±

    The group happened to be in high morale. The shortest and most capable man began singing at the top of his voice, ¡°Hey, oh hey, roaming the mountains and seas with bare feet hey! Run into a mountain, just cross through the caves! Run into water, just slosh through the waves! Run into the sky, just don¡¯t look back! Hey, oh hey!¡±

    The loud singing pierced the clouds. Smiles filled all of their faces as the entire group began singing. On the ancient, frequently-travelled path, they did not have to worry about running into any powerful daemonic beasts, and the singing could instead alarm everything around them and scare off wild beasts.

    Although the Mist province was known as a land of savagery, the common people who grew up in the wilderness were known for their singing and dancing. They were not cultured with etiquette and courtesy, but etiquette and courtesy did not bind them either. They were closer to the simplicity and naturalness of human ancestors dancing around the fire. Regardless of their gender or age, they could all sing a few songs. From a certain perspective, this was their culture and legacy.

    However, this joyous atmosphere came to an end during the dusk on the fourth day. They had just crossed through a mountain stream, and the surrounding vegetation became denser than before. The towering trees that had grown for who knew how many millennia listened to their singing silently.

    Suddenly, Gold earrings noticed that something was amiss. The silence in the forest was a little chilling, and the docile back beast underneath him looked around uneasily. He waved his hand, wanting to stop the singing and listen for any disturbances quietly.

    Swish!

    A rock pierced the throat of the short man who sang the loudest, making his singing come to a stop first.

    ¡°Powerful enemies!¡± Gold earrings immediately concluded. Despite his martial arts and being alert, he failed to see which tree the rock had shot over from. With a swish, he drew the blade on his waist and called out at the top of his lungs, ¡°Goldie is here!¡±

    This was a way that merchants from Goldie¡¯s fort expressed their identities. No one within a range of several hundred kilometers did not know about it. However, the resonant voice seemed to lose its original penetrative power. Heavy murderousness permeated the surroundings with the night mist, approaching the group step by step. The pack beasts whinnied fearfully. The enemy either did not know about them, or they did not care.

    ¡°We¡¯re from Goldie fort! May I ask which cave or village these friends are from? Please come out so that we can talk! Whether you want money or goods, it¡¯s all up for discussion!¡±

    Dark-green eyes lit up in the gloomy forest. The tree leaves rustled, and figures emerged. Gold earrings¡¯ face immediately changed. He exclaimed, ¡°The Bone Eating tribe!¡±

    These figures only seemed half-human, where the other half was beast-like. They were bulky and covered in thick hair. Their arms draped down towards the ground, and all ten fingers were sharp claws. A pair of sharp fangs were exposed from their lips. Even with their backs arched, they were taller than regular people. The bulkiest monster extended his bright-red tongue and licked his nose. He said with a hoarse, unpleasant voice, ¡°We want people!¡±

    With that, he lunged over with a gust of wind. Gold earrings swung his blade and slashed his shoulder, but it felt like he had struck the tough skin of a rhinoceros. He only managed to scratch the surface of the skin before he was pushed down to the ground viciously.

    Even he was so helpless, so his subordinates were even worse off. They were subdued right off the bat. They seemed like they had no intentions of killing anyone, but when Gold earrings recalled the rumours regarding the Bone Eating tribe, his heart directly sank.

    However, this was no longer a situation a practitioner of martial arts like him could handle. Even real ¡°shamans¡± or ¡°sorcerers¡± would struggle to escape alive, as these monsters were ¡°shamanfolk¡±.

    The pack beasts were directly slain, producing miserable cries. The bags and rucksacks were ripped open and pieces of gold scattered into the bushes, but they could not even attract a second glance from these monsters. What they wanted were people!

    The Bone Eating tribe specially hunted down other people and practised cannibalism, but it was not for the sake of filling their bellies. Instead, it was to strengthen themselves through shamanistic techniques. The more people they ate, the greater their power became, and the more twisted and vicious their appearance and personality would become. But in the great jungle where the strong were revered, no one would prioritise appearance and virtue over strength.

    When regular barbarians faced shamanistic tribes, they stood absolutely no chance. The merchant group was pressed down on the side of the path, forming a row. The monster who had said ¡°we want people¡± earlier began to choose. He grabbed Gold earrings by an ear and ripped the entire ear off. He tossed it into his mouth and chewed away. ¡°It¡¯s too tough!¡±

    After deliberating for a while, he finally chose the youngest one. He picked him up and bit down on his neck, sucking hard. Only after he was basically done with sucking did he begin chomping away. The other monsters choose their targets too, throwing themselves on top of them and eating away. For a moment, there was only the sound of chewing in the forest.

    Unlike their crude and vicious appearances, they ate extremely carefully, wasting none of the flesh and blood. Every single droplet of blood would be sucked dry before it hit the ground. Even the bones had been forcefully crunched up and eaten.

    Gold earrings, who had been deemed as ¡°too tough¡±, was fortunate enough to avoid the banquet¡¯s first round. As he gazed at the nightmarish scene, his entire body stiffened, completely immobilised. He noticed a flash from the corner of his eye, only to see a ring of scarlet light appear from the bush. The stone egg that had been appraised as a regular rock was currently glowing as if something was trying to hatch through the shell.

    Just what monster was it this time!?

 Chapter 707 â€“ Eating the Eggshell, Looking for the Asura Field

    ¡°That¡¯s good. Raise your head!¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao raised his head in a hurry, only to see a piece of eggshell in Li Qingshan¡¯s small, tender hand. ¡°Go gather the fragments for me right now!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Li Qingshan simply waited where he was. He let out a yawn. In that while, he actually felt rather tired. He casually tossed the piece of eggshell into his mouth and chewed it a few times with his sparse baby teeth before swallowing it.

    A warmth expanded through him, and his energy riled up. He rubbed his head. A thin layer of fluff had grown out. He could not help but grin. His innocent and cute appearance made Goldie A¡¯bao shiver. Ignoring the pain he felt, he began searching through the forest in a hurry.

    The fluid in the phoenix egg was originally for Li Qingshan to drink to recover a certain amount of strength to break through the eggshell. Afterwards, he would eat the eggshell, and he would basically recover his mobility. He would not be as feeble as right now.

    However, with the Bone Eating shamans surrounding him, he was forced to blow up the phoenix egg in the most violent way possible, scattering the eggshell in the forest. However, he did not find any pity in that. As long as he survived the current danger, recovering his strength was merely a matter of time.

    The sky had already darkened completely. The rainforest was humid, so the burning vegetation was put out before long. The curling, white smoke merged with the night mist, while the heavy reeking of blood entangled with the sharp, burnt smell, gradually pervading through the air. Oh right, there was also the fragrance of pack animals being cooked by the fire.

    Li Qingshan wrinkled his nose. He did not have much experience living in the rainforest, but even he knew that many wild beasts would begin hunting around this time of the day, and the smell was as luminous as a lantern in the darkness. The reason why they had not approached here immediately was probably because of the scent left behind by the strange people earlier, which still deterred them. As this scent gradually faded, it would become more and more dangerous.

    There was no fire he could make use of right now. Once vicious beasts appeared, he really would stand no chance, but if that ¡°one ear¡± saw through his feebleness, Li Qingshan would be doing well if he merely fled. It was very likely for him to immediately kill him. It was also possible for the strange people to return, so he needed to leave as soon as possible.

    Li Qingshan tossed them all into his mouth. He grew a little taller, his hair became thicker, and he had even grown a few more baby teeth. After waiting for another fifteen minutes, the pieces of eggshell had finally been mostly collected. Li Qingshan also went from a newborn infant to a baby around a year old.

    Goldie A¡¯bao was secretly amazed. He thought, The eggshell is actually a rare item with spiritual properties. If I were to secretly eat a piece, I wonder what would happen to me! That was what he thought, but he truly did not have the courage to act on it. Even if he was not discovered, the spiritual medicine of others might be poisonous to him.

    At this moment, he discovered another piece of eggshell the size of a little finger on the ground. He was about to pick it up when a huge centipede lunged over and swallowed it. Goldie A¡¯bao pulled back his hand in a hurry. The most terrifying creatures in the rainforest were not tigers and leopards, but these inconspicuous, little insects. Once he was bitten, he would truly be in life-threatening danger. He did not believe the strange infant who seemed like a Fire Devouring folk would save his life either.

    The piece of eggshell shone in the huge centipede¡¯s body, and the centipede violently swelled up, growing rapidly in size. It went from the length of a hand to the size of an arm very quickly, squirming and rolling around on the ground, becoming especially vicious in appearance. Suddenly, with a pop, its body broke into over a dozen pieces, and it stopped moving.

    Goldie A¡¯bao gasped. Fortunately, he had not acted on his greed. The strange infant¡¯s voice rang out from behind, ¡°What are you doing? Stop dilly-dallying around!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Goldie A¡¯bao continued his search in a hurry.

    Soon after he left, the ground rustled, and who knew how many insects crawled out, eating the centipede¡¯s body. Wild beasts with a certain level of intelligence were still cautious and fearful, but insects that acted purely on instinct could not care so much. The pure life force drew them over.

    It was unable to withstand the power, but after dying, its corpse drew over even more insects. Having been diluted through insect corpse after insect corpse, some insects finally survived. Their bodies swelled up violently before they devoured the other living insects.

    This situation happened everywhere where a piece of eggshell had landed. The insects devoured one another furiously, forming a ball of insects. It was absolutely impossible to imagine there would be so many insects hiding in the forest if someone had not seen this with their own eyes. The corpses of the pack beasts had drawn over some insects as well, swarming over like water.

    In further depths of the jungle, the gradually-approaching auras of wild beasts were unable to fool Li Qingshan¡¯s senses.

    ¡°That¡¯s basically it! Go bring that basket over!¡± Li Qingshan ate another piece of eggshell. Although he still seemed like a baby around a year old, his strength had basically recovered to the level of a grown man.

    Goldie A¡¯bao eased up inside. If he made him contend against these insects, even ten lives would not be enough. He brought over the basket, and Li Qingshan leapt up gently, entering the basket. ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving here for now for a quieter place!¡±

    Although he had already recovered some of his strength and regular wild beasts could no longer harm him, saving some strength was good too since there was free labour available.

    Goldie A¡¯bao was far too happy to comply. He had wanted to leave this place a long time ago. He thought of the mountain stream he had just passed by and picked up the basket, travelling back along the same path. He left this land of death without even looking back. This time, the entire merchant group had been annihilated, with only him surviving in the end. He truly was extremely fortunate. But could he really keep his life intact?

    If he accidentally angered the strange baby behind his back, he would probably be incinerated to death. Compared to the shamans eating him alive, he struggled to tell which was a little more comfortable.

    The mountain stream flowed off the cliffs, turning into a rivulet that gurgled away in the rocks.

    Goldie A¡¯bao stopped. Li Qingshan questioned, ¡°Why are you stopping?¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao said, ¡°The smell of blood on me is too heavy. I¡¯m afraid of drawing in wild beasts, so I need to clean myself.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan said. He happened to have some matters he wanted to get clarified so that he could decide which step he should take next.

    Goldie A¡¯bao placed down the basket on his back carefully and scooped up some water, cleaning his wounds. The wounds burned with pain. He had left in too much of a hurry. All of his medicine was left with the bags.

    ¡°Come here. I have something I want to ask you!¡±

    ¡°Please ask away, sir!¡±

    ¡°Originally, I was cultivating perfectly well in the volcano, so how did I end up here? Tell me exactly, is this your scheme?¡± Li Qingshan glared. Although he did not seem scary at all, the malice was there.

    ¡°Sir, how could I possess the ability to¡­¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao explained in a hurry, telling him the process of how he had obtained the stone egg.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts.Obviously, he understood it was impossible for a mortal to scoop him out of the magma in the volcano. He only said that to frighten him so that he would be a little more obedient and honest. As it seemed, everything basically lined up with his guess. He really had been blasted out of the volcano. The Asura Field had probably been no different.

    ¡°Then let me ask you, have you seen a certain item?¡±

    ¡°What item?¡± Goldie A¡¯bao thought to himself, Oh no, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the ¡°patterned bundle¡±?

    Li Qingshan described the Asura Field¡¯s size and appearance, only to see Goldie A¡¯bao¡¯s gaze drift away. His face changed, and he barked sternly, ¡°Where is it right now?¡±

    ¡°I sold it!¡± Unable to fool him, all Goldie A¡¯bao could do was admit it.

    ¡°Who did you sell it to?¡±

    ¡°S- seems like the people from Black Water cave!¡±

    ¡°Seems like?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s definitely the people from Black Water cave!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. He only had to find out its whereabouts. The Asura Field was his most important arcane treasure. Basically all of his possessions were in there, so he had to retrieve it. As long as he retrieved the Asura Field, he would immediately be geared to the teeth again. He could return the demon heart, Ocean pearl, and Divine Talisman of Great Creation to his body, and his strength would increase drastically.

    He would be able to command the night roamers, asura, and haunts too. He could easily keep himself safe, and he could ask the Great Banyan Tree what kind of a place the Mist province was and confirm a path back to the Green province.

    Once he lost the Asura Field, all of this would become a mere fantasy. However, he was not particularly worried either, as the Asura Field was an arcane treasure after all. Its wonders were concealed. Regular people definitely could not see through its functions, and even if they noticed its peculiarity, they would struggle to refine it. Even cultivators that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation would struggle to achieve that.

    Back then, Mo Yu had spent several days refining it, but it still ended up in failure. Although he could not use his full strength to avoid alarming Si Qing, the Asura Field was only a Dragon Arena back then. It could not be regarded as an arcane treasure.

    And, as long as someone realised the value of the Asura Field, they would store it away carefully regardless of whether they could refine it or not. As long as he knew where the Asura Field was, he would always be able to find a way to retrieve it.

    Li Qingshan fell silent. Goldie A¡¯bao felt the pressure on his chest grow heavier and heavier, such that he could not even breathe. Suddenly, Li Qingshan extended his arm. His tender hand reached towards Goldie A¡¯bao forehead, which frightened the wits out of him. He cried out, ¡°I can help you retrieve the treasure, sir! The people of Black Water cave might still be in the Fragrant Flower market!¡±

    The hand still pressed against his forehead. Goldie A¡¯bao cried out inside, I¡¯m done for. However, he felt warmth flow out. Wherever it passed by, the pain vanished, and the wounds all healed. Even his energy became exuberant. The inner force that had stagnated since a long time ago actually broke through once more.

    Li Qingshan pulled his hand back. ¡°I¡¯m not someone who doesn¡¯t know his debts. The ignorant are at no fault, but you sold my belongings, so you must help me find it. We¡¯ll go to the Fragrant Flower market. If you succeed, you¡¯ll benefit greatly! If you don¡¯t, I can¡¯t be bothered with killing a mortal just to vent my anger. Consider it!¡±

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve saved my life, so I have an obligation to these petty matters. How can I accept any benefits?¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao riled up. Was this perhaps his opportunity? Just like what the people of the central plains said, ¡°Surviving a great catastrophe comes with blessings to follow!¡±

    Various Thoughts to Say

    I took a look, and the last author¡¯s word was already over two months ago. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh slightly. I¡¯ve really missed out on so many opportunities to ask for monthly votes!

    If I count with my fingers, asking for votes at the start of the month, asking for votes at the end of the month, the end of the old volume, the beginning of the new volume¡­ Oh right, we also broke through two million characters, and so on and so on. There are so many thoughts I¡¯ve saved up! I better make up for it properly today. As for you, hurry up and return my monthly votes you owe me!

    Yeah¡­

    Originally, I thought I would have plenty to say, but when I took a peek into my heart, I discovered it was empty, like an invisible hole. All of the sorrows and joys have flowed away unknowingly, so I don¡¯t know what to say!

    ¡°When I¡¯m silent, I feel full; when I am about to speak, I feel empty at the same time.¡±

    This is just like how when a person is dazing around, they always hold some kind of hope, waiting for someone they could pour their hearts out to, believing in the warmth that exists between humans.

    However, unless you are really close, you don¡¯t know where to start when you open your mouth when you face your family or friends. Even if you manage to say it somehow, even you yourself would find it tasteless, so just who would actually be willing to listen? I gotta admit, life is lonely!

    I think I¡¯ve gone a little too far, but since there¡¯s no path or line to follow, who cares about going too far? I¡¯ll let the horse take the reins!

    Suddenly, I thought of my most recent author¡¯s word, which seems to be called, ¡°To ride on the horse of dreams¡±. It comes from a poem from Haizi, which I still remember a part of:

    ¡°Just like all the poets who ride on a horse of dreams, I¡¯ll use this fire to pass through the boundless dark night of life!¡±

    Thinking because of pain, dreaming because of emptiness. Not to be pretentious, but if you trace all the greatness, loftiness, and resplendence to its source, it all originates from the regular annoyances of regular people. Writing a novel and reading a novel is all to relieve this tiny annoyance, though there still are some people who would actually be annoyed to the point where they would seek an end by lying down on the rail tracks!

    Yeah, seems like I just said a bunch of meaningless things. If you don¡¯t understand it, that¡¯s very normal. Actually, even I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m saying!

    Yesterday on the toilet, I read a book on ancient fables. I began reading this book in junior high school, and I particularly liked reading it on the toilet. I wouldn¡¯t be able to get up once I started reading. Every single story is filled with philosophy. I tried to summarise a set of effective rules on conduct and behaviour, only to discover that they constantly conflicted with one another, sticking to their arguments. As a result, I slammed the book in a hurry, just in case I ended up with piles instead of wisdom in the end. I¡¯ve read it for so many years, but I have neither.

    Alright, alright, the rambling stops here. If you still don¡¯t understand, then let me explain.

    ¡°You open up the web page. This author¡¯s word has no date, and on every crooked web page, there are words like ¡°emptiness, loneliness, coldness¡±. In any case, you can¡¯t fall asleep, so you read it closely for half the night, only to read between the words that the entire author¡¯s note is sprawled with four words, ¡°Give me monthly votes!¡±

 Chapter 708 â€“ At Different Ends of the World

    After undergoing nirv¨¡?a rebirth, Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehension of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a had further deepened. Healing Goldie A¡¯bao¡¯s wounds did not take him much effort at all. He only unleashed the potential of life in his own body ingeniously to increase the rate at which his wounds healed.

    However, he could not go overboard either, or he would overdraw on his own life, leading to extremely great side-effects. Even losing a few years of life would be nothing surprising.

    ¡°We¡¯ll set off once you¡¯re clean!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced backwards. Within the dark jungle, an obscured, small path extended into the depths of the sea of trees. He had a vague feeling that this was still not over yet!

    Goldie A¡¯bao originally wanted to convince him otherwise. Travelling through the jungle at night was not a clever decision. Not only were there venomous insects and vicious beasts active at night, but the path would become especially difficult to travel as well.

    However, when he followed Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze and looked over, all he saw was a patch of deep darkness. His heart shivered for some reason. The Bone Eating tribe did not only consist of a measly dozen or so people, and they were renowned for their vengefulness.

    For anyone who dared to kill one of them, it would not just be the person alone; even their entire family and clan would face destruction. Now that they had lost so many people all of a sudden, all of them would probably rally for large-scale revenge. A single shaman was already so terrifying. If there were over a hundred of them, probably even this ¡°strange baby¡± could not stop them.

    By the time his words reached his mouth, they became, ¡°Yes, sir!¡± He picked up the basket and rushed off in the direction of the Fragrant Flower market. As long as he reached there, he would be under the protection of the Fragrant Flower clan. Even the Bone Eating tribe would not be bold enough to make trouble.

    A gust of wind blew through the sea of trees, leading to a rustle. Like waves, thousands of branches danced around. The trees were like monsters that wanted to swallow people whole.

    Goldie A¡¯bao widened his eyes, but he could barely make out the landscape within a few steps away. The ground was twisted with roots, which could turn into stumbling traps with the slightest carelessness. He used his inner force and lightened his steps as much as possible, just in case he alarmed the sensitive pairs of ears in the forest.

    Unlike the tense Goldie A¡¯bao, Li Qingshan rested on his arms and laid back leisurely in the bamboo basket. He sucked in the humid yet extremely refreshing air as he listened to the wind sweep up waves through the sea of trees.

    He even heard more than that. He heard leaves rustle against the branches and fall to the ground, the broken footsteps of insects, the buzzing of flying bugs, and even the sound of the trees growing. It was not just the trees. Every single vegetation reached towards a greater height in the sky.

    He was no different. His thumping heart delivered blood to every part of his body. With his body relaxed, the power that had always belonged to him gradually returned to his body.

    He did not have to do anything troublesome like engage in arduous cultivation and travel the same path he had travelled in the past again. All he had to do was patiently wait for himself to grow to adulthood and balance out the many powers in his body during the process.

    He smiled. He would simply treat this as a holiday, except who knew when he would be able to return to the Green province. Northmoon¡¯s death had probably caused a very great uproar!

    But to the majority of people, this would only be a casual conversation over a meal. Beyond the Asura Field, there were only so many people who cared about Northmoon. Hua Chengzan would probably feel sad for a while, just basically living up to his role as a friend. Li Qingshan did not ask for anything more than that from him either.

    Would Ru Xin feel sad for him? That woman¡¯s mouth was unforgiving, but he was confident that not only would she feel sad, but she would even shed tears. It was said that the tears of merfolk would turn into pearls. Heh, he had to ask her for some once he got back.

    Qiu Haitang would definitely be sad, but she was probably in secluded cultivation right now. Perhaps she still had no idea about it even right now. In comparison, Han Qiongzhi was instead a little more fortunate. She probably thought he was in secluded cultivation in the Chain mountains. To cultivators, remaining in seclusion for a year or two was nothing!

    But that was hard to be certain about too. Perhaps he might give himself away, which was what he worried about the most right now. However, since it was useless no matter how he thought about it, he was better off setting it aside and opening his mind, keeping his eyes fixed on what was right in front of him and properly enjoying the scenery of the Mist province!

    However, there was still something he thought about.

    Xiao An, are you well?

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Xiao An cried out in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and gazed in the south-west direction. She experienced uneasiness and fear she had never felt before. She bit her lip and composed herself, taking out the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase and divining with the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots.

    She divined with all seven lots right from the beginning. The light from the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase turned into a bamboo cup, flashing with various colours. She extended her hand and paused for a moment before grabbing the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase. Her face changed drastically.

    Certain death!

    It was already dusk, and the evening bell rang out. The lengthy sound of the bell echoed through each hall. The lamps were dim, curling with smoke. The buddha statue stared down at the petite figure below with an unchanging face of compassion.

    Xiao An gripped the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase firmly as her body trembled gently. All blood had already drained from her lips. She murmured, ¡°Qingshan¡­ Qingshan¡­¡± Two specks of white flames suddenly lit up in the depths of her eyes that were as dark and deep as a pool of water. She made her way out of the hall.

    ¡°One Will, where are you going?¡±

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s huge figure appeared outside the hall. His gaze brushed past Xiao An¡¯s shoulder and landed on the broken wooden fish, making him frown slightly before his gaze returned to her face.

    ¡°Abbot, my cultivation hasn¡¯t been progressing smoothly. I want to go out for a stroll.¡±

    The flames in the depths of Xiao An¡¯s eyes had subsided, and she pulled the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase into her sleeve. Her expression had become calm and emotionless. She brought her palms together and bowed, neither with any respect nor with any arrogance, just like the past.

    However, the Dauntless monk could sense something astir beneath her calm appearance. Something like this was truly rare to see. It was impossible to apply conventional logic to her. Ever since she entered the monastery, she had not been in a hurry to cultivate. Instead, she focused on the studies of buddhism, and her rate of progression astonished everyone. No one doubted that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would produce another Monk King.

    ¡°As I¡¯ve said, before you undergo the second heavenly tribulation and practise the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, you cannot set foot out of the monastery!¡±

    ¡°What if I insist?¡±

    Xiao An raised her head and met the Dauntless monk¡¯s gaze emotionlessly. No one knew that something was not just astir in her heart. It was basically howling furiously. She was tempted to incinerate and destroy everything that blocked her path.

    ¡°Then you better get through me first!¡±

    The Dauntless monk was not furious over Xiao An¡¯s rudeness. However, it made him even more certain that the more talented a genius was, the more management they required, just in case they ended up on the wrong path.

    Before a single door sill, two people faced one another.

    Xiao An¡¯s chest heaved, biting her lip subconsciously. Her rationality was gradually twisting and collapsing. If he were no longer around anymore, then what was the point of sitting here, cultivating and remaining in this world? Just what path could she search for? Just what path was there for her to take? Even if she stepped through the gates of the monastery, she had nowhere to go!

    Determination filled her eyes, which surprised the Dauntless monk, but suddenly, her eyes recovered the same calmness and indifference as before. She bowed again. ¡°Yes, abbot.¡± She turned around and returned to the buddha statue, sitting down on the cushion and taking out another wooden fish, beating away.

    The Dauntless monk sank into his thoughts. He gave her a word of advice. ¡°Gathering your mind results in moral virtue. From moral virtue arises mental training and stability, and from mental training and stability arises wisdom and insight. Your dharma name might be One Will, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can stubbornly insist on going your own way with one will. You better just focus on cultivating!¡±

    Xiao An raised her face, which had a lost expression. She had clearly divined certain death, but in that moment earlier, she sensed that he was still alive. It was just as groundless as the uneasiness earlier, like some sort of signal from the unseen fate. It immediately allowed her to settle down.

    Her gaze became determined. As long as there was still a sliver of hope, she would do everything she could. Perhaps he might be in need of her help right now. She definitely could not do something pointless.

    Several days later, she finally received some news.

    ¡°After killing a group of Daemon Commanders, Northmoon fought against Mo Yu above Calm Wave lake and killed him too. Afterwards, the Dragon King of Ink Sea pursued him for thousands of kilometers and killed Northmoon in the wilderness of the Mist province!¡±

    ¡°Northmoon, Mist province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea,¡± she muttered those three phrases to herself. She waited for another half a month before entering secluded cultivation for good, refusing to emerge until she underwent the second heavenly tribulation!

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Huff! Huff!¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao gasped for air as he poured with sweat. He had run through most of the night without stopping, and his inner force was close to running out. His footsteps gradually slowed down. He planned to seek permission to rest. An order rang out from the basket on his back, ¡°Stop! There are people up ahead!¡±

    ¡°Are they Bone Eating shamans?¡±

    ¡°Bone Eating shamans? You mean the strange people from earlier? No, they¡¯re just some mortals!¡± Li Qingshan said. There was a bonfire a hundred paces away, as well as the presence of several humans.

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Goldie A¡¯bao beamed with joy. He happened to be worrying about the issue of food and drink!

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid they¡¯re enemies?¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao said proudly, ¡°I¡¯ve been a merchant for many years. You can say that I have quite the reputation in this part of the world. I have friends in various caves and villages. It¡¯s perfect for me to ask for some supplies, and if we¡¯re lucky, we might even be able to borrow a mount and travel quickly. Moreover, with you around, sir, are we supposed to be afraid of a few mere mortals?¡±

    His words at the end were already an attempt at probing. Having travelled for most of the night, he slowly calmed down and recovered his usual sharpness. He realised that it was very possible for the strange infant to not be as powerful as he imagined him to be. Otherwise, why would he have spared the shaman? Moreover, he even had the patience to sit in the basket!

    Li Qingshan said flatly, ¡°Are you doubting me?¡±

    ¡°How could I dare to?¡± Goldie A¡¯bao heart leapt up. He continued to speak with great respect, but he began having second thoughts inside.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with explaining anything. By the time his suspicions had turned into actions, his strength would have recovered to the point where he could kill him.

    It was normal to be suspicious, but the actions that came out of suspicion would directly determine his fate. If he obliged obediently and helped him retrieve the Asura Field, Li Qingshan would not mind giving him some benefits. If he wanted to use this opportunity to do something, then he could just kill him.

    ¡°Your own path is for you to choose. It¡¯s all up to you!¡±

 Chapter 713 â€“ Countering the Night Attack Two

    A minute and a half later, Goldie A¡¯bao leapt out of the hot spring and put on a new basket. The threat of death and the desire to grow stronger impelled him.

    ¡°Find a larger courtyard and buy as much livestock as you can from the market. You can deal with the issue of money. Check where the people of Black Water cave are right now as well. Understood?¡±

    ¡°I understand!¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao rushed through the city. Borrowing a large sum of money to buy a courtyard and livestock in such a short amount of time was not easy. However, he had been a merchant for many years, so his connections spanned far and wide. He arrived in a gambling house and found an ¡°old friend¡±, borrowing a great sum of money using the gilded name of Goldie fort.

    From how desperate he seemed, his ¡°old friend¡± set the interest rate at a maddening rate. His debt would double with each passing month. Goldie A¡¯bao frowned and agreed reluctantly. Now was not the time to haggle over this. As long as he survived the upcoming crisis and became a powerful shaman, he would have as much gold and silver as he wanted. Even refusing to pay back the debt would be very easy.

    In the passing, he asked his ¡°old friend¡± about the whereabouts of the people from Black Water cave. Sure enough, they had departed from the Fragrant Flower market the day before yesterday to return to Black Water cave.

    Li Qingshan was not disappointed. Even if he were in possession of the Asura Field right now, he could not refine it, so he was in no hurry to retrieve it. Knowing where it was was enough.

    After defeating the Bone Eating tribe tonight, they would retreat in the face of difficulty. By then, Li Qingshan planned on resting for a while. Once he had recovered some of his strength, taking back the Asura Field from Black Water cave would be as easy as winking.

    Afterwards, Goldie A¡¯bao went straight to the market. He purchased every single living thing he could see, but of course, that was excluding humans. The city also had slave vendors. Goldie A¡¯bao did not mind ¡°eating people¡±, but the price of slaves was rather high. They were not particularly worth it.

    By noon, an isolated courtyard in the west of the city had been filled with the cries of various livestock. Horses whinied, donkeys brayed, goals bleated, and cows mooed. Even the sturdy pack animals of unknown name amounted to a dozen or two.

    ¡°Please do it, sir!¡± Goldie A¡¯bao said eagerly, his face glowing with red light.

    In the past, Goldie A¡¯bao would have never imagined that buying some livestock could turn him into a powerful shaman no matter what. An opportunity like this did not come about easily.

    Goldie A¡¯bao urged, ¡°Sir A¡¯yue!¡±

    ¡°A¡¯bao, do you think it was good fortune to meet me?¡± Li Qingshan looked over and smiled, revealing a set of pure-white teeth. Two sharp fangs began to demonstrate their future shape.

    ¡°Of course. If it weren¡¯t for you, sir, I would be dead already. I¡¯ll use my life to pay back your kindness!¡±

    ¡°There might be a bit of danger tonight.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s ruby-like eyes seemed to pierce through time, seeing the future.

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of danger!¡± Goldie A¡¯bao said firmly.

    Goldie A¡¯bao was not truly unafraid of danger, but he did know that sir A¡¯yue required him right now, so he should not let him face too much danger. If he actually faced danger by then, could he not just run away?

    ¡°Yeah, devouring the life force of a Bone Eating shaman is much better than devouring these livestock. Benefits come from danger!¡±

    Goldie A¡¯bao said, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely get some payback tonight!¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s begin!¡±

    The sun dipped towards the west bit by bit, and the cries of the animals gradually thinned out before coming to an end for good.

    By dusk, Goldie A¡¯bao stood among a pile of corpses, his face filled with excitement. He was at least a head taller than before, and his face did not have a single wrinkle. His hair had all turned black. His muscles swelled like they were about to explode, and his body was filled with explosive power.

    ¡°Bury all the corpses, adjust to your power, and prepare for battle!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Dusk came to an end, and the noisy Fragrant Flower market quietened down. Apart from a few brothels, darkness was everywhere.

    The stars were glorious, twinkling silently.

    There were still a few squads patrolling the city walls, but they all yawned lazily. The safety of the Fragrant Flower market was not dependent on them. Their primary purpose was only to discover any fires in the city in time.

    Soon after a group of guards had passed by, a few black figures scaled the walls and directly leapt into the city. These tall walls were basically non-existent to them. Before long, all of the Bone Eating shamans had infiltrated the place.

    ¡°Chief, the city is filled with his scent. What do we do?¡±

    This place was different from the jungle. There were far too many humans and a mixture of scents. Coupled with the smells from the various spices, tracking him down became very difficult.

    ¡°We¡¯ll split up and search for him! He can¡¯t wash away his natural odour!¡±

    The Bone Eating chief issued an order, and the shamans scattered.

    Fragrant Flower market was not large. There were only four proper main streets, shaped like a box. With the Bone Eating shamans¡¯ sharp sense of smell, around a hundred people was enough to search through the entire place. As long as they were close enough, even spices could not cover up his natural odour.

    A Bone Eating shaman entered a gloomy alleyway before suddenly stopping. He sniffed with his nose. Within the heavy fragrance was a familiar scent. He could not help but smile viciously. The scent rapidly drew closer, and a gust of wind rushed down from above.

    Goldie A¡¯bao leapt down and pinned down the Bone Eating shaman firmly. The Bone Eating shaman let out a deep growl, which was the sound they would make when they found their prey during hunting. His voice was deep enough to not startle too many people, but it was enough for the other Bone Eating shamans to hear him clearly. None of them wanted to alarm the Fragrant Flower clan in Fragrant Flower market.

    All of the Bone Eating shamans heard the disturbance and gathered over quickly. They only needed a moment to tear Goldie A¡¯bao apart.

    Goldie A¡¯bao was soaked in cold sweat, and his blood seemed to freeze. Fear began to fill him uncontrollably. His opponents were Bone Eating shamans that had eaten the entire merchant group after all. Although he had become much stronger now, killing a Bone Eating shaman was anything but easy.

    Li Qingshan extended his head out of the basket and pressed his hand on the Bone Eating shaman¡¯s forehead.

    By the time the other Bone Eating shamans arrived, only a withered corpse remained on the ground.

    The Bone Eating chieftain said after an inspection, ¡°His life force has been drained through extremely strange means. It¡¯s no wonder that barbarian from Goldie fort is growing stronger and stronger. The baby is behind it all!¡±

    At this moment, another deep growl rang out in the distance. They went over there to check, and there was another corpse of a Bone Eating shaman on the ground!

    Before long, three Bone Eating shamans had been reduced to withered corpses.

    As the power surged into him again and again, Goldie A¡¯bao¡¯s fear turned into ravishing joy. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s orders, he rushed through the streets and alleyways. The blood in him boiled and burned. The Bone Eating shamans that had once brought him great fear had now become his prey. He was only waiting for a Bone Eating shaman to appear before him so that he could lunge over.

    At the very beginning, he was only able to maintain a stalemate, waiting for Li Qingshan to take action and kill them, but now, he directly overwhelmed them. If it were not for the sake of devouring their life force, he could have even directly killed some of the weaker Bone Eating shamans.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s senses could completely overwhelm the Bone Eating tribe, grasping their movements perfectly. He could even tell who was stronger and who was weaker, fighting weak points to defeat them one by one. It was as easy as it could get. In the beginning, there was still a little bit of risk, but as Goldie A¡¯bao grew stronger and stronger, the risk became smaller and smaller.

    The Bone Eating shaman priest said, ¡°Chief, gather everyone together!¡±

    The Bone Eating chieftain was furious. Who knew how many years it had been since he suffered losses like this. He let out a strange, deep growl, and all the Bone Eating shamans converged together.

    Li Qingshan ordered Goldie A¡¯bao to stop and maintain his distance from them. If they were gathered together, they could not look for them, but they would face sneak attacks if they scattered. It was already checkmate!

    However, he let out a gentle sigh. The true game had only just begun!

    At this moment, the Bone Eating shaman priest¡¯s sunken, hoarse voice drifted out slowly with the night wind, ¡°Barbarian, you¡¯ve killed so many of our tribesmen, so aren¡¯t you afraid of revenge? Hand over the baby, and we¡¯ll spare your life! Otherwise, we¡¯ll butcher everyone and anything in Goldie fort. Your parents, siblings, wife, children, and clansmen will all die, and they will die in great agony!¡±

    The voice was not loud, but it was extremely distinct in the quiet city. Goldie A¡¯bao¡¯s hearing had become extremely sharp, so his face changed immediately. All of his joy vanished. Although Goldie Fort had a shaman priest, they definitely stood no chance against the entire Bone Eating tribe.

    Li Qingshan thought, Sure enough, all the bad people in the world are basically the same. If they can¡¯t deal with you, they¡¯ll use the people around you to threaten you! When Goldie A¡¯bao set foot on the path of opposing the Bone Eating tribe, this was a problem he had to face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to harm him. He¡¯s very feeble right now, so he¡¯s not your opponent. If you hand him over to us, you don¡¯t have to worry about any revenge. I¡¯ll count down from ten to let you consider. If you don¡¯t reply, we¡¯ll turn around and head to Goldie fort right now. Ten¡­¡±

    The Bone Eating shaman priest¡¯s tone fluctuated about, filled with an eerie temptation and pressure.

    ¡°Sir A¡¯yue¡­ what do I do?¡± Goldie A¡¯bao asked with difficulty.

    Goldie A¡¯bao understood that if he truly possessed the power to kill these Bone Eating shamans, there was no need for him to use sneak attacks at all.

    Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°Right now, there¡¯s nothing you can do. We still don¡¯t have the power for an open confrontation with them. However, you better think through it clearly. You¡¯ve killed their people, so will they really spare you and your clansmen?¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, why would I have¡­¡±

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, you¡¯d be dead already. It¡¯s not me who wants to kill your clansmen either!¡±

    Li Qingsahn interrupted and shook his head. He was still a merchant after all! If he were a warrior, he would definitely fight until the end and fend off threats with threats. His career as a merchant that spanned several decades made him much shrewder than regular barbarians, knowing how to evaluate trade-offs and go with the flow, but it also made him lose his boldness and courage.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve misspoken!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologise. I understand your difficulties. You have to decide on your path yourself. Even if you betray me, I¡¯m not going to hate you!¡±

    By now, the Bone Eating shaman priest had already reached ¡°five¡±.

    Four, three, two, one!

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll hand him over to you. Don¡¯t come over here, or I¡¯ll kill him, and you won¡¯t get anything. You need to swear in the name of your ancestors that you won¡¯t harm me or my clansmen!¡±

 Chapter 716 â€“ Growing Up

    ¡°Mother, what is this exactly?¡± Xianghua Zi asked curiously.

    Xianghua Zi had spent the entire trip back guessing at what it was, but she still had no idea.

    ¡°This item is anything but ordinary. Regular people definitely cannot wield it. The secret to the mysterious shaman art should be inside. Why don¡¯t we show it to your elder sister?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s hundreds of kilometers away, so how are we supposed to show it to her? The rules of the White Lotus cult are very strict. Surely we can¡¯t get her to hurry back home over one strange item. If you have no use for it, mother, then why don¡¯t you just give it to me?¡±

    Xianghua Zi swiveled her eyes. When it came to her elder sister Xianghua Hong, she had to put up a stand even if it were only for a piece of trash.

    ¡°Then¡­ since you brought it back, you can hold onto it!¡±

    Xianghua Man gave it a moment of consideration. Her first daughter, Xianghua Hong, had already become a glorious disciple of the White Lotus cult. Her future was bright, and it was not like she lacked something like this. In recent years, it had always been her second daughter, Xianghua Zi, who had been running around for her. They were both her daughters, so she could not favour one over the other. Her second daughter would be joining the White Lotus cult sooner or later, so she would end up unlocking the secret behind this item and obtaining the mysterious shaman art inside anyway.

    Xianghua Zi accepted the Asura Field happily. In the hot spring several hundred meters away, Li Qingshan shut his eyes with ease.

    Although he could consider stealing back the Asura Field right now, the risk was too great, and it was unnecessary. Once he got some proper sleep and recovered some of his strength, it would not be an issue for him to take it back publicly.

    Several hours later, Xianghua Man discovered her guess was completely wrong. The mysterious shaman art had nothing to do with the patterned bundle. She frowned as she gazed at the young man in tattered clothes who resembled a beggar and asked, ¡°You¡¯re from Huangliang beach?¡±

    ¡°Y- yes!¡±

    ¡°You said Goldie A¡¯bao and an infant attacked you. Everyone died, and only you managed to escape? Why did they let you go? And why did you come to Fragrant Flower market and not Huangliang beach? Explain everything clearly. If you tell even a single lie, hmph!¡±

    However, he caught the attention of the Fragrant Flower clan very quickly. After a close questioning, he was brought into Fragrant Flower house, and the matter was reported to Xianghua Zi. In the end, he was brought before Xianghua Man.

    ¡°A baby with scarlet hair and eyes! A fire devourer?¡± Xianghua Man furrowed her brows. She said to Xianghua Zi beside her, ¡°A¡¯zi, has a baby like that appeared in Fragrant Flower market before?¡±

    Xianghua Zi said, ¡°Definitely not, or I¡¯d definitely know.¡±

    ¡°The baby is anything but ordinary. He only used a few days to turn a mortal into such a vicious monster. He might be hiding somewhere, so search the city. Don¡¯t miss a single corner. I¡¯d like to meet him!¡±

    ¡°Yes, mother. What about this lad?¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Xianghua Man spoke with so much ease that it was like she was ordering the crushing of an insect. He was an insignificant little barbarian anyway. ¡°If we let him blab about this blindly, who knows what kind of trouble he¡¯ll create! The flower gardens require some fertiliser anyway.¡±

    The young man was unable to respond at all. A beautiful, noble matriarch like her had actually decided his fate in such a casual manner.

    Xianghua Zi clapped her hands, and two sturdy, bare-chested guards immediately walked in. Giving him absolutely no chance to plead or curse, they cleanly landed a stroke through his neck. With a crack, they broke his neck before dragging his corpse away.

    Xianghua Zi ordered people to search through the city, but they found nothing. Perhaps the baby had already left Fragrant Flower market, or perhaps he was already dead, gnawed clean by the rats in the sewers. It was also possible that a heartless pedlar had turned him into roast meat¡­

    Time passed by quickly, and Xianghua Man gradually set this matter aside.

    After who knows how long, Li Qingshan opened his eyes again. The shine in his scarlet eyes were hidden away, and his scarlet hair reached his shoulders, having become thicker and stiffer. As his body grew, the space in the fake mountain became rather cramped. Glancing at his hand that had become much larger, he smiled and clasped it firmly. He no longer felt so feeble and powerless.

    He exhaled deeply. He had finally recovered some strength, so he could go out and do some things now!

    He sucked in a deep breath, but what flowed into his mouth was not merely air, but surging spiritual qi too. Propelled by the spiritual qi, his daemon core began to spin slowly.

    Although he had only recovered to Daemon General, he could use three innate abilities now, which were the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, the Tremors of the Ox Demon, and the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath. Of course, logically speaking, there was the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a as well, but given his current state, he probably could not use it a second time.

    However, that was enough!

    Li Qingshan took a step. Before the rocks from the fake mountain had even touched his skin, they had already been reduced to powder. His control over the powers of tremor was becoming better and better.

    ¡°Ah!¡± A woman¡¯s scream rang out from very close by!

    Li Qingshan smiled. He had run into the person he wanted to see as soon as he woke up, and there was eye candy available too. After so many days of bad luck, it was finally taking a turn for the better!

    Apart from cultivating, what Xianghua Man liked to do the most was bathing in the hot spring. This huge hot spring in the centre of the courtyard was specially prepared for her. Apart from her, no one was allowed to touch the pool water, or only death would await them. They would suffer the fate of being buried in the flower gardens as fertiliser.

    Beautiful petals floated on the surface of the water as she stood comfortably in the pool water. Her graceful figure shimmered in the steam as she used her hands to gently stroke her smooth skin, voluptuous breasts, and flat belly. Although she had already given birth to three daughters, she could still drive any man crazy.

    Not only was she a beauty, but she was also the matriarch of the Fragrant Flower clan that reigned over thousands. She was very satisfied with her life, but right as she admired herself, she suddenly felt the surface of the water ripple. The fake mountain shook gently, and spiritual qi of the world surged over as if something was trying to break free.

    Even with her extensive knowledge and experiences, she could not help but cry out. However, she immediately composed herself and wrapped her hands in true qi, staring straight at the fake mountain. ¡°What is it? Come out!¡±

    As soon as she finished speaking, a figure emerged from the fake mountain. At first glance, he was just a boy around five or six years old. His scarlet hair draped down to his shoulders, and his facial features were pretty. An innocent smile stretched across his face, revealing two little fangs. He did not seem threatening at all.

    However, with a closer glance, she discovered that his forehead bulged slightly, and his fingernails were not regular fingernails, but more akin to sharp claws. His scarlet eyes were extremely deep, giving off a gaze that she could almost physically feel sweep past her naked body invasively. It was not the gaze of a child.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s reply was a wolf whistle, but when he checked his reflection, it turned into a sigh.

    Xianghua Man leapt to the side of the pool and picked up her clothes, twirling around and draping them over her. She stared at Li Qingshan coldly and suddenly found him rather familiar. She remembered, Scarlet hair and eyes! Don¡¯t tell me¡­ this is the baby they were talking about?

    Li Qingshan asked with the crisp voice of a child, ¡°I have two questions I want to ask you. The first one is where is your daughter? The one you sent to Black Water cave a few days ago. The second question is¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish, a fragrant gust of wind swept over. Xianghua Man launched a palm strike from afar.

    A hexagonal piece of Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew out automatically and blocked the attack, but the fragrance permeated Li Qingshan¡¯s surroundings. He wrinkled his nose. ¡°How fragrant!¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s fragrant, why don¡¯t you smell it a bit more?¡±

    Xianghua Man smiled gently and launched several more palm strikes.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Columns of water erupted from the hot spring, and the steam dispersed. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell blocked it all. Li Qingshan walked on the surface of the water, steadily approaching her.

    ¡°You better stop soon, or I¡¯ll punish you viciously!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, how do you plan on punishing me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you a spanking first, and if that¡¯s not enough, I¡¯ll slap you across the face! If I really run out of options, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

    ¡°Really? Just by you, a brat who doesn¡¯t even have hair down there? I wouldn¡¯t mind having a son like you. Come, call me ¡®mummy¡¯!¡±

    Xianghua Man shivered inside. She could be regarded as very powerful among shamans, but she could not be compared to those who had undergone the heavenly tribulation, actually unable to breach such a thin defence. However, no matter how powerful you are, you¡¯ll be completely at my whim in a short while!

    The fragrance grew heavier and heavier. She had already powered the Fragrant Flower gu within her body. The gusts of wind from her palm strikes were imbued with tiny specks of pollen. Once he came into contact with it, he would definitely become limp and powerless, completely at her whim, not to mention the fact that he had just inhaled it.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of watching your mouth a little when you curse? If I don¡¯t beat you until you call me daddy, I¡¯ll write my name backwards!¡±

    With a flash, Li Qingshan appeared in front of Xianghua Man and planted his hand on her smooth lower belly casually; it was not because he was trying to be a pervert, but because he was limited by his height.

    Xianghua Man did not fly out. Instead, she shuddered and directly collapsed there. She felt like every single bone in her body was shaking and the true qi in her dantian had been shaken apart. He had clearly inhaled her pollen, yet he was completely unaffected. She immediately understood an unimaginably wide gap existed between their strength.

    Actually, from the perspective of cultivation alone, Li Qingshan had only just reached the level of condensing a daemon core. If it were several years ago when he had just condensed his daemon core, it would be a bitter battle even if he could defeat Xianghua Man. It would be nowhere as easy as right now.

    During the days he spent in the fake mountain, he did not spend all of his time sleeping. Instead, he poured all of his attention into his body, balancing the four completely different powers. The initial effects were already showing themselves. Right now, he was no less than ten times stronger than when he first became a daemon.

    And, a casual strike of his contained many years of battle experience. His grasp of timing and control over strength was ingenious. How could the leader of a tiny tribe from a land of wilderness stand a chance against him?

    ¡°The second question is where is the Bone Eating tribe?¡±

    Li Qingshan crouched down. You could say he drew a clear line between his debts of kindness and grievances, or he bore grudges over even the smallest of things, but in short, he was very vengeful!

 Chapter 719 â€“ The Vicious Totemic Beast, the Crystal Skull

    Li Qingshan crouched down and touched Xianghua Man¡¯s cheek gently. Although he spoke like he was trying to persuade her, it only made Xianghua Man shiver inside. It only made her understand a certain reality even more. No matter how much he resembled a cute child, no matter how helpless he seemed when he was being teased, he was still a powerful monster that she stood absolutely no chance again. Once a fundamental problem arose, he would never allow her to decline or put up any resistance.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to become a monster. I¡¯d rather die than that!¡± Xianghua Man called out.

    The thought that she would end up as twisted and ugly as the merchant from Goldie fort made her shiver, and that was still a little better off. If she were to become like a Bone Eating shaman, she would not be able to accept it at all!

    ¡°How will you? You¡¯ll only become even younger and more beautiful. Goldie A¡¯bao betrayed me, which was why I unleashed all the potential in his body and made him throw his life away against those barbarians. Otherwise, he¡¯d probably be much stronger than you already. And, the life force in his body was overly impure, so it was easier to lose control. Meanwhile, these flames all come from the same tribe. I¡¯ve already refined it too. Don¡¯t worry. As long as you are good, why would I harm you?¡±

    Li Qingshan explained it patiently, but the softer and more sincere his tone became, the more afraid Xianghua Man felt. Even if she did not become a monster, it would still mean she was under his control, unable to break free ever again. She stared straight at Li Qingshan and tears poured out from her eyes. For a moment, she was unable to say anything.

    Li Qingshan waited for her to calm down a little. ¡°Tell me your answer now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll accept it!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Open your mind!¡±

    Li Qingshan blew gently, and the blood-red fire swept over to Xianghua Man, merging into her body bit by bit.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    Xianghua Man moaned as great pleasure erupted in her body, making her head blank out. Only after who knew how long did her consciousness gradually return. Her body felt numb and indescribably restrictive. As if she had gained new life, unprecedented power flowed through her body.

    She was different from Goldie A¡¯bao, who was merely a mortal that had been forcefully propelled to the realm of shamans. She possessed several decades of cultivation experience. She began meditating in a hurry and directed this power to the right path. The Fragrant Flower gu in her body was nourished, breaking through once more.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    Although in the past, she did not seem old due to practising qi, she was still the mother of three children after all. Faint Crow¡¯s feet wrinkles were appearing on the corner of her eyes, and her skin was no longer as supple as it used to be either. But right now, she seemed like she had returned to her twenties. She was glowing.

    To a woman, particularly a beautiful one, nothing was more terrifying than watching herself gradually age in the mirror, nor was there anything more delightful than recovering her youth. Immediately, she felt that her alarm earlier had been pointless. Although they all said that gains and losses came hand in hand, her luck still seemed pretty good so far!

    ¡°Dispose of these corpses!¡± Li Qingshan ordered.

    Li Qingshan fiddled around with the skull staff as he picked up a tiny hundred treasures pouch from beside the shaman priest. He opened it up and took a look. The space inside was only the size of a shed, and there was a messy assortment of items. He had no idea what they were for, so he casually hung it on his waist.

    ¡°How am I supposed to dispose of so many of them? Why don¡¯t we just leave them here? They¡¯ll rot away in less than ten days!¡± Xianghua Man widened her eyes. There were several hundred corpses here. If she were supposed to bury them all, how large of a pit did she have to dig?

    ¡°Be good, or you¡¯ll turn into a monster!¡± Li Qingshan said in an unconcerned manner and made his way into the depths of the fort. Originally, he had mentioned it thoughtlessly, but since he had said it, it would be an order. He had gone to such great lengths to extract the life force so that she could recover her youth and increase her strength. Was he supposed to just provide for her for free?

    ¡°Yes!¡± Xianghua Man nodded immediately.

    Li Qingshan made it to the end of the fort and gazed over. An ancient totemic diagram was carved into the rock face. There were only a few strokes, but it was vivid, spilling with artistic charm. It was shaped like a tiger, but it seemed even more vicious. It had a pair of wings on its back, which did bear some resemblance to the tiger demon. However, the tiger demon was purely battle intent and killing intent, while the totemic diagram possessed a sense of deep malice, opening its mouth as if it were trying to swallow people whole.

    If he had guessed correctly, this was the Bone Eating tribe¡¯s altar. It vaguely gave off a shocking power, which was the result of countless years of worship from the Bone Eating tribe.

    Li Qingshan pressed his hand against the rock face gently, and immediately, the totemic diagram sprang alive. It glared at him viciously, and with a roar, it leapt off the rock face.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed.

    With that, the vicious totemic beast collided heavily against the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    Bang!

    Cracks appeared on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!

    ¡°What power! This is the Bone Eating tribe¡¯s strongest trump card! They actually have something like a guardian beast, and its strength nears Daemon General! Fortunately, they didn¡¯t activate it, or I really might be in some trouble!¡±

    Clang!

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered!

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings and took off into the air. The totemic beast flapped its wings too, chasing after him closely. However, after reaching several hundred meters into the air, it no longer took a step further. Clearly, it could not travel too far away from the altar.

    Li Qingshan studied the beast. Sure enough, it seemed like a vicious, black tiger, constantly swinging its claws at him.

    The totemic beast growled for a while before returning to the rock face. Li Qingshan exhaled gently, and his breath slammed against it viciously. The totemic beast lunged back, waving its claws and baring its fangs. It obviously could not reach Li Qingshan.

    Whenever the totemic beast tried to return to the altar, Li Qingshan would disturb it. This went on for over two hours, and the totemic beast gradually faded before vanishing completely.

    Li Qingshan arrived before the altar and threw a punch at the rock. The rock face shattered, and rubble crumbled down. There was a shiny flash, and Li Qingshan reached in to take a look at it. It was a shiny skull that resembled both a human and a beast¡¯s, glistening under the sunlight. He had sensed that the altar was hiding something right from the beginning, which was why he went so far to deal with the totemic beast.

    He looked back and asked, ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°This seems to be the skull of the Bone Eating tribe¡¯s ancestor!¡± Xianghua Man was currently making her way over.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say they ate their predecessors?¡±

    ¡°This is a Bone Eating shaman who¡¯s undergone the heavenly tribulation. It¡¯s probably too tough. No one can bite through it!¡±

    ¡°There are other Bone Eating tribes?¡± Li Qingshan brought the skull to his nose and sniffed it, sinking into his thoughts.

    ¡°Of course. The Mist province is littered with Bone Eating shamans. There are tribes of all different sizes! This one is only average in size. It¡¯s said that large Bone Eating tribes have thousands of Bone Eating barbarians!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to take a look for myself in the future!¡±

 Chapter 720 â€“ Return

    What Li Qingshan needed to practise next apart from the second, third, and fourth layers of the Phoenix Transformation was the fifth layer of the tiger demon. He would complete these two goals after he balanced out the powers in his body. By then, even if he ran into the Dragon King of Ink Sea again, he could retreat with ease.

    As a result, as long as it had the slightest connection to his cultivation, he would place great emphasis on it.

    ¡°What¡¯s the totemic beast that they worship called?¡±

    Xianghua Man said, ¡°Qiongqi, a vicious beast that likes to eat people. All the Bone Eating tribes worship it! Legend has it that during ancient times, a tribe found a deceased qiongqi. After eating its flesh, one of them became an extremely powerful shaman that specially began eating his own kind, birthing countless Bone Eating tribes.¡±

    TL: Qiongqi is one of the four perils of Chinese mythology. It was first mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas and there were two vastly-different descriptions of it. One said it was shaped like a tiger with a pair of wings, while the other said it was shaped like an ox and was covered in hedgehog-like bristles.. It likes to eat people and oftens starts with the head when it eats.

    ¡°Qiongqi!¡± Li Qingshan muttered. He swiveled his eyes; he looked at Xianghua Man. ¡°Did you complete the task?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s so many corpses and absolutely no need to dispose of them. Just spare me, A¡¯yue!¡±

    Xianghua Man had already spent so many years as a matriarch, so why would she be willing to do heavy, manual labour like this? She went at it for a while before running out of patience, choosing to just sit on the ground and watch Li Qingshan battle with the totemic beast.

    ¡°Go!¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Xianghua Man threw a tantrum. Since direct objection would not work, she would be indirect. If this continued, she should be able to achieve her objective. She had already begun to consider how to make use of his power to earn even more benefits.

    Li Qingshan snapped his fingers, and Xianghua Man collapsed on the ground. Her blood bubbled as if she had been thrown into a pit of fire to roast, but she was unable to say anything at all. The life force that had merged with her body possessed his imprint. It could both lengthen her lifespan and give her a powerful body, but it could also become lethal poison.

    ¡°What I place the greatest emphasis on is fairness. Think about what you¡¯ve given up, and then think about what you¡¯ve gained. Do you think this is fair? I¡¯m not going to stay here forever. It¡¯ll be two years at most, and then you¡¯ll never see me again. I hope you can properly cooperate with me during this short period of time. At the very least, don¡¯t let down what I¡¯ve bestowed upon you. If you can¡¯t stand someone ordering you around, I can make everything return to its original trajectory. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never do it again!¡± Xianghua Man felt her body loosen as she poured with sweat. Fear filled her face.

    ¡°I have high expectations of you!¡±

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s patient persuasions, Xianghua Man completed her job very soon, and they set off on their return journey on the back of the pack animal, leaving behind an empty fort in the sea of trees. It probably would not take long at all before new vegetation swallowed it up.

    The sun rose and fell. Time passed quickly.

    Li Qingshan rapidly grew up. His scarlet hair gradually reached his shoulders, and his original power returned to his body droplet by droplet, even greater than in the past.

    It was time for him to take back what was his!

    Suddenly, he opened his eyes and felt an aura arrived beside the hot spring, but it was not Xianghua Man. He could not help but become rather puzzled. In order to prevent anyone else from knowing about his existence, he had specially told Xianghua Man to set a large area of Fragrant Flower house off limits. He could enjoy the fine food and fine alcohol from various lands here. There was a fine woman beside him too. Although he could not actually do anything, he basically did whatever he wanted aside from that.

    Who¡¯s so bold to barge into this place? Aren¡¯t they afraid of being punished by Xianghua Man?

    Over the rippling surface of the water, a young girl stood beside the hot spring. She wore a set of green clothes and was quite the beauty. She possessed an extremely noble status in the Fragrant Flower market, and her face bore some resemblance to Xianghua Man¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan immediately guessed her name and identity; she was Xianghua Man¡¯s youngest daughter, Xianghua Lu.

    Mum is so stingy. She has Unaging Water of Youth, yet she doesn¡¯t even let her own daughter enjoy it! Xianghua Lu pouted and glanced around like a thief. She only said that to cover up her guilty conscience.

    Over a year ago, Xianghua Man¡¯s strength suddenly skyrocketed, and she recovered her youth. She declared she had already destroyed the Bone Eating tribe, and she gathered the various chieftains for a great meeting, consolidating the Fragrant Flower clan¡¯s position as their leader. It was also at that time when she established the forbidden zone in Fragrant Flower house. As a result, a rumor spread that the hot spring in the Fragrant Flower house began producing Unaging Water of Youth.

    Regular people were doubtful about this, but the young girl was deeply convinced.

    Mum is currently receiving an envoy from the White Lotus cult. She definitely won¡¯t discover me. Even if she discovers me, I¡¯ll be going off to the White Lotus cult very soon. It¡¯s not like she can do anything to me. If I don¡¯t try it now, I won¡¯t get another opportunity.

    The young girl comforted herself inside and quickly took off her clothes, revealing her beautiful body. She tried the water temperature with the tip of her toes first before sliding in like a fish.

    Didn¡¯t she say she was only thirteen? She sure has developed well!

    Li Qingshan made a judgement as he admired her. The women of the Mist province developed at a very young age. Many of them would be married off already at this age, but they also aged particularly quickly. Mortals that did not practise internal martial arts of qi would rapidly age once they reached thirty or forty years old. By the time they were in their late forties and fifties, they would resemble old women.

    I¡¯ll be setting off on a journey with her very soon.

    In truth, the envoy of the White Lotus cult¡¯s arrival was due to his machinations. He had urged Xianghua Man to ask the White Lotus cult to accept a group of followers from Fragrant Flower market, and he would use this opportunity to infiltrate the White Lotus cult and take back the Asura Field. Although it was completely possible for him to openly take it once he had completely recovered his strength, he really did not want to wait until then, nor did he want the news that Northmoon was still alive to reach the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s ears.

    Xianghua Lu laid comfortably in the spring as if the water had wondrous properties that could allow people to recover their youth. She immediately threw her worries to the back of her mind, and she gradually became carried away, diving into the water and swimming around.

    Suddenly, she noticed a pair of scarlet eyes staring straight at her.

    Plunk! Xianghua Man cried out, and her voice turned into a bubble. She kicked her slender legs and quickly retreated to the side of the hot spring. She shielded her chest with one hand, and she cried out, ¡°Who is it? Come out!¡±

    A while later, a tiny figure rose up from the water. His dark eyes were shining, and his moist hair reached his shoulders. He was Li Qingshan, who had hidden away his daemonic characteristics. Whether it was his sharp teeth and claws or the horns on his head, they had all vanished. He only seemed like a regular boy, around eleven or twelve years old.

    What a pretty child! Xianghua Man marvelled inside and lowered her guard. ¡°Who are you? Are you my mum¡¯s partner?¡± When she mentioned this, even she began to laugh. How was it possible? He was still so young!

    Partner! Li Qingshan thought. She sure had developed early. However, in the Fragrant Flower clan, it really was commonplace for authoritative women to find a few partners, so there was nothing wrong for this young girl to mention something like that.

    ¡°Have you come to steal the Unaging Water of Youth as well? How bold of you!¡± Xianghua Lu could not think of a child like him in the clan, or she definitely would have remembered him. As a result, she guessed his objective was the same as hers. With a flip of her hand, she wanted to restrain him, but then she thought of something.

    If I capture him and hand him over to mum, wouldn¡¯t I be exposed as well? Xianghua Lu, you can¡¯t be so foolish! If such a pretty child was made into fertiliser for the flowers, that would be far too great of a pity. I¡¯ll do something good and let him live.

    ¡°Little brother, you better go! If my mum discovers you, you¡¯ll be dead for sure!¡±

    Little brother? If your mum ever called me that, I¡¯d definitely beat her until she called me daddy! You sure are rather merciful, little girl!

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you come to steal the Unaging Water of Youth too? Why should I go?¡±

    ¡°This is Unaging Water of Youth that belongs to my family, so how can you call it stealing? You thief, how dare you talk back to me! H- how bold of you!¡± Xianghua Lu turned bright red and waved her arms vigorously, reaching over and grabbing at Li Qingshan. The buds that had yet to bloom were only inches away, trembling gently. They were not full, but they were enticing in their own way. The two pink cherries were particularly enamouring.

    ¡°What are you looking at? Would you believe me if I said I¡¯ll dig out your eyes? Forget it. What would a kid know? Get out of here!¡±

    Xianghua Lu gave up on hiding herself and grabbed Li Qingshan by the wrist, pulling him towards the side of the pool. However, he did not budge at all. She wrenched her hands back as hard as she could. ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell- but you- have quite- the strength!¡±

    Her face was bright red. Suddenly, her hands slipped, and she fell backwards. She immediately climbed to her feet, only to see him smiling, which made her even more annoyed. She tried pushing him instead, but it was obviously just as useless.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If I say I¡¯m not leaving, it means I¡¯m not leaving. Who cares where I¡¯m from? If you can toss me out, I¡¯ll just blame myself for being useless!¡±

    ¡°Alright! If I don¡¯t toss you out today, I¡¯ll blame myself for being useless!¡±

    Xianghua Lu spread her slender arms and embraced him firmly, tugging him upwards. She believed that as long as his feet left the ground, he would obviously have nowhere to push off of.

    Just like that, Li Qingshan became utterly delighted. A soft and warm beauty was around him, and the developing buds pressed against his face. He smiled evilly and bit down gently.

    ¡°Ah! Let go¡­ stop! I¡¯m not your mum!¡± Xianghua Lu cried out and tried to push him away.

    Why would Li Qingshan let go of her? He wrapped his arms around her thin waist and gently caressed her body.

    Xianghua Lu already knew a little bit about what went on between a man and a woman, but this was still the first time she had experienced something like this. How could the sensitive body of a young girl stand a chance against Li Qingshan? She felt a strange, numbing sensation rise up in her heart, and her struggle gradually became more and more powerless.

    ¡°A¡¯lu, what are you doing?¡± A bellow jerked Xianghua Lu back to her senses. She turned around, only to see Xianghua Man standing beside the pool, surprised and annoyed.

    ¡°Mum, this little bastard came to steal the Unaging Water of Youth. I¡¯m not his opponent. Stop him quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan conveniently let go of Xianghua Lu and blinked his eyes at Xianghua Man. Xianghua Man said, ¡°You can go first!¡±

    Xianghua Lu kicked Li Qingshan in a fuming manner. Then she picked up her clothes and scurried away like she was fleeing.

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°Since we¡¯ll be travelling together, I better get to know her beforehand! When can we set off?¡±

    ¡°You can set off probably within the next ten days.¡±

    ¡°Alright. You¡¯ll get what you¡¯ve been desiring this whole time very soon. You won¡¯t have to listen to my orders anymore.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not coming back?¡± Xianghua Man said in surprise. She never expected him to spare her so easily!

    ¡°Of course I am. This place is very fun.¡± Li Qingshan stood on the surface of the water. With a thought, the surface became as smooth as a mirror.

    Under Xianghua Man¡¯s stunned gaze, another tiny Northmoon leapt out of the water.

    The Watermirror¡¯s Image that he had not used in a very long time!

    Li Qingshan gazed towards the north. It was time for him to go back and take a look!

 Chapter 721 â€“ Setting Off and Going Back

    The fierce wind kicked up waves in the pool. With a violent flap, he rushed into the air, diving into the depths of the clouds in the blink of an eye.

    Fragrant Flower market became as small as a mustard seed, blurring in the endless sea of forests. He cast his gaze towards the north and whistled away.

    Although he could not enter the atmospheric winds and make use of them because his strength had yet to fully recover, he travelled in a straight line and constantly flapped his wings, so he continued to speed up, leaving behind a spiral stream of air. With this innate ability, even thousands of kilometers would be nothing. It would take him a day or two at most to reach the boundary between the Mist province and the Green province. After he reached there, he would check his bearings and fly off towards the Ruyi commandery.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky and split off a part of his focus, leaving it with his mirror clone. He lowered his head and said, ¡°A¡¯man, how do you plan on explaining my identity?¡±

    Only now did Xianghua Man return to her senses. ¡°What was that earlier?¡±

    ¡°Just a clone.¡±

    Xianghua Man was shocked. ¡°Just a clone!¡±

    Over the past year or so, she never saw him fight or take action again. She only saw him grow with each passing day. Although she knew he was constantly growing stronger, she did not know just how strong he was becoming. The unexpected glimpse earlier allowed her to understand how powerful this child had become.

    In the past when he promised he would use her for two years at most before letting her go free, she was not particularly convinced. If she were a man and had such a beautiful matriarch she could do whatever she wanted to as a servant, she would never let her go so easily. But now, she no longer had any doubts. She never bore any importance to him in the first place, which instead filled her with a faint sense of resentment and refusal to acknowledge this.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m asking you. What¡¯re you standing there in a daze for?¡±

    ¡°You can just say that you¡¯re my man!¡± Xianghua Man made her way over, her hips swaying from side to side before she crouched down. She embraced him and kissed him deeply as she smiled. With his daemonic characteristics hidden away, he lost some of his devilish charm, but it was replaced with some tenderness and handsomeness.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I your daddy?¡± Li Qingshan smiled, except the lust in his heart lit up again. She was dressed in some splendid attire today, with a delicate, silver tiara on her head and a colourful dress of black and blue, which highlighted her beautiful figure. She was filled with exotic charm.

    ¡°Ah! You¡¯ve just finished harassing my daughter, and now, you¡¯re harassing me. Yep, the White Lotus cult will publicly recruit disciples in Fragrant Flower market later. By then, all you need to do is go. I will tell A¡¯lu to keep what happened today a secret! I¡¯ll also write a letter. You just need to hand it to A¡¯zi when the time comes, and she¡¯ll give it to you. However, you have to promise me something!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Once this is all over, you have to come and visit me. You have no idea how much pain and hardships I¡¯ve gone through to wait for you to grow up. You¡¯re almost there, but if you just walk away now, wouldn¡¯t you fill me with regret for the rest of my life?¡± Xianghua Man grumbled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t recall you going through any pain or hardships.¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and smiled. They had only come across each other by chance in the first place, taking whatever they needed from one another. Although they had never actually done it, they had done plenty of other things already, so her complaint was completely without reason.

    Xianghua Man nibbled on his ear and whispered a few things, which made Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skip a beat. This really was a land of southern barbarians. They sure were uninhibited!

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll see when the time comes!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely leave you satisfied when the time comes, A¡¯yue!¡± Xianghua Man smiled. If the Fragrant Flower clan could draw in a backer like him, it would be far more reliable than the White Lotus cult. There were far too many followers of the White Lotus cult, and their resources were limited, but this person would always let benefits seep through between his fingers, enough for her to enjoy them to her heart¡¯s content.

    A few days later, the peaceful, or in other words, boring times Li Qingshan spent in the Fragrant Flower market came to an end.

    The envoy of the White Lotus cult arranged a ceremony in the Fragrant Flower market. White lotuses bloomed, all as large as tables. The refreshing fragrance filled the surroundings, enough to dazzle and enchant everybody.

    Afterwards, he began accepting disciples. He only accepted children below the age of fifteen and adult shamans with a certain foundation!

    Before this occurred, news of it had already broken out, so the Fragrant Flower market that was already very prosperous and busy became packed. Everyone wanted their child to become a shaman. Joining the White Lotus cult was a shortcut to fame.

    In the packed market, children lined up and made their way onto the platform one by one, having their talent tested. However, there was barely anyone that actually possessed the talent to cultivate, and the White Lotus cult¡¯s requirements to accept disciples were extremely strict as well. If their talent was too poor, they would not want them either. It was basically a one-in-a-hundred selection.

    In this place without any Academies of the Hundred Schools or sects to compete for resources, the White Lotus cult that dominated the region did indeed possess this right to be picky.

    Below the platform in a pergola, Xianghua Man smiled. ¡°The envoy sure is meticulous.¡±

    ¡°This is the very foundation and future of the White Lotus cult. With the holy mother looking down from above, how can I afford to mismanage this?¡±

    The envoy of the White Lotus cult was a benevolent old man with white hair. He spoke in an unhurried manner, and his voice was soft and magnetic. Even with those children who had no talent, he spoke softly to them and comforted them, without the slightest restlessness at all. No one could connect him to a heretic sect.

    At this moment, a child stepped on the platform, and immediately, all the lotus flowers bloomed, leading to a series of cries.

    The envoy of the White Lotus cult immediately set down his tea cup. This symbolised supreme talent. He never thought he would actually run into someone with supreme talent in such a small place. When he arrived in front of the child, his eyes lit up. What a pretty child!

    ¡°What¡¯s your name? Which tribe do you come from?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Goldie A¡¯yue. The Bone Eating tribe destroyed my tribe. The matriarch of the Fragrant Flower clan saved my life!¡±

    Li Qingshan was dressed in simple, local clothes. He bowed towards Xianghua Man and glanced at Xianghua Lu beside her. Xianghua Lu obviously did not have to go through any test. Having sat there for all this time, she just happened to be bored. She saw Li Qingshan and almost cried out, covering her mouth in a hurry and recalling Xianghua Man¡¯s instructions.

    Originally, she hated him to the core, but when she heard that he came from Goldie fort, she could not help but feel some sympathy. So the Bone Eating barbarians had eaten both of his parents!

    Having sustained heavy losses in the Fragrant Flower market, the Bone Eating tribe vented their fury on Goldie fort. It led to quite an uproar back then, but it was soon forgotten by everyone. Fragrant Flower market used this opportunity to claim Goldie fort¡¯s gold mines and establish a new group of merchants. After destroying the Bone Eating shamans, they became the strongest tribe in the region.

    The jungle of the Mist province had always been like this. Tribes of various sizes would constantly spring into existence and be destroyed.

    The envoy of the White Lotus cult expressed sympathy towards Li Qingshan¡¯s predicament and praised Xianghua Man for her actions before accepting Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan stood together with the children that had passed the test, just waiting for the day they would set off. He sensed a pair of eyes constantly glancing over, so he turned around and smiled at Xianghua Lu. Xianghua Lu turned away in a hurry, no longer daring to look at him anymore!

    At the same time, his clone had already set foot in the Green province. However, after entering the Green province, he became even more careful. He flew above the clouds as much as possible, and when there were no clouds, he would try to find a way to hide himself. He did not want the Dragon King of Ink Sea to find out that he was still alive!

    When Li Qingshan was about to set off to a branch of the White Lotus cult with the envoy, the familiar landscape began unfurling before his eyes on the other side!

    It had been almost three years since then. He was finally back!

    Li Qingshan went to the Chain mountains first. The formation was still around, and it had not been destroyed, which brought him some relief. As it seemed, his identity still had not been exposed, or it would be impossible for his dwelling to remain in a single piece. Gu Yanying and Hua Chengzan sure were something. They did not divulge his secrets just because they had received news of his death.

    As long as they said nothing, no one would disturb his ¡°secluded cultivation¡±. Even Han Qiongzhi would not. To cultivators, cultivation was the most important. Remaining in seclusion without emerging meant they had reached a critical stage.

    Cultivation had always been extremely time-consuming, especially so with higher realms of cultivation. Remaining in secluded cultivation for two or three years was nothing strange. There were also many people who lamented and said that cultivators had a lengthy lifespan, far longer than what mortals possessed, but they did not necessarily have as much time to enjoy life as mortals. However, if the people who said that were to become mortals, they would never accept something like that.

    ¡°Xiao An is still not back? Has she undergone the heavenly tribulation yet, or is she currently learning the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    Then, Li Qingshan visited Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling, except the stone door was firmly closed. He called out a few times, but he received no reply. He was about to leave when he glanced near his feet. He could not help but be surprised. The ground outside the dwelling was covered in moss, which meant that she was either currently in secluded cultivation and had sealed herself off from the outside world, or it had been a very long time since she returned to the dwelling.

    People bustled about in Clear River city. It was as lively as before, and the entrance of the Hawkwolf Guard seemed just as quiet and unfrequented as before.

    In a room on a higher floor, Hua Chenglu leaned against her arm as she listened quietly to a Scarlet Wolf guard¡¯s report. She used the past few years to consolidate her various comprehensions from the Wisdom Imbuement, adjusting to the status and identity of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. She definitely possessed the solemn bearing of a leader now.

    However, when Li Qingshan saw her from outside the window, he could not help but feel a sense of unfamiliarity. Compared to her, he was instead a little closer and more familiar with Xianghua Man who he felt nothing towards. After all, it had been a few years since they last saw each other!

    The apathetic and indifferent relationships that existed in the cultivation community were not without reason. If it were not for the fact that cultivators all had very impressive memories, probably some of them would even forget the names of their friends and family when they emerged from secluded cultivation.

    This was not an exaggeration. Three years of secluded cultivation was not as simple as three years of separation among mortals. Whenever they entered secluded cultivation, they would cast aside everything apart from themselves and venture deep into the profound world of cultivation. There were rumors that some cultivators who spent a decade in secluded cultivation would even forget their own names. Others would tell them their names, but they would find it very unfamiliar, so they would give themselves a new name.

    Being overly close and intimate would affect a cultivator¡¯s free will and their cultivation, which was why ¡°meeting and parting by going with the flow¡± was a thing. From a certain perspective, the reason why Li Qingshan and Xiao An could remain so close all this time was because Xiao An did not have her own pursuits. She treated following after him as her cultivation objective, taking on his path as her own.

    Hua Chenglu seemed to sense something. She glanced out the window, but she saw no one.

    When she finished her work and took off, the tender voice of a child suddenly rang out, ¡°Where¡¯s your brother?¡±

 Chapter 722 â€“ Ru Xinâ€™s Whereabouts

    As a result, she just stood still and silently used her soul sense. She asked, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m an old friend of your brother!¡± Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell to block Hua Chenglu¡¯s soul sense.

    ¡°I know all of my brother¡¯s friends!¡± Hua Chenglu suddenly turned around, and the stream of air arrived behind her again. ¡°But he doesn¡¯t have any sneaky friends like you!¡±

    ¡°Looks like there are also ones you don¡¯t know. Men have a lot of little secrets. Anyways, I want to see him. There¡¯s something I want to ask him about!¡±

    ¡°My brother is cultivating in peace on Soaring Afterglow mountain.¡±

    Hua Chenglu considered it, but she ended up deciding on telling the truth. No matter what his intentions were, Soaring Afterglow mountain was enveloped in formations. Even Golden Core cultivators could forget about breaching the place. It was better to leave him to Hua Chengzan than face him right now when she was in a disadvantageous situation.

    ¡°Soaring Afterglow mountain? Alright, thanks for that! And, please keep this a secret. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what your brother would want too!¡±

    Li Qingshan had once been in possession of a mental map of the Green province. Afterwards, he had gradually refined all the bodies of water in the Ruyi commandery, so he understood the landscape like the back of his hand. He immediately recalled where Soaring Afterglow mountain was.

    The Soaring Afterglow sect was originally located there. Their sect master seemingly died in the commandery city of Ruyi, and they had suffered heavy losses with their disciples. As it seemed, the Hua family had taken advantage of the situation to annex them. After all, a sect without strength had no right to occupy such a great place for cultivation.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll keep this secret for you, but you have to tell me who you are.¡±

    ¡°You might find out one day in the future, but not right now!¡±

    ¡°I want to know right now!¡± Hua Chenglu said

    Hua Chenglu did not receive a reply. She looked back, only to see the misty white clouds and the setting sun in the west burning like fire. After a moment of hesitation, she also ventured off in the direction of Soaring Afterglow mountain. Her curiosity was far too strong.

    The Soaring Afterglow sect was a sect with over a thousand years of history. Although it was under new management, the structures in the sect had not been destroyed at all. The halls and pavilions remained where they were, built into the mountains, giving off a bearing of grandeur and elegance.

    At this moment, he thought about Northmoon¡¯s death again. He still found it a little difficult to believe. With his dual identity as a human and a daemon, he used a little over a decade to go on a meteoric rise, yet he had actually died quietly in the jungle of the Mist province like this.

    However, if he thought about it with conventional logic, it was definitely impossible for him to survive seeing how one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, had hunted him down.

    What would happen to Qiongzhi? Haitang was probably clueless about it too. He was tight-lipped, but he was frequently plagued with worries, which consolidated his desire to cultivate. The world was already showing signs of chaos. Strength was crucial.

    At this moment, he felt the furthest formation being triggered. A voice called out, ¡°Tsk! Open up!¡±

    Hua Chengzan gazed into the distance and saw a child with scarlet hair and eyes smiling at him. He was taken aback. Only then did he find the smile so familiar. He said in disbelief, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    The formations opened one by one, and Li Qingshan flapped his wings, rushing over and landing gently on the railing. He smiled. ¡°Your cultivation really has advanced at a marvellous rate in the past few years!¡±

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s aura was sedated, and the fragrance of flowers lingered about him without dispersing. He had already consolidated his cultivation at mid Foundation Establishment firmly and was close to breaking through to late Foundation Establishment. Clearly, after breaking free from his entanglements of love, he began to demonstrate extraordinary talent.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive? That¡¯s fantastic, but I heard¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just that old dragon alone won¡¯t be enough to kill me. There will be a day when I go dragon slaying in the Ink sea!¡± Li Qingshan pointed toward the distant east. The afterglow faded away, and the stars began to shine.

    ¡°Then I don¡¯t have to worry,¡± said Hua Chengzan.

    Li Qingshan asked Hua Chengzan about many people and learnt that they were mostly the same as before. They all cultivated peacefully, entering secluded cultivation for a year or two every once in a while. The humans and daemons of the Ruyi commandery had both suffered heavy losses as their own hands, so the situation instead became as stable as it could get. They also had Gu Yanying, a commander who got along with both sides, mediating everything, so there basically were no large scale battles.

    The other commanderies were not so peaceful. Although it was still not a full-blown war, the Daemon Commanders and Daemon Generals already began ignoring the Treaty of Kings, moving about on the surface and frequently rubbing shoulders and getting into battles with humans. The Daemon Suppression alliance the Sword Collection palace arranged had already established a reputation towards the north of the Green province.

    Li Qingshan nodded. Suddenly, he realised that although Hua Chengzan even mentioned Liu Chuanfeng and Sun Fubai, going into detail about the Cloudwisp association¡¯s developments, he did not mention Ru Xin. He asked, ¡°Do you know where Ru Xin is?¡±

    Hua Chengzan was surprised. ¡°You didn¡¯t see her?¡±

    ¡°Why would I see her?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°She went to the Mist province to find you!¡±

    ¡°Since when?¡±

    ¡°Soon after the news of your death had spread, she openly announced she was entering secluded cultivation. I knew it wasn¡¯t as simple as that, so I went to find her. She said¡­¡± Hua Chengzan paused. Li Qingshan pressed down on his shoulders and asked, ¡°What did she say?¡±

    ¡°She said while smiling, ¡®I don¡¯t believe that bastard will die in such a hilarious way. He¡¯s killed their son, so they chased him down and hacked him to death. Isn¡¯t that just a joke?¡¯¡±

    ¡°That does sound like something she would say! Though, I¡¯ve suffered such a tragic fate, so doesn¡¯t she even know to feel a little sad?¡± Li Qingshan said in discontent, but his eyes betrayed him with smiles and emotion. She had travelled thousands of kilometers to find him as soon as she learnt about what had happened to him. Then he became rather worried. Where was she right now? He had spent most of his time hidden away, so it was not surprising that she had not found him.

    ¡°You should have persuaded her otherwise. If I really were dead, it would be useless even if she went. If I managed to survive, then of course I wouldn¡¯t be found so easily.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I said, but she said that even if you really died, you¡¯ll need someone to burn some joss paper for you! When she said that, her expression was very painful. I¡¯ve never seen her show an expression like that despite knowing her for so long!¡±

    No one suspected that the Dragon King of Ink Sea would fail to hunt down and kill a Daemon Commander. She clearly believed so too with her smarts, but she still went.

    ¡°What a troublesome woman. What¡¯s wrong with behaving and just staying at home? I have to search for her now!¡±

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes before opening them again. For a moment, he was tempted to throw the Asura Field aside and track her down immediately.

    At this moment, Hua Chengzan¡¯s expression changed, and he gazed down the mountain.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Chenglu. I¡¯ll make her wait outside for a while!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s quite late. It¡¯s time for me to go. Oh right, why aren¡¯t you finding a master to study under? Don¡¯t tell me you plan on reestablishing the Soaring Afterglow sect as their sect master after you undergo the second heavenly tribulation?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m nowhere near as impressive as you. I want to break through to late Foundation Establishment and then visit the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    ¡°You want to join the Sword Collection palace?¡±

    ¡°If I want a master, they¡¯ll obviously have to be a great cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation. Among the three great sects of the Green province, it¡¯s not like I can go become a monk or go to the south and join the Umbral Yin sect!¡±

    Li Qingshan wanted to say, You¡¯re a Hawkwolf guard, so how can you join the Sword Collection palace? They might not necessarily accept you either. Apart from the three great sects of the Green province, the governance system of the Great Xia empire has some great cultivators too. However, he understood what Hua Chengzan was trying to say with some further thought. He did not want to see Gu Yanying again.

    ¡°Commander Gu gave me special permission to resign from my post in the Hawkwolf Guard. She even sent a word to me that if I can¡¯t join the Sword Collection palace, then she would recommend me to a great cultivator of the Umbral Yin sect. She told me that I have to wait a few more years, and she¡¯s basically lived up to her duty as a friend. Looks like it wasn¡¯t an accident that I fell in love with her.¡±

    Hua Chengzan smiled bitterly. Something as great as this that regular people could only wish for instead made him feel a mixture of emotions.

    ¡°What living up to her duty as a friend? She should know that you absolutely won¡¯t accept it!¡± Li Qingshan said in objection.

    The bird woman was always meticulous when she did things, such that no one could find any fault in it. She was not annoyingly tactful. Instead, she gave off a faint sense of alienation.

    ¡°Who knows, she might also know that the Sword Collection palace would never accept me, and she divulged that on purpose. In order to stop me from joining the Umbral Yin sect, perhaps it might even increase my chances of the Sword Collection palace accepting me!¡±

    ¡°You really are beyond help. Take care, I¡¯m going!¡±

    Right when Hua Chenglu almost ran out of patience from the waiting, the formations finally opened. She arrived in front of Hua Chengzan and asked curiously, ¡°Was that really your friend? Who was he exactly?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°I¡¯ll introduce him to you in the future!¡±

    Before long, Li Qingshan arrived before the dwelling of the ¡°bird woman¡±, the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind.

    He knew she was in possession of an Ink Dragon talisman, and she was on good terms with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but he still came. He clearly knew that their friendship was not particularly deep, but he could still trust her. This could probably be regarded as an ability too!

    He took a step and crossed from the chilly autumn night to the early summer beaming with sunlight. The lotus flowers bobbed up and down, stretching as far as the eye could see. The smell of flowers wafted through the air.

    He leapt into the sea of flowers and saw the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind in the distance.

    Gu Yanying stood in a set of white clothes that were even whiter than snow. She smiled. ¡°Looks like I was wrong!¡±

    ¡°Completely and utterly wrong!¡± Li Qingshan landed on the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind. ¡°How is it? You didn¡¯t think of this, did you?¡±

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t think of it. I never expected you¡¯d be quite interesting after shrinking!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. When she saw Li Qingshan, she had indeed been shocked. The Dragon King of Ink Sea did not tell any lies, yet he was well and truly alive. What he achieved was unfathomable.

    ¡°Interesting your face. If you had told me that that kid Mo Yu was capable of something like that, I wouldn¡¯t have fallen for his trick!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re my man, hehe, or my son either. I tried to persuade you, but you didn¡¯t listen, so how can you blame me?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t come here to joke around with you. I require some fire element spiritual stones and pills!¡±

    Practising the second layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a was not as easy as the first layer. It required large amounts of resources, but he was currently broke. All of his wealth was in the Asura Field, and even if he were in possession of the Asura Field, he could not purchase so many resources easily. He required her assistance with this.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll sell you out to the dragon king?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡±

    ¡°Do you have money to pay for it right now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Alright then, but I need some time!¡±

 Chapter 723 â€“ During the Journey

    ¡°The envoy truly has an extraordinary bearing. It¡¯s no wonder the holy mother sent him to undertake such an important job,¡± said a person as they sighed in admiration.

    Xianghua Man sneered slightly, An important job? He clearly has no future, which is why he¡¯s been sent out to waste his time! What shitty envoy? He¡¯s just a lecherous old man. During the past few days, he¡¯s spent plenty of time with women in the clan, even trying to make a move against me. He should check his own age first.

    I¡¯m just worried about A¡¯lu, but both A¡¯hong and A¡¯zi have joined the White Lotus cult now, and A¡¯hong has even gone to the main headquarters as a formal disciple, so even that old coot shouldn¡¯t go too far. Moreover, he¡¯s around too!

    The envoy glanced back from afar and waved his hand at Xianghua Man gracefully. He also sneered inside, She¡¯s just a puny matriarch, yet she has the courage to turn down my request? Does she really think she¡¯s a paragon of chastity? And that bitch Xianghua Zi is no different. After getting on good terms with the altar lord, she started completely looking down on me.

    He could not help but glance at Xianghua Lu. He was determined to make up for the annoyance of their mother shutting him down on this little girl. How easy would it be to coax a little girl who had yet to experience the aspects of human life into bed? As long as he did not use force, even if her sisters found out, they could not do anything to him!

    Xianghua Lu was completely unaware of this. She currently stared at Li Qingshan cautiously with hostility. Li Qingshan did not look at her, advancing at a gradual pace. ¡°Is there something on my face?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s shit!¡± Xianghua Lu fumed. He had clearly committed all kinds of audacious outrage towards her in the hot spring, yet he acted like she completely deserved it, which was utterly despicable. And, her mother just happened to tell her to consult him about everything. She clearly had no idea what she was saying! Just who here did not treat her better than how he did?

    Li Qingshan turned around and smiled. ¡°So you¡¯re a dog then!¡±

    ¡°How dare you call me a dog!?¡± Xianghua Lu was taken aback before flying into a rage to pull him by the ear. Li Qingshan caught her casually, and Xianghua Lu put up a slight struggle before completely giving up and letting him drag her along. She only pouted and swore, but there was not a lot of anger on her slightly-red face.

    Li Qingshan only treated it as a small, pleasant distraction. Actually, during the past few days, he did not really go out of his way to provoke Xianghua Lu, as he was worried about Ru Xin. However, the girl had come at him time and time again, so he treated it all as a diversion from his thoughts.

    Countless hostile gazes shot over from the surroundings. If it were not for the sake of the envoy at the front, probably a lot of the younger people would have jumped in involuntarily and tried to play the hero already. The older shamans shook their heads. The girl was clearly interested in the pretty kid, or why would she not be able to break free with her strength? After all, she could be regarded as a proper shaman.

    Cold light flashed through the envoy¡¯s eyes. Did this overconfident kid really think he could touch his meal just because he had some talent?

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re called Goldie A¡¯yue, right? Did Bone Eating barbarians eat your parents? I wonder whether they ate the hands or the legs first,¡± a young shaman smeared with colours said maliciously.

    Li Qingshan thought about that question and spat out two words, ¡°Piss off.¡±

    The young shaman¡¯s face changed drastically. He drew his blade with a swish. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Right now.¡±

    ¡°Oi, aren¡¯t you just trying to make trouble? What¡¯s the death of A¡¯yue¡¯s parents got to do with you?¡± Xianghua Lu frowned.

    ¡°Hiding behind a woman! What a coward!¡± The young shaman spat viciously and turned around, making his way to the front of the ground. He sensed how the envoy was right beside him, and his anger vanished. He whispered, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ve already gotten to the bottom of this. Goldie fort does have a person by the name of Goldie A¡¯yue, but his age is completely off. I tried to talk to him a few times, but he completely ignored me. When I try to aggravate him, he says nothing either. There¡¯s something completely off with this kid¡¯s origins!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll deal with him tonight!¡±

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. He had anticipated a long time ago that he would run into some trouble during this journey, but these troubles did not seem to come from these barbarians. That was what the senses of the spirit turtle told him.

    The sun fell and the moon rose, and so did the campfire blazing away.

    After travelling through the rainforest for an entire day, the shamans could still hold on, but the children had become utterly exhausted a long time ago.

    Li Qingshan sat under a dark tree far away from the campfire calmly. Xianghua Lu sat right beside him and said proudly, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for my fragrance, those venomous insects would have bitten you to death already!¡±

    Li Qingshan simply laid down casually, using her lap as a pillow without holding back at all. He crossed his legs and assumed a comfortable pose.

    His shamelessness stunned Xianghua Lu. She extended her hands and pinched away at his face, except her actions were overly gentle that it felt more like intimate contact than punishment. Gradually, her expression sweetened. Ever since that day in the ¡°Unaging Spring of Youth¡±, he had cast a shadow in her heart. He was the first man to treat her as a woman and kiss and caress her, even though he was only a child.

    She never thought she would meet him again a few days later, and during the several days of contact, the shadow rapidly grew heavier. She simply found him different from all the people she had seen so far. He seemed to glow as he stood in the crowd, overshadowing everyone around him.

    At this moment, singing rose up from the campfire. It was a ballad from a young man, seeking for love from a young woman. Ten days ago, Li Qingshan found this to be pretty interesting, but by now, he had grown sick of it already, especially when the song targeted Xianghua Lu who was right beside him.

    ¡°Look at how nice their singing is. Do you know how to sing?¡± Xianghua Lu saw how annoyed he was and giggled.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Li Qingshan said. Back then, he had even sung until prince Si Qing¡¯s face sank.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it!¡±

    ¡°If you want to hear it, sure, but give me a kiss!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You definitely can¡¯t sing. I¡¯ll never fall for this!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and kissed her gently on the lips. Before she had even returned to her senses, he began singing softly, ¡°Under the moonlight, the fernleaf hedge bamboo, soft, beautiful like the green mist. The fine lady in the bamboo loft, dazzling like luminous pearls¡­¡±

    TL: The lyrics come from the song ¡°Fernleaf Hedge Bamboo in the Moonlight¡±. You can listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoOCghRRNPE

    The moment he began singing, even Li Qingshan himself found it unusual. The singing by the fire immediately stopped. Everyone looked over and listened closely. Never had they heard such touching singing before. It was as magnificent and light as the sounds of nature.

    By the time the singing stopped, everyone was still taken away by the song, and Xianghua Lu who was only inches away was completely enamoured. Li Qingshan shook his head. The songs of a young phoenix surpasses the old. Let¡¯s just say this is an advantage from the Phoenix Transformation too!

    ¡°That¡¯s so nice! What is this song? How come I¡¯ve never heard of it before?¡± Xianghua Lu returned to her senses, overwhelmed with excitement. She completely forgot about being angry from having a kiss forced on her.

    ¡°There are plenty of songs you haven¡¯t heard!¡± Li Qingshan yawned, and his ears suddenly twitched. He seemed to be listening for something!

    At this moment, a group of people pressed closer. The barbarians of various ages stared at Li Qingshan viciously. Over the past few days, Li Qingshan had never talked to anyone. Even when people tried to talk to him, he ignored them. He had absolutely nothing to say to these people, but he came off as wildly arrogant in the eyes of others, which led to everyone¡¯s discontent.

    The reason why they had done nothing yet was because they feared the envoy of the White Lotus cult. Now that he was impelling them on, they all leapt forward. The flames of envy blazed in them, burning even hotter than the campfire.

    Xianghua Lu said, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°Goldie A¡¯yue, we want to challenge you!¡± ¡°A¡¯lu, this has nothing to do with you, so step aside!¡±

    Li Qingshan laid leisurely in Xianghua Lu¡¯s lap and said in an unconvinced fashion, ¡°I can see death looming over all of you, so just forget about it tonight!¡± His gaze landed on the sagely, white-haired, white-bearded envoy of the White Lotus cult by the fire. His face seemed sunken too. He dared not use force directly against Xianghua Lu who had a background, but that did not mean he dared not lay his hands on a kid who tried to slip into the White Lotus cult with malicious intentions!

    ¡°You¡¯re still so stubborn when death is right in front of you! Hack him to pieces!¡± The barbarians drew their blades loudly and swung around madly, dealing with the problem in the way they were most adept at.

    Xianghua Lu cried out. She had no idea why these people who had been so kind the entire time would suddenly become so vicious and try to kill A¡¯yue! Right when she was about to take action, the young shaman that Li Qingshan had told to piss off slipped over silently, prepared to seize the opportunity and stop her.

    Blades shimmered and blood spattered. A violent howl rang out. The barbarians who had raised their blades at Li Qingshan had all cut themselves for some reason. They rolled on the ground in pain. Two of them even directly hacked themselves to death.

    With that, everyone became stunned. Xianghua Lu had no idea what had just happened, and the young shaman was puzzled too. The people by the fire were even more clueless. Only the envoy of the White Lotus cult changed drastically in expression. At that moment, he seemed to see a mirror.

    The Watermirror Image could reflect the enemy¡¯s attack. Li Qingshan shook his head. Using it on these barbarians was basically overkill.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± the young shaman roared at Li Qingshan, putting on a tough front.

    The envoy stood up as well. He said righteously, ¡°Kid, how dare you injure the foundations of our White Lotus cult? There¡¯s no need to keep you around today! Everyone, listen up! Take him down!¡±

    The young shaman was about to take action when a gust of foul wind swept over, sucking him forcefully into the darkness behind a tree.

    A huge python with golden mottling, radiating with daemon qi, extended its head out from behind the tree. Its neck wriggled, and it swallowed the shaman.

    ¡°A daemonic beast!¡± the barbarians cried out.

    ¡°No, a daemon!¡± Li Qingshan corrected.

    Suddenly, the snake daemon turned its head. Its cold eyes stared at Li Qingshan and Xianghua Lu as it flickered its forked tongue, only inches away.

    Xianghua Lu felt her blood freeze. She had only ever heard about the terrors of daemons. Never had she witnessed it before. Now that she saw one today, she found them to be even more frightening than rumored.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand restlessly. ¡°Piss off! Go eat them!¡±

    The snake daemon shrank back with its head and nodded in an extremely human-like manner, turning away and slithering towards the barbarians and shamans around the fire.

 Chapter 724 â€“ The Snake God Cul

    Within the dim jungle, the fire flickered, and the snake¡¯s eyes flashed!

    The smell of blood spread!

    ¡°It listened to your¡­¡±

    Xianghua Lu stared at Li Qingshan, at a loss as for what to say. She had realised a long time ago that he definitely was not a mortal like he seemed on the surface. His strange strength alone was already beyond what most shamans could contend with, but never did she think he could order a snake daemon around.

    Li Qingshan stood up and held her by the chin. ¡°You¡¯re not the same as them either. Prepare to set off!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, everyone. If we kill this remaining daemon of the Snake God cult, the altar lord- no, the holy mother will reward us heavily!¡± the envoy of the White Lotus cult ordered loudly. He launched an attack first, sending a tusk-like spiritual artifact towards the snake daemon.

    The shamans turned hostile too, drawing their weapons and unleashing their shaman arts as they rushed towards the snake daemon while howling out.

    With a sweep of its tail, the snake daemon knocked away the spiritual artifact and suddenly opened its huge mouth, spraying out with mist.

    ¡°Ah! My eyes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a poisonous mist! Back away!¡±

    Among the howls, a shaman called out, ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡± Suddenly, he darted out of the poisonous mist, wielding a glowing, meter-long steel blade in his hand. He swung it at just below the snake daemon¡¯s head.

    The snake daemon¡¯s colossal body, over thirty meters in length, rapidly wrapped around the shaman. With a splat, it crushed him to pieces. Blood spurted several meters into the air, and the steel blade hurtled away, stabbing into the ground.

    ¡°What a bunch of dumb barbarians. That¡¯s a daemon general with an innate ability. If the old man from the White Lotus cult was willing to put his life on the line, then perhaps you still might stand a chance! But he¡¯s clearly only launched a single attack. He¡¯s turned around and fled a long time ago, running away even faster than a rabbit!¡±

    The snake daemon was like a twisted mountain stream as it slithered about rapidly. In a short while, it swallowed over a dozen people. Neither shamans who knew shaman arts or regular barbarians were its opponent. They were unable to keep their fear under control anymore, turning around and fleeing into the trees.

    The surging poisonous mist gathered, abruptly turning into mist snakes that darted towards the fleeing barbarians. As soon as they came into contact with the mist, the barbarians would immediately fall dead, and the shamans would get firmly entwined, becoming even more dead than dead a while later.

    He picked up Xianghua Lu and shot into the trees quickly, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.

    The snake daemon raised its head and stared in the direction he had vanished off into for a while before lowering its head again. It seemed to relax. During the moment earlier, it had felt a great sense of horror as if it had run into its natural predator. That was not an opponent it could defeat.

    ¡°Nicely done, Big Stripe! The people of the White Lotus cult all deserve to die. These people of the tribes actually abandoned the snake god and joined the White Lotus cult. They well and truly deserve death!¡±

    A while later, a thin, pale-faced man walked out from the forest. After looking around, he nodded in satisfaction. The snake daemon referred to as ¡°Big Stripe¡± slithered over affectionately and used its head to nudge the man, producing a hiss like it was telling him something.

    ¡°What? Three escaped? One of them belonged to the White Lotus cult. We¡¯ll chase them down!¡±

    However, the snake daemon slithered around, refusing to go anywhere. It only constantly hissed away.

    ¡°One of them is an extremely terrifying child, as terrifying as your mother. But ma¡¯am Gold Thread is a mighty Daemon General! Alright, we need to go back and report this quickly so that the ma¡¯am can decide what we do!¡± The man frowned in some disbelief. If the child belonged to the White Lotus cult, would Big Stripe still be alive?

    The envoy of the White Lotus cult fled madly, and the trees around him recede rapidly. With his familiarity of the land and using the barbarians as bait, he actually managed to escape. There was not a hint of kindness or amiability left on his face anymore. He cursed viciously.

    ¡°Fucking hell. You all remain in the Zi Lotus altar happily, while I have to come out and risk my life! That bitch Xianghua Man must have been colluding with the remnants of the Snake God cult, and that kid is clearly a spy. Once I report this to the altar lord, I¡¯ll have your Fragrant Flower clan completely butchered!¡±

    ¡°Oi, what are you chirping on about?¡±

    The envoy abruptly looked back. Before he knew it, the child called Goldie A¡¯yue was already keeping pace with him with a smile on his face. Xianghua Lu stared at him in disbelief, struggling to believe that a kind, amiable old man could actually say something so vicious.

    His heart suddenly lurched. No, I¡¯m definitely not this little bastard¡¯s opponent. What do I do?

    ¡°Be careful ahead!¡± Li Qingshan pointed ahead.

    ¡°What!?¡± A black shadow filled his vision.

    With a great thunk, the envoy slammed heavily against a tree before rebounding and landing on the ground. The tree leaves rustled and fell. Although he was protected by true qi such that he did not suffer any major wounds, he felt like his head was spinning. He was covered in leaves and mud, which made him seem miserable.

    Li Qingshan planted his foot on his head. ¡°Please continue leading the way and bring us to the Zi Lotus altar!¡±

    The envoy prostrated on the ground. ¡°I¡¯m willing to join your holy cult and become the most loyal servant of sir snake god!¡±

    ¡°The White Lotus cult really is doing worse and worse!¡±

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips. He could remember that the White Lotus cult possessed a technique that could control the minds of people, derived from the Wisdom Imbuement technique. It seemed to be called the ¡°Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple¡±. Once under the influence of this technique, basically no one could remain unaffected unless they were as twisted as Qian Rongzhi. They would be loyal and utterly devoted to the White Lotus cult. Clearly, the old man still did not possess the right to have the technique cast on him.

    Li Qingshan casually picked up his hundred treasures pouch. Opening it up and taking a look, the space inside happened to be tiny. It stored items like food, drinks, and pills, as well as a map made from the hide of some unknown animal. It was not a high-quality item like a mental map, but it was drawn with great care.

    He casually passed the map to Xianghua Lu. ¡°Can you understand it?¡±

    Xianghua Lu took a look and nodded. ¡°I can!¡±

    Before she had even finished talking, there was a thunk, and the head under Li Qingshan¡¯s foot was crushed. ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°To where?¡± Xianghua Lu¡¯s heart jumped violently.

    ¡°The Zi Lotus altar of the White Lotus cult obviously!¡±

    ¡°I want to go home!¡± Xianghua Lu choked back her tears. The outside world was far too terrifying!

    ¡°Once we reach the Zi Lotus altar, I¡¯ll send you home. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be in any danger if you stick with me. Let¡¯s find a place to rest up for the night and set off tomorrow!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened a little when he saw how she was almost going to break into tears. He rubbed her head and spoke to her in a surprisingly gentle way.

    Xianghua Lu nodded with teary eyes. Li Qingshan picked her up before spreading his wings and whistling off.

    His plan to infiltrate the White Lotus cult had not changed. Otherwise, he would be forced to openly attack and take the Zi Lotus altar. Killing the lord of the Zi Lotus altar was nothing difficult, but he did not want to provoke the entire White Lotus cult just yet. He only had to say that a huge snake had attacked them, and they managed to escape. With Xianghua Lu serving as a witness, infiltrating the place would be nothing difficult. By the time he took back the Asura Field, he could do whatever he wanted.

    As a result, there was no need to rush. He had to make the girl calm down first. Only then could she read the map and participate in the lie so that he did not give himself away later on.

 Chapter 725 â€“ Within the Zi Lotus Altar, the Asura Field Appears Once More

    A mountain jutted out of the sea of mist like a floating island. Wind whistled on its peak, ruffling the flags. They depicted white lotuses.

    Xianghua Zi stood on the top of the mountain and cast her gaze into the sea of mist. She frowned slightly and thought, If I check the time, A¡¯lu should have arrived yesterday, so why is she still not here? Don¡¯t tell me something happened?¡±

    After joining the White Lotus cult, she learned that the cult that seemed all-powerful was not without opponents. She just never realised it in the past because it was all beyond her reach. Although the Snake God cult had been defeated, their remnants were still terrifying. Destroying a tribe of shamans like the Fragrant Flower clan was as easy as crushing an insect.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, a boy and a girl arrived at the bottom of the mountain. One of them claims to be your younger sister!¡±

    ¡°Just the two of them?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Xianghua Zi arrived below the mountain, and some disciples of the White Lotus cult had already gathered there. She dispersed some of the mist and saw Xianghua Lu and Li Qingshan through the formation. She asked in surprise, ¡°A¡¯lu, where are the others?¡±

    ¡°Second sister, we ran into a huge snake. The others all died. We barely managed to escape!¡± Xianghua Lu was teary, constantly glancing backwards nervously as if a huge snake could dart out of the mist at any time.

    Li Qingshan felt admiration. It was no wonder that people said that women were natural actors. He never realised that despite her young age and innocent appearance, her acting was actually so great. Of course, this was also the result of several days of guidance from him, the director and scriptwriter.

    I can¡¯t lose to her! With that determination, Li Qingshan bit his lip and held Xianghua Lu¡¯s hand firmly. He behaved like a pitiful child who was forcefully holding back his fears and was completely reliant on Xianghua Lu.

    ¡°The Snake God cult!¡± Xianghua Zi was startled, and the expressions of the other disciples of the White Lotus cult changed as well.

    ¡°Open up the formation!¡± Xianghua Zi said.

    ¡°Their identities are unconfirmed. We can¡¯t let them in!¡± A middle-aged man walked out of the mist. He was stern and had a sedated aura. He could be regarded as a high-level Qi Practitioner.

    ¡°She¡¯s my younger sister, so how is her identity unconfirmed?!¡±

    ¡°What about the child? Do you know him too?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re even afraid of a child!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m not going to argue with you. Then just let in my younger sister!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the envoy¡¯s disciple! I¡¯m also a disciple of the White Lotus cult! You can¡¯t leave me outside!¡± Li Qingshan called out and pinched Xianghua Lu in the process.

    Xianghua Lu said in a hurry, ¡°Yeah, sister. He¡¯s called Goldie A¡¯bao. He¡¯s not some stranger. He travelled here with me from Fragrant Flower market. If you leave him outside, he¡¯ll die!¡±

    At this moment, a voice rang out from the mountain slowly, ¡°Let them in. I¡¯d like to ask them what happened exactly!¡±

    ¡°Yes, altar lord!¡± everyone said.

    Xianghua Zi said, ¡°A¡¯lu, come with me. The kid too!¡±

    Xianghua Lu and Li Qingshan successfully set foot in the Zi Lotus altar.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled slightly. As long as he made it past this, everything would be a piece of cake. He could sense Xianghua Lu tremble slightly, so he held her hand to comfort her.

    Xianghua Zi glanced at Xianghua Lu. As siblings who had grown up together, she clearly sensed Xianghua Lu did not relax after entering the Zi Lotus altar. Instead, she became even more nervous, probably because she would be seeing the altar lord soon. The child beside her was instead abnormally relaxed, and his extremely handsome appearance made him stand out very much!

    The group of people arrived in the main hall on the top of the mountain. A man dressed in white robes embroidered with lotus flowers gazed down coldly from his lotus throne. His figure was strangely and terrifyingly thin, like a skeleton that was only skin and bones. His thin, grizzled hair dangled down, which made him seem sinister and eerie.

    ¡°Greetings, altar lord!¡± the people said loudly.

    Li Qingshan learnt from Xianghua Man that the altar lords of the White Lotus cult were all powerful shamans of the jungle in the Mist province. All of them had undergone the first heavenly tribulation. They had been subdued one by one and conferred the title of altar lord, establishing twenty-two branches named after the ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches. Every single one of them was loyal and devoted to the White Lotus cult. As a result, even though they were altar lords of the White Lotus cult in name, they still practised the shamans arts from their own tribes, so they were obviously different from regular cultivators.

    Xianghua Lu explained what had happened. Almost everything she said was true, and she went into great detail. Even the lies she came up with for Li Qingshan were convincing. Without detailed investigation, it would be very difficult for their story to fall apart. As long as Li Qingshan took back the Asura Field from Xianghua Zi, everything could be dealt with.

    The lord of the Zi Lotus altar nodded from time to time. When he heard how the huge snake had swallowed the envoy, he even bellowed out, ¡°All those who touch the people of the White Lotus cult will die, no matter how far away they are! Death awaits the remnants of the snake god!¡±

    The followers all called out as well, ¡°All those who touch the people of the White Lotus cult will die, no matter how far away they are! Death awaits the remnants of the snake god!¡±

    Li Qingshan loathed this, but he could tell that the altar lord had been speaking from the bottom of his heart, almost zealously. Meanwhile, although the followers below repeated after him loudly, they did not exhibit much sincerity.

    The altar lord suddenly looked at Li Qingshan. ¡°Even a tiny tribe of barbarians can produce such a handsome talent?¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and murmured quietly, just like a nervous child who had no idea what to say!

    ¡°Kid, the altar lord is talking to you!¡± said the middle-aged man who had refused to let Li Qingshan in earlied

    ¡°He¡¯s still young, and he¡¯s gone through so many hardships. He probably still hasn¡¯t even returned to his senses yet! You can go and rest up! The White Lotus cult won¡¯t abandon any of its followers. The holy mother, the bodhisattva, is watching you from above! A¡¯zi, you stay behind!¡±

    After the followers had all dispersed, the altar lord said coldly, ¡°Your sister is lying! There¡¯s something wrong with the child too.¡±

    Xianghua Zi shivered inside. ¡°Our Fragrant Flower holds complete loyalty towards the holy mother and the altar lord!¡±

    ¡°I believe your Fragrant Flower clan is loyal to the holy cult, but others can always be deluded. Go ask about this carefully. It¡¯s still not too late for her to realise her errors and mend her ways!¡±

    ¡°What if they still say the same thing?¡±

    ¡°Then bring them over here. I have my ways of making them tell the truth!¡± A brutal smile appeared on the altar lord¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Xianghua Zi shivered inside. If that actually happened, then they would probably end up begging for their deaths.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t forgotten about your contributions. As long as you don¡¯t let your personal feelings get in the way, it won¡¯t involve you!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Xianghua Zi visited right after Li Qingshan and Xianghua Lu had settled down in their residences. Before she could even say anything, Li Qingshan passed Xianghua Man¡¯s letter to her.

    Xianghua Zi accepted the letter doubtfully and read through it. Her face changed a few times before rubbing her hands together and reducing the letter to pieces. She said viciously, ¡°There really is something wrong with you! Just how did you mislead A¡¯lu and my mother?¡±

    Originally, she thought only Xianghua Lu was under coercion, but she never expected Xianghua Man to lose her mind too. She actually told her to cooperate with the kid and listen to all of his instructions. This was the White Lotus cult. Was she really trying to destroy the Fragrant Flower clan?

    Li Qingshan no longer kept up his act. He sat on a seat leisurely. ¡°Please hand that item over to me. You don¡¯t seem to be carrying it on you. Let¡¯s go and grab it quickly!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already offered the item you speak of to the altar lord. If you want it, then come with me!¡± Xianghua Zi said flatly.

    Xianghua Zi had absolutely no need to make a choice between the White Lotus cult and a kid of unknown origins. Right now, all she was thinking about was how to relieve the Fragrant Flower clan of their crimes!¡±

    ¡°The lord of the Zi Lotus altar from earlier? Is it still with him right now?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. Regular people could not tell it was an arcane artifact, but the altar lord definitely could. He was clearly under the influence of the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple, so there was already something wrong with his head. If he directly offered the Asura Field to the White Lotus Mother out of his devotion to the cult, then things would get messy.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Xianghua Zi sneered inside. Sure enough, he¡¯s afraid. You better decline meeting the altar lord with me. Then I can kill you on the spot in the name of non-compliance and trying to fight back!

    But to her surprise, Li Qingshan said urgently, ¡°We¡¯ll go right now!¡±

    Although Xianghua Zi¡¯s words had brought him some relief, he was still unconvinced. Delays led to trouble, so his priority was to retrieve the Asura Field as quickly as possible.

    Xianghua Zi furrowed her brows silently and radiated with murderousness. She did not want him to speak nonsense in front of the altar lord!

    Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°Take me there now. Do it for the sake of your sister, A¡¯lu!¡±

    He seemed to be pleading with her, but it made Xianghua Zi gasp instead. He did not want to maintain his disguise any further, nor was he thinking about running away. Did he not know about the strength of an altar lord? Or perhaps there was another possibility, the only possibility that could make her vicious mother pen a letter like that!

    ¡°Alright, come with me!¡±

    The two of them travelled back along the same path and returned to the main hall on the top of the mountain very quickly. The altar lord was still seated there, gazing down doubtfully. Did she get something out of him so quickly?

    Before Xianghua Zi could speak, Li QIngshan took a step forward and gestured with his hands. ¡°Have you seen an object around this size that seems to be made out of cloth?¡±

    Cold light erupted from the altar lord¡¯s eyes. He took out an item from his sleeve. ¡°Are you talking about this?¡±

    The Asura Field!

    ¡°Thank you! Please return it to me!¡± Li Qingshan exhaled deeply and completely stopped worrying.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had been worrying too much. The Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple originated from the Wisdom Imbuement technique. Although it could achieve effects almost akin to brainwashing and make them develop a completely new way of thinking, destroying a cultivator¡¯s free will and sense of identity and reducing them to a slave was not as easy to achieve. Moreover, the detriments far outweighed the benefits to the White Lotus cult.

    After seeing the Asura Field in Xianghua Zi¡¯s possession, the altar lord realised it was a legendary arcane treasure very quickly. He stored it away carefully, treasuring it even more than his own children if he had any. He had constantly wanted to refine it during the past year. Although he was loyal to the White Lotus cult, he also wanted to increase his cultivation and status to at least above the other altar lords.

    When he heard that Li Qingshan had come for this item, he was basically triggered. Suddenly, he erupted with murderousness, which flooded towards Li Qingshan like a wave.

 Chapter 726 â€“ Taking Back the Asura Field

    It¡¯s the Hidden Aura gu. This arrogant kid is dead for sure today. I can¡¯t afford to be implicated by him any further!

    Normally, the Hidden Aura gu withdrew all auras and spiritual qi into the body. Although it made the user seem all thin and withered, it could lengthen their lifespans and conceal their aura, and it could erupt with great strength when it mattered.

    The shaman arts of the south were often known as the arts of shaman gu, which only demonstrated the importance of ¡°gu¡±. The cultivation methods of many shaman gu were nurturing gu, which was divided into ¡°internal nurturing¡± and ¡°external nurturing¡±. Internal nurturing was nurturing the gu within the body, becoming one with the gu; this allowed them to unleash various abilities. It was akin to the daemon core of daemons. External nurturing was refining various kinds of gu and controlling them in battle.

    There were many different types of insects, and the shamans abused these insect¡¯s special characteristic of limited intelligence, allowing them to create a myriad of arts of shaman gu. They could attack, defend, curse, or poison. They could do anything. However, the orthodox cultivation community spurned it. After all, regular people never liked placing an insect or bug into their bodies, and even their personalities would be affected as time went on. They would become as brutal and cruel as insects.

    The altar lord flew into a rage. He drew his blade loudly from its sheath and swung down from several meters away. There was a spurt of golden light, and it turned into a blade aura several meters long.

    The blade is only a spiritual artifact. Looks like shamans really aren¡¯t particularly skilled in artifact forging, but it does look rather powerful. It would still be for the best to create no disturbances at all!

    Faced with the incoming blade aura, Li Qingshan did not dodge at all. He leapt towards the edge and even commented a little on the weapon inside.

    ¡°Watermirror¡¯s Image!¡±

    The altar lord immediately lost track of Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. Instead, he saw himself. A huge mirror had abruptly been placed before him, and his reflection currently swung its blade. When his blade aura entered the mirror, it did not seem to hit anything at all, but the blade aura that was originally a reflection in the mirror suddenly flew out towards him. Although it had become a little smaller, it was still as sharp as ever.

    When the blade aura landed on the lotus petals, it directly shattered. The lotus pedestal was a sacred item the White Lotus Mother bestowed upon the altar lord. When he cultivated on it, not only could it calm his mind and increase his cultivation speed, but there was even no need for him to worry about attacks from the outside world. It was an extremely powerful defence.

    The mirror shattered silently, and Li Qingshan appeared again. He had already assumed his horned, winged, and scarlet-haired-and-eyed form. With a flap of his wings of wind and fire, he turned into a streak of scarlet light.

    He¡¯s transformed into a Daemon General!

    The altar lord met the scarlet eyes and experienced a sense of unprecedented fear. It made him think of the predicament he was in when he first met the White Lotus Mother. He had virtually lost the will to fight back. However, this sensation only lasted for a split second. He bellowed out and swung his blade again, except he channelled most of his spiritual qi into the lotus pedestal below. The white lotus bloomed even wider, wrapping around him layer upon layer. He was untouchable.

    Tremors of the Ox Demon!

    Li Qingshan threw a punch, and the pitch-black powers of tremors tore through the white lotus, ripping apart the petals like they were as fragile as paper.

    How is this possible!?

    Before the altar lord could even respond, Li Qingshan had already arrived right in front of him. The altar lord swung down with his blade, but Li Qingshan caught it with his left hand and gripped the altar lord¡¯s throat firmly with his right.

    The altar lord was shocked. He still tried to put up a fight, but the power of tremors filled his body, and he was unable to gather even a hint of his spiritual qi. He was pressed against the ground in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan planted a foot on his head as he held the Asura Field in one hand, studying it and fiddling around with it. He was filled with delight from recovering something he had previously lost. The altar lord had not refined the Asura Field. His cultivation at the first heavenly tribulation was nowhere near enough to wield an arcane treasure. Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s current strength, refining it again would take quite the effort.

    Everything had begun and ended in a single moment. Only at this moment did Xianghua Zi fall to the ground heavily, gazing at the situation in disbelief. The powerful altar lord had actually been defeated and subdued in a single moment. She could not help but rejoice that she did not attack him rashly.

    Just who was this child? No, he was not a person, but a daemon. A Daemon General that had assumed a human form at the very least! Moreover, she found his scarlet hair and eyes strangely familiar. She remembered something she had investigated over a year ago and exclaimed, ¡°You¡¯re that baby!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced back at her and kicked the altar lord¡¯s head. ¡°You sure are stupid! What kind of a person do you think would be in possession of an arcane treasure? To think you actually tried to attack me!¡±

    An arcane treasure! The wondrous item is actually a legendary arcane treasure! I was in possession of an arcane treasure before!

    Xianghua Zi became even more surprised. The altar lord had never told her because he did not want her telling others about the existence of this item. Apart from her shock, she also felt deep regret, but she quickly thought it through. An item like an arcane treasure was not something she could keep, or it would only lead to great trouble. The altar lord¡¯s fate was evidence!

    ¡°Are you a remnant of the Snake God cult? If you kill me, the holy mother will definitely avenge me!¡±

    The altar lord spat out some vicious threats, but he refused to do anything unnecessary as he laid against the ground. The foot on his head only needed to press down slightly, and his head would crack open. Survival was the instinct of all creatures, let alone someone like him who possessed a noble status and great strength.

    He never thought the opponent would actually be so powerful, such that he had absolutely no time to use his many techniques and abilities. However, since the enemy had not killed him off immediately and chose to capture him instead, he definitely had qualms.

    ¡°Do I look like a snake?¡±

    The altar lord saw a sliver of hope. Since he was not from the Snake God cult, then he did not have to kill him. ¡°Release me! I¡¯ll act like nothing has happened at all! No, I can even give you a recommendation for you to join the White Lotus cult!¡±

    ¡°Do I look stupid?¡±

    Li Qingshan crouched down and smiled, collecting the altar lord¡¯s hundred treasures pouch and conveniently plunging his hand into the altar lord¡¯s dantian. When he wrenched it out, he was holding a black insect around three inches long that constantly struggled in his hand. A connection remained intact between the insect and the altar lord, which was rather similar to a daemon¡¯s daemon core. The arts of shaman gu truly were fascinating.

    A cold light flashed through the altar lord¡¯s eyes. The insect suddenly swelled up, turning vicious and biting down on Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist.

    Li Qingshan closed his fingers around it gently, and with a flash of blue light, the insect returned to its original size, lying there silently without moving at all. The connection with the altar lord had been completely suppressed and severed.

    ¡°You-¡±

    Blood spurted from the altar lord¡¯s mouth violently, and his body rapidly withered away, returning to his original, boney appearance. Clearly, losing the insect had injured a fundamental part of his body, making his cultivation regress drastically.

    ¡°I¡¯m taking the insect. I¡¯ll keep you alive for now!¡±

    Li Qingshan pressed his hand against the altar lord¡¯s head. Blue light rippled out and suppressed all of the remaining aura and even consciousness in his body. He laid there as still as a corpse.

    Obviously, Li Qingshan was not trying to show mercy like this. Mercy to the opponent was mercilessness to himself. It was very likely for life lamps of altar lords to exist in the main headquarters of the White Lotus cult. If he killed him, it probably would not take very long for the White Lotus Mother to rush over here. He still wanted to refine the Asura Field again here!

    ¡°A¡¯yue, are you fine?¡±

    Xianghua Zi turned around and saw Xianghua Lu leaning against a pillar, asking fearfully. After hearing how Xianghua Zi had brought him to the top of the mountain again, she followed over here silently, afraid that something might happen to him!

    This little girl sure is quite attached to me! All those days of guidance paid off in the end. Though, she¡¯s still too young and naive. If it were Xianghua Man instead, she would have never risked her life!

    Li Qingshan smiled. During the past few days when they were alone, spending every moment of the day together, he had not been some gentleman. Xianghua Lu only feigned reluctance, so he had completely taken advantage of her a long time ago. He just happened to be in a good mood, so he casually tossed the altar lord¡¯s hundred treasures pouch, along with the Hidden Aura gu, to her. ¡°Here, this is for you!¡±

    As long as he refined the Asura Field, he would be able to retrieve all of his property, so the hundred treasures pouch of a barbarian really could not catch his attention. As for the shaman gu, it was even more useless to him. He already had enough paths of cultivation. The Ocean pearl, the demon heart, and the Divine Talisman of Great Creation were all waiting to return to his body. How could he let himself become distracted even further?

    ¡°This is¡­ a gu insect!¡±

    Xianghua Lu caught the hundred treasures pouch and the Hidden Aura gu dazedly. She looked at Li Qingshan, Xianghua Zi, and then the altar lord on the ground. She was still rather puzzled by the situation.

    Xianghua Zi¡¯s eyes were filled with surprise and envy. That was an astonishing sum of wealth, yet he had actually given it all to A¡¯lu so casually and generously. A¡¯lu had only helped him tell some lies. Compared to the arduous hardships she had been through in the Zi Lotus altar, A¡¯lu had obtained it all so easily that it left her envious! It¡¯s no wonder that mother wants me to give him my full cooperation. She probably received quite a lot of benefits too!

    Compared to crawling up bit by bit, making use of a powerful connection was obviously still easier. And, with his strength, destroying the Zi Lotus altar was a piece of cake. When she thought up to there, she stopped hesitating. She dropped down on one knee. ¡°A¡¯zi is willing to pledge her allegiance to sir A¡¯yue!¡± Meanwhile, she said to the confused Xianghua Lu, ¡°Sister, why don¡¯t you thank the sir for his bestowment?¡± However, she was basically trying to tell A¡¯lu to put in a good word for her.

    Sir? Xianghua Lu struggled to draw a connection between this word and the naughty brat who harassed her.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Get up! The one outside, why don¡¯t you get your ass in here now?¡±

    ¡°A¡¯zhong is willing to pledge allegiance to sir A¡¯yue too! During the past few years, I¡¯ve been responsible for all matters large and small in the Zi Lotus altar. As long as you want to, sir, absolutely no one will find out about what happened here! I¡¯m willing to swear on my life!¡±

    A man scrambled into the hall from outside. He was the middle-aged man who had tried to stop Li Qingshan from entering the Zi Lotus altar. Now, he was trying to suck up to Li Qingshan. After hearing how Xianghua Zi had left and returned so quickly, bringing the pretty child to the hall, his curiosity was piqued. He guessed there was probably something wrong with the child.

    The reason why Xianghua Lu managed to pass through the numerous obstructions and enter the hall successfully was all thanks to his secret efforts. He wanted to drag Xianghua Lu into this matter so that he could deliver a blow towards Xianghua Zi who competed with him for authority, but he never thought that a mighty altar lord would actually be defeated so quickly. When he heard the call, how could he hesitate? He immediately scrambled in and surrendered, simply seeking for a way out of the situation.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh? To prevent anyone from knowing about this? A¡¯zhong, do you have any good suggestions?¡±

 Chapter 727 â€“ Ru Xinâ€™s Whereabouts, Opening the Asura Field Again

    A¡¯zhong glared at her, but Xianghua Zi ignored him, staring straight at Li Qingshan. She felt a tinge of regret over how she had not listened to Xianghua Man sooner. If she had openly expressed which side she was on right from the start, it definitely would have earned her quite the benefits. She had to go to great lengths to make up for this now, even having to compete against someone else.

    ¡°What¡¯re you glaring at my sister for?¡±

    Xianghua Lu stood to her sister¡¯s side without the slightest hesitation, which consoled Xianghua Zi very much. When it mattered, family was still the most reliable. As she gazed at Xianghua Lu, who had already developed into a graceful figure, she thought, Just how did she earn so much favour from this A¡¯yue? Don¡¯t tell me? Thinking up to there, she became a little more confident and stuck out her chest a little more.

    A¡¯zhong thought, Oh no, these whores and bitches have seduced him with their attractiveness, and I stand no chance against them in this aspect. He called out, ¡°Sir, Xianghua Zi is highly inexperienced and unqualified. The altar lord only favoured her because she offered certain favours in exchange. She can¡¯t convince anyone if she¡¯s the one who speaks!¡±

    Xianghua Zi was furious, about to argue back.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need to be like fighting cocks. I¡¯ll trouble the two of you with what comes next. I also plan on entering secluded cultivation for a while, so I hope everyone can remain at ease in the Zi Lotus altar. You better not stir up some rumors or let the headquarters know. As for threats, I don¡¯t need to go into any details. Just handle it as you see fit. If you want to die, I¡¯m definitely not going to try and stop you!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand in discontent. He was not worried about whether they would betray him or not. They were only two measly Qi Practitioners, so they did not possess the ability to communicate across such a great distance. Even if they actually managed to contact the White Lotus Mother, only death would await them. Obviously, they would not do something as foolish as that if they had not been brainwashed by the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple.

    A¡¯zhong and Xianghua Zi clasped their hands to accept the orders before backing out of the hall, leaving behind Xianghua Lu, who was still rather confused.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to leave me?¡± Li Qinshan wrapped his arm around her soft waist and caressed it softly.

    Li Qingshan kissed her gently on the lips. ¡°In a few days, I¡¯ll let you take the pleasures of being a woman, alright?¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯m going to go find my sister!¡± Xianghua Lu became bright red, pushing him away and leaving immediately. She rushed out of the hall like she was fleeing for her life.

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile.

    The same night, A¡¯zhong and Xianghua Zi announced in the name of the altar lord that he had sealed off the main hall and entered secluded cultivation. No one was to disturb him.

    They held very great status in the Zi Lotus altar. Coupled with how ridiculous the concept of someone silently capturing the altar lord was, no one suspected anything.

    Li Qingshan sat on the lotus pedestal in the empty hall and began refining the Asura Field again.

    In truth, his current cultivation was nowhere near enough to refine an arcane treasure. However, he had the experience from last time, and his imprint still remained in the Asura Field, which was why he had a certain chance.

    Blue and red light swirled in his hand, mingling together and seeping into the Asura Field. The blood-red inscriptions on the Asura Field sprung alive one by one, flickering with light. His mind was at peace as his soul sense began to infiltrate the Asura Field.

    After entering a completely oblivious state, he thought of Ru Xin. He wondered where she was right now and how she was doing.

    Through the senses of the spirit turtle, he could vaguely feel that she was still alive and was not in any life-threatening danger. However, before his strength had recovered completely, pinpointing her location with more precision was impossible.

    Li Qingshan dismissed his thoughts silently. Once his strength fully recovered, he would obviously get to the bottom of this!

    Three years ago, in the rainforests of the Mist province.

    The sky was gloomy, and torrential poured down, constantly filling a huge pit and turning it into a new lake.

    A graceful woman in white walked out of the rainforest and stared at the lake sternly. Mist drifted across the surface of the lake as ripples rose up and died down, just like her heart.

    It was said that the Dragon King of Ink Sea had slain Northmoon here. A certain terrifying aura still remained, which scared away all the wild beasts.

    Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s actually¡­

    Ru Xin felt her heart ache; she became momentarily lost. She spent almost two months traveling to the Mist province, travelling almost fifteen thousand kilometers to search for him. She clearly knew she would find nothing, but she still ended up coming as if something much more mysterious was behind it all!

    Just how many times had she dreamt of the sight before her? The special smell of the Mist province that filled the air constantly stirred her memories of the past. Even the Water of Oblivion could not hold it back. Just how many things did a person have to forget in their life, and just how much baggage did they have to let go of so that they could continue looking and traveling forwards?

    ¡°Hmm? This is¡­¡± Ru Xin was cautious. She saw a black lotus suddenly emerge from the misty surface of the lake. The lotus bloomed into a man in black ceremonial robes with a black lotus crown.

    The man said gently, ¡°Fellow, have you specially come to observe the remnants of that battle too? It¡¯s a pity that far too much time has already passed. Many crucial auras and traces have already vanished!¡±

    ¡°May I ask for your name?¡± Ru Xin shivered inside. This person had probably undergone the second heavenly tribulation already.

    ¡°Names are merely a form of reference for convenience, so you can call me Black Lotus, fellow!¡± The man who called himself Black Lotus smiled gently and strode over the water.

    Ru Xin found it rather familiar. She thought, Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the altar lord Black Lotus of the White Lotus cult?

    ¡°Fellow, have you heard of my name before?¡± Venerable Black Lotus¡¯ eyes shone slightly.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Then have you heard of the White Lotus cult before, fellow?¡±

    The sun rose and fell. Time passed slowly.

    Over a month later, the Asura Field suddenly hurled into the air in the main hall of the Zi Lotus altar, producing rings of blood-red light above Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and raised his head. He smiled faintly. I¡¯ve finally done it!

    He sent his soul sense into the Asura Field, and the familiar scenery unfolded before his eyes again. A great banyan tree stood there, and the night roamers lived right beneath it. The asura battled among themselves across the land, training their skill in battle, while the haunts wandered through the wilderness.

    However, within this region of several hundred kilometers across, there were far more lakes and rivers now. This was the result of pouring all that water spiritual qi into the Asura Field.

    ¡°You¡¯re still alive!¡±

    A thought emanated from the great banyan tree with a hint of surprise. Even with his wisdom, he had never expected Li Qingshan to actually survive the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s pursuit.

    Li Qingshan chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m not that easy to kill. You better not tell others! Trees shouldn¡¯t speak without good reason!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King laughed aloud and shook. The night roamers all raised their heads, perplexed over what made the Great Banyan Tree King so happy.

    ¡°This is yours. Take it!¡±

    The hundred treasures pouch returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s hands once more, together with three other items.

    A deep-blue pearl radiating with the aura of the boundless ocean.

    A blood-red crystal condensed from endless malice and killing intent.

    A multicoloured divine talisman flowing with light, conjuring everything possible in the world.

 Chapter 728 â€“ The True Demon Suppression Statuary

    Li Qingshan¡¯s strength would increase dramatically once he incorporated any one of them into his body. However, Li Qingshan was not in a hurry to do so. After undergoing the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, the most important aspect was making use of the time he spent growing to slowly balance the various powers in his body.

    If he swallowed all three at once, it would only disturb his original pace. If he could only choose one, then the Ocean pearl should have been the best choice. It could elevate his strength back to early Golden Core instantly. Combined with the strength he had recovered so far, there would be a very limited number of people that could still pose a threat to him in the Mist province.

    However, after a moment of thought, he ended up choosing the demon heart, as it was a little more compatible with the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. And, it would not break the balance between water and fire in his body.

    And honestly, who knew how much greater the Demon Suppression Statuary was compared to the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. It had never manifested extraordinary strength because he had never taken a crucial step, which was completely abandoning the Arts of the Boundless Ocean and converting his cultivation to the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    In the past, the Unraging monk had also converted the ?ar¨©ra he had cultivated arduously into a demon heart, which allowed him to truly practise the Demon Suppression Statuary. If he did not take this step, the Demon Suppression Statuary would just be an empty husk. Li Qingshan only managed to unleash some power after some difficulty with the intensity of his demonic nature.

    There were multiple considerations that went into why Li Qingshan had never taken this step. A conversion like this took time and he did not have too much time or energy to spend on it. After all, his daemon cultivation was what mattered. His human cultivation was actually secondary. The Arts of the Boundless Ocean was a little weaker, but it was more complete and easier to practise.

    He originally planned on completing all nine layers of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean before carrying out the conversion. That way, he would basically be able to unleash the full strength of the first six layers of the Demon Suppression Statuary. But as it seemed now, it was time for him to make a trade-off. He either had to take advantage of right now, when he was reorganising the various powers in his body, or he had to wait until the next nirv¨¡?a rebirth.

    He extended a finger and the blood-like demon heart suddenly shone brightly. He silently practised the Demon Suppression Statuary and the glow slowly receded into the demon heart, becoming glistening with light.

    A droplet of fluid suddenly flew out from the Ocean pearl and landed on the demon heart, which immediately lead to a violent reaction. Red light flickered brightly, illuminating the entire hall. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s endeavour, it took him an entire day before he got the light under control and it gradually subsided. The demon heart became even shinier too.

    Next came the second droplet¡­

    Just like that, the days passed one by one. The Ocean pearl became smaller and smaller and the demon heart became brighter and brighter.

    Half a year later, when the last droplet of fluid merged into the demon heart, the Ocean pearl completely vanished from the world, which left Li Qingshan a little melancholic. This was the cultivation method he had persisted with all this time after all. However, what brought him even more joy was the demon heart¡¯s changes.

    The demon heart that was originally blood-red was now woven with a deep blue. The two colours merged together, making it seem even more magnificent. The benefits of combining these two powers went without saying. Right now, the strength of his human cultivation was definitely even greater than before he underwent nirv¨¡?a rebirth. Right now, even if the White Lotus Mother rushed over here, he could retreat with ease.

    Two months earlier, he received good news from his mirror clone¡¯s side. Gu Yanying followed through with their agreement and helped him gather a large quantity of fire element pills and spiritual stones. He paid her off in full, obviously thanks to Si Qing¡¯s generosity, and asked her to continue searching. With these resources, he could get to work with the second layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a!

    However, there was no need for him to rush. After a lengthy period of cultivation, he needed to rest up a little, so he took out the Asura Field.

    ¡°Sister, where do you think master¡¯s gone in the past few years? Why hasn¡¯t he visited us even once? The tree king clearly knows, but he refuses to tell us!¡±

    In an exquisite treehouse within the Asura Field, Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo sat together. The steam from the tea curled upwards.

    Everything in the house had been sculpted from wood and engraved with beautiful patterns. The air gave off a refreshing fragrance of nature, worlds apart from the gloominess and eeriness underground.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably focusing on cultivation right now! At his realm of cultivation, it¡¯s not strange for him to enter secluded cultivation for a few years at once. Actually, there are even regular daemons that entered secluded cultivation for decades at a time. You better stop thinking about it too much and focus more on cultivation!¡±

    Ye Liusu comforted Ye Liubo, but her gaze drifted away slightly as well. Within the cultivation community, the most precious resource was time, but the most worthless resources also happened to be time.

    ¡°What! Several decades! I¡¯m going to die!¡± Ye Liubo was rendered speechless. She lay on the round, wooden table powerlessly and groaned.

    ¡°Meetings are always brief, while partings are always long. Haven¡¯t you realised that, Liubo?¡± Ye Liusu caressed Ye Liubo¡¯s hair and said gently.

    With his talent, even becoming a Daemon King would not be a problem. His life span stretched over ten thousand years long. On the other hand, as night roamers, their lives were a little longer compared to human cultivators, but it was nowhere close to the life spans of daemons. They were basically guaranteed to die before him, and that was not even the most brutal part of it all. It was possible for him to travel even faster and even higher, ascending to a higher and more distant world. By then, they would not be separated by time, but by space.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I don¡¯t care! I want to follow master for the rest of my life! I still haven¡¯t had his child yet!¡± Ye Liubo called out like a child throwing a tantrum.

    Ye Liusu sighed. Just when she was about to say something, the scenery before her changed and a voice rang out from behind, ¡°If you want a child, you just have to try a few extra times and you¡¯ll definitely end up with one!¡±

    She suddenly looked back, only to see a child around twelve or thirteen years old standing a few steps away from a lotus pedestal, gazing at them with a smile. The voice came from him.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ master!?¡± Ye Liubo recognised the familiar scarlet hair and eyes immediately.

    ¡°Who else could I be?¡± Before Li Qingshan could even finish, Ye Liubo threw herself over, embracing him firmly. She murmured, ¡°Master, you¡¯ve become so small!¡± Ye Liusu asked as well, ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? It¡¯s a long story!¡± Li Qingshan gave a rough explanation of what happened, ¡°¡­ that¡¯s basically what happened. I¡¯m recovering right now, which is why I¡¯ve shrunken, but I¡¯ll recover very soon!¡±

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo widened their eyes, completely speechless. Killed Mo Yu and a group of Daemon Commanders! Hunted down by the Dragon King of Ink Sea! Every single matter was beyond their imagination. He mentioned it easily, but they both felt startled by everything he went through. They understood exactly how difficult it had been for him to survive!

 Chapter 729 â€“ Ye Mingzhuâ€™s Betrayal

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I have my sister¡¯s talent. Even if I cultivate for another century, I won¡¯t be able to face the second heavenly tribulation. I might as well stay here instead and spend some more time with you. It¡¯ll be far better than staying in that tiny box. You¡¯re smothering me to death!¡±

    After meeting again after so much time, how could Ye Liubo just leave like this? She embraced Li Qingshan and fumbled around.

    ¡°The space in there is anything but small, so it¡¯s more than enough for you!¡± Li Qingshan slapped her bottom gently. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m not strong enough, so even I have to bide my time, but there will be one day when the nine provinces will be free for me to roam and free for you to roam too!¡±

    ¡°Then we await that day¡¯s arrival. Liubo, let¡¯s go!¡± Ye Liusu said.

    ¡°Fine!¡± Ye Liubo said with great reluctance.

    The moment they returned to the Asura Field, a pitch-black figure suddenly appeared in the room. The darkness consolidated and turned into a night roamer who bore some resemblance to Ye Liusu, except she was much more mature and curvy. It was Ye Mingzhu.

    ¡°Mother!¡± Ye Liusu said, and Ye Liubo bowed reluctantly.

    ¡°Liusu, what¡¯s happened?¡± Ye Mingzhu frowned. After undergoing the second heavenly tribulation and gaining control over the night roamers, her bearing had become even nobler than before. All of her words and actions carried an imposing aura, as well as much more charm.

    Ye Liusu roughly told her what had happened.

    ¡°I see!¡± Ye Mingzhu felt a deep sense of regret. As it turned out, he had been heavily injured for the past few years and had lost control over the Azure Field, which was no wonder why there had always been no news. If she had known about this earlier, she would have tried to refine the Asura Field from within. Not only would she gain an arcane treasure, but she could even take it a step further and completely break free from Northmoon¡¯s control. She definitely was capable of something like that with her cultivation, but it was too late for regret now, so she continued to ask some probing questions.

    ¡°Is sir Northmoon doing well?¡±

    ¡°He still needs a bit more time to recover, but there¡¯s no need to feel trapped, mother. He said that one day, the nine provinces will be free for us to roam!¡±

    Ye Liusu comforted her mother with complete confidence. She could vaguely sense that with her mother¡¯s change in mentality, she definitely would not be satisfied with remaining in the tiny Asura Field forever.

    ¡°I believe a day like that will come!¡±

    Ye Mingzhu smiled in delight, but she did not believe that at all. He had completely fallen out with the Dragon King of Ink Sea. Clearly, there was no chance for him to rise up again. All he could do was hide away like a rat.

    She was already sick and tired of this lifestyle, trapped in this tiny space and being ordered around like a servant. She was no longer that matriarch of the Spider Shadow clan. Instead, she had undergone the second heavenly tribulation and obtained unimaginably great strength!

    As a result, she gritted her teeth with determination and made up her mind.

    Li Qingshan was about to stow the Asura Field away when he suddenly felt a soul sense extend out of the Asura Field. ¡°Master, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to report!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°I want to report it to you in person, master!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned and considered it before waving his hand and letting Ye Mingzhu out of the Asura Field. He studied her, and sure enough, she had become much more tempting. If he had the opportunity in the future, he might as well try her out. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Ye Mingzhu saw him and thought, Sure enough!

    Clearly, he¡¯s not like this because he wants to! From his external appearance alone, he probably only possesses fifty or sixty percent of his strength when he¡¯s in peak condition. He¡¯s a Daemon General at most. I should be able to defeat him now!

    With these various thoughts, she said with complete sincerity, ¡°I¡¯m worried about master¡¯s safety. If there¡¯s anything you need my help with, please call me at any time!¡±

    It was true. If Li Qingshan needed assistance, she was without a doubt the best choice there was, as she had undergone the second heavenly tribulation and was a powerful assassin.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come to take a look at how much strength I have, I think!¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned against his hand and smiled. He could trust Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo, but before he possessed enough strength to protect himself, he would never let Ye Mingzhu out of the Azure Field, or there would be the threat of betrayal. If he did not want to be betrayed, the best thing he could do was not give them the opportunity to.

    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, master!¡± The reputation and power Li Qingshan had built up over the years still remained. Ye Mingzhu¡¯s face changed drastically with that, and she immediately dropped down to her knees. ¡°You¡¯ve shown me great, kindness, master! Even the stars and moon can bear witness to my loyalty to you!¡±

    The noon sun poured through the exquisitely-designed skylight and into the hall, making the place seem extremely bright. Her delicate face did not show any of her usual aloofness or pride. It was filled with a sense of being wronged and obedience.

    ¡°Really? Then why did you have to tell me that in person? Isn¡¯t it all the same if you told me in the Asura Field?¡± Li Qingshan played along with interest. His scarlet eyes reflected the sunlight, shining brightly as he tapped his finger gently.

    ¡°How can I be easy at heart without seeing master in person?¡± Ye Mingzhu had only wanted to get out of the Asura Field as soon as possible before his strength recovered, but she never thought she would succeed so easily. She had yet to think of any appropriate excuses, but her reactions were not slow. With a thought, she said, ¡°Actually, I couldn¡¯t stand the pain of lovesickness, which was why I wanted to see you, master!¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow as if he had never expected her to say that. He smiled. ¡°So that¡¯s how great my charm is. What, you want to become my woman too?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, ever since I first saw master¡­¡± Ye Mingzhu began to describe her mental journey of falling in love with Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m very touched. Seeing how deeply in love you are with me, I¡¯ll accept your feelings despite my reluctance.¡±

    Li Qingshan listened for a while. At the start, he found it quite satisfying, but after a while, he found it as cringe-worthy as possible. He did not practise a ¡°Xiezhi Transformation¡±, but he was not a fool who could be tricked with a few praises. He did not believe a single part of Ye Mingzhu¡¯s emotional confession.

    ¡°Thank you, master!¡± Ye Mingzhu said in utter delight.

    ¡°You can return to the Asura Field for now. I¡¯ll call you out when I need you!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand. Although he had already recovered to the age where he was capable of that, he did not have that much of a thirst.

    ¡°I want to spend some more time with master!¡± Ye Mingzhu brushed past her chest unintentionally as her gaze suddenly became seductive.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly as if he was trying to see through Ye Mingzhu. His lips curled into a mysterious smile, but it did not seem to be joy arising from a beauty offering herself to him.

    Ye Mingzhu hesitated before nodding. ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Then come over!¡± Li Qingshan was not planning on doing anything in his child-like form right now, but he suddenly changed his mind.

    Ye Mingzhu was about to stand up when Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t stand up. Come over like that!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± A sliver of sunkenness flashed through Ye Mingzhu¡¯s eyes, arriving before him on her knees.

    ¡°Do you know? With some people, the more you oppress them, humiliate them, and treat them as a servant, the more obedient they become. On the other hand, if you treat them well and give them strength, their ambitions grow instead. They never consider anything along the lines of feelings or gratitude. They only consider the costs and benefits. Mingzhu, are you that kind of person?¡±

    Li QIngshan bent over. His forehead almost touched Ye Mingzhu¡¯s as he gazed deeply at her with his scarlet eyes.

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Ye Mingzhu¡¯s heart tightened. Has he guessed what I was planning to do?

    Since she came out, she had no plans on returning to the Asura Field. As long as she merged with the shade of the Mist province jungle that never saw the light of day, no one could find her. With how vast the world was, where could she not go with her cultivation? However, she did not turn around and flee immediately after leaving the Asura Field because she wanted to try something, which was assassinating Northmoon!

    Since she had decided on betrayal, then they would definitely end up fighting. The level of danger was the same. If she succeeded, then she could take over everything he possessed. Even if the assassination failed, she could flee. She was confident that even if she could not win, escaping would be no problem at all.

    By then, all she had to do was spread the news that he was still alive, and he would struggle to escape the fate of the Dragon King of Ink Sea hunting him down and killing him. This was the heaven-sent opportunity she was seeing. If she won, she would win everything, but even if she lost, she would lose nothing. Of course, she had to go for the gamble!

    ¡°That would be for the best!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Ye Mingzhu eased up inside. Looks like he¡¯s just too cautious, which is why he intentionally warned me, or he would have directly attacked me. This instead proves his current feebleness. In the past, he would have never wasted his time on something like this. If someone were bold enough to betray him, he would just directly kill them.

    In the past, he had casually given her the Origin Spirit pill not because he trusted her, but because he was not afraid of anything she was capable of. He was afraid now. She became even more confident in her plan.

    She needed to make him drop his guard completely. As a woman, she was obviously going to use one of the sharpest weapons she possessed. ¡°I¡¯m willing to do anything for master!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Li Qingshan did not hold back. He hoisted her up violently and pressed her against the lotus pedestal, ripping off her armour without the slightest tenderness at all and recklessly fiddling around with her bulging, soft chest.

    Ye Mingzhu let out a soul-stirring moan, but she sneered inside, He has finally taken the bait, but with how you¡¯re like right now, this is probably all you¡¯re capable of!

    As if he were replying to her thoughts, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure suddenly expanded. His demon heart shone with resplendent light, going from a delicate boy to a vicious-looking man in the blink of an eye. He snickered.

    The blooming lotus petals on the pedestal completely enveloped them.

    The rays of sunlight shifted bit by bit, gradually dimming before vanishing completely. There was no source of light in the hall. It was pitch black.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, so are you still not going to do it?¡± Li Qingshan caressed Ye Mingzhu¡¯s smooth back and smiled.

    ¡°What are you saying, master?¡± Ye Mingzhu said lazily.

    ¡°I¡¯m joking with you!¡± Li Qingshan began to chuckle.

    Ye Mingzhu began to giggle, but before her laughter had even stopped, her right hand turned into a dagger as black as shadow, plunging straight into Li Qingshan¡¯s heart!

 Chapter 730 â€“ Demonification, Demon Commander

    The blood-red heart stopped beating. Black poison spread like shadows, and the heart became dyed black in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Hehehehe!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter did not stop. His expression remained completely the same. Even the way he touched her was as gentle as before. ¡°Someone once sold my movements to Fu Qingjin of the Daemon Suppression alliance. That must have been you!¡±

    ¡°So what if it was me?¡± Ye Mingzhu turned into a shadow and merged into the darkness. Her voice drifted and echoed through the hall. ¡°Not only is the heart not a vital point, but it can¡¯t even heavily injure him? If I had known earlier, I would¡¯ve gone straight for the head, the sea of consciousness!¡±

    ¡°I never paid much attention to you in the past, but only after this time did I discover that I really shouldn¡¯t leave any problems waiting to erupt in the Asura Field!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat up, and his long hair draped down, covering his face. He leaned against his knees and shook his head forcefully as if he was lamenting over his past neglect.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯ve realised that too late. If I wait until your strength fully recovers, how would I still have the courage to attack you?¡±

    ¡°What you don¡¯t understand is if you don¡¯t attack me, how will I be able to justify killing you?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, and I thought you were supposed to be something else, Northmoon. So you¡¯ve been such a worrywart. You actually gave me the opportunity to kill you for such a laughable reason. I come and go as I please. What can you do to me?¡±

    Ye Mingzhu shivered inside, but she immediately dismissed that feeling. He did not understand her power at all right now. As long as she was not trapped in a spatial region like the Asura Field, she could completely conceal her aura and pass through any obstructions. Whether it were steel or formations, they were all nothing to her.

    The way the night roamers fought, the way that night roamers survived, was the way of assassins. Defeating the strong despite being the weak was all too common. No matter how powerful the enemy¡¯s defences were, they could kill them in a single strike. Even if they failed, they could escape.

    ¡°Liusu¡¯s thoughts might only be a laughable reason to you, but they¡¯re not to me. As for what I am, that¡¯s not up for you to decide. You¡¯ve only been flapping your gums here. Why aren¡¯t you attacking me anymore? Are you afraid? I¡¯ll let you take three moves for free then!¡±

    ¡°Let me take three moves? And it¡¯s because of Liusu? You sure are a good son-in-law!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s because you offered up quite a nice service just then!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile. Before he could even finish talking, the black edge of a blade shot towards his forehead. A black shadow appeared behind Li Qingshan, completely ignoring his tough ox hide and tenacious tiger bones and piercing his head in a single strike.

    Ye Mingzhu was shocked. Just where were his vital points? In a clash, if the places she believed were vital points were completely useless, it could very easily influence the tides of the battle and even her fate! After hearing what he said, she sneered inside, Since you¡¯re so arrogant, you better not blame me for being heartless!

    ¡°Roaming of a Hundred Ghosts!¡±

    Figures walked out of the darkness. They were like thin shadows, some swollen and some with elongated limbs. They constantly twisted about like ghosts, approaching Li Qingshan on the lotus pedestal.

    Li Qingshan remained seated, without budging at all. The shadows lunged over, and their heads suddenly split open, turning into huge, razor-sharp-teeth-ridden mouths that bit and tore away at Li Qingshan viciously.

    However, Ye Mingzhu¡¯s heart sank. Did he really have no vital points?

    ¡°That¡¯s the third move. With your strength, even if I let you take another hundred moves, would it make any difference?¡± Li Qingshan said flatly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body gushed with demon qi that dispersed all of the shadows. He swelled up and reached over three meters tall, completely demonifying!

    A set of vicious, scarlet armour covered every inch of his skin, only leaving behind a pair of eyes that resembled the demon heart in colour¡ªa mixture of red and blue¡ªstaring off into the endless darkness.

    The Traitorous Demon sword appeared, placed across his knees. The eye swiveled about, shining with a demonic light.

    Ye Mingzhu widened her eyes. He¡¯s been hiding his strength. What a powerful aura! This isn¡¯t daemon qi! Only then did she suddenly realise that despite knowing him for a very long time, even spending time together in bed, she did not understand him at all. Sure enough, killing him was anything but easy!

    She no longer hesitated and immediately made her way out of the hall. If she could not kill him, then she would not kill him. There was the Dragon King of Ink Sea to kill him for her anyway!

    ¡°You still want to leave?¡± Li Qingshan stroked the Traitorous Demon sword softly and sensed the completely-new power flowing through his body, but he still did nothing!

    Ye Mingzhu had already passed through the walls and arrived outside. Right when she thought there was an entire world out there waiting for her, she ran into a black wall instead and bounced back.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Before she knew it, an imposing, pitch-black tower was standing on the lone mountain, enveloping the entire hall.

    Ye Mingzhu dove into the ground, but she ran into a black floor that was made of the same material. She ran around like a headless fly, but she was unable to leave.

    ¡°It¡¯s your demonic thoughts, as well as mine! The cultivation method that you night roamers practise is called the Night Demon scripture, which sure is a coincidence!¡±

    Jangle! Countless pitch-black chains seemed to extend out of thin air, criss-crossing together.

    Ye Mingzhu turned into a shadow. She thought she hid very well, but in the blink of an eye, countless Chains of Demon Suppression reached over, right towards her location. Alarmed, she took off into the air, but the Chains of Demon Suppression tailed right behind her, preventing her from shaking them off.

    No matter how fast she was, avoiding the pursuit of so many chains in such a narrow space was rather difficult. Suddenly, a huge net woven from chains fell towards her.

    She was not bold enough to see whether the net could touch her. The shadows twisted into extremely thin strands, passing through the gaps of the net. However, she felt her waist tighten. The net tightened with that, and her body came to a halt. Countless Chains of Demon Suppression wrapped over. No matter how she struggled, she was unable to break free.

    Li Qingshan remained seated on the lotus pedestal the entire time. In front of him was a ball woven from chains with a black shadow rampaging about inside.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you return to your true shape?¡± Li Qingshan dispersed the Demon Suppression Tower with a wave of his hand.

    ¡°Spare me, master! I¡¯ll never do it again!¡±

    Ye Mingzhu turned back and pleaded for mercy in a panic. Only now did she understand that everything was within his plans. Her so-called opportunity to kill him and escape had never existed in the first place!

    Li Qingshan stood up and shook himself.

    Crack!

    The scarlet-red armour fractured, which rapidly spread into a series of cracks. The vicious-looking, shining, heavy armour that covered his body suddenly became like eroded rock, covered in cracks and shattering apart.

    Like the hatching of an eye, it revealed his new form. He was much smaller, only a little taller than a regular person. He was still clad in armour, but there was a dark-blue hue to it that flowed about like clouds and water. The curved visor even covered his face, obscuring his appearance, but there were ripples of water, raging about like waves and rising and falling like tides. Vortex-like patterns appeared on his joints, which actually seemed aesthetically beautiful.

    After completely melting away the Ocean pearl, the Demon Suppression Statuary finally went from being an empty husk to the real thing, revealing the true Demon Commander form unique to Li Qingshan!

    ¡°Originally, I thought you could make me do something. How disappointing!¡±

    The visor opened up and revealed a face that Ye Mingzhu found extremely unfamiliar. It bore some resemblance to Li Qingshan¡¯s original appearance, except it was not as sharp and distinct. It seemed much more mellow, but there were stripes that resembled a beast¡¯s on his cheeks. As he spoke, he revealed his sharp fangs.

    ¡°Master, please spare me for the sake of Liusu! I¡¯ll definitely serve you well! Otherwise, I¡¯ll blow up the Night Demon core, and there¡¯ll be nothing that you can do!¡±

    ¡°If I were to say as long as you hand over the Night Demon core, I¡¯ll spare you life, what would you choose?¡±

    Ye Mingzhu became conflicted. If she handed over the Night Demon core, then she would lose the last thing that she could rely on, but if she did not hand it over, then she would be dead for sure. She considered it and said, ¡°As long as you swear¡­¡±

    Before she could even finish, there was a flash from a sword, and Ye Mingzhu¡¯s head fell to the ground, still with a stunned expression.

    ¡°If you only tried to run away and did not try to assassinate me, perhaps I would have spared you! Look at the situation you¡¯re in, yet you¡¯re still trying to threaten me! You¡¯ve really been asking for this!¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the Traitorous Demon sword away. He held a black bead in his hand. The faces of demons and ghosts seemed to constantly fade in and out of the bead. It was the Night Demon core. Then he stowed Ye Mingzhu¡¯s corpse into his hundred treasures pouch and turned back into his child-like form. Afterwards, he waved his hand and called Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo out, saying, ¡°Ye Mingzhu tried to assassinate me. I¡¯ve already killed her!¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo were both shocked.

    ¡°She said she needed to see me for something important, and she had to see me in person, outside the Asura Field. After seeing me, she saw how my strength had not recovered yet, so she began to have other thoughts!¡±

    Ye Liubo fumed and said, ¡°When I saw her earlier today, I knew there was something wrong with her expression. So she was probing master¡¯s strength!¡±

    ¡°Mother!¡± Ye Liusu murmured sorrowfully.

    Ye Liusu did not doubt him. If he did not want her to know, he could have just said Ye Mingzhu had escaped. There was no need for him to tell her at all. However, doing something like that happened to suit Ye Mingzhu.

    A deep sense of regret filled her. It¡¯s all my fault. I was the one who told her too much! If I hadn¡¯t told her that he was currently weakened, she would have never done anything with how cautious she is. And clearly, there¡¯s not a lot of truth to that piece of information!

    ¡°I personally believe I¡¯ve done nothing to the night roamers, yet this is the payback I get. It really does disappoint me. When the time is right, I will be migrating the night roamers out of there!¡±

    ¡°Master, are you trying to discard us?¡± Ye Liusu blurted out. Ye Liubo¡¯s expression changed drastically too. Did he develop suspicions towards night roamers as a whole because of the incident with Ye Mingzhu?

    ¡°Not you, but everyone apart from you. You two are without a doubt the only ones I care about among the night roamers. The fates of the others have nothing to do with me. I can¡¯t be bothered with oppressing them and amusing myself with them like Lolth, so why don¡¯t we just go our own ways?¡±

    Ye Liubo stopped worrying, but Ye Liusu knelt down. ¡°Please reconsider, master!¡±

    The greatest difference between her and Ye Mingzhu was their ideals. Ye Mingzhu only had to consider for herself. When it mattered, she could even cast her daughter to the back of her mind and completely ignore the consequences if she fled.

    However, Ye Liusu considered the developments of the entire race. Originally, everything had been progressing very smoothly. All she had to do was wait until the day he became a Daemon King, and the night roamers that followed him would obviously be able to stand tall in the world.

    She could not help but admit that because of her very deep feelings for him and her unconditional trust in him, her personal feelings and ideals had merged together. All of it gathered on him, yet it was being forcefully torn apart now. That was far more terrifying than losing Ye Mingzhu!

 Chapter 731 â€“ Ru Xinâ€™s Whereabouts, Lord of the Clear Ripple Hall

    ¡°If you want to revitalise the night roamers, then consume this Night Demon core and undergo the second heavenly tribulation as quickly as possible!¡± Li Qingshan passed the Night Demon core towards Ye Liusu.

    Ye Liusu stared at the Night Demon core, but she did not extend her hand to accept it. Even though she had the dream of revitalising the night roamers, even though Ye Mingzhu well and truly deserved her fate, that was still her mother after all. How could she accept the Night Demon core so easily?

    Li Qingshan waited patiently for her to make her choice. He also felt rather strange inside. I killed her mother, and I¡¯m even coercing her into doing something like this. I really am a demon!

    At the end of their day, they were not equals. This form of equality was not about strength. Ru Xin was much weaker than him, but they were still equals because a single thing¡ªthey did not need anything from each other. Ru Xin refused to take advantage of him, even doing all that she could to prevent him from becoming involved in her matters, which instead allowed him to benefit much more. As a result, they were equals and mutual confidants.

    These two night roamers were different. They both needed him, and their master-servant relationship existed as well, so they had to pay a certain price. At the very least, it would be ¡°loyalty¡±. If they wanted benefits without paying any price at all, he would not fly into a rage. He would simply leave them and go his own way.

    ¡°How biased of you, master!¡± Ye Liubo suddenly called out, ¡°With my sister¡¯s talent, she can undergo the second heavenly tribulation with ease, but I don¡¯t have the slightest confidence at all. You don¡¯t give such a great Night Demon core to me, but to my sister. If that¡¯s not being biased, what is it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. I¡¯ll give it to you then.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and tossed it towards Ye Liubo. Ye Liusu eased up slightly inside and shot a grateful glance at Ye Liubo.

    ¡°Cultivate properly. The Asura Field is not some paradise, and there will be a day when I leave this world!¡±

    Li Qingshan said with deep meaning. He sent Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo back into the Asura Field. Afterwards, he glanced outside the hall and waved his hand. ¡°Come in!¡±

    The siblings, Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu, as well as the head caretaker of the Zi Lotus altar, entered the hall. Although the Demon Suppression Tower had only appeared for a moment, the disturbance it caused was truly big. The entire place had been alarmed.

    ¡°A¡¯yue, you¡¯ve grown even bigger!¡± Xianghua Lu said in surprise.

    It had only been a few months, and he had grown by quite a lot yet again. He gradually shed his childishness and demonstrated his true charm.

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s all thanks to the Hidden Aura gu you gave me!¡± Xianghua Lu reddened and fidgeted around a little. Xianghua Zi had taught her many things recently. ¡°Oh right, what happened earlier?¡±

    ¡°It was just a rat that managed to sneak in. Did anything happen in the Zi Lotus altar lately?¡±

    Xianghua Zi chimed in, ¡°Just a rat can cause such a great disturbance? Just how large is the rat supposed to be?¡±

    A¡¯zhong said, ¡°Nothing has happened lately!¡±

    ¡°Really? Then something is about to happen!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked in the south-west direction. Xianghua Zi and the others were unable to sense it with their cultivations, but a cluster of daemon qi rose up vaguely several dozen kilometers away, rapidly drawing closer.

    The three of them were all perplexed.

    Boom!

    The daemon qi slammed viciously against the formation, producing a ring of light. The entire Zi Lotus altar was suddenly illuminated, and the hall shook gently.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s the Snake God cult!¡±

    Xianghua Zi paled. The Snake God cult and the White Lotus cult were on irreconcilable terms. Once the formation fell, they would definitely massacre everyone here out of their wrath, and the altar lord just happened to be crippled. The only person they could rely on was the Goldie A¡¯yue of unknown origins. Whether he would oppose the Snake God cult was still an unknown. If he directly abandoned the entire altar, then they would be done for!

    Booms rang out constantly. The entire Zi Lotus altar descended into chaos. Many people rushed towards the hall.

    ¡°Alright, you can go back and rest!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand.

    ¡°We¡¯re ready to enter battle with you, sir!¡± ¡°Me too! A¡¯zhong is willing to fight to the death for you, sir!¡±

    Li Qingshan read their thoughts and smiled gently. With a flash, he vanished from the hall.

    Xianghua Zi and A¡¯zhong exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with shock and despair. To them, whether it was the Snake God cult or the White Lotus cult, they were all tremendous, undefeatable existences. No one would be willing to openly confront them. Choosing to flee basically made perfect sense. He could even kill off everyone in the process, avoiding the White Lotus cult¡¯s attention.

    Xianghua Lu called out, ¡°Be careful, A¡¯yue!¡± It led to sidelong glances from Xianghua Zi and A¡¯zhong.

    ¡°W- what¡¯s wrong? Have I said something wrong?¡±

    At the centre of the gushing daemon qi was a graceful, blonde beauty. She wore a bandeau and a short skirt that seemed to be made from golden scales. She constantly unleashed her daemon qi to attack the formations of the altar.

    She was certain. Something must have happened in the Zi Lotus cult, or the altar lord would have come out to receive me a long time ago. All of my waiting hasn¡¯t gone to waste! I¡¯ve finally waited until this opportunity! A voice suddenly rang out by her ears, ¡°Are you from the Snake God cult?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a protector general of the Snake God cult, Gold Thread. Who are you?¡± Gold Thread glanced down and saw a handsome child standing in the sea of trees. This must be the child they were talking about!

    ¡°That¡¯s none of your concern. There¡¯s something I¡¯d like the Snake God cult¡¯s help with!¡±

    ¡°Alright. We can talk once I take out the Zi Lotus altar!¡±

    Gold Thread said that, only to suddenly discover that she could not move her right arm. She felt great pain and discovered in fright that a hole had appeared in her right shoulder.

    When she looked at the handsome boy again, she saw his thumb and middle finger locked together with a translucent droplet of water twinkling between them. That was the weapon that had injured her. If he had targeted her head with that, she would have been dead already.

    Gold Thread withdrew her daemon qi and landed in the sea of trees. She rubbed her shoulder as she gazed at Li Qingshan in shock and confusion. ¡°What are y-¡±

    ¡°Asking a stupid question once is enough!¡± Li Qingshan interrupted rudely, crossing his arms and sitting down on a tree root.

    ¡°With your strength, what can our Snake God cult help you with, sir?¡± Gold Thread¡¯s face sank as she asked carefully. The opponent¡¯s strength was well beyond her imaginations.

    ¡°Help me find someone, and I¡¯ll give you the head of the lord of the Zi Lotus altar!¡± With a thought, slivers of steam gathered together and assembled into a woman¡¯s figure, completely true to life. It depicted Ru Xin.

    If Ru Xin had remained in this region, then someone must have seen her. As the local organisation, the Snake God cult obviously had many eyes and ears. The White Lotus cult was obviously the better choice, but he had no plans on visiting the headquarters of the White Lotus cult.

    ¡°Why are you looking for her?¡± Gold Thread¡¯s eyes flashed.

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen her?¡± Li Qingshan never thought his plan of finding Ru Xin would end up being so successful. With the first person, no, the first snake he had asked, he had found a lead.

    ¡°No! But with the forces of our Snake God cult, we should be able to find something very soon. Just wait for the good news!¡± Gold Thread turned around to leave.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not even asking me about her name and cultivation. Do you really take me for a child? If you tell me another lie, I¡¯ll skin you alive! Where is she?¡±

    Gold Thread stiffened. A violent sense of malice gushed over, which made her feel like she was in the mouth of a vicious beast. She only needed to say a single incorrect statement, and she would be ripped apart and eaten. In order to stay alive, all she could do was come clean.

    ¡°She¡¯s at the headquarters of the White Lotus cult!¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s the lord of the Clear Ripple hall of the White Lotus cult!¡±

 Chapter 732 â€“ The Great Marsh of Cloud Dream

    Although Gold Thread had never clashed with her before, she had heard about her impervious, rock like body, as well as how vicious she was. Anyone who ended up in her hands would suffer an extremely horrific fate, where they would be better off dead than alive. It was even enough for ferocious shamans to pale. She was a capable member of the White Lotus cult, earning the White Lotus Mother¡¯s favour.

    She had refused to tell him this immediately because she was worried this powerful child of unknown origins might have some close connection to the White Lotus cult. By then, not only would the Snake God cult gain a powerful enemy, but she would probably lose her life in the process too.

    Now, all she could do was resign herself to fate!

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Although he had expected nothing to happen to her, he never thought she would actually become the lord of a hall for the White Lotus cult. Her status seemed even greater than the lord of the Zi Lotus altar.

    It also gave him a slight understanding over the structure of the White Lotus cult.

    Back in the Green province, the White Lotus cult did not have any hall lords. It was only the White Lotus Mother and her group of altar lords that ran around as terrorists. However, after coming to the Mist province, they were not suppressed by the Hawkwolf Guard and could develop without any run-ins with the law, so they added hall lords to their hierarchy.

    The twenty-two altar lords watched over branch altars scattered through the land, while the hall lords remained at the headquarters with the Heart Washing hall for punishment, the Lotus Pad hall for nurturing disciples, and so on. They possessed various kinds of authority in the White Lotus cult. It was impossible for them to assume a position like that unless they possessed extraordinary strength and were deeply trusted.

    ¡°What¡¯s the Clear Ripple hall for?¡±

    ¡°I- it seems to be for espionage¡­¡±

    Gold Thread did not tell him everything. Once they discovered any clans or tribes that resented the White Lotus cult and wanted to oppose them, they would take action and purge them. The Clear Ripple hall never spared anyone wherever it went.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    He waved his hand at Gold Thread indifferently. ¡°Seeing how cooperative you¡¯ve been today, I¡¯ll spare you!¡±

    Having been spared, Gold Thread was tempted to take off immediately and get as far from him as possible. However, she halted and asked in a probing manner, ¡°Sir, you seem to have promised me something earlier!¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, you¡¯re talking about that! You sure are bold. Forget it. In an hour¡¯s time, come collect it yourself!¡± Li Qingshan took a step, and in the next moment, he vanished into the jungle, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

    Collect it myself? Gold Thread sank into her thoughts. She paced around in the forest for a while before suddenly stopping and gazing in the direction of the Zi Lotus altar. Then I¡¯ll wait for an hour!

    In the Zi Lotus altar, the main hall was bustling with activity. Disciples of the White Lotus cult surrounded the siblings and A¡¯zhong, calling out together.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the altar lord? Where is the altar lord?¡± ¡°A¡¯zhong, didn¡¯t you say the altar lord entered secluded cultivation?¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Xianghua Zi, what the hell are you doing? If you still don¡¯t explain yourself, you better not blame me for being merciless!¡±

    The Snake God cult had attacked them, yet they had not even seen a shadow of the altar lord from beginning to end. There was something far too strange about this. Combined with the strange disturbance earlier, all of the disciples had gathered around the main hall.

    A¡¯zhong was the caretaker, but he still was not capable of something like misleading the masses. Among the disciples of the White Lotus cult, there were many people with around the same strength as him and many more people with greater seniority than him. They had grown tired of his arrogance a long time ago. In the end, they all barged into the hall like a swarm of bees, only to see that it was empty. They could not help but become suspicious.

    Twisted faces looked around. Once shamans became vicious, they could kill on a whim.

    ¡°I swear on the name of my ancestors that this has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s the two bitches who brought in the strange child and harmed the altar lord. I was worried for the altar lord¡¯s life, which was why I had to follow through with their demands!¡±

    In the face of danger, A¡¯zhong redirected the trouble and placed all the blame onto Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu. Immediately, pairs of furious eyes swept over.

    ¡°You old bastard, you better stop pouting lies, or your son will¡­¡± Xianghua Zi placed her hands on her hips and cursed A¡¯zhong furiously, but she felt bitter inside.

    Right when the hall had descended into a mess, a figure climbed up the altar as if no one else was around and suddenly pulled a person out of his clothes, placing him on the pedestal. It was the altar lord!

    ¡°Altar lord!¡± ¡°Altar lord, what happened to you?¡± ¡°Who are you!?¡±

    Swish! Swish! Swish! They drew their weapons and erupted with murderousness. Who knew how many vicious shaman arts and gu were on the verge of being unleashed.

    ¡°A¡¯yue, are you fine?¡± Xianghua Lu approached him and asked.

    ¡°Sir, A¡¯zhong just sold you out!¡± Xianghua Zi riled up and pointed at A¡¯zhong, who was silently backing away in the crowd. His face immediately became sheet-white.

    ¡°I heard you still have a sister at the headquarters of the White Lotus cult?¡± Li Qingshan held Xianghua Lu¡¯s hand and made his way out of the hall. Xianghua Zi followed behind them in a hurry.

    ¡°Yeah! Sister Hong is a disciple at the headquarters. Her status is much higher than ours!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go seek refuge under your sister then!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because the Zi Lotus altar is about to be destroyed!¡± Li Qingshan was obviously attempting to use the same trick so that he could go to the headquarters of the White Lotus cult and find the lord of the Clear Ripple hall he had not seen in a long time.

    ¡°Kill him!¡± The disciples of the White Lotus cult swarmed over. Various gu insects buzzed through the air.

    An invisible, murderous aura enveloped the entire hall. In that moment, time seemed to come to a standstill. Everyone froze up, unable to move. Even the gu insects fell to the ground.

    Li Qingshan made his way out while holding Xianghua Lu¡¯s hand, making his way off the mountain in a short while. He glanced backwards. Xianghua Zi followed behind in a hurry and saw how he looked over, so she bowed in a hurry. ¡°Sir, aren¡¯t you going to silence these people?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    There was one when he came, and there were two when he left. He was a step closer to Xianghua Man¡¯s promise.

    Li Qingshan opened up the mental map of the Mist province Gu Yanying had provided him with and gazed at the entire land. It was over ten times larger than the Green province. He found the location of the White Lotus cult¡¯s headquarters, which was rather far from here. With their cultivation, they would probably have to walk for several months, and they had to find somewhere appropriate to rest up first. Once time was right, he could simply fly over them with them.

    An hour later, another rumble rang out from the direction of the Zi Lotus altar. Light filled the night sky constantly.

    At this moment, it began to rain heavily. The lightning rumbled and roared, making the two different sources of light merge together.

    Gold Thread reverted to her true form, a huge, gold-scaled python. She constantly attacked the formation. The formation was powerful, but no one was controlling it, so it could not escape the fate of being destroyed.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and report the news that the Zi Lotus altar has been taken by the Snake God cult. We might even be able to earn ourselves a position as disciples at the main headquarters!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his hand, and clouds rose up beneath his feet.

    When dawn was about to break, a streak of light sped over from the south-eastern direction, landing on the mountain peak in the blink of an eye and turning into an old man with white hair. Her face was filled with wrinkles, but she seemed extremely kind. Her deep smile lines made her seem like she smiled at all times. She held a white lotus flower in her hand.

    The White Lotus Mother glanced around, and she frowned slightly. The Zi Lotus altar had already been reduced to ruins, without a single living person in sight anymore. Moreover, the residual daemon qi had already become extremely faint, preventing her from tracking them down.

    Obviously, Gold Thread was not foolish enough to kill the altar lord first. Instead, she took the Zi Lotus altar first and wreaked destruction before killing the altar lord. Originally, she wanted to ask what was going on in the White Lotus cult, but as soon as she woke up the altar lord, he immediately flew into a frenzy.

    Li Qingshan had casually tossed the altar lord into the Asura Field, so the aura of the Asura Field had influenced him. He did not possess the slightest rationality at all, so all Gold Thread could do was swallow him whole.

    ¡°How useless!¡± the White Lotus Mother said.

    As for Li Qingshan who was behind this all, he currently sat on a cloud leisurely and flew towards the south.

    ¡°Look, sister. We¡¯re flying so high and so fast!¡± Xianghua Lu leaned on the edge of the cloud and peered down. The endless sea of trees was like a furry, green carpet.

    ¡°Sir, this doesn¡¯t seem to be the direction of the headquarters!¡± Xianghua Zi said.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to the headquarters!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The headquarters of the White Lotus cult was to the south-east. He obviously had his reason for choosing this direction. He discovered a palm-sized region of water on the mental map of the Mist province, which was one thousand five hundred kilometers due south!

    Several hours later, the rising sun turned into a setting sun and rippling light appeared on the horizon.

    ¡°We¡¯re finally here!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, and he accelerated. The rippling light soon turned into a boundless region of water that stretched as far as the eye could see, reflecting the rosy clouds in the sky. It was like a magnificent crystal embedded in the sea of trees. Even when he flew up to the edge and sat on the cloud, high in the air, he could not see its end.

    Xianghua Lu, who had already grown rather numb to flying, sighed in amazement. ¡°Is this the ocean?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is the legendary Great Marsh of Cloud Dream!¡± Xianghua Zi said in surprise. Since young, she had heard people mention just how large and vast the Great Marsh of Cloud Dream was in the south, but never had she seen it for herself.

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and sensed the dense water spiritual qi in the marsh. Sure enough, this was an unexplored, unexcavated virgin land!

    On the map, it was only the size of a palm, but in reality, it was a huge region of water that stretched thousands of kilometers. It even covered an area larger than the entire Clear River prefecture. The major lakes of the Ruyi commandery all seemed tiny compared to it. If he wanted to refine this place, it would be rather tough even with the Water God Seal in his possession.

    Although the Mist province was a chaotic, lawless land, taking out such a large Water God Seal was basically impossible. As a result, there were several powerful clusters of daemon qi in the lake, but no existence of a water god.

    He found a lone island and descended on the cloud. Li Qingshan did not take out the Water God Seal to begin refining this place immediately. Time was still not right. His visit this time was more for knowledge and investigation, as well as to find a suitable place to cultivate.

    There might be some problems during his visit to the headquarters of the White Lotus cult, so he needed to push the Demon Suppression Statuary to the peak of the sixth layer. Aside from that, he also needed to¡­

    He took out a ring.

    The Soaring Dragon sword was right in there!

 Chapter 733 â€“ Subduing the Dragon

    In terms of quality, the Soaring Dragon sword was definitely an arcane treasure.

    Arcane treasures were not divided into grades, as every single arcane treasure was unique. They possessed their own powers and abilities. In terms of resources, the Asura Field obviously exhausted many more resources than the Soaring Dragon sword to refine, but when it came to direct combat, the Soaring Dragon sword¡¯s destructive power was still a little greater.

    Previously, Li Qingshan had never opened the sumeru ring to refine the Soaring Dragon sword because he did not want the attention from provoking the Sword Collection palace. However, he had even fallen out with the Dragon King of Ink Sea now, so an additional Sword Collection palace made no difference!

    The Traitorous Demon sword had its own, special ability, and it could constantly grow stronger. Perhaps one day in the future, it would become extremely powerful. But right now, it still could not be compared to an arcane-treasure-level renowned sword that had been passed down through the generations for thousands of years.

    ¡°A¡¯yue, why are we here?¡± Xianghua Lu asked in confusion.

    As the cloud descended, the Cloud Dream marsh extended off into the distance, becoming even grander and vaster. Even Xianghua Zi, who was racked with thoughts, temporarily forgot about everything around her. The rippling light reflected in her eyes as the deep, green colour constantly expanded.

    ¡°For travel!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    A layer of mist that never dispersed enveloped the marsh. It rose and fell, and the hot wind blew around, extremely moist.

    The vegetation on the islands in the lake was especially lush, forming piles of greenery and almost oozing past the edges of the islands. They seemed like huge flower pots. A flock of white water birds flew up from an island, flying past the lake towards another island as they called out.

    Under the setting sun, it was picturesque. There was almost no natural scenery from his past life that could rival it.

    He was obviously joking when he said it was for travel, but he was not exactly wrong. Was his current life not a journey?

    The clouds dispersed below his feet, and he stood in the centre of the island. Around him were all dense, towering trees, obscuring the sun. It was still dusk outside, but it was already night in here.

    Among them, the tallest one was obviously the Great Banyan Tree King.

    However, the island was not peaceful.

    Roar!

    A strange roar rang out from the jungle. At that moment, thousands of birds were alarmed and took flight, circling over the island.

    Xianghua Lu and Xianghua Zi both trembled. The island clearly had a master, and it was not a regular daemonic beast.

    ¡°Is it warning me?¡± Li Qingshan smiled, and with a flash, he arrived at the roar¡¯s origin. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, King Kong!¡±

    From a branch, a huge silverback gorilla glared at his tiny figure. It balled its fists and thumped its chest, letting out a furious roar!

    The foul air rushed over with saliva. Li Qingshan wrinkled his nose. ¡°I want to borrow your place for a while. You don¡¯t mind, right?¡±

    His demon heart flashed, and demon qi gushed out.

    The gorilla shrank back and turned around, fleeing to the other side of the island.

    ¡°Thanks!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand with a smile and returned to the side of the sisters. He said, ¡°I¡¯m going to start cultivating. You can go play! Don¡¯t forget to come up with a good reason on how many hardships we faced when we escaped from the Zi Lotus altar and how many difficulties we encountered on the way before finally arriving at the headquarters for reinforcements. Xianghua Zi, I¡¯ll leave this to you!¡±

    After instructing them, Li Qingshan found a secluded cave and entered the Asura Field.

    Atop the snow mountain, the fierce wind ruffled his scarlet hair. His demon qi surged out and entered the sumeru ring.

    A while later, the sumeru ring opened up and revealed an extremely vast space. Li Qingshan did not even have the time to see what was inside.

    A streak of golden light whistled over together with the cry of a dragon, rushing straight into the air.

    Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky. He was in no hurry to chase after it.

    The Soaring Dragon sword flew into the sky before suddenly running into an invisible barrier and bouncing back.

    That was the boundary of the Asura Field. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, it definitely was not something a masterless arcane treasure could breach!

    The dragon cry became clearer and clearer. The Soaring Dragon sword turned into a golden dragon, scales, claws, and all. It was very imposing.

    It sped off as a streak of golden light, leaving behind a golden arc as it rampaged through the Asura Field. It was constantly knocked back, unable to find a way out.

    Suddenly, it looked back, and the dragon eyes locked onto Li Qingshan on the mountain peak below. It seemed to realise that he was the problem.

    ¡°Divine swords really are intelligent!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a howl and leapt up. The snow mountain beneath him collapsed loudly, and he was already high in the air, throwing a punch at the Soaring Dragon sword.

    Renowned swords were like fierce horses. They had to be tamed by the strong!

    Abruptly, the Soaring Dragon sword turned into a streak of golden light and shot towards Li Qingshan.

    Bang!

    The golden dragon hurtled away. Although it was intelligent, it was not under the control of a swordsman, so it was only a sword at the end of the day. How could it contend against Li Qingshan¡¯s strength of the ox demon?

    ¡°Originally, I was worried about damaging it, so I didn¡¯t use the Tremors of the Ox Demon, but I never expected to not even disperse the golden dragon it had transformed into. It really is a good sword!¡±

    Li Qingshan praised with a smile and rose up. He was determined to refine the Soaring Dragon sword no matter what!

    The Soaring Dragon sword was extremely staunch. It knew it stood no chance, yet it still rushed over. However, the dragon cry was a little more solemn, and the golden light it gave off became even more dazzling.

    In the Sword Collection palace, their disciples climbed up the Sword Collection peak in search of their fated sword. It seemed like they chose the sword, but in truth, the sword chose them. The swords chose successors that befitted their will, which was why they allowed them to draw them from the ground.

    However, Li Qingshan was giving it no choice. He wanted to become its master forcefully.

    It might not have any sense of pride, but the intent its past masters left behind could be summarised in a single saying¡ªto rather break than bend!

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    They collided three times in a row. Li Qingshan did not take a single step back, sending the Soaring Dragon sword flying all three times.

    The golden light dimmed, and the golden dragon became much fainter, but it still showed no intention of yielding.

    Li Qingshan frowned. If this continued, even if he managed to refine the Soaring Dragon sword, he would wear away its spiritual characteristics and its intelligence, making its quality fall. It truly was a renowned sword passed down through the Sword Collection palace after all. Sure enough, it was not something that outsiders could lay their hands on so easily.

    The soaring dragon lunged over with its teeth and claws again. With a flash, Li Qingshan extended his hand and caught the dragon horns, making a flip and standing on the dragon¡¯s head.

    ¡°Demonification!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan assumed his Demon Commander form. The curved visor surged violently with waves, expressing his inner excitement.

    ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression!¡±

    Several dozen black chains extended out of thin air, coiling around the golden dragon firmly and abruptly tightening!

    The golden dragon let out a grievous growl and turned back into a sword.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the dragon-shaped hilt, only to sense it was still shaking gently, refusing to yield. He could not help but smile.

    ¡°Staunchness leads to brittleness, but even water can pierce rock! Let¡¯s go for a test of endurance!¡±

    Li Qingshan left the Asura Field. By now, the Soaring Dragon sword had been completely suppressed and sealed up by his strength. It was the same effect as storing it in the sumeru ring. He did not have to worry about the Sword Collection palace finding his traces.

    In the dark, silent cave, droplets of water dripped down from the stalactites, falling into the shallow water below.

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed and his eyes firmly shut. He did not move at all. The Soaring Dragon sword wrapped in chains was placed across his knees.

    In his boundless sea of consciousness, he constantly visualised the ox demon and the tiger demon. The demonic nature within him surged, as unyielding as rock and wanting to fight and kill everything.

    At this moment, the Demon Suppression statues appeared in his sea of consciousness. The nameless demonfolk demonified, but he refused to yield to his demonic nature, constantly contending against it.

    There was no great awakening that came from something like casting aside the butcher¡¯s blade and achieving instantaneous enlightenment. With his stubborn will, he remained locked in a battle with himself forever. This spirit vaguely resonated with the ox demon and the tiger demon.

    With the Remorselessness of the Demon Heart, he refused to come to his senses, to achieve awakening. He was only willing to grip the sharp blade firmly and stare at the dripping blood.

    The demon heart shone with rings of light, extending out of his body without dispersing. Sometimes, it turned into the tiger demon that battled the very world, and sometimes, it turned into the ox demon that stood with an indomitable spirit. In the end, it turned into something like the demonfolk, constantly assuming the various forms of the Demon Suppression statues.

    The stronger his demonic nature and the brighter the demon heart was, the stronger the Demon Suppression Statuary was!

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan¡¯s method of cultivation had already diverged vastly from the Unraging monk¡¯s cultivation method, or even the expectations of this cultivation method¡¯s creator.

    Logically speaking, an existence that possessed the demonic nature of the ox demon and tiger demon would completely brush aside the Demon Suppression Statuary. They would only walk towards the peak of the demonic path. They would either be destroyed by their demonic nature or achieve greatness in the demonic path. Only the sagacity and forbearance of the spirit turtle and the nobility and virtue of the phoenix could suppress such a powerful demonic nature, creating a possibility within the impossible!

    The gushing demon qi flowed through the Chains of Demon Suppression and wrapped around the Soaring Dragon sword.

    Since he could not use force, then he would change the method that he used. He would influence it with his own will!

    Just like with a rebellious teenager, using only heavy-handed responses would lead to even more intense resistance. Compared to that, parents would be better off taking their time and having their children accept the new principles.

    Fu Qingjin treated the heart of the sword as his own heart, which made him lose himself in the end. Only after his sword broke did he find himself.

    However, Li Qingshan wanted to use his own heart as the heart of the sword. If he succeeded, not only would the Soaring Dragon sword retain its spiritual properties, but it would even grow stronger from accepting the powerful will of its new master, Li Qingshan.

    However, who knew how many times more difficult that would be. Could he really defeat the heart of the sword the past masters of the Soaring Dragon sword forged?

    Even Li Qingshan himself was uncertain. If he truly ran out of options, all he could do was wipe out the sword¡¯s intelligence and consequently its spiritual nature.

    Several days later, he smiled and opened his eyes. He saw that a strand of demon qi had already seeped into the Soaring Dragon sword, leaving behind a black speck.

    Just like how it was easier to pick up bad habits than good ones, making a rebellious teenager become a good student that excelled virtuously, intellectually, and physically was difficult, but becoming a hoodlum was as easy as it could get. In cultivation terms, that would be ¡°it¡¯s easier to enter the demonic than the orthodox¡±!

    ¡°A sword is a lethal weapon, an item for killing. Compared to being destroyed while being pointlessly stubborn, you¡¯re better off killing to your heart¡¯s content with me and realising your original purpose!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled gently. The Soaring Dragon sword thrummed, but its resistance became a little weaker.

    A dam of a thousand kilometers could fall to an ant¡¯s nest. Once an opening appeared, the rest would unfold with ease. The black speck constantly spread, using merely three days to dye the entire Soaring Dragon sword. The colour became rather heavy and dark, but its edge only became sharper.

    Only the dragon¡¯s eye on the hilt continued to shine with golden light.

    Another day later, the color of the dragon¡¯s eye suddenly became the same as his demon heart¡¯s. It let out a dragon¡¯s cry, rising up from low to high in a deafening manner. It reverberated through the entire cave.

    ¡°Success!¡±

 Chapter 734 â€“ Seeing Ru Xin Again

    Suddenly, a world opened up before him. Countless figures stood with swords, wielding countless Soaring Dragon swords in their hands, which danced about in the air. Countless ingenious sword techniques¡ªflicks, thrusts, chops, and slashes¡ªmerged together to form the Soaring Dragon sword¡¯s unique and grand path of the sword.

    Renowned swords of the Sword Collection palace were precious not because of their great power, but because they were an inheritance of power for the Sword Collection palace.

    The figures were the comprehension and will towards the path of the sword from the past masters of the Soaring Dragon sword. They might have been a little lacklustre compared to the profound sword intent of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, but they were clearer and easier to comprehend.

    In the depths of Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, strokes of the sword criss-crossed together. He nodded from time to time as if he had gained something. A long time later, he dismissed his thoughts and achieved a thorough understanding of the path of the sword. He felt like he had gained a lot yet again.

    But I don¡¯t need so many voices!

    Demon qi spread through the world within the sword, and the countless figures vanished, merging into a single person in the end. It was the demonified Li Qingshan himself, more consolidated than any of the figures. He gently swung the Soaring Dragon sword.

    Clang! The Chains of Demon Suppression shattered, and the Soaring Dragon sword let out a long cry. It enlarged, and its straight edge became curved, now covered with a thin layer of dragon scales. It seemed much more vicious.

    Golden light no longer remained. A gloomy light flowed through it, resembling both a dragon and a sword!

    It only required a single glance to be recognised as a demonic artifact. It was impossible to connect it to the Soaring Dragon sword unless it was someone that was extremely familiar with the Soaring Dragon sword.

    Li Qingshan stroked the ridge of the sword with the tip of his finger, and the sword thrummed, becoming docile. It slowly glanced around, moving extremely slowly. The sword flashed and swum through his surroundings like a dragon, moving in a fluid and profound manner.

    When it came to his compatibility with the sword, even the Soaring Dragon Elder would pale in comparison. They were mentally linked. The sword was like an extension of his limbs.

    ¡°From today onwards, you will be called Demon Dragon!¡±

    Fragrant Flower market.

    Xianghua Man was currently bathing comfortably in the hot spring. Within the misty steam, a figure walked over and called out her name, ¡°Xianghua Man!¡±

    It was a woman¡¯s voice. It was extremely pleasant, but rather cold like the thrumming of metal.

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    However, when Xianghua Man saw her attire, she was shocked. She twisted her right hand suddenly, and the attack brushed past the woman. With a boom, it split open a wall.

    The woman¡¯s collar that was embroidered with lotus flowers ruffled gently.

    ¡°May I ask which hall you are in charge of in the White Lotus cult, ma¡¯am?¡± Xianghua Man said.

    That was the uniform of a hall lord of the White Lotus cult. Normally, she could not even meet altar lords, so why had a hall lord visited her today?

    ¡°The Clear Ripple hall!¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s hall lord Shi. I¡¯ve failed to welcome you from afar, so please forgive me. Please allow me to change into a set of clothes!¡±

    Xianghua Man was astounded. She too had heard of the Clear Ripple hall¡¯s reputation, or infamy in other words, which made her shake with fear. The name that the lord of the Clear Ripple hall, Shi Ji, had made for herself was far too resounding. If she got on her bad side, then even the Fragrant Flower clan might be destroyed.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. This is enough. I¡¯ve come to investigate what happened to the Zi Lotus altar!¡± Shi Ji said coldly with her arms behind her back.

    ¡°What happened to the Zi Lotus altar?¡± Xianghua Man shivered inside.

    Three months later, Li Qingshan stepped out of the cave. The speckled sunlight glimmered between the tree leaves like stars. He raised his right hand; a vicious, demon dragon was wrapped around his wrist.

    The three months of cultivation were not enough for him to completely unleash the might of the sixth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary, but he was close. Coupled with the Demon Dragon sword, he had basically recovered most of his strength.

    ¡°Congratulations on emerging, sir!¡± ¡°A¡¯yue!¡± Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu gathered over.

    ¡°How¡¯s your story coming along?¡±

    ¡°As long as they don¡¯t investigate too deeply, it definitely won¡¯t give us away!¡± Xianghua Zi said confidently.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s see if that¡¯s really the case!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened up the mental map of the Mist province and found the Lotus Flower peak where the headquarters of the White Lotus cult resided. With a wave of his hand, a cloud rose up, and they took off.

    The Lotus Flower peak appeared on the horizon. It looked like a lotus flower about to bloom, giving off rings of white light that illuminated the night sky.

    She must be here!

    Li Qingshan gazed at the lotus flower in the distance and descended on the cloud, switching to travelling on foot. He used the night to arrive below the mountain.

    Everything progressed much more smoothly than he had imagined. He did not even get to use the excuses he had prepared beforehand, and they let him in. It was even easier than passing through the formations of the Zi Lotus altar.

    This was due to a certain form of confidence. Even if the leader of the Snake God cult was bold enough to infiltrate the headquarters, they could only enter and not leave!

    Xianghua Zi mentioned Xianghua Hong¡¯s name, but the person who came to receive them was an unfamiliar, cold man instead. He asked, ¡°Are you the disciples who managed to escape from the Zi Lotus altar?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°Come with me!¡± The man turned around and made his way up the mountain.

    ¡°Brother, may I ask where you¡¯re taking us?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once we get there.¡±

    They followed the mountain path, and both Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu trembled in fear, huddling a little closer to Li Qingshan subconsciously. Very soon, they arrived before a building. At the entrance was a huge rock engraved with ¡°Clear Ripple hall¡± that was supported by a lotus flower.

    ¡°The Clear Ripple hall!¡± Xianghua Zi exclaimed. A sliver of fear appeared on her face.

    Li Qingshan thought, There sure are a lot of people that know about the Clear Ripple hall, but if people who haven¡¯t seen her try to identify her, it¡¯s useless even if they know about her.

    ¡°The hall lord wishes to see you and ask you about what happened to the Zi Lotus altar. You better watch your mouth a little later. If you dare to show even the slightest disrespect¡­¡± A sliver of killing intent flashed through his eyes.

    Xianghua Zi said in a hurry, ¡°We would never!¡±

    They passed through the hall and travelled until they arrived at a quiet courtyard at the back. The man bowed politely. ¡°Hall lord, I¡¯ve brought them!¡±

    ¡°Ru Xin!¡±

    Li Qingshan basically blurted that out. He stared straight at the woman in white. Apart from Ru Xin, who else could she be? However, Ru Xin did not seem to recognise him. Her face was indifferent.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± the man called out. As a result, Li Qingshan copied Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu and bowed. ¡°Disciple of the Zi Lotus altar, Goldie A¡¯bao, greets the hall lord!¡±

    ¡°You can go for now!¡± Ru Xin waved her hand without even looking at Li Qingshan. She arrived before Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu and placed her hands on their shoulders. She said gently, ¡°Your mother told me everything. There¡¯s a spy in the Zi Lotus altar. Was it you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not spies!¡± Xianghua Zi exclaimed. Under the pressure, she was unable to remain calm at all, raising her voice involuntarily. Meanwhile, Xianghua Lu fell completely silent.

    ¡°Then it must be you!¡± Ru Xin glanced at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly assumed his form with scarlet hair and eyes, gazing at Ru Xin brightly.

    Ru Xin waved her hand, and Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu immediately collapsed. She looked at Li Qingshan and said coldly, ¡°Li Qingshan, you really are still alive!¡±

 Chapter 735 â€“ Fighting White Lotus

    Li Qingshan frowned. That did not resemble her usual tone!

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually come here looking for me, but the Ru Xin of the past is already dead. I am now the lord of the Clear Ripple hall, Shi Ji!¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s voice was extremely distant and flat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you actually plan on dawdling around with the fucking White Lotus Mother!¡± Li Qingshan went up and grabbed her hand. It was cold and hard like jade.

    ¡°Shut up! The White Lotus Mother has saved the world and brought salvation upon all. If you plan on continuing with your rudeness, don¡¯t blame me for being inconsiderate!¡±

    Ru Xin shook off his hand and said resolutely.

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯d like to see how you¡¯ll be inconsiderate!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes coldened, but he was obviously not angry at her. Her behaviour was clearly due to falling for the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple. Her mind had been completely twisted. What a White Lotus cult!

    Before he had even finished, a hand whistled towards his heart.

    Ru Xin was actually trying to kill him heartlessly!

    Li Qingshan did not dodge at all. He felt a sliver of pain in his heart, but most of it was still fury.

    His chest ached, and the nails pierced his skin, much more easily than Ru Xin imagined. However, the hand stopped.

    ¡°What? Didn¡¯t you want to kill me?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flashed.

    ¡°I know I¡¯m not your opponent, and I don¡¯t want to provoke a powerful enemy for the White Lotus cult either. You can go!¡± Ru Xin pulled back her hand and returned to her senses, turning her back on him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come this time to take you back to the Green province!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be returning to the Green province again!¡± Ru Xin looked back. The determination in her eyes made Li Qingshan frown even more. ¡°You¡¯ve fallen for the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple, but I will cure you!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. He was as determined. Now was not the time to haggle. No matter what she said or did, he had to take her away from the White Lotus cult.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you know where this is? Once the formations of Lotus Flower peak are activated, you can¡¯t escape even if you¡¯re capable of the impossible!¡± Ru Xin said confidently.

    A mischievous light flashed through the depths of her eyes.

    Three years ago, after encountering venerable Black Lotus, she had joined the White Lotus cult, but her objective was to use the forces of the White Lotus cult to track down Li Qingshan.

    However, Li Qingshan had hidden himself far too well. Only after the destruction of the Zi Lotus altar did she finally find a lead. She found Xianghua Man and confirmed that he was still alive, but fortunately, he was not present back then! She had truly lost her composure back then!

    He had made her worry for all this time for nothing. Now that they had reunited, there was such a great opportunity presented before her, so if she did not tease him with it, that would be far too much of a waste. However, she could not continue with it anymore, or he might actually lay his hands on her!

    She had already begun anticipating the expression he would show next!

    Li Qingshan was ready to directly subdue her, shove her into the Asura Field, and leave. Ru Xin took in a small breath, about to explain herself.

    The faint fragrance of lotus flowers wafted over, and an old woman with white hair approached the courtyard with a hunched back.

    ¡°Cough, cough! You¡¯re right! Shi Ji, as long as I¡¯m here, no one can take you away!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. His aura should have been concealed very well. Did Ru Xin secretly report this to the White Lotus Mother? Originally, he still had some doubts, but as it seemed now, she had actually been brainwashed by the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple!

    Ru Xin was taken aback too. She had issued special instructions to bring anyone from the Zi Lotus altar straight to her if they came to the Lotus Flower peak, specifically to avoid the attention of the White Lotus Mother.

    Why has the White Lotus Mother come? This is terrible!

    If she continued behaving like she had been brainwashed by the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple, Li Qingshan would never give up until he took her away with him. However, if she told the truth, the White Lotus Mother would definitely execute her as a traitor. That was not a solution either.

    ¡°Do you know this holy mother?¡±

    The White Lotus Mother¡¯s voice went from being old and hoarse to young and pleasant. The wrinkles on her face vanished in that moment, and she turned into a beautiful woman in her twenties. The white lotus flower in her hand was in full bloom as she pointed it at Li Qingshan.

    The Lotus Flower peak shook, and a streak of white light rose up from the very top, scattering in the air and enveloping the entire mountain.

    All of the formations had been activated. The headquarters of the White Lotus cult that had already been a zone of danger became even more dangerous!

    ¡°Bitch, undo the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple, and I¡¯ll give you a quick one!¡±

    Li Qingshan transformed into the tall Demon Commander clad in red and blue armour. The fury in him was projected on his curved visor, turning into raging waves! It had already been a very long time since he felt so angry. Even when he faced the end of the road under the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s pursuit, he merely treated it all as an adventure.

    But right now, basically his bottom line had been crossed. With the Demon Dragon sword in hand, the cry of the dragon reverberated through the mountain!

    ¡°Such an impure thing can only be purified with death!¡±

    Cold light flashed through the White Lotus Mother¡¯s eyes. How dare he still say something like that on the Lotus Flower peak? He truly was looking to die!

    ¡°Wait!¡± Ru Xin wanted to stop them, but it was already too late.

    ¡°The Lotus Blossoms!¡±

    The lotus flower in the White Lotus Mother¡¯s hand completely opened up, turning into rings of pure-white light that resembled petals. They cascaded towards Li Qingshan and enveloped him.

    Li Qingshan felt threatened. The lotus flower was anything but ordinary. It was very likely to be the arcane treasure Gu Yanying mentioned that the White Lotus Mother had massacred hundreds of thousands of people to refine. It seemed pure and innocent, but it was hiding a very evil nature.

    However, his killing intent only became even sharper. He drew the Demon Dragon sword with a clang, and the dragon¡¯s cry turned into a dragon¡¯s roar. With a flash, sword qi shot out like a streak of light and split the layered petals in half.

    ¡°An arcane treasure!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother was surprised. She understood the rarity of an arcane treasure. In order to refine the lotus flower in her possession, who knew how much effort she had put in, but all of the hardships were worth it. The petals seemed fragile, but even Golden Core cultivators would be doomed if they were sucked in. The lotus flower had played a prominent role in defeating the Snake God cult.

    ¡°The Lotus Blooms!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother called out, and the white lotus shone with even brighter light, conjuring white lotuses that bloomed one after another.

    Li Qingshan could see nothing apart from thousands of white lotuses clustered around him. The power within them wanted to forcefully grind him to dust.

    ¡°Dragonification!¡±

    The Demon Dragon sword flew out of his hand and turned into a demon dragon, circling around Li Qingshan. It also unleashed a profound sword style in its dragon form. For a moment, sword qi criss-crossed the area.

    The demon dragon danced about madly and ripped apart the lotus flowers, preventing them from approaching Li Qingshan. However, the lotus flowers happened to be endless, giving him no time to catch his breath.

    This was a clash between two demonic arcane treasures!

    The air blasts knocked Ru Xin away. All she saw was the Clear Ripple hall she had spent almost three years in being completely destroyed within the criss-crossing light, scattering as rubble.

    Specks of white light gathered from the surroundings. The White Lotus Mother became even younger as she chanted away. Under her powers, the entire Clear Ripple hall seemed to become a lotus flower, enveloping Li Qingshan.

    The White Lotus Mother possesses a geographic advantage, while his powers haven¡¯t recovered completely. He¡¯ll be in danger if this continues! Ru Xin frowned and thought.

    Suddenly, she saw Li Qingshan standing on top of the dragon head in the white light, and the demon dragon flew forwards. Lotus flowers surged over. He clenched his right hand firmly into a fist, wrapped with surging demon qi. It spun rapidly like a whirlpool.

    The Ocean pearl was gone, but it had been converted into a brand-new power in the demon heart, and the various methods of utilising power from Ocean Wielding still remained. And, it was being unleashed once again in a brand-new way!

    ¡°The Vortex Form!¡±

    The demon qi spun quickly like a drill, piercing the countless flowers and heading straight towards the White Lotus Mother.

    Just where did such a powerful figure come from!?

    The White Lotus Mother shivered inside. She was surprised, but not frantic. With a flip of her left hand, she locked her fingers around a pure-white lotus seed and flicked it out.

    The lotus seed went from white to red in the air!

    Boom!

    Like a bolt of lightning, fierce flames swallowed Li Qingshan, turning the area into a sea of fire.

    The White Lotus Mother stood on the lotus platform with bare feet. The rolling flames were unable to reach within a meter of her. She sneered slightly. Every single one of these Lotus Seeds of Divine Fire were extremely rare. It required planting lotus seeds above lakes of fire and magma, gathering fire spiritual qi. A decade of dedicated nurturing only resulted in a single pod of seeds, so of course, it would be extremely powerful.

    At this moment, there was a dragon¡¯s cry, and Li Qingshan emerged on top of the dragon, parting the sea of fire and throwing a punch at the White Lotus Mother!

    The White Lotus Mother was shocked. He seemed completely unscathed!

    ¡°The Lotus Closes!¡±

    The petals on the lotus platform below her feet closed up and wrapped around her, glowing with faint, white light. She did not feel afraid at all. If he tried slashing her with the demonic sword, then there would be some danger, but if he used his bare fists, it was impossible for him to tear through her defences!

    Bang!

    The petals twisted and crumbled. Li Qingshan¡¯s punch ripped through the lotus flower and landed on the White Lotus Mother¡¯s face.

    Even though his great strength of the ox demon had not fully recovered yet, even though he did not use the powers of tremors, it still was not something a regular technique could block!

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Cult leaders, that A¡¯zhong has already made it into the Lotus Flower peak!¡±

    In a hidden underground cave fifty kilometers away from Lotus Flower peak, Gold Thread reported to a man and a woman.

    The man was dignified, dressed in a set of faint-golden robes with a circlet formed from a twisted, golden snake on his head. The woman was graceful and dressed in a silver-white dress. She wore a similar circlet on her head, but it was a silver snake instead.

    Throughout history, the Snake God cult had always had two cult leaders, and they were complete equals. They were the cult leader of the left and the cult leader of the right, a human and a snake daemon.

    Unbeknownst to Li Qingshan, a scheme had already been developed. Gold Thread had not massacred everyone in the Zi Lotus altar. Instead, she kept someone alive, which was A¡¯zhong.

    The cult leader of the left, which was the man with the golden circlet, was rather doubtful. ¡°Do you really think this will succeed?¡±

    Gold Thread said, ¡°I¡¯m fifty to sixty percent confident. That kid definitely is not a member of the White Lotus cult. If that old demonic granny White Lotus found out that someone had destroyed the Zi Lotus cult, even infiltrating the Lotus Flower peak in an attempt to kidnap her lord of the Clear Ripple hall, she would never just accept it lying down. That kid¡¯s a real piece of work too. By then, it¡¯ll be a heaven-sent opportunity for us!¡±

    ¡°Fifty to sixty percent confident? That¡¯s enough! If this succeeds, then you will have done a great deed for the Snake God cult. You¡¯ll definitely be rewarded. White Lotus, Black Lotus, I want you to die horrible deaths!¡± the cult leader of the right said viciously as her snake eyes flickered with an ominous light.

    Rumbles rang out from afar. The cult leader of the left riled up in vigour. ¡°Sure enough, they¡¯ve begun fighting!¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s no hurry. We¡¯ll let them go at each other¡¯s throats first, and then we¡¯ll swoop in and massacre the entire Lotus Flower peak. If the kid is willing to yield to the Snake God cult, then so be it, but if he refuses, we¡¯ll kill him too and eliminate this future source of trouble for good!¡±

 Chapter 736

    The White Lotus Mother¡¯s beautiful face twisted and collapsed. With a bang, her head exploded, and blood and brain matter splattered.

    Li Qingshan sailed through her. The White Lotus Mother¡¯s headless corpse was still standing on the lotus platform without moving at all.

    The demon dragon turned back into a sword and returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. He snorted coldly. ¡°Is that all?¡±

    The headless White Lotus Mother suddenly began to move again. Her figure flickered, producing a lotus with each step and pulling away from him!

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Normally, even daemons with powerful life force were basically dead if they had their heads directly punched in, let alone human cultivators.

    She really is capable of something to be locked in a stalemate against Gu Yanying for such a long time. At the very least, she¡¯s capable of withstanding a beating!

    In the blink of an eye, another head grew back from the White Lotus Mother¡¯s empty neck. She stared at Li Qingshan in disbelief! If it were not for the wonders of her cultivation method, she almost would have screwed up a simple task and died to the punch unknowingly!

    ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±

    She understood one thing now. Even on the Lotus Flower peak, enveloped by formations upon formations, her opponent was not a weakling that she could crush. Instead, it felt more like being locked in a cage with a vicious beast!

    ¡°The cause of your death!¡±

    Two streams of white air gushed out from the back of Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder plates. He suddenly accelerated, shooting towards the White Lotus Mother.

    Suddenly, he felt a sense of danger and came to a halt. A streak of light brushed past his body, leaving behind a heart-stopping wound on his back. Even the body of a Demon Commander could not block its power! If it struck him directly, it would be no joke!

    Then he lunged to the left, and a streak of white light pierced his blur.

    In that moment, streaks of white light shot over one after another!

    Li Qingshan flashed about, constantly changing directions and dodging with the spirit turtle¡¯s senses. Sometimes, he would fly to the bottom of the mountain, and at other times, he would fly to the top, leaving behind long streaks of white light.

    Under the White Lotus Mother¡¯s control, the formations that enveloped the entire mountain began to operate rapidly!

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who you are! Only death awaits those who intrude upon my White Lotus cult!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud as he flew!

    The White Lotus Mother¡¯s expression hardened. The streaks of white light gathered together and criss-crossed without dispersing. She swung the lotus flower in her hand and pointed it at Li Qingshan. ¡°Net of Impermeability, slice him apart!¡±

    A great warning of danger filled Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. The light that was as dense as a spider¡¯s web sealed off everywhere he could dodge!

    He seemed to be frightened out of his wits, standing above the mountain peak without moving at all. He allowed the streaks of light to gather and unleash the full extent of their power.

    In that moment, the place where he stood became a scorching-white point of focus!

    The White Lotus Mother¡¯s expression loosened. With that, no matter how powerful his body was, he would struggle to escape the fate of disintegration.

    Watermirror¡¯s Image!

    There was a flash of light in the point of focus, and the thousands of streaks of light were reflected in all directions.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were as still as water. Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew around him, reflecting every single streak of light!

    Under his meticulous control, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell changed angles. Every single streak of light instead became his weapon, targeting the structures on the mountain as well as the disciples and hall lords of the White Lotus cult.

    Several dozen beams of light shot towards the White Lotus Mother. In the critical moment, she controlled the formation in a hurry, and most of the streaks of light that shot towards her were diverted. However, there was still a streak that she was unable to divert or dodge in time, which directly pierced her body and left behind a huge hole. Basically all of her organs had been incinerated. Only a thin flap of flesh on her waist kept her upper and lower body connected.

    The White Lotus Mother stopped the attacks from the formations. Disregarding her wounds, she gazed down from the mountain. The headquarters of the White Lotus cult she had managed for over a decade had already been reduced to ruins. Basically all of the structures were destroyed and countless elite disciples of the White Lotus cult had died. She had even lost three hall lords. She could not help but be utterly devastated!

    Ru Xin¡¯s eyes were filled with surprise. Although she had learnt about his power a long time ago, it still exceeded her expectations when she saw it for herself. The battle that was originally supposed to be riddled with danger had instead turned into a massacre for the White Lotus cult.

    Even Li Qingshan had never expected the Watermirror¡¯s Image to be so effective. His strength had yet to completely recover, so he originally planned on using the Watermirror¡¯s Image to carve out a path of escape during the moment the beams of light gathered on him. He had wanted to catch the White Lotus Mother off-guard.

    However, the moment he unleashed the Watermirror¡¯s Image and reflected the streaks of light, he changed his mind because it was far too effective. He could basically reflect all of the attacks!

    Compared to physical attacks like punches, kicks, and slashes, light was clearly easier to reflect. Moreover, while the beams of light were powerful, they were not under the control of a cultivator¡¯s will. They were only pure and blind destructive power, which allowed him to grasp this opportunity.

    The light vanished, but before he could even celebrate, he felt light-headed. Using the Watermirror¡¯s Image took an extremely great toll on his mind. He was already extremely mentally exhausted, and the daemon qi in his daemon core had virtually run out. If the White Lotus Mother continued to attack him with the formations without any regard, perhaps he might end up heavily injured!

    Fighting the White Lotus Mother in the headquarters of the White Lotus cult was indeed extremely dangerous for him. He could lose his life from the slightest carelessness. However, he was capable of far too many things, which was why it seemed so easy for him. If it were not for the bloodline of the phoenix, the fire lotus seed from earlier would have been enough to injure him.

    If it were not for the great strength of the ox demon, he never would have been able to pierce the White Lotus Mother¡¯s protective technique with a single punch. With a homeground advantage, she possessed endless regeneration, making her undefeatable. If it were not for the Watermirror¡¯s Image, probably not a single human or daemon of the second heavenly tribulation could withstand a direct confrontation against attacks of the protective formation, let alone taking advantage of it to launch a counterattack.

    This was the strength of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. It basically allowed him to handle any situation there was. Even though he did not possess an advantage in terms of overall strength, he could gain the upper hand in every clash and force the White Lotus Mother into a retreat.

    Li Qingshan ignored the stunned White Lotus Mother. He gripped the hilt of the Demon Dragon sword with both hands, lifting it high into the air. It emitted a streak of light several hundred meters long, producing a vast dragon¡¯s cry. Aiming at the Lotus Flower peak below, he swung down like he could tear through everything.

    There was a flash of resplendent light in the world.

    Just like a comet shooting across the sky!

    The lotus-shaped mountain peak split open along the middle, collapsing towards the two sides. It emitted a deafening rumble, and the ground shook gently.

    Without the spiritual vein of the Lotus Flower peak as their foundation, the formations all collapsed.

    Ru Xin hovered in the air, gazing at this startling sight. The White Lotus cult has been destroyed because of my joke?

    Li Qingshan exhaled and felt some of his anger ease up. He glanced back at the White Lotus Mother, and his killing intent intensified!

    The White Lotus Mother used another series of wondrous techniques and recovered from her horrific injuries. She seemed to become a little younger. When the pair of murderous eyes gazed over at her, her fury completely froze!

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed. The Demon Dragon sword roared!

    The White Lotus Mother used the strange technique where a lotus appeared with each one of her steps again. Lotus flowers blossomed and bloomed one after another in the air. Her figure drifted about, flashing past every single lotus flower. Before long, a White Lotus Mother stood on every single lotus, and the flowers scattered into the surroundings.

    One of her most powerful moves¡ªThe Lotus Flowers Fill the Sky¡ªallowed her to move between the flowers at will. Even if the enemy managed to locate her true body, they would only be attacking an illusion. It could achieve wondrous effects whether it was for offence or for defence, and it was even more unfathomable when it came to fleeing. This was the exact move that allowed her to escape from so many clashes against Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered, and hundreds of black chains shot towards every single lotus flower. From afar, it seemed like a huge spider had produced several hundred strands of silk.

    The lotus flowers all shattered, and only one of the chains had been knocked away by the White Lotus Mother. That was the location of her true body, but she no longer had a single lotus she could move to.

    With a trail of white mist, Li Qingshan whistled over!

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    The Demon Suppression Tower descended from above, viciously suppressing the White Lotus Mother inside.

    Obviously, she was not a good or honest person, but one with a heavy demonic nature. As a result, the Demon Suppression Tower that he summoned was particularly lofty as well. It was an impressive display of power and impossible to dodge. Gazing at the black tower, she felt like it was even sucking in her mind, suppressing and sealing it away!

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The White Lotus Mother flicked out three Lotus Seeds of Divine Fire and knocked the Demon Suppression Tower away. Right when she was about to continue fleeing, a sword covered in blood plunged through her chest!

    She looked back. A vicious, demonic face appeared among the ripples on the curved visor. An icy-cold voice rang out, ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡±

    ¡°Is the lotus flower going to wither and fall?¡± The White Lotus Mother frowned slightly. Her face was filled with pity.

    She did not try to put up any more pointless resistance. The sword was an arcane treasure. It only needed a spurt of sword qi to tear her to pieces. No matter how great her techniques were, she could not recover by then. Only death would await her.

    ¡°Please show mercy, fellow!¡±

    A black streak of light shot over, and venerable Black Lotus called out from afar.

    ¡°Black Lotus, go now! The lotus flower will always bloom and fall. Don¡¯t try and avenge me!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother called out. He possessed great talent and had undergone the second heavenly tribulation, but he definitely was not this person¡¯s opponent.

    ¡°May I ask how the White Lotus cult has offended you?¡± Venerable Black Lotus flew over and bowed politely.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s curved visor rippled. He could still remember the altar lord Black Lotus of the past. He had quite the charm, even more than back then. In the past, he had once possessed the opportunity to kill him and Han Qiongzhi in Ancient Wind city, but he did not choose to do that, and it was not because he looked down on them and treated them as ants.

    As a result, Li Qingshan was in no hurry to finish her off. He explained the entire story flatly. ¡°Remove the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple, and I¡¯ll give her a quick one. Seeing how you¡¯re a reasonable and sensible person, I¡¯ll spare your life today!¡±

    Black Lotus said in protest, ¡°Fellow, you¡¯re speaking about Shi Ji, right? But in my knowledge, she¡¯s not under much influence from the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple at all!¡±

    ¡°What? That¡¯s impossible!¡± the White Lotus Mother said. In her memory, the technique was extremely effective on Shi Ji. It was exactly because of that that she trusted her so much and granted her such great authority and status.

    ¡°If she truly was loyal to the White Lotus cult, would she behave like this right now?¡±

    Black Lotus pointed at Ru Xin from afar. As the lord of the Clear Ripple hall, she did not show any sorrow or fury from the destruction of the White Lotus cult and the White Lotus Mother almost being killed. Instead, she was rather embarrassed before waving her hand at Li Qingshan with a smile.

    How could Li Qingshan still be at a loss about what had happened? He roared, ¡°Oh you!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s a joke, it¡¯s a joke!¡±

    ¡°Shi Ji!¡± the White Lotus Mother said in shock.

    ¡°I never thought you would betray me¡± was basically spelled across the White Lotus Mother¡¯s face. She found it even more difficult to accept the reality that the White Lotus cult had been destroyed because of a joke. She roared at Black Lotus, ¡°If you had known already, why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    ¡°She has no ill intentions towards the White Lotus cult, and she contributed a lot during the past three years. I thought it would be fine!¡±

    ¡°You call this fine!?¡± the White Lotus Mother pointed at the mountain peak that had been split into two and roared.

    ¡°The matters of the world are always unexpected. Please calm down. At the very least, we¡¯re doing much better than when he first came to the Mist province, right?¡± Black Lotus said gently before turning towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Look, fellow, it¡¯s all a misunderstanding, so why don¡¯t we stop here and bury the hatchet?¡±

    However, Ru Xin said, ¡°It¡¯s not a misunderstanding!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother fumed and said, ¡°What else do you have to say, traitor? I haven¡¯t mistreated you during the past few years! Will you only be satisfied once you force me to my death?¡±

    ¡°What I, the traitor, wants to say is why did you suddenly appear where I was, holy mother? There are no coincidences like that in the world! That¡¯s why I say it¡¯s not a misunderstanding. We¡¯ve probably fallen for a trap!¡±

    Originally, Ru Xin planned on playing the joke on Li Qingshan before sending him off the Lotus Flower peak. As long as the White Lotus Mother appeared a moment later, this development would have never happened.

    ¡°Someone called A¡¯zhong also managed to escape from the Zi Lotus altar, and he reported everything to me. I¡¯m certain he didn¡¯t lie to me!¡± The White Lotus Mother was mildly taken aback.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°He did not lie, but he probably only said what others wanted you to hear, and he hid a lot of the truth!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother thought it through a little. Under those circumstances, could a measly Qi Practitioner really escape?

    ¡°It¡¯s the Snake Gold cult!¡±

    When Li Qingshan heard A¡¯zhong¡¯s name, he immediately understood what was going on. He specially used his murderousness to stun everyone so that the Snake God cult could silence them with death. It was absolutely impossible for them to escape with their own powers. He wanted to use others, but he never expected to be used instead.

    ¡°We¡¯ll know very soon whether it¡¯s true or not!¡±

    As they spoke, two streaks of light, one gold and one silver, shot over. They two leaders of the Snake God cult rushed over together.

    ¡°Fellow, we¡¯ve come to lend you a hand in destroying the White Lotus cult!¡± ¡°White Lotus, never did I think you would have a day like today!¡±

    They had hidden themselves in the distance and spectated from afar. When they saw the Lotus Flower peak being destroyed, they were filled with indescribable delight. However, they were also stunned by the great power Li Qingshan demonstrated, which crushed most of their original thoughts of vanquishing him. Right when White Lotus and Black Lotus were about to die to his sword, they suddenly began talking and lost interest in fighting. As a result, they ran out of patience and rushed over.

    Even if they could not subdue the unknown Li Qingshan, they would still completely butcher White Lotus and Black Lotus and take back what was originally their Snake God cult¡¯s!

    ¡°It really is you!¡± The White Lotus Mother was furious. Black Lotus bowed to Li Qingshan again. ¡°We¡¯ve never harmed you or Shi Ji, nor have we ever had any conflicts of interest. All of this was because of the scheme of these two despicable people. Please check for yourself, fellow! Do not be used by others!¡±

    The White Lotus Mother said, ¡°Release me! I¡¯ll take them down with me! It won¡¯t even dirty your hands!¡±

    ¡°You can go!¡± Li Qingshan drew out the Demon Dragon sword and waved his hand. The Demon Dragon sword let out a reluctant cry.

    Apart from Ru Xin, everyone else was surprised. However, he had his own thoughts. In the past, altar Lord Black Lotus had spared him and Han Qiongzhi. Today, he was sparing them, which was basically tying off a loose end.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t like being toyed with by others!¡± Li Qingshan said to the two leaders of the Snake God cult before shooting a vicious glance at Ru Xin.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Hobbies take time and effort, my friend!¡±

 Chapter 737

    Black Lotus clasped his hands at Li Qingshan while in thought . ¡°Thank you, fellow!¡± Then Black Lotus cast a glance at the White Lotus Mother . Although the White Lotus Mother was filled with reluctance, she also bowed towards him rigidly .

    The two leaders of the Snake God cult were surprised . They never expected the situation to end up like this .

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about leaving here today!¡±

    The cult leader of the left swung his hand . Golden sand flew out, glimmering with light and enveloping both Black Lotus and the White Lotus Mother . Although it was not an arcane treasure, it was an arcane artifact that came in a set . Every single grain of golden sand possessed the power of an inferior arcane artifact . It did not seem to be of high quality, but there were thousands of grains of sand .

    No matter what kind of opponent he encountered, he only needed to envelope them and grind them, and they would be immediately reduced to powder!

    Li Qingshan was also enveloped in the golden sand .

    ¡°Fellow, if you let them go today, they¡¯ll definitely come for revenge in the future! If you¡¯re reluctant to fight, all you need to do is stand aside . We¡¯re willing to do it for you!¡±

    The cult leader of the right wielded a strange, circular weapon . The edge shone brightly and split into two, followed by four . Before long, over a hundred of them had appeared, wrapping around them as hoops .

    Li Qingshan ignored them . Instead, he extended his hand towards Ru Xin . His hand was covered with armour, and streaks of light ran from the back of his hand to the tips of his fingers . They were on full display, which seemed rather vicious .

    Ru Xin placed her hand in his . It was still as hard as jade, but there seemed to be warmth .

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    The ripples turned into a smile on his curved visor . ¡°It¡¯s time to go back!¡±

    Then he said to the two cult leaders, ¡°Are you prepared to die?¡± The smile on the visor turned vicious .

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it and kill him as well!¡± the cult leader of the left called out .

    ¡°You¡¯re pushing your luck! You don¡¯t have much strength remaining after a bitter battle!¡± the cult leader of the right said coldly .

    The gold sand was like mist, enveloping over . The circular blades were like knives, criss-crossing and cutting through all .

    ¡°I do indeed feel a little tired!¡± Li Qingshan confessed calmly .

    Right now, he was exhausted, and his daemon qi was depleted . Even most of his demon qi had been used up . The White Lotus Mother was not a nobody that he could kill with ease after all .

    ¡°However, as long as I can still move one of my arms . I can still kill the likes of you!¡±

    Li Qingshan gripped the Demon Dragon sword firmly and thought to himself, I¡¯ll definitely give you a massacre this time!

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    Suddenly, lotus flowers bloomed and blocked the sand and blades .

    The White Lotus Mother waved the white lotus flower in her hand, while Black Lotus held a black lotus in his hand, conjuring a series of black lotuses . They seemed much weaker than the white lotus, but the teamwork was perfect . Not a single grain of golden sand could penetrate the defence .

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I let you go?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t want to go? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re blind when you wear this thing!¡± Ru Xin extended her hand and knocked the visor on Li Qingshan¡¯s face, making it ripple .

    ¡°Alright then! I¡¯ll send you off!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the Demon Dragon sword, but Ru Xin grabbed his hand . ¡°Why don¡¯t you rest up and recover some strength first instead?¡±

    ¡°How fussy! Haven¡¯t you heard that women shouldn¡¯t get in the way of men?¡±

    ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m a woman . And, do you even count as a man?¡± Ru Xin sneered and objected at the same time .

    ¡°Don¡¯t piss me off! Or I¡¯ll leave you here!¡±

    ¡°I can only wish for that! Long live the holy mother! I want to survive or perish with the White Lotus cult, hehe!¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s face was solemn and firm like the most devoted follower . In the end, she could not help but laugh aloud, which led to a series of twitches from the corner of the White Lotus Mother¡¯s eye . She was tempted to kill this traitor in a single blow!

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you find this to be quite the coincidence?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s coincidental?¡±

    ¡°There are three forces, and they just happen to be a man and a woman or a male and a female, or whatever you call it!¡±

    ¡°We count as a force too? Alright, what are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°We seem like a pair! The type that¡¯s deeply in love!¡±

    ¡°Hurhur!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh like that! That¡¯s rude and sarcastic where I¡¯m from!¡±

    ¡°What a coincidence then!¡±

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    ¡°What coincidence?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same with where I¡¯m from!¡±

    ¡°Go kill yourself!¡±

    As the White Lotus cult and the Snake God cult fought tooth and nail outside, Li Qingshan and Ru Xin stood in the centre of the battlefield and talked to each other like they were engaging in cross talk . It left a bad taste in both of their mouths for some reason .

    ¡°Fellow, we can¡¯t continue for much longer!¡± Black Lotus said .

    The White Lotus Mother was weakened, while he had only undergone the second heavenly tribulation a few days ago . Right from the beginning, they fell into a disadvantageous position of being surrounded . They could not last too long against the two cult leaders who were in peak condition .

    ¡°Move aside! Let the professional do it!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed . A dragon-shaped streak of light whistled over, smashing through the golden sand and blades and carving out a path forcefully .

    The White Lotus Mother grabbed Black Lotus, and the lotus platform beneath her closed around them . She rushed out through the path .

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    ¡°Go after them! Don¡¯t let them escape!¡±

    The cult leader of the left shot a glance filled with killing intent at Li Qingshan and chased after the White Lotus Mother!

    ¡°Suppress!¡± Li Qingshan extended a finger conveniently, and the Demon Suppression Tower descended from above . Clearly, the cult leaders were not some good people either .

    The Demon Suppression Tower was extremely lofty, crushing down viciously like it could suppress everything in the world!

    The cult leader of the left felt a great sense of danger . He raised his hands, and the golden sand condensed into two large hands, forcefully propping up the Demon Suppression Tower .

    ¡°Heh, he¡¯s even glaring at me . Haven¡¯t you heard? Even the grievance of a hostile glare must be resolved! Crush him!¡±

    Li Qingshan said as he wielded the Demon Dragon sword in a flurry, knocking away the circular blades that shot over .

    The cult leader of the left obviously could not chase after the White Lotus Mother anymore, while the cult leader of the right did not have the courage to pursue them alone . All they could do was watch helplessly as they escaped . They directed all of their wrath towards Li Qingshan!

    The cult leader of the right produced two beams of silver light from her eyes, unleashing her innate ability as a daemon!

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Don¡¯t make eye contact with her! You¡¯ll turn into stone!¡±

    However, she was one step too late . Li Qingshan had already met the pair of snake eyes . He immediately felt his body harden as if his flesh was being converted into stone .

    The cult leader of the left used this opportunity to open his mouth and spit out a ray of golden light . With a shrill voice, it whistled towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head . Even though it was weaker than the white light from the protective formations of the Lotus Flower peak, it was close in terms of power . Moreover, it possessed the cult leader of the left¡¯s will, so even if Li Qingshan used the Watermirror¡¯s Image, he would struggle to reflect it .

    In the face of danger, Li Qingshan shuddered and unleashed the innate ability he rarely used proactively¡ªthe Strength of the Earth! He felt like he was connected with the boundless earth . He had always been a stubborn rock on the earth, so why would he be afraid of petrification?

    The silver light flowed back, and the cult leader of the right felt her eyes stab with pain . Tears poured down her face . In the past, even if she failed with this innate ability, she had never suffered a backlash like that . In that split second, she actually saw the boundless earth, vast and thick . It was not something a mere innate ability could shake .

    Li Qingshan raised his arm and split apart the golden light . Then he asked Ru Xin in some confusion, ¡°Why are you fine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been stone!¡± Ru Xin knocked her hand, and it clinked like striking rock on rock .

    ¡°Surely you won¡¯t be like this in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan understood this was an effect of practising the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace to an even higher level . However, if she truly turned into a ¡°jade beauty¡±, he would be filled with endless pity .

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    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? It¡¯s perfect for ending certain, unrealistic fantasies of a certain person!¡± wRu Xin chuckled as if she had read his mind .

    ¡°Stone is fine too!¡± Li Qingshan said resolutely .

    The cult leader of the left bellowed out and pushed upwards, sending the Demon Suppression Tower away . The golden sand condensed into a fist, which hurtled towards Li Qingshan .

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan responded with a punch . The demon qi turned into a vortex, surging and colliding against the golden sand viciously . It produced the ear-splitting sound of scraping metal .

    Boom!

    The two fists collided!

    Li Qingshan did not budge at all, but the cult leader of the left was sent flying . His hand ruptured and shattered, sending broken bone everywhere . He widened his eyes in disbelief . His strength! How can it be so great!?

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯ve run into another one who wants to challenge my strength!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled back his fist, only to see that a layer of the armour on his hand had been forcefully ground away, leaving behind a bone-deep wound . A few grains of golden sand remained in the wound, worming into his body desperately .

    With a surge of demon qi, he immediately demonified the golden sand . There were many grains of sand, which also meant the will within each grain of sand was very weak . Even an arcane treasure that contained a powerful will like the Soaring Dragon sword had been demonified by him, let alone tiny inferior arcane artifacts .

    ¡°This person is too powerful! Let¡¯s fuse!¡± The cult leader of the right reeled back the circular blades and flew to the cult leader of the left¡¯s side .

    ¡°Fusion!?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised . Ru Xin said, ¡°The Snake God cult has always been about a fusion between snake and human . The human has the snake gu, while the snake has the human gu . They become the true cult leader after they fuse, and their power increases drastically . Be careful!¡±

    The two kinds of light, gold and silver, mingled and merged in the air, turning into an androgynous figure that had a humanoid body and the tail of a snake . They wore a snake circlet of gold and silver on their head, wielding the circular blade in their left hand . As for the right hand that had been crushed, it rapidly recovered and grew back through the powerful life force of daemons . The golden sand coated the surface, glistening with light .

    ¡°You actually dared to stop us . Do you really think we won¡¯t kill you?¡±

    The male and female voices merged together as a pair of snake eyes glared at Li Qingshan viciously . However, they dared not use the same innate ability as before carelessly .

    ¡°Then try it!¡± Li Qingshan placed the Demon Dragon sword on his shoulder .

    The cult leader let out a fierce howl and spat out another streak of golden light . The golden sand danced around, and the circular blades soared, leaving behind a trail of silver light as it shot over . Clearly, they had used an innate ability .

    The golden sand, golden light, and circular blades rushed over together, but their target was not Li Qingshan, but Ru Xin beside him!

    He¡¯s even willing to face so much trouble just to find this woman, so she must be extremely important to him, but her strength is only at the first heavenly tribulation . He can¡¯t allow her to die, but if he wants to protect her, it¡¯ll weigh him down heavily, which is his fatal weakness!

    Ru Xin did not dodge, or perhaps in other words, it was absolutely impossible for her to dodge . A vicious, terrifying figure suddenly appeared behind her, passing through the grains of golden sand and the circular blades and throwing itself at the cult leader .

    Before the cult leader could even make out what that figure was, a blood-red swirl had appeared before them, swallowing them up . Before they could even react, they had run right into it .

    Li Qingshan collected the Asura Field . ¡°Hmph, fusion! I wonder if that¡¯s one plus one equals two?¡±

    Ru Xin said, ¡°What a dry joke!¡±

 Chapter 738

    ¡°Alright, stop with the nonsense . We can talk slowly after I deal with them!¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed the Asura Field to Ru Xin and dove into it .

    Ru Xin fiddled around with the Asura Field and suddenly exhaled deeply, relaxing completely . Smiles oozed out of her eyes as she flew off towards the end of the sea of trees .

    A while later, the White Lotus Mother and Black Lotus returned . Gazing at the Lotus Flower peak that had been split in half, they looked at one another .

    The aura of the leaders of the Snake God cult had vanished . They thought they had died at his hands .

    Today, their headquarters had been destroyed, and countless disciples had been massacred, but a huge source of problem had been eliminated too . Was today supposed to be a gain or a loss?

    The White Lotus Mother said, ¡°Just who is that person? With such a high cultivation, it¡¯s impossible for him to be a nobody . He seems to practise a demonic cultivation method . Is he a demonic cultivator from the few sects in the south?¡±

    ¡°He gives me a familiar feeling!¡± Black Lotus suddenly recalled a possibility, and a gleam of light flashed through his eyes .

    Three years ago, the Dragon King of Ink Sea killed the Daemon Commander Northmoon near ¡°Fallen Moon lake¡±, and that was where he encountered Shi Ji . He could tell from various aspects that Shi Ji had come to the Mist province to find someone, but she had never managed to find them .

    That was until today, when he came looking for her!

    The answer was already as clear as day!

    The White Lotus Mother asked, ¡°What are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Nothing . ¡±

    Black Lotus shook his head with a smile . With his understanding of the White Lotus Mother, he knew she would definitely try all sorts of ways for revenge if she learned who he was . At the very least, she would make this matter public .

    But what was the point of that? It would only lead to trouble! If Black Lotus had guessed correctly, his strength should have been even greater than what he demonstrated today . Even in a direct confrontation against one of the Ten Daemon Kings, he had managed to escape . Just that alone was enough to strike awe!

    The White Lotus Mother said, ¡°You better not look down on me too much . I¡¯ll never do something foolish and pointless . Once I undergo the third heavenly tribulation, whether it¡¯s Gu Yanying or that guy, all of them will regret what they did!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes . Long live the holy mother, and may she conquer the nine provinces!¡±

    ¡°Stop patronising me! By then, I¡¯ll definitely make you taste the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple again!¡± The White Lotus Mother ground her teeth, and Black Lotus felt powerless .

    ¡­¡­

    Under the shadows of the dense foliage, Xianghua Lu woke up and rubbed her eyes . ¡°Where is this?¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t we in the Clear Ripple hall?¡± Xianghua Zi also opened her eyes beside her . When she made out the figures around her, she paled in fright .

    ¡°Night roamers!¡±

    Ye Liubo asked in surprise, ¡°You know about night roamers?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ve been discovered as spies and have been sent to the night roamer tribes? We¡¯re really done for this time!¡±

    With a single glance, Xianghua Zi saw many shadows in the trees . Who knew how many night roamers there were .

    Various races of otherfolk lived in the jungles of the Mist province . Night roamers could be regarded as a larger race among the otherfolk, so they obviously did not only exist in the Clear River prefecture . However, most of these otherfolk all lived further south . Xianghua Zi had only heard about them .

    Apart from giant lumbermen and a small number of otherfolk races, most otherfolk were hostile to humans . Any single otherfolk could be described as a natural shaman, possessing various strange powers, making them extremely dangerous .

    At this moment, a series of rumbles rang out from afar!

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    ¡°What¡¯s this now?¡± Ye Liubo turned into a shadow and arrived on the highest part of the great banyan tree, gazing out .

    Outside the range of the canopy was a blood-red world, enveloped in a thin, blood-red mist at all times .

    As the power of the Asura realm continued to seep in, even she dared not travel too far from the great banyan tree . It was even easier for regular night roamers to be affected, turning them into crazy, murderous monsters!

    However, as long as they could endure it, their strength would increase drastically, which was why night roamers regularly left the great banyan tree for training regardless of the danger . However, the strange thing was while the daemons in the Asura Field would change in all sorts of ways, becoming extremely aggressive and sometimes even attacking the night roamers that had gone out for training, none of them went crazy .

    Was it exactly because they did not have much rationality in the first place that they had nothing to lose?

    Ye Liubo dismissed her thoughts and felt a powerful aura appear in the lake in the distance .

    ¡°What else has master thrown in here?¡±

    Boom!

    With another great rumble, the cult leader threw a punch . The fist condensed from golden sand pounded an Asura General to mush!

    Blasts of air erupted, producing a shockwave .

    The mush twisted and churned in the middle of the air, assuming a humanoid form in the blink of an eye . Afterwards, it strode through the waves and rushed over without any fear of death, working with the other Asura Generals to constantly launch attacks .

    ¡°Where is this place?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s inside one of his arcane treasures! What a heavy aura of murderousness! Is this a legendary Asura Field?¡±

    ¡°He actually possesses an arcane treasure like that!¡±

    The cult leader asked and answered themselves with the male and female voice, flying over the surface of the lake . The circular blade split another Asura General in half along the waist, but the Asura General¡¯s wounds healed in a split second .

    The cult leader was much more powerful than these Asura Generals . It should have been a one-sided massacre, but these asura possessed extraordinary skill in battle, and they possessed startling life force . They fell into a battle formation together and coordinated with one another perfectly, actually causing them quite a problem .

    Moreover, their body began to show various signs of discomfort . Red rashes appeared on the back of their hands, and it showed signs of spreading .

    ¡°It¡¯s from that illusion earlier!¡±

    Normally, they would spend the effort to suppress and eliminate this, but the killing intent of the Asura Field had already begun influencing their minds . Coupled with the constant harassment from the Asura Generals, they struggled to compose themselves .

    ¡°Oi, didn¡¯t you want to kill me?¡±

    A figure with a sword on his back suddenly appeared, standing on the surface of the lake with his hands behind his back, right in front of the cult leader .

    The cult leader suddenly halted, and the Asura Generals rushed over .

    ¡°Back down!¡± Li Qingshan ordered and erupted with murderousness .

    The Asura Generals dared not defy him . They all backed down, spectating the battle from afar .

    ¡°Fellow, we¡¯ve never had any grievances, so do you really have to make it so that one of us has to die?¡± The cult leader began losing confidence .

    ¡°That¡¯s not what you said earlier! Cut the bullshit! Do it!¡± Li Qingshan swung the Demon Dragon sword and pointed it at the cult leader . The Demon Dragon sword cried out, raring to go!

    ¡°Kill him and take the Asura Field!¡± The cult leader roared and shot over as a silver streak of light .

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    Li Qingshan unfurled his magnificent phoenix wings . With a gentle flap, he turned into a flash and left behind a long trail of blurs .

    The cult leader missed, looking back in disbelief . They were met with a slash .

    Blood splattered!

    The cult leader clutched the wound on their shoulder and pulled back, How can he be so fast? Don¡¯t tell me he was hiding his strength when he fought against the White Lotus Mother earlier?

    Li Qingshan nodded . The Demon Suppression Statuary and the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine sure are compatible!

    On the Lotus Flower peak, he was reluctant to expose his identity as Northmoon, so he held back with his innate abilities, only using the Demon Suppression Statuary to battle . He would only use the inconspicuous Strength of the Earth from time to time .

    Now that he merged these two powers together, he would be a joke if he still could not defeat these two stray mongrels!

    ¡°Wait!¡± the cult leader called out .

    Li Qingshan had no interest in what they had to say . He delivered a palm strike from afar .

    Boom!

    The cult leader felt like a hammer had just struck them in the chest . Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and the figure in front of them flashed . They assumed a defensive position in a hurry, condensing the golden sand into a wall .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand was riddled with black cracks . He pierced the golden sand in a single strike and grabbed the cult leader by the head . With a violent twist and a crack, the skull shattered!

    He swung down with his sword, sending blood flying . He split the cult leader back into two again!

    The Demon Dragon sword cried out in complete delight!

 Chapter 739

    The Demon Dragon sword turned into a dragon and returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist happily . Li Qingshan stowed the corpse away in the sumeru ring and collected a strange golden core from the body . It was faint-gold in colour, and there seemed to be a small, silver snake slithering about . It contained great power .

    Li Qingshan directly tossed it into his mouth, released his Demon Commander form, and left the Asura Field .

    The spring gurgled, and a stream flew out, landing in a clear, blue pond . Ru Xin sat on the rocks beside the pool . With a flash, the plague ghost threw itself back into her . She rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head with a smile .

    ¡°You seem much more pleasant like this!¡±

    Li Qingshan knocked her hand away . ¡°It¡¯s time to go!¡±

    ¡°To where?¡± Ru Xin raised her head . The blue sky was bright and beautiful . White clouds floated about .

    ¡°The Green province, obviously . ¡± Li Qingshan looked at her in some confusion .

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back . You can go yourself!¡± Ru Xin¡¯s gaze drifted .

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you plan on spending your entire life among the trees?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised .

    ¡°When you go back this time, it¡¯s probably about time for you to get married! I want to continue south and take a look at the coast of the South sea . Though, I could invite you along on the trip with me!¡±

    ¡°The coast of the South sea¡­¡± Li Qingshan thought to himself for a moment . ¡°Do you have to go?¡±

    ¡°I have to!¡±

    Li Qingshan said . ¡°Then wait for me!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re friends, so there¡¯s no need to be like this . I¡¯m not going to be staying there for just two or three years . Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen in love with me and have changed your mind about her?¡± Ru Xin said mischievously . The water rippled, and her eyes flickered .

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for you . I want to find the Flower of Water and Fire!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already that it doesn¡¯t exist?¡±

    ¡°You woman, long in hair and short in wit . Who knows whether you¡¯re telling the truth or not!¡± Li Qingshan caressed her long, black hair and said that .

    Ru Xin wanted to say something else, but Li Qingshan cut her off . ¡°I once swore that I would travel across the nine provinces . How can I stay in the Ruyi commandery for my entire life? If you trust me, then wait for me . With your current strength, it¡¯ll probably be nowhere near enough no matter what you want to do! I¡¯ve found quite a nice place for cultivation for you . ¡±

    Their eyes met . No matter how determined she was, she was unable to decline him . It was exactly because they understood each other that he did not ask her why she wanted to go to the South sea, much less try to persuade her to turn back . She also understood that no one could change the mind of the man right in front of her . If he were forced or threatened, he would definitely resort to violence .

    ¡­¡­

    A week later, rain poured down over Cloud Dream marsh .

    The muddy waves reached into the sky, which had not shown a single ray of sunlight for many days on end . It was as dark as night .

    Ru Xin stood on the shore, gazing into the depths of the water and listening to the roars of the marsh .

    Boom!

    A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking the centre of the marsh .

    A huge eel leapt out of the water, crackling with electricity . The lightning happened to strike it, making the electricity blaze even more .

    On its huge head stood a tiny figure . It was clad in beautiful armour that was an assortment of red and blue, wielding a demonic, dragon-like sword in its hand .

    Within the lightning, the demonic sword was raised high into the air, producing a deafening dragon¡¯s roar before plunging deeply into the top of the eel¡¯s head .

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    Within the mournful cries, blood splattered across the visor, but the figure remained unfazed, like a heartless god of slaughter .

    The wind and rain subsided, and the sun broke through the clouds .

    Li Qingshan stood above the marsh and said sternly, ¡°That¡¯s the last one!¡±

    He took out the Water God Seal, and the water spiritual qi gushed over . The mist over the marsh surged .

    The spirit turtle appeared, sinking down into the depths of the marsh as if it would suppress everything .

    After who knew how long, the Water God Seal suddenly emitted blinding light, becoming much larger than it originally was . However, the figure of the spirit turtle had vanished as if it had completely merged into the marsh .

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath, drawing the spiritual qi into his lungs . It was pure and dense, refreshing his mind .

    ¡°This place can serve as the foundation of a dwelling!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled happily . As long as his strength could completely recover, even facing third heavenly tribulation Daemon Kings and Soul Nascence cultivators would not be a problem if he had Cloud Dream marsh as a foundation! Of course, it would still be best for him to flee if he was up against those on par with the Ten Daemon Kings .

    Although the Water God Seal had not expanded too much in size, who knew how many times more powerful the energy in this region of water was compared to the many rivers and lakes in the Ruyi commandery . From the perspective of a water god, his rank was worlds apart .

    Li Qingshan flew back, passing through resplendent beams of sunlight that poured through the cracks in the clouds .

    Gazing at this, Ru Xin also felt rather excited for a moment, but she soon shook her head . ¡°This guy!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived before her and passed the Water God Seal to her generously . ¡°You can play around with it for a few days first! Don¡¯t forget to leave behind your aura . That way, even if you run into second heavenly tribulation enemies, you can still kill them!¡±

    Ru Xin gazed at the Water God Seal and could not help but be drawn in by its deep, bright glow . Suddenly, she raised her head and glanced at Li Qingshan, becoming surprised . ¡°You still haven¡¯t left!?¡± She waved her hand with a smile . ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going first!¡± She turned around and made her way into the marsh, snickering to herself, ¡°Men sure are easy to fool!¡±

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes twitched . Even burning bridges would normally take a little longer than that, and what she said at the end was a little too loud, wasn¡¯t it? He blocked her way in a flash and smiled obscenely, ¡°Do you know what this is called where I¡¯m from?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s called having a sugar baby! Normally, the woman has to pay a certain price!¡± Li Qingshan licked his lips .

    ¡°Really? Then what price do you need me to pay?¡± Ru Xin took a step forward with a wide smile as if she knew Li Qingshan would not do anything to her .

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    Li Qingshan studied her up and down and said helplessly, ¡°Forget about it . I¡¯ll let you off this time . I¡¯m going!¡±

    Ru Xin leaned forward, bringing her beautiful face up to Li Qingshan¡¯s . Li Qingshan¡¯s breathing halted . Right when he thought something was about to happen, all he heard was a whisper by his ear, ¡°Come back soon!¡±

    Her gentle breath tickled his skin, filled with mischief . Li Qingshan pushed her away in exasperation and took off into the air . He glanced back from afar, and she had already become tiny, still standing on the shore of the marsh . If he stayed for a moment longer, he really might lose control and end up doing something!

    ¡°Is he afraid that I¡¯ll leave here alone?¡±

    Ru Xin looked at the Water God Seal in her hands . Even if it were just for the sake of this precious Water God Seal, she would not leave Cloud Dream marsh without good reason . And, as long as she remained in Cloud Dream marsh, she would be half-of-a-master of Cloud Dream marsh . She could use the Water God Seal freely, and there would not be a lot of people that could harm her .

    The meticulousness and thoroughness he showed really did not resemble him, but since this was the case, she would properly cultivate for a while!

    Li Qingshan sent Xianghua Zi and Xianghua Lu back to Fragrant Flower market and stayed for a few more days before leaving . As for what he did, only he knew . However, he still ended up seeing Xianghua Hong . In order to prevent this loyal disciple who had been brainwashed by the Heart Cleansing Technique of Clear Ripple from overhearing anything, Ru Xin had sent her away beforehand, so she was very fortunate and escaped the disaster unscathed . Afterwards, the White Lotus cult had sent her back .

    Li Qingshan stretched his back and sniffed himself . He still seemed to be smelling like flowers . The arms of women really are the bane of heroes!

    At this moment, the smell of sulfur invaded his nostrils . A stream of black smoke rose up from the horizon, and an unending chain of volcanoes appeared . This was where he had undergone nirv¨¡?a rebirth!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, recovering their sharpness . He would definitely be breaking through to the second layer of the phoenix this time!

 Chapter 740

    Li Qingshan flew towards a crater that was currently erupting, passing through the sulfurous smoke and throwing himself into the scorching-hot magma . It swallowed him and kicked up a great, dazzling splash .

    The volcano stopped erupting . Before long, the sky began to rain again .

    A group of barbarians appeared at the bottom of the mountain . The old leader barbarian called out, ¡°Boys, move fast! Don¡¯t fall into the pits of fire and get roasted!¡±

    ¡°Alrighty!¡± the barbarians answered back loudly . They all carried a bamboo basket on their back, scouring the ground carefully .

    If Li Qingshan had been conscious back then in the stone egg, then he would have discovered the barbarian that had picked him up was among them . He was much more mature now, and he had gained a son over the years . Although it was good news, the burden on his shoulders did become much greater . The barbarian who found the Asura Field was not so fortunate . A venomous snake had bitten him to death a year ago in the jungle .

    The life of mortals was always a mixture between life and death, day in and day out . A few years was a very large part of a person¡¯s life . Recalling what happened a few years ago was already a very distant matter .

    But to cultivators that forgot about the concept of time when they cultivated in seclusion, did time weigh heavily or was it diluted? Probably nobody could answer that question!

    Li Qingshan flapped his phoenix wings and constantly ventured deeper . The fire spiritual qi became denser and denser, but the influence from the underground magnetic field grew stronger and stronger too . The circulation of his daemon qi began showing signs of sluggishness, and he could not even open his sumeru ring anymore .

    Although I have some of the phoenix¡¯s bloodline, I still can¡¯t dive into the depths of the magma like the Golden Cicada Spirit King . Legend has it that there are many earth bubbles deep within the mantle, which are far more powerful and dangerous than something like divine lightning when they explode!

    Diving too deep was instead detrimental to cultivation, so Li Qingshan floated back up to an appropriate depth . He spun around, and the flames of the earth revolved around him, turning into an egg . He took out the pills he had purchased from Gu Yanying from the sumeru ring and ingested them one by one, practising the second layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a .

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    In the depths of Cloud Dream marsh, it became extremely dim . The Water God Seal shone faintly, and the surroundings were tranquil .

    ¡°I should be able to maintain a basic balance like this!¡±

    Ru Xin held the heart of the fire devourer, Zhu Lie, and murmured to herself . She gently cast away her legs, which suddenly turned into a blue fish tail . She swam towards even deeper depths .

    The sun and moon interchanged in the sky . Time passed .

    Slivers of fire spiritual qi merged with Li Qingshan¡¯s body, converted into pure cultivation . With the experience from practising the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, he actually found the second layer a little easier in comparison .

    Actually, the first two layers of each transformation were the foundations, so they were not particularly difficult . When Li Qingshan first began practising the transformations of the ox, tiger, and turtle, everything had progressed very smoothly too .

    The Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a conflicted with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and had been suppressed, which was why it seemed particularly difficult . Now, he had already grasped the basics of merging water and fire, and he understood how to control the spirit turtle . He could prevent it from influencing the phoenix too much, so it obviously became easier .

    During the process, he gradually grew larger too .

    When he opened his eyes again, the lengthy cry of a phoenix rang out in his ears . He discovered in a daze that it was his voice .

    He sucked in a deep breath and smiled in relief . He had finally reached the second layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a!

    However, after the Phoenix Transformation grew in strength, he encountered a new problem . The perfectly-round daemon core became sluggish again . The fusion between water and fire he had achieved after so much difficulty became riddled with many conflicts again .

    Correspondingly, the second innate ability of the Phoenix Transformation did not appear either .

    However, he had been expecting this, so he did not feel disappointed . He already knew how to go about it . All he needed was time to slowly feel his way around .

    Most importantly, his stature and appearance had finally recovered completely!

    Although he still needed around another year or two before he truly completed the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a and balanced the various powers in his body, there was no need for him to be in too much of a rush .

    He believed that once his phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a was complete and he merged water and fire together again, his strength would reach an unprecedented peak . There would not be many existences remaining among the nine provinces that could still threaten him .

    The next morning, Li Qingshan stood on the boundary of the Mist province and gazed towards the north .

    ¡°Green province, I, Li Qingshan, am back!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Hua Chengzan was currently cultivating on the mountain . Suddenly, he sensed something and made his way out the hall . A small sword circled about outside the formation with no way in .

    ¡°What¡¯s this? A letter by flying sword!¡±

    Hua Chengzan furrowed his brows . With a wave of his hand, the tiny sword flew over with a swish . He caught it with ease, and the tiny sword shone, crisscrossing with patterns . It was condensed with sword qi, which seemed like it had been thoroughly tempered . A line of tiny words were engraved on there .

    ¡°I¡¯ve long heard about your name . You possess extraordinary talent, which fills me with admiration . I hope I can meet you and befriend you through the sword, where we can face the outstanding talents of the world together . Yours truly, Yin Xiaochou of the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    At the end were a time and a location . It was rather polite, and every single word hid sword intent, making a full display of his powers .

    This was a letter of challenge!

    ¡°So he¡¯s still ended up coming!¡± Hua Chengzan sighed .

    Outside the Qing Xiao dwelling, there was also a tiny sword nailed into the rock face!

    Suddenly, the dwelling that had fallen silent for all this time opened loudly . Li Qingshan strode out and yelled, ¡°I¡¯ve emerged!¡±

    Birds took off in fright, circling over the mountains .

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud . Suddenly, he saw the tiny sword in the rock and reached over . The tiny sword flew into his hand, and he read the message on there .

    ¡°What¡¯s the Sword Collection palace sending people over here again for? What the hell is this shitty name? Yin Xiaochou? I wonder how Fu Qingjin is doing . He does sound a little more annoying . Fucking hell, he even changed my Moon Court lake to Clear Court lake!¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the sword letter into his sumeru ring and flew towards the prefectural city of Clear River .

    Hua Chenglu was currently handling the paperwork diligently in the Hawkwolf Guard . Suddenly, a pair of feet appeared before her, and she leapt up in fright inside, making her jump to her feet . When she saw the owner of the feet, she could not help but blurt out .

    ¡°Big brother Li! You¡¯ve emerged!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve troubled you for the past few years . I really don¡¯t live up to my duty as a commander! It¡¯s been a few years, but the little girl has become even prettier!¡± Li Qingshan grinned .

    ¡°I stopped being a little girl a long time ago!¡± Hua Chenglu said .

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    ¡°Then big girl . Come, tell me what happened during the past few years!¡±

    As a result, Hua Chenglu told him about what happened over the past few years . Li Qingshan had heard most of it from Hua Chengzan already . After so much time, roughly nothing had changed . The pace of the cultivation community was much slower than the mortal world . It lacked a lot of change . Rarely did they ever hear of someone dying in an accident, or someone marrying and having children . Most of it was just each other¡¯s cultivation progress .

    ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡±

    Li Qingshan placed the tiny sword on the desk and asked the question he wanted to ask the most .

    ¡°You¡¯ve received it too!¡± Hua Chenglu took out the exact same tiny sword . As it turned out, all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had earned a reputation for themselves in the Clear River prefecture had received a sword letter like this, inviting them to the greatest lake in the Clear River prefecture, Clear Court lake, for a gathering of outstanding geniuses in seven days¡¯ time .

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and said in thought, ¡°That¡¯s quite interesting . If you look at the time, there are still two days . I don¡¯t seem to have missed it . It sure happens to coincide with my plans!¡±

 Chapter 741

    The bright moon hung in the sky, scattering the great lake with moonlight .

    An island riddled with mountains in the centre of the lake was the location of the past Clear Court sect, followed by the dwelling of the moon demon . The pavilions, terraces, and halls remained, only lacking the busyness of the past . Under the moonlight, it seemed rather lonely .

    But tonight, it became the point of focus for the entire Clear River prefecture once again .

    ¡°Yin Xiaochou of the Sword Collection palace wields one of the Ten Renowned Swords, the Breaking Water sword . His cultivation is at the peak of Foundation Establishment, and it¡¯s said that he¡¯s already comprehended the true essence of his sword . When he merges with his sword, he even surpasses Fu Qingjin of the past . He declared that he would challenge all the geniuses and masters of the younger generation across the eighty-one prefectures in the nine commanderies of the Green province . He¡¯s already challenged twenty-one prefectures so far, but never has he suffered defeat . His name echoes through the world!¡±

    Above the lake, a Soaring Dragon ship tore through the clouds and flew over .

    Several shadowy figures stood on the deck . Hua Chengzan introduced Yin Xiaochou¡¯s situation to Li Qingshan .

    Wei Yangsheng added, ¡°In the beginning, he visited them one by one, but a lot of people found excuses to avoid him . Afterwards, he just sent out sword letters, inviting all of his targets within a prefecture to one location . If anyone did not go, they would become a laughing stock!¡±

    ¡°This is to build the Sword Collection palace¡¯s power and influence and to strengthen the cohesion of the Daemon Suppression alliance . Though, while he did say all eighty-one prefectures, he would be doing well if he only went through half of them . Does he really have the courage to visit the commanderies in the south?¡± Hua Chengzan shook his head .

    Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back at the front of the ship . The wind blew past him, but he did not budge .

    He made Hua Chenglu sigh inside, Big brother Li¡¯s bearing has grown more unfathomable yet again . Just how much stronger has he grown after several years of secluded cultivation? Is he this Yin Xiaochou¡¯s opponent?

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    Li Qingshan looked down at the familiar Moon Court lake below . The island was completely dark . None of the buildings had been lit . Only specks of light glimmered on the top of the mountain, the geniuses of the various sects!

    Among them, the most powerful aura resided on the mountain peak . A man in black clothes sat there . He only seemed to be in his twenties or thirties, but he gave off a bearing of age .

    ¡°That must be Yin Xiaochou!¡±

    Li Qingshan touched his arm, which hid a dragon-shaped shadow . Having refined the Soaring Dragon sword, he understood the exact origins of this bearing . The will of the past masters had been passed down through the ages in the sword . Having experienced the great changes that came with time, their successor would obviously be influenced unless they were like Li Qingshan, using their own wills to overwhelm the will of the sword .

    Yin Xiaochou sensed something and gazed at the sky . From afar, their eyes met . Yin Xiaochou¡¯s eyes produced sharp killing intent that resembled two streaks of light, shooting right into the air .

    Imbuing one¡¯s gaze with sword intent to stun others was a special technique of the Sword Collection palace . If the user¡¯s cultivation was high enough, they could even directly destroy the enemy¡¯s sea of consciousness .

    However, when the sword intent entered Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, it vanished forever like a stone cast into the ocean .

    Yin Xiaochou, who originally planned on making Li Qingshan suffer, indirectly shivered inside . Who is this?

    Then he glanced past the so-called ¡°geniuses¡± around him . Have I finally met an opponent worthy of a battle?

    Li Qingshan looked away with a smile . He turned around and said, ¡°The Breaking Water sword? Hehe, Danqing, have you brought brush and paper?¡±

    ¡°That is my livelihood, so how could I not bring it?¡±

    As one of the geniuses invited, Chu Danqing clearly seemed rather absent-minded today . His eyebags sagged a little, and his eyes were bloodshot . Who knew what he was thinking . He only returned to his senses after hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s question .

    Hua Chengzan knew that during the small gathering last night, Li Qingshan had specially pulled Chu Danqing to the side . Ever since then, he became distracted . Afterwards, he even bade farewell and took his leave early, only emerging from his room tonight to board the Soaring Dragon ship . He could not help but wonder about what Li Qingshan had said to him!

    Li Qingshan smiled . ¡°Take it all out . Be prepared to paint a painting!¡±

    ¡°Alright, what painting?¡±

    Li Qingshan touched his chin and considered it seriously . ¡°Let¡¯s just call it ¡®The Painting of Invincible Might Where the Wise and Valiant Li Qingshan Crushes Yin Xiaochou Who Tries to Act Cool Mindlessly¡¯!¡±

    The deck suddenly fell quiet . Everyone seemed like lightning had just struck them . Even the corner of Han Tieyi¡¯s eyes twitched .

    Chu Danqing smiled bitterly . ¡°I feel like that name is an insult to my craft!¡±

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    ¡°Then you can come up with the name . I¡¯m going down first!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his hand and leapt off the deck, landing right in front of Yin Xiaochou . He smiled . ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Greetings, commander Li!¡± The geniuses from the sects all cast aside their pride and greeted him . Everyone in the Clear River prefecture knew the great Scarlet Hawk commander, Li Qingshan .

    ¡°Yin Xiaochou!¡±

    Yin Xiaochou could not help but straighten himself out, gazing at Li Qingshan deeply .

    The first disciple under the Unraging Guardian King of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Scarlet Hawk commander of the Clear River prefecture, Li Qingshan . It¡¯s said that he practises the greatest secret cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Demon Suppression Statuary, and his strength surpasses regular Foundation Establishment cultivators . Because he hasn¡¯t joined the monastery, he possesses the reputation of the greatest secular disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga . Even an imperial prince once suffered heavily at his hand .

    When I left the Sword Collection palace, even junior brother Fu told me to be careful of this person . He¡¯s definitely not an easy target to deal with . But hasn¡¯t he spent the past few years in secluded cultivation in the Chain mountains? Why has he suddenly emerged?

    Yin Xiaochou was not afraid of Li Qingshan . He had absolute confidence in his own strength . He only paid some special attention to the words ¡°Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡± . Among the three great sects of the Green province, it was because of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s mediation for harmony that the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect managed to remain at peace for so long .

    However, he cast these worries to the back of his head very soon . The path of the sword was about advancing fearlessly, definitely not worrying and being overcautious . Since he¡¯s bold enough to come, I¡¯ll cut down the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s reputation to size! Let¡¯s see whether the legendary Demon Suppression Statuary is really deserving of its reputation or not!

    ¡°Your sword is called the Breaking Water sword, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at the sword on Yin Xiaochou¡¯s knees . The dark scabbard was simple with a few shadowy lines of a poem engraved on it . However, it was slightly curved and not completely straight .

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    ¡°My sword is called the water sword!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, and with a wave of his hand, the moist air condensed into a transparent water sword in his hand . He flicked the edge gently, and it thrummed .

    ¡°Very well then . Let¡¯s see whether I can break it today or not!¡± Yin Xiaochou narrowed his eyes . Li Qingshan was clearly mocking his sword . To a swordsman, that was the greatest provocation possible, and it was completely disrespectful too . This was completely different from any of the opponents he had encountered in the twenty-one prefectures he had visited already .

    ¡°Danqing, are you ready?¡± Li Qingshan said to Chu Danqing, who had arrived after him .

    ¡°Yes!¡± As he had said, Chu Danqing was holding brushes and paper . He was prepared to paint .

    ¡°We¡¯ll change the name of the painting to ¡®The Water Sword Destroys the Breaking Water Sword¡¯!¡± Li Qingshan called out . He pointed the tip of his sword at Yin Xiaochou and smiled . ¡°Draw your sword!¡±

    Even at this moment, he had no intentions of behaving like he was facing a powerful enemy . He was so relaxed that it seemed like he was on a leisurely stroll; it was as if the successor of one of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace, the supreme swordsman that had challenged twenty-one prefectures, was merely a weakling he could casually defeat .

    Yin Xiaochou stood up gradually and slowly drew the Breaking Water sword from its sheath .

    At that moment, a ray of light rippled out, and even the bright moon lost its colour .

    What also responded was everyone¡¯s faces . The geniuses that had been invited from the various schools and sects could not help but hold their breaths .

    All of the light gathered on Yin Xiaochou who stood with his sword . His clothes hovered in the air, standing aloof from the world as if he was about to drift away with the wind .

    However, the Breaking Water sword still attracted most of the attention . The sword was curved and slender like a crescent moon, emanating with rings of light .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze had been drawn away by it too, but he was still unconcerned as if he could not feel the threat from the Breaking Water sword at all . This was without a doubt even more unpleasant than hurling abuse to Yin Xiaochou . Among the twenty-one prefectures he had visited, never had he been treated like this .

    As a result, he said nothing more . He swung his sword .

    No one could describe the amazement of that stroke!

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    He cut through the moonlight, broke through the water, and severed all worries and troubles there were in the world!

    Subconsciously, Chu Danqing wanted to draw the splendour of the sword, but he could not pour his impulse through the tip of his brush .

    Han Tieyi instinctively simulated what he would do if he were faced with that stroke, but to his chagrin, he had to admit that he had no idea how to block it . It was no wonder he heard how the many geniuses and masters of the other prefectures had all been defeated by this stroke from Yin Xiaochou, while the spectators often lost the courage to meet him in battle, choosing to directly forfeit .

    However, little did he know that this stroke was the most powerful stroke Yin Xiaochou had delivered since leaving the Sword Collection palace . In order to temper his heart of the sword, he never used the powers of the Breaking Water sword . He only wielded it as a fine sword . This was basically no different from fighting with his arms and legs tied up .

    But now, Yin Xiaochou broke through all the restraints he had placed on himself, merging with the sword, using the momentum he had built up from his consecutive victories, and pouring all of his strength and all of his belief into that stroke!

    ¡°Breaking Water!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped smiling and swung the water sword in his hand .

    As powerful as a dragon suddenly emerging from the ocean!

    ¡°There!¡± Chu Danqing¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up, and his brush took off .

    The night before, Li Qingshan had passed the two scrolls of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy to Chu Danqing, asking him to carry out a final repair so that this unmatched calligraphy, painting, and sword manual could be reassembled .

    Before that, Li Qingshan had already refined them individually . He had comprehended their sword intent before comparing and combining them with the sword intent passed on in the Soaring Dragon sword . In the end, he combined it with his own beliefs and condensed an unparalleled sword intent unique to him!

    The dragon leapt through the four seas, running amok through the world! The seas raged in a vast and boundless manner!

    The edges of the swords met . The Breaking Water sword swept past the water sword and landed on Li Qingshan .

    Li Qingshan lifted up the broken sword in his hand and gazed at it . He sighed . ¡°A sword I casually condensed from water can¡¯t beat a true arcane treasure after all!¡±

    The Breaking Water sword was not just an arcane treasure . The Sword Collection palace had many arcane-treasure-grade swords, but they only had ten renowned swords . They contained the wills of past swordmasters that had been passed down through the millennia . Powered by the Sword Collection palace¡¯s secret techniques, their power could not be compared to regular arcane treasures .

    And, even among the Ten Renowned Swords, the Breaking Water sword was known for its destructive power of being able to cut through everything in a single stroke!

    The spectators all felt that Li Qingshan had truly bitten off more than he could chew by casually condensing a sword from water and thinking he could match Yin Xiaochou in an open confrontation . But at that point, using it as an excuse was clearly meaningless .

    Han Tieyi furrowed his brows slightly . That did not seem to match his personality . He seemed crude, but he was actually someone with one of the most meticulous and thorough thought processes . Especially when he fought against others, he was basically as clever as he could be . He would never lose because he underestimated an opponent . Moreover, Yin Xiaochou¡¯s expression was rather strange despite being the victor .

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    ¡°Big brother!¡± Hua Chenglu cried out, afraid to see a horrifying sight where he split into two .

    Hua Chengzan said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s fine!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled at Hua Chenglu and tossed aside the broken sword . It turned back into mist in the air, returning to nothingness . Then he asked Yin Xiaochou, ¡°How was that?¡±

    Yin Xiaochou opened his eyes and gazed at Li Qingshan as if he had just witnessed something unbelievable . He opened his lips and said with some difficulty .

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost!¡±

 Chapter 742

    The surroundings descended into an uproar as well as confusion . Yin Xiaochou had clearly cut through Li Qingshan¡¯s sword with that slash and landed the attack on him . Even if he held back and did not try to kill him in a single stroke, he only needed to use a bit more force, and Li Qingshan would be dead since Yin Xiaochou was wielding such a powerful weapon . Why had Yin Xiaochou admitted defeat instead?

    Yin Xiaochou¡¯s eyes were filled with a reluctance to accept this . Defeat had come far too suddenly, and it all felt so surreal . By the time he returned to his senses, he immediately fell down from his peak of success .

    He had become shocked the moment the swords clashed . His opponent clearly was not a sword cultivator, but his sword intent actually matched his .

    Although he still managed to cut through Li Qingshan¡¯s sword with the sharpness of the Breaking Water sword and land a blow on Li Qingshan, his sword was unable to progress an inch further .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand had demonified . His fingers were sharp like blades, gripping the Breaking Water sword firmly . Demon qi surged between his fingers . He did not use the great strength of the ox demon . He only used his strength as a Demon Commander to easily catch the Breaking Water sword that had run out of power .

    If he were wielding a slightly better sword, even just an inferior arcane artifact, it probably wouldn¡¯t be like this right now! And, he¡¯s only shown the tip of the iceberg with the Demon Suppression Statuary .

    Yin Xiaochou thought that and experienced another deep sense of refusal to accept this . He had not even witnessed his opponent¡¯s true strength but could only forfeit . That was simply not a good feeling . However, if he refused to accept defeat, then he would not have the right to be the Breaking Water sword¡¯s master .

    However, Yin Xiaochou¡¯s decisiveness in admitting defeat also left Li Qingshan rather surprised . Originally, Li Qingshan thought he would put up a little more of a struggle! That would be perfect for him to demonstrate the power of the Demon Suppression Statuary and announce he had undergone the second heavenly tribulation . Once that reached Si Qing¡¯s ears, he could continue with the next step of his plan!

    Li Qingshan released the Breaking Water sword and said patiently, ¡°I think you can try again . After all, I haven¡¯t harmed you!¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary . I¡¯m not your opponent . Even if we try a hundred times, a thousand times, the end result won¡¯t change! Sure enough, a great master really does produce outstanding disciples!¡±

    Yin Xiaochou took a step back, sheathed his sword, clasped his hands, and bowed .

    The Breaking Water sword was different from the Green Ruins sword . It could not create a Green Ruins Illusion, nor could it make its master invincible by scattering him as light .

    The sword intent of the Breaking Water sword was terse and resolute . With a slash, whether it was a human or a ghost, a daemon or a demon, they would all be cut down .

    Although it was only a sword, he had already poured all of his mental and physical efforts into it . Now that the sword intent had suffered defeat, continuing with the battle was merely asking to be humiliated . However, he truly wanted to know just how powerful he was!

    ¡°Then forget about it!¡± Li Qingshan sighed . If he had known this earlier, he would have gone easy on him and gone for something like another three hundred bouts at the very least!

    Thinking about the past, just Fu Qingjin alone could force ¡°Northmoon¡± into dire straits, but now, against Yin Xiaochou who was even stronger than Fu Qingjin, he could not even make ¡°Li Qingshan¡± use his full strength . Sure enough, only loneliness accompanies great masters, but I better work a little harder to become a little lonelier!

    ¡°May I ask what your current realm of cultivation is, sir?¡±

    Yin Xiaochou could not help but ask . He really did not understand how Li Qingshan, who did not even have an arcane treasure on him, managed to defeat him who wielded the Breaking Water sword . Their comprehension of the path of the sword should have been similar . The Demon Suppression Statuary was powerful, but he practised the secret techniques of the Sword Collection palace too .

    This kid¡¯s got some sense about him! Li Qingshan praised inside .

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    Li Qingshan said sincerely, ¡°Don¡¯t be too downhearted . I¡¯ve already undergone the second heavenly tribulation, so my realm of cultivation is higher than yours . Otherwise, who knows what the result of this battle might be!¡±

    ¡°How old are you?¡±

    Yin Xiaochou was dumbstruck . Every single heavenly tribulation was a huge obstacle and boundary to cultivators . He had actually never thought of such a simple answer, only because it was completely unbelievable . With his age, how could he have undergone the second heavenly tribulation? Even among the past geniuses of the Sword Collection palace, that was extremely rare .

    In a tiny place like the Clear River prefecture, how had he managed to do it without a clan or sect behind him?

    ¡°I¡¯ve spent too much time in secluded cultivation, so I can¡¯t really remember it anymore . I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve hit thirty yet though! I¡¯ve basically reached my original objective . The people of the world can¡¯t laugh at me for boasting . Hahaha!¡±

    Even Yin Xiaochou could not say anything more; it was as if it was an even greater setback for him to be defeated at Li Qingshan¡¯s hand . He challenged the geniuses of the various prefectures of the Green province because he personally believed he was a genius among geniuses . Yet now, someone who paled in comparison to him in all aspects had thrown him far behind, stepping into a higher realm much earlier than him .

    Apart from Hua Chengzan, who knew Li Qingshan¡¯s other identity, everyone else in the surroundings was dumbstruck as well . What did undergoing the second heavenly tribulation mean? Everyone understood the answer to that question . Founding a sect and awing an entire region would be a piece of cake . Perhaps he could not rampage through the nine provinces freely, but he could come and go as he pleased . Only a handful of existences could still threaten him .

    However, it was rather difficult to say what undergoing the second heavenly tribulation before the age of thirty meant . Did it mean he had great confidence in undergoing the third heavenly tribulation and becoming one of the true rulers of the nine provinces?

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, so keep up with your challenges! Danqing, how¡¯s your painting going?¡± Li Qingshan called out loudly .

    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Chu Danqing¡¯s brush stopped .

    Li Qingshan walked over and took a look . The painting depicted two figures . Although they were blurry, even with their facial features obscured, he had completely captured their unique bearings . It was possible to distinguish with a single glance that they were Li Qingshan and Yin Xiaochou . The two swords were even more fascinating than that . They seemed like they were about to leap out of the painting .

    He had labelled the painting with its name too, calling it the ¡°The Water Sword Destroys the Breaking Water Sword¡± as Li Qingshan had said . However, the problem was the scene Chu Danqiong had painted; it was when Yin Xiaochou had cut through the water sword .

    ¡°Hey, you sure have good timing! If anyone who doesn¡¯t know about this battle sees this, wouldn¡¯t they be mocking me?¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°Your name already resounds through the world with this battle, so who wouldn¡¯t know about it?¡±

    ¡°Fair enough!¡± Li Qingshan nodded . This was his original intention anyway .

    At this moment, Yin Xiaochou¡¯s voice rang out from behind, ¡°Please face me in battle, fellow Hua!¡±

    Even Li Qingshan did not expect him to continue with his challenges . He thought, He¡¯s just suffered a major defeat and he¡¯s able to brighten up immediately . You can say this person has a resolute and steadfast personality . The disciples nurtured by the Sword Collection palace, the successors of the Ten Renowned Swords, are all worthy of their reputations . I wonder how Zi Jian is doing . I need to ask him later!

    Afterwards, Yin Xiaochou challenged the people present one by one . Not only did he defeat them all, but he even defeated them all in a single stroke . If it were not for Li Qingshan, his battle record would have shone even more with tonight, and his name would echo through the Green province again .

    But right now, even the people he challenged seemed rather distracted . They constantly glanced at Li Qingshan as if they were looking at a monster they had never seen before . Their eyes were filled with amazement and respect .

    The gathering came to an end very quickly . As everyone dispersed, the news of Li Qingshan having undergone the second heavenly tribulation spread rapidly .

    Yin Xiaochou reported this matter to the Sword Collection palace at the first opportunity . The master of the Sword Collection palace sighed . ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has produced an outstanding disciple . With how outstanding his talent is, it¡¯s basically a one-in-a-hundred-year genius!¡±

    At this moment, the Divining Elder rushed over and clasped his hands . ¡°Palace master, we¡¯ve just received news that the disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, One Will, has just emerged from critical secluded cultivation . She has successfully undergone the heavenly tribulation . She¡¯s become the youngest head monk in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s history, and she¡¯s even a little younger than Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 743

    The prefectural city of Clear River blazed with lanterns . It was already night, but people still flowed to and fro on the streets, bustling with a lively hubbub . The dazzling buildings and boisterous stages could not make the people stop and linger . It was like there was some great festival going on . However, today was not a festival at all .

    Most of the common folk had no idea why they were celebrating . All they knew was the prefect had done something, and the entire prefectural city became lively . They had a vague inkling that it had something to do with the Scarlet Hawk commander, Li Qingshan .

    However, the entire cultivation community of the Ruyi commandery had been shaken up . Li Qingshan¡¯s name even resounded through the Green province, spreading far and wide to the other provinces .

    The Parlour of Clouds and Rain was ablaze with lights . They currently carried out a grand banquet with streaks of light flying over constantly, being invited into the building . Only Foundation Establishment cultivators that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation had the right to set foot on the rooftop, and even when they spoke, they had to be careful .

    To a corner of the rooftop, Gu Yanying was currently discussing something with Han Anjun . The always solemn Han Anjun smiled slightly as well . The Marquis of Ruyi listened along, and all of the people beside him were second heavenly tribulation Golden Core cultivators .

    Although their numbers had lessened slightly due to the disaster that was the Exhibition Matches of the Nine Prefectures, and they all concealed their aura, the bearing they unconsciously gave off made everyone feel slightly pressured .

    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Gu Yanying suddenly looked into the horizon .

    Under the gazes of many, Li Qingshan descended from above with Han Qiongzhi .

    Li Qingshan was dressed in convenient, navy robes, giving off a bearing as lofty as a mountain as he looked around complacently . Han Qiongzhi was dressed magnificently in a long, fiery-red dress . She was as bright and beautiful as fire, attractively outlining her figure . They were truly a perfect match for each other, like a match made in heaven .

    Back then, there had even been people who were perplexed by why the noble daughter of the Han family would proactively chase after a kid from the country .

    It was rumored that they encountered intense objection from Han Anjun and that she had virtually fallen out with the Han family over this . In the end, they settled down together without any formal recognition .

    The cultivation community did not place as much emphasis on traditions and family background as mortals, but among the aristocratic clans of the Clear River prefecture and even the Ruyi commandery, they had basically become a laughing stock . They all said Han Qiongzhi had lost her mind to love . However, Han Qiongzhi had never cared about these rumors, while Li Qingshan had no time to pay any attention to them either .

    Now, everyone admired Han Qiongzhi¡¯s insight . An unparalleled prodigy like him was enough to revitalise an entire sect . Even creating an aristocratic clan on par with the Han family would be a piece of cake for him!

    No matter how pessimistic Han Anjun was about this relationship, he could not help but nod at a time like this . From the perspective of a cultivator alone, he could not help but be filled with admiration over this .

    He had admired Li Qingshan very much right from the beginning . The reason why he refused to accept him as his son-in-law was not because he found Li Qingshan¡¯s status lowly as the rumors suggested . It was the exact opposite . He was worried his daughter could not rein in a man like that, and it really was the case . In his understanding, there was probably only Gu Yanying standing right beside him, holding a folding fan and smiling away, that could match him .

    Fortunately, she abstained from matters between a man and woman, so it was impossible for her to have any interest in Li Qingshan, or his daughter really would be done for . Li Qingshan was not an irresponsible person either . By doing this, he was essentially declaring his relationship with Han Qiongzhi again .

    Han Tieyi also felt happy for his elder sister . His brother-in-law often did whatever he pleased . He was probably the exact opposite of the term ¡°infatuation¡± . At last, he had not let down his elder sister¡¯s deep love .

    ¡°Speaking of which, you met commander Li first, my daughter . I think you even saved him back then!¡±

    In the tiny garden on the rooftop, the patriarch of the Hua family said to Hua Chenglu . His voice was filled with pity .

    Even after undergoing the Wisdom Imbuement and becoming much more mature, Hua Chenglu could not help but roll her eyes at her father . She raised her head and looked up again .

    Back then, she was still a little girl . She was still ignorant about the matters between a man and woman . Thinking about it now, she did feel a tinge of regret . If she had struck first back then, with her charm and how lustful of a big brother he was, it would be impossible for him to turn her down! Sigh, everything is about striking first¡­

    Suddenly, she shook her head . What am I thinking about? Big sister Han treats me like her own sister . How can I think about something so shameful!

    She was not envious of the glory . She only wanted a perfectly-justifiable reason to remain by his side . Once she thought about it, she really struggled to forget about it . Female cultivators really did have the heaviest tribulations of attachments . Suddenly, she understood her elder brother a little . Since she had already fallen in love with this man, if she looked at other men now, what interest could they bring? She was better off just prioritising cultivation in that case .

    Hua Chenglu sighed . Perhaps this is a good thing! At the very least, she was not as obstinate over the word ¡°love¡± as Hua Chengzan .

    Because of Gu Yanying, Hua Chengzan did not appear tonight . Even if he drank a thousand bottles of Water of Oblivion, he would still fall in love with her if he saw her again . This was something he understood himself .

    The patriarch of the Hua family shook his head . The Han family has profited! However, he also understood that even if his daughter was willing back then, he might not necessarily give permission . His objections would definitely be even more intense than Han Anjun¡¯s . Who would have thought that a kid from the country could actually reach this step in a little over a decade!

    With various different thoughts, everyone cast various different gazes towards Li Qingshan . Li Qingshan remained calm, looking down and smiling .

    This celebration was Liu Changqing¡¯s suggestion . Originally, Li Qingshan might not have necessarily accepted this with the kind of person he was, but upon considering his plan, he still agreed to it in the end .

    But since he was here, there was no need for him to focus on being discreet!

    Tonight, he would make his name resound through the world and complete that wild wish of the mountain village youth of the past!

    In that moment, Li Qingshan completely unleashed his aura . Demon qi surged and malice rushed into the air . The stars and moon paled!

    Everyone felt a tremendous pressure drop down from above, filled with oppression and invasiveness . Even their breathing became a little difficult . If it were not for the fact that this power had spread out into the surroundings aimlessly, without a single person as a target, no one present could withstand it apart from the Golden Core cultivators .

    However, these Golden Core cultivators felt even more shocked . Didn¡¯t he just undergo the second heavenly tribulation? How is he so powerful!? If he really ends up fighting, there probably aren¡¯t a lot of people present that are his opponent!

    Yin Xiaochou stood with his sword on a tall building in the distance . He shut his eyes silently and sensed the aura . He sighed . ¡°Is this the Demon Suppression Statuary? It really is powerful . No, it¡¯s not just the cultivation method . It¡¯s because of this person too . The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has produced such a genius . Among the younger generation of the Sword Collection palace, no one can compare to him apart from first senior brother! Fortunately, he¡¯s not from the Umbral Yin sect, or he would definitely become a major problem . ¡±

    ¡°Stop showing off! Hurry up and get down!¡± Han Qiongzhi silently pinched Li Qingshan . In front of so many gazes, she felt quite proud in the beginning, but as time went on, it felt uncomfortable .

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I making you proud and building up your reputation?¡± Li Qingshan conveyed with a smile .

    ¡°Hmph, I think you¡¯re just doing it for your own sake!¡± Han Qiongzhi said .

    If he had just suddenly entered secluded cultivation for a few years, then so be it, but the first person he visited after emerging was actually Hua Chenglu . She only learnt he had emerged when someone else had contacted her .

    Li Qingshan knew the reason for her anger . He had always followed his principle of ¡°even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit¡± . He passed the half of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy he had obtained from Mo Yu to Chu Danqing after refining it . Then he comprehended the sword intent inside . He spent the entirety of the past two days on this . His time was tight, so he had absolutely no time to go and find her .

    Furious, Han Qiongzhi did not even spectate his battle with Yin Xiaochou . Of course, it was also because she knew he had already undergone the second heavenly tribulation, so there was absolutely no chance he could lose, let alone face any life-threatening danger .

    Li Qingshan also understood he had been in the wrong . He coaxingly said, ¡°Zhi¡¯er, it¡¯s my fault, so please stop being angry . I¡¯ll definitely properly make it up to you tonight and relieve you of the pain from several years of longing!¡±

    ¡°Never! You can go amuse yourself with other women!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi turned him down without batting an eyelid, but her heart softened . She was very curious just what she had to do to never forgive this brazen, unrestrainable man . As long as he said a few more sweet words, her anger would completely evaporate away .

    ¡°Are there any women that can compare to my Zhi¡¯er?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and landed on the Parlour of Clouds and Rain . He did not purposefully hold back, nor did he intentionally make a display . He clasped his hands around and said some formalities before taking his seat and toasting the Golden Core cultivators one by one .

    The first one was obviously Han Anjun . His father-in-law had nothing to say, just downing the cup in one gulp .

    Next was his superior, Gu Yanying . Gu Yanying said, ¡°Congratulations!¡± Then she said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome to pay a visit to my Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind tomorrow!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I was planning to do that!¡±

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan drank to his heart¡¯s content . Everyone was jolly in the entire parlour .

    Qian Rongzhi looked away and began patrolling through the Parlour of Clouds and Rain . This was her responsibility as a White Wolf guard .

    Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind her . ¡°May I ask if you are senior Qian Rongzhi?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi turned around, only to see a handsome young man standing there . He said, ¡°I¡¯m Lin Xuan . I¡¯m also from the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture . I¡¯m still cultivating in the school of Daoism right now . I¡¯ve heard about senior¡¯s great name a long time ago!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi had heard of this name before . He was a rising star of the Academy of the Hundred Schools of the Clear River prefecture, and he had basically risen to fame over the years . However, she had seen far too many geniuses before . Let alone Li Qingshan and Xiao An, even she had earned the title of genius now . She had also received a letter of challenge from Yin Xiaochou, but she simply ignored it .

    As a result, she did not believe a mere Qi Practitioner like him had anything worth noting . She just found his gaze sincere and his bearing gentle, which made her remember a distant memory for some reason .

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The next morning in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, the lotus flowers stretched into the distance and oozed with fragrance .

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying sat before one another, tasting the tea together in a very leisurely manner .

    Gu Yanying placed down her cup . ¡°In other words, you¡¯ve made up your mind about going to the Mist province!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled . ¡°Circumstances . With my cultivation, I can¡¯t remain as a Scarlet Hawk commander, can I? And, in my knowledge, the Green province doesn¡¯t have any open positions for me!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°And with your reputation, neither the imperial court nor the Hawkwolf Guard could possibly let you go . Even the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga can¡¯t change that fact!¡±

    A resounding reputation was both good and bad . Even the imperial court was forced to pay particular attention to a supreme genius who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation before the age of thirty . They had to keep him in their system . Although the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga dominated in the Green province, they could not contend against the Hawkwolf Guard and the Great Xia empire .

    ¡°Speaking of which, you should go back and pay a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry for that . ¡± Li Qingshan planned on pushing the first seven layers of the Demon Suppression Statuary to the peak before attempting the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall .

    ¡°That little girl of yours has already emerged from seclusion!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback . He was overjoyed . ¡°Xiao An has emerged from seclusion!?¡±

 Chapter 744

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°I just received the news!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up, tempted to rush over to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga immediately . However, after pacing around, he sat back down .

    He still had to focus on his priorities . Xiao An had undergone the second heavenly tribulation, but she probably had to become a head monk and learn the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga before she could see him . If he rushed over now, he would probably just have the door slammed in his face . He was better off sticking with his original plan .

    ¡°Si Qing definitely won¡¯t let this opportunity of revenge slip by . You¡¯ll probably face quite a lot of danger by going to the Mist province this time, and it won¡¯t just be from Si Qing . ¡±

    Gu Yanying tapped her palm gently with her jade folding fan . Since the Mist province was known as a lawless land, the Hawkwolf Guard that were representatives of the laws obviously faced great hostility . Apart from these surface-level conflicts, there were many more dangers lurking beneath .

    ¡°I¡¯ve even offended the last people I can afford to offend, so what danger can I be afraid of?¡± Li QIngshan smiled . Was it supposed to be even more dangerous than the Dragon King of Ink Sea hunting him down? He was on rather good terms with the Daemon King of the Mist province, the Great Banyan Tree King!

    Gu Yanying smiled . ¡°Fair enough . There¡¯s no need for you to agree immediately either . I¡¯ll help you out so that you receive the compensation you deserve from the Hawkwolf Guard!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you . ¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing . Oh right, which commandery would you like to go to?¡±

    ¡°The South Sea commandery!¡±

    Gu Yanying raised her eyebrows . ¡°That¡¯s easy then . None of the commanderies of the Mist province are more dangerous than the South Sea commandery . Although I shouldn¡¯t really ask about this, I¡¯m really quite curious about why you would suddenly want to go to such a distant place . ¡±

    ¡°I promised someone to go to the coast of the South sea . ¡±

    ¡°A woman?¡±

    ¡°A friend . ¡±

    ¡­¡­

    After leaving the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind, Li Qingshan went to Han Qiongzhi¡¯s dwelling .

    Han Qiongzhi was waiting for him . Seeing him return, she asked in a hurry, ¡°Qingshan, what did commander Gu say?¡±

    ¡°Seems like I¡¯m going to be promoted . ¡± Li Qingshan sat down with a smile and lifted her up, placing her on his lap .

    ¡°Where to?¡±

    ¡°I might have to pay a visit to the South Sea commandery . ¡±

    ¡°The South Sea commandery!¡± Han Qiongzhi exclaimed .

    Within the records of the Hawkwolf Guard, there were not a lot of places more dangerous than the South Sea commandery . Cases of White Hawk commanders and White Wolf commanders perishing had both happened there .

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry . I just happen to want to go out for some training . There aren¡¯t a lot in the world that can harm me . ¡±

    ¡°Then let me accompany you!¡±

    ¡°Only when you cultivate in peace do I not have to worry,¡± Li Qingshan said softly .

    Han Qiongzhi also understood that . With her strength, she could not help him out even if she went . Instead, it would be very easy for her to become a deadweight, tying him down .

    ¡°Then wait until Xiao An emerges from secluded cultivation . She can definitely help you out!¡±

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    ¡°She has already emerged . ¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡±

    ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga probably won¡¯t let their most outstanding disciple risk her life with me in the Mist province!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head . He was not very optimistic about this . The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga basically guarded against him like they were guarding against a thief . They only wished that Xiao An and he never saw each other again .

    ¡°Then what do you do?¡± Han Qiongzhi frowned .

    ¡°What else can I do? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m that flimsy . Even if I¡¯m alone, I¡¯m going to stir the Mist province into a mess . ¡±

    Seeing how worried she was, Li Qingshan was touched . He pinched her cheek with a smile and embraced her firmly, kissing her ear gently . He said softly, ¡°Qiongzhi, the three years of mourning are already over . We can officially get married . ¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was very interested, but she said, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that time in the past official?¡±

    ¡°Of course it was . ¡±

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t it enough? There¡¯s no need to rush something like this . You better spend your time cultivating instead for now . I don¡¯t want to become a widow right after getting married!¡± Han Qiongzhi broke free from his embrace .

    Li Qingshan thought about it and agreed with her . If he had to travel all the way to the South sea before they could even spend a honeymoon together, that would not be particularly nice .

    As a result, he smiled, ¡°My wife, we spend more time apart than together and the times we do spend together is always too short . Let¡¯s just go at it again!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone blazed away . A White Bone ?ar¨©ra spun away, containing a luminous, sagacious buddhist nature .

    The dragon cries rang out constantly, sometimes low and sometimes high, as if they were slowly chanting an unending scripture .

    A pair of eyes suddenly opened up . They were clear and flawless, just like glaze .

    Xiao An sat under a verdant bodhi tree with her legs across . Everything in her surroundings, as far as she could see, was white emptiness . Apart from her and the tree, there was nothing else .

    This place was known as the Bodhi Realm of Emptiness . It was a miniature world similar to the Asura Field that contained a buddhist nature . It was a place of cultivation provided by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga .

    There was nothing beyond her body, nothing beyond her heart . The concept of time had been reduced to nothing . If her mentality was not firm enough, if her wisdom was insufficient, then it would only cause detriment to her .

    In the past, countless eminent monks had come here to achieve enlightenment, but there had also been many that suffered qi deviation and lost their minds .

    But to her, this place had absolutely no differences from the bustling, secular world!

    It was just missing a person!

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan cultivated for a few more days in his dwelling . One day, he suddenly opened his eyes and arrived outside his dwelling . He gazed in the direction of Great Buddha mountain .

    After contemplating it, he just could not help himself in the end . He set off for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga .

    Under Great Buddha mountain, the pilgrims continued to bustle about in an endless stream, gathering over here from everywhere to pay homage . Suddenly, a streak of light flew over them .

    The monks that catched the mountain called out, ¡°Who are you? Flying is forbidden on Great Buddha mountain!¡±

    Li Qingshan landed in front of the entrance and clasped his hands, ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan, a secular disciple of the monastery!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    The monks were surprised . All of them had heard about this name before . The monk in charge of reception reported this up in a hurry .

    A while later, bells and drums rang out on the mountain . The gates opened up and the monks lined the entrance to welcome him .

    ¡°The buddha has said that all life is equal . I¡¯ve only ever heard about this before . Today, I¡¯ve finally been able to enjoy it myself!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled gently . In the past, when he and Xiao An visited the monastery, they had faced a lot of setbacks . Today, he had undergone the second heavenly tribulation and he had done so before the age of thirty . With how talented he was, even the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had to lower themselves a little and consider for his feelings and thoughts .

    He strided in and made his way right to the top of the mountain . Even when he arrived at the entrance to the inner courtyards, he did not pause . Only when he arrived before the grand hall did he stop and peer inside . The Dauntless monk stood inside with the various head monks beside him . Behind him was the buddha, gazing over all life .

    Logically speaking, secular disciples and even true inner courtyard disciples did not necessarily have the right to enter the grand hall . But right now, there were no obstructions before Li Qingshan .

    He stepped over the tall door sill and brought his palms together, bowing, ¡°Disciple Li Qingshan greets the Dauntless abbot and the many masters!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡±

    Under the buddha¡¯s name, the monks returned the gesture, without the slightest hint of haughtiness anymore .

    The Dauntless Monk was solemn as he studied Li Qingshan up and down . The rumors were true . He had truly undergone the second heavenly tribulation .

    ¡°May I ask the abbot where Xiao An is right now?¡±

    Li Qingshan cut right to the chase .

    The Dauntless Monk said, ¡°One Will is currently studying the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga . She¡¯s about to assume the position of head monk for the Formless nunnery . She cannot meet with you for now!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not surprised, ¡°Then may I ask just how long is this ¡®for now¡¯ will be?¡±

    ¡°The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga is the foundation of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga . The buddhist dharma is vast, extensive and profound . Completely mastering it requires three to five decades at the very least, to over a century . One Will is endowed with buddhist talent and she¡¯s intelligent and wise, but even she will probably still need around a decade!¡±

    The head monks all nodded in agreement, ¡°What the abbott has said is reasonable . I started studying the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga thirty years ago, but even until now . I feel like I¡¯ve only just scratched the surface . ¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the buddhist dharma is boundless . It requires an entire lifetime, no, numerous lifetimes to comprehend and study!¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed away inside, Fucking hell . You damned bald asses, that¡¯s because your ability to comprehend is trash!

    Afterwards, the Dauntless monk tried both intimidating and tempting him . He used every mean he had to make Li Qingshan become a monk, so he became a formal disciple of the monastery . He said that as long as he shaved his head, he would immediately become the head monk of the Arhat hall . There were countless other benefits too . Things like eating meat and drinking alcohol were all up for negotiation!

    The other head monks chimed in too, which utterly annoyed Li Qingshan . He suddenly called out, ¡°Enough!¡±

    ¡°How dare you raise your voice in the buddha¡¯s hall!¡± The Dauntless monk widened his eyes and shot him a glare .

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands and said lethargically, ¡°Just spare me, masters . I definitely, definitely won¡¯t become a monk! I have neither a buddhist nature nor a root of wisdom . My hobbies are fine alcohol, food and women! Among the many worlds under the buddha, not everyone is a monk either! Just treat me as a foreign demon who accidentally converted to buddhism!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha . The sea of bitterness has no bounds . Repent and the shore is at hand!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll roam the four seas and go with the flow!¡±

    The Dauntless monk glared even further . There really was nothing he could do about him! If he was a regular disciple, he would have been subdued by him a long time ago and sent to the Disciplinary courtyard for self-reflection a long time ago if he ever dared to talk like that in the grand hall . The monks all shook their heads and sighed too!

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    Li Qingshan seemed utterly fearless, but he was distressed inside . Just how could he meet Xiao An? If he spoke a little rashly, that was fine, but if he really tried to force his way in, then the Dauntless monk would have to take action against him for the sake of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s reputation .

    At this moment, a gently voice rang out from behind, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back and a young girl stood before the steps . She wore a set of light-grey robes, but even they struggled to hide her beauty . Her dark, seaweed-like hair draped all the way to her feet . Joy filled her clear, flawless eyes . When she saw him, the smile she showed was so alluring that even the hall dimmed in comparison .

    ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    They walked towards each other at the same time, just embracing each other firmly right in front of the grand hall!

    In that moment, Li Qingshan felt his heart become extremely full . Colour flowed through Xiao An¡¯s glaze-like eyes too . All they could see was one another . They had forgotten about everything else around them .

    The Dauntless Monk furrowed his brows heavily . He was basically tempted to smack Li Qingshan right now . The various monks all responded differently, either raising their eyebrows, pursing their lips or wrinkling their noses, their expressions all indescribably strange .

    Something like that had occurred in front of the grand hall of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the greatest pure land of buddhism in the Green province, so of course it would seem unpleasant to the eye .

    ¡°She¡¯s been arranged to cultivate in the Bodhi Realm of Emptiness . That place is cut off from the world . Even if she can leave, how did she know he¡¯s in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡± The Dauntless monk was stumped .

    ¡°You¡¯ve grown bigger again!¡±

    Li Qingshan caressed her beautiful face . He only felt like he was at utter peace, but completely without a single impure thought .

 Chapter 745

    Even with the Dauntless monk¡¯s mental fortitude and composure, he could not help but fly into a rage . He bellowed, ¡°Move away from her immediately, vile spawn!¡± His voice contained the cries of dragons, already using the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga .

    For a moment, Li Qingshan felt his mind sway . He let go of Xian An uncontrollably, but he immediately composed himself again . He asked .

    ¡°Why must you be like this, abbot?¡±

    ¡°How can you behave like this in a pure land of buddhism?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen my family for several years, so what¡¯s wrong with a hug? Abbot, you¡¯re having impure thoughts, but I have none!¡± Li Qingshan refused to back down .

    Xiao An stood beside him silently, grabbing the hem of his clothes . A faint smile stretched over her face . She bore absolutely no resemblance to the One Will the monks remembered!

    The Dauntless monk became even more furious . He had arduously studied and practised the buddhist dharma for many years . Li Qingshan¡¯s half-assed sayings were nowhere enough to fool him .

    At this exact moment, a voice rang out from behind the mountain, ¡°Damn brat, how dare you come to Great Buddha mountain without visiting your master first? All you do is fool around on the mountain . Why don¡¯t you get over here right now?¡±

    ¡°Yes, master! Abbot, I¡¯ll be taking me leave then!¡±

    Li Qingshan readily took the opportunity to get out of this situation . He clasped his hands and left the grand hall, making his way to the back of the mountain . Xiao An followed behind him blindly .

    It had been several years since they had last saw one another . They went through various different things and even their appearances had changed quite a lot . However, the sight right now was actually no different from the past .

    The Unraging monk laid on the Demon Suppression hall¡¯s stone tablet with a bare belly and looked at Li Qingshan happily . He was filled with delight . With how outstanding his disciple was, he also felt proud as his master!

    However, when he saw Xiao An behind him, the delight turned to some helplessness!

    During the recent years, Xiao An had basically shaken up Great Buddha mountain . Whether it was her study of buddhist scriptures, debating over the buddhist dharma, cultivation speed or talent for battle, she had completely surpassed any regular person . She became the greatest star of hope in the monastery¡¯s history .

    After undergoing the second heavenly tribulation and condensing a ?ar¨©ra, she had also become a figure of tremendous weight in the monastery . Li Qingshan was close to thirty now . If she was assumed to be in her early twenties, then even the living buddha reincarnations of esoteric sects were not as powerful!

    Her original appraisal was she had a very good chance at becoming a Monk King, but now, the appraisal had already been changed to possessing the potential of ascending . If it were not for the fact that she was female, she would almost be guaranteed to become the next abbot of the monastery . If anyone had the courage to touch even a hair on her right now, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would basically throw their entire monastery at them .

    Only Li Qingshan was capable of something like that . As the Unraging monk¡¯s disciples, he was technically a part of the monastery too, and he was a supreme genius of startling talent on top of that . If any other man had tried touching and hugging her in front of the grand hall, even if it was a descendent of the imperial clan, the Dauntless monk would definitely turn against them and make blood splatter on the mountain .

    ¡°Thank you for providing me with a way out, master!¡±

    Li Qingshan said . If he did not have Unraging monk here to support him, the only time when he would ever stand up to the Dauntless monk would be when there was something wrong with his head . He did not actually think the Dauntless monk was someone he could just walk over .

    ¡°As long as you understand!¡± The Unraging monk said in exasperation .

    ¡°The Dauntless abbot¡¯s gone too far . If it weren¡¯t for my permission, would Xiao An have come and joined your Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as a disciple? Look at it now . You have a genius disciple, and it¡¯s buy one get one free with me thrown in the deal . Yet now, he¡¯s actually trying to get rid of me as soon as I¡¯m not needed anymore . Does he still want us to hack down people for the monastery or not!?¡±

    Li Qingshan complained ¡°indignantly¡±, before turning to Xiao An and asking, ¡°Xiao An, isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    Xiao An smiled resplendently and nodded gently .

    The moment of radiance left Li Qingshan stunned too . He sighed inside, In just a few years of not seeing you, your appearance is becoming more and more powerful . The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty really is impressive!

    Afterwards, he looked back and continued to gaze at the Unraging monk . He was not enchanted by her at all .

    Even the Unraging monk, a monk who ate meat and drank alcohol without any regard for rules, widened his eyes and bellowed when he heard Li Qingshan, ¡°Oi! You damned brat! The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga is a holy land of cultivation for buddhism, not some gang from the jianghu! Who needs you to hack down people?¡±

    ¡°You know what I mean . Please pass this onto the abbot . As long as he stops making things difficult for us, we can guarantee the monastery will shine with a brand-new glow in the future! As the buddha says, you shouldn¡¯t insist on everything and constantly try persisting with your own way¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan had absolutely no interest in actual buddhist dharma, but he had read plenty of self-help and motivational stories along the same line as ¡°Chicken Soup for the Soul¡± . He could do a pretty good imitation of how the various professionals and wise men spoke .

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    ¡°Shut your mouth! If you mention the buddha¡¯s name again, I¡¯ll smack you to death!¡± The Unraging monk sat up .

    ¡°Master, you¡¯ve broken the precept of falsehoods . Aren¡¯t you Unraging? Alright, alright, alright . I¡¯ll stop!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true that you have a destiny with me, but I just feel that one day, you¡¯ll stir up a huge problem for me!¡±

    The Unraging monk sighed . Having guarded the Demon Suppression hall for all these years, he actually understood Li Qingshan was just crude with his words and actually very sharp-witted . If just expounding the buddhist dharma was enough to bring salvation to all, what was the point of having abilities? The buddha was benevolent, but even the buddha needed guardians kings to keep evil at bay!

    In simpler terms, it was basically no different from a gang of the jianghu . Conflict was present wherever people were present, let alone the cultivation community which was far more than just people . Not hacking down people was always an option, but if they even lacked the power to hack, they would not be far from death .

    Chaos was already rising up in the world . Apart from the five central provinces, the demonic cultivators and heretics who hid in the Cloud, Mist, Frost and Thunder provinces were constantly trying to rise up again . If the two of them worked together and contributed to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga wholeheartedly, that was equivalent to two additional pillars of support, and they would definitely become more important as time went on .

    As a result, even with the Dauntless monk¡¯s decisiveness, he did not blindly say he would be punishing the two of them outside the grand hall just then . Although holding to precepts and abiding rules were critical, there would be something utterly wrong about him being the abbott if he made two genius disciples develop a grudge and a feeling of rejection towards him just because of a few things they had said!

    By calling Li Qingshan to the back of the mountain, the Unraging monk was clearly giving his senior brother a way out of the situation too!

    ¡°I¡¯ll bear the consequences of my actions myself! I¡¯ve always borne the troubles I make alone!¡±

    Li Qingshan said passionately . Even when he was hunted to death by the Dragon King of Ink Sea, he did not try to rely on anyone else . He had braved it all with his own power .

    Suddenly, he felt someone tug his sleep . He looked back, only to see Xiao An pouting, as if she was unhappy .

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s also Xiao An to bear the consequences for me! If we work together, there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t do!¡±

    Only then did Xiao An smiled in content .

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°What you said is reasonable, but my senior brother also has his worries! He worries for your cultivation and the good name of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°He just thinks too much about what goes on between us . If Xiao An were a man, he wouldn¡¯t have so many worries . ¡±

    The Unraging monk shook his head and glanced at Xiao An . With an appearance like that, if she was a man, the Dauntless monk probably would only be even more worried!

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to my senior brother about this . You¡¯ve set off on your journey with the proper Demon Suppression Statuary too, so why don¡¯t you show me it?¡±

    As he also practised the Demon Suppression Statuary, the Unraging monk could vaguely sense the demon qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s body .

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and backed away . His pupils suddenly became a scarlet-blue, covered up by a curved visor . Demon qi poured out of his body and he assumed his form as a Demon Commander .

    He had comprehended the first seven layers of the Demon Suppression Statuary, but he could only unleash up to the fifth or sixth layer at most right now . During the past few days before he came to the monastery, he had tried continuing with the cultivation method, but he discovered that even with his endless demonic nature as support, his cultivation speed was unavoidably slow . If he actually wanted to master all nine layers of the Demon Suppression Statuary, he would probably have to undergo the third heavenly tribulation for that .

    ¡°Looks like you haven¡¯t lagged behind during the past few years!¡±

    The Unraging monk nodded in satisfaction . With Li Qingshan¡¯s current form, he had already achieved success, completing the switch between cultivation methods¡£

    The path that Li Qingshan took was the same as his . He condensed a golden core before switching his cultivation to the Demon Suppression Statuary . That was also what he had done originally, merging his ?ar¨©ra with his demon heart .

    ¡°Your name should have echoed through the world a long time ago . It might just be some fleeting reputation, but sometimes it can really be quite substantial!¡±

    The Unraging monk said with some pity . Undergoing the second heavenly tribulation before the age of thirty was startling enough, but who would have thought he had kept this hidden for a few years already? His talent was in no way lower than Xiao An¡¯s . Xiao An had spent her time in the monastery, under the guidance of the various masters including the Dauntless monk . However, the only person he relied on was himself to achieve this .

    It truly was a great fortune, a blessing from the buddha for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to have them as disciples .

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    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of revenge from Si Qing now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already made my preparations . I plan on going to the South Sea commandery to train and to toughen up!¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s all going according to your plans, I have nothing to say!¡±

    The Unraging monk said . This disciple of his had brought him far too much surprise, and he was always so meticulous and thorough . Even if he went to a place as dangerous as the South Sea commandery, he did not have to worry too much . As long as he did not run into any existences of the third heavenly tribulation, he would not be in any danger at all .

    ¡°I want to take Xiao An with me to the Mist province!¡± Li Qingshan said .

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Senior brother would never let her go!¡± The Unraging monk said confidently . ¡°Do you know just how many demonic cultivators are lurking in the Mist province? There are even great sects on par to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga . Do you know much danger a head monk of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would attract if they went there?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because it¡¯s dangerous that we have to go there together!¡±

    As long as Li Qingshan had enough time and recovered his full strength, so what if he ran into third heavenly tribulation existences? He was also confident that with Xiao An¡¯s current strength, she would definitely be able to lend him a helping hand .

    He just happened to be in need of an environment filled with danger, so he could push for the fifth layer of the tiger demon through the constant battles, so Xiao An could obtain even more corpses and continue with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty!

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    ¡°I still haven¡¯t mastered the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, but I¡¯ve already memorised it . I can practise it even if I¡¯m not in the monastery . I¡¯ll discuss this with the Dauntless abbot!¡±

    Xiao An who always remained silent suddenly spoke up . Determination that could not be swayed flashed through her eyes! This separation had been far, far too long . This time, she would stick by his side no matter what!

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Fine then!¡± He changed the topic, ¡°Qingshan, are you prepared to pay another visit to the Demon Suppression hall?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯ve been hoping for!¡±

 Chapter 746

    The Unraging monk swung his hand and the entrance to the Demon Suppression hall opened loudly . It was like a huge, gaping mouth, kicking up violent gusts of wind from the suction . Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes ruffled and his hair danced through the air .

    ¡°The eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall still poses great danger to you . You cannot be careless! You definitely cannot enter the ninth floor, no matter how confident you are in your strength . The thing suppressed there is not what you can handle!¡±

    The Unraging monk¡¯s usual smile vanished and said sternly .

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Your disciple is not a person who cannot gauge his own strength!¡±

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°I¡¯ll go right now with One Will to have a talk with my senior brother . As for the outcome, it¡¯ll be completely up to the heavens!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, ¡°We¡¯re cultivators . If we let the heavens and fate make decisions for us, we would have been taken away by the mortal world a long time ago, reduced to a pile of dirt within a century . ¡±

    Xiao An also said, ¡°The abbot will definitely agree to it!¡±

    The Unraging monk shook his head . Only geniuses at their age could exhibit such enthusiasm and drive! If that really were to be considered, the cultivation community was just a slightly-special secular world .

    Li Qingshan bade farewell with Xiao An and leapt into the Demon Suppression hall . The entrance slammed shut .

    The magnificent halls appeared before him once again .

    Li Qingshan had a slight guess . Perhaps the Demon Suppression hall was like the Asura Field, a special treasure that possessed a space of its own . As the first person to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary in history, his master, the Unraging monk, also possessed a powerful cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation, so Li Qingshan wondered whether he could refine it .

    With that in mind, Li Qingshan flew towards the centre of the first floor . He arrived before the golden doors in the blink of an eye .

    The doors opened and the Demon Suppression statue stood tall in the centre of the hall . Corpses of demonfolk were scattered in the surroundings .

    ¡°Have disciples entered for training?¡±

    Li Qingshan advanced along and also began encountering demonfolk that blocked his way . He could not be bothered with dealing with them, so he directly demonified and scared them away .

    However, the demonfolk in the centre of each floor, where the Demon Suppression statue stood, would all be cleared .

    Only when he arrived on the fifth floor could he vaguely make out a conversation behind the gilded doors .

    ¡°Senior brothers, we can¡¯t go down any further! It¡¯s very dangerous down below!¡±

    Li Qingshan found the voice rather familiar . He lowered his hand that was about to push the door and listened to what they were saying .

    ¡°Duoge, we¡¯ve come to the Demon Suppression hall to toughen up by undertaking trials . If there isn¡¯t any danger at all, can you still call it undertaking trials?¡± A voice said in objection .

    ¡°So it¡¯s Duoge . I see he¡¯s begun a job with brilliant future prospects, a traitorous guide! Yep, if you include Duoge, that¡¯s six people in total . They¡¯ve all undergone the first heavenly tribulation, so they could attempt the sixth floor!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not want to meet with these monks, so he just waited for them to head down first . By then, he could reach the centre of the sixth floor first and massacre all the demonfolk there . He could basically reduce their dangers too like that!

    Sure enough, after a series of haggling, they still ended up choosing to enter the sixth floor . Duoge was the Unraging monk¡¯s disciple and his cultivation was quite powerful, but he was rather young and he was a demonfolk . He seemed rather unconfident when he argued with the formal disciples of the monastery .

    Li Qingshan entered the sixth floor and sure enough, he did not see Duoge and the others . He did not mind either . He rushed straight towards the location of the sixth Demon Suppression statue .

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan kicked open the gilded door . The Demon Generals turned around cautiously .

    Before they could even make out Li Qingshan, countless Chains of Demon Suppression flew over, directly piercing and ripping them apart . By the time they flew back to Li Qingshan¡¯s side, they were all holding demon hearts of various colours .

    Li Qingshan took out the Traitorous Demon sword . The demon heart that served as the pupil had already become extremely weak . He could not use it for much longer, so he removed it and switched it out for the demon hearts of the Demon Generals . He tried a few, but the Traitorous Demon sword refused to accept any of them .

    He lectured, ¡°You sure are picky for a sword . Alright, alright . Wait until I kill a few Demon Commanders for you!¡±

    Just when he was about to enter the seventh floor, his ears suddenly twitched . Cries and bellows rang out from outside the gilded door, coming from the monks .

    He originally wanted to ignore them, but he remembered they were technically fellow disciples after all . If the Unraging monk found out, it would make him look bad . There was his junior brother, Duoge, as well, so he had to give him some special care too . As a result, he rushed over with a flash .

    The monks sure were unlucky . They had been moved into a spacious room on the sixth floor, which just happened to be inhabited by a group of Demon Generals . When they saw them, they really did behave especially fiercely when they saw their mortal enemies . They immediately demonified completely and unleashed their full strength . One of the monks had just died like that!

    They fell into a formation and fended off the endless stream of attacks, but they no longer possessed the same vigour as before . They all felt regret . They should have listened to Duoge and should not have come to the sixth floor of the Demon Suppression hall . Normally, when they said things like ¡°cutting off their own flesh to feed hawks, abandoning their bodies to satiate tigers¡±, it really was just for say . Only when it was really their turn did they understand what ¡°death was difficult to face¡± meant!

    After demonifying, the Demon Generals were ferocious . They had seven or eight arms, five or six eyes, swollen up to over ten times their original size or grown several dozen gaping mouths lined with teeth . They assumed various strange and twisted forms, launching a furious barrage of attacks . A while later, the formation showed signs of weakening .

    ¡°Hold on, everyone . The Unraging master is watching up above . He¡¯ll come to save us very soon!¡±

    ¡°This is a trial in the Demon Suppression hall . There definitely won¡¯t be anyone to save us! We have to kill our way out together!¡±

    This was something clearly explained before they entered the Demon Suppression hall . If disciples knew that they were constantly under the protection and watch of a powerful senior, where would any sense of danger come from? The trials would become completely meaningless too .

    Actually, having Duoge who understood the situation in the Demon Suppression hall serve as their guide was already their greatest safeguard .

    Duoge groaned inside too . He was not on good terms with any of these senior brothers that had come to undertake trials . There were plenty of people who found him to be an eyesore as well, and his master never stood up for him . This was not the first time something like this had happened during the past few years .

    He rubbed the demon heart prayer beads around his neck . As long as he ate just one of them, killing these Demon Generals would be a piece of cake . However, the consequences the last time he did this was devouring everything within his line of sight, losing control over himself and falling into a frenzy . He had only recovered when the Unraging monk personally suppressed his demonic nature .

    The senior brothers haven¡¯t been nice to me, but they don¡¯t have any ill intentions towards me . I don¡¯t want to eat them, even though their flesh is tender and tastes quite nice! No, how can I think like that? If I completely demonify, I might lose complete control and become a demonic beast!

    At this moment, sword qi whistled over, together with gushing malice that filled the entire room .

    In that moment, all of the Demon Generals froze . Under the surprised gazes of the monks, they collapsed and were reduced to chunks of flesh .

    ¡°You group of big baldies, don¡¯t you know about listening to the advice of others?¡± Li Qingshan entered the room with the Traitorous Demon sword on his shoulder .

    ¡°Who are you!?¡±

    Duoge beamed in joy, ¡°First senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Just call me senior brother . You don¡¯t have to include the ¡®first¡¯ part!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It gives off a very ominous vibe!¡±

 Chapter 747

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan!¡±

    The monks were astonished . They had heard about him a long time ago, but never did they think he was actually so powerful . He slaughtered the Demon Generals like he was slaughtering dogs . They all rushed over to thank him .

    ¡°Senior brother, did master send you to save us?¡± Duoge asked .

    ¡°I¡¯m just passing by . I¡¯m going to the eighth floor, so I¡¯ll be going first . ¡± Li Qingshan turned around to leave .

    ¡°The eighth floor! Do you know how many Demon Commanders there are?¡± The monks asked in astonishment .

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I know once I take a look?¡± Li Qingshan smiled .

    ¡°Even senior brother One Lamp is only undertaking trials on the seventh floor . Wouldn¡¯t you be seeking a death sentence by attempting the eighth floor?¡±

    ¡°Which one¡¯s senior brother One Lamp?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t even heard about senior brother One Lamp . He¡¯s the strongest disciple of our monastery¡­ probably!¡±

    The monk glanced at Li Qingshan and his voice became rather uncertain . No matter how great his reputation was, personally witnessing his strength still caused a greater impact .

    Li Qingshan pondered . These monks had probably spent quite a lot of time undertaking trials in the Demon Suppression hall and had yet to hear about the matters regarding Xiao An and him . However, that senior brother One Lamp sure could be regarded as among the best of the best among the disciples of the monastery to undergo the second heavenly tribulation in his forties .

    ¡°How does he compare to One Will?¡±

    ¡°Junior sister One Will obviously has outstanding talent, but she¡¯s still too young after all . She¡¯s only undergone the first heavenly tribulation and hasn¡¯t condensed a ?ar¨©ra yet . She¡¯s nowhere close to senior brother One Lamp!¡±

    A monk on the side said, ¡°If junior sister One Will really can emerge from her critical secluded cultivation and undergo the second heavenly tribulation, condensing a ?ar¨©ra, now that¡¯ll be impressive!¡±

    Another monk shook his head in an exaggerated manner, ¡°Condensing a ?ar¨©ra is nowhere that easy . Moreover, senior brother One Lamp had practised the Scripture of Great Radiance arduously for many years, and he possesses a buddhist treasure . He¡¯s the strongest one among the younger disciples and he has quite the reputation across the entire province . Even if junior sister One Will condenses a ?ar¨©ra, she won¡¯t be his opponent!¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I might be seeing this senior brother One Lamp very soon, hehe . Duoge, lend me a prayer bead! Don¡¯t be so stingy! Am I the type of person to take advantage of you? I¡¯ll return it to you once I get back!¡±

    Li Qingshan plucked a demon heart of relatively-better quality from the string of prayer beads around Duoge¡¯s neck and placed it into the hilt of the Traitorous Demon sword . Sure enough, it merged with it .

    ¡°Senior brother, you have to come back!¡±

    Within Duoge¡¯s calls filled with worry and reluctance, Li Qingshan strided away . He arrived on the seventh floor of the Demon Suppression hall and did not take long with his Demon Commandery form to reach the centre of the seventh floor . He did not come across the so-called senior brother One Lamp along the way, so he just stopped worrying and pushed through the gilded door .

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    Dazzling light poured through the cracks in the door, colliding violently with Li Qingshan¡¯s protective demon qi .

    The gilded doors swung open completely . A monk sat before the Demon Suppression statue . He was quite ugly . His nose was flat and drooped down, his lips curled upwards and he had a pair of flaring ears . From his appearance alone, Li Qingshan was not surprised at all by why he would become a monk .

    However, his eyes shone brightly and he seemed like a blazing fire . He was so dazzling and radiant that it was enough for people to neglect his appearance .

    The monk had his palms together and an oil lamp placed on his left knee . Compared to the radiance he gave off, that was just a tiny flare, but just the tiny speck seemed like the only source of light in the pitch-black, eternal night . It contained infinite brilliance, which made it almost impossible to ignore .

    Demon hearts scattered in the surroundings of the Demon Suppression statue, but there were no remains or even a speck of blood in sight!

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha . I¡¯ll send you off to the afterlife!¡±

    The monk pushed his hands forward and scorching light enough to blind people filled the entire hall . The power it contained was omnipresent and all-pervasive .

    Li Qingshan understood where the corpses of these demonfolk had gone now . It also roused his competitive spirit . He wanted to see what this ¡°senior brother One Lamp¡± had in him .

    He swung out with the Traitorous Demon sword that had just obtained a new pupil and sword qi whistled forth . A dim slash parted the brilliance, travelling right towards the One Lamp monk .

    The One Lamp monk was surprised . The strength of the enemy exceeded his expectations a little . Such sharp and masterly sword intent only ever appeared on the most outstanding disciples of the Sword Collection palace and their elders .

    He extended his index finger and pointed at the oil lamp gently . Immediately, a ray of firelight flew out and intercepted Li Qingshan¡¯s sword qi, launching a counterattack .

    ¡°Interesting!¡±

    Li QIngshan smiled . He pointed the Traitorous Demon sword at One Lamp and swung it gently .

    He seemed to grow a thousand arms, where each hand wielded a Traitorous Demon sword . The cascading blurs constantly stacked together, pushing towards the One Lamp monk like a thick wall!

    The ray of firelight seemed extremely feeble, as if it could be put out with just a larger gust of wind, but it forcefully penetrated the wall and was reflected in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes .

    However, it had already run out of power . It was cut apart by a single slash .

    The One Lamp monk erupted with light, blocking the surging sword qi . With a single movement, he climbed to his feet . His eyes were no longer just filled with surprise, but great caution too .

    This Demon Commander is startlingly powerful . The demonic artifact in his hand is impressive too . This will definitely be a bitter battle!

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    ¡°May I ask if you are senior brother One Lamp? I¡¯m Li Qingshan . ¡±

    The curved visor opened up and Li Qingshan stowed the Traitorous Demon sword away, bowing .

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan? The Unraging master¡¯s disciple? Do you have any evidence?¡±

    The One Lamp monk was mildly surprised, but he did not drop his guard . He had entered the Demon Suppression hall several times for trials . He understood the viciousness and cunning of the demonfolk extremely well . Many demonfolk knew how to use illusions and charms . Seduction was basically the most frequent technique used . There are also some that disguised themselves as children or the elderly to attract sympathy, or others that expressed they had realised their errors and wanted to convert to buddhism .

    However, the moment an opportunity presented itself, they would strike valiantly . Many disciples that had come for trials died to tricks and tactics like that .

    In his memory, Li Qingshan should have been a young man in his twenties, so how could he possess such great strength? As a result, he was certain this was a Demon Commander in disguise!

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then move aside . I want to go to the eighth floor . ¡±

    Li Qingshan strided towards the Demon Suppression statue .

    ¡°Stop right there! If you take another step forward, I¡¯m going to attack you!¡± The One Lamp monk called out . Suddenly, he tossed the oil lamp into the air and it hovered over his head . His monk robes surged as his skin began to shine too, turning into a man of light .

    Li Qingshan burst out laughing . An oil lamp sat on top of his huge, shiny, bald head, as if he was about to become one with the lamp . It was hilarious no matter how he looked at it .

    The One Lamp monk had cultivated for many years, so he could not be fazed by the enemy¡¯s mockery . He continued to shine, growing more and more dazzling and blinding . A great battle was on the brink of erupting .

    ¡°Alright, alright . This might serve as evidence!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about his request and took out a string of prayer beads, tossing it to the One Lamp monk .

    The One Lamp monk accepted the prayer beads extremely cautiously and inspected them . The prayer beads were not some powerful arcane artifact or arcane treasure, but it did have quite the history and legacy . All the monks in the monastery who had some status recognised it . It also contained the aura that the Unraging monk had left behind, which was almost impossible to fake .

    He raised his head and said, ¡°You really are Li Qingshan who made a mess of the Courtyard of Secular Affairs! The Scarlet Hawk commander of some prefecture!¡±

    ¡°The Clear River prefecture . Can I go now?¡±

    The One Lamp monk subsided his flow and tossed the prayer beads back . He had basically verified Li Qingshan¡¯s identity . However, he was still in some disbelief, ¡°Junior brother, have you undergone the second heavenly tribulation already?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, just recently!¡±

    ¡°Junior brother, you still haven¡¯t reached the age of thirty, right?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m close!¡±

    The One Lamp monk was amazing, Junior brother, you really are a talented genius . Of course you would catch the Unraging master¡¯s eye and be accepted as his first disciple . Have you come back this time to pay respects to the Unraging monk and to undergo tonsure to become a monk?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have that plan for now . ¡±

    The two of them conversed a little in front of the Demon Suppression statue . Li Qingshan just found this One Lamp monk to be a little simple-minded and unskilled with handling people . He openly lectured him without mincing his words, persuading him to leave the secular world and become a monk . After being carefully rejected by Li Qingshan, he both sighed and shook his head, exasperated at Li Qingshan¡¯s reluctance .

    Li Qingshan remained cheerful . He did not get angry . After all, he did not see the arrogance he usually saw on these ¡°first senior brothers¡± from the One Lamp monk for once . Also, when he persuaded him to become a monk, his intentions were even slightly more pure than the Dauntless monk . He seemed to be in bitter hatred, as if he was trying to say ¡°It¡¯s such a great thing, so why can¡¯t you understand it? I¡¯ve spent several decades of my life as a monk, so how can I be lying to you?¡±

    After learning Xiao An had already undergone the second heavenly tribulation, the One Lamp monk¡¯s eyes flashed . His heart stirred slightly .

    After formally joining the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, every single disciple felt pressured, while the pressure he felt was especially heavy . He was an orphan, having grown up in the monastery . With his extraordinary cultivation talent, he received the attention and care of all, making him one of the potential successors of the abbot .

    However, Xiao An had taken away a lot of his glory with her arrival . Whether it was his buddhist nature, his root of wisdom or his ability to debate, he was nowhere close to being the opponent of this child who was several decades younger than him, let alone bearing and looks . Originally, he still possessed an advantage in terms of cultivation, but now, even his only advantage no longer existed . He could not help but become rather despondent, but his fighting spirit immediately became roused .

    ¡°Please wait here, senior brother . I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    ¡°Hold on, junior brother . The eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall is extremely dangerous . There are many powerful and crafty Demon Commanders . The Unraging monk has once told me to never set foot on the eighth floor, so I¡¯d advise you to stop here!¡±

    Li Qingshan was just about to advance to the eighth floor when he was stopped by the One Lamp monk and given sincere advice again .

    ¡°The reason why I entered the Demon Suppression hall this time was to go to the eighth floor to study the eighth Demon Suppression statue . My master had agreed to it too . ¡±

    The One Lamp monk became rather uncertain inside, The Unraging master forbids me from entering the eighth floor, but he permits him . Is it because I¡¯m weaker than him? But he¡¯s just undergone the second heavenly tribulation recently . Isn¡¯t he underestimating me a little too much?

    He thought of a possibility and asked, ¡°Will you be disguising yourself as a Demon Commander and sneaking over to the Demon Suppression statue, junior brother?¡±

    ¡°Of course not . I¡¯m naturally going to kill my way over . Only then can I show off the might of our monastery, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he flicked the Traitorous Demon sword . Too many battles had never been a worry to him . In order to cultivate the tiger demon, he had to make use of all opportunities of battle .

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll come with you . If we work together, you¡¯ll have a better chance!¡± The One Lamp monk said enthusiastically .

    In that moment, Li Qingshan shivered all over . He vaguely sensed danger lurking up ahead!

 Chapter 748

    Li Qingshan studied the One Lamp monk in surprise . Originally, he did not feel any danger, but just because he had said he wanted to come with him, Li Qingshan experienced such a great sense of danger . Surely it was not because the monk seemed honest and kind on the surface but was actually scheming something!

    As a result, he tried to persuade him . ¡°Senior brother One Lamp, since my master has said you shouldn¡¯t go to the eighth floor, he must have his reasons for that . You better stay here and continue cultivating!¡±

    ¡°Even if you go down there alone, you¡¯ll be fine, yet somehow you¡¯ll be in danger if you include me? If there isn¡¯t any danger at all, how can you call it a trial?¡±

    The One Lamp monk disagreed with Li Qingshan . He was certain that the Unraging monk was favouring his own disciple . He refused to accept this, insisting to go down and compete against him .

    That sounds a little familiar! If you don¡¯t stab me in the back, of course you¡¯ll be quite a formidable source of help! Li Qingshan curled his lip and thought inside .

    The One Lamp monk was so persistent that he just gave up on changing his mind . He would simply adapt to the circumstances when he needed to . Like the principle of ¡°If they aren¡¯t bald, they aren¡¯t vicious, and if they¡¯re aren¡¯t vicious, they aren¡¯t bald¡±, he really had to keep up his guard just in case he was stabbed in the back .

    As a result, the two of them worked together and entered the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall!

    ¡­¡­

    The Dauntless monk stood on a cliff on Great Buddha mountain, looking at the thousands of followers and the distant mountains below . His kasaya danced in the wind as if it was about to drift away with the breeze .

    ¡°Senior brother!¡±

    The Unraging monk bowed towards the Dauntless monk from behind . Xiao An brought her palms together .

    ¡°What do you have to say?¡± the Dauntless monk said without looking back .

    As a result, the Unraging monk repeated what Li Qingshan had said earlier . Sure enough, the Dauntless monk became furious . ¡°Hack down people? What does he take this place for? If we actually needed to hack- purge demons and evil, would we even need him? Does he really think that you and me are only for display?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always a day when you and I must depart too!¡± The Unraging monk smiled . ¡°The kid might not be a part of buddhism and behaves insolently, he¡¯s still a person of honour who knows to pay back his debts of gratitude . ¡±

    ¡°You can stop there . Since he finds our monastery to be too small for him, I won¡¯t force him to do anything . He can go wherever he wants . However, One Will definitely will not be going with him, just in case it ruins her path of cultivation . ¡±

    Then the Dauntless monk said to Xiao An, ¡°One Will, I won¡¯t delve into the fact that you arbitrarily left the Bodhi Realm of Emptiness this time . You can go back and cultivate!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to go to the South sea as a buddhist missionary!¡± Xiao An said in a way that was neither offensive or deprecating .

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear what I just said?¡± The Dauntless monk frowned .

    ¡°How can I not understand the abbot¡¯s kind intentions? However, how can a path of cultivation be prepared and arranged by another? Please do not underestimate me just because of my young age, abbot,¡± Xiao An said .

    ¡°What if I¡¯m determined to make you remain in the monastery?¡± The Dauntless monk turned around and gazed at her closely .

    ¡°A day as a disciple of the monastery, a lifetime as a disciple of the monastery . If One Will has broken any rules of the monastery, I¡¯m willing to accept all of the punishments . If I haven¡¯t, then please respect my freedom to find my own path of cultivation, abbot . ¡±

    Xiao An met his eyes without backing down .

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°So this is the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall . It sure is large!¡±

    Li Qingshan whistled in exasperation . The eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall was no longer structured like a maze . Instead, golden pillars several dozen meters tall extended off into the distance .

    It spanned as far as the eye could see .

    The pillars were not the only thing that were boundless . There was also a surging sea of people- no, demons!

    Countless grotesque demonfolk of various shapes thrived in this spacious region, growling and roaring, kicking up a ruckus . With their sudden arrival, they suddenly all fell silent .

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    Countless flashing eyes gazed over, filled with rage, hostility, malice, and murderousness . It was like a silent wave, slamming over one after another .

    Even with the One Lamp monk¡¯s mental fortitude, he could not help but shiver inside and grumble . He never thought the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall would be like this . Did that not mean they did not even have the slightest room to maneuver around in? They had to endure the attacks of thousands of demonfolk the moment they set foot in here .

    He heard Li Qingshan beside him sigh from the bottom of his heart . ¡°What a great place!¡±

    The One Lamp monk widened his eyes . A great place? Where? Even if this junior brother is an exceptional genius, isn¡¯t he a little too conceited? There are more than thirteen Demon Commanders just within the range of my senses, with who knows how many more further out! This is clearly a land of desperation!

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan! I¡¯ve come to kill you all!¡± Li Qingshan said loudly .

    His voice made its way over the sea of demons, reaching the depths of the hall and echoing between the pillars .

    He kicked off a violent chain reaction like that . The demonfolk were thrown into an uproar, and the sea of demons surged!

    A dozen or so Demon Commanders rushed over . From even further away, pulses of powerful demon qi grew closer as well!

    ¡°Once I kill you all, I¡¯ll give her quite a nice gift after meeting again after so long!¡± Li Qingshan said softly . He looked back and smiled . ¡°Senior brother, just protect yourself!¡±

    ¡°Kill them!¡± ¡°Kill the bald asses of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± ¡°I want to rip apart their flesh piece by piece and eat it!¡±

    The voices boomed, and the surging turned into a violent wave!

    Li Qingshan casually swung the Traitorous Demon sword backwards, and his sword qi ripped several dozen demonfolk into pieces, sending blood everywhere . In that split second, flowers of blood bloomed .

    The sword swung around in an arc before thrusting straight ahead!

    He wielded the fingers on his left hand like a sword, pointing at countless demonfolk as he gripped the hilt with his right hand and pulled it back, charging up the strike!

    He thrusted out!

    At that moment, Li Qingshan vanished . He appeared several hundred meters away with the sword through a Demon Commander¡¯s head .

    A glorious streak of light followed him from behind, lingering in everyone¡¯s gazes . No one could tell whether he or the sword had reached there first!

    Wherever the streak of light passed, flowers of blood bloomed along the way . The bodily pieces and remains paved a path several hundred meters long .

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    A pause appeared in the deafening battle cries .

    ¡°The first one!¡±

    Li Qingshan drew back the Traitorous Demon sword, and purple blood flowed out of the wound . Compared to the Demon Commander¡¯s colossal size, it was absolutely nothing . With how tough the bodies of Demon Commanders were, even if they sustained wounds ten times worse, they could still recover .

    The Demon Commander roared out as if he was about to lunge at Li Qingshan, except he tilted backwards and struck the ground heavenly . He could not even demonify in time, dying in absolute confusion .

    The demonic eye on the hilt of the Traitorous Demon sword swiveled around as if it was observing the situation in the surroundings . The slender blade was enveloped in an evil light .

    This scene left even the One Lamp monk stunned . A Demon Commander had just been killed like that . Although it was the weakest among the dozen or so Demon Commanders and he could also defeat it, he definitely could not defeat it so easily .

    Li Qingshan bent over slightly and leaned forward . He placed the Traitorous Demon sword across his waist and slashed out!

    A ring of extremely-sharp light flashed past around him .

    By the time Li Qingshan had straightened himself out, not a single living thing remained within several dozen meters of him!

    In a split second, it had already become a massacre . The smell of blood permeated the air .

    From a bird¡¯s eye view, it was like a huge brush had first drawn a straight line along the ground before drawing a perfect circle .

    ¡°Demonification!¡±

    In that moment, the dozen or so Demon Commanders in view basically demonified at the same time . There was now a three-headed, six-armed giant, a monster covered in bristles, and a charming and enchanting woman¡­

    However, none of them attacked him proactively . They all assumed defensive postures!

    His strength struck terror into their hearts!

 Chapter 749

    Li Qingshan slashed backwards at the empty space .

    Clang!

    With the screeching of metal, sparks flew!

    A completely transparent figure appeared . It was an assassin-like Demon Commander . He never expected Li Qingshan¡¯s senses to be so sharp . He had discovered him the moment he was on the move . Having failed with the sneak attack, the Demon Commander assassin immediately hid away and fled into the distance!

    ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression!¡± Li Qingshan called out coldly

    Chains of Demon Suppression shot out . They tailed closely behind the Demon Commander assassin . No matter how he dodged and shifted, the sounds of jangling grew closer and closer . He could not help but be frightened out of his wits .

    A huge, pitch-black shield descended from above, intercepting the Chains of Demon Suppression . A colossal Demon Commander that resembled the sculpture of a mountain god stood there like a fortress with his muscly body clad in heavy armour .

    The Demon Commander roared out, ¡°What are you waiting for? If you don¡¯t kill them, no one¡¯s going to be getting any peace . Are you really waiting for him to defeat us one by one? No matter how many grievances exist between us, can it compare to our hatred for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    The Demon Commander seemed to possess very great prestige among the demonfolk . He was answered by the demons immediately .

    But in the next moment, Li Qingshan cleaved his way through the waves and arrived before the shield, meeting his gaze .

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The Demon Commander raised the pitch-black shield in his hand, and the ghost face on there suddenly sprung alive . It produced a howl that was like a spike hammered into the soul .

    Li Qingshan was unfazed . He swung his sword diagonally at the pitch-black shield .

    The demon heart in the hilt immediately shrunk significantly!

    Right when he was about to advance further, he suddenly sensed killing intent from behind . The assassin Demon Commander had grasped the timing to strike again!

    If I let them work together and help each other out, it¡¯ll really be rather troublesome . They¡¯re still Demon Commanders after all!

    With that in mind, Li Qingshan bellowed out, ¡°Demon Suppression!¡±

    The Demon Suppression Tower descended from above . With a boom, it suppressed Li Qingshan and the two Demon Commanders .

    At this moment, the demons all responded . They all demonified and barraged the Demon Suppression Tower with attacks . They swung their weapons and launched fire and lightning!

    Even with how tough the Demon Suppression Tower was, it became heavily damaged a while later, on the brink of collapse . There were just far too many demons, with many Demon Commander and Demon Generals in the mix . Their quantity was vast enough to make a qualitative difference .

    Boom!

    The Demon Suppression Tower shattered into pieces, and Li Qingshan walked out with a large and small head in each hand!

    ¡°The third one!¡±

    ¡°Nicely done!¡±

    The One Lamp monk cheered . Originally, he had already sunken into despair, but Li Qingshan butchering three Demon Commanders consecutively reignited his confidence . It also filled him with a competitive spirit to never admit defeat .

    Junior brother is so valiant . It¡¯s no wonder that the Unraging master would give him permission to enter the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall . Am I supposed to be worse than him?

    He rose up into the air and circulated the Scripture of Great Radiance . He erupted with resplendent, goldish-white light .

    ¡°The light of the buddha reaches all!¡±

    Under the radiance, the demons all howled and smouldered with black smoke!

    Demon Generals still stood a chance, but when the countless regular demonfolk were illuminated, they were like snow melting in the scorching sun . They were completely incinerated away in a short while without even leaving behind their demon hearts .

    This move seemed much more powerful than what Li Qingshan was doing, but it mostly just killed regular demonfolk . Although the Demon Generals sustained some damage, they managed to hang on tenaciously . The Demon Commanders were completely unscathed!

    ¡°That¡¯s quite nice for cleaning up . Senior brother, feel free to kill all the regular demonfolk . Leave the Demon Commanders and Demon Generals to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan said and approached the three-headed, six-armed Demon Commander in a flash . He wielded a different weapon in each of his six arms, varying in shape and size . He swung them all towards Li Qingshan .

    It seemed to be a chaotic attack, but it was actually a perfect combination, weaving a flawless net of metal . His skill in battle was so great that he could virtually rival asura .

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    In a single moment, who knew how many times Li Qingshan¡¯s sword had clashed with the six weapons . The residual force reached hundreds of meters away like the most violent storm . Even Demon Generals could not approach them, while demonfolk were directly torn to pieces!

    The demonic eye on the hilt swiveled around, dilating and restricting its pupil from time to time in an attempt to grasp a fleeting opening!

    ¡°Spear of Great Radiance!¡±

    The One Lamp monk¡¯s voice was emotionless, filled with a sense of grandeur . The light around him became concentrated, condensing into a fist-sized ball of resplendent light in front of him . A streak of light shot out .

    However, how could the other Demon Commanders just stand by and watch him assist Li Qingshan in killing another Demon Commander?

    The air distorted, and the straight beam of light twisted, detouring around the three-headed and six-armed Demon Commander!

    A one-armed Demon Commander in the distance extended his long, shrivelled arm and clenched his huge, twelve-fingered hand .

    The One Lamp monk shivered inside . All he saw was Li Qingshan suddenly losing balance, and the six weapons all landed on him while several Demon Commanders drew closer . Seeing how Li Qingshan faced life-threatening danger, he pushed the Scripture of Great Radiance harder, wanting to assist him .

    At this exact moment, a charming, demonic woman appeared before him . She smiled, seductively . ¡°Little master, have you experienced what living paradise feels like? Would you like me to take you there?¡±

    ¡°The Western Paradise is a pure land of buddhism . How dare a demonfolk spout something like that!¡±

    The One Lamp monk rebuked, but as soon as he said that, he became concerned .

    The surroundings vapourised like smoke . In a daze, he was no longer in the Demon Suppression hall . Various illusions arose .

    At first, many beautiful women danced around in the surroundings . Their movements were enchanting, and their beautiful bodies shimmered under the faint veils, singing decadent songs . The One Lamp monk brought his palms together and was unfazed . The beauties then flew over one by one, whispering into his ears and gently caressing his body, but he still remained undistracted .

    Suddenly, the beauties turned into venomous insects and vicious beasts, biting and chewing away at his body . It was unbearably painful and itchy, but he remained as firm as a rock, chanting the buddhist scriptures quietly .

    The illusions constantly changed . Whether it was fear, enticement, or insult, none of it could faze the monk who grew up in the monastery . He looked down with his eyes and chanted the scriptures .

    The lamp of his heart continued to burn! The ray of light continued to shine!

    Even endless darkness could not encroach on him .

    What fortitude this monk possesses! If this continues for a bit longer, I¡¯ll be the one who gives way first! But at least I managed to keep him busy for a while . Surely that traitor has been killed now!

    The demonic woman was surprised, but not frantic . She looked back .

    Her objective was to keep the One Lamp monk busy so that he could not work with Li Qingshan . The other Demon Commanders could use this opportunity to rush over and kill Li Qingshan . Afterwards, they could come and deal with the One Lamp monk .

    However, she should not have looked . Her face changed drastically .

    The three heads of the six-armed Demon Commander were blasted high into the air by his blood!

    It had only been the blink of an eye, so how had another one died?

    In the moments prior, Li Qingshan had been fighting against the six-armed, three-headed Demon Commander . Although the One Lamp monk¡¯s Spear of Great Radiance had been shifted away, the six-armed Demon Commander was still momentarily distracted . In the end, Li Qingshan grasped this opening and was about to cut him down!

    An invisible force tugged his right leg, displacing his centre of gravity and making him lose balance . Immediately, he was open, and the six weapons were about to land on him .

    Mid-air, Li Qingshan did not panic at all . With a flip of his wrist, a dragon-like figure coiled over and wrapped around the necks of the Demon Commander .

    With the Demon Dragon sword unleashed, his abilities were on full display!

    Boom!

    A Demon Commander that stood thirty meters tall slammed down with a huge hammer and crushed Li Qingshan into the ground viciously . This Demon Commander had the head of a pig and the body of a human, covered in boar-like bristles .

    Even the floor shook, as if it was an earthquake .

    ¡°Is he dead?¡±

    ¡°Do you have to ask? I clearly crushed him to a pulp with that . Who can still survive?¡±

    The pig-headed Demon Commander said when the huge hammer in his hand shook violently .

    Under the huge hammer, Li Qingshan wielded his sword in his right hand as he lifted his left hand into the air, holding up the huge hammer . He licked his lips . ¡°Your grandfather still isn¡¯t dead yet!¡±

    He pushed upwards, and the hammer flew back, smashing into the pig-headed face of the Demon Commander . Blood splattered, and one of his long tusks had even been broken .

    In that moment, sword qi swept out, and the dragon danced about madly!

    Li Qingshan circulated the Demon Suppression Statuary . Although it could not directly suppress and kill the Demon Commander, it could still influence them to a certain degree and limit their strength! The attacks from these Demon Commanders had all been weakened, and Li Qingshan was protected by armour too, so they struggled to deal a lethal wound to him .

    He downright gave up on defending, causing an absolute massacre and making blood flow like rivers!

    Light suddenly erupted in the distance, and Li Qingshan glanced over . ¡°Has One Lamp successfully broken free too?¡±

    The antique oil lamp in the One Lamp monk¡¯s hand suddenly burst forth with light . A ray of light wrapped around the demonic woman who used illusions and the arts of charm .

    Like a fierce fire to dry firewood, the demonic woman erupted in flames . Among her howls and curses, she was burnt to a crisp!

    ¡°Spear of Great Radiance!¡±

    The One Lamp monk raised his hands high into the air . The ball of light that was originally only the size of a fist suddenly swelled up, growing to the size of a head .

    Spears of light shot off in all directions, piercing countless demonfolk and Demon Generals . He forced the Demon Commanders to dodge desperately .

    Li Qingshan nodded inside . The One Lamp monk truly did live up to his reputation as the strongest disciple . He was extremely fierce, far greater than many of the Golden Core cultivators he had seen so far .

    A Demon Commander covered in tendrils rushed towards the One Lamp monk . The several hundred tendrils darted forward like harpoons, all containing potent poison . They only needed to scratch his skin, and his life would be in danger .

    ¡°Spear of Great Radiance!¡±

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    The One Lamp monk brought his palms together and placed the oil lamp on his head, headbutting the Demon Commander . The oil lamp produced halos of light, and the tendrils shattered before they could even get anywhere near!

    The tendril Demon Commander was headbutted by him .

    Li Qingshan began laughing aloud . This move truly was powerful, but it was just a little too hilarious!

    Working together, they went through a battle that lasted two hours . They killed almost twenty Demon Commanders before finally sweeping up all the demonfolk in the area!

    Even with the purification from the One Lamp monk¡¯s light, the hall was strewn with severed limbs and soaked with blood, even reaching up to their ankles!

    Li Qingshan sat on the corpse of a Demon Commander . His armour was riddled with damage . If it were not for the power of demon suppression, it probably would have shattered a long time ago .

    He fiddled around with a few shiny demon hearts in his hand . The other demon hearts apart from them had all become the Traitorous Demon sword¡¯s food, which only demonstrated the intensity of the battle . After absorbing the power in the demon hearts of so many Demon Commanders, the Traitorous Demon sword had grown visibly .

    Although it was still a certain distance away from becoming an arcane treasure, it would reach there one day as long as it continued to grow!

    By then, he could coordinate it with the Demon Dragon sword . He could wield one and directly cut down enemies as the other sword turned into a dragon and flew around beside him . He could take down enemies both far and near, and he could both attack and defend . It would definitely be extremely formidable .

    The One Lamp monk hovered in the air, resting with his eyes closed . He glowed gently, slowly recovering his strength .

    ¡°Rest up slowly, senior brother! I¡¯ll go take a look at the Demon Suppression statue first!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way towards the Demon Suppression statue . For some reason, the sense of danger became heavier!

    The One Lamp monk suddenly opened his eyes . They were filled with fighting spirit, making them burn like flames .

 Chapter 750

    Li Qingshan arrived before the eighth Demon Suppression statue . A violent aura rushed straight into his face . The demonfolk that was originally still in human form had completely become an unparalleled demon, but his eyes were filled with benevolence and peace . It was conflicting yet harmonious .

    Li Qingshan took a step forward . The will inside the Demon Suppression statue rushed straight into his sea of consciousness!

    Battle-hungriness and slaughter is me! Indulgence is me! Upholding justice is also me! I hold true to myself and do what I want, so must there be such a clear distinction? Who cares which is buddhist or demonic and which gets suppressed!

    Reaching there, he erupted with demon qi . Blue and red merged together, churning about like haze .

    It already deviated from the will of the Demon Suppression statue by quite a bit!

    There was no struggle from falling into the demonic path or converting to buddhism! I am me!

    The One Lamp monk gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s tall figure . The emotions in his eyes were rather mixed as if he admired him yet refused to admit defeat . His fighting spirit burned even more brightly, and he strode towards him .

    Li Qingshan was currently engrossed in comprehending the eighth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary . He did not budge as if he had not sensed the One Lamp monk¡¯s approach at all .

    The One Lamp monk arrived behind Li Qingshan and raised his hands!

    Li Qingshan kept his eyes shut as he thought to himself, Come! If you really have any ill intentions in mind, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what today!

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    However, the One Lamp monk brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name softly, ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡±

    Li Qingshan commited the eighth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary to heart . He had taken another step forward with his comprehension of this profound cultivation method . He looked back and asked, ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°I want to thank you, junior brother . If I didn¡¯t have junior brother Li with me, I definitely would have died if I entered the eighth floor! I also have to apologise to the Unraging master . He forbade me from entering the eighth floor, but he permitted you, so I actually suspected the master was being biased and was looking down on me . Oh how have I been in the wrong!¡± the One Lamp monk said sincerely .

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, senior brother! I should be the one thanking senior brother for lending me a hand!¡±

    The One Lamp monk admitting to his resentment so calmly and even wanting to apologise for his thoughts gave Li Qingshan a great impression . He felt like this monk really was not a bad person . He had quite the breadth of mind .

    However, it left him even more confused . Where was the sense of danger coming from?

    ¡°Junior brother¡¯s strength completely exceeds mine . All of my power just comes from a buddhist treasure . Even without me, you could still come and go as you please, junior brother!¡±

    The One Lamp monk spoke with so much humility that he instead left Li Qingshan rather embarrassed .

    ¡°That¡¯s too kind of you, senior brother . Let¡¯s prepare to head up! Once we get out, I¡¯ll invite you to a cup- oh, of course, it¡¯ll be tea!¡±

    However, the One Lamp monk shook his head . He gazed below the Demon Suppression statue deeply . ¡°You should go first, junior brother! I have to keep heading down!¡±

    ¡°What? You want to go to the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall?¡±

    Li Qingshan was shocked . That was the exact thing the Unraging monk had warning him about . Even if the Unraging monk had not mentioned it, he would never take this risk either!

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The One Lamp monk nodded .

    ¡°Senior brother, you definitely cannot do that . The eighth floor was already so dangerous, so how can you go to the ninth floor?¡± Li Qingshan tried to change his mind .

    ¡°If I don¡¯t undertake trials that are even more dangerous, how can I become stronger? Just like how ¡®If I don¡¯t go to hell, who goes to hell?¡¯ I must possess a dauntless spirit as a buddhist disciple and pave a path through all obstacles!¡±

    TL: ¡°If I don¡¯t go to hell, who goes to hell?¡± is a great vow made by the K?itigarbha, the bodhisattva of hell-beings, who swore to never become a buddha until all hells were emptied .

    The One Lamp monk was determined as if he had already made up his mind . His fighting spirit and morale blazed, almost to a point of fanaticism .

    ¡°That¡¯s what they said, but¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned heavily . No matter how dauntless of a spirit it was, surely it was not about walking right into the jaws of death!

    Living in the world, people would always have undefeatable opponents . They had to flee when they had to flee and shrink back when they had to shrink back . There was nothing embarrassing about that . Conserving strength for another battle in the future was the correct thing to do . Walking right into your own destruction was not courage . It was stupidity .

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything more, junior brother . My mind is already made up . I¡¯ll be leaving first!¡±

    The One Lamp monk made his way towards the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall and felt a hint of complacency . It was like he had proved he was braver than Li Qingshan through this .

    You might be powerful, but you don¡¯t have the same resolve as me . At the end of the day, buddhist disciples and secular disciples are just different .

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    Li Qingshan actually had no idea how to respond to this rather-childish competition . He blocked the One Lamp monk¡¯s path .

    ¡°Are you coming with me, junior brother?¡±

    I¡¯d be fucked in the brain if I came with you! Li Qingshan said to himself as he tried to persuade him sincerely . ¡°Senior brother, it¡¯s best if you reconsider!¡±

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    If other people were determined to walk to their dooms, he would never care, but the One Lamp monk was still an alright person . He had technically assisted him earlier, so surely he could not just watch the disciple that bore the high hopes of the monastery simply walk to his doom like this? Otherwise, once the Unraging monk returned, he would probably think Li Qingshan was in the wrong .

    ¡°Move aside!¡±

    The One Lamp monk shot a glare and erupted with light, solemn and dignified!

    Li Qingshan became more convinced that something was amiss . Something must have happened!

    The moment earlier, when the One Lamp monk had fallen into the illusions and remained unfazed, he was about to break out of the illusions when all of the discomforts around him vanished . There was no longer any wavering from the temptations or fear from the threats! He felt relaxed and delighted!

    He thought joyfully, Looks like I¡¯m going to break through again . The arduous cultivation in the Demon Suppression hall hasn¡¯t gone to waste!

    The various illusions around him vanished, and he discovered he was sitting under a bodhi tree . In the past, the buddha had also sat underneath a bodhi tree and faced various tests before finally attaining buddhahood!

    Before he could think too much about it, the sky blurred, and the ground surged forth with golden lotuses, extending off into the distance from the bodhi tree . Within the prolonged ringing of bells, radiance reached as far as the eye could see . He had appeared in a buddhist holyland . A golden buddha appeared on the horizon, barely visible to him .

    ¡°Where is this?¡± A sliver of fascination appeared in the One Lamp monk¡¯s eyes as he asked subconsciously .

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    ¡°This is the Western Paradise, Sukh¨¡vat¨©!¡± The buddha¡¯s voice was grand and vast, echoing through the entire world .

    ¡°The Western Paradise, Sukh¨¡vat¨©!¡±

    The One Lamp monk became filled with great yearning . He had grown up in the monastery, edified day and night by the buddhist dharma . Things like money, beauties, venomous insects, and vicious beasts were unable to make him waver, but the pursuit of the buddhist dharma had been his lifelong dream .

    At this moment, the demonic woman had already lost control over the illusions .

    The One Lamp monk walked forwards, approaching the Western Paradise in his heart .

    But in that moment, the buddhist holy land receded too . He rushed forward as fast as he could, but the buddhist holy land constantly pulled back . It was within arm¡¯s reach, yet it also seemed like it was on the other end of the world . He was unable to get a single step closer to it .

    He asked in complete disappointment and discontent, ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡±

    The buddha said, ¡°With how weak you are, how can you possess the right to enter my Western Paradise?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m weak?¡±

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    ¡°Yes, you have to become stronger, even stronger than Li Qingshan and One Will . Only then will you have the right to become the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and the right to enter the Western Paradise!¡±

    The illusion vanished, but the voice continued to linger by his ear, continuing to do so even at this very moment .

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Senior brother One Lamp, if you want to go to the ninth floor, I¡¯m not going to stop you, but you best wait until my master gets here!¡±

    ¡°Let me repeat myself . Move aside! Are you trying to stop me from getting stronger and entering the Western Paradise?¡± The One Lamp monk was furious .

 Chapter 751

    Faced with the furious One Lamp monk, Li Qingshan suddenly came up with an idea and made up his mind . He stepped to the side and raised his hand . ¡°Since you insist, ¡®first¡¯ senior brother, then I¡¯ll wish the ¡®first¡¯ senior brother to achieve enlightenment soon and reach the Western Paradise!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it . Junior brother, you might have a powerful cultivation, but you can¡¯t do whatever you want . You need to learn to respect others . I¡¯m still your senior brother after all!¡±

    The One Lamp monk¡¯s expression eased up; he lectured Li Qingshan before making his way towards the ninth floor .

    ¡°As you say, senior brother!¡± Li Qingshan smiled . The Demon Suppression Tower descended from above and enveloped the One Lamp monk .

    ¡°You-¡± The One Lamp monk was both surprised and furious . He erupted with light, but he was already one step too slow .

    A great boom interrupted what he was about to say next .

    ¡°Though, I¡¯m just used to doing what I want!¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hand towards the Demon Suppression Tower .

    Bang!

    The Demon Suppression Tower shook violently, and the One Lamp monk roared, ¡°Li Qingshan, how dare you lay your hands on a fellow disciple! Release me!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed out, and Chains of Demon Suppression shot over, wrapping around the tower firmly . However, he was rather stern .

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    ¡°What a powerful demonic nature . This is not something that a buddhist disciple should have . Senior brother One Lamp, I think you should reflect on yourself in there!¡±

    Not only did the power of the Demon Suppression Tower depend on Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, but it was also directly linked to the enemy¡¯s demonic nature . This time, the Demon Suppression Tower was relatively large .

    Sure enough, the One Lamp monk had been taken advantage of during the intense battle earlier! But who was it? Regular Demon Commanders probably were not capable of something like that, and all the Demon Commanders on this floor had been slaughtered already . Coupled with the fact that he was determined to go to the ninth floor¡­

    Li Qingshan could not help but glance down . He already had a rough guess . He became even more vigilant .

    Back when he was still on the seventh floor, a voice had almost deluded him, which was avoided all thanks to the spirit turtle suppressing his sea of consciousness and the Unraging monk arriving in time . Now that they were on the eighth floor, the power behind the voice would have probably become even greater .

    At this moment, light began pouring out of the Demon Suppression Tower, and it grew brighter and brighter too!

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Li Qingshan pulled back, and the Demon Suppression Tower shattered loudly .

    The One Lamp monk held the lamp in his hand with a halo behind his back . He looked like an actual eminent monk, except fury filled his face as he stared straight at Li Qingshan .

    Li Qingshan shook his head helplessly . He did not say any nonsense . If he could make him come to his senses with just a few words, then it would not be an inner demon that haunted his heart . If it was someone that was extremely close to the One Lamp monk, perhaps there was a chance, but they had only met each other a few hours ago, and the One Lamp monk treated him as a rival to compete against . Anything he said would merely be a waste of words .

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    The One Lamp monk shot a furious glance at Li Qingshan and turned around, making his way towards the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall .

    ¡°Coward!¡± Li Qingshan said .

    The One Lamp monk stopped .

    ¡°Trash!¡± Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back and continued .

    The One Lamp monk suddenly looked back . ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said you¡¯re not my opponent, and you¡¯re afraid of me, which is why you¡¯re running away . You¡¯re a cowardly piece of trash!¡± Li Qingshan smiled .

    The One Lamp monk had an arcane treasure in hand, and his cultivation was extremely high too . If Li Qingshan wanted to stop him from going to the ninth floor, he would have to use his powers as a daemon . Compared to that, throwing some insults at him was easier .

    If the One Lamp monk was in the right state of mind, a few curses might not even be enough to make him frown . However, his mind was a mess right now, so he was particularly sensitive .

    ¡°Spear of Great Radiance!¡±

    The One Lamp monk roared furiously and golden-white light turned into spears, shooting towards Li Qingshan so quickly that they were almost impossible to respond to .

    If I could use the Watermirror¡¯s Image, I¡¯d definitely make you understand what a ¡°taste of your own medicine¡± means . Li Qingshan swung the Traitorous Demon sword and wove a net with his slashes, cutting and tearing apart the streaks of light .

    However, the light around the One Lamp monk became brighter and brighter, and the Spears of Great Radiance increased in number, becoming more and more packed . It was a storm-like barrage of attacks .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s swordsmanship was powerful, but he gradually showed signs of giving way . His sword missed, and a Spear of Great Radiance pierced through him . In that moment, countless streaks of light landed and sent him flying .

    Under the curved visor, Li Qingshan remained calm . Opponents that have lost their cool really are easier to deal with . You¡¯ve only just recovered a little, so how much longer can you maintain such a wild attack?

    Even without the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, his body as a Demon Commander was enough to endure these attacks . The only thing that could threaten him was the buddhist treasure . Once the One Lamp monk ran out of energy, he could subdue him in a single counterattack and immediately take him to the higher floors of the Demon Suppression hall before waiting for the Unraging monk to return .

    Li Qingshan just happened to be planning and preparing when a powerful and brutal will invaded his mind . A voice hissed, ¡°Prepare to die!¡±

    As if a thunderclap had erupted in his head, Li Qingshan felt his head spin . He almost lost control over his body .

    A clash between the powerful depended on a single instant . Even if the One Lamp monk was under the control of his inner demons, he would not let this opportunity slip by . He chanted the buddha¡¯s name loudly .

    ¡°Spear of Great Radiance!¡±

    With a halo over the One Lamp monk¡¯s head, he headbutted Li Qingshan¡¯s chest heavily and shattered his armour immediately .

    What a hilarious move, but when I¡¯m on the other side, it¡¯s not that funny anymore . Hold on, don¡¯t tell me that move¡¯s the renowned Skull Bash?

    Li Qingshan was sent flying . He plunged the Traitorous Demon sword into the ground, and only then did he stop . He lowered his head and smiled viciously . ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry, you son of a turtle . I¡¯ll cut you to pieces sooner or later!¡±

    TL: Son of a turtle in Chinese is a curse word . Basically means son of a bitch .

    He felt like he was cursing himself, but he was not wrong .

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Li Qingshan recovered control over his body . Blinding light filled his eyes as the One Lamp monk slammed over heavily with a tail of light .

    ¡°Can you stop? Demon Suppression Tower!¡±

    Li Qingshan powered his demon heart, and a colossal Demon Suppression Tower enveloped him .

    With a boom, the Demon Suppression Tower rocked, and the One Lamp monk rebounded away . The halo had been forcefully shattered, and his bald head was all bloodied .

    Li Qingshan snickered . With how powerful his demonic nature was, he really did come close to impregnable if he used the Demon Suppression Tower for defence .

    The One Lamp monk became even more furious . He shook his head and wanted to continue fighting . Suddenly, the buddha¡¯s voice rang out in his head again, urging him to go to the ninth floor .

    Perhaps that blow to the head was effective, as he also began to sense that something was amiss . He gazed at the Demon Suppression tower in front of him before glancing back at the Demon Suppression statue behind him . For a moment, he began to waver .

    Under the Demon Suppression statue, the door that led to the ninth floor suddenly opened up . A powerful suction appeared within the gaping entrance . Fierce winds whistled about, sucking the One Lamp monk over . In a daze, he did not put up any resistance, flying straight towards the doorway . He was about to fall into the ninth floor .

    Suddenly, he came to a halt . A Chain of Demon Suppression wrapped around the One Lamp monk¡¯s legs, and the other end of the chain was coiled around Li Qingshan¡¯s hand . He smiled . ¡°You son of a turtle, don¡¯t even think about that!¡±

    The voice roared furiously, ¡°If you still refuse to let him go, you might as well just tear him into two!¡±

    Others might have hesitated there, afraid to use any strength, but what kind of person was Li Qingshan? He went from a one-handed grip to a two-handed grip and began pulling it backwards like it was a tug of war .

    ¡°Come at me . Who¡¯s afraid of who? I¡¯ll take you on!¡±

    He silently crushed the bead on the string of prayer beads the Unraging monk had given him . He truly never expected everything to develop like this . Fortunately, he had the spirit turtle¡¯s warnings, which kept him on guard the entire time . If he was accidentally pulled into the ninth floor, his life would probably be in danger . The thing suppressed on the ninth floor definitely was something else .

    Rip! The One Lamp monk¡¯s robes ripped open along his waist . Afterwards, the skin around his waist began to pull apart too . Blood poured out like a spring, sucked away into the door .

    ¡°Apologies, senior brother One Lamp, but as a disciple of buddhism, if I don¡¯t go to hell, who goes to hell? Even if you die, you can¡¯t end up in the hands of the demonic path . Isn¡¯t that right?¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed . He did not loosen his grip at all . If the One Lamp monk ended up on the ninth floor, he would not even have a chance of surviving . It was even possible for him to be used as a bargaining chip against the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga

    Compared to that, he was better off taking a gamble and hoping that the Unraging monk could make it in time . But as it seemed, he also had to consider how to explain this to the Unraging monk if he could not make it in time . ¡°Master, I saved half of senior brother One Lamp . There¡¯s no need to thank me!¡±

    At this moment, the Chains of Demon Suppression suddenly slackened!

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Oh no, something has happened!¡±

    The Unraging monk just happened to be talking to the Dauntless monk on Great Buddha mountain when his heart skipped a beat, and his face changed drastically . He rushed to the back of the mountain in a hurry and arrived on the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall .

    ¡°Qingshan,what happened? Why is this lamp in your possession?¡±

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed in a corner of the hall, fiddling around with the One Lamp monk¡¯s lamp . The speck of firelight had already been extinguished!

    In front of him was a Demon Suppression Tower!

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re finally here! I managed to save senior brother One Lamp, and in the whole too!¡±

    Li Qingshan placed particular stress towards the end . With a wave of his hand, the Demon Suppression Tower vanished . The One Lamp monk laid inside, currently unconscious . He did not seem injured, but his waist had been stretched out to a point where it was particularly long and slender .

    In the final moment earlier, the One Lamp monk¡¯s lamp suddenly erupted with light . Li Qingshan felt the force from the other side of the door loosen, so he took advantage of it and pulled the One Lamp monk back .

    When he checked the lamp, it had already run out of oil . Who knew whether it had awakened from the One Lamp monk¡¯s agony, or that the buddhist treasure was intelligent and automatically protected its master!

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    At this moment, the Dauntless monk and Xiao An rushed over too .

    Li Qingshan explained what had happened . He sighed . ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would have lost a genius disciple and an arcane treasure . If you still won¡¯t let her go, abbot, that would be far too mean of you!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Qingshan, the abbot has already agreed to let me accompany you to the South Sea commandery!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Li Qingshan rejoiced and smiled . ¡°The abbot has a clear sight of the greater good . Even we, the disciples of the younger generation, have been motivated by you!¡±

    The Dauntless monk shot a fierce glance at him and waved his hand . Golden light scattered down .

    The One Lamp monk roused slowly . His eyes were still rather lost .

    The Unraging monk suddenly smacked him over the head, A Blow and a Shout!

    The One Lamp monk shuddered, and his eyes cleared up . He looked around and remembered everything that had happened earlier . He felt both ashamed and guilt-ridden, tempted to just throw himself at a pillar and end his life there . He bowed deeply .

    ¡°Abbot¡­ I¡­ junior brother¡­ It¡¯s all because my willpower wasn¡¯t firm enough that I was taken advantage of by the demons! Please punish me, abbot!¡±

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    The Unraging monk said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to blame yourself so much . The thing suppressed down there is one of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings of the past, the Soaring Locust King . His cultivation completely exceeds yours . Even I¡¯m not his opponent . You¡¯ve spent your entire life cultivating in the monastery, so you have a pure mind . That¡¯s both your advantage as well as your flaw, just like how the pure are easy to defile . This disciple of mine has always been a rock from latrine, both foul and tough, which is why I don¡¯t have that worry . I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d develop a competitive mentality of blindly comparing yourself to others!¡±

 Chapter 752

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, master!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed and took no offence .

    ¡°I don¡¯t even compare to a ten-thousandth of junior brother Qingshan¡¯s talent . It would be impossible for me to pay him back with the kindness he¡¯s shown by saving my life, so please accept a bow from me!¡± The One Lamp monk bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan .

    Li Qingshan accepted it calmly . He smiled . ¡°As long as you don¡¯t blame me for almost pulling you apart . ¡±

    ¡°If I ended up in the hands of the demons, I¡¯d definitely suffer a fate worse than death . Even if I ended up dying unfortunately, I¡¯d still have to thank junior brother for sending me off!¡±

    The Dauntless monk became filled with endless pity again . He had heard from the Unraging monk that Li Qingshan had actually undergone the second heavenly tribulation many years ago . Such talent and willpower were all that of a one-in-a-hundred-year genius . He definitely was on par with One Will . If he could become a formal disciple, he would definitely become a mainstay of the monastery .

    However, he was staunch, so he could not be forced into anything against his will . Fortunately, the Unraging monk had accepted him as a disciple, establishing a tie with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga . He would not have to worry about him refusing to help out in the future either .

    Leaving the Demon Suppression hall, the setting sun illuminated the valley, dyeing everything red .

    The One Lamp monk sucked in a deep breath . He felt like he had returned to the human world . The Dauntless monk sent him back to rest . He thanked Li Qingshan again before turning towards Great Buddha mountain, and his footsteps became firmer and firmer .

    Right when he was about to step into the defensive formations of the monastery, a tiny egg almost invisible to the naked eye burrowed out of a pore on the back of his neck and landed in a bush . The One Lamp monk was completely unaware of this .

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    The egg hatched very quickly and turned into a pinky-sized locust . It flew through the bushes, leaving Great Buddha mountain quickly . Only when it reached over fifty kilometers away did it stop on a tree and begin munching away at the leaves furiously .

    The locust rapidly grew in size, absorbing the spiritual qi of the world strand by strand . Before long, it had reached the size of a fist . With a buzz of its wings, it flew even further away .

    ¡­¡­

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°One Will, if you must go, I won¡¯t force you to stay . The Mist province cannot compare to the Green province . The South Sea commandery is filled with dangers and is over ten thousand kilometers away from here . If you encounter any dangers, even I cannot rescue you in time . You only have yourself to rely on . ¡±

    ¡°I understand!¡± Xiao An said .

    The Unraging monk repaired Li Qingshan¡¯s prayer bead; then he said, ¡°Qingshan, just keep it as a memorial! The South Sea commandery is too far away . Even if you crush the prayer bead, I won¡¯t be going there! You¡¯re better off relying on yourself than relying on others! Take care of yourself!¡±

    ¡°I understand . ¡± Li Qingshan pursed his lips and clasped his hands . ¡°Then we¡¯ll be bidding farewell!¡±

    Right when he was about to leave, a voice said meekly, ¡°Senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Duoge! Oh, I almost forgot . Here, this is for you . I¡¯m giving you two for the one I borrowed, so you better not say your senior brother is not generous enough!¡± Li Qingshan passed the demon hearts of two Demon Commanders to Duoge .

    ¡°No, no, no! That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± Duoge shoved a handful of demon hearts into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand .

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised . Only then did he notice that the string of prayer beads around Duoge¡¯s neck was much shorter . There were thirty to forty demon hearts in that handful at the very least, all shining brightly . They were of great quality .

    ¡°I heard the South sea is dangerous, so these are for you . I have no use for them right now anyway!¡± Duoge said shyly .

    Li Qingshan was very touched, giving him a great hug . ¡°Kid, I¡¯ve remembered your kind intentions . I¡¯ll definitely pay you back double in the future!¡±

    Afterwards, he glanced at the Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk in contempt . So much for eminent monks of buddhism . You aren¡¯t even as sensible as a little demonfolk!

    The two eminent monks were obviously unfazed by that . The Dauntless monk had indeed considered bestowing a buddhist treasure to Xiao An, but after some contemplation, he dismissed that idea . Although he could pour all the resources into outstanding disciples, he still had to maintain a basic level of fairness as the abbot of the monastery .

    Buddhist treasures touched on matters of great importance . One Will had joined the monastery far too recently . She had already enjoyed far too much special treatment, and she had not made any contributions either . Leaving the monastery this time was also because of her own, selfish demands . If he still gave her a buddhist treasure on top of that, the other disciples would definitely be displeased .

    The Unraging monk chuckled as if he had anticipated that Duoge would do that . He was extremely satisfied . He also held an arcane treasure in his hand, prepared to give it to Li Qingshan . It was not a buddhist treasure, but a demonic treasure . However, it was still not time yet .

    In other words, there were already two arcane treasures waiting for them . With their talent and cultivation, they already possessed the right to possess them . They only lacked the qualifications .

    This demonstrated the superiority of the Sword Collection palace . Even those who had just become a formal disciple had the opportunity to obtain a renowned sword on the level of arcane treasures . As long as they gained the sword¡¯s recognition, no one could say anything . However, the disadvantage was even if the Sword Collection palace was about to be destroyed, the palace master could not bestow these swords to disciples . He could only wait for their swordmasters to appear!

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An took off on a cloud, vanishing into the horizon .

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!¡±

    A brown dog barked away in a field of melons .

    To the corner of the field, a naked man currently held a watermelon and chomped away at it . He ate everything, rind, flesh, seeds, and all! He was stocky in stature, and his skin was a drab yellow . His dark, brown eyes flashed with a fanatic light . He chomped away as he said .

    ¡°It¡¯s too fucking delicious! I¡¯m finally out! Fuck! Fuck! Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, Unraging monk, Golden Cicada, and Li Qingshan! All of you fucking deserve to die!¡±

    A melon farmer with a straw hat heard the barks and emerged from the straw shack with a farm tool . ¡°Bastard, how dare you steal my watermelons? Are you sick of living?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

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    The man suddenly raised his head, and the melon farmer froze up, completely immobilised . Countless reflections of himself appeared in the deep, brown eyes .

    The dog yelped and scurried away with its tail between its legs .

    The man licked his lips . ¡°It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve had human flesh . The flesh of demonfolk is foul and sour . It¡¯s fucking disgusting!¡±

    A while later, the man stood up in the melon field and wiped away the blood from the corner of his lips . He gazed at the western sky, and the last ray of sunlight dimmed . Surprisingly, there was a Demon Suppression statue tattooed on his back, and it was different from all of the ones that Li Qingshan had seen .

    ¡°That kid sure has given me some inspiration! Otherwise, I would have never been able to fool those two monks . I¡¯ll let him die a little faster when the time comes!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    On the cloud, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat . He seemed to sense something .

    Sitting with his legs crossed, he made the spirit turtle divine again .

    A while later, he opened his eyes and glanced back at Great Buddha mountain in some surprise . He had clearly left the Demon Suppression hall already, so why did this strange sense of danger continue to linger around? Instead, it seemed to hide away, showing signs of constantly being nourished and strengthened .

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao An asked in concern .

    Li Qingshan smiled . ¡°Nothing . I just feel that it¡¯s going to be a little dangerous up ahead . Though, there really hasn¡¯t been a lot of times without danger so far! As long as we¡¯re together, we¡¯ll definitely be able to overcome all difficulties and make it to beyond the Nine Heavens!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Deep underground the Clear River prefecture, magma surged, and the lakes of fire blazed .

    ¡°Fellow Golden Cicada, we¡¯ve come to uphold our old promise!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned into Northmoon¡¯s form and called out loudly . His voice echoed around .

    A shiny skeleton stood beside him with milky-white, half-transparent flames burning in her eye sockets .

    ¡°You¡¯re finally back!¡±

    An immature yet ancient voice directly rang out in their seas of consciousness!

 Chapter 753

    ¡°We¡¯ve made you wait! Here, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga you¡¯ve been asking for!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out a jade slip . Xiao An had already inscribed the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga from beginning to end there .

    The jade slip was tossed into the lake of magma . A vortex appeared, extending downwards as far as the eye could see like it led to another world .

    The jade slip fell in there, and the vortex vanished . Quite a while later, the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s voice rang out again .

    ¡°Sure enough¡­ sure enough! Thanks!¡±

    The voice was filled with endless emotion, just not joy from obtaining this supreme cultivation method .

    ¡°We don¡¯t owe each other anything anymore . If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be taking my leave first then . ¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand, about to leave .

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King said, ¡°The aura of the phoenix on you is getting heavier and heavier . It¡¯s said that you were slain by the Dragon King of Ink Sea . You must have survived because of the phoenix¡¯s ability of rebirth!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! That battle was quite alarming! Heh, in simpler terms, it was just fleeing for my life . Do you have any other advice to give to me, fellow? Don¡¯t tell me you have other phoenix feathers?¡±

    Li Qingshan realised something . The Golden Cicada Spirit King seemed to be rather familiar with the phoenix . Since he had a phoenix feather, then perhaps he might have even more! If he could obtain another three or five, practising the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a would become extremely easy .

    ¡°It¡¯s already been far too long since the phoenix has soared away . I only kept that phoenix feather as a memorial, so how can I have more? Though, there is a divine wutong tree on Fire Melt mountain in the Mist province . That was where the phoenix once roosted! If you can cultivate there, it¡¯ll definitely be a hundred times more effective than cultivating in the magma!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fire Melt mountain! I think I¡¯ve heard about it somewhere before . I¡¯m just about to pay a visit to the south, so I¡¯ll definitely go take a look when the time comes!¡±

    ¡°Once I thoroughly comprehend the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, I¡¯ll be able to patch up the final hole in my cultivation, undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, and leap out of this world . You should come when that happens . I have one final gift for you as an exchange!¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King said as another item flew out of the magma lake, landing in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand . It was a fire-red piece of jade embedded with a sliver of soul sense . It did not have any particularly special functions . It was just something for sending messages and notifying people when it mattered .

    ¡°Exchange what?¡±

    Li Qingshan fiddled around with the gemstone and asked curiously . Something that the Golden Cicada Spirit King could treat as a gift so seriously definitely would not be some kind of common good . Perhaps it was even more precious than the phoenix feather! However, since he said it was an exchange, it meant he had to give up something too, and it had to be of equivalent value .

    It was very difficult to say who had profited from the exchange of a phoenix feather for the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga . They had just taken whatever they needed . However, there was one thing Li Qingshan was certain about . They were worth around the same value .

    ¡°You¡¯ll obviously find out when the time comes!¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King guarded the secret closely .

    ¡°Then can you give me the gift in advance like what you did with the phoenix feather? I¡¯m about to face quite a lot of difficulties!¡± Li Qingshan suggested .

    After their first deal, they had built up a basic level of trust between one another . Any additional strength would be nice .

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that . I have to give it to you when the time comes . Though, it¡¯s not because I don¡¯t trust you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re only making me more curious!¡±

    ¡°I can guarantee you that the item is worth no less than an arcane treasure . If you use it wisely, it might even exceed that!¡±

    ¡°Alright then! Then I hope you undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation sooner and leave this well so that you can take a look at a different world!¡±

    He had settled a tie of karma, only to establish a new one . Li Qingshan and Xiao An returned to the surface .

    It happened to be the middle of the night . The sky full of stars twinkled resplendently .

    For a moment, Li Qingshan had no idea where to go . Recently, he had been through a lengthy period of cultivation, held a great banquet in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, and fought a great battle in the Demon Suppression hall .

    He was not exactly tired, but he did want to rest a little and spend some time with the family right beside him he had not seen in a very long time . As a result, he smiled . ¡°Time passes so quickly! Before I realised it, you¡¯ve already grown up! Back then, you were only that small!¡±

    ¡°Then stop rubbing my head . ¡± Xiao An grabbed his huge hand and wrapped her hands around it gently .

    ¡°You¡¯ve really grown up and developed thoughts of your own, haven¡¯t you? You were such a good girl before, yet now I can¡¯t even rub your head . If I had known this earlier, I would have never taken you to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga . You¡¯ve been led astray by those bald asses!¡± Li Qingshan groaned in great pain .

    Xiao An bit her lip and placed his hand back on her head .

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and pulled her into his arms . The faint fragrance of sandalwood filled his embrace, and he found peace . He asked gently, ¡°Where do you want to go? What do you want to do first? I¡¯ll do whatever you want!¡±

    ¡°I want to go home . ¡± Xiao An raised her face .

    ¡°Go home? You mean the Qing Xiao dwelling? You¡¯re still not sick of seclusion after spending so much time cultivating?¡± Li Qingshan shook his head .

    ¡°You said you¡¯d do whatever I want,¡± Xiao An said seriously .

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Li Qingshan said powerlessly .

    ¡­¡­

    In the Qing Xiao dwelling, a silver streak of moonlight poured in from the top of the cave .

    Li Qingshan laid under the moonlight, gazing at the stars in the hole . Meanwhile, Xiao An laid quietly in his embrace, staring straight at him .

    Her seaweed-like hair poured down like a waterfall, scattering on the stone platform and draping down the edges .

    A while later, Li Qingshan lowered his head . ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no and then . ¡±

    ¡°Just like this?¡±

    ¡°Just like this is enough . ¡± Xiao An embraced him even more firmly .

    ¡°Alright then! You sure are easy to appease . ¡± Li Qingshan sighed with a smile . He also found this quite nice .

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll stay like this for a century!¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes shone even more resplendently than the brightest star .

    ¡°Huh? A century here?¡±

    ¡°Yeah . Aren¡¯t I easy to appease?¡± For once, Xiao An showed a hint of mischief, and only then did she conform to her appearance as a young maiden .

    ¡°You¡¯ll get sick of it very quickly!¡± Li Qingshan pinched her cheek and treated it as a child¡¯s talk .

    ¡°I won¡¯t get sick of it . ¡± Xiao An paused for a moment and repeated herself, ¡°I won¡¯t get sick of it!¡±

    What she had been pursuing was not a distant land, but here . She worked hard on cultivation just so she could hold onto this moment for longer . In a quiet world without anyone to disturb them, only they existed . That was paradise .

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan felt an impulse . Like what she had said, so what if he spent a century, a millennium like this? However, this impulse vanished in a flash . Compared to his dream, it was only like a gentle breeze, unable to leave behind a mark . Then he felt a little apologetic . Have I been thinking too much?

    Xiao An abruptly smiled, rolling over and climbing on top of him . She raised her right hand and pointed at the depths of the starry sky . She said, ¡°I want to go to beyond the Nine Heavens!¡±

    In that moment, the radiance she gave off even left Li Qingshan dazzled . In a daze, he realised just how beautiful she was . Normally, she was always like a blank sheet of paper, a pool of clear water, pure and immaculate . But in that moment, she seemed to be dyed with the strongest, brightest colours, which gave him a sense of unfamiliarity, yet also a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu .

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say you¡¯ll stay here for a century?¡±

    ¡°I might be a skeleton, but I also have a heart!¡± Xiao An lowered her head and pressed her hand against his chest gently .

 Chapter 754

    The two of them laid in each other¡¯s arms . Li Qingshan told her about some things that happened after they separated . Xiao An spent most of the time listening quietly .

    The moonlight shifted, vanishing in the end and turning into sunlight . It simply repeated like this, the sun replacing the moon and the moon replacing the sun .

    This continued until Han Qiongzhi came knocking .

    Han Qiongzhi stood outside the dwelling . Gazing at the clouds and mist that drifted through the Chain mountains, she thought to herself, Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling is nearby, but she¡¯s already spent several years in secluded cultivation . I wonder how she¡¯s doing right now .

    The stone door behind her opened up, and she turned around, only to see Li Qingshan walking out . However, she could not help but shift her gaze and look at Xiao An who was behind him, leaving her stunned . Despite also being a woman, she felt dazzled .

    Even though white bone and great beauty, the conversion between life and death, emphasised that all was emptiness, it could manifest as extreme beauty . As her cultivation increased and as she grew older, her beauty became even greater . It was not the arts of charm, but it surpassed the arts of charm . If she pushed it to the limit, it could not even be described as the Sect of Clouds and Rain¡¯s Aspect of Heavenly Fragrance and Beauty anymore . She would become a heavenly maiden that transcended this world .

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Xiao An!¡± Han Qiongzhi returned to her senses after quite the effort .

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t recognise her anymore?¡± Li Qingshan smiled .

    ¡°How could I not recognise her? Who can still forget her once they¡¯ve seen her?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi smiled, but her feelings were rather mixed . With how straightforward and broad-minded she was, she was not envious of Xiao An¡¯s talent . She could not be deterred by her absolute beauty either .

    Moreover, her instincts told her that their relationship had nothing to do with that of a man and woman . Even if she was not jealous, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would have never permitted it .

    However, just by standing there in such a simple manner, they gave off an indescribable sense of harmony . Their appearances were worlds apart, but they had the closest connection to one another . Even she could not get between them .

    She thought, This must be the partners of cultivation that father¡¯s been talking about!

    From a certain perspective, she would prefer Li Qingshan to sleep around liberally rather than this . She shook her head and cast these thoughts to the back of her mind .

    She said to Xiao An, ¡°I heard you underwent the second heavenly tribulation too! Congratulations!¡±

    Xiao An nodded slightly . She stared at Han Qiongzhi placidly like she was looking at common vegetation . Unless it was absolutely necessary, she never liked to talk to anyone . Things like etiquette and rules went even more without saying . She would only cope with it when she needed to .

    In the past, Han Qiongzhi had lost her temper over this exact attitude, and Li Qingshan had immediately fallen out with her . For her sake, he had stood up to Qiu Haitang without even batting an eye despite being a measly Qi Practitioner .

    Now, Han Qiongzhi understood that she treated everyone like that . She was not singling her out .

    ¡°You shut yourself in your dwelling the moment you got back . I had thought you were going to enter secluded cultivation again!¡±

    ¡°It was a little unexpected last time . If I really were to enter long-term secluded cultivation, I¡¯d definitely tell you, though I am planning to do that as of late!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances . They had agreed on this . After comprehending the eighth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary, Li Qingshan needed some time to consolidate what he discovered and take a step forward with his cultivation . With the several dozen demon hearts from Duoge, he had an opportunity to refine the Traitorous Demon sword into a true demonic treasure . And, he wanted to wait until he recovered the peak of his powers as a daemon .

    Xiao An was no different . After undergoing the second heavenly tribulation, she could continue to practise the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty . The various artifacts in her possession like the Skull Prayer Beads, the Buddha Slaying sword, and the Blood Sea Banner all needed to be refined again . Li Qingshan had already prepared the resources she required . He had collected many corpses over the several years of fighting .

    In particular, from the battle on the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, the demonfolk that amounted to the tens of thousands and the Demon Generals and Demon Commanders that amounted to several hundreds and dozens were enough for her to increase her cultivation further .

    Just like that, if the two of them worked together, perhaps they were not unstoppable, but they could easily deal with any dangers in the South Sea commandery . Even if they faced certain third heavenly tribulation existences, they would stand a chance .

    ¡°More secluded cultivation!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi basically had no idea what to say . To cultivators, secluded cultivation definitely was not a bad thing, except it was completely unnecessary unless they had reached a critical juncture in cultivation and required great concentration to break through the bottleneck . Simply maintaining their regular cultivation was enough .

    However, Li Qingshan had entered secluded cultivation a little too frequently, and whenever he emerged, his cultivation would have increased rapidly . She had basically become rather numb to it already .

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°But not right now . I need to focus on resting for now . I¡¯ll probably consider it once I receive the new orders and go to the Mist province . ¡±

    ¡°Cultivation takes priority . Just deciding on it yourself is enough . You don¡¯t need to go out of your way to tell me . I¡¯ve grown used to it anyway! It¡¯s not like we¡¯re mortals . We don¡¯t have to be so affectionate with each other!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi said in a very big-hearted manner, but she also felt a hint of helplessness . Before Li Qingshan could answer her, she said, ¡°I¡¯ve come to find you for something else . Chengzan is going to the Sword Collection palace . ¡±

    After the battles in Moon Court lake had ended, Yin Xiaochou did not head to the next prefecture immediately . Instead, he was invited along by Hua Chengzan . That night at the banquet in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, neither of them were present . They had gone drinking together on Soaring Afterglow mountain .

    Since Hua Chengzan was interested in joining the Sword Collection palace, he would obviously go out of his way to befriend Yin Xiaochou . He had always been extremely charismatic, and while Yin Xiaochou¡¯s cultivation was higher, he spent most of his time in the Sword Collection palace, focusing on the path of the sword . His experiences obviously paled in comparison to Hua Chengzan¡¯s .

    With a few jars of alcohol polished off, they felt like old friends meeting for the first time . Hua Chengzan mentioned how he wanted to join the Sword Collection palace, and Yin Xiaochou immediately thumped his chest to guarantee that it definitely would be no problem at all with his talent . He told the Sword Collection palace about this the very next day . Perhaps because they were egged on by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Sword Collection palace gave a reply very quickly . They wanted him to go to the Sword Collection palace to be tested!

    That night, on Soaring Afterglow mountain, the empty halls ended up blazing gloriously with light .

    To Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, there was not a gathering of guests like he had imagined . Instead, it seemed rather quiet . Logically speaking, with Hua Chengzan¡¯s vast number of friends and the lofty foundations of the Hua family, they should have invited many guests for something as big as this .

    Landing on the terrace on the top of the mountain, he discovered only around a dozen or so people had come, and they were all familiar faces . There was not even a proper banquet set up . The group of people talked and drank together like it was just a normal gathering .

    Everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn away by Xiao An beside Li Qingshan . For a moment, they all became speechless .

    ¡°Fellow, you must be One Will . I¡¯ve long heard about you . Now that I see you today, I think I understand why knowing a person by reputation pales in comparison to meeting them in the flesh!¡± Yin Xiaochou stood up and said .

    Yin Xiaochou¡¯s gaze was like a sword, hiding sword intent . He instinctively tried to probe her out, but he discovered in shock that the sword intent was like a rock tossed into the ocean . It just vanished . If they began fighting, he actually had no idea how he would swing his sword against her . Only then did he understand that the difference between their strength could not be made up for with just a Breaking Water sword .

    Xiao An said nothing, and Li Qingshan ignored Yin Xiaochou too . He asked Hua Chengzan, ¡°Why so few? Why didn¡¯t you find some more people for a celebration?¡±

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t become a disciple of the Sword Collection palace yet, so what is there to celebrate?¡±

    ¡°With your mentality and talent, Chengzan, you definitely won¡¯t face any problems . You might even pull out a renowned sword!¡± Yin Xiaochou looked at Li Qingshan and changed the topic . ¡°Fellow Qingshan, would you be interested in joining the Sword Collection palace and getting your hands on a good sword?¡±

 Chapter 755

    ¡°You must be joking, fellow Yin! I¡¯m a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but smile after blanking out .

    ¡°A secular disciple . ¡±

    Yin Xiaochou corrected him . Secular disciples possessed a very low status in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga . They did not even have the right to set foot in the inner courtyard, let alone practise any powerful cultivation methods . They did not receive any resources either . All they could do was borrow the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s reputation to save them from harassment .

    ¡°Then do you know who my master is?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow . He was different from regular secular disciples . The master he had taken on was a powerful cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation, and he practised a cultivation method from the apex too . Just what gave the Sword Collection palace the right to ask whether he wanted to join or not?

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know about the Unraging master?¡±

    ¡°Then I don¡¯t understand . Even if I want to join the Sword Collection palace, is my master supposed to allow me to?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised . A master-disciple relationship was very important within the cultivation community . In particular, when your master came from a large sect and was a powerful cultivator that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, this was an unshakable relationship .

    ¡°We¡¯re not saying you should become a disciple of the Sword Collection palace and take on a master . Instead, you¡¯ll be like elder Zhou Tong of the Clear River prefecture . You¡¯ll be a guest elder . ¡± Yin Xiaochou explained .

    Yin Xiaochou had reported his loss to Li Qingshan to the Sword Collection palace, which garnered great attention . It was not only because of his cultivation, but also because Yin Xiaochou had said, ¡°This person¡¯s path of the sword even surpasses mine!¡±

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    That left the palace master and the elders in some disbelief . Yin Xiaochou had grown up learning the sword, practising ingenious sword techniques in the Sword Collection palace his entire life . He had even inherited the sword intent within the Breaking Water sword, yet he actually claimed he was worse than Li Qingshan . That intrigued them .

    Absorbing second heavenly tribulation cultivators into the sect as guest elders was one of the traditions of the Sword Collection palace . They all had a chance regardless of their identity and origins . Some guest elders were even the masters of other sects . As long as they became a guest elder, they could view and study the first-rate cultivation methods and sword techniques of the Sword Collection palace .

    But not all cultivators that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation had a chance at becoming a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace . They had to use the sword and study the sword, and when they died, they had to leave their swords behind on Sword Collection peak .

    The Sword Collection palace had not accepted the slovenly daoist priest Zhou Tong as a guest elder just because of the person he was, but also because of the Lightning Slaughter sword in his possession .

    With Zhou Tong¡¯s cultivation, living for a few centuries was no problem . As long as he constantly used the methods of the Sword Collection palace, he could even refine a lump of earth into something completely new, let alone the Lightning Slaughter sword that was already an arcane artifact . It had a very good chance at becoming a powerful arcane treasure .

    It was exactly through this method that the Sword Collection palace collected the renowned swords through the world . Even an arcane treasure that cultivators could only dream of like the Soaring Dragon sword could not make it within the Ten Renowned Swords, which only demonstrated the depths of their foundations .

    ¡°I see . ¡± Li Qingshan came to a realisation . Then he asked, ¡°But when you said getting my hands on a good sword, am I also allowed to draw a sword from the Sword Collection peak?¡±

    He had no good impression of the Sword Collection palace . From the Soaring Dragon Elder to Fu Qingjin, they were both people who had once forced him into dire straits, but the temptation of an arcane treasure was far too great . He thought, With my charisma, wouldn¡¯t those Ten Renowned Swords or whatever all fly towards me when I¡¯m on that Sword Collection peak or whatever it¡¯s called?

    ¡°Regular guest elders aren¡¯t allowed to draw a sword from Sword Collection peak, but you don¡¯t seem to be in possession of a suitable sword, which is why we¡¯re making an exception . With your talent for the path of the sword, you¡¯ll definitely climb to even greater heights if you practise the sword techniques of the Sword Collection palace!¡± Yin Xiaochou said seriously .

    Although Li Qingshan had defeated him, he did not develop any resentment because of it . He gave his full attention to the Sword Collection palace¡¯s mission . This level of tolerance clearly did not coincide with his age and experience . Most of it came from the influence of the Breaking Water sword, which only demonstrated the value of a fine sword to the Sword Collection palace .

    However, he did not tell him everything . The reason why the Sword Collection palace wanted to make an exception for the first time and let Li Qingshan draw a sword from the Sword Collection peak was because his path of the sword had caught their eye . Just like how it was ¡°becoming one with the sword¡±, not only was it about the sword assisting the person, but it was also about the person nurturing the heart of the sword . A good swordsman could make a sword grow and strengthen drastically .

    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it!¡± Li Qingshan said in thought .

    ¡°Please take you time . ¡± Yin Xiaochou said nothing more after that .

    Apart from Hua Chengzan, everyone present was surprised . Originally, they still found it rather surreal that Li Qingshan had undergone the second heavenly tribulation, but they were forced to sigh and admit it now . Before they knew it, he had actually reached that step already .

    A sect like the Sword Collection palace was something they looked up to . Even Hua Chengzan becoming a disciple of the Sword Collection palace was something worth celebrating . However, he still had tests to pass, while Li Qingshan had been directly invited to become a guest elder . That was quite a difference in treatment . They also understood slightly why Hua Chengzan had not held a great celebration . Otherwise, Li Qingshan definitely would have replaced him as the point of focus as soon as Yin Xiaochou brought that up .

    Hua Chengzan invited Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and Han Qiongzhi to take their seats first . He smiled . ¡°No matter what happened in the past or is about to happen in the future, we¡¯ll have a hearty drink tonight!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down with a smile, and Xiao An sat down right next to him . Han Qiongzhi sighed . Right when she was about to go and find another seat, she suddenly felt her waist tighten, having been pulled into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms already . He asked with a smile, ¡°Ma¡¯am, where are you trying to go?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi reddened rapidly . ¡°Let go of me!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised a jar of alcohol and drank it all . He laughed aloud . ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t abide!¡±

    The smell of alcohol wafted into the surroundings, and Han Qiongzhi seemed to catch the scent too . This man who had once made her, someone who did not even know what love was, fall in love at first sight, had become even bolder than before . A simple smile from him possessed the charm to steal her heart . That was true in the past, and it was no different right now . Even though they could not become partners of cultivation, even though they spent more time apart than together, she did not feel any regret .

    Everyone roared in laughter . Only when Li Qingshan saw her grow redder and redder, almost to the point where she was embarrassed out of her mind, did he release her, making her sit right next to him . However, he still had his hand around her waist to prevent her from running away .

    Han Qiongzhi elbowed him viciously . Unable to break free, all she could do was give up . She was embarrassed, but there was a hint of happiness in her eyes .

    The group drank under the moon, which sure was cheerful .

    ¡°Qingshan, if you become a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace, we¡¯ll be able to travel together,¡± Hua Chengzan said .

    ¡°If it¡¯s possible, I¡¯d obviously like to draw a renowned sword . However, I still need my master¡¯s permission with regard to this . I can¡¯t make the decision arbitrarily . ¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at Yin Xiaochou . He was currently drinking by himself, sombre like he was drowning his sorrows through drinking . But in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, he only seemed like another poser . A legacy from the sword just was not his personal comprehension . A slight difference existed .

    Since this kid is bold enough to mention it- no, since the Sword Collection palace is bold enough to mention it, don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re certain that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga will agree to it? Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t they completely embarrass themselves? Or is the Sword Collection palace thinking of forging an alliance with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and they want to use me as a binding force?

    Li Qingshan contemplated and gradually made up his mind . Suddenly, he raised his head . ¡°It¡¯s going to rain . ¡±

    Everyone looked up . The bright moon hung in the middle of the sky with only a few, wispy clouds floating through the deep-blue night sky . It did not seem like it was about to rain at all!

    But very soon, fierce winds arrived, whistling past the mountain peak . Like a huge, invisible hand pulling over a great curtain, dense clouds shrouded the entire sky in the blink of an eye, weighing heavily down on the mountain peak . It was like they were within arm¡¯s reach .

    ¡°A storm is brewing!¡± Li Qingshan said slowly .

    After the war in the Clear River prefecture passed, the situation across the nine provinces gradually began to shift over the past few years . Battles between humans and daemons constantly erupted, and the demonic sects that had been suppressed for several millennia began to emerge once more, stirring up a vicious mess in the Cloud, Mist, Frost, and Thunder provinces .

    The Great Xia empire¡¯s control over the various provinces was rapidly declining . Actually, that was already evident from the White Lotus cult . In the past, even if the White Lotus Mother had fled to the Mist province, she would have to tuck her tail between her legs and behave . Why would the Hawkwolf Guard allow her to rebuild her headquarters in such a brazen manner? But now, no one cared anymore .

    And, that was the boundary of the Mist province that was very close to the Green province and the Dragon province . If he went further south by another several tens of thousand kilometers, he could basically imagine what the South Sea commandery would be like .

    The time when order disintegrated was also the time when weapons would be raised . Everything would depend on strength . The Sword Collection palace and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were both so-called orthodox sects . At such a critical time, strengthening their unity was an obvious choice .

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    ¡°Yeah!¡± Hua Chengzan sighed . No one present was stupid . They could all tell what Li Qingshan was implying, and they sank into their thoughts . For a moment, the terrace was silent . Only the wind whistled through the air .

    Everyone had personally experienced the brutality of the war in the Clear River prefecture, but looking at it now, that was merely a small problem, the calm before the storm . Even greater problems were awaiting up ahead!

    The dark clouds blotted out the moon and large droplets of rain fell down . The surroundings were pitch-black, filled with the pitter-patter of rain, but surprisingly, there was no thunder .

    The halls below the mountain shone brightly with lantern light, but they seemed to become dimmer, wavering in the wind and rain .

    The rain was unable to reach them, but the atmosphere had become rather stifling without the moon and stars .

    ¡°The orthodoxy of the world needs to be protected by the swords of my generation, to guard the common people from suffering!¡±

    Yin Xiaochou stood up solemnly . His black hair flew through the air, and he radiated with might .

    With a clang, he drew the Breaking Water sword from his sheathe and swung it at the pitch-black sky .

    The slash passed by in a flash, like a bolt of lightning that darted across the night sky .

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    A crack appeared in the clouds silently, allowing the moonlight to pour through and the starlight to twinkle .

    ¡°What a sword! What swordsmanship!¡± Everyone praised loudly . The clouds seemed close, but they were very far away . Slashing open the clouds from so far away was basically a marvelous feat .

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the defeat you granted me that day, fellow . It¡¯s given me quite the inspiration, allowing me to comprehend something new about the path of the sword . Why don¡¯t you show us your abilities so that you can widen our horizons?¡±

    Yin Xiaochou turned around and stared at Li Qingshan . He wanted to show off the might of the Breaking Water sword, and he had a vague intention of sparring . Your cultivation might be higher than mine, but what I can do isn¡¯t what you necessarily can do . I¡¯m not your opponent right now, but once I undergo the second heavenly tribulation, you definitely won¡¯t be my opponent .

    Li Qingshan stood up lazily and tossed the empty jar of alcohol off the cliff, pushing forward with both hands .

    ¡°Ocean Wielding¡ªThe Cloud Parting Form!¡±

    The clouds surged and shifted out in all directions . Before long, almost half the clouds in the skies had been parted, and the moonlight became even clearer .

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fellow Yin, I will report this to my master . If he doesn¡¯t object to it, I¡¯ll definitely pay the Sword Collection palace a visit with you!¡±

    The banquet came to an end, and everyone dispersed .

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    Very soon, the Unraging monk gave his answer . He wanted Li Qingshan to make the decision himself, and he only had a single request, which was to not tarnish his reputation!

 Chapter 756

    Li Qingshan smiled and gazed at the rain pattered bamboo outside the window . As it seemed, he had guessed correctly . His identity as a secular disciple was perfect for this . He would possess identities in two large sects of the Green province at the same time . Although he would not be a core member of one or the other, his status would not be low in either . On top of that, he happened to be a daemon . The matters of the world truly were unpredictable .

    ¡°Qingshan, are you really going to the Sword Collection palace to become a guest elder?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng asked carefully on the side as if he was afraid he might anger Li Qingshan with anything he said . Although Li Qingshan never put on any airs, he had already established a sense of power after so many years of fighting and killing, naturally giving off a bearing of might .

    The Cloudwisp association developed with great ease in the Ruyi commandery . Today, Liu Chuanfeng had specially invited Li Qingshan to come to Cloudwisp island so that he could continue with writing . Originally, he did that so he would not forget about his identity as a disciple of the school of Novels, but he never thought he would actually agree to it .

    Li Qingshan constantly had the feeling that the Divine Talisman of Great Creation would play a role in the future, so he brought Xiao An with him to find the feeling of the past . There was no need for him to drink something like Water of Recollection either . With his current cultivation, there was nothing he could not recall as long as he tried to remember it . As a result, he got going as a plagiarist, and after having Xiao An edit it for him, it left him feeling extremely pleased .

    ¡°How could I turn down someone¡¯s courteous invitation? Xiao An, take your time with the editing . I¡¯ll go check out that Yin Xiaochou . ¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and took off . When he was in the air, he glanced at the school of Painting nearby and remembered how Chu Danqing had not attended Hua Chengzan¡¯s banquet on Soaring Afterglow mountain that night . He wondered how the repair of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was going, so he landed on the island and pulled the first painting disciple he came across to the side . He asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your school leader Chu?¡±

    ¡°C- commander Li! The school leader is currently in secluded cultivation . He said that no one is to disturb him!¡± The disciples trembled .

    ¡°I sure am troubling him!¡± Li Qingshan said . He understood that repairing an arcane treasure like the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was not an easy feat . If he had the opportunity, he had to do something to make it up to him .

    Soon after Li Qingshan took off, a streak of light flew over from the direction of the Clear River prefecture, landing on Cloudwisp island . It was Hua Chenglu . She furrowed her brows slightly, struggling to hide her worries .

    Liu Chuanfeng went up in a hurry to receive her . ¡°Commander Hua, what brought you here?¡±

    ¡°Is commander Li here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re quite unlucky . He¡¯s just left for Soaring Afterflow mountain . ¡±

    ¡°Then he should already know . ¡± Hua Chenglu let out a long sigh .

    In the bamboo loft, Xiao An stopped and glanced out of the window before lowering her head again . Nothing could distract her as she edited away stroke by stroke .

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Fellow Yin, my master has already given permission . Let¡¯s prepare to set off!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived on Soaring Afterglow mountain again and found Yin Xiaochou, cutting right to the chase .

    ¡°Fellow Li, something has happened regarding that¡­¡±

    Yin Xiaochou was not surprised at all, but he was a little troubled .

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen Chenglu?¡± Hua Chengzan interrupted .

    ¡°I haven¡¯t! What happened with Chenglu?¡±

    ¡°So you still don¡¯t know . The Hawkwolf Guard has already appointed you as the White Wolf commander of the South Sea commandery!¡±

    ¡°White Wolf commander!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned . Why was it just a White Wolf commander? There was actually still a White Hawk commander in a backwater of a place like the South Sea commandery? Whatever . His primary reason for going to the Mist province was Ru Xin and finding the divine wutong tree anyway . His rank did not matter .

    ¡°But what¡¯s the matter with that? I¡¯ll just assume office a few days late . What, is the Hawkwolf Guard supposed to punish me for that?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly understood what was going on . He smiled . ¡°So the Sword Collection palace is afraid I¡¯d get butchered in the South sea and lose the treasured sword of your palace . Have I guessed correctly?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right . The South Sea commandery is a dangerous land of wilderness . If the sword is lost there, even the Sword Collection palace will struggle to retrieve it . ¡±

    Yin Xiaochou confessed . Every single sword on the Sword Collection peak was a precious treasure that the Sword Collection palace could not afford to lose . With Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehension of the path of the sword, it was very likely for him to draw an arcane artifact from the mountain . The Sword Collection palace definitely could not afford to lose that .

    Losing the Soaring Dragon sword had already racked the Sword Collection palace with worries . With Northmoon¡¯s death, they had even lost their leads, unable to find it again .

    ¡°Wealth begets trouble . Taking an arcane treasure to the South sea is not necessarily a good thing . ¡±

    Yin Xiaochou never would have imagined that Northmoon who was guaranteed to be dead was currently standing in front of him, alive and kicking . He was even discussing whether to take another sword from the Sword Collection palace .

    ¡°Understood . Then I¡¯ll directly assume office in the Mist province . We can talk about the matters regarding the sword once I get back . ¡±

    Li Qingshan was not angered by that . He was only willing to become a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace to take advantage of them . Even now, he still felt hostility towards the Sword Collection palace, so he obviously would not ask them to trust him . It was merely a sword . He would be getting his hands on it sooner or later, so there was no need to rush .

    With how easily Li Qingshan accepted the situation, Yin Xiaochou instead became a little embarrassed . He took out a jade slip . ¡°Since you¡¯ve agreed to become a guest elder of our Sword Collection palace, please accept this jade slip!¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the jade slip and sent his soul sense inside . His eyes gradually lit up, and he smiled . ¡°Thank you, fellow Yin . I won¡¯t be holding back then . ¡±

    There were over a dozen nameless sword styles recorded within the jade slip . Some were light and flexible, while others were simple and heavy . They were all extremely subtle, basically the essence of the various different sword styles . There were almost a hundred sword techniques as well . If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he never would have imagined a sword could actually be used in so many different ways .

    They really are a sect of sword cultivators after all . Sure enough, they really do know their stuff . Once I study this closely, my path of the sword will definitely reach a whole new level, allowing me to unleash the full power of the Demon Dragon sword!

    However, what delighted him the most was not these sword styles and sword techniques, but a manual called ¡°Heart of the Sword¡± . It was broken up into three sections for nurturing the sword, refining the sword, and tempering the sword . It went into detail about how to increase a sword¡¯s quality through refinement and tempering .

    This was basically timely help to Li Qingshan right now . He just happened to be trying to refine the Traitorous Demon sword into a true demonic artifact . Although the Traitorous Demon sword could increase its power through devouring demon hearts, the rate of increase was relatively slow . Even with the demon hearts of several dozen Demon Commanders in his possession, he could not say with certainty that he would succeed . Now that he had this manual, the success rate had increased drastically . It was not a guaranteed success, but he was seventy to eighty percent confident now .

    Heh, looks like I still ended up taking advantage of them!

    Completely satisfied, Li Qingshan then asked, ¡°When do you plan on setting off?¡±

    ¡°In the next day or two . ¡±

    Hua Chengzan answered before suddenly gazing down the mountain . ¡°Someone is here . That¡¯s strange . Why has he come to find me?¡±

    A man stood before the formations at the foot of the mountain . He was dressed like a farmer, giving off a very rustic vibe, but he possessed a bearing that no regular farmer possessed . He stood tall, giving off neither a sense of inferiority or arrogance, like a framework of wood and earth .

    Beside him stood an adolescent child in new clothes . He carried a sword on his back, and he seemed rather uncomfortable .

    It was the leader of the school of Agriculture, Li Long . With him was Li Qingshi, who had his name changed to ¡°Li Xiaoyao¡± by Li Qingshan .

    Li Xiaoyao said, ¡°Master, why don¡¯t we just go back?¡±

    Thunk! Li Long smacked Li Xiaoyao over the head . ¡°Damned brat, you¡¯re the one who said you wanted to study the sword at the Sword Collection palace, which was why I brought you here . Now that we¡¯re here, you¡¯ve lost your courage . What kind of man are you supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all cultivation . It doesn¡¯t matter where I am . ¡±

    ¡°How doesn¡¯t it matter? My school of Agriculture tends to the land, primarily focusing on ¡°life¡± . We comply with the variations and fluctuations of life . The sword is a lethal weapon that primarily focuses on ¡°death¡± . You need to be staunch and resolute! You¡¯re still young right now, so your character is still undecided . If you tend to the land for a few more years with me, it¡¯ll be too late for you if you want to learn the sword again . ¡±

    ¡°Will they want me?¡± Li Xiaoyao said uneasily .

    To anyone that wanted to learn the sword, the Sword Collection palace could be regarded as a ¡°holy land¡± . Yin Xiaochou had made a name for himself too after defeating the genius cultivators of twenty-two prefectures, which caused him quite the pressure .

    ¡°How will you know if you don¡¯t try? If it doesn¡¯t work out for you, you still have other places you can go . You¡¯ll end up somewhere no matter what . You don¡¯t have to be afraid either . He might be powerful, but wasn¡¯t he still defeated by your- a person from the same hometown as us?¡±

    When Li Qingshan was mentioned, Li Xiaoyao riled up with vigour . Sure enough, he became a little more courageous .

    During the years he had spent with Li Long, he had become much more mature . He learnt about many matters of the past, and he also understood Li Qingshan¡¯s difficulties, so his resentment vanished . His uncle that refused to recognise him was still his role model .

    At this moment, the formations opened up .

    Holding onto Li Xiaoyao, the land beneath Li Long shrank and contracted, and they arrived on the mountain peak in a short while . Seeing how Li Qingshan was also here, Li Long became a little more confident .

    ¡°What brings school leader Li to my place today?¡± Hua Chengzan asked with a smile .

    Li Long had always focused on farm work, and Hua Chengzan had spent a lot of the past few years in secluded cultivation, so they did not have much contact with each other . All he knew was he came from the same hometown as Li Qingshan .

    ¡°I heard you were about to go to the Sword Collection palace, so I specially came to see you off . It¡¯s just a small gift to express my respect towards you!¡±

    Li Long took out the basket of fruit he had prepared, which consisted of apples, pears, and various other fruits . They were all abundant with spiritual qi and glossy in colour . Hua Chengzan tried to turn down the gift before accepting it at Li Long¡¯s insistence .

    Only then did Li Long say, ¡°There¡¯s something else I¡¯d like to ask . This child is my disciple . He¡¯s always been smitten with the path of the sword, so I was wondering if fellow Yin could take him to the Sword Collection palace to be tested?¡±

    Li Xiaoyao glanced at Li Qingshan before becoming afraid to look at him again . Then he raised his head and gazed at Yin Xiaochou who carried the Breaking Water sword on his waist . His face became filled with respect and admiration .

    ¡°If he wants to become a disciple of the Sword Collection palace, he needs to undergo strict testing . It¡¯s not something I can decide with a word from me . This child¡¯s talent is mediocre, and he lacks a decisive air about him, so he¡¯s not suited for the path of a sword cultivator . It¡¯s better if he continues cultivating in the school of Agriculture . ¡±

    Having inherited the sword intent from the past masters of the Breaking Water sword, Yin Xiaochou had developed some ability to judge people . It had already been rather difficult for this child to set foot on the path of cultivation . He had a very small chance at undergoing the first heavenly tribulation, but to the Sword Collection palace, a good chance at undergoing the first heavenly tribulation was the very basics they were looking for . Otherwise, they would not even accept them as a formal disciple .

    Li Xiaoyao lowered his head, his face reddening and paling at the same time .

    ¡°He¡¯s still young, so he hasn¡¯t undergone any trials to toughen up yet . He does have some kind-heartedness, but he wholeheartedly wants to become a sword wielder . Even I can¡¯t change his mind!¡±

    Li Long sighed gently and rubbed Li Xiaoyao¡¯s head, but he looked towards Li Qingshan .

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Just test him out, fellow Yin . If he can¡¯t pass the tests of the Sword Collection palace, then just make no more mention of this and send him back . I didn¡¯t exactly possess any startling talent or decisiveness back then either . ¡±

    ¡°Really? But I found you extraordinary from the first time I laid my eyes on you . This child also has Li as his surname . Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s your relative?¡± Hua Chengzan smiled .

    Li Qingshan only smiled .

    ¡°I must learn the sword!¡± Li Xiaoyao suddenly raised his head and said loudly .

    ¡°Oh? Why?¡± Yin Xiaochou asked .

    ¡°My parents were killed by a crook!¡±

    ¡°You want to avenge them?¡±

    Li Long shook his head . ¡°That crook died a long time ago!¡±

    ¡°Then why?¡±

    ¡°I- I want to kill other crooks up and uphold justice!¡±

 Chapter 757

    Li Xiaoyao clenched his fist, actually exhibiting a sense of determination . Li Qingshan nodded to himself . At least he did not pick up the foolishness, crudeness, and deceitfulness of his parents .

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll take you with me . But whether you can become a disciple of the Sword Collection palace will be up to your fate,¡± Yin Xiaochou said .

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Li Xiaoyao nodded heavily, overjoyed . Then he looked at Li Long and felt rather reluctant to leave .

    Li Long said, ¡°Stop acting like a little girl . Study the sword properly and don¡¯t embarrass us Crouching Ox villagers!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± Li Xiaoyao glanced at Li Qingshan again and secretly made up his mind . His talent might be mediocre, but he believed there was hope as long as he did his best .

    Then Yin Xiaochou said to Hua Chengzan, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be reluctant to leave . We¡¯ll set off right now! I need to enter secluded cultivation for a while once I get back to the Sword Collection palace . Once I undergo the second heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll definitely challenge you again, fellow- no, elder Li!¡±

    ¡°Alright, but you better let me draw a fine sword from the Sword Collection peak before that . ¡±

    Li Qingshan was hostile towards the Sword Collection palace, but he could not help but admire their heritage . Both Fu Qingjin and Yin Xiaochou were elites among cultivators, possessing extraordinary bearing . Even the Soaring Dragon Elder was bold and daring . It was not without reason that the Sword Collection palace was still standing after so many years .

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that I can¡¯t see you off, Qingshan . ¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so polite . Until we see each other again!¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands and bade farewell, watching the three of them vanish into the horizon . He turned to Li Long and said, ¡°I¡¯ve troubled you for the past few years . ¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my disciple . Of course, I need to go to some trouble for him . Just what step he can reach in the future will be up to him . ¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan returned to the prefectural city of Clear River and arrived before the office of the Hawkwolf Guard . He gazed up .

    Upstairs, Hua Chenglu currently leaned against her chair and gazed out of the window, thinking about something with her eyebrows furrowed . She tapped against her armrest gently with her finger .

    Ever since he emerged, they had only met a few times briefly, but it did lead to a lot of ripples in her heart . However, since it was already too late, all she could do was accept this outcome calmly . She was not a little girl, much less Hua Chengzan . She would never want to become all caught up over love .

    Just seeing him every now and then was fine . It was nothing even if he teased her . But now, even that would be impossible, as he was going off to the Mist province!

    If they were simply parting, then so be it, but he happened to be going to the most dangerous South Sea commandery . How could she not worry for his safety?

    At this moment, a familiar figure appeared outside the window and smiled . ¡°What¡¯re you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°Big brother Li!¡±

    Hua Chenglu stood up and opened her lips, considering how to tell him this ¡°bad news¡± .

    ¡°I already know where I¡¯m being transferred to . ¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped into the room and smiled when he saw how troubled she was .

    Hua Chenglu took out the transfer order, and Li Qingshan stowed it away as soon as he took a glance at it . Sure enough, it was White Wolf commander!

    ¡°Oh right, your brother has just set off, Chenglu . ¡±

    ¡°Sigh, didn¡¯t he say he¡¯d wait for another day or two?¡±

    ¡°Probably because he doesn¡¯t want something like a departure ceremony! He¡¯s gone to his Sword Collection palace . It¡¯s about time for me to set off too!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed outside the window with a smile . The sun that had just broken through the rain made the sky seem transparently blue . His heart had already drifted thousands of kilometers away . No, it had gone tens of thousands kilometers away, to the unfamiliar South Sea commandery, making him imagine the boundless South sea!

    ¡°What¡¯re you frowning for? I¡¯m getting promoted, so why don¡¯t you give me a hug as a celebration?¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms .

    ¡°Big brother Li, aren¡¯t you worried at all? That¡¯s the South Sea commandery, the southwest part of the nine provinces, a land of wilderness within a land of wilderness . Not only do Hawkwolf guards possess no special authority there, but everyone is hostile to them . Even then, you¡¯re still in the mood to joke around!¡± Hua Chenglu worried .

    ¡°If I don¡¯t joke around, am I supposed to cry instead?¡± Li Qingshan was rather touched by how concerned she was for him .

    ¡°Go find commander Gu and get her to speak for you . Your master too . You¡¯re a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga after all . The Sword Collection palace too . Didn¡¯t they want you as a guest elder? Anyway, you can¡¯t accept this assignment . Sigh, it must be that bastard Si Qing pulling strings, using his identity as a prince to do as he pleases!¡± Hua Chenglu fumed .

    ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯ve already made up my mind . The South Sea commandery is indeed a land of wilderness within a land of wilderness, so it¡¯ll definitely be filled with dangers . That¡¯s exactly what makes it worth visiting . If I don¡¯t go and take a look at the ends of the world, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste of a life? As for that kid Si Qing, there¡¯ll be plenty of time for him to cry!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly .

    He did not take Si Qing seriously at all . All he had to do was find an opportunity to resolve this tiny grievance in the future .

    ¡°Big brother Li¡­ After what you¡¯ve said, even I want to go and take a look . I still haven¡¯t seen the real ocean yet! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I¡¯d drag you down, even I¡¯d want to become a White Wolf guard and go with you . ¡±

    Hua Chenglu was infected by his bold spirit, making all of her worries vanish . Why would this man need any worries from her? He was Li Qingshan after all .

    She could not help but imagine the scenery of the South sea in the Mist province . Even since young, she had always been a restless person . She even felt an urge to go to the South sea with him without any regard anymore .

    ¡°Then come . You won¡¯t drag me down at all . ¡±

    Li Qingshan studied Hua Chenglu . It had been a few years since he last saw her, but this girl had become more and more charming . Her picturesque face and her beautiful figure were perfect, such that even growing slightly plumper would make her seem fat and growing slightly skinnier would make her seem thin . She gave off a delicate sense of beauty .

    ¡°If I really went with you, sister Han would curse me to death . ¡± Hua Chenglu reddened from how he stared at her and stuck out her tongue .

    ¡°Oh? Why would she curse you? What do you want to do to me?¡± Li Qingshan took a step back and said in great surprise .

    ¡°Big brother Li!¡±

    ¡°Haha, just a joke . You¡¯re still very young . You still have a long road ahead of you! The greatest benefit of cultivation is you¡¯ll never know just how far you¡¯ll go . The matters of the Hawkwolf Guard need to be dealt with, but there¡¯s no need to pay too much attention to it either . As long as you constantly increase your cultivation, there¡¯ll be one day when you can go anywhere across the nine provinces!¡±

    Li Qingshan patted Hua Chenglu¡¯s shoulder and said sincerely .

    ¡°Yeah, I will work hard on cultivation! I heard the Merfolk of the South sea are all extremely beautiful, and their songs have magical powers . When sailors on the seas hear their singing, they¡¯ll leap into the water without any regard, drowning to death just like that . You better not be bewitched by them, big brother Li . ¡±

    Hua Chenglu said, but she completely refused to believe there was a woman who could bewitch him with beauty . In particular, she had become even more confident about this after seeing Xiao An a few days ago . The otherworldly beauty even left her sighing in amazement .

    ¡°Sigh, there¡¯s nothing I can do about that . You know that I¡¯m most vulnerable to being bewitched by beauty! I even ran into someone from the same hometown as me, Li Long, on Soaring Afterglow mountain just then . We bade farewell to each other after a few words, yet I¡¯ve accidentally talked so much with you already . That¡¯s a very good warning, which I better keep in mind . I¡¯m going!¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands helplessly . Technically speaking, he had already been bewitched by a merperson, except it was not through some touching songs, but foul language .

    ¡°So soon! You¡¯re travelling to such a distant place, so surely we need to hold a farewell banquet!¡± Hua Chenglu said in surprise .

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that . We just had a gathering a few days ago . Holding too many baquets is boring anyway . Not to mention that it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to any good place . How pointless would it be if you make it sound like a suicide mission?¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and declined . He said, ¡°Take care . ¡± before making his way towards the window .

    Hua Chenglu gazed at his departing figure and experienced a multitude of emotions . Once he left, who knew how long it would be before she could see him again and who knew how many dangers lay ahead in his path!

    ¡°Big brother Li!¡±

    ¡°What now-¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around, but before he could even finish speaking, Hua Chenglu had rushed over and kissed him on the lips . Right after that, she pulled away again . She lowered her head and said softly, ¡°Be careful on the road . ¡±

    ¡°Girl, what¡¯s that supposed to be?¡±

    Li Qingshan licked his lips . The soft, warm feeling lingered on them . He lifted up her chin, and her delicate face was shrouded in an enchanting, red haze . Her long eyelashes trembled, afraid to make eye contact with him .

    ¡°Huh? What?¡± Hua Chenglu¡¯s gaze drifted away, beginning to feel deep regret . She had really been too rash just then .

    Li Qingshan said nothing more . He brought his arms around her soft, thin waist and pulled her into his arms, lowering his head and kissing her on her pink lips . Afterwards, he went straight in, prying open her teeth and making contact with her tongue, tasting away recklessly .

    Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes suddenly widened before closing again . This was the first time in her life a man had kissed her like this . She felt like she was being violated, yet she also happened to be powerless to resist . Her body stiffened because of her nervousness, but with his kissing and touch, she gradually loosened and lay limply in his arms .

    ¡°That¡¯s what you call a kiss!¡±

    Only after a long while did Li Qingshan say with a smile . Seeing how enamoured and vulnerable she was, his mind began to heat up . In the past, he probably would have swallowed her whole already, but after so many years of toughening up, he was no longer in such a rush anymore, so he let go of her gently .

    ¡°Big brother!¡± Hua Chenglu said tenderly .

    ¡°This is your first time, so I¡¯ll give you a light punishment . I hope you learn your lesson . If this happens again, it won¡¯t be that simple anymore . ¡± Li Qingshan smiled, but he was very serious . He had never been some kind of abstaining gentleman . As a matter of fact, it could be said that he accepted everything that fell into his lap . There was nothing such as turning down food that was delivered right to his mouth .

    However, Hua Chenglu had saved him in the past, and she had called him big brother for all these years . Their relationship was something else, so he could not be so unbridled with her .

    ¡°I¡¯m going to tell sister Han that you harassed me!¡± Hua Chenglu wiped her lips harshly and shot a vicious glance at him . The Wisdom Imbuement and all these years of growth and experience seemed to vanish . It was like she had gone back to being a girl in her teens .

    ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re even bold enough to talk back? Alright . Let¡¯s go find her right now for a discussion and see just who is in the right . ¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Hua Chenglu by the wrist and made his way out .

    ¡°No!¡± Hua Chenglu put up a frantic struggle and broke free easily . She rubbed her wrist and fumed . ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re shameless!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud .

    ¡°Big brother Li, you still owe me something!¡± Hua Chenglu said .

    ¡°I almost would¡¯ve forgotten about that if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it . You better think about it carefully while I¡¯m at the South sea!¡±

    Li Qingshan left, and Hua Chenglu returned to her seat . She continued to think, except it was about something else that bugged her .

    Around dusk, Li Qingshan and Xiao An set off on their journey to the Mist province .

 Chapter 758

    Flying over several thousand kilometers of mountains was merely the beginning of the journey . Finally, he arrived at the boundary of the Green province again . The endless sea of green stretched southward towards the end of the world .

    Li Qingshan took out the mental map of the Mist province and glanced at it . His eyes landed on a chain of mountains . That was where Fire Melt mountain stood, the location of the divine wutong tree .

    He had specially asked the Great Banyan Tree King about this, but this matter was rather troublesome, as Fire Melt mountain was currently where the royal clan of the Fire Devouring Folk stood . The wutong tree even happened to be their divine tree, which made it almost unapproachable .

    There was nothing strange about that . Everyone wanted a good place, and in the end, it would definitely be occupied by the strong . After the phoenix had flown away, those that would become the new masters of the divine wutong tree definitely would not be the weak .

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An beside him, ¡°We¡¯ll go to the Great Marsh of Cloud Dream first and check on Ru Xin . ¡±

    ¡°Alright . ¡±

    The Great March of Cloud Dream shimmered with colour . The boundless mists surged about .

    The dense spiritual qi in the marsh vaguely seemed to condense together . All of its glistening waves fell to the control of a tiny Water God Seal .

    ¡°She seems to be cultivating,¡± Li Qingshan sensed and said .

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the South Sea commandery first and remove all the dangers before having her come over?¡± Xiao An said .

    ¡°That works too . We can leave her here to properly cultivate for a period of time!¡± Li Qingshan nodded . Having such a large region of water under her control was quite a rare opportunity for her as she possessed the bloodline of Merfolk . Compared to cultivation, everything else could be shifted backwards a bit .

    As a result, the two of them flew over Cloud Dream marsh and continued south . Their destination was not the South Sea commandery, but the Mist capital .

    The Mist capital stood in the centre of the Mist province . It was where the provincial lord¡¯s estate was located, the city that belonged to the King of Southern Yue . It was the second largest city in the Mist province . The headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard in the Mist province was near it too .

    Under the gloomy sky, a huge, golden hawk with a wingspan of three hundred meters gripped the mountain firmly with its talons, overlooking the Mist capital in the distance and giving off a heavy sense of surveillance and warning . The Hawkwolf Guard had always been an important force that watched and guarded the wild boundaries for the imperial court, but after several thousand years of wind and rain, even the golden hawk that had been created through great lengths seemed to dull a little .

    The Great Xiao empire had already lost control over the Mist province . All that existed now was subservience in name . The imposing Hawkwolf Guard had instead become a target of all, disliked by all organisations . Basically only its organisational system for commanderies remained in the Mist province, and even they had holed up in a defensive state .

    At this moment, Li Qingshan and Xiao An stood at the foot of the mountain, gazing at the golden hawk that perched proudly on the peak of the mountain .

    After reporting their arrival, they stepped onto the mountain under the lead of an attendant . The vegetation on the mountain was lush, and the huge trees formed forests . The scenery was beautiful . The pavilions, terraces, and halls were all majestic, and they were not influenced by the customs of the Mist province . They possessed prominent features of the Dragon province .

    However, there were not a lot of people present, which made it seem rather quiet . They came across a few people from time to time, and they were all Qi Practitioners that were much more powerful than mortals . They played the role of attendants, maintaining the basic operations of this place .

    Li Qingshan arrived at the mountain peak . Halls stretched from place to place, beautifully decorated, but after walking around, he failed to find the Gold Hawk commander, realising that he was currently in secluded cultivation .

    In the end, Li Qingshan followed the lead of an attendant in black again and retrieved his uniform and waist tablet as the White Wolf commander . Afterwards, he did not receive any other particular treatment, so he left the mountain, feeling rather stumped .

    He was a White Wolf commander for heaven¡¯s sake . That was a prominent figure in the Green province, someone that could already be regarded as towards the higher end of the ranks available in the Hawkwolf Guard, yet he actually received such cold treatment in the Mist province .

    However, he already understood what was being implied behind all this . ¡°No matter what kind of danger you run into, don¡¯t rely on anyone standing up for you . Even if you¡¯re killed, no one will be there to avenge you!¡±

    ¡°Message received!¡± Li Qingshan smiled . He said to Xiao An, ¡°This place doesn¡¯t want me, but there¡¯ll be a place that wants me . Let¡¯s go!¡±

    As a result, he did not stop in the Mist capital and headed straight to the South Sea commandery . The two of them stopped every now and then . After a dozen or so days of flying, they finally reached the commandery city of South Sea at dusk .

    The air became hotter and more humid . When he took in a breath, he felt like he had sucked in a lung full of hot steam . Trees that stood over a hundred meters tall were commonplace and several-hundred-meter-tall trees were not rare either . If this were his past life, they would be hundred-storey-tall skyscrapers instead . They formed a primitive yet three-dimensional world, and the commandery city of South Sea happened to be built within it .

    More accurately, it was built on a huge tree that almost stood one thousand five hundred meters tall . The bark was riddled with holes and wrapped in pathways constructed from wooden planks . People in strange attires entered and emerged from these holes, making their way around the wooden pathways like tiny ants .

    The thick tree branches supported structures upon structures and forts upon forts . People made their way around on skyways woven from vines, moving between the branches . The place was clamorous and bustling, no different from a regular human city .

    Before Li Qingshan had come to the South Sea commandery, he had done some homework . He knew that the further south, the thicker and larger the trees would become . Everyone lived among the trees, and unless it was absolutely necessary, they would never go to the ground . Some people had never even visited the ground in their entire lives .

    Sunlight struggled to penetrate the thick canopy, so the ground never saw the light of day . Thick mist floated along the ground constantly as life-threatening miasma . The layers upon layers of leaves formed a terrain that was akin to a bog, which was heaven to various daemonic beasts and venomous insects . Even the plants that lived in the shade all year round were filled with aggressiveness .

    Under an extreme environment like this, even cultivators would be in danger, let alone mortals . It was impossible for barbarian tribes composed of mortals to exist . Only powerful shaman tribes could survive here, and they had to constantly face the test of death .

    As a result, the boundary between good and bad became extremely blurred . Only survival took priority . Most of those who managed to survive in these circumstances were gritty, vicious, and crafty, willing to do anything for the sake of survival . Whether it was man or woman, old or young, they all desperately seeked power .

    As a result, demonic and evil arts that could rapidly increase strength were prominent, regardless of how bloody the cultivation method was or how severe the side-effects were . It was absolutely impossible for a pure and peaceful cultivation system to exist here . If they could not even survive today, why would they think about what happened in a decade¡¯s time?

    Gambling their lives went without saying . Lives were worth nothing, whether it was someone else¡¯s or their own . The more afraid of dying a person was, the shorter their lives would be . As a result, no matter if demonic cultivators prospered or declined, they could never be completely eradicated . The strong that emerged from this piece of land all bore the deep marks of demonic cultivators no matter what cultivation method they practised .

    ¡°From today onwards, we¡¯ll be living in a place like this . Doesn¡¯t seem too bad . It¡¯s a pity that we¡¯re still very far away from the sea . Once I visit the Hawkwolf Guard, let¡¯s go take a look at the ocean!¡± Li Qingshan said in complete anticipation .

    Despite practising the Arts of the Boundless Ocean for all these years, he had yet to see the ocean of this world! The true ocean surged with waves and was boundless .

    As the landmark structure of the Hawkwolf Guard, a silver-white hawk perched on a massive branch high up on a huge tree . At first glance, they actually matched together, like a regular hawk perching on a branch .

    Li Qingshan flew over and attracted countless gazes . A vigilant voice rang out from the Hawkwolf Guard .

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°The White Wolf commander, Li Qingshan!¡±

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 Chapter 759

    On the tree branch under the white hawk¡¯s talons were several structures . They were all tree houses built into the branch . There were huge baskets woven from vines hanging beneath the branch with people moving about . They had completely transformed a tree branch into a floating garden, which was filled with an exotic vibe .

    White Wolf guards in white uniforms embroidered with white wolves moved between the strangely-shaped structures . Despite all being first heavenly tribulation cultivators, their valiant, handsome uniform just seemed like they had stolen it from somewhere when they wore it .

    They either rolled up their sleeves all the way up their arms, or they tied the hem of their uniform to their waists . Basically all of them moved around with bare feet . Out of the ten people there, eight of them stared at Xiao An beside Li Qingshan . From how they ogled at her, they did not seem like cultivators at all . They seemed more like perverts that had never seen women before for their past eight lives .

    Out of the remaining two, one was ready to take pleasure in Li Qingshan¡¯s misfortune . He seemed unconcerned, like he was watching a show .

    The last one was filled with surprise . He asked with a strange tone, ¡°White Wolf commander? White Wolf commander of what?¡±

    ¡°The White Wolf commander of the South Sea commandery, obviously . Send your White Hawk commander over to see me!¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised . He had been appointed as their White Wolf commander, yet these guards actually had no idea, or were they just putting on an act?

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a big mouth you have, sir . You¡¯re just a White Wolf commander, so it should be you who sees our commander instead!¡± said an undisciplined White Wolf guard .

    It was a mystery just how many rings he had through his ears and nostrils, and he was even covered in green paint . It only took a single glance to tell he came from a shaman tribe . His face was filled with contempt .

    ¡°Who are you supposed to be? How can you speak to me like that?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned . Even a mere White Wolf guard was provoking him, so his confidence must have come from somewhere . Was the White Hawk commander trying to test him? Or did he have some powerful background? From the cultivation he had achieved at such a young age, he must have had the guidance of a master . Perhaps he came from a demonic sect .

    ¡°You¡¯ll obviously find out about my name in the future . Commander, why don¡¯t you tell us the name of the beauty beside you instead?¡± The White Wolf guard was indolent and disrespectful . He did not take Li Qingshan seriously at all .

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan, and Li Qingshan smiled . Suddenly, he vanished from where he was and appeared in front of the White Wolf guard, reaching over with his hand .

    ¡°You-¡±

    Even the White Wolf guard had never expected Li Qingshan to attack him at whim as soon as he arrived . Green smoke rose up from his body, and a foul smell assaulted the nose . It was clearly poison .

    Li Qingshan ignored the poisonous smoke and gripped him firmly by the throat, lifting him up .

    ¡°Do you know who my master is?¡± The White Wolf guard¡¯s face turned purple; he struggled with his feet, but his face was just as vicious as before . ¡°If you even touch a hair on me, you won¡¯t be able to take another step in the South sea . ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll obviously find out when he comes for revenge . Moreover, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to be walking around, so why would I be afraid of being unable to take another step?¡± Li Qingshan smiled . He did not give off any murderousness or malice . Someone like him was not worth getting serious over .

    ¡°This one is Chen Junyan . Sir, you are the bigger man, so please spare my lowly life . I¡¯ll never do it again! From today onwards, I¡¯m willing to serve you like a horse and follow you wherever you go . I¡¯m most familiar with the South Sea commandery!¡±

    To Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, the White Wolf guard who had been so aggressive just a moment ago suddenly changed his attitude and began pleading loudly for his life . He was completely unfazed by all his colleagues watching from the surroundings, sucking up to Li Qingshan as much as possible .

    He cursed inside viciously, This unlucky bastard who got transferred to the South sea is no joke, and he actually wants to kill me . A clever man avoids troubles he can easily avoid . Once I escape today, there¡¯ll be plenty of suffering waiting for him in the future . He¡¯s come to the South Sea commandery, yet he doesn¡¯t know how to tuck his tail between his legs and watch himself . Does he really think he¡¯s invincible just by undergoing the second heavenly tribulation?

    ¡°Heh, your name is pretty elegant . I¡¯ll send you off today!¡± Li Qingshan did not waver, picking him up off the ground .

    ¡°Release him!¡±

    A streak of light rushed over from the lush canopy and turned into a small, skinny old man with slanted eyes . His white clothes depicted a soaring, white hawk, making him the White Hawk commander of the South Sea commandery .

    ¡°Subordinate Li Qingshan greets the commander . May I ask for your esteemed name, commander?¡± Li Qingshan said, but he showed no respect at all . He continued to hold the White Wolf guard .

    This old bastard was clearly watching from above . Maybe he¡¯s even behind what happened today .

    ¡°I¡¯m Huang Siqin . So you¡¯re Li Qingshan . I¡¯ve heard about you, I¡¯ve heard about you!¡± Huang Xiqin studied Li Qingshan before glancing at Xiao An beside him . The message he had received from prince Si Qing a few days ago crossed his mind again .

    They were the two genius disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga; they were both under the age of thirty and had undergone the second heavenly tribulation . Their future prospects were immeasurable . Because one of them had offended prince Si Qing, he had been transferred here .

    Prince Si Qing wanted Li Qingshan dead . He said he would definitely give Huang Siqin heavy thanks afterwards and would even potentially transfer him back to the Dragon province! Huang Siqin had absolutely no interest in returning to the Dragon province . He had been transferred here many years ago, and he had already adjusted completely to the lifestyle here . He had contact with the various organisations in the South Sea commandery, and he was even secretly a guest elder for several sects .

    Now that the empire was declining and the demonic path was rising up once more, his status grew with it . No matter who, as long as they wanted to unite the demonic cultivators of the South Sea commandery, they would need him pulling strings from within . Even the Mist capital had a use for him . Having lost the motivation to push for the third heavenly tribulation, he used almost a century to build a network of connections .

    He possessed extraordinary power here . When he needed to, he could even make certain powerful cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation take action for him . As a result, he did not care too much about prince Si Qing¡¯s heavy thanks, but he still decided to do this for him .

    The two of them had identities that were far too dazzling . Since they had come to the South sea, the more of a genius they were, the more they could forget about leaving this place alive . Two orthodox disciples coming here was basically like throwing two embers into the boundless ocean . No matter how powerful they were, they could not avoid the fate of being extinguished .

    All he was doing was abiding to the circumstances!

    Of course, there was always a way out of this . He also gave them a chance to survive . As long as they obeyed his orders, understood their limits, and behaved like two good dogs that knew how to wag their tails, he did not mind helping them out and leading them on a path of survival .

    He could completely neglect prince Si Qing¡¯s rage . Everything depended on the benefit he could derive from it .

    But looking at it now, the two of them really did not know how to behave themselves . They had missed out on the fantastic opportunity he had given them . In particular, that Li Qingshan had actually laid his hands directly on his subordinate . He really had no idea what kind of situation he was in .

    Huang Siqin felt sorry for them inside, Since you¡¯re determined to set off on a path of death, I¡¯m not going to stop you . That one called Li Qingshan is arrogant and stubborn, so he¡¯s easier to deal with . In comparison, that woman with the dharma name ¡°One Will¡± hasn¡¯t demonstrated anything just yet, and she¡¯s an unbelievable beauty . Even he became interested after seeing her .

    However, all of this was merely trifles . The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was tens of thousand kilometers away, but standing behind them were still two Monk Kings after all . He still had to handle this matter carefully, just in case he attracted trouble .

    Huang Siqin made up his mind and smiled . ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come so soon, so I didn¡¯t notify the boys . Release him and come with me . I¡¯ll go arrange a banquet right now to welcome you after your long journey! The Mist province might be a land of wilderness, but it has its own charms too . ¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed Chen Junyan in his hands towards the ground with a bit of force .

    With a thunk, a living person was smashed to a pulp . Blood splattered, and he did not even have the time to howl out .

    ¡°All he said were a few words of disrespect! Aren¡¯t you going too far?¡± Huang Siqin¡¯s face changed drastically . He never expected Li Qingshan to actually kill him, and he did so right in front of him . That was basically no different from slapping his face . Meanwhile, the girl remained as expressionless as ever . Was she really a buddhist disciple?

    ¡°Then you better make sure they watch their words in the future, commander!¡± Li Qingshan said .

    Li Qingshan did not come to the South Sea commandery to compromise . The fifth layer of the tiger demon did not arise from discretion either . Instead, it came from fighting and killing, the more enemies the better!

    If he were still in the Green province, he would never kill a White Wolf guard so casually . The fact that the Mist province was a lawless land was instead a good thing to him . He was trying to force Huang Siqin into flipping out and attacking him . Then he could be promoted to White Hawk commander .

    ¡°Do you know who his master is?¡± Huang Siqin asked with a sunken face .

    ¡°I¡¯ll obviously find out when he comes for revenge . Don¡¯t you think so, commander Huang?¡± Li Qingshan stared at Huang Siqin and smiled .

    ¡°Then have you heard about the concept that even great external forces might struggle to triumph over local powers?¡±

    Originally, Huang Siqin planned on expressing good will at first and winning over Li Qingshan . Then he would make use of his identity as a White Hawk commander to send him off on various dangerous missions . If Li Qingshan died, it would not be his fault, and if he survived, then that would be equivalent to gaining a powerful bruiser . However, he never expected Li Qingshan to not take him seriously at all . He had no intentions of befriending him either, making his plan fall apart completely .

    ¡°Shut your mouth! I could tell with a single glance that an old bastard like you was up to no good! I, Li Qingshan, have come to the South Sea commandery, have become the White Wolf commander, not to waste time blabbering nonsense with you! Instead, I¡¯ve come to purge demons and maintain justice . Those who abide by me will prosper, and those who defy me will die! Hahahaha!¡± Li Qingshan laughed madly .

    His voice echoed through the forest, reaching everyone¡¯s ears in the commandery city of South Sea, which made them all look over . They wondered just who was bold enough to boast like that . Were they crazy?

    He tried to put on a righteous act, but his words and actions made him seem like a major villain instead .

    Huang Siqin was dumbfounded . He had never imagined that an orthodox sect of the Green province, a buddhist holy land of cultivation, could actually produce such a disciple! He completely ignored any rules of etiquette and was completely unreasonable .

    ¡°Huang Siqin, as the White Hawk commander, not only do you abuse your privileges without doing a stroke of work, but you even collude with demonic cultivators to bring harm upon all . Your crimes will not be forgiven today, and you will be punished with death . What do you have to say?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter stopped, and he pointed straight at Huang Siqin, berating him furiously . A magnificent red light poured out of his eyes, and he surged with demon qi .

    I don¡¯t have any idea whether Huang Siqin is actually colluding with demonic cultivators, but who cares! I¡¯ll be promoted as soon as I kill him . If I see that bird woman again, we¡¯ll be on equal footing .

    ¡°What evidence do you have? You¡¯re making an unfounded accusation against me!¡± Huang Siqin was furious . Suddenly, a great sense of danger filled his heart .

    ¡°You traitor of the orthodoxy and scum of the demonic cultivators! Go explain yourself to the king of hell!¡±

 Chapter 760

    Li Qingshan berated righteously as the surging demon qi suddenly drew in and consolidated, turning into his Demon Commander form . With the Traitorous Demon sword in hand, the demonic eye stared straight at Huang Siqin without budging at all .

    Who the fuck is supposed to be the demonic cultivator here?

    All of the White Wolf guards cursed inside . Normally, demonic cultivators was only a generalisation . Those who practised demonic and evil arts were known as demonic cultivators, and those who defied virtue and laws were also known as demonic cultivators . However, whether it was the cultivation method he had just unleashed or how he behaved, Li Qingshan was basically the dictionary definition of the term ¡°demonic cultivator¡± .

    A person like that was actually labelling others as demonic cultivators! None of the people present were good people, but even they felt an urge to curse aloud .

    Huang Siqin had basically realised that this bastard never planned on letting anyone have a good time right from the beginning . He had come intentionally to tear down this place .

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you really think you can look down on me just because there are two of you? When I underwent the second heavenly tribulation, you weren¡¯t even born yet!¡±

    Huang Siqin¡¯s voice was still old and hoarse at the beginning, but towards the end, it had already become booming and highly imposing .

    Suddenly, his body swelled up as teeth protruded from his mouth . He became covered in white fur, and a tail extended from hind . A while later, he went from being a skinny old man to a half-human, half-ape . His two thick arms pressed against the ground as he stared at Li Qingshan murderously .

    He actually had a daemon bloodline!

    The races mingled among each other in the Mist province, unlike the Green province that segregated humans and daemons . Procreation occurred between daemons and humans, and even otherfolk and humans, such that many humans were mixed with daemon heritages .

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    Some people might have had parents or even ancestors as humans, but in the face of danger, they could actually unleash their daemon bloodlines . This was the result of intermarriage between daemons and humans among their ancestors, which allowed the bloodline to be passed down . With each passing generation, the bloodline became more latent . As a result, there was a saying that the south of the Mist province no longer had any pure humans .

    The situation in the Clear River prefecture would never happen here, where humans and daemons waged a large-scale war against each other . Perhaps it was better described as the battle having never ceased in the first place, just that it was a battle for survival and a battle of interests instead .

    And, not only was possessing a daemon bloodline not a disgrace in the Mist province, but it was even a source of pride instead . Those that could produce offspring with humans would be powerful daemons above Daemon General at the very least . Their bloodline could quickly bestow a mortal with a powerful physique or even some wondrous powers .

    Huang Siqin let out a furious roar as his great aura mixed in with daemon qi rushed into the air . The verdant leaves of the canopy began to sway as a result, leading to a loud rustle .

    ¡°If the two of you wish to fight, please go elsewhere! Don¡¯t damage the tree city!¡±

    At this moment, a streak of light flew down from the canopy and turned into a middle-aged man in luxurious robes with a long hat . Li Qingshan found his attire rather familiar, making him remember the deceased Marquis of Ruyi, Jiang Fu . Although many details were different, where the patterning and the way he dressed gave off more southern vibes, the overall design was the same .

    ¡°Sir, are you perhaps the governor of the South Sea commandery, the Marquis of Serene Sea?¡± Li Qingshan asked .

    This was the uniform that the Great Xia empire allocated to conferred marquises, similar to the uniform of the Hawkwolf Guard . It both demonstrated their identities and expressed their allegiance, but from the alterations to the uniform, he could tell that there was not a lot of allegiance remaining .

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± the Marquis of Serene Sea said icily .

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    Originally, he had been watching on from his estate high in the tree city . He also found delight over the fact that someone could make Huang Siqin suffer . However, he frowned when he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s bold claims . Seeing how disrespectful he was right now, he felt even more displeased .

    He was not merely the ruler of the South Sea commandery in name . He also possessed a relative foundation of strength, which allowed him to consolidate his position . Several thousand years ago, when the founding emperor conferred titles to the marquess, he had chosen powerful people who could keep the various regions under their control . Following an unbroken chain of descendants over several thousand years, they had all become powerful aristocratic clans .

    As the owner of this territory, how could he let other wild beasts roar in front of him? However, he was not too concerned with Li Qingshan . They called him genius, but he was only a brat getting ahead of himself . It was no wonder that he would be sent here .

    In contrast, Xiao An who remained silent to the side caught a little more of his attention . Her beauty was basically unheard of, and her cultivation and talent went even more without saying . If he could take her on as his wife, the prestige of his clan would definitely swell, so he could consider that .

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry . I¡¯ll be very quick . You can just watch on from the side . ¡± A smile appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s curved visor as he waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly .

    ¡°You!¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea blanked out from anger . He already began to suspect whether there was something wrong with Li Qingshan¡¯s head or not .

    ¡°Marquis, let¡¯s kill this crazy fool together!¡± Huang Siqin was tempted to drag the Marquis of Serene Sea into the mix . Although he possessed absolute confidence in his strength, two against one was still troublesome .

    ¡°The disagreements between the two of you are a matter of the Hawkwolf Guard . I¡¯m in no position to take a side . Please go elsewhere to fight . No one else is allowed to interfere!¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was nowhere near stupid enough to share Huang Siqin¡¯s blame, but in consideration for their usual relationship, he basically gave him a helping hand . On the surface, he seemed like he was ensuring everything remained fair, saying that no one was allowed to interfere, but he was indirectly blocking Xiao An, making Li Qingshan lose a powerful ally .

    Huang Siqin rejoiced inside . All of his efforts to befriend him had not been in vain . It was just a pity that this kid had come so quickly and stirred up trouble so vigorously, preventing him from gathering any helpers in time, or he would definitely frighten Li Qingshan to the point where he pissed his pants .

    ¡°Even you, the Marquis of Serene Sea, dares to collude with demonic cultivators? That¡¯s a crime punishable by death!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back and said in some surprise . Killing intent silently pervaded the surroundings .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was dumbfounded . Just who was he supposed to be? He actually burnt all of his bridges and directly issued a threat- no, it was no longer as simple as a threat . Instead, he was downright asking him, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    By the time he had returned to his senses, he was overcome with rage . Even he could not remember how many years it had been since someone said something like that to him!

    ¡°You kill that one . I¡¯ll kill this one . ¡±

    Xiao An spoke calmly, pointing at Huang Siqin and then at the Marquis of Serene Sea . It was as if she was not referring to two prominent figures of the South Sea commandery, but two nobodies they could crush at whim!

    The Marquis of Serene Sea flew into a range . Murderousness surged rapidly, and in the next moment, a frightening attack was on the brink of being launched .

    ¡°There¡¯s no need! They¡¯re perfect for me to temper my path of the sword!¡±

    During the past few days, Li Qingshan had spent plenty of time studying the jade slip Yin Xiaochou had given him . His understanding of swordsmanship had deepened yet again, and he happened to be lacking actual combat!

    His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the Marquis of Serene Sea who was on the brink of striking, extinguishing his fury and clearing his mind .

    He actually turned down his companion to take the two of them on alone, which either meant he was truly a mad fool, or he possessed absolute confidence in his strength . Considering the fact that he had reached his current realm at such a young age, the latter was clearly a little more likely .

    I have no grievances with them, so why should I become wrapped up in this? Even if I kill them, it¡¯ll just spell trouble for myself!

    As a result, the Marquis of Serene Sea withdrew his aura and said, ¡°That would be nonsense, fellow . Under the orders of the imperial court, my clan has guarded and protected the South sea for generations, so how could I be in collusion with demonic cultivators?¡± He gently asked Xiao An, ¡°May I ask what your name is, fellow?¡± He behaved like the killing intent earlier was all fake, clearly expressing he would not be taking part in this .

    Li Qingshan clicked his tongue in pity, such that even Huang Siqin felt that something was amiss . He immediately began to curse the Marquis of Serene Sea inside, but on the surface, he let out a long sigh .

    ¡°Alright you, Li Qingshan . Considering the fact that you¡¯re still young and ignorant, I¡¯m not going to stoop down to your level . I¡¯ll just treat it as if I never heard what you said . We¡¯re both Hawkwolf guards, so it¡¯s best if we set aside our differences and cooperate with each other sincerely . Don¡¯t you agree-¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him . ¡°Then do you want me to repeat myself, you old demonic monkey?! Cut the bullshit . You¡¯ll be dying whether you want to or not today! Come at me!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t take it too far!¡±

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    Huang Siqin roared at the sky . He wanted to take a step back and gather his helpers before going in for the kill, but Li Qingshan did not give him that opportunity at all . Li Qingshan thought, I¡¯m going to kill you no matter what today . I¡¯m in a hurry to become a White Hawk commander!

    Before he knew it, Huang Siqin¡¯s original confidence had vanished completely . He no longer believed that victory would be guaranteed, and he even began considering taking a step back first . They had not even begun fighting, but he had already been completely overwhelmed by Li Qingshan .

    Li Qingshan formed a seal with his hand and extended his fingers . The Traitorous Demon sword turned into a streak of light and whistled out .

    In response, Huang Siqin drew a huge, dark, glossy-green blade . Engraved on the hilt was the vicious head of a ghost . He swung it towards the streak of light viciously .

    Clang! With an extremely sharp thrum, the Traitorous Demon sword spiraled away . It split into three in the air and flew over again . Under the control of Li Qingshan¡¯s soul sense, it constantly slashed at Huang Siqin .

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Huang Siqin whirled the huge blade into a blur, constantly repelling the Traitorous Demon swords such that they were unable to get any closer . He eased up inside, This kid might talk big, but his strength is only so-so . He almost bluffed me!

    Li Qingshan was focused, constantly changing his hand seals . The Traitorous Demon sword sometimes moved about as a streak of light and sometimes produced streaks of sword qi . Clearly, he was using all of his efforts and was not intentionally putting on a false act of being weak .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea on the side let out a sigh of relief . His ability to control the sword is quite impressive, and his comprehension of the path of the sword can be described as impressive too . Relative to his age, you can already call him a genius . Unfortunately, the sword is just an arcane artifact, and no matter how he maneuvers it around, it¡¯s just those few moves . He¡¯s basically dreaming if he thinks he can kill Huang Siqin with only this .

    ¡°Die, kid!¡±

    Huang Siqin became convinced that this was all there was to Li Qingshan . He knocked the Traitorous Demon sword away in a single stroke and leapt up . After conjuring the hand of a huge ghost wielding a dark-green blade aura thirty meters long, he slashed at Li Qingshan .

    Not only was this strike swift and fierce, sealing off all room to maneuver about or dodge, but the huge ghost also let out a howl that could stun people!

    Li Qingshan lost his sword and seemed like he was momentarily influenced . He became rather dazed .

    When the blade was about to slash down on Li Qingshan¡¯s head, Huang Siqin hesitated instead . It was not because he had suddenly found a conscience, but because he was worried . The forces of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga did not reach the South sea, but if a Monk King took action and set their minds on him as a target to hunt down, everything he had built up in the Mist province would come falling down even if he managed to survive .

    ¡°Originally, I wanted to keep you around and play with you a little longer, but you don¡¯t even have the determination to kill me? Such a feeble opponent is simply disappointing . You can go die!¡±

    Li Qingshan formed a hand seal and conveniently extended a finger . A dragon¡¯s cry erupted, drowning out the ghost howl .

 Chapter 761

    The figure of a dragon coiled around Li Qingshan¡¯s right arm, reaching the tip of his fingers and whistling out . There was a boundless dragon cry, but almost no one managed to make out its shape .

    At the same time, the Traitorous Demon sword that had been knocked away swung around in the air . The demonic eye on the hilt locked onto Huang Siqin, producing a demonic glow . It was like it was trying to see him all the way through .

    Huang Siqin¡¯s heart reached his throat . A feeling of death enveloped him . He let out a sudden roar, and the white fur on him stood on end, surging with spiritual qi that formed an indestructible barrier .

    The dragon arrived in a flash, piercing the huge ghost, piercing the spiritual qi, and piercing Huang Siqin¡¯s head, leaving his face frozen in shock .

    In that moment, boundless sword intent completely destroyed his sea of consciousness . He could not even detonate his golden core in time to try and take Li Qingshan down with him .

    The dragon returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, coiling around and lurking there quietly .

    This was the power of an arcane treasure, and one that was purely offensive in nature . However, Li Qingshan did not rely on just the arcane treasure to kill Huang Siqin in a single stroke .

    Huang Siqin¡¯s cultivation was very powerful . He was at mid or late Golden Core at the very least, and who knew how many other abilities and skills he was hiding . If Li Qingshan only used the power of the Demon Suppression Statuary, killing him would truly be difficult . Killing an opponent had never been easy at their level of cultivation .

    But right from the beginning, he had lost the confidence of achieving victory . Then he recovered his confidence because of how weak Li Qingshan seemed, but in the final moment, he hesitated again . These fluctuations in his mental state were life-threatening . In particular, he was basically asking to be killed with his hesitation in the final moment .

    The Traitorous Demon sword saw through his openings in a single glance, and the Demon Dragon sword cut him down in a single stroke . All of this made perfect sense .

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    Huang Siqin¡¯s corpse collapsed, and Li Qingshan immediately rushed over, fishing out a hundred treasures pouch and removing a strange golden core from his body . It was a frosty white and oval in shape like an insect egg, containing great power . It must have been a special golden core condensed from the arts of shaman gu of the south!

    In the end, Li Qingshan stowed Huang Siqin¡¯s corpse into his sumeru ring, and just like that, an imposing White Hawk commander of the south had vanished from the world . It was a pity that he had croaked like this, unable to use any of his vast array of techniques or abilities . He had truly died in complete regret .

    For a moment, the huge branch fell completely silent . All of the White Wolf guards were stunned . Even the cultivators who had the right to live in the canopy and spectate this battle held their breaths unconsciously .

    Indistinct noise rang out below . Everyone raised their heads and wondered what had happened .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was shaken . He had a good idea about how powerful Huang Siqin was . Even he was not confident about defeating him in battle, yet he had actually been casually slain like that . Let alone escape, he could not even respond in time .

    Suddenly, he realised that he had just strolled past the brink of death . If he actually began fighting earlier on impulse, that would probably be his fate too . Li Qingshan was bold enough to kill his superior the moment he got here, let alone him, the Marquis of Serene Sea . He was not arrogant, but powerful!

    Those who were not bold would never take a risk like that!

    Li Qingshan cleared his throat by coughing twice . Like two claps of thunder, it made everyone return to their senses .

    ¡°Nicely done!¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea praised loudly .

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    ¡°Oh? Why¡¯s it nice?¡± Li Qingshan reverted to human form and asked mischievously .

    ¡°Huang Siqin had been colluding with demonic cultivators and terrorising my South Sea commandery for all these years, with no one to eradicate him . It¡¯s all thanks to you, fellow . You arrived like an emissary of heaven, upholding justice and maintaining righteousness . It¡¯s fantastic!¡± the Marquis of Serene Sea said sincerely .

    ¡°Hahaha, eradicating the demonic and preserving the orthodoxy is my duty . You¡¯re too kind, governor . ¡±

    ¡°What governor? If you don¡¯t mind, fellow, you can just call me by my name . I¡¯m called-¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Li Qingshan interrupted with a smile . What he was implying was very clear . I don¡¯t want to know what your name is .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea said awkwardly, ¡°Fair enough, fair enough! I¡¯d like to invite you to my estate so that I can live up to my responsibility as the local leader to welcome you, commander!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Then Li Qingshan turned around and asked the White Wolf commanders, ¡°Is there a place to communicate with the superiors here?¡±

    ¡°There is! There¡¯s a long-distance transmission room here!¡±

    ¡°Then help me report that the White Hawk commander Huang Siqin was colluding with demonic cultivators and has already been slain by the White Wolf commander Li Qingshan . He¡¯s currently still investigating whether others have been colluding with demonic cultivators or not . ¡± Li Qingshan paused and looked around . All of the White Wolf guards shivered . Then he added, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to ask the great commander to promote me to White Hawk commander . ¡±

    The corner of the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s eye twitched . Isn¡¯t that a little too obvious?

    The Marquis of Serene Sea invited Li Qingshan and Xiao An to the top of the huge tree, to a pavilion composed of twisted branches . They could see the sea of trees from there . The breeze was gentle, the birds twittered, and the scenery was beautiful .

    Li Qingshan tasted the delicacies and fine alcohol as he admired the local song and dance . It was filled with features of the south, possessing an exotic charm .

    Sitting at the banquet, the Marquis of Serene Sea apologised to Li Qingshan again, so Li Qingshan forgave him generously, expressing that he did not look like the type that would collude with demonic cultivators!

    The Marquis of Serene Sea smiled apologetically, carefully probing out Li Qingshan¡¯s bottom line . Actually, what he wanted to ask the most was whether the dragon figure that had appeared for a flash earlier was an arcane treasure or not . However, upon further consideration, he did not ask that, both because he was afraid of offending Li Qingshan and also because he already knew the answer . If it was not an arcane treasure, how could it pierce Huang Siqin¡¯s defences so easily?

    He really is a prodigy from a large sect of the Green province . He even has an arcane treasure . Even I, the Marquis of Serene Sea, only have the Seal of Mountains and Rivers that bears some resemblance to an arcane treasure . If news of this gets out, he¡¯ll definitely become a target for all . Everyone will want to steal it from him .

    But upon further consideration, the Marquis of Serene Sea decided to keep his mouth shut . If he were up against a normal person, refusing to admit he divulged the news was enough . After all, they could not fall out with him over some suspicion . However, this unreasonable ruffian Li Qingshan probably would not listen to his explanations at all . As long as he had even the slightest bit of suspicion, all he had to do was utter, ¡°You look like you collude with demonic cultivators . ¡± and it would be bold enough to kill him!

    Anyways, this person is far too ostentatious! I better avoid him for now and wait until the day he digs his own grave!

    ¡­¡­

    Outside the Mist capital, in the Hawkwolf Guard .

    An attendant rushed to the back of the mountain and arrived before a towering tree . The tree stooped over a thousand meters tall . It was not particularly conspicuous, but the attendant bowed politely towards the tree .

    ¡°Commander, there¡¯s been a report from the South Sea commandery!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    The huge tree suddenly opened a pair of eyes . A tiny Gold Hawk tablet hung from a branch high up, glistening with light .

    ¡°There¡¯s been a report from the South Sea commandery that the White Hawk commander Huang Siqin has been colluding with demonic cultivators . He¡¯s already been executed by Li Qingshan, and the others are still under investigation . He requests to be promoted to White Hawk commander!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Looks like he¡¯s very suited for the south!¡±

    If this were the Green province, a White Wolf commander killing a White Hawk commander would definitely lead to a huge uproar . It was even possible for them to be taken back to the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard in the Dragon province for investigation .

    However, this was the Mist province . The South Sea commandery was to the very south of the Mist province, a place of utter chaos . Huang Siqin was not a White Hawk commander completely loyal to the Hawkwolf Guard either . If someone said he was colluding with demonic cultivators, there was no need for any investigations at all . This was a secret that everyone in the southern region knew about . It would be a great crime in the Green province, but it was absolutely nothing in the Mist province .

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    ¡°Grant his request!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    As a result, Li Qingshan was promoted at a startling pace, becoming the new White Hawk commander of the South Sea commandery .

    ¡°Heh, if you wanna hold a post as an official, you really gotta commit murder, arson, and enlist rebels into your ranks!¡±

    Li Qingshan changed into the uniform of a White Hawk commander, standing tall and gracefully . A tiny, silver hawk hung from his waist as he smiled at Xiao An .

    Now, he would be waiting for various kinds of people to come kill him so that he could enjoy the warm welcome from the locals of the South sea .

    However, no matter how he waited, he did not even catch the glimpse of an enemy . Even the master of the White Wolf guard he had smashed to death did not come to avenge his disciple . His days here were basically even more peaceful than when he was in the Green province .

    Li Qingshan was utterly puzzled . Was this still the danger-ridden south? He felt like he had misunderstood something, so he visited the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s estate again .

    ¡°Congratulations on being promoted to White Hawk commander! May I ask what has brought you here today?¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea asked cautiously .

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    ¡°Governor, tell me, why hasn¡¯t anyone come to kill me?¡± Li Qingshan sat down without any invitation and asked with a frown .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was left at a loss . What kind of question was that? He even seemed distressed about that . He asked carefully, ¡°Why would anyone come to kill you?¡±

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m from an orthodox sect . That day, I even claimed I wanted to purge demons and maintain justice, saying that those who abide by me will prosper and those who defy me will die! News of this should have spread, right? What are these demonic cultivators waiting for before they come and kill me?¡±

    ¡°You want them to come and kill you?¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea was left as his wit¡¯s end .

    ¡°Of course . Why else would I say all that? Huhu, how embarrassing would it be if I were to name them one by one?¡±

    ¡°Why do you want this?¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea looked at Li Qingshan with a gaze like he was looking at a monster . As it turned out, he had intentionally said that to mock the demonic cultivators of the South Sea commandery so that he could provoke them and have them come to kill him .

    What was wrong with him?

    ¡°I want to kill people! It doesn¡¯t even have to be people . Anything works,¡± Li Qingshan said at complete ease .

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    With everything that had happened so far, he did not want to hide his true intentions anymore and ramble on some nonsense about upholding justice . His main objective of coming to the South Sea commandery was to fight to his heart¡¯s content so that the tiger demon¡¯s desire for slaughter could be completely satiated!

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the first precept of buddhism to refrain from taking life?¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea was left stunned for a good moment .

    Li Qingshan chuckled . ¡°Eradicating the demonic and preserving the orthodoxy, eradicating the demonic and preserving the orthodoxy!¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was very tempted to say, You don¡¯t need to explain anymore . You¡¯ve been smothered and inhibited by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga! The south that was a zone of danger in the eyes of others was a place for him to vent .

    As a result, he let out a long sigh . ¡°There probably won¡¯t be anyone trying to kill you any time soon!¡±

    ¡°Why? I heard that Huang Siqin had quite a lot of friends? Don¡¯t tell me none of them have any loyalty to him?¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea let out a dry cough . He was also technically one of Huang Siqin¡¯s ¡°friends¡± . After beating around the bush, Li Qingshan finally understood why no one was making trouble for him .

    First of all, the great strength he had demonstrated when killing Huang Siqin was already enough to deter most demonic cultivators . Even with Huang Siqin¡¯s network, a person dying was far all too common . This was the south . No one would be willing to work for a corpse¡¯s sake .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words and actions that he believed to be highly provocative achieved exactly the opposite effect . With how arrogant and brutal he was, killing people without even batting an eye, he was clearly a demon himself . Even the cultivation method he practised reeked with demon qi . Even if he was a disciple of an orthodox sect, he was merely one of them in disguise .

    As a result, the demonic powerhouses and demonic organisations capable of threatening Li Qingshan felt that they could try befriending or roping him in instead .

    ¡°It can work like that?¡± Li Qingshan was astounded .

 Chapter 762

    Li Qingshan shook his head . Sure enough, most things in life worked against someone . In the past, when he wanted to cultivate discreetly, there would always be endless trouble . Now that he had finally accomplished something with his divine arts, this dangerous land of wilderness had actually become a place of peace .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea felt some pity too . If Li Qingshan had spared Huang Siqin, allowing him to go back and make his arrangements, there would definitely be endless troubles waiting for him .

    Huang Siqin was a person who schemed deep and possessed a complicated network . He could come up with machinations endlessly . By then, as long as Li Qingshan stepped into the first trap, he would definitely become a target for all even if he could continue killing his way through the obstacles, facing a miserable fate in the end .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s seemingly crude and rash battle happened to hit the sweet spot, earning him infamy . Now, even those who were technically supposed to be on his side had to handle him carefully, afraid that this lawless madman would suddenly turn his blade towards them .

    ¡°Alright then! You really can¡¯t take shortcuts with whatever you do these days . Really have to take it nice and steady, step by step . If you want to kill people, you¡¯ll need to go to their homes . How can you depend on them coming to you?¡±

    Li Qingshan slapped his knee in self-reflection, while the Marquis of Serene Sea felt a dreadful chill run down his spine . They were in his home right now . The hand hidden in his sleeve tightened into a fist .

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m not the type to kill the innocent, heh, probably!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and said something that brought the Marquis of Serene Sea absolutely no relief before standing up and leaving the estate .

    The Marquis of Serene Sea blanked out slightly and let out a sigh of relief . He loosened his fist, which had grasped a tiny stamp inside . It was his most powerful weapon, the Seal of Mountains and Rivers .

    The friendliness he had forcefully put on immediately vanished . His face twisted viciously . Since when had he, the mighty Marquis of Serene Sea, been harassed to such a degree by a foreign kid?

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    With each day this kid remained alive, he would never find peace . The feeling of living in the same tree city with someone like him was absolutely horrible .

    But even the Marquis of Serene Sea felt rather troubled when it came to the exact details of killing him . He had constantly been contemplating this question during the past few days, but he truly struggled to find a perfect plan . It was not exactly because he could not come up with anything . The issue was once it fell through, even if only the slightest news of it had been divulged, this madman would definitely do everything he could to kill him .

    The well-off shunned risks! With his status and identity, there was no need for him to take a risk like that .

    In the end, the Marquis of Serene Sea let out a long sigh . ¡°I¡¯ll put up with what you do . Let¡¯s see just how long you can stay arrogant for!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s true that even demons are afraid of bad people in this world!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the branch where the silver hawk stood and glanced back at the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s estate high above . He could obviously sense the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s caution and vigilance against him, which made him sigh with a smile .

    If people were kind, they would be harrassed . If horses were kind, they would be ridden . If a person was too soft, everyone around them would come and harass them involuntarily, even if they derived no benefit from it . It would purely be to satisfy their ego and sense of superiority . However, against people of great violence and wickedness, even if they suffered and were wronged, they would be patient . They would curse them inside and hope for fate to punish them .

    The sky was hazy, and the surroundings were dark, like it was almost night . The air became more and more moist . The Mist province experienced a lot of rain . Even when it was not raining, there were rarely any sunny days, let alone in the southern region near the South sea .

    Whoosh!

    Heavy rain poured down, landing on the verdant leaves and creating a silent form of ruckus . The rain penetrated the canopy after great difficulty and turned into a slow drizzle, dancing about in the air and merging with the rising mist, making it impossible to distinguish between the two . The surroundings became obscured .

    Xiao An held a book and sat on the wooden floor . Her blueish-grey monk robes and beautiful, black hair draped down freely . The drizzle outside the window constantly drifted in . She silently turned another page .

    Around here were tall bookshelves, staring down silently on this rare visitor . This was the archives of the Hawkwolf Guard, which had recorded various cases and missions since its establishment .

    After several thousand years, even with the protection of formations, the pages had already yellowed, and the writing had already blurred . As time went on, the number of cases went from more to less . The records became hasty and careless too, filled with a sense of just playing along for the sake of it .

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you a jade slip? What¡¯re you reading these old books for?¡±

    Li Qingshan walked in and sat down beside her . He had obtained many spoils from Huang Siqin¡¯s hundred treasures pouch . Pills, arcane treasures, and talismans went without saying . There were also many specialties of the south, as well as a jade slip that recorded information regarding the Hawkwolf Guard of the South Sea commandery .

    ¡°I¡¯ve already read through that . ¡±

    Xiao An slanted to one side and leaned against him, flipping another page .

    ¡°Have you found anything?¡± Li Qingshan brought his hands around her shoulder, peeking over her to see the contents of the book .

    ¡°Qingshan, can we enter secluded cultivation?¡± Xiao An used her head to nudge him .

    ¡°Sure! But we need to find a suitable dwelling first . I feel like a monkey living in the trees . Is there anywhere you like?¡± Li Qingshan looked away from the book and smiled at her .

    ¡°There are a few places . Let¡¯s go take a look at all of them!¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes shone brightly . She unfurled a mental map of the Mist province and pointed at a few places with her slender finger .

    If the Marquis of Serene Sea were present, he would definitely cry out in alarm when he saw the places she pointed at .

    Li Qingshan also had some vague impressions of these few places . He agreed readily . ¡°Alright, sure . ¡±

    ¡°Then, what about here?¡± Xiao An pointed at a mountain valley .

    ¡°That should be a good place, but it¡¯s occupied by some unwelcome guests . I have no choice, do I? For the sake of our Xiao An, I¡¯ll have to take action and clean them up!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you out . ¡±

    As a result, the two of them happily made their decision like that .

    The first stop, Savage mountain, the Lair of Demons!

    The four crucial requirements for cultivation were wealth, companionship, method, and environment . Although ¡°environment¡± ranked last, it was still vital . A good dwelling could drastically increase a cultivator¡¯s cultivation speed . Whether it was absorbing spiritual qi of the world or comprehension, it would give them a natural advantage .

    Large sects like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Sword Collection palace, and the Umbral Yin sect were all established on such blessed lands, which allowed them to thrive for centuries, millennia, or even tens of millennia .

    The southern region was extremely vast, but the actual number of blessed lands were still limited, and none of those who occupied these places were weak . They were either cultivators with powerful cultivations or tremendous sects . Often, it would be both .

    Among the blessed lands of the south, Savage mountain ranked among the top five, but it was not occupied by a certain cultivator . Strictly speaking, it was not a sect either .

    Who knew how many years ago, the cultivators of the south kicked off a storm of blood over Savage mountain . However, even if someone managed to take it for themselves, they would often die to unnatural causes before long .

    The party that occupied it for the longest time was a powerful demonic sect back then . Their power and influence almost rivalled the greatest sect of the south, the Myriad Poison cult, but several decades later, they were breached through the combined efforts of many demonic cultivators who slaughtered the mountain and annihilated the sect, causing it to vanish into the dust trail of history .

    Afterwards, the demonic cultivators decided to share the place, establishing dwellings independently . They nominated eight cultivators that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation as the eight cave masters . They swore an oath of blood to not encroach on one another, and if any foreign enemies attacked, they would work together against them .

    It finally brought the contention to an end, continuing like this for generation upon generation . They also constantly absorbed new independent cultivators . The number of cave masters varied over time, but they became a great force, one that no one could shake anymore . It became known as the Lair of Demons .

    Apart from the native demonic cultivators of the south, many cultivators that had broken laws of the empire and had become fugitives fled here too . Even an entire millennium ago, the Hawkwolf Guard of the South Sea commandery had already deemed it to be a forbidden zone, kicking off a war that lasted several centuries . As the Great Xia empire declined, losing control over these distant places, the Lair of Demons no longer had an opponent, and their renown grew .

    The most hilarious part of all this was that the master of the White Wolf guard Li Qingshan had smashed to a pulp was one of the cave masters . They really were working hand in hand with no clear distinction .

    The cloud took off, passing through the canopy, passing through the rain, and passing through the cloud layer .

    They had a clear view all around . The sea of clouds surged, and the sunlight shone everywhere . The scenery was magnificent .

    Li Qingshan sat on the cloud as Xiao An leaned against his head, her lips curled into a smile . Just like before, she preferred silence over talking .

    Many years ago, when she recovered her ability to talk, there was a period of time when she liked to talk a lot . However, that did not last for too long, as there was nothing she had to say to others, and there was no need for her to talk so much with him .

    Simply by exchanging glances and smiling, they understood .

    However, Li Qingshan liked to listen to her talk a lot . Her voice did not have the sweetness and beauty of a young girl . Instead, it was clear and ungraspable, bearing some slight resemblance to the timbre of gold or jade .

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    ¡°You¡¯ve gone to a lot of trouble in the past few days . ¡± Li Qingshan touched her cheeks . He said he was looking for a dwelling, but actually, she was helping him find opponents . They could not be so weak that it bored him, but he did not want to go as far as to provoke third heavenly tribulation cultivators either .

    ¡°You have to make sure you¡¯re careful . They possess a geographic advantage, and they¡¯re capable of various things . Just Li Qingshan alone can¡¯t win, and it¡¯s not like you can expose your identity as Northmoon . ¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy then . I¡¯ll just make sure that no one leaves!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Savage mountain sat on the earth, curving into a horseshoe shape and forming a large valley . There was water on top of that, which criss-crossed the region as countless gullies .

    This location was different from the other places of the south . There were no towering trees . The valley was peppered with structures, standing as a prosperous city .

    Li Qingshan stood at the entrance of the valley, in front of a gateway that reached over a hundred meters tall . To one side, four large words were written on the cliff face that reached into the clouds, ¡°Death to All Intruders¡± . The words were red and glossy as if they had just been written with fresh blood .

    ¡°Who¡¯s there below!?¡±

    Someone called out from on top of the gate .

    ¡°The White Hawk commander, Li Qingshan!¡± Li Qingshan stretched out his voice, making it boom like thunder and reach the entire valley .

    ¡°Ah!¡± The person was surprised . He widened his eyes and closely studied Li Qingshan¡¯s white clothes before smiling . ¡°Sir commander, are you tired of living? Aren¡¯t you afraid that our cave masters will cut you up and eat you alive for paying a stroll to our Lair of Demons?¡±

    A roar of laughter rang out from above the gate, completely unfazed by Li Qingshan¡¯s identity and cultivation .

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to visit the various cave masters . Open up!¡±

    The laughter from the gate became even more violent . Over all these years of battle against the Hawkwolf Guard, they had already emerged complete victorious, but never had a White Hawk commander visited them . Someone even clamoured and said, ¡°The renown of the Lair of Demons spans far and wide . Even the Hawkwolf Guard has come to demonstrate their subservience!¡±

    As for the possibility that the newly-appointed White Hawk commander was here to kill them, they had not even considered it . How was that possible?

    A while later, as if they had received some kind of order, a tiny corner gate opened up at the base of the entrance .

    ¡°Come on in, sir commander . Our cave masters wish to see you . ¡±

    Li Qingshan did not budge . ¡°Please open the main gate! Thanks!¡±

    Like a droplet of water falling into boiling oil, the laughter that had just subsided surged once more .

    ¡°Haha, he said ¡®please¡¯! He even said ¡®thanks¡¯! I¡¯m going to laugh to death!¡± ¡°He really is from an orthodox sect of the Green province . He¡¯s probably come to sweep up us demons!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, if you still don¡¯t open up, I¡¯ll have to knock on the door!¡±

 Chapter 763

    In the depths of the valley on a tall tower, five cave masters of the Lair of Demons gathered together for a discussion.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the first cave master? Why isn¡¯t he here yet?¡± said an ascetic buddhist monk.

    He had a bulging forehead, high cheekbones, and sunken eyes that were completely bloodshot. His lips were pale, and he had two fleshy bumps on his forehead. At first glance, he did not bear any resemblance to a human; it was as if he wore the mask of a ghost. He had a scarlet kasaya draped over him.

    TL: If you¡¯re wondering how ascetic monks differ from regular buddhist monks, you can read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhutanga

    ¡°Ghost Ascetic, the first cave master has already been in secluded cultivation for two years. It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know. How can we disturb him over something as petty as this?¡± a woman said. She was pretty, perhaps not a supreme beauty, but her figure was full and voluptuous. She was wrapped in threads of silk, which only partially obscured her body, making her seem even whiter and more enchanting.

    The Ghost Ascetic glanced at her as if he was cautious of her. He no longer said anything more. He was only the sixth cave master of the Lair of Demons, while the plump beauty was the fourth cave master. She seemed like a human, but she actually originated from a rare race of otherfolk. She was known as the Silkworm Madam.

    If she was supposed to be plump, then she would be a petite, dainty, little girl compared to the man beside her. The man no longer resembled a human, but a wriggled pile of white flesh. His facial features were squeezed shut, almost to a point where they were no longer visible. He was the second cave master of the Lair of Demons, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber. His body rippled like a wave and he spoke.

    ¡°Hmph, something as petty as this? That¡¯s the White Hawk commander. Even Huang Siqin died at his hands. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s come with any good intentions!¡±

    ¡°Since he¡¯s bold enough to come, then we definitely can¡¯t let him leave here alive, or will our Lair of Demons still have any pride left?¡±

    The speaker was a man in his forties. His thin, dark-skinned face was filled with murderousness. He had many golden ring piercings on him, and there was a black scorpion tattooed on his face, where the scorpion tail was divided into three segments. He actually seemed the most ordinary here, except his skin gave off a faint, purple hue. The others all maintained a certain distance from him.

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    ¡°Wei of the Poison, your disciple died, but you¡¯re afraid to avenge him, so you want to use us!¡±

    The Ghost Ascetic was afraid of the Silkworm Madam, but he was not afraid of him, as Wei of the Poison ranked last among the cave masters. He was only the eighth cave master.

    Wei of the Poison¡¯s face was warped with hatred. The White Wolf guard Li Qingshan had killed happened to be his proud disciple, yet he had actually been crushed like a bug. How could he not hate Li Qingshan? But even if he hated him, there was nothing he could do. The Lair of Demons was not a sect after all. Unless any outsiders attacked, there was no sense of unity at all. The other cave masters were all too busy celebrating the death of his proud disciple, so they definitely would not help him with revenge. He was afraid of provoking the existence that had killed Huang Siqin alone. Originally, he saw no hope for revenge, but he never expected an opportunity to be delivered to his doorstep, so why would he let it slip by?

    ¡°We¡¯ve all sworn a blood oath. If any outsiders attack, we must unite together. Do you plan on violating the oath?¡± Wei of the Poison barked.

    ¡°Who said he¡¯s come to attack us? Who knows, he might be coming to express his sincerities, just like that bastard Huang Siqin who tried to rope us in!¡± the Ghost Ascetic said.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s highly possible!¡± the Silkworm Madam said with a smile, ¡°As long as he hasn¡¯t lost his mind, he¡¯s not going to try and kill us!¡±

    ¡°You want to conspire with the Hawkwolf Guard? Don¡¯t forget about the feud of blood from all those years ago!¡± Wei of the Poison said furiously with a sunken face.

    ¡°Since the boss isn¡¯t here, then I¡¯m in charge. Let him in and let¡¯s hear what he has to say, or he¡¯ll actually think we¡¯re afraid of him. If he leaves us satisfied, then we¡¯ll give him a quick death. If he doesn¡¯t, then we¡¯ll have old fifth¡¯s bugs gnaw him clean!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber jiggled wildly, and from the pile of flesh, something that resembled an arm extended out, pointing at the ¡°pocketman¡± in the corner who had remained silent the entire time.

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    The reason why he was called a ¡°pocketman¡± was because his clothes were covered in pockets of various sizes, basically swallowing him whole. As such, it was impossible to even tell his gender. Aside from a hundred treasures pouch, all of the remaining pockets were bug pouches.

    He was the fifth cave master of the Lair of Demons, Mountain Insect.

    With that, the other cave masters had nothing else to say. Li Qingshan had to die no matter what. They each had their own thoughts as they exchanged glances with each other.

    Yu Wufeng, once the master of this Li Qingshan kills his way in here, I¡¯d like to see how you remain peacefully in secluded cultivation! Hmph, you¡¯re dreaming if you think you can undergo the third heavenly tribulation and unite the Lair of Demons under you!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber thought and glanced around. ¡°Do you have any objections?¡±

    The various cave masters all reached an agreement. They would lure Li Qingshan in and kill him!

    Although the first cave master was in secluded cultivation and the other two cave masters were not in the Lair of Demons, a mere White Hawk commander had no chance at surviving with the geographic advantage of Savage mountain and the various formations as traps.

    ¡­¡­

    In the drizzle, Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back, his hair black and his clothes white. He possessed the depth of an abyss and the height of a mountain, with a calm smile on his face the entire time.

    The dark clouds weighed heavily, making Savage mountain seem even taller and more precipitous. The gloom was filled with hostility. Every single cave was like an eye filled with disdain, while the warm winds circling over him seemed like sneers.

    ¡°Knock on the door? Then why don¡¯t you knock? Let¡¯s see who will open it for you?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just beg me? If I take pity on you, I might help you open the door!¡± ¡°Piss off back to the Green province! This isn¡¯t a place you should come to!¡±

    The entire Savage mountain was astir. Even more people gathered on top of the gate, pointing, discussing, and mocking the lone Li Qingshan below.

    There were both men and women, both monks and common people. They were either dressed in long gowns and robes with feather fans or silk hats, like people from the central plains, or painted with colours with their chests bare, possessing distinct, southern features. There were even some that bore characteristics of daemons and otherfolk, and even others that downright bore no resemblance to humans.

    For a moment, it was a righteous revelry of demons, which just happened to match its name, Lair of Demons.

    No one feared Li Qingshan. The more gentle and polite he was, the wilder they laughed. They felt like they were watching a strange jester. With their identities, they did not have a lot of opportunities to mock someone powerful like him.

    They felt like they were standing outside a cage, watching the tiger inside. They provoked it and made it swing its claws and roar, but the railing prevented it from reaching them. It was an amusement they rarely came by.

    ¡°Then I¡¯m going to knock!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan lowered his head and grinned, revealing his teeth. He made his way towards the huge gateway.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head, and a figure fell down from the gate. He was a large, pale fatty with a horned helmet on his head, clad in armour. He let out a furious roar and threw several punches at the air.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The air erupted, and the fatty¡¯s fall rapidly softened. In the end, with a boom, he landed heavily in front of Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Impressive!¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. This bastard clearly had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation.

    The fatty fell back on his bottom. As soon as he saw Li Qingshan, his large, pale face immediately became even paler before turning red. He retreated backwards quickly and turned around, cursing at the top of the gate, ¡°Who the fuck pushed me!? I¡¯ll fuck your ancestor¡­¡±

    He unleashed a string of foul language with some southern slang mixed in. He was just like them earlier, standing on the gates and cursing away happily. Caught by surprise, someone hit him with a palm strike from behind, and he immediately flew out uncontrollably.

    ¡°Heh, fatty Luo¡¯s fallen down!¡± ¡°He¡¯s fucking done for!¡± ¡°Who knows, maybe this great hero from the Green province is merciful and won¡¯t kill him!¡±

    Another roar of laughter erupted from the gates. No one sympathized with his situation. Instead, they all belittled his capabilities.

    When they watched a wild beast, what was more fascinating than a person falling into the enclosure? Apart from the person directly involved, everyone was very excited and eager to see what could happen.

    Fatty Luo suddenly turned around and pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°Let me warn you, you better not touch me. My master is the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, the second cave master of the Lair of Demons. He¡¯s in there right now. If you harm me, he¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan only smiled, pointing at the corner gate.

    As if he had just been spared, fatty Luo turned around and fled immediately. Right when he was about to enter the corner gate, he did not forget to turn around and say, ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡±

    Hushes of pity rang out from the gates. Fatty Luo made his way up to the city gates again, which led to another ruckus. They all looked down on Li Qingshan below even more. Here, benevolence earned no recognition. The more vicious a person was, the more respect they received.

    Li Qingshan finally arrived before the gates, and he raised his hand. The huge face of a ghost painted on the gate suddenly drifted out, biting towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Is anyone home?¡±

    Boom!

    The ghost face dispersed, the city gates shattered, and rock was sent flying!

    Like ten thousand tonnes of explosives had been set off, the huge boulders several meters across whistled out like weightless pebbles.

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    A group of demonic cultivators happened to be waiting behind the gate. Suddenly, they heard a huge rumble, and rocks both small and large rushed over like enraged bulls. Unable to unleash their cultivation in time, they were struck by the boulders, immediately crushed to a pulp.

    The demonic cultivators who watched on from the top of the gate were directly devoured by the dust and rubble.

    A long while later, when the rumbling settled down, the booms continued to echo through the valley.

    A demonic cultivator who had the bottom half of his body crushed by a boulder, on the brink of death, looked up. The gates that stood over a hundred meters had completely vanished, turning into a huge gap. Corpses and remains were scattered among the loose rubble. A figure emerged from the dust.

    When the figure grew closer, a calm smile hung over his face, as if he had done nothing impressive at all.

    The demonic cultivators close to the city gates were all below the first heavenly tribulation. They were crushed to a pulp by the stray rocks. Even if they had undergone the first heavenly tribulation, they died on the spot when a boulder hurtled their way.

    Li Qingshan made his way over the rubble and corpses, making his way into the valley. Up ahead was a main road that led to the highest peak of Savage mountain. A tall tower stood on the peak.

    He could sense that several powerful auras were gathered there. That was his target.

    In the tower, the cave masters were all astounded.

    ¡°He actually killed them!¡± The Silkworm Madam was taken aback. He had destroyed the main entrance of the Lair of Demons and killed countless demonic cultivators right from the beginning, which was equivalent to falling out with them completely. There was no room for mediation. This was completely different from what she had been expecting. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s mad!¡±

    ¡°And you said he didn¡¯t come to attack us.¡± Wei of the Poison glanced at the Ghost Ascetic with a sneer.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber chuckled. ¡°He really did that right in our face. It¡¯s only been a few decades since our Lair of Demons opposed the Hawkwolf Guard, and they¡¯re already looking down on us.¡± His face stiffened. ¡°Then let¡¯s show him what¡¯s what!¡±

 Chapter 764

    ¡°What dense spiritual qi!¡±

    Li Qingshan strode up the main road, making his way into the valley. The spiritual qi was so dense that simply taking in a breath was refreshing. Compared to this, his dwelling in the Chain mountains was absolutely horrible.

    There were not a lot of towering trees in the valley, making it seem very open. The two sides of Savage mountain that stood several thousand meters tall were covered in various kinds of vegetation, as well as green pine trees, strange jagged rocks, the cries of birds, and fluttering butterflies.

    A few streams meandered among the mountains, turning into a waterfall and cascading down. It passed through the clouds and mist and landed in the jade-green pool, creating a splash of water like jewels and pearls.

    The view was so beautiful that it resembled a wonderland.

    Within this ¡°wonderland¡± sat a huge city. The row upon row of structures all had their own styles. There were both temples of the wilderness constructed from huge boulders, as well as prominent buildings built from logs. Paintings and symbols were present everywhere, leaving the colourful charm of the south on full display.

    Unless they had seen it with their own eyes, no one could imagine that this was the infamous Lair of Demons of the southern region, inhabited by a group of lawless demonic cultivators who were notorious even in this land of wilderness. When villains outside were compared to them, they seemed as pure and compliant as children.

    Li Qingshan appreciated the scenery happily as if he was looking at his new home.

    When he walked into the city, the bustling streets and alleyways immediately fell silent. Gazes of judgement, caution, and hostility were cast over from the structures on the two sides of the road.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile died down slightly. He could sense the existence of various formations in the surroundings, or more accurately, he had already stepped into numerous formations.

    Regular sects all placed emphasis on external defences, constructing a protective formation for the sect and closely controlling those who entered. They would not set up as many obstacles inside, so their disciples could move about and mingle freely.

    However, the Lair of Demons was different. This was a mixture of various people, and they came and went often. Even the eight cave masters were vigilant of one another, so there would only be more conflict between their disciples and lackeys.

    Because of the blood oath, the cave masters still maintain peace on the surface at the very least, but to the demonic cultivators beneath them, fighting was commonplace. They often broke into battle over the slightest disagreement. Not only would the cave masters stand by, they even hoped to see more of it. The incapable had no right to reside in the Lair of Demons.

    This was the principle of survival for demonic cultivators. The inferior would be eliminated like refining gu. There was no trust or friendship between people, only vigilance and taking advantage of.

    Wild beasts marked their territories with urine, while cultivators used formations. Every single structure had one formation operating within it at the very least. A large region of structures would even be enveloped by a large-scale formation.

    This place probably has the greatest formation density in the world. Fortunately, this place is a blessed land, which is why these formations can operate. Their power should be far more terrifying than normal too. It¡¯s no wonder that they¡¯re bold enough to open a corner gate and let me in. They¡¯re basically letting me walk into the trap. They¡¯re still not activating it. Is it because they¡¯re waiting for me to venture even deeper?

    Heh, if I were just Li Qingshan, then I¡¯d probably be done for. After slumbering for all these years, it¡¯s about time I let out Northmoon so that he can stretch a bit!

    A child¡¯s bawling suddenly erupted up ahead. Li Qingshan went over, only to see a child in red clothes with a tiger hat on his head sitting on the ground, crying away in the centre of the street. He cried very vigorously and loudly, which was slightly eerie in this silent city.

    TL: This is what a tiger hat looks like: https://img.alicdn.com/img/bao/uploaded/i4/i3/1042858330/O1CN01Gyijck2BPBri16E37_!!1042858330.jpg_540x540Q50s50.jpg

    ¡°Little one, why are you crying?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile. He even crouched down as if he did not notice the eerie danger within at all. He had always been gentle towards children.

    ¡°My puppy is going to die!¡± The child continued to weep with his head lowered.

    ¡°Oh, where¡¯s your puppy then? Let me take a look. I might be able to save it!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. You¡¯re dead for sure!¡±

    The child suddenly raised his head. His rosy face was sunken and twisted in a vicious way that completely conflicted with his age.

    With that, an invisible, mysterious power immediately latched onto Li Qingshan¡¯s body and invaded deeply into his soul.

    A curse!

    It was one of the methods of attack that was the most difficult to guard against. Often, it could kill and harm the opponent unknowingly. Once entangled with a curse, it would basically be ten times more troublesome than being poisoned. However, the conditions to cast a curse were extremely strict too.

    After saying that, the child immediately bled from all of his orifices and died. Clearly, he was just a puppet, and he was very likely one of the conditions to cast the curse.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile vanished. The spirit turtle suppressed it, and his soul cleared up. The curse vanished.

    ¡°Fuck, is the difference in cultivation really too big?¡±

    A blind old man in rags with a cane in his hand grumbled. He felt his curse fail and swore inside.

    But that was fine. As the first person bold enough to launch a direct attack, his actions would definitely earn praise from the cave masters. Even if the curse had failed, the enemy was unable to do anything to him.

    Boom!

    Fierce winds with wooden splinters filled the room. A huge hole appeared in the thick wall.

    Li Qingshan pierced through over a dozen walls and seven or eight formations, arriving there and staring at the blind old man coldly.

    ¡°Who¡¯re you? What are you trying to do?¡± The blind old man trembled and retreated. ¡°I¡¯m just an old blind man on the brink of death!¡± He even put on an act as if he had nothing to do with this, but he was filled with fear inside. Just how did he know it was me? My curse shouldn¡¯t have left behind any traces at all!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve always been a person who respects the old and cherishes the young. Come, give your cane to me. Today¡¯s weather is quite nice, so I¡¯ll take you out for a stroll!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed the old man¡¯s cane with one hand and gripped his thin, stick-like wrist with the other hand, basically dragging him back along the path he had come.

    The demonic cultivators watched in fright as he passed through their homes one by one. The blind old man trembled, which was no longer an act. He was actually filled with fear, but he dared not fight back.

    Arriving on the main street, beside the child¡¯s corpse, Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°Here, open up!¡±

    The blind old man could tell he was up to no good, so a string of mysterious and obscure words erupted from his mouth.

    With a spurt, the cane was planted in his mouth!

    ¡°What a good old man!¡±

    Li Qingshan shoved the twisted, knotted cane into the old man¡¯s body inch by inch, doing so until it emerged from the other side and plunged into the ground.

    However, he was still alive. Although it pierced many of his organs, even reaching his dantian and sea of qi, he was still a cultivator after all. His figure that was already hunched over curled into a ball from the pain.

    ¡°If anyone touches him, they¡¯ll be accompanying him!¡±

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    Li Qingshan said and left behind a strange marker, drawing over the gazes in the dark. He continued on his way. Many figures that were ready to strike from the structures on the two sides shrank back.

    Li Qingshan could feel his mood improve greatly. He walked for a little longer. Right when he was about to reach the end of the valley, he stopped instead, raising his head and looking at the tall tower on the mountain. Five pairs of eyes looked back at him from afar.

    The spiritual qi in the air became even denser. This region located at the bottom of the valley also happened to be the centre of Savage mountain, where spiritual qi and the beauty of the place gathered. The dwellings of the eight cave masters were established here too. Regular disciples and lackeys could only construct their dwellings to the two sides of the mountain peak.

    This was like the bottom of the pocket, the end of the traps. Regardless of the quality, scale, or the powers they could unleash, the formations cast down here could not be compared to the formations in the city. Even if they did not fight, they could still trap a second heavenly layer cultivator or a Daemon Commander.

    The five cave masters were all waiting for Li Qingshan to take another step forward. Then it would be his death!

    A great battle was on the brink of erupting!

    But Li Qingshan refused to budge. He simply stood there with a smile stretched over his face.

    ¡°Esteemed guest, why don¡¯t you come up the mountain for a talk so that you can tell us your intentions?¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s voice rang out from the tower.

    Li Qingshan finally moved, but not forwards. He made a turn and headed towards the left.

    It was a building that stood around thirty meters tall called ¡°Drunken No Return¡±. It was a fancy place with carved beams, painted rafters, overhanging eaves, and protruding corners. With a gentle breeze, the wind chimes sang. It was so delicate and magnificent that it did not seem like a creation of the south. Moreover, they clearly knew about Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival, but the restaurant was bold enough to remain open.

    ¡°Sir, bring me some alcohol!¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped through the door. There was not a single person in the restaurant, but many of the tables still had alcohol and food. Only a girl around sixteen or seventeen stood behind the counter, click-clacking away with her abacus. She struck it a few more times before finally raising her head as if she had reached a satisfying result. She smiled. ¡°There are no sirs here, only a ma¡¯am. Sir, can¡¯t you tell the difference between a man and a woman?¡±

    She was pretty, bold, and feisty. With a shake of her head, the silver jewelry on her head jingled. She made her way out from behind the counter. She was dressed in a green, embroidered top and a patterned skirt.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re a man or a woman. I only care if your alcohol is any good or not. If it¡¯s no good, I¡¯ll tear your place down!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived at the central table and sat down. He thought, The Lair of Demons really is filled with masters. I just killed one and here comes another. Of course, if they weren¡¯t capable of something, they¡¯d never have the courage to face me. Though, she probably isn¡¯t as young as she looks!

    ¡°How vicious of you, sir! I have plenty of fine alcohol here, enough to guarantee you¡¯ll go home drunk. Though, you¡¯re not seeing our cave masters, but coming to drink in my humble store instead. Don¡¯t tell me you''re afraid and want to muster up some courage?¡± The boss of the store smiled. She seemed very innocent and curious.

    As long as it was a man, they would hate it when someone called them cowardly and afraid, especially when it came from a beautiful woman!

    Li Qingshan also happened to be a man. He shook his head. ¡°You can¡¯t say that. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m afraid of your cave masters. Your cave masters are afraid of me!¡±

    ¡°How come?¡± The boss of the restaurant moved her hips and made her way over, directly sitting down in front of Li Qingshan and leaning over.

    ¡°I¡¯m the guest. They¡¯re the host. There¡¯s one of me and eight of them. I¡¯m sitting in the main room of their home right now, yet they¡¯re afraid to come out of their bedrooms to see me. They¡¯re shy and timid like little girls. Tell me, just who¡¯s afraid of who?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Oh you, I really can¡¯t beat you in an argument, can I? If you want to drink then drink, but let¡¯s settle the bill first!¡± The boss leaned forward and arrived before Li Qingshan, talking gently and showing off the gully on her chest.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only just sat down. I haven¡¯t even touched a cup of tea, so where did the bill come from?¡±

    ¡°My place was originally filled with people. It was exactly your arrival that drove them away suddenly. None of them have paid for their alcohol and dishes. Tell me, aren¡¯t you supposed to pay this bill?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve come to dine and dash. I won¡¯t even be paying my own bill, let alone theirs.¡±

    The woman¡¯s face changed. ¡°There still hasn¡¯t been anyone bold enough to go without paying my bills here!¡±

 Chapter 765

    ¡°Oh, how bold of you . When I want to dine and dash, there really aren¡¯t a lot of people who are brave enough to make me pay . ¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, but he continued to smile, which made the owner of the restaurant shiver . She felt like it was not a human right in front of her, but a huge, vicious beast toying around with the prey it was about to eat . Even though there was no killing intent, the pressure that came from the top of the food chain was still suffocating .

    ¡°How vicious! If you want to drink, I¡¯ll treat you to it . Why¡¯re you looking at me like that?¡± The boss of the restaurant shoved Li Qingshan on the shoulder and flirted, except her expression and movements were rather stiff and unnatural .

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid . If the alcohol is fine and the dishes are delicious, I¡¯ll pay the bills that I have to pay . Perhaps I might even pay a lot more!¡± Li Qingshan sat up straight as the smile remained on his bronze face .

    ¡°Who¡¯s afraid? You won¡¯t be able to find another restaurant that can match my alcohol and dishes . Just don¡¯t get drunk!¡± The lady raised her voice .

    ¡°If I fall drunk, I¡¯m not going to blame you . I¡¯m only going to blame you if I don¡¯t fall drunk . Isn¡¯t your store called Drunken No Return? Let¡¯s not return home until we¡¯re drunk today then . I¡¯ll give your cave masters some time to muster up their courage . Let¡¯s see whether they¡¯re bold enough to come down and drink with me!¡±

    The female boss glanced deeply at Li Qingshan . This man was anything but simple . He was already brave for barging into Savage mountain, and on top of that, he manoeuvred around with grace, handling the entire situation with ease . It did not seem like he had ventured into a monster¡¯s den at all . Instead, it seemed like he was the monster who had returned to his own den . He viewed the eight cave masters like his own wives and viewed the several thousand demonic cultivators as nothing .

    He had overwhelmed the might of the entire Lair of Demons with this valiance . There actually was not a single man she had seen in her life that could compare to him!

    The female boss went off to retrieve the alcohol . Her buttocks within her short skirt were round and perky, which was quite a sight as they swayed about .

    Li Qingshan chuckled . He loved it when others were trying to charm him, but after considering how Xiao An was in the surroundings right now, he could only look away in some pity .

    ¡°Cook, an esteemed guest has come . Light the stove and get cooking . If it doesn¡¯t taste nice, you better be careful because I might just slap you!¡± The owner called out and made her way to the cellar .

    The chef at the back answered, ¡°Alrighty, ma¡¯am!¡±

    A while later, the female owner returned with a jar of alcohol . She removed the clay seal, and the fragrance of alcohol pervaded the surroundings . A faint, green liquid poured into a large, porcelain bowl, filling it to the brim .

    Li Qingshan glanced at it . ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any poison in the alcohol, right?¡±

    The female owner said nothing in response . She picked up the bowl and downed it all, showing the bottom of the bowl to Li Qingshan before tossing it onto the table . She wiped her mouth . ¡°If you¡¯re not bold enough to drink it, then don¡¯t drink it!¡±

    ¡°How tasteless would it be to drink alone? You can drink with me!¡± Li Qingshan smiled .

    ¡°Alright!¡± The female owner did not hold back . She placed a foot on the bench and poured another two bowls of alcohol . The glorious sight beneath her skirt was vaguely visible, which was especially alluring .

    Clank!

    The bowls clanked together, and they both drank it all in a single gulp . Li Qingshan said in praise, ¡°That¡¯s some fine alcohol! It really does have its own special favour!¡±

    Hidden in the depths of her eyes was a sliver of complacency . A crafty scoundrel you might be, yet you still drink the water that washed my feet! If you want to drink unpoisoned alcohol, you better wait until your next life! But his cultivation is too high, so I need to trick him into drinking a bit more . Once the effects kick in, he¡¯ll be completely at my whim!

    Her alcohol was called ¡°No Return¡± . It was not because the alcohol was poisoned, but because it was poisonous alcohol specially refined to harm people . It was top-of-the-line alcohol too, except it could only be consumed with the cure .

    Even without her persuasions, Li Qingshan was already drinking away like he was drinking water, downing bowl after bowl . Before long, the jar of alcohol was emptied .

    ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch another jar . ¡± The female owner¡¯s face was slightly blushed, and her smile became a little more sincere . The delayed effects of the poison were perfect for him to accumulate a little more .

    ¡°How can a single jar be enough? Go fetch all the alcohol in your cellar!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you have your way today . If you fall drunk, feel free to sleep in my room . ¡± She smiled charmingly and went off to retrieve more alcohol .

    As they spoke, a pale fatty with a white hat and apron walked out of the kitchen, serving up eight or nine dishes . In a humble and polite manner, he bent over and rubbed his hands . ¡°Please savour it!¡±

    Fragrance filled the entire room . Li Qingshan did not hold back and tasted all of the dishes . His eyes lit up, and he gave the cook a thumbs-up .

    These dishes were even more delicious and special than the meal the Marquis of Serene Sea had treated him to . As it seemed, the owner of the restaurant was not lying when she said it was impossible to find another restaurant that could match them .

    ¡°Alrighty! If you like them, I¡¯ll keep making them!¡± The cook¡¯s smile became even more humble . His eyes stretched into slits, and he bowed even lower .

    At this moment, the owner returned with alcohol . She brushed past the cook and exchanged glances with him .

    As a result, Li Qingshan drank the alcohol and ate the dishes as they came . He ate and drank constantly, which was highly satisfying! After teasing the female owner slightly, he seemed to have forgotten all about his objectives of coming to Savage mountain .

    The owner¡¯s smile became even more magnificent . You¡¯re really bringing ruin upon yourself . With how hurriedly you¡¯re drinking and how much you¡¯ve drunk, even immortals won¡¯t be able to save you . Only death awaits you!

    In the tower, the cave masters all saw this and sneered . In the beginning, when Li Qingshan refused to advance any further, he had left them rather clueless as for what to do . For a moment, they were unsure whether to take the initiative .

    When Li Qingshan entered the ¡°Drunken No Return¡± and began stuffing himself, they all settled down, and their sneers grew heavier .

    ¡°He¡¯s actually bold enough to eat here . Does he really think he¡¯s invulnerable to all poisons just because he has a powerful cultivation?¡±

    Wei of the Poison smiled viciously . He was filled with delight .

    Gu and poison were closely related . The southern region had at least half of the strange poisons in the world . Even the greatest sect in the south happened to be the ¡°Myriad Poison cult¡± . Let alone a mere Golden Core cultivator, some poisons could even kill powerful Daemon Kings .

    ¡°Silkworm Madam, your disciple has done good!¡± the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said .

    ¡°Heh, this Li Qingshan is eating the dishes made by your disciple . He seems pretty happy eating them too!¡±

    ¡°Human Cook¡¯s culinary skills are renowned throughout the entire South Sea commandery . We¡¯ll let him take his time eating!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber laughed, making his fat jiggle about . He was filled with malice .

    ¡°Something seems to be slightly off!¡± The Ghost Ascetic frowned .

    The owner of the restaurant noticed this too . Her smooth belly had already begun to bulge from all the drinking . She did not drink as quickly as him, but she had absolutely no time to refine it all . She had consumed a large quantity of the antidote before this, but she was close to giving in even with that . Why was he completely unfazed? Let alone being affected by the poison, he did not even seem to feel the slightest discomfort . Instead, his eyes shone brighter and brighter, and he became more and more carried away, which left her rather frantic inside .

    ¡°Hmm? There¡¯s no more alcohol . Go fetch more!¡± Li Qingshan emptied the jar in his hand and casually tossed it to the ground . Trundling about, the jar rolled into the dozen or so empty jars on the ground .

    The restaurant owner hesitated . No Return alcohol could not be refined easily, and Li Qingshan had already drunk it all, so where was she supposed to find more to feed him? Even if she did have more, it probably would not be of any use . She did not see him use his cultivation, so was his physique naturally immune to the poison in No Return alcohol?

    Smack!

    Li Qingshan slapped her perky bottom and smiled . ¡°What¡¯re you blanking out for? Go fetch it!¡±

    ¡°It hurts! What are you doing? The doors are still wide open, and you¡¯re already taking advantage of me!¡±

    The female owner clutched her bottom and grumbled, but she eased up slightly inside . As it seemed, he had not noticed the poison in the alcohol, or with his strength that could smash through the main gate with a single punch, she would have died on the spot instantly .

    ¡°Quit blabbering! Get going, get going!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand . Right now, all he wanted to do was drink alcohol . He did not mind even if it was poisoned!

    ¡°Yes, yes, sir! My dear guest!¡±

    She arrived at the back silently, and her smile vanished . She sucked in a deep breath and calmed herself down . She was already ready to flee . The only move she had that could threaten him had no effect . If she stayed here, there definitely would not be anything good waiting for her .

    As for Human Cook, he was free to pray for his own fortune . This Li Qingshan did not seem like a brutal and murderous person . Hopefully, he did not find out about what was in his dishes!

    The restaurant was enveloped in numerous formations, so she did not have to worry about his soul sense detecting her . Right when she was about to leave, Wei of the Poison¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in her ears . ¡°Don¡¯t leave . Put this poison in his alcohol!¡±

    At the same time, a tiny, porcelain bottle was delivered before her through the formations .

    The owner declined in a hurry . ¡°Eighth hall master, he¡¯s not afraid of poison . If he discovers this, I¡¯m dead for sure!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit . How can someone be immune to poison in this world? Don¡¯t worry, this poison is tasteless and scentless . He definitely won¡¯t discover it!¡± Wei of the Poison insisted .

    ¡°Master!¡±

    The Silkworm Madam said, ¡°Do as he says! The cave masters are all people that know when praise and blame are properly due . Once this is over, you¡¯ll get what you deserve . Old eighth Wei, my disciple is helping you with your revenge and undertaking such a great risk, so you can¡¯t just turn a blind eye to this!¡±

    ¡°Here¡¯s a Poison Warding pearl . You¡¯ll be immune to poison once you ingest it . I¡¯ll give it to you . Make him keep drinking, the more the better!¡± Wei of the Poison did not hold back either .

    The female owner¡¯s eyes lit up . A Poison Warding pearl was worth quite a sum in the south . She had gone so far already anyway, so she might as well go all the way through . She ate the Poison Warding pearl and poisoned the alcohol before smiling again and returning to the dining room .

    ¡°You¡¯re so slow . Hmm? Why has the taste changed?¡± Li Qingshan picked up the bowl and took a sip .

    ¡°Your capacity is too great . You¡¯ve already finished off a variety of alcohol, so I have to switch it up, obviously . If you don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll take it back!¡±

    The restaurant owner became extremely nervous .

    ¡°It¡¯s fine . I¡¯ll go with this! Come, let¡¯s keep drinking!¡± Li Qingshan smiled in a drunken fashion .

    Even more bowls of alcohol entered his belly until the jar of poisoned alcohol was completely empty . Li Qingshan remained seated there, without budging at all . However, he became slightly more drunk .

    With that, even Wei of the Poison¡¯s face changed .

    The restaurant owner was forced to go fetch alcohol again . She rubbed her rather swollen head and cursed inside, What Wei of the Poison? He sure has the nerve . He better change his name soon . You can¡¯t blame me anymore . Whatever, obtaining a Poison Warding pearl was worth it .

    She arrived behind the restaurant, only to see another porcelain bottle filled with poison waiting for her .

    Did she really think she could take advantage of a cave master in the Lair of Demons? She was out of her mind!

    As a result, she poisoned and delivered alcohol before poisoning even more¡­

    The poisons came in all shapes and forms, sometimes liquid, sometimes powder . They were all different . Towards the end, Wei of the Poison even stopped caring about whether they were tasteless or scentless . All he cared about was delivering even more poison to her, which was then used on the alcohol .

    The restaurant owner was not afraid of poison, but she had drunk far too much . As such, even her eyes became dazed, basically unable to hide her ill intentions . Before she knew it, she felt like she had fallen into a great gamble . She was unable to stop and was only allowed to advance . She had to poison Li Qingshan to death!

    However, Li Qingshan simply sat there firmly the entire time . He was like a mountain and one that constantly grew taller . It was as if it could collapse down on her at any time .

    ¡°Hmm? Why aren¡¯t you drinking anymore?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a drunken smile .

 Chapter 766

    ¡°Please, sir . I really can¡¯t keep drinking . As long as you let me stop drinking, I¡¯ll do anything!¡±

    The restaurant owner¡¯s face was bright red, together with a hint of greenness . Her eyes were dazed and filled with fear . Although the Poison Warding pearl granted her an immunity to poison, it also had a limit . It did not mean she could eat poison as she wished .

    From then to now, she had no idea just how many bowls of alcohol she had drunk . She had consumed twenty to thirty types of lethal poison at the very least . Even the Poison Warding pearl was showing signs of giving way .

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan brought his arm around her waist, and she sat down in his lap obediently, bringing her arms around his neck and wriggling her buttocks . She said flirtatiously, ¡°Oh my, taking advantage of this ma¡¯am again! So be it . You win . ¡± She behaved like she was completely at his whim .

    ¡°Who do you think you are? Even calling yourself my mam? It¡¯s fine, if you can¡¯t drink, then I¡¯ll feed you!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile grew even wider as he delivered another bowl of alcohol to her lips .

    The female owner¡¯s face changed . She struggled as hard as she could, but the arm around her waist was like a metal vice as if it was trying to crush her!

    She felt frightened for some reason and drank another bowl reluctantly . She forced out a smile . ¡°Sir, you truly have a great capacity for liquor . How could I be your mam? I¡¯m more like your wife! I think you¡¯re done drinking! It¡¯s time for you to take me to the bedroom to rest!¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed like he did not hear her at all . He picked up a second bowl of alcohol with a smile . She kept her lips tightly shut, shaking her head and resisting . She rubbed around in Li Qingshan¡¯s lap, throwing a tantrum . ¡°I¡¯m not drinking! I¡¯m not drinking!¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide . ¡±

    Li Qingshan forced her lips open with a smile and poured it down without the slightest concern .

    The liquor landed on her green, embroidered top and suddenly kicked up billows of smoke . Her clothes were eaten away at a visible rate, revealing large swathes of her smooth, white skin that was still under the protection of the Poison Warding pearl .

    Her face changed drastically . Li Qingshan smiled . ¡°How strong of a liquor!¡±

    As he said that, he picked up another bowl . From that moment onwards, he stopped drinking, pouring it all down her mouth like he was fattening a goose . The alcohol spilled out from her lips and ate away most of her clothes . Even her patterned skirt fell down, leaving her almost naked . She struggled and wriggled about in Li Qingshan¡¯s lap as a figure of white goodness .

    However, this lively scene did not have the slightest charm or gentleness . Gradually, not only did her face turn green, but even her body turned green . These were signs that the poison within her body was about to losing control .

    ¡°Sir! Please, spare me! I¡¯ll never do it again . ¡± Tears poured down the female owner¡¯s face .

    ¡°Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s poison in the alcohol? It¡¯s not like I have the cure, so how can I spare you?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he admired the beauty in his arms, but he did not loosen his grip at all . He brought her closer to death with each bowl .

    Drizzle drifted through the air outside, and the smell of alcohol drifted through the air inside, together with the sickly-sweetness of poison .

    ¡°Save me, master!¡± She spat out the liquor in her mouth and called out miserably .

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you know what the dishes you just ate contained?¡± The cook¡¯s voice rang out from the back kitchen .

    ¡°Oh, what?¡±

    ¡°Human flesh! Adults, children, men, and women! And you thought it was beef, lamb, pork, and fish! Hahahaha! The human flesh I make is the greatest in Savage mountain . How¡¯s the taste?¡±

    The Human Cook laughed madly, no longer possessing a shred of humility or politeness anymore . The dishes were not poisoned, but the amount of effort he put into it was even more poisonous than the alcohol .

    He thought Li Qingshan would definitely become astounded and fly into a rage, vomiting from disgust . After all, even in the south, cannibalism was brutality of its own category, let alone in the Green province . As a buddhist disciple, he might even develop inner demons over this . As long as he became infuriated, he could flee up the mountain immediately and draw him into the trap .

    To his surprise, Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and said calmly, ¡°I see . I was wondering why it tasted so special!¡± He lowered his head and patted his belly . ¡°I¡¯ve eaten your flesh, so I¡¯ll avenge you!¡±

    When he reached the end, he had already sat up proudly . His eyes shone brightly, and he waved his hand . ¡°Come back!¡±

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    Seeing how his scheme had succeeded, the Human Cook rejoiced inside . No matter how powerful Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was, passing through those formations would still take him a few seconds, which was enough for the Human Cook to slip away . Suddenly, a great bellow erupted nearby, making him blank out . He came to a sudden halt and blood poured out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth .

    A black chain whistled over and wrapped around his waist, yanking him back violently . By the time he returned to his senses, Li Qingshan was already standing boldly in front of him, still holding the naked owner of the restaurant . Her face fluctuated between green and purple, and her white skin showed signs of festering .

    Li Qingshan used two Chains of Demon Suppression to trap them . He made his way out of the restaurant and glanced at the tower at the peak of the mountain, letting out a smile . He actually just turned around and left like that .

    The cave masters sure could keep their composure . Their disciples were on the brink of being killed, yet they still refused to leave the mountain . To demonic cultivators, even their own parents or children paled in comparison to their personal safety, let alone disciples .

    They still clung onto a shred of hope, hoping that the drunk Li Qingshan would be aggravated and would rush up the mountain to find them no matter what . That way, they would have achieved their objective from sacrificing the two disciples .

    They never expected him to just leave like this!

    With that, they really could not stay put anymore . Their faces all became extremely ugly .

    If they really let a White Hawk commander come and destroy their entrance, slaughter countless demonic cultivators, capture two of their disciples, and leave at ease, the Lair of Demons of Savage mountain would truly become a huge laughing stock . The five of them would become jokes within the joke . They would never be able to show themselves to anyone ever again!

    Not only did Li Qingshan leave without any hesitation, but he left very quickly too . He had made his way out of the city in the blink of an eye, demonstrating his determination to leave .

    However, his footsteps suddenly stopped, and his face sank . The corpse of the child was on the centre of the street, but the old man he had skewered with a walking cane was gone .

    The demonic cultivators were momentarily stunned by his viciousness, but none of them could be easily scared . They had witnessed plenty of sights even more horrific than this . You think we¡¯ll yield to just a single word from you? Do you really take yourself to be a cave master of the Lair of Demons? As a result, as soon as Li Qingshan had left, the cursing old man had been rescued . Of course, all of his possessions had been taken away in the process .

    ¡°Very good . I¡¯m not going to ask who did it . ¡± Li Qingshan turned around . ¡°You¡¯ve finally found the courage to come down and meet me! How brave!¡±

    ¡°Master!¡± The Human Cook rejoiced and called out . The restaurant owner also stared straight at the Silkworm Madam, but she was overwhelmed with poison, so she could not even utter a single word .

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve clearly come to Savage mountain to find us . You¡¯ve arrived at the foot of the mountain, yet you¡¯re afraid to go up . You¡¯re really quite brave too!¡± The Silkworm Madam sneered sarcastically .

    ¡°Release them, and we still might be on terms . Otherwise, hmph!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber shifted his mountainous body and suddenly took a step forward . The ground shook violently, and his aura filled the air, demonstrating his powerful strength as the second cave master .

    ¡°I originally came to Savage mountain to become a cave master, but this is all I end up coming across . How disappointing,¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed . His disappointment was not an act . It was sincere . Didn¡¯t you say there were eight cave masters? And that there were existences close to the third heavenly tribulation? Why are there only five here? Are the other three hidden away or just not on Savage mountain? So much for my efforts to lure them off the mountain . Looks like I¡¯ve overestimated them too much .

    ¡°You want to become a cave master?¡± The Silkworm Madam squinted her eyes . Is that his original intention for coming here? A dignified White Hawk commander actually wants to become a cave master of the Lair of Demons! What a joke!

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Li Qingshan held back his disappointment and smiled .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was rather surprised too, but if that was the case, all of his actions made sense . If he was truly trying to oppose the Lair of Demons, he would have started a massacre in the city a long time ago . Why would he only kill demonic cultivators that offended him? He seemed tough and brutal, but actually, he was extremely retrained . He did not seem like the type that would throw his life at them . It was said that he had offended an imperial prince, which was why he had been transferred to the southern region . As it seemed, he was interested in joining the demonic path .

    If it was a decade ago, they really might have accepted him . The Lair of Demons basically accepted everyone anyway as long as they were strong enough . A White Hawk commander¡¯s membership could earn them renown . But now, only death would be awaiting him . Otherwise, how else was he supposed to force Yu Wufeng out of secluded cultivation?

    In short, he decided to deceive him for now . As a result, he said, ¡°I see . Then it really is a misunderstanding . Our Lair of Demons has always accepted anyone from anywhere, except your identity was a little too sensitive, which made us suspicious . If you had expressed your intentions sooner, there would not have been so many misunderstandings . We definitely would have left the gates wide open and welcomed you to our mountain!¡±

    ¡°What! I¡¯ll never allow this! If you want to become a cave master of our Lair of Demons, you better take a piss and check your reflection first and see if you¡¯re qualified or not!¡±

    Wei of the Poison panicked . If he really let Li Qingshan become a cave master, it was very likely for Li Qingshan¡¯s ranking to be above his given Li Qingshan¡¯s strength . He would never get his revenge then .

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Li Qingshan looked at Wei of the Poison in some confusion, as the latter¡¯s face was filled with hatred .

    ¡°The eighth cave master of the Lair of Demons, Wei of the Poison!¡± Wei of the Poison said .

    ¡°Oh, you must be the master of that Chen person!¡± Li Qingshan recalled .

    ¡°That¡¯s right! There will only be death for you today!¡± Wei of the Poison said in a sinister manner .

    The two people in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand were not his disciples anyway . He basically hoped that Li Qingshan would kill them so that the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber and the Silkworm Madam could taste the pain of losing a dear disciple .

    ¡°This is a significant matter of our Lair of Demons . Even if the first cave master were here, he would nod to it, so why would we need your permission?¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber shot Wei of the Poison a vicious glance, and Wei of the Poison shut his mouth .

    ¡°My disgraceful disciple can¡¯t hold on for much longer . Please release her quickly, fellow . We can sit down and take our time with the discussion!¡± The Silkworm Madam panicked inside .

    On the ground, the restaurant owner¡¯s alluring body had already swelled up like a bubble . She was completely sheet-white now, moaning and wriggling around .

    ¡°Release her?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her .

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely have her apologise to you in the future, fellow . You can punish her however you like,¡± the Silkworm Madam said .

    ¡°The person behind the poison can cure her . It¡¯s not like I¡¯m stopping you . ¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands .

    ¡°Old eighth Wei, why don¡¯t you cure her? If it weren¡¯t for your foolish idea, why would this have happened in the first place?¡± the Silkworm Madam said .

    Wei of the Poison was reluctant, but he understood that if he declined, not only would the Silkworm Madam hold a grudge against him, but even the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber would blame him . All he could do was make his way over .

    ¡°So it¡¯s you again!¡± Li Qingshan smiled .

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s me?¡± Wei of the Poison raised his guard carefully . At the same time, he searched for any openings on Li Qingshan, ready to deal a lethal strike at a moment¡¯s notice .

    ¡°A horrible son is the father¡¯s fault . If a disciple is worthless, then it¡¯s all the master¡¯s fault . Your disciple provoked me, yet you still refuse to learn from the lesson and want to avenge him? You can go die!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great laugh and threw a punch .

 Chapter 767

    No one expected Li Qingshan to strike without batting an eye, without any hesitation at all . Was it all merely a lie when he said he wanted to become a cave master of the Lair of Demons moments earlier?

    Wei of the Poison was prepared, but he still never expected the fist to arrive so quickly and so viciously!

    In that moment, the fist filled his entire view, like a black cloud looming over the earth . Black lightning crackled within the black clouds . That was the power of tremors ripping through air and producing cracks .

    The fist had yet to arrive, but it had completely shattered Wei of the Poison¡¯s confidence already, He¡¯s actually so powerful . Didn¡¯t he just undergo the second heavenly tribulation?

    He had no time to dodge, no time to counterattack, and no time to call out!

    Wei of the Poison pushed his poison arts to the limit . Darkish-green smoke rose up around him . It was extremely thick, seeming almost solid . He hoped to off the attack for a moment, which would allow him to retreat immediately and the other cave masters to assist him .

    However, his poisonous cloud collapsed after the slightest contact . Let alone holding off the attack, it did not even manage to weaken the punch!

    Thud!

    The upper half of Wei of the Poison¡¯s body turned into a bloody mist, dispersing towards the cave masters . Only a pair of lonely legs remained standing there!

    The four other cave masters had only just assumed a stance to provide assistance . They all seized up on the spot, dumbstruck .

    Wei of the Poison was the weakest among the eight cave masters, and he was more skilled in killing people through poison than direct confrontations .

    However, he was still a powerful cultivator that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation after all, yet he had actually been killed by a punch like that . Let alone putting up a fight, he could not even blow up his golden core . Just how terrifying was that?!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, y- y- you¡­¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s fat jiggled about as he pointed at Li Qingshan, berating him furiously . However, he had shrunken back instinctively .

    ¡°Please don¡¯t be afraid . This person has grievances with me . He¡¯s constantly thinking about killing me, so I was forced to kill him . If I were to become a cave master of the Lair of Demons, I wouldn¡¯t want to associate myself with a piece of trash like him either!¡±

    Li Qigshan patted his hands with a smile and said with ease, stowing away Wei of the Poison¡¯s hundred treasures pouch and greenish-black golden core in the process .

    ¡°His disciple was clearly in the wrong . I cleaned up after him, yet not only does he not show gratitude, he¡¯s even bold enough to attempt revenge . Fellows, none of you are as unreasonable as him, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan said as he kicked the restaurant owner . By now, she seemed like a huge tumour . She collided against the Human Cook and flew out, exploding in the air .

    The Human Cook let out a miserable howl . Pus that contained several dozen types of poison showered him viciously, which left his body in pain, aching, itching, and numb . He rolled around on the ground and crawled over to the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, extending his hand . ¡°Master, save me!¡±

    However, the only person that could potentially save him had already been reduced to a mist of blood, as dead as he could get .

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    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber took a step back, also afraid to touch him . His face reddened, and he shot a murderous glance at Li Qingshan . ¡°You- very well!¡± Then he let out a long sigh . ¡°I¡¯ll give you a quick death!¡±

    He raised his hand, about to swing down .

    ¡°Who allowed you to give him a quick death?¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step and threw another punch at the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber drifted backwards, exhibiting dexterity that completely contrasted against his size . Li Qingshan¡¯s fist struck the air and let out a thunderous boom .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was about to speak when a great force struck him, sending him flying .

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Several dozen buildings collapsed consecutively .

    The Ghost Ascetic retreated! The Silkworm Madam retreated! Mountain Insect retreated!

    None of the cave masters were bold enough to take advantage of this and strike . Instead, they immediately chose to retreat, just so they could avoid becoming his next target of attack .

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    If it were just Wei of the Poison, then so be it, but who was the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber supposed to be? He had actually been sent flying by a punch too!

    ¡°My disgraceful disciple offended you first, fellow, so we¡¯re not going to dwell on it . Please stop, fellow . That way, we can sit down and have a talk . Do you really plan on falling out completely with our Lair of Demons? That definitely won¡¯t net you any benefit!¡± the Silkworm Madam said as she retreated

    In the beginning, she pretended she would have a talk with Li Qingshan to draw him into the trap . Earlier when she said she would have a talk with Li Qingshan, that was for saving her disciple . Now that she said she wanted to have a talk with Li Qingshan, she was completely sincere about it, and it was just so that she could save her own life!

    ¡°I heard you have to go through many tests in order to become a cave master of the lair of Demons . You better test me and see if I have the qualifications or not then!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great laugh and rushed over in pursuit . His target was the Silkworm Madam .

    Suddenly, the dense spiritual qi in the valley began flowing violently . Formations upon formations lit up with various colours, overlapping and merging together .

    Li Qingshan entered a sea of formations . Some slowed him down and others made him dizzy . All around him, flames blazed, sword qi surged, poisonous water spurted, and boulders fell . In that moment, who knew how many types of attacks hurtled towards him!

    Even the gloomy clouds in the sky were dyed with magnificent colours .

    ¡°Break through!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out, and the Demon Dragon sword sang . A dark-golden demonic dragon cleaved through the attacks, paving a path right towards the Silkworm Madam in the sea of formations!

    Having endured countless attacks, the demonic dragon turned back into a sword that Li Qingshan caught smoothly, slashing it at the Silkworm Madam .

    ¡°An arcane treasure!¡±

    The Silkworm Madam¡¯s face changed drastically . With a swing of her right hand, she tossed out a white handkerchief that expanded through the air, falling on top of Li Qingshan like a curtain of clouds .

    Not only was the white handkerchief tough, but it was supple too . Even sharp sword qi could not pierce through it .

    ¡°Break through!¡±

    Li Qingshan threw a punch and tore apart the clouds . The white handkerchief was ripped to pieces, revealing the Silkworm Madam¡¯s shocked face .

    ¡°Break through!¡±

    A streak of light flashed by, and blood splattered .

    The Silkworm Madam felt the world spin around her before suddenly seeing her own, headless body . Her eyes remained wide open, filled with disbelief .

    ¡°This test is a little too easy! Next one!¡±

    Everything happened in a split second . Li Qingshan swiveled his eyes and saw the Ghost Ascetic¡¯s figure . He let out a snicker .

    At this moment, the attacks from the numerous formations pressed over again .

    ¡°Begone!¡±

    Li Qingshan stomped down with his right foot, and the power of tremors emanated outwards as pulses .

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The ground began to heave, rising up and falling down, cracking and separating . The earth surged like the violent tides as if a colossal beast buried deep underground had sprung alive .

    The various buildings were torn apart like paper boxes . The various formations suffered the same fate .

    Like a magnitude 12 earthquake, the city was reduced to ruins . The epicentre lay right below Li Qingshan¡¯s right foot . In the very beginning, the Tremors of the Ox Demon was called the Ox Demon Tramples!

    As long as the countless demonic cultivators hidden in the city were standing on the ground when Li Qingshan stomped down, they would end up heavily injured even if they managed to survive!

    That was why he did not try to find the person who had saved the old man who used curses, as all of them would die .

    At the same time, the ground cracked open . The fissure pursued the Ghost Ascetic like a black bolt of lightning .

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    The Ghost Ascetic leapt up, and his blood-red kasaya expanded, ruffling in the air . Suddenly, he swelled up in the air, and by the time he descended, he had already grown to over thirty meters tall . Seven or eight long, fleshy horns protruded from his head, some long and some short . His mouth jutted forward like an animal¡¯s, exposing his curved teeth . Blood-red light poured out between his teeth, and he suddenly spat out a blood-red beam of light .

    Boom!

    The blood-red beam of light struck where Li Qingshan was standing . The earth was directly melted away, turning into surging lava .

    Li Qingshan moved to one side, and the beam of light brushed past him .

    The Ghost Ascetic turned his head, and the beam of light swept towards Li Qingshan viciously . At the same time, he swung his claws about, conjuring several dozen balls of blood-red light that also produced beams, weaving into a dazzling net of light .

    A smear of red suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s long hair . His bronze face began to change slightly, gaining a hint of devilish handsomeness . A pair of wings of wind and fire suddenly unfurled behind him .

    In that moment, he also turned into a streak of light . He bobbed and curved, passing through the net of light from an impossible angle and appearing before the Ghost Ascetic . He stomped down on his huge head before going after Mountain Insect without even looking back again .

    The Ghost Ascetic¡¯s colossal body stiffened . Cracks appeared, and blood-red light poured out like countless eyes opening up beneath the cracked ground . The light became denser and denser, brighter and brighter!

    Boom!

    Like a volcanic eruption, the Ghost Ascetic turned into countless streaks of dazzling light, dyeing the gloomy sky red .

    ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression!¡±

    The Chains of Demon Suppression rushed towards Mountain Insect .

    The sounds of the jangling chains were like a song of death .

    Mountain Insect produced an inhuman screech that resembled the buzzing of insects . All of the pockets on him opened up, and gu insects of all shapes and sizes surged out, turning into a cloud and rushing towards Li Qingshan .

    Mountain Insect rushed off without even looking back . As long as he made it into the vicinity of the central peak of Savage mountain, the extremely powerful formations would be for him to use . However, he no longer held onto any hopes of drawing Li Qingshan into the trap and killing him . He only hoped to escape alive .

    Li Qingshan did not look at the incoming swarm of insects or the fleeing Mountain Insect . Instead, he pointed off in a different direction . ¡°Demon Suppression Tower!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber who had been launched away by the punch climbed out of the ruins . He was utterly furious . He practised an extremely special cultivation method, which allowed him to use his fat to absorb all damage . He was about to get up and confront Li Qingshan in a battle to the death when he saw the Silkworm Madam being beheaded in a single strike, making him blank out .

    By the time Li Qingshan had reduced the city to ruins with a single stomp, he had already turned around and rushed off into the depths of the valley . He muttered to himself inside, Has he really just undergone the second heavenly tribulation? This is impossible! Impossible!

    His cultivation had already reached late Golden Core, virtually at the peak . He was confident that if he struck suddenly, he could also kill the Silkworm Madam, but definitely not as easily as that . If he used his full strength, he could also destroy a city, but with how large of a scale the attack would have to be, it would be impossible for him to kill so many cultivators .

    The strength the enemy displayed had completely exceeded the boundaries of what cultivators of this realm possessed .

    Right when he was about to slip away, the towering, grand Demon Suppression Tower descended from above!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber tucked in his body, pulling his head and limbs into a ball of flesh and rolling away like an egg . Suddenly, he accelerated, such that even the Demon Suppression Tower missed .

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    A petite figure dressed in bluish-grey monk robes stood within the drizzle, blocking his path .

    ¡°A futile effort! You can die!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber roared madly and accelerated once again, slamming towards her heavily!

 Chapter 768

    When the Demon Suppression Tower missed, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh no!¡±

    If the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber really rolled back to the depths of the valley, then he would be in trouble . He knew from the appearance alone that the power behind these formations could not be compared with the messy formations in the city .

    Things like formations had always been about quality instead of quantity . He managed to destroy hundreds or even thousands of formations in the city with a single stomp not because of how powerful he was, but because the formations interfered with one another . They were already in a precarious situation, and they still operated at full strength without the slightest regard, so simply attacking one of them could set off a chain reaction .

    However, who knew how many times more ingenious the arrangement of the formations on the central peak were, as the cave masters were bound by the blood oath . They did not have to worry about being attacked by one another, so the formations were purely arranged to fend off invading outsiders .

    The formations were linked together and assisted one another, forming a perfect unity . They also had the blessed land of extremely dense spiritual qi as a foundation . Once they truly began operating, even third heavenly tribulation cultivators would struggle to breach them .

    The purpose of formations had always been about using the geographic advantage to fend off the powerful after all .

    At this moment, Xiao An descended from above and blocked the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s path . Only then did Li Qingshan stop worrying, diverting all of his attention to dealing with this Mountain Insect .

    Rumble!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber whirled away like a meat tank . The storm he kicked up left behind a deep trail in the ground . He possessed so much vigour that even if a mountain blocked his way, he could smash through it forcefully!

    He was also filled with confidence about this move . There were not a lot of people in the world that could take on a head-on collision from him, much less stop him from entering the formation, and this overconfident woman definitely was not one of them .

    Xiao An¡¯s seaweed like hair drifted freely with the wind . Her eyes remained as placid as water the entire time . She pulled out a tiny, blood-red banner from her sleeve and waved it gently at the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber .

    The surging sea of blood seemed to be hiding an extremely vast world . That was exactly the Blood Sea Banner that had white bone as its handle and blood as its seas!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber rolled right into it and vanished .

    Li Qingshan threw a punch, but before his punch had even landed, Mountain Insect¡¯s body dispersed . He actually survived, turning into countless black insects and scattering .

    At this moment, a streak of red light rushed into the air!

    From the ruined city and the dwellings on the cliff sides, streaks of light flew out one after another, fleeing in all directions .

    They were the remaining demonic cultivators of the Lair of Demons . Originally, they still held onto their hopes that the cave masters could take down Li Qingshan, but never did they think that in the blink of an eye, three of the five cave masters would be dead . Even the strongest among the five, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, had fled, and it seemed like he had failed to escape .

    Only now did they suddenly realise that the Hawkwolf Guard was their great enemy . The newly-appointed White Hawk commander was not trying to join the Lair of Demons at all . He had clearly come to eradicate the Lair of Demons . His various actions earlier were clearly just to lure the cave masters off the mountain so that he could kill them .

    They did not blame the cave masters for being careless . Despite being in Savage mountain, they actually could not even flee back to the central peak .

    Now that the tree had fallen, the monkeys were scattering . All they could do was take flight in the face of disaster . Fortunately, not a lot of people remained . All of the people who possessed dwellings on the mountain or managed to survive Li Qingshan¡¯s stomp were masters that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation . They turned into over a hundred streaks of lights and took off . No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, his arms would be too full to take care of all of them . He would be doing well if he managed to kill twenty or thirty of them .

    The streak of scarlet light that rose up first moved extremely quickly . It was like a meteor, reaching the top of the mountain in the blink of an eye . Clearly, he was very confident in his escape technique, which was why he took the first move!

    Right when he was about to escape from Savage mountain, a huge claw of bone suddenly extended out from the top of the mountain, grabbing the scarlet streak of light and revealing a demonic cultivator . Before he could even plead or put his life on the line, the claw closed together like it was crushing a firefly . The light vanished, and the mangled corpse was thrown into a toothy mouth, reduced to roaring flames .

    A prayer bead vanished from Xiao An¡¯s hand¡ªthe Skull Prayer Beads!

    A huge, ferocious Skeleton Demon emerged from the mountain peak, its jaw clacking about as it let out a strange cackle .

    The laughter rose up from everywhere at the same time, echoing through the entire valley . It was a song of death that filled all the demonic cultivators with fear .

    Skeleton Demons climbed out from the top of the mountain . There was even one that guarded the entrance of the valley, completely surrounding Savage mountain .

    Li Qingshan could vaguely recall they each possessed the strength to rival a Corpse Commander . After Xiao An underwent the second heavenly tribulation, they seemed to grow as well, becoming even larger and more powerful .

    Under Xiao An¡¯s command, they were like a troop of super soldiers, cooperating perfectly and maneuvering about freely . They sealed off all paths of escape, smacking and crushing the streaks of light like they were catching flies . Not a single streak of light managed to escape .

    ¡°Fighting alongside you still brings me the most peace of mind!¡±

    The phoenix cried!

    Li Qingshan pulled his gaze away . The phoenix wings blazed with fire and extended to several dozen meters wide .

    With a flap of his wings, the flames of the phoenix incinerated the cloud of insects .

    Only one black insect remained, turning into a black blur, flying away without any regard . Three hundred meters, thirty meters, fifty meters¡­ It only needed another moment, and it would be able to escape .

    But it came to a halt!

    Li Qingshan caught the black insect between his right thumb and index . With a gentle squeeze, the black insect exploded .

    The fifth cave master of the Lair of Demons, Mountain Insect, was dead!

    Right now, Li Qingshan was wrapped in flames . Even his head full of scarlet hair had risen up like a burning ball of flames .

    He completely turned into a glorious phoenix that burned majestically, possessing an unparalleled aura of nobility . He also incinerated away the residual poison in his body .

    Originally, while his body was tough, he was not immune to poison . He only had a slightly stronger resistance at most . In the past, Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s venom had made him suffer quite a bit . Even the spirit turtle could only purify it after quite some effort . The spirit turtle was extremely effective at suppressing auras and his sea of consciousness, but it was much worse at suppressing poison .

    However, after reaching the first layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a and undergoing nirv¨¡?a rebirth once, he made up for this shortcoming . Not only could the endless flames heal his wounds, but it could also avert disasters and eliminate the factors that tried to kill him .

    The death represented by poison still could not contend against the life represented by the phoenix!

    Although he could not claim he was invulnerable to poison, some poison from a measly Wei of the Poison could not harm him . Otherwise, with his courage and caution, he would never take that risk .

    Although he was still a very long distance away from beyond the Nine Heavens, although he had yet to complete any one of the transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he could be described as accomplishing something with his divine arts in this World of the Nine Provinces!

    The battle and slaughter of the ox demon and tiger demon made his body tougher and tougher and his will firmer and firmer . The suppression and recovery of the spirit turtle and the phoenix made his aura more and more pure and his mind clearer and clearer . They supplemented each other, forming a perfect union, which was the current Li Qingshan .

    ¡°Qingshan, there¡¯s one more!¡±

    Xiao An shook the Blood Sea Banner, and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber flew out, smashing towards Li Qingshan as a mountain of flesh .

    After undergoing the second heavenly tribulation and condensing a White Bone ?ar¨©ra, her arcane treasures had grown stronger and become even more flexible, but she had yet to further refine them, so it was very difficult for her to trap a cultivator like the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber for long periods of time .

    Of course, once she drew the Budda Slaying sword, killing him was nothing difficult, but she naturally had to leave something like that for Li Qingshan to enjoy .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber smashed around blindly in the sea of blood . He never expected her to actually possess an arcane treasure with its own independent space . Right as he deliberated over how to get out, the surroundings suddenly lit up again . Suddenly, he saw a flawlessly handsome man with scarlet hair and eyes smiling at him .

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled . By now, ¡°Li Qingshan¡± had been completely hidden away already . His curved horns were carved with the name of Northmoon . That was the declaration he had intentionally left behind .

    He threw his fist once again!

    This was his strongest weapon . With a fist thrown, he swept away all obstacles!

    ¡°Li Qingshan!? Alright, alright, alright! If you want to kill me, then I¡¯ll throw my life at you! I refuse to believe you also have a spatial arcane treasure!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was surprised at first, but he made up his mind soon afterwards and went from being a mountain of flesh to a ball of flesh . He spun away at high speeds, kicking up a tornado and smashing towards Li Qingshan .

    Boom!

    The ball of flesh collided with Li Qingshan . All of the rock and soil within five kilometers of them immediately left the ground, flying into the air . Even Savage mountain shook!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s attack was truly fierce . It did not rely on arcane artifacts or treasures, nor did it involve any profound movements . He only relied on his fat and the extraordinary spiritual qi and strength within his fat to crush opponents head-on . It possessed the imposing bearing of crushing all that lay in his path!

    But unfortunately, this was the exact path Li Qingshan had taken too . No matter when, the ox demon would always be his very foundation . It contained the strength and belief left behind by brother ox .

    He can actually stop me head-on! He¡¯s actually this powerful! This is impossible! Even the strength of Daemon Kings aren¡¯t that great! Hmph, it must be a momentary eruption of strength . I¡¯d like to see just how long you can last!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber felt disbelief before immediately making up his mind! This move of his had always been about pressing forward with indomitable will, with no way out again .

    Li Qingshan¡¯s iron fist sank deeply into the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s fat . The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber pushed his cultivation method madly while his fat shook like waves, absorbing Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying strength like a sponge .

    I have to overwhelm him and crush him!

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber roared inside, but Li Qingshan¡¯s strength was endless .

    The thick earth was like a kind mother, spoiling him with strength . No one could surpass her favourite son through strength .

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed . At that moment, it was not only the ox demon . The powers of the tiger demon, spirit turtle, and the phoenix merged with the punch too, sending the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber flying and smashing heavily into the cliff face .

    However, he looked at his fist and frowned, as the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber had actually managed to survive!

    His strength still had not completely recovered at the end of the day . After undergoing the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, his required period of growth still had not finished . If he had not achieved the second layer of the Phoenix Transformation, then his appearance still should have resembled around fourteen or fifteen years of age . However, the feeling of merging the four powers into one was very nice . He already began to anticipate the strength he possessed after he fully recovered .

    As for the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, he could simply finish him off with another punch!

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m willing to serve you as my master!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber called out . He who was as fat as a mountain of flesh had clearly become thinner . His stature now approached severe obesity, and he no longer seemed so deformed anymore . If it were not for his special cultivation method that could block damage with his fat, he would have followed Wei of the Poison¡¯s footsteps already, directly reduced to a bloody mist .

    Even though he had managed to hold on, he was heavily injured and could not fight back anymore .

 Chapter 769

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber had truly been frightened . Ever since he became a fatty, he had never suffered so much before . He was not capable of fighting back at all .

    The enemy was clearly the White Hawk commander, but in the series of battles earlier, he had clearly used daemon qi despite his attempts at limiting it and hiding it . He was not a regular human-daemon hybrid either . His daemon qi was so pure that it rivalled Daemon Kings .

    When he saw the pair of horns, his eyes suddenly became filled with great surprise¡ªNorthmoon!

    One of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, had chased him for several tens of thousand kilometers until they reached the Mist province where he killed him . Although the south was still very far away, news about a major incident like that had spread far and wide among the upper echelons of the cultivation community . The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber had heard about it too, and the daemon who had been hunted down seemed to be called Northmoon .

    ¡°Fatty, you¡¯ve heard about these two words before?¡± Li Qingshan immediately noticed it .

    ¡°I haven¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t even know what they mean!¡± the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said . He refused to admit it no matter what . This was clearly a great secret . If Li Qingshan realised he knew, he would definitely have him silenced .

    ¡°If you tell another bare-faced lie, I¡¯ll punch your face in!¡± Li Qingshan said .

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes . I think I heard about it somewhere . ¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber prostrated on the ground .

    ¡°Forget it . You said you¡¯d serve me as your master . That¡¯s definitely not lip service, is it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to swear an oath to serve the White Hawk commander Li Qingshan as my master from now onwards in absolute fealty even in the face of death . If I were to break the oath, may my organs rot and may I die a horrible death, enduring the never-ending cycle of rebirth forever,¡± the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber raised a hand and said seriously .

    ¡°Do you take me for a child? I¡¯ll count to ten . You better think of a way that I can accept, or prepare to die!¡± Li Qingshan planted his foot on his huge head . There would be something wrong with his head if he would trust the oath of a demonic cultivator .

    ¡°There¡¯s a Blood Oath Scroll in Savage mountain,¡± said Xiao An .

    The Blood Oath Scroll was an extremely famous arcane treasure of the south . It did not have any offensive power and could only be used to record oaths, but its restrictive powers were extremely great . Once the oath was broken, they could suffer a backlash from the blood oath and die in the process . It was almost like a powerful curse . The Lair of Demons had been built on it, maintaining a basic level of trust among the cave masters .

    Xiao An read through all the records of the Hawkwolf Guard before choosing Savage mountain as their first target mostly because of this Blood Oath Scroll . If everything panned out as she expected, this item would play a relatively important role during the time they spent in the Mist province .

    ¡°Definitely not! If the oaths on the Blood Oath Scroll are forcefully wiped clean, even I will die from the backlash!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber became alarmed . Originally, he was planning to make do with the situation and find another opportunity to escape . As long as he slipped away, he could always get his revenge . However, once he swore an oath in the Blood Oath Scroll, he would really be in trouble .

    ¡°You swore an oath of blood to fend off any invading enemies together . You¡¯ve gone back on your word and defected to the enemy, yet you haven¡¯t died from the backlash,¡± Xiao An said .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was left speechless . He definitely was not sincere about serving Li Qingshan as his master, nor did he actually commit any acts of betrayal . He was only stalling, so it obviously did not count as going back on the oath of blood . This formed a paradox . If he were truly loyal to Li Qingshan, then he would be breaking the blood oath, and he would die . If he only claimed fealty, then his loyalty would be meaningless and completely uninsured .

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m not going to haggle with you anymore . I¡¯ll give you a quick death!¡± Li Qingshan pressed down with his foot .

    ¡°No, there¡¯s still another way . I can help you get through the formations . The first cave master is currently in secluded cultivation on the mountain . His strength surpasses mine . If he doesn¡¯t come out, there¡¯s nothing you can do about him . ¡±

    ¡°So there¡¯s another one on the mountain . He should have noticed this disturbance a long time ago! He still hasn¡¯t come out now, so is he trembling away in his dwelling?¡± Li Qingshan asked .

    ¡°Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, are you really bold enough to help them get through the formation? Aren¡¯t you afraid of the backlash from the blood oath?¡±

    An icy-cold voice drifted over with the wind . Li Qingshan looked back and saw a man with white hair and a thin face filled with vigour standing with a sword . The hem of his clothes and his sleeves were in tatters, drifting about in the wind .

    ¡°Yu Wufeng, you¡¯re sitting by and watching as I¡¯m about to be killed, yet you refuse to help out . Aren¡¯t you afraid of the backlash of the blood oath?¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber roared furiously .

    ¡°Do you really think that I, Yu Wufeng, can be bound by a mere oath of blood? Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, you can just die for the sake of my Lair of Demons! As for you, Li Qingshan or Northmoon, I¡¯ll forget about all of this if you follow my orders obediently . Otherwise, I¡¯ll make this identity of yours public . If the Dragon King of Ink Sea finds out his enemy is still alive, he definitely won¡¯t be very happy!¡± Yu Wufeng said .

    ¡°Commander Li, I¡¯ll remove the formations for you right now and assist you in killing this bastard Yu Wufeng!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber roared madly . Suddenly, he rose up and swung his pudgy hands at Savage mountain . The formations began to operate, shining brightly with light, but under the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s control, it showed signs of dispersing .

    At this moment, a bloody handprint suddenly appeared on the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s chest . He sprayed with blood from his mouth and flew backwards . Blood oozed out of every single pore on his, becoming covered in blood in the blink of an eye .

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    It happened so quickly that even Li Qingshan could not respond in time¡ªthe Blood Oath Scroll had come into effect!

    However, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber rolled over next and sat up . He wiped away the blood on his face and continued with taking down the formations, except he had become much skinnier yet again, almost resembling a normal fatty .

    ¡°You actually also¡­¡± Yu Wufeng paled in surprise .

    ¡°Yu Wufeng, why can¡¯t I do something you¡¯ve done? You want me to die? Let¡¯s see who dies first!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber smiled viciously, his lips covered in blood .

    ¡°Oi, your blood oath doesn¡¯t seem to be particularly effective!¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head .

    As it turned out, while the Blood Oath Scroll did possess great restrictive power, the Blood Oath Scroll in Savage mountain was masterless . All of the cave masters were worried that someone might refine the arcane treasure, so they sealed it in the centre of the mountain . If a new cave master wanted to join them, they required the permission of at least half of the cave masters . Then they would need to work together to remove the seal .

    The Blood Oath Scroll had never been a representation of fairness . Instead . It was a tool specially forged by ancient demonic cultivators to control their enemies . Although it could still retain a great restraining force when stored within the depths of Savage mountain that was rich with spiritual qi, it was possible to slowly wear down the curse as long as he had the time and patience given Yu Wufeng¡¯s cultivation . Although the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s cultivation was a little weaker, he could still dilute the power of the curse to the point where he could endure it .

    If it had been refined and was in someone¡¯s possession, they would never get an opportunity like that . He would be immediately punished for what he did earlier . The power that a masterless arcane treasure could unleash was limited at the end of the day .

    The glow from the formations faded very quickly . As the second cave master of the Lair of Demons, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was all too familiar with these formations . He also possessed the authority to control them, so breaking through them was as simple as fishing out a key to the door of his own home .

    Originally in an untouchable position, Yu Wufeng¡¯s face darkened . He desperately tried to maintain the operation of the formations . The formations pulsated with light as two different powers collided together .

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and turned into a streak of light, rising up into the air . He dove head-first into the depths of the valley . The numerous formations tried to obstruct him, but when they came into contact with the glow he gave off, they all shattered and collapsed .

    Even if Yu Wufeng could keep the door shut after quite some effort, Li Qingshan could still kick down an unlocked door with a single foot . He threw a punch towards Yu Wufeng standing at the top of the mountain .

    ¡°You¡¯re called Yu Wufeng, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡±

    Yu Wufeng said proudly . The sword on his back exited its sheathe with a thrum .

    In that moment, hazy, white light filled the surroundings, crammed full with sword qi . It was everywhere .

    The fogbow pierced through the sun!

    Arcane treasure!

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    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed . He really is the first cave master of the Lair of Demons after all . So he¡¯s a sword cultivator, and his cultivation already touches on the third heavenly layer . His path of the sword surpasses mine, and he also possesses an arcane treasure sword . If I fought against him alone, stopping him from running really would be difficult!

    He formed a seal with his hand and drew them through the air smoothly . The figure of a dragon burst out, passing through the hazy white light and colliding with the fogbow .

    In a split second, the swords clashed countless times . The dragon figure was forced back, while the fogbow dimmed slightly .

    A fist pierced through the air, filling Yu Wufeng¡¯s eyes . The weight it contained made it seem like a falling mountain .

    Yu Wufeng was stern . He had already been amazed when he observed their battles from the side earlier, but only when he personally clashed with him did he feel he was truly, absurdly strong . His swordsmanship was not bad, but to him, that was all it was . His fists were the lethal weapons that were actually terrifying, which made him feel like he could not confront them head-on .

    No, I can¡¯t become caught up in this battle, or my life will really be in danger today!

    Boom!

    Rubble exploded and dust filled the air . A crater appeared on the top of the mountain .

    A white streak of light rushed out of the dust . Yu Wufeng had become one with his sword before escaping into the distance with lightning speed . He actually chose to flee without the slightest hesitation .

    ¡°Commander Li, you cannot let him escape, or we¡¯ll face endless trouble in the future!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber clenched his fists and called out loudly . He was delighted . From the corner of his eyes, he quickly glanced at Xiao An . He clearly was not as excited as he seemed on the surface . His main objective was still using Yu Wufeng as bait to lure away the two of them . Then he would take advantage of the opportunity to escape .

    ¡°Don¡¯t escape,¡± Xiao An said without even looking back . Her voice was as placid as water . It was neither a threat, nor was it exactly an order . It did not even seem like she was talking to the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, merely like she was just mentioning something .

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sworn an oath . I definitely won¡¯t go back on my word!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber jiggled . He immediately dismissed his idea of fleeing . This was the first time he had ever seen such great beauty in his life, but it did not incite any of his desires . Instead, it struck indescribable fear into his heart .

    The white streak of light that Yu Wufeng had transformed into only travelled five kilometers away before he was forced to come to a stop .

    Huge skeletons rose up from the surroundings, cackling away as if they had been waiting there the entire time . They revolved about and assembled into the Skeleton Demon Formation, trapping Yu Wufeng inside .

    ¡°Since when!?¡± Yu Wufeng looked back in shock, meeting a pair of calm, unperturbed eyes in the valley .

    The fierce flames rushed over, and the fist filled the surroundings . This time, Yu Wufeng could not dodge anymore!

    ¡°Spare me, fellow! I admit defeat!¡±

 Chapter 770

    ¡°Eat my fist first!¡± Li Qingshan did not show any mercy, following through with his punch .

    Yu Wufeng threw out a violet talisman in response . Specks of light suddenly reflected in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes . Thousands of golden streaks shot off in all directions, each like spears that a god had tossed .

    A speck of light rapidly enlarged in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes . All he could do was tilt his head, resulting in a long, bloody mark across his cheek . Splitting pain shot through various parts of his body .

    The Skeleton Demon Formation also stopped operating from the bombardment, but Yu Wufeng became even more stern . The golden streaks of light only left behind faint marks on the skeletons, unable to destroy them .

    Li Qingshan allowed himself to bleed . The blood turned into flames in the air before flying back and merging into a ball of fire . His wounds rapidly closed up without leaving behind a single trace . Even his aura had not weakened .

    Yu Wufeng originally tried to stall him before unleashing a violet talisman to break out of this situation, but he never expected Li Qingshan to be so vicious .

    Boom!

    A great, thunderous rumble echoed through Savage mountain . The Fogbow sword flew out and stabbed into a boulder .

    ¡°First cave master Yu, do you think I¡¯m qualified to become a cave master of the Lair of Demons?¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Yu Wufeng¡¯s throat and asked with a smile .

    ¡°Your strength is startling, well beyond mine . Since I¡¯ve already ended up in your hands, do what you want, whether you want to kill or torture me!¡±

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    Yu Wufeng shut his eyes . His clothes were in tatters, soaked in blood . He no longer tried to say anything more, clearly quite injured . His cultivation was higher than the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, but he did not have fat to nullify the damage . He could be regarded as fortunate and strong enough given that the punch had not killed him off .

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask too much from you . If you want to die, I¡¯ll give you what you want . If you want to live, I¡¯ll give you a chance to survive . ¡±

    Li Qingshan was not worried about how Yu Wufeng would answer him . If he really had his mind set on dying, he would not have said that to him .

    ¡°Sir, you mustn¡¯t do that! Yu Wufeng is extremely crafty, and he¡¯s close to the third heavenly tribulation . If you don¡¯t kill him, it¡¯ll definitely come back to bite you!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber flew over from afar and called out .

    Before he had even finished speaking, Xiao An behind him said, ¡°Retrieving the Blood Oath Scroll requires half the cave masters at the very least, or we¡¯ll have to force our way through the formation . ¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber immediately fell silent . Killing Yu Wufeng would be equivalent to eliminating a powerful enemy, and the seal over the Blood Oath Scroll could not be destroyed so easily . As long as he was free from the bounds of the Blood Oath Scroll, he would still have a chance to escape, but he never expected her to see through his intentions yet again .

    ¡°Half . I¡¯ve killed four, so four still remain . You two just happen to be half . C¡¯mon, cave masters . Let¡¯s go retrieve the Blood Oath Scroll . ¡± Li Qingshan ushered them along with a smile .

    ¡°I still haven¡¯t agreed to it!¡± Yu Wufeng suddenly opened his eyes and said, ¡°I can yield to you, but you have to promise me one thing, or I¡¯d rather die!¡±

    ¡°Fat cave master, finish him off . ¡± Li Qingshan did not bother . He could go discuss his conditions with the king of hell!

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    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was taken aback . Only then did he realise that ¡°fat cave master¡± was referring to him . Right now, he only looked like a slightly-plump, middle-aged man . Holding his belly, he became rather hesitant . He was completely willing to kill Yu Wufeng, but this bastard would definitely blow up and drag him down with him .

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Yu Wufeng said in a hurry .

    He never expected Li Qingshan to be so difficult to deal with, so he let out a powerless sigh . If he had strength like that, he would definitely be very difficult to deal with too . He glanced at the city below the mountain that had already been reduced to ruins .

    The great cause of unifying Savage mountain actually just ends like this . Master, I¡¯ve let down your hopes!

    In the end, caught between a decision of life and death, Yu Wufeng still ended up going with the sensible choice of life . A large part of the reason was because he refused to die by the hands of the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber . That would be an utter disgrace to him .

    With the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber leading the way, the four of them followed a hidden path and entered the depths of Savage mountain .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber and Yu Wufeng worked together, opening the various formations until they arrived at the centre of the mountain . Their field of view suddenly opened up, and a primitive hall appeared . The density of the spiritual qi peaked here . Despite being pitch-black, the hall glowed with dazzling spiritual qi in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes .

    The spirit turtle sent a warning! The danger it hid was enough to threaten him . A formation was operating without stop .

    ¡°Here, even the most regular formations can unleash ten times more power, and the power of the formation here is anything but normal . Even I would find it extremely difficult to try and force apart the formation . ¡±

    Looking over, there was a meter-tall stone pedestal in the centre of the hall with a pitch-black scroll forged from the hide of an unknown creature on there . The edges were frayed, and at first glance, it did not seem special . However, the evil nature it was hiding could be sensed through the formation .

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling the two of you!¡± Li Qingshan said .

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber and Yu Wufeng could not help but exchange glances . Until now, they were still the masters of Savage mountain . They could still control the formations littered throughout the mountain, with the formation before them in particular . It was called the Eight Point formation, and it was extremely powerful . They only stood a chance against it if they worked together .

    However, their gazes parted the moment they met . After so many years of fighting both openly and under the table, their grievances had already become firmly ingrained . Neither of them trusted each other . Moreover, the smiling Li Qingshan with his arms crossed and the silent Xiao An behind prevented them from acting recklessly .

    The two of them raised their hands and gained the recognition of the Eight Point formation very quickly . They bellowed out together, and under their control, the light rippled, surging about like the tide . Talismans drifted through the air, and eight vicious beasts faded in . Their roars boomed through the centre of the mountain .

    ¡°We¡¯re injured, so we can¡¯t last for too long . If you want to retrieve the scroll, please move quickly!¡± Yu Wufeng said .

    Li Qingshan smiled and made his way over, entering the Eight Point formation fearlessly . Xiao An¡¯s dark pupils turned into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, blazing away as she stared at the two of them . The Buddha Slaying sword was already in her hands . If they tried to do something else, she would kill them immediately .

    The eight vicious beasts moved aside and formed a path, but they were still filled with reluctance . They brandished their claws and bared their fangs, wanting to lunge over at all times .

    Li Qingshan arrived before the stone pedestal and picked up the Blood Oath Scroll before backing out .

    Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber sat on the ground, gasping for air, but their eyes were glued to the Blood Oath Scroll . The arcane treasure that they had dreamt of for all these years was merely inches away right now .

    Li Qingshan unfurled the Blood Oath Scroll, and an evil nature together with demon qi flooded his face . In that moment, a black, vicious, non-human skull actually appeared in his eyes . Its hollow eye sockets gazed at him, and two streaks of blood tears flowed out .

    In the blink of an eye, the illusion vanished, only leaving behind the pitch-black background with lines of bloody words . That was the blood oath contract that bounded the cave masters of the Lair of Demons . Right below the contract were eight vague figures .

    Four of them seemed to be forcefully dug out from the background . The outline they left behind corresponded to the Silkworm Madam and the other three . There were another two that were extremely blurry as if they had been gently erased with an eraser . One of them even had a bloody handprint over them, which went without saying who they were . The last two remained as clear as before, which were the third cave master and seventh cave master that had gone out .

    ¡°Hmm? The Blood Oath Scroll seems to be forged from the hide of a demonfolk, and one that¡¯s a Demon King at the very least!¡±

    Li Qingshan said and passed the Blood Oath Scroll to Xiao An . If they wanted to set up an oath, he obviously had to leave it up to the meticulous her .

    When Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber saw this, they both became extremely astounded . He actually just handed over an arcane treasure like that? Aren¡¯t they even wary of each other?

    Xiao An accepted the Blood Oath Scroll, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out, enveloping the arcane treasure . Although it was masterless, it was still an arcane treasure after all, so it took her quite a while to refine it . A tiny skeleton appeared at the very top of the Blood Oath Scroll, which was the imprint she had left behind .

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How¡¯s it? Is it any good?¡±

    Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber became extremely nervous . Their lives, freedom, and everything depended on the Blood Oath Scroll .

    ¡°The cave masters of the Lair of Demons have always been maintained at around eight people . Even at most, it never exceeds ten people, which is roughly the limit of the Blood Oath Scroll . Moreover, once those who are bound by it undergo the third heavenly tribulation, it won¡¯t be a lethal threat anymore despite remaining effective . In other words, the Blood Oath Scroll can turn ten second heavenly tribulation cultivators, daemons, or otherfolk into slaves . You can say it¡¯s quite a nice arcane treasure . We¡¯ll be needing these people . ¡±

    ¡°I see . As long as we possess this Blood Oath Scroll, we can immediately establish a powerful sect or organisation, and it can guarantee absolute loyalty too . ¡± Li Qingshan nodded . The Blood Oath Scroll truly was an arcane treasure after all . If it was used well, it would even be worth more than arcane treasures for battle . Then he said with some pity, ¡°Sigh, if I had known earlier, I would have been a little less heavy-handed . ¡±

    However, cultivators were different from mortals, and the cave masters were all the cream of the crop among cultivators . If he did not kill them, they would be an endless source of trouble even if they only had a breath left in them . It was even possible for them to escape back to Savage mountain and use the formations against them .

    ¡°They¡¯re too weak . They''re a waste of spots . ¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s calm voice made Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber shiver inside . Although she had never mentioned it, she had thought through everything for Li Qingshan . All Li Qingshan had to do was point her in a direction .

    Li Qingshan smiled . ¡°Fair enough . With how large the south is, I refuse to believe that I can¡¯t recruit eight subordinates . Oh right, is it possible to alter the blood oath? That way, we¡¯ll have four subordinates . The seventh cave master is probably a piece of trash too, but the third cave master might be worth anticipating . ¡±

    ¡°Once the blood oath has been written, it cannot be altered . If you want to rewrite the oath, then you have to choose between releasing or wiping out those that are bound . ¡±

    ¡°Wipe them out then!¡± Li Qignshan said casually . Then he glanced at the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber . This fatty had not uttered a single word of truth .

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    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber jiggled and said in a hurry, ¡°Please give me your wise judgement, sir . I¡¯ve never refined the Blood Oath Scroll, so I would never know it included so many details . ¡±

    Xiao An used her index finger to touch the figures of the third and seventh cave masters gently . The vicious skull appeared on the pitch-black background of the Blood Oath Scroll again .

    Smack! Smack!

    Two bloody handprints slammed down on the two figures, dripping with blood .

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 Chapter 771

    In a certain swamp in the south, there were no towering trees, just surging sludge and miasma .

    A small, dark-green flower bloomed quietly in the swamp, giving off a strange fragrance that stubbornly penetrated the heavy reeking of blood in the surroundings .

    Blood splattered on a man¡¯s chest . He stood in a place littered with corpses, chomping away on a thigh with his mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth . Muscles rippled across his body with a faint, grey colour as if he was carved from stone . He gave off a tough and brutal bearing, eating as he cursed aloud .

    ¡°You pigs! You actually touched my K?itigarbha flower . You must be tired of living!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes . We deserve death . We didn¡¯t know it was cave master Stone¡¯s K?itigarbha flower! You are far superior to us, a bigger person, so please spare us pigs!¡±

    A group of people lay on the ground, trembling away . In order to search for a thousand-year K?itigarbha flower, they had gone to such great lengths, but they never thought they would run into such a vicious person who killed half of their clansman right off the bat . It filled them with grief and fury, but all they could do was kneel and beg for their lives .

    ¡°Hmph, spare you? You can all go die!¡± Cave master Stone snickered and raised his hand .

    Everyone knew they were done for . Their eyes were filled with fear, but no one tried putting up a stand . That was not strength they could contend with . All they could do was shut their eyes and wait for their deaths .

    Smach!

    It sounded like a clump of wet mud had struck the ground after being thrown down from high up .

    The attack they had been imagining never arrived . Some people gathered their courage and looked around . The imposing cave master Stone had vanished . There was a pile of bright-red flesh where he previously stood .

    It was as if an invisible hand had descended from above and crushed cave master Stone in a single stroke .

    Everyone was dumbfounded . They all believed it to be a miracle .

    ¡­¡­

    The moment Xiao An wiped out the two cave masters, Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber both felt sympathy for them . Now, only the two of them remained out of the eight cave masters of the Lair of Demons .

    Xiao An brushed the Blood Oath Scroll gently with her hand, and the bloody words were wiped clean, leaving behind the pitch-black background . After a moment of thought, she began to set down new rules .

    The head of the deceased Demon King appeared on the Blood Oath Scroll . Two bloody streaks of tears flowed out of its empty eye sockets, spreading across the background . The colour contrasted so drastically that it was almost blinding, flowing into bloody words .

    There were actually many ways to control a person¡¯s fate within the cultivation community, but the person under control would definitely try everything that they could to break out of a situation like that . If they became desperate, they would even be willing to go as far as perishing together with the person controlling them . It was very easy to lead to backlash .

    If Li Qingshan only controlled Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s lives and did not constantly keep an eye on them, perhaps they were not bold enough to openly work against him, but it was very likely for them to divulge his secret or come up with various methods to deal with him .

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    Control like that was a waste of effort . It was more trouble than it was worth .

    However, the Blood Oath Scroll was different . As long as they set down restrictions, they would immediately die from the backlash as long as they betrayed the oath even if they were thousands of kilometers away . Betrayal would be nipped at the bud .

    As a result, the contents of the oath became extremely important . The Blood Oath Scroll was not particularly large, and the size of the words was fixed too . It could only contain one or two hundred words, in which they had to touch on everything without leaving any gaps, all the while without being too harsh .

    For example, if they forbid the two of them from any thoughts related to betrayal, then the curse would definitely be activated immediately, and the oath would be pointless . However, they could not be too broad either . If they asked the two of them to do everything they had to complete a task the moment they received it, it also could easily lead to easy losses despite seemingly making sense . The grasp over the limits required extremely meticulous thought and precise description .

    Xiao An wrote the new oath in a single breath before handing it over to the two of them to read . She said, ¡°Swear the oath!¡±

    The two of them looked through it . The contents of the oath were not complicated, nor did it fill the Blood Oath Scroll, leaving behind a lot of blank space . However, as they read through it, cold sweat covered their foreheads . If they swore this oath, then unless she suddenly found her conscience and released them, they would have to spend the rest of their lives as slaves, and the type that was extremely loyal .

    Li Qingshan looked at them with a smile . They would never be bold enough to resist . Even though they were very reluctant, all they could do was swear the new oath of blood .

    With a flash of blood-red light, two figures appeared on the bottom of the Blood Oath Scroll . The oath had been established!

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands . ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡±

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    ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber returned the gesture with a chuckle and glanced at the pale-white Yu Wufeng . He sneered . ¡°First cave master Yu, you wanted to unify the Lair of Demons, but never did you expect someone even stronger to exist! You¡¯ve really deserved this considering someone like commander Li exists in the world!¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Yu Wufeng¡¯s face darkened . He was not as thick-skinned as the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber .

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An obtained control over the formations on the mountain from the two of them before sending them back to rest . Li Qingshan even returned the Fogbow sword to Yu Wufeng in great generosity . Since Yu Wufeng was his bruiser, it would obviously be better if he was a little stronger .

    ¡°Though, we still have to stop him from undergoing the third heavenly tribulation . ¡± Li Qingshan instructed her .

    ¡°He won¡¯t get that opportunity in this life,¡± said Xiao An .

    ¡°That¡¯s good then . We can finally enter secluded cultivation for a while in peace . ¡± Li Qingshan exhaled deeply in relief .

    Xiao An smiled too . That was what she loved the most .

    Li Qingshan refined the Eight Point formation and remained in the hall in the centre of the mountain that was dense with spiritual qi . He began another round of secluded cultivation .

    Li Qingshan had a total of two objectives this time . The first was to push the Demon Suppression Statuary to a higher realm, and the second was to refine the Traitorous Demon sword into a true demonic treasure .

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    His human and daemon cultivation had actually always been separated from one another . Especially when he transformed into Northmoon, his human cultivation often could not provide any help at all . At most, he would convert it into daemon qi when he needed it, serving as a reserve of spiritual qi . On top of that, no matter how many arcane artifacts he possessed, it would merely serve as a hindrance, completely useless to him .

    The level that the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine belonged to was far too high . Northmoon to Li Qingshan was like a giant to a dwarf . The giant only needed to use the slightest amount of force and it could assist the dwarf in defeating powerful enemies, but even if the dwarf used everything it was capable of, it could not provide much assistance to the giant .

    This long-term imbalance even began to make his human cultivation unnecessary, seeming like it was only for the sake of maintaining his appearance as Li Qingshan . The problem was the value of his appearance as Li Qingshan and even his identity as a Hawkwolf Guard was constantly diminishing, almost to nothing . All that remained were emotional fetters, which were basically useless .

    Only after he had converted his cultivation completely to the Demon Suppression Statuary did the situation change . Although it was one of the peak cultivation methods of this world, the Demon Suppression Statuary was still nowhere close to the Nine Transformations of Demonic and Divine, but at the very least, the dwarf had become a regular person, finally able to assist the giant .

    The demon heart in his body had played quite a role in allowing Li Qingshan to easily defeat Yu Wufeng before his strength had completely recovered . It made him stronger and faster . Once the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a wrapped up and his powers had completely merged together, perhaps Northmoon would be able to equip a brand-new set of demonic armour, merging the two powers together and allowing him to assume his most powerful form .

    Correspondingly, the power of arcane treasures well surpassed arcane artifacts . If he had not used the Demon Dragon sword to defeat the Fogbow sword, he would have never won so easily . Every single arcane treasure was unique . They were so powerful that even Li Qingshan valued them very much .

    He focused on the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, but when his daemon cultivation reached a bottleneck, he would walk the path of human cultivation . The two of them complimented each other, constantly increasing his strength, which became the most optimal choice to make .

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed, practicing the Demon Suppression Statuary . He surged with demon qi . Then he placed the Traitorous Demon sword across his knees and took out a demon heart, beginning to refine the sword and cultivate .

 Chapter 772

    The Lair of Demons of Savage mountain, in the first cave master¡¯s dwelling .

    White light flashed in the dark, illuminating Yu Wufeng¡¯s face . He opened his eyes and stared at the Fogbow sword in his hand . He could sense that his wounds had already recovered, but his eyebrows remained firmly locked .

    How much time has passed? Two months, three, or even longer?

    With his cultivation, he should have never lost track of time, but the impact of that battle had been far too great to him . The plan he had been preparing and following for all this time had completely fallen apart . Originally, he should have taken another step forward and undergone the third heavenly tribulation before refining the Blood Oath Scroll, unifying the Lair of Demons under him and becoming the ¡°King of Savages¡±!

    But in the blink of an eye, he had instead become someone else¡¯s slave, and he was unable to break out of this situation through his own power . Even now, his head was still in a bit of mess .

    Although the original blood oath covered all aspects too, there was something that could never be included in the oath, which was preventing the cave masters from increasing their cultivations and undergoing the third heavenly tribulation . The first generation of cave masters would have never severed their own paths of cultivation for this . Instead, they secretly reached an agreement that whoever underwent the third heavenly tribulation would become the ¡°King of Savages¡± . They would be able to unify the Lair of Demons and establish their own sect .

    However, why would Xiao An keep this flaw around? The moment Yu Wufeng tried undergoing the third heavenly tribulation, he would immediately set off the curse of the blood oath . The blood oath was not a fair, reasonable ¡°treaty¡± among the eight cave masters anymore either, but well and truly a ¡°slave contract¡± . It had returned to being used for its original purpose .

    Even without this restraint, he would never try to face the tribulation recklessly . The third heavenly tribulation was extremely dangerous . Even the slightest mental perturbation could claim his life .

    Yu Wufeng exhaled deeply and made his way out of his dwelling . He gazed towards the south and said quietly, ¡°Master, do you know about your disciple¡¯s current circumstances?¡±

    Of course, contacting others without permission also broke the blood oath, and even if he had permission, he could not divulge Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s secret . The conditions were like invisible shackles, binding him firmly such that he could not take a single wrong step .

    ¡°All I can do is wait for the news of Savage mountain being taken to spread . Once it reaches the South sea, there¡¯ll still be a chance for a turnaround!¡± Yu Wufeng glanced in the direction of the hall . ¡°Li Qingshan, you have no idea what you¡¯ve provoked . That¡¯s definitely an existence you cannot defeat!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan had no idea someone was muttering his name . He currently placed all of his focus on the Traitorous Demon sword on his knees . The straight, slender edge shimmered with a dim glow, while the hilt happened to be a mass of flesh, wriggling about around a huge eyeball . It seemed rather disgusting .

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, the eyeball swiveled and met his eyes .

    In that moment, he used his eyes to look at the Traitorous Demon sword while making the eye look at him . The two figures overlapped .

    He practised the technique from the Sword Collection palace, tempering the Traitorous Demon sword again while tempering his heart of the sword at the same time .

    He was not a sword cultivator . Condensed within his body was a demon heart and not a sword cultivator¡¯s sword embryo, sword seed, or a sword nascence after they had undergone the third heavenly tribulation . These were two completely different paths of cultivation, but it did not stop him from comprehending the path of the sword and tempering his heart of the sword .

    Although he was doing multiple things at the same time, refining the Traitorous Demon sword, tempering his heart of the sword, and practising the Demon Suppression Statuary were actually all the same .

    His body produced a demonic flash, and he turned back into his Demon Commander form . After three months of cultivation, his outer appearance had changed slightly too . The smooth, flowing lines now became a little jagged .

    Unlike regular cultivation methods, the Demon Suppression Statuary was a cultivation method that accepted great diversity . Whether it were humans, demonfolk, or daemons, they could all practise it and convert their cultivation into demon qi . As a result, their appearances after demonifying constantly changed too .

    Originally, he stood three meters tall, clad in heavy armour . That was the will within the Demon Suppression Statuary he had comprehended without digesting . It was merely an empty husk . Afterwards, his slender stature and flowing figure came from the influence of the Arts of the Boundless Ocean and the Ocean pearl . Now, the effects of the heart of the sword began to manifest too .

    Regular cultivation methods focused on a single aspect, but the Demon Suppression Statuary was different . It did not care about the cultivator¡¯s past, nor did it place any conditions on the cultivator¡¯s future . It really was all-inclusive . Wanting to unleash its full power instead required dabbling around and drawing parallels .

    A demonic light flowed out of the eye, enveloping the hilt and sword and becoming brighter and brighter, denser and denser . Only after a very long while did this light dim . The iris of the eye had vanished . It had depleted another demon heart .

    Li Qingshan recovered his usual form . He exhaled deeply and got up to move about a little . All he saw was that Xiao An had turned into a shiny skeleton, also sitting with her legs crossed . Her bone hands formed the buddha¡¯s seal as she sat in the raging flames, solemn in bearing .

    Li Qingshan had given all the corpses he had amassed over the years to her . There were many existences that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation among them . Especially after the battle in the Demon Suppression hall, he had collected a mountainous pile of demonfolk corpses, which she completely converted into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone .

    Probably because of undergoing the second heavenly tribulation, the flames seemed to become more pure, no longer giving off a single hint of evil . Even if other cultivators saw it, they would only think it was holy fire . They would never imagine that this kind of fire fed off flesh, blood, and souls .

    Xiao An continued practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, tempering her white bones and consolidating her current cultivation . This process had already continued for several months now . Her white bones became even firmer and more glossy, while the White Bone ?ar¨©ra seemed like it had been condensed by fire .

    As a cultivation method that brother ox had personally passed to her, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was inferior to the Nine Transformations of Demonic and Divine, but it still surpassed all cultivation methods of this world . Several years ago, she had basically possessed the strength to sweep aside all second heavenly tribulation existences already . Now that she had undergone the second heavenly tribulation as well and condensed a White Bone ?ar¨©ra, just how strong had she become? Li Qingshan was very much looking forward to finding out .

    After gazing at her for a while, he sat back down and continued cultivating .

    Time passed by in a hurry . Li Qingshan inserted the demon hearts Duoge had given him into the Traitorous Demon sword one by one .

    The Traitorous Demon sword had always possessed the ability to devour demon hearts and strengthen itself . With Li Qingshan¡¯s refinement, it gradually changed, shrinking by a third of a meter from being almost three meters long . Its slender blade had become much thicker too, while the fleshy structure on its hilt seemed to be hardening .

    His demonified form changed as well, becoming much sharper and more distinct . Even the oval visor over his face bent up along the middle, just like the ridge of a sword .

    He infused another demon heart into the sword, and Li Qingshan opened his eyes . Xiao An stood nearby, waiting for him to rouse .

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised . The white bone was covered in another layer of flesh and blood, turning into a great beauty . The issue was that she was completely bare . Only her draping, seaweed-like hair barely managed to cover up certain parts of her .

    Seeing Li Qingshan rouse, Xiao An smiled and directly threw herself into his arms .

    ¡°You¡¯ve finished cultivating?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled too, embracing her gently . He sensed the tremendous life force hidden within her petite body, together with the death that contained eternal silence . The two of them merged together in a wondrous manner, turning into this body that was as fair as jade .

    It was said that ¡°white bone¡± and ¡°great beauty¡± was for people to understand that lust was all but an empty illusion . No matter how great the beauty was, it would still be reduced to a set of white bones in the end . Li Qingshan personally believed he did not possess such ¡°great wisdom¡± . He had always been a very lustful person .

    However, when he faced this alluring, enchanting beauty, his heart remained as placid as water apart from being mildly surprised earlier . He did not feel awkward either, as if this was all too normal .

    It obviously was not because he had comprehended some profound buddhist principle from the conversion between white bone and great beauty . In the past, when he turned into a daemon for the first time and struggled to accept his hideous form, it was she who gave him her whole-hearted recognition . Afterwards, when he underwent the tribulation and transformed, she did not develop any additional liking towards him because he was handsome, as that had reached the limit a long time ago .

    Whether it was gaining a hint of beauty or losing a chunk, it had never been important in the first place . To him, white bone and great beauty were both as beautiful as they could get . They were all the same .

    ¡°Yeah . I¡¯m going to start refining the sword next,¡± Xiao An said as she took out the Buddha Slaying sword . Actually, it was still just a sword embryo .

    ¡°What a fine sword!¡± Li Qingshan took the Buddha Slaying sword from her and examined it . As his comprehension of the path of the sword deepened, his ability to appraise swords grew stronger too . He said in praise, ¡°If this sword can truly be fully refined, those Ten Renowned Swords or whatever they¡¯re called would just be scrap metal compared to this!¡±

    ¡°I wonder how much longer is needed before the Three Absolutes Calligraphy is repaired . ¡± Xiao An adjusted her posture . In the past when she was still young, she had grown accustomed to sitting in his lap as a child . Now that she had grown much taller, it became slightly awkward .

    ¡°Yeah . If we can comprehend the path of the sword inside, our strength will definitely reach a whole new level . I¡¯ll be able to go to the Ink sea and settle my debts with that old dragon sooner!¡±

    Speaking of which, Li Qingshan was not lacking arcane treasures . The Asura Field was one, the Demon Dragon sword was another, and there was also the Blood Oath Scroll . The Fogbow sword in Yu Wufeng¡¯s possession obviously belonged to him too . In the future, he could look forward to a demonic treasure from the Unraging Monk, a renowned sword from the Sword Collection palace¡ªhe swore he would pull out a renowned sword no matter what and make the Sword Collection palace suffer¡ªas well as the Traitorous Demon sword he was refining .

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    He possessed seven of them if he counted them up . This was basically an impossible achievement in the cultivation community across the entire world . It was already very rare for a second heavenly tribulation cultivator to possess a single arcane treasure . Even among certain third heavenly tribulation cultivators, there probably were not too many that possessed arcane treasures .

    However, the one he looked forward to the most was still the Three Absolutes Calligraphy . It was not only because of the path of the sword within it, but also because it probably surpassed regular arcane treasures in power as a piece of work left behind by the Five Absolutes Immortal . He had specially left a piece of jade with Chu Danqing for him to crush once he had completed the repair so that he could be contacted .

    ¡°Definitely!¡± Xiao An tightened her grip around the Buddha Slaying sword, and for once, a hint of coldness appeared in her eyes . She could still remember the devastating feeling back then . Then she said to Li Qingshan, ¡°But you¡¯re not allowed to take any risks . ¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to take some risks no matter what, or wouldn¡¯t that mean I can only go and find him when he¡¯s about to ascend?¡± Li Qingshan pinched her delicate nose with a smile . The Dragon King of Ink Sea could basically be regarded as an apex cultivator of this world . If he went any higher than that, he would be ascending to another world .

    ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you . ¡± Xiao An bit his hand .

    ¡°Alright . ¡± Li Qingshan looked at the teeth marks on his hand and said helplessly .

    By now, the news regarding the battle of Savage mountain had already spread across the entire southern region, creating an uproar .

 Chapter 773

    The commandery city of South Sea, in the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s estate.

    The moonlight peeked through the dense leaves, casting down beams of silver light with difficulty that sprinkled across the courtyard in the canopy.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea, dressed in luxurious robes, paced around under the moon. His eyebrows furrowed at times before easing up at others. His face slackened and tensed.

    The entire time, he murmured a single name, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Ever since Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival, he regularly felt uneasy. In the beginning, he felt anger and fury, wanting to find an opportunity to make him suffer, but he felt fearful and uneasy now, basically hoping he would never see him again.

    That person had a vicious disposition and was extremely vengeful. He could not be provoked without good reason. Though, what kind of place was Savage mountain supposed to be? It was one of the handful of danger zones in the south. According to the news from his subordinates, the entire city had been flattened. Apart from the eight cave masters, all of the other demonic cultivators had been slain. Not a single one managed to escape.

    However, the main peak of Savage mountain was enveloped in formations, locking down all outflows of information, so even he was not sure about the outcome of the battle. Had Li Qingshan died on Savage mountain, or¡­ no, that was definitely impossible!

    None of the eight cave masters of Savage mountain were weak. The first cave master Yu Wufeng was even a sword cultivator at the peak of the second heavenly tribulation, a genius disciple of the South Sea Sword pavilion in the past. He had slain countless powerful opponents with his arcane treasure, the Fogbow sword. His reputation boomed, even surpassing the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s. Even third heavenly tribulation cultivators might not necessarily be able to kill him.

    Yeah, that¡¯s definitely impossible! Since Li Qingshan hasn¡¯t returned, doesn¡¯t that mean¡­ he¡¯s already dead? This conclusion filled the Marquis of Serene Sea with vigour.

    ¡°Marquis, long time no see.¡±

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    A faint voice rang out in the silent courtyard. The voice drifted about, sometimes like it originated from an extremely distant place, yet seeming like a gentle whisper right by his ears at other times. It was impossible to tell the age or gender of the speaker from the voice.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea shivered inside. With a surge of light, he took out the Seal of Mountains and Rivers with a flip of his hand. He was secretly shocked. The estate is enveloped in formations, so how can someone infiltrate here silently? I even failed to discover him when he was so close to me.

    Suddenly, he looked back, only to see the flowing moonlight and the surging darkness. There was not a single figure in sight. He could not sense any aura either.

    ¡°Third cave master?¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea asked hesitantly. He continued to stare at the darkness before him without lowering his guard at all.

    ¡°You¡¯ve managed to tell.¡± The outline of a shadow emerged from the darkness, gradually forming a humanoid figure. It was a slender, masked man. His ears were long and pointed, and his unexposed skin was a deep blue colour.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anyone else who can infiltrate my estate so silently in the south apart from the third cave master.¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea smiled. His face eased up, but his aura was still tense, ready to erupt at any time.

    Among the eight cave masters of the Lair of Demons, the strongest was obviously the first cave master Yu Wufeng, but the most dangerous was the third cave master. No one knew his name. They only gave him a nickname, calling him ¡°Ghost Shadow¡±. He was a night roamer, but he left his race for some reason and joined Savage mountain. He was skilled at ambushes and assassinations, making him the most terrifying assassin of the south.

    ¡°Marquis, I only have one thing I want you to tell me about. Was the person who fought in the battle of Savage mountain the White Hawk commander Li Qingshan or not?¡± Ghost Shadow asked faintly.

    Several months ago, he was lurking in the jungle, prepared to carry out an assassination, when he suddenly felt a sense of impending doom. It was so dangerous that only the battle when he escaped from ¡°Deep Shadow city¡± could compare to it.

    The bloody hand slammed down! The blood oath had been set off!

    Although he had also been constantly at work like Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, doing his best to dilute his connection with the Blood Oath Scroll, his cultivation paled in comparison to theirs. With impending doom right before him, he only managed to escape with his life intact with the innate ability of night roamers, surviving the hand.

    After a period of rest, he had mostly recovered from his injuries. He was an assassin, yet he had almost been finished off like this, which was basically a huge disgrace. He could accept this disgrace, but he had to understand how this had happened in the first place. Just who had refined the Blood Oath Scroll and was trying to kill him?

    He had yet to completely recover from his wounds, so he was still not bold enough to venture up Savage mountain. No matter who refined the Blood Oath Scroll, he definitely could not underestimate them, so he came to the marquis¡¯ estate to investigate.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ even I¡¯m not certain. Why would they contact me in regards to what they¡¯ll do? It¡¯s been quite a while since I¡¯ve seen them too. Though, someone did see him and that woman called Xiao An heading off in the direction of Savage mountain.¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea mulled over how he would word it.

    ¡°Li Qingshan. Xiao An.¡± Ghost Shadow uttered those two words as if he was committing them firmly to memory. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m still alive, or I¡¯ll come and find you again.¡±

    Ghost Shadow said that as the darkness surged over, gradually swallowing him and turning into a blurry clump of darkness.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea frowned. With his cultivation and status, he was not someone anyone could threaten, but the person before him did indeed possess that right. Moreover, giving Li Qingshan an additional, dangerous enemy would always be nice, even though it was very likely that he was already dead.

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    Ghost Shadow vanished into the boundless night. The next morning, someone discovered that all the White Wolf guards in the Hawkwolf Guard had died peacefully. It was like they were still asleep and had yet to realise they had already been killed.

    ¡­¡­

    The sun and moon interchanged. Time in the mountains passed by in a hurry.

    Finally, only a single demon heart remained in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    The Traitorous Demon sword had changed drastically. It was only around a meter and a half now, and the long blade had become extremely wide and thick, going from a strange sword to a huge sword. A layer of black, demonic light flowed through it with its powers hidden away, making it seem even more consolidated.

    The flesh on the hilt had completely solidified too. The demon eye in the centre swiveled around, already possessing some intelligence. It was only a step away from becoming a true demonic treasure.

    I¡¯ve fed high quality demon hearts from several dozen Demon Commanders to it. It already has sufficient power. All it needs is one last battle!

    Li Qingshan formed a seal with his hand and pointed at the Traitorous Demon sword. The sword leapt up from his knees, spinning around and plunging violently into his chest.

    ¡°One with the sword!¡±

    The blade sank into Li Qingshan¡¯s chest until only the hilt remained, but it did not emerge from the other side.

    ¡°My one with the sword sure is ugly!¡± Li Qingshan said in a self-deprecating manner. He gripped the hilt and pushed it hard. The hilt also vanished into his chest, leaving behind a huge wound flashing with dim light.

    The wound closed up and healed very quickly, but the demonic light seeped out of Li Qingshan¡¯s body, dyeing him a gloomy black.

    Li Qingshan gathered his focus and powered the Traitorous Demon sword, taking that crucial step.

    Quite a while later, the darkness receded, and his skin colour recovered. He smiled. ¡°Success!¡±

    However, before he could finish what he was saying, a sword extended out from his shoulder with a clang. In the blink of an eye, several dozen swords erupted from his body, turning him into a hedgehog.

    In the past, when Li Qingshan stole the sword from the Demon General, the Demon General had become like this in the end, drastically increasing his strength, but the price he paid was the sword devouring him, going from the master of the sword to a sacrifice of the sword.

    The swords trembled, producing a strange thrum. A series of eyes actually opened up on them, staring straight at Li Qingshan with a brutal and greedy light.

    The Traitorous Demon sword that had always been as docile as a puppy in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession had finally become a monster after devouring several dozen demon hearts and becoming a demonic treasure. It was even trying to devour Li Qingshan¡¯s demon heart.

    ¡°You¡¯re just a mere demonic treasure, yet you want to devour me? You¡¯re getting far too ahead of yourself. Whatever, this is basically your instincts. I¡¯ll let you devour it then. Withdraw!¡±

    A demonic light flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, and the swords withdrew into his body.

    Within the boundless darkness, the eyes stared at Li Qingshan¡¯s demon heart. Dark power enveloped it in an attempt to eat and devour the demon heart.

    Li Qingshan did not try to stop it. Instead, he opened himself up and allowed the Traitorous Demon sword to devour the demon heart. The power in his demon heart obviously could not be compared to several dozen demon hearts, so it was swallowed very quickly.

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out. The Demon Suppression Statuary kicked in at full strength, and the devoured demon heart shone brightly, dyeing the Traitorous Demon sword¡¯s power instead.

    Let alone several dozen demon hearts, even if the masters of the demon hearts had been revived, he could still suppress and kill them all, not to mention the fact that these demon hearts had merged with the Traitorous Demon sword through his hand. They all bore his imprint.

    ¡°It¡¯s still a sword after all. Although it has developed some intelligence, it¡¯s not exactly intelligent. It only knows how to act on instinct. In the past, I made a promise with you. If I wasn¡¯t strong enough, then I would have nothing to say if I was devoured by you, which was why I named you ¡°Traitorous¡±. Now that your betrayal has failed, only a single fate awaits you.¡±

    A thrum of a sword rang out from Li Qingshan¡¯s body, filled with fearful pleas, but it died down very quickly and finally vanished. The intelligence it had just developed had been directly suppressed and annihilated.

    It was like an army of a hundred thousand running amuck. With a single imperial edict, the army immediately changed sides, slaying the leader of the rebels and offering up his head.

    The heavy demon qi consolidated once more, turning into armour and revealing his brand-new Demon Commander form.

    Li Qingshan summoned a piece of the Spirit Turtle''s Profound Shell to use as a mirror. All he saw was that black, demonic armour had completely covered his body. The lines were sharp and clean, making him seem even more powerful than before. His limbs were slender, and he seemed like a sword that had been drawn from its sheath, its powers on full display.

    The arc-shaped mask only covered half his face, and a crystal that resembled an eye had condensed on the centre of his forehead. It was not just his forehead, but his shoulders, chest, knees, and even his back. All of these areas were peppered with many crystals, all with different hues. It seemed like the several dozen demon hearts, but it was also like several dozen demonic eyes, allowing him to observe his surroundings and see through everything.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem too bad, but it doesn¡¯t seem too different from before! Is this supposed to be a sword seed?¡± Li Qingshan said in thought.

    Originally, he wanted to use becoming one with the sword to transform the Traitorous Demon sword into a demonic treasure, and he succeeded. However, he never expected the Traitorous Demon sword to suddenly betray him, which he suppressed mercilessly. After losing its intelligence, it merged with him, and a small sword now hovered in his demon heart.

    He had not been expecting this, but he was extremely satisfied with the result. The power of the Traitorous Demon sword had completely merged with his body. Relying on an external object could never surpass personal strength after all. If it were possible, he would like to fuse with the Demon Dragon sword too, but the Demon Dragon sword did not have the instinct to devour its master, nor could it fuse with its master, which was quite the pity.

    Li Qingshan released his demonified form and touched his forehead. There seemed to be an additional, eye-like imprint now. He exhaled deeply. After almost a year of bitter cultivation, he had not made any breakthroughs, but his strength had increased by a sizable amount.

 Chapter 774

    Li Qingshan glanced in Xiao An¡¯s direction again. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned away silently, holding up Xiao An like a flame lotus. Under the illumination of the flames, her skin faded in and out, sometimes a set of white bones and sometimes an alluring beauty.

    The Buddha Slaying sword hovered in the flames, also in a blurry, rudimentary form. It was no longer in the form of a sword embryo.

    Li Qingshan could see that she still had a while to go with refining the sword, so he did not disturb her. He dove into the Asura Field.

    In this world enveloped by a blood-red colour, only the sky supported by the Great Banyan Tree King retained its regular colour.

    Li Qingshan stood on a tree branch and gazed down. The night roamers thrived under the tree, living in quite the peace, but the blood-red colour currently invaded bit by bit. This peace probably could not continue forever.

    I can¡¯t keep the night roamers in the Asura Field forever, Li Qingshan thought. He went to find Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu and discovered that they were currently in secluded cultivation, working towards the second heavenly tribulation.

    They sat before one another, and between them was Ye Mingzhu¡¯s spinning Night Demon core. It had already become much smaller. The pulses of power it gave off merged with their bodies. It was a mystery how Ye Liubo had managed to convince her. He felt rather delighted by this sight.

    ¡°How are the developments in the south?¡±

    There was a gust of wind, and the Great Banyan Tree King rustled. An old, sombre voice reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears.

    ¡°Not bad. I¡¯ve already taken Savage mountain now and obtained the Blood Oath Scroll. I took on two cave masters as subordinates along the way too.¡± Li Qingshan turned around and smiled.

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    ¡°Your strength has improved yet again.¡±

    As the Daemon King that had been rooted down in the Mist province for ten millennia, no one understood the Mist province better than the Great Banyan Tree King. He understood what kind of place Savage mountain was. Being able to breach that place and obtain the Blood Oath Scroll was not an easy feat.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just idle away here. Fellow, would you be interested in changing where you stay?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    As the Asura Field strengthened, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s existence began interfering with the Asura Field¡¯s operation. Moreover, the Asura Field¡¯s purpose was a place of trials and battles and a place where he could summon asura from to fight alongside him, not a moving dwelling.

    ¡°Sure. I¡¯ve gotten a little tired as of lately. Savage mountain is a good place. It¡¯s a renowned blessed land of the south.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled. Although Li Qingshan replenished him with spiritual qi, constantly contending against the power of the Asura realm was very tiresome.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re willing, fellow. You really can¡¯t stay in this place for too long, but there¡¯s no rush right now, so please hang on for a little longer. Please wait until I¡¯ve made all the preparations so that you can return to the Mist province properly.¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan leapt up and arrived in a desert. He called out, ¡°Great king Milliped, stop sleeping!¡±

    His voice echoed through the desert. A while later, the sand dune in front of Li Qingshan trembled and sand began to flow. With a poof, a huge, pink bug burst out of the sand dune, wrapping around him intimately.

    ¡°You cultivate a little far too slowly! Here, I¡¯ll give you something good to eat!¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed Wei of the Poison¡¯s poisonous core to Milliped.

    Milliped turned into human form and gulped down the poisonous core. He let out a belch, rubbed his bald head, and grinned widely.

    ¡°Stop grinning away foolishly. Refine the poisonous core properly, and you might be able to pass your days as a Daemon Commander. You better not say I¡¯m not good enough of a friend!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Milliped nodded in a foolish manner.

    At this moment, the lake in the distance suddenly surged. With a great splash, water was hurled into the air. A huge, red carp leapt out, shooting through the sky and lunging towards Li Qingshan¡¯s direction.

    ¡°Oh you! You¡¯ve come to take advantage of me again!¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand and held a young boy in red in his hand. That was the carp daemon he had named ¡°Li¡¯l Red¡±.

    ¡°Great king, great king, me too!¡±

    Li Qingshan casually fished out a pill and shoved it into his mouth before throwing him hard. With a plop, he landed in the lake in the distance.

    Li Qingshan returned to the great banyan tree, asking the Great Banyan Tree King for guidance regarding the cultivation of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    The Great Banyan tree King was rather amazed by the wonders of the cultivation method, but he admired Li Qingshan¡¯s breath of mind even more than it. This cultivation method was known as one of the peak cultivation methods of this world. It was so valuable that it was immeasurable. If this had ended up in the hands of a regular cultivator, they would have viewed it even more importantly than their lives, so why would they ever show it to someone else so easily? However, he did not mind at all.

    In return for this trust, the Great Banyan Tree King also did his best to serve as a teacher. Although he did not practise this cultivation method, even the Unraging monk paled in comparison to him with his several millennia of knowledge and experiences, which allowed Li Qingshan to benefit tremendously.

    It was not that Li Qingshan did not know how to cherish things. For example, he would never tell anyone about the cultivation method of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. However, just the Demon Suppression Statuary was not worth so much attention. He would be replacing this cultivation method sooner or later anyway.

    Talking with the Great Banyan Tree King was a great pleasure, and it was not only for the sake of cultivation. The Great Banyan Tree King possessed extensive knowledge and experience. He knew the history of the past like the leaves on his branches. He had a broad and long-term view of the current situation of the world too.

    He broadened Li Qingshan¡¯s horizons and allowed him to benefit tremendously. Just like this, time passed day by day. One day, a bolt of lightning suddenly descended from above, producing a great rumble.

    ¡°Someone is undergoing the tribulation. Huh? Ye Liuxing!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and gazed over, only to see lightning illuminating an entire island in a lake, except it was unable to illuminate Ye Liuxing¡¯s dark figure. Through the light, a cold gaze was glued to the horizon.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think she would actually be the first one to undergo the tribulation!¡±

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    Li Qingshan shook his head, but upon further thought, it made perfect sense. He could vaguely recall that Ye Liuxing¡¯s cultivation had always been higher than Ye Liusu¡¯s. She managed to become the daughter of a matriarch, so her talent was obviously no issue too. She had a stiff and firm will on top of that. When Ye Liusu was distracted by the matters of the clan, Ye Liuxing had never given up on cultivation. Instead, she placed even more focus on it now that the internal strife had died down.

    As the night roamers developed, she received a sizable amount of resources. Afterwards, she even obtained an Origin Spirit pill as a reward. After spending so much time consolidating her foundation, it was finally time for her to break through.

    Bolts of heavenly lightning hurtled down. The entire Asura Field shook as a result. The sounds of her clashing with the lightning basically stagnated in everyone¡¯s ears.

    Although the second heavenly tribulation was much more dangerous than the first, it was not a lethal threat to her.

    The final bolt of heavenly lightning slammed down, and Ye Liuxing fell out of the sky. Her clothes were in tatters, and she was covered in burn marks. She seemed like she was in a horrible shape, but her spirit and vigour had changed qualitatively.

    Her thin lips curled up, and her cold face produced a smile with confidence from the bottom of her heart. She was like a river of ice that had cracked open. Of course, what flowed out was still icy-cold river water.

    ¡°Congratulations!¡±

    When Ye Liuxing looked up, she saw Li Qingshan smiling at her. She said politely, ¡°Greetings, master.¡± The river of ice froze up again.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and flames surged out.

    Is he trying to kill me while I¡¯m weakened?

    Ye Liuxing¡¯s heart tightened, but she did not dodge, allowing the flames to land on her. She found them to be warm, and her wounds rapidly recovered. Only then did she ease up.

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that I¡¯ll kill you?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and considered whether to honourably grant her the third spot on the Blood Oath Scroll.

    ¡°If you wanted to kill me, do you really have to go to such lengths, master?¡± Ye Liuxing said.

    ¡°It¡¯s for the best that you understand this. You can treat this as a congratulations for undergoing the tribulation successfully. If you have any requests, I might be able to grant them,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Then please allow me to marry Ye Liusu, master!¡± Ye Liuxing¡¯s eyes twinkled, filled with obsession.

    ¡°Denied!¡± Li Qingshan shut her down immediately. You damned lesbian, you¡¯re even trying to lay your hands on my woman!

    ¡°Yes!¡± Ye Liuxing said nothing more. Her face that seemed as cold as frozen ice prevented anyone from guessing what she was thinking.

    Li Qingshan wondered, Is she intentionally exposing her weakness to me?

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    Ye Liusu took on making the night roamers prosper as her own mission. For the sake of the clan, she would never betray him, let alone the emotions she felt for him. Although they had yet to do anything, their relationship was basically confirmed already.

    The powers of night roamers were extremely special. They could achieve wondrous effects in certain areas. He would definitely be waging battle everywhere next, using the Blood Oath Scroll to gather ten people in total and establish a tremendous force. Through deterrence and negotiation, he would make the fire devourers lend the divine wutong tree to him for cultivation.

    Otherwise, how was he supposed to make the fire devourer king lend his treasure to him as a measly White Hawk commander?

    Moreover, through the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s reminders, he discovered another layer of lurking danger, which came from the lord of the Mist province, King of Southern Yue, and the lord of the Green province, the Fierce King of Chu.

    These two clans had respectively established the Kingdom of Yue and the Kingdom of Chu before the establishment of the Great Xia empire. The so-called provincial lords also happened to be the lords of the kingdoms in the past. They waged war with one another, so the grievances between the two kingdoms stretched over who knew how many generations. Even their ancestral teachings were to destroy one another. They were basically beyond reconciliation.

    Afterwards, only when the founding emperor conferred titles to the marquis and kings of the eight provinces and drew the boundaries of the Mist and Green provinces were the two clans forced to stop fighting, but their grievances had not ended there. It was hidden away. Now that the reign of the Great Xia empire was gradually declining, the flames of war began to smoulder between the two provinces.

    In the past, perhaps Li Qingshan would think just what did this have to do with him? It was not like he belonged to the two clans. However, only after a discussion with the Great Banyan Tree King did his involvement dawn on him.

    Sects and clans were different. After several thousand years of development in peace, the number of descendants had swollen to a startling number. They joined various large sects, and the organisations became entwined.

    The descendants of large clans possessed a natural advantage in the first place, and it was not only because of their bloodline. They had grown up on spiritual springwater and pills, so how could they be compared to mortals that grew up on regular grain? The education they received from young was worlds apart too.

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    After joining a sect, they would receive the support of resources from both sides, making it very easy for them to stand out and become core figures in sects.

    The two queens of the Fierce King of Chu were on par with elders in the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect. This was not a coincidence either. As a matter of fact, it was not even what Li Qingshan imagined in the beginning, a form of political marriage where they sacrificed their own beauty.

    It was the exact opposite. The three of them had known each other since childhood. Although they were separated by several generations, they were truly members of the same clan, geniuses chosen from countless clansmen. They had received guidance together and became friends with one another.

    Through his supreme talent, the boy remained in the clan to continue cultivating, while the two girls joined the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect because of their differing talents and dispositions.

    Afterwards, the boy underwent the third heavenly tribulation and was successfully crowned king, governing the Green province. He married the two girls as the Light and Dark Queens, which even happened to be a much told tale in the Green province.

 Chapter 775

    My thoughts in the past sure were wrong. Only like that does it make sense. The cultivation community prioritises a cultivator¡¯s independence the most. Why would two powerful and talented female cultivators marry a man against their will, even sharing the same husband?

    That might be possible with regular female cultivators, but they both have a chance at breaking through to the third heavenly tribulation. Looks like Xiao An¡¯s father really does know how to run a harem. It¡¯s worth learning from. Though, it still fell apart in the end. Even his daughter ended up dying mysteriously.

    Li Qingshan could not help but imagine. In the past, the three of them were childhood friends, innocent playmates of one another, so why did it turn into hatred?

    The Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect probably had a hand in it too. When the clans influenced the sect, it was unavoidable for the clans to be influenced themselves, such that various factions would develop in the clan.

    Xiao An¡¯s father sure had it difficult with his harem. He could deal with two women, but how was he supposed to deal with two sects? Coupled with the internal conflict among the factions of the clan, it really was a situation beyond help. In the end, it even cost Xiao An¡¯s life.

    In short, the Umbral Yin sect, the Sword Collection palace, and the clan of the King of Chu were inseparable. They were part of one another and completely bound together.

    When he first heard the Great Banyan Tree King mention this, Li Qingshan even rejoiced over the fact that he was uninvolved. He was an ascetic buddhist disciple through and through. Although he was merely a secular disciple and did not exactly have peace over all six of his sensory faculties, he had peace over three of them at the very least.

    TL: The author is using a play-on-words here. Achieving peace over the six sensory faculties is basically an objective of buddhist cultivation, which happens to be the senses of vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought. It basically just means that nothing pesters and annoys you anymore, so Li Qingshan is saying at least he¡¯s not involved with this messy affair, giving him some peace of mind.

    If you interpret what the author said literally and insist on indicating three sensory faculties Li Qingshan has peace over, I¡¯d personally say it¡¯s the senses of vision, hearing, and thought in this context. He doesn¡¯t have to see, hear, or think about the tangled situation.

    However, the Great Banyan Tree King told him that among the three great sects of the Green province, the one that had the closest relationship with the royal family was not the Sword Collection palace or the Umbral Yin sect, but the buddhist holy land, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. These ascetic monks obviously also had a place in the secular world originally.

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was located in the centre of the Green province, extremely close to South Hub city geographically. That was no coincidence either. Before the establishment of the Great Xia empire, buddhism was the religion of the Kingdom of Chu, and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga served as the royal monastery of the kingdom. Past lords of the kingdom even underwent tonsure and joined the monastery after abdication.

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    The monastery had played a decisive role during the several thousand years of war with the Kingdom of Yue. It was the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that had stood forward and protected the royal family several times when the Kingdom of Chu was in peril. As a matter of fact, even the current abbot, the Dauntless monk, possessed a royal bloodline.

    As a result, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga seems to be neutral, keeping the Umbral Yin sect and Sword Collection palace apart and maintaining balance, but when it actually mattered, they would definitely serve as a mainstay of the Green province. When the Unraging monk went on his rampage and claimed countless lives, it probably was not only the sect that protected him and allowed him to return to the monastery safely. There was probably the royal family too.

    As a result, once the two kings began waging war, it would definitely develop into a full-scale war between the Green province and the Mist province. As two genius disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, Li Qingshan and Xiao An definitely would not be able to remain uninvolved. Instead, they would surely become crucial figures to the war.

    The more their names resounded, the more likely the provincial lord¡¯s estate would treat them as potential trouble and eliminate them for good. If they actually declared war, the King of Southern Yue might even rush over personally and execute these two geniuses.

    However, the Great Banyan Tree King also told him to not worry too much. At the very least, war would not be erupting within the next decade, and his identity as a White Hawk commander would still be of some use. The decline of the Great Xiao empire could not happen overnight. Even when the sun had already set, its afterglow continued to shine for a very long time.

    Right now, the two provinces were making preparations too. If the King of Southern Yue personally killed them, then the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would definitely take drastic action in revenge, and war would immediately erupt. However, while he would not be taking action openly, creating setbacks under the table would be a whole other story.

    This was all thanks to the fact that Li Qingshan had moved fast enough. He had killed the White Hawk commander right off the bat. Then he killed his way into Savage mountain a few days later, leaving his tracks a mystery and his fate unknown. Even if someone wanted to create setbacks for him, they would have to look at the situation first.

    The Great Banyan Tree King did not give him any direct suggestions, but Li Qingshan understood rather well that he had to continue moving quickly, establishing his framework of Savage mountain before the lurking enemies could respond. He had to use the Blood Oath Scroll to gather ten powerful lackeys and form a formidable force.

    That way, no one would be able to look down on him anymore. Even if they wanted to work against him, they would have to consider the consequences. Perhaps the King of Southern Yue might even undertake softer, political tactics to recruit him.

    Only then did Li Qingshan understand why Xiao An had chosen Savage mountain after reading through all the records. She might not have been taking every possibility into account, but she had been meticulous and had actively hedged against the risks.

    At this moment, a ¡°ghost shadow¡± was currently circling around the surroundings of Savage mountain.

    After a lengthy period of rest, this strongest assassin of the south had finally recovered from his wounds. After facing life-threatening danger, his strength had improved slightly yet again.

    This was already his seventh visit to Savage mountain. Every single time, he chose late at night when he could unleash his powers best. The moon and stars were blotted out by clouds, preventing a single ray of light from passing through.

    A ghost shadow like him completely merged with the night. He wandered around the surroundings of Savage mountain, observing every single clue and trace available to him as he estimated the enemy¡¯s strength.

    As he faced Savage mountain that he had inhabited for many years, it was as if he was facing a den of danger. He was extremely cautious every time he approached the place.

    The path of assassination was not about drawing the sword in fury. Instead, it required absolute patience and calmness. Since his enemy needed to be assassinated, they would definitely be more powerful than him, or why would he go to such great lengths? If he wanted to kill an enemy stronger than him, of course he had to pay a price in the process. Even spending several years to plan out an assassination was very common.

    He had a vague feeling that his target this time was something huge.

    It was a moonless and starless night, both raining and windy.

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    There are many similar claw marks in the surroundings of Savage mountain. It seems like there was some sort of colossal daemon and a lot of them too. They were the ones that stopped them from running away. Though, the marks don¡¯t match up to any kind of daemon¡¯s claws, let alone a species with so many members. The marks actually resemble the hands of humans instead. Is this also something they¡¯re capable of?

    Ghost Shadow observed the marks on the mountains before making his way onto the eastern peak of Savage mountain. He used the vantage point to observe the ruins below.

    The city has been thoroughly destroyed. It doesn¡¯t seem like it was destroyed as a side effect of the battle. It seems more like an earthquake.

    Ghost Shadow drifted down and wandered through the ruins, stopping in front of a great ditch.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber tried to escape, but he was stopped. Afterwards, he directly clashed with Li Qingshan or Xiao An here, which was why this huge ditch was left behind? They actually managed to send the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber flying, slamming into the cliff face over there and leaving behind that huge hole. The hole is much smaller than his size, so he was clearly heavily injured, forcing him to use his fat to nullify the damage. That strength is basically terrifying! I definitely can¡¯t confront them head-on!

    The more Ghost Shadow observed, the more alarmed he became, but it could not make his determination waver. As he gazed at the main peak of Savage mountain, he became slightly excited. The stronger the prey was, the more worth it they would be to assassinate.

    A gust of wind blew over. With the drizzling rain, he drifted up the mountain. Although Li Qingshan had taken over the control over the formations, how could they stop someone like him who knew these formations like the palm of his hand? With his innate ability as a night roamer, he silently passed through and ventured to the centre of the mountain by following the aura.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan opened his eyes. His heart rippled. This was a warning from the spirit turtle that the enemy was already extremely close. However, he failed to find anything with his senses, so he calmed his mind and used the spirit turtle to divine. His lips curled slightly, and he stood up, making his way out.

    The pale-white flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets flickered, also sensing something. Li Qingshan nodded at her, and she continued to focus on refining the sword.

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    The Eight Point formation in the hall of the blood oath is rather troublesome. Although I can force my way through, I won¡¯t be able to do it without creating a disturbance. The senses of the eight desolate beasts are far too sharp. Once the formation is triggered, it¡¯ll be very difficult for me to escape.

    Just as Ghost Shadow thought of that, his drifting body suddenly stopped. He thought, The heavens are smiling on me!

    The prey had appeared!

    Ghost Shadow was not too worried about being discovered by him. He was extremely confident in his concealment. Even if the enemy was a powerful cultivator that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, they would not necessarily discover him as long as he did nothing.

    He had not been planning on carrying out the assassination tonight. He only wanted to observe the prey from a closer distance. He gathered his focus, only to see a man emerge from the hall in the centre of the mountain, making his way down the steps one by one. He was quite tall and large, and his footsteps were firm. His appearance was nothing special, and the aura he gave off was not particularly strong either.

    However, Ghost Shadow dared not look down on him. It was very likely for him to be the one who sent the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber flying in a direct confrontation. He had probably sustained some injuries from that battle, resting up in secluded cultivation the entire time. The fact that he had managed to survive was the best proof of his strength.

    As Li Qingshan drew closer, Ghost Shadow gradually felt pressured. It was not from his aura or bearing, but from the instincts he had developed through countless trials of life and death. It allowed him to know which prey were extremely dangerous.

    Li Qingshan seemed like he had not discovered anything at all, approaching Ghost Shadow step by step. Ten steps, eight steps, five steps¡­

    When only three steps remained, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly became as placid as water. He said nothing at all when he threw a fist at Ghost Shadow, smiling. ¡°An esteemed guest has come to visit, yet I¡¯ve failed to welcome you from afar. Eat my fist first!¡±

    Abruptly, Li Qingshan erupted with tremendous malice. Ghost Shadow seemed to see a roaring tiger instead. Even with his mental fortitude, he was affected to a certain degree. By the time he returned to his senses, the fist had already hurled over. It was too late for him to do anything.

    However, Ghost Shadow was not afraid. Having transformed into a Night Roaming God, he could not be injured so easily.

    Whether it¡¯s techniques or weapons, they¡¯ll all just pass through my body!

    That was his last thought before he fell unconscious.

    Shockwaves condensed without dispersing under Li Qingshan¡¯s control, and a black figure was ripped away from the darkness, shaking and rippling away like a clump of ink. He had completely lost control over himself.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s fists were capable of shattering space. Although they had yet to achieve that kind of power in this stable world, the ¡°ghost shadow¡± clearly was not as firm as space.

    After over a year of cultivation, he had basically completed his period of nirv¨¡?a. He was much more powerful than when he faced the Corpse King. Although he could not shatter space, he could shake up space now.

    Now, if the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber confronted him directly again, he would struggle to escape the fate of dying to a punch even if he shed all of his fat.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually a night roamer. Too bad he¡¯s a man. Whatever, he¡¯s strong enough. Isn¡¯t this the third one already?¡± Li Qingshan picked up Ghost Shadow and made his way back.

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    The strongest assassin in the south could not even endure a punch from him in the end. This was also what Li Qingshan used to measure whether they were strong enough or not. If you eat my fist and survive, go swear the oath!

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 Chapter 776

    When Li Qingshan tossed the unconscious Ghost Shadow in front of Xiao An, she said, ¡°Ghost Shadow?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked in surprise, ¡°You know him?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s the third cave master of the Lair of Demons. I didn¡¯t expect him to still be alive. They really do have some strength since they could rank towards the top.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, he actually survived a punch from me. He¡¯s really made the right choice coming to Savage mountain this time.¡±

    Ghost Shadow remained unconscious for three whole days and nights before waking up. He was feeble and pale-white. When he recalled that punch, his heart would flutter in fear again.

    Have I still ended up underestimating the terrifying power of the ¡°prey¡±? That¡¯s not strength a White Hawk commander should be in possession of!

    ¡°Stop playing dead. Get up.¡±

    A bellow echoed through Ghost Shadow¡¯s mind. He refused to be careless, sitting up slowly, only to see Li Qingshan crouching right in front of him. His face was warped with malice, and he waved an ancient scroll around in his hand, like a creditor that had come to collect debts.

    The two people behind him were obviously either his subordinates or bodyguards. They currently looked at Ghost Shadow with mixed expressions. It was slightly sympathetic and sorry, yet there was also some delight in his suffering.

    ¡°Yu Wufeng! The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber!¡± Ghost Shadow blinked in eyes. He was taken aback.

    ¡°Third brother, you¡¯ve come too.¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber sighed. After over a year of rehabilitation, he had already returned to the mountain of flesh before.

    Yu Wufeng downright closed his eyes.

    A moment later, Ghost Shadow understood everything that had happened. Even he could endure the backlash of the blood oath without dying, so the two of them must have been capable of that too. At the same time, he also recognised what the ancient scroll in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand was. He even managed to catch a glimpse of most of the newly-written blood oath on there.

    In other words, Li Qingshan killed the four other cave masters and forced Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber into a new blood oath. That¡¯s actually what happened. How is his strength¡­ Yeah, he does have that strength. You can say that the only reason why the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber survived a punch from him was because of how special his cultivation method is.

    ¡°Young fellow, I can see that you¡¯re very talented. I don¡¯t want to kill you, so swear the oath!¡± Li Qingshan pressed down on Ghost Shadow¡¯s shoulder and said cheerfully.

    ¡°Just kill me!¡± Ghost Shadow said calmly.

    ¡°You want to die?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He never expected to actually run into a tough bone to chew on this Savage mountain. It intrigued him a bit.

    ¡°I don¡¯t, but I¡¯d prefer that over working as a servant again and dragging out a meaningless existence,¡± Ghost Shadow said calmly, viewing death as release.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s face reddened, except he had been glowing in the first place, so it was rather difficult to tell. Yu Wufeng also clenched his fist, silently telling himself to endure the humiliation for the sake of the greater good and not give up on the sliver of hope.

    ¡°I heard you fled from your clan. Why? Because you were a man and you were oppressed by that group of women?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile.

    Ghost Shadow¡¯s face hardened. He did not give any affirmation, but Li Qingshan knew that he had already guessed it. He also felt some sympathy for him. As a result, he said, ¡°I understand what goes on between night roamers the most. There are material benefits if you follow me. I¡¯ll allocate a few night roamer beauties to you.¡±

    Never did he expect that not only was Ghost Shadow uninterested, but he even ended up saying firmly, ¡°Cut the bullshit! Just kill me!¡±

    ¡°You really do have some character. I like it.¡± Li Qingshan gave him a thumbs up and stowed the Blood Oath Scroll away. Then he waved his hand, and Ghost Shadow vanished.

    When Li Qingshan waved his hand, Ghost Shadow was already prepared to die, but the landscape around him changed, and he saw a faint-red sky and a towering tree. He blinked his eyes and exclaimed, ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King!¡±

    Probably everyone in the cultivation community of the Mist province knew about those four words, and probably no one would disrespect those four words. However, the Great Banyan Tree King primary dwelled in the centre and western regions of the Mist province. He was not in the south.

    However, what shocked Ghost Shadow even more came later. A night roamer arrived before him, a female one. Her nose was tall and thin, but her eyebrows were very faint, which accentuated her coldness. However, she was still quite a rare beauty. A hint of surprise filled her eyes.

    This night roamer has already undergone the second heavenly tribulation and condensed the Night Demon core. She should possess a very great status in the clan, so why haven¡¯t I seen her before? And even if I haven¡¯t seen her before, she should have seen me before. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s not a night roamer under the Shadow Queen? But the night roamers of the Mist province have clearly been unified already.

    Ghost Shadow thought to himself. He felt an ill omen.

    Ye Liuxing suddenly gathered her focus and listened carefully. She said ¡°yes¡± before sinking into her thoughts again. She picked up Ghost Shadow and made her way towards the Great Banyan Tree King.

    As a result, Ghost Shadow saw even more night roamers. The night roamers all cast curious glances at him, which made him gradually realise something. This is a tribe of night roamers that the Shadow Queen has not conquested.

    They arrived under the great banyan tree and passed through a cave formed by the twisted tree roots, arriving before a black altar.

    Ye Liuxing stripped Ghost Shadow of his clothes and placed him on the altar. She activated the altar and black shadows began to surge. Ghost Shadow felt the wounds within his body slowly recover, but he did not feel at ease at all. A green liquid was poured into his mouth, immediately fusing with his body. His wounds healed rapidly.

    This is a branch of the Great Banyan Tree King, the most renowned medicine of the Mist province!

    However, the restraint Li Qingshan had left behind kept him firmly suppressed. The black altar possessed this kind of power too.

    Ye Liuxing studied Ghost Shadow¡¯s naked body before nodding in satisfaction in the end. Having been viewing death as release the entire time, fear filled Ghost Shadow¡¯s eyes as if he had recalled something again.

    Very soon, Ye Liuxing gathered a group of female night roamers by the side of the altar, and they listened to her explain something. When they saw the naked Ghost Shadow on the altar, they all became intrigued.

    Afterwards, one of the night roamers took off her clothes and began kissing and caressing Ghost Shadow.

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    Ghost Shadow widened his eyes and tensed his body, but it was not out of excitement, but rather out of fear! No one had imagined that someone who was not even afraid of death would actually be afraid of a female night roamer.

    Seeing how Ghost Shadow had not responded at all, the female night roamers in the surroundings sneered and mocked her. The female night roamer became furious too, slapping Ghost Shadow viciously and seeking help from Ye Liuxing.

    Ye Liuxing instructed her a bit more. A while later, she took out a porcelain bottle and removed a blue pill, shoving it into Ghost Shadow¡¯s mouth.

    Like a spark to oil, his lust immediately began to blaze. Although he remained rational, his body began to respond uncontrollably. The female night roamer on him became excited.

    A tear rolled down Ghost Shadow¡¯s cheek¡­

    The Night Roaming folk were a matriarchal society, as the talent of males were nowhere close to the females. It was already extremely difficult for them to undergo the first heavenly tribulation, while those that could undergo the second heavenly tribulation were basically mythical existences.

    All of the male night roamers that underwent the second heavenly tribulation would immediately experience an overwhelming change in identity and status. They no longer had to carry out any dangerous missions. They could remain in the safe capital city the entire time. Ghost Shadow was one of these ¡°lucky ones¡±.

    Of course, that did not mean they were free of responsibilities. At the very least, there was one job they had to attend to, which was procreating with the female night roamers of the clan.

    It was just like how the descendants of human cultivators normally possessed decent cultivation talent. As long as they guaranteed they only married other cultivators, it would form a cultivation bloodline. This was how clans were created.

    Races of otherfolk placed even greater emphasis on bloodline than human clans. They were naturally endowed with talent and lifespans that well-surpassed mortals. They basically possessed the advantages of both humans and daemons, making cultivation very easy for them. This was the importance of bloodlines.

    As a result, Ghost Shadow received a job that could drive all men crazy from jealousy. He spent day and night sleeping with different women, procreating with them. For the sake of this opportunity, the various factions within the clan even clashed openly and in secret. In the end, it was the Shadow Queen who had stepped in and established a schedule.

    As a result, for a very long time, he would not even see a face for a second time. The countless faces overlapped together, making them blurry.

    Because the stronger the bloodline was, the lower the chances of producing children was, it went on for day after day, night after night, never to stop.

    He felt like all the time when he was awake was spent facing a blurry face like that, and he became more and more terrified by it.

    Actually, most of these women were beautiful, but they seemed to be deeply jealous over the fact that a man like him could actually undergo the second heavenly tribulation. As a result, while it was supposed to be a pleasurable moment, it felt more like vengeful abuse most of the time.

    He did not know why he would end up like this, nor did he know what he was doing, much less cultivating in peace. Of course, the clan provided him with many pills and medicines that prevented his cultivation from regressing, but the possibility to advance further vanished as well.

    He wanted to resist, but he was just a lowly man. Even the female night roamers with cultivations below his looked down on him. Instead, they scolded him for being ungrateful before abusing him even more violently. If he tried to resist, he would be challenging the order of the entire clan.

    As a result, just like a pig being reared in a sty, he was constantly fattened before being constantly whittled down. He finally grew numb. No matter how beautiful of a woman she was, she could not get any response from him anymore. Afterwards, he was force fed aphrodisiacs, finally driving him to the edge of insanity.

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    Finally, on that night, he ran away.

    The nightmare had finally come to an end. He knelt in the rain, sobbing away painfully. He roamed freely through the night, finally obtaining the freedom he had been dreaming of.

    But at this moment, the nightmare returned.

    Li Qingshan had left him to Ye Liuxing to handle. He said this person refused to yield to him and only sought death, so she could do whatever she wanted with him. Even killing him and removing his golden core was allowed.

    Though, the thought processes of night roamers really were similar. She felt like she had just obtained a rare resource. She wanted to make use of his value before she killed him. Perhaps he could help the clan birth a few geniuses.

    Li Qingshan held the Asura Field and watched in interest. He smiled. ¡°That night roamer has quite the figure. This guy sure is fortunate. Dying in the arms of a woman, he¡¯ll be a romantic even if he becomes a ghost. He¡¯s actually crying tears of gratitude. Heh, there¡¯s no need to thank me!¡±

    Ghost Shadow was not afraid of dying, but he was afraid of sinking into a nightmare like this. To him, it was basically more brutal than any torture possible. Through his powerful will, he unleashed all of the potential in his body and parted his lips.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing¡­ to swear the oath!¡±

    ¡°Has he been touched by my sincerity? Sure enough, you really have to use women and seduction if you want to deal with men!¡±

    Li Qingshan released Ghost Shadow from the Asura Field and made him swear the blood oath, successfully obtaining a third subordinate. He conveniently removed Ghost Shadow¡¯s restraint and patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Heh, that felt pretty nice, didn¡¯t it? I¡¯m a very reasonable person. As long as you serve me well, even greater benefits await you. It¡¯s not impossible for me to release the blood oath one day in the future.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could even finish speaking, Ghost Shadow vomited.

 Chapter 777

    ¡°Was what I said really that disgusting? Are you intentionally provoking me? If you really want to die, I¡¯ll send you off right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback at first before losing his temper. What kind of constitution did a second heavenly tribulation cultivator have? They were not the type that would vomit without control. He was clearly trying to piss him off. What a bastard.

    ¡°N- no¡­¡±

    Ghost Shadow suffered in silence. Surely he could not say it was all because of those female night roamers? Li Qingshan would never believe him. He was reluctant to mention this most disgraceful part of his life too.

    Actually, he planned on seeking death the moment the blood oath was released. Even if he suffered the backlash of the blood oath, he would not mind. However, after going through that nightmare, he suddenly felt like he could bear any form of pain and torture life could throw at him. Since he had even survived the most difficult period, then what was there to be afraid of?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words basically gave him a ray of hope as well, making him develop a slight urge to live.

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll be the bigger person and forgive you. You better work hard and redeem yourself! Oh right, you¡¯re also a night roamer¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan asked a series of questions and learnt that Ghost Shadow came from the largest and only tribe of night roamers in the Mist province, the Deep Shadow clan. The leader of the clan was known as the Shadow Queen.

    When Li Qingshan listened to the Great Banyan Tree King dissect the situation of the Mist province, he had heard that name. He had also asked about it out of curiosity, but the Great Banyan Tree King refused to divulge the secrets of others, so he never got a further understanding about her. He only knew she led the largest organisation of assassins in the Mist province, the Shadow palace.

    As for why he had escaped from there, Ghost Shadow was reluctant to go into detail, and Li Qingshan did not ask about it either. He just thought he could not stand the female chauvinism of the night roamers. ¡°Since you¡¯re also a night roamer, then you can spend some time with the night roamers beneath me for now. They probably need you too!¡±

    Need me! Ghost Shadow¡¯s face changed as if he was about to vomit again. He would rather be arranged to assassinate the most powerful enemy than see a female night roamer again, but it was not like he had a choice, so he agreed reluctantly in the end.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Asura Field, within a tree hole high up on the great banyan tree.

    Ghost Shadow sat with Ye Liusu, Ye Liubo, and Ye Liuxing. They asked and answered questions from one another.

    Although quite a few days had already passed, the feeling of disgust in Ghost Shadow still lingered around. He basically refused to look at them directly. He carried out his responsibilities as a teacher, guiding them with the cultivation method of night roamers. This was the mission that Li Qingshan had arranged for him, so he could not turn it down or brush it aside.

    The only thing that brought him relief was their attitude.

    The one with the highest cultivation, Ye Liuxing, always remained very cold with a hint of contempt in her eyes. He was not afraid of contempt. He had grown used to it in the Deep Shadow clan a long time ago anyway. Everything was fine as long as she did not look at him like ¡°that¡±.

    However, Ye Liuxing would look at Ye Liusu beside her like ¡°that¡± from time to time, which made him ease up. So she¡¯s not interested in the opposite gender.

    Although this Ye Liusu¡¯s cultivation was not high, she seemed to be their leader. Through their conversation, he also learnt that she was the leader of this clan. When he asked for the name of this clan, Ye Liusu blanked out for a moment. She said after a moment of consideration, ¡°Moon Shadow!¡±

    Using his wealthy experience with women, Ghost Shadow discovered that this Ye Liusu seemed inexperienced. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s like Ye Liuxing, also a lesbian? But that doesn¡¯t seem right!

    As a night roamer, she was basically as unbelievable as a child who grew up in a brothel but remained as a virgin even at the age of eighty.

    Among the three of them, Ye Liusu happened to be the most focused one. She constantly asked Ghost Shadow questions.

    They had been oppressed underground for several thousand years by Lolth, so a lot of important information regarding the cultivation method had been lost, let alone make any improvements. Ghost Shadow¡¯s arrival was like a godsend. Let alone the future, he even brought tremendous assistance to their current cultivation.

    She was extremely curious about the Deep Shadow clan as well. She never imagined such a powerful clan of night roamers actually existed in the world. She constantly asked how the Shadow Queen ruled over them, and she frowned in thought from time to time as if she did not approve of it.

    The one that left Ghost Shadow the most worried was still Ye Liubo. It was said that she was the one most trusted by Li Qingshan, but she seemed like a classic female night roamer.

    When he was still in Deep Shadow city, women like her would often be the most violent when they abused him. Even now, he was still badly shaken by everything he had gone through in the past.

    ¡°You said¡­ you were sent in by a person called Li Qingshan? Not Northmoon?¡± Ye Liubo questioned closely.

    Ghost Shadow had only learnt through the conversations with them that their master was actually the Northmoon that the Dragon King of Ink Sea had hunted down. All Ghost Shadow could say about his current circumstances were it served him right. Even one of the Ten Daemon Kings could not kill him, yet he tried to assassinate him. If this did not serve him right, then what did?

    What surprised him even more was how the Great Banyan Tree King treated Li Qingshan. According to Ye Liubo, the Great Banyan Tree King actually referred to Li Qingshan as ¡°fellow¡±. Even though the Great Banyan Tree King was known for his gentleness and neutrality, not everyone had the right to be called ¡°fellow¡± by him.

    Ghost Shadow held great doubts over this. Looks like he¡¯s just transported a great banyan tree into the Asura Field. With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s character, he probably wouldn¡¯t do anything over a tiny branch, but if news of this makes it out, it¡¯ll be quite the sight to behold.

    The status of the Great Banyan Tree King was so great in the cultivation community of the Mist province that it surpassed the imaginations of cultivators from other provinces. He was like a benevolent grandfather. None of the children would be particularly afraid of him, even regularly climbing onto his back and tugging at his beard.

    However, if someone tried to harm him, these children would definitely stand forward and fight for him, many of which had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Even Li Qingshan was indebted to his kindness.

    ¡°Oi, why aren¡¯t you answering me? I¡¯m talking to you,¡± Ye Liubo said in annoyance.

    ¡°I can¡¯t answer that question,¡± said Ghost Shadow. He was bound to the blood oath, preventing him from intentionally disclosing Li Qingshan¡¯s secret.

    ¡°You idiot, don¡¯t you understand yet? That¡¯s his other identity. He uses it to move around among humans,¡± Ye Liuxing said coldly.

    ¡°Is that so¡­ You¡¯re the idiot!¡± Ye Liubo barked furiously, and Ye Liuxing sneered.

    ¡°Alright, stop arguing. Fellow Ghost, please continue with your explanation of the fifth transformation of the Night Roaming God!¡±

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    This was within Li Qingshan¡¯s calculations. Since even Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber knew about his two identities, telling them would be fine, and this was different from being exposed as Northmoon while he was Li Qingshan. There was not too much he had to worry about.

    Sure enough, because they lacked any prior contact with ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, they were not too surprised by this identity. Northmoon had already committed far too many stunning deeds. Disguising himself as a human and making it up to the rank of White Hawk commander really was nothing.

    In short, through this period of time they spent together, Ghost Shadow confirmed these three women had no interest in him as a man, which relieved him of a lot of his mental pressure. However, he definitely did not feel any so-called ¡°melancholy¡± because of this.

    He had already slept with ten lifetimes worth of women, both women he was supposed to sleep with and not supposed to sleep with. From today onwards, he had severed his lust. Only two things could interest him now, which was assassination and cultivation!

    At this moment, Li Qingshan appeared in the tree hold. Only then did Ghost Shadow see his other form with his scarlet hair and eyes and flawless handsomeness.

    ¡°Master!¡± Ye Liubo immediately threw herself at him.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re close to undergoing the second heavenly tribulation too. Liusu, what¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t want me to hug you again?¡±

    Li Qingshan caught her with a smile before extending his hand towards Ye Liusu. Ye Liusu placed her hand in his and was pulled gently by him, leaning against his arms. She could not help but say, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    What was she thanking him for? She was thanking him for bringing Ghost Shadow here and letting her take another step closer to her dream, as well as for the warm hug right now. Perhaps these two feelings had already merged together completely and were inseparable. She desired for the night roamers to love one another and not hate and kill each other, but she also desired his warm embrace, where he could drop his guard around her and not give her the cold shoulder.

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    Li Qingshan whispered into her ear, ¡°If you say something like that again, I¡¯ll have to give you a spanking.¡±

    Ye Liusu¡¯s delicate face reddened slightly, and she lowered her head, falling silent, which made Ye Liuxing¡¯s face become even more frosty. However, there was nothing she could do. Not only was he far more powerful than anything she could handle right now, but she understood the best as an objective bystander that Ye Liusu had already wagered everything she had on him.

    Ghost Shadow lowered his head and stared at the wooden grain on the floor. He was not looking away because it was inappropriate, but because this sight roused far too many unpleasant memories. He was just like a person who had eaten meat to the point where he vomited and swore to never eat meat or fish again. Even when he saw others feast away, he would feel very uncomfortable. He even felt sorrow. You have absolutely no idea how nauseating it is!

    Then Li Qingshan told Ghost Shadow, ¡°Once they undergo the second heavenly tribulation, get ready to go at it.¡±

    Ghost Shadow said with his head lowered, ¡°If the four of us work together, there will only be a handful of places remaining in the south that can stop us.¡±

    ¡°Very good. We¡¯ll have to make some quick moves by then. Alright, I¡¯m not going to disturb your lesson anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan was about to leave the Asura Field when Ye Liubo embraced him firmly, refusing to part with him.

    Li Qingshan patted her back. ¡°Be good. Cultivation takes priority!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been so long. If you still don¡¯t spend some time with me, how can I still focus on cultivation? I might as well just go and die instead,¡± Ye Liubo complained.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°Fellow Ghost, we¡¯ll stop here for today!¡±

    Ghost Shadow was only too anxious for that. Although the attitude of the three sisters did not pressure him too much, his disgust towards women, with female night roamers in particular, had already become a form of instinct. He could not break free from this feeling, nor did he want to break free from this feeling. On top of that, he had yet to fully recover from his wounds.

    ¡°You can go back to your dwelling and rest!¡± Li Qingshan waved his land and let Ghost Shadow out of the Asura Field. He asked Ye Liubo in his arms, ¡°How do you want me to spend time with you?¡±

    ¡°You clearly know, yet you still ask, master!¡±

    Ye Liubo grumbled in a flirtatious manner. With the outsider gone, she was basically oozing with charm. She gently licked his ear, and her full breasts pushed firmly against his arm, rubbing about.

    ¡°Alright, I really don¡¯t know what to do with you!¡± Li Qingshan was aroused too. Right when Ye Liusu wanted to bid farewell, the landscape around them suddenly twisted and changed. By the time she returned to her senses, they were already in the outside world. ¡°A¡¯yue!¡±

 Chapter 778

    Li Qingshan saw how Ye Liusu was rather frantic. He asked with a smile, ¡°What, you¡¯re not willing to spend a little more time with me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing,¡± Ye Liusu said gently with her head lowered, but Li Qingshan was clearly about to do that with Ye Liubo. Was he going to do it to her too¡­ She felt her body heart up.

    Ye Liubo said mischievously, ¡°You¡¯re willing to do what, sister?¡±

    ¡°How do you find this place?¡±

    Li Qingshan released them and pointed into the distance. They were currently standing high up on the main peak of Savage mountain. They could see the entire valley from here. It had just rained today, so the thick mist and clouds joined together, basically burying the entire valley. A waterfall hurled off a cliff like a white dragon, shimmering in the white mist.

    ¡°What dense spiritual qi and what beautiful scenery! This is really a rare blessed land for cultivation!¡±

    Ye Liubo gazed into the distance and sighed in amazement.

    Ye Liusu also temporarily forgot about her embarrassment and stared at the scenery, This is the MIst province. Before I knew it, I¡¯ve already travelled tens of thousand kilometers with him, to a distant place I would have never thought about in the past. I¡¯ve also witnessed a landscape that the books can never record.

    ¡°Once the time is right, I¡¯ll move the tree out and make it take root in the valley. You¡¯ll be able to rebuild the territory of the night roamers here. As long as you cast down a powerful formation, you can even stop third heavenly tribulation enemies, and¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed around at the various parts of the valley and outlined how they could set up the village for night roamers.

    Ye Liusu¡¯s gaze followed the tip of his finger and her thoughts flew. Gradually, her gaze returned to his face, becoming glued to it.

    Ye Liubo¡¯s gaze moved between their faces and sighed with a smile inside, Is master using his own way to express his apologies? What a great gift this is. With Liusu¡¯s dreaming personality, she must be utterly enamoured.

    Li Qingshan was rather happy too. Compared to cultivating arduously and defeating powerful opponents, this was another form of joy, using his own strength to assist a race and making it here step by step. He was confident he had never let down the hopes Ye Liusu had placed on him.

    ¡°How is it?¡±

    Faced with Li Qingshan¡¯s question and smile, Ye Liusu made her way over, stood up on her heels and kissed him on the cheek. She said seriously, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really going to give you a spanking this time!¡± Li Qingshan patted her perky bottom with a smile.

    In the Silkworm Madam¡¯s dwelling, a faint fragrance permeated the air. The stone walls were covered in embroidered wallpaper, like they were woven from silk. The arrangement was very tasteful. The most conspicuous part of the dwelling was definitely the centre, where a huge, white cocoon hung from the ceiling. It seemed to be where the Silkworm Madam rested and cultivated.

    Ye Liubo dove into the cocoon and stuck her head out, ¡°You come in too. It¡¯s so comfortable here!¡±

    ¡°You should go in! I¡¯ll take a look around!¡± Ye Liusu said to Li Qingshan, but her gaze drifted about, afraid to make eye contact with him.

    Li Qingshan picked her up in both arms and leapt into the cocoon. The space inside was quite large, but it was still slightly cramped to contain the three of them. The pure-white silk was very smooth, both soft and cool to the touch. It gave off a dim glow, like a huge sleeping bag.

    ¡°This cocoon sure is a treasure.¡±

    Li Qingshan examined the item, but before he could even finish talking, Ye Liubo threw herself over and sealed up his mouth with her luscious lips. Her tongue invaded like a snake as she murmured, ¡°Master¡­ love me!¡±

    ¡°How impatient. Can¡¯t you see your sister¡¯s still here?¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled over on top of her. With a gentle wave of his hand, her upper garment fell off and a pair of full breasts leapt out. He held them in his hands and began playing around, pinching the tips gently.

    Ye Liubo let out a gentle moan and said charmingly, ¡°It¡¯s not like sister can escape from your claws anyway!¡±

    Ye Liusu who had always been level-headed and clever was basically at a loss over what to do. Born in a clan of night roamers, she had seen sights like this plenty of times in the past. She would not become embarrassed like mortals. She also treated this like the natural course of progression and she had prepared herself mentally long ago. However, only at this moment did she realise it was not as natural as she imagined it would be. She basically felt like Li Qingshan¡¯s hands that caressed Ye Liubo were on her. Even her breathing became uneven.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Ye Liusu with a smile and adjusted his posture, placing her beside Ye Liubo. Two faces of equal beauty currently gazed at him with different expressions.

    Ye Liusu was tense all over, like a small animal that had fallen into a hunter¡¯s hands, waiting to be dealt with. As for Ye Liubo, she was already in heat, her body burning with admiration and lust. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s caressing, her bare upper body gently twisted and moved with him. When the sounds of her breathing reached Ye Liusu¡¯s ears, it well and truly turned into heat.

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    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s hand landed on her face and touched her softly.

    ¡°Master, after I undergo the heavenly tribulation, please,¡± Ye Liusu pleaded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to eat you this time.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He understood Ye Liubo required release if she wanted to cultivate peacefully, while it was best if Ye Liusu remained in her original ¡°condition¡±. However, since she had come, he obviously had to ¡°harass¡± her a little. As a result, he pulled back his hand and caressed Ye Liubo with care and effort, recklessly kneading her soft breasts into the shape he wanted them to be and lowering his head to kiss her lips, sealing up her sudden, rising moan.

    Probably because their separation each time lasted just too long, or perhaps because of her fierce admiration for him, it had always been very easy for her to become engrossed. By now, she downright forgot about Ye Liusu right beside her, embracing Li Qingshan firmly like a parched land enjoying this rain that it had been waiting for the entire time.

    Li Qingshan was influenced too. His lust began to blaze, but he broke free from her embrace and admired her body again. Ye Liubo opened her eyes in a slight daze. Between her plated dress and long boots, a pair of plump thighs rubbed together gently.

    On the side, Ye Liusu found her mouth to be rather parched. She silently gulped.

    Li Qingshan extended his right hand under Ye Liubo¡¯s plated dress and she suddenly widened her eyes, letting out a great moan. Li Qingshan placed the index and middle finger of his left hand into her mouth. Her tongue wrapped around it like it was tasting fine alcohol. His four fingers were all wrapped firmly in warmth.

    Ye Liubo extended her arms, but she could not reach him. Feeling how bare her body was and unable to receive the caressing she desired, all she could do was caress herself. The obscene sight even made Li Qingshan purse his lips, before casting another glance at Ye Liusu.

    Her plate armour was neat and whole, but in that moment, she felt like it had been pierced. She tried her best to appear unfazed, but her drifting gaze constantly landed on Ye Liubo beside her. Even she had never seen her younger sister reveal such deep emotions, as if she was bewitched, yet also as if she had lost herself and become a toy completely at his whim. However, it made her mind waver and she felt the hint of a desire too.

    ¡­¡­

    Only Ye Liuxing remained in the tree hole, feeling melancholic inside. Afterwards, she waited for quite a while and still did not see them return, which made her grit her teeth, as if she had just made up her mind over something. She returned back to her dwelling and continued with cultivation!

 Chapter 779

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan pulled his hand back, and Ye Liubo recovered a hint of clarity. She pouted unhappily and heard a squeal which made her open her eyes, only to see that Ye Liusu had already been lifted up in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. She giggled and threw herself at Ye Liusu, kissing her on the cheek.

    The huge cocoon shook gently.

    The next morning, Li Qingshan walked out, completely naked. His figure was tall and sturdy, with his muscle fibres and bones visible. His scarlet hair draped down his shoulders. He let out a great yawn, revealing his four sharp canines and scarlet tongue. He seemed like a vicious beast that happened to be tired.

    Afterwards, in a split second, he gathered his focus and strode out of the dwelling.

    Ye Liusu poked her head out of the cocoon silently. Her hair was a mess. She gazed at his back, rather hopeful that he would turn around, but he left without even looking back, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

    Ye Liusu did not feel disappointed. That was his habit, and she had accepted it long ago. He would always stride forwards like this. Perhaps he would stop to rest from time to time, but he would never look back or be reluctant to leave.

    As a result, Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo just remained there. The Silkworm Madam¡¯s dwelling really was suited for cultivation. The density of the spiritual qi here ranked towards the top across the entire Savage mountain. In particular, the cocoon could free the mind of any distracting thoughts and bring peace.

    Almost another year passed by. Ye Liusu underwent the second heavenly tribulation first, closely followed by Ye Liubo who also underwent the tribulation successfully. Then they spent a period of time resting.

    On Savage mountain, Li Qingshan gazed at the sky and turned around. ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±

    Yu Wufeng, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, and Ghost Shadow stood right there. The three night roamer sisters stood sternly, awaiting his command as well.

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    The moon illuminated the sky, sprinkling across the sea of trees, but it could not reach Hawk¡¯s Worry valley. The deep and serene mountain stream cut through the earth like a scar.

    Li Qingshan stood on the edge of the cliff and gazed down. The mountain wind was cool like water, whistling into his face.

    This place was not as great as Savage mountain, but it was still a rare, blessed land, except it was not suitable for founding a sect. It was more suitable for independent cultivators, and the last thing that the Mist province lacked were independent cultivators who cultivated alone.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said, ¡°This formation is called the Profound Astral Formation of Heaven¡¯s Lock. It¡¯s very difficult to take it down from the outside. ¡®Hawk¡¯s Worry¡¯ is extremely renowned in the south. He became wanted by the Hawkwolf Guard three centuries ago. Back then, he was still at the first heavenly tribulation, but through his Great Technique of Heaven¡¯s Escape, he could vanish without a trace within hundreds of kilometers and fall off the map within thousands of kilometers. Even the Hawkwolf Guard was helpless against him. A century ago, he established his dwelling here, but under the protection of the formation, even fewer people could do anything to him. We¡¯re forced to ask fellow Ghost and your night roamer friends to infiltrate this place.¡±

    Ghost Shadow¡¯s voice drifted out, ¡°If the four of us work together, killing this Hawk¡¯s Worry will be easy as long as we spend some time planning and preparing. No matter how powerful his escape technique is, he downright won¡¯t have the opportunity to use it. However, I don¡¯t have any confidence if we are to strike immediately and force him to swear the blood oath.¡±

    The method of assassins was about killing in a single strike. If they did not have the determination to kill, their vigour would fall, and they would not be able to use their full strength.

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°That¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about any planning or preparing. Just go at it. If you kill him, then you kill him. With how big the south is, how difficult can it be to find a few subordinates?¡± Then Li Qingshan said to Yu Wufeng and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, ¡°Prepare yourselves too. If he manages to survive, don¡¯t let him escape.¡± Then he glanced deeply at Yu Wufeng.

    Yu Wufeng lowered his head and pressed his hand against the hilt of the Fogbow sword.

    Ghost Shadow said nothing more. His aura abruptly vanished, having merged within the curtain of night as he drifted towards Hawk¡¯s Worry valley. He filled the three sisters in admiration, who followed behind him closely.

    A while later, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Sure enough, he really is quite capable.¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could finish speaking, a streak of light rose up from Hawk¡¯s Worry valley. Li Qingshan did not take action. A fogbow rose up from beside him, piercing the horizon and intercepting the streak of light. A pale-faced old man in black robes appeared. He was as small and skinny as a monkey. He roared in surprise and fury.

    ¡°The Fogbow sword! Yu Wufeng! I have no grievances with your Savage mountain, so why have you launched a sneak attack against me?!¡±

    Yu Wufeng said nothing. He formed a seal with his hands, and the Fogbow sword turned into a wandering streak of light, coiling around Hawk¡¯s Worry.

    ¡°Who¡¯s that? The White Hawk commander!¡±

    Hawk¡¯s Worry glanced at the smiling man in white who stood with his hands behind his back in front of Yu Wufeng. Under the illumination of the moonlight, a silver hawk soared on the white clothes. The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber who had already made a vicious name for himself stood behind him too, lowering his huge head while trying his best to maintain a humble posture.

    Hawk¡¯s Worry forced himself to calm down. The light from the Fogbow sword was dense, but it could not keep him trapped. Right when he was about to use the Great Technique of Heaven¡¯s Escape, several drifting clusters of killing intent pinned him down on the spot. Consequently, he dared not move about.

    A while earlier, if it were not for the sharp senses he had developed over countless years of life-threatening danger, he almost would have forgotten to use the escape technique, dying to the terrifying assassination attack. Apart from Ghost Shadow, the three others were clearly powerful assassins of the Shadow Palace too, which almost frightened him to death.

    Although he had managed to escape, he was still heavily injured. He even decided to abandon his dwelling, but he was intercepted by the first cave master of Savage mountain with his infamous Fogbow sword.

    Immediately, killing intent flooded the surroundings, but it did not erupt.

    Right as Hawk¡¯s Worry tried to come up with a countermeasure, the Demon Suppression Tower descended from above.

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    While he was caught off-guard, four powerful night roamer assassins tried to assassinate him, the first cave master of Savage mountain used his arcane treasure, the Fogbow sword, to trap him, and in the end, even Li Qingshan took action. No matter how powerful Hawk¡¯s Worry¡¯s escape technique was, the only fate awaiting him was being captured.

    In the Demon Suppression Tower, Hawk¡¯s Worry turned into a streak of light and rampaged about, but it was obviously futile.

    The Demon Suppression Tower was rather clumsy in actual battle, but any enemy it had suppressed would definitely struggle to break free.

    At this moment, a figure passed through the tower. Li Qingshan appeared and said, ¡°Stop wasting your strength. Let¡¯s discuss something important instead!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan? What great lengths you¡¯ve gone to, sir!¡±

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Hawk¡¯s Worry did his best to maintain his distance from Li Qingshan. His eyes were filled with worry. What gave him the ability to order around the three cave masters of Savage mountain and three peak assassins of the Shadow palace?

    Li Qingshan took out the Blood Oath Scroll and smiled. ¡°Come, fellow. Swear an oath!¡±

    ¡°The Blood Oath Scroll! You actually refined the Blood Oath Scroll!¡± Hawk¡¯s Worry¡¯s face changed drastically. He finally understood why he could dispatch the three cave masters of Savage mountain now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you half a minute to consider!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Half a minute later, the Demon Suppression Tower dispersed as demon qi. Li Qingshan stowed the Blood Oath Scroll away and patted Hawk¡¯s Worry¡¯s shoulder. He said in praise, ¡°Fellow Hawk really is a sensible person!¡±

    Hawk¡¯s Worry was devastated. He forced out a smile. ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, to the next stop!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand in high spirits.

    Seven days later, in the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s estate.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was currently thinking with his eyes closed when the caretaker reported, ¡°Marquis, that Li Qingshan is outside right now! He wishes to see you!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive!¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea snapped open his eyes and made his way outside to receive him, only to see Li Qingshan standing with his back towards him, lecturing a group of people.

    ¡°From today onwards, you¡¯ll be turning over a new leaf and behaving yourselves. You¡¯ll definitely become quite accomplished in the future¡­¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea counted them and found that they totalled at eight. They varied in size and shape, whether tall or short, fat or thin. Every single one of them was wrapped up in a dark cloak, the hood covering their faces. Although they all bent over and lowered their heads like servants, the aura they vaguely gave off left the Marquis of Serene Sea shocked.

    The figures of these people are so familiar. That great fatty is¡­ the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber! And that shorty¡­

    The Marquis of Serene Sea was unable to identify them one by one, as Li Qingshan had already turned around and asked a question.

    ¡°Marquis, would you like to die or live?¡±

    A Slight Explanation for My Thoughts When Writing

    The past two days have been a little lacklustre, or should I say that this month has been rather lacklustre. Actually, the plot has always been relatively clear, but as the main character¡¯s strength rises, the pacing is becoming more and more difficult to control.

    I don¡¯t want to write that kind of repetitive, levelling-up novel, where as soon as the main character grows a little stronger, a great swathe of even stronger opponents come to kill him. Then the main character faces mountainous pressure and continues to level up, repeating endlessly all the way until beyond the Nine Heavens. That¡¯s far too boring.

    But if I don¡¯t write it like that, it¡¯s very easy for it to become an invincible genre where the main character just crushes all the enemies he sees. That¡¯s probably even more boring than the former. Of course, the mainstream writing right now is to combine the two. There are a lot of benefits to writing like that. The pacing is fast enough, the peaks and troughs in the story are large enough, it¡¯s easy to write, and it¡¯s satisfying enough to read. It¡¯s no coincidence that it became mainstream.

    But I really don¡¯t want to write like that. I¡¯ll feel no different from a person with just bones and no flesh. Reading a book like that leaves me very happy too, but if I have to write like that, you better cure my OCD first.

    Although Legend of the Great Sage is a levelling-up novel, I want to write a levelling-up novel with a plot. I want this path to the Nine Heavens to go through countless demons, monsters, or other beings and countless feelings of love and hatred. I want to write some characters that feel alive, some scenes that touch the heart.

    This really isn¡¯t an easy feat. The most difficult part about it is being ¡°down to earth¡±. The old readers should have had quite the contact with this. No matter what the material is, once you reach a certain word count, it¡¯s easy to drift apart the more you write. Although it¡¯s possible to keep reading due to the preexisting investment and momentum, it only feels more and more wrong. This is also what I¡¯m doing my best to avoid.

    In short, I¡¯m a person with slow hands and a slow brain. I can¡¯t speed up with the releases, so please forgive me for that. All I can guarantee is that I¡¯ll write seriously. I¡¯ll write it well, and I¡¯ll write it to the end.

    Finally, there is a double today. Two releases for monthly votes!

 Chapter 780

    Swish!

    A gust of fierce wind swept across the sea of trees, making them ripple like waves. The Marquis of Serene Sea doubted his ears. He subconsciously asked, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t act deaf!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The eight, cloaked figures behind him sneered as well. Their eyes under the hoods all took pleasure in his suffering. Since they had already suffered misfortune, then watching others suffer the same misfortune was one of the few delights in life.

    Coldness welled up from the bottom of the Marquis of Serene¡¯s heart. He could not help but take a step back, wanting to retreat into the estate. Three black figures appeared behind him, their killing intent cold like ice. After consecutive battles with Ghost Shadow¡¯s guidance, the coordination between the three sisters became greater too.

    Others could not see them, but the Marquis of Serene Sea could sense them. He shivered inside. Assassins of the Shadow palace! Only peak assassins of the Shadow palace could silently reach his side. He immediately seized up on the spot.

    He barked, ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you trying to do? I¡¯m the lord of the South Sea commandery, the Marquis of Serene Sea that was conferred by the emperor!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you can stop fooling around. You¡¯re the exact person I¡¯m looking for!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The laughter behind him became even more reckless, filled with ill intent.

    Li Qingshan was satisfied. One of the greatest benefits of these demonic cultivators of the south was that they were very sensible. After seven consecutive days of attacking and fighting, not a single person that survived the combined assassination of Ghost Shadow and the sisters chose death over submission.

    And once they swore the blood oath, they adjusted mentally very quickly, showing enough compliance on the surface. One of them even shamelessly said he wanted to take Li Qingshan on as his foster father, saying that he had been waiting for this exact day during the several centuries he spent cultivating. It had been quite the blow to Li Qingshan. If you were a woman, then so be it. I could perhaps be your foster father, but you¡¯re clearly an old man. You have absolutely no sense of shame!

    This was just how the south worked. There was no sense of propriety, justice, honesty, or honour. Only the strong were revered. As long as your fists were tough enough, no one would want to throw their heads against it.

    A hubbub erupted in the estate, and a great group of cultivators surged out. Some of them were guards, while some were guest elders. There were several hundred of them in total, all wielding various kinds of spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts, controlling a great variety of gu insects. They surrounded Li Qingshan¡¯s group.

    Faced with this, not only did Li Qingshan turn a blind eye to it, but none of the eight cloaked figures behind him took it seriously either, as none of the several hundred people had undergone the second heavenly tribulation.

    ¡°Commander Li, how dare you be so disrespectful to our marquis? Do you know that all the White Wolf guards were killed while you were gone? You better wait until the Hawkwolf Guard denounces you! If you¡¯re sensible, perhaps our marquis can even put in a few good words for you,¡± said Caretaker Zhou of the estate.

    He saw how they possessed an advantage in numbers as well as in geography, so he was confident that Li Qingshan would never be bold enough to act violently. As a result, he leapt out to express his loyalty. With regards to the eight cloaked figures behind Li Qingshan, he still could not make an accurate judgment about them with his cultivation, and he completely failed to sense the three black figures behind the marquis.

    ¡°Oh? Who did that?¡± Li Qingshan really was clueless about this.

    ¡°Me!¡±

    A voice answered from the empty space, which caught the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s attention. It was Ghost Shadow¡¯s voice.

    As long as Ghost Shadow was the one carrying out the assassination, even if he failed, he could still distract Li Qingshan. He could use that moment to flee into the estate and enter the secret room. It contained a path of retreat he had specially prepared, a formation that could teleport him hundreds of kilometers away. Unlike escape techniques, it did not turn him into a streak of light, so it was absolutely untraceable.

    Assassins of the Shadow palace are impressive, but they¡¯ve already given themselves away, so there¡¯s nothing terrifying about them. In terms of strength, the three of them definitely aren¡¯t on par with Ghost Shadow, the greatest assassin of the south.

    Sure enough, Ghost Shadow took action!

    However, the hint of delight in the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s heart immediately turned to fear.

    Caretaker Zhou currently glared at Li Qingshan. A speck of blood appeared between his eyebrows. The speck was so small that only a bead of blood oozed out. As if he had felt something, he subconsciously extended his hand to touch it before falling backwards in that same posture.

    ¡°Third cave master!¡± The Marquis of Serene Sea paled in fright. His heart sank completely.

    ¡°I could tell long ago that the lot of them were colluding with demonic cultivators! It¡¯s good that they¡¯re dead! That¡¯s perfect for me to collect my reward from the Mist capital!¡± Li Qingshan said without much concern.

    ¡°Marquis, you better come to your senses and let go of your hopes. Even the boss and I pledged loyalty to commander Li. Third brother Shadow is no exception. If you still refuse to send away these several hundred pieces of trash and they piss me off, I¡¯ll eat them all.¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber patted his belly, and the fat on him jiggled.

    ¡°Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, it really is you!¡±

    ¡°Who else could be so plump apart from me?¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber laughed, extending and closing his huge hand the size of a banana leaf. A guard over thirty meters away wailed as he flew over. The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s mouth widened to an unbelievable size, and he actually swallowed the guard in a single gulp. A figure could be vaguely made out from his belly, struggling a bit before vanishing.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the second cave master of Savage mountain, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber!¡± ¡°And the third cave master, Ghost Shadow!¡±

    The people cried out and moved away. All of the cave masters of Savage mountain were infamous.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s gaze was fixed on the cloaked figure behind Li Qingshan, the one to his right. White hair draped down from within the hood, and he carried a sword on his back, which filled the marquis with disbelief. If it were just the others, then so be it, but he was a sword cultivator who wielded an arcane treasure. With how proud he was, why would he submit to Li Qingshan?

    Holding onto a final sliver of hope, he called out, ¡°Cave master Yu!¡±

    ¡°Marquis of Serene Sea, stop wasting time!¡± Yu Wufeng gripped the Fogbow sword and said coldly.

    ¡°Yeah, do you want to die or do you want to live? I¡¯d rather hope you choose to live. Although finding second heavenly tribulation cultivators is quite easy in the vast south, there really aren¡¯t a lot of truly useful masters. But if you really want to die, I¡¯ll help you out!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea felt despair. Li Qingshan was already an extremely powerful opponent, and on top of that, there were still the three peak assassins of the Shadow palace and the three strongest cave masters of Savage mountain. He also managed to identify the six remaining people, all renowned demonic cultivators of the south, but they were all standing behind Li Qingshan now, listening to his command. This was a force to be reckoned with across the entire southern region.

    His voice trembled. ¡°I¡¯m a marquis. Are you really bold enough to kill me?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Kill him!¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, the three black figures behind the Marquis of Serene Sea vanished. Ghost Shadow drifted over, locking onto him with killing intent. The Fogbow sword exited its sheath, and the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber extended his hand. The remaining six figures in cloaks struck out at the same time, forming a wave of certain death that hurtled towards him like a tsunami.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea could not dodge, escape, or block. All he could do was yell at the top of his lungs, ¡°I want to live!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, and all of the attacks halted as if the tsunami had been frozen up the moment it was about to slam down.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that you want to live. Come and swear an oath!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    If the battle of Savage mountain had only shaken up the south because of its inconclusive outcome, then Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance in the commandery city of South Sea had answered all of the questions. Not only did it reveal the end result of the battle of Savage mountain, but it also revealed the change in the overall situation of the south.

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    After getting the Marquis of Serene Sea to swear the oath, he arranged a banquet in the marquis¡¯ estate to entertain the ten cave masters.

    These ten renowned figures of the south toasted Li Qingshan together, formally swearing their allegiance to him. The cultivator who recognised Li Qingshan as his foster father even referred to him as ¡°my king¡±, no longer calling him sir or commander.

    Li Qingshan was confused by that. He asked for the reason, and the cultivator said, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know in the south? He who unifies Savage mountain is known as the King of Savages.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, accepting the title in delight.

    The Marquis of Serene Sea called him shameless inside, but he forced out a smile on the surface and also sang his name loudly, ¡°My king.¡±

    After the banquet, Li Qingshan immediately set off and continued his battles. He basically took down all the second heavenly tribulation cultivators of the south apart from the Myriad Poison cult, completely realising the boast he made when he first came to the South Sea commandery¡ªThose who abide by me will prosper, and those who defy me will die!

    Savage mountain basically rose up overnight, becoming a tremendous organisation only second to the Myriad Poison cult. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan had yet to undergo the third heavenly tribulation, he could have founded a major sect.

    The Mist province was astir!

    When Li Qingshan accepted the orders and took office in the Mist province as the White Hawk commander, he had already attracted the attention of countless. This was both due to the brilliance of the two great geniuses, as well as the fact that the cultivators had all wanted to use this to predict the future situation of the Mist province and the Green province.

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    Some people guessed that this was the Great Xia empire¡¯s plan, intentionally sending them to the Mist province, which was equivalent to sending political hostages to alleviate the situation between the two provinces. However, even more people believed that the Great Xia empire was no longer trying to intervene between the two provinces like in the past. Instead, they intentionally wanted the provinces to weaken one another while maintaining absolute strength in the central Dragon province.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An were merely two chess pieces to accelerate the war, two pitiful sacrifices. Plenty of people wondered with ill intentions, How will the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga respond when they lose two genius disciples?

    The moment Li Qingshan arrived in the South sea, he killed the White Hawk commander and successfully replaced him, demonstrating viciousness that was completely unbefitting of his identity as a buddhist disciple. However, this was instead a minor matter across the Mist province. Over two years had passed since then, so Li Qingshan¡¯s name gradually faded from view. He would only be mentioned from time to time when they tried to guess the outcome of that battle.

    Only when Li Qingshan used the Blood Oath Scroll to rein in ten cave masters and waged battle throughout the entire south did his name ring once more, but the prefix to his name was no longer his post, ¡°White Hawk commander¡±, or his identity, ¡°the Unraging monk¡¯s disciple¡±. Instead, it was ¡°King of Savages¡±.

    The title of king had always been a term of reference that only third heavenly tribulation existences had the right to possess. The King of Chu, the King of Yue, Monk Kings, Daemon Kings, Great General Kings¡ªthey were all supreme cultivators, where only a single one would emerge from millions. They stood on an absolute level of authority across the nine provinces.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, he did not have the right to be known as a king, but the first cave master of Savage mountain from the founding generation had once said that anyone who underwent the third heavenly tribulation could refine the Blood Oath Scroll and unify Savage mountain. If this happened, the other cave masters would refer to him as the ¡°King of Savages¡±. The seven other cave masters of that generation had agreed with him.

    According to everyone¡¯s belief, this was something only a powerful cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation could achieve, so it made perfect sense to call them ¡°king¡±.

    However, no one expected someone to actually achieve this with a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation.

 Chapter 781

    The sky was sunken. The lead-like clouds weighed heavily as if they could directly blanket the sea of trees. It was as dark as night.

    A streak of light shot across the sky. A man of short stature rode on his sword. He was not tall, but he had a square face and a wide mouth, giving off a sense of valiance. The sword beneath his feet happened to be an arcane treasure.

    The streak of light landed on the ground, and the man sheathed his sword. Looking over, he saw Savage mountain towering into the clouds, but when he wanted to take a deeper look, all he saw was surging mist, sealing off the entire place. Even his soul sense could not penetrate the mist.

    This is the Mist Sea Formation of Eight Directions! That old monster Zuo really died to him. Even his protective formation has been uprooted and taken away. It hasn¡¯t even been a month, but those renowned figures of the south have all been either slaughtered or forced into swearing the blood oath, becoming his servants. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga truly lives up to its reputation. Just how powerful is this Li Qingshan?

    The man wondered. Right when he was about to take a step forward, he suddenly looked back, gripping his sword in caution.

    A green cloud passed through the cloud layer, also drifting towards Savage mountain.

    The colour of the green cloud was not a verdant green or an inky green, but a brutal green. It surged about like it was alive and actually moved no slower than the man on his sword. It also landed before the valley in the blink of an eye.

    The brutal-green cloud seemed even stranger. It surged about as if it wanted to lunge towards the man, producing a strange buzz like a man-eating monster. At a closer glance, it was no cloud at all, but thousands of tiny, green insects almost invisible to the naked eye.

    ¡°The Myriad Poison cult!¡± The man frowned.

    ¡°Cough, cough. Fellow Peng, aren¡¯t you supposed to be drifting about on the sea? Why have you come to our southern region?¡±

    A delicate voice rang out from the cloud of insects, and a tall, thin figure emerged. He was a young noble in luxurious clothes with a sickly appearance. The cloud of insects surged and drew in, returning to the vine container on his waist.

    ¡°So it¡¯s the Sickly Prince. How important this Li Qingshan must be for you to come in person!¡± Peng Jingni smiled. Battle intent roused within him, and he drew half of the Startled Salamander sword from its sheath.

    ¡°Both you and I have a task to attend to today, so just save it! Since you¡¯ve come first, then you can go in first! If you really can¡¯t accept this, we can fight after the matter.¡±

    The Sickly Prince gestured elegantly with his hand for Peng Jingni to go in first, but Peng Jingni was no fool. He knew that since the Sickly Prince wanted him to see Li Qingshan first, the Sickly Prince would definitely be planning to ruin everything for him afterwards.

    Although the Myriad Poison cult dominated in the south and the South Sea Sword pavilion stood aloof over the seas, they had numerous disputes over the many years they spent as neighbours.

    The Myriad Poison cult was a standard demonic sect, while the South Sea Sword pavilion claimed to be a part of the orthodoxy. As a sect of sword cultivators, they did have a hint of gallantry about them. However, the most basic reason was still a conflict of interest. Once an arcane treasure appeared or a spiritual herb emerged, there would be quite the struggle both out in the open and in secret.

    Throughout the years, who knew how many disciples died to one another. It would instead be strange if they got along when they saw each other. As the most outstanding disciples of their respective sects, they normally would always fight when they met.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not in a hurry, then I¡¯ll be going in first.¡± The Sickly Prince smiled and took a step forward. Sword qi swept past his face, producing a deep ditch right in front of him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Peng Jingni drew his sword. This person has a silken tongue. If he goes in first, he¡¯ll definitely ruin everything for me.

    ¡°Not this and not that. What do you want? How mighty of the South Sea Sword pavilion! You better not forget that this is the southern region of the Mist province!¡± The Sickly Prince¡¯s pale face sank.

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight it out first and see who wins! Wait until you see me send a sickly bastard like you scurrying away first.¡± Peng Jingni smiled.

    ¡°Fair enough. Poisoning a tiny dwarf like you to death won¡¯t take much time anyway.¡±

    ¡°I think the two of you should come in together!¡±

    Right when a battle was about to erupt, a voice rang out from the valley, and the mist dispersed, revealing a path.

    Both of their hearts skipped a beat. The sickly prince took a step back and made an inviting gesture, while Peng Jingni let out a cold snort and sheathed his sword. The two of them entered the valley, and the mist surged back together.

    Peng Jingni passed through the Mist Sea Formation of Eight Directions first, guarding against the Sickly Prince behind him while moving quickly.

    With no opportunity available to launch a sneak attack, the Sickly Prince just gave up on it. The Lair of Demons of Savage mountain that had once had its moments of renown and influence in the south had become very quiet. The old structures of the city had been flattened, reclaimed by nature.

    So it¡¯s merely a facade. They¡¯ve only constructed a defensive formation. What a waste of resources!

    The Sickly Prince sneered inside. If he possessed the Blood Oath Scroll, he would definitely turn Savage mountain into a closely-knit organisation, but Li Qingshan clearly had no plans for that.

    Right when he was about to fly to the main peak, he suddenly saw Peng Jingni change directions. Beneath the west side of the mountain, someone waved at them from afar. ¡°Over here!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A waterfall that resembled a white dragon seemed to fly down from the clouds, landing in the deep pool. The vegetation beside the pool was vibrant, blooming with exotic flowers.

    Li Qingshan sat on a boulder beside the pool and said to Xiao An beside him, ¡°Doesn¡¯t this place look like where we first started cultivating?¡±

    Xiao An nodded. She wore a string of shiny, white prayer beads on her wrist, twenty-seven in total. She had spent a very long period of time to refine the Skull Prayer Beads again. Although they had only increased by another one or two in number, she had spent a tremendous amount of effort and resources. The Skull Prayer Beads had reached the third level too.

    Every single Skeleton Demon had become even stronger, and the Skeleton Demon Formation grew in power too. It was possible to say that even without Xiao An, the ten people bound by the blood oath would not be the opponent of this string of prayer beads.

    And that was why Li Qingshan had no plans to found a closely-knit organisation. His strength came from himself and Xiao An beside him, not the messy group of demonic cultivators.

    Everyone gathered their attention on the great force he had amassed, but little did they know it was merely the tip of the iceberg of his true strength. Anyone who thought they could trample over him would run head-first into an iceberg.

    However, Li Qingshan also had a feeling that it would not be long before this secret was exposed, as far too many people knew. Although he had various kinds of safeguards, he was no longer some unnoticed, insignificant figure. He had definitely left behind traces that could give him away with everything he had done in the past.

    From a certain perspective, it was all thanks to the Dragon King of Ink Sea killing ¡°Northmoon¡± that he could keep this secret until now. No one believed the Dragon King of Ink Sea would fail, so even if some people had been growing suspicious, they would not be able to draw a connection between Li Qingshan and Northmoon now.

    It would be best if he maintained this secret until the day he went dragon-slaying in the Ink sea. By then, even if everyone found out Li Qingshan was Northmoon, it would not matter.

    But that would probably be very difficult. Li Qingshan understood that very well. Having reached the fourth layer of the spirit turtle, the gut feeling he experienced definitely was not from overthinking.

    ¡°Hmm? Some people have come to visit. They¡¯re from the Myriad Pison cult and the South Sea Sword pavilion. Have I really alarmed them?¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and smiled.

    Xiao An said, ¡°The disciple of the Myriad Poison cult is known as the ¡®Sickly Prince¡¯ in the south. He¡¯s a part of the royal clan of the Kingdom of Yue, one of the potential successors of the throne. He probably represents much more than the Myriad Poison cult.¡±

    ¡°I see. Then let¡¯s let them in!¡± Li Qingshan said. These two people were known as geniuses, but he was not worried about them. The people he needed to worry about were the Myriad Poison Ancestor, the master of the sword pavilion of the King of Southern Yue behind them.

 Chapter 782

    Peng Jingni arrived before the pool first, only to see two people seated below the waterfall. One of them was a large, tall man. He wore a set of white clothes with his black hair draping down. He sat there casually, but he gave off the same weight as a mountain, seeming unshakeable.

    That must be Li Qingshan. He really does live up to his reputation!

    The other person made Peng Jingni squint his eyes, leaving him astonished.

    The Sickly Prince also hurried over. He saw Xiao An immediately and praised inside, To think that a beauty like that actually exists in this world. The wonders of creation truly are unbelievable!

    ¡°I am indeed. I wonder who the two of you are?¡± Li Qingshan studied the two of them and asked with a smile.

    ¡°Peng Jingni of the South Sea Sword pavilion.¡± ¡°Qian Liangmu of the Myriad Poison cult.¡±

    The two of them stated their identities at the same time, but they both felt rather dissatisfied. Isn¡¯t this Li Qingshan a little too arrogant?

    They possessed extraordinary backgrounds and exceptional talent, having made a name for themselves many years ago. No matter where they went, everyone would show them some respect, but not only did Li Qingshan not invite them to the main peak for discussion, he did not even stand up, gazing at them from above with absolutely no manners to speak of, asking for their names right from the get-go.

    ¡°So why have you travelled such a great distance to come here?¡± Li Qingshan leaned against his fist and looked away. He was rather curious about why they had come.

    ¡°I¡¯ve covered a great distance to come visit because I have great riches and honour I wish to give to the commander, but there hasn¡¯t even been a cup of hot tea or a chair. Isn¡¯t that far too stingy of you? It doesn''t really match the title of King of Savages,¡± said Qian Liangmu.

    Peng Jingni stood with his sword and remained silent. For once, he agreed with Qian Liangmu. He had specially come from the sea, playing the role of an envoy, so his personal sense of honour was of lesser importance, but he had to hold his ground and avoid bringing disgrace to the South Sea Sword pavilion¡¯s reputation. How was he still supposed to negotiate if he was already getting off on the wrong foot, starting on uneven footing?

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t notice that. My apologies! Though, I don¡¯t have any tea here, only alcohol. If you¡¯re used to it, then we can drink together. If you¡¯re not used to it, then the pool water is quite sweet and refreshing too.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and fished out two jars of alcohol from his sumeru ring, tossing them to the two. He took out a jar of alcohol for himself and took a great swig.

    Peng Jingni caught the alcohol and was mildly surprised. He said, ¡°Why would I drink water if there¡¯s alcohol?¡± He removed the seal and took a few gulps, praising, ¡°That¡¯s some fine alcohol!¡±

    He did not say that out of courtesy. The taste of the alcohol needed no explanation, but when it came to the density of the spiritual qi, it was on par with pills and medicines. The alcohol could cause much bloodshed in the south. If he possessed a jar of alcohol like that, he would have never given it to anyone else to drink.

    Li Qingshan went on a rampage in the south and obtained many spoils. The alcohol was only part of it. He had obtained it without much difficulty anyway, so he did not believe there was much to cherish.

    Qian Liangmu took a few sips and also had nothing to say. He was confused. If Li Qingshan wanted to leave a powerful and vicious first impression, he would not have taken out such precious spiritual alcohol, but if he intentionally wanted to befriend them, he should not have been so haughty either.

    He raised his head and met Li Qingshan¡¯s bright eyes. Suddenly, he realised that Li Qingshan simply did not care. He did not care about how precious the jar of alcohol was, nor did he care who they were, much less how powerful the organisations behind them were.

    You came here, so I invited you to a drink, to hear you out. That¡¯s all.

    Peng Jingni noticed this too. Even he who was renowned for his boldness and generosity could not help but feel admiration. It¡¯s said that Li Qingshan is extremely arrogant, even saying something along the lines of ¡®Those who abide by me will prosper, and those who defy me will die¡¯. Now that I see him for myself, it¡¯s more like bold and generous and not arrogant and haughty. If it were some other time, I¡¯d definitely befriend him. However, the more he is like this, the harder he is to deal with. It probably won¡¯t be easy to achieve the objective of this visit.

    Peng Jingni glanced at Qian Liangmu, and Qian Liangmu happened to look over too. Their eyes met before parting immediately. They were instead more willing to see Li Qingshan call all ten cave masters here, whether it was to strengthen his appearance or to leave a powerful and vicious first impression. The more extravagant of a show he put on, the more it demonstrated he was trying to hide his weak position. Having been received like regular people really was troublesome. They felt like neither intimidation or promises of reward could achieve their expected outcome.

    ¡°As for chairs, there aren¡¯t any here. You two can sit wherever you want. If you¡¯re afraid of being positioned below me, you can just hover in the air.¡±

    Li Qingshan said as he tilted the jar in his hand, feeding it to Xiao An beside him. Unlike how crude he was earlier, his movements were very delicate. He asked, ¡°How does it taste?¡±

    ¡°Very nice.¡± Xiao An took a few small sips. Actually, to her, neither fine alcohol or foul water were any different to her senses. She just liked the alcohol he fed to her.

    Peng Jingni flew up and sat down with his legs crossed on a boulder in front of him. Qian Liangmu smiled rather helplessly and chose another rock.

    Peng Jingni said, ¡°Fellow, the first cave master under your command, Yu Wufeng, is a traitor of our South Sea Sword pavilion. Ever since he was expelled thirty years ago, he¡¯s been lying low in Savage mountain, only to unexpectedly submit to you. I¡¯ve come under my master¡¯s orders to ask you to return him to our South Sea Sword pavilion so that we can punish him.¡±

    ¡°I see. No Wind, you¡¯ve been listening along for such a long time, so why don¡¯t you come and meet your former junior brother?¡± Li Qingshan nodded.

    A streak of light flew over from the main peak and landed in front of the waterfall. He said in correction, ¡°It¡¯s Wufeng!¡± After a moment of silence, he lowered his head. ¡°My king.¡±

    TL: ¡°Wufeng¡± in Chinese can be translated literally as windless, while Li Qingshan had called him ¡°Meifeng¡±, which means no wind. ÎÞ (w¨²) and Ã» (m¨¦i) basically mean the same thing, except wu is much more archaic and thus more formal, hence windless vs. no wind. Li Qingshan completely butchered his name.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the same. Fellow Peng, is this the person?¡±

    Peng Jingni saw Yu Wufeng and his eyes lit up. He immediately stood a little straighter and pulled his gaze back, saying to Li Qingshan, ¡°That¡¯s the person. You¡¯ve helped us capture a traitor, so the South Sea Sword pavilion will definitely give you its thanks.¡±

    ¡°Yu Wufeng, are you willing to return to the South Sea Sword pavilion with this junior brother of yours?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing,¡± Yu Wufeng said after another moment of silence.

    ¡°I see!¡± Li Qingshan stroked his chin.

    ¡°This fellow Yu is not a traitor of the South Sea Sword pavilion, but a hero,¡± Qian Liangmu interrupted.

    Peng Jingni glared at him. Sure enough, this bastard is trying to ruin everything for me.

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°This is a public secret in the south. This brother Yu of the South Sea Sword pavilion is tasked with an important mission. His expulsion from his sect is all fake, and he¡¯s joined Savage mountain to unify Savage mountain under him so that this place can serve as a springboard for the South Sea Sword pavilion to enter the southern region. That way, they can contend against our Myriad Poison cult.¡±

    ¡°Commander, if you let him go and he undergoes the third heavenly tribulation, becoming the pavilion master of the South Sea Sword pavilion, he¡¯ll definitely seek revenge for the humiliation he¡¯s suffered!¡±

    Qian Liangmu glanced at Peng Jingni with a smile, mocking the South Sea Sword pavilion for their futile scheme, which ended up in everything falling apart. They had even lost their genius disciple.

    Peng Jingni was about to rebuke him when Yu Wufeng sighed. ¡°Junior brother, there¡¯s no need to say anything more.¡± He smiled. ¡°Deceiving others with a silken tongue has never been your forte. I¡¯ve been tasked with an important mission, yet I¡¯ve ended up like this. I¡¯ve really let down our master as well as the sect.¡±

    ¡°Yes, senior brother.¡± Peng Jingni felt his heart heat up. He lowered his head.

    Then Yu Wufeng said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Commander Li, if you¡¯re willing to show some benevolence, I¡¯ll swear that I¡¯ll never seek revenge for what happened recently, nor will I divulge any of your secrets. I¡¯ll even lend you a hand such that you will have no more enemies in the south.¡±

    His words hid killing intent, directed at the Myriad Poison cult.

    Qian Liangmu asked, ¡°I wonder how this oath compares to the blood oath? What a great plan, brother Yu. Is this trying to kill with a borrowed blade? Commander Li, a moment of mercy can lead to endless troubles.¡±

    ¡°There are many things that can replace the Blood Oath Scroll in the south, such as the Poisonous Oath gu, the Thousand Needle curse¡­¡±

    Qian Liangmu interrupted him and said, ¡°I wonder if any of these items can bind a third heavenly tribulation cultivator? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to take advantage of the fact that the commander is unfamiliar with the shaman gu, curses, and techniques of the south?¡±

    The two of them engaged in a verbal battle, but at the end, Qian Liangmu possessed a silver tongue, striking the core of the issue with every word that he said. He completely shut up Yu Wufeng, forcing him to just bow deeply towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan answered with a question, ¡°If you were in my shoes, what would you choose to do?¡±

    Yu Wufeng had nothing to say in response to that. He was dejected.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll make the same response,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Fellow Li, are you really looking down on our South Sea Sword pavilion?¡± Peng Jingni straightened himself up and barked furiously.

    ¡°Please calm down, fellow Peng. It won¡¯t be a good idea to leave no more room for negotiation.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at him quietly. There was no killing intent, but it made Peng Jingni shiver inside. Yu Wufeng¡¯s gaze towards him became even more solemn. It made him remember how it was like when he learned the sword many years ago.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost my composure. Please forgive me, fellow!¡±

    Peng Jingni glanced at Qian Liangmu from the corner of his eye. Sure enough, he was smiling in his eyes. If they really fell out and the South Sea Sword pavilion ventured deep into the south to attack Savage mountain, it would only make Li Qingshan lean towards the Myriad Poison cult. Additionally, he still possessed a hostage that the South Sea Sword pavilion could not give up on.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to hate me. When your senior brother drew his sword against me in the past, didn¡¯t he want to kill me? The path of cultivation has always been about doing all that you can for a chance at survival. I won¡¯t hate him either. It¡¯s not impossible for me to release him in the future, but definitely not right now. I don¡¯t need to explain the reason why. You probably know the reason why.¡±

    Li Qingshan maintained a sliver of hope for Yu Wufeng and the South Sea Sword pavilion as he spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m clumsy with words, so there are many things I won¡¯t be able to explain clearly. I¡¯d like to invite you to the South sea. Our master will definitely give you a satisfying outcome, fellow,¡± said Peng Jingni.

    ¡°Commander, be careful of the trap,¡± Qian Liangmu said nonchalantly, which made Peng Jingni grind his teeth furiously.

    ¡°Alright, we will go.¡±

    The speaker was not Li Qingshan, but Xiao An, who had been listening along silently the entire time.

    Peng Jingni rejoiced inside and looked at Li Qingshan again.

    ¡°If she agrees, then I¡¯ve agreed.¡±

    Li Qingshan had been fine with both. Since Xiao An had spoken, she definitely had a plan in mind. As long as they did not enter the South Sea Sword pavilion, then even if he faced the powerful sword cultivator there, he was confident enough to take a stand, not to mention there was the spirit turtle to forebode fate.

    Qian Liangmu opened his mouth, but he closed it again. When a woman like her spoke, even he would find it very difficult to turn her down, let alone changing his mind after turning her down. Li Qingshan was clearly a resolute person too, and this matter could potentially present an opportunity.

    Peng Jingni let out a sigh of relief. This result could be regarded as barely satisfactory. He never thought he would feel so pressured when he faced Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Prince Qian, let¡¯s hear what your great riches and honour are.¡±

    Peng Jingni was in no hurry to report back. He simply sat there, waiting for Qian Liangmu to speak.

 Chapter 783

    Qian Liangmu coughed gently. ¡°The leader of the Myriad Poison cult, the Myriad Poison Ancestor, wishes to invite you to become a protector of the cult.¡±

    Peng Jingni immediately sneered. ¡°What a great plan by the Myriad Poison cult. Is this the great riches and honour you speak of?¡±

    Li Qingshan took a sip of alcohol. ¡°Not bad. To regular cultivators, the identity as a protector of the Myriad Poison cult would indeed be great riches and honour.¡±

    However, what he was implying was as clear as day. It meant absolutely nothing to him!

    He thought, You want to pull me onto the war chariot of the Myriad Poison cult with just the measly identity of a protector? Aren¡¯t you a little too naive? When the Sword Collection palace invited me to become a guest elder, they offered me a powerful arcane treasure after all, and if I really were to run into any trouble, the Sword Collection palace would help me out for the sake of their pride. If I don¡¯t get stabbed in the back by a demonic sect like the Myriad Poison cult, I¡¯d be doing quite well.

    Qian Liangmu smiled as if everything was within his grasp. Then he said, ¡°What about the identity of a guest at the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate?¡±

    Yu Wufeng raised his eyebrows and thought, Here comes the main show.

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate had always possessed the practise of recruiting guests, regardless of their identities and origins. As long as they could pass the corresponding test, they could become guests and earn the protection of the royal clan, enjoying a multitude of benefits.

    Whenever they recruited guests, countless cultivators of the Mist province would make a scramble for it. It would lead to quite the bloodshed in the Mist capital.

    Peng Jingni¡¯s mouth hung agape. He had finally been shut up. The South Sea Sword pavilion could oppose the Myriad Poison cult, and they did not fear Qian Liangmu¡¯s identity as a prince either, but they dared not get in the way of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s plans.

    The method the King of Southern Yue used to choose its successor was even stricter than the imperial clan of Great Xia, revering the primitive rule of the jungle. The various princes would train and undergo trials in various places across the Mist province, so dying was very common. As long as it was not directly at the hand of powerful cultivators like the master of the South Sea Sword pavilion going out of their way to hunt them down, the King of Southern Yue basically would not consider revenge.

    However, this matter clearly touched on the conflict between the Mist province and the Green province. If the King of Southern Yue could make them join him, then it would be equivalent to directly dealing a heavy blow to the cultivation community of the Green province. Who was reckless enough to impede the King of Souther Yue?

    Qian Liangmu glanced at Peng Jingni with a smile, filled with provocation. Right now, he no longer represented the Myriad Poison cult, but the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate. However, to his disappointment, Li Qingshan did not react with any surprise. He remained as calm as ever.

    ¡°Not bad. That can be considered as great riches and honour. What else?¡± Li Qingshan took a sip of alcohol and smiled.

    Qian Liangmu raised an eyebrow. Was he too greedy for his own good or just brainless? With such an important choice right in front of him, he could actually still smile.

    ¡°Honoured guest!¡± Qian Liangmu squinted his eyes and spat out the two words like he had spat out a knife. Cold light flashed through his eyes, revealing his true intentions at the end.

    Hmph, I¡¯d like to see if you can still smile now!

    Yu Wufeng¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed. He never thought the King of Southern Yue would actually offer something like that!

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate was known to keep over three thousand talented guests, which were divided into honoured, esteemed, and valued guests depending on their cultivations. First heavenly tribulation cultivators could become valued guests, second heavenly tribulation cultivators could become esteemed guests, while only third heavenly tribulation existences had the right to become honoured guests.

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    Even the measly identity as a valued guest was enough for countless people to make a scramble for it, while before honoured guests, even the King of Southern Yue had to show some respect, referring to them as ¡°fellow¡±.

    Although Li Qingshan possessed the title of the King of Savages, he had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation yet! The King of Southern Yue was actually breaking tradition and directly conferring Li Qingshan the title of honoured guest. As long as he became an honoured guest, he could basically wander the Mist province as he wished. The other benefits were innumerable too.

    It truly was great riches and honour!

    However, it was exactly because these riches and honour were great enough that made it more difficult to turn down. Since the King of Southern Yue had demonstrated his determination to recruit them, there were not a lot of people who were bold enough to disrespect him by turning him down.

    If Li Qingshan turned him down, then even if he remained within the many formations of Savage mountain, he would not necessarily be safe. However, if he agreed to it, then that would be equivalent to breaking away from the Green province.

    As Qian Liangmu had been expecting, Li Qingshan¡¯s smile vanished. He frowned slightly.

    However, Qian Liangmu¡¯s heart sank. Li Qingshan only straightened himself out. It was merely a simple action, but it seemed like the mountain had suddenly pulled several hundred meters taller, casting a huge, deep shadow over him. The pressure he experienced multiplied.

    He was shocked. Li Qingshan clearly was not intentionally displaying his bearing to strike fear into him. He only put on a solemn appearance, yet that was enough for him to feel greatly threatened, just like a mortal facing a vicious tiger. Even if a vicious tiger had no interest in hunting down a mortal, meeting its eyes was already enough to frighten the mortal out of their wits.

    The Startled Salamander sword let out a thrum in Peng Jingni¡¯s hand, exiting its sheathe loudly. He pressed down on the hilt in a hurry, comforting the Startled Salamander sword spirit. He sighed in amazement inside, Even without letting out his aura and just by getting a little serious, it is enough to make the Startled Salamander sword send a warning! What spirit! Originally, I thought that I might not have been the very best among the second heavenly tribulation with my cultivation, but I wouldn¡¯t lose to anyone. Looking at it now, I¡¯ve merely been stuck up with a narrow view. Senior brother has cultivated arduously for all these years, already close to the third heavenly tribulation, but he was still defeated at his hand. Looks like it wasn¡¯t a coincidence.

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    Li Qingshan had killed resolutely during the past few years. Who knew how many second heavenly tribulation humans, demons, and daemons had died by his hand, which made his bearing condense in its own way.

    ¡°Please consider it carefully, commander, without letting down the King of Yue¡¯s kind intentions.¡±

    Qian Liangmu sat on his heels on the rock, clasping his hands and making his sleeves drift about. He lowered his head to the ground, performing a solemn bow.

    Originally, he had been rather dissatisfied with how the King of Southern Yue had directly offered Li Qingshan the identity of an honoured guest. Once Li Qingshan became an honoured guest, then even he, a prince, would have to go out of his way to greet and bow to him.

    But now, most of this dissatisfaction had vanished. It was instead replaced by realisation. If it comes to an actual battle to the death, I¡¯ll probably die to him. I won¡¯t even be able to escape. This was not a judgement based on logic, but purely a gut feeling. This gut feeling had only been developed through facing countless trials of death while growing up. It had saved him numerous times.

    Even though he was still a little unworthy of the title ¡°King of Savages¡± right now, he would leap past the third heavenly tribulation and stand among the ranks of kings sooner or later as long as he did not die along the way.

    Performing a solemn bow to someone like that was not humiliating at all. Instead, this bow of his was already a gesture of courtesy that he would show to an honoured guest, basically forcing him to make a decision. He stared right into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes and thought to himself.

    Make your choice, King of Savages! Whether it¡¯s the Mist province or the Green province, as long as you take a step wrong, even geniuses will die, left dead without a soul, their bodies crushed and pulverised.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What¡¯re you being so stern for?¡± He scratched his head and sighed. ¡°Sigh, I originally wanted to ignore it, or at least make the decision once I¡¯ve ignored it for a few years and the war was actually going to start. But sure enough, the lord of a province can¡¯t be dealt with so easily!¡±

    ¡°Of course, I could pretend to agree to it before explaining myself to the Green province. That way, I won¡¯t offend anyone on either side. It does seem to be the smartest choice too. However, I¡¯ve never been a smart person, nor do I like to pose around and be a sycophant, so¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan finished off his jar of alcohol and smiled.

    ¡°I decline!¡±

 Chapter 784

    Originally, Qian Liangmu was confident. He was extremely satisfied with his maneuvering, both behaving humble enough such that Li Qingshan could not vent his anger on him, yet also standing his ground against him. He had directly confronted Li Qingshan, forcing him to make a decision and preventing him from brushing this entire matter aside.

    When he heard what Li Qingshan said at the beginning, the corner of his lips had already curled up slightly. Since you know the power of the King of Southern Yue, why don¡¯t you just agree to it obediently? He could already imagine just what kind of reward he would receive for completing this mission of persuading him. He would be another step closer to the throne.

    If they could pull the two of them to their side, that would be for the best.

    However, when he received Li Qingshan¡¯s answer, even Qian Liangmu became stunned despite his mental fortitude. Peng Jingni and Yu Wufeng were taken aback too. They did not think that Li Qingshan would agree to it too easily, but they never thought he would turn down the offer so flatly.

    Those few words of his were equivalent to cutting off his own path of retreat. He did not brush it aside, he did not try to mislead, nor did he try to deceive. He simply turned him down flatly, leaving no room for maneuver.

    Xiao An looked at him, blinked her eyes, and smiled.

    ¡°Commander Li, have you thought it through? Do you know what consequences this will lead to? There are many people in the Mist province who don¡¯t fear the emperor, but there aren¡¯t a lot who don¡¯t fear the King of Southern Yue. Even if there are people like that, they probably don¡¯t have a lot of time left!¡±

    Qian Liangmu was not threatening Li Qingshan. He had no interest in gaining a powerful enemy for the sake of the king¡¯s estate. Instead, he had blurted out this question out of pure surprise. He was tempted to take a peek inside Li Qingshan¡¯s brain and see what he was thinking!

    ¡°My life¡­¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand towards Qian Liangmu. At that moment, Qian Liangmu felt like the hand could blot out the entire sky. As it loomed towards him, he could not help but lean back. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan demonstrated absolutely no murderousness, he basically would have turned around and fled already.

    Li Qingshan closed his fingers and smiled. ¡°... only lies in my own grasp.¡±

    Qian Liangmu coughed violently to cover up how he had lost his composure earlier. He let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Sigh, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so loyal to your master, commander, which is quite rare in the Mist province. However, have you ever considered that when you were sent off to the Mist province because of the strings a dishonourable dog pulled, did the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga or the Fierce King of Chu ever help you? The so-called orthodoxy is just a set of hypocritical virtues used to constrain mortals. Cultivators like us should never be bound by anything in the first place.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand what I said? I¡¯m not loyal to anyone, whether it¡¯s the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Fierce King of Chu, or the King of Southern Yue. I came to the Mist province out of my own free will. Of course, I haven¡¯t forgotten about Si Qing either. Whether it¡¯s debts of kindness or grievances, I¡¯ll return them all on fold.¡±

    Li Qingshan recovered his relaxed and lethargic state, gently playing around with Xiao An¡¯s seaweed-like hair. The smooth, flowing feeling was very satisfying.

    ¡°Then I have nothing to say. All I can do is take my leave.¡± Qian Liangmu stood up and clasped his hands.

    ¡°Then please go ahead!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand. He thought about it before taking out another jar of alcohol. He tossed it to Qian Liangmu. ¡°Send my regards to the provincial lord. If I have the opportunity, I¡¯ll go to the Mist capital and visit him.¡±

    Qian Liangmu was taken aback again. He felt like the way Li Qingshan did things, every single gesture he made, was unfathomable. Probably all geniuses were a little eccentric, except he forgot the fact that he was also known as a genius in the south.

    Qian Liangmu took the alcohol with him and left in a hurry, returning to the Myriad Poison cult and the Mist capital to report back.

    Peng Jingni originally stayed back to get in Qian Liangmu¡¯s way, but he did not even have to get a single word in. However, he still felt extremely satisfied after seeing this show.

    ¡°Your forthrightness is admirable, fellow!¡± Peng Jingni personally believed he did not have the courage to remain as calm as ever after turning down the King of Southern Yue.

    ¡°I just declined what needed to be declined. There¡¯s no forthrightness to speak of,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Though, I am a little confused. Why did you turn him down so firmly, leaving absolutely no room for maneuver?¡±

    Peng Jingni originally thought a sliver of hope still remained with how Li Qingshan had not flatly turned down the South Sea Sword pavilion¡¯s request. He thought that Li Qingshan was fearful of them, but looking at it now, that was not the case at all. He did not even take the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate properly, so why would he be afraid of their South Sea Sword pavilion?

    ¡°The mighty King of Southern Yue is not someone you can just brush aside. If I were to agree, I¡¯d definitely have to go to the Mist capital to receive my appointment. If I can¡¯t offer up my servitude and demonstrate my loyalty by then, why would he spare me? If I try to turn him down then, that won¡¯t be up to me to decide anymore. In the end, it¡¯ll just put me in an awkward position, losing the ability to move about freely. I¡¯ll be despised by the Green province, nor will I have the Mist province¡¯s trust. As such, I have to make a decision.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head in disagreement. Many of the times, it was not him who wanted to be resolute. Instead, if he took a step back, he would have to keep on taking steps back. Eventually, he would have nowhere to retreat to, and the conclusion would instead be even worse. Compared to that, he was better off advancing forward right from the beginning and paving a path for himself.

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Peng Jingni came to a realisation and let out another sigh. It was such a simple principle. He should have thought of it, except the influence and power of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate was far too great, making him think about running away involuntarily.

    Then he asked, ¡°May I ask when you plan on paying a visit to the South sea?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°When she wants to go, I¡¯ll send your senior brother with the message.¡±

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    ¡°I have a word of advice. This Qian Liangmu is a prince, but he¡¯s actually a dishonourable dog. When he goes back, he¡¯ll definitely twist his words and stir up trouble for you with the Myriad Poison cult and the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate, so why don¡¯t you just lie low until the storm blows over? The South sea is boundless. Once you¡¯re there, you can choose anywhere you like, and it¡¯ll be well beyond the reach of even the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate.¡±

    Peng Jingni tried to persuade him. Before he knew it, his attitude towards Li Qingshan had gone from the initial hostility to admiration. He really did not wish to see him die.

    If the king¡¯s estate really took action, then Yu Wufeng would have to perish in the process too, but if Li Qinghshan went to the South sea, he definitely would need the South Sea Sword pavilion¡¯s help, which was an opportunity for them to exchange for Yu Wufeng.

    ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, but I don¡¯t think the provincial lord will react so violently,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    If he truly was afraid of danger, he was better off running back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Why would he go to the South sea? If he truly was afraid of danger, why had he come to the south in the first place?

    Peng Jingni disagreed with him. How could he leave his life to the hands of others? With his nature, he believed there was a chance for this to happen no matter what, so he wanted to put in a few more words.

    ¡°Junior brother Peng, there¡¯s no need to say anything else. My king has his plans. Go back and tell master that there¡¯s no need to worry for me. This is my fate. In the past, I was in a rush to undergo the third heavenly tribulation, such that my foundation was unstable. Even if I were to face the third heavenly tribulation, I would probably die. It¡¯s perfect for me to consolidate my cultivation now. I¡¯ll serve under the King of Savages for a period of time. I¡¯m confident there¡¯ll be a day when I can return to the sword pavilion when the time is right,¡± Yu Wufeng said.

    Since Li Qingshan could even survive the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s pursuit, he obviously had his methods, not to mention the figure of the Great Banyan Tree King probably loomed behind him.

    In the beginning, when he was forced to swear the blood oath, he still held hopes that the South Sea Sword pavilion could save him, but during the time he spent declaring war across the south with Li Qingshan, he instead gave up on that thought. He did not want his master to become involved in this mess because of him.

    He also understood Li Qingshan a little better. Even if master¡¯s sword is placed right against his neck, he probably won¡¯t yield, so it¡¯ll still be difficult to remove the blood oath in the end. Since he said that it¡¯s not impossible for him to release me in the future, then perhaps it was not just a casual statement. All I can do is wait for this opportunity to appear.

    ¡°Yes, senior brother.¡±

    Peng Jingni agreed. Yu Wufeng¡¯s judgement was his judgement. He definitely would not advise them to use force against Li Qingshan once he returned to the South Sea Sword pavilion.

    In the end, he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°I have one other unreasonable request, which I hope you can agree to!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it?¡±

    ¡°I want a jar of alcohol for my master!¡± Peng Jingni said. His eyes flickered, and Yu Wufeng nodded.

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Myriad Poison cult, the Poison King palace, the Poison Heart hall.

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    An old man in green robes sat on the altar. His face was shrivelled, his long hair draped down, but his dark eyes shone brightly. As he opened and closed his eyes, a green streak of light flowed through them.

    Qian Liangmu stood below the altar and reported everything that had happened on Savage mountain. He did not do what Peng Jingni expected him to do, twisting reality and telling lies. Instead, he narrated everything that had happened extremely calmly, without a single hint of his own opinion.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor heard the entire story and closed his eyes.

    The hall fell silent with that, and Qian Liangmu lowered his head deeply. A while later, the Myriad Poison Ancestor snapped open his eyes and asked, ¡°He told you to give your father a jar of alcohol?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Qian Liangmu was taken aback. He had always prided himself in his intelligence, but at this moment, he was rather confused by what was going on. Why did he ask about the jar of alcohol over so many more important matters?

    ¡°Just one jar?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor followed up.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What an arrogant brat!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said sternly.

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    Qian Liangmu was rather puzzled. Li Qingshan was arrogant in many different aspects, not just with this jar of alcohol. He had no idea about how to respond, so all he could do was continue agreeing.

    ¡°You can report back to the Mist capital!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the King of Yue¡¯s palace, in a quiet courtyard under a flowering tree, a young man leaned against his hand as he fiddled around with a shiny, white chess piece, contemplating the crisscrossed chessboard.

    The tree was an apricot tree, and the flowers were apricot flowers. They were white and bright red, elegant and giving off a faint scent.

    The breeze blew over, and the flowers fell like snow. In just a while, the chessboard became covered in a layer of petals. A woman with the same beauty as the apricot flowers pouted and blew them away gently.

    Only the two of them were in the courtyard, but the woman was not one of the players. Of course, the man was not posing around and playing against himself either. On the other side of the chessboard, a bonsai sat on the stone seat. A delicate, tiny tree coiled around like a dragon, sitting in the pot. Despite its tiny size, it gave off an aura of age and strength.

    ¡°Your highness, prince Liangmu has returned!¡± An attendant of the palace reported.

    ¡°Send him in.¡±

    Qian Liangmu walked in slowly. He bowed towards the young man first. ¡°Greetings to father!¡±

    The young man happened to be the provincial lord of the Mist province, the King of Southern Yue. He continued to stare at the board.

    Then Qian Liangmu bowed towards the bonsai. ¡°Tree king!¡±

    The bonsai happened to be a banyan tree, one of the countless clones of the Great Banyan Tree King. He waved one of his aerial roots that held a black chess piece as a reply.

    Qian Liangmu was about to bow to the woman when she said urgingly, ¡°Spare the formalities. Say what you have to say. I want to keep watching the game!¡±

    Qian Liangmu obliged in a hurry. Just like in the Myriad Poison cult, he explained everything that had happened in Savage mountain, but this time, he included many of his own opinions. He included his various analyses and evaluations of Li Qingshan and Xiao An, ranging from the various incidents of the south to the situation between the Green province and the Mist province. He spoke for over ten times longer than last time.

    The woman became annoyed, while the King of Southern Yue continued to stare at the board. Only when Qian Liangmu finished talking did he look over.

    ¡°He gave me a jar of alcohol?¡±

 Chapter 785

    ¡°Huh? Yes!¡±

    Qian Liangmu offered up the alcohol, but he was very confused. Why did all of them ask about the jar of alcohol? Sure, the alcohol might have been precious, but it was nothing special given the height at which they stood, whether it was the Myriad Poison Ancestor or the King of Southern Yue.

    In reality, ever since the King of Southern Yue became the provincial lord, he rarely ever received such an ordinary gift. He fiddled around with the jar of alcohol in contemplation.

    ¡°What do you think, fellow?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King in the pot swayed gently. He said with his ancient voice, ¡°I also happen to be familiar with this child. We normally refer to one another as fellows.¡±

    Qian Liangmu was dumbfounded. He referred to the Great Banyan Tree King as ¡°fellow¡±?

    The woman was surprised too. The Great Banyan Tree King was mellow in nature, but with his identity and cultivation, no one was arrogant enough to refer to him as ¡°fellow¡±. He might not get angry, but just how many fellows were there in the world that he truly recognised?

    ¡°No wonder he¡¯s bold enough to come to my Mist province. So he¡¯s seeking shade and shelter from under the tree,¡± the King of Southern Yue said.

    The Great Banyan Tree King regularly maintained his neutrality and never gave advice. He would only analyse the situation and let people make their own decisions. Rarely did he ever directly express that he favoured someone.

    ¡°I¡¯m merely establishing a good tie of friendship. It¡¯s not exactly sheltering just yet. If you¡¯ve finished thinking, then make your move!¡±

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    The Great Banyan Tree King obviously would not divulge Li Qingshan¡¯s secrets to the King of Southern Yue, but on the other hand, he would not tell Li Qingshan about what went on among them. This was his principle, which was why he did not analyse certain situations.

    However, what he was implying was very clear. I¡¯m not sheltering him. I just feel that if you move against him, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. As for how to handle this, that¡¯s still up to you to decide.

    The King of Southern Yue fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he opened the seal on the jar and drank all the alcohol.

    Clank!

    He placed down his white chess piece, giving up on the opportunity to take. Instead, he reset the circumstances and began building up another plan.

    In that moment, Qian Liangmu seemed to understand the symbolism behind the jar of alcohol. Disbelief filled his face.

    The jar of alcohol was not a gift to please or amuse the King of Southern Yue, nor was it an active move to make peace. Instead, its meaning could be summed up with four words¡ªdue respect as equals!

    It was not that Qian Liangmu was not clever enough, but this matter was simply inconceivable. He had placed Li Qingshan on a very high pedestal, but nowhere near that high. The most inconceivable part of it all was the King of Southern Yue actually accepted the jar of alcohol.

    No wonder master lost his temper. Li Qingshan only gifted a single jar of alcohol in total. He clearly wasn¡¯t taking him seriously. He didn¡¯t even want to befriend him, let alone become a protector.

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    Qian Liangmu took his leave. He wondered how he was supposed to explain this to the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Though, just the fact that the Great Banyan Tree King refers to him as ¡®fellow¡¯ is enough for master to reconsider. Just who is this Li Qingshan? Isn¡¯t he from the Green province? How does he have ties with the Great Banyan Tree King? This makes no sense at all.

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s decision was not only because of what the Great Banyan Tree King had said¡ªthe Great Banyan Tree King possessed a great status, but it was still not enough to sway his thoughts¡ªbut also because of various other factors. The situation right now was not suited for declaring war against the Green province.

    Li Qingshan also expressed the position he would be taking. He would not be getting involved in the war between the two provinces because of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Of course, this guarantee meant nothing to the King of Southern Yue. When the two provinces actually went to war, he refused to believe that Li Qingshan could remain uninvolved.

    As a third heavenly tribulation cultivator, was he really willing to become involved in conflict too? Did he really sympathise with the hatred passed down from his ancestors, even making him lose his rationality? Compared to that, he would much rather remain here, playing chess and admiring the flowers, focusing on cultivation.

    However, as someone who lived in this world, could he really remain shut off from the world, all alone? He would definitely be bound by his various relationships, his friends, his lovers, his children, and his enemies, which would lead to endless conflict.

    Those who only tried to avoid conflict and did not prepare for battle would definitely lose all of their peace.

    If that¡¯s the move he makes, there¡¯ll still be quite a lot of trouble for him. There aren¡¯t a lot of banyan trees in the south, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor is not a forgiving and tolerant person. I¡¯ll wait and see how he makes his next move.

    The King of Southern Yue thought and made a few more moves. The Great Banyan Tree King had always been better at chess than him, and he was distracted, so the situation for the white pieces on the board spiralled out of control. The great dragon was about to be slaughtered by the black pieces.

    The woman clapped her hands and smiled. ¡°Grandfather banyan tree is going to win.¡±

    ¡°This game doesn¡¯t count. I was distracted.¡± The King of Southern Yue swung his hand and stirred up the pieces on the board.

    ¡°Lingzhi, you¡¯re refusing to admit defeat again. You have no sense of shame,¡± said the woman.

    ¡°If you¡¯re so hung up over the outcome of a game, a battle over the few inches of a chessboard, then what about the outcome of fate, a battle over several tens of thousand kilometers?¡± The King of Southern Yue tapped the chessboard and produced thunks.

    ¡°You can stop bickering. You¡¯ve never been honest, and you¡¯ve always been awful at chess. Grandfather banyan tree is far more distracted than you.¡± The woman refused to accept that and uncovered the King of Southern Yue¡¯s distasteful past mercilessly.

    ¡°What can I do about the fact that I¡¯m called Lingzhi? I¡¯ll obviously never accept defeat!¡± The King of Southern Yue smiled.

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled silently. As the woman had said, his mind was split into thousands of fragments, listening to countless voices and witnessing the rise and fall of countless.

    It was always a repeated display of the vicissitudes of life, of love and hatred, but when he contemplated it carefully, they varied from one another in a thousand different ways. They were like thousands of specks of stars gathering in his mind as a sea of stars. He had never felt weary because of his lengthy life. There were still many, many matters he had to think about and questions he could not answer.

    When he played against the King of Southern Yue, he was talking with Li Qingshan at the same time. Of course, he stuck to his principle as a tree and disclosed nothing. Everything was up to Li Qingshan to discover for himself.

    ¡°Fellow, are you ready?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked from a branch on a tree in the Asura Field. He had already decided to move the Great Banyan Tree King to Savage mountain. He had already moved all the night roamers out of the Asura Field.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Then please come out yourself. I really can¡¯t move you.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and a blood-red swirl appeared above the Great Banyan Tree King, expanding to several hundred times its size in the blink of an eye.

    The ground rumbled, and the Great Banyan Tree King rose up slowly, flying towards the blood-red swirl with thousands of tonnes of soil. He gradually vanished into the vortex.

    A similar vortex appeared in the valley of Savage mountain. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s colossal figure gradually emerged, his verdant canopy like a green cloud, blotting out the sun and the sky.

    All of the night roamers watched this unfold, experiencing emotions from the bottom of their hearts.

    Yu Wufeng, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, and the other cave masters struggled to hide their shock, as the Great Banyan Tree King was located in the centre of the Mist province, and it was rare for any of his cuttings to reach the south. They had only heard about him before. They had not seen him with their own eyes.

    They could not help but sigh in amazement inside, So this is the Great Banyan Tree King!

    Ghost Shadow was basically the one who understood the Great Banyan Tree King the most out of everyone present. He felt the shaking become more and more violent. Currently, he stared at Li Qingshan who stood on the branches.

    When Ye Liusu first told him that Li Qingshan and the Great Banyan Tree King referred to each other as fellows, he had been filled with doubt. Only when he witnessed them talk one day did he confirm this reality. As a result, he stopped thinking about resisting. Like Yu Wufeng, he began behaving himself. He cultivated in peace, waiting for the day when Li Qingshan showed mercy.

    ¡°A little more to the east. Yep, yep, a little closer to the main peak. Be careful, don¡¯t fall over, sir! Alright, alright, alright, land, land!¡± Li Qingshan instructed as the Great Banyan Tree King adjusted his position.

    With a great rumble, the Great Banyan Tree King landed slowly, right in the centre of the valley, on the land where the city once stood. Afterwards, his roots deeply penetrated the ground.

    If being called ¡°fellow¡± by the Great Banyan Tree King had already left everyone surprised, then if he had voiced his actual thoughts about Li Qingshan, even the King of Southern Yue would probably be in disbelief.

    Li Qingshan purposefully avoided many topics, but whenever they talked, there would still be traces that the Great Banyan Tree King noticed. Afterwards, through the assembling and analysis through his wisdom, he received an answer that left him stunned for a very long time.

    Who is waiting for him beyond the distant Nine Heavens?

    ¡°Are you satisfied with this place, sir?¡± Li Qingshan asked the Great Banyan Tree King.

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    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you that I could return to the Mist province and even have such a great place to cultivate in.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King thanked Li Qingshan. Although this was merely one of his numerous clones, being rooted to a blessed land like this still brought benefit to his cultivation.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite, but I do have one small request. Please preside over the formations of Savage mountain from now onwards.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. He wanted to establish a base in Savage mountain, which would be convenient for his operations in the south.

    Although he had cast down a few formations of extraordinary power, these formations were not on the level where he could use them the moment he took them out anymore. If he wanted to unleash their full power, he had to possess quite the understanding over formations, but that required a large amount of time to develop. Even with Xiao An¡¯s intelligence and talent, it was not something she could accomplish overnight.

    Moreover, it was impossible for Xiao An and him to remain in Savage mountain the entire time. If there was no one presiding over the formations, their power would decline further. Right now, all of his opponents lurking in the dark were third heavenly tribulation cultivators. These formations would struggle to keep them busy for too long.

    ¡°I¡¯m just a tree. Offering shade is my nature, but as for presiding over formations¡­¡± The Great Banyan Tree King was troubled. He had always maintained his neutrality, refusing to become involved in anything.

    ¡°You told me to come to the Mist province to get along with me, so I fell out with that old dragon in the Green province. I¡¯m a Daemon Commander under your command now, so don¡¯t you have to look out for me a little? If someone barges in here, my identity will be exposed immediately. If news makes it out, that old dragon will even rush over here to kill me. By then, are you really going to stay out of this?¡± Li Qingshan poked fun at him.

    ¡°Kid, you¡­ Fine then!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled wryly. Under his control, the formations paused for a moment. The inscriptions flashed and vanished in the air before operating once again. They became interlinked, functioning together as a whole.

    From the outside, the mist that enveloped Savage mountain became even denser, but it was still possible to see the sky outside from the mountain.

    ¡°Great king, if you have any requests in the future, let me know. If an insect is annoying you, I¡¯ll cut it down.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and completely relaxed. Just like that, there was no need for him to worry about anything. Even if the King of Southern Yue attacked them, he could forget about getting through the formations easily.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can afford to be called ¡®great king¡¯ by you. It¡¯ll shorten my lifespan!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said in exasperation.

    ¡°Your lifespan is plenty long anyway, sir, so you don¡¯t need to worry even if you lose a few years.¡±

    Yu Wufeng and everyone else in the surroundings were already left completely speechless.

    ps£º ÍíÉÏ»¹ÓÐÒ»¸ü£¬¶÷¶÷£¬¼ÌÐø±£³Ö£¡

 Chapter 786

    Li Qingshan sat on a branch and conversed with the Great Banyan Tree King at ease.

    ¡°He¡¯s not just referred to as fellow¡­¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber murmured, ¡°He¡¯s basically as close to him as his own son.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King was most renowned for his gentleness and neutrality. It was so extreme that he even refused to remove the insects living in him, but now, he had actually agreed to maintain the formations for Li Qingshan. He seemed very reluctant and powerless, but this without a doubt betrayed the principle he had been upholding the entire time.

    It¡¯s no wonder he¡¯s not afraid of the King of Southern Yue. With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s protection, he can move about freely in the Mist province with no hindrances at all. Yu Wufeng sighed inside.

    The Mist province was split into two major forces. One was the human cultivation community led by the King of Southern Yue, while the other was obviously the daemon forces, but it did not just include daemons. There were numerous races of otherfolk that also followed the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s lead.

    In reality, the latter was much more powerful. Although the Great Banyan Tree King never directly used these forces to seize power and influence, it was exactly his passivity and neutrality that earned him greatness. Unlike the other Ten Daemon Kings, he followed the way of nature, which brought benefit to all. Even without the use of force, he established order in the Mist province.

    However, little did Li Qingshan know that the reason why the Great Banyan Tree King had agreed to this ¡°over-the-top¡± request was not only out of admiration for the kind of person Li Qingshan was, but also because Li Qingshan had a sense of propriety and knew how to act during certain circumstances. Even when he faced certain death while the Dragon King of Ink Sea hunted him down, Li Qingshan did not seek help from the Great Banyan Tree King or try to flee to his territory.

    If that was because the Great Banyan Tree King was too far away and the dragon king would reach him before he had a chance to reach out, then the Golden Cicada Spirit King was right there below the magma under the Clear River prefecture, clearly a powerful ally within arm¡¯s reach. Yet, he refused to ask for this favour, refused to seek shelter from him.

    It was exactly because of his character where he took complete responsibility for his actions that the Great Banyan Tree King was willing to break his principles. Li Qingshan had basically earned this respect by throwing his life on the line. If there was one day when the King of Southern Yue actually attacked and he ran out of options, Li Qingshan definitely would not seek shelter under the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Under Ye Liusu¡¯s command, the night roamers settled down in their new homes very quickly. All of them were delighted by this brand-new environment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely pay a visit to your Towering city in the future!¡± Li Qingshan said to the Great Banyan Tree King. Towering city stood in the Lone Wood commandery and was the largest city in the Mist province, as well as where the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s original body stood.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re welcome to come at any time. I¡¯ll introduce you to a few small friends of mine when you come. You¡¯re actually more suited to be a daemon with the kind of person you are,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to undergo the third heavenly tribulation and settle my score with the Dragon King of Ink Sea before I meet them, just in case they look down on me and end up thinking I¡¯ve come to create trouble for you,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s small friends were all Daemon Kings that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. They were the mainstay of the Mist province daemons.

    As the era of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings faded away, many more daemons throughout the nine provinces had undergone the third heavenly tribulation during the past millennia, standing among the ranks of Daemon Kings and maintaining the balance against human forces. However, probably only the Great Banyan Tree King had a royal court as unified as this out of the Ten Daemon Kings.

    Li Qingshan had only found out through his conversations with the Great Banyan Tree King that the royal court of the Dragon King of Ink Sea also had a group of Daemon Kings, but they basically had no loyalty to speak of. They were commanders under the dragon king in-name, but they all just cultivated in seclusion. Unless war erupted once again among humans and daemons, they basically would never emerge.

    Compared to humans, daemons had always been rather unsociable. They did not found sects or establish clans. On top of that, in this day and age when humanity prospered, the Treaty of Kings was still in effect, so it was even more unlikely for Daemon Kings to wander about openly.

    Because of their lengthy lifespans, daemons possessed a different concept of time from humans too. After reaching their realm of cultivation, secluded cultivation for an entire century was nothing but common. It had only been two decades since Li Qingshan left Crouching Ox village. He spent most of his time within the world of humans, so seeing a Daemon King was much more difficult than seeing a powerful human cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation.

    Li Qingshan felt fortunate too that the dragon king was proud and aloof, or revenge would be ten times more difficult.

    At this moment, the Asura Field flashed with blood-red light and activated by itself.

    Li Qingshan sent his soul sense inside in a hurry and discovered that the blank left behind in the Asura Field with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s departure had already been enveloped by faint, blood-red mist.

    The swirl in the sky suddenly began to spin. The depths of the spiral was like a huge funnel, allowing the aura of the Asura realm to flow in.

    Li Qingshan handed the Asura Field to Xiao An before entering it.

    The fierce winds blew, and murderousness surged.

    Li Qingshan stood directly below the blood-red swirl. A deafening roar filled his ears, which he discovered to be his own voice. The tiger demon that had slumbered for all this time roared furiously at the sky!

    Ever since that battle against Mo Yu and all the time he had spent undergoing the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, he had encountered many opponents and killed many enemies, but not a single one of them could rouse the tiger demon.

    Li Qingshan had been focusing on the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a the entire time. Although he wanted the tiger demon to break through to the fifth layer, it had never demonstrated any signs of budging. Only at this moment did the vicious tiger within him awaken from its slumber, sensing the calling from the other world. That was a land of endless slaughter. Battle was the only theme.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind shuddered, like an exhausted person breathing in the cool air of winter. He thought, Sure enough, the Asura Field is of great help to the Tiger Demon Transformation!

    At this moment, something seemed to emerge from the depths of the swirl with a flash, like a twinkle. By the time Li Qingshan looked over there carefully, he found nothing at all. A sense of danger suddenly rose up in his heart, and he turned around.

    This was better described as the tiger demon¡¯s instincts for battle than the spirit turtle¡¯s apprehension. A brilliant light reflected in his pitch-black eyes. A circular blade flew out from the space before him, spinning away furiously but silently, flying right towards his neck. The angle it came from was so ingenious and vicious that even Ghost Shadow¡¯s attacks paled in comparison. On top of that, the attack was highly flexible and responsive.

    It actually gave Li Qingshan, who had been through countless battles, the feeling that he could not dodge it. The strike had already pushed the techniques of assassination to the peak of perfection.

    ¡°Nice!¡± Li Qingshan praised.

    He exhaled, and his breath knocked away the circular blade. Then he threw a punch towards the back of the blade.

    ¡°Tremor!¡±

    He had already recovered fully now, and through the harmonising of the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, he was even stronger than before. He completely unleashed the power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon. No matter how fast the opponent was, they would be affected by it, which would force them out.

    With a great rumble, the ground within several kilometers cracked, and the air shattered.

    ¡°Huh?¡± But to Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, the punch still ended up missing. He did not hit the invisible assassin. Instead, the circular blade flew towards him once again.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°An asura assassin? Interesting!¡±

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 Chapter 787

    The circular blade flew towards Li Qingshan and suddenly erupted with blood-red light. A blood-red wave condensed on the edge of the blade, making it the size of a round table. As it spun rapidly, it produced a shrill cry like it could cut through everything.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.

    Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!

    A thin, light-blue screen composed of countless hexagons blocked the circular blade¡¯s path.

    However, the collision he expected never happened. The circular blade passed through the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell with a flash and flew right towards Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was completely untouched. The circular blade could actually pass directly through space, not only rendering his most powerful defence useless, but also able to respond to any sudden changes in the situation and catch the enemy off-guard. This direct attack was even more vicious than the silent sneak attack earlier.

    The attack was about to land when the circular blade suddenly drooped and slowed down.

    Gravity of the Earth!

    A clash among the powerful depended on a split second, which could be a split second faster or a split second slower. A split second was life or death.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand. Wherever the black shockwaves passed by, the blood-red light shattered. He directly grabbed the spinning blade, and it immediately came to a halt. It left a deep gash in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, but he recovered in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°I see that a valued guest has come from afar, so why don¡¯t you show yourself and greet the owner of this place?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the master of this Asura Field?¡±

    A figure suddenly appeared ten steps away. Before this, even Li Qingshan failed to sense any aura at all. She wore a hideous mask and stared at Li Qingshan deeply with a pair of blood-red eyes.

    ¡°A female asura!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately became intrigued, but it was not because he became excited over the sight of women. This entire time, all of the asura that arrived in the Asura Field were men, which made it seem like there was an imbalance of genders in the Asura Field. But that made sense with further thought. Bloodthirstiness and battle-hungriness was more of a masculine feature.

    Legends said that male asura were extremely ugly, while the females were extremely beautiful. Li Qingshan wondered what she looked like under the mask, so he smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. You do have a bit of strength, so why don¡¯t we have a talk, and you can submit to me!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a talk and you can give me the Asura Field? I¡¯ll spare your life!¡± The female asura sneered in response.

    ¡°Err, spare my life? You¡¯ve even lost your weapon, so what can you do now?¡± Li Qingshan waved the circular blade around in his hand. He had no idea what kind of material the weapon was made of. He squeezed it, but it actually did not deform.

    ¡°And what can you do to me?¡± The female asura waved her hand, and the circular blade returned to her hand. Afterwards, it vanished into the space there with her. Her figure constantly flickered about, searching for an opportunity to strike.

    From the previous two clashes, she could tell that the opponent was much more powerful than she had expected, but that did not make her afraid. She was skilled in spatial movement and concealment techniques. She could hide and move through space.

    This far surpassed the night roaming techniques of the night roamers. Space could be described as a piece of paper, and everything in the world were paintings on the paper, while she could dive down to the greater depths of the paper. As such, she was almost undiscoverable no matter how sharp the enemy¡¯s senses were. Even if she could not defeat him, there was nothing he could do to her.

    This required the most ingenious control over the principles of space, and according to her judgement, this world was not a ¡°minor world¡±, but it was not a ¡°major world¡± either. It was simply a ¡°medium world¡±. The third or fourth heavenly tribulation was the limit of this world, and any higher required ascension.

    Across the entire world, there probably were not a lot of people that could overwhelm her spatial movements and concealment techniques, while the man before her only had a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, so it was even more unlikely for him to achieve that.

    However, she felt slightly uneasy. The first punch he had thrown gave her the feeling that it could shake up space, but she believed it was merely a false impression.

    Sure enough, women like men who are a little rougher?

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin and sniggered. Daemon qi rushed into the air, and he suddenly began to expand.

    Three meters, fifteen meters, thirty meters, a hundred meters, a hundred and fifty meters.

    He stood with a pair of ox horns and ox hooves, a pair of tiger claws and a tiger tail, his back as wide as a spirit turtle¡¯s, and his wings unfurled like a phoenix¡¯s.

    A daemon! The female asura shivered inside. She never thought her opponent who seemed like a human was actually a daemon. On top of that, she had the feeling that he was rather extraordinary. It made her think of those from the Heaven realm for some reason.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had transformed into his daemon form after completing the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a. He was in no hurry to deal with this female asura. Instead, he summoned the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and formed a huge mirror to check himself.

    He also noticed his changes. In the past, when he practised the Ox Demon Transformation and the Tiger Demon Transformation, they completely turned him into a daemon through and through, making him give off a brutal aura.

    But now, his tranquil eyes and wide back gave off a sedated aura. His tremendous pair of phoenix wings were like clouds in the sky, drooping down from behind him. The feathers all seemed like they were condensed from fire.

    Logically speaking, it should have been very conflicting for such a pair of magnificent wings to appear on his dark, brutal-looking daemon body, but it was the exact opposite. Not only was it completely unawkward, but it instead seemed like he was born like that and was supposed to be like that.

    His appearance differed greatly from humans, but within the demonic nature was a wondrous smear of divine nature. Even if a mortal were present, perhaps they would still feel fear, but they would struggle to connect him with the word ¡°monster¡±. This was a body of the demonic and divine that surpassed the human aesthetics of beauty.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t surrender right now, I¡¯m going to start counterattacking. I¡¯m just afraid of accidentally killing you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s metallic voice rumbled like thunder within clouds, echoing through the entire Asura Field.

    The female asura maneuvered through space. She was in a world of absolute silence, where the colour white spread as far as the eye could see. It gave off a limitless feeling of emptiness, where people could be lost in there forever with the slightest carelessness. However, while the world seemed absolutely empty, every single step required tremendous effort to take.

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    She projected her soul sense into the Asura Field, not just to search for an opportunity to strike, but also because she was afraid of losing her direction. Unlike the scenery around her, a riotous mix of colours that could not be described with words flowed right through her eyes, just inches away yet worlds apart.

    It was like the colour of the painting seeping into the page. It seemed like a regular painting outside, but it merged into a blurry lump of colour inside. It did not require logical analysis, but sharp instincts before immediately making a judgement.

    But even with that being the case, she could still sense an indescribably vast pressure. The colour that belonged to him was so dazzling that she could not look at it directly, but she still held contempt towards the threat that he posed.

    I¡¯ll downright just hide in here. Let¡¯s see what you can do about me.

    As if he was answering her thoughts, Li Qingshan smiled and threw a punch, right towards the space where she hid.

    Boom!

    Rumbling suddenly broke the silence of space. The white world shook violently. Before she had even returned to her senses, the power of tremors had already swallowed her.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s punch was like a stroke thick and heavy in colour. Force penetrated the paper!

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 Chapter 788

    How did he know I¡¯m here? How can he attack me!?

    The female asura was shocked. She felt every single bone in her body shake before shattering, while her flesh and blood went without saying. She felt like a tattered piece of cloth that was being ravaged.

    With a thunk, she fell out of space, already reduced to a bloody mess and bearing no resemblance to a human in shape.

    Li Qingshan crouched down and picked her up like a crushed bug, placing her in his hand and poking her with his finger.

    ¡°Stop playing dead.¡±

    When it came to skill in battle, the female asura was on par with Li Qingshan. Across the nine provinces, the skill in battle she had demonstrated could be described as at the apex of the second heavenly tribulation.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s strength had surpassed the second heavenly tribulation a long time ago. He had absolutely no shortcomings in any aspects. He only needed to use the senses of the spirit turtle to lock onto the position where the female asura hid in space before throwing an ox demon¡¯s punch over, and that would be enough.

    It sounded simple, but not even third heavenly tribulation Daemon Kings and cultivators necessarily possessed both the ability to divine and shake up space.

    As a result, he only needed three moves.

    He learnt about the enemy¡¯s existence with the first move, he understood the enemy¡¯s attacks with the second move, and he defeated the enemy with the third move.

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    Fortunately, the life force of asura was truly extraordinary. The bloody mess wriggled about, but before she had even recovered completely, there was a sudden flash, and she hid in space again.

    Li Qingshan snickered. He released a mess of shockwaves from the centre of his palm, and with a spray of blood, she appeared again, lying in his hand feebly.

    He did not know anything like the principles of space, but he had already sensed her when she recalled the circular blade earlier, so how could he let her escape again? He could not move through space, but preventing her from doing so was nothing difficult either.

    The female asura refused to accept this. She attempted it two more times, which only made her wounds even heavier. She finally gave up.

    ¡®The legends really are true! Female asura are all beauties!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The indiscriminate attacks of the shockwaves not only reduced the female asura¡¯s mask to nothing, revealing a delicate and charming face, but it also reduced her clothes to tatters. Her charming and exquisite figure could be described as exceedingly beautiful.

    However, even Li Qingshan himself felt rather surprised by the fact that he was not aroused, and it was not just because their current sizes differed too much. After transforming, he felt like his mind had gotten much broader. Mere lust could not fill his mind. His wild wish of wandering the world instead began to blaze.

    He only wished to pluck the stars and moon from the sky, to move mountains to fill oceans. How could his aspirations be bound to the bed? He even found the Asura Field that spanned several hundred kilometers across to be restricting, preventing him from moving about freely.

    His cultivation method was known as the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. As his cultivation increased and his realm differed, his thought processes and insight was changing unbeknownst to him.

    Li Qingshan rummaged through his sumeru ring and tossed a dress to the female asura. She sure was straightforward, accepting it without hold back at all. She stared at it and admired it first before putting it on like it was hers.

    This was a spoil he had obtained from the Silkworm Madam¡¯s hundred treasures pouch. When she wore it, she seemed a little more charming, but her cold and bloody bearing remained unchanged.

    With a rumble, Li Qingshan sat down and gazed at the female asura in his hand. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Yin Qing.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid I¡¯ll kill you?¡± She was literally in the hands of the enemy, yet she was still fearless, which left Li Qingshan wondering.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ll be killed anyway. I¡¯ll just be reborn in the Asura realm,¡± Yin Qing said indifferently.

    Actually, she had already died over a dozen times. For anyone who was sucked into the Asura realm and became an asura, death was something that happened frequently. As long as their will to fight remained, they would be reborn even if they were killed. It was known as the undying body of the asura.

    ¡°You might not necessarily be reborn if you die by my hands!¡± Li Qingshan let out a toothy grin. His teeth were huge like stalactites.

    ¡°Then it¡¯ll be perfect for putting an end to this,¡± Yin Qing said.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat; he studied her face. That definitely was not an act of facing death unflinchingly, but a form of almost-numbing indifference. Forcing her to submit might really be quite difficult.

    He probingly said, ¡°Become my subordinate!¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± Yin Qing said.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°You just agreed like that?¡±

    ¡°What else do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°Even your clansmen needed me to release an aura of domination before they lowered their heads and submitted to me!¡±

    ¡°Then release it!¡± Yin Qing said without the slightest care, but she did feel rather strange. This place really was not the Asura realm after all!

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. His eyes widened, and his nose wrinkled up. He was like a vicious tiger erupting into a rage. It was extremely vicious. Malice surged into the air, and his scarlet hair danced about like fire.

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    Yin Qing was taken aback. She raised her head and looked at him. ¡°Asura King?¡±

    Running into powerful cultivators of other worlds did not surprise her, but this malice made it seem like she had returned to the battlefields of the Asura realm.

    After Yin Qing entered the Asura Field, the blood-red swirl gradually stopped spinning, but incited by Li Qingshan¡¯s aura, it began to spin once again.

    Li Qingshan dispersed his malice and smiled. ¡°How¡¯s that? It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re too weak. You can¡¯t rouse my battle intent, or it would be even more imposing.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a place where you belong,¡± said Yin Qing.

    ¡°Oh? Then where do I belong?¡±

    ¡°There!¡± Yin Qing pointed up at the depths of the blood-red swirl.

    ¡°I will go there one day.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at it before lowering his head again. ¡°But before that, I need to understand just what kind of place it is. Do you know what kind of place it is?¡±

    He had always wanted to learn about the other worlds. Even if he could not see beyond the Nine Heavens clearly, at least he could get a little closer to it and understand it a little better. The guests from the Asura realm were obviously a fantastic choice for him to do so, but it was a pity that the regular asura and Asura Generals were submerged in the endless battles because of their lowly strength. They could not provide Li Qingshan with a satisfying answer.

    ¡°I do know a little, but before this, I have a request.¡±

    Because the aura that Li Qingshan gave off resembled an Asura King¡¯s, Yin Qing became a little gentler. From a certain perspective, this was out of instincts. She had followed several Asura Kings in the past as they waged war everywhere, and before she was sucked into the Asura Field, a battle had just come to an end.

    With her ability to move and hide in space, she survived to the very end. On the battlefield lit by the blood moon and strewn with corpses, the blood-red swirl had suddenly appeared. She originally could have escaped, but she ended up hesitating, so she was sucked away in the end.

    ¡°Go on,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I want to take a look at the outside world.¡±

    It was a surprisingly simple request. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about running away, are you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Once an asura, always an asura. Unless you can leap out of the six realms, you¡¯ll be stuck as an asura forever. You can only leave temporarily,¡± said Yin Qing.

    In other words, she required the Asura Field to maintain her existence in this world. Of course, there was another way¡ªendless slaughter. However, slaughtering weaklings who were much weaker than them would not work. Crouching beside an ant nest and crushing ants could not be truly described as ¡°slaughter¡±, and to her, mortals were basically no different from ants.

    However, if she targeted cultivators, it would without a doubt challenge the order of the cultivation community. In the end, she would struggle to escape the fate of being slain by the powerhouses of this world. As a result, while there had been many examples of asura entering the nine provinces and carrying out a massacre throughout history, it was not as terrifying as an invasion from the Hungry Ghost realm.

    She seemed to recall something, and she seemed to try and hide something. She mulled. ¡°Endless battle probably isn¡¯t a particularly happy life, especially to a woman.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then you can come out and take a look with me!¡±

    The moment Yin Qing emerged from the Asura Field, her heart virtually stopped beating. The drizzling rain drifted through the valley, and a few birds chased after one another in the gloomy sky. Everything seemed so peaceful. She took in a deep breath and smiled.

    Afterwards, she saw Xiao An on the side and praised inside, What a beautiful person!

    Female asura were already known for their beauty, while she stood among the top of the top. However, the only beauty that existed in the Asura realm was the beauty of slaughter. Battle and slaughter overwhelmed all feelings of desire. If a male asura saw her, the first urge they would experience would definitely be to kill her. Moreover, because every single female asura was very beautiful, the concept of beauty became blurred.

    However, when she saw Xiao An, this concept suddenly cleared up, and she instinctively compared herself to her. She found that while she was slightly worse, she was still close, and only then did she ease up. This long-lost feeling made her heart ripple.

    Only after a very long time would Li Qingshan find out why male asura were ugly and female asura were all beautiful. With every rebirth, when their old bodies returned to the Asura realm and their new bodies emerged from the sea of blood, the changes in their figures and appearances would be largely influenced by their thoughts.

    Males wanted to seem even more vicious to deter their enemies, while no matter how many times females were reborn, they could not set aside their inclination for beauty.

    Li Qingshan introduced her. ¡°This is Yin Qing, who just came from the Asura Field. She can move through space, and her strength is very impressive. She¡¯s a powerful assassin. I plan on learning about the Asura Field from her. This is Xiao An. Apart from me, you just need to listen to her commands, and that¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t worry; she¡¯s definitely stronger than you.¡±

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    ¡°I¡¯ll know if the opportunity ever arises and we clash,¡± Yin Qing said and leapt down the tree.

    Yin Qing was in no mood to listen to Li Qingshan¡¯s ramblings. She wandered through the wilderness to her heart¡¯s content, breathing in the moist air that did not reek of blood. A charming smile filed her face.

    Every single leaf and every single insect was so novel to her, yet also so familiar. It made her recall her very, very distant memories that had already blurred long ago.

    Li Qingshan exchanged glances with Xiao An and laid out his hands. ¡°She¡¯s just a bumpkin. She hasn¡¯t seen what the world has to offer!¡±

    Xiao An stared at Li Qingshan. ¡°So many women. So many.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t blame me. She¡¯s the one who came here from the Asura realm. And I have no interest in women who reek of blood and have no sense of embarrassment.¡±

    Xiao An snorted and turned her head away. She did not believe him.

    ps£º ½Ú²ÙÔÙÒ»´ÎµÃµ½±£È«£¡

 Chapter 789

    Li Qingshan smiled helplessly and hugged her in a doting fashion. Then he flew to the top of the mountain, arriving right beside Yin Qing. He saw her gazing at the cloudy skies in a daze.

    The lead clouds weighed heavily, sprinkling down with rain. She spread her arms and allowed the rain to fall on her face, as happy as a child.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s overcast, and you can¡¯t see the sun. If it were sunny, the scenery would be even better!¡±

    ¡°The sun!¡± Yin Qing¡¯s eyes lit up as if she had just been reminded of something. She leapt up and tread through the air, bursting through the cloud layer.

    The dazzling sun shone brightly, and the sea of clouds surged. Her mind suddenly brightened up too, sweeping away several centuries of gloom.

    Only after wandering about to her heart¡¯s content did she return to Li Qingshan¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯ll be serving you in the future. I still don¡¯t know your name.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan. Because the mountain below is called Savage mountain, people call me the King of Savages.¡±

    ¡°Alright. Then what would you like me to do for you, sir King of Savages?¡± Yin Qing clasped her hands and bowed, naturally giving off the feeling of a soldier, which made her seem valiant in bearing.

    ¡°I want you to cook for me.¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Yin Qing was surprised. Let alone the years she spent in the Asura realm, she had never done a job like this even further back before she had become an asura. The food from the Asura realm was also infamous for how disgusting it was. There were even legends that dictated the Asura realm waged war against the Heaven realm because they were jealous of their delicious food.

    She said in a rather troubled fashion, ¡°That¡­ I can try it¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you know anything else apart from assassination?¡± Li Qingshan shook his head helplessly. She really had no sense of humour at all. However, he was very satisfied with her respectful attitude.

    ¡°Heh, fair enough.¡± Only then did Yin Qing realise he was joking.

    ¡°I¡¯ll probably have missions for you soon, but this isn¡¯t the Asura realm, so battle isn¡¯t as common. I can deal with most of the battles myself, so you¡¯re welcome to treat this as a vacation and rest up in a different environment,¡± Li Qingshan said gently.

    Out of his many subordinates so far, Yin Qing could be described as the strongest. With her techniques to move through space, she basically had no opponents. Even Yu Wufeng, who neared the third heavenly tribulation, could be assassinated by her if he was careless.

    She was a warrior who had no concern over her life too. Although he had defeated her, she did not yield to him because of the threat of death. To Li Qingshan, she was more worthy of respect than the ten bound to the Blood Oath Scroll.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you defeating me seems to be a good thing instead.¡± Yin Qing smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s good and bad. You¡¯ll understand slowly. Anyway, tell me about the Asura realm first!¡±

    The two of them just sat down above the sea of clouds and began talking. The sun shifted bit by bit until stars adorned the sky, and the full moon rose up.

    ¡°That¡¯s basically all that I know. After all, my cultivation is limited. I only heard most of this from others. As for whether they¡¯re actually true, I can¡¯t guarantee anything.¡± Yin Qing glanced at the brilliant moon in the sky, reluctant to see it go. ¡°I need to return to the Asura Field.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded and opened the Asura Field, letting Yin Qing inside. He continued to sit above the sea of clouds alone, furrowing his brows and mumbling to himself, ¡°The trichiliocosm¡­ the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra¡­ the four dhy¨¡nas and Nine Heavens¡­¡±

    The words of others could be of help and inspiration! That really was true!

    The things Yin Qing mentioned that even she herself could not verify had a drastic effect on Li Qingshan. Some questions had been answered, which led to ten times more questions.

    This was the appearance of the world she had seen and heard in the Asura realm.

    This feeling was like when humans first realised they were drifting through the endless cosmos. They could not help but sigh over their insignificance. An overly-narrow space could make people feel restrictive, but an extremely vast space could also throw their minds into disarray.

    ¡°I see¡­ I see¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. His lips gradually curled into a smile, and he spread out his arms, lying down above the sea of clouds and laughing at the top of his lungs.

    ¡°Xiao An, the world is so large, and the Nine Heavens are so distant- No, they¡¯re not that distant. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±

    Before he knew it, Xiao An was crouched right beside him, holding him by his cheeks and staring at him. She nodded with a smile.

    Li Qingshan stared at the round moon that resembled a silver dish. He had already established his foundations, and he had dealt with the King of Southern Yue. It was about time for him to take his next step!

    But before this, he needed to go to the Great Marsh of Cloud Dream and check on Ru Xin.

    ¡­¡­

    The vast Cloud Dream marsh was wrapped in mist all year long. The white water birds flew from one lush island to another verdant island in flocks.

    In the depths of the marsh, the Jade Melting cauldron was buried in the mud, shuddering from time to time and flickering with red and blue light. Ru Xin sat in there quietly, her beautiful blue fishtail coiled around her as she practised the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace. These were the three most peaceful years of her life.

    In order to refine the marsh, Li Qingshan had defeated and killed the Daemon Commanders there. He had actually raised a bit of attention a long time ago, but it never culminated into an actual threat, which was obviously thanks to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s efforts.

    Otherwise, if some person of unknown origins had just come along and refined such a large marsh, it would without a doubt break the original order of the Mist province daemons. Such a large Water God Seal would definitely tempt even Daemon Kings too.

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    Of course, when the Great Banyan Tree King helped Li Qingshan, he was clearly protecting the daemons of the Mist province too. Otherwise, if a reckless one ran over there to make trouble, it was as clear as day what would happen. Even if it were his ¡°small friends¡±, they might not necessarily get anything out of him. They might possess the upper hand right now, allowing them to take the Water God Seal, but even they would not know how they would die in the future.

    Li Qingshan was a person who took the Dragon King of Ink Sea as his target, a person who seriously wanted to go dragon-slaying in the Ink sea.

    As a result, there was peace for all.

    The King of Southern Yue would not care too much about this situation either. Refining the waters and mountains occurred very frequently in the Mist province. It did not attract as much attention as in the Green province. Moreover, this was the territory of daemons in the first place. Since the Great Banyan Tree King had not done anything, he only brushed it off as internal strife among the daemons, followed by a certain powerful daemon who had managed to collect enough Water God Seals to build a water dwelling here.

    This happened very frequently too. Peace had never been a thing in the Mist province. Even cultivators battled each other constantly despite all being humans, so let alone daemons of completely different species who purely focused on strength. There was absolutely no iron rule that forbade daemons from killing one another like in the Green province. Sometimes, conflicts would even rise up to the level of the third heavenly tribulation, which would even require two kings to step in to mediate the situation many of the times.

    Chaos possesses its own order.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s greatest realisation ever since he came to the Mist province. It seemed like a lawless land of chaos, paying no consideration to both the laws of Great Xia or the morals of humanity, but it had its own set of invisible principles at work.

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

    Ru Xin suddenly opened her eyes. Someone was knocking the cauldron. A familiar voice rang out.

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    ¡°Is anyone home?¡±

 Chapter 790

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°My little wifey, if you still don¡¯t open up, I¡¯ll have to burst through the door!¡±

    With a gentle sound, a string of white bubbles surged upwards. The mud slid off the cauldron.

    The cauldron opened, and Ru Xin emerged. Their eyes met, both smiling.

    It had been almost three years since they last saw each other, but within their smile, it was as if they had just separated yesterday.

    ¡°You cultivate too slowly. So much for giving you the Water God Seal! You haven¡¯t even undergone the second heavenly tribulation yet!¡±

    Li Qingshan studied her. She had already made her fishtail vanish, turning back into human form. Her skin became even more glossy, like soft, white jade of the highest grade. Even her lips became a natural red jade, and her flowing eyes were a rare black jade.

    She seemed like a beauty sculpted from jade that an immortal had breathed life into, springing alive and possessing her own bearing of otherworldliness.

    ¡°Since when was undergoing the second heavenly tribulation so easy? You can¡¯t compare me to a certain beast. Oh, I¡¯m not talking about you.¡± Ru Xin smiled.

    ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t place special emphasis, I would know you¡¯re talking about me. Envy and jealousy is useless. This is the difference between a genius and a mortal person. Oh wait, I forgot, you don¡¯t count as a mortal person either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m otherpeople,¡± Ru Xin said as she tossed a jade bottle to Li Qingshan. ¡°Take it and drink it, you beastial genius!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan opened the bottle and saw the faint, red liquid rippling inside.

    Ru Xin had once given him a bottle of medicine like this before. It could balance water and fire, and it achieved wondrous effects when he consumed it while he was breaking through to Daemon Commander. On top of that, this bottle of medicine seemed even denser and more pure than the last.

    ¡°It¡¯s stomach ache medicine¡­ It gives you a stomach ache!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing like that. Just how did you refine this? Didn¡¯t you say that there¡¯s no Flower of Water and Fire?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    It was a tiny bottle of medicinal water, but to him, it was more precious than any spiritual pill or wondrous medicine. But the more it was like this, the more he wanted to know about its origins.

    ¡°You¡¯re an adult man- no, an adult beast, so why are you still being so fussy? If you keep going on with this nonsense, you¡¯re not getting anymore in the future. How¡¯d you go in the south?¡± Ru Xin changed the topic of conversation.

    ¡°With what I¡¯m capable of, I¡¯ve obviously been running amuck freely in the measly south. I¡¯m known as the ¡®King of Savages¡¯ now. I¡¯ve a dwelling established on Savage mountain and countless powerful cultivators under my command. I was just about to invite you along so that you can enjoy life with me.¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the jade bottle in his hand.

    ¡°King of Savages!¡± Ru Xin was taken aback. Clearly, she also knew what kind of place Savage mountain was and what the King of Savages meant. However, she smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t you find this nickname to be very stupid? You can tell with a single glance that you¡¯re completely unqualified. You don¡¯t deserve it at all.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what it is, but it¡¯s still got the word ¡®king¡¯ in it. Though, surely you need to tell me why you want to go to the South sea before we go to the south?¡±

    Although she had intentionally changed the topic, how could Li Qingshan let her slip by so easily?

    ¡°I¡¯m a Merfolk of the South sea. I want to go back because I miss home. Isn¡¯t this a perfectly-reasonable excuse?¡± Ru Xin laid out her hands.

    ¡°Even you said it is an excuse. You better come clean obediently. Don¡¯t make me use force!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re my man, so why do you care so much?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯d like it, I could be your man!¡±

    ¡°Sure enough, I wouldn¡¯t want that at all.¡± Ru Xin considered it very seriously.

    ¡°Hey, just what¡¯s so unmentionable? Tell me!¡±

    Li Qingshan really was frustrated. He was tempted to pry open her mouth. He grabbed her by the shoulders, about to spit out a few threats and force her to confess, but when he looked into her eyes, the words in his mouth turned into a long sigh. He released her and shook his head with a wry smile.

    ¡°You win, alright? My damned grandmother!¡±

    ¡°You called me?¡± Ru Xin smiled in response.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll go to the south. You can tell me when you feel like it! I have to say, you did remind me that certain things can¡¯t be dealt with force!¡±

    Li Qingshan was powerless.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that you can¡¯t.¡± Ru Xin smiled slightly. ¡°It¡¯s that you refuse to!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, as long as you understand!¡±

    Li Qingshan left his mirror clone behind in the marsh to hold onto the Water God Seal before taking off on a cloud, heading to the south with Ru Xin.

    On the cloud, Li Qingshan told Ru Xin what he went through in the south. As always, she had her fair share of sneers and scorn, but she was unable to hide her concern either. Li Qingshan¡¯s current situation did not seem particularly optimistic to her. The King of Southern Yue definitely did not hold any kind intentions towards him. Once the Mist province declared war against the Green province, he would definitely start with him.

    The King of Southern Yue was weaker than the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but if Li Qingshan wanted to stand a chance, he would have to use Northmoon¡¯s power, and once he exposed himself, the Dragon King of Ink Sea would rush over immediately. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would probably want him gone too. He was nowhere close to running amok freely.

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    ¡°What, you¡¯re worried about me?¡± Li Qingshan saw how she frowned slightly and could not help but smile.

    Surprisingly, Ru Xin did not respond with foul language. Instead, she said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s best if you stir up a little less trouble and spend a good few years cultivating in seclusion on Savage mountain. When the opportunity arises, go back to the Green province!¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re cultivators. Shouldn¡¯t we make sure we go down our own paths properly?¡± Ru Xin said.

    The path of every single cultivator was different. Perhaps they might cross from time to time, but they would be heading off in different directions at the end of the day. If they would end up obstructing one another because of their feelings, they were better off not meeting at all and remaining unshackled.

    ¡°Who¡¯s supposed to refine medicine for me then? We¡¯ve known each other for so long. Since when have I ever been afraid of trouble? Once we get to the south, pay a visit to the Fire Melt mountains with me. Heh, that¡¯s the mortal enemies of your Merfolk of the South Sea, though I don¡¯t think you really see race!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Li Qingshan was in no hurry to consume the medicine that balanced fire and water. He had just emerged from a lengthy period of secluded cultivation, so he was ready to make a move. He was better off following the plan, going to the Fire Melt mountains and obtaining the divine wutong tree before ingesting it. The effects would probably be better like that.

    ¡°Why are you going to the Fire Melt mountains?¡± Ru Xin¡¯s expression was rather strange.

    ¡°I want to negotiate with that Fire Devouring King and see if I can borrow the divine wutong tree for a few days.¡±

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    ¡°The divine wutong tree!¡± Ru Xin¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°That¡¯s the fire devourer¡¯s holy tree, as well as where their royal family is located. Even fire devourers are forbidden from approaching the tree without good reason. Why would they lend it to you?¡±

    ¡°You sure know a lot. Think of some ideas for me to get the Fire Devouring King to change his mind,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Fire devourers have violent tempers. They¡¯re belligerent, battle-hungry, and extremely vengeful. They¡¯re very difficult to get along with. I¡¯d advise you to give up. Even if you¡¯ve provoked the Myriad Poison Ancestor, I wouldn¡¯t worry. At his age, he¡¯d second-think anything he does, but the Fire Devouring King can really leave you with absolutely no footing in the south!¡± Ru Xin said.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you just inciting me into negotiating with the Fire Devouring King?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Ever since he spoke with the Golden Cicada Spirit King and the Great Banyan Tree King individually, he was determined to obtain the divine wutong tree. He really wanted to see just how tough of a nut the fire devourers were to crack.

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not what I mean!¡± Ru Xin suddenly raised her voice and looked at Li Qingshan, talking sternly.

    Li Qingshan had never seen her lose her composure like that, which surprised him. ¡°I just mentioned it casually. What¡¯re you taking it so seriously for?¡±

 Chapter 791

    Ru Xin also realised how she had lost her composure. She shook her head gently. ¡°Then forget that I said anything at all. I might not be able to help you with this.¡±

    Li Qingshan was in thought. As the cloud moved towards the south, Ru Xin gradually spoke less before falling completely silent. She stared at the south for prolonged periods of time.

    By the time the sun had set in the west and stars littered across the sky, Li Qingshan said, ¡°We¡¯re at Savage mountain!¡±

    Ru Xin thought to herself, I¡¯m back, the south!

    ¡­¡­

    The Fire Melt mountains spanned several hundred kilometers. It was a huge mountain range. The rock was scarlet like fire, without a single inch of grass. There were only crimson, thistle-like plants, clustered like embers.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An peered down from the cloud, only to see a fiery chain of mountains. Every single scarlet peak seemed to be burning as if it was a sea of fire that burned for several hundred kilometers.

    In the centre of the sea of fire was a huge volcano that stood several thousand meters tall. The rock had already crystallised, allowing the glow of the magma to pour through. At first glance, it seemed like flowing fire.

    The entire mountain is actually all fire spiritual stone. If I can cultivate there, I¡¯ll definitely be able to make rapid progress with the Phoenix Transformation. It¡¯s no wonder the phoenix treated this place as its cultivation dwelling in the past!

    Li Qingshan had once cultivated in a chain of volcanoes to the north of the Mist province. He found it quite nice, but it was absolutely nothing compared to Fire Melt mountain.

    Several hundred plumes of black smoke rose into the air. These were live volcanoes that erupted all year round, spewing with thick, black smoke. The smoke did not disperse, resonating with other plumes in the distance. It seemed to possess a spiritual nature, coiling about together like snakes.

    Rivers of lava poured out from the craters of volcanoes or oozed out from the cracks, flowing along canals that were clearly man-made. They formed a complicated inscription that gathered energy.

    ¡°This is a colossal formation.¡± Xiao An was afraid that Li Qingshan did not understand what she meant, so she added, ¡°Even if the King of Southern Yue tried to take this place by force, he would have to pay a corresponding price.¡±

    She was implying that even if he exposed his other identity, it would be impossible for him to take Fire Melt mountain. Although his strength could rival third heavenly tribulation existences, the purpose of the formation around Fire Melt mountain was to stop opponents of this level.

    Li Qingshan nodded. Across the entire Mist province, only the fire devourers feared neither the King of Southern Yue or paid any attention to the Great Banyan Tree King. There was definitely a reason for this.

    Fire devourers were renowned for their violent tempers and belligerence among otherfolk. They were known as a fighting race, and they occupied a blessed land like this on top of that, having dwelled there for several thousand years. The strength they had built up was well beyond estimate.

    Apart from the formation and the Fire Devouring King on the surface, no one could say for sure whether there were other kings on Fire Melt mountain.

    The lifespans of otherfolk paled in comparison to daemons, but it was much longer than humans. They were born with the spiritual nature of the world too. When it came to their advantage in bloodlines, only descendants from human clans and a handful of exotic beasts could rival them.

    They basically possessed the advantages of both races. They could be described as ¡°blessed by the heavens¡±.

    Ye Liusu and her siblings made a clear demonstration of this point. Among the friends Li Qingshan had acquainted himself with in the Clear River prefecture, basically all of them were known as geniuses, yet they were still stuck at Foundation Establishment. There was not a single one that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation. His father-in-law, Han Anjun, had taken several years before finally undergoing the second heavenly tribulation.

    As for the three of them, they did receive Li Qingshan¡¯s support and some guidance from the Great Banyan Tree King, but their cultivation speed was still startling. And apart from them, there were several other night roamers that came close to the second heavenly tribulation. They were all matriarchs and princesses of past night roamer clans.

    Just the regular bloodlines of night roamers rivalled descendants of clans, possessing great talent. Of course, they paled in comparison to Chu Tian¡¯s Five Elements constitution and Yu Zijian¡¯s Pure Yang constitution.

    On top of that, they happened to be the best of the best picked from the night roamers. They had just been oppressed by Lolth for several years, preventing them from spreading their wings. Their talent had basically begun to show now.

    If Li Qingshan were generous with Origin Spirit pills, he could obtain a group of powerful night roamer assassins in just a few years. He also understood why the Great Xia empire permitted enslaving otherfolk. They used all that they could to oppress them.

    Legend had it that during the ancient times, otherfolk had once ruled the nine provinces, and they were known as ¡°godfolk¡±. They founded their own divine kingdoms and enslaved humans and daemons. Afterwards, while the otherfolk were locked in strife between one another, the two races banded together before overthrowing them.

    ¡°Looks like the fire devourers really are a tough bone to chew!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell assembled into a sphere in the surroundings before suddenly dispersing. Every single piece displayed a scene, revealing every single detail about Fire Melt mountain. He saw fire devourers fighting and playing in the magma and flames as well as crude structures built from red rock, sitting on the banks of a river of fire.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell stacked together, directed like a telescope towards the main peak of Fire Melt mountain, the crystalline volcano.

    In the crater of the volcano sat a majestic city built into the rock face. Corridors winded about, leading right to the bottom of the volcano. Even the weakest of the fire devourers allowed to reside there had undergone the first heavenly tribulation. Their numbers were enough to make most major sects perspire.

    A palace that seemed to be carved from red crystal sat at the bottom. Its foundation was also a thick layer of red crystal, covering the mouth of the volcano with magma. Flames surged underneath. It seemed like ice condensed from fire. It was the purest and highest quality fire spiritual crystal there was.

    Firelight shimmered through every single fire spiritual crystal in a magnificent manner. That was where the royal clan of the fire devourers resided.

    ¡°Found it!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Right in the centre of the crater, a huge, wutong tree was rooted deeply into the fire spiritual crystal, extending into the magma. Its pale-white bark and fire-red leaves gave off a sacred glow.

    That was the legendary divine wutong tree, the place where the phoenix roosted.

    Just by looking at it from afar, Li Qingshan felt a close feeling of attachment, like a returning traveller who had left home many years ago.

    The wutong tree seemed to be calling for him. No, not him, but the phoenix. The phoenix left without ever coming back!

    ¡°Who¡¯s so bold to spy on my Fire Melt mountain!?¡±

    A furious voice exploded in Li Qingshan¡¯s ears like a volcanic eruption. It was filled with violent wrath.

    A streak of light rushed out of the crater like a rising meteor, shooting right towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°The White Hawk commander, Li Qingshan!¡± Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and stated his name and identity. He asked, ¡°Fellow, are you the Fire Devouring King, Zhu Yan?¡±

    With a rumble, the meteor in the sky came to a sudden halt. A bare-chested man in his prime emerged from the flames. His face was handsome and crude as if it had been carved from the red rock there. His head full of fire blazed away as he held a spear in his hand. He stared at Li Qingshan with his fire-red eyes that produced sparks.

    ¡°The King of Savages?¡±

 Chapter 792

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Zhu Yan studied Li Qingshan all over before suddenly bursting into laughter.

    ¡°Fellow, why do you laugh?¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing at how a brat like you is bold enough to refer to me as fellow. You¡¯re out of your mind. Those ignorant people call you the King of Savages, and you really think of yourself as a king?¡±

    Zhu Yan did not hide his contempt towards Li Qingshan at all. The flames on him surged, assaulting Li Qingshan with waves of heat and making Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes ruffle.

    The hierarchy of the cultivation community was strict. It was more clear-cut than any societal hierarchies. The vast heavens were the only rulers, using heavenly tribulations after heavenly tribulations to divide all creatures into various levels. A missing heavenly tribulation was like being a world apart, and the higher the realms of cultivation were, the greater this difference would become.

    It was absolutely impossible to achieve any so-called equality among the superior and the inferior. Treating them with courtesy was already a demonstration of great culture, and that was the type of courtesy a ruler treated their subjects with, the way a senior treated their juniors.

    The Great Banyan Tree King had sensed an opportunity. Coupled with how he had a relatively mellow nature in the first place, that was why he referred to Li Qingshan as fellow, yet this already left the King of Southern Yue very surprised.

    The Fire Devouring King Zhu Yan clearly was not as cultured. He did not believe that Li Qingshan had the right to stand on equal footing with him.

    Li Qingshan also started laughing aloud.

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    ¡°What are you laughing about, brat?¡± Some of Zhu Yan¡¯s contempt vanished when he saw how Li Qingshan could still laugh even under the pressure from him. There definitely was a reason why this kid could kick up such a great stir in the south in such a short amount of time.

    ¡°Sir, if you don¡¯t like being referred to as ¡®fellow¡¯, then so be it. It¡¯s all out of politeness anyway. Not everyone has the right to be fellows with me!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You!¡± Zhu Yan fumed inside and reevaluated Li Qingshan. He pointed out with his spear of fire. ¡°You sure are bold. Why were you prying around Fire Melt mountain? If you don¡¯t explain yourself clearly, be ready to eat my spear!¡±

    Li Qingshan had basically witnessed the temperament of Fire Devouring folk now. Not only were they violet and short-tempered, but they were fearless and reckless too. Even the King of Southern Yue would have to keep their various backgrounds in mind. This Fire Devouring King had spouted threats right from the beginning. He was as arrogant as they could get!

    Li Qingshan understood it would probably be difficult for this to end peacefully. Let alone the fact that he refused to bow and scrape, even if he were willing, it would only make Zhu Yan even more arrogant. He was basically just trying what he could and hoping for the best now, asking away confidently.

    ¡°I heard your mountain has a divine wutong tree that is quite mystical. I¡¯d like to borrow it!¡±

    Zhu Yan was taken aback. ¡°Is there something wrong with your head?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Is there something wrong with your ears?¡±

    Zhu Yan widened his eyes, basically bursting with anger. He began laughing again, placing his spear on his shoulder. He actually did not lose his temper. He jokingly said, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for you to borrow the divine wutong tree, but I do have a condition.¡±

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    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He asked, ¡°What condition?¡±

    ¡°Go to the South sea and bring me the head of the Merfolk King. Then I¡¯ll lend the divine wutong tree to you!¡± Zhu Yan laughed.

    Li Qingshan frowned. This bastard was clearly toying with him. He said sternly, ¡°If I were that strong, I think I¡¯d be better off directly claiming your head!¡±

    Zhu Yan¡¯s face stiffened. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t strong enough, then piss off! In consideration of the fact that you made me laugh, I¡¯ll spare your life. You¡¯re forbidden from calling yourself the King of Savages from now on, or if I find out, I¡¯ll burn your Savage mountain to a crisp!¡±

    He seemed coarse, but he actually still had second thoughts about Li Qingshan¡¯s identity. However, his second thoughts did not arise from the Unraging monk of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but the Great Xia empire.

    In a land of chaos like the south, basically no one cared about the identity of White Hawk commander. Even if he died, the Hawkwolf Guard would not avenge him, but there was an exception.

    The Great Xia empire was extremely vigilant against otherfolk, especially against the most belligerent race out of the seven great otherfolk races, the Fire Devouring folk. If a White Hawk commander died on Fire Melt mountain, perhaps a certain divine hawk might cast its gaze over and lead to unfathomable consequences. Although the Great Xia empire had started declining, Zhu Yan was reluctant to take this risk just to kill a fool that had something wrong in the head.

    Anger began to burn in Li Qingshan, turning into battle intent. He stared straight at Zhu Yan with his dark eyes, gradually dyed red by flames.

    Zhu Yan produced an interjection of surprise and squinted his eyes. He actually felt slightly threatened. ¡°You¡¯re in over your head. If you really want to die, I¡¯ll give you what you want!¡±

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    Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve and shook her head gently.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s aura subsided, and his emotions recovered. He clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve witnessed the might of the Fire Devouring King today, so it¡¯s not exactly a waste of a trip. Since you don¡¯t want to lend it to me, I¡¯ll take my leave then.¡± Without any regard for Zhu Yan¡¯s reply, he turned around and left in a huff.

    In that split second, he had considered numerous possibilities too, such as luring Zhu Yan into the Asura Field and killing him with Xiao An. However, while the Asura Field had become greater, it basically could not keep an existence that powerful trapped inside, and it would be very difficult for them to kill him in a single strike.

    Actually, the chances of being killed as a third heavenly tribulation existence had already become extremely small unless an overwhelming difference in strength existed or the opponent had an extremely powerful method of keeping them trapped. However, across the nine provinces, only a small handful of people could crush Zhu Yan with overwhelming strength or keep him trapped. At the very least, Li Qingshan was not capable of either option right now.

    Then he considered Fire Melt mountain. It was possible for other third heavenly tribulation fire devourers to be there, so the chances of killing Zhu Yan had basically been reduced to zero, while Li Qingshan and Xiao An would have to run the risk of exposing their identities and being killed.

    As a result, Li Qingshan decided to leave without batting a single eye. He did not hesitate at all. He mouthed something that many villains had said in the past, ¡°I¡¯ll be back¡­ very soon!¡±

    After catching a glimpse through the Profound Light Illuminates All, he was basically determined to obtain the divine wutong tree. He had a strong gut feeling that the ancient tree where the phoenix roosted, as well as the entire Fire Melt mountain, was critical to his cultivation of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a.

    Zhu Yan¡¯s mocks, sneers, threats, and insults were instead a good thing. It completely awakened the tiger demon within him, rousing with energy. If the enemies were not despicable, it would not be satisfying when he killed them.

    Since fire devourers are known to be battle-hungry, I¡¯ll give them a battle!

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    Zhu Yan watched Li Qingshan travel into the distance and suddenly felt slightly uneasy inside. He could be considered as a once-in-a-century genius among humans to achieve such cultivation at such an age. If he had time, perhaps he really might undergo the third heavenly tribulation. The woman beside him was anything but ordinary too.

    One day, if he actually underwent the tribulation successfully, would that not mean¡­

    He became more uneasy the more he thought. After reaching the third heavenly tribulation, everyone would have a profound connection to the obscure strings of fate even if they did not know divination, which allowed cultivators to make correct decisions.

    Zhu Yan¡¯s eyes erupted with firelight. Abruptly, he gripped his spear firmly.

    No, I can¡¯t just let them go like this. Even if I can¡¯t kill them, I¡¯ll have to deal a heavy blow to them so that they can never pose a threat to Fire Melt mountain!

 Chapter 793

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Suddenly, a sense of danger flooded Li Qingshan¡¯s heart as a call rang out from behind. There was a flash of firelight right before him, and Zhu Yan blocked his path with his spear. His flames surged, as arrogant as he could be!

    ¡°Sir, what else do you have to tell me?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and glanced at Xiao An. Xiao An¡¯s expression always seemed neutral in the eyes of others, but he could clearly tell she was not surprised at all. He thought, This girl!

    ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind. I¡¯m willing to lend the divine wutong tree to you for cultivation!¡± Zhu Yan pointed his spear at Fire Melt mountain. The words ¡°bad intentions¡± were basically spelled out on his face.

    ¡°Oh? I don¡¯t need to give you the head of the Merfolk King in exchange? I even made up my mind about going to the South sea.¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands and smiled.

    ¡°Haha, just by you? I can understand that you can¡¯t produce the Merfolk King¡¯s head. I¡¯ve decided to be generous and lend it to you, so why don¡¯t you kneel in gratitude?¡±

    Zhu Yan was clearly toying around with him, like a cat playing with a mouse, a mouse that was overconfident and had an extremely loud mouth. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s calm and unfazed demeanour made him raise his guard slightly.

    ¡°How can the fire devourers lend their treasure to an outsider? I¡¯ve misspoken. I definitely won¡¯t mention the word ¡®borrow¡¯ ever again!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced back at Fire Melt mountain. The divine wutong tree was located in the centre of Fire Melt mountain. Once the formation was activated, even Daemon Kings would be doomed. Even if Zhu Yan were truly willing to lend the tree to him in the beginning, he would have never been able to accept it at ease, let alone now when he was clearly filled with hostility.

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    Since he could not borrow it, then he would take it! Exotic treasures of the world were possessed by the strong. All he could do was fight for it.

    ¡°What? Just earlier you said you wanted to borrow it, yet now you don¡¯t want to borrow it anymore. Are you toying with me? Today, you¡¯ll be borrowing it whether you want to or not!¡±

    Zhu Yan could see that Li Qingshan was not convinced at all, so he could not help but turn violent. His mouth sprayed with sparks, dancing around Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t your mum taught you to not spit when you talk to others?¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand around in annoyance before smiling. ¡°Moreover, I come and go as I please! I can¡¯t be stopped by the likes of you!¡±

    Li Qingshan conveniently fished out a violet talisman. Before coming to Fire Melt mountain, he had planned to see the divine wutong tree with his own eyes. If it truly was the real deal, then he would negotiate with the Fire Devouring King for the right to borrow the divine wutong tree. He had built up quite a lot of spoils from waging battles throughout the south. The violet talisman was one of them.

    He never expected the Fire Devouring King to turn him down so flatly right from the beginning before launching a full-scale mockery. There was absolutely no way to negotiate at all, and he actually planned on attacking them now. However, he was not unprepared, or more accurately, Xiao An had specially warned him.

    Of course, while violet talismans were powerful and rare, they could not pose any threat to Zhu Yan. Though, this violet talisman was not for battle.

    ¡°A Great Shifting talisman! You think you can leave?¡±

    Zhu Yan recognised the violet talisman with a single glance. With a snap of his fingers, the sparks exploded violently, expanding to several hundred times their size. The energy they released could split apart mountains.

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    Li Qingshan spun around and pulled Xiao An into his arms. Within the rumble, the surging flames completely swallowed them. From the ground, it seemed like a flower had suddenly bloomed in the sky.

    Zhu Yan produced a scarlet streak of light with the spear in his hand, thrusting it towards Li Qingshan with lightning speed. He gave him absolutely no opportunity to activate the violet talisman.

    The lofty Demon Suppression Tower descended, enveloping Li Qingshan and Xiao An.

    The tip of the spear collided with the tower and produced a sharp screech. Zhu Yan was slightly surprised. He had not put his full strength into the strike, but he never expected the Demon Suppression Tower to be so tough.

    In that moment, the tip of the spear produced thousands of sparks like thousands of explosions. The tower only lasted for a split second before shattering and disintegrating.

    However, by the time the flames had dispersed, Li Qingshan and Xiao An were already nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Hmph, and I had thought you had something impressive that gave you the confidence to speak so boldly in front of me. It¡¯s just a Great Shifting talisman. You better watch as I find you and skin you alive!¡±

    Zhu Yan snorted coldly, and two streams of sparks rushed out of his nostrils. Afterwards, he looked around, closing his eyes and sensing.

    Great Shifting talismans were not as great as violet Escape talismans, which allowed the user to escape five thousand kilometers away. It could shift the user to five hundred kilometers away at most. Coupled with the fact that two people were being shifted at the same time, they definitely were still within five hundred kilometers of him. That was nowhere near far enough to avoid his pursuit.

    But a while later, he opened his eyes and frowned heavily. How can they hide their auras in such an absolute fashion, as if they don¡¯t exist at all?

    He did not hesitate. He chose a direction based on his gut feeling and turned into a ball of fire, shooting off in that direction. However, he flew back a while later, clearly having failed to find them.

    Zhu Yan considered attacking Savage mountain, but he dismissed the thought soon after. Humans and daemons could do something like that, but there was too much taboo associated with otherfolk, preventing them from acting recklessly.

    ¡°They¡¯ve endured that strike of mine, so they should be quite injured, costing them a great part of their cultivation. The third heavenly tribulation is like a colossal chasm, blocking the paths of who knows how many geniuses. Even if he manages to undergo the tribulation successfully one day, it¡¯ll be a century in the future at the very least. Why would I be afraid of him? Though, the Merfolk of the South sea have been rather restless recently. They¡¯re preparing for the next war!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the mist-shrouded forest, Li Qingshan and Xiao An walked together along the side of a small river. The trees in the surroundings stood like skyscrapers, their leaves woven together like the clouds and their roots gnarled together like snakes and dragons.

    The mist was thick like milk, receding backwards as they advanced, which added quite an ethereal, otherworldly feeling to the place. However, if any mortals tried wandering through it, they would be reduced to a pile of bones immediately. The roars of daemons rose and fell inside as shadows paced around through the fog.

    Li Qingshan could conceal his presence and existence perfectly, like a spirit turtle diving into the depths of the sea, while Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had always been about the principle that life and death, form and emptiness, were the same thing. She was only a set of white bones, so what was there to sense?

    Even if regular second heavenly tribulation cultivators could withstand the Fire Devouring King¡¯s ¡°Spark Explosion¡±, they would still be heavily injured, but Li Qingshan practised the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. He was extremely resistant towards fire, leaving him basically unscathed.

    However, he was not bold enough to take the Fire Devouring King lightly because of this. The attack was a probing strike at most. It could not even be considered as a proper attack. When it came to an actual battle to the death, it would be impossible for him to neglect the flames of the Fire Devouring King unless he reached the fourth layer of the Phoenix Transformation, not to mention the skill in battle and bodily strength that Zhu Yan had demonstrated through that thrust. It left him with a very deep impression of Zhu Yan.

    ¡°No wonder he¡¯s so arrogant. When it comes to an individual battle, I¡¯m probably still not his opponent just yet. Thankfully, you reminded me, so I prepared a Great Shifting talisman, or we really might be in a bit of trouble. I need to collect a few more somehow in the future. It¡¯s just a pity that I don¡¯t have an innate ability like Mo Yu¡¯s, or I¡¯ll be able to go wherever I¡¯d like in this world.¡±

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An in some pity. He had tried learning how to move through space from the asura Yin Qing, but even in the Asura realm, there were not a lot of people who knew this move. Not only did it require control over the spatial environment, but it also took up a great deal of time and effort too, so all he could do was give up.

    ¡°Not right now, but who knows about the future?¡± Xiao An smiled. Her hair that was long enough to reach the ground dragged behind her like seaweed floating on the surface of the sea.

    ¡°Hopefully. Fire devourers really do deserve their reputation of possessing a horrible temper. I definitely can¡¯t just forget about this matter. I wonder if this bastard will go to Savage mountain or not.¡±

    ¡°Otherfolk have never been tolerated, viewed with hatred by humans, while you¡¯re a White Hawk commander. The Great Xia empire has passed orders to cull fire devourers numerous times in the past, which was all carried out by the Hawkwolf Guard, digging out their hearts as evidence for their feats. Though, I do hope he can come to Savage mountain,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Oh? Why?¡±

    ¡°As long as we sacrifice the ten cave masters, there should be someone who¡¯ll deal with the problem of Fire Melt mountain for us,¡± said Xiao An.

    A king of otherfolk would be attacking a blessed land of cultivation, slaughtering human cultivators en masse, all of which were second heavenly tribulation cultivators too. Were they supposed to be preparing to re-establish their divine kingdom and carry out revenge? How could the Great Xia empire allow that to happen?

    Li Qingshan was taken aback slightly before smiling. ¡°Everything is in your plans.¡± He never thought the Blood Oath Scroll could serve a purpose like that. ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no need for all ten of them. Just sending the Marquis of Serene Sea to die is enough.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough, but he probably won¡¯t come. He hasn¡¯t been taking us seriously.¡±

    As soon as Xiao An turned around, Li Qingshan pinched her delicate nose and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve been expecting the Fire Devouring King to respond like this the entire time! And you still told me to negotiate with him! Letting me be turned down right in my face, even wasting a violet talisman.¡±

    ¡°Nothing is absolute. Perhaps he really might have put out a request that we could accept and not demand the Merfolk King¡¯s head. Moreover, you have to see the divine wutong tree for yourself before you can decide whether it¡¯s worth the effort or not!¡± Xiao An pouted and said nasally.

    ¡°It¡¯s worth it. It¡¯s very much worth it. I¡¯m basically determined to obtain it. Tell me what other fantastic plans you have!¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you thought of it already?¡± Xiao An said.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If I want to take Fire Melt mountain, I need assistance from the Merfolk of South sea. A lot sure goes on in that little head of yours.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. If they could undergo the third heavenly tribulation, then trampling through Fire Melt mountain by working together would be nothing difficult. However, they still did not possess that strength, so they needed allies.

    If they did not possess the Blood Oath Scroll, then they would probably be shut down in their faces yet again if they went to the South sea and told the Merfolk King, ¡°We¡¯re willing to help you out and annihilate Fire Melt mountain.¡± However, the two of them combined with the ten cave masters under the blood oath were twelve second heavenly tribulation cultivators. That was an important chip that could shift the balance between the two races. Perhaps they could even drag the South Sea Sword pavilion into the mess.

    However, even with all the preparations they had made, how they were supposed to get these allies on their side was still a problem. They would definitely be cautious of him, and if he were careless, he could end up as an expendable.

    ¡°The most important part is how to motivate the Merfolk King to join our side. Merpeople aren¡¯t as ill-tempered, but they¡¯re unrivalled when it comes to being cut off from others. Merpeople hide in the South sea. The information the Hawkwolf Guard has on them is far less than the information on the fire devourers, so it¡¯s really difficult to make a judgement. Hmph, if that rock fishwoman still doesn¡¯t help us out, I¡¯ll eat her,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Rock fishwoman?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Ru Xin! Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll definitely help me.¡±

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed, and he exchanged glances with Xiao An.

    ¡°Someone is attacking Savage mountain!¡±

 Chapter 794

    White clouds drifted through the azure sky.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor sat on a green, jade throne, stroking his long beard gently. His jade-green eyes were fixed on Savage mountain below.

    Banners waved about in the surroundings, surrounded by disciples of all ages and genders. They were all dressed in the same way, either wearing green robes or dresses. Even the ones with the lowest cultivations had reached the first heavenly tribulation. They amounted to over a hundred, a display of a large sect¡¯s forces.

    ¡°Master, the two of them aren¡¯t on Savage mountain right now, so the protective formations aren¡¯t under anyone¡¯s control. It¡¯s a fantastic opportunity to attack the mountain, except¡­¡±

    Qian Liangmu rode on a green cloud, flying back from Savage mountain and reporting politely before hesitating.

    ¡°Except what?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor stopped stroking his beard.

    ¡°Except I can tell that Li Qingshan has no intentions of establishing a sect in the south. He¡¯ll be returning to the Green province sooner or later, so must we attack Savage mountain?¡± Qian Liangmu asked.

    ¡°Hehe, to think that even the mighty Sickly Prince would have times of softness. I¡¯m just afraid that no one would believe that if it made it out.¡±

    A glamorous woman smiled. On her shoulder sat a large, multicoloured spider. Its eight eyes were fixed on Qian Liangmu, shining with an extremely human-like light of viciousness.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been frightened out of your wits just by meeting Li Qingshan once?¡± added a middle-aged man who was as skinny as a bamboo pole. He stood on a venomous centipede that was several meters long.

    The two of them stood to the left and right of the cult leader¡¯s jade throne, which highlighted their special identities. They were Qian Liangmu¡¯s junior sister and senior brother. They were people qualified to contend for the position of cult leader against Qian Liangmu. Demonic sects had never focused on feelings, so their relationship was obviously like fire and water. They would never let a single opportunity slip by when they could make things difficult for one another.

    Qian Liangmu smiled coldly and completely ignored them. He bowed. ¡°Please reconsider, master.¡±

    Qian Liangmu did not agree with attacking Savage mountain. He was not a kind-hearted person. If the opportunity to kill and loot ever arose, he would never let it slip by, but a ¡°fellow¡± from the Great Banyan Tree King made him hesitant. Coupled with their meeting a few days ago, he simply felt like Li Qingshan was more than what he seemed like on the surface.

    ¡°You think that I can¡¯t deal with him?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor asked in displeasure.

    ¡°I would never!¡± Qian Liangmu said.

    ¡°How can I let others snore right by my bedside? Since he refuses to learn some humility and become a protector of my Myriad Poison cult, I¡¯ll show him how to lose all standing in the south. You¡¯re dismissed!¡±

    A green light flashed through the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s eyes, and he radiated with unsurpassed might. All the disciples lowered their heads.

    The south had always been his. He would never permit other organisations to develop here. If Li Qingshan really betrayed the Green province one day and became an honoured guest of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate, then he would definitely become a source of trouble with his and that woman called Xiao An¡¯s talent. By then, would he not become a laughing stock for allowing this all to happen?

    As for some of Qian Liangmu¡¯s worries, it was not that he had not considered them, but they were not worth any attention given the difference in their cultivation. The King of Southern Yue did nothing purely out of consideration for the situation between the two provinces, which was why he listened to the Great Banyan Tree King. It was not like he was actually afraid of Li Qingshan or anything.

    ¡°This brat is impertinent and in over his head. He¡¯s damned for turning down the kind offer of the Myriad Poison cult. He¡¯s only at the second heavenly tribulation, yet he¡¯s bold enough to call himself ¡®King of Savages¡¯ or whatever. Master will teach this fake king a lesson today and make him understand just what differences exist between him and a true king,¡± the glamorous woman with the spider said.

    ¡°If you¡¯re afraid, then hurry back to the Mist capital, junior brother. I¡¯m willing to offer up my meagre strength to assist master in exterminating Savage mountain and capturing Li Qingshan alive,¡± the man with the centipede said and shot a glance into the surroundings.

    Apart from a few elders who were self-assured by their identities, the regular disciples all called out, ¡°Exterminate Savage mountain and capture Li Qingshan alive!¡±

    For a moment, the banners ruffled in the wind, and battle cries filled the air.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor pushed off the armrest of the throne and stood up. With a wave of his right hand, chilly winds and jade-green fire swirled and gathered, condensing into a dark-green sphere that crackled with lightning. The light it gave off dyed everyone¡¯s faces green.

    The Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison was one of the secret techniques of the Myriad Poison cult. It possessed the force of lightning and the flexibility of poison, giving it extremely great destructive power.

    At that moment, even the sun seemed to dim. Everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn away by the Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s eyes shone with green light. He went from a single hand to both hands As it spun, the Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison grew larger and larger, brighter and brighter. In the blink of an eye, it had reached the size of a water tank before being pushed out violently, slamming against Savage mountain immediately.

    The rumble filled the surroundings. The ground shook gently, crackling with lightning. The sky had been dyed green.

    Then it turned into a poisonous cloud that enveloped a huge region, surging above Savage mountain and producing an ear-piercing hiss of corrosion.

    The disciples of the Myriad Poison cult all cheered, ¡°Mighty be the ancestor! The ancestor has frightened Li Qingshan into pissing his pants, afraid to come out!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve practised the Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison for many years, but never did I think this strike could unleash such power. Only after witnessing the ancestor personally take action today do I understand why our Myriad Poison cult can dominate in the south! Li Qingshan really is in over his head! He completely overestimates himself!¡± ¡°Savage mountain has already fallen! I¡¯ll serve as the vanguard right now and capture Li Qingshan for the ancestor!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor stood there with his hands behind his back rather confidently too. His lips curled into a slight smile of complacency, but his smile suddenly froze. He barked, ¡°All of you, shut up!¡±

    Everyone fell utterly silently, confused by why the Myriad Poison Ancestor had lost his temper. They gazed over carefully, and only then did they see that Savage mountain was still shrouded in mist under the poisonous cloud. The protective formations were completely untouched. Their praises and flattery were more like mockery now.

    Qian Liangmu thought, Sure enough, it¡¯s not that simple!

    ¡°Senior brother, didn¡¯t you say that the formations of Savage mountain are currently under no one¡¯s control?¡± the spider lady asked.

    ¡°The two of them really aren¡¯t on the mountain right now. I didn¡¯t expect them to be bold enough to give control over the formations to someone else.¡±

    On Savage mountain, the Great Banyan Tree King sighed inside, This kid really knows how to make trouble for me! Meanwhile, a root absorbed the dense spiritual qi of Savage mountain. Then it dispersed it into the air through the leaves and branches, allowing the numerous formations to operate.

    He had already turned himself into the core of the formation, using the geographic advantage of Savage mountain and his bountiful knowledge and experience to make the formations unleash extraordinary power.

    ¡°All of you shut up! You don¡¯t have to do anything. All you have to do is watch!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor bellowed and left the jade throne, flying towards Savage mountain. He swung his hands about and struck out consecutively. Lightning Spheres of Myriad Poison barraged Savage mountain. The rumbles rang out endlessly like a thunderstorm.

    In the mountain valley, the night roamers looked at the sky in surprise and fear. Green bolts of lightning danced about like dragons and snakes within the surging poisonous mist, constantly slamming against the formation. Even just a single bolt of lightning was a great catastrophe to them.

    ¡°The Myriad Poison Ancestor! He really is a great cultivator after all. What he¡¯s capable of is well beyond what the likes of us can achieve.¡± Yu Wufeng stood on the mountain peak, his white hair drifting about freely. He was stern.

    ¡°Boss Yu, now is not the time to praise others. If the Myriad Poison Ancestor forces his way in, we¡¯ll all be doomed.¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber also arrived at the peak of the mountain to watch. His fat jiggled as a hint of fear filled his face. An opponent like that was well beyond what he could handle. Even when he hid within the formations, he struggled to find any sense of safety.

    ¡°Fellows, please take action and fend off the attacks!¡± Ye Liusu flew up.

    ¡°The Blood Oath Scroll does not require us to throw our lives at the Myriad Poison cult. I don¡¯t think we need to take action with the Great Banyan Tree King in charge of the formations.¡± Yu Wufeng snorted coldly. If it¡¯s Li Qingshan, then so be it, but even an otherfolk who has just undergone the tribulation is bold enough to order me around?

    Ye Liusu frowned and looked at the other cave masters. None of them had any intentions of taking action, all smiling at her.

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    ¡°Heh, the Blood Oath Scroll doesn¡¯t have a condition like that, but once our king returns and commands us, we¡¯ll still have to go and fight. Even the best conclusion is the Myriad Poison Ancestor stealing the Blood Oath Scroll, but I don¡¯t care anyway. I¡¯ll be serving like a dog no matter who I serve. At worst, I¡¯ll just follow the ancestor to attack the South Sea Sword pavilion.¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber smiled.

    Yu Wufeng¡¯s face changed. If the Blood Oath Scroll remained in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, then he still had a chance at regaining his freedom, but if it fell into the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s hands, then he would truly be done for. It would be extremely disadvantageous to the South Sea Sword pavilion too.

    With a thrum, the Fogbow sword exited its sheath and multiplied, turning into fogbows that penetrated deep into the poisonous cloud. Although they were eaten away in the blink of an eye, he was still wearing down the poisonous cloud and fending off the Lightning Spheres of Myriad Poison.

    ¡°Little pup Yu of the South Sea Sword pavilion, once I get through the formation, I¡¯ll cut off your dog head first and drench my banners in your blood!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor could not see what was going on inside Savage mountain, but he did recognise the sword techniques of the South Sea Sword pavilion and the fogbows. He had brought all his disciples here to show off his might to them, but he never expected the formation of Savage mountain to be so tough. The way it operated was ingenious, without the slightest opening, which left him frustrated.

    ¡°Old dog Myriad Poison, why don¡¯t you get through the formation first?¡± Yu Wufeng replied with a question.

    At this moment, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber took action too. He took in a deep breath and air surged into him fiercely. His mountainous body swelled up even more, like a huge ball of flesh. He swelled to his limit and suddenly opened his mouth, spitting out a thick, dense beam of light. It rushed into the air and actually pierced the poisonous cloud, leaving behind a huge hole. His mountainous body thinned down, and he began to wheeze for air.

    Yu Wufeng glanced at him in surprise. He never thought he would actually go all-out. The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber smiled. ¡°Since I¡¯ll be serving as a dog no matter what, I better find a good master!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An possessed the Blood Oath Scroll, but they did not really oppress them. Even when they waged battles throughout the south, they possessed an absolute advantage. Not only was there no danger at all, but they all received a share of the benefits too.

    Li Qingshan had no interest in founding a sect in the south or building some kind of organisation, but the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was interested. He did his best to convince Li Qingshan on one side while stringing together the various cave masters. He wanted to turn Savage mountain into an actual sect.

    He ranked second among the ten cave masters, but Yu Wufeng was aloof and unsociable. All he wanted to do was return to the South Sea Sword pavilion. The night roamers had Li Qingshan¡¯s favour and trust, but there was a natural gap between them and the cave masters. They basically did not interact or interfere with one another at all.

    No matter how he thought about it, his position actually possessed the connotation of ¡°head caretaker¡± a little. If he really could build Savage mountain into an organisation, then he would be a figure with real power who assisted the King of Savages in governing Savage mountain.

    During this period of contact, he realised that Li Qingshan was not a faithless and untrustworthy demon cultivator. Since he said there was a chance to remove the blood oath, that definitely was not just for say. By then, not only could he recover his freedom, but he might even have a chance to become the second King of Savages with his current position of head caretaker.

    Then he said, ¡°Our king is about to return, so why are you all still standing by? Are you waiting for our king to pass the orders in person?¡± Then he struck out again with three other cave masters he was closer with. Why would the remaining people want to stick out like sore thumbs? Whether they were willing to or not, all they could do was take action as well.

    With the power of the ten cave masters and the three night roamer sisters, the poisonous mist immediately dispersed by a lot. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face became more and more ugly. Savage mountain truly was a difficult bone to chew!

 Chapter 795

    Qian Liangmu said nothing more, going up to help out. With a wave of his hand, he tossed out a Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison, which collided with a Fogbow sword. They nullified one another.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to just watch?¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said in displeasure as he looked over.

    ¡°I saw master demonstrate the supreme techniques of the cult and really could not hold back, so I¡¯ve demonstrated my own incompetent technique as well. I hope master can provide me with guidance. When we return to the cult, I¡¯m willing to be punished!¡± Qian Liangmu said politely.

    Commendation filled the leader of the Myriad Poison cult¡¯s eyes. He waved his hand. ¡°So be it! I¡¯ll let you screw around this time!¡±

    Before he had even finished, the followers of the Myriad Poison cult called out, ¡°Please provide me with guidance, master!¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to be punished!¡± All of them swarmed over and attacked Savage mountain, whether it was through their arcane artifacts or techniques. For a moment, all sorts of light flashed about. They gathered the strength of an entire cult, and the pressure that the protective formation faced immediately increased drastically.

    ¡°Senior tree king, may I ask how much longer the formations can last for?¡± Ye Liusu asked the Great Banyan Tree King in worry.

    ¡°Not exactly too long. If no accidents happen¡­ a year or two should be no problem,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King waved his branches about and said with his ancient voice, ¡°But now that I have your assistance, they should be able to last a little longer than that.¡±

    ¡°Huh!?¡±

    Ye Liusu was stunned. She never expected ¡°not exactly too long¡± meant that long to the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Why would the Myriad Poison cult waste a year or two on Savage mountain? If their attacks could last a few days, it would be rather impressive already. The Great Banyan Tree King had clearly made a convervative estimate too.

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    In other words, there was no possibility that Savage mountain could fall to the Myriad Poison cult.

    The cave masters heard that and could not help but work even harder. They rejoiced over the fact that they had decided to take action. Otherwise, they would definitely be in for a scolding once Li Qingshan returned.

    They sighed in amazement inside, The Great Banyan Tree King truly deserves his reputation. If he¡¯s the one in control of the formations, then Savage mountain can probably only fall to the attacks of the King of Southern Yue and his allies!

    ¡°You guessed right. It really is the Myriad Poison cult. Looks like that old poisonous thing just can¡¯t stand me being around!¡± Li Qingshan stood on the cloud and gazed into the horizon at Savage mountain, which was currently shrouded in poisonous mist.

    Seeing how it was not the King of Southern Yue, he relaxed slightly inside. With the Great Banyan Tree King in charge of the formations, it definitely would not be falling to a single Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°We obviously won¡¯t lose if we work together. Killing the disciples might not be a problem, but it¡¯ll be very difficult to prevent the Myriad Poison Ancestor from leaving. We¡¯re still not ready for a direct confrontation with him, but how can we not reciprocate his kind intentions? C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go to the headquarters of the Myriad Poison cult!¡¯

    Li Qingshan turned around and flew away with Xiao An.

    A feeling of unease suddenly rose up in the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s heart. He turned around and gazed into the horizon, only to see wispy white clouds. He thought around, but he could not think of anything that could threaten him, so he made up his mind to continue assaulting Savage mountain.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Yin Qing, come out!¡±

    Yin Qing was cultivating in peace in the Asura Field when Li Qingshan¡¯s voice suddenly rang out beside her ears. She had already been moved out of the Asura Field.

    ¡°I have a mission for you. Can you use your techniques of moving through space to pass through the formation below?¡±

    Yin Qing followed Li Qingshan¡¯s finger and gazed down, only to see a large basin below. Within the sickly green miasma sat majestic, rising and falling buildings, fading in and out of sight. They were all dyed with a dark-green colour, giving off a gloomy aura.

    ¡°I can.¡± Yin Qing studied it for a moment before nodding.

    As an asura from the Asura realm, she grasped the techniques of moving through space that even regular asura could not grasp. The formations of the Myriad Poison cult were powerful, but they could not stop her.

    ¡°Then can you destroy the formations from within?¡± Li Qingshan continued with his questions.

    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± said Yin Qing.

    Xiao An said, ¡°It¡¯s relatively easy to destroy regular formations from within, but the formations of the Myriad Poison cult have been designed to work against both external and internal enemies. If you try to destroy it through force, you¡¯ll definitely die from the backlash.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. All that matters is you can pass through them!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Who¡¯s my target?¡± Yin Qing asked.

    ¡°All of the people!¡± Li Qingshan corrected himself. ¡°Not just the people, but the structures too. Anyway, just destroy everything as much as you can. All of the spoils belong to you.¡±

    ¡°As you wish!¡±

    Yin Qing accepted the orders and vanished with a single step. She appeared over five kilometers away and arrived at the north-west corner of the Myriad Poison cult with a few flashes. Afterwards, she used the techniques of moving through space and secretly infiltrated the place.

    Xiao An said, ¡°There¡¯s no turning back against the Myriad Poison cult now.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°He can¡¯t pierce my shield, but I have a spear that can pierce his, so of course, I have to put it to good use.¡±

    Xiao An nodded. ¡°In terms of assassination skill, Yin Qing even surpasses the night roamers. Apart from the Myriad Poison Ancestor himself, there aren¡¯t a lot of people from the Myriad Poison cult that can survive her assassinations.¡±

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    ¡°The Asura realm is a higher world after all, one of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. When it comes to battle experience, even I pale in comparison to her. If I can obtain a few more Asura Commanders as subordinates, they''ll definitely be even more powerful than the cave masters. I wonder whether I can use the Asura Field to summon Asura Kings one day!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the Asura Field in his hand before casting his gaze towards the Myriad Poison cult below.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be up to her next.¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had basically led away all of the cult¡¯s elders and disciples, but the cult was still very busy inside. Most of them were outer courtyard disciples that had not undergone the first heavenly tribulation, as well as a few protectors that watched over the cult. Kang Ming happened to be one of them. Today, it was his turn to guide the outer courtyard disciples with cultivation.

    He sat below the eaves and faced a square built from stone. Several hundred disciples stood sternly and listened closely.

    A gentle breeze drifted over. The bronze bell on the corner of the eaves jingled. The sunlight slanted down, refracting into a haze on the sculptures of beasts on the eaves.

    He was rather fed up with this job, wasting his precious time on a bunch of trash. In another three years¡¯ time, not even a third of the people standing here would remain. It was even likely that none of them could reach his current position in the very end after undergoing numerous selections.

    But the cult had rules that had to be followed, so he explained patiently as his eyes wandered between the disciples. In this generation, there were a few disciples that had quite the appearance. If he had spare time, he could play around with them.

    The warm breeze was intoxicating, the sunlight was enchanting, and he was absolutely safe in the sect. He felt extremely relaxed, even slightly tipsy. That was until a feeling of coldness suddenly filled his mind. He was mildly surprised, only to see a circular blade around his neck when he lowered his head. It glimmered under the sunlight.

    Kill!

    ¡­¡­

    Unable to breach the formations despite all this time, the Myriad Poison Ancestor gradually became restless. He also found this to be rather strange. With his mental fortitude, even if he could not take Savage mountain, he should not have been behaving like this. Had he missed something in his calculations?

    Apart from that, why had Li Qingshan not returned yet even after so long?

    He was confident that as long as Li Qingshan appeared, he definitely would not be able to escape his senses. That would be taking out the leader, and by then, taking Savage mountain would be a piece of cake.

    Right as he wondered that, his heart skipped a beat. On no!

    The disciples of the Myriad Poison cult, from when they rose up to the position of inner courtyard disciple, would be imbued with the Poisonous Heart gu. It would greatly increase their cultivation speed, providing convenience when it came to controlling gu insects. Additionally, it served as a method of control, preventing them from betraying him. Moreover, once they were killed, he would sense it too.

    In that moment earlier, the Myriad Poison Ancestor had clearly sensed protector Kang Ming being killed, and he had died in the Myriad Poison cult!

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 Chapter 796

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Qian Liangmu used his techniques again and again to assist the Myriad Poison Ancestor. He suddenly saw the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s expression change drastically, which made him ask that.

    ¡°Return to the Myriad Poison cult!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had no time to provide an explanation. He turned into a streak of green light and flew off to the Myriad Poison cult. The other disciples and elders had no idea what was going on, but they flew away with the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    Below, the surroundings of Savage mountain had been eaten away by the poisonous cloud and blasted into pieces by the techniques, reduced to a wasteland. However, Savage mountain itself was untouched. The mist continued to surge without dispersing.

    The night roamers and the ten cave masters were all confused by why the followers of the Myriad Poison cult had suddenly retreated. They were all taken aback.

    Ye Liusu asked the Great Banyan Tree King, ¡°Senior, the Myriad Poison cult has suddenly retreated. Is this some kind of scheme?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King, however, had a general idea of what was going on. He smiled. ¡°Your great king must have used some kind of plan to draw them away.¡±

    Ye Liusu stopped worrying. Even if the Myriad Poison cult had some kind of scheme, it would be useless before the Great Banyan Tree King who was known for his wisdom. Savage mountain was basically as safe as it could get with him watching the place.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor flew quickly. Suddenly, his heart skipped another beat, and another two inner courtyard disciples had died, both inside the Myriad Poison cult. He could not help but change drastically in expression, speeding up even more.

    What exactly has happened? The formations haven¡¯t been set off. Don¡¯t tell me internal conflict has erupted in the cult?

    There was nothing strange about having these doubts. Even the King of Southern Yue and the Great Banyan Tree King could not kill his disciples in the cult without even touching the formation. Speaking of which, probably only the Shadow Queen of the night roamers possessed such a wondrous ability.

    However, the influence of the Shadow palace did not reach the south. Apart from Ghost Shadow, he had not heard about any night roamers active in the south. The Shadow Queen rarely took action herself too, let alone the fact that she would be making a large sect like the Myriad Poison cult her enemy.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor rushed back to the huge basin. He passed through the green miasma and landed in the Myriad Poison cult. Immediately, a heavy reeking of blood invaded his nose.

    Corpses were strewn about with blood flowing everywhere, dyeing the square red.

    The corpses were all headless. There was a pyramid in the centre of the square composed of several hundred heads, all disciples of the Myriad Poison cult. On the very top was protector Kang Ming. Under the glow of the setting sun, his eyes were wide-open and glassy, warping his face in a hideous manner.

    Behind the pyramid of heads, six large words were written on the greenish-grey screen wall.

    ¡°Yours truly, the King of Savages!¡±

    The blood was still wet, flowing down as streaks.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face turned red before turning green and darkening. His eyes shone venomously as he squeezed out a name through his gritted teeth.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    He swung his hand violently, and the pyramid, along with the wall, was reduced to fine powder. His chest heaved heavily, but before he could even calm down, he suddenly said.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Qian Liangmu, his senior brother, his junior sister, five elders, and three protectors lead several dozen inner courtyard disciples back to the Myriad Poison cult. They were obviously much slower than the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    When the Myriad Poison Ancestor returned to the cult, they had not even covered a tenth of the journey. Everyone was worried. They had no idea what had happened in the cult, but they were not bold enough to abandon the regular disciples either. If the ten cave masters of Savage mountain came in pursuit, they would basically lose all of the sect¡¯s foundations.

    Of course, they were over-worrying with this. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s name was already enough to deter the cave masters from taking this risk. None of the cave masters had encountered any actual danger in this battle, but they were all exhausted. They sat in meditation to catch their breaths.

    A while later, only Yu Wufeng stood up. Clutching his Fogbow sword, he gazed in the direction which the Myriad Poison cult had retreated in and sank into his thoughts.

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    ¡°Looks like our king has led away the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Regular disciples can¡¯t fly quickly, so they must have fallen behind. They don¡¯t have any geographic advantage either. They can¡¯t recover much strength through pills alone, so why don¡¯t you go after them and take a look, brother Yu?¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber laughed. He had lost quite a lot of fat yet again, now a fatty that weighed a quarter of a tonne.

    ¡°What a plan, fatty. You want to send me to my death?¡± Yu Wufeng said coldly.

    Even without the Myriad Poison Ancestor, how was he supposed to fend off Qian Liangmu and the others alone? If he became caught in battle and the Myriad Poison Ancestor rushed back, he would have no idea how he died.

    ¡°Of course not, of course not. It¡¯s not like I know how to ride swords, so it¡¯s difficult for me to come or go. If you could kill a few people from the Myriad Poison cult, you¡¯d be making a great contribution to Savage mountain. With how our king keeps such clear tabs over his debts of kindness and grievances, he might even give you freedom.¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber chuckled. He was basically all too eager to see Yu Wufeng run into the Myriad Poison Ancestor and die outside. That way, he would become the mighty first cave master of Savage mountain. Li Qingshan was the King of Savages, while he could be regarded as the crown prince.

    However, he was not lying either. Otherwise, why would Yu Wufeng ever believe him? It was not like he was a fool.

    Sure enough, Yu Wufeng gazed at the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber deeply. He was tempted. With his strength, he should not encounter too much danger as long as he did not run into the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    ¡°We¡¯ll work together!¡±

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    A black shadow appeared. Ghost Shadow was quite confident in his stealth. He believed that as long as he did not clash with the Myriad Poison Ancestor, remaining safe would be no problem at all. He had been persuaded by what the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said. He wanted to see if there was any merit for him to earn.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Yu Wufeng made up his mind and slammed the Fogbow sword, rising up with the sword. He merged with it and shot off as a white streak of light.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go too!¡±

    Ye Liusu said, merging into the darkness with Ye Liuxing and Ye Liubo and tailing right behind them.

    The followers of the Myriad Poison cult rode on a huge, green cloud together, flying towards the Myriad Poison cult. A streak of white light tailed behind them, still several kilometers away. Yu Wufeng narrowed his eyes and brought his fingers together, stroking them past the Fogbow sword gently. Sword qi filled the surroundings, and his white hair danced about. Suddenly, he thrust out with the sword.

    An extremely resplendent streak of light shot towards the green cloud, only in hopes of stopping the followers for a moment so that he could create an opportunity for Ghost Shadow. Of course, it would be best if he could kill a few disciples of the Myriad Poison cult during the process too.

    The streak of light shot into the green cloud. The cloud seemed extremely soft, but after surging, it actually absorbed and nullified the streak of light with great ease.

    Yu Wufeng came to a halt and frowned. The Myriad Poison cult really was capable of something. They were not a random assortment of people. Instead, their powers were united, assembling into something that resembled a formation. Even Ghost Shadow probably was not bold enough to infiltrate the cloud and carry out assassinations.

    Qian Liangmu flew out of the green cloud and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come to see us off, cave master Yu?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s been quite some time since I¡¯ve heard about the Sickly Prince¡¯s great reputation. You¡¯re known as a genius together with my junior brother, Peng Jingni. Do you have the courage to face me in battle today?¡±

    Yu Wufeng stood with his sword. He had noticed that the Myriad Poison Ancestor was not around a long time ago, which was why he spoke with such composure, but he was considering whether to advance or retreat right now. There probably were not any easy pickings this time, but if he wanted to leave, he only needed to bat an eye too. The Fogbow sword moved extremely quickly, well beyond what any of these people could keep up with.

    Qian Liangmu said, ¡°Cave master Yu¡¯s courage is admirable, far more suited to become the next master of the South Sea Sword pavilion than your junior brother. It¡¯s just a pity that you¡¯re bound by the blood oath, which is quite the misfortune!¡±

    ¡°Are you colluding with the enemy in front of so many of us, junior brother? Stop wasting words on him. Kill the little pup of the South Sea Sword pavilion!¡± the centipede man said impatiently.

    Qian Liangmu originally wanted to mock Yu Wufeng a little, hopefully impelling him into killing his way over, but he never expected his senior brother to trip him over first. He fumingly said, ¡°Senior brother, you want me to perish together with him, but that¡¯s exactly what I won¡¯t do. Yu Wufeng was originally the first senior brother of the South Sea Sword pavilion, while senior brother is the first senior brother of our Myriad Poison cult. You¡¯re the one who should be facing him today.¡±

    ¡°Stop bickering, senior brothers. You¡¯re just making a fool out of yourselves in front of him. Let¡¯s ignore this kid and return to the Myriad Poison cult quickly. We¡¯ll have plenty of opportunities in the future to take his life.¡±

    The spider lady urged, which earned the agreement of the many elders. They were all rather worried after the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sudden departure.

    ¡°You can see us off for a great part of the journey, but we¡¯ll still have to part at the end of the day. Please return, cave master Yu. We¡¯ll definitely have another chance in the future!¡±

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    Qian Liangmu clasped his hands. He personally believed he was not as crude as these southern barbarians as he came from the royal clan. He would maintain his bearing as a prince at all times.

    Yu Wufeng said nothing. Right now, they only stood a chance if all ten cave masters were present. He was about to retreat resolutely when a strange sound rang out in his ears.

    It sounded like the cry of a dragon, striking fear into the soul and echoing through the clouds, yet also like buddhist chanting, righteous and conscientious, reaching all sentient creatures.

    Even his soul began to shake when he heard it. Yu Wufeng immediately sealed off his sense of hearing, but it was useless. The sound grew louder and louder, boundless and omnipresent.

    Since when did a technique like this exist in the south!?

    Yu Wufeng gazed into the distance. The glow in the west was like fire. The sound originated from the rays upon rays of the setting sun. A speck of golden light flickered about like a brilliant star that had risen up from the incoming night, shining brighter and brighter, growing closer and closer.

    ¡°It¡¯s her!¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± the spider lady blurted out.

    If Yu Wufeng only felt shocked, then the followers of the Myriad Poison cult truly felt pressured. The green cloud that they rode on surged and fluctuated, showing signs of collapsing. It did not have a time as easy as when it devoured Yu Wufeng¡¯s streak of light.

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    Xiao An was shrouded in rays from the setting sun, but even that was unable to drown out her golden glow. Her bluish-white robes surged as she flew towards the poison cloud. She opened her mouth slightly, unleashing the ultimate secret technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that even the Golden Cicada Spirit King wanted to learn, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!

    Her dark eyes were still, seeing through the reality behind form and emptiness, comprehending the profound truths of buddhist dharma. She pushed this buddhist secret technique to the limit, but what she powered it with was the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, created for destroying buddhism.

    ¡°It¡¯s her!¡±

    Qian Liangmu gazed into the distance and saw the beautiful face he could never forget. He struggled to believe that such a vast and mighty sound actually originated from the mouth of such a small woman.

    He had learnt long ago that she was the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s most outstanding disciple across the past thousand years, yet she still came to the south with Li Qingshan regardless of all the risks and costs. Under the great reputation of the King of Savages, she had remained silent the entire time, accompanying him and serving as contrast for his splendour, which made people look down on her or even neglect her. After all, she had only undergone the second heavenly tribulation recently. Even if she was a genius, her strength must have been limited.

    Only now did it dawn on him that she was actually so powerful. She did not seem meek and compliant at all like when she was beside him. She actually overwhelmed them all in terms of aura.

    ¡°So she¡¯s that Xiao An or whatever beside Li Qingshan! She¡¯s come just in time! I¡¯ll capture her and seek reward from master!¡±

    The centipede man pursed his lips excitedly. Her beauty was virtually unheard of. Perhaps he could even get a taste of it for himself.

    ¡°Kill that bitch!¡± the spider lady called out enviously.

    ¡°Fucking idiots!¡± Qian Liangmu could no longer care about his image and demeanour as a prince. He cursed out loud, but his face was filled with shock.

    Since she was already here, could Li Qingshan still be far?

 Chapter 797

    Qian Liangmu¡¯s heart suddenly rose up into his throat. Those who had never seen Li Qingshan could never imagine what kind of power and influence this man possessed.

    In terms of cultivation alone, every single elder and protector here surpassed him, so while he did possess startling feats in battle, they had only heard about it. It was very difficult for them to take the three words ¡°King of Savages¡± too seriously.

    They were just like how the Myriad Poison Ancestor did not care that the Great Banyan Tree King referred to him as ¡°fellow¡±. Were there any cultivators that reached their realm of cultivation not geniuses with startling talent? Had they all not undergone numerous years of arduous cultivation? And who was not confident in their own strength?

    No matter what, Li Qingshan was far too young, being in his thirties. Qian Liangmu might have possessed the appearance of a young prince, but when it came to his age as a mortal, he was more than old enough to serve as Li Qingshan¡¯s grandfather.

    The mightiest sect of the south was a gathering of elites. Even without the Myriad Poison Ancestor, why would they be afraid of a surprise attack from a measly Li Qingshan? That was how the Myriad Poison Ancestor thought too, which was why he left without even batting an eye, completely unworried about their safety.

    However, Qian Liangmu had personally seen Li Qingshan and had sensed this difference, which was why he knew dread. Since Li Qingshan was bold enough to lead away the Myriad Poison Ancestor before going out of his way to intercept them here, he must have had quite a lot of confidence.

    He looked around. Mountains and forests rose and fell below as white clouds drifted past overhead. Li Qingshan could be hiding anywhere. The vast land suddenly became filled with killing intent, enough to suffocate him.

    Xiao An was unstoppable, flying over from the west like a dazzling, golden star. The sound of the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga grew deeper and louder too, resounding through the surroundings.

    Even with the obstruction from the green cloud, the elders and protectors felt their bodies surge, struggling to focus their soul senses. The regular disciples were even worse off. They clutched their heads and collapsed on the cloud. They felt like their souls had been thrown into surging waves as if it could be torn apart at any time.

    ¡°So this is the special technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. It really is something else!¡± ¡°Oh no, stop her! Let¡¯s take her down together quickly!¡±

    As they spoke, Xiao An was already five kilometers from them. The power of the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga was pushed to the limit, but she showed no signs of slowing down. She only needed a few more seconds, and their battle would formally erupt.

    The followers of the Myriad Poison cult were ready, itching to strike. Suddenly, they felt their bodies sink as if the sky had been forcefully pulled down. They all staggered about.

    The green cloud surged, close to collapsing, and the regular disciples who were already under the influence of the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga all coughed up blood. Their organs were torn to shreds.

    Qian Liangmu shivered inside and suddenly raised his head. It¡¯s here!

    Among the clouds, in the depths of the sky illuminated by the setting sun, a black speck appeared. It rapidly expanded and fell at an unbelievable speed!

    The fierce winds whistled past Li Qingshan¡¯s ears, producing white streams of turbulence around him. The white clouds were thrown far behind him as the verdant ground flew towards his face.

    He unfolded the wings of wind completely, and the flames of the phoenix blazed brightly. The wind and fire merged together, trailing behind him like the long tail of a comet.

    Having undergone the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, the rebirth in fire, he demonstrated this form once again, but he was far faster and tougher than before.

    In the blink of an eye, the followers of the Myriad Poison cult had arrived right before him. He could clearly make out all of their stunned faces. Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile. He spread the fingers on his right hand and bent his right arm backwards. He called out.

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    ¡°Have you ever heard about a palm strike that falls from the sky?¡±

    The moment Qian Liangmu saw Li Qingshan, his senses of danger developed through countless trials of death basically roared out. He took out the Great Shifting talisman he had been holding onto for a very long time and activated it without any regard anymore.

    However, his senior brother and junior sister, as well as the elders and protectors, clearly did not believe there was a need for that. His senior brother and junior sister even mocked him for his cowardice, thinking about how they could tattle on him to the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    An elder rejoiced. He pointed at the sky and roared, ¡°He¡¯s the King of Savages, Li Qingshan! Capture him immediately! Sheer luck really does triumph over effort sometimes! You¡¯re really trying to bring ruin on yourself! You¡¯re really¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan slammed down with his hand, suddenly turning into a colossal palm that cast down a huge shadow that enveloped all the followers of the Myriad Poison cult. Like a falling mountain, it slammed down heavily.

    Bang!

    The green cloud crumbled. Many deep explosions seemed to ring out as a bloody mist rose up.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s descent slowed down, and the unfurled wings pulled together, landing gently on the ground. He dispersed his demonic armour, and his scarlet eyes turned black. His right arm turned back to normal as well. Swinging it around, he sighed gently. ¡°This move is powerful, but it takes up quite the effort and daemon qi! Fortunately, my control over my power is much sharper after the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a. In the past, I¡¯d only come to a stop if I slammed into the ground.¡±

    Yu Wufeng¡¯s eyes were wide open, and his mouth hung agape, unable to return to his senses. Having spent all these years cultivating, he personally believed he had seen and heard everything he needed to. He had seen it all, no matter how strange or bizarre, but never had he been as stunned as today.

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    From the moment Xiao An appeared, he was ready to provide support. What could he do about the fact that she possessed the Blood Oath Scroll after all? By the time Li Qingshan appeared in the sky, he had lifted up the Fogbow sword, ready to put on a good display.

    However, before he could even use a single sword technique, Li Qingshan had whistled down with a swish, moving who knew how many times faster than when he rode the sword.

    And then¡­ and then¡­ the Myriad Poison cult was gone!

    Two direct disciples, three protectors, five elders, and even the several dozen inner courtyard disciples they had brought with them all vanished from the world. If it were not for the faint scent of blood that drifted over with the wind, he basically would have suspected the Myriad Poison cult had done something wondrous to collectively move everyone away.

    And even when he had seen it with his own eyes, he still struggled to believe it. The elites and mainstays of the Myriad Poison cult had just been crushed under his palm like that!?

    Ghost Shadow could not help but emerge from hiding. His expression was exactly the same as Yu Wufeng¡¯s.

    The strength of the ox and tiger, the speed of the phoenix, combined with support of three great abilities, the Tremors of the Ox Demon, the Gravity of the Earth, and Like Giving Wings to a Tiger, formed a terrifying power. Let alone a group of first and second heavenly tribulation cultivators, even if the Myriad Poison Ancestor took on that blow, he would be heavily injured if he managed to survive somehow.

    Of course, hitting the opponent with a strike like that was basically impossible in an evenly-matched battle. Even though a difference in strength existed, Li Qingshan still sent Xiao An to distract the enemy, to make them remain where they were and divert their attention. After that, he spent quite some time divining and calculating with the spirit turtle. Only then did he strike valiantly, launching a blow like that.

    The result of taking a strike from him was no longer as simple as being reduced to a pulp. Their bodies had been completely destroyed, reduced to a bloody mist.

    Coincidentally, right when Li Qingshan landed on the ground, Xiao An flew over and swung the Blood Sea Banner, sucking the bloody mist and souls inside.

    Just like that, the Myriad Poison cult that had been passed down through the generations, standing in infamy for thousands of years, had been devastated in a single day, their lineage severed under a single palm strike.

 Chapter 798

    A few stars had already silently opened their eyes in the dusky sky, gazing at this world coldly.

    A green streak of light shot past and suddenly came to a halt. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face changed drastically, filled with disbelief. He murmured, ¡°Impossible! Impossible! Who is it exactly!?¡±

    He refused to believe that Li Qingshan was capable of such a feat. It was exactly this incorrect judgement that cost him severely. He gritted his teeth, and his face turned green. He had gone as far as to sacrifice his cultivation to fly faster.

    When he was close to where the followers of the Myriad Poison cult had died, a call suddenly rang out from below, ¡°Master! I¡¯m here!¡±

    ¡°Who is it? Who did it?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor arrived beside Qian Liangmu with a flash and grabbed him by the shoulder, asking away viciously.

    ¡°I- it¡¯s Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Just him?¡±

    ¡°And that Xiao An. She used the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga to intercept us. I saw that something was amiss, so I used a Great Shifting talisman. Have they¡­ have they¡­¡±

    Qian Liangmu had escaped, but up until now, he still wondered whether his decision was correct or not. He worried about how he was supposed to explain himself to the Myriad Poison Ancestor if Li Qingshan was not as dangerous as his gut feeling told him. Only now when he saw the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s expression did he finally confirm that he had made the correct decision. In fact, the situation seemed to be even worse than he had imagined it to be.

    There were so many of them¡­ did none of them manage to escape?

    ¡°Hmph, you sure know how to run!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor glared at Qian Liangmu.

    ¡°I deserve death! Please punish me, master!¡± Qian Liangmu said.

    ¡°So be it. It¡¯s already rare enough that you managed to escape alive. Once I ascend, you¡¯ll be the next cult leader of the Myriad Poison cult. You haven¡¯t let down my high hopes for you.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor swung his arm and gradually calmed down. He gazed in the direction of Savage mountain with a sunken expression.

    ¡°Master, what should we do now?¡±

    He had obtained what he had been dreaming about the entire time, yet Qian Liangmu had no idea how to respond. By now, Li Qingshan and the others had probably escaped back into Savage mountain already.

    They had struck with the forces of the entire Myriad Poison cult when Li Qingshan was not even there, yet they had still failed to take down Savage mountain. Just the two of them remained now. They had basically been inviting humiliation, but Qian Liangmu dared not say that to the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    However, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was no mediocre person. It had just been many years since he suffered such a great loss, which left him careless. Now that he had been smacked right in his face, he had already made up his mind. He ordered Qian Liangmu.

    ¡°Return and watch over the Myriad Poison cult. I¡¯m going to a place! I¡¯ll never let this matter drop until Li Qingshan has been reduced to dust!¡±

    ¡­¡­

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    ¡°Strange. The Myriad Poison Ancestor hasn¡¯t rushed over. So much for us rushing back!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood on the tip of the tall tower on the main peak of Savage mountain and gazed at the horizon, only to see the sun vanishing into the west, the sky black like ink, and the moonlight flowing like water.

    ¡°He is a sect master after all. He won¡¯t be so rash and irrational.¡± Xiao An sat on the edge of the tower roof, the stars reflecting in her eyes and her long hair drifting with the night breeze.

    ¡°Heh, fair enough. What a pity. I was even planning on cursing him a little more!¡± Li Qingshan looked away and said regretfully.

    ¡°He won¡¯t just let this slide. We still need to take precautions,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not the King of Southern Yue launching a full-scale invasion, who can get through my tree king formation?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    In the valley, the Great Banyan Tree King sighed helplessly. He would have to go to quite a lot of trouble for this kid yet again.

    ¡°In my knowledge, there still are others,¡± said Xiao An. Hopefully, it would not be too troublesome of an opponent, or perhaps the foundations of Savage mountain really might be destroyed one day.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The world is vast and powerful cultivators are as common as clouds, but we can¡¯t just let anyone walk over us. Whether it''s favours or grievances, they¡¯ll be paid back tenfold!¡±

    In the Asura Field.

    ¡°Just what is your relationship with that Li person? We¡¯ve worked so hard, yet you¡¯re the one who reaps the most benefit.¡±

    Yin Qing sighed, standing with her hands behind her back and studying the bald Daemon General of mediocre strength and limited intelligence. He was Milliped.

    ¡°Friends! Milliped likes friends!¡±

    Milliped rubbed his head and smiled foolishly, clutching a series of dark-green pearls in his hand. Every single one of them possessed vast amounts of spiritual qi.

    They were the primary spoils of this battle, ten golden cores from the protectors and elders of the Myriad Poison cult. Because their attributes were all poison, they were useless to Li Qingshan, so he tossed them all to Milliped.

    These ten poison cores could save Milliped a thousand years. It basically confirmed that he could become a Daemon Commander, and even his chances at becoming a Daemon King had increased drastically. Even Yin Qing was envious of such treatment, developing a little more admiration towards Li Qingshan.

    If she could return to the Asura realm one day and follow an Asura King like him, that would be quite a good choice. Though, she was better off enjoying her rare holiday right now.

    Yin Qing crossed her legs and sat down, finding an exquisite tea set within the pile of hundred treasures pouch. She added a pinch of tea leaves before boiling it in spiritual water, pouring herself a full cup. The wisps of steam curled upwards, and the exotic fragrance pervaded the surroundings.

    Milliped stopped looking at the poison cores. Instead, he stared straight at the tea cup, downright drooling from his mouth.

    Yin Qing placed down the tea cup. ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re disgusting! Whatever. Wipe away your drool. I¡¯ll invite you to a cup.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°My king, the cave masters are currently waiting for you in the Savage King hall for instructions.¡±

    Yu Wufeng arrived on the main peak and clasped his hands towards Li Qingshan, who stood on the top of the tower. He was extremely respectful and cautious.

    Li Qingshan had defeated him in the past and forced him to swear the blood oath, but Yu Wufeng had always found this rather difficult to accept. He always felt that Li Qingshan had only stopped him from escaping through the help of others. However, the battle today had left an extremely great impact on him.

    The South Sea Sword pavilion and the Myriad Poison cult had clashed for many years. They had always treated each other as mortal enemies. There had been countless epics about righteous battles and stirring sacrifices between the south and the South sea, but as it turned out, it was merely the matter of a palm strike to him.

    Even if I undergo the third heavenly tribulation, I won¡¯t be his opponent! But the most terrifying part of this all is he¡¯s only in his thirties! He was not just shocked by Li Qingshan¡¯s great strength. He also felt like his prior beliefs had crumbled around him, opening up his eyes.

    Li Qingshan leapt down. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Savage King hall was a hall constructed under the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s lead. It used up a total of a hundred tonnes of black tortoise stone, sitting majestically on the ridge of the mountain. It was not carved and polished, but it gave off a primitive aura. It seemed particularly sunken under the curtain of night.

    At the very centre of the hall was a black throne. To the sides below were ten smaller seats. The nine cave masters had already taken their seats. Apart from Ghost Shadow who remained silent, the other cave masters all discussed among themselves. The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was the liveliest out of them all.

    At this moment, a large, tall figure appeared at the entrance. Li Qingshan strode in.

    The cave masters stood up at the same time, bending forward and clasping their hands. ¡°Greetings, our king!¡± Their combined voices echoed through the spacious hall, filled with both fear and respect.

    Li Qingshan made his way between them and arrived before the black, stone throne. He studied it. The throne sat high up, its base fused with the ground and sculpted with many skeletons according to the aesthetics of the south. However, the back was as rugged as a sword, where the uncut and unpolished rock jutted right into the sky.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. It was just rock!

    However, when he took his seat and told the ten cave masters to take their seats as well, the rock suddenly seemed to become magical. The gazes of every single cave master gathered on it, each shining with certain thoughts, which made the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber worry.

 Chapter 799

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber wanted to turn Savage mountain into a demonic sect. He had put in quite the effort, but the results had never been promising. The cave masters all had their own thoughts. They could all tell what he was trying to do.

    Even that Li person doesn¡¯t really care, yet a damned fatty like you badgers on endlessly. That¡¯s not for you to fret about!

    However, after experiencing this battle, the cave masters could not help but re-evaluate the possibility of this plan. Since even the Myriad Poison cult was helpless against him, even devastated by a single palm strike from Li Qingshan, Savage mountain was clearly trying to rise up as the greatest organisation of the south. It became even more impossible for them to rely on others to get out of their current situation.

    As a result, the rock that Li Qingshan sat on was no longer just a rock, but a throne that possessed great authority over numerous lives. It tempted them all. If one day, when Li Qingshan became sick of sitting on it, the next person to sit down there would be the new King of Savages.

    Li Qingshan had no interest in founding some large organisation, nor did he believe he had the capabilities as a leader. However, this was the cultivation community. People naturally submitted to strength, and strength could replace all tactics and schemes.

    ¡°You¡¯ve all been troubled with handling the Myriad Poison cult¡¯s attack this time!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand and the people answered loudly, ¡°Serving the king is our duty.¡±

    ¡°The Myriad Poison cult has completely overestimated themselves. I¡¯ve already devastated their entire sect. Only the Myriad Poison Ancestor remains. I still don¡¯t have confidence in killing him, so I¡¯ll spare him for now. I¡¯ll definitely make him pay in the future.¡±

    ¡°Mighty be the king!¡±

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t have you today¡­ the formations obviously would not have fallen, but I¡¯ve mentioned long ago that I¡¯ll remember anyone who contributes. In particular, you seem a lot skinner, fatty the second!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at the first seat to his left. The huge, stone seat basically struggled to contain the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s fat.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber tried to decline the honour, but he laughed so hard that all his fat jiggled. He added, ¡°My king, just like how nothing can be accomplished without rules and standards, let¡¯s set up a set of rules for our Savage mountain. You can¡¯t only rely on the Blood Oath Scroll, just in case someone constantly slacks off and merely spectates from one side!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced around. ¡°Do you have any objections to that?¡±

    The cave masters all expressed their agreement. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll leave this up to you then, fatty the second!¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± A cave master stood forward in opposition.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Li Qingshan looked over, only to see it was actually the Marquis of Serene Sea. He said in thought, ¡°Ever since you swore the blood oath, you never said anything as long as I wasn¡¯t talking to you. You look down on the other cave masters too. Why have you suddenly stepped forward today?¡±

    ¡°Marquis, what objections do you have? Don¡¯t tell me you still have other thoughts of returning to your estate?¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber turned around. The friendliness unique to fatties suddenly vanished. His face warped hideously, which made them all remember he was an infamous demonic cultivator of the south.

    ¡°I completely agree with the second cave master¡¯s suggestion, but shouldn¡¯t the first rule be determining our position among one another? In the south, only strength matters, so I request a competition, my king, to re-establish the rankings. I refuse to believe I¡¯ll just be the tenth cave master!¡±

    The Marquis of Serene Sea clasped his hands. Because he was the last person to swear the oath, he was ranked tenth. He had never cared about this ranking, but he stood forward now to contest it. Even if he could not defeat Yu Wufeng, was he supposed to lose to this fatty?

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s face became even more twisted. He had never expected the Marquis of Serene Sea to suddenly realise and contend with him. A few other cave masters agreed with the Marquis of Serene Sea and banded together. Rankings were not a number anymore, but actual reputation and authority. Who was willing to dwell beneath another?

    ¡°The current rankings will definitely change in the future, but I don¡¯t look at just strength. There¡¯s contribution as well. The Fire Devouring King calls me powerless and useless. I wish to destroy him, to demonstrate that I am not powerless and useless. If you have any suggestions, you¡¯re welcome to bring them forward!¡±

    Li Qingshan straightened himself out and placed both hands on the armrests, suddenly bringing this up.

    The hall fell silent. Why had he suddenly mentioned the Fire Devouring King? The Fire Devouring King was an existence much more troublesome than the Myriad Poison cult.

    Across the entire Mist province, there were many more large sects than in the Green province, but their foundations and heritages paled in comparison. Often, only the sect master was a great cultivator who had undergone the third heavenly tribulation with the position passed down from third heavenly tribulation cultivator to the next third heavenly tribulation cultivator.

    This was because conflict was all too common in the Mist province. It was not just between sects, but among sects too. Hypothetically, if Qian Liangmu became the leader of the Myriad Poison cult, his senior brother and junior sister would probably flee. If they underwent the third heavenly tribulation but were still unable to take the position of cult leader from him, they would make a fresh start and found a new sect elsewhere. This was why the Mist province was littered with sects and independent cultivators.

    But across the entire Mist province, there were only one group of fire devourers. They had never fragmented either. The forces they had accumulated through the generations was well beyond what the Myriad Poison cult could contend with. Fire devourers were extremely belligerent in nature, so once they were provoked, they would swarm over like a group of hornets.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Have you all become mute?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Please reconsider, my king. The fire devourers are no trivial race. They¡¯re littered with powerful existences. The formations of Savage mountain are controlled by the Great Banyan Tree King, but even they might not necessarily be enough to stop them,¡± the Marquis of Serene Sea said.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber cast aside their dispute from earlier and expressed agreement. Once they declared war against the fire devourers, their chances of dying would increase drastically. The Fire Devouring King did not show mercy when he began killing humans.

    ¡°Heh, what a group of unreliable people. You stand forward when there¡¯s benefits up for grabs and shrink back in the face of difficulty. Wufeng, what do you think?¡± Li Qingshan asked the silent, thinking Yu Wufeng.

    ¡°Your orders are my command, my king! I¡¯m willing to serve you like a horse!¡± Yu Wufeng immediately stood up.

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. Originally, he wanted to see whether he could borrow the forces of the South Sea Sword pavilion, but Yu Wufeng indirectly implied he refused to pull the South Sea Sword pavilion into this mess.

    This was why Li Qingshan had no interest in founding some kind of organisation, especially from a group of demonic cultivators. Any rules or systems he set up would be completely unreliable. It was still easier to just order them around with the Blood Oath Scroll. He snorted inside, When the time comes, the lot of you can go plug up the top of the volcano!

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze of ill intentions, the hall fell silent once again. The atmosphere was heavy. No one said anything.

    Suddenly, a crisp voice rang out from outside the hall, ¡°Young bloke, do you really plan on opposing the fire devourers?¡±

    The cave masters looked over. They were wondering who was bold enough to show such disrespect to Li Qingshan, only to see a woman in white standing there with a smile. Her skin was gentle and lucid like jade, even paler than her clothes, but she was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator. However, Xiao An, who directly controlled their fates, stood beside her expressionlessly.

    ¡°Show some respect! I¡¯m the King of Savages now!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and leaned back on his throne again.

    ¡°Greetings, my king!¡± Ru Xin arrived before the throne and bowed gracefully. She seemed to be in an extremely great mood.

    ¡°What, are you still trying to persuade me to not oppose the fire devourers?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°No, no, no. Let me lend you a hand, to render the fire devourers extinct!¡± Ru Xin smiled. Her dark eyes shimmered with a cold light.

 Chapter 800

    The cave masters looked at one another and exchanged glances. They silently communicated with their soul senses. ¡°What bold words! With her cultivation, she actually wants to render the fire devourers extinct!¡± ¡°Even if she undergoes the second heavenly tribulation, the Fire Devouring King will burn her to a crisp.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re serious? You¡¯re not joking?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt rather surprised too. Originally, he was only hoping to learn about inside information regarding the Merfolk of the South sea through her. Then he would find some way to persuade the Merfolk King to provide troops to attack Fire Melt mountain. He never expected her to say she wanted to exterminate the fire devourers right off the bat. He gazed into her eyes, trying to see through her thoughts.

    ¡°This is the only thing I won¡¯t joke about! But you need to give me some time, until I undergo the second heavenly tribulation,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°I don¡¯t really want to believe you, but fine! If you need anything, feel free to mention it.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. She sure had changed her mind quickly, going from vehement opposition in the beginning to vehement agreement. It sure was puzzling.

    ¡°First of all, gather as much information as possible about the recent movements of the merpeople and the fire devourers, but don¡¯t alarm them. Don¡¯t give away the fact that you plan to oppose Fire Melt mountain or ally yourself with the merpeople either. Apart from that, capture a few fire devourers for me. They don¡¯t need to be particularly powerful, but keep it a secret too. It would be best if you mislead them into believing it was the handiwork of the others. Last of all, I need to gather a few items, and I need the cooperation of everyone seated.¡±

    Ru Xin said with fervour and assurance, clearly having thought this through already.

    Li Qingshan did not ask what she wanted to do. He agreed to it all and ordered the cave masters to cooperate.

    The cave masters were reluctant to be ordered around by a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but this was still better than throwing their lives at the fire devourers after all. Who knew just how long it would take her to undergo the second heavenly tribulation. By then, perhaps Li Qingshan would have calmed down and lost interest in attacking Fire Melt mountain.

    The cave masters dispersed with their orders. Only Li Qingshan and Ru Xin remained in the dark, heavy hall.

    Their eyes met. Li Qingshan wanted to speak, but he suddenly waved his hand. ¡°Forget about it. You can tell me when you want to!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a little tempted to tell you right now.¡± Ru Xin smiled.

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    ¡°But with how keen you are to find out, I feel like I¡¯m losing out if I tell you!¡± Ru Xin twirled her hair.

    ¡°Fucking hell!¡± Li Qingshan cursed. Then he laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve finally turned back to normal.¡± Although, she did feel a little more vicious again.

    ¡°Have I ever been abnormal?¡± Ru Xin blinked her eyes. She turned around and waved her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go handle the matters. Kid, just sit there and wait for the results!¡±

    Watching Ru Xin leave, Li Qingshan leaned against the armrest and poked his head forward. He asked, ¡°What did you say to her?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I just said you¡¯re determined to attack Fire Melt mountain and obtain the divine wutong tree for cultivation, and she cheered up!¡±

    Xiao An sat on the armrest and extended her hand, touching Li Qingshan¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to eat her now.¡± Li Qingshan gently scooped her up with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you wouldn¡¯t want to lose her. Hmph, who likes to nibble on rock anyway!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, the Myriad Poison Ancestor traversed through the dark jungle. He moved slowly as if there was a potential trap under every single step he took. There was not a single person to be seen in the surroundings, but he could clearly sense countless prying eyes.

    He remained calm and composed. He was confident the person he wanted to see would appear very soon.

    Suddenly, he stopped.

    The darkness became thicker, like a pool of black water surging in silence. Within the extreme darkness, even the surroundings became bizarre. The trees twisted slightly like black, drifting silhouettes, casting darkness that was even darker than darkness on the darkness.

    Black, shadow-like vegetation grew around the Myriad Poison Ancestor. They were densely-packed with huge buds atop their thin stalks. The numerous buds bloomed at the same time, but they did not bloom flowers, but multiple gaping mouths. They spoke together.

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    ¡°Myriad Poison, why aren¡¯t you enjoying yourself in the south? What brings you to my Shadow palace?¡± Every single voice was sharp and ear-splitting, layering together in the thousands. It was enough for people to voluntarily deafen themselves just to avoid hearing the horrible sound.

    Even the Myriad Poison Ancestor became slightly restless inside. He composed himself. ¡°I want you to kill someone for me, fellow!¡±

    ¡°Oh? A person that I can kill, but you can¡¯t! You should know that the Shadow palace never assassinates targets beyond the third heavenly tribulation, whether it¡¯s humans, daemons, or otherfolk, or half-human, half-daemons, half-human, half-otherfolk, or half-otherfolk, half-daemons!¡±

    The Shadow Queen spoke extremely quickly. The shadow formed three lines in the air, and each stroke changed into the silhouette of a human, daemon, and otherfolk before rapidly interweaving and forming so-called half-human, half-daemons, and so on.

    ¡°No, not the third heavenly tribulation. The second heavenly tribulation!¡±

    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s interesting. Name?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor struggled to hide his resentment.

    ¡°The King of Savages, Li Qingshan¡­ Declined! Please return!¡± The Shadow Queen seemed to consider it before declining resolutely. The shadow in the air formed a cross before drifting away.

    ¡°Wait, you haven¡¯t heard the remuneration yet!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor took a step forward and extended his hand.

    The shadow plants suddenly merged into a colossal shadow monster, blocking the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s path. It roared, ¡°Did the King of Southern Yue send you? Is he trying to drag the night roamers into the war between humans? Go back and tell him to forget about it! I bless him forever and ever, to be beheaded by his own clansmen!¡±

    ¡°No, this has nothing to do with the King of Southern Yue, or the Mist province and the Green province. This is my personal matter.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor hesitated before finally explaining his grievance with Li Qingshan. To him, this was a matter of burning shame that he struggled to mention.

    The shadow monster laughed from time to time before saying at the end, ¡°Infiltrating the Myriad Poison cult and killing people¡­¡±

    ¡°I suspect it to be the handiwork of that Ghost Shadow of Savage mountain!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re talking about that child! I¡¯ve let him catch some rest. It¡¯s time for him to come back and continue working. Thank you for informing me about him. I will bring him back. Night roamers shouldn¡¯t be serving humans, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯s capable of something like that!¡±

    ¡°Once you kill Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll bear all the consequences. I¡¯ll declare that I was behind it. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can swear a poisonous oath and take complete responsibility for this. You¡¯ll obtain three arcane treasures at the very least. There will also be a tremendous amount of resources in return,¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said resolutely.

    The ¡°poisonous oath¡± he mentioned was not an empty oath that mortals spouted. Instead, it was a binding oath of great power, but unlike the Blood Oath Scroll, it had to be sworn from the bottom of the heart.

    After a moment of silence, the shadow monster receded and turned into a blurry figure. It sat in front of the Myriad Poison Ancestor, leaning against its slender arms. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s talk about the remuneration!¡±

    Quite a while later, the thick darkness receded like the tide. The jungle turned back to normal.

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    The Myriad Poison Ancestor looked around. Even until now, he had not grasped the Shadow Queen¡¯s location.

    A brilliant moon hung in the sky, and from the branch of a huge tree, a pair of deep-blue eyes watched the Myriad Poison Ancestor fly away. She fiddled around with a dark-green sphere that resembled a tumour and smiled gently.

    ¡°Heh, he¡¯s even offered up the treasure of his cult. This hatred sure runs deep!¡±

 Chapter 801

    ¡°Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. Haven¡¯t you heard that a tall tree falls easy? Do you really take yourself to be a ¡®king¡¯ and think you can run about recklessly? You¡¯ll be lending me your head tonight.¡±

    Within the whispers, the deep-blue eyes blinked again, and the figure drifted away with the wind under the moonlight.

    She flew over mountains and rivers and a boundless sea of trees. When the moon dipped towards the west, she had arrived outside Savage mountain. She drifted around it and praised inside.

    No wonder even Myriad Poison can¡¯t force his way in. These formations aren¡¯t particularly special, but the way they operate can be truly described as the peak of perfection. If I want to infiltrate this place without alarming anyone, it¡¯ll really be quite troublesome.

    But that was all it was, troublesome.

    Very soon, the Shadow Queen traversed the mist and arrived in the valley. The towering tree in the valley stood out very much, which took her by surprise. Why does this tree look so familiar? And it seems to be guarding the heart of the formation! Surely not. Since when did the old tree king handle something like watching a person¡¯s yard for them? Don¡¯t tell me this is just another banyan tree daemon that resembles him?

    Curious, the Shadow Queen approached the Great Banyan Tree King, wanting to investigate a little closer. However, the sight beneath the tree left her even more surprised.

    It was currently the middle of the night, the time when night roamers were active. Night roamers of all ages and genders bustled on the city streets that were beginning to take shape. The adults handled everything quietly, producing absolutely no sounds between their dealings.

    The young adults and children were much more lively, drinking under the moon and playing on the streets. If it were not for their dark-blue skin and pointed ears, if it were not for the fact that the children moved like black panthers as they played, they were basically no different from humans. It seemed like a paradise isolated from the world, free of conflict.

    The Shadow Queen slowed down and made her way down the streets. She was extremely puzzled. Is this really Savage mountain? Why are there so many clansmen here?

    A few children passed by her as they giggled, disappearing round the corner of the street. Their laughter continued to ring out. She shook her head slightly and was confident that she had not fallen into some kind of illusion. Probably only the old daemon from the South sea could create such a realistic illusion and fool her sense, but that old daemon never left the South sea, so it would never appear here.

    As the Shadow Queen ventured into the depths of the city, she became more and more surprised. There were not just a lot of night roamers here. Their cultivations exceeded her expectations too. Within her senses, the night roamers that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation amounted to four, and there were even more that were close to that realm, only stuck at the bottleneck. If they were provided sufficient resources and correct guidance, they could become mainstays of the Shadow palace.

    I¡¯ve really made the right decision in coming here. Compared to some arcane treasure, this is what is most precious!

    The Shadow Queen was rather excited. After all, the greatest limitation of otherfolk was their population. They were restricted by the ancient principles of nature, where the stronger their bloodline was, the harder it was to procreate. As a result, every single clansman was extremely important. Even if they were not powerful, they could add to the future expansions of the race.

    She approached the Great Banyan Tree King, and her eyes suddenly narrowed, It really is that kid!

    The third cave master of Savage mountain, Ghost Shadow, stood on a damaged, stone altar under the canopy despite his usual secretive and silent behaviour. He loudly spoke about something, and a group of male night roamers gathered around him, listening closely.

    His voice drifted over with the breeze. ¡°We might be men and our talent might not be as great as women, but that doesn¡¯t mean our status is lower than them! Without our efforts, the night roamers would have gone extinct long ago. If seeds are not sowed, is the earth supposed to sprout with plants by itself?¡±

    There was a series of cheers from below!

    ¡°In particular, as cultivators, that¡¯s even more reason for us to be treated as equals. And actually, our talent is better than most humans and daemons, so don¡¯t give up on yourself. You have to work hard on cultivation and change your status. Isn¡¯t the King of Savages who rules over us right now a male? Everyone, repeat after me, we have to become strong!¡±

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    ¡°We have to become strong!¡± the male night roamers waved their arms and called out.

    ¡°Men should all unite! We aren¡¯t tools for procreation!¡±

    ¡°Men should all unite! We aren¡¯t tools for procreation!¡± Some younger night roamers even shed tears of emotion, looking at Ghost Shadow vehemently.

    In the surroundings, many female night roamers glanced over, but none of them stood forward to stop this. After all, Ghost Shadow¡¯s strength was still a thing, and everyone benefited from the cultivation method he passed on. He could say whatever he wanted to say.

    ¡°Has this kid lost his mind after spending a few years in the south? Don¡¯t tell me he even wants to copy humans and preach something like male chauvinism? Let¡¯s take a look at what he¡¯s thinking!¡±

    The Shadow Queen made her way over and stared into Ghost Shadow. She was skilled at mind-reading, which was particularly effective on fellow clansmen.

    For the sake of convenience, Ghost Shadow had even removed the mask he wore at all times, revealing a handsome face unique to night roamers. He was filled with satisfaction, feeling even more delight than assassinating a powerful enemy.

    He had fled from the Shadow palace, but as an otherfolk who had grown up among his clansmen, he still cared for them. Humans could not understand this feeling of being connected by blood. In front of human cultivators, he was a cold assassin, but he yearned for the recognition of his clansmen.

    Recently, he served as a teacher and passed on knowledge to the night roamers, earning him great respect. His injured heart of the past received deep satisfaction, and he became determined to change the status of males among night roamers.

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    This was not merely for his ideals. It was also the first step to assisting his clansmen. He thought, I¡¯m much stronger than Ye Liusu. If I ever undergo the third heavenly tribulation one day, it¡¯s fine if I don¡¯t become some King of Savages. Becoming the king of night roamers is fine too. I¡¯ll call myself the ¡®Shadow King¡¯, and I¡¯ll let that old woman the Shadow Queen understand my power!

    Thinking up to there, Ghost Shadow suddenly shivered. The night breeze felt a little chilly. He glanced around and felt like something horrible was about to happen for some reason.

    Hmph, old woman! You better get ready to die in bed from old age! the Shadow Queen thought viciously before raising her head. Though, this tree really does seem more and more like him!

    ¡°Weiyang, is it you?¡± An ancient voice suddenly rang out in her mind. Ye Weiyang sighed. ¡°Tree king, it really is you!¡± If it were someone else, they would have never discovered her existence.

    ¡°Hehe, only you can enter this valley silently. Why don¡¯t you give up on the assassination, take a seat, and have a talk with him instead?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said. Li Qingshan leapt down from the main peak.

    ¡°Just what benefits did Li Qingshan offer you to make you favour him so much? Not only are you controlling the formations for him, but you¡¯ve even given me away!¡±

    Ye Weiyang was rather discontent. If the Great Banyan Tree King had not told her about so many night roamers here because he was holding to his principles, then she could understand, but he had gone too far this time. He had betrayed the basic principles he had upheld the entire time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get mad. I didn¡¯t tell him about your arrival. And, I think both of you will benefit from this.¡±

 Chapter 802

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ye Weiyang could not help but re-evaluate Li Qingshan who flew down from Savage mountain, only to see him scanning his surroundings, clearly having not noticed her existence. He had merely sensed something. However, if it had only been intuition, then his intuition would be a little too sharp, which did not match his cultivation.

    The Great Banyan Tree King definitely was not a liar. From what he was implying, if they clashed, it would definitely cause her detriment too, but that was a little too unbelievable. He was only at the second heavenly tribulation. No matter what startling techniques he possessed, he would reach the level of the third heavenly tribulation at most, but it was all the same for her to assassinate as long as she wanted to.

    As a result, she said, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, but I still have to test him out first. I need to see whether he¡¯s qualified to sit down and have a talk with me!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°Then test him out!¡±

    Li Qingshan had been cultivating in the centre of the mountain when a sense of danger suddenly rose up in his heart. As a result, he left the hall and arrived on the main peak to look around, but he only saw the gentle night breeze, the brilliant moonlight, and the dark banyan tree. There was nothing amiss.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiao An arrived beside him.

    Li Qingshan told her what he felt. The sense of danger was so obscure, almost non-existent. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m mistaken. Logically speaking, what danger can I face if I stay on Savage mountain?¡±

    ¡°No, there¡¯s still a possibility!¡± Xiao An shook her head gently and took out the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase, shutting her eyes and divining.

    ¡°What possibility?¡±

    ¡°The Shadow Queen!¡±

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    Xiao An opened her eyes. The results of the divination were nothing, which was expected. There was only one person who could make him feel threatened on Savage mountain, yet still evade and deceive his instincts¡ªthe king of assassins in the Mist province, the Shadow Queen. Misleading regular divination techniques was nothing difficult for her.

    ¡°Myriad Poison can¡¯t force his way in, so he sought external aid?¡±

    With the truth unraveled by Xiao An, the faint sense of danger immediately cleared up. Although it was still weak enough to be neglected, Li Qingshan got serious. He refused to show the slightest carelessness.

    None of those third heavenly tribulation kings and queens were easy targets to deal with, let alone an assassin who was skilled in defeating those stronger than her. If he compared himself to her, he probably was not even the stronger one in this case.

    ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s already here!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt down, and his forehead shone, turning into a crystal eye. It produced a red streak of light that scanned through the valley. At the same time, he sent out his soul sense and looked around, but he obviously found nothing.

    If she could be discovered so easily, she would not be the Shadow Queen.

    Li Qingshan flew back into the sky. His eyes suddenly became tranquil, azure like the ocean. He divined with the spirit turtle, and the sense of danger became heavier and clearer, but it seemed like it was hidden behind the curtain of night, preventing him from pinpointing the source of danger.

    As a result, he no longer had any doubts. The Shadow Queen was here, but where exactly?

    Abruptly, he felt something. A power was prying around in his mind. Using this connection, he immediately obtained a result. She¡¯s¡­ right in front of me!

    Li Qingshan shuddered and said nothing else, directly hurling a punch.

    Ye Weiyang arrived in front of Li Qingshan and stroked her chin, studying the man called the ¡°King of Savages¡±, but she was in no hurry to strike.

    Heh, he really does have quite an extraordinary bearing. His body is so tough that it completely surpasses any regular person, even able to contend with Daemon Commanders, or even more than that. There really aren¡¯t a lot of second heavenly tribulation existences that can stop him. You can say that he¡¯s a genius. No wonder the tree king has been giving him special treatment, but if that¡¯s all, tonight is going to be the time when you die. Let¡¯s see what you¡¯re thinking.

    As soon as Ye Weiyang used the mind-reading technique, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes snapped open. His aura poured from his body, gushing through the endless night. His aura all gathered on his right hand, and he punched out.

    Hmm?

    Ye Weiyang was finally fazed, not only surprised by how he could actually discover her, but also because of the power behind the punch.

    Normally, she was immune to most attacks in her current state, but the incoming punch made her feel something she had not felt in a long time¡ªpressure!

    However, she was not on the same level as Ghost Shadow. Her figure twisted and drifted away like a shadow.

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    Bang!

    Li Qingshan struck the air.

    At that moment, Ye Weiyang felt a rumble like a lightning strike.

    The power of tremors expanded like ripples, and space began to ripple as well. A dark shadow was forced out!

    Immediately, a shiny, white bone sword stabbed towards the dark shadow. Xiao An struck!

    Under the brilliant moon, the sword thrust out with no intentions of returning. Her long hair drifted through the air; she seemed like a goddess from another world.

    The bone sword was the same as her. It did not give off a particularly startling power. It did not give off any aura at all, even untouched by the moonlight. It was only thrust out in such an ordinary way. It was the sword that slew buddhas.

    I¡¯ve actually been assassinated by someone!?

    Ye Weiyang found this absolutely preposterous. She had not been careless. She just never thought someone could actually hide their aura to such a degree, where even she failed to notice it. However, in the moment afterwards, she discovered that she had still ended up underestimating the stroke.

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    The Buddha Slaying sword pierced the darkness, and the darkness ripped and scattered like cloth.

    The moonlight was clear and bright, stretching endlessly through the sky.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An stood back-to-back. They communicated with their soul sense, ¡°She really is the Shadow Queen. That punch of mine only managed to force her out. It probably didn¡¯t harm her at all!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°My sword stroke definitely injured her, but I don¡¯t know how effective it was.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, we need to make her understand that my Savage mountain isn¡¯t a place where she can come and go as she pleases.¡±

    ¡°Right now, she really can come and go as she pleases,¡± said Xiao An. Throughout the entire world, there probably were not a lot of people who could kill her.

    ¡°Oh you. Don¡¯t pick up bad habits from Ru Xin. Since force doesn¡¯t work, let¡¯s try some diplomacy!¡±

    In the quiet night, Li Qingshan¡¯s voice suddenly broke the silence. He clasped his hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t know the Shadow Queen had paid a visit, so forgive me for failing to welcome you. Why don¡¯t you show yourself so that we can have a drink together?¡±

    Under the great banyan tree, the night roamers were all alarmed. They raised their heads and looked around. When Ghost Shadow heard ¡°Shadow Queen¡±, his face changed drastically. He knew it was useless, but he still looked around instinctively. The Shadow Queen! She¡¯s here! Is she here to take me away? If she finds out about my plans, wouldn¡¯t I¡­ He became too afraid to think any further. He quickly dismissed his thoughts, afraid to let his thoughts wander anymore.

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    ¡°With that punch alone, you¡¯re worthy of the title of ¡®King of Savages¡¯. If you include that stroke, it¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re able to sweep through the entire south. Even the King of Southern Yue has underestimated you!¡±

    Ye Weiyang¡¯s voice rang out slightly, drifting about unsteadily.

    Hearing the voice, Ghost Shadow turned sheet-white!

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. Even with the powers of the spirit turtle, he was unable to lock onto her position. This was the power of the greatest assassin of the Mist province. She truly deserved her reputation.

    ¡°We¡¯ve never had any misgivings or grievances. Even my subordinates are composed of so many night roamers. You can even say we¡¯re similar. Are you perhaps under Myriad Poison¡¯s request, which is why you¡¯re making an enemy out of me?¡±

    ¡°Before you say that, why don¡¯t you try living first, Li Qingshan?¡±

    Ye Weiyang struck resolutely.

 Chapter 803

    With a gentle wave of her right hand, she ripped open a chasm in the boundless moonlight, resembling a gaping, tooth-ridden mouth. Thousands of shadow crows flapped their wings and flooded into the surroundings, swallowing up Li Qingshan and Xiao An like the tide.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Ye Liubo noticed the disturbance and emerged from her dwelling. She cried out when she saw this sight.

    Ye Weiyang glanced at her and felt displeased. With her strength, she actually recognises this person as her master? She¡¯s a disgrace to the night roamers. Once I kill them, I¡¯ll bring you back to the Shadow palace for some proper guidance! Hmm? That¡¯s¡­

    The flock of crows flew past, revealing an azure sphere in the air that currently enveloped Li Qingshan and Xiao An. It was covered in cracks, but it managed to block the entire attack.

    Ye Weiyang was mildly surprised. He actually managed to block it. What a powerful defence, but it did not seem like a technique. It seemed more like a daemon¡¯s innate ability. As it seemed, he possessed a daemon bloodline, which also gave her some closure on why the Great Banyan Tree King wanted to protect him.

    ¡°Shadow Queen, show me everything you¡¯re capable of!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The heavy demon qi turned into a set of vicious-looking armour, and the Demon Dragon sword spiraled out, producing dragon cries as it pointed right at the Shadow Queen.

    When the flock of crows passed by earlier, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in his head. ¡°I want to defuse the situation between the two of you and achieve peace, but she¡¯ll only accept it after she¡¯s witnessed your strength, so give it your all!¡±

    Li Qingshan thanked the Great Banyan Tree King for his kindness. It was all thanks to his meticulous efforts that his time in the Mist province had been so successful. However, dealing with the current problem still required his own strength.

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished speaking, there was a loud response. ¡°Alright!¡±

    The moonlight stretched into long shadows beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s feet, suddenly springing alive and turning into a blurry figure. It wrapped its arm around Li Qingshan with one hand as the other turned into a blade and plunged directly into his back.

    Blood spurted out, turning into flames. Neither his demonic armour or the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell were of any use!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he reached backwards.

    The Demon Suppression Tower appeared and loomed over his head, casting a huge shadow. It was on the brink of falling over them. As long as he pulled her into close combat, then no matter how powerful of an assassin she was, she would have to suffer.

    Xiao An struck out at the same time. The Buddha Slaying sword pierced the shadow silently. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan failed to catch anything.

    The shadow twisted and retreated before returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s feet. It turned into a regular shadow.

    As it turned out, that was not Ye Weiyang in the flesh. Instead, it was merely a technique she had cast, yet it was actually so brutal that it completely caught them off-guard.

    Everything happened in a split second. By now, the flames from the blood had only just bloomed into a flower before returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s body. The wound immediately closed up.

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    Before Li Qingshan could even catch his breath, another attack arrived before the previous one had even subsided. Thousands of shadow plants grew out from empty space, extending and coiling around the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell firmly. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell creaked, and the cracks grew denser; the shell was already on the brink of shattering.

    The heart isn¡¯t a weak point? Then let¡¯s try here!

    Ye Weiyang suddenly appeared. She held a tiny bow curved like the crescent moon, pinching a grain of sand that shone with silver light in her right hand.

    The bow was known as the Crescent Moon bow. It was a supreme treasure passed down from the ancient Night God kingdom, wielded by the Shadow Queen of each generation. The sand was known as ¡°Stellar sand¡±, which had been refined from meteorite.

    She drew the bowstring that resembled a silver thread, and the sand twinkled like a star as she directed the bow straight at Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead. She let go gently. This was known as the Crescent Moon Shooting the Star form.

    A streak shot across the sky. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered loudly. Fragments scattered in the air, glimmering with light.

    Li Qingshan swung the Demon Dragon sword, and the tip of the sword trembled, pushing against the Stellar sand, but he did not feel any resistance. Oh no!

    The grain of Stellar sand suddenly dispersed, turning into thousands of silver threads that landed on Li Qingshan. He only felt a gentle, piercing pain as if insects were biting at him.

    But at that moment, thousands of stars lit up in Li Qingshan¡¯s soul, twinkling away as if they were trying to tear apart his soul. Even his will shook. As it turned out, this move did not target the body, but the soul.

    Sigh, I¡¯ve wasted another grain of Stellar sand! Since his body¡¯s tough, then I¡¯ll attack his soul and sea of consciousness. This is the way of assassination. Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve received three killing blows from me, so even if you die, it¡¯s not in vain!

    Ye Weiyang stowed the Crescent Moon bow away and looked at Li Qingshan, but she was disappointed yet again.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Li Qingshan bellowed out inside, and the figure of the spirit turtle appeared, glowing brilliantly and suppressing the stars. The phoenix soared through his sea of consciousness, repairing his injured soul. Before long, his mind cleared up once again, and he said proudly, ¡°Is that all?¡±

    Ye Weiyang was surprised. No one understood the power of the Crescent Moon bow better than her. Originally, she thought that even if Li Qingshan survived, he would have fainted, as those with tough bodies often possessed unrefined souls. Little did she know that Li Qingshan practised the ox, tiger, turtle, and phoenix transformations from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. His soul was so tough that it even surpassed his body.

    Her heart abruptly skipped a beat, and the Buddha Slaying sword slashed over from behind. As it turned out, when Ye Weiyang had all her attention on Li Qingshan, Xiao An had made her way behind her silently. Against an opponent like her, neither the Skull Prayer Beads nor the Blood Sea Banner were particularly effective. Only the Buddha Slaying sword was capable of something. If she were bold enough to receive a stroke from the sword, it definitely would have been as difficult to shrug off as a punch from Li Qingshan.

    This damn girl, how is she absolutely silent! If I get injured, I¡¯ll be utterly embarrassed. I¡¯ll have you taste my power this time!

    With a flash, Ye Weiyang dodged the sword, but she was a little irritated. Her deep-blue eyes gazed at Xiao An¡¯s beautiful face that was as placid as water. Ye Weiyang swung the Crescent Moon bow in her hand. The straight bowstring suddenly unstrung itself from the bow, slicing towards Xiao An¡¯s neck like a blade.

    Xiao An completely ignored it, continuing towards the Shadow Queen with her sword stroke. It was a simple stroke just like before, without any flashy lights or sharp sword qi.

    Alright! Li Qingshan praised inside. He never thought that not only had her cultivation progressed rapidly during the few years she spent in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but even her swordsmanship had improved too. She had imbued the buddhist truths into her path of the sword, breaking away from the sword intent of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy and forming her own style.

    Ye Weiyang brushed past Li Qingshan, dodging Li Qingshan¡¯s blow at the same time. A bloody mark appeared on her face. She managed to dodge the Buddha Slaying sword¡¯s edge, but the invisible sword qi still harmed her, which left her even more irritated. However, compared to the damage she had caused, this was a negligible sacrifice.

    She was actually so unconcerned for her own life!?

    A thin, red mark appeared on Xiao An¡¯s pale neck, circling all the way around. The bowstring had already severed it, but she was completely unfazed. She brought her sword together with Li Qingshan¡¯s before going after the Shadow Queen again!

    Ye Weiyang appeared and wandered between the swords. Her heart was filled with disbelief. She¡¯s been beheaded, yet she¡¯s completely brushing it off. Is she still human?

    Unless it were ghosts, the body was extremely important to everything in the world. No matter how high their cultivation was, they would not want it harmed without good reason, but Xiao An and Li Qingshan both broke this common principle.

    From their very essence, neither of them were humans. Xiao An practised the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, so her body was simply meaningless. When the bowstring swept through her neck, she only parted her vertebrae slightly. Li Qingshan went even more without saying. He could only be killed if crushing strength overwhelmed him, like when he faced the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    The two of them worked together against a powerful foe, their teamwork as tacit as it could be. Sword qi criss-crossed and cascaded.

    However, Ye Weiyang moved through the flickers of light like a fish swimming through the turbulent waves. She was completely unscathed. At the end, she leapt backwards and melded into the night again.

    She¡¯ll struggle to pose any life-threatening danger to Xiao An and me for now, but killing her is basically impossible. If she just dodges and hides, we can¡¯t even harm her. She really is the most difficult person to deal with we¡¯ve encountered so far in the south.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and thought. Compared to the Shadow Queen, the Fire Devouring King actually posed a greater threat to him, as the strengths of assassins were targeting vital points and overwhelming the strong despite being the weak. If there were no vital points, then the threat of assassins would diminish drastically. On the other hand, the flames and the power of the Fire Devouring King could openly crush him with absolutely no concern about his vital points or weaknesses. As long as his strength was insufficient, he would be burnt to a crisp. But in comparison, killing the Shadow Queen was much more difficult than killing the Fire Devouring King.

    These two are said to be of the second heavenly tribulation, yet the strength they¡¯ve demonstrated basically resembles great cultivators of the third heavenly tribulation! Who knows what kind of cultivation method they practise! Their bodies differ drastically from regular people, where even piercing their hearts and cutting off their heads is useless. No wonder Myriad Poison had been so generous. I didn¡¯t think this would be so troublesome!

    Ye Weiyang was no longer as relaxed as she was like in the beginning. She began to think seriously.

    If I want to kill him, I¡¯ll have to take some risk and engage him in close combat!

    Ye Weiyang¡¯s eyes turned cold, and she silently drew a dagger. The dagger was a foot long and completely dark and transparent like a half-transparent shadow. A black snake coiled around the hilt.

    The killing intent immediately sharpened, and the spirit turtle screamed with warning. Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. ¡°Shadow Queen, if you keep attacking us, I¡¯m going to run!¡±

    ¡°Run?¡± Ye Weiyang found it rather funny. If he had just said it, then so be it, but he actually said it with a threatening tone.

    ¡°You can try killing me, or there will be a day when I flatten the Shadow palace!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly.

    The phoenix wings unfolded completely, and the fierce winds began to whistle, ready to take off at any time. He could not deal with the Shadow Queen, but was he supposed to allow her to just kill him like this? If you insist on making things difficult for me today, you better not blame me for returning it ten fold in the future.

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll try!¡± Why would Ye Weiyang fall for the threat? She sneered coldly and swung the dagger, about to strike.

    ¡°Both of you, get over here!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ancient voice rang out suddenly, echoing through the mountain and demonstrating great might.

    Ye Weiyang and Li Qingshan were both taken aback. The Great Banyan Tree King was mellow and allowed nature to take its course. Rarely did he ever order anyone around so sternly.

    He was gentle and benevolent like a grandfather, but once he got serious, even the Shadow Queen refused to defy him. She revealed herself and arrived before the Great Banyan Tree King. It was not out of fear, but out of respect. Whether it were the night roamers or the Shadow Queen herself, they had all benefitted too much from him.

    It was possible to say that without his assistance, she would not be sitting on the throne as the Shadow Queen today. He possessed such great virtue, yet he never showed it. She had always wanted to pay him back, so when he spoke at crucial times, it obviously bore great weight.

 Chapter 804

    The crescent moon sank a little further. Their clash had only lasted a few moments, yet the amount of danger Li Qingshan had faced ranked towards the top among all the battles he had been in. He had not used his full strength, but the Shadow Queen was clearly holding back too.

    If they continued fighting, Li Qingshan personally believed he would not be her opponent. Serving as a punching bag had never been in his character, but he would still be forced to evade her temporarily. However, if he did that, his plans in the south would be greatly affected.

    Now that the Great Banyan Tree King was stepping forward and intervening in the situation, that was obviously for the best. As a result, he arrived before the great banyan tree and maintained his distance from the Shadow Queen. She had revealed herself, but she was still a blur as if she could meld into the darkness at any time. It was even more impossible to make out her countenance.

    Li Qingshan did not disperse his demonic armour either, temporarily folding up the phoenix wings that draped beside him like two comets. He would never place all of his hopes on someone else no matter when it was. He would always prepare for the worst.

    ¡°Please allow me to intervene!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said ¡°please¡±, but he left no room for negotiation in his tone. His cloud-like canopy swayed gently in the night breeze, producing a rustle. It allowed them to truly feel the dignity and prestige that this Daemon King of the Mist province possessed.

    ¡°Please go on!¡± Ye Weiyang fiddled around with the shadow dagger in her hand, glancing at Li Qingshan from the side.

    ¡°Weiyang, you said you wanted to see whether he¡¯s qualified, so I let you test him. What do you think now?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s qualified enough.¡± Even Ye Weiyang was forced to admit that. He was so powerful that his strength had basically surpassed her expectations.

    ¡°Then take a seat and have a talk!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said. Two aerial roots draped down, forming two seats. A wooden plank rose up between the two seats, carrying a simple, wooden teapot and a few tea cups.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for the talk. He dares to threaten me with the Shadow palace. He must die tonight.¡± Ye Weiyang did not take the seat. She respected the Great Banyan Tree King, but she still had her pride as the Shadow Queen.

    ¡°Then try it!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and revealed his fangs. He was not some kindhearted fellow either.

    ¡°If you really fight to the death, then wouldn¡¯t all my efforts to be a good person all be in vain? If you trust me, then sit down!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    He was not some peacemaker who stuck his nose in everything. His intervention was to protect the interests of both parties.

    With that, there was nothing more that Ye Weiyang could say in response, so she took her seat. Li Qingshan sat down in front of her too; they gazed and guarded against one another.

    ¡°Qingshan, this intervention has to do with the success and failure of many of your matters in the south. You cannot continue acting on your emotions. I¡¯m willing to defuse your troubles of today. Weiyang, we¡¯ve known each other for a very long time, so you can say I understand your strength. This intervention has to do with your future and the Shadow palace¡¯s. You cannot continue holding disdain. I¡¯ll be defusing your troubles of tomorrow.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King spoke calmly and grandly. He was considering for both of them, which filled both of them with admiration.

    From how solemnly the Great Banyan Tree King spoke, Ye Weiyang could not help but re-evaluate the Li Qingshan before her. He¡¯s just in his thirties, yet he already possesses such strength, and it seems like he hasn¡¯t even unleashed it all. That''s truly terrifying. If he had another thirty years, his name might really ring through the world. The girl called Xiao An possesses talent no less than his. The so-called troubles of tomorrow the tree king mentioned aren¡¯t a lie.

    ¡°If you have no objections, then please show your faces to express your sincerity,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and picked up the tea pot, pouring a cup for himself. The vicious-looking armour on his hand disintegrated, and the armour dispersed inch by inch. He took a sip of tea and gazed at his reflection in the teacup. Using demonification to mask his identity as Northmoon sure was a good idea.

    Xiao An took the tea pot from him and poured a cup for the Shadow Queen, making an inviting gesture. She gave off a sense of peace within her composure. Li Qingshan had to maintain his forceful appearance and not back down, so she expressed sincerity for his sake, prompting on this negotiation.

    They were enemies, but Ye Weiyang could not help but admire her charm. However, it became even more difficult for her to tell what their relationship was. Were they siblings? Lovers? None of it seemed to match.

    She accepted the tea cup and nodded towards Xiao An. Holding the tea cup, she drank carefully. She was extremely elegant, worlds apart from the viciousness and craftiness she demonstrated when she carried out an assasination. Compared to human kings, night roamers could be considered as an even more ancient clan of nobles. They once reigned over one of the seven divine kingdoms.

    A pair of large, deep-blue eyes peered through the blurry darkness as if it peeled away the mist and revealed her true form.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. The greatest assassin of the Mist province actually had an innocent babyface. Combined with her petite figure, she seemed like a young girl. She differed quite a lot from his imaginations.

    Of course, she was definitely much older than she seemed on the surface.

    ¡°What¡¯re you looking at?¡±

    Yei Weiyang crossed her legs and placed her right arm on the table, leaning against it. She grabbed the tea cup with her left hand and drank it all as she said coldly. However, her voice was no longer as obscure and gloomy as before. It had become rather sweet and soft, so she no longer seemed as dignified.

    Although the enemy had turned into a cute girl in a split second, Li Qingshan did not lower his guard. The Shadow Queen was still the Shadow Queen. He stared at her firmly at the same time, which left Ye Weiyang very unhappy.

    The Great Banyan Tree King sighed inside. They all said that angry people basically had the same rationality as children. He would not bother with the job of coaxing children.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already explained the advantages and disadvantages! It¡¯s time for you to talk!¡±

    ¡°If you leave right now, I¡¯ll treat it like nothing has happened at all,¡± Li Qingshan looked down and said flatly.

    ¡°For the sake of the tree king, I can spare you. I¡¯ll be taking all the night roamers here away with me,¡± Ye Weiyang placed down her tea cup and said firmly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was just as flat as before, but he refused to budge from his position..

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing for us to negotiate. They¡¯re my clansmen. I¡¯m not going to let them wander about outside in depravity and serve humans. Even if I have to mobilise the entire Shadow palace, I¡¯ll bring them back. No matter what troubles await us, my Shadow palace can withstand them.¡±

    Ye Weiyang leaned forward and stared at Li Qingshan with her large, deep-blue eyes. She radiated with murderousness that attacked every single pore.

    ¡°They¡¯ve followed me for many years. I¡¯m not going to sell them out just for a moment of ease and comfort!¡± Li Qingshan slammed the table and met her eyes. He refused to back down.

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    Honestly speaking, as his strength rapidly increased, these night roamers no longer possessed any actual value to him, but just his relationship with Ye Liubo and Ye Liusu was enough to stop him from casually handing them over.

    This reply left Ye Weiyang rather surprised. She sneered again. ¡°I originally thought you still had some backbone, not as hypocritical as other humans, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually say something so shameless!¡±

    In the past, she had saved many clansmen before, so she could completely imagine what kind of oppression night roamers faced under the rule of a member of a foreign race. The peace and happiness on the surface did not change the reality that they were slaves, that they were playthings he could order around as he pleased.

    ¡°Whether I¡¯m shameless or not is not for you to decide. They live here in great peace and contentment, yet you want to take them away because of a single statement. Have you even asked whether they¡¯re willing to or not?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll cut to the chase. Let¡¯s make a bet. If they¡¯re willing to leave with me, you¡¯re not going to stop them!¡± Ye Weiyang¡¯s lips curled slightly. She had been waiting for him to say that!

    ¡°And what if they refuse?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Whatever you want!¡± Ye Weiyang said. Who was willing to let another race oppress them instead of sticking with their own people? Neither their feelings nor their interests would ever want something like that.

    ¡°Liusu, Liubo, Liuxing, get over here! Oh right, you too, Ghost the third!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The three sisters had been paying attention to what was going on here the entire time, so they arrived beside them in the blink of an eye. They bowed. ¡°Greetings, my king, as well as ma¡¯am Shadow Queen.¡±

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    Ghost Shadow gradually appeared too. He directly dropped down to one knee and said nothing.

    He originally wanted to flee, but when he remembered it was absolutely impossible to escape from the Shadow Queen¡¯s grasp, he simply accepted his fate. Back then, he had only managed to escape from the Shadow palace purely because of the Shadow Queen¡¯s mercy. It was equivalent to giving him a holiday. As it seemed now, even the longest of holidays would still come to an end. When he remembered the life in the Shadow palace, he could not help but feel pained. He was unable to say anything at all.

    Ye Weiyang did not even glance at Ghost Shadow either, studying the three siblings instead. They were all of the same race, but the females were still more reliable at the end of the day. In particular, Ye Liusu, who was clearly their leader, managed to maintain her composure, coming off as neither meek nor arrogant. She left the Shadow Queen most satisfied.

    In the Shadow palace, there were many seniors much stronger than her, but her bearing was very rare. Together with the fact that she had never been a part of the Shadow palace and had never received any careful guidance, the Shadow Queen valued her even more.

    ¡°You¡¯ve all heard the conversation earlier. If you have any thoughts, you¡¯re welcome to speak freely. As long as I¡¯m here, no one can force you into doing anything ever again.¡±

    Ye Weiyang said gently like she was caring for children, which prompted Li Qingshan to say, ¡°You¡¯ve followed me for many years. I personally believe I¡¯ve never let you down. Even now, I refuse to force you into doing anything. I do believe Ghost the third has told you plenty about what kind of place the Shadow palace is and what kind of person the Shadow Queen is. We all must part one day, so if you want to return to your clansmen, I won¡¯t blame you.¡±

    Ye Weiyang glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise. He did not try to thwart her attempts, even responding like this instead. Was this some kind of scheme?

    Li Qingshan responded to her with a smile, making him seem even more broad-minded.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ll never leave you!¡± Ye Liubo immediately arrived by Li Qingshan¡¯s side, her eyes filled with love and admiration.

    Ye Weiyang frowned. Sure enough, this was a trick. She never thought this despicable brat would use love to blind them, but she did not care about night roamers blinded by love anyway. She had managed to tell long ago that Ye Liubo¡¯s talent was not outstanding. It was already quite an achievement for her to cultivate to this step. It was virtually impossible for her to climb any higher. The one that determined the direction of these night roamers was still Ye Liusu.

    Ye Liusu sank into her thoughts. Ye Liuxing looked at her silently, waiting for her to make the decision.

    Quite a while later, Ye Liusu said, ¡°Ma¡¯am Shadow Queen, I¡¯m willing to join the Shadow palace and follow your lead!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Ye Weiyang was overjoyed. She glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°What else do you have to say?¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that Ye Liusu always placed the clan before anything else, so he was not surprised at all by her decision. However, he was still a little disappointed inside. ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡±

    Suddenly, Ye Liusu smiled at him and added, ¡°But not now!¡±

 Chapter 805

    ¡°Oh? When then?¡± Ye Weiyang asked.

    ¡°When I undergo the third heavenly tribulation and become qualified to inherit the position of Shadow Queen!¡± Ye Liusu said calmly.

    Li Qingshan could not help but burst out laughing. She truly was a woman who had followed him for all this time. She also had her own lofty aspirations!

    Ye Weiyang said, ¡°What bold words! Do you have any idea just how difficult it is to take that step? If you had my assistance, then perhaps you might still have a chance. Have you also been deluded by this kid?¡±

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Shadow Queen, do you have any idea just how many hardships we¡¯ve faced as we made our way here step by step? You wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call it being deluded, but more accurately, it¡¯s repaying favours. Around a decade ago, we were still dragging out an ignoble existence underground, split into six clans that killed one another. We were treated as slaves and playthings. For a very long time, no one could even undergo the second heavenly tribulation. Yet today, we¡¯re able to live in peace under the great banyan tree, in this blessed land of cultivation, all because of him.¡±

    Ye Liusu looked at the Great Banyan Tree King before looking away and looking at Li Qingshan. Her gaze was filled with sincerity.

    Ye Weiyang frowned. ¡°He¡¯s just using you.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I hope too, but unfortunately, our value to him is far so limited. He¡¯s always been very busy too, with absolutely no time to even bother with us. Most of the time, we only rest and build up strength in the places he¡¯s provided to us. There¡¯s no longer a lot of aspects we can assist him with now.¡±

    Ye Liusu sighed glumly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to return to your race? I¡¯m your clansmen, your senior!¡± Ye Weiyang pressed down on Ye Liusu¡¯s shoulders, but from both her height and outer appearance, she seemed younger than her.

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    ¡°It¡¯s like being a big fish in a small pond compared to a small fish in a big pond. I know that night roamers should gather together, which was why I agreed to return to the Shadow palace and follow your lead. However, the Shadow palace won¡¯t be all peaceful either. After going through all that, how can I not understand that status is earned through strength?¡± Ye Liusu bowed.

    Ye Weiyang could tell that Ye Liusu was determined, and she could not be persuaded with words, while Ye Liuxing stood firmly by Ye Liusu¡¯s side too, so she simply gave up on them. She arrived on the huge, twisted roots of the banyan tree and said loudly, ¡°I am the master of the Shadow palace, the king of night roamers. Who is willing to return to the Shadow palace with me?¡±

    The night roamers all gathered beneath the tree. When they heard that, they looked at one another, but no one stood forward. Regular night roamers respected Ye Liusu very much, and they were reluctant to give up on their current, peaceful lives, while the stronger night roamers had all lived through the age when they killed one another in Cobweb city, so they had their doubts.

    Ye Weiyang finally realised these night roamers were different from the night roamers she had absorbed in the past. None of them were in a hurry to return to their clansmen. She looked at Li Qingshan. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve really been treating them well.¡±

    ¡°As you¡¯ve seen.¡± Li Qingshan took a sip of tea with a smile.

    Ye Weiyang returned to her seat rather agitatedly. She said to Ye Liusu, ¡°Little one, looks like you¡¯re determined to stay here. I know that lowly scum has taught you a lot of things from the Shadow palace, but do you know that a man like him can¡¯t come into contact with the true, central secret techniques?¡±

    Ghost Shadow, who had been holding his breath and playing dead the whole time, shuddered. The Shadow Queen even refused to mention his name, clearly holding great resentment towards him. If he returned to the Shadow palace again, there definitely would not be anything good waiting for him.

    ¡°Please guide me, master!¡± Ye Liusu bowed in front of Ye Weiyang.

    Ye Weiyang became exasperated too. She pointed at her. ¡°You sure have made quite the calculations! You refuse to listen to me, yet you want to take me as your master!¡±

    Ye Liusu said, ¡°I believe you share the same mentality as me.¡±

    ¡°What mentality?¡±

    ¡°You hope the night roamers can develop and grow in strength so that they can gaze at the moon and stars freely, no longer oppressed by anyone!¡±

    Ye Liusu raised her head and directly met Ye Weiyang¡¯s eyes. Because that originated from the bottom of her heart, she seemed extremely sincere. This was her dream that had undergone countless tests but had never changed. Compared to her personal interests and sense of honour, she placed greater priority on the entire race. Even if many of her clansmen wanted her to die, she would not change this mentality.

    Ye Weiyang was touched by her. Some things could not be faked, let alone fool her eyes.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fellow Shadow Queen, they¡¯re still night roamers at the end of the day.¡±

    ¡°We night roamers are talking! We don¡¯t need an outsider like you butting in!¡±

    Ye Weiyang barked. Before she knew it, she had already begun treating Li Qingshan much more kindly. Moments prior, she had been filled with killing intent towards Li Qingshan, even refusing the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s intervention, primarily because he had enslaved her clansmen. Now that this misunderstanding had been cleared up, she understood everything was completely different from what she believed. Not only was he no oppressor, but he could even be interpreted as their liberator and protector from a certain perspective.

    ¡°Then I better take my leave first as an outsider! Liusu, spend some time with this senior of yours and have a proper talk.¡±

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    Li Qingshan shrugged with a smile. He stood up and pulled Ye Liusu into his original seat.

    A major reason for the success of this intervention was her ingenious tongue. With how much the Shadow Queen valued her people, she would never give up until she reached her objective, but if they submitted to the Shadow palace so easily, not only would it leave him humiliated, but it would also risk many of his secrets as well. This could be described as the best outcome.

    ¡°Alright, Qingshan,¡± said Ye Liusu.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback, and he touched her cheek. He smiled. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯ve found some courage when someone is backing you up. I wanted to leave you at ease earlier, but actually I don¡¯t really want you to go either.¡±

    He had never been a person who cared much about how he was referred to anyway. From a certain perspective, he was actually a person who sought equality very much. Back in the Clear River prefecture, even when his cultivation completely surpassed Hua Chengzan and the others, he never considered strutting around above them. He continued to treat them like equals.

    But in this world, you could not get along with everyone like that. There would always be some scoundrel who thought they were better than you. There would always be enemies where you needed to talk with the fist. If you did not tread over them, they would not know what you were made of.

    Ye Liusu reddened slightly. She only wanted to show the Shadow Queen that their relationship was not as simple as a master and a servant in hopes that the Shadow Queen could drop her guard and pass on the secret techniques to her.

    Li Qingshan felt his arm tighten. Xiao An¡¯s slender fingers dug in deeply, so he let out a laugh, turned around, and left.

    Ghost Shadow really was like a shadow, drifting away with Li Qingshan. He prayed inside that the Shadow Queen had placed all her attention on Ye Liusu and the others and had not noticed his actions.

    ¡°You lowly scum, stop right there!¡± Ye Weiyang glanced over and barked.

    Ghost Shadow stiffened and became utterly silent, turning around and kneeling.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, this lowly scum is from my Shadow palace. He¡¯s spent the past few years messing around in the south, even calling himself the greatest assassin of the south. Why doesn¡¯t he take a piss and check himself in the reflection? How humiliating! Please remove the blood oath so that he can return to the Shadow palace with me and continue with what he¡¯s supposed to be doing.¡±

    Ye Weiyang was talking to Li Qingshan, but her eyes were locked firmly on Ghost Shadow, like a black panther eyeing its prey. Women were very vengeful!

    ¡°Save me, my king!¡±

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 Chapter 806

    ¡°He¡¯s still my third cave master after all. I¡¯ve already given a promise to all these night roamers, so just let him stay behind and keep serving me. There should be a time when I remove the blood oath and give him freedom again.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Having resolved their most essential reason for conflict, his attitude towards her mellowed out as well.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything else, but I must take this lowly scum back with me today!¡± Ye Weiyang said.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Ghost Shadow curiously. He wondered how he had managed to offend the Shadow Queen so much. ¡°Then I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t oblige. If I can¡¯t even keep a subordinate around, then what¡¯s the point of calling myself the King of Savages?¡±

    Ghost Shadow shot a grateful gaze towards Li Qingshan. From a certain perspective, his objective was the same as Ye Liusu¡¯s. He wanted to undergo the third heavenly tribulation before returning to the Shadow palace.

    Ye Weiyang gradually raised her eyebrows, and the heavy murderousness began to radiate again. Li Qingshan stood on his side and gazed at her, continuing to smile like before, but he showed no intentions of backing down. The atmosphere that had just eased up immediately became tense again.

    It made the Great Banyan Tree King sigh inside. Ghost Shadow¡¯s existence was not particularly important to either of them, but they had entered a stalemate for the sake of their pride.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Shadow Queen, could you hear me out?¡± Ye Liusu interrupted before casting another glance at Li Qingshan. If the two of them remained together, they would definitely end up quarrelling.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll hear you out first and then take that lowly scum away,¡± said Ye Weiyang.

    The crescent moon sank into the western mountains silently. The light of dawn surged out from the east.

    Ghost Shadow stuck close to Li Qingshan nervously, but in the end, the Shadow Queen did not appear again. Only then did he sigh deeply and ease up.

    Ye Liusu sat under the great banyan tree with her legs crossed, but the seat before her was already empty. Ye Weiyang had already left Savage mountain silently. Ye Liusu was still stuck in thoughts, sitting there silently. She saw a blur before her, and Li Qingshan sat down in front of her. He smiled at her.

    ¡°How was it? Did you have a good talk?¡±

    Ye Liusu nodded gently before suddenly revealing an extremely charming smile. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and gazed into the east. ¡°There¡¯s still a long road ahead!¡±

    In the Myriad Poison cult, hundreds of braziers of varying heights burned with dark, green flames, turning the halls green. The Myriad Poison Ancestor sat on his throne. He felt a little uneasy, so he stood up and paced around the hall. He thought, Have I missed something? When the Shadow Queen takes action, even I have to treat her with the utmost caution, so let alone a measly kid at the second heavenly tribulation. Death is the only fate awaiting him!

    At this moment, the flames moved despite the absence of wind, rising and flickering about. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s heart skipped a beat, suddenly looking back. He only saw an additional item on his throne. It was the remuneration he had offered, the treasure of the Myriad Poison cult.

    His face changed. The Shadow Queen had actually given up on the assassination!

    ¡°Why? Why!?¡± he called out loudly as he waved his arms around. His wide sleeves flew about, and the green flames blazed.

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    But he received no reply. Only his voice echoed through the hall endlessly.

    He would have never imagined that the Great Banyan Tree King would selflessly support a ¡°human¡±, helping him control his formations and mediate his conflict. With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s assistance, Li Qingshan instead had an easier time in the Mist province than in the Green province.

    The news of the battle spread through the south very quickly, followed by the entire Mist province.

    The Myriad Poison cult was a very renowned sect in the Mist province, yet they had actually been devastated by the King of Savages, Li Qingshan, in a single battle. Even the Myriad Poison Ancestor was unable to stop him. Everyone found this unbelievable.

    After hearing Qian Liangmu¡¯s report, the King of Southern Yue also became surprised. He fiddled around with the chess piece and forgot to take his move. He said to his opponent in chess, the Great Banyan Tree King, ¡°Sure enough, you didn¡¯t take notice of him for no reason, fellow. Though, it does make my urge to kill him grow heavier.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps making peace would be better!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    The King of Southern Yue raised an eyebrow, and the surprise in his eyes became even heavier. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s stance on this issue was even more obvious than last time. Last time, he said he was merely establishing a good tie of friendship, and it was not exactly sheltering just yet. However, his intention to shelter him was very clear now, which was very much worth some thought.

    It had to be said that when the Great Banyan Tree King agreed to control the formations of Savage mountain and went to such great lengths to intervene between him and the Shadow Queen, he was no longer in a position of absolute neutrality. Even for someone as wise as him, it was impossible for him to not have likes and dislikes, to not be closer with certain people than others. When others saw Li Qingshan, they only treated him as a genius disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but to him, he was a supreme genius of the Daemon race rarely seen in a thousand or even ten thousand years, and they were on good terms.

    The King of Southern Yue contemplated. ¡°No wonder this Li Qingshan is bold enough to come to the south and take office. With just a single order from you, fellow, just who¡¯s still bold enough to even touch a hair on him?¡±

    ¡°Life and death are decreed by fate. Riches and honour are matters decided by heaven.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King expressed his stance. If the King of Southern Yue had really made up his mind about eliminating Li Qingshan, he would not go out of his way to stop him. This was the burden that came with the term of reference ¡°fellow¡±.

    ¡°For people like us, aren¡¯t we all trying to oppose the heavens and change fate?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King only smiled.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Li Qingshan, are you bold enough to face me in battle?¡±

    Above Savage mountain, the Myriad Poison Ancestor rode on his poisonous cloud; his voice boomed like thunder. He made no attempt to hide his fury and agitation.

    ¡°Myriad Poison you oldie, you¡¯re still bold enough to kick up a fuss at Savage mountain? You¡¯re not afraid I¡¯ll make your Myriad Poison cult die out for good?¡± Li QIngshan stood at the top of the mountain and laughed aloud.

    ¡°Are you bold enough or not? I only need a single answer!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said.

    ¡°What if I say I¡¯m not?¡± Li Qingshan said slowly.

    ¡°Then remove your name as the King of Savages, because you¡¯re unworthy!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said.

    ¡°Someone seems to have told me that in the past. Hehe, whether I¡¯m worthy or not is not for an old bastard like you to decide! You want me to come out. That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m not going to do,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. If you think you¡¯re good enough, why don¡¯t you stay in there for the rest of your life? I¡¯d like to see just how long you can hide in there!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor pointed at Savage mountain and said in exasperation. He had truly been angered this time, going as far as to use such a foolish method to show Li Qingshan what was what.

    ¡°You can stay there for as long as you like. I¡¯m going to be cultivating in my dwelling, having the time of my life!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor snorted coldly and just sat on the cloud. He made up his mind about waiting Li Qingshan out.

    ¡°If he remains outside Savage mountain, the cave masters outside won¡¯t be able to report back,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°You can just let him wait outside for a little longer. I¡¯m only pissing off this old bastard first. I¡¯m obviously not going to hole up here and see who¡¯s more patient. He¡¯ll be perfect for getting some practise,¡± Li Qingshan said while rubbing his hands, itching to try the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    Although cultivators had a lengthier lifespan than mortals, their concept of time was not as clear as mortals. That became even more the case the higher their cultivations were. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had absolutely no intentions of leaving. He seemed to be cultivating, but he kept an eye on Savage mountain below the entire time. As soon as Li Qingshan left the formations, he definitely would not be able to escape his senses.

    Let alone a month, he could even afford to wait a year, or even a decade. It would only affect his cultivation a little, but increasing his cultivation had already become incredibly difficult at his current realm. Coupled with his resentment and anger, it was not like he would cultivate any faster even if he were in the Myriad Poison cult. By remaining above Savage mountain the entire time, it instead put him in a slightly better mood. No matter how he looked at it, he was not losing out on anything.

 Chapter 807

    But Li Qingshan was different. He had achieved success while still young, earning the King of Savages as a title in his mere thirties. Now that someone was blocking his main entrance, how could he accept that? He would definitely grow restless, which would affect his cultivation, and if he could not put up with it and was bold enough to face him in battle, that would be for the best. He was confident he only needed a single move to claim his life.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had a calculated plan, so he was in no hurry. He simply sat on the cloud, weighing over Savage mountain like a mountain.

    On this day, clouds loomed across the entire sky, pitch-black like ink and weighing down heavily.

    The thunder rumbled as drizzle drifted down with the rain. A storm was about to pour.

    Li Qingshan stood on the top of the precipitous cliff and gazed up. He could not see the Myriad Poison Ancestor, but he could clearly sense he was still there.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time.¡±

    During the past month, he had cultivated in the Asura Field, focusing on the Demon Suppression Statuary. He allowed the malice of the tiger demon to surge before converting it into the demon heart¡¯s power, gradually diluting the spiritual qi from the Ocean pearl. His demon qi became more and more pure, and he began craving a battle.

    ¡°I¡¯ll watch over you.¡± Xiao An stood beside Li Qingshan, gazing at the boundless clouds with her clear, pure eyes.

    Li Qingshan wanted to forge the tiger demon¡¯s battle spirit through this battle, to minimise his chances of killing the Myriad Poison Ancestor, so there was no need for Xiao An to take part and expose his trump card. However, since Xiao An was watching over him from one side, she was obviously waiting for this slim opportunity to appear as well.

    With a clang, Li Qingshan immediately demonified, becoming clad in armour. Many minor details of his outer appearance changed, now smeared with the colour of blood. It made him seem even more vicious.

    With a boom, the rock beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s feet collapsed and shot off into the surroundings. He had already taken off into the clouds, arriving five kilometers away.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor snapped open his eyes, which shone with dark-green light. He beamed with joy, but his face soon twisted viciously. Sure enough, he¡¯s young and can¡¯t control himself. Allow me to erase a genius like you from existence today.

    He stood up resolutely, and his green robes became filled by the fierce winds. Within his wide sleeves, two shrivelled hands danced around. Surging poisonous gas gathered into a poisonous sphere that crackled with lightning.

    ¡°Lightning Sphere of Myriad Poison!¡±

    Li Qingshan happened to be soaring through the clouds, navigating past a bolt of lightning that slithered through the air like a violet snake. He could hear the rumbling of thunder both near and far.

    Suddenly, danger arrived. Green light descended from above, peeking through the dark clouds and growing brighter and brighter.

    Boom!

    A huge hole appeared in the thick clouds, having been blasted apart. They rippled away like the tide, but there was no light of day. There were even denser green clouds instead.

    Under the green clouds, the pitch-black Demon Suppression Tower was in horrible shape, close to collapsing.

    At the critical moment, Li Qingshan had summoned the Demon Suppression Tower and forcefully blocked this strike. He really is a great cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation after all! Sure enough, he¡¯s capable of something!

    The lone eye on his forehead lit up, producing a streak of light and piercing the green cloud. The green, jade throne that the Myriad Poison Ancestor sat on jiggled like jelly. The strange beasts engraved on the throne seemed to come alive, opening their gaping mouths together and spraying out thousands of Lightning Spheres of Myriad Poison.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up, and he soared up against the wind.

    Jangle. A hundred Chains of Demon Suppression stretched out, ripping through the air and swinging around madly like whips.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The Lightning Spheres of Myriad Poison all exploded, and the sky became a terrifying zone of lightning, impacting dozens of kilometers away.

    Li Qingshan suddenly rushed out of the zone of lightning. His armour was covered in marks of being struck, but they had forcefully blocked the damage. Then he dove into the green clouds, but even with his protective demon qi, his ears were immediately filled with the hissing of corrosion. Some of the corners on his armour had been directly eaten smooth as if he would disintegrate if he remained a moment longer in the poisonous clouds.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was right in front of him. He swung his right hand backwards, and the Demon Dragon sword shot out.

    Kill him!

    The edge of the sword shot forth like a dragon, heading right towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s forehead.

    However, the Myriad Poison Ancestor sneered. The jade throne produced a thin, green film that resembled soap, blocking the edge of the Demon Dragon sword.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s left hand silently curled into a fist. The killing thrust of a sword, filled with chilling sword intent, was merely a probing strike. As long as he could land a punch on the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s old face, he was not without a chance.

    Immediately, Xiao An¡¯s figure appeared above the poisonous cloud. Her seaweed-like hair drifted, and her clear, pure eyes had already become almost-transparent white flames. The Buddha Slaying sword was in her hand too.

    But suddenly, she sensed danger. Before she knew it, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was already holding a green tumour in his hand, having silently nurtured it for quite some time now. It was the treasure of the Myriad Poison cult, and it produced a streak of brutal-green light.

    Li Qingshan pulled his sword back to block, but he did not feel any resistance at all. Instead, the Demon Dragon sword thrummed sadly and green light dyed the entire weapon before flowing through the hilt and infecting his right hand. Immediately, the armour on his right hand shattered, and his right arm went numb before spreading through his body slowly.

    With a clang, the Demon Dragon sword shattered, dispersing as fragments.

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense that if it were not for the fact that he practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and that his body was as tough as a Daemon King¡¯s, he would have been smashed to pieces. That strike would have stripped his flesh from his bone.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Seeing how Li Qingshan was actually fine, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was surprised. He suddenly leapt up and swung his hand, launching a palm strike at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. Was this not the opportunity he had been waiting for the entire time? Cold light shone through his eyes as fire-like hair drifted out from behind his helmet. A moo deafened the surroundings. The figure of the ox demon appeared behind him, butting its head towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor. That was his fist thrown!

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor suddenly felt uneasy, but he was unable to work out what went wrong. With Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, he would still have a chance at surviving if he escaped, but he was clearly asking to die by engaging him forcefully. It was already too late for him to change his mind now.

    The fist and palm collided!

    Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Li Qingshan¡¯s fist rapidly corroded away, revealing bone in the blink of an eye. Even the shining, metallic lustre dimmed from the corrosion, but as the poison seeped through his body, a smile stretched over his face.

    On the other hand, the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face was filled with disbelief. His skinny hand rapidly deformed and changed in shape, like a stick that had been broken, exploding into a clump of mist with a bang.

    He was a great cultivator of the third heavenly tribulation, but his physique was not his forte. He stood no chance against Li Qingshan¡¯s great strength that could even rival Corpse Kings and Daemon Kings, not to mention there was the all-conquering power of tremors too. He had been openly and viciously deceived by Li Qingshan, falling back heavily into the throne.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes clearly reflected the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s frightened face, as well as his ghost-like figure. He planted a foot on the green bubble created by the jade throne that rapidly sank in, raising his arms high in the air and crossing his fists, launching a violent attack with a roar.

    Even if it were a mountain, he would crush it to pieces!

    Boom!

    The green clouds dispersed, revealing the azure sky. The green bubble twisted and surged violently, actually withstanding Li Qingshan''s powerful attack without shattering, even showing signs of trying to recover. The defences were as powerful as they could be, basically almost indestructible.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor raised his head and looked at Li Qingshan. His armour had all been eaten away, revealing his robust body and his devilishly-handsome face. Pointed teeth poked out from his flagrant smile. The pair of ox horns on his head curved like the crescent moon as if they were trying to penetrate the sky.

    Just who¡­ is this kid!?

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor began considering retreating. The tip of a sword poked out of his chest. The Buddha Slaying sword pierced the green bubble, the back of the jade throne, as well as his back.

    A white skeleton stood behind the jade throne, wrapped in surging flames. With her around, he would never be alone.

    ¡°Y- you-¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor widened his eyes, which were now completely bloodshot.

    The Buddha Slaying sword definitely was not just tough and sharp. It was currently destroying his mind, burning his flesh, and devouring his soul.

    Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. He planted his feet on the armrests of the jade throne and grabbed the Myriad Poison Ancestor by the head, throwing another punch!

    Xiao An twisted the Buddha Slaying sword, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out, enveloping the Myriad Poison Ancestor. White bone claws reached towards the back of the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s head.

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    The green tumour in the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s hand suddenly swelled up, beating like a heart. With each thump, it would grow ten times in size, highlighting its green strands and vessels.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor produced an inhuman roar, ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Retreat!¡±

    Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes and forcefully wrenched back his fist. His phoenix wings flapped forwards violently, and he rapidly pulled back. Xiao An drew out her sword as well, but they were already a step too late.

    The green tumour turned into a green sun. Thousands of rays of brutal-green light shot out, drowning out the sun overhead and swallowing them up.

    The green light landed on a mountain far off in the distance, and the mountain collapsed silently, landing on the jungle below. Whether it were the trees or rocks, it was all reduced to fine powder, turning into a pit of white sand in the blink of an eye.

    The light receded, and most of Li Qingshan¡¯s flesh was gone as if he had been gnawed away by invisible insects. It revealed his jagged bones, but they no longer shone with a metallic luster. They had become extremely frail.

    Xiao An¡¯s white bones were also coated in the colour of rust. She arrived beside Li Qingshan, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough to kill me. That old bastard has escaped!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    As she asked that, Xiao An used the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone to suppress the spreading ¡°rust¡±, while Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to stop the poison he was coated in. Even though he had grasped an opportunity, killing a third heavenly tribulation cultivator still was not that easy.

    Having been kept busy for a moment, it was enough for the Myriad Poison Ancestor to flee back to the Myriad Poison cult. The formations of the Myriad Poison cult even surpassed the ones on Savage mountain. With the Myriad Poison Ancestor personally controlling them, although it would not be as great as the Great Banyan Tree King, he could still unleash enough power. Even if the two of them were in peak condition, they would not be able to break through.

    ¡°We¡¯ve played all our cards this time, but he¡¯s still managed to escape. There¡¯ll probably be quite a lot of trouble from now onwards.¡±

    ¡°The hunting hound has already been sent out. Perhaps she might be able to keep him busy for a while,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°The hunting hound? Oh!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly realised what she meant. He smiled. ¡°You really are the one who thinks things through.¡±

    Asura Commander Yin Qing flew through the air, constantly flashing through space as she tailed a streak of green light closely. She searched for an opportunity and was ready to strike at any time.

    When Li Qingshan began facing the Myriad Poison Ancestor, Xiao An had given her this mission. She had remained on the mountain peak the entire time, spectating the battle carefully. When the Myriad Poison Ancestor blew up the cult treasure and fled from Savage mountain, she set off immediately with a single mission¡ªkeep the Myriad Poison Ancestor busy.

    She was tense. The opponent was a great cultivator on par with Asura Kings. Although he was heavily injured and currently fleeing, it only made things more dangerous.

 Chapter 808

    In the boundless sky, the Myriad Poison Ancestor tore through the air. His face continued to twitch. Apart from his fury and humiliation, he mostly felt shaken up. He had almost messed up such a simple task with his visit to Savage mountain this time.

    After blowing up the tumour, he wanted to use the opportunity to kill the two of them, but his vigilance still ended up gaining the upper hand over him. He could not ignore the feeling of danger in his heart anymore. He felt that protecting himself first was the priority, so he flew back to the Myriad Poison cult without even looking back.

    Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He looked back, only to see a blood-red blur tailing right behind him, constantly flashing about and growing closer and closer. He called out, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    The bellow demonstrated his great bearing as a great cultivator, powerful enough to halt a river. He did not seem weakened at all.

    If regular cultivators heard that, they would definitely become stricken with fear. If they were a little weaker, even developing inner demons from fright and losing their wits was possible.

    However, Yin Qing¡¯s lips only curled up. The words of a defeated general bore no weight. She had been overestimating this old man by treating him as an Asura King. She had faced countless battles of death in the Asura realm, so how could she be frightened by something like that? It only demonstrated the fear he was trying to hide.

    She swung her hand, and the circular blade flew out, piercing through the sky and arriving right in front of the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor sent the circular blade flying with a furious palm strike, but it did make him halt momentarily. Yin Qing suddenly appeared above his head and wielded her fingers like a blade, plunging them towards the top of his head.

    Li Qingshan had just grabbed the Myriad Poison Ancestor by the head and given him a thrashing, which the Myriad Poison Ancestor viewed as a deep disgrace, so how could he let anyone touch his head again? With a wave of his great sleeve, the poisonous gas rolled out and forced Yin Qing back. A shrivelled hand was hidden inside, ready to strike like a venomous snake. He suddenly grasped an opening, and it shot towards Yin Qing like an arrow.

    Yin Qing¡¯s figure vanished, having hidden herself in space and moved several dozen meters away, which made the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s lethal strike miss. However, the poisonous gas got her body. The flesh and blood beneath her skin in some places had been directly exposed, going from a charming beauty to utterly hideous.

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    But she did not care about it at all. Instead, her mind settled down. The poison of this old man sure is potent, but it¡¯s not lethal to me. I¡¯ll continue keeping him busy like this.

    With the undying body of an asura, even Li Qingshan was not confident he could kill her in a single punch.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor could vaguely sense that something was amiss.

    Currently, Li Qingshan gulped down the tree sap he had obtained from the Great Banyan Tree King on Savage mountain. At the same time, he used the Watermirror¡¯s Image to draw out the spiritual qi within the Water God Seal of Cloud Dream marsh, slowly recovering his daemon qi. His flesh began to regrow.

    Xiao An waved the Blood Sea Banner, which produced a dragon of blood that rinsed her white bones. It diluted the toxins, which she then purified with the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    If regular cultivators were caught by the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s poison, then it would be a colossal problem. If they could not find the antidote, perhaps they would have to spend the rest of their lives contending with the poison, and they would probably still end up dying. As a result, even other great cultivators on par with him would be as cautious as possible when they clashed with him. Unless they had no other choice, they were all reluctant to have him as an enemy. That was also the major reason why the Myriad Poison Ancestor could dominate in the south.

    However, Li Qingshan and Xiao An practised cultivation methods that far surpassed this world, bestowing them with extremely powerful bodies and leaving them unafraid of being poisoned to death. However, the poison was still extremely potent and stubborn. They could only suppress it for now, where completely cleansing it would still take a very long time.

    Li Qingshan did not wait for his wounds to completely heal. When he had recovered just a bit of strength, where many parts of his body was still bone, he suddenly unfurled the phoenix wings and wrapped a hand around Xiao An. The fierce wind fanned the flames, constantly building up power.

    Right when he was about to set off, he suddenly heard a familiar voice. Looking back, he only saw Ru Xin standing at the top of the mountain, waving at him. ¡°Have a safe trip! Remember to write back!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off!¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed out of exasperation. He suddenly unleashed his power, and two long streaks of flames tailed behind him. He had already shot off into the air, chasing right after the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    ¡°Lowly scum, you¡¯re asura? Why do you listen to Li Qingshan¡¯s orders? Were you the one who infiltrated the Myriad Poison cult and killed the people?¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor barked.

    Having clashed with Yin Qing several times, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was amazed by the ingenuity of her ¡°movement technique¡±. However, it also made him wonder about who was behind the massacre of the Myriad Poison cult.

    Originally, he thought it was Ghost Shadow, but he simply did not have the ability to pass through the formations. Even if he did, he would only kill the regular disciples at most. The protectors and elders definitely could not be slain so easily. He had finally found the answer to this question that had puzzled him all this time. This woman, this asura, does have the strength!

    ¡°Did you like what you saw on the square? And those words on the screen wall were pretty, weren¡¯t they? I put my heart into writing them. After all, it¡¯s been so many years since I¡¯ve last written something.¡±

    Yin Qing smiled as her body faded about. Although she had constantly avoided direct clashes with the Myriad Poison Ancestor, her situation was not looking good. A small part of her right arm had been eaten away, and because of the poison, it was unable to heal. She had countless other injuries elsewhere. In order to keep the Myriad Poison Ancestor busy, she had paid quite the price.

    But despite that, she was just as vicious and sharp as before. This was the will of an asura she had tempered.

    ¡°It really was you!¡±

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    The Myriad Poison Ancestor flew into a rage. The followers of the Myriad Poison cult had all been annihilated by Li Qingshan all because something had happened in the cult, which drew him away. Now that he had seen the person behind it all, how could he not grind his teeth in hatred? Moreover, he regretted underestimating Li Qingshan yet again. Originally, he merely treated him as a young greenhorn, but never did he expect him to possess so much strength, where he could even freely order around an Asura Commander.

    ¡°So what if it¡¯s me?¡±

    Yin Qing was completely unconcerned, but she appeared several hundred meters away, distancing herself from the Myriad Poison Ancestor a little. She thought, Who knows if this old man still has any trump cards left. I better be careful. I can¡¯t let him grasp an opportunity, or my life might really be in danger.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor said sunkenly, ¡°You want to keep me busy so that Li Qingshan can catch up, but little do you know that he¡¯s been poisoned by me. He¡¯s even struggling to save his own hide right now, so why would he still care about you? I¡¯ll be killing you for sure today!¡±

    With that, he suddenly raised both hands. ¡°Mutual Burial of Myriad Poison!¡± However, it made green blood spurt out from his mouth first. Even when his body was in perfect condition, he faced some pressure when he used this secret technique of the Myriad Poison cult, so let alone right now. He harmed himself before he even laid his hands on the opponent, but for the sake of revenge, he could not care so much anymore.

    Most importantly, he did not want an assassin like her coming and going as she pleased while he rested and healed in the Myriad Poison cult, able to threaten him at any time.

    The poison on Yin Qing erupted with a hundred times the potency. Her eyes became completely covered in green veins before withering away in the blink of an eye. Her ears, eyes, mouth, and nose she had been carefully guarding the entire time were immediately disabled, leaving her deaf and blind. She did not panic, immediately hiding away in the space there.

    However, the poison continued to spread madly. If this continued, she definitely would not be able to last too long.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor did not budge, maintaining his posture with his arms raised and circulating his powers at full strength. Green blood constantly oozed out of his mouth, but his lips curled into a brutal, vengeful smile. He did not need too long. He only needed to last a while longer until she died from the poison. Then he would return to the Myriad Poison cult with ease and recuperate before finding Li Qingshan for revenge.

    This time, he wanted Li Qingshan dead for good even if he had to cast aside his pride and invite a few ¡°honoured guests¡± he was on good terms with.

    Actually, he had a thought that even he himself refused to acknowledge, which was compared to revenge, it was perhaps better described as self-defence. He had been frightened by this battle. If Li Qingshan and Xiao An were free to continue cultivating, then the day either one of them underwent the third heavenly cultivation would be the day he died.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s mouth violently sprayed with blood. He suddenly looked at the horizon. A streak of fire shot over.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor from afar, but before he could even celebrate, he felt the poison he had suppressed after so much difficulty suddenly erupt violently, invading his body and even his soul madly. It left him surprised.

    This old bastard still has this trick up his sleeve! But when he uses this, it doesn¡¯t seem like he can move. If he were seated on the jade throne and allowed to use it calmly, it really would be troublesome.

    Li Qingshan had no idea that this was the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s original plan. Unfortunately, his defences had crumbled before he even had an opportunity to use it, forced into dire straits. After being heavily injured, it was even less likely for him to use it rashly. With Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, he would have thrashed the Myriad Poison Ancestor that had been reduced to a sitting duck to death before he even came close to dying from the poison.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan and Xiao An had basically walked into the move, but unbeknownst to them, they helped Yin Qing share much of the burden, while the Myriad Poison Ancestor felt several times more pressure. The more poison he erupted with, the greater the pressure he had to endure too. His wounds worsened further.

    He was tempted to grind down Li Qingshan like this, or gather his focus and kill off this asura first, but he saw Li Qingshan charge right towards him again after pausing momentarily. He was much slower than before, but it would not take him too long to reach him, so the Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately paled in shock. He no longer dared to continue with this, stopping the technique in a hurry and flying away.

    Yin Qing used the last bit of strength left in her to leap out of the space. Then she gave way, falling out of the sky.

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    Li Qingshan extended his hand and caught her. He said,¡±Thanks.¡± before sending her into the Asura Field. Then he handed the Asura Field to Xiao An. He instructed her. ¡°Take her back to Savage mountain to be cured!¡±

    Xiao An hesitated before nodding. She had also been influenced by the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s Mutual Burial of Myriad Poison, which made the poison in her act up again. Her regenerative powers were not as great as Li Qingshan¡¯s, so if she continued with the pursuit, the body of white bone she had tempered after so much difficulty would probably sustain even greater damage.

    Li Qingshan flew away. His scarlet eyes locked firmly onto a green speck. He only had a single thought in his head. He could not let the Myriad Poison Ancestor return to the Myriad Poison cult safely!

    A green streak of light soared through the sky with a scarlet streak of light tailing closely behind. They moved with lightning speed, crossing hundreds of kilometers with each instant.

    Both of them were throwing their lives on the line. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was as injured as he could be, where his speed was nowhere close to when he was in his peak condition. While Li Qingshan was heavily injured too and poisoned, he had a ferocious battle spirit where he grew bolder and more viscous the more he fought and was injured. He pushed the daemon core and flapped his wings, constantly pulling closer.

    A while later, the front of the scarlet light was basically touching the tail of the green light. Only five kilometers separated them.

    At this moment, the Myriad Poison cult also appeared on the horizon.

 Chapter 809

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor ravished with joy inside. He glanced back, but it clearly was not Li Qingshan that was pursuing him anymore. He was clearly a daemon with scarlet eyes, fire-like hair, ox horns, and a tiger tail, his murderousness and malice mixing with his daemon qi and gushing into the air as he pressed closer.

    Without the cover of the demonic armour, everything became extremely clear. The Myriad Poison Ancestor wondered, The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga is an orthodox sect of buddhism, so why do they have a daemon as a disciple? And that Xiao An definitely is not human either, which is why she can resist my poison.

    He could vaguely see the two words etched on his ox horns, which suddenly made him think of a letter from a few years ago. Back then, it had caused quite a stir among the upper echelon of the cultivation community of the Mist province. The Dragon King of Ink Sea of the Green province had suddenly entered the territory of the Mist province. Originally, they thought he had some kind of dispute with the Great Banyan Tree King, but only afterwards did they find out he was hunting down a daemon, and the name of the daemon seemed to be Northmoon!

    The Myriad Poison cult rapidly expanded and pulled closer. He was only a moment away from reaching it, so the Myriad Poison Ancestor no longer had any fears. He swung his hands backwards, and with a great rumble, a ring of green light erupted.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, reflecting the green colour. With how close it was and how fast he was moving, it was absolutely impossible for him to dodge in time. He bellowed out and punched through the green light, but he did pause uncontrollably.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor used the force of the blow to speed up a little more, immediately pulling away from Li Qingshan. He did not even forget to spit out a threat. ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll never forget about our grievances today! It¡¯ll definitely be paid back on fold!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that after you survive today!¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor from afar and pressed down with it. Gravity of the Earth!

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately felt his body weigh a hundred times heavier, suddenly drooping downwards and flying towards a mountain on the ground. He adjusted his posture in a hurry and shot through the top of the mountain, turning it into a gully.

    ¡°What kind of move is this!?¡±

    Then Li Qingshan raised his hand, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately felt as light as a feather. Not only had the gravitational pull vanished completely, but it was even replaced by a repulsive force. He suddenly floated upwards, rushing into the sky.

    Flying at full speed, controlling his body became extremely difficult, and he was heavily injured on top of that. With the increase and decrease in gravity, his body bobbed up and down violently, moving much more slowly now.

    However, no matter how helpless he was, he was still flying in the direction of the Myriad Poison cult. The Gravity of the Earth could not cause him any actual damage, while Li Qingshan had to split his focus to use the innate ability, so his speed was affected too. If this continued, the Myriad Poison Ancestor would escape, which made him frown.

    Do I just let him escape? What should I do? It¡¯s a pity that while you can¡¯t say the Gravity of the Earth is completely useless, all it can do is pester the enemy. Only if I could draw him to me. Hold on¡­ Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up as if he had realised something.

    He had once grumbled that the Ox Demon Tramples was useless and difficult to use, but now, it had already become his most powerful innate ability. No matter who he faced, he only needed to throw a punch, and that was enough. Was the third innate ability of the ox demon really just for support and pestering the enemy?

    Li Qingshan halted. He stopped flapping his wings.

    Seeing this, the Myriad Poison Ancestor felt great pity. This kid sure is resolute. He can pick up or let go of his emotions at whim. If he follows me to the surroundings of the Myriad Poison cult, I¡¯ll be able to use the formations to deal a devastating blow to him. I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d actually give up.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body tensed up, becoming as lofty as a mountain and as firm as the earth. He had given up the pursuit to unleash an innate ability that had absolutely no offensive power at all at full strength, the Strength of the Earth!

    As long as he stood on the earth, the second innate ability of the ox demon bestowed him with endless strength, also making his strength greater. To a very large degree, the mighty strength of the ox demon relied on this innate ability, but because this innate ability was not explicit, it often gave people the false impression that it was not used, which did coincide with the ox demon¡¯s discreet and sedated nature. As a matter of fact, even Li Qingshan sometimes forgot about the assistance that this innate ability provided.

    With the sovereign heavens above and the thick earth below, they ruled over all. The sovereign heavens were supreme, where the sun and moon shone brightly while the stars glimmered in the distance, like the father of all creation. Lightning, rain, and dew were all its gifts. The thick earth dwelled peacefully below, where the plains stood vast and the mountains stretched endlessly, like the mother of all creation. It bore the heavy responsibility of allowing all life to thrive.

    All of creation revered the sovereign heavens and cultivators painstakingly searched for the ¡°heavenly dao¡± too, but who ever thought of the vast earth beneath them, calling it the ¡°earthly dao¡±?

    As a result, Li Qingshan spread his arms. ¡°I am the child of the earth!¡±

    The Myriad Poison cult was within arm¡¯s reach. The Myriad Poison Ancestor only needed a few seconds to reach it, and he had already shaken off Li Qingshan. No matter what he did, it was useless now. He could finally recuperate in peace before considering how he would achieve revenge. His instincts told him that the identity of Northmoon could be taken advantage of. Perhaps he could completely devastate Li Qingshan without even fighting.

    Just as he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly halted, but having bobbed up and down a few times, he was already prepared. He would not be affected as easily anymore, except he discovered this time that the invisible force did not pull him downwards. Instead, it pulled him backwards.

    Li Qingshan used the Gravity of the Earth again, but he used the Strength of the Earth to change the direction of the gravity, tugging the Myriad Poison Ancestor towards him. He did not budge, where even his murderousness had become diluted, now replaced by a broad, sedated aura as he unleashed the strength of the ox demon!

    The force was invisible and beyond touch, but it definitely could not be cut off or severed, gripping the Myriad Poison Ancestor firmly. He discovered in shock that not only did he fly slower and lower, he actually came to a halt in the end before gradually approaching Li Qingshan.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor was overwhelmed with fright. He roared hoarsely, desperately contending against this force. If he were in peak condition, then perhaps he still stood a chance, but he was heavily injured now. In order to distance himself from Li Qingshan, he even went as far as to worsen his condition. He was already a spent force.

    Li Qingshan was quite injured too, but the Strength of the Earth could be unleashed at full capacity regardless of his condition, even if he were on the brink of death.

    And when he faced others in a contention of strength with earth as his foundation, no matter what the contention was, he was confident he would never lose.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor watched helplessly as the Myriad Poison cult grew further and further away and Li Qingshan pulled closer and closer. He finally began to panic. ¡°Li Qingshan, you really won¡¯t let this end until one of us is dead, will you? I¡¯m an honoured guest of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate. If you kill me, the King of Southern Yue won¡¯t spare you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face was determined as he remained completely silent, giving off a sense of tenacity where he would not give up until he reached his objectives. Regardless of what attempts of threats, intimidation, temptations, and pleadings for mercy the Myriad Poison Ancestor threw at him, he remained completely unfazed¡ªI just want you to die today!

    Five kilometers, three kilometers, half a kilometer.

    Three hundred meters, thirty meters, three meters¡­

    Die!

    Li Qingshan let out a furious roar of utter satisfaction and threw a punch at the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face.

    Exhausted, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was unable to dodge. To a spectator, it seemed like he had offered his face up to be punched. His face twisted, caved in, and shattered loudly!

    ps£º ¾ÃÎ¥µÄ¶þ¸ü°¡£¬¾ÃÎ¥µÄ¡­¡­

 Chapter 810

    The power of tremors shot through the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s entire body, which cracked open like parched earth. He collapsed silently.

    Suddenly, a streak of green light shot into Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead. It moved a hundred times faster than the Myriad Poison Ancestor even when he was in peak condition. Because of the Gravity of the Earth, it travelled at top speed. Even Li Qingshan was unable to react in time. He only managed to catch a glimpse and saw the green light was a fist-sized infant. It was half-transparent and bore some resemblance to the Myriad Poison Ancestor, its face twisted with resentment.

    Soul projection!

    After undergoing the third heavenly tribulation, human cultivators converted their golden core into a soul nascence, which condensed all of their cultivation in their soul. Even when their bodies were destroyed, their lives would not be endangered. As long as they found a new body, they could possess it and be reborn.

    Third heavenly tribulation existences were very difficult to kill. Daemon Kings were difficult to kill because of their tough bodies and startling vitality, while human cultivators had the wonders of the soul nascence. If they chose to flee, they were extremely difficult to capture, and at certain times, it could even turn the tides of the battle.

    At this critical moment, the Myriad Poison Ancestor had struck back.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s first time seeing a soul nascence. Let alone being unprepared, even if he was prepared, he could not respond in time. With a flash of green light, the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence vanished into his forehead.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body stiffened, remaining in the posture he had thrown his fist in. Even the delight on his face did not disperse completely.

    Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. If I didn¡¯t have the slightest way to fight back, wouldn¡¯t I blow up my soul nascence immediately to take you down with me? I didn¡¯t want to use this move, but you¡¯ve really gone too far. I¡¯ll let you understand the difference between us right now!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness was illuminated by green light. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence arrived there like a sovereign descending on the world, both with the delight of turning the tables, but also filled with indignation and regret.

    Although he could be reborn through possession when his body was described, the price he would have to pay was extremely great too. As a result, no great cultivator would choose this path unless they had no other choice. The Myriad Poison Ancestor had been forced into dire straits, making him put up a desperate struggle.

    He was confident he had already gained complete control over the situation. Even if Li Qingshan had all the wondrous abilities in the world, he would not be able to use them in his sea of consciousness. No matter how tough his body was, a qualitative difference still existed between his measly soul and his soul nascence.

    Although this was Li Qingshan¡¯s home court, he possessed an absolute advantage without the slightest doubt in this clash in the sea of consciousness. All he had to do now was completely crush Li Qingshan¡¯s consciousness and then completely possess this body.

    I¡¯ve managed to condense a soul nascence, but I¡¯ve been stuck at early Soul Nascence the entire time, unable to break through. I never really had a chance at undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation and ascending, while this body is as tough as a Daemon King¡¯s, so it¡¯ll definitely increase my strength drastically. Even if there¡¯s some conflict and discomfort, I¡¯m not losing out by too much. Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. You¡¯ve gone to such painstaking efforts, but it¡¯s all mine for the taking in the end!

    But before that, he wanted to hear Li Qingshan wail and beg. He wanted to enjoy the delight of revenge.

    ¡°If you beg me and listen to my instructions, I can consider sparing your life.¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor emitted the thought, except the green light from the soul nascence shone brighter and brighter, contaminating Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness like poison.

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed inside, erupting loudly in his sea of consciousness like thunder.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary had always been about suppressing his own internal demonic nature first before suppressing the demonic natures of the external world, but at that moment, the internal and external had become one. The strength of Li Qingshan¡¯s demonic nature went without saying, while the Myriad Poison Ancestor also happened to be a prominent existence among the demonic community.

    The Demon Suppression Tower appeared in the sea of consciousness imposingly, standing as tall as a mountain. It slammed down violently over the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence.

    With a boom, the green light vanished, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence had been suppressed under the tower. Thick, serpent-like Chains of Demon Suppression shot out, criss-crossing the Demon Suppression Tower firmly.

    ¡°If you beg me, perhaps I might spare your life!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice boomed through the sea of consciousness. Even he had never expected the Demon Suppression Statuary to be so effective. It really was Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s ultimate cultivation method after all.

    ¡°A piece of cake!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor bellowed out in the Demon Suppression Tower. Immediately, the black Demon Suppression Tower was dyed green and light began to seep out.

    ¡°Crap!¡±

    Li Qingshan visualised the Demon Suppression statues, circulating the Demon Suppression Statuary at full strength. He poured all of the remaining demonic power in his demon heart into the Demon Suppression Tower to contend with the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence.

    However, the Demon Suppression Tower shook violently, and the green light became brighter and brighter. Li Qingshan discovered that he had still underestimated the power of a soul nascence. He watched helplessly as the Chains of Demon Suppression snapped. With a great boom, the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence burst out of the tower and shone luminously.

    His sea of consciousness churned violently as if a green sun had risen up from the sea.

    With a crack, a tiny fracture appeared on the demon heart. It had become completely dim. Li Qingshan knew he could forget about summoning the Demon Suppression Tower again in a short period of time. He would not even be able to use the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s just a useless, desperate, last-ditch effort! Let¡¯s see what else you¡¯re capable of!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said. He felt like victory was within his grasp, and he was ready to viciously torment Li Qingshan¡¯s soul, to vent and pay him back for all of the ambushes and pursuits.

    Before he had even finished talking, Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡±

    The spirit turtle appeared and descended from above.

    Compared to the Demon Suppression Tower, the spirit turtle did not seem very mighty. Not only was it much smaller than the Demon Suppression Tower, but it descended very gradually too, giving off a faint glow. It descended slowly as if it was in no hurry at all.

    However, wherever the glow reached, the churning sea of consciousness settled down. The green light seemed to seize up as well, losing its original might.

    ¡°What!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor paled in fright. There were not a lot of cultivators that went out of their way to practise techniques for battling in the sea of consciousness. Normally at this point, it would merely be a clash between the strength of their souls and wills, while it went even more without saying for daemons. The Myriad Poison Ancestor had already been extremely surprised by the strength of the Demon Suppression Tower Li Qingshan had summoned. He never imagined him to possess an even stronger move.

    ¡°Heh, you think you can take me on? Who is making a useless, desperate, last-ditch effort now?¡±

    Li Qingshan snickered. As someone who practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he did not have any shortcomings. He was flawless both inside and out. Whether it was for a clash of techniques, close combat, or a clash of the mind, he possessed a set of corresponding methods for all of them.

    When the Myriad Poison Ancestor burst through the Demon Suppression Tower, he seemed unstoppable, but it had taken up quite a lot of his power. His soul nascence was no longer as exuberant as it originally was, now slightly dim. Although he put up a desperate struggle, the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas was not merely slightly stronger than the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    The spirit turtle pressed down on the green light inch by inch. It seemed slow, but it was unstoppable, directly pressing down to the top of the soul nascence. The brilliant green light had been reduced to a small ball, but it was extremely condensed too. For a moment, they entered a stalemate.

    However, Li Qingshan had the Water God Seal to replenish his powers, while the Myriad Poison Ancestor had absolutely nothing. Before long, the small ball was reduced to a dim small ball. Victory had been determined.

    But at this moment, the Myriad Poison Ancestor roared hoarsely, ¡°Stop! If you still don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll blow up my soul nascence, and we can perish together!¡±

 Chapter 811

    The figure of the spirit turtle hovered above the Myriad Poison Ancestor without pressing down any further, but it continued to glow.

    Li Qingshan definitely believed the Myriad Poison Ancestor had the determination to drag him down with him. Most importantly, the suppression of the spirit turtle could not be completed instantly. It gave him ample time to think and decide on the course of action to take.

    If the soul nascence blew up in his sea of consciousness, he would definitely be blown to pieces. No matter how tough his body was, no matter how startling his regenerative powers were, only death would await him.

    Li Qingshan could not help but lament that this Myriad Poison Ancestor sure was difficult to deal with. He had been caught off-guard and successfully ambushed; then the asura assassin Yin Qing had kept him busy, followed by a pursuit of several thousand kilometers. In this battle, Xiao An had basically been incapacitated, while Yin Qing was on the brink of death, yet he still almost escaped. Just when Li Qingshan had made a breakthrough on the spot after so much difficulty and thought he could finally kill him, they still ended up in a stalemate.

    ¡°Hurry up and get rid of this turtle, or I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence waved its fist around, giving off its own sense of viciousness and resolve.

    However, Li Qingshan did not remove the spirit turtle. Instead, he smiled. ¡°Myriad Poison, you¡¯ve cultivated arduously for a thousand years at the very least, undergoing the third heavenly tribulation and condensing a soul nascence after so much difficulty, yet you constantly say you¡¯ll drag me down with you without even batting an eye. Who are you trying to frighten?¡±

    Even if Li Qingshan was not bold enough to force the Myriad Poison Ancestor into dire straits, the Myriad Poison Ancestor would be underestimating Li Qingshan¡¯s courage a little too much if he thought he could get away with whatever he wanted just by threatening to perish together. He believed the Myriad Poison Ancestor would not go with this worst plan possible as long as there was still a ray of hope.

    If regular cultivators had ended up like this, perhaps they might put everything on the line without the slightest regard out of dejection. However, while great cultivators still experienced the same emotions as regular people and could be affected by their emotions, they would not lose their most basic rationality.

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ve already lived long enough, while you¡¯re in the prime of your life. You¡¯re already so capable at such a young age, where even the princes of the Dragon province pale in comparison to you. If a futureless old coot like me could end the path of a genius like you, that¡¯s not a bad way to die.¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor faced dire straits, but he instead recovered some of his bearing as he spoke slowly.

    ¡°You¡¯re far too kind, fellow. How could a junior like me compare to you¡­¡±

    The two of them chimed in one after another. One said the other was highly accomplished and had gone to great lengths with his cultivation, while the other praised he was a talented genius and had a limitless future. If a third person listened in on the conversation, they would have thought they were sucking up to one another!

    Right now, whoever cherished their life more would be under the control of the other.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that soul nascences are extremely wondrous. As long as they¡¯ve found a suitable body, they won¡¯t lose any cultivation apart from wasting some time!¡± Li Qingshan gave some hope to the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve screwed up such a simple task and am now in dire straits, so how can I still think about the future? I might as well just forget about it!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor sighed and the soul nascence suddenly began to tremble. Terrifying power that could destroy everything was gradually released.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Li Qingshan asked calmly.

    He arrived high in the air, among the atmospheric winds, and flapped the wings of wind. He flew in the direction of Savage mountain as he tossed two sumeru rings into the Watermirror¡¯s Image, transferring it to his clone in Cloud Dream marsh.

    They were his and the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sumeru rings. He was preparing for the worst as he tried to come up with a counterplan.

    If he ejected his daemon core and fled far enough, then even if the Myriad Poison Ancestor blew up his soul nascence, he could still maintain a ray of hope and undergo nirv¨¡?a rebirth. This could be considered as his final trump card.

    However, once he lost his daemon core, his strength would decline drastically. He would immediately lose control over the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence, instead allowing him to escape. As a result, he had to transfer the daemon core to his clone the moment the Myriad Poison Ancestor blew up.

    The timing was far too difficult to grasp. If he ejected it too early, then the Myriad Poison Ancestor would stop the self-destruction. If he ejected it too late, then the daemon core would be sucked into the explosion, so how would he still have a chance to be reborn?

    Even if he used the spirit turtle¡¯s divination to grasp the timing, a round of nirv¨¡?a rebirth would still take several years before he full recovered. When he turned into a phoenix embryo, he could not even maintain basic consciousness. It was the worst plan possible.

    However, the worst plan possible was still a plan. It was still better than having no plan. Li Qingshan eased up. At most, I¡¯ll just do it and undergo rebirth again! Who¡¯s afraid of who?

    ¡°Send me back to the Myriad Poison cult, and that¡¯ll be the end between us.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor put forth his condition.

    ¡°Heh, you can keep dreaming. If I entered the Myriad Poison cult, you¡¯ll probably activate the formations and kill me as soon as you emerge!¡±

    Li Qingshan bought time as he accelerated. As long as he returned to Savage mountain, he could make Xiao An¡¯s clever brain come up with an idea, not to mention there was the Great Banyan Tree King whose wisdom was as deep as the sea.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to make things difficult for you. You don¡¯t have to enter the Myriad Poison cult. Just the edge will do. You can remove this turtle and allow me to sense the outside world, and I¡¯ll leave,¡± said the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    Li Qingshan fell silent. Only when the Myriad Poison Ancestor asked again did he say, ¡°Since you already know my identity, you¡¯ll definitely make it public once you return. If the Dragon King of Ink Sea comes knocking, I¡¯ll really run out of options then.¡±

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    That was exactly what the Myriad Poison Ancestor was planning. Originally, he planned on feigning ignorance over the matter between Northmoon and the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but now that he had laid it out in the open, there was nothing he could do. He countered with a question. ¡°What do you want then? Do you really want us to thrive or die together?¡± As he said that, he behaved like he was going to blow up his soul nascence again.

    ¡°If you have to be like that, then do it. Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea couldn¡¯t kill me in the past. You¡¯ll be no different!¡± Li Qingshan said coldly.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Then let me try whether I can drag you down with me!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said. All of the resentment and indignation in him had erupted, making him a little hysterical.

    In the centre of the soul nascence, the green light grew brighter and brighter.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart tensed up, and he immediately stopped flying. A piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew out before him, as smooth as a mirror, except it reflected the scenery of Cloud Dream marsh over several tens of thousand kilometers away. He spat out his daemon core and let it pause by the edge of the mirror.

    But a while later, seeing how Li Qingshan did not respond at all, the soul nascence that was on the brink of exploding settled back down. The Myriad Poison Ancestor said viciously, ¡°Kid, let¡¯s just say you got me good! I¡¯ll just remain in your sea of consciousness forever. Let¡¯s see how you cultivate now!¡±

    The older a person was, the more afraid of death they became. They instead lacked the courage of young people. Unless they had no other choice, they really were reluctant to choose mutual destruction.

    Moreover, the fact that Li Qingshan had survived the Dragon King of Ink Sea did leave him fearful. If he laid down his life, only for Li Qingshan to be alive and kicking again within a few years, then that would be a great loss. This kid had far too many tricks hidden up his sleeve.

    But since he wants to negotiate with me, he¡¯s still scared of me blowing up my soul nascence after all. As it seems, even if he can escape alive, he¡¯s either not that confident, or he¡¯ll pay a hefty price, or it¡¯s a combination of both. Hmph, I refused to believe you can keep me trapped in your sea of consciousness forever. Let¡¯s see who can outlast who.

    ¡°You better calm down so that we can come up with something that makes the best of both worlds!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh aloud, but he felt relieved inside, as even until the moment when the soul nascence was about to blow up, he had not accurately grasped the timing. All he could do was take a gamble.

    It was even possible that this opportunity did not exist at all¡­

 Chapter 812

    ¡°The poison from the Myriad Poison Ancestor sure is vicious. Do you have any good ideas, senior tree king?¡± Ru Xin asked with her arms crossed, rubbing her chin.

    They were inside one of the tree holes beneath the great banyan tree, created from the huge, twisting tree roots. It was extremely spacious in there, and it was filled with the refreshing smell of tree resin.

    Yin Qing laid on a platform composed of roots. Her body had been reduced to just a humanoid figure from the poison, and her aura was extremely weak. A drop of yellowish-green poison dripped onto the ground from her body and produced a plume of smoke.

    As an asura, her body and vitality far surpassed regular cultivators or even Daemon Commanders, but she did not have an extraordinary cultivation method like the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine or the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty after all. She could not withstand the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s poison.

    ¡°I can only keep her alive. The poison is still deeply rooted in her, constantly spreading and growing as it devours her vitality. Nothing can be accomplished without the necessary means. The secret techniques unique to the Myriad Poison cult require a corresponding antidote. All we can do is see if he can bring back the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sumeru ring.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice echoed through the tree hole. A verdant aerial root drooped down and channelled the tree sap into Yin Qing.

    ¡°He¡¯s as petty as he can get. Even if someone glares at him, he has to glare back at them. Myriad Poison has offended him, so what good outcome could he face?¡± Ru Xin smiled.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan talked nonsense with the Myriad Poison Ancestor as he flew over the sea of trees. Compared to the nervousness and intensity of the situation when he came, it was much more relaxed now that he returned, except the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s existence was like a fishbone in his throat. He could not find relief until he spat it out.

    It was getting late, and Savage mountain was in sight.

    The hole blasted in the clouds had already closed up and vanished, currently pitter-pattering with rain.

    Xiao An stood on the top of the tower on the main peak. Her black hair was like mist as if it merged with the night rain. Only when she saw Li Qingshan did she smile, flying up to receive him.

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An what had happened, and even Xiao An struggled to come up with a good idea. ¡°You better ask the Great Banyan Tree King for ideas!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s Yin Qing doing?¡± Li Qingshan asked as he passed through the sea of mist.

    ¡°Ru Xin has already stabilised her condition. She¡¯s currently thinking of a way to cure her,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Ru Xin? I almost forgot! She¡¯s a disciple of the school of Medicine. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go take a look!¡±

    Li Qingshan was still quite amiable towards those that worked for him and assisted him.

    Passing through the Mist Sea Formation of Eight Directions, the drizzle filled the valley, and the towering tree was drenched, which made it seem particularly deep and dark in colour. Even the mountains had been dyed black. Seeing this familiar landscape, Li Qingshan could not help but ease up and smile in relief. Although a great problem still persisted, he was still the final victor of this battle!

    His ears twitched as if he had heard something.

    ¡°I could hear you talking behind my back when I was still five kilometers away!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the vine curtains and made his way in, shooting a vicious glance at Ru Xin.

    ¡°Like I said!¡± Ru Xin laid out her hands.

    ¡°How did you go?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King asked.

    The fate of a great cultivator bore great significance. If the Myriad Poison Ancestor died, he definitely would have sensed it, but since he had sensed nothing, the Myriad Poison Ancestor must have escaped. This made sense too. After all, great cultivators of the third heavenly tribulation could not be killed so easily.

    But if that were the case, he would have to start considering. If the Myriad Poison Ancestor managed to escape into the Myriad Poison cult, then Li Qingshan would definitely be publicly exposed. The response of the Hawkwolf Guard and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would all be of lesser concern. The endless pursuit of the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡ªnow that would be called a real problem. The Great Banyan Tree King had to consider how to mediate this situation.

    ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with him,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    ¡°You¡¯ve dealt with him!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice gave off a hint of surprise too.

    ¡°But there¡¯s still some small problems. The old bastard¡¯s soul nascence has entered my sea of consciousness, and he refuses to come out. I¡¯ve suppressed it for now, so I still have to ask you for guidance on how to deal with this. Let¡¯s heal Yin Qing first!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and used the Watermirror¡¯s Image again, retrieving the two sumeru rings. However, opening the sumeru ring was quite troublesome. In the end, he even had to ask for the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s assistance before cracking it open.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind was utterly exhausted from the battle, and he still had to split his focus to suppress the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence. Through this simple task, he discovered just how annoying it was to have the Myriad Poison Ancestor in his sea of consciousness.

    Normally, it would be fine, but if he became wrapped up in a large battle again and this old bastard made trouble in his sea of consciousness, it would reduce him to half his strength at the very least. If he were careless, the Myriad Poison Ancestor might even grasp an opening and turn the tables. Cultivation went even more without saying. This bastard was well and truly an ¡°inner demon¡±.

    No wonder this old bastard is willing to continue like this calmly. His existence directly blocks my future.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sumeru ring was filled with various bottles and jars. Li Qingshan had no idea where to even start if he was supposed to find the antidote. It was all thanks to the Great Banyan Tree King and his great knowledge that they managed to find a glazed bottle. An aerial root extracted some of the fluid and sprinkled it onto Yin Qing. The poison immediately became much thinner.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An also followed the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s method and ingested the cure, completely eliminating the threat of the poison.

    The Great Banyan Tree King sprinkled some more sap, and Yin Qing¡¯s wounds healed rapidly. Before long, she woke up slowly. Her eyes that had been blinded by the poison recovered their light too. She murmured, ¡°I¡¯m still alive! This isn¡¯t the Asura realm!¡±

    She had thought she would be reborn in the Asura realm. This battle had once again proven how dangerous it was to provoke existences an entire major realm of cultivation above hers!

    ¡°I haven¡¯t given you permission to die just yet!¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°Thankfully, she¡¯s an asura. Her life is finally out of danger, but her strength will be affected. You¡¯ll need to prepare yourself a little mentally.¡±

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Yin Qing nodded, expressing that she understood. This was not the Asura realm after all. Even if she was injured, she could slowly recover.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done great this time, so I¡¯ll reward you heavily. I¡¯m willing to pledge myself to you, so what do you think?¡± Li Qingshan patted Yin Qing¡¯s shoulder with a smile.

    A cool, moist breeze blew into the tree hole. Ye Liusu lifted up the curtain and made her way in, glancing at Li Qingshan and pursing her lips. Ru Xin smiled silently, while Xiao An was expressionless and emotionless, giving absolutely no response.

    ¡°Cough, cough. I¡¯m just joking to lighten the mood. What kind of expression is that? You don¡¯t have any sense of humour!¡±

    Even with how thick-skinned Li Qingshan was, he felt a little embarrassed. Of course, it was only a little. For the sake of his great ambition, he was willing to keep subordinates around through ¡°other¡± means.

    Yin Qing burst out laughing. This king of hers sure was lacking in charm and romance. She soon recovered her solemnity. ¡°My king is valiant in battle, which fills me with admiration, but the reward is far too great. I am but a lowly figure with limited good fortune, so I really can¡¯t bear to accept something as great as that. It would be best if you changed the reward!¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored Ru Xin¡¯s sneers and instructed her gently. ¡°You can return to the Asura Field to recuperate. I¡¯ll find a way for you to recover your strength.¡±

    He sent Yin Qing into the Asura Field before handing the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sumeru ring to Ru Xin. ¡°Check if there¡¯s anything you require.¡±

    Ru Xin did not hold back and searched through it carefully. The possessions within the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sumeru ring were extremely plentiful, holding the cultivation methods and the resources of the entire Myriad Poison cult. It would be of great help to her plan.

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    Then Li Qingshan sat down with the Great Banyan Tree King to discuss how to destroy the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence. Only after a long conversation did he realise just how troublesome this was¡­

 Chapter 813

    As long as cultivators had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, they had a vague sense over the heavenly secrets even if they did not know divination, let alone the fact that great cultivators would usually go out of their way to make up for this. Even if they could not see into the future or scheme a hundred steps ahead, at the very least others would not see into their future and scheme a hundred steps ahead of them. They had the energy and ability to anyway. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was no different.

    It was possible for someone to go out of their way to interfere or even suppress this feeling of the future¡ªa major reason for the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s horrific defeat in this battle was because Li Qingshan and Xiao An were capable of stirring up the heavenly secrets, or Xiao An would have never succeeded with her ambush. Even if she were a little stronger, she still would have been crushed one-sidedly by the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Her life might have even been in danger.

    Among these heavenly secrets, the one that was most difficult to interfere with was a person¡¯s sense over the threats to their life. Just like how it was a ¡°matter of life or death¡±, even mortals who had faced danger numerous times could sense it, let alone a great cultivator who had spent a millennia cultivating and had an idea over his own fate.

    With his body destroyed, reduced to a soul nascence, the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s senses for the future only became sharper.

    In other words, no matter what Li Qingshan did to kill him, he would always have sufficient time to respond and blow up his soul nascence.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I stuck like this then?¡± Li Qingshan frowned slightly, feeling a little annoyed. There just happened to be a chance that his phoenix nirv¨¡?a would not succeed, where he would really end up perishing with the Myriad Poison Ancestor if he were careless.

    ¡°There still are ways to deal with this¡­¡± The Great Banyan Tree King faltered.

    ¡°Please go on, fellow!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands.

    ¡°On the South sea, I have an old friend who¡¯s skilled at creating illusions and mirages, which can delude people and subvert reality. If he¡¯s willing to help out, then this can be resolved easily.¡±

    Ru Xin was currently focused on reading a text on poisons. When she heard that, she raised her head in surprise. ¡°Are you talking about the Clam King of Mirage Sea?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Clam King of Mirage Sea,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°The Clam King of Mirage Sea,¡± Li Qingshan murmured.

    Li Qingshan had read about that name in a book before. Among the Seventy-two Daemon Kings, he could be regarded as the most mysterious. The Clam King of Mirage Sea never left the ocean and always resided in a place called the ¡°Mirage sea¡±. He had never been involved in any major incidents among the nine provinces either, so the information on him was limited.

    ¡°The Clam King of Mirage Sea is truly the most appropriate choice with what he¡¯s capable of. I only need to lure Myriad Poison into the illusions for a while, and I¡¯ll be able to deal with him. But will he help me? Will he have any conditions?¡±

    Li Qingshan had his doubts. The Seventy-two Daemon Kings did differ in strength, but as long as they had not ascended and were still alive, they were basically all on par with the Dragon King of Ink Sea with several thousand extra years of consolidation. Even ten Myriad Poisons might not be an opponent for them, so ten Li Qingshans obviously stood no chance either. He did not want to leap out of the frying pan, only to end up in the fire and dooming himself for good.

    ¡°He has no conditions. He¡¯ll definitely help you. Go to the South sea and find him!¡± Unlike how hesitant he was before, the Great Banyan Tree King spoke firmly now.

    ¡°So you have so much trust in this Clam King of Mirage Sea, fellow!¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He had known the Great Banyan Tree King for all these years. Whenever he spoke, he always left room for maneuver. After all, the matters of the world were unpredictable. Not even he could predict everything with his intelligence, so leaving some room for himself was always a good idea. Rarely did he ever speak with such confidence, which made Li Qingshan think.

    Don¡¯t tell me this Clam King of Mirage Sea is actually a female daemon and there is something going on between the two of them? Heh, speaking of which, the South sea and the Mist province are neighbours, and they never leave their territories either. It does seem like they would cherish one another from afar.

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    ¡°Stop letting your imagination run wild! I understand him very well. You only need to say you¡¯re my subordinate. With our many years of friendship, he definitely won¡¯t make things difficult for you,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Ru Xin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Li Qingshan, wanting to say something. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in her head. ¡°I know you come from the South sea. Try not to say too much!¡±

    How strange, even stopping me from saying anything. But the Great Banyan Tree King shouldn¡¯t be trying to harm him, so I¡¯ll just wait and see, Ru Xin thought. Coincidentally, Xiao An gazed over with her clear, deep eyes.

    Ru Xin communicated to her. ¡°Were you warned by the Great Banyan Tree King too?¡±

    Xiao An looked away silently, basically admitting to it. She sank into her thoughts slightly.

    The descriptions of the Clam King of Mirage Sea was limited in the books that Li Qingshan had read. The Great Banyan Tree King claimed there would be absolutely no danger, but Ru Xin and Xiao An¡¯s understanding of this was the exact opposite. The legends regarding the Mirage sea were terrifying stories Ru Xin had grown up listening to, while from the resources Xiao An had read, countless cultivators had died in there before.

    It was unlike regular zones of danger that guaranteed safety as long as they avoided it from afar. The Mirage sea drifted around on the South sea, making it unpredictable. Whether it was mortals or cultivators, humans or otherfolk, they would struggle to emerge again once they set foot in there.

    There were a multitude of rumors and legends regarding the Mirage sea. There have been a few lucky survivors over the several millennia it had been around, but their description of the Mirage sea all differed. Some said it was a demonic island where ghosts and monsters wandered, while others said it was a mountain of treasure, littered with gold and silver. It only added to the eeriness of the Mirage sea.

    Most of the survivors were mortals, and not a single cultivator, despite being countless times more powerful, would normally emerge. As a result, the most popular belief was that the Clam King of Mirage Sea intentionally spat out clam qi, drawing cultivators into bizarre illusions and mirages before devouring their essence blood, merging their souls with the clam qi and strengthening the illusions. Mortals were too weak and beneath attention, so they had a chance of slipping away.

    TL: If you¡¯re wondering how clams and mirages or illusions are connected, that¡¯s because the Chinese traditionally believed that clams were responsible for creating mirages. The bubbles they spit out (the ¡°qi¡± they produce, or clam qi) can create illusions.

    As a result, the Mirage sea was recognised as the greatest zone of danger in the South sea, such that even the merpeople of the South sea refused to approach it. Li Qingshan had absolutely no idea about this, so he was basically walking towards an abyss with his eyes blindfolded, yet the Great Banyan Tree King refused to let anyone warn him, which was far too strange.

    Of course, it was also possible that the Great Banyan Tree King was on very good terms with the Clam King of Mirage Sea. Perhaps it was a place of danger to others, but since it was the Great Banyan Tree King sending him, he could emerge unscathed. Though, surely he still had to make everything clear!

    ¡°I¡¯ll have to rely on your assistance again,¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely. After going through all this, he trusted the Great Banyan Tree King very much.

    ¡°It¡¯s a mere trifle, so there¡¯s no need to be so serious. Perhaps I might need your help too one day.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King felt rather astonished. Before he knew it, he had already forced a great cultivator into dire straits, where he had to resort to threats of blowing up his soul nascence. Li Qingshan had basically been advancing at an extraordinary rate. His obscure senses about fate became clearer too. There would be a day when he needed his assistance.

    ¡°Feel free to mention it when you do. I¡¯ll return to my dwelling and recuperate first then. I¡¯ll proceed to the South sea and find the Clam King of Mirage Sage once I recover,¡± Li Qingshan stood up and bade farewell.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°You can heal here. I¡¯ll help you out.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you. I just happened to be wanting to ask what kind of daemon this Clam King of Mirage sea is. That way, I¡¯ll know how to deal with her when I see her,¡± Li Qingshan agreed happily.

    Before he had even noticed it, he actually began to feel that the Clam King of Mirage Sea should be a female. There were far too many males among the Seventy-two Daemon Kings. That threw everything off-balance!

    In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Li Qingshan had made a full recovery, and his exhaustion was all gone. This was all thanks to finding the antidote, as well as the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s assistance. Otherwise, just completely cleansing the poison would probably take ten times longer.

    It was pouring with rain outside the tree hole as the sounds of thunder rang out in the distance. Li Qingshan had never witnessed such a fierce storm in the Green province before. It was a pity he could not see snow here.

    ¡°Qingshan, according to my calculations over the past few days, the Mirage sea has currently stopped here. You should go there quickly. Don¡¯t waste any time along the way, or who knows where it¡¯ll drift to.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King pointed around on a sea chart carved from wood with a root.

    ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll set off right now!¡± Li Qingshan accepted the wooden sea chart and stood up. Over the past few days, he had gained a rough understanding of the Clam King of Mirage Sea, which made him more confident about this trip.

    He thanked the Great Banyan Tree King and made his way out of the tree hole. Xiao An was already waiting there. They took off together to find the Mirage sea in the South sea.

    The Great Banyan Tree King watched as Li Qingshan vanished into the horizon. Ru Xin¡¯s voice rang out from beneath the tree. ¡°I didn¡¯t think the Clam King of Mirage Sea would actually be a very amiable person despite his horrible reputation!¡±

    ¡°Who knows?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed with emotion.

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    ¡°Who knows! Isn¡¯t he your old friend?¡± Ru Xin asked curiously.

    ¡°He¡¯s a very strange old friend, and while we¡¯re old friends, we¡¯re not familiar with one another.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯re clearly old friends, yet you¡¯re not familiar with one another. That really is very strange,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°We¡¯re not just unfamiliar. I don¡¯t even know his gender, as no one has seen his true form before. His personality is even more unstable, sometimes extremely friendly, yet other times filled with hostility.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re old friends?¡± Ru Xin asked.

    ¡°Because I treat him as an old friend,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Ru Xin sank into her thoughts.

    ¡°Actually, the strangest part of this all is he still hasn¡¯t ascended yet. I originally thought he could have ascended three thousand years ago. Back then, even when kid Si toured the shore of the South sea, he had played a huge joke on him. There was just nothing he could do about him.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King recalled some matters of the past from several thousand years ago.

    ¡°Kid Si?¡± Ru Xin was taken aback. Only then did she realise who this ¡°kid Si¡± was. When the founding emperor established the nine provinces and toured the world, he had once come to the Mist province to pay homage to the Great Banyan Tree King before venturing south to the shore of the South sea. The emperors that came after never did something like that again.

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    Ru Xin had left the South sea when she was young, so she did not have a detailed understanding about the Clam King of Mirage Sea. When she heard all this, she could not help but sigh. ¡°In other words, this Clam King of Mirage Sea won¡¯t necessarily show respect to anyone for anyone¡¯s sake, and he¡¯s also strong enough to not do that.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you could put it that way,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Kid Li is going to be in trouble this time.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask why I told you to warn him of nothing?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    ¡°You definitely have your reasons! And it¡¯s not like he needs any warnings from me. This kid looks crude and brash, but he actually has a lot of things going on in his head. There aren¡¯t a lot of people he trusts. Honestly, if the mighty Great Banyan Tree King wanted to deal with someone, why would you have to send him all the way to the distant South sea? Isn¡¯t this a consideration that is as clear as day?¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°No wonder he trusts you so much,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°I only happen to understand that certain things cannot be said. Though, probably not everyone can think as clearly as me¡­¡± Ru Xin gazed into the horizon. Worry flashed through her eyes. ¡°Xiao An, the person he trusts the most, might not necessarily be willing to let down his trust. Most importantly, she only trusts him. As for the others, whether it¡¯s the Great Banyan Tree King or herself, it¡¯s all the same in her eyes no matter how trustworthy they seem.¡±

    ¡°That child really is as strange as she can be!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed. ¡°You haven¡¯t come to find me just for this conversation, right?¡±

    ¡°I have a few questions about medicine that I¡¯d like to ask you. This has to do with the success or failure of the battle against Firemelt mountain.¡± Ru Xin immediately became respectful.

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King listened to Ru Xin¡¯s entire question and fell silent for a good while. ¡°The strong preying on the weak is the principle of nature, but doing something like that is just a little too depraved.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, senior. You¡¯d be completely right if you said I¡¯m out of my mind and depraved, but if I don¡¯t do that, how will the hatred in my heart even be resolved?¡± Ru Xin¡¯s eyes flickered with flames. She was determined.

    ps£º ÓÖÊÇÒ»¶ÎÐÂµÄÂÃ³Ì£¬Çó±£µ×ÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 814

    The endless yellow sand sprawled into the distance. There were absolutely no traces of human activity.

    A region of ruins, perhaps an ancient city of the past, already had all of their murals eroded away. All that remained was a monotonous yellow, basically screaming out age.

    A few withered poplars twisted and extended their yellow trunks. Their withered branches reached towards the blue, transparent sky, like hands desperately trying to escape from the sea of sand, only to be swallowed by the sand in the end.

    Li Qingshan stood on the top of the sand dune with Xiao An, taking all of this in. ¡°This must be the Mirage sea!¡±

    ¡°It should just be an illusion,¡± said Xiao An.

    The rustling wind blew away their voices, drifting into the distance.

    Li Qingshan crouched down and scooped up a handful of sand. The grains poured between his fingers, all so realistic. There was even a voice in his head telling him that this was all real.

    With the sea chart from the Great Banyan Tree King, it had not taken them a lot of time before they found the legendary Mirage sea. Through Xiao An¡¯s warnings, he had learnt that the Mirage sea was anything but simple, even possibly hiding great danger. However, because of his trust in the Great Banyan Tree King and the divination of the spirit turtle, there should not have been any danger to his life, so he still chose to enter the Mirage sea.

    ¡°It really is the Clam King of Mirage Sea after all. This illusion is flawless. Though, while it is very strange for a sea of sand to appear on the sea, she sure is lacking in imagination!¡± Li Qingshan grinned, revealing his pure-white teeth.

    ¡°But if we can¡¯t get through the illusion, how are we supposed to find the Clam King of Mirage Sea?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Watch me.¡± Li Qingshan called out, ¡°Clam King of Mirage Sea, I am Li Qingshan. I¡¯ve specially come to the Mirage sea to visit you under the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s directions. Please show yourself! This is the letter of introduction he¡¯s written!¡±

    A shout that resembled a tiger¡¯s roar echoed into the distance, kicking up ripples in the sea of sand.

    But there was no reply. Only the wind moaned softly.

    ¡°Hmm!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but be surprised. He reached into his sumeru ring, but the letter of introduction written by the Great Banyan Tree King was actually gone. How was that possible? A sumeru ring was equivalent to an independent space. Was the Clam King of Mirage Sea really that powerful?

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve and pointed towards the distant horizon. At the end of the sea of sand was a huge building that reached into the sky, wavering about in the heat waves. It seemed a little remote.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Li Qingshan was unable to understand how he had lost the letter of introduction, so he downright stopped thinking about it. Since the Clam King of Mirage Sea had already given a reply, then everything would obviously be clear once he saw her.

    He did not use the phoenix wings, just flying by Xiao An¡¯s side. They flew at a very low altitude, where the gusts of wind kicked up sand waves and produced a long trail in the sand. Under the illumination of the sun, the sand glimmered like gold. It was extremely beautiful.

    Li Qingshan had sworn to travel to all corners of the world and appreciate all the scenery it had to offer. He knew the sea of sand was an illusion, but it was still enough for him to take in and appreciate. Then he looked at Xiao An beside him. Her skin seemed smooth and pale like jade, while her clothes were even whiter than snow. Her black hair flowed with the wind, like a thick, long ribbon. She was a clear contrast of black and white, with just a bit of redness in the lips. As she smiled gently, she was as beautiful as a spirit of nature, or even something that originated from imagination alone.

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    Perhaps because of the influence of the wonderful illusion, Li Qingshan felt like it was the first time he had seen her, yet also like they had been on close terms for a thousand years already. He could not help himself as his eyes became fixed on her red lips, becoming dazed for a moment. He almost wanted to kiss them, but he suddenly shook his head and tossed this strange thought out of his mind.

    Xiao An only stared at him closely, as tranquil as breathing.

    Li Qingshan suddenly smiled and thought of a playful idea. He flew away from Xiao An and circled above the sea of sand, using the gusts of air to write two large, crooked words, Xiao An.

    Xiao An smiled as well, flying down to write ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, except it was neat and graceful.

    Li Qingshan refused to just accept this. Then he wrote ¡°Nine Heavens¡±, and at least that was much neater. He could not help but laugh aloud. The bright and clear laughter shook the sand dunes below, making a sheet of golden sand flow.

    Xiao An began laughing too. Her laughter was like silver chimes, pure and ethereal like a dream.

    They continued onwards. The wind and sand blew behind them, gradually swallowing the words they had written, leaving no trace behind.

    They had fun along the way, except the ¡°Clam building¡±¡ªthat was the name that Li Qingshan had given to the building¡ªwas even further away than he had imagined. It had only grown slightly larger despite flying for a good half a day.

    TL: The Chinese word for ¡°mirage¡± is actually an idiom, º£ÊÐò×Â¥. A literal translation of it is ¡°sea markets and clam buildings¡±. It basically describes just how bizarre a mirage can be, just as a market under the sea and buildings made from clams. This is also the origin of ¡°Clam building¡± in this case.

    Li Qingshan stopped playing around. He stared at the Clam building on the horizon. The Mirage sea definitely was not this large. As it seemed, it was like what Xiao An had said. This trip would not be as simple as he imagined it to be. He hoped this was only a test!

    Xiao An remained unfazed, gazing at his back with her tranquil eyes.

    Afterwards, they accelerated, flying straight towards the Clam building. Suddenly, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and a yellow line rose up in the horizon, even obscuring the Clam building that reached into the sky. The yellow line gradually grew larger.

    ¡°It¡¯s a sandstorm!¡±

    If this were only a natural sandstorm, then Li Qingshan obviously would just brush it aside. However, this was an illusion made by the Clam King of Mirage Sea. This sandstorm definitely would not be as simple as it seemed.

    Not only did the sandstorm blot out the sky, but it was boundless too.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go down and avoid it for now. I refuse to believe it can blow us away!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An arrived on the ground beneath a stone pillar that was about to be swallowed up by the sand. There were ruins here as well, but only the huge stone pillar jutted out of the sea of sand. It was engraved with a few words that he could not really understand, as well as a few blurry diagrams, but he did find them familiar.

    Li Qingshan took a closer look and had no idea how to react. The words were the English he had learnt in his past life, while the diagrams were geometric figures from maths. However, none of these things existed in this world, so was the illusion actually able to project the thoughts in his head?

    Before he could think too much about it, the whistling sound travelled closer and grew louder and louder. It was like a sky full of mouths, blowing away at him. In the blink of an eye, the violent sand swallowed them up and brought darkness.

    Li Qingshan discovered that his choice of hiding behind the stone pillar was correct. The sandstorm was so violent that even he felt like the world was spinning around him. He instinctively pulled Xiao An into his arms. His visibility had actually been reduced to less than thirty meters.

    He sighed inside. What force. If he had remained in the sky, he definitely would have been blown away. The engraved pillar was like a tower of strength, fending off the invasion of the sandstorm.

    ¡°I wonder when it¡¯ll pass,¡± Li Qingshan said to Xiao An in his arms who was as light as a feather, embracing her a little more tightly.

    Xiao An said something, but her voice was drowned out by the wind.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Li Qingshan asked with his soul sense, but before Xiao An could even reply, he suddenly heard a moo, ringing through the sandstorm with great clarity. He found the sound so familiar and close, as if it rang out from his heart.

    Li Qingshan stood up and gazed around. In the dim sandstorm, the silhouette of an ox looked back at him.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes, clearly making out a broken horn on the ox¡¯s head. He could not see it exactly, but he was certain it was black. He could not help but shudder inside. This was the greatest secret hidden in his heart, even greater than the fact that he had transmigrated.

    Reincarnation and memories of past lives were nothing in the World of the Nine Provinces, but the black ox¡¯s existence far surpassed this world. He was an existence that even superseded the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, standing beyond the Nine Heavens.

    However, Xiao An beside him did not seem to see anything at all, leaning against his lap quietly.

    Was this also an illusion the Clam King of Mirage Sea created? But it was far too realistic!

    The regular black ox gave off an aura that could not be put into words. The sandstorm and even the entire mirage twisted as a result, like it was about to collapse.

    ¡°Wait for me!¡±

    Li Qingshan instructed Xiao An and rushed after the black ox. Even if it were an illusion, he wanted to catch another clear glimpse of the big brother that had given him everything yet had been gone for so long!

    Xiao An extended her hand to grab the hem of his clothes, but it slid through her grasp helplessly. She watched as he vanished into the sandstorm.

    The sandstorm was even more powerful than Li Qingshan imagined it to be. Even with his strength and cultivation, it was rather difficult to make his way through it. A great force pushed against his body, forcing him to hunch his back and stagger towards the black ox.

    The black ox waved its tail and turned around, making its way off into the depths of the sandstorm in the same unhurried way as always.

    Li Qingshan calls were blown away by the wind and sand. He thought of something and looked back. The sand and wind limited his visibility, such that he could not see the stone pillar or Xiao An anymore. He suddenly felt rather lost, but he did not have the time to think too much about it. He used his full strength to chase after the ox.

    The world was a pale yellow. Only that figure was so clear, leading him off into the unknown.

    However, no matter how Li Qingshan chased after him, the figure was just beyond reach. It gradually grew further away before completely vanishing in the sand and wind. A moo rang out from the distance.

    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s just an illusion?¡± Li Qingshan knelt in the sand, heaving for air. He suddenly spread his arms and called out at the top of his lungs, ¡°I will go there! Beyond the Nine Heavens, I¡¯ll definitely go there!¡±

    The sandstorm gradually subsided, and Li Qingshan found the stone pillar again. It had almost been buried by a sand dune, while the words and diagrams had all been ground away by the sand.

    But there was nothing beneath the stone pillar!

    ¡°There seems¡­ to be something here¡­¡± Li Qingshan was clueless, extending his hand to touch the stone pillar.

    The stone pillar crumbled silently, turning into dust that was even finer than the sand and dispersing with the wind.

    Li Qingshan stood on the sand dune, left in a daze for a good while. Only the sea of sand spanned as far as the eye could see. He was alone. He felt his heart ache slightly, and his eyes grew rather moist. He shook his head forcefully and gazed at the Clam building on the horizon.

    He could still remember. I need to go there and find the Clam King of Mirage Sea!

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    With a strange sense of reluctance, he continued on his way. He just wanted to turn around and take a look, but he hated looking back the most, so he gritted his teeth and continued on the way. Very soon, he threw the sand dune behind. It was no different from the thousands of other sand dunes.

    The wind blew gently. Li Qingshan was stern, constantly advancing towards the Clam building. The surrounding scenery gradually became monotonous. There were no ruins, nor were there any ancient poplars, only sand dunes upon sand dunes like waves in the sea of sand.

    However, the sandstorms occurred more and more frequently, so he was forced to give up on flying. After walking for who knew how many days, or perhaps years, the sun continued to loom over his head, radiating with scorching light. It made him feel restless.

    Even with the Strength of the Earth, waves of exhaustion attacks. His body was covered in a layer of dust, but he could not stop. The Clam building was still there, growing closer and closer.

    Finally, after the passing of another sandstorm, Li Qingshan looked around. There was only a boundless desert. He gazed at the horizon.

    ¡°What¡­ is supposed to be there?¡±

    He was lost.

 Chapter 815

    Li Qingshan thought for a good while, but he reached no conclusion. He was confused. Why am I in this desert?

    He thought of something and checked his sea of consciousness, but it was empty as if something was missing. The motivation he had just found dispersed again.

    However, he could not stay here. For some reason, great fear filled his heart, urging him onwards. He casually chose a direction and staggered onwards.

    He had no objective, no companions, not even enemies. Only sandstorms passed by one after another. A strange sense of emptiness filled his heart, constantly expanding until it became one with the entire desert, the entire world.

    His face had become rugged yet lost from the sand and wind. All he could do was constantly advance, afraid to stop for even a moment. It was as if he would immediately be swallowed up by the desert if he stopped. However, the exhaustion grew heavier and heavier. The earth no longer granted him endless support, instead draining his strength and spirit bit by bit.

    The desert was no longer golden sand, and the sky was no longer azure blue. It was as if the constant sandstorms had blown away the colour.

    Finally, after a sandstorm, even the sun vanished. All that remained was the empty, white sky, as well as the endless sea of pale sand.

    The sandstorms stopped from then onwards. The wind vanished too. In the world, only he continued to trudge arduously, listening to his own rough breathing and stubbornly refusing to look back. He was unable to see that every footprint he left behind would immediately vanish as if it had never existed at all.

    The concept of time became blurred. Suddenly, his final consciousness collapsed just like the stone.

    Finally, he collapsed in the desert. Perhaps this place could not even be called a desert anymore. There were no rising and falling sand dunes, just boundless white.

    His black eyes were blurred like frosted glass, gazing at the distant horizon. The white sand surged, swallowing him inch by inch.

    ¡­¡­

    Under the pitch-black sky, an uninterrupted chain of mountains lay there like a huge beast, quietly awaiting the break of dawn.

    A hamlet sat below a small hill shaped like a crouching ox.

    ¡°Xiao Er, get up!¡± A voice broke the silence of the entire world. A middle-aged farmwife with a somewhat wide waist called out.

    Within a pile of straw in the cowshed, a skinny young man immediately jerked awake from his dream. He wondered in a daze, Who am I?

    He looked around at the dirty cowshed and sensed the itch from the mosquito bites. It was rather uncomfortable, but he found this all to be so familiar. He gradually woke up from his dream too, but the dream had been far too realistic. It felt surreal as if everything before him right now was fake.

    However, when he tried to recall the dream, it rapidly vanished like a wisp of smoke. He could only vaguely recall it to be an extremely terrifying nightmare, basically striking fear into his heart and making him feel like he was unable to wake up. As a result, he gave up on recalling it.

    ¡°Where else could you be? Of course, you¡¯re at home! Xiao Er, the weather is getting cold now, so don¡¯t sleep in the cowshed anymore, or you¡¯ll catch a cold! I¡¯ve made breakfast, so come and eat!¡± The middle-aged farmwife smiled. Her voice was loud, but it was filled with concern, which filled the young man¡¯s heart with warmth.

    That¡¯s right. I¡¯m Li Er. This is Crouching Ox village. My parents were both farmers of the village, but they passed away when I was young. It¡¯s all thanks to my elder brother and his wife who raised me. They¡¯re like my parents to me.

    He stood up and immediately loomed over the sister-in-law. The sister-in-law sighed. ¡°Sigh, time sure flies. In the blink of an eye, you¡¯re already as tall as your brother. In another two years, you can get married and start a family. We have to start preparing now. Once your brother returns from selling the ox, we¡¯ll take the cowshed apart and build a new house for you. It might not end up being better than the other houses, but we can¡¯t let it be any worse. With the kind of talent you are, Xiao Er, we can¡¯t lose out to anyone apart from the kids from caretaker Liu and village head Li¡¯s homes. Oh, the water is boiling. Stop standing there. Come and wash your face and get ready to eat!¡±

    The sister-in-law rambled on for a good while before rushing off to the kitchen.

    However, he only heard a single sentence. Once your brother returns from selling the ox!

    Yes, this had been all planned out. Because the black ox that had grown up with him had become so old that it could no longer work in the fields, they were going to take it to the butchers in town and exchange it for money to build him a house. Back then, he had disagreed with this plan very much, but it was not like he had a choice. When farmers owned oxen, they were all like this.

    However, when he recalled the black ox¡¯s moist eyes, his heart shuddered, and he murmured, ¡°No, no, this is wrong!¡±

    Rushing out of the cowshed and leaving the sister-in-law¡¯s calls behind, he followed the path leading to the town and sprinted off.

    The morning breeze rushed into his face, filled with the refreshing smell of vegetation. The grass and flowers were close to swallowing this tiny path through the mountains. He moved swiftly, knocking off countless droplets of translucent dew from the grass around him, but he had not eaten breakfast after all, and the nightmare seemed to have drained him too much, so he felt tired very quickly. However, an indescribable impulse urged him on. Quickly, quickly! Find the ox!

    He turned around a corner, and a familiar figure appeared before him. He was a middle-aged farmer with a simple appearance.

    He stopped in a hurry and grabbed the farmer by the shoulder. He asked, ¡°Brother, where¡¯s the ox?¡±

    ¡°Oh Xiao Er, you¡¯ve come to receive me. The ox has been sold already. Look, the money is right here, a whole eleven taels of silver. It¡¯ll be enough for both building the house and finding a wife for you.¡± Big brother Li patted the bundle on his shoulder and smiled in a simple way.

    ¡°The ox can¡¯t be sold! It can¡¯t be sold! I don¡¯t want a house or a wife!¡± He was frantic, speaking in an incoherent manner.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re attached to the old ox. I feel the same. But this is its fate. We can¡¯t just bury it!¡± Big brother Li became a little gloomy and patted him on the shoulder.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the ox!?¡± He panicked, calling out furiously.

    ¡°It¡¯s already been butchered. Even if you go, it¡¯s too late. Let¡¯s go home!¡± big brother Li said.

    ¡°Butchered? Butchered! Butchered¡­¡±

    There was a rumble in his head as if something had shattered. He was dragged back home by big brother Li, returning to Crouching Ox village before he even knew it. The diligent villagers had already risen, all greeting him. Every single face was extremely familiar. Big brother Li also greeted them back with a smile.

    They passed by a house of brick and tiles, and it was dark within the door. A statue was enshrined on the altar, and an old woman dressed in colourful clothes currently worshipped the statue. She was the village witch. She performed all the marriage ceremonies and funerals, and she also knew divination and exorcism. She was extremely capable and had quite the prestige among the neighbouring villages. Hearing them, she looked back and revealed a kind smile.

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    The voice in his heart rose up once again. He suddenly broke free from big brother Li and rushed into the witch¡¯s home. He made his way around the altar and arrived behind it, arriving at a verdant vegetable patch.

    Without the slightest concern, he began to dig away at a certain location that seemed to be embedded in his soul. He felt like his blood was boiling. As his hands dug into the moist soil, he felt nothing even when the sharp rocks hurt his fingers. Big brother Li¡¯s calls and the witch¡¯s questions seemed to be extremely distant. In that moment, he felt as close to reality as he had ever been.

    Suddenly, a smear of white appeared before him. He widened his eyes and said with a trembling voice, ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡±

    AUTHOR¡¯S NOTE: In the very centre of the desert¡­

    This should have been posted yesterday. I planned on taking a long break. My condition has been very bad during the past month or two. I really do feel tired. Never have I felt so lonely in my life, like I am trudging arduously through the centre of the desert, gradually forgetting about my companions, my enemies, and my objectives after each sandstorm.

    I look around in confusion!

    What¡­ is supposed to be there? There clearly is something, but why can¡¯t I just remember it?

    It¡¯s funny now that you mention it. I¡¯ve always liked being alone. Compared to the noisiness of groups, I¡¯d rather remain alone and maintain my aloofness. But, but turns out that getting along with yourself isn¡¯t that easy.

    Perhaps I should give up on being a perfectionist. That way, I won¡¯t have to sink into a maze-like predicament over every detail, afraid that I¡¯ll make some kind of irredeemable mistake with each step, where I just pace around as if I¡¯m facing an abyss. As I hesitate, I miss out on even more.

    Forget about it. Actually, you¡¯ve already been making mistakes. You just always refuse to admit it.

    I¡¯ve tried countless times to read the books I¡¯ve written myself¡ªthis one, the last one, the one before that¡ªbut I just can¡¯t do it. There are too many errors. I never recall my so-called childhood, my so-called youth. For some reason, only the pain is especially impressionable, never to heal, such that I¡¯ve even begun to doubt a little whether I¡¯ve actually ever felt happy before. I might as well just give up on it all!

    I can write fantastic novels to make up for that anyway, but what if I can¡¯t? What if I¡¯m unable to learn from my mistakes? How am I supposed to make up for that? I¡¯m already in such a sorry shape, so how can I still come off as weak before the eyes of anyone?

    I¡¯d rather keep my eyes closed and sink into the illusions than open my eyes and look at this incomplete world, this incomplete self, like a stubborn, pig-headed child throwing a tantrum in the store, bawling and whining, I just want this toy!

    But dammit, I clearly know I won¡¯t be able to achieve anything like this! Stand up! Stop crying now!

    Although I¡¯ve said countless times to treat this as a job, it¡¯s really very difficult. Before I knew it, I¡¯d already poured too many things into it, my own dignity and self-worth, my reason and evidence of existence. Is there something wrong with my head?

    There¡¯s been many times when I¡¯ve wanted to delete this passage. When I feel helpless and am in pain, isn¡¯t silence the best way to deal with it? Why should I continue to put up with the humiliation? But there just happens to be answers that can¡¯t be found even after adding to a diary a hundred times and questions that can¡¯t be answered even after considering life a thousand times.

    As a result, I need to use this kind of method to bring this to an end, to admit my weakness and powerlessness before thousands.

    ¡°Fine. A third-rate author like me just regularly writes uninteresting plots!¡±

    But even when I make endless mistakes, I want to continue down this path.

    Hey, answer me. Is anyone listening? Is anyone waiting? Sure enough, I really can¡¯t continue down this road if I¡¯m alone.

    I¡¯ll try to gather my courage and accept all these mistakes, to face this reality and cross through this desert, to find that dream again

 Chapter 816

    A white, circular object was buried in the black soil; it was shaped like a human skull, yet much smaller than the skull of an adult.

    He shoved his trembling hands into the soil and dug it up. He immediately stiffened. His boiling blood seemed to reach a freezing point all of a sudden. It was just a white rock.

    ¡°Xiao Er, what¡¯s wrong with you? Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± big brother Li asked with a long face before pulling the witch over by the hand. ¡°Is my brother possessed? Save him, please.¡±

    ¡°Boy, what is there in my vegetable patch?¡± the witch told big brother Li to calm down first before rubbing his head and asking kindly. He found her extremely familiar, yet also unfamiliar.

    ¡°I- I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    He clutched the white rock firmly and stood up in dejection. His body swayed, and the feelings of exhaustion, hunger, and pain immediately overwhelmed him like a flood, but it was nowhere near as deep and heavy as the disappointment in his heart. But what was he disappointed about? Didn¡¯t he spend his entire life so far like this? What was he desiring?

    He walked out of the witch¡¯s home and used his hands to shield his eyes. Sunlight flowed resplendently through the cracks of his fingers. The sun rose as normal, shining with warm rays, and the fog that enveloped the hamlet gradually dispersed. Smoke began to rise from the homes in the village. This was an extremely ordinary morning that had repeated hundreds, thousands of times in his life, and from today onwards, it would continue like this, yet he felt a nightmarish sense of terror.

    He returned home in low spirits, sitting at the table. He had breakfast, he had lunch, and he had dinner, but he continued to clutch the rock shaped like a child¡¯s skull. The sun set, but it rose up again tomorrow.

    Crouching Ox village was far too small and life was far too plain, so anything that happened would spread like wildfire. Very soon, everyone found out that Li Erlang had lost his mind and all came to visit him, sighing when they saw him. They said he was far too attached to the old ox, so he was unable to bear with the psychological shock, which made him hysterical.

    The moon rose up into the sky, and he finally stood up from the table, making his way out of the house. He arrived beside a well in the village, sitting on the mossy rock and gazing into the water.

    The well water quietly reflected the brilliant moon, as well as a young thin face that was filled with confusion. What is wrong with me? Just because of that dream? But even though the dream has already vanished, the feeling from the dream lingers.

    It was the feeling of bold spirit, the feeling of struggling arduously, the feeling of laughing wildly and running amok, the feeling of devotion and bitter grievances!

    His face twisted. His wound-ridden hand gripped the white rock firmly.

    ¡°Erlang, you¡­ better not act rashly. We can talk about anything you¡¯d like. The ox can¡¯t come back alive now that it¡¯s dead¡­¡± Big brother Li¡¯s voice trembled, afraid he would throw himself into the well, so he made a feeble attempt at changing his mind.

    ¡°Damned brat, you¡¯ve lost your mind! Do you still want to live a proper life or not? Your parents died early. I was the one who cleaned you and raised you. How can you do this to me?¡± sister-in-law Li called out and broke into tears as she continued.

    The barking of dogs filled the entire village, and the houses all lit their lamps. The villagers woke up from their sleep and gathered around the well before long. There were both adults and children, women and men, chiming in constantly to change his mind, to make him think things through.

    His eyes swept over the crowd, over Crouching Ox hill, and over the endless myriad mountains. The words ¡°green mountains¡± suddenly leapt into his head like inspiration. He lowered his head and murmured, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Brother, where¡¯s the money from selling the ox?¡±

    After a good while, he suddenly raised his head and asked.

    ¡°Y- you wait right there! I¡¯ll go fetch it right now!¡± Big brother Li rushed out of the crowd and returned with a bundle with the silver pieces very soon, handing it over to him.

    He gazed at the pieces of silver that glistened under the moonlight. He placed the rock in his hand in there before suddenly standing up. The crowd fell silent, and all of them just looked at him.

    He looked around and decided on a direction, making his way out of the village.

    The crowd was stunned by his deranged demeanour, afraid to stop him. They parted to the two sides and watched as he vanished under the moonlight.

    Big brother Li and the sister-in-law wanted to stop him, but they suddenly stopped, and a strange expression filled their faces.

    In the beginning, his footsteps were very heavy. He was at a loss as for where he was trying to go, but gradually, his footsteps became lighter and faster. He used the brilliant moonlight to follow the small path that had almost been swallowed by the wild grass, striding away into the night.

    He walked for an entire night and reached the town. The sky had already lit up. He stood in front of a butcher¡¯s shop, and the huge head of an ox with a horn missing hung on the meat rack. The eyes of the ox bulged, having lost their usual lustre already, just shining with a murky light. Flies buzzed around it as if they were trying to add a few boring obituaries to the death of this ordinary beast.

    However, he could clearly sense the murky eyes were looking at him with that familiar, moist gaze. Suddenly, he felt his face moisten. Before he had even realised it, his cheeks were already covered with tears.

    ¡°Little brother, would you like to buy some meat? We just butchered a great, strong ox yesterday. There¡¯s still a lot of meat left!¡± the owner of the butcher shop asked in a rather uncertain manner.

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    He pointed at the ox¡¯s head.

    A while later, he left under the butcher shop owner¡¯s confused gaze. He welcomed the glow of dawn. The sun scattered a layer of light on his tall figure. He carried the large head of an ox on his back.

    The ox head was very heavy, weighing down on his body together with the rock in the bundle. The dream no longer seemed to drift anymore. It began to bear weight. It began to clear up!

    Time slipped by. The stars shifted.

    The young man became an adult, and the adult became an old man. He wandered through the world, but what he saw in his dream never happened. However, he refused to give up, continuing to search and search!

    Finally, he arrived at the top of a mountain and stopped one day. His figure that had once stood tall was now hunched over, while his clothes had been reduced to tatters. The ox head on his back was just a skull, and the white stone had been polished smooth, except they weighed even heavier than in the past.

    He looked back, gazing at the path he had taken to reach here. In the past, he had numerous opportunities to stop and enjoy a peaceful, happy life, but he did not. He braved the hardships of life with absolutely nothing in the end.

    He could not help but think that perhaps he should not have come out. Perhaps he had already lost his mind several decades ago. As a result, he saw Crouching Ox village again. He saw himself who was also up in years, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, enjoying his final years in peace.

    Did he regret it?

    He removed the yellowing ox skull from his back with his old hands and slowly wore it over his head. He touched it with one hand as he fished out the white rock that had been warmed up by his body with the other. He stared at it for a very long while before suddenly laughing. He laughed more and more loudly, with violent coughing mixed in. He coughed up blood that dyed his snow-white beard red.

    With a thump, the laughter halted. He fell backwards and gazed at the sky. He said, ¡°Regret my ass!¡±

    Death surged through him, making him sink into endless darkness. Suddenly, a butterfly flew through the endless darkness with an indescribable blend of colours, shedding pigments that were just as indescribable that dyed this black curtain.

 Chapter 817

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan!¡±

    An extremely familiar voice called out urgently, together with brisk clapping.

    Li Qingshan slowly opened his eyes, waking up from the dream. He saw a pure, beautiful face. ¡°Where is this? Who am I?¡±

    Afterwards, he immediately remembered everything. I am Li Qingshan, and this is¡­ the Clam building!

    Various memories flooded through his head. Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes, and the confusion on his face became fury. He leapt up and clenched his right hand into a fist, pushing it against the ground as he formed a claw with his left hand. He faced the woman dressed in clothes that were a blend of colours and was as beautiful as a dream.

    His various innate abilities were all ready to erupt.

    ¡°Fascinating! That¡¯s far too fascinating!¡± However, the woman seemed to be unaware of this. She continued to clap away, unable to hide her admiration.

    ¡°The Clam King of Mirage Sea!¡± Li Qingshan ground his teeth. ¡°You bastard! Fascinating my ass! C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll take you on!¡±

    His thoughts involuntarily returned to a very, very long time ago¡­

    ¡°The South sea sure is majestic!¡±

    Around dusk, Li Qingshan and Xiao An arrived on the shore of the South sea from Savage mountain. This happened to be a peninsula that jutted out from the land mass. Great winds blew past him from behind. As he gazed out, the sea was boundless, and the waves surged endlessly.

    The setting sun in the west dyed the clouds red. The orangey-red light rippled over with the waves from the horizon where the sea met the sky. It was as beautiful as it could get.

    Xiao An furrowed her brows slightly. She was in thought. She did not possess the same tranquility as usual.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re thinking of something?¡± Li Qingshan noticed it immediately, rubbing her head and asking with a smile.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Xiao An shook her head gently.

    ¡°What, there¡¯s something you¡¯re trying to hide from me now? You really have grown up! C¡¯mon, the Mirage sea is near.¡±

    Li Qingshan listened to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s instructions and did not waste too much time. He took out the sea chart and glanced at it, gaining his bearings. He was about to set off again.

    ¡°Qingshan! The Clam King of Mirage Sea probably isn¡¯t as simple as the Great Banyan Tree King said,¡± Xiao An said suddenly.

    ¡°Really? Let¡¯s travel and talk!¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised.

    Along the way, Xiao An told Li Qingshan about all the legends regarding the Mirage sea in her knowledge, as well as the cultivation community of the South sea¡¯s most popular belief of the place.

    At this moment, faint mist suddenly drifted over on the surface of the sea in the distance. Normally, Li Qingshan would not care at all, but when he looked over there, he discovered that the mist changed like it was alive, showing certain bizarre scenes.

    This was the place marked on the sea chart, the location of the Mirage sea.

    ¡°Looks like this Clam King of Mirage Sea doesn¡¯t intentionally set down traps to lure people in. Otherwise, she would have made it impossible to discover,¡± Li Qingshan said in thought.

    Xiao An looked at Li Qingshan, waiting for him to make his decision.

    ¡°I knew it. The Clam King of Mirage Sea isn¡¯t that simple, but there¡¯s no reason for you to worry too much either. Fellow tree king must have had his reasons for forbidding you from telling me that, which shouldn¡¯t be to harm me. Otherwise, why would he go to such great lengths? There¡¯s probably some kind of reason for this,¡± Li Qingshan said in thought.

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Xiao An lowered her head. With how clever and intelligent she was, how could she not understand this? According to normal logic, it should have been most beneficial to him to listen to the Great Banyan Tree King, but she was unable to deceive him, so all she could do was apologise.

    ¡°The only mistake you¡¯ve made is saying that word!¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and said seriously.

    Xiao An¡¯s innocent look made her seem especially piteous.

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    ¡°Now you understand, don¡¯t you?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An nodded with a smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t make this mistake again in the future. Let me divine with the spirit turtle.¡±

    By now, no matter what Li Qingshan did, he was accustomed to divining with the spirit turtle first. He had already divined once when he first came, but the future was shrouded in mist, preventing him from drawing a definite conclusion. It was clearly due to the influence of the Mirage sea, but fortunately, it never showed any omens of death.

    No matter how mysterious the Mirage sea was, it was impossible for there to be absolutely no warning with the wonders of the spirit turtle if it were a lethal death trap. That was why he had come here so bravely.

    But when he divined again, the result left him a little taken aback. The future was just as blurry as before, but there was clearly danger. It even gave off hints of killing intent.

    He could not help but wonder inside, I just learnt a little more and fate has changed in such an evident way? Normally, isn¡¯t it easier to evade danger the more you know? If I had been fooled by lies, then that would make more sense, but the information regarding the Mirage sea is clearly much more realistic compared to the perfect description from the Great Banyan Tree King!

    ¡°How is it?¡± Xiao An asked in a hurry.

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t changed.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me. Even I didn¡¯t lie to you.¡± Xiao An pouted.

    ¡°Fine then. There seems to be much more danger!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Sigh, sure enough.¡± Xiao An could not help but sigh. This meant that she was actually in the wrong.

    ¡°Compared to the bliss of ignorance, I¡¯d rather bear the danger that comes with knowledge. If you lie to me as well, then I¡¯ll feel even more horrible than dying!¡± Li Qingshan looked into Xiao An¡¯s eyes with a smile and said extremely seriously.

    This was why Xiao An had deliberated for a good while before still making a choice she clearly knew was wrong. Their trust in each other was even more important than their lives.

    ¡°Do you still want to go?¡±

    ¡°Of course? Since when have I ever been afraid of danger? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s certain death anyway. I¡¯ve even survived close shaves, not to mention that Myriad Poison is still a little more troublesome.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and flew towards the end of the sea surface, entering the Mirage sea with Xiao An.

    In that instant, the surroundings changed drastically. Skyscrapers pulled up from the ground, forming a concrete jungle. It was clearly a modern city that existed in Li Qingshan¡¯s memories. Under the murky sky, they stood in the centre of a four-way intersection. The complicated traffic lights constantly flashed as the people and cars flowed through.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder that everyone saw different things in the Mirage sea. So the illusion reflects the world in your mind.¡± Li Qingshan sighed emotionally.

    ¡°So this was where you once lived?¡± Xiao An asked in surprise. She could tell that this unfamiliar city operated off its own set of principles.

    Only two people knew about Li Qingshan¡¯s possession of ¡°innate knowledge¡±. One was brother ox, while the other was Xiao An. He had mentioned it to her when he plagiarised novels in the past. Of course, it was not some kind of grand, earth-shaking secret in this wondrous World of the Nine Provinces.

    ¡°How is it? Isn¡¯t it a mess?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°A little, but you¡¯ve thought about returning, haven¡¯t you?¡± Xiao An said in thought.

    ¡°Of course I have, but I¡¯ve even decided to never return to Crouching Ox village, so let alone here. C¡¯mon, our destination is probably there!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed into the distance. A pagoda that completely contrasted against the modern landscape stood there, reaching into the clouds and looming over the entire city.

    ¡°That should be called the Clam building, right?¡±

    He followed the streets and walked over slowly, arriving beneath the building before long. A signboard of classical elegance hung above the vermillion doors, labelled ¡°Clam Building¡±.

    ¡°Heh, I actually guessed it!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    However, a hint of worry appeared in Xiao An¡¯s eyes.

    Li Qingshan went up and knocked on the door, loudly stating his reason for visiting. He took out the letter of introduction written for him by the Great Banyan Tree King.

    The letter of introduction suddenly moved and broke free from his hand, spiralling into the sky and disappearing into the murky clouds.

    Li Qingshan looked up. The Clam building seemed like it was about to collapse. Before long, the vermillion doors swung open, and a voice rang out from the clouds. ¡°Since the Great Banyan Tree King has sent you here, come on in!¡±

    The voice was extremely pleasant, but almost neutral. It was impossible to distinguish its gender.

    Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re actually female? Li Qingshan thought. Although he was tempted to directly fly up, he still stepped through the vermillion doors, and they slammed shut again.

    However, the first floor of the Clam building did not have the antique style Li Qingshan imagined. Instead, it was a metallic, futuristic room. A foul air filled his face. In the centre of the room stood a huge monster. Its black body shone with a metallic lustre, leaning forwards and standing on two legs. A spiky tail dragged behind it as it produced a deafening roar, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth as it lunged over.

    ¡°Why does this look like that Alien Queen! It sure is an illusion. Am I supposed to fight my way up?¡± Li Qingshan thought as he rubbed his chin. Then he threw a punch, and the monster that resembled an Alien Queen was immediately smashed to pieces. Its blood spattered on the walls and floor, immediately producing white wisps of smoke and eating away huge holes.

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    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, but I still remember the characteristic of their acidic blood! If I have some time in the future, I could write another novel and strengthen the Divine Talisman of Great Creation,¡± Li Qingshan said with interest.

    With a crack above his head, a metallic trap door swung open.

    ¡°It really is that!¡±

    Li Qingshan gradually realised too that the various scenes in the illusion arose from his thoughts. If he were clueless about the legends of the Mirage sea and purely believed what the Great Banyan Tree King told him, then perhaps everything would have unfolded very smoothly. It was exactly because he believed this trip would not be so simple that an obstacle like this appeared.

    If that were the case, then the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ¡°lies¡± made sense. In this world of the Mirage sea, ¡°lies¡± could become reality. It was exactly because the survivors from the Mirage sea believed in a certain lie that they managed to escape. The most popular belief of the cultivation community perhaps included lethal factors instead. If you believed the Clam King of Mirage Sea used clam qi to hunt, then she actually hunted.

    Of course, all of this was purely hypothetical. It was not like he could confirm this from just seeing one side. After all, the Mirage sea was still under the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s control. Perhaps she actually used it to hunt cultivators! Since this belief could be recognised by the cultivation community of the South sea for thousands of years, it was not a groundless rumor.

    But he was here already. All he could do was fight his way up!

    Not only was Li Qingshan unafraid, but he even became very curious about what kind of monsters would appear instead.

    Li Qingshan leapt up to the second floor, but Xiao An remained where she was. She thought of something. Oh no!

    If her thoughts were correct, then perhaps the Mirage sea really would become a deadly trap.

    AUTHOR¡¯S WORD: The Dream isn¡¯t Over

    I¡¯ve read everyone¡¯s comments. Although I don¡¯t want to admit I can be influenced by others, I do feel very happy and very touched. Of course, there¡¯s nothing along the lines of getting moist in the eyes. Oi, is it really that difficult to accept that you¡¯re a feeble mortal?

    Sorry, I¡¯ve always been too arrogant, and I¡¯ve neglected your power. I¡¯ve been constantly gazing at the sky, only to forget you were the ones holding me up.

    When I look back at the road that led me here, I didn¡¯t walk it alone. I can still remember when I wrote my first novel. When I received my first comment, I felt utterly delighted. I felt I was so powerful! I was a novelist, aha! Oh right, and that comment was cursing me too¡­

    So why now, when I¡¯ve clearly received ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times more comments of praise, that I¡¯m blind and deaf to them?

    Now, I can see them all and hear them all. Even if this is the centre of the desert, there are the echoes of thousands!

    Climb up to your feet! Keep going!

    The dream still isn¡¯t over!

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Mirror, mirror on the wall, who¡¯s the most perfect man of them all?¡±

    ¡°Anyone but you!¡±

    ¡°Go die!¡± Ping!

    Alright, I¡¯ll admit that for now, but I want to write a perfect novel! Even if I can¡¯t do it now, even if I can¡¯t do it in the future, even if I¡¯ll never be able to do it, I want to write a perfect novel!

 Chapter 818

    The second floor¡­ the fifth floor¡­ the tenth floor¡­

    Li Qingshan climbed up the building and encountered all sorts of different enemies along the way. All of them were from his imagination, and they grew stronger as he climbed up. After reaching the thirteenth floor, he could no longer defeat them with ease, but he did not mind at all. He used his abilities and might, growing bolder with each fight and having the time of his life.

    Xiao An watched over him as he climbed up. Deep worry filled her eyes. Hopefully¡­ it¡¯s not like what I think it is.

    ¡­¡­

    With a great rumble, the steel monster was smashed to pieces, and the door to the next floor swung open.

    ¡°Xiao An, what floor is this?¡±

    Li Qingshan gasped for air as his wounds slowly closed up. The enemies were becoming stronger and stronger, and he began to struggle as well.

    ¡°The ninety-ninth floor, but if you look at the height of this place, the next floor should be the top,¡± Xiao An said quietly.

    ¡°Really? But I¡¯m just getting started! Don¡¯t tell me this game is actually called ¡®If you¡¯re a man, then climb up a hundred floors¡¯? Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan joked and flew up to the hundredth floor of the Clam building.

    TL: ¡®If you¡¯re a man, then climb up a hundred floors¡¯ seems to be a Chinese book.

    Long, coloured curtains hung down from the ceiling in the quiet palace. Great gusts of wind gushed in from the openings on all sides, making the curtains drift about. Their colours wove together and brushed past Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Then he caught a faint, exotic scent. A censer produced wisps of smoke, which the winds failed to disperse, coiling through the palace like mist.

    Li Qingshan told Xiao An to be careful as he cautiously made his way to the centre of the palace.

    Xiao An gazed at him from behind and frowned slightly. The Clam building plunged deep into the murky clouds, so there was no concept of height to speak of. This was still an illusion.

    Li Qingshan saw a colourful figure very soon, standing with her back towards them and drinking alone.

    ¡°Fellow, are you perhaps the Clam King of Mirage Sea?¡± Li Qingshan bowed and asked a probing question.

    ¡°I am! Please take a seat! I¡¯ve been waiting for quite some time now,¡± the Clam King of Mirage Sea swung her hand and said without looking back. It was as if she was not discontent with how Li Qingshan called her ¡®fellow¡¯.

    With some caution, Li Qingshan made his way around the Clam King of Mirage Sea, and a face as beautiful as a dream appeared before him. He thought, Sure enough, it¡¯s a woman!

    However, because he was currently in an illusion, he was uncertain whether what he saw was real or fake, so he just sat down beside the Clam King of Mirage Sea. Xiao An stood beside him and studied this legendary Clam King of Mirage Sea.

    Before Li Qingshan could even say anything, the Clam King of Mirage Sea said, ¡°You want my help with something. Is it for Myriad Poison?¡± Her gaze swept past Xiao An, perhaps intentionally.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Only you can help me with this, fellow.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled and stood up, arriving before Li Qingshan and extending her hand towards his head.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and tensed up. He clenched his fist, like a vicious tiger poised to strike.

    Xiao An suddenly pressed down on his shoulder, leaving Li Qingshan slightly surprised. Out of his trust for her and the fact that the spirit turtle gave no warnings, he sat still.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s hand entered Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead extremely gently, like she was extending her hand into a pool of water. She produced a colourful ripple before soon pulling out a jade-green soul nascence.

    The soul nascence that was shaped like an infant currently had its eyes closed, slumbering away. It did not put up any resistance at all.

    Li Qingshan touched his head, only to discover that it was completely fine. He could not help but be amazed. That was simply unbelievable. Even something that the Great Banyan Tree King found to be troublesome had been resolved with such ease by her.

    ¡°This is just my specialisation.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea seemed to read Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts and smiled.

    She sat back down again and picked up a cup of wine, toasting it at him from afar.

    ¡°Thank you, fellow.¡± Li Qingshan rejoiced inside, also picking up his cup. He was about to drink it all.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Xiao An pressed down on his shoulder again. Earlier, it was to stop him from fighting, but now, it was to stop him from drinking the alcohol.

    Li Qingshan looked at Xiao An in surprise. Xiao An bowed towards the Clam King of Mirage Sea. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, but we still have other matters to attend to, so we should be going.¡±

    ¡°We still have to drink together, don¡¯t we?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea fiddled around with the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence as her smile fluctuated.

    ¡°Haha, we¡¯ll definitely have the opportunity in the future, but we really do have something urgent to attend to. Thank you for that, fellow. We¡¯ll be leaving first¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan also felt that something was amiss and stood up. At this moment, the spirit turtle actually sent him a strong warning, but before he could do anything else, he felt the world spin around him. He suddenly looked at the censer in the surroundings. ¡°The incense is poisoned!¡±

    But that made no sense. Even the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s poison could not kill him, so let alone breathing in some smoke.

    His body swayed and sat back down, leaning on the table and snoring away.

    ¡°But it¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t drink.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea took a slow sip, and her appearance suddenly blurred. It was like a thick layer of frosted glass had covered her face. Her voice became distant as well, no longer possible to tell her gender or age from it.

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    Only a pair of eyes remained clear. The blend of colours swirled and rippled in them like a kaleidoscope as she looked at Xiao An.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Xiao An stood in front of Li Qingshan with her sword, completely unaffected by the smoke.

    ¡°You sure are strange! Hehe, can¡¯t you tell what I¡¯m trying to do? The Mirage sea is such a dangerous place, so how can people come and go as they please? Even he doesn¡¯t believe this is so simple, constantly remaining vigilant, so of course it¡¯s not going to be that simple. They all say that the illusions I create can prey on cultivators!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea licked her lips.

    ¡°Because that¡¯s what he thinks?¡±

    The thing that Xiao An worried about the most finally happened.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence had been resolved so easily because the month-long indoctrination by the Great Banyan Tree King had made Li Qingshan believe the Clam King of Mirage Sea would help him.

    However, seeing the true face of the Mirage sea and reaching an ominous result through divination made him raise his guard and develop hostility. The hostility fed off almost a hundred floors of fighting too, making it grow.

    If this were the real world, then these thoughts would be nothing. Even parents and siblings, friends and couples, regularly felt hostility towards each other, but it would be fine as long as it did not erupt. However, this place reflected the inner mind of a person, and the Clam King of Mirage Sea was far too powerful and strange.

    ¡°Have you ever heard that illusions arise from the heart?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled.

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    ¡°He¡¯s never treated you as an enemy.¡± Xiao An was afraid to tell her theory to Li Qingshan because she was afraid it would make him develop even more hostility. It would become even more dangerous then.

    ¡°Otherwise he¡¯d be dead already,¡± the Clam King of Mirage Sea said slowly.

    It was exactly because they shared the popular belief and treated the Clam King of Mirage Sea as an enemy that those cultivators died in the Mirage sea. The outcome of a battle against a peak third heavenly tribulation Daemon King within an illusion obviously went without saying.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Xiao An knew that fighting was useless, so she stowed her sword away. She let Li Qingshan lie flat, resting his head on her thighs.

    ¡°Please let him sleep for a while and have a ¡®good¡¯ dream. If he doesn¡¯t wake up, you can¡¯t blame me. That¡¯s his dream.¡±

 Chapter 819

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea prodded the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence. The enemy that had left Li Qingshan feeling utterly helpless was currently sleeping, as delicate as a real infant.

    In this world of the Mirage sea, the Clam King was paramount. Whether it was the poisoned wine or the poisonous smoke, they were all a medium. The thing actually behind this all was still the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s unbelievable power. No matter how vigilant Li Qingshan was, she only needed to blink her eyes to pull him into a dream.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to have this dream for him,¡± Xiao An clutched Li Qingshan¡¯s head and said to the Clam King of Mirage Sea.

    ¡°No matter how close the two of you are, there are some things you can¡¯t replace him in. I originally planned on letting you have a dream too, except your heart is completely empty. I can¡¯t reflect anything, let alone a nightmare.¡±

    ¡°A nightmare!¡± Xiao An said.

    ¡°Oops, slip of the tongue.¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea stuck out her tongue to hide her gentle smile. Her composed, noble, imposing, beautiful image from before suddenly collapsed. She seemed more like a child who had succeeded in a prank now, but her true intentions remained a mystery, like the faces that constantly flowed and changed.

    Xiao An understood now. To a very large degree, her appearance and even the way she spoke and acted originated from Li Qingshan¡¯s imaginations. Only now that Li Qingshan was asleep did she gradually show her true side.

    Normal people would not be able to see this true side, as when people interacted with one another, first impressions and false imaginations were unavoidable. The very existence of the Clam King of Mirage Sea would be affected as a result. Just like how the Mirage sea was different in everyone¡¯s eyes, the Clam King of Mirage Sea had a thousand different faces too.

    Only Xiao An practised the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, with no concept of form or self, so the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s image was not supported by impressions and imagination, which presented her current unstable ¡°true side¡±.

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    They both lamented in a similar way inside, What a strange existence!

    What a wondrous existence!

    ¡°Alright, the dream is complete. Let¡¯s take a look. It can go with the alcohol!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled and pointed at Li Qingshan¡¯s head from afar.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head glowed, and the ceiling suddenly turned into a colourless, transparent gas, fluctuating with colour under the glow. It gradually formed a scene, hanging above.

    The endless sand sprawled out into the horizon. The poplars, ruins, vestiges, and remains painted an image of desolation. Li Qingshan stood on a sand dune. ¡°This must be the Mirage sea!¡±

    The ¡°Xiao An¡± right beside him replied, ¡°It should just be an illusion!¡±

    ¡°This nightmare seems very special!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea watched on in great interest.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Xiao An raised her head and looked. The nightmare did not seem dangerous.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea answered with a question, ¡°Do you know what the most primitive, deepest, longest lasting, and strongest feeling is?¡±

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    ¡°Love!¡±

    That obviously was not Xiao An¡¯s reply. Instead, a young girl leapt out from the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s body, clasping her heart in a yearning manner.

    ¡°It burns fiercely, but it doesn¡¯t last.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea shook her head, and the young girl paled.

    ¡°Friendship!¡± A bearded, forthright man leapt out of the Clam King of Mirage Sea.

    ¡°Even lifelong friends remain wary of one another!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea waved her hand in contempt. The man fell silent.

    ¡°Familial love!¡± An old granny with white hair emerged this time, speaking amiably.

    ¡°Loving mothers are common, but filial children are rare.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea sighed, and the old granny silently shed tears.

    ¡°Hatred?¡± a young man with a twisted face said sunkenly.

    ¡°A fabrication of the mind.¡±

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    ¡°Thought!¡± A wise man stroked his long beard.

    ¡°Groundless nonsense.¡±

    Figures leapt out one after another, stating various different answers before being rebuked by the Clam King of Mirage Sea and backing down in silence.

    She spoke to herself and acted out a performance alone like a madman.

    ¡°Dreams!¡± Xiao An suddenly said.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea paused momentarily. She smiled. ¡°That¡¯s interesting, but still wrong! All people have dreams, but they¡¯re as fragile as bubbles, and they¡¯re just a beautification of desire. This complicated version of desire is nothing compared to the only true answer.¡±

    Xiao An said nothing.

    ¡°It¡¯s fear!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s voice trembled, spreading her arms and howling at the sky before hugging her shoulders and collapsing onto her knees. The figures around her all showed fear before vanishing.

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    ¡°The fear of missing out, the fear of loss, the fear of life, the fear of death. People strive forward valiantly because of fear, and they hesitate and falter because of fear. They cry out because of fear and keep silent because of fear¡­ All creatures feel fear, and behind all of their actions is fear. Failure leads to greater fears, while success brings new fears! Fear, fear, fear!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s voice gradually became feeble. She curled up and collapsed on the ground like a frightened child. She sobbed gently. ¡°So scary!¡±

    ¡°So what?¡± Xiao An said.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea leapt up as if her performance earlier was merely an illusion. She pointed at the reflection of the dream in the sky. ¡°That¡¯s no regular nightmare. It¡¯s the deepest, darkest fear from the bottom of his heart, free of any unfounded desires and dreams! Hehehehe, do you really think he can survive?¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s face changed.

    ¡°Look, even you have fear. I know now. There¡¯s absolutely no need for me to pull you into a dream. It¡¯s too fake anyway. As long as you remain awake and watch what you fear the most unfold right before you, that¡¯ll be enough.¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea rubbed her hands together mischievously and said with her ever-fluctuating voice with an eerie tone.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea was slightly surprised, gazing at the sky.

    At this moment, the first sandstorm in the dream arrived. The bellow of the black ox rang out from the dream, echoing through the entire world of the Mirage sea.

    ¡°What is this shitty dream? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s frightened to death by that ox!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea was perplexed. Even though he could create dreams, he could not necessarily interpret every single detail. He interfered in a hurry to maintain the dream. Very soon, the black ox vanished in the sandstorm. Li Qingshan found the stone pillar again, but Xiao An had already vanished.

    ¡°Hmm? Looks like the ox isn¡¯t fear, but some kind of powerful symbol. To him, it¡¯s an extraordinary, miraculous existence. It actually almost burst the dream, but isn¡¯t this a little too surreal?¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea exhaled. She really did find that quite strange coming from her. After all, he had seen the most bizarre illusions and dreams that were possible. Even the modern city Li Qingshan had imagined only left him slightly intrigued.

    ¡°Look, the main show is here. Now that he¡¯s lost you, he can only advance through the desert alone. His fear is growing deeper and deeper!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea sat back comfortably, eating melon seeds as she appreciated the dream. She suddenly asked Xiao An, ¡°You want some too?¡±

    Xiao An completely ignored her. She just watched as Li Qingshan passed through sandstorm after sandstorm as the confusion on his face grew heavier and heavier. Her heart condensed through her powers ached slightly.

    ¡°This kid¡¯s fears sure are different. Regular people all see some kind of terrifying monster or enemies who¡¯ve come back from the dead. What¡¯s worth mentioning is I¡¯ve taken the stage multiple times too. However, this kid¡¯s surface-level desires are actually fighting monsters and climbing up the building. He¡¯s basically a battle fanatic, so in other words, he¡¯s not afraid of fighting against me? How audacious. Though, just like what I said, fear is the most primitive and deepest feeling in everyone¡¯s hearts. There is no exception, so resign to your fate! Why don¡¯t we gamble on how he¡¯ll die?¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea then took out a bucket of popcorn as if she was watching a new movie with great interest.

    Xiao An drew her sword and said, ¡°Wake him up immediately and let us leave, or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±

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    ¡°Kill me?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea pointed at himself in the face, and his ever-changing face suddenly stabilised. The faces all overlapped, filled with the same disbelief. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±

    ¡°I am the Clam! King! Of! Mirage! Sea! Hahahaha! Hack! Cough! Cough! Cough!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s voice reverberated through the air, letting out a wild laugh followed by a wild fit of coughing. She choked on the popcorn.

    ¡°I have absolutely no hostility towards you,¡± said Xiao An.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea leaned against her arm and was troubled. ¡°That sure is a problem! Yeah, I¡¯ll just let you hack me to your heart¡¯s content then!¡±

    Xiao An swung down!

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea brought her palms together and caught the sword. ¡°Your sword is a little strange. I feel like I shouldn¡¯t let you slash me.¡±

    In the world of the Mirage sea, even if the Myriad Poison Ancestor struck out at full strength when he was at peak condition, he could forget about harming the Clam King of Mirage Sea with her strength. Just being able to escape from the Mirage sea was already a great blessing.

    However, the Buddha Slaying sword was no regular arcane treasure. It possessed a unique power that even made the Clam King of Mirage Sea sense hints of danger.

    Xiao An pulled her sword hard, but it refused to budge. The pale-white Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone lit up in her eyes, and the Skull Prayer Beads slid off her hand.

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    ¡°Give up. If you¡¯d undergone the third heavenly tribulation, then I might have to be wary of you, but right now, you¡¯re nowhere close to being my opponent. If you continue like this, even your heart of emptiness will become filled with true hostility or even killing intent for his sake. By then, even you will be in danger. I don¡¯t want to kill you.¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea said sternly, both resembling a warning and advice. The colour in her eyes changed, revealing the bearing of a supreme Daemon King. She was even more powerful than Li Qingshan imagined her to be.

    However, Xiao An did not care. ¡°Release him!¡±

    ¡°Look, he¡¯s almost dead! He¡¯s almost dead! Hurry up and look up! Don¡¯t miss the most fascinating part!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea pointed at the reflection of the dream in the sky and called out like she was experiencing convulsions.

    Xiao An suddenly looked up. Li Qingshan collapsed in the white desert and was gradually swallowed by the sand.

    At the same time, his aura became extremely weak. He had never sustained any damage, but he was basically on the brink of death.

    Xiao An threw herself over and shook him vigorously. She called out, ¡°Qingshan! Wake up! This is just a dream!¡±

    The reflection of the dream completely sank into darkness.

    ¡°It¡¯s over. It¡¯s a splendid dream, enough for people to sigh in amazement. It makes those people who conjured monsters and enemies in their nightmares seem like feeble cowards. Now that¡¯s a nightmare truly worth watching, but it¡¯s proven to us yet again that even someone as courageous and fearless as him actually has great fear lurking in his heart, and that fear can kill!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea stood up and explained to a non-existent crowd. She said words of praise at first before sighing and ending it all with a smile.

    But at this moment, the reflection of the dream lit up once again. The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly looked back. ¡°Hmm? How is it still not over? Don¡¯t tell me- don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s not his greatest fear just now?¡±

    By the time Li Qingshan woke up in the cowshed, the Clam King of Mirage Sea was utterly dumbfounded. She let her mouth drop without any care for her image, and the melon seeds in her hand scattered on the ground.

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

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 Chapter 820

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± All Xiao An saw was Li Qingshan furrowing his brows heavily in his sleep as if he was in great pain.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea sat back down, no longer unconcerned like before. Instead, she sat seriously and gazed at the reflection of the dream above. Li Qingshan raced about in the dream. The setting of the dream remained at the ordinary little village, but she showed nightmarish fear.

    She asked Xiao An, ¡°Where is this?¡±

    ¡°Crouching Ox village, the place where he was born.¡± Xiao An glanced at the Clam King of Mirage Sea.

    ¡°In other words, this is two decades ago¡­ It¡¯s just like what I had guessed¡­ So this is his greatest fear. So this is his greatest fear. It¡¯s not pain and death, it¡¯s not forgetting everyone and dying alone. He¡¯s afraid that¡­ this is all a dream!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s voice trembled.

    Xiao An noticed her abnormal behaviour and said in thought, ¡°Since you¡¯ve said that all creatures feel fear, then you¡¯re no different. What would your greatest and deepest fear be, Clam King of Mirage Sea?¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea sighed, but she avoided giving a direct answer. ¡°I really do want to save him right now, but it breaks the principle of my very existence, so he¡¯s dead for sure.¡±

    During the past millennia, perhaps the cultivators who accidentally entered the Mirage sea and sank into nightmares had already been killed by the monsters in the nightmares before they could even face their greatest fears.

    However, he had lasted until now with his extraordinary courage and fearlessness towards death, entering a deeper nightmare. However, he was also forced to face his greatest fear. This had already become a dead end with no way out.

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    No one could defeat their greatest fears. No one! Everything only became more difficult the more someone tried. The more courageous they were, the deeper their fears would become. This most primitive, deepest, longest lasting and strongest feeling had always been the cornerstone of willpower.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe it,¡± Xiao An said stubbornly.

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s see it for ourselves!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea was no longer satisfied with just spectating from the side. Instead, she directly dove into Li Qingshan¡¯s dream, gazing at the downtrodden Li Qingshan. She was overcome with sighs, but also slightly eager too.

    In the reflection of the dream, Li Qingshan dug up the white rock from the witch¡¯s backyard and blanked out for an entire night. Afterwards, he made his way out and arrived by the well.

    ¡°Is it finally going to end?¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea borrowed the villager¡¯s eyes to gaze at the downhearted Li Qingshan by the well. She could not help but sigh.

    If this were a result dream, then suicide was indeed a way to break free. However, dying in the deepest nightmare would only lead to death. Even his soul would be destroyed before being digested by clam qi. The rumors of the South sea were not all false.

    However, Li Qingshan stood up and made his way out of the village.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea was stunned, so all of the villagers were stunned too. Big brother Li and the sister-in-law wanted to rush over and stop him, but the Clam King of Mirage Sea stopped them. She did not want to complicate this. She wanted to see just what this man would do, not to mention the fact that when this man made a decision, how could a farmer and a farmer''s wife stop him?

    When Li Qingshan stood before the butcher¡¯s shop in town and gazed at the ox head blankly, the Clam King of Mirage Sea peered through the butcher shop owner¡¯s eyes to see this.

    ¡°You still refuse to accept this and want to verify it? This black ox bears great significance to you. It¡¯s basically an irreplaceable pillar of support to you, but you¡¯ve seen it for yourself now. ¡®Miracles¡¯ don¡¯t exist. ¡®Dreams¡¯ don¡¯t exist either. You¡¯ll finally give up now, won¡¯t you? Go back, go back to your Crouching Ox village!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan burdened himself with the ox head and made his way off into the distance.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea watched as he travelled into the distance. She was surprised.

    ¡°What are you trying to do? You still don¡¯t know that all forms of struggle are pointless!¡±

    As a result, she followed him. She watched him wander through this exitless maze, searching for a dream that never existed in the first place. He was disappointed again and again, but it was never enough to make him despair. He encountered temptations after temptations, but it was never enough to make him stop.

    Before she knew it, she had spent several decades in this dream with him.

    Finally, he stopped and looked back one day. The shade of death crept over, which he could clearly sense. After a moment of thought, he laughed aloud and said his final words.

    ¡°Regret my ass!¡±

    With earth-shattering force, it left even the Clam King of Mirage Sea shocked. She murmured to herself, ¡°He¡¯s actually defeated this nightmare; no, it¡¯s not defeating exactly. There was no chance for it to be defeated. He just continued to struggle, refusing to admit defeat, even until the final moment of his life. Hehe, what an utterly foolish idea!¡±

    Vaguely, she seemed to see a black ox standing with an indomitable spirit. The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud. Perhaps life was a pointless struggle, but struggling in its very essence was most pointless!

    Perhaps this world did not have brother ox, Xiao An, or the Nine Heavens, but even when he had forgotten certain things and lost the various abilities of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, this spirit had already been firmly engraved in a place even deeper than fear in his heart.

    Perhaps you might never defeat fear, but that did not stop you from continuing with your battle.

    Moo!

    The dream shattered as a result, and the butterfly flew through the endless darkness with an indescribable blend of colours, shedding pigments that were just as indescribable that dyed this black curtain.

    With Xiao An¡¯s calls, Li Qingshan woke up from his dream and slowly opened his eyes. He saw Xiao An¡¯s overjoyed face, and the doors to his memories immediately opened up. The conversations, sounds, and pictures flowed out, leaving him with a splitting headache and great exhaustion, but he was also filled with indescribable joy.

    ¡°Fascinating! That¡¯s far too fascinating!¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea clapped briskly, expressing her admiration without holding back at all. As Li Qingshan woke up, her appearance stabilised once more with a face as beautiful as a dream.

    ¡°Clam King of Mirage Sea!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed and immediately understood that the nightmares he had just experienced all originated from the Clam King of Mirage Sea. She was not as friendly and gentle as the Great Banyan Tree King had described her to be. Instead, she treated his nightmares like a movie, which left him especially furious!

    ¡°I know you¡¯re very angry, but you can¡¯t blame me! Fellow Xiao An, it¡¯s best if you explain it to him and get him to control his hostility, or I might strike involuntarily.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea laid out her hands. She behaved so much like she had done nothing wrong that she seemed like she deserved a beating.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Xiao An embraced Li Qingshan firmly from behind and murmured.

    ¡°Xiao An?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He could sense that her emotions were heaving violently.

    Just like what the Clam King of Mirage Sea had said, she had remained conscious the entire time, but she faced her greatest and only fear, which was losing him. She watched him run around in the nightmare, enduring all of his fears alone and at the risk of dying at any moment. Now that he had finally awakened safely, how could she still be calm?

    ps£º ÔÂÆ±ÒÑ¾­µ½ÈýÊ®Îåà¶£¬Çë´ó¼Ò×£ÎÒÒ»±ÛÖ®Á¦£¬ÈÃÎÒ¼ÌÐø¼á³ÖÏÂÈ¥£¡

 Chapter 821

    A while later, Xiao An explained everything to Li Qingshan, which left Li Qingshan in disbelief. To him, every single Daemon King was an extremely powerful and independent individual. They possessed their own distinct personality and ideas. It was just far too bizarre that the Clam King of Mirage Sea behaved differently and assumed various forms purely based on another¡¯s thoughts.

    He could not help but reevaluate the Clam King of Mirage Sea before him. Just what kind of existence was she? His initial guess that she was bound by her feelings had always been a joke, so why did she spend her entire life wandering the South sea?

    ¡°It¡¯s all my-¡± Xiao An wanted to apologise when Li Qingshan interrupted her. ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Xiao An lowered her head.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Although it does feel like several years have passed, you better not think I¡¯ve forgotten what I said!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. However, this also explained why the Great Banyan Tree King had refused to tell him the truth. Once he found out the Clam King of Mirage Sea was a ¡°monster¡± like this, it would be impossible for him not to grow wary, which would make it very difficult to deal with the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence.

    However, it still led to numerous twists and turns in the end, and it was still not completely over, as even a blind person could sense his deep hostility, let alone the Clam King of Mirage Sea that could read the minds of others. He had no idea what would happen, but he had never been afraid of a challenge.

    He said to the Clam King of Mirage Sea, ¡°In other words, I asked for all of this, and it¡¯s not your fault at all!¡±

    ¡°Heh, if you¡¯re ugly, it¡¯s not like you can blame the mirror!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled like a blooming flower.

    ¡°Then given everything that has happened so far, can you let us leave now?¡± Li Qingshan composed himself and controlled his battle intent.

    ¡°I refuse!¡± the Clam King of Mirage Sea said firmly.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. As it seemed, this situation could not be resolved peacefully, but how was he supposed to defeat this Clam King of Mirage Sea?

    ¡°Relax, relax. I don¡¯t have any plans on harassing you anymore.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled and waved her hand.

    ¡°Harass?¡± Li Qingshan frowned. He had clearly been forced into dire straits, enduring hardships he had never endured before, yet it was merely harassment? She sure knew how to get on someone¡¯s nerves.

    ¡°I say it¡¯s harassment, but it has brought you great benefits. You have a spirit of forging on valiantly, but you¡¯re still too young. Your temperament lacks tempering. Your cultivation speed will become slower and slower, and it¡¯ll be very easy for you to be caught up at a bottleneck. This dream has made you confront your fears directly, which basically makes up for your shortcoming. That¡¯s more precious than any medicine out there. It was a little dangerous, but from the end result, I think you should be thanking me instead.¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea tilted her head and smiled as she stared into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes with her colourful eyes

    ¡°That¡¯s really hard to feel grateful about. Perhaps I should thank eight generations of your ancestors.¡±

    Li Qingshan peered inside his body. He was extremely tired, but his mind had never been so clear before; it was like a rusty sword that had just been polished, exposing its edge. He also could not help but admit that the benefits from the dream were far more than what words could describe.

    First of all, he had gained a deeper comprehension of the Ox Demon Transformation.

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    He had forcefully pushed the Ox Demon Transformation to the fifth layer, but he was like a child trying to wield a huge blade. He had never been able to use it as he pleased, completely limited to its great destructive power. Only through his battle with the Myriad Poison Ancestor did he comprehend the usage of the Gravity of the Earth. Now with his brand-new spirit and mentality, he only needed to go through a period of consolidation, and he would be able to unleash even greater power from the fifth layer of the ox demon.

    He could not help but sigh. So the fifth layer of the ox demon can be this powerful. I¡¯ll probably only be able to unleash its full strength once I undergo the third heavenly tribulation. By then, just which Daemon Kings in the world can still contend against my strength?

    The other benefit was that the spirit turtle had become clearer and more penetrating, like a brilliant mirror that had just been cleaned of dust. His senses over the obscure heavenly secrets and fate had become sharper, while his usage of his abilities had become even more refined.

    The omen of warning had vanished. There did not seem to be any more danger lurking in the Mirage sea, but Li Qingshan still refused to drop his guard. Common logic simply did not apply to the Clam King of Mirage Sea.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that break the principle of your very existence?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I also have free will. I just don¡¯t use it that regularly.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea loosened up and gazed at the sky. She said, ¡°I might still be a stranger to you, but I¡¯ve already known you for many years in the dream, Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°So I should call you old friend?¡± Li Qingshan sneered. He just did not feel honoured when others watched and enjoyed his suffering in a nightmare.

    ¡°Hehe, that won¡¯t be necessary, but I do hope you understand that I share the same fear as you, which is why I¡¯ve been trapped in this Mirage sea for thousands of years.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea spread her arms as if she was trying to demonstrate the length of several thousand years.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you create this place yourself with clam qi?¡± Li Qingshan said in surprise.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t a cocoon created by the insect itself?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled before cursing, ¡°It¡¯s all that bastard¡¯s fault. I just played a joke on him, yet he actually screwed me over like this¡­¡±

    The more she cursed, the angrier she became. Just swearing was not enough, so she suddenly leapt up, and a man in dragon robes suddenly appeared in her hand. She launched a barrage of slaps from left and right, smacking him across the face. ¡°You think you¡¯re so good just because you¡¯re the emperor? Huh? You think you¡¯re so good just because you¡¯re the emperor? Huh?¡±

    Li Qingshan exchanged glances with Xiao An. He communicated to her, Is there something wrong with the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s head? Nothing was more terrifying than a powerful woman sick in the head. No one could guess what she could do next.

    A while later, the Clam King of Mirage Sea tossed the man aside and laid down on the ground. She exhaled. ¡°So be it. It¡¯s still my own problem at the end of the day.¡± She seemed to calm down, but then she suddenly went crazy again. She clutched at her hair and rolled around on the ground. ¡°Why?! Why?! Why?!¡±

    The surroundings twisted and produced countless phantoms, forming thousands of painful faces that wailed and moaned about. The terrifying power it hid was chilling.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ Clam King of Mirage Sea¡­ Ma¡¯am¡­ We want to leave¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step back, no longer angry at the Clam King of Mirage Sea at all. There was no point bickering with a madman, right? And this madman really did seem a little frightening. He would be better off keeping his distance.

    ¡°You cannot!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly looked over, and the faces roared together.

    The incomparably tremendous pressure made Li Qingshan feel like he saw the Dragon King of Ink Sea again. He asked, ¡°What else do you want from us?¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea smiled. The sky recovered its azure-blue colour, and the sunlight shone resplendently, still as beautiful as a dream. ¡°In return for your fascinating performance, I¡¯ve decided to give you a gift.¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t really want it, but okay!¡± Li Qingshan had to admit that he was still a little curious.

    A smear of green light was tossed to Li Qingshan. It was the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s slumbering soul nascence. Li Qingshan caught it carefully, only to hear the Clam King of Mirage Sea say, ¡°I¡¯ve completely suppressed his consciousness and will. Even if you forge him into an artifact, he won¡¯t put up any resistance!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly thought of a bold idea. If he used the tiger demon¡¯s third ability, Subservience to the Tiger, on the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence, could he turn him into a haunt?

    He would never consider that in the past. The willpower of a great cultivator was far too powerful. If he handled it badly, it would even lead to a backlash, but it was a heaven-sent opportunity now.

    In the past, he had converted a group of Daemon Commanders into haunts, but as souls without bodies or daemon cores, they were far too weak. They were not of any practical use at all. Afterwards, he could not be bothered with dealing with them and handed them all to Xiao An to refine.

    However, soul nascences were different. That was the condensation of a great cultivator¡¯s entire cultivation. Even if their bodies were destroyed, the effect on their strength would not be too great. If he could convert him into a haunt, that would be equivalent to having a great cultivator as a servant, and they would be absolutely loyal without any chance of betrayal at all. It was much more effective than Blood Oath Scrolls or whatever.

    ¡°Then thank you for your gift, fellow. We¡¯re going to be taking our leave.¡±

    Li Qingshan did have some sincerity behind that this time. Although he had faced unprecedented danger this time, these benefits basically made it worth it.

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    ¡°Stop right there! Who said that that was my gift?! Do you even have a brain?! You clearly brought that here yourself! Am I really that stingy that I¡¯ll give it to you as a gift? Are you looking down on me? Li Qingshan?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea grabbed Li Qingshan by the shoulders and roared viciously

    ¡°Go on, go on. I¡¯m in the wrong, are you happy now?¡±

    Li Qingshan wiped away the spittle on his face. For the first time in his life, he was not tempted by an absolute beauty. He had just been scolded for no reason, but he became slightly eager over what kind of gift could make the mighty Clam King of Mirage Sea so serious. Was it an arcane treasure? Too tacky. He felt it should have been a little more precious.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly stood up on her toes and wrapped her arms around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. She whispered into his ear, ¡°The world is a dream!¡±

    Her warm, gentle body filled his arms and gave off a nice scent. At that moment, Li Qingshan had to admit that he was still a little tempted, but before he could even enjoy himself, the Clam King of Mirage Sea pulled away from him, gazing straight at him as if she was asking. How¡¯s that?

    ¡°Huh?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He pointed at his ear and said in disbelief, ¡°The gift you speak of is what you just said?¡±

    ¡°The gift is too heavy, isn¡¯t it? But I believe you can endure it.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea sighed again and looked at him pitifully, afraid he would collapse under the weight of this gift.

    You¡¯re such a great fool for believing a madman like me!

    Li Qingshan raised his head and sucked in a deep breath so that he could control his temper. He looked down again and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve received your gift, so can we go now?¡±

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    The Clam King of Mirage Sea suddenly moved, reaching towards Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

    With the experience from last time, Li Qingshan did not try to dodge. The tips of her finger touched his chest and produced a colourful ripple before reaching in and removing an item.

    Of course, what she removed was not the heart, but the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that had been gathering dust.

    ¡°You must be a disciple of the school of Novels!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea played around with the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that flowed with colour.

    ¡°Is there anything else you want to say? If you want that, I¡¯ll give it to you, alright? Please, I¡¯m begging you. Just do something good for once and let us go!¡± Li Qingshan almost could not stand this madman anymore.

    ¡°Novelists can turn fiction into reality. If this world were a novel, what should we do?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea gripped the Divine Talisman of Great Creation firmly. The Divine Talisman of Great Creation that was almost intangible actually shattered like glass in that moment, piercing her skin and making blood flow.

 Chapter 822

    Huh?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. Suddenly, he understood what she meant by ¡°this world is a dream¡±. He no longer cared if he offended her anymore. ¡°I think you¡¯re actually mad!¡±

    ¡°When you were in your dream, who didn¡¯t treat you as a madman? Tell me, are you mad?¡±

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar and roared at him furiously. Fear suddenly overcame her, and she looked around frantically. She raised her hand and blocked his mouth, lowering her voice. ¡°Tell me, is anyone looking at us right now? If my performance is subpar, will I be killed?¡±

    Li Qingshan instinctively looked around. Abruptly, he came to his senses and pushed her away. ¡°Piss off. If you¡¯re mad, then you''re mad. Don¡¯t pass it onto me!¡±

    ¡°Tell me, what should I do!?¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea bellowed out. She gripped the Divine Talisman of Great Creation firmly, and with a crack, it became fractured. Blood oozed in.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed back at her.

    ¡°Do you really think just saying you don¡¯t know is enough? You fool!¡± the Clam King of Mirage Sea called out even more loudly.

    ¡°Whether I¡¯m foolish or clever, I follow my own heart. If I will wake up from this dream one day, why must I worry? If this is a dream I can never wake up from, then there¡¯s even less for me to worry about.¡±

    Li Qingshan personally believed he was not a particularly clever person, so if there were any questions he could not think through, he would just stop thinking about them.

    ¡°I see¡­ Fools really do have it easier!¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea was taken aback, sighing deeply with a wry smile.

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    ¡°You better watch your mouth, or I¡¯ll give you a beating!¡± Li Qingshan was furious.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like you can defeat me!¡± the Clam King of Mirage Sea said in contempt.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve said what you needed to say. Can we go now?¡± Li Qingshan felt powerless.

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for several thousand years, but I still can¡¯t think it through¡­¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea gazed at the sky blankly. She closed her eyes sombrely and only opened them again after quite a while. She said, ¡°So be it!¡± She seemed like a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

    At that moment, the world began to shake!

    The haze that enveloped the entire city as far as the eyes could see dispersed. The skyscrapers below collapsed, and the crowds shrieked in terror, running around like headless flies as if the world was ending.

    A skyscraper a hundred storeys tall collapsed. Many people gazed at the looming shadow and blanked out, forgetting to run.

    However, in the moment the skyscraper struck the ground, it silently dispersed as countless colourful bubbles.

    Whether it was the steel and concrete or the crowds and vegetation, they all turned into bubbles that surged into the air. In the blink of an eye, only the Clam building remained in the entire city, standing there alone.

    From everywhere, bubbles floated and filled the entire world, floating to great heights before all bursting.

    The illusion was collapsing¡­

    The blueness of the sky twisted, rippling with colour. Li Qingshan suddenly came to an understanding. They resided in a huge bubble, and outside the bubble, thunder rumbled in the distance.

    Li Qingshan was surprised, exchanging glances with Xiao An. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is¡­¡±

    ¡°One last question, Li Qingshan.¡± The Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s figure gradually faded. She asked, ¡°Let me ask you, am I real?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly. He really found it rather difficult to understand the Clam King of Mirage Sea. The rumbling of thunder drew closer and closer, possessing the terrifying aura that could crush and destroy everything. This was without a doubt the fourth heavenly tribulation!

    Her wondering that had lasted several thousand years might have all been for nothing, but even if she could not find the answer, she could always let go of the question.

    She began to face the tribulation, either ascending to a new world or being reduced to ash by the tribulation lightning. This was the moment of reckoning.

    ¡°Alright then! Remember my name at least. Remember it like how you remember Xiao An and that ox. You might treat me as a stranger, but I will still treat you as an old friend,¡± the Clam King of Mirage Sea said pleadingly. Her figure became fainter and fainter, just like all the bubbles behind her.

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    ¡°I will.¡± Li Qingshan realised something and nodded seriously.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea tossed the Divine Talisman of Great Creation back at him. ¡°Shen Mengdie.¡±

    The moment she said those two words, all the bubbles burst. Every single bursting seemed to repeat the two words, deeply embedding it in his heart.

    She smiled and burst just like the bubbles. From the riotous array of colours, a butterfly that Li Qingshan had once seen in the dark dream emerged, dancing with an exuberant blend of colours and circling around Li Qingshan before flying towards the sky.

    All the colour from the burst bubbles gathered on the butterfly, forming a long tail and bursting through the largest bubble of them all, the one called the Mirage sea.

    The illusions collapsed and disappeared¡­

    Boom!

    The scorching lighting filled the surroundings, but it was still unable to drown out the streak of magnificent colour.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An flew off into the distance, only to see the butterfly fluttering around gracefully in the lightning, as light as a dream. It seemed extremely frail, but when each bolt of tribulation lightning landed on her, she would surge with riotous colour and dye the lightning with the colours of the rainbow.

    The butterfly constantly fluttered upwards, and the entire sky was dyed with a dream-like colour by her as if she was constantly asking, Am I real? Am I real?

    Across the nine provinces, numerous figures all stopped what they were doing, gazing off in the direction of the South sea. Their faces were all different, some jealous, some in thought, and some wary.

    The Great Banyan Tree King thought, He actually ascended. Has he finally solved question that kid Si left for him? Fortunately, the two of them are fine. Originally, I thought that they were my fate, but I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d free him first, or should I say her?

    The King of Southern Yue thought, Even among the Seventh-two Daemon Kings of the past, the Clam King of Mirage Sea was among the strongest of the strongest. The emperor of Xia came up with a scheme and trapped him in the Mirage sea, preventing him from ascending for all this time. He¡¯s finally ascended now, but it probably won¡¯t affect the general situation.

    The master of the sword pavilion sighed. The fourth heavenly tribulation truly is powerful. Even from so far away, it leaves me in awe. I wonder when I can take that step as well.

    ¡­¡­

    Quite a while later, when the final rumble of thunder echoed off into the distance, the silver moon hung quietly over the sea.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind was still fixated on the colourful sky, gazing at it for all this time. He sighed, perhaps over the might of the world, or perhaps over her. It might have been both too.

    ¡°She succeeded,¡± Xiao An said calmly.

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    Li Qingshan was about to speak when a familiar voice rang out from beside him. ¡°I¡¯ve flown so high!¡± He suddenly looked over, only to see the Clam King of Serene Sea, Shen Mengdie, shielding her eyes and gazing into the horizon as if this had nothing to do with her.

    Even Xiao An who never reacted to anything was stunned.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the sky before looking back at her. He said in surprise, ¡°Didn¡¯t you¡­¡±

    ¡°What a fool! The one that ascended was clearly a butterfly. I¡¯m known as the Clam King of Serene Sea. Do you really think a clam and a butterfly are the same thing?¡± Shen Mengdie said in disdain.

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you-¡±

    ¡°We live in a dream. Who knows how it¡¯ll be like after you ascend. They say there are the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, but it might just be one big lie. What if that guy having the dream doesn¡¯t dream of a world beyond the nine provinces? That would be a dreamless region of nothingness, so wouldn¡¯t I be done for? How can I take a risk like that!?¡±

    Shen Mengdie explained seriously. Suddenly, she frowned. ¡°No, I can¡¯t say that. That¡¯s far too disrespectful!¡± She knelt down at the sky and said with utter devotion, ¡°Great lord of the dream, I am your loyal servant. Please forgive me for my rudeness. You trash, idiot, fool, why don¡¯t you finish me off if you have the balls?¡±

    After saying that, she looked around extremely cautiously, except the sea breeze was steady and the moonlight was gentle. Nothing happened at all.

    Her lips curled into a complacent smile. Her smile gradually grew wider, until it turned into hysterical laughter. She leapt up and waved her hands about as she leapt and skipped across the water surface. ¡°Hahahahahaha! I¡¯m the smartest! I¡¯m the strongest! You¡¯re all big fools!¡±

    Li Qingshan had finally confirmed one fact. She really was crazy!

    However, he was uncertain whether what he saw right now was just an image she had left behind, or perhaps the butterfly that had flown away had always been a dream of hers.

    Regardless, she had indeed undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, and she was no longer bound by the Mirage sea. Just the thought of a ¡°super madman¡± like her was terrifying.

    After having her fun, Shen Mengdie arrived before Li Qingshan again. She tread across the waves, refined and serene, as beautiful as a dream, which made it difficult for anyone to imagine how she was like when she was crazy. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going.¡±

    ¡°Where to?¡± Li Qingshan asked instinctively, but he regretted it the moment he asked it. What did it have to do with him?

    ¡°The Dragon province. I still have a debt to settle,¡± Shen Mengdie revealed a chilling, sunken smile, but before Li Qingshan could say anything, her figure bursted like a bubble and vanished. She only left behind a final statement, echoing through the sea, the moon, and his heart.

    Don¡¯t forget about me.

 Chapter 823

    The wind blew quietly while the cloudless night sky was illuminated by the extraordinarily large moon. The distant stars formed a resplendent river in the sky.

    Li Qingshan clutched the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, remaining speechless for quite a while. Everything he had been through in the Mirage sea was like a dream. He murmured to himself, ¡°Shen Mengdie!¡±

    Suddenly, he smiled. Probably no one could imagine just what kind of upheaval this crazy woman that had been trapped in the South sea for thousands of years could bring to the world after undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation. The Dragon province would be getting lively now.

    Of course, even up until now, he still felt great doubt over what she had said. He felt that she had wallowed too deeply into the dreams and illusions, which left her crazy like this. She was like the authors that had actually been frightened to death by their own horror novels from the news in his past life.

    However, it was exactly because of unique existences like her that the nine provinces would be so interesting, that people would yearn for the nine provinces.

    ¡°Alright, I await the day when we meet again in the Dragon province, but when that day comes, I want to viciously ¡®harass¡¯ you back.¡±

    He stowed the Divine Talisman of Great Creation back inside him and smiled. He was very vengeful.

    After he said that, he looked around, only to see that all was peaceful. He could not help but smile wryly. He had almost been driven a little mental himself by that crazy woman. He just felt like she could appear at any time.

    ¡°Qingshan, look, what is that?¡± Xiao An suddenly pointed towards the south.

    Li Qingshan followed her finger, only to see a protruding semicircle on the horizon. ¡°It should be an island!¡± It was so far away, so that seemed to be the only explanation.

    ¡°But it wasn¡¯t there earlier¡­¡± Before Xiao An could finish, Li Qingshan noticed something strange too. The ¡°island¡± was clearly rapidly growing larger, approaching them at an unbelievable speed. The calm seas suddenly began to surge violently.

    Li Qingshan called Xiao An and immediately flew towards the north. It definitely could not be dealt with easily considering the disturbance it created. Fortunately, while they had encountered great danger in the Mirage sea, they were basically unscathed, so they currently flew at top speed and moved extremely quickly.

    However, when Li Qingshan glanced backwards, he discovered in shock that the ¡°island¡± was clearly faster than them, making it seem even larger.

    Right when Li Qingshan wondered about what other trouble he had caused, the ¡°island¡± stopped where the Clam King of Mirage Sea underwent the tribulation and swam around.

    ¡°So its target isn¡¯t us, but that crazy woman!¡±

    Li Qingshan eased up slightly and flew a little further away, concealing his aura before using the Profound Light Illuminates All. Immediately, the scene from several hundred kilometers away was presented right before him.

    ¡°So big!¡±

    Li Qingshan cried out. The ¡°island¡± was actually a colossal whale over thousands of meters long. Just a gentle wave of its tail could produce a tsunami, while the water spout it produced rushed into the clouds, like it was rinsing the stars and moon. Before this bizarre, unbelievably large creature, Li Qingshan could not help but sigh like he had just witnessed a god.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Great Whale King of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings. It¡¯s said that he dwells deep in the sea and never comes to the surface, so very few people have seen him before. It¡¯s rumored that his whale song is highly beneficial to the soul. It must be similar to the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga used by a peak third heavenly tribulation Monk King, except it¡¯s rarely ever heard.¡±

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    Xiao An introduced calmly. Just like the Clam King of Mirage Sea, the Great Whale King was a prominent figure of the South sea, except one dwelled deep under the sea, while the other was trapped in the Mirage sea. Even someone as clever as her never anticipated they would run into each other.

    Suddenly, a deep, broad whale song, together with the surging of the seas, crossed several hundred kilometers of ocean and reached Li Qingshan¡¯s ears.

    He had heard countless different songs before, both pop and elegant classical music, but never had there been a sound that could be compared against the mighty whale song. It seemed like the spirits of the sea were singing, making his soul shudder.

    The whale song emanated over wave after wave, rising one after another just like the sea waves. Li Qingshan shut his eyes and listened closely. He sensed the immensity of the ocean, and his exhausted mind gradually settled down. Everything he had experienced in the Mirage sea drifted past his eyes like fleeting clouds, such that only the solemn yet gentle whale song remained, constantly echoing through his head.

    After who knew how long, the whale song subsided. The Great Whale King seemed to glance at Li Qingshan through the Profound Light Illuminates All. His dark eyes seemed to freeze the entire deep sea, deep and gentle. He no longer remained there, making his journey back to the deep ocean.

    Li Qingshan suddenly experienced an uncontrollable urge to cast aside everything and follow him to the depths of the vast ocean, to drift with the waves and to wander on the seas. There was no need for any more conflict, no need for any more trouble.

    However, he recovered from that mentality very quickly. Now was still not the time. He still shouldered a great burden. He had to continue onwards, all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens, where he could stand beside that figure.

    As a result, he watched as the great whale shrunk, finally vanishing into the horizon.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably come to see off Shen Mengdie! But he doesn¡¯t know that crazy woman has already gone to the Dragon province.¡± Li Qingshan could tell that the whale song was to bid farewell. He could also hear some joy for her, as she had finally broken out of the Mirage sea, breaking out of her cocoon to emerge as a butterfly.

    ¡°She continues to doubt her own existence. She wants me to remember her as evidence she exists, but unbeknownst to her, someone has never forgotten about her.¡±

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan discovered he had completely digested and mastered the Arts of the Boundless Ocean. This cultivation method he had once placed great significance in had been discarded before he even reached the ninth layer, so even if he comprehended something now, it was useless. However, did that matter?

    Most importantly, he would never forget about the whale song under the moon. He let it echo through his heart. He would listen to its calling on the day he finally lifted the burden from his shoulders.

    But before that, he would hold onto his fears and dreams and continue fighting.

    Under the glow of the rising sun, Li Qingshan and Xiao An saw the shore. They continued off in the direction of Savage mountain.

    ¡°Qingshan,¡± Xiao An suddenly called his name.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Qingshan looked back and smiled at her.

    ¡°In the dream, did you want to kiss me?¡± Xiao An¡¯s clear eyes stared straight at him as if she could see the depths of his mind.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t kissed you before?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as he said in an unconcerned manner.

    ¡°Not the face, the lips!¡± Xiao An was extremely accustomed to reading his face, where even the most subtle expressions could not escape her eyes. In order to place emphasis, she even went out of her way to point at her lips.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. How could I?¡± Li Qingshan stared at her with eyes as wide as an ox¡¯s.

    ¡°Your face is turning red,¡± said Xiao An. She added inside, And it¡¯s very red!

    ¡°It¡¯s from the light,¡± Li Qingshan refuted.

    ¡°But the side without light is red too.¡±

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s pointless to talk about this. We need to hurry back!¡± Li Qingshan accelerated off. He had always been renowned for his valour and vigour, but right now, his figure seemed a little sorry. Xiao An¡¯s chime-like giggles rang out from behind.

    Returning to Savage mountain, the first thing that Li Qingshan did was take out the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence. He planned to create a third heavenly tribulation servant for himself.

 Chapter 824

    Savage Mountain, the Eight Point hall.

    Xiao An stood outside the hall quietly, both guaranteeing she could not disturb Li Qingshan, yet able to help out at any time.

    In the simple and primitive hall, Li Qingshan widened his scarlet eyes and stared at the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence. He radiated with malice, giving off a bearing like he could subdue all. His eyes became as red as blood, producing two streaks of strange light.

    The slumbering soul nascence suddenly began to move, its face warping in pain and refusal. Although its willpower and consciousness had been suppressed by Shen Mengdie, sending it into an eternal dream, it still resisted instinctively, proudly refusing to submit.

    Li Qingshan became more and more solemn. He raised his thick eyebrows and let out deep growls that echoed through the hall. The figure of the tiger demon seemed to appear behind him, baring its fangs viciously.

    Xiao An was slightly worried. Soul nascences were different from souls. They possessed most of a great cultivator¡¯s power, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s cultivation was higher than Li Qingshan¡¯s. Although he had the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s assistance, this was still very dangerous. Converting him into a haunt definitely would not be that easy.

    However, a high risk also meant a high reward. Once he succeeded, the entire Myriad Poison cult would be his. That was a blessed land even better than Savage mountain, and there would be a set of protective formations as well, which were of immeasurable value.

    The resources of the Myriad Poison cult would form a great chunk too. It was impossible for the Myriad Poison Ancestor to take all the resources around with him at all times, or the Myriad Poison cult would not be able to operate once he entered secluded cultivation. There must have been a treasury in the cult. There would be large swathes of medicinal gardens as well. Who knew how many precious spiritual herbs were planted inside.

    As long as he obtained the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s loyalty, then he would be able to devour everything a large sect had built up through several thousand years of operation. Apart from these additional benefits, the Myriad Poison Ancestor himself was most important.

    A great cultivator could increase their strength drastically, allowing them to carry out their plan in the south even more smoothly. When it mattered, Li Qingshan could even order the Myriad Poison Ancestor to blow himself up. By then, even the Fire Devouring King would probably face death. Moreover, great cultivators were normally skilled at refining medicine and forging artifacts. The Myriad Poison Ancestor even knew how to refine poison and gu on top of that.

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    These various benefits combined made Li Qingshan choose the gamble.

    The tiger growls filled the valley. The ten hall masters had already been recalled back to the mountain, all listening along carefully and guessing what he was trying to do.

    ¡­¡­

    Sure enough, the Myriad Poison Ancestor is difficult to deal with. Such an intense struggle might very well make him wake up. It¡¯ll be troublesome by then.

    Li Qingshan frowned. He was in his own territory and could probably prevent the Myriad Poison Ancestor from infiltrating his sea of consciousness again with his various preparations, but once the Myriad Poison Ancestor blew up his soul nascence, probably even Li Qingshan would end up heavily injured. It was even possible for Savage mountain to be destroyed, greatly damaging his foundation in the south.

    But there was no way back now. He did all that he could, and the strange light infiltrated the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence with great difficulty.

    Time passed by slowly, and the soul nascence struggled more and more violently. Right when he was about to succeed, the soul nascence suddenly opened its eyes and stared at Li Qingshan in utter resentment.

    Their eyes met!

    Li Qingshan thought, Oh no. The thing he had been worrying about the most had still ended up happening.

    The soul nascence¡¯s eyes suddenly became hazy.

    Subservience to the Tiger was primarily about the pair of tiger eyes. A slumbering opponent could put up less resistance, but they could not stare into his eyes either. The critical situation had instead pushed the power of the innate ability to the limit.

    The surroundings twisted and changed, going from a pitch-black cave to a deep and serene forest. The air was filled with miasma, where the scenery just slightly further away was all blurred.

    ¡°Why have I fallen down the trees? No, I need to hurry back. It¡¯s too dangerous here.¡±

    A young shaman said in alarm. His face was painted with colours, but he vaguely resembled the Myriad Poison Ancestor in his youth.

    When he tried finding a tree to climb up, gusts of wind began blowing through the trees.

    ¡°How can there be wind here?¡± The young man gazed in the direction where the wind came from.

    The thick miasma that never dispersed suddenly surged and thinned, like subjects welcoming the arrival of their lord. Two specks of scarlet light shone dimly among the miasma.

    Roar! The vicious howl of a tiger shook the entire forest. The wind became even fiercer, blowing away all the miasma and revealing a vicious tiger. Its fur was scarlet like fire, shining with a glossy sheen within the darkness. It was layered with black stripes, which also formed a ¡°Íõ¡± character on its forehead.

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    The vicious tiger saw the young man and strolled over to him leisurely. The young man wanted to run, but his body crumpled from fear. The tiger pounced gently and pressed him down under its front claw, lowering its head and meeting his eyes.

    Foul air filled his face. The young man looked back in fright. The scarlet eyes were forever engraved in his soul.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan suddenly jerked awake. He checked his hands, but they had not become tiger claws. What was that about? Was that another dream?

    He dreamt that he became a tiger, wandering through the jungle of the Mist province before hunting prey.

    Hmm?

    Li Qingshan discovered that the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence had already been dyed by the strange light. He stared straight at Li Qingshan, but there was no longer any resentment or hatred. There was only subservience from the bottom of his heart.

    Was I in the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s dream earlier? Looks like it was a terrifying nightmare. He was alarmed by me, waking up from his dream, only to be pulled back into a dream through the influence of the tiger demon¡¯s ability, while my consciousness was pulled into his sea of consciousness¡­

    Li Qingshan guessed. In the end, he could not help but sigh. It¡¯s still all thanks to that crazy woman in the end!

    He had personally witnessed the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s strength. Her nightmares clearly could not be broken free from so easily, while the innate ability of the tiger demon still seemed to possess powers he had not yet discovered.

    He subconsciously rubbed his eyes. Apart from converting souls into haunts, could it be used in regular battles to stun the opponent?

    There was no need to make the opponent directly submit. He only needed to stun them, even for just a second, and that might be the difference between life or death, victory or defeat.

    ¡°There sure are quite a lot of benefits that that nightmare has brought me!¡±

    At this moment, the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence suddenly bawled out like an infant, flying high into the air and producing rings of green light that illuminated the entire hall.

    Li Qingshan gazed over. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence rapidly grew up before actually turning into the Myriad Poison Ancestor again. When the green light subsided, he landed before Li Qingshan again, directly dropping to his knees and saying with guilt and regret.

    ¡°Great king, please forgive me for the disrespect I¡¯ve shown!¡±

    Even Li Qingshan was taken aback when he saw his mortal enemy end up like this. His lips curled into a smile, but he refused to believe it completely, afraid that there was a scheme involved.

    As a result, he straightened himself out and coughed twice. ¡°You old bastard, do you know your crimes?¡±

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    ¡°I do, I do!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor lowered his head again and again.

    ¡°So what crimes are they? Tell me.¡± Some of Li Qingshan¡¯s doubts vanished from his eyes. Great cultivators had their dignity. It was basically impossible for them to do something like that.

    ¡°First of all, I shouldn¡¯t have launched a sneak attack on Savage mountain while the great king was not around, much less develop hatred towards the great king because the people of my sect were killed. Afterwards, when the great king wanted to kill me, I should have just stood still and let the great king kill me, yet I even tried to run. I¡¯ve committed crimes upon crimes. I deserve to die a thousand times! I just hope the great king can allow me to redeem myself and make up for my crimes. With how wise and mighty the great king is, you¡¯ll definitely conquer the nine provinces in the future. I¡¯m willing to follow you wherever you go¡­¡±

    Then the Myriad Poison Ancestor sucked up with a lot more flattery. Clearly, this was a trait that ran in the Myriad Poison Ancestor, which left even Li Qingshan a little embarrassed. He barked, ¡°Stop!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately shut up in an extremely obedient manner.

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh loudly. He had finally brought the battle to an end, and he had benefited tremendously too.

    His laughter echoed out, gradually dying down before turning into a great sigh.

    Even though it was extremely delightful to see a powerful opponent that had been at his throat being reduced to such a state, it left him feeling rather melancholic too. This was how brutal the cultivation community was. Once failure happened, perhaps they would even lose control over their own fate.

    Any further revenge was pointless. He was convinced that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had already submitted to the tiger demon¡¯s ability. He said, ¡°Stand up!¡±

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    Then he asked about the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s current state. The Myriad Poison Ancestor really was a knowledgeable great cultivator after all, immediately providing an explanation.

    When great cultivators lost their bodies but were unable to find a suitable body for their soul nascences to possess, they would become ghost cultivators, and their strength would be equivalent to ¡°Ghost Kings¡±.

    Of course, ghosts could not live forever. In particular, ghost cultivators in the world of the living had lifespans even shorter than when they were still alive. Once the hour came, their souls would disintegrate if they did not return to the sa?s¨¡ra.

    ¡°Then how much longer do you have?¡± Li Qingshan asked in a hurry. He had just recruited his most powerful lackey after so much difficulty, so surely he would not kick the bucket after a few years.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already cultivated for nine hundred and fifty eight years. My original lifespan only had a few centuries remaining, but now that I¡¯ve become a ghost cultivator, that might not be necessarily true. If I continue like how I¡¯ve been in the past, my lifespan will shorten by over a century at the very least. If I cultivate in places of extreme yin, then my lifespan might even increase. If I have a method for ghost cultivators, then it can potentially increase even more. If I¡¯m in the Hungry Ghost realm, then perhaps even a few extra millennia are possible.¡±

    ¡°A few centuries are enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and fished out the sumeru ring he had stolen from the Myriad Poison Ancestor. With a gentle flick of his finger, it landed in the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s hand.

    Although Ru Xin had looked through it, she primarily took materials mentioned in the text on poisons. She did not touch anything else, including the arcane treasure, the jade throne. Now, he returned it to the Myriad Poison Ancestor, to guarantee that his strength would not plummet too much.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor bowed gratefully, wearing the sumeru ring on his finger again.

    ¡°With that, how much of your strength can you recover?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Sixty percent.¡±

    ¡°Only sixty percent?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. This was nowhere close to what he had imagined.

    ¡°I¡¯ve suddenly switched to being a ghost cultivator, so I need a period of time to adjust. By then, it should be seventy percent. The cult treasure has been destroyed, or it would add another ten percent. If I have a decent method for ghost cultivators, then perhaps I can recover to eighty or even ninety percent of my former strength.¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor stood in a bow and said politely, like an old, loyal caretaker.

    ¡°Method for ghost cultivators.¡± Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. He only knew that the Umbral Yin sect might have possessed powerful cultivation methods for ghost cultivators, but he was a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga right now. Coupled with his identity as an elder of the Sword Collection palace, it was basically guaranteed for him to oppose the Umbral Yin sect.

    ¡°I happen to know a decent cultivation method for ghost cultivators. It can recover his strength completely, or even propel him higher.¡± Xiao An walked in from outside.

    Li Qingshan smiled in delight. He had almost forgotten about her past identity.

 Chapter 825

    Xiao An was the daughter of the Fierce King of Chu and the Dark Queen. She had great expectations placed on her from a young age, arduously practising the various methods of the Umbral Yin sect. She could freely read and view the cultivation methods and secret manuals that regular disciples could not come into contact with.

    The Umbral Yin sect had a Scripture of the Ghost King, which was a secret method for ghost cultivators they always kept within the sect. It was similar to the Scripture of the Guardian King from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Once someone reached the third heavenly tribulation with the Scripture of the Guardian King, they could conjure the avatar of a guardian king depending on the different direction they took, such as the Dauntless Guardian King, the Unraging Guardian King, the Guardian King of Raging Flames, the Unshakeable Guardian King, and so on.

    After reaching the third heavenly tribulation, the Scripture of the Ghost King could produce Evil Eye Ghost Kings, Blood Drinking Ghost Kings, Plague Treading Ghost Kings, Poison Assimilating Ghost Kings, Soaring Body Ghost Kings, Thousand Eye Ghost Kings¡­

    The latter had a selection even more vast than the former. No matter what path the cultivator took when they were still alive, they could find a corresponding pathway once they became a ghost cultivator.

    Xiao An had originally read through the cultivation method without paying much attention, but with how clever she was, she obviously had extraordinary memory. She said, ¡°I¡¯ll pass the Scripture of the Ghost King to you. With your cultivation, you can switch to the path of ghost cultivators very quickly and become a Poison Assimilating Ghost King. Perhaps your skill with poison might even surpass the past.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor rejoiced. He was subservient to Li Qingshan now, having become a haunt, but he retained his intelligence, and he still felt the same emotions as before.

    ¡°It won¡¯t cause you any trouble?¡± Li Qingshan asked Xiao An. To large sects, a cultivation method like that was definitely a secret they wanted to keep among themselves.

    ¡°Compared to the places we¡¯ll be going to, this is insignificant,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Gazing down from beyond the Nine Heavens, what was the Umbral Yin sect or even the nine provinces supposed to be? There were many matters that did not need so much caution at all. If they could do it, then they could do it.

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    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression suddenly changed; he said to Xiao An, ¡°The tree king is calling for me. You pass the cultivation method onto this old man.¡± Then he said to the Myriad Poison Ancestor, ¡°From now onwards, you treat her like how you treat me.¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor obliged politely.

    Li Qingshan arrived outside, and the ten cave masters bowed together, chanting loudly, ¡°Greetings, my king.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced around. He did not give off any particular bearing intentionally, but every single cave master felt pressured, lowering their heads involuntarily.

    Li Qingshan was thinking about when he could try the new ability developed from the Subservience to the Tiger on them. If only he could make living people succumb to him with that. It would be equivalent to a Blood Oath Scroll with infinite use, and it would not be that troublesome either.

    ¡°The Myriad Poison Ancestor has already submitted to me, choosing to join my side. From today onwards, we no longer have any opponents in the south apart from Fire Melt mountain.¡±

    The ten cave masters became stunned at the same time. If Li Qingshan said he had killed the Myriad Poison Ancestor, that would already be as unbelievable as it could get, but this news was without a doubt even more shocking.

    After virtually annihilating the Myriad Poison cult, the Myriad Poison Ancestor actually submitted to Li Qingshan. That was basically ridiculous.

    ¡°My king, forgive me rudeness, but the Myriad Poison Ancestor is cunning, so you must remain wary of him, just in case his surrender is just a ruse,¡± said Yu Wufeng. There were no Blood Oath Scrolls in the world that could keep a great cultivator bound.

    The other cave master said nothing, but they also considered this to be very likely. They only found it difficult to bring up out of respect for Li Qingshan, but since Yu Wufeng had already brought it up, they all chimed in. They paid close attention to Li Qingshan¡¯s response at the same time. If the Myriad Poison Ancestor suddenly turned against them here and now, it would even cost them their lives.

    If it were not for the innate ability of the tiger demon, even Li Qingshan would have never believed that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had actually sworn fealty to him. He could not give too much of an explanation right now either. ¡°You have nothing to worry about. I¡¯ve taken everything into consideration and have my own plans. Anyway, the Myriad Poison cult has already fallen. Fire Melt mountain will be next!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The cave masters dared not say anything more. Only the strong were worthy of respect.

    Yu Wufeng had no idea whether he should celebrate for his master and junior brothers in the distant South sea. Their mortal enemy of several thousand years had actually been defeated like this. However, Savage mountain that was on a meteoric rise would probably only be even more brutal and forceful than the Myriad Poison cult.

    Li Qingshan arrived beneath the great banyan tree and sat down in a hidden tree hole. He told everything he went through in the Mirage sea to the Great Banyan Tree King, except he skipped over many details of the nightmare, not because he did not trust the Great Banyan Tree King, but because they were his private secrets hidden at the bottom of his heart.

    After listening to Li Qingshan, the Great Banyan Tree King fell silent as if he was contemplating something. For a moment, only the canopy rustled in the wind.

    Only after quite a while did he sigh in amazement. ¡°I originally thought you had run into danger in the Mirage sea, but never did I think you would turn that into a blessing. So much for my concern.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never forget about the concern you¡¯ve shown me, senior,¡± said Li Qingshan. Even though he had told him a bunch of lies, the Great Banyan Tree King had done it for his sake.

    ¡°No, this is your good fortune, and even more so, you deserved it. That black ox, no, that senior, possesses exceptional insight for talent. I believe there will be a day when you reunite with him.¡±

    Through their many years of friendship, the Great Banyan Tree King had vaguely guessed the existence of the black ox, but he had always held doubts about Li Qingshan¡¯s ambitions to reach beyond the Nine Heavens. Only upon reaching his realm of cultivation could he understand just how distant a place that was. However, after hearing about what Li Qingshan had gone through in the dream, he had the feeling that perhaps he might actually be able to reach that step.

    His struggle and persistence was not a stubborn fixation. Instead, he often gave off the feeling of indifference. It was as if even if he could not reach beyond the Nine Heavens, it would not matter much. However, as long as he was still alive, he would continue along this path. Even if he failed in the end, he would just smile calmly and say, ¡°No regrets.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Though, I¡¯m very curious about whether the Clam King of Mirage Sea has ascended or not. If she¡¯s undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation but hasn¡¯t ascended, wouldn¡¯t she be invincible?¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t she told you already? Shen Mengdie! What flew away was obviously her dream!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°In other words, her true body still remains in this world?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    ¡°To her, perhaps the dream is real,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°Fine then! I¡¯m just worried that I won¡¯t be her opponent by then.¡± Li Qingshan really held onto his grudges.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. The World of the Nine Provinces has its own laws and principles. Let alone someone who¡¯s ascended, even visitors from higher worlds are bound by these laws and principles. They might even be suppressed by the entire world. Only those who have reached the same heights as that senior can truly be immune,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°But her powers are just far too wondrous. Even if she¡¯s restricted to the peak of the third heavenly tribulation, she can still stir the Dragon province into a mess. Hopefully that fellow fox can overwhelm her!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King seemed to have experienced the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s madness first-hand too, expressing worry for the future. Once she began making trouble, the overall situation would probably descend to a point even beyond what his ¡°wisdom¡± could interpret and predict.

    After a deep conversation with Li Qingshan, he added, ¡°Since you¡¯ve subdued the Myriad Poison Ancestor, you can send him to talk with Ru Xin. That¡¯s his specialty after all. Even I don¡¯t know everything.¡±

    ¡°Really? What is she doing exactly? Being so mysterious and all.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you better wait until she tells you herself!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go take a look!¡±

 Chapter 826

    In the dark dwelling, Li Qingshan carefully avoided the bottles littered across the ground. A strange smell filled the air, and the entire place was messy, which was quite the contrast from her clean and tidy personality.

    A miserable howl suddenly rang out from the depths of the dwelling. Li Qingshan rushed over, only to see Ru Xin standing there in white. The howl had emerged from right in front of him.

    Li Qingshan tapped her on the shoulder, and Ru Xin turned around, revealing a hideous, green face, which made Li Qingshan jump in fright. However, he immediately realised it was just a rusted bronze mask.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Li Qingshan grumbled and saw what was going on in front of her.

    A fire devourer was bound firmly to the stone platform. He was cut open along his abdomen, revealing his organs. In particular, his bright-red heart shone with fire-red light. Ru Xin currently held a small bottle, pouring an unknown liquid onto the heart. The fire devourer¡¯s howls became more and more violent.

    There were several dozen coffins standing in the surroundings of the dwelling with several dozen fire devourers of all ages and genders among them. Their eyes were firmly shut, but they continued to breathe.

    With a tremble of her hand, Ru Xin poured all of the liquid in the bottle onto the fire devourer. Immediately, the fire devourer stopped howling, and his body became a greyish-white.

    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Ru Xin¡¯s voice rang out from behind the bronze mask, which came off as rather sunken.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to take a look at what you¡¯re doing. What¡¯re you wearing that for?¡± Li Qingshan looked at Ru Xin. He simply had a feeling that she was a little different from usual.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a poison mask. I found it in the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s possessions. If there¡¯s nothing else, you can go play somewhere else. Stop disturbing me.¡± Ru Xin waved her hand in annoyance.

    ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to be, live experimentation?¡± Li Qingshan tapped the fire devourer on the stone platform, only to discover that his body was as hard as rock. Even his blood had frozen. He clicked his tongue. ¡°What strange and potent poison!¡±

    ¡°With your level of intelligence, even if I tell you, you¡¯d struggle to understand.¡± Ru Xin laid out her hands and shook her head around.

    ¡°You can insult my personality, but you can¡¯t insult my intelligence.¡± Li Qingshan was furious. If he was called a fool by the Clam King of Mirage Sea, then so be it. He would not stoop to the same level as a madman. However, after coming home after so much difficulty, he was still being labelled as an imbecile.

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s a pity because you have neither.¡±

    Li Qingshan downright ignored her and wandered around through her dwelling. He tapped the crystal coffins and weighed the bottles in his hand, coming to a vague understanding. He asked, ¡°You plan on using poisons against Fire Melt mountain?¡±

    ¡°No, not poison. Disease, or you can call it viruses,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°What virus?¡¯ Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°A malignant disease that¡¯s highly infectious. So far, I have two directions. One can turn them into rock like that, while the other makes them heat up before going bang in the end! Hehehe!¡±

    Ru Xin gestured with her hands, and her voice revealed a hint of craziness. Her eyes shone like fire. Combined with the hideous mask, she seemed quite disturbing.

    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Li Qingshan asked in concern. He wanted to take down Fire Melt mountain and obtain the divine wutong tree, but he did not want her to become crazy like Shen Mengdie.

    ¡°Never been better,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°Then¡­ can this disease infect the Fire Devouring King as well?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Of course not. It can infect fire devourers at the first heavenly tribulation at most.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the point of it? It can¡¯t even touch the mainstay of Fire Melt mountain. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re planning on waiting for stronger fire devourers to die from old age? I¡¯d rather not wait around,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I said you don¡¯t have a brain, yet you refuse to admit it. Once I create this disease, I can sell it to the Crystal palace, which is the imperial court of the merpeople, and exchange for a great deal of benefits. What do you think the Crystal palace will do after they obtain it?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll use it! It¡¯s a grudge that runs across generations after all. If your disease really is as powerful as you said it is, then it can destroy the foundation of Fire Melt mountain,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Otherfolk possessed excellent talent for cultivation, but those that had not undergone any heavenly tribulations or were only at the first heavenly tribulation still formed the majority. Once the merpeople obtained a weapon capable of massacre like this, it was impossible for them to not use it, and once they did use it, all they had to do was wait for Fire Melt mountain to be destroyed.

    ¡°Do you think Fire Melt mountain will just sit still? No, they won¡¯t be able to think that far ahead. Anger and hatred will consume them. Unlike the countless wars in the past, this will be a war of extinction!¡± Ru Xin smiled.

    The two races had been at war with one another for many years, and they each had their victories, but no matter who won or lost, as long as they retreated to their respective territories, the enemy would be constrained by the geography. Any attempts at pursuit would become difficult. The main peak of Fire Melt mountain and the Crystal palace had never been under attack, and it was virtually impossible for cultivators as powerful as the Merfolk King and the Fire Devouring King to die. Once they possessed a geographic advantage, it was very likely for them to turn the tables.

    As a result, the plan of borrowing the forces of the Merfolk of the South sea to attack Fire Melt mountain seemed simple on the surface, but it was nowhere near that simple in reality. No matter how deeply the two races hated one another, they would never take a risk like that. He would probably still have to fight, but it would be very easy for the merpeople to treat him as cannon fodder.

    Li Qingshan had worried about this before, but he trusted Xiao An¡¯s plans and preparations, so he never delved too far into it. Only now did he find out it was such a vicious and devastating scheme, which they had kept as a secret from him for quite some time now. Perhaps it could also be described as an open plan, a strategy. As long as they possessed this disease, it was impossible for the Merfolk of the South sea to not use it, but as soon as they used it, it would be war.

    If everything progressed smoothly, then he would not even have to worry about facing the Fire Devouring King. All he had to do was wait until the fire devourers and merfolk both suffered heavy casualties. He could even say there was no risk at all, and he would be able to obtain so many benefits from the merpeople in the process.

    He also understood why the Great Banyan Tree King said his abilities were limited and told him to introduce the Myriad Poison Ancestor to Ru Xin. He had always been the guide and protector of the Mist province daemons and otherfolk. The fire devourers never really had any contact with anyone, but even he was reluctant to carry out this devilish scheme against them.

    Even the person behind this matter, Li Qingshan, found it far too brutal. His problems with Fire Melt mountain was primarily still a conflict of interest after all, where they had to compare whose fist was mightier. His resentment was gathered on the Fire Devouring King and the mainstay of Fire melt mountain.

    Of course, he would not be soft-hearted either and pursue some kind of ¡°righteous¡± method. Once he actually went to war with Fire Melt mountain, the repercussions alone would claim the lives of thousands of fire devourers. If he was going to attempt it, he would give it his all. There was no need for him to put on some fake act of compassion.

    He was more worried about the woman before him. As it seemed, she had been waiting for this day from the day she joined the school of Medicine.

    ¡°The plan is very good, but there¡¯s no need for you to be so impatient. If it really doesn¡¯t work out, there are always other methods. Restlessness is the greatest taboo to cultivation. Don¡¯t forget about the meaning of the name your master gave you.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be forgiving anyone!¡± Ru Xin said firmly.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don¡¯t really agree with your master either. Treating the sick and saving lives is nice, but how can you go without achieving revenge? Though, don¡¯t let hatred consume everything. Let¡¯s carry out revenge happily and joyfully.¡±

    Li Qingshan pressed down on her shoulders and gently took off her bronze mask, except her jade-like face was clearly filled with pain and delicateness he had never seen before. Her eyes were in a daze, sweeping past the crystal coffins as if she struggled to face what she was doing.

    ¡°¡±I don¡¯t even know them. How am I any different from the people I hate like this?¡±

    Doctors had a heart of compassion. No matter how much hatred she had, no matter how vicious her tongue was normally, Hua Ci had still taught her a heart of benevolence.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Why must there be a difference? They started it, and we¡¯ll end it. Even the debt from a glare will be paid back a hundred fold!¡±

 Chapter 827

    ¡°What a great demon!¡± Ru Xin smiled.

    ¡°Then aren¡¯t you a demoness? Aren¡¯t we a perfect pair?¡±

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips and gazed at her smile. He could not help but lower his head and try to kiss those slightly-curved, red lips, only to be blocked by the hideous bronze mask. He smiled and continued with the kiss, kissing the mask gently. He felt her shoulders tremble.

    Leaving the dwelling, Li Qingshan had basically gained a clearer view over why Ru Xin had come to the south, but he did not know why she had a grudge with the fire devourers, and it did not only seem to be due to the fact that they were the mortal enemies of her race. On top of that, not only did she refuse to return to the South sea, but she even included the merpeople in her scheme. Clearly, they did not offer much of a sense of belonging.

    Her grudge was clearly so deep, yet she tried to persuade him out of opposing Fire Melt mountain in the beginning. She was more willing to risk her life than drag him into the matter, which left him feeling both touched and helpless.

    However, he still ended up taking the path of opposing Fire Melt mountain, which meant fate sure did want them to be in the same boat. Her plan for revenge had also drastically increased his chances at taking down Fire Melt mountain.

    However, in order to carry out the plan, he had to wait until she underwent the second heavenly tribulation at the very least. Even with the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s full support, devoting all the resources from the cult to her to help her refine the diseases and increase her cultivation, it would still probably take a few years¡¯ time.

    To cultivators, a period like that was neither long or short, so it was worth it to deal with such a prominent existence like Fire Melt mountain.

    Li Qingshan obviously would not let this precious time go to waste. He planned on entering secluded cultivation first so that he could consolidate what he had comprehended in the illusions of the Mirage sea. As a result, he handed over a few matters to the ten cave masters and spent some more time with Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo before returning to the Eight Point hall.

    Soon afterwards, Xiao An arrived in the hall too. She had already passed the entirety of the Scripture of the Ghost King to the Myriad Poison Ancestor, but it would obviously take him quite some time before he truly comprehended everything and became a ghost cultivator. As a result, she sent him back to the Myriad Poison cult. He could return for orders once he had completely become a ghost cultivator. He obviously had to keep everything that happened on Savage mountain a secret, and he had to maintain a hostile cover against them, turning him into a secret chess piece.

    As a result, the battle between Savage mountain and the Myriad Poison cult suddenly began before suddenly stopping, which led to many theories.However, the Myriad Poison Ancestor had not died after all, which would be impossible to hide from the heavenly secrets. They all thought he was in secluded cultivation right now and wanted to find an opportunity for revenge in the future. Even the King of Southern Yue never thought he would actually lose in a direct confrontation and have his body destroyed, let alone become a servant.

    He obviously believed that Li Qingshan would face quite the problems from now on in the south now that he had a powerful opponent like that. There would be no need for him to personally plot anything. He only had to see whether Li Qingshan sought reinforcements from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga or not.

    Sure enough, a few months later, the King of Southern Yue received news that Li Qingshan had received permission from the Gold Hawk commander and had silently returned to the Green province.

    Li Qingshan flew off into the horizon and gazed at the land of the Green province he had not seen for a very long time. He obviously did not return to seek reinforcements from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Instead, a communication jade had suddenly shattered in his sumeru ring.

    There were many methods of communication in this world, but across a distance of tens of thousand kilometers, many of them would either be rendered useless or they were worth more than the trouble, as communication would be extremely inconvenient. When it mattered, all they could do was rely on this primitive method to send messages.

    Communication jades came as a pair. When one was crushed, the other would shatter too. Li Qingshan possessed a total of four jades, which all represented different things.

    One was with Han Qiongzhi so that she could contact him whenever she faced any urgent matters. One came from the Golden Cicada Spirit King because he said he had a gift for him when he ascended. He had given one to Qiu Haitang, originally so that he could save her if she faced danger, but it had become more of a memorial now. The last piece was with Chu Danqing. In the past, he had agreed to contact Li Qingshan once the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was completely repaired.

    The one that had shattered right now was Chu Danqing¡¯s.

    It had been several years since he last saw Chu Danqing, and Chu Danqing had never contacted him, so Li Qingshan had almost forgotten about this matter. He suspected that with his cultivation, he might not be able to repair an arcane treasure like that. Now that Li Qingshan had suddenly received a message, even he had no idea whether Chu Danqing had completed the repair or simply given up.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    The Three Absolutes Calligraphy was no regular arcane treasure. Not only did it contain the powerful way of the sword, but it also seemed to be connected to the secret of the Painting Tomb. It might even be critical to killing the Dragon King of Ink Sea, so it bore great importance to Li Qingshan. He had become rather nervous and eager.

    He was in a rush to find out what had happened, but out of caution, he did not use any daemon abilities on the way here. Instead, he intentionally gave off Li Qingshan¡¯s aura. When he left the Mist province, he even went out of his way to report this to his superiors, just to guarantee there would not be any holes in his story.

    However, with his current cultivation, he did travel rather quickly if he spent day and night on the road. He returned to the Ruyi commandery several days later, arriving in a mountainous forest with beautiful scenery and dense with spiritual qi. He knew this was where Chu Shidao cultivated in peace in the past.

    ¡°Danqing, I¡¯m here,¡± Li Qingshan arrived before the formation and called out.

    Only a while later did the formation open, letting Li Qingshan in. All he saw was a hut on the white, sandy shore of the blue lake. They seemed simple, but they merged with the surrounding scenery, forming a natural and harmonious landscape. The hut was surrounded by grass and weeds that swallowed the path. It seemed extremely dilapidated. Clearly, no one had tended to the hut in a very long time.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank. The dwelling bore great significance to Chu Danqing, yet he actually could not even find the time to tend to it.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Li Qingshan knocked on the door.

    ¡°Qingshan, there¡¯s no need to be so polite. Come on in!¡± A feeble voice rang out from inside. It was so weak that it sounded like it could drift away any time.

    Li Qingshan made his way through the door, only to see someone sitting on the bed by the window. When he saw his appearance, he could not help but be taken aback. ¡°Danqing, how can you end up like this!?¡±

    Chu Danqing was not exactly stunning like Hua Chengzan, but he did have delicate features, and his appearance did stand out. However, right now, his face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes were murky, his hair was a greyish-white, and his skin was pale and withered. He seemed like he had aged several decades. At that moment, Li Qingshan basically thought he was seeing Chu Shidao, except even Chu Shidao looked better than him.

    Most importantly, he had already undergone the first heavenly tribulation and become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but right now, his aura had declined to the level of a Qi Practitioner that had not even condensed a sea of qi.

    Seeing Li Qingshan, Chu Danqing stood up excitedly. He tottered about, almost falling. Tears welled up in his eyes. He opened his mouth, but he said absolutely nothing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry to say anything. I told you to repair the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. There¡¯s no need for you to end up like this!¡±

    Li Qingshan rushed over to support him and injected spiritual qi into his body. He could sense that his cultivation had regressed severely, where even his soul was damaged. He was basically in a state even worse than when Milliped blew up his daemon core.

    ¡°Qingshan, I did it, I did it!¡± Chu Danqing gripped Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist firmly. After saying that, he downright fainted.

 Chapter 828

    Li Qingshan was shocked and tended to him in a hurry. He was afraid this dear friend of his had hung on just to catch one last glimpse of him and speak his last words before passing away.

    A while later, Chu Danqing finally woke up slowly. He sighed heavily. ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve screwed me over good. The good fortune you gave me was far too heavy, almost to the point where I couldn¡¯t bear with it. It almost cost me my life.¡±

    ¡°How have I both screwed you over good and given you good fortune that¡¯s far too heavy for you to bear? Haven¡¯t the repairs all been carried out smoothly in the past?¡± Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond.

    ¡°This is the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s great creation, not a simple puzzle to assemble. If it were not for my master¡¯s many years of guidance, if I did not possess the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start. Do you know how I¡¯ve lived for the past few years? The amount of blood I¡¯ve used up can fill an entire pool. However, this is a colossal fortune too. It¡¯s allowed me to witness the true path of painting. It¡¯s utterly startling. I really don¡¯t know whether I should hate you or love you.¡±

    Chu Danqing moved between gloominess and excitement before looking at Li Qingshan in the end in a sad manner.

    ¡°If you have to make a choice, I¡¯d rather you hate me!¡± Li Qingshan found this unbearable.

    ¡°Take it!¡± Chu Danqing fished out a scroll from his hundred treasures pouch with great reluctance and handed it over to Li Qingshan with his eyes shut.

    Li Qingshan slowly unfurled the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, revealing a meter-long sword that was as black as ink. The design of the sword was simple and unsophisticated. There was nothing particularly special about it, nor did sword intent rush into his face. It was sedated and self-containing, revealing absolutely nothing about what it hid. Li Qingshan could not help but praise, ¡°What a fine sword!¡±

    Chu Danqing said, ¡°It¡¯s called the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, but there¡¯s still a difference among them. It uses the path of calligraphy and painting to display the path of the sword, such that even I am rather accomplished in the way of the sword now, no less than any regular sword cultivator. Even if I end up in the Sword Collection palace, I can become an inner courtyard disciple.¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down eagerly and began refining the Three Absolutes Calligraphy again.

    In that moment, sword qi flowed into his body, and sword intent filled his mind.

    In his sea of consciousness, the ink sword sometimes split into a thousand parts, assembling into a profound sword formation. At other times, it merged together, pointing upwards and painting the ground.

    Li Qingshan was already prepared, suppressing with the spirit turtle.

    During the several months of cultivation, he reflected on everything that happened in the dream, particularly on his life of frustration. It could not be as impressionable as a life he had actually lived, but he still comprehended something. Even the spirit turtle that was behind the ox demon and tiger demon managed to benefit, become even more tranquil and steady in aura. On the contrary, the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a that was the weakest did not benefit much.

    There was nothing Li Qingshan could do about it. His temperament coincided with the ox demon and tiger demon the most. He also possessed much of the spirit turtle¡¯s calmness and forbearance too. Instead, the phoenix¡¯s heart of nobility just did not catch on with him. What five virtues, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness? Was there really a need to have so many restrictions in life? What never perching unless it was a wutong tree and never drinking unless it was morning dew? If he were sleepy, then even the wilderness worked. If he was thirsty, then even muddy water could do. Why did he have to be so fussy? His progress with the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a had always been very slow, where even reaching the first and second layer took him forever. It was not merely an issue of balancing water and fire.

    The sword intent of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was powerful, but it was still masterless after all. It could not be more powerful than the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s soul nascence. After some effort, he suppressed it all.

    As for the sword qi, that went even more without saying. After reaching the fifth layer of the ox demon, his body had become extremely tough. He drew the sword qi through his meridians before forcing it out through his acupoints.

    With a swish, a bloody cut appeared on Chu Danqing¡¯s face, making him leap in fright and scramble away at once. Sword qi criss-crossed right behind him. Right now, he was only a Qi Practitioner. Any single strand of sword qi could take his life. He had spent many years and so much effort to finally repair the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, only to end up dying to its sword qi. Now that would be called a grievance.

    With a plop, he leapt into the lake.

    Li Qingshan refined the Three Absolutes Calligraphy and arrived on the shore. He saw the drenched Chu Danqing and smiled. ¡°What¡¯re you being so afraid for? Do you really think I¡¯d still harm you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have any control when you¡¯re refining the calligraphy.¡± Chu Danqing climbed up awkwardly, but he suddenly remembered something, and his face changed.

    With a gentle breeze, all of the grass and weeds around the huts scattered. Soon afterwards, the huts were ripped to pieces.

    ¡°Li Qingshan! You better compensate me!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°How is it? Doesn¡¯t it resemble how it was before? I haven¡¯t done any work for so many years, but I haven¡¯t gotten rusty!¡± Li Qingshan brushed off his hands and looked at the newly-built hut by the shore of the lake in satisfaction.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t bear any resemblance at all!¡± Chu Danqing almost howled out. The hut personally constructed by the King of Savages was up to standard, but the picturesque landscape had been completely demolished. On top of that, the items in the hut were not exactly precious, but they were all Chu Shidao¡¯s possessions and Chu Danqing¡¯s childhood memories, all annihilated by the whistling sword qi.

    ¡°It¡¯s taken me quite the effort, alright? In that time frame, I would have butchered a few Golden Core cultivators already. Just give me a nod at least, alright? Alright, alright, I apologise to you. But as people, we have to keep looking forward. Let me take a look at your wounds!¡±

    Li Qingshan both channelled spiritual qi into him and fed him tree sap, using up various pills and medicines generously and giving him a complete supplement for everything before finally stabilising Chu Danqing¡¯s wounds. However, if he wanted to recover his original cultivation, he would still have to recuperate slowly, and it would be very difficult to make up for the lifespan he had lost.

    ¡°Danqing, I¡¯ve really caused you trouble for the past few years. A toast to you!¡±

    Under the brilliant moon in front of the hut, Li Qingshan raised his cup with a smile. The power of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was even more powerful than he had imagined. Sure enough, the handiwork of the Five Absolutes Immortal was extraordinary. In terms of destructive power alone, it was probably the most powerful arcane treasure he had witnessed so far in his life, and it came with a complete path of the sword on top of that, even more powerful than the path of the sword within the Soaring Dragon sword.

    ¡°I¡¯ve benefited tremendously too, so I should be thanking you instead. I¡¯ve even made you use up so many pills!¡±

    Chu Danqing¡¯s appearance had mostly recovered, except his hair had already greyed, which made him seem much more sombre. He had calmed down from the sadness and anger over the destruction of the hut and found that Li Qingshan had a point. They were memories, but they were only objects at the end of the day. Compared to that, Li Qingshan had used up so many precious pills to heal him, which made him rather embarrassed.

    The two of them drank heartily until the moon reached its zenith. He mentioned the matter of the Painting Tomb again, but Chu Danqing only said there was no need to be in such a hurry. It would not be opening up any time soon.

    ¡°Once the Painting Tomb opens up, your dream will definitely come true!¡±

    Li Qingshan was a little tipsy, but he had a feeling that this matter probably would not be that simple. When Chu Shidao asked him to help out Chu Danqing, it probably was not only for dealing with his senior brothers and sisters.

    The Painting Tomb was a secret, but it was extremely influential. Chu Shidao¡¯s cultivation had not been particularly high, so he did not seem too qualified to have a secret like that all to himself. Across the world, who knew how many members of the school of Painting were more powerful than him and who didn¡¯t want to take a look in the Painting Tomb? That would be a great blessing waiting for them all.

    Chu Shidao knew this secret, and his disciples that betrayed him were also aware that he knew this secret, yet he was actually still able to pass away from old age, which in itself explained many things.

    After experiencing many more things in life, or in other words, after gaining a greater cultivation, Li Qingshan could see much further now. If it were just a group of people from the school of Painting, then so be it, except there was another issue, which was the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He seemed to be closely connected to the Five Absolutes Immortal.

    However, he stopped worrying after some consideration. It was not like the Painting Tomb had not opened before. If the Dragon King of Ink Sea wanted to take action, he would have done so long ago.

 Chapter 829

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go in and take a look when the time comes!¡± Chu Danqing¡¯s face was bright red. His voice gradually quietened down among his mumbles as he leaned on the stone table and fell asleep.

    ¡°Danqing, Danqing,¡± Li Qingshan called him, but he received no reply, making him shake his head with a smile. He left behind another bottle of pills and a communication jade before taking off into the horizon.

    Standing in the sky, his clothes ruffled in the fierce wind. The moon illuminated the clouds and mountains near and far.

    He gazed in the direction of the Clear River prefecture and thought to himself, From letter from a few months ago, Qiongzhi should be in secluded cultivation right now, and she¡¯ll only be emerging in half a year¡¯s time, so even if I go, I won¡¯t be able to see her. If I just visit father-in-law Han, that¡¯ll be quite pointless.

    He did not want to visit Qiu Haitang, but since she never contacted him, she was either still in secluded cultivation and had not undergone the tribulation, or she had undergone the heavenly tribulation and had no interest in seeing him. Regardless, there was no need for him to pay a special visit. As for the Golden Cicada Spirit King, now was probably the last time he needed any disturbances, so taking this all into account, Li Qingshan chose to return to the Mist province first.

    In the Myriad Poison cult.

    The door to the hall swung open, and gloomy winds gushed out with poisonous, green flames. An old man walked out, his face sunken and surging with fury.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯ve emerged. Congratulations on making even more progress with your cultivation, master!¡±

    Qian Liangmu rushed over and bowed while feigning joy. He could vaguely feel that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had become slightly different. His bearing seemed more sunken, yet also lighter and wispier. If the King of Southern Yue were here, he would definitely be able to tell that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had become a ghost cultivator with a single glance, but Qian Liangmu still lacked that ability.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done many great things for the sect recently. I¡¯ll be gone for quite a while this time, so I¡¯ll leave the Myriad Poison cult to you to handle from today onwards. I hope you can undergo the third heavenly tribulation one day and inherit the position of cult leader so that you can lead our Myriad Poison cult to glory,¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said, instructing him.

    Qian Liangmu was overjoyed. This was exactly what he had been dreaming about day and night. He no longer had any competitors among his generation, so he did not have to spend any effort scheming and clashing with others anymore. He could focus on cultivation. The cult had lost many disciples, but as long as they had some time, they could slowly recover. To him personally, the disaster that the Myriad Poison cult had faced was not necessarily a bad thing.

    ¡°Liangmu will never forget master¡¯s kindness. Liangmu is willing to do anything for the Myriad Poison cult!¡±

    Qian Liangmu expressed his loyalty, but he secretly worried inside. If the Myriad Poison Ancestor sent him to the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate to request reinforcements against Savage mountain, that would be troublesome. He really did not want to face off against Li Qingshan right now.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor gazed at Qian Liangmu deeply, and green flames rose up in his eyes. ¡°Very good. That¡¯s all I need. You can start off by handling the matters of the cult. We¡¯ll get our revenge sooner or later!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Qian Liangmu eased up. By the time he raised his head again, the Myriad Poison Ancestor had already turned into a streak of green light and vanished into the horizon. He was very curious where the Myriad Poison Ancestor was going, but since the Myriad Poison Ancestor had said nothing about it, he would not ask about it rashly. He guessed that the Myriad Poison Ancestor was searching for a way to seek revenge against Savage mountain.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor first flew five hundred kilometers to the west. He concealed his aura before silently arriving on Savage mountain, but before he could even state his presence, the Great Banyan Tree King had opened the formations and let him in.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor entered Savage mountain and bowed towards the looming Great Banyan Tree King. He sighed inside, He actually has the Great Banyan Tree King controlling the protective formations. It¡¯s no wonder that I couldn¡¯t breach this place back then. My king has already achieved such cultivation in his thirties. He possesses great fortune. I¡¯ve really been asking for it by opposing him, but I¡¯ve basically turned the curse into a blessing by being able to follow him now. I even obtained a secret cultivation method like the Scripture of the Ghost King.

    Yu Wufeng cultivated in his dwelling and suddenly felt uneasy as if a wild beast had broken into his courtyard while he was sleeping. He stood up and left his dwelling, noticing the old man in green in the centre of the valley at first glance. He could not help but widen his eyes and cry out, ¡°The Myriad Poison Ancestor!¡±

    There was a green flash, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor arrived right in front of him. A venomous light flashed through his eyes. ¡°So it¡¯s little pup Yu of the sword pavilion. Why aren¡¯t you dropping to your knees and bowing your head at my sight? Are you looking to die?¡±

    Yu Wufeng said nothing. He merged with his sword and retreated as a streak of light.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor moved like a shadow and stuck to him closely. After becoming a ghost cultivator, he was even faster than before. He snickered away in a strange manner with various lethal attacks prepared to launch at any time, filling Yu Wufeng with a sense of unprecedented danger.

    Yu Wufeng originally thought that even if he were not the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s opponent, he would not be facing any danger with the arcane treasure, the Fogbow sword, and his cultivation at the peak of the second heavenly tribulation. Only now did he discover just how great of a difference existed between them.

    In terms of staying alive, that was immediately fleeing on the sword when he spotted the Myriad Poison Ancestor in the distance. Right now, the Myriad Poison Ancestor tailed right after him. He could die at any moment.

    ¡°Alright, Myriad Poison. Stop toying around with him.¡± A voice suddenly rang out, flat but dignified.

    ¡°Yes, my king!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately became serious and stopped chasing after Yu Wufeng.

    Yu Wufeng flew a little further away before finally stopping. He was filled with disbelief. Who could order a great cultivator around like a servant? All he saw was the speaker was Li Qingshan, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor had already flown over to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Be careful, my king!¡± Yu Wufeng called out. The Myriad Poison Ancestor definitely was not the type that would comply obediently. It was even possible to say he would kill anyone that ordered him around.

    ¡°Shut your trap, little pup!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s lips twitched, and his voice boomed like thunder to Yu Wufeng, making his mind shake. However, the sight that left him even more shocked happened right in front of him. The Myriad Poison Ancestor bowed towards Li Qingshan before standing to one side like an old caretaker facing the only master he had ever had in his life. He was gentle, polite but also filled with respect. He did not give off the slightest amount of malice at all.

    At this moment, the other cave master noticed the disturbance and emerged from their dwellings too. When they saw this, they were all dumbfounded.

    Li Qingshan had only said the Myriad Poison Ancestor would be joining them. Even the best outcome would probably just be some kind of deal that convinced the Myriad Poison Ancestor to let go of his grudges over his destroyed sect. Never did they think the Myriad Poison Ancestor would actually submit himself to Li Qingshan. They basically wondered if there was something wrong with their eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can go back to cultivating!¡± Li Qingshan said, before facing the Myriad Poison Ancestor, ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go and have a talk.¡±

    ¡°How much has your cultivation recovered?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked after returning to the Eight Point hall.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor said, ¡°Thanks to ma¡¯am Xiao An¡¯s Scripture of the Ghost King, I¡¯ve recovered around eighty percent of my cultivation and I¡¯ve completely become a ghost cultivator. I am known as a Poison Assimilating Ghost King now. If I continue with my comprehension and cultivation, even recovering all of my cultivation is not impossible.¡±

    The Scripture of the Ghost King could be regarded as a peak ghost cultivation method in this world. It was a secret cultivation method that the Umbral Yin sect never allowed to leave the sect. Even before their strength had fully recovered after becoming a ghost cultivator, they even had the chance to progress to a higher realm of cultivation.

    However, the Myriad Poison Ancestor had turned into a haunt that was absolutely subservient to Li Qingshan, so he could only make one minor breakthrough at most. His path to ascension had already come to a complete end.

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 Chapter 830

    However, that was already enough to Li Qingshan. Not only was the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s cultivation higher than his, but he was stronger too. If Xiao An had not been there for the sneak attack back then, combined with the fact that they had caught him off-guard, he probably would not even be the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s opponent. Even with his improved cultivation now, his chances at emerging victorious would be limited to thirty percent in an individual battle given that they understood each other¡¯s abilities.

    As a result, Li Qingshan was extremely satisfied with a lackey like him. He asked a few more questions before sending the Myriad Poison Ancestor to Ru Xin to help out. He turned to Xiao An. ¡°How have you been going with comprehending the Three Absolutes Calligraphy?¡±

    ¡°The path of the sword within the calligraphy is ingenious. I still can¡¯t digest it all yet.¡±

    Xiao An held the unfurled Three Absolutes Calligraphy and concentrated on comprehending it. Even when the Myriad Poison Ancestor came in, she had not shifted her eyes away from it.

    ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯m basically done with comprehending it the moment I looked at it? Looks like you¡¯re still the clever one!¡±

    Li Qingshan huddled over and took a look at the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, but he was simply unable to see anything worthy of comprehension, so he praised while rubbing Xiao An¡¯s head.

    When he obtained a fragment of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy in the past, he only treated it as a messy piece of work, yet Xiao An was able to comprehend a sword style from it. Her aptitude for comprehension was extraordinary, which was why she was able to notice the minute details of the path of the sword.

    ¡°Once I learn it, I¡¯ll teach it to you.¡± smiled Xiao An.

    ¡°Take your time. There¡¯s no hurry. My Demon Dragon sword has been destroyed anyway.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. In daemon form, there was absolutely no need for a treasured sword at all. Throwing a fist was enough. However, when he maintained his human identity, an arcane treasure weapon was still very important.

    He rubbed his chin and contemplated whether he should take Yu Wufeng¡¯s Fogbow sword, except when he went to the South sea in the future, he still had to face the master of the sword pavilion or even borrow his strength. There was no reason why he should let a single sword ruin their relationship. As it seemed, all he could do was wait until he returned to the Green province before collecting it from the Sword Collection palace!

    ¡°You can ask Yin Qing if she has any idea.¡± Xiao An thought of something.

    ¡°What ideas can she have?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    ¡°Many of the strongest weapons in the school of the Military come from the Asura realm. They¡¯re known as asura armaments. Unlike regular arcane treasures and artifacts, they¡¯re suited for close combat.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea about these details. Xiao An had received the best education since young, so she possessed deep knowledge in many subjects.

    Li Qingshan could not help but think of Yin Qing¡¯s circular blade. It was very difficult to say whether it was an arcane treasure or not, as it did not have that many functions and abilities, but it was definitely just as sharp and sturdy as the Demon Dragon sword at the very least. If he could obtain an asura sword of similar quality, it would make up for his loss of the Demon Dragon sword.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go ask her.¡±

    Below the snowy mountain in the Asura Field sat a series of structures. There was a large vermillion gate and huge halls, even two stone lions at the entrance and a series of posts to tie horses. It did not seem like a cultivation dwelling. It seemed more like a mortal¡¯s residence.

    Li Qingshan wandered around the entrance and clicked his tongue in wonder. He had taken his eyes off her for just a moment, and Yin Qing had built something like this.

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    ¡°My king, the general is waiting in the main hall. I¡¯ll take you there.¡± An asura in armour arrived outside to receive Li Qingshan.

    ¡°General? Heh, she sure knows how to have fun.¡±

    Li Qingshan said and followed him in, arriving in the main hall very soon. Yin Qing was waiting in front of the hall, dressed in armour. She had already been beautiful, so her attire made her seem even more valiant. She greeted him gracefully before saying, ¡°And I had thought the king had forgotten about me.¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Back then, the king said he would help me recover, but I waited for almost a year in the Asura Field and nothing came of it,¡± Yin Qing grumbled slightly, which was quite the sight.

    ¡°Ah, I did say that. Haven¡¯t I come this time exactly for that?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose and felt slightly embarrassed. She had gone through fire and water for him, yet he had cast her aside once he was done with her. He even forgot about what he had promised her. He really should not have been like that.

    When he was trapped in the nightmare in the Mirage sea, it only felt like a night, but it was actually several months. Even though the dream developed according to his thoughts, living an entire lifetime would still take quite the time. He had entered secluded cultivation as soon as he had returned, which took up over half a year yet again. Together, that was almost a year.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. There¡¯s no need to take it seriously, my king. Please come in!¡± Yin Qing smiled. With the type of person she was, how could she place all of her hopes of recovering on someone else.

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    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You sure have changed quite a lot.¡± Compared to when she arrived from the Asura realm, she seemed much more normal now. She was no longer just a cold assassin. She seemed a little more alive.

    ¡°Really? What do you think of my estate, my king?¡± Yin Qing raised her hand and introduced.

    ¡°Why did you think of building an estate like this?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously.

    ¡°This is my home in the past. I had nothing to do, so I built it for fun.¡±

    Yin Qing said it easily, but Li Qingshan could tell her gaze was rather bleak. He thought, Speaking of which, she also counts as a transmigrator who¡¯s lived two lives. She must have had quite the past before she entered the Asura realm and became an asura.

    However, he was reluctant to pry into her business. He got down to business. ¡°How can I help you recover? I do have plenty of pills and medicine in my possession.¡±

    Yin Qing had faced countless battles of life and death after all, so she immediately composed herself. ¡°As an asura, I should have recovered from all the wounds I¡¯ve sustained in the past year. However, this isn¡¯t the Asura realm after all. To asura, pills aren¡¯t that effective. You better find a way to strengthen this Asura Field instead so that it¡¯s closer to the Asura realm. My recovery rate will naturally increase with that. If you can summon a few more Asura Commanders for me to kill, perhaps my strength might even reach a whole new level!¡±

    Li Qingshan had already learnt from Yin Qing that asura gained their strength through battle and slaughter, but they had to kill asura at the same level as them. The more powerful the opponent, the greater the power they would obtain. The power that came out of one-sided massacres was miniscule, and it would wear down their battle spirit, so it was more trouble than it was worth. Once their battle spirit died down, not only would their strength halt, but it was even possible for their strength to regress. Moreover, they could not revive once they died in battle.

    The laws of the Asura realm are basically like video games. You get experience from killing mobs, and you can revive once you die. If I were there, I might be able to ¡®level up¡¯ quickly. Battle spirit is definitely no problem, while defeating those stronger than me is all too common for me.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and discarded this thought. He said to Yin Qing, ¡°That is a good idea. I¡¯ll find some people to fight in the Asura Field then.¡±

    The Asura Commanders he summoned could be killed by Yin Qing for her to recover her strength, while he would be able to obtain their weapons. That was the best of both worlds.

    The only problem was, who was he supposed to find? Mortals definitely would not work. They could be easily influenced by the Asura Field and descend into hysterical murderousness, but they definitely stood no chance against cultivators. Li Qingshan was not particularly keen on something like that either.

    Those who used the sword died to the sword. Since he had entered this path of cultivation, killing one another would be very normal. However, he was still not willing to stoop to the level of demonic cultivators and carry out a large-scale massacre of mortals just to refine an arcane treasure.

    Fire devourers were violent and battle-hungry, so they should have been a fantastic choice. However, now was still not the time to fall out with them. Wracking his brain, Li Qingshan suddenly recalled some enemies of the past. I know!

 Chapter 831

    ¡°You can just wait for the day when your strength recovers. You better not say I went back on my word.¡±

    Li Qingshan said to Yin Qing and immediately left the Asura Field, telling Xiao An his plans. Xiao An expressed her support. ¡°If you want this to proceed successfully, you¡¯ll have to ask for the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s guidance.¡±

    That was exactly what Li Qingshan was planning to do. He arrived beneath the great banyan tree and said, ¡°Fellow, I have something else I need your help with.¡±

    ¡°As long as it¡¯s not sending me into battle, there¡¯s no need to be so polite. Ask away,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said jokingly. Ever since Li Qingshan returned from the Mirage sea, they had become closer to each other yet again. The Clam King of Mirage Sea undergoing the tribulation had clearly set off certain thoughts in this Daemon King of the Mist province¡¯s mind.

    However, after hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s request, the Great Banyan Tree King fell silent for a moment. ¡°Why are you asking this?¡±

    ¡°With your wisdom, haven¡¯t you guessed it already?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You and that girl sure do match each other. Both of you basically want to exterminate an entire group of people.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled wryly.

    ¡°Surely you don¡¯t plan on protecting the Bone Eating shamans as well! It¡¯s not like they¡¯re daemons. You can say they¡¯re humans, yet they feed off humans. Perhaps if they continue to develop, they¡¯ll become otherfolk.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s target was the Bone Eating shamans that had chased after him in the past. Back then, he had heard there were numerous Bone Eating shaman tribes littered across the Mist province, and there was even a city of Bone Eating shamans. That was equivalent to a great group of cultivators. Bone Eating shamans were brutal and bloodthirsty in nature, so their battle intent and killing intent obviously went without saying. They must be extremely effective for strengthening the Asura Field.

    On top of that, the Bone Eating shamans¡¯ unique tradition of eating humans guaranteed they would not have any allies, so at least it would not be like stirring a hornet¡¯s nest where the situation would completely develop out of hand in the end. They were basically perfect.

    Who knew how many Bone Eating tribes there were, and they were all scattered throughout the jungle and mountains of the Mist province, so looking for them would be overly troublesome. He obviously had to ask the Great Banyan Tree King.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said after a moment of consideration, ¡°Give me a map.¡±

    He was without a doubt breaking his principle of neutrality once again, but absolute neutrality had never existed in the first place. As a Daemon King, the Great Banyan Tree King understood his own position extremely well. Neutrality was built upon strength and balance. He was a towering tree, not a weed that swayed with the wind.

    Li Qingshan immediately took out the mental map of the Mist province for the Great Banyan Tree King to indicate. A while later, specks of light littered across the surface, which even varied in brightness depending on the strength of the Bone Eating tribes.

    The brightest speck was to the east of the Mist province. The Great Banyan Tree King explained with emphasis. ¡°This is Bone Eating city, which has a Bone Eating Shaman King. Coupled with the totem of Qiongqi they worship, it¡¯s equivalent to two great cultivators, and if they work together, they¡¯re even more powerful than that. Definitely leave the place alone unless you are absolutely confident.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Defeating a single Myriad Poison Ancestor had already been utterly difficult, let alone two. Moreover, he had only defeated the Myriad Poison Ancestor by striking back from a defensive position. If he had attacked the Myriad Poison cult instead, death would have been guaranteed.

    However, Li Qingshan was slightly tempted. If he could fight the Bone Eating Shaman King in the Asura Field, then it would net him an Asura Commander at the very least. Perhaps there would even be a chance to break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon. He had just gained a powerful helper, the Myriad Poison Ancestor, so if he did not make use of him, it would be far too great of a pity.

    He obviously had no chance in a direct confrontation, so what if he lured the Bone Eating Shaman King out of his territory? If he, Xiao An and a ¡°Poison Assimilating Ghost King¡± struck together, who knew what the outcome would be.

    Li Qingshan held onto that thought. He decided to start off with the weaker ones first and take it step by step.

    Then he discussed it with Xiao An before gathering the ten cave masters in the great hall at the top of Savage mountain to pass orders.

    ¡°The points on the map are Bone Eating tribes. I want you to go to these tribes right now. Heh, didn¡¯t these Bone Eating shamans even try to eat me back then?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He remembered what he had recently told Ru Xin. ¡°Even the debt from a glare will be paid back a hundred fold.¡± Now was the time for him to make it come true. Weren¡¯t you so keen on eating me back then? It¡¯s my turn to ¡°eat¡± you now, and I¡¯ll eat all of you.

    However, there were just far too many Bone Eating tribes, basically littered across the entire Mist province randomly. If Li Qingshan were supposed to sniff them out one by one, then even if he destroyed one a day, it would take over two years. Now was the perfect time for him to use his lackeys.

    ¡°Just which tribe is bold enough to do that!? I¡¯ll go destroy them right now!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber called out loudly to express his loyalty, except he added in his heart, As long as it¡¯s not the largest, brightest point. The existence of the Bone Eating Shaman King was not a secret.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already annihilated the original tribe.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°Then¡­ the king wants us to massacre these tribes?¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber secretly clicked his tongue. He originally thought he was already vicious enough, but he was still nowhere close compared to this ¡°King of Savages¡±! Just because a single Bone Eating tribe had offended him in the past, he wanted to destroy all the Bone Eating tribes across the Mist province.

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    ¡°No, I want you to bring back all these Bone Eating shamans, and you¡¯re not allowed to kill a single one!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the mental map of the Mist province. He had already begun imagining thousands, no, tens of thousands of Bone Eating shamans gathered together in the Asura Field, killing one another. His lips curled into a smile.

    That made the cave master shiver. He was not satisfied with just killing them. Did he want to capture them alive before torturing them?

    ¡°My king, may I ask what is the point of this?¡± Yu Wufeng stood up. He did not believe Li Qingshan was a deviant like that.

    ¡°It¡¯s for refining an artifact. Alright, this is the last issue. All the spoils this time will belong to you. Oh right, there are all totems of Qiongqi in the Bone Eating tribes. Behind the totemic murals are a skull. I just want that.¡±

    Li Qingshan said before taking out his spoils to show to them. It was filled with intense malice and evil. Li Qingshan had no use for the evil, but the malice was very useful to him, so he might as well just collect it and look into it. Even if he came up with nothing, he could give it to Xiao An to refine. It would not be going to waste.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    The cave masters all thought to themselves that the Bone Eating tribe was not some sect, so just what spoils could they find? They were filled with great reluctance, but none of them were bold enough to say no. Right now, they were not just bound by the Blood Oath Scroll anymore. After witnessing the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s subservience, they revered Li Qingshan from the bottom of their hearts.

    After explaining the rough plan, he sat down on the throne. ¡°Xiao An, tell them the details.¡±

    There was a complete and detailed plan for everything, from the number of places and their locations to their strength and their allocation, to how the cave masters were supposed to strike. It was all so that they achieved the greatest efficiency.

    ¡°Yu Wufeng, you¡¯ll be responsible for this region. Apart from these points¡­¡±

    Xiao And had everything planned out already and immediately began allocating missions. She did not only take into account the Bone Eating tribes¡¯ locations and strengths, but also the ten cave masters¡¯ differing cultivations, abilities, and speeds too.

    All of the points she sent the ten cave masters to were the dimmest and most numerous points. These Bone Eating tribes were all like the one Li Qingshan had originally destroyed. They did not have even a single person that had undergone a heavenly tribulation, which felt a little like overkill, but according to the situation Li Qingshan had described, all of the Qiongqi totems in these tribes possessed the strength of Daemon Generals. If it were the stronger tribes, perhaps the Qiongqi totems would reach Daemon Commander in strength, and these tribes would probably have formations too.

    As a result, he decided to go all out to ensure absolute success and secrecy. As for the stronger tribes, Li Qingshan and Xiao An would personally take action against them. This would not actually waste time, as there were not a lot of these stronger tribes at all. By the time they had cleaned up these tribes, the ten cave masters might not necessarily be done yet.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Xiao An, how are we supposed to bring back these people though? Hundred treasures pouches can¡¯t store living creatures. We can bind them together with techniques, but that will attract too much attention. How will we be able to keep it a secret?¡± a cave master asked with a frown.

    ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re supposed to use bug pouches or seals? That can only hold a few people though. Don¡¯t tell me we have to take multiple trips across several tens of thousand kilometers?¡± another cave master added.

    Artifacts that could store living creatures did exist, such as bug pouches for nurturing insects and seals for mounts, but their space was extremely limited. They could not even hold a single tribe of Bone Eating shamans.

    ¡°Use sumeru rings,¡± Xiao An said emotionlessly. Sumeru rings and hundred treasures pouches differed in terms of quality. They could not create a domain of their own like the Asura Field, but they could store living creatures.

    ¡°But out of everyone here, no one has a sumeru ring apart from the first, second, and fifth cave masters!¡±

    It was extremely difficult to refine sumeru rings, and to regular cultivators, a large-enough hundred treasures pouch was sufficient. Only aristocratic clans with very deep heritages would waste materials on refining sumeru rings, so they could be described as relatively precious. Meanwhile, the cultivators of the Mist province just happened to be a little poorer than those in the Green province in general.

    Li Qingshan had considered this a long time ago. He pressed his hand on the stone table and moved it from left to right, leaving behind five sumeru rings. Through all these years of battle, he had basically accumulated a sizable sum of items, but finding so many sumeru rings still took him quite the effort. For the sake of this plan, Xiao An and he had both offered up their sumeru rings. The items inside had all been moved to hundred treasures pouches, and thankfully, there was the Myriad Poison Ancestor as well.

    All of the cave masters had their gazes drawn over, leaving them amazed. They looked at Li Qingshan with even more reverence than before. He obviously would not be bored enough to collect sumeru rings. Behind every single sumeru ring was the death of a powerful cultivator.

    ¡°We¡¯ll lend them to you for now, but we¡¯re still missing two. Do you have any ideas? If you don¡¯t fess up, you¡¯ll be breaking the blood oath.¡±

    Li Qingshan refused to believe that all of them would have no ideas whatsoever. Sure enough, after bringing up the blood oath, another cave master expressed that he had an arcane artifact similar to a sumeru ring that could also hold people. In the end, they pooled all the bug pouches together and dealt with this difficult problem.

    ¡°Alright, everyone set off according to the plan. I¡¯ll be waiting for the news of your victories!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the ten cave masters set off under his orders.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go too!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An. In the past, he had to worry about Savage mountain being attacked, but now, he had the Great Banyan Tree King controlling the formations and the Myriad Poison Ancestor around to deal with any potential problems. As long as it was not the King of Southern Yue, there would not be any problems at all.

 Chapter 832

    ¡°This¡¯ll be the first stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at a shining speck of light on the mental map with his index finger.

    Under the brilliant sunlight, the deep-green sea of trees surged.

    The thick, fat leaves wove together to form a boundless cloud of green, preventing any of the resplendent rays of sunlight from passing through. It was dim under the canopy woven from the branches.

    A tree around six hundred meters tall stood within the jungle, covered in tree holes like an ant¡¯s nest. Bone Eating shamans large in stature and hideous in appearance moved around on it.

    They seemed like beasts, but there was a clear order and a division of labour. When regular Bone Eating shamans encountered the noble shaman priest, they all lowered their heads to express respect. There were also patrolling guards that looked around with their sharp eyes.

    Of course, there were also hunters responsible for hunting.

    At this moment, a group returned, but what they hunted obviously was not something else. Every single Bone Eating shaman carried humans, where most of them were women. Some were unconscious¡ªthe luckier ones. Those that were still conscious were forced to watch as the Bone Eating tribe drew closer, like they had fallen into a bottomless abyss. Fear and despair filled their faces.

    The Bone Eating shaman at the very front of the group also happened to be the largest. Even with his back hunched, he stood as tall as two people. A pair of boar-like tusks extended out from the corners of his mouth, which stood out very much.

    ¡°Tusks¡± let out a strange, excited howl. His mouth was all bloodied, truly a huge, gaping mouth. Countless similar howls rang out in the tribe to welcome the returning hunters as well as the food they had brought back.

    The roars echoed through the dim jungle. It basically seemed like hell. The woman on ¡°Tusks¡¯¡± shoulder could not withstand this terrifying pressure anymore, letting out a hysterical scream.

    ¡°Tusks¡± looked over and produced a stunning growl, except the overwhelming, foul smell of blood made the woman lose it completely. Her screams became even more shrill.

    Tusks ran out of patience, biting off the woman¡¯s head in a single mouthful. He chewed away with cracks and crunches as brain matter leaked out from the corner of his mouth. Blood sprayed from the severed neck. Tusks seemed to have filled himself during the hunting trip already, so he tossed the headless corpse far away, landing beside a group of young, playing Bone Eating shamans.

    The group of Bone Eating shaman children only stood half as tall as an adult. Apart from their sharp teeth and claws, they clearly still possessed many human characteristics. However, when they saw the female corpse, their faces immediately twisted as they rushed over, pushing and shoving each other as they ripped the corpse to pieces and filled themselves.

    Tusks laughed aloud. The other Bone Eating shamans began to laugh as well.

    At this moment, a Bone Eating shaman priest scolded Tusks. Women were for procreation. They had brought them back after so much difficulty, so how could he just waste them like that. Tusks did not talk back, lowering his head and admitting his mistake. The laughter in the surroundings became even clearer and louder.

    The Bone Eating shaman priest did not take the matter any further than that, ordering them to bring back the prey. However, the laughter continued to echo through the forest, and the smell of blood did not disperse.

    The Bone Eating shaman priest gazed at this and sighed from the bottom of his heart. ¡°What a quiet, peaceful day!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Several dozen kilometers away, Li Qingshan heard the strange laughter that resembled the roars of wild beasts. He said to Xiao An, ¡°They should be right up ahead. Let¡¯s take a look with the Profound Light Illuminates All first!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell revealed the Bone Eating tribe. Li Qingshan specially noticed that the trees were painted with dark, red glyphs. They seemed to form one whole object, enveloping the entire tree.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to be a regular formation, and there¡¯s nothing defensive about it either. It¡¯s very difficult to discern its actual use. There are plenty of ancient secret techniques that have been passed down in the Mist province,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Won¡¯t we know if we just go over there and test it?¡±

    It was exactly because it was the first battle that Li Qingshan was cautious. From the brightness of the point on the map, he deduced that the Bone Eating tribe roughly had several hundred Bone Eating shamans and a chieftain that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation. The strength of the Qiongqi totem would be difficult to tell, but it could not be stronger than a Daemon Commander.

    This was a battle where he possessed an absolute advantage. There was absolutely no need for him to plot and plan. Just crushing them openly was enough.

    In the blink of an eye, he had flown across several dozen kilometers. The moment he approached the trees near the Bone Eating tribe, Li Qingshan sensed the purpose of the formation. Seems to be for weakening enemies.

    The glyphs all lit up, and the lingering smell of blood suddenly thickened, giving off a powerful aura. It made him feel a hint of resistance, and even the spiritual qi of the world had been interfered with.

    However, it was absolutely nothing to Li Qingshan.

    The Bone Eating shamans noticed Li Qingshan too. They all lunged over while growling, moving through the branches like the wind as swiftly as panthers.

    However, Li Qingshan had ample time to study every single one of them. Looks like it also strengthens them quite a bit. How troublesome!

    The trouble he was talking about was obviously not the Bone Eating shamans right in front of him that had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation, but the Bone Eating Shaman King thousands of kilometers away.

    He scaled up everything he saw to estimate the layout of Bone Eating City. If that place had these formations too, they would probably be ten or even a hundred times stronger. Coupled with a Qiongqi totem on par with Daemon Kings, even if he managed to outperform himself on the spot, it would be useless.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King was different from the Myriad Poison Ancestor too. He had a tough body and was skilled in close combat, so it would be very difficult for a sneak attack to succeed. Even if it somehow succeeded, it would not play a decisive role in the battle.

    I definitely can¡¯t clash with the Bone Eating Shaman King there! I don¡¯t even have a ten percent chance at victory!

    Li Qingshan sighed and spat out a gust of air. It turned into a tornado with a whistle and swept away all the Bone Eating shamans right before him.

    The Asura Field was already in his hand. It produced a blood-red vortex and swallowed the Bone Eating shamans.

    Li Qinshan did not enter the tree holes. He just stood at the entrance and blew air through the entire structure, whisking out the Bone Eating shamans one by one and sending them into the Asura Field.

    He was like an ant-eater, extending his long tongue into the ant nest and licking up the ants.

    A furious roar rang out from the holes and even the tree shook. An extremely fierce Bone Eating shaman rushed over. He was the chieftain that had undergone the heavenly tribulation.

    Li Qingshan glanced past the chieftain. If it were not for refining the Asura Field, his breath alone could tear the entire tree to shreds. In order to ensure these Bone Eating shamans had enough energy to fight, he had been as ¡°gentle¡± as possible, doing all that he could to prevent them from being injured.

    The Bone Eating shaman chieftain stiffened. His mind that had almost gone insane from anger was suddenly overwhelmed with great fear. He seemed to see a scarlet tiger gazing at him, its eyes blazing like blood and fire. His face blanked out, like he had entered a nightmare, whisked off into the Asura Field by the breath without being able to put up the slightest resistance.

    Sure enough, it works! So turning souls into haunts is just the surface-level effect. The deeper effect is to stun the soul. I gotta see if I can make the living submit to me later. If I can, then no matter how many enemies there are, as long as their cultivation is below mine, I just need to look over and they¡¯ll all become my servants! That¡¯s fucking wicked!

    Li Qingshan riled up with enthusiasm and his thoughts ran wild again.

 Chapter 833

    The towering tree swayed around violently as the whistling tornado poured in from the largest tree hole, twisting and turning through the caves and sweeping past the entire tribe, capturing all the Bone Eating shamans.

    Before this unstoppable innate ability, even the violent Bone Eating shamans called out in horror, only to be drowned out by the wind.

    In the depths of the tribe, within a huge tree hole, the great shaman priest only second to the chieftain in terms of status was dressed in colourful clothes, dancing around in front of a totemic mural as he chanted away like he was singing.

    Even through the thick door, he could clearly hear the sharp whistling of the wind through the caves like it was right beside his ear. The tree seemed to become a great flute, played by an invisible giant having the time of his life. However, it was devastation to the entire Bone Eating tribe.

    The eyes of the monster in the mural suddenly lit up, producing a roar that drowned out the wind.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan stood firmly on a huge branch. The branch was as wide as two people with their arms outstretched. A young lady stood quietly beside him. Her greyish-blue monk robes did not make her seem dull. Instead, she seemed even more pure and clean.

    Her unrivalled appearance had once been deemed as ¡°heavenly¡±, but today, even that came off as lacklustre, struggling to capture her true bearing. But compared to her pursuit, so what if she possessed alluring beauty that could upheave the world?

    ¡°Qingshan, what are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about my new move. I¡¯ll show you right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses and immediately got to work. He casually pulled out a Bone Eating shaman from the Asura Field, who happened to be ¡°Tusks¡±. Before Tusks could even understand what was going on, his mind became filled by a pair of scarlet eyes. His hideous face became filled with fear, and his body trembled as if he was being electrocuted, like he was trying to escape. However, there was not a hint of subservience at all.

    It was different from what he was expecting, so Li Qingshan widened his eyes and used a bit more force.

    His hideous face with tusks bulged with veins, which wriggled about like worms. With a thump, his head exploded, and his soul successfully turned into a haunt, demonstrating his subservience to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°They¡¯re different!¡± Xiao An giggled. A few Bone Eating shamans that had almost been swept over by the wind blanked out, forgetting about their personal safety.

    ¡°What¡¯s different?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    Her smile had made his heart skip a beat too. This little girl was getting prettier by the day. If she grew a little older, no one he had met in his entire lifetime would be able to stand a chance against her anymore. Sure enough, brother ox¡¯s cultivation method worked wonders.

    But aside from that, he had no other thoughts. From a certain perspective, he really was extraordinarily stubborn. Once he had made up his mind about something, he never planned on changing it.

    Xiao An explained it to him. ¡°The soul and the body are completely different. If the soul is like water, then the body is like a cup that holds the water. A distinction of strength doesn¡¯t really exist. Water can mould its shape freely, while the cup will shatter if you twist it violently. Your innate ability can remould the shape of water, so if you want to change the shape of water, you need to break the cup first.¡±

    The ghosts of the Hundred Ghost realm could devour other ghosts to strengthen themselves, but even cannibalistic Bone Eating shamans needed a conversion process. Moreover, the inner demons of ghosts were far more severe than living creatures. Once they lost their stable form, it would be very difficult to rein in their various thoughts. This was also the importance of a body.

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. If his body had not been destroyed, then even with the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s assistance, why would the Myriad Poison Ancestor ever submit himself to someone else with his disposition and cultivation? This did leave Li Qingshan rather disappointed, but he had basically worked out the principle that the tiger demon¡¯s innate ability operated on. When he used it in the future, it would be a little more wondrous as a result.

    ¡°This move should be extremely useful for harassing the little ones. Whoever I glare at dies. I just wonder how effective it¡¯ll be against those truly powerful cultivators of the third heavenly tribulation. I¡¯m not after too much. Just making them blank out for a split second is enough,¡± Li Qingshan said in thought.

    He felt like calling the innate ability ¡°Subservience to the Tiger¡± was no longer particularly appropriate anymore, so he discussed it with Xiao An beside him.

    Xiao An said, ¡°You comprehended this move in the nightmare, and the enemies that fall for it also seem to be pulled into nightmares, so you can just call it the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll call it the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye then.¡± Li Qingshan repeated the name a few times and found it to be very nice.

    At this moment, another roar rang out from the tree holes. Under the great shaman priest¡¯s contro, the Qiongqi totem shaped like a black tiger with a pair of wings rushed out of the tree holes, except it was over ten times larger than a regular tiger. It gave off a heavy sense of evil and malice.

    Li Qingshan was rather disappointed. The Qiongqi totem had not reached Daemon Commander in strength as he had imagined. It was only equivalent to a powerful Daemon General with a special bloodline at most.

    Clearly, even ancient secret techniques struggled to overcome the tremendous difference between cultivation realms.

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    I wonder if the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye is effective on this totemic beast or not.

    Under the belief that it would not cost him anything, he used the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye and gazed over from afar.

    In the blink of an eye, the Qiongqi arrived right in front of him, its mouth gaping and jagged with sharp teeth as it bit towards him. Having been glared at by him, it came to a sudden halt and was immobilised.

    Li Qingshan glared at it again and again, and the Qiongqi¡¯s colossal body twisted and curled like mist, completely dispersing before long.

    ¡°Ah, my eyes hurt!¡± Li Qingshan blinked his eyes and decided to just stick with the ability in the future. He would be better off not shooting vicious glares.

    Xiao An laughed again. ¡°Yeah, soulless objects can¡¯t be converted into haunts. However, it doesn¡¯t have a tangible form after all. It¡¯s an accumulation of countless thoughts on top of that, so it¡¯s still quite effective.¡±

    The breath swept up the great shaman priest and tossed him into the Asura Field too.

    The entire Bone Eating tribe had been cleaned up, only leaving behind the captured humans. They had frightened faces, at a complete loss over what had just happened. Some of them had downright become numb from despair. The breath had clearly destroyed the prison door, yet none of them tried to run away.

    Li Qingshan did not pay any additional attention to these people either. They¡¯ll flee anyway once they¡¯ve stayed there for long enough. You can forget about paying me back for saving your lives too.

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    When the final wisp of wind returned, it swept over a few crystalline skulls that were neither human nor beast. Their quality was much better than the one from before.

    Xiao An stared at them from the side, which made Li Qingshan smile. ¡°You can eat them once I¡¯m done with them. Oh, and the Bone Eating shamans too. I¡¯ll feed them all to your flames. Though, I still need to consider how I am supposed to absorb the malice within.¡±

    ¡°I have a way.¡± Xiao An swiveled her eyes and came up with an idea.

    ¡°You always have a way!¡± Li Qingshan pinched her cheek, which was so soft and smooth to the touch that it felt like it was about to melt in his fingers.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a child anymore, so stop rubbing my head and pinching my face and nose all the time!¡±

    Xiao An shot a glance at Li Qingshan. These actions that symbolised intimacy in the past now made her slightly annoyed. She had already recovered her memories as the daughter of a king. She was no longer that clueless little ghost. It was just because she practised the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty that she seemed no different.

    ¡°In my eyes, you¡¯ll always be a child.¡± Li Qingshan smiled before bringing in his other hand to pinch her other cheek, moulding and playing around with her face that had once been described as heavenly.

    ¡°And you still wanted to kiss me!¡± Xiao An was determined to make him openly recognise and admit her charm.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He was already prepared for this. ¡°That¡¯s something you won¡¯t understand. Dreams are in reverse. If I want to kiss you in the dream, then that means I don¡¯t want to kiss you at all in reality. Otherwise, why would I want to wander through a desert?¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Xiao An was furious at his outrageous and senseless excuse.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright! I want to kiss you, I want to kiss you! Mmmm, how nice!¡± Li Qingshan immediately ceded to her and lowered his head, randomly pecking her on the face. He rubbed her head. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not taking me seriously! And you¡¯re still rubbing my head!¡±

    ¡°My dear lord, please just stop making things difficult for me. What¡¯s wrong with rubbing your head? Who can help the fact that you¡¯re shorter than me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that¡¯s too tall. I¡¯m not short at all.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s just for say. C¡¯mon, we still have a lot of places to go to!¡±

    Xiao An made up her mind. There would be a day when she would make him recognise her charms.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Asura Field, the sounds of battle rang through the air.

    On the snowy mountain, Yin Qing stood on the side of a cliff with a group of asura under her lead, gazing off into the distance.

    At the very centre of the Asura Field, under the blood-red sky, thousands of Bone Eating shamans killed one another on the ground.

    Under the influence of the Asura Field, every single one of them had been blinded by bloodlust. The concept of ally and foe no longer existed. They only wanted to kill everything in their sight that was alive.

    Murderousness rushed into the air. The blood-red spiral in the sky spun slowly.

    The asura all became eager. Unlike an Asura Commander like Yin Qing, who had grown rather tired of fighting and killing, they still maintained their blazing battle spirit. Their requests to enter the battle were turned down by Yin Qing again and again. They were not bold enough to disobey her, but they were all displeased.

    Women had always been on the receiving end of some sexism in the Asura realm. On top of that, Yin Qing was an assassin, not a general. Coupled with how she was injured right now and her strength had weakened, it became even more difficult to make these asura acknowledge her from the bottom of their hearts.

    ¡°If you want to go, then go!¡±

    A voice rang out from behind. Li Qingshan arrived beside Yin Qing.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The asura riled up energetically and all swept past Li Qingshan, directly leaping off the cliff. They formed a wedge-shaped battle formation and charged towards the battlefield in the distance.

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    Battle was their meaning of life, and slaughter was their fate. Even if they fell here, they could be reborn in the Asura realm.

    ¡°Men are still more suited for the battlefield after all. Though, wouldn¡¯t I have no more subordinates with this, my king?¡± Yin Qing glanced at Li Qingshan unhappily.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not like you need to wage wars here, so why do you need so many subordinates? Watching the show from here is enough.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the Bone Eating shamans also have second heavenly tribulation existences? Why don¡¯t I see a single one? How is this a show?¡± Yin Qing asked.

    ¡°Bone Eating shamans are violent in nature, but once they reach the second heavenly tribulation, they¡¯ll possess very great willpower. They won¡¯t be influenced by the Asura Field so easily. If I release them now, they¡¯ll just interfere with the battlefield. Speaking of which, when an Asura Commander arrives later, can you win against them?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Yin Qing admitted calmly. She was still injured right now. Although assassins specialised in defeating those stronger than them, there were no weak Asura Commanders. When it came to fighting at close quarters, they even surpassed her.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll create opportunities for you when the time comes. There¡¯ll always be corresponding opponents to contend against them. Once they¡¯re almost done with fighting, it¡¯ll be your turn to strike.¡±

 Chapter 834

    ¡°The king sure has plans laid out.¡±

    Yin Qing glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. He was already in his thirties, but he seemed like he was in his early twenties. His bearing was unshakeable like a mountain, while his eyes were deep and remote, making his thoughts completely unfathomable.

    However, he was not always so sedated and mature. Sometimes, an innocent, bright smile would stretch across his face, and he would say some things that completely contrasted against his identity as the King of Savages. As a matter of fact, after spending enough time with him, she found him very approachable and gentle. However, once it got to official business, he would show a completely different side of him again.

    His plan was without a doubt to unleash the full potential of the Bone Eating shamans. Only battles among equals would be the most intense, and it would provide the most amount of power to the Asura Field. These asura were also sacrifices. Even she was included in his plan.

    Actually, Li Qingshan was only the decision maker. Xiao An was responsible for thinking over and deciding the exact details. These meticulous and thorough plans were not actually his forte. However, Xiao An¡¯s plans were his plans. If he carried them out, then he carried them out. There was nothing to deny.

    As a result, he smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t I do this all for your sake in the beginning? No matter what I¡¯m scheming, I¡¯m always supporting you. I won¡¯t let you face any life-threatening danger.¡±

    Although he was very vengeful, he would never forget when others helped him.

    Yin Qing gazed at his sincere smile, and her heart warmed up for some reason. ¡°Then thank you, my king. I don¡¯t want to return to the Asura realm any time soon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide. You¡¯re mine now. If you ever return to the Asura realm, you¡¯ll definitely be waging war under my banner.¡± Li Qingshan swung his hand in a dominating manner.

    ¡°I hope so too.¡±

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    As they spoke, the battle formation of asura had already entered the battlefield. Their auras merged together and plunged in like a knife through butter. Wherever they went, blood splattered and severed limbs flew about. The Bone Eating shamans all collapsed under their attacks. Even the chieftains that had undergone heavenly tribulations stood no chance, killed off as soon as they clashed, their bodies torn to pieces.

    The asura rampaged through the battlefield, unstoppable. They once again intensified the battle.

    If they were facing a regular army, the Bone Eating shamans would have collapsed under the attacks anyway, except everyone¡¯s battle spirit had been pushed to the limits in the Asura Field, driving them crazy. They were instead lured over by the aura of the asura, charging towards them without the slightest concern.

    With a thought, Li Qingshan sent several thousand more Bone Eating shamans into the Asura Field with three chieftains that had undergone heavenly tribulations and a great shaman priest who knew techniques. Finally, they stopped the asura¡¯s rampage.

    The asura possessed various advantages, but they were still outnumbered after all. They were surrounded in a turbulent sea of enemies, and they gradually became exhausted. They tried to break out one time, but Li Qingshan just happened to send in almost twenty thousand Bone Eating shamans split into several groups to block their path. Trapped in the encirclement, they began to suffer losses.

    However, the more despairing it was, the more intense and pure the battle spirit of the asura became. The murderousness was like thick smoke, rising into the sky. The blood-red swirl began to spin faster.

    As it turned out, Xiao An¡¯s plan was to deplete all of these asura here, refining the Asura Field through their battles to the death. However, upon seeing this, Li Qingshan found it rather difficult to bring himself to do something like that. He wanted to give them a way out.

    ¡°They won¡¯t die.¡± Yin Qing had been paying attention to Li Qingshan the entire time.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Qingshan looked over.

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    ¡°Since you have no use for them in battle, why not just send them back? Every single asura needs to face countless battles, deaths, and revivals before they can reach the apex. They don¡¯t have any enemies here, so as time goes on, their battle spirit most definitely will be impaired. That¡¯s far worse than any impairment of the body. Once their battle spirit is worn down and runs out, they¡¯ll die for good. Keeping them here is harming them instead, so why not just let them return to the Asura realm with their battle spirit?¡± Yin Qing said.

    Li Qingshan nodded and sent another twenty thousand Bone Eating shamans into the battle. It was like a colossal meat mincer, annihilating all life. They had captured almost a hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans in total from the various places of the Mist province. It was even more than when Si Qing originally refined the Asura Field.

    Most of the Bone Eating shamans that died here would probably end up in the Asura realm, reincarnating into asura!

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid your battle spirit will be worn down?¡± Li Qingshan asked Yin Qing.

    ¡°I¡¯m a mighty Asura Commander, so how can I be compared to these brats? There¡¯s nothing wrong with taking a slight break. Moreover, just keeping that poison-using old man busy has made up for all the lethargy I¡¯ve developed over the past few days. If I follow you, it¡¯ll probably be difficult even if I want to wear down my battle spirit.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯ll definitely be even better battles awaiting you in the future.¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he thought to himself, Once this refinement process is complete, it should be able to trap third heavenly tribulation existences for a moment.

    He did not have to trap third heavenly tribulation existences here for good. That was impossible anyway. He only needed to stop them from fleeing slightly, and the Asura Field would become an arena where death was the only way out.

    A while later, the final asura fell in battle and pulled down one of the chieftains with him. Blood trickled across the land, infiltrating deep into the soil. They would sink into the mud with each step, like a swamp of blood.

    The blood and vitality continued to seep down until it reached the core of the Asura Field. Blood-red light filled the surroundings, conforming even more with the will of the Asura realm, but no asura descended during this entire time.

    This was due to Li Qingshan¡¯s intentional control. As the Asura Field rapidly strengthened, it could block off regular asura from entering, saving strength for the appearance of Asura Commanders.

    Li Qingshan simply allowed all the Bone Eating shamans into the battlefield now, only keeping the six second heavenly tribulation Bone Eating shamans suppressed. Two of them were shaman priests. In order to capture them alive, it had taken him quite the effort. He had suppressed them all now, just waiting for the appearance of the Asura Commander they were supposed to fight.

    He waited for a while longer, and Li Qingshan suddenly said, ¡°He¡¯s finally here.¡±

    Violent murderousness flooded out from the depths of the blood-red swirl, sweeping across the entire battlefield. A blood-red meteor fell out of the sky, smashing into the ground heavily.

    With a great rumble, a wave of earth expanded out into the surroundings. Several hundred Bone Eating shamans were directly killed, while over a thousand had been blown away.

    A large, vicious-looking, bald man leapt out of the pit. He was an Asura Commander.

    However, to Li Qingshan¡¯s disappointment, the weapon in his hand was a huge spiky club. It was dark and sunken with a bloody glow, except it resembled a laundry stick used to beat and wash clothes at first glance. The surface was uneven, and the spikes varied in size. They formed spare, messy clusters, but the weapon also gave off an indescribable aura of savagery.

    Li Qingshan nodded to himself. This weapon¡¯s appearance suited his tastes very much. Yin Qing said, ¡°It¡¯s time for the main show to take the stage.¡±

    As if the Asura Commander had sensed them, he looked at the snowy mountain, but he found nothing.

    Yin Qing had already hidden herself in space, while Li Qingshan had left the Asura Field. After a slight deliberation, he tossed all six Bone Eating shamans into the Asura Field.

 Chapter 835

    The six powerful Bone Eating shamans entered the Asura Field and immediately broke free and woke up from the suppression. When they saw each other, they all raised their guard. They came from different tribes, and Bone Eating shamans had always practised cannibalism. Compared to becoming a corpse, all of them preferred staying alive.

    Unlike regular Bone Eating shamans, they were more human in appearance, having restrained the various powers in their bodies and condensed it into their skulls, which they called the brain core. It was similar to the daemon cores of daemons and the golden cores of humans. If they ate each other¡¯s brain cores and bodies, their strength would skyrocket. No one could resist this temptation.

    However, this stalemate only lasted for a split second. Despite having witnessed plenty of slaughter in their lives, the sight before them left even them shocked.

    Under the blood-red swirl, countless Bone Eating shamans of various sizes fought and killed one another. The corpses formed a thick carpet on the ground. The battle cries were deafening.

    ¡°Where is this? I also want to kill people! That man!¡± a Bone Eating shaman said raspily. When he recalled the terrifying pair of scarlet eyes, he shuddered inside and became even more furious.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. We were captured too. This seems to be the aura of the Asura realm. We need to guard our minds, or we¡¯ll also end up tearing each other apart like them.¡±

    A Bone Eating shaman said. He seemed like a hunched old man, holding a cane. It was very difficult to connect him to the cannibalistic Bone Eating shamans.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen so many Bone Eating shamans in my life. Looks like none of the Bone Eating tribes across the entire Mist province were spared.¡±

    ¡°Has he captured us for us to kill one another?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. He¡¯s not killing us, so he must have his reasons for that. Perhaps it¡¯s just to toy around with us. We need to escape from here!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    The six of them conversed when murderousness suddenly engulfed them. They gazed at the centre of the battlefield and saw a streak of blood-red light knocking away all the Bone Eating shamans in the way as it charged over. It was just a single person, the Asura Commander who wielded the spiky club.

    The Asura Commander happened to be unleashing a massacre in the sea of people, except he also found it boring. A one-sided slaughter like this brought him extremely limited benefits. Suddenly, he sensed six powerful auras appear, and he could not help but laugh aloud, charging over to kill them.

    ¡°Be careful. That seems to be an asura!¡±

    ¡°We have no grievances, so let me talk to him.¡±

    ¡°He might also be that man¡¯s lackey who¡¯s specially come to kill us.¡±

    ¡°If the talks don¡¯t work, hmph, are the six of us supposed to be afraid of just him? Anyone who doesn¡¯t contribute when the time comes can just go and die!¡±

    ¡°Fellow, are you an asura? Why don¡¯t you take a seat and have a talk with us? Don¡¯t become a tool used by someone else!¡±

    The hunched old man went up to receive him. His eyes twinkled with light, and his voice rose and fell. Every single word he said contained numerous fluctuations, which was extremely unpleasant to the ear. He had silently unleashed a shaman art that could influence the mind. He wanted to establish his identity as the leader so that his chances at surviving would increase slightly.

    The Asura Commander moved even faster and arrived in the blink of an eye, swinging down with the spiky club while sneering!

    With enough strength to take on ten times more people alone, the strike could even shatter a mountain, but at the same time, it was an extremely flexible attack, sealing off all of the old man¡¯s paths of retreat. If he had not seen it for himself, even Li Qingshan would struggle to believe it was possible to unleash such an ingenious attack with a spiky club.

    The old man raised his cane in shock, and his body pulsed with invisible power, blocking the spiky club. The two powers violently collided, and the cane gradually sank. He called out, ¡°Save me!¡±

    The five others behind him did not turn a blind eye to his plea of help, striking together.

    The Asura Commander was utterly furious. He produced an explosive roar, and the spiky club erupted with dazzling, red light. With a thump, he crushed the old man into minced meat before raising his guard and being launched away by the attack that arrived afterwards. However, a delightful smile stretched over his face.

    Outside the Asura Field, Li Qingshan saw this and could not help but grin. Was there something wrong with his head, trying to change an Asura Commander¡¯s mind in the Asura Field?

    Actually, the shaman priests from many shaman tribes across the Mist province could use powerful and strange shaman arts, where even cultivators would fear them, except they all concentrated on a single aspect. They were nowhere near as flexible as the techniques of cultivators, and their bodies were feeble too. Once they were overwhelmed, especially when matched up with a super soldier like an Asura Commander, their fate would obviously be utterly miserable.

    The Asura Commander had endured their combined attack, leaving behind several horrific wounds on his body, but that was basically nothing to an Asura Commander that specialised in close combat. He had mostly recovered in the time it took to stabilise himself after being knocked away.

    As soon as he struck the ground, he leapt out of the dust and flew into the air, gazing at the five remaining Bone Eating shamans from above. He lifted the spiky club high into the air, his battle spirit even more intense and his murderousness even heavier.

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    The five Bone Eating shamans¡¯ first response after sending the Asura Commander flying was not to chase after him, but fighting over the minced meat on the ground. They directly shoved it into their mouths the moment they got a hold of it. Their mouths immediately widened to an unbelievable degree as they swallowed the remains without even chewing.

    If it were not for the fact that a powerful foe was right before them and they were in a predicament, they basically would have turned against one another for the sake of the brain core and the bones.

    The slight agreement they had just achieved immediately vanished. By the time the Asura Commander rushed back over, the five of them were still guarded against one another.

    The Asura Commander¡¯s eyes locked onto the Bone Eating shaman priest at the very back. His battle instincts told him to kill that person first, but the four others would definitely try to stop him. Their bodies were weaker than his and their skill in battle was nowhere close to his, but combined attacks from them would still be troublesome.

    Just who is the master of this Asura Field? Whatever, I¡¯ll just kill them all!

    The remaining shaman priest waved his staff and stirred up an invisible power, but it was not to fight the Asura Commander. Instead, he turned around and fled, whistling off without the slightest concern in the world. He actually moved very quickly on top of that.

    Because he had been casting shaman arts in the distance, he did not rush over earlier and failed to get his hands on any of the remains, which filled him with resentment. His body was the weakest out of all of them, so he could not let the Asura Commander approach him, just in case he followed the footsteps of the old man and was divided up as minced meat.

    He might have fled, but who out of the remaining four would still want to shoulder this responsibility? They had to digest their new powers too, so they all turned around and fled in different directions.

    What the hell is going on!?

    Li Qingshan leaned against his hand. Originally, he was even worried whether the situation would become imbalanced if the six of them directly ganged up on the one, but he could not help but admit he was wrong now. This was clearly one ganging up against six!

    Hidden in the space, Yin Qing was taken aback too. Originally, she planned on waiting until they weakened one another before finding an opportunity to assassinate them, but she never thought these second heavenly tribulation Bone Eating shamans would just scatter and flee from a single clash.

    The Asura Commander ended up fighting no one, which left him furious. He spat on the ground viciously before choosing to go after the one that fled the slowest.

    But clearly, speed was not his forte. Even the slowest Bone Eating shaman was slightly faster than him. He had to carry a ferocious and heavy spiky club too, which clearly offered him no advantage when it came to running. It really would be difficult if he wanted to catch one of them within this space of several hundred kilometers.

    Plans just could not keep pace with unexpected developments after all!

 Chapter 836

    Yin Qing was hiding in space, considering whether she should strike or not. Her target was obviously the shaman priest that fled first. Someone with a weak body like him was the best prey for an assassin. In the past, assassinating someone like him basically posed no difficulty at all. Even now, she was quite confident in succeeding.

    She silently lurked in space, like a panther laying in the bush, waiting for an opportunity to appear.

    The Bone Eating shaman priest was completely unaware, flying to the boundary of the Asura Field in a single breath before stopping. He tried to break out. The other Bone Eating shamans did the same, either barraging it with shaman arts or directly using their fists.

    Li Qingshan stopped them by suppressing the Asura Field firmly.

    Unable to break through the spatial barrier, the shaman priest could not help but panic. He shut his eyes and chanted away, unleashing all of the power within him, except a great spatial gate opened up behind him.

    Yin Qing narrowed her eyes and gripped her circular blade firmly, striking out instinctively.

    At the same time, an invisible power enveloped her, and the surroundings changed. She had been moved out of the Asura Field, appearing in the Eight Point hall.

    Yin Qing heaved a sigh in a very depressed manner. ¡°What do you require, my king?¡±

    Li Qingshan sat on the ground, holding the Asura Field in one hand while stroking his chin with the other, currently in thought. Xiao An leaned beside him, and her seaweed-like hair flowed freely.

    Even Yin Qing could not help but sneak a few additional glances at her, comparing herself to her inside and experiencing a hint of jealousy before laughing at herself. She lamented inside that she really had spent too much time here. The battles in the Asura realm never cared about appearances, only depending on strength and skill, except she did stand out far too much as well. Her bearing was like those from the Heaven realm, yet also somewhat different. She happened to be startlingly powerful too, which made her wonder just where he had found her.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything for now. I¡¯ve gone to such great lengths to capture them unscathed. It¡¯s far too great of a waste if they die so quickly.¡±

    Li Qingshan said without even raising his head, paying attention to the Asura Field. Sure enough, the Asura Commander with the spiky club could not catch the Bone Eating shaman, so he cursed aloud and sat down on a small hill while leaning against his club.

    ¡°Who¡¯s the master of this Asura Field? Get your ass out here and eat my club!¡±

    He obviously received no reply, so he just placed his hands on his hips and cursed away at the sky deafeningly. However, he had clearly fought for too long in the Asura realm. His vocabulary was not particularly rich, cursing away with the same few swear words.

    ¡°Should I promise the Bone Eating shamans that as long as they kill this Asura Commander, I¡¯ll spare them so that I can rouse their battle spirit?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them,¡± Xiao An said suddenly.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°The Asura Field has become stronger, while these Bone Eating shamans have a very weak mentality and cultivation. The influence will grow heavier and heavier, and they¡¯ll end up fighting anyway. If you try to tempt them or coerce them, it¡¯s not a nice sight. You¡¯re better off just going with the flow,¡± said Xiao An.

    The Asura Field that spanned several hundred kilometers across was not exactly big or small. Speed might have been the Asura Commander¡¯s weakness, but as long as he remained in the centre, he could reach the boundary in just a while no matter which direction he headed off in. He posed a constant threat to the Bone Eating shamans.

    This game of cat and mouse did not last for too long. If the Bone Eating shamans wanted to survive, then they had to band together and fend him off. By the time the influence of the Asura Field grew so deep that they could not even maintain basic rationality, it would be too late.

    Sure enough, she¡¯s the one behind the plans, Yin Qing thought. Then she asked, ¡°This will definitely take quite the time. I can¡¯t remain outside forever.¡±

    If she were in the Asura Field, the Daemon Commander with the spiky club would definitely treat her as an enemy and attack her as well. She would not necessarily be any danger, but it would be very troublesome, and it would affect the battle.

    Xiao An said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what you need to do. You need to stay inside, but not to assassinate during the chaos, but to maintain a balance so that they end up clashing more. It might feel a little repressive, but you can say it tempers your battle spirit.¡±

    Sure enough, she really had taken it all into mind! Yin Qing sighed. She really was not as pure as she seemed on the surface. She gazed into her clear, deep eyes, and they seemed to be empty. They did not reflect anything either, which made her shiver inside. She could not help but recall the stroke she had dealt to assassinate the Myriad Poison Ancestor above Savage mountain back then.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good idea, but Yin Qing is still recuperating, so forget about it!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    ¡°No, this is also for my recovery. I should be helping out. Being under some pressure isn¡¯t a bad thing. It¡¯s about time I experience the atmosphere of the battlefield again, so please send me back inside, my king!¡± Yin Qing thought of something and said, ¡°Though, I do have one request. Please agree to it, my king.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Even if I face life-threatening danger, you mustn¡¯t interfere and help me. If there¡¯s no good reason, you shouldn¡¯t move me around either. Only that can be regarded as a battlefield!¡± Yin Qing said.

    ¡°Alright, you have my word.¡±

    The Asura Commander sensed Yin Qing soon after she entered the Asura Field. She could not remain hidden in space the entire time after all. That took too great of a toll on her, and coupled with her injuries, it was even more impossible. However, she was extremely fast, and she could teleport around, so if she just fled, even the Asura Commander was powerless against her. It angered him into another spat of curses, but he did not drop his guard at all. As an asura, he understood the danger posed by a fellow clansman the best, not to mention that she was an assassin on top of that.

    The battle continued under the blood-red swirl. The slaughter lasted for half a day, and the ground was already soaked in blood. Blood trickled as streams, flowing towards pools and puddles of blood.

    Suddenly, a powerful aura emerged from the depths of the swirl, immediately drawing over everyone¡¯s attention.

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy. ¡°Another one! I wonder what weapon it¡¯ll be this time!¡± By the time he saw the weapon in the Asura Commander¡¯s hand, his mouth dropped slightly and uncontrollably. He was dumbstruck.

    A month later, the chaotic battle in the Asura Field finally came to an end. With a hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans as the sacrifice, the Asura Field became even stronger. Xiao An also received ample resources for cultivation. At the same time, not only did Yin Qing¡¯s strength recover, but it even reached new heights.

    It was a fantastic conclusion, yet Li Qingshan moped around. He held an asura armament in each hand, a spiky club in his left and another spiky club in his right. They differed drastically in style, one black and heavy, primitive and savage, while the other was shining, exquisite and up to standard, except they were clearly the same type of weapon, spiky clubs!

    ¡°What the fuck! Only two Asura Commanders came, and they both used such an unconventional weapon! It¡¯s not like you¡¯re brothers!¡± Li Qingshan threw the two spiky clubs to the ground, which made the ground rumble and produce two pits.

    This was not just due to Li Qingshan¡¯s divine strength. The two spiky clubs were extremely heavy, each weighing over five thousand kilograms.

    Xiao An comforted him. ¡°Spiky clubs are very nice too, and you even have two!¡±

    Li Qingshan said furiously, ¡°What¡¯s so nice about them!? Only shitty extras in the bandit strongholds use spiky clubs! And two!? That¡¯s as tacky as you can get!¡±

    Xiao An tilted her head. Even with her intelligence, she had no idea what kind of exotic beast a ¡°shitty extra¡± was, but it did not sound particularly impressive!

    Yin Qing smiled resplendently, earning her a glare from Li Qingshan. She cleared her throat. ¡°My king, I actually think they suit you better than swords. With the insight I¡¯ve developed in the Asura realm, you should have never taken the path of the sword in the first place!¡±

    ¡°Then what am I supposed to take, the path of the spiky club?!¡± Li Qingshan waved the spiky clubs around in his hands angrily.

    ¡°Pft! Cough, cough, I haven¡¯t heard of that before!¡± Yin Qing held back her laughter and just allowed him to swing the two vicious spiky clubs around in front of her, kicking up a fierce wind. Li Qingshan was extremely forceful, which earned nods from Xiao An. ¡°That does sound reasonable. Qingshan, don¡¯t they feel quite convenient in your hands?¡±

    Li Qingshan stiffened and suddenly stowed the spiky clubs away. He could not help but think about what Yin Qing had said. A major reason why he had practised the path of the sword was because of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy. Xiao An had comprehended a wondrous sword style before teaching it to him. It was much more powerful than any other weapon.

    He had made it to his current position just like that, so the habit became second nature, and he never considered changing his weapon. However, after the Three Absolutes Calligraphy had been completely repaired, he instead began considering something different.

    The path of the sword within the Three Absolutes Calligraphy was indeed wondrous and profound, forming a style of its own. However, the more that was the case, the more he felt disharmony. It was similar to the feeling of conflicting against his nature when he practised the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. He just felt like something was missing, struggling to comprehend its essence.

    If Li Qingshan¡¯s aptitude for comprehension was poor, then was a supreme cultivation method like the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine supposed to be easy?

    Just what kind of person was the Five Absolutes Immortal? He was a Reincarnated Celestial, unrivalled in terms of zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. He could merge the path of the sword into painting and calligraphy, a peerless talent and romantic. On the other hand, just what kind of person was Li Qingshan? He had started off in a rural mountain hamlet, having killed his way here. His head was filled with tasteless thoughts of fighting powerful opponents, drinking fine alcohol, and sleeping with beautiful women. He definitely was lustful, but he could forget about being a romantic.

    In simpler words, their very natures were polar opposites. That was why he could not see a sword style from the Cursive Sword Calligraphy back then, and he could not comprehend a path of the sword from the Three Absolutes Calligraphy right now. Perhaps he really had chosen the wrong weapon.

    He had no choice in practising the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, but his weapon did not have to be the sword. As a result, he asked Yin Qing, ¡°What weapon do you think I should use?¡±

    Yin Qing said, ¡°That¡¯s difficult for me to say. Anyway, you have to comprehend it yourself. I also tried numerous weapons before deciding on this circular blade. Experimenting around before you make your choice actually brings great benefits too.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll try the spiky club for now!¡± Li Qingshan said in thought before lifting up the spiky club again. He found it much more pleasing to the eye this time.

    When the second ¡°Spiky Club¡± descended in the Asura Field, the first opponent he matched up against was the first ¡°Spiky Club¡±. The two Asura Commanders wielded the same weapons and exchanged numerous clanging strikes. They fought many more times afterwards too.

    Li Qingshan thought a little and could still clearly recall every detail in every single battle. There were various tricks and wonders to the ¡°path of the spiky club¡± too, except it was much simpler and more straightforward than the ¡°path of the sword¡±. With the basics from the path of the sword, it was extremely easy for him to pick it up.

    In short, all he had to do was smash it at the enemy. There was no need for any fancy tricks.

    However, compared to the spiky club, Li Qingshan actually missed another weapon more. That was the weapon that made him realise his own power the first time in his life. It had even helped him kill his first person.

    The blade!

 Chapter 837

    ¡°Do you feel a little better now, my king?¡± Yin Qing smiled.

    ¡°My mood is not the problem. My luck is just a little too ¡®great¡¯!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Yin Qing. Her lucid eyes hid a smile, which diluted the desolate murderousness on her. It made her seem more and more feminine.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t actually a coincidence. Regular Asura Commanders have a steel-forged battle spirit. They would never want to leave the Asura realm. Only those who wield heavy weapons can¡¯t respond in time and are sucked into Asura Fields. Even if they don¡¯t use spiky clubs, it¡¯ll be the likes of large maces. Once the Asura Field becomes even stronger, other weapons will appear, but you can forget about assassins like me.¡±

    Yin Qing stood with a hand on her hip, as if she was not just showing off her identity as an assassin, but her proud figure as well. She was not shy at all.

    ¡°I see, so my luck was technically alright¡­¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He sensed Xiao An¡¯s gaze from the side and cleared his throat, hiding his emotions. ¡°That¡¯s strength. The Bone Eating Shaman King should have received the news already. Why is he still not here to avenge his clansmen? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s in secluded cultivation?¡±

    This war had basically cleaned up all the Bone Eating shamans in the Mist province. A hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans had died, which was absolutely impossible to keep a secret. He had ordered the ten cave masters to operate secretly just to buy time to refine the Asura Field, but a month had already passed now, so the news should have spread long ago.

    The ten cave masters basically visited every corner of the Mist province, moving between hundreds of Bone Eating shamans. It was impossible for them to hide their tracks perfectly. As long as the Bone Eating Shaman King looked into the matter slightly, he could trace it back to Savage mountain with great ease.

    Li Qingshan was already prepared for the Bone Eating Shaman King to attack Savage mountain. He would use the formations to wear down his strength before striking suddenly and sucking him into the Asura Field. Afterwards, he would overwhelm him with the Myriad Poison Ancestor, Xiao An, and Yin Qing, which would then allow him to take Bone Eating city.

    And after all that, the Asura Field would definitely become even stronger, which was beneficial to his cultivation of the Tiger Demon Transformation. It was also possible for him to break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon through the battle. The plan was not flawless, but it was a robust progression of events. However, even until now, there was absolutely no response at all, which filled him with doubt.

    Xiao An said, ¡°That¡¯s fine. If he won¡¯t come, we¡¯ll lure him over.¡±

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    ¡­¡­

    To the east of the Mist province was a magnificent city. The uneven stone structures were covered with ivy, which varied in colour with the seasons. It was not as detailed and stylish as the prefectural city of Clear River, but it had its own style.

    The spiritual qi in the city was so dense that it even surpassed Savage mountain. It was actually a rare, blessed land of cultivation. On a tall hill in the centre of the city sat a grand hall, which was the centre of this blessed land. It even outclassed the Savage King hall on Savage mountain. The countless trees around the city had been cut down, and the miasma had been dispersed as well, converted into rolling fields that brimmed with life.

    When the sun set in the west, the long sound of a horn rang out from the hall, and the farmers all returned to the city in groups. The setting sun turned the city and fields into a brilliant red, which made the hall seem even more majestic and noble. All was peaceful.

    As a farmer approached the city gates, he glanced at the battlement and saw three ancient words carved into it deeply, Bone Eating City.

    The city had a population of a million, but only a hundredth of them were Bone Eating shamans. The rest were mortals, or in other words, ¡°food people¡±.

    Men were impelled to farm day in, day out. Because of the dense spiritual qi in the blessed land and the abundance of food, every single one of them stood strong and tall. Frail or disabled infants were reduced to food, but only Bone Eating shamans of higher status could enjoy them. Regular Bone Eating shamans were forced to wait until the men weakened with age and could not work anymore before finally feasting.

    As for the women, they did not have to tend to the land. They only had a single job, which was to give birth. They birthed child after child, until they could not give birth anymore, and they too would be reduced to food.

    They thrived and multiplied generation after generation just like this. A small number of lucky people would be nurtured into Bone Eating shamans, while the majority were so-called ¡°food people¡±, who would give birth to even more Bone Eating shamans or food people.

    This was the holy land of Bone Eating shamans. They did not have to hunt arduously and fight against other shamans to obtain sufficient food. However, even with a population of a million, sustaining the Bone Eating shamans that amounted to just a hundredth was already the limit. The population of the food people was restricted by the size of the land too. They could not expand any further.

    As a result, a group of Bone Eating shamans would be expelled every few years, turning into the various Bone Eating tribes scattered across the entire Mist province. Among these tribes, anyone who reached a certain level of cultivation or exhibited extraordinary talent would have the opportunity to return to Bone Eating city. There had always been a never-ending flow of pilgrims too.

    But recently, the pilgrims had suddenly vanished, which led to many discussions in the city. The Bone Eating Shaman King sent people to investigate, but he had yet to find anything.

    ¡°Who is it exactly? Who¡¯s bold enough to massacre my clansmen?¡±

    A furious voice rang out in the hall, breaking the peace of dusk and echoing across the entire city. Whether they were Bone Eating shamans or mortals, they all prostrated in the direction of the hall, too afraid to make any noise. The bustling city suddenly fell silent.

    At the very top of the hall was a stone wall that stood three hundred meters tall, depicting a life-like totem of Qiongqi that gazed over the entire city.

    A middle-aged man stood on a tall platform in front of the totem, waving around the black sceptre in his hand. His face was twisted in anger. He wore long, black robes with dark-red hems, which made him seem like a dignified ruler.

    However, the single horn on his forehead, the wings on his back, and the terrifying aura that filled the surroundings explained who he was. He was the Bone Eating Shaman King.

    ¡°Shaman King, according to the results of the divination, the enemy is in the south.¡±

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    The great shaman priest stood below the platform and reported with her sharp, raspy voice. She was shaped like an old woman, where her back was as hunched over as it could be. She was no taller than a ten-year-old. She wore a black feather crown on her head and dressed in colourful, shabby shaman robes.

    ¡°The south? Is it the Myriad Poison cult?¡± The dark-red wings on the Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s black flapped furiously.

    ¡°No, Shaman King. It¡¯s not the Myriad Poison cult. The cave masters of Savage mountain were behind it,¡± said the great shaman priest.

    ¡°Savage mountain? Why would they do this?¡±

    The Bone Eating Shaman King had to furrow his brows before he remembered what kind of place that was. Savage mountain was merely a second-rate organisation in the Mist province, an assembly of misfits. If they had just destroyed a few Bone Eating tribes, then that would be nothing. He did not actually care too much about the fate of the Bone Eating tribes outside. However, their genocidal actions conveyed something different altogether. They had clearly developed a deep grievance with him. Where did they find the courage to?

    If they were only regular, weaker tribes, then so be it, but the larger tribes all had second heavenly layer Bone Eating chieftains or shaman priests. They possessed a geographic advantage too, so how had they been captured so easily?

    ¡°Savage mountain is no longer the Savage mountain of the past. A White Hawk commander by the name of Li Qingshan has occupied it. He¡¯s used the Blood Oath Scroll to place ten demonic cultivators under his control, which are the ten cave masters, and he calls himself the King of Savages. He¡¯s clashed with the Myriad Poison cult,¡± said the great shaman priest.

    ¡°The King of Savages! He¡¯s undergone the third heavenly tribulation, so why is he a White Hawk commander?¡±

    Bone Eating city was several tens of thousand kilometers away from the south. The Bone Eating Shaman King had been in secluded cultivation the entire time too, so he knew very little about Li Qingshan.

    ¡°No, he only has a cultivation at the second heavenly layer, but he¡¯s very powerful. Even the Myriad Poison cult has suffered heavily at his hand, basically losing all their disciples. Even the Myriad Poison Ancestor is powerless against him. As for why he¡¯s doing this, no one knows.¡± A hint of worry appeared in the great shaman priest¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Savage mountain? Very well! Li Qingshan? Very well! I will make them pay. I will make them serve as food people for the rest of their lives in the city. I¡¯ll cut off a piece of his flesh every single day to eat. It¡¯ll definitely make my cultivation progress!¡±

    The Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s mouth was filled with sharp teeth. The wings unfolded quickly, and fierce wind spilled out into the surroundings. He was about to fly off and capture Li Qingshan and the others so that he had something to go with his alcohol.

    This was not being rash. Instead, it came from the Shaman King¡¯s confidence. As long as he knew the enemy¡¯s position, those geniuses and arcane treasures would all be useless if there was not an equal opponent. However, unbeknownst to him, the Myriad Poison Ancestor had also attacked Savage mountain with the exact same kind of confidence.

    ¡°Shaman King, please hold on. Li Qingshan comes from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga of the Green province. His master is a Monk King. There¡¯s also a woman by his side who is also a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga! Are they bold enough to come to the Mist province? Even the Myriad Poison Ancestor is not afraid of them, so am I supposed to be afraid?¡±

    The three great sects of the Green province possessed imposing strength, which the Bone Eating Shaman King had heard about too. The four guardian kings of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were renowned throughout the world, but there was no need for him to worry at all with the hostility between the two provinces.

    That was what the Myriad Poison Ancestor had thought too.

    The great shaman priest was too afraid to say that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had suffered so much, yet he had still failed to take Savage mountain. ¡°Before you go, we should offer sacrifices to great god Qiongqi and carry out a divination.¡±

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    Her interruption made the Bone Eating Shaman King calm down very much. He felt like she was right. This matter came off as fishy from many perspectives. Let alone the others, just grasping the location of every single Bone Eating tribe was unbelievable.

    Bone Eating tribes varied in size. They were not like regular tribes that prospered across the generations in one location. Instead, they regularly moved about in search of even more ¡°food¡±.

    A White Hawk commander from the Green province had actually managed to grasp the location of every single Bone Eating tribe so accurately before launching an attack with lightning speed. That simply surpassed what he should have been capable of.

    There was a very big question to this too. Just what did he do this for? Just what benefits, or in other words, reasons, gave him the courage to be so fearless and reckless?

    If it was for refining an artifact, then finding a hundred thousand mortals was as easy as it could get. Bone Eating shamans focused on tempering the body. Apart from the handful that had undergone the heavenly tribulation, the souls of regular Bone Eating shamans were not any stronger than mortals.

    Was there some kind of deeper scheme hidden within? The general situation across the entire world was becoming more and more turbulent now. At a time like this, two genius disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga refused to cultivate in peace in the Green province and instead chose to come to the south despite all the risk. Just what was the reason behind that?

    After calming down and contemplating it, it really was mystifying. He could not afford to be careless.

    ¡°Alright, just as you said! I¡¯ll definitely be getting this revenge!¡± the Bone Eating Shaman King said. He had not been acting on impulse. Instead, a king had a king¡¯s dignity.

    ¡°Yes, Shaman King. I¡¯ll go prepare right now!¡±

 Chapter 838

    The great shaman priest hurried off to prepare for the offering ritual.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King sank into his thoughts again. He gazed at the totemic mural and bowed slowly, making a praying gesture. May great god Qiongqi bless and protect my Bone Eating tribe as we commit violence and evil, to be punished for our actions. There will be a day when the demons descend upon this world once more, free to do as they please and commit all atrocities possible!

    The eyes of the Qiongqi totem seemed to move, revealing a vicious smile filled with ill intent.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan sat on the dark-red ground. This was right under the blood-red spiral, where the hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans had fought each other to the death. Xiao An had already incinerated all the remains.

    However, the wind whistled like surging murderousness. The sounds of clashing weapons and battle cries lingered in his ear. Regular cultivators would definitely find this place to be unsettling, but Li Qingshan was at great ease. The tiger demon roared in his heart, becoming even more vicious than before.

    A while later, he opened his eyes and exhaled gently. He had completed yet another stage of cultivation.

    ¡°Xiao An, why do I feel like the brain cores of Bone Eating shamans resemble the demon hearts of demonfolk so much? Yet it¡¯s also slightly different!¡±

    Li Qingshan held a colourless, half-transparent crystal and raised it into the air. It reflected the blood-red swirl in the sky.

    ¡°They¡¯re the same, but they¡¯re also not.¡±

    Xiao An was busying about, placing crystal skulls in Li Qingshan¡¯s surroundings. She seemed to be assembling a formation.

    ¡°What do you mean by they¡¯re the same, but they¡¯re also not?¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his limbs and laid down, gazing at the blood-red swirl in the sky. The ground was moist and warm. The smell of earth and blood mixed together to form a strange scent, which was refreshing when he took a deep breath of it.

    ¡°Demonfolk have tried to invade the nine provinces numerous times in the past. Although they were all stamped out in the end, their influence runs extremely deep. Many cultivation methods and techniques of the cultivation community originate from the demonic methods and arts of demonfolk. They¡¯ve just been renamed and relabeled. In particular, in places of wilderness, the central shaman arts of certain shaman tribes are downright cultivation methods of demonfolk. Speaking of which, your Demon Suppression Statuary was also a cultivation method created by a demonfolk!¡±

    Xiao An smiled and arrived beside him, directly sitting down on his belly. She leaned on one hand and explained slowly.

    ¡°Great Xia is so wary about demonfolk, and the actions of Bone Eating shamans are basically no different from demonfolk¡¯s, so why have they allowed them to thrive until now?¡± Li Qingshan asked in confusion.

    ¡°That¡¯s why they¡¯re still different in a certain respect. The demon hearts of demonfolk were planted since birth, while the brain cores of Bone Eating shamans are condensed through nurture. No matter how sinful the shamans are, they still know they¡¯re committing sins. They just count as demonic cultivators.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. The demonic cultivators of this world were not just for say. In order to refine a treasure, the White Lotus Mother had massacred a city of two hundred thousand, and that was only an example. Compared to that, there was just an additional element of ¡°eating¡± for Bone Eating shamans, and they were eating for the sake of survival.

    It was impossible for Great Xia to kill all the demonic cultivators in the world. Once they really were stupid enough to try something like that, destruction would be close. When humans turned against one another, the ones celebrating would be daemons, and once the daemons gained the upper hand, they would definitely be much more vicious when it came to eating people.

    Xiao An continued, ¡°Demonfolk believe in a perversion of good and evil. They have absolutely no idea that they¡¯re doing evil. Their very existence is to blaspheme gods and buddhas, and once they invade this world successfully, they¡¯ll twist the laws of this world, turning all living creatures into demons.¡±

    ¡°In other words, my Demon Suppression Statuary might be effective against the Bone Eating Shaman King? I should have tested it out earlier,¡± Li Qingshan said with some pity.

    When he cleaned up the Bone Eating tribes, he had directly used his innate abilities to crush them. He never considered trying out the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ¡°It will be effective, but you¡¯re still a major realm of cultivation away, so the demonic might triumph, unfortunately,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Fair enough. The Myriad Poison Ancestor is a classic example of a great demonic cultivator. His demonic nature is as powerful as it can get, but it didn¡¯t feel particularly effective against him back then. Looks like it still boils down to who has the higher realm of cultivation and the stronger fist.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already extremely impressive that the Demon Suppression Statuary can suppress demonic cultivators and demonfolk of the same realm of cultivation. I¡¯ve researched the demonfolk who created the Demon Suppression Statuary back then in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Much of the information was vague and unclear, with many details deleted and redacted, but I¡¯ve deduced that if he hadn¡¯t suddenly changed sides during the previous demon incursion and annihilated the demons with the Demon Suppression Statuary, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would have been destroyed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that powerful?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. He smiled. ¡°In other words, you can call him a demon traitor.¡±

    Xiao An took the brain core from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and stood up. ¡°The Aura Consuming Formation of Nine Breaths is almost complete. Get ready to begin!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±

    Li Qingshan sat up, and a thought flashed through his head. He wondered how the Myriad Poison Ancestor was doing in Bone Eating city.

    ¡­¡­

    The sun set in the west, the curtain of night rose up, and the stars filled the sky.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King gazed into the distant horizon and suddenly saw a green comet whistle over with a long tail. He could not help but change in expression, tightening his grip over his black sceptre.

    ¡°Shaman King, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the green light arrived above Bone Eating city and turned into the Myriad Poison Ancestor, who gazed down.

    ¡°Fellow Myriad Poison, you¡¯ve changed quite a bit. Oh? Perhaps I should call you Myriad Poison Ghost King from now onwards.¡±

    The Mist province only had so many great cultivators, so over a lengthy period of time, they had basically all met one another before. However, they usually focused on their own cultivation and rarely made contact with one another. The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sudden visit had surprised the Bone Eating Shaman King slightly, and he became a little more surprised after noticing that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had already become a ghost cultivator.

    Great cultivators rarely ever abandoned their bodies without good reason. In terms of age, he had not reached the end of his lifespan yet, so why did he do this? Was it because he regularly refined and used poison that it shortened his lifespan? As for the possibility that the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s body had been destroyed by someone, it had only flashed through his head before being dismissed.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s just a term of reference. You can call me whatever you want. However, even though I¡¯ve become a ghost cultivator, I¡¯m no weaker than anyone!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor unleashed his aura. For a moment, chilly winds whistled through the surroundings and poisonous flames rose up, dyeing the sky a brutal green.

    When demonic cultivators conversed, demonstrating their strength was the most important step. Only when they were powerful enough could they talk as equals.

    Old man Myriad Poison is still so powerful despite becoming a ghost cultivator. Looks like he¡¯s obtained a supreme ghost cultivation method, which is why he made this decision. He¡¯s not to be trifled with.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King thought and raised a hand. ¡°No one ever visits without a reason, so please do state your intentions, fellow.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been able to visit, but I didn¡¯t think your Bone Eating city would be so grand!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s robes drifted in the wind as he landed beside the Bone Eating Shaman King. He glanced deeply at the Qiongqi totem first before scanning past the entire city.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King originally wanted to praise the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s Myriad Poison cult, but he recalled what the great shaman priest had said. It seemed like Li Qingshan had massacred many of the cult¡¯s disciples, so he was afraid he would only anger the Myriad Poison Ancestor if he said that. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was renowned for his narrow-mindedness and insidious nature, so the Bone Eating Shaman King said something else.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, fellow. We have no choice in this either. If it weren¡¯t for the sake of food, who would ever want to rear so many humans? I¡¯m more envious about the fact that you can cultivate by absorbing the spiritual qi of the world, able to wander the world freely with nothing tying you down.¡±

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    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face sank, which made the Bone Eating Shaman King think, Don¡¯t tell me he thinks I¡¯m mocking all his dead disciples, and I¡¯ve still ended up offending him? What a hard person to please. Whatever, am I supposed to be afraid of you?

    He directly asked, ¡°Fellow, may I ask why you¡¯ve travelled all the way here?¡±

    ¡°I have a piece of bad news for you.¡±

    ps£º ×òÌìÉÔÎ¢ÕûÀíÁËÒ»ÏÂË¼Â·£¬½ñÌì¼ÌÐøÁ½ÕÂ£¬ÔÂÆ±ÅÅÃûÓÖµôÁË£¬¼ÌÐøÇóÔÂÆ±°¡£¡

 Chapter 839

    ¡°Oh? What would this bad news be?¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King remained calm and looked down.

    ¡°Fellow, have you heard of the name Li Qingshan before?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor stood with his arms behind his back. He did not look at the Bone Eating Shaman King. Instead, he overlooked the city and the fields outside.

    The sun had already set by now. The moon rose up into the air, shining on the two of them and casting two long shadows.

    ¡°So what if I have heard of him? So what if I haven¡¯t heard of him?¡± Cold light flashed through the Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s eyes. His fury from earlier remained.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor saw through everything with a single glance. ¡°Seems like you already know, fellow, then that saves me from all the talking. I only have a single question for you. Do you want revenge or not?¡±

    ¡°So what if I do? So what if I don¡¯t?¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s anger vanished in a flash, recovering his unfathomable composure as a king.

    ¡°If you do, then I¡¯m willing to lend you a hand. If you don¡¯t, then I¡¯ll save the talking and leave right now,¡± said the Myriad Poison Ancestor. To someone like the Bone Eating Shaman King, it was absolutely useless to say anything unnecessary. If he spoke too much, it would instead make him suspicious.

    ¡°What a great plan, fellow Myriad Poison. Are you trying to pull me into your attempt for revenge?¡±

    ¡°Since you already know, then let¡¯s lay it out in the open. I will never forgive Li Qingshan. I will definitely make him suffer all the pain there is in the world, poisoned to death by a myriad of poison.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face sank. His sunken voice seethed with hatred.

    ¡°He¡¯s a mere Golden Core cultivator, yet you actually can¡¯t deal with him?¡± the Bone Eating Shaman King asked in doubt.

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    ¡°Savage mountain is a rare, blessed land in the south. The formations are extremely powerful, and he hides in there all year round¡­ Whatever. If you don¡¯t want to partake in this, I¡¯m going to return to the Myriad Poison cult to cultivate. I¡¯ll get my revenge sooner or later one day, but I¡¯m just afraid that he might silently run back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in the Green province. By then, neither you nor I will be able to do anything to him. He might even undergo the third heavenly tribulation and come back to make trouble for us!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor rambled until he felt like he could not continue any longer out of his own pride, so he went off in a huff.

    ¡°Please hold on, fellow!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King stopped the Myriad Poison Ancestor and said sincerely, ¡°I¡¯m also determined to kill that bald ass. If we work together, let¡¯s see how he continues to run amok!¡±

    Bald ass? The Myriad Poison Ancestor was momentarily taken aback before understanding what was going on. The Bone Eating Shaman King thought Li Qingshan was a monk because he was a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga! There was no need for him to straighten out this misunderstanding. Instead, he rejoiced inside, I¡¯ve finally got you, you Bone Eating barbarian! He let out a long sigh. ¡°That¡¯s what I think too! However, I should make some things clear before all of this. Everything on Li Qingshan belongs to me!¡±

    ¡°How come?¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King immediately let go of the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s sleeve and thought, As genius disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, who knows what good stuff Li Qingshan and Xiao An possess to be able to stir up a mess in the Mist province. Just the formations that the Myriad Poison Ancestor is powerless against are worth a sizable sum.

    ¡°Because of the losses my Myriad Poison cult has suffered!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said as if it was his right.

    ¡°Your losses might be big, but have my clansmen just died for nothing? A hundred thousand of them, an entire one hundred thousand! All dead!¡± the Bone Eating Shaman King said ¡°furiously¡±.

    ¡°They¡¯re just some unimportant clansmen. Your Bone Eating city is untouched.¡±

    ¡°You can take the blessed land of cultivation that Savage mountain is, as well as twenty percent of the other spoils, but the rest belongs to me.¡±

    ¡°Since we¡¯re in the same boat, that is not exactly impossible. I¡¯ll be a little more generous to the young¡¯uns then.¡±

    The Bone Eating Shaman King was astounded. He had thought they would continue to go back and forth for a few good exchanges. He never expected the Myriad Poison Ancestor to just agree like this. Was this all merely a ruse?

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor changed the subject. ¡°But with the twenty percent, I¡¯m fine with nothing else. I just want the two of them. You can keep the Blood Oath Scroll!¡±

    ¡°What a great appetite you have, fellow! Aren¡¯t you afraid of biting off more than you can chew? You might as well just turn it around and say I¡¯m getting the ¡®twenty percent¡¯ share instead.¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King sneered, but he stopped worrying. Now this was the kind of shamelessness and greediness that resembled the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    ¡°Alright, then that¡¯ll be that,¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said suddenly, and a smile flashed through his eyes.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s heart sank, What a crafty old man. He¡¯s intentionally used that to pull me into this matter. He wants to divert all the trouble to me.

    But with closer thought, obtaining a Blood Oath Scroll and ten cave masters as servants was not exactly the bad end of the deal. As for that bald ass Li Qingshan, he had been planning to bring him back to Bone Eating city and torturing him slowly anyway, so it made no difference if he went to the Myriad Poison Ancestor. As a result, he agreed to the deal. However, he forgot to ask why the Myriad Poison Ancestor had not been camping out around Savage mountain, where Li Qingshan and the others were still able to capture Bone Eating shamans en masse.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had been subdued by the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye, but his craftiness remained. If it were not for the fact that he had been too confident in his own strength and had ignored all the warnings, why would he have ended up like this in the first place? As for the Bone Eating Shaman King, even if he wracked his brain, he would never think that an ability that could turn a great cultivator into a servant existed in the world.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said.

    ¡°The great shaman priest is currently preparing a ritual. There¡¯s no reason why we shouldn¡¯t wait around and leave after the divination,¡± said the Bone Eating Shaman King.

    ¡°The two of us are working together, so why would we still need divination? You¡¯ve been cooped up in this city for too long, fellow. Have you even lost the slightest bit of courage?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor mocked him intentionally.

    ¡°My courage doesn¡¯t depend on waiting a short moment. That¡¯s better than waiting a few years before achieving revenge!¡±

    Unlike the fury he had demonstrated when they haggled over the share of spoils, the Bone Eating Shaman King had truly become furious this time. Taking a second heavenly tribulation cultivator so seriously was indeed unbefitting of his identity, so he could not help but mock the Myriad Poison Ancestor instead. It has been so long, yet aren¡¯t you no different, unable to do anything to Li Qingshan?

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. I¡¯ll watch your shaman dance then!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor said furiously. Originally, he wanted to agitate the Bone Eating Shaman King, but upon considering he had already agreed to this, he found no reason to rush, which could only make him suspicious. If divination actually worked, why would he have suffered so much back then?

    As they spoke, a nine-layered platform had already been constructed on the square in front of the hall. Flames burned in the surroundings, together with offerings of beef, lamb, and pork.

    The great shaman priest brought a group of people of various ages and genders onto the platform. A few regular shaman priests gathered beneath the platform with a large group of Bone Eating shamans, prostrating on the ground and chanting and praying.

    ¡°Just so few people? Fellow, aren¡¯t you afraid of angering your great god Qiongqi?¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor frowned. As one of the most powerful cultivators in the world, he did not have much reverence towards gods. Gods and buddhas were once human too. Speaking of which, they were just stronger cultivators.

    If Qiongqi was here in person, then he would obviously shut up and keep everything to himself, but it was not like he could overwhelm the powers of the world and directly descend here. At most, only a wisp of his consciousness would descend through some ceremonies and rituals. There was nothing to be afraid of.

    What surprised him was the number of human sacrifices. Some larger barbarian tribes could sacrifice over a hundred people at the same time, and they would always pick able-bodied men or pretty women.

    However, the group of people on the platform ranged from young to old. As sacrifices, their ¡°quality¡± was nothing special at all. Were they devout followers? But they were trembling away with faces full of fear. They did not seem dedicated at all.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King seemed to forget about their bickering earlier. He explained with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t let their appearances fool you, fellow. We¡¯re offering up anything but ordinary. You¡¯ll know if you keep watching, fellow.¡±

    The great shaman priest suddenly produced a cry and began dancing around madly at the top of the platform. The prayers from the shaman priests and Bone Eating shamans below became louder with that.

    Only the people on the platform were still left at a loss. The great shaman priest produced another cry and suddenly began to sing at the top of her voice. She sang in an uneven manner, resembling stern abuse, yet also like a vicious curse.

    The group of people seemed to receive some kind of order. The men began to strip their clothes before throwing themselves on the women beside them. Wails and sobs rang out.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor was at a loss. There were many rituals that involved sex to amuse gods, but Qiongqi was not a god of lust, but a god of evil. What was the point of doing something like this?

    ¡°You still can¡¯t tell, fellow? They¡¯re all family connected by blood. All three generations are there. We call this ritual the Ritual of the Ten Abominations, offering up ten abominations of the living world. This is only the first half.¡±

    TL: The ten abominations are the ten most abhorrent offences in traditional Chinese law. You can read more about them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Abominations

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor immediately realised what was going on and could not help but sigh that Qiongqi truly was a god of evil. He personally believed he was heartless, sinister, and ruthless and never took the words ¡°good¡± and ¡°evil seriously, but whatever he did, he would still check whether it would benefit him or not. If doing good merited benefits, then he would do good. He did not do evil for the sake of doing evil. Deeds like that were closer to the behaviour of demonfolk.

    On the platform, the entanglement continued, but it developed into fighting as well as injuring very soon. This must have been the so-called second half!

    A while later, various tragedies unfolded in the tiny space. There were many more abominations than just ten that had occurred there.

    The great shaman priest seemed to lose her will. Her body shook violently as she cried out again and again. Her state became more and more miserable. Colour that resembled poison and pus rose up from the platform, gathering on her body and rising up into the air.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor could not see the point of this. These primitive forms of divination through possession had been abandoned by the cultivation community a long time ago. Even if so-called ¡°gods¡± from higher worlds could perceive fate to a greater degree, they were still in two different worlds, and the ¡°god¡± might not be skilled in divination in the first place. Even if it were able to, it would not necessarily give a response¡ªdisclosing the heavenly secrets came with a cost.

    Towards the end, the so-called ¡°possession¡± would often just be a farce. Some smaller tribes did not possess the ability to connect with another world at all. The shaman priest just behaved as if they were possessed, while the results of the divination were all made up.

    Only a single person remained on the platform. He had just killed his mother, the very person that had given birth to him, while his neck had been ripped open by his son, bleeding constantly. He died in the blink of an eye, completing the final tragedy of the Ritual of the Ten Abominations.

    The great shaman priest suddenly stiffened and collapsed on the platform before springing up suddenly. She gave off a terrifying aura that could not be put into words and yelled at the Bone Eating Shaman King, ¡°You mustn¡¯t!¡±

    The voice was no longer the great shaman priest¡¯s voice. It was filled with malice and evil. The yell echoed through the city, and the Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s face changed drastically. The Myriad Poison Ancestor was astounded too. It actually worked, and it gave him a direct warning!

    This was a form of possession, but it only allowed the shaman priest¡¯s mind to connect with the god¡¯s to gain inspiration. This inspiration would often be extremely vague and unclear too. Only a fool would directly replicate a god speaking.

    However, with the Bone Eating Shaman King and the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s cultivations at the third heavenly tribulation, they could obviously tell this was not a lie. The Bone Eating Shaman King asked in a hurry, ¡°Great god, why not?¡±

    However, the terrifying aura had already receded like the tide. The great shaman priest¡¯s body swayed about, like a wooden puppet with its strings cut, collapsing on the platform and reduced to meat paste. Her brain core exploded, and the invisible, violent power swept out into the surroundings. The platform immediately collapsed, which took a few Bone Eating shamans down with it, killing them on the spot.

    Being possessed by a god came with a price. It once again proved the veracity of the warning.

    ¡°Myriad Poison, how much else are you hiding from me? If you don¡¯t explain yourself today, don¡¯t even think about leaving Bone Eating city alive!¡±

    The Bone Eating Shaman King turned around and gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor. His entire face twisted and darkened. His eyes were sunken, and his sharp teeth were exposed. Great god Qiongqi had gone to such great lengths to warn him, so this matter clearly was not as simple as it seemed.

    A roar rang out from behind, bearing some of the bearing of the warning from earlier. A huge, vicious qiongqi emerged from the totem. It gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor with its bloodshot eyes filled with malice, ready to lunge over and kill him at any time.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor also felt unlucky. If the great shaman priest had only received some inspiration before issuing the warning, he could still say something to egg on the Bone Eating Shaman King. But now that the god had directly spoken, where even the great shaman priest had died on the spot, the Bone Eating Shaman King would never go to Savage mountain with him as long as he still had half a brain.

    Ignoring the threat from the Bone Eating Shaman King and the Qiongqi totem, he said emotionlessly, ¡°This battle will be a little dangerous. Otherwise, why would I want you to tag along?¡±

    ¡°You want me to serve as your scapegoat!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s black hair stood on end, piercing his clothes like thorns and covering his entire body. He no longer resembled a human anymore.

    With Qiongqi laying it out in the open, he immediately sensed the life-threatening danger involved. He understood many of the things that perplexed him too. It was no wonder the Myriad Poison Ancestor had yet to get revenge despite how great of a grievance it was. As long as he could cast away his pride and owe a few favours, finding two or three helpers would be nothing difficult at all. Why did he have to wait so long before coming to Bone Eating city to find his help? He was clearly trying to take advantage of his weaker senses over fate. The great cultivators could all sense that something was amiss!

    It made sense, speaking of which. That Li Qingshan could reach his realm of cultivation in his thirties, completely falling out with the Myriad Poison Ancestor on one side while still capturing and hunting down Bone Eating shamans en masse on the other side. Was he really out of his mind? The Myriad Poison Ancestor had suddenly become a ghost cultivator, which was probably because the losses he suffered near Savage mountain were much greater than they were rumored to be. It was impossible for that bald ass Li Qingshan to possess this power. Just what terrifying existence was standing behind him?

    It was fine and dandy when the Bone Eating Shaman King did not think about it, but now that he did, he thought very deeply into it. He felt like there was no saying what could happen if he became involved in this trouble. Upon remembering how Li Qingshan had accurately grasped the locations of several hundred Bone Eating tribes, he could not help but think of a possibility, That one of the Mist province does possess this ability. Not only do grass and trees serve as his eyes and ears, but his divination ranks among the top of the top across the entire nine provinces. He can fool my senses. However, if that one is willing to commit such atrocities without even batting an eye, has he realised my plans?

    Thinking up to there, the Bone Eating Shaman King could not help but inhale deeply. If his plans were made public, basically no one would allow him to exist any longer, whether they were human or daemon, a righteous cultivator or a demonic cultivator. No matter how mild and generous the Great Banyan Tree King who devoted himself to protecting the balance of the Mist province was, he would still do everything he could to kill him. Not to mention, the King of Southern Yue would never let a fire spiral out of control in his own backyard.

    Don¡¯t tell me the hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans are just to lure me out of Bone Eating city so that they can deal with me easily? If I really go to Savage mountain, there¡¯ll probably be a good handful of Daemon Kings waiting there. The first thing I¡¯ll see is seven or eight innate abilities hurling right into my face. I can¡¯t block that no matter how powerful I am! The King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate might even send honoured guests to cut off my path of retreat. I¡¯ll really have no way out by then. I definitely can¡¯t go.

    He felt more alarmed and terrified the more he thought about it, and he became even more furious towards the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Who knew what role he was playing in this scheme.

    ¡°Myriad Poison, you¡¯ve gone too far! I¡¯m going to eat you!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King erupted into a frenzy, and the Qiongqi totem lunged over. At the same time, the protective formation of Bone Eating city activated as well, shining with brilliant light and dyeing the night sky blood-red. Coupled with the blessed land of cultivation rich with spiritual qi, its might became even more startling. He was about to kill the Myriad Poison Ancestor then and there.

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    ¡°You were willing and so was I, so how can you say that I¡¯ve gone too far? Strength has always been everything in the cultivation community. If you¡¯re too afraid to seek revenge, I¡¯m not going to drag you along with me. If you want to keep me here against my will, hmph, I think you don¡¯t want your Bone Eating city anymore!¡± the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s green robes ruffled as he said fearlessly.

    This was why great cultivators had to drastically supplement their grasp and knowledge over fate once they had reached the third heavenly tribulation, especially among demonic cultivators. If you were screwed over because of your insufficient grasp over fate and could not outdo others, then there would only be four words for you, that served you right!

    The Bone Eating Shaman King suppressed his fury and stopped the Qiongqi totem. He knew that the Myriad Poison Ancestor was right. He did not even have to consider the results of their battle¡ªjust the aftermath would destroy the city. If he really forced him into dire straits, he would blow up his soul nascence, and the entire formation would definitely be destroyed, the Qionqi would be destroyed, while he himself would probably be injured too. That was the price that came with killing a great cultivator.

    If he had really reached that point, then probably only he would remain in the world as a lonely Bone Eating Shaman King. He would have nowhere else to hide either. It was very likely for the Bone Eating shamans to be eradicated altogether.

    As a result, he calmed down and ordered the Qionqi to return to the totemic mural. He stopped the formations as well and said to the Myriad Poison Ancestor, ¡°You can piss off!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor said nothing more, immediately turning into a streak of green light and flying away. He was extremely fearful of death too. If the Bone Eating Shaman King ignored the consequences, he really could prevent him from leaving.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King thought to himself, As long as I remain in this Bone Eating city, then anyone that attacks here will pay a hefty price, no matter who they are. If I really run out of options, I should be capable of dragging down one or two with me. Which third heavenly tribulation cultivator doesn¡¯t value their own life? I better just stick with the status quo for now. Hmph, I¡¯ll definitely get my revenge one day.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan sat in the Aura Consuming Formation of Nine Breaths cast from the crystal skulls and absorbed their aura rapidly. At the same time, he practised both human and daemon cultivation methods. The aura circulated through his soul, where the malice went to the tiger demon and the evil was deposited in the demon heart before he used the Demon Suppression Statuary to suppress and convert it. The Demon Suppression Statuary actually progressed even more than the tiger demon, which was quite a nice surprise.

    ¡°What are you exactly, good or evil?¡±

    ¡°The fuck¡¯s it got to do with you!¡±

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 Chapter 840

    Li Qingshan had been cultivating along happily when he suddenly heard the question, which he refuted almost instinctively. For a moment, he was stumped by the origins of the voice. He only felt a powerful consciousness far greater than anything he had experienced before lurking in his sea of consciousness, radiating with the surging power of the mind. He used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression in a hurry to suppress his mind, but he found this to be slightly familiar.

    The crystal skulls were the remains of powerful Bone Eating shamans of the past. The dense evil and malice within them were the central power behind the Qiongqi totems. They had been deposited behind the totemic murals hundreds and thousands of years ago, worshipped by the Bone Eating shamans. They both worshipped the god, as well as their ancestor. The two had always had a profound connection.

    Now, Li Qingshan had suddenly gathered all the crystal skulls from several hundred Bone Eating tribes and cast a formation with them. It was not a ritual to connect with Qiongqi, but it was as brilliant as a star in the darkness.

    If he had assembled this formation at some other time, then so be it. They were in two separate worlds, and Li Qingshan was even inside the Asura Field that formed a domain of its own. No matter how bright the star was, Qiongqi never would have been able to see it. However, the Bone Eating tribe just happened to be carrying out the Ritual of the Ten Abominations, drawing in Qiongqi¡¯s consciousness, and the target they were asking about happened to be Savage mountain.

    As a result, Qiongqi immediately cast his gaze over and discovered something that left him very intrigued.

    Just like how the divine beast xiezhi could see through lies and falsehoods, Qiongqi possessed the ability to discern good and bad. It allowed him to punish good and propagate evil, eat the good people and give the bad people benefits.

    The demonic nature from the ox demon and tiger demon in Li Qingshan¡¯s consciousness was so powerful that it left even Qiongqi astounded. The ¡°qiong¡± in Qiongqi had always meant ignorance and stubbornness. The ox demon was so obstinate in its ways that even gods and buddhas could not change its mind, while the tiger demon was frenzied enough to kill and destroy everything.

    This had already surpassed regular immorality. It cast aside all forms of self-restraint and virtue. It was a great evil that originated from the bottom of the heart, one that was stuck in its ways, with no regrets and no repentance. Compared to that, the likes of the Ritual of the Ten Abominations was merely a child¡¯s game.

    Human morals had always been almost hypocritical. From the most primitive of tribes to the most noble of imperial families, close family killing one another was commonplace. The former did it for the sake of survival, as they had no other choice, yet they were condemned by people. Yet, the latter did it for the sake of authority, yet they earned the approval of many scholars. These scholars might even join a faction and help them kill one another before praising the final victor as a wise lord.

    The morals of today might become immoral in a decade, a century¡¯s time. The morals here would become immoral elsewhere. Using a ritual to destroy this kind of hypocrisy was only using hypocrisy to deny hypocrisy, using formalities against formalities. It could only be regarded as a small amusement that barely made the cut.

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    The Bone Eating Shaman King felt very proud of himself because of this, while Qiongqi only felt scorn. At a time like this, he could not help but sigh in amazement over Li Qingshan. Now this kind of evil was the original evil possessed by all creatures, surpassing the ever-changing concept of human morals. It possessed a bold, powerful, and dauntless spirit. It possessed the vigour of a blazing fire, struggling and searching for absolute freedom within the numerous obstacles, erupting with rage that could incinerate everything.

    It left Qiongqi delighted, overjoyed, and sentimental. He never thought he would actually run into an existence like that in this world.

    If that was all, then Qiongqi would be ready to offer some benefits to Li Qingshan in the spirit of punishing good and propagating evil. He was even prepared to make him replace the Bone Eating tribe as the representative of this world. However, Qiongqi soon saw the other side that he utterly loathed and hated¡ªthe divine nature of the spirit turtle and phoenix.

    The spirit turtle was skilled at averting crises, pursuing the path of longevity. It offered a hint of rationality to the ox demon¡¯s persistence and struggle and prevented the tiger demon from descending into frenzied recklessness, doing whatever it pleased. The phoenix, on the other hand, was a divine bird that represented world peace. Its noble heart had always been an invisible form of self-restraint.

    The two of them also served as the original good buried at the bottom of the hearts of all creatures, allowing them to progress from savagery to civilisation. They seemed fragile and docile, almost hypocritical, but no matter how many times they were belittled and mocked, they would never vanish. They would be reborn from the aftermath of disaster, only to become even more glorious than before.

    However, these two wills from polar extremes were even more difficult to merge together than fire and water, so how could he possess both? As a result, even Qiongqi, who was skilled in discerning between good and evil, could not help but ask, ¡°What are you exactly, good or evil?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s rude reply did not anger Qiongqi. Instead, he felt like it made perfect sense. It was impossible for him to not possess a temper like that with his mental disposition. It made Qiongqi snicker. ¡°How bold of you. It didn¡¯t have anything to do with me in the past, but it¡¯s got something to do with me now. Kid, hurry up and renounce good and embrace evil. This god¡¯s got great riches and honour to offer to you.¡±

    ¡°Renounce good and embrace evil? You¡¯re Qiongqi! Heh, it¡¯s not like your actual existence is in this world, so how¡¯re you going to give me great riches and honour?¡±

    Li Qingshan confirmed his thoughts. He did not know how he had summoned Qiongqi, but he did not panic. According to how Qiongqi infiltrated his sea of consciousness, he was not in this world.

    When he decided to use Bone Eating shamans to refine the Asura Field, he had done some research too, just in case he accidentally stirred a hornet¡¯s nest. There had been many divine and exotic beasts throughout the nine provinces in the ancient times, but by now, they had either all ascended or died.

    As the ancestral god worshipped by the Bone Eating tribe, Qiongqi had left this world long ago. It was impossible for his original body to return either. The restraints from the laws and principles of the world could not be broken that easily. The threat from just his consciousness was very limited.

    ¡°If I say I can give it to you, then I can give it to you. With your current cultivation, even increasing it by a major realm will be nothing difficult. All you need to do is relinquish your beliefs of good. Of course, I understand these distracting thoughts have already taken root and cannot be relinquished so easily, so open up your mind. I¡¯ll help you!¡±

    Qiongqi originally thought Li Qingshan would at least hesitate for a moment. Breaking through the third heavenly tribulation and truly standing as a king was simply far too tempting of an offer. It was a boundary that many cultivators could never cross in their entire life.

    However, Li Qingshan only sneered and declined rudely. ¡°A major realm of cultivation? How tempting! You better just go back to where you came from, sir!¡±

    A very, very long time ago, someone had offered him a deal that far surpassed that. Brother ox had once said he could directly grant him the power to wander this world unopposed. Back then, he did not even know what a heavenly tribulation was!

    What kind of a concept was wandering the world unopposed? It definitely was not as simple as undergoing the third heavenly tribulation. Brother ox really was honest. When he said he could wander the world unopposed, then he really could wander the world unopposed. There would not be the slightest exaggeration. Even if he directly rushed over to the Dragon province and butchered Si Qing, it would be no problem at all. No one would be able to say no. Directly crushing him to a pulp¡ªnow that was called wandering the world unopposed.

    Compared to that, Qiongqi could only give him a major realm of cultivation, which was just an absurdly weak offer. It would even twist his mind, and he would have to give up on the Spirit Turtle Transformation and Phoenix Transformation that possessed immeasurable potential. Only an idiot would agree.

    ¡°You¡¯re pushing your luck! Kid, that¡¯s not for you to decide!¡±

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    All of the malice and evil within the crystal skulls in the surroundings surged into Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness furiously, condensing into Qiongqi¡¯s figure that produced a hysterical roar.

 Chapter 841

    The roar rolled out, stirring up Li Qingshan¡¯s entire sea of consciousness and containing endless evil and madness.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. After being tempered by the nightmare in the Mirage sea, his will had become even more unyielding.

    The spirit turtle suppressed the sea of consciousness, the tiger demon devoured the malice, and the demon heart converted the evil.

    The will gathered from over a thousand crystal skulls was startling, but a will was only a will at the end of the day. It was not actual power. It could not blow up like a soul nascence. As long as he was not defeated by the will, Qiongqi could try whatever he wanted to.

    ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re very stubborn. I¡¯ll show you some good things!¡± Qiongqi let out a strange laugh, and suddenly, countless images and sounds erupted in Li Qingshan¡¯s head, displaying the darkest, most evil and most maddening side of the world. It seethed with the deepest desires possible.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed and became utterly intrigued, admiring and studying this darkness. ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s something good. These sights are something regular people cannot see. Sir, if you don¡¯t mind, show me some more.¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t illusions. They¡¯ve actually all happened before.¡± Qiongqi could not help but remind.

    ¡°I believe you. Reality is much more horrifying than I can ever imagine,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    ¡°You¡¯re not disappointed?¡± Qiongqi had used this move on many people in the past. They were all mentally defeated in the end, renouncing light and embracing darkness.

    ¡°I never had any hopes, so how could I be disappointed? True warriors are bold enough to directly face the bleak life ahead of them. They¡¯re bold enough to directly stare into the dripping blood.¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

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    At this moment, the glow from the spirit turtle had completely suppressed Qiongqi. He only needed to wait a moment longer now. Even the slightest will or consciousness could not defy the laws of the world and preside in this world for too long.

    Qiongqi basically understood what was going on. Li Qingshan had never particularly cared about good and evil. He actively seeked a sense of novelty too. His temperament matched his tastes very much. Everyone labelled him as a god of extreme evil, but the very basis of his demonic thoughts was actually just a desire for a sense of novelty that broke the principles and restraints.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to become powerful?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do, but I don¡¯t need your help. You better go back to what you were doing, sir!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You¡¯re leaving me with no choice!¡± Qiongqi¡¯s voice was no longer as clear and loud as when it first appeared. The will was currently being rejected by the world. If he remained here, it would not be as simple as simply rejection.

    Li Qingshan had noticed this too, which was why he objected. ¡°So what if I¡¯m leaving you with no choice? What are you supposed to do, eat me?¡± However, before he could even finish talking, a sense of danger swallowed him.

    ¡°Haha, I won¡¯t come across a person like you even in a thousand years, so why would I eat you? It¡¯s the exact opposite actually. I¡¯m still going to give you a great gift and convert you into a demon!¡±

    Qiongqi¡¯s will suddenly swelled up, disregarding the suppression from the laws, passing through the barriers between the domains, and gushing into Li Qingshan¡¯s soul and sea of consciousness. It was just a will, but the demonic nature it contained was pure and broad. Even all the crystal skulls combined could not compare with it.

    In that moment, the glow from the spirit turtle directly collapsed. The delicate balance between his demonic nature and divine nature had been completely broken.

    ¡°You- this- bastard¡­ How does this¡­ benefit you?¡± Li Qingshan did all that he could to control his consciousness as he swore aloud. He had never expected Qiongqi to do something so detrimental to himself.

    ¡°I hate that way of thinking the most. Do you really have to evaluate all the benefits and detriments no matter what you do? So what if you live a long life? So what if you¡¯re safe and secure? Why not just cast aside your thoughts and do whatever you want? Even if you die, it won¡¯t be a waste of a life. How¡¯s that? I¡¯d like to see how you still hold on. Little friend, take care. I can sense that we will meet again!¡±

    Qiongqi¡¯s voice was excited, but it also gave off a hint of weakness. After saying that, he withdrew his will in a hurry to avoid any more severe backlash.

    Quite a lot had happened, but the conversation through their soul senses had only lasted a moment.

    In the Asura Field, Xiao An was currently keeping an eye over Li Qingshan on the side when the Aura Consuming Formation of Nine Breaths suddenly began to operate several dozen times faster. The aura that seeped out gradually surged towards Li Qingshan, instantly completing the entire process that was supposed to take half a month.

    Xiao An swung her hand and stowed the dull crystal skulls away. She gazed at Li Qingshan with a frown, worried that this would affect his temperament. She could feel that something was wrong, so she tried calling his name, but she received no reply.

    Soon afterwards, Li Qingshan began to tremble all over. He rapidly expanded, turning into his daemon form and becoming as imposing as a mountain in just a moment. His eyes were firmly shut, and his expression was twisted as if he was trying to hold something back, except the malice he gave off grew heavier and heavier.

    Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and emitted two streaks of scarlet light. Li Qingshan lowered his head to look at Xiao An and squeezed out two words between his teeth. ¡°Get out!¡±

    Before he had even finished speaking, there was a great rumble as his fist flew towards where Xiao An was standing.

    Soil was thrown into the air, and the ground shattered, producing a great crater.

    Li Qingshan pulled back his hand, and the pit was empty. He used the last bit of willpower in him to move Xiao An out. Before he could even catch his breath, he immediately descended into complete madness.

    His figure became even taller and sturdier, except the phoenix wings on his back were nowhere to be seen.

    His ox horns curved like hooks, becoming even sharper than before. His scarlet hair danced like fire, blazing away viciously.

    He took a step with his ox hooves, and the ground trembled. He let out a furious roar, and the fierce wind howled!

    He spread his arms, and murderousness rushed into the air. The blood-red swirl that had already reached a critical point began to revolve once more.

    An extremely bulky Asura Commander descended from above. For once, the weapon in his hand was not a spiky club, but just like what Yin Qing had said, they were a pair of battle axes.

    He felt unlucky inside. He was just about to charge into a great war. Immediately, he sensed an extremely familiar aura. ¡°Asura King!?¡±

    However, before he could even make out the Asura Field clearly, a shadow whistled over and loomed over him.

    Li Qingshan closed his fingers around the Asura Commander with one hand and crushed him. Blood erupted. Even the almost-indestructible asura armament was reduced to scrap metal. He casually tossed it all into his mouth and chewed it up before swallowing.

    Yin Qing stood on the snowy mountain, gazing at this from afar. She was astounded.

    Li Qingshan turned his head and gazed over with his scarlet eyes. Great terror overwhelmed Yin Qing¡¯s mind. Her body stiffened up, immobilised.

    Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye!

    Yin Qing had fought in numerous battles after all. She possessed a tough will, so she recovered very quickly. However, the colossal Li Qingshan had already arrived before her, directly throwing his mountainous fist at her.

    Boom! An entire segment of the snow mountain was directly shaved off, shattering in the air and dispersing as snow.

    ¡°I was almost finished off. What happened to him?¡± Yin Qing had managed to escape from the Asura Field in the last moment, asking the stern Xiao An beside her with unease.

    Xiao An said nothing. She gazed at Li Qingshan who attacked the snowy mountain with his fists in the Asura Field and suddenly took a deep breath. She produced the vast sound of a dragon¡¯s cry, which reached into the Asura Field. It both possessed the power to attack the soul, as well as the power to soothe the soul.

    Li Qingshan ignored it. He growled violently, ¡°Kill! Kill! Kill!¡±

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    He resembled a cornered beast fighting, yet also as if he had broken free from his restraints, feeling unprecedented joy and becoming a demon henceforth!

 Chapter 842 .

    The meditative nature within the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga seemed to cause Li Qingshan great discomfort. He sucked in a deep breath and roared at the sky!

    Roar! It was an earth-shattering sound, but the vast dragon¡¯s cry was unending. Even when it had been drowned out by the tiger¡¯s roar, it never stopped.

    This is¡­ Xiao An¡¯s voice!

    His sea of consciousness was a frenzy, but Li Qingshan still maintained a sliver of clarity in the depths of his mind. The spirit turtle could not keep the demonic nature of the ox demon and tiger demon suppressed, so it hid away and maintained a region of tranquility.

    Another Asura Commander arrived, but it was smashed to a pulp by a punch. It could not regenerate no matter how powerful its vitality was. Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi ran out very quickly, but the Strength of the Earth continued to support him. As such, he continued to stubbornly battle the invisible enemy, the entire world, and himself.

    No, this can¡¯t continue. I need to maintain the balance in my mind, or I¡¯ll really lose myself. I even tried to attack Xiao An just then. That¡¯s some different kind of madness!

    However, the demonic nature had spiralled out of control like a wildfire. It could not be contained. Evil thoughts were nurtured endlessly, multiplying again and again.

    Rumble! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Li Qingshan knelt down on his knees and furiously struck the ground. The entire Asura Field shook as if it could not contain his frenzy anymore.

    With his final sliver of clarity, the Demon Suppression statues appeared in his mind, and he forcefully used the Demon Suppression Statuary.

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    ¡°Demon suppression!¡± Li Qingshan roared.

    Jangle! Chains of Demon Suppression appeared from thin air like dragons and wrapped around Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal body. They basically dug into his ox hide that resembled black iron.

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    An enormous Demon Suppression Tower descended from the sky and slammed down, enveloping Li Qingshan.

    The ground shook violently before immediately falling silent. The place where the Demon Suppression Tower had landed had almost become a basin. The ground in the surroundings shattered.

    Within the Demon Suppression Tower, Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes recovered a sliver of clarity. However, his huge mouth filled with teeth roared unyieldingly, and his body struggled uncontrollably. He wanted to give into his desires! He wanted to do whatever he wanted! He wanted absolute freedom!

    Roar!

    With the furious roar, a thick Chain of Demon Suppression forcefully burst apart. Soon afterwards, the other Chains of Demon Suppression became riddled with cracks.

    Such a simple and crude method of suppression no longer works. I¡¯m better off redirecting it than blocking it outright! Remorselessness of the Demon Heart! Li Qingshan thought.

    The demon heart shone with resplendent light, sucking in the surging demonic nature and growing brighter and brighter. His progress with the Demon Suppression Statuary advanced at a startling rate, comprehending and mastering the Demon Suppression statues.

    With a crack, a tiny fracture appeared on the demon heart.

    Fortunately, I comprehended the Remorselessness of the Demon Heart from the first Demon Suppression statue and not the Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart, abiding by my demonic nature. If I tried to suppress it blindly, the demon heart would have shattered already.

    Li Qingshan felt slightly fortunate, but he refused to drop his guard at all. He unleashed the Demon Suppression Statuary at full strength, but he was still unable to prevent the cracks from spreading.

    With a ping, the demon heart shattered, directly blasting open a huge hole in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. His flesh and blood was obliterated, only leaving behind his metallic bones.

    If it were not for this tough body of the demonic and divine, Li Qingshan would have died already. He gritted his teeth. ¡°Again!¡±

    Demon qi gathered once more in the hole in his chest, whistling and revolving as it condensed into a demon heart again. It was even more pure than his original demon heart, having removed all traces of the Ocean pearl now, a true demon heart. However, the cracks began to spread again.

    Boom! The demon heart shattered!

    ¡°Again!¡±

    Shattering, condensing, shattering, condensing¡­

    As this process repeated itself for who knew how many times, the hole in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest constantly grew larger. Even the metallic lustre of his bones dimmed, and even they began to crack.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan had completely broken free from the Chains of Demon Suppression. He leapt up and threw a punch at the Demon Suppression Tower.

    The Demon Suppression Tower shook violently, holding on barely without collapsing. As Li Qingshan constantly tempered and refined his demon heart, he pushed the Demon Suppression Statuary to a higher realm of cultivation. The Demon Suppression Tower had become mightier!

    However, a second punch soon followed, then a third and a fourth¡­ The Demon Suppression Tower lasted all the way until the eighth punch before collapsing heavily. Before absolute power, so-called restraint was just a joke.

    Li Qingshan panicked inside. Although he had found some relief for this violent demon nature through the Demon Suppression Statuary, his tiger bones would probably give way first if he continued to let his demon heart shatter like this.

    The almost-indestructible tiger bones had a limit too. They still seemed complete on the surface, but the cracks had already reached his spine. The only reason why they had not shattered suddenly was because of his strenuous control.

    Once the tiger bones shattered, he would not be able to condense them again. By then, all that awaited him was phoenix nirv¨¡?a, but even if he underwent Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, the demonic nature existed in his mind. It would not vanish with his body. Instead, it would take root even deeper, or even completely merge with his consciousness after undergoing rebirth.

    By now, not only had the tiger bones reached their limit, even the spirit turtle was unable to remain in hiding anymore. It only relied on its turtle shell to block the waves of attack from the demonic nature.

    Once the spirit turtle gave way, then the battle between the demonic and the divine in his mind would come to an absolute conclusion. The demonic nature would gain an absolute upper hand.

    Li Qingshan would not die. It was even very likely for the tiger demon to break through to the fifth layer, except he would probably have to abandon the daemon core that possessed the powers of the spirit turtle and the phoenix. There would be even less reason for him to keep the Demon Suppression Statuary. He would probably condense a new daemon core through his demon heart. It would be very difficult to say whether his strength would increase or decrease, but his future path of cultivation would probably be much easier than right now. The extremes had always been a form of power itself.

    But that¡¯s not the path I want to take! The extremes do offer temporary benefits, but in the long run, it¡¯ll sever my path to the Nine Heavens. That¡¯s completely unacceptable. Qiongqi, that bastard, doesn¡¯t understand anything!

    However, Qiongqi¡¯s plan was about to succeed. Just like how defence could never warrant victory, an opening finally appeared on the perfect defence of the spirit turtle. The demonic nature ate away Li Qingshan¡¯s last slither of clarity.

    At this very moment, a magnificent cry rang through his sea of consciousness. Right when the spirit turtle had become powerless, the phoenix flapped its flame-like wings and soared.

    Li Qingshan had only reached the second layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a so far, and he had not even comprehended the second innate ability. It was the weakest transformation out of the four he had practised so far, so Li Qingshan never thought it could be of any use either. Right now, it was only fighting back instinctively. Unlike the spirit turtle¡¯s patience and forbearance, the phoenix¡¯s noble heart could not allow for such disgrace.

    However, the phoenix was far too weak. Pressed by the ox demon and tiger demon, it was like a candle in the wind, ready to be put out at any time. However, the flames of the phoenix constantly dispersed the endless darkness, singing away at the top of its voice!

    The Phoenix Undergoes Nirvana Rebirth, with an Undying Heart! I also have a bit of the so-called noble heart. Li Qingshan seemed to realise something. He said, ¡°All in the world has a concept of beauty. Herein lies ugliness. All recognize a concept of good. Herein lies evil. Good and evil exist together. Beauty and ugliness go hand in hand. I face such dire straits today, but it can instead reflect the beauty and good within my heart. How wondrous!¡±

    TL: This comes from the Dao De Jing again, chapter 2.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Li Qingshan smiled. Suddenly, the phoenix wings that had vanished unfurled behind him once again in a beautiful and glorious manner.

    However, what he comprehended did not alleviate his current situation.

    He had gained a deeper comprehension of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, but it was still at the second layer after all. The divine nature it possessed even paled drastically in comparison to the spirit turtle, so how could it stand a chance against the ox demon and tiger demon that had been enhanced by Qiongqi?

    The flames of the phoenix that flew through his sea of consciousness had only just grown a little brighter before being immediately suppressed, about to be extinguished. The phoenix wings behind him fell as individual feathers too. It was only a moment of glory.

    With a crack, a rib in the hole in his chest shattered. Like a set of dominoes, it set off a chain reaction, and the bones all cracked and shattered.

    Looks like I¡¯m forced to undergo nirv¨¡?a again. Thankfully, the phoenix is a little stronger now. Hopefully the demonic nature doesn¡¯t corrode me too much and directly destroy the divine nature during the period when I¡¯m unconscious. That way, I can still slowly recuperate and recover after rebirth. It¡¯s just a pity that I¡¯ll waste this opportunity. The Tiger Demon Transformation and the Demon Suppression Statuary could have been even more powerful.

    With various feelings of pity and worry, Li Qingshan took out a tiny bottle from his sumeru ring. That was the medicine that could balance fire and water refined by Ru Xin. He glanced at it before tossing the entire bottle into his mouth. He balanced fire and water at a time like this to add an additional layer of guarantee to the rebirth.

    His daemon core had already run out of daemon qi, and balancing the two powers went surprisingly smoothly. As the effects of the medicine moved through his body, azure-blue and scarlet-red rapidly merged together. It was because he had gained a deeper comprehension of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, but also because the spirit turtle had exhausted its strength in contending with the tiger demon and ox demon, thus reducing its rejection of the phoenix¡¯s powers. They still stood on the same side after all.

    In the moment he balanced fire and water, Li Qingshan finally comprehended the second innate ability of the Phoenix Transformation.

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    By then, the cracks had already spread across most of the tiger bones. Even his skin became riddled with cracks.

    Death was already right before his eyes!

    Li Qingshan listened to the mighty dragon¡¯s cry and felt a hint of warmth. He silently comprehended the new ability.

    Huh? It¡¯s not an offensive ability. It doesn¡¯t seem to offer much defence either. Looks like I can¡¯t directly use it, but it doesn¡¯t have any auxiliary effects either. Just what is this ability? Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    The cracks crawled over Li Qingshan¡¯s face, but they could not hide his puzzled expression. His thoughts suddenly stopped there, and his body shattered loudly.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Xiao An cried out outside the Asura Field. She clearly knew he could undergo Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, but her heart still ached.

    She was already prepared to go in and accept the phoenix egg, but her eyes suddenly widened. All she saw was Li Qingshan¡¯s scattered flesh, bones, and blood all turning to flames, gathering together once more and forming his body.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes, gazing at his intact hands in wonder. He could sense that he had already recovered from all his wounds.

    As it turned out, the second ability of the phoenix was still Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth! And there was no need for him to turn into a troublesome egg again! It was rebirth on the spot!

    ps£º µÚ¶þ¸ü·îÉÏ£¬·ï»ËµÚ¶þÉñÍ¨·îÉÏ£¬ÖµÒ»ÕÅÔÂÆ±·ñ£¿

 Chapter 843

    Li Qingshan was shocked too. Don¡¯t tell me this is in brother ox I trust, eternal life I get!

    TL: This is a Chinese meme/play on words with ¡°in Jesus we trust¡±. Don¡¯t ask me where the eternal life part comes from, as I can¡¯t find any english equivalents that have that.

    Even though it¡¯s not truly rebirth on the spot, blood and all! After all, depleted daemon qi can¡¯t be replenished from thin air, right? Wait, hold on, shouldn¡¯t daemon qi count as blood? My wounds are all gone, so that¡¯s already blood and all! Even my exhaustion has vanished. The remaining bit of demonic nature from Qiongqi has been wiped clean too. I¡¯m in an extremely great condition!

    ¡°This really fucking is rebirth on the spot, blood and all!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, are you fine?¡± Xiao An immediately entered the Asura Field and asked in concern.

    Li Qingshan reverted to his human form and scooped her up. He laughed aloud. ¡°I feel fantastic, all thanks to your Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    Without Qiongqi the troublemaker, only the demonic nature from the ox demon and tiger demon remained, which was easier to soothe. The divine nature of the phoenix had grown stronger, and the Demon Suppression Statuary had advanced rapidly too, so this balance instead became even firmer. Even if Qiongqi gave him another generous gift, he would not end up in such a sorry shape again.

    He still had not broken through to the fifth layer with the tiger demon, but he had reached the peak of the fourth layer. Li Qingshan could feel that as long as he faced an equal opponent in an actual battle, he could declare he had broken through.

    The Ox Demon Transformation had grown slightly stronger too. The divine nature of the spirit turtle that had been eaten away by the demonic nature was not actually an issue that could be resolved through rebirth. He needed time to recuperate and recover.

    Hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s description, Xiao An nodded. ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s an extremely powerful innate ability. It¡¯s equivalent to an additional life, but there are several weaknesses as well. Don¡¯t casually throw your life at others just because you have this innate ability.¡±

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    ¡°Of course. If I¡¯m up against an opponent like the Dragon King of Ink Sea, they¡¯ll just kill me again. I need a lengthy period of time to recover too after Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. Though, it might not be perfect, but you can still call it a divine technique. If I¡¯m neck and neck with my opponent, or if they¡¯re slightly stronger than me, I¡¯ll just spring back alive in the blink of an eye after they use everything they have and kill me regardless of the consequences. Just think about their expressions, haha!¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously understood the inherent downside of the innate ability, so he did not get ahead of himself. The original Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth could only be used for fleeing or cultivating. Now, it truly possessed value in battle. He could use it as a crucial trump card, so its value was worlds apart from the past.

    Xiao An curled up in his arms, wrapping her slender arms around his neck and gazing at the side of his face. Only when she saw how he was in joy, but he still maintained his composure, did she completely stop worrying, burying her face beneath his chin.

    Embracing Xiao An¡¯s soft, gentle body intimately, Li Qingshan felt a little something else inside. He thought, Looks like I¡¯ve still been influenced by the demonic nature. I need to deal with the problem of the spirit turtle as soon as possible.

    As a result, he let go of Xiao An and said, ¡°Take a look at this.¡±

    Li Qingshan took a few steps back and churned with demon qi, condensing a brand-new set of black and red armour.

    The armour had changed drastically. It no longer wrapped around him, and it had become much simpler, composed of individual components like a helmet, shoulderguards, a chestplate, bracers, thigh guards, boots, and so on.

    At first glance, it instead seemed much more crude. However, whether it was the ox horns on his helmet or the tiger¡¯s face on his chestplate, they all gave off a primitive beauty of simplicity. The power they contained completely surpassed the past.

    Through shattering and recondensing again and again, all of the random assortment of powers, whether it was the Traitorous Demon sword or the Ocean pearl, had been obliterated. The demon heart had never been so pure before. It had never been so powerful before either.

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    ¡°There¡¯s more!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body swelled up, assuming his mountainous daemon form again. The armour grew with him, continuing to cover his body, but it did become a little more simple, only protecting his vital points. However, the power imbued in him was not insignificant.

    This was all thanks to the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a this time. The phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a last time had only rebalanced the four transformations of the demonic and divine. He had only added the demon heart to his body afterwards. But this time, it had merged all the various powers in his body together, making them even more compatible with one another.

    Originally, as his strength as a daemon cultivator increased, his human cultivation had become extremely useless. The increase it could bring to his overall strength was extremely limited, and it basically offered no help at all to battles that actually mattered. Maintaining the identity of Li Qingshan was becoming more and more pointless as well. All that was left just seemed to be emotional ties.

    Now, Li Qingshan had finally confirmed the value of his human cultivation. It could not be compared to a supreme cultivation method like the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, and it would already be extremely impressive if it could just increase his battle prowess by ten percent after merging the two powers together. However, the Demon Suppression Statuary increased his strength by more than only ten percent.

    He believed that as long as he completely mastered the Demon Suppression Statuary, it would become a vital part of his strength, and in the future, as he obtained even greater and better cultivation methods, his strength would continue to increase.

    Qiongqi¡¯s generous gift had almost choked him to death, but he still ended up accepting it.

    ¡°The Myriad Poison Ancestor is back. Let¡¯s head out!¡± Li Qingshan sensed something and left the Asura Field with Xiao An.

    ¡°Congratulations, my king, on defeating your inner demons. Your cultivation has progressed yet again. You¡¯ve become much more handsome too.¡± Yin Qing bowed.

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    Although Li Qingshan had depleted his daemon qi and only some of it had recovered now, his spirit was completely renewed. His bearing changed in a subtle fashion too, vaguely giving off an indescribable air of nobility. Unlike the so-called nobles among humans, it seemed to originate from the depths of his heart. Even his facial features seemed to become a little more handsome.

    Li Qingshan touched his face. He did not smile because of the praise¡ªNorthmoon had always been a handsome mess. Instead, he frowned slightly and asked Xiao An, ¡°Have I really changed?¡±

    Xiao An extended her hand and touched his face. She gave a simple answer. ¡°Yes.¡±

    Li Qingshan then assumed Northmoon¡¯s form. ¡°What about this?¡±

    Xiao An nodded. ¡°That too.¡±

    Northmoon¡¯s image came from Li Qingshan¡¯s imaginations, so he could not avoid the influence of his past life. Although he was almost devilishly handsome, it was unavoidable that he was slightly feminine too, but now, he did seem a little sharper.

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin in thought. The rebirth this time did not just merge together his human and daemon cultivation. The boundary between human and daemon gradually blurred too. Perhaps there would be a day when Li Qingshan and Northmoon would no longer be separate.

    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Yin Qing asked in confusion.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t harm you earlier.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and extended his hand to pat Yin Qing¡¯s shoulder. He felt her tense up, ready to hide away in space at any time, which forced him to reexamine her. Her tight clothes outlined her proud figure. Her lips were red like blood, while her soft chest stood firm and proud. Her waist was supple and powerful, and her legs were long and slender. Li Qingshan pursed his lips and suddenly felt very enticed.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll return to the Asura Field for now. If you need me, my king, you can call me at any time!¡± Yin Qing seemed to sense that and smiled, returning to the Asura Field.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Sure enough, he had still been influenced by the demonic nature, but he did hope that this demonic nature would never vanish for good. Doing all that he could to break free from the restraints and chasing after his desires and freedom, to fulfill his curiosity, had always been the greatest joys of life.

 Chapter 844

    After Qiongqi descended, Li Qingshan felt like his plan might have fallen through, but he still remained hopeful. What if the Bone Eating Shaman King was just an idiot? However, when the Myriad Poison Ancestor returned alone, he was forced to give up on this idiotic thought of his.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor drifted into the hall, and before Li Qingshan could even ask anything, he bowed deeply. ¡°I¡¯ve failed the mission. I¡¯ve failed to trick the Bone Eating Shaman King into coming here, so please punish me, my king.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked about what had happened, and only then did he understand why Qiongqi had suddenly arrived. He never thought it would coincide with the Bone Eating shamans¡¯ shitty ¡°Ritual of the Ten Abominations¡±. Was he supposed to be fortunate or unfortunate?

    ¡°You¡¯ve done your job very well. It just means that the time for the Bone Eating Shaman King to die isn¡¯t here yet. It¡¯s not your fault. I¡¯d like to see whether the Bone Eating Shaman King will run out of patience and come to attack Savage mountain in the future or not.¡±

    Li Qingshan was still hopeful. If he could fight the Bone Eating Shaman King, he would definitely break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, and his strength would definitely increase substantially. Practising the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine became more difficult the more he progressed, but it also became more and more powerful. A major reason for why he could clash with third heavenly tribulation cultivators right now was because of the strength and destructive power of the fifth layer of the ox demon.

    ¡°He probably won¡¯t. The Bone Eating barbarians believe in the evil god Qiongqi. They¡¯ll never act recklessly now that they¡¯ve received a warning like this. The Bone Eating Shaman King also seems to have developed some qualms. He¡¯s a little uneasy.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Continue with helping Ru Xin to refine poison!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it. The current situation was not suited for waging war against the Bone Eating Shaman King. He was better off making a decision after spending some time recuperating and completely recovering from the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t come to us, then we¡¯ll just go to him in the future,¡± Xiao An said.

    It had been quite a bountiful harvest for Xiao An this time too. A hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans and over a thousand crystal skulls could sustain her cultivation for a very long period of time.

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    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s cull off these damned deviants first before skinning that Qiongqi alive!¡±

    Li Qingshan yawned. Although he had been completely renewed by the rebirth, the exhaustion after fighting did not vanish so easily. A clash between the demonic and divine within him was far more tiresome than fighting against anyone.

    ¡°Come with me.¡± Xiao An suddenly grabbed his hand and led him to the back of the hall.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Li Qingshan followed her to the back of the hall and discovered a simple, stone door. Behind the stone door was a tunnel that led even further into the mountain.

    Li Qingshan had once probed around with his soul sense and discovered a spiritual spring in the depths of Savage mountain, which was nothing strange at all. A special, blessed land of cultivation like this was obviously complete in terms of landscape, with both mountains and water. The springs where spiritual veins resided would definitely be spiritual springs.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once we get there.¡± Xiao An pulled him along and made her way down the steps, approaching the spiritual spring.

    ¡°Alright. Whatever you want.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head in a doting fashion, but suddenly recalled she wanted him to stop doing that, but this time, she did not object to it.

    They made their way to the end of the steps and were met with another stone door. Light poured through the cracks of the door. Opening it up, hot air and pure spiritual qi filled their faces. There were the gurgling sounds of water here as well.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. As it turned out, the spiritual spring was a hot spring. He did not notice such a detail when he scanned it with his soul sense.

    There were many volcanoes in the Mist province, particularly in the south, which even had large volcanic clusters like the Fire Melt mountains. Savage mountain was not a volcano, but the magma was extremely close to the surface, which heated up the spiritual spring.

    Spiritual stone was used in the surroundings to tile a simple pool. The steam rose up to the ceiling before condensing into water droplets. Some dripped back into the pool, while others landed on the rocks, turning into steam very soon again.

    It seemed like it was constantly drizzling and shrouded in thick mist. The pool water shimmered in the darkness. Even the mist glowed, which was a wonderful sight.

    In the very beginning, the cave masters of Savage mountain were still able to come down and collect the water for refining medicines and forging artifacts. However, demonic cultivators were all selfish people that refused to lose out, so they always collected as much water as possible. Even if they had no use for it, they would never let it go to anyone else. The uneven allocation led to many disagreements very soon. If it were not for the Blood Oath Scroll, a battle basically would have erupted.

    In order to pacify the disputes and to prevent the spiritual spring from running out, they downright sealed up the place with the Eight Point formation so that no one could access it. If they wanted some of the water, then they were forced to use a side spring with thinner spiritual qi, which offered much less value. It basically settled the disputes.

    After Li Qingshan became the King of Savages, even fewer people were bold enough to ask him to access the spring. Over hundreds of years, the density of the spiritual qi there had reached an alarming level, far denser than in the hall. It could not sustain his regular cultivation, but it was fantastic for recuperation.

    Xiao An said, ¡°You can rest here.¡±

    ¡°This sure is a good place. It has been hiding right under my nose, and I¡¯ve missed it the entire time. Aren¡¯t you meticulous?¡±

    Li Qingshan praised and parted the mist, leaping into the pool with a plop. The heat and spiritual qi wormed into his body through every single pore, and he immediately let out a great sigh of comfort, leaning against the side and spreading his arms and legs.

    Suddenly, he heard clothes being taken off, and he remembered something. Looking back, he saw Xiao An emerging from the mist. She had already taken off her greyish-blue robes, only wearing white underclothes now. It was moistened by the mist very soon, becoming almost transparent. Her dark hair draped down like a waterfall, parting near her fair shoulders, which barely managed to cover up a few details. However, as she moved, her beautiful body was made partly visible, enough to drive any man crazy.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh inside as well, She¡¯s no longer a child. If she weren¡¯t Xiao An¡­

    He stopped himself from thinking any further. Xiao An had already arrived by the pool, touching the water with her slender feet and toes before sliding in like a fish. When the shallow ripples she produced reached him, he felt like his heart had just skipped a beat.

    A warm, gentle body drew closer. Xiao An raised her head and looked at him. Her large eyes were no longer devoid of any feelings. They were clearly filled with deep emotions that paled to none. Even her cheeks were blushed. She was like a legendary maiden from heaven, as splendid and charming as possible.

    ¡°Qingshan, am I beautiful?¡± Xiao An asked. Her seaweed-like hair drifted in the water. Her voice seemed to ripple as well.

    ¡°You¡¯re as beautiful as you can be,¡± Li Qingshan said seriously. She was basically so beautiful that she could not be defiled, and he was even more reluctant to defile their relationship that exceeded the regular feelings between a man and a woman.

    ¡°Really?¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes rippled with her inner joy. Even though she knew the ¡°great beauty¡± was merely an appearance, an illusion, she still craved his praise.

    ¡°Really.¡± Li Qingshan nodded with a smile.

    ¡°Then can you give me a kiss?¡± Xiao An asked in an almost-innocent manner.

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    ¡°No!¡±

    Li Qingshan declined without the slightest hesitance, only to see her face immediately give way. He could not help but laugh aloud. His laughter echoed through the cavern, making the mist churn.

    Hearing his laughter, Xiao An instead became rather embarrassed. It was not because of how sincere and serious she had been, but because she had done something pointless and made him laugh at her, all for nothing.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and pecked her cherry lips gently. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±

    Xiao An touched her lips and finally let out a satisfied smile, throwing herself into his arms.

    Li Qingshan shook his head gently. Whether it was white bone or great beauty, she would always be the person he cherished the most. Then he pursed his lips. This little girl sure was getting more and more out of hand though.

 Chapter 845

    With a fleeting thought, Li Qingshan shut his eyes and slowly sank into the hot spring. Even the scorching spring water was unable to hide the warmth from her petite body. Warmth welled up in his heart, far surpassing the insignificant desire within him. They embraced each other firmly. Time seemed to freeze at that moment, which was what they both hoped for as well.

    That was until a clap of thunder pierced the thick earth, making Li Qingshan snap open his eyes. That was not regular lightning. Someone was undergoing a tribulation, and from the heavenly might in the thunder, he guessed it to be the second heavenly tribulation. Was it Ru Xin?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡±

    With a splash, Li Qingshan leapt out of the spring with Xiao An in his hands. He picked up her clothes on the ground and scooped up her hair in a single stroke. There was no more hair or water to shield her anymore. Her beautiful body was completely unveiled before his eyes, which made Li Qingshan¡¯s breathing halt. He admired her without feeling self-conscious at all before continuing to dress her.

    Xiao An extended her hand through the sleeves, silently enjoying his care.

    Li Qingshan dressed her. The moment he tied up her waistband, he actually felt a hint of reluctance. It was as if he was using cloth to wrap up a pearl, hiding this beauty from the world. However, he soon remembered that this pearl belonged to him anyway, which brought him relief.

    ¡°The shoes too.¡± Xiao An then raised her slender feet and shook them around with a smile.

    ¡°You sure know how to enjoy yourself!¡± Li Qingshan crouched down and grabbed one of her slender feet. It fit perfectly in his hand and together with her five pink toes, it was as beautiful as it could be. He could not help but fiddle around with it, which resulted in chime-like giggling right by his ear. Only then did he put on her socks and shoes.

    ¡°Are you happy now?¡± Li Qingshan was about to throw on his clothes when Xiao An stopped him. She smiled. ¡°You can enjoy yourself too.¡±

    She began to tend to him instead, except her actions were indescribably gentle and delicate, leaving his clothes neat and tidy. Gazing at how serious she was, Li Qingshan felt peaceful inside. When she put on his shoes, she sneakily tickled his foot, but before he could even laugh, she began laughing already.

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    Returning to the hall, Xiao An did not go with Li Qingshan to see who was undergoing the tribulation. Instead, she remained there to cultivate. Li Qingshan had already sensed that it was not Ru Xin undergoing the tribulation either. When he went out and took a look, it turned out to be one of the matriarchs from the night roamer clans of the past. After many years of arduous cultivation, she had finally made it to this point.

    Bolts of heavenly lightning emerged from space, striking a black shadow. The process was slightly dangerous, but with her advantage as an otherfolk and the foundation she had built up over many years, she underwent the tribulation successfully and smoothly.

    Li Qingshan bequeathed one of the dwellings on the main peak of Savage mountain to her before bestowing her with some pills. With Ye Mingzhu serving as an example, the matriarch came off as extremely respectful and submissive. She thanked Li Qingshan for his bestowments before returning to her dwelling to recuperate.

    ¡°Looks like she still needs some more time!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Ru Xin¡¯s dwelling and did not disturb her. He passed some instructions onto Ye Liusu before returning to the hall.

    Several months later, the Myriad Poison Ancestor arrived before the hall to report back to Li Qingshan. They had already made several breakthroughs with Ru Xin¡¯s plan to refine viruses, but she had to undergo the second heavenly tribulation and strengthen the plague ghost before they could actually carry it out. As a result, she entered secluded cultivation.

    ¡°She wants me to pass this bottle of spiritual medicine to the king.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor offered up a tiny jade bottle.

    ¡°What is the medicine refined from?¡±

    Li Qingshan held the tiny jade bottle. This time, it was all because of the medicine that could balance water and fire from Ru Xin that he managed to comprehend the second ability of the phoenix in the final moments. Otherwise, he would have to waste a tremendous amount of time undergoing rebirth, and he would not be able to merge with the demon heart.

    ¡°Many materials go into refining the medicine, which aren¡¯t exactly precious. But in my opinion, the most important component is her heartblood.¡±

    ¡°Heartblood!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised, but he also came to a realisation. The heartblood the Myriad Poison Ancestor was talking about was not Ru Xin pouring her heart and soul into making the medicine, nor was it as simple as blood from the heart either.

    The heart was the abode of the soul, the master of the blood, and the source of the vessels. It was extremely important to cultivators. Heartblood was also known as essence blood, which could play a critical role in battles. Often, biting the tip of their tongues and spraying an arcane treasure or arcane artifact with essence blood could greatly strengthen its power and turn the tides. However, it also caused quite the detriment to their cultivation. It was even possible for them to lose their lives in the process.

    If he had guessed correctly, her talent even exceeded that of regular otherfolk. She also practised a supreme cultivation method, the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, on top of that, yet even until now, she had yet to undergo the heavenly tribulation. Li Qingshan could not help but sigh inside. I¡¯ve provided great assistance to her cultivation, but I¡¯ve also unwittingly slowed down her cultivation. She clearly has hatred so deep that she cannot let go of it, yet she¡¯d rather fall out with me than let me risk my life with her. Why must she be like this?

    He sent the Myriad Poison Ancestor back to continue with the Scripture of the Poison Assimilation Ghost King before returning to the hall.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone that were transparent like glass basically filled the entire place, depicting the twisted faces of the Bone Eating shamans. However, with a closer glance, there were only transparent white flames. It seemed to be just an illusion.

    Xiao An sat in the flames. Her flesh and blood had faded away, almost to nothingness, completely revealing her set of shiny, white bones. The Skeleton Demons danced around in the surroundings, chattering away like they were singing a horrifying song, yet also containing the essence of buddhism.

    The cry of a dragon moved through the flames. Clearly, Xiao An had merged the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga into her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Li Qingshan stared at her for a good while before shrugging helplessly in the end. He sat down in front of the hall to watch over her.

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    They all said that the sight of great beauty being reduced to white bone could make the ignorant understand that beneath the beautiful appearance was terrifying white bone, and that all appearances were merely an illusion. However, when he saw her appearance of white bone, he still felt affectionate, fond of her from the bottom of his heart. He did not feel any sensation of terror at all. He felt like every single bone gave off a different sense of beauty.

    It had to be mentioned that there had always been something wrong with his sense of beauty. He had always found his daemon form a little cooler and sicker than the handsome Northmoon and the hale and hearty Li Qingshan. He was tempted to just maintain his daemon form forever and run around on the vast earth and mountains naked!

    He had seriously considered that once he no longer had to hide his identity anymore and had settled all grudges, he would set off on the shore of the South sea and go streaking across the nine provinces, all the way to the Frost province!

    Haha, that¡¯ll leave everyone dumbfounded! Would I be a pervert then? No, you¡¯re better off saying I¡¯m being true to myself than being a pervert. Don¡¯t tell me my true self is a pervert? Whatever, who cares what you call that. It¡¯s fine as long as it¡¯s me.

    Li Qingshan agreed with Qiongqi very much from certain perspectives. Calculations of pure rationality over the costs and benefits and constantly drawing on advantages and avoiding disadvantages could result in longevity, but if everyone was like that, how was he different from anyone else?

    At least renouncing evil and embracing good could receive favours from good people, earning a reputation and establishing a proper force, but what could renouncing good and embracing evil bring? Since evil people were evil, they would never acknowledge debts and favours they owed to others. This was completely a behaviour and ideology that brought no benefit at all. It challenged the status quo purely for the sake of fun, just like a mischievous, stubborn child, but it also had an element of great liberty and doing as one pleased.

    In the book ¡°Water Margin¡± he had read in his past life, the original forms of the one hundred and eight fine men were revealed right in the beginning¡ªthey were a hundred and eight heavenly spirits and earthly fiends imprisoned within the Demon Subduing Hall. There were both people who committed brutal, evil deeds like murder and feasting on the hearts of others, as well as those who upheld justice through violence among them. They seemed vastly different, but they were no different in nature. Whether it was good or evil, they did as they pleased, beyond the concept of rationality. Only the word ¡°demonic¡± remained.

    The book could achieve popularity and be praised by all precisely because it vividly depicted the concept of a demonic nature, allowing the reader to stand in the shoes of these fine men and do things that they usually could not and dared not, acting as they pleased and having a hearty time!

    The ¡®demonic¡¯ and ¡®divine¡¯ in the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine are not just ¡®good¡¯ and ¡®evil¡¯! The spirit turtle focuses on preserving its longevity and avoiding unnecessary trouble, while the phoenix cherishes its own feathers too. Even if they won¡¯t go out of their way to commit evil, they will never have the spirit of stopping and helping out just at the sight of injustice.

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    The many thoughts flowed through Li Qingshan¡¯s head, giving him a deeper understanding of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine.

    At the same time, Ru Xin took off everything on her and sat down in the Jade Melting cauldron, shining with the lustre of jade. After eating a precious ten-year Virtue Accumulation pill, she began powering up the Jade Melting cauldron and refining herself like a pill. At the same time, she used the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace to form a cloud furnace in her body, refining the Virtue Accumulation pill.

    Alchemy was about a combination of fire and water. The Jade Melting furnace surged with fire and water, and with a twirl of her hands, it gathered in her palm, actually merging together in a wondrous manner and turning into a fiery cloud. The cloud gradually permeated the surroundings and swallowed her.

    The powers of water and fire actually surged through the cloud furnace in her body as well, and it was even more pure than the water and fire from the Jade Melting furnace. It merged together naturally too, rapidly refining the Virtue Accumulation pill.

    Regular cultivators could never achieve this. Even if they could, they would never do it like this. The potent effects of the pill immediately filled her entire body. Although she had become as tough as jade, she was close to bursting.

    This method of cultivation doubtlessly came with intense pain, but she seemed to turn into an actual rock, devoid of any sensations. Her face did not change. Only her eyelashes trembled gently.

    She focused on multiple things at the same time, controlling the Jade Melting cauldron and suppressing the medicinal effects externally while circulating the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, tempering her body as she refined the Virtune Accumulation pill. At the same time, she had to balance the powers of water and fire both externally and internally. She had pushed her cultivation speed to the limit without the slightest hesitation.

    Even a single step in the wrong direction came with the danger of blowing up the cauldron. By then, it would not just be the Jade Melting cauldron, but the cloud furnace within her too. She was not in a hurry to break through to the second heavenly tribulation. Instead, this was the danger that came with practising the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace.

    The history of the nine provinces was as vast as the smoke and sea. There had been far superior cultivation methods from other worlds that had reached here than just the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace. Even if cultivators would view them as treasures and keep them to themselves once it fell into their possession, the reason why they had never become widespread was because they were nothing but difficult to practise. The demand they placed on talent was nothing but high as well. Even if they were fortunate enough to possess the aptitude and had overcome all the difficulties involved, it still came with great danger and risk. Who knew how many geniuses had died because of it.

    Perhaps because Chu Tian saw something in her when she treated him, the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace was extremely compatible with her, where she progressed very rapidly. Of course, the tremendous amount of resources that Li Qingshan had provided her with played a crucial role as well. Just the ten-year Virtune Accumulation pill from the Myriad Poison cult was a serendipity.

    Cultivation was timeless. Day and night interchanged and time flew.

    A rumble echoed from the distant horizon. She opened her eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ finally here!¡±

 Chapter 846

    Over eighteen thousand kilometers south of the shore of the South sea was a vast island. It was long, narrow, and symmetrical, shaped like a huge ship on the sea. It was known as Giant Ship island. The island had a row of three mountains down the middle, where the middle one was large and the other two were small. They were like the masts and sails of a ship, named Main-mast mountain, Fore-mast mountain, and Mizzen-mast mountain.

    The three mountains were littered with structures, all bearing the unique style of the South sea. They were magnificent and imposing, obscured by the cloud and mist like abodes of immortals. It was where the greatest sect of the South sea stood, the Cloud Sail sect.

    Two white bridges crossed through the clouds like rainbows, joining the three mountains together. If the sea wind dispersed the clouds and mist, then it was possible to overlook the layers upon layers of residences built below, the long streets and the flowing people, filled with the liveliness of the secular world.

    People flowed out of the cities and gathered on a vast beach to the south of the island, forming a black mass like a nest of swarming ants. Who knew how many thousand people gathered there, all standing on their tiptoes and gazing at the depths of the sea. Groups of soldiers maintained order. There were many cultivators that hovered in the air without hiding themselves. They proudly basked in the reverence from the mortals below.

    It was the eighth month, the peak of summer, but even with the scorching climate of the south, the cool sea breeze could still bring comfort. The sun gradually sank below the surface of the sea like a piece of red jade, dyeing the sky and ocean red. The temperature became cooler.

    The sea breeze settled down, and the sea waves lapped against the sea shore steadily.

    The port was filled with ships and boats of various sizes, from long boats and huge ships to dinghies. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, bobbing up and down with the waves.

    At this moment, even more boats drifted over from the sea, anxiously searching for a place to dock. Clearly, the people gathered there were not just from Three Sails city. They bustled about and made a ruckus with various different dialects. They had to shout if they wanted to be heard when they spoke to someone. It was a commotion.

    ¡°Oh my god, why are there so many people this year?¡±

    ¡°Are there any years when the Merfolk sea fair occurs without a lot of people?¡±

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    ¡°But this is just far too many!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still wet behind the years! Shh, let me tell you, the merpeople are about to declare war with the fire people in the north. They must have brought quite a lot of goods this year!¡±

    ¡°What did you say? I can¡¯t hear you!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Behind the beach was a completely blocked off hill, preventing any mortals from approaching it. On top of it was a magnificent platform with a total of eighty-one white sails fluttering in the wind. Several seats were lined up at the centre.

    An old man with hair white like snow sat in the main seat. To his sides were disciples and members of the sect. He was the master of the Cloud Sail sect, Ji Changfeng, waiting there with his disciples.

    Ji Changfeng gazed into the depths of the sea. He sat there without budging, but he gave off a feeling like he was about to drift away.

    ¡°Father, if the merpeople come, then let them come. Do you really have to receive them in person?¡± Beside the old man was a handsome young man who disagreed with all of this.

    ¡°Qingyu, the Merfolk King might come this year.¡± Ji Changfeng turned around. He was particularly gentle and patient with this talented son of his.

    ¡°The Merfolk King!¡± Ji Qingyu was surprised. In the past, the Merfolk sea fair was normally held by elders of the merpeople. He never thought the Merfolk King would actually come in person.

    The Cloud Sail sect was one of the few, larger sects among the islands of the South sea. They had the Wind Gale King, Ji Changfeng, watching over the place. They could be regarded as the leaders of the sects of the South sea, but in terms of strength, they were nowhere close to the royal court of the merpeople.

    On top of that, the Cloud Sail sect was located on the South sea. They were not bound by the rules and laws of the Great Xia empire, but they did not receive their protection either. Even if they were destroyed, no one would care, so maintaining a good relationship with the merpeople was extremely important.

    However, Ji Qingyu still felt like he was showing far too much courtesy. It contrasted against his identity as the Wind Gale King.

    ¡°Then can¡¯t you just wait on the mountain and come out to receive the Merfolk King once she¡¯s here, father?¡±

    ¡°Fellow Ye of the sword pavilion has also stated that he will come with disciples.¡± Ji Changfeng gazed into the distance. If it were only the Merfolk King, then there was no need for him to put on such a show. They were acquainted with one another after all.

    ¡°The master of the sword pavilion!¡± Ji Qingyu became even more surprised. The South Sea Sword pavilion was also located on the South sea, but it was relatively closer to the nine provinces, and they rarely had any contact with the many sects of the South sea. As such, the South sea treated them as a sect of the Mist province.

    Sword cultivators relied on nothing else but their swords, so the fair was not particularly important to them. Despite all these generations of pavilion masters, this pavilion master Ye was the first one to attend the sea fair. He wondered about his intentions.

    Ji Changfeng continued, ¡°There¡¯s also the Myriad Poison Ancestor of the south, the head caretaker of the King of Yue¡¯s estate, as well as¡­ a White Hawk commander.¡±

    Ji Qingyu had already become speechless. The Myriad Poison cult was tens of thousand kilometers away from here, but the Myriad Poison Ancestor still had quite the renown. Although the head caretaker of the King of Zhao¡¯s estate had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation, the significance behind his appearance was no less than that of a great cultivator¡¯s attendance.

    The Merfolk sea fair was a grand event for the cultivation community of the South sea, but there was almost nothing that could catch the eyes of people like them. They remained within their own circles when it came to trade and communication. There was absolutely no need for them to show up, so the Merfolk sea fair this time seemed very different from ordinary.

    However, what was the White Hawk commander about? He was only a Golden Core cultivator that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation after all. There were plenty of those attending the Merfolk sea fair this time. The cultivation community of the South sea had never been fond of these lackeys of the empire.

    ¡°No wonder father is so solemn. None of these seniors can be simply brushed aside. But about the White Hawk commander¡­¡±

    ¡°The White Hawk commander is called Li Qingshan. He¡¯s a figure that¡¯s risen up recently in the south. He¡¯s claimed Savage mountain so far and calls himself the King of Savages.¡±

    ¡°The King of Savages?¡± Ji Qingyu immediately wanted to laugh. Even a White Hawk commander dared to call himself a king! However, only when he saw how stern Ji Changfeng was did he hide his smile in a hurry.

    ¡°You better not underestimate this Li Qingshan. He¡¯s from the Green province in the north, and in just a few short years, he swept through the various sects in the south and used a Blood Oath Scroll to forcefully recruit a group of powerful subordinates. Even the Myriad Poison cult suffered heavily at his hand, where almost all of their disciples have perished, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor is powerless against him. It¡¯s said that the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate even wanted to grant him the status of honoured guest, but he declined,¡± said Ji Changfeng.

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate had also once tried to grant him the status of honoured guest, but he declined because he refused to become involved in the conflict of the cultivation community of the nine provinces. However, he struggled to read Li Qingshan¡¯s intentions in declining.

    ¡°And yet he¡¯s still bold enough to come! Isn¡¯t he afraid of the Myriad Poison Ancestor?¡±

    Ji Qingyu was amazed. This Li Qingshan really was something else. With a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, he was actually bold enough to fall out completely with the Myriad Poison Ancestor and still be fearless enough to attend the Merfolk sea fair. Was he just fearless of death or did he have the skill to back it up?

    ¡°The first cave master of Savage mountain, Yu Wufeng, was originally the first senior brother of the South Sea Sword pavilion. He¡¯s now been bound by the Blood Oath Scroll, serving under Li Qingshan¡­ Oh right, this Li Qingshan is about the same age as you. He¡¯s under forty right now, and he underwent the second heavenly tribulation before he reached thirty.¡±

    Ji Changfeng guessed that it was very likely the Myriad Poison Ancestor had come this time to deal with Li Qingshan. The master of the sword pavilion probably had not come for the Merfolk sea fair either, but to save his own disciple. Did Li Qingshan¡¯s fearlessness really stem from just this? If that were true, he was underestimating great cultivators a little too much.

    Ye Duanhai had a very staunch personality, so how could he fall for threats so easily? By then, it would be difficult to say who would be threatening who, but who knew? It was said that Yu Wufeng was already close to the third heavenly tribulation, and he wielded an arcane treasure, the Fogbow sword. The South Sea Sword pavilion would definitely care about a successor like that.

    Ji Qingyu widened his eyes. He could be regarded as a genius with a bit of renown in the cultivation community of the South sea, but his cultivation was only at late Foundation Establishment. He planned on consolidating his cultivation for another decade or two before attempting the second heavenly tribulation. In comparison to him, the master of the Fogbow sword, Yu Wufeng, could be regarded as a great genius of true renown, yet he had actually been subdued by Li Qingshan and reduced to a slave. What kind of power did he possess to do that?

    He vaguely understood Ji Changfeng¡¯s reasons now. The waters here were too deep for him. It was not something he could partake in. Despite being the Wind Gale King¡¯s beloved son, he could not afford to offend any of the people mentioned.

    ¡°Father, I understand.¡± Ji Qingyu found this a little difficult to accept, but the difference in their cultivation was truly there.

    Ji Changfeng glanced past the platform again. He had not spoken loudly in their conversation, but he did not try to hide his voice either. With the sharp ears of cultivators, they could make out every single word that had been uttered. They all grew stern and dropped some of their haughtiness as the host.

    Ji Changfeng nodded gently, but he let out a long sigh inside. If only the Cloud Sail sect had a Li Qingshan. So far, there was not a single disciple of the sect he regarded as worthy to inherit his legacy.

    At the end of the day, the nine provinces were still the basis of this world. At the very least, it was the basis of the human cultivation community.

    The South sea was vast, and the scattered islands had many cultivators, but there were only a handful that could reach his realm of cultivation. Instead, there were numerous Daemon Kings that lived in the depths of the ocean. The situation was completely the reverse of that of the nine provinces. The forces that belonged to the otherfolk and daemons far surpassed the forces of humans.

    This was unavoidable. Unlike Merfolk and water daemons that thrived in the ocean, humans needed to have the earth beneath their feet. Without millions of mortals, where were they supposed to find thousands of cultivators?

    The islands of the South sea covered a very large area. There were even numerous cities or even kingdoms, but their population was extremely limited. Often, they would spend numerous years growing and thriving arduously, only for a large storm to come along and kill off millions. Cultivators still stood a chance against a disaster like that, but if a certain Daemon King decided to change up their diets, it would cause immediate devastation. Even if it were just some Daemon Commanders, there were not a lot of cultivators that stood a chance.

    Of course, there were not a lot of cultivators with such poor luck. Water daemons were accustomed to seafood. They might not necessarily be willing to switch over to humans.

    The South sea was simply too vast, and the islands were scattered far too sparsely too, so there was not as much conflict. Regular cultivators spent their days relatively peacefully. They could casually claim an island and just cultivate away. Reaching self-sufficiency was still not too difficult, so there were a lot of hermits and independent cultivators.

    However, this led to another problem. The variety of resources available was overly limited and trade never occurred, so the development of the cultivation community was nowhere close to that of the nine provinces.

    The South Sea Sword pavilion had maintained contact with the Mist province the entire time, constantly clashing with the Myriad Poison cult. It seemed like a pointless waste of their efforts, but the lineage of pavilion masters had never been broken.

    Ji Changfeng thought to himself. The last ray of light was close to vanishing. Suddenly, he sensed something and stood up. He cast his gaze towards the depths of the ocean.

    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±

 Chapter 847

    The sea wind suddenly began to surge, and the sea began to churn with it.

    The fierce wind rushed towards the beach with the waves. The boats in the port could only bob and struggle among the waves. The larger ships could still maintain balance, but the smaller boats were directly thrown around, which led to a series of cries from the crowd, ¡°Oh no, my boat!¡±

    But very soon, everyone forgot about the boats. The wind became even fiercer, such that some people struggled to keep their footing. The crowd fell backwards like the waves.

    The waves on the sea became even larger, rising with each one and rushing over like they could take down mountains. They were almost tsunamis. Many of the unlucky people close to the water were directly swept away by the huge waves, drowning as a result.

    Clouds of blood began to diffuse. Sharks swam around in the fierce waves.

    The colossal waves arrived, and everyone on the beach fled backwards, pushing and shoving, tramping over each other. Their cries and howls rose and fell coupled with the crying of children. It was chaos.

    ¡°Father!¡± Ji Qingyu frowned heavily, and the others disagreed with this as well. The lives of a few mortals was nothing, but it was just far too disrespectful towards the Cloud Sail sect.

    Mortals had died in every sea fair of the past, but there would never be such great winds and waves, nor would there be so much chaos.

    ¡°When the Merfolk King sets out, wind and waves follow!¡±

    Ji Changfeng raised his hand to signal to Ji Qingyu to settle down as he continued to smile. He did feel a little irritated inside, but it was not because of the merpeople. Rather, it was over the mortals under his reign.

    The mortals of Three Sails city really had it far too easy for far too long under the Cloud Sail sect¡¯s protection. As such, many of them who had nothing to do with this had actually come to watch. Did they really think there was nothing to fear because they had an advantage in numbers?

    If they decided to crowd around and observe the rulers of the South sea, the Merfolk, like animals in a zoo, then so be it, but they clearly knew the merpeople were about to arrive, yet some of them were still bold enough to discuss the taste of Merfolk flesh or even speak of obscenity. They really had it coming. This was all that the Merfolk King was doing. She was already holding back plenty.

    In order to maintain the foundations of the Cloud Sail sect, as well as to prevent his disciples from becoming twisted, he did not encourage them to view mortals as insignificant ants. They would even be punished by the sect if they committed atrocities for no reason.

    However, most of the disciples of the sect came from Three Sails city, and they had a rather complicated network of relatives. As a result, as time went on, the mortals no longer held cultivators in such great reverence anymore. They even had quite a few opinions over the Cloud Sail sect¡¯s rule. It was about time for them to learn a lesson.

    The soldiers below began to get to work, but they were just too few in numbers. When they spoke, no one listened to them, so they directly used their weapons to maintain order. If anyone refused to listen, they would directly strike them with poles and hilts of their spears and blades. However, how could the stampede of several tens of thousand people be pacified so easily?

    Some of the cultivators hovering over the beach wanted to help out. After all, as fellow humans, no one wanted to see anyone die pointlessly to the aftermath created by the merpeople.

    However, they all gave up on this idea after glancing at the platform. Since even the host was standing by, they might unwittingly offend the Cloud Sail sect or even the merpeople by going beyond their duties. It was not worth it for the lives of a few mortals.

    The huge waves continued to slam over. Very soon, a huge space had been cleared out on the beach. At the same time, thousands of spectators continued to surge out from Three Sails city. They had no idea what was happening on the beach, so the situation became more and more chaotic.

    Hmm? Ji Changfeng noticed something. Three auras appeared in the north. A cluster of heavy demon qi was in the lead, closely followed by a second cluster of buddhist light. The last cluster radiated with sword qi, and it seemed to surpass the other two in cultivation, but for some reason, it willingly tailed behind them.

    The three of them were all second heavenly layer cultivators, but the auras they gave off was well beyond what regular Golden Core cultivators could contend with. They moved with startling speed too, arriving above Giant Ship island in the blink of an eye.

    The buddhist light and the sword qi stopped, but the cluster of demon qi shot past the disciples of of the Cloud Sail sect, the countless cultivators of the South sea, and even the sect master, Ji Changfeng, without any regard, descending and going straight for the bay.

    A man in white stood above the ocean, his clothes fluttering around and his long hair drifting freely behind him.

    In that moment, the surging sea suddenly flattened. The water calmed down.

    The man¡¯s tall, large figure seemed to stop the sea wind as well. Before the mortals could even react, he turned around and bellowed in irritation, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    His voice was thunderous and possessed great might, completely drowning out the cries of several tens of thousand people. They all froze where they were, afraid to budge.

    ¡°Who is he?!¡±

    Ji Qingyu could not help but ask the question on all the cultivators¡¯ minds. The sea fair was about to begin, and the Wind Gale King and Merfolk King were about to meet, yet he had actually decided to cut in rudely. Was it just for the sake of a few mortals?

    ¡­¡­

    Part of Ji Changfeng¡¯s guesses were correct. Li Qingshan did indeed have an agreement with the master of the sword pavilion, and it obviously was not just for a Yu Wufeng. He had calculated when the Merfolk sea fair would begin and come to Giant Ship island with Yu Wufeng and Xiao An.

    He heard howls and cries from several dozen kilometers away. When he rushed over and took a look, all he saw were surging waves and a stampede of several tens of thousand people. He had never believed he was a particularly kind person, but if he could save lives just by lifting a finger, there was no reason for him not to.

    He could not be bothered with working out what these cultivators were thinking. It was probably along the lines of all mortals were ants. He controlled the situation with a single bellow before gazing at the depths of the sea. He sensed a colossal aura as deep as the ocean emerge from the sea.

    This was an aura that only kings possessed. Ru Xin had been right. Sure enough, the Merfolk King had come.

    At the same time, there were also countless cold gazes from the depths of the ocean, passing through the dark blue seawater and gathering on Li Qingshan.

    The senses of merpeople was as sharp as it could be. The ruckus from several tens of thousand mortals was already extremely disturbing in the tranquil ocean, and no one liked to be treated like animals in a zoo. During the sea fairs of the past, Ji Changfeng would always announce the arrival of the Merfolk beforehand, as his senses surpassed the elders of the merpeople. Meanwhile, his elders responsible for receiving the merpeople would get the mortals to settle down and stay quiet.

    This year, Ji Changfeng was receiving them in person, so he neglected this small detail. His disciples were not bold enough to remind him either, which led to this mistake, making the Merfolk King hear many things she was not supposed to hear. Some of the topics were even taboo, so she purposefully allowed the waves to run amuck. It was not exactly retribution either. She only wanted to teach the mortals a lesson.

    Originally, this could not be regarded as some major incident. At most, a few mortals would die. After all, did humans keep an eye out to avoid the ants on the ground when they walked? These minor details would not affect the relationship between the two kings.

    However, there just happened to be someone ignorant enough to play the hero, directly suppressing the sea waves and even standing right in their path to the port, which led to great distaste.

    ¡°Your majesty, I¡¯ll teach this kid a lesson!¡± Deep under the sea, the great priest said to the Merfolk King.

    She was dressed magnificently, in the best merfolk silk. It seemed as soft and as light as water, but there were several dozen layers in reality. However, she was already extremely old. Even the scales on her tail had become extremely faded. In particular, only her eye whites remained in her eyes, which made her seem rather frightening.

    The Merfolk King leaned against her cheek and sat back on a couch-like crystal throne. In the darkness, her silken clothes outlined her perfect figure, draping on the ground. She shut her eyes firmly as if she had not noticed what was going on at all. Her pale chin nodded almost undetectably.

    The great priest bowed and backed away, lifting up a crystal ball that clearly reflected the scenery of the port. She gently swept her hand over the crystal ball, and it became filled with mist.

    Li Qingshan saw how the people had already settled down and no longer trampled on one another, so he was about to retreat back to the island. He did not plan on openly provoking the Merfolk King by remaining here.

    White mist suddenly rose up from the ocean, spreading over hazily. Before Li Qingshan could respond, it had already engulfed him.

    Many palaces appeared in the mist, constructed from red walls and golden tiles with fancy eaves and cornices. They faded into existence and were vivid.

    In a daze, Li Qingshan discovered he was standing in a busy street. The mist had already dispersed completely, and the pedlars called out loudly to sell their goods. A group of mischievous children rushed past him. When he looked at himself again, he had already turned into a pedlar with a carrying pole over his shoulders, currently making business on the streets.

    He shouldered the carrying pole and smiled. He just stopped there.

    Among the five elements, water was the most flexible and unpredictable. There were many illusion techniques among the water element that could delude people. As a natural race of the water, the merpeople were obviously extremely skilled in these illusions too.

    The mist was slightly similar to the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s clam qi, but after what he had faced in the Mirage sea, these illusions were basically child¡¯s play. They could not shake his will at all.

    The illusions changed, turning into a tempting paradise. Heavenly maidens danced through the air and immortals ventured over to receive him.

    Li Qingshan only admired and appreciated all of this, but he was unfazed.

    The illusions changed again, now a terrifying domain of ghosts. Fiends and yakshas lunged over, but Li Qingshan did not budge. He allowed the fiends to reach him, which then turned into mist and dispersed.

    The illusions changed freely, but they could not even touch a single hair on Li Qingshan. He turned around and made his way towards the beach. With each step, the illusions shattered, and he emerged in the blink of an eye.

    At this moment, enchanting singing suddenly rang out near him, reaching deep into his ears like threads and coiling around his heart, wreaking havoc on his mind.

    This was not a hallucination!

    The singing of female Merfolk possessed natural charms. Regularly, fishermen would throw themselves into the ocean without any regard when they heard it, drowning themselves to death and even smiling in joy.

    Li Qingshan seemed to be enraptured too, standing where he was and listening closely. The singing resembled the sounds of dolphins from his past life, but it was countless times more mellow and wonderful.

    The mortals on the beach raised a ruckus again. All of them, regardless of their age and gender, rushed towards the sea in a craze.

    At this moment, the vast, deep cry of a dragon descended from the horizon, dispersing the singing and allowing everyone to recover.

    Looking down from above, a huge shadow rapidly approached Li Qingshan under the smooth surface of the sea.

    A huge bubble suddenly rose up from beside Li Qingshan, growing larger and larger until it reached several dozen meters tall. It broke through the silk-like surface of the ocean, and a giant figure stopped on the surface silently, almost plugging up the entire port.

    Countless other bubbles swelled up one after another in the surroundings. Even the smallest were several dozen meters wide. As it turned out, they were all whales. They surrounded Li Qingshan like tiny hills.

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 Chapter 848

    Merfolk were not skilled at forging artifacts. Even if they forged something, it would be something along the lines of water-element arcane artifacts or storage items like hundred treasures pouches and sumeru rings. The skill was nowhere near as widespread as it was in the Green province. The merpeople traded with the cultivators of the South sea at each Merfolk sea fair by bringing a huge pod of whales loaded with various goods.

    Many merpeople stood on the pod of whales, both beautiful mermaids and sturdy mermen. They all looked at Li Qingshan from above with gazes of curiosity, caution, coldness, and hostility.

    Half of the whale¡¯s eye right beside Li Qingshan appeared, over a dozen meters across. It was like a pool of water, clearly reflecting his figure.

    It was a Daemon Commander, one close to the peak of the second heavenly tribulation. It was nowhere close to the Great Whale King, but it was still enormous.

    Li Qingshan ignored all the gazes and raised his head, looking at the queen of the Merfolk. A pair of eyes met him.

    At first glance, the eyes were still a light blue. They were clear enough for him to see through them.

    But gradually, they went from a light blue to an azure blue, followed by an inky blue. He felt like his mind was being pulled into the depths of the ocean, into a bottomless abyss. The darkness and coldness constantly sank down. His body experienced actual pressure, like the pressure of the deep sea.

    The merpeople in the surroundings had differing expressions. Some smiled cruelly, some sighed in pity, while others remained cold.

    The great priest of the merpeople licked her razor-sharp teeth. Her face was filled with bloodthirsty joy. She recalled how the previous human cultivator had exploded when they met the Merfolk Queen¡¯s eyes.

    All of the cultivators on the beach watched this unfold. Some of them could not help but study the Merfolk Queen, but before they could even admire her beauty, they were helplessly drawn away by the eyes, forgetting everything around them.

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    Ji Qingyu happened to be one of them. He had not made out the Merfolk Queen at all when he was overcome by a stifling feeling, like the fear one felt when drowning. It was the fear of impending death. Right when he thought he was going to die, he suddenly jerked back to his senses and discovered he was still standing on the platform. He gasped for air and became drenched in cold sweat.

    All of the cultivators who gazed at the Merfolk Queen from afar were the same. They all fell out of the air, no longer bold enough to look at the Merfolk Queen again.

    That¡¯s far too terrifying! Just through her eyes alone, she can kill all the cultivators present apart from father. She clearly held back at the end, which was why I could break free, and that¡¯s just the residual power, just like how the wind and waves earlier were not actually targeting us. As it turns out, we¡¯re no different from mortals before her. Isn¡¯t the man who met her gaze dead for sure then?

    But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was calm and relaxed as if he was enjoying it, or more accurately, the spirit turtle was enjoying it.

    The spirit turtle liked to hide within the deep sea. A single slumber could last for millennia, avoiding all ties of karma, all sources of disaster and danger.

    As he practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, Li Qingshan¡¯s nature began to change as well. He obviously developed habits of the spirit turtle as well, but he was under the influence of the other transformations too, which was why he had not turned into a deep-sea shut-in.

    He began to practice the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, and he changed slightly. Li QIngshan¡¯s gaze became as tranquil as the deep sea.

    A sliver of surprise flashed through the Merfolk Queen¡¯s eyes. She blinked her eyes. If he had just resisted her Eyes of the Abyss, then so be it, but he was enjoying himself. On top of that, the feeling of peace from his pitch-black eyes was beginning to influence her, making the slight displeasure she felt inside vanish.

    ¡°What beautiful eyes.¡± Li Qingshan praised from the bottom of his heart. He was tempted to exchange gazes with her for a little longer.

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    Breaking free from the eyes that were as deep as the sea, he studied this Merfolk Queen. She sat back on the crystal throne with a delicate crystal crown on her head. Her long, icy-blue hair was tied up, and she wore a beautiful, crystal necklace on her slender neck, which rested on her chest. Her silken dress draped down the throne, also adorned with many crystals. He could vaguely make out a long fishtail within it.

    Apart from that, she bore some other special characteristics of otherfolk, but the noble, icy-cold aura she gave off was enough for anyone to forget about them and become enchanted by her.

    While Li Qingshan was a lustful person, as well as a battle freak, he silently evaluated, Her cultivation is even greater than the Myriad Poison Ancestor. She¡¯s reached mid third heavenly tribulation at the very least. She¡¯s probably equal to the Fire Devouring King, Zhu Yan, or perhaps even slightly stronger. If I include the other abilities of these ¡°godfolk¡±, I¡¯m not her opponent right now.

    ¡°How disrespectful! Where are the guards?¡± the great priest called out.

    A group of merfolk guards rode over on sharks and encircled him. The leading merman was especially burly, having reached the second heavenly tribulation too. In terms of cultivation alone, he was evenly matched with Li Qingshan. He wielded an anchor engraved with glyphs and glared at Li Qingshan, contemplating which part he should smash.

    However, Li Qingshan did not even glance at him. He continued to stare at the Merfolk Queen, quietly waiting for her to speak.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the Merfolk Queen asked. Her voice was extremely icy, but it possessed a natural charm. It was even more enchanting than the combined singing from the mermaids.

    Li Qingshan was not accustomed to talking to people with his head raised, so he leapt onto the whale¡¯s back gently and arrived before the Merfolk Queen. He answered, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Apart from the Merfolk Queen and the great priest, there were also a group of Merfolk elders on the huge whale¡¯s back, all at the second heavenly tribulation and radiating with a turbulent aura of the sea. They bellowed loudly, some wanting him to piss off, some wanting him to kneel, and some almost about to strike and capture him. Their aura was as wild as the ocean, ready to erupt at any moment.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    A bellow rang out from behind Li Qingshan, and a black figure rushed over. The captain of the Merfolk guards had been completely enraged by Li Qingshan¡¯s disregard. He smashed the anchor in his hand at him with the terrifying power of the tides. It was an alarming sight.

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡± The Merfolk Queen repeated the name. She had heard this name before. Although she resided in the distant depths of the South sea, as a king, her senses were obviously sharp. At a time like this, when war was on the brink of erupting, she had to collect all the information she could get her hands on.

    Although the title ¡°King of Savages¡± was still a bit of an overstatement, just his battle with the Myriad Poison cult meant he was no longer some insignificant figure anymore.

    ¡°What about you?¡± Li Qingshan asked. The Merfolk elders were all shocked, but it was no longer because of his rudeness. He had caught the anchor with his right hand without even looking back. The captain of the Merfolk guards was utterly furious, gritting his teeth and pressing his entire weight into the anchor, but he could not even make it budge.

    Is he really a human? Gong Kun¡¯s cultivation might not be the best, but he¡¯s naturally endowed with strength. The Tidal Anchor weighs several tonnes. If he smashes it down like that, probably no one can receive it so easily apart from her majesty!

    ¡°Me?¡± The Merfolk Queen fell silent for a moment, as if she had never expected him to ask that. There was no one who did not know her name across the entire South sea. He asked this question clearly just for the sake of equality and reciprocity. She glanced at the anchor in his hand again.

    ¡°Gong Yuan.¡±

 Chapter 849

    However, that truly was some undeserved blame. Li Qingshan really did not know what her name was. Although Ru Xin had introduced the overall situation of the South sea to him, she never mentioned the name of the Merfolk Queen for some reason. Li Qingshan did not mind either. After all, it was only a term of reference at the end of the day. Their name and surname was not important.

    During this short conversation, the guard captain, Gong Kun, felt like he had just made a fool of himself before the queen, which made him even more furious. He downright let go of the anchor. His arms rippled with muscles, immediately becoming covered with scales that shone with a metallic sheen. They suddenly turned into blurs as he unleashed a barrage at Li Qingshan¡¯s defenceless back. Every single punch possessed the power to split mountains.

    Li Qingshan ignored it. Let alone dodging, he did not even glance at him. The dark red demon qi automatically protected him, forming swirls and easily nullifying the punches. The punches did not even reach his clothes.

    This was originally a battle skill from Ocean Wielding. Although the Ocean pearl was completely gone now, his usage of this battle skill was more ingenious than ever.

    ¡°You fool, do you really think my Cascading Strikes of the Great Waves is that simple? I¡¯ll make you learn your lesson right now!¡±

    The force was like the roaring waves of the ocean, piling up and cascading together turbulently. The swirls of demon qi gradually gave way.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Gong Kun bellowed. His right arm thickened once again, and he punched towards Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    ¡°Have you had enough yet?¡±

    Li Qingshan finally turned around. He raised his left hand and blocked Gong Kun¡¯s punch. Gazing at Gong Kun¡¯s twisted and stunned face, he felt an urge to swing the anchor in his right hand.

    He only needed a gentle swing to smash this merman¡¯s head in. Even the Merfolk Queen would not be able to save him in time. However, he decided against it. He had not come to develop ill will with the Merfolk of the South sea.

    ¡°Gong Kun, back down!¡±

    Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes flashed. She sensed the momentary change in Li Qingshan¡¯s aura and could not help but sit up. She was surprised by his audacity, actually bold enough to consider taking someone¡¯s life right in front of her. This was either brazen foolishness or absolute confidence.

    The elders all looked at one another. As it seemed, Li Qingshan did live up to his title as the King of Savages. Gong Kun had unleashed his full strength, yet it was not even enough to probe out his strength. He was like a rowdy child messing around with an adult. Once the child pissed off the adult, a single slap across the face would be enough to render the child half-dead.

    Aside from the queen, probably no one was his opponent. Coupled with his young age, he would definitely become a great cultivator in the future as long as he did not die along the way. The nine provinces were endowed with talented geniuses!

    Gong Kun had already pulled back before the order. He only bowed after blanking out for a moment. ¡°Yes!¡±

    He was badly shaken. In the moment earlier when they locked eyes, murderousness had flooded over. He felt like he was facing a terrifying, colossal beast of the deep sea. Now that he returned to his senses, it was just a regular, smiling man. He could not even be regarded as handsome by the standards of Merfolk, but he did give off a valiant bearing that could not be ignored.

    Hmph, as the captain of the guards, since when have I feared death?

    ¡°You big dumb oaf, who told you to come up here? Why don¡¯t you piss off right now?¡±

    Right when Gong Kun wanted to stand by the crystal throne, a voice rang out in his head, which made his expression become quite strange. The speaker was not anyone else, but the huge whale beneath them. It could not stand being stood on, so it directly communicated with him to shoo him away.

    The blue whale Daemon Commander was the special mount of the Merfolk Queen. He had grown up in the South sea and was rumoured to be a descendant of the Great Whale King. He was already over seven thousand years old now, having witnessed countless vicissitudes of the Merfolk. He was at the peak of the second heavenly tribulation, and once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation, he would become the protector beast of the Merfolk. He possessed an extremely great status among the merpeople and was known as elder Blue.

    This elder Blue had quite the temper. Normally, he never let anyone ride on his back. Today, the queen had set out on a trip and needed to discuss matters with the elders, so he came to a compromise to carry them as well. Li Qingshan had been standing on him for so long, yet he did not respond at all. He tried to shoo away Gong Kun instead.

    ¡°Gong Yuan, deep like the sea. What a good name!¡±

    TL: The ¡°yuan¡± in Gong Yuan means abyss. It can also be used to describe great depths, which is the case here.

    Li Qingshan casually tossed the anchor back to Gong Kun. Gong Kung glanced at Li Qingshan, reluctant to just drop the matter there, but Li Qingshan had already turned around and begun talking with the queen. As a result, he had no other choice but to leave the whale¡¯s back, glancing at the pool-sized whale eye grumpily.

    ¡°Look at you. I call you dumb, yet you still refuse to admit it. Why don¡¯t you check your anchor? The kid might just have a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, but his strength is unfathomable. Even I am probably not his opponent, so what do you have to feel discontent about? He¡¯s a White Hawk commander of the Hawkwolf Guard, while his master is a Monk King of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. As long as someone like him does not openly oppose us, it¡¯s fine even if he¡¯s a little rude. Do you really want to create an enemy for no good reason?¡± Elder Blue added.

    In simpler terms, politeness purely depended on strength. If mortals ran their mouths, then some of them should be killed and made into an example. However, even if Li Qingshan climbed onto the whale¡¯s back and asked for the Merfolk Queen¡¯s name, there was nothing wrong with that.

    Gong Kun lowered his head, and sure enough, there was a handprint on the anchor. He was shocked. He had found the anchor from a huge, sunken ship. Only after forging it who knew how many times did he shrink it to its current size. It was extremely tough, yet Li Qingshan had actually left a mark through his grip alone. He glanced at the whale back again, and the man suddenly seemed much taller and larger under the starry sky.

    ¡°Li Qingshan. Now that¡¯s a rather mediocre name,¡± Gong Yuan said coldly. She could acknowledge Li Qingshan¡¯s strength to a certain degree, but that did not mean they were equals.

    ¡°Then you can call me Erlang. I¡¯m the second son in my family.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    He was clearly mocking her with that, which infuriated the Merfolk elders. However, the Merfolk Queen remained just as cold as before. ¡°Little Li the second, why do you block my path and hinder the sea fair?¡±

    Little Li the second?

    Li Qingshan pinched his nose. He never expected the Merfolk Queen¡¯s tongue to¡­ resemble Ru Xin¡¯s a little! At a closer glance, despite her icy-cold, dignified bearing of a king, her facial features really did bear some resemblance to Ru Xin¡¯s. Was she related to Ru Xin somehow?

    Gong Yuan¡¯s expression only grew colder. ¡°Heh, how could a measly second son of the Li family block your majesty¡¯s path? I¡¯ve come to guide you.¡± Li Qingshan turned to his side and raised his hand. ¡°Please look. That is where the sea fair will be held, called Giant Ship island. On there are three great mountains, which are called Main-mast mountain, Fore-mast mountain and¡­ uhh¡­ Medium-mast mountain¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan began to ramble as he introduced the mountains and the sea fair. Ru Xin had mentioned all of it offhandedly to him in the past, which was the only reason why he knew, and there were even many mistakes in his introduction.

    All of the merpeople became rather confused. Who knew how many times they had held the sea fair already, so did they really need an outsider to introduce this to them? If you want to introduce it to us, at least do your research. What the hell is Medium-mast mountain supposed to be about?

    There was a ¡°pfft¡± and a mermaid began laughing, earning a vicious glance from the great priest, so she covered her mouth in a hurry. However, she struggled to hide her smile. This human sure is bold. He¡¯s actually brave enough to talk nonsense in front of the queen. He might not be particularly handsome, but he is quite interesting. Even that grumpy-looking Gong Kun isn¡¯t his opponent.

    ¡°Now look at him. That¡¯s the sect master of Cloud Sail mountain, fellow Feng Changfeng. He¡¯s known as the Wind Gale King. He wields a Feilian flag¡­¡±

    TL: Feilian is the Chinese god of wind. You can read more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feilian

    Li Qingshan smiled at the laughing mermaid before pointing at the altar on the beach, which made Ji Changfeng¡¯s eyes twitch. Li Qingshan had said nothing bad about him. Instead, he placed him on a very high pedestal, even saying things along the lines of ¡°The Wind Gale King dominates the South sea, where even the King of Southern Yue has to treat him with courtesy¡±. However, it left him restless for some reason. He was tempted to just swing the Feilian flag and blow him back to the Green province.

    ¡°This Li Qingshan¡­¡± Ji Qingyu was speechless, but he could not help but admire him. Right in front of countless cultivators and merpeople, he remained completely at ease while caught between two kings, completely matching them in prestige and might. That was the King of Savages.

    ¡°Shut your mouth. We don¡¯t need your introduction. Leave us!¡± the great priest barked.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her. ¡°When I¡¯m talking with the queen, I don¡¯t need any other people butting in!¡±

    ¡°You!¡±

    Ji Changfeng felt like he could not let this continue any further, so he cleared his throat gently and clasped his hands. ¡°Fellow Gong, long time no see! My friends, you¡¯ve all travelled a great distance, yet I¡¯ve failed to welcome you from afar, so please enter the port! Also, my¡­ little friend, thank you for your introduction, but that¡¯ll do. Let¡¯s not make everyone wait too long.¡±

    After a moment of hesitation, he decided to refer to Li Qingshan as ¡°little friend¡± in the end, which signified treating him as an equal, but not on equal footing like ¡°fellow¡±.

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    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, my old friend. I¡¯m basically done anyway. Since you don¡¯t need me anymore, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands at Ji Changfeng. Although there had been a small accident, he had basically achieved his objectives. This kind of recognition seemed pointless, but it was actually extremely important. It was directly connected to a series of plans.

    ¡°I have to admit, despite also being the king of a race, you¡¯re far more tolerant than that bastard Zhu Yan, your majesty.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯ve met Zhu Yan before?¡±

    Li Qingshan said that and was about to leave when the icy-cold Gong Yuan finally became fazed.

    ¡°I have met him once. Unfortunately, it was not a particularly enjoyable experience.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    Gong Yuan sank into her thoughts. She glanced at Li Qingshan deeply and said, ¡°Little Li the second, you can stay right here and enter the port with us!¡±

    ¡°That would be an honour! But if you could call me something else, I¡¯d-¡±

    ¡°Enter the port!¡± Gong Yuan ordered, and the blue whale swam in.

    Li Qingshan shook his head, turning around and arriving on the blue whale¡¯s head. He stood in the wind.

    Acquainting himself with this Merfolk Queen had unfolded much more smoothly than acquainting with the Fire Devouring King. When otherfolk were endowed by heaven, they were also influenced by their natural element, which affected the seven great races of otherfolk in particular. The yin-element night roamers were sinister and crafty, the fire-element fire devourers were short-tempered and restless, while the water-element merpeople were relatively milder and more tolerant.

    Of course, that was only relatively. The Merfolk Queen¡¯s character was cold and deep, just like the sea abyss. She was definitely a tough nut to crack. A major reason why she was willing to tolerate his ¡°rudeness¡± was because of his strength and background. The outcome of his battle against the Myriad Poison cult had played a critical role too.

    Otherwise, she probably would have shown him the violent, unpredictable side of the ocean already.

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 Chapter 850

    If LiQingshan¡¯s meeting with Zhu Yan had occurred after the battle, Zhu Yan probably would not have been so restless and short-tempered. If he had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, Zhu Yan definitely would have heard out what he was offering in exchange for the divine wutong tree. Even if it irritated him, he would not directly turn against him.

    If he had reached the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s realm of cultivation, Zhu Yan would have to consider whether he should go forward with the deal or not. Even if he declined, he would do it relatively politely and demonstrate a different side of the fire devourers.

    At the end of the day, even the quick and clever tongue of the weak was no match for the nonsense of the strong.

    The cultivators under Ji Changfeng¡¯s lead only saw Li Qingshan ride in on a whale in the wind, clearly standing at the highest point among the Merfolk. It was as if he was the centre of the show this time.

    ¡°Kid, if you want to stand on my back, then so be it, yet you actually choose to stand on my head! Do you know how to respect the elderly or not?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised and realised the speaker was the blue whale beneath his feet. He could not help but smile. ¡°Respecting the elderly is a human concept. If age is what determines seniority, daemons would be at the very top. Fellow, why do you serve the otherfolk instead of wandering the deep sea like the Great Whale King?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, sharp-tongued brat. Once the fair begins, I¡¯d like to have a contest of strength with you!¡± Elder Blue said, rather unconvinced that he was any weaker than Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan knew that Gong Yuan had probably suggested this to probe out his true strength. His empty reputation alone was not enough to keep her at bay. However, he had expressed some of his hostility toward the fire devourers, so she decided against taking action personally. She sent this blue whale Daemon Commander instead and only described it as a contest, not openly antagonising him.

    ¡°Hmph, then try it! You¡¯re so young, yet you mention the Great Whale King so casually. Do you even know what the Great Whale King looks like?¡±

    Elder Blue¡¯s instincts told him that Li Qingshan was a tough nut to crack, but he was still surprised by how readily he agreed to the request.

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    ¡°I was fortunate enough to hear his whale song.¡±

    ¡°Ah, then you really do have good fortune.¡±

    ¡°You have good fortune too!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ve obviously heard the whale song too.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that.¡±

    ¡°Then what are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m talking about meeting me?¡±

    ¡°How is that good fortune?¡±

    ¡°In the future, you can tell people that I had ridden on your back once. You can even say you¡¯ve held a conversation with me before. They¡¯ll definitely say you have good fortune!¡±

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    ¡°Damned brat, how dare you make fun of me! I¡¯ll throw you off right now!¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s making fun of you? I¡¯m serious.¡±

    ¡°Serious¡­¡± Elder Blue was taken aback. He was so serious that he seemed like he was describing a truth that would happen in the future, like how the sun would set in the west and the tides would rise and fall. ¡°Pah! You almost fooled me. Just you wait, kid!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, and his laughter echoed through the entire port. Because he had been communicating with elder Blue with his soul sense, no one had any idea what he was laughing about, which made them stare at him in surprise.

    When the whale pod reached the coastal waters, the sky had already darkened completely. The starry sky above the ocean was particularly resplendent. The large clouds were like islands in the sea of stars, obscuring the brilliant moon at times and casting a shadow.

    There was absolutely no firelight on the beach or in Three Sails city. Merfolk disliked fire, so lighting fires right before merpeople was a form of disrespect. In the very beginning, the people who attended the sea fair had no choice but to avoid lighting fires, but it became a tradition on Giant Ship island afterwards, where the island would put out all flames during every sea fair.

    However, the bay was brightly lit. A huge school of fish swam about in the dark-blue, transparent water, giving off a gentle, green glow. Thousands of jellyfish glowed with a dim, blue light, bobbing up and down in the water. There were even strange fish with horns that seemed to be bearing lamps, as well as krill that resembled fireflies, flickering about as they swam around. It seemed like someone had grabbed a handful of stars and scattered them in the sea water, leaving the ocean utterly magnificent.

    However, what shone even brighter were the baskets of goods constructed from coral and seaweed on the whales¡¯ backs. They were filled with luminous pearls of the deep sea, giving off a gentle, pure-white glow. They glimmered away, contending against one another in resplendence. The item that attracted the most attention was a stack of coral around the same size as a fake mountain, constantly changing in colour. It was dazzling.

    The whales seemed to carry the precious treasures of the entire world, contending against the resplendence of the moon and stars in the sky.

    Clouds and mist rose up from the surface of the ocean. The merpeople rode the mist and moved the dazzling array of goods onto the fluffy clouds, which drifted to the beach with the sea wind. Merpeople could split their tails into legs, but most of them were unaccustomed to that sensation.

    The disciples of the Cloud Sail sect went up to receive the goods. They were responsible for recording the goods, separating them into groups, and delivering them to the Sea Pavilion of Remote Corners for people to pick and choose.

    However, the most eye-catching part was the beautiful mermaids. Every single one of them was a natural beauty, but they were beautiful in their own way. They were not bound by the norms and rules of humanity, smiling and acting about freely, but they did not come off as improper at all. They seemed extremely pure.

    Under the curling mist and within the illumination of the treasures, the bay seemed like paradise. Let alone the mortals who had been completely stunned by this sight, even the cultivators were unable to look away.

    Even with all that Li Qingshan had seen and heard, he was still amazed by this. Otherfolk really were not boasting and glorifying themselves when they called themselves ¡°godfolk¡± in the ancient times. In the eyes of the mortals, they really were like creations of the divine!

    In particular, races like night roamers, fire devourers, and merpeople were naturally endowed with strength and longevity far greater than mortals. Even their appearances were utterly perfect, enough for people to completely forget about the unique characteristics of otherfolk, even treating it as a special form of charm. Even if human beauties could match them in appearance, they were nowhere close when it came to bearing.

    In terms of value, these mermaids were indeed the most precious ¡°good¡± out of everything present. If a mermaid had been taken to the Dragon province to be sold, she would definitely fetch a greater price than all the goods on the back of a single whale.

    Their tears could turn into precious mermaid pearls, their eyes could be made into priceless Condensed Jade pearls, and their scales were a precious medicinal material. Even their tails were a supreme delicacy, a dish essential to the banquets of the imperial court.

    In order to taste the freshest and most delicious Merfolk flesh, some of the most dedicated foodies would shackle a mermaid in a specially-made jade dish before using extremely sharp ice blades to slice off extremely thin pieces of flesh. They would consume it immediately without any other seasoning. The coldness from the ice blades would freeze the wounds, preventing even a droplet of blood from being spilt.

    The mermaid would have to remain conscious. Not only would she have to endure the pain of the slow slicing, but she would have to endure great mental agony too. The sobs of despair she gave off, combined with the sounds of her tears striking the jade dish, was the most wonderful music the world had to offer. Combined with admiring the mermaid¡¯s beautiful figure and appearance, multiple senses¡ªsight, hearing and taste¡ªof the foodie would be appeased. This dish was called Flowing Pearls of the Brilliant Moon.

    When Li Qingshan first heard about it, he could not help but sigh, ¡°If you aren¡¯t heartless, how can you eat that, let alone enjoy it?¡±

    However, Ru Xin said, ¡°Anyone can resort to cannibalism if they¡¯re desperate enough, let alone otherfolk. Apart from races like the fire devourers and giant lumbermen that aren¡¯t carnivorous, godfolk also had different ways to eat human flesh in the ancient times! They even specially ate infants that have just taken shape in their mother¡¯s womb, a dish called Cart-puller of Placenta. It¡¯s all just preying on the weak in the end.¡±

 Chapter 851

    Although otherfolk and humans were both technically people, their hatred for one another was so deep that it far exceeded their hatred for daemons despite daemons being the ones that ate the most people. It was probably because daemons could not come up with all these dishes. Instead, being killed and eaten by daemons was more of a norm.

    What left Li Qingshan even more surprised was Ru Xin¡¯s attitude towards all of this. It was said that everyone always had some attachment to their own kind, but she was surprisingly indifferent towards Merfolk. It was like she did not treat herself as a Merfolk, but she did not treat herself as a human either.

    Thinking up to there, Li Qingshan scanned the beach, but he did not see Ru Xin¡¯s figure. They had split up, so even he had no idea where she was right now. However, there was no need for him to worry either. She was under the protection of the Myriad Poison Ancestor, so she definitely would not be in any danger.

    The length of the Merfolk sea fair was variable. It could last as short as a night, or as long as several days. Gong Yuan had come in person this time, so it would probably last a little longer. Ru Xin definitely would not be missing out on it.

    ¡°Kid, we¡¯ve reached the beach. Aren¡¯t you going to get off?¡± Elder Blue lost his temper and swung his tail, kicking up huge waves.

    Gong Yuan had led the elders off the whale¡¯s back, and she was currently talking with Ji Changfeng. The two of them glanced over from time to time.

    Only Li Qingshan stood alone on the blue whale now as if he was waiting for something.

    He smiled at Ji Changfeng and Gong Yuan and simply sat down, patting elder Blue¡¯s smooth head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient. I¡¯m waiting for someone!¡±

    ¡°Oi, are you really taking me as your own mount? Hurry up and get off me!¡± If it were not for the fact that elder Blue was afraid of creating a disturbance for the sea fair, he would have taken on Li Qingshan in a great battle right then and there.

    As they spoke, another figure flew over from the cloudy horizon. Her target was elder Blue¡¯s head.

    ¡°Just who is bold enough to- hmm? What a beautiful girl!¡± Elder Blue was surprised and forgot to fly into a rage, allowing Xiao An to land on his head.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± A gleam of light flashed through Ji Changfeng¡¯s eyes. When he was younger, he often became involved in affairs of love. He was very much a romantic. At his current age, he had cast aside something like that long ago, but he still believed he had witnessed all the beauties the world had to offer already, where it was impossible for him to be amazed again. However, at this very moment, he could not help but sigh inside, The world actually has someone as beautiful as her! Just what else do the nine provinces have to offer?

    Ji Qingfeng and the cultivators with weaker willpower and cultivation were directly stunned by her, unable to shift their gazes.

    The mermaids were beautiful, but compared to her, it was like comparing pearls against the moon. They stood no chance. She was not adorned with any accessories, so simply dressed that there only seemed to be two colours, black and white. Her black hair and eyes and her white clothes and snowy skin actually made her surpass even the Merfolk Queen.

    She¡¯s Xiao An. The dragon¡¯s cry came from her earlier. It¡¯s said that she¡¯s even younger than Li Qingshan. She probably hasn¡¯t even reached thirty yet, yet she already possesses such cultivation. How terrifying. Humans might mostly be mediocre, but among their vast population, they can produce wondrous geniuses every now and then, such that even godfolk stand no chance. That¡¯s why they could conquer the nine provinces.

    Gong Yuan thought, But do buddhist disciples practise arts of charm? It doesn¡¯t seem to be as simple as the arts of charm.

    Although the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty included numerous different arts, such as artifact forging and alchemy, the arts of charm was not one of them. It focused on the path of life and death, the concept of form and emptiness. Great beauty was form, and white bone was emptiness. The two words ¡°great beauty¡± contained the acme of appearance within the living world, which was why it could contrast against the emptiness of white bone.

    It was not an art of charm, yet it surpassed all arts of charm. It was the very essence, touching on the very origin of all arts of charm.

    ¡°The guy from the sword pavilion sure is slow. He¡¯s probably trying to assert himself right at the beginning. Hmph, am I supposed to be begging you? If you think you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you try not coming?¡± Li Qingshan found a bronze mask and made Xiao An wear it before calling out at the sky, ¡°Yu Wufeng!¡±

    There was no reason for the South Sea Sword pavilion to hurry anyway. It was not like he wanted the master of the sword pavilion¡¯s help either. It was perfect that they did not come to make trouble for him.

    Yu Wufeng hovered in the sky and stared straight at the direction of the South Sea Sword pavilion, but he did not see any streaks of light. Hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s call, he felt powerless, turning into a streak of white light and arriving before him, but he did not land on the whale. He clasped his hands. ¡°My king, what are your orders?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t just keep waiting like this. The old chap below us is already running out of patience. Your master will come if he wants to. Let¡¯s go ashore first!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Yu Wufeng.

    ¡°You¡¯re Yu Wufeng!?¡± Elder Blue was surprised. They had only met once several years ago, but the streaks of light that resembled fogbows and his head full of white hair was simply unforgettable.

    ¡°It¡¯s been several years. I didn¡¯t expect elder Blue to still remember me.¡± Yu Wufeng smiled.

    Right when everyone became disappointed because Xiao An had put on the mask, Yu Wufeng¡¯s appearance immediately led to an even greater uproar.

    ¡°It really is him, the Fogbow Swordsman Yu Wufeng!¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t he expelled from the South Sea Sword pavilion? Why is he still bold enough to come to the South sea!?¡± ¡°Your information is far too outdated. That was a scheme by the South Sea Sword pavilion for him to take Savage mountain. He just never expected Li Qingshan to suddenly appear from nowhere, not only losing out on the title of King of Savages, but even being unwittingly dragged into the whole matter himself.¡±

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    Hearing these discussions and conversations, Yu Wufeng sighed inside. He looked at the beach again and saw many familiar faces among the cultivators of the South sea. The reason why he was unwilling to go ashore earlier was because there were far too many acquaintances down there, but he had basically settled down now. He clasped his hands at them from afar, basically greeting them.

    Virtually all the cultivators returned the gesture from afar. With it came to reputation among the cultivation community of the South sea, Yu Wufeng¡¯s even outshone Li Qingshan¡¯s. He was a supreme genius in the past, wielding the arcane treasure, the Fogbow sword, as he wandered the South sea alone. For a time, his prominence was unrivalled. Afterwards, he was expelled from the South Sea sword pavilion, becoming the first cave master of Savage mountain, which added some legendary splendour to his name.

    Tonight, he returned to the South sea. The Fogbow sword shone just like the past, but his cultivation had climbed to a higher level, basically only a step away from the third heavenly tribulation. This should have been something worthy of celebration, but he just happened to be bound by the Blood Oath Scroll, forcing him to serve someone else. How could they not lament over this?

    Some of Yu Wufeng¡¯s old friends wanted to hurry over as soon as they saw him, but when they saw him refer to Li Qingshan as king and stand behind him silently, they all stopped and hesitated. It left a very bad taste in their mouths. They would have preferred it if they had not seen that.

    ¡°No Wind, seems like you¡¯re quite popular in the South sea.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°My king, don¡¯t let my current circumstances fool you. I too had once been a righteous swordsman! With this sword in hand, I¡¯ve saved numerous people from disasters,¡± Yu Wufeng said.

    After everything he had been through, he already began to admire Li Qingshan from the bottom of his heart. In particular, the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s fate left him utterly overjoyed. He no longer had any intent on making an enemy out of Li Qingshan anymore.

    This was not out of fear for Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. As a sword cultivator, it would be absolutely impossible for him to reach his current cultivation if he did not have a firm, unyielding nature where he could disregard his personal safety. He admired him out of respect and admiration.

    ¡°Yeah, you don¡¯t look like a demonic cultivator. Don¡¯t worry. Even if your master doesn¡¯t come, I¡¯ll remove the blood oath in the future.¡± Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulder. Someone like him was not a sinful demonic cultivator, nor did he have any plans on becoming his enemy. If it were possible, Li Qingshan also hoped he could continue down the path of cultivation.

    ¡°T- then thank you, my king. If I am ever fortunate enough to undergo the third heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll definitely pay you back!¡±

    What Yu Wufeng feared the most was being stuck under Li Qingshan for the rest of his life because of the Blood Oath Scroll. Having suddenly received this promise, he could not help but be taken aback. He knew he was not someone who gave empty promises, so he could not help but become overwhelmed with admiration.

    If it were anyone else, even if they had no use for Yu Wufeng, they would never release him so easily, afraid they would face retribution once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation. However, Li Qingshan was unafraid. His breadth of mind and courage originated from absolute confidence. Once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation, even if Yu Wufeng decided to turn against him, it was only a matter of killing him with a single punch.

    ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s not payback.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He trusted his insight. As a genius sword cultivator, Yu Wufeng definitely was not someone despicable like that. If it had been the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber or some other demonic cultivator instead, he would have never done this. Even if he promised them something, it would probably just be a sham.

    ¡°Definitely not. I can swear on my heart of the sword to never make an enemy out of you! Actually, we never should have been enemies in the first place. The circumstances were just against us. However, that¡¯s not exactly a bad thing either. I was in a hurry to return to the South Sea Sword pavilion, so my chances at surviving the tribulations were not actually that high. With this setback, I¡¯ve been able to consolidate my cultivation a bit more, which might instead be a blessing to me. I just hope that we can treat each other as equals in the future, where I don¡¯t have to call you ¡®king¡¯ anymore.¡± Yu Wufeng confessed.

    If he cast aside their disputes, everything that Li Qingshan had done in the Mist province¡ªvanquishing the cave masters of Savage mountain, sweeping up the demonic cultivators of the south, devastating the Myriad Poison cult, and massacring a hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans¡ªwas something that he wanted to do as well but was incapable of doing. Even if he underwent the third heavenly tribulation and became a great sword cultivator, he would not be able to subdue the Myriad Poison Ancestor. He would not be bold enough to become enemies with the Bone Eating Shaman King either. If he had a choice, he was extremely willing to befriend Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Sure! I actually don¡¯t like strutting around on top of others. It¡¯s just that with certain people, they won¡¯t take you seriously unless you walk over them!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Because he had once ridden on brother ox¡¯s back, he refused to lower his head to anyone. It was exactly because he had witnessed brother ox¡¯s strength that he understood how distant the Nine Heavens were, which was why he struggled to develop the so-called mentality of the strong where mortals were mere ants. Gazing down from beyond the Nine Heavens, he was only a slightly stronger ant himself. If he thought he was extraordinary after merely obtaining a bit of power, strutting around like no one could be his boss, even he would find himself embarrassing.

    He had just stood before the Merfolk Queen and held a regular conversation, and he had been labelled as arrogant. He had just referred to Zhu Yan as ¡°fellow¡±, and that had earned him a ruthless mocking. Just who was being arrogant here?

    Yu Wufeng felt ashamed. If he had tried conversing with him as an equal in the beginning, the situation would have never ended up like this. He had also looked down on Li Qingshan because he believed he was powerful, and he possessed a geographical advantage, even blaming him for ruining his plan in Savage mountain. In the end, Li Qingshan had to plant his foot on his head before he wanted to befriend him, basically living up to what he had just said.

    ¡°Get off me!¡± Elder Blue flew into a fury.

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking to you. Alright, alright, alright, I¡¯ll get off right now.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly realised it really was quite ironic to say something like that on top of elder Blue¡¯s head. He had it coming.

    The rumors really are true. His current cultivation is even slightly greater than what I anticipated it to be. He really is a sword cultivator genius. How could anyone give up on a disciple like him so easily? If my sect had a successor like him, I¡¯d probably agree to any condition that Li Qingshan would put forth just to guarantee the future prosperity and longevity of the sect. Ye Duanhai is in trouble this time.

    Ji Changfeng thought and shot a glance at Ji Qingyu.

    Ji Qingyu flew over. ¡°I am Ji Qingyu. Under the sect master¡¯s orders, please come to the platform with me.¡± He could not help but glance at Xiao An again, meeting the dark eyes behind the bronze mask and immediately shifting his gaze again.

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back. A streak of lofty light rose up from the surface of the sea like a star. Several dozen streaks of light followed right behind, establishing a sword formation.

 Chapter 852

    ¡°Looks like your master still cares quite a bit about you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled at Yu Wufeng.

    Yu Wufeng subconsciously tightened his grip on his hilt and let out an undetectable ¡°Yes¡±. That was his master, after all!

    The streak of light as lofty and resplendent as a star seemed to notice Yu Wufeng as well. It suddenly accelerated, like a comet shooting across the sky, leaving behind a long tail as it sailed over.

    Everyone on the beach raised their heads and watched the star descend upon them. The resplendent light rapidly swelled up in their eyes before landing on the ground and turning into a middle-aged man in the blink of an eye. He had a grey beard and wore a large cloak with a headdress on his head, adorned with dark-golden embroidery. His wide sleeves were folded right before him, holding a sword of simplistic design in his hand.

    Both he and the sword gave off a stern and desolate aura. He was the master of the sword pavilion, Ye Duanhai.

    ¡°Master!¡± Yu Wufeng stumbled over and dropped down to one knee, leaning on his sword.

    ¡°Stand up!¡± Ye Duanhai was so stern that he was almost cold. He did not even try to help Yu Wufeng to his feet. However, the Sea Splitting sword in his hand produced a clear thrum, expressing just how emotional he was.

    ¡°I was useless. I have failed to live up to the high hopes you placed on me. Please punish me, master!¡± Yu Wufeng lowered his head, and the Fogbow sword in his hand shimmered with white light.

    ¡°Your cultivation is still fine. Seems like you haven¡¯t wasted the past few years. You can accept punishment in the Sword Discipline pavilion yourself once you return.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yu Wufeng stood up.

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    Only at this moment did Ye Duanhai shift his gaze from his disciple. This great sword cultivator, filled with resolve and rigidness, did not even spend a moment to look at Gong Yuan or Ji Changfeng. His gaze immediately locked onto Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like a sword had sliced the parts of him that Ye Duanhai laid his eyes on. He was only ten paces away from Ye Duanhai. Even to regular swordsmen, this was a lethal distance, let alone to one of the few great sword cultivators in the world standing right before him.

    Sword cultivators treated the sword as their heart. Even their soul nascences were sword nascences. They walked a path of slaughter, achieving domination in the world. Among the same realm of cultivation, sword cultivators could basically defeat all other cultivators.

    It was as if a renowned sword had been placed across Li Qingshan¡¯s neck, where he could be beheaded in just a single moment.

    Li Qingshan was confident that Ye Duanhai was very tempted to do that. No one liked to be threatened, especially when the threats came from the weak. Li Qingshan felt extremely relieved that he had declared war against the Myriad Poison Ancestor and not the one before him right now. He probably would have blown up his sword nascence without the slightest hesitation, taking him down with him.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Li Qingshan met his gaze fearlessly. He could not help but smile. If meeting the Merfolk Queen¡¯s gaze brought great comfort to the spirit turtle, then this was the tiger demon¡¯s favourite development¡ªa powerful enemy, repressed killing intent, a lethal threat.

    In the moment he saw Li Qingshan, Ye Duanhai knew everything would be troublesome. From his many years of experience, he could tell with a single glance that Li Qingshan was an uncommon person of courage and resolve. Threats on his life would not work.

    And from what Li Qingshan had said, Ye Duanhai discovered in surprise, This kid is not afraid of fighting me. He even yearns for it slightly!

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    There was no way this could be faked, as it was already extremely rare for a second heavenly tribulation cultivator to be able to maintain their battle spirit before a great sword cultivator. What did it mean when his battle intent became roused instead? Was he really unafraid of death, or was he relying on something?

    Ye Duanhai¡¯s plan was to directly seize Li Qingshan and take the Blood Oath Scroll from him. It was as simple and straightforward as that! Even if he could not seize Li Qingshan in time, he refused to believe he would view his own life with such disregard that he would actually throw his life at him. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s response made him hesitate.

    However, that was only for a split second before his thoughts immediately calmed down again, becoming icy-cold. He even set aside his concern for his dear disciple, handling this matter with absolute rationality.

    The Sea Splitting sword was about to exit its sheath. A great battle was on the brink of erupting!

    A figure suddenly stood between him and Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Please reconsider, master!¡±

    After receiving Li Qingshan¡¯s promise, Yu Wufeng had completely lightened up. At the same time, he made up his mind to prevent the South Sea Sword pavilion from making an enemy out of Li Qingshan. Only he knew just how terrifying of an enemy he could be.

    Ye Duanhai frowned. Masters knew their disciples best. This disciple of his had never been one that was fearful of death. He would not refuse this gamble just because of the danger to his own life.

    ¡°Very well.¡±

    Ye Duanhai kept the talking to a minimum, turning around and making his way to the platform. This matter touched on the future of his disciple, as well as the entire South Sea Sword pavilion. After receiving such a clear warning, he would not stubbornly continue with the gamble. He planned on thinking about some countermeasures and watching how the situation might unfold. Li Qingshan and Yu Wufeng were here anyway. The situation could not get any worse. He was confident about that.

    His gaze paused on Xiao An momentarily, having guessed her identity already. He felt an unfathomable sword intent from her as well. With her age, it was impossible for her to possess such a sword intent. She was not a sword cultivator either, so was she hiding a treasured sword?

    His senses were very accurate, but he did not notice the existence of the Buddha Slaying sword. After giving up on the path of the sword, Li Qingshan downright gave the Three Absolutes Calligraphy to Xiao An to refine so that she could unleash it to its fullest potential.

    Li Qingshan nodded at Yu Wufeng, expressing he was free to move about as he pleased. Yu Wufeng showed a hint of gratitude. He mulled over some words inside, considering how he would talk with his master. After all, he was still bound to the Blood Oath Scroll. If he accidentally divulged a secret, the blood oath would be no joke. He had made it to this point after so much difficulty, with hope in sight already. If he had lost his life just because of a slip of the tongue, then that would be the greatest joke in the world.

    If it were just his life, then that was fine. The issue was once he died to the Blood Oath Scroll, the South Sea Sword pavilion would never forgive Li Qingshan, and he would become the reason for the future devastation that the South Sea Sword pavilion would suffer.

    After thinking it through, he was about to chase after Ye Duanhai when excited calls rang out right beside him, ¡°Senior brother!¡± ¡°Wufeng!¡±

    Peng Jingni and the disciples of the sword pavilion immediately gathered around Yu Wufeng.

    Li Qingshan exchanged glances with Xiao An. As long as Ye Duanhai had not turned against him the moment they met, the chances that they would clash would greatly diminish. Everything was going according to plan.

    Most importantly, he had no actual disagreement with the South Sea Sword pavilion. He did not plan on using Yu Wufeng to threaten Ye Duanhai. This was merely a deal. In a struggle of life or death, I captured your disciple, and he even knows many of my secrets, so of course, I can¡¯t let you take him back just because you asked. It makes perfect sense for you to pay a little.

    If it had been Ji Changfeng or the Merfolk Queen instead trying to make this deal, then it would have been perfectly normal. Ye Duanhai would have never behaved like this. Instead, he would try and negotiate right from the beginning.

    As a result, the crux of the matter still depended on the word ¡°equality¡±.

    ¡°It has been several years since we last saw each other. Fellow, your cultivation has progressed yet again.¡± Peng Jingni left the crowd and took the initiative to greet Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan was hiding his daemon qi, but he did not intentionally suppress the demon qi from the demon heart. After rupturing and recondensing numerous times, the demon heart had become much stronger than before.

    That left Peng Jingni astounded. The rate at which his cultivation increased was just a little too startling.

 Chapter 853

    ¡°I¡¯m not too slow, am I? I never thought I¡¯d only uphold my promise of the past now.¡±

    Li Qingshan recalled how Peng Jingni and Qian Liangmu had visited Savage mountain together in the past. Before he knew it, that was already several years ago.

    ¡°If that¡¯s slow, then probably nothing in the world can be regarded as fast! In just a few years, you¡¯ve swept up the demonic cultivators of the south, made the Myriad Poison cult suffer a great defeat, and killed countless Bone Eating shamans. Who in the Mist province doesn¡¯t know the name of the King of Savages right now? I just hope that we can leave today with terms that we¡¯re both satisfied with,¡± Peng Jingni said sincerely. Probably no one imagined Li Qingshan could rise up so quickly.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s see whether your master takes me seriously or not!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯re the mighty King of Savages. Who doesn¡¯t take you seriously?¡± Peng Jingni shook his head with a wry smile.

    The two of them got along well there, but the elders and disciples from the South Sea Sword pavilion behind them were not as amiable. Many of them looked at Li Qingshan with hostility. Not only had Li Qingshan ruined the South Sea Sword pavilion¡¯s plan, but he had even enslaved Yu Wufeng, forcing the master of the sword pavilion to venture all the way to Giant Ship island with everyone else. They were obviously in a bad mood.

    The elders who were relatively older could hide their emotions, but the younger disciples were not as capable. If Peng Jingni had not quickly expressed their standing with Li Qingshan, there probably would be a few people who would not be able to help themselves but to mock and sneer at Li Qingshan, leading to many more issues.

    Yu Wufeng saw all of this and nodded secretly in acknowledgement. Junior brother Peng had already filled in the shoes of the first senior brother quite well.

    ¡°Sir,¡± Ji Qingyu called out carefully from the side.

    ¡°We¡¯ve made you wait. We¡¯ll head over right now!¡± Li Qingshan arrived on the platform with Xiao An. He clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the Wind Gale King¡¯s great reputation long ago. Now that we finally meet, you truly do live up to your reputation. I¡¯ll be troubling you for the next few days.¡±

    ¡°The King of Savages¡¯ presence is an honour for the Cloud Sail sect. Please give me a moment. There really are a lot of goods this time!¡± Ji Changfeng returned the gesture politely, treating Li Qingshan as an equal.

    ¡°There are a lot, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be anything particularly precious.¡±

    The goods on the backs of the whales were obviously priceless to regular cultivators, but they did not really catch Li Qingshan¡¯s attention. He obviously understood the goods of actual value would not be stored outside. Instead, they would be placed in sumeru rings and hundred treasures pouches.

    This left many people wondering. Were the two mighty cultivators meeting up with the Merfolk Queen just to examine these common goods?

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor was basically qualified to make them wait, but according to the plan, the Myriad Poison Ancestor would have never appeared now in the first place. He had made it clear on the notice too. The master of the sword pavilion might not be willing to wait either. After a short conversation with Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng, Ye Duanhai arrived on the side of the platform alone. He was currently talking with Yu Wufeng, and he was extremely serious, but he did not seem displeased at all.

    ¡°Once the sea fair begins, you¡¯ll obviously be able to see it for yourself, fellow. However, you may be unaware that¡­¡± Ji Changfeng paused for a moment. ¡°...the head caretaker of the King of Zhao¡¯s estate, ah, isn¡¯t he here?¡±

    The King of Zhao¡¯s estate!

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. That had not been in his calculations. He wondered whether it would affect the plan. Whatever, it was impossible to calculate everything in life anyway. He would just see and adjust accordingly along the way!

    To the north, a mountainous cloud sailed against the wind.

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    Suddenly, a huge ship burst out of the cloud, shining silver under the moonlight. It accelerated.

    ¡°What a great ship!¡± Li Qingshan was astounded. The ship was approximately three thousand meters long, with a style that resembled Soaring Dragon ships, except the details were even sharper and more fluid. It was ten times larger than a Soaring Dragon ship, hovering in the air like the sword of a god.

    ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s the Silver Dragon King! Don¡¯t be mistaken by its size! If it flies at full speed, it¡¯s no slower than pavilion master Ye¡¯s sword-riding!¡±

    Ji Changfeng was surprised too, introducing the ship with a smile.

    However, Li Qingshan clearly noticed his expression was not as natural and relaxed as before. Even Gong Yuan¡¯s gaze became slightly colder, while Ye Duanhai stopped talking with his disciple. He raised his head and gazed at the incoming Silver Dragon King. He did not refute what Ji Changfeng said.

    The South Sea Sword pavilion is relatively close to the Mist province, but it¡¯s remained independent the entire time. Ye Duanhai is not an honoured guest either. The Cloud Sail sect is located beyond the shore, so they only have to remain on good terms with the Merfolk, which gives them even less reason to care about the King of Southern Yue. The merpeople go even more without saying. They¡¯ve always viewed humans as enemies, and it seems like they¡¯ve even gone to war against the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate in the past.

    The three of them are all powerful figures that the world only has a limited number of, yet they¡¯ve all become so serious when they face a mere caretaker, some Golden Core cultivator called Ram or Ewe. The King of Southern Yue¡¯s influence is just far too great. Oh, I even forgot to include myself. I¡¯m a genius cultivator from the enemy¡¯s side who¡¯s clearly stated I would not become an honoured guest of the King of Yue¡¯s estate. I do have the Great Banyan Tree King mediating our relationship, but the King of Southern Yue definitely isn¡¯t fond of me. If you look at it like that, we all technically stand beyond the system.

    Li Qingshan thought of it like that and suddenly shivered slightly inside. Throughout history, the creed of fiercely ambitious people had always been, ¡°To be used or to be killed.¡± as well as ¡°How can I just let a threat remain right beside me?¡±

    According to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s analysis of the situation in the Mist province, the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate had already begun gathering the forces of the Mist province¡¯s cultivation community en masse. They were preparing for the incoming war. There was such a group of relatively powerful people like them in the south who stood ¡°beyond the system¡±, where some of them could even be regarded as ¡°opposition¡± lurking away. The King of Southern Yue must have been very tempted to eliminate them all.

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    And because of the Merfolk sea fair, they just happened to be all gathered together¡­

    The Silver Dragon King drew closer and closer. It was clearly an inanimate object, yet it gave off a great pressure. After noting its speed, Ji Changfeng lost interest in saying anything more.

    However, Li Qingshan knew that regular Soaring Dragon ships were not known for their speed. Instead, they were known for their indestructible defence and terrifying destructive power. He had his doubts on whether they could take down something like that even if they worked together.

    Among everyone present, only one person knew the answer to that question, which was neither Ji Changfeng, Gong Yuan, or Ye Duanhai. Instead, it was Xiao An, because the king¡¯s estate of the Green province had a similar Scarlet Dragon King.

    And the answer to the question was ¡°absolutely not¡±!

    This was a war machine that great cultivators of mohism had created through tremendous amounts of time and energy, using up enough resources to refine several arcane treasures. Compared to regular Soaring Dragon ships, the difference that existed was like a Soul Nascence cultivator to a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Its purpose was not for targeting individual cultivators, but to destroy entire sects.

    If the Silver Dragon King unleashed an attack, the protective formation of the Cloud Sail sect would definitely fall. Just a single blast from its main cannon, the Dragon¡¯s Roar, would be enough. And just like how regular Soaring Dragon ships were filled with a large number of puppet soldiers, the Silver Dragon King was no different. There were probably Puppet Kings in the mix, and perhaps more than just a single one too.

    If all the costs and efforts put in by a great cultivator of the school of Mohism were taken into account, then even major sects would not be able to afford one, let alone individual cultivators. Only the estates of kings that ruled over an entire province had the capacity, but even they could only create a single one.

    Receiving Xiao An¡¯s message, Li Qingshan gasped. He tried scanning the ship with his soul sense, but the silver screen blocked off everything. If a few more great cultivators were hiding inside, or even the King of Southern Yue himself¡­

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    A Baffling Author¡¯s Word

    November has finally come to an end. Although the release rate has still been rather lacklustre, at least it¡¯s better than last month. I wrote an additional thirty thousand characters. Next month¡¯s goal is to write thirty thousand more, next next month can be another thirty thousand more, and the month after that can be¡­ Alright, I better stop with the fantasizing, or I¡¯m going to lose too much blood from my nosebleeds.

    Anyway, everything is developing positively, not just in quantity, but in quality too. Personally, I was rather satisfied with the Mirage sea, but if you read it chapter by chapter, it might be very confusing or even baffling. It¡¯s better if you read it in one breath.

    Perhaps because I¡¯ve been engrossed, I¡¯ve been writing particularly smoothly too, like drinking alcohol. Oh right, I¡¯ve never been drunk before. No matter how painful and unbearable it is, my rationality will always firmly suppress my other emotions like the spirit turtle. Even if my stomach is a mess, I¡¯ll grit my teeth and refuse to vomit. However, my father said this is also my greatest problem. I¡¯m too close to the other extreme.

    The negative emotions I¡¯ve been unconsciously building up will sometimes surge wildly, so I know why people go crazy, so I understand my personal weaknesses.

    Alright, that¡¯s all just some of my pointless dilemmas!

    However, geniuses of the arts have always been cursed with a short life. As a nerd born in a time of peace, there aren¡¯t a lot of unfavourable situations and moments of adverse fate that I can go through. If I don¡¯t toil around in my personal dilemmas a little, how am I supposed to write a novel?

    The world is far too noisy. Sometimes, you just need loneliness in order to hear the whispers of the heart. Although it might turn into a roar or even a howl sometimes, at least you¡¯ll be able to hear it more clearly. Your ability to appreciate and admire grows with that too. van Gogh¡¯s ¡°Starry Night¡± is a masterpiece! Munch¡¯s ¡°The Scream¡± is a cornerstone of art too! However, I¡¯d never want to understand the artwork of mental illness, though it¡¯s said that Munch became much more lively after getting a mental illness.

    Originally, I still had a lot more I wanted to say, to display what would be coming in the future, but I suddenly ran out of interest when I reached here, so that¡¯ll be that!

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    Oh right, this is an author¡¯s note for monthly votes. Having read up to here, do you feel an intense urge? One that you can¡¯t hold back no matter what, one that will swallow you like the tide? Give up! Both enduring and resisting is futile! Go and cast the votes!

 Chapter 854

    ¡°We¡¯ll retreat if it seems off!¡± Li Qingshan secretly notified Xiao An. He tried to sense around with the spirit turtle, but he discovered no danger at all. However, he still refused to drop his guard. If the King of Southern Yue really was determined to eliminate them, he would definitely stir up the heavenly secrets and mask his attempt.

    The Silver Dragon King gradually slowed down, hovering above Giant Ship island steadily and casting a huge shadow.

    Everyone on the island stopped what they were doing, raising their heads. They could not help but hold their breaths.

    Li Qingshan suddenly raised his eyebrows. He sensed two extremely familiar auras. Why were they on the Silver Dragon King?

    Three figures descended from the sky. The one in the middle was an old man with a goatee, dressed like a scholar. The most conspicuous part about him was the pair of curved, goat horns on his head. He clearly possessed the bloodline of daemons. As it seemed, the ¡°ram¡± part of mister Ram was real.

    To the left and right of the head caretaker of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate were two people that Li Qingshan could not be more familiar with, the Myriad Poison Ancestor and the masked lady Ru Xin.

    This was not the plan!

    Though, at least they had not just started firing away without saying anything.

    Ji Changfeng clearly eased up, while the Merfolk Queen looked away.

    Ye Duanhai gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor and frowned. Why had he become a ghost cultivator? His aura had not weakened, even growing slightly stronger, but this world was a world of the ¡°living¡±. Ghost cultivators faced natural suppression and disadvantages, which was why even a renowned sect for controlling ghosts like the Umbral Yin sect still had cultivators that retained their bodies.

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    The Myriad Poison Ancestor shot a vicious glance back at him, and Ye Duanhai looked away. He exchanged glances with Yu Wufeng beside him, thinking about what they had just said. Yu Wufeng had made it clear right from the beginning that he could not divulge Li Qingshan¡¯s secrets because of the Blood Oath Scroll and sought his master¡¯s forgiveness. However, there was something he made very clear, which was to never make an enemy out of Li Qingshan.

    Ye Duanhai understood his disciple¡¯s character very well. He was not a talkative type, even if his life was in danger. Suddenly, an unbelievable thought crossed his mind. Did Li Qingshan destroy the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s body?

    That was just far too unbelievable. If his body could be destroyed so easily, how had the Myriad Poison Ancestor remained alive for all this time before? If he could not take Savage mountain, then so be it, but he had his body destroyed by a junior instead and was forced to transition into a ghost cultivator. The biggest question was, how was he able to stand all of this?

    ¡°Please investigate further, master!¡± Yu Wufeng had a thousand things he wanted to say, but he could not say anything. He was even afraid to give hints that were too obvious. He was very tempted to tell Ye Duanhai that the Myriad Poison Ancestor did not simply have his body destroyed. Instead, he had completely submitted to Li Qingshan. However, even if he said that, Ye Duanhai probably would not believe him.

    ¡°Apologies, apologies. I¡¯ve made you all wait. Originally, I was going to be right on time, but I heard an honoured guest would be coming as well. Look, it¡¯s senior Myriad Poison who¡¯s standing right beside me. He¡¯s established renown in the south many years ago, so you don¡¯t need any further introductions from me. Anyway, I ended up making a slight detour and missed out on receiving her majesty. I truly am at fault¡­¡±

    Mister Ram began apologising as soon as he landed on the platform. He was very humble, so humble that he even seemed slightly sleazy. He did not resemble the head caretaker of the King of Yue¡¯s estate at all. He was the exact opposite of Li Qingshan¡¯s flagrancy.

    Li Qingshan was forced to be flagrant, while no matter how polite mister Ram was, no one dared to brush him aside.

    As the host, Ji Changfeng received him with great enthusiasm. Let alone the kind of forces that the King of Yue¡¯s estate possessed, just the Silver Dragon King hovering in the air gave off a tremendous force of deterrence. On top of that, there was the honoured guest of the king¡¯s estate, the Myriad Poison Ancestor, as well.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor squinted his eyes and clasped his hands casually, basically greeting him. He stared at Li Qingshan resentfully as if he was about to strike at any time.

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    Li Qingshan sneered in disregard before shifting his gaze away to Ye Duanhai. ¡°Pavilion master Ye, your sword sure is a fine sword!¡±

    That was no different from commenting ¡°nice weather¡±. In the eyes of others, he was trying to borrow Ye Duanhai¡¯s influence to prevent the Myriad Poison Ancestor from acting recklessly.

    If it were not for his conversation with Yu Wufeng, Ye Duanhai would have thought that too. He glanced at Li Qingshan with profound meaning and said, ¡°I heard you also practise the path of the sword.¡±

    This left everyone in the surroundings shocked. They never expected Ye Duanhai to answer him. Sure enough, with his successor completely at someone else¡¯s whim, even the aloof and proud Ye Duanhai had to learn to be flexible. However, those that that thought much further believed the South Sea Sword pavilion was intending to establish an alliance with Savage mountain to confront their bitter enemy, the Myriad Poison cult.

    Sure enough, the Myriad Poison Ancestor experienced some misgivings, ¡°holding back¡± his urge to strike.

    Yu Wufeng was roaring inside, Master, don¡¯t be fooled by their act! They¡¯re together!

    Li Qingshan glanced past Ru Xin. She wore the poison mask she used when refining poison, standing behind the Myriad Poison Ancestor and playing her role as his disciple. She did not even glance at Li Qingshan a single time.

    Li Qingshan and Ye Duanhai conversed a little, despite both of their minds being elsewhere. Mister Ram hurried over with a series of rapid steps and bowed with his hands clasped. ¡°The pavilion master hasn¡¯t changed since my visit to your sword pavilion, which is truly joyous to know!¡±

    ¡°I failed to receive you properly last time. You¡¯re welcome to visit my sword pavilion again.¡± Ye Duanhai also warmed up slightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind. Definitely, definitely.¡±

    Mister Ram made some small talk. He knew that Ye Duanhai did not like to talk a lot, so he turned to Li Qingshan. ¡°You must be the King of Savages who¡¯s shaken up the south. With your age, with your talent, it really brings shame to us, the older ones!¡± His face was filled with undisguised admiration, the type that clearly originated from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°You¡¯d be overpraising me.¡± Li Qingshan returned the gesture politely. He truly understood what Ji Changfeng and Ye Duanhai were currently feeling.

    The King of Yue¡¯s estate was far too powerful. In the ten-millennia-long history before the establishment of Great Xia, the Mist province had always been the Kingdom of Yue¡¯s territory, lasting all the way until now. Their heritage was so deep that even great cultivators and great sects fell under their rule.

    The South Sea Sword pavilion and the Cloud Sail sect were still located on the South sea after all, but Savage mountain truly stood in the King of Yue¡¯s domain. Even if his plan succeeded and he successfully took Fire Melt mountain, he still needed time to cultivate. If he fell out with the King of Yue¡¯s estate, he would not be able to hold his ground at all. All he would be able to do was scramble back to the Green province.

    Fortunately, this mister Ram was very clever with his words, such that no one felt pressured by the King of Yue¡¯s estate. However, as long as they were capable of logical thought, no one could ignore the existence of the King of Yue¡¯s estate behind him.

    But why exactly has he come here? Li Qingshan had a vague guess, but he was unable to receive any confirmation from mister Ram¡¯s behaviour.

    ¡°Numerous valued guests have gathered today. It¡¯s an event that my Cloud Sail sect has never seen before, so please come up the mountain with me so that we can celebrate!¡±

    The master of the Cloud Sail sect, Ji Changfeng, waved his hand, and a gentle breeze rose up beneath everyone¡¯s feet. Apart from the people on the platform, there were a few cultivators of the South sea as well, all having reached the second heavenly tribulation. Only they were qualified to attend the main banquet on Main-mast mountain.

    There were other people to guide the regular merpeople and cultivators, holding banquets on Fore-mast mountain and Mizzen-mast mountain. Only after the banquet would the sea fair formally begin.

    Li Qingshan allowed the breeze to carry him towards Main-mast mountain. He arrived in the Feilian hall that sat at the top of the mountain, and the banquet was already prepared. Everyone assumed their seats.

    As the host, Ji Changfeng modestly offered his seat to everyone else before taking the main seat. As for Gong Yuan, she considered herself as the master of the South sea. She could also be regarded as half a host for the sea fair this time, so she sat on equal footing with Ji Changfeng.

    The master of the sword pavilion and the Myriad Poison Ancestor sat to the left and right below, facing each other. However, the seat on the right was a little more important, which the Myriad Poison Ancestor occupied.

    Ji Changfeng had been quite worried about this originally. He originally had Ye Duanhai sitting on the right and mister Ram sitting on the left. That was the most appropriate, with no faults for anyone to find. He never expected the Myriad Poison Ancestor to appear early, ruining the plan, but he stopped worrying when he saw how Ye Duanhai had no objections.

    It was much simpler after that. Mister Ram took the right seat after the Myriad Poison Ancestor without holding back at all. No matter how great his background was, his personal cultivation was still a thing, so it was impossible for his seat to be more important than a great cultivator¡¯s. Courtesy was one thing, but the King of Yue¡¯s estate was still much more powerful than Savage mountain. His own cultivation was higher too.

    Li Qingshan did not think too much about it. He never planned on sitting close to the Myriad Poison Ancestor anyway, so he just went with the flow and sat beneath Ye Duanhai.

    Just like that, the seating arrangement for the banquet had been determined, centred around the six of them. The seats below were relatively more flexible.

    However, there were still people who were discontent, like the Golden Core cultivator who sat in the ¡°seventh seat¡± for example. He stared at Li Qingshan so much as if he was blaming Li Qingshan for stealing his seat. He was also a renowned sect master, where his sect was only second to the Cloud Sail sect in terms of status in the South sea. He did not feel that Li Qingshan was more qualified than him at all. He had just reached the second heavenly tribulation, without even reaching the peak. The King of Savages or whatever was merely an empty boast.

    However, there were quite a number of great cultivators present today, and Li Qingshan seemed to get along with them well, so he could not find the courage to speak up. If any of the great cultivators found him to be a nuisance, that would be disastrous.

    The banquet began very quickly. Delicacies and dishes clearly unique to the South sea were served up endlessly like flowing water. There was not just seafood and rarities filled with spiritual qi, but also song and dance to add to the banquet. It was wonderful.

    Li Qingshan ate to his heart¡¯s content. Just as he ate away happily, there was a gust of wind from behind him, and he raised an eyebrow. He did not dodge, allowing a hand the size of a banana leaf to land on his shoulder.

    ¡°Damned brat, don¡¯t forget. We still have a contest!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back and saw a huge man in blue smiling at him evilly.

    The man stood nine feet tall. His body was built sturdily, holding his chest high. The upper half of his body seemed particularly robust. If it were not for his simple appearance that did not seem vicious enough, he basically resembled a mountain god from a temple.

    ¡°So it¡¯s elder Blue. How did you end up like this? You don¡¯t even look human.¡± Li Qingshan smiled as soon as he saw him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll end up however I want to end up. What¡¯s it got to do with you? You can¡¯t run away this time!¡± Elder Blue shot him a glance.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the Merfolk Queen nearby. Is she still planning on testing me? Whatever, I might as well just follow the plan. With the King of Yue¡¯s estate backing me up, there¡¯s even less reason for me to worry about falling out with Gong Yuan.

    ¡°Do you plan on sparring? That¡¯ll be perfect. As cultivators, don¡¯t you just feel like something is lacking if there¡¯s only fine wine and food, songs and music, at banquets? Talking about cultivation is far too depressing. Fighting and exhibition matches will go perfectly with the alcohol!¡± Mister Ram rubbed his hands and smiled.

    ps£º ±¾ÔÂµÚÒ»¸ü£¬Çó±£µ×ÔÂÆ±À²£¡

 Chapter 855

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    ¡°It¡¯s just like what you said, mister Ram. I originally wanted to arrange it, but if it¡¯s just between some regular people, it probably won¡¯t be enough to interest you. Now that we have the ¡®King of Savages¡¯ taking part, that¡¯ll be perfect, hehe!¡±

    Ji Changfeng immediately expressed agreement. Towards the end, he even laughed involuntarily.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched, and he mimicked. ¡°Hehe!¡±

    Before he had even finished talking, a red-faced old man stood up below. ¡°I¡¯ve served as the Elder of Cultivation Methods in the South Sea Sword pavilion for many years now. I heard the King of Savages is skilled in the path of the sword, so I¡¯d like some guidance from you, sir, so that I can witness the secret arts of the Green province.¡±

    ¡°How unfortunate. I just gave up on the path of the sword recently, switching over to the path of the spiky club,¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands and said.

    Even someone from the South Sea Sword pavilion was standing forward. It was probably under the instructions of the master of the sword pavilion right beside him.

    Ye Duanhai sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze and turned around. He said gently, ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you, fellow.¡±

    By referring to him as ¡°fellow¡±, that was a very high level of recognition, but between the lines, he was saying, If you can¡¯t accept this challenge, then you¡¯re unworthy of this term of reference. What makes you still qualified to strike a deal with me?

    ¡°How unfortunate. I¡¯ve already given up on the path of the sword, and I don¡¯t want to use the sword again.¡±

    During the past two years Ru Xin spent in secluded cultivation, Li Qingshan took out the two big clubs and played around with them whenever he had nothing to do. The more he played with them, the more he found what Yin Qing said to be correct. It was exactly because he had accepted it that he found it to be quite interesting. The path of the sword truly did not suit him.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that coincidental?¡± The Elder of Cultivation Methods stared at Li Qingshan. He did not believe him at all. His face shone with a red sheen, not only because of the alcohol, but also because of the excitement from discovering his opponent¡¯s opening. If Li Qingshan really did have the strength, he definitely would have agreed to it without batting an eye. Now that he had said something like this in an attempt to shirk away, he was clearly afraid.

    ¡°It¡¯s just that coincidental. I¡¯ve already switched to the path of the spiky club. I can¡¯t give you any guidance on swordsmanship.¡± Li Qingshan casually picked up a fish of some variety unknown to him and shoved it into his mouth, chewing away. He took a few more sips of alcohol before sputtering with his mouth full.

    ¡°The path of the spiky club? What kind of path is that supposed to be? Kid, you better stop trying to mess around! Whether you use the sword or not is not important. You¡¯re not escaping our bout!¡± Elder Blue¡¯s voice was thunderous, making all the dishes on the table shake.

    ¡°Haha, you really are the ¡®King of Savages¡¯ after all. We pale in comparison to the courage you possess. For normal people, even if they know they stand no chance, they¡¯ll reluctantly agree to never use the sword again after they¡¯ve been defeated. Instead, you downright claim you¡¯ll never use the sword again before you¡¯ve even fought. Now that¡¯s clever. That¡¯s what you would call unassailable, right? Admirable, admirable!¡±

    The speaker was the ¡°seventh seat¡± fellow. The sarcasm in his voice was so obvious that even a fool could tell, immediately leading to a roar of laughter in the hall. It seemed quite like they were all in agreement. Even their thoughts were basically the same.

    Everyone is at the same realm of cultivation. You¡¯re so young, and you¡¯re even a lackey of the empire, so what gives you the right to sit above us? You claim to be a king even with your cultivation? Don¡¯t make us laugh! We were actually almost fooled by you earlier. You¡¯ve finally given yourself away now.

    Anyone who could be seated in the main hall was someone who had already made a name for themselves. Who didn¡¯t have a sense of pride? No matter how great Li Qingshan¡¯s reputation in the south was, the South sea only heard some obscure, flimsy rumours. Words were but wind, but seeing was believing.

    Under the various emotions of pride, suspicion, prejudice, as well as some envy that they could not mention, it would be strange if they had a good impression of Li Qingshan.

    When Li Qingshan decided to stand up for himself forcefully, conversing with the Merfolk Queen calmly and ignoring the master of the sword pavilion¡¯s display of might, even the head caretaker of the King of Yue¡¯s estate praised him. Who was bold enough to provoke him then?

    Now that all three of them wanted to test him, he instead refused to accept the challenge decisively, showing his weakness slightly, which immediately unveiled the hostility.

    Standing on equal footing with these powerful cultivators seemed to bring endless glory, but in reality, a tree that stuck out from the forest would definitely be blown over by the wind. Several dozen eyes landed on Li Qingshan, all waiting for him to make a fool of himself.

    Mister Ram sat right in front of him, holding his half a cup of alcohol and smiling mysteriously.

    ¡°Get up. I¡¯ve been standing here for half a day now,¡± elder Blue said, urging him again.

    ¡°If you¡¯re sick of standing, then sit down. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll be first in line anyway,¡± Li Qingshan said without even looking back.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Elder Blue clamped down on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, on the verge of directly striking him. However, if he did that, that would no longer be probing him out and having a bout, but directly making an enemy out of him and going against his original intentions.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already come up with an ordered list, King of Savages?¡± Mister Ram asked. He was also puzzled. Since he refused the elder of the sword pavilion¡¯s challenge, then his opponent was the whale daemon. What order was there to speak of?

    ¡°I¡¯ve done exactly that!¡± Li Qingshan stood up with a jug of alcohol in his hand.

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    Elder Blue felt a force that he could not contend with rise up. His huge hand actually struggled to keep him down, except he had hoped for Li Qingshan to stand up and face him in battle in the first place, so he did not try to keep him down. He let go and took a step back.

    Li Qingshan strode over to the ¡°seventh seat¡± and chuckled. ¡°Why don¡¯t I count you in too? I don¡¯t practise the path of the sword, but I can use the path of the spiky club to give you some guidance.¡±

    ¡°Sure, that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯d like. I¡¯ll test out the King of Savages¡¯ ability right now!¡±

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± was taken aback. He never thought that not only would he provoke a few powerful enemies for himself, he would even take the initiative and go after him. Although he had some second thoughts, how could he back down in front of so many fellow cultivators?

    Li Qingshan had turned around the moment he said ¡°sure¡±. He used his finger to point out people one by one. ¡°And you, you, you, you, you, you¡­ Would you like to join in too?¡±

    When he casually pointed around, he basically included everyone in the hall. Apart from a few cultivators who were relatively more experienced and prudent that had not laughed earlier, he had gotten around to everyone.

    Everyone¡¯s faces changed, with ¡°seventh seat¡± in particular. Li Qingshan clearly was not taking him seriously.

    The hall suddenly fell silent before everyone roused to action, standing up to face him in battle. Afterwards, they felt the same fury as ¡°seventh seat¡±, as Li Qingshan had already turned around. He did not even waste a second to see how they would respond. He pointed at elder Blue. ¡°You can be last!¡±

    Elder Blue¡¯s face immediately turned green.

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    Li Qingshan even added a word of consolation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get around to you!¡±

    It was an open provocation, a naked, open provocation of the entire group! He had almost perfectly gathered everyone¡¯s hatred! Even mister Ram was greatly surprised!

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be the first then. We probably won¡¯t need a second!¡±

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± rose to his feet suddenly, and he surged with spiritual qi. He was already gripping a hook-shaped arcane artifact in his hand.

    ¡°Oh wait, you¡¯re not the first. Look at how enthusiastic you are. You can be the second. Come, come, come. The Elder of Cultivation Methods there, you¡¯re the first!¡± Li Qingshan waved his left hand and made a gesture at the elder with his right hand.

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± became overwhelmed by fury. He was almost unable to hold himself back from slapping Li Qingshan across the face.

    The Elder of Cultivation Methods¡¯ face became even redder. Holding back his fury, he arrived at the centre of the hall. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t use the sword anymore?¡±

    ¡°I never said I¡¯d be the one to give you guidance!¡± Li Qingshan moved to one side, revealing a graceful figure. ¡°Xiao An, go give him some guidance on his swordsmanship!¡±

    A vein popped out on the elder¡¯s forehead. The only reason why he had managed to hold back his anger was because of the patience he had developed through many years of guiding disciples.

    Ye Duanhai nodded towards the elder. Li Qingshan had made so many enemies for himself, so they no longer needed the sword pavilion to test him out. This was perfect for probing out the mysterious woman by his side.

    ¡°You better not underestimate her just because she¡¯s small. Her path of the sword far surpasses mine!¡± Li Qingshan pressed down on Xiao An¡¯s shoulder with one hand and smiled at the elder.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the same, no matter who it is! Come!¡± the elder said coldly before speaking indifferently to Xiao An. He had almost lost his mind to anger.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a sword!¡±

    ¡°Pfft! Cough, cough, cough, what am I supposed to do? Let me find you one then!¡± Li Qingshan secretly gave Xiao An a thumbs up inside. Nice one, girl! You¡¯ve already inherited my true legacy!

    Xiao An did not say that just to help Li Qingshan piss people off. She had spent almost a year with thirty thousand Bone Eating shamans as materials to reforge the Buddha Slaying sword to a whole new level. It was enough to rival the renowned swords of the Sword Collection palace, except it was inconvenient for her to wield it here.

    Behind the bronze mask, she blinked her eyes and scanned around the hall. She said, ¡°No need.¡±

    Afterwards, she made her way to a corner of the hall. A peach tree was planted within a large flower pot. The peach blossoms were in full bloom, giving off a wonderful fragrance.

    She extended her hand and broke off a part. The twisted peach branch was around two feet long, and there were still a few petite, pinkish-white blossoms on there. Basically all of them could fall off with a gentle breeze.

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    She made her way back. ¡°I¡¯m ready now.¡±

    Now that was called infuriating!

 Chapter 856

    At the very least, the Elder of Cultivation Methods was left quite furious. The corner of his eye twitched, and his face turned beet-red. He had spent four centuries engrossed in the path of the sword. If a girl less than a tenth of his age wanted to challenge him, then so be it, but she was not even using a sword! What was that supposed to be? That was naked provocation.

    The hall erupted in an uproar. The cultivators looked at one another, basically doubting their ears.

    Ji Changfeng thought, They really are together after all. Even their arrogance is identical!

    Ye Duanhai¡¯s expression became slightly colder too. He asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Are you serious? It¡¯s just a contest, but once they actually start fighting, there¡¯s no saying what might end up happening. She might get hurt!¡±

    ¡°A contest! Was she supposed to provide guidance? She doesn¡¯t have a sword in her hand, but she has a sword in her heart. The elder over there, are you afraid?¡±

    Li Qingshan never expected Xiao An to do this either. He could not help but lament things like ¡°Sure enough, the younger ones are surpassing the older generation¡±, ¡°Generations come and go¡±, ¡°I¡¯ve grown old¡± and so on inside. However, he was not concerned about Xiao An at all. She thought through things much more thoroughly than him. Since she was bold enough to do this, then she had absolute confidence in herself.

    Only mortals would believe something like that. Even people who had wandered the jianghu a bit would never believe that, let alone a great swordmaster like Ye Duanhai.

    Unless the difference in their strength was far too vast, a powerful weapon could play a decisive role in battle. Comprehension was not useless, but in a true battle, it always came down to strength. Even for an old monk who had spent his entire life studying buddhism, if he encountered a tiger, then all he could do was pray to the buddha that the tiger was not hungry if he did not cultivate.

    She was confronting a treasured sword with a peach branch, and the master of the treasured sword was even a sword cultivator who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation and condensed a sword embryo. She was digging her own grave in everyone¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Afraid? I don¡¯t even know how that word is spelt!¡± Cold light flashed through the eyes of the Elder of Cultivation Methods, and the temperature in the hall plummeted.

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    ¡°I can teach you.¡± Xiao An¡¯s voice was still emotionlessly calm as if she actually believed that the elder did not know how to spell it.

    ¡°Sharp-tongued girl, cut the nonsense! Let¡¯s take a look at the sword style of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga now, shall we?¡±

    His sword exited the sheath, and a streak of violet light illuminated the entire hall, together with the heavy rumbling of thunder.

    ¡°This sword is three feet, seven inches, and five eighths of an inch long, called Violet Lightning.¡±

    The elder¡¯s clothes began to ruffle as sparks coiled around him. He raised his sword before him with his right hand and swept his left hand across the blade. Electricity surged between his hand and the blade.

    Immediately, he seemed to become a whole different person. He sank into calmness, without the slightest hint of fury anymore, just like the sword in his hand.

    ¡°This is not a sword, but the branch of a peach tree,¡± Xiao An replied nonchalantly. I

    In comparison to the elder¡¯s flagrant bearing, she did not give off any bearing at all. It was as if she had already lost the upper hand completely before they had even clashed.

    Sword qi surged and lightning crackled right in her face, making her seem so delicate.

    Only her right hand that wielded the peach branch shone with a faint, golden light. It was almost impossible to notice without a closer glance. However, no matter how hostile everyone present was, they were still insightful. They could tell the buddhist glow was something else.

    Mister Ram thought to himself, Her buddhist cultivation method truly is profound. Apart from the mysterious Divine Nun of the South Sea, there probably isn¡¯t a single buddhist disciple in the South sea that can rival her. It¡¯s just a pity that this is a contest of the sword. If her strength completely surpasses her opponent, then so be it, but the elder of the sword pavilion has already reached the peak of the second heavenly tribulation. Apart from the few seated above me, no one can say their cultivation surpasses his.

    ¡°Let me ask you one last time. Are you really not going to switch to a sword?¡±

    The Elder of Cultivation Methods stood with his sword in hand as the lightning became more and more intense, crackling away. It was as if what he wielded in his hand was no longer a sword, but a bolt of lightning plucked from the sky. It twisted and trembled, about to break free from his grip at any moment and kill instantly.

    Everyone could tell that as soon as he struck, it would definitely be a devastating strike of lightning. Perhaps he could end the battle without even needing a second strike.

    Xiao An said nothing, shaking her head gently.

    In that moment, the elder vanished. Only a streak of violet electricity remained in the hall, as he had become one with the sword. The lightning sword qi that had been charging up the entire time immediately erupted, but there was only a single flash!

    The violet electricity was as thin as a snake, zigzagging and wandering about along an ungraspable trajectory, but it was extremely fast.

    There were not a lot of people in the hall that could make out the violet streak of electricity. The blinding light and roaring thunder immediately blinded and deafened the weaker cultivators. They were shocked. If I were on the other end of that strike, wouldn¡¯t I be dead?

    Even the relatively stronger cultivators were stern. I didn¡¯t think the Elder of Cultivation Methods would actually be so impressive. As it seems, it¡¯s not without reason that the South Sea Sword pavilion has never really been interested in our cultivation community. The combination of a sword cultivator and a treasured sword is just far too terrifying. It¡¯s basically unstoppable!

    Even ¡°seventh seat¡± felt the same. The reason why the Elder of Cultivation Methods was willing to sit beneath him was because he really did not care about these pointless rankings. Otherwise, ¡°seventh seat¡± really would have to step aside.

    The rumbling lasted for quite a while before stopping. Xiao An remained exactly where she was, with the peach branch by her side. The peach blossoms fluttered as if she could not even swing her sword in time to block. She wore a mask, so no one could see her expression.

    The elder stood with his back to her, standing ten paces away. He was solemn, slowly sheathing the Violet Lightning sword.

    Victory had been determined!

    That was what the cultivators all believed. Although most of them could not even make out the stroke, it did not stop them from making a judgement about the outcome of this battle.

    It was ¡°seventh seat¡± who felt something was amiss, as Ye Duanhai who had always been so solemn and always kept his emotions in check was actually taken aback. His cup paused right beside his mouth.

    Ji Changfeng and Gong Yuan¡¯s gazes both landed on Xiao An, and surprise filled their faces. They did not look at the Elder of Cultivation Methods that was closer to them. Only mister Ram gazed at the elder¡¯s face, and his expression was just as surprised.

    The elder¡¯s figure trembled gently. Even his breathing became rather disorderly. Meanwhile, the despicable Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed, his smile becoming more and more contemptible.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re still smiling? It¡¯ll be us once they¡¯re done. I¡¯m not going to be last in line. I¡¯ll be the first one to fight you!¡± Elder Blue shot a glance at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Alright. Guidance for the path of the sword has already been given. It¡¯s your turn next!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You¡¯re still talking about giving guidance? Is there something wrong with your head? If the old man hadn¡¯t shown mercy earlier, the girl would be dead already!¡± Elder Blue pointed at his own eyes, expressing that he had seen the clash very clearly.

    ¡°You- no- with your age¡­ it¡¯s impossible for you to have a path of the sword like that!¡±

    The elder suddenly turned around. His face was both excited and wan as if he had suddenly grown a decade older. His complexion was extremely pale, which made the faint, red spot on his forehead stand out very much. The spot obviously was not from him.

    ¡°Ah! T- that doesn¡¯t make sense! The old man had become one with the sword earlier! His head wasn¡¯t even exposed!¡±

    Elder Blue was stunned. He did see Xiao An swing the peach branch, but compared to the violet electricity, it had been far too slow.

    Xiao An touched her mask and said nothing. Apart from Li Qingshan, she never liked to talk to anyone. In the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, she straight up practised meditative silence. She did not want to explain anything right now either.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already said. She doesn¡¯t have a sword in her hand, but she has a sword in her heart. Do you believe me now? She¡¯s not using a real sword because you don¡¯t have any ill will with each other. She doesn¡¯t want to take your life.¡±

    No one knew that he was actually right, but this was not some victory in comprehension. Xiao An was very talented, but she was not a sword cultivator after all. No matter how powerful her swordsmanship was, it was impossible for her to surpass an elder who had devoted four hundred years to the path of the sword.

    This was a victory in strength. Although she wielded a peach branch in her hand, she had the sword qi that possessed the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s profound path of the sword in her ¡°heart¡±.

    In the moment they clashed, she used the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty to go from life to death, from form to emptiness, such that the elder¡¯s strike of guaranteed success lost its target, essentially rendering his heart of the sword blind. She used this state to completely unleash the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s path of the sword, which was basically like being possessed by the Five Absolutes Immortal. If it were anyone else, such as Li Qingshan, even if they had refined the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, they could not unleash it to such a level.

    The path of the sword that the Elder of Cultivation Methods had devoted four centuries to was nowhere close to a figure of legends like the Fives Absolutes Immortal, and it was impossible for sword qi that had been nurtured by the Three Absolutes Calligraphy for all this time to be weaker than a regular strike from him.

    In simpler terms, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty crushed the sword pavilion¡¯s cultivation method, while the Three Absolutes Calligraphy crushed the Violet Lightning sword. The peach branch was purely for assisting Li Qingshan in infuriating them. She could win even if she were empty-handed, so there was absolutely nothing wrong with the elder¡¯s defeat.

    With that, let alone the elder himself, even Ji Changfeng, Gong Yuan, and Ye Duanhai had been alarmed.

    For all this time, the reputation of the King of Savages had been so great, such that it was very easy to neglect the silent woman beside her. Even with her alluring beauty and her title as a genius, it was unavoidable for her to be neglected once she became willing to serve as his contrast.

    But at this moment, no one could underestimate her anymore. Even the ones sitting up above could not say with absolute confidence that they could receive that stroke.

    In particular, as a great swordmaster, Ye Duanhai understood the significance of the stroke the most. Even if he struck out with full strength, the power of his attack would be nothing more than that.

    And, she was only using a peach blossom. If she also used a treasured sword, what would happen? He knew there were many geniuses in the world, but wasn¡¯t it a little too big of an exaggeration for a genius like her who could even neglect an entire major realm of cultivation to exist?

    When it came to this aspect, it was actually them who wrongly estimated Xiao An¡¯s strength. Because of the wonders of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and the uniqueness of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, none of them could tell that Xiao An had used an arcane treasure, and one that was extremely powerful. They all thought it was her own strength.

    Actually, Xiao An could only unleash a stroke like that once. In an open confrontation, even if she used the Buddha Slaying sword, she could not kill a great cultivator in a single stroke.

    However, while it was a wrong estimate, it could not be regarded as an overestimate. The hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans had not died for nothing. If she used her true strength, she had always been capable of easily killing an opponent like the Elder of Cultivation Methods.

    The hall fell so silent that even the drop of a pin could be heard. The cultivators that Li Qingshan had challenged earlier all behaved like they had just been smacked across the head. They felt a hint of regret.

    ps£º ²»ÒªÎÊ»¹ÓÐÃ»ÓÐ£¬ÄÇÊÇ±ØÐëµÄ£¬²»¹ýÔÂÆ±ÊÇÒ²±ØÐëµÄ°¡£¡ÉÏ¸öÔÂÏë½øÇ°ÈýÊ®Ê§°ÜÁË£¬ÄÑµÀÕâ¸öÔÂ»¹ÒªÊ§°Ü

 Chapter 857

    Xiao An returned to the corner of the hall and reconnected the branch to its original place.

    At that moment, green buds appeared on the branch again, blooming with peach blossoms. They blossomed brilliantly, with even greater splendour than before.

    What she did almost left Ji Changfeng and everyone else even more surprised than the strike from earlier.

    Just how frail was a peach branch? Yet, she had wielded it as a sword, unleashing such an unrivalled stroke. All of its vitality should have been depleted already. When the aura vanished from the branch, it should have crumbled immediately.

    She had actually reconnected it and made it blossom again. Who knew how many times more difficult that was than reviving a dead branch. She had basically converted life from death.

    Xiao An gazed at the blooming peach blossoms for quite a while before finally turning around, returning to Li Qingshan¡¯s side.

    The two years had not gone to waste. She had gained a deeper comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and was not far off from the third layer now.

    ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard!¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he poured her a cup of alcohol and massaged her shoulders, behaving with great hospitality.

    It shocked the cultivators who had just witnessed his arrogance. Was the ¡°King of Savages¡± merely a signboard, where he was actually only a deadbeat who relied on the mysterious lady, Xiao An, to get by?

    Even Ye Duanhai experienced similar thoughts. Was this Xiao An perhaps a Reincarnated Celestial? Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible for her to possess a path of the sword like that given her age.

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    If that were the case, many things would make sense. With just the path of the sword and her ability to instantly hide her aura, she only required a treasured sword and an ambush by surprise, and there would be nothing strange about the Myriad Poison Ancestor losing his body. Yu Wufeng¡¯s defeat would have made perfect sense too.

    However, little did Ye Duanhai know that when they fought against the Myriad Poison Ancestor, Xiao An had yet to obtain the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. Her comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was not that deep either, or they really would not have needed to chase after the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    Xiao An lifted the bronze mask slightly, revealing her vermillion lips. They were curved with a smile, drinking the wine that Li Qingshan had poured for her. When she bore no expression, she was already utterly alluring, so now that she drank with a smile, even if only half her face was visible, many of the cultivators in the hall felt their minds waver.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but not only is this little sister a beauty, but she¡¯s even so capable as well. Little Li the second, that¡¯s your good fortune. Looks like your title of King of Savages should belong to her instead,¡± the Merfolk Queen said suddenly.

    Originally, she only wanted to test out Li Qingshan. She had not paid much attention to Xiao An at all, so she never expected there to be such an alarming result from the unintentional test. As a result, she immediately tried to probe their relationship by inciting them against one another.

    Surely they were not lovers! The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was a holy land of buddhism renowned throughout the world after all. Surely they were not that liberal? However, if she were a man, even she would be enchanted by a woman like her, and Li Qingshan clearly was not a person who liked to hold himself back either. Under these logical conclusions, their relationship became more and more puzzling to her.

    ¡°That obviously is my good fortune, but calling a girl the King of Savages isn¡¯t really nice.¡± Li Qingshan helped Xiao An put on the mask properly, and Xiao An glanced at Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan immediately sensed it. She was actually slightly wary. As a woman, she understood that most women were very vengeful, and their thoughts were unpredictable too. After witnessing that strike, she was also reluctant to make an enemy out of a woman like her for some strange reason, so she said, ¡°I see.¡±

    At the very least, there was one thing she was certain about, and that was Xiao An treasured her relationship with Li Qingshan very much, while Li Qingshan¡¯s behaviour made Gong Yuan despise him a little. Xiao An had done so much for him, yet he still cared about the title more than her. Though, weren¡¯t all men in the world like that? They all viewed these empty concepts of titles and honours with even greater importance than their own lives. There was nothing strange about that.

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    Actually, Li Qingshan did not notice she was trying to make them turn against each other at all. Having their names ring throughout the world had always been a wild ambition of men. He was no exception. However, the title of the King of Savages was absolutely nothing compared to his journey to the Nine Heavens. No matter how important it was, it could never even be compared to Xiao An¡¯s importance.

    As for Xiao An, not only did she have no concept of fame and honour, but even the concept of doing things for him did not exist to her. Many aspects of their thoughts differed vastly from regular people, which only made it even more difficult for others to understand their relationship.

    ¡°Fascinating, how fascinating! The King of Savages really does have lurking talents under his command! It leaves me in amazement!¡±

    Mister Ram clapped his hands and praised. His cultivation was not low, but it was not high enough to recognise how profound Xiao An¡¯s strike was either. He had only understood the significance of the strike after secretly communicating with the Myriad Poison Ancestor beside him, which left him greatly shocked.

    His majesty the King of Yue has been far too engrossed by Li Qingshan. I didn¡¯t think the girl would actually be the big fish. If someone like her returns to the Green province and then opposes the Mist province, it¡¯ll be horrible. However, I refuse to believe the two of them don¡¯t have even the slightest of disputes. Throughout history, it has always been the most difficult for geniuses to get along. Perhaps it¡¯s possible to polarise them.

    ¡°No wonder you gave up on the path of the sword.¡±

    Ye Duanhai finished off the cup of alcohol by his mouth. The Elder of Cultivation Methods¡¯ defeat in a single stroke not only disgraced him, but it also made him feel threatened for some reason. Perhaps he would have to cast aside his pride and sit down to negotiate a deal with Li Qingshan, so he followed up on what Gong Yuan and mister Ram had said.

    No matter how foolish Li Qingshan was, he could still tell everything they said was an attempt to sow discord in their relationship. Although the possibility for them to fall for it did not exist at all, it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

    Earlier, when he had been provoked by ¡°seventh seat¡± and mocked by the cultivators of the South sea, his response seemed to be over the top, but it was actually just one that he made in the moment. He did not take them seriously at all.

    However, he still had a bottom line.

    ¡°Hehe, that was one of the reasons, but hopefully the Elder of Cultivation Methods from your sect, pavilion master Ye, doesn¡¯t end up abandoning the path of the sword like I did after some mere guidance. If other disciples under the South Sea Sword pavilion end up giving up on the path of the sword as well, I¡¯ll be at great fault then. Oh right, mister Ram, may I ask what part of the strike earlier was fascinating? Did you even see it clearly? And your majesty, the word ¡°beauty¡± doesn¡¯t really suit Xiao An. You better just keep it for yourself!¡±

    After saying all that, Ye Duanhai looked down. Killing in a fit of anger had always been a swordsman¡¯s nature. Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes turned cold. How could a queen allow even the slightest offence to her dignity? Mister Ram continued to smile, except it was a little more unnatural now. His humility and modesty was built off a foundation that no one tried to strut around on his head. As the head caretaker of the King of Yue¡¯s estate, how could he be the type to just take that lying down?

    The atmosphere in the hall immediately reached freezing point. The cultivators of the South sea realised in a daze that Li Qingshan had not been particularly arrogant earlier. He was not exactly provoking them either. Only now could that be called arrogance and provocation!

    ¡°Ever since the beginning, I haven¡¯t tried to make any trouble at all. You can say I¡¯ve shown you enough respect. All of you think less of me just because I haven¡¯t undergone the third heavenly tribulation. If you want to test me out, then come test me out. You better stop with these underhanded tricks, as it¡¯ll only ruin your reputation!¡±

    Li Qingshan had never liked schemes and posing around in the first place. It was only under the spirit turtle¡¯s influence that he had played along with them for so long. Now that they had set him off, he downright laid it all out in the open. At worst, it was just falling out with each other. It was perfect for him to break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon. Coupled with Xiao An and the Myriad Poison Ancestor, he was confident that less than a handful could emerge from this hall alive!

    At that moment, everyone sensed that Li Qingshan¡¯s bearing had changed!

    ps£º µÚ¶þÕÂ·îÉÏ£¬ÔÂÆ±ÔÚÄÄÀï£¡

 Chapter 858

    The smile that had lingered on his face the entire time vanished. His face sank slightly. It was only a simple change in expression, but it was like a demon ripping off its disguise. What replaced it was a sense of malice.

    The original impression he gave off was gallant and courageous, but that was only a description applied to people. The tiger demon did not have any so-called gallantry, only viciousness and murderousness, grinding its teeth for blood, ready to spring up and feast!

    Just like how subjects stood up for their lords when they were offended, several merpeople and elders of the sword pavilion rose to their feet when they saw how the queen and the pavilion master had been provoked, ready to go up and scold Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed and shone with scarlet light, sweeping past their faces.

    They were tongue-tied. They were immediately overwhelmed by a feeling of fear as if he was about to lunge at them and kill them on the spot in the next moment. They retreated instinctively, assuming a defensive posture.

    The group of people stood up in unison before backing away. Although they immediately snapped back to their senses, they had completely lost the momentum. Their furious words of denouncement were caught in their throats, rendering them silent.

    Li Qingshan did not use any abilities, but the tiger demon had already become a part of his blood and soul. Every single gesture and every single expression manifested with the tiger demon.

    What heavy malice! Mister Ram shivered inside. Although he had a protective arcane treasure on him, it did not give him a sense of safety at all. He subconsciously glanced at the Myriad Poison Ancestor beside him.

    What a ruffian, digging your own grave. Humiliating a group of cultivators from the South sea is nothing, but you¡¯re even bold enough to provoke us? Let alone the fact that we¡¯ve already been speaking with very veiled words, even if we openly try to instigate you against each other, you have to put up with it! If you refuse to put up with it, then you die! Though, perhaps this is an opportunity. He already has a grievance with the Myriad Poison Ancestor for devastating his sect, and now, he has fallen out with the master of the sword pavilion and the Merfolk Queen. Does he really take himself to be superhuman? Should I just give up on the original plan and end his life here instead?

    As the head caretaker of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate, no matter where he went in the Mist province that spanned hundred thousand kilometers, people treated him with courtesy. Even great cultivators had to be polite with him. He had already forgotten how many years it had been since someone openly mocked him, so he could not help but think of some vicious things to cover up his hint of fear.

    He had always been someone who planned everything out before taking action. He never expected Li Qingshan would be so ¡°unintelligent¡±. He deliberated over how he would respond inside, weighing the costs and benefits and struggling to make a decision for a moment.

    ¡°What a crude simpleton!¡±

    Gong Yuan sneered. Since she was a woman, it was impossible for her to not care about her appearance. Li Qingshan had basically hit her right where it hurt when he told her to keep the word ¡°beauty¡± for herself, which left her very uncomfortable. However, what she found even more unforgivable was her dignity as a king being offended.

    Since the dawn of time, the dignity of those in a superior position had always been the most fragile. A single incorrect statement was disrespect and directly using their name was a treacherous conspiracy. They would even make their own names taboo.

    ¡°With the rage of a crude simpleton, blood splashes five steps away!¡± Li Qingshan turned around and looked at the Merfolk Queen from his side, immediately showing off his edge.

    A little impatience could spoil great plans. In order to maximise the benefits, forbearance was critical. Compared to the stubbornness of the ox demon and the bloodthirstiness of the tiger demon, the spirit turtle¡¯s calmness and intelligence were the best for pursuing good fortune and avoiding trouble. He understood all of this. However, understanding did not necessarily mean he was willing to stick with it. If life was about calculating everything and only doing what was correct, what was the point of it?

    Sometimes, he would refuse to be patient or back down. So what if he was wrong?

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯d like to see how you make blood splash five steps away! I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what! Do you really take yourself to be the King of Savages? Elder Blue, teach him a lesson!¡±

    Gong Yuan immediately became as deep and distant as an abyss. She had always detested and been repulsed by humans. Originally, she had reluctantly accepted Li Qingshan standing on equal footing out of a hint of curiosity, so she was already slightly displeased with him. Now that he had bitten off so much more than he could chew, actually taking himself to be a big deal, this displeasure immediately erupted.

    If he were a regular person, then perhaps teaching a lesson was enough, but for a genius like him, he had to be killed as soon as they had developed any ill will.

    Elder Blue hesitated. He reached towards Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with his huge hand.

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back without any attempt to evade it. ¡°Do you really want to be the second?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡±

    Elder Blue felt his heart tighten. He already knew Li Qingshan¡¯s strength was something else, but he never thought that he could make him feel so pressured when he actually faced him. It made him think of something Li Qingshan had said in the past, ¡°With certain people, they won¡¯t take you seriously unless you walk over them!¡±

    Elder Blue¡¯s huge hands pressed down on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders. He smiled. ¡°There¡¯s not enough room here. Damned brat, let¡¯s go outside for our bout!¡± He secretly communicated to Li Qingshan. ¡°Don¡¯t be so stubborn! This isn¡¯t worth it just for a single statement!¡±

    The two of them had bickered quite a lot, but he did not hate Li Qingshan. Instead, he felt some admiration towards him, or he would have never allowed Li Qingshan to sit on his head all the way until they reached the port. After all, his age of several thousand years was still a thing. The Merfolk Queen was powerful, but in his eyes, she was merely a little girl. He did not believe Li Qingshan deserved to die over a single offensive statement.

    ¡°You¡¯re not bad. You can leave!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at elder Blue deeply and loosened his right fist slightly.

    Elder Blue was completely unaware that he had just paid a visit to the edge of death. If he actually listened to Gong Yuan¡¯s orders and tried to teach Li Qingshan a lesson, Li Qingshan no longer planned on holding back. Even if he had a good impression of him, all there was for him to do was kill since he stood on the opposing side. There was some relief, as well as a hint of pity. The tiger demon¡¯s killing intent bubbled away, blazing like fire and making his body heat up. Now this was the feeling he liked the most.

    ¡°You-¡± Elder Blue was secretly worried. He tried dragging Li Qingshan out, but to his great surprise, his mountainous form that stood seven feet tall did not even budge. That¡¯s impossible! His strength actually surpasses mine!

    Li Qingshan then said to the cultivators of the South sea, ¡°The people that I didn¡¯t name earlier, you can leave too!¡±

    Perhaps the perfect plans of the spirit turtle did not suit him at all. Wanting to wait until his strength reached a certain level before revealing his identity as Northmoon and challenging the Dragon King of Ink Sea was a little too conservative. Whatever. He decided to stop thinking about it so much. He could practise with these people first. Without any surprise, Xiao An took off her bronze mask and stood beside him quietly.

    Hearing what Li Qingshan had said, the people in the hall all shivered inside. What was he trying to do? When regular people spoke rudely and displeased the Merfolk Queen, they would definitely be thinking about how to take to the heels and avoid her wrath, yet he seemed like he was determined to remain here.

    Gong Yuan frowned heavily, experiencing a hint of dread for some reason.

    ¡°My king, please reconsider!¡± Yu Wufeng blocked Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Apologies, No Wind. Looks like I¡¯m going to be going back on my word!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled again, but it was utterly different from before. It seemed much more sincere, with joy from the bottom of his heart.

    Today, if he casually killed a single elder or disciple of the South Sea Sword pavilion, that was equivalent to developing an irresolvable grievance with Yu Wufeng. He obviously would not cling onto or care about some promise he had issued anymore, such as letting Yu Wufeng go, only for him to undergo the third heavenly tribulation before coming for revenge.

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    ¡°That¡¯s just a trifle, not worth mentioning. However, those who accomplish great things don¡¯t stick to trifles, so please think of the bigger picture, my king!¡±

    Yu Wufeng tried to persuade Li Qingshan as he cast a glance for help towards Ye Duanhai. What he was worried about the most was not his own safety, but dragging the entire South Sea Sword pavilion into danger because of him.

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance, fellow. Your path of the sword is extremely profound and completely different from the sword pavilion¡¯s path of the sword. It has brought me great inspiration and benefits!¡± The Elder of Cultivation Methods suddenly arrived before Xiao An, overlapping his sleeves and bowing with great respect.

    ps£º »¹ÓÐÒ»¸ü£¬ÀëÇ°ÈýÊ®Ö»²î²»µ½¶þÊ®Æ±À²£¡

 Chapter 859

    Giant Ship island stood among raging waves. Before anyone had noticed, mountainous clouds had linked together, shrouding the vast sky of stars and weighing down heavily on Main-mast mountain. It seemed like it was about to touch the ridge of the Feilian hall that stood on the top of the mountain. The hovering Silver Dragon King was obscured by the sea of clouds.

    A storm was brewing, dimming the world.

    The fierce gales swept droplets of rain onto the Feilian hall. The noble, crystal lanterns scattered in the large, spacious hall illuminated the place such that it resembled daytime, forcing everyone¡¯s shadows beneath their feet.

    On the mural behind Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng, the legendary god of wind, Feilian, gazed down at the stunned and startled faces.

    For a moment, there was only the sound of wind and rain.

    There was a rumble of thunder. The Elder of Cultivation Methods¡¯ shadow used the brilliant flash from the lightning to escape from under his feet, reaching right before Xiao An.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on Ye Duanhai. What was the meaning of this? Was this supposed to be his instructions? Surely he was not giving in!

    Ye Duanhai continued to hold his sword in his hands, staring at Li Qingshan with a frown. He suddenly stood up and approached Li Qingshan slowly.

    Even regular swordsmen could kill within ten paces, so what about great sword cultivators?

    Not to mention the fact that he was only five steps, three steps, one step away!

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    The Sea Splitting sword thrummed and sword intent condensed, almost as if it was tangible. With each step, even the sea would recede to the two sides.

    However, Li Qingshan did not back down. He held his head up high and gazed at Ye Duanhai like a pillar of strength. His battle intent did not decline. Instead, it rose up and surged, gushing out of the hall and into the clouds.

    Ye Duanhai stopped. The two men of equal heights clashed with their gazes.

    Time seemed to come to a standstill. Their aura condensed without erupting. Everyone held their breaths, like a boulder was weighing on their chest.

    The thrumming of the sword stopped instantly! His right hand curled into a fist!

    Ye Duanhai held back his sword by the hilt, and Li Qingshan frowned, loosening his fist instead.

    Then Ye Duanhai opened his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve won the bout. Once you¡¯re done eating, let¡¯s have a private talk!¡±

    Without any regard for Li Qingshan¡¯s response, he arrived beside the Elder of Cultivation Methods and patted his shoulder, making his way out of the hall and into the wind and rain without even looking back. His figure seemed slightly bleak. The elders and disciples of the sword pavilion followed closely behind.

    Everyone was left in some disbelief. The master of the sword pavilion who had been renowned for his staunchness and decisiveness had actually been forced back in an open confrontation against a junior who had not even undergone the third heavenly tribulation!

    Yu Wufeng exhaled deeply, feeling both fortunate and sorry. Master, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s let you down!

    Killing in a fit of rage was a part of a sword cultivator¡¯s nature, except Ye Duanhai was not alone. He was also the master of the South Sea Sword pavilion. He had to look at the bigger picture and consider for the entire sect, so he was unable to swing his sword in the end.

    When Li Qingshan stopped caring about the bigger picture, someone else cared!

    ¡°Hehe, we were just joking earlier. Why must you be so serious, fellow? If I have caused you any offence, please forgive me. I¡¯ll punish myself with a cup of alcohol as an apology to you!¡±

    Mister Ram stood up with a smile, picked up a cup of alcohol, and drank it all. ¡°Sect master Ji, I have a weak capacity for liquor, so I¡¯ll be going back first to rest.¡± Suddenly, he seemed to recall something. ¡°Oh right, his majesty the King of Yue knows the King of Savages likes alcohol, so he¡¯s specially made me bring a jar of fine alcohol. Even I¡¯m tempted by the sight of it, so hopefully you can give me the honour of tasting it tomorrow.¡±

    He strode away before Ji Changfeng could even stand up to send him off. The Myriad Poison Ancestor caught up with him in a hurry and walked beside him, with Ru Xin following behind.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. The head caretaker of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate had actually apologised on his own accord! Perhaps he was different from what they imagined him to be. Was this mister Ram really a person who never tried to offend anyone through and through?

    They could understand Ye Duanhai¡¯s decision to back down. After all, his dear disciple¡¯s life lay in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, but what was mister Ram afraid of? Was he actually afraid that Li Qingshan would lose his temper and harm him? The Silver Dragon King was right in the air, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor was right beside him. Who could harm him? Not to mention, didn¡¯t the Myriad Poison Ancestor have a huge grievance with Li Qingshan?

    Let alone them, even Ji Changfeng was very surprised. The King of Southern Yue has actually actively offered up alcohol to express good will. Just who is this Li Qingshan? Why does he deserve so much respect? Don¡¯t tell me the head caretaker¡¯s main objective this time is Li Qingshan? Otherwise, why else would he be able to tolerate him?

    He did not know that Li Qingshan had once gifted the King of Southern Yue a jar of alcohol. This was just reciprocity out of courtesy. He only knew that the King of Southern Yue would never give him a jar of alcohol like that.

    Mister Ram stepped over the door sill and actually felt his entire body lighten up. He could not help but glance back. Li Qingshan happened to be looking at him, and he seemed rather disappointed. He clasped his hands with a smile before glancing past the Myriad Poison Ancestor. His heart sank.

    Earlier, he had already made up his mind about destroying these two geniuses of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in the Feilian hall. He could crush the cultivation community of the South sea in the process too. Right when he was about to contact the Myriad Poison Ancestor beside him, he suddenly noticed that something was amiss.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had been just too quiet!

    Li Qingshan had virtually destroyed the Myriad Poison cult! Such an unforgivable feud existed between them, yet the Myriad Poison Ancestor had actually remained silent ever since he entered the Feilian hall. Even when Li Qingshan provoked everyone, he had not put in a single word against Li Qingshan.

    If the Myriad Poison Ancestor were a cautious and meticulous person, then so be it, but he just happened to be renowned for his narrow-mindedness.

    If it was fishy, then something was definitely wrong!

    Something unfathomable had happened to the the most important element of this trip, the person who he depended on the most, which brought great unease to mister Ram. As a result, he did not speak with the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Instead, he carefully observed his reactions.

    When Ye Duanhai backed down with his disciples and elders, the Myriad Poison Ancestor still did not show any intentions of doing anything, which made mister Ram catch the scent of danger. He immediately decided to give up on this opportunity, so he tolerated Li Qingshan and allowed everything to return to its original course.

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    When Li Qingshan ceased with his forbearance, someone chose forbearance!

    ¡°Cough cough, sect master Ji, then¡­ I¡¯ll take my leave as well. I drank too much today and said some nonsense. I¡¯ve really made a fool of myself! Haha, apologies, apologies!¡±

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± smiled, except his smile was quite unnatural. His high spirits from just a moment earlier when he wanted to take on Li Qingshan in a battle to the death seemed to have never existed in the first place. He cursed himself inside.

    God dammit, it¡¯s just a seating order! Only a madman would want to become involved in this! Important figures like them are bickering about, so what¡¯s it got to do with me? Don¡¯t I cultivate in the South sea exactly because I want to avoid these conflicts? Can¡¯t I just watch on from the sideline? Why¡¯d I leap into the action myself? Even the King of Southern Yue shows respect to this kid, Li Qingshan, so why am I trying to feud with him? If we actually start fighting, just a single stroke from that woman called Xiao An is more than what I can withstand!

    ¡°Sigh, my capacity for liquor is weak too, so I¡¯ll be bidding farewell first.¡± ¡°Please forgive me, sect master Ji!¡±

    The cultivators of the South sea that Li Qingshan had pointed out had become a bundle of nerves a long time ago. With ¡°seventh seat¡± in the lead, they all stood up and bade farewell, their eyes flickering with uncertainty. Basically all of their gazes avoided Li Qingshan. Some of them just downright gazed at their own feet.

    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Li Qingshan barked.

    ¡°Y- you better not take it too far. This is the Cloud Sail sect. This is the South sea, not your Savage mountain!¡±

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± shivered all over and turned around. His expression was extremely ugly.

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    Some of the other cultivators stopped too, while others just kept their heads down as they made their way out. They even sped up slightly.

    Seeing this, the people that stopped all made a reluctant decision to leave in a hurry as well. They thought to themselves, He definitely wasn¡¯t talking to me! Hmph, Li Qingshan, no matter how impressive you are, don¡¯t even think about stopping us with just that! The more you want us to stop, the more we¡¯re going to go!

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Over a dozen streaks of light flew out from the Feilian hall. Gazing at the shrouded skies, they immediately lightened up significantly. Not only did I go, I even made it out! What can you do about me? Thankfully, he wasn¡¯t referring to me!

    Some of them glanced back at ¡°seventh seat¡± and wished him good luck, while others even refused to look back. They even grumbled inside, If you hadn¡¯t spoken recklessly, would we have been dragged into this matter? Why¡¯d you provoke the King of Savages? Cultivating in the South sea is about peace and quiet. You¡¯re the leader of a sect too, yet you don¡¯t even understand this.

    Regardless of whether they looked back or not, none of them slowed down. The group of people vanished into the curtain of rain very soon, only leaving behind ¡°seventh seat¡± still standing there and facing Li Qingshan. His expression became more and more ugly, completely bitter with regret. ¡°Why should I stop?¡±

    ¡°Fellow Li, do be lenient!¡± Ji Changfeng said.

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± glanced at Ji Changfeng gratefully, but it was not because he was afraid of dying. If he actually faced a great enemy, he would be more than willing to put up a fight to the death. He just did not want to die over such a strange, baffling reason, simply because he had been a bit of a big mouth.

    This felt like messing around with a tiger because he was bored, only to be eaten in the end. If he had died because of such an idiotic reason, he would probably become the laughing stock of the entire South sea cultivation community.

    Merely looking at his slightly bitter face turned Li Qingshan off. What benefit could come out of killing the likes of him?

    He was also very surprised by how everything had developed. Originally, he was prepared for a battle to the death, but he never expected Ye Duanhai and mister Ram to actually back down. It was not like he had any major grievances with the South Sea Sword pavilion and the King of Yue¡¯s estate. They had even acknowledged their defeat and apologised to him, so there was no reason for him to not spare them and throw his life at them.

    However, there was still a ¡°big fish¡± here!

    Li Qingshan turned around. ¡°Gong Yuan, how is my rage of a crude simpleton?¡±

    The Merfolk Queen became uncertain. If Li Qingshan had been rude enough to directly call her by her name earlier, she definitely would have taught him a lesson, but now, gazing at the hall that had suddenly emptied out and ¡°seventh seat¡¯s¡± figure as he flew away from the hall, almost as if he was fleeing for his life, she actually had no idea what to say for a moment.

    Even the Merfolk elders felt uneasy, afraid to rebuke this man before them again without good reason.

    Ji Changfeng opened his mouth, but he said nothing. He could convince Li Qingshan to spare someone who had nothing better to do, but this was the Merfolk Queen now, so it was up to them to handle this themselves, just in case he offended either side.

    Ye Duanhai could admit defeat for his disciple and mister Ram could apologise for his own safety, but Gong Yuan would never lower herself to do that. If it were earlier, she could still turn against Li Qingshan without the slightest hesitation, but now, she was unable to make that decision anymore.

    Let alone how much strength Li Qingshan was hiding exactly, just Xiao An was a tough nut to crack. She was not afraid, but her subordinates were not that powerful. She could not sacrifice them pointlessly. If Ji Changfeng assisted her, they could keep the two of them at bay through the formations of Main-mast mountain.

    However, Ji Changfeng clearly had no plans to do that. He wanted to remain neutral. Ji Changfeng¡¯s relationship with the Merfolk of the South sea was purely cooperative. He was not their lackey. He would never want to fall out with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga just because the Merfolk Queen had been momentarily displeased either.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the Merfolk Queen calmly as she faced a dilemma. He was very satisfied.

    After making his decision, it was now her turn to make her decision.

    Are you bold enough to face me in battle?

    ps£º ¼ÌÐøË«¸ü£¬¼ÌÐøÇóÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 860

    Thin, frigid mist permeated from Gong Yuan¡¯s body. A layer of frost immediately appeared on the delicacies before her, and the cup in her hand shattered.

    Crack! Crack! The frost crawled up the table of white jade, becoming covered in cracks.

    The temperature in the hall plummeted. It was freezing.

    Alarmed cries of mortals rang out in Three Sails city. Adults and children all arrived on the streets, gazing at Main-mast mountain. The rain from above turned into snow and hail when it approached the peak of the mountain, pitter-pattering against the glazed tiles.

    Has the Merfolk Queen finally taken action? The merpeople are just more domineering. The kid is probably done for this time!

    The cultivators that had left the Feilian hall did not return to cultivate like what they had said. Instead, they gazed at Main-mast mountain from a safe distance away.

    ¡°Master, senior brother he¡­¡± Peng Jingni gazed at Ye Duanhai as he stood with his hands behind his back and became slightly worried. If Li Qingshan was not the Merfolk Queen¡¯s opponent, then he would definitely order Yu Wufeng to take action. His death would virtually be guaranteed.

    Ye Duanhai said nothing.

    Only if he just dies! Mister Ram sighed inside before shaking his head. Although he had absolutely no reason to believe this, he had a feeling that this kid would not die here. How strange!

    The cold mist slowly pressed towards Li Qingshan, and the crackling of ice grew closer and closer.

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    Gong Yuan¡¯s face seemed to be covered in a layer of frost, beautiful but brutal. Her eyes had turned pitch-black, as deep as a sea abyss.

    Ji Changfeng could not help but stand up and leave his seat, avoiding the intensifying coldness from her. He thought, She really has been angered this time. I¡¯ll definitely be blamed once this is all over for not assisting her! Then he grumbled about Li Qingshan, You¡¯ve already gained the upper hand, so why must you take it further? Why don¡¯t you just give Gong Yuan a way out of this situation? What benefit will angering her bring?

    However, he also understood that having come this far, even if Li Qingshan gave Gong Yuan a way out, she might not necessarily take it. Instead, she would probably take advantage of that opportunity to strike.

    Gond Yuan was not Ye Duanhai. She did not have to worry about the safety of her disciples. She was not mister ram either, as what she relied on was her own strength. It was possible to say that she was the strongest on Giant Ship island, and her forces were the strongest in the South sea too.

    Ye Duanhai and mister Ram had reasons that forced them to retreat, but she did not. Although she had some misgivings, that was not enough for her to cast aside her dignity as a king and give in to a second heavenly tribulation lackey of the empire.

    As a result, she chose to take action, pressing closer step by step. If they retreated, then they would immediately show weakness, and she could strike at full force. If they refused to move, then the coldness would slowly freeze them until they completely lost the ability to fight back. If they fought back, then that would be for the best. She could use the time to make the Merfolk elders retreat, and then she would not have any misgivings left at all.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan moved, but he did not retreat. Instead, he advanced, stepping into the domain of ice and frost.

    The Merfolk elders were all cunning and clever. They knew this was the moment for them to retreat from the Feilian hall.

    At this moment, there was a white flash, and Xiao An appeared at the entrance of the hall, observing them emotionlessly!

    ¡°What speed!¡± The Merfolk elders all stopped in amazement. When they recalled the might of the stroke from earlier, none of them were confident enough to survive before the edge of her sword.

    How despicable, but you¡¯ve actually separated from one another! I¡¯ll deal with you one by one then! Gong Yuan¡¯s dark eyes gazed at Li Qingshan as he made his way over, like she was looking at a dead person.

    She practised a cultivation method of merpeople that had been passed down from the divine kingdom, called All Waters to Ruin¡¯s End.

    Ruin¡¯s End was a legendary, bottomless abyss, the place where all water gathered. Even the celestial rivers would end up flowing there. In order to practise this All Waters to Ruin¡¯s End, she needed to submerge herself in the abysses of the sea all year round, connecting with the mysterious Ruin¡¯s End through the secret techniques of Merfolk.

    The cultivation process was extremely difficult. Not only did the body have to withstand the tremendous pressure of the ocean, but the mind faced severe torture as well. There had been so many times when she was virtually on the brink of despair, where her soul was about to be completely absorbed by Ruin¡¯s End. Compared to that, the pain of her body was nothing.

    Even during the most prosperous age for Merfolk, when their divine kingdom still existed, there were not many people that practised this cultivation method, and there were even fewer that managed to succeed with it. It was exactly this cultivation experience that made her personality cold and sunken. At the same time, it was extremely easy for her to fly into a hysterical rage, so even the merpeople feared her very much.

    The coldness she released right now possessed the power of deathly frigidness of Ruin¡¯s End that attacked all openings. Even Ji Changfeng could not withstand it for long periods of time. Li Qingshan was basically digging his own grave by walking towards her like this.

    Li Qingshan released his dark-red demon qi, but it was completely useless. Under the bone-piercing coldness, his clothes immediately froze and shattered. The demonic armour that replaced his clothes was just as useless.

    His uniform as a White Hawk Commander was virtually equivalent to a defensive supreme grade arcane treasure. It was impervious to weapons, fire, and water, yet it could not even last a moment within the coldness.

    There were less than thirty steps between them, but it felt like they stood at the ends of the world. Every single step he took seemed like he was approaching an abyss. His exposed skin turned blue and violet very quickly, and the demonic armour became covered in a layer of frost too. Who knew when it would shatter like his clothes. His boots had frozen the moment they touched the ground. He needed to use quite a bit of force before he could lift them, continuing onwards.

    Li Qingshan should have been speeding up so that he could shorten the distance between them quickly and drag Gong Yuan into close combat. Otherwise, he could just keep his distance and unleash attacks from there.

    His pace obviously presented Gong Yuan with the opportunity to push the All Waters to Ruin¡¯s End to the limit.

    But for some reason, he simply continued onwards like this, step by step, at a steady pace.

    Is he really that confident in his own strength? Even I wouldn¡¯t try to use my cultivation to compete against Gong Yuan like this, as there¡¯s absolutely no chance for victory. Even if the Fire Devouring King did that, it would be a certain defeat. He might be a great genius, but it¡¯s impossible for him to win. The outcome has already been determined.

    Ji Changfeng could not help but shake his head. He was forced to activate the formation, not because he was trying to assist a side, but because he was afraid Gong Yuan would destroy the Feilian hall.

    Originally, there had still been a few courageous cultivators of the South sea who stuck around, but they had all been forced out by the coldness now. There was no need for them to gamble with their lives just to see a good show. If they had died from the fallout of the battle, now that would be called an accident.

    Large parts of Li Qingshan¡¯s body suffered from frostbite and necrosis. His eyes became fogged up as well, covered in a layer of frost.

    However, he continued to gaze at Gong Yuan with his blind eyes. He could no longer see the noble, cold Merfolk Queen, but a pitch-black, bottomless abyss.

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    He could not help but recall a saying, When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you.

    That was exactly what he felt right now. The abyss was ice-cold and deathly still, but it seemed to possess its own consciousness. However, what he felt was not terror and despair, but a calling from the depths of his soul.

    It was exactly because of this wondrous feeling that he had not been in a hurry to fight back.

    When the earth had frozen over, the tiger bones had turned brittle, and even the phoenix had lost its endless vitality, but the spirit turtle¡¯s will instead became especially clear. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression operated at an unprecedented speed, glowing with a divine light.

    What¡¯s going on?

    Li Qingshan was baffled. He had felt very comfortable even back then when he met Gong Yuan¡¯s gaze on the back of the whale. Now that Gong Yuan was using her full strength, this was not just comfortable anymore, but absolutely delightful. There was not a single hint of malice left on his face. His expression had become extremely peaceful.

    What¡¯s going on? Gong Yuan also wanted to know why Li Qingshan could still walk towards her when he should have been frozen long ago. Why was the expression on his face ¡°baffled¡±, and why did she take a liking to the aura he gave off, even instinctively wanting to be on closer terms with him?

    What on earth is going on? Even Ji Changfeng found this difficult to understand. If he only looked at their expressions, he would never believe they were about to fight each other to the death.

    Finally, Li Qingshan stepped over the table of white jade that had frozen over and shattered, arriving before Gong Yuan. Their auras entangled together, and the feeling of intimacy peaked.

    If I can remain in this state, breaking through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle would be a piece of cake.

    Li Qingshan sighed inside, but he also felt a hint of delight. The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine started off easy and became more difficult as he progressed. The wondrous power that Gong Yuan gave off offered without a doubt a new window of opportunity to the spirit turtle¡¯s cultivation.

    Gong Yuan simply shut her eyes as if she was silently sensing something.

    She practised All Waters to Ruin¡¯s End all year round. Even when she left the ocean and was surrounded by numerous people, she felt like she was still inside the sea abyss, facing the unfathomably deep Ruin¡¯s End. It left her utterly exhausted, leading to a severe inner demon.

    Easily falling into a hysterical rage was one of the external symptoms of an inner demon. If she could not keep the inner demon under control, then not only would she struggle to increase her cultivation, but she would even face the risk of suffering from qi deviation.

    Inner demons were different from a demonic nature. It was very difficult to resolve them through external methods. They could only be settled personally by the cultivator. Many cultivators ended up being destroyed by this aspect, which was the so-called qi deviation, or going insane.

    This was not as simple as falling into the demonic path and becoming a demonic cultivator, but losing control over the mind. It was just easier for demonic cultivators to suffer qi deviation compared to regular cultivators.

    When mortals lost control over their minds, it was only going insane. Cultivators all possessed very great power, so once their minds were unable to keep this power under control, the end result went without saying.

    But at that moment, her mind experienced unprecedented peace. It was so comfortable that she almost wanted to moan.

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    Neither Gong Yuan nor Li Qingshan knew that the mysterious Ruin¡¯s End just happened to be the spirit turtle¡¯s home, its final resting place.

    Because newly-born spirit turtles could not survive in Ruin¡¯s End, adult spirit turtles would breed and produce offspring outside Ruin¡¯s End. Once the little spirit turtles grew up, they would return to Ruin¡¯s End like the rivers flowing into the ocean.

    This was a cycle.

    The environment of Ruin¡¯s End was far too deathly still, such that only spirit turtles would take a liking to it. When it came to other water-elemented divine beasts, even if their power rivalled the spirit turtle, they could endure the environment, but they could not remain there for long periods of time.

    However, to the spirit turtle that pursued peace and longevity, that was the ideal paradise. Just like the so-called ¡°Mother River¡± to humans, they treated Ruin¡¯s End as their mother. At the same time, the mysterious will of Ruin¡¯s End, or perhaps better described as the laws of Ruin¡¯s End, treated spirit turtles like its beloved children.

    That was why such a wondrous reaction would occur between the two of them.

    But at this moment, Li Qingshan was in an extremely dangerous state. His body was powerful, but it was virtually on the brink of being frozen. His expression remained as peaceful as before, gradually extending his hand. With every single movement he made, the sounds of his body cracking and shattering rang out. Even his tiger bones had become extremely brittle in the extreme cold.

    As if ten millennia had passed, his hand finally pressed down on Gong Yuan¡¯s shoulder.

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 Chapter 861

    Gong Yuan shuddered and opened her eyes. Her sea-blue eyes were filled with utter surprise, but after catching a glance of Li Qingshan, she immediately became both embarrassed and furious. As it turned out, even the demon heart in Li Qingshan¡¯s body had been frozen over, so he obviously could not maintain his demonic armour, exposing his sturdy, naked body.

    She was not an innocent girl, unable to stand the sight of naked men, but the issue was a naked man was standing right in front of her, less than a foot away. He even had a hand on her shoulder.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched with difficulty. Who knew whether it was out of apology or complacency.

    Ji Changfeng widened his eyes on the side. Never had he seen such a strange sight in his life. A naked man was standing right in front of the cold, noble Merfolk Queen, and he even had a hand on her shoulder with a strange smile on his face.

    ¡°Remove your filthy hand!¡± The coldness that Gong Yuan gave off grew heavier. Her voice was as cold as ice too.

    Not only did Li Qingshan ignore her, but he even raised his other hand and placed it on her other shoulder.

    By now, he no longer had much killing intent left. Instead, he paid more attention to the secret on her. As for Gong Yuan, she seemed furious on the surface, but he could clearly sense that her hostility had been pacified too. Moreover, he was confident that she also could sense the change in him. This was an extremely wondrous feeling.

    However, if this continued, he would probably be frozen to death. He had never been the kind of person to place all of his hopes on his opponent. He had already pressed so close. All he had to do was bring his hands around her neck and release the power of tremors, and he would be able to turn the tables immediately. Gong Yuan¡¯s body might be tough, but she could not be compared to the Corpse King from the past.

    Gong Yuan frowned slightly. Her expression changed, and her chest heaved, taking in a deep breath. She suddenly took a step back and withdrew the coldness. ¡°I¡¯ll just spare your life today!¡±

    Afterwards, she went off in a huff. When she walked by Li Qingshan, she even glanced at him. There was no longer any hostility left in her eyes. Instead, it was more like she was looking at some kind of rare, precious item, and this item just happened to have an element that invoked disgust in her, leaving her at a momentary loss as for what to do.

    Arriving at the entrance of the hall, Xiao An moved aside without saying anything at all. Gong Yuan shot a vicious glance at her.

    Elder Blue was very puzzled. His thoughts were not exactly meticulous, but he had still watched Gong Yuan grow up after all. He could clearly feel that Gong Yuan¡¯s bearing had changed slightly, losing a hint of sunkenness and brutality. He glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise and wondered just what had happened earlier.

    Only Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan were most familiar with the changes in their aura. The others struggled a little to tell what had happened.

    The flames of the phoenix warmed his entire body, and the necrosis on Li Qingshan¡¯s body healed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, his skin returned to a normal colour. He looked at his hand and smiled. He never expected an accidental discovery from trying to fight this time!

    However, while he called it an accident, it was not actually one. Just like how the Fire Devouring Folk had the divine wutong tree, it made perfect sense for the water-elemented Merfolk to possess something that could assist the spirit turtle¡¯s cultivation. After all, they had all descended from divine kingdoms. Even when they had declined now, their heritage was still unrivalled.

    In the blink of an eye, the spacious Feilian hall emptied out, only leaving Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and the dumbfounded Ji Changfeng.

    ¡°That¡­ fellow, what on earth did you do?¡± Ji Changfeng hesitated for a very long while, but he still could not help but ask that question.

    ¡°I used my charms, obviously!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Erm, really?¡± Ji Changfeng let out a dry laugh. Li Qingshan did not possess any alarming charms to him.

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    ¡°Be convinced. My charms are useless against men, but against women, they¡¯re¡­¡±

    ¡°You better put on your clothes first!¡± Ji Changfeng was unable to put up with him any longer.

    Li Qingshan found a set of clothes in his sumeru ring and put them on. Xiao An made her way over to help neaten his clothes.

    Seeing this, Ji Changfeng immediately confirmed their relationship was not one that outsiders could pry apart! With her alluring beauty, talent, and cultivation, there was no reason for her to do something like that for a man. There was a moment when he almost believed in Li Qingshan¡¯s so-called charms, but he immediately discarded this absurd thought.

    ¡°They¡¯re all gone anyway. Perfect! I was just worried about not having enough to eat!¡±

    Li Qingshan scanned around and nodded, quite satisfied. Everyone who found him disagreeable to the eye was gone, so he could do as he pleased now.

    The corner of Ji Changfeng¡¯s eye twitched. To think he was still in the mood to eat. However, after a moment of hesitation, he still ended up passing orders to restart the banquet. He had originally tried to just brush Li Qingshan aside under the mentality of not offending anyone without good reason, but now, he truly viewed Li Qingshan as an equal. He even found Li Qingshan to be slightly unfathomable.

    ¡°You¡¯ve truly been awe-inspiring today, fellow. You¡¯ve broadened my horizons. You¡¯re already so impressive with just a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation. If you undergo the third heavenly tribulation one day, wouldn¡¯t you be invincible in the world?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! I¡¯m still nowhere close! Becoming invincible is nowhere near as easy as becoming the greatest in the world. That¡¯s being able to defeat everyone from the second in the world to the hundredth in the world all at the same time. But thank you for your auspicious blessing. I will be invincible sooner or later, haha!¡±

    When Ji Changfeng heard what he first said, he even thought, At least this kid knows how to be modest! However, after hearing what he continued with, he was immediately left at a loss as for how to follow him up.

    Just how vast was the world? If you include all the powerful cultivators from the various races across the nine provinces and four seas, I probably can¡¯t even make it into the top one hundred. As for reaching the so-called realm of being ¡°invincible in the world¡±, there has not been a single person that has achieved it throughout history.

    If Li Qingshan had said this to him two hours earlier, he definitely would have mocked him a little, but now that he was faced with Li Qingshan¡¯s approving expression of ¡°you have pretty sharp eyes,¡± all he could do was lift his cup and give a toast.

    ¡°That¡¯s truly some lofty aspirations. How admirable! Let¡¯s drink!¡± Before long, Ji Changfeng could not stay put for much longer either. ¡°I¡¯ve drunk quite a lot today. My liquor capacity is also rather weak¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. You can go and rest, fellow. There¡¯s no need to be so polite!¡± Li Qingshan rested his head against his hand and held a cup of alcohol in his hand, sitting back in the main seat and leisurely enjoying the song and dance below.

    As a result, only Li Qingshan and Xiao An remained in the spacious hall before long, so he simply waved his hand and dismissed the performing women as well.

    ¡°How clean! They¡¯re all gone now!¡± Li Qingshan communicated with his soul sense, lifting up his cup and clinking it gently against Xiao An¡¯s as she sat in his lap, drinking it all in one gulp.

    ¡°Why?¡± Xiao An took his cup from him with one hand and replaced it with her own cup.

    Li Qingshan polished it off in another gulp. ¡°The aura that Gong Yuan gives off is extremely special. It seems to be very beneficial to the spirit turtle, and the aura of the spirit turtle seems to be beneficial to her too.¡±

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    ¡°You want to dual cultivate with her?¡±

    ¡°Of course! She¡¯s a queen after all!¡± Li Qingshan pinched Xiao An¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m just joking. She¡¯s definitely a real piece of work. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she doesn¡¯t have the confidence to capture me, she definitely would have taken action and interrogated me about my secrets. Not to mention that a queen of Merfolk would never dual cultivate with a human. Even if she¡¯s willing, I won¡¯t agree to it.¡±

    He was lustful, but he did not go as far as being blinded by lust and thinking with his crotch. Gong Yuan and Lolth were different. Not only was she extremely powerful, but the organisation behind her was extremely large too. If he slept with Lolth, then he slept with Lolth, but becoming overly involved with Gong Yuan definitely brought no benefits.

    ¡°You¡¯re completely overestimating yourself.¡± Xiao An turned her head away from him in disagreement.

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes in response. Then, he answered furiously, ¡°Damned girl, you even stood in front of me naked, and didn¡¯t I still hold on?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re a coward!¡± Xiao An pouted.

    ¡°You dare to say I¡¯m a coward?¡± Li Qingshan shot a glance at her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said it.¡± Xiao An shot a glance back at him.

    ¡°Whatever. You win, alright?¡± Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms helplessly and said in thought, ¡°I didn¡¯t really have an idea what I¡¯d want from the merpeople, but at least I have an objective now. I need to find a way to contact Ru Xin.¡±

    At this moment, the banquets for regular cultivators and merpeople on Fore-mast mountain and Mizzen-mast island approached an end. The goods that the merpeople had brought ashore had been properly handled and sorted too.

    The feasts ended, and the sea fair formally began.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go out for a stroll too!¡± Li Qingshan stood up and said to Xiao An.

    ¡­¡­

    Walking among the antique buildings and pavilions, everything beside him was a dazzling array of goods, but none of them were particularly expensive. It was just a warm up. The auction in three days¡¯ time was the main event of this sea fair.

    Because low level cultivators formed the majority, it was still extremely busy, but wherever Li Qingshan and Xiao An went, it would fall silent.

    Cultivators avoided them from afar. If they could not avoid them, then they lowered their heads, maintaining a respectful attitude towards them. Only when they had walked far away would they begin a quiet discussion. Everything that had happened in the Feilian hall had already spread from mouth to mouth. The South sea cultivation community had basically accepted the King of Savages¡¯ might. However, Xiao An was still the one who drew the most attention. The sight of her descending from the sky had already become an unforgettable memory to many people.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An strolled around, and sure enough, there was not anything worth noting. They arrived on the balcony outside the buildings and stood near the railing, gazing into the distance.

    The rain continued to pour down, landing on the South sea like a carpet. The waves constantly surged towards the shore, smashing apart and splashing against the rock and reef.

    ¡°Swashing waves beat on the shore, rolling up a thousand heaps of snow. To match the hills and the river so fair, how many heroes brave of yore made a great show!¡± Li Qingshan recited slowly.

    ¡°Little Li the second, we can still be friends if you never recite another poem in your life!¡±

    A familiar voice suddenly rang out in his head. On the balcony one floor below, Ru Xin also stood by the railing, gazing at the night rain.

    ¡°What¡¯s your relationship with Gong Yuan?¡± Li Qingshan originally had a head full of questions, but the first one to reach his mouth was gossip.

    Ru Xin fell silent for a moment. ¡°Next question!¡±

    ¡°What cultivation method does she practise?¡± Li Qingshan could tell she was not in a good mood, so he cut right to the chase.

    ¡°All Waters to Ruin¡¯s End. It¡¯s a cultivation method passed down from the divine kingdom. The legends say that Ruin¡¯s End is the place where all waters gather. It¡¯s a mysterious world¡­¡± Ru Xin introduced the cultivation method to him.

    When Li Qingshan heard ¡°Ruin¡¯s End¡±, he felt an extremely close connection, so he followed up and asked, ¡°Do you know this cultivation method?¡±

    Ru Xin fell silent for another moment before spitting out two words, ¡°I do!¡±

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 Chapter 862

    That took Li Qingshan by surprise. Originally, he had only asked that thoughtlessly. Probably even the Merfolk elders he had seen today did not know a secret cultivation method like All Waters to Ruin¡¯s End. He never expected her to actually know!

    He became even more certain that her resemblance to Gong Yuan was not just a false impression. However, since she refused to talk much about it, then he could not ask much about it, so he asked the main question he had in mind.

    ¡°Can you teach it to me?¡±

    ¡°I can.¡± Ru Xin answered without the slightest hesitation. ¡°However, even if I teach it to you, you won¡¯t be able to practise it.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Practising this cultivation method requires connecting with Ruin¡¯s End. You can¡¯t achieve that just by finding any old sea abyss. In my knowledge, it¡¯s only possible through the Heart of the Abyss, but that¡¯s a supreme treasure that only merpeople can forge. It¡¯s currently in Gong Yuan¡¯s possession.¡±

    ¡°Then what if I try to exchange for it? Such as offering the virus you created?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The method for forging the Sea of the Abyss has already been lost. The royal court of the merpeople only has a single one too. Once they lose it, Gong Yuan¡¯s cultivation will halt for good, and I¡¯ve already made up my mind about what I want to exchange for.¡±

    A path of cultivation was critical to all cultivators, especially when it came to a powerful cultivator like Gong Yuan. Li Qingshan suspected that even if he threatened extinction to the entire race of Merfolk, she might not necessarily hand over the Sea of the Abyss.

    ¡°That sure is troublesome. Whatever. I¡¯m in no hurry anyway. I¡¯ll think about it when the time comes!¡± His priority right now was to push the Phoenix Transformation to the fourth layer. Once his strength had increased, taking it by force was always an option. ¡°Oh right, what do you want to exchange for?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously.

    ¡°The Lost Stalks of the King of Yue.¡±

    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°One of the things that the King of Southern Yue wants the most, or more accurately, a set of incomplete cleromancy stalks. They¡¯re mister Ram¡¯s greatest objective for this visit.¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it.¡±

    ¡°In the ancient times, there had once been a King of Yue skilled in divination that had attacked the Crystal Palace in an attempt to annex the South sea into the Kingdom of Yue¡¯s control. Because of a major storm and the tenacious resistance from the Merfolk, it ended in failure, and he lost half a set of cleromancy stalks crafted from dragon bones and dragon horns in the South sea, which is why it¡¯s called the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue.¡±

    ¡°Crafted from dragon bones and dragon horns!¡± Li Qingshan was slightly amazed. Just the material alone allowed him to understand the value of these cleromancy stalks.

    Legends had it that in an ancient era even before the otherfolk had conquered the world and established the nine provinces, daemons had once ruled the nine provinces. Back then, there were still numerous divine beasts and strange beasts like phoenixes, xiezhis, qiongqis, and so on. Dragons were the leader of all daemons. That was also where the Dragon province¡¯s name came from.

    ¡°Merpeople are unpredictable, which is why the King of Yue ordered the Myriad Poison Ancestor to accompany him, even bringing the Silver Dragon King as a form of deterrence. I just went with it, as it¡¯ll be easier for me to bargain with Gong Yuan when the time comes too.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have a direct conflict of interest with the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate then? Xiao An said that mister Ram has already begun suspecting the two of you.¡±

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    The Lost Stalks of the King of Yue were not of any practical use to Li Qingshan. Even if he obtained it, it would be an incomplete set, but that was different to the King of Southern Yue. Right now, they were on the brink of war with the Green province. Just like how ¡°many calculations lead to victory and few calculations to defeat, let alone no calculations at all¡± from Sun Tzu¡¯s Art of War, the path of divination played a critical role in major wars like that. It could basically determine the outcome of the entire war.

    This aspect also happened to be the Mist province¡¯s greatest flaw. The Green province was much smaller than the Mist province, but their system of the entire hundred schools was relatively complete. The school of Yin-yang specialised in this aspect, while the Mist province was far too chaotic. The path of divination offered almost no increase in battle prowess at all, so basically no one was willing to learn it.

    As a result, it would not be wrong at all to say that the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue was one of the items that the King of Southern Yue wanted the most right now. However, that was also the exact reason why the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate would view anyone who got in their way or disrupted their plans as an enemy, and if the disruptor just happened to be from the Green province, they could basically write them off as a spy immediately and hunt them down to the ends of the world.

    At the very least, Li Qingshan had no intentions of directly clashing with the King of Southern Yue right now. Otherwise, it would be utterly pointless for him to attack Fire Melt mountain. Just a savage barrage from the Silver Dragon King overhead would be enough to take down any standing formation.

    ¡°If he suspects you, then let him suspect you! It¡¯s not like we¡¯re trying to disrupt his plan. Just let him talk with Gong Yuan first. Though, with the kind of person that woman is, hehe, you¡¯ll be rendering the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate a great service once you obtain the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue.¡±

    ¡°Of course. A treasure as precious as that can¡¯t be handed over so easily. It¡¯ll be the king¡¯s estate¡¯s turn to beg me.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly came to a realisation. He was already relatively close with the Great Banyan Tree King. If he could get the King of Southern Yue on his side on top of that, then who could still touch him in the Mist province? He would be immovable no matter where he stood, whether it was on Savage mountain or Fire Melt mountain.

    He felt rather touched. Ru Xin had considered so much, all just to assist his plan at the end of the day.

    ¡°Apart from pledging myself to you, I really don¡¯t know how I can repay lady Ru Xin¡¯s kindness.¡±

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    ¡°You can repay me with revenge!¡±

    ¡°Haha, compared to paying back kindness, I still prefer payback!¡±

    Ru Xin fell silent for a moment, with only the lonely sounds of rain present. She suddenly said, ¡°When you¡¯re free, come with me to a place!¡±

    ¡°Anywhere, through fire or water.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    After Ru Xin left, Li Qingshan passed on the information he had received to Xiao An. Xiao An thought about it for a moment. ¡°I was originally worried that assisting the Merfolk in breaching Fire Melt mountain would break the balance between the two races, which the King of Southern Yue would never accept. That¡¯s not a problem now.¡±

    Li Qingshan also felt the path lying in front of him had become much clearer. He was about to leave the building and return to his residence when a streak of white light passed through the night rain and arrived before him.

    Yu Wufeng said, ¡°My king, my master has invited you over!¡±

    ¡°From tonight onwards, you don¡¯t have to refer to me as ¡°king¡± anymore. The path of the sword is about staunchness and resolve, to rather break than bend, after all. Always grovelling around won¡¯t be good.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was filled with confidence.

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    ¡°Hopefully.¡± Yu Wufeng smiled.

    Sure enough, when Li Qingshan arrived before Ye Duanhai again, he received the equal treatment he had been anticipating the entire time.

    There were not a lot of people present, just Ye Duanhai, the Elder of Cultivation Methods, Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and Yu Wufeng. They began an amiable negotiation as equals.

    Actually, the entire process was extremely quick. Ye Duanhai did not say any pleasantries at all, cutting right to the chase. ¡°Conditions!¡±

    ¡°Fight for me once.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not go overboard, which brought relief to both Yu Wufeng and the Elder of Cultivation Methods. Compared to a genius disciple who could potentially become a great sword cultivator and the Fogbow sword that was on par with arcane treasures, this condition could be described as quite generous.

    ¡°When, where, and who? Definitely not the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate, or the royal court of Merfolk!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s neither. It won¡¯t cause the South Sea Sword pavilion any disastrous trouble either. You¡¯ll obviously know when the time comes.¡±

    ¡°How can I believe you¡¯ll hold up your word?¡±

    ¡°Just ask your own heart! I also have some secrets that I need Yu Wufeng to swear that he¡¯ll never divulge before I release the blood oath. However, there are no oaths that can keep a great sword cultivator bound, so all you can do is ask your own heart,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Ye Duanhai was blunt and direct. ¡°See him off!¡±

    ¡°Farewell!¡±

    Li Qingshan still preferred this kind of straightforwardness, but it had really taken him quite the effort in order to earn this straightforwardness.

    Just like that, there was the master of the sword pavilion and the Myriad Poison Ancestor, as well as Xiao An and him. He had completed his early stage preparations for this battle. Only with a force like that would he be qualified to interfere with the conflict between two races, taking Fire Melt mountain for himself and obtaining the divine wutong tree!

 Chapter 863

    Time passed in a hurry. In the blink of an eye, it was already a few days later.

    The rain poured down, whistling through the air with no signs of stopping. The horizons in the distance shimmered with golden light, gilding the cloud layer with a golden edge. The sunlight sprinkled on the sea.

    Looking down from above, the entire Giant Ship island was enveloped by a thick, dark cloud, while the weather elsewhere was clear, with white clouds floating about.

    A mountainous cloud approached Giant Ship island with the sea wind, melding with the thick, dark clouds like it had been swallowed. It made the rain even greater. No matter how the sea wind blew, the dark clouds refused to budge.

    This was obviously the handiwork of Merfolk. Merpeople disliked leaving the ocean for land, and they only felt slightly better when it rained. Regular merpeople obviously were not capable of something like this, but the sea fair this time had numerous powerful merpeople under Gong Yuan¡¯s lead. As natural creatures of water and given the moist climate of the South sea, making it rain wherever they went was nothing.

    Legends had it that when dragons set out, wind and rain automatically accompanied them without the use of any techniques, which was why dragons represented clouds.

    In the centre of the storm was a lake. A magnificent palace hovered above the lake. The pillars and walls, eaves and cornices, were all created from flowing water that resembled jelly. When the rain landed on the palace, it created a series of ripples, which filled it with a phantasmal beauty within the hazy rain and mist.

    At this moment, the mist above the lake split into two, and an old man with a goatee and goat horns arrived on the shore under the accompaniment of a Merfolk elder.

    ¡°Thank you for accompanying me, but that won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    Mister Ram clasped his hands, leaving the residence of the merpeople once again. Even with his composure, he struggled to hide his feelings of misfortune. This was already his fifth visit during the past few days. He had raised the price with every visit, already extremely close to his bottom line now, but Gong Yuan had never relented.

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    If that were all, then so be it. He had paid numerous visits to Ji Changfeng and Ye Duanhai during the past few days, as well as the wretched Li Qingshan, with only a single objective in mind. He wanted them to board the war chariot of the Kingdom of Yue, to become honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate, but it all ended in failure.

    The end result was far too difficult to accept. It was basically one of the few miscalculations he had made in his life.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Mister Ram ground his teeth resentfully. He had a feeling that this would happen from the moment he had been forced back in the Feilian hall.

    Human mentality was subtle. With his cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, Li Qingshan needed to be a little domineering in order to be treated as an equal by Ye Duanhai and the others so that he could successfully make deals with them. Mister Ram had to demonstrate the might of the king¡¯s estate as well. After all, he also had a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, but he never expected to be forcefully overshadowed by a cultivator whose cultivation was even weaker than his as soon as he arrived in the Cloud Sail sect. This indirectly led to a huge impact.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s abnormal behaviour disrupted many of his plans too. Originally, he planned on using the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s hostile relationship with the South Sea Sword pavilion and Savage mountain to pressure them to a certain degree. The king¡¯s estate did not have to do anything directly, just supporting the Myriad Poison Ancestor slightly, and Ye Duanhai and Li Qingshan would have to consider the consequences.

    How could the disharmony and discord between him and the Myriad Poison Ancestor in the Feilian hall escape the eyes of the sharp-witted?

    With one step wrong, all went wrong.

    Apart from in the very beginning, when he met with Gong Yuan alone for the first few times, his momentum and influence had weakened drastically, nowhere near enough to pressure Ye Duanhai and Li Qingshan now.

    Sure enough, nothing good can come out of this kid coming to the Mist province! The potential that he and Xiao An have demonstrated is overly startling. I need his majesty to consider nipping them in the bud. If we can make them remain in the Mist province forever, the benefit that comes out of that is no less than killing two great cultivators of the Green province. Though, perhaps there¡¯s no need for that.

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    Mister Ram gazed at the Silver Dragon King within the mist and clouds. A cold light flashed through his eyes, and he vanished into the curtain of rain.

    Soon after mister Ram had left, a masked figure arrived before the residence of the merpeople and bowed. ¡°I wish to see her majesty.¡±

    A while later, the mist parted again.

    Ru Xin walked over the surface of the lake, approaching the residence step by step. Enchanting laughter rang out from under the rippling surface of the lake as beautiful figures swam about, studying her.

    A beautiful mermaid emerged from the water and asked curiously, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    Ru Xin glanced at her and recalled a distant name, but she did not answer her. She arrived directly in front of the residence and stopped there for a while, studying the place. Reminiscence appeared on her face, but it was hidden behind the heavy mask, for no one to see.

    South sea, I¡¯ve returned.

    She entered the residence, and the whistling sound of rain suddenly grew distant. A world of water unfolded before her.

    Numerous beautiful mermaids swam and played around in the water. Their fishtails of various colours, dark-blue, crimson-red, inky-green, and so on, produced a series of colourful streaks.

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    The exchange of regular goods had already been completed. Most of it had been bartering, exchanging for resources that the sea lacked, as well as some supplies for war, like pills, talismans, food, and so on.

    They could finally stop maintaining a pair of legs and dealing with those ugly humans. Splitting their fishtails did not bring the slightest comfort at all, and walking on land was very difficult too, nowhere near as easy as swimming. The merpeople who had just transformed their fishtail into a pair of legs recently basically felt like they were walking on razor blades as they walked on land.

    Once the auction tomorrow came to an end, they could go home, so all of them were in a good mood. However, what made them the happiest was that the queen who had always been so icy-cold seemed to warm up a lot too. In her spare time, she would even guide their cultivation, which had never occurred before.

    Ru Xin glanced at Gong Yuan sitting on the crystal throne and sucked in a deep breath, adjusting her mental condition. The feeling of being a bystander in the crowd really was different from facing her directly!

    ¡°You¡¯re the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s disciple?¡± Gong Yuan asked from above.

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°How dare you! If you want to see the queen, remove your mask right now and state who you are!¡± The captain of the guards, Gong Kun, scolded.

    ¡°Refining poison has destroyed my appearance, so I don¡¯t wish to show my face to anyone, so please forgive me, your majesty. As for a name, that¡¯s just a label given to a person. It can be real, but it can also be fake, so why place so much emphasis on it?¡± Ru Xin said hoarsely.

    Gong Yuan waved her hand and dismissed Gong Kun. Those demonic cultivators who refined poison regularly frequently disfigured themselves. Seeing how she was a woman, it made sense that she did not want to show her face to anyone. Most importantly, she must have come under the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s instructions. There was no need to provoke that narrow-minded old man over a trifle like this.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s the Merfolk sea fair, I¡¯d like to make a deal with your majesty,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear it. What do you have, and what do you want to exchange it for?¡±

    ¡°I want to use the lives of all fire devourers that have not undergone a heavenly tribulation in the Fire Melt mountains to exchange for something in your possession, your majesty.¡±

    The hall suddenly fell quiet. The merpeople were all stunned.

    Gong Yuan was surprised too. She frowned. ¡°Do you have any idea what you are saying? This is not a place where you can talk nonsense!¡±

 Chapter 864

    The greatest flaw with otherfolk was their difficulty to reproduce, so they viewed every single clansmen with great importance. It was even more so the case in an era when humanity prospered. Even their weakest clansmen could potentially produce powerful offspring.

    The Fire Melt mountains stretched hundreds of kilometers, but the fire devourers only amounted to a little over a hundred thousand. There were approximately a hundred thousand that had not undergone the first heavenly tribulation, but killing these fire devourers was much more difficult than killing a million or ten million mortals. It was only possible if the entire mountain range was destroyed.

    However, that was virtually impossible. Across the entire Mist province, only the Great Banyan Tree King and the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate possessed that power, but if they declared a war like that, they would definitely end up paying a corresponding price. Daemon Kings and great cultivators would definitely end up dying.

    Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s another scheme by that old dog from the king¡¯s estate, wanting to swindle me out of the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue! However, wouldn¡¯t a lie like this just be too foolish? Gong Yuan stared at Ru Xin coldly and thought to herself.

    ¡°I want to use the lives of all fire devourers that have not undergone a heavenly tribulation in the Fire Melt mountains to exchange for something in your possession, your majesty,¡± Ru Xin repeated calmly. Even the tone of her voice remained the same.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s hear your brilliant idea,¡± Gong Yuan asked with an open mind.

    ¡°The security of Fire Melt mountain is tight, so logically speaking, you have to kill the Fire Devouring Kings and take Fire Melt mountain before you can massacre fire devourers. However, even great cultivators cannot achieve something like that.¡±

    ¡°You can cut to the chase. Stop going in circles,¡± Gong Yuan said impatiently.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve studied the path of medicine for many years, which gave me an idea. Your majesty, have you ever heard of plagues?¡± Ru Xin asked.

    ¡°Fire devourers feed off fire and are impervious to disease, so how can they be susceptible to plagues? Is that your idea?¡± Gong Yuan asked.

    ¡°Regular plagues obviously won¡¯t work. Please examine this, your majesty.¡± Ru Xin fished out a greyish-white rock from her sumeru ring.

    Water swept the rock over to Gong Yuan. She glanced at it and said, ¡°This is just an ordinary rock. What¡¯s your point?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find the shape of the rock a little familiar, your majesty?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Gong Yuan had only checked the rock with her soul sense to see if there was anything strange about it. Only with Ru Xin¡¯s reminder did she take a closer look and reveal a hint of surprise. ¡°That looks like the heart of a fire devourer!¡±

    The hearts of fire devourers were akin to the daemon cores of daemons. However, daemons condensed their daemon cores after birth, while fire devourers were born with hearts. It served as the source of their power. However, it should have been glowing with scarlet red light and filled with dense fire spiritual qi.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the end result from being infected by the plague. The hearts of fire devourers will turn into lifeless rock. I¡¯ve already experimented on many fire devourers, and this plague is highly infectious. It also has a certain level of latency. Once it erupts, death is certain, which is why I¡¯ve called it ¡®Stoneheart¡¯,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°You¡¯ve just found a random rock and sculpted it into the shape of a heart before telling me a bunch of boastful lies. Do you think I¡¯ll believe you?¡± Gong Yuan closed her hand gently, and the stone heart shattered. She waved her hand. ¡°See her off!¡±

    Ru Xin bowed and actually said nothing more, leaving without the slightest hesitation.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. Speaking of which, her figure from behind did seem rather familiar, but she was unable to recall where she had seen her before.

    Ru Xin was about to leave through the entrance when Gong Yuan¡¯s voice rang out from behind. ¡°Stop right there!¡±

    ¡°What else do you want, your majesty?¡± As if she had been anticipating this, Ru Xin turned around gently.

    ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±

    The sense of familiarity became even more intense after seeing her manner of turning around. Gong Yuan had a vague feeling that she had some kind of mysterious connection with this masked visitor, like an invisible thread that linked them together.

    At her realm of cultivation, a feeling was not merely a feeling anymore. It was almost akin to divination.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be concerned about my identity, but our deal, your majesty.¡± Ru Xin reminded her.

    ¡°You said you¡¯ve studied the path of medicine, but I don¡¯t recall the Myriad Poison cult having something like a path of medicine. Even across the entire Mist province, there aren¡¯t a lot of disciples of the school of Medicine. If what you said is true, that you¡¯ve gone to such great lengths to refine a disease that targets fire devourers, is it really just for a deal with me?¡± Gong Yuan doubted.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Ru Xin answered with a question.

    Gong Yuan curled her right index finger, and the flowing water before Ru Xin suddenly condensed into a blade of ice, thin and transparent, such that it was almost invisible. It was even sharper than a knife.

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    With Ru Xin¡¯s cultivation, having only undergone the second heavenly tribulation recently, it was absolutely impossible for her to react in time. She just felt an icy-cold sensation sweep past her face, and her mask silently split into two.

    After seeing her appearance, Gong Yuan, who had always been so cold and dignified, was overcome with disbelief and shock. She cried out involuntarily, ¡°Little sister!¡± However, she immediately returned to her senses. ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible. Who are you exactly?¡±

    Her appearance did bear some resemblance, but there was some dissimilarity as well. The sense of familiarity in that moment had just been too strong, overlapping with her memories, which was why the false impression occurred. Her little sister¡¯s expression had never been so cold. Even when she left the South sea, her expression had been as gentle as ever.

    ¡°Your little sister is already dead. Of course, she can¡¯t stand before you again.¡± Ru Xin¡¯s face seemed like it had been carved from white jade. Apart from her moving lips, she did not have the slightest expression at all. Her voice was so calm that it seemed like she was narrating a truth that had nothing to do with her.

    ¡°So it¡¯s you, you wretched spawn!¡± Gong Yuan said sternly.

    At this moment, she no longer just felt familiarity, but a deep connection of blood. The distant matters of the past flooded her mind, leaving her with a multitude of emotions. Did she feel regret? Did she feel guilt? For a moment, she was unable to clearly describe what she was feeling.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, the wretched spawn. I never thought you would still remember me, your majesty. I¡¯m still alive, which must be very disappointing, right? How¡¯s it? After seeing my face, are you a little more interested in our deal?¡± Ru Xin said.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want that conclusion either. I originally thought they could leave the Mist province¡­ Whatever. Countless clansmen have died to the hands of the fire devourers. Even if she¡¯s my younger sister, she¡¯s just one of them. Since I¡¯m the king, I can¡¯t be biased. Regardless of whether you¡¯re telling the truth or not, just stay behind. I will avenge you!¡±

    Gong Yuan forced back her various feelings and recovered her calmness as a Merfolk Queen. If what she said was true, then she had to place her under her control. This would be a supreme treasure for defeating the fire devourers, and it might even be able to end the war for good.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t need you to avenge me. Even if I need to depend on the powers of others, you wouldn¡¯t be one of them.¡±

    ¡°That is not a request. It¡¯s an order.¡±

    ¡°That would be even more unfortunate then. I¡¯m not a Merfolk, so I don¡¯t need to follow the Merfolk Queen¡¯s orders. If you don¡¯t want to go forward with the deal, then I¡¯m leaving.¡± Ru Xin turned around without the slightest hesitation after saying that.

    ¡°That¡¯s not up for you to decide!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes turned cold, and she reached out with her right hand.

    The water beside Ru Xin immediately froze into a cage of ice. A sneer finally appeared on her face.

    With a flash of green light and a rumble, the cage of ice shattered. The entire palace shook.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor suddenly appeared in the residence of the merpeople. With a wave of his hand, balls of poisonous fire collided against the icy-blue coldness.

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 Chapter 865

    Ever since the Myriad Poison Ancestor became a Poison Assimilating Ghost King, going from a living creature to a ghost, it became extremely easy for him to hide himself. Ru Xin had already guessed the worst possible outcome when she visited Gong Yuan, so why wouldn¡¯t she make some preparations?

    ¡°Hmph, Myriad Poison Ancestor! This is a matter of our royal court. You even want to interfere with something like that?¡±

    Gong Yuan saw the Myriad Poison Ancestor, but not only was she unafraid, but she even swung her fishtail and immediately approached the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Her eyes became as deep as an abyss. She refused to believe that everyone had the same wondrous ability as Li Qingshan.

    Sure enough, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was slightly taken aback, sensing the iciness and deathly stillness of Ruin¡¯s End. Because ghosts had no bodies, it was much easier for them to be influenced by these mental attacks.

    Gong Yuan turned into a streak of blue light and detoured around the Myriad Poison Ancestor, going straight for Ru Xin. At this exact moment, an inhuman howl erupted by her ear.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor returned to his senses. His expression twisted, and his body swelled up, going from a dignified, sinister old man to a terrifying evil spirit. Immediately, he swung his huge ghost claws at Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan responded with a palm strike without even looking back. The flowing water condensed into ice, but it could not stop the ghost claw. Countless broken fragments shot out, but it directly passed through the ghost claw.

    Gong Yuan shivered inside. Not only has his cultivation not weakened after becoming a Ghost King, but his strength in close combat has actually become so powerful! But it¡¯s all mere tricks! How can they stop me?

    Rumble!

    The entire Giant Ship island shook gently. The residence of the merpeople shattered, and the lakewater churned, surging into the air.

    The Poison Assimilating Ghost King also stumbled backwards slightly with its colossal body. It was covered in a layer of frost, and even the poisonous flames in its eyes dimmed momentarily. Although he could make himself intangible and avoid the direct attack of the ice fragments, the coldness within could directly freeze his soul.

    Gong Yuan used this opportunity to capture Ru Xin. Looking back, she said coldly, ¡°Myriad Poison Ancestor, I¡¯ll show you some respect in consideration of the fact that you¡¯re a great cultivator, so don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew! I¡¯m definitely keeping her!¡±

    ¡°There still hasn¡¯t been anyone who¡¯s managed to steal from me. If you don¡¯t care about the lives of these trash fish, feel free to keep her! Hehehehe!¡±

    The Poison Assimilating Ghost King¡¯s eyes burned with poisonous, brutal-green flames, and it produced a sinister, eerie laughter.

    ¡°Oh no! There¡¯s poison, your majesty!¡± Gong Kun said with difficulty.

    His lips had blackened. The merpeople in the surroundings all lost their consciousness as well, all dyed with a brutal-green colour. Even the Merfolk elders circulated their powers desperately, holding it off with difficulty.

    Since he was a Poison Assimilating Ghost King, he obviously did not focus on close combat, but controlling poison and killing unknowingly. The Myriad Poison Ancestor knew he was not Gong Yuan¡¯s opponent, so he treated these merpeople as targets when he freed Ru Xin from the ice cage, silently scattering the poison.

    After becoming a ghost cultivator, he had become even more deceitful and crafty with his methods of using poison. Even Asura Commanders could not withstand his poison, and not everyone possessed a body as tough as Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    ¡°You-¡± Gong Yuan also felt her hand grow numb. Looking down, it had also turned green. The poison that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had silently unleashed was alarmingly powerful, let alone the fact that she had forcefully received a palm strike from him.

    ¡°You otherfolk call yourselves ¡®godfolk¡¯ or something, but you¡¯re nothing in my eyes. If you dare to touch my disciple, I¡¯ll butcher all of the elders here. If you think you¡¯re so capable, come to the Mist province and attack the Myriad Poison cult! Hmph, I doubt you have the courage! Cut the bullshit and release her, or I might just change my mind and make them all die from the poison!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor reverted to his original form, standing with his hands behind his back and demonstrating his true nature as a demonic cultivator.

    ¡°You cure them and I¡¯ll release her, or your disciple will die with them!¡±

    Gong Yuan grabbed Ru Xin¡¯s shoulder with her left hand and pressed down gently. Immediately, the sounds of ice shattering rang out. Her right hand condensed into ice before shuddering gently. The ice shattered, and the colour of her hand turned back to normal. The other merpeople clearly did not have the same ability as her. If it were not for the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s intentional control, the weaker merpeople would have turned into puddles of liquid a long time ago.

    ¡°You still have the courage to threaten me. It¡¯s just a disciple, so even if she dies, she dies! I¡¯ve already poisoned her, so even if you don¡¯t kill her, I¡¯ll kill her. How can I just give away what she developed for free? I¡¯ll count to three. If you still don¡¯t release her, then I¡¯ll go right now. Do you think you can make me stay?¡±

    This was the ¡°strength¡± of demonic cultivators. Concepts like humanity, justice, propriety, wisdom, feelings, and virtue were nothing to them. Let alone capturing a disciple of his, even capturing his son would be useless. If Ye Duanhai had been a demonic cultivator, Li Qingshan would have never discussed a deal with him. It was not without reason that the ruthless feared the even more ruthless.

    ¡°You might be able to leave, but do you think the head caretkare of the king¡¯s estate will be able to?¡±

    Gong Yuan asked with a frown. She understood extremely well that a person like the Myriad Poison Ancestor was definitely capable of something like that. Although she could defeat him, killing him was virtually impossible. Once she fell out with him, he would poison all the merpeople present to death before running back to the Myriad Poison cult. No matter how powerful the Merfolk were in the South sea, there was nothing they could do about him.

    ¡°All that matters is I can leave. What¡¯s it got to do with me if you want a bitter feud with the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor left absolutely no room for discussion. He began to count. ¡°One!¡±

    ¡°Is this what you wanted?¡± Gong Yuan stared straight at Ru Xin. Her familiar face remained calm and cold just like before. Even when the coldness had frozen and cracked her shoulder, she did not show the slightest pain.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Ru Xin replied with a smile.

    ¡°Two!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor was ready, not to continue fighting or to save Ru Xin, but ready to leave.

    ¡°You can piss off, you wretched spawn!¡± Gong Yuan gritted her teeth and struck Ru Xin in the back. Originally, she wanted to heavily injure her, but a face suddenly floated before her eyes, making her heart soften and only planting a cluster of coldness within her.

    Hmph, looks like you have some sense in you!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor was pleased. He did not even look at Ru Xin.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to cure the poison?¡± Gong Yuan said coldly, ¡°I¡¯ve already planted coldness within her body-¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said. It¡¯s just a disciple, so even if she dies, she dies! Don¡¯t make me repeat myself. Before I cure them, let¡¯s finish the deal first! If the deal doesn¡¯t work out, there¡¯s no point keeping her around anyway, so feel free to kill her!¡±

    ¡°You still want to make a deal with me? What do you want?¡±

    Gong Yuan was both surprised and furious. Normally, regardless of their alignment, great cultivators still had some sense of honour, but she never thought the Myriad Poison Ancestor would be so shameless, making her grit her teeth. Never had she suffered such humiliation.

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    ¡°The Lost Stalks of the King of Yue!¡±

    ¡°So it really is that ram pulling strings! Alright, I¡¯ll give you the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue, but only after this ¡®disciple¡¯ of yours upholds her promise and kills a hundred thousand fire devourers. I want all hundred thousand, without a single missing.¡±

    As soon as Gong Yuan heard the words ¡°Lost Stalks of the King of Yue¡±, she became confident that this was mister Ram¡¯s scheme. After all, the item was useless to regular cultivators. She also resented herself for becoming mentally perturbed and lowering her guard after seeing this ¡°wretched spawn¡±, which was why he managed to poison them successfully.

    ¡°Mister Ram is going to be leaving very soon. I want it right now!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor extended his hand.

    ¡°Your majesty, we can die, but you must never bow your head to the humans! Spurt!¡± A Merfolk Elder propped himself up, but he spat out a mouthful of poisonous blood as soon as he finished talking, collapsing on the ground and falling unconscious.

    ¡°And you still talk nonsense?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor sneered.

    ¡°Never bow your head!¡± ¡°You old monster, feel free to kill us!¡± The merpeople all called out before coughing up blood and fainting one by one. They still reminiscenced over the glory of the ancient times. They would rather die than yield to the despicable, shameful, and contemptible humans.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! If you die, I¡¯ll immediately destroy the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue so that it can be buried with you! Since the king¡¯s estate wants to restart the war, then come!¡± Gong Yuan calmed down and gazed at the Myriad Poison Ancestor coldly.

    ¡°Hehe, why would that be necessary? My ¡®Stoneheart¡¯ isn¡¯t fake. You should be able to tell. I¡¯ve spent numerous years researching and developing away arduously, and I¡¯ve returned duty-bound, to help the Merfolk exterminate their powerful enemies. Compared to these elders, I¡¯m far more ¡®loyal and devoted¡¯. You should be rewarding me instead, your majesty!¡±

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    Ru Xin stood up on the surface of the lake and arrived before Gong Yuan step by step, staring right into her eyes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you consider yourself to be calm and collected? Don¡¯t you consider for the entire race? Aren¡¯t you incapable of making a decision based on your feelings? Come, give the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue to me, and I¡¯ll help you kill a hundred thousand fire devourers, or just kill me. It¡¯s fine. I have a group of merpeople dying with me anyway. Oh right, you¡¯ll have to withstand the King of Yue¡¯s wrath too, which is a disastrous event to the race! C¡¯mon, think, your majesty! Come!¡±

    After the residence of the merpeople had shattered, it rapidly recovered its original form. The entire hall was silent. Only the pouring rain and the echoes of Ru Xin¡¯s voice were audible in the hall, growing louder and louder until she was almost howling at the end.

    Gong Yuan sank into a moment of silence and took out a handful of cleromancy stalks. The black were dragon horns, and the white were dragon bones. Despite the passage of so many years, they still emanated with the heavy, unfathomable might of dragons.

    Ru Xin accepted the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue and turned around, arriving before the Myriad Poison Ancestor. The Myriad Poison Ancestor examined them and confirmed they were real, but he raised his head and asked, ¡°Why are there two missing?¡±

    There were a total of forty-nine to the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue. The king¡¯s estate had thirty stalks, so Gong Yuan should have been in possession of nineteen, but there were only seventeen there. A black stalk and a white stalk were missing.

    It was just like how a single hole on the bottom of a bucket made it broken. It could still be filled up with water, but it was much less effective. The Lost Stalks of the King of Yue were no different.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you the last two once you¡¯ve upheld your end of the deal.¡± Gong Yuan shut her eyes, no longer willing to see them, as she was afraid she would lose control and attack them.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯ll be that then!¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor was about to continue, but Ru Xin could tell they had already pushed Gong Yuan to her limit. If they pushed her any further, they would only end up parting with a disagreement, so she beat him to it. The Lost Stalks of the King of Yue were only for holding the king¡¯s estate at bay anyway. Whether the entire set could be assembled was for the King of Southern Yue to worry about.

    As a result, the Myriad Poison Ancestor said nothing more. With a wave of his hand, specks of poisonous fire flew out of the merpeople, and they all awakened.

    Gong Yuan suddenly realised this wretched spawn definitely was not as simple as just the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s disciple. Otherwise, since when could disciples make decisions for their master without any objections from their master?

    However, it was already too late for all that, and she truly did need the ¡°Stoneheart¡± to destroy the Fire Devouring Folk.

    ¡°Very well. You¡¯ve once again defeated your own feelings and made the correct decision, which I find admirable. Farewell, your majesty. Await my good news! Someone once said to me that even the debt from a glare will be paid back a hundred fold, so I feel a hundred thousand fire devourers is still a little less. The rest will be up to you.¡±

    Ru Xin calmed down and said that to Gong Yuan right before she left the palace.

    Gong Yuan shivered inside. She also imagined how the fire devourers would respond after the Stoneheart was used. This battle would probably never end until one side died out completely.

    Little sister, is this your blessing, or is this your curse?

 Chapter 866

    The disturbance in the Merfolk residence had alarmed everyone on the island, but by the time they had rushed over, the residence had already returned to normal, without the slightest abnormality when looking from the outside.

    Ru Xin arrived on the shore of the lake alone, allowing the rain to fall on her face. Her emotions were still rather turbulent, but the heaviness in her chest had eased up significantly. She put on her mask again and returned to her residence.

    ¡°Why have you come here?¡± Mister Ram suddenly appeared and blocked Ru Xin¡¯s path, asking in suspicion.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to discuss some private matters with her majesty,¡± Ru Xin said with a hoarse voice.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go. Are you coming along?¡± Mister Ram no longer dwelled on the topic, asking her mysteriously.

    ¡°Right now? But tomorrow is the auction.¡± Ru Xin was slightly surprised.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already completed what I need to do. I need to report back. I have no other choice either!¡± Mister Ram let out a long sigh.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go and ask what my master would prefer.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    That night, despite being declined again and again, mister Ram still bade farewell to Ji Changfeng, Ye Duanhai, and Li Qingshan individually with great courtesy. Only then did he board the Silver Dragon King with the Myriad Poison Ancestor and Ru Xin.

    Mister Ram stood on the prow of the ship and clasped his hands with a smile before turning to the cabin. His expression became rather cold, forcing a smile at the Myriad Poison Ancestor and Ru Xin. ¡°Would you be interested in touring the interior of the Silver Dragon King? We came in too great of a hurry, such that I couldn¡¯t live up to my role as the host. There¡¯s no reason for us to be in such a hurry now that we¡¯re going back.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯d like,¡± said the Myriad Poison Ancestor.

    ¡°Please!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Within the long, silver passageway, mister Ram led the way at the front and introduced the various features of the Silver Dragon King. This was the first time the Myriad Poison Ancestor and Ru Xin had ventured so deeply into the interior of the Silver Dragon King, so they were both shocked. Once again, they felt like not a single cultivator or sect could contend against the colossal existence that was the King of Yue¡¯s estate.

    Making their way around a corner, mister Ram suddenly fell silent. He even specially tidied up his clothes. They passed through a long corridor and arrived before a silver door made out of metal.

    Up ahead is the central zone of the Silver Dragon King. Ru Xin thought, Don¡¯t tell me mister Ram is so furious from the humiliation that he wants to use the Silver Dragon King to attack Giant Ship island? But that makes no sense. No matter how dissatisfied he is, he still has to consider the consequences. Blasting apart Giant Ship island is easy, but killing Ji Changfeng and Gong Yuan is very difficult. One of them can control the wind and move at great speeds, while the other is the ruler of the South sea, so escaping is nothing difficult for her either. Gaining two powerful enemies for no good reason doesn¡¯t seem like something the king¡¯s estate would do.

    The metal door swung open, revealing a luxuriously decorated room inside. A silver, humanoid puppet walked over and said in a cold, robotic voice, ¡°Mister Ram, you¡¯re back. His majesty the King of Yue is waiting inside.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue!

    Ru Xin and the Myriad Poison Ancestor were both alarmed, such that the ¡°Puppet King¡± before them was not as surprising anymore. They experienced numerous doubts. The King of Southern Yue has actually been hiding in the Silver Dragon King the entire time. Yes, apart from him, who else has the right to control the Silver Dragon King? However, as the mighty King of Southern Yue, does he really have to resort to remaining in the shadows?

    ¡°You said his majesty is inside? Why didn¡¯t you tell us in the beginning!?¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor frowned.

    ¡°His majesty will personally explain this to the two of you. Please wait here for a moment.¡± Mister Ram made his way towards the wooden door with green carving on the other end of the room alone.

    Before long, the wooden door opened again, and three people walked out side-by-side. They were two men and a woman, all strong and handsome. Their hair was messy like fire, and their eyes were scarlet like glowing embers. They were actually three fire devourers. The man in the middle was the oldest, where his hair and beard joined at the sideburns, messy like a lion¡¯s mane. The aura he gave off happened to be the strongest too. To the left was the female fire devourer who gave off an untamed feeling. Even her skin was fiery-red. To the right was the current Fire Devouring King Zhu Yan, who possessed the weakest aura out of them all.

    At that moment, all the Myriad Poison Ancestor felt was an incoming wave of heat, but upon closer attention, the temperature in the surroundings had not changed at all. As it turned out, it was just ¡°heat¡± from his soul. The three fire devourers were like three volcanoes. Their bodies hid terrifying power that could destroy everything before them once it erupted.

    Why were they here?

    The three of them ignored the Myriad Poison Ancestor, walking over with big strides like a fierce ball of rampaging fire.

    Even the Myriad Poison Ancestor could not help but move to the side and avoid them. His poison was not particularly effective against Fire Devouring Folk, and ghosts were innately suppressed by fire. He even had a feeling that death was guaranteed if he openly clashed with the three of them!

    However, he had no time to consider that, as when he gave way to them, Ru Xin actually did not, just standing there firmly without budging at all.

    Ru Xin seized up completely the moment she saw Zhu Yan. She also felt ¡°heat¡±. The blood in her body seemed to ignite, where the scorching pain was unbearable. Her mood became helplessly restless. This was the taste of hatred.

    She had once believed that after so many years, her hatred had already stopped being so intense. She had drunk so much Water of Oblivion, so the matters of the past should have blurred a little. Only now did she discover that not only did her hatred not weaken, but it had even grown with the passage of time. She was simply unable to free herself from that fiery night.

    ¡°Choose, do you want to be a Merfolk or a Fire Devouring Folk? ¡°Don¡¯t look away, don¡¯t blink. If I even see a single tear from you, you¡¯ll face the same fate!¡±

    Faced with the three incoming people, Ru Xin did not avoid them or retreat. Instead, she involuntarily took a step forward. Right when she was about to collide with the three of them, a force swept over from her side. The Myriad Poison Ancestor pressed down on her shoulder and scolded, ¡°Have you lost your wits!?¡±

    The old fire devourer that resembled a male lion and the female fire devourer both showed contempt, while Zhu Yan glanced at Ru Xin in a baffling manner. He could clearly sense an intense hostility from her, but there was something major for them to do right now. The two of them happened to be guests of the King of Southern Yue too, so he did not say anything. She was just a puny human that had only recently undergone the second heavenly tribulation anyway. He could kill her with a single finger.

    Ru Xin blanked out for a moment. She slowly calmed down.

    ¡°Please come in, the two of you!¡± Mister Ram called them in at the entrance.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor and Ru Xin finally entered the mysterious room. A handsome young man stared at them with a slight smile. He was the King of Southern Yue, Qian Lingzhi.

    ¡°Your old subject pays respect to your majesty.¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor bowed. He realised the moment he saw the King of Southern Yue. It¡¯s rumoured that the Kingdom of Yue possesses a secret technique, the Duality Technique of Soul Transformation, which can condense two soul nascences. It¡¯s actually true!

    As it turned out, the King of Southern Yue¡¯s main body was not here. Instead, it was a soul nascence clone. His aura was connected to the entire Silver Dragon King, actually using the Silver Dragon King as his body.

    ¡°I know you have many questions, but could you allow me to explain first? Also, lady Ru Xin, please take off your mask. I still find your true appearance more beautiful!¡±

 Chapter 867

    On the peak of Main-mast mountain, Ji Changfeng stood in the wind. The gales buffeted his robes, but he completely ignored it, staring at the Silver Dragon King that hovered in the air. Actually, he did not directly decline the King of Southern Yue¡¯s invitation. Instead, he had agreed to provide a certain amount of resources and support, but he was still uncertain whether the King of Southern Yue would make an example out of him and destroy the Cloud Sail sect first.

    Before he knew it, the storm had relented slightly. Gong Yuan clutched two cleromancy stalks in her hand, one black and one white. Her eyes were as deep as an abyss as she said quietly, ¡°King of Southern Yue, oh King of Southern Yue. If you strike right now, you¡¯ll never get the opportunity to retrieve these two Lost Stalks of the King of Yue.¡±

    Indeed, one of the major reasons she had given Ru Xin most of the Lost Stalks of King of Yue was to give the King of Southern Yue a certain level of hope, deterring him from creating unexpected troubles during a time when they were about to declare war against the fire devourers. However, little did she know just how twisted everything actually was.

    Only Ye Duanhai was not particularly concerned. As a sword cultivator, he was not afraid of being dragged into war like Ji Changfeng, but even if he were to join the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate, he had to wait until an appropriate time. The South Sea Sword pavilion had always remained beyond the shore. They did not actually have a lot of contact with the cultivation community of the Mist province. Instead, their grievances with the Myriad Poison cult ran quite deep.

    Most importantly, the South Sea Sword pavilion was not a demonic sect. If they had joined them right from the beginning, it was very easy for them to be pushed aside or even reduced to cannon fodder. Compared to that, they were better off making a decision when it actually mattered. Timely assistance surpassed icing on the cake. Mister Ram must have understood this as well.

    This was the might of a king¡¯s estate that governed an entire province. Mister Ram had said his trip had been very much of a failure, but everyone who turned him down had made a certain degree of preparation, afraid that they would actually make an enemy out of the King of Southern Yue. Even Li Qingshan was no exception.

    Finally, the Silver Dragon King slowly set off, carving apart the wind and rain and flying off into the distant north. It left behind a streak in the starry sky.

    As a result, everyone eased up. In particular, the host, Ji Changfeng, was the most cheerful. ¡°Sigh, looks like I¡¯ve overcome another test. I knew the King of Southern Yue wouldn¡¯t be so unwise, but there seems to be firelight on the bow of the ship?¡±

    The clouds closed together again, and rain poured down.

    Li Qingshan watched the Silver Dragon King sail away, but he felt a hint of unease. Even the divination of the spirit turtle gave him no clear result. He said to Xiao An beside him, ¡°Let¡¯s get ready to retreat as well!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wait until after the auction tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not. It¡¯s not going to be particularly useful to us anyway. I need to get back and prepare to carry out the plan with Ru Xin.¡± Li Qingshan mentioned Ru Xin¡¯s name and frowned as if he had neglected something. He thought, The Myriad Poison Ancestor is protecting her, so surely nothing will happen, right?

    Right when Ji Changfeng was about to return to the Feilian hall, he suddenly sensed something and looked back. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡±

    In the moment the cloud layer closed up, he saw a few additional dazzling, scarlet stars in the resplendent sky, shining away blindingly, just like fire!

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± The Myriad Poison Ancestor took a step forward and was about to say something. The King of Southern Yue raised his hand and stared straight at Ru Xin. ¡°I am talking to your disciple!¡±

    That already resembled a warning, which made the Myriad Poison Ancestor furrow his brows firmly. He thought of a counterplan desperately. Li Qingshan had ordered him to protect Ru Xin regardless of the cost, but if they fought here, he really had no confidence at all.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Ru Xin bowed slightly. Even when the King of Southern Yue had seen through her identity, she did not become flustered at all. She slowly took off her mask. Zhu Yan, who had almost reached the corridor already, suddenly looked back, but all he saw were two doors that closed one after another.

    ¡°Ru Xin? I haven¡¯t heard that name before!¡±

    The old, lion-like fire devourer asked with his soul sense, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±

    Zhu Yan answered, ¡°Nothing!¡±

    ¡°Then get ready to do it! With these three Divine Fire tablets, we¡¯ll definitely burn that bitch Gong Yuan to ashes!¡±

    ¡°King Fen, the Divine Fire tablets truly are divine artifacts of the kingdom passed down from the ancient times. We¡¯ve searched for them for so many years, yet we couldn¡¯t even find a trace of them. I never thought they¡¯d be hidden in the King of Yue¡¯s estate for all this time. But are we really going to be going to war for the King of Southern Yue?¡± Zhu Yan asked.

    In order to obtain the heirlooms of the fire devourers, they had paid an equivalent price, becoming honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate and boarding the Mist province¡¯s war chariot. However, there were no ¡°godfolk¡± who were willing to submit to humans, especially violent-tempered fire devourers.

    Zhu Fen said, ¡°That¡¯s right. We fire devourers aren¡¯t hypocrites like humans. Since we¡¯ve agreed to it, we¡¯re not going back on our word. Though, he can forget about sending us to our deaths. With our Combination Attack of the Three Gods, we can fight and go as we please. No one in the world can stop us. This is a perfect opportunity for us to incinerate as many humans as possible and wait until they¡¯ve worn each other down. Hmph, the world is in chaos right now. It¡¯s a heaven-sent opportunity for us to rise up again!¡±

    As he said that, the three of them stepped onto the deck of the Silver Dragon King. Their eyes passed through the sea of clouds and gazed at Giant Ship island below.

    The three of them looked at one another before raising the Divine Fire tablets at the same time. With a clang, they clashed together.

    The Divine Fire tablets were around a foot long and completely scarlet in colour, like three scorching brands. Three balls of flames burned at the top, which merged together. The tablets were respectively engraved with the words ¡°heaven¡±, ¡°earth¡± and ¡°man¡±, possessing the power to incinerate all. The scorching heat dispersed the thick clouds.

    In the moment they clashed together, they produced brilliant sparks, which rose to an extremely high altitude. They seemed to become much larger as if several additional dazzling, scarlet stars had appeared in the sky.

    ¡°The Blazes of Heaven, Meteors Befall the Land!¡±

    Zhu Fen wielded the Fire Tablet of Heaven and pointed it at Giant Ship island. The scarlet stars began to fall down, growing larger and larger with long, fiery tails. They whistled through the clouds, illuminating the pitch-black, rainy night, as well as everyone¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Meteors of the Blazing Heavens, exterminate the Merfolk! Those unrelated can go and die too!¡± Zhu Fen laughed madly, actually wanting to destroy the entire cultivation community of the South sea in a single stroke.

    ¡°My Cloud Sail sect has no grievances with your Fire Melt mountain. How dare you attack my sect? Aren¡¯t you afraid of retribution from me?¡± Ji Changfeng called out in a hurry.

    At the same time, he activated the protective formation of the island. A faint-green barrier of light enveloped Giant Ship island, blocking the Meteors of Blazing Heavens.

    But as soon as he finished talking, he heard three great booms, and the meteors destroyed the formation.

    Giant Ship island covered far too large of an area. The outermost formation could only be used to block the wind and rain from the sea and protect the mortals on the island. Its defences were very limited.

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    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Endless explosions erupted thunderously. Various places across the entire island blasted apart, immediately turning into a sea of fire.

    A meteor landed in Three Sails city. The peoples and buildings in the epicentre directly vapourised, without even leaving ashes behind. The scorching waves of heat whistled out, reducing the city to burning ruins. There was not a single survivor.

    The residences of Li Qingshan and the other important guests were on Main-mast island. Seeing a meteor hurtling their way, the terrifying presence made the powerful cultivators all close their eyes instinctively, like it was the end of the world.

    Li Qingshan frowned firmly and opened his eyes wide, watching as the meteor slammed against the protective formation. Flames flooded out, filling his field of view, basically swallowing most of the mountain. They stuck to the mountain and burned away in a lasting manner as if they would never stop until they reduced everything to ashes.

    The waves of heat swept through the formations, and the cultivators all retreated. When they opened their eyes again, they discovered they were actually still alive, but they did not feel the slightest joy at all. There was only fear. They, who had always focused on cultivating in peace as recluses, had finally been dragged into war, and it was a war that they could do nothing about.

    Li Qingshan was extremely astounded too. ¡°The fire devourers really are a war-like race known for their destructive power. This might is just terrifying. The flames aren¡¯t regular fire either. Even with my phoenix bloodline, I can¡¯t take it on unscathed!¡±

    Suddenly, a huge ball of ice burst out of the sea of fire, passing through the protective formation and landing on Main-mast mountain.

    The cultivators almost erupted with a torrent of abuse. Li Qingshan frowned as well. It really was troublesome now!

    ¡°Your majesty, why have you come?¡±

    As it turned out, the ice ball was Gong Yuan and her merpeople. When the meteors struck the outermost formation around the entire island, Gong Yuan immediately took action, condensing the entire Merfolk residence and the entire lake into a huge ball of ice that hurtled towards Main-mast mountain. They had dodged several meteors before finally reaching there.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    In the moment the ball of ice struck the ground, three meteors landed on Main-mast mountain one after another. The protective formation shook violently, which demonstrated the fire devourers¡¯ determination to kill them all. It made people wonder just how much longer the formation could hold up for.

    Gong Yuan glanced at Li Qingshan. She was in no mood to acknowledge him. She raised her head and gazed at the horizon.

    Three colossal, sorching auras rose up in the clouds. They were the three kings of the fire devourers, Zhu Fen, Zhu Zai, and Zhu Yan. What left everyone even more shocked was their flames were interlinked, standing in a simplistic three-man formation. However, their auras enveloped the entire Giant Ship island as they gazed down like gods.

    Further off in the distance, the Silver Dragon King was about to disappear into the horizon. Gong Yuan ground her teeth. ¡°The King of Southern Yue!¡±

    Fire devourers were known for their fighting ability, but they were not skilled in hiding their auras, let alone stirring up the heavenly secrets. Only through the Silver Dragon King that could shield them from all detection could they venture deep into the South sea silently.

    Originally, even if they ventured deep into the South sea and launched a surprise attack, Gong Yuan would not have taken them too seriously. The ocean was her home court. Even if she were not their opponent, she could slip away with ease. Just getting through the protective formation of Main-mast mountain would take them quite the effort. A mad bombardment like this would only push Ji Changfeng to her side for good. She only needed to hang on for a moment longer and seek reinforcement from the Crystal palace, and they would instead be able to surround or even kill them.

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    However, the Divine Fire tablets in their hands shattered her last sliver of hope. They had come for her life!

    Giant Ship island burned, dispersing the clouds and rain and illuminating the sea and sky. Even from fifty kilometers away, it was possible to see the blazing firelight.

    Only the three mountains on the island continued to stand in the sea of fire, holding off the attacks of the Meteors of the Blazing Heavens through the formation.

    ¡°Ji Changfeng, you¡¯ve been involved with the Merfolk all this time, holding so many sea fairs, and yet now you want to preserve your own life? Just watch as you and your Cloud Sail sect all burn to ashes!¡±

    Only now did Zhu Fen answer Ji Changfeng¡¯s queries and threats. His voice was filled with contempt.

    The Merfolk of the South sea had constantly used the sea fair to exchange and trade with humans, obtaining resources that the sea did not possess, while the nature of fire devourers made them unsuitable for maintaining contact with humans. As a result, one of them strengthened with time, while the other stagnated. The Cloud Sail sect had become a great source of trouble for the fire devourers a long time ago. It was just that they never had the confidence to kill Ji Changfeng, which would just net them another powerful enemy, so they had bided their time all the way until now.

    Now, their hatred had erupted completely, blazing away like fire!

    The fire devourers had brought the Merfolk sea fair to a complete end.

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 Chapter 868

    Ji Changfeng¡¯s face was dyed bright-red by the firelight. The cool mountain wind turned into rolling waves of heat, ruffling his clothes wildly. The sound of flames burning filled the world. Gazing down from the top of the mountain, there was only boundless fire. Everything the Cloud Sail sect had built up over a thousand years had been reduced to ashes in a single instant.

    Originally, Gong Yuan¡¯s major objective of coming here was to invite him to fight the fire devourers with her, which he declined politely, but only now did he realise that he was already too deeply involved with the war, unable to distance himself any further.

    He roared furiously, ¡°From today onwards, either my Cloud Sail sect perishes or Fire Melt mountain perishes!¡±

    The Feilian flag appeared in his hand, growing to over thirty meters long in the wind. On the huge, green flag, a feilian divine beast bore its fangs and brandished its claws, ready to leap out.

    ¡°Wind Gales of the Unfraught, extinguish the flames!¡±

    Ji Changfeng gripped the flagpole firmly with both hands and swung it violently. The feilian let out a roar resembling the fierce howls of wind. The wind swept out and extinguished the flames near the mountain before suppressing all the fire on the island and making the sky clear up.

    ¡°Fellow Ji, I¡¯ll lend you a hand!¡± Gong Yuan flew to the peak of the mountain. Faint-blue coldness whistled out, merging with the gales that the Feilian flag had produced into cold streams of wind. A few falling meteors had been frozen and pulverised before they even reached the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you destroy my Cloud Sail sect. If the Cloud Sail sect survives today, I¡¯ll definitely make you pay ten-fold!¡±

    Ji Changfeng¡¯s beard and hair danced in the air as he swung the great flag vigorously in a rather violent fashion. The gales swept in from the ocean from all directions. The only thing left in the surroundings were the whistling of wind. His voice had merged with the wind, like the roar of a wind god.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s coldness was not as impressive in appearance, but it was instead much more effective against the flames. Silently, the entire mountain had frozen over, without a hint of heat remaining. Instead, it felt like a freezing winter.

    She spread her arms and gently sang the songs of Merfolk, like she was praying, reciting, and cursing. At the same time, she raised her crystal sceptre high into the air, radiating with resplendent light along with the crystal accessories that adorned her.

    The ocean answered, and the water surged over, wave after wave. It was constantly evaporated away by the flames, but it did not stop at all. The air became moister and moister from the water vapour, accumulating as layers outside Giant Ship island and being dyed bright-red by the flames. It was an extremely magnificent sight.

    At the top of Main-mast mountain, blue and green light shone together, contending against the three Fire Devouring Kings. They actually held their ground perfectly. One of them was the master of the mountain, while the other was the ruler of the South sea. The mountains and seas gave them endless support, and they had the formation to withstand the attacks of the fire devourers. As a result, they could unleash their full strength without any qualms.

    The attacks from the three fire devourers are quite vicious, but fire excels in terms of explosive and destructive power. In a drawn-out battle, it¡¯s impossible for them to outlast Gong Yuan and Ye Duanhai. However, how can they get through the protective formation of a large sect like the Cloud Sail sect so easily? It¡¯s only possible if they have the Silver Dragon King blasting away too.

    Li Qingshan had also guessed that the fire devourers must have relied on the Silver Dragon King to suddenly appear here. He cast his gaze at the horizon, and the Silver Dragon King had already vanished. As it seemed, the king¡¯s estate had no plans to directly interfere with this. Is mister Ram really that confident that the Cloud Sail sect will fall? Surely nothing has happened on Ru Xin¡¯s side!

    However, upon considering how there was an ¡°honoured guest¡±, the Myriad Poison Ancestor, right by her side, he stopped worrying and continued to watch the show. As long as she did not directly fall out with the King of Southern Yue, there were not a lot of people that dared to touch her.

    In the fiery-red sky, Zhu Yan said, ¡°This Wind Gale King really is quite capable. They possess a geographic advantage. It¡¯ll be disadvantageous to us as time goes on.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all just some puny tricks! Allow me!¡± said Zhu Zai with disdain.

    ¡°Alright! Take down their formation!¡± The Meteors of the Blazing Heavens suddenly stopped, and the glow from Zhu Fen suddenly dimmed, moving over to Zhu Zai. Zhu Zai lifted up the Fire Tablet of Earth and pointed it at the mountain from afar.

    ¡°The Blazes of Earth, Scorching the Land!¡±

    With a rumble, Giant Ship island suddenly shook and began trembling violently as if there was a colossal, violent beast suppressed below. It seemed like the beast had just awakened from its slumber, wanting to break free from the restraints and unleash its destructive power.

    I see!

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. As it turned out, the raining meteors were merely preparation for the current attack. On the ocean and at the top of a mountain, Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng did indeed possess a geographic advantage. If the fire devourers wanted to win, they had to destroy their advantage first.

    The craters produced from the meteors suddenly rose up high in the air, forming over a hundred hills and mountains. They cracked open at the very top, pouring out with dazzling, red light.

    ¡°You!¡± Ji Changfeng¡¯s face changed.

    Boom, boom, boom, boom¡­ Within the endless rumbling, the mountains turned into volcanoes, surging with lava and immediately breaking through Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng¡¯s restraints.

    Black plumes of smoke rose up into the air as rivers of fire flowed freely, scorching Giant Ship island. It made Li Qingshan recall the landscape of the Fire Melt mountains. Giant Ship island had virtually become a miniature version of the Fire Melt mountains.

    Even the boundless ocean had to be held up by the earth, and beneath the earth was surging magma and fire. As such, fire devourers could gain a geographic advantage no matter where they were.

    However, Giant Ship island was not a volcanic island. In order to draw out the turbulent flames of the earth, they needed to bombard the land with flames from the heavens. The Meteors of the Blazing Heavens from earlier were only a prelude. This was the main show!

    Half of the defensive power of the protective formation came from its quality, while the other half came from the geography. The more blessed the land was, the stronger their defences would be. However, the flames of the earth that sprayed out from below devastated the blessed land that Giant Ship island was, wildly ravaging the spiritual veins underground.

    Mizzen-mast mountain had originally been holding on stubbornly, but with the flames of the earth, the formation rapidly dimmed and was directly burned through by the flames very soon. The structures and vegetation were immediately reduced to ashes. A group of cultivators flew up, wanting to flee for their lives, but before they could even fly very far, they were set alight, turning into torches and falling out of the sky. The weapons on them melted apart from the extreme heat, becoming a part of the sea of fire.

    Only a young man flew through the sea of fire on a boat-like feather, making his way towards Main-mast mountain, but the feather was set alight very soon too.

    Ji Qingyu called out, ¡°Save me, father!¡±

    Ji Changfeng swung the Feilian flag, and a whirlwind rushed out of the sea of fire, sweeping towards Ji Qingyu.

    ¡°Die!¡± Zhu Zai swung the Fire Tablet of Earth.

    Rumble!

    A volcano erupted, producing a plume of fire that forcefully intercepted the whirlwind.

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    Ji Qingyu¡¯s handsome face was filled with horror. He turned into a skeleton in the blink of an eye, followed by ash.

    ¡°Qingyu!¡± Ji Changfeng was utterly devastated. In order to groom his beloved son for succession, he had left Mizzen-mast mountain to him, where he received the relatively weaker cultivators of the South sea. He had wanted to pave a foundation for his son¡¯s future developments. He never expected to encounter a disaster like this.

    If mortals died, then he could still think of ways to recruit more, but every single person on Mizzen-mast island was a disciple of the sect chosen from a selection of thousands of people. Every single death pained Ji Changfeng¡¯s heart. The death of his beloved son linked to him by blood was an irrecoverable loss too, so he roared furiously and said, ¡°I¡¯ll never stop until you fire devourers are dead!¡±

    ¡°Foolish human, you better try staying alive first! It¡¯s been so long since we incinerated everything in such a satisfying way. I just love it when I turn your ¡®blessed land¡¯ into a ¡®disastrous land¡¯. I, Zhu Zai, will be the disaster of you humans!¡± Zhu Zai laughed wildly with hysterical hatred towards humans.

    Fire-red cracks spread upwards from the foot of Mizzen-mast mountain until they reached the peak. With a great rumble, magma poured out, and Mizzen-mast mountain also turned into an erupting volcano.

    At the same time, the protective formation of Fore-mast mountain had reached the brink of collapse as well. With a great rumble, the entire island rocked violently, and the formation around Fore-mast island shattered as well, bursting into flames spectacularly. There were a few more cries for help and a few more balls of flames, all reduced to ashes.

    Boom! Another volcano had been created. The flames on Giant Ship island became even more intense. Ji Changfeng was utterly furious, but the rolling waves of heat forced away his gales. The coldness that Gong Yuan had released was nullified as soon as it left Main-mast mountain. The thick layers of water vapour around Giant Ship island had been swallowed by the black mass of volcanic ash.

    Main-mast island had become a lone island in the sea of fire!

    ¡°They¡¯re in trouble now!¡± Li Qingshan exchanged glances with Xiao An, and Xiao An nodded in agreement, as Main-mast island was shaking as well while the protective formation flickered violently with light. Who knew when it would shatter. By then, they would release the true killing strike. Just the flames of heaven and the flames of earth were so violent, so how would the flames of man be?

    This really was a case of being caught in the crossfire!

    However, the whole reason why he was here was to deal with the fire devourers, so he could not be regarded as being caught in the crossfire. It was just that they had already struck before he could even get around to them. This efficiency was worth learning from.

    However, the cultivators of the South sea could truly be regarded as being caught in the crossfire. When did they ever think that the Merfolk sea fair this time would cost them their lives? Faced with the combined attacks from the three fire devourers, they stood absolutely no chance at surviving.

    ¡°Fellows, the otherfolk are vicious. It¡¯s a moment of life or death, so why do you still stand by? When are you going to wait until?¡± Ji Changfeng called out, and the elders and disciples of the Cloud Sail sect all answered him. Many of their friends and relatives had been burned to death by the fire devourers.

    It went even more without saying for the Merfolk. They had banded together to put out the fire a long time ago. They could not threaten the three Fire Devouring Kings, but every bit of strength they wasted away was a slightly larger chance at victory.

    ¡°Sect master Ji, this is a conflict among otherfolk. What does it have to do with us? Please forgive my lacklustre cultivation, which prevents me from helping you. I¡¯ll be taking my leave first,¡± said a cultivator. Li Qingshan took a look to see who it was. It was ¡°seventh seat¡± who had made things difficult for him before.

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± took out a Great Shifting talisman and immediately activated it before Ji Changfeng could say anything.

    ¡°You mustn''t, fellow!¡± Ji Changfeng called out.

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± had already vanished, but he did not shift several hundred kilometers away. Instead, he ran headfirst into the volcanic crater of Fore-mast mountain.

    ¡°How is this possible!?¡±

    ¡°Seventh seat¡± paled in fright. He rushed about in the sea of fire through his powerful cultivation, wanting to fly back to Main-mast mountain.

    Zhu Fen snorted and sprayed out a spark from his nostril, which immediately pierced ¡°seventh seat¡¯s¡± head.

 Chapter 869

    ¡°What a foolish person. They¡¯ve gone to such great lengths to launch this attack. If they can¡¯t even seal off this region, Gong Yuan would have escaped a long time ago!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed. Great Shifting talismans were precious, but he had plenty of them in his possession. However, Yin Qing in the Asura Field had told him long ago that the surrounding space was under the interference of a great power. Even if she used her technique to move through space, she might not necessarily be able to escape from here. A layman trying to rush out of here with just a talisman was no different from suicide.

    Gong Yuan shot a glance at Li Qingshan. ¡°I really don¡¯t know whether you¡¯re utterly audacious or there¡¯s something wrong with your head. Do you really think the fire devourers will be kind enough to let you go?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m not that naive. They¡¯ll let anyone go but me. I¡¯m guessing that I¡¯m their third target, only after you and fellow Ji, right, Fire Devouring King?¡± Li Qingshan asked loudly.

    ¡°Yes, except you¡¯re wrong about one part.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what part am I wrong about?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the second target!¡± Zhu Yan said, ¡°Last time, you managed to slip away, but you¡¯re dead for sure this time!¡±

    That took everyone by surprise, and they all looked at Li Qingshan. He was actually an enemy that the fire devourers regarded as only second to the Merfolk Queen. He even ranked above a great cultivator like Ji Changfeng. Just what had he done to the fire devourers to deserve this?

    In the very beginning, Zhu Yan did not worry too much about Li Qingshan. He was merely a foolish mortal who had visited with some wishful thinking. However, when Li Qingshan devastated the Myriad Poison cult and killed a hundred thousand Bone Eating shamans, Zhu Yan no longer dared to think like that. He had not even undergone the third heavenly tribulation and was already so vicious. Once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation, it would be absolutely horrifying. With his age, that was basically guaranteed to happen, so compared to Ji Changfeng who was close to the end of his lifespan, he was the truly terrifying threat. He had to nip him in the bud.

    Gong Yuan suddenly found Li Qingshan much more pleasing to the eye. Compared to that old fogey Ji Changfeng who was overcautious and indecisive, wholeheartedly wanting to play the neutral card, now that was called having a firm stance and high aspirations. Of course, if he could drag a Fire Devouring King down with him, that would be even better.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Zhu Yan, I couldn¡¯t tell, but you¡¯re still quite insightful. Though, who knows who¡¯ll be living and dying! Queen Gong, what did I say? I have grievances with the fire devourers! Aren¡¯t you glad that you didn¡¯t fall out with me in the Feilian hall now?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, then why don¡¯t you get over here and work with us to fend off the enemy?¡±

    Gong Yuan¡¯s voice became a little gentler. The enemy of enemies were allies. At this moment of life or death, their tiny conflicts of the past were nothing now.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan flew to the top of the mountain and said through his soul sense, ¡°Though, I do have a small request. I heard you have a Heart of the Abyss. If you give it to me, I¡¯ll help you escape. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°How did you know?¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s expression changed slightly. There had always been an extremely small number of people that practised All Water to Ruin¡¯s End and not a lot of people knew about the Heart of the Abyss even among the Merfolk, so how could a kid from the Green province know so much? She suddenly thought of a reason. ¡°You know that wretched spawn?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about how I know. I¡¯m just asking whether you¡¯ll give it to me or not,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You can forget about it!¡± Gong Yuan was infuriated by Li Qingshan¡¯s attempt to commit daylight robbery. Her favourable impression that had just developed immediately vapourised.

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you, but I¡¯d advise you to consider the bigger picture.¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his original spot and stood with his hands behind his back, continuing to watch the show. The current situation was dangerous, but when he considered it calmly, he discovered the danger was not lethal. Instead, it was an opportunity.

    If all three Fire Devouring Kings came for him, then that would truly be life-threatening danger. It would be no less dangerous than facing the Dragon King of Ink Sea. However, their first target was still Gong Yuan at the end of the day, and he personally did not believe he was second on the list. Once Ji Changfeng managed to escape, then that would be a bitter feud to the death. The whole point of Fire Melt mountain killing Gong Yuan would diminish drastically.

    With the two of them standing in front of him, he was confident that slipping away would be no problem. The phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a was enough for him to withstand one fatal strike, and his Tremors of the Ox Demon could shatter regional boundaries. As long as he left Giant Ship island, he would directly use a Great Shifting talisman to flee. It was impossible for the fire devourers to split up to go after him. Perhaps it was even possible for him to do something while Fire Melt mountain was empty.

    Gong Yuan blanked out. If it were not for the fact that her mortal enemies were right beside her, she was basically tempted to butcher Li Qingshan then and there. She thought in doubt, Don¡¯t tell me he actually has a way out? That¡¯s impossible. The three Divine Fire tablets have already turned Giant Ship island into an absolute domain of fire. Even I can¡¯t think of any good ideas.

    The communication between their soul senses had occurred in a single moment. It did not waste even a second of time.

    Main-mast mountain shook gently. The scorching lava surged at the foot of the mountain, and the flames blazed away. The protective formation produced ripples of light to hold them off, but having lost its foundations, it rapidly dimmed.

    ¡°You¡¯re staring death right in the face, and you¡¯re still so stubborn! Alright, I¡¯ll make you all die here and visit the afterlife together!¡±

    Zhu Zai snorted coldly and whirled the Fire Tablet of Earth around, producing a ring of fire. The flames on Giant Ship island all surged towards Main-mast mountain, actually enveloping the entire place in a single moment, turning it into a mountain of fire.

    Ji Changfeng could no longer swing the Feilian flag around anymore. He poured all of his efforts into controlling the formation. Even his beard glowed red from the firelight. He roared out, ¡°Fellow Ye, what are you still hesitating about?¡±

    Ye Duanhai had done nothing so far. In terms of battle prowess for direct confrontations, it was very likely for him to be the most powerful on the island as a great sword cultivator. If he stepped in, then they could still put up a battle as three against three.

    ¡°Pavilion master Ye, we fire devourers keep a clear record of our friends and foes. You can take your disciples and leave! However, it would be best if you reconsider his majesty¡¯s invitation, otherwise the flames of Cloud Sail sect might reach the South Sea Sword pavilion in the future!¡±

    Zhu Yan followed up quickly. He had done this both because of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s instructions, as well as his qualms about Ye Duanhai¡¯s strength. Their main objective for this trip was still to kill Gong Yuan. If a great sword cultivator joined the enemy¡¯s side, then it would add many additional factors to the equation, so they were better off just letting him go.

    ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome to come.¡±

    Cold light flashed through Ye Duanhai¡¯s eyes. He knew the fire devourers had intentionally brought up the King of Southern Yue to draw away the hatred. Originally, he had no plans on getting involved, or he would have taken action long ago. Right when he was about to leave with his disciples, he glanced at Li Qingshan. He had promised to fight for Li Qingshan once, and right now seemed like when Li Qingshan needed help the most.

    If Li Qingshan spoke up, then he would truly face a tough predicament. He had some confidence in slipping away from a grand battle against the fire devourers, but the disciples of his sect would probably all die here. He secretly made up his mind to not bring so many people with him again in the future. As a swordsman, he was accustomed to moving around alone and being untethered.

    ¡°Pavilion master Ye, there¡¯s no need to look at me. You should go! It¡¯s just three measly fire devourers. That¡¯s nowhere enough to end my life. You can take Yu Wufeng with you too. Go back and focus on cultivating. Once you¡¯ve made up your mind about facing the heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll release you from the blood oath.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand in an unconcerned manner. He could not waste the opportunity he had earned after so much difficulty here.

    ¡°Fellow Li, aren¡¯t you cutting off your own path of escape if you do that?¡± Ji Changfeng panicked. Gong Yuan ground her teeth in resentment towards Li Qingshan too. With that, the situation had become a little more dangerous. He had virtually snuffed out their last ray of hope.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to look at me. He has no grievances with the fire devourers. He never planned on fighting anyway. Since when could you have to beg others for a way out? The only way out is to fight!¡± Li Qingshan said.

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    ¡°What a King of Savages. I, Ye Duanhai, won¡¯t forget that!¡±

    Ye Duanhai clasped his hands at Li Qingshan and actually showed a hint of respect. He gathered his disciples, created a sword formation, and rushed out of Main-mast mountain. Sure enough, the fire devourers produced a path for him too. The sea of fire split apart, allowing Ye Duanhai to approach the ocean. He vanished in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Hold on, we don¡¯t have any grievances with fire devourers either. Don¡¯t fire devourers keep a clear record of their friends and foes? Please give us a way out too!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯ve always hated merpeople. I have absolutely no intentions of opposing Fire Melt mountain.¡±

    The cultivators of the South sea all cried out, solemnly swearing that they would sever their connection with the Cloud Sail sect and the merpeople of the South sea.

    Zhu Fen said, ¡°Hah, do you know what fire devourers hate the most? Weaklings! Because you¡¯re too weak, you all must die today!¡±

    The cultivators of the South sea erupted with curses, but that only made Zhu Fen roar with laughter. He said to Zhu Yan, ¡°King Yan, it¡¯s about time. It¡¯s time for you to take action!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already run out of patience a long time ago!¡±

    Zhu Yan lifted the Fire Tablet of Man high into the air, and Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai¡¯s powers gathered on him. The Fire Tablet of Man surged with flames.

    ¡°The Blazes of Man, Advent of the Fire God! All of you can go and die!¡±

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    The great flames that ravaged Main-mast mountain suddenly began to move, gathering together.

    With a great cry, a fire dragon whistled out from the sea of fire, complete with well-defined teeth, scales, and claws. It slammed its tail against the formation, making it totter and flicker.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. Compared to the flames of heaven and the flames of earth, the flames of man were just a little too weak. The fire dragon did possess the strength of a regular Daemon King, but that was all. So much for telling them all to go and die!

    Gong Yuan suddenly communicated with Li Qingshan in a hurry. ¡°If you can assist me with escaping from here, I¡¯ll lend the Heart of the Abyss to you for a year!¡±

    ¡°Ten years!¡±

    ¡°Three years!¡±

    ¡°Five years!¡±

    ¡°Deal!¡±

    As if Gong Yuan had something major weighing on her mind, she agreed to Li Qingshan¡¯s request very quickly. During their short conversation, there was another dragon¡¯s cry, and a pair of dragons swam through the air together. Gong Yuan¡¯s expression became sterner and sterner. Suddenly, the backs of the two dragons that flew together surged, and two balls of flames condensed into a pair of giant feet on the dragons. Gazing up along the feet, a colossal figure shimmered in the sea of fire, gradually taking shape.

    A giant god of fire that stood on the pair of dragons. A well-defined body stood like a mountain, radiating with a primitive, desolate aura. Its face twisted in a blur within the flames, but every single cultivator experienced an unprecedented pressure. They were shocked.

    Li Qingshan frowned. The sensation basically felt no different from facing the Dragon King of Ink Sea, and it was much more unpredictable compared to the Dragon King of Ink Sea. The giant god of fire that gave off a violent aura definitely possessed much greater offensive ability. Once it struck, it would definitely be earth-shattering. No one present could take it on in a direct confrontation.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings in the air were all emotional. They held their Divine Fire tablets with both hands and bowed towards the giant god of fire from afar.

    ¡°Incinerate everything, great god Zhurong!¡±

    Roar! The giant god of fire produced a furious howl at everyone on the mountain, like the eruption of a hundred volcanoes. Waves of heat surged over, and the defensive formation tottered on the brink of collapse.

 Chapter 870

    The cultivators of the South sea and the merpeople all blocked their ears, wailing in horror like mortals. Indeed, they viewed mortals like ants, yet before a legendary god, were they not ants? Let alone stepping up for battle, they did not even have the will to fight back. This was an inherent difference that existed between them.

    The howl was only for letting off steam. It could not even be regarded as an attack.

    Li Qingshan also felt his blood surge and his ears buzz. He used the spirit turtle in a hurry to suppress his thoughts. This definitely isn¡¯t the real fire god Zhurong. He hasn¡¯t even directly descended like what Qiongqi did. It¡¯s just a sliver of aura at most. It¡¯s not even self-conscious, yet it¡¯s actually already so powerful. What a sight!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, hurry up and get to work!¡±

    Gong Yuan took a step back almost instinctively. Water overwhelmed fire, but faced with a god-like existence like that, even she had lost the confidence to win this battle.

    The Divine Fire tablets were truly the divine heirlooms of the Fire Devouring kingdom. They had assembled a formation, sealed off a region, bombarded with the flames of heaven, surged with the flames of earth, all just to summon the god that the fire devourers worshipped¡ªZhurong.

    ¡°You¡¯re the mighty Merfolk Queen, yet you place your hopes on a second heavenly tribulation human like me. That¡¯s a little inappropriate, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    The demon heart in Li Qingshan¡¯s body flickered, and his surging demon qi condensed into a set of demonic armour. Before he knew it, his eyes had already turned scarlet, and his face was hidden behind the ox-horned helmet. However, he smiled away just like before, instead becoming excited.

    For the first time, Gong Yuan did not find his ¡°audaciousness¡± as annoying anymore. It even brought her a hint of relief that she refused to admit. No ordinary person could remain in high morale before an existence like that. However, Xiao An beside him was even stranger. She remained expressionless just like before, as if the giant god of fire did not exist at all.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his helmet, sensing the compatibility between the various powers in him. He nodded towards Xiao An.

    With two rumbles, the giant god of fire rode over on the fire dragons and extended his arm, wrapping it around half the mountain. The protective formation twisted and sank. It was only a moment away from shattering.

    The giant god of fire suddenly moved, throwing its head towards the top of the mountain to claim everyone¡¯s lives.

    Li Qingshan did something that no one could understand. He took a step, accelerated, and unfolded his wings, rushing towards the giant god of fire!

    Is he sick of living and trying to die? Whether it were the powerful fire devourers or the regular cultivators of the South sea, the same thought occurred to all of them.

    Li Qingshan rushed out of the formation first, still several hundred meters away from the giant god of fire when the waves of heat rushed over, turning his demonic armour bright-red. The giant god of fire¡¯s blurry face filled his entire field of vision, filled with an aura of violence and destruction.

    Compared to the god of fire that stood several hundred meters tall, he was as insignificant as a bug. Danger and fear screamed out in his heart, but it only made his blood boil and burn. He felt the same freedom as if he had cast aside everything.

    Three hundred meters away, his helmet softened, and his armour melted. His demon qi ran out.

    Thirty meters away, his flesh burned, revealing his bones, which had also turned bright-red.

    The moment he dove into the fire, he pushed out with his right hand, which happened to be holding the Asura Field. The blood-red swirl revolved and expanded, like a gaping mouth that tried to swallow the giant god of fire.

    The firelight that filled the entire region suddenly dimmed, which everyone was actually unaccustomed to. They looked at one another. ¡°What¡¯s happened!?¡±

    It was not just the giant god of fire. Even Li Qingshan had vanished. A figure with red hair and blood-red eyes appeared in the air, clutching the Asura Field. With a flash, it returned to Main-mast mountain and handed the scorching-hot, rumbling Asura Field to Xiao An before vanishing.

    Xiao An said indifferently, ¡°The big fire person has been temporarily sealed. If you¡¯re not going to try and put up a fight right now, when are you waiting until?¡±

    ¡°Alright. The King of Savages truly does live up to his reputation. Today, I¡¯ll fight the fire devourers to the death!¡±

    Ji Changfeng ripped off his large, wide robes and revealed his elderly but robust body. Then he waved the Feilian flag in his hand, and the Feilian hall collapsed loudly, producing the shrill howls of wind. A whirlwind through the smoke and ash and whistled over.

    Ji Changfeng leapt up and landed on the whirlwind perfectly, like he was riding it. Only then did everyone see that the whirlwind was actually the feilian divine beast in the mural.

    If Zhurong was a god of fire, then Feilian was a god of wind. Although it was nowhere close to the giant god of fire summoned by the divine fire talismans, it had received several thousand years of worship and sacrifice from the Cloud Sail sect, so it was still quite powerful. It was enough to rival early Daemon Kings, and its speed was alarming.

    Ji Changfeng and the feilian blurred. Only a whirlwind could be seen in the sky, hurtling towards the three Fire Devouring Kings. Gong Yuan lifted her crystal sceptre and produced a streak of azure light that targeted the weakest among the three, Zhu Yan.

    ¡°What happened? Zhu Yan, get the fire god to destroy the arcane treasure!¡± Zhu Fen roared, swinging the Fire Tablet of Heaven to block Ji Changfeng¡¯s swift attack.

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    They had worked together to summon the giant god of fire. This should have been when they were the strongest, but instead, it had become when they were the weakest.

    ¡°No, great god Zhurong¡¯s aura is too powerful. I can¡¯t control it precisely!¡± Zhu Yan frowned heavily, dodging the incoming azure light while clutching the Fire Tablet of Man firmly to order the giant god of fire to attack, to attack indiscriminately.

    The giant god of fire was far too powerful, so it was impossible for him to control it with ease. He could only issue some simple commands. Actually, there was only a single command, which was ¡°attack¡±. At most, he could choose the target. As for how the attack unfolded, that would all depend on the giant god of fire¡¯s instincts.

    The giant god of fire was extremely powerful, but it had no intelligence. The only thing it had inherited was a hint of fire god Zhurong¡¯s will to advance boldly and destroy anything, which was why it dove head-first into the Asura Field. Otherwise, if it had been any other third heavenly tribulation cultivator, they would have never become trapped by the Asura Field so easily.

    ¡°You¡¯re two men, yet you aren¡¯t even as great as me, a woman. What¡¯s there to be afraid of? It¡¯s just an arcane treasure with a space of its own. The fire god will destroy it before long, and that¡¯ll be their deaths. There¡¯s the three of us working together, with the Divine Fire tablets in our grasp, so what, do you think they¡¯ll escape?¡±

    With that from Zhu Zai, Zhu Fen and Zhu Yan realised the situation too. The Divine Fire tablets definitely were capable of much more than this. Just the tablets themselves possessed a formation for a combined attack. They stabilised the formation and only remained on guard, waiting for the giant god of fire to break free. No matter what Ji Changfeng and Gong Yuan did, it would be impossible for them to get through even the most simplistic three-man formation in a short time.

    The giant god of fire did not break free as quickly as the fire devourers had imagined. Both sides of the battle were extremely anxious.

    What had happened exactly? It was impossible for a mere arcane treasure to possess such great sealing powers. Was there some kind of powerful existence hiding within that kept the giant god of fire busy, or was it just Li Qingshan? But that was impossible! Even if he underwent the third heavenly tribulation, he would still be crushed and annihilated by the giant god of fire in the same way.

    ¡­¡­

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    Within the Asura Field, Li Qingshan stood on the ground and gazed up. He found the giant god of fire to be even more impressive and indomitable, giving off the pressure of a god.

    He sucked in a deep breath and said with determination, ¡°Come!¡±

 Chapter 871 Fighting a God (Two)

    The scorching heat from the giant god of fire rapidly evaporated all the water in the Asura Field, which turned into vast clouds in the sky, dyed bright-red by the firelight. The vegetation burned and the rolling, black smoke merged with the clouds.

    Roar!

    The giant god of fire howled at the ¡°ant¡± that blocked its way.

    Without a formation separating them, Li Qingshan truly experienced the might of the howl. It felt like a passing typhoon, blowing the rock and soil around him away, which melted into lava mid-air.

    The giant god of fire turned around, about to break out of this place. It did not have any intelligence, but it did have the most basic battle instinct. With that ant¡¯s strength and cultivation, it should have turned to ashes with just a direct howl.

    But immediately, the giant god of fire turned around again. If its blurry, fiery face had an expression, then it would definitely show surprise and doubt.

    Within the smoke and surging lava, Li Qingshan stood exactly where he was, his scarlet hair drifting through the air and his scarlet eyes like burning fire. He stared straight at the giant god of fire and suddenly spread his arms. His body rapidly swelled, reaching almost three hundred meters tall before stopping. His hair was like flames and his skin was like black iron, just like a demon!

    He took a step forward with his ox hoof, and the ground cracked. He roared at the sky, and the fierce winds surged.

    A breath twisted and swept over like a wind dragon, rushing through the clouds and bursting through the flames, smashing the giant god of fire right in the face and sending sparks flying!

    The giant god of fire tilted its head back slightly, but that was it. The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath that Li QIngshan had unleashed at full strength actually failed to harm it at all. Though, it definitely achieved its objective of provocation.

    Roar!

    The giant god of fire was infuriated. Its flames surged, rushing towards Li Qingshan on the dragons.

    Even when Li Qingshan¡¯s physique had reached an unprecedented height, equivalent to a hundred-storey skyscraper in his previous life, it was still like a child to a grown adult compared to the giant god of fire.

    As the giant god of fire pushed closer, his body rapidly heated up, scorching, melting, bubbling!

    I stand no chance in a direct confrontation!

    Li Qingshan made a decision and suddenly unfurled his magnificent phoenix wings. At the same time, he unleashed his wings of wind, and his colossal body rushed straight into the clouds, about to unleash the same falling palm strike that had devastated the Myriad Poison cult. A scorching heat rapidly drew closer, and the giant god of fire¡¯s colossal figure protruded from the clouds, flying over on the twin dragons. It actually moved even faster than Li Qingshan.

    A huge hand of fire blotted out the sky and whistled over. Li Qingshan raised his scarlet eyebrows, unable to dodge in time at all. He only felt his right leg tighten and heat up.

    The giant god of fire grabbed Li Qingshan and leapt off the fire dragons, throwing him onto a small mountain violently.

    Boom!

    The mountain immediately turned into a basin, and Li Qingshan¡¯s body ached. The two dragons rushed over, coiling around his arms firmly like chains and spraying with scorching dragonfire. They tried to forcefully reduce him to ashes.

    Is this the difference of absolute strength? Not only is it undefeatable, but I can¡¯t even maneuver around. Even escaping is impossible! Though, that¡¯s the exact kind of opponent I¡¯d want. If there isn¡¯t even danger to my life, how am I supposed to break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon?

    ¡°Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan roared furiously, and black cracks ripped apart the flames around him. He spread his arms and grabbed the two dragons by their heads, smashing them together violently. Only then did he break free.

    The giant god of fire¡¯s hand shuddered and froze mid-air, but it still clutched onto him firmly. Even Li Qingshan¡¯s strongest, all-conquering innate ability could not crush a powerful opponent like that in a direct confrontation.

    Li Qingshan used the strength of the ox demon and threw a full-powered punch at the giant god of fire¡¯s wrist. The powers of tremors whistled out.

    The giant god of fire finally let go, allowing him to pull back his leg. His flesh had already been incinerated away, only leaving behind his glowing bones. However, he did not even glance at it, advancing instead of retreating and pouncing at the giant god of fire, planting a fist in its face.

    The flames surged and scattered. The giant god of fire¡¯s blurry face had been forcefully dispersed as well, but Li Qingshan did not become proud of himself at all. It was not because of how fast or vicious his punch was, but because the giant god of fire had absolutely no intentions of dodging, directly receiving his attacks with attacks of its own. Before he could even enjoy the pleasure of punching someone in the face, a scorching, violent force struck him in the chest. His ribs produced a cacophony of cracks.

    Li Qingshan was knocked several dozen kilometers away, slamming violently into the great snow mountain before coming to a halt. The tough ice and rock collapsed, almost burying him. Before he could even stand up, the heat filled his face again.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The giant god of fire swung its fists furiously, and they landed on Li Qingshan like a storm. Not a regular storm, but a meteor storm. The force behind every single punch rivalled a collision from a Meteor of the Blazing Heavens.

    The snow mountain shook violently. Perhaps it could not be called a snow mountain anymore, as the ice and snow had already evaporated away. The thousands of tonnes of falling rock all melted into lava.

    Li Qingshan was unable to fight back at all. He was hammered into the mountain punch after punch.

    At a time like this, what innate ability should he use? What innate ability could he use?

    The power of tremors? Useless! The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell? Useless! The Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye? Useless!

    Useless, useless, useless! It was all useless!

    Faced with crushing strength, even if he was capable of a thousand different things, it was all useless! His attacks posed no threat, and his defence was as fragile as paper. It was as if all he could do was accept fate and die!

    However, Li Qingshan refused. Even though his flesh had been burned to ash and the tiger bones that he took pride in were covered in cracks, his battle spirit continued to surge.

    Even if he wanted to leave the Asura Field, it was already too late at a time like this. The heat from the giant god of fire had distorted even space itself, preventing the Asura Field from sending him anywhere. If he could not defeat it, only death awaited him.

    But even until now, he still had absolutely no chance at victory. Instead, he was in life-threatening danger.

    The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud. Enduring and immovable, just like the earth. Strength of the Earth!

    Li Qingshan simply gave up on all of his efforts of offence and defence. He poured all of his concentration into the boundless earth and used the Strength of the Earth.

    Suddenly, he entered a world he had never seen before, as if he had actually become a part of the earth, silently enduring the beating of wind, frost, rain, and snow since time immemorial, holding up the seas and the sky.

    The violent fists of fire constantly struck his body before being drawn into the mountain and earth. The rate at which his body collapsed suddenly slowed down.

    I see! Li Qingshan understood something. No matter when in the past, no matter who he faced, he had never been like this, giving up on everything and enduring all the attacks.

    He had gained a deeper understanding of the Strength of the Earth.

    Though, this move sure is a little useless in battle! I can¡¯t attack and I can¡¯t defend. I can¡¯t even run away! Aren¡¯t I just a ¡°plus-sized sand bag¡±? It¡¯s not like I can divert all the attacks into the earth. If I just withstand it, there¡¯ll be a time when I can¡¯t withstand it any longer!

    But at the very least, he still served a certain function right now as a ¡°plus-sized sand bag¡±¡ªhe had made the giant god of fire throw a lot of punches.

    Cracks riddled the snow mountain. As Li Qingshan diverted the damage into the ground, the mountain rapidly collapsed, and Li Qingshan¡¯s body approached the brink of collapse too.

    The giant god of fire¡¯s attacks suddenly paused. It crossed its fists and raised them high into the air. The flames on its body dimmed, all condensing into its fists. He held them up high like torches as they scorched like the sun, burning the sky before he swung down viciously. They struck the ground like meteors.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s tiger bones shattered violently, and a wave of air swept through the entire Asura Field. The snow mountain shook violently and collapsed with a rumble, burying him like his new grave.

    The giant god of fire stumbled a few steps back as if it was rather exhausted before suddenly turning around!

    At this moment, an Asura Commander wielding a pair of huge axes descended from the blood-red swirl in the sky.

    The intense battle between the giant god of fire and Li Qingshan, or perhaps better described as the giant god of fire¡¯s one-sided slaughter of Li Qingshan, had roused unprecedented fighting spirit and killing intent, which was absorbed by the Asura Field to summon another Asura Commander.

    The Asura Commander saw the giant god of fire and suddenly widened his eyes. ¡°Fire god Zhurong!¡±

    Roar!

    The giant god of fire let out a furious roar, and the Asura Commander raised his axes instinctively to block. An irresistible force blew him away. He turned to ash in the air, unable to regenerate no matter how powerful his vitality was. The axes melted into a clump of metal.

    Having casually dealt with a fly, the giant god of fire was just about to break out of here when it suddenly turned around and gazed at the collapsed mountain. The aura that it had personally crushed seeped out from the rocks once again.

    Boom!

    The rocks burst open, and Li Qingshan leapt out. With the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, he had undergone rebirth in fire. He was completely unscathed now, saying to the giant god of fire, ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry. There¡¯s still round two!¡±

    Before he had even finished, flames surged over.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, block it!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell formed a smooth mirror wall. It only lasted for a split second under the giant god of fire¡¯s attack before shattering loudly!

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms and assumed a defensive posture before being blasted away once again.

    He adjusted his posture mid-air, stabilising himself, but he showed a hint of joy. He finally saw a sliver of hope of victory!

    If it had been before the rebirth, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell would not serve much purpose at all. It could only distract him and waste his daemon qi. Once the difference in strength reached a certain level, even the most wondrous techniques were only a pointless trick.

    But it was different now. After a series of furious attacks, the giant god of fire¡¯s flames were slightly dimmer compared to the beginning. It had shrunken slightly too. Although it was still much taller than Li Qingshan, its strength had clearly decreased.

    This was the greatest weakness of the giant god of fire. Although it could rival the Dragon King of Ink Sea during its peak condition, it was not a living existence after all. Its power would be consumed.

    Originally, this could not be considered as a weakness. On Giant Ship island that flowed with lava and burned with flames, the giant god of fire could fight for a very long time. It could basically crush and destroy all existences.

    But in the Asura Field, it had no opportunity to replenish its powers. Every bit it used up was gone for good.

    It was exactly because of this observation that Li Qingshan was bold enough to drag it into the Asura Field for a battle to the death. He had gone as far as to rebirth once just to waste away the giant god of fire¡¯s power. Otherwise, while he did like fighting, he did not like digging his own grave!

    However, while the giant god of fire had become a little weaker, it could still crush Li Qingshan. He did not even have a ten percent chance at victory!

 Chapter 872 Fighting a God (Three)

    However, no matter how low his chances of victory were, it was completely different from having no chance at all. The most obvious difference was his numerous innate abilities were of use now!

    In the moment earlier, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell had only lasted for a split second, but it reflected a part of the attack, such that the force of the attack had diminished by thirty percent at the very least. Thanks to that, he had managed to endure it.

    If I get killed again, I¡¯ll be dead for good, but this is what you call a true battle to the death. If I know I can be reborn and I constantly have the thought of escaping with my life intact, how am I supposed to break through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon?

    Li Qingshan produced a violent tiger¡¯s roar, but his eyes became as tranquil as the deep sea. Suddenly, he seemed to be able to make out the course of fate.

    In a single moment, the giant god of fire arrived before him, surging with flames and radiating with heat!

    I see it!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flashed; he saw a figure overlapping the giant god of fire with its left hand thrown as a punch and its right hand as a claw, ready to strike at any time. The most dangerous part about it was that the two dragons under its feet had rushed forward, entangling his feet.

    His heart sank. If he tried to dodge after the giant god of fire had actually struck, it would be impossible. Once he was caught again, then the only fate awaiting him was being burnt to death.

    In the next moment, the figure became reality. Sure enough, the giant god of fire had struck like that, unleashing its powerful instincts for battle within its endless fury.

    ¡°Gravity of the Earth!¡±

    A powerful suction suddenly appeared between Li Qingshan and the giant god of fire, rapidly pulling him towards it, right into the fire god¡¯s bosom, which made the fire god¡¯s killing strike immediately miss. He extended a claw towards the fire god¡¯s chest.

    ¡°The Tiger Demon Digs Out the Heart!¡±

    Flames surged in the giant god of fire¡¯s chest, and it sprayed with sparks, which collided against Li Qingshan.

    Flames shot out, and with a rumble, Li Qingshan was launched away again. The burn wounds on his chest were bone-deep, but he smiled instead.

    ¡°So you aren¡¯t without weak points!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly unfurled the phoenix wings and rushed into the clouds. The place where he stood turned into a sea of lava, with the fire god standing there, roaring at the sky. It rose up into the air on the fire dragons.

    The pitch-black cracks and scorching flames constantly interlocked in the air.

    Two colossal figures circled and flew through the air, chasing and fighting, sometimes approaching each other and sometimes separating.

    The several hundred kilometers of the Asura Field was far too small. To them, it was almost like a larger cage, preventing either one of them from escaping.

    Li Qingshan was aware that he still lacked the strength to openly clash with the giant god of fire. Through the divination of the spirit turtle, he anticipated the enemy and could always nullify the danger in the heat of the moment, sometimes even fighting back.

    The Water God Seal in his body rapidly delivered the spiritual qi accumulated in the Cloud Dream marsh to his body, which was the only reason why he could maintain enough daemon qi. However, there was nothing he could do about the mental fatigue. Divination that could anticipate the opponent was powerful, but he could not maintain it for too long. In particular, in an intense battle like this, his sea of consciousness surged slightly, producing countless ripples.

    If it were not for the fact that the giant god of fire was not a true cultivator, just a powerful existence with a hint of the fire god¡¯s aura, any great cultivator would possess the ability to interfere with divination. The current spirit turtle would not be able to anticipate them at all. Only if it reached the fifth layer and underwent the third heavenly tribulation could it overwhelm a great cultivator and overcome the interference.

    The giant god of fire suddenly stopped and landed on the ground again, while the two fire dragons coiled around its body as if it had lost interest in going after Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan could finally catch his breath slightly. His calm, tranquil eyes turned back to normal, but there was a hint of heavy fatigue.

    He had completely used up this move too!

    However, before he could even ease up, a sense of danger he had not experienced even after fighting until now filled his mind.

    The giant god of fire spread its arms and stood on the ground. The raging flames gathered in its right hand, forming a straight, scarlet spear. It gripped the spear of flames firmly and tensed up, raising its right arm and assuming a throwing posture.

    It was just like a god raising a spear high into the air to hunt a colossal beast in the ancient times. It was an image frozen in cave paintings, one that was eternal.

    This was not a technique or ability, but it surpassed all techniques and abilities. In that moment, the giant god of fire that had been condensed from tremendous power truly gained a hint of a divine nature that was highly-glorious yet primitive. A pair of eyes suddenly opened on its blurry face, staring at Li Qingshan.

    That was not fire, but all the desire for survival, condensed into the spear.

    Li Qingshan could sense that he was the colossal beast about to be hunted down and killed. He immediately suppressed his turbulent sea of consciousness, and his eyes became tranquil again. He saw the spear of flames¡¯ course of fate, but he was unable to avoid it, like it was his destiny.

    Fear and despair prevented his sea of consciousness from remaining calm anymore. Was he going to die here?

    But so what?

    Li Qingshan smiled. Life and death was but a common matter. Whenever he refused to die, he would just smile like that.

    Since I can¡¯t avoid it, then come!

    The giant god of fire threw it!

    The spear was like a rising meteor, immediately piercing Li Qingshan¡¯s body! The violent explosion basically lit up the entire sky in the Asura Field.

    No one could survive an attack like that, not even Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng. That was strike enough to kill regular Daemon Kings.

    The giant god of fire lowered its hands, and its flames became much dimmer yet again. According to the judgement of its battle instincts, Li Qingshan was dead for good, but due to the abnormality earlier, it continued to stand there without moving. It watched the fire in the air disperse, and its flames suddenly surged.

    Li Qingshan, who had clearly been blasted to pieces, actually appeared before the giant god of fire once again. He was covered in burn wounds, all the way to his bones, but they were not lethal. He said, ¡°Round two is over. It¡¯s time for the last round!¡±

    Within his body, the universal, multi-coloured Divine Talisman of Great Creation had basically lost all of its glow. He had used all of its energy to condense a fake body to take on the spear in his place.

    Originally, he did not hold a lot of hopes for it, as the giant god of fire¡¯s consciousness had locked onto him firmly. Perhaps because the Divine Talisman of Great Creation had been drenched in the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s blood, the existences it could create were as realistic as a dream, surpassing what regular Divine Talismans of Great Creation were capable of, which was why he could fool the giant god of fire¡¯s consciousness.

    The giant god of fire stood right there as its body rapidly shrank. In the blink of an eye, it was less than six hundred meters tall. Even the two fire dragons had melded into its body, but its flames burned away vigorously again. It lifted its right arm again, assuming a throwing posture. The flames condensed into another spear, pointing at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan rushed madly towards the giant god of fire. If he waited until the spear was thrown, only death would be awaiting him.

    The wind whistled past his ears fiercely, and his heart thumped so hard that it seemed like it was about to shatter. The distance he could originally cover in a single breath actually seemed so vast now. He watched helplessly as the giant god of fire pulled its arm back to the limit before suddenly hurling it forwards. The tip of the spear pointed right at his forehead.

    There was no fear. There was no hesitation. In a battle between cornered beasts, there was only madness! He let out a mindless howl, which turned into a tiger¡¯s roar!

    Murderousness surged, and battle intent bubbled. The blood-red swirl did not stop revolving, but no more Asura Commanders descended. In that moment, it seemed to have merged with the Asura Field to connect with the mysterious and boundless Asura realm. A wondrous and tremendous consciousness projected from the depths of the swirl and condensed on him as if it was filled with great approval and delight.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body suddenly lightened. New power surged through his body, and his speed suddenly doubled as he lunged straight ahead!

    The giant god of fire threw hard, but the spear did not leave its hand. It was caught firmly by a vicious tiger claw before collapsing and shattering!

    With a great rumble, flames whistled dozens of kilometers away!

    The flames dispersed, and the giant god of fire shrank by several dozen more meters. A vicious skeleton over three hundred meters tall towered right over it, its flesh completely devoured by the flames but still standing. The bones shone with a metallic lustre, without a single crack at all.

    After countless battles and being killed twice by the giant god of fire, he had finally broken through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon. His hollow eye sockets gazed at the giant god of fire before him, no longer with any sign of weakness.

    Howl!

    Roar!

    The giant god of fire and Li Qingshan produced furious roars at the same time. The flames and wind collided together violently, well-matched in strength.

    Soon afterwards, the two figures of almost the same size collided violently!

    Iron fists tremored and meteors flew, violently barraging one another, but neither of them took a step back. They fended off the attacks by attacking!

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Like claps of thunder erupting in the Asura Field, the blood-red swirl spun rapidly, and another Asura Commander descended. He was sucked into the crossfire of the battle, beaten to a pulp to no one¡¯s concern.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s tiger bones turned bright-red from the heat, like steel that had just been tempered in a furnace. Not only did they show no signs of softening, but they instead became sturdier and even more refined under the tempering of the flames.

    However, Li Qingshan still did not have the upper hand. Even after breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, he still paled drastically in comparison to the weakened giant god of fire in terms of pure strength.

    ¡°But right now, my chances of victory are a hundred percent!¡± Li Qingshan said with utter confidence.

    As a result, the tables began to turn!

    Li Qingshan landed a punch on the giant god of fire¡¯s face, and it gave way, taking a step backwards. Since the beginning of the battle, this was the first time it had retreated!

    After that was the second time, the third time¡­

    Li Qingshan advanced with his iron hooves, ignoring the giant god of fire¡¯s counterattack. Attack, attack, attack!

    The giant god of fire stumbled backwards, and balls of flames erupted on its body. Its blurry face became even more of a mess. The fire on its body weakened at a visible rate.

    Li Qingshan had the Strength of the Earth and the Water God Seal. His strength was endless and his daemon qi was limitless. He gradually adjusted to the new powers brought by the fifth layer of the tiger demon and became stronger as he fought!

    On the other hand, the giant god of fire had absolutely no support. Growing weaker with time while its opponent grew stronger, the giant god of fire rapidly shrank. Soon, it was a head shorter than Li Qingshan. As if it could sense the arrival of defeat, it let out a reluctant roar, but it could not change the situation where it was rapidly losing ground. The measly ant in the beginning had already become a vicious beast it stood no chance against!

    A huge, boney claw gripped the giant god of fire¡¯s neck, and the huge mouth filled with jagged teeth whistled with wind. It was a mad laughter!

    The Tiger Demon Digs Out the Heart!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s right claw thrusted deeply into the giant god of fire¡¯s chest and dug out a scorching, fire-red heart, casually tossing it into his mouth.

    Within the furious and reluctant roars, the giant god of fire collapsed and dispersed!

    Within the raging flames, Li Qingshan spread his arms and roared at the sky!

    The blood-red swirl rapidly enlarged, like an opening gate. An obscure calling rang out.

    ¡°Come, natural warrior. Begin an endless battle of blood as an asura!¡±

 Chapter 873 Heart of the Abyss

    Above Giant Ship island, a blurry figure flew about.

    Ji Changfeng rode the feilian, controlled the winds, and swung the flag. With his advantage of speed, he constantly attacked and disturbed the three Fire Devouring Kings.

    In order to summon the fire god, the three Fire Devouring Kings had used up a lot of their strength. They also faced some suppression as they were directly over the ocean, and they had to maintain the formation and keep the region sealed, so there was nothing they could do to him for the time being. They just waited eagerly for the fire god to rush out and kill this annoying fly.

    However, no matter how they waited, the fire god never appeared. They were met with a blizzard instead.

    The peak of Main-mast mountain flashed with extremely blinding blue light. Gong Yuan raised the crystal sceptre high into the air. The light was emitted from a rhombus ice crystal embedded at the top of the sceptre. It was a huge piece of ancient ice, like a frigid star.

    The light turned into snowflakes in the air.

    The snowflakes landed on a river of lava and directly turned the bubbling, molten earth to frozen rock. It was melted once again by the flames of the earth very quickly, but as the snowflakes continued to fall, the flames on Giant Ship island were gradually suppressed. None of them continued to blaze away.

    The flames of the earth that had sprayed out from the crust were not only the source of power for this formation, but it also gave the Fire Devouring Kings a geographic advantage.

    Gong Yuan had noticed that. As long as she put out the flames, the fire devourers would not be able to last for too long. She thought to herself, Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. You better hold on for just a bit longer!

    ¡°Why? Why hasn¡¯t the fire god emerged?¡± Zhu Fen asked Zhu Yan.

    Even Zhu Fen¡¯s scarlet-red hair and beard had ignited as flames, like a furious lion.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Something must have happened!¡± Zhu Yan said in a panic.

    This was the first time he had summoned the fire god. He could only consult the ancient and incomplete records for some experience. He still could not use it as he pleased. Earlier, the fire god seemed to be infuriated and had completely broken off this fragile connection. He was unable to sense the fire god¡¯s situation at all now.

    ¡°No, we can¡¯t keep waiting. We have to steal the arcane treasure and release the fire god immediately!¡± Zhu Zai¡¯s fire-red eyes stared at Xiao An on Main-mast mountain. She swore, ¡°This blasted human!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Three flames as one, kill!¡±

    Immediately, the three of them gave up on Ji Changfeng and turned into three streaks of fire before merging the flames of heaven, earth, and man into one. It formed a huge ball of fire in the air like a dazzling comet, falling towards Xiao An with a long tail.

    ¡°Fierce Dance of the Wind God! The Sand and Soil Flies, Blotting out the Sky!¡±

    Ji Changfeng knew the arcane treasure in Xiao An¡¯s hands was critical to this battle. If the fire god emerged, then no one would be its opponent, so he stopped holding back, striking with his full strength! He waved the flag furiously, and a colossal, black tornado whistled out.

    For a moment, the surroundings were filled with the roar of wind. Even the burning sounds of fire had been drowned out. The feilian under his feet let out a furious roar and sped over, arriving among the tornado.

    The black tornado twisted and surged as it turned into the feilian¡¯s body, making it move several times faster. Even its shape changed, assuming a form with the face of a man and the body of a bird, giving off the slightest hint of a divine nature. It spread its three hundred meters long wings and lunged towards the Fire Devouring Kings.

    The Fire Devouring Kings were immediately swallowed by the black storm!

    ¡°Break through!¡±

    With a furious roar, the glow of fire erupted and penetrated the wind god feilian¡¯s chest. The fierce winds dispersed!

    The light grew dimmer, but it was still unstoppable, becoming even more scorching than before. As the most belligerent race among otherfolk, no one dared to underestimate their fighting spirit.

    ¡°Gong Yuan, stop them!¡± Ji Changfeng no longer cared about courtesy, directly referring to her by her name.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s cold face was slightly panic-stricken as well. She raised the crystal sceptre, and thousands of snowflakes whistled and whirled over, gathering into a pile that resembled a cloud. It stood right in front of the mountain, blocking the fire devourer¡¯s path.

    However, all of them knew this was nowhere near enough to stop the fire devourers!

    ¡°Get over here!¡± Gong Yuan turned around and called out at Xiao An, but she discovered that Xiao An had already vanished from her previous location. A pleasant, indifferent voice suddenly rang out behind her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. The fire god has almost been defeated.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid!¡± Gong Yuan was alarmed. She had been concentrating on fending off the fire devourers, but she should not have lost track of Xiao An who was right beside her. If she carries out an assassination, that would be horrifying! Wait, the fire god has almost been defeated?

    Gong Yuan wondered whether she had heard correctly or not. It was already unbelievable to her that Li Qingshan could keep the fire god busy. As for defeating the fire god, even she did not believe she was capable of a feat like that. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, he was equivalent to a great cultivator at most. How could he possess such strength?

    She glanced at the Asura Field in Xiao An¡¯s hand and thought, Just what is hidden inside?

    Boom!

    The cloud of snow collapsed, and the firelight arrived right before her. The waves of heat attacked her before they had even arrived.

    With the Divine Fire tablets in hand, a combined attack from the three kings was no weaker than a spear of flames thrown by the giant god of fire. It hurtled straight towards Xiao An!

    ¡°Even I would have to use everything I¡¯m capable of to barely survive an attack like that. How can I still spare the strength to protect someone else? So be it!¡±

    Gong Yuan made her decision and spat out a deep-blue pearl. It gave off a deep, distant aura of coldness and deathly silence, as if an entire abyss had been condensed into the tiny pearl. It was the Sea of the Abyss for connecting with the world of Ruin¡¯s End.

    ¡°All Water to Ruin¡¯s End! Eternal Silence of the Abyssal Sea!¡± Gong Yuan uttered softly, like she was singing and chanting.

    An indescribably strange power suddenly emanated out of the Sea of Abyss!

    The waves of heat immediately vanished. The sounds of wind and fire vanished too. Even Gong Yuan¡¯s anxiety immediately vanished. It was almost deathly silent. Everything in the surroundings seemed to be sealed up in thick, deep-blue glass, frozen for good.

    Ruin¡¯s End!

    Here, the ever-surging, flexible water that never received a moment of peace finally obtained eternal tranquility. It no longer had to surge and flow, nor did it have to turn into clouds, mist, ice, or snow again.

    Here, the spirit turtles no longer needed to exert the effort to suppress the boundless ocean. They no longer had to exert the effort to forebode fate. They could sleep in peace, without worrying about being disturbed at all.

    This was not a world for the dead like the Hell realm or the Hungry Ghost realm, but it was even more deathly than the Hell realm and Hungry Ghost realm. At the very least, the Hell realm still had boiling oil and the howls of fiends, while the Hungry Ghost realm had corpses and ghosts killing and devouring one another. Here, it was absolute tranquility, where ten thousand years was no different from a day.

    This was not a sensation that any regular living creature could endure!

    Even Gong Yuan could not. She used her last bit of consciousness to communicate with Xiao An. ¡°Guard your mind. Don¡¯t let it be devoured and assimilated into the aura. I hope what you said is true, or we¡¯re all going to die!¡±

    Afterwards, her eyes lost all ripples of emotion. She just powered the Heart of the Abyss coldly and mechanically, constantly drawing out the aura of Ruin¡¯s End.

    The leaping flames suddenly evaded the peak of the mountain. The violent and belligerent Fire Devouring Kings seemed to feel fear too, afraid to enter the field created by the Heart of the Abyss.

    ¡°This bitch has been frightened out of her mind by us! She¡¯s actually powering the Heart of the Abyss like this! We don¡¯t even have to do anything, and she¡¯ll be devoured by Ruin¡¯s End, becoming a part of it. All living creatures enveloped by it will die!¡± Zhu Zai sneered, but she was unable to hide the fear on her face.

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 Chapter 874 Youâ€™ve Lost

    Fire primarily surged and leapt, so Ruin¡¯s End where all water gathered severely suppressed fire devourers who were naturally endowed by the fire element.

    If the three of them worked together, they were completely capable of rushing into the field created by the Heart of the Abyss and killing the immobilised Gong Yuan. However, once they were contaminated with the aura of Ruin¡¯s End, they would develop severe inner demons. The flames in their heart might even dim or be put out.

    As a result, even with how fierce and tough fire devourers were, they dared not force their way in.

    ¡°Hahahaha! We¡¯ve already won!¡± Zhu Fen laughed madly.

    Zhu Yan and Zhu Zai exchanged glances and also began laughing aloud.

    Their strongest enemy, Gong Yuan, had dug her own grave, while Ji Changfeng no longer stood a chance against the three of them after losing the feilian divine beast. Even without the assistance of the giant god of fire, victory was already firmly within their grasp. All that was left for them was to see how Gong Yuan would die.

    ¡°Delays may lead to unnecessary trouble. Let¡¯s kill this old man first!¡±

    ¡°Ji Changfeng, are you prepared to die?¡±

    The three fire devourers ignored Gong Yuan and targeted Ji Changfeng with their Divine Fire tablets.

    ¡°If you want to take my life, you better offer up your own in exchange!¡±

    Ji Changfeng stood in the air with the Feilian flag, gasping for air gently. After a bitter battle, he was exhausted too. However, the fierce winds that flowed around him became even more intense. He was fearless.

    His sect had been destroyed, his disciples had been slaughtered, and even he himself was in dire straits. This was a miserable state enough to drive any regular person mad, but he felt strangely light as if an invisible burden had been lifted from his shoulders. His realm of cultivation that had stagnated for all this time showed signs of breaking through.

    He was naturally endowed with the Zephyral Spirit constitution. He carried everyone¡¯s hopes from the moment he was born, ardently doted by thousands. He climbed up to the throne of the master of the Cloud Sail sect step by step, becoming a great cultivator that lorded over a region and was held in high regard by the entire South sea cultivation community.

    It seemed like smooth sailing, but he was burdened with heavy responsibilities. The hopes of his seniors, the dependence of his juniors, and the existence of the entire sect laid on his shoulders, forcing him to carefully maintain a balance. Even his romantic and frivolous nature when young had been completely worn away.

    My name is Changfeng, but since when have I ever been unfraught and free like the wind?

    When the fire devourers had destroyed the Cloud Sail sect that he had devoted his entire life to, they had also forcefully severed his attachments, reawakening his fighting spirit through hatred. It allowed him to see the possibility that his cultivation could improve.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me today, I¡¯ll definitely destroy your Fire Melt mountain in the future!¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll give you what you want. You can die!¡±

    The three fire devourers said at the same time, making their voices overlap as if it came from a single person. They raised the divine fire tablets high into the air. Right as they were about to strike, a calm, emotionless voice rang out from behind.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡±

    The voice was rather heavy, like it had originated from the depths of the ocean, but it was still very pleasant to the ear. The three fire devourers turned around at the same time and saw Xiao An emerge from behind Gong Yuan. Her steps were rather clumsy, but her expression was just as calm as before.

    ¡°You¡¯re actually unaffected by the aura of Ruin¡¯s End! But what nonsense are you saying? Heh, seeing how you¡¯re quite pretty, hand over the arcane treasure and beg on your knees. If you pledge yourself to us as a servant, we can consider sparing your life!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Xiao An repeated calmly. Her tone was exactly the same as before, which made the three fire devourers restless for some reason. It felt like they had actually missed an important detail. They cursed, ¡°Die, bitch!¡±

    Xiao An slowly raised the Asura Field, and a smile actually appeared on her face, alluring and utterly enchanting.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡±

    Suddenly, Zhu Yan¡¯s face changed, becoming filled with disbelief. He was shocked!

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Zhu Fen asked with a frown.

    ¡°T- the fire god has been slain!¡± Zhu Yan said with great difficulty. In the moment the giant god of fire¡¯s heart had been dug out, the intense fury and reluctance penetrated the barrier between domains and reached his heart.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you lose track of the fire god? Don¡¯t lie to us!¡±

    Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai rebuked at the same time. The strength of the giant god of fire was close to the apex of this world. Although it had an extremely great weakness, only those legendary figures whose names echoed through the world could kill it. Was a powerful cultivator like the Great Banyan Tree King hiding within such a tiny arcane treasure? That was absolutely impossible.

    ¡°There must be something up with the arcane treasure!¡±

    Zhu Yan ignored Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai. His eyes blanked out as he murmured to himself. The will that the giant god of fire had emitted before being slain impacted his mind tremendously. It was almost akin to a backlash.

    The news made Gong Yuan¡¯s heart ripple slightly as well, but she immediately returned to deathly silence again. The inky-blue force field continued to expand. The Heart of the Abyss had already lost control. The All Water to Ruin¡¯s End revolved rapidly as it assimilated with Ruin¡¯s End. Even the crystal sceptre in her hand had become dull and colorless, and the indestructible piece of ancient ice on the top gradually melted.

    The blue sphere rapidly expanded, swallowing the entire mountain in the blink of an eye before continuing to grow.

    Swish! Swash! The sounds of the ocean tide suddenly rang out in the surroundings. The sea water that had been forced out by the Divine Fire tablets was drawn in by an invisible force, turning into colossal waves that slammed into the island. Clouds gathered from all directions, forming a thick layer in the sky. The combined efforts from both inside and out wore down the Fire Devouring Kings¡¯ seal over the region.

    Zhu Fen suddenly punched Zhu Yan in the face and roared, ¡°All he did was destroy a puppet with a hint of great god Zhurong¡¯s aura. We can just summon it again in the future. Stop being so easily overwhelmed like a woman!¡±

    Zhu Zai shot Zhu Fen a glance. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with being a woman?¡± She said to Zhu Yan, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to the nonsense of that little bitch. Our efforts won¡¯t go to waste as long as we kill that bitch Gong Yuan. If we can kill that old man Ji Changfeng as well, then it¡¯ll be a complete victory! Lose my ass!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance. I¡¯ve lost my composure!¡± Zhu Yan lowered his head to accept their criticism before glancing at Main-mast mountain. He thought, No matter what, it¡¯s all over already!

    Xiao An suddenly felt like she was drowning. Although she could endure the deathly aura from Ruin¡¯s End, the power of the Heart of the Abyss was growing stronger and stronger, truly pressuring her now.

    The mountain peak silently collapsed and disintegrated. The gardens and buildings were all reduced to nothing.

    She frowned slightly, but it was not because of the pressure. She murmured softly, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan stood under the sky, gazing at the centre of the blood-red swirl. He felt an irrepressible urge to dive head-first into the Asura realm and begin slaughtering.

    The wings of wind unfurled in an unprecedented state. He only needed a gentle flap, and he could fly into a brand-new world.

    Suddenly, he thought of a face and sucked in a deep breath, comforting the eager tiger demon. He furled up his wings of wind and called out to the sky, ¡°I will go, but not right now, and not to partake in some endless battle of blood!¡± He paused and added, ¡°I will defeat all the asura, establish dominion over the entire Asura realm and end this endless battle of blood!¡±

    The obscure voice fell silent as well. Only after a while did it say, ¡°Establish dominion over the Asura realm. How anticipating. Perhaps you are the one spoken of in the prophecy. I¡¯ve already waited for too long, but I don¡¯t mind waiting a little longer¡­¡±

    The blood-red swirl gradually closed up and the voice drifted away. Just when the swirl was about to close up completely, a tremendous object fell out from the centre!

 Chapter 875 Youâ€™ve Offended Me and You Still Think You Can Leave

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and caught the object, taking a look. It was a stone disc over thirty meters across, enveloped in a faint, blood-red light. It was engraved with the image of hundreds and thousands of weapons, as well as many profound glyphs.

    What is this? Surely I¡¯m not supposed to throw it at someone. It looks a little like an altar. Whatever, I¡¯ll just ask Yin Qing when I have spare time. She should recognise items from the Asura realm.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky again and felt extremely curious. Was the voice really the will of the Asura realm? Did the World of the Nine Provinces have a will too?

    But now was not the time to consider that. Within his jagged, metallic rib cage, a scorching-red heart shone with resplendent light!

    It was the heart of the giant god of fire he had just swallowed. Not only did it contain pure and scorching fire spiritual qi, but it also possessed a rare hint of divine nature.

    Li Qingshan immediately practised the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a and began refining the heart of the fire god.

    Right now was the most optimal time for him to break through to the third layer of the phoenix!

    ¡­¡­

    Three balls of fire chased after a whirlwind, whistling around above Giant Ship island. The three Fire Devouring Kings wielded the Divine Fire tablets and went after Ji Changfeng.

    Ji Changfeng obviously was not their opponent. He had tried several times to break out of Giant Ship island, but it all ended in failure. With no other choice, he dove head-first into the inky-blue sphere created by the Heart of the Abyss.

    By now, the sphere had already swallowed half of Main-mast mountain, turning into a colossal object several thousand meters across, hovering quietly above Giant Ship island.

    Each wave grew higher than the last, like huge mountains that slammed towards Giant Ship island. It was reduced to steam by the flames, amassing in layers and extending all the way into the sky, linking up with the drooping clouds.

    As a result, an extremely spectacular sight unfolded. The entire Giant Ship island was enveloped in thick clouds that were illuminated red by the flames.

    Rain was not all that fell from the clouds. Instead, there were streams and rivulets as well, gushing towards the Heart of the Abyss. They turned to steam mid-air from the flames, turning back into clouds.

    Just like that, the cloud layer constantly pressed lower.

    ¡°The Divine Fire domain can¡¯t last for much longer!¡± Zhu Yan said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯re definitely not going to be the first ones to give way! That bitch Gong Yuan is close to qi deviation and assimilating with Ruin¡¯s End. The Heart of the Abyss will shatter completely. Once the power erupts, they¡¯re all going to die. Though, we need to be ready to leave too so that we don¡¯t get sucked in!¡±

    As the oldest Fire Devouring King, Zhu Fen had lived for several thousand years. He was highly knowledgeable and experienced. He could tell with a single glance that Gong Yuan had already reached her limit.

    At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the abyss, echoing in the surroundings.

    ¡°You¡¯ve offended me, and you still think you can leave!?¡±

    The three fire devourers were alarmed. Only then did they realise an armoured figure with a horned helmet had appeared in the centre of the sphere. A pair of scarlet eyes shone sharply, staring through the thick, blue sphere and penetrating their souls.

    ¡­¡­

    After refining the heart of the fire god and breaking through to the third layer of the phoenix, he immediately stepped out of the Asura Field and sensed the heavy aura of Ruin¡¯s End, refreshing his mind.

    Then he saw Xiao An sitting with her legs crossed and her eyes firmly closed, contending against the intense pressure from Ruin¡¯s End. He scooped her up in a hurry and said softly, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    The pressure all vanished. Xiao An opened her eyes and let out an enchanting smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He just happened to hear what Zhu Fen had said, which made him turn around and bellow that.

    ¡°Li Qingshan?¡± Zhu Yan said in disbelief, as well as in some uncertainty.

    ¡°It¡¯s your grandfather, me!¡± Li Qingshan raised his head.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything to him. He¡¯s just someone on the brink of death!¡± Zhu Fen said in disdain.

    Before he had even finished talking, the inky-blue sphere suddenly stopped expanding. This was a sign of collapse.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see who dies first!¡± Li Qingshan pulled Gong Yuan into his arms, holding a woman in each arm.

    Right when the fire devourers were left at a loss, thinking that he was just trying to take advantage of her right before death, the inky-blue sphere that was close to collapse actually stabilised.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s hollow, deathly eyes suddenly shone slightly.

    When the Heart of the Abyss began connecting with the deep and mysterious Ruin¡¯s End, she could not see anything more. There was only endless darkness and silence. That was the bottomless abyss named Ruin¡¯s End.

    She had already forgotten her body somewhere. It must have been crushed by the pressure already. Only her soul continued to fall into the abyss, into depths even darker than darkness. She could not put up any resistance, nor did she want to put up any resistance.

    Compared to this eternal silence, what was a transient existence supposed to be? Compared to the torment of day and night, perhaps death was instead liberation.

    She thought like that as the darkness infiltrated her soul strand by strand. She let out a gloomy sigh. My sister, I¡¯m so lonely! Afterwards, she shut her eyes and allowed the dark abyss to swallow her.

    Suddenly, warmth wrapped around her quietly and gave off a tranquil, intimate aura.

    Sister, is that you? Have you come to receive me? I miss you so much!

    Her heart trembled, searching around in the darkness. At that moment, she seemed to return to many years ago, playing hide-and-seek with her younger sister in the corals of the deep ocean, but she was unable to find her no matter what. She was both furious and worried.

    She suddenly stopped falling. Even Ruin¡¯s End had a bottom?

    In the deep abyss, a giant spirit turtle floated up, rising with her on its back.

    Gradually, a ray of light appeared from above, growing brighter and brighter. She seemed to have approached the surface of the ocean already. Her eyes gradually went from pitch-black to a brilliant blue. The various scenes and sounds around her became clearer and clearer.

    With a splash, they burst through the surface of the ocean. Various sights immediately entered her field of view.

    The burning Giant Ship island, the cascading, burning clouds, the violent fire devourers¡­

    Her memories immediately returned to her. Gong Yuan discovered she was currently being carried by a man, which left her both embarrassed and furious. She put up a struggle, wanting to break free.

    Her waist tightened, and an irresistibly great power instead embraced her even more firmly, pressing her up against the man¡¯s sturdy body. A voice rang out beside her ear like an order, ¡°Stop moving around!¡±

    How could the mighty Merfolk Queen listen to the orders of someone else, let alone the fact that it was coming from a human? However, as if it was a curious coincidence, she stopped struggling, allowing Li Qingshan to hold her.

    What exactly is happening? Gong Yuan rubbed her forehead and was also perplexed. She was not a little girl who lost her senses after being hugged by a man after all, so she tidied through her thoughts very quickly. She recognised the demonic armour. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Li Qingshan!?¡±

    ¡°If you have something to say, save it for later. Open your mind and work with me to butcher those three bastards first!¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    He had no interest in taking advantage of her right now. Although holding Gong Yuan was quite a nice sensation, he mainly did it to pacify her mind and control the tremendous power from Ruin¡¯s End, so they could fight back.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gong Yuan was mildly taken aback. She obviously understood the severity of the situation and Li Qingshan had already struck while she was ¡°weakened¡± when her consciousness had almost assimilated with Ruin¡¯s End. The spirit turtle that appeared in her sea of consciousness was Li Qingshan¡¯s consciousness, which was why she would subconsciously follow his command.

    She understood it was impossible to control this power with her strength, so she just opened her mind completely and allowed Li Qingshan to control her.

    For a moment, their auras blended together and their consciousness intermingled. They were extremely compatible, entering a state akin to dual cultivation.

    Xiao An¡¯s cheeks swelled up and threw her head against Li Qingshan¡¯s chest.

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 Chapter 876 Flames Extinguish Where Clouds Fly

    This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

    Gong Yuan became dazed. She originally thought it would bring her great discomfort, but it was the exact opposite. She instead experienced peace and tranquility she had never experienced before. Ruin¡¯s End no longer seemed so terrifying anymore.

    Li Qingshan grinned at Xiao An. He also felt relieved and relaxed, as if he had finally returned home after toiling around outside for all those years. The aura of Ruin¡¯s End entered the depths of the daemon core, giving him a deeper comprehension of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    As the homeland of spirit turtles, the place of eternal slumber, Ruin¡¯s End was far too compatible with spirit turtles. Gong Yuan needed Li Qingshan to stabilise her mind and eliminate her inner demons, while Li Qingshan needed Gong Yuan¡¯s powers of Ruin¡¯s End.

    The inky-blue sphere rapidly shrank, reducing to half in size. It had turned pitch-black.

    Ji Changfeng rushed out abruptly, gasping for air. He was a little shaken. The suffocating feeling was not something he wanted to experience a second time in his life.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings could not afford to pay any more attention to Ji Changfeng. Although they were still rather uncertain about what was going on, the sense of danger was growing heavier and heavier. They exchanged glances and made the same decision at the same time.

    ¡°Retreat!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from the pitch-black sphere and the surrounding clouds mightily, filling the air.

    The burning clouds in the air suddenly surged and churned. A colossal hand several thousand meters long condensed from water vapour slammed down, like the full-powered strike of a god from beyond this world, enveloping everything, blanketing everything, and suppressing everything!

    ¡°Raised to the Heavens!¡±

    The three Fire Devouring Kings raised the Divine Fire tablets at the same time. With a clang, their tips struck together and flames gathered around them from the earth, surging into the air.

    Boom!

    The cloud hand struck an invisible barrier and trembled viciously. The water vapour collapsed.

    ¡°Hmph, sure enough, it¡¯s all just appearances. Hmm?¡± Before Zhu Fen could finish, he saw a palm condensed from flowing water after the cloud had shattered. It was much smaller, but it was also much more condensed, pressing firmly against the invisible barrier and inching down.

    The sounds of cracking and shattering rang out in the surroundings.

    ¡°Nicely done, just like that. Destroy their seal over the region first!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan communicated. It was even faster than communicating through soul sense. They basically sensed each other¡¯s thoughts as soon as they occurred. That was called being mentally linked.

    The tremendous power technically still belonged to Gong Yuan. It was power she had drawn out from Ruin¡¯s End through the Heart of the Abyss, except she lacked the ability to wield it. However, if Li Qingshan wanted to wield it, he required her absolute cooperation, or it would be difficult for him to do whatever he wanted with it. After all, the power was far too tremendous.

    ¡°Little Li the second, I don¡¯t need you to tell me. I know what to do!¡± Gong Yuan was rather displeased. She was still not accustomed to being ordered around by someone.

    ¡°As long as you know. You can stop having so many random thoughts, as well as so much precaution and displeasure towards me. Cast them aside obediently!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed. Their current level of strength was still not enough to prevent the three Fire Devouring Kings from leaving. Defeating them and killing them were two separate matters of completely different difficulties.

    ¡°You-¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s chest heaved, but there was nothing she could do about the circumstances. As the Merfolk Queen, she had to take responsibility for the entire Merfolk race. She had to do her best to kill the Fire Devouring Kings, so she gritted her teeth and tried it. ¡°Nope, I can¡¯t do it!¡±

    Opening her mind and letting Li Qingshan¡¯s will into her sea of consciousness was already her limit. Making her drop her guard completely and becoming ¡°mentally as one¡± was not something she could achieve through efforts alone.

    Perhaps only her little sister could make her lower her guard completely and place complete trust in someone else. However, that was due to the affection they had built up for one another over countless years growing up together. How could a random man compare to that?

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to do it even if you can¡¯t. Don¡¯t resist!¡± Li Qingshan sniggered.

    ¡°What? Ah!¡± Gong Yuan cried out.

    Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to directly suppress her thoughts. Since they could not get along happily, then he would dominate her one-sidedly!

    ¡°Bastard, don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Gong Yuan was furious and embarrassed. She felt like a man was about to force himself on her, yet not only was she unable to struggle or resist, but she even had to adjust her posture and cooperate. This was not something her dignity could allow.

    With an entire major realm of cultivation separating them, it was virtually impossible for the spirit turtle to suppress a Merfolk Queen¡¯s consciousness. Gong Yuan was not just a little bit stronger than the Myriad Poison Ancestor. Her mind was as tough as frigid ice.

    The two consciousnesses clashed together, devastating their compatibility. After all, they were not a true spirit turtle and the Ruin¡¯s End. They were two independent existences with their own, firm beliefs.

    The falling palm trembled and shattered, and the inky-blue sphere distorted in shape too.

    ¡°Go!¡± The three Fire Devouring Kings used this opportunity to rush towards the north without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡°Fucking hell, do you want revenge or not?¡± Li Qingshan roared inside. No matter how great the power was, it could not pose any threats when it was not under the control of a will. It might even become a backlash to the wielder of the power.

    ¡°Revenge!¡± Gong Yuan shivered inside and suddenly recalled that gentle face. She let out a gloomy sigh. ¡°Little sister, I¡¯m going to be avenging you today. This is probably retribution!¡±

    As a result, she gave up on all resistance. All of her selfish and random thoughts vanished under the suppression of Li Qingshan¡¯s consciousness.

    For two minds to achieve perfect compatibility, they either had to have a foundation of very deep affection, or one side had to give up on all of their pursuits. Li Qingshan had used the latter, forceful method to achieve perfect compatibility.

    Gong Yuan let out a gentle moan and leaned against Li Qingshan¡¯s chest gently. She no longer possessed a queen¡¯s coldness or pride at all. Instead, she showed a rare, delicate side, tempting people to show her tender care.

    Li Qingshan was in no state to show her tender care. Their communication had been lightning-fast as they were mentally linked, so the three fire devourers had only just arrived on the northern beach of Giant Ship island.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. Within the thick clouds, another huge hand of water vapour appeared, twice as large as the one from before. It was almost the same size as Main-mast mountain.

    As it descended from above, it was basically like a falling mountain.

    Boom!

    The earth rumbled, and the ocean churned!

    Spurt! Blood sprayed from the three fire devourers¡¯ mouths at the same time. The flames on them dimmed slightly.

    The Divine Fire domain was unlike the giant god of fire. The giant god of fire was merely a colossal puppet. It was extremely powerful, but its connection to them was very weak. There was not exactly any backlash if it was slain, but the Divine Fire domain was different. It was extremely closely-linked to them!

    They never thought that when they trapped Giant Ship island with the Divine Fire domain, the water vapour gathered beyond the island would instead become their prison.

    ¡°Again!¡±

    Li Qingshan was in high spirits. He swung his left hand and another huge palm slammed down, even more flexible and agile than before. He could wield it with ease now.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    After two colossal strikes, a huge, smiling face vaguely appeared on the thick clouds. It was Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    Ji Changfeng saw that and was also dumbfounded. ¡°Why¡¯s it him? It really is him? How did he become so powerful? He¡¯s just too powerful!¡±

    The two hands of clouds pressed against the invisible barrier. Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°cloud head¡± reeled back slightly before slamming down!

    The Divine Fire domain shattered and water gushed in!

 Chapter 877 Icebound Domain

    This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

    The sea seemed to have tipped over, and Giant Ship island was immediately swallowed by the water. The roaring flames of earth were put out. The entire island collapsed, only leaving a few mountains poking out from under the waves.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I want you to die!¡± Zhu Yan roared hysterically. He struggled to understand how they had ended up like this from their flawless ambush.

    Yes, all of this was because of Li Qingshan. He was the only variable, not only destroying the fire god, but even helping that bitch Gong Yuan stabilise the Heart of the Abyss, completely destroying their plans.

    ¡°Are you cursing me with death? Come fight!¡± The surging clouds condensed again, assuming Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance that spoke.

    ¡°King Yan, don¡¯t be caught up in this battle. We have plenty of time ahead of us. Once we get back, we¡¯ll destroy his Savage mountain first!¡± Zhu Fen grabbed Zhu Yan by the shoulder. He also utterly resented Li Qingshan.

    Zhu Zai also said, ¡°That¡¯s right. If we keep fighting, it won¡¯t bring us any benefit at all. Let¡¯s return to Fire Melt mountain first and give this some further thought! You¡¯re dreaming if you think you can stop us from leaving!¡±

    ¡°Flames of heaven!¡± ¡°Flames of earth!¡± ¡°Flames of man!¡±

    The three of them raised the Divine Fire tablets and sweeped them across the air at the same time, leaving behind three trails of flames. They linked together to form a triangle.

    ¡°Gate of Divine Fire, open!¡±

    The flame triangle suddenly lit up with blinding light. Fire Melt mountain actually appeared vaguely inside.

    The Divine Fire tablets really were the heirloom of an ancient divine kingdom. It could not be compared to regular arcane treasures. When they wanted to attack, it could conjure the Divine Fire domain and summon the fire god, and when they wanted to retreat or defend, they could open up a Gate of Divine Fire and move tens of thousands of kilometers. It was flawless.

    If it were not that valuable, why would the proud Fire Devouring Kings lower their heads and become honoured guests of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate?

    Li Qingshan frowned heavily. He already had grievances with the fire devourers, and this only made things worse. Once the three of them recovered their strength and attacked Savage mountain, it was impossible to stop them even if there was the Great Banyan Tree King there to control the formations. The threat they posed was no less than the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    However, all of this was too late. The Gate of Divine Fire rapidly stabilised and took shape.

    Right when the three of them were about to pass through the gate, a circular blade suddenly flew out of the space there, flying right into the Gate of Divine Fire and immediately melting away and shattering. A crack appeared on the Gate of Divine Fire. The three of them came to a swift halt, afraid to proceed through it. A spatial crack like that was extremely dangerous.

    Yin Qing¡¯s figure appeared from space. Originally, she had been hidden around the boundary of the Asura Field the entire time, having merged with space as she observed Li Qingshan¡¯s battle with the giant god of fire. Only when the Divine Fire domain had shattered and it no longer sealed and disturbed space did she finally emerge, hiding in space and waiting for an assassination opportunity.

    However, the three Fire Devouring Kings were far too powerful, and their auras were linked together. If she risked her life for an assassination attempt, it would achieve nothing at all. Instead, it was even likely for her to be killed instead.

    She patiently waited until now, finally discovering this opportunity, so she struck and destroyed the Gate of Divine Fire.

    ¡°Nicely done!¡± Li Qingshan praised.

    Yin Qing smiled gently, but she could not help but wonder whether he really was the person that the legends spoke of.

    She purposefully flew around near the Gate of Divine Fire, provoking the Fire Devouring Kings and attracting their attention.

    The three fire devourers all flew into a rage, but they held back their urge to strike. ¡°Forget about her. The Gate of Divine Fire will repair itself. I¡¯d like to see if she¡¯s bold enough to come over here!¡±

    The three of them wielded the Divine Fire tablets, standing on guard in front of the gate. They did everything that they could to block Ji Changfeng¡¯s fierce winds and Li Qingshan¡¯s huge hands of clouds.

    Sure enough, the Gate of Divine Fire rapidly repaired itself, and it was unaffected by the repercussions of the battle! Only Yin Qing¡¯s attacks and Li Qingshan¡¯s powers of tremors could damage it, but neither of them could get close.

    Li Qingshan said to Gong Yuan, ¡°Stop staring blankly. They¡¯re running away. Hurry up and use whatever you have!¡±

    Gong Yuan had begun charging up as early as when the three of them had first opened the Gate of Divine Fire. Right now, she held the crystal sceptre high in the air. Without the restraint from the Divine Fire domain, the vast South sea once again became her home field, and she no longer had to worry about losing control. She could use the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End fearlessly.

    The ancient piece of ice condensed again, becoming extremely resplendent. The crystal accessories like her earrings, necklace, and bracelets all shone with dazzling, cold light. She seemed to become a goddess of ice. She sang loudly.

    ¡°Icebound domain!¡±

    Twelve pillars of ice jutted out from the surface of the ocean, straight into the clouds. They were distributed evenly as a dodecagon, freezing the spatial region within several dozen kilometers.

    The Gate of Divine Fire immediately became dyed with a layer of icy-blue. The three Fire Devouring Kings all changed in expression. They never imagined that she could use this move alone.

    Within the Icebound domain, the surging ocean immediately froze, and the cascading rain turned into hail and snow. Not only did it freeze the Gate of Divine Fire, but it also severely suppressed the fire devourers, making their horrible situation even worse.

    Actually, even Gong Yuan herself was extremely surprised. She glanced at Li Qingshan and thought, I didn¡¯t think we could actually unleash such power by working together!

    ¡°Little Li the second, I¡¯m going to concentrate on maintaining this Icebound domain. The rest is up to you!¡±

    ¡°Leave it up to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed and raised both hands before pressing down slowly. The thick, dark clouds pressed down like a blanket.

    After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon and the third layer of the phoenix, he already possessed the confidence to clash with the three fire devourers. However, while the three of them had heavily depleted their strength and had just been on the receiving end of the backlash, they still possessed the Divine Fire tablets after all, so they definitely could not be underestimated. He had to help Gong Yuan suppress her mind too. Surely he could not charge into battle with her in his arms.

    But fortunately, the power from within the Heart of the Abyss was extremely powerful, even surpassing his own power. He could use this oppressive strength to crush the three Fire Devouring Kings.

    ¡°Fellow Li, allow me to lend you a hand!¡± Ji Changfeng originally thought he was already in dire straits. The sudden reversal of the situation made his face glow red, rousing his remaining strength as he leapt up into battle. He began swinging the Feilian flag once again.

    The great snow and hail immediately turned into a blizzard, whistling towards the three Fire Devouring Kings with the delight of revenge!

    ¡°Fellow Ji, you¡¯re truly old but vigorous!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re the valiant and impressive one, fellow Li! You have my admiration! I will never forget how you saved my life!¡±

    Ji Changfeng waved the flag furiously, ruffling in the wind. As he watched how the Fire Devouring Kings roared furiously under his attack but were helpless, he laughed until tears ran down his face, as if an invisible shackle on him had shattered. He had broken through, reaching mid Soul Nascence. The whistling wind immediately became a little swifter and sharper.

    ¡°Hold onto this Fire Tablet of Earth. I¡¯ll pave a path. Never forget about this grievance!¡± Zhu Zai raised her head and said with determination.

    ¡°Do I need a woman like you to save me? Both of you, move aside. The Fire Tablet of Heaven must be passed down successively!¡± Zhu Fen said.

    Li Qingshan sneered. Did they think they could escape just like this? Basically the Tiger Demon Transformation and the Phoenix Transformation determined his speed. Now that both had increased by a layer, he had yet to find out what the effects were!

    ¡°You mustn¡¯t, fellow kings. Only when the three of us work together can we unleash the might of the Divine Fire tablets. In our current state, we probably won¡¯t be able to leave the South sea even if we make it out of here!¡± Zhu Yan immediately disagreed.

    ¡°Then what do you say we do? Are we supposed to just wait here for our deaths?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not waiting here for our deaths. Someone will save us. Don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate now!¡±

 Chapter 878

    ¡°You mean?¡±

    Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai exchanged glances. Ever since the beginning, they had never taken the identity of an honoured guest of the king¡¯s estate seriously. They would neither risk their lives for the King of Southern Yue, nor did they rely on the King of Southern Yue to save their lives.

    ¡°Do you really think the King of Southern Yue actually returned to his estate after giving us the Divine Fire tablets? Wouldn¡¯t he want to see the outcome of a significant battle like this that influences the entire South sea? Wouldn¡¯t he want to observe our true strength? Perhaps he¡¯s watching us from a certain location right now!¡± Zhu Yan said.

    Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai subconsciously looked around. However, apart from the dark clouds and water, they found absolutely nothing. Whether it was the Divine Fire domain or the Icebound domain, they could both isolate an entire region from the outside world.

    Zhu Zai said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope what you said is true. It¡¯s worth a try!¡±

    Faced with death, their dignity no longer mattered. Since they had already accepted their identities as subjects to the king, it was not embarrassing even if they took it a step further.

    The three of them bowed deeply towards the north and said loudly, ¡°Your majesty the King of Zhao, your subjects plead for you to save their lives!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. Sure enough, not only had they snuck here on the Silver Dragon King, they had actually become honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate too. Surely nothing would happen to Ru Xin, right?

    On the ocean sealed in ice, the clouds continued to press down, and the wind and snow continued to whistle. Nothing happened.

    Zhu Yan¡¯s eyebrows locked together firmly. ¡°Was I wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. On the horizon towards the north, a silver star suddenly lit up. The Silver Dragon King had returned!

    The three fire devourers were overjoyed. Their identities as honoured guests really were effective.

    Zhu Yan let out a secret sigh. When the three of them worked together, even the King of Southern Yue could not underestimate their power. Even if he refused to help them destroy the Merfolk of the South sea, he definitely would not just watch them die here.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you, mighty kings of godfolk, would actually become the lackeys of humans! You really have brought shame to your ancestors!¡± Gong Yuan sneered.

    Otherfolk never forgot about their past glory, referring to themselves as godfolk and looking down on other races. Becoming the subjects of humans was not particularly honourable at all, not to mention the fact that the war between violent and battle-hungry fire devourers and the humans and daemons had been the most intense in the ancient times.

    Zhu Fen snorted in irritation, while Zhu Zai called her ¡°bitch¡± again. Neither of them had anything to say.

    Zhu Yan said, ¡°Gong Yuan, if it weren¡¯t for this human who interfered today, do you think you would still be alive? When you mock others, why don¡¯t you check yourself in the mirror and see what you¡¯ve become? At least becoming subjects to the King of Southern Yue is better than becoming a monk¡¯s woman!¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling a monk!?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback before realising they were referring to him. He could not help but fly into a rage. At the same time, he said inside, ¡°Don¡¯t fall for their attempt to sow discord. Let¡¯s see what the King of Southern Yue wants.¡±

    Gong Yuan let out a gentle interjection of agreement and said nothing more.

    The Silver Dragon King rapidly drew closer. When there was still five hundred kilometers between them, the dragon head on the tip of the ship suddenly lit up.

    A huge streak of scorching, white light immediately crossed the five hundred kilometers, piercing the Icebound domain and tearing apart the thick clouds.

    Gong Yuan shuddered all over like she had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. Whether it was the Fire Devouring Kings or her, neither of them could use these techniques that sealed up an entire region freely. It was already too late if she wanted to release it after the Silver Dragon King had launched an attack. It had already been rather difficult for her to maintain this Icebound domain alone. Now that it had been directly pierced by such a terrifying attack, it was not like she had three people to withstand it like the fire devourers. She suffered a severe backlash.

    Li Qingshan was forced to give up on his final sliver of hope. However, the significance behind the attack was it did not target him and Gong Yuan, or they would have already retreated by now.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings regained their freedom. They were not foolish. They had also noticed this.

    They actually understood the reason behind this extremely well. Under the reason that different races would always have differing thoughts, the King of Southern Yue did not trust them, nor did he have any intentions of assisting them in destroying the Merfolk of the South sea. Otherwise, the Silver Dragon King would have never left in the first place. That was also the reason why he did not help them kill Gong Yuan right now.

    ¡°Thank you for your assistance, your majesty. We will definitely pay you back in the future. Let¡¯s go!¡± Zhu Fen clasped his hands at the Silver Dragon King on the horizon and called Zhu Zai and Zhu Yan. Then he glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. ¡°Kid, I¡¯ve remembered you!¡± He stepped into the unfrozen Gate of Divine Fire first.

    Zhu Zai and Zhu Yan followed close behind. They both expressed gratitude and enmity towards the King of Southern Yue and Li Qingshan respectively.

    Making them serve humans and ask to be saved by humans was already their limit. They really could not bring themselves to further plead with the King of Southern Yue to assist them and strut around in borrowed plumes to deal with Gong Yuan. Most importantly, even if they shamelessly requested this, they would probably just end up humiliated.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect this. This Li Qingshan always brings surprises. What do you think?¡±

    In the cabin of the Silver Dragon King, the King of Southern Yue crossed his fingers together and sat comfortably against the tall back of the seat in a leisurely manner. Half transparent images hung before him, displaying the situation of Giant Ship island from different aspects and distances.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor and Ru Xin stood right next to him. They had observed the entire battle filled with surprises. Although they remained calm on the surface, their thoughts constantly changed with how the battle progressed.

    The Silver Dragon King had flown to a distance where even regular great cultivators could not sense it, but this mechanical creation of uncanny craftsmanship completely exceeded any regular person¡¯s imaginations when it came to observation and spying. Even the space where Yin Qing hid could not escape its observation.

    As a moving fortress, the first imaginary enemy it was modelled against was a king¡¯s estate that lorded over an entire province. There could not be any shortcomings that anyone could take advantage of.

    ¡°Since you plan on interfering, why not be a little more direct, your majesty?¡± Ru Xin¡¯s eyes locked onto the pitch-black sphere that hovered in the air.

    ¡°Inside there, one of them is your family, while the other is your lover. If I were to be a little more direct, their lives would be in danger!¡± the King of Southern Yue said in contemplation.

    ¡°As cultivators, why do we speak of family and lovers?¡± Ru Xin was indifferent.

    ¡°You treat them as nothing, but the question is, what do they treat you as?¡± The King of Southern Yue smiled.

    Ru Xin wanted to answer. The King of Southern Yue raised his hand. ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. We¡¯ll know once we test them later. As for your question, you should understand it better than anyone with your identity. As a chess player, the most important aspect is not to leap into the chessboard yourself. Once you¡¯ve become a chess piece, you¡¯ve already lost half the battle.¡±

    He used the South sea as a chessboard, with the fire devourers and the merpeople as the black and white pieces.

    The Kingdom of Southern Yue¡¯s strategic belief had always been to use Fire Melt mountain to keep the South sea busy, preventing the Merfolk from developing in peace. After all, it was not like Fire Melt mountain was hidden deep under the sea like the Crystal palace. Once they had actually made up their minds, they could destroy it if they wanted to!

    Now that war was on the brink of erupting, the King of Southern Yue was in even more need of a peaceful rear, such that the Merfolk would not be able to take advantage of them after the war with the Green province. The three Divine Fire tablets could drastically increase the intensity of the war, making the two great otherfolk races severely wear down each other. At the same time, it would net him three fighters.

    However, he would not personally partake in this. If he supported the fire devourers in completely destroying the Merfolk of the South sea, not only would Fire Melt mountain develop beyond his control, but the surviving merpeople kings would definitely hold the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate in utter hatred and carry out horrific revenge.

    Once a powerful third heavenly tribulation cultivator gave up on their cultivation and did all that they could to strike and run, to assassinate, it would be extremely terrifying. The fire devourers could shell up on Fire Melt mountain, but how was the Mist province that spanned a hundred thousand kilometers supposed to guard against that? He had so many guests and descendants, so surely they could not all just hide in the Mist capital, right?

    The merpeople kings only needed to attack the small and medium sized sects indiscriminately, and it would drastically weaken the foundation of the Mist province¡¯s cultivation community, which was also the foundation of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate.

    Similarly, even though the Cloud Sail sect have bitten off more than they could chew by turning him down and personally destroying a great sect would create an even greater deterrence and strike fear into the hearts of cultivators, making them raise their guards, but the effect would be nowhere near as great as destroying the entire Cloud Sail sect with just a gentle push from behind.

    And even when something unexpected occurred on the chessboard with Ji Changfeng getting away alive, his target for revenge would only be the fire devourers even if he knew this was a plan from the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate all along.

    The chess player stood high above. Everyone knew he was arranging the chessboard in secret and creating various situations, but the chess pieces could only kill one another on the chessboard. Even if the chess player made a wrong move, the chess pieces could not harm the chess player.

    This was why the King of Southern Yue refused to just watch these three Fire Devouring Kings die here, but he also refused to directly make an enemy out of the Merfolk. None of the hatred would go to him.

    Ru Xin said, ¡°Unfortunately, you were still forced to personally take part and rearrange the chessboard in the end.¡±

    ¡°After all, not all chess pieces will move according to the chess player¡¯s will. What do you think I should do about these disobedient chess pieces?¡±

    The King of Southern Yue sighed as a cold light flashed through his eyes.

    ps£º ÓÖÊÇÈý¸üÄã¸ÒÐÅ£¡

 Chapter 879 Not a Friend? Then a Foe! Friend or Foe?

    Giant Ship island had basically vanished, covered by thick ice. It only bore some resemblance to the geography of the past from the three protruding mountains that had been frozen.

    Half of Main-mast mountain had been forcefully swallowed by the Heart of the Abyss. The lofty mountain had become a curved valley of ice. The surroundings were filled with rising and falling ice mountains, all pointing towards the hovering Heart of the Abyss like thousands of desperate hands.

    At the bottom of the ice valley, the tough ice split open with a crack. A group of shaken people emerged, composed of both cultivators and merpeople. As it turned out, there was a hall in the centre of Main-mast mountain similar to Savage mountain. It was the dwelling that Ji Changfeng specially used for secluded cultivation, and it was also the place with the strongest defence in the entire Cloud Sail sect.

    When the giant god of fire had appeared, Ji Changfeng knew that these people could no longer interfere with the battle anymore, so he ordered the elders of the sect to lead everyone there to hide.

    They worked together to maintain the remaining formation of the Cloud Sail sect, fending off the repercussions of the battle. There were several times when they thought they were dead for sure.

    Whether it was the giant god of fire slamming into the mountain, the lava surging up from below, or the rapid expansion of the inky-blue force field from the Heart of the Abyss, all of it was enough to claim their lives. If the fire devourers won in the end, dealing with some people who managed to slip by like them would be a piece of cake.

    In these terrifying, dire straits they had never faced before, they were in the same boat. Coupled with their reasonable luck, they actually managed to survive, only emerging from the dwelling after the battle had settled down.

    ¡°Is it over?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, the fire devourers have been defeated!¡± ¡°Your majesty, are you fine?¡±

    The group of people were filled with joy and grief, but before they could even celebrate the end of the nightmare, their faces all stiffened.

    The Silver Dragon King had returned, bursting through the thick clouds and arriving above Giant Ship island once more. It shone with a silver, cold light, assuming an offensive posture. The pressure it gave off even surpassed the giant god of fire.

    Awaking from their nightmare, there was a new nightmare waiting for them, and it was even more terrifying than the last!

    The Silver Dragon King produced a beam of light that turned into a colossal projection. It assumed the form of a young man with delicate facial features. He smiled faintly.

    ¡°King of Southern Yue!¡± Ji Changfeng was startled. His voice was filled with a hint of fury that he struggled to hold back. How could he not know that this was all a scheme by the King of Yue¡¯s estate? Coupled with the strike he had launched to free the three fire devourers, he had emerged from behind the curtains, completely establishing a feud.

    ¡°King of Southern Yue, have you decided to stand with the fire devourers and start an endless war with my race?¡±

    Gong Yuan¡¯s voice was icy-cold. Ignoring her wounds, she powered the Heart of the Abyss once again, and the pitch-black sphere suddenly grew in size, hovering in the air and confronting the Silver Dragon King.

    The King of Southern Yue said, ¡°They¡¯re honoured guests of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate, so of course, I can¡¯t just let them die. However, I¡¯m not a baby-siter either. They have to take responsibility for their own actions, whether it ends in success or failure. Don¡¯t you think so too?¡±

    That brought a slight relief to Ji Changfeng and Gong Yuan. The King of Southern Yue was clearly saying, ¡°Feel free to find revenge with Fire Melt mountain. I won¡¯t interfere!¡±

    So far, Ji Changfeng¡¯s greatest enemy was still Fire Melt mountain and not the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate. Otherwise, there was basically no opportunity for his revenge to succeed. All he could do was direct his hatred towards the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate and kill everyone related to it. However, the King of Southern Yue clearly would not be as kind-hearted as to put up with this in Fire Melt mountain¡¯s place. He would definitely do something about it if Ji Changfeng turned his attention towards the king¡¯s estate.

    However, what Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng were worried about even more was the King of Southern Yue completely leaning to Fire Melt mountain¡¯s side. With that, the Merfolk of the South sea would definitely suffer heavy losses. Given the way the King of Southern Yue was currently behaving, anyone could tell he was up to something, but it was still better than if he was not up to something.

    At the same time, it also indicated they were still temporarily safe.

    However, Gong Yuan was still rather perplexed by why he had come here since he had no intentions of launching an attack. Was it just to explain his actions? Did the King of Southern Yue really have to be so careful?

    As a result, she asked, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why have you returned, King of Yue?¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t come for you!¡± The King of Southern Yue looked away. His eyes pierced through the pitch-black sphere and landed on Li Qingshan. ¡°Li Qingshan, is it time for me to kill you?¡±

    Li Qingshan again!

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on the pitch-black sphere. They were all surprised and at a loss, but with their limited strength, they could not tell what was going on inside.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t capable of killing me!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from the black sphere, calm and filled with great confidence.

    A kid who had not even undergone the third heavenly tribulation actually said the King of Southern Yue was incapable of killing him. Normally, everyone would definitely take it as a colossal joke, but they had all become numb to how he had fearlessly challenged those much stronger than him.

    ¡°Really?¡± The King of Southern Yue raised an eyebrow, perhaps out of intrigue or disdain.

    ¡°Really!¡± Li Qingshan replied. Although he had already used up his Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, he definitely could not be killed so easily with his current speed.

    ¡°I sure am a little more tempted to try it after what you¡¯ve said!¡± The King of Southern Yue was not one to be afraid of provocation. ¡°However, before that, you should know that there¡¯s still someone beside him. In my knowledge, you¡¯ve known each other for many years now. Probably a part of the reason why you¡¯ve come to the Mist province is for her!¡±

    ¡°You want to use her to threaten me?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed. This was what he worried about the most. The King of Southern Yue had guessed incorrectly too. Right from the very beginning, the major reason why he came to the Mist province was because of Ru Xin.

    ¡°Looks like you were wrong. He still cares about you very much.¡± The King of Southern Yue turned around and smiled at Ru Xin beside him.

    Ru Xin said nothing. She did not say any nonsense like ¡°don¡¯t worry about me¡±. Why would that man who loved going his own way listen to her? However, she also believed he was not a hesitant person who could be threatened.

    The King of Southern Yue turned back and asked, ¡°How¡¯s that? Can I use her to threaten you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find something like that dirty for the mighty King of Southern Yue?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    The King of Southern Yue considered the question. ¡°It¡¯s alright! If I can make you serve me, turning you from a foe to a friend, then it¡¯s nothing. Li Qingshan, I admire you very much, so become one of my honoured guests! I will give you ten times, a hundred times more than what you can obtain from the Green province!¡±

    ¡°Return her, and we can go our own way.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps there would still be room for negotiation if you were someone else, but between us, we are foes if we aren¡¯t friends!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to make some baffling enemies over some baffling reasons, but I¡¯m not afraid of making enemies either. After all, the itching only reaches a certain point after so many lice. I will make those who should pay pay!¡±

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯ve made up your mind about having me as a foe?¡± The King of Southern Yue squinted his eyes slightly. Li Qingshan¡¯s staunchness both surpassed his imaginations and made perfect sense.

    ¡°Whether we¡¯re friends or foes, the King of Yue can decide that with a single word! However, I, Li Qingshan, will never yield to another, will never serve another, and will never be threatened by another!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out a series of stalks, black and white in colour, holding them in both hands!

    They were the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue that Ru Xin had handed to him!

 Chapter 880 Interlude

    Before Ru Xin had boarded the Silver Dragon Ship with the Myriad Poison Ancestor, she had passed the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue to Li Qingshan just in case some kind of strange reaction occurred between the arcane treasures.

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually given him the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue in exchange for suppressing your inner demons as the condition?¡±

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s mid-air projection was rather surprised. Then he looked at Gong Yuan and came to some understanding.

    He said he had come for Li Qingshan, but actually, his primary objective was still to force Gong Yuan into handing over the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue in exchange for his promise to not support Fire Melt mountain. He never thought another twist would occur at the last moment. This Li Qingshan¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s the spoils of my race. I can hand it to whoever I want. The past King of Yue was known for his path of divination, but he still ended up miscalculating, losing the stalks and suffering in the South sea! I¡¯d advise the King of Yue to not take a pointless risk. If it reignites war, perhaps it¡¯ll be a grievance that extends for another several thousand years!¡±

    In the past, while the Kingdom of Yue had failed to conquer the South sea, they had dealt a heavy blow to the Merfolk of the South sea, resulting in negotiations and a truce in the end. The later Kings of Yue had all been interested in revenge, but all of them were afraid to become involved in this mess again, so they only used Fire Melt mountain to inhibit the Merfolk.

    Faced with the overbearing King of Southern Yue, Gong Yuan immediately recovered her cold and proud nature as a king. However, her current position did affect her bearing as a king, as she was still in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    The King of Southern Yue never expected Gong Yuan to take Li Qingshan¡¯s side in such a clear-cut manner. Was it to save Ru Xin? But according to what he knew, Gong Yuan¡¯s personality was not that soft. Though, the thoughts of women had always been unpredictable and impossible to grasp.

    ¡°Hmm? There seems to be two stalks missing!¡±

    ¡°The last two are with me!¡± Gong Yuan immediately took out a black and a white Lost Stalk of the King of Yue. She said coldly, ¡°Release her and I can give you the entire set of cleromancy stalks!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue fell into a momentary silence. He said, ¡°Li Qingshan, if one day, you become my enemy, I¡¯d rather go without these cleromancy stalks!¡±

    The strength that Li Qingshan had demonstrated was far too terrifying. If he was forced to make an enemy out of him, he had to do everything within his ability to nip him in the bud.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to swear any solemn oaths. Do you think I¡¯m the kind to submit to another, King of Yue?¡± Li Qingshan asked loudly.

    The King of Southern Yue nodded with a smile. ¡°You really don¡¯t!¡± Suddenly, he changed the topic. ¡°Though, after saying all this, you¡¯re still wearing your helmet. Isn¡¯t that a little too rude?¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, his strength had advanced significantly, but the spirit turtle was completely incapable of suppressing his demonic nature. He could not recover his human form anymore, which was why he maintained the horned helmet the entire time to cover up his appearance. He never expected the King of Southern Yue to notice this.

    He had disregarded the King of Southern Yue¡¯s threats, resolving to face him in battle, which was a consequence of the tiger demon. The more powerful the enemy he faced, the more restless and bloodthirsty the tiger demon would become. He hesitated for a slight moment before immediately making a decision!

    The people below were utterly nervous, afraid they would suddenly fall out and the King of Southern Yue would carry out a massacre. They did not even have the strength to run away right now.

    The coldness from the frozen sea reached all the way up into the sky, making huge flakes of snow drift down. Within the cold stand-off, the King of Southern Yue suddenly began laughing aloud. ¡°I see! I should have thought of that a long time ago! No wonder you¡¯re not afraid of making an enemy out of me!¡±

    Everyone looked at one another, both curious and surprised. They had no idea what the King of Southern Yue had noticed that would actually make him say Li Qingshan was unafraid of making an enemy out of him! Even though they had already become numb from Li Qingshan¡¯s various displays of power, they could not help but be shocked again right now.

    That was the King of Southern Yue! Even Fire Melt mountain could only be considered as a minor force compared to him! Just what did Li Qingshan possess to deserve such an evaluation?

    ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    Gong Yuan raised her head and murmured that silently. When the horned helmet turned to demon qi, it revealed a handsome face that was clearly different from Li Qingshan¡¯s. The face was horned and had scarlet hair like fire. The words ¡°North¡± and ¡°Moon¡± were clearly engraved on the horns.

    She was still slightly unfamiliar with the name, but the King of Southern Yue was extremely familiar with it.

    Back then, didn¡¯t the Dragon King of Ink Sea travel over ten thousand kilometers, venturing all the way into the Mist province, exactly because of this daemon? It was no wonder the Great Banyan Tree King would give his good graces to a human. As it turned out, he was not a human at all, but a one-in-a-thousand-years prodigy of the Daemon race.

    The Great Banyan Tree King had probably played a role in why he could survive the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s pursuit too. Although he did not know how he had managed to fool everything with a human identity, his reason for coming to the Mist province was as clear as day. It was clearly to hide from the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He had even included one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, on his list of revenge, so of course he would not be afraid of offending a King of Yue.

    Most importantly, he was not the first daemon to infiltrate the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Once his identity was exposed, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would never allow him to stick around for any longer. Even the King of Chu would not be able to keep him around, and he was bitter enemies with the Dragon King of Ink Sea too. That was equivalent to saying the entire Green province, both Human and Daemon races, were all his enemies, so why would he assist the Green province against the Mist province?

    ¡°Your majesty, how¡¯s that?¡± Li Qingshan asked. After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, he was capable of protecting himself even if the Dragon King of Ink Sea came from him again. Only strength was the foundation of all.

    ¡°Very impressive!¡±

    The projection in the air suddenly vanished. A while later, Ru Xin flew down from the Silver Dragon King.

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan tossed the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue into the air at the same time. The Silver Dragon King emitted a silver beam, and the cleromancy stalks rose up along the beam.

    The King of Southern Yue stood up, slightly excited as he assembled the two sets of stalks together.

    At that moment, a dragon¡¯s cry rang out. The figure of a dragon rose up. In the beginning, it was only as thick as a wrist, but it became as wide as a water tank in the blink of an eye, soaring around the Silver Dragon King like a river.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and was shocked. The figure of the dragon was extremely blurry, and he had already seen countless dragons in the past. He had once possessed a Demon Dragon sword that could turn into a demon, but unlike the Demon Dragon sword, unlike the fire dragons that the giant god of fire rode, unlike the black dragon that Si Qing transformed into, that was the aura of a true dragon!

    Quite a while later, the figure of the dragon gradually shrank, receding into the Silver Dragon King.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor said, ¡°Congratulations on recovering a great treasure of the King of Yue, your majesty. Your chances in the war against the Kingdom of Chu have increased yet again.¡±

    ¡°Even with this treasure, I cannot calculate everything in the world. The descendants of the Kingdom of Yue must heed the lessons of the past kings. From today onwards, let¡¯s call this set of cleromancy stalks as Lost Stalks of the King of Yue as a reminder of the past!¡± the King of Southern Yue said.

    The Silver Dragon King split through the clouds and sailed off. The King of Southern Yue¡¯s voice rang out from afar, ¡°King of Savages, if you ever wish to drink in the future, come to the King of Yue¡¯s estate. I will invite you to the best alcohol the Mist province has to offer!¡±

    Since he had decided against becoming enemies with him, an existence of both startling strength and potential like him was still very much worth befriending. The Great Banyan Tree King had already expressed his wish. Once that was fulfilled, perhaps he would be the next Daemon King of the Mist province!

    Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Only when the Silver Dragon King vanished into the horizon did Li Qingshan lower his head. Gong Yuan pushed him gently and broke free from his embrace, slowly stowing the Heart of the Abyss away.

    Li Qingshan also reeled back his consciousness, and their feeling of compatibility was immediately severed. He still felt rather reluctant about all that, but Gong Yuan¡¯s expression was cold like her face was frosted over. She seemed quite willing to turn against him then and there.

    Li Qingshan brushed it aside with a smile and put on the horned helmet again. He said to Ru Xin, ¡°Are you fine?¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯re not stupid enough to fall for his threats!¡±

    ¡°Almost!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s smile contained some relief. He was not actually as staunch as he seemed when he was resolved to face the King of Southern Yue in battle earlier.

    He had anticipated that the King of Southern Yue would not go as far as to hold Ru Xin hostage against him, but once the situation really deteriorated to that point, he would still put up with it and negotiate. He definitely would not allow Ru Xin to die before him over something like pride or honour.

    Ru Xin¡¯s heart softened. She wanted to mock him a little like normal, but she was unable to say it. However, there was a belief she held onto. She would rather die than see him lower his head to another for her.

    Then she glanced at Gong Yuan deeply and said, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Gong Yuan sucked in a deep breath and said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t be so self-centredly sentimental. I only saved you for your Stoneheart. Don¡¯t forget about your promise.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her nonsense. She cared very much about you earlier! She¡¯s just gone a little crazy with cultivation, such that even her regular emotions are repressed. The aura of Ruin¡¯s End really is a little too extreme.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately rebuked. Earlier, he had been mentally linked with Gong Yuan, so he could sense everything she was feeling.

    Gong Yuan was furious. ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. She still could not forgive her, but it did make her feel glad.

 Chapter 881 Forming an Alliance

    ¡°Fellow Gong, I¡¯m willing to assist you in slaughtering the Fire Devouring Folk!¡±

    Ji Changfeng tended to the remaining disciples and elders of the Cloud Sail sect before riding over on the wind. He was furious and sorrowful, but he was very motivated and in high spirits at the same time.

    ¡°With the assistance of your divine wind, fellow, we¡¯ll definitely be able to take Fire Melt mountain and make the fire devourers pay with blood!¡± Gong Yuan roused in energy and also showed delight in her eyes. Her major objective of this trip was to rope in Ji Changfeng. This was the most important hurdle to going to war with the fire devourers. However, Ji Changfeng had evaded the request the entire time. She never expected the fire devourers to help her out tremendously in the end.

    Afterwards, she secretly told Ji Changfeng about the existence of Stoneheart.

    ¡°Is that true?¡± Ji Changfeng gazed at Ru Xin in disbelief. He was very curious about what kind of face was hidden behind the bronze mask. He thought, ¡°On one hand, she¡¯s a disciple under the Myriad Poison Ancestor in-name. On the other hand, the King of Southern Yue has used her to threaten Li Qingshan. She even has some kind of connection with Gong Yuan. Who is she exactly?¡±

    ¡°As authentic as it could be!¡± Ru Xin bowed slightly.

    ¡°If you really can achieve something like that, then my Cloud Sail sect will be indebted to you, fellow. Please accept a bow from me!¡±

    For the sake of revenge, Ji Changfeng no longer cared about anything else, but he still did not have much confidence in taking Fire Melt mountain. Ru Xin¡¯s vicious plan to cull the young suited his tastes far too well. He was basically like someone about to die of thirst finding a clear spring. He was so emotional that he bowed towards Ru Xin regardless of his identity.

    It was quite easy to imagine that the descendants of the Cloud Sail sect would treat destroying Fire Melt mountain as their ultimate goal throughout the generations after surviving this disaster. This grievance would be passed down through the ages, with new flesh and blood to inherit and carry on this will. It would constantly deepen until one side destroyed the other.

    Ru Xin returned the gesture in a hurry. ¡°I don¡¯t deserve that.¡±

    Then Ji Changfeng said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Fellow Li, I¡¯m not going to say thank you, as that would only undermine how grateful I am to you. I truly am incapable of paying back your kindness. If you ever need me for anything, do let me know!¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡±

    ¡°Though, you did destroy the fire devourers¡¯ plans this time, so they¡¯ll never spare Savage mountain. The south is not as safe as the South sea¡­¡± Ji Changfeng analysed the situation for Li Qingshan. In short, he was just trying to say Savage mountain was in great danger and Li Qingshan was in great danger too.

    Li Qingshan listened along sternly. He understood very well that Ji Changfeng was trying to rope him in so that he could offer his strength for revenge.

    Gong Yuan added, ¡°You¡¯ve witnessed the power of the fire devourers. The Divine Fire tablets are heirlooms of the ancient divine kingdom, and they¡¯ve probably only obtained them recently. They¡¯ve yet to unleash their full power. Once they recover their strength, not only will Savage mountain fall, but even you will be in danger. However, considering how you saved me today, I will provide you with protection!¡±

    Both of them chimed in together, which made Li Qingshan secretly sneer. Of course, he wanted to take Fire Melt mountain as well and obtain the legendary divine wutong tree, but there was no reason for him to be fooled into throwing his life at the fire devourers just because of a few empty words.

    He had to be clear about the most important aspect. Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng were in need of his assistance; he did not require their protection. As a result, he interrupted them.

    ¡°I¡¯m very relieved to know that you want to pay back your debts, but I¡¯ve already mentioned it back then in the Feilian hall. I don¡¯t like these long-winded words. First of all, the south is indeed more dangerous than the South sea, and the fire devourers are indeed capable of destroying my Savage mountain. However, they do have to consider the consequences of otherfolk killing human cultivators, not to mention the fact that I¡¯m a White Hawk commander of the empire. That¡¯s the first thing I want to say.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think the fire devourers will care so much? The world is on the brink of chaos, and the strength of the empire is waning, so why would they still care about the south? They¡¯ve already become honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate, so there¡¯s even less reason for them to fear a White Hawk commander,¡± Gong Yuan rebuked coldly.

    She required Li Qingshan¡¯s power very much, to subdue her inner demons and to increase her cultivation. And, only when they worked together could they push the Heart of the Abyss to the limit and contend against the fire devourers¡¯ Divine Fire tablets. Otherwise, the battle this time would have ended extremely horrifically.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I have a second point to make. If it really doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯ll just go back to the Green province!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng were immediately rendered speechless. Li Qingshan had no grievance with the fire devourers great enough for him to exterminate them. There was absolutely no need for him to throw his life at them. Savage mountain was not the Crystal palace. He had stolen the cultivation dwelling in the first place, so there was nothing wrong with giving up on it.

    Gong Yuan said, ¡°Just a few threats from the fire devourers is enough to frighten the mighty King of Savages back to the Green province?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not losing out anyway. I¡¯ve just been sworn at. I can just come back to redeem myself after undergoing the third heavenly tribulation. Wouldn¡¯t that be easier?¡± Li Qingshan said it like it was a simple fact.

    ¡°You-¡±

    ¡°Your majesty, I don¡¯t owe you anything! Instead, you still owe my five years with the Heart of the Abyss!¡± Li Qingshan reminded her.

    I only held you. It¡¯s not like I slept with you. Aren¡¯t you taking me to be a little too simple if you can goad me into action with a mere few words?

    Ji Chengfeng let out a long sigh. ¡°Fellow, are you really going to just walk away?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m going to stay behind and assist you in taking down Fire Melt mountain!¡± Li Qingshan said, ¡°However, I¡¯m not your saviour. I don¡¯t need your gratitude or protection, but actual benefit. Since it¡¯s an alliance, you need to have the sincerity to form an alliance. We need to be clear about what each party deserves and what each party must contribute. Whether it¡¯s the strategy before the attack or the allocation after the attack, none of it should be missing. We can¡¯t just gather together in a clueless fashion. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re the comprehensive one, fellow! That¡¯s exactly what we should do!¡±

    Ji Changfeng immediately agreed. He had begun thinking about what Li Qingshan said right at the start. When the weak and the strong cooperated, it was very easy for one side to be coerced and sacrificed. They needed a set of rules. That was why he said he was willing to lend Gong Yuan a hand, not requesting Gong Yuan to achieve revenge with him. He had just been unable to bring himself to be so straightforward and clear-cut as Li Qingshan.

    Most importantly, he did indeed have an irresolvable grievance with Fire Melt mountain.

    Now that Li Qingshan was actually interested in a formal alliance, of course he would welcome him with open arms. After all, the exact reason why the Cloud Sail sect had faced such a great disaster this time was still because of the Merfolk of the South sea. He deserved corresponding compensation. He had to find a new, suitable island for cultivation and rebuild the Cloud Sail sect.

    ¡°What kind of alliance do you want?¡± Gong Yuan asked after a moment of silence.

    ¡°First of all, your attitude. What I require is respect, not being used. Don¡¯t use your high-class, elegant tricks on me.¡± Reaching there, Li Qingshan communicated to her secretly, ¡°If you could be obedient like when you were in my arms, our cooperation would be much smoother.¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Gong Yuan squeezed out a reply from between her teeth.

    ¡°As for the rest, this isn¡¯t the place to go into detail. We need time to consolidate our cultivation, so why don¡¯t we all return and recuperate? We can gather again in the Crystal palace during the next full moon and discuss how to take down Fire Melt mountain together!¡±

    Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng agreed to that, so Li Qingshan took his leave, returning to Savage mountain with Ru Xin and Xiao An.

    They flew away, leaving Giant Ship island in the distance.

    The wind was gentle, and the moon was bright. The ocean was vast, and the sounds of waves continued as normal. All was peaceful.

    The battle was like a dream, but the increase in his strength was a reality. Li Qingshan felt extremely delighted. The fifth layer of the tiger demon had allowed his strength to increase by several fold.

    The third layer of the phoenix required another balancing of fire and water to obtain the third innate ability of the phoenix. If it was still Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, then that meant he had two chances at rebirth. If he included the ¡°eggification¡±, then that was three times. Just who could still kill him?

    The Ink sea was already close now!

    At this moment, Ru Xin said, ¡°Qingshan, visit a place with me!¡±

 Chapter 882 The Overgrown Home

    The east glowed dimly. The sky began to brighten.

    The colour of the ocean gradually diluted. The white seagulls flew around in groups.

    Two streaks of light shot across the sky, landing on a tiny island on the horizon.

    This was the most common island on the South sea. The only part of it that was relatively special was its volcano.

    The volcano was not big. Perhaps it could be described as very small, only around a thousand meters tall with a black plume of smoke emerging from the top. It would erupt from time to time, making the entire island shake as a result.

    Ru Xin stood on the white, sandy beach and gazed at the small volcano. She slowly took off her mask. Her expression was rather mixed, as if she had become submerged in a distant memory. There was indescribable pain and happiness.

    Li Qingshan gazed at her silently.

    He told Xiao An to return to Savage mountain first and flew off towards the east with Ru Xin, travelling all the way here. Along the way, she said nothing at all, so he remained silent too.

    Ru Xin sucked in a deep breath. Her smile was rather forced. ¡°Want to take a look with me? Even though there¡¯s nothing to see.¡±

    ¡°Lead the way.¡±

    Ru Xin made her way into the depths of the jungle, and Li Qingshan followed close behind, watching as she extended her arms and touched the trees beside her with her fingertips like a child. Every single ordinary leaf and branch seemed to record a distant memory.

    Their field of view suddenly opened up. A clearing suddenly appeared in the jungle. It was called a clearing only because there were no trees. Within the waist-high grass, under the slanting sunlight, sat a small, wooden hut. It was covered in green moss and wrapped in vines, having become dilapidated a long time ago, but it was still possible to see a hint of delicacy. Its past owner must have spent a lot of time and effort on it.

    Ru Xin glanced back as if she was confirming that Li Qingshan was still behind her. Her expression was like a lost child¡¯s, indescribably weak and lost. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart tightened. He went up to hold her hand firmly, which was icy-cold down to the bone.

    The two of them followed the cobblestone path that had been swallowed by the grass, arriving before the tiny hut. The door was firmly locked, already rusted away, but there was still the residual spiritual qi of techniques, protecting the tiny hut from invading beasts.

    Ru Xin extended her hand and touched it gently. With a clatter, the lock shattered, and the spiritual qi dispersed. The door swung open. Her sealed memories flooded through her head¡­

    Ru Xin seemed to become a beautiful jade statue, standing before the tiny hut without moving at all.

    The hut was not big. Everything inside was neat and tidy. Its past owner did not seem to leave in a hurry, just that they were going on a long trip. They still hoped to return one day. However, the thick layer of dust silently told a different story. No one had returned.

    Li Qingshan faltered. He had no idea what to do. He felt even more troubled than when he faced the giant god of fire.

    A long time later, Ru Xin said gently, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± She smiled at Li Qingshan with misty eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not as difficult as I imagined it to be!¡±

    ¡°This is?¡± Li Qingshan used his large, crude hands to wipe away her tears. He wanted to be a little more gentle, but the outcome was not spectacular.

    ¡°Watch your hands!¡± Ru Xin pushed his hands away. ¡°This is the place where I was born, as well as my home.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I want to touch you? You¡¯re as hard as a rock! Your home sure is shabby. No wonder you ran away from home, even drifting around in the Green province!¡±

    ¡°Shabby your face! What would you know?¡±

    Li Qingshan chuckled. ¡°As the mighty King of Savages, I¡¯m not going to stoop to the same level as a bum. If you have something to say, then hurry up. I¡¯m short on time here!¡±

    ¡°Even if you beg me, I won¡¯t tell you!¡± Ru Xin shot a vicious glance at him. Her eyes immediately became a fiery-red.

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised, but he also came to an understanding. He let out an indetectable sigh. ¡°I¡¯m begging you, my great ma¡¯am Ru Xin, just tell me!¡±

    Ru Xin thought over it. ¡°Fine, since you¡¯re begging me like this. It¡¯s a real drab story anyway. You already know that I¡¯m not a pure Merfolk. I¡¯m also half fire devourer, which comes from my father. Don¡¯t look at me like that. How would I know what they were thinking back then. With the purity of their bloodlines, it clearly was very difficult for them to produce any offspring. Who knows what kind of shitty joke the heavens were playing, hehe!¡±

    ¡°In other words, you are the Flower of Water and Fire I¡¯ve been searching for?¡± Li Qingshan understood now. Sure enough, the medicine that balanced water and fire could only be produced by her. Merfolk and Fire Devouring Folk were natural spirits of water and fire. It really was almost a miracle that they could balance water and fire and give birth to Ru Xin.

    ¡°Is there a dent in your head? I¡¯ve told you long ago that the Flower of Water and Fire doesn¡¯t exist! I¡¯m a person, not a flower!¡± Ru Xin ¡°bellowed¡± without any concern for her image, scaring a flock of birds.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his nose. The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas¡ªI endure!

    Ru Xin cussed him out by calling him all sorts of things before finally explaining, ¡°My mother searched hundreds, if not thousands, of underwater volcanoes, but there was not a single flower to be found. The legend is fake.¡±

    ¡°Your mother searched for it!?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised.

    ¡°Do you think balancing water and fire is very easy?¡± Ru Xin told him about her distant childhood in as calm of a tone as possible, trying to make nothing of it, but she could not help but grow solemn.

    A long time ago, the child born in the tiny wooden hut had been at death¡¯s door the day she was born. She experienced the torture of the two powers, attacked by chills and fevers repeatedly. It had almost cost her her life.

    Perhaps she was not the first Fire Devouring Folk and Merfolk hybrid¡ªor as she described it, ¡°crossbreed¡±. However, none of them could grow to adulthood, so it was unheard of.

    Fortunately, her parents were powerful enough, going as far as to devote their time, energy, and even cultivation and lifespan to balance fire and water for her. Whenever she was overcome with a fever, she would suck the tip of her mother¡¯s finger, drinking her essence blood and vice versa. That was why she could survive.

    ¡°Parental love sure is great!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but sigh after hearing that. He thought of something. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me with the medicine you refine¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to call me mother,¡± Ru Xin said indifferently.

    ¡°Piss off!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly embraced Ru Xin and laughed aloud. ¡°My dear baby! If anyone aside from me even touches a hair on you, I¡¯ll behead them!¡±

    Ru Xin became speechless, but she became much more relaxed inside for some reason.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon, c¡¯mon. Let¡¯s tidy this place up, and it¡¯ll be our bridal chamber tonight so that you can console your mother and father¡¯s souls.¡±

    Ru Xin kicked him in the belly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you short of time? Console my ass!¡±

    After a series of jokes, the sorrowful atmosphere had finally been diluted slightly. Ru Xin stepped into the hut and began tidying. She cleaned up the thick dust. All of the objects became brightly-coloured again.

    Li Qingshan did not help her. He just crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, snickering away. ¡°You say no, but your body is still pretty honest, hey?¡±

    Before he could even finish, a jar flew over. ¡°Get out of here!¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned on one hand as he held the jar with the other, sitting on the stone steps at the entrance. He blew gently, and the wild grass was all cut to bits, swept off into the horizon by the wind. The courtyard immediately became clear and spacious, revealing the well, the tiny stream, and countless green insects, fluttering their wings and flying away.

    He suddenly frowned and stood up. He placed the jar beside him and felt a familiar aura draw near.

    ¡°What¡¯s she coming here for?¡±

 Chapter 883

    The woman who radiated with an abyssal coldness stopped on the edge of the island. Only after hesitating did she pass through the jungle and arrive before Li Qingshan.

    She was alone. Her lovely, silken dress and her noble, crystal crown contrasted heavily against the tiny hut in the trees. Even the sunlight that landed on her seemed to turn cold, losing its original warmth.

    Li Qingshan was about to say something when Ru Xin walked out of the hut. Her seething fury put her fire devourer bloodline on full display.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would return here,¡± Gong Yuan said while holding back her sighs.

    ¡°What, you want to chase me away again?¡± Ru Xin sneered. Flames burned in her eyes.

    Gong Yuan had nothing to say in response to that. Quite a while later, she said softly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. That¡¯s not the conclusion I wanted to see either. I originally thought you could leave the south and leave the range of influence of Fire Melt mountain. I thought you could go to a new place and start over¡­¡±

    The South sea was large, but it was not large enough for them, a fire devourer, a traitor, and a crossbreed that everyone loathed.

    Her apology and explanation seemed to take Ru Xin by surprise, leaving her momentarily speechless.

    ¡°I can make it up to you. After all, you¡¯re my¡­¡± Gong Yuan took a step forward.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Ru Xin gradually calmed down. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to make it up to me. There¡¯s nothing really you can do to make it up to me anyway. We don¡¯t have any relationship either. I don¡¯t seek revenge against the Merfolk simply because that¡¯s not what my mother would like to see. You can go, your majesty. This is my home, not a place you should come to.¡±

    ¡°Fine then!¡± Gong Yuan did not pin her hopes on being forgiven. Perhaps it was better described that being simply forgiven would instead make her even more emotionally perturbed. She recovered her cold, noble bearing and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Don¡¯t forget about ten days¡¯ time.¡±

    ¡°Just you wait.¡± Li Qingshan sat back down, lowering his head and fiddling around with the jar. The jar was very exquisite, with beautiful, coloured patterns like a mural. It depicted three figures, two large and one small, holding hands and standing together. They did not have any expressions, but they seemed very happy and peaceful.

    After Gong Yuan left, Ru Xin smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯ve really made a fool of myself today.¡±

    ¡°You really aren¡¯t as foolish as normal today. What¡¯re you standing there for? Hurry up and go clean up the hut. Woman, get to work!¡± Li Qingshan said without even looking up like he was the master of the house instructing his wife.

    Ru Xin kicked her foot at him, but she came to a halt half way and pulled it back. Li Qingshan brought the jar before his face. ¡°Be careful. I¡¯m not compensating you if you break it!¡±

    Ru Xin snatched back the jar and returned to the hut. After some effort, she had cleaned up the hut. The place was spotless, and the colourful jars of various sizes were placed neatly too.

    She stood with her hands on her hips and looked around in satisfaction. Suddenly, a ball of fire lit up in her hand, and she tossed it out gently, flying out and spreading rapidly. The flames filled the place very quickly, devouring this place called ¡°home¡±.

    Crickle, crackle! The furniture burned, and the earthenware shattered.

    Her face was brightly lit up by the firelight, gazing at this in a daze. Her expression constantly changed, but only with a closer glance was it possible to tell that it was just the flickering of the firelight. Her expression remained the same the entire time, like a jade sculpture.

    Li Qingshan gently pulled her into his arms. She murmured, ¡°Qingshan, as people of cultivation, they can¡¯t be too emotional. With their exceptional talent, they should have possessed a very, very long lifespan and a very, very long road ahead of them¡­¡±

    ¡°Then they wouldn¡¯t have you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d rather they not have me. If they didn¡¯t have me¡­¡±

    ¡°Did they regret it?¡± Li Qingshan interrupted.

    ¡°No.¡± Ru Xin thought about it.

    ¡°Then there you go. As for being emotional or not, that¡¯s all just bullshit. They just weren¡¯t strong enough!¡±

    Li Qingshan never believed there was some kind of supreme principle in the world that applied to all and restrained all. He did not believe ¡°do well and have well¡±, just like how he did not believe ¡°do well and don¡¯t have well¡±. Since a principle like that did not exist, why couldn¡¯t he cast aside all misgivings and stride forward along his own will?

    ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re right!¡±

    ¡°Though, looks like we can only do it out in the open now!¡± Li Qingshan said with quite a bit of pity.

    Ru Xin¡¯s eye twitched, holding back her urge to cuss him out.

    By now, the hut had already become a huge, blazing torch. The tongues of flames constantly licked the sky.

    Li Qingshan kicked the ground gently with his right foot and left behind a deep footprint. The powers of tremors silently spread through the entire island, and with a rumble, the volcano erupted with unprecedented intensity. The surging lava was thrown high into the air, splattering across the entire island. Very soon, the entire island was alight.

    He had already unfurled his phoenix wings, flying away with Ru Xin in his arms. He sighed. ¡°With that, we can¡¯t even do it out in the open. Cough, cough. Perhaps I might be a crude person. I don¡¯t really understand overly delicate feelings. Compared to cherishing the memories of lost family, I still prefer causing ten times, a hundred times the pain to my enemies. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Ru Xin¡¯s gaze became determined because of hatred. She gazed in the direction of Fire Melt mountain.

    On the mountain peak of the Fire Melt mountain, the three Fire Devouring Kings resided by the crater of the volcano, wolfing down the flames and rapidly recovering their strength.

    A while later, Zhu Fen opened his eyes first. He muttered Li Qingshan¡¯s name viciously, tempted to go to Savage mountain right now and burn everything to a crisp.

    Zhu Zai said in persuasion, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so impatient, king Fen. Perhaps that Li Qingshan has already been killed by the King of Southern Yue. He comes from the Green province after all. I refuse to believe the King of Southern Yue will just let an enemy like him grow!¡±

    Zhu Yan also added, ¡°Our priority right now is to deal with the Merfolk of the South sea. Originally, we thought we could kill Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng by taking them by surprise, but we never thought we¡¯d end up exposing the Divine Fire tablets and making them raise their guards.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Raise their guards? They¡¯ve yet to witness the true might of the Divine Fire tablets! This time, it was both because Li Qingshan had pulled some kind of trick and trapped the fire god, as well as the fact that your control over the Fire Tablet of Man is insufficient. The fire god only possesses the form but not the essence, which not only prevents you from awakening fire god Zhurong¡¯s divine consciousness, but it also prevented you from wielding it freely, becoming one with the god.¡±

    ¡°Though, my flames of heaven and king Zai¡¯s flames of earth were quite lacking too. Otherwise, the scenario would be completely different. Once we completely comprehend and understand the divine texts on the Divine Fire tablets, would we still need a sneak attack? We can directly kill our way into the Crystal palace and burn those damned Merfolk to a crisp!¡±

    Zhu Zai and Zhu Yan agreed. They concentrated on comprehending the Divine Fire tablets.

    At the same time, the fire devourers below the mountain played around in the rivers of lava and fire. At the same time, they also absorbed the flames of the earth to cultivate.

    Fire devourers were just as their names suggested. They ate nothing but fire, but flames of the earth were only one kind. They would also set various different items alight to taste flames of different flavours. They even had something akin to human culinary arts, setting multiple items alight together to create special tastes.

    All fire devourers liked setting things on fire. It was this exact aspect that made it impossible for them to establish a close connection with the Great Banyan Tree King like the Shadow palace.

    However, the flames of the earth were still the most important. It was equivalent to the staple food of humans.

    At this moment, in the depths of the magma below Fire Melt mountain, two figures appeared. They were Li Qingshan and Ru Xin who had just returned from the South sea.

 Chapter 884

    A blinding yellow filled their eyes, bubbling, burning, roaring! This was a sight that never changed in the magma.

    Boom!

    Near them, an earth bubble burst suddenly. The violent force slammed against the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and riddled it with cracks. The scorching heat poured in through the cracks, and the heavy smell of sulphur was suffocating. Even more terrifyingly, scorching fire poison whistled in through all the openings.

    If it were not for the fact that both Li Qingshan and Ru Xin possessed natural fire bloodlines, they would have been at the risk of dying from just that. However, the most terrifying part was still the invisible underground magnetic field, which prevented his innate abilities from functioning as usual. It took him quite the effort before he managed to patch the hole in the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    ¡°It¡¯s too deep here. Even I can¡¯t last for long!¡± Li Qingshan communicated to Ru Xin. Once the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered, he could escape with his life intact, but Ru Xin would die.

    ¡°Go forward a little more. We need to be close to the centre of Fire Melt mountain!¡± Ru Xin pointed in a direction.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan slowly advanced through the magma with Ru Xin in his arms, even having to carefully avoid the regions of instability. If he accidentally set off even more earth bubbles at the same time, they would be done for.

    ¡°Right here!¡± Ru Xin said suddenly.

    ¡°We¡¯re several dozen kilometers below the surface at the very least. Will your virus work?¡± Li Qingshan voiced his doubts.

    ¡°If we go further up, we¡¯ll be approaching the formations of Fire Melt mountain. Don¡¯t worry. With a casual wave of his hand, the Myriad Poison Ancestor can contaminate a river over a hundred kilometers long. This is a product of his efforts too. Water primarily flows down, but fire surges upwards. This is equivalent to being upstream of a river. It¡¯s perfect for poisoning!¡±

    Li Qingshan had noticed this a long time ago too. The flames of the earth in this region were extremely unstable, rapidly flowing upwards. The fire devourers must have drawn the flames of the earth to the surface intentionally for devouring and cultivation, equivalent to how humans dug and used wells.

    However, he was a little curious. ¡°This is the same as rivers?¡±

    ¡°Water and fire mutually conflict, yet they also share similarities. Kid, your comprehension is still insufficient. Just sit by and watch!¡± Ru Xin said with a smile.

    Ru Xin crossed her hands together and rapidly formed seals, which seemed like a blooming lotus. She suddenly became extremely stern.

    Li Qingshan quietly backed away, only to see a ghostly figure gradually appear on her. It was the plague ghost she had refined over all these years. It was the strongest secret technique of the school of Medicine, possessing a wondrous power of infecting enemies with severe diseases.

    The plague ghost was wrapped in bandages, deformed and disfigured, covered in boils and pus. It gave off a smell of decay. Apart from that, its skin was also greyish-white, which gave off a chilling aura of death.

    It was like a patient that had been disease-ridden and bed-ridden for many years. It had grown numb to all the pain from its body and mind, even losing the desire to live, just waiting for death.

    The plague ghost broke away from her and turned around, facing her.

    In that moment, Ru Xin hesitated. She had spent all these years refining the plague ghost. Originally, it was for revenge against the fire devourers.

    Now that it was finally time for her to do it, a dark, old face appeared before her eyes.

    Doctors had a heart of compassion. Her master Hua Ci¡¯s influence on her was even greater than she imagined it to be. Her name, ¡°forgiveness¡±, was the greatest hopes he held for her.

    She sucked in a deep breath and murmured, ¡°Sorry, master. I¡¯ve let you down. I can¡¯t forgive anyone.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand your master¡¯s intentions at all. The old man thought you¡¯d never be able to achieve revenge in your life, so he didn¡¯t want you walking to your own death. If he knew the current situation, why don¡¯t you take a guess at what he¡¯d say?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Fuck forgiveness! Forgive my fucking ass! Go kill these fire devourers!¡± Li Qingshan roared.

    ¡°My master is nowhere as vulgar as that!¡¯ Ru Xin burst out laughing as if anything that left her conflicted would become particularly simple in his mouth. She really could not pick up and replicate his resolve of ¡°in for a penny, in for a pound¡±.

    As a result, she pushed it gently, and the plague ghost flew out of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, burning away violently. The flames were almost as greyish-white as rocks, merging with the flames of the earth and rising upwards.

    At the same time, like a last gesture before death, it let out a scream, filled with bone-deep pain and despair.

    Ru Xin watched this unfold blankly. That had once been the voice that echoed through her mind day and night. She could only constantly dilute it and suppress it with the Water of Oblivion so that she could avoid descending into madness before she achieved revenge.

    She suddenly felt her heart empty out, as if a huge boulder had been put down. She had never felt so relaxed before, yet there was also an indescribable feeling of emptiness.

    ¡°Oh no! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan picked up Ru Xin and flapped the phoenix wings. Soon after he had flown away, an earth bubble burst loudly behind him, setting off another chain of explosions.

    An intense feeling of danger surged through his mind. Li Qingshan constantly used divination to change directions, shooting past exploding earth bubbles within a hair¡¯s breadth at every single moment. More and more cracks appeared on the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    All the volcanoes in the Fire Melt mountains, all four hundred kilometers of them, erupted together. In particular, flames surged straight into the sky for the main peak. Countless specks of fire rained down.

    The fire devourers all cheered, extending their arms and welcoming the falling fire rain, entering a state of ravishing joy. Even in the Fire Melt mountains, a great eruption like this was not common. It was regarded as an auspicious omen of jubilance. It was a fantastic opportunity for cultivation too. Flames of the earth from greater depths were more pure.

    ¡°Hmm? Right now doesn¡¯t seem to be the time for an eruption to occur!¡± Zhu Yan was rather puzzled.

    ¡°Did you hear a voice?¡± Zhu Zai turned her head and listened closely. She felt like she had heard a scream, but among the rumbling of the volcanos, it also felt like a false impression.

    ¡°The flow of the underground magma has always been difficult to predict. Perhaps this is an auspicious omen from the fire god. Let¡¯s not worry about this. We need to focus on cultivation and strike as soon as possible. Let¡¯s destroy Savage mountain first!¡± Zhu Fen said.

    ¡°Yes, king Fen!¡±

    Zhu Yan and Zhu Zai also felt like they were thinking too much. Were enemies supposed to burst out of the underground magma to attack them? That was basically digging their own graves, and unlike the Cloud Sail sect, the geographic advantage of the Fire Melt mountains could not be destroyed through any methods.

    As a result, they settled down and continued cultivating.

    A while later, over five hundred kilometers away, the tranquil surface of a lake surrounded by mountains suddenly began to surge.

    With a boom, a scarlet figure burst out of the lake. Flames tailed right behind it, rushing into the air and reaching several hundred kilometers away before finally dispersing. The lake immediately began to boil, turning into rolling, white steam.

    Li Qingshan landed on the ground heavily. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell had shattered a long time ago. He opened his furled phoenix wings, only to reveal Ru Xin staring straight at him with her eyes that resembled black jade, smiling away enchantingly.

    Seeing how she was safe and sound, Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. His eyes suddenly narrowed. Originally, her clothes were an impressive arcane artifact, but under the flames of the earth, they had also been reduced to ashes. It was all thanks to the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace that made her body as tough as jade, which prevented her from being injured by the flames of the earth. However, it did reveal her beautiful body.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart shuddered. He lowered his head and kissed her on her pink lips. She let out a squeak, and her jade-like body in his arms softened.

    So she can still turn soft! Li Qingshan thought in quite some relief.

 Chapter 885

    The plumes of white smoke rose up into the air, merging with the heavy clouds. The world was dim.

    Within the gloomy jungle, her body as gentle as white jade undulated with colour in the darkness, making it seem particularly smooth and fine. It lacked a hint of humanity, but it was chillingly beautiful.

    Her lips were like red jade, like a single red plum flower in a land of snow. Her eyes were like dark jade, like two blots of ink on white paper, glimmering brightly and with colour.

    This delicate ¡°beauty of white jade¡± was currently being held in a man¡¯s arms. His robust, slender body seemed to be cast from bronze. If the beauty was like jade, delicate, exquisite, gentle, and elegant, then he was rough, crude, and unpolished.

    In that moment, they seemed to become one, with no distinction between them.

    The rain poured down, landing on their bodies. The droplets ran down their bodies, but no one paid any attention to that.

    Li Qingshan kissed her deeply as if he devoted all of his attention to the kiss, forgetting about everything happening around him. However, what burned in his heart was not the flames of lust, nor excitement and complacency from finally succeeding after so many years. Instead, it was a much deeper feeling of tenderness, wanting to console the indescribable pain in her heart, wanting to obtain her complete trust and reliance.

    Ru Xin¡¯s eyebrows were firmly furrowed while her eyelashes trembled as if she was under great pain, yet also enjoying great pleasure. A single tear rolled down from the corner of her eye. In the beginning, it was no different from the rain, but in the air, it condensed into a glossy mermaid pearl.

    Their lips parted, and Ru Xin opened her eyes, only to see Li Qingshan smiling at her while holding the mermaid pearl in his hand.

    In her memories, there had once been someone who gazed at her like that, constantly mouthing away to console her, don¡¯t be afraid, don¡¯t cry¡­ before being swallowed by the flames and turning into ash!

    That sight was one she could never forget. It was the gentlest blessing, as well as the deepest nightmare.

    As a result, she survived and never cried again, until now.

    ¡°Give it back to me!¡± A red glow appeared on her face as if that made her even more embarrassed than being naked.

    ¡°Nope!¡± He dodged her hand, having stowed the mermaid pearl away already. ¡°That¡¯s a gift you¡¯ve given me.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t give it back, there¡¯s going to be no fucking!¡± She straightened herself out and stared straight at him.

    He had realised a long time ago that she was not as womanly as she seemed. She had quite a passionate, fiery, and bold personality, but when he heard that, he still felt quite amazed. He shrugged. ¡°Then no fucking it is!¡±

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± She began struggling, but he had no intentions of abiding. Instead, he smiled and pulled her into his arms again. ¡°Let me hold you for a little longer!¡±

    It was obviously impossible for her to contend against his strength. All she could do was bring her jade-white arms around his neck softly, lying in his arms quietly.

    The rain grew heavier. A while later, he whispered into her ear, ¡°Do you feel a little better?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± she murmured.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go back!¡±

    ¡°Who are you!? What did you do to that lustful Li Qingshan who¡¯s even worse than a beast!?¡± Ru Xin widened her eyes as if she did not know him.

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. He could not be bothered with responding. Although he had joked that he wanted to do it out in the open, that was just a joke. He was lustful, but he could still keep his crotch under control. She was currently in an emotional state. What she needed was peace and consolation, not more stimulation.

    Ru Xin smiled and stood up proudly, showing off her slender, pure-white body right before him without any concern. She chose a dress from her sumeru ring and put it on before patting him on the cheek.

    ¡°So much for acting like a gentleman. You regret it now, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I do a little. Heh, it¡¯s not like you can escape from the palm of my hand!¡± Li Qingshan straightened himself out. ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate properly after we take down Fire Melt mountain!¡±

    Ru Xin smiled. She did not rebuke that.

    Li Qingshan condensed a set of demonic armour again with his demon qi and rushed into the air with her in his arms, travelling straight to Savage mountain.

    ¡­¡­

    After returning to Savage mountain, Ru Xin returned to her dwelling to cultivate. Her experiences at the Cloud Sail sect had brought her great benefit. Her distant memories gradually stopped troubling her, which earned her some mental relief. If she could settle down mentally and completely eliminate the inner demons, it would bring great benefit to her cultivation, allowing her to truly unleash the wonders of the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace.

    On top of that, she had to help him refine the medicine that balanced fire and water!

    ¡°You¡¯re so useless.¡±

    Li Qingshan watched Ru Xin return to her dwelling as Xiao An said on the side.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Li Qingshan doubted his ears.

    ¡°So much for me taking the initiative and requesting to come back first, yet you actually did nothing at all.¡± Xiao An turned her head away like she treated him with disdain.

    ¡°What are you even thinking about? We¡¯re purely friends!¡± Li Qingshan shot a glance at her.

    Xiao An immediately began laughing.

    Li Qingshan chuckled as well, rubbing her hair and turning it into a mess. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to the tree king!¡±

    Sitting before the great banyan tree, Li Qingshan told the Great Banyan Tree King about everything he had been through, seeking his wisdom.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°You¡¯ve done very well. I never thought the meaning behind the Flower of Water and Fire would actually be that. It¡¯s not a natural spiritual herb, but a hybrid nurtured from the combined powers of Merfolk and Fire Devouring Folk. There really is a very deep tie of destiny between the two of you. You still have a very long road ahead, so you were right to take it slowly. Emotions take time to build up¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately became speechless. I¡¯ve come for your advice on strategic planning, not getting in with girls!

    ¡°The fire devourers have become guests of the King of Southern Yue. When we attack Fire Melt mountain, will the King of Southern Yue really just stand by? Or will he wait until we¡¯ve both suffered heavy losses before taking us out in one fell swoop?¡±

    ¡°No one can guarantee that, but the chances of that happening aren¡¯t high.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because logically speaking, it¡¯s impossible for you to take down Fire Melt mountain.¡±

    ¡°What! The Merfolk have three cultivators at the third heavenly tribulation at the very least. If you include my combination with Gong Yuan, as well as the Wind Gale King, the master of the sword pavilion, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor, we still can¡¯t take down a measly Fire Melt mountain?¡±

    ¡°That should have been enough, but the true power of the Divine Fire tablets is beyond your imaginations. The fire god you witnessed is just a small display of its powers. It was even restrained because it was over the ocean. If the battlefield had been Fire Melt mountain, the outcome would have been completely different.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. If the giant god of fire became even stronger, if its powers no longer ran out, if it was under Zhu Yan¡¯s control¡­ With the three ifs together, just how terrifying of an existence would it be?

    ¡°Right now, all you can do is see the effects of the Stoneheart virus. If it really is as ¡®great¡¯ as miss Ru Xin said, then the fire devourers will fly into a complete rage. Only then do you have a chance at taking down Fire Melt mountain. I¡¯ll ask the King of Southern Yue for a favour. You need a few more years of peaceful cultivation one way or another.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your care, fellow,¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely.

    With the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s guarantee, that had basically resolved his greatest worry. As long as he had a few more years, he had a very good chance at reaching the fourth layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. As long as he balanced water and fire again, he would be able to reach Daemon King.

    By then, there was nothing that could make him worry anymore! The world would be his oyster!

    Li Qingshan then assembled the cave masters in the hall at the top of the mountain. ¡°Many things happened at the Cloud Sail sect this time, but the end result was pretty good. I¡¯ve already agreed on a time with the Merfolk Queen. We plan on establishing an alliance in the Crystal palace in ten days¡¯ time to attack Fire Melt mountain. Prepare yourselves for that!¡±

    ¡°You must be curious about where Yu Wufeng has gone. He¡¯s already returned to the South Sea Sword pavilion with his master. The master of the sword pavilion has agreed to lend me a hand when the time comes, and I will release Yu Wufeng from the blood oath after the battle. That applies to you too. I¡¯ll release the blood oath for anyone that charges into battle and does good. After the battle, I don¡¯t plan on having any names left on the Blood Oath Scroll.¡±

    The cave masters shivered in fright. They understood what Li Qingshan was saying very well. He wanted them to fight for their lives in this battle in exchange for their freedom. However, if they remained passive and just tried to stay alive, death would be awaiting them even if they managed to survive.

    After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, the vicious, bloody aura he gave off proved that those were not just empty words.

    ¡°You have nothing to worry about, my king. We will definitely risk our lives and go through fire and water to assist the king in taking Fire Melt mountain.¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was the first one to step forward and express his opinion. No matter what the other cave masters were thinking, they all chimed in too.

    ¡°Very good!¡± Li Qingshan nodded, completely unconcerned about how sincere they actually were. He stood up and left, leaving the nine cave masters there. They were all solemn, exchanging glances with one another.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber turned around. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, everyone. The King of Savages has his sights set high. Not only can he establish an alliance with the Merfolk, he¡¯s even received the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s guidance. Since he¡¯s determined to take down Fire Melt mountain, he definitely has a chance. He won¡¯t just send us to our deaths. However, I can tell that we¡¯ve never gotten along. There are plenty of people who find me to be an eyesore too, but this time, if we don¡¯t work together and continue to scheme against each other, who can confidently say they can return from Fire Melt mountain alive?¡±

    Li Qingshan had already returned to the Eight Point hall in the centre of the mountain. After calling Xiao An, they entered the Asura Field together. He wanted to ask Yin Qing what the huge, stone disc that had fallen here from the Asura realm was, but all he saw was Yin Qing circling around the stone disc, studying and examining it as if she was very excited. She even failed to notice Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡¯s arrival. That was a very rare occurrence for a cautious assassin like her.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Yin Qing, do you know what this is?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do! This is something great! This is called an Asura Altar of Armaments. Aren¡¯t you missing a handy weapon, my king? With this, you¡¯ll never be lacking in weapons again¡­¡± Yin Qing¡¯s eyes shone brightly.

    Only after hearing Yin Qing¡¯s explanation did Li Qingshan learn about the function of the Asura Altar of Armaments.

    As it turned out, battles were waged constantly in the Asura realm, such that all weapons, regardless of their quality and condition, would easily break. When asura fell in battle, they could be reborn as long as their battle spirit remained, but weapons would not be reborn with them.

    The Asura Altar of Armaments was connected to the legendary Armoury of War and Chaos. All they had to do was place a damaged weapon on there as an offering, and they could obtain a brand-new weapon. If they used a large number of ordinary weapons as an offering, then they could obtain extremely powerful weapons or even potentially obtain a divine weapon.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up too. The last thing he was lacking right now were various spiritual and arcane artifacts.

 Chapter 886

    ¡°The Asura realm sure is generous!¡± Li Qingshan praised. He wanted a handy weapon, and it directly gave him an entire armoury. Then he asked Yin Qing, ¡°Oh I forgot to ask you, but was that voice really the Asura realm itself?¡±

    This was what he was most curious about. Did a world also possess life and consciousness?

    ¡°Apologies, I don¡¯t know about that. As an Asura Commander, I¡¯ve yet to touch on a secret as profound as that. You¡¯ll have to investigate it yourself. If you really are the person of legends, then you¡¯ll definitely learn about this secret!¡±

    After spectating Li Qingshan¡¯s battle against the giant god of fire, she held Li Qingshan in even greater respect. She had stopped brushing him aside indifferently like she did in the beginning, without any regard for her own life. She now showed respect from the bottom of her heart.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to ask something. What is a person of the legends?¡±

    ¡°The Asura realm and Heaven realm are at constant war with one another, but they suffer more defeats than victories, all because lord ?akra has united the heavens. All beings of the Heaven realm pool their efforts together, while the Asura realm is stuck in a state of disunity. The legend speaks of the birth of an asura demon god, who will rally everyone against heaven and achieve an unprecedented victory.¡±

    ¡°That sure does sound interesting. Do you think I resemble the person of legends?¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms and stood in a pose.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen the person of legends, so how can I answer that question? However, since the mysterious existence has given you the Asura Altar of Armaments, you must bear some resemblance!¡±

    Yin Qing admired Li Qingshan, but even she could not say Li Qingshan was the ¡°person of legends¡±, as there were simply far too many of these ¡°people of legends¡± in the Asura realm. Every single Asura King she had seen believed they were the ¡°person of legends¡±. There were countless asura that had obtained the mysterious existence¡¯s words of inspiration or even reward.

    From a certain perspective, if Li Qingshan did enter the Asura realm, then he could be regarded as an elite among asura. He possessed the spirit and strength to dominate an entire region. He was worthy of her fealty. However, he was nothing special compared to the other elites.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll die if you just suck up to me a little. Whatever. Let¡¯s try out the Asura Altar of Armaments first. Though, just what weapon should I exchange for?¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t decide, why don¡¯t you let the Asura Altar of Armaments make the decision?¡±

    ¡°That works?¡±

    ¡°My original weapon wasn¡¯t the circular blade. It was exactly because of the revelation from an Asura Altar of Armaments that I exchanged for the ¡®Void Ring¡¯. Unfortunately, it was burnt to a crisp.¡± Yin Qing sighed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You fought for me, so I¡¯ll help you get a weapon that¡¯s no weaker than the Void Ring.¡± Li Qingshan patted Yin Qing on the shoulder.

    Yin Qing smiled. ¡°Anyway, asura all believe that a warrior chooses a weapon based on the desire in the depths of their soul. It¡¯s a form of destiny.¡±

    ¡°Then let me try. What¡¯s my destiny supposed to be?¡±

    Li Qingshan strode over and stood on the Asura Altar of Armaments. He shut his eyes and spread his arms, merging his mind with the Asura Altar of Armaments under his feet.

    In that moment, he saw thousands of weapons appear out of thin air, far more than the eighteen main weapons of Chinese martial arts. However, they were all shaded over.

    With a wave of his hand, a sword flew into his hand, and he unleashed all the swordsmanship he had learnt in his life freely. Sure enough, sword qi criss-crossed wondrously, but something seemed to be missing. The darkness over the sword never faded away.

    He shook his head and tossed aside the sword. Then he picked up a large hammer.

    Time trickled by. Yin Qing and Xiao An watched on from the side. All they saw was Li Qingshan constantly gesture around with his empty hands like he was wielding various weapons. The weapons engraved on the Asura Altar of Armaments lit up one by one before dimming one by one.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows firmly, having tried around seventy or eighty weapons in the blink of an eye. Just with the sword-type weapons alone, he had tried over a dozen, like the huge sword, long sword, short sword, and dual swords. The rest went without saying, but he was unable to find one that suited him.

    Yin Qing drew a comparison between picking weapons and picking wives. What he lacked right now was love at first sight.

    He looked around. Was something missing here? Hold on, why weren¡¯t there any blades here?

    Among the various weapons, the one that was the most common with the most number of designs would definitely be blades, but in this space, there was every single weapon but blades. There was not a single blade at all. There were no blades!

    As a result, he roared, ¡°Give me a blade!¡±

    And then there was a blade!

    It was a very inconspicuous little blade, both short and small, perhaps better described as a knife. It could hardly be labelled as a weapon at all, but Li Qingshan found it to be extremely familiar.

    He held the knife in his hand and casually swung it around. He suddenly remembered it. This was once the first ¡°weapon¡± he had used in his life!

    In the run-down cowshed with the meat soup bubbling away on the bonfire, he had wielded this knife and forced back his harassing brother and sister-in-law. It was exactly this blade that assisted him in killing his first enemy after getting drunk on that night with the brilliant moon.

    Li Qingshan came to a sudden realisation. He howled, ¡°There are no gods watching over up above. Justice lies within the knife!¡±

    With a clank, the two spiky clubs were tossed beside his feet first, followed by the various spiritual and arcane artifacts he had obtained through his battles. They all piled up on the Asura Altar of Armaments.

    Ten, a hundred, three hundred, five hundred¡­

    Only when he had placed down the five hundred and twenty-seventh weapon did the Asura Altar of Armaments suddenly light up. Li Qingshan sensed something and knew this was already the limit, not because the legendary Armoury of War and Chaos had no better weapons, but with his current cultivation, killing intent, and breadth of mind, he could only exchange for a weapon of such a standard.

    Li Qingshan felt a slight sense of pity, but Yin Qing on the side was very surprised. She had once witnessed an Asura King using an Asura Altar of Armaments to exchange for a weapon, but the number and quality of weapons he ended up offering was around the same, or even a little less than that.

    Stronger weapons did not make them better. Once they surpassed the limit of the wielder, the wielder would immediately face a backlash. It was even possible for them to dominate the wielder instead. Something like that was commonplace in the Asura realm. Divine weapons had spirits. They would never recognise a weakling.

    With his cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, he can actually receive so much recognition from the Armoury of War and Chaos. That¡¯s unbelievable! If he went to the Asura realm, he¡¯d basically be a prodigy chosen by the heavens, an elite among elites!

    ¡°Sacrifice!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed.

    The five hundred and twenty-seven weapons flew up into the air, revolving, entering the Asura Altar of Armaments and vanishing.

    When the last weapon vanished, a streak of blood-red light suddenly rushed into the air.

    When the blood-red light dispersed, a weapon was planted on the Asura Altar of Armaments.

    ¡°Hmm? Why is it a sword? I clearly asked for a¡­ blade!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed and realised he had mistaken. It really was a blade. The blade was just slender and straight, without any curves at all. If it were not for its single edge, it really would have resembled a sword more.

    The blade was dark-red in colour, like layers of condensed blood. It seemed a little dull. Apart from that, there was nothing worth mentioning. There was no crossguard or patterns. Even the hilt was completely straight. Not only did it seem extremely tasteless, but it did not even give off a sharp aura befitting of a weapon either.

    ¡°This is the treasured blade I exchange for using over five hundred weapons? Why does it look like a clumsy product of an apprentice blacksmith? And it even seems like they were trying to forge a sword in the beginning, but it only ended up as a blade because of their inexperience!¡± Li Qingshan had his doubts as he grabbed the hilt.

    Yin Qing furrowed her eyebrows and racked her brain. She just found the blade to be rather familiar for some reason, but it also made no sense. After all, the Asura realm was far too vast, and there were countless weapons in existence. No matter how knowledgeable she was, it was impossible for her to know all of them. Only when Li Qingshan gripped the hilt did her heart suddenly skip a beat. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that blade?

    ¡°Be careful, my king!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt a sharp pain from the palm of his hand. The hilt that did not even have the slightest pattern suddenly seemed to be riddled in spikes, and these spikes constantly twisted and penetrated deeper into his hand, greedily drinking his blood.

    ¡°There really is something up with it!¡±

    Li Qingshan rejoiced instead of being surprised. He was not afraid of obtaining a demonic blade that attacked its master. He was only afraid that the blade would be of inferior quality. It had managed to pierce his skin instantly, which proved its uniqueness, even though he had not raised his defences.

    He ignored the pain from his hand and drew the blade from the Asura Altar of Armaments, only to see numerous red lines that resembled blood vessels light up on the dark blade.

    Li Qingshan held the blade before him horizontally and gently stroked the edge with his left hand. The densely-packed capillaries extended from the blade and penetrated his hand, sucking up his blood.

    Li Qingshan did not stop it. He allowed the strange blade to drink away. He wanted to see just how the blade would change!

    ¡°You want to drink my blood? You might as well drink to your heart¡¯s content then!¡±

    Li Qingshan held the blade in a reverse grip and stabbed it into his heart. The strange blade was like a person in the desert, on the brink of dying from hydration, only to suddenly see a spring. It drank his essence blood madly.

    Gradually, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure shrivelled and paled, but his eyes became brighter and brighter. While the strange blade was desperately drinking his blood, he took advantage of the situation to refine the strange blade.

    The refinement process was surprisingly smooth, but it was not because the strange blade was not intelligent, but because the strange blade welcomed him as its master very much. However, the reason for that left Li Qingshan with a rather strange expression. He murmured.

    ¡°Bloodjaw!¡±

    That was the name of the blade. The blade was intelligent, but it only had a single demand, which was blood, whether it was the blood of enemies or the blood of its master. The thicker and more pure the blood was, the stronger it would be.

    It had not put up any resistance while Li Qingshan refined it because there was no blood to drink in the Armoury of War and Chaos and because Li Qingshan¡¯s blood left it extremely satisfied.

    Li Qingshan practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. There were a total of four bloodlines gathered on him. Every single bloodline could be regarded as unrivalled. None of them had reached the ninth layer, so they could not be regarded as truly pure, but they were rare enough.

    Quite a while later, Li Qingshan slowly drew out Bloodjaw. His entire figure had thinned down, and his face had become extremely haggard. However, the blade in his hand shone with blood-red light exuberantly.

    He had a feeling that with a swing of this blade, even treasured swords like the Fogbow sword and the Demon Dragon sword would be cut in half. This was truly the most powerful weapon he had obtained so far. And because it was shaped like a sword, it would assist him in gradually converting the path of the sword he had developed so far to the path of the blade.

    The blood-drinking is a little vicious though. My current body is even stronger than regular Daemon Kings, and I have the Tiger Demon Transformation, so I can ignore bodily injuries. The Phoenix Transformation is there to maintain my vitality and make it endless too. If someone else had used this blade, they¡¯d probably be sucked dry before they can even kill anyone!

    Yin Qing sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t know if you¡¯re fortunate or misfortunate, my king. The Bloodjaw blade has quite the infamy in the Asura realm!¡±

 Chapter 887

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face was ashen. He seemed like he was hopelessly ill, without the slightest vitality left, but it only accentuated his jagged, tall-standing bones. His eyes shone exuberantly, such that his bearing did not weaken at all.

    After hearing what Yin Qing said, he could not help but ask, ¡°What do you mean by fortunate, and what do you mean by misfortunate?¡±

    Yin Qing said, ¡°The Bloodjaw blade is indeed a rare, treasured blade. Its destructive power is extremely startling, and among weapons of the same level, there are basically none that can rival it. However, the reason why this blade is infamous is not because of its power, but because it¡¯s just too difficult to use. The only way to unleash this blade¡¯s power is to feed it full with blood, and it has a very high demand for the quality of the blood.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I nurture it through battle? All I have to do is constantly cut down enemies.¡± Li Qingshan studied the blood-red Bloodjaw blade in his hand and came to a vague understanding about its meaning. That was a bloodthirstiness that could never be satiated.

    ¡°Who can be certain that they¡¯ll win every single battle they fight? Even if they win, they might not necessarily be able to kill a powerful opponent, which is why they say that this blade must see blood once wielded. If it doesn¡¯t drink enough of the enemy¡¯s blood, then it¡¯ll drink its master¡¯s blood. Even when Asura Kings wield this blade, it renders them very weak if they have to feed it to the brim. There are no Asura Commanders like me who are bold enough to grip the hilt like how you did. Our lives might even be at risk if we do that.¡±

    ¡°But exactly because it¡¯s difficult to use, past masters of the Bloodjaw blade would often offer it up on the Asura Altar of Armaments in exchange for a different weapon. Many divine weapons even stronger than it have been destroyed in battle, but only it continues to remain. My king, if you¡¯re not accustomed to it, you can always offer it up again. It¡¯s just great to have an Asura Altar of Armaments all to yourself!¡±

    ¡°No, I find this blade to be quite nice. It¡¯s perfect for wounding and injuring people. Don¡¯t forget that this world isn¡¯t the Asura realm. The intensity and frequency of battle is nowhere near as great. I¡¯ll have ample time to recover,¡± Li Qingshan said and delivered a pill into his mouth.

    He possessed the bloodline of the phoenix, so his ability to produce blood was quite strong. After refining the Bloodjaw blade, he could sense the uniqueness of the blade. It felt like it was connected to his bloodline. He could wield it with great ease, like it was his own arm. He had never experienced something like that with any weapons in the past.

    As a result, he thought of an idea. He channelled the power of tremors into it, and a layer of black ripples appeared on the blade. With a gentle swing, he left behind a black crack in the space there!

    ¡°Good blade!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    He had never really depended on weapons because his most destructive method of attack was his fists. The destructiveness of the power of tremors was far too great. If he unleashed it through a weapon as a medium, the weapon would be unavoidably damaged no matter how great his control was. The only way to avoid damage was to suppress the power of tremors and not unleash them at full strength, but that would make using a weapon pointless. He was better off being a little more straightforward and just throwing his fists!

    After almost drinking all of his blood, the Bloodjaw blade seemed to become a part of him, no longer an external object. It finally allowed him to unleash the power of tremors to his heart¡¯s content, merging the innate ability into the blade style. The aspect that most people found to be a flaw was actually its greatest advantage.

    When he merged the power of tremors into the blade, it definitely would not be a simple addition in terms of strength. It allowed his wounding power to reach an unprecedented height, like giving fangs to a tiger.

    The Bloodjaw blade also trembled, as if it had met a very good friend. A natural compatibility existed between the man and the blade.

    Li Qingshan stroked the blade gently. ¡°Since you¡¯re my blade, then let me give you a good name. Bloodjaw or whatever it is is just far too unsophisticated. Hmm, let me think about it. Jaw also means fang, which is equivalent to your name, and it was exactly because of my tiger nature that I obtained the Asura realm¡¯s recognition, which allowed me to obtain you. That¡¯s our destiny. From today onwards, you can take on the ¡®tiger¡¯ from me, so you can be called Tiger¡¯s Fang!¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted up Tiger¡¯s Fang proudly and asked Xiao An and Yin Qing, ¡°How¡¯s the name?¡±

    Probably because of the successful example of naming himself ¡°Qingshan¡±, he had always held blind confidence in his ability to come up with names. Of course, the name ¡°Xiao An¡± was also one of his proud works, no less than ¡°Qingshan¡±.

    Sure enough, Xiao An said sincerely, ¡°It¡¯s fantastic!¡±

    Yin Qing faltered, and her expression became rather troubled. She wondered whether there was something with her sense of beauty, or that she did not have a good understanding of the customs of this world. She thought, Isn¡¯t ¡®Tiger¡¯s Fang¡¯ a name you give your kiddies from the mountains? Why does it sound much more unsophisticated than Bloodjaw! But changing the name of a blade like that is anything but simple. If I were Bloodjaw, I¡¯d never change my name to Tiger¡¯s Fang.

    An intelligent weapon like that could not have its name changed on a whim. The intelligence in the weapon had to agree with it. It was just like how Li Qingshan could only change the Soaring Dragon sword¡¯s name to the Demon Dragon sword after he had completely subdued and refined it.

    Under their watch, the blade flickered with blood-red light before suddenly dimming. A portion of the blood vessels lit up, exhibiting the words ¡°Tiger¡¯s Fang¡±.

    The blade was intelligent, but its thoughts were not that complicated. It could not feign agreement like humans. It had without a doubt recognised the new name Li Qingshan had given from the ¡°bottom of its heart¡±, and it had done so under circumstances without any suppression or coercion. If another person obtained the blade in the future, the name would be Tiger¡¯s Fang and not Bloodjaw.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Yin Qing let out a silent sigh. After all, weapons became renowned through battles and its wielder.

    ¡°Do you have any objections? Little Qing!¡± Li Qingshan glanced over and asked with a smile.

    Little Qing? Yin Qing shivered all over. ¡°No, no. The name is fantastic. Truly a work of art by the king.¡± After some hesitation, she said, ¡°Though, I think you should just call me by my name, my king!¡±

    What Little Qing? She could not withstand it at all!

    ¡°Sigh, you¡¯ve spent too much time in the Asura realm after all. All you know is to fight and kill. It¡¯s unavoidable if you don¡¯t really have a naming sense. That¡¯s not your fault. Alright, you can use the Asura Altar of Armaments now. You have to exchange for the best weapon possible!¡± Li Qingshan patted Yin Qing on the shoulder in consolation.

    Yin Qing was tongue-tied. There was nothing she could say.

    ¡­¡­

    Ten days elapsed in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan ate pills every single day and finally recovered some colour in his face, no longer as haggard as before. However, he still seemed like he was just recovering from a major illness, his face pale-white. However, he did not care as he fiddled around with the Tiger¡¯s Fang blade.

    The blade was fitted with a blade sheathe. Because the blade was perfectly straight, it seemed more like a sword sheath. The Great Banyan Tree King had personally created it using his own branches. It was a dark-green, which made it seem like a branch that had just been snapped off. It even had the patterning of bark, as it had not been polished. There was only a ring of aerial roots around the outside, sealing the bloodiness of the blade within. As such, none of it leaked out.

    Not only did it guarantee that Li Qingshan¡¯s blood would not go to waste, it also concealed its might, which prevented anyone from imagining such a vicious, bloody blade was actually hiding within the simple, natural ¡°sword sheath¡±.

    Li Qingshan hung Tiger¡¯s Fang on his waist and said to Xiao An, ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go check out the Crystal palace!¡±

    Through the divination of the spirit turtle, he knew that this trip would be turbulent, but right now, he feared absolutely nothing.

    Once unsheathed, the Tiger¡¯s Fang only returned after seeing blood!

 Chapter 888

    On the main peak of the Fire Melt mountain, in the centre of the magnificent, scarlet palace, was a place akin to a small garden. The divine wutong tree was planted there. Its bark was red like fire, and its leaves were like flowers, layered together to form a huge canopy. Although it was nowhere close to the Great Banyan Tree King in size, it was still an extremely grand sight to behold. It shone with a pure, crystalline glow.

    The scarlet branches wove into a huge bird¡¯s nest. That was where the phoenix had once roosted. It was where the noble, divine bird had once rested, sung, rebirthed, and ascended.

    When the phoenix flew away, it had once hesitated about leaving its nest behind. That was a fact that no one knew.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings sat beneath the divine wutong tree, each wielding a Divine Fire tablet. Their auras were interlinked and inseparable, constantly training and practising together in their seas of consciousness.

    It had already been ten days since the major eruption. To them, it was almost as short as an instant, but after this ¡°instant¡± had passed, they basically all felt a shadow being cast on their minds at the same time. They opened their eyes and looked at one another.

    What had happened?

    Fire devourers were not skilled at divination, but at their cultivation, they obviously had a slight, profound sense over the obscure existence of fate.

    And what they sensed right now clearly was not some auspicious omen.

    Before long, a shaman priest in fiery-red robes rushed into the sacred little garden and reported to the three kings that a clansman had died.

    ¡°Where did he die?¡± Zhu Fen frowned and exchanged glances with Zhu Zai and Zhu Yan. The death of a clansman clearly was not enough for the shaman priest to specially interrupt their cultivation.

    ¡°At the foot of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°How did he die? Did something go wrong with his cultivation, or was he fighting with someone?¡± Zhu Fen frowned even harder. Within the vicinity of the mountains, he could not think of a third way of dying apart from these two situations. If it really were one of these two situations, then he would definitely punish this shaman priest who had no sense of propriety.

    ¡°Neither. I- it seems like some kind of strange disease. Perhaps he was poisoned!¡±

    ¡°Even fire devourers can fall sick? Just who can poison the flames beneath the mountains? Where¡¯s the corpse?¡±

    Under the lead of the shaman priest, the three kings arrived in a stone room at the foot of the mountains. A young fire devourer laid there.

    Zhu Fen knew this young man. He was a genius who had earned quite a name for himself in the younger generation of the race. He could devour fire spiritual qi. He cultivated extremely quickly, already close to the first heavenly tribulation. Perhaps he could become a new king in a thousand years¡¯ time, but now he had died here under such mysterious circumstances. His face was a very unnatural ashen colour too. His eyes were wide open as if he struggled to believe this was his fate. It was filled with fear and despair.

    ¡°Something is wrong. He¡¯s lost his fury!¡± Zhu Zai closed the young man¡¯s eyes. To fire devourers, fury was not just an emotion, but a never-ending spirit of battle. Even when they faced certain death, they should not have exhibited an expression like that.

    The young man¡¯s companion was called in. She was around the same age as him and had a bright and beautiful face, except it was filled with sorrow now. The young man¡¯s death seemed to drain her life of all interest.

    ¡°How did he die?¡± Zhu Yan asked.

    ¡°My king, he suddenly said he felt discomfort in the heart a few days ago. I thought he had devoured the fire a little too viciously, such that he found it a little difficult to endure, so I told him to rest here. Afterwards, he gradually ran out of energy, like he was a completely different person. He just silently died.¡±

    ¡°With life comes death. Haven¡¯t you seen a dead person before? Why do you have an expression like that?¡± Zhu Zai stared at the young woman and noticed an ashen colour on her face similar to the young man¡¯s, only not as obvious. It made her feel a hint of unease.

    ¡°I- I feel uncomfortable inside!¡± The young woman could not help but be rather alarmed when the king Zai she admired questioned her. She felt worse and worse inside.

    Zhu Fen suddenly plunged his hand into the young man¡¯s chest and dug out a heart. Despite being so unruly and fearless most of the time, his face was overcome with surprise too. The heart that should have been fiery-red had now become a greyish-white rock.

    The young woman let out a miserable yelp and clutched her chest. She took a step back, and a horrific wound had appeared on the left of her chest.

    ¡°Move your hand!¡± Zhu Zai ordered. She was the one who had suddenly struck and split open the young woman¡¯s chest.

    The young woman endured the pain and moved her hand. Within her jagged ribcage laid a fiery-red heart, except a greyish-white colour had swallowed most of it, turning it extremely dim.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡± Zhu Fen roared furiously.

    ¡°Apart from them, there are many more clansmen who feel uncomfortable. It seemed to begin after the major eruption ten days ago.¡±

    ¡°Go, find all the people who feel uncomfortable!¡±

    The shaman priest rushed off after receiving that order and returned with all the fire devourers with similar symptoms soon after. None of them had undergone a heavenly tribulation, but there were so many of them that even the three Fire Devouring Kings were shocked. And there were still many more fire devourers who believed there was nothing wrong with them, or their symptoms had yet to show.

    What made them even more uneasy was Zhu Zai had been tending to the young woman this entire time, eliminating the greyish-white from her heart. She plunged her left hand into her chest and gripped the heart firmly, but she was afraid to use too much power, or she might directly melt the heart. However, it was basically useless.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a regular poison. It¡¯s more like a disease that humans speak of!¡±

    The three of them caught the scent of a scheme at the same time. Something was wrong with the eruption this time. Someone had done something to the flames. Just who was it? The Merfolk? The King of Yue?

    Now was not the time to consider that question. Their priority was to cure this strange disease. If all the infected clansmen died like the young man, then it would basically be an unimaginable disaster to Fire Melt mountain.

    Let alone attacking Savage mountain, they had even cast their war with the Merfolk to the back of their minds. The shrill sound of a horn rang out from the main peak, summoning all the mid and high-ranking members of the race!

    ¡°There¡¯s probably an outbreak now! Father, are you seeing this? You won¡¯t blame me, right?¡±

    Ru Xin spent a few days recuperating in her dwelling before coming to the peak of the mountain alone, gazing in the direction of Fire Melt mountain. That cheerful and enthusiastic face appeared in her mind. Whenever she endured the torture from the conflict of water and fire, he would always find a way to make her laugh. Even after they had been captured by Fire Melt mountain, watching his wife being burnt to death right in front of him, he continued to smile, as if it was only a vicious joke.

    Back then, she hated him so madly that it even surpassed her hatred towards Zhu Yan, at least until he used the opportunity when Zhu Yan entered secluded cultivation to escape from Fire Melt mountain with her. No one had imagined a fire devourer could possess such forbearance. He successfully fooled everyone, and in the end, what he left her with was still a smile.

    ¡°My dear daughter, I have a huge secret I have to tell you today. Actually, you were adopted by your mother and I!¡±

    ¡°Huh!?¡±

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve fallen for it! Travel northwards, the further the better. My good daughter, I¡¯ll come and find you as soon as I lead the pursuing forces away!¡±

    She ended up being tricked again! Even towards the end, he could not say a word of sorry, but even if he did, he definitely would have turned it into a joke!

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t care if you blame me or not. I¡¯ve done it already. I¡¯ve always been this stubborn. I¡¯m not good at all!¡± Ru Xin whispered to herself and touched her chest. The heart of hers that belonged to a fire devourer had already cooled and petrified.

    In order to refine the virus that specifically targeted fire devourers, she had always been the perfect experimental specimen. It was all thanks to the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace that she could refine her heart into a rock and then into a piece of jade. As such, it would not cost her her life.

    She had to thank her master, Hua Ci. That small, dark-skinned old man insisted on saving that annoying Chu Tian and attributed all the work to her, without holding back at all. However, there was no need for her to feel deeply grateful. That was not the first time he had saved her life anyway.

    ¡°I really have come across a lot of kind-hearted people! Compared to Li Qingshan, that pitiful man who never had any parents since young, was harassed by his elder brother¡¯s family, and would run into a great pile of enemies no matter where he goes, my life is still very great.¡± Ru Xin happily found consolation from the ¡°pitiful¡± Li Qingshan. Then she thought in complete ¡°malice¡±, When he goes to the Crystal palace this time, he¡¯ll run into a conflict with the Merfolk again. Gong Yuan, oh Gong Yuan, it really is your misfortune to run into a sex fiend like him!

    At the same time, thousands of kilometers away, Li Qingshan rubbed his nose and gazed at the sea chart in his hand. He said to Xiao An, ¡°The Crystal palace is probably beneath here. The Merfolk sure are rude. They didn¡¯t even send a person to welcome me. So much for saving their queen¡¯s life.¡±

    ¡°The Merfolk would probably be even more grateful if you didn¡¯t do that.¡± Xiao An smiled. When it came to understanding people, she far surpassed Li Qingshan. Back then above Giant Ship island, he and Gong Yuan had fended off the enemies through a method almost akin to dual cultivation.

    Back then, perhaps Gong Yuan would thank him for saving her life. When her mind was one-sidedly suppressed and controlled by him, she might even rely and depend on him instinctively, but now that she was in charge again, it was a whole different attitude.

    She was the mighty Merfolk Queen. Just how cold, proud, and noble was she? Yet she had actually been held in the hands of a man in front of so many people, which already left her embarrassed enough. However, compared to the embarrassment of being mentally invaded and controlled, that was nothing. On top of that, the man had ignored her influence and might right from the beginning. When he saved her, he had to negotiate a deal with her, so he could not exactly be regarded as righteous. Towards the end, he even behaved like nothing had happened at all, putting forward his demands for the alliance.

    If it were not for dealing with the fire devourers¡¯ Divine Fire tablets, if it were not for finding the method of eliminating her inner demons, perhaps she would wish to never see him again, or even directly kill him.

    Xiao An dissected these aspects for Li Qingshan and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s why you shouldn¡¯t think you can do whatever you please in the Crystal palace just because you¡¯ve hugged her! This time, she¡¯ll probably give you quite the attitude!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as well. ¡°You sure have read through her thoughts. Now that you say it, I do regret it a little. If I had known earlier, I would have acted a little more righteously. Perhaps that would have stolen Gong Yuan¡¯s heart. Cough, cough, what am I telling you this for?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, even if you didn¡¯t tell me, I would have guessed it!¡±

    Suddenly, a water spout erupted from the ocean, and a blue whale swam over. It approached the surface, and with a leap, it burst out of the water, turning into a large man in the middle of the air. He clasped his hands at Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting here for quite some time now for the King of Savage¡¯s grand arrival. I left in a hurry last time, so I was unable to thank you for saving my life. Please accept a bow from me!¡±

    As he said that, he bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan. He was that elder Blue.

 Chapter 889

    ¡°Back then in the Feilian hall, I could sense your intentions to protect me. We definitely have to go for a hearty drink this time.¡± Li Qingshan helped up elder Blue and smiled at him. Xiao An became expressionless again and stood by Li Qingshan¡¯s side silently.

    ¡°The Crystal palace is right below. I lost track of time, so please forgive my rudeness!¡± elder Blue said. He understood the weight behind these words, as he was afraid Li Qingshan would just turn around and leave if he was angered.

    ¡°It¡¯s a small matter, so why dwell on it? Let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan swung his hand. He had never been one to care about courtesy. As long as others were sincere to him, he would be more than happy to treat them with sincerity too.

    Elder Blue thought, His true strength far exceeds mine, enough to stand on equal footing with the queen, yet he doesn¡¯t look down on me just because I willingly serve as the queen¡¯s mount. It definitely is not like the fake politeness from mister Ram of the King of Yue¡¯s estate either. Honestly, he¡¯s not a very difficult person to get along with. He¡¯ll just erupt whenever people try to deal with him. He refuses to put up with them. Hopefully, the three majesties don¡¯t make things too difficult for him. Then the talks of the alliance can proceed smoothly. Oh right, hopefully that Divine Nun of the South Sea doesn¡¯t end up stirring trouble either.

    They travelled beside one another, arriving in the water and diving deep. As they dove deeper, the surroundings became darker and darker, but in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, it seemed to grow brighter and brighter instead, as the spiritual qi was becoming denser and denser. The entire ocean rippled and glowed.

    From time to time, Merfolk guards on orcas would swim by, bowing towards elder Blue and casting amazed and breath-taken gazes towards Li Qingshan and Xiao An. However, they were highly vigilant. Although they knew the two of them were Gong Yuan¡¯s guests, they clearly did not know about Li Qingshan¡¯s glorious deed of defeating the giant god of fire and saving the Merfolk Queen on Giant Ship island.

    Gong Yuan had told all who accompanied her that time to keep their mouths shut, just in case it damaged her prestige as the queen. The regular merpeople only knew she had miraculously turned the tables when her back was to the wall and used the Heart of the Abyss to achieve victory in the end.

    Li Qingshan studied the rare sight of the deep sea around him. Strange fish, either extremely large or multicoloured, glided past beside him. His gaze returned to Xiao An in the end. Her seaweed-like hair rippled with the water, and her bright eyes seemed to be able to contain the entire ocean. It brought peace to his mind.

    Xiao An smiled back at him, even stunning elder Blue beside them. He thought, This girlie sure is strange. It seems like some kind of art of charm, yet it also doesn¡¯t, even stunning an old whale like me. If I were human, I¡¯d definitely be enamoured by her. Along the way, he noticed several Merfolk guards gaze at her figure blankly as she vanished off into the deep ocean before finally turning around reluctantly and continuing their patrol. They had completely forgotten about their contempt for humans.

    There was a flash in the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s eye, making him turn around. He was amazed. ¡°So this is the Crystal palace. It really does live up to its name.¡±

    Within the deep sea, a palace constructed from crystal stood atop an underwater mountain, like it was the only existence in the world. The tall towers shimmered with azure light, as magnificent as the castles from fairytales, but it also bore an unfathomable sense of coldness and prestige. Behind the mountain was a bottomless black abyss.

    Passing through the numerous formations, they finally arrived before the Crystal palace. Li Qingshan was once again amazed by its towering size. From afar, it felt like nothing, but once he was up close, the Crystal palace seemed even more extraordinarily large. He had once used the Profound Light Illuminates All to observe the palace on Fire Melt mountain. Originally, he thought the Crystal palace of the Merfolk would be of similar size and scale, but he never expected it to be hundreds, thousands of times larger. It was basically like a mountain constructed from crystal.

    ¡°The Crystal palace was originally constructed by the Merfolk for a true dragon, which is why it¡¯s so large!¡± Elder Blue introduced.

    ¡°A true dragon? Then it sure has some age to it!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but think of the underground world beneath the Clear River prefecture and Cobweb city that the night roamers had built for Spider Queen Lolth. Then he thought back to a million years ago, when the daemons, or perhaps better described as the dragons, reigned over the world. Afterwards, the godfolk took over, now followed by the humans who built the empire and lorded over the nine provinces. With the constant shifts in history, no one could reign supreme forever!

    ¡°But it¡¯s said that the true dragon preferred sleeping in the abyss behind here.¡± Elder Blue smiled, but he furrowed his brows in an undetectable manner. Gong Yuan had actually sent no one to receive them, but fortunately, Li Qingshan seemed to be engrossed in his thoughts about history, so he did not notice this further discourtesy.

    A gust of wind swept out of the Crystal palace. As it turned out, Ji Changfeng had come to receive him.

    In the depths of the Crystal palace, in the tallest tower, several pairs of eyes gazed at the projection on the crystal wall and watched them.

    ¡°Yuan¡¯er, are you certain? Did he really save you on Giant Ship island? He hasn¡¯t even undergone the third heavenly tribulation yet!¡± asked an old, graceful and noble madam from beside Gong Yuan with a face full of doubt.

    ¡°Yes, granny. He defeated the giant god of fire summoned by the fire devourers through the Divine Fire tablet, and he helped me suppress my inner demons, controlling the Heart of the Abyss. If the King of Southern Yue had not interfered, we almost would have prevented the three fire devourers from leaving the South sea forever!¡± Gong Yuan said politely.

    This was not the first time the two other Merfolk Kings, a woman and man, had heard of this, but they were still surprised. A human cultivator that had not even undergone the third heavenly tribulation had almost turned the tables and forced the Divine-Fire-tablet-wielding Fire Devouring Kings into dire straits. If it had not been Gong Yuan who was telling them with such certainty, they never would have believed it.

    ¡°If it really were the legendary Divine Fire tablets, then it couldn¡¯t be him that defeated the giant god of fire. There must be something up with the arcane treasure. Though, the fact that he helped you suppress your inner demons is much more worthy of attention. He might have obtained some kind of special cultivation method. If we can get it from him, it¡¯ll be of great benefit to us! We have to get him to hand over the wretched spawn too. You were in the wrong back then. You shouldn¡¯t have let them leave the South sea!¡±

    ¡°Granny¡± prattled away, treating Li Qingshan like a lamb to the slaughter, someone she could butcher whenever she wanted.

    ¡°That Li Qingshan isn¡¯t a person who yields easily, and he¡¯s saved my life after all. He¡¯s also come to assist us against the fire devourers this time. Even the King of Southern Yue has to show him some respect.¡± Gong Yuan frowned slightly. Originally, she did want to cut Li Qingshan down to size, but she found that ¡°granny¡± would be going a little overboard. In particular, what she said at the end crossed her bottom line.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about your identity. Since you are the current king, the interests of the Merfolk come first for everything, not your personal likes and dislikes!¡± ¡°Granny¡± suddenly became stern.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, you¡¯re welcome to dismiss me, granny!¡± Gong Yuan smiled frigidly and radiated with coldness.

    The two other Merfolk Kings spoke up in a hurry to mediate the situation. They were both older than Gong Yuan, but neither of them dared to treat her as a junior. As a practitioner of the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End and the wielder of the Heart of the Abyss, only ¡°granny¡± with the greatest cultivation could contend against Gong Yuan. In the war against the fire devourers, her strength would be even more important than ¡°granny¡±.

    And due to the inner demons, she had always been very ill-tempered.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯ve changed!¡± ¡°Granny¡± sighed helplessly and said to the old nun beside her, ¡°Just some awry household affairs. I¡¯ve made a fool of myself before you, fellow!¡±

    The old nun seemed to hear nothing at all. She stared straight at the crystal wall, at Xiao An.

 Chapter 890

    ¡°Granny¡± had to call her a few more times before the old nun returned to her senses. She said in praise, ¡°Sure enough, this child possesses the aptitude for buddhism and is heavily endowed with a buddhist nature. She should become my disciple and inherit my legacy.¡±

    The old nun was the most mysterious great cultivator of the South sea. She neither founded a sect and recruited followers from everywhere, nor did she normally have any contact with other cultivators. She specially toured through the various regions of the South sea, spreading the buddhist dharma and doing good. Instead, she had an extremely resonant reputation among the mortals and was known as the Divine Nun of the South Sea. Many places had built shrines for her.

    Now that the Crystal palace was about to go to war against Fire Melt mountain, ¡°granny¡± had specially invited her here.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea was originally reluctant to partake in the war among otherfolk. She was disinterested in the treasures of the Crystal palace too, but ¡°granny¡± told her that two buddhist disciples from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would be coming, and that both of them were highly talented with extraordinary cultivations. Among them, the woman was even treated by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as a one-in-a-thousand-years buddhist prodigy. As a result, she became interested and said she would come and take a look.

    When she first saw Li Qingshan, the Divine Nun of the South Sea secretly frowned. He was clad in armour, wearing a horned helmet, which made him seem more like a military general and not a monk. He did not have a buddhist sense of benevolence at all. Instead, he seemed very vicious and malicious. Then she saw Xiao An and was stunned. What a girlie with a natural aptitude for buddhism, deep with the root of wisdom! On top of that, she already possesses such a cultivation at her age! Not only is she destined to undergo the third heavenly tribulation in the future, but there¡¯s even a chance for her to ascend!

    ¡°Unfortunately, she¡¯s a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga,¡± said Gong Yuan.

    ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga is a temple of monks. I haven¡¯t heard that any Monk King has specially accepted her as their direct disciple, so it¡¯s not exactly impossible for her to shift over to the abbess.¡± ¡°Granny¡± cast a glance at Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan disagreed inside. After witnessing the sword stroke from Xiao An in Feilian hall, she no longer dared to underestimate this expressionless lady. ¡°Granny¡± wanted to use her to rope in the Divine Nun of the South Sea, but she only viewed her as a regular cultivator. Her calculations were not fantastic, and the Li Qingshan right beside her was even less easy of a nut to crack.

    As they spoke, Li Qingshan, Xiao An and elder Blue had already made their way through the crystal corridor and arrived outside the hall. Elder Blue reported their arrival and invited them in.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s been a few days. You look much better, your majesty.¡±

    ¡°You too, King of Savages!¡± Gong Yuan nodded gently, but she was puzzled inside. Why was Li Qingshan so sickly? Had he suffered a hidden wound during the battle? However, it was inconvenient for her to ask about it, so she introduced Li Qingshan to the others in the hall.

    Seeing how Gong Yuan had no intentions of holding a banquet to thank him for saving his life, Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. ¡°Everyone¡¯s time is very precious, so I¡¯m not going to beat around the bush. I want Fire Melt mountain and the divine wutong tree. I can give up on everything else, but I definitely won¡¯t accept it if even just one of them is missing. If it¡¯s possible, we can start discussing the strategy and put in a good effort against the fire devourers.¡±

    Gong Yuan¡¯s icy face also thawed slightly. Li Qingshan did not go overboard and make some excessive demands. Fire Melt mountain was a very rare blessed land for cultivation, but it was useless to the Merfolk. As an ancient divine tree, the divine wutong tree was very precious, but it was rooted on Fire Melt mountain and immovable. Since they could give him Fire Melt mountain, then that just came with it. Moreover, his two demands were built off the condition that they did manage to take down Fire Melt mountain and eradicate the fire devourers.

    Ji Changfeng eased up inside as well. Li Qingshan¡¯s demands did not have any conflict with his, and it was not unacceptable. They were basically half-way to forming the alliance already.

    ¡°Young man, aren¡¯t you afraid of boasting? Do you know what kind of blessed land Fire Melt mountain is, and what kind of divine item the wutong tree is? Just what gives you the right to put forward these two demands?¡±

    ¡°Granny¡± stared at Li Qingshan. She wanted much more than those from Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Old ma¡¯am, I have no right. Those are just my conditions. It¡¯s up to you if you want to agree or not.¡± Li Qingshan did not get angry. If Ru Xin¡¯s Stoneheart could achieve its expected effect, then the battle this time would be unprecedentedly brutal. He was confident that Gong Yuan could see this too.

    ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for us to agree, but I also have two demands, so hear me out. First of all, hand over the wretched spawn to us. Second of all, hand over your cultivation method that can suppress the inner demons.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He broke into laughter. ¡°Gong Yuan, don¡¯t tell me your granny has gone senile? If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I had obtained a fine blade recently and am in a good mood, I would have cut her down already just after the first demand. As for the second demand, hehe, don¡¯t you find it embarrassing just by mentioning it?¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s significance to him went without saying, while a powerful cultivation method to a cultivator was virtually as important as their life. She really was getting ahead of herself if she thought she could obtain it just by asking for it.

    ¡°Such impudence!¡± ¡°Granny¡± bellowed out sternly. She thumped her dragon-headed cane, and a thunderous rumble rang out. ¡°Where do you think you are right now? Why don¡¯t you try and cut me?¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately experienced tremendous pressure, like the entire ocean was crushing down on him. The seawater in the surroundings surged and became filled with killing intent. He sneered, and his eyes became tranquil and deep, glowing with clear, dim light. The surging sea water immediately settled down, without a single ripple remaining.

    ¡°Granny¡± was stunned inside. What is this cultivation method? It actually bears a hint of a divine nature. It can severely restrain water.

    Li Qingshan held down the Tiger¡¯s Fang that was eager to have a go at her. He said to Xiao An, ¡°This just feels like we¡¯re begging them. Forget it. Let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s just wait and see after the war between the fire devourers and merpeople!¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Several voices rang out at the same time. ¡°Granny¡¯s¡± was furious, Gong Yuan¡¯s was calm, and Ji Changfeng¡¯s was anxious. However, the Divine Nun of the South Sea was the most direct, arriving before Li Qingshan and Xiao An in a flash.

    Li Qingshan studied the nun before him and thought, What¡¯s this all about? He brought his palms together and asked, ¡°Abbess, may I ask what is the matter?¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea ignored him, saying to Xiao An instead, ¡°Child, you have quite the destiny with me. Are you willing to accept me as your master?¡±

    Li Qingshan had learnt a long time ago that buddhist monks all took a liking to Xiao An, but he never imagined her charms were actually so great, enough for a great cultivator to scramble over and go on about some ¡°destiny¡±, directly wanting to accept her as a disciple, without any self-regard. We¡¯re negotiating, alright? Do you have to destroy the atmosphere like this?

    Xiao An bowed at her politely. ¡°I¡¯ve also found the abbess to be amicable at first glance, but I¡¯ve already entered the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga unfortunately, so I can¡¯t cultivate with you.¡±

    What the nun said afterwards left Li Qingshan stumped. He had no idea what she had just said. She seemed to have used some kind of allegory from a buddhist scripture to express the vastness of buddhism and how they should not cling to the idea of schools and sects. Xiao An immediately responded with other allegories. Just like that, the two of them chimed in one after another, discussing the dharma like there was nobody else around. They left everyone absolutely clueless.

    Ji Changfeng spoke up for Li Qingshan. ¡°Fellow Gong, your demands are far too harsh. We¡¯ve specially invited the King of Savages here for revenge, yet it¡¯s ended up like this. How can you call that receiving a guest, let alone asking him to hand over his cultivation method? Do you want me to hand over my Method of the Wind God as well?¡±

    Gong Yuan said, ¡°Please calm down, fellow Ji. King of Savages, feel free to sit down and have a talk. When it comes to a major affair like forming an alliance, leaving in a huff over the slightest disagreement is not the behaviour of a great man.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at Xiao An who was ¡°trapped¡± with the Divine Nun of the South Sea and arrived before Gong Yuan. He did not take a seat, casually sitting down on the jade table and crossing his arms. ¡°Then let¡¯s hear what you have to say, your majesty. Since you know that forming an alliance is a major affair, you shouldn¡¯t let those ignorant of its significance talk nonsense here. It¡¯ll only destroy our respect for one another that we¡¯ve built up after so much difficulty.¡±

    Before Gong Yuan could even get a word in, ¡°granny¡± flew into a rage. ¡°You¡¯re just a mere human. You¡¯ve come to my Crystal palace, and you still have the courage to let your tongue run? I¡¯d like to see what you¡¯re capable of.¡±

    Gong Yuan frowned. When ¡°granny¡± became carried away, even she struggled to stop her. Most importantly, the two other Merfolk Kings disagreed with him. They could mediate between Gong Yuan and ¡°granny¡±, but they could not allow an outsider to behave so arrogantly. Most importantly, the outsider¡¯s cultivation was far lower than theirs, and he was even sickly in appearance. He did not seem like someone worthy of their respect.

    ¡°How would you like to see it?¡± Li Qingshan answered with a question.

    ¡°You said you¡¯ve obtained a fine blade recently. That must be the one hanging on your waist. Let¡¯s see just how ¡®fine¡¯ that blade of yours is!¡±

    ¡°Granny¡± arrived before Li Qingshan with her dragon-headed cane, her face filled with anger.

    ¡°You actually want to see it? Once unsheathed, this blade will always see blood!¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°See whose blood?¡±

    ¡°Obviously whoever wants to see it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯d like to see just how you make me see blood.¡±

    ¡°Granny¡± began laughing out of anger, staring straight at Li Qingshan. It had to be mentioned that even if the Fire Devouring King Zhu Yan was present, he probably was not her opponent. Although water was weaker than fire in battle, the difference in their cultivations was still a thing. To her, what Li Qingshan said was like a fly telling a human, I can bite you to death in a single gulp. It was utterly hilarious and repulsing.

    Li Qingshan stood up. He pressed his hand against the hilt, and his eyebrows sank. He said nothing.

    The atmosphere in the hall immediately froze. Even the Divine Nun of the South Sea and Xiao An stopped their buddhist conversation, casting their gazes over.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea asked secretly, ¡°Who is he to you? He¡¯ll probably end up suffering. He is a genius given his age and cultivation, but isn¡¯t he a little too mindlessly arrogant? The blade is a little strange, but how can it be her opponent?¡±

    Xiao An shook her head. ¡°You reap what you sow.¡±

    A while later, Li Qingshan let go of the hilt. He sighed. ¡°Looking at your senility, I really can¡¯t bring myself to do it. Whatever, whatever. When people get old, they¡¯re bound to take advantage of their seniority. It¡¯s really nothing strange for them to utter some nonsense. Gong Yuan, why don¡¯t you keep an eye on her?¡±

    Gong Yuan was speechless.

    ¡°What, afraid?¡± ¡°Granny¡± said in disdain. She mocked herself for actually taking him a little seriously earlier. She raised the cane high into the air. ¡°Though, I¡¯d like to see your blood!¡±

    In that moment, a blood-red streak of light ripped through her field of vision. A tiger¡¯s roar filled the hall!

 Chapter 891 Alliance

    ¡°Granny¡± was frightened, retreating instinctively and swinging her cane to block. The dragon-headed cane was also an arcane treasure, sculpted from a dragon¡¯s bone. It possessed a hint of intelligence, producing a dragon¡¯s cry, except it seemed rather feeble within the wild roar.

    Foul wind swept through the surroundings, and murderousness surged.

    Li Qingshan went from being a rather sickly man to an unparalleled tiger demon, and the blade in his hand was the tiger demon¡¯s fangs!

    He had never had the chance to try out the blade since he obtained it. Even when faced with ¡°granny¡¯s¡± provocation, he was not too interested in using the blade, as the price he would have to pay was substantial.

    Now, he had finally swung out with it to his heart¡¯s content.

    He had never properly studied a blade style. Although the swing was rooted in the path of the sword, it was much more free-flowing, forming a style of its own. It did not possess any resemblance to the path of the sword. Instead it gave off a hearty and satisfying feeling.

    Sure enough, I should use the blade!

    With that thought in mind, the streak of blood-red light clashed with the dragon-headed cane.

    Black cracks flowed on top of the red light, tremoring away rhythmically and slicing into the cane like a chainsaw. It cut through the cane in a single stroke before cutting through her protective spiritual qi, slicing through her flesh, and greedily drinking her blood.

    ¡°Granny¡¯s¡± face was filled with disbelief. Everyone¡¯s faces were filled with disbelief. Only Xiao An remained expressionless. The Divine Nun of the South Sea suddenly understood what she meant. As it turned out, Li Qingshan was not the one reaping what he sowed.

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    Li Qingshan held back Tiger¡¯s Fang¡¯s bloodthirsty desire and sheathed the blade. He stood right in front of the jade table, just like before, and asked, ¡°Did you see it?¡±

    The blood-red light lingered in everyone¡¯s field of view, only dispersing after quite a while. For a moment, they were all speechless. ¡°Granny¡± clutched her wound, and her face was pale. The others all wondered what would happen if they had been on the receiving end of that swing instead.

    ¡°Granny¡± returned to her senses, surprised and angered, yet also with some lingering fear. She called out, ¡°What are you standing there for? Capture this madman!¡±

    ¡°Granny, please calm down!¡± Gong Yuan grabbed ¡°granny¡± by the shoulder and channelled a wave of coldness into her, freezing the blade wound in the process too. The blade was extremely strange. With the healing techniques of Merfolk, she was actually unable to close the wound immediately.

    ¡°And you still want me to calm down!?¡± ¡°Granny¡± became even more furious. It was not that she had not been injured in her life, but this was the first time she had been injured in the Crystal palace, and a human was behind the injured too. It was basically utterly humiliating from messing up such a simple task.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about what you taught me. The interests of the Merfolk come first!¡± Gong Yuan said coldly.

    ¡°Granny¡± wavered. This Li Qingshan¡¯s strength had far exceeded her imagination. If she used the formations of the Crystal palace, she could subdue and capture him, but it would be difficult to say whether she would end up wounded or not. The war against Fire Melt mountain was looming right before them, so this would be no different from digging her own grave. It was still unknown which side Ji Changfeng would take. Even if he remained neutral, the alliance this time would have collapsed before it had even formed. If she wanted to prioritise the interests of the Merfolk, she definitely could not fall out with Li Qingshan right now.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea glanced at Li Qingshan in utter surprise and also tried to mediate the situation.

    ¡°You can¡¯t blame me. She insisted on seeing it!¡± Li Qingshan sat back down on the jade table and shrugged. If he was not even capable of that, why would he be bold enough to come to the Crystal palace to form an alliance?

    He originally thought that even if ¡°granny¡± managed to hold back her urge to attack him, she would definitely storm off furiously, but he never expected ¡°granny¡± to come back to him a while later and sigh. ¡°I really have grown senile. I can¡¯t even recognise the outstanding figures of the world anymore. If I have offended you earlier, please forgive me, King of Savages!¡± Her back suddenly seemed much more hunched over.

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m young and hot-headed, so I¡¯m the one who¡¯s offended granny, so please don¡¯t blame me, granny!¡± Li Qingshan did not take it too far. He had already achieved his objective with that swing of his. The two other Merfolk Kings sitting on the side had both become cautious. They were also very puzzled.

    ¡°It really is a fine blade. Is this how you slew the giant god of fire?¡± Gong Yuan came to a realisation. Her attitude towards Li Qingshan was much more placid. After all, she never saw him directly fight back then on Giant Ship island, so she also had some doubts. She wondered just what the Asura Field had done in order to trap and kill the giant god of fire. Only after seeing this did she become amazed and convinced by his strength.

    Li Qingshan only smiled. He understood everything best as the person involved. The swing earlier seemed extremely fierce, but if he used his full strength, he would not be able to unleash it too many times. It would grow weaker with each swing as the blood in the blade was depleted. Although it had absorbed some blood, it was impossible for him to make up for the depletion unless he killed ¡°granny¡±. He would still have to use his own blood to feed the blade. It was no wonder that even asura refused to use this blade. It really did pain him a little.

    Though, it really was strong enough. Earlier, he actually had the chance to kill ¡°granny¡±, but that did not necessarily mean he was stronger than ¡°granny¡±. If they clashed like normal, it would be very difficult for him to defeat her.

    Actually, ¡°granny¡± has just been making things difficult for herself earlier. She had never been skilled in close combat, and coupled with the decline that came with age, she actually still stood right in front of him and provoked him. She should have checked what Li Qingshan was capable of first. The strength of the ox demon, the explosiveness of the tiger demon, and the judgement of the spirit turtle were all present in that swing.

    ¡°With the King of Savages¡¯ assistance, would we even have to worry about not achieving revenge?¡± Ji Changfeng said from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°We still need to work together as a team. With my strength alone, I can¡¯t take down Fire Melt mountain. Anyway, back to the main topic, the conditions I mentioned earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°No problem. Fire Melt mountain and the divine wutong tree are all yours,¡± Gon Yuan said immediately. The three other Merfolk Kings had no objections either. It was just too great of a bargain for a powerful cultivator like him to fight for them at such a price.

    ¡°Then the demands you mentioned earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about the first demand. I owe her that. I can only hope she lives a favourable life from now onwards and no longer dwells on her past hatred. As for the second demand, I don¡¯t want your cultivation method, but I do hope you can help me suppress my inner demons so that I can increase my cultivation. We¡¯ll have a better chance with the battle too!¡±

    ¡°That goes without saying. The outcome of this battle will entirely depend on how much strength you can release, your majesty. I also need you to connect with Ruin¡¯s End. This is something that benefits us both.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Gong Yuan eased up slightly. Since Li Qingshan also required her, this was not a one-sided request anymore. Instead, she found Li Qingshan much more pleasing to the eye now.

    After agreeing on the basic allocation of spoils, they finally began discussing the actual battle strategy.

    If the Divine Nun of the South Sea wanted no part in this, she should have taken her leave now, but she glanced at Xiao An and thought, Buddhism has produced such a wondrous prodigy. Even if she doesn¡¯t want to become my disciple, I can¡¯t just watch her die there. There¡¯ll definitely be great danger in this battle, so I should ensure her safety. If she witnesses what I¡¯m capable of, or if I save her life in the battle, perhaps she¡¯ll agree to become my disciple out of gratitude.

    With that in mind, she chose not to leave. She pulled Xiao An to one side to talk again, and Xiao An played along gratefully.

    Gong Yuan disclosed the entire plan that the Crystal palace had come up with to Li Qingshan. ¡°Fire Melt mountain possesses an extremely great geographical advantage. It restrains us very much. If we don¡¯t weaken that, we can forget about attacking Fire Melt mountain altogether.¡±

    ¡°Since they can draw out the flames of the earth to destroy your geographic advantage over the ocean, can¡¯t you usher rain and clouds to Fire Melt mountain?¡±

    ¡°Logically speaking, we can, but you¡¯ve seen Fire Melt mountain. It¡¯ll be far too strenuous to maintain clouds above there. Before we even start fighting with the fire devourers, we¡¯ll have used up too much strength. The fire devourers can draw out the flames of the earth over the ocean because they have the Divine Fire tablets, and that¡¯s only possible on an island. I¡¯d like to see them come to the deep sea and try that!¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re familiar with everything, you must have thought of a counterplan.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. They have a geographic advantage, so we have to make use of timing. Before long, there¡¯ll be a great storm over the South sea, blowing northwards to the Mist province!¡±

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Li Qingshan understood now. With the Merfolk¡¯s understanding of the ocean climate, coupled with some divination and forecasting techniques, learning about a storm before it occurred was nothing difficult.

    The storms of this world were far stronger than those from his previous life. As a matter of fact, they would even merge with the atmospheric winds from time to time, making them more and more terrifying. Even the Merfolk were calling it a great storm, so it must have been a terrifying storm that even cultivators rarely encountered. A storm like that could impact several thousand kilometers of land. It would be a terrifying force of heaven that even great cultivators would come nowhere close to. It could suppress the geographic advantage of Fire Melt mountain.

    ¡°However, it¡¯s not like you started the storm. The wind can change directions at any time. Fire Melt mountain is rather far away from the shore, so unless it is struck with the eye of the storm, there probably won¡¯t be much impact.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be up to fellow Ji.¡± Gong Yuan looked at Ji Changfeng. She had personally ventured to Giant Ship island to request for Ji Changfeng¡¯s help exactly so that she could get him to control this great storm. They wanted it to blow towards Fire Melt mountain precisely. That would be far more helpful than having him directly clash with the fire devourers, and it would be much more difficult too.

    Even as the Wind Gale King, just how effective could he be before a terrifying force of the world? No one would know until that day arrived.

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    ¡°Even if it¡¯ll cost me my life, I¡¯ll make the fire devourers pay!¡± Ji Changfeng was already prepared to risk his life.

    ¡°When the time comes, I might be able to lend you a hand, fellow.¡± After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, Li Qingshan gained some more understanding over controlling wind, but it was far too soon. He had not consolidated his cultivation yet. If he could participate in controlling a great storm like this and contend against the force of the world, it would definitely bring great benefit to his cultivation.

    ¡°Then let me thank you first!¡± Ji Changfeng clasped his hands with a smile.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands back at him with a smile. Then he said seriously, ¡°Though before this, we might as well take a look at the effect of Stoneheart. If it really is as effective as we anticipated it to be, we might as well provoke them and try to get them to give up on their geographic advantage to attack the Crystal palace. If that happens, then we¡¯ll be the ones with the geographic advantage.

    He was not particularly familiar with battle strategy, but he could be described as rather experienced when it came to mocking the enemy. He used it whenever he had the opportunity. He had his own considerations behind that too. If the fire devourers directed their attention to Savage mountain out of fury, he really would not be able to stop them.

    Gong Yuan glanced at him and saw through his thoughts, but she did not lay it out in the open. Sacrificing a Savage mountain would bring no benefit to the war at all. If they wanted to destroy Fire Melt mountain, then they had to be prepared to turn the Crystal palace into a battlefield.

 Chapter 892 Provocation

    The four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain were no longer lively like before. It had become much more deathly. The rivers of lava no longer had fire devourers playing around in them. Fire devourers would appear from time to time, but they were all in a hurry as if a disaster was looming over them.

    The strange disease spread at a rate that far exceeded what the fire devourers expected, and it erupted extremely viciously. Whether it was the old or young, male or female, their hearts all turned to stone. Even when all the powerful cultivators of the fire devourers tended to them, they could only stabilise the situation of a handful of fire devourers, such that they did not pass away from the disease too quickly.

    Time passed day by day, and more and more fire devourers died. It had already exceeded half of the total population on Fire Melt mountain. That was an amount that had taken them who knew how much time to build up. Every single surviving fire devourer was overcome with pain and fury. There had been quite a handful of fire devourers whose inner demons lost control as they cultivated, exploding into a ball of flames.

    The shade of despair enveloped the mountains.

    ¡°Who did this!?¡± Zhu Yan questioned the sky furiously. His high spirits from obtaining the Divine Fire tablets recently no longer existed. Without a large number of clansmen as a foundation, strengthening the Fire Devouring Folk and rebuilding the divine kingdom was a hopeless quest. It was impossible no matter how powerful the Divine Fire tablets were.

    He had already asked that question countless times, and he had suspected many people, like the Myriad Poison Ancestor who was skilled with poison, the King of Southern Yue who wanted to turn them into his bruisers, and so on. However, he never had any opportunity to investigate. A large number of clansmen died every single day.

    He did not count on the heavens giving him an answer this time either. It was purely venting. However, a voice actually replied from the sky, an extremely familiar voice.

    A white cloud drifted over Fire Melt mountain before he had realised and turned into the shape of the Merfolk Queen, Gong Yuan. It spoke and said, ¡°Zhu Yan, did you ever imagine a day like this when you launched a sneak attack on Giant Ship island?¡±

    The vast voice rang across the entire mountain range. The fire devourers emerged from their stone huts and gazed at the sky.

    ¡°It¡¯s you! It really was you! Gong Yuan!¡± Zhu Yan gazed at the cloud and ground his teeth in hatred. He had suspected many people, but his suspicions towards the Merfolk were not very big. After so many years of war, the Merfolk would have used something like this a long time ago if they could. On top of that, infiltrating the magma beneath Fire Melt mountain to plant the disease was not something Merfolk could achieve.

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    ¡°So what if it¡¯s me? I¡¯ve freed you from some of your burdens and shackles so that you can cast aside your misgivings and wholeheartedly devote yourself to being dogs of the King of Yue¡¯s estate. Who knows, you might even get some bones tossed to you.¡±

    Thousands of kilometers away, on the shore of the South sea, Gong Yuan sat on a reef and said to a crystal ball. Nearby, Li Qingshan laid on the surface of the ocean leisurely, gazing at the azure sky. Originally, he had been worried that Gong Yuan¡¯s mocking ability would be a little lacklustre, but he found out very quickly that men really stood no chance once the tongue of women became vicious. She just spoke away indifferently, yet every single word she said was like an icy-cold blade, stabbing them right in the heart.

    After realising who the enemy was, the fire devourers on Fire Melt mountain all roared hysterically, hurling balls of flames at the sky. They threw them towards the cloud with Gong Yuan¡¯s figure without any regard.

    Very soon, the cloud dispersed, but Gong Yuan¡¯s cold and delightful laughter echoed through Fire Melt mountain, lingering around for quite some time.

    ¡°Gong Yuan, I will never stop until I get my revenge!¡±

    Zhu Yan¡¯s roar rang out from the crystal ball. Li Qingshan laughed aloud and said to Gong Yuan, ¡°How is it? Was it satisfying?¡±

    ¡°The effects of Stoneheart are even better than I anticipated. It even makes me shiver! The legend says that the Flower of Water and Fire will bring great disaster to the Fire Devouring Folk and the Merfolk! It really is true!¡± Gong Yuan sighed.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t the legend say it¡¯ll bring peace?¡±

    ¡°The peace is only peace between two people, but the disaster is the disaster of two races!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes shone with cold light. If she had developed a virus similar to Stoneheart and used it against the Merfolk, what would happen?

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t get any wicked ideas, the legend won¡¯t come true. Otherwise, you¡¯ll definitely be in trouble!¡± Li Qingshan stood up and faced Gong Yuan. His voice was filled with a sense of warning.

    ¡°What, you like her?¡± Perhaps because she had just vented to her heart¡¯s content, Gong Yuan was in an extremely good mood. She was not angered by Li Qingshan¡¯s warning. Instead, she became curious.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly say like, but I won¡¯t allow anyone to touch a hair on her!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it. Although he and Ru Xin had basically gone at it, perhaps there was not a lot of love involved. Instead, it was more friendship than anything else, and when it came to the path of cultivation, that often lasted much longer than the feelings between a man and a woman. Though he did have a desire to keep her all to himself. Even if she forbid him from touching her, he did not mind it, but he definitely would not allow someone else to touch her.

    ¡°That¡¯s her good fortune.¡± Gong Yuan said in thought, ¡°Let¡¯s go. The fire devourers might be rushing over!¡±

    Li Qingshan had specially accompanied Gong Yuan exactly because he was afraid the fire devourers would use this opportunity to hunt her down. If a single incident of provocation would cost them one of their central figures, now that would be called a bad deal. Originally, it should have been Ji Changfeng, but he had already ventured off to the south to observe the forming storm, and it was much easier for Li Qingshan to work with Gong Yuan.

    Originally, they did consider setting up an ambush, but the three Fire Devouring Kings with Divine Fire tablets could not be dealt with through any schemes or traps. They could only be triumphed with actual strength.

    Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±

    He flew over to the roof and brought his arm around Gong Yuan¡¯s waist before unfurling his phoenix wings and flapping them gently. The fierce wind swept over, and he rushed off into the sky, going straight for the layer with atmospheric winds. With the wings of wind condensed from atmospheric winds, he became slightly faster yet again, sailing off in the direction of the Crystal palace.

    Gong Yuan did not want to be held like this, but when he unleashed his speed, she gave up on putting up a struggle. She looked at Li Qingshan in surprise. This is enough to rival the Wind Gale King, and these wings seem to belong to the legendary phoenix. Just what else is he hiding?

    After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, Li Qingshan¡¯s body was as tough as a Daemon King¡¯s, while his strength and speed even exceeded that of regular Daemon Kings. Coupled with his various divine and demonic bloodlines and his startling amount of innate abilities, regular Daemon Kings definitely were not his opponent.

    Gong Yuan could not help but think of something that many people had wondered in the past. If he undergoes the third heavenly tribulation, just how much stronger will he become? Making an enemy out of someone like him really would be a disaster!

    Soon after they had left, before the surface of the ocean could even settle from the wind, a triangular gate of flames opened mid-air, and the three of them emerged, looking around.

    ¡°They¡¯ve run away. They¡¯ve only just left. They seem to be with Ji Changfeng!¡± Zhu Yan¡¯s voice was filled with irrepressible rage. The flames on him surged constantly. He would never find solace until he killed all the Merfolk.

    This was the horrors of hatred. Not only would it continue to linger through time, but it would even grow deeper and deeper with each battle. No matter how broad-minded they were, they could not be any smarter than mortals when it came to a bitter feud that ran for generations like this. Instead, they would only remember this hatred with greater clarity due to their lengthy lifespans.

    Zhu Yan said only two words, ¡°After them!¡±

    ¡°No, intercept them!¡± The violent-tempered Zhu Fen was instead the most rational. Although Fire Melt mountain had suffered severe losses this time, he had already grown accustomed to this brutality from the countless wars he had faced.

    The three of them swung the Divine Fire tablets again and opened the Gate of Divine Fire together, crossing several thousand kilometers in the blink of an eye and arriving right in between where they were earlier and the Crystal palace. They gazed into the distance and unleashed their soul sense, searching for Gong Yuan, but they found nothing.

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    Li Qingshan divined a little and went on a great detour with Gong Yuan before diving into the ocean, unleashing the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, and hiding both of their auras. He smiled at Gong Yuan. ¡°Let¡¯s see how they find us!¡±

    Gong Yuan gently touched the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. The sense of intimacy sprang up spontaneously again. She asked, ¡°Just what cultivation method do you practise? Why is it so compatible with the power of Ruin¡¯s End?¡±

    Actually, she had also been extremely tempted by ¡°granny¡¯s¡± second request. If she could obtain a cultivation method like that and combine it with the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, then not only would it bring great benefit to her, but it would even greatly benefit the entire race too. However, she was not foolish enough to use coercion to achieve her goals. Instead, she considered other methods.

    ¡°You should forget about it. Even if I give you the cultivation method, you can¡¯t use it. The negative influence from practising it might even be greater than the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End!¡±

    Li Qingshan directly shut down her thoughts. He would never teach the cultivation methods of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine to anyone, and the cultivation methods of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine were dependent on one another. If he only practised the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, even if it were possible, he would just end up becoming a spirit turtle that was indifferent to everything and end up losing himself.

    ¡°Move your dirty paws!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s face turned cold.

    ¡°Heh, do you have to make it so obvious? Are you supposed to use the cultivation method for something else if I taught it to you?¡±

    Li Qingshan sniggered. Last time, when he faced life-threatening danger and devoted himself to defeating the fire devourers, he felt nothing. However, they were extremely safe this time, and they were in the pitch-black depths of the ocean, without another person around. As a result, he felt Gong Yuan¡¯s supple waist beneath the soft mermaid silk, which also happened to be smooth and delicate. Moreover, from his current angle, her chest was revealed slightly with a deep gully in between. She was quite charming.

    When he first saw her, he never imagined that the cold, noble Merfolk Queen would actually lay beside him in such a posture one day.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes immediately became as deep as the abyss, and she immediately radiated with bone-chilling coldness. Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand instantly turned numb. Even his body was frozen.

    Li Qingshan shivered. ¡°Alright, alright. Let¡¯s stop joking around. As cultivators, we shouldn¡¯t focus on these small details. You¡¯re a mighty queen, so shouldn¡¯t you be a little more tolerant and broad-minded?¡± He caught another glance as he said that and thought, Yep, she sure has a broad chest though.

    The coldness from Gong Yuan became even more intense. She turned around and stared straight at Li Qingshan, bringing her hand towards his neck. Li Qingshan caught her hand and said, ¡°Your majesty, please focus on the bigger picture. If the three fire devourers can¡¯t find us, they¡¯ll probably attack the Crystal palace out of pure anger. If we return and pincer them from behind, perhaps we can achieve victory even without the great storm!¡±

 Chapter 893 To Trust or Not

    Only then did Gong Yuan ease up the coldness slightly. ¡°Please watch your words and actions. Don¡¯t forget about your identity, King of Savages!¡±

    Although she recognised his strength and identity, he also happened to be the least self-respecting person she had ever seen. Even the damned fire devourers had more of a bearing of a king than him.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t worked hard to cultivate and to increase my strength to watch my words and actions. You can say it¡¯s the exact opposite.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Warmth flowed through his body, allowing his frozen body to turn back to normal very quickly.

    Gong Yuan snorted coldly. She swung her deep-blue fishtail gently and swam towards the Crystal palace. She also moved extraordinarily quickly, downright turning into a meandering stream of blue light in the end.

    Only then did Li Qingshan realise he had still underestimated her. She could move through water no slower than him in the sky. Now that they were moving through the deep sea, he could only barely keep up with her.

    Gong Yuan had allowed Li Qingshan to come with him mainly because she wanted the cultivation method. She could not cast aside her identity and ask for it when she was before others, which was why she specially spent some time with him alone so that it was convenient for her to speak. Even if she showed some signs of weakness, it would not embarrass her as the Merfolk Queen. However, she had still ended up underestimating Li Qingshan¡¯s unscrupulous nature where he did whatever he wanted.

    Before long, the two of them returned to the region where the Crystal palace resided. Gong Yuan stopped and closed her eyes, sensing the ripples of the ocean.

    Li Qingshan arrived right behind her. He said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at the situation first! Let¡¯s not hurry over blindly.¡± He casually used the Profound Light Illuminates All, and the scenery hundreds of kilometers away immediately appeared right before them.

    Sure enough, the Crystal palace was currently under attack.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings swung the Divine Fire tablets and meteors rushed through the water, hurling towards the Crystal palace one after another.

    The Crystal palace had completely activated their defences, shining with resplendent light that swept up the meteors gently like waves. They triumphed over brute force with flexibility, constantly weakening the attacks and blocking them all. For a moment, it did not seem like they would face any danger.

    Merfolk were not skilled in attack, but they were quite good at defending. There were three Merfolk Kings present to maintain the formations and fight back a little too. This was different from Giant Ship island. Not only had Merfolk populated this place for many years now, but the crust was extremely thick too, keeping the underground magma deep beneath the earth.

    Once again, Li Qingshan witnessed the importance of geographical advantage. It was no wonder the Fire Devouring Folk and Merfolk had gone to war with each other so many times, yet they had never managed to take each other¡¯s home base.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings worked together, and they wielded a divine artifact like the Divine Fire tablets, yet they still felt like their power was inhibited.

    Of course, they had no time to adjust and unleash even greater powers from the Divine Fire tablets either. The ten days from before was only enough for them to recuperate and think about their successes and failures in the battle on Giant Ship island. Afterwards, they spent all of their time and effort on dealing with the Stoneheart virus, leaving them exhausted. Now that they had launched an attack out of anger, they were not as mighty as when they destroyed the Cloud Sail sect.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan gained a deeper understanding about the difficulties of attacking Fire Melt mountain. If he did not have a siege weapon like the Silver Dragon King, it would be far too difficult.

    As the old saying went, ¡°Geography triumphed timing and unity triumphed geography.¡± However, the reality was the exact opposite. It was ¡°Geography triumphed unity and timing triumphed geography.¡±

    Gong Yuan was bold enough to mock the fire devourers and use the Crystal palace as bait because she was relatively confident. She suddenly turned around and stared straight at Li Qingshan as if she was very reluctant.

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°What a great opportunity. Once they¡¯ve exhausted themselves enough, we¡¯ll pincer them from behind. We¡¯ll have an opportunity to make them remain in the ocean for good, and then we can attack Fire Melt mountain. That¡¯ll be as easy as taking candy from a baby.¡±

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    However, that was given they could enter the same state as back then on Giant Ship island, basically something akin to dual cultivation. Then they would need to power the Heart of the Abyss and gather enough power from Ruin¡¯s End. Only then could they threaten the three Fire Devouring Kings. Otherwise, if they attacked them in two separate groups, not only would it be impossible to make them stay, but they would even face the danger of being separately defeated.

    Gong Yuan was still the Merfolk Queen at the end of the day. Her hesitation only lasted for an instant. She was reluctant, but she still took the initiative and extended her hand, holding Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. At the same time, she took out the Heart of the Abyss and began powering the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End with her full strength.

    Battle was imminent. Li Qingshan was not in the mood to joke around anymore, mainly because he was afraid the consequences might affect their mental compatibility. He tightened his grip around Gong Yuan¡¯s hand as he powered the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression.

    In that moment, the two of them experienced a powerful resonance of the mind. The two cultivation methods echoed with one another, drawing their auras together and gradually melding them together. Everything was difficult the first time and easy the second, no matter what. With their experiences from last time, they proceeded much more smoothly.

    A black sphere rose up from the Heart of the Abyss. That was extremely pure water spiritual qi, the power of Ruin¡¯s End, which gradually swallowed the two of them. The sea water immediately began to churn, gathering around them and merging with the black sphere.

    Li Qingshan benefited tremendously from this. Last time, Gong Yuan had first pushed the power of the Heart of the Abyss to the limit. Only then did he lend a hand and help her control it. This time, he directly experienced the process of the Heart of the Abyss connecting with Ruin¡¯s End. He felt a strong calling, like a mother calling for her wandering child to come home.

    The pitch-black sphere rapidly swelled up, but its shape gradually changed, turning into the shape of a spirit turtle, except it still seemed unstable. And as the power of Ruin¡¯s End grew stronger and stronger, their shallow level of mental union gradually became insufficient to control it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t resist!¡± Li Qingshan said before trying to use the spirit turtle to suppress Gong Yuan¡¯s consciousness again so that he could rule over everything.

    However, Gong Yuan did not cooperate obediently this time. Not only did she fight back, but she even did so with great intensity, such that even the spirit turtle struggled to suppress her. The spirit turtle constructed from the pitch-black power of Ruin¡¯s End immediately became very unstable, rippling away.

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    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Li Qingshan frowned.

    ¡°I will do my best to cooperate with you, but don¡¯t even think about controlling me again!¡± Gong Yuan replied coldly.

    Last time, it was an emergency, which was why she was forced to accept Li Qingshan¡¯s suppression. However, she did not want to experience that feeling a second time. It felt like she had completely lost herself and become dependent on him. She had gone from the cold and haughty Merfolk Queen to a small woman within his arms. That was basically a nightmarish experience.

    And, it was likely that she needed to borrow his power many more times in the future. If it was like that every single time, then who knew what kind of influence it would leave on her as time went on. Perhaps she would be better off just being devoured by the will of Ruin¡¯s End and dying from qi deviation.

    This time, they had to wait until the fire devourers had used up most of their strength before striking anyway. They had ample time to adjust. They had to change the ¡°posture¡± for dual cultivation.

    ¡°Whatever!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not insist on it, as he had the vague feeling that it would probably be very difficult to prevent the three fire devourers from leaving this time. Their offence seemed fierce, and it seemed like an attack for the sake of revenge, but they gave him a feeling that they were not using all their strength.

    ¡°Have they really lost their minds to anger? Or are they putting on an act and waiting for us to take the bait before ganging up on us?¡±

    ¡°Stay focused!¡± A scolding from Gong Yuan suddenly rang out in his sea of consciousness. Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Yes, yes, yes, your majesty!¡±

    He could sense Gong Yuan rapidly adjusting herself and matching his consciousness, but she would constantly end up dominating involuntarily, controlling Li Qingshan instead. However, even if Li Qingshan was willing to play along, she did not have that ability. At the end of the day, he was the one helping her suppress her inner demons and prevent the power of Ruin¡¯s End from losing control and devouring her consciousness. Once she tried to take the dominant position, this balance would be broken.

    Li Qingshan was forced to control such strong power of Ruin¡¯s End carefully. Once it turned into a backlash, that would not be a joke. Let alone Gong Yuan dying, even he would end up suffering. He said impatiently, ¡°Have you been a queen for too long? Stop trying to control me and use me all the time. How many times have I told you? Respect, respect!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t I respect you enough right now?¡± Gong Yuan also became restless from constantly failing and said furiously.

    ¡°But you still can¡¯t forget about your identity, your cultivation, and your race.¡± Li Qingshan understood that some ¡°godfolk¡± had a natural sense of superiority when they faced humans and daemons. Gong Yuan also happened to be a king among godfolk. She had overcome countless difficulties and hardships before reaching her current position, so her sense of pride went even more without saying. At a time like this, that had instead become an obstacle.

    Gong Yuan could not help but sink into her thoughts.

    ¡°Actually, I agree with you. The state we were in back then on Giant Ship island was not very good for dual cultivation, as the most important aspect of dual cultivation is about equality and not one-sided enslavement and control. That definitely won¡¯t be beneficial to us in unleashing our greatest power. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m willing to be equal with you, but are you willing to be equal with me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. In my eyes, you¡¯re just an upstart who¡¯s intoxicated by his own success and has an exaggerated opinion of his abilities. Apart from possessing great strength, you have nothing else. You don¡¯t possess the bearing befitting of a great cultivator or Daemon King at all. You indulge yourself in alcohol, sex, greed, and pride, basically as despicable as a mortal.¡±

    Set off by Li Qingshan, Gong Yuan just vented everything in a single breath and unleashed her venomous tongue.

    But to her surprise, Li Qingshan did not become angry. Instead, he laughed. ¡°That is a little extreme, but you¡¯re roughly right. Yeah, I am a mortal with great strength. When I first began cultivating, the great wish I swore also happened to be to drink fine alcohol, to sleep with beautiful women, and to fight powerful foes. That¡¯s exactly what it is, indulging in alcohol, sex, greed, and pride. Those essences of comprehension, life philosophies, or whatever are all just tools to make this come true. As for the bearing of a great master and the spirit of a powerful cultivator, that¡¯s all just bullshit to me, but so what?¡±

    The three things that brother ox had told him to do were to eat meat, to drink alcohol, and to kill people, all to his heart¡¯s delight! Everything he pursued in life was no different, just for his heart¡¯s delight.

    Gong Yuan was mildly stunned. She said in contempt, ¡°Nothing. I just look down on you!¡±

    ¡°Since when have I asked anyone to hold me in high regard? We¡¯re dual cultivating, not dating. I have a wife!¡±

    ¡°Then what do you think I should do?¡±

    ¡°You practise the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, so what you borrow is the power of Ruin¡¯s End. If that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you just let go of your thoughts and assimilate with the will of Ruin¡¯s End? We¡¯ll naturally become equals.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. If I¡¯m not careful, my consciousness will assimilate with Ruin¡¯s End. I¡¯ll be eternally doomed.¡±

    Gong Yuan could obviously think of whatever Li Qingshan thought of, but the risk behind this was far too great.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Li Qingshan said resolutely, ¡°You¡¯re not alone!¡±

    Gong Yuan was taken aback. She furrowed her brows and sank into her thoughts.

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    At this moment, the power of Ruin¡¯s End grew stronger and stronger, forming a huge whirlpool five kilometers across on the ocean. It continued to expand too as if it was trying to swallow everything.

    The three fire devourers immediately sensed the pulses of the familiar power. Just as Li Qingshan had expected, they had not used their full strength to attack the Crystal palace. They even feigned weakness, waiting for them to appear.

    Even without the giant god of fire, they were rather confident in killing Gong Yuan with a combined strike of the Divine Fire tablets.

    They glanced at one another and abandoned the Crystal palace without the slightest hesitance. They swung the Divine Fire tablets and opened up the Gate of Divine Fire once more.

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on Gong Yuan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t need to hold me in high regard, respect me, or like me. You just have to trust me!¡±

    In Gong Yuan¡¯s memories, she had always been alone ever since she had been ¡°betrayed¡± by her sister. She never wholeheartedly trusted anyone again either, including her own clansmen, yet right now, she was supposed to trust a man that she did not even know was human or daemon.

    The triangular Gate of Divine Fire suddenly appeared above the whirlpool. Three flaming figures appeared within it.

    Yin Qing suddenly appeared, and a circular blade whistled out, flying towards the Gate of Divine Fire. A hand suddenly reached out and caught the circular blade firmly.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings were unlike last time, where they were exhausted and their reactions were dulled. This time, they had maintained over eighty percent of their strength and had come with rage.

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    Yin Qing said to Li Qingshan, ¡°My king, if you still can¡¯t handle her, you better retreat!¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. He was about to toss the power of Ruin¡¯s End that was close to losing control at the Gate of Divine Fire. That would let him fend off the fire devourers slightly before running away with Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan suddenly grabbed his hand and said with great difficulty, ¡°I trust you!¡±

 Chapter 894 Divine Ray of the Sun

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t that it? Move a little faster. They¡¯re coming out!¡±

    Gong Yuan gritted her teeth. The pitch-black power of Ruin¡¯s End crept through her azure eyes, gradually dyeing it the same colour. That was a deep black that prevented even a single ray of light from slipping through.

    The entire time, her process of practising the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End was like walking on a tightrope above a bottomless abyss. She was in constant fear of taking a wrong step, falling into the abyss and dooming herself. Yet right now, she had to leap into the abyss and trust this man that she looked down on to catch her.

    As a result, she rapidly fell into the endless darkness, towards the bottomless Ruin¡¯s End. Suddenly, a sturdy arm wrapped around her waist. The man appeared in her sea of consciousness and smiled. ¡°Caught you.¡±

    She was unable to describe what she felt inside. In short, she really hated this man!

    The three Fire Devouring Kings emerged from the Gate of Divine Fire and looked down at the ocean below. Zhu Zai frowned. ¡°It¡¯s still the Heart of the Abyss. I never thought it could be so powerful when powered at full strength.¡±

    The major reason why their sneak attack last time had failed was because of the tremendous power of Ruin¡¯s End that the Heart of the Abyss had released.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anything more. Kill her and avenge our clansmen!¡± Zhu Yan raised the Fire Tablet of Heaven high into the air, pointing it straight at the sun. ¡°True Flames of the Sun, descend!¡±

    Zhu Yan and Zhu Zai both assumed postures of paying homage, gathering their power on him. It really was the height of noon right now, but with Zhu Feng¡¯s actions, the sun in the sky suddenly lit up. A totem revolved and expanded around the Fire Tablet of Heaven, enveloping a radius of a hundred kilometers.

    The totem was composed of golden-yellow flames, forming two rings, one inside and one outside. Between them were the images of embers. It constantly revolved as if it was the most primitive depiction and worshipping of the sun of the ancient times.

    Above the ocean, the whirlpool spun and grew larger, becoming pitch-black in colour. It matched up with the sun totem in the sky from afar.

    The air between the ocean and the sky became scorching. Everything twisted and blurred.

    Zhu Feng did not seem to be in a hurry to strike. He just constantly powered the sun totem, making the Fire Tablet of Heaven in his hand shine brighter and brighter as if it was forged from gold. It produced a resplendent glow, like a portion of rays cut away from the sun.

    The flames of heaven were divided into four types, yin and yang. There were two yang flames, one of which was the Flying Flames of Star Essence. Those were the meteors that Zhu Fen had used to destroy the Cloud Sail sect during the battle of Giant Ship island. It had to be unleashed at night, when the stars shone, to unleash its greatest might. When Zhu Fen attacked the Crystal palace earlier, the meteors he unleashed seemed vicious, but that was purely their appearance. He acted like he was using his full strength exactly for this moment. He wanted to unleash the second type of flames of heaven, the hottest True Flames of the Sun.

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan entered a deeper state of dual cultivation. The power of Ruin¡¯s End turned into a pitch-black spirit turtle, gradually stabilising and raising its head.

    In that moment, his mind became unprecedentedly peaceful and clear as if he had actually turned into a tiny spirit turtle, swimming around in the endless Ruin¡¯s End. He saw the direction of flow of the river of fate and immediately experienced a strong sense of danger. As the sun totem revolved away, the sense of danger grew heavier and heavier.

    Even when the three fire devourers worked together, they still needed so much time to prepare and charge up. Clearly, this one was going to be vicious!

    Through Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. Gong Yuan also sensed this. Immediately, the two of them made a decision at the same time. They did not attack. Instead, they defended. As long as they could withstand this strike, the reinforcements from the Crystal palace would arrive.

    ¡°Coffin of Frigid Ice!¡± ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡±

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    The two of them unleashed their strongest defensive technique at the same time. The sea water froze into frigid ice, forming a deep-blue coffin and sealing them inside. Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell lit up on the pitch-black spirit turtle¡¯s back.

    In the blink of an eye, the three Merfolk Kings appeared on the horizon. ¡°Granny¡± was in the lead, while the other two tailed behind, seemingly establishing a formation. It was not as profound as the Divine Fire tablets, but it was extremely sturdy. Because they were afraid of being individually defeated by the fire devourers, they dared not use Great Shifting talismans, so they obviously moved much more slowly.

    Zhu Fen did not even look at them. His eyes were glued to the ocean below the entire time, at the depths of the whirlpool. The Fire Tablet of Heaven in his hand grew to maximum brightness, and he suddenly swung down. ¡°Divine Ray of the Sun!¡±

    An utterly-blinding ray of light shot down from the Fire Tablet of Heaven. The sun totem immediately collapsed, and even the sun in the sky seemed to dim momentarily.

    The sense of danger in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart immediately reached the limit.

    The shapeless ray of light did not even give off a hint of heat. It immediately penetrated the deep ocean and the Coffin of Frigid Ice and landed on the pitch-black spirit turtle¡¯s back.

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan powered the Heart of the Abyss with their full strength, but they were still unable to prevent the pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell from melting under the heat. Their vision lit up. The brightest light had shone into the darkest abyss. Unlike the wide scale destruction of the meteors, the Divine Ray of the Sun was a killing technique that focused on an individual. It condensed all of the power in a single ray of light.

    Gong Yuan shivered inside. She felt like she was even closer to death than back then on Giant Ship island. The power of the Divine Fire tablets had still surpassed her expectations after all. Was she really still done for today?

    Suddenly, a great force pushed her aside. She widened her eyes, which recovered their azure-blue colour. She gazed in stupefaction as the man she loathed gripped his blade firmly with both hands, swinging away at the ray of blinding light that destroyed everything in its path!

    Blood-red light surged into the air. Li Qingshan poured all of his strength, will, and even life into that swing!

    His chance to undergo Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth had recently been used up on Giant Ship island. It did not recover that quickly. Although he had broken through to the third layer of the phoenix, he had not balanced water and fire yet, so the third innate ability of the phoenix never appeared either. In other words, if he died, all he could do was turn into an egg. Faced with these three vicious individuals, the egg would probably be smashed in the blink of an eye.

    However, he felt no fear inside. There was only delight!

    The blood-red streak of the blade clashed with the Divine Ray of the Sun. In that moment, the resplendent ray swallowed everything.

    Everything before Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes blanked out. She only felt her skin scorch like it was burning, which allowed her to imagine just what kind of damage Li Qingshan was enduring when he took on this direct blow. She could not help but cry out, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    The three Merfolk Kings who rushed over to assist them only saw a ray of dazzling light penetrate the ocean before expanding and swelling up soon afterwards. By the time the light had vanished, a circular hole over three thousand meters across had appeared in the ocean. The sea water had not been evaporated away, but directly vaporised into nothingness.

    Hot wind rushed into their faces. All three of them paled in fright. They personally believed they would have definitely died if they had been on the receiving end of the strike instead, so wasn¡¯t Gong Yuan dead for sure? However, they immediately sensed that Gong Yuan¡¯s aura was still present. They could not help but become overjoyed, rushing over to her side.

    The three fire devourers all changed in expression. They never thought they would still fail to kill Gong Yuan after all this.

    Zhu Yan ground his teeth. ¡°It''s Li Qingshan again!¡±

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    Zhu Zai said, ¡°He actually tried playing the hero. He¡¯s finally dead now! What a stupid way to die!¡±

    ¡°Gong Yuan is right below. We-¡± Zhu Yan suddenly halted in the middle of his sentence and became filled with disbelief.

    A huge hole had been blasted open on the bottom of the ocean. Gong Yuan arrived on the side of the hole and peered down. She cried out, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± She also became surprised.

    The hole was composed of crystals from the melted rock and soil, but at the bottom of the hole stood a lonely, vicious skeleton, gripping a blade firmly in its hand and giving off a metallic lustre.

    All of the blood-red light on the blade had dispersed, just like how his body was stripped of flesh, but he continued to stand.

    The vicious skeleton lowered his head and glanced at Tiger¡¯s Fang in his hand. His jaw moved and wind whistled out, turning into a word of praise. ¡°What a fine blade!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s actually still alive!¡±

    This was what left the Fire Devouring Kings and Gong Yuan surprised, except the former experienced stupefaction, while the latter was overjoyed.

    When the Divine Ray of the Sun burst forth on the tip of Tiger¡¯s Fang, Li Qingshan knew he had won the gamble. Perhaps it could not even be regarded as a gamble. The spirit turtle had calculated everything.

    The Divine Ray of the Sun was terrifying, but it had weakened drastically after piercing the Coffin of Frigid Ice and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. He did not care about blocking this power with that swing of his¡ªthis was impossible unless he had broken through to the third heavenly tribulation. However, it did release and disperse the highly-concentrated power of the Divine Ray of the Sun.

    The scorching flames of heaven devoured his flesh and blood, but after breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, his tiger bones had become even tougher. Forged in the flames of heaven, not only did they survive, but they even felt more rigid than before.

    The tiger demon was battle-hungry. The stronger the opponent it faced, the more of its power could be unleashed. The extremely-dangerous swing had completely consolidated Li Qingshan¡¯s fifth layer of the tiger demon. He also gained a deeper understanding over his bladesmanship.

    The sea water poured into the pit like the world was collapsing. Before he was swallowed by the water, Li Qingshan swung Tiger¡¯s Fang and leapt up, rushing towards the three fire devourers!

    ¡°Kill him!¡± Zhu Yan roared furiously, directly swinging down with the Fire Tablet of Man at Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    With a clang, the blade and the Fire Tablet of Man clashed. Zhu Yan experienced a great force well beyond what he could withstand, as well as a wondrous power of tremors. He almost lost control of the Fire Tablet of Man when the Fire Tablet of Heaven and the Fire Tablet of Earth crushed down at the same time.

    Sparks flew. Li Qingshan stood alone with his blade, contending against the three Fire Devouring Kings!

    ¡°Icebound Domain!¡± Gong Yuan spread her arms and ice walls burst out of the ocean, sealing up the region.

    ¡°Mist-sealed Maze!¡± The three Merfolk Kings struck at the same time. A layer of hazy mist immediately rose up between the ice walls, adding another seal over the region. They had to stop the three fire devourers from escaping.

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    The three Fire Devouring Kings gazed at Li Qingshan before them and flames almost burst out of their eyes. They were tempted to smash his head in with the Divine Fire tablets in their hands. Holding back this urge, they communicated with their soul sense and reached an agreement. ¡°Retreat!¡±

    The Divine Ray of the Sun had consumed a lot of their power. If they remained here, they would even be in danger of dying. This time, there was no King of Southern Yue to save them again!

    ¡°Haste of Flames, Lightning Fire Rush!¡± Zhu Zai turned around and swung the Fire Tablet of Earth. Zhu Fen and Zhu Yan grabbed her shoulder at the same time, and a rumble of thunder rang out before the mist could envelop them. It turned into a streak of lightning fire, smashing through an ice wall forcefully and whistling away.

    Compared to the battle on Giant Ship island, they had conserved a lot more energy, and the Icebound Domain was nowhere near as effective as on that other day, as it had been cast through Gong Yuan¡¯s own power!

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to pursue!¡± Gong Yuan stopped the three Merfolk Kings who wanted to go after them.

    ¡°The three of them are far too difficult to deal with!¡± Li Qingshan cursed, but he also understood that all existences that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation were extremely difficult to kill, let alone the Fire Devouring Kings who poured their strength together and wielded the Divine Fire tablets. Right now, he was extremely worried whether they could kill the three of them even if they destroyed Fire Melt mountain.

    Gong Yuan asked, ¡°Li Qingshan, are you alright?¡±

 Chapter 895 Before the Battle

    ¡°Do I look alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan controlled the wind and emitted a hollow voice through his toothy mouth.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not dead,¡± Gong Yuan said coldly, but she felt relieved inside. She said an ambiguous thanks.

    ¡°I told you to trust me, so I would never let you die! Anyway, you¡¯ve done very well this time. It¡¯s just a pity that we were still one step too slow, or we could have gathered even more power of Ruin¡¯s End and perhaps forcefully taken on that strike! What a pity, what a pity!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed. He felt a little embarrassed by Gong Yuan¡¯s thanks. If it were not for the fact that he did not have a face right now, he might have even blushed.

    That was because in the moment the Divine Ray of the Sun arrived, his instinctive response was to use Gong Yuan as a meat shield so that he could block the attack slightly. The first reason why he had dismissed that idea was because he had just told her to trust him, yet he would be using her as a shield in the next moment. He found that a little unacceptable. On top of that, the spirit turtle had calculated that this strike would not be lethal. If he did that, then it would diminish the tiger demon¡¯s might.

    The latter was clearly of greater significance than the former. If he knew taking that on the strike would cost him his life, then who the fuck still cared about whether it was acceptable or not? It was not like they were close. He was nowhere near fond enough of women to give up his life for one that loathed him.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Before the storm arrives, we need to get some practise together so that we can unleash the true might of the Heart of the Abyss and contend against the Divine Fire tablets of the fire devourers.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, dual cultivation doesn¡¯t feel too bad, does it?¡± Even when he had been reduced to a set of bones, he could still give off the same aura that Gong Yuan loathed.

    Gong Yuan frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t get the wrong idea. This is just to deal with Fire Melt mountain. You may have saved my life this time, but that goes without saying in battle. Don¡¯t count on me paying you back!¡±

    As she said that, Gong Yuan extended her hands and released a ball of azure mist that enveloped Li Qingshan. His vicious-looking skeleton gradually grew flesh.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t get the wrong idea. I never counted on you paying me back!¡±

    Li Qingshan instead found this much better. He was someone who kept clear tabs on his debts. Only a single whim separated pushing her away and using her as a meat shield. If Gong Yuan really treated him as her saviour, then he would instead find it awkward, feeling as if he had obtained something that he did not deserve.

    Gong Yuan glanced at him deeply. His face that had just grown flesh without any skin covering it seemed extremely terrifying and grotesque, but she could not help but think of the moment when he swung the blade to receive the Divine Ray of the Sun. Illuminated by the scorching light, his figure had been so distinct, enough to make her heart skip a beat.

    He might have been a loathsome, shameless, and lustful man, but it was not without reason that he could earn himself the title of King of Savages in a few short decades!

    Li Qingshan calmly accepted Gong Yuan¡¯s treatment. His body felt warm, and it was extremely pleasant. Suddenly, he felt a prick on his palm. Taking a look, Tiger¡¯s Fang had extended the blood vessels and begun greedily drinking his blood. He could not help but curse, ¡°Oh you!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you let go of the blade?¡± Gong Yuan suggested.

    ¡°This is my treasure. As long as I have a droplet of blood, it has something to eat. Heh, why¡¯s this so strange? Oi, what¡¯re the three of you standing there and staring for? Get over here and help. You¡¯ve arrived far too late. How was it possible to stop the three of them from leaving?¡±

    Li Qingshan originally just treated weapons as tools. Even if he destroyed an arcane treasure like the Demon Dragon sword, he felt no pity. However, he had truly developed some feelings for Tiger¡¯s Fang this time, allowing it to drink his blood freely. Then he called out and urged the three other Merfolk Kings to come over.

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    The three of them had personally witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s valiance as he held off the three fire devourers alone, so why would they still look down on him? They hurried over and used their techniques to heal him.

    It had to be mentioned that the healing techniques of Merfolk were still quite impressive. With the four Merfolk Kings working together, they finally reconstructed Li Qingshan¡¯s body after some effort, coupled with Li Qingshan¡¯s own recovery ability. However, he was sickly thin and dreadfully pale as if he had caught some severe disease. However, Tiger¡¯s Fang in his hand did recover around half of its glow.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a little smaller now!¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and frowned.

    ¡°Do you know what shame is?¡± Gong Yuan asked.

    ¡°People are born into this world naked, and they leave this world naked too, so what shame is there? It¡¯s not like I invited you to look. You sure care a lot!¡± Li Qingshan condensed a set of demonic armour again, but before he put on the helmet, he pointed at his curved horns and asked the Merfolk Kings, ¡°Do you know what these two words are?¡±

    ¡°They- they seem like North and Moon?¡± ¡°Granny¡± said with uncertainty.

    ¡°Don¡¯t play stupid. I know you¡¯ve investigated it before. I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I, Gong Yuan?¡±

    Li Qingshan knew that it was impossible for Gong Yuan to not delve into this matter after seeing the two words when he took off his helmet back then on Giant Ship island, so he just laid it out in the open.

    ¡°I know you were once hunted down by the Dragon King of Ink Sea. Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t disclose your identity.¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea pursuing Northmoon into the Mist province had caused quite a stir back then. It did not take Gong Yuan much effort before she understood that identity of his. She had considered using it to threaten him, but he had clearly joined the Great Banyan Tree King already. Even the King of Southern Yue had dismissed the idea of killing him, so not only would he probably not be threatened, but it would instead turn one of their allies into an enemy, which was a horrible deal. As a result, she ended up giving up on that thought.

    The Green province was far too distant from the South sea after all. A distance of over a hundred thousand kilometers was enough for all the information that Gong Yuan received to just be some major matters. It would be very difficult for her to understand the exact details involved, so in the end, she could only stand from a perspective of her own interests and consider this. She would never do something that harmed herself. Since Li Qingshan was making it clear, she might as well give him a guarantee.

    ¡°Sure. As long as I have your word. I also trust you!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and asked, ¡°Oh right, where¡¯s Xiao An?¡±

    He was outside fighting with people, yet Xiao An did not come and help out, which was far too strange. Only when he returned to the Crystal palace did he learn the actual reason, which left him clueless as to how to respond.

    As it turned out, Xiao An had wanted to come, but the Divine Nun of the South Sea had stopped her.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea never wanted a part in this battle in the first place. In particular, after witnessing the combined strength of the three fire devourers, she stayed behind in the Crystal palace to watch the place. She said it was to prevent people from taking advantage of the situation while the Crystal palace was empty. At the same time, she grabbed Xiao An and said to her, ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous outside, so never leave the Crystal palace. The three Merfolk Kings have already gone to provide assistance. What can you do with your cultivation anyway? You might as well just stay here and listen to my sermons!¡±

    All this care and concern left Xiao An feeling very helpless. After all, she could not unleash the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and tell the old nun that she was actually very strong and did not need her to worry. The old nun was extremely stubborn too. She could not be swayed with words. After just a slight delay, the battle in the distance had already come to an end.

    All Li Qingshan could say to the Divine Nun of the South Sea was, ¡°Thank you for your great kindness, divine nun. However, as young people, we should still face our fair share of trials and tribulations. We¡¯ve both been through many hardships in order to achieve our current cultivation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, but I think One Will¡¯s temperament is enough to break through to the third heavenly tribulation. She can go through some trials and tribulations then. Wouldn¡¯t that be a little more appropriate?¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea was solemn, refusing to back down at all. For the past few days, she had basically spent every single moment with Xiao An, discussing the buddhist dharma. She found her more agreeable the more they discussed. She appreciated Xiao An¡¯s root of wisdom and affinity for comprehension very much, such that her positive impression increased vertically. If it had only been ¡°love at first sight¡± in the beginning, then right now it was rather similar to ¡°her or no one else¡±. She was determined to take her on as her disciple.

    Xiao An did not have a suitable master either. Although she had once taken the Annihilum Light Chan Master as her master, they had not spent a lot of time together. With her current cultivation, the Annihilum Light Chan Master no longer possessed the right to be her master. Back then, the exact thing that the Annihilum Light Chan Master had done was skip over his own disciple and directly accept Xiao An as his disciple. If the Divine Nun of the South Sea cultivated in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, then it made perfect sense for her to accept Xiao An as her disciple.

    ¡°Then¡­ then Xiao An, why don¡¯t you spend some time with the master for now and focus on cultivation?¡±

    Li Qingshan had never imagined that possessing too much good fortune could be a bad thing too. With the Divine Nun of the South Sea watching, Xiao An could not use any of her methods from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. The revelation of his identity as Northmoon was not too troublesome, as the Mist province did not pay much attention to this aspect. Many people possessed the bloodlines of daemons. It had probably never even crossed the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s mind that this was forbidden by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. However, Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty gave off the aura of slaying buddhas and destroying the dharma. The Divine Nun of the South Sea would probably turn against her immediately if she found out.

    ¡°Alright. It truly is my good fortune to be able to meet with the master.¡± Xiao An¡¯s words were not completely a lie to brush aside the Divine Nun of the South Sea. The old nun really was worthy of her title. Her knowledge of the buddhist dharma was vast and profound, possessing a style of its own.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea did not come from the ¡°school of chan¡± like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but the ¡°school of vinaya¡±, one that specially focused on studying and upholding rules and precepts. As a result, despite her powerful cultivation, she still lived the lifestyle of an ascetic, vanquishing evil and doing good among mortals and spreading the buddhist dharma.

    It was just like how the advice of others could be helpful, regardless of their origins, not to mention that the status of the school of vinaya within buddhism was no lower than the school of chan in the first place. As she communicated with her, Xiao An gained great inspiration over the buddhist dharma. That was the foundations of practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. It¡¯s also my good fortune!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea revealed an understanding smile. Her gaze towards Xiao An was quite gentle, without her normal severity.

    The school of vinaya focused on ¡°an action, a precept; a precept, an action¡±. Their precepts and rules were extremely strict. Let alone mortals, even buddhist disciples flinched at the sight of them. She happened to have extremely high standards as well, refusing to take on disciples so easily. She had encountered a few decent ones in the past, but they all failed her tests. Now that she had come across a suitable one for once, she obviously valued her very much.

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    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances. Their eyes were both filled with quite a bit of powerlessness.

    At this moment, a mermaid official walked over and bowed, ¡°Great king Li, her majesty sends her invitations!¡±

    Li Qingshan bade farewell with the Divine Nun of the South Sea and crossed through the long corridors of the Crystal palace with the mermaid official, making his way out. He saw Gong Yuan sitting on the edge of a cliff. Her deep-blue hair draped down to her waist, while her slender fish tail pointed into the sea abyss. She gave off a different sense of beauty, cold and deep.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    Gong Yuan dismissed the mermaid official with a wave of her hand and answered with a question, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in such a hurry!?¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and revealed the strange smile that Gong Yuan loathed very much.

 Chapter 896 The Sea Abyss

    Gong Yuan could not help but roll her eyes. ¡°Are you coming or not?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and arrived on the cliff, peeking into the pitch-black abyss. His vision was swallowed by the pitch-black sea very soon. He asked Gong Yuan beside him, ¡°Just how deep is this abyss?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you go down and take a look. Don¡¯t waste time.¡± Gong Yuan leapt into the abyss. Li Qingshan shrugged and followed right behind.

    The abyss originated in the east and stretched towards the west. It was over fifty kilometers wide and seemed like a huge, pitch-black mouth, devouring the endless seawater. Compared to the huge mouth, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan were as insignificant as two specks of dust.

    Gong Yuan swam extremely quickly through water. Li Qingshan had just experienced a great battle, and he had not even recovered half of his strength, so he struggled to keep up with her. All he saw was the slender fish tail leave behind magnificent, azure blurs right before him. He reached out and grabbed the fish tail, which was smooth and cool in his hand.

    Gong Yuan turned around and broke her fish tail out of his grip. She stared at him furiously. ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Slow down a little,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to the bottom of the ocean anyway. So what if I¡¯m a bit faster and you¡¯re a bit slower?¡± Gong Yuan said.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of us dual cultivating? If we don¡¯t even have this little bit of understanding and cooperation, what¡¯s the point of it?¡±

    ¡°Fine then! Let¡¯s just say that¡¯s reasonable!¡± Gong Yuan considered it and still ended up slowing down, allowing Li Qingshan to keep up. The two of them sank towards the bottom of the ocean side-by-side.

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    They dove several dozen kilometers, yet the end was still not in sight. Li Qingshan felt the pressure on him grow greater and greater. The tremendous water pressure made him feel like he was burdened with a colossal weight. His movements became extremely difficult, leaving him secretly stunned. Even my body that¡¯s on par with Daemon King feels so pressured. If it had been a cultivator instead, even a great cultivator, they¡¯d probably struggle to reach the bottom of the sea abyss.

    Instead, Gong Yuan right beside him continued to swim extremely freely. This was a natural advantage that Li Qingshan could not help but acknowledge. On top of that, the abyss seemed deathly silent, but it was actually anything but peaceful. There had been so many times when he was overcome with a sense of danger for some reason, but they all seemed to recognise Gong Yuan. The vague sense of danger did not turn into any actual attacks. After all, she could be regarded as the ruler of this region of the sea.

    Otherwise, fighting against dangerous creatures of the sea in this environment definitely would not be easy. If the battle occurred here, then even if Gong Yuan took on the three Fire Devouring Kings alone, it would be no problem. Even if they possessed the Divine Fire tablets, they would not be able to unleash a lot of power.

    They dove for a few more kilometers. Right when Li Qingshan suspected that the sea abyss was bottomless, he finally saw the ground he had missed for all this time. His feet planted on the ground. The tremendous water pressure was no longer just withstood with his body. He had to circulate the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression at all times to suppress the seawater around him. He saw power that resembled black water emanate around Gong Yuan too, which was the power of Ruin¡¯s End.

    ¡°This really is a fine place for cultivation!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked around and discovered that the surrounding rock was actually all spiritual stone. This was a colossal spiritual stone vein, and there were even a few pure water spiritual stones. Seeped in the spiritual qi, the seawater was like spiritual fluid. It was no wonder that the legendary true dragon preferred hibernating here. Compared to the luxurious Crystal palace, now this was a treasured land of cultivation. However, he could not find any traces left behind by dragons, probably because it was already too long ago!

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡± Gong Yuan urged. She had already grown accustomed to the scenery here a long time ago.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Li Qingshan turned around and laid out his hands, his palms pointing down.

    Gong Yuan also extended her hands, but they also pointed down. Li Qingshan shook his head. How picky. Do you really have to bicker over some small details like this? He brought his hands beneath hers and met them, their palms facing each other.

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    The azure-blue light and the dark power of Ruin¡¯s End immediately melded together. The two auras became entangled.

    Li Qingshan said in his heart, ¡°Power the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End as much as possible. If you can increase your cultivation to late third heavenly tribulation before the battle, our chances of victory will increase yet again.¡±

    ¡°You know how the All Water of Ruin¡¯s End works? Oh right, I almost forgot. It¡¯s her!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s expression changed. A long time ago, she had once practised the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End together with her little sister. They constantly challenged the limit and dove deeper.

    Back then, their personalities were gradually being influenced by Ruin¡¯s End. They became cold to everyone apart from one another, until one day when her sister apologised to her with tears and said she could not endure it anymore.

    She felt betrayed, but she still ended up accepting it, as her sister¡¯s personality had always been relatively gentle, nowhere near as cold and arrogant as her. However, she never managed to understand why she fell in love with a fire devourer and why she would become so ¡°lovesick¡± with him as the Merfolk described it.

    Li Qingshan could feel the deep sadness in Gong Yuan¡¯s heart. He thought, So she isn¡¯t as cold as she seems. She was just overly influenced by Ruin¡¯s End. It hasn¡¯t been easy for her to reach her current cultivation!

    Gong Yuan immediately sensed the hint of sympathy in his heart and basically became even more furious and ashamed than when he grabbed her tail. She held back her urge to act up. ¡°This isn¡¯t fair!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s not fair?¡±

    ¡°The All Water to Ruin¡¯s End is a secret of my race. You shouldn¡¯t know it!¡±

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    ¡°Then how would you like to make it fair?¡±

    ¡°Teach me your cultivation method.¡±

    ¡°I knew it! Big sis, I¡¯m helping you cultivate right now. You¡¯re not helping me cultivate. If you find it unfair, then let¡¯s forget about it!¡±

    ¡°Then forget about it!¡± Gong Yuan immediately pulled her hands away. ¡°Even without you, I can still cultivate like before. If you think you can coerce me with this, then you¡¯ll be utterly mistaken!¡±

    Li Qingshan lost his temper too. ¡°Why would I coerce you? You¡¯re a half-man, half-fish monster. I can¡¯t even use you. What¡¯s there to coerce for?¡±

    ¡°Y- you filthy animal! How dare you talk to me like that!¡± Gong Yuan almost struggled to believe her ears had just heard such foul language.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly how I¡¯m going to talk to you. What are you going to do about it? Stop acting like the entire world owes you. Hmph, do you really think I don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Know what?¡± Gong Yuan was utterly furious. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan had just saved her earlier, she basically would have lashed out.

    ¡°You¡¯re a siscon, or maybe even a lesbian!¡±

    Gong Yuan blanked out, clearly clueless about what the two words meant, so Li Qingshan gave a slight explanation. Before he had even finished explaining, the surrounding seawater froze into ice, sealing him in there. Then the pitch-black ice cube shattered under the tremendous pressure. He felt like he was almost going to be ripped apart.

    ¡°What, was I right on the dot? You damned siscon. Hehe, actually there¡¯s nothing embarrassing about being a siscon. The embarrassing part is you actually still failed in the end. Your sister was stolen by someone else, and they were even an enemy. You really are a failure!¡± Li Qingshan was still as unscrupulous as ever.

    ¡°Shut! Up!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s voice seemed to ring out from the very bottom of an abyss, and that was the reality. It was so cold that it seemed to be able to freeze water, and that was the reality too.

    Their great plan of dual cultivation had entered a deadlock right in the beginning.

    Li Qingshan fell silent before suddenly smiling. ¡°Siscon!¡±

    ¡°All Water to Ruin¡¯s End!¡±

    A battle was on the brink of erupting. Waves of black water flowed out between Gong Yuan¡¯s hands, filled with a deep, deathly stillness as they surged towards Li Qingshan. The gentle healing from earlier had now become lethal killing intent.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡± Li Qingshan called out, and the figure of the spirit turtle appeared, suppressing the black water.

    The bottom of the abyss that had remained silent for all these years suddenly surged violently. Under Gong Yuan¡¯s full-powered attack, all the seawater within fifty kilometers was drawn over.

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    Li Qingshan truly witnessed the Merfolk Queen¡¯s strength now. Fortunately, his Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression could suppress the power of Ruin¡¯s End tremendously, or he would have been in danger of defeat with that.

    The dual cultivation had completely devolved into a battle!

    Gong Yuan¡¯s attacks seemed vicious, but they were not methodical at all. She did not use the Heart of the Abyss either. Instead, it seemed more like venting. Li Qingshan never drew Tiger¡¯s Fang either, fending her off with his bare hands.

    An hour later, Gong Yuan showed a hint of exhaustion, shooting a vicious glare at Li Qingshan nearby.

    Numerous parts of Li Qingshan¡¯s body that he had just rebuilt were frozen and frostbitten. There was a layer of frost over his pale-whiteness, which made him seem like he was in a rather horrible state. However, he continued to smile like before and asked, ¡°How¡¯s it? Do you feel a little better? You do look like you possess a little more humanity now.¡±

    Gong Yuan was mildly surprised. Did he intentionally trigger me and make my emotions fluctuate in order to nullify the influence from the power of Ruin¡¯s End?

    Ever since she became the Merfolk Queen, she stood above all in the Crystal palace. Only ¡°granny¡± could converse a little with her. The two other Merfolk Kings treated her with great politeness, not because they feared her power, but because they respected her sacrifice. They all knew she suffered severe inner demons from practising the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, so they understood why she had such a horrible temper and did their best to not provoke her. As for the other merpeople, they went without saying. All they did was admire and worship her. Never did anyone talk to her like Li Qingshan, reopening her scars fearlessly.

    However, her expression immediately turned cold. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll forgive you for what you said just with that?¡±

    ¡°Hah, who needs your forgiveness? My beloved, you¡®re a little too self-centred! You thought you had to take responsibility for the Merfolk, so you banished her, and then you feel like you caused her death!¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case? What was I supposed to do? What could I do? What would you have done?¡± Gong Yuan turned into a smear of blue light and immediately appeared before Li Qingshan, gripping him by the throat with her icy hand.

    ¡°I would have protected her. You can¡¯t even protect your own family, yet you say you want to protect the Merfolk. Isn¡¯t that hilarious? Even now, you still refuse to admit you were wrong!¡± Li Qingshan gazed at Gong Yuan fearlessly.

    He felt the hand around his neck gradually loosen. Gong Yuan said in a daze, ¡°I was wrong?¡±

    ¡°Completely wrong!¡±

    ¡°Is this what she told you?¡± Gong Yuan was referring to Ru Xin. Otherwise, there was absolutely no need for Li Qingshan to tell her this at the risk of his own life.

    ¡°No, that¡¯s my own opinion. She¡¯s too difficult to deal with. If it were me, I¡¯d definitely curse you out, maybe even give you a proper beating, and properly vent!¡±

    ¡°The world sure would be much simpler if everyone was like you. Though, you still don¡¯t have the strength to give me a proper beating!¡± Gong Yuan said with slight disdain, ¡°Stop wasting time and start cultivating. The storm waits for no one!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly said to her with great seriousness, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no reason for you to be too disheartened. Even if your lower half is a fish, the top half still works.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 897 The Storm Arrives

    After a ¡°candid¡± conversation, the dual cultivation finally began formally. Anger remained on Gong Yuan¡¯s face as she stared at Li Qingshan right before her.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s the kind of person I am. If there¡¯s something I want to say, I¡¯ll definitely say it. That also counts as my efforts towards our cultivation, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°You really are a bastard!¡± Gong Yuan ground her teeth. He clearly possessed such a powerful cultivation, but he did not possess the corresponding bearing at all.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Li Qingshan did not hold back, getting back at her even over the smallest of details.

    ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Cultivation comes first. The storm waits for no one.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Gong Yuan¡¯s hands.

    Gong Yuan sucked in a deep breath. Most of the time, her mind was always as placid as water. Rarely did she become so angered that she had to calm herself down. She took out the Heart of the Abyss, and after a moment of hesitation, she placed it in her mouth. In order to cultivate with Li Qingshan, they had to maintain a certain level of bodily contact, except she did not like the pose where he held her in his arms. Bringing their hands together was the simplest pose they could take.

    The surging, dark waters gradually settled down. As she powered the Heart of the Abyss, the deep, deathly power emerged from Ruin¡¯s End once again, and it was especially powerful in this deep abyss.

    Her various feelings of anger, sadness, and even nostalgia settled down. Her emotions were vanishing, but people were not a stalk of grass or a tree. They could not go without emotions. Even Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty maintained a deep hatred for buddhism.

    The feeling of ¡°emotionlessness¡± was not something that regular creatures could withstand. The home, the peace, and the slumber that the spirit turtle searched for was no different from death in the eyes of regular people. In the world of Ruin¡¯s End, they could enjoy longevity without night or day. It was far more terrifying than the constant devouring in the Hungry Ghost realm or the endless slaughter in the Asura realm.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Gong Yuan felt this great terror. The feeling of coldness gripped her soul firmly as if it wanted to drain the last bit of warmth from her.

    ¡°It¡¯s just like what I said before. Trust me!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out in her heart.

    Gong Yuan furrowed her brows and let out a gloomy sigh, continuing to power the Heart of the Abyss and sending her mind into Ruin¡¯s End. however, she found a hint of consolation within the great terror. She found a hint of warmth within the cold silence. Li Qingshan felt like he had become a spirit turtle, carrying Gong Yuan on his back as he swam through the world of Ruin¡¯s End.

    Time passed by slowly. On the South sea, a huge storm was gradually forming. Looking down from above, the clouds revolved, forming a huge swirl that enveloped a region of thousands of kilometers. It moved north and was growing larger and larger.

    Ji Changfeng wielded the Feilian flag and stood in the cloudy sky, gazing at it with a frown. All he saw was the storm reach into the sky, drawing strands of atmospheric wind from the great altitude and merging it into the fierce winds. It grew more and more vicious while rain poured down.

    The sea roared and churned. A colossal wave reached into the sky, but before it could even fall, a larger wave swallowed it.

    The sea turned into a stage where mountains danced. The rumbling thunder and lightning criss-crossed the dark clouds, constantly illuminating the surface of the ocean!

    ¡°No matter how many times I see this magnificent view, I still feel insignificant. Perhaps only true immortals can truly gaze down at everything from above!¡± Ji Changfeng let out a long sigh before glancing at the sky again. He showed a hint of anticipation. ¡°Once I get my revenge, I¡¯ll wander the world with the wind and search for that path of immortality that leads beyond the heavens!¡±

    The storm was like a legendary kunpeng that had flown who knew how many kilometers, travelling northwards and flying towards the nine provinces.

    Below the surface of the sea, the ocean currents were like colossal dragons, dancing about madly. Even the deep sea abyss experienced a slight disturbance.

    Within the pitch-black sphere constructed from the power of Ruin¡¯s End, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan held each other firmly, sleeping in each other¡¯s embrace. They seemed to have finally discarded their disdain and loathing towards one another and become intimate friends or even lovers.

    But in reality, they were completely unaware of the shift in their postures. They just instinctively sought warmth from one another. They could sense something important that they lacked from the other. The process was not forced or unpleasant at all. Instead, it was extremely comforting and peaceful. For the first time in her life, Gong Yuan did not find the process of practising the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End so painful and difficult. The inner demons that had troubled her for numerous years gradually faded away. Li Qingshan felt like he had returned to his dream home, where he no longer had to carefully avoid disaster like he was walking on a tightrope. There were no dangers and hardships left for him.

    They had never experienced dual cultivation with someone else. This profound compatibility of their minds could not be compared to any materialistic pleasures. They were virtually intoxicated by it, never willing to separate again.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was not just a spirit turtle¡¯s heart. It was not as sedated as Gong Yuan¡¯s. When an undercurrent arrived, he suddenly sensed it and opened his eyes.

    Gong Yuan opened her eyes at the same time, filled with some discontent, blaming him for disturbing this beautiful dream. When she realised their current posture, a hint of shyness appeared on her face. In that moment, Li Qingshan was almost led to believe that the person in his arms was not the cold and proud Merfolk Queen, but his newly-wed wife. He sensed how she struggled and wanted to break free, so he embraced her even more forcefully. Through the thin, smooth silk, he could feel her smooth, cool skin and her curves. She was enchanting.

    She no longer possessed her usual coldness and resolve. Unable to break free, she simply gave up. This was not the first time he had embraced her anyway, so she could let it slide. However, she understood the meaning of pushing his luck very soon.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the beautiful face only inches away, the clean forehead, the deep eyes, the proud nose, and the thin lips below. He pursed his lips and suddenly kissed them.

    Gong Yuan suddenly widened her eyes. Originally, she could have dodged. Originally, she should have dodged, but in that moment, his eyes gave off a power that made her tranquil, leaving her momentarily stunned. By the time she had returned to her senses, he had already forced a kiss on her.

    I¡¯m going to kill him! That was the first thought that appeared in her head. She had already wrapped her fingers around his neck from behind, but she was unable to muster the slightest murderousness.

    They were still dual cultivating.

    Li Qingshan had originally done it out of some mischief. Originally, he thought she would struggle and fight back, but it was so successful in the end that even he was extremely surprised. She was not a mortal, so it was impossible for her to not react in time. By proactively bringing her hand around his neck, that seemed to prove this even more. Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s already been subdued by the intense charm I give off in such a short amount of time? Sigh, I really am something else!

    Before Gong Yuan could even muster enough murderousness and forcefully end this state of dual cultivation, she felt his attempts to pry open her lips, almost driving her crazy. There were some mixed feelings as well. She calmed down soon afterwards and thought inside.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you know what a kiss means to a Merfolk?¡±

    ¡°What?¡± For some reason, Li Qingshan experienced a hint of uneasiness. If she had roared at him and tried to kill him, he would have felt a little more at ease.

    ¡°It¡¯s a vow!¡±

    ¡°What vow?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s uneasiness grew heavier.

    ¡°To accompany one another and to never separate.¡±

    Li Qingshan was so emotionally touched that he almost cried. Something like this regularly appeared in the novels from his past life. When the faces or feet of beauties were seen, or when they were seen showering, they had to be married to the person that saw them. Originally, he thought that was just some fantasy written up by some shut-in. He never expected something as great as that to actually be real in this world.

    ¡°Are you willing?¡± Gong Yuan then asked.

    ¡°I-¡± Right when Li Qingshan was about to answer, he saw her deep eyes and suddenly shivered inside. ¡°What will happen if I agree to it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to remain in the South sea forever, right by my side. You are forbidden from approaching any other woman, or I¡¯ll kill them, as well as you!¡± Icy-cold resolve flashed through Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes.

    Merfolk possessed a fine reputation for lovesickness, but that did not come without a price, which was absolute loyalty, without any leeway for betrayal. Otherwise, it would only end up as a life-or-death struggle. There were numerous horrific cases like this in the South sea. The most widespread story regarding Merfolk was: A beautiful mermaid had saved a fisherman who was stranded at sea, and she fell deeply in love with him. The two of them established their love for one another. The fisherman said he wanted to return to tell his parents he was safe and sound, but he never ended up returning. The mermaid shed tears to the moon and thought about him day and night. In the end, she transformed a pair of legs and went to find the fisherman on land, only to find out that he had already been wed. As a result, she ate the fisherman and returned to the sea with his head.

    So-called lovesickness had always possessed many extreme elements. It was not something that regular people could endure.

    Li Qingshan immediately raised his hands and cracked a joke. ¡°My mind wasn¡¯t too clear just then. You were too beautiful and enchanting earlier, so I made a thoughtless mistake. Just treat it like nothing happened at all, haha!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already too late,¡± Gong Yuan said faintly, actually proactively extending her hands and holding his face, making him shiver inside.

 Chapter 898 To War

    ¡°Your majesty, I think the practice of you Merfolk is far too outdated. How can you let a minor detail determine a major affair of life? You know, I¡¯ve always respected you very much.¡± Li Qingshan explained to Gong Yuan very seriously.

    ¡°Respected me?¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s voice immediately increased drastically. Apart from the damned fire devourers, she had never met someone who disrespected her so much in her life. As a matter of fact, it was even possible to say that those fire devourers respected her more than him as the Merfolk Queen, even if it was only respect for the enemy.

    ¡°Yeah, basically¡­¡± Li Qingshan also found that a little farfetched. He extended two fingers. ¡°Though, you have to admit that I¡¯ve saved you twice. For the sake of that at the very least, we¡¯re still friends, right?¡± He spoke with utter sincerity, placing special stress on the word ¡°friends¡±.

    ¡°Hehe, to think that there are times when even you are afraid.¡± The corner of Gong Yuan¡¯s lips curled into a slightly-mocking smile. She was accustomed to his fearlessness and unscrupulousness, so she found his current shape quite novel. It also left her a little surprisingly furious.

    ¡°Afraid? What am I supposed to be afraid of?¡± Li Qingshan laughed dryly. He did feel a bit of regret. He should not have gone overboard with her. She might have been beautiful and enchanting, where her noble identity and cold personality were particularly rousing for a man¡¯s urge to conquer, but he really should not have.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid, then why¡¯d you back away? What, the mighty King of Savages is bold enough to do it, but too afraid to admit it?¡± Gong Yuan pressed closer and felt utterly delighted. ¡°If you regret it, then drop down onto your knees and apologise. Perhaps I can forgive you.¡±

    ¡°Aha, you wish!¡± Li Qingshan would never kneel to anyone. Instead, it roused his rude and unreasonable side. ¡°So what if I admit it? Can a mighty Merfolk Queen like you bring yourself to marry a human like me?¡±

    He could tell that Gong Yuan was not truly interested in him. Who knew how far away she was from being ¡°lovesick¡±. Moreover, the existence of this practice entirely depended on her word right now. Even if it did exist, would she really submit to a man she loathed simply because of a measly practise? Definitely not. She was clearly using this opportunity to threaten him.

    After seeing through this, he immediately recovered his unscrupulous demeanour.

    ¡°I¡¯m bold enough to marry you. Are you bold enough to marry me?¡± Gong Yuan stared at him coldly, but that instead made him even more confident about his conclusion. He crossed his arms. ¡°There is nothing that I¡¯m not bold enough to do!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what you said!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said!¡±

    The conversation ended there, and the two of them glared at each other viciously. It was like they were not talking about marriage, but were trying to perish together with their mortal enemy.

    Quite a while later, Gong Yuan sucked in a deep breath and shut her eyes. She continued with All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, beginning her breakthrough.

    Li Qingshan secretly eased up. Fortunately, I was bold enough and wasn¡¯t bluffed by her. If this were a decade ago, perhaps this is something I would have dreamed of.

    Actually, after dual cultivating with her, his opinion of Gong Yuan changed very drastically. Deep inside, she was not as cold and proud as she seemed on the outside. She also had her indescribable pains and soft sides, which made him feel a hint of sympathy. When he kissed her, it was not like he was not interested in her at all.

    This was probably equivalent to falling in love at first sight for cultivators. Such a deep level of dual cultivation had an extremely great influence on both of their minds, far more memorable than a kiss or actually sleeping together.

    Even if it were two men, if they could dual cultivate like this, they would become best of friends and view beauties as something no different from muck. If there was not such a great difference between them, if they were not so proud, then becoming cultivation partners actually would have made perfect sense.

    Otherwise, with Gong Yuan¡¯s pride, she definitely would have done everything within her control to get revenge after having a kiss forced on her. She would never use this as a threat. She had not even shown any actual hatred.

    Li Qingshan silently practised the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as well, giving off a tranquil, clear light that penetrated the pitch-black power of Ruin¡¯s End and landed on Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan opened her eyes slightly and glanced at him before closing them again. The power of Ruin¡¯s End drew in, which she rapidly absorbed. A layer of black, rippling water covered her.

    Much later, the black water dispersed, having merged with her body completely. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and they had become dark and deep, just like the Heart of the Abyss. Her aura did not climb higher. Instead, it became even deeper and more withdrawn. The rolling water spiritual qi gathered towards her.

    ¡°Congratulations!¡± Li Qingshan knew that she had finally broken through and reached late third heavenly tribulation. If she continued like this, reaching the peak was only a matter of time. There was even a chance for her to ascend.

    His ears suddenly pricked up. He could vaguely hear the whistling of wind and the roar of thunder from the distant surface of the ocean.

    The undercurrents became more intense. The storm was currently passing by.

    Gong Yuan stopped cultivating, and the colour of her eyes turned back to a deep-blue. She raised her head. ¡°It¡¯s time!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Today is the day we take down Fire Melt mountain!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. This period of dual cultivation had brought him numerous benefits too. His body and mind had recovered completely. Even the Tiger¡¯s Fang on his waist had drunk enough blood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about what you said,¡± Gong Yuan said softly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget. I¡¯m waiting for that day!¡± Li Qingshan was already certain she was bluffing him, so he did not care. The upcoming battle had already drawn his mind away. He was ready to fight.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The three Merfolk Kings waited on the cliff behind the Crystal palace. They discussed whether they should venture down or not, just in case Gong Yuan missed the timing to go to war. However, they were stopped by ¡°granny¡±. ¡°Gong Yuan¡¯s cultivation takes priority!¡±

    ¡°The storm this time is a one-in-a-century event. If we missed it, who knows when it¡¯s going to occur again. Undue delay brings trouble!¡± said the Merfolk King who resembled a middle-aged man with some worry.

    Not only was this Li Qingshan¡¯s opportunity to take down Fire Melt mountain, but it was also a heaven-sent opportunity for the Merfolk. There was not only the storm on their side, but also two powerful allies, the King of Savages and the Wind Gale King. The Divine Nun of the South Sea had agreed to lend them a hand too. If they had to wait another century, who knew what might happen!

    ¡°Granny¡± frowned as well. Leaning on her cane, she peered into the abyss. Suddenly, she roused enthusiastically. ¡°They¡¯re here!¡±

    In the abyss, a stream rushed upwards. Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan arrived side-by-side. Although they maintained the slightest distance between one another, their auras were linked, and they moved with startling speed. In the blink of an eye, they had rushed out of the abyss, flying directly towards the surface of the ocean without stopping.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s voice rang through the entire region. ¡°Today is when we take down Fire Melt mountain and exterminate the fire devourers!¡±

    Thousands of merpeople called out loudly in the Crystal palace. ¡°Take down Fire Melt mountain and exterminate the fire devourers!¡±

    The three Merfolk Kings exchanged glances, all inspired with force and spirit. They followed close behind.

    They waited for quite a while. Several thousand Merfolk warriors rushed out of the Crystal palace and stood in battle formation, following their kings into battle.

    On a tower, the Divine Nun of the South Sea said sternly, ¡°One Will, if you must go, I won¡¯t stop you, but stay close to me, understood?¡±

    ¡°Yes, great master.¡± Xiao An gave up on fighting. She planned on only assisting from the side with the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea nodded in satisfaction and caught up with the army of merpeople with Xiao An.

 Chapter 899 A War Between Gods

    Li Qingshan burst out of the ocean alone, and an extremely magnificent scene unfolded right before him. The ocean was furious, the waves churning like cascading mountains. The sky was furious, the rain pouring and the thunder roaring. He felt utter delight and could not help but roar out, flapping his wings of wind and throwing himself into the storm.

    Ji Changfeng controlled the gales and flew through the storm. His green robes and white hair fluttered in the air. He waved the Feilian flag from time to time, emitting a whistling gust of wind.

    He was known as the Wind Gale King, but compared to the force of the entire storm, he was completely insignificant. However, he understood the nature of wind extremely well. During the past few days, he had been constantly tracking and observing the growth and expansion of the storm. Every single gust of wind he created struck a critical point, ingeniously changing the storm¡¯s direction. It was only a matter of millimeters, but a few thousand kilometers out, that was the difference of several hundred kilometers.

    Suddenly, he saw a figure flying over through the storm. Not only had the roaring storm failed to influence his speed, but it even made him more nimble instead, arriving right before him in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± Ji Changfeng gazed at Li Qingshan, quite surprised. Originally, he thought Li Qingshan was only paying him lip service when he said he would lend a hand. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s ability to control wind had far exceeded his imagination.

    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Li Qingshan nodded.

    Ji Changfeng gave some slight guidance, and Li Qingshan understood how he could influence the storm. He opened his mouth and emitted a spout of wind that whistled over five kilometers away. It was no less effective than the gales Ji Changfeng¡¯s Feilian flag produced. He even had a bit more control over it.

    Daemons did not know many techniques like humans, but they possessed a natural advantage when it came to their grasp over their innate abilities. The tiger demon controlled wind like how the spirit turtle controlled water, and the tiger demon was at the fifth layer now, so it was even stronger than the spirit turtle.

    ¡°Nice!¡±

    Ji Changfeng could not help but praise. Originally, he found it rather difficult to control the direction of the storm. He only went to great lengths for the sake of revenge. Now that he received some powerful assistance, he possessed utmost confidence. He guided Li Qingshan in greater detail through his soul sense.

    ¡°The same gust of wind as before, just a hundred a fifty meters to the south-east. Make it slice it along the circular flow of the storm¡­¡±

    Ji Changfeng had lived on the South sea for a millennium after all, so he possessed a great understanding of the way storms operated. He also had his own set of views about the nature of wind.

    Having received the Wind Gale King¡¯s hand-to-hand guidance, Li Qingshan¡¯s understanding of wind deepened. Wind is invisible, vast and unending, constantly on the flow. Its nature is vastly different from water and fire. Water primarily sinks, fire primarily rises, while wind primarily spins¡­

    After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, he had never found the time to consolidate his cultivation. He used this opportunity now to rapidly absorb and learn the information, constantly adjusting how he flapped the wings of wind. He felt like he had become wind itself, dancing through the world freely, completely untethered and untetherable. Once wind lost its freedom, then only demise awaited it.

    Insufficient daemon qi had always been his greatest shortcoming. In the beginning, he would have to rest after using the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath for a while, but gradually, he learnt how to use this storm. He sucked in a deep breath, and the fierce wind flowed into his mouth before he blew it out again. It was an endless cycle.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath no longer came off as sharp as before either. Instead, it moved more to his will, like a long snake slithering through the storm.

    Ji Changfeng personally witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s growth. He thought, This child¡¯s future is limitless. It¡¯s no wonder that he managed to make such a great name for himself in the south in such a short amount of time.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Dragons of lightning struck the ocean, scattering a region of dancing, electric snakes. Blue light rippled under the torrential ocean. Gong Yuan led the merpeople and advanced with the storm along the turbulent flows of the ocean, adding a hint of splendour to the storm.

    With enough might to swallow the world, the storm approached the north.

    Between the sky and the sea, Ye Duanhai stood with his hands behind his back. The sea wind swept up his large cloak, and the ocean below began to surge. An expanse of black clouds in the horizon crawled over, rapidly amassing like a mountain and sweeping over like a blanket.

    A streak of white light arrived. Yu Wufeng said, ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°You can return to the sword pavilion!¡± Ye Duanhai said without even looking back. This battle was extremely dangerous. Even as a great sword cultivator, he felt endangered.

    ¡°Wufeng is willing to enter battle with master!¡± Yu Wufeng disobeyed his master for once.

    ¡°Then come!¡± Ye Duanhai did not run his mouth. As sword cultivators, they each had their individial resolve and pride.

    In the storm, Li Qingshan clasped his hands at Ye Duanhai from afar, turning around and calling out, ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    Xiao An immediately understood him. She took out the Blood Oath Scroll and gently drew her finger over a blood-red figure. The figure rapidly faded and vanished.

    Yu Wufeng lightened up inside. With the invisible restraint gone, he experienced a whirlpool of emotions. He soon stabilised his feelings and saw the pathway to the third heavenly tribulation.

    Before the storm could swallow them, the two of them rushed into the air on their swords and arrived above the clouds. Glancing out, the storm had not completely left the ocean just yet. They could not help but lament about the unbelievable might of the world.

    The storm was already a one-in-a-century event, but spurred on by Ji Changfeng and Li Qingshan, it became even more powerful, sweeping straight towards the nine provinces.

    On the shore of the South sea, the towering trees suddenly began to shiver. The fierce wind whistled over, growing more and more intense. The proud sun in the sky was gradually swallowed by the dark clouds. The entire world became dim, filled with the roaring of gales. Even the thunder seemed to lose their sound, only able to prove their existence through the constant flashes.

    In the moment the storm arrived on the shore, thousands of colossal trees snapped, collapsed and were uprooted!

    Li Qingshan used the Profound Light Illuminates All to gaze at Fire Melt mountain several thousand kilometers away. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    On Fire Melt mountain, the three Fire Devouring Kings overlooked all the fire devourers. A fiery-red ribbon was tied to the head of every single fire devourer. This was the fire devourers¡¯ mourning ceremony for their loved ones. The plague had killed over sixty percent of the fire devourers there. The more frail they were, the harder it was for them to avoid it.

    Flames of anger burned in the eyes of every single fire devourer. Their red hair rose and rippled like torches. The ribbons made from stone cloth turned bright-red in the flames, just like fire!

    ¡°The Merfolk are coming.¡±

    Zhu Yan sat on a fiery-red rock and said only that with his head lowered. What answered him were thousands of furious bellows, like the eruptions of thousands of volcanoes.

    They did not need any further encouragement or motivation. Fury and hatred was the best fuel there was, making the hearts of every single fire devourer burn until they almost melted.

    Zhu Yan covered his forehead with his hand. Between his fingers, his eyes burned like flames. All he saw were black clouds swallowing the horizon in the south, sweeping aside everything in its path and casting the shadow of war.

    Zhu Fen let out a furious roar and leapt into the sky. He pointed the Fire Tablet of Heaven at the starry sky, and thousands of sparks rose up. They lit up as thousands of scarlet stars, and the sky became resplendent.

    Zhu Zai patted Zhu Yan on the shoulder and flew down from Fire Melt mountain, dropping down on one knee and plunging the Fire Tablet of Earth into the ground.

    Rumble. The ground shook violently.

    Rumble! Every single volcano in the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain began to erupt. The ground cracked and lava flowed freely. There were even many new volcanoes being formed, destroying and swallowing the structures and reducing it to a burning sea of flames. For the sake of this battle, the fire devourers had already cast aside everything. They had the resolve to perish together with their enemy.

    Only the main peak of Fire Melt mountain remained silent as if it was culminating in something¡­

    Zhu Yan suddenly tightened his grip around the Fire Tablet of Man. A roar erupted from the volcano behind him, even drowning out the eruptions of all the other volcanoes. A huge, scarlet hand suddenly grabbed the edge of the crater, and soon afterwards, a colossal head that resembled a small mountain poked out, its simple facial features warped with fury. It climbed out of the crater, and its scarlet body stood sturdy like a mountain with two fire dragons coiled around it.

    The fire devourers all knelt down in worship, chanting Zhurong¡¯s name.

    This was the giant god of fire that Li Qingshan had once fought, except it now possessed a much clearer face and an even larger body, as well as unprecedented intelligence, or perhaps better described as divine nature.

    The giant god of fire opened its mouth and rolling flames surged out. Its chest heaved before it suddenly let out an earth-splitting roar, ¡°Fight!¡±

    ¡°Fight!¡± The fire devourers all roared together.

    Zhu Yan stood up and glanced deeply towards the south before turning around and entering the giant god of fire¡¯s body.

    Immediately, the giant god of fire¡¯s face became even clearer, bearing some resemblance to Zhu Yan¡¯s. Its body became even more consolidated as if it was alive. It leapt out of the crater and stood within the sea of flames.

    At that moment, the sea of fire that spanned four hundred kilometers seemed to gather towards it. The two fire dragons emitted a great cry.

    The storm swept over, obscuring the starry sky and swallowing Fire Melt mountain in a single gulp.

    Between the mountainous clouds, the three Merfolk Kings led all the Merfolk warriors into assuming a battle formation, gathering all of their strength together. Under their urgings, the torrential rain turned into a turbulent flood, gushing towards Fire Melt mountain wave after wave and slamming against the protective formation!

    Li Qingshan was also stunned by this sight. This was a legendary war between gods. As it seemed, it was not without reason that otherfolk were known as godfolk in the ancient times. Only a flood like that condensed from such tremendous power had a chance at taking down Fire Melt mountain.

    No matter how vicious the storms of nature were, it was impossible for them to directly take down the royal court of the fire devourers. It could only suppress and destroy their natural advantage. The central force for taking down the mountain was the battle formation.

    At this moment, he suddenly raised his head.

    The scarlet stars twinkled through the thick clouds and rained down!

    A meteor smashed an opening in the tall, mountainous cloud in its way with a long, fiery tail, rushing straight towards the battlefield. Thousands more meteors followed closely behind, obliterating the cloud.

    Compared to the meteors seen on Giant Ship island, the meteor shower this time was at least ten times denser and more vicious! Indeed, last time was only a hurried sneak attack, and it had been carried out over the ocean. Meanwhile, the attack this time had been prepared a good while ago, unleashed under the geographic advantage of Fire Melt mountain.

    A whip-like tornado whistled out, and the first meteor exploded in the sky.

 Chapter 900 World-shaking

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath danced like a wind snake, slithering through the air and destroying the meteors one by one. The scorching waves of heat and flames reached several dozen kilometers away, and the storm paused because of it. The thick clouds were riddled with tears, allowing the resplendent sunlight to pass through and reach the ground.

    The red stars continued to fall onto the world endlessly, turning into whistling meteors. Zhu Yan raised the Fire Tablet of Heaven high into the air, and the surging flames gathered on him. With Fire Melt mountain as his foundation, he could unleash attacks fearlessly. He would never stop in such a hurry like what he did above Giant Ship island.

    In other words, perhaps this meteor shower would not be stopping before the battle ended. It would continue until one side was completely annihilated.

    Li Qingshan extended his wings of wind, which suddenly unfurled to thousands of meters long, and smashed apart a few meteors. However, the never-ending meteor shower made him frown. This was no longer something he could fend off alone.

    Within the mountainous clouds, many Merfolk could not help but raise their heads. The firelight illuminated their faces. Faced with this horrifying sight that resembled doomsday, they could not help but show a hint of fear.

    The colossal battle formation the merpeople assembled devoted all of its strength to attacking. It was not capable of defending at all. If any of the meteors struck them, it would lead to lethal consequences.

    ¡°Focus! Devote your strength to attacking!¡± Gong Yuan ordered loudly and clenched her fist firmly, gazing at Fire Melt mountain from above. They had to attack. They had to attack, regardless of all consequences!

    The battle this time was different from any other battle between the two races from the past. All they could do was penetrate the protective formations as soon as possible, or they would be in for a passive beating. They would not even be able to wear the enemy down. Yet at the same time, they also had to maintain their central forces, or they would be utterly exhausted by the time they had breached Fire Melt mountain, which would make their efforts utterly pointless. That was why she had been holding back the entire time. And, she could feel that the greatest danger did not come from these meteors, but the giant god of fire that stood on the main peak.

    A great flag flew, and fierce winds swept out. Ji Changfeng rose up, and the gales whistled out, riling up the mighty storm in the process to blow the meteors askew, making them whistle past the battle formation. Even Li Qingshan could only look up to and admire his ability to control the wind.

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    ¡°Leave these meteors to me. I probably won¡¯t be able to do anything else for the next part of the battle. Please avenge me for the loss of my son and my sect!¡± Ji Changfeng stood above the battle formation resolutely and swung the Feilian flag until it rippled madly.

    Controlling the direction of the storm basically required all of his efforts. For the sake of victory, he had even merged his mind with the storm alone, contending with Zhu Fen¡¯s meteors as if he was trying to redeem the regretful battle from before!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wind Gale King! I definitely won¡¯t leave you disappointed!¡±

    Li Qingshan finally received the opportunity to catch his breath. Along the way, he had not been as busy as Ji Changfeng, but it had still consumed a lot of his strength. Gong Yuan proactively extended her hand and grabbed his, helping him recover his strength through the method of dual cultivation.

    Sensing her hand that was icy-cold and bone-chilling, emanating with the power of Ruin¡¯s End, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Stay calm. It¡¯s still not time yet!¡± Her power was critical to this battle. When they worked together, his purpose was more for assisting her in stabilising her mind and controlling the power of Ruin¡¯s End, so even if he was a little exhausted, it was fine. However, they had to conserve her power as much as possible.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! bang!

    The violent torrent piled up as water mountains with enough might to swallow everything, slamming against the protective formation wave after wave.

    The passing storm continued onwards through inertia alone. Everywhere beyond Fire Melt mountain had become an ocean, surrounding the four hundred kilometers of burning flames.

    Water and fire, the two tremendous powers, became locked in a maddening contest, clashing over every single inch of space!

    The flames illuminated the thick clouds, dyeing them a magnificent colour. The torrential rain poured down through the wind, reflecting the fire and leaving thousands of bright streaks in the air.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes glistened as he gazed at this magnificent view. He could not help but purse his lips. All the blood in him bubbled slightly while Tiger¡¯s Fang in his hand thrummed gently.

    Gong Yuan remained worried. Right below was Fire Melt mountain, the place that all Merfolk Kings had dreamt of conquering, but now that she had actually led an army here, she could not help but wonder whether she was actually in the right or not. What if they failed?

    But as she gazed at Li Qingshan beside her, she gradually calmed down. Right now, he did not possess any of the arrogance and casualness that she loathed. He was completely relaxed, yet tense at the same time, like a vicious tiger ready to strike, lying in the jungle quietly. His heart was as firm as steel, without any fear or hesitation. He radiated with elegant and sedated murderousness, possessing an aggressive beauty of masculinity.

    Just how great would it be if he was like this all the time? Gong Yuan could not help but sigh like that inside.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her in a strange manner.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost time.¡± Gong Yuan pointed at Fire melt mountain below. ¡°The exterior protective formation is close to collapsing.¡±

    Under the constant invasion of the torrents, the protective formation¡¯s glow rapidly faded and dimmed.

    The attacks that several thousand Merfolk warriors unleashed under the lead of the three Merfolk Kings was far too vicious, and a range of four hundred kilometers was far too large at the end of the day. The fire devourers had tended to this place for many years, but the exterior protective formation was still extremely limited in defensive power. If Zhu Zai had not maintained it with the Fire Tablet of Earth in hand, it would have collapsed long ago.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to this storm. Fire Melt mountain sure is a tough nut that¡¯s even harder than I imagined to crack!¡± Li Qingshan nodded in agreement. The storm had played a critical role, or simply breaching the exterior protective formation would have been extremely difficult. It would have been impossible for Ji Changfeng to hold off Zhu Fen¡¯s meteors alone too.

    The power of the formation originated from the flames of the earth, and the flames of the earth burned away forever. They could not be extinguished, and they did not run out. No matter how great the strength of cultivators were, they still stood no chance.

    Only the might of the world could contend with the might of the world, and within the five elements, water regulated fire. Merfolk were not as belligerent as the fire devourers, but water truly did have a natural advantage over fire.

    ¡°It¡¯s all just probing us out. Don¡¯t drop your guard!¡± Gong Yuan reminded him. The three Fire Devouring Kings had yet to unleash their true strength. In particular, the giant god of fire that stood there with a furious expression made them wary. Who knew what kind of terrifying existence it would be.

    ¡°That goes without saying. If this is all that the fire devourers are capable of, that would be far too disappointing!¡±

    Before he had even finished talking, a sense of warning suddenly sprung up in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. The falling meteors suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Do it!¡± Zhu Feng bellowed. From the tip of the Fire Tablet of Heaven, a red star rose up into the sky, growing larger and larger, brighter and brighter, just like a scarlet sun.

    ¡°Fire Dragons of the Land, Devastation of the Lightning Fire!¡± Zhu Zai cried out. The black plumes from the several thousand volcanoes suddenly twisted and gathered above Fire Melt mountain, turning into a black smoke dragon several tens of thousand kilometers long. It opened its eyes that resembled lava, and horns and claws jutted out. Lightning crackled through its body. It was like a creature from a nightmare.

    The giant god of fire leapt up and landed on the back of the dragon. It raised a spear of flames high into the air, pointing at everyone in the sky. A scarlet sun fell down from above, illuminating the land and forming the backdrop.

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    Nothing happened when the three of them did nothing, but it was world-shaking the moment they did.

 Chapter 901 The Battle of Fire Melt Mountain (1)

    ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He had once personally experienced the might of the spear of fire, except the giant god of fire was much stronger than before now, so what kind of force would be behind that spear?

    The timing that they chose to strike was extremely clever too, attacking when the surging torrents were about to break through the protective formation. The three Merfolk Kings were all occupied with breaching the formation, so they were incapable of freeing themselves to attack the giant god of fire. It was impossible for them to free themselves too, or the formation would stabilise and last a little longer. By then, victory would be even more impossible.

    In other words, only Li Qingshan, Gong Yuan, Ye Duanhai, the Divine Nun of the South Sea, and Ji Changfeng could contend against the giant god of fire right now. Ji Changfeng was already utterly exhausted holding off the meteors, while the Divine Nun of the South Sea was with Xiao An, remaining at the very back of the battle formation. No one was certain whether she would provide any assistance. It was even possible for her to simply turn around and leave if the situation seemed bad.

    The issue was they were not only up against the giant god of fire. The Fire Dragon of the Land that sprayed fire and crackled with lightning definitely was not an easy opponent. At the same time, the scarlet sun pressed down towards the battle formation at a rate much faster than it seemed. It possessed the might to destroy everything in its path. If no one blocked that attack, then it would be immediate annihilation.

    Eight supreme cultivators had arrived with a great storm on their side, yet they actually faced great danger now that they had actually clashed with the fire devourers. Probably no one had thought of this.

    From the giant god of fire¡¯s heart, Zhu Yan stared at Li Qingshan who stood beside Gong Yuan with seething hatred. He hated him even more than Gong Yuan. If he had not come between them, they would have slain Gong Yuan twice already. Why would they have ever ended up in such a state? He was clearly a piece of trash that had not even undergone the third heavenly tribulation!

    The giant god of fire poured its strength into the throw, and the spear of flames sailed through the sky, rising through the air.

    Li Qingshan held Gong Yuan¡¯s hand firmly. She had already fished out the Heart of the Abyss, mobilising the power of Ruin¡¯s End and ready to fend off the enemy with him. But in the next moment, the sense of danger in their hearts suddenly slackened.

    The scarlet streak of light sailed over their heads. The spear¡¯s target was not them, but Ji Changfeng, who swung the Feilian flag vigorously in an attempt to stop the scarlet sun¡¯s descent.

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    A finger severed for good was better than bruising all ten!

    Zhu Yan understood this principle extremely well. Even the Divine Ray of the Sun from back then had failed to kill Li Qingshan, and the spear was slightly weaker than it, so he was even less confident about killing Li Qingshan with that. That was why he targeted the weakest out of them, Ji Changfeng.

    Ji Changfeng was startled. Unprecedented danger screamed through his heart, actually even more intense than back then on Giant Ship island. Targeted by the spear, he seemed to go from a lofty great cultivator to prey in the forest. Even if he could control the winds, he could not escape.

    ¡°Splitting the Sea!¡±

    An extremely glorious streak of light suddenly filled the surroundings, drowning out the glow of lightning and fire. It seemed to split the sky into two, severing the spear¡¯s trajectory at the same time.

    Ye Duanhai had finally taken action. His cloak drifted in the wind as he gripped the Sea-splitting sword in his hand. It was a little more than a meter long and inconspicuous in appearance. Just by looking at the sword, it was impossible to imagine it could produce a streak of light like that.

    Great sword cultivators truly were terrifying. Li Qingshan felt secretly glad too. If they had actually fallen out back then, who knew what the outcome would be.

    Strangely enough, the spear continued towards Ji Changfeng, but no one looked at it again. Ji Changfeng rode the wind and avoided the spear with a gentle flash. The spear continued for another five kilometers before suddenly snapping in half, exploding into a ball of flames.

    Ye Duanhai¡¯s slash had severed its essence. Once its connection with the giant god of fire was broken, all that remained was its outer appearance, which posed absolutely no threat to a great cultivator known for their speed like Ji Changfeng.

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    ¡°Ye Duanhai, we spared you back then, yet you still have the courage to get involved and make an enemy out of Fire Melt mountain?¡± Zhu Fen bellowed furiously.

    ¡°If I had been present back then, would you still have been able to escape back to Fire Melt mountain?¡± Ye Duanhai said indifferently.

    If the three Fire Devouring Kings had destroyed the Cloud Sail sect and butchered everyone, then perhaps he did owe them a slight favour, but they had been defeated. They had only managed to escape after the King of Southern Yue rescued them. In other words, the entire incident was them making a fool out of themselves.

    ¡°The Scarlet Sun Soars, Illuminating All!¡±

    Zhu Fen was utterly livid. He waved the Fire Tablet of Heaven furiously, and the scarlet sun erupted with rays of light that shot towards the merpeople below. Despite his fury, he maintained his sharpness for battle. Killing a great sword cultivator like Ye Duanhai could not be achieved easily, but as long as they destroyed the Merfolk battle formation, then the tides would immediately turn in their favour. They would be invincible.

    ¡°One Sword as Three Thousand!¡± Ye Duanhai tossed up the Sea-splitting sword, which turned into two, then four, then eight¡­

    This was a move that all sword cultivators practised, but when it came to him, it demonstrated startling power. The three thousand Sea-splitting swords turned into three thousand streaks of light, criss-crossing in the air and colliding with the scarlet rays.

    However, the scarlet sun rapidly crushed down. The heat it gave off even dispersed the thick cloud layer, where only the cloud that the Merfolk stood on remained. They sensed the whistling winds turn into waves of heat.

    Ji Changfeng was already incapable of stopping it, while Ye Duanhai had used his full strength to fend off the scarlet rays. Otherwise, the merpeople would be mostly dead before the scarlet sun had even arrived.

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan wanted to help out, but the giant god of fire had already rushed over on the giant dragon with a spear of flames in its hand. The Fire Dragon of the Land pulled its head back slightly and sprayed out lightning fire. Within the roaring flames, there was a flash of light. The tip of the spear immediately filled their faces.

    This time, Zhu Yan did not attack anyone else. He poured all of his hatred and fury into that thrust.

    Li Qingshan wanted to draw his blade, but Gong Yuan¡¯s voice rang out in his mind, ¡°Work together. Now¡¯s not the time for you to play the hero!¡±

    ¡°Yes, your majesty!¡±

    ¡°All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, Black Water Like the Abyss!¡± Gong Yuan raised the Heart of the Abyss high into the air, and black water surged out. It was not as turbulent and violent as the flood below, but it possessed a much deeper and more deathly aura than it, silently swallowing the lightning fire from the fire dragon and gushing towards the dragon itself.

    The spear paused and also ran into the water. The giant god of fire let out a furious roar, and the spear continued through the water, with enough force to penetrate everything, right towards Li Qingshan.

    Gong Yuan wanted to use another technique when Li Qingshan suddenly pulled her to him. He said, ¡°Hang on tight!¡±

    He gripped his blade with both hands and leapt up. Tiger¡¯s Fang exited its sheathe, and blood-red light filled the air, slashing down at the tip of the spear.

    Gong Yuan shot a glance at him, but all she could do was embrace him firmly from behind. She chanted, ¡°All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, Droplets to Ice!¡±

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    Compared to the spear of fire, the blade was like a toothpick to a lance. However, in the moment the blade and spear clashed, the light they emitted recoloured the world.

    A great boom drowned out the rumbles of thunder. All gazes were drawn over, wanting to see how he challenged a god with his insignificant size.

    A tremendous force travelled through the spear, making Zhu Yan widen his eyes. How can he be this strong!?

    He never saw Li Qingshan¡¯s battle against the giant god of fire in the Asura Field. Afterwards, they did formally clash once over the ocean, but Li Qingshan had only received a strike from the Divine Ray of the Sun. His body was stripped of flesh, only leaving a set of tiger bones. He was unable to utilise much of the Strength of the Ox Demon. Yet right now, not only was he in perfect condition, but he had even merged the power of the tiger demon and ox demon together.

    In the very beginning, when brother ox taught him these two transformations, he did not call it the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, but the Strength of Nine Oxen and Two Tigers. The strength of the tiger demon was nowhere close to the ox demon, but it was still extremely great. Individually, they were both on par with regular Daemon Kings.

    Now that Li Qingshan possessed the fifth layer of the ox demon and tiger demon, his strength was so terrifying that did it matter if he was up against a god?

    Under numerous gazes of disbelief, the spear met an obstacle and was forcefully halted!

    Li Qingshan let out an explosive bellow and swung the blade as hard as he could. The spear actually shifted.

    Even Gong Yuan who was the closest to Li Qingshan right now could not believe he had just done that, yet she also had a feeling that it made perfect sense. Their bodies and minds were tightly linked, so she could clearly sense the tremendous strength flow and surge through him, turning into a flood that no one could stop.

    She obviously would not let this opportunity slip by. The surging black water had already condensed into black ice crystals. This was the most destructive form of the power of Ruin¡¯s End. It exceeded the limits of coldness, even harder to condense than ancient ice. It shot towards the giant god of fire¡¯s chest like black ice rain, right at where Zhu Yan resided!

    The Fire Dragon of the Land suddenly raised its hand and swallowed the ice rain before lunging towards Gong Yuan and Li Qingshan.

    Like a black mountain was collapsing before them, Li Qingshan rapidly retreated with Gong Yuan until there was no more room left. Right behind them was the Merfolk battle formation. They could not dodge, or who knew how many merpeople would die. The battle formation could definitely crumble too.

    Gong Yuan scoffed gently, while Li Qingshan just stood there. The colossal dragon head arrived before them then suddenly collapsed, turning back into a ball of surging smoke. It swallowed Li Qingshan, Gong Yuan, and the entire battle formation, but it posed no harm to them.

    The pieces of black ice could not be swallowed that easily. If water was said to regulate fire, then the water from Ruin¡¯s End was the greatest regulator of fire.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Zhu Zai¡¯s face paled. She had been in control of the Fire Dragon of the Land. The destruction of the dragon¡¯s head meant she suffered a backlash too, so she could not help but swear aloud. Then she said, ¡°I¡¯d like to see just how much longer you can stay complacent!¡±

    The entire clash had unfolded in an instant, but the scarlet sun had already fallen. It was over a hundred times larger than any regular meteor. Some of the weaker merpeople could not help but howl, like they were being incinerated by fire. The smell of roasting filled the air.

    There was nothing Ye Duanhai could do about this either. Sword cultivators were powerful, but their forte was not forcefully receiving attacks, while Zhu Fen had always been the strongest fire devourer. They also had the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain as a foundation, so the overall destructive power behind the scarlet sun was even more terrifying than the Divine Ray of the Sun.

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan had to face the giant god of fire and the rapidly-regenerating Fire Dragon of the Land beneath its feet, so they could not spare any strength at all. Moreover, from this distance, even if they took down the scarlet sun, the resulting explosion would still kill a majority of the Merfolk.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings were delighted, but the three Merfolk Kings paled in fright. ¡°Granny¡± called out, ¡°Divine Nun, when are you going to wait until?¡±

    Far away, at the very back of the battlefield, a voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Dharma of Vinaya!¡±

    TL: The Chinese name for the first part, Dharmagupta-vinaya, is roughly equivalent to the rules, doctrines and disciplines, or vinaya, of the Buddhist school of Dharmaguptaka. There are a total of 60 volumes divided into 4 parts, so it is also known as the Caturvargika Vinaya, which translates into English as the ¡°four parts of vinaya¡±. In the context of this novel, it¡¯s broken down into four different techniques, which you¡¯ll see. You can read more about this translation of the buddhist texts here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmaguptaka#Vinaya_translation

 Chapter 902 The Battle of Fire Melt Mountain (2)

    The voice was old and mighty, stern and strict, unscrupulous and leaving absolutely no room for defiance, yet it also bore a buddhist nature, striking reverence into the hearts of people.

    Xiao An backed away, and her expression changed slightly. The Divine Nun of the South Sea brought her palms together. She had draped a worn-down kasaya over her before anyone had realised, which surged from her aura alone. Her figure suddenly seemed huge, no longer the same impoverished nun as before. Instead, she was someone that represented a certain existence, giving off supreme stateliness.

    The techniques followed her words, but there were no streaks of light or fancy effects to be seen. However, the scarlet sun suddenly came to a halt, peeling away layer by layer from the outside. At the same time, the heat it gave off rapidly diminished.

    By the time it had arrived three hundred meters above the battle formation, it had already been reduced to ten times the size of a regular meteor. It still continued onwards aggressively, but it no longer possessed the same horror as if it could crush and devastate everything.

    A streak of light from a sword pierced through the air, and the scarlet sun exploded. The waves of heat rolled out into the surroundings and killed over a hundred Merfolk warriors, but it was not enough to destroy the entire battle formation.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha,¡± the Divine Nun of the South Sea uttered the buddha¡¯s name.

    ¡°Bald ass!¡± Zhu Fen cursed aloud.

    ¡°Nicely done, divine nun!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but praise. It was no wonder ¡°granny¡± had sought the divine nun¡¯s assistance at such an important time. No great cultivator could be underestimated, but that was even more so the case when it came to a great cultivator who willingly drifted through the world, accompanied by the destitute despite her great powers.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea was neither angered by the cursing nor delighted by the praise. Instead, she turned towards Xiao An. ¡°The Dharmagupta-vinaya is the foundation of my school of vinaya. The school of vinaya is also known as the school of Dharmagupta-vinaya, which you already know. The school of vinaya has four major areas of study, which are the Dharma of Vinaya, the Body of Vinaya, the Conduct of Vinaya, and the Form of Vinaya. The Dharma of Vinaya is the first area of study, as well as the basics. As long as you practise this scripture and push the Dharma of Vinaya to the limit, then you can avert conflict and become impervious.¡±

    ¡°This buddhist disciple understands.¡± Xiao An brought her palms together and bowed. Although she was a buddhist disciple and not an apprentice of hers, she still referred to herself in a humble manner when receiving guidance from buddhist masters and her seniors, which the Divine Nun of the South Sea enjoyed very much. She did not continue either. Instead, she backed away even further with Xiao An. The attacks of the fire devourers had truly exceeded her expectations. She was not afraid of them, but she was afraid of Xiao An being harmed.

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    Xiao An originally wanted to use the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga to assist them in battle, but from so far away, even the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga was rendered mostly useless. As a result, all she could do was watch the show in peace. She thought to herself, It¡¯s about time.

    Zhu Fen became even more furious, but the Divine Nun of the South Sea was simply too far away. He could not get around Li Qingshan and the others to attack her.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to become so worked up, king Fen. All we have to do is stabilise the frontline. Let¡¯s see how many times the old nun can block it!¡± Zhu Zai communicated. At the same time, she powered the Fire Tablet of Earth and the protective formation. The black smoke from thousands of volcanoes merged into the Fire Dragon of the Land, and its collapsing head rapidly recovered.

    It took a tremendous amount of power for Zhu Fen to summon the scarlet sun. If they had been fighting anywhere else, then his battle prowess definitely would have taken a heavy toll, but this was Fire Melt mountain. The raging sea of flames rapidly replenished his energy, allowing him to summon the scarlet sun a second, a third time. Just the first scarlet sun was more than what the Divine Nun of the South Sea could avert even when she used her full strength, forcing her into a quick retreat to recover. Clearly, she could not last in a prolonged battle.

    His scarlet sun still had a sizable impact too. Not every Merfolk warrior welcomed death with open arms. The scarlet sun might have been three hundred meters away from them towards the end, but covering that distance would have only taken the blink of an eye. Even if they were truly fearless of death, they would still be alarmed when a lethal attack was right above their heads. Combined with the intense pain like being burned alive, the entire Merfolk battle formation fell into disarray, and the flood that assaulted Fire Melt mountain scattered all over the place.

    As a result, the protective formation that was on the verge of collapse lasted a bit longer, and with the depletion of their strength and the loss of Merfolk, their assault would only grow weaker with time, not stronger.

    The giant god of fire was revitalised, rushing towards the battle formation. They did not need victory. All they needed to do was continue to wear them down, and the scales of victory would tilt towards them.

    The storm whistled and slammed against Fire Melt mountain, but it could not extinguish the four hundred kilometers of flames.

    ¡°Defeat is certain for you!¡± Zhu Yan¡¯s voice turned into a howl from the giant god of fire, and the spear of fire fell. The Fire Dragon of the Land lunged over while brandishing its claws and fangs, opening its mouth wide. The lightning and flames condensed into a sphere that tore through the air.

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    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan swung his blade to block the spear. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to say. Why don¡¯t you look behind you?¡±

    Ye Duanhai merged with his sword and arrived behind the giant god of fire, about to strike when Zhu Fen flew over as a streak of scarlet light. Ye Duanhai turned around and slashed out. The Sword-splitting sword and the Fire Tablet of Heaven clashed, sending sparks flying. They instantly moved through over a hundred different positions, leaving blurs behind in the air, like their clones were clashing. For a moment, they were evenly matched.

    At the same time, Gong Yuan managed to block the ball of fire and lightning, but she was still unable to prevent the repercussions from reaching the battle formation. Immediately, another several dozen Merfolk warriors died in battle, with countless more injured. The assault from the flood became even more scattered.

    ¡°That¡¯s what you wanted me to see, Li Qingshan!¡± The giant god of fire¡¯s spear turned into multiple blurs, dominating the battle firmly. The two fire dragons on it flew up and lunged straight towards the Merfolk battle formation. Ji Changfeng, who had just recovered slightly, waved the Feilian flag in a hurry to block it, but the two fire dragons avoided it all together. They split up and detoured around him, rushing through the battle formation and massacring the Merfolk.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you protect these ants!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that behind, but even further behind!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s demonic armour collapsed as a consequence of the battle, revealing his devilishly handsome face that smiled away flagrantly.

    A strange, green cloud appeared in the cloud layer directly north of Fire Melt mountain, rapidly moving against the wind. A huge, vicious ghost stood in the green cloud, which happened to be the Poison Assimilating Ghost King that the Myriad Poison Ancestor had transformed into. He balled his fists and slammed them against the protective formation, making it shake and hiss as it was eaten away.

    Yu Wufeng, who had vanished before the battle, also appeared to the north of Fire Melt mountain. Beside him were the nine cave masters of Savage mountain, and in front of them were several hundred cannons. Their gaping barrels pointed at Fire Melt mountain, all lighting up.

    These spiritual stone cannons were the spoils of battle that Li Qingshan had obtained in the Clear River prefecture. They had once achieved tremendous feats for him. They were specially used for attacking cities and seizing territory, but they could not really be used in regular battles. Not only did they consume tremendous amounts of spiritual stones, but they required prior preparation as well. The night roamers had stored them away the entire time. Today, they were finally put to use again.

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    Swinging the Fogbow sword, Ye Wufeng ordered, ¡°Fire!¡±

    Under the combined efforts of the ten cave masters, several hundred streaks of light whistled out, landing on the protective formation and producing ripples of light. Afterwards, they were immediately filled up with new spiritual stones, all high grade or even supreme grade spiritual stones. At a time like this, no one could care about wasting them anymore. If they lost this battle, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan could still escape, but they would definitely be dead. They could even be regarded as rather fortunate to be able to launch an attack using these spiritual stone cannons. Only by conserving their own strength as much as possible could they increase their chances of survival.

    ¡°Myriad Poison Ancestor!?¡± Zhu Yan was both surprised and furious. There had been far too many unexpected enemies today. ¡°We¡¯re both honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate, so why are you attacking us? Why!?¡±

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor gave him no answer at all, burying his head in attacking the formation. Like the last straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, the unstable protective formation finally reached its limit under the constant attacks of the Poison Assimilating Ghost King and the spiritual stone cannons.

    There was an explosion, which rapidly turned into an earth-splitting rumble, releasing blinding light.

    The light dispersed, and the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain were finally exposed before the storm. The rain poured down, falling onto the sea of fire and falling onto the fire devourers.

    The protective formation lasting until now was not thanks to Zhu Zai¡¯s strength alone. Instead, they had gathered the entire race of Fire Devouring Folk to contend against the merpeople, but now that the object they had been supporting the entire time had suddenly vanished, their crazed faces blanked out.

    Under the sweeping of the wind, the sea of fire suddenly flared, but that was merely its last dance. The surging flood gushed over, rushing through the sea of fire in an unstoppable manner.

    Fire and water encountered one another, leading to surging, white steam that filled the surroundings. For a moment, even the storm struggled to disperse it.

    The three Merfolk Kings led by ¡°granny¡± were all overjoyed. They did not know why the Myriad Poison Ancestor had suddenly assisted them, but they would never let this opportunity slip by. They called out, ¡°Fire Melt mountain has already been breached! Now is the time to avenge our clansmen!¡±

    The morale of the Merfolk warriors was revitalised. They allowed the fire dragon to continue with its rampage, but none of them wavered anymore. They only hoped to do just a little bit more before they were killed.

    Li Qingshan could sense that it was not only their hatred that had been roused. A very powerful charm filled ¡°granny¡¯s¡± voice, completely unleashing the potential of the warriors while their minds wavered and were vulnerable. Before he could even lament about her viciousness, the giant god of fire launched a furious attack.

    Tiger¡¯s Fang¡¯s blood-red light had already scattered, no longer enough to directly contend against the spear of fire. If it were not for the protection from the power of Ruin¡¯s End, probably all of his flesh and blood would have been burned away again.

    However, this was just the last flurry of rage!

    In the sky, the torn-open cloud layer rapidly closed up again. The storm was far too great. Without the formation in its way, it freely unleashed its tremendous might of the world, suppressing the sea of fire.

    On the ground, the flood swallowed fire mountains upon fire mountains, severing the black smoke. With every plume that vanished, the Fire Dragon of the Land shrank, producing cries as it refused to accept this situation. It no longer seemed so insolent and mighty anymore.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Zhu Fen let out a hysterical roar. He had a feeling that this was all because of Li Qingshan. The various cases of misfortune had all begun after he had appeared.

    The giant god of fire charged towards Li Qingshan furiously against the storm.

    ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s trying to take us down with him!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank, feeling lethal danger. He never expected Zhu Yan to possess such resolve given his identity and cultivation.

    The giant god of fire was merged with terrifying energy. Once it was all instantaneously released, it would not just be Li Qingshan. Gong Yuan and the three Merfolk Kings would all face the danger of dying, while the Merfolk warriors went without saying. They would be immediately reduced to ash.

 Chapter 903 The Battle of Fire Melt Mountain (3)

    ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Body of Vinaya!¡±

    The old, strict voice rang out once again, resonating like the sounds of nature to Li Qingshan¡¯s ears. The fiery, burning hair of the giant god of fire that lunged towards him furiously suddenly all fell off, like a huge razor was carrying out tonsure and initiating it into monkhood. The robes of a monk vaguely appeared on its body, and a string of prayer beads appeared in its hand¡­

    Even Li Qingshan had never seen or heard of such a strange sight before. The giant god of fire had actually become like a monk in that moment, but what was the purpose of this?

    The flames on the giant god of fire did not weaken at all, but they did not explode resolutely. The twistedness and madness in its face suddenly diminished drastically, replaced by a hint of struggle and being lost.

    Zhu Yan only felt the killing intent in his heart suddenly vanish, replaced by an extremely strange feeling of benevolence, where he regretted all the sinful deeds he had committed in his life. Right now, he could not even bring himself to kill a bird, let alone so many living creatures.

    Using this opportunity, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan pulled far away. The three Merfolk Kings widened their distance with the giant god of fire too and ordered the Merfolk warriors to scatter at the same time. Afterwards, everyone unleashed their attacks. The three thousand streaks of light, the breaths and the tornados, the black hail and the surging water all whistled over.

    The giant god of fire¡¯s advance came to a halt. They had forced it back. Its flames flickered as it let out a bellow of reluctance. It faced an inner clash between a god and a buddha right now. The scorching, violent divine nature constantly struggled against the benevolent buddhist nature that wanted to uphold the precepts. Having lost the support of the four hundred kilometers of flames, its body rapidly shrank. Even its face blurred.

    ¡°The Myriad Swords as One!¡± Ye Duanhai formed a seal, and the three thousand streaks of light merged into a glorious, giant sword, sweeping towards the giant god of fire¡¯s right leg.

    The giant god of fire collapsed on one knee. Its rage and hatred had finally burst through the invisible shackles placed on its heart. The monk robes shattered, the fiery hair reignited, and the prayer beads scattered.

    Zhu Yan knew that this was another technique the Divine Nun of the South Sea had employed, so he roared, ¡°Damned old nun!¡±

    ¡°Mighty be the master!¡± Li Qingshan praised. Although she had not directly attacked the enemy, the effect was far too praise-worthy. In particular, when it came to a large-scale battle like this, she was basically even more powerful than a great sword cultivator.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea shuddered, and her face paled for a moment, also suffering some backlash. She took out a pill and ate it, ignoring the hatred and admiration yet again.

    She brought her palms together and uttered ¡°Amit¨¡bha¡± before introducing her school to Xiao An beside her.

    ¡°If the Dharma of Vinaya is the basics of the school of vinaya, then the Body of Vinaya is the main subject. During the process of accepting and upholding the precepts, you receive your own body of rules, preventing and stopping the bad. You do good and avoid evil, both preventing you from being corrupted by evil thoughts and also bringing salvation to all creatures, allowing the violent and the atrocious to learn their errors, mend their ways, and be initiated into buddhism. It¡¯s a pity that this Fire Devouring King¡¯s cruelty and hatred is far too strong, where even I cannot save him. A pity, a pity, or I¡¯d ask your majesty to spare his life. After all, if revenge breeds revenge, when will it ever end?¡±

    If the Dharma of Vinaya was about being impervious, then the Body of Vinaya was about preventing evil thoughts from springing into existence, or even forcefully converting the evil and initiating them into buddhism.

    Everyone shivered inside when they heard that. The people of buddhism were just vicious!

    ¡°Fellow, if he really could achieve that, what would be wrong if I do spare him?¡± Gong Yuan said and glanced at Li Qingshan. The person right beside her could be regarded as half a disciple of buddhism as well, so it was no wonder that he was so vicious!

    ¡°I have commited that to heart,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°When you underwent tonsure and accepted your precepts back then, it was far too casual, reduced to merely a formality. This is also the greatest downside of the school of chan. They whole-heartedly focus on finding their true self, rejecting rules and precepts as foreign concepts, drinking alcohol, eating meat, or even blaspheming the buddha and the dharma. However, apart from the handful of eminent monks with great wisdom, just how many people have comprehended their true meaning? If the opportunity arises, I will initiate you and grant you the precepts again.¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea shook her head and casually criticized the school of chan a bit before retreating another five kilometers with Xiao An.

    She had been constantly drifting away from the battlefield, ready to leave at any moment, and she had only taken action a total of two times from beginning to end, but no one dared to underestimate her. Instead, they felt like this made perfect sense. The two times she did take action achieved a decisive effect, allowing everyone to witness the power of the school of vinaya.

    The storm continued northwards. Within the fierce wind and rain, the giant god of fire rushed into the Merfolk battle formation. With a swing of its spear, it reduced several hundred merpeople to ashes. It finally received the satisfying massacre it had been craving.

    No one dared to approach the giant god of fire at a time like this either, afraid that they would perish with it. All they could do was attack it from a distance. If ¡°granny¡± had not ordered the Merfolk warriors to scatter when she retreated, it almost would have been annihilation. They would have been cleaned up.

    When one man disregarded his life, even ten thousand people would struggle to stop him. This also applied to the cultivation community.

    However, a desperate struggle could not last forever. A while later, the giant god of fire had shrunken to almost three hundred meters tall.

    Every single attack from Li Qingshan and the others possessed devastating power. Without Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai¡¯s support, without the support of the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain, just how long could Zhu Yan last by himself? The storm only made things worse too.

    ¡°Zhu Yan, when you tried to butcher me on Giant Ship island, did you ever imagine today?¡± Ji Changfeng sprayed out a mouthful of essence blood, going as far as to deplete his cultivation to make the Feilian flag ruffle vigorously. The fierce winds whistled and swirled, stripping and tearing away the flames, carrying out revenge delightfully.

    The giant god that had been unstoppable a moment earlier had become a trapped beast within the storm.

    ¡°Die!¡± The giant god of fire threw its spear forcefully, but a stroke from Ye Duanai split it in half in the air.

    When Li Qingshan saw this, he found it to be sombre, but that only lasted for a moment. The battle had continued up until now, and a majority of the several thousand Merfolk warriors were already dead or injured. On the other hand, apart from a small handful that died from overexertion, the fire devourers had all retreated to the main peak.

    What made him lament the most was not actually being insulted and hunted down, nor was it the losses of the Merfolk and the Fire Devouring Folk, much less the terrible fate of Ji Changfeng¡¯s sect that he bore a grudge for. Instead, it was what no one noticed, the several hundred thousand mortals on Giant Ship island that had gone up in flames.

    Just like the aspect of him that Gong Yuan despised, he had yet to completely break away from the realm, the vulgarity, of mortals. At the very least, you can still die a solemn and stirring death in a cornered battle, Zhu Yan, unlike the mortals that perished like weeds.

    With his respect for a warrior, he wanted to use his full strength and kill Zhu Yan then and there!

    ¡°King Yan, don¡¯t become caught up in the battle. Look to the south. The storm is coming. Retreat back to the main peak immediately!¡±

    Zhu Fen communicated urgently, and Zhu Yan recovered some of his calm. He looked to the south, and a dazzling region of light appeared. The region of golden light spanned several hundred kilometers and was rapidly approaching Fire Melt mountain.

    In order to maximise the strength of the storm, Ji Changfeng had sent it hurling straight towards Fire Melt mountain under his delicate control. However, that also meant the eye of the storm would be passing Fire melt mountain. It would only take a short while before it was gone, but it would turn the main peak of Fire melt mountain into a windless, rainless place. As long as they grasped this opportunity, they could turn the tables. They had not entered dire straits just yet!

    Zhu Yan scanned everyone in disdain. ¡°Do you really think you can kill me, Zhu Yan, with just this tiny amount of resolve?¡± He turned around and flew towards the main peak.

    ¡°Myriad Poison, keep him busy!¡± Li Qingshan ordered.

    Everyone was stunned. Everyone had heard about the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s reputation before. They were already very surprised by how he had come and assisted them. With how cautious he was and how much he cherished his life, why would he endanger himself to stop Zhu Yan?

    However, to everyone¡¯s disbelief, the Myriad Poison Ancestor really did leap up and turn into the Poison Assimilating Ghost King, blocking Zhu Yan¡¯s path.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You want to perish with us? Then I¡¯ll give you the opportunity to perish with us! C¡¯mon, show me your resolve!¡±

    Gong Yuan stared at him in complete surprise. He turned around and asked, ¡°Are we really going to let him return to the main peak? Once we get through the formation, just how much strength will we have left? How much strength will they have left?¡±

    Gong Yuan frowned slightly. Since the beginning of the battle, they had not lost a single great cultivator, but the situation was not optimistic. Ji Changfeng was already out of strength to keep fighting, while the aspect that Ye Duanhai was probably the least skilled at was a prolonged battle as a great sword cultivator. In order to control the flood and attack the protective formation, the three Merfolk Kings had also used up their full strength. Even casting the techniques earlier took them quite the effort.

    Even she and Li Qingshan had used up all of their mental and physical efforts in the process of fending off the giant god of fire and the Fire Dragon of the Land earlier. They had only lasted until now through the wonders of dual cultivation and the power of Ruin¡¯s End that the Heart of the Abyss constantly released.

    The Merfolk battle formation had already scattered, while the defences of the main peak definitely could not be breached so easily. If the three Fire Devouring Kings were allowed to recuperate and launch a counterattack together, then the situation would become extremely dangerous. Earlier, she had actually thought the outcome of the battle was already decided. She had been far too naive.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve already come so far. If we don¡¯t even take a bit of risk, we¡¯ll be underestimating our opponents a bit too much.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and tightened his arm around Gong Yuan¡¯s waist before flying towards Zhu Yan.

    ¡°Fine then! I¡¯ll trust you!¡± Gong Yuan shook her head helplessly, and the corner of her lips curled into a smile. Ignoring her mental exhaustion, she powered the Heart of the Abyss as hard as she could, and the power of Ruin¡¯s End expanded once more, turning into a black spirit turtle in the air and slamming heavily against the giant god of fire¡¯s back.

    Zhu Ren rushed over in a hurry to provide support, but there was a flash of light that intercepted him. Faced with Zhu Fen¡¯s furious expression, Ye Duanhai said indifferently, ¡°What, you also want to blow yourself up?¡±

    Their eyes met and sparks flew. They became locked in battle once more, but this time, Ye Duanhai truly lost the upper hand, which seemed to demonstrate that Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts were not all a sham.

    The three Merfolk Kings exchanged glances and nodded at the same time. They raised the flood through their strength alone, which slammed viciously against the main peak of Fire Melt mountain.

    Boom!

    Like the world shattering, the flood surged and splashed as countless droplets, and the main peak shook violently. The surrounding mountains were completely flooded by the water already. Only the main peak remained standing, like a lone island in the ocean.

    Zhu Zai¡¯s expression changed. Originally, she wanted to use the formation to attack and assist Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai, but now, she guarded the formation in a hurry, afraid to split her focus even for a moment.

    To the north of Fire Melt mountain, the last spiritual stone cannon was reduced to a pile of scrap metal in the explosion of spiritual qi.

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    Yu Wufeng swung the Fogbow sword and ordered, ¡°Attack! If anyone even thinks about retreating, I¡¯ll cut you down!¡±

    The cave masters heard that and all shivered.

    ¡°For the King of Savages!¡± the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber called out. He sucked in a deep breath and turned into a huge ball of flesh. A streak of blood-red light sprayed out violently from his mouth as it barraged the main peak.

    The ten cave masters all used their full strength to attack the main peak.

    Fighting was present everywhere. At the same time, the resplendent glow of the eye of the storm drew closer and closer. Just whose glory would it belong to?

 Chapter 904 The Battle of Fire Melt Mountain (4)

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s order, the vicious Poison Assimilating Ghost King blocked the giant god of fire¡¯s path. Brutal, green flames burned within its deep eye sockets as it gazed at the blurry face that burned with fire.

    Boom!

    The confrontation had only lasted for a moment before the two colossal beings collided violently. Flames of two different colours mixed and sprayed out.

    The giant god of fire waved its fists and launched a furious attack, without any wondrous techniques anymore. Fortune favoured the bold after all.

    The Poison Assimilating Ghost King howled, like the scream of a thousand ghosts, making people shudder inside. If any mortals were present, they probably would have died on the spot, but it did not have much effect on the giant god of fire. Instead, the Poison Assimilating Ghost King rapidly retreated under the attacks of the flames. Brutal green clouds rose up from its body, like the blood that flowed out of wounds.

    This was not because the Myriad Poison Ancestor was not trying his hardest, but because fire naturally restrained ghosts and the undead. The flames on the giant god of fire were anything but ordinary too, and the Myriad Poison Ancestor was not skilled in close combat like this, which made him even less of an opponent!

    ¡°Piss off!¡± the giant god of fire roared furiously. It raised its right shoulder and slammed over like a truck, unleashing an explosive force and sending the Poison Assimilating Ghost King flying.

    The giant god of fire paused slightly before suddenly staggering. A black spirit turtle slammed heavily into its back, and the flames on its back immediately dimmed.

    ¡°Again!¡± Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan held each other¡¯s hands firmly. At that moment, they had cast aside all of their grudges and prejudice, devoting themselves to fending off the enemy. They wanted to emerge victorious no matter what.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s die together! Explode!¡± Zhu Yan bellowed. He actually chose to detonate himself immediately, wanting them to perish with him.

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    Li Qingshan shivered inside, but it was already too late for him to dodge. The flames on the giant god of fire suddenly flared up, and the surroundings were illuminated. For a moment, roaring flames filled everyone¡¯s eyes. The last thing they saw was the three-hundred-meter-tall giant god of fire blurring before twisting and vanishing.

    Terrifying flames gushed out in all directions with enough force to topple mountains, swallowing the black spirit turtle and the Poison Assimilating Ghost King.

    Under the impact of the flames, the black spirit turtle rapidly twisted and became disfigured, like a piece of candy in great heat. Even the cold and silent power of Ruin¡¯s End seemed to heat up slightly.

    Gong Yuan felt the last bit of energy in her being used up. She basically could not control the Heart of the Abyss anymore. The power of Ruin¡¯s End rapidly receded while the flames constantly ate away at it. An intense omen of death filled her mind.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d actually die here, and I¡¯d die with someone like you. Though, without Zhu Yan, they won¡¯t be able to unleash much of the Divine Fire tablets¡¯ powers anymore. Fire Melt mountain will definitely fall!¡±

    She smiled. She felt some reluctance, yet also some relief. As the Merfolk Queen, at least she had lived up to her responsibilities, being reduced to ashes in the flames just like her sister.

    Li Qingshan continued to stare at the centre of the explosion. He casually pulled Gong Yuan behind him and said without even looking back, ¡°Who said we would die?¡±

    He definitely had not charged over with Gong Yuan as a result of being in the heat of the moment. Instead, he had considered that the giant god of fire had been fighting the entire time, and a lot of its power had been depleted, so the power of self-detonation definitely would not be as great as before. However, he was still uncertain whether they could actually withstand it or not. However, the worst-case scenario was just being reduced to a phoenix¡¯s egg, which the flames should not be able to destroy. That was why he was not as pessimistic as Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. His wide back really seemed to be able to block and defend her from all danger, which made her feel a hint of hope. She vaguely understood why her younger sister had been so stubborn back then.

    The power of Ruin¡¯s End was rapidly worn down, until only a thin layer remained. Li Qingshan could already feel the scorching pain on his face, but at this exact moment, the flames that filled his vision actually receded.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. The flames actually had not even harmed a single hair on him. Was this the handiwork of the Divine Nun of the South Sea again? The self-destruction of the giant god of fire definitely should not have been so weak. Even if Zhu Yan detonated himself, it should not have been so weak!

    There was a flash of firelight. All he saw was a colossal ball of fire that vaguely resembled the shape of a heart rushing towards the main peak.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised what had happened. The self-detonation this time was only a feint by Zhu Yan. He had only blown up the power that composed the giant god of fire¡¯s body. At first glance, it was an extremely shocking disturbance, but in reality, it was nothing more than that. However, it did create an opportunity for Zhu Yan to slip away.

    ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya,¡± the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s voice rang out once more.

    Zhu Yan came to a sudden halt and realised he was immobilised. He let out another curse, ¡°Damned old nun!¡± He struggled as hard as he could to break free.

    ¡°Gravity of the Earth! Get over here!¡± Li Qingshan raised his right hand and enveloped the fire god¡¯s heart from afar, gathering all the strength in his body to use the innate ability.

    Zhu Yan felt an invisible force grip him and pull him backwards. The main peak was right before him, but it had grown distant all of a sudden again.

    In that moment, he experienced an urge to use this force to rush back and perish together with Li Qingshan, but upon further thought, he dismissed this idea. The main peak of Fire Melt mountain was already on the brink of collapse. If he died here, it would probably fall very quickly!

    The Poison Assimilating Ghost King lunged back, and Zhu Yan bellowed, ¡°Explode!¡±

    The fire god¡¯s heart suddenly exploded, even more powerful than the explosion from earlier. The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s expression changed, and blood oozed out from the corner of her lips. She did not even bother to explain the essential ideas of the school of vinaya to Xiao An, sitting down in a hurry to meditate and recuperate.

    Zhu Yan broke free from the restraints and used the might of the explosion to rush head-first into the formation. Zhu Fen was overjoyed by this sight, immediately leaving Ye Duanhai and turning into a streak of firelight as he returned to the main peak.

    The sword flashed, and a man appeared again. Ye Duanhai breathed a little heavily while a large part of his cloak had been burned away. Clashing against the strongest of the three kings, Zhu Fen, had been a tough battle for him too. He was powerless to stop him now.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings worked together and each wielded a Divine Fire tablet, immediately stabilising the formation on the brink of collapse. At the same time, they tossed three red wutong fruits with specks of gold into their mouths and began absorbing the extremely pure fire spiritual qi that sprayed out from the main peak, rapidly recovering their strength.

    The three Merfolk Kings continued to power the flood with whatever that was left in them, but their faces had already become sheet-white. The flood became weaker and weaker, and the main peak became more and more stable instead. As they grew weaker while the Fire Devouring Kings grew stronger, breaching the main peak where the royal court of Fire Devouring Folk stood seemed to become more and more impossible. The glorious eye of the storm drew closer and closer too.

    Ji Changfeng had overexerted himself and entered a feeble state a long time ago. He could still swing the Feilian flag with some difficulty, but not only was he incapable of controlling the storm, but he would even be swallowed by the storm instead.

    The Myriad Poison Ancestor had transformed back from the Poison Assimilating Ghost King. The two explosions were not enough to kill him, but they still left him with rather deep wounds.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea retreated a few more kilometers. Although she still had some remaining strength, that was clearly not for throwing her life on the line, but for escaping when she needed to, such as right now. She held Xiao An¡¯s hand.

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    Gong Yuan emerged from behind Li Qingshan. She wanted to grip the Heart of the Abyss firmly, but she felt her entire body soften. Was it going to end like this? They had spent so much time preparing and planning, only for it all to come just one step short of success?

 Chapter 905 The Battle of Fire Melt Mountain (5)

    Li Qingshan could not help but recall what the Great Banyan Tree King had said, Even if you gather everyone¡¯s power, the possibility of taking down Fire Melt mountain is almost non-existent, unless you completely infuriate the fire devourers and make them give up their natural geographic advantage to fight you elsewhere.

    He did not take that too seriously back then. Having gathered so many powerful cultivators, coupled with his combined efforts with Gong Yuan, why would they be unable to take down a mere Fire Melt mountain?

    Only now did he realise that the Great Banyan Tree King was right. He had still ended up underestimating the power of the Divine Fire tablets. These were divine heirlooms passed down from the ancient times. Once they unleashed their power with a geographic advantage like Fire Melt mountain, it was enough to strike despair into the hearts of people.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings said nothing at all, doing their best to recover a bit of strength. However, their hearts leapt with the flames of delight and revenge, silently waiting for an opportunity. Once they completely erupted, they would definitely be able to incinerate all enemies.

    At this moment, the glorious light suddenly arrived. Over their head was a circular, azure-blue sky while drizzle continued to drift through the air. A rainbow crossed through the sky, so dazzling that no one could look at it directly, but it cast a shadow in everyone¡¯s heart.

    Fire Melt mountain was still standing, like a single flame in the ocean that would never extinguish. In the centre of the fire, a wutong tree extended its branches with vigour.

    ¡°If you want to retreat, do it now!¡± Ye Duanhai said. He had already used his full strength and upheld his promise to Li Qingshan. Even to a great sword cultivator like him, it was no longer possible for them to emerge victoriously from this battle.

    ¡°Sensibly said, fellow Ye.¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea expressed her agreement.

    ¡°The divine nun is wrong! We still haven¡¯t lost yet!¡±

    ¡°Granny¡± suddenly stopped the technique, and the flood immediately collapsed, having lost its support. The Merfolk Kings to the left and right gazed at her in surprise. They seemed to realise something, making them frown heavily.

    ¡°Even the fire devourers have the courage to perish with their enemies. Does that necessarily mean the Merfolk don''t?¡±

    ¡°Granny¡± took off her sumeru ring and tossed it into the air gently.

    ¡°Granny!¡± Gong Yan caught the sumeru ring, and her expression changed.

    ¡°Yuan¡¯er, I¡¯ve often told you to think for the clansmen, to think for the bigger picture. You¡¯ve always found it very annoying, thinking that I¡¯m boasting.¡± After a slight pause, she said, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not.¡±

    With that, ¡°granny¡± threw herself towards Fire Melt mountain, casting aside all her worries and pressing forward in an unstoppable manner.

    The main peak of Fire Melt mountain filled her face. She revealed a smile.

    ¡°Quick! Stop her!¡± Zhu Yan¡¯s expression changed drastically as he called out.

    However, it was already too late. Her slightly hunched-over figure produced a ring of blinding, blue light, even outshining the resplendent sunlight.

    A very long time seemed to pass before the rumble arrived, shaking up the world!

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    The terrifying force slammed against the main peak, like the countless impacts of the flood cascaded together. The formation that had only just stabilised lasted for a mere moment before shattering. The explosion even swallowed a part of the mountain, revealing a huge gap.

    This was the force of a king detonating several thousand years of cultivation in a single instant!

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha,¡± the Divine Nun of the South Sea uttered the buddha¡¯s name.

    Under the shine of the sun, within the tranquil eye of the storm, the main peak of Fire Melt mountain where the royal court of the fire devourers stood was exposed before everyone for the first time.

    A moment of peace appeared on the battlefield¡­

    ¡°Granny,¡± Gong Yuan murmured. She had never imagined she would have such resolve either. After all, Merfolk were not violent and belligerent like fire devourers. Having reached her level of cultivation, she only valued her life even more. She would never consider something like that unless she was in dire straits, all just for the sake of her pursuit of longevity.

    Even if Gong Yuan had thought of something like that to take down Fire Melt mountain, she would never do it. The greater good was important, but it was not necessarily more important than the path of longevity. This was something that everyone remained honest to.

    Even the three Fire Devouring Kings had never imagined that ¡°granny¡± would do something like this, which was why they had not guarded against it. Even if they did guard against it, it would be absolutely useless. It was not like the mountain could grow legs and run away. They were powerless over such a move.

    The storm moved extremely quickly. The eye of the storm only remained there for a short moment, and the torrential rain arrived once more, pouring into the crater of the volcano.

    Without any hesitation, Li Qingshan immediately rushed towards the crater with his blade in hand. The magnificent palace carved from fiery-red crystal and the obvious, serene divine wutong tree appeared before his eyes once more.

    Gong Yuan followed close behind, while Ji Changfeng, Ye Duanhai, the Myriad Poison Ancestor, and even the Divine Nun of the South Sea appeared directly above the crater, forming an encirclement. The two other Merfolk Kings used the last bit of strength left in them to usher the water, pouring it straight into the crater.

    The flood rushed into the crater, destroying buildings upon buildings. White steam hissed and rose when it came into contact with the scorching magma. However, the wind and rain was persistent, and the water was endless, forcefully suppressing even the flames of the earth.

    To a very great extent, the ¡°geographic advantage¡± came from using the power of formations, which allowed them to fend off the enemy with ease and rapidly recover their strength. Once the formation fell, half of their geographic advantage immediately vanished. Coupled with the suppression from the storm and the pouring water, their advantage virtually vanished.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings were astounded. In such a short amount of time, they had not even recovered thirty percent of their strength, and they had now lost their geographic advantage on top of that. Even with the Divine Fire tablets in hand, they could not withstand such an encirclement. Even if Li Qingshan and the others were even more exhausted than them, their tremendous advantage in numbers was enough to make up for their disadvantage.

    Seeing the situation, Li Qingshan was in no hurry to strike either. He waited for a volcanic lake to form first. Their side possessed the advantage now, so there was no reason for them to be in such a hurry. However, his eyebrows remained furrowed. They did not relax.

    Now, it was up to how the three Fire Devouring Kings would respond. If they chose to fight, then the end result would definitely be mutual destruction, an attempt to drag everyone down with them. Unless they completely refused to face them in battle, no one was confident enough to escape from this alive.

    The other choice was to flee. Whether it was opening a Gate of Divine Fire or directly diving into the depths of the magma, it would all be difficult to stop. Gong Yuan no longer possessed the strength to cast the Icebound Domain and seal off this region of space anymore.

    They had won this battle, but it had been much more difficult than they had ever imagined, and the end result would either be almost death or endless future problems.

    It was no wonder the King of Yue built a Silver Dragon King. Something like sieging a mountain really was not a job for humans. They had so many powerful cultivators working together and had even lost one during the process, yet it had even almost ended in failure. Even if they achieved victory, they had no idea whether it would be a brutal one or if they would let the enemy get away.

    The three fire devourers glanced at one another and countless thoughts crossed through their minds in that instant. What they were thinking about was these two exact situations. However, they discovered in sorrow that regardless of their choice, the fire devourers would struggle to escape the fate of annihilation. Even if they escaped, only the three of them could get out of here alive.

    The rain poured heavily, and the water level constantly rose, swallowing the pavilions, buildings, and towering halls. All that remained was the divine wutong tree emitting a red glow, holding off the rain and flood.

    The thick clouds seemed to weigh on the peak of the mountain. The fierce winds whistled, and the lightning criss-crossed. Everything before their eyes seemed like the end of the world.

    ¡°Kings, go! Avenge us!¡± The great shaman priest threw himself on the ground before the divine wutong tree. There were no tears in his eyes, only flames.

    The three Fire Devouring Kings raised their heads and looked around. The pairs of fiery-red eyes gazed at them. There was no blame or hatred in them. All of the remaining fire devourers stood in the rain, refusing to set foot in this holy land even in their final moments.

    ¡°Go?¡± Zhu Fen laughed. Zhu Zai laughed as well. Zhu Yan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll avenge you right now!¡±

    ¡°Kings!¡± the great shaman priest cried out, and the fire devourers all became sombre, but none of them said anything to convince them otherwise.

    ¡°There are only fire devourers that die in battle! There are no fire devourers that flee from home!¡± the three Fire Devouring Kings said at the same time. They brought the tips of their Divine Fire tablets together and rose up into the air slowly. They were not fast, but they possessed an insurmountable pressure. It was even greater than at the beginning of the battle, when the giant god of fire stood on the Fire Dragon of the Land and rushed out of the sea of flames.

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    It was a symbolic and sombre gesture, to perish with the enemy!

    Ji Changfeng and Ye Duanhai immediately prepared themselves to pull back, not because their hatred was not deep enough or their courage was insufficient. There were no cultivators that did not treasure their lives, let alone cultivators like them who had reached their current realm of cultivation. It had just been far too difficult. They could die in battle against their enemies and foes, but they refused to be dragged down by others and die a pointless death.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea directly retreated to five kilometers away, returning to Xiao An¡¯s side and grabbing her hand.

    Li Qingshan let out a deep sigh. ¡°You¡¯ll be fooled if that¡¯s what you do!¡±

    The three fire devourers possessed the resolve to perish with their enemies, but they would not mindlessly rush over and blow themselves up. Instead, they wanted to use this method to pressure them bit by bit. A great scheme was hiding behind it all. Once their encirclement collapsed, they might even be in danger of being defeated one by one.

    They clearly knew their scheme, but everyone, including Li Qingshan, had to back away. They did not dare to not back away!

    If they did not back away, then that would be exactly what the three fire devourers wished for. They would pour their strength together and blow themselves up at the same time. Anyone caught up in it, no matter who, would die.

    The three fire devourers continued to rise. Even when they intentionally maintained a slow speed, they crossed over three thousand meters in only a few seconds.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Gong Yuan asked Li Qingshan beside her in an almost instinctive manner.

    At that moment, only he remained standing firmly with absolutely no intentions of backing away.

    ¡°Kill them!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and glanced at the Myriad Poison Ancestor. A hint of struggle appeared on the Myriad Poison Ancestor¡¯s face, but under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, it was immediately subdued. After breaking through to the fifth layer of the tiger demon, the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye had become much stronger too.

    On the side, Gong Yan had noticed it too. She found that his gaze had become cold and desolate, filled with supreme dignity, actually even making her feel a hint of fear. She could not help but take a step back, rejecting it instinctively. Compared to the Li Qingshan right now, even the normal Li Qingshan who forced a kiss on her while she was vulnerable seemed much cuter.

    That was truly looking down on everything, true mercilessness and heartlessness!

    The world was large, but only he alone existed. He even treated himself as a mortal enemy, so he slaughtered everything and fought the very world.

    With a flash of green light, the Myriad Poison Ancestor flew down, which made the three fire devourers beam with joy. The injured Myriad Poison Ancestor was not their opponent at all. Without any support from anyone else, he might not necessarily be even able to withstand a single blow from them. Right when they were about to kill him with the Divine Fire tablets, a great sense of terror overcame them.

    In the blink of an eye, the Myriad Poison Ancestor arrived before them. They were unable to describe whether his expression was indifferent or determined. Before they could even attack or dodge, a brutal green light had already filled their eyes.

    Detonation of the soul nascence!

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 Chapter 906 The Divine Tree Awakens

    The storm howled, but its might was gradually weakening. In this battle, even the tremendous force of nature was affected.

    The battle had finally approached its end, but it became even more alarming and even more difficult to determine an outcome!

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea backed far away, wanting to take Xiao An away from here. However, an unusually determined voice rang out from behind her, saying gently, ¡°We¡¯ve won.¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea was mildly surprised. Right when she wanted to say something, she heard an earth-shaking rumble. The main peak of Fire Melt mountain swelled up from inside out. A circular shockwave whistled several dozen kilometers away.

    Green light spewed out of the crater, rushing into the sky and dyeing the clouds.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s face was illuminated too. She was stunned. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    Ye Duanhai was shocked. He doubted his eyes. The Myriad Poison Ancestor had¡­ blown himself up!?

    Even the Merfolk Queen Gong Yuan and Ji Changfeng who possessed a great grudge against the fire devourers would never proceed with such a bad plan. To a great extent, ¡°granny¡± had only made that decision because her lifespan was close to running out, her path of cultivation had basically ended, and she was reluctant to sacrifice so many clansmen for nothing, and that had already been surprising enough.

    What was the Myriad Poison Ancestor thinking?

    Everyone could not help but look at Li Qingshan. The Myriad Poison Ancestor seemed to have come and assisted them because of him. Was this due to his order as well?

    Probably even the King of Southern Yue and the Great Banyan Tree King were unable to make a great demonic cultivator who treasured his life above all else to willingly throw it away. It was exactly because of that that the three fire devourers were not prepared at all.

    Just inches away from him, Gong Yuan also immediately felt like she could no longer read this man who had once connected with her mentally and dual cultivated with her. She could not help but frown slightly. What had he used to achieve this?

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the crater without budging. The corner of his lips curled into a slight smile as he scoffed coldly. ¡°You wanted to play around with self-destruction, so I played around with you. Do you really think I¡¯m that easy to frighten?¡±

    The effect from the Myriad Poison Ancestor detonating himself seemed to be much worse than ¡°granny¡±. There was no terrifying power that could swallow everything, but with the containment of the crater, the power was instead much more condensed, and it was more corrosive in nature. He had unleashed all the poisons he had accumulated and developed over a thousand years.

    The red crystals on the interior of the crater turned to reddish-green goo that resembled mud, collapsing and raining down, giving off a sharp stench. Even Gong Yuan felt a little light-headed when she caught a whiff of it. She could not help but be amazed by the potency of the poison.

    The fate of the several thousand fire devourers was no different. Their bodies turned to sludge within the green light, only leaving behind their hearts, which also became seeped with blood. Their flames were put out.

    However, at the bottom of the crater, the three Fire Devouring Kings assumed a defensive posture with the Divine Fire tablets. Their auras had become extremely feeble, but they were still alive!

    ¡°Your lives sure are tough!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You wretched, despicable person! Are you bold enough to face me in battle!?¡±

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    Zhu Yan was torn with rage, making him curse aloud, but a sense of weakness filled his voice. A faint layer of green covered him as large parts of his skin began to fester, which rapidly spread, eating away his flesh and blood. No matter how great their defences were, it was impossible for them to emerge unscathed when a great cultivator detonated himself from so close.

    It did not cause them instant, terrifying damage, but the poison had already invaded their bodies, spreading through them aggressively. If they did not control it, it would definitely be lethal.

    From a certain perspective, the effects were slightly better than what Li Qingshan had expected. It made everything else much easier.

    ¡°So what if I am? So what if I¡¯m not? I do prefer crushing my opponents in a direct confrontation with my own strength, but I hate losing even more!¡± Li Qingshan said calmly. He was not the type of person that would always use any means necessary, but when he had to use any means necessary, he would not fret too much. ¡°In short, once I kill the three of you, Fire Melt mountain will be completely annihilated. That¡¯ll only prove that I speak no empty words!¡±

    ¡°I want to kill you! I want to kill you!¡± Zhu Yan roared furiously, but it only made the poison spread even faster. He wanted to rush over, but Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai firmly stopped him. They bellowed, ¡°King Yan, don¡¯t fall for it!¡±

    In their current state, they could no longer catch up to anyone. They could not even drag their enemies down with them anymore. It only made the poison spread faster.

    ¡°Li Qingshan! King of Savages! The devastation of my race will definitely be avenged! We¡¯ll definitely make you die in flames, to never be reborn!¡± Zhu Fen cursed him in the most vicious way possible.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Dying in flames is my fate, just like dying to the virus is the fate of you fire devourers. What, are you prepared to escape?¡±

    Zhu Fen was indeed prepared to escape. They had not entered dire straits just yet. As long as they fled into the magma and used the flames of the earth to suppress the poison, they still had a very good chance at surviving.

    At the same time, five hundred kilometers away, the Silver Dragon King hovered above the cloud layer.

    In a silvery-white room, the King of Southern Yue muttered to himself, ¡°Do you think the three of them will completely pledge their loyalty to me if I kill Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± said the tiny banyan tree bonsai placed on the table.

    ¡°Why?¡± The King of Southern Yue seemed to be eager to get a piece of the action, wanting to prove he could kill Li Qingshan, and not just Li Qingshan, but Gong Yuan and the other two Merfolk Kings as well. That way, he could conveniently destroy the royal court of the Merfolk. Having lost their clansmen, it was impossible for the fire devourers to develop and grow in strength again. That way, he could completely eliminate the potential problems in the south.

    ¡°After losing all of their clansmen, do you have any other methods to maintain control over the three of them?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± The King of Southern Yue thought about it. He was bold enough to give the Divine Fire tablets to the fire devourers because he had thought through everything meticulously. The fire devourers might have been untameable dogs, but they were not mad dogs at the very least. He was absolutely confident they would not bite back at him. It was definitely much easier for him to take down Fire Melt mountain if he wanted to. He did not even have to use the Silver Dragon King. The fire devourers were equivalent to hostages. Now that they were all dead, there was nothing holding back the three Fire Devouring Kings anymore even though it had completely eliminated Fire Melt mountain as a potential source of trouble.

    ¡°And have you considered the consequences if you fail to kill Li Qingshan?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King added.

    ¡°Fine then! I¡¯ll listen to you again then, fellow. Actually, I¡¯m also very curious just what kind of person a kid like him will turn out to be once he completely matures.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue completely dismissed his thoughts of killing Li Qingshan for good. If it was only Li Qingshan, then so be it, but with the Great Banyan Tree King who was renowned for his meticulous calculations as a guarantor, the difficulty in killing him was immediately magnified. Regardless of the outcome, there were downsides, and once he failed, it was very possible for him to have made a terrifying enemy for himself.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just wait and see!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said mildly.

    ¡°Oh right, is the divine wutong tree still alive?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want the divine wutong tree? I¡¯ll give it to you!¡± Zhu Yan calmed down a lot, but he still found this difficult to accept, so he swung his Divine Fire tablet towards the divine wutong tree.

    ¡°You fucker!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed too. He had gone to such great lengths exactly because of this divine wutong tree. When he ordered the Myriad Poison Ancestor to blow himself up, the exact matter that worried him the most was destroying the tree, but fortunately, the divine wutong tree was extremely tough. The barrier of light it held up had only dimmed slightly, but who knew what would happen once it received a malicious attack like this.

    ¡°You mustn¡¯t, king Yan!¡± Zhu Fen tried to stop him in a hurry, but it was already too late.

    Clang!

    Metal thrummed, and the divine wutong tree shuddered violently. All the leaves on the tree swayed together, and a deep gash appeared on the trunk, oozing with bright-red sap that resembled blood.

    In that moment, the consciousness deep within awakened from its lengthy slumber.

    Suddenly, a tall, skinny man in fancy clothes with long, free-flowing hair appeared beneath the wutong tree. His facial features were simple and unsophisticated, and his bearing was elegant. He glanced at the wound on his arm and did not show any anger. He asked Zhu Yan, ¡°What for?¡±

    Zhu Yan was alarmed, but before he could even say anything, he felt a tremendous pain in his chest. He lowered his head, only to see the man¡¯s slender, fair arm had passed through his chest, digging out a hot, scarlet-red heart. An intense feeling of emptiness filled his chest. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡±

    ¡°Why bother?¡± The elegant man sighed. He did not possess any murderousness at all. Many roots grew from his hand, wrapping around the fiery-red heart.

    Zhu Yan¡¯s aura rapidly declined. Soon, it was no stronger than a regular fire devourer¡¯s. No longer suppressed, the poison immediately erupted, and he fell backwards. When he reached the ground, he was already a puddle of goo.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised he had mistaken something. The divine wutong tree did not belong to the fire devourers. It was also a Daemon King, and one with a startlingly powerful cultivation.

    All things had spirits, able to absorb the spiritual qi of the world and turn into daemons. That was something that everyone understood. As a daemon spirit from the same age as the phoenix, the divine wutong tree could not be compared with any regular Daemon King after several tens of thousand years of cultivation and accumulation even when trees cultivated relatively slowly, let alone the fact that it was regarded as a ¡°divine tree¡±, so it had always been equivalent to an exotic or spiritual beast, possessing power that far exceeded regular Daemon Kings.

    The fire devourers had turned this little garden into a holy land, but even Fire Devouring Kings were forbidden from climbing up into the phoenix¡¯s nest on the tree. Why wouldn¡¯t there be a reason for all of this?

    However, the divine wutong tree was aloof in nature. He did not like to communicate with others like the Great Banyan Tree King. A single slumber could last centuries or even millennia for him, so it was unavoidable for people to mistake it to possess no consciousness.

    In the past, when the phoenix flew and the fire devourers occupied Fire Melt mountain, the divine wutong tree had once set down three rules. As long as they did not try to destroy it, affect its cultivation, or climb up into the phoenix¡¯s nest, they would not get in each other¡¯s way. He allowed them to build their royal court here and did not even mind when they cultivated beneath the tree or picked the wutong fruit to eat.

    However, only the oldest, Zhu Fen, had a relatively clear understanding regarding these matters. It had become rather blurred even for Zhu Zai. As for Zhu Yan, during the millennia or so he cultivated on the main peak, he had never seen the divine wutong tree do anything. By treating it as a holy object, he also subconsciously treated it as an inanimate object. Now that his race had been exterminated, he was overcome with fury, so he wanted to cut down the divine wutong tree and make Li Qingshan¡¯s efforts all go to waste. How could the divine wutong tree allow him to do so?

    Zhu Fen both resented Zhu Yan for paving his own path to ruin and blamed the divine wutong tree for being so vicious. He held back the urge to strike. Having lost Zhu Yan¡¯s Divine Tablet of Man, their chances to escape had diminished drastically yet again. If he fell out with the divine wutong tree, then it would be certain death. He could forget about revenge.

    He immediately said to Zhu Zai, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 907 Chase

    Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai immediately turned into two streaks of scarlet light and rushed into the volcanic lake, diving into the magma deep underground.

    The elegant man from the ¡°divine wutong tree¡± did not stop them. He even ignored their furious and resentful gazes. Instead, his gaze landed on Li Qingshan; he felt a hint of intimacy. He could not help but become intrigued, pausing on Li Qingshan for a little longer.

    Without any hesitation, Li Qingshan flapped his wings and dove down in pursuit.

    The elegant man produced a gentle gasp of surprise. The wings were not just intimate anymore. He could not be any more familiar with them. ¡°Hold on¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan brushed past him, too busy to befriend this ¡°divine wutong tree¡±. Such a great opportunity had presented itself for once, so he had to kill Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai for good, just in case it led to endless future problems.

    Swimming through the boiling lake water and plunging head-first into the scorching magma, a fiery-red world unfolded before his eyes. His eyes narrowed, having locked onto Zhu Fen and Zhu Zai¡¯s aura already.

    ¡°King Fen, he¡¯s coming. Should we¡­¡± Zhu Zai made a gesture to kill with a face filled with viciousness.

    ¡°We¡¯re heavily poisoned. Let¡¯s not become entangled with him. Keep diving down!¡± Zhu Fen said as he dove deeper into the magma. Zhu Zai could only give up on that idea.

    Li Qingshan did not want to directly clash with them either, or it was very likely for him to die with them. When the hunter chased down injured prey, the emphasis was on ¡°chasing down¡±, to give the prey no time to rest or recover, so their wounds constantly bled until they became utterly exhausted. Currently, he played the exact role of hunter. He could not give the two of them any opportunity to catch their breaths, to eliminate or suppress the poison within their bodies. He had to chase them until they died from the poison.

    In the turbulent sea of magma, the two fire devourers fled as he pursued, rapidly diving deeper.

    Even in the sea abyss, there had been tremendous pressure, let alone now when they were in the heavy magma. The pressure would multiply every three meters they sank.

    Gradually, large burns began appearing on Li Qingshan. Even when he possessed a fraction of the phoenix¡¯s bloodline, he struggled to hold back the fire poison. The flames burned his body, causing him indescribable agony. However, his gaze did not waver at all, as he believed that Zhu Yan and Zhu Fen were suffering too.

    ¡°King Fen, he¡¯s still right behind us! He wants us to die!¡± Zhu Zai¡¯s lips turned green as she ground her teeth. She was riddled with wounds that were similar to Li Qingshan¡¯s. Even as natural spirits of fire, there was a limit to their resistance, and up until now, she had yet to find an opportunity to purge the poison. She had just been using the environment of the magma to suppress it.

    ¡°Keep going down. I¡¯d like to see how much longer he can follow us for!¡± Zhu Fen said furiously.

    Li Qingshan pursued relentlessly. Even when his skin was burnt, his flesh was cooked, his eyes were reduced to two sunken holes, and his consciousness blurred, he refused to give up.

    After who knew how long, the world seemed to vanish. All that remained were the escapees and the chaser, struggling as they trudged through the endless sea of magma. They had already slowed down to the same speed as mortals, basically shifting forwards slowly through the magma.

    This was no longer due to the heavy weight of the magma alone anymore, but also because of the underground magnetic field. All techniques had been rendered useless, and even Li Qingshan¡¯s innate abilities began losing their effects. He held on through his body and willpower alone.

    The invisible force even seemed to be trying to shatter and disintegrate his soul!

    ¡°King Fen¡­ I can¡¯t last any longer¡­ You go!¡±

    Zhu Fen stopped. She could sense her body was already on the brink of collapse, ready to be crushed by the magma, disintegrated by the underground magnetic field, and devoured by the poison at any moment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give in¡­ We have to survive¡­ for revenge!¡± Zhu Fen¡¯s situation was only slightly better than hers. Even his message was all broken up. He was extremely feeble.

    ¡°This kid¡­ really is anything but ordinary¡­ When you¡­ avenge us¡­ you have to be careful¡­ As long as one still remains¡­ the fire devourers¡­ aren¡¯t extinct!¡± Zhu Zai handed the Fire Tablet of Earth to Zhu Fen with a lot of difficulty. ¡°Go¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ stop him!¡±

    Zhu Fen was overcome with utter fury and hatred. He gripped the Fire Tablet of Earth firmly and left resolutely without even looking back. If he did not purge the poison as quickly as possible, then the fire devourers would truly go extinct.

    Li Qingshan also stopped, confronting Zhu Zai from afar. A while later, he suddenly turned around and rose up as quickly as he could.

    Zhu Zai remained standing there, without budging at all, just like a statue. She was frozen in this sea of magma.

    In the distance, an earth bubble burst. By the time the shockwave reached here, it had already been reduced to a weak ripple, but her body silently shattered, only leaving behind a heart. The flames and the underground magnetic field purged the poison. Finally, the heart became bright-red like fire before melding away into the sea of fire.

    Fire Melt mountain suddenly fell quiet following the battle. After the storm had passed by, the sky became an unbelievable azure-blue, so clear that it seemed like it had just been washed.

    Gong Yuan and the others gathered on the main peak again, overcome with a multitude of emotions. For a moment, they all said nothing.

    Although they all knew the battle would be intense, only when they went through it personally did they truly understand. They all stood at the apex of the nine provinces in terms of cultivation, but when they became involved in a great battle like this, they had almost lost their lives. At a time like this, they all felt like lucky survivors.

    Compared to this, the clashes between the South Sea Sword pavilion and the Myriad Poison cult can really only be considered as small bickerings. Ye Duanhai felt slightly emotional inside. He could not help but reconsider whether to board the King of Southern Yue¡¯s war chariot or not. Once the two provinces waged war, the scale would definitely be even larger than this.

    ¡°Master.¡± Yu Wufeng made his way over and bowed towards Ye Duanhai. His clothes were burned and in tatters, and the Fogbow sword in his hand had melted and twisted.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re fine!¡± Ye Duanhai revealed a hint of a smile for once.

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the Sea-splitting sword qi that you planted in me, master, that I was able to survive. It¡¯s a pity that the Fogbow sword has been destroyed,¡± Yu Wufeng said regretfully.

    Even when he thought about it now, it still left him shaken. When they attacked the main peak from the north, they experienced a counterattack from the formation, and only that one time too. The counterattack had been carried out rather hurriedly and casually, like shooing away some annoying flies.

    However, it was exactly that counterattack that claimed the lives of six cave masters. They had all been reduced to ash immediately. Let alone escape, they almost did not even have the opportunity to react.

    The formation around the main peak had always been capable of both offence and defence, and its offensive power was extremely great. However, it had to keep its powers focused when it was faced with the powerful attacks of the three Merfolk Kings, only able to defend one-sidedly.

    However, killing these cave masters was relatively easy, but it was very evident that the three Fire Devouring Kings were not particularly interested in killing them. Just chasing them away was enough. They still had to devote their efforts to the main battle. If they had fought back another one or two times with the formation, all ten cave masters would have died there.

    For more,

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Blessed by the buddha,¡± the Divine Nun of the South Sea uttered the buddha¡¯s name, while Ji Changfeng smiled. ¡°Sure enough, the heaven rewards the good.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be surprised if he died.¡± Gong Yuan asked loudly, ¡°Little Li the second, did you stop them?¡±

    ¡°I stopped one of them. It¡¯s a pity that I let Zhu Fen get away.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He was about to fly over to heal when a figure suddenly flashed before him, gripping him by the wrist. ¡°Are you called Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Is there something you wish to advise me about, fellow?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to call it advice. I am Feng Xiwu. I do have something small that I¡¯d like to request of you.¡±

    TL: Feng Xiwu¡¯s name is quite interesting. The first word, so the surname, ¡°feng¡±, means phoenix. The second word, ¡°xi¡±, means to perch or to roost. The last word, ¡°wu¡±, is the same wu in wutong. In other words, his name means ¡°The wu(tong) where the phoenix roosts¡±.

    Feng Xiwu released Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and tidied his clothes, bowing towards Li Qingshan. His appearance and gestures were noble and refined, utterly immaculate, but it also made him give off a cold, distant feeling. He seemed very proud and thus a little haughty.

    Li Qingshan could sense that he behaved like this because of the haughtiness and aloofness in his nature, not because of any other reason. ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s your request, fellow?¡±

    ¡°Do you have the bloodline of the phoenix?¡±

    ¡°A little bit.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡± Feng Xiwu smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯ve defeated the fire devourers. Are you planning on occupying these mountains for cultivation?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡±

    ¡°I have an important duty to hand over to you!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. They seemed to have just met. He never realised this ¡°divine wutong tree¡± was so friendly and easygoing. Originally, he was still thinking of how he would befriend this ¡°divine wutong tree¡± and hopefully obtain the phoenix¡¯s legacy as well, but he never expected everything to unfold so smoothly.

    ¡°However, the sense of vulgarity about you is a little too heavy. Perhaps you¡¯re not qualified.¡± Feng Xiwu furrowed his eyebrows slightly and studied Li Qingshan in a picky manner.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t even agreed to it yet!¡±

    ¡°So be it. The bloodline of the phoenix is far too difficult to find. I can only make ends meet given the current situation,¡± Feng Xiwu let out a long sigh.

    ¡°Did you hear what I said?¡± Li Qingshan yelled.

    ¡°Go deal with them first. We¡¯ll talk in detail later!¡± Feng Xiwu turned around and made his way towards the wutong tree, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

 Chapter 908 Wrapping Up

    Li Qingshan exhaled and turned around, flying back onto the mountain. After some healing, most of his surface wounds recovered, but his exhausted energy could not be replenished so quickly. He needed a period of time to recuperate.

    Seeing how Gong Yuan and the others were deep in thought, he could not help but smile. ¡°Why is the atmosphere so heavy? We¡¯ve won this battle after all! Fellow Ji has gotten his revenge, pavilion master Ye has upheld his promise, and the divine nun has demonstrated the great arts of her school of vinaya. It goes without saying regarding your majesty. The South sea is henceforth free of war, so why don¡¯t we all laugh heartily and go for a celebration? Otherwise, if other people see us, they¡¯ll think we lost!¡±

    ¡°Well said, fellow!¡± Ji Changfeng sucked in a deep breath and let out a few great laughs. Having gotten his revenge, he felt like he had been freed from another shackle. His mind became even more like the wind, free to wander the world.

    ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± Ye Duanhai kept speaking to a minimum as always, but he also showed the rare hint of a smile. The battle had been dangerous, but that was not necessarily a bad thing for him. The path of a sword cultivator was also a path of slaughter. If he did not battle powerful enemies, if he did not experience danger, how was he supposed to polish his edge? As a result, he made up his mind. It was impossible for him to avoid the conflicts of the world. All he could do was dive head-first into it and pave a path of survival for himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re just the simplest, aren¡¯t you? Only caught up in the joys of the moment!¡± Gong Yuan grumbled softly. Her voice no longer possessed the same coldness as usual. Instead, it was gentle like water.

    The two Merfolk Kings on the side glanced at one another, both slightly surprised. They realised something. Normally, it was perfectly normal for such compatible cultivation partners to become cultivation companions, but was that really possible between the two of them?

    ¡°If I can¡¯t even be caught up in the joys of the moment, when can I ever be caught up in joy? Your thoughts span too deep, and you think too much.¡± Li Qingshan stretched and yawned, gazing at the clear sky and the expansive world.

    ¡°Perhaps!¡± Gong Yuan fiddled around with her hair and did not disagree.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. These fire devourers like to burn and kill. They¡¯re ruthless in nature, so they deserve retribution. Though, I do have something that I wonder whether I should say to you or not.¡±

    After witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s capabilities, the Divine Nun of the South Sea no longer viewed him as a junior, giving him the respect of an equal. However, many of the things he had demonstrated in this battle made her secretly frown. She did not feel like that was something a person of buddhism should possess.

    ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t tell me¡­ Haha, I¡¯m just joking. What would you like to say? Feel free to be straightforward. Though, I won¡¯t really understand it if it¡¯s some profound buddhist dharma or principles,¡± Li Qingshan said like it was obvious.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea was momentarily taken aback. She shook her head and smiled wryly. ¡°So be it, so be it.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough, fair enough.¡± Li Qingshan nodded.

    They conversed a little longer and agreed on a date and time to celebrate in the Crystal palace. Afterwards, they bade farewell to one another, each returning to recuperate.

    Before they left, Gong Yuan shot a glance at Li Qingshan and said to him, ¡°Don¡¯t forget about what you said.¡±

    ¡°What did I say?¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. He acted clueless.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Gong Yuan shot a vicious glance at him and rode off on the water.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin. This queen was not without some adorable aspects, but making him remain in the South sea was completely impossible, so he avoided it all together, just in case it led to problems.

    Suddenly, he felt a pair of eyes staring straight at him. Turning around, he saw that Xiao An had already bade farewell to the Divine Nun of the South Sea too, staring straight at him with her bright eyes.

    ¡°You sure had it easy this time, watching it all from the sidelines from beginning to end.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head with a smile.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have it easy at all. I was very worried about you.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened, and he scooped her into his arms. ¡°You¡¯ve had it difficult!¡±

    ¡°My king!¡±

    The three remaining cave masters of Savage mountain, Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, the Marquis of Serene Sea, and Ghost Shadow, all came to pay respects. They were all in horrendous shape, clearly heavily injured. In particular, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber had gone from a mountain of flesh to just skin and bones again.

    ¡°You¡¯ve had it tough with this battle. I¡¯m a man of my word. Xiao An.¡± Li Qingshan cut right to the chase. Xiao An took out the Blood Oath Scroll and erased the last three blood-red figures. The bloody words on there gradually faded away too, reverting to a blank.

    ¡°Thank you, my king!¡± The three of them all felt their hearts lighten. Originally, they were still worried that Li Qingshan would go back on his decision, but they were finally at ease now.

    ¡°Heh, no need to thank me. You had been captured by me in the first place, coerced into risking your lives. Now that you¡¯ve been released, I don¡¯t exactly deserve any of your gratitude. Though, it would make sense for you to hate me,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Never!¡± The three of them said in a hurry. After witnessing their battle, their veneration towards Li Qingshan had reached a new peak. Even the proudest of them all, the Marquis of Serene Sea, became careful around him.

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    ¡°Whatever you want. You can go now!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand. Originally, he wanted to warn them to not blubber and disclose his secrets, but upon thinking about it, he found no need.

    ¡°I was a cave master of Savage mountain even before you came, so I have no other place I can go. I¡¯m willing to continue with serving the king, to strengthen the foundations of our Savage mountain so that the king becomes the true lord of the south,¡± the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber said.

    Now, the Myriad Poison Ancestor was already dead, and the South Sea Sword pavilion would not involve themselves so easily again, so just who could still be the King of Savage¡¯s opponent in the south? If he issued orders under the title of the King of Savages, were there any cultivators that dared to defy him? He had gone from being the second cave master to the first cave master, and the only first cave master, so authority was within his grasp.

    ¡°Me too!¡± the Marquis of Serene Sea said in a hurry. He cursed inside, This damned fatty is just too good at sucking up! He has absolutely no sense of shame!

    As the nominal governor of the South Sea commandery, he had never possessed true control over the South Sea commandery, let alone the south that was much vaster than that. Now that the opportunity presented itself, why would it let it slip by? If he returned to his estate now, he could live his days freely and at peace, but in the future, Savage mountain would probably restrain him in all aspects. Compared to that, he was better off remaining as a cave master. As long as he crushed this damned fatty under his feet, his status would immediately be worlds apart.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber and the Marquis of Serene Sea¡¯s eyes met for an instant, sending sparks flying.

    ¡°My king, I don¡¯t want to return to the Shadow palace either,¡± Ghost Shadow said as well. He did not have a lot of desire for authority, but he really did not want to return to that nightmarish place and serve as a stud.

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide.¡± A distant voice suddenly rang out.

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back, only to see that the Shadow Queen had appeared before anyone had noticed. She currently sat on a tall-standing rock, her face covered by a veil, only exposing a pair of eyes that stared at Li Qingshan. Even from such a close distance, she seemed hazy, like she was about to float away. Even the sunlight dimmed.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were fixated on the items in her hand, revealing a hint of surprise. They were the Fire Tablet of Heaven and the Fire Tablet of Earth that Zhu Fen had taken away. He could not help but ask, ¡°Zhu Fen?¡±

    ¡°Already dead.¡± Ye Weiyang gave a simple answer.

    Li Qingshan did not ask about anything more. The strongest Fire Devouring King was like an alpha lion, but he had caught the attention of the king of assassins in the Mist province when he was deeply poisoned and his mind was in a mess, so an outcome like this was not surprising. Her appearance there obviously had not been a coincidence either. The Great Banyan Tree King had probably arranged for that to happen, wrapping up this huge game of chess perfectly.

    ¡°Pay up!¡± Ye Weiyang extended her hand.

    ¡°Sigh, for what?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s very expensive to get me to carry out an assassination.¡±

    ¡°Can I pay with the flesh?¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡±

 Chapter 909 A Brand-new Path

    Ye Weiyang suddenly vanished. A shadow touched Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder before climbing onto his neck and lifting up his chin. That was her hand. An eerie, feminine voice rang out from behind Li Qingshan, ¡°Sure. Your bloodline is very impressive. The chances of producing offspring is a little lower, but as long as you try it a few¡­ tens of thousand times, you¡¯ll end up succeeding one way or another!¡±

    There were many hybrids in the Mist province. The bloodlines of humans, daemons, and otherfolk were all mixed together. Good bloodlines could produce extremely powerful offspring. Otherfolk normally did not breed with other races, as their bloodline was already extremely powerful, but it was still nowhere close to the bloodlines of divine creatures like dragons and phoenixes.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression hardened. If he wanted to tease around, at least he had to identify his targets. The Shadow Queen was not as ¡°innocent¡± as Gong Yuan, but they were polar opposites in the first place. He had to keep his integrity in the Crystal palace, but in the Shadow palace, he would have to serve as a stud until he went mad. If only they could balance it out a little.

    ¡°I think¡­ let¡¯s just forget about it! Though, it¡¯s not like I asked for your help, and you¡¯ve already obtained your spoils too. The Divine Fire tablets are the divine heirlooms of the fire devourers¡¯ kingdom.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you temperamental man. Though, there¡¯s still a Divine Fire tablet missing. If you give the Fire Tablet of Man to me, then our debt is settled.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to help, but that¡¯s beyond my ability, unfortunately. The Fire Tablet of Man isn¡¯t with me. If you want it, go ask for it yourself!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I know him. Are you two very close? Help me out!¡± Ye Weiyang said right by Li Qingshan¡¯s ear.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do. It¡¯s not like I planted him¡­¡± Before Li Qingshan had even finished what he was saying, a scarlet speck of light rose up from below. It was Zhu Yan¡¯s Fire Tablet of Man.

    Ye Weiyang caught it with a flash. With the three Divine Fire tablets assembled together again, they immediately shone with a divine light. They were extremely wondrous.

    Li Qingshan glanced down, only to see Feng Xiwu standing with his hands behind his back. ¡°Stop being so fussy. Since she¡¯s helped you resolve a huge problem, she deserves a corresponding reward. I¡¯m giving the Fire Tablet of Man to her for you. You can treat it as a gift for our first meeting.¡±

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    ¡°You sure are generous. Can you give me a gift for our first meeting too? You don¡¯t understand the situation here at all. This woman is clearly trying to rip me off!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    He was someone who kept clear tabs on his debts, but Ye Weiyang had only appeared here due to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s arrangements, and she had not done anything during all those dangerous situations earlier. Only when the battle ended did she rock up, steal a kill, and collect the spoils. All of that made it very difficult for him to feel any gratitude towards her.

    On top of that, he also wanted a treasure like the Divine Fire tablets! If he could obtain the Fire Tablet of Man, then he could find a way to obtain the Fire Tablet of Heaven and the Fire Tablet of Earth. After all, it was not like the night roamers used fire. They had no use for an incomplete set of Divine Fire tablets. There was no chance for that to happen now.

    ¡°Regardless of how many details are involved, I only focus on the reality. I¡¯d rather be let down than let people down. You can take this as a lesson too. You might possess a bit of the phoenix¡¯s bloodline, but you don¡¯t have a phoenix¡¯s heart. How can those who shamelessly seek out their own self-interests obtain the phoenix¡¯s legacy?¡± Feng Xiwu disagreed.

    ¡°We just can¡¯t be on the same page!¡± Li Qingshan exhaled heavily, basically understanding why people noble at heart were said to be difficult to get along with. People like them all had their own ways of going about matters. They could not allow for even the slightest deviation.

    ¡°Thanks. You really are the divine wutong tree that grew with the phoenix. Unlike a certain daemon, you¡¯re in a realm of your own.¡± Ye Weiyang returned to the rock with a flash.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. You can get out of here now that you¡¯ve taken advantage of the situation and gotten what you want!¡± Li Qingshan could not be bothered with acknowledging her.

    ¡°What, don¡¯t you want it? Why don¡¯t you consider the offer earlier?¡± Ye Weiyang tossed up and caught the three Divine Fire tablets like she was juggling, shooting a glance at Li Qingshan.

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan considered it, before declining with a strong sense of righteousness. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! I ain¡¯t no whore!¡±

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    ¡°Then so be it.¡± Ye Weiyang stowed the Divine Fire tablets away and said sternly, ¡°I¡¯m taking away the night roamers on Savage mountain.

    ¡°Alright. I hope you can treat them well. I will visit them.¡±

    Ye Liusu and Ye Liubo¡¯s figures drifted through Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. He was rather reluctant for them to leave, but he still nodded in agreement, and it was not because he was unattached to them. During the many years he had spent with them, his feelings for them were not exactly lofty like the mountains and deep like the ocean, but it was not shallow either. He had not even allowed them to come when he attacked Fire Melt mountain this time, exactly because he did not want them risking their lives.

    However, even if he kept them by his side, the time they could spend together would be extremely limited. Moreover, the environment of the Shadow palace was without a doubt much more suitable for their cultivation. It could allow them to make it a little further. Only like that could he avoid hearing the news of their deaths in centuries¡¯ or millennia¡¯s time.

    ¡°The King of Savage¡¯s word is law. Who dares to defy it?¡± Ye Weiyang joked around, but after personally witnessing the battle, her attitude towards Li Qingshan had changed drastically too. She no longer tolerated him for the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s sake. Instead, she felt respect for him from the bottom of her heart, placing him on an equal pedestal. She also anticipated his future. Perhaps his good will towards the night roamers could turn into a precious friendship.

    Her eyes shifted and landed on Ghost Shadow. Ghost Shadow shivered all over and cried out, ¡°My king!¡±

    ¡°Nothing forcibly done is going to be agreeable.¡± Li Qingshan advised. Ghost Shadow had just risked his life for him after all.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be awaiting for the King of Savages¡¯ arrival in the Shadow palace.¡± Ye Weiyang bowed and turned into a shadow, drifting off into the mist.

    ¡°Thank you, my king!¡± Ghost Shadow said in a hurry.

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    ¡°If you want to remain on Savage mountain, that¡¯s up to you. I¡¯ll pass on the position of King of Savages to whoever undergoes the third heavenly tribulation!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand, expressing that they did not have to pose around anymore. ¡°Though, let me make this clear first. You can forget about rampaging around under my name. You¡¯ll be taking responsibility over whatever mess you create yourself.¡±

    The title of the King of Savages was not particularly important to him. The so-called authority that came with dominating the south did not hold any significance either. He was fine with acting around like a king a bit and accepting a few lackeys, but the lackeys were for dealing with problems. Those lackeys who specially used their boss¡¯s name to do things and created problems for their boss could just go die!

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber shivered inside. The more Li Qingshan cared about his title, the greater the benefit it would be to them. If anyone in the south defied them, then they would be insulting the King of Savages, except Li Qingshan did not care at all, so they could not swagger around on their high horse so easily anymore.

    The three of them bade farewell and took their leave. Li Qingshan gazed towards the north, in the direction of Savage mountain. Xiao An asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to go back and take a look?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll know,¡± Li Qingshan said. Although he had once played a purpose in their lives, this path was far too long, and this could not even be regarded as a farewell.

    ¡°Not bound by reputation, not perturbed by lust. Impressive, impressive! Originally, I saw how violence and stubbornness was ingrained within you, which even made me worry whether you were qualified or not. Now that I look at it, you really do have the bloodline of the phoenix. As long as you look back on your past mistakes and start over, you can still shoulder the duty!¡±

    Feng Xiwu¡¯s praises rang out, which made Li Qingshan shake his head. This guy really was an ancient daemon after all. He still had a pair of sharp eyes. By ¡°violence and stubbornness¡±, was that not the demonic nature of the tiger demon and ox demon? However, getting him to ¡°look back on his past mistakes and start over¡± would probably be impossible.

    ¡°Oi, you¡¯ve rambled on and on, but you still haven¡¯t even told me what the duty is.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know very soon.¡±

    ¡°Give me a moment,¡± Li Qingshan said before taking out a formation he had prepared in advance and setting it up. The formation was called the Fire Gathering Formation of Southern Bing, only slightly above average in quality. It could not be compared to the fire devourers¡¯ original protective formation, and it could only cover the main peak. There was nothing he could do about the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain, but it still made use of the geographic advantage of the mountains and was reasonably powerful.

    After setting up the formations, Li Qingshan stood on the mountain peak and overlooked the mountain range. The rivers of lava had turned into lakes and puddles, shimmering under the sunlight. However, the volcanic clusters that the rain had extinguished were currently reviving, spewing out with black smoke again. This place would probably return to the same state as before quickly. A single storm could not permanently alter an environment like this.

    Looking up, the white clouds drifted through the expansive sky. After all these years in the Mist province, after battles after battles, he had finally arrived here. Before him was an even more far-reaching path, leading all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Then come!

    Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An and turned around, leaping down and arriving before the divine wutong tree.

    ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s the duty?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Savage mountain, under the great banyan tree.

    ¡°They¡¯ve won!¡± Ye Liubo said in surprise and joy.

    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯ve won.¡± Ye Liusu smiled, but she sighed a little inside.

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s orders, neither of them could leave Savage mountain. All they could do was wait here for the news. Just then, the Great Banyan Tree King had provided them with joyous news, as well as something else. The Shadow Queen was coming. Actually, regardless of the outcome of the battle, the Shadow Queen would have come to take them back to the Shadow palace. There was no need for them to worry about the retribution of the fire devourers. However, that did not diminish their concern.

    ¡°Alright, we can pack up our luggage in peace now. When the Shadow Queen gets here, we can set off,¡± Ye Liubo said in delight.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to wait for him to get back?¡± Ye Liusu was rather surprised. Originally, she thought Ye Liubo would wait here to bid farewell to him, or go straight to Fire Melt mountain to find him.

    ¡°He¡¯s taken Fire Melt mountain after so much difficulty, so he must be preparing to enter secluded cultivation right now. Why would he come back?¡± Although they had not spent a lot of time together, Ye Liubo personally believed she understood him after so many years of admiration and reverence. She also supported his decision.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll meet again in the future. We can¡¯t fall too far behind either.¡± Ye Liusu patted her shoulder in consolation.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m so envious of Xiao An!¡± Ye Liubo let out a faint sigh. Only then did she demonstrate her deep reluctance to part with him.

    Ye Liusu asked herself, Do I feel envious? Of course I do, but no matter how much admiration I feel, no matter how deep my feelings for him are, I just can¡¯t cast aside everything and completely follow his path!

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing we can do, as we¡¯re still normal people!¡±

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    Ye Weiyang arrived from Fire Melt mountain very soon, and the night roamers were already ready to go. She could not help but nod in satisfaction. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Clansmen, a feast has already been prepared. It¡¯s time to go home!¡±

    The valley fell silent once more. Ru Xin sat on a branch, in an exuberant corner, holding a cup of tea. The sunlight scattered through the leaves and landed on her as the steam curled upwards from her cup. The corner of her lips curled into a smile, and she raised her cup in the direction of Fire Melt mountain, giving a toast to the distance. ¡°Thanks!¡±

 Chapter 910 Duty

    The storm had already travelled off into the distance. It rampaged for a little longer before dispersing.

    The scorching lava made the lakes and puddles boil. White mist shrouded all four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain, making it resemble a wonderland under the glow of the setting sun. The scarlet-red main peak jutted through the mist, like a lone island in the sea of mist.

    Li Qingshan gazed at Feng Xiwu, quietly waiting for his response.

    Feng Xiwu tidied his clothes and said all seriously, ¡°You aren¡¯t a suitable choice, but only those who carry the bloodline of the phoenix can perform this duty. Such individuals are difficult to find in the world. You can say it¡¯s a form of destiny that we ran into each other in Fire Melt mountain. Come up the tree!¡±

    Li Qingshan climbed up the divine wutong tree. The lush branches parted automatically, allowing him to pass through. Suddenly, the space before him opened up. All he saw was an exquisitely woven bird¡¯s nest between the branches. He said to himself, ¡°This is the phoenix¡¯s nest!¡±

    ¡°Look further inside.¡± Feng Wuxi pointed, and the branches over the phoenix¡¯s nest opened up. In the very centre of the next was a scarlet-coloured egg. The egg pulsed with light as if it was breathing. The eggshell was covered in complicated and beautiful patterns, which Li Qingshan found extremely familiar.

    ¡°A phoenix¡¯s embryo!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He could not help but take a step forward. He wanted to take a closer look, but a hand pressed against his chest. Feng Xiwu had arrived before him in a flash, but he did not show any animosity at all. However, Li Qingshan understood that anyone who wanted to approach the phoenix¡¯s egg would need his permission, or they would have to step over his dead body.

    ¡°Yes, one that possesses a truly noble and pure bloodline, but no one can find out about its existence, do you understand?¡± Feng Xiwu turned around and gently picked up the egg. An indescribably complicated expression appeared on his face. There was both fondness and reminiscence.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. As a divine bird that stood on equal footing with the dragon, the phoenix might have been even more precious to cultivators than the dragon. It directly touched on the mystery of eternal life. If the world found out about the phoenix¡¯s embryo¡¯s existence, who knew how many people would come to steal it.

    ¡°My duty is?¡±

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    ¡°Hatch it so that it becomes a true phoenix!¡± Feng Xiwu stared straight at Li Qingsha. His voice became dignified and high-spirited, leaving no room for defiance.

    ¡°How¡­ am I supposed to hatch it?¡± Li Qingshan had guessed this possibility, but he still found it absolutely absurd when he heard it for himself. He had never done something so advanced before!

    ¡°Walk over slowly. Don¡¯t frighten it.¡± Feng Xiwu raised his hand and gestured for Li Qingshan to slow down as he carefully gazed at the phoenix¡¯s embryo in his arms.

    ¡°It¡¯s still just an egg¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth. It¡¯s the noble embryo of a phoenix!¡± Feng Xiwu scolded him. The phoenix¡¯s embryo suddenly began to pulse a little faster, so he stifled his voice in a hurry and stroked it gently. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. He¡¯s off his rocker! However, when he thought about it, he could also sense the outside world when he turned into a phoenix¡¯s embryo, so he slowed down as he entered the phoenix¡¯s nest.

    Immediately, he felt like he had stepped into another space. The phoenix¡¯s nest that was originally only the size of a room had suddenly become as large as a gymnasium.

    Before he could even admire the wondrous power of domains, extremely pure fire spiritual qi surged over from all directions. An indescribably wondrous aura filled it, even making his soul shiver. The Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a began to operate automatically with unprecedented smoothness and freedom.

    Legends said that the phoenix did not perch unless it was a wutong tree. Sure enough, it was not without reason. This divine wutong tree, this phoenix¡¯s nest, was basically a holy land for practising the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. He could definitely push the Phoenix Transformation to the fourth layer. After that, all he had to do was merge fire and water, and he could set off the heavenly tribulation and reach Daemon King.

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    As Li Qingshan daydreamed about his perfect future, Feng Xiwu signaled to him from the centre of the ¡°gymnasium.¡± ¡°I only told you to be a little slower, not stand there like a fool. You¡¯re even smiling in such a disgusting way!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived before Feng Xiwu after much difficulty and cut right to the chase. He asked, ¡°How do I hatch it?¡±

    ¡°Regarding the details, I too am uncertain¡­¡± Feng Xiwu sighed.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know either!?¡±

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Feng Xiwu widened his eyes and growled.

    ¡°Alright¡­ then¡­¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his forehead. He said slowly and gently, ¡°Is¡­ this¡­ good.. enough¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright, but you don¡¯t have to talk that slow!¡± Feng Xiwu nodded. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s your duty.¡±

    ¡°Are you just going to push your responsibility onto someone else like this? Even you don¡¯t know. How would I know?¡±

    ¡°I may be unfamiliar with the details, but only those with the bloodline of the phoenix can hatch it. That part can¡¯t be wrong. Don¡¯t look at me like that. Do you really think the legacy of the phoenix can be obtained that easily?¡±

    ¡°Who knows, maybe it¡¯ll be even more effective if I eat it.¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the phoenix¡¯s embryo and licked his lips.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Feng Xiwu was furious.

    Li Qingshan immediately became immobilised, like he was placed under numerous restraints. He understood that this place was Feng Xiwu¡¯s territory, and it was not an external object like the Asura Field. It was a part of the divine wutong tree itself, so it was extremely powerful.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. Do you have to be so agitated? The most important aspect to getting along is trust. If you don¡¯t even have this little bit of trust in me, how am I supposed to complete the duty?¡±

    Feng Xiwu sank into silent thought before apologising. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ve misspoken. However, it¡¯s exactly because I care that I overreacted. I hope you can understand my feelings and not joke around.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He never expected Feng Xiwu to be so reasonable. It was no wonder they said gentlemen could be fooled with reason. As a result, he also said sincerely, ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t joke around anymore then. I¡¯ll accept this duty, but I don¡¯t have any clues either, so I can¡¯t guarantee I can complete it.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leave until you complete it!¡± Feng Xiwu said.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t¡­ that a little too unreasonable!?¡± Li Qingshan gasped. So much for praising you just then.

    ¡°The outside world cannot learn of its existence, so please forgive me, sir!¡± Feng Xiwu bowed slightly, once again apologizing deeply, even referring to him with an honorific. Afterwards, he even told Li Qingshan a small story. Three thousand years ago, there had once been a Fire Devouring King that broke the agreement, forcing his way in here and seeing the phoenix¡¯s embryo.

    And then, there was no and then¡­

    ¡°Forgive you my ass! This is house arrest, actually even threatening me! Is this the trust you speak of!?¡± Li Qingshan discovered that he had been far too naive. He actually believed a tree could be a gentleman.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you. It¡¯s just even more important than my own life. This domain is beneficial to your cultivation. I¡¯m certain there¡¯s no better dwelling in the world than here for strengthening your phoenix powers. You can also sense the aura of a true phoenix through the hatching process. For a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like that, it makes sense even if there are some restraints involved. What do you think?¡± Feng Xiwu explained patiently.

    Li Qingshan nodded. Although it still left a bad taste in his mouth, that was true. He extended his hand. ¡°Give me the egg.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the phoenix¡¯s embryo.¡± Feng Xiwu corrected him.

    ¡°The phoenix¡¯s egg!¡±

    ¡°So be it. I¡¯m not going to bicker with a ruffian like you.¡± Feng Xiwu handed the egg to Li Qingshan with great reluctance. ¡°Be careful.¡±

    In the moment he touched the phoenix¡¯s embryo, the complicated, beautiful patterns suddenly began to swirl and glow brightly, completely illuminating the entire nest. It only dispersed after a very long while.

    This sight invigorated both Li Qingshan and Feng Xiwu. Their confidence in the great cause of hatching the egg multiplied.

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    Sensing the heavy aura of life within the phoenix¡¯s embryo, Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯m going to begin!¡±

    Author¡¯s Words For the End of the Volume¡ªAlright?

    A Dream in the Mist Province is the longest volume of Legend of the Great Sage so far, over two hundred pages in total. Li Qingshan started as an egg and ended with another egg. He went through a cycle, a very, very long dream. The various hardships and difficulties involved were the same to him and me, but I have to admit that I¡¯m not as strong as him. I don¡¯t have brother ox, I don¡¯t have Xiao An, and I don¡¯t even have beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Sometimes, I feel lonely, and sometimes I lose my direction. Just climb up where you fell down¡ªthat¡¯s true, but sometimes you want to lie down for a while and think about it.

    Only life itself is worth the least thought, as you¡¯ll never understand it. All you can do is allow reality to change everything. Only life itself is worth the most thought. Even if you can¡¯t get an answer, making mistakes upon mistakes, it itself is a form of evidence!

    But regardless, you still have to keep moving. Even my dreams are dominated by strange ones and nightmares, so there¡¯s no need to have excessively harsh demands on life.

    In any case, I¡¯m still relatively satisfied with this volume overall. The overall composition and the weaving of plot are relatively complete. Although it¡¯s still nowhere close to perfection, my writing ability has still increased drastically after over two million characters of practice, laying a better, firmer foundation for my future work. Situations like writer¡¯s blocks basically shouldn¡¯t happen anymore.

    Though, I keep losing to my feelings, like when I¡¯m bored, when I¡¯m agitated, and when I¡¯m depressed! Although I¡¯ve been trying to handle these issues since I was young, and I can already manage them with ease, the feeling of worry really does creep up on you as you advance in age!

    Anyway, I do need to adjust myself properly, like eating some more meat, reading some more books, and so on. The path to the Nine Heavens still isn¡¯t over!

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    The next part will be the focal point among focal points for the entire nine provinces saga¡ªthe world in chaos, caught up between new and old love, old and new hatred coming in flocks¡ªjust how will Li Qingshan face it all?

    The name of the next volume will be ¡°Supreme Daemon King¡±!

    Finally, I¡¯d actually been working pretty hard at the start of the month, two chapters every day and no less than five thousand five hundred characters on average. Back then, I still thought we could go crazy this month, but the monthly votes for the past few days have all been single digits, which is a great blow to me!

    I haven¡¯t exactly been asking for monthly votes, but the more you don¡¯t give me votes, the more I don¡¯t want to ask for them! Alright fine, you really can¡¯t be too proud as a person. Just cast a few votes, and I¡¯ll demonstrate to you my true strength, alright? Alright? Alright? Alright¡­ (super annoying)

 Chapter 911 A Thousand Years

    In the expansive phoenix¡¯s nest, Li Qingshan shut his eyes and stroked the phoenix¡¯s embryo gently, circulating the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a at the same time. The magnificent phoenix wings unfurled, his scarlet hair flew like fire, and his devilishly handsome face automatically gave off a sense of nobility.

    Seeing this, Feng Xiwu could not help but feel that his decision had been correct. Li Qingshan was not as crude as he seemed. After all, he still possessed the bloodline of the noble phoenix, which would influence him to a certain degree.

    However, unbeknownst to Feng Xiwu, Li Qingshan¡¯s three other bloodlines were even stronger.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan sat down gently and shoved the phoenix¡¯s embryo under his bottom along the way down, leaning on his hand and assuming a pose of thought.

    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Feng Xiwu wrapped his hands around Li Qingshan¡¯s throat viciously and gave off a hint of madness.

    ¡°Hatching the egg!¡± Li Qingshan choked out three words.

    ¡°Move your dirty bottom!¡± Feng Xiwu roared.

    ¡°That¡¯s how all birds hatch eggs!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a bird, it¡¯s a phoenix! It¡¯s not an egg, it¡¯s a phoenix¡¯s embryo!¡± Feng Xiwu corrected him with his patience running out. He snatched the phoenix¡¯s egg from Li Qingshan¡¯s bottom and rubbed it forcefully.

    ¡°Cough, cough. What do you want me to do?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his throat.

    ¡°Definitely not that pose!¡± Feng Xiwu rubbed the phoenix¡¯s embryo forcefully as he made a gesture of absolute forbiddance.

    ¡°Then what kind of pose do you like!?¡± Li Qingshan said furiously before sighing again. ¡°Let Xiao An in. I just can¡¯t communicate with you.¡±

    ¡°Think it through. If she comes in and sees the phoenix¡¯s embryo, she can¡¯t leave.¡± Feng Xiwu warned.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to think about? Hurry up!¡± Li Qingshan said without hesitation. Who knew when he would achieve his great cause of hatching the egg. He did not want to be locked up with someone who was mental the entire time. Xiao An had to be by his side, or even Xiao An would disagree with that.

    Xiao An currently paced around beneath the wutong tree, contemplating how to get up there, when the lush branches formed a path. She immediately climbed up the divine wutong tree and arrived in the phoenix¡¯s nest. When she saw it, she could not help but be taken aback, not because of this wondrous domain, but because Li Qingshan was currently curled up on the ground on his knees.

    Feng Xiwu crouched on the side and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Even when it comes to birds, they don¡¯t sit on the egg. What touches the egg should be the abdomen.¡±

    Between the two of them, one was a great Daemon King from the same age as the phoenix, while the other was the King of Savages whose name echoed through the Mist province and had taken down Fire Melt mountain. Their current posture truly gave off a sense of strangeness and¡­ humiliation from all angles!

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Xiao An made her way over, guessing the reason slightly.

    ¡°Egg-hatching,¡± Li Qingshan sighed. To think that I had been so mighty and awe-inspiring when I took down Fire Melt mountain, only to end up like this.

    Feng Xiwu stood up and straightened out his sleeves, bowing gracefully towards Xiao An. ¡°Welcome, honoured guest. If I¡¯ve received you poorly, please forgive me!¡±

    Xiao An returned the gesture, completely matching Feng Xiwu in elegance and courtesy. This was not only her bearing, but also the education she had once received in the King of Chu¡¯s estate. The courtesy had already become part of habit, except the great bumpkin Li Qingshan had never cared about these details.

    Feng Xiwu¡¯s eyes lit up. Immediately, he developed a favourable impression of her. He sighed. ¡°A pity, a pity. If you had the bloodline of the phoenix, there would be no problems. I really struggle to communicate with this ruffian.¡±

    ¡°You bastard, that''s what I want to say. Stop posing around. Xiao An, don¡¯t be fooled by him. Once you come in, you can¡¯t leave anymore.¡± Li Qingshan warned.

    ¡°I see.¡± Xiao An crouched down and touched Li Qingshan¡¯s hair. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I would have never entered here if I wasn¡¯t alright. Looks like we¡¯ll be here for a while.¡± Li Qingshan produced a toothy grin. Before he had entered the crater of the volcano, he had divined with the spirit turtle. There was danger, but it was also hiding an auspicious omen, which was why he entered the phoenix¡¯s nest.

    Of course, divination could only be used to forecast the general situation. Matters still lay in the hands of people. Even in the face of almost certain death, there would still be a chance for survival, and no matter how great an auspicious omen was, seeking death would still result in death.

    Feng Xiwu stared at Xiao An, slightly surprised. When regular people found out they had been trapped, it was virtually impossible for them to accept it so calmly, not to mention when their companion had dragged them down. They would grumble a bit at the very least. Something like that did not seem to exist between them.

    He asked, ¡°Are you cultivation companions?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with you?¡± Li Qingshan answered.

    ¡°So be it. As long as you can hatch the egg, I don¡¯t care about anything else. Please focus a little. Don¡¯t be distracted!¡±

    ¡°Nope, this pose is far too ugly. I have to change it.¡± Li Qingshan leapt onto his feet and sat down with his legs crossed instead, hugging the egg in his arms and wrapping the phoenix wings around him.

    Feng Xiwu realised that Li Qingshan was not a weak-willed person who would put up with abuse, and he also felt a hint of guilt for forcefully trapping him here. As long as he did not destroy the phoenix¡¯s embryo, he could do as he pleased.

    Xiao An leaned against Li Qingshan and said in thought, ¡°How long will it take to hatch this phoenix¡¯s embryo? A few years or an entire century?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had not considered this question. A few years were fine, but if it really did take an entire century, then he would be in trouble. He could not help but cast a questioning gaze towards Feng Xiwu.

    ¡°Since it¡¯s a phoenix of eternal life, even spending over a century to hatch it is nothing. That¡¯s actually too short. In my opinion, it¡¯ll take a thousand years at the very least!¡± Feng Xiwu stood with his arms behind his back as he shook his head.

    ¡°Oi, big bro, you better not be joking around!¡± Li Qingshan cried out in alarm. If he emerged a thousand years later, all of his old acquaintances would probably be dead already. By then, what Academy of the Hundred Schools? Probably even the Great Xia empire would have gone up in smoke. He soon remembered that this phoenix¡¯s embryo had spent at least ten millennia in Feng Xiwu¡¯s possession, and even he was unable to hatch it. A shadow was cast over his heart.

    ¡°Is a thousand years very long?¡± Feng Xiwu was very surprised. A single slumber of his could last a thousand years.

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯m not even a thousand years old right now- no, I¡¯m not even a hundred years old!¡± Li Qingshan roared. Suddenly, he discovered that their concepts of time were worlds apart.

    Even the most ordinary wutong tree could live for over a thousand years, let alone a divine wutong tree, one that had grown up with the phoenix of eternal life on top of that. He had witnessed the changes of the world. To him, even the Great Xia empire that had been founded several thousand years ago would not have existed for very long. That was why virtually everyone treated him as an inanimate object.

    ¡°You¡¯re not even a hundred years old!? Your cultivation has actually progressed so quickly? That¡¯s unbelievable. Even among humans, there aren¡¯t a lot that can achieve that. Are you really a daemon? Sigh, no wonder you¡¯re so rough and crude! You¡¯re still too young!¡± Feng Xiwu cleared his throat. ¡°Small knowledge is no match for great knowledge, nor is a short lifespan a match for a long one. How do we know this is so? The mushroom that sprouts in the morning and dies by evening doesn''t know the difference between night and day. The locust doesn''t know the difference between spring and autumn. These are examples of short lifespans. For me, spring and autumn each lasted eight thousand years. That is an example of a long lifespan.¡±

    TL: Yes, Zhuangzi strikes again. This comes from the chapter 1, Carefree Wandering, of the inner chapters, except the author has twisted the words rather cleverly to fit in Feng Xiwu. Once again, I¡¯ve borrowed from Victor H. Mair¡¯s translations from his book, Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get all poetic with me. It¡¯s impossible for me to stay here for a thousand years. Even a century won¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I like you? If you can hatch the phoenix¡¯s embryo right now, I¡¯ll let you leave immediately!¡±

 Chapter 912 In the Completely Wrong Direction, Ten Thousand Years to Null and Void

    Li Qingshan and Feng Xiwu stared at each other. Their eyes met, and both of them refused to give in.

    Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve, so Li Qingshan thought about it. ¡°Fine then! Since I¡¯ve already accepted your duty, then I¡¯ll uphold my promise and hatch this phoenix¡¯s embryo as quickly as possible.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for upholding your promise. I¡¯ll also take back what I just said. Compared to other humans and daemons, you¡¯re still relatively alright. If you can comprehend the heart of the true phoenix, we might even be able to become friends.¡± Feng Xiwu also took a step back.

    ¡°Hehe, sure!¡± The tense atmosphere eased up, but Li Qingshan thought, Who¡¯d want to be your friend? I¡¯ll obviously leave when I want to leave.

    He had not forgotten. He did not remain here to complete some duty, but to achieve the fourth layer of the phoenix, to balance water and fire and to reach Daemon King. Once he underwent the third heavenly tribulation, how could a mere phoenix¡¯s nest stop him? Even if that did not work out, he had the phoenix¡¯s embryo in his possession as a hostage. Even if he was standing in a domain that Feng Xiwu controlled, he was still absolutely capable of destroying it. It was more than enough to use as a threat. However, if he did that, he would be falling out with Feng Xiwu completely. The need for that had not arisen yet, and he was reluctant to do that too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll lend you a hand, so it hopefully happens sooner. I¡¯ve waited for too long for this day.¡±

    It was not that Feng Xiwu had not considered this, but he had still ended up underestimating Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. After all, the current Li Qingshan was only a Daemon Commander. Even when it came to true Daemon Kings, apart from the Seventy-two Daemon Kings of the past, any of the new Daemon Kings that had broken through in the past few thousands would still be sitting ducks in the phoenix¡¯s nest.

    From another perspective, he could even be considered as ¡°modest and gentle¡± towards Li Qingshan given his realm of cultivation and strength. Of course, that was because he required Li Qingshan¡¯s bloodline. Otherwise, he would not even waste a word on him.

    As a result, Li Qingshan sat back down, picking up the phoenix¡¯s embryo and bringing it to his forehead. He looked through it with his soul sense.

    Suddenly, a chaotic world unfolded in his sea of consciousness. It was like the sea of magma he had seen deep below the crust, but it gave off a pure, divine glow. The phoenix had not even taken the most basic form yet. If this had been a chicken¡¯s egg instead, then it would only be an egg yolk and whites. However, the energy hidden inside was so great that it left even Li Qingshan shocked.

    What great and pure energy . This phoenix will probably have the strength of a Daemon Commander as soon as it hatches, and the purity of the energy will be on par with Daemon Kings. It truly is a divine bird among divine birds, the apex life form among avians. He glanced at Feng Xiwu from the corner of his eye. Though, this definitely isn¡¯t just the phoenix embryo¡¯s energy. This bastard has probably put in quite a lot of effort. If I could just swallow it, it¡¯ll be as nourishing as it can get.

    Feng Xiwu stood quietly to the side and did not disturb him. Li Qingshan had guessed correctly. For over ten thousand years, he had constantly tried to hatch the phoenix¡¯s embryo. With each deep slumber he fell into, he devoted most of his effort into this apart from regular cultivation. It did not bear any fruit, but over many years, the phoenix¡¯s embryo had accumulated a shocking amount of energy.

    Li Qingshan gathered his focus and devoted all of his attention to the phoenix¡¯s embryo. He had the experience of turning into an egg before, and he could still remember how he awakened from this chaos. He was not exactly conscious, nor did he have any exact memories back then, but he could never forget about the feeling.

    However, to his bewilderment, it clearly possessed such pure and tremendous vitality, and its nature had reached the level of gods too, so it clearly should have hatched a long time ago. Why had it not even developed a basic consciousness yet?

    He could not help but recall when he was buried deep within the sea of magma in the form of a phoenix¡¯s embryo. Back then, he did not rely on anyone to hatch him. He completely relied on himself, and he still ended up hatching. Was it because the bloodline of this phoenix¡¯s embryo was more pure, so it was especially difficult to hatch?

    However, the environment in the phoenix¡¯s nest was countless times better than the sea of magma he dwelled in back then. What critical element was missing?

    Only after a very long time did Li Qingshan move the embryo away from his forehead. He opened his eyes, and his eyebrows became firmly locked as if he was contemplating something.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Feng Xiwu asked in concern. Li Qingshan felt like he had become a gynecologist. He asked, ¡°When the phoenix left it to you, did it leave behind any instructions?¡±

    Feng Xiwu thought about it. ¡°I can¡¯t recall it. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything particularly special. It just told me to take good care of it.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that spring and autumn each last eight thousand years for you!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s exactly because of that that I can¡¯t recall all the details.¡±

    ¡°Fine then! Let me ask you another question. This might be critical to hatching this egg. Did the phoenix say the egg could only be hatched with the bloodline of the phoenix, or was that your own speculation?¡± Li Qingshan asked sternly. He had a slight idea.

    ¡°It¡¯s my own speculation. Isn¡¯t it supposed to be like that? Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t hatch the phoenix¡¯s embryo either?¡± Feng Xiwu answered with questions. He personally believed the environment and resources he had provided to the phoenix¡¯s embryo were unmatched in the world. There must have been some other reason why it did not hatch, which was the phoenix¡¯s bloodline.

    ¡°I think I understand now. There is only one truth. The reason why the egg has never hatched and become a phoenix is all because of you!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed. As he had suspected, even if the phoenix wanted to ascend, it could not be in such a big hurry where it had to make the embryo wait over ten thousand years for a fated person that could hatch it.

    ¡°What! Why?¡± Feng Xiwu asked in alarm.

    ¡°Have you always been nourishing it with your energy?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve been doing it since it was laid, for over ten thousand years, without missing a single day!¡± Feng Xiwu said. He possessed patience that outclassed any daemon or human. The feelings and anticipation he had devoted to the phoenix¡¯s embryo were even deeper than what he felt towards the phoenix itself. ¡°Is there something wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s something wrong with that! It¡¯s not just wrong! It¡¯s terribly wrong!¡± Li Qingshan pointed at the phoenix¡¯s embryo. ¡°You¡¯ve given it far, far too much energy, such that it can no longer digest it completely. That¡¯s why it hasn¡¯t hatched!¡±

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    Feng Xiwu was completely stunned. ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan continued, ¡°In the words of humans, this is spoiling it, drowning it with love! That¡¯s the same ¡®drowning¡¯ as ¡®drowning in water¡¯, as well as ¡®drowning to death¡¯!¡±

    Feng Xiwu leapt up like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. ¡°You¡¯re certain!?¡±

    ¡°Extremely certain. I¡¯ll be honest with you. I¡¯ve also gone through the experience of becoming an egg, but when I first hatched from the egg, I was extremely feeble. Let alone a Daemon Commander, I wasn¡¯t even on par with mortals, and that was the result of my Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. I had been very powerful before that. Like I was wondering. I was very confused. No matter how noble the phoenix is, it can¡¯t be this powerful as soon as it is born. It must be due to your ¡®efforts¡¯, but this won¡¯t work!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°I understand now. As the buddha says, ¡®Formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness¡¯. In the very beginning, even towering trees were seeds. Even the buddha had only been a mortal. The phoenix¡¯s principle of eternal life deviates from the word ¡®emptiness¡¯, where it¡¯s still ¡®formation¡¯ after ¡®disintegration¡¯, going on in cycles. However, it¡¯s not completely without downsides. It must convert all of its power into flames, reverting to weakness from strong, before it can undergo rebirth in fire. The power you bestowed upon it is too great, which instead breaks the process of ¡®formation¡¯.¡±

    ¡°That sounds so profound! You¡¯re still the clever one!¡± Li Qingshan praised before lifting up the phoenix¡¯s embryo again. ¡°If this egg was a world, then the world is still in chaos right now. If you want to take form from this chaos, then you have to rein in this world first. In other words, the feebleness at the very beginning is absolutely essential. Ha, I¡¯m so profound too!¡±

    Xiao An nodded with a smile.

    Normally, Feng Xiwu definitely would have despised Li Qingshan¡¯s current behaviour, but right now, all he could think of was what they had just said. He murmured, ¡°¡®Formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness; formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness; formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness¡­¡±

    No matter how much time he had spent with the phoenix in the past, he was not a phoenix after all, nor did he have the experience of turning into an egg. It was impossible for him to have first-hand experience like Li Qingshan. He had only been following his heart and constantly committing himself to the egg, wanting to provide it with a bit of assistance. The more unlikely the phoenix¡¯s embryo would hatch, the more attention he devoted to it, even if he had to sacrifice his own cultivation speed, even if he had to sever his connection with the entire world.

    But all of his efforts had actually been in the completely wrong direction, instead becoming the exact reason why the phoenix¡¯s embryo could not hatch. For a moment, even with his mental fortitude, he found this rather difficult to accept.

    ¡°No wonder the power I¡¯ve injected into it has been constantly leaking away¡­¡±

    As a divine tree of nature, the amount of energy he had injected into the egg over ten thousand years was enough to turn a regular wild beast into a Daemon King.

    ¡°I was wrong¡­ I let down the great trust that was placed in me¡­¡± Feng Xiwu sighed heavily as tears rolled down. If he had not done this unnecessary deed, perhaps the phoenix¡¯s embryo could have ascended and gone off to find its parents already.

    The more he thought about it, the more guilt-ridden he became, and the more regretful he became. He collapsed on his knees, burying his head in the ground, and began sobbing away.

    The divine wutong tree shook violently, but its glow had become very dim.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An looked at one another. They could still sympathise with Feng Xiwu a little. Drowning something with love was still love. The more emotional he was, the less rational he became. It was often easy for those who were immensely patient to become obsessed. If Li Qingshan himself had spent ten thousand years making a mistake, a sob would be a small matter. If he handled it badly, he might even directly lose his mind.

    He patted Feng Xiwu on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. Hatching the egg is still the priority! You can say it¡¯s your good fortune that you ran into me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not an egg! It¡¯s a phoenix¡¯s embryo!¡± Feng Xiwu wiped away his tears before sitting up on his heels. He bowed his head deeply towards Li Qingshan, no longer a form of courtesy because he had a request, but because of gratitude from the bottom of his heart. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you, fellow, I still would not even know where I had gone wrong. Thank you!¡±

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    ¡°This is my duty. There¡¯s no need to thank me.¡± Li Qingshan returned the gesture and also felt rather emotional inside. The great Daemon Kings like the Golden Cicada Spirit King and the Great Banyan Tree King all had good temperaments and showed him good graces, but when it came to being upright and noble, possessing the bearing of a gentlemen, Feng Xiwu really could be considered as one of the rare few he had seen throughout his entire life. He only became so hysterical when it came down to the phoenix¡¯s embryo, which he could understand.

    ¡°Then what we need to do right now is to disperse the phoenix¡¯s embryo¡¯s energy?¡± Feng Xiwu asked.

    ¡°I have to admit your efforts haven¡¯t gone to waste. Your energy has already merged with the phoenix¡¯s embryo completely. If you disperse it forcefully, you¡¯ll definitely harm it.¡±

    ¡°Then we let it disperse the energy naturally?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Who knows how long that¡¯ll take. Even a century might not be enough, and wouldn¡¯t all of your efforts go to waste?¡±

    Feng Xiwu widened his eyes. ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s hatch the strongest phoenix chick in history!¡±

 Chapter 913 The Hatching Begins, Balancing Fire and Water

    ¡°You¡­ you can hatch the egg?¡± Feng Xiwu grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders and asked in great joy.

    ¡°It¡¯s the phoenix¡¯s embryo, thank you!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Oh, right, right, right. Alright, there¡¯s no need to pay so much attention to these details. Answer me quickly.¡±

    ¡°I do have a lot of confidence, but I need a little bit of your help.¡± Li Qingshan extended the small finger on his right hand. ¡°Think about it, an extremely powerful phoenix the moment it hatches, just like accumulation works. It¡¯ll be all thanks to your efforts over the years that he¡¯ll be a phoenix among phoenixes!¡±

    Feng Xiwu immediately grabbed his hand. ¡°As long as you can hatch it, let alone a bit, even ten bits, a hundred bits is no problem!¡±

    ¡°That would be for the best. My friend, lend me a hand!¡±

    ¡°Alright, my friend!¡±

    The two of them suddenly became the best of friends, which made Xiao An shake her head gently. ¡°You take your time with the hatching. I¡¯ll go outside and cultivate.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Feng Xiwu hesitated.

    ¡°I won¡¯t leave Fire Melt mountain.¡±

    Feng Xiwu considered it. ¡°It¡¯s fine even if you leave Fire Melt mountain.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Why¡¯d you suddenly change your mind?¡±

    ¡°Trust is very important! And since she¡¯s willing to enter here for you, she definitely won¡¯t speak carelessly at the risk of your safety.¡±

    ¡°A scheme like that is not something a gentleman would do.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m also respecting your friendship!¡±

    Xiao An left the phoenix¡¯s nest and sat down under the divine wutong tree, beginning to meditate. She also needed time to digest the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s teachings, to lay down a foundation for the cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Qingshan is already striving towards the third heavenly tribulation. I can¡¯t fall too far behind.

    ¡­¡­

    Above the sea of magma, below the glowing wutong, time passed in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan formally began hatching the egg. Since the phoenix¡¯s embryo could not rein in such great energy, then it was time for him to take up the matter. He circulated the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a as he recalled the sensation he felt when he became an egg. His aura gradually faded away as he gave off a similar glow to the phoenix¡¯s embryo, pulsing like it was breathing.

    Gradually, the rate at which they pulsed matched up, becoming a single entity.

    Originally, Feng Xiwu still had some doubts, but when he saw this, he became completely convinced. His figure suddenly vanished, and his voice echoed through the entire phoenix¡¯s nest. ¡°I know you¡¯re borrowing my power to cultivate. Just like how the debt of a droplet of water should be paid back with the entire spring, I, Feng Xiwu, am not a miserly tree. Accept this energy!¡±

    Immediately, the phoenix¡¯s nest rippled with magnificent red light that flowed towards Li Qingshan and the phoenix¡¯s embryo.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s end goal definitely was still cultivation, but Feng Xiwu had been planning for that right from the beginning. According to his original plans, hatching the phoenix¡¯s embryo would definitely take tremendous amounts of energy. How could a single Daemon Commander sustain that? He was only borrowing Li Qingshan¡¯s bloodline anyway. He had even wasted ten thousand years, so why would he be stingy at a time like this?

    Li Qingshan had revealed the true reason why the phoenix¡¯s embryo did not hatch, but since he was confident enough to hatch the strongest phoenix chick in history in this state, Feng Xiwu was very willing to assist him with cultivation.

    Oof, what pure fire spiritual qi. It really is a divine wutong tree after all. Coupled with how the phoenix¡¯s nest can restrain the powers of the spirit turtle and increase the powers of the phoenix, there¡¯s a layer of cultivation in difference, but they¡¯re extremely close to being balanced. This is simply fantastic.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed inside. Using this power, he restrained the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression slightly and achieved a subtle balance. He began to balance out fire and water.

    At that moment, he began to glow with a deep, blue light as well, mixing together with the scarlet light. Through his experiences of dual cultivating with Gong Yuan, he had restrained the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression such that it did not break through to the fifth layer, but the spirit turtle did become even more profound and silent through absorbing the aura of Ruin¡¯s End.

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    Feng Xiwu watched closely and was astonished. Just what are his origins? He possesses three bloodlines at the very least, and every single one of them is extremely powerful, even greater than the phoenix¡¯s bloodline. There¡¯s even a water bloodline at the level of divine beasts that mutually restrains the phoenix.

    Even if Li Qingshan was a phoenix, a true dragon, he could not make Feng Xiwu so surprised. There had been a lot of divine and exotic beasts that possessed the phoenix and true dragon¡¯s bloodlines in the ancient times, but for an existence that possessed multiple high-level bloodlines at the same time, he had basically never even heard of that, let alone seen it.

    The greater the bloodline, the more pure it was, and the more difficult it was to merge together. If he could unleash every single bloodline, just what kind of power would he possess?

    Even Feng Xiwu was unable to imagine it.

    Li Qingshan was too focused to pay any regard to him. This was the first time he balanced fire and water without the ¡°Flower of Fire and Water¡¯s¡± assistance, completely relying on his own strength, but he was filled with confidence.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine definitely could be practised even if the world did not have a Ru Xin. He definitely could make the spirit turtle and phoenix get along through his own efforts. It would only be very difficult and would take up tremendous amounts of time and effort. However, it would only be strange if such a powerful cultivation method was not difficult.

    When it came to this aspect, he could be considered as rather lucky. He had encountered Ru Xin and overcame the difficulties at the beginning relatively easily. However, similar to other spiritual medicines, they were only for support. Over-dependence on foreign items would lead to a day where cultivation came to a crawl. He did not want Ru Xin to use her essence blood to refine medicine for him either.

    Now was the time for him to use his own strength. He had still built up some experience in the very beginning after all, and he had such a great environment, so he believed it would not be too difficult.

    Time was not a concept in the nest. Li Qingshan and Xiao An both submerged themselves in cultivation. In the meantime, the battle at Fire Melt mountain had already shaken up the entire Mist province, spreading through the world. As one of the few large forces in the Mist province, they had actually been annihilated, where even the three Fire Devouring Kings were unable to slip away. That was simply unbelievable.

    Over ten great cultivators and Otherfolk Kings had been involved in this battle. A battle of such a scale was like the first ray of sunlight to the nine provinces that had remained at peace for thousands of years, foreboding a changing of ages, the arrival of chaos.

    The brutal result where five of them died left everyone shocked too.

    Over the past few thousand years, there had not even been ten human great cultivators that had fallen in battle. Something that rarely occurred even across centuries had actually happened so easily. It had suddenly happened in the same location at the same time.

    Who could still rest easy now? Could even the lords like the King of Southern Yue and the Fierce King of Chu say they could survive every single battle?

    All of the kings cast their gazes towards the shore of the South sea, doing everything within their ability to collect information on the battle.

    However, the Mist province had always been a land of wilderness, and the south was the wilderness within the wilderness. The fire devourers had been annihilated, while the merpeople had always kept to themselves. The surviving Merfolk warriors had all been ordered to keep silent too. Ji Changfeng and the others were not the kind to blabber either, so while there was a lot of information floating around, very little of it was proven to be true.

    With the battle, Li Qingshan¡¯s name as the King of Savages began to spread through the world. He had occupied Fire Melt mountain as his dwelling and had become the king of the south. This was something impossible to hide, and very difficult for people to not care about.

    However, that was all it was, caring. In the cultivation community, cultivation was the highest standard when it came to evaluating a person, as well as the only standard. Who knew how many Merfolk and Fire Devouring Folk at the same cultivation as him had died in the battle. Their deaths had not influenced the overall situation at all.

    Due to Li Qingshan¡¯s complicated background and identity, a lot of conspiracy theories did appear. Some said the Fierce King of Chu had sent him to the Mist province to wear them down from the inside, while others said the King of Southern Yue impelled him to eliminate Fire Melt mountain so that he could prepare for the war between provinces. The Great Banyan Tree King had not been spared from these conspiracies either. Perhaps he had wanted to exterminate the fire devourers a long time ago, as they were a race that refused to become a part of his alliance and liked to burn down forests¡­

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    In short, basically everyone was certain that Li Qingshan was a chess piece that belonged to one side, placed there to achieve some kind of objective. As a pawn, he moved about on the chessboard and was fortunate enough to receive a reward in the end.

    However, only those who were included in the conspiracies understood that he was not his own chess piece. Even fewer people understood that he was not anyone¡¯s chess piece, but a chess player that could alter the overall situation. If it were not for his efforts, the battle of Fire Melt mountain would have never existed in the first place. There never would have been a possibility of victory either.

    Only Li Qingshan and Xiao An knew that compared to playing chess and coming up with schemes, he would much rather flip over the chess board and directly beat up the chess players. He was currently heading in that direction too.

    ¡­¡­

    Deep within the ocean, a great celebratory banquet was currently being held in the Crystal palace. A joyous atmosphere filled the magnificent halls and buildings.

    ¡°What a rude person. He clearly agreed to come, yet he¡¯s absent without even saying a word!¡± Gong Yuan said coldly and placed the crystal cup in her hand on the green jade table heavily. To her lower right was an empty seat, which originally belonged to Li Qingshan. Once he began cultivating, he forgot about all of these trivial matters.

    ¡°Please calm down, your majesty. Qingshan must be caught up with something important. Obtaining the divine wutong tree¡¯s recognition comes with great fortune!¡± Ji Changfeng drank a cup with a smile. Ever since he got his revenge, he seemed much livelier and more vigorous.

    ¡°Definitely. The divine wutong tree is actually such a powerful Daemon King. Probably no one thought of that. The fire devourers have occupied Fire Melt mountain for so long, yet even they had never received his assistance, yet as soon as the King of Savages arrived, he came out to meet him, which is truly admirable. I¡¯ve met countless people in my life, and I thought I was good at judging people, but I have to admit I¡¯ve really made a huge misjudgement this time!¡±

    The speaker was an old man with a goatee, the head caretaker of the King of Yue¡¯s estate, mister Ram. Having received certain orders, he had also come to attend the victory banquet.

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    ¡°Mister Ram ought to punish himself to a cup of alcohol,¡± Gong Yuan said mildly and stopped looking at the empty seat. Ever since they took down Fire Melt mountain, it instead became even more important that they handled their relationship with the King of Yue¡¯s estate appropriately. They dared not be careless.

    Although the battle of Fire Melt mountain had eliminated one of their problems for good, the price they had paid was relatively heavy too. A Merfolk King had fallen in battle, and most of their foundational forces were annihilated. Now was when the Merfolk were the weakest. They needed a lengthy time to recover, so they could not make an enemy out of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate right now. As long as they endured through this and lasted until the world descended into chaos, then the vast sea was theirs to maneuver in.

    Once the chaotic age of the nine provinces came to an end, perhaps the humans and daemons would be surprised by the establishment of a new order on the ocean. She would then lead the Merfolk back into the age of the divine kingdom.

    As a result, they were especially in need of foreign aid right now. She originally had something to discuss with Li Qingshan, which was why she had specially given him a seat of honour. Even the two other Merfolk Kings, Ji Changfeng, Ye Duanhai, and the Divine Nun of the South Sea would be sitting beneath him, giving him absolute respect, yet he actually did not come. It basically drove her mad. He had to take responsibility!

 Chapter 914 I Got It

    ¡°How can I not drink if it¡¯s a punishment from your majesty?¡±

    Mister Ram smiled as he drank a cup by himself. He was filled with sighs. Back then in the Feilian hall of the Cloud Sail sect, Li Qingshan had almost been caught up in an encirclement just for his seat, and it was not even that great of a seat. Right now, they had offered him the seat of honour in a perfectly justifiable fashion, giving him the treatment of an honoured guest, where even the master of the sword pavilion and the Wind Gale King sat beneath him, but he did not even show up. The matters of the world sure were unpredictable, with the new replacing the old!

    Gong Yuan smiled indifferently, except she felt like her arrangements made perfect sense. She was not trying to fawn over Li Qingshan. Since it was a celebratory banquet, then the order of seating obviously depended on contribution. Let alone everything else he had done, just ordering the Myriad Poison Ancestor to detonate himself earned him something like this.

    Then she considered whether she should pay a visit to Fire Melt mountain after the banquet and question him about why he had stood them up, as well as discuss some major matters in the process. However, she dismissed that thought as soon as it occurred to her. If she did that, wouldn¡¯t she be actually fawning over him?

    Gong Yuan was not the only one who was conflicted. Seeing the empty seat, the Divine Nun of the South Sea also felt lost. Following the battle on Fire Melt mountain, she had returned to her dwelling to recuperate. Originally, she had been anticipating seeing Xiao An again and taking her to wander the south so that she could properly observe her and see whether she could actually inherit her legacy or not. She wanted to see if Xiao An was worth paying a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga for, but she never expected Xiao An to not show up.

    So be it. You can say we¡¯re not destined! However, after considering it a bit more, she thought, Since I can¡¯t get her to come, then I¡¯ll go to her. How can I give up so easily?

    As a result, she stood up and took her leave. She thanked and declined them when Gong Yuan and the others urged her to stay, leaving the Crystal palace for Fire Melt mountain.

    She followed the trail left behind by the storm. By dusk, she had arrived at Fire Melt mountain yet again. She could still vividly recall the horrific battle. The setting sun enveloped the volcanic chain, turning them extremely red and bright, but also added a hint of tranquility in the process.

    Beneath the divine wutong tree, Xiao An suddenly sensed her. She opened her eyes and went up to receive her.

    She bowed politely. ¡°Welcome, senior. I¡¯ve failed to welcome you from afar, so please come in and have a seat.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about inviting me in. I¡¯ve come this time because I want to ask if you¡¯re willing to wander the South sea with me?¡± the Divine Nun of the South Sea asked slightly eagerly.

    ¡°I am touched by senior¡¯s kindness.¡± Xiao An glanced at the divine wutong tree in the volcanic crater from the corner of her eye. She was reluctant to leave him, but he had to balance water and fire, break through to the fourth layer of the phoenix, and hatch the phoenix¡¯s embryo during secluded cultivation this time. It would take a decade at the very least for him to complete these three tasks. His cultivation would definitely increase qualitatively, and he might even come close to the realm of Daemon Kings. If she still did not put in some effort, she would actually fall far behind, so she made her decision.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s set off right now.¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea smiled.

    ¡°Please wait a moment, senior. I need to return and hand off some matters.¡± Xiao An returned to the phoenix¡¯s nest, only to see that Li Qingshan was still focusing on balancing fire and water, so she told Feng Xiwu a few things for him to pass onto Li Qingshan. With that, she left Fire Melt mountain and began travelling with the Divine Nun of the South Sea.

    The school of vinaya was extensive and profound, on par with the school of chan. It would bring great benefit to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, but its essence definitely could not be comprehended in a short amount of time. It was perfect for her to use this opportunity to deepen her studies.

    She was not an actual disciple of the nun, and the Divine Nun of the South Sea could not teach the divine arts and secret techniques of her sect to a disciple from the school of chan, but Xiao An had never been interested in these cultivation methods in the first place. Instead, she had been interested in the dharma and classics of the school of vinaya, which obviously was not forbidden knowledge to her. It only left the Divine Nun of the South Sea with an even more favourable impression of her.

    At the end of the day, the strong were still revered in the cultivation community. Even buddhist disciples who had spent their childhood as monks might end up placing more focus on cultivation methods, neglecting the vast and extensive buddhist scriptures. In the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s eyes, that was neglecting the essentials and becoming distracted by trifles. On top of that, ¡°One Will¡± was so talented, yet she was not impulsive and rash at all, which was far too rare.

    The two of them wandered everywhere, braving the wind and rain. They spent most of their time in the secular world, learning all about mortal affairs.

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    Xiao An came to a realisation. It was no wonder that monks liked to wander. The greatest purpose of buddhism was to relieve all creatures of torment. If there were no living creatures, then what was there to relieve? If she spent her time away from the secular world, cultivating and meditating alone, that could only be considered as H¨©nay¨¡na, or lesser buddhism. It could not be regarded as Mah¨¡y¨¡na, or greater buddhism. Even the creator of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, the White Bone Bodhisattva, had quite an interest in relieving all creatures of torment, except the method used was a little ¡°special¡±.

    Compared to the school of chan¡¯s root of wisdom that allowed one to find their true self, the school of vinaya had a much more grounded spirit, which allowed Xiao An to benefit tremendously. The Divine Nun of the South Sea took an even greater liking towards this ¡°disciple¡± who was impervious to emotions, never grumbled, and arduously focused on the buddhist dharma.

    Gradually, a new legend arose on the shore of the South sea, which had to do with the beautiful heavenly maiden by the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s side¡­

    At the same time, the turmoil of the world was increasing. The scales of battle were rapidly growing, and the flames of war began to set various regions of the nine provinces alight. The Mist province and the Green province already had their swords drawn. It had not devolved into a full-scale war just yet, but the deaths of great cultivators was no longer shocking news. It drew away everyone¡¯s attention, making them forget about Fire Melt mountain.

    In the phoenix¡¯s nest, Li Qingshan completely forgot about the outside world. In his sea of consciousness, the spirit turtle submerged and the phoenix flew. Their glow melded together, constantly balancing and merging¡­

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan shuddered, and the two colours of light, red and blue, merged together. He opened his eyes and could not help but exhale deeply. He was overjoyed.

    Alright, at least all this time I¡¯ve spent cultivating arduously hasn¡¯t gone to waste. I¡¯ve finally taken another step forward and obtained the third innate ability of the phoenix.

    And sure enough, it was still the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a. In other words, he had the opportunity to be reborn three times. If he used it in battle, he could immediately come back alive twice after being killed.

    ¡°Hah, even if I want to die, it won¡¯t be that easy now! Xiao An, Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan looked around, but Xiao An was nowhere to be seen.

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    ¡°Congratulations. Your cultivation has progressed yet again. You can actually balance two powerful bloodlines that are completely opposite in nature? Your secrets sure are deep!¡± Feng Xiwu¡¯s figure appeared. He had been observing Li Qingshan the entire time, so he obviously could sense the change in his aura.

    ¡°My friend Feng, how long did I take? Where is Xiao An?¡±

    ¡°A little over two years. Xiao An has ventured out to wander with the Divine Nun of the South Sea. She returned a few times, but you were cultivating, so she did not disturb you.¡±

    ¡°I see. Cultivation sure kills time!¡± Li Qingshan nodded. She did like cultivating in seclusion together, but increasing her cultivation was without a doubt a higher priority, which was why he fully supported her decision to go to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. The environment on Fire Melt mountain was not particularly suitable for her cultivation. It was for the best that she had found a direction she could advance in.

    ¡°It¡¯s just two years. What¡¯s that supposed to be? Though, you can focus on hatching the phoenix¡¯s embryo now, can¡¯t you? My friend Li!¡± Feng Xiwu also made a joke as an extremely rare occasion. His attitude was much gentler too, no longer so unsociable.

    ¡°Sure, no problem. Please continue assisting me!¡± Li Qingshan did feel slightly tired, but he did not waste any time at all. He was not a slow coach like Feng Xiwu. If he did not advance valiantly, how was he supposed to make it in time for his promise beyond the Nine Heavens?

    Of course, advancing boldly was not running around rashly. Everything progressed according to the plan he had come up with. After balancing fire and water, he would clear away the next obstacles for his cultivation. He could focus on pushing the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to the fourth layer.

    This process could be carried out with hatching the phoenix¡¯s embryo. By setting each other off, perhaps it would lead to wondrous effects. It was all thanks to the fact that Feng Xiwu was a slow coach, still patient even after two years. That was the only reason why he could maintain such a steady pace.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t disappoint me!¡± Feng Xiwu said sternly.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my friend. The time for your efforts to pay off is here!¡±

    Li Qingshan was aware that if he could not uphold his promise and hatch the phoenix¡¯s embryo, then not only would the bit of friendship they built up vanish, but they might even become enemies. No one wanted to face a hysterical Daemon King.

    Feng Xiwu said, ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. Even to me, ten thousand years have been just too long!¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing more. He shut his eyes again and picked up the phoenix¡¯s embryo, circulating the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a as hard as he could, not just inside his own body, but also inside the phoenix¡¯s embryo.

    At this moment, the exquisite sound of a zither suddenly rang out by his ear.

    Feng Xiwu sat down near him, and a ziter and zither stand appeared before him. The zither music emerged from his fingertips, which was almost divine, something that Li Qingshan had never heard. He was unable to pinpoint its exact wonders, but it did make him feel tranquil at heart, and it did reduce his exhaustion. His cultivation method flowed smoother than ever.

    He said in praise, ¡°Nice zither!¡±

    Feng Xiwu said without even looking up, ¡°Don¡¯t talk. Focus. This isn¡¯t for you, or wouldn¡¯t I just be wasting it on you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not for me? Who else can it be for¡­ Alright!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly realised that the phoenix¡¯s embryo in his arms was the true audience, which made him smile wryly. Was this supposed to be the legendary antenatal training?

    ¡°The malice on you is still too strong, and your vulgarity is difficult to eliminate. It¡¯ll probably influence the young phoenix, so it needs to be cleansed by the music first!¡±

    Li Qingshan snickered. He could not be bothered with retorting. Listening to the music, his mind gradually sank deeper.

    Time zipped by. The zither music came and went.

    During that time, Xiao An had returned several more times, spending a few days with Li Qingshan before setting off again.

    One year, two years, three years, four years¡­

    The aura that Li Qingshan gave off became stronger and stronger, and the glow from the phoenix¡¯s embryo became brighter and brighter too. Every single pattern seemed like it had been forged from the sun.

    One day, an extremely weak consciousness suddenly appeared in the centre of the phoenix¡¯s embryo, even more scorching than fire and even more resplendent than light.

    ¡°I got it! I got it!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s cries of joy interrupted the zither music.

    Feng Xiwu trembled and almost snapped a string. ¡°You got it?¡±

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    ¡°Come and take a look!¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, Feng Xiwu approached him with a flash and placed his hand on the phoenix¡¯s embryo. He also sensed the birth of the consciousness, and his expression immediately became overwhelmed with emotion. He exclaimed thrice in joy.

    Although it was still very far away from actually taking shape and hatching, this was without a doubt a milestone. At least it had proven that Li Qingshan was not boasting and lying.

    ¡°How¡¯s that? I wasn¡¯t lying to you, was I?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Qingshan, you are truly a man of trust! Don¡¯t stop! Keep going! I¡¯ll do everything I can to help you!¡±

 Chapter 915 The Fourth Layer of the Phoenix

    In the phoenix¡¯s nest, two men faced one another, both excited.

    ¡°Why does this atmosphere feel a little strange?¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head.

    ¡°Stop wasting time. Accept this power properly. Try not to die!¡±

    Feng Xiwu waved both hands, and his sleeves flew through the air. Wutong branches that resembled scarlet bronze extended over from all directions of the phoenix¡¯s nest, wrapping around Li Qingshan layer open layer and weaving a cocoon.

    ¡°Come! I won¡¯t die!¡± Li Qingshan understood what Feng Xiwu was trying to do and was invigorated.

    ¡°Go!¡± Feng Xiwu called out. The divine wutong tree¡¯s roots that penetrated deep into the magma began absorbing the flames of the earth furiously, converting it into extremely pure fire spiritual qi. Some of the smaller and thinner roots were unable to withstand such tremendous flames of the earth, so they were directly reduced to ash, but he did not care.

    After ten thousand years of waiting, he finally saw a sliver of hope. He no longer cared about anything. He had already done so much, so what was wrong with doing a little more?

    The divine wutong tree shook violently, and Feng Xiwu¡¯s figure blurred. Every single branch lit up with scarlet-red light, injecting into Li Qingshan¡¯s body like a blood transfusion; this was the most pure fire spiritual qi.

    In that moment, Li Qingshan felt like he was about to explode, but he felt no fear or dread, only surprise and joy. Only a tree of nature like the divine wutong tree was capable of something like this, and this opportunity would never arise a second time.

    He circulated the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, and the phoenix wings extended to their limit. They were unprecedentedly magnificent and dazzling, flowing with balls of fire. Then he embraced the phoenix¡¯s embryo in his arms firmly, communicating with the bit of consciousness within the embryo.

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    Possessing self-awareness was a good thing, but if this bit of consciousness resisted Li Qingshan¡¯s assistance, that would instead become a bad thing. But fortunately, perhaps because of his phoenix bloodline, the phoenix¡¯s embryo accepted his soul sense very quickly.

    Because he had experience from dual cultivating with Gong Yuan, coupled with the fact that the consciousness was pure and flawless, just like a blank piece of paper, he achieved the deepest level of unity very quickly. As the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a circulated, the overly tremendous energy in the phoenix¡¯s embryo was rapidly reined in and condensed together. The bit of consciousness developed and strengthened as a result.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation of the Phoenix Transformation constantly increased too. In under a year, he had reached the peak of the third layer. Right when he was about to continue and break through to the fourth layer, he became forcefully stuck there, unable to break through no matter how many times he tried it.

    God dammit! I actually ran into a bottleneck at a time like this! Li Qingshan furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Things like bottlenecks could not be overcome by simply gritting his teeth and trying a little harder. Otherwise, there would not be so many cultivators who died with regrets.

    Once he encountered a bottleneck, he either had to achieve instantaneous comprehension, or he had to wear it down over time. Most of the time, both were vital. However, under the current situation, any external assistance was useless. The turbulent energy from the divine wutong tree had nowhere to go.

    On the contrary, the bit of consciousness in the phoenix¡¯s embryo rapidly strengthened under his assistance, occupying the entire embryo.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll assist you with everything I have then and see just how powerful you can become!¡± Li Qingshan redirected all the energy from the divine wutong tree into the phoenix¡¯s embryo. The embryo turned into a scorching, miniature sun, so blinding that no one could look at it directly.

    The tremendous energy in the phoenix¡¯s embryo even began to surpass regular Daemon Commanders, advancing in the direction of Daemon Kings. Even Li Qingshan was unable to imagine what kind of a ¡°monster¡± he would hatch. Would it be born as a Daemon King? Surely it would not be that exaggerated!

    Time flew. In the phoenix¡¯s embryo, the thick liquid created from the pure spiritual qi gradually began to take shape.

    The tremendous life force was turning into a true lifeform, an undying phoenix.

    Perhaps because it had waited for far too long as well, the bit of consciousness was eager to burst out of the shell the moment it formed. In less than three years, it had assumed the most basic form. The bit of consciousness had already merged with the body completely, becoming a true will.

    Li Qingshan was happy about this, but he could not help but feel some pity.

    At this moment, something unexpected happened with the phoenix¡¯s embryo. Li Qingshan seemed to see in a daze a magnificent phoenix soaring through the air. That was the most powerful lifeform he had seen so far apart from brother ox, so noble that it could overlook the entire world.

    The phoenix produced a glorious cry, echoing through his entire sea of consciousness. It was like it was trying to tell him something, no, it was to the unborn phoenix.

    Suddenly, thousands of pieces of information surged through his head, turning into millions of images.

    Every single piece of information, every image, contained the truths of the world. There was an extremely strong sense of continuity, yet he was unable to describe what exactly it entailed. It was like a dream, clear and vivid, yet also blurry and vague. Once he woke up, all of it would turn to nothing.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised that this was the phoenix¡¯s legacy!

    If a person grew up in the wilderness without the guidance from their seniors, they would not be any better off than a monkey. Their ability to survive might even be worse than a monkey¡¯s.

    However, a divine beast like the phoenix was different. Just like the legendary sages of virtue that were born with knowledge, even when its parents were already long gone when it was born, its bloodline possessed a natural legacy, waiting to enlighten it the moment it awakened from chaos, so it would understand where it came from and where it was going. It would not lose its direction and would not forget who it was.

    The ¡°phoenix¡¯s legacy¡± was not like the Imbuement of Wisdom. Instead, it was more like the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s fruit of wisdom, but much more wondrous.

    As it underwent enlightenment, the legacy would not influence the young phoenix¡¯s individuality, which was why the feeling that it gave to Li Qingshan was like a dream.

    Dreams were not actually ¡°nothing¡±. Instead, they originated from the subconsciousness, from a deeper layer of the sea of consciousness, which was far vaster and more profound than the surface consciousness. It allowed the young phoenix to possess extremely great wisdom the moment it was born. Coupled with its natural strength, it was completely capable of thriving alone.

    As Li Qingshan hatched the phoenix, he also enjoyed this phoenix¡¯s dream that had been passed down since ancient times.

    In a daze, he experienced some thoughts. He felt like he had gained something, and he felt like he had lost something.

    For all this time, the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a had always been the cultivation method that he struggled the most with. Even with Feng Xiwu¡¯s complete assistance, he found it extremely slow, even encountering a bottleneck at the end and coming to a halt.

    In Feng Xiwu¡¯s words, he had only inherited the phoenix¡¯s bloodline, but he had not comprehended the phoenix¡¯s heart. However, probably even Feng Xiwu was unable to clearly describe what the phoenix¡¯s heart was.

    But at this moment, Li Qingshan felt like he had comprehended it, yet he was unable to put it into exact words either.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    The Phoenix Undergoes Nirvana Rebirth, with an Undying Heart.

    Li Qingshan muttered inside, and the bottleneck vanished as if it had never existed.

    The Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a had broken through to the fourth layer!

    Before he could even celebrate, the rumbling of thunder passed through the domain, roaring at his ears.

    Surely not! It shouldn''t have come so soon! Right when Li Qingshan felt rather puzzled, he realised what was going on. He lowered his head and took a look. So it¡¯s you who¡¯s undergoing the tribulation. Just how dominating of a victory at the starting line is this!?

 Chapter 916 Crack

    Having just completed its antenatal training and developed intelligence in its consciousness, the first heavenly tribulation immediately descended. Even Li Qingshan was shocked, before laughing aloud. It really was a divine bird, a phoenix. It was already looking down on everyone else before it was even born, which made him eager to see the phoenix soar through the heavens after it hatched.

    ¡°What do we do? What do we do?¡± Feng Xiwu paced around frantically.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this?¡± Li Qingshan placed down the phoenix¡¯s embryo and backed up far away. The heavenly tribulation was a test from heaven. No one could take it in its place. If he was too close, he would instead get in the young phoenix¡¯s way of undergoing the tribulation.

    Surely nothing will go wrong, right? He was also a little worried inside. After several years of hatching, he had also developed some feelings towards this little, unborn phoenix. After all, he had also put in so much effort.

    ¡°It¡¯s just an egg right now. If it fails the tribulation¡­¡± Feng Xiwu widened his eyes and gazed at the phoenix¡¯s embryo nearby with a hint of fear. He was afraid of seeing the egg shattering and the phoenix dying.

    With a rumble, lightning crackled and illuminated the phoenix nest.

    The first bolt of tribulation lightning landed on the phoenix¡¯s embryo. Electricity sparked and surged across its surface.

    The phoenix¡¯s embryo also shone brightly. The complicated, beautiful patterns seemed to swirl. Through the thin egg shell, they could vaguely make out the phoenix¡¯s rudimentary form as it contended against the heavenly tribulation almost instinctively.

    Feng Xiwu shuddered all over as if he was the one who had been struck instead.

    Li Qingshan found this hilarious and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Tribulations have always come with danger. It¡¯s the same for everyone.¡± Seeing how Feng Xiwu¡¯s face became uglier and uglier, he comforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just the first heavenly tribulation. It¡¯s very weak. With the energy you¡¯ve channelled into it, it won¡¯t be a problem. It¡¯ll only serve as a fantastic opportunity for it to refine its powers instead.¡±

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Feng Xiwu was in mental disarray due to his concern. With what Li Qingshan said, he eased up slightly, but he still ogled at the phoenix¡¯s embryo.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and sat down beside him. Having reached this point, he had basically achieved his great cause of hatching the egg. It was up to the little phoenix itself now.

    Given the strength of the first heavenly tribulation, even if it failed the tribulation, it would not be lethal to the young phoenix. It would only consume a tremendous amount of energy, which was not a bad thing. Only their plan to hatch the strongest phoenix chick in history would fall apart, so he was still relatively relaxed.

    Listening to the rumbling of thunder, he dismissed his thoughts and sensed the new power in his body.

    After reaching the fourth layer of the phoenix, both his soul and body radiated with vigour. The phoenix wings on his back became even larger and more magnificent. His entire bearing had changed in a subtle way too, losing some devilishness and gaining some nobility. This was not just from his increase in cultivation, but also because he had received the phoenix¡¯s legacy.

    However, he was different from the young phoenix at the end of the day. He was not a blank piece of paper. His personality had been far too strong. The ox demon¡¯s stubbornness and the tiger demon¡¯s battle-hungriness reached all the way into his bones, so the phoenix¡¯s legacy had not achieved the effect of ¡°looking back on your past mistakes and starting over¡± on him as Feng Xiwu had hoped.

    The four transformations of the demonic and divine, the ox, the tiger, the phoenix, and the turtle, had always each possessed an extreme and intense spirit. If he inherited only one of them, no matter which one, it would lead to an extremely drastic change in his personality, so by combining them, they instead wore each other down and achieved a wondrous form of balance. In the end, they would only become a face of his personality, and he would remain true to himself.

    Li Qingshan leaned against his arm and shut his eyes, imagining the soaring phoenix in his sea of consciousness. The rumbling thunder of the outside world gradually grew distant.

    His cultivation and strength had reached an unprecedented height. He could clearly feel that he was only a step, no, half a step away from the third heavenly tribulation, the realm of Daemon Kings. He only needed to balance fire and water again, and he could become a Daemon King, where he could sweep through the world in an invincible manner.

    He had the opportunity to directly reach Daemon King in the past, which was to directly push the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to the fifth layer. However, not only would that influence his future cultivation, his foundation would be nowhere near as consolidated as now. Even if he became a Daemon King, he would only be slightly stronger than regular Daemon Kings.

    Yet right now, before he had even undergone the third heavenly tribulation, he felt like he possessed the same strength. Once he underwent the tribulation successfully and obtained four new innate abilities, he was curious about what kind of strength he would possess.

    It¡¯s been ten years of arduous cultivation. It¡¯s about time I get up and move about.

    When the last bolt of tribulation lightning dispersed, Feng Xiwu let out a great sigh of relief. A glad smile appeared on his face.

    ¡°What did I say again? It¡¯s just the first heavenly tribulation. It¡¯ll definitely¡­¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could even finish what he was saying, a crisp crack interrupted him. Feng Xiwu¡¯s face hardened. Li Qingshan followed his gaze and looked over, only to see that a hairline crack had appeared on the top of the phoenix¡¯s embryo. However, it was even more terrifying than a hundred bolts of heavenly lightning in their eyes.

    Li Qingshan was not familiar with the exact process of a phoenix¡¯s birth, but the baby phoenix had only recently taken shape. It should not be hatching so soon! Had it been damaged by the lightning?

    He murmured, ¡°Surely not!¡±

    He was about to rush over when Feng Xiwu had already lifted up the phoenix¡¯s embryo. He stared at the crack with widened eyes, channelling his power into the embryo furiously as he frantically tried to repair it.

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    However, the tiny crack completely ignored this great Daemon King¡¯s demands. It spread without any regard.

    Crack! Crack!

    Resplendent light poured out of the expanding cracks. The cracks continued to spread rapidly. Soon, they covered the entire phoenix¡¯s embryo. It would probably shatter instead of hatching.

    Let alone being the strongest in history, this ¡°premature chick¡± would probably lose its life instead.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Feng Xiwu¡¯s bellow echoed through the entire phoenix¡¯s nest.

    ¡°Shut up! Give it to me!¡± Li Qingshan snatched over the phoenix¡¯s embryo and circulated the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a in an attempt to mend the crack, but he was not confident about succeeding at all. Having spent several years hatching the egg, he understood the best that the phoenix¡¯s embryo was a perfect whole. Its interior was almost a world of its own. What cracked right now was not the eggshell, but the miniature world. Just the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a was no longer enough. ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, suppress!¡±

    The spirit turtle¡¯s figure appeared above Li Qingshan¡¯s head, giving off a serene, gentle glow that forced back the light from the cracks. In the end, it wrapped around the entire embryo and formed a blue cocoon.

    By now, the cracks had almost covered the entire shell. The beautiful, complicated patterns were completely torn apart. It was in an extremely unstable state.

    ¡°Why did this happen!?¡± Feng Xiwu grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar.

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    ¡°Calm down!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at him and sighed inside. He had still underestimated the destructive power of the heavenly tribulation after all. In terms of power alone, the phoenix embryo was even more powerful than him when he underwent the second heavenly tribulation and broke through to Daemon Commander, but it was nowhere close when it came to intelligence. It still did not know how to utilise this power appropriately. It had basically used the very top of its eggshell to endure all of the attacks, which was why this happened.

    All creatures had to go through a process where they grew from weak to strong, which really did happen for a reason. Excessive enthusiasm really did spoil things. This level of suppression still was not enough to maintain the phoenix¡¯s embryo¡¯s stability!

    He said solemnly, ¡°I¡¯m going to do something next. You need to promise me that you won¡¯t act impulsively!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Feng Xiwu hesitated. He understood that now was not the time to stir up unnecessary trouble.

    Li Qingshan expanded in size, assuming his daemon form. He swallowed the phoenix¡¯s embryo in a single gulp.

    ¡°How dare you, you bastard! How dare you do that! Y- y- y- you can go die!¡±

    A Late Happy New Year

    Before I knew it, we reached the end of another year. I began writing this author¡¯s note yesterday, and then you know what happened~

    I regularly have to write under a state like this. I have a thousand things to say, but nowhere to start. It¡¯s not that the plot is rough. It¡¯s not that the writing style is lacklustre. I just can¡¯t find a suitable mood, a way of expression from the bottom of my heart.

    Frigid seemed the strings uttering notes sounding like springs cold and jolted, Cold and jolted it came to a halt. Muted was the music, yet gloomy was the stillness that had begun to regret manifest, Right then, no release could compete with what such a resounding release could carry.

    TL: This is a parody of Ode to a Lady¡¯s Pipa Play. Ode to a Lady¡¯s Pipa Play is an ancient Chinese poem composed in the year 816 by Bai Juyi. The author only changed the last line of this part, which originally read as ¡°Right then, no sound could compete with what such a resounding silence could carry.¡± I¡¯ve borrowed the translation from here. You can read more about the poem from its wikipedia entry here. A popular Chinese song was composed to this poem by using it as the lyrics in 2017 (which is the only reason why I managed to identify it without further research). You can listen to it here.

    Heh, what a great poem! I can even pass off missing releases in such a classical, elegant, and knowledgeable manner! I sure am impressive!

    Though, if I didn¡¯t know any passion, how could I write hot-bloodedness? If I didn¡¯t know deep love, how could I write devotion?

    If my desire for others to feel happiness didn¡¯t come from the bottom of my heart, the happiness would just be a pale lie, going from emptiness to even greater emptiness. Better off without it.

    As a guy who often feels unhappy and down, developing such great emotions really isn¡¯t easy, so I need to properly build it up so that my mood takes a slight turn for the better.

    Haaaaaa, deep breath in¡­

    In the new year, may you possess the strength to face your hardships! May you possess the courage to find happiness! May you achieve happiness! No matter when or where, my words will be right by you, even if they can only offer you a moment of delight, even if they are only sincere for a moment. May they add a smear of colour to your life.

    Best wishes, Dream Teller!

 Chapter 917 Emerging From the Shell

    In that moment, Li Qingshan felt countless restraints appear on him. A tremendous force, well beyond what he could withstand, pressed over from all directions.

    The phoenix¡¯s nest distorted and changed in shape. The wutong tree branches danced around madly like demons.

    ¡°Calm down!¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand and bellowed, ¡°Do you still want to hatch the egg or not?¡±

    Only with that did Feng Xiwu gradually calm down. ¡°What are you trying to do exactly?¡±

    ¡°Obviously, it is hatching the egg. Right now, the egg is in danger of shattering and exploding at any time. It needs to be suppressed. I¡¯m only most confident when it''s inside my body. Stop being so impulsive all the time.¡±

    ¡°This is all your idea. You better succeed, or I¡¯ll never forgive you!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯ll¡­ there¡¯ll be an outcome very soon.¡± Li Qingshan completely disregarded Feng Xiwu¡¯s threat, lying down with his hands under his head. His tremendous body was like a small, black mountain, producing thunderous rumbles. He naturally gave off an aura of power and grandeur, something his human form lacked.

    Feng Xiwu shivered inside. If I give him another decade, even the phoenix¡¯s nest might not be able to restrain him! Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. I really do hope we can be friends and not enemies!

    Li Qingshan gathered his attention and sensed the scorching, unsteady phoenix¡¯s embryo in his abdomen. He could not help but pat his belly and smile to himself. ¡°I really do look like I¡¯m ten months pregnant. Originally, I said I could do everything apart from birthing children. I can even birth children now, so doesn¡¯t that make me omnipotent? Hahahaha!¡±

    Feng Xiwu did not respond to Li Qingshan¡¯s dry joke. He frowned and asked, ¡°How does it feel? You better not ¡®accidentally¡¯ digest it.¡±

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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s already settled down. If you don¡¯t believe me, why don¡¯t you give it a listen?¡± Li Qingshan shivered. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve really gone too far. Forget I said that.¡±

    Under the illumination of the spirit turtle¡¯s glow, the cracks on the phoenix¡¯s embryo remained, but they did not grow any larger. It stabilised once again. The young phoenix inside grew slowly, gradually developing a full plumage.

    Li Qingshan had spent an entire decade cultivating, advancing forwards valiantly without stopping at all. Now, even he felt rather exhausted, so he spread his limbs and snored away.

    ¡°He actually still has the courage to sleep!¡±

    Feng Xiwu shook his head. He could also sense his aura become distant and steady as he slept. His mind seemed to have ventured deep into his sea of consciousness, becoming extremely serene. The phoenix¡¯s embryo in his belly was under influence as well, no longer in danger of shattering.

    It had already been many years since Li Qingshan last slept. As his cultivation increased, he no longer had to recover mentally through sleeping, so dreaming was even more out of the question.

    It was said that people of eminence experienced no dreams. Dreams originated from unstable thoughts of the mind. Those who cultivated had minds of peace, so even when they slept, they would not dream.

    However, in his daemon form, it was not just his power that completely relaxed. His mind eased up too, unwittingly activating the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that even he had almost forgotten about.

    Suddenly, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that was already out of power shone with multiple colours, weaving into a bizarre dream.

    His past and present life, the ox, the tiger, the turtle, the phoenix, and his various attachments to the secular world were all present.

    Suddenly, he woke up from the dream one day. He felt an intense surge in his belly. The phoenix¡¯s embryo trembled violently, and the glow of the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression emerged from every single crack.

    Feng Xiwu sensed it too and appeared. Standing on Li Qingshan¡¯s hill-like nose bridge, he asked frantically, ¡°How is it?¡±

    With a sweep of his soul sense, Li Qingshan discovered that the young phoenix was complete with a beak, claws, and feathers. They had all formed properly now. It flew about in the phoenix¡¯s embryo, wanting to emerge. Over ten years of effort had finally paid off, so he could not help but be overjoyed. ¡°It¡¯s there.¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, there was a rumble in his belly like thunder. His stomach immediately swelled up and became scorching hot.

    The phoenix¡¯s embryo suddenly shattered, and a ball of fire flew out. It was only a few feet across, but it gave off a sense of unmatched nobility. It was the legendary divine bird. Its eyes were perfectly round, filled with wisdom and intelligence, searching for a way out of the cave.

    Li Qingshan opened his huge, gaping mouth and yelled, ¡°Come on out!¡±

    The little phoenix let out a cry and spread its magnificent wings, moving through the long cave. A speck of light appeared before its eyes, and it rapidly grew in size. It flew between two rows of pure-white, sharp teeth and finally saw the outside world.

    A strange thought appeared in its young but intelligent mind. Outside the eggshell were even more layers of ¡°eggshells¡±, so what kind of a place would it be outside the outermost eggshell?

    Feng Xiwu spread his arms to welcome the birth of the little phoenix. Ravishing joy filled his face. He was so excited that he almost cheered aloud.

    The little phoenix nodded gently towards Feng Xiwu before letting out another cry, which was superior to all of the zither music Feng Xiwu had produced. It penetrated the phoenix¡¯s nest clearly, such that even the divine wutong tree shook and glowed.

    A great feeling of happiness immediately filled Feng Xiwu¡¯s heart. It recognises me! It recognises me! Without any hesitation, he was certain right from the first glance that this phoenix¡¯s nest that had spent ten millennia empty had a new owner. The phoenix did not perch unless it was a wutong tree, but if a wutong tree did not have a phoenix, how was it supposed to demonstrate its aloofness?

    ¡°My friend Feng, I haven¡¯t let you down, have I? Are you satisfied now?¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. His voice was like thunder.

    ¡°I¡¯m satisfied, I¡¯m satisfied. From today onwards, you, Li Qingshan, are my friend.¡± A hint of solemnity appeared on Feng Xiwu¡¯s excited face, which demonstrated just how serious he was about the word ¡°friend¡±.

    It was even harder to earn than the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s friendship. Those who stood aloof would never have too many friends, but once they treated someone as a friend, they would never disappoint their friend. Even if he had to face the Dragon King of Ink Sea, he would not hesitate.

    Li Qingshan was about to say something when the familiar rumbling of thunder suddenly rang out by his ears. His face changed slightly. ¡°A heavenly tribulation again!¡±

    The sound of thunder gradually pulled closer, like a war chariot riding through the air. Before it had even arrived properly, its power already far surpassed the previous heavenly tribulation.

    Not only did Li Qingshan uphold his promise of hatching the phoenix¡¯s embryo, but he even upheld his promise of the strongest phoenix chick in history. The young phoenix had crossed the boundary of the second heavenly tribulation the moment it emerged from the shell, stepping into the realm of Daemon Commanders, except it had to survive the heavenly tribulation first.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Feng Xiwu¡¯s expression changed drastically. Just the first heavenly tribulation had almost shattered the phoenix¡¯s embryo, let alone the fact that it was the second heavenly tribulation this time. If the phoenix failed the tribulation, then all of their efforts would go to waste. Ten thousand years would be reduced to null and void.

    Right now, the young phoenix was only equivalent to a newborn baby, yet it had to immediately challenge a tribulation from heaven. Just how dangerous would this be?

    ¡°This can serve as the first lesson in its life! No matter how much external assistance you receive, you still have to walk your path yourself. No one can replace you. Whether you succeed or fail, that¡¯s all on you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and roared at the little phoenix, ¡°If you want to achieve the extraordinary, then how can you not challenge it with your life on the line? Go!¡±

    The little phoenix lowered its head and listened as if it was learning. Then it raised its elegant head and gazed at the approaching lightning. A smear of determination flashed through its eyes, and it suddenly spread its wings, soaring into the sky to receive the first bolt of lightning.

    Boom!

    The lightning produced a flash of seven colours. Its feathers that had just grown out fell through the air, like great, colourful flakes of snow.

    Feng Xiwu¡¯s heart suddenly tightened. Li Qingshan silently cheered it on too.

    The tribulation lightning were like weapons, slashing against the little phoenix viciously and leaving behind horrific wounds. Although it was endowed with endless life and vitality, the rate at which the wounds closed was nowhere close to the tribulation lightning¡¯s destruction.

    However, its clear cries became even more determined and courageous, dancing through the lightning. As a result, even the sound of thunder failed to drown it out.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile. The little phoenix was still very inexperienced with the usage of its powers, but it was already different from when it was still an embryo. It possessed much more intelligence and flexibility, and it had a sense of courage and determination about it, unaffected by the life-threatening danger. It used its full strength to fend it off desperately.

    Feng Xiwu noticed this too, which made him glance at Li Qingshan. Was it influenced by him? The phoenix possessed a noble heart, one that did not waver even at death, but it had never been known for being filled with valour and vigour.

    After who knew how long, the final clap of thunder dissipated, but it continued to linger in Li Qingshan and Feng Xiwu¡¯s ears. The scorching light was particularly blinding, dazzling both of them. Afterwards, all they saw was the little phoenix using its vermillion beak to gently comb through its new feathers, now with an additional sense of elegance and ease.

    Li Qingshan grinned widely while Feng Xiwu shut his eyes gently and exhaled deeply.

    Now that finally could be regarded as success!

    The little phoenix flew down and transformed into the shape of a young child, around two or three years old. He was draped in colourful plumage as seven long tailfeathers dragged behind him. His face and eyes were bright, like they were carved from jade. Even when he assumed a human form, he did not lose the bearing of a phoenix.

    ¡°Fucking hell, that wasn¡¯t easy at all. Fortunately, I was strong enough! Fathers, I haven¡¯t disappointed you, have I?¡±

    His voice was melodious and touching, filled with a sense of innocence, but it made Feng Xiwu shudder all over. The smile on his face stiffened.

    Li Qingshan also scratched his head. ¡°What did you just call me?¡±

    ¡°Father. Do you wish for me to call you mother instead?¡± The little phoenix blinked his eyes in an extremely adorable manner.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s not your father. You¡¯re a child of the phoenix. You have nothing to do with this bastard. You can, however, call me uncle. No, no, you¡¯re a phoenix. How can you talk like that?¡± Feng Xiwu descended into disarray. This was far too different from what he imagined.

    ¡°Of course, I understand my identity and origins, but if it weren¡¯t for your arduous care and hatching, there wouldn¡¯t be the me of today. In the past, when the peacock swallowed the buddha, the buddha burst out from its back and also called the peacock mother, let alone the fact that there¡¯s so much more kindness involved, so this term of address is most suitable, isn¡¯t it? As for what I said, that¡¯s just a mere trifle. There¡¯s no need for you to pay any mind to it, father.¡±

    The little phoenix said with his tender voice and waved his little hands in the process, coming off as even more adorable. However, even Feng Xiwu was unable to refute his words. With the phoenix¡¯s legacy, he had basically been born with knowledge.

    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. You can be my good son from today onwards! Hahahaha!¡± Li Qingshan picked up the little phoenix. He never imagined that he would become the father of someone else¡¯s child, but it sure felt nice! He once again demonstrated his startling acceptability.

    ps£º ÐÂÄê¹ýÈ¥ÁË£¬ÎÒÒ²ÒªÆÆ¿Ç¶ø³öÀ²£¡

    PS: The new year is over. I¡¯m also going to emerge from my shell!

 Chapter 918 Teaching the Son

    Feng Xiwu furrowed his brows and considered it carefully. Perhaps I can still accept the term of reference of ¡°father¡± after some effort, but- but what was that ¡°fucking hell¡± supposed to be!? It was completely unacceptable!

    The first word that the little phoenix had said after being born was actually a curse word. So much for his ten thousand years of effort.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what exactly did you do!?¡±

    Similar to how Li Qingshan had received the phoenix¡¯s legacy, his dream silently carried out another series of annetenal training for the little phoenix, adding an element of ¡°Qingshan¡¯s legacy¡± on top of the phoenix¡¯s legacy, which led to a wondrous effect.

    This effect left Feng Xiwu utterly fuming, grinding his teeth in hatred, but Li Qingshan liked it very much. With a single glance, he felt extremely close to the little phoenix, as if he really was his own child. That was why he recognised this son of his so happily.

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Li Qingshan said without the slightest concern and rubbed the little phoenix¡¯s head. A smile appeared on his face. ¡°My good son, I¡¯m your first father. This uncle is your second father, got that?¡±

    ¡°I got it!¡± The little phoenix nodded with a smile, as innocent as he could be. He was naturally attached to Li Qingshan who had hatched him.

    ¡°Shut your mouth¡­ I¡¯m the first father!¡±

    Feng Xiwu vaguely guessed what had happened. He knew that there was nothing he could do about it anymore, so his priority right now was to claim an active role for himself and guide the little phoenix through stringent education, just in case Li Qingshan¡¯s influence grew. As a result, he had to claim the title of ¡°first father¡±!

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes and sparks flew. He never liked being second!

    Feng Xiwu snickered. He had already extended his hands towards the little phoenix. He said gently, ¡°Come, darling. Come to first father!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± the little phoenix said.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to your second father¡¯s nonsense. Isn¡¯t your first father right here?¡± He glanced at Feng Xiwu from the corner of his eyes, and their eyes met. Sparks flew.

    A while later¡­

    ¡°Let go! As a gentleman, don¡¯t you even know about showing some courtesy and yielding to others? Is this how a father should be in front of his child?¡± Li Qingshan hugged the little phoenix firmly, preventing Feng Xiwu from snatching him over.

    ¡®You¡¯re the one who should let go. A virtuous friend helps out when in need, but only when in need. Unfortunately, I must contend with you on this today!¡± Feng Xiwu grabbed the little phoenix¡¯s feet and demonstrated his utmost determination.

    ¡°Stop pulling! It hurts! You bastards!¡±

    The little phoenix cried out. He was a Daemon Commander, and as a divine bird, his true strength surpassed regular Daemon Commanders, approaching the realm of Daemon Kings. However, neither of his fathers were weak. Feng Xiwu went without saying as an old daemon, while Li Qingshan right now could butcher Daemon Kings like it was a game. Once they began arguing, the little phoenix had no say in anything.

    ¡°You little brat, do you even know how to behave? Who ever talks to their father like this?¡± Li Qingshan scolded him, but he continued to hang on tight.

    ¡°Sigh, how impolite. You need some proper guidance. Li Qingshan, this is all because of you! Why don¡¯t you let go?¡± Feng Xiwu became even more certain about his guess.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you as my fathers anymore. You¡¯re bastards, bastards, bastards¡­¡± The little phoenix put up a furious struggle. It must have been due to Li Qingshan¡¯s influence. Once he became carried away, he refused to yield to either of them.

    Li Qingshan and Feng Xiwu exchanged glances and frowned. The same thought flashed through both of their heads, This isn¡¯t the way. I¡¯m going to lose my status as a father before we even decide who¡¯ll be the first father. Compared to the dignity of being a father, who comes first is secondary.

    ¡°Fine then! I¡¯ll count to three, and we¡¯ll let go together!¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Feng Xiwu said.

    ¡°One, two, three!¡± Li Qingshan counted to three. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you letting go? Is failing to keep your word something a gentleman should do?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you no different? Hmph, I treat gentlemen as a gentleman would, and I treat rascals as a rascal would. Don¡¯t even think about deceiving me for a second.¡±

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re evil!¡± The little phoenix sulked. He had witnessed the so-called vile side of human nature and society the moment after he was born.

    Finally, after a series of negotiations, the little phoenix landed on the ground safely, but what followed was a barrage of scolding.

    The little phoenix could not help but regret what he had just said, when he expressed that he still recognised them as his fathers. He dared not call them bastards again. He felt utterly wronged, deep with regret inside. He should not have recognised them as his fathers so impulsively, just because he was overjoyed at the prospect of new life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Just you wait until I, your first father, take you out to see the colourful world and enjoy its prosperity. How¡¯s that?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed the little phoenix¡¯s head with a smile.

    ¡°Okay! Okay! When?¡± The little phoenix was still a child at heart. He immediately forgot about his unfortunate experience earlier and became eager to leave this larger egg, to see the outside world.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt quite good about himself. I might¡¯ve never been a dad in any of my lives, but I have seen plenty of dads. Right when he was about to answer, Feng Xiwu violently interrupted him.

    ¡°No, now is still not the time. You¡¯ve just been born. Do you know just how dangerous it is outside? Do you know just how many people want to use your blood to lengthen their lives? You still have a lot to learn.¡±

    The little phoenix immediately showed a long face, gazing at Li Qingshan for help.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Do you really think someone can still harm him when I¡¯m around? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a baby chicken, at risk of being stepped on no matter where he goes, either. Back then, when I first came out of the mountains, who knows just how much worse I was off than him. Didn¡¯t I still end up living until today?¡±

    Feng Xiwu completely ignored Li Qingshan. He said to the little phoenix, ¡°Don¡¯t look at him. If I were to forbid it, even he can¡¯t leave here.¡±

    ¡°Sigh! Are you really going to use force?¡± Li Qingshan said furiously.

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    ¡°So what if I am?¡±

    Their gazes clashed once more. The phoenix¡¯s nest woven from the divine wutong tree turned into a tremendous restraining power. In this domain, Feng Xiwu was its master.

    However, Li Qingshan took a step forward, and his body radiated with a violent aura. For a moment, even Feng Xiwu was unable to hold him at bay.

    His ten years of arduous cultivation was not for nothing. The greatest characteristic of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was that it became harder with progress, but it also became stronger at the same time. After breaking through to the fourth layer of the Phoenix Transformation and balancing water and fire yet again, his current strength was even greater than when he first set foot in the phoenix¡¯s nest.

    At this moment, a figure arrived beneath the divine wutong tree and entered the phoenix¡¯s nest. She was dressed in an extremely simple manner, but it was unable to obscure her great beauty. Her expression was completely neutral, but her bright eyes were filled with an indescribably mysterious aura.

    Xiao An had returned.

    As soon as she entered the phoenix¡¯s nest, she saw Feng Xiwu and Li Qingshan confronting each other with daggers drawn, glaring at one another, which left her slightly surprised. According to her calculations, the likelihood that they would fall out was very low, unless some irreconcilable dispute arose, such as the phoenix¡¯s embryo shattering.

    However, the unfamiliar child was clearly the newly-born phoenix. He should have been able to turn them into friends. When she learnt the entire story, she could not help but become a little speechless. As a result, she asked a single question.

    She pointed at the little phoenix. ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Only now did Li Qingshan and Feng Xiwu remember this duty.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t naming the child the first thing that his father should consider?¡±

    Feng Xiwu said in agreement, ¡°Yes. You¡¯re still the thoughtful one, Xiao An. This bastard almost made me lose my wits out of anger. I will tend to the matter of giving a name. Those who are ignorant and incompetent, lacking in talent or virtue, should just keep their mouths shut!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you can name him.¡± Li Qingshan did not object.

    ¡°That¡¯s rare of you to be so self-aware!¡± Feng Xiwu was very surprised.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as he takes my surname, Li.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°If that can be tolerated, what cannot?¡±

    As a result, their old dispute was settled by the new dispute.

    Xiao An shook her head and approached the little phoenix. She had to closely observe this ¡°son¡± that Li Qingshan had hatched.

    The little phoenix took a step back like he had been frightened. Neither of his legacies had bestowed him with the element of cowardice. Even when he faced the bolts of tribulation lightning, he had received them fearlessly. However, Xiao An, who was as beautiful as a heavenly maiden, enough to enchant all living creatures, made him feel a hint of fear. It felt as if he had encountered an extremely dangerous monster.

    The phoenix was a divine bird of eternal life, while the pledge of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was to destroy all living creatures. It was no longer just out of bloodthirstiness, but for the sake of extinction.

    Xiao An stopped and thought, Sure enough, it really is a divine bird. She instinctively wanted to learn all about him. During the decade she had spent with the Divine Nun of the South Sea, she had not been intrigued by anything. Instead, she was intrigued by a newly-born baby chick.

    Feng Xiwu noticed this as well. He glanced at Xiao An in confusion and asked the little phoenix, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What, are you frightened?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m not afraid of anyone. I was just surprised earlier!¡± The little phoenix immediately widened his eyes and proactively made his way before Xiao An. He raised his head and gazed at Xiao An to show that he felt no fear.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not afraid.¡± Xiao An smiled and scooped up the little phoenix.

    The little phoenix shivered inside. Her hands were warm and soft as her body gave off the smell of sandalwood. The rare smile on her face made her utterly bewitching, but it made him feel very uncomfortable. Actually, even he was unable to clearly describe what he was fearing. Of course, he did not know either that this sense of fear would accompany him for a very, very long time.

    The little phoenix flew away as soon as Xiao An loosen her grip on him.

    Li Qingshan and Feng Xiwu had their daggers drawn again. They bickered a little, and the atmosphere heated up. They were basically about to start fighting.

    The little phoenix clapped his hands and cheered. ¡°Fight! Fight! The stronger one is the first father!¡±

    ¡°Your two fathers fighting¡ªnow that¡¯s not something this child would like to see.¡± Xiao An appeared behind the little phoenix again and placed her hands on his shoulder gently. She lowered her head and asked, ¡°Right?¡±

    The little phoenix shivered. ¡°Yes, yes. Stop fighting, fathers! I don¡¯t want to see it!¡±

    Feng Xiwu responded with a question, ¡°Lassie, what do you think we should do then?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Why not just rock-paper-scissors?¡±

    It took Feng Xiwu a moment to understand. While rock-paper-scissors seemed like a child¡¯s game, it was not actually that simple in practise. It required reaction speed, psychological conditioning, and most importantly, senses over the fluctuations of the heavenly secrets.

    ¡°Good idea. What do you think?¡± Feng Xiwu asked Li Qingshan. He personally believed he was a major realm of cultivation and several minor realms of cultivation higher than Li Qingshan, so he possessed an absolute advantage when it came to his grasp over the heavenly secrets. It was a guaranteed victory for him.

    ¡°I obviously have no objections to Xiao An¡¯s ideas.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid you¡¯ll change your mind after you lose.¡±

    ¡°Change my mind? Do you really think I¡¯m you? Since you¡¯re willing, then let¡¯s do it!¡± With a sweep of his sleeves, Feng Xiwu balled his fist and prepared himself with great grace.

 Chapter 919 Great Plagues

    ¡°H- how is this possible!?¡±

    Feng Xiwu stared at his right hand, dumbfounded. His index and middle fingers were extended, forming a ¡°scissors¡±. However, it was met with Li Qingshan¡¯s tightly-clenched fist, clearly a ¡°rock¡±. Li Qingshan smiled resplendently.

    Feng Xiwu originally possessed absolute confidence in his grasp over the heavenly secrets, but in the moment they clashed, he felt the heavenly secrets being completely obscured from him. He could not read what Li Qingshan was about to play anymore, which perturbed him slightly. As a result, Li Qingshan grasped the opportunity and made his decision according to the movements of Feng Xiwu¡¯s hand.

    Victory had already been determined in that split second.

    ¡°What¡¯s so impossible about this? If you¡¯ve lost, then you¡¯ve lost! Are you going to admit your defeat or not?¡± Li Qingshan waved his ¡°rock¡± around in front of Xiao An before grinning at the little phoenix. ¡°My good son, you¡¯ve got to take my surname, Li!¡±

    ¡°Mighty be first father!¡± The little phoenix gave him a thumbs-up.

    ¡°Qingshan, why don¡¯t we, uhh, go for a best of three rounds?¡± Feng Xiwu whispered softly, squeezing out a plea after great difficulty.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Li Qingshan declined firmly. A major element behind his victory this time was luck. Even if he had the spirit turtle to obscure the heavenly secrets, it was absolutely impossible for him to read Feng Xiwu¡¯s movements either. If Feng Xiwu had not shown an opening, he had less than a thirty percent chance of winning. If they went for another two bouts, who knew what the end result would be.

    ¡°You- you- you-¡± Feng Xiwu ¡°you¡±-ed for a good while, but at the end of the day, he was still a man of his word. His principles forced him to accept this result, but he was unable to bear with his own failure.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re not happy with this, senior Feng, but please consider this, senior. Qingshan¡¯s strength right now might be below senior¡¯s, but what about a century into the future? It¡¯s impossible for this phoenix to remain on Fire Melt mountain forever, under senior¡¯s protection. You can¡¯t roam around freely either, senior. Given the size of the nine provinces and the immensity of the world, who can still protect him? Parental love is to see and plan far ahead, so please consider that, senior.¡±

    Xiao An explained patiently. Unlike Li Qingshan¡¯s recklessness and fearlessness, her considerations for him were even more far-reaching than his own considerations for himself. Maintaining a good relationship with Feng Xiwu was extremely important. Not only was he a powerful ally, but he could help Li Qingshan continue to practise the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a as well. If he wanted to break through to the fifth layer of the phoenix in the future, the divine wutong tree would be the best place for cultivation. With Feng Xiwu¡¯s assistance, he could basically make everything twice as easy.

    ¡°You lassie. You really do deserve to be called ¡®wise¡¯. I clearly know you¡¯re scheming with this kid against me, yet I cannot help but admit that¡¯s very reasonable. Alright then. If he¡¯s surnamed Li, then he¡¯s surnamed Li. If I¡¯m the second father, then I¡¯m the second father!¡±

    Feng Xiwu sighed. He was insightful. He could see that Li Qingshan possessed tremendous potential. He had a very good chance at ascending, so he could truly serve as the ¡°first father¡±.

    ¡°You should have said that a long time ago! You can come up with the name!¡± Li Qingshan smiled widely.

    Feng Xiwu had already come up with some ideas. After a slight pause, he said, ¡°The word phoenix, fenghuang, is broken into ¡®feng¡¯ and ¡®huang¡¯. The ¡®feng¡¯ is male and the ¡®huang¡¯ is female. As for the second character in his name, he might as well take my surname and let it be ¡®feng¡¯. ¡®Yuan¡¯ is the beginning. The cycle of nirv¨¡?a rebirth you will go through, the lives you will live in the future, have all begun today, so I¡¯ll set the last character as ¡®yuan¡¯. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°Li Fengyuan¡­ Li Fengyuan¡­¡± The little phoenix repeated under his breath and became even happier. He corrected his posture, dropped down to his knees, and bowed his head deeply. ¡°Thank you for bestowing me with my name, fathers. Fengyuan will never forget about the grace of his birth!¡± However, when he raised his head again, no one was there.

    As it turned out, Feng Xiwu and Li Qingshan had both moved out of the way, avoiding his bow.

    ¡°Is there something that the two fathers are dissatisfied about with me?¡± Li Fengyuan pouted.

    Feng Xiwu said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget about your bloodline. Since you are a phoenix¡¯s child, you shouldn¡¯t lower your head to anyone, even us!¡±

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    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I hate kneeling in front of others the most, and I also hate others kneeling in front of me. As for that ¡°grace of birth¡± or whatever it is, that¡¯s even more bullshit. You don¡¯t owe us anything.¡±

    Feng Xiwu and Li Qingshan exchanged glances and smiled.

    Li Fengyuan sank into his thoughts, and his eyes twinkled. He bounded up from the ground and clapped his hands cheerfully. ¡°I get it, I get it! There is no higher or lower. There is no duality! I definitely won¡¯t disappoint the two fathers, no, I won¡¯t disappoint myself!¡±

    Xiao An sighed inside. It really was the phoenix¡¯s legacy after all. This ability to comprehend, this intelligence, was extraordinary.

    Feng Xiwu said, ¡°But let me make this clear. Each day you don¡¯t have my recognition is each day you can¡¯t leave Fire Melt mountain. Qingshan, you don¡¯t have any objections, do you?¡±

    ¡°Heh, do whatever you like. I¡¯m going to go and consolidate my cultivation! Fengyuan, learn well from your second father. There¡¯ll be a time when you soar through the sky in the future.¡±

    Actually, Li Qingshan never had any interest in that. Time was much more important and much tighter to him than to Feng Xiwu. He had to advance valiantly as much as possible so that he could uphold his promise of the Nine Heavens.

    It was just that he never liked to stand beneath others, nor did he want to be the ¡°second¡±, which was why he contested it. Now that this had all been decided, he tossed all the other specifics to Feng Xiwu to handle. Feng Xiwu had the time anyway, and Li Qingshan believed he was much more appropriate when it came to education.

    Not only was this child who had been born with knowledge extremely intelligent and wise, he even possessed strength that neared Daemon Kings due to numerous fortuitous coincidences and efforts. At the same time, he was extremely curious too. If he was not properly guided, he would probably become a little imp of chaos right now and a great misfortune of the world in the future.

    Even without getting too ahead of himself, undergoing the third heavenly tribulation was only a matter of time for him. The possibility of failure basically did not exist. He might not even have to spend a lot of time. Even the Ten Daemon Kings might not be able to keep a pure-blooded phoenix of the third heavenly tribulation at bay. Before him, Daemon Kings transformed from regular birds and beasts would basically be like an entire cultivation realm beneath him.

    When it came to this aspect, Li Qingshan was a hybrid of many bloodlines, which led to many different innate abilities, but not a single bloodline was pure after all. They even conflicted with one another, so they instead paled slightly in comparison to the phoenix¡¯s bloodline.

    Of course, that was just being unappreciative. If regular people obtained a body of the demonic and divine, they would not utter a single word of complaint. His bloodlines continued to strengthen too, until they reached absolute purity. By then, even this supreme divine bird would be left in the dust.

    Li Qingshan left the phoenix¡¯s nest and sat down beneath the divine wutong tree. Xiao An leaned against him gently in his lap and said right by his ear, ¡°Qingshan, during the time you slumbered, the world has already descended into chaos. The flames of war rage.¡±

    ¡°Really? Has the Mist province and Green province declared war?¡± Li Qingshan gathered his attention. He felt refreshed as he sniffed the faint fragrance of sandalwood on her body.

    ¡°They already declared war two years ago. There¡¯s been around a dozen major battles and countless more smaller ones. Five great cultivators have died, but they¡¯re in a state of semi-truce right now.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    ¡°Because both provinces are experiencing plagues,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°The locust plague of the Green province and the demon plague of the Mist province.¡±

    ¡°I know about demon plagues. This isn¡¯t like the first time demonfolks have launched an incursion. But the locust plague. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s-¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He remembered the Soaring Locust King underneath the Demon Suppression hall, who had once sworn to seek revenge on him.

 Chapter 920 Chaos, Hero, Ptui!

    ¡°Is it that Soaring Locust King at work?¡±

    If it were a regular locust plague, then even at its height, it would only span a single prefecture. It would affect mortals at most, so why would the Fierce King of Chu of the Green province stop the war for this? Even a regular Daemon King could not achieve that.

    ¡°It is. He somehow managed to escape from the Demon Suppression hall. It had something to do with that senior brother One Lamp who entered the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall with you. We never considered it back then, but given the Soaring Locust King¡¯s hatred for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, why would he let him go so easily?¡±

    ¡°I see, but no matter how strong he is, he¡¯s still alone. Does the Green province really have no one that can deal with him?¡±

    ¡°You might not know, but his innate ability can produce countless clones, impossible to tell between the real and the fake. The various forces of the Green province have worked together to hunt him down numerous times, but it all ended in failure. At most, they¡¯ll just destroy a swarm of locusts, but they can¡¯t find where his true body is. After all, he suffered a heavy defeat before, even locked up in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga for all those years, so he¡¯s extremely prudent.¡±

    ¡°Sure enough, none of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings of the past are weak. Even after being imprisoned for several thousand years, they¡¯re well beyond what any regular Daemon King can rival. In the past, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga only managed to imprison him. As it seems, it wasn¡¯t out of kindness, but because they had no other choice!¡±

    ¡°I also only found out recently that despite the existence of so many Daemon Kings in the world, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga only imprisons him. With millions of insects under his lead, the land becomes barren wherever he goes. All life, humans, animals, vegetation, are eaten clean. It¡¯s said that over a hundred cities and countless villages, over ten million people in total, have already died to the mouths of the insects.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s that vicious!¡± Li Qingshan frowned deeply. Once a great Daemon King like that became determined to carry out a slaughter, it would not just be a matter of eating people anymore. It would be a matter of massacring cities and extinguishing entire kingdoms. It was even more terrifying than natural disasters. If they did not contain the situation as soon as possible, who knew how many more people would die in the Green province.

    From Xiao An¡¯s description, these locusts clearly were not any normal insects. If this continued, it would not be limited to mortals. Even some weaker Qi Practitioners would struggle to escape the fate of being eaten. Once that happened, the foundation of the Green province¡¯s cultivation community would be destroyed.

    ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga probably wants to call us back. They might have sent a message already, but the King of Yue probably intercepted it.¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes were serene.

    ¡°Seems so. Aren¡¯t you going to ask me if I want to return?¡± Li Qingshan asked. At the very least, they were still disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in-name. There was over fifty thousand kilometers and countless mountains and valleys between Fire Melt mountain and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. This was a relatively great distance even to cultivators, and they were located behind the enemy too, so the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could not order him around.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be returning whether you want to or not!¡± Xiao An smiled.

    ¡°Xiao An be the one who knows me!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and pecked her face.

    The current Green province was like a great whirlpool. Once he set foot in there, he would immediately be entangled in numerous matters.

    Here, the Great Banyan Tree King was his friend, and the divine wutong tree could offer him protection, but in the Green province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea was a mortal enemy, and there was now the Soaring Locust King too.

    Here, he could stand aloof from the battle through his complicated identity. The King of Southern Yue would not demand anything from him. However, once he returned to the Green province, neither his or Xiao An¡¯s identity permitted them to remain uninvolved.

    However, he had to return to the Green province, as there were still promises he had not upheld yet, kindness he had not paid back yet, and a lover he had not spent any time together with yet.

    He pursued power, but it was not for the sake of evading all of this. If he remained in a vacuum, away from all people and all matters, it was pointless no matter how powerful he was!

    As a result, he wanted to return. The current him was no longer the same as the person that had first come to the Mist province. He was confident he could put up a fight no matter what difficulties or enemies he faced.

    ¡°After holing up for so long, it¡¯s time to go for a walk. Just cultivating away blindly can easily lead to bottlenecks. Oh right, how¡¯s your cultivation going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already completed the comprehension for the third layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. I just lack many resources.¡±

    ¡°Girl, you must have a plan in your mind already. Let¡¯s hear it.¡± Li Qingshan urged her.

    ¡°Do you remember the demon plague I just mentioned?¡± Xiao An smiled.

    ¡°Oh, I haven¡¯t even gotten round to that. What happened exactly?¡±

    ¡°The source of the demon plague lies in Bone Eating city¡­¡±

    Xiao An explained the full story regarding the demon plague. As it turned out, the Demon domain had opened passageways into the World of the Nine Provinces numerous times in the past to invade it. Although these passageways had all been sealed after the battle, and the world itself could regenerate, some of the larger passageways were difficult to repair. They could only be sealed up and suppressed, known as places of demon suppression.

    ¡°Bone Eating city is a place of demon suppression like that?¡± Li Qingshan had learnt about Bone Eating city through the Myriad Poison Ancestor a long time ago. That was basically a living city of demonfolk. There was basically nothing strange at all if the Bone Eating Shaman King did something like that.

    ¡°No, or the King of Yue¡¯s estate wouldn¡¯t be so powerless. The Demon Suppression hall where we once visited is a true place of demon suppression. It¡¯s watched by your master, the Unraging monk, all year round, which instead makes it very safe. However, not all places of demon suppression are watched by large sects like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    ¡°Even if there are, the demonic sects of the Mist province are probably extremely willing to work with the demonfolk to obtain even greater power.¡± Li Qingshan understood that as long as there were benefits, these demonic cultivators could do anything imaginable.

    ¡°Yeah. The Mist province in particular has a large number of places of demon suppression. It¡¯s reeking with demon qi now. The demonfolk have come again.¡±

    ¡°To think that a mere Bone Eating Shaman King can achieve something like this!¡± Li Qingshan had some doubts. Through the battle of Fire Melt mountain, he understood that even great cultivators were not invincible. It was not like the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate was an imbecile. Were they truly unable to handle a single Bone Eating Shaman King?

    ¡°The King of Southern Yue already flattened Bone Eating city a year ago. The Bone Eating Shaman King fled into the Demon domain with heavy injuries, but in my opinion, he only plays the role of a guide, allowing the Demon domain to direct their attention here again and launch another invasion when the opportunity arises. Actually, as long as the demonfolk are determined enough, they can still carve out a passageway into this world even without these places of demon suppression.¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s a traitorous guide!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but recall the history in his past life. Foreign invasions were often closely-tied to internal strife. The Great Xia empire had established the nine provinces and forcefully united the humans and daemons, so it was pointless for the demonfolk to invade.

    Now that the world was in chaos, humans, otherfolk, and daemons were all in conflict with one another. It was completely impossible for them to unite together.

    If it were the Green province, then it might have been fine. Righteous sects like the Sword Collection palace and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga still possessed the spirit of sacrifice, to purge demons for the righteous path. However, in a land of wilderness like the Mist province where demonic cultivators ran amuck, who would be willing to risk their lives to hold off the demonfolk? The traitorous guides would probably appear wave after wave.

    ¡°Looks like the king¡¯s estates of both provinces aren¡¯t the only ones waiting for an opportunity to strike. Treating the nine provinces as a chessboard is just a lie. No one can anticipate the variations on this chessboard. I understand what you¡¯re saying. Since no one¡¯s willing to play the hero, let¡¯s do it!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was destined to have a foundation built from large-scale massacre. However, let alone the fact that he disliked slaughtering innocent people, even if he was completely unconcerned by it, indiscriminate slaughter from a logical perspective would definitely turn the entire world against him, such that he would be besieged from all sides. These invading demonfolk were the best choice as enemies.

    With a clang, he drew Tiger¡¯s Fang and pointed it at the sky.

    ¡°My great blade is already out of patience and is thirsty for blood!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Several days later, a hundred kilometers north of Fire Melt mountain.

    Among the endless volcanoes, an outcrop existed in the centre of a flowing river of lava. A tiny flower bloomed from the fiery-red rock. At first glance, it seemed like a dandelion, but it was clearly red like fire.

    Two shamans wielded weapons on both sides of the river, confronting one another. One of them was a huge man with a head full of fiery-red hair, while the other was a skinny man with skin dark like coal, covered in fiery tattoos. They greedily stared at the red flower on the outcrop.

    ¡°Black-ass, this is the King of Savages¡¯ territory. Do you really want to oppose me?¡± The burly man stifled his voice as if he would disturb something terrifying if he raised his voice slightly.

    ¡°Mongrel, half of the blood that flows in you is Fire Devouring Folk. Don¡¯t you know that the King of Savages hates fire devourers the most? If you disturb him, he¡¯ll crush you to paste with a single punch. You can forget about fighting over the Fire Velvet flower with me!¡±

    The four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain was a special, blessed land, which nurtured many strange and exotic treasures that did not exist elsewhere. The Fire Velvet flower was one of them. Back when the fire devourers were in prominence, no one could approach this place. Only after the fire devourers had been rendered extinct and the King of Savages had occupied the main peak for secluded cultivation did some bolder shamans and cultivators approach this place to dig up and collect items like fire spiritual stones.

    Let alone the fact that Li Qingshan was completely unaware of this in the phoenix¡¯s nest, but even if he knew, he would not care. These ¡°strange and exotic treasures¡± were worthless in his eyes.

    As time went on, more and more bold people appeared, constantly attempting to venture deeper into the mountains. After all, the good items increased the closer they were to the main peak. With risk came reward. Neither shamans nor demonic cultivators lacked courage in this department. On top of that, conflict existed wherever benefits existed. Who knew how many times an incident like today had occurred among the four hundred kilometers of Fire Melt mountain already.

    The two of them both had their fears, but neither of them were willing to give up on this. Right as a great battle was about to erupt, a tender, clear voice suddenly rang out from behind, ¡°You bastards, what are you doing in my home!?¡±

    A little child dressed in colourful plumage, so perfect in appearance that he seemed like he had been carved from jade, leapt out of the lava. He swept around with his intelligent eyes, and that was enough for him to understand exactly what was going on. He said furiously, ¡°How dare you pick my flower! I¡¯ll kill you with a gob of my spit!¡±

    Both the burly man and dark-skinned man were taken aback. Their faces sank. They both possessed cultivations at the first heavenly tribulation¡ªotherwise, they would have never dared to venture deeply into the mountains. They were both regarded as very powerful in their respective tribe and sect, revered by all. Now that they had suddenly been cursed right to the face, how they felt inside went without saying.

    ¡°Where¡¯d this little bastard come from? Are you tired of living, acting all presumptuous before me, the Fierce Fire Venerable?¡± the burly man bellowed. His muscles rippled, but thoughts flickered through his head rapidly, This is clearly the King of Savages¡¯ territory. I¡¯ve never heard about a kid like him, and he speaks so boldly given his measly age, even saying this is his home. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the flower spirit of this Fire Velvet flower?

    That would make sense. So he was merely putting on a front!

    The cultivation community did not place much emphasis on physical appearance and age, but how powerful could a two or three-year-old child like him be? He had probably just been born. Most importantly, due to a certain wutong tree¡¯s guidance, the child did not radiate with any powerful auras. His vulgar language also cancelled out the noble, divine aura he was born with.

    The child did not waste any more words on them. He planted his hands on his hips, raised his chest and tilted his head backwards slightly. He let out a ¡°harggh¡± in his throat, followed by a ¡°ptui¡±!

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 Chapter 921 A Guest from the Green Province

    A scarlet streak of light pierced through the air, and the burly man¡¯s forehead lit up. Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew over, diverting the scarlet light slightly and shooting past his ear.

    The man only felt his ear heat up. He had yet to realise what had happened. He continued to curse away, ¡°You damned brat, you¡¯re really sick of living, aren¡¯t you? Just you watch as your grandfather¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish, he saw the horrified expression of the dark-skinned man on the other side of the river as he stared right behind him. He could not help but turn around, only to discover a fiery-red hole in the rock behind him. It widened as it went, piercing three hundred meters into the mountain. Even the rock that had endured several millions years of baking in the flames of the earth showed signs of melting.

    The man gulped. This did not seem to be what a newborn flower spirit was capable of. If the hole had appeared on his head, then that would be it for him. Just like how luck would run out one day, Fire Melt mountain truly was not some safe place to be.

    ¡°Hmm? Why¡¯d it miss?¡± Li Fengyuan scratched his head in confusion. ¡°Whatever! I¡¯ll go again! Harggh¡ª¡±

    A shadow loomed over, and a huge hand fell down from above, pressing his little head down heavily.

    Boom! The outcrop was smashed to pieces, the lava splashed into the air, and the air whistled by.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening now!?¡±

    The burly man and the dark-skinned man both widened their eyes. Only when the dust settled did they see a large man crouching above the river of lava, pressing the arrogant child¡¯s head into the lava. Meanwhile, the outcrop had collapsed. The boom was clearly a result of them colliding together.

    The child who had almost claimed their lives had his head pressed into the ground, which they both found to be surreal. From that person¡¯s appearance and strength, was he perhaps the King of Savages, Li Qingshan?

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    The thought made their hearts lurch at the same time. They had just gotten out of the frying pan, only to end up in the fire. They really had not checked the calendar today. They had come out looking to die.

    They wondered how they would feel if their situations were reversed. If someone had infiltrated their territory and even tried to steal something, not only would they kill them, but they would even torture them, making an example out of them. Not to mention that the King of Savages was infamous for his ruthlessness. He could kill without even batting an eye. His infamy was resounding. They were dead for sure.

    ¡°Thank you for saving my life, King of Savages. I¡¯ve long admired your great reputation. I¡¯ve always wanted to pledge myself to you, but I was not fortunate enough to do so. I¡¯ve been pacing around Fire Melt mountain the entire time, just in hopes of seeing you. My dream has really come true today!¡± the burly man dropped to his knees with a plop and said with utmost gratitude. He even squeezed out a tear from the corner of his eye.

    The dark-skinned man cursed him for his spinelessness. He could never bring himself to say something so shameless. He knelt down in a hurry and bowed his head.

    Li Qingshan scolded Li Fengyuan. ¡°Damned brat, have you had enough? Don¡¯t you know how your second father taught you? Don¡¯t spit on the ground and don¡¯t curse! I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve taken it to heart at all!¡±

    The burly man and dark-skinned man were both alarmed. So this place really was the child¡¯s home. He was either the King of Savages¡¯ disciple or son, which was no wonder why he was so vicious and ruthless.

    And when they heard what the King of Savages said, they were devastated. Not spitting on the ground and not cursing was even more important than their lives.

    ¡°You taught me all of this! Father Feng has already told me that I shouldn¡¯t have ended up like this. It¡¯s all because of you, it¡¯s all because of you!¡± Li Fengyuan put up a fierce struggle in great disagreement, making the river of lava surge, but how could he stand a chance against Li Qingshan¡¯s strength?

    Li Qingshan grabbed him by the collar and lifted him out of the lava, only to see his hands crossed and his little face indignant. He could not help but smile. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. If it weren¡¯t for me, how would you still be alive and kicking? It¡¯s not like spitting and cursing is some kind of great sin. That¡¯s called being open-minded. Your second father doesn¡¯t understand this at all. So much for his wisdom. All he knows is how to flap his lips behind someone¡¯s back like a woman¡­¡±

    Rumble! The main peak in the distance shook violently as if it was about to erupt.

    Li Qingshan stopped talking and grinned, only to discover a similar smile on Li Fengyuan¡¯s face, which seemed to be saying, Why aren¡¯t you continuing?

    Li Qingshan could not help but shake his head. He really could not shirk away from the blame, so he changed the topic. ¡°Why did you sneak out here instead of focusing on cultivating?¡±

    ¡°First father, I¡¯ve come to send you off, as well as to get a breath of fresh air.¡± Li Fengyuan folded his hands and revealed a fawning smile.

    ¡°You know I¡¯m leaving?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised.

    ¡°We¡¯re father and son. I know exactly what you want to do, first father.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re begging me to take you along!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re second father¡¯s opponent, so what¡¯s the point of begging you?¡± Li Qingshan showed a hint of contempt.

    ¡°Y- you can forget about coaxing me into action! Anyway, your second father is right! Now¡¯s still not the time! You should go back!¡± Li Qingshan let him go. ¡°You¡¯re still too weak right now. I have quite a lot of enemies. When I¡¯m caught up in a fight, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to protect you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father. I¡¯ll definitely cultivate well. By then, I¡¯ll help you fight. I definitely won¡¯t get in your way!¡± Li Fengyuan patted his chest and guaranteed.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He really had emerged from his belly after all. He truly suited his tastes. He could not help but recall what brother ox had said in the past, so he said, ¡°I await for that day!¡±

    Logically speaking, Li Qingshan¡¯s long dream was absolutely nothing compared to the phoenix¡¯s legacy, but it just happened to have a great influence on Li Fengyuan¡¯s personality. It even left Feng Xiwu dumbfounded. All he could do was sigh. ¡°A rat¡¯s droppings have ruined the entire pot of soup.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the two of them?¡± Li Fengyuan pointed.

    Li Qingshan glanced over, and the two men both shivered.

    Li Qingshan said coldly, ¡°We can¡¯t let them leave here!¡± The little phoenix¡¯s existence was significant. If news made it out, who knew how many people would covet him. It was better to avoid the trouble altogether.

    The two of them were utterly frightened. They cried out, ¡°Show mercy, King of Savages!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Fengyuan was invigorated. He rubbed his hands and pursed his lips, showing absolutely no fear towards slaughter.

    ¡°But don¡¯t kill them.¡± Li Qingshan could sense that to him, killing people was no different from a kid crushing ants. Things like respecting life and a sense of guilt was all bullshit to him. There was only the simplest form of amusement, which was not a good sign. Although it would still be unavoidable for him to be splattered with blood one day, he had to understand the significance behind slaughter at the very least.

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    ¡°Why?¡± Li Fengyuan pulled a long face. He said in great reluctance, ¡°They even tried to steal my flower!¡± He raised his right hand as he said that, which happened to be holding the Fire Velvet flower.

    Since when? Li Qingshan was mildly surprised before breaking out in laughter. He really was a natural divine bird after all, the leader of avians. Just his talent alone was a thousand times greater than that boy cowherd of the past.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m stronger than him!¡± Li Qingshan said sternly, ¡°I said you can¡¯t, so you can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being unreasonable, first father!¡± Li Fengyuan cried out. Feng Xiwu was a modest, self-disciplined gentleman. When he spent time with Li Fengyuan, he placed particular focus on his bearing as a gentleman. He would never be as rude and unreasonable as Li Qingshan.

    ¡°That¡¯s my surname. I¡¯m most reasonable.¡± Li Qingshan grinned, leading Li Fengyuan utterly livid.

    TL: In Chinese, ¡°reason¡± is Àí (l¨«). Their surname, ¡°Li¡±, is Àî (l¨«). It¡¯s pronounced the same.

    ¡°Anyway, you can deal with them. I¡¯m setting off!¡± Li Qingshan glanced from the corner of his eye and saw Xiao An standing gently on the top of a mountain in the distance.

    ¡°Farewell, father. May you be ever-victorious and may everything go in your favour!¡± Li Fengyuan became solemn, folding his hands and bowing. His plumage drifted. Despite still being very young, he already possessed a hint of a composed bearing.

    Li Qingshan nodded and said nothing more. He took a step in the air, and he had already arrived on the distant mountain.

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    ¡°Be sure to visit me when you have time!¡± Li Fengyuan staggered a few steps forward, and his eyes became misty. Tears trickled down his cheeks, with every single droplet translucent. When they landed on the Fire Velvet flower in his hand, it immediately bloomed even more gloriously.

    He was still a child at the end of the day. He was still not accustomed to partings.

    They could not be regarded as actual father and son, and they had not spent a lot of time together, but he was particularly attached to this first father of his who gave him his surname.

    ¡°Once I get back, I¡¯ll butcher you if you can¡¯t even withstand three strikes from me!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from afar. He had already vanished into the horizon.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Fengyuan wiped away his tears. Looking around, he saw the burly man and dark-skinned man staring at him, which made him say, ¡°What¡¯re you looking at? Haven¡¯t you seen good men shed tears before? You two bastards, get over here!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The mountains rose and fell, the forests were dense, and the mist was never-ending.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An travelled several thousand kilometers and arrived before Savage mountain. They passed through the fog and arrived in the valley, but the sight before them left them slightly surprised.

    A city sat in the valley, littered with halls and buildings. People bustled about. If it were not for the great banyan tree that shrouded the sky, it was basically like when they first set foot on Savage mountain.

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s delighted voice rang out in his mind, ¡°You¡¯ve returned!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve returned.¡±

    ¡°As long as you¡¯ve returned. There¡¯s a person who¡¯s been waiting for you for quite some time now!¡±

    ¡°Oh? Who?¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Stop right there! How did you get here? How dare you intrude on our Savage mountain!¡± A man with pigments on his face and a spear in his land leapt out, questioning them loudly. When his gaze drifted past Xiao An, he was unable to move it away from her anymore. He was infatuated.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to be asking!¡± Li Qingshan laughed loudly and stopped keeping a low profile. He allowed his aura to radiate as he strode towards the great banyan tree.

    The man with the spear shuddered. All he felt was the tall man¡¯s figure right before him grow larger and larger, eventually blotting out the sky and filling his eyes. He was like a mountain pressing towards him.

    The valley fell silent. Everyone raised their heads at the same time. Their hearts thumped away.

    A while earlier, a monk leaned over a table in a raucous tavern as he stuffed himself. His face was dark and ugly, and his grey monk robes were covered in a layer of grease, which formed black and yellow spots. A great string of prayer beads hung around his neck.

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    People would greet him from time to time and tease him. ¡°Ugly monk, you really can¡¯t go without meat, can you!¡±

    The ugly monk raised his head and grinned with his oily mouth, revealing a simple and honest smile.

    The ugly monk had come to Savage mountain over two years ago. Back then, the two provinces had yet to formally declare war, but Savage mountain had already developed to its current scale. Many shamans and cultivators gathered here. This was not a shelter for fugitives anymore, but it was still the south after all, so finding a person good at heart was even more difficult than ascending.

    The ugly monk¡¯s arrival formed an exception to this rule. His simple and honest face pissed people off no matter where he went. In the beginning, people all thought he was faking it. This place had never lacked any actors or posers anyway. But gradually, everyone realised that was not the case. The ugly monk was actually simple. He did not fight back, nor did he curse back. Instead, he persuaded everyone to do good.

    This place was basically an example of good people getting abused. Convincing others to do good was no different from cursing them. As a result, the ugly monk was cursed and beaten up even more. If it were not for the fact that killing was forbidden in the valley, perhaps he would have been beaten to death a long time ago.

    This lasted until one day when the people that the ugly monk had advised countless times began disappearing one by one, but the cave masters all remained silent. It was rumored that the ugly monk transformed into a monster and ate all the missing people, that he was actually a direct disciple of the first cave master, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber. Only then did everyone treat him politely.

    However, the ugly monk continued as before, remaining simple-minded and advising others to do good. No one knew his name or dharma name, nor did anyone know why he had come or why he was here, up until now.

    The ugly monk suddenly raised his head and leapt up. He beamed in surprise. ¡°First senior brother!¡±

    He was about to rush out of the tavern when he suddenly studied himself with a frown. With a tremble of his clothes, his robes became clean like they were new. With a shudder, he became spotless. The filthy prayer beads around his neck recovered their shine too, flowing with different colours. He had turned into a neat and tidy ugly monk before arriving before Li Qingshan as a grey blur. He brought his palms together and bowed.

    ¡°First senior brother, do you still recognise me?¡±

    ¡°Duoge, you really have grown up quite a lot. How long have you been here?¡± Li Qingshan immediately understood; this was the person the Great Banyan Tree King spoke of that had been waiting for him for quite some time now. As it turned out, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was not just trying to call him back. They had already sent someone over.

 Chapter 922 Returning to the Mountain

    ¡°Not too long, just two years. First senior brother, it¡¯s been twenty years since we last saw each other.¡±

    ¡°So much time has passed already.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly became a little breathless. The decade or so he spent in secluded cultivation on Fire Melt mountain, coupled with the years he ran around in the south, really was twenty years. To mortals, just how lengthy could twenty years be? Even if it was not enough for entire seas to vanish, nothing would be the same anymore. However, to cultivators, it actually felt surprisingly short.

    The little demonfolk he had saved from the Demon Suppression hall had already grown into an adult before he knew it. Although he had yet to undergo the second heavenly tribulation, he was not weak anymore.

    ¡°First senior brother, master told me to get you to return. Senior Great Banyan Tree King said you were in secluded cultivation, so I¡¯ve been waiting here.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± Li Qingshan patted Duoge on the shoulder and continued towards the great banyan tree.

    Duoge did not urge him anymore. He followed behind him silently, but he never even looked at Xiao An directly the entire time.

    At this moment, a fatty that resembled a mountain of flesh came up to receive him. He squeezed out a wide smile on his face. ¡°My king, you¡¯ve emerged!¡± Behind him stood around seven or eight cave masters, none of which Li Qingshan had seen before. They all gazed at this ¡°King of Savages¡± with differing feelings and bowed. ¡°Greetings, King of Savages.¡±

    ¡°Fatty the second, no, it¡¯s fatty the first now. You haven¡¯t faced the third heavenly tribulation yet, have you? I¡¯m tired of being the King of Savages.¡± Li Qingshan smiled, but he did not stop.

    ¡°The king¡¯s jokes are hilarious. How could I ever covet your throne? Even if I can undergo the third heavenly tribulation, I¡¯m still your subordinate!¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber caught up to Li Qingshan¡¯s footsteps gracefully with his humongous size. He took a small step backwards. ¡°Let me introduce to the king. These are the new cave masters of your Savage mountain¡­¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to introduce them. I¡¯ll remember them.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand. Not only would he be leaving the Mist province soon, but even if he remained here as the King of Savages, it would be pointless for him to learn the names and origins of these people. As such, he simply avoided the trouble altogether.

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    The new cave masters looked at one another. They had heard long ago that the King of Savages was extremely arrogant, but now that they had seen him for themselves, he truly was haughty. However, even the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber behaved so meekly, so they dared not act up. They followed behind him silently before realising that it did make sense. If someone like him did not have a bit of arrogance, it would instead be unusual.

    Li Qingshan walked alone as the cave masters tailed behind him. People would join them from the sides of the streets from time to time, all figures who had undergone the heavenly tribulation and had some renown about them. The other people could only stand by and watch silently. When they passed by, they even had to lower their heads.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber introduced to Li Qingshan the various changes that had occurred in the south during the past decade. The part of the south that had changed the most was Savage mountain. Savage mountain was no longer that shelter for fugitives in the past anymore. Ever since the Myriad Poison cult¡¯s destruction, they had already replaced them, becoming the new centre of the south.

    The three remaining cave masters waged war everywhere under the King of Savage¡¯s flag, letting those who complied thrive and letting those who resisted perish. They gathered the figures from across the entire south and formed an organisation that was neither a sect nor a tribe, but more like a gang.

    ¡°My king, your return is like a vicious tiger¡¯s return to the mountain. Thousands will answer your call. The King of Savages is no longer sufficient to describe your might. I think you should change your name to King of the South. You¡¯ve conquered the south and crowned yourself as king!¡±

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber sucked up, but it was not a lie. The Myriad Poison cult and the fire devourers had already been destroyed. The divine wutong tree was his powerful friend, and the Merfolk of the South sea could be regarded as his allies. The two supreme kings of the Mist province, the human king and daemon king, were extremely cordial towards Li Qingshan too.

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan had already carved out a piece of the Mist province for himself. Everything and everyone in the south was for him to use.

    Duoge followed Li Qingshan and glanced around. He discovered that these cave masters all looked at him in a different way now, with a bit more respect. Originally, even though the cave masters could not do anything to him after killing a few sinful thugs on Savage mountain due to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s protection, they all looked at him with quite a lot of hostility. After all, he had broken the rules of Savage mountain, and there were plenty of the cave masters¡¯ disciples among the people he killed.

    The vicious land of the south had no room for a benevolent buddhist disciple like him. He was basically confined to the valley. If Li Qingshan had not returned and recognised him, the cave masters would have skinned him alive immediately. The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber might have been the most cordial with him on the surface, to the point where outsiders thought he was his direct disciple, but he was ready to eat him in a single gulp at any time.

    However, after Li Qingshan recognised this junior brother, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s occasional glances were filled with closeness and kindness. However, apart from feeling proud of himself, he also felt deeply worried.

    Master was right. First senior brother is definitely anything but a common person. He achieves greatness no matter where he goes. Who knows how much greater his current cultivation is compared to twenty years ago, but given the situation, will first senior brother return to the Green province with me?

    Li Qingshan asked the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber a few more questions and found out that Ru Xin was no longer on Savage mountain. She found this place to be too noisy, so she went to the Myriad Poison cult to cultivate in peace, which made him smile. She sure knew how to pick a place. When it came to its quality as a blessed land, the Myriad Poison cult ranked at the top of the list in the south. It was not as large of a place as Savage mountain, but it was more than enough to serve as her personal dwelling.

    And while the Myriad Poison cult had been destroyed, all of its exterior formations and internal structures were in perfect condition. The various functions all remained. Many precious spiritual herbs filled the gardens, which made the place extremely suitable for refining pills. In the past, Li Qingshan had ordered the Myriad Poison Ancestor to give his full cooperation when she refined medicines. She did not waste that opportunity, grasping this blessed land in the process.

    Then Li Qingshan asked, ¡°I heard that the Mist province is suffering from demon plagues in many places. How¡¯s the south doing?¡±

    Actually, he already knew the answer to that question from Xiao An. The demon plagues in the south were the most severe throughout the entire Mist province. If the Mist province was a land of wilderness, then the south was the wilderness within the wilderness. It had been an important zone for invading demonfolk even since ancient times, so many places of demon suppression existed.

    If it were not for the Divine Nun of the South Sea and the master of the sword pavilion rushing about and purging demons, perhaps this place would have belonged to demonfolk already. Savage mountain would not even be a thing anymore. However, he still wanted to hear the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber¡¯s opinion as the actual ruler of the largest organisation in the south.

    The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber mulled over his words. ¡°The south has a total of twenty-one demon caverns, varying in size. Nine of them have been sealed now, so there¡¯s still twelve. Demonfolk are extremely vicious and tenacious, just as the legends have described, and their abilities become even greater and stranger after they demonify. They¡¯re extremely difficult to deal with. For the sake of this, the second cave master has always been running around outside¡­¡±

    ¡°What about you? Haven¡¯t you come up with any ideas to help him out?¡± Li Qingshan stopped, turned around, and asked. The mass of people behind him immediately stopped in utter silence.

    ¡°About that¡­¡± The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was left wordless. Who was willing to waste their precious cultivation time risking their lives against demonfolk? The second cave master, the Marquis of Serene Sea, was under the King of Southern Yue¡¯s orders, so he was forced to run around and risk his life. The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber had the time of his life watching him run around, basically hoping he would die to the demon plague. Why would he consider helping him out?

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head gently. How could he not understand what the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber was thinking? Actually, if it were not for collecting resources for Xiao An, he would not want to fight the demonfolk either. If the sky fell, there were always the tall ones to hold it up. Even these Daemon Kings and great cultivators were not panicking, so what was a mere White Hawk commander like him getting involved for?

    The so-called overall situation of the Mist province, of the world, was something for the King of Southern Yue and the emperor of Great Xia to consider. It was not because of how great they were, but because it directly impacted their personal interests. To individuals, it was not that they could not see the long-term danger of invading demonfolk. However, if they lost their lives, what long-term interest was there to speak of?

    ¡°What¡¯re you following me for? You can scatter. Go do what you need to do!¡±

    Arriving beneath the great banyan tree, Li Qingshan glanced backwards and waved his hand in an unconcerned manner. The feeling of returning to the mountain as a vicious tiger really was nice, but tigers were still solitary animals at the end of the day. They did not need too many followers. Most importantly, monkeys could only offer up wild fruits, which could not satiate the tiger¡¯s appetite. As a result, all that remained was vanity. Experiencing it every now and then was enough.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An arrived beneath the great banyan tree. The Great Banyan Tree King asked with a smile, ¡°Did you get along with that fellow Feng?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered after some consideration, ¡°He¡¯s a little inflexible, but he¡¯s very much a gentleman. Fellow, you¡¯re like a kind senior, while he¡¯s like an ancient scholar, so we¡¯ve gotten along alright.¡± Afterwards, he cut right to the chase. ¡°I wish to purge these demons. Do you have any suggestions, fellow?¡±

 Chapter 923 Purging Demons (1)

    The sun was beaming. Even with the thick, lush foliage, specks of light filtered through.

    Li Qingshan spoke casually as if he was not talking about demonfolk that had thrown the world into turmoil, but regular nobodies. That was not out of arrogance. He had developed this confidence through personally slaughtering his way through them. In the past, when he could not use his daemon powers in the Demon Suppression hall, he had relied on the Demon Suppression Statuary alone to slaughter tens of thousands of demonfolk.

    And after so many years, it was not like his arduous cultivation was a sham. Coupled with the fact that he could freely use his innate abilities, he personally believed he stood a chance no matter who he was up against!

    Under the great banyan tree, the people who had yet to disperse all raised their heads in shock. Everyone knew about the horrors of the demon plague. Part of the reason why Savage mountain could develop to its current size was because of the demon plague. Shamans and cultivators in precarious situations came here to seek refuge.

    Hearing that, they all gained a better understanding of the King of Savages¡¯ arrogance.

    ¡°Purging the demons, what for?¡± The great banyan tree swayed gently. The sunlight flickered as a result too.

    ¡°Obviously to uphold justice on behalf of heaven!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was far too heretical in nature. Similar to his Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he did not want anyone finding out about it, so there was no need for him to go into so much detail.

    ¡°That¡¯s true. When a foreign domain invades, they destabilise the world. If you can accomplish a few deeds, then you¡¯ll render a meritorious service to the world.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King did not ask about it any further, switching over to soul sense.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the world won¡¯t give me benefits in return.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. The will of heaven is obscure and unfathomable. It is different from living creatures, but it has its own rules and principles. Haven¡¯t you heard of being blessed by heaven before?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said with veiled words.

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    For thousands of years, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s branches had reached towards the sky and his roots had wormed into the ground. He had an extremely deep comprehension of this world¡¯s heaven and earth. He struggled to explain its wonders to others.

    ¡°The godfolk fended off the demons for all those years, so doesn¡¯t that count as a meritorious service? Yet in the end, their divine kingdoms still collapsed, and they were still reduced to being otherfolk. I don¡¯t see any blessings from heaven!¡± Li Qingshan was not convinced.

    ¡°The heavens above have their will, and the people below have their matters. Deal with the matters of people before dealing with the will of heaven. Blessings from heaven aren¡¯t direct grants or graces. It can¡¯t directly interfere with the events of the world either, but it is omnipresent.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t see it, I can¡¯t touch it, so I better just rely on myself!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled. ¡°You can¡¯t go wrong with relying on yourself. Since you have the intentions, I¡¯ll obviously lend you a hand. However, you need to think it through. The more demon caverns you clean up, the less pressure the King of Yue faces, so he¡¯ll be able to devote more of his forces to the north. The King of Chu probably does not wish to see this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still a disciple of buddhism, a White Hawk commander, at the end of the day. I¡¯ve always had a duty to this, so why would I care about their disputes? I refuse to believe the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga will blame me for this. Speaking of which, when I return to the Green province, I have to find a way to deal with the locusts too. I might as well alleviate both of them of their menaces and let them fight each other to the death,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Xiao An had mentioned this before, but no matter what, cultivation always came first. As long as Xiao An and he both underwent the third heavenly tribulation, why would they care who was pissed off? The King of Chu would be all too eager to rope them in!

    ¡°Ah, the Soaring Locust King! He had been suppressed by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga for far too long, and he¡¯s still feeble even right now, but his cultivation is still there, and he¡¯s most skilled in devouring everything to recover. He won¡¯t be an easy opponent. Also, you better not forget that the lowest floor of the Demon Suppression hall is a demon cavern itself. It probably wasn¡¯t a coincidence that the locust plague and demon plague erupted at the same time.¡±

    ¡°A daemon as a traitorous guide. Though, once your enemies reach a certain amount, you just stop worrying. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t throw him on the list too. When I return to the Green province, I¡¯ll obviously come up with a way to settle this,¡± Li Qingshan said resolutely. Then he thought of something and added, ¡°I almost forgot to ask, but what¡¯s your opinion on the incursion of demonfolk?¡±

    Just like how daemons and demons were frequently written off as one, daemons did not possess morals and principles like humans. Even if this world became a part of the Demon domain, all the human cultivators would just become demonic cultivators. However, even the righteous cultivators right now butchered daemons like they were no different from demons. Even if the environment did not improve, it did not exactly worsen for daemons either. The ancestral god that the Bone Eating shamans worshipped happened to be a daemon god too after all.

    ¡°I¡¯m already very old. I personally think I¡¯m relatively tolerant, but I¡¯ve already grown accustomed to the current environment. If this world becomes a part of the Demon domain, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll struggle to adjust!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King said slowly, ¡°But I can¡¯t just let the children throw their lives away stubbornly for an old man like me. Sigh, sure enough, old trees have roots aplenty, and old men have words aplenty. You don¡¯t have to take any of this too seriously. It¡¯s just conversation.¡±

    ¡°I see! You sure have hidden it well!¡± Li Qingshan burst into laughter. As it turned out, this Daemon King of the Mist province was against this. He opposed the invasion of demonfolk, but he maintained a facade of neutrality on the surface. In the past two years, he had gathered the daemons and led them away from the demon caverns, which made him seem indifferent over how the world turned out.

    This touched on the game unfolding between humans and daemons yet again. After all, it was impossible for anyone to go without a standpoint. As long as they had a standpoint, then merits and demerits existed for them, which would always lead to planning and scheming. If the humans were severely weakened after this great turmoil, even if the daemons did not conquer the nine provinces again, their lives would still be far better off.

    ¡°The King of Southern Yue has bothered me plenty. He wants me to participate, so I might as well treat you as a subordinate I¡¯ve sent out for the time being, just to appease him. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Give me an order, and I¡¯ll be there. Though, does this come with benefits?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his hands.

    ¡°Kid, you sure know how to bite off more than you can chew. Just earlier you were asking for my advice, and now, you¡¯re asking for benefits!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m merely making conversation. I knew you¡¯d be unfathomable like the will of heaven, only offering blessings and no benefits!¡±

    ¡°As long as you understand. What are you waiting for? Take out your mental map of the Mist province!¡±

    Under the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s guidance, he marked out the various demon caverns across the Mist province, as well as the situation at each demon cavern, such as the rough numbers of the demonfolk, their strength, who was suppressing them, and so on.

    Li Qingshan felt admiration from the bottom of his heart. The old tree king was a spy satellite, computer for analysis, and battle strategist in one. He felt enlightened.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An discussed it slightly and agreed on what they previously decided, to go from easy to difficult. They chose a demon cavern in the south. They were about to set off when the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in his head again, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I owe you a banyan fruit. Come to Towering city to collect it when you have the time!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned and patted the tree trunk. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget!¡±

    The banyan fruit was the legendary ¡°fruit of wisdom¡±. It was a crystallisation of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s entire life of wisdom. It could unlock wisdom, all the while without influencing the mind. It was rather similar to the phoenix¡¯s legacy and was extremely precious. Li Qingshan had once eaten one, and the effect was very impressive. It took a great toll on the Great Banyan Tree King to produce one too.

    This cutting of the Great Banyan Tree King had already produced one. If he wanted to produce another, it would take a millennium at the very least, which was why he told Li Qingshan to collect it from his main body.

    Li Qingshan had originally come to the Great Banyan Tree King for advice, so the ¡°fruit of wisdom¡± basically came free. He really did enjoy very generous treatment.

    Climbing down the great banyan tree, Li Qingshan did not stick around for any longer. He immediately flew away with Xiao An.

 Chapter 924 Purging Demons (2)

    A crescent moon illuminated the barren mountain, obscured by the clouds formed from the red and black demon qi. It had also been dyed a crimson red.

    A huge demonic formation was raised out of stone on the barren mountain. The jagged rocks were engraved with strange demonic glyphs, standing in rings upon rings. A plume of demon qi rushed into the air in the centre of the concentric circles, linking the sky with the earth and spreading out a thick, demonic cloud in the sky.

    Looking down from above, heads surged on the barren mountain. Thickly-dotted demonfolk surged about like ants. Under the commands of the Demon Generals, they carried the stone pillars to their designated locations. As the pillars were erected, the surging demon qi became even denser, shrouding the moon and stars.

    Their bodily strength far surpassed mortals, but the onerous labour still made the demonfolk complain everywhere. They were not low-level corpses and ghosts from the Hungry Ghost realm. They also possessed regular emotions.

    Crack! A resounding whip flew through the air. A four-armed, four-legged demonfolk supervisor swung the metal whip in his hand, lashing it viciously against a slacking demonfolk¡¯s head. His head immediately exploded, and he rolled down the mountain.

    ¡°That¡¯s the fate of anyone who still dares to slack. Keep working! Don¡¯t stop!¡± The demonfolk supervisor swung his metal whip and glanced down the mountain. He revealed a vicious smile.

    The slacking demonfolk¡¯s corpse rolled to the bottom of the mountain, without budging at all. A while later, the ¡°corpse¡± suddenly leapt to its feet, rushing off into the jungle with half a head.

    Pairs of red eyes lit up in the jungle. Screech! Screech! Screech! Screech! Black figures whistled through the canopy, tailing closely behind the demonfolk before swarming down at the same time.

    As it turned out, they were a group of wild monkeys. These monkeys that should have been no different from regular beasts had become extremely aggressive and vicious. Basically all of their fur had fallen off, revealing their bodies that rippled with muscle, together with their long, sharp fangs and claws.

    The long howls of the fleeing demonfolk rang through the jungle.

    The demonfolk supervisor snickered a little more. ¡°Hmph, everything within fifty kilometers of the demon cavern has been affected by demon qi. It¡¯s not just the wild beasts. Even the trees and vegetation have demonfied. You¡¯re dreaming if you think you can rely on mere vitality to escape from here. The greater the vitality, the more pain there will be!¡±

    However, when a Demon General glanced over, the demonfolk supervisor¡¯s smile immediately vanished. He thought viciously, You¡¯re a mere Demon General. You might be a little stronger than me, but you¡¯re expendable too. Even quite a few Demon Commanders have died. I¡¯d like to see just how long you can stay cocky for.

    He stepped over a long, straight gully and could not help but think of the brilliant sword qi he had seen three days ago. It made him shiver inside.

    There were several dozen of these gullies on the barren mountain, which had sliced apart the stone pillars smoothly. The primary task of the demonfolk was to repair this huge stone formation.

    In the centre of the huge stone formation, where the demon qi surged out of, hovered a colossal, strange sphere of purplish-red flesh. It was riddled with blood vessels, possessing had hundreds of tendrils covered in vicious spines. It hovered there silently.

    Twelve Demon Commanders stood around it on twelve stone pillars without moving at all, just like statues.

    At first glance, they were basically identical to humans, but at a closer glance, some had four or five eyes, and some had a pair of fleshy wings. Combined with their strange attires of various colours, they gave off a sense of eeriness. There was only a single man who was relatively handsome in appearance, but when he grinned from time to time, he would reveal his mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, and his smile was chilling too.

    The crescent moon was obscured from time to time as the demonfolk were in full swing with the work. The purplish-red sphere of flesh suddenly trembled, and the tendrils all straightened out as if they had sensed something. It was filled with a sense of vigilance.

    ¡°Sir!¡± The Demon Commanders began to move as if they were statues that had come alive. They bowed towards the purplish-red sphere of flesh in reverence.

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    ¡°The sword cultivator is coming again. Activate the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Prepare to receive him in battle!¡±

    An invisible, mental pulse emanated from the purplish-red sphere of flesh. The demonfolk all stopped what they were doing and dispersed suddenly, gathering towards the demon cavern in the centre of the giant stone formation. The demonfolk supervisor swung his metal whip and sent several demonfolk in his way flying, rushing ahead of all of them.

    The twelve stone pillars under the twelve Demon Commanders suddenly lit up with a demonic light. The stone pillars on the outskirts lit up as well. In the blink of an eye, all of them lit up, illuminating the entire barren mountain with chilling light. The demon qi vaguely formed the shape of a grand citadel.

    I don¡¯t even know whether I can survive this time. This sword cultivator is even stronger than regular Demon Kings. Even that damned lug, the Thousand Tendrils King, suffered heavily at his hand in their first clash. All he could do was maintain his demonified form. It¡¯s the wild ambitions of these great figures, yet we¡¯re the ones who have to risk our lives. What a group of good people! Damn them! Damn them! the demonfolk supervisor thought to himself.

    Suddenly, a strange, shrill whistle rang out by his ear. Before he had even returned to his senses, a streak of light pierced the sky and whistled past, diving into the city condensed by the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    Light shone and sword qi surged. Wherever it passed, the demon qi was split open, and the stone pillars were cut down.

    The demonfolk were obliterated by the repercussions of the sword qi, collapsing and scattering everywhere.

    The Thousand Tendrils King swung his tendrils violently at the light. At the same time, he emanated with invisible rings of demonic mental pulse in an attempt to perturb his opponent¡¯s mind.

    However, the sword cultivator had merged with his sword, darting about between the tendrils and cutting them down. His heart of the sword was finely forged too, completely immune to any influence.

    ¡°Ye Duanhai, there will be a day when I flatten your South Sea Sword pavilion and kill everyone close to you! I¡¯ll make you watch with your own eyes as they howl to their deaths!¡± the Thousand Tendrils King bellowed through the demonic cloud, making the demon qi surge.

    The person who had arrived was the master of the sword pavilion, Ye Duanhai. He remained cold and silent, completely disdained to converse with the Thousand Tendrils King. However, in less than five minutes, he pulled back in retreat. He also felt rather helpless inside. He seemed to have gained the upper hand, but he could not deal a lethal blow to the Thousand Tendrils King.

    And under the influence of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, it was even more difficult for him to advance than moving through thick soil. His powers were depleted extremely rapidly, so he could not fight for very long. In that short while, the Sea-splitting sword in his hand had already dimmed, contaminated by the demon qi and demon blood. It would take him quite the effort to clean it, and if he just let it be, it would be gradually converted into a demon weapon, which would instead affect his heart of the sword.

    He could choose to put his life on the line, or organise even more people to attack here, but once the situation was against him, the Thousand Tendrils King would immediately retreat back to the Demon domain. It was impossible to hunt him down. The other demon caverns would receive the message to attack harder and faster too, so this was destined to be a battle of endurance.

    Right now, all he could do was constantly wear them down, to prevent the demonfolk from gaining a stable footing. Once they realised they could not afford an endurance battle like this, they would shrink back. However, he knew very well that the chances of this were extremely slim. Drawing reference to the past incursions throughout history, right now could only be regarded as the scouts. It was not even a proper attack, let alone a general offensive or a decisive battle.

    Thinking up to there, he could not help but frown. Just how far would the World of the Nine Provinces fall?

    At this moment, he sensed something and suddenly looked back. A red comet sailed over from the horizon!

 Chapter 925 Purging Demons (3)

    That¡¯s- Ye Duanhai instinctively raised his guard. The Sea-splitting sword in his hand thrummed as he felt slightly surprised inside. Since when did the Mist province have a cultivator as powerful as that? Even I feel threatened!

    The sword was primarily for slaughter. As a great sword cultivator, he had a clear heart of the sword, which gave him a clear judgement over the strength of others. Although there were plenty of great cultivators and Daemon Kings in the Mist province, there was an extremely small number that could actually threaten him. Even if he was not their opponent, he could escape with ease.

    Yet, in that moment, he could clearly sense that if he faced the ¡°comet¡± in battle, he could not even guarantee that.

    The comet fell extremely quickly. Its target was the barren mountain. Ye Duanhai found the light to be slightly familiar and raised an eyebrow. It¡¯s him!

    The comet arrived right before him, and the wind and fire scattered loudly. A horned, handsome man with scarlet hair and eyes appeared. He was clad in crimson demonic armour as an asura armament hung on his waist. He dispersed his phoenix wings and clasped his hands. ¡°Pavilion master Ye, long time no see!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Ye Duanhai could not help but be slightly surprised. He sighed in amazement. ¡°You really haven¡¯t wasted this decade or so!¡±

    ¡°Time waits for no one!¡± Li Qingshan was about to hold a small conversation with him when the demon qi he gave off startled the Thousand Tendrils King. He called out, ¡°You have a demon heart! You¡¯re also a demon! Come and assist me in killing this sword cultivator. I have endless benefits to give you!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned, exposing his sharp teeth. He turned around and asked, ¡°Brother flesh ball, why don¡¯t you elaborate on what the endless benefits are exactly?¡±

    Ye Duanhai became even more vigilant, silently gripping the Sea-splitting sword. He also doubted Li Qingshan¡¯s intentions for coming here.

    ¡°How rude. I am the Thousand Tendrils King! Kid, the Demon domain can give you whatever benefits you want! Once we take this world, even inaugurating you as the lord of a province is not a problem.¡± The Thousand Tendrils King tried to tempt him.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan behaved like he was interested.

    ¡°Really!¡± The Thousand Tendrils King swung his tendrils, like a human gesturing with his arms to increase his persuasiveness. However, he secretly snickered inside, These outsiders sure are foolish. I just happen to have a demon heart, and he¡¯ll actually believe me?

    Ye Duanhai pulled away from Li Qingshan and reminded him. ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t forget about your identity!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, pavilion master Ye. I just want to see how much I¡¯m worth exactly. I¡¯ve heard that the Demon domain is offering up a lot of nice things in order to rope in cultivators of the nine provinces.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, leaving Ye Duanhai and approaching the demon cavern. Soon, he arrived at the edge of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Demon domain has opened its gates to convert all life into demons. It¡¯s a great opportunity for people who possess a demon heart like you. The sea of bitterness has no bounds. Repent and the shore is at hand. Pick up the butcher¡¯s blade and become a demon instantly. Stop hesitating. Convert to the Demon domain now. I can see that your demonic nature is quite strong, so you¡¯ll become a Demon King very soon. You might even surpass me in the future and become a Demon Emperor!¡±

    Seeing how Li Qingshan was tempted, the Thousand Tendrils King spared no effort in trying to convince him. The demonic mental pulses he gave off possessed some powers to sway the minds of people.

    ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be the lord of a province. Can I get something else instead?¡± Li Qingshan tilted his head.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Umm, such as that flesh ball!¡± Li Qingshan pointed straight at the Thousand Tendrils King¡¯s main body.

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± The Thousand Tendrils King was infuriated.

    ¡°Heh, I think you can¡¯t bring yourself to part with it. Whatever, I¡¯ll just collect it myself!¡± Li Qingshan smiled resplendently and suddenly widened his eyes all the way.

    Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye!

    A scarlet tiger appeared behind him. It was as large as a mountain, shimmering about. Only its eyes were particularly consolidated, staring straight at the Thousand Tendrils King. Seeing its eyes from the side, the entire barren mountain fell into silence. The demons were all overcome with fear. The weaker demonfolk even felt like they had sunk into a nightmare.

    The Thousand Tendrils King shook as well, splitting his focus momentarily. By the time he returned to his senses, Li Qingshan had already vanished from his previous location. He appeared in the centre of the formation, right in front of the demon cavern. He raised his hand gently, and with a clang, Tiger¡¯s Fang left its sheathe!

    In that moment, extremely sharp light whistled through the air, splitting apart the surging demon qi.

    Ye Duanhai was alarmed. Even among great cultivators, his speed on his sword ranked towards the top, yet Li Qingshan actually surpassed him. The might behind that slash was even more shocking£¡

    But that¡¯s also because the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous has weakened me drastically. However, that¡¯s terrifying enough. He hasn¡¯t even undergone the third heavenly tribulation yet!

    Among daemons, the fastest were obviously avians, and the phoenix was a god among avians. Li Qingshan had pushed the Phoenix Transformation from the second layer to the fourth layer, so his strength had increased drastically.

    Li Qingshan made a flip and produced a circular blade aura, unleashing his second swing.

    The twelve Demon Commanders could not even demonify in time before they were swallowed by the blade aura, torn to pieces.

    After a seemingly lengthy time, the twelve stone pillars collapsed. The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was destroyed!

    The demonic clouds in the sky dispersed, and the crescent moon sprinkled clear light onto Li Qingshan. The scarlet hair that had drifted up with his body had not even fallen down yet.

    Ye Duanhai finally stopped worrying. Li Qingshan had not come to pledge himself to the demons. He was still the same Li Qingshan he remembered him to be. Even when his strength was lacking, he refused to lower his head, let alone right now.

    The demon qi near the demon cavern was extremely heavy. Even if a great cultivator remained there for a while, they would feel discomfort. Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath, and the demon qi rolled over, gathering in his demon heart. His demonic armour became even more resplendent.

    There was not a single part of Li Qingshan that feared demon qi. The ox demon and tiger demon were demons in the first place, while there was even less reason for the phoenix and spirit turtle to fear mere demon qi. The Demon Suppression Statuary downright used demon qi as its source of power. As a result, the greatest obstruction and hindrance to regular cultivators instead assisted him.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and took a look. Tiger¡¯s Fang devoured the essence blood of the twelve Demon Commanders and glowed at full capacity once more. With a flick of his wrist, the edge rose up to the sky. A streak of light surged up into the air, extending straight towards the Thousand Tendrils King mid-air!

    ¡°You¡¯re also a demon, so why do you serve as a lackey of the humans and oppose us demons?¡± The Thousand Tendrils King suddenly realised he had severely underestimated Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. He did not have to undergo the third heavenly tribulation. He was already a Demon King right now. He had to sacrifice another dozen tendrils before he managed to block the strike.

    ¡°Damned lug, don¡¯t put me on the same level as you!¡±

    Tiger¡¯s Fang in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand used this opportunity to recover its glow, becoming even more eager and crazed for blood. It was not as precious as the Sea-splitting sword. It did not care at all if it drank the foul blood of demonfolk. It was fine as long as it was blood. It was not picky at all.

    ¡°Nice blade!¡± Li Qingshan praised. Although he had used Tiger¡¯s Fang plenty of times in the past, he was often done with just a few swings, so it was not particularly useful, and it consumed his blood too. Only now did it truly unleash its wonders. Enemies of tremendous size with powerful regeneration were basically the perfect targets for him to try his blade on.

    The shrill sound of wind rang out by his ears. The tendrils danced furiously and lashed towards Li Qingshan like long whips.

    Li Qingshan let out a great laugh. He corrected his footing and stood right there.

    A hundred strands of blade aura erupted at the same time, like the bloom of a hundred flowers. When the tendrils fell among them, they seemed to enter a meat grinder, torn apart to pieces. Demon blood fell down, but it was drained clean before it could even reach the ground.

    Whenever a blade aura cut through a tendril, it drank the demon blood at the same time, allowing him to recover immediately and swing his blade even faster than usual, which seemed like he had unleashed a hundred swings at the same time. Moreover, the might behind each swing was even greater than Ye Duanhai¡¯s sword qi, preventing the Thousand Tendrils King from getting anywhere close despite his number of tendrils.

    ¡°Haha, I really am suited to using the blade!¡±

    The traces of the path of the sword that still lingered in Li Qingshan¡¯s blade style were gradually vanishing for good. He swung his blade as he pleased, and he moved according to his will, fighting to his heart¡¯s content.

    Ye Duanhai recovered his strength as he sighed in amazement inside, This kid already seems extremely powerful. It is even clearer in battle! Suddenly, he noticed something and said in warning, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The Thousand Tendrils King that had remained still in the air the entire time suddenly erupted with speed that was completely disproportionate to his size, hurling towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head. A single, large eye opened up on the ball of flesh, completely bloodshot and covered in strange demonic glyphs. It stared at Li Qingshan and emitted a powerful mental pulse.

    Li Qingshan halted, and the tendrils all swarmed in, swallowing him completely. In that moment, rocks were sent flying, and the entire mountain shook!

    He¡¯s too careless! As a Demon King, how can he be dealt with so easily? Ye Duanhai had once suffered before that move too, which was why he constantly remained vigilant and refused to expend his full strength. He drew his sword and stood up, about to assist Li Qingshan when a metallic resonance suddenly rang out from the mass of tendrils. ¡°Nice ball.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure swelled up, turning into a daemon the size of a mountain. He broke free from the tendrils and spread his pitch-black arms, grabbing the huge ball of falling flesh firmly and resting it against his shoulders.

    Boom! Li Qingshan¡¯ legs sank into the earth. The barren mountain seemed to become a tiny mound of earth, immediately collapsing in the process. Li Qingshan¡¯s waist bent over as his bones produced the sound of twisting metal.

    However, he had the Strength of the Earth. The strength rose up from the ground in an endless fashion. He forcefully caught the Thousand Tendrils King.

    After being severed, the Thousand Tendrils King¡¯s tendrils would always regrow very quickly. They entwined around Li Qingshan, layer upon layer, wreaking havoc. They pierced his skin sharply and injected him with the poison of the Demon domain.

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    From the corner of his eye, Ye Duanhai suddenly discovered a beautiful woman dressed in plain and neat clothes. She had appeared above the Thousand Tendrils King before he knew it. Even he had almost failed to sense her. That was no longer just concealing aura. That was having no aura at all, just like a piece of dead wood.

    Pale-white flames burned in the depths of Xiao An¡¯s bright eyes. She gripped a shiny bone sword in her hand.

    That sword! Through his sharp senses for the path of the sword, Ye Duanhai immediately sensed the irregularities with the sword in Xiao An¡¯s hand. It did not give off a particularly sharp aura, but it made him feel horror for some reason; he felt like he definitely could not allow that sword to harm him!

    Xiao An swung the sword casually. There was not the faintest aura of violence, as if she was simply doing calligraphy. During the past decade, she had not just followed the Divine Nun of the South Sea to study the buddhist dharma. She had also completely comprehended and mastered the path of the sword within the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, even leaving a great sword cultivator like Ye Duanhai amazed.

    The Buddha Slaying sword plunged into the Thousand Tendrils King¡¯s body. Compared to his colossal size, it was only equivalent to a needle, while the wound was basically no different from the eye of a needle.

    ¡°Argh!¡± The Thousand Tendrils King howled out. With his regenerative powers, even if he took on a slash from Ye Duanhai or Li Qingshan, it would not harm him for good, much less make him behave like this.

    However, after receiving a gentle thrust from Xiao An, he was like a balloon with a hole in him. He rapidly deflated. Demon blood combined with demon qi sprayed out from the tiny ¡°eye of the needle¡±.

    ¡°Bitch, what did you do!?¡±

 Chapter 926 Purging Demons (4)

    ¡°Killed you,¡± Xiao An said indifferently. Her clothes drifted as she flickered about, avoiding the furious, incoming tendrils. She drew out her blade and retreated. The Buddha Slaying sword in her hand was shiny and bone-white just like before. It did not have a lot of power for show, but the damage it caused was even more life-threatening than a swing from Ye Duanhai.

    In terms of quality, the current Buddha Slaying sword could not rival the Sea-splitting sword that Ye Duanhai had spent many years further refining. It could not produce such magnificent slashes, nor was it as flexible in terms of abilities. It was only particularly tough and sharp. Only after piercing the enemy¡¯s flesh could its powers manifest.

    Even a tiny scratch could turn into a lethal wound.

    Li Qingshan had confronted the Thousand Tendrils King openly to draw away his attention, while Xiao An had used the opportunity to launch a sneak attack and deliver a lethal blow. This was the combination and teamwork they already possessed back then when they roamed the jianghu. Now that they were against a Demon King, it was just as effective.

    ¡°Nicely said!¡± Li Qingshan brought his hands together as hard as possible, and the power of tremors emerged. Illusionary black cracks immediately appeared around his hands. The tendrils were severed wherever the cracks reached.

    The Thousand Tendrils King rapidly shrank in size, unable to regenerate his severed tendrils anymore. Not only did he have to suppress the terrifying sword wound, but he also had to contend with Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying powers of the ox demon.

    ¡°Aaaaaargh!¡±

    A crack suddenly appeared in the huge ball of flesh, just like a mouth. There was even a tongue in there. He let out a sharp yet soundless scream at Li Qingshan as pulses of demonic thoughts emanated in all directions.

    The demonfolk on the barren mountain all collapsed. Their souls had been forcefully torn to pieces. Within the surrounding jungle, the demonic monkeys all fell from the tree branches. All life within several dozen kilometers died on the spot.

    Even Ye Duanhai felt a violent impact on his soul, making him guard his mind in a hurry. The Thousand Tendrils King sensed life-threatening danger. He was getting desperate now.

    Li Qingshan felt his head ring. His ears deafened as his soul swayed.

    The Thousand Tendrils King used this opportunity to extend his huge tongue, licking Li Qingshan¡¯s face viciously. Half of his face vanished with that lick, revealing his fearsome skull.

    ¡°What delicious flesh. I¡¯ve remembered your taste. You¡¯re called Li Qingshan. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t forget about this. I¡¯ll make you watch as everyone close to you dies horrifically right before your eyes!¡±

    The Thousand Tendrils King cursed viciously as he rapidly dropped towards the demon cavern. In the blink of an eye, he had mostly vanished into the cavern.

    ¡°You think you can run?¡± Li Qingshan slammed his fist down. His rolling daemon qi turned into the power of tremors, slamming against the space there. Cracks darted off into the surroundings like black lightning. As if a painting had shattered, even the moonlight was split to pieces.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible!?¡± The Thousand Tendrils King was frightened. Even among Demon Kings, the power to shatter space was extremely rare, so how could a person that had not even undergone the third heavenly tribulation achieve this!? Filled with disbelief, his body was shattered into countless parts.

    As it turned out, Li Qingshan still did not possess the ability to shatter space. Even if he underwent another heavenly tribulation, all he could do was concentrate the illusionary spatial cracks a little more, as this world was extremely stable. If it could shatter that easily, the world would have broken up into pieces a long time ago.

    Most importantly, the demon cavern was the passageway that connected two worlds. The space was extremely unstable there. Li Qingshan had once used this move to kill a Corpse King from the Hungry Ghost realm. He was merely repeating the same trick right now.

    ¡°Haha, great strength creates miracles!¡± Li Qingshan was extremely satisfied with the results of the punch. Even he dared not touch the black spatial cracks.

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me! I will be back!¡± Every single piece of the Thousand Tendrils King turned into a new ball of flesh. Several hundred eyes opened up and stared at Li Qingshan viciously as he spoke from several hundred mouths at the same time. He was about to cross through the shattered demon cavern and flee back to the demon cavern.

    ¡°Then get back here! Gravity of the Earth!¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms and used the innate ability.

    If the Thousand Tendrils King were still whole, then Li Qingshan might not have been able to draw him over given his colossal size and tough body, but now that he had been divided into several hundred pieces, he stood no chance.

    The invisible force drew over the pieces of flesh, making them fly out of the demon cavern again. Now, horror filled every single eye.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Li Qingshan launched a barrage of punches with both hands, shattering the space near the demon cavern even more. He diced the several hundred balls of flesh into thousands.

    Xiao An used this opportunity to swing the Blood Sea Banner. A river of blood swept up the pieces of flesh, and the Skull Prayer Beads scattered in the air, turning into skulls that sprayed with Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone as they cackled away.

    The flesh was either swept into the sea of blood, or the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone ignited it. The Thousand Tendrils King¡¯s tremendous body, his flesh that was filled with power, became the perfect resource for the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The river of blood surged, and the flames roared, swallowing the countless demonfolk corpses on the mountain.

    By the time Xiao An stowed away the Blood Sea Banner, Li Qingshan had already reverted to human form, and the surroundings were clean and tidy, without a single demonfolk in sight. The crescent moon scattered with clear light, landing on the barren mountain. Only the two huge footprints and the countless spatial cracks served as evidence of the battle.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and swung his arms around. ¡°Demon Kings aren¡¯t that difficult to kill!¡±

    However, he also understood that Ye Duanhai had weakened this great ball of flesh first before Xiao An ambushed it. Finally, the spatial cracks that Li Qingshan produced screwed it over. Its path of escape had become a lethal trap. He had lost out in all aspects of timing, geographic advantage, and teamwork. It would be a miracle if it did survive!

    Ye Duanhai was also stunned after witnessing this battle. He had clashed with the Thousand Tendrils King numerous times, yet he had not even managed to force him back into the demon cavern, let alone having the slightest chance of killing him. In the end, Xiao An and Li Qingshan finished him off so quickly and cleanly with their teamwork. He found it a little surreal. He calmed down and imagined that if their sneak attack and pincer attack had caught him off-guard, he would also be in life-threatening danger.

    Of course, if Ye Duanhai cast aside everything, without any regard for his life, he could also force the Thousand Tendrils King into dire straits, but the Thousand Tendrils King would definitely pull him down with him on the brink of death. That would be mortal danger then. It was impossible for Ye Duanhai to do something like perish together with him. It was impossible for any cultivator to do that.

    The main reason why Li Qingshan was bold enough to directly confront the Thousand Tendrils King was because of the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a. If you¡¯re bold enough to perish with me, then I¡¯m bold enough to die once with you.

    ¡°Alright! That¡¯s one!¡± Li Qingshan returned to Ye Duanhai and said, ¡°Thank you for weakening this damned ball, pavilion master Ye, which was the only reason why we managed to kill him successfully. Otherwise, just this formation alone would have been a headache.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Even without me, you still would have been able to kill him.¡±

    Ye Duanhai could not help but re-evaluated Li Qingshan and Xiao An. During the battle of Fire Melt mountain, Li Qingshan spent most of his time working together with Gong Yuan, while Xiao An had not fought at all. Although he had played a critical role in achieving victory, only now did he truly demonstrate his strength for good, which forced people to take him seriously.

    ¡°Though, I do have a request. I hope that pavilion master Ye can keep the details of tonight a secret. There¡¯s a chance that we still need to use it against the Demon Kings of the other demon caverns.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m someone who talks too much?¡± Ye Duanhai had realised long ago that what Xiao An used was definitely not techniques of buddhism, or in other words, neither of them really resembled buddhist disciples. They had far too many secrets that they wanted to hide. As opposed to hiding it from the demonfolk, they probably wanted to hide it from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga even more.

    ¡°Definitely not. I¡¯ve been the one who¡¯s said too much this time.¡±

 Chapter 927 Purging Demons (5)

    ¡°Why have you come here?¡± Ye Duanhai hesitated, but he was simply unable to hold in his question.

    ¡°To help her with cultivation!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed his hand above the shattered, barren mountain. Xiao An bathed in the moonlight, currently cultivating with her eyes closed. She was ¡°digesting¡± the Thousand Tendrils King and the demonfolk. Under her appearance of unhuman beauty, a vicious skeleton would appear from time to time, but only for an instant. Even with Ye Duanhai¡¯s cultivation, he found this to be surreal, but he was absolutely certain that this was a powerful demonic art. The white bone sword did not seem to be for guarding the buddhist dharma either.

    ¡°I see, and I had thought you had a strong sense of justice and wanted to purge demons for the greater good.¡±

    Ye Duanhai said in a self-deprecating manner, hoping that these two existences that had departed from the range that could be regarded as human could have a thought like that at the very least. He really had been a little over-sentimental. However, the reason why he had asked that was out of worry, and even a hint of fear.

    The Soaring Locust King had already shown in the Green province what kind of damage a great daemon could wreak once it had decided to create trouble. Once the two of them completely matured, they would probably be even more terrifying than ten Soaring Locust Kings. By then, they could influence the entire world on a whim.

    ¡°I did feel a bit that way in the past, but as for now, there¡¯s not a lot remaining.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. Who didn¡¯t have the dream of being a swordsman, overseeing the justice of the world through their sword in hand? However, as he grew stronger, as he climbed higher, he discovered that all he could grasp and control was himself.

    ¡°Let me invite you to a cup!¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Originally, he thought Ye Duanhai would take his leave silently, so Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Sure. Now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, it¡¯s been over a decade since I¡¯ve gotten any alcohol.¡±

    The two of them sat down on the lush canopy of a large tree, taking out two jars of alcohol to drink together. They had a small conversation.

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    An hour later, Xiao An wrapped up her cultivation and returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s side. Ye Duanhai had already bade farewell, leaving as a streak of light.

    The hot, humid wind of the south blew through the canopy, making the trees shake and rustle.

    ¡°What did he say?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Nothing much. He basically gave me a few words of advice, probably worried that I¡¯d fall into a path of evil.¡±

    ¡°Was it useful?¡±

    ¡°You already know. I¡¯ve never really liked thinking hard. I don¡¯t like thinking about such a complicated topic like good or evil. I just know that I¡¯ll screw with whoever that screws with me, and I¡¯ll fight whoever I find displeasing. Anyway, there¡¯s nothing wrong with getting stronger. How¡¯s that? Simple enough?¡±

    Li Qingshan had once felt conflicted over his dual identity as a human and daemon, but in the end, he thought it through. He could not go wrong by taking his own side, so he just blurred the line between these identities and did what he wanted to do.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An smiled. Her clear eyes rippled with the moonlight, revealing trust from the bottom of her heart. As a result, there was no need for her to be troubled over good and evil, buddhism and the demonic. All she had to do was accompany him on this very simple path.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go to the next demon cavern!¡±

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    ¡°Qingshan, at this rate, I might be a step faster than you!¡± Xiao An said confidently. She had already comprehended enough. All she lacked right now were resources. As long as she constantly devoured and absorbed the corpses, she could cross the gulf very soon and undergo the third heavenly tribulation.

    ¡°That would be for the best, but I can¡¯t fall behind too much either.¡± Li Qingshan knew he had advanced valiantly for over a decade, so he was currently in a stage of exhaustion. Killing some demonfolk could be regarded as a form of relaxation. On the other hand, Xiao An had already done enough and was ready. She had a very good chance at breaking through.

    However, no matter who broke through first, it would still increase their strength qualitatively. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was probably no less wondrous than the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. Let alone the others, just the Skull Prayer Beads could be refined again and strengthened after she reached the third heavenly tribulation, where each Skeleton Demon would possess the strength of a Demon King. Even though they would only be equivalent to extremely weak Demon Kings, and they would be nowhere near as flexible, just who in the world still stood a chance if several dozen of them swarmed up together and worked together?

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly frowned, raising his head and bellowing out. An invisible zone of pressure appeared, pushing down a region of the forest as it spread in all directions. A huge cloud in the sky dispersed, revealing a familiar figure.

    ¡°Divine Nun of the South Sea!¡± ¡°Master.¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea had her palms together. She was dressed in the same shabby robes, with a hint of fury and sorrow on her plain and stern face. She stared straight at Xiao An.

    ¡°Why have you come, divine nun? Why didn¡¯t you help us out when you saw us purging demons?¡± Li Qingshan found this situation rather troubling, so he chose to speak first.

    ¡°One Will, just what is the cultivation method that you practise? Who are you exactly?¡± However, the Divine Nun of the South Sea refused to answer him, asking sternly.

    Xiao An opened her mouth, but she faltered. An apologetic and pained expression appeared on her face, but when she met the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s eyes, the expression melted away like snow. She recovered the same expressionless demeanour as before. She knew it was useless no matter what explanation she offered up.

    At most, Ye Duanhai sensed it to be an evil art, a demonic art, but as one of the few great cultivators of buddhism in the world, the Divine Nun of the South Sea definitely sensed the perversion and blasphemy of the buddhist dharma. It was probably even more despicable than the demonfolk who inverted good and bad and confused wrong for right. Demonfolk were merely enemies, but she was a traitor of buddhism, just like the White Bone Bodhisattva.

    ¡°Very well! You sure have hidden it well! Despite all the years we spent together, I actually failed to see your true colours. I even wanted to accept you as my successor!¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea laughed out of anger, feeling even more heartbroken. She had not appeared here out of coincidence. Instead, she had been specially searching for Xiao An. She had been busy with suppressing the demon plague during the past two years, but she still showed great care and concern towards this disciple. She had gone to Savage mountain to find her as soon as she had the time. Although she had been one step too late, she still managed to find her through the preceptual decree she had bestowed to Xiao An.

    This was something akin to the prayer beads that the Unraging monk had given to Li Qingshan. Not only could it be used to call for help, but it could also save her life. It could unleash an attack equivalent to her ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Law of Vinaya¡± at full strength. Even against opponents of the third heavenly tribulation, it could stop them momentarily so that she could rush over in time to save her.

    As Xiao An wanted to study the buddhist dharma with the Divine Nun of the South Sea, she was obviously forced to accept it, or let her remove it whenever she wanted to. However, she never expected her to appear right now. After all, no matter how meticulous her thoughts were, it was impossible for her to include everything in her calculations, let alone the fact that the Divine Nun of the South Sea was a great cultivator too.

    ¡°Please calm down, master. Xiao An never intended it either¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. There were no secrets that could remain hidden forever, especially when it was their powers. Just several years ago, his identity as a daemon was still a closely-guarded secret, but now, it had already been leaked everywhere. A whole bunch of people knew. The form of white bones beneath Xiao An¡¯s great beauty was no different.

    However, he did not find this to be a particularly large matter either. Xiao An had not been using innocent mortals for cultivation after all, and they had truly been purging demons for the greater good earlier. However, he discovered very soon that he had still ended up underestimating figures of religion.

    ¡°Shut your mouth! Li Qingshan, it¡¯s been so many years, so do you still think I know nothing? The Green province isn¡¯t the Mist province. It¡¯s even more unlikely for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to accept a daemon as a disciple. Even the Golden Cicada Spirit King had been expelled in the past, let alone you!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for keeping my secret, divine nun!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the sake of¡­ of¡­ sigh!¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea lamented. Originally, she wanted to say it was for the sake of Xiao An, but it touched her sore spot again. She had wandered the South sea for all these years. If it were not for Xiao An, if she had not been considering how she could accept her as her disciple, she would have never paid any attention to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga thousands of kilometers away either.

    Although she had noticed something was amiss with Li Qingshan¡¯s identity, she did not find the bloodline of daemons to be so unacceptable, as she was born and raised in the Mist province. After all, even the bodhisattvas of the Western Paradise had daemons as mounts. Converting to buddhism was something good.

    ¡°You can keep a secret for a daemon like me, master, whereas Xiao An counts as a proper disciple of buddhism. Even if she has practised a demonic art slightly, she¡¯s still good at heart. You saw us kill a Demon King just now!¡±

    Li Qingshan defended Xiao An to the best of his ability. It was not because he was afraid of the Divine Nun of the South Sea, but because he felt very embarrassed. After all, the Divine Nun of the South Sea had always treated Xiao An quite well. Treating Xiao An well was treating him well. As someone who kept clear tabs on his debts, he did not want to fall out with someone that he owed a debt of gratitude to you.

    ¡°Shut your mouth! Do not mention the words ¡®disciple of buddhism¡¯ again! Buddhism may be vast, but it does not have a disciple like her!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea pointed straight at Xiao An, becoming even more stern. The pressure she gave off even made Li Qingshan¡¯s breathing halt. It was not just power, but also the spirit as a successor of laws and decrees.

    ¡°Can you be reasonable or not? It¡¯s our fault for lying to you, but we also have our difficulties. Isn¡¯t killing a dozen or so Demon Kings and saving a few million lives enough to make up for it?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, there¡¯s no need to say anything more,¡± Xiao An said calmly, but what she implied made Li Qingshan frown heavily.

 Chapter 928 Purging Demons (Six)

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea stood in the sky, between the stars, as she overlooked the daemon and demon. She was filled with unspeakable fury and hatred.

    As someone deep within buddhism, Xiao An understood what the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty represented unlike a ¡°secular disciple¡± like Li Qingshan. That was a true enemy of the buddha. From its very source, it defied and revolted against the buddha, even more heretic than daemons and demonfolk. Not a single buddhist cultivator could allow its existence, let alone the Divine Nun of the South Sea who originated from the school of vinaya.

    All explanations were useless. In a single instant, she made the most rational decision¡ªapart from matters involving Li Qingshan, she never felt any emotion¡ªwhich was to kill the Divine Nun of the South Sea then and there.

    Xiao An met the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s gaze calmly. Her clear, deep eyes were completely devoid of emotion. There was neither remorse nor so-called guilt. Her mental composure that had once made the Divine Nun of the South Sea praise her very much only made her seem chilling now.

    They did not exchange a single word, but Li Qingshan already knew what Xiao An had decided on. This was not the outcome he hoped to see. He had always been about keeping clear tabs on his debts and getting revenge when deserved, but he refused to owe anyone any favours either.

    ¡°Yes, there¡¯s no need to say anything more! One Will, you¡¯ll return to the South sea with me and swear you¡¯ll never set foot outside the Clear Precept nunnery again. That way, you still might have a chance at surviving. Otherwise, it won¡¯t just be the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. All the disciples of buddhism in the world will be your enemy,¡± the Divine Nun of the South Sea let out a long sigh and said resolutely. Then she recovered her stringent demeanour.

    Golden sanskrit that resembled totemic inscriptions appeared on the back of Xiao An¡¯s right hand. That was the preceptual decree the divine nun had left on her. The preceptual decree shone with a hazy, resplendent light, emanating from the back of her hand and enveloping her entire body.

    Immediately, all of her powers were restrained.

    Even the Divine Nun of the South Sea had never expected the life-saving trump card she had left with Xiao An to become the shackles that bound her. When the Divine Nun of the South Sea recalled everything they had been through together during the past decade, her heart throbbed. She sighed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be accompanying you until the day you learn your mistakes and turn back!¡±

    Xiao An was as calm and emotionless as before. Perhaps she could not be regarded as cold, but truly emotionless. As the hazy golden light spread over her, pale-white flames burned silently under her robes. With a boom, they burst through the golden restraints, and she had already become a glossy skeleton.

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    However, the preceptual decree was firmly adhered to her hand bones like glue, but all that remained were traces now, clinging on like some kind of obsession. She extended her left hand and brushed over it gently, wiping away the final traces. At the same time, she severed their relationship!

    ¡°Wretched disciple¡­ you!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea was exasperated.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve studied under your tutelage for many years. Just a single preceptual decree can no longer restrain me. I won¡¯t be restrained by you,¡± Xiao An said calmly. Having turned into a white skeleton, she came off as even colder and more emotionless.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, show me what you¡¯re capable of. Show me just how impressive your demonic art is!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea swung her hand, and a halo rose up from behind her, radiating with majestic, dignified light.

    ¡°Divine nun, why must you be so harsh? It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve done anything completely at odds with humanity and nature. Are you really going to try and kill us just because of a cultivation method?!¡± Li Qingshan still struggled to understand her.

    ¡°One Will, let me ask you one last time. Are you going to return with me or not?¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea completely ignored him, only asking Xiao An.

    Before Xiao An could even reply, Li Qingshan bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about that!¡±

    ¡°Fine then. Today, I¡¯ll purge demons for the greater good and clean up my school!¡± A shabby buddhist scripture appeared in the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s hand, and she began to chant it. Her tone was simple and all over the place. ¡°The motivation of the precepts is to prevent evil and mistakes and to prohibit the four m¨¡ra, a path to renouncing secular affairs. Those without precepts cannot be great. It is of significance and prominence to the three y¨¡nas, the dwelling of all good¡­¡±

    TL: This directly comes from the preface in scroll one of the Chinese vinaya translation of the Dharmagupta. There are 60 scrolls in total, which are broken into four sections. Only part of the text has been formally translated into English (basically the important parts), so I¡¯ve translated this part according to my interpretation. The four m¨¡ra refer to this, while the three y¨¡na refer to this.

    ¡°The school of vinaya is not skilled at battle. They¡¯re more focused on restraints and suppression, not directly harming the enemy. The Divine Nun of the South Sea rarely fights with anyone too. She¡¯s not even as strong as the Thousand Tendrils King from earlier. If we work together, we have over a fifty percent chance of killing her,¡± Xiao An communicated. The Buddha Slaying sword was already in her hand.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Xiao An¡¯s hand and pulled her behind him. ¡°She¡¯s shown you great kindness. Don¡¯t do anything!¡±

    ¡°If she remains, endless trouble awaits us.¡± Xiao An could obviously understand his thoughts. She would only try and understand his thoughts too. However, if they did not kill the Divine Nun of the South Sea today, their secrets would definitely spread across the world. They would die before they even began carrying out their plan to return to the Green province.

    ¡°We work hard to become stronger not just to do what we want, but also to not do what we don¡¯t want. Leave this to me. I¡¯ll teach this old nun a lesson so that she comes to her senses.¡± Li Qingshan smiled at Xiao An. He did not blame her for her choice. However, he did not bend his principles so easily just because of the advantages and disadvantages involved.

    Xiao An nodded gently. She supported all of his decisions.

    At this moment, the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s chanting became even grander. The entire world became solemn and respectful. Li Qingshan and Xiao An were like two criminals, awaiting judgement.

    However, Li Qingshan was not one to plead guilty and allow himself to be at the whim of laws. He laughed aloud. ¡°Divine nun, eat my fist first!¡± Immediately, he turned into a scarlet streak of light and shot over.

    ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Body of Vinaya!¡± The halo behind the Divine Nun of the South Sea glowed brightly, and she pointed at Li Qingshan.

    A holy glow enveloped him completely. A string of prayer beads suddenly appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, and his body became draped in a monk¡¯s robes. His head full of scarlet hair all fell to the ground, completing tonsure and his initiation to monkhood. Immediately, a feeling of benevolence overwhelmed him, repenting on his evil deeds of the past.

    ¡°Divine nun, don¡¯t forget. I¡¯m also technically half a disciple of buddhism, and I have no intentions of harming you. I just hope that we can calm down and have a talk.¡±

    Li Qingshan paused slightly before continuing onwards. His mind had already been tempered by the suffering from the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s illusions, and he had the spirit turtle to guard his consciousness. The techniques of the Divine Nun of the South Sea were wondrous, but they were not particularly effective against him.

    In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the Divine Nun of the South Sea, hurling out a punch!

    ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Law of Vinaya!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea read from the scripture as she formed a seal with both hands, waving them at Li Qingshan.

    Immediately, Li Qingshan felt all of his daemon qi disperse. He could not even unleash the power of tremors. All of his abilities and techniques had become useless. However, he only agreed with Xiao An¡¯s previous words even more. The techniques of the school of vinaya truly were not suited for direct confrontations, especially when it was one-against-one.

    Even without his abilities, his strength of the ox demon was not just for show. It was lacking some sharpness and murderousness, but the strength was truly there. None of it was fake.

    In the final moments, the Divine Nun of the South Sea drew a stick of discipline and swung down at Li Qingshan¡¯s head. If he had been a regular great cultivator, he would have been in danger of having his head cracked in then and there, but even if Li Qingshan received it, it could not be regarded as lethal.

    It¡¯s just as Xiao An said. In a direct confrontation, the Divine Nun of the South Sea isn¡¯t even as great as that Demon King!

    At this moment, a strange expression flooded the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s face. She changed her seal and said sternly, ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya!¡±

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    Li Qingshan stiffened up, becoming completely immobilised, but he did not care. The effects of the preceptual decree would not last for too long. Even if he allowed the Divine Nun of the South Sea to attack him, it could not force him to rebirth.

    However, the Divine Nun of the South Sea completely disregarded him. She used this opportunity to shoot towards Xiao An!

 Chapter 929 Purging Demons (Seven)

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back, only to see the Divine Nun of the South Sea lunging towards Xiao An. Even he had never anticipated the Divine Nun of the South Sea to be so caught up on this, but he was not too worried.

    The techniques of the school of vinaya were extremely impressive. Given his current reaction and speed, he could only endure it, not dodge it. However, its fatal flaws were its limited uses, and the caster would endure a backlash if it was forcefully broken through.

    During the battle of Fire Melt mountain, Li Qingshan had praised the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s techniques, but he also saw through these two flaws. And sure enough, as Xiao An had said, the Divine Nun of the South Sea was not skilled at battle. She tried to deal with Xiao An while he was caught. It seemed clever, but Xiao An was not an easy target either. Forcing her into the battle would only speed up her defeat.

    Xiao An waved her hand gently, and a string of Skull Prayer Beads flew out, turning into hideous skulls. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned within their eye sockets as they let out soul-stirring cackles. They spiralled about as they fell into the Skeleton Demon Formation around her.

    ¡°Paths of Heresy, Forbidden by the Preceptual Decrees!¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea bellowed out, and the strange cackles of the Skeleton Demons were immediately suppressed. Wherever the golden light reached, the Skeleton Demons seemed to sink into mud. The entire Skeleton Demon Formation slowed down and halted, no longer a formation anymore.

    ¡°The Boundless Buddhist Dharma, the Preceptual Decrees Subdue Demons!¡±

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea tossed her scripture into the air gently, which scattered as glistening pages that were as large as doors. They wrapped around Xiao An and enveloped her.

    Xiao An did not go anywhere. She swung the Blood Sea Banner, and a sea of blood whistled out, darting left and right and holding back the golden pages. Not only was it not suppressed by the buddhist glow, but its foul liquid splashed about, even dimming the buddhist glow.

    ¡°Wretched disciple!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea became even more distressed. A stick of discipline suddenly appeared in her hand, made from bamboo and pitch-black and slick. It was engraved with four words ¡°Discipline is a Guarded Mind¡±. It did not seem particularly special, but it gave off an elegant, profound aura. It also happened to be a buddhist treasure.

    ¡°Discipline!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea raised the disciplinary stick high into the air and spat out a single world. The stick exploded with light, falling down over Xiao An without the slightest hint of benevolence.

    Wherever the disciplinary stick reached, the Skeleton Demon Formation immediately collapsed, and the surging river of blood was split into two. It was a solemn and desolate strike, like a heavenly tribulation or divine retribution. It was no weaker than the Sea-splitting sword.

    ¡°Slay!¡± Xiao An raised the Buddha Slaying sword and poured all of the path of the sword she had comprehended in her life into the strike, receiving the disciplinary stick.

    Clang! The stick and sword collided, and the master and disciple stared at one another. They were inches away from one another, but it felt like they were worlds apart.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s face was filled with fury, sorrow, and solemnity, while Xiao An had already cast aside her absolute beauty, reverting to an auraless skeleton.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s expression was stringent, while Xiao An¡¯s went without saying. Even during their decade or so of wandering, they were rarely ever so physically close, but this time, they were trying to kill each other.

    The confrontation only lasted for an instant. The air whistled over, and Xiao An was launched away, falling into the sea of trees.

    Boom! Thousands of giant trees snapped, sinking down into a pit.

    A soybean-sized notch appeared on the disciplinary stick, while a fracture had appeared on the Buddha Slaying sword.

    Xiao An was still not powerful enough to contend against the furious Divine Nun of the South Sea, but there was no need to contend against her for long at all.

    Right when the Divine Nun of the South Sea wanted to continue going after her, she suddenly clutched her chest and groaned. A sickly-sweet taste filled her mouth.

    Li Qingshan shuddered and forcefully broke free from the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s decree. When it came to pure strength, he was not even as great as the giant god of fire from Fire Melt mountain in the past, but the Divine Nun of the South Sea had split her focus to deal with Xiao An, so the power of the decree had diminished drastically.

    Watching Xiao An being launched away, Li Qingshan also flew into a fury. ¡°Damned nun, you¡¯re looking to die!¡± He sucked in a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. A fierce wind whistled over like a long snake, twisting and curling towards the Divine Nun of the South Sea.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath!

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea waved her hand, and golden pages blocked in front of her. Then she raised the disciplinary stick again and lunged towards Xiao An.

    Xiao An raised her head and looked over. She thought to herself, Master, the pincer is already completed. How long can you last? She swung her right hand down, and the skulls all rushed towards the golden pages, biting down on every single page firmly. No longer hindered, the breath of wind rushed straight in, heading right towards the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s back.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea behaved like she had not noticed it at all. All she could see was Xiao An. Filled with exasperated fury, she swung the disciplinary stick again.

    Boom!

    Immediately, the pit became several times deeper. Thousands of towering trees collapsed like straw.

    At the bottom of the pit, Xiao An knelt on one knee and gripped her sword with both hands, parrying the disciplinary stick. The cracks on the sword grew larger as if it could give way and shatter at any moment. However, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone continued to burn away silently in her eye sockets.

    The fierce wind whistled over, slamming into the Divine Nun of the South Sea. Her clothes surged, buffeting in the wind, while her protective glow flickered on the brink of collapse. The wind left a bloody gash on her stern and simple face. She still behaved like nothing had happened at all. Even the fierce wind could not drown out her furious bellow.

    ¡°Wretched disciple, what are you waiting for? Kneel!¡±

    Xiao An could not hold on any longer. Both of her knees dropped to the ground, and pale-white fire flickered through her eye sockets. Even with how clever she was, she never expected the Divine Nun of the South Sea to try everything she could without the slightest regard to kill her. However, it all made sense with the next thought. What could she do about the fact that she practised this specific cultivation method?

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡± Li Qingshan descended with the fierce wind, fully unfurling his wings. The fist he cocked was completely enveloped in shockwaves. He no longer held back with his strength and ability anymore, pushing them to the limit and slamming his fist down viciously into the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s back.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea was not a Daemon King or Demon King. Her body was not particularly tough. If she received that punch, her body would immediately crumble. Even her soul would be damaged. However, she seemed to have lost her mind. All she could see was Xiao An, and she had no intentions of dodging.

    Li Qingshan suddenly frowned, turning his fist into a palm strike. He dispersed the shockwaves and even held back a little more strength.

    With a thud, blood sprayed from the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s mouth, which glowed with a hint of gold. It landed on Xiao An¡¯s skeleton, but it was immediately dissolved by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Xiao An struck back, thrusting her sword straight towards the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s forehead!

    Right as the Divine Nun of the South Sea was about to have her head pierced, a huge hand extended over and caught the sword firmly.

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan shook his head gently and let go of the Buddha Slaying sword!

    ¡°Divine nun, you¡¯re not our opponent. Originally, we were supposed to kill you today, but we¡¯ll spare you out of consideration for what you¡¯ve done for Xiao An. Don¡¯t make an enemy out of us again!¡±

    He had to have tolerance, but he also needed to be vicious when it was required. Li Qingshan obviously understood that principle, but the issue was when he should be tolerant and when he should be decisive. The heavily-injured Divine Nun of the South Sea no longer posed a threat. This should have been the perfect time to kill her, but he always repaid his debts, so even if it would lead to endless future trouble, he refused to betray his own principles.

    ¡°One Will, oh One Will. We¡¯ve spent over a decade together, such that even a daemon hasn¡¯t forgotten about that, yet you¡¯re actually so vicious and heartless!¡±

    Blood oozed from the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s mouth as she stared straight at Xiao An. She was filled with sorrow. Xiao An¡¯s strike had not reached her, but the coldness and heartlessness within the strike broke her heart deeply.

    Even Li Qingshan sighed when he saw this, but he understood extremely well that Xiao An was not vicious. She was only emotionless and characterless.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you always praised my disposition, master?¡± Xiao An said calmly. During the years she spent with the Divine Nun of the South Sea, she had been through many complications in the mortal world, but she had always been unfazed and incorruptible, which the Divine Nun of the South Sea praised very much. She believed that was the bearing a disciple of the school of vinaya should possess.

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    ¡°I¡¯m wrong. How can the heartless have benevolence?¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea suddenly changed the topic. ¡°So be it, so be it. One Will, I will formally accept you as my disciple today, so you can inherit my legacy. Are you willing to accept me as your master?¡±

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. This old nun sure changed her mind quickly. Was she trying to play soft seeing how force did not work? He found this rather inappropriate, but he immediately dismissed his doubts. As long as he was present, even if the Divine Nun of the South Sea tried to make them die with her, it would only cost him a rebirth at most.

    If the Divine Nun of the South Sea wanted to die so much, then perfect. He definitely would not stop her. However, she probably would not make such an unwise choice, so he nodded towards Xiao An.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing.¡± Xiao An brought her palms together and lowered her head. Since he did not want to kill the Divine Nun of the South Sea, then repairing their relationship could make the Divine Nun of the South Sea keep this secret.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Divine Nun of the South Sea smiled. The sorrow on her face suddenly vanished, recovering her solemn and stern expression. She extended her skinny right hand and placed it on Xiao An¡¯s head. ¡°I will pass on the cultivation methods of the school of vinaya to you now¡­¡±

    After passing on the cultivation methods, the Divine Nun of the South Sea said, ¡°Form has appearance, which allows it to be observed and differentiated. First, the Law of Vinaya is comprehended, which only describes its functions. Secondly, the Body of Vinaya is comprehended, which only details the nature of karma. Lastly, the Conduct of Vinaya is comprehended, which slightly demonstrates the effects of cultivation. Without a distinguishing appearance, nothing would be known about the law, the body, and the conduct. How come? There is no other law than the law, and the form is the law. There is no other body than the body, and all of form is the body. There is no other conduct than the conduct, and observing the form becomes conduct¡­¡±

    TL: This passage actually doesn¡¯t come from the Dharmagupta-vinaya, but commentary done on the Dharmagupta-vinaya by a monk much after the vinaya translation. I¡¯ve translated it to the best of my ability, so hopefully it makes some sense.

    A sense of unease suddenly filled Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s right hand suddenly turned into a golden fluid and seeped down. At a closer glance, the golden fluid was composed of countless, tiny characters of sanskrit, seeping deep into the white bones. Xiao An suddenly gripped the Buddha Slaying sword, but she was unable to move.

    Li Qingshan had already taken a step forward and grabbed the divine nun by the wrist. ¡°Divine nun, just what else are you trying to do now?¡± He curled his other hand into a fist and made up his mind. If she still tried to push her luck, he would not show mercy anymore.

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    ¡°I know I am not your opponent as an individual, nor am I trying any tricks. However, since she¡¯s my disciple, I need to take responsibility for her to the very end. One Will, oh One Will, just what kind of demonic art made you like this?¡±

    ¡°Let go!¡± Li Qingshan threw his punch, but it directly passed through the Divine Nun of the South Sea. He did not hit anything tangible.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s face was as calm as before, without any pain. There was even an aura of transcendence about her, having attained enlightenment.

    ¡°One Will, the destiny between us as master and disciple has already run out. It was only for a moment, but I believe this was a gesture of benevolence from the buddha, for me to save you. You must uphold the legacy of vinaya and devote yourself to buddhism.¡±

    Reaching there, she suddenly erupted with light, turning into countless golden sanskrit characters and surging towards Xiao An. She poured all of her cultivation into her body, like gilding the white bones in a layer of gold. This was a ?ar¨©ra, as well as a decree, a form of restraint.

    The disciplinary stick fell to the ground, and the pages all drifted down, reassembling into a scripture and landing right before Xiao An. Li Qingshan lifted her up and asked in concern, ¡°Are you alright? What did the old nun do?¡±

    ¡°Turns out, she wasn¡¯t trying to kill me,¡± Xiao An said in despondence.

 Chapter 930 Purging Demons (Eight)

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Then she?¡±

    Xiao An raised her right hand, which glistened like it was forged from gold. The pale-white and transparent Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out, giving her flesh and blood again. Her original complexion with a healthy glow now seemed rather pale, while her newly-grown skin was also deeply embedded with golden sanskrit characters, like she was born with them.

    She tried circulating the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, and the golden sanskrit character immediately shone with a gentle glow, suppressing the White Bone ?ar¨©ra she had spent all this time developing and refining.

    She faltered and said, ¡°She¡¯s suppressed my Path of White Bone and Great Beauty in an attempt to make me switch to the cultivation methods of the school of vinaya.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s gone as far as to sacrifice her life just for this?¡± Li Qingshan was mildly stunned. He found it rather difficult to understand what the old nun was thinking. With how precious a great cultivator¡¯s life and cultivation was, how could she give it all up so easily just for her disciple to switch cultivation methods?

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s very funny, isn¡¯t it? I deceived her for over a decade, and it even cost her life in the end. She channelled all of her cultivation into me. As long as I abandon the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and switch to the cultivation methods of the school of vinaya, I¡¯ll be able to undergo the third heavenly tribulation with ease. Hehe!¡±

    Xiao An laughed gently, but Li Qingshan could not laugh. He could also tell her laughter was completely forced. A sense of pain and being lost instead appeared in her clear eyes. All the moments they spent together during the decade or so suddenly flooded through her head. The pale-white memories of the past suddenly became dyed with various colours, becoming deeply embedded as a part of her.

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood. The Divine Nun of the South Sea was not just trying to get her to switch cultivation methods, but also trying to give her a heart. However, a heart came with regret, conflict, and pain. He pulled her into his arms firmly. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault. The old nun was being over-sentimental!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, let¡¯s go to the next demon cavern! If this continues, my Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone will extinguish!¡±

    Xiao An suddenly grabbed his hand firmly. Her face was conflicted, but she had much greater resolve. The golden sanskrit characters were seeping deep into her bones right now, attempting to completely cripple her Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    ¡°Have you made up your mind? No matter what kind of path you take, I¡¯ll support you!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s feelings were rather mixed, not just shocked by the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s sacrifice. Along the way, had Xiao An sacrificed anything less than that? She could not admire any beautiful scenery. She could not taste fine food. Everything was for the sake of cultivation, followed by risking her life again and again to help him contend against powerful enemies. She had sacrificed much more than a life.

    If the opportunity arose and she could recover some of those feelings, even if she went back to being the simple-minded little ghost, wouldn¡¯t it count as taking care of her?

    ¡°Dummy Qingshan, stop thinking about abandoning me!¡± Xiao An touched his cheeks gently. No matter how wondrous the cultivation methods of the school of vinaya was, how could they compare to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty that originated from beyond the Nine Heavens? Without that cultivation method, how was she supposed to keep up with him?

    She clutched the scripture and disciplinary stick in her hand and moved her lips, mouthing, ¡°Apologies, master!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m still not that fond of you. You¡¯ll be getting through it all with me whether it¡¯s good or bad!¡± Li Qingshan pouted as a joke and unfurled his phoenix wings, taking off into the air with a gust of fierce wind.

    ¡°Is there a demon cavern¡­ over there?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°How are you supposed to fight alongside me in your current state? Let¡¯s find a place for you to rest up first. I¡¯ll deal with the matter regarding demonfolk. I¡¯ll definitely feed you till you¡¯re stuffed.¡±

    Xiao An said ¡°okay¡± and focused on circulating the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, doing all she could to fend off the golden sanskrit.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Myriad Poison cult, the halls and pavilions stood just like before, giving off a sinister, eerie aura. However, they were covered in a layer of dust. Under the glow of the setting sun, it seemed particularly quiet and desolate.

    Ru Xin sat in a pill cauldron for cultivation. Her body that resembled white jade was soft and exquisite, becoming even more pure and flawless. Suddenly, she sensed something and threw on a set of clothes, leaving the hall and raising her head.

    A resplendent streak of scarlet light tore through the air, landing on the stone square with a boom.

    Meeting an acquaintance again after over a decade, Ru Xin could not help but smile. ¡°You¡¯re in such a hurry! Are you being hunted down again? Hmm? What¡¯s wrong with Xiao An?¡±

    Li Qingshan had no time to explain. He handed the Xiao An in his arms to Ru Xin preciously. ¡°Take care of her for me!¡±

    Ru Xin¡¯s arms sank. Her body that should have been as light as a feather had actually become as heavy as gold. The golden sanskrit stretched across her skin, filled with an immovable and inviolable sense of solemnity.

    Along the way, Li Qingshan had once tried to suppress the golden sanskrit for Xiao An, but it had already merged with her body, or even her mind, completely!

    Xiao An had studied the buddhist dharma diligently for many years. Although she had done so with the exact opposite intention, she had already mastered the essence of those buddhist scriptures and ideas. Everyone who comprehended to her level was a wise, enlightened monk of buddhism. The only reason why she was emotionless and characterless was because of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty¡¯s influence. Once this calmness shattered, it was not like she did not have a devotion towards the buddha and a wish to bring salvation to all, just like how the White Bone Bodhisattva also had a devotion towards the buddha and a wish to bring salvation to all.

    What made her waver was not the Divine Nun of the South Sea, but the buddha nature within her.

    Li Qingshan glanced deeply at Xiao An again and said nothing more, as it would all be useless. He turned around and flew away.

    Ru Xin moved quickly, grabbing him by the shoulder immediately. ¡°What happened exactly?¡±

    ¡°Your cultivation sure has progressed quickly, but if I hadn¡¯t stopped, I probably would have torn off your hand.¡± Li Qingshan came to a halt and was slightly surprised. He had not raised his guard or tried to dodge, but that alone indicated she had not wasted the past decade either.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. Mister Li is in the prime of his life, which a mere cultivator like me admires greatly. May mister Li please tell me exactly what happened?¡±

    ¡°You can ask Xiao An about the details.¡±

    ¡°If she¡¯s willing to acknowledge me, if I¡¯m willing to acknowledge her, then of course I can ask her.¡±

    Ru Xin glanced at Xiao An in her arms. She was also a sharp-witted one. Even back then in the Academy of the Hundred Schools, she had already noticed Xiao An¡¯s peculiarities. This little girl looked at people like they were merely objects. Why would she go out of her way to please someone who did not even acknowledge her?

    ¡°Sister Ru Xin¡­ I¡¯m¡­ willing to¡­ acknowledge you¡­ You can ask me!¡±

    Xiao An said slowly, which stunned Ru Xin. Gazing at the feeble, young lady in her arms, she actually felt a sense of sympathy, which truly was unfathomable! This also happened to be the reason why she was reluctant to have too much contact with this girl. It clearly was not the arts of charm, yet it was even more terrifying than the arts of charm. It was basically impossible for her to not waver once she spent enough time with her.

    ¡°You hear that? I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    ¡°Where are you off to? To do what?¡±

    ¡°Demon caverns! Hunting!¡± Li Qingshan was about to fly off when he heard Xiao An add. ¡°The South sea.¡±

    Li Qingshan was mildly surprised before nodding his head to express that he understood. The fierce wind whistled, and he rushed through the clouds in the dusky sky in the blink of an eye, flying towards the South sea.

    ¡°To think that he actually trusts me enough to leave his favourite with me.¡± Ru Xin could not help but extend her hand and pinch Xiao An¡¯s cheek. She felt delight from taking advantage of her weakened state. ¡°So tell me, how do I take care of you? Are you sick?¡±

    ¡°Let go!¡± Xiao An stared at Ru Xin in displeasure.

    ¡°Sigh! You really are sick.¡±

 Chapter 931 Purging Demons (Nine)

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings as hard as he could, gathering the atmospheric winds and flying faster and faster. He reached the boundary of the land very soon, and the shimmering ripples expanded before him, extending off into the horizon.

    He had arrived at the South sea!

    His eyes lit up, and his mind opened up. He sped up slightly yet again. Only when he reached the depths of the South sea did he furl up his wings and dive into the ocean.

    The magnificent Crystal palace stood in the depths of the ocean as Merfolk bustled about.

    Suddenly, the merpeople raised their heads, only to see a speck of scarlet light fall downwards. It stretched into a scarlet streak in the blink of an eye, vanishing into the great sea abyss behind the Crystal palace.

    At the bottom of the sea abyss, the Merfolk Queen was currently cultivating, holding the Heart of the Abyss in her mouth as she connected with the distant world of Ruin¡¯s End. She allowed the sensation of loneliness and stillness to fill her heart. The deep, icy-cold power penetrated her entire body.

    The crystal accessories on her were all dyed black. Even her silken dress had become a similar colour, adding a hint of stillness and mysteriousness to her cold and noble bearing. It was difficult to look at her.

    Suddenly, she sensed something and opened her eyes, frowning slightly and asking coldly, ¡°Why have you come?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I¡¯m not welcome? If I recall correctly, I almost became the son-in-law of the Crystal palace.¡± Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed, completely ignoring the dignified bearing of a queen she might have intentionally been giving off.

    ¡°Cut to the chase. Why have you come?¡± Gong Yuan shut her eyes, saving herself from the misfortune of having to see him.

    Li Qingshan walked towards her, and Gong Yuan snorted coldly. He felt bone-chilling coldness, like countless blades slicing away at his body in an attempt to make him stop. However, the seawater in the surroundings never froze.

    Li Qingshan was secretly amazed. Her cultivation truly had progressed. However, he had no intention of stopping. He arrived before her against the coldness and extended his hands, pressing them down on her icy-cold shoulders. His eyes were filled with great sincerity as he said, ¡°Help me out!¡±

    Gong Yuan shuddered gently. During the millennium she spent cultivating, there had only been a single man who could stand so close to her, and no one other than him dared to touch her so recklessly. However, after all of the contact and embrace in the past, she seemed to be able to accept a slight infringement like this as natural.

    However, anger suddenly rose up in her heart. She opened her eyes. ¡°Why should I? Where were you when I needed your help?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Didn¡¯t I help you take down Fire Melt mountain? I even cooperated when you wanted to dual cultivate!¡± Li Qingshan was clueless over her anger.

    ¡°And then you had no more use for me, right?¡± Gong Yuan sneered. The empty seat throughout the entire banquet from over a decade ago was still vivid in her memories, which also caused her bitter disappointment.

    ¡°How can you say that?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. He had no idea why she was angry. He had already forgotten all about the banquet from over a decade ago. Even if he could remember it, he would not think it was something particularly important.

    ¡°And now that you can use me again, the great King of Savages has finally gone to the length of personally paying a visit?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt rather clueless, but he at least understood one thing. The queen was in a very bad mood. If he requested her to go purging demons with him right now, it would definitely end in failure, yet she just happened to be the best assistant for something like this.

    Demon Kings were not easy targets, especially those that camped right beside demon caverns. Defeating them was already difficult enough, and killing them was almost impossible. During the battle against the Thousand Tendrils King, Ye Duanhai had weakened him first, followed up by Xiao An¡¯s sneak attack from behind. It would have been virtually impossible for Li Qingshan to succeed if he were alone.

    For a Demon King to rise up among regular demonfolk, they had to have experienced countless bloodshed. The brutal, harsh environment basically determined that the battle prowess of Demon Kings would be much greater than regular great cultivators and Daemon Kings of the nine provinces, and they were cunning and cautious in nature. They definitely were not prey that would just stay put and wait to be hunted.

    When Li Qingshan said he was going ¡°hunting¡±, he said it with lofty aspirations, but he needed a powerful assistant. In this aspect, Gong Yuan was the best choice whether it was her strength, ability, or their teamwork.

    When Xiao An reminded him of the South sea, she had only done so after very close thought. However, the minds of women were ungraspable, just like a needle at the bottom of the ocean, let alone the Merfolk Queen who had a mind as deep as a sea abyss. No matter how clever Xiao An was, it was impossible for her to guess her attitude. It was up to Li Qingshan to resolve this.

    Faced with Gong Yuan¡¯s sneers and questioning, Li Qingshan grinned and pulled her into his arms forcefully, lowering his head and kissing her.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes widened. They were not in a state of dual cultivation this time. Instead, she was completely vigilant. She opened her mouth gently and spat out a dark, cold stream. That was the most pure power of Ruin¡¯s End.

    Let alone his mouth, even Li Qingshan¡¯s entire head went numb. The kiss obviously fell apart, but his strength of the ox demon was not for show. He forcefully embraced her and discovered that she was not as cold as he imagined her to be. In particular, there was a sensation of warmth and gentleness up against his chest.

    Ignoring the bone-chilling coldness, he said gently, ¡°That¡¯s how I want to use you. I¡¯ve been trapped on Fire Melt mountain for all these years, or I would have come to the South sea and made good use of you a long time ago. A pity, a pity.¡±

    ¡°Trapped!¡± Gong Yuan had already made up her mind to teach him a brutal lesson, to make him understand the price of infringing on her again and again. However, when she heard that word, she could not help herself as the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End circulating at full strength halted momentarily.

    ¡°Yeah, all because of that Feng Xiwu, so that divine wutong tree. He almost trapped me for a thousand years!¡± Li Qingshan silently practised the Spirit Turtle''s Method of Sea Suppression to stabilise her feelings.

    Sure enough, the natural compatibility of the two cultivation methods immediately brought a sense of ease to Gong Yuan. Over a decade of cultivating alone made her suppressed inner demons stir again.

    ¡°Why?¡± Gong Yuan asked and temporarily dismissed the idea of attacking him. After some calm thought, she still needed this bastard to increase her cultivation, and she needed his strength to develop her race. She had to endure the humiliation for the greater good. She could not make an enemy out of him. However, these reasons felt like she was finding an excuse for herself, and she was unable to explain why she had flown into such a fury when she first saw him.

    ¡°Umm, that¡¯s difficult to say, but since you want to know¡­¡± Li Qingshan hesitated.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, then forget about it! Don¡¯t weave those lies in an attempt to fool me!¡± Gong Yuan interrupted coldly.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you sense it if I¡¯m trying to fool you?¡± Li Qingshan just opened his mind and entered a state of dual cultivation with her. Under this state, they were mentally linked, so absolutely no lies or deception were possible.

    Perhaps this was the reason why virtually everyone who dual cultivated together would become partners of cultivation. Of all living beings, who didn¡¯t desire the existence of someone like that? Cultivation was lonely. Cultivators were not born with a preference of travelling alone.

    Gong Yuan hesitated, but she was unable to resist this temptation. The moment their minds linked up, her heart stirred. Compared to her cold, silent heart, his heart would always be so scorching and boiling hot, filled with desire, ambition as well as the unscrupulousness to do whatever he wanted.

    ¡°How do I start? I have a son now!¡± The entire sea abyss froze over the moment Li Qingshan said his first sentence.

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    ¡°Heh, sure enough, you¡¯re not lying.¡±

 Chapter 932 Purging Demons (Ten)

    In the Myriad Poison cult, Xiao An gripped her sword with her right hand and formed a seal with her left, sitting on the throne in the hall with her legs crossed. Pale-white flames burned in the depths of her eyes as if they were about to emerge in a roaring fashion, only to be suppressed by the holy glow.

    She endeavoured to maintain a calm expression, just like the surface of water, except beneath the surface, torrents were already surging about. It appeared as microexpressions on her face as if she was in pain, as if she felt regret. In short, she was conflicted.

    The resplendent, flickering glow illuminated the gloomy hall.

    Ru Xin watched her from afar and was secretly shocked. Just what cultivation method is this? Why does the aura she emits resemble that of Monk Kings?

    If the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had not originated from buddhism, then it would have been utterly crippled a long time ago under the crushing power of the Divine Nun of the South Sea.

    However, the White Bone Bodhisattva who created the cultivation method had gone from buddhism to the demonic in the first place. The only reason why she lasted until now was because she mentally rejected everything to do with buddhism, coupled with the recently-hunted demonfolk as resources.

    She was overcome with a multitude of mixed emotions. Even memories from much earlier appeared. She remiscined a certain person¡¯s face, a person known as mother. When she thought up to there, she basically lost control as tears rolled down her cheeks.

    ¡°Are¡­ you fine?¡± For some reason, Ru Xin¡¯s heart ached when she saw this. How could it not ache at the sight of a weeping beauty? However, she composed herself very soon. This girl was anything but that.

    Xiao An glanced at Ru Xin with misty eyes. As if she had read her thoughts yet was also a little embarrassed, she asked gently, ¡°Sister Ru Xin, can I eat you?¡±

    ¡°Def- in- ite- ly- not!¡± Ru Xin felt a hint of coldness, not because of how cold the question was, but because she actually felt the urge to agree for an instant.

    Ru Xin had no idea what was happening to her, but ever since Xiao An gained natural emotions and expressions, her charms basically multiplied. Fortunately, she practised the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, so she basically had a heart of stone, which allowed her to withstand it.

    ¡°How stingy!¡± Xiao An pouted, like a child that had candy taken away from her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m very disgusting to eat.¡± Ru Xin faked a smile, but she discovered that her eyes gradually cleared up. A hint of intelligence flashed through them as if she had thought something through.

    ¡°This¡­ might be an opportunity!¡± Xiao An muttered to herself with a hint of resolve, which made Ru Xin think of Li Qingshan.

    The best resource for practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was not actually the demon hearts of demonfolk, but the ?ar¨©ra of buddhist cultivators. Just like how she needed to study the buddhist dharma if she wanted to comprehend the essence of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, this was a buddhist cultivation method from a certain perspective.

    The cultivation that the Divine Nun of the South Sea had accumulated across her entire life definitely was not poison to Xiao An, but more like a great nourishment. It could even give her the opportunity to experience the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s process of going from buddhism to the demonic. In turn, this would give her a deeper comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    However, that was given that her Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was not completely crippled. This required a tremendous amount of resources, which was why she had asked Ru Xin whether she could eat her! She had only eased up after thinking this through. Her vengeful practical joke basically came as an influence from Li Qingshan¡¯s horrible tastes.

    Qingshan, you better come back soon! Xiao An and Ru Xin thought at the same time.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan did not only sense coldness, but also murderousness. He never imagined Gong Yuan to respond so violently when she heard he had a son! He thought, Don¡¯t tell me this ice woman is interested in me? Hehe, my charms sure are unstoppable!

    However, his narcissism stopped there, as the murderousness grew heavier and heavier. It was already approaching actual killing intent.

    ¡°Hold on, not my son by blood! My adopted son! My adopted son!¡±

    ¡°Adopted son?¡± Gong Yuan said.

    As a result, Li Qingshan told her the entire story, which left her amazed too. To think that phoenixes still existed in this world, and the divine wutong tree had actually trapped him in the phoenix¡¯s nest to hatch the phoenix¡¯s embryo, and he even ended up succeeding.

    If it were not for the fact that they were mentally linked, she definitely would have treated it as one big lie, but the frozen sea showed no intentions of thawing.

    ¡°What, is there still something you¡¯re dissatisfied with?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Do you know what Merfolk find to be the most despicable?¡± Gong Yuan said coldly.

    ¡°Probably everything that the fire devourers do?¡± Li Qingshan blinked his eyes.

    ¡°Faithless, fickle, and half-hearted people. If you¡¯re untethered in the world, then so be it, but you¡¯ve once mentioned that you¡¯re already engaged, so you shouldn¡¯t be so philanderous and casual. I despise you.¡± Gong Yuan grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand that was around her waist and pried it off. She pressed against Li Qingshan¡¯s chest and pushed firmly. The ice shattered loudly.

    Li Qingshan nodded and stroked his chin. ¡°That does make some sense, but aren¡¯t you implying that if I¡¯m not engaged, or if I don¡¯t have any relationships with other women, I¡¯m free to do whatever I want with you?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily impossible, but unfortunately, you¡¯ll never be able to! In this aspect, even the fire devourer that my little sister became infatuated with is much greater than you.¡± Gong Yuan sneered in disdain.

    ¡°Forget about it. If you¡¯re willing, why would I be unwilling? Even if there is a man who¡¯s infatuated with you, how much sincerity can you give him? You have to consider your own cultivation and the development of the Merfolk. You even view your dignity as a queen with more importance than that man! Isn¡¯t that being half-hearted too? You¡¯re not your sister. You really have been thinking too much about going after true love or whatever it is.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, making his voice echo through the abyss. He originally thought Gong Yuan would fly into a rage, but he never expected her to sink into silent thought. She actually showed a rare smile and even lamented slightly. ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. I can never become infatuated with someone like my little sister, nor do I have the right to make demands about how others should feel about me.¡± She became serious. ¡°So we can cut the bullshit and talk about how we can use each other. What do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°Help me clean up the demons and kill a good handful of Demon Kings!¡± Li Qingshan smiled, revealing his sharp canines.

    ¡°And what do I get in return?¡± Gong Yuan shivered inside. The demon plague of the Mist province was extremely severe, and fighting Demon Kings was extremely dangerous too. The King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate had requested her assistance multiple times, but she had turned them all down.

    ¡°Absolutely nothing.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, are you playing with me?¡± Gong Yuan squeezed out those words from between her teeth.

    ¡°It¡¯s not using you if there are no benefits!¡± Li Qingshan directly met her eyes. ¡°Call it a friend asking for your help, alright?¡±

    Gong Yuan was mildly surprised, avoiding his gaze and sinking into a moment of thought. ¡°Considering the fact that you still have some use in the future, I¡¯ll help you out this one time. You better remember this and pay me back on fold in the future!¡± After a pause, she added, ¡°And, we¡¯re not friends!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I know you want to become my wife!¡± Li Qingshan murmured in a rather narcissistic manner.

    ¡°What did you say!?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Alright, your majesty. Whatever you want. Time waits for no one, so let¡¯s set off!¡±

    Gong Yuan returned to the Crystal palace and passed on some instructions before venturing to the Mist province with Li Qingshan.

    Along the way, Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Do you know Ye Weiyang?¡±

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know the name of the Shadow Queen?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we call her along too? We¡¯ll have a better chance that way.¡±

    Li Qingshan had originally considered visiting the Shadow palace and finding Ye Weiyang if Gong Yuan refused. This king of assassins in the Mist province was an extremely powerful help, but she would come at a price. However, it would be nothing as long as he could help Xiao An get through this.

    ¡°Then go ask her. I¡¯ll return to the South sea!¡± Gong Yuan stopped and said coldly.

    Despite both being ¡°godfolk¡±, the conflict between the seven ancient divine kings was extremely deeply rooted. The fire devourers and merpeople were not the only ones with great grievances. For example, the grievances between the giant lumbermen and the fire devourers were no less either.

    Although the merpeople and night roamers were both matriarchies, where women held the authority, that did not mean they could be happy friends. Night roamers were renowned for their liking towards schemes, intentionally stirring up chaos between the races to swoop in for the maximum benefit, so they achieved their objective of weakening the sixth other divine kingdoms in the end. Of course, the night roamers were not the only ones with this aspiration.

    As a result, the kings of the divine kingdoms never saw one another, but once they did, there would be war.

    Gong Yuan loathed Li Qingshan¡¯s disrespectful and casual attitude, but she could not help but admit that she did trust Li Qingshan. This guy repaid his debts and was straightforward and open in whatever he did. He was quite reliable in dangerous battles, having blocked lethal attacks for her more than once. On the other hand, there had been an old saying passed down from the ancient times, that even dead night roamers were not trustworthy.

    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve considered it, but I think it¡¯s enough as long as we work together.¡± Li Qingshan immediately changed his mind. Who would spend money when he had free and fine labour?

    Gong Yuan eased up slightly and caught up with Li Qingshan again, only to hear him sigh and shake his head. ¡°Sure enough, there are no women who don¡¯t get jealous!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?!¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡±

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    ¡­¡­

    The dark clouds were thick, sweeping over from the south and gushing into the demonics clouds condensed from demon qi before falling with heavy snow. This was a once-in-a-millenium sight in the Mist province.

    The demonfolk all raised their heads. A beautiful flake of snow drifted down and landed on the tip of a demonfolk¡¯s nose.

    The demonfolk only felt his nose grow cold; then he lost all of his senses and became a transparent ice statue.

    ¡°Enemy!¡± The demonfolk on the side only managed to scream out that word before following his footsteps. The snowflakes seemed to possess consciousnesses of their own. None of them landed on the ground, all drifting towards the demonfolk.

    Coldness permeated the surroundings. The thick mist turned into a layer of frost. The raucous demon cavern fell silent.

    The Demon Commanders all demonified, but they did not launch attacks. Instead, they turned around and flew towards the demon cavern.

    However, the snowflakes rapidly gathered and stuck together above the demon cavern, turning into a huge snowman.

    The snowman was not terrifying in appearance. It even seemed rather simple and adorable. A smile hung on its round head, but a casual swing of its round fist sent two Demon Commanders flying.

    A black spirit turtle hovered in the thick, snowy clouds. Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan stood within it, powering the Heart of the Abyss with their combined efforts.

    ¡°The snowman is quite adorable!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Gong Yuan in surprise. The snowman¡¯s strength had nothing to do with its outer appearance. It was completely up to the caster¡¯s control. He never imagined there to be such an ¡°ordinary¡± side to her.

    ¡°These demonfolk are only for testing out the various reactions across the nine provinces. How can you even call this a demon plague?¡± Gong Yuan said. The godfolk had far more experience than humans or daemons with dealing with demonfolk.

    ¡°The snowman is quite adorable.¡±

    ¡°Enough with you!¡±

    At this moment, there was a rumble, and the snowman collapsed, drifting apart from a sky full of snowflakes.

    A Demon King had appeared!

 Chapter 933 Purging Demons (Eleven)

    Immediately, demon qi rushed into the air, sweeping away the sky full of snow.

    An impressive-looking man stepped out of the deep, dark demon cavern, and the ground shook. His hideous face was twisted and overcome with rage. He never expected someone to come right after he returned to the Demon domain, costing him so many subordinates.

    ¡°Who are you? Identify yourselves!¡±

    The snowy wind rushed into his face, and he widened his eyes, emitting a furious, thunderous roar. It pierced the snowstorm and reached into the sky, blasting a great hole in the thick clouds and revealing the dark spirit turtle condensed from the power of Ruin¡¯s End.

    ¡°And who might you be?¡± Li Qingshan also stopped joking around. The Demon King¡¯s bearing was even slightly greater than the Thousand Tendril King¡¯s, and he could tell with a single glance that he was skilled in close combat. Defeating him would probably be very difficult if he fought alone, let alone killing him.

    ¡°You don¡¯t even know me, yet you¡¯ve come seeking your death. You¡¯ve come to eliminate demons, haven¡¯t you? I am the Martial Chief King. Stop hiding around. Get down here and die!¡±

    The Martial Chief King bellowed, and his body began to change violently. All of his muscles swelled and twisted, wriggling about like snakes. The demon qi around him surged, growing stronger with each wave.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s frown deepened. He never thought he would run into such a powerful opponent with just his second demon cavern, but he was eager to face him in battle.

    The Martial Chief King finished his complete demonification. He did not grow much in size, but he had become extremely sturdy, which reminded Li Qingshan of the body-builders from his past life, except his body was even more ¡°built¡± than them, which seemed rather disgusting. However, he did not dare to underestimate him at all.

    ¡°Do we fight?¡± Even until now, Gong Yuan had no idea why Li Qingshan was trying to purge these demons. Li Qingshan said he wanted to play the hero, which obviously made her snort in contempt.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Flames seemed to leap about in Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes as he gazed at the Martial Chief King below.

    ¡°Defeating him won¡¯t be easy. Even if we win, he¡¯ll escape into the Demon domain.¡± Gong Yuan analysed calmly.

    ¡°We¡¯ve basically won half the battle already by forcing him into running. Leave the rest to me. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Mace!¡±

    Demon qi surged out from beneath the Martial Chief King¡¯s feet, sending him into the sky. From five kilometers away, he threw a punch.

    The demon qi rushed and roared as it condensed into a huge, black mace. It was covered in vicious spines, the size of a small mountain. It flew through the air with enough force to crush everything in its path, making the snow and clouds disperse wherever it reached and allowing sunbeams to pour through. This added a glorious aura to the demonic attack.

    Li Qingshan was eager to have a go. He loved fighting opponents like this the most, so he could see just whose fist was harder and whose bones were tougher. Tiger¡¯s Fang on his waist thrummed as well. He was almost tempted to abandon Gong Yuan and fight alone.

    ¡°If you wanted to fight alone, why¡¯d you come and find me?¡± Gong Yuan said coldly.

    Li Qingshan focused his mind and steadied the tiger demon. Xiao An was still waiting for him. Now was not the time for him to have a hearty battle. He had to win!

    ¡°Then it¡¯ll be up to you, your majesty!¡±

    ¡°Ice Palace!¡±

    Gong Yuan raised her crystal sceptre, and the power of Ruin¡¯s End flowed out. The ice condensed into a magnificent ice palace, like a shrunken version of the Crystal palace. It gave off thick, icy mist as it stood in the sky, beyond the reach of the world like a palace from heaven.

    Boom!

    The ice palace shook violently, and pieces of ice were sent flying. The huge mace left a deep dent in the main gates of the ice palace. Cracks crawled across the surrounding walls, and there was absolutely no chance for them to be repaired.

    The Martial Chief King stepped out with his left foot and crossed five kilometers, arriving before the ice palace.

    ¡°Axe!¡±

    He kicked with his right foot in the process. The demon qi surged and condensed into a huge axe, large enough to take down a city, and the axe split apart the main entrance of the ice palace!

    ¡°Nice!¡± The Martial Chief King¡¯s valiance and force influenced Li Qingshan, which made him praise aloud. He thought, If I use my full strength, I can also destroy the crystal palace, but definitely not as easily as that. Every single move and technique from him possesses so much power. Sure enough, the Demon domain has a large number of powerful members seeing how they¡¯re bold enough to attack the nine provinces.

    ¡°Whose side are you on exactly?¡± Gong Yuan shot a glance at him.

    ¡°Obviously yours, but turns out your ice palace is all just for show!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°It¡¯s too early to think he can get through the ice palace!¡± Gong Yuan said confidently, ¡°Seal the gates!¡±

    There were no palaces in the world with only a single set of gates. With Gong Yuan¡¯s order, the ice gates all slammed shut.

    ¡°Hmph, how pitiable! Mace! Axe! Blade! Spear!¡±

    The Martial Chief King advanced steadily. Every single part of his body surged with demon qi, turning into terrifying weapons that rampaged about like they were unstoppable. He destroyed the ice gates and barged into the ice palace, paving a path straight towards the black spirit turtle.

    ¡°Come at me!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s retreat!¡± Li Qingshan was about to receive him when Gong Yuan grabbed him by the shoulder and retreated backwards, leaving the ice palace. The Martial Chief King had just made it to the central hall of the ice palace, where the spirit turtle originally resided.

    ¡°Lock the palace!¡± Gong Yuan smiled coldly. She closed her right hand, and the ice palace rapidly shrank. Cold ice crushed down on the Martial Chief King from all directions. In the blink of an eye, the ice palace had been reduced to the size of a room, firmly imprisoning the Martial Chief King inside and immobilising him!

    Gong Yuan could not help but glance at Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯m caught between two ruffians!¡±

    ¡°You better not underestimate ruffians!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and pointed with a finger.

    The Martial Chief King¡¯s muscles that were tough like keratin began to twist and tremble, which seemed particularly horrifying and disgusting. However, tremendous demon qi was constantly being gathered and compressed.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s face changed. The Martial Chief King bellowed out, ¡°Shatter!¡±

    Demon qi erupted violently and turned into over a hundred types of weapons, ripping through the restraints of ice and reducing it to powder. However, the Martial Chief King had vanished.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Hexagonal pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell gathered, forming a solid sphere around the black spirit turtle.

    Boom! The moment the sphere was completed, a large part of it above cracked. That was from a punch from the Martial Chief King. The muscles on his face had tensed up to the point where his eyes were almost gone. They shone with a brutal light.

    In the chaotic Demon domain, schemes and betrayal were present everywhere. Different techniques and abilities constantly emerged in an endless stream. With a demon heart as a seed, probably even the person who first created the demon heart had no idea what kind of fruit it would bear.

    Under these circumstances, the Martial Chief King cast aside all of the strange and wondrous abilities, pushing his body to the limit. He only maintained the simplest and most direct usage of demon qi, having killed countless enemies in the process as he became a Demon King. He was basically synonymous to violence.

    ¡°I want to go for a great battle with him so much!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s tone was like a sex fiend running into a naked beauty. It was not just his hands that were itching to have a go. Basically his entire body was itching.

    That made Gong Yuan frown. She had actually developed a hint of good will towards this bastard and actually thought he was a decent partner for cultivation. Her brain must have been damaged from the cold.

    ¡°You cowardly turtle, holing up in your shell! You better watch as I smash your shell!¡± The Martial Chief King¡¯s muscles swelled and twisted even more. Gong Yuan¡¯s ice palace trap seemed to be completely ineffective against him. It had not even wasted away his strength. His bearing became even more violent as he shuddered all over.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The snow-filled sky was swept clean, now beaming with sunlight. However, the Martial Chief King was nowhere to be seen. All that remained were huge weapons that rapidly vanished with a flash, interlocking together like a monster¡¯s head assembled from various weapons furiously biting and ripping away at something. Whenever it clamped down, a thunderous rumble rang out.

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan were in this colossal beast¡¯s mouth. Even with how cool and sedated Gong Yuan was, she could not help but frown. She was powering the Heart of the Abyss with everything that she had, so the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell became especially tough due to the power of Ruin¡¯s End¡¯s support. Despite that, it was already covered in cracks which continued to spread. Under the Martial Chief King¡¯s furious attacks, she actually felt like she was unable to fight back. They had not merely lost the momentum. They could not even split their focus to launch a counterattack, or the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell would immediately collapse.

    Li Qingshan understood extremely well that the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell would have collapsed at least ten times over already if it were not for Gong Yuan¡¯s presence. It had been quite some time since he used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell in battle too. It was not because the Spirit Turtle Transformation was not powerful enough, but because the Ox Demon Transformation and the Tiger Demon Transformation had already reached the fifth layer. He was much stronger on the offence than the defence.

    Their current strategy of defending was not a bad idea either. If the Martial Chief King had been slightly weaker, then they would have been invincible through the endless power of Ruin¡¯s End from the Heart of the Abyss. If the Spirit Turtle Transformation could reach the fifth layer, then he could achieve absolute defence.

    However, the Martial Chief King¡¯s destructive power far exceeded his expectations. Actually, in terms of cultivation realm alone, he was basically the same as Gong Yuan, but his battle prowess was a bit higher, and he was not suppressed by the power of Ruin¡¯s End like the fire devourers. If she fought against him alone, she might have even been in danger of dying.

    This was also the most troublesome kind of opponent to Li Qingshan. His abilities covered all bases with absolutely no flaws. He could basically overwhelm all abilities. The Thousand Tendrils King could make Ye Duanhai helpless against him, but all the Thousand Tendrils King could do was suffer before Li QIngshan. Most importantly, attacks that targeted the soul had little effect on him. However, the Martial Chief King directly crushed his opponents through raw force.

    However, he did not feel fear as a result. Instead, his killing intent bubbled, and the tiger demon roared! He shut his eyes and pacified the tiger demon¡¯s viciousness, silently waiting for that moment to appear.

    At this moment, the weapons of demon qi suddenly vanished, exposing the crack-ridden Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and the Martial Chief King standing right on top. He raised his thick right leg high into the air and condensed a huge spiky club out of demon qi. It stood like a lone mountain in the sky, pointing straight at the heavens.

    The mountain inverted, and the spiky club smashed down, together with a roar from the Martial Chief King. ¡°Shatter!¡±

    Boom!

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell shattered violently, dispersing as pieces. The spiky club continued along its path, slamming against the spirit turtle¡¯s back viciously and producing a series of ripples. It was basically unable to maintain its shape anymore.

    ¡°Go!¡± ¡°Alright!¡±

    Gong Yuan and Li Qingshan completed their short and simple conversation, and the deep, cold power of Ruin¡¯s End suddenly surged. The black spirit turtle turned into a huge wave that tried to swallow the Martial Chief King.

    With a flash of blood-red light, blade aura shot towards the skies!

    Li Qingshan stood on the crest of the wave with Tiger¡¯s Fang drawn. He swung the blade valiantly and produced a tiger¡¯s roar, shaking the world!

    He unleashed the most powerful offence the moment he gave up on defence. The Martial Chief King was powerful, but after launching a full-strength attack, it was unavoidable for him to seize up for a moment.

    Gong Yuan fell down alone, gazing at the spiky club coldly as it swept past her face. She powered the Heart of the Abyss with her full strength, and the power of Ruin¡¯s End that had gathered for all this time seemed to spring alive, swallowing the Martial Chief King.

    The Martial Chief King shivered, and his muscly body became covered in a layer of pitch-black. The power of Ruin¡¯s End infiltrated every single opening in his body, seeping into him through his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and even his pores. It gave off a bone-chilling coldness. Even his blood was frozen.

    The blade aura paused and erupted with blood-red light!

 Chapter 934 Purging Demons (Twelve)

    ¡°You!¡±

    By the skin of his teeth, the Martial Chief King caught the incoming blade and stared at Li Qingshan with widened eyes. He struggled to believe that Li Qingshan could produce such a vicious swing.

    Every single part of the Martial Chief King¡¯s body was tough and indestructible like a demonic weapon, but Tiger¡¯s Fang was even sharper and more unstoppable. It also contained the terrifying power of tremors, tearing through the Martial Chief King¡¯s body like invisible teeth.

    ¡°Land!¡± Li Qingshan roared out, and the blade cut off the Martial Chief King¡¯s right arm. Demon blood sprayed into the air. The blade continued along its path, cleaving towards his abdomen and leaving behind a horrific wound!

    Tiger¡¯s Fang had filled up with blood during that swing, so it glistened with blood-red light again. Li Qingshan flapped his wings, and the blood-red light flickered about. He launched hundreds of strands of blade aura at the same time, like flowers bursting into full bloom. Demon blood fell like rain!

    A slight smile appeared on Gong Yuan¡¯s face with this sight. Only at a time like that would he be a little more pleasing to the eye. She powered the Heart of the Abyss at the same time, giving the Martial Chief King absolutely no time to catch his breath.

    The Martial Chief King was covered in a layer of pitch-black. Although he circulated his demon qi as hard as he could, he was unable to stop the invasion of the cold, which rushed right towards a crimson demon heart in his body. Under a state like this, even his mind seemed to be frozen, not just his body. His reactions became as slow as possible.

    In that moment, who knew how many times Li Qingshan had swung his blade. He had completely lopped off the Martial Chief King¡¯s arms and feet. He was covered in wounds, which was a horrific sight, and his demon qi had been weakened until it almost stopped existing. He seemed like he was on the brink of death, where he would head off to his next life with a few more swings.

    But for some reason, Li Qingshan frowned and was instead overcome with a sense of unease. The spirit turtle¡¯s predictions were rarely wrong. Would this be a final fling?

    ¡°Very impressive. It¡¯s been a very long time since someone has injured me to such a degree. You¡¯re very impressive, so I¡¯ll let you die a little faster!¡± The Martial Chief King laughed viciously with his deep voice, which soon turned into a violent roar. The demon heart in his body seemed to cross some kind of boundary. It erupted with crimson light, forcing out the power of Ruin¡¯s End.

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    This was a special ability of his demon heart. It could allow him to erupt with all of his latent power when he was heavily injured and on the brink of death, immediately pushing his strength to a whole new level. In the Demon domain, he had survived battle after battle of certain defeat through this ability, constantly overcoming bottlenecks until he became a Demon King.

    The current situation seemed precarious, but it was nowhere close to even threatening his life.

    Gong Yuan said, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    The horrific wounds on the Martial Chief King¡¯s body suddenly spurted with black demon qi, turning into demonic weapons that hurled towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Quit boasting. You better watch as I butcher you right now!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out. The demonic weapons surged over like a flood, filling his view, so he advanced against the flow. His eyes became tranquil and placid, allowing him to see the trajectory of every single demonic weapon. By either dodging or parrying, he flapped his wings and drifted about, like he was dancing between the weapons.

    However, the weapons were far too dense, so there would be a point when he could not dodge or parry. Blood splashed from his body, but he was unfazed. He kept the weapons away from his vital points as he advanced coldly, slashing with his blade.

    The blade aura roared like a blood dragon. With a clang, it halted, revealing the straight blade. It was firmly caught by a muscly arm. As it turned out, the Martial Chief King had recondensed his limbs with demon qi. This seemed to be a repeat of what had happened earlier, except Tiger¡¯s Fang trembled and roared, but it could not break free.

    This was the greatest downside of Tiger¡¯s Fang. It had to maintain constant victory to unleash its power, which formed a snowballing advantage until it crushed the enemy. In order to block the demonic weapons from earlier, most of its blood-red light had been depleted, so its edge weakened as a result. It was no longer enough to cut through the Martial Chief King¡¯s hand of demon qi.

    The demonic weapons condensed from demon qi swarmed over again, wrapping around Li Qingshan like a meat grinder.

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and grabbed the hilt with both hands, pushing the blade down bit by bit, right towards the Martial Chief King¡¯s forehead.

    The Martial Chief King shivered inside. He never expected him to be so vicious and determined, actually wanting to perish together. He snorted coldly. ¡°You¡¯re still not capable of making me perish with you!¡± He gripped the blade firmly with his right hand as his left hand turned into a spinning drill, plunging into Li Qingshan¡¯s abdomen viciously.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s try it!¡± Li Qingshan smiled viciously. He emitted a strand of his soul sense to power the Asura Field.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Gong Yuan rushed over to provide assistance, only to see a blood-red swirl spread outwards, swallowing the two of them.

    In the Asura Field, Yin Qing was currently cultivating when she suddenly shivered inside. She sensed the surge of an extraordinary murderousness as if she had returned to the Asura Field and two Asura Kings were fighting to the death nearby.

    Li Qingshan and the Martial Chief King fought the entire way down to the ground, ripping apart everything in the surroundings but remaining firmly locked together the entire time. They were like two vicious beasts tearing at one another, both with eyes reddened from the battle. They would rather die than relent. However, Li Qingshan was without a doubt the weaker one, losing the upper hand tremendously.

    With countless demonic weapons against him, Li Qingshan¡¯s flesh was shaved away piece by piece, like he was sentenced to slow slicing. He laughed madly as he poured all of his strength into the blade as if he was gambling whether he would split open the Martial Chief King¡¯s head first or if the Martial Chief King would tear him apart.

    To think that the nine provinces have someone like this. Even in the Demon domain, I¡¯ve rarely come across an opponent as tenacious and vicious as him. His body is startlingly tough too, but he¡¯s far too foolish at the end of the day, actually challenging me in destructive power. Die!

    The Martial Chief King¡¯s demon qi erupted loudly. Amidst the sounds of shattering metal, Li Qingshan¡¯s tiger bones became riddled with cracks. He continued to smile even the moment before his skull shattered.

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    The Martial Chief King exhaled deeply and touched his forehead. There was a deep gash there, almost having split his head in half, followed by his entire body down below. This battle was even more difficult than he had imagined it to be. After erupting with his latent power, this was both his strongest form, as well as when his defences were the weakest!

    There were plenty of people who noticed this, but not many were bold enough to meet his attacks. As such, none of them managed to escape the fate of being crushed in the end. Now, all he had to do was break through this domain and leave. Then he could kill the Merfolk and retreat back to the Demon domain to recuperate, and he would be in no more danger.

    He was covered in wounds and utterly exhausted, but Yin Qing who hid in the space there actually could not find a single opportunity to assassinate him. The surging murderousness made the blood-red swirl in the sky spin, and another two Asura Commanders fell down. They caught a glimpse of the Martial Chief King and avoided him from afar. They were battle-hungry, but that did not mean they liked to throw their lives away pointlessly.

    With a phoenix¡¯s cry, the flames gathered together, and a phoenix soared through the sky. Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth.

    The flames scattered. Li Qingshan, who had clearly been pulverised, appeared once more. He said to the Martial Chief King from above, ¡°You¡¯ve lost, Martial Chief King!¡±

    The Martial Chief King suddenly raised his head and became filled with disbelief.

    ¡­¡­

    Gong Yuan happened to be holding the Asura Field in concern when Li Qingshan emerged. He was covered in wounds and in extremely poor shape, but he was brimming with energy.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the Martial Chief King?¡± Gong Yuan eased up inside, but she showed none of it on her face as she asked coldly.

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    ¡°Isn¡¯t this it?¡± Li Qingshan raised his right hand, and sure enough, he was holding the Martial Chief King¡¯s head, twisted with rage and dying with open eyes.

    Gong Yuan gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s dazzling smile. His appearance resembled a child showing off his prize, actually possessing a hint of innocence, which made her heart skip a beat.

    ¡°But I still ended up letting him escape!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. The Martial Chief King was even more resolute than he had imagined. He actually fled towards the blood-red swirl in the sky immediately. Although he managed to kill him in the end, his soul had escaped into the blood-red swirl. By now, he must have been reborn in the Asura realm already, becoming an asura. Given his talent, he would amount to an Asura King in the future at the very least.

    However, Li Qingshan did not feel a hint of regret. Instead, he was rather eager. He prayed to the heavens, I could defeat you this time because it was rather unfair. If we fought alone, I definitely wouldn¡¯t be your opponent. If we ever meet again in the Asura realm, let¡¯s go for another battle!

    ¡°Idiot!¡± Gong Yuan said.

    ¡°Who¡¯re you calling that?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    ¡°Who else could it be? Given the situation back then, you obviously should have retreated, yet you just had to rush up and suffer a beating. If you¡¯re not an idiot, then what are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the idiot. If I retreated, he would come for you. You have no idea just how vicious he was on the brink of death!¡± Li Qingshan objected. Despite his ox hide and tiger bones, he had still been forcefully ripped apart in the end. He studied Gong Yuan. ¡°With how small you are, you probably won¡¯t withstand many strikes before you¡¯re beaten to death.¡±

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    Gong Yuan immediately became speechless.

    He conveniently glanced past her perfectly-sized chest, her slender and exquisite waist, and her elegant and graceful fishtail, which made him want to cherish her. It earned him a vicious glare from Gong Yuan, and only then did he look away.

    ¡°I knew you cared about me!¡± Li Qingshan patted her shoulder.

    Thinking about it now, it was very possible for the Martial Chief King to escape into the demon cavern if he had not dragged him into the Asura Field. He could destroy the demon cavern, but the Martial Chief King was nowhere near as large as the Thousand Tendrils King or the Corpse King from before. He was no bigger than a regular person, so he would be split into two at most by the spatial cracks, which would not be lethal. It was even possible for him to get out unscathed and escape.

    Li Qingshan did not think that much when he fought. He received him with his battle instincts, using up an opportunity of Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth to kill the Martial Chief King.

    Care? Gong Yuan shook her head gently. She refused to back down as a queen. ¡°Since I agreed to help you, I¡¯m obviously prepared to die in the process.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! Since I invited you here from the South sea, I can¡¯t exactly say you¡¯ll be in no danger at all, but no matter who it is, they¡¯ll have to step over my corpse first!¡± Li Qingshan said with sincerity.

    He had always remembered his debts. Right now was unlike when they waged war against the fire devourers. Their relationship back then was just collaborating partners. No one owed the other anything. If there really had been lethal danger, he obviously was not great enough to die for Gong Yuan instead. However, Gong Yuan was assisting him selflessly under the name of ¡°friends¡±. His principles prevented him from letting Gong Yuan die right before him.

    ¡°I¡¯ll collect your corpse.¡± The smile on the corner of Gong Yuan¡¯s lips was fleeting.

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    ¡°Alright then!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. This vicious tongue sure felt like it came from the same lineage. Afterwards, he gathered all the corpses of the demonfolk and said, ¡°You find a place to rest. I¡¯ll head back for now.¡±

    Li Qingshan flew away, only to discover Gong Yuan following close behind. He could not help but smile. ¡°What, you don¡¯t want to see me go?¡±

    ¡°If you were intercepted and killed along the way, how am I supposed to collect your corpse?¡± Gong Yuan paused. ¡°Or if I was killed, how are you supposed to block it for me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re made from mud! Alright, let¡¯s travel together then!¡±

 Chapter 935 Purging Demons (Thirteen)

    Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan arrived at the Myriad Poison cult together. The night was deep like water. The main hall shone with golden, holy light, turning the gloomy hall into something that resembled a buddhist holy land.

    ¡°The Divine Nun of the South Sea?¡± Gong Yuan said. True buddhist disciples had always been rare in the south. In her memories, only the Divine Nun of the South Sea could give off such a glow and bearing. The aura bore a close resemblance, but it was slightly different.

    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Li Qingshan rushed back in a hurry, but he hesitated at this moment.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± This was the first time Gong Yuan saw such hesitance and uncertainty on his face.

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. He took a step and arrived in the hall.

    Xiao An sat at the end of the holy glow and smiled at the sight of him. She closely sensed the change in his aura, clearly having undergone Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth recently. She could not help but become concerned. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°It was just some small trouble. Are you alright?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. His hesitation all vanished, and he recovered his usual decisiveness. She had stopped being a simple child a long time ago, but he was unable to forget that he had to serve as a model for her.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An nodded gently.

    Whether it was the battle between Li Qingshan and the Martial Chief King or Xiao An fending off the invasion of the buddhist glow, it had both been relatively difficult. Right now, they did not say much, but they both understood.

    Ru Xin¡¯s gaze hovered between the two of them; she sighed inside for some reason. She backed out of the hall and met Gong Yuan at the entrance. She bowed in greeting, which was neither distant nor close.

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    Gong Yuan glanced at Ru Xin deeply and only nodded. This was the haughty demeanor she was accustomed to as the Merfolk Queen.

    Ru Xin smiled and actually lightened up inside. Their grievances were settled, so they no longer had any ties to one another, which was for the best.

    Gong Yuan did not end up setting foot in the hall. She waited outside and thought to herself, Our cultivation methods are compatible and are suited for dual cultivation, but the paths we walk are worlds apart. He won¡¯t remain in the South sea, while I won¡¯t leave the South sea. It¡¯ll be difficult for us to become partners of cultivation. Only the two of them can be considered as true partners of cultivation!

    Li Qingshan took out the Martial Chief King and the demonfolk¡¯s corpses, piling them up into a mountain. The smell of blood filled the hall, and the demon qi that still lingered radiated with filth.

    Under the holy glow, the demon qi all dispersed, and the corpses of demonfolk showed signs of melting. This originated from the innate conflict between buddhism and the demonic. They purified and corrupted one another.

    Xiao An balled her fists, sucked in a deep breath, and spat out an extremely-thin strand of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. It slithered over to the bottom of the mountain like a snake, and a while later, pure-white, transparent flames spread upwards from below, setting the mountain alight.

    Xiao An arrived at the top of the mountain. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned silently, like a magnificent, blooming, white lotus. However, it did not lead to any violent reaction with the holy glow. Instead, it seeped in gradually, prying away the cocoon-like buddhist glow.

    In the flames, Xiao An¡¯s white bones appeared from time to time. Beneath her great beauty was a set of white bones. It was clearly a horrifying sight of a pile of corpses and white bones, yet it possessed an indescribable buddhist truth. It represented the sa?s¨¡ra between life and death, the supreme essence that form was emptiness. Once again, it demonstrated that the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty truly did originate from orthodox buddhism.

    This was also why the Divine Nun of the South Sea had failed to cripple the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty immediately despite her vinaya cultivation far surpassing Xiao An¡¯s and grasping the many techniques of vinaya. This was due to a difference in intrinsic quality. This was not her difference with Xiao An, but her difference with the White Bone Bodhisattva.

    If the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s cultivation had been a little weaker, then the ?ar¨©ra would have been devoured and converted by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone a long time ago.

    Xiao An focused on circulating the cultivation method, and her expression gradually settled down. Compared to settling down, perhaps it was better described as certain emotions being drained from her again.

    Li Qingshan stood there with his hands behind his back, gazing at Xiao An on the corpse mountain for a very long time. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed. Suddenly, he turned around and made his way out of the hall. When he brushed past Gong Yuan, he said, ¡°Rest up and prepare for the next battle!¡±

    Xiao An gazed at his tall, wide back and could clearly sense his conflict. She felt a sense of tenderness and dependence that she could never eliminate.

    Qingshan, don¡¯t feel bad for me. So what if I¡¯m emotionless? So what if I fall into the demonic path? I will be by your side forever, until destruction!

    After spending several days recuperating in the Myriad Poison cult, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan set off once more. Although he was fully revitalised, the rebirth he had used up could not be replenished so quickly. In other words, he only had two more opportunities of Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth left, and he would directly turn into an egg with the last one, losing all of his battle prowess. In a battle against a Demon King, that was no different from dying in battle, so the upcoming journey would be even more dangerous.

    When they were about to reach the next demon cavern, Gong Yuan asked, ¡°It¡¯s all for the sake of her!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s all for the sake of me!¡± Li Qingshan said. He was solemn for once.

    ¡°Even butchering her master was for the sake of you?¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes were chilling like ice.

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    ¡°It¡¯s been tough on you for holding back that question all the way until now.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I may have agreed to assist you, but we Merfolk technically owe the Divine Nun of the South Sea a debt of kindness too. I will never risk my life to save someone who¡¯s killed their own master!¡± Gong Yuan said firmly.

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think¡­¡± Li Qingshan gave a rough explanation of the events.

    ¡°Is that true!?¡± When Gong Yuan heard how the Divine Nun of the South Sea had gone as far as to sacrifice her life and pour her entire cultivation into Xiao An just to cripple her cultivation method, she could not help but be stunned. She was not a disciple of buddhism. She did not understand what the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty meant to the Divine Nun of the South Sea, much less the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s feelings towards Xiao An. She only found this story to be ridiculous.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to help me, I¡¯m not going to force you. Go back to the South sea!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand.

    ¡°Are you trying to order me around?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Then please accompany me into battle again, your majesty!¡±

    ¡°I accept your request!¡±

    At the end of the sea of trees, demon qi rushed into the air, connecting the ground with the sky.

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    The two of them flew beside one another, and violent rumbles rang out very soon, startling flocks and flocks of birds.

    Time flew. Together, they swept through seven major demon caverns in the south in three short months, killing three Demon Kings in the process.

    Fortunately, they did not run into another troublesome opponent like the Martial Chief King. Even if some of them possessed strange abilities, they struggled to hold off a direct confrontation from them. However, four Demon Kings still managed to escape, or more accurately, five. When they fought against a Demon King in the north, another Demon King suddenly emerged from the demon cavern.

    Li Qingshan was ready for a battle to the death, but Gong Yuan obstinately refused, so they could only retreat in the end. The reason for that was because Li Qingshan had already used up his second chance of rebirth. During the two battles following that, they let another two Demon Kings escape because of the same reason.

    Li Qingshan had involuntarily muttered several times, ¡°Sigh, if it had been Xiao An, she would have faced them with me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Xiao An.¡± ¡°If it had been Xiao An¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡±

 Chapter 936 Purging Demons (Fourteen)

    The mist-covered waters were magnificent as fog rose up into the air. Within an expansive lake, daemons swam around beneath the surface of the water, afraid to raise their heads.

    In the centre of the lake, Gong Yuan spread her arms and lay there quietly. Her slender, deep-blue fishtail spread out in the water quietly, swaying with the flow. She gazed at the dark, cloud-ridden sky with her dark-blue eyes. There was a hint of exhaustion.

    Bang! Splash! The familiar sounds of footsteps traversed the surface of the water, producing ripples as it approached her.

    Drip! Drop! The drizzle drifted down, kicking up a thousand ripples.

    Gong Yuan closed her eyes as if she refused to look at the person who had come.

    Within the mist and rain, a tall, upright figure strode over with a blade on his waist. He crouched down by her side, and his long, scarlet hair drooped down to her cheeks, but she did not seem to sense it.

    ¡°You must have run out of patience already!¡± Li Qingshan said. The constant, intense slaughter also made him seem weathered, but there was not the slightest exhaustion to be seen. He was still in high morale.

    He had just returned from the Myriad Poison cult, handing his newly captured ¡°prey¡± to Xiao An. Although they numbered fewer and fewer, Xiao An¡¯s situation was improving with time, which made him relax a lot. It put him in a good mood. He was ready to keep going with the battles.

    Gong Yuan ignored him. She was not a battle freak like him. She did not like fighting and slaughter at all. Compared to her physical exhaustion, it was much more difficult for her to recover from her mental exhaustion. If Li Qingshan had not steadied her mind and eliminated her inner demons through dual cultivation, she would have run out of patience a long time ago. She never returned to the Myriad Poison cult either after the time with the Martial Chief King. She just found a lake to wait and rest in.

    Suddenly, she felt a sense of warmth on her face. Li Qingshan gently touched her cool, smooth cheek and said gently, ¡°Yuan¡¯er, I¡¯ve really troubled you recently!¡±

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    Gong Yuan kept her eyes closed as if she had fallen asleep.

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. In the past, if he did this, she would immediately respond¡ªshe would show quite a lot of disgust and contempt. It worked every single time, but he never expected it to fail this time. As it seemed, he had used it too much, and she had already grown resistant to it.

    He smiled and laid down beside her, resting his head on an arm and gazing at her face. He suddenly felt a hint of reluctance. As Xiao An¡¯s situation improved, this journey was about to come to an end. Afterwards, he would be returning to the Green province and beginning a new journey, while she would be returning to the South sea. Countless mountains and rivers would stand between them. Who knew when he could see her again.

    Their three months together might have been an extremely short period in the eyes of cultivators, but they either relied on one another and fought together, or they rested and cultivated together. Who knew how much danger and how many disputes they had gone through. Even Li Qingshan was very surprised by the fact that they had managed to last until now without disbanding. After all, he had not been particularly accommodating and considerate the entire time.

    It was the exact opposite actually. Trying all sorts of ideas to break her icy-cold expression was his favourite pastime. As a result, he verbally offended her dignity countless times, teasing her when they cultivated together. She would become furious enough to attack him, but never did she mention wanting to return to the South sea.

    He was extremely touched by this. Afterwards, he became even more fearless and took advantage of her even more, as when they were mentally linked during dual cultivation, she did not seem to particularly loathe this.

    What did that mean exactly?

    Li Qingshan had a slight understanding of the answer to that question. He pulled her into his arms and radiated with a simple, tranquil aura. It spread as a ripple, turning the lake into a mirror wherever it went.

    Gong Yuan murmured and adjusted her posture to something more comfortable. Her cold, dignified aura vanished, which made her seem like a regular mermaid.

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    The scarlet hair that resembled flames and the blue hair that resembled the deep sea entwined. They laid in each other¡¯s arms, both handsome and beautiful. They were like a natural pair of beauties, forming a tranquil, beautiful scene.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. If he had been born in the Mist province, if he had encountered her much sooner, then so what if he remained in the South sea for good, serving as the son-in-law of the Crystal palace and assisting her in strengthening the Merfolk?

    When he said she could not wholeheartedly love someone, he was merely bickering. He did not actually care. From beginning to end, just which woman he had been interested in could achieve wholehearted devotion? Han Qiongzhi had her parents and her clan, Ye Liusu wanted to usher a new period of prosperity for her race, while his impression of that commander Gu who had once made him fall in love at first sight was still as aloof as ever.

    However, she actually believed him when he said that, and she was left at a loss as to how to respond. She sure was innocent.

    However, there were no ifs in life.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and dismissed these pointless thoughts. He had no idea how much of these feelings she could sense. She did not budge at all as if she was sleeping.

    The sleep was deep, drifting about hazily, reaching that lone island on the South sea¡­

    ¡°Big sister, don¡¯t say anything more. I¡¯ve let you down. However, one day in the future, when you come across someone you love, you¡¯ll naturally come to understand how I feel.¡±

    ¡°That definitely won¡¯t happen, as I¡¯m not selfish like you!¡± Her icy-cold mind stirred as if she had just heard a terrifying curse, but it also led to a hint of envy and anticipation.

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    ¡°No, it definitely will, as we¡¯re exactly the same¡­¡±

    The gloomy rain fell for several days on end. Gong Yuan suddenly opened her eyes and broke free from Li Qingshan¡¯s embrace with a flex of her tail. She tidied her unwrinkled dress and said to Li Qingshan coldly, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to rest for a little longer?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need. The next one is the last battle anyway. Let¡¯s end it quickly so that I can return to the South sea!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan immediately became reinvigorated. He crossed his legs, and the spirit turtle¡¯s figure appeared on him. He carried out a divination before he did anything. ¡°Hmm? This battle will be extremely dangerous!¡±

    ¡°Are there any battles that aren¡¯t dangerous when they involve Demon Kings? Not to mention that you can no longer rebirth, so of course, it¡¯ll be even more dangerous. If you don¡¯t want to go, I¡¯m returning to the South sea.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying you don¡¯t want to part with me?¡± Li Qingshan leaned against his hand and said with interest.

    Gong Yuan snorted coldly and immediately flew away. Li Qingshan followed close behind, grabbing her hand. ¡°Accompany me one last time!¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, it¡¯s not sending you off one last time!¡± Gong Yuan said.

    ¡°Haha, if I have you around to collect my corpse, what am I supposed to be afraid of?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    As they conversed, they rushed through the cloud layer, and the sunlight illuminated the sea of clouds. Gong Yuan looked back, unable to forget that memory. She thought to herself.

    Little sister, I¡¯ve actually always understood how you felt. Just like you said, we¡¯re so similar. The only difference is I¡¯m the elder sister, and you¡¯re the younger sister. The older sister has to protect the younger sister. However¡­ this bastard human-daemon is ten thousand times worse than that damned fire devourer!

    ¡­¡­

    Several hundred kilometers away, a few voices whispered in the demon cavern.

    ¡°Bone-eating Shaman King, are you certain they¡¯ll come?¡±

    ¡°Are you doubting the Meditative Brain King¡¯s divination?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I would never. I¡¯m just asking.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve already eliminated enough possible places. This is definitely their last stop, as well as their final stop. Everything is according to great evil god Qiongqi¡¯s arrangements!¡±

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    The Demon Kings all fell silent. Even across the boundless Demon domain, the great evil god Qiongqi was a demon among demons, an evil among evils. It truly was quite unbelievable that he would actually pay attention to such an ordinary war in a foreign land. Could it be that the Demon Kings that died earlier were all just bait he had put out?

 Chapter 937 Purging Demons (Fifteen)

    In the Myriad Poison cult, the mountain of corpses beneath Xiao An¡¯s feet rapidly piled up before being devoured by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. By now, not a lot remained anymore.

    She stood on the pile of corpses and wrapped herself in the Blood Sea Banner. She counted the Skull Prayer Beads with one hand as she held the Buddha Slaying sword backwards in the other. She chanted the scriptures, sometimes the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, sometimes the secret techniques of the school of vinaya, and so on.

    The golden light around her was righteous and solemn, but the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone entangled around it were twisted and hideous.

    She looked down as if she was completely unaware of this. Her face seemed to be filled with deep benevolence, but at a closer glance, that was only emotionlessness and calmness. She just focused on the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    After three consecutive months of arduous cultivation and four Demon Kings and countless demonfolk as resources, constantly devouring and converting them into cultivation, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was already on the cusp of breaking through. Actually, if the Divine Nun of the South Sea had not gotten in her way, she should have broken through to the third layer already, which would be followed by the tribulation.

    However, this was not a bad thing. It gave her an even deeper foundation and even greater confidence when she faced the tribulation. The power she would obtain would be even greater too.

    By the time she had completely incinerated the pile of corpses, the golden light and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone achieved a delicate balance. She only needed a little more resources, and she could break the balance before rapidly devouring the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s powers.

    Xiao An gazed towards the east. That was the last demon cavern Li Qingshan would be visiting.

    Li Qingshan stopped travelling, having arrived at the edge of a swamp. The demon cavern was less than fifty kilometers from here, which was already within arm¡¯s reach for him. Demon qi rushed into the air, connecting the sky with the ground. The demonic clouds extended over his head, blotting out the sun. This was a sight he had already grown accustomed to.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gong Yuan stopped in the air on a cloud. Seeing how serious he was, she could not help but ask that question.

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    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯m just surveying this place first. After all, knowing thyself and knowing thy enemy makes you undefeatable in battle. Hopefully, we don¡¯t run into two Demon Kings again and let this all go to waste!¡± Li Qingshan smiled at her. Right when he was about to enter the swamp and set foot in the final battlefield, a thought flashed through his head, but it had been far too fleeting, so it escaped his grasp.

    ¡°You¡¯ve finally made some progress.¡± Gong Yuan laid on the cloud elegantly, leaning against her hand with her lips curled slightly. However, the smile was more like mockery than acknowledgement.

    ¡°I¡¯m just worried that you¡¯re too weak, so if we come across an enemy that¡¯s too powerful, you won¡¯t be able to hold on!¡± Li Qingshan pouted and waved his hand. ¡°Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell appeared, rapidly gathering and arranging together. They depicted the entire demon cavern in the distance from all perspectives.

    Countless demonfolk moved stone pillars like ants, constructing a Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. According to Gong Yuan, this formation was extremely popular in the Demon domain. However, as the nine provinces were not the Demon domain, it was restrained by the laws of the world, which was why its effects were so unimpressive. If twelve Demon Kings powered it together, the might would be earth-shaking.

    However, there were only twelve Demon Commanders here. There were a little more stone pillars compared to other places, but it was not something to worry about.

    The scene from the Profound Light Illuminates All swept past the stone pillars and arrived at the source of the demon qi. The demon cavern was even larger than the ones they had come across in the past, surging with demon qi. The crude and misshaped edge seemed just as jagged and sharp as the others, which contrasted against the surrounding scenery. It looked like a mischievous child had used a knife to cut a hole in a famous painting.

    Many tremendous figures shimmered faintly in the rolling demon qi like huge snakes. They radiated with a terrifying aura.

    ¡°So many Demon Kings!¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. At first glance, there were six or seven of them at the very least.

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    ¡°That¡¯s not true. There¡¯s only one.¡± Gong Yuan arrived beside Li Qingshan on her cloud and pointed at a corner of the images.

    Li Qingshan saw it too. As it turned out, the huge snakes all shared a single body. It was a hydra, but he did not ease up when he realised this.

    Hydras were legendary exotic beasts. Their bloodline originated from the divine beast Jiuying, or Nine Nascences. Each head possessed an ability of its own, and each head was equivalent to a life. In order to kill it, all nine heads had to be destroyed, but its regeneration was shocking as well. Even when a head was cut off, it could grow back very quickly.

    ¡°If it really is a hydra, then it¡¯ll be very difficult to win this battle.¡± Gong Yuan was stern.

    Li Qingshan nodded in agreement. If this was the very beginning, they would have been confident enough to face any Demon King in battle, but they were not in their optimal state anymore. Killing an exotic beast like that was extremely difficult and dangerous.

    Most importantly, the question was whether it was an actual hydra or a strange form that a Demon King had taken after demonifying. If it was the former, then they could get ready to retreat.

    ¡­¡­

    Hidden in the demon cavern, close to the Demon domain, the Demon Kings engaged in an intense conversation.

    ¡°Meditative Brain King, why did you send the Nine-headed King up? They¡¯re going to be too frightened to come over,¡± two Demon Kings said the exact same thing at the exact same time. It came from a male and female, but their voices overlapped perfectly.

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    ¡°The Nine-headed King has always been stationed here, so of course, it should still be him. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a true hydra. He only achieved that form through cultivation and demonification. If he¡¯ll be frightened away by just a sham, then this Li Qingshan isn¡¯t worth all of his effort!¡±

    ¡°A sham! Meditative Brain King, I heard you fled at the news of battle without even getting close, offering up your demon cavern without even fighting! How dare you call me a sham!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I know the best if I¡¯ve received him in battle or not. According to my calculations, it¡¯ll be almost certain death for you if we¡¯re not here today.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°What, do you think you¡¯re stronger than the Martial Chief King?¡±

    When the Martial Chief King was mentioned, the Demon Kings all fell silent. Even among Demon Kings, the Martial Chief King was infamous for his strength and viciousness. None of them were confident enough to serve as his opponent. He was even deeply trusted by the Demon Emperor, having been called back to the Demon domain multiple times. Originally, they thought he was going to demonstrate himself in this battle, but they never thought he would die so soon.

    ¡°Stop, both of you! Now is not the time for disputes. Nine-headed King, not only are we here for revenge, but we¡¯re also here for great evil god Qiongqi¡¯s plan. It¡¯s fine if you inhibit our revenge, but if you ruin the great evil god¡¯s plan¡­¡±

    ¡°Bone-eating King, stop strutting around with borrowed plumes. I¡¯ll get around to you sooner or later!¡± the Nine-headed King said viciously, but he no longer tried to do anything carelessly. If the ambush this time failed because of him, great evil god Qiongqi did not even have to do anything. Just the Demon Kings below that had suffered heavily at Li Qingshan¡¯s hands would skin him alive.

    ¡°Meditative Brain King, what should we do now?¡± the Bone-eating Shaman King ignored the Nine-headed King¡¯s empty threats and asked.

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    ¡°Nine-headed King, teach them a lesson!¡± the Meditative Brain King said, ordering him, ¡°Hehe, show them what you¡¯re made of!¡±

    ¡°You¡­ damn you!¡±

    The conversation was secretive and rapid. It sounded long, but it had only taken a moment.

    On the edge of the swap, Li Qingshan was about to launch an attack from the distance to probe them out, where he would retreat if it did not seem right, when a roar rang out from the depths of the swamp. The nine snake heads straightened out, rising from the ground like buildings and radiating with demon qi. The snake eyes all gazed over, filled with coldness and malice.

    Li Qingshan began laughing instead of becoming angry. ¡°He really is a fake! Let¡¯s get him!¡±

 Chapter 938 Purging Demons (Sixteen)

    Li Qingshan grabbed Gong Yuan¡¯s hand and soared into the sky, powering the Heart of the Abyss. Strands of black power of Ruin¡¯s End emanated out, wrapping around the two of them and assuming the form of a spirit turtle. It waggled its head and tail in an extremely realistic manner.

    ¡°Snow Drifts Through the World!¡± Gong Yuan murmured.

    Wisps of clouds appeared, constantly spreading and swelling up. They gradually darkened in colour until they became pitch-black. By then, they had already shrouded half of the sky. Large flakes of snow drifted down from above.

    Li Qingshan powered the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to assist Gong Yuan in stabilising her mind so that she could control even greater power of Ruin¡¯s End, allowing her to push this technique¡¯s power to the limit.

    They were already extremely familiar with this strategy. Their objective was to destroy the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous first, and then they could fight the Demon King.

    The snow drifted down, producing ripples as they collided with the demon qi.

    Originally, destroying the formation was an extremely exhausting and troublesome task, but they possessed the Heart of the Abyss, allowing them to draw power from Ruin¡¯s End endlessly, which allowed them to succeed every single time.

    ¡°Hiss!¡±

    The Nine-headed King raised his nine snake heads and hissed at the sky. Within the surging demon qi, nine brown torrents rushed into the sky, circling around and hurling towards the spirit turtle.

    The surging torrents were filled with heavy and foul demon qi. They could corrupt weapons and even souls. The effects were particularly evident against the cultivators of this world.

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    Gazing at the incoming streams, Gong Yuan could not help but reveal an undetectable smile. ¡°He¡¯s not just a fake. He¡¯s even perfectly suppressed by us.¡±

    ¡°Looks like the final battle is going to be easier than we imagined,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    The torrents arrived thirty kilometers before the spirit turtle, and the spirit turtle opened its mouth, emitting a breath of cold air filled with snowflakes.

    At that moment, the nine torrents all froze into ice. Grey rivers of ice crossed through the sky, crackling as they fell out of the sky and stirring up the muddy water in the swamp.

    At this moment, the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous had been severely weakened. Thousands of demonfolk had been frozen. They could almost launch a direct attack and kill this fake hydra.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes constantly scanned around as he was in thought.

    Gong Yuan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. It might be because it¡¯s always been too difficult, so I¡¯m a little unaccustomed now that it¡¯s suddenly so easy.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. The spirit turtle did not give off any warnings. The entire battle was no different from the ones in the past, but he felt like something was off.

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    ¡­¡­

    In the demon cavern, the Demon Kings discussed the situation of the battle above.

    ¡°The Meditative Brain King is correct. The Nine-headed King really is a sham. He doesn¡¯t stand a single chance against them.¡±

    ¡°Even the Martial Chief King was not their opponent, let alone him!¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop talking. Once they come down, let¡¯s strike together and get our revenge!¡±

    ¡°The formation has already fallen, so why are they still up there? Have they discovered something?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We¡¯re located in the demon cavern, which is almost a different world compared to there. It connects two worlds too, so the heavenly secrets are particularly chaotic. No matter how sharp his senses are, he won¡¯t find anything.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re coming! They¡¯re coming!¡±

    During the conversation filled with glee and hatred, the spirit turtle descended from above, rushing straight towards the Nine-headed King as it was wrapped in wind and snow.

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    The Nine-headed King stood like a mountain. His greyish-brown skin was uneven, covered with bone spikes. In comparison to him, the black spirit turtle was much smaller, but much more exquisite and elegant too.

    However, not only did the nine snake heads shrink backwards, but fear even appeared in their cold eyes. He sprayed the foul torrents even harder in an attempt to stop the spirit turtle from approaching him.

    The torrents erupted like flash floods. The disturbance was utterly shocking, but they were frozen the moment they approached the spirit turtle. The spirit turtle smashed through the ice along the way, making grey ice powder drift through the air.

    The Nine-headed King did possess a part of the hydra¡¯s bloodline, but he only knew how to spray torrents. He could not achieve a separate ability for each head like the true hydra. Now that he was completely suppressed by the spirit turtle, he seemed particularly powerless.

    However, this was the exact effect that the Demon Kings who set up the trap were after. Everything was happening according to plan. Li Qingshan was approaching a trap of death step by step.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to escape!¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. The Nine-headed King actually refused to receive him in battle, turning around and fleeing towards the demon cavern. The torrents were suppressed, but he could still put up a fight against any opponent given his tough body. To think that he was actually such a sham.

    Li Qingshan was about to rush over and shatter the demon cavern with a punch so that he could see if he could make the Nine-headed King stay, or at least keep a part of him here for good.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s face changed, and she retreated in a hurry with him. ¡°There¡¯s an ambush!¡±

    Boom! A column of demon qi smashed through the mud and water, connecting with the demonic clouds.

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    There were a total of twelve plumes like that, establishing the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous that Li Qingshan was all too familiar with. However, it was much larger in scale than anything he had seen in the past, enveloping both of them.

    In that instant, the landscape before him changed. The swamp vanished, and only demon qi remained, circling about and rushing in from all directions, distorting the spirit turtle in the process.

    Li Qingshan felt like he was advancing through a sea of magma. Looking up, the twelve columns of demon qi turned into twelve Demon Gods. They varied in shape and size, some humanoid and some beast-like. They constantly surged in an unstable manner as they gazed at them.

    They were not truly alive, but the aura they gave off was particularly terrifying. There was pride, there was coldness, there was wrath, and there was greed. Among them, Li Qingshan could vaguely make out Qiongqi¡¯s existence. He cast down a curious gaze with his eyes widened, which even seemed a little innocent, but it was only chilling. He was like a child watching an ant, but what descended next might just be a finger to crush them, scorching fire, or a brazen massacre, ignorant of the implications.

    Li Qingshan looked away. When he looked down again, the demon qi from the demon cavern surged even more violently, turning into something like a whirlpool. The doubts in his mind suddenly resolved themselves. He even came to a great realisation.

    The Nine-headed King stopped fleeing, turning around with his nine heads to gaze at him coldly. Within the scoffs, sneers, and strange laughter, Demon Kings appeared from the demon cavern.

    ¡°Yuan¡¯er, a lot of old friends have come today!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at them with his lips. Apart from the Bone-eating King, he had seen every single one of them before. They were the five Demon Kings he had clashed with before, seven in total if he included the Nine-headed King. With seven Demon Kings working together, just how many people stood a chance across the entire nine provinces? They had caught them off-guard in an ambush too, so they were already in dire straits.

    The warning from the spirit turtle shot straight up until it reached the very peak, but it was already too late.

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    ¡°The surrounding domain has already been sealed off. Can you get through it?¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s heart rapidly sank. She was not in the mood to joke around.

    ¡°I can, but they won¡¯t give me the opportunity. Sure enough, you really can¡¯t joke around when it comes to something like one last time.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood just from seeing these old friends that his many abilities were no longer a secret after the consecutive battles. Since they had done so much to lure him in, they would never let him go so easily.

    The Demon Kings remained calm and composed. They were in no hurry to attack.

    ¡°There¡¯s still a chance,¡± Gong Yuan said after a moment of silence.

    ¡°What chance?¡±

    ¡°I can help you stop them momentarily.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡± Li Qingshan frowned. No matter how powerful Gong Yuan was, she could not stop seven Demon Kings unless she went as far as to blow herself up in an attempt to drag them down with her. He could sense the hint of resolve in her heart.

    ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t have to be so sentimental. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that there are no other ideas, why would I come up with such a horrible one? I wouldn¡¯t want to die with you!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s expression was cold like before, but Li Qingshan¡¯s heart warmed up. Just how many people in the world were willing to sacrifice their lives to pave a path for him? He smiled and pulled her into his arms. ¡°I said this before; I won¡¯t let you die before me. We still have to become a pair of eternal lovers!¡±

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    ¡°Li Qingshan, I originally thought you were a straightforward man, but I never thought you¡¯d be so fussy. Since I agreed to purge demons with you, I¡¯ve already made my resolve. I¡¯m just paying you back with my life at most!¡± Gong Yuan said.

    ¡°Haha, what use do I have for your life? You might as well say you¡¯re only useful to me when you¡¯re alive. Be good and stay here. Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re doomed. It¡¯s just one, two, three, four, five, six, seven Demon Kings. I just happened to be worrying about insufficient resources!¡±

    Li Qingshan was composed. Over all these years, who knew how many times he had faced dire straits. There was no need for him to panic. He would die at most. From the moment he set foot out of the Crouching Ox village, he had also made his own resolve.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you recognise me?¡± The Bone-eating Shaman King stood forward.

    ¡°And where did you come from?¡± Li Qingshan really had not seen the Bone Eating Shaman King before. Seeing how hostile he was, Li Qingshan even felt rather confused. He could sense that his aura was similar to a Demon King¡¯s, but it was slightly different at the same time, which gave him an inkling over his identity.

    ¡°I am the Bone Eating Shaman King. Did you ever imagine a day like this when you killed my Bone Eating shamans? I¡¯m supposed to grind you to dust and obliterate your soul today, but great evil god Qiongqi wishes to give you an opportunity. Pledge yourself to the Demon domain!¡± When the Bone Eating Shaman King said that, the Demon Kings fell into a dispute before Li Qingshan could even answer him.

    ¡°What? Aren¡¯t we going to kill him?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t spare him!¡± ¡°Bone Eating, how dare you lie to me!¡±

    They had all witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. Even without undergoing the third heavenly tribulation, he could hold his ground against Demon Kings. If he joined the Demon domain and received the good graces of Demon God Qiongqi, perhaps his future status would even surpass theirs. Not only would they be unable to achieve their revenge, but it was even possible for them to face retribution instead, so how could they accept that?

    Only the Meditative Brain King remained silent. Qiongqi¡¯s interests had never been slaughter, just like how children did not crush ants out of hatred, but because it was fun. However, this Li Qingshan really was special since Qiongqi would pay so much attention to him.

    ¡°This is great evil god Qiongqi¡¯s orders! Are you bold enough to defy him?¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King was completely unbothered by their complaints. Deceiving one another was normal in the Demon domain. If you were fooled, then you were just a fool.

    The Demon Kings immediately fell silent. The Demon God Qiongqi conjured by the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous seemed to be watching them right now. Let alone Demon Kings like them, even the Demon Emperor who presided over their attack against the nine provinces dared not defy Qiongqi¡¯s will.

    ¡°Sure enough! No wonder! Sure!¡± Li Qingshan sighed. Someone as ¡°great¡± as that was actually scheming against him. He sure felt honoured.

    ¡°In other words, you agree?¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King was slightly surprised. He mockingly said, ¡°And I had thought you would put up some resistance at the very least, King of Savages?¡±

    ¡°How does that go again? Capable people are treasured!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Then come!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King stood to one side, raising his hand and revealing the demon cavern behind him.

    The demon cavern was like a huge mouth that the seven Demon Kings in the surroundings tended to. Once he set foot in there, it would be another world.

 Chapter 939 Purging Demons (Seventeen)

    Li Qingshan had once asked the Great Banyan Tree King, ¡°What kind of a place is the Demon domain exactly?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°The Demon domain is just a general name. It includes countless worlds, connected by demon caverns, which form a tremendous body. If the demonfolk successfully invade the nine provinces, then it will become a new Demon domain, and all living creatures will become ¡®demonfolk¡¯. Demonfolk spread the ideology of the demonic path, blaspheming immortals and buddhas and defiling morality. They spread through the trichiliocosm like a plague.¡±

    Li Qingshan then asked, ¡°If the Demon domain is so powerful, how do the nine provinces stand a chance?¡±

    ¡°A world has a world¡¯s laws. The strongest that can enter the nine provinces are only Demon Kings that have undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Existences stronger than that cannot reside here. After all, no matter how powerful an individual is, they still can¡¯t contend against an entire world.¡±

    ¡°Why would they need stronger existences? They only need to send enough Demon Kings, and wouldn¡¯t they win with ease?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact details either. It¡¯s said that the Demon domain¡¯s status across the trichiliocosm is similar to that of demonic cultivators in the nine provinces. They¡¯re relatively powerful, but they don¡¯t have the upper hand. They face constant oppression and persecution from the ¡®righteous path¡¯. It¡¯s just a corner of the battlefield here.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. It was just like how a large-scale war would definitely include countless group and individual clashes. Neither side would send an entire army to kill a single soldier, as it would not be worth it at all. It might even cost them the overall battle.

    Back then, he had still been feeling rather melancholic. It involved the rise and decline of countless races, the slaughter and sacrifice of countless powerful cultivators, but as it turned out, this was only a corner of the battlefield. It was that insignificant!

    However, he dismissed these laments very quickly and became even more certain about his objective. There would be one day when he ventured beyond the Nine Heavens and transcended all significance.

    But right now, he faced a difficult choice. If he entered the Demon domain, Qiongqi¡¯s power would be well beyond what he could withstand. He would completely become a sitting duck, with no chance to fight back or put up a struggle. The feeling of being at the whim of others was simply horrible. Even if he managed to preserve his life, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a would probably both be crippled. He would completely sink into the demonic path.

    It sure was ironic now that he thought of it. The Divine Nun of the South Sea had gone as far as to sacrifice her life to lead Xiao An down the righteous path, while Qiongqi went as far as to use a few Demon Kings as bait to set up this trap, just so he could join the demonic path.

    Did the path that they walked really matter that much?

    Of course, it did. Only after so many years did he finally think it through. It really did matter a lot!

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Li Qingshan? Have you changed your mind? If you think you can buy time, I¡¯d advise you to give up on that thought. I¡¯m going to count down from three. If you don¡¯t enter the demon cavern, we¡¯ll kill you immediately. Three!¡±

    The Bone-eating Shaman King was dignified and solemn, possessing quite an authoritative bearing. He treated Li Qingshan like a servant. Actually, he did not want Li Qingshan to enter the Demon domain and pledge himself to Qiongqi either, so he intentionally tried to anger him. As long as he put up even the slightest resistance, then it would be perfectly justifiable for him to taste his flesh.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go to the Demon domain. However, Qiongqi wants me. It¡¯s got nothing to do with her¡­¡±

    ¡°Two!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King squinted his eyes slightly and completely ignored that.

    ¡°Yeah, since he doesn¡¯t want her, leave her to us!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take good care of her!¡± ¡°He can¡¯t even protect his own woman. How pitiful!¡± The Demon Kings sneered and scoffed.

    Li Qingshan frowned and radiated with solemn murderousness.

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    The Demon Kings all stopped talking. They all felt like Li Qingshan would lunge towards them in the next moment, so they assumed a defensive posture instinctively. Only when they returned to their senses did they realise that Li Qingshan had done nothing at all, which surprised them. This kid¡¯s malice is so heavy that it¡¯s completely on par with the Martial Chief King¡¯s. But given the current situation, we¡¯re not afraid that you¡¯ll fight back. We¡¯re afraid you won¡¯t fight back! The sneers and insults became even more fearless as a result.

    Gong Yuan suddenly felt rather pained. It was not because of the danger she was in, but because she did not want to see him being insulted and humiliated by others. She silently gripped his hand. ¡°Go. I¡¯ll be around to collect your corpse!¡±

    ¡°One!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King widened his eyes, which shone brilliantly.

    Li Qingshan nodded towards Gong Yuan and launched himself towards the demon cavern. He shot past the Demon Kings with a flash, which made him seem eager. It was as if he was actually afraid the Demon Kings would strike the moment the Bone Eating Shaman King finished counting.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King felt some pity too. His lips curled into a sneer as he gloated inside, What King of Savages? This is all that he¡¯s capable of!

    As a result, he waved his hand, and the Demon Kings glanced at one another before following close behind him and diving into the demon cavern.

    Li Qingshan only felt like he had set foot in a dark, gloomy tunnel, unable to see anything even when he opened his eyes as widely as possible. Even his consciousness distorted with the twists in the tunnel. The nine provinces were cast far behind him, and the Demon domain drew closer and closer!

    At this moment, he smiled and suddenly came to a halt. He turned around and threw a punch!

    ¡°Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

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    With a rumble, the darkness shattered, and the cracks spread. Between the fractures was even deeper darkness!

    The Bone Eating Shaman King who flew at the front was unable to react in time. A crack swept past his waist, almost bisecting him. Agony filled his body as he roared furiously, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Idiots. I¡¯m not accustomed to serving as someone¡¯s dog!¡±

    The other Demon Kings all halted in a hurry, also suffering some minor injuries. They were surprised, furious, and delighted inside. Sure enough, he still tried to resist!

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Li Qingshan swung both fists, and the black cracks knitted together like spider webs. Only when he shattered the space around him did he sigh a breath of relief.

    The Demon Kings backed far away, afraid to approach him. They could not withstand the spatial cracks no matter how tough their bodies were. The cracks constantly wove together, forming a black curtain. Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan¡¯s figures vanished behind the curtain.

    The Meditative Brain King said, ¡°Bone Eating King, what did great god Qiongqi say when something like this happened?¡±

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

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    ¡°How?¡±

    The Demon Kings looked at one another. The shattered space blocked everything. Even their voices, vision, and soul sense could not pass through it, let alone launching an attack.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King said furiously, ¡°We¡¯ll stay right here and see just how long they can last for. The space will recover naturally, and that¡¯ll be the time of their deaths!¡±

    The surroundings were completely dark. It was like drifting around on a lone island, except around them was not ripping sea water, but shattered space, a true chasm!

    Li Qingshan tightened his grasp around Gong Yuan and avoided a tiny, black crack. He grinned. ¡°Heh, how¡¯s that? They¡¯re dreaming if they think they can force me into the Demon domain!¡±

    ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    Gong Yuan looked around. The shattered space was both a shelter and a prison to them. They were still in dire straits. It could even be described as even more despairing than before. Since they had already turned against one another, the Bone Eating Shaman King would never give them another opportunity to join the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. ¡°Erm¡­ I¡¯m thinking.¡±

 Chapter 940 Purging Demons (Eighteen)

    Xiao An¡¯s heart suddenly lurched. An intense feeling of unease surged through her. She drifted out of the hall and gazed in the direction that Li Qingshan had departed in. There was no one else apart from him that could make her feel uneasy.

    The mountains, rivers, and trees repeated endlessly. Even she could not see so far away. The glow of the setting sun dyed the stone steps of the hall red. As she stood there, she seemed graceful, her clothes swaying gently in the wind. She was indescribably beautiful, but her face was sunken.

    She took out the Bamboo-Jade Lot of the Cloud Bookcase from her sumeru ring, shut her eyes, and began using the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots. The seven powers of yin, yang, and the five elements produced seven different colours of light, gathering in her hand as a seven-coloured lot pot. It was as gorgeous as a kaleidoscope, casting light on fate and the heavenly secrets.

    She murmured Li Qingshan¡¯s name and shook the lot pot gently, carrying out her divination.

    This was a technique from the school of Yin-yang. She had not fallen behind with it because of her buddhist cultivation. Instead, as her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty progressed, she gained a deeper comprehension. After all, one of the six most renowned abhij?¨¡, or knowledge or powers, was the pubbe-niv¨¡sanussati, the knowledge of past lives or fate. It was impossible for the White Bone Bodhisattva to not have practised this ability given her cultivation. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had a special section devoted to this aspect.

    She was still not qualified to dive too deeply into it, but she had quite a comprehension of it when combined with the Cloud Bookcase of the Seven Lots.

    Li Qingshan could shield himself from most probing eyes that originated from the heavenly secrets through the Spirit Turtle Transformation, but their fates were closely linked, like it was just one body, so they could sense one another. In the past, when Li Qingshan underwent rebirth after the Dragon King of Ink Sea hunted him down, she had sensed it clearly despite being in the distant Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Her divinations regarding him were especially accurate.

    On top of that, she was not divining the obscure, unpredictable future, but the past and present that had already happened or was currently happening. She possessed an abundance of relevant information too, so her process of divination was extremely smooth.

    She grasped the thread of Li Qingshan¡¯s fate the moment she closed her eyes. It was enveloped in an omen of great misfortune. He currently faced great danger and difficulties.

    He seemed to be trapped in a certain place. That place was almost isolated from this world, where even the threads of fate that surpassed space felt unstable.

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    Has he fallen for a trap by the Demon domain? Xiao An frowned slightly and immediately reached an accurate conclusion. She balled her fists. It¡¯s all because of me!

    The balanced buddhist glow and the flames on her fell into disorder. Just like how concern led to mental disarray, she was almost tempted to rush over right now to save him. She bit her fingernail and made herself calm down.

    She murmured, ¡°My current state¡­ even if I was in my best state¡­ It¡¯s useless¡­ It¡¯s not a regular trap¡­¡±

    The only thing worth rejoicing over was according to the indications of fate, he was in dire straits, but he would not be dying any time soon. The issue was how she could save him from there.

    ¡°Ask for help? The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga? Feng Xiwu? The Great Banyan Tree King? The King of Southern Yue? The Merfolk Kings?¡±

    In that moment, a thousand thoughts raced through her head. She constantly eliminated, sifted through, and chose between them¡­

    First of all, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was out of the picture. The Mist province and the Green province were still hostile with one another.

    Furthermore, perhaps Feng Xiwu and the Great Banyan Tree King were willing to assist him, but they were both plant daemons. They could not move their main bodies easily and were limited to a certain range of activity. The Great Banyan Tree King could mobilise the other Daemon Kings of the Mist province, but he could not order these Daemon Kings to throw their lives at demonfolk.

    The two Merfolk Kings of the South sea would fight for the sake of Gong Yuan, but convincing them was anything but easy. On top of that, one of them would definitely stay behind to watch the Crystal palace. With just a single Merfolk King, what could they achieve? It was not very optimistic.

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    Last of all, the King of Southern Yue was the most optimal choice to seek help from. Given the Silver Dragon King¡¯s great destructive power and the fact that he also had a duty to fend off the demonfolk, Li Qingshan had basically been constantly assisting him by purging the demons, so it made perfect sense for him to lend a hand. However, there was also a possibility that he would just stand by.

    Thinking through everything in an instant, Xiao An arrived at where Ru Xin cultivated. After telling her the situation, she asked her to go to Savage mountain to ask for the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s assistance. Only the Great Banyan Tree King could quickly make contact with the King of Southern Yue and convince him to fight.

    Seeing how solemn Xiao An was, as well as how she was slightly panic-stricken, she understood the severity of the matter and got right to work. She immediately made way for Savage mountain.

    After sending Ru Xin off, Xiao An seemed to make some sort of decision. She returned to the hall again and thought to herself.

    Qingshan has always been balancing the demonic and divine and equalising fire and water. On the other hand, white bone and great beauty is a transition between form and emptiness, a shift between life and death, which is also mutual promotion and restraint. The White Bone Bodhisattva had converted all of her buddhist cultivation into the demonic path of white bone, so why don¡¯t I try to balance the two too? The King of Southern Yue may not provide assistance. I¡¯m better off relying on myself than others. All I can do is undergo the third heavenly tribulation as quickly as possible if I want to save him!

    With a stubborn idea like that, she took out the two arcane treasures the Divine Nun of the South Sea had left for her before suddenly conjuring a golden avatar. The avatar had a total of four arms, one holding the Skull Prayer Beads, one holding the scripture of vinaya, one branding the disciplinary stick, and one gripping the Buddha-slaying sword. The Blood Sea Banner stood behind her, spraying out a river of blood that wrapped around the golden avatar.

    Under the golden avatar, her body began to change in a bizarre way. Her left side was complete with flesh and great beauty. Not only was she alluring, but she also took on a solemn and benevolent demeanour, glistening with a holy light as half a halo enveloped the back of her head.

    Her right side was jagged bones, with the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone lingering in between, which depicted thousands of painful, twisted faces. It demonstrated the coldness and mercilessness to destroy buddhas, annihilate the dharma, and slaughter all life!

    For a moment, good and evil displaced one another. Buddhism and the demonic coexisted. It was indescribably profound.

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    However, this was a great danger to her. If the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone devoured the holy glow, or if the holy glow suppressed and extinguished the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, they could both be regarded as a path to her. There would not be a lot of danger.

    However, once she tried to balance the two, to make them coexist, she would immediately be pushing the limits. It was not just the two powers in conflict with one another. Even every single thought through her head clashed together.

    She was like a coin tossed high into the air, constantly alternating between the two sides, with the world spinning around her, in search of an outcome. However, the outcome she was after was neither heads or tails, but to stand firmly on its edge. The difficulty involved went without saying. Just the slightest carelessness would completely tear her apart.

    She did not even know whether the possibility of standing on the edge existed at all. After all, even the White Bone Bodhisattva had gone from buddhism to the demonic.

    However, there was no hesitation on either side of her heart. During the process of practising the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, she had once become lost and confused too. It was through his advice that she managed to come to an understanding. It was not because of how profound his advice was, but because it was so simple and direct that it was rather naive.

    However, what mattered the most was not the contents of his advice, but the person who gave the advice¡ªhim.

    She had never pursued the depth and profound knowledge of the buddhist dharma, nor had she ever wallowed in the liberty and lawlessness of the demonic. She only wanted to remain by his side forever. That was all.

    With her true self present, there were no buddhas or demons that could change it!

    ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha!¡± ¡°Destroy buddhism! Destroy buddhism!¡±

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    She suddenly opened her eyes, and the two voices rang out at the same time, bringing her palms together.

    With a great rumble, the grand hall was obliterated!

 Chapter 941 Purging Demons (Nineteen)

    The buildings around the hall all collapsed, just like dead sticks and branches. It filled the air with dust, which enveloped the Myriad Poison cult.

    The two powers clashed, and a coin fell to the ground loudly. Would it land firmly on its side, or would it collapse with a rumble?

    Savage mountain.

    ¡°Qingshan is trapped and in dire straits. Xiao An has sent me to ask for help, senior!¡± Ru Xin arrived beneath the great banyan tree.

    ¡°What?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King was surprised as well. With Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan working together, regular Demon Kings were not their opponents at all. Even if they ran into multiple Demon Kings, they could always run away if they could not win.

    He did not waste any time. He immediately gathered his focus and used his innate ability.

    A while later, all of the wild grass and reeds in the swamp thousands of kilometers away became his ears and eyes. He saw the plumes of demon qi, as well as the conjured Demon Gods, which astounded him.

    Just what kind of existence had they provoked that was capable of going so far? Even if the King of Southern Yue fell into a trap like this, he would struggle to break free.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous supported by the twelve plumes of demon qi was extremely powerful, but it came at quite a large price too. The amount of energy that went into it was enough to carve out another twelve demon caverns, allowing them to send in even more demonfolk. However, it had all been used to deal with Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan.

    Even if they had cleaned up a few demon caverns through their combined efforts, there was no reason for them to attract such attention. The King of Southern Yue had only suppressed and cleaned up more demon caverns than them, not less, yet he never received such treatment.

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    Qiongqi taking action was equivalent to a great general paying attention to a battle between individual soldiers in a corner of the battlefield. Any ambush he arranged, no matter how half-heartedly, would result in certain death. No matter how alert or skilled at battle the soldiers were, they could not escape it.

    ¡°Senior?¡± Ru Xin asked again. She was filled with concern.

    ¡°This¡¯ll be troublesome!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King sank into his thoughts. It definitely was not a Demon King that set up a trap like that. It probably was not the Demon Emperor who commanded this battle either, but a higher existence. Just getting through the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous would be extremely difficult, and he had to consider whether the existence who set up the trap had any back-up plans too. Even he became very hesitant.

    There was a saying, ¡°If gods were to openly oppose man, then no man would stand a chance.¡± They were all kings among cultivators, but Qiongqi was a Demon God that even the Bone Eating Shaman King worshipped.

    In reality, Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan were only trapped. They were not in dire straits right now, which left the Great Banyan Tree King surprised enough.

    ¡°Qingshan went to purge daemons under your guidance, senior, so you can¡¯t just stand by!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll go ask the King of Southern Yue. If it really doesn¡¯t work out, then I¡¯ll have to set aside my sense of shame and ask a few small friends,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡­¡­

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    The Silver Dragon King hovered in the air like a divine sword. The King of Southern Yue who resembled a handsome young man stood on there, overlooking the demon cavern below.

    He smiled to himself, clearly in quite a good mood. He had just suppressed another demon cavern and made a Demon King stay for good. As long as he made the Demon Emperor in the Demon domain feel pain, the Demon Emperor would reconsider his target to invade. After all, this world had repelled every single invasion from the Demon domain throughout its lengthy history.

    A larger reason for his good mood was the stability of the south. He could not help but admit that Li Qingshan had surpassed his expectations yet again. He actually managed to convince Gong Yuan to work with him, almost purging all the demon caverns in the south. It was said that he even killed a handful of Demon Kings. He truly did deserve his title of the king of the south.

    Compared to these feats, the news that this revealed left him even happier. The Merfolk Queen Gong Yuan¡¯s participation symbolised peace in the South sea. Li Qingshan was no longer a lurking threat either. If the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga found out how great of a help he had been, they would probably regret letting him come to the south.

    And behind Li Qingshan was the shadow of a great Daemon King of the Mist province, which indirectly explained the stance he had taken. If he could obtain his assistance, then the threat of the demon plague would greatly diminish.

    At this exact moment, he suddenly turned around and said to the tiny banyan tree bonsai on the desk, ¡°Fellow, is there something you wish to talk to me about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like you to save someone.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡±

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    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Li Qingshan, have you thought of it?¡± Gong Yuan said impatiently, but there was none of the restlessness or despair that came from facing death in her voice. She seemed more like a cold-faced wife complaining about her husband¡¯s uselessness, who actually made them become lost in their journey.

    ¡°What¡¯re you in such a hurry for? Aren¡¯t I thinking right now? Stop disturbing me!¡± Li Qingshan was sick of the questions too, stroking his chin with one hand as he thought with furrowed brows.

    ¡°I think you can¡¯t think of anything at all. I actually almost believed you. If I had known earlier, I¡¯d rather just throw my life at them.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said it already, but don¡¯t even think about dying in front of me. Stay right here. Didn¡¯t you say you would collect my corpse for me?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I think there¡¯s no difference if it¡¯s in front of me or not.¡± Gong Yuan scoffed.

    ¡°Then do you like it from behind or in front?¡± Li Qingshan smirked and slid his hand down her waist, but it was immediately frozen by her icy-cold gaze. He pulled back his hand awkwardly and rubbed his nose to hide his shame. ¡°Fine then. I¡¯m only trying to ease the nervous atmosphere.¡±

    Gong Yuan rolled her eyes helplessly. Having been trapped until now, since when were they ever nervous? She sure would prefer a bit of a nervous atmosphere, but when she faced this careless bastard, even life and death seemed to stop mattering.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re almost dragging me to your death. Can¡¯t you show me some respect?¡±

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    Li Qingshan considered that seriously and smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t, Gong Yuan!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t I just make you perish with me right now?¡± Gong Yuan ground her teeth.

    ¡°Hold on, I¡¯ve thought of it.¡± Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field and asked with a smile, ¡°Which one do you prefer more, the Asura realm or the Demon domain?¡±

    ¡°Neither.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged and entered the Asura Field. Gong Yuan felt her entire body lighten up. Finally, she no longer had to press up close to him anymore. However, as she gazed at the endless darkness around her, she felt rather empty inside. Her expression gradually recovered its coldness too.

    A while later, Li Qingshan left the Asura Field again and brought his arm around her supple waist without holding back at all, pulling her into his arms. He seemed extremely experienced with the entire movement.

    ¡°You win. You¡¯re going nowhere.¡±

    Originally, he thought he could enter the Asura realm through the blood-red swirl in the Asura Field, which would serve as a final path of retreat, but when he went inside and took a look, the blood-red swirl had sunk into darkness too. He had truly shattered the surrounding space thoroughly, such that even the Asura Field could not connect with the Asura realm.

    ¡°I knew it.¡± Gong Yuan snorted and adjusted herself into a more comfortable position.

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    ¡°Seems bigger,¡± Li Qingshan said solemnly. Through her open collar, he could see a world of snow-white, as well as the deep, dim gully. He could feel her cool, full figure through the thin mermaid silk. Even though this was not his first time, he still found it quite nice.

    Gong Yuan stared at him coldly.

    ¡°Alright, alright. Let me just ignore this nervous atmosphere then.¡± Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and smiled. ¡°This is the last choice left given the current situation. Yuan¡¯er, are you ready to become a Daemon King¡¯s wife?¡±

 Chapter 943 Purging Demons (Twenty-one)

    A streak of silver light shot through the air, stopping steadily above the great swamp. The King of Southern Yue stood with his hands behind his back, only to see plumes of demon qi rushing into the air and Demon Gods standing in the world, which left him surprised too.

    ¡°What a great formation!¡±

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous possessed extremely ancient origins and was widespread in the Demon domain. Having waged war everywhere to suppress the demon caverns, the King of Southern Yue had witnessed it plenty of times, but this was the first time he had seen a formation of such scale and grandeur.

    ¡°No wonder you wanted me to save him, fellow. With this formation, probably no one in the Mist province can save him apart from me. However, the King of Savages is probably dead already after falling into it. Why would he still need saving?¡±

    The King of Southern Yue turned around and said to the banyan bonsai on the table.

    ¡°According to my divination, he¡¯s still alive, so please destroy the formation quickly!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said sternly as he swung his branches.

    ¡°Just what makes Li Qingshan so capable that he¡¯s in such good graces with you, fellow?¡± The King of Southern Yue sighed. The Great Banyan Tree King had not said much, but just the word ¡°please¡± surpassed anything else he could say.

    ¡°This child is anything but ordinary. He shouldn¡¯t die here. Also, the existence who set up such a trap probably didn¡¯t do it to claim his life.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice became even sterner.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I suspect that all the demon caverns that had been cleaned up and all the Demon Kings that died earlier were just bait.¡±

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    ¡°Bait!¡± The King of Southern Yue was finally alarmed. To use Demon Kings as bait, just who was the one at the pole? And what were they fishing for?

    ¡°If he¡¯s coerced into joining the Demon domain, it wouldn¡¯t just be the Mist province that¡¯s overrun with demons before long. The entire nine provinces will become another Demon domain,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    After knowing each other for so many years, he understood Li Qingshan extremely well. This was an aspect that the King of Southern Yue could not rival him in. The King of Southern Yue did govern the Mist province and did possess unmatched authority, but it was also unavoidable for his insight to be confined to this ¡°well¡±; this prevented him from seeing the secret that originated from beyond this ¡°well¡±, from beyond the heavens, that Li Qingshan was hiding.

    ¡°What? Looks like I¡¯ve still underestimated him.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue swung his hand, and the Silver Dragon King shone with resplendent silver light. The dragon head on the nose of the ship opened up, and specks of silver light gathered, growing brighter and brighter. It was like a silver sun, such that its glow even outshone the sun in the sky.

    The twelve Demon Gods looked over. Their gazes seemed tangible, piercing the space and filled with extremely deep chaos and evil thoughts.

    The King of Southern Yue shuddered. His face reddened before darkening, only recovering after quite a while. He said, ¡°Impressive!¡±

    He had specially docked the Silver Dragon King a safe distance away, and basically all formations suffered from the flaw of being more defensive than offensive. As long as he maintained a large enough berth, there would not be any danger.

    However, the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous could actually launch an attack from so far away, and it directly attacked his soul. If it were not for the Silver Dragon King¡¯s protection, he might have been scathed just with that.

    ¡°Attack!¡± The King of Southern Yue ordered in a dignified manner.

    The Silver Dragon King shuddered, and a beam of blinding light pierced the world, right towards the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous!

    This was a blast from the main cannon that could easily annihilate mountain ranges. It directly blew up half of a Demon God, but it was only an illusion at the end of the day, not a true Demon God.

    However, the King of Southern Yue did not ease up at all. Although he had destroyed a Demon God, there were still eleven others, and even the destroyed Demon God rapidly recovered. The foundation of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was twelve demon caverns. It originated from another world, so it was very difficult for him to destroy the entire formation in a single blast.

    The King of Southern Yue peered in through the opening created by the blast. Originally, he wanted to use this opening to allow Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan to escape, but he did not see them at all. He did not even see any Demon Kings.

    ¡°It¡¯s already too late. They¡¯ve either died already, or they¡¯ve crossed through the demon cavern and entered the Demon domain.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue shook his head. As long as he maintained the attack, he could destroy the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous sooner or later, but it would take a lot of time. The attacks from the Silver Dragon King were powerful, but it came at an extremely great cost too. Even he had to consider whether it was worth it or not.

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive, and he hasn¡¯t fallen into the Demon domain yet,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King. If Li Qingshan had died, Xiao An would not have sent Ru Xin for support. If he had completely fallen into the Demon domain, that would be extremely difficult to divine, and it was not exactly dire straits for him anymore.

    The King of Southern Yue fell into a moment of silence.

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    ¡°If you let the demonfolk establish a stronghold through this formation and gain their footing, there will be no end to the demon plague in the Mist province. That¡¯s definitely not an outcome that both you and I would wish to see.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King added.

    He was implying that even if it were not for the sake of saving Li Qingshan, he had to destroy the formation for the sake of his own interests.

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s eyes lit up, and he smiled. ¡°So be it, so be it. I¡¯ll just risk it this time. I¡¯ll go assemble people to destroy the formation right now, so please help me out too, fellow. If Li Qingshan is still alive, I¡¯ll definitely save him!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King had always refused to assist him with suppressing the demon plague. Now that he had finally relented, the King of Southern Yue even felt rather grateful towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    In order to protect the interests of the daemons, the Great Banyan Tree King originally had no plans on becoming involved so soon, but he would not turn a blind eye to Li Qingshan. He also had a feeling that if the King of Savages became a Demon King, they would have already lost half the war before it had even properly begun. If Xiao An continued to follow his footsteps, then they would be at an even greater disadvantage. He definitely could not just stand by.

    In that short conversation, they had reached an agreement that influenced the entire situation in the Mist province. The two kings standing at the apex of the Mist province began issuing orders at the same time. In the gloomy, underground cities, on the towering peaks, in the expansive jungles, Daemon Kings and great cultivators answered their call.

    Qingshan, you need to hold on for just a bit longer, the Great Banyan Tree King thought.

    Li Qingshan turned into his original daemon form, standing tall and gazing at the heavens.

    The blood-red swirl in the Asura Field had already become a pitch-black tribulation cloud. The sounds of thunder rolled through there. It was like a chariot driven by gods, touching the blood-red land from time to time and seeing a rebel. Not only did the rebel refuse to kneel down and accept his fate, but he even tried to defy the heavens, which made them lash their whip in fury!

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    Boom! A bolt of scorching lightning slammed into Li Qingshan¡¯s back. There was a sliver of bright violet within, like steel wire embedded in the whip. It immediately split open his skin, revealing the metallic tiger bones inside.

    Roar! Li Qingshan stood like a mountain, without budging at all. He spread his arms, and his scarlet hair flew as he bellowed at the heavens.

    The pitch-black clouds immediately turned into a violent pool of lightning. Thousands of bolts of lightning criss-crossed together, like a riotous dance of dragons and snakes. The moment before it completely swallowed him, he sensed something and gazed into the distance. He wondered how Xiao An was doing.

    A Skull Prayer Bead shattered, blocking a bolt of tribulation lightning for Xiao An. As a lifebound arcane artifact, it shattering shook her mind. However, before she could even spare a glance, she unleashed her path of the sword to the limit, and the Buddha Slaying sword slashed through several bolts of tribulation lightning. The Blood Sea Banner behind her was dim in colour and covered in burn marks, unable to produce another river of blood or swallow another bolt of lightning. The golden avatar had already shattered, exposing the jagged bones beneath her great beauty.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned in her eyes without even wavering once no matter how much life-threatening danger she faced. She listened quietly to the furious roar of thunder and swung her sword, dancing in the pool of lightning like a ghost.

    ¡°Satisfying!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed. He ignored the warnings from the spirit turtle¡¯s wisdom and ignored the falling phoenix feathers. He allowed the lightning to temper his body as his feet remained deeply buried in the ground. His eyes were filled with fighting spirit.

    Who was the one who had once said that they had the time of their life opposing heaven, opposing earth, opposing humanity?

    He cast aside his own fate and completely submerged himself in the delight of battle.

    ¡°What tremendous tribulation lightning. Is this really the third heavenly tribulation?¡±

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    Yin Qing avoided it from afar in a corner of the Asura Field, watching this unfold in shock. She had once witnessed an Asura Commander undergoing the tribulation and becoming an Asura King, but the scale of the heavenly tribulation was much smaller. Even when she could hide in space, she refused to come anywhere close to even a single bolt of lightning.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine had endowed Li Qingshan with strength that far surpassed his peers, but that did not mean he underwent the tribulations like they were a piece of cake. The heavenly tribulations were the most stringent and the fairest judges. The stronger he was just by himself, the stronger the heavenly tribulations would be.

    That applied to foreign objects too. It did not mean using a great pile of powerful arcane treasures, formations, and talismans would make the tribulation a little safer. The stronger the items were, the more there were, the larger and heavier the heavenly tribulation would become. If a cultivator could not unleash a hundred and twenty percent of the power of these foreign objects¡ªsuch as Ye Duanhai and the Sea-splitting sword¡ªthey were better off not using them.

    When Xiao An faced the tribulation, she had stowed the disciplinary stick and the scripture from the Divine Nun of the South Sea into her sumeru ring. She only used the lifebound arcane treasures forged from the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The Skull Prayer Beads that she had refined one by one were shattered in the lightning, and the sea of blood in the Blood Sea Banner was close to dying out. Even the Buddha Slaying sword was covered in cracks, but these lifebound arcane treasures were facing the tribulation with her. Tempered by the tribulation lightning, they advanced towards a higher level arduously.

    With a clang, Tiger¡¯s Fang suddenly exited its sheathe, turning into a colossal blade as Li Qingshan gripped it firmly in his hand. He swung it at the sky.

    The pool of lightning responded. The electricity all gathered on the blade, pouring into Li Qingshan¡¯s body along the veins on the weapon.

    At that moment, all the bones in his body became clearly visible. The electricity reached all the way to his marrow, making him shudder uncontrollably. Even his soul was about to be torn apart.

    The might of the heavenly tribulation had already reached its limit!

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    He knew he was already staring death in its face. If he could not survive this, then it would be obliteration and annihilation. He grinned viciously as he gritted his teeth, unleashing the four superhuman abilities, the four transformations of the demonic and divine, at the same time. The figures of the ox demon, tiger demon, spirit turtle, and phoenix appeared on him one by one, either standing there silently or singing loudly and roaring furiously.

    At that moment, the tenacity of the ox demon, the fighting spirit of the tiger demon, the depth of the spirit turtle, and the pride of the phoenix all gathered on him, becoming one whole.

    The great earth bore the weight of everything, sharing his damage. The fierce wind whistled and swept about, gushing into the tribulation clouds. The black water was deep and unfathomable, predicting each attack. The scorching fire was endless, healing his wound-ridden body.

    The blood-red soil under his feet crystallised under the tribulation lightning before being ground to powder and blown into the air, sweeping through the sky. Under the illumination of the lightning, it turned into a splendid, phantasmal sight, enveloping Li Qingshan¡¯s mountainous figure.

    As if a thousand years had passed, the sounds of thunder had vanished before he knew it, but the echoes persisted. The crystalline sand was scattered on the ground, forming a crystalline desert.

    The mountainous figure vanished¡­

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 Chapter 942 Purging Demons (Twenty)

    Gong Yuan wanted to rebuke him, only to see that his expression had changed. He raised his head slightly and looked up, sighing with a smile. ¡°I still have a very long path ahead of me. I can¡¯t die here right now!¡±

    His gaze seemed to traverse the endless darkness and reach an extremely distant place, like a frog gazing at the stars, like a child chasing after a dream. He was so insignificant, yet also so persistent.

    At that moment, Gong Yuan experienced a false impression. She was clearly in his arms, yet she felt like the shattered space separated them. Suddenly, she discovered that he was a little pitifully lonely, and the light he gave off was so brilliant that it blinded anyone who stared at him.

    Through their mental connection, she could feel his complicated feeling of a much deeper sense of desire replacing lust, which made her sigh. Under his almost-lay appearance, he was still a cultivator after all!

    At this moment, the shattered space in the surroundings was automatically repairing itself, like how a shattered lake surface would settle down sooner or later. His current strength was nowhere near enough to bulldoze the lake surface for good.

    ¡°When a slight crack appears, power the Heart of the Abyss with everything you have and provide me with the power of Ruin¡¯s End. However, those guys outside will definitely use this opportunity to strike. You need to protect me for a moment.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Gong Yuan.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be your partner of cultivation, but if we can get through this¡­¡± Li Qingshan suddenly laughed in a self-deprecating manner. ¡°Forget it. Didn¡¯t I say I would stop with that? Let¡¯s butcher those bastards outside together!¡±

    As the shattered space repaired itself, the Demon Kings were all ready to strike. Li Qingshan slowly swung his fist and punched the surroundings a few more times. Every single punch was extremely sluggish and heavy as if each bore the weight of ten thousand tonnes. The power of tremors was condensed in the punches as he tried his best to maintain as much control as possible.

    The space shattered again, but under his precise control, a single crack remained open.

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    Gong Yuan immediately powered the Heart of the Abyss and connected with the world of Ruin¡¯s End. Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and from that moment onwards, he cast aside all of his thoughts and circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as quickly as possible, absorbing the deep, cold power of Ruin¡¯s End. As if he had returned to his long parted home, his mind became extremely calm.

    At this same time, a cluster of black qi snuck in through the crack, turning into a strange, black snake and biting viciously towards his neck.

    Li Qingshan was completely unaware of that. He devoted all of his attention to cultivation.

    With a flash of cold light, a diamond-shaped ice crystal shot into the snake¡¯s mouth and dispersed it.

    Gong Yuan stood coldly and proudly, right in front of Li Qingshan. She said, ¡°I haven¡¯t lived for long enough either!¡±

    A smile flashed across Li Qingshan¡¯s lips before he completely devoted his mind to the deep world of Ruin¡¯s End. If he wanted to break through to Daemon King, balancing fire and water was not the only way. Actually, there was another path he could take, which was pushing the Spirit Turtle Transformation to the fifth layer.

    In truth, this path had become available to him a very long time ago. However, he still ended up deciding against it after an attempt, as the Phoenix Transformation back then was far too feeble. Once he did that, his future cultivation would become especially difficult.

    But now, the Phoenix Transformation had already reached the fourth layer, achieving a balance with the Spirit Turtle Transformation, so the consequences of this had diminished drastically. Although balancing the two first was the most optimal choice, not everything in life would unfold according to plans. However, since someone wanted to give him a slight surprise, he decided to give them a slight surprise too.

    The Spirit Turtle Transformation had reached the cusp of breaking through a long time ago. After two decades of accumulation, he was only a single step away. With the support from Ruin¡¯s End, this step became especially easy to take.

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    In a short while, a rumble rang through his sea of consciousness. After an earth-shaking surge, it was immediately suppressed again. A spirit turtle dove all the way to the bottom of the sea of consciousness and slowly extended its dragon-like head, letting out a growl.

    Gong Yuan was fending off the furious attacks of the Demon Kings arduously when she sensed something and glanced over from the corner of her eye. In a daze, she seemed to see a spirit turtle looking at her with its tranquil gaze. Only with a closer glance did she discover it was Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze. Not only was the aura that he gave off broad and distant, but even his appearance had changed tremendously.

    His scarlet hair and eyes turned black again, while his horns, claws, and teeth all vanished. A hint of handsomeness vanished from his appearance, replaced by a hint of sharpness. Having suppressed the ox demon and tiger demon, he went back to being the original Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s hair was a mess, her aura was weak, and there was a wound on her shoulder. It had been frozen in ice, but it was still black. Even just through a tiny crack, blocking the various attacks of seven Demon Kings was anything but easy. On top of that, the crack had grown larger during this time. If it were not for the fact that the Demon Kings were afraid of dying in the process, thus avoiding all risk, the situation would have been even more dangerous.

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ll trust you one more time. You better not disappoint me this time!¡± Gong Yuan swung the pitch-black power of Ruin¡¯s End with her left hand and shouted, ¡°Icebound Domain!¡±

    She never expected the ice wall to block the Demon King¡¯s attacks the moment it appeared, even plugging the crack momentarily. She was surprised. She never thought she could erupt with such power.

    On one hand, she no longer needed to split her focus to support Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, and on the other hand, it became even easier for her to wield the power of Ruin¡¯s End now that Li Qingshan had broken through to the fifth layer of the spirit turtle.

    ¡°Since when have I disappointed you?¡±

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    Li Qingshan took a step forward and hurled a punch. The power of tremors whistled out, shattering the space in the surroundings again. He glanced at his fist and smiled. ¡°Sure enough, the effect is remarkable!¡±

    He had not strengthened the Ox Demon Transformation, but the various transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine influenced one another. Going from the fourth layer to the fifth layer was tremendous progress for the Spirit Turtle Transformation. His control over his strength had increased evidently.

    The sounds of thunder penetrated the space there with grandeur, shaking up their minds.

    As the absolute principle for measuring a cultivator¡¯s realm of cultivation, even the shattered space could not prevent the arrival of the heavenly tribulation.

    Li Qingshan stopped smiling. He had already taken the critical step, so what came next was the true challenge!

    ¡°Wait for me!¡± Li Qingshan dove back into the Asura Field with that.

    The feeling of intimacy and serenity drained from her heart, which made Gong Yuan feel empty inside. She sucked in a deep breath and said gently, ¡°Sure!¡±

    At the same time, Xiao An stood within the ruins in the Myriad Poison cult. The Skull Prayer Beads turned into skulls and revolved around her, with golden pages of scriptures fluttering through the air further out. Standing within them, she maintained her eerie appearance of half-great-beauty and half-white-bone. She pressed the Buddha Slaying sword into the ground with one hand and pointed the disciplinary stick towards the sky with the other. The Blood Sea Banner stood right behind her, swaying in the wind.

    The golden, holy glow seeped into her skin and flesh spread, covering her half of white bone in the blink of an eye. It turned her into an alluring beauty as she gazed down, her face filled with benevolence and solemnity and making her inviolable. However, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned silently in the depths of her eyes, emotionless and characterless.

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    Perhaps her unbudging true self had pulled through, perhaps the White Bone Bodhisattva had left behind this possibility in the first place¡­

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve done it. Wait for me.¡±

    Lightning illuminated the entire region as the heavenly tribulation rained down from above!

 Chapter 944 Purging Demons (Twenty-two)

    Yin Qing was alarmed, arriving in the desert with a few flashes.

    Standing on a sand dune, all she saw was a tall, thin figure in the centre of the desert, standing there without budging at all. He leaned on his blade with both hands to support himself while he rested his head on the hilt. His thin, scarlet hair drifted in the air, obscuring his appearance.

    He was covered in wounds, such that basically none of his skin remained intact. It exposed his thick, sturdy bones, which shone with a metallic lustre. He seemed so feeble as if there was not even a single hint of life left.

    Had he succeeded?

    Yin Qing was uncertain. She slowed down and arrived beside him carefully. She extended a hand, wanting to touch him, but she hesitated and pulled it back again. She was worried he would turn into a pile of dust from the slightest touch.

    The wind blew over, lifting some of the crystalline sand into the air. The thin, messy hair drifted in the wind, and a speck of scarlet light suddenly lit up within. That was a scarlet-red eye, as beautiful as a ruby, staring straight at Yin Qing.

    His gaze was incredibly calm, without even a hint of emotion.

    However, it made Yin Qing grow numb. Her heart trembled like it had been electrocuted. She was stunned there, becoming immobilised.

    After making out that it was her, the scarlet eye blinked and became quite friendly.

    Yin Qing felt like she had just jerked awake from a nightmare, but she still took a step back instinctively. ¡°My king?¡±

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    It was not that she could not recognise Li Qingshan, but his changes left her far too astounded.

    In the past, he had been extremely powerful, far greater than any regular Asura Commander. He would demonstrate a startling aura from time to time too, but he had never possessed this bearing that could stun people simply by standing there. Even the Asura Kings she had seen in the past did not possess that.

    His powerful aura was completely withdrawn and melded into his body. He did not give off any direct pressure, but that only added to his depth. His vitality was recovering, like some new sprouts in a fire-razed savannah. It was extremely weak, but it represented new life.

    ¡°Greetings, my king!¡± Yin Qing dropped down on one knee and lowered her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive!¡± Li Qingshan said hoarsely as if he was talking to himself, yet also like he was sighing to Yin Qing.

    The might of the third heavenly tribulation far exceeded his imaginations. Towards the end, the warnings from the spirit turtle basically said, Stop struggling. You¡¯re dead for sure!

    After all, he definitely was not in prime condition after going through three months of continuous battle. He had been forced to undergo the tribulation against his will, so it was actually extremely difficult, even dangerous.

    However, he still ended up lasting through it.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Yin Qing nodded heavily.

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    ¡°Very good.¡±

    Hearty laughter rang out from within the messy, scarlet hair. The laughter became louder and louder with a metallic resonance. The great wind picked up, drifting through the desert.

    With a clang, he drew his blade and pointed it at the sky. He staggered before gaining his footing and thought, I¡¯m one step closer, beyond the Nine Heavens!

    The blood-red swirl spun away, gazing at him deeply like an eye.

    ¡­¡­

    In the deep demon cavern.

    ¡°This is an Asura Field! What, has Li Qingshan abandoned you and fled, Gong Yuan?¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King gripped the Asura Field and stared at Gong Yuan viciously. She had never expected all of her efforts to still go to waste in the end.

    As a king, he was highly knowledgeable. Asura Fields were existences akin to demon caverns. They could connect with the Asura realm. Now that the shattered space had recovered, Li Qingshan must have fled from here already. No matter how powerful they were, it was impossible for them to enter the Asura realm in pursuit, or it would be horrendous once they were sucked into the eternal battle of blood.

    Gong Yuan was bound by black thorns. Her beautiful, silken dress was stained with blood. She spread her slender arms, like a butterfly trapped in a spider web, possessing a brutal sense of beauty about her. Even her blue eyes struggled to focus on the enemy.

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    The Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s voice seemed to ring out from an extremely distant location. It took her all of her efforts to control her tongue and mouth, saying gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll return.¡±

    It was exactly because she believed in this so much that she did not choose to perish with them, instead holding them off for a little longer for his sake, hoping he could overcome the heavenly tribulation safely. However, as she was facing seven Demon Kings, that also meant she lost the ability to make that choice forever, which would lead to a fate even worse than death.

    Apart from the thorns around her, there was a purplish-black existence that resembled a brain above her head, which had a terrifying, distorted face on it. That was the Meditative Brain King¡¯s demonified form. He constantly used his powers to influence her mind. The other Demon Kings had also surrounded her, all poised with various techniques and abilities ready to be unleashed, which would be enough to make her beg for death.

    ¡°You fool. You¡¯ve been deceived. He tricked you out of the South sea into this mess before tricking you here to die in his place. What an idiot!¡±

    The Bone Eating Shaman King had failed Qiongqi¡¯s mission, which left feeling rather frightened within his anger, so he was in an especially bad mood. He did not even spend time trying to forcefully breach or refine the Asura Field. Given the situation, everyone would choose to flee, so it would be too late even if he opened it up.

    The other Demon Kings in the surroundings all took pleasure in his misfortune. They failed the task even after going so far. After all, there were no Demon Gods known for possessing a good temper.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong,¡± Gong Yuan said gently.

    ¡°I¡¯m wrong!? Oh, I think I recall it now. Your younger sister was a fool just like you, having been lured to Fire Melt mountain by the fire devourers and tortured to death by burning. The two of you sure form a great pair of sisters. You¡¯re even foolish in the exact same way. Though, I don¡¯t like to play with fire. I only like to eat meat. The taste of merfolk flesh is delicious. I¡¯ve always taken a liking to it, though I¡¯ve yet to taste the flesh of a Merfolk Queen!¡±

    The Bone Eating Shaman King extended his crimson tongue and licked his lips, smiling viciously. ¡°You will live for a very, very long time. I¡¯ll slice off your flesh piece by piece and enjoy it slowly. How¡¯s that? It¡¯ll be a perfect match for the way your sister died!¡±

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    ¡°Heh, then do you know what ended up happening to Fire Melt mountain?¡±

    Gong Yuan was calm. He was such a horrendous person, but she neither regretted leaving the South sea to face these dangers with him, nor did she resent him for her current situation.

    Suddenly, she understood how her younger sister felt back then. She could not help but smile. They were both holding onto hope.

    ¡°How dare you still¡­¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King became furious.

    ¡°He will return. It might not be now and instead be in the future, but he¡¯ll find you one by one and give you payback for today.¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes suddenly focused, staring coldly at the Bone Eating Shaman King before her. However, she smiled inside. He was very vengeful after all!

    ¡°I¡¯ll eat your mouth first!¡± The Bone Eating Shaman King shivered inside and became even more angered. Suddenly, he opened his huge, gaping mouth, revealing his sharp teeth and biting towards Gong Yuan.

    Gong Yuan shut her eyes. The foul breath filled her face, but the Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s howl rang out beside her ears!

    A blood-red blade rushed out of the Asura Field, plunging into the Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s head from below. With a twist, the head was ripped to pieces, and the howl halted.

    Li Qingshan climbed out of the Asura Field and said rather tiredly, ¡°This woman¡¯s lips belong to me!¡±

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    ps£º µÚ¶þ¸ü·îÉÏ£¡

 Chapter 945 Purging Demons (Twenty-three)

    Gong Yuan opened her eyes and gazed at his large, wound-ridden figure. Her heart pained for some reason, feeling both relieved and as if she had been wronged. She was almost overcome with the urge to cry.

    Li Qingshan turned around and gave her a toothy grin. ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait.¡±

    ¡°You took too long!¡± Gong Yuan grumbled.

    Suddenly, the Bone Eating Shaman King¡¯s headless body leapt back rapidly. As if he had already been anticipating this, Li Qingshan casually pressed his hand against his chest without even looking back, walking towards Gong Yuan.

    The Bone Eating Shaman King backed away and roared hysterically through his furious consciousness, ¡°Li Qingshan, you- this- no!¡±

    Black cracks emanated out like spider webs until they reached the surrounding space. His body was like the cracked earth, while the demon heart buried deep within him shattered under the tremors, dying for good!

    Boom!

    The power that the Bone Eating Shaman King had accumulated from devouring countless lives for over a millennium immediately swept through the entire demon cavern. The expressions of all the Demon Kings changed in shock, retreating in defence.

    ¡°Watermirror¡¯s Image!¡±

    A smooth, mirror-like surface appeared behind Li Qingshan. The moment the terrifying power from the explosion came into contact with the mirror, it was reflected, colliding with the rest of the power and forming the perfect defence.

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    When the mirror shattered, the fierce wind only lifted up his scarlet hair, but the encirclement of Demon Kings was completely broken. Only two Demon Kings remained in his path. His gaze was firm, and his heart was placid like water. Everything was within his expectations.

    From beginning to end, he had not demonstrated any aura of murderousness at all. If they closed their eyes, they almost would have missed his presence altogether. Even when they looked at him, he seemed extremely feeble and exhausted, which only shocked the Demon Kings even more. He had casually slain the Bone Eating Shaman King in that exact state. Was he intentionally putting on a weak front?

    Actually, Li Qingshan¡¯s condition was even worse than what the Demon Kings guessed. He had just emerged from a battle of life and death against the terrifying heavenly tribulation, without any time to recuperate or recover. He did not even have the time to familiarise himself with his new innate abilities, and he had to fight these seven Demon Kings. The danger involved was tremendous. If he did not strike first and destroy their encirclement, he was in danger of dying.

    But fortunately, he had not faced the heavenly tribulation for nothing. The power behind his swing and palm strike could not be regarded as particularly impressive. After becoming a Daemon King, his strength had increased qualitatively. He could completely wield the Ox Demon Transformation and the Tiger Demon Transformation¡¯s power now.

    If he were a burly kid in the past who regularly swung a large blade around carelessly, his threatening manner was frightening, but who knew how many times he would have to swing his blade before he hacked his opponent to death. Now, he had finally grown up. Even if he was extremely feeble, he could kill with a single strike even if he had a dagger!

    Coupled with how he struck to kill right from the beginning, he managed to kill the Bone Eating Shaman King so easily. However, after blocking the blast from the demon heart, he became even more feeble. He was standing inside the demon cavern too, which was nowhere close to the earth. The surroundings were all space, so the Strength of the Earth was useless. However, he showed none of it, holding on through willpower alone.

    ¡°Stop right there! Do you want her to die?¡± The Meditative Brain King released a terrifying aura and threatened Li Qingshan. His will turned into invisible hands, ripping away at her soul and shaking her mind.

    A smear of pain appeared in Gong Yuan¡¯s eyes. She gritted her teeth firmly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ about me¡­ Kill¡­ them!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and shot a glare at the Meditative Brain King, but he did not stop.

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    Gong Yuan suddenly felt her mind lighten up. The Meditative Brain King¡¯s control suddenly vanished. Raising her head in surprise, every single fold on the Meditative Brain King that resembled a brain trembled.

    The Meditative Brain King originally wanted to stun Li Qingshan¡¯s mind through fear and use Gong Yuan to coerce him. However, he experienced even greater and even deeper fear from Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes of the tiger demon. A mental clash like this had always been the most dangerous, so he immediately suffered an intense backlash!

    ¡°Meditative Brain King, what are you doing?¡± A sharp, ear-splitting voice rang out from the black thorns around Gong Yuan. ¡°Li Qingshan, do you still recognise me? I¡¯ll kill her first, and then you!¡±

    Thousands of black thorns swarmed over like the tide, filling Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°So it¡¯s the Black Thorn King!¡±

    As he sighed, he unfurled his glorious wings. The fierce wind danced, and the flames burned. He swung his blade without the slightest hesitation and charged into the forest of thorns, arriving before Gong Yuan and pulling her firmly into his arms. This was already his last bit of strength.

    In the next moment, the thorns wrapped around him firmly, piercing his skin, drinking his blood, and containing his daemon qi!

    ¡°Why did you still return?¡± Gong Yuan blinked her eyes. How could she not sense his current feebleness? Just making it to her side had come with the risk of lethal danger.

    ¡°I said that if they want to kill you, they¡¯ll have to step over my corpse first!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I mean nothing with this!¡± Gong Yuan suddenly raised her head and kissed his lips.

    The black thorns enveloped them as a huge cocoon, and the four Demon Kings that had been forced back by the explosion all gathered over again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be frightened by him. He seems to have just undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Even if he¡¯s rather capable, he¡¯s a spent force now. He no longer has the ability to fight back now that he¡¯s fallen into my forest of thorns!¡±

    The Black Thorn King laughed complacently. Actually, Li Qingshan¡¯s demeanour earlier had also frightened him. Only after a slight probing did he realise it was all a front, and that was all thanks to the idiot, the Bone Eating King. Now, it would be him who completed the mission. He would definitely receive the good graces of Demon God Qiongqi.

    The Demon Kings looked at one another. They never expected this to be the end result either. The Bone Eating Shaman King had racked his brains for this, only to lose his life. Now, it was instead easy pickings for the Black Thorn King.

    The Meditative Brain King recovered from the backlash and said frantically, ¡°Black Thorn, quick, kill them!¡±

    ¡°Meditative Brain King, I don¡¯t need you to tell me, the Black Thorn King, what to do. Demon God Qiongqi might want him alive!¡± the Black Thorn King said. Not only did he refuse to, but he also dared not to.

    Without the Meditative Brain King¡¯s control, Gong Yuan could easily choose to end her life then and there. Even if the Meditative Brain King was around, he could only control one of them at the most. The Black Thorn King was not foolish enough to force them into perishing with him. Instead, he planned on leaving them with a ray of hope so that he could bring them back to the Demon domain and offer them to Demon God Qiongqi.

    The Meditative Brain King reverted to his normal form. With a sunken face, he dove into the Demon domain without even looking back, as if he was fleeing from something.

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    Within the cocoon of thorns, Li Qingshan widened his eyes first. Then a smile spread across his face as he lowered his head to kiss her deeply. Their blood flowed and merged together. They were completely unaware as if they had forgotten about the surroundings, even when they were deep within the jaws of death.

    Their minds had never been so connected. Her soft, gentle tongue was not all that Li Qingshan savoured greedily. There was also a cool sphere that turned in their mouths, releasing slivers of cool, profound power of Ruin¡¯s End.

    Indeed, that was the Heart of the Abyss, the one that she had hidden away in her belly.

    With that as a foundation, connecting with the distant Ruin¡¯s End, the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End circulated at full strength at the same time, supporting one another and compounding each other.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi rapidly recovered. The slivers filled his body, wanting to become a true Daemon King!

 Chapter 946 I am a Daemon King

    Gong Yuan felt her heart fill up as she forgot about her pain. Her arms broke free from the restraints of the thorns and embraced Li Qingshan firmly, not just to break free from this despairing situation anymore, but as if she wanted to indulge in his embrace.

    The All Water to Ruin¡¯s End circulated rapidly, progressing with unprecedented smoothness. There was no longer the coldness and solitude from wandering the abyss alone. A pair of warm arms wrapped around him firmly. Her mind was at peace, and her lips pressed against his.

    Strands of water from Ruin¡¯s End flowed out of the Heart of the Abyss. Originally, this power was so mighty that it was beyond control, but it was just enough for them to share now.

    Mentally connected, Li Qingshan could clearly sense she had already fallen in love, which also made his passion blaze. This was something that had never happened in any of the times they dual cultivated in the past. They were both so proud. Even when they depended on one another and fought together, their true emotions would never stir, until now.

    In this deep demon cavern, they did not simply place their lives in each others¡¯ hands. There was also absolute trust and an unchanging promise involved!

    Sensing each other¡¯s feelings, they stopped hesitating. The flames of passion cascaded like the waves, rapidly rising higher. The minds were completely linked together, getting along in perfect harmony.

    This was no longer just out of love, but also because Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation had increased.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine went from easy to difficult. Each layer would be several times harder than the one before, but the increase in strength would also be several times more.

    When the Ox Demon Transformation and the Tiger Demon Transformation broke through to the fifth layer, he was in dire straits, and he had turned the tables with the breakthroughs. Now, the Spirit Turtle Transformation had reached the fifth layer. His bloodline of the spirit turtle became thicker, so he could obviously achieve even greater harmony with Gong Yuan.

    Actually, if he wanted to, he could one-sidedly suppress Gong Yuan¡¯s will. Of course, he would not do that, but unconsciously, some side-effects were still unavoidable. As long as she practised the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, he was her bane.

    Hmph, to think you¡¯d still enjoy these empty feelings of love! Kiss slowly! Kiss to your heart¡¯s content!

    The Black Thorn King sneered. Originally, he was still thinking about how he was supposed to pacify them, just in case they threw their lives at him. However, when he saw how they single-mindedly embraced and kissed each other, he felt that sure saved him some trouble. It would all be over as long as he brought them into the Demon domain anyway. They would not be able to stir up any more trouble by then.

    Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to conceal his aura and obscure the heavenly secrets, such that the Black Thorn King sensed nothing. The Black Thorn King even thought they knew they stood no chance, so they simply gave up!

    The cocoon-like ball of thorns moved through the gloomy, long demon cavern with Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan, flying towards the Demon domain.

    The four Demon Kings exchanged glances and followed along. They were thinking about how they could not let the Black Thorn King alone enjoy all the rewards following this battle.

    The Black Thorn King was afraid that undue delays would lead to trouble, and he was also cautious of the four Demon Kings behind him, so he flew at full speed. Before long, a familiar figure appeared before him. He happened to be in a good mood, so he greeted him.

    ¡°Meditative Brain King, you sure fly slowly!¡±

    The Meditative Brain King was not skilled at flying at all, and he was injured from the backlash, so he slowed down after distancing himself from the Black Thorn King. He was currently in deep thought when he suddenly sensed a tremendous demon qi approach him. Turning around, it was actually the Black Thorn King hurrying over, which made him widen his eyes and curse aloud. ¡°You fool! Stay away from me!¡±

    ¡°Are you sick of living?¡± The Black Thorn King was angered too. I didn¡¯t even provoke you, so why¡¯re you cursing me?!

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    Black thorns twisted and grew. The Meditative Brain King was renowned for his caution in the Demon domain, but caution was also synonymous to cowardice. He was not skilled in direct combat either, so the Black Thorn King did not fear him at all.

    The Meditative Brain King downright ignored him and tried to accelerate away, but he came to a halt. A black thorn had pierced through the air and wrapped around his waist. He turned around furiously. ¡°Black Thorn King, are you asking for a battle?¡±

    ¡°Tell me first what you are fleeing away from.¡± The Black Thorn King questioned him closely.

    Something was amiss. The Meditative Brain King had not made it to Demon King through caution alone. He was also renowned for his meticulous calculations, craftiness, and underhandedness.

    ¡°Alright, let me ask you, do the two of them want to go back to the Demon domain with you?¡± The Meditative Brain King had no other choice. He could only hope it would not turn out like he had imagined.

    ¡°Hmph, who cares if they¡¯re willing or not now that they¡¯re in my hands?¡± the Black Thorn King said.

    ¡°Let go of me. I¡¯ll apologise to you. If you want to go to the Demon domain, feel free to!¡±

    The Meditative Brain King was livid. He had not sensed anything, but the uneasiness within him grew heavier. That Li Qingshan had undergone the third heavenly tribulation after so much difficulty. He did not seem like he would simply roll over and die!

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that this is the only path¡­ What are the two of you doing? This is impossible! How can the two of you still have power?¡±

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    The Black Thorn King suddenly cried out furiously. The sounds of freezing rang out from his body as cold air seeped out everywhere. Traces of frost spread along each thorn.

    Within the thorns, Li Qingshan raised his head rather reluctantly. The time to fight back was here, as a Daemon King!

    Gong Yuan opened her eyes. Her dark eyes were deep like the ocean. She glanced at Li Qingshan, and a smear of tenderness flashed through her eyes. Her wounds were still severe, but the energy flowing through her body had never been so tremendous before, and she could control it with ease.

    ¡°Seal of Ice!¡±

    She moved her crimson lips gently, and a wave of coldness whistled out. The Black Thorn King was immediately frozen into a huge ball of ice.

    ¡°Black Thorn King, I still remember you. I defeated you once already. You won¡¯t be able to escape this time!¡± Li Qingshan laughed before becoming serious. ¡°Tremor!¡±

    The ball of ice shattered loudly and filled the air with fragments.

    Li Qingshan reached out and grabbed a demon heart wrapped in thorns. The thorns screamed, ¡°Release me, or I¡¯ll make you die with me!¡±

    Li Qingshan spat out another word. ¡°Suppress!¡± The spirit turtle¡¯s figure appeared on him, and he completely suppressed the demon heart. ¡°Make me die with you? You¡¯re still not capable of that yet!¡± He looked up. ¡°Alright, you can stop running too!¡±

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    The Meditative Brain King had decisively severed the thorn around his waist the moment cold air seeped out of the Black Thorn King, flying towards the Demon domain at full speed. Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out by his ears, and he came to a sudden halt.

    Li Qingshan extended his left hand in the Meditative Brain King¡¯s direction and bellowed, ¡°Get back here!¡± A great suction erupted forth, and the Meditative Brain King was immediately pulled back against his will.

    Li Qingshan formed a claw with his right hand and accurately grabbed the Meditative Brain King¡¯s demon heart with a Tiger Demon Rips Out the Heart.

    ¡°I know the details of the Demon domain! I can help you!¡± the Meditative Brain King said.

    ¡°Then do you know Qiongqi?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Meditative Brain King was mildly surprised. He never expected Li Qingshan to ask about a Demon God right off the bat, and he had done so while teeming with murderousness. Was he thinking about revenge?

    ¡°Then you can go die! Suppress!¡± Li Qingshan fished out a bloody demon heart and conveniently suppressed it before tossing it into his sumeru ring. Then he turned around and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come too. Come, come, come. I¡¯ll send you all off!¡±

    The four Demon Kings saw this the moment they caught up. They spent an instant to consider whether they should work together against Li Qingshan. Then all of them turned around and fled together coincidentally.

 Chapter 947 The Might of a Demon Emperor

    The four Demon Kings were very far away from Li Qingshan and out of range of the Gravity of the Earth. Li Qingshan gave it some thought and did not pursue after them in a hurry. Instead, he turned around, arrived beside Gong Yuan, and asked, ¡°Are your wounds fine?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re alright. You¡­¡±

    Gong Yuan had already cleaned up her blood stains, and her surface wounds had all closed up too. However, her face was a little pale and feeble. There was even a rare hint of delicacy about her, which made the cold, proud Merfolk Queen particularly enchanting.

    But after that kiss, their relationship seemed to change in a subtle way. For a moment, she had no idea what to say. Only after hesitating did she do her best to recover her cold expression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand!¡±

    ¡°Misunderstand what?¡± Li Qingshan grinned mischievously and even licked his lips as if he was savouring it.

    ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about!¡± Gong Yuan shot a vicious glance at him, but her normal, cold expression had vanished. Instead, she seemed rather embarrassed and irritated.

    Li Qingshan originally wanted to tease her a little more, but he became serious again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I understand.¡±

    He never tried to hide his desires, but he would never turn his back on honesty. Sometimes, the more attached he was, the more he could not act as he pleased. Even if he adored her, it was impossible for him to remain in the South sea, much less give her the same infatuation she had given him. As a result, this was all he could do. At least it would not lead to hatred out of love, right?

    Gong Yuan sighed inside before sneering. ¡°As long as you understand. At least you haven¡¯t undergone the third heavenly tribulation for nothing. You do possess a bit of a Daemon King¡¯s bearing now!¡±

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    Li Qingshan¡¯s wounds had already recovered, and his exhaustion had vanished. His face was composed and calm. Even after killing the two Demon Kings, there was not much murderousness to be seen as if he had completed an insignificant task.

    When she thought about it now, she still found it rather unbelievable. Her successful sneak attack on the Black Thorn King could be explained by how the Black Thorn King had lowered his guard, so it was not strange that he died. However, the Meditative Brain King had been fully aware and vigilant, yet he had still been slain so easily. Just how powerful had he become now?

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, too kind! I personally don¡¯t think I possess any bearing of some Daemon King!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He pressed his hand against her shoulder, circulating the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to heal her.

    ¡°Really? But I think you¡¯ve changed quite a bit. Please maintain it!¡±

    Gong Yuan shut her eyes. Perhaps because of her changed perspective of him, he no longer seemed so frivolous and flippant. He actually gave off a sense of charm and attraction. In the past, he would have used this opportunity of healing her to pull her into his arms and take advantage of her a long time ago, which made her sigh slightly inside for some reason.

    She did not realise that this feeling might very possibly be a change in her own thoughts.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. When they were closer at heart, they were instead more distant physically. How strange.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s wounds mostly recovered, and Li Qingshan used this opportunity to adjust himself slightly, familiarising himself with the power of a Daemon King.

    Gong Yuan asked, ¡°What should we do next? There are still four Demon Kings and a Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous outside.¡±

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    ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not take the four Demon Kings seriously at all. If they cast aside their selfish motives and worked together, then they could pose some threat to him, but the possibility of that was almost non-existent.

    What mattered was the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Even now, he had no confidence in breaking out of the formation. If he had to fight four Demon Kings at the same time, then defeat would be almost certain.

    ¡°Then you better think properly!¡± Gong Yuan said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s me around!¡± Li Qingshan said confidently. As long as he had the time to comprehend and familiarise himself with his new innate abilities, his strength would definitely climb even higher.

    If it really did not work out, he could simply remain here, balancing fire and water and adjusting himself to peak condition. That would give him three opportunities to undergo Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, which would definitely be enough to change the situation.

    ¡°Hmm? We probably don¡¯t have much time.¡± Li Qingshan frowned. He felt a great danger pulling closer by the minute. He turned around and gazed in the direction of the Demon domain before waving his hand. ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew over and stacked together, like a huge telescope. The scenery rapidly extended towards the depths of the demon cavern. When it was about to cross through the demon cavern and reach the Demon domain, a dark purple colour filled his eyes.

    The dark-purple demon qi rushed over from the Demon domain, surging about and swift like lightning. It was so fast that even Li Qingshan believed he could not match it.

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    The demon qi¡¯s strength was terrifying too, filling the entire demon cavern. Wherever it reached, the demon cavern even showed signs of shattering as if it could not contain the demon qi.

    ¡°A Demon Emperor!¡± Gong Yuan¡¯s face changed slightly. Demon Kings definitely were not capable of creating such a disturbance.

    As if they had sensed that someone was spying on them, a gaze swept out from the demon qi, and the image from the Profound Light Illuminates All immediately shattered, reduced to fragments.

    Li Qingshan brought his blade forward to parry. With a clang, the blade halted and trembled away. A sword slash appeared on there. ¡°Impressive!¡± he said in praise.

    The person approaching them was a Demon Emperor, and he seemed to be very accustomed to battle and slaughter. He was very likely to be the commander that led the demons in their attack on the nine provinces this time. Having only recently undergone the third heavenly tribulation, he had not even familiarised himself with his new innate abilities, so he stood absolutely no chance.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his fist as hard as he could, and the space before him shattered, but he was uncertain if this could stop a Demon Emperor. The difference between a major realm of cultivation was the comparison between clouds and mud. He wrapped his arm around Gong Yuan¡¯s waist and flapped his phoenix wings, flying towards the other end of the demon cavern.

    After rising up to Daemon King, he had not comprehended his new innate abilities yet, but his old innate abilities had strengthened substantially, whether it was the range of the Profound Light Illuminates All or the speed at which he flapped his wings of wind. He seemed to become a fierce gust of wind, arriving at the other end very soon!

    He was about to stop and check whether the Demon Emperor had rushed over when he experienced a tremendous killing intent, staring him right in the face.

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    The Demon Emperor had already crossed through the shattered space and caught up. He was clearly still hundreds of kilometers away, but the dark-purple demon qi turned into a flood of sword qi, filling the demon cavern and gushing over.

    Li Qingshan immediately flew out of the demon cavern with Gong Yuan. The landscape around them changed, and they returned to the south once again. The skin on his back stung as the flood of sword qi tailed right before him, rushing out of the demon cavern in an unstoppable manner!

    Right when the flood of sword qi was about to swallow him, the flood seemed to encounter some kind of invisible restraint, shattering and dispersing in the air.

    Even Demon Emperors could not overcome the restraint from the laws of the world. Even the power he released was subdued.

    The Demon Emperor stopped several hundred kilometers away from the entrance of the demon cavern. Within the surging demon qi stood a sombre, middle-aged man with stubble. He wore slippers woven from grass and a pair of shorts, with a sword hanging from his waist and another one on his back. He did not seem like a terrifying Demon Emperor of great evil and wickedness, but more like a regular swordsman who wandered the jianghu.

    The suppression from the nine provinces was already growing stronger and stronger. Each step would come at a price.

    The Demon Emperor thought, Li Qingshan. After so many years, the nine provinces have produced another person like him! He even seems to be connected to the Sword Collection palace somehow. To think that he actually caught Qiongqi¡¯s attention. Though, having come so far, does he still think he can escape?

 Chapter 948 Qiongqiâ€™s Shadow

    The curtain of night hung heavily, but the great swamp was dazzling. Streaks of glorious, silver light shot across the air.

    The Silver Dragon King was in attack mode, completely unleashing its firepower. It seemed to truly become a furious dragon, growling and roaring as it penetrated and tore apart the thick demon qi.

    However, the demon qi gushing out of the twelve demon caverns was simply too thick. The demonic cloud remained in the air. Even if a part of the twelve Demon Gods¡¯ tremendous bodies was dispersed, it would recover very quickly.

    The King of Southern Yue stood before a porthole. He was rather stern. The formation was far more troublesome than he had imagined it to be, and it seemed to be under the control of someone hidden behind the scenes too, always averting the attacks of the Silver Dragon King and minimising the damage. If this continued, the Silver Dragon King would definitely give way first.

    He turned around and said to the Great Banyan Tree King, ¡°Fellow, there seems to be some kind of existence that¡¯s eyeing this world. The demon plague this time probably won¡¯t end so easily.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King was extremely familiar with formations. His sense of the horror of this person ¡°behind the scenes¡± was only deeper than the King of Southern Yue¡¯s. The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous did not operate smoothly. Instead, it felt rather sluggish, clearly under the inference of the laws of this world. However, it operated in an unbelievably effective manner as if it had completely read the Silver Dragon King¡¯s attacks. It seemed to be able to completely reverse the situation with a few casual directions from the person behind this.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said sternly, ¡°Hopefully it¡¯s not like what I¡¯m thinking!¡±

    ¡°Did you notice something, fellow?¡± the King of Southern Yue asked.

    ¡°Among the twelve Demon Gods, there¡¯s been one that hasn¡¯t received a single attack so far.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King had realised that the situation was exceedingly severe when he first saw the formation, but he never expected it to be this severe.

    ¡°Qiongqi!¡± The King of Southern Yue recalled the past slightly before becoming stunned. ¡°Surely not! A mere Bone Eating Shaman King is worthy of such honour?¡±

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    The Bone Eating shamans worshipped Qiongqi as their ancestral god. This was something that everyone knew about. However, just like the fire god Zhurong that the fire devourers worshipped, many ancient names existed in the south. These higher gods and demons existed in higher worlds and rarely responded to their worshippers. Their names could only ever be passed down in places of wilderness and savageness too.

    In the eyes of mortals, cultivators were almost like gods, immortals, buddhas, and demons, with the third heavenly tribulation great cultivators in particular. They loomed right over their heads, beyond their reach.

    However, the King of Southern Yue understood very well that they were merely kings among cultivators. They were no closer to the gods, immortals, buddhas, and demons than mortals to great cultivators. This path of cultivation was extremely, extremely long.

    There were no great cultivators who would pay attention to battles among mortals, as it was not worth it at all, nor was there any point to it. As such, the King of Southern Yue struggled to believe that Qiongqi would interfere with the nine provinces, just like how he would not be any closer to victory if he massacred a city or two in the Green province. There were many more and much more important matters for him to handle.

    ¡°I also hope I¡¯m wrong, but the scale of the formation is well beyond what Demon Kings can operate, let alone operate remotely, from an entirely different world and under the restraint of the laws of the world. Even Demon Emperors aren¡¯t necessarily capable of that.¡±

    The banyan bonsai on the table swayed its branches and turned into an old man. His dark-green hair and beard tangled together, almost covering his entire face. He strode over to the King of Southern Yue¡¯s side. His deep, green eyes were filled with worry.

    The King of Southern Yue was silent at first before shaking his head with a smile. ¡°If that¡¯s true, then plans and strategies are useless. What can I say? Man proposes, God disposes!¡±

    The laws of the world were not absolute. As long as Qiongqi was determined enough and willing to pay the price, he could turn this world into a Demon domain. There were even some legendary existences that could ignore the laws of the world and wander through the myriad worlds freely.

    ¡°If it¡¯s any other Demon God, then I can conclude it¡¯s not them, but this one is known for stirring up unnecessary trouble.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled wryly.

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    Adults would not be bored enough to crouch down and burn ants, but who knew when it came to children? If a child with god-like powers maintained his great curiosity, then no one could predict what he would do.

    The two kings that stood at the apex of the Mist province furrowed their brows and sank into their thoughts as they worried about the unpredictability of fate.

    At this moment, a resplendent streak of light shot over from the south.

    ¡°Pavilion master Ye is here. Looks like my side is still a bit faster.¡± The King of Southern Yue smiled.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve already thought it through, your majesty.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°If the sky falls, there are always the tall ones to hold it up. This is not for us to worry about. Once it really reaches that stage, you and I will just become Demon Kings at most, unlike those people in the north,¡± the King of Southern Yue said with ease.

    The majority of the cultivation community in the Mist province was composed of demonic cultivators. Going from a demonic cultivator to a demonfolk was only the matter of changing a single word. Meanwhile, many of the so-called righteous cultivators would hold on until they died. For example, it would be impossible for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to come to a compromise. By then, he could settle the grievances of his family and kingdom easily. At the very least, it could be considered as both a curse and a blessing.

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. They all say daemons and demons, daemons and demons. We¡¯re one of a kind in the first place.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled, but there was a hint of irresolvable worry within his deep, green eyes.

    A world had a world¡¯s laws. Those that abided by it prospered, and those that defied it perished. The Hungry Ghost realm only accepted the dead, while the Asura realm was the home for warriors to return to. If the nine provinces became a Demon domain, that would definitely be a violent, lawless world where good and bad were inverted. Those that could not adjust would be eliminated and rendered extinct, but if he were to adjust, he would have to twist his own heart.

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    A world supported its own type of people. Born in this world and growing in this world, the world had already left a deep imprint in him. Changing it was anything but easy, where he would suffer from cultivation deviation with the slightest carelessness. Even if he managed to survive, that would still be the end of his cultivation path.

    As a result, no one could remain uninvolved when it came to a war between worlds like that. The King of Southern Yue had only said that with ease, or he would have begun colluding with the Demon domain a long time ago and turned the Mist province into the headquarters of the Demon domain¡¯s invasion. With another several dozen Demon Kings, how would the Green province stand a chance?

    And if he did do that, his King of Yue¡¯s estate would immediately fall apart, even when most of his guests were demonic cultivators, had committed countless acts of evil in their pursuit of desires, and had no regard for an inversion of good and evil.

    It was slightly different for daemons, as daemons did not exactly have a concept of good or evil, right or wrong, let alone any so-called virtues or morales. They obediently complied to the natural principles where the strong preyed on the weak. Even if the world became a Demon domain, they would only become a little more violent and vicious. Perhaps they would even become more accustomed to it than the current world! As a result, it was truly quite reasonable when people linked daemons and demons together.

    If it were not for his great plan, the Great Banyan Tree King could have been even more relaxed than the King of Southern Yue.

    ¡°So be it, so be it. I¡¯m just an old tree. Though, if you want to talk speed, my side is still a little faster!¡±

    As he said that, a shadow appeared from the wall, and a distant voice said, ¡°What you were talking about is quite frightening. Li Qingshan has probably reached the Demon domain already. He¡¯s either surrendered or died, so do we have to keep attacking? I¡¯d rather not approach there!¡±

 Chapter 949 The Demon Godâ€™s Game

    ¡°So the Shadow Queen is here already!¡± The King of Southern Yue shivered inside. She truly was the Mist province¡¯s king of assassins to be able to infiltrate the Silver Dragon King silently.

    ¡°Greetings, your majesty,¡± Ye Weiyang bowed before drifting over to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s side gently. She placed her elbow on his shoulder. ¡°You really are going all out for that kid, aren¡¯t you? How envious.¡±

    ¡°You have no respect for your elders!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King slapped away her hand and shook his head. ¡°He¡¯s in a perilous situation right now. What¡¯s there to envy?¡±

    ¡°The Shadow Queen is right. Li Qingshan has either surrendered or died by now. If Qiongqi really is involved, anything we do will be futile. Who knows how many people will die to the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous if we launch an attack!¡± the King of Southern Yue said.

    Ye Weiyang was not the only one who did not want to approach the formation. Even the King of Southern Yue refused to, but just the long-ranged attacks of the Silver Dragon King definitely were not enough to get through the formation.

    Ye Duanhai rode on his sword and circled around the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. He also maintained his distance, refusing to approach it. After that, he returned to the Silver Dragon King. ¡°Greetings your majesty, as well as senior. Just what is going on with this demon cavern?¡±

    The King of Southern Yue explained everything that had happened so far, as well as their theory about Qiongqi.

    ¡°Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan are inside!¡± Ye Duanhai frowned. After all, they had fought alongside one another in the past, and they had purged the demons in the south, which greatly reduced the pressure on him.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± the King of Southern Yue asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s almost no hope,¡± said Ye Duanhai.

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    ¡°Look!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King pointed out and four Demon Kings rushed out of the demon cavern in the centre of the formation.

    ¡°What great lengths they¡¯ve gone to. With four Demon Kings working together, they stand no chance even without the formation!¡± Ye Weiyang said.

    ¡°Though, they seem like they¡¯re fleeing?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King noticed that the four Demon Kings did not come out calmly like they were receiving them in battle. Instead, they seemed to be quite hurried and frantic.

    ¡°That¡¯s a demon cavern though. Just who can make them flee? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± The King of Southern Yue and the Great Banyan Tree King exchanged glances. Neither of them really believed this. Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan definitely did not possess the strength to achieve that, much less achieving that in the demon cavern.

    However, the Demon Kings glanced at the Silver Dragon King in the horizon and did not assume an offensive stance. Instead, they turned around and guarded the entrance to the demon cavern, peering inside, which only verified the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s theory¡ªthey were fleeing!

    Compared to the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous falling to the attacks of the enemy, they were more afraid of having their path of retreat severed.

    ¡°We wait!¡± Ye Duanhai said. If the Demon Kings truly were fleeing, then there must have been someone chasing after them. He believed they would find out very soon.

    ¡°Hiss, hiss. Kings of Yin and Yang, Flying Zombie King, we¡¯ll ambush Li Qingshan right here if he dares to chase after us. We will catch him off-guard. What do you think?¡± the nine snake heads of the Nine-headed King swayed about and said together.

    ¡°Alright! He¡¯s definitely not our opponent in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous!¡± a male and female voice said together.

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    The Flying Zombie King nodded silently, expressing his agreement.

    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡±

    The Demon Kings did not wait for too long. In a short while, there was a flash of light in the demon cavern, but the Demon Kings did not immediately intercept it with an attack. Instead, they dispersed. None of them were stupid enough to trust the Nine-headed King and directly confront Li Qingshan.

    Apart from when they had an absolute advantage in strength or numbers, it was basically impossible for Demon Kings to work together against a strong enemy. On top of that, the deaths of the three other Demon Kings had left far too deep of an impression on them.

    The people on the Silver Dragon King looked at one another. They were not just being chased down. They were basically frightened out of their wits. They possessed such a powerful geographic advantage, yet they still refused to fight. Were they still the same heinous Demon Kings in their memories?

    In the blink of an eye, wind and fire rushed into the air.

    ¡°It¡¯s them!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s eyes lit up.

    Ye Duanhai¡¯s expression changed, but only because of the flood of sword qi tailing behind them. He was very familiar with the path of the sword. A Demon King could not launch a sword attack like that. The path of the sword involved far surpassed his. Was it the Demon Emperor!?

    ¡°We¡¯re finally back!¡±

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    The flood of sword qi collapsed, and Li Qingshan eased up. He still ended up fleeing. It was still a little too soon for him to take on a Demon Emperor. Raising his head, he saw the Silver Dragon King in the distance and waved his hand with a smile.

    The gazes of the twelve Demon Gods formed a tremendous pressure, which was almost suffocating. However, having returned to the ground, the Strength of the Earth began to work again. Endless strength flooded through him, contending against the pressure.

    After becoming a Daemon King, all of his innate abilities had become even stronger. His physique had changed in a drastic manner too.

    Li Qingshan saw how Gong Yuan was a little pale, so he pulled her closer in his arms. ¡°We¡¯ll be able to leave here very soon!¡±

    Originally, he was worried he would not be able to escape from here, but looking at it now, the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was not as terrifying as he imagined it to be, and he had assistance from outside too. As long as the Silver Dragon King tore open a gap in the formation, he could successfully escape.

    The King of Southern Yue raised an eyebrow. Everything seemed to exceed his imaginations more and more. The four Demon Kings were being chased down instead, a Demon Emperor was tailing right behind them, and Qiongqi had vaguely appeared too. Just what had Li Qingshan done?

    ¡°I see! So he¡¯s already undergone the third heavenly tribulation!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King laughed in great delight, but Ye Weiyang shook her head. ¡°Yet it¡¯s still certain death for him!¡±

    The scale of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was so great that even the King of Southern Yue dared not approach it, afraid he would be sucked in, so let alone them who were stuck in the formation. They had no chance at all.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said to the King of Southern Yue, ¡°Fellow, please launch an attack at full strength and pave open a path to save them!¡±

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    ¡°Alright!¡± the King of Southern Yue said. He was about to activate the main cannon, the Dragon¡¯s Roar, when a voice directly rang through his head, ¡°Enough. If you¡¯ve had enough, go back!¡± Ye Weiyang and the others¡¯ faces all changed as well. Clearly, everyone had heard the voice.

    ¡°Evil God Qiongqi!?¡±

    As if he had sensed their apprehension, Qiongqi sneered. ¡°I have no interest in your mediocre world, so don¡¯t flatter yourselves. Stop getting in the way of my game, or I wouldn¡¯t mind paying a small price.¡±

    The Silver Dragon King fell silent. All of the attacks stopped. Infuriating an evil god was not a clever decision, but it also led to a lot of uncertainty. Since Qiongqi was not after this world, why on earth had he descended here?

    No matter how powerful of an evil god he was, he would have to pay quite a price to cross through the boundaries of worlds and contend against the suppression of the laws of the world. Just what was the game he was talking about?

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Li Qingshan said in confusion. An intense killing intent overwhelmed him. The four Demon Kings that originally had no interest in fighting him actually gathered over again.

    They had been waiting for the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous to unleash its might and crush the two of them, but nothing ended up happening. Instead, a voice answered them, directly ringing out in their heads, ¡°Stop being cowards. Go kill him!¡±

    The voice was not vicious or dignified. Instead, it was teeming with enthusiasm, filled with anticipation and joy.

    The four Demon Kings dared not defy that. A Demon God had directly given them an order. If Li Qingshan did not die, they would be the ones to die!

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 Chapter 950 New Abilities (1)

    The King of Southern Yue and the Great Banyan Tree King exchanged glances on the Silver Dragon King. They were both filled with deep fear and vigilance.

    ¡°Cancel the assembly!¡± The King of Southern Yue let out a heavy sigh, and the Great Banyan Tree King nodded silently. There was a hint of powerlessness in his deep, green eyes.

    It was impossible for them to save Li Qingshan at the risk of infuriating an evil god. Even if they were willing to take that risk, there basically existed no chance for them to save him. The difference in strength and influence was far too great.

    This was the might of a god. Even from who knew how many worlds away, all words they uttered were decrees.

    Qingshan, even if the Dragon King of Ink Sea came for you, I could shelter you a little, but I¡¯m really powerless over Qiongqi, the Great Banyan Tree King sighed inside.

    The King of Southern Yue had never expected that it was a mere person, not this world, that caught Qiongqi¡¯s attention either, and the world seemed so insignificant compared to him. He thought, Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. Just what kind of secrets are you hiding?

    The Silver Dragon King backed out of the huge shadow cast by the demonic clouds, expressing compliance to a god¡¯s will. Under the glow of the moonlight, it glistened with silver light, but it also seemed to be enveloped in a shadow, losing its original lustre.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± Gong Yuan asked with a frown. Without assistance from the Silver Dragon King, there was almost no hope at all for them to break out of the formation from inside.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. They had escaped out of the frying pan into the fire, facing peril after peril, but his fighting spirit only rose.

    Gong Yuan agreed to that and rested her head against his shoulder gently.

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    Thick demon qi pervaded the battlefield overlooked by the twelve Demon Gods. The Nine-headed King that was as large as a mountain raised his nine snake heads, wrapping around Li Qingshan. The eighteen snake eyes stared right at him as the brown torrents charged up in his mouth, surging about constantly.

    The Flying Zombie King had completely demonified as well. He had gone from being a thin and bony man to a colossal zombie. His teeth jutted out, and he was covered in black fur. A pair of bat wings unfurled behind him, allowing him to fly through the demonic cloud freely. He climbed as high as possible and was ready to strike.

    The demonified form of the Kings of Yin and Yang was the strangest and smallest. Their bodies fused together, becoming something akin to conjoined twins. They had three legs, four arms, and were even slightly smaller than a regular person. They limped and crawled through the swamp, staring at Li Qingshan resentfully. However, the demon qi they gave off was the heaviest.

    During the process of purging demons, the Kings of Yin and Yang were the only enemy Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan had not defeated. They had even forced them back through their own strength.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous resulted in a tremendous pressure and restraint on Li Qingshan, but it brought great benefit to the four Demon Kings. The restraints from the world had completely vanished for them as if they had returned to the Demon domain, and the demon qi they depleted would be immediately replenished. Their condition had reached an unprecedented peak, which was equivalent to an extra minor realm of cultivation.

    They cast aside their grudges and vigilance and linked up their minds, allowing them to advance and retreat together. Once again, it proved that only orders from high above could make demonfolk work together properly.

    ¡°Demon God Qiongqi has actually directly descended with his consciousness for this guy!¡± the Nine-headed King said.

    ¡°His thoughts have always been the most unpredictable among the twelve Demon Gods. This Li Qingshan truly is extraordinarily powerful. Who else can possess such strength after just undergoing the third heavenly tribulation?¡± the Kings of Yin and Yang said.

    ¡°Whatever. Do you really think we still can¡¯t kill him even inside the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous?¡± the Flying Zombie King said.

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    ¡°Exactly!¡±

    They sensed the power surging through their bodies and all became filled with confidence and fighting spirit. The murderousness grew heavier, mixing with the churning demon qi.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath as he faced the hopeless situation. The battle spirit of the tiger demon roared, his blood boiled, and Tiger¡¯s Fang on his waist thrummed gently.

    However, Gong Yuan in his arms became paler and paler. The injuries that had just healed began to spread again. She had remained unfazed even when she had been wrapped in thorns, but her eyebrows were now firmly knitted together. She showed unbearable pain as her body trembled gently.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous that was based off the twelve demon caverns and personally controlled by the evil god Qiongqi was far too powerful. Even unintentionally, the pressure alone could kill regular great cultivators. Having lasted until now, Gong Yuan¡¯s willpower and cultivation could already be described as extraordinary, and that was also thanks to Li Qingshan¡¯s support.

    ¡°Go take a rest!¡± Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field.

    Gong Yuan bit her lip and shook her head gently.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. These guys aren¡¯t my opponent, but if you insist, then I¡¯ll enter battle with you in my arms. One hand is enough anyway.¡±

    Li Qingshan acted like it was no big deal and was about to stow the Asura Field away when Gong Yuan grabbed his hand. After an internal struggle, she understood that she had already become his deadweight now. He was better off fighting alone than working with her.

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    She raised her head and kissed him on the lips, passing the Heart of the Abyss to him. She stared straight at him. ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t die!¡±

    ¡°Why would I? I still haven¡¯t enjoyed this taste enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips and swallowed the Heart of the Abyss. Through that kiss, Gong Yuan had already handed the Heart of the Abyss to him completely. Although he did not practise the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End, his bloodline of the spirit turtle was enough for him to use it freely. Coupled with his Strength of the Earth, that was equivalent to endless energy and strength, which gave him a little more confidence in this battle.

    From behind the porthole, Ye Weiyang widened her eyes, seeing this through the thick demon qi. She was basically even more shocked than hearing Qiongqi¡¯s voice. She wondered whether Gong Yuan was still the same person she knew.

    Also as an otherfolk king that led an entire race, Ye Weiyang was not exactly on good terms with her, but they did have a bit of contact. Gong Yuan, who was as cold as a great glacial mountain, had actually taken the initiative to offer a kiss to a man. This world sure was crazy!

    Sending Gong Yuan into the Asura Field, Li Qingshan drew his blade casually and glanced past the four Demon Kings around him calmly. He asked, ¡°What are you still waiting for?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re waiting for you to properly enjoy yourself before death, as it¡¯ll be even more painful for you when we kill you!¡±

    The two mouths of the Kings of Yin and Yang snickered together as the male and female voices overlapped. It was particularly sharp and unpleasant, enough to make people restless.

    The Demon Kings were not in a hurry to attack. The longer they waited, the deeper the influence from the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous would become. It was even possible for them to win without fighting. When they thought of the examples that the Meditative King and everyone else had served, they dared not be careless.

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    ¡°Thank you, then allow me to enjoy myself a little longer!¡± Li Qingshan yawned and stretched, lying down in the air with his arms cradling his head as if he actually went to sleep.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a bluff! I¡¯d like to see how long you can last!¡± the Kings of Yin and Yang said.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body had been tough in the first place. Among the four bloodlines from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the phoenix and spirit turtle were filled with a divine nature, so they could not be suppressed so easily, and the ox demon and tiger demon were demons among demons. And, his primary cultivation method as a human was the Demon Suppression Statuary, which had condensed a demon heart within him.

    As a result, the suppression from the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous on him was nowhere near as great as it had been on Gong Yuan. Coupled with how he could connect with Ruin¡¯s End through the Heart of the Abyss and make up for some of the energy he exhausted, it would not be an issue even if he stayed there for a dozen days as long as there were no intense battles.

    He obviously was not sleeping for real, but doing all that he could to comprehend his new innate abilities!

 Chapter 951 New Abilities (2)

    Under the gazes of the twelve Demon Gods and four Demon Kings, Li Qingshan propped up his head with one arm and laid on his side within the surging demon qi, closing his eyes as if he was actually sleeping away soundly.

    ¡°You fools! How long do you want to make me wait?¡±

    But a while later, Qiongqi¡¯s bellow rang out in the Demon Kings¡¯ seas of consciousness. The four Demon Kings all shuddered and returned to their senses. They could afford to wait, but Qiongqi could not. When he made his consciousness descend upon this world, every single second came at a price. He had not come to watch Li Qingshan sleep.

    ¡°Prepare to die! Li Qingshan!¡± The four Demon Kings dared not hesitate, striking together.

    The nine colossal, vicious snake heads sprayed with surging torrents at the same time, sweeping over with rock, sand, and soil like nine flash floods. However, this was no regular flash flood. Instead, it was poisonous fluid that could corrupt souls and wash away the powers in weapons.

    The Flying Zombie King pulled in his wings and dove down from the sky, like a black vulture on the hunt. The nails on his fingers jutted out like sharp, curved claws, pitch-black like ink and dripping with corpse poison.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang opened their two mouths and emitted a sharp cry that resembled an infant¡¯s sobs. The male and female voice chased after one another, merging together and actually arriving instantly. It enveloped Li Qingshan and entered him through every single pore, piercing his mind like the sounds of demons and ripping him apart.

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly as if he had been stunned by the sound and immobilised. There was a black flash, and the Flying Zombie King¡¯s pitch-black claws grabbed his head.

    We¡¯ve won! The Flying Zombie King beamed with joy inside. The might of his talons were no weaker than demonic treasures, and they became even more powerful within the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Let alone a body of flesh, they could even rip apart flying swords forged from metal.

    Soon afterwards, the surging torrents swallowed Li Qingshan. The demonic sound continued to echo about.

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    ¡°It¡¯s over.¡±

    Ye Weiyang looked away. She never expected him to die in such a miserable manner, where he did not even put up a fight. However, with some further thought, even she would probably just accept her death calmly if she fell into the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. No matter how powerful her techniques were, she would not be able to use any of them.

    ¡°Not yet!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said sternly.

    The formation was preventing the Great Banyan Tree King from seeing Li Qingshan clearly, but he believed he was not the type to simply roll over and die!

    Within the surging torrents, the Flying Zombie King let out an exclamation of surprise. When his claws landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s head, he actually encountered an extremely tough obstacle, preventing him from piercing it even when he used his full strength.

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan¡¯s skin had darkened. The pair of curved ox horns on his head lay there, like a winding mountain range, yet also like a crouching black ox. He allowed the torrents to slam against him, but he did not budge.

    This was his first innate ability¡ªthe Ox Demon Forges its Hide!

    That¡¯s right! It was a move he had once practised!

    Innate abilities were all derived from the natural abilities of daemons themselves. Aquatic creatures could control water and unleash a few water techniques, but the power and effects would often be nothing special. Only when they truly converted it into an innate ability could it be considered as a truly powerful trump card.

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    His ox hide had always been tough, but as the level of battle increased, its function became less and less significant. Any opponent he encountered could rip apart his ox hide, often forcing him to rely on his tiger bones to hold on. However, once he lost his flesh, it would actually have a relatively large impact on his strength.

    After all those years of battle, he had finally turned his ox hide into a true innate ability, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide. It was as simple and ordinary as the Iron Shirt technique that was popular in the jianghu, but it was an absolute defence.

    TL: The Iron Shirt is actually one of the seventy-two arts from the Shaolin Temple. You can read more about it here.

    Right as the Flying Zombie King used his full strength, Li Qingshan suddenly snapped open his eyes, which twinkled like two scarlet stars. Then he reached towards the Flying Zombie King.

    The Flying Zombie King only felt his eyes darken. The immeasurably large, black hand actually gave him the impression that the sky was obscured. He immediately realised that the suppression Li Qingshan was under was nowhere near as great as he had imagined it to be.

    The Flying Zombie King refused to become entangled in battle. He flapped his wings and pulled back hurriedly. He had been extremely fast in the first place, which was why he managed to escape from Li Qingshan¡¯s hands last time, so he was even more confident in his speed now. Otherwise, why would he still launch a short-ranged sneak attack after witnessing how the Meditative Brain King had died?

    ¡°Stay right here!¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s huge, black hand was like a black cloud, directly blanketing the Flying Zombie King. He constantly adjusted the posture of his hand. The Gravity of the Earth was not an inflexible tug and pull anymore. Instead, it fluctuated about, destroying the Flying Zombie King¡¯s momentum.

    The Flying Zombie King widened his eyes and erupted with demon qi as his black hair stood on end. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, but he could not escape from the shadow of the huge hand. He cried out, ¡°Help me out!¡±

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    A torrent rushed over like a surging river, separating the Flying Zombie King and Li Qingshan. This was not a duel, but an encirclement.

    The Flying Zombie King felt his body lighten up. The terrifying, invisible suction immediately vanished, but he was still shaken. He never expected to almost fall into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands from a single clash.

    If he were up against anyone else, he would have been never afraid of a close-ranged battle. His body could be regarded as tough even among Demon Kings, and his black fur could block the attacks of arcane treasures. Whether it was defence, offence, or speed, he had no shortcomings.

    However, upon the thought of Li Qingshan¡¯s fists that could even shatter space, he lost all interest in confronting him. He decided to stick to a strategy of endurance first.

    Boom! The torrent shattered, and a scarlet tiger with a blade in its mouth leapt out. The surging malice agitated the torrents.

    The Flying Zombie King shuddered, having been stunned by the tiger eyes. Only when he returned to his senses did he realise that the scarlet tiger was Li Qingshan. He raised the blade high into the air with both hands, and a blood-red blade aura slashed down like a bolt of furious lightning. It was unstoppable.

    How can he be so fast!? The Flying Zombie King extended both hands to block. The moment that thought flashed through his head, his ten sharp talons all split apart, and the blood-red blade aura cleaved through him!

    ¡°If you had even half of the Martial Chief King¡¯s courage, you¡¯d be an opponent!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance had changed drastically. His scarlet hair flickered like fire, and his blood boiled throughout his body. He had gone from being calm and composed to vicious and furious. His body was no longer a dark colour either. Instead, it was riddled with scarlet stripes, just like the stripes of a tiger. It formed a ¡°Íõ¡± shape on his forehead.

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    This was his second innate ability¡ªFrenzy of the Tiger Demon!

    It sapped his physical strength, mental strength, and even lifespan, casting aside all of his defences, to instantly erupt with startling battle prowess. Butchering a Demon King that had no intentions of fighting was no different from butchering a dog.

    The Flying Zombie King was split into two. He did everything he could to keep his two halves glued together, trying to escape.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡± Li Qingshan stood with his sword and bellowed furiously.

    The might of the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath was completely merged into the bellow. The fierce gales were sharp like the atmospheric winds, slicing and dispersing the Flying Zombie King!

    With a great rumble, the world shook, and violent energy flooded out in all directions. The Flying Zombie King had detonated his demon heart. After witnessing the fate of the Meditative Brain King and the Black Thorn King, he was no longer hopeful enough to think that Li Qingshan would spare him, and even if Li Qingshan wanted to spare him, Demon God Qiongqi would not. All he could do was pour all of his hatred into the explosion.

    Li Qingshan flapped his wings and retreated in a hurry. In his current state, he could not use the Ox Demon Forges its Hide. In a state of frenzy, his speed had reached a new peak, but he was still slower than this terrifying shockwave. The black demon qi filled with potent corpse poison swallowed him.

    ¡°A Demon King blew themself up!¡± Ye Weiyang was surprised.

    Because of the formation and demon qi, all of their observation techniques had been rendered useless. They could only look over with their eyes, so the kings in the Silver Dragon King had only noticed that now.

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    The King of Southern Yue and Ye Duanhai exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with disbelief. Demon Kings would never blow themselves up unless they were in dire straits. Despite the horrible circumstances, Li Qingshan still managed to kill a Demon King!?

    Li Qingshan had already demonstrated startling battle prowess before he even underwent the third heavenly tribulation, but he was still a major realm of cultivation away from them after all, so he was still not enough to threaten the king of the Mist province or a great sword cultivator of the South sea. He had been working together with the Merfolk Queen the entire time when they fought on Fire Melt mountain and purged demons, so it was very easy for him to give people the false impression that he only served as assistance on the side.

    Only now did they feel tremendous shock! He faced the four great Demon Kings alone and was suppressed by the tremendous demonic formation, yet he still managed to kill one of them in direct confrontation. What kind of a concept was that!? Ye Duanhai personally believed he could not achieve that unless he chose to perish together with the enemy.

    The King of Southern Yue did have that confidence, but it was built off of his millennium-long cultivation and the wealth that the Kingdom of Yue had accumulated over ten thousand years. Just how old was Li Qingshan? Fifty?

    Gazing at the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s figure, he said from the bottom of his heart, ¡°I cannot help but admire fellow¡¯s wisdom and insight. If he¡¯s given another fifty years, just who among the nine provinces can still be his opponent? A pity! A pity!¡±

    He was not on any good terms with Li Qingshan. As a matter of fact, they could even be considered as lurking enemies. However, he still could not help but lament and sigh when he saw a genius die like this. He had caught the attention of an evil god. No one could do anything about that.

    The Great Banyan Tree King stared at the battlefield in the distance and said nothing.

    Actually, when he referred to Li Qingshan as ¡°fellow¡± in the past, most of it originated from his mild and natural personality. Of course, he also gave him this recognition because he admired Li Qingshan¡¯s potential, but never did he expect him to rise up so quickly. He shone in such a dazzling manner, yet he would also die in such a powerless manner, like a meteor shooting across the sky.

    If Li Qingshan¡¯s opponents were only the four Demon Kings, then he would not mind clinging onto hope, hoping that he could kill his way out of peril. However, a Demon God was involved. A victory like this was useless. It would only make his death a little more solemn and stirring!

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    The aftermath of the explosion settled down, and the battlefield came to a momentary halt. The Nine-headed King and the Kings of Yin and Yang struggled to accept the reality that the Flying Zombie King had fallen in battle. They had also been stunned by Li Qingshan¡¯s bearing, forgetting to attack him for a moment.

    Li Qingshan stood in the sky. Traces of the corpse poison eating away at him covered large parts of his robust body, but it did not diminish his surging murderousness. He was in high spirits, without any of the grief and indignation of someone at the end of his path. There was only the heartiness to challenge everything. He looked at the Nine-headed King and the Kings of Yin and Yang from above like a tiger staring at sheep that were waiting for him to lunge over and feast.

    Ye Weiyang shook her head gently and sighed inside. It¡¯s no wonder that ice woman would also have a moment when she falls in love. My heart is basically stirring over his current demeanour too!

    ¡°Obliterate!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out like a clap of thunder, restarting the battle. One of the Nine-headed King¡¯s huge snake heads ruptured with a great boom.

 Chapter 952 New Abilities (3)

    The other snake heads hissed together, flickering their brown tongues. Suddenly, they opened their mouths and bit towards Li Qingshan like numerous mountains falling on him.

    ¡°Obliterate! Obliterate! Obliterate! Obliterate!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out and four snake heads basically shattered at the same time, like the collapse of mountains, revealing the dark-red stumps. Demonic blood sprayed out, falling through the air like pouring rain.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang had silently snuck behind Li Qingshan. Abruptly, they opened their mouths, but there was no sound. The demonic sound had already surpassed the senses of hearing, becoming silent. It struck Li Qingshan even faster than the speed of sound.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure twisted and collapsed in the demonic sound!¡±

    ¡°An afterimage!?¡± The Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s eyes bulged in disbelief. They were Demon Kings and yet they still saw afterimages?

    A red flash swept through the air. That was the curved trajectory that the blood-red blade aura had left behind as it swept through the surroundings.

    The colossal snake heads were severed without any prior signs, falling into the swamp. The rumbles all merged together, splashing mud and water into the air.

    The red flash came to a halt, revealing Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. He sucked in a deep breath. The wings of wind and fire on his back extended to three hundred meters across, and his blood boiled like it was about to be ignited. At this moment, he pointed his blade towards the Nine-headed King¡¯s last head!

    ¡°Hiss, hiss! It¡¯s useless! I admit you¡¯re very powerful, but it¡¯s useless. This must be all of your strength! But it¡¯s still nowhere¡­¡±

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    Boom!

    The snake head turned into a sky full of broken flesh. Li Qingshan pulled his fist back and bathed in the demonic blood, but the Nine-headed King¡¯s voice then began to ring out from behind him. ¡°...near enough!¡±

    The snake head that he had destroyed first had actually regrown. Mountains began to rise up around him. Those were the Nine-headed King¡¯s regenerated heads, which spoke at the same time. Their voices echoed through the mountains.

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me. In here, I am a true hydra!¡±

    The Nine-headed King had possessed some of the hydra¡¯s bloodline in the first place. His vitality and regeneration were extremely powerful, where he could not die unless all of his heads were destroyed. However, he was still not a true hydra after all. The power of the demon heart was limited, so it was impossible for the snake heads to regrow endlessly.

    However, as he stood in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, his vitality and regeneration had not just been raised to a whole new level. He had endless demonic energy supporting him, so it really did seem like he had turned into a legendary, unkillable hydra.

    ¡°How long can you last in this state? Just give up on resisting! You can¡¯t win. Why don¡¯t you have us put in a good word with evil god Qiongqi for you instead? Perhaps evil god Qiongqi will still be willing to keep you around as one of us out of his great generosity.¡±

    The Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s voices suddenly changed. The male voice was magnetic, while the female voice was gentle like water, filled with an attempt to bewitch him. However, they were filled with vicious killing intent inside. Qiongqi¡¯s order was to kill Li Qingshan, so they would never hold back and keep a potential source of trouble around.

    They had said that because Li Qingshan¡¯s strength had deterred them, but also because they could see that Li Qingshan¡¯s frenzied state could not last for too long. He would definitely enter a state of great feebleness afterwards, and the corpse poison was still spreading through him. As long as Li Qingshan¡¯s fighting spirit eased up and he was overcome with a hint of hope for survival, he would be dead!

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    All of the kings on the Silver Dragon King were sharp-witted, so they could immediately tell this was a trap, but only because spectators always saw the clearest. Caught in dire straits, who wouldn¡¯t clutch at straws to save themselves?

    The Great Banyan Tree King even hoped Li Qingshan would agree to it. Even with his wisdom, this was the only chance to survive. If Demon God Qiongqi really did view him favourably, perhaps he would spare his life.

    However, this also happened to be the possibility that the King of Southern Yue worried about the most. After personally witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, he basically struggled to imagine what kind of Demon King he would become after joining the Demon domain!

    Having been born in this world, he was completely immune to the restraints of the world. He could leave the demon caverns and rampage through the world freely. Killing him would be even more difficult than killing ten Demon Kings. If he were allowed sufficient time to grow, perhaps he would even become the master of this new Demon domain.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    Right as they thought through the various possibilities, laughter suddenly exploded in the distant battlefield, reaching their ears. The laughter was so resonant and high-spirited that even the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous could not obstruct it.

    Li Qingshan laughed madly as if he had heard a joke. For a moment, the wind and clouds surged, the demon qi churned, and his figure rapidly swelled up.

    Three meters¡­ thirty meters¡­ three hundred meters¡­ nine hundred meters¡­ one thousand five hundred meters¡­

    Only when he reached over two thousand meters tall did he stop, assuming the towering form of the demonic and divine!

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    With a great rumble, his iron hooves stomped on the ground!

    The curved horns on his head almost touched the low-hanging demonic clouds, standing at equal level to the twelve Demon Gods around him!

    The Nine-headed King raised his heads as high as possible, but he still had to look up to see him. Compared to him, the Nine-headed King did not seem like a mountainous monster anymore. He was merely a strange snake with nine heads.

    ¡°My full strength? Haha! One of you? Haha!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter rumbled like thunder, resounding in the distance. Suddenly, he shook his arms, and tiger claws extended out, now on full display. The tiger tail on his back swayed with a huge, blood-red blade, ripping through the air.

    ¡°All of you can go die!¡±

    At that moment, Li Qingshan began to move. He flailed his arms, stomped his feet, and leapt about, just like a blazing war dance from the primordial times. There was no pace or rhythm; he only expressed the wild joy within him, even if it was clumsy, even if his back was against the wall. He fought for the sake of survival!

    The wind danced with the tiger. The roaring gales turned into a furious song, resounding through the entire world.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal figure blurred, turning into a spiralling storm. The sharp claws and blood-red blade aura were like bolts of lightning within the storm.

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    The Nine-headed King had originally been hesitating over whether he should coil over and get in a few bites while Li Qingshan had gigantified, but he coiled backwards in a hurry when he saw this. However, the storm had already arrived before him in the blink of an eye, unavoidable, unstoppable!

    ¡°No!¡± The Nine-headed King hissed in despair, which merged with the sound of gales perfectly. How could a war song go without the cries of enemies?

    The nine snake heads were sucked into the storm one after another, ground into blood rain. Even his colossal body was swallowed by the storm.

    Boom!

    The great rumble of a demon heart¡¯s explosion added a sudden rest to this furious war song.

    The storm vanished!

    The King of Southern Yue and everyone else was dumbfounded. The current sight had already surpassed their imaginations, making their hearts thump wildly. They were still submerged in the lingering charm of this battle.

    Ye Weiyang pursed her lips. ¡°What an impressive man!¡±

    The demonic clouds were torn apart, allowing the silver moon to beam through the gaps like a glorious curtain.

    Li Qingshan turned back to human form, leaning on his blade with both hands as he stood on the ground, basking in the moonlight. He raised his head and gazed at the sky. The words on his horns, ¡°North¡± and ¡°Moon¡± were so distinct, shining with light under the glow of the moon.

 Chapter 953 Last Reflection of the Setting Sun

    The storm had lifted away an entire layer of the swamp, revealing the fresh soil underneath that was drenched with the Nine-headed King¡¯s demonic blood.

    A cool breeze drifted through the air, making Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet hair float. The soil in the distance rustled, and a strange, distorted conjoined twin crawled out. It was the Kings of Yin and Yang.

    Li Qingshan glanced at them and could not help but smile. ¡°I was looking for you!¡±

    The Kings of Yin and Yang laid on the ground, their body covered in a few bloody gashes from the storm. They glared at Li Qingshan resentfully. However, they struggled to hide their fear. They did not want to face the terrifying storm a second time. If it were not for Qiongqi¡¯s order, they would not have dove into the ground. They would have directly fled instead.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, stop putting on a bravado! You¡¯ve already lost! Just like last time, we¡¯re the final victors!¡± The two mouths opened at the same time, and a male and female voice overlapped together.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was as placid as water. Under the glow of the moonlight, his skin was so pale that it was almost transparent. Purplish-black patches covered him as brown traces spread across his body. This was the price he had paid to kill the Flying Zombie King and the Nine-headed King. Even he could not completely brush off the power that came from detonating demon hearts.

    The feebleness that came after his frenzy had already reached deep into his bones. Even lifting his feet seemed rather difficult. Originally, he should not have been so feeble, but he was standing in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous right now. If it were not for the support from the Strength of the Earth and the Heart of the Abyss, he might have collapsed already.

    However, he raised his blade slowly, which shimmered in the moonlight.

    With a flash, the Kings of Yin and Yang suddenly retreated to five kilometers away, gazing at him in complete fright.

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    ¡°The Demon King has been frightened out of its wits, but he no longer has the ability to fight!¡± the King of Southern Yue said with some pity. The violent power earlier was basically unheard of. If he had not been in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, it might have been even more terrifying, but decline would always follow prosperity.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said nothing.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, but his laughter was filled with feebleness. He lowered his blade powerlessly. ¡°I¡¯m too tired. Let me get some rest first!¡±

    Just like that, he laid down with his limbs sprawled out, gazing at the moon through the cracks in the clouds. He said softly, ¡°Brother ox, it¡¯s so satisfying! This is the only way for a life to be worth living!¡±

    ¡°You dare to bluff me!?¡± The Kings of Yin and Yang fell into a complete rage, leaping high into the air and howling out with terrifying sounds, but they maintained a sufficient distance from Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You bastard, you¡¯ve blocked the moonlight. Whatever, I better just butcher you first!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, but he continued to lie there without budging. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew over and formed a smooth mirror surface.

    The demonic sound landed on the mirror and was completely reflected, landing on the Kings of Yin and Yang!

    Spurt! Blood sprayed from the Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s mouths, sending them flying backwards. Every inch of their body convulsed violently, clearly experiencing the power of their own demonic sound.

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    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s third new ability¡ªLast Reflection of the Setting Sun!

    This was rather similar to the ox demon¡¯s new innate ability. They were both developments of pre-existing abilities, turning them from ¡°useless¡± into independent innate abilities that covered an entire base alone. Unlike the Ox Demon Forges its Hide, the Last Reflection of the Setting Sun was more suited for techniques. It could be considered as complete with offence and defence from a certain perspective.

    Perhaps this innate ability would achieve a wondrous effect in another time and location, but it seemed rather powerless given the current situation. The abilities of the spirit turtle had always leaned towards defence and support.

    ¡°Last Reflection of the Setting Sun! Tsk, how ominous!¡± Li Qingshan pouted and wondered whether he should change the name.

    ¡°Is this your trump card!? What a pity! Just watching you die is enough for me! Die! Die!¡±

    The Kings of Yin and Yang wiped away the blood from their mouths and gazed at Li Qingshan from high above. Their three bulging eyes were completely bloodshot as they let out a hysterical howl.

    A while later, a few more patches and a few more wisps of brown appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Even when he unleashed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression at full strength, he could not suppress it.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan took a step back. He swung his right arm as hard as possible and tossed out the blade, which shot into the horizon as a streak of blood-red light.

    ¡°You really think you can injure me with something like that?¡± The Kings of Yin and Yang showed contempt. Suddenly, light filled their eyes. The smooth, mirror surface composed of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell turned, reflecting the silver-blue moonlight into their eyes. They showed even more scorn. ¡°To think that you would even resort to a trick like this! How pitiful!¡±

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    A hand extended out of the resplendent moonlight and gripped the hilt of Tiger¡¯s Fang firmly. The Kings of Yin and Yang widened their eyes as if they had just seen a ghost. All they saw was Li Qingshan in high spirits with his scarlet hair flying. He did not seem like he was injured at all.

    ¡°How is this possible!?¡±

    The Kings of Yin and Yang retreated in a hurry, but the blade had already been swung, sweeping over as a silvery-blue arc with the moonlight, just like a crescent moon hanging in the sky.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s path of retreat happened to overlap with the crescent moon as if they had adjusted themselves into the position themselves.

    Moonlight flew, and demonic blood splattered. The Kings of Yin and Yang were split into two!

    They widened their eyes, but all they could see was Li Qingshan standing exactly where he was before, staring at them calmly. The Li Qingshan before them bore the same expression, and then he produced another crescent moon with a swing!

    ¡°What a powerful clone!¡± The King of Southern Yue and everyone else saw this very clearly. The second Li Qingshan had flown out of the smooth mirror that reflected the moonlight.

    ¡°If he were outside, the clone alone would possess the strength of a Daemon King!¡± Ye Duanhai sighed.

    ¡°No, even stronger than regular Daemon Kings. Isn¡¯t the strength of two fused Demon Kings much greater than a regular Daemon King?¡± Ye Weiyang pointed at the battlefield again.

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    ¡°If I want to kill you, I don¡¯t exactly have to use a new ability!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Now this was his true trump card, the second innate ability of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, the Watermirror¡¯s Image!

    The strength of the mirror clone was directly correlated with his main body. After undergoing the tribulation and becoming a Daemon King, the strength of his clone had risen as well. Coupled with how the ability itself had grown stronger, the power it could unleash was no less than before he had undergone the tribulation despite the suppression from the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    Perhaps some people would be wondering something like this. Even when Li Qingshan and Gong Yuan worked together before the heavenly tribulation, they were not the opponents of the fused Kings of Yin and Yang, so how could he win now when he was alone?

    It was the same power, but it led to completely different results when it was under the control of a Daemon King as opposed to a Daemon Commander.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang experienced this first-hand. The power of the mirror clone was clearly beneath theirs, but Li Qingshan seemed to read their thoughts, grasping all of their movements before they could make them. They were riddled with openings.

    Li Qingshan held the Heart of the Abyss in his mouth, and his eyes turned pitch-black as if he was gazing at the Kings of Yin and Yang on the horizon, yet also as if he was gazing into the endless void.

    After the Spirit Turtle Transformation broke through to the fifth layer, he could see the heavenly secrets and fate much more clearly. It came at tremendous mental effort, but he could still calculate the Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s movements and course of action, which was enough for the mirror clone to grasp the upper hand.

    However, there was no joy on his face at all. The difference in strength still existed. The suppression of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous on his mirror clone was much greater than on his main body, or he would have summoned his mirror clone a long time ago. It would be very difficult for him to deal a lethal blow to the Kings of Yin and Yang.

    On top of that, it was even more difficult for him to maintain his current state than the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, as this had not become an independent innate ability yet after all. If only the innate ability that the spirit turtle had condensed this time was in this aspect instead. However, there were no ifs in life. All he could do was accept fate calmly.

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    He closed his eyes gently. Already utterly exhausted, even his mind was close to the tipping point.

    Would his desperate battle and struggle really just result in a glorious reflection of the setting sun, a glorious swan song?

 Chapter 954 Xiao Anâ€™s Grand Arrival

    Clang!

    Tiger¡¯s Fang spiralled away, planting into the ground near Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan had heavily injured the Kings of Yin and Yang numerous times through his mirror clone, but Demon Kings all possessed great vitality, and they were standing in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, so they could rapidly recover no matter what wounds they suffered.

    Meanwhile, the power of the mirror clone was rapidly diminishing. Given the unfavourable circumstances, the Kings of Yin and Yang finally gained the upper hand and sent the blade flying.

    In a short while, the mirror clone collapsed within the echoes of the demonic sound.

    His final sliver of hope had been snuffed out, like the final glow of the setting sun sinking completely beneath the deep ocean and leaving behind eternal darkness.

    Li Qingshan remained as calm and composed as before. The patches and brown discolouration spread freely, reaching all the way into his bones.

    With a great thump, the Kings of Yin and Yang landed in the distance, gazing at him like a victor. The horrific slashes on their body healed at a visible rate as they sniggered. ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve suffered a defeat at our hand once again. How¡¯s that? You must feel very unconvinced and find this very difficult to accept, right?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head gently. ¡°Victory is victory. Defeat is defeat. There¡¯s nothing difficult to accept.¡±

    ¡°Stop posing around. I¡¯ll give you a quick one!¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang took a step forward before stopping again. ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re that foolish? We¡¯ll stand right here and watch as you die!¡±

    Even when Li Qingshan seemed so feeble already as if he could be pushed over with a single finger, the Kings of Yin and Yang still refused to approach him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. His gaze swept past the Kings of Yin and Yang, cast off in the direction of the Myriad Poison cult. He thought, I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯re going to be all alone!

    Practising the mightiest abilities, fighting the strongest foes, sleeping with the most beautiful women, all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens, where he would stand beside brother ox! These lofty ambitions of his were all reduced to nothing now. However, from the moment he stepped out of that tiny village and swore to never return, he was already prepared for all of this. The only regret he felt was that he could not see her once more.

    It fell silent on the Silver Dragon King. Apart from the Great Banyan Tree King, the three others were not exactly close with Li Qingshan. Conflicts and disputes had even arisen among them in the past, but at this moment, they all lost interest in talking.

    The Great Banyan Tree King clenched his fist tightly. There were several times when he wanted to strike, but it all resulted in a long sigh. His main body was thousands of kilometers away. With this mere clone, it was useless even if he tried to do something. The three others would never risk their lives with him either.

    The demonic clouds obscured the moon. The stars dimmed, but white light suddenly illuminated the pitch-black horizon as if it was the break of dawn. In the next moment, white flames burned past half of the sky.

    The King of Southern Yue raised an eyebrow and said in surprise, ¡°Something is approaching here! So fast!¡±

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    With a thought, the scenery on the porthole locked onto a figure within the blazing flames several hundred kilometers away¡ªa shiny, bone sword in hand and seaweed-like hair dancing about in the flames. Her eyebrows were firmly furrowed, filled with worry. Only when she saw his figure did she reveal a smile. ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan began to smile as well. Even if he died now, he no longer had any regrets.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang were alarmed, but they sneered soon afterwards. ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too early. Who do you think is bold enough to enter here and save you?¡±

    Given the might of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, anyone who entered it would be facing death. Even the King of Southern Yue who piloted the Silver Dragon King refused to approach it, let alone anyone else.

    Li Qingshan did not even look at the Kings of Yin and Yang. He smiled at the distant horizon. He was not excited or touched, nor would he persuade her to turn around. Going through thick and thin together was just common sense for them.

    He hoped they could spend another moment together, until death did them part!

    The firelight in the distance drew in, merging with Xiao An¡¯s body. She turned into a streak of white light and covered the distance in the blink of an eye, flying over the Silver Dragon King. Under the gazes of the twelve Demon Gods, she dove into the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous without the slightest hesitation, throwing herself into his arms!

    Li Qingshan had to stagger to catch her. ¡°You seem to have grown bigger yet again. I almost can¡¯t carry you anymore.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An nodded as she stared straight at him. She touched his face with her hand, which glowed with a faint, buddhist light. Wherever it reached, the patches and discolouration was removed, allowing his complexion to return to normal.

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    ¡°You¡¯ve undergone the third heavenly tribulation too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Very good.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, congratulations on having another person to die with you!¡± the Kings of Yin and Yang said sinisterly.

    ¡°This guy just jabbers away. He pissess my off. Hurry up and butcher him for me,¡± Li Qingshan grumbled to Xiao An with a grin.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao An looked back indifferently, and the Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s heart lurched. They could not feel any danger or killing intent, just emptiness. It was like she did not exist before them. They could not help themselves as an indescribable fear flooded them.

    They retreated almost instinctively when their chest suddenly ached. They looked down in disbelief, only to see that the shiny, bone sword had already pierced their body. The skull engraved on the hilt was only inches away, staring at them with its empty eye sockets. It was as if it was filled with benevolence. However, the wielder of the sword was emotionless, overlooking everything that happened before her.

    There were no dazzling flashes or sharp sword qi. It was only a plain and simple stroke, but it seemed to have pierced space and time, travelling along an ungraspable trajectory. Even at that moment, the Kings of Yin and Yang had not realised they had been pierced.

    ¡°What is this path of the sword?¡± Ye Duanhai¡¯s eyes narrowed. As a great sword cultivator, he could clearly sense the terror involved.

    The sword was drawn out with just a stab. It did not even pierce the Kings of Yin and Yang¡¯s body all the way through. Xiao An returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s side again, standing with her sword in hand.

    After undergoing the third heavenly tribulation, the Buddha Slaying sword had not only gone from being a sword embryo to a true sword. Her path of the sword had finally broken out of the Three Absolutes Calligraphy¡¯s shadow as well, forming her own path of the sword.

    The path of the buddha slaying sword!

    This path of the sword had always been present in the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, except her cultivation had been far too low, preventing her from comprehending it, let alone practising it.

    The Kings of Yin and Yang retreated another five kilometers, staring at Xiao An in fright. That was not an opponent they could handle. Just what kind of monster had Qiongqi¡¯s trap lured and caught? They also wondered why she did not go after them.

    They were about to speak, but the only sound from their mouths was a meaningless slur. Suddenly, they split into two, turning back into a male and female Demon King and recovering their usual appearance. They knelt on the ground together, desperately covering the same wound on their chests. There was no poison, nor did it get any larger, but it did not heal¡ªas if it would never heal.

    ¡°This¡­ what¡­ is going on¡­¡±

    The two Demon Kings looked at one another. Their faces were filled with fear and confusion. The blade had hacked them up so many times, yet it had still failed to claim their lives, so let alone a gentle thrust like that.

    The feeling was so familiar. It was as if they had returned to a long, long time ago. Back then, they still had not become powerful Demon Kings. Instead, they were the weakest demonfolk, desperately trying to survive in the Demon domain. They came close to death many times.

    ¡°Birth, growth, decline, then destruction; Formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness. White bone and great beauty, a cycle of life and death,¡± Xiao An stroked her sword and said gently.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand that, do you? Anyway, you¡¯re already dead!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud before asking Xiao An, ¡°Is my explanation right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s right.¡± Xiao An smiled.

    With two thumps, the two Demon Kings collapsed on the ground, dying like mortals.

    By buddha slaying, it was only referring to a single sword!

 Chapter 955 Qiongqi Descends

    Two swaying, white lotuses rose up from the wounds of the two Demon Kings. Only at a closer glance did it become clear that they were two pale-white flames. Suddenly, they turned into scorching Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and rushed into the air, gathering in Xiao An¡¯s hand. She closed her hand around it gently, and the traces of the two Demon Kings¡¯ existence completely vanished.

    What is that sword!?

    Ye Duanhai stared straight at the shiny bone sword, completely shocked. Even if he used his full strength, he was not confident about killing two Demon Kings in a single stroke, let alone doing so in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. The Sea-splitting sword was a renowned sword in the world, but it definitely did not have power like that.

    Everything he had seen today was far beyond his wildest imaginations.

    ¡°Fellow, I think I¡¯m finally convinced that Qiongqi has come for them. What are their origins exactly?¡± the King of Southern Yue asked in alarm. He was unable to imagine whether his fate would be the same as the two Demon Kings, dying in such a mysterious way, if the sword struck him instead.

    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure either.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King shook his head, but he had a slight guess. As it seemed, the dream beyond the Nine Heavens that Li Qingshan had once mentioned was not without reason.

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not power that belongs to this world.¡± The King of Southern Yue concluded. Even the Three Graves and Five Classics passed down through the imperial family definitely did not possess such power.

    Now, all of the Demon Kings that had participated in this were dead, but what blocked their way was the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, as well as the one behind it all, Qiongqi.

    ¡°Interesting. This is far too interesting!¡±

    Abruptly, hearty laughter rang out, echoing through the world, which made the faces of everyone change. It was Qiongqi¡¯s voice. Sure enough, he had been paying attention the entire time.

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    There was no fury from the plan¡¯s failure within his laughter. Instead, it was filled with intrigue and joy, even a little innocent in a sense, like a child that had obtained their favourite toy.

    As the laughter echoed, demon qi rapidly condensed around the Demon God Qiongqi that had never been injured. His figure gradually consolidated and came alive.

    A pair of moons lit up within the surging demon qi, which were his eyes. He was shaped like a black tiger with a pair of wings on his back, revealing an extremely distinct smile. His huge mouth unhinged to a terrifying angle, and it was riddled with huge, sharp teeth. The laughter had emerged from there.

    Boom!

    Qingqi took a step forward leisurely and left the bounds of the demon cavern. Countless cracks riddled the space there like black chains, but they were unable to stop Qiongqi¡¯s advance.

    An invisible aura radiated outwards; it made the breathing of the King of Southern Yue and everyone else who had backed off into the distance come to a halt. They felt an urge to immediately flee from there on the Silver Dragon King.

    ¡°Qiongqi has actually descended!?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King frowned heavily. He was unable to estimate how great of a price Qiongqi had paid for this, but it was definitely much more difficult than descending with only his consciousness. Even if it was merely a clone condensed from demon qi, controlling the situation from behind the scenes and directly jumping onto the stage were two completely different matters. Even he had never imagined Qiongqi would go so far!

    Rumble!

    A chain of thunder erupted in the surroundings. In the blink of an eye, the sky had already become a pool of lightning. The atmospheric winds that only blew at high altitude roared furiously, ripping apart the demonic clouds. The ground cracked upon and lava poured out. The invisible underground magnetic field surged and rose up too, directly making contact with the atmospheric winds.

    The world seemed to be angered, giving a terrifying warning. The great swamp had already been reduced to an apocalyptic landscape.

    Qiongqi ignored the wrath of the world and continued to advance calmly, travelling through the apocalyptic landscape. He made his way towards Li Qingshan and Xiao An as if he was mocking the uselessness of the world.

    Xiao An raised her sword and stood in front of Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan grabbed her hand and arrived beside her, staring at the approaching Qiongqi. He did not mind being protected by her, but the enemy they were facing this time was well beyond their imaginations.

    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s really over this time!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue sighed. Even when the power that Qiongqi could unleash in this world was limited, the tremendous difference between them had already determined that Li Qngshan and Xiao An had absolutely no hope at all. Moreover, Qiongqi¡¯s current power was already approaching the absolute limit that this world could withstand, equivalent to the peak of the third heavenly tribulation. Even across the entire nine provinces, there was probably no one who could serve as his opponent.

    Ye Weiyang originally wanted to express her agreement, but she looked at the Great Banyan Tree King again.

    ¡°Indeed.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King shut his eyes. By going as far as to descend, he had already demonstrated his utmost determination. No matter what gods wanted to do, it was very difficult for mortals to oppose them.

    Ye Weiyang looked away in disappointment. Yeah, why would miracles keep happening?

    Boom!

    Qiongqi¡¯s huge claw stopped before them, which was immediately swallowed by the lava. He ignored it and lowered his head, looking at Li Qingshan from above. ¡°What a fascinating performance!¡±

    The terrifying aura swallowed Li Qingshan, but he did not budge, as he had once seen someone even grander than that. He smiled brightly. ¡°Then do I get a reward?¡±

    ¡°Everything you can ever want in the Demon domain! You will become a ruler only second to me on Qingqi mountain. The countless Demon domains and the billions of demonfolk will all listen to your command, where you will be free to do whatever you please. By then, you will only find this world to be too small and cramped.¡±

    The conditions that Qiongqi had put on offer left everyone dumbstruck. The King of Southern Yue had originally been thinking that Li Qingshan might become the ruler of this world if he joined the Demon domain. Only now did he realise that his vision was far too puny. Even his wildest imaginations seemed so minor.

    ¡°Hopefully we don¡¯t become one of the countless Demon domains!¡± The King of Southern Yue sighed.

    ¡°Oh my, he¡¯s someone prominent! If I had known earlier, I would have fawned all over him. Elder banyan tree is still the most insightful!¡± Ye Weiyang joked, but she struggled to hide the envy in her eyes. Just who could resist something so enticing?

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled wryly. He really had no idea whether he should be happy or sad!

    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s a pity that you can¡¯t give me what I want!¡±

    ¡°Spit it out then. Stop wasting time like a coward. Every second I spend here comes at a tremendous price.¡±

    Qiongqi¡¯s head drooped a little lower. The lightning and atmospheric winds in the surroundings had already begun barraging his body, but faint rings of demon qi blocked it.

    The laws of the world were like invisible shackles. The greater their strength was, the higher their cultivation was, the greater the rejection they faced. No matter how powerful Qiongqi was, he could not oppose an entire world. However, his undisguised composure was even more terrifying than cold threats.

    ¡°Your life!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s smile vanished as he said firmly.

    At that moment, space and time seemed to freeze. He did consider how hope would still remain as long as he got out of here alive, but he could still clearly remember that someone had once told him, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t lower your head to anyone, as you have once ridden on my back.¡±

    From that day onwards, he could suffer humiliation, he could flee desperately, but he would never lower his head, or he would never be able to bring himself to stand beside him even if he made it beyond the Nine Heavens!

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 Chapter 956 A Blood Oath on the Nether River, a Promise of Five Hundred Years

    Within the roaring wind and thunder, Li Qingshan¡¯s resolute voice rang out.

    The King of Southern Yue and everyone else on the Silver Dragon King was stunned. Since when did the world possess someone so foolish that they would rather be obliterated than lower their heads?

    All of them were kings that stood at the very apex of the world, but none of them found it particularly embarrassing to lower their heads towards a true god, let alone the fact that Qiongqi had already demonstrated enough sincerity. Receiving such attention from a god could definitely be regarded as a form of honour.

    Only the Great Banyan Tree King had a vague idea, but all he did was sigh inside.

    Qiongqi was taken aback too. He had told Li Qingshan to not waste time, but even he had never expected him to be so resolute, actually leaving no room to maneuver about at all. He lowered his head and grinned. ¡°How foolish! And how bizarre! Li Qingshan, do you really think I won¡¯t kill you?¡±

    ¡°Then come!¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms, accepting death enthusiastically.

    ¡°You¡¯re very interesting too, but I won¡¯t let you stab me with that sword.¡± Qiongqi suddenly turned his head and gazed at Xiao An.

    The sword in Xiao An¡¯s hand trembled involuntarily. Originally, she had wanted to use the opportunity Li Qingshan created to launch a sneak attack and assassinate Qiongqi. She was already prepared to strike. The power of the Buddha Slaying sword should have been enough to heavily injure Qiongqi¡¯s clone.

    She clearly had not moved, nor did she give off any murderousness, but Qiongqi saw through it with a single glance. The enemy was no longer simply powerful. He basically had no openings.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. Qiongqi really gave them absolutely no opportunities at all. Was he really going to die here today?

    ¡°Do you recognise this sword?¡± Xiao An lifted up the Buddha Slaying sword and said in thought.

    ¡°Not only do I recognise the sword, but I also recognise your flames. The path you walk is not just unacceptable to immortals and buddhas. Even the Demon domain cannot accept it. Go. I¡¯ll spare your life!¡± Qiongqi¡¯s voice rolled out, drowning out the booming thunder and howling wind, crashing down like a mountain.

    Xiao An swayed about. Her clothes buffeted, and her long hair drifted through the air, but her expression remained the same. She only tightened her grip around the Buddha Slaying sword.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were narrowed. He gathered the power of tremors, preparing himself for one last struggle.

    Even if there was no chance, even if it was certain death, he wanted to put up a fight!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, it¡¯ll be far too boring if I just crush you. Do you want to live, or do you want to die?¡± Qiongqi changed the topic of the conversation. The interest in his eyes grew heavier.

    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± Li Qingshan bellowed.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s make a bet!¡±

    ¡°What are we betting?¡±

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    ¡°I am picking on someone smaller than me today, which you must find unacceptable, so I¡¯ll give you some time¡­¡± After a pause, he continued, ¡°... five hundred years will do. Come to Qingqi mountain in five hundred years, and we¡¯ll fight again. If you lose¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, five hundred years. If I can¡¯t overturn your Qingqi mountain, I¡¯ll serve you willingly!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He never expected something as great as this to happen. Just how much room for maneuver did he have with five centuries? He could definitely ascend and venture beyond the heavens. By then, even if he still was not Qiongqi¡¯s opponent, what could Qiongqi do to him as long as he did not go to the Demon domain?

    ¡°That¡¯s what you said! Let¡¯s seal the promise with a clap! If I lose, I¡¯ll do the same!¡± Qiongqi sniggered away. His body rapidly shrank, assuming a human form. He was as distorted as a figure from an abstract painting, encased in a layer of demonic light that blurred his facial features. He extended his twisting, distorting right hand towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had just been duped, but there was no more room for regrets. He took a step forward and sealed the promise with Qiongqi through clapping their hands together.

    Clap! The moment their hands struck, the atmospheric winds and lightning in the surroundings all settled down. It was as if an invisible force isolated the wrath of the world from them.

    In a daze, Li Qingshan saw a tranquil, rippleless river, meandering through the void. It was vast and bankless as if it had transcended space and time. He struggled to estimate its dimensions using the usual measurements.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    Thunder gradually swallowed Qiongqi¡¯s flagrant laughter, filled with the delight of success. The invisible laws of the world distorted his body.

    With a boom, he suddenly dispersed as a great cloud of demon qi, surging hundreds of kilometers away and swallowing the entire swamp, even reaching the Silver Dragon King in the distance.

    In that instant, the lightning and wind stopped as if the wrath of the world had been pacified.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous consequently collapsed as well. Li Qingshan felt his entire body ease up. He checked his palm, and the river appeared in his mind again. He could vaguely sense that this oath was probably not as simple as it seemed. He felt like he was forced to pay a visit to Qingqi mountain.

    Was this another trap?

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, twelve pillars towered over a certain place within the Demon domain.

    It was as if the situation the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous emulated had become a reality. The twelve supreme Demon Gods of the Demon domain dwelled on the pillars as they discussed something. Words like ¡°the Desireless Heavenly palace¡­ Zhenwu¡­ the Demon Purging Heavenly Venerable¡­ the seven stars of the north¡± were vaguely mentioned.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Qiongqi¡¯s laughter rolled out, catching the attention of the other Demon Gods. They asked, ¡°Qiongqi, what are you laughing about?¡±

    Qiongqi had originally been standing there in a daze. The other Demon Gods were not surprised by this, as they knew that he hated these long, solemn meetings the most. However, none of them dared to look down on him, as his thoughts were highly flexible and unpredictable. He would always be able to take them by surprise and often win battles by surprise.

    Then they saw his lips curl into a smile, and a few spark-like bolts of lightning crackling around him; this was enough for them to realise that his consciousness had descended in some other world and something interesting had happened again. They knew that he was currently withstanding the rejection from the laws of the world. The other Demon Gods all scorned a waste of strength and energy like that, but they said nothing about it.

    Only when Qiongqi laughed aloud and a great, meandering river flashed past his head did they ask in surprise, ¡°You formed a Blood Oath of the Nether River with someone!¡±

    Legends depicted the Nether river as the first river after the birth of the universe. Its flow demarcated time, which formed fate. Oaths sworn on the Nether river were highly constraining. Once a blood oath was formed, even gods could not change their lives. Even fate would be twisted as a result.

    Qiongqi only smiled, which was filled with undisguised complacency. The Demon Gods stopped asking about it too, continuing their discussion.

    Five hundred years was extremely short to him. The reason why it was not fifty years or five years, but five hundred years, was because the establishment of a Blood Oath of the Nether River required recognition from the bottom of the heart from both sides.

    If the time was too short, Li Qingshan might have still agreed to it, but the end result would definitely be him dying instead of yielding, which was meaningless. Five hundred years was enough for the Blood Oath of the Nether River to become deeply engraved in fate. By then, all he could do was yield.

    The establishment of a Blood Oath of the Nether River had many hidden, complicated conditions too. One of them was fairness. Just like a scale, both sides had to offer up something of sufficient value. Although some imbalance could exist, it could not be formed once all balance was lost, which was why he needed the five hundred years to balance this out. Qiongqi had even added at the end, ¡°If I lose, I¡¯ll do the same!¡±

    Apart from that, there were a few other hidden stringent conditions, such as during the five centuries, not only was he forbidden from launching an attack proactively, he could not even intentionally make things difficult for Li Qingshan. These were all part of his side of the deal.

    That was why the Demon Gods had been so surprised. The Nether river was not a tool that could be used carelessly. It came with many risks, and it was very easy for them to be impacted by it. Normally, only existences at their level required the Blood Oath of the Nether River to bind one another.

    With weaker existences, they possessed many different oaths that could guarantee them an advantage at no risk. The Blood Oath Scroll in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession was a method that had originated from the Demon domain. It could be regarded as a shoddy imitation of the Blood Oath of the Nether River

    When he chose the Blood Oath of the Nether River, Qiongqi had made his considerations. A major reason was Xiao An¡¯s appearance.

    He could not help it. The White Bone Bodhisattva who had once tried to refine the Hungry Ghost realm was far too infamous. Although she failed in the end, she already deserved enough reverence for challenging the order of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone were renowned through the six realms too.

    When Xiao An first appeared, Qiongqi had his doubts, as a legacy at that level could not be obtained through luck. It was basically impossible for it to appear in a world of such a level.

    However, when Xiao An cut down the Kings of Yin and Yang with a single stroke and refined them into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, Qiongqi became extremely certain. He could play around with the nine provinces, but he had to reconsider his actions when he faced a white bone successor.

    He had never been able to see through Li Qingshan¡¯s legacy either. This white bone successor was clearly affiliated with Li Qingshan, which only gave him even more things to think about.

    If Li Qingshan and Xiao An were both successors of immortals and buddhas, then Qiongqi would not mind nipping them in the bud immediately. They were enemies anyway. However, they clearly were not. Li Qingshan transformed into a daemon and even implied the coexistence of the demonic and divine. Meanwhile, the White Bone Bodhisattva tried to incinerate all life, rendering all worlds she ventured to as a land of death, without a single blade of grass remaining. Even the Demon domain could not accept her. She was as wicked as she could get.

    If he killed the successors of two prominent figures of the demonic path for a mere game, then it would not be his curiosity being too great, but something wrong with his head. Just like how curiosity killed the cat, he had lived to the present and become a Demon God because he could clearly differentiate between playing around and asking for death.

    Although he had gone to such great lengths, going as far as to descend on the World of the Nine Provinces, it was all a showcase of bravado. He had absolutely no interest in killing Li Qingshan. It was only to force him into making this bet with him.

    He chose the fair Blood Oath of the Nether River so that he would have room to maneuver about in the future. If no one cared about him, then that would be for the best. He would obtain a powerful assistant. If the White Bone Bodhisattva or an even more terrifying existence leapt forth, his actions could not be considered as going too far. He would release him at most.

    He was not worried at all that he would lose the bet. It was a measly five centuries. Any great cultivator in the nine provinces had a good few centuries of cultivation, and the cultivations of Daemon Kings were calculated with millennia. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan¡¯s legacy was, it was almost impossible for him to cross through so many major realms of cultivation in such a short time.

    Five hundred years later, he probably would not even be able to make it to Qingqi mountain, let alone defeat him and overturn Qingqi mountain.

    On top of that, the Blood Oath of the Nether River was hiding another huge trap. Once he truly set foot in this world, he would realise that the five centuries were not as lengthy as he imagined them to be.

    ¡°Qingshan, are you fine?¡± Xiao An asked in concern.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Looks like I need to hurry up. I¡¯m already far too impatient to give that damned evil god a beating!¡± Li Qingshan collapsed in Xiao An¡¯s arms as soon as he finished with that. ¡°But let me get some sleep first!¡±

 Chapter 957 Return

    Xiao An gently carried Li Qingshan in her arms and suddenly looked back. A streak of silver light appeared. The Silver Dragon King ripped through the surging demon qi and projected a silver column of light nearby.

    ¡°Fellow Xiao An, please board the ship for a conversation!¡± The King of Southern Yue invited her.

    Xiao An considered it before stepping into the silver column with Li Qingshan. She rose up slowly and boarded the Silver Dragon King. A Puppet King led the way for her, bringing her to the bridge of the ship.

    The Great Banyan Tree King, the King of Southern Yue, Ye Duanhai, and Ye Weiyang all stood up to receive her. They bowed and expressed their respect.

    In the cultivation community, cultivation and strength was everything. After Li Qingshan and Xiao An underwent the third heavenly tribulation together and demonstrated terrifying strength and immeasurable potential, their status in their eyes had already become worlds apart.

    The Great Banyan Tree King asked, ¡°Qingshan is fine, right?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, senior. He¡¯s just sleeping.¡± Xiao An tidied her clothes and bowed before telling everyone, ¡°Thank you for saving us. Please do not disclose what happened today.¡±

    Whether it was her Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone or Qiongqi¡¯s descent, it would lead to unimaginable trouble once news made it out. If it only led to some buddhist or righteous path cultivators coming for them to purge demons, then that would be fine, but if it raised the attention of certain existences beyond the heavens, then the small trouble would become big trouble.

    ¡°That goes without saying!¡± everyone said together. After witnessing today¡¯s battle, who still wanted to offend them?

    The King of Southern Yue gazed at this woman who possessed unrivalled beauty and lamented inside. He felt a hint of regret. He should have sown a seed of good will in the past. Even without Xiao An, just Li Qingshan alone always repaid his debts and was extremely worth befriending. If he could obtain their assistance, it was even better than having another ten honoured guests. The King of Chu¡¯s estate of the Green province would no longer be a problem.

    However, who would have thought that in a measly decade or two, they would rise up to the peak of the nine provinces, standing beside the kings, even looking down on most of them.

    In the past, many people even thought that Li Qingshan¡¯s title as the King of Savages was undeserved, yet now, calling him the king of the south would only be an insult. Even the entire nine provinces could not compare to the vast Demon domain he had just given up. In a small chat, he had agreed to a promise of five hundred years with a god. Even if he actually lost five hundred years later, he would still be one of the few, prominent figures of the Demon domain. He could determine the fate of a world like this with a single order.

    Compared to that, the feud between the Mist province and the Green province seemed insignificant, something not worth mentioning.

    He admired the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wisdom and insight even more because of this. Originally, he was quite perplexed by why the Great Banyan Tree King would pay special attention to a junior like him, even referring to him as fellow. As it seemed it basically led to endless benefits.

    Li Qingshan snored away. Xiao An had adjusted her method of cultivation slightly, such that she did not come off as completely unfeeling anymore, but she was still quiet and nonchalant. She did not have too much to say to the people around her. The reason why she boarded the Silver Dragon King was to handle the situation. She did not want her attitude to lead to unnecessary trouble.

    The King of Southern Yue and everyone else had yet to calm down either. They were not in the mood to talk. It was not because their mental fortitude was insufficient, but because they were stunned by the outside world as frogs in a well. They gained a new understanding to their paths of cultivation.

    ¡°Where are you going? I¡¯ll send you off!¡±

    ¡°Thank you. Fire Melt mountain,¡± Xiao An said quietly, but she did think of some things, This is the King of Chu¡¯s estate¡¯s greatest enemy. I wonder if I can claim his life here with a stroke of my sword.

    In the past, she would never think of something like that. There was even no distinction between the King of Southern Yue and the Fierce King of Chu in her eyes. However, there was a fundamental change now. Her past memories and experiences were no longer completely meaningless, but she had no idea whether this was good or bad. Was she following the same path that the White Bone Bodhisattva had once taken, or was she going off in the wrong direction with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty? Everything required time to certify.

    Of course, it was only a thought. She would never risk Li Qingshan¡¯s life, nor did she believe she was obligated to participate in this feud.

    At this moment, the Asura Field in Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes began to tremble. Gong Yuan had run out of patience in there.

    Xiao An opened the Asura Field and let Gong Yuan out.

    Gong Yuan had already tidied herself up, recovering her cold, noble demeanour. She glanced at Li Qingshan deeply with her deep-blue eyes before looking away. Then she greeted everyone else one by one.

    She had been in the Asura Field, but she had made Yin Qing pay attention to the outside situation the entire time, so she had an idea about everything that had happened. She even understood things that everyone else did not understand, such as how a certain consciousness from the Asura realm had once invited Li Qingshan to participate.

    Ye Weiyang gazed at Gong Yuan meaningfully and smiled. ¡°What sharp eyes, sister. You caught yourself a great husband!¡±

    Gong Yuan glanced at Ye Weiyang coldly and said to Xiao An, ¡°When he wakes up, tell him to pay a visit to the South sea.¡± Then she disembarked from the Silver Dragon King. She did not even take back the Heart of the Abyss.

    The Silver Dragon King stopped above Fire Melt mountain, and Xiao An bade farewell with Li Qingshan in her arms.

    The King of Southern Yue said, ¡°When fellow Qingshan wakes up, please invite him to a hearty drink in the Mist capital.¡± Then he gave an invitation to the Shadow Queen as well.

    Ye Duanhai also spoke up, but he was not inviting Li Qingshan, but Xiao An. ¡°Fellow, your path of the sword is completely unheard of. If the opportunity ever arises, I would like some guidance from you.¡±

    ¡°I will pass on those messages. Though, please forgive me, pavilion master Ye. I¡¯m not a sword cultivator, and I have no guidance to give.¡±

    Ye Duanhai said nothing more. Paths of the sword were like cultivation methods. They were not freely taught or passed on to others. He had only said that because he was unable to hold back his curiosity. If that did not work out, then so be it. He was not exactly displeased. After all, he did not even have a hint of confidence in emerging victoriously against her right now, so what could he do even if he felt displeased?

    Xiao An nodded in farewell and landed on the divine wutong tree on the main peak of Fire Melt mountain with Li Qingshan. Then they entered the phoenix¡¯s nest.

    A tiny figure rushed over and hugged Li Qingshan firmly. He sobbed and said, ¡°First father, you¡¯re finally back! Just take me away! I can¡¯t stay here for any longer. Second father is just not human! Answer me, first father. What¡¯s wrong with you, first father? You can¡¯t die! If you die, what¡¯ll happen to me?¡±

    ¡°Li Fengyuan!¡± Feng Xiwu let out a furious roar and grabbed the little phoenix by the back of his neck, lifting him away. His bearing as a gentleman had been mostly worn away by now. Only after this period of arduous education did he realise how adorable the phoenix¡¯s embryo had been.

    In the past, when Li Qingshan was still around, he would directly give him a kick if he heard anything wrong come out of him. The child¡¯s vitality was startlingly powerful anyway. Normal scuffs and scratches were nothing. Feng Xiwu had even thought that method of education was too violent, so he regularly stopped Li Qingshan. By now, he was almost at the verge of using violence too.

    They all said that naughty children were difficult to discipline, so a ¡°phoenix child¡± with great strength and a sharp mind was basically a nightmare to fathers. Little did he know that the little phoenix would rather eat a few kicks from Li Qingshan than listen to Feng Xiwu¡¯s tirades, so he really was moved when he saw Li Qingshan again.

    Feng Xiwu saw Li Qingshan, but it was as if he had run into his mortal enemy. ¡°Li Qingshan, it¡¯s all because of you! Stop fake-sleeping! Hmm? This aura! You¡¯ve undergone the tribulation!?¡±

 Chapter 958 Deceived?

    ¡°So noisy!¡± Li Qingshan mumbled and hurled out both fists.

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Li Fengyuan was blown away before he could even respond, slamming into the wall and trembling all over.

    Feng Xiwu¡¯s face changed and raised his arm to block. A force well beyond what he could withstand appeared with the profound power of tremors. Even he had to stagger back over a dozen steps before coming to a halt. When he looked at Li Qingshan again, he had not even opened his eyes as if he was still sleeping, which filled him with surprise and doubt. Was he actually sleeping or fake-sleeping? If simply his instinctive strikes from when he was asleep possessed so much power, that would be far too frightening.

    In the past, he had essentially held Li Qingshan in a special light as well. He did not treat him like an ordinary Daemon Commander. However, while he did believe Li Qingshan had a future ahead of him, it would take him a few decades or a century at the very least before he could stand on equal footing with him. He never expected him to undergo the heavenly tribulation and become a Daemon King in the few months since he last saw him, and a simple strike from him would be so shocking.

    ¡°Don¡¯t wake him up. Let him rest!¡± Xiao An laid down Li Qingshan on the ground, resting his head on her thighs.

    With a flash, Li Fengyuan wiped away the blood on the corner of his mouth and rushed over again. Possessing the purest bloodline of the phoenix, even regular Daemon Kings were unable to keep up with his vitality and regeneration. He called out, ¡°First father, you¡¯re so strong! Even second father is not your opponent. No one can stop you anymore¡­¡±

    His voice came to a halt. A hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and hoisted him into the air before slowly tightening around his neck.

    Under the gaze of her clear, empty eyes, the little phoenix seemed to have seen a ghost. He struggled desperately.

    ¡°You¡¯ve undergone the heavenly tribulation too? Release him!¡±

    Feng Xiwu was startled. The little phoenix was only a Daemon Commander, but the power he possessed was extremely great. Following this period of guidance, he was no longer any weaker than Daemon Kings, especially when it came to speed, yet he had actually been subdued in a single move. Xiao An had struck without any prior signs too, which even he found to be difficult to grasp. Her current expression even made him shiver.

    ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Xiao An raised her index finger and brought it to her lips. Li Fengyuan nodded furiously, and only then did she release him.

    Li Fengyuan immediately scrambled far away, hiding behind Feng Xiwu. For an instant, Feng Xiwu felt that this method of education was perhaps not completely unacceptable, but he immediately dismissed the thought. He asked, ¡°What happened exactly?¡±

    ¡°You better just ask him after he wakes up!¡±

    ¡°Alright then! Let me play something for him.¡± With a wave of his hand, a zither and zither stand appeared, and a censer produced wisps of smoke. He sat down and began playing. The tunes of the zither rang out.

    Hearing that, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became much more peaceful. The entire divine wutong tree seemed to become a zither, its leaves swaying about and the tunes echoing around.

    Xiao An nodded in gratitude towards Feng Xiwu. Sure enough, the phoenix¡¯s nest was the best place to rest in. Li Qingshan could sleep well here and recover as quickly as possible.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s slumber lasted for almost half a month, and he experienced a long dream. The dream was chaotic, including both the idling away of his past life and the battles of his current life. Enemies, friends, and lovers leapt out one after another before vanishing again.

    In the end, numerous Demon Kings gathered around him, twisting and merging into Qiongqi¡¯s snickering head, which repeatedly said, ¡°Five hundred years¡­ five hundred years¡­ five hundred years¡­¡± The background was a river that meandered through the voice. The head grew larger and larger as if it wanted to swallow him in one gulp.

    His brows were furrowed, and his teeth were gritted together, like he was in a nightmare. He felt even more repressed and anxious than when the Dragon King of Ink Sea hunted him down.

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    With a rumble, the scene shattered!

    A vigorous, forceful figure said with his back to him, without even looking back, ¡°No, it¡¯s ten thousand years!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, ten thousand years,¡± Li Qingshan smiled and mumbled. He watched the figure gradually vanish off into the distance, sinking into the darkness. He woke up from his dream and heard someone whisper, ¡°Second father, what¡¯s first father going on about with the ten thousand years?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s talking about the time and effort I put in for you. You have to be a good boy in the future, alright?¡± Feng Xiwu never forgot to educate him.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Li Fengyuan nodded obediently as his eyes circled about, gazing at Li Qingshan eagerly.

    Li Qingshan yawned and stretched himself out before sitting up and leaning on his hand. His head still felt a little painful, and he was still filled with exhaustion. He had not completely recovered yet.

    He had gone through several months of consecutive battle, cleaning up demon caverns. Then he fell into the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, followed by the demon cavern. He underwent the third heavenly tribulation, confronted the seven Demon Kings, and was even hunted down by a Demon Emperor. In the end, he even faced a Demon God.

    He had gone through so much. Probably just one of them was enough to leave a regular great cultivator utterly exhausted, but he had gone through it all in a single breath. In battle, he never lacked fighting spirit, but he would also feel utterly exhausted following the battle.

    ¡°First father, you¡¯re awake.¡± Li Fengyuan glanced at Xiao An carefully and greeted him softly, following the rules.

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    ¡°Damned brat. It¡¯s just been a few months. Where¡¯s your enthusiasm gone? Don¡¯t pick up your second father¡¯s bad habits.¡± Li Qingshan reached over with his huge hand and pulled Li Fengyuan into his arms.

    ¡°I was sent flying by you when I was enthusiastic. Stop! You¡¯re going to break me!¡± Li Fengyuan felt his bones crackle between Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    ¡°Really? How come I don¡¯t remember that?¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head and laughed aloud. ¡°Though, it makes perfect sense for a father to give his son a beating. It¡¯s filled with my dense, fatherly love!¡±

    Li Fengyuan¡¯s tiny face twisted as if he was about to vomit.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You¡¯re unconvinced about this?¡± Li Qingshan shot him a glance and used a little more force. Li Fengyuan immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m convinced, I¡¯m convinced. Mighty be first father. Even when you beat me up, reason is on your side, so how can I be unconvinced?¡±

    Feng Xiwu sighed. To think that the world actually had such a spineless phoenix, and he was clearly being overwhelmed by force, yet he still acted like he was enjoying himself. Feng Xiwu really had no idea what to say.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d undergo the third heavenly tribulation so soon. Looks like I still ended up underestimating you.¡±

    ¡°Second father!¡± Li Qingshan snickered, and Li Fengyuan immediately understood him, giggling along too.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    After some small jokes and laughter, Li Qingshan told them about what had happened. He did not hide too many details from Feng Xiwu and the little phoenix. He only hid aspects that were directly connected to their secrets, such as Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The little phoenix leaned on his shoulder and was absolutely enraptured by his tale, tempted to become a part of it and charge into battle with Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Qiongqi!¡± Feng Xiwu was extremely shocked. Only people at his realm of cultivation could comprehend what a true god signified. When Li Qingshan purged demons, it was actually all a trap evil god Qiongqi set up, and he had even directly descended here with a clone in the end, inviting Li Qingshan to join the Demon domain.

    If it were not for the fact that Feng Xiwu knew Li Qingshan was not the type to boast and go on about nonsense, he basically would have suspected he was still dreaming or making up a fairytale to fool children. It was a story beyond belief.

    ¡°Yeah, that bastard. He sure has nothing better to do. How can there be a god that¡¯s that bored? Fortunately, he was bored enough. Originally, I thought I was dead for sure, but I didn¡¯t think he just wanted a five-hundred-year promise,¡± Li Qingshan said rather happily.

    Back then, it truly had been certain death. Even if he were in perfect condition, he stood no chance even when working together with Xiao An.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve probably been deceived by him!¡±

 Chapter 959 Ten Thousand Years is Too Short?

    ¡°I know. Five hundred years is far too short, but it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have a chance.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not surprised at all. To regular cultivators, they could conclude failure before the bet had even been established. They had no chance at all, but he was confident he was not ¡°regular¡±.

    ¡°The issue is just how are these five centuries calculated?¡± Feng Xiwu shook his head with his hands behind his back.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Li Qingshan was confused. What other way was there to calculate time? Was it not all the same length no matter how it was calculated?

    ¡°You really don¡¯t know, do you? Five centuries to you is different from five centuries to Qiongqi.¡±

    ¡°What difference is there?¡± Li Qingshan felt slightly uneasy.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard the saying about how a day in heaven is a year in the mortal realm?¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately realised what was going on. His face changed. ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    ¡°The trichiliocosm has worlds of large and small, of high and low. The larger, the higher up they are, the faster time flows. As a god, Qiongqi definitely stands in an extremely high and distant world, which is equivalent to the ¡®heaven¡¯ we speak of. Qiongqi¡¯s five hundred years might be five millennia, or even more, to the nine provinces. If that were the case, you¡¯d be alright. However, if it¡¯s calculated according to five hundred years of your time, or in other words, five hundred years in the nine provinces, then you might only have fifty years, or even less, once you ascend!¡±

    ¡°What the fuck!¡± Li Qingshan swore violently. ¡°That¡¯s a thing? Is the difference really that great?¡±

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    ¡°I¡¯ve never ventured to a higher world either, so I only know some rough details. I don¡¯t know about the exact situation. Perhaps I¡¯m underestimating it. After all, ¡®Insects of summer know no concept of ice, just like how a short lifespan is no match for the long.¡¯ There¡¯s another saying that goes ¡®Just seven days in a cave, but a millennium has already passed in the world¡±. It sounds very unbelievable, but places like that do exist¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop right there! You don¡¯t have to continue any further!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand. Bloody hell. If it actually was ¡°Just seven days in a cave, but a millennium has already passed in the world¡±, then his five centuries would be reduced to three and a half days, which was only a blink of an eye for Qiongqi, and he would have to stand before him and fight him. It was no wonder that Qiongqi was patient enough to wait five hundred years for him.

    Challenging a god in five hundred years¡¯ time was already an almost maddening idea. Fifty years was basically absurd. What would three days be? Just a daydream?

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to be too worried. You never explained this clearly when you swore the oath, so there¡¯s room for maneuver,¡± said Feng Xiwu.

    ¡°Hopefully.¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned heavily and thought of that river that meandered through the void again. He did not know that it was the legendary Nether river, but he did understand to a certain degree that it was connected to his bet with Qiongqi. He would never overestimate an evil god¡¯s morals.

    Instead, he found that this all made perfect sense. Something like sparing the opponent and insisting on giving them enough time to grow before having an even match with them normally only ever happened in cartoons. No matter how Qiongqi seemed, foolish was not a word to describe him.

    However, he did not feel particularly furious either. After all, he had survived. Whether it was five centuries or five decades, at least he had a buffer period. He could slowly come up with other ideas. If his strength was insufficient, then he could even think of ideas to get himself out of the oath.

    What truly worried him was the difference in the flow of time. Brother ox had given him ten thousand years to make it beyond the Nine Heavens. Originally, he found that to be an extremely lengthy period, or even far beyond his reach.

    But looking at it now, the Nine Heavens would definitely be located even higher up than the Demon domain, so just what would these ten thousand years mean to brother ox?

    With each step he climbed up, the ten thousand years would rapidly shrink, and there were no ideas he could think of that could get him out of this. He had to race against time and increase his cultivation as quickly as possible if he wanted to make it in time for his promise beyond the Nine Heavens. He would rather die than break the promise!

    Feng Xiwu thought that Li Qingshan was still worrying about the matter with Qiongqi, but Xiao An read his true thoughts. She tugged his sleeve. ¡°We¡¯ll definitely make it!¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled brightly. Being racked with worry was not his personality. Even if he spent every single day with his eyebrows furrowed in thought, he would not get any closer to beyond the Nine Heavens, so why not just open up his mind and stride forwards?

    ¡°It¡¯s time for us to return to the Green province.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed into the distant north. There were some grievances waiting for him to settle and some acquaintances he had not seen in a very long time. Suddenly, he thought of the figure of a woman. After so many years, was she still waiting for him? Perhaps she had already moved on. They had been separated for far, far too long.

    Xiao An agreed to that and was also in thought. After changing her path of cultivation, her memories of the past regularly flooded her head. Her father and mother from the past were no longer insignificant labels either. However, she still had not thought through how she would face them, or if she should merely maintain the current situation. This was a worry that the unfeeling her of the past had never considered.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head, having sensed her changes a long time ago. He also felt happy for her.

    ¡°First father, can you take me to the Green province please?¡± The little phoenix flew over. His eyes were shining with anticipation.

    ¡°You¡¯re going nowhere!¡± Feng Xiwu grabbed him by the back of his neck.

    ¡°First father, I promise you I won¡¯t cause any trouble. I¡¯ll train well and increase my cultivation and help you beat up the dragon king and Qiongqi in the future!¡± The little phoenix patted his chest and guaranteed.

    ¡°Damned brat, there¡¯s nothing interesting about the Green province.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. He took quite a liking towards this foster son he had hatched himself. The little phoenix definitely was not boasting when he said he would help him beat up the dragon king. The divine bird, the phoenix, did possess that confidence. All he lacked was time.

    Sigh, time! Time again! Just how am I supposed to deal with this?

    ¡°Anywhere is better than sitting in prison here. I¡¯m begging you, first father. Just take pity on me!¡± The little phoenix gazed at Li Qingshan tearfully, completely ignoring the furious Feng Xiwu.

    ¡°Li Fengyuan!¡± Feng Xiwu bellowed furiously and slammed the little phoenix against the ground heavily. However, the little phoenix put up a struggle and refused to yield, constantly calling out, ¡°Save me, first father!¡±

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    ¡°Just bring him along!¡± Xiao An said.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Even he who took a liking towards the little phoenix was reluctant to bring along a deadweight that would definitely stir up unnecessary trouble. Xiao An had always been quite indifferent towards the little phoenix, so why had she changed her mind today?

    Even the little phoenix forgot to continue with putting up a struggle, staring at her blankly.

    ¡°If he¡¯s a bird, then he¡¯s supposed to fly through the sky, let alone the fact that he¡¯s a divine bird, a phoenix. If you keep him restrained here, fellow Feng, it may benefit his cultivation, but it¡¯ll wear down his spirit. What he lacks right now is not strength.¡±

    Xiao An spoke with fervour and assurance for once, which even made Feng Xiwu sink into his thoughts. Recently, the little phoenix had indeed become more and more restless and irritable.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re afraid of people coveting him, fellow Feng, but under Qingshan and my protection, just who can harm him? Not to mention that he himself possesses the strength of a Daemon King. If he¡¯s too afraid to go out roaming under these circumstances, can he even be regarded as a phoenix? He won¡¯t even be as great as a pheasant!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never be a pheasant!¡± the little phoenix called out in an extremely cooperative manner.

    Li Qingshan grinned. He already understood what Xiao An was trying to say. In the past, a single phoenix feather had allowed his cultivation of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to progress drastically. Now, there was a whole phoenix right next to him. Feng Xiwu would definitely forbid them from doing this, but once they were outside, they could pluck his feathers freely!

 Chapter 960 The Phoenix Comes, Free to Wander the World

    ¡°Fine then!¡±

    After some consideration, Feng Xiwu finally nodded and agreed. He truly did not want the little phoenix to be trapped in the tiny phoenix¡¯s nest forever, and remaining by Li Qingshan¡¯s side might have even been safer than remaining on Fire Melt mountain.

    The little phoenix cheered and turned back into his original form, flying around Feng Xiwu a few times before throwing himself into his arms. ¡°Thank you, second father!¡±

    ¡°There will be a day when you leave this world, follow your true parents, and find a wutong that belongs to you.¡± Feng Xiwu hugged him tightly as his smile became slightly sad.

    The phoenix had flown away, leaving the wutong empty for a length of ten thousand years.

    The little phoenix blanked out. Suddenly, he began to feel sad. They had spent ten thousand years together, so how could he be completely unattached to him? Originally, all he wanted to do was fly further and higher, but only when the time of parting arrived did he realise he still had not grown accustomed to this yet. This was a feeling that the phoenix¡¯s legacy had never taught him. Tears trickled down his cheeks, almost about to change his mind.

    ¡°A wutong as great as you is quite difficult to find. If you don¡¯t want to part with him, then cultivate well. You can go to higher worlds and take a look together!¡± Li Qingshan patted Feng Xiwu on the shoulder.

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. I should make some progress too!¡±

    Feng Xiwu began to laugh as well. Although he was a plant daemon, his cultivation speed should not have been so slow as a divine tree of nature. He had spent far too much energy and effort in hatching the phoenix¡¯s embryo, which affected his cultivation speed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, second father. I¡¯ll never find another wutong tree!¡± The little phoenix wiped away his tears and balled his fists.

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    Feng Xiwu chuckled and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°I¡¯ll leave Fengyuan up to you. You¡¯re the first father. If anything happens to him, I¡¯ll-¡±

    ¡°You better stop right there. He has to shoulder his fate himself and take responsibility for whatever he does. Just because his surname is Li doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll take care of him for his entire life. Even if he dies outside, he better not grumble or feel regret!¡± Li Qingshan said resolutely.

    The little phoenix was dreaming if he thought he could live a life that was both dangerless and fascinating.

    ¡°You-¡± Feng Xiwu was speechless. His face changed numerous times before shaking his head and sighing in the end. ¡°For the first time, I feel like you are indeed more suited to be a father than me.¡±

    ¡°That goes without saying!¡± The little phoenix clenched his fists, his gaze resolute. No matter how much difference existed between the phoenix¡¯s legacy and Li Qingshan¡¯s will, there was at least one similarity. Neither of them were cowards!

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go!¡± Li Qingshan leapt up and flew out of the crater with Xiao An close behind. The little phoenix gave Feng Xiwu another hug. ¡°Second father, I¡¯ll come back and visit you if I have time!¡±

    A phoenix¡¯s cry resounded through the surroundings. The cries of younger phoenixes were clearer than the old.

    The phoenix spread its wings and rushed into the sky. It also happened to be magnificent.

    A few shamans and cultivators gathered at the foot of the mountains. They had all come to Fire Melt mountain to look for treasures before the little phoenix captured them. At this moment, they all gazed at the sky, filled with amazement.

    He shone brightly, and his glorious feathers were magnificent, dazzling them all. His head swivelled about gracefully as his feathers drifted through the air, possessing a form of elegance that he was born with. Even Li Qingshan and Xiao An were amazed.

    The little phoenix circled through the sky a few times to his heart¡¯s content before perching on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and gently pecking his cheek. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Xiao An passed on what Gong Yuan had said to Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan gazed off into the distance, in the direction of the South sea, and took out the Heart of the Abyss. He instructed them. ¡°Go to Savage mountain first and wait for me. I¡¯ll pay a visit to the South sea!¡±

    He had flown away before he had even finished talking, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

    The little phoenix glanced at Xiao An silently. He instinctively feared her a little. Now that he was alone with her, he could not help but become a little timid.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let you fly for a while longer. Let¡¯s see who reaches Savage mountain first. If you lose, I¡¯m going to pluck one of your feathers!¡±

    Xiao An smiled. The smile was different from before, with true feelings now.

    The little phoenix immediately found her to be rather friendly. It also ignited his competitive spirit. He patted his wings. ¡°Alright!¡±

    As a result, he began his first journey away from home with a bet. He flapped his wings as hard as he could, flying towards the distant horizon. The world seemed endless.

    Feng Xiwu stood on the top of the tree and gazed into the distance, faltering several times as he tried to speak. The little phoenix was his greatest secret. Originally, he wanted to keep this secret hidden forever, just in case people coveted him. By flying in such a flagrant manner, the world would definitely learn about the little phoenix¡¯s existence. However, with some further thought, could true radiance really be hidden away forever?

    ¡°Take a look! That¡¯s my child!¡±

    On that day, many people saw a legendary phoenix fly across the sky.

    ¡­¡­

    When Savage mountain appeared on the horizon, the little phoenix glanced backwards, but Xiao An was nowhere to be seen. He could not help but let out a complacent cry and mumble to himself, ¡°Even giving me a handicap. You¡¯ve lost now, haven¡¯t you? Hold on, if I lose, I get my feathers plucked, but why didn¡¯t she say what would happen if she lost?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much.¡± A voice drifted over. It was so clear that it seemed to come from right by his ears.

    ¡°What?¡± Before the little phoenix had even realised what had happened, he felt a slight pain, and a white figure brushed past him. Xiao An held a feather between her fingers, vanishing into the thick, rolling mist that enveloped Savage mountain.

    The little phoenix was very annoyed, but he could not help but admire her strength. It ignited his endless spirit and excited him again. A feather was nothing to him, but this was the first time he had ever flown like this in his life. He felt much faster than when he was on Fire Melt mountain, and he understood that a little bit more of the power within his body had been unlocked. Looking back, Fire Melt mountain had already vanished.

    He secretly made up his mind and flew into Savage mountain. The mist parted, and the landscape before him suddenly opened up. All he saw was Xiao An standing on a towering tree, which he landed on as well.

    His glorious glow threw Savage mountain into chaos. Even the Great Banyan Tree King was filled with amazement. ¡°This is¡­ a phoenix!¡± It was as if he was reliving the past. The figure that he originally thought he would never see again had appeared before him once again. He asked Xiao An, ¡°Where did you find him? No wait, there¡¯s no need to answer that. I understand.¡±

    He had already guessed this when Feng Xiwu spent ten thousand years slumbering on the main peak of Fire Melt mountain. Coupled with Li Qingshan staying in the phoenix¡¯s nest, all became clear.

    ¡°This is Qingshan¡¯s foster son!¡± Xiao An said.

    ¡°If he didn¡¯t have a foster father like that, would Feng Xiwu let him out?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King expressed his understanding. A pill refined from a droplet of phoenix blood could lengthen lifespans, which was enough to tempt all cultivators.

    ¡°First father is the strongest! You¡¯re the Great Banyan Tree King? I know you! Sure enough, you¡¯re very large, much larger than second father!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I might not be a wutong, but do feel free to perch on me,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King. He also felt rather honoured.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure, it¡¯s a pleasure!¡± The little phoenix looked around curiously.

    ¡°What an auspicious omen, but what a pity!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King sighed. Legends had it that the phoenix¡¯s appearance signalled world peace, but the world was in chaos right now. Li Qingshan had basically cleaned up all the demon caverns in the south, but the Demon domain did not seem to be intending on giving up. The situation was becoming more and more chaotic.

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    He thought of Li Qingshan. Just how would he change the situation of the nine provinces?

 Chapter 961 Dragon King of Ink Sea, Just You Wait for Me!

    Li Qingshan swept through the atmospheric wind layer, drawing the atmospheric winds into his wings of wind and flying at an unprecedented speed. The exhaustion from his recent battles still lingered, but he felt extremely lively inside. The sharp atmospheric winds brushed past his ears as the landscape beneath him was thrown far behind. He had arrived above the boundless South sea in a short while.

    There was a mass of shadows on the surface of the ocean. A storm was sweeping over. It was not as great as the storm that rampaged through Fire Melt mountain, but its scale was still quite large, demonstrating the might of the world recklessly.

    With a thought, Li Qingshan suddenly began to plummet, diving into the storm. The fierce winds, heavy rain, and lightning filled his face, but it had vanished in the blink of an eye. In a few seconds, he had passed through the centre of the storm.

    Looking back, he saw a crack in the thick storm clouds, allowing a ray of sunlight to pour through the darkness. The storm halted slightly before dispersing and scattering.

    Li Qingshan smiled resplendently, diving into the depths of the South sea without even looking back. When he arrived above the Crystal palace, he noticed that Gong Yuan was cultivating in the sea abyss with a simple sweep of his soul sense.

    He hid his aura and snuck down silently, reaching the bottom of the abyss. He secretly approached her from behind. Her long, deep-blue hair swayed in the water, and her beautiful figure made her seem like a spirit of the sea. She radiated with a bizarre charm.

    When there was still over thirty meters between them, Gong Yuan suddenly sensed him and turned around. ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you sneaking around here for?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to give you a nice surprise.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged, but he was surprised inside. She could actually notice him beforehand. They really had dual cultivated together in the past.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything nice about it at all. Give me back the Sea of the Abyss. Don¡¯t come over here!¡±

    Gong Yuan¡¯s expression was frosty. With a wave of her hand, an ice wall rose up right in front of Li Qingshan, riddled with threatening, thorn-like icicles.

    ¡°Is anyone home?¡± Li Qingshan knocked the wall of ice. ¡°Open up, Yuan¡¯er!¡±

    ¡°Stop wasting time!¡± Gong Yuan furrowed her brows. She did not buy into that.

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped. Normally, he would not care about what she said at all. Let alone a wall of ice, even a glacier could not stop him.

    However, his current mood was drastically different, and Gong Yuan¡¯s status in his heart was anything but ordinary too, so he stopped and tossed the Heart of the Abyss over the wall of ice.

    Gong Yuan inspected it carefully as if she was afraid Li Qingshan had replaced it with a fake.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. They all said that the thoughts of women were unfathomable like the deep ocean, let alone this woman who cultivated at the bottom of the ocean. Her thoughts were only even more unfathomable. Everything that had happened between them in the demon cavern was still vivid before their eyes, and the deep kiss had basically been engraved in their minds, so how had she turned against him so quickly?

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to apologise to you. I¡¯m returning to the Green province.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡± Gong Yuan stowed the Heart of the Abyss away and did not try to convince him to stay.

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    ¡°I don¡¯t know when we can see each other again after today. If you ever encounter something that requires my assistance, feel free to come and find me!¡± Li Qingshan smiled helplessly. He did not approach her.

    Only when he vanished into the depths did the coldness on Gong Yuan¡¯s face recede, replaced by gloominess. From the position of the Merfolk Queen, she should have done everything within her ability to maintain a positive relationship with Li Qingshan and not distance herself from him so coldly.

    The strength and potential Li Qingshan had demonstrated during the battle within the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous had even amazed the King of Southern Yue. Even Demon God Qiongqi wished to gain his assistance. Just how powerful of an ally was he?

    However, perhaps because her inner demons had been nullified by him, and she could no longer maintain her coldness and calmness, or perhaps because it was the strange inclination towards infatuation of Merfolk at work, she finally acted on her feelings for once.

    Of course, she knew he would not remain in the South sea, but she still clung onto a ray of hope. What if he changed his mind? But in the end, she had blocked him with a wall of ice. Her pride prevented her from convincing him to stay. All she could do was gaze into the distance in melancholy.

    The Profound Light Illuminates All revealed her expression, which made Li Qingshan sigh inside. He still had a very, very long path ahead of him. It was impossible for him to stop in one location for too long. Since they would have to bid farewell to each other sooner or later, perhaps this was not a bad thing¡­

    By the time Li Qingshan¡¯s aura had completely vanished, Gong Yuan closed her eyes gently and remiscinced everything that had happened since they first met. It was quite a sensation, but it also made her feel slightly bitter. What a resolute, cold-hearted man. Afterwards, she circulated the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End and used the deathly-still power of Ruin¡¯s End to calm herself down.

    Suddenly, a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her firmly from behind. A familiar voice rang out by her ear. ¡°Surprise!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Gong Yuan was furious. She radiated with bone-chilling coldness, freezing the seawater into ice. She flexed her slender, beautiful fishtail, and the ice shattered and shot out.

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    Li Qingsha laughed aloud. The entire sea abyss shook as a result.

    Being filled with worry really was not the kind of person he was! The awkward situation of being too embarrassed to say something was something he deeply despised too. As a result, he both left and returned resolutely, succeeding in his sneak attack while she was unsettled.

    With a flap of his wings, he burst out of the ocean and rose straight into the sky.

    ¡°What are you doing? Are you staying in the South sea?¡± How could Gong Yuan resist his strength, let alone the fact that his cultivation method even suppressed hers? No matter how she struggled, she could not break free from his embrace, so all she could do was give up.

    ¡°The scenery here is quite nice, much better than at the bottom of the ocean.¡± Li Qinsghan pointed into the horizon. The sunlight was beaming.

    ¡°If you¡¯re declining, you can be more straightforward.¡± Gong Yuan snorted in contempt.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were filled with sincerity.

    ¡°Whatever. If you actually stay behind, I¡¯d only look down on you. How do you plan on dealing with Qiongqi¡¯s matter?¡± Gong Yuan asked.

    ¡°Qiongqi is not a problem, even though I might have been deceived¡­¡± Li Qingshan explained Feng Xiwu¡¯s analysis with a smile.

    ¡°And that¡¯s still not a problem?¡± Gong Yuan widened her eyes.

    ¡°Since I¡¯ve been forced to make a bet against my will, I¡¯ll just find a way to weasel out of it, but you just can¡¯t weasel out of some promises.¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the sky. His eyes were filled with a desire that prevented him from stopping.

    ¡°What promise?¡± This was the first time Gong Yuan had seen him act like this.

    ¡°Ten thousand years! Someone is waiting for me there. He said he¡¯ll wait a thousand days for me!¡± Li Qingshan pointed at the sky.

    ¡°A day in heaven is a year in the mortal realm- no, it¡¯s ten years!?¡± Gong Yuan said in surprise.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. He once said that ten thousand of my years is just a thousand days to him. I once thought this was a metaphor, expressing that ten thousand years was absolutely nothing to him, but only now do I realise that he¡¯s not the kind of person to use metaphors.¡± Li Qingshan snickered.

    Gong Yuan was unable to imagine how distant that was. The flow of time there was actually three thousand six hundred times faster than the nine provinces. ¡°So your cultivation method is a legacy¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s basically my greatest secret!¡± Li Qingshan said. Originally, he treated his transmigration as his greatest secret, but looking at it now, possessing innate knowledge was nothing special at all.

    ¡°Hmph. Means nothing to me.¡± Gong Yuan acted with disdain, but she was unable to hold back her joy inside.

    ¡°Hah, it does mean nothing. I really don¡¯t understand how you win a smile from a beauty, so just give me a casual smile seeing how helpless I am!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He had no other request despite turning around and returning to her side.

    Gong Yuan smiled slightly. ¡°Hopefully your dream comes true one day and you make it in time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m eternally grateful.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone. He lowered his head. ¡°Give me a farewell kiss!¡±

    Gong Yuan sneered and turned her head away.

    ¡°Oi, I¡¯m leaving for real this time. I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll meet again.¡±

    ¡°Then hurry up and go!¡± Gong Yuan waved her hand impatiently.

    ¡°Fine then!¡± Li Qingshan let go of her helplessly and backed away slowly. Right when she turned around, he flapped his wings as hard as he could and pushed his speed to the limit, flying over and kissing her gently on the lips.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Gong Yuan shouted.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, spiralling around as he rose up into the sky. He vanished with the blink of an eye. His voice echoed between the clouds. ¡°Until we see each other again, Yuan¡¯er! We¡¯ll definitely be seeing each other again!¡±

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    ¡°Damned men!¡±

    Gong Yuan stood among the clouds for a little longer as if he was still hiding somewhere and would emerge at any time to force a hug on her.

    The white clouds flowed slowly. He had really left this time.

    She touched her lips and smiled. The ocean was vast and boundless, while the sky was misty and limitless. She thought to herself, Do you think you can fool me with just something like that? I¡¯m a cultivator too! If I ascend, your ten thousand years will only be a few thousand to me at most, or maybe just a few hundred! Bah, why am I calculating this? I¡¯ll never be that kind of woman who waits forever in love sickness.

    Li Qingshan rapidly approached the north, casting the South sea far behind him. He stared right ahead. After facing who knew how many hardships, it was finally time for him to return. He bellowed at the top of his voice.

    ¡°Dragon King of Ink Sea, just you wait for me!¡±

 Chapter 962 On the Way to Towering City, Laughing Away in a Drunken Stupor

    ¡°First senior brother, you¡¯re back!¡± Duoge came up to receive him the moment Li Qingshan returned to Savage mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait. You should go first! I¡¯ll be returning to the Green province very soon.¡±

    ¡°Really? Why don¡¯t we travel together? There are still many aspects of the Demon Suppression Statuary that puzzle me, which I¡¯d like to ask first senior brother about.¡± Duoge was afraid that Li Qingshan had changed his mind and was trying to coax him into returning to the Green province alone.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t trust me?¡± Li Qingshan laughed and patted his shoulder.

    ¡°Of course I do!¡±

    Duoge felt that his first senior brother had changed drastically yet again in a few short months. The resplendent sunlight gilded him with a layer of gold as he cast a black shadow. In a daze, his figure seemed to overshadow the mountains in the surroundings, incomparably tall and upright. However, when Duoge returned to his senses, he realised it was only an impression. His expression seemed even more mellow than before.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then get out of here! I still have a few matters I need to handle in the Mist province, so I might come a few days later. Though, given the distance, I might end up getting back before you.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll set off right now and report back to master!¡± Duoge set off on his journey immediately, making his way right out of Savage mountain.

    ¡°First father!¡± The little phoenix flew down from a tree branch and landed on Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. His resplendent tail feathers dragged on the ground.

    ¡°How is this place compared to Fire Melt mountain?¡±

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    ¡°Much more fun.¡±

    ¡°Then you can just stay here.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to go to the Green province!¡±

    As they spoke, Li Qingshan arrived before the Great Banyan Tree King and smiled. ¡°Fellow, you still owe me something!¡±

    ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t forget. Come to Towering city!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for all this time.¡±

    Duoge left Savage mountain, but he dared not fly in the air. After switching over to the Demon Suppression Statuary, he could not be regarded as a demonfolk anymore, but his power still originated from the demon heart in his body. Demonfolk were being hunted down everywhere across the Mist province right now, so he could not be careless.

    Suddenly, he looked back and saw three streaks of light burst through the mist, rising up into the sky and flying over his head towards the north. He completely stopped worrying after seeing that.

    Li Qingshan travelled north and left the South Sea commandery before long. As he recalled everything that had happened in the past two decades, he could not help but become rather emotional, but he discarded these thoughts very soon. There was still a very long path ahead of him. Now was not the time to cherish the past.

    The endless sea of trees extended off into the distance as the weather varied. Suddenly, an uneven shadow that rose and fell appeared on the horizon, connecting with the sky, the thick mist, and the clouds.

    Was it a mountain? No, they were trees!

    The great banyan trees towered above the world. Every single one resembled a mountain with thick mist flowing at their feet. Their deep-green canopies mingled together, like an endless sea of clouds. The aerial roots grew in twists and knots, like hornless dragons leaping through the landscape.

    Li Qingshan could not help but stop and gaze into the distance, but there was no end to it. Even when he knew the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main body was colossal, stretching for thousands of kilometers, he could not help but be amazed right now.

    ¡°So big! So big! So big!¡± The little phoenix cried out, ¡°Much bigger than second father!¡±

    ¡°Seems a little too big,¡± Xiao An said instead.

    Li Qingshan had not thought of that, but he nodded in agreement. ¡°A little!¡±

    ¡°What does that mean? What¡¯s wrong with being big?¡± the little phoenix asked in confusion.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with it, but it¡¯s not completely beneficial. Aren¡¯t you very small?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. In the past, he would not have noticed anything strange about it either. He would only be sighing in amazement. In his regular form, even with his tail feathers included, the little phoenix was only around three meters long, while the divine wutong tree was not as great as any of the banyan trees here.

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    Even the Great Whale King was only around thirty thousand meters long. Compared to that, the Great Banyan Tree King truly was a little exaggerated in size. Even when banyan trees naturally possessed the ability to grow into a forest from a single tree, it definitely had not been easy for him to develop to such a vast scale. Who knew how much effort he had put in.

    When Li Qingshan saw the sea of trees, he no longer had any doubts over the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s strength anymore. He even felt he might have been the most powerful existence in the World of the Nine Provinces. The great banyan trees did not only grow there. Instead, they seemed to be assembled in a formation, forming a domain of their own. Even if the Dragon King of Ink Sea entered this sea of forest, it would probably end in suffering.

    However, what cultivators pursued was quality¡ªto gather energy, break through, and constantly climb higher¡ªnot quantity. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s horizontal development really was a little puzzling. If he devoted all of this effort to his main body, he probably would have ascended a long time ago.

    ¡°Who are you? This is the territory of Towering city!¡±

    The sea of trees in the distance rippled, and a giant with green skin and the pattern of wood stood up among them, gazing at Li Qingshan cautiously. ¡°Humans aren¡¯t welcome here!¡±

    ¡°Giant Lumberfolk!¡± Li Qingshan said in surprise. The aura that the giant lumberman gave off had clearly surpassed the third heavenly tribulation too, making him a Giant Lumberfolk King on top of that. He had been overwhelmed by the sea of trees just then, and coupled with the fact that the giant lumberman¡¯s aura blended in with the trees perfectly, he actually failed to sense him.

    At this moment, the sea of trees trembled, and the mist dispersed. The great trees beside the Giant Lumberfolk King stood up, turning into green giants. They all looked at the little phoenix, their eyes filled with wonder. After all, they did not see a legendary phoenix every day. However, they all remained silent, perhaps communicating with their soul sense.

    ¡°We¡¯re the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s guests. We¡¯re going to Towering city!¡±

    Li Qingshan recalled many years ago that he had once told a giant lumberman he wanted to visit his home one day. It probably was not here, but it was basically still a wish come true.

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    ¡°Guest!¡± The Giant Lumberman King frowned and did not believe Li Qingshan was qualified for something like that. Instead, he felt like the two people behind him, a great cultivator that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation and something that resembled the legendary phoenix, were much more worthy of being received by the Great Banyan Tree King.

    At this moment, a ripple emanated over from the distance, spanning several thousand kilometers of forest. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ancient voice boomed out, ¡°Please forgive me for failing to anticipate your arrival, esteemed guests!¡±

    In that moment, all of the daemons and otherfolk living within the sea of trees learnt about Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival.

    The Giant Lumberfolk King was astonished. In his memory, only when the past Kings of Southern Yue ascended to the throne and visited the sea of trees for the first time would they receive such treatment.

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°With how polite you are, I¡¯m even afraid to come in now!¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, I¡¯m only afraid that I¡¯ve received you inappropriately, so please forgive me, my friend Qingshan!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King laughed heartily. Although he knew what kind of person Li Qingshan was, he still felt very delighted seeing how he was still the same as before and had not changed at all.

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely have to blame you if there isn¡¯t fine alcohol!¡± Li Qingshan also laughed aloud.

    ¡°Then take your time. I¡¯ll definitely make sure you drink to your heart¡¯s content!¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re an esteemed guest of the tree king, please come over and have a cup!¡± The Giant Lumberfolk King smiled gently and amicably, raising his hand to invite him.

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    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan took a step and entered the sea of trees, arriving in the kingdom of the Giant Lumberfolk.

    With a boom, something huge landed before Li Qingshan, over three meters tall. It was engraved with many simple patterns. The Giant Lumberfolk King crossed his legs and sat down, also holding something similar in his hand. It was actually a wine cup carved from wood. It rippled with a faint, green alcohol, giving off a heavy fragrance.

    ¡°This is Woodfruit alcohol, a fine liquor that only Giant Lumberfolk can make. You can¡¯t drink it anywhere else, so please help yourself!¡± The Giant Lumberfolk King downed the entire cup with that. He hintingly said, ¡°If you can¡¯t drink it all, just a taste will do. There¡¯s still a long journey ahead of you before you reach Towering city!¡±

    If the tree king wanted to treat him with the utmost cordiality, he would never brush that aside, but he did feel a little curious and unconvinced inside. He wanted to see what made Li Qingshan so impressive!

    The other giant lumbermen stopped being silent too. Some urged him on. ¡°Drink! Drink! If you don¡¯t drink it all, then we¡¯ll have received you inappropriately, and we won¡¯t be able to face the tree king! After this cup, there¡¯s still three more!¡± Some tried to persuade him. ¡°How can you drink so much alcohol given your tiny size? It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t finish it! Don¡¯t force yourself!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll drink!¡± The little phoenix dove towards the alcohol cup.

    ¡°Since when were sons permitted to steal alcohol from their fathers?¡± Li Qingshan grabbed the little phoenix¡¯s wings and kicked the bottom of the huge wine cup. The liquor immediately poured out like a tiny waterfall.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth and inhaled. The fine alcohol poured into his mouth, also finishing it off with a single gulp.

    ¡°You sure do have quite the capacity!¡±

    The Great Lumberfolk King was slightly surprised. It was not because of Li Qingshan¡¯s hearty drinking, but because he managed to casually catch the little phoenix diving with speed even slightly faster than regular Daemon Kings. Even he himself was not confident enough to perform such a feat. Sure enough, he was anything but ordinary for the tree king to treat him as an esteemed guest.

    ¡°That¡¯s nowhere near enough! Bring the alcohol!¡±

    The cup was filled again. Li Qingshan drank three whole cups, leading to a series of cheers from the giant lumbermen in the surroundings. Only the little phoenix called out unhappily, ¡°I want to drink too!¡±

    Thunk! A huge cup landed before the little phoenix. He cried out happily and directly plunged his head into it.

    The other giant lumbermen took part too, drinking away heartily.

    Li Qingshan drank away happily, continuing until the giant lumbermen did not have a single droplet of alcohol remaining. Only when the giant lumbermen collapsed on the ground did he wave his hand in farewell, continuing towards Towering city.

    The Giant Lumberfolk King watched as Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanished into the forest and shook his head. He really could not understand him! Suddenly, he remembered something and cried out painfully, ¡°Ah, my alcohol!¡±

    The sea of trees was deep and gloomy, permeating with mist, but it was filled with bizarre, wondrous sights too.

    Li Qingshan leapt between the branches. Before he had even travelled five kilometers, a black figure rushed out of the soil beneath the trees, blocking his path. As it turned out, he was a thin, dark-skinned man, covered in scales and plates. He was a Daemon Commander transformed from something unknown, carrying a great bundle on his back.

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    ¡°Have a taste?¡± The Daemon Commander opened the bundle, and it was actually filled with thousands of colourful insects. Some wriggled, some crawled, and some flew. It was quite a frightening sight.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan casually grabbed a red, shelled insect and tossed it into his mouth. He bit into it gently and juice poured out. It was refreshingly sweet, even more than nectar. He tasted them one by one. These insects were either sour or sweet, spicy or salty. They each had a flavour of their own.

    The little phoenix originally disdained to try any, but seeing how Li Qingshan dined away happily, he could not help himself and try one. He could not stop afterwards.

    Li Qingshan constantly stopped along the way, encountering countless otherfolk tribes and daemons which presented a bizarre array of items to receive him with. Some had even travelled over from several hundred kilometers away, preparing fine alcohol and food near places he would definitely pass by. It was basically a feast following a feast.

    He did not care who it was or what it was. If there was alcohol, he would drink it, and he would finish it every single time. Gradually, he became a little tipsy, singing at the top of his voice along the way and laughing away in a drunken stupor!

 Chapter 963 Towering City Appears, Becoming the Well

    ¡°Give a shout and give it a blow! Roaming the world valiantly ah!¡±

    Along the way, Li Qingshan went from being slightly tipsy to quite drunk. His resonant singing broke the silence in the thick forest, scaring countles birds.

    Before he knew it, he had already walked for three days and three nights, drinking who knew how many kinds of fine alcohol and eating who knew how many delicacies. He passed another great banyan tree, and his view suddenly opened up. There was not a single tree before him anymore, only huge, twisted roots that resembled serpents, coiling around on the ground like a huge maze.

    Leaping onto a tree branch and gazing into the distance, a large, greenish-grey mountain blocked his view. The mountain was uneven and rugged, but it gave off a neat feeling. He looked to the left and right, but he could not see its end. Gazing up, the clouds and mist blocked his view, preventing him from seeing just how tall it was.

    ¡°Hmm? What a strange mountain!¡± Li Qingshan said in a drunken manner. The little phoenix on his back was already drunk out of his mind, producing a few slurred cries.

    Along the way, he had already crossed countless mountains, but this was the first time he had encountered such a large and strange mountain. Basically all the mountains he had seen in his life could only be considered as dwarves compared to it.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a mountain.¡± Xiao An had drunk quite a lot of alcohol with him, but her eyes were still clear.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not a mountain, then what is it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve forgotten about your reason for coming?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m drunk? Hahaha, I¡¯m just kidding. I¡¯ve obviously come to Towering city to see the Great Banyan Tree King!¡±

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    Li Qingshan reached there and suddenly quivered, using the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to suppress the alcohol. His eyes narrowed, and he looked up, gazing through the clouds and seeing the very top. Abruptly, he widened his eyes.

    That was no mountain. That was clearly a tree, a great banyan tree that blotted out the sky, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main body.

    He had been travelling through the forest the entire time, and the great banyan trees in there all resembled mountains. Half-drunk, he actually failed to notice he had already arrived at the foot of the Great Banyan Tree King, mistaking it for a mountain.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t recognise me anymore?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s laughter rang out from an extremely high altitude, scattering the clouds and mist. His towering figure was completely revealed before them.

    A boundless aura immediately filled their faces. That was not the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s aura¡ªhis aura had fused with the surroundings perfectly¡ªbut the feeling that a colossal object of nature gave off. He was like a legendary pillar of heaven, upholding the sky.

    Li Qingshan became much more sober. He said in praise, ¡°What a ¡®Great¡¯ Banyan Tree King!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all just an appearance. I¡¯m nowhere near as capable and vigorous as you, my friend!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King laughed.

    ¡°Now this is your true appearance! No wonder they call it Towering city!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    There probably were not a lot of people across all nine provinces that could write off his figure that stood over two thousand meters tall as ¡°capable and vigorous¡±. Originally, he did not think the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main body would be so large seeing how he had so many cuttings. Perhaps he might have been the same size as the other banyan trees. Now that he saw him for himself, the Great Banyan Tree King was actually countless times larger than he had ever imagined. Only the Great Whale King he had witnessed in the South sea could rival his size.

    However, the feeling that length and height gave off was vastly different. Thirty thousand meters on flat land was just thirty kilometers, but it was entirely different if it was standing up. Even the tallest peak from Li Qingshan¡¯s past life only stood at around nine thousand meters, and it was standing on a plateau, so the mountain itself was not actually that tall, but the Great Banyan Tree King before him truly stood thirty thousand meters tall. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would have never been able to imagine this sight.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come up? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve drunk too much and can¡¯t fly anymore?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Li Qingshan unfurled his wings and sped off with Xiao An following close behind.

    Only when he reached several thousand meters in the air could he take in the full view of the Great Banyan Tree King. Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sun vines!¡±

    A colossal, golden vine wrapped around the Great Banyan Tree King, giving off a faint, golden glow like a legendary golden dragon. Even the boundless shade became much brighter.

    Li Qingshan could not help but become rather puzzled. The sun vine plunged straight into the tree trunk, drawing nutrients from the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s body. This definitely brought no benefits to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s cultivation, so why did he let it entangle him?

    When he first met the Great Banyan Tree King, the two requests he had been burdened with happened to be eliminating insects and loosening the bonds of the sun vines. He knew sun vines were extremely vicious parasitic plants that could absorb all spiritual qi. They were basically immune to all techniques.

    If this had only been a cutting of the Great Banyan Tree King, then it could serve some defensive purposes, but in the centre of this forest, just who could oppose the Great Banyan Tree King? Who was bold enough to oppose the Great Banyan Tree King? Even if the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s strength was taken out of the equation, Li Qingshan had seen no less than seven Otherfolk Kings and Daemon Kings on his way here. Coupled with the ones that had not shown themselves, this place was impregnable.

    Though, if a sun vine as large as that starts attacking, it¡¯ll sure be terrifying! Li Qingshan thought to himself as he flew to the very top of the tree.

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    A majestic palace appeared before him. The Great Banyan Tree King had assumed his human form and was waiting for them in front of the palace.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze landed on the woman beside the Great Banyan Tree King who clung onto his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. She seemed extremely close with him.

    A lover? A mistress? I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be into something like this! Li Qingshan wondered inside.

    The woman was enchanting. She had a slender and elegant figure with a resplendent smile across her face. Her head full of golden hair was adorned with a beautiful sun vine flower. She seemed so brilliant, but Li Qingshan instinctively became vigilant over her, reluctant to approach her.

    He thought of something and suddenly understood what was going on. So she was the sun vine, and the aura she gave off clearly made her a Daemon King too!

    ¡°Qingshan, are you satisfied with how you were received?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King came up to receive him, while the woman with golden hair followed him blindly, leaning against him the entire time.

    ¡°Utterly satisfied!¡± Li Qingshan patted his belly and let out a belch. He looked at the woman. ¡°May I ask who this fellow is?¡±

    ¡°You can just call me madam Vine. This is my old master Tree!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King was about to introduce her when madam Vine beat him to it. Her gentle voice was like the coiling of vines, but she had only glanced past Li Qingshan and Xiao An swiftly. Even the little phoenix did not earn a second glance from her. Her gaze immediately returned to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s face, filled with love and attachment.

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    Li Qingshan cringed inside. Even among human couples, this was a rare sight, let alone the fact that they were two Daemon Kings.

    However, a hint of envy flashed through Xiao An¡¯s eyes. She was not envious of their intimacy, but their insistence to watch one another and to never part.

    The Great Banyan Tree King seemed to be accustomed to this. As he invited Li Qingshan into the palace, he asked, ¡°How did you feel on your way here?¡±

    ¡°It felt fantastic!¡± Li Qingshan said from the bottom of his heart. It was not only because of the fine food and alcohol, but also because of the unique ¡°cultures¡± living between the trees. Just the different races of otherfolk he has encountered numbered to several dozen. Most of them still hunted prey and killed one another, but it abided by the cycle of nature. Regardless of their strength, every single creature had a place to shelter themselves, allowing them to breed and thrive.

    Li Qingshan mentioned his thoughts, which made the Great Banyan Tree King laugh aloud. Clearly, he had touched on what the Great Banyan Tree King took pride in.

    ¡°Though, you seem to have expanded just a little too much. This probably won¡¯t be beneficial to ascension!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯d I say? Old man, I told you you were wrong. Even this little brother who¡¯s never been here before can see the problem. How does this benefit your cultivation? What do those otherfolk and daemons have to do with you?¡± Madam Vine grumbled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t live for the sake of what¡¯s beneficial to me. Speaking of which, if that¡¯s what I was thinking five thousand years ago, I wouldn¡¯t have you right now.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled gently and cordially.

    ¡°But you already have me now!¡± Madam Vine said.

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    ¡°Senior¡¯s magnimanity and kindness fills me with admiration!¡± Li Qingshan sighed in amazement. He was not exactly a kind person, but he did admire the Great Banyan Tree King very much, and he was a direct beneficiary of this kindness.

    ¡°Keep quiet!¡± Madam Vine shot a glance at Li Qingshan distastefully.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be rude!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King waved his hand. ¡°I have something to discuss with Qingshan. You can go for now!¡±

    ¡°I refuse!¡± Madam Vine threw a tantrum. Only when the Great Banyan Tree King frowned did she leave him with utter reluctance, directly vanishing into thin air.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said to Li Qingshan, ¡°I¡¯ve made a fool of myself.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re old but vigorous senior, which only fills me with even more admiration!¡± Li Qingshan said mischievously.

    The Great Banyan Tree King shook his head helplessly and invited Li Qingshan into the main hall of the palace. ¡°I¡¯m not as great as you think I am. I¡¯d rather give up on ascending than forsake the common creatures. I¡¯ve invited you here this time because I actually want to ask you to do something for me!¡±

    ¡°Why ask? If you need my help, just mention it. If I can help you, I¡¯ll definitely do everything within my ability.¡±

    Li Qingshan became solemn. He did not agree to it blindly. Paying people back was his principle, but something that could make the Great Banyan Tree King ¡°ask¡± for help definitely was not something small. All he could do was handle the request prudently. It would only be inappropriate if he agreed to it, only to find out it was beyond his abilities.

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    The Great Banyan Tree King paused for a moment. He looked up and let out a great sigh. ¡°Of all the living creatures in the world, can any of them go without desiring anything? Even a tree asks for sunlight and rain! Once they develop intelligence and turn into a daemon, they¡¯ll ask for even more. Watching over the creatures of this world alone is a wish of mine, but since I¡¯ve set foot on this path of cultivation, I¡¯m obviously seeking a path as well. Though, you should have realised already. The path I seek is not undergoing tribulations and ascending.¡±

    ¡°Then what path is it?¡± Li Qingshan asked in wonder. Apart from constantly facing tribulations, was there some other path available?

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve met Golden Cicada, has he mentioned his metaphor of the well and his wish to leap out of it?¡±

    ¡°He has.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what he seeks. Leaping out of the well is to undergo the heavenly tribulation and ascend, to venture to a vaster, more distant world. After all, are there any cicadas that don¡¯t want to burst out of the soil, shed their skin, and spread their wings? But I¡¯m just a tree. I just want to watch over this world!¡±

    Xiao An said calmly, ¡°The lifespans of daemons far exceeds that of humans, and plant daemons can live even longer than regular daemons, but that doesn¡¯t make their lives endless. There will be a day when they run out of life.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Watching over this world isn¡¯t so easy or simple. If it only leads to death, I probably would not have such determination either. After all, I am a living creature as well, so how can I not possess a desire for survival? Longevity has always been the most fundamental pursuit of all cultivators!¡±

    ¡°Then what are you thinking?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this for many years, and I¡¯ve only come up with a single idea, which is becoming the ¡®well¡¯!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s deep-green eyes shone with a sagacious light.

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 Chapter 964 No Creation Without Destruction, Replacement

    In the quiet Towering city, every single wall and surface had a style of their own, depicting the unique artwork of the many races.

    As a result, the city did not seem like a place to live but a museum instead. The main hall of Towering city happened to be its essence.

    However, the people in the hall were in no mood to admire this right now. Li Qingshan¡¯s stunned voice echoed through the hall.

    ¡°Become the well!¡±

    ¡°Senior, are you trying to become a world, or merge with the World of the Nine Provinces?¡± Xiao An was in thought.

    ¡°Since I said I want to remain in this world forever, it¡¯s obviously the latter, but it is not merging. I¡¯ll be done for if I merge with it.¡± Then the Great Banyan Tree King looked at Li Qingshan. ¡°If I use the Asura Field in your possession as a comparison, I¡¯ll basically become the artifact spirit, turning my mind into the world¡¯s mind. I¡¯ll be replacing the consciousness of the world with my own consciousness.¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand why the Great Banyan Tree King had rapidly developed his cuttings without any regard. He was spreading like the moss on the walls of the well. Just how unbelievable of an aspiration was that?

    ¡°But how are you going to do that? Don¡¯t tell me you plan on expanding until you cover the entire world?¡±

    That was absolutely impossible. Even if humans did not get in his way, it would take him a tremendous amount of time. His lifespan definitely was not that long.

    ¡°Of course not.¡±

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    The Great Banyan Tree King waved his hand with a smile. He turned around and made his way into the depths of the hall until he arrived before a mental map of the nine provinces. ¡°Ò»·½ÊÀ½çÓÐÒ»·½ÊÀ½çµÄ·¨Ôò£¬ÏëÒªÈ¡´úÕâ·½ÊÀ½çµÄÒâÊ¶£¬Ê×??Òª²ÎÍ¸Õâ·½ÊÀ½çµÄ·¨Ôò£¬µ«ÊÀ½ç·¨ÔòÊÇºÎµÈµÄÉî°Â·±¸´£¬¸ù±¾²»ÊÇÆ¾×ÅËùÎ½ÎòÐÔ¾ÍÄÜ¹»Íê??²ÎÍ¸µÄ¡£?ÐëÓÐº£Á¿µÄÔËËãÍÆÑÝ£¬¹ý¶àµÄ·ÖÖ§ËäÈ»¶ÔÐÞÐÐÎÞÒæ£¬µ«È´¿ÉÒÔ´ó´óÌá¸ßÔËËãµÄËÙ¶È¡£¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said slowly, ¡°A world has a world¡¯s laws. If I want to replace the consciousness of the world, I need to comprehend the laws of the world first, but with how profound and complicated they are, it¡¯s impossible to completely comprehend them through any so-called talent for comprehension. It requires tremendous amounts of calculations and simulations. Too many cuttings bring no benefit to cultivation, but they can speed up the calculations drastically.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was quite strange. The thousands of kilometers of forest he had travelled through merged into one in his mind. Every single banyan tree was both a gatherer of information and a calculator of information. Countless information was delivered through each root before all gathering here, cracking the code of the world¡­

    It did not sound like something a daemon should have been doing. The Great Banyan Tree King before him seemed to only be a three-dimensional projection, while his true identity was a super-sized supercomputer!

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re renowned for your wisdom and knowledge. Though, how did deducing the laws of the world go?¡±

    ¡°It went quite well. At the very least, it¡¯s very helpful for divination. Though, Qiongqi¡¯s trap truly surpassed my abilities of divination. The difference in our status is far too great. You probably know already, but there might be a time trap in the bet.¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± Li Qingshan nodded.

    ¡°If I can succeed, I should be able to help you out,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King. A single Daemon King was no different from an ant before Qiongqi, but if he could become a world, then even Qiongqi could not confront him directly.

    ¡°I hope you can succeed too, but what can I help you with? It¡¯s not like I understand the laws of the world,¡± said Li Qingshan. Compared to something as troublesome as comprehending the laws of the world, he preferred using brute force to destroy the laws of the world.

    ¡°Just comprehending the laws of the world is useless. Although it allows me to better adjust to this world and utilise the laws in various aspects, it¡¯s like how you can¡¯t become the well even if you study and see through every single crack and mark in the wall of the well. Comprehension is only the first step, not to mention I haven¡¯t even comprehended it completely with my current cultivation! I¡¯m merely an ant trying to shake a tree!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King sighed. Even though he tried various methods to make up for it, the third heavenly tribulation was still too low of a cultivation.

    ¡°Then isn¡¯t it a dead end?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s always a way. Ants can shake trees. Even if it¡¯s a dead end, there¡¯s a way to resolve it. Do you know about Water God Seals?¡±

    ¡°I do. I even refined a few.¡± Li Qingshan understood something. From a certain perspective, Mountain God Seals and Water God Seals were condensed laws of the world.

    ¡°Then do you know about the nine cauldrons?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the imperial treasures of Great Xia. Who doesn¡¯t know about them? It¡¯s said that they were forged from all the God Seals in the world, and they watch over the fortunes of the nine provinces, leaving the world godless.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. Grasping a God Seal was equivalent to grasping a river or a mountain. If he could grasp all the Mountain and Water God Seals in the world, could he grasp the nine provinces?

    ¡°Fellow, are you trying to refine the nine cauldrons and elevate yourself to godhood?¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s roughly my train of thought, but I¡¯m not that greedy. Right now, I plan on refining the Mist Province cauldron first, which will drastically lengthen my lifespan and ensure my survival. With that, I can further comprehend the laws of the world and use this as a breakthrough point until the day I succeed.¡±

    ¡°Fellow, are you asking me to steal the Mist Province cauldron from the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned slightly. Even if the security of the king¡¯s estate was not as tight as Towering city, that definitely was not a place he could simply come and go, let alone leave with their supreme treasure. It really was anything but simple, and regardless of whether he succeeded or not, he would directly fall out with the King of Southern Yue.

    ¡°Not that!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King swung his arm, and the surrounding landscape twisted and changed. They arrived in a huge tree hole in the centre of the banyan tree.

    ¡°The Mist Province cauldron!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. A huge, three-legged, inky-green cauldron sat in the centre of the hole. The cauldron was engraved with countless mountains, rivers, and treasures, all according to the geography and cultures unique to the Mist province. With a deep glance, the flat engravings actually seemed to turn into countless mountains and rivers, hidden deep within the mist.

    It was one of the nine cauldrons, the Mist Province cauldron!

    The Mist Province cauldron was not particularly large, but it gave off an incomparable sense of weight and density. It was as if it was condensed from the fifty thousand kilometers of the Mist province. Even when it was entangled in countless aerial roots, they struggled to hide its profound glow.

    ¡°I obtained this cauldron five thousand years ago!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King touched the engravings of the cauldron gently, and the roots on the cauldron loosened slightly.

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    ¡°Why have you never refined it then, fellow?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Great Xia had only been founded five thousand years ago, so didn¡¯t that mean the King of Southern Yue had handed it over to him soon after its forging?

    ¡°The times weren¡¯t right. The nine cauldrons form one complete entity. They possess the might to divide the world. Let alone refining them, just shaking them is difficult. For all these years, I¡¯ve only been studying its structure so that I can prepare for when I refine it.¡±

    ¡°Is now the time?¡±

    ¡°Look closely!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King pointed at the body of the cauldron, and only then did Li Qingshan see a few black specks on there that seemed like rust. He would have completely missed it if he did not look carefully.

    ¡°Those are the demon caverns!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. These demon caverns are destroying and eating away the laws of this world, which present themselves on the Mist Province cauldron. They are also the weak points of the Mist Province cauldron.¡±

    ¡°What can I do for you then?¡±

    ¡°Shatter the Mist Province cauldron!¡±

    Before he had seen the Mist Province cauldron, Li Qingshan was actually convinced he could shatter everything the world had to offer. Now, he was not that confident anymore. ¡°It¡¯s been forged after so much difficulty. Will it still work once it¡¯s shattered?¡±

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    ¡°There is no creation without destruction. I¡¯ve already comprehended its structure. Only by destroying it completely can I refine it completely and replace it!¡±

 Chapter 965 Madam Vine

    ¡°But you¡¯ve said that the nine cauldrons are one complete entity, senior. If you attack the Mist Province cauldron, wouldn¡¯t the other cauldrons respond?¡± Xiao An realised the issue.

    ¡°Exactly. In particular, the Dragon Province cauldron is the principal cauldron, which can restrain the eight other cauldrons. Normally speaking, destroying a cauldron is equivalent to destroying the nine cauldrons. However, I will temporarily cut off the Mist Province¡¯s connection with the other cauldrons.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled. ¡°After all, forging the nine cauldrons was my suggestion back then.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An looked at one another. He sure had thought and planned far ahead.

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll lend you a hand, fellow!¡± Li Qingshan made his way forward.

    ¡°Hold on. I¡¯ve already waited for several thousand years, so there¡¯s no rush. This must be completed in a single stroke. You¡¯ve just come back from a great battle, so you still haven¡¯t recovered completely. You might as well spend a few more days recuperating and return to your peak condition.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King suddenly sighed. There was some worry in his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s also some matters on my side that I have to deal with.¡±

    ¡°Yep. Fair enough.¡± This was the first time Li Qingshan had ever seen the Great Banyan Tree King with an expression like that. Li Qingshan wondered what else he had not settled after several thousand years of preparing for this, but he was in no position to ask any further. ¡°If there¡¯s anything I can help you with, please let me know.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King nodded gently before composing himself again. ¡°Take these spiritual stones for now!¡±

    When Li Qingshan heard ¡°spiritual stones¡±, he did not become particularly interested. He had seen plenty of spiritual stones before. They were basically worthless to him now. He even wondered why the Great Banyan Tree King had suddenly become so stingy. Only when he received the spiritual stones did he become dumbstruck.

    The spiritual stones shone with a green haze. They were not particularly special in appearance, but the spiritual qi they contained was tremendous and pure, enough to rival the demon hearts of Demon Kings and the ?ar¨©ra of Monk Kings. Refining demon hearts and ?ar¨©ra was an extremely troublesome task, which would lead to many side-effects. It could even lead to inner demons. However, spiritual stones did not have this issue at all.

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    Li Qingshan tried sending his soul sense inside and discovered the wonders of the spiritual stones were not limited to this. They also contained a wisp of the profound laws of the world. If he could refine and absorb it, it would definitely lead to endless benefits.

    ¡°Thank you fellow¡­ Do you have any more?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be greedy, kid. These spiritual stones weren¡¯t formed naturally. They all came from the Mist Province cauldron. That¡¯s all that formed over the past few thousand years. You better go now!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King waved his hand with a smile.

    Li Qingshan stowed the spiritual stones away and clasped his hands casually. His figure twisted and distorted, vanishing from there.

    Only the Great Banyan Tree King remained in the empty tree hole. He turned around and stared at the Mist Province cauldron before suddenly letting out a long sigh. ¡°Are you going to keep hiding?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the matter that you have to deal with, aren¡¯t I?¡± Madam Vine¡¯s attached voice rang out by the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ears. Her arms wrapped around him naturally, and she touched his furrowed eyebrows with the tips of her fingers gently. ¡°Do you have to sigh like that?¡±

    ¡°Once I refine the Mist Province cauldron, I will do everything I can to assist you with ascension,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll ascend together.¡± Madam Vine clung onto him even more tightly.

    ¡°Stop badgering on; this brings you no benefit at all. There will be a day when we part.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King patted madam Vine¡¯s back.

    ¡°No, we¡¯ll ascend together!¡± Madam Vine repeated stubbornly, which then turned into pleading. ¡°Old man, I¡¯m begging you, alright?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re still too young!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King closed his eyes gently. In a daze, he saw what happened five thousand years ago. The valiant king of the nine provinces gave a thin, golden vine that was withering away to him as a ¡°gift¡±.

    ¡°This sun vine was born special. It doesn¡¯t belong in this world. If even you refuse to take it in, then there¡¯ll probably be nowhere across the nine provinces that can provide it with shelter.¡± That was what the lord of the world had said.

    Any regular tree that the sun vine entwined around would wither and die in a mere few days. Only relatively powerful plant daemons could withstand its growth, but as long as they had a hint of intelligence, why would they let it grow on them? They would definitely try to weed it out for good as quickly as possible.

    As a result, the Great Banyan Tree King allowed it to entwine around him. Many of the otherfolk and daemons under his command tried to weed it out, but he stopped them. ¡°I¡¯m just sharing some rain and dew with it. It¡¯s not like it causes me any major harm, so why must you kill it?¡±

    It had never let down his kindness either, rapidly drawing tree sap and growing stronger with each day. In less than three hundred years, it had undergone the tribulation and assumed human form, becoming a Daemon General. She had reached Daemon King eight centuries ago.

    To daemons, her cultivation speed had basically been alarmingly fast, let alone the fact that she was a plant daemon on top of that, the kind that cultivated the most slowly. Apart from her own aptitude, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s sacrifice had played a critical role in all of this, allowing her to drink his tree sap day and night and providing careful guidance to her the moment she developed intelligence. The care and effort he had shown was no less than what the divine wutong tree had shown to the little phoenix.

    His selfless sacrifice ended up bearing fruit. She became the final and most powerful barrier of Towering city. Even though she had only undergone the third heavenly tribulation eight centuries ago, she was far more powerful than regular Daemon Kings. On top of that, under her intentional control, it was no longer a one-sided plundering. She also assisted his cultivation, forming a harmonious case of mutual symbiosis.

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    This was another victory to the Great Banyan Tree King sticking to his principles. The otherfolk and daemons who once wanted to weed her out all admired his intelligence and foresight. However, even with his intelligence, he was unable to take everything into account, especially when it came to the subtle emotions and feelings of beings.

    Before he knew it, she began referring to herself as his madam, making everyone call her ¡°madam Vine¡±. Originally, he took it as a joke, but he never expected her to be so insistent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t live for the sake of what¡¯s beneficial to me either!¡± Madam Vine hugged the Great Banyan Tree King firmly, but her pursed lips revealed an unshakable persistence.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An had just been moved to Towering city. They were about to go out for a stroll and take a good look at the city when thousands of resplendent, golden sun vines swarmed in through the windows like snakes.

    ¡°Madam Vine?¡± Li Qingshan immediately pressed down on the hilt of his blade. From his very first glance of madam Vine, he knew he could not treat her like a regular Daemon King.

    Back then in the Asura Field, facing a sun vine without any intelligence made him feel great danger. The powerful Foundation Establishment subordinates under prince Si Qing¡¯s command had been forcefully strangled to death by it. That was enough for him to deduce madam Vine¡¯s strength.

    Plant daemons suffered from the downside where their main bodies could not move around freely, but they were extremely powerful in their territory. If it were not for his great trust in the Great Banyan Tree King, he would have never come to Towering city. However, he did not have any positive ties with this madam Vine.

    The sun vines did not attack him. Instead, they wove together, forming a golden flight of stairs. One of the vines even twisted into the world ¡°please¡±.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances before climbing up the stairs, arriving above Towering city. They saw countless golden vines rapidly weave into a glistening building. The golden stairs led towards there.

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    The moment Li Qingshan set foot in the building, the entrance was weaved shut. He clasped his hands and said, ¡°Is there something you wish to advise me about, madam?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare call it advice. I do have a request! Even though I don¡¯t think you can shatter the Mist Province cauldron, please don¡¯t stick your nose in other people¡¯s business,¡± madam Vine¡¯s voice echoed through the building. She called it a request, but she was not very polite.

    Li Qingshan had never been a fan of provocation. Coupled with the fact that he was still a little tipsy, he laughed loudly. ¡°I do have quite a bit of confidence though!¡±

    ¡°Ignorant kid, you think you¡¯re helping him, but you¡¯re actually harming him,¡± madam Vine said furiously.

    ¡°Oh? How come?¡± Li Qingshan asked in surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯ll prevent him from ascending.¡±

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to ascend! It¡¯s just like being a big fish in a small pond compared to being a small fish in a big pond. Compared to ascending and becoming a lackey for those Daemon Gods and Demon Gods, he might be better off coexisting with the world and serving as the god of the nine provinces!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that old man¡¯s nonsense. No one has ever succeeded with this throughout history. Do you know what the consequences are upon failure? In the ancient times, before the forging of the nine cauldrons, countless god seals were scattered across the world. As a result, there were people deluded enough to wage war wantonly and gather the god seals, but they only ended up being devoured by the god seals, being wiped from existence,¡± said madam Vine.

    Li Qingshan was certain that being the god of a mountain or a river was a completely different concept to being the god of a province. It was like how ruling over a village or a town was easy, but when it came to governing a country, it was even impossible to go back to being a civilian without the corresponding strength.

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    This was why there were Mountain God Seals and Water God Seals but no Sea God Seals. The seas were far too vast. Who knew how much land was hidden beneath the ocean, which could not be controlled by regular Daemon Kings. Once they forcefully tried to condense a god seal, it would only cost them their lives. Meanwhile, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s final objective was to embrace all of this, to place all the mountains and seas under his control. It really did resemble a daydream.

    ¡°Though, since the ¡®old man¡¯ is bold enough to do it, he must have a sizable amount of confidence! Something that no one has ever achieved does not make it impossible. The ¡®old man¡¯s¡¯ wisdom and intelligence is far beyond what certain people can rival.¡±

    ¡°Damn you! How dare you speak to me like that! Would you believe that I can strangle you to death?¡±

    Every single sun vine in the building began to squirm, and Li Qingshan immediately felt his strength leak away uncontrollably. If it were not for the support of the Strength of the Earth, he probably would have become utterly exhausted in a short while. He immediately understood that she had already converted this natural ability of hers into an innate ability. How terrifying!

    However, he was unfazed. He said proudly, ¡°I don¡¯t believe that!¡±

    Madam Vine was unable to lay her hands on a guest of the Great Banyan Tree King after all. She sighed and said, ¡°You really don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re helping him because he¡¯s the Great Banyan Tree King. If he succeeds, will he still be the original him?¡±

    Li Qingshan fell silent. He had discussed the topic of the will of the world several times with the Great Banyan Tree King, and he had brought up many of his guesses too, in particular with whether the world actually possessed a so-called ¡°self-consciousness¡±. He had once received an invitation from the Asura realm, but he did not believe he had been speaking with the ¡°Asura realm¡±.

    But there was something he could be certain about at the very least. The will of the world was definitely different from the will of living creatures, which was why no one knew what would happen to the Great Banyan Tree King once he succeeded. On top of that, once he set off down this path, there was no possibility for him to turn around anymore.

    ¡°Do you understand now? I¡¯m doing all of this for his sake, so don¡¯t do him a disservice. I will make him give you the Fruit of Wisdom he¡¯s promised you, so go back to your Green province!¡± Madam Vine¡¯s voice softened as she explained it all to him patiently.

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    The towering tree remained silent. He did not insert himself into this conversation as if he was also waiting for Lis decision.

    Li Qingshan suddenly smiled and shook his head, ¡°No, I believe in him! Before I shatter the Mist Province cauldron, I¡¯m going nowhere!¡±

 Chapter 966 Shattering the Cauldron

    Madam Vine¡¯s words did make Li Qingshan waver slightly, but he asked himself, Will I also cease being me once I reach beyond the Nine Heavens?

    As a result, he no longer had any more hesitation. Only those who possessed an unbelievable dream could believe in another¡¯s unbelievable dream.

    ¡°You don¡¯t care about his fate at all! That¡¯s the only reason why you can say something like that!¡± Madam Vine flew into a fury. For a moment, murderousness filled the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you really care about him so much, then you should be lending him a hand, not getting in his way!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth! I¡¯m doing this for the sake of our future!¡±

    The sun vines twisted about like dancing snakes and swarmed over. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell blocked them.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re doing it for the sake of your own future!¡± Li Qingshan sneered. With a clang, he drew his blade.

    Xiao An gripped the hilt of her sword firmly. The Buddha Slaying sword was quite effective against colossal opponents with powerful regeneration.

    Even if Li Qingshan cut apart all the vines here, it could not cause madam Vine any substantial harm, but as long as the Buddha Slaying sword cut through one of the vines, it could reach her main body and harm her.

    However, a different emotion fluctuated in Xiao An¡¯s heart, so the strike became rather hesitant.

    ¡°Alright, stop making trouble!¡±

    At this moment, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice ran out. His voice was quite helpless, but it was irrefutable.

    ¡°Hmph, all you know is showing bias towards outsiders!¡± Madam Vine pulled back reluctantly.

    ¡°Thank you for your trust. That means a tremendous amount to me!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m even looking forward to you succeeding so that you can help me out in the future!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°There¡¯ll definitely be a day like that!¡±

    The two Daemon Kings anticipated that day together in high spirits. Meanwhile, Xiao An gazed at the sun vine that wrapped around the great tree firmly and sighed inside.

    Li Qingshan returned to Towering city, but the peaceful and quiet atmosphere had changed. He could clearly sense hostility everywhere. He knew he had angered madam Vine. However, he brushed it off with a smile.

    In the blink of an eye, several days had passed. Li Qingshan absorbed one of the spiritual stones from the Great Banyan Tree King, and he returned to his peak condition. He stood before the Mist Province cauldron again.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready! Though, have you really decided to go forward with this, fellow?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I have no other choice.¡± the Great Banyan Tree King sighed.

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded and stopped wavering. He took a step forward, arriving before the Mist Province cauldron, but he did not take action immediately. Instead, he studied the patterns of mountains and water on the cauldron deeply. Gradually, nothing else remained in his eyes. All he could see was the cauldron of the Mist province.

    The endless sea of trees, mountains, and rivers all appeared before him as if he was not facing a cauldron but the fifty thousand kilometers of the Mist province. The boundless pressure became even more evident. He felt like he was already shouldering a mountain before he had even taken action.

    Behind this Mist province was an even vaster world. That was the nine provinces, just like one complete entity.

    It was unshakable, definitely unshakable!

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips and clenched both fists firmly, allowing the power of tremors to rapidly gather. His body shook gently, but he did not strike as if he was waiting for something.

    The Great Banyan Tree King nodded in satisfaction. If he had been a regular Daemon King instead, he definitely would not have been able to withstand the tremendous pressure. He would either be directly forced back, or he would strike blindly, which probably would not even be enough to leave a mark on the Mist Province cauldron!

    The Great Banyan Tree King spread his arms. At that moment, every single banyan tree in the sea of trees that spanned five thousand kilometers shook and trembled. The rustling sound was deafening, producing something akin to waves that gathered towards the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main body.

    Aerial roots spread furiously, forming layers upon layers on the walls of the tree hole, but the aerial roots around the Mist Province cauldron rapidly receded, exposing the cauldron completely. It shone with a magnificent glow.

    ¡°Seal!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King spat out that word gently, and the glow from the Mist Province cauldron dimmed.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up as if a bolt of lightning had flashed through them. All of the illusions of mountains and rivers shattered. Standing before him was still the same Mist Province cauldron. The pressure from it seemed to plummet immediately after being isolated from the nine provinces. He struck out with both fists and bellowed, ¡°Boom!¡±

    Thunk!

    A great boom reached hundreds of kilometers away like the ring of a great bell.

    Under the night sky, Ye Weiyang stood high among the treetops, only to see an inky-green column of light rush into the sky, even thicker than the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main body, just like a pillar of heaven. With that as a foundation, a tremendous formation that spanned several thousand kilometers was activated.

    She furrowed her brows as if she was worrying about something. She said with an undetectable voice, ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    Within the sea of trees, millions of creatures gazed into the distance, looking in the direction of Towering city. Their gazes contained either understanding or confusion.

    Thousands of kilometers away, the King of Southern Yue suddenly sensed it in the Silver Dragon King. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s finally begun!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The full-powered strike that Li Qingshan had charged up the entire time only managed to rock the Mist Province cauldron, leaving behind two undetectable imprints of fists. There were a few cracks, but they closed up the moment he pulled back his fists. It seemed like the Mist Province cauldron only needed the blink of an eye to become brand-new again.

    However, the rumbling continued to echo through the tree hole, slamming against his soul viciously. They were like questions, asking him how dare he infringe upon the sovereign authority!

    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s tough enough!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. If the Mist Province cauldron had not responded at all, that would be far too boring.

    ¡°Roar!¡±

    A tiger¡¯s howl drowned out the rumbling. Li Qingshan¡¯s blood surged through his body as his skin turned scarlet. The markings of a beast stretched over his forehead into a Íõ¡± shape¡ªFrenzy of the Tiger Demon!

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

    The great booms rang out endlessly, deafening the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan blurred, turning into a storm as he barraged the Mist Province cauldron furiously.

    Within his frenzy, he maintained a hint of clarity with his mind. The black specks on the Mist Province cauldron recovered much more slowly when they were damaged, like they were the Mist Province cauldron¡¯s fatal points. Apart from his initial probing strike, all of his fists landed on these black markings.

    The fist indents constantly grew deeper, and the cracks rapidly spread until they formed a complete fracture. Suddenly, a beam of rainbow light poured out.

    ¡°Nice!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King praised loudly. He was using his full strength too, not only sealing up the Mist Province cauldron, but also wrapping green, transparent roots around Li QIngshan¡¯s legs to deliver tremendous amounts of spiritual qi into his body.

    The state of the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon was powerful, but it also caused Li Qingshan a tremendous burden. It could be described as wounding himself first in an attempt to wound the enemy. He could not maintain it for too long. However, with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s full support, these various downsides had been reduced to a bare minimum, allowing him to unleash his destructive power to the limit recklessly, to his heart¡¯s content!

    Beams of rainbow light poured out. More and more cracks appeared on the Mist Province cauldron.

    At this moment, madam Vine suddenly appeared in the tree hole. She was extremely stern. She never imagined Li Qingshan to actually possess the strength to achieve that. She bit her lip and shot a vicious glance at the Great Banyan Tree King before approaching Li Qingshan step by step.

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    Li Qingshan seemed to be completely absorbed in the delight of destroying the Mist Province cauldron. He was completely defenceless from behind.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do something foolish!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King frowned heavily. His voice was solemn and grand, dignified like a god¡¯s.

    Madam Vine was immediately restrained and immobilised, but she said in disdain, ¡°Hmph, damned old man. I¡¯m not as clever as you, but you can¡¯t stop me either. Just ascend with me obediently!¡±

    She raised her right arm high into the air. The sun vine wrapped around the great banyan tree suddenly constricted. A golden ribbon of light twisted and coiled up too, wrapping around the inky-green light that rushed into the air. The light immediately began to diminish, while the golden light rapidly strengthened.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt the pressure from the Mist Province cauldron increase drastically. Even the cracks showed signs of healing. He gritted his teeth and continued his forceful attack.

    If the Great Banyan Tree King was restrained, it was absolutely impossible for him to shatter the Mist Province cauldron alone.

    ¡°Why must you do this?¡±

    Right when his plan was about to succeed, it fell into shambles right before him. The Great Banyan Tree King lamented and closed his eyes gently.

    ¡°Old man, I¡¯ve let you down, but I will accompany you forever and pay you back ten, a hundred times over. Can you forgive me please¡­¡±

    Madam Vine¡¯s voice came to a halt. Golden blood sprayed from her mouth.

    A shiny, white sword poked out of her chest. Xiao An stood behind madam Vine, gripping the hilt with one hand as her white clothes drifted in the air.

    The golden light around the column of inky-green light immediately collapsed. Even the sun vine as colossal as a golden dragon began to wither away at a visible rate.

    Ye Weiyang saw this and smiled wryly. At the very least, she should feel fortunate that she did not have to do it!

    Li Qingshan caught a glimpse of this from the corner of his eye before immersing himself in the destruction of the Mist Province cauldron again. Everything was still going to plan.

    The sensation of death crept up, turning madam Vine¡¯s face ashen. She stared straight at the Great Banyan Tree King and asked in disbelief, ¡°You really¡­ want me to die!?¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I really couldn¡¯t come up with a better way to stop you.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King seemed to grow much older in that instant. His voice was particularly heavy and sombre. Only his eyes remained as determined as before. Not everything could be settled with a compromise.

    ¡°Fine then¡­¡± Madam Vine lowered her head powerlessly. The sun vine flower in her hair immediately withered and fell. She murmured, ¡°Then what were these five thousand years¡­ supposed to be?¡±

    Xiao An pulled out the Buddha Slaying sword, and the pale-white flames rapidly swallowed madam Vine. She looked up and gazed at Li Qingshan. The dazzling, rainbow light added another resplendent halo to him.

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan threw a punch against the Mist Province cauldron, and time seemed to freeze. Thousands of colours flowed before his eyes. Only then did he realise the Mist Province cauldron had already shattered.

    He widened his eyes and saw a green heart in the shattered Mist Province cauldron. He realised that was the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s daemon core. The tree hole was the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s central chamber.

    The heart absorbed the colours and suddenly erupted with light, which even penetrated the thick walls and trees and projected a magnificent haze in the night sky. The various scenes across the Mist province vaguely appeared before condensing into the landscape of the Mist province, hovering in the air.

    The Great Banyan Tree King stood exactly where he was. Only the colours in his eyes constantly changed.

    Li Qingshan frowned heavily. Originally, the Great Banyan Tree King possessed the tranquility of a tree. There was benevolence and life within the tranquility. But now, it had become the tranquility of heaven. Within the tranquility was emptiness, viewing all life as nothing.

    If he could not stay true to himself, then it would not be as simple as a drastic change in personality. He would be assimilated into the world.

 Chapter 967 The God of the Mist Province, Beyond the Plan

    Success and failure all hinged on this moment!

    At this moment, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s immeasurable quantity came into effect. Every single great banyan tree was like an independent version of himself, yet they were also connected through countless roots, with tremendous amounts of information being conveyed through them.

    Suddenly, every single great banyan tree radiated with colourful light. The entire sea of trees turned into a magnificent ocean of lights.

    The daemons and otherfolk living among the trees all gazed at the surroundings in surprise before watching the territory of the Mist province hanging in the night sky slowly fall down, growing closer and closer, larger and larger. They could clearly see the countless mountains and rivers just by raising their heads as if it was all real

    Like the end of the word, cries rose and fell in the sea of trees.

    Ye Weiyang stood at the top of the forest, gazing at the ¡°Mist province¡± that fell from the sky. A smile appeared on her face.

    A mountain fell upside-down, right onto her. She did not budge, passing straight through it.

    The daemons and otherfolk all looked around frantically and discovered this was not the catastrophe they imagined it to be. The ¡°Mist province¡± was merging with the forest, swallowed by the ocean of lights.

    A while later, all of the light vanished, and the forest returned to normal as if nothing had happened at all. Only the kings could truly comprehend the profound changes involved, all beaming with joy and congratulating the Great Banyan Tree King in the direction of Towering city.

    The Great Banyan Tree King exhaled deeply, and his eyes turned back to an inky-green. However, the tree heart continued to shine with resplendent light. His aura became much vaster and more distant, but his personality did not seem to change much. Instead, it was a very natural form of growth and improvement.

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    ¡°Congratulations, fellow. Felicitations, fellow. You¡¯ve succeeded!¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands in congratulations, feeling great admiration towards the Great Banyan Tree King. He was not some natural divine tree, but he pushed his special characteristics to the very limit, spending thousands of years to plan arduously so that he could tread an unprecedented path. It exhilarated Li Qingshan as well!

    ¡°This is but the first step.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King waved his hands.

    ¡°But the eight other cauldrons will sense this step. The imperial clan in the Dragon province will be furious,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Great Xia wanted the world godless, while the Great Banyan Tree King had directly become the god of the Mist province, even directly destroying their imperial treasure. It would only be strange if they did not make a response.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They won¡¯t attack here.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s eyes shone with a sagacious light. He had simulated and calculated all of the possible scenarios and consequences a long time ago. Now, he only saw it with even greater clarity.

    ¡°Fair enough!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The current Great Banyan Tree King had already strode into a completely new domain. He was basically undefeatable in the World of the Nine Provinces. The Great Xia empire probably could not afford to pay the cost to kill him either.

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    ¡°Was it worth it?¡± Xiao An suddenly asked the Great Banyan Tree King.

    The Great Banyan Tree King fell silent. The atmosphere suddenly froze up.

    ¡°Xiao An?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised, only to see a rare hint of pity on her face. He could not help but sigh. ¡°There¡¯s no other way. Madam Vine had gone too far.¡±

    ¡°Was it worth it?¡± Xiao An did not look at Li Qingshan, asking again after taking a step closer.

    The Great Banyan Tree King closed his eyes as if he could not meet her gaze. The sun vines wrapped around him had already withered away. Never had he felt so relaxed before, but it made him feel empty instead. He was rather unaccustomed to this.

    If it was not worth it, then why would he make this choice? If it was worth it, then why was the joy of success unable to make up for this sense of regret? Were the five thousand years that they spent together really nothing at all? Was he unable to brush this aside because of all the lengths he had gone to? Or was it because he had kept certain emotions under control the entire time? Even when he had comprehended the profound laws of the world, he struggled to answer these questions.

    ¡°Please forgive me, senior. I¡¯ve said too much.¡± Xiao An shook her head and returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s side.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t worth it!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King snapped open his eyes. There was pain, but his gaze was not lost. ¡°But if I could choose again, I¡¯d still choose the same!¡±

    Normally, Li Qingshan would definitely applaud a reply like that, but he glanced at Xiao An beside him and felt that it was best if he remained silent, just in case he was roped into someone else¡¯s matters.

    ¡°I might never be able to understand such resolve!¡± Xiao An said, but she gazed at Li Qingshan with her clear eyes.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank; he grimaced slightly. There you go, I¡¯ve still been roped into this!

    He did his best to think over his words. ¡°Xiao An, you¡¯re thinking too much. Stop drawing comparisons so easily! It¡¯s not like you¡¯re madam Vine and I¡¯m the Great Banyan Tree King. Of course, I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re at fault, fellow. Anyway, it¡¯s just¡­ sigh, it sure is complicated!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually overestimated the power of that strike. I¡¯m not different!¡± Xiao An raised the Buddha Slaying sword in her hand.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Li Qingshan and the Great Banyan Tree King both blanked out. They had both personally witnessed the power of the Buddha Slaying sword. The two powerful Demon Kings, the Kings of Yin and Yang, had been finished off with a casual strike from the sword, so what did she mean by overestimating its power?

    However, it was exactly because that sight had been far too alarming that even they forgot about several facts.

    For example, the Kings of Yin and Yang had already become utterly exhausted after their battle against Li Qingshan, gaining the upper hand against him after so much difficulty. Before they had even gotten their revenge, Xiao An had killed her way over.

    For example, while the Buddha Slaying sword did possess terrifying lethal power, there were only two types of opponents it overwhelmed the most. One was buddhist cultivators, which was why it was called ¡°Buddha Slaying¡±, while the other were existences of great yin and evil, a category that corpses, ghosts, and demonfolk all fell under. After all, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was still a buddhist cultivation method.

    Madam Vine fell into neither of the two categories. She did not have a body of flesh either. The Buddha Slaying sword could overwhelm her, but that only guaranteed every single strike of the sword could harm her.

    Even when Xiao An stabbed the Myriad Poison Ancestor through the chest with the Buddha Slaying sword in the past, he had only ended up heavily injured, almost even escaping back to the Myriad Poison cult. In the end, the soul nascence he had projected was alive and kicking too, which took them quite the effort to defeat.

    After being forged by the heavenly tribulation, the power of the Buddha Slaying sword had grown drastically, but as a Daemon King that was born special, madam Vine¡¯s vitality was far greater than a senile human cultivator¡¯s.

    Xiao An had only used the Buddha Slaying sword properly once after undergoing the heavenly tribulation, which was against the Kings of Yin and Yang. In the moment she stabbed madam Vine, she had understood that the strike was not lethal, which was why she did not pull out the sword immediately.

    Between Li Qingshan and the Great Banyan Tree King, one possessed a powerful instinct for battle, while the other possessed profound intelligence. In the past, they had only been shocked by the startling stroke, which was why they neglected all these details. Now that Xiao An had reminded them, they immediately realised what was going on, leaving them stunned.

    Li Qingshan was still quite shaken from that. Back then, if madam Vine had put up a little bit more of a struggle, he would not have been able to shatter the Mist Province cauldron. If she had detonated her daemon core out of fury and hatred, then it would not be as simple as a failed plan.

    As it turned out, not everything went according to plan¡­

    Xiao An said, ¡°Senior Great Banyan Tree King, my strike did heavily injure her, but the strike that truly claimed her life was your callous resolve!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King stood there blankly.

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 Chapter 968 Reversal of Life and Death, the Life-saving Strike

    Li Qingshan gazed at Xiao An in surprise. That blurry feeling had become extremely clear. She truly had changed! The Xiao An of the past would have never done something so ¡°unnecessary¡±, nor would she care about the relationships of others. The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s deceased spirit would definitely be smiling gladly right now!

    The Great Banyan Tree King blanked out for a moment. Suddenly, he let out a deep sigh. His eyes were slightly moist. There was actually a slight smile of relief on his face. ¡°Fellow Xiao An, thank you for your advice. Can you help me out again right now?¡±

    His great sleeves drifted in the air as the Great Banyan Tree King bowed deeply towards Xiao An. Even his long beard touched the ground.

    Li Qingshan was stunned. Just who in the world could accept this bow from the Great Banyan Tree King?

    However, Xiao An accepted it calmly. She waved her hand indifferently. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite, senior. I¡¯m not helping you either!¡±

    ¡°Oi, girl, that¡¯s not something you should say!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt even more surprised inside. The Xiao An of the past was unfeeling, but she was flawless when it came to manners. Even Feng Xiwu praised her. She would never be as disrespectful as right now.

    Xiao An agreed with him, but she did not seem particularly convinced.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything, Qingshan. I¡¯ve been asking for this.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King waved his hand at Li Qingshan and smiled wryly.

    Xiao An glanced at Li Qingshan as if she was asking, How¡¯s that?

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Alright, alright!¡±

    A Skull Prayer Bead turned into a skull from Xiao An¡¯s wrist, spitting out a ball of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone that burned away silently. Her seaweed-like hair drifted into the air. Two golden specks appeared in her clear eyes as she chanted softly, ¡°White bone and great beauty, reversal of life and death!¡±

    The almost-transparent Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone gradually consolidated, and madam Vine¡¯s figure faded into existence. Her eyes were firmly shut with despair frozen on her face.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. ¡°This is possible?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°I told you. That strike of mine was not enough to claim her life. She was the one who let her mind fall into disarray, leading to qi deviation. If she was just let be, she definitely would have died.¡±

    ¡°So your strike saved her instead?¡± Li Qingshan found this unbelievable. Xiao An had shown him far too many surprises today.

    ¡°Since white bone can turn into great beauty, then a strike to kill can also save.¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s white clothes drifted in the air. A hint of benevolence appeared within her calmness, possessing an unrivalled beauty.

    After balancing the buddhist and the demonic, she gained a brand-new understanding towards the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. She had no idea whether she had taken the wrong path or not, but the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s original intentions probably were not to kill people and slay buddhas either.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Madam Vine¡¯s figure gradually consolidated, but she did not stabilise. This was Xiao An¡¯s first time doing something like this.

    All Li Qingshan saw was the Great Banyan Tree King with a face full of concern. His vast, distant aura diminished drastically, making him seem more like a regular person. He thought, He¡¯s probably an old tree sprouting with new shoots right now¡ªhe¡¯s in love!

    ¡°Qingshan, help me out!¡± With a flip of her left hand, Xiao An held a phoenix feather between her fingers, piercing it into madam Vine¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Li Qingshan held her hand and circulated the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a as hard as he could. The phoenix feather shone with resplendent light, shooting into madam Vine¡¯s body as a streak of light.

    Xiao An eased up. Madam Vine¡¯s figure stabilised. Her breathing was feeble, and she was unconscious. She fell into the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s arms.

    The Great Banyan Tree King thanked Xiao An again. Xiao An said, ¡°She¡¯s heavily injured, both mentally and physically. Please do what you think is most appropriate, senior.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King nodded and shut his eyes. He brought his forehead to madam Vine¡¯s, and the tree heart above shone with rainbow light.

    ¡°Woah!¡± Li Qingshan widened his eyes. All he saw was the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s verdant beard wither away, revealing his true appearance. Right when he wanted to say something, the Great Banyan Tree King waved his hand without even looking up. The surroundings twisted and changed, having been moved away already, but he heard Xiao An spit out three words, ¡°Law of Vinaya!¡±

    Li Qingshan waited around for quite a while in Towering city before Xiao An was shifted to his side, remaining silent with her head lowered.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°If you want to scold me, then scold me!¡± Xiao An behaved like she had already mentally prepared herself for death.

    ¡°Why would I scold you?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Really?¡± Xiao An blinked her eyes and asked carefully.

    ¡°Haha, what are you on about!¡± Li Qingshan pulled Xiao An into his arms with a great laugh, touching her hair and giving her a thumbs-up. ¡°Speaking of which, you did magnificently! That¡¯s the first time I saw the ¡®old man¡¯ behave like that with an expression like that! Oh how unexpected!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to blame me for acting on my own?¡±

    ¡°My Xiao An has already grown up. It¡¯s time for her to act a little on her own.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not like madam Vine, but he did not hate her to the point of wanting to kill her. As such, he had confirmed with the Great Banyan Tree King again about whether he actually wanted to go forward with this before he had attacked the Mist Province cauldron. However, since the Great Banyan Tree King had made up his mind, there was nothing else he could say. In the end, it was for the best that they could have the best of both worlds.

    What delighted him even more was Xiao An¡¯s changes. Right from the beginning, he did not condone the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s terrorism, nor did he want Xiao An to become a second White Bone Bodhisattva.

    ¡°I¡¯m just pitying her a little.¡± Xiao An embraced Li Qingshan gently, gazing at the withered vines around the Great Banyan Tree King. She said like she was giving a guarantee, ¡°I will never be stubborn like her!¡±

    ¡°I told you to not rope us in like this! I¡¯m nowhere near as great or kind as the Great Banyan Tree King. You know me. I¡¯m very selfish and greedy. I don¡¯t ever want to let go of what¡¯s mine. If you want to go somewhere where you can¡¯t bring me along, I¡¯ll never permit that!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Yeah. I will definitely take you to beyond the Nine Heavens.¡± The corner of Xiao An¡¯s lips curled as she gazed deeply at Li Qingshan. If I ever become an obstacle that hinders you, I will never make it difficult for you.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be in ma¡¯am Xiao An¡¯s care!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. Without her by his side, what was the point of it even if he made it to beyond the Nine Heavens? He would be better off clinging to his dream and dying in battle somewhere else.

    At this moment, the withered vines lit up with golden light again, gradually recovering their vitality.

    ¡°Oh right, what did you stay behind earlier to do?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I asked him a question,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°What question?¡±

    ¡°If he could choose again, how would he choose?¡±

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    ¡°You sure want to get to the bottom of this, but it¡¯s a good question. How did he answer?¡±

    ¡°He considered it for a very long time, but he did not answer me. Instead, he asked me a question.¡±

    ¡°Really? What did he ask you?¡± Even Li Qingshan was unable to guess what the Great Banyan Tree King was thinking exactly. Had he changed his mind, or was he still holding true to himself like before? Or did he have no answer?

    ¡°He asked me if I thought she would forgive him.¡±

    Li Qingshan broke into a great laugh. He basically could not imagine the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s expression back then. ¡°Then how did you answer?¡±

    ¡°Guess?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t guess, but if it were me, I¡¯d definitely remember this forever even if I don¡¯t carry out revenge!¡±

    ¡°Then I better be careful, just in case I offend someone petty like you.¡±

    ¡°How dare you call me petty! I¡¯m never going to forget about that!¡± Li Qingshan shot a vicious glance at her as a joke.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± Xiao An covered her mouth and giggled away.

    The sun vine flowers bloomed resplendently like miniature suns, illuminating the tree shade that was thick like the night.

    How couldn¡¯t she forgive him?

    ps£º ÎÒÍêÃÀÖ÷Òå?µÄ³ó¶ñ×ìÁ³ÔÙÒ»´Î±©Â¶ÎÞÒÅ°¡£¡ËäÈ»Ò²ÐÀÉÍ±¯¾çÖ®ÃÀ£¬µ«ÎÒÓÖ²»ÊÇÉ¯Ê¿±ÈÑÇ£¬¼ÈÈ»ÊÇËµÃÎÖ®ÈË£¬ÄÇ¾Í¾¡Á¿ËµÒ»³¡ÃÀÃÎ°É£¡

    PS: My ugly appearance as a perfectionist has been completely exposed once more! I do appreciate the beauty of tragedies, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m Shakespeare. Since I am the one who tells dreams, I¡¯ll try my best to tell a sweet dream!

 Chapter 969 The Guardian Hawk God, a Confrontation Between Kings

    A hawk¡¯s cry pierced the air!

    ¡°Great Banyan Tree King, as one of the Ten Daemon Kings, how dare you destroy one of the nine cauldrons! Are you aware that the law is blind?¡±

    What might!

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. Looking up, he saw a man in black standing high in the air. He was on the horizon with his arms behind his back. The sky full of atmospheric winds surged with his voice, spreading across the entire forest like the might of heaven.

    He was extremely valiant in appearance. His long, golden-brown hair flowed freely behind him, and his hooked nose added a sense of severity to him. However, the most eye-catching part of him was his eyes. There was a rim of gold around his dark irises as if he could see through everything.

    ¡°So it¡¯s the Hawk God! Please forgive me for failing to welcome you from afar!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King replied modestly. His voice was broad and mighty, echoing through the land and matching the Hawk God¡¯s aura.

    Sure enough! Li Qingshan thought. There were not a lot of people in the world who dared to talk to the Great Banyan Tree King like that. With his aura, with his bearing, who else could he be apart from the legendary Guardian Hawk God?

    ¡°It¡¯s the bird woman¡¯s bird father!¡± Xiao An communicated to him.

    Li Qingshan burst out laughing. He felt very delighted inside. This girl''s sense of humour had grown after undergoing the tribulation.

    In that instant, a pair of hawk eyes pierced through the foliage and landed on him, just like a pair of blades. In this world, there were not a lot of people who dared to laugh while the ¡°Hawk God¡¯ and the ¡°tree god¡± were talking.

    ¡°Greetings from subordinate Li Qingshan!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s smile vanished as he remembered his identity as a White Hawk commander. He clasped his hands at the distance. He met the eyes fearlessly.

    Although he controlled the renowned Hawkwolf Guard and maintained the reign and laws of the Great Xia empire, ¡°Hawk God¡± was still only a title at the end of the day. He was not a true god. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan had even witnessed Demon God Qiongqi in person, so he did not believe he had to be all cautious around a Daemon King, no matter how revered or powerful this Daemon King was.

    ¡°The King of Savages, Li Qingshan.¡±

    The Hawk God narrowed his eyes, and the pressure on Li Qingshan immediately skyrocketed. He actually felt like his breath was stifled. He thought, Among those I have seen in my life, he should come first when it comes to ¡°stateliness¡±. Though, this probably isn¡¯t just from his own bearing, but also the stateliness of the laws of Great Xia. Just like how the might of gods is absolute, that should be the origins of his title, the Hawk God!

    Qiongqi¡¯s strength far surpassed the Hawk God¡¯s, and he had only descended with a clone. The pressure he gave off was startling, but it had nothing to do with stateliness. Though, there was a great deal of slyness and playfulness instead.

    ¡°You recognise me, sir Hawk God?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised before smiling. ¡°Though, the title of the King of Savages is far too tasteless. I¡¯ve already relinquished it.¡±

    The Hawk God glanced at him deeply as if he did not want to spend too much time on an ¡°insignificant figure¡± like him. Instead, his eyes paused on Xiao An for a moment, and his gaze became rather amazed. Undergoing the third heavenly tribulation was equivalent to making it to the apex of the nine provinces. With her age and cultivation, she could no longer be described by the word ¡°genius¡± anymore.

    Of course, he never would have thought that the exact person who shattered the Mist Province cauldron was this ¡°insignificant figure¡±. This was the effect that Li Qingshan wanted too. Even if this Hawk God became extremely fond of him, he could not rope him in as a son-in-law, so anything was fine as long as their relationship did not become hostile.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come such a long way, fellow, so why don¡¯t you come in and take a seat in my Towering city?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King invited him.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Do you admit to destroying one of the nine cauldrons?¡± the Hawk God asked.

    ¡°I do,¡± replied the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°From today onwards, you will be removed from your position as one of the Ten Demon Kings and added to the very top of the wanted list managed by the ministry of penalty. The Hawkwolf Guard will do everything to capture you. If you dare to resist, you will be slain on the spot¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan became more confused the more he listened to that. The Great Banyan Tree King had already gone so far, so why would he still care about some position among the Ten Demon Kings, let alone being added to some wanted list by the ministry of penalty? The Hawkwolf Guard was renowned in the world, but they were basically dreaming if they thought they could capture or kill him. Was there something wrong with this ¡°Guardian Hawk God¡¯s¡± head?

    Before he knew it, the existences he had once viewed as supreme cultivators and tremendous forces ceased to be so unattainable. He could brush them aside now.

    ¡°... all those that collaborate with you will become enemies of Great Xia!¡±

    When the Hawk God reached there, he glanced at Li Qingshan. He had rushed over in a hurry, so he was not aware that the Great Banyan Tree King had received Li Qingshan from hundreds of kilometers away, inviting him into Towering city. He had his suspicions about Li Qingshan and the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s relationship.

    ¡°Then wouldn¡¯t Great Xia have just a little too many enemies? Please act prudently, fellow!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°What a Great Banyan Tree King! So much for treating you as a virtuous senior! You actually did something like breaking the laws of Great Xia! Our Hawkwolf Guard will never spare you!¡± Li Qingshan rebuked loudly. As if that was not enough, he even stamped his foot a few times on a branch, clearly expressing the side he was taking.

    The corner of the Hawk God¡¯s eye twitched. He could no longer say what he had prepared beforehand anymore. He had seen plenty of troublemakers before, but he had never seen a troublemaker like him. The same thought that Li Qingshan experienced earlier occurred to him too. Was there something wrong with this bastard¡¯s head?

    Smiles oozed out of Xiao An¡¯s eyes. He really was an expert when it came to destroying the atmosphere. He could already tell that the Hawk God¡¯s visit this time was purely a formality, expressing that the Great Xia empire could not allow something like this to happen. However, when it actually came to capturing or killing the Great Banyan Tree King, probably even he himself was not interested in such a lofty aspiration.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve been abandoned and betrayed so quickly! If that¡¯s the case, then please do it!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed with a smile.

    ¡°Rise, winds!¡±

    The Hawk God spread his arms like a hawk spreading its wings. The atmospheric winds within hundreds of kilometers immediately entered a frenzy. Then he waved his arms forcefully, and they swept down from the sky, immediately slicing several clouds to pieces. If it had been a regular forest, it would have been razed to the ground immediately. Even the roots buried deep beneath the ground would be sliced to pieces, eliminating all life.

    He really is impressive! Li Qingshan thought.

    The atmospheric winds and the magnetic fields basically demarcated the upper and lower boundaries of a world. To be able to wield the atmospheric winds so easily, the Hawk God had already reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation, basically on the cusp of ascension. He paid close attention to the clash between the two members of the Ten Daemon Kings, making preparations for when he went dragon slaying in the Ink sea.

    The Great Banyan Tree King raised a dim, green barrier. The atmospheric winds immediately lost their sharpness when they entered the barrier, turning into regular glasses.

    The winds surged, producing waves through the sea of trees. The thousands of banyan trees rocked and swayed, forming a forceful and high-spirited symphony.

    Li Qingshan stood on the branch and watched the wind and clouds surge through the world. Powerful auras built up in the sea of trees. While the confrontation between the Hawk God and the Great Banyan Tree King unfolded on a tremendous scale, enough to steal his breath, it did not seem like a battle to the death at all. He thought, Since he¡¯s only come out of formality, then I¡¯ll carry out my formalities too, just in case it leads to trouble if I don¡¯t.

    ¡°Sir Hawk God, allow me to lend you a hand!¡± Li Qingshan roared and demonstrated his powerful strength as a Golden Core cultivator, as well as the acting skills he had spent many years developing. He launched a vicious attack at the Great Banyan Tree King, personally demonstrating the meaning of an ant trying to shake up a tree.

    With him making trouble, the great show of the clash between kings came to an end very quickly. However, before the Hawk God flew away, he left behind a message.

    ¡°As I command, the White Hawk commander of the South Sea commandery, Li Qingshan, has demonstrated impressive loyalty and performed well with upholding the law. He is to be transferred to the Dragon province to take office immediately, without any delay!¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. Xiao An sighed. ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve been wanting to tell you this a long time ago. Your behaviour is too exaggerated.¡±

    ps£º ÕâÐ©ÌìÑÛ¾¦²»Êæ·þ£¬ÊÇ½Ð½áÄ¤Ñ×»¹ÊÇ½Ð½ÇÄ¤Ñ×À´×Å£¬¶Ô×ÅµçÄÔÒ»»á¶ù¾Í??É¬Ä£ºý£¬³ÔÁËËÄÎåÌìµÄÒ©£¬Ä¿Ç°²ÅËãºÃÒ»µã£¬È»ºó²Å·¢ÏÖÄÜ¹»¾¡?µÄÂë×ÖÊÇÒ»¼þ¶àÃ´¿ìÀÖµÄÊÂ£¬Ôø¾­ÓÐÒ»·ÝÕæ³ÏµÄword°ÚÔÚÎÒÃæÇ°£¬ÎÒÃ»ÓÐÕäÏ§¡­¡­²»¹ýºÃÏñ¸üÐÂµÄÐ§ÂÊÒ²Ã»Ì«´ó±ä»¯£¬ºÃ°É£¬²»ÄÜÍæµçÄÔÕæÊÇÍ´¿à°¡£¬¹ùµÂ¸ÙÒÑ¾­¿ìÌýÍÂÁË£¬ÓÐ¾ä¸èÔõÃ´³ªµÄÀ´?¡°Ò»µ©Ê§È¥ÁËµçÄÔµÄÅã°é£¬Äã¾Ítmd³¹µ×µÄ¹Â¶ÀÁË¡£¡±

    PS: My eyes have been quite painful recently. It¡¯s called Conjunctivitis or Keratitis or something. They hurt and blur after a short while in front of the computer. I¡¯ve been on medication for the past four-ish days, and only now is it getting a little better. Only now have I realised just how delightful it is to write to my heart¡¯s content. A sincere word document had once been placed before me, but I didn¡¯t cherish it¡­ Though, it seems like the rate of the releases won¡¯t change much. Alright, I must admit that it sure is painful to be unable to use a computer. I¡¯m already getting sick of Guo Degang¡¯s stuff. How does that song go again? ¡°Once you lose the companionship of the computer, then you¡¯ll be completely f***ing lonely.¡±

 Chapter 970 The Shadow Palace

    ¡°Alright then, but you have to admit that my acting in the past was still alright.¡± Li Qingshan raised his index finger before sighing. ¡°Sure enough, modesty leads to improvement, while complacency leads to deterioration!¡±

    However, he was not worried at all. He was no longer that Li Qingshan of the past. There was no need for him to carefully put on a good show every single time, much less care so much. As for when he would go to the Dragon province, or if he would go to the Dragon province at all, that was not something the Hawk God could decide with a single statement.

    Xiao An nodded with a smile.

    ¡°Though, why would the mighty Hawk God travel thousands of kilometers just for a formality?¡± Li Qingshan was rather puzzled. He had put on the act for the Hawk God to see so that he could avoid some unnecessary problems, but who was the Hawk God putting on the act for?

    ¡°Because he¡¯s the ¡®Guardian Hawk God¡¯. As long as the Great Xia empire still stands, he has to continue guarding it,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°Oh, I see. In the past, I found the title of the Guardian Hawk God to be quite mighty and impressive, but why do I feel like it¡¯s merely drudgery now?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    As Li Qingshan¡¯s realm of cultivation rapidly advanced, his field of view broadened as well. Several decades ago, when he heard the Golden Cicada Spirit King describe the nine provinces as a well, he felt very shocked, but only now did he truly understand it.

    ¡°Though, since the cage is broken now, the bird is free,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said slowly.

    ¡°Freedom? Just how high do you have to fly before you¡¯re truly free? It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯ll never obtain this freedom!¡±

    ¡°A bird has a bird¡¯s freedom. A tree has a tree¡¯s freedom. To a tree, having a place to grow peacefully, without the threat of being cut down, would be freedom.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Oh right, have you basically succeeded, fellow?¡± Li Qingshan smiled ambiguously.

    ¡°This is only the first step. I still need a lengthy period of time to adjust. I do hope there is a time when I succeed,¡± replied the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°You know what I¡¯m asking about.¡± Li Qingshan was intrigued by the gossip.

    ¡°About that¡­¡±

    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s useless even if you asked Xiao An about something like that. What would she know as a little girl? I¡¯m the one with knowledge and experience. Anyway, just do what you must and don¡¯t think too much about it¡­¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, senior probably needs to recuperate a little before he can condense a Fruit of Wisdom. Why don¡¯t you go take a look at the Shadow palace first?¡± Xiao An tugged Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve and interrupted him.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan agreed to it casually before realising what was going on. ¡°Do you feel like what I said was wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely correct!¡± Xiao An nodded seriously. ¡°You better go. There¡¯s plenty of business waiting for you to ¡®do¡¯ in the Shadow palace!¡±

    ¡°Damn girl, how dare you mock me!¡±

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    Li Qingshan suddenly began to miss that Xiao An who always looked at him in utmost admiration. However, her clear eyes were now much richer with emotion. They could see through his heart much more clearly than the Hawk God¡¯s piercing gaze. The great beauty on top of the white bone was not an empty shell anymore.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a little girl.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    Li Qingshan pinched her cheeks before turning around and flying away. Speaking of white, he had basically spent the past two decades like an ascetic before entering consecutive battles, followed by an arduous task like shattering the Mist Province cauldron. He did encounter a Gong Yuan, who did have some interest in him, but it was for exactly that reason that he could not do as he pleased. When he remembered the Shadow palace and the night roamers, he became a little excited.

    ¡°Palace master Ye, I¡¯ve come to uphold my promise.¡±

    ¡°Why do you seem like you¡¯ve come to visit a brothel instead?¡± Ye Weiyang¡¯s face was hidden behind a black veil, only revealing her eyes that studied Li Qingshan. The battle of the demon cavern had left her with far too deep of an impression, which made her struggle to connect his current appearance to back then.

    ¡°Then I want the best your Shadow palace has to offer!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud.

    ¡°Hehe, coming up!¡± With a flash, Ye Weiyang disappeared into the sea of trees.

    Li Qingshan followed close behind. A beautiful figure traversed through the jungle right before his eyes, which he struggled to grasp the aura of. He was basically unable to unfurl his wings and fly at full strength either in the dark, complicated terrain of the forest. Whenever he approached her, she would immediately widen the distance between them again. Ye Weiyang was not travelling in a straight line either. She darted about as if she was mocking him.

    Li Qingshan simply gave up on chasing her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t want the best anymore?¡± Ye Weiyang smiled.

    ¡°If I can¡¯t even see the appearance of the best, it¡¯s fine even if I don¡¯t get the best, just in case I get deceived.¡±

    Li Qingshan answered with a smile, but his eyes remained clear. After everything he had gone through over the decades, he was no longer the country bumpkin who had just emerged from the tiny mountain hamlet and viewed Gu Yanying as a stunning immortal, falling in love with her at first sight. His main reason for visiting the Shadow palace was not to satiate his lust, but to settle a few matters for good.

    Ye Weiyang suddenly stopped and parted the foliage. She said, ¡°Please!¡±

    A city constructed among the colossal trees unfurled before Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, hundreds and thousands of times larger than the Cobweb city he had once seen in the past.

    Thousands of luminous pearls gave off a gentle silvery glow, the tree shade blended together, and the thick mist bobbed up and down under the trees. It seemed gloomy, yet also glorious. Countless night roamers strolled around there. It was not like a harsh training base for assassins like he previously imagined. Instead, hints of art and craftsmanship were present everywhere.

    However, the many sentry posts hidden in the dark could not evade Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. As it seemed, the night roamers did not drop their guard because of their territory in Towering city. They maintain their almost-instinctive vigilance.

    However, he encountered no obstacles along the way under the Shadow Queen¡¯s lead, reaching the very centre of the Shadow palace. He saw the three sisters, Ye Liusu, Ye Liubo, and Ye Liuxing, very soon. He learnt they were doing quite well in the Shadow palace. After all, with their cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation, they could be regarded as close to the upper echelon in any organization across the nine provinces. Even if there were some disputes and schemes, it would struggle to affect them directly.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    On the other hand, the Shadow palace had inherited a rich and complete cultivation system from the ancient divine kingdom, which was of great assistance to them. They spent most of their time throughout the two decades on cultivation.

    Ye Liusu was the most talented, and she received Ye Weiyang¡¯s special attention, so she was offered the greatest support. She had made the most progress too, so there was a very good chance that she would succeed the position of Shadow Queen. However, the one who worked the hardest was not her or Ye Liuxing, but Ye Liubo who had always been the laziest and had always possessed the worst talent. Her bearing changed drastically as a result, seeming as if she had become a completely different person.

    Li Qingshan nodded in delight. Having travelled together, at least he had not let down his friendship with them to be able to send them to a place like this. Unfortunately, that was all he could do too.

    ¡­¡­

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    The sound of knocking echoed through the dark room. Li Qingshan opened his eyes and was about to sit up among a pair of beautiful arms, but they embraced him firmly.

    ¡°Take me with you!¡± Ye Liubo said.

    Li Qingshan kissed her forehead gently and stroked her belly. ¡°Take good care of our child.¡±

    ¡°Will there really be one?¡± Ye Liubo was rather lost.

    Updated from novelhall[.]com

    ¡°There¡¯ll definitely be one this time. I guarantee that to you!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The flames of the phoenix guaranteed he had already planted that speck of life in her. He had no idea what kind of fruit it would bear, but he was destined to be incapable of being a good father.

    ¡°The banquet is beginning.¡± Ye Weiyang urged him from outside the door.

    Li Qingshan had sensed it already too. Hundreds of kilometers away, tremendous auras converged in Towering city.

    It was not just the Green province. The stage called the nine provinces was already ready. As a result, he strode through the door, without ever looking back.

    ps£º ºÃÏûÏ¢£¬¸Ð¾õÑÛ¾¦ºÃ¶àÁË£¬¶ø¶ÔÓÚÇàÖÝµÄ?½Ú£¬Ò²ÓÐÁË¸ü¶à¸üÏ¸ÖÂµÄ¿¼ÂÇ£¬²»¹ýÒ»µ½??¼üÐÔµÄ?½Ú£¬×ÜÓÐÒ»ÖÖ²»¸ÒÇáÒ×ÏÂÊÖµÄ¸Ð¾õ¡£

    PS: Good news, my eyes feel much better. As for the plot regarding the Green province, I have many more thoughts that are much more detailed. Though, I just feel like I can¡¯t set my pen to paper so easily over some crucial parts.

 Chapter 971 Congratulations From the Kings

    Basically all the daemon and otherfolk kings across the Mist province had hurried over, gathering in Towering city to congratulate the Great Banyan Tree King on becoming the god of the Mist province. As such, the aura they gave off naturally formed a tremendous pressure. The existences that had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation could not even approach the place.

    However, despite being the host, the Great Banyan Tree King never appeared. Some of the guests gathered in threes and twos and conversed with one another, while some would sit in a corner alone, away from everyone else.

    It had to be mentioned that the Daemon Kings in human form resembled humans much more than the otherfolk kings. However, that was only in terms of appearance. Their primitive, wild aura was unconcealable. When they were happy, they beamed in high spirits, but when they were irritated, they ground their teeth and glared away. They were so loud that they were audible from several hundred kilometers away.

    Even human cultivators did not get along with everyone, let alone these daemons and otherfolk of various species and races. Murderousness would erupt between them from time to time. If this had not been Towering city, they might have fought quite a few times already.

    The only ¡°human¡±, Xiao An, was the ¡°person¡± at the centre of attention.

    She looked down as she sat on a banyan leaf that resembled a small boat. She clutched a string of scattered Skull Prayer Beads in her left hand as she formed a buddhist seal with her right, chanting the scriptures softly.

    The little phoenix perched on her shoulder obediently as if he was paying close attention to her chants.

    Both of them possessed transcendent beauty, which produced a quiet and serene atmosphere. Even the non-human otherfolk could sense it clearly. They did not come forward to disturb them unless they had to, but it became the topic of many conversations instead.

    ¡°Why¡¯s there a human here?¡±

    A thin man who seemed to be completely forged out of bronze frowned. He came from one of the seven divine races, the Metal Essence folk. They possessed indestructible bodies, but it also made them perfect materials for forging weapons. Countless Metal Essence folk had died in the furnaces of humans, so he possessed a deep hatred of them.

    ¡°Is that a phoenix? It really is as beautiful as they say!¡± a woman said in admiration.

    Her voice was very pleasant, and she was quite small in size. Her head was covered in fine, verdant-green feathers, clearly an avian Daemon King.

    The little phoenix was not paying attention to the chanting at all. When he heard the praise, he could not help but raise his head proudly. Right when he was about to cry out a few times, Xiao An glanced at him mildly, and he immediately held back, lowering his head in dejection.

    Xiao An understood the stubbornness of the little phoenix very well. If she let him do as he pleased, he would definitely stir up trouble. During the past few days, she had plucked plenty of feathers from the little phoenix through various reasons, so he did become a lot more obedient.

    However, while she did not want trouble, trouble came to her.

    ¡°I am the Silver Snake Prince. May I ask for your esteemed name, miss?¡±

    A pretty, pale-faced, and feminine scholar arrived on the same branch as Xiao An with a flash before bowing. His words and actions were elegant, but he was clearly drooling over her.

    ¡°Fuck¡¯s it got to do with you?¡± The little phoenix raised his head, demonstrating the fruits of Li Qingshan¡¯s fantastic education once again.

    The Silver Snake Prince was taken aback. He had never expected this bird that resembled a phoenix to be so crude when he spoke. The Silver Snake Prince smiled. ¡°How bold. A mere Daemon Commander dares to sit above us all. That¡¯s far too disrespectful. Get down here!¡± He extended his hand towards the little phoenix. His arm extended and flexed, looping around Xiao An¡¯s shoulder in the process.

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    ¡°What are you waiting for? Give him a beating,¡± Xiao An stopped chanting and said.

    ¡°Alrighty!¡± The little phoenix was overjoyed. He spread his wings and let out a cry before rushing towards the Silver Snake Prince.

    The Silver Snake Prince was alarmed. He never expected a Daemon Commander to possess such strength and such startling speed. He had been pushed off the branch before he could even respond.

    The Daemon Kings happened to be bored from the waiting, so they immediately cheered when they saw this.

    But to their surprise, while the little phoenix did suffer in the beginning because of his lack of battle experience, he shrugged off any wounds he suffered like they were nothing. Instead, it roused his enthusiasm for battle, becoming more and more vicious as he fought. A while later, the Silver Snake Prince actually began to lose the upper hand.

    The little phoenix turned into a streak of light and flew about everywhere using his advantage of speed, smacking the Silver Snake Prince in the face with his wings. He cursed as he beat him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep biting off more than you can chew? Huh?¡±

    The cheering from the Daemon Kings grew louder and louder. The sounds of mockery rose and fell.

    The Silver Snake Prince became furious from the humiliation. Killing intent shone in his eyes, and with a flip, he turned into a huge, silver snake that was six hundred meters long. He opened his gaping mouth and lunged towards the little phoenix.

    The little phoenix let out a cry and suddenly expanded in the wind. His wings reached a hundred meters across.

    He was much smaller than the silver snake, but he radiated with light that could overwhelm everything. With a gentle flap of his wings, he arrived above the silver snake, and his claws pierced the silver scales with ease, grabbing him by the spine and lifting him high into the air.

    The huge snake squirmed violently, but he could not break free. Blood poured down like rain as he was overwhelmed with an instinctive sense of fear, limiting his strength. When regular daemons reverted to their original forms, that would be when they were the strongest, but transforming had not helped him at all. He was severely overwhelmed as soon as he transformed.

    It was as if they had returned to the primordial times when a divine bird went hunting. Even with a major realm of cultivation between them, the little phoenix could still dominate.

    The little phoenix¡¯s elegant eyes stared at the silver snake in his claws coldly. He pecked towards the top of the snake¡¯s head viciously with his sharp beak.

    Everyone could tell that if the peck landed, the silver snake¡¯s head would definitely be pecked in. Even if he managed to survive, he would be half-dead. Originally, they had treated this as a show, but before they knew it, it had suddenly turned into a struggle to the death. They all called out, ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°This is Towering city!¡±

    Once his murderousness was roused, the little phoenix no longer cared about anything else.

    At this moment, a voice rang out, ¡°Damned brat, get over here!¡±

    The little phoenix blinked his eyes and tossed aside the silver snake in his claws, turning around and flying towards the forest. His figure rapidly shrank, turning back into a little boy and throwing himself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. He grumbled, ¡°First father, where did you go? Why didn¡¯t you bring me with you?¡±

    ¡°I went to make a little brother for you.¡± Li Qingshan sniggered.

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    ¡°But I prefer a little sister!¡± The little phoenix widened his eyes.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He never expected him to possess such lofty aspirations at such a young age. He patted his head and said mysteriously, ¡°Then that¡¯ll be up to how lucky you are.¡±

    ¡°You ought to work a little harder in the Shadow palace.¡± Ye Weiyang smiled. Compared to that Ghost Shadow, she was much more interested in Li Qingshan¡¯s bloodline.

    ¡°Let¡¯s forget about that.¡±

    Only a small number of the Daemon Kings and otherfolk kings here had seen Li Qingshan before, so they were all surprised by this sight. The divine bird, the phoenix, actually had a human for a father. How did that make sense? And the human had clearly only undergone the second heavenly tribulation, yet he joked around with the Shadow Queen as an equal. How unbelievable.

    ¡°Fellow Ye, who is he?¡± the Metal Essence Folk King asked with a frown. He lived in the mountains to the north-west, so he did not recognize Li Qingshan.

    ¡°The King of S- Oh no, that¡¯s wrong. He¡¯s the White Hawk commander, Li Qingshan!¡± Ye Weiyang introduced.

    ¡°A Hawkwolf guard!¡±

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Li Qingshan immediately felt pressured. Apart from the Giant Lumberman King and the ones he had seen when he first came, the other Daemon Kings and otherfolk kings all expressed scorn and hostility. In a few short days, the entire world had already learnt about how the leader of the Hawkwolf Guard, the Hawk God, had come to declare war against the Great Banyan Tree King. As such, that made them a hundred times more despicable than any normal human.

    ¡°What¡¯re you on about? Who¡¯s the White Hawk commander? Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯ve been promoted?¡±

    Li Qingshan shot a glance at Ye Weiyang, but he was accustomed to something like this. Compared to the encirclement of the seven Demon Kings in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, this truly was nothing.

    ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re a lackey of the government. Have you come to Towering city to die?¡± the Metal Essence Folk King said coldly.

    ¡°Who might you be?¡± Li Qingshan then asked.

    ¡°The Metal Essence Folk King, Tong Gang!¡±

    ¡°Heh, death by running out of essence!¡± Li Qingshan began his mockery. The little phoenix paid close attention.

    TL: Li Qingshan used a pun here. In Chinese, the Metal Essence Folk King is pronounced as j¨©nj¨©ngr¨¦nw¨¢ng, while death by running out of essence is j¨©ngj¨¬nr¨¦nw¨¢ng. There¡¯s very little difference verbally, but clearly it makes all the difference in the world once translated.

    The Metal Essence Folk King cut right to the chase, throwing a punch towards Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. He gave no warning, only possessing rigid killing intent. When he saw how Li Qingshan did not budge at all, he even thought he could not react in time, so he became even more scornful inside.

    With a thunk, a wave of air rushed out and turned into a fierce wind that reached hundreds of kilometers away.

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    Li Qingshan¡¯s chest did not cave in as expected. Instead, the Metal Essence Folk King¡¯s arm produced the sound of twisting metal. Li Qingshan smiled as he stood right there without moving.

    The otherfolk kings and Daemon Kings all widened their eyes. They could all recognise exactly what was happening. The Metal Essence Folk King¡¯s punch did not contain his full strength, but he was not intentionally holding back either. Even tough Daemon Kings could not receive it forcefully. To achieve this effect, not only did he have to possess a powerful defence, but it also required overwhelming strength too. However, the strangest part of this all was that Li Qingshan¡¯s aura did not even fluctuate.

    Only Ye Weiyang noticed that the skin on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest had darkened slightly. It was his newest innate ability of the Ox Demon Transformation, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide!

    Not only did the Ox Demon Forges its Hide possess stunning defence, but it was also connected to another innate ability of the ox demon, the Strength of the Earth. Neither of them required the support of daemon qi. It had already replaced the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell as his greatest defensive ability.

    The Metal Essence Folk King immediately calmed down. He thought, Since this lackey of the government is so cocky, I¡¯ll have you witness the power of the Metal Essence folk.

    Immediately, his fist turned into a drill. He pushed down as hard as he could as it spiralled away furiously. Golden light erupted!

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and felt his skin sting. If he let him drill a few more times, his defences really might crumble. As it seemed, the Ox Demon Forges its Hide did not make him indestructible. If he continued to stand there without budging, he would be biting off more than he could chew.

    As a result, he casually grabbed the drill. Among the sparks, the drill head came to a forceful halt, twisting in his hand.

    Actually, unbeknownst to Li Qingshan, Metal Essence folk regularly searched for precious metals underground. The drill was their special technique that they refined from a young age. The Metal Essence Folk King was already terrified enough by the fact that he could not actually drill through his skin. In a regular battle, clashes all occurred in a single instant, so why would he ever have the opportunity to take his time and drill him?

    ¡°Here, I¡¯ll repay your punch,¡± Li Qingshan swung his fist and said with ease.

    A sliver of shock appeared in the Metal Essence Folk King¡¯s eyes. The punch did not fluctuate with any aura either, but it felt like it could crumble mountains and crack the earth.

    ¡°Enough, Qingshan. Stop joking around.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out from Towering city.

    ¡°Do you have to be so on time?¡± Li Qingshan shook his head, but he knew that the Great Banyan Tree King had chosen this exact moment to appear so that Li Qingshan could introduce himself through his own strength. He could demonstrate to the Daemon Kings and otherfolk kings that had not seen him before that the name ¡°Li Qingshan¡± was not a joke.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s fist fell down. He patted the Metal Essence Folk King on the shoulder. ¡°You owe me a punch.¡±

    ¡°Any time!¡±

    At this moment, numerous doors opened, and the Great Banyan Tree King and madam Vine walked out together. Everyone became stunned.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. ¡°Woah!¡±

 Chapter 972 A Grand Banquet

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s full beard had fallen away, revealing his true appearance. He was not as old as they imagined him to be. He only seemed to be in his forties. His long, inky-green hair that was originally entangled with his beard had been combed back neatly, possessing natural curls. His long eyebrows were straight and slanted, which made him seem extremely graceful and handsome. Even though he had some wrinkles, it only added to his mature charm.

    ¡°Why have you all fallen silent?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King asked with a smile.

    At the same time, he subconsciously reached out to stroke his beard. Only when he touched nothing did he realise that his beard was already gone.

    His voice was still grand and sombre, but the feeling he gave off was completely different. Li Qingshan burst out laughing. He was nowhere near close to the wise old man according to his impressions. He was clearly a handsome man in his middle ages. If it were not for his mild and deep eyes, he basically would have suspected he was someone else altogether.

    Only now did all the kings respond. They all bowed and congratulated him. The chaotic auras immediately converged around the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Only now did Li Qingshan truly sense that this was a colossal group composed of daemons and otherfolk, and they were becoming much closer and more united as the Great Banyan Tree King became the god of the Mist province.

    ¡°Tree king, who¡¯re they?¡±

    The Silver Snake King looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s group from the corner of his eyes. He was still badly shaken when he recalled what had happened moments earlier. After becoming a Daemon King, it had already been many years since he felt the horror of being on the brink of death.

    ¡°I am indebted to my friend Qingshan¡¯s kindness.¡±

    ¡£

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s reply was simple, but it left the kings extremely stunned. Every single one of them here had received the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s graces. The Great Banyan Tree King had only ever shown kindness to others, so how could he be indebted to Li Qingshan¡¯s kindness?

    ¡°If the tree king is indebted to you, then I¡¯m indebted to you. You can have your punch whenever you want. I¡¯ll never fight back!¡± the Metal Essence Folk King said.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. It was just a joke.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°So I was the one who had insulted an esteemed guest! Please forgive me, fellow!¡± The Silver Snake Prince immediately clasped his hands and apologised.

    Before Xiao An could even reply, madam Vine suddenly arrived before her with a flash, shoving a glistening fruit into her hands. ¡°Thank you for saving my life.¡± Then she returned to the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s side with a flash, but she maintained a certain distance from him the entire time, no longer clinging onto him so closely like before.

    More kindness? A saviour!?

    Under countless surprised gazes, Xiao An nodded. ¡°I am not worthy, but it would be disrespectful to decline.¡±

    At this moment, a streak of silver light pierced through the air, and the Silver Dragon King sailed over, hovering above the sea of trees. The King of Southern Yue drifted down with a group of great cultivators under his lead to congratulate the Great Banyan Tree King. After a short greeting, he turned to Li Qingshan. ¡°I heard you would be heading up north to the Dragon province, fellow. I¡¯ve come today both to give my congratulations, as well as to see you off!¡±

    The surroundings fell silent. Just what had Li Qingshan done to deserve such good graces from both the Great Banyan Tree King and the King of Southern Yue? Only Ye Weiyang and Ye Duanhai who had personally witnessed that battle understood he completely deserved such respect.

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    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, your majesty.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and said, ¡°You don¡¯t want me to go back to the Green province, do you?¡±

    The Green province and the Mist province were still in a state of war. With how friendly the King of Southern Yue was towards him, who knew how the King of Chu¡¯s estate would respond. However, just like how he could not beat up those who expressed good will towards him, he could not blame him for being too polite either. Speaking of which, he never had any plans of becoming involved in the war between the two provinces in the first place, so the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s thoughts no longer mattered to him.

    ¡°It would be best if you could stay in the Mist province. The position of honoured guest awaits you at all times,¡± the King of Southern Yue said kindly.

    ¡°How flattering!¡± Li Qingshan was slightly sarcastic.

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± The King of Southern Yue smiled, turning a deaf ear to the sarcasm completely. The others were all stumped for words. They did not think of this at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, so let¡¯s begin, everyone!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King raised his arm.

    As a result, Li Qingshan set foot in Towering city beside the two kings who stood at the apex of the Mist province. However, his cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation left people rather puzzled.

    During the banquet, the King of Southern Yue suddenly pointed at a black speck on the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately realised what was going on. That was originally the ¡°weak points¡± on the Mist Province cauldron created by the demon caverns. As it seemed, becoming the god of the Mist province came with a relative price too.

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    The Great Banyan Tree King gave a slight explanation, and the King of Southern Yue immediately expressed his stance. ¡°I will clean up the demon caverns for you, fellow.¡±

    How could the Daemon Kings and otherfolk kings just sit by? They all responded, swearing they would chase the demonfolk out of the Mist province.

    Only madam Vine snorted and turned her head away, showing no respect to the Great Banyan Tree King. The atmosphere became rather awkward.

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. This banquet was not just a celebration. It was also for the sake of uniting everyone¡¯s powers so that he could completely suppress the demon plague. Li Qingshan raised his cup in a toast. ¡°May the two of you clean up the demons and bring peace back to the Mist province.¡±

    The greatest banquet in the history of the Mist province only lasted for half a day. The King of Southern Yue bade farewell and took his leave, and the Daemon Kings and otherfolk kings rushed off too. Towering city fell quiet once more.

    The sun set in the west. A spear of red light filtered through the canopy and leaves. Li Qingshan stood up, about to bid farewell.

    ¡°Looks like we both still have a very long path ahead of us!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said as he passed a Fruit of Wisdom that shimmered with a rainbow glow to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°This one seems to be different from the last.¡±

    ¡°This fruit is merged with the fragments that I¡¯ve discarded from the Mist Province cauldron. It has quite an effect,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s tasty or not.¡± The little phoenix eyed the Fruit of Wisdom.

    ¡°You have your innate legacy. You have no need for my petty smarts.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King patted his head.

    Li Qingshan accepted it carefully. A Fruit of Wisdom like that was enough to change a cultivator¡¯s entire fate. He looked at Xiao An beside him. ¡°Do you want it?¡±

    ¡°I heard that the Fruit of Wisdom can only be consumed once. I want to wait until senior becomes the god of the nine provinces so that you can condense another one for me to taste.¡±

    ¡°Alright. If a day like that ever arrives, I¡¯ll definitely offer it up happily.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°If the opportunity arises, I¡¯ll collect the other cauldrons for you!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands.

    ¡°Just go with the flow. No need to be so insistent.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King nodded. Originally, this was a feat that even the Ten Daemon Kings and the governors of provinces could not achieve, but the Great Banyan Tree King believed that as long as Li Qingshan continued to go with the flow and grow, there would be a day when he could collect the cauldrons with ease, including the Dragon Province cauldron.

    Back then, when he unexpectedly encountered Li Qingshan, he never imagined it would be such a great fortune for him.

    ¡°I have something else to ask of you. You know Ru Xin, so please take care of her for me,¡± said Li Qingshan.

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    ¡°You¡¯re one step too late. She¡¯s already left the territory of the Mist province yesterday. She¡¯s gone back to the Green province,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°What!¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. He specially chose not to bid farewell to Ru Xin because he wanted her to peacefully cultivate in the south. He never expected her to beat him to it.

    ¡°I just happen to have a request too. My madam wishes to go to the Green province with you to take a look, so please take good care of her!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King raised his hand with a smile, pointing at madam Vine beside him.

    ¡°Who¡¯s your madam? Why would I need anyone¡¯s care? Sigh, how did you know I would be leaving?¡±

 Chapter 973 Green Province, Iâ€™m Back

    ¡°If I couldn¡¯t even tell that, then the five thousand years really would have been all for nothing.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°So what if you can tell? Am I supposed to die once I leave you?¡± Madam Vine sneered.

    ¡°This is my fault. You should have gone out for a stroll a long time ago. You¡¯ll discover that the world is so vast that it¡¯s nothing like five thousand years ago. I just happen to be the first tree you encountered.¡±

    ¡°No, it was fate!¡±

    ¡°Destiny? I¡¯m confident that almost no one across the nine provinces can rival me when it comes to divination, but even I find fate to be unpredictable and ungraspable¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fate!¡± Madam Vine said stubbornly, ¡°It¡¯s fate for you to want to kill me, and it¡¯s also fate that I want to leave. I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s care. I will walk my own path!¡±

    As she said that, Towering city shook violently, and a great rumble rang out from below. The sun vines wrapped around the great banyan tree curled and coiled together, turning into a curvy streak of golden light in the end that entered madam Vine¡¯s body. The sun vine flower on her head suddenly shone with resplendent light like a sun before slowly closing up and vanishing.

    Plant daemons were not always incapable of movement. However, it was much more beneficial to cultivation if they remained in one place. After becoming a daemon, sun vines could still thrive even without continuing as parasites. It just came at a cost.

    After completing the conversion of her form, madam Vine said resentfully, ¡°Go be your god of the nine provinces, you damned old man!¡± With that, she shot off into the north as a streak of golden light.

    The Great Banyan Tree King gazed into the distance. Only when madam Vine vanished into the horizon completely did he shut his eyes slowly.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth, but he had no idea what to say. He patted the Great Banyan Tree King on the shoulder. It made sense. It was already rare enough that he did not face any retribution after betraying her with such determination, so why would he be forgiven? The Great Banyan Tree King had truly changed his appearance for nothing.

    ¡°Please take good care of her.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King returned to his senses and sighed slightly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Li Qingshan felt like the Great Banyan Tree King and madam Vine¡¯s positions had switched. On top of that, madam Vine was powerful even among Daemon Kings, so why would she need anyone to care for her? He really was caring too much.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late. You should set off soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Farewell,¡± and spread his phoenix wings, flying off into the north under the glow of the setting sun. Xiao An and the little phoenix followed right behind him.

    Along the way, Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°You guessed wrong this time. Sure enough, she hasn¡¯t forgiven him!¡±

    ¡°Do you think he said ¡®just go with the flow, no need to be so insistent¡¯ to you?¡± Xiao An gazed into the distant north.

    ¡°You mean¡­¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    ¡°If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, then madam Vine has travelled up north this time probably to find an opportunity to steal the Green Province cauldron.¡± Xiao An looked back and smiled.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s still trying to stop the tree king from becoming a god?¡± Li Qingshan said in surprise. That seemed to be the only logical explanation, but it also seemed a little strange.

    ¡°Since the tree king has already taken this step, he can¡¯t turn back anymore, so how can she stop him?¡± Xiao An shook her head.

    ¡°You mean she¡¯s doing it to help him?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ impossible!¡±

    Li Qingshan found this simply unbelievable. Originally, he thought madam Vine was the staunchest objector to the Great Banyan Tree King becoming a god. How had she suddenly become a supporter after suffering a life-threatening strike from a sword? She was even going as far as to risk great danger to steal the Green Province cauldron.

    ¡°Because she still believes that this is fate!¡± Xiao An¡¯s voice became distant.

    ¡°Heh, what fate? I think she¡¯s just been blinded by lies,¡± Li Qingshan retorted with a snicker.

    ¡°That too!¡±

    They travelled north until they arrived at the boundary between the two provinces.

    Li Qingshan said quietly, ¡°Green province, I¡¯m back!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The mountain range wrapped around a small city. The top of the city walls were firmly engraved with the words ¡°Qingyang City¡±, except it had already become weathered. It seemed rather bleak under the illumination of the setting sun.

    A locust landed on the word ¡°City¡±. The setting sun dyed its unfeeling compound eyes red. It rested there for a while before flapping its wings and flying away again, merging with the swarm of insects in the sky.

    ¡°Sir, we better go. If we still don¡¯t go, we¡¯re not going to make it!¡± The sounds of frantic footsteps filled the district magistrate¡¯s office. The advisor¡¯s calls made everyone shiver.

    ¡°What¡¯re you panicking for? It¡¯s just some insects. Are they supposed to eat us?¡±

    A plump figure turned around under the high-hanging plaque, staring at the advisor. He was dressed in a large, red set of official¡¯s robes. He was the district magistrate of Qingyang, Ye Duanchuan. His beard was grizzled, and his face was covered in wrinkles, already quite old. However, through all the years he spent as an official, he had developed an air of prestige around him. He was no longer in a horrible position like when he first took office.

    ¡°Sir, please stop showing off. These locusts really do eat people! Ouch!¡±

    A locust flew down from the sky full of insects outside and landed on the advisor¡¯s neck. He let out a yelp and tried to catch it in a hurry, but it crawled onto his face.

    Slap! Ye Dachuan swung his chubby hand and smacked the advisor across the face before patting him on the shoulder and wiping his hand on him in the process. ¡°You fool! How could I have not made any arrangements?¡±

    At this moment, a bell rang out somewhere in the city. Ye Duanhai beamed with joy and wrapped his face with a black cloth he had prepared already. He ordered loudly, ¡°Go to the back and invite the madam and young miss over here. Forget about what you can¡¯t carry! Set off immediately!¡±

    Several kilometers away, in the Iron Fist school.

    The Iron Lion, Liu Hong, pulled back his fist. He left a clear imprint on the great bell before him.

    His beard was completely grey by now. Although he was already up in years, he only seemed even more energetic and hearty now. His first disciple, Wang Lei, said from behind him, ¡°Your martial arts has improved yet again, master!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all just because of the spiritual fruits from your junior brother!¡± Liu Hong shook his head and glanced at his fist. The innate realm truly was profound, but unfortunately, this was as far as he could go.

    ¡°Junior brother is an important figure of the Clear River city. It¡¯s said that even our main school master has to pay respects to him when he sees him. Everything has been arranged already. Once we reach Clear River city, you can enjoy the rest of your years in peace, master.¡±

    ¡°I still have a few years in me. Given the situation of the world, who can still live in peace?¡±

    Just like Wang Lei had said, a great group of men and horses were waiting outside. Every single one of them wrapped their faces with cloth. The eyes of the horses were covered too. Even the ears of the horses were plugged in, just in case the locusts tried to crawl in.

    When Liu Hong emerged from the Iron Fist school, the group fell silent. Against Wang Lei¡¯s objections, Liu Hong rode at the very front, and they slowly made their way towards the gates of the city. They stopped outside the government office for a moment, and Ye Duanhai joined them with his family and guards, which made the group even larger. They advanced with difficulty through the swarms of locusts.

    Liu Hong looked around, but all he encountered was a black mass of locusts. Even the lush mountains in the surroundings had become barren, let alone the fields and gardens. They had all become the locust¡¯s food. The city¡¯s famine had already lasted for quite some time. When he passed by an alleyway, they saw a few feral dogs tearing away at a starved corpse. He had already witnessed something like this far too many times.

    Suddenly, he began to miss the times of the past. Even when there were many dangers from the jianghu and many life-threatening battles, it was not as miserable as right now.

    The group¡¯s advance through the city created a stir. The families of the wealthy that had lasted until now in the famine all joined them with their most precious belongings. Even if their stockpile of food could still last them for a very long time, their minds would give way first.

    This was not a regular locust plague. The rumors that the locusts ate people had already become widespread before the first locust had even arrived. No one knew when these herbivorous insects would become the man-eating monsters of the legends.

    On top of that, many people said they recently saw a colossal locust that specially hunted people at night. Their fear became even more firmly entrenched as a result.

    Everyone believed they would only be truly safe if they reached Clear River city, and Liu Hong and Ye Dachuan¡¯s choice gave them the confidence in this.

    ¡°Master, what do we do?¡± Wang Lei caught up with Liu Hong and asked with furrowed brows.

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    ¡°We¡¯re all from the same hometown, so let them follow us. Your junior brother will make arrangements!¡± Liu Hong said.

    The people that could follow the group still formed a minority after all. The common people who had almost been starved to death and only had a pair of legs would never be able to keep up. However, this would provide them with an opportunity. They could last a little longer through the food left behind by the fleeing families.

    The colossal group passed through the city gates and set off for the distant Clear River city.

    Abruptly, Liu Hong sensed a threat. He looked back at the sky, but he was unable to make out anything.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s get to Downstream town as quickly as possible!¡±

    Unbeknownst to Liu Hong, there was a locust within the swarms staring at him. At first glance, this locust did not seem too different from the regular locusts, but it did not gorge itself everywhere like its fellow insects. Instead, it hovered in the air silently, watching the entire Qingyang city from above. Faint daemon qi wrapped around it.

    Actually, given how remote Qingyang city was and how it stood in the outlying ranges of the Boundless mountains, it had not become one of the Soaring Locust King¡¯s targets. The locust plague had reached here much later too.

    In the locust plague of Qingyang city, it was this one feeble clone that controlled the entire swarm. Their objective was only to lay enough eggs, providing fresh troops for the entire locust plague. At the same time, they caused great famines and destroyed the fresh troops for the humans.

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    When it came to strength alone, this clone was not even Liu Hong¡¯s opponent as an innate master. Even dealing with school master Wang Lei would be enough of a struggle.

    Clones of Billions was an extremely terrifying innate ability, but it came with many prerequisites. On top of that, a tremendous advantage in numbers guaranteed very little quality for each individual. If it was like Li Qingshan¡¯s Watermirror¡¯s Image where each clone possessed thirty percent of the original body¡¯s strength, then the Soaring Locust King would have become invincible a long time ago. Why would he still hide his original body?

    After the group had travelled far away from the city, the locust that was wrapped in faint daemon qi suddenly swelled up, expanding to the size of a calf and swooping down. Down below, there was a group of people trying to break down a door in an attempt to access the food stores left behind by a rich household. A fierce gale of wind struck them, and everyone looked back, crying out in fright, ¡°The huge locust!¡±

    The huge locust swooped down through the crowd before rising into the air again. Its six legs carried a small, thin human whose cries rang through the entire sky. With a bite of his sharp mandible, the cries immediately vanished, replaced by the crackling sounds of chewing. Even the bones were chewed up and swallowed. By the time it had finished eating, the huge locust grew bigger yet again.

    The ¡°Soaring Locust King¡± had found a small delight yet again. He gazed at the group that was traveling away and thought viciously, Not every single one of my clones is so feeble!

 Chapter 974 Nymph Daemon

    The group crossed through mountains, but there was not a single speck of green in sight. The buzzing of the locusts could be heard everywhere. Coupled with the fear from the uncertainty of what was up ahead, everyone felt restless. There would be frequent bickers, and some would even draw their weapons at one another.

    Liu Hong could not ride at the front anymore. He spurred his horse and wandered through the group, using his imposing aura as an innate master to control everyone. They arrived before a narrow valley.

    Suddenly, Liu Hong tightened the reins and waved his hand, making everyone stop. He called out, ¡°Who¡¯s the friend up ahead? Stop lurking around! Come out and show yourself!¡±

    Though his innate true qi, his voice echoed through the valley.

    ¡°Haha, I was wondering who it was. So it¡¯s the Iron Lion. Do you still recognise me?¡±

    A burly man climbed onto a boulder and gazed down at the group below. His face was sallow like he was sick, but his eyes shone brightly. He held a huge bow in his hand. Many figures shuffled about and appeared on the two sides of the valley, all holding bows and arrows.

    ¡°Huang Binghu!¡± Liu Hong¡¯s eyes narrowed. Although the only reason why he managed to become an innate master was because of the spiritual fruits, he could still tell that Huang Binghu had reached the seventh layer of Qi Practitioner. He had opened up a sea of qi in his dantian. He had already surpassed the realm of masters of the jianghu and become a true Qi Practitioner.

    He clasped his hands and said, ¡°Village chief Huang, it really has been quite some time. I heard you¡¯ve been wandering the lands. I was not aware that you¡¯ve returned to the mountains and picked up a role like this again.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve made a fool of myself before school master Liu. Currently, daemons are running amok. The mountains aren¡¯t exactly a safe paradise either, so all we can do is seek refuge in Clear River city, except we¡¯re running a little low on food. We have no other choice.¡±

    Huang Binghu sighed. The locust plague primarily spread through populated regions, so it did not reach deep into the mountains. Drawn Reins village thrived on hunting, not farming, so they had it relatively easy in the beginning. However, in recent years, the daemons hidden in the depths of the Boundless mountains gradually began to expand their range of activity.

    A few months ago, incidents of a daemonic beast breaking into the village began occurring. The tall, wooden walls could stop armies, but it could not keep out a daemonic beast that moved like the wind. Lives were lost before long. The daemonic beast basically treated Drawn Reins village as a lamb pen, where it could pop by and feast whenever it wanted to.

    Drawn Reins village was forced to recall Huang Binghu. After a tremendous effort, he finally shot the daemonic beast to death, but Drawn Reins village had lost almost a hundred people in the process. However, if that had been a daemon and not a daemonic beast, everyone would have perished. Huang Binghu was forced to migrate with the entire village, but Drawn Reins village did not have a particularly large reserve of grain, which led to this situation.

    Huang Binghu could kill a first layer Qi Practitioner with ease, but Liu Hong was rather troublesome. He was not afraid of the Iron Fist School, but this old man had a fantastic disciple, the current leader of the school of Agriculture, Li Long.

    ¡°School master Liu, you should leave here first with the disciples of your Iron Fist school! I don¡¯t really want to do something like this, but I can¡¯t just watch the children starve,¡± Huang Binghu said. The people at the back of the group fell into a panic. Some of them begged loudly for Liu Hong to protect them, while others broke into curses at Huang Binghu.

    With a swish, an arrow out of the blue shot over, and a person who was cursing away fell to the ground. The crowd immediately fell into an uproar. ¡°Murder!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you howling for? Shut your mouths!¡± Liu Hong roared furiously.

    Through the imposing prestige he had built up over the years in Qingyang city, the group immediately settled down. He did not sympathise with the person who had just died at all. Do you really think a mighty Qi Practitioner is someone that the likes of you can insult? Even a second-rate or third-rate figure of the jianghu would have picked up their blade and killed you for something like that.

    ¡°Old brother Huang, why don¡¯t we travel to Clear River city together? I¡¯ll deal with the issue of food. The journey will be a little safer too.¡±

    Liu Hong thought quickly. The disciples of the Iron Fist school did not emerge from thin air. Many of them had connections with the wealthy families at the back. If he simply allowed Huang Binghu to rob them, their morale would immediately crumble, but if he refused to relent, Huang Binghu was not an easy opponent either. If he decided to be ruthless, he would spare none of them, just in case it led to any future trouble. By then, no one present would be able to stop him.

    ¡°Master, we don¡¯t have a lot of food on us either,¡± Wang Lei said softly.

    ¡°Collect everyone¡¯s food and allocate it again! If they refuse, they can piss off!¡± Liu Hong called out.

    ¡°Thank you, old school master Liu.¡± Huang Binghu clasped his hands, and the hunters of Drawn Reins village climbed down from the two sides of the valley. Then he ordered, ¡°Take out our food as well for old school master Liu to allocate.¡±

    The hunters all handed over food such as dried jerky in silence. Every single one of them were neutral in expression, but they seemed like they could erupt with violence and malice at any moment. The misery over the past few months oppressed and twisted their minds. Let alone stealing food, they were even willing to commit cannibalism.

    Even the disciples of the Iron Fist school who collected the food approached them with utmost caution, let alone the others. None of them were bold enough to leave the group, handing over the food on them obediently.

    The group set off again and crossed a few more mountains before finally leaving the mountain range. The expansive plains unfolded before them, but there was not a single plant in sight. It was only an endless wasteland. Perhaps because it was far too barren, but there were not a lot of locusts flying around. The group advanced in silence. The towns and villages they encountered along the way were all abandoned, without the slightest sign of human activity.

    Liu Hong rode at the front. The group travelled through both day and night, hurrying towards Downstream town.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ll rest for fifteen minutes!¡± Liu Hong ordered.

    It was currently noon. The proud sun shone like fire. Every single person poured with sweat and was utterly exhausted, using the opportunity to rest.

    ¡°Downstream town is close. Once we¡¯re there, we can ride down along the river until we reach the prefectural city of Clear River. We won¡¯t have to walk anymore!¡± Wang Lei announced loudly to raise everyone¡¯s morale.

    ¡°Looks like old school master Liu has already prepared a boat. I wonder if it can fit us all?¡± Huang Binghu asked to probe him out. Even the largest dragon boat could not fit so many people.

    ¡°My disciple arranged it all. I don¡¯t know whether we can fit everyone either. It might be a squeeze.¡± Liu Hong mulled over his words.

    ¡°As long as there¡¯s a boat, a squeeze is fine.¡± Huang Binghu smiled. It was not like he could be squeezed off anyway. Right when he wanted to ask a little more, his face suddenly changed, and he picked up the huge bow from his back. He picked up a feathered arrow and nocked it, looking around.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Liu Hong asked.

    ¡°There¡¯s daemon qi!¡± Huang Binghu looked around carefully. Suddenly, he saw a green figure emerge from the soil from the corner of his eye, darting into a large man¡¯s body. The large man howled out and rolled around on the ground before immediately bleeding from all of his orifices and dying.

    Huang Binghu¡¯s finger loosened, and the arrow shot through the air, piercing the man¡¯s body and exploding violently.

    Within the air filled with flesh and blood, the green figure pounced up again, producing a splash of blood from a disciple of the Iron Fist school¡¯s head and leaving behind a hole. The disciple fell to the ground before he could even cry out.

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    ¡°A nymph daemon!¡±

    Only now did Huang Binghu make out the green figure¡¯s true identity. It was the nymph of a locust, completely verdant-green in colour. It was only the size of a little finger, and it did not possess the ability to fly yet. Normally, it was referred to as a nymph. However, the nymph¡¯s daemon qi was extremely startling, reaching the level of daemons. Who knew how many people it had eaten already.

    He thought, It¡¯s so barren here that even regular locusts cannot survive, so why would there be a nymph daemon? It doesn¡¯t seem like a coincidence! It seems like it¡¯s specially come to intercept us!

    Liu Hong could not even make out the nymph daemon. Howls constantly rang out around him, and towards the end, basically everyone screamed in horror as if an invisible demon had grabbed their souls. Even he felt rather frantic inside. Only when he reached into his clothes and felt the talismans hidden inside did he calm down a little.

    He asked Huang Binghu beside him, ¡°Old brother Huang, what do we do?¡±

    Huang Binghu leapt up and arrived at the highest point possible. His pupils had narrowed until they were only two specks, staring at the daemon qi¡¯s location. Over a dozen rapid fire arrows rained down like a storm, turning into exploding balls of fire and blowing up a corpse to pieces.

    Liu Hong asked, ¡°How is it? Did you kill it?¡±

    ¡°It dove back into the earth. I might have harmed it, I might have not.¡±

    Huang Binghu shook his head. He was extremely stern. The nymph daemon actually seemed to read his mind, burrowing into the soil immediately and not pouncing towards the next victim. Otherwise, he really would have had an opportunity to kill it. It also maintained its tiny size as if it did it specially for him.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do,¡± said Huang Binghu. No matter how great his marksmanship was, he could not pierce the soil and hit the nymph daemon.

    Liu Hong¡¯s face changed. A daemonic beast lurking in the soil that could strike at any time was basically a nightmare.

    ¡°Looks like we don¡¯t have to worry about the boat being too small now.¡±

    Huang Binghu cracked a joke, but even he could not laugh anymore. In terms of strength, the nymph daemon was equivalent to a human Qi Practitioner of the fourth or fifth layer at most. It could only be regarded as a daemonic beast, not a daemon.

    However, he had absolutely no chance of defeating it, as behind the nymph daemon was a great Daemon King who had thrown the entire Green province into turmoil. Within his madness and violence was great craftiness and vigilance. There were no regular daemonic beasts that could rival his battle strategy and experience.

    He could keep it at bay at most, so the nymph daemon only ate the regular people in the distance for now.

    ¡°Set off!¡± Liu Hong was decisive too, immediately issuing an order.

    However, before he had even finished his words, another cry rang out. A person at the end of the group collapsed with a green bump moving about under his skin, but it did not kill him immediately, intentionally increasing his pain. The cries were tragic, making everyone shiver.

    The crowd immediately surged forward violently. The twisted sounds of crying and yelling filled the air, full of fear and regret. They regretted leaving Qingyang city in such a hurry, but little did they know that the current Qingyang city had already become the huge locust¡¯s slaughterhouse as it rapidly evolved into a daemonic beast.

    Huang Binghu had nocked an arrow, but with further thought, he lowered his bow again and gathered the hunters of Drawn Reins village, hurrying off towards Downstream town. He could continue obstructing the nymph daemon from feeding, but he would definitely be the first to give way. As such, he was better off letting the nymph daemon eat for a bit, which would earn him some time.

    However, he also understood that this was only a temporary measure of relief, as the nymph daemon would grow stronger with each person eaten. If it completely metamorphosed, then even he would be in danger of being eaten.

    ¡°Old brother Liu, hopefully this school leader Li has prepared someone to receive us, or we¡¯re all going to die in the mouths of the insects!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just dying.¡± Liu Hong¡¯s face darkened.

    ¡°Save me, school master Liu, village chief Huang!¡± Liu Hong looked back and saw a group of people trying to steal Ye Dachuan¡¯s carriage. As a result, he rode back and crushed a head with a punch. ¡°All of you piss off!¡±

    They hurried off, and the group separated into two. Those without horses and martial arts all fell behind, becoming the nymph daemon¡¯s food. The miserable cries gradually grew distant before the wind eventually swallowed them completely.

    They travelled like this until dusk. Even the fine steed that Liu Hong rode began to foam at its mouth. Even with their martial arts, the disciples of the Iron Fist school and the hunters of Drawn Reins village were utterly exhausted, forced to stop, rest, and eat some food.

    ¡°Thank you, old hero Liu. Once we arrive in Clear River city, I¡¯ll definitely thank you in another way! If I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have left Qingyang city. I shouldn¡¯t have returned to Qingyang city. Back then when Jiaping city was destroyed, I should have just chosen to retire in the prefectural city!¡±

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    Only now did Ye Dachuan finally find the time to disembark and thank him. His chubby face was pale, completely devoid of blood.

    When Jiaping city had been destroyed at the hands of the rock demon, he had nowhere to go as a vice district magistrate. He deeply feared the power of daemons, so he made his younger sister do some convincing with prefect Liu Changqing. In the end, he was transferred back to Qingyang city as the district magistrate. He never thought the daemons would still end up coming for him.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, sir!¡± Liu Hong nodded. Wang Lei patted himself on the chest. ¡°As long as I¡¯m still breathing, I¡¯ll definitely protect you until Clear River city, sir!¡±

    Ye Dachuan¡¯s younger sister was a beloved consort of the prefect Liu Changqing. Although her beauty had already declined with her age, she gave birth to a son and a daughter for Liu Changqing, which only consolidated her status. Ye Dachuan had mentioned this so many times across the years that Wang Lei could not forget about it even if he tried to. He knew that his relationship with Li Long was not amicable, so preparing another option for himself was always a good idea.

    ¡°Thank you, school master Wang!¡± Ye Dachuan thanked Wang Lei as well, but he did not really trust his guarantee. Once the nymph daemon came for them, even protecting himself would be difficult for this school master Wang, let alone protecting him. He suddenly thought of a person. ¡°Sigh, if Qingshan was here, we wouldn¡¯t be in such horrible shape!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much, sir Ye. Do you still think he¡¯s your sheriff?¡± Huang Binghu smiled. If Li Qingshan were present, the measly nymph daemon would be nothing.

    ¡°I heard from Li Long that he¡¯s currently the White Hawk commander of the South Sea commandery in the Mist province. He¡¯s occupied a place called Savage mountain and is known as the King of Savages. Even the King of Southern Yue has to show him some respect when he sees him,¡± said Liu Hong.

    ¡°Really?¡± Huang Binghu was in disbelief. Only after setting foot on the path of cultivation could he truly sense how insurmountable of an existence a provincial governor was.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really believe it when I heard it too, but that disciple of mine never lies. I even punched him a few dozen times!¡±

    ¡°Time sure flies!¡± Ye Dachuan lamented.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking about Li Qingshan?¡± A sharp voice drifted over with the wind.

    ¡°Who else could it be?¡± Ye Dachuan said, only to see Huang Binghu¡¯s face change drastically. At the same time, Liu Hong raised his fists, gazing at the barren hill nearby cautiously.

    The sun had already sunken beneath the horizon by now, only leaving behind a red glow in the west. A few cold stars lit up in the sky. A withered tree on the barren hill extended its branches like a huge, withered hand trying to grab one of the stars.

    A tiny nymph perched on the branch of the tree. The sharp voice had come from its mandibles.

    I actually only noticed it after it had gotten so close! Things aren¡¯t looking good! Huang Binghu could clearly see that the nymph daemon had gained a smear of greyish-yellow. It was rapidly metamorphosing. Once it completely metamorphosed, all of them would die.

    ¡°What a coincidence. I¡¯ve known him for quite some time now too. It was all thanks to him that I managed to escape from the Demon Suppression hall. It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s gone to the Mist province, or I¡¯d definitely thank him properly.¡±

 Chapter 975 Pursuit

    A great Daemon King like this who wreaked havoc in the Green province and ate countless people was actually connected to Li Qingshan!

    Liu Hong and Huang Binghu exchanged glances, both in a state of disbelief.

    ¡°We all go back several decades with Qingshan. Just spare us as a way to thank him!¡± Ye Dachuan called out.

    ¡°Of course. The friends of a friend are my friends. If you had told me earlier, why would I have tried to eat you?¡± The nymph daemon flapped its wings and glided down from the withered tree branch, vanishing into the barren plains.

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Ye Duchuan collapsed on his bottom, and the others all eased up. They were all filled with the delight of surviving.

    ¡°Old brother Huang, what do you think?¡± Liu Hong furrowed his brows. He felt like the nymph had left far too easily.

    ¡°That¡¯s difficult to say. Once we¡¯re done resting, let¡¯s get back to travelling!¡± Huang Binghu was reluctant to wager the lives of his entire village on a daemon¡¯s loyalty to friends.

    ¡°I think so too.¡± Liu Hong nodded before immediately ordering to set off.

    ¡°School master Liu, the daemon has already retreated, so why must we be in such a hurry?¡± ¡°If we keep going like this, even the horses won¡¯t be able to stand it.¡±

    Some of them refused to keep going. After hurrying around for an entire afternoon, even the horses that they rode were utterly exhausted. Now that they relaxed, they found the earth of the summer night as comfortable as a soft bed.

    ¡°You can stay if you want to!¡± Liu Hong tossed that behind coldly and mounted his horse. He had been using true qi to regulate his horse the entire time, so his horse preserved much of its strength. Now, it had taken off once again, travelling off into the dust.

    Everyone could only prop themselves up and follow along. Having lost the threat of death, some of them refused to move or could not move any longer, so they stayed behind. They considered whether to return to Qingyang city or not. On the other hand, because the hunters of Drawn Reins village regularly moved through the mountains and were under the care of Huang Binghu, a seventh layer Qi Practitioner, they still held on.

    ¡°Old village chief, I really can¡¯t keep walking anymore. Don¡¯t wait for me!¡± said a boy around twelve or thirteen years old to Huang Binghu. He had only started practising martial arts recently, so his inner force was still extremely weak. He had developed quite a sturdy body, but even he could not withstand a rapid march like this.

    ¡°Get moving!¡± Huang Binghu patted the boy on the back and injected him with true qi. The boy immediately roused with energy again. ¡°Thank you, village chief!¡±

    The curtain of night draped down, and stars filled the sky above the barren plains. The group advanced with difficulty, and people would fall behind every now and then. They rested a few more times during the process. The nymph daemon did not come for them again as if it had really spared them.

    ¡°Old brother Huang, should we slow down a little?¡± Liu Hong asked. Even many disciples of the Iron Fist school were struggling to keep up. He did not have that much true qi to take care of them.

    ¡°Keep going. Something feels off.¡± Huang Binghu looked back into the deep darkness. The ominous feeling grew heavier and heavier.

    Over five kilometers away, a carriage collapsed on the side of the road in shambles with a horse foaming at the mouth, taking its last gasps. Two people argued.

    The woman scolded the man loudly, ¡°I said we shouldn¡¯t have left Qingyang city. Now we¡¯ve ended up like this. What are we supposed to do now?¡±

    ¡°What to do! What to do! All you know is to ask what to do!¡± The man was in a very bad mood too. The food in their possession was nowhere near enough for a return trip to Qingyang city. Even if they butchered the horse, the meat would spoil very quickly in summer. If they continued towards Downstream town, Liu Hong and the others probably would have ridden away on the boat a long time ago by the time they made it. Why would they wait for them?

    ¡°I was blind to have married a piece of trash like you!¡±

    ¡°Even a piece of trash has its uses.¡± A sharp voice complained for the man. The man felt like the voice had rang out right by his ears.

    Through the gentle moonlight, the woman saw a tiny nymph sitting on the man¡¯s shoulder, opening its mouth and letting out a sharp cry.

    The nymph flapped its wings, and a wisp of air rushed out. The woman¡¯s screams came to a halt, and a bloody gash appeared on her neck. Her head fell to the ground.

    ¡°S- spare me! I¡¯m also Li Qingshan¡¯s friend! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± the man said with a trembling voice. He felt hot and clammy all over.

    ¡°Save it. I know you¡¯re not, so I¡¯ll give you a quick one.¡±

    The nymph daemon rapidly swelled up, turning into the size of a horse carriage. Its compound eyes shone with a verdant light as its vicious mandibles opened up, swallowing half of the man in a single gulp. He began chewing away. ¡°Delicious! Delicious! No matter what I eat, it''s more delicious than those demonfolk!¡± As he swallowed the man bit by bit, the nymph gradually turned into a locust.

    In Qingyang city, the buzzing of the huge locust rang through the entire place. A terrifying shadow patrolled every single street and alleyway, constantly hunting prey. Its daemon qi grew.

    Late at night, the huge locust abandoned all of these ¡°prey¡± reluctantly and sealed off the two city gates before flying towards Downstream town.

    After hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s name, it had made up its mind. All of these people had to die!

    ¡­¡­

    Around dawn, the group arrived at Downstream town. The town that had once prospered in the past because of its port had been completely abandoned. Ruined structures were everywhere.

    ¡°We¡¯re finally here.¡±

    Wang Lei let out a sigh of relief and looked around. Only around ten or twenty percent of the people they had left Qingyang city with remained. They were all rather heavy-hearted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t stop. The port is up ahead. We¡¯ll be safe once we board the boat!¡± Liu Hong called out loudly to raise morale.

    A strange buzzing rang out in the distance. A yellow speck rapidly expanded and grew larger. A huge locust that surged with daemon qi flew over.

    ¡°Dammit! Go!¡± Huang Binghu cursed and leapt onto the roof of a restaurant on the side of the road, shooting an arrow.

    The locust shifted itself with ease and dodged the arrow. It said with a hoarse voice, ¡°My good friends, don¡¯t run! Let me taste your flesh.¡±

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The bowstring vibrated again and again as Huang Binghu shot arrow after arrow, using his special technique, the rapid fire arrows.

    ¡°Too slow! Too slow!¡± The colossal locust flew in arcs, dodging every single arrow gracefully. It did not slow down at all. Even if it was unable to dodge, it easily swept aside the arrows with its front legs.

    Huang Binghu¡¯s face sank slightly. After an entire night of travelling and constantly injecting his fellow villagers with true qi, his condition was very bad. He did not stand a chance against the locust daemon that was at peak condition. He had to take a risk if he wanted to win.

    The fierce wind rushed into his face, and the sharp mandibles opened up, biting towards his head.

    A gleam of light flashed through Huang Binghu¡¯s eyes. He had been waiting for this opportunity. He immediately brought the bow to a full draw, and the arrow became coiled with rings of true qi. He was about to shoot.

    ¡°Be careful of behind you! There¡¯s another one!¡± Liu Hong¡¯s voice rang out, warning him loudly.

    All of Huang Binghu¡¯s hairs stood on end as a cluster of daemon qi emerged from behind him. It was already too late for him to dodge. He felt a piercing pain in his back, and a thumb-sized locust emerged from his chest, even leaving some smears of verdant-green on him. It was the locust daemon that had gone after them.

    There¡¯s actually two! I¡¯m done for!

    However, the huge locust at the front did not bite down. Instead, it swerved away and brushed past him. Blood splattered, and an arm was thrown high into the air. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry. Good friends have to take their time and savour the taste!¡±

    With a thud, Huang Binghu fell down from the rooftop, only to see the huge locust lunge towards the crowd again. Its buzzing wings were like blades. Over a dozen people fled on the streets, but they were suddenly sliced to pieces, which included both hunters from Drawn Reins village and disciples of the Iron Fist school.

    It¡¯s over! Huang Binghu shut his eyes in despair. Against enemies like that, just one of them made victory extremely difficult, let alone two.

    The locust lunged over, and Liu Hong knew that he could not escape. He pushed aside Wang Lei and assumed a horse stance, gaining his footing. He stuck a Strength Talisman of the Guardian Kings on himself, and golden light poured out of his body, assuming the form of a guardian king. With a violet bellow, he struck out with both fists, unleashing a ¡°Split Mane of the Iron Horse¡± at the locust.

    With a thunk, the miniature locust that had metamorphosed from the nymph daemon and resembled a hidden weapon slammed into Liu Hong¡¯s chest heavily. The figure of the guardian king immediately caved in, and the golden light flickered and dim. Liu Hong was thrown off his feet, launched backwards.

    Meanwhile, the huge locust used its front legs to pierce Liu Hong¡¯s shoulders with ease, completely incapacitating him.

    The combination between the two locusts was absolutely flawless. It could not be described as mutual understanding anymore. Under the control of a great Daemon King, even those stronger than them might not necessarily be able to emerge victoriously.

    Just like what they did with Huang Binghu, the locusts did not kill Liu Hong immediately. The miniature locust continued to slaughter the fleeing mortals as the giant locust arrived high in the air, looking around with its compound eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s the other good friend?¡±

    Ye Dachuan sped off towards Downstream port on the horse carriage. He would look back from time to time, but when he saw Huang Binghu and Liu Hong¡¯s fate, he was frightened out of his wits. He swung the horsewhip desperately. ¡°Giddy up! Giddy up!¡±

    ¡°I found it!¡±

    With a flap of its wings, the locust produced a great gust of wind and suddenly appeared beside Ye Dachuan, travelling alongside the carriage. He stared at him with his compound eyes. ¡°My good friend, I haven¡¯t even thanked you properly yet!¡±

    ¡°T- that won¡¯t be necessary!¡± Ye Dachuan stuttered.

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide!¡±

    The locust smiled viciously. It was about to capture Ye Dachuan and bring him to Huang Binghu and Liu Hong so that it could properly torture them. Suddenly, a streak of sword qi whistled over. The locust dodged in a hurry, but one of its feelers was still cut off, slamming into a house on the side of the road. The house collapsed, filling the air with dust.

    All Ye Dachuan saw was a man in scarlet with a huge sword in hand gently kick off the shaft of the carriage and shoot past his eyes with a flash, swinging his sword at the collapsed house.

    With a swish, the miniature locust shot towards the man¡¯s head. The man¡¯s sword sank and sliced towards the side, forcing back the miniature locust.

    With a boom, the rubble exploded, and the giant locust suddenly rushed out, biting towards the man in scarlet with its sharp mandibles. The man launched a palm strike. He wore a fiery-red glove on his non-sword-wielding hand. With a flash of scarlet glyphs, a burning hand of fire immediately appeared, sending the locust flying.

    A Scarlet Wolf guard! A tenth layer Qi Practitioner!

    Huang Binghu beamed with joy inside. He leapt up from the ground and picked up his severed arm, holding it in his mouth. He clutched an arrow shining with spiritual qi and rushed over.

    The Scarlet Wolf commander had already reached the peak of Qi Practitioners, having opened all of his meridians. With his palm strike and sword, he overwhelmed the two locusts. He had Huang Binghu¡¯s assistance too, so the locusts were forced to retreat, fleeing off in two different directions in the end.

    ¡°Hehe, another good friend. Come and kill me!¡±

    The Scarlet Wolf commander wanted to go after them, but when he saw the ground covered with corpses, he stopped himself. No matter which locust he went after, he might end up succeeding, but everyone here would have to die in the process.

    ¡°Thank you for saving us, fellow!¡± Huang Binghu said. Wang Lei supported Liu Hong and gathered over, thanking him too.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yu Shukuang. I¡¯ve come to support old school master Liu under school leader Li¡¯s request. I didn¡¯t expect there to be clones of the locust king in such a barren place!¡±

 Chapter 976 Locust Plague

    ¡°Are you perhaps the lord of the Proud Sword manor of the past? I¡¯ve heard very much about you!¡±

    Liu Hong was surprised. Back then, the Proud Sword manor had quite the renown even in the jianghu, but it was rumored that their manor lord had vanished, and the Proud Sword manor declined as a result. He never expected the manor lord to become such a powerful Qi Practitioner.

    ¡°That¡¯s all from many years ago. I didn¡¯t think someone would still remember it!¡± Yu Shukuang laughed aloud, and his full beard trembled in the process. ¡°Please hold on for a moment. We can¡¯t leave these corpses for that wretched daemon!¡±

    He swung his right hand about, and true qi surged out, gathering the corpses into a pile. The people who had still been alive a moment earlier had ended up in such horrible shape. The sight was so bloody that even Liu Hong felt a little nauseous.

    A ball of fire flew out from Yu Shukuang¡¯s hand, landing on the pile of corpses and reducing it to ashes in the blink of an eye.

    Wang Lei suddenly burst into tears. As they were seeking shelter in Clear River city, he had brought his family along with him too. They had lasted until now after so much difficulty under his care, only to all die to the flying locust¡¯s attacks. If Liu Hong had not pushed him aside, he would have been dead too.

    Liu Hong let out a long sigh. He could not help but shed tears too.

    Yu Shukuang had grown accustomed to these sights a long time ago. Ever since the locust plague began, who knew how many people had died in the mouths of the insects. It was already quite rare to have corpses remaining that could be cremated.

    ¡°This place was reduced to a barren land a year ago. You can¡¯t even really find regular locusts here, yet two locust daemons have appeared. How strange!¡±

    ¡°The wretched daemon seems to know Li Qingshan¡­¡± Huang Binghu hesitated before describing his conversation with the nymph daemon.

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    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Yu Shukuang was taken aback. The entire reason why he could embark on a path of cultivation was closely connected to Li Qingshan. He said seriously, ¡°I do know a little about this matter. The Soaring Locust King was originally suppressed in the Demon Suppression hall of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Afterwards, he enchanted an eminent monk and escaped somehow, though I haven¡¯t heard anything about this being connected to Li Qingshan. But given the current situation, probably nothing good happened between them, which is troublesome.¡±

    Huang Binghu¡¯s face sank. Given the locust daemon¡¯s growth rate, it alone was basically sufficient to deal with them, yet he still called another locust daemon over, only demonstrating his determination. He had not been in a hurry to kill them either, keeping them around to torture slowly instead. Their grievances ran deep no matter how he looked at this. Being remembered by a Daemon King was not a great feeling.

    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that and board the boat first!¡±

    Yu Shukuang led the survivors to the port. Sure enough, there was a dragon boat waiting there, enough to carry two to three hundred people, but there was less than a tenth of the capacity boarding the boat now.

    The sun rose in the east, and the dragon boat sailed down along the current.

    Yu Shukuang stood on the deck as he leaned on his blade. His scarlet clothes buffeted in the wind, and the scenery on the two banks rapidly pulled backwards.

    ¡°Fellow Yu, may I ask if there¡¯s anyone else who¡¯s come to receive us?¡± Huang Binghu made his way out of the cabin. His severed arm was already reconnected.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I enough?¡± Yu Shukuang smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant,¡± Huang Binghu said in a hurry.

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    ¡°I¡¯m joking. There¡¯s no need to be so nervous. I¡¯m currently considering whether we need further support or not. In order to deal with the locust plague, there are no cultivators idling around right now. They¡¯re only caught up in more troublesome business if their cultivations are higher. Otherwise, school leader Li would not have asked me to come. He would have come to receive you himself.¡±

    ¡°I understand that, but if the Soaring Locust King sends even stronger locusts, this entire boat of people will be at risk of perishing!¡±

    Yu Shukuang nodded and touched the scarlet bronze tablet on his waist, secretly making his decision. He asked, ¡°Is your arm alright?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem anymore, but I probably can¡¯t use the bow for a very long time. Hopefully that doesn¡¯t become the rest of my life.¡±

    ¡°Once we arrive at the prefectural city, you can ask a disciple of the school of Medicine to take a look. That¡¯ll prevent any lingering side-effects!¡±

    The boat sailed like the wind, travelling hundreds of kilometers in a day. When they passed by Jiaqing city, Ye Dachuan came out and took a look before hiding in the cabin again.

    When the moon reached its zenith, the fragrance of flowers drifted over with the wind. Yu Shukuang gathered his focus and clasped his hands. ¡°Greetings, commander Hua!¡±

    ¡°Spare the formalities.¡± A beautiful figure landed softly on the nose of the boat. She opened her vermillion lips and asked, ¡°You said the Soaring Locust King attacked you because you all know Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Even Yu Shukuang felt like he was pushing it a little with that reason. He never expected commander Hua to immediately rush over to support them.

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    In the cabin, Huang Binghu and Liu Hong had been sitting on the edge of their seats the entire time. They immediately rushed over when they heard the disturbance, only to see Yu Shukuang reporting politely to a woman. The faint fragrance of flowers in the air did not disperse even under the wind.

    The woman was picturesque in appearance with a graceful body and an elegant bearing, just like a flower immortal. However, she also had a dignified and imposing aura about her. She also happened to be dressed in the uniform of a Scarlet Hawk commander.

    The woman glanced over, and Huang Binghu and Liu Hong both lowered their heads to greet her. They both felt at ease now, feeling like their lives were finally safe. She asked, ¡°You all come from Qingyang city and know Li Qingshan?¡±

    Liu Hong and Huang Binghu told her how they knew Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Then what a coincidence today.¡± The woman smiled elegantly. Suddenly, she gazed off into the depths of the night, and a golden flower bloomed between her fingers, suddenly producing a thin streak of golden light that vanished with a flash.

    A regular-sized locust flew in the air, tailing behind the dragon boat from afar. It was too far away, so even Yu Shukuang failed to sense it, but exactly because of that reason, it only saw this to be a measly dragon boat. As such, it neglected the arrival of commander Hua in the process. It suddenly saw a flash of golden light, which pierced it before it could even respond. It fell out of the air.

    Only now did Yu Shukuang and the others learn they had been tailed the entire time, which shook them up. He rejoiced over the fact that he had called for reinforcements as soon as possible, or once stronger locusts attacks, they really would be done for.

    ¡°Now let¡¯s see how deep the Soaring Locust King¡¯s hatred is!¡± Commander Hua said.

    The Soaring Locust King had many clones, but there was only a small number that could threaten her. On top of that, he constantly lost clones everywhere, so he might not necessarily mobilise a powerful force for the sake of his grievances.

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    Flowing with the river, her feelings fluctuated a little. She gazed at the bright moon and muttered, ¡°Big brother Li, are you still well?¡±

    They did not encounter any more danger for the next part of the journey. The dragon boat successfully approached the prefectural city of Clear River.

    Everyone arrived on the deck. The glorious shine of the city under the night sky reflected in the Clear river as the noisy sounds of activity drifted over with the night breeze, giving off a sense of liveliness they had not seen in a very long time. It finally was not a barren landscape anymore, which exhilarated everyone.

    Before Yu Shukuang and the others could even celebrate, commander Hua suddenly looked back, only to see a black cloud rise up on the horizon. That was a swarm composed of millions of locusts, with countless daemon-qi-possessing clones of the Soaring Locust King in the mix. They approached the dragon boat like they could devour everything in their path, swarming towards the prefectural city!

    This was the true locust plague. Before a crisis that seemed to be capable of destroying the world, Yu Shukuang and the others all became shocked.

    Warning bells rang out in the prefectural city as drums thumped against everyone¡¯s hearts!

    ¡°Hmm? What heavy daemon qi up ahead!¡±

    Over fifty kilometers away, Li Qingshan stood on a cloud and shielded his eyes as he watched.

 Chapter 977 Ru Xinâ€™s New Plague

    After arriving in the Green province, Li Qingshan did not proceed to the Clear River prefecture immediately. Instead, he searched for Ru Xin¡¯s whereabouts first, planning to persuade her to return to the south. He even got Xiao An to divine for this.

    When he found Ru Xin after quite some effort, she was strolling through an abandoned village with her hands behind her back, thinking about something. She ignored Li Qingshan as he descended from above.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing here?¡± Only when Li Qingshan called out to her did she turn around and say, ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you cultivating in the south? Why have you come back to the Green province?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said, what¡¯s it got to do with you?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t wish to see me go?¡± Li Qingshan grinned and approached her.

    ¡°I knew it. Someone is having an excessively high opinion of themselves again.¡± Ru Xin shook her head helplessly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. The Green province isn¡¯t a good place right now, not to mention your dwelling in the Chain mountains can¡¯t even compare to the Myriad Poison cult. It¡¯s not beneficial to your cultivation at all. I¡¯d say you best return to the Mist province!¡± Li Qingshan cut right to the chase.

    ¡°Then why have you returned to the Green province?¡± Ru Xin answered with a question.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know? Obviously because I have some matters I need to resolve!¡±

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    ¡°I¡¯m the same. My master is still in the Clear River prefecture!¡±

    Ru Xin thought of the quiet, dark-skinned old man. If it were not for him, she would have died in the jungles of the Mist province a long time ago. Although they did not seem particularly close in the eyes of others, it was no exaggeration to describe them like father and daughter. He had given her several decades of guidance and her very name, Ru Xin, was the greatest expectation he had placed on her.

    However, she was unable to let go of her hatred, so she still went down south to the Mist province stubbornly. However, the result was reasonably fine. Now that she had settled this, it was time for her to pay him back, so she returned to the Green province resolutely. As for whether Li Qingshan played a factor in this, only she herself knew the answer to this question best.

    ¡°That dark old man!¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback, earning himself a vicious glance from Ru Xin, so he corrected himself with a smile. ¡°Senior Hua Ci! I really have been having too high of an opinion of myself! I don¡¯t have to worry then.¡±

    ¡°Feel free to stop worrying for the rest of your life,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you returned to the Clear River prefecture? Why¡¯re you idling around here?¡± Li Qingshan then asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m currently considering how to deal with this locust plague.¡±

    ¡°What can you do about him? That¡¯s the Soaring Locust King. Even several thousand years ago, he already became one of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings. Even I can¡¯t say I can deal with him.¡±

    ¡°The Soaring Locust King is just the source of the locust plague. Even if you kill him right now, the locust plague will last for a very long time.¡±

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    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan did not believe that. As long as the Soaring Locust King was dead, only regular locusts would remain. What threat could they pose?

    ¡°Look.¡± Ru Xin waved her hand, and a strip of soil flew up from the ground. She tossed it towards Li Qingshan casually. ¡°This is a cluster of locust eggs. There¡¯s several dozen eggs inside. Just the tiny area under my feet has two or three thousands of these clusters.¡±

    Li QIngshan crushed the cluster of eggs in his hand and made some estimates, which left him stunned. This tiny area could actually produce a hundred thousand locusts. If the entire Green province was taken into perspective, that would be an astronomical number.

    ¡°I investigated all the way here. The situation is the same everywhere. Probably even this is a part of the Soaring Locust King¡¯s plan. As long as he continues to hide and doesn¡¯t get found, the locust plague will continue. All of the cultivators in the Green province can only rush around and stamp out trouble everywhere, and that¡¯ll definitely result in assaults from the Soaring Locust King¡¯s clones. Even if you ignore that, the population of mortals is rapidly falling. The entire cultivation community of the Green province will be in decline.¡±

    ¡°No wonder he would be suppressed under the Demon Suppression hall!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. He was basically a superterrorist, taking on the entire cultivation community of the Green province alone. If his methods were not so insane, Li Qingshan might have even admired this Soaring Locust King.

    ¡°I might be powerless against the Soaring Locust King, but I do have some confidence in dealing with the ordinary locusts and the weaker clones. Without these lackeys, we¡¯ll be able to contain the locust plague.¡± Ru Xin¡¯s eyes flashed with confidence.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to use a plague again?¡± Li Qingshan guessed immediately.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Ru Xin collected the egg clusters as she moved along, picking through them carefully according to some unknown standard.

    ¡°Locusts can fall ill too?¡± Li Qingshan kept up with her.

    ¡°Of all the living creatures in the world, which of them don¡¯t fall ill?¡±

    ¡°Cultivators don¡¯t fall ill.¡±

    ¡°All states of harm are illnesses. You just haven¡¯t realised they¡¯re illnesses. When you¡¯re not careful while cultivating, not only will you fail to lengthen your lifespan, but you might even go insane or blow up on the spot. That¡¯s more harmful than any illness.¡± Ru Xin gently poked Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. ¡°For example, there¡¯s also inner demons. That¡¯s a form of mental illness!¡±

    ¡°That does make sense if you put it like that.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her hand. It was as gentle and soft as jade.

    ¡°What else do you think those imperial physicians of the imperial hospital are trying to treat? Common colds? Infertility? Though, you do need to treat infertility. After all, cultivators struggle to give birth to children. Anyway, what you¡¯re trying to treat are cultivators that don¡¯t fall ill.¡± Ru Xin allowed him to hold her hand, walking leisurely beside him.

    ¡°Alright then. You want to treat the Soaring Locust King¡¯s illness right now and save the entire Green province, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°At least your brain still works a little,¡± Ru Xin said in praise.

    ¡°You¡¯re an otherfolk, yet you¡¯ve travelled thousands of kilometers to the Green province to do good for others without any self-regard, saving the lives of humans. What kind of mental illness is that?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Have you ever heard of the benevolence of doctors?¡±

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    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°What kind of reward do you think the King of Chu would give me if I create this plague?¡± Ru Xin smiled resplendently, revealing her pearly-white teeth.

    ¡°I think there¡¯s going to be quite a lot of rewards on offer!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He could not help but admire her cleverness. ¡°Then you better hurry up, just in case someone beats you to it.¡±

    ¡°Regular disciples of the school of Medicine won¡¯t spend their efforts on this.¡±

    Ru Xin was not worried at all. The fundamentals of the school of Medicine was about curing illnesses, not creating plagues. Even the ¡°plague ghost¡± was technically a method of treatment when viewed from the fundamentals. Killing and harming enemies was secondary, so they would never go out of their way to create plagues.

    The effects of a plague were terrifying, but plagues were actually of very little use. Ru Xin would have never devoted so much time and energy into this aspect if it were not for her grievances, and in normal combat, anything was stronger than using plagues. On top of that, she only managed to create a proper disease after several decades of research, together with a great cultivator¡¯s assistance and after undergoing the second heavenly tribulation. In the end, it was only enough to deal with enemies on par with Qi Practitioners.

    If it were not for these unique circumstances where downright killing the enemy was impossible, why would she do something so unnecessary? She had actually only applied her plagues practically once. Dealing with the locust plague could only be considered as a second time at most, and she was still in a planning stage.

 Chapter 978 All of Li Qingshanâ€™s Friends Must Die!

    ¡°If there¡¯s anything I can help you with, just mention it!¡± Li Qingshan patted his chest before adding, ¡°This isn¡¯t for you. I have grievances with the Soaring Locust King. I¡¯ve returned to the Green province because I¡¯d like to finish him off if the opportunity ever arises.¡±

    ¡°Just stay away from me,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°Stop joking,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I¡¯m not joking. Don¡¯t you have grievances with the Soaring Locust King? If he sees this¡­¡± Ru Xin lifted up Li Qingshan¡¯s hand to show him. ¡°... who knows what might happen.¡±

    ¡°Fine then!¡± Li Qingshan let go of Ru Xin¡¯s hand. With her cultivation method and cultivation, she basically would not be in any danger unless the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body came for her. He passed a jade tablet to her. ¡°If you encounter any dangers, just let me know, and I¡¯ll be there. May your insecticide be completed soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands in farewell, but he felt rather reluctant to leave inside. Gazing at her face, he suddenly thought of her bare figure in the dark jungle of the Mist province. He shook his head and dismissed this thought, giving her a gentle hug, except she felt as tough as jade when he touched her. ¡°You sure are disrespectful. Alright, take your time with your research. I¡¯m going.¡±

    Li Qingshan took off into the sky and returned to Xiao An and the little phoenix¡¯s side, who were waiting in the distance. Ru Xin eased up slightly before pursing her lips. ¡°Insecticide? That¡¯s not a bad name!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An arrived in the Chain mountains. Gazing over, the barren mountains rose and fell. Only the relatively colder peaks preserved specks of verdant green. When they thought about everything they saw on their way here, the locust plague seemed to be even more terrifying than the demon plague of the Mist province.

    ¡°Father, it¡¯s all barren here. Is there anything fun?¡±

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    The little phoenix¡¯s desire to fly had basically been satisfied after travelling over ten thousand kilometers. He was in a hurry to find something interesting to do.

    ¡°There is nothing fun here, but this is your father¡¯s home.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged glances, both with tender feelings in their eyes. This was the first place they had settled down in after leaving Crouching Ox village.

    ¡°This mountain range? It¡¯s far too ordinary.¡±

    The little phoenix had witnessed the grand sight of Fire Melt mountain and the glorious scenery of Towering city, so he had already become very difficult to impress. Even if the locust plague had not touched Chain mountains, it was no better than any regular mountain range.

    ¡°Not this mountain range. The mountain there!¡±

    Li Qingshan flew over and landed on the side of a lone mountain, on a cliff that jutted out. He brushed his hand against the wall gently, and the dust dispersed, revealing the three words ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home¡±.

    Opening the entrance, the little phoenix rushed into the dwelling and quickly flew around, illuminating the dark cavern with the light that he gave off. He called out, ¡°Father, your home is so small!¡±

    ¡°Small? The place where I used to live isn¡¯t even one-thousandth of this size! I only got a dwelling like this after who knows how many hardships. You¡¯ve spent so much time outside, but I still haven¡¯t really taught you anything yet, so you might as well properly enjoy this place first, just in case you end up as an ingrate!¡± Li Qingshan said with some exasperation.

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    The little phoenix was far too lucky. Not only did he possess the powerful bloodline of the phoenix, but he was even born with the strength of a Daemon Commander. When he was on Fire Melt mountain, he was under the care of the divine wutong tree, and when he came out, he had Li Qingshan to watch his back. His life so far had been so smooth that there had not been even the slightest setback. It was not a good thing if he continued like this. He would rather not change his name to Tianyi some day.

    TL: I think Li Qingshan is referring to Li Tianyi, which you can read more about here.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t, father! Wouldn¡¯t that be even worse than Fire Melt mountain?¡± The little phoenix rushed over and begged for mercy.

    ¡°As long as you defeat this prayer bead, I¡¯ll release you. Otherwise¡­¡± Xiao An held a Skull Prayer Bead between her fingers.

    The little phoenix nodded firmly. Along the way here, she had plucked plenty of feathers from him, which made him understand something. No matter how gentle and friendly this woman had become, she was still as terrifying inside.

    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve come to the Green province?¡± Li Qingshan asked seriously.

    ¡°To go dragon-slaying!¡± the little phoenix said immediately.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t seen the Dragon King of Ink Sea before, but you have seen the Great Banyan Tree King. They both stand as members of the Ten Daemon Kings. Remember, you said you wanted to help me,¡± Li Qingshan said seriously.

    ¡°Y- yes!¡± The little phoenix hesitated. He had personally witnessed the strength of the Great Banyan Tree King. If Li Qingshan was up against an opponent like that, he would be of no help at all.

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    ¡°Or are you saying you just said that as a joke?¡±

    ¡°No, I will definitely work hard on becoming stronger!¡±

    ¡°Then show me!¡± Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction. Children would always be children!

    ¡°It¡¯s just a prayer bead! Bring it on!¡± the little phoenix said to Xiao An with a blazing battle spirit.

    Xiao An flicked her finger, and the Skull Prayer Bead turned into a Skeleton Demon in the air, immediately head-butting towards the little phoenix.

    The Skull Prayer Beads had been severely damaged during the third heavenly tribulation, where most of them had been directly destroyed, but the remaining prayer beads had all increased in strength and quality. If she had sufficient resources to repair them, every single one of them would possess the strength of a Daemon King.

    The prayer bead that Xiao An had sent out was the one in the most complete condition, which overwhelmed the little phoenix and gave him a firm beating, plucking a few more feathers in the process. However, that only set off the little phoenix¡¯s viciousness even more. Li Qingshan¡¯s will had truly influenced him after all.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to show mercy. If you lose, you can just die!¡±

    ¡°Who told you to show mercy?¡±

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    As a result, after flying over ten thousand kilometers, the little phoenix began an even harsher life in prison. The dark centre of the mountain became an arena.

    ¡°Come back soon,¡± Xiao An said to Li Qingshan before crossing her legs and sitting down. She continued to meditate on the scriptures. After undergoing the third heavenly tribulation and balancing the buddhist and the demonic, she gained a completely new understanding of the buddhist scriptures and truths. She was comprehending the scriptures of the schools of chan and vinaya again right now.

    Li Qingshan turned around and left the dwelling, returning to the Clear River prefecture. He planned on visiting a few acquaintances before travelling onwards to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with Xiao An. However, when he was still fifty kilometers from the prefectural city of Clear River, he saw daemon qi surging into the air in the distance.

    ¡°Hmm? What dense daemon qi up ahead!¡±

    As soon as he said that, he heard a bellow ring out from within the daemon qi, ¡°All of Li Qingshan¡¯s friends must die!¡±

    ¡°Ay what the fuck? Fuck you!¡± Li Qingshan fell into a rage and lost the mood to fly along leisurely on a cloud. A wave of air suddenly erupted behind him, and he whistled through the sky.

    ¡­¡­

    The swarm of insects filled the air and surged over, which made Hua Chenglu furrow her brows. She formed a seal with her fingers and uttered a chant. The fragrance of flowers surged out, and the coiling fragrance became tangible, wrapping around all the people on the deck. They suddenly left the dragon boat, flying over the surface of the water in the direction of Clear River city.

    The huge dragon boat glided across the water for a moment longer before the blanket of insects swallowed it. With the ear-splitting sound of grinding, the countless locusts actually ripped apart and devoured the tough body of the boat. Even the toughest part, the keel, was not spared.

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    Even in their worst nightmares, the mortals entwined in the fragrance had not witnessed something so terrifying, and they were hovering above the surface of the water on top of that. Apart from Yu Shukuang, Huang Binghu, and Liu Hong who could still remain composed, the others all screamed hysterically.

    Hua Chenglu knew that this was not something regular locusts were capable of, and locust daemons would never eat something like that either. The Soaring Locust King was still the one behind this.

    The swarm of insects was not just a gathering of a large number of locusts. All of the Soaring Locust King¡¯s clones radiated with daemon qi, which merged with every single corner of the swarm. Under the influence of the daemon qi, even the regular locusts began to change, swelling up in size as their mandibles became razor-sharp. They had gone from herbivorous insects to carnivorous wild beasts.

    Just one locust was nothing. It might not even be stronger than a stray dog. But what if there were millions of them?

    These daemonified locusts had an extremely transient lifespan, less than an hour, but this was the most vicious side of the locust plague. Wherever they went, it would all be reduced to a wasteland.

    The Soaring Locust King hasn¡¯t just come for these people. He wants to massacre the city!

    Huang Chenglu came to an understanding. From the corners of her eyes, she saw over a dozen locust daemons that had reached Daemon General converge from all directions. Including the helmsmen and boaters, she was carrying several dozen people with her. That was quite a burden to her, which slowed her down very much.

    Just like how the Great Banyan Tree King and the Great Whale King were known to be ¡°great¡±, the Soaring Locust King was referred to as ¡°soaring¡± because of his renowned speed. That was why the numerous attempts from the cultivation community of the Green province to encircle and corner him had ended in failure. All of his clones inherited this special characteristic, also alarmingly fast. Even if Hua Chenglu was not weighed down by these people, escaping would not be easy.

    ¡°Commander, this won¡¯t work!¡± Yu Shukuang said.

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    ¡°I know.¡± Hua Chenglu became stern, and the entwining fragrance suddenly broke apart, tossing behind all the mortals. She was no longer the little girl from the past anymore. In particular, after undergoing the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wisdom imbuement, she had developed a sense of decisiveness.

    The cries of the mortals halted as they flew forwards for a little longer. Before they had even realised what had happened, they all fell into the river with several plops.

    ¡°No!¡± Liu Hong and Huang Binghu cried out sorrowfully. Among them were disciples that had followed them for many years and clansmen that they placed all their hopes on.

    ¡°Apologies, fellows!¡± Yu Shukuang sighed, and Liu Hong and Huang Binghu both fell silent. With their experiences, they could understand this choice perfectly, but reality was not that easy for them to accept. They had faced so many dangers and hardships along the way, only to face such a miserable fate in the end.

    Hua Chenglu immediately sped up, but she had not escaped danger. The encirclement of locust Daemon Generals gradually drew in as the sounds of buzzing wings constantly pressed closer. She tossed out another scarlet talisman, which suddenly turned into a gale of fierce wind, pushing her along. She rushed out of the range of the encirclement in a single stroke, but before she could even celebrate, there was a flash of yellow, and a man blocked her path.

    The man had a pair of feelers on his head and layered, transparent locust wings on his back. He stared at Hua Chenglu with his emotionless compound eyes and asked, ¡°Are you also Li Qingshan¡¯s friend?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Hua Chenglu¡¯s heart sank as she secretly took out an Escape talisman. However, the locust daemon before her had already reached the realm of Daemon Commanders. His strength far exceeded hers. Even with the Escape talisman, she had no confidence in being able to escape.

    ¡°How bold of you! You¡¯d count as a beauty even among humans, so you must taste very nice. You want to use an Escape talisman? Quit dreaming. You can¡¯t escape. If you hadn¡¯t admitted that, I might have still been able to spare you, but now¡­¡±

    The locust Daemon Generals gathered over. All of the Soaring Locust King¡¯s clones bellowed together, ¡°All of Li Qingshan¡¯s friends must die!¡±

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 Chapter 979 Here Stands Li Qingshan!

    Liu Changqing was dealing with official business within the prefect¡¯s office. The documents stacked up on his desk like a mountain. Even as a Foundation Establishment cultivator whose physical and mental strength far exceeded that of mortals, he was absolutely swamped in work. He regretted not resigning from this post sooner.

    Suddenly, the army of locusts drew near, and the warning bells rang out through the city. He could not even care about his regret anymore. He immediately sought assistance from the commandery city of Ruyi while he hurried towards the Parlour of Clouds and Rain.

    In order to guard against events like this, apart from constructing a large-scale formation, every single city was under the watch of a Golden Core cultivator who could also control the formation.

    The controller of the formation for the Clear River prefecture happened to be standing on the rooftop of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. She was dressed in a solemn, black dress, with a thick, black veil over her face. She stared at the blanketing swarm of insects and suddenly uttered, ¡°Chenglu!¡± With that, she wanted to fly over and rescue her.

    ¡°Sect master Qiu! You must not!¡± Liu Changqing called out loudly to stop her.

    ¡°Prefect Liu, Chenglu is still outside.¡± Qiu Haitang frowned.

    ¡°Even if you go, you might not be able to save commander Hua, fellow. If no one controls the formation in the city, then it¡¯ll fall to the Soaring Locust King¡¯s attacks very quickly. By then, several million lives will die in the mouths of the insects!¡± Liu Changqing bowed all the way to the ground, slightly afraid to meet her eyes.

    Qiu Haitang was caught in a slight conflict before finally letting out a sigh. She knew that Liu Changqing was right. Her cultivation was not weak, but she was not skilled in direct battle. It was almost impossible for her to save Hua Chenglu from the sea of insects. The most logical choice was to stand guard with the formation and buy as much time as possible until the reinforcements arrived from the commandery city of Ruyi.

    Chenglu, you have to escape from there! Qiu Haitang prayed inside and activated the protective formation. Suddenly, she heard the Soaring Locust King¡¯s roar, and her heart skipped a beat, but what she thought of was that scarlet-haired, scarlet-eyed daemon.

    The sound waves rolled in from the distance. Everyone in the city felt like the roars had just erupted beside their ears. Yu Shukuang and the others bore the brunt of the blow, clutching their ears and kneeling on the ground. Blood seeped from their mouths and noses as their faces warped in pain. If it were not for the protection from Hua Chenglu¡¯s fragrance, they might have even died on the spot.

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    Hua Chenglu shuddered gently, but she remained composed. She did have a few items for saving her life in her possession, but they had all become useless given the current situation. Am I really going to die here today?

    The world darkened, and the cloud of insects passed by, buzzing and whistling as they pressed towards the prefectural city of Clear River.

    The strange, terrifying, half-human, half-locust Daemon Commander smiled viciously. He had not come here for the sake of Li Qingshan alone. Even if Liu Hong and the others did not know Li Qingshan, he still would have hunted them down the same way. The slight delight of revenge would just be missing.

    If it were only for the sake of revenge, there was no need for him to mobilise such a great force at all. Sending a locust Daemon Commander over was enough. He had been planning an assault on a city for a very long time now. Through the locust plagues and famines, thousands of villages were abandoned. A large number of people gathered in the prefectural city. If he could ¡°eat¡± a prefectural city, then not only would it be a heavy blow to the cultivation community of the Green province, but it could also increase the quality and quantity of his clones.

    This was his war against all the humans of the Green province. It did not matter if they were Li Qingshan¡¯s friends. They all had to die. As for Li Qingshan who had escaped to the Mist province, he would obviously go and find him in person after dealing with the Green province.

    Golden light flashed through Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes, and golden vines coiled around her, blooming into golden sun vine flowers. They erupted with resplendent and scorching light, charring thousands of locusts to ashes. Even the locust Daemon Generals began to smoke, making them retreat backwards. The locust Daemon Commander squinted slightly as a streak of light shot towards his forehead.

    This was originally a life-saving sword talisman that the Sword Collection palace gave to their disciples. It was equivalent to the full-powered strike of a second heavenly tribulation sword cultivator. Hua Chengzan had specially given it to her.

    ¡°Measly tricks!¡± The locust Daemon Commander¡¯s mouth suddenly split open, turning into the mandibles of a locust. He bit down on the streak of light and crushed it to pieces before swallowing it.

    Hua Chenglu used the opportunity to activate the Escape talisman immediately. She turned into a streak of light and shot backwards, passing through the surging cloud of insects.

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    ¡°You¡¯re just asking to die!¡± The locust Daemon Commander sneered and did not go after her.

    The Escape talisman that Hua Chenglu used was a Five-kilometer Escape talisman. It could turn her into a streak of light and immediately escape to five kilometers away. Because of the locust Daemon Commander in her path, the only direction available to her was backwards. She was not even bold enough to go to the sides, just in case she was intercepted. All she could do was increase the distance between her and the locust Daemon Commander as much as possible, which also meant travelling away from the prefectural city.

    However, after escaping to five kilometers away, she had not fled to safety. She discovered that she had fallen into the sea of insects, and she could not see or hear anything else. Only countless locusts surged towards her from all directions. The buzzing sound of their wings was deafening. She happened to have retreated into the depths of the sea of insects. She happened to have gone from one dire strait to another.

    She had grown accustomed to death a long time ago, and she had received the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wisdom imbuement, so she originally thought she could face her own death calmly. However, she never expected there to still be some fear when she truly faced death. She did not want to die in the mouths of the insects. Right when she was about to try and perish with them, a familiar voice rang out by her ears.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡±

    She looked back in surprise and discovered that she was not actually alone in the surging sea of insects. A man smiled at her calmly, basically no different from the face in her memories. Was this an illusion occurring at the brink of death?

    ¡°Long time no see, Chenglu!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not rush straight over because of a single statement from the Soaring Locust King. Instead, he hid his aura completely and used an Invisibility talisman. When he saw Hua Chenglu and the others face dire straits, he approached silently, ready to rescue them. In this chaotic landscape, no one would notice that.

    ¡°Big brother Li!¡± Hua Chenglu blinked her eyes and said in disbelief.

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    The insects suddenly discovered Li Qingshan, and all of them surged over to tear away at him.

    ¡°Demonification!¡± Li Qingshan chanted, and his demon heart flashed. Demon qi surged out, and the locusts were sent flying, ground to dust. He carved out a hole in the sea of insects.

    In the centre of the hole, Li Qingshan was clad in demonic armour. The ox-horned helmet covered half of his face, revealing a pair of dark-red eyes. His chestplate was shaped like a roaring tiger¡¯s head, only serving as the most basic protection and revealing his powerful, bronze body. He gave off a sense of viciousness.

    ¡°You¡¯ve returned!¡± Hua Chenglu went from her initial shock to a charming smile.

    ¡°Let me butcher these puny insects first and then we can catch up!¡± Li Qingshan brought his left arm around her waist and waved his right hand. ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression!¡±

    Jagle! A chain whistled out like a black dragon, reaching three thousand meters long. One end was tied around his hand. With a gentle shake, it straightened out, and he swung it forwards.

    The Soaring Locust King could not be bothered with torturing Yu Shukuang and the others anymore. Right when he was about to eat them, he suddenly became alarmed, and a black chain cut through the sea of insects violently. Two figures leapt out.

    ¡°Chains of Demon Suppression! You are?¡±

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t even recognise me anymore, Soaring Locust King? Speaking of which, we¡¯ve never met, so I¡¯ll have you know who I am today!¡±

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    Li Qingshan roared out like thunder, ¡°Here stands Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 980 Sweeping up the Locusts

    When the voice reached the city, Qiu Haitang blanked out, while Liu Changqing beamed with joy. ¡°Qingshan is back!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright! I haven¡¯t even gotten to you yet, yet you¡¯ve actually delivered yourself to me! You better watch how I kill your friends first!¡±

    The Soaring Locust King sneered, and the locust Daemon Generals all took action together. Their spear-like front legs thrusted towards Yu Shukuang, Liu Hong, and Huang Binghu wildly, but before their laughter had even died down, they saw a string of afterimages in their compound eyes.

    Li Qingshan seemed to have appeared before each locust Daemon General at the same time, throwing his fists, swinging his blade, launching elbow strikes¡­ Immediately, the locust Daemon Generals were all torn apart, splattering with fluid.

    Before the locust Daemon Commander could even return to his senses, Li Qingshan had already arrived before him, basically right in his face. He asked, ¡°Just with you?¡±

    ¡°How is that possible!?¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander paled in fright. The speed that Li Qingshan had instantly erupted with could actually leave afterimages in his eyes. That was not something a Golden Core cultivator or Demon Commander was supposed to be capable of.

    Hua Chenglu had eased up significantly when she saw him, and now, she completely stopped worrying. Gazing at his tall, large back, it overlapped with the images in her memories. In the past, it had been the West Gate Granny. Now, it was the Soaring Locust King. Her enemies had ranged from puny Qi Practitioners to powerful Daemon Kings, but he continued to stand by her side as if he could shield her from everything.

    With a flash, the locust Daemon Commander retreated in a hurry, vanishing into the sea of insects. He wanted to use the insects to smother Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You say you¡¯re a mighty Daemon King, so why are you so small-minded? I just cursed you a little, and you start spouting things like ¡®all of Li Qingshan¡¯s friends must die.¡¯ Aren¡¯t you just being an idiot?¡±

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    Li Qingshan strolled over leisurely, approaching the locust Daemon Commander at a steady rate. Several Chains of Demon Suppression linked together to form a mesh ball, whistling about and crushing the incoming locusts.

    Ever since he became a Daemon King, his body alone was enough to crush this locust Daemon Commander, even without any innate abilities. The reason why he chose to demonify was just to hide the daemon qi he accidentally gave off, as well as to provide a reasonable explanation for his overly-powerful body.

    ¡°You damned bald ass!¡± The locust Daemon Commander ground his teeth. Seeing how he could not escape, he used all of his daemon qi to swipe at Li Qingshan¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Bald ass? Do you think I¡¯ll forgive you for that?¡± Li Qingshan casually grabbed the locust Daemon Commander¡¯s wrist, and Chains of Demon Suppression crept over, binding him firmly. He grabbed him by the neck and pulled him over, pointing at his own head. ¡°This is called hair!¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander erupted with murderousness. His mouth split open into a vicious mandible, biting at Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and gave him a headbutt. The sharp mandibles shattered.

    ¡°Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander struggled as hard as he could, making the Chains of Demon Suppression jangle.

    ¡°Demon Suppression!¡± Li Qingshan chanted.

    The Demon Suppression Tower descended from above, encapsulating the locust Daemon Commander with a boom. Under his will, the Demon Suppression Tower rapidly shrank, flying back to his hand. He glanced inside, and the locust Daemon Commander turned back into a tiny locust as if it was very susceptible to the Demon Suppression Tower¡¯s restraint.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you will regret this!¡± the locust Daemon Commander said.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve said that to me before. Whatever. If you¡¯re not happy with this, then send your main body over!¡±

    Li Qingshan begged to differ. He was ready to take the locust Daemon Commander back for Ru Xin¡¯s research. If it was useless, then he could get Xiao An to hit him up with the Buddha Slaying sword. That would definitely injure the Soaring Locust¡¯s King¡¯s main body.

    Hua Chenglu used a technique to protect Yu Shukuang and the other two. Having seen Li Qingshan vanish into the sea of insects in pursuit of the locust Daemon Commander, she was worrying over whether he would encounter any danger, but Li Qingshan had already strolled back by then. The circling Chains of Demon Suppression ground up the incoming locusts.

    ¡°Did he escape?¡± Seeing how he was safe and sound, Hua Chenglu stopped worrying.

    ¡°With your big brother Li here, how could he have escaped?¡± Li Qingshan showed off the tiny, detailed Demon Suppression Tower in his hand with a smile.

    Hua Chenglu was astonished. Originally, she thought with all these years of arduous cultivation, she would not fall too far behind even if she could not catch up to him, but she never expected his cultivation to have reached such an unbelievable level already.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Yu Shukuang and the other two had yet to realise what had happened. Li Qingshan¡¯s name was still echoing through their minds. Now that Li Qingshan was actually standing in front of them, they felt a little afraid to acknowledge him.

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    ¡°Sure enough, you are my old friends. The locust hasn¡¯t found the wrong targets!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Liu Hong, Huang Binghu, and Yu Shukuang had all once been involved in important matters with him, and they had all helped him too.

    The surrounding locusts suddenly stopped attacking them. They advanced with quite the vigour, which made Li Qingshan frown. ¡°So he still won¡¯t give up!¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander had been captured, but the Soaring Locust King did not give up, ordering the army of locusts to continue towards the prefectural city.

    The cloud of insects passed by, and the surroundings brightened and opened up. All Hua Chenglu saw was a black mass of insects lingering on top of the protective formation, launching a furious attack without any regard for their lives. They basically surrounded the entire city, forming a ball of bugs. The protective formation began to shake and destabilise before long.

    A formation that covered such a large range could never be too sturdy. After hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s voice, Qiu Haitang became slightly flustered as well. Her control over the formation stopped being so fluid.

    Under Liu Changqing¡¯s lead, the cultivators stationed in the city constantly unleashed techniques. Flames, water, and lightning rushed into the air, massacring large numbers of locusts. However, there were far too many insects, ranging into the billions, so it was impossible for them to kill them all. The black cloud continued to linger in the air as if it was pressing closer bit by bit.

    Even the cultivators could not help but become fearful, so the mortals were utterly frightened out of their wits. Some of them hid in their homes and trembled away, while others ran about on the streets like headless flies, howling at the top of their lungs. It really did resemble the end of the world.

    ¡°Big brother Li, what do we do?¡± Hua Chenglu asked. If the locust army entered the city, they could easily cause a loss of several hundred thousand even without a great threat like the locust Daemon Commander.

    ¡°That¡¯s easy!¡± With a flip of his right hand, Li Qingshan lifted an item into the air.

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    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ the Asura Field!¡± Hua Chenglu still remembered this place that had once changed her life. Afterwards, it was said that Northmoon had taken away the Asura Field, so why was it in big brother Li¡¯s hands now?

    Li Qingshan tossed the Asura Field into the air, and it rapidly expanded, hovering above the city. It suddenly emitted a blood-red swirl that sucked the locust swarm into the Asura Field.

    Great numbers were terrifying, but that did not make them impervious. Even though the locust swarm had daemonified, their individual strength only rivalled regular wild beasts after all. Why would they stand a chance against this arcane treasure?

    ¡°Li Qingshan! I will definitely make you die a graveless death! All of your friends and family will die miserably!¡± The locust swarm roared furiously, assuming the vague shape of a twisted face.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s reply was only a great fit of laughter.

    Qiu Haitang immediately felt the pressure lifted from her shoulders. She could not help but look in the direction of the laughter. When she saw Li Qingshan, she shuddered inside helplessly.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense it. He turned his head and looked over. It really is her! Sure enough, she¡¯s already undergone the second heavenly tribulation.

    At least that was another matter resolved for him. Although she was dressed in a solemn, black dress, it could not hide her impressive figure. The black veil that hid her face instead added a hint of mysteriousness and temptation to her. He could not help but nod and greet her when he recalled everything that had happened between them in the past.

    Qiu Haitaing immediately looked away. She did not look at him again.

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    Li Qingshan felt rather puzzled, but now was not the time for him to think of this. He focused on the Asura Field, continuing to suck away the insect swarm.

    A group of cultivators had rushed over from the Academy of the Hundred Schools to provide assistance, but now, they had all stopped, gazing at this from afar.

    ¡°The Asura Field! Li Qingshan!¡± A sliver of shock appeared on Han Tieyi¡¯s expressionless face. After so many years, he had already become so powerful?

    ¡°The disciple of our school of Novels has returned!¡± Liu Chuanfeng was overjoyed. The disciples of the school of Novels had already heard him ramble on about Li Qingshan for many years now, but most of them had not even seen him before, so they all treated it as fictional stories. Now that they saw him for themselves, it was actually even more wondrous than the stories.

    The cultivators in the city all stopped casting techniques, looking up at this unimaginable method of combat.

    After capturing the locust Daemon Commander alive, the remaining clones of the Soaring Locust King were completely incapable of dealing with this. They could only stabilise themselves and avoid being sucked into the Asura Field. However, they gradually separated from the regular locusts, forcing them to disperse and flee.

    Li Qingshan arrived directly above the city with a flash. Chains of Demon Suppression surged out, piercing the locust daemons in their backs. He subdued and captured them together.

    A while later, the terrifying locust plague had been completely resolved, which everyone found to be incredibly surreal.

    Li Qingshan held the tiny Demon Suppression Tower in his right hand as many thin chains draped down from his left. A string of locusts were tied to each chain, kicking their legs and struggling for their lives.

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    He dispersed his demonic armour and stood in the air, gazing down at the familiar city and sensing the familiar auras. It brought a smile to his face.

    Everyone looked up at him too. The cultivators seemed to have witnessed an unbelievable miracle, while the mortals felt like they were looking at the saviour of the world!

    ¡°Li Qingshan is the one who saved us!¡± one person said. That was all thanks to how many times the Soaring Locust King had repeated his name.

    Following that, cheers erupted, and the city began to surge. Countless people flooded the streets, chanting his name at the top of their voices.

    ¡°Hello everybody! It¡¯s just a small deed. You¡¯re welcome!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hands at the people with a smile, and the chains of locusts in his hand swung around as well. He was in quite a good mood. He did not mind doing bad things, but doing good things made him quite happy!

    However, the cultivators felt like his current actions wore away at his glorious demeanour when he swept up the insects. Even if he did not avoid publicity and leave immediately, insisting on enjoying everyone¡¯s cheers, he should have maintained a bearing that belonged to a cultivator.

    Hua Chenglu smiled. Big brother Li was still the same big brother Li. He would also do some strange things.

    ¡°Sect master Qiu, I¡¯d like to play the host today and hold a banquet in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain to entertain my old friends of Clear River city¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan landed on the Parlour of Rains and Cloud, but before he could even finish speaking, Qiu Haitang interrupted him abruptly. ¡°Apologies. The Parlour of Clouds and Rain is not receiving guests today!¡±

 Chapter 981: Widow

    ¡°Sect master Qiu, this¡­¡±

    Liu Changqing was tongue-tied. Li Qingshan was the great hero who had just saved Clear River city after all, so how could she treat him like this? However, ever since Qiu Haitang returned to Clear River city, she seemed to have become a completely different person. Not only did she become elusive, but even her resourcefulness of the past had completely vanished. She came off as a little cold when she faced others.

    However, she was obviously allowed to act like that given her cultivation. No one dared to say anything either. Even Liu Changqing could not say anything right now despite being the prefect of Clear River. After all, the difference in their cultivation still existed!

    Li Qingshan was taken aback as well. Why was Qiu Haitang not happy at all to see him, even coming off as extremely cold instead? Had she given up on him after seeing how he did not contact her after emerging from secluded cultivation? Though, it was not like he had the right to blame her for giving up on him.

    ¡°Then so be it. Why are you dressed like your man has died?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just dressed this way!¡±

    ¡°Err, my condolences.¡± Li Qingshan caught a whiff of heavy resentment, so there was nothing else he could say. Her new lover must have been a cultivator, so he could not have died so easily to old age or disease. It was only possible for him to be killed. In the recent years, the one who caused the greatest number of cultivator deaths in the Green province was probably the Soaring Locust King, so he said, ¡°The Soaring Locust King is truly despicable!¡±

    He wanted to leave with just that, but then he heard Qiu Haitang say, ¡°It¡¯s not the Soaring Locust King. It¡¯s the Dragon King of Ink Sea!¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King of Ink Sea?¡± Li Qingshan paused.

    ¡°Big sister Qiu, are you still thinking about that Northmoon?¡± Hua Chenglu walked over.

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    Li Qingshan turned around and gazed at Qiu Haitang in surprise. Qiu Haitang avoided his gaze. ¡°It¡¯s just a wretched daemon. What¡¯s there to think of?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Alright, since you aren¡¯t receiving anyone, then I¡¯ll go somewhere else. Maybe some other day!¡±

    At this moment, Han Tieyi and the others all arrived on the rooftop.

    ¡°You can stay. I¡¯ll go.¡± Qiu Haitang flew away.

    Watching her fly away, Li Qingshan could not help but shake his head. When a beauty became infatuated, he had no idea whether to celebrate or worry!

    ¡°Big brother Li, big sister Qiu has become rather strange during the recent years because of Northmoon.¡± Hua Chenglu explained Qiu Haitang¡¯s actions on the side. She did not want the two of them to fall out with one another.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve seen plenty of strange people.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and asked Han Tieyi, ¡°Tieyi, where¡¯s your sister?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s currently in secluded cultivation in the commandery city of Ruyi.¡±

    Han Tieyi had originally been rather displeased with Li Qingshan. Despite being the son-in-law of the Han family, he had gone off to the Mist province, and that was the last of him. He really had not been responsible at all. However, now that he faced Li Qingshan, he was unable to mention any of these displeasures. It was not because he feared Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, or because he was grateful for Li Qingshan¡¯s kindness, but because he sensed an aura of high-spirited progress from him.

    This content is taken from novelhall[.]com

    As a cultivator, if he did not advance valiantly and do all that he could to increase his cultivation, could he still be called a cultivator? The teachings of the Han family had always despised those who were caught up in love and highly praised a personality like his. This was also the exact reason why his elder sister who could even neglect a handsome man like Hua Chengzan would fall in love with him!

    ¡°Sigh, how unlucky. But that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll be spending plenty of time in the Green province from here on out!¡±

    ¡°Big brother Li, aren¡¯t you the White Hawk commander of the South Sea commandery? Don¡¯t you need to go back to the Mist province?¡± Hua Chenglu asked. As a member of the Hawkwolf Guard, she still respected the authority of the Hawkwolf Guard very much.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been promoted. Our big boss, the Guardian Hawk God, has told me to go to the Dragon province to accept my promotion,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°The Guardian Hawk God! Then wouldn¡¯t you have to go to the Dragon province?¡± Hua Chenglu said with a reluctance to see him go.

    ¡°Sir Hawk God won¡¯t be so unreasonable, would he? I¡¯ve spent many years away from the Green province. Now that I¡¯m finally back for once, I should be allowed to catch a break, right? I need to go and check on my master as well as deal with some important matters of life.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. And as a disciple of the school of Novels, you can¡¯t go for such a long time without writing anything!¡± Liu Chuanfeng added from the side.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten I was a disciple of the school of Novels.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Qingshan, never forget your roots! Alive, you¡¯re a member of the school of Novels, and dead, you¡¯re a ghost of the school of Novels.¡± Liu Chuanfeng smiled as well.

    New novel chapters are published on novelhall[.]com

    ¡°You can go be the damned ghost! Alright, I¡¯ll work on something new once I have the time.¡± Li Qingshan agreed happily.

    The banquet unfolded on the rooftop very quickly. Li Qingshan took the main seat like it was common sense. ¡°I¡¯ve returned in a hurry this time, so I haven¡¯t specially brought back any gifts or anything, but I did end up accumulating some special produce of the Mist province over the years. Please have a taste.¡±

    These spiritual fruits and medicinal alcohol were all spoils he had obtained from his battles. They had already become useless for him, such that all he could savour was their taste. They were perfect for entertaining the guests.

    However, these spiritual fruits and alcohol bore an entirely different significance to Foundation Establishment cultivators. Just the glow they gave off exposed their value. They only accepted it after declining many times out of modesty, thanking Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Big brother Li, I heard the south is a land of wilderness. Is there anything special about it compared to the Green province?¡±

    Hua Chenglu looked at Li Qingshan seriously. She had not been able to look at him properly during the chaotic battle earlier, but now, she could see just how he had changed despite not changing. He seemed even more confident and in high spirits as if everything in the world lay in his palm. Suddenly, she recalled the kiss from all those years ago.

    ¡°If you want to talk about the special aspects, then there¡¯s plenty¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan took a sip of alcohol and began telling her about the various cultures and customs of the Mist province, ranging from the canniabilitistic Bone Eating tribe and Savage mountain occupied by demonic cultivators to the mysterious Merfolk sea fair and the banyan forest that spanned for thousands of kilometers.

    Hua Chenglu entered a short daze as she listened to him. Her eyes were filled with anticipation. The distant land of the south was even more wondrous than its description in the books.

    The rooftop fell quiet. The others all listened attentively too. They were cultivators, countless times more powerful than mortals, but just like how mortals could not leave a village or a city, they had their own shackles too. Perhaps they would never be able to reach the distant South sea in their entire lives.

    As he told his stories, Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze drifted away. The various scenes of the past appeared before his eyes, as well as the adventures that he could not mention. When he returned to his senses, he gazed at the familiar faces and the familiar scene around him and came to a realisation.

    ¡°I really do want to go back.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked up at the stars. He did his best to chase after strength, not just for the sake of defeating something or possessing something, but to break free from his restraints, to see sights he had never seen before, to go to places he had never been before!

    Beyond the Nine Heavens was still rather distant, but he had not abandoned his promise either.

    After the banquet, everyone dispersed, and Li Qingshan became slightly tipsy as well. Liu Chuanfeng invited him to return to Cloudwisp island to take a look, but he declined. ¡°Let me go back to my dwelling first and deal with this Soaring Locust King¡¯s clone. I¡¯ll visit the academy in a few days¡¯ time.¡±

    With that, he left the prefectural city, but he did not return to the Chain mountains. Instead, he flew towards the south-west according to his feelings, arriving before a lake surrounded by mountains. Sensing the aura from the bottom of the lake, he smiled and leapt into the water.

    ¡°Your man is back!¡±

 Chapter 982: Night Attack

    The night grew deeper, and the prefectural city of Clear River sank back into peace. Near the port to the city¡¯s east, the shining fishing boats glowed with the stars in the sky.

    The two banks of the river were lit with specks of firelight, moving through the darkness. All of the disciples from the main branch of the Iron Fist school searched along the riverbank.

    Liu Hong supported himself with a weeping willow and gazed at the pitch-black water of the Clear river silently. Huang Binghu kept his distance and stood nearby, just as stern.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been useless. I¡¯ve made trouble for master.¡± Li Long kneeled on the ground.

    ¡°I¡¯m just an old bag of bones. If I die, then I die. It¡¯s just a pity that your senior brother and his family¡­¡± Liu Hong let out a great sigh, helping Li Long to his feet. ¡°This isn¡¯t your fault! It¡¯s all just fate!¡±

    ¡°The heavens protect the blessed like senior brother, and he¡¯s accompanied by his martial arts, so he¡¯ll definitely be fine.¡± Li Long comforted him.

    A while later, a call rang out from the darkness, ¡°I found them! I found them!¡±

    A person from the Drawn Reins village had been saved by a fishing boat and was found by the searchers, which gave Huang Binghu some relief.

    Very soon, the lucky survivors were found one by one. There were a little more than they had imagined.

    Several kilometers downstream, Wang Lei emerged from the river water with the half-dead Ye Dachuan in his arms. After Hua Chenglu tossed them into the water, he immediately held his breath and sank to the bottom of the lake.

    Originally, these regular locusts had been acting completely out of instinct. They would not enter the water. Meanwhile, the Clear River prefecture was named after a river, so it was littered with river systems. Basically everyone knew how to swim, which was at least something fortunate despite all the misfortune.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan captured the locust Daemon Commander, and the Soaring Locust King ordered the locust army to attack the city without any regard, which allowed them to scrape by. However, there were still a lot who had drowned, been eaten, or were still missing.

    Wang Lei had personally seen Ye Dachuan¡¯s wife bobbing up and down on the surface of the water when the locusts ate her head, as well as someone unlucky from the Drawn Reins village who a locust daemon plucked out from the water. In the blink of an eye, his entire head had vanished.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re still alive! As long as you¡¯re still alive!¡± Liu Hong¡¯s eyes were misty, grabbing Wang Lei firmly by the shoulders. He had no children, so Wang Lei was basically no different from his own son.

    ¡°Master, senior brother, it¡¯s cold outside, so you better get on the carriage!¡± Then Li Long called out to Huang Binghu in the distance, ¡°Village chief Huang, would you like to travel with us?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Thank you, fellow. If there¡¯s anything I can help you with in the future, just mention it!¡±

    Huang Binghu thanked Li Long before leaving the port with the rest of his clansmen, vanishing into the streets of the city.

    Li Long sent Liu Hong onto the carriage and was about to follow along when his ears twitched. He seemed to hear something. He lay down on the ground without any regard for his identity, bringing his ear to the earth to listen quietly. The sound became louder as a result. Gradually, he made out a familiar buzzing.

    Li Long stood up in disbelief and watched as darkness swallowed the stars on the horizon. He mobilised all of his spiritual qi and roared out at the top of his lungs, ¡°Locust plague!¡±

    Liu Changqing had just returned from the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. He was in a very good mood and slightly tipsy, currently enjoying himself with calligraphy when he suddenly heard this sound. His hand that held the brush immediately jolted, allowing the ink to spread across the paper.

    Ripples appeared on the lake, which made the moonlight ripple with it.

    The lake was not exactly a large one. Li Qingshan arrived at the bottom of the lake very soon, entering the dwelling hidden there.

    Qiu Haitang currently had her legs crossed as she meditated away. She had her back towards him. She said without even looking back, ¡°Li Qingshan, why have you come?¡±

    ¡°If I recall correctly, I have a place here too. Your man has returned after facing hardships and dangers, so shouldn¡¯t you get up and receive him at the very least?¡± Li Qingshan arrived behind her with a smile and brought his hand around her slender waist.

    ¡°My man¡¯s surname is not Li!¡± Crimson light sprang forth from Qiu Haitang and blocked Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference? Though, since you prefer it.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance changed. His teeth lengthened and sharpened as his scarlet hair draped down. His arms passed through the red light forcefully, pulling her into his arms. He said beside her ear, ¡°Is this a little better?¡±

    ¡°Let go!¡± Qiu Haitang stiffened. ¡°You don¡¯t care about me, so why come?¡±

    ¡°Because I care about you!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Piss off!¡± Qiu Haitang shouted.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. I clearly told you to contact me when you emerged. You¡­¡±

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± Qiu Haitang erupted with light, dyeing the entire underwater dwelling red. The water on the surface rippled with red light too.

    Li Qingshan knew that now was not the time to reason with her. He apologised right by her ear and included some sweet talk. Sure enough, the red light gradually receded and faded. She no longer resisted him so violently. Sniffing her faint fragrance and embracing her soft, gentle body, he felt even more intoxicated.

    He kissed her on the cheek through the black veil, only to see something trickle down from the corner of her eyes. She was actually crying softly, which left him taken aback. Cultivators did not go through such great emotional upheaval so easily. Suddenly, he experienced a feeling that he could not describe, and all of his desires vanished. He asked softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Haven¡¯t I returned? Why are you crying?¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re lying to me,¡± Qiu Haitang grumbled.

    ¡°Alright, I admit that I did mess around a little, but I¡¯m definitely not lying to you!¡± Li Qingshan said. He could not be an infatuated romantic and liked to do as he pleased, but he was still a human after all. He had feelings.

    ¡°Then how much did you mess around in the Parlour of Clouds and Rain?¡± Qiu Haitang asked.

    Qiu Haitang had wanted to contact Li Qingshan the moment she emerged and returned to the Parlour of Clouds and Rain. However, while she was gone, Li Qingshan had served as the owner of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain for a period, which was basically no different from letting a monkey into a peach orchard. He had indulged himself quite a bit. That was commonplace among cultivators, but she was the master of the Parlour of Clouds and Rain, so she basically found this unforgivable. Out of rage, she decided to never have any more contact with him again.

    ¡°Cough cough, that was just fun in the moment. There were no strings attached.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his nose, feeling rather embarrassed.

    ¡°Did you know?¡± Qiu Haitang¡¯s voice became fleeting.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always been waiting for you, waiting for you to lie to me, to coax me!¡± Qiu Haitang turned around and gazed at Li Qingshan with misty eyes.

    Li Qingshan was very touched, pulling her into his arms and consoling her softly.

    Qiu Haitang pressed her face against his chest. She seemed to make some kind of decision inside before hugging his waist forcefully.

    The moonlight penetrated the lake water, landing on the crystal ceiling and undulating with dim, blue light. It was dim and serene.

    A while later, Li Qingshan removed the black veil on her. It was an unadorned face with faint streaks of tears, but she was as delicate and charming as flowering crabapples. She stole his breath, feeling a little amazed. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve become even prettier again! No wonder you have to wear the veil!¡±

    ¡°This is all for your sake!¡± Qiu Haitang said with absolute seriousness.

    Qiu Haitang had not wasted these years. Instead, she practised the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge arduously. Perhaps because of her compatibility with the cultivation method, she advanced rather quickly. She was beaming with beauty.

    She had become even more confident with the usage of that ¡°technique¡± as well.

    Li Qingshan was even more touched, lowering his head to kiss her soft, red lips. Following that, he lifted her up and walked towards the stone bed layered with thick furs. Originally, he thought she would put up a struggle out of embarrassment, but she actually curled up in his arms without budging at all, as docile as a cat.

    There was another series of intimate contact and care on the stone bed. Qiu Haitang¡¯s face reddened, her cloud-like black hair draped down, and her full chest heaved gently as her black dress became a little messy.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like your man has died. Dressing like this is just a little too ominous, so why don¡¯t you¡­¡± Li Qingshan said that as he gently grabbed her waistband.

    Qiu Haitang became even redder. She shut her eyes firmly and did not resist.

    Li Qingshan grinned, waiting for the beauty to disrobe herself, only to see Qiu Haitang¡¯s face change. He could not help but ask, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Someone is attacking the prefectural city, probably the Soaring Locust King. I need to rush back. The protective formation around the city can¡¯t go without someone controlling it!¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and pressed down on Qiu Haitang¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Wait right here for me. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°No buts. This is a matter for men!¡±

    With a boom, a great splash erupted in the lake. Li Qingshan unfolded his wings and charged right into the atmospheric wind layer. His face was extremely twisted and vicious. He had truly become enraged this time. Any man would become tempted to commit murder when they were interrupted at a time like this.

    Reaching high into the air, Li Qingshan summoned the Demon Suppression Tower in his right hand and asked the locust Daemon Commander inside, ¡°Soaring Locust King, is this you again?¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that, Li Qingshan? You didn¡¯t expect this, did you? In the language of you humans, that would be called a second surprise attack! Do you think I¡¯ve been frightened just from losing some clones?¡± the Soaring Locust King said complacently.

    From the moment Li Qingshan demonstrated his startling strength and captured the locust Daemon Commander, the Soaring Locust King had already begun planning the second attack.

    Sure enough, he had grasped the opportunity. After dealing with such a large swarm of locusts, everyone had relaxed, believing they had survived the danger.

    Qiu Haitang and Li Qingshan had left the prefectural city successively, leaving behind a protective formation under nobody¡¯s control.

    ¡°Come as many times as you¡¯d like. I¡¯d like to see how many of your clones I can kill!¡± Li Qingshan sneered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need a few times. Just once is enough. I¡¯d advise you to stop right here, or I¡¯m going to carry out a massacre!¡± The Soaring Locust King warned.

    ¡°Do you think you can threaten me?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t care about the lives of others, but what about the bitch from the Hawkwolf Guard? She must be your mistress. Do you know what I¡¯m going to do once I capture her?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Li Qingshan widened his eyes in fury. He remembered how Hua Chenglu had said she wanted to return to the Hawkwolf Guard to continue working after the banquet. She was still in the prefectural city right now.

    ¡°I said I would kill all of your friends and family, but if you have some sense about you and release all of my clones, I can consider sparing that bitch!¡±

    ¡°Soaring Locust King, my surname is not Li if I don¡¯t butcher you!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s deep voice was filled with cold killing intent, which even made the Soaring Locust King shiver. He wanted to say something more, but Li Qingshan had already stowed away the Demon Suppression Tower, unfurling his wings of wind and drawing in the atmospheric winds to fly off towards the prefectural city.

    ¡°Commander Qian! Commander Qian! I¡¯m Liu Changqing! The locust plague has come again! Please provide assistance immediately!¡± Liu Changqing sought reinforcements from the commandery city of Ruyi again.

    On a hill outside the prefectural city, a woman gently knocked the transmission talisman on her waist, and Liu Changqing¡¯s voice came to a halt. She watched as the locusts swallowed the city with absolutely no intention of providing any assistance.

    ps£º ÎÒ²ÂºÜ¶àÈË»áÎó»á¡°Ò¹Ï®¡±µÄÒâË¼^_^

    PS: I think a lot of people misunderstood the meaning of the ¡°night attack¡±. ^_^

 Chapter 983: Massacring the City

    There were only a tenth of the locusts compared to last time, and their overall quality was nowhere close. However, there was still a locust Daemon Commander among them, which had turned into a colossal insect, enough to rival Soaring Dragon ships. He flapped his wings and sailed through the air before slamming into the formation heavily. This time, no one could stop his advance anymore.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The protective formation with no one at the helm only possessed the most basic defensive ability. Under these constant impacts, it reached the brink of shattering very soon.

    Several dozen Scarlet Wolf guards stood solemnly in the main hall of the Hawkwolf Guard. The great tremors were like thunder, slamming against everyone¡¯s mind heavily. The screams of the mortals howled like the wind and sea, surging into the quiet hall wave after wave and perturbing them mentally.

    Even though they had faced hundreds of battles already, many of their foreheads became covered in sweat. Only the woman before him maintained absolute composure.

    ¡°Commander, what do you think we should do?¡± Yu Shukuang asked.

    ¡°The locust daemon is about to breach the city. You should all disperse. If you can save people, then save people. If you can¡¯t, then hide away and wait for help!¡± Hua Chenglu said.

    Everyone looked at one another. An order like that only left them disheartened.

    ¡°Are¡­ there any other orders?¡± Yu Shukuang asked.

    ¡°Without my order, you are forbidden from returning here!¡± Hua Chenglu waved her hand, turning around and climbing up the stairs.

    ¡°Commander, are you staying here?¡±

    Yu Shukuang frowned heavily. The Hawkwolf Guard happened to be one of the few structures in the city that possessed a formation of its own, but the eye-catching scarlet hawk on the rooftop would definitely turn this place into a prime target for the Soaring Locust King.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more. Go!¡± Hua Chenglu glanced at Yu Shukuang from the corner of her eye before vanishing upstairs.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Yu Shukuang wanted to say something else, but all he could do in the end was clasp his hands. With his cultivation, there was nothing he could help her with.

    Out of everyone¡¯s view now, Hua Chenglu¡¯s brows furrowed as well. If she had guessed correctly, the first target that the Soaring Locust King would go after this time would be her. She could basically sense the tremendous malice from the locust Daemon Commander in the sky, his compound eyes piercing the floors and gathering on her.

    She returned to the highest floor, to her room. She sucked in a deep breath before taking out a formation and a stack of talismans. She began to make preparations.

    With a great rumble, the protective formation shone its last glow before shattering and dispersing under the locust Daemon Commander¡¯s attack. Billions of locusts swarmed in.

    Hua Chenglu stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows and held a cup of tea. A few petals drifted on the deep-red liquid.

    Talismans covered the windows before her, and the walls around her were no different, seemingly all connected. A small, golden bell hung from the ceiling. She had constructed a simple Golden Bell formation.

    However, it did not bring her the slightest sense of safety. Suddenly, she thought of that tall, large figure again and shook her head with a wry smile. She could not get so lucky every single time.

    She finished off the tea. It was up to fate to decide how long she could last!

    There was only one thing she bore in mind. She could not end up in the hands of the enemy!

    The cloud of insects above the prefectural city split into several large swarms, attacking the various regions of Clear River city individually. After reaching these regions, they split off into several dozen more swarms, raiding every single street. They were like a well-trained army¡ªno, even an army could not achieve such unity.

    A group of homeless beggars ran furiously through the streets, almost losing their minds to the omnipresent sound of buzzing. To their despair, the buzzing only drew closer from behind.

    £¡

    A head-sized locust threw itself at the small beggar at the very back. Its sharp mandibles plunged into his shoulder, sending blood splattering everywhere!

    The little beggar screamed out and struggled for his life, only for the locusts behind to swallow him. His cries came to a halt.

    A beggar could not help but look back, only to see gaping mandibles fly right in his face.

    The howls rang out briefly before falling silent again.

    The locusts devoured the people they caught very quickly, without leaving a single bone remaining. They only left behind a ground covered with tattered cloth, as well as dark-red marks of blood.

    The physical strength of individual locusts were perhaps no greater than a feral dog, but their sharp mandibles and ability of flight was well beyond what a feral dog could rival. The most terrifying part of them was their bloodthirstiness and frenzy.

    The locusts that ate human flesh rapidly swelled in size. Their daemon qi also showed signs of consolidating. As long as they kept eating, not only would it prevent their rapid deaths, but they could even become one of the countless clones of the Soaring Locust King.

    This was why the Soaring Locust King did not care about his locusts. Regular locusts could be replenished with the eggs buried deep underground, while his clones were merely daemonified regular locusts. He could continue down this path like a snowball until there was no ¡°snow¡± left.

    The person who ran at the very front was an old beggar with peppered hair. Each step he took was equivalent to ten from the others. Even as he ran, he clutched a metal staff firmly in his hand and listened to the cries.

    Suddenly, he stopped and turned around, directly facing the incoming insects.

    ¡°A World Without Insects!¡±

    With a twist of his wrist, he produced several afterimages of the staff, sending over a dozen locusts flying.

    ¡°You damned locusts. I am the leader of the Beggar¡¯s gang, Hong¡­¡±

    Before the old beggar could even finish his words, he was struck by a gust of wind, and a colossal locust lunged over. He raised his staff to block in a hurry. With a crack, the staff was forcefully bitten apart.

    ¡°... Jiugong!¡±

    He mobilised all of his inner force and slammed his palm into the giant locust¡¯s head. Thick liquid splashed everywhere. If it had been a human or a beast, it definitely would have ended up more dead than dead with that, but the giant locust only paused momentarily, continuing to bite down with its mandibles.

    Crack!

    ¡°Jiugong!¡± the beggars cried out.

    An old head was tossed into the air, filled with disbelief. Before it could even fall back down, a locust caught it and began eating away.

    Insects had always been renowned for their vitality. That was the case even for the most regular bug, let alone one of Soaring Locust King¡¯s clones.

    The Soaring Locust King used regular locusts to deal with regular people while controlling his clones of various strengths to hunt down the humans capable of resistance one by one. He did not blindly try to overwhelm them with his swarms of locusts. He unleashed the fullest potential of his advantage in the number of clones as he did his best to eat more humans. He was just like a grim chess player overlooking the board. Even when they hid within the structures, they could not stop the locusts from bursting in.

    Meanwhile, the strongest clone of the Soaring Locust King that directly led the army of locusts, the locust Daemon Commander, stood in front of a door that was difficult to breach within the city.

    ¡°Bitch! Bitch! Bitch! Get out here!¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander swung his right claw suddenly, and there was a surge of light. Wood and stone flew everywhere. The formation around the Hawkwolf Guard had been torn apart with a single move, leaving behind four terrifying and huge claw marks.

    Crack! Crack!

    Countless cracks stretched across the windows before Hua Chenglu. Over a dozen talismans were reduced to dust, revealing a vicious face that was half-human, half-locust. It was less than three meters away.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see how Li Qingshan saves you this time!¡± The locust Daemon Commander threw another punch, and the windows shattered into pieces. All of the talismans were reduced to dust.

 Chapter 984: The Lurking Snake

    Right when the locust Daemon Commander was about to breach the city, the woman vanished from the hill outside Clear River city, only leaving behind the sounds of the night wind rustling over her previous location.

    She paced through the chaotic streets. The way she advanced made people think of ¡°strolling¡± for some reason, avoiding all obstacles gracefully and silently. Her figure melded into the surroundings, such that both humans and locusts ignored her.

    A great swarm of locusts blocked her path, so she made a turn and entered a small alleyway. Abruptly, a locust rushed straight towards her, holding a young child in its six legs who bawled away.

    ¡°My child! My child!¡± A horrified cry rang out, and a dishevelled woman burst out of the doors without any concern, chasing after the locust.

    The woman shifted to the side, brushing past the locust. The locust bit down on the child, and blood splattered everywhere. One of the droplets stopped mid-air, landing on her cheek like a red mole.

    She smiled and extended her tongue, licking away the droplet of blood and abandoning the howls in the alleyway behind her. She arrived within the vicinity of the Hawkwolf Guard very soon and exhaled gently. Her aura deepened, and her movements became much slower too.

    She watched as the hawk forged from scarlet bronze fell down from the rooftop, kicking up a cloud of dust with a great rumble.

    Hua Chenglu retreated to the centre of the room¡ªif it could still be called a room¡ªunder the small, golden bell.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, my little precious. I won¡¯t kill you!¡± The locust Daemon Commander stepped into the room and approached her. As he spoke, his mandibles opened and closed.

    With a thunk, a golden bell composed of light enveloped Hua Chenglu. A bell¡¯s ring lingered around.

    The locust Daemon Commander placed both of his claws onto the golden bell, and the sound immediately became twisted. The bell distorted and was torn apart. Suddenly, he lifted his right claw. ¡°Get out here!¡±

    Determination filled Hua Chenglu¡¯s eyes. She shone with dazzling light that seemed to take shape as a blooming sun vine flower.

    ¡°You want to die? It¡¯s not going to be that easy¡­ What is this!?¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander¡¯s claw came to a halt. He lowered his head and looked down, only to see a colourful little snake passing through the floorboards, biting him on the ankle. Intense pain followed.

    A pair of eyes abruptly lit up within the darkness outside the building. Narrow irises stood within the yellow eye whites. As they met the locust Daemon Commander¡¯s compound eyes, it dyed him with a layer of greyish-white as if they were trying to turn him to stone.

    ¡°Venomous Snake hell!¡±

    Within the chilling hiss, countless snakes shot out from the darkness, biting the locust Daemon Commander.

    ¡°Argh!¡± The locust Daemon Commander howled out, experiencing agony that reached the depths of his soul.

    ¡°Sister Chenglu, now is still not the time to die.¡± Qian Rongzhi emerged from the darkness, setting foot in the runed room. Her snake eyes made her smile rather terrifying.

    ¡°Sister Qian, you¡¯ve come so quickly!¡± Hua Chenglu was surprised. Rushing over here from the Ruyi commandery would take quite some time.

    ¡°You¡¯re in trouble, sister Chenglu, so of course, I have to move a little faster,¡± said Qian Rongzhi. Both you and this city are fantastic bait.

    ¡°You bitch! You¡¯re asking to die!¡± The locust Daemon Commander shuddered, and the greyish-white petrification collapsed. With a roar, he turned around and lunged towards Qian Rongzhi. Even the venomous snakes on him could not stop him.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s irises turned back to normal, and a trail of blood tears streamed down her face, suffering from the backlash of the failed technique. She thought, He really is a great Daemon King after all. His willpower is startlingly powerful. Even in the Poisonous Snake hell, he can maintain so much mobility!

    ¡°Be careful!¡± Hua Chenglu called out. If a carapaced Daemon Commander was allowed to get up close to a Golden Core cultivator, basically nothing good would come out of it.

    However, the locust Daemon Commander came to a halt and lowered his head in disbelief. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hand pressed against his chest gently. The Heaven Climbing Vine penetrated the locust Daemon Commander¡¯s thick carapace, extending into every corner of his body with its tendrils.

    ¡£

    Qian Rongzhi shut her eyes as joy flooded her face. Endless power surged into her body, even pacifying the pain from the venomous snakes. If the locusts had come here to massacre the city and eat people, then she was here to ¡°eat¡± the locust Daemon Commander.

    ¡°I¡¯ve remembered you!¡± the locust Daemon Commander said viciously.

    With a thunk, he fell backwards and kicked up a cloud of dust. He was even lighter than they imagined him to be as if all that remained was an empty shell. There was not the slightest hint of life left.

    ¡°Thank you, sister Qian!¡±

    Hua Chenglu expressed her gratitude politely. Qian Rongzhi had a very good reputation in the commandery city of Ruyi. She was very friendly and gentle. However, ever since she underwent the wisdom imbuement, she felt instinctively vigilant of Qian Rongzhi, or perhaps she feared her. Just like how newborn calves did not fear tigers, ignorance led to fearlessness. The wisdom that the Great Banyan Tree King had shared with her allowed her to distinguish many dangers that regular people could not notice.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled, and the tiny snakes slithered back onto her skin, hiding away under her uniform as a White Wolf commander. Suddenly, she looked back. ¡°The person you¡¯re waiting for is here.¡±

    Boom! A black figure descended from above, and Li Qingshan emerged from the dust. ¡°Chenglu, are you fine?¡±

    ¡°Big brother Li, I¡¯m fine. Sister Qian saved me!¡± Hua Chenglu stumbled over.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi! Li Qingshan frowned and gazed at Qian Rongzhi. He never expected her to have undergone the second heavenly tribulation as well.

    ¡°Long time no see, Qingshan!¡± Qian Rongzhi gave him a friendly greeting as an enthusiastic smile stretched over her face. However, she felt an intense pressure, like a tiger was staring at her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t smile at me!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Oh sorry, I forgot.¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s smile vanished, exposing her cold aura. She asked, ¡°So what do you say?¡±

    Hua Chenglu was taken aback. She had never seen Qian Rongzhi with an expression like that. She instinctively stood a little closer to Li Qingshan.

    ¡£

    ¡°It¡¯s no problem!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at the locust Daemon Commander¡¯s corpse on the ground. Just like many years ago, they did not need any empty words of thanks between them. They only needed actual exchanges of profit. Li Qingshan did not want to owe this woman a favour.

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later! Even though I don¡¯t mind watching a sight like this for a little longer.¡± Qian Rongzhi gazed out of the building. The raucous night had yet to pass. Firelight continued to blaze in many places.

    The army of locusts in the city had already collapsed, hunting for prey blindly based on their instincts to devour flesh. When the locust Daemon Commander had been killed, the Soaring Locust King made all of his clones retreat, fleeing off in all directions.

    As a result, Li Qingshan became the saviour of the world yet again, but this time, his Asura Field could only suck away the locusts on the streets. Most of the locusts were hunting for humans within the buildings, which led to a complicated urban war. He was powerful, but even he felt like his hands were a little tied.

    He thought of an idea, and Yin Qing descended from above with her group of asura, carrying out a complete search through the city. Only then did they stop the locusts¡¯ maddening slaughter. Then the Academy of the Hundred Schools sent reinforcements, and Qiu Haitang rushed back as well. They busied themselves for most of the night before finally cleaning up all the locusts in the city. The corpses of insects piled up like mountains.

    Qiu Haitang remained just as cold and distant with Li Qingshan, reactivating and rebuilding the protective formation. She refused to leave the city so easily again.

    Gazing at the eastern sky that was about to light up, Li Qingshan could not help but grind his teeth in hatred. This night should not have unfolded like this. He decided to return to the Chain mountains first and get Xiao An to butcher these damned clones of the Soaring Locust King, but Qian Rongzhi intercepted him again. He said impatiently, ¡°What request do you have? Make it quick!¡±

    ¡°Xiao An has returned, hasn¡¯t she? I want to see her.¡±

 Chapter 985: Cultivation

    The morning light landed on Qian Rongzhi¡¯s white clothes. She had abandoned the arts of charm a long time ago, but she gave off a brand-new glow, much greater than any instances of her in the past.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised.

    ¡°What do you think I can do?¡± Qian Rongzhi countered with a question. She had a clear objective no matter what she did, but right now, she was a little confused. She only wanted to see her. She did not know why.

    ¡°Do you understand what kind of opportunity you are wasting? Why don¡¯t you just make it simpler for yourself? Tell me what you want,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I don¡¯t lack an opportunity like this. If you decline, then forget that I mentioned it,¡± said Qian Rongzhi.

    ¡°You want to see her, but she might not necessarily want to see you.¡±

    ¡°Then please let her know. Whether she wants to see me or not, we don¡¯t owe each other anything anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at Qian Rongzhi deeply and nodded. ¡°Alright, I will let her know.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll be waiting in the Academy of the Hundred Schools. I will keep an eye on your woman in the process.¡±

    In order to prevent the Soaring Locust King from striking again, she was to remain in Clear River city for a period of time, waiting until the new protective formation was constructed.

    ¡°Since that¡¯s what you said, you better not blame me for punishing you if anything happens to her.¡±

    After Li Qingshan said that, he sailed off into the air, returning to the Qing Xiao dwelling in the Chain mountains. Xiao An was wondering why he had returned so quickly. When she heard about everything that had happened from him, she said, ¡°The Soaring Locust King is among the very best both in terms of strength and strategy. It¡¯s no wonder the locust plague would last for so long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely butcher him!¡± Li Qingshan was still furious, radiating with killing intent. His hatred for the Soaring Locust King almost surpassed his hatred for the Dragon King of Ink Sea. The Dragon King of Ink Sea did kill him once, but that was only a regular struggle among cultivators. It did not make his actions repulsive.

    ¡°Father, I¡¯ll come and help you! Ouch!¡± the little phoenix called out, only for the Skeleton Demon to viciously bite him again, making his feathers flutter.

    ¡°Kid, you better finish your training first!¡± Li Qingshan smiled before telling Xiao An, ¡°Help me vent a little first. Butcher this Daemon Commander clone of his and then butcher the rest. Show him what I¡¯m capable of!¡±

    He summoned the Demon Suppression Tower and said to the locust Daemon Commander inside, ¡°How¡¯s that? You¡¯ve lost again! You really think you can take me on?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you got lucky this time. You won¡¯t be so lucky next time,¡± the Soaring Locust King replied immediately in a threatening manner.

    ¡°Cut the bullshit. Your hour of doom is here!¡±

    ¡°Hour of doom? You¡¯re merely killing one of my clones. I have thousands more. There will be a day when they tear you apart bite by bite!¡± The Soaring Locust King laughed madly.

    Xiao An slashed down, and the shiny, white sword pierced the locust Daemon Commander¡¯s body.

    It was said that the buddha assumed a myriad of incarnations to bring salvation to all. He was both a myriad, as well as one. Meanwhile, this sword was the Buddha Slaying sword. It could slay a myriad, as well as one.

    In that instant, thousands of kilometers away, an identical slash appeared on the back of the Soaring Locust King who was hidden away. The heavy aura of death lurked within the wound, not only preventing it from closing up, but also making it rapidly spread elsewhere.

    ¡°What is this sword?¡± The Soaring Locust King was astounded. In the past, even if his clones were obliterated, it would not even touch a hair on him. Now, not only was his main body injured, but the wounds were relatively severe too.

    ¡°The sword that kills you! Do you really think we¡¯re powerless against you just because you have a lot of doppelgangers?¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud, venting much of his frustration and anger.

    After killing the locust Daemon Commander, Xiao An continued with the attacks, killing the locust Daemon Generals one by one.

    Wounds split open on the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body. He ground his teeth. ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re really something. Let¡¯s just wait and see!¡±

    The locust clones wrapped in chains immediately stopped budging.

    ¡°He¡¯s severed his connection with these clones.¡± Xiao An lowered the Buddha Slaying sword.

    ¡°What a pity. If only we could finish him off like this!¡± Li Qingshan said, but he knew he was being wishful. Even if Xiao An landed a stroke on the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body, she would struggle to claim his life.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get our opportunities. The slashes on him won¡¯t heal so quickly. I can try and divine his location.¡±

    However, when Xiao An tried divining his location, the results were extremely vague. Her divination could no longer keep up with her current cultivation, and her target was still a powerful Daemon King after all.

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. We¡¯ll kill him sooner or later.¡±

    Li Qingshan kept some locusts for Ru Xin and her experiments before letting Xiao An refine the rest.

    The locusts were weak, but their numbers were far too great. They formed mountainous piles in the Asura Field. The second assault only had a tenth of the locusts from the first time, but almost a million people died in the mouths of the insects, which Li Qingshan gathered as well, indirectly becoming Xiao An¡¯s resources. It resulted in no less than the first assault.

    It was rather strange now that it was mentioned, but Li Qingshan did not care too much about them. Instead, Xiao An brought her palms together and recited a few scriptures before summoning the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and devouring the piles of corpses.

    This was basically timely assistance to her right now. Ever since she underwent the third heavenly tribulation, only the Buddha Slaying sword had grown stronger. The Skull Prayer Beads and Blood Sea Banner that should have grown stronger as well were in a state of half-ruin. These resources were perfect for her to repair them, so her strength returned to its peak.

    However, under her quick estimations, there was a tremendous amount of resources, but they could probably repair only a single white bone arcane treasure completely. After a slight consideration, she decided to start with the Skull Prayer Beads first.

    The Blood Sea Banner possessed a space of its own, which could trap enemies inside, but this overlapped somewhat with the Asura Field¡¯s function. It was not as sturdy as the Skeleton Demon Formation assembled by the Skull Prayer Beads either.

    As a result, with a swing of her hand, the Skull Prayer Beads scattered, turning into skulls in the air that flew around and cackled about. The Skeleton Demon that battled the little phoenix turned into a rolling skull too, joining the mix. However, apart from it, the other skulls were all cracked. Some had their jaws chipped, while others had teeth missing.

    Under the lead of the Buddha Slaying sword, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out, and the skeletons gulped it down. The cracks gradually repaired themselves.

    The little phoenix retreated to the lower part of the dwelling. Gazing at the blazing Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, he instinctively felt fear.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you out to play very soon!¡± Li Qingshan patted the little phoenix on the shoulder and arrived in a corner of the dwelling, beginning to cultivate too. He did not practise the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, but the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine had reached a new bottleneck, so he would struggle to make any more breakthroughs quickly. On the other hand, a new opportunity had presented itself with the Demon Suppression Statuary. After becoming a Daemon King, his demonic nature had strengthened yet again, giving him a firm foundation for refining the demon heart. On top of that, he had the demon hearts of several Demon Kings in his possession. He basically had everything prepared, and he only lacked one last critical element.

    He only knew the first eight layers of the Demon Suppression Statuary, but as the greatest cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he only needed to master the first eight layers to reach the realm of Demon King.

    Once he returned to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, reached the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, and comprehended the last layer, his human cultivation would reach a whole new level. It would be able to rival one transformation of the demonic and divine at the very least. His overall strength would reach a new peak!

 Chapter 986: A Dead End?

    In the pitch-black centre of the mountain, demon qi surged below as white flames gushed above. The demon qi contained endless malice, while the white flames twisted into countless howling faces. It was quite a sight of demonic cultivation.

    The little phoenix assumed his human form again and watched this blankly. Suddenly, he felt an urge to go home. The outside world was far too dangerous, while the two beside him were dangerous risks among dangerous risks. If it were not for the fact that they had no interest in doing evil, the destruction they could cause to humanity would definitely be no less than the Soaring Locust King.

    He shook his head firmly. If he had been frightened like this, why had he left Fire Melt mountain in the first place? He would have been better off spending his entire life in the phoenix¡¯s nest. Then he began a new round of training, and the details of the training was to withstand this terrifying mental pressure through his own willpower.

    All of the Skull Prayer Beads were repaired, and the skulls began to spit out the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone instead. The raging flames constantly gathered, shrank, and collapsed, refining into a new Skull Prayer Bead.

    Li Qingshan stood below. His sturdy body was clad in demon qi, just like a Demon Suppression Tower. Abruptly, he began to move, constantly moving between poses. His movements were extremely slow, drawing along the surging demon qi.

    Whenever he completed a movement, he would leave behind an afterimage that would only disperse after quite some time. They were the poses of the Demon Suppression statues, but at a closer glance, they were also slightly different. They lacked the sense of pain and struggle the statues gave off and replaced it with a sense of wildness and recklessness. The former was about constant self-restraint and self-control, while the latter was about releasing everything and acting as he pleased.

    He followed the proper order first, going from the first to the eighth statue, followed by the eighth statue to the first statue. After repeating this thousands of times, the demon qi on him shuddered, and he completely broke away from the order. He leapt from the first statue to the seventh, then to the fourth. His movements seemed much more sluggish, but the little phoenix could sense an even greater pressure from him. He held back the urge to retreat, gritting his teeth and holding on silently.

    Gradually, Li Qingshan¡¯s movements became more and more fluid until he could transition between them freely. However, he continued to frown as if something was amiss. Upon closer thought, he realised his Demon Suppression Statuary had diverted from the original direction from its very foundations. The first layer should have been the ¡°Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart¡±, but he had comprehended the ¡°Remorselessness of the Demon Heart¡±.

    Because he had already condensed the Ocean pearl and faced the second heavenly tribulation back then, he did not sense any differences. However, when he tried to break through a major realm of cultivation with the Demon Suppression Statuary, he immediately encountered great difficulty.

    Straying from the beaten path and forging a path of his own was not that easy. The cultivation methods predecessors left behind were not open to interpretation. Instead, only by conforming with the intentions of the predecessor as much as possible was it possible to completely master the cultivation method.

    Xiao An¡¯s changes with the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, allowing the buddhist and the demonic to coexist, might have still conformed to the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s intentions. After all, the White Bone Bodhisattva spent most of their life as an eminent monk. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was essentially based off a buddhist cultivation.

    However, ¡°Remorseless of the Demon Heart¡± was definitely impossible for the powerful demonfolk who created the Demon Suppression Statuary. Otherwise, why would he have created this cultivation method in the first place? He was better off sticking to being a demonfolk that had glorious future prospects ahead of him.

    This was akin to an essay. Not only did the reader fail to understand the author¡¯s intentions, but he even held onto completely different ideas, so it was very difficult to relate his own feelings to the essay, forcing him to give up on reading it. Even if he read through it reluctantly, he would not grasp the essence.

    Stronger cultivation methods were equivalent to a harder essay to read. In order to understand the essence, that required an even greater ability to comprehend, or perhaps agreeing with the author¡¯s intentions. Incidents like this were commonplace within the cultivation community¡ªa measly cultivator with average comprehension or even mediocre talent rising up all of a sudden after obtaining a powerful cultivation method. That was not the cultivation method¡¯s work, but the reader and the author being on the same wavelength.

    This was why the later generations would struggle to reach the same heights as the creator when they practised a cultivation method. No one would feel or experience things that were exactly identical.

    However, not only did Li Qingshan lack Xiao An¡¯s affinity for comprehension to forcefully comprehend the Demon Suppression Statuary, but it was also impossible for him to change his mind and reach the same wavelength as the powerful demonfolk, much less abandon the Demon Suppression Statuary. All he could do was enter a special bottleneck.

    He took out the Asura Field again and stepped inside, arriving in a vaster land. He bellowed, ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    Jangle! The Chains of Demon Suppression flew out, wrapping around him firmly.

    ¡°Still not enough!¡±

    Boom! The Demon Suppression Tower fell down from above, pressing him into the ground. He chained himself up and imprisoned himself, leaving him almost immobilised.

    The first thing that the Demon Suppression Statuary suppressed was his own demons. Breaking free from the chains and tower could not be achieved through strength and abilities, but internal awareness and enlightenment. Only true awareness and enlightenment could assist him with practising the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ¡­¡­

    Time flew. Xiao An forged the Skull Prayer Beads one by one, having surpassed the original number already. She advanced to a higher realm.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary stood on the blood-red ground like a lone mountain, shaking gently and rumbling away.

    Under the restraints of the chains, Li Qingshan was pouring with sweat as he moved about as hard as he could! He gritted his teeth and warped his own expression. He was in the exact same condition, but the enlightenment he pursued never arrived.

    Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart, Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart, Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart¡­ He repeated again and again inside before culminating into a curse in the end, ¡°Remorse your grandmother¡¯s leg!¡±

    He did not feel like he should feel remorse over anything, not because he was powerful, but because he was not born as a demonfolk. He had always possessed an ordinary sense of humanity about him, so he did not have to contend against the instincts he was born with like the powerful demonfolk.

    He thought about it quietly. A contention like that was basically betraying himself, like a fire devourer insisting on switching to a water element cultivation method. If something like that actually happened, even he could not help but admire them!

    ¡°Master is a human too. Not only is his bloodline more pure than mine, but he probably has a lot more humanity in him too. How did he do it?¡± Li Qingshan mumbled to himself. He knew the Unraging monk had broken through the third heavenly tribulation with the Demon Suppression Statuary, which left him puzzled.

    ¡°Qingshan, the Unraging monk devoted himself to buddhism and viewed evil as poison. Afterwards, he lost himself in the slaughter. By the time he came to his senses, what he hated was no longer just the external enemies, but his own self that was filled with killing intent and evil intentions. He obviously had to feel remorse,¡± Xiao An¡¯s voice suddenly rang out.

    ¡°I see. Then I¡¯m done for!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. The powerful demonfolk wanted to have a sense of humanity, while the Unraging monk wanted to be an eminent monk. They were all higher pursuits, which was what made them feel remorse over their demonic thoughts.

    However, he was only a mortal. He felt love, and he felt hatred. He felt emotions, and he had desires. He was a combination of good and evil, where the divine and demonic coexisted. He liked to do as he pleased, but he had his own set of principles. Although he could not exactly say he had stayed true to himself with everything he had done this life, he could say he had tried his best. He felt good about himself, so he could go without remorse.

    But if there was no remorse, why did he have to suppress his demons?

    Was this perhaps a dead end?

 Chapter 987: Comprehension by Force, I Am a Demon King

    He was caught in a trap of his own spinning.

    Li Qingshan immediately thought of this before spending three whole days and nights thinking under the Demon Suppression Tower. He thought of nothing.

    Xiao An was powerless too. Unless he cast aside the Demon Suppression Statuary and switched cultivation methods, how could he expect a different seed he had sown to bear the same kind of fruit?

    On the fourth day, the Chains of Demon Suppression jangled noisily, and Li Qingshan stood up. He said restlessly, ¡°Whatever! Am I really unable to break through and become a Demon King just because I can¡¯t comprehend the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡±

    Li Qingshan took out a handful of demon hearts. The demon hearts were all crystalline, containing tremendous amounts of demon energy. They were his spoils from purging demons in the south, the hearts of Demon Kings.

    The demonic natures within the demon hearts varied, but basically none of them lacked malice and murderousness. He collected the portion of power that conformed with his own demon heart. He wanted to comprehend by force and forcefully break through to the realm of Demon King.

    With a wave of his hand, the demon hearts of various colours and shapes hovered in his surroundings, shining with a gloomy light.

    Xiao An had completely eradicated the consciousnesses within them already, so he did not have to worry about any backlash. The only existing worry was cultivation deviation, but that was exactly what Li Qingshan was trying to achieve!

    As the demon hearts lit up one by one, the Demon Suppression Tower grew to ten times its original size, towering like a mountain and suppressing all of the demon energy.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders sank as he felt the pressure multiply, but he continued to stand there firmly, without budging at all! How could a single Demon Suppression Tower overwhelm his strength of the ox demon?

    He opened his mouth and sucked in deeply. The demon energy flowed out from the demon hearts, gushing into his mouth and raging through his body like a flood. If he were only a Demon Commander, then he would have blown up right then and there. Comprehension by force was not all fun and games.

    However, as a Daemon King, how tough was his body? It was like the sturdiest dam available. The flood of demon energy could only rage through it. Meanwhile, his demon qi rapidly climbed higher, becoming stronger and stronger.

    The Chains of Demon Suppression became larger and thicker, bounding his joints firmly almost to a point where they swallowed him.

    Li Qingshan disregarded it all, gulping in the demon energy as he forcefully circulated the Demon Suppression Statuary, drawing the demon energy into his demon heart.

    Crack!

    The demon heart shone brightly, but it became riddled with cracks. His body was tough, but the demon heart was not as tough. It could not endure this overly tremendous power, so it immediately reached the brink of blowing apart.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡± Li Qingshan was unfazed as he called out sternly.

    The figure of the spirit turtle appeared over the demon heart, shining with a gentle glow and easily suppressing the demon heart. He used external force to forcefully maintain the demon heart¡¯s stability.

    Why would he still care about enlightenment or not? He would do it forcefully, using quantity to create quality.

    Regular cultivators would never be bold enough to do something like this, but what he was most skilled at was using force, and he had the ability to back up the force he used.

    ¡£

    The demon qi swelled, and the light armour on Li Qingshan spread across his body, covering it all up and turning back into a set of heavy armour. Apart from the ox horns on the helmet and the face of the tiger on his chestplate, the armour had changed completely. The visor was the vicious face of a ghost that constantly twisted and changed, assuming various expressions.

    As the demon energy constantly surged in, the demonic armour became heavier and heavier. Eventually, it no longer resembled armour anymore. Instead, it was more like the mechas from science fiction movies. It clashed against the Chains of Demon Suppression around him, producing the grinding sound of metal.

    If there are any problems that can¡¯t be solved by force, then it must be because you don¡¯t have enough force!

    That might not have been an appropriate saying on planet earth in his past life. The natural laws and cycles of life could not be defied no matter how much authority or wealth there was. However, in this world of cultivators, it was the truth. As long as he was strong enough, he could trample over the laws of the world just like everything else.

    Li Qingshan used his own strength as a foundation to practise a method that others dared not think about. The demon heart had already become covered in cracks, completely relying on external force to maintain. However, he continued to absorb the demon energy, allowing the cracks to become even denser. The demon heart cracked into pieces even finer than dust.

    Whenever his demon qi grew stronger, the pressure from the Demon Suppression Tower and the restraints from the Chains of Demon Suppression grew stronger as well, forming a deadlock.

    However, while it was true that the might of the Demon Suppression Statuary would grow with the ¡°enemy¡¯s¡± demonic nature, it was impossible for the Unraging monk to suppress Demon God Qiongqi even if he tossed out the Demon Suppression Tower. Everything had a limit.

    Li Qingshan used a handful of Demon King hearts as a foundation and pushed the Demon Suppression Statuary to the limit very quickly. A crack suddenly appeared on the towering, mountainous Demon Suppression Tower. He grinned and continued to refine the demon energy. The crack spread across the entire tower very soon.

    Li Qingshan had already turned into an armoured monster that stood over a hundred meters tall. He no longer cared about the poses of the Demon Suppression statues, just throwing fists after fists at the Demon Suppression Tower with the heavy Chains of Demon Suppression around him. The chains creaked as they extended and twisted.

    ¡°Shatter!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered all over and extended his arms as hard as he could. The Chains of Demon Suppression crumbled around him, and he threw his head against the tower.

    With a great rumble, the Demon Suppression Tower collapsed loudly before turning back into demon qi and surging back into him. His demonified form swelled up yet again, only stopping once he exceeded three hundred meters in height.

    The demon heart that had always been on the brink of shattering began to condense together again, turning into the heart of a Demon King.

    The colossal demonic armour was entangled with chains, but they were no longer a restraint, but a weapon! A straight, sharp horn protruded from the centre of his helmet, pointing at the skies, shaped just like the Demon Suppression Tower.

    Li Qingshan felt the brand-new power within him and became delighted. Were there any butterflies who were not caught in a trap of their own spinning, and did they ever worry that they would not be able to break free from this trap, this cocoon?

    There were still many problems for him to resolve such as his energy lacking refinement, leaving his demonified form clumsy. Additionally, he was stuck in an uncontrollable state once he demonified, and the quality of his demon heart was much lower without the refinement of the heavenly tribulation.

    However, a Demon King was a Demon King. All of the issues could be resolved slowly, and he was confident he could control himself no matter what state he was in. That was enough!

    With a thought, Li Qingshan assumed his form of the demonic and divine that stood over two thousand meters tall, clad in a set of dark-red demonic armour. To his surprise, it was quite a fit.

    In the end, he returned to human form and released the demonification, only to discover he was covered in demonic markings and reeking of demon qi. He could not hide it. If he ran around like this outside, cultivators would notice a great Demon King like him even from a hundred kilometers away. He definitely could not set foot in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in his current state. Fortunately, he had the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. Not only could it suppress the demon qi, but it could even remove the demonic markings too.

    Li Qingshan left the Asura Field and passed the remaining demon hearts to Xiao An. Spiritual medicines and spiritual stones were basically useless to her, but demon hearts grew with demonfolk. They were unlike golden cores, which were pure crystallisations of energy. They instead bore some resemblance to the ?ar¨©ra of buddhist cultivators. She tossed the demon hearts into the Blood Sea Banner to digest them slowly.

    Time flew. Xiao An continued to forge the Skull Prayer Beads, while Li Qingshan began to refine his demon heart. In the blink of an eye, several months passed.

    On this day, a woman in red arrived outside the dwelling and called out with uncertainty, ¡°Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡±

    ps£º Å¬Á¦¸üÐÂÇóÔÂÆ±°¡£¬Õâ¸öÔÂÎÒÒªÐ´Ê®Íò×Ö£¡

 Chapter 988: Seeing Qiongzhi Again, the General Sends His Invitation

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy inside. He immediately wrapped up with his cultivation and stood up. Right when he was about to go outside, he sensed another aura.

    A man in armour stood on the mountain facing the Qing Xiao dwelling. He seemed to be in his thirties or forties, and he had a cultivation of the second heavenly tribulation. His eyes were large, his brows were thick, and he had a prominent nose bridge on his square face. He had quite a masculine bearing about him.

    ¡°Little junior sister, is this really his dwelling?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Yue, do you think I would even mistake something like this?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked.

    ¡°You misunderstand me, junior sister. The Chain mountains aren¡¯t exactly a famed mountain range teeming with spiritual qi, so they don¡¯t seem to match his identity as a White Hawk commander, which was why I asked that. Speaking of which, it¡¯s been so many years already. Even if you forget, there¡¯s nothing strange about it,¡± said senior brother Yue.

    ¡°How can I forget? When he chose this place as his dwelling, he wasn¡¯t even a White Hawk commander yet!¡± Han Qiongzhi recalled the past before saying in disappointment, ¡°Sigh, looks like he¡¯s not in his dwelling.¡±

    ¡°Junior sister, take no offence, but he should have visited you the moment he came back to the Green province. How could he make you come and find him instead?¡±

    Despite all these years, this was the first time senior brother Yue had seen Han Qiongzhi dress so carefully. Her glowing appearance made him sigh a little inside.

    ¡°He saw Tieyi. He knew I was in seclusion,¡± Han Qiongzhi said, explaining.

    ¡°If it were me, I¡¯d definitely wait at the entrance for you to emerge. Only then can I demonstrate my sincerity.¡± Senior brother Yue smiled.

    ¡°If you keep talking nonsense with me, you better be careful just in case I get him to beat you up!¡± Han Qiongzhi said in exasperation.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯d like that. I¡¯ve listened to you go on and on about him for all these years. I¡¯ve wanted to test out this ¡®famed¡¯ Li Qingshan a long time ago!¡± Senior brother Yue laughed aloud, eager to have a go at him.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to test him out. You can go and find a locust plague. If you survive, then let¡¯s just say you¡¯re capable.¡±

    After all these years away from the Green province, Li Qingshan had swept up a locust plague as soon as he returned, saving the prefectural city of Clear River, making his name resound once more. Han Qiongzhi took pride in it too.

    ¡°You really are making things difficult for me, aren¡¯t you? It¡¯s not like I have an Asura Field. How am I supposed to deal with so many locusts?¡±

    Senior brother Yue justified himself. He was extremely envious of Li Qingshan. Asura Fields were supreme treasures of the school of the Military. Not only did they bring great benefit to cultivation, but they had many wondrous uses too. Across the entire Green province, only the Great General King possessed one. Now, a second one had appeared.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. If you¡¯re afraid, then you¡¯re afraid!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi turned around to leave when the stone door suddenly opened. She looked back and saw the familiar figure and smile. Her heart skipped a beat. She could not say a single word.

    Li Qingshan was anything but calm too. Seeing her fiery-red clothes, he thought of everything that had happened in the past and arrived before her in a single step, pulling her into his arms. He apologised. ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Han Qiongzhi shook her head. Her eyes immediately moistened, lifting her head to touch Li Qingshan¡¯s cheeks as if she was trying to confirm that this was not a dream. ¡°As long as you¡¯ve returned safely. I¡¯ve always been worrying that you would be killed in the south.¡±

    ¡£

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know about your husband¡¯s power? I¡¯m the one who does the killing. Who can kill me?¡± Li Qingshan held his chest high. Seeing how glad and excited she was, he was filled with tender feelings.

    ¡°Stop boasting,¡± Han Qiongzhi said softly, which made ¡°senior brother Yue¡± blink his eyes. He even began to doubt whether this still was the little junior sister he knew.

    ¡°Qiongzhi, who¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at senior brother Yue and asked Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°I am Yue Bing. I¡¯ve heard about fellow Li a long time ago. I¡¯ve specially come to see you in person.¡±

    Yue Bing leapt down from the cliff and studied Li Qingshan. He could not sense any aura, which prevented him from discerning his cultivation, but he could instinctively feel a sense of power that was as sedated as a mountain, giving off an unshakeable feeling. He praised inside, Sure enough, he¡¯s no ordinary person to be able to make little junior sister so smitten!

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. This is my first senior brother. Master has sent him to escort me.¡± Han Qiongzhi clung onto Li Qingshan¡¯s arm and introduced gracefully.

    ¡°Fellow, you dealt a heavy blow to the Soaring Locust King the moment you returned to the Green province, which is truly admirable. However, the eyes of the Soaring Locust King are everywhere, so we need to be careful. Otherwise, I would have never come as a third wheeler.¡±

    ¡°Thank you then, fellow Yue.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands before asking, ¡°Qiongzhi, you¡¯ve taken on a master? Who might your master be?¡±

    ¡°The Great General King, Yue Wuyang, who also happens to be senior brother Yue¡¯s father!¡± Han Qiongzhi placed particular stress towards the end.

    ¡°The Great General King!¡± Li Qingshan could obviously still remember the Green province¡¯s greatest member of the school of the Military. He said to Yue Bing, ¡°I didn¡¯t know your background was so mighty, fellow Yue. I must apologise for failing to recognise you!¡±

    ¡°You flatter me. It¡¯s to my chagrin.¡± Yue Bing¡¯s face reddened slightly. He said to Han Qiongzhi, ¡°Junior sister, your mouth is utterly merciless.¡±

    ¡°Who told you to ramble nonsense earlier? You¡¯re already getting off easy by not facing a beating,¡± said Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°How¡¯s it to your chagrin?¡± Li Qingshan was rather perplexed. He should have felt proud of himself to have a father like that!

    ¡°Fellow, you come from simple origins, yet you¡¯ve managed to stave off the locust plague and make a name for yourself throughout the Green province through your own abilities. I¡¯ve been sheltered by the clan for all these years, so all I have is my cultivation. I still have to carry my father¡¯s name wherever I go. How is it not to my chagrin?¡±

    Yue Bing gave Li Qingshan quite a good impression, but before Li Qingshan could even say anything, a cheer of approval rang out from behind.

    ¡°Well said. I, Li Fengyuan, will achieve my own success, never by relying on my father¡¯s name,¡± the little phoenix walked out of the dwelling and said in high spirits.

    Yue Bing immediately sensed a powerful aura flood over. It seemed to be daemon qi, yet it was also different from daemon qi.

    However, Han Qiongzhi took close notice of Li Fengyuan¡¯s surname. She asked, ¡°Who¡¯s your father?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± the little phoenix said proudly.

    ¡°Li! Qing! Shan!¡± Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face darkened and she grinded her teeth, ¡°I can put up with you messing around outside, but you¡¯ve even brought your son back this time. Li Qingshan, what are you trying to achieve?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Qiongzhi! There¡¯s no blood connection! He¡¯s a foster son, a foster son!¡± Li Qingshan explained in a hurry. The one with blood connection was not even born yet!

    ¡°Really?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked in suspicion.

    ¡°Of course. Damned brat, why don¡¯t you show them your true form?¡± Li Qingshan punted the little phoenix off the cliff. With a cry, a phoenix flapped its wings and rose up, flying between the mountains and radiating with resplendent light.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a phoenix?¡± Yue Bing was dumbfounded.

    ¡°Look. How am I supposed to give birth to a bird?¡±

    ¡°Who can be so certain? Even if he isn¡¯t it, who knows if you have more elsewhere?¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. Even if I do have any, it¡¯ll be with you!¡± Li Qingshan laughed it off. The instincts of women sure were terrifying.

    Yue Bing stared straight at the little phoenix. Surely that was not the point of all this. Right before them was a legendary phoenix after all!

    ¡°Is Xiao An inside?¡± Han Qiongzhi looked at the stone door.

    ¡°She¡¯s cultivating in seclusion right now. She can only come out a little later. Why don¡¯t we go to the prefectural city and revisit some old places?¡± Li Qingshan suggested. It was inconvenient for anyone to see Xiao An cultivating.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to my home! My master wants to see you,¡± said Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°The Great General King¡¯s in the Clear River prefecture! Just to see me?¡±

    ¡°It seems to be related to matters regarding the Soaring Locust King. Oh right, your master¡¯s there too.¡±

 Chapter 989: The Great Banyan Tree Kingâ€™s Friend?

    Around noon, at the entrance of the Han estate, under the large gates.

    ¡°Back then, just for an engagement, we had to fight our way in from here.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Yeah. Before we knew it, so many years have already passed,¡± said Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°Really? You never mentioned it, junior sister. With how much of a talent fellow is, was general Han still unsatisfied with him somehow?¡± Yue Bing asked.

    ¡°We couldn¡¯t help it. The school of the Military just likes to fight and kill. It was basically a special way to receive us!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°And you don¡¯t like it?¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    ¡°If I disliked it, how could I have fought my way in? I¡¯m almost tempted to do it again. This time, I don¡¯t need the madam¡¯s help. I alone would be enough to make it to old father-in-law Han.¡±

    ¡°You just want to fight, but there¡¯s no one for you to fight.¡±

    As they spoke, the gates opened, and Han Tieyi came out to receive them.

    Li Qingshan climbed up the stairs and entered the fortress-like Han estate. There were no soldiers standing in formation, which made it seem slightly deserted. He followed the path in his memories until he arrived at the main building of the Han estate. Before he could even set foot inside, he heard the Unraging monk¡¯s furious roar.

    ¡°Damned disciple, you tricked your junior brother into returning, saying something like you might end up getting back before him, yet it¡¯s already been so long! What are you waiting for? Get your ass in here!¡±

    It had to be mentioned that the Unraging monk was quite terrifying when he flew into a fit of rage. Yue Bin and Han Qiongzhi were both taken aback, glancing at Li Qingshan in worry. The last person to provoke in the cultivation community was their own master. When the master lost their temper like this, the disciple would probably have to suffer.

    ¡°Forget about it. You¡¯re lucky that I even returned. You have no idea what the King of Southern Yue promised me. He was determined to make me an honoured guest. If it weren¡¯t for your sake, I¡¯d be having it easy in the Mist province.¡±

    Li Qingshan waltzed into the hall without any regard. The Unraging monk was no different from before, dressed in a ragged set of monk robes and sitting there with his belly exposed. He stared at him furiously.

    Beside the Unraging monk sat a dignified old man. His peppered hair was meticulously combed, and his dignified, square face bore some resemblance to Yue Bing¡¯s. It went without saying that this was the Great General King, Yue Wuyang.

    Yue Bing stared at Li Qingshan blankly. He might have been the Great General King¡¯s son, but if he ever dared to disrespect his elders like this, he would have been beaten to death on the spot. It was no different even now.

    The Great General King was rather displeased. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he released the murderousness of a powerful master from the school of the Military. It immediately turned into a great pressure.

    The pressure of two great cultivators filled the hall, weighing down like mountains. Even Han Anjun held his breath, while Han Qiongzhi and Yue Bing could not even bow.

    Li Qingshan was completely unfazed. He took a step forward and clasped his hands. ¡°Greetings, master. Greetings, Great General King, as well as old father-in-law Han.¡±

    ¡°You sure do have a bit of boldness about you!¡± A sliver of surprise flashed through Yue Wuyang¡¯s eyes. Even a great cultivator could not necessarily remain so composed under his pressure.

    ¡°That goes without saying.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°The King of Southern Yue wanted you to stay behind in the Mist province?¡± the Unraging monk asked. This was an issue that touched on his principles. The Green province and Mist province had their daggers drawn at each other. If it were not for the demon plague and locust plague, they would have become locked in battle already.

    ¡°Master, have you started posing around too? How can you not know about the King of Southern Yue¡¯s stance?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some puny tricks to drive a wedge between us. Damned disciple, you better answer any of the questions I ask honestly. Where¡¯s One Will?¡± the Unraging Monk asked.

    ¡°She¡¯s still in secluded cultivation. She¡¯ll be emerging soon. By then, she¡¯ll report back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga herself,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Good.¡±

    Only now did the Unraging monk get some closure. When the news of Li Qingshan sweeping up the locusts reached the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Dauntless monk had been most concerned about Xiao An¡¯s whereabouts instead. He heard how she was not with Li Qingshan, so he was worried something had happened to her. He waited for a little longer, but Li Qingshan showed absolutely no intention of reporting back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga yet. The Great General King happened to be visiting the Unraging monk, so they ventured to the Clear River prefecture together.

    ¡°How biased of you, master. So much for being your direct disciple.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    ¡°Who told you to go without becoming a monk? We buddhists only take care of our own people.¡± The Unraging monk smiled. He had never been worried about Li Qingshan betraying the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, just like how he had never expected Li Qingshan to be loyal to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Earlier, when he flew into a rage, he only wanted to show him what was what, except he failed to frighten him, to no one¡¯s surprise.

    ¡°Master, I think you said something really impressive before. What happened to bringing salvation to all living creatures?¡±

    ¡°It was all drunk talk, drunk talk! You¡¯re a scourge wherever you go. If you stayed in the Mist province, you would have done the Green province a great deed instead!¡±

    ¡°Oh right, you still owe me a demonic treasure!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly remembered the Unraging monk¡¯s promise.

    ¡°Is that why you returned?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really not. I¡¯m known as the King of Savages in the south. I can get my hands on whatever treasures I want. Why would I lack your measly possessions?¡±

    ¡°What a King of Savages. None for you then.¡±

    ¡°You promised me, so how could you not give it to me? Hand it over!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed the Unraging monk¡¯s collar.

    ¡°Damned disciple, let go!¡±

    Their interaction left the disciples of the school of Military dumbfounded on the side. Even across the entire cultivation community, such a disrespectful way of getting along was quite rare. However, they could also tell that they actually got along very well as master and disciple. Yue Bing silently glanced at Yue Wuyang. At least they got along much better than this father-son duo.

    Yue Wuyang glanced back and cold light seemed to flash across his eyes, which made Yue Bing shrink back. He gave a soldier¡¯s salute and said powerfully, ¡°Great General King, I¡¯ve carried out your orders, escorting junior sister safely and inviting commander Li over!¡±

    Yue Wuyang nodded gently before coughing softly.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Damned disciple, fellow Yue has something to ask you. Answer honestly.

    Han Qiongzhi cast a pleading gaze in Li Qingshan¡¯s direction too, afraid he would infuriate her master once he became carried away. If that happened, it would be tough for her.

    Li Qingshan let go of the Unraging monk¡¯s collar and said seriously, ¡°Qiongzhi¡¯s master is my senior, so please ask away, Great General King. I¡¯ll definitely answer with everything I know.¡±

    ¡°Where did you get your Asura Field from?¡±

    Yue Wuyang cut right to the chase. Asura Fields were no regular arcane treasures. The resources and energy that went into refining one was enough to refine ten regular arcane treasures. They bore an extremely special significance to the school of the Military.

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King gave it to me,¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    ¡°Gave it to you? Why?¡± Yue Wuyang was in doubt. The Great Banyan Tree King was renowned for being peaceful and generous, but no matter how generous he was, it was impossible for him to simply give a supreme treasure like that away.

    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about gift-giving among friends?¡± Li Qingshan said it like it was common sense.

    ¡°You said friends? I haven¡¯t heard wrong, have I?¡±

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s solemn, square face became bewildered. Just who was the Great Banyan Tree King? He had always been one of the Ten Daemon Kings whose name resounded through the nine provinces. Now that he had refined the Mist Province cauldron, he had become the god of the Mist province. Even he himself did not have the confidence of getting along with him as equals, so how could a measly White Hawk commander claim to be the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s friend? Was that not just absurd?

    ¡°Damned disciples, monks are forbidden from telling lies! Don¡¯t talk rubbish!¡± The Unraging monk was unable to put up with this either. Even if he wanted to weave some lies, he could make them a little more believable.

 Chapter 990: An Enemy of the Past, Crown Prince

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re welcome to ask the Great Banyan Tree King yourself. It¡¯s just an Asura Field. Do you have to make such a fuss?¡± Li Qingshan said helplessly, but everyone present was in doubt apart from Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°Are you telling me to go to the Mist province?¡± Yue Wuyang had already become certain that Li Qingshan was lying. It was impossible for them to go and ask the Great Banyan Tree King for confirmation.

    ¡°Not necessarily.¡± Li Qingshan thought about it and took out the Fruit of Wisdom from his sumeru ring, handing it to Han Qiongzhi. ¡°Eat it and give me the seed.¡±

    ¡°This is¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi was taken aback. Gazing at the glistening fruit in her hand, she could tell with a single glance that it was anything but ordinary. It seemed to contain the endless secrets of nature and the world, sucking her in.

    ¡°This is a banyan fruit. You can treat it as a gift, as an apology for making you wait for all these years,¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely.

    Han Anjun and Yue Bing had yet to realise what was going on, but the Great General King and the Unraging monk stood up at the same time, blurting out, ¡°A Fruit of Wisdom!¡±

    There was nothing strange about them being so surprised. The Fruit of Wisdom was renowned throughout the nine provinces. Some people even gave it the title of the greatest spiritual fruit in the world.

    Regular spiritual fruits could only be used as a resource, to save some cultivation time, no matter how powerful their effects were. Relatively precious spiritual fruits could increase the talent of cultivators, but in actuality, that was merely refining the soul and strengthening the body. On the other hand, the Fruit of Wisdom could drastically increase a cultivator¡¯s ¡°affinity for comprehension¡±.

    In the world, countless cultivators would encounter bottlenecks after bottlenecks and become stuck at major or minor realms of cultivation throughout their process of cultivation. Most of this occurred because of an insufficient affinity for comprehension. It was useless no matter how many resources they had, no matter how powerful their bodies were, or how pure their souls were.

    This was where the value of the Fruit of Wisdom lay. A Fruit of Wisdom would tempt even a great cultivator like Yue Wuyang. No one would mind a little more affinity for comprehension.

    ¡°Damned disciple, where did you get this Fruit of Wisdom from?¡± the Unraging monk asked in surprise.

    ¡°I stole it!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°What?¡± The Unraging monk was stunned. He felt a little overwhelmed by everything going on around him. Probably even the imperial clan from the Dragon province could not steal something from the Great Banyan Tree King, particularly when it was a Fruit of Wisdom.

    ¡°Do you even need to ask, master? The Great Banyan Tree King obviously gifted it to me!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    The Unraging monk was speechless. He had heard from Duoge that Li Qingshan¡¯s relationship with the Great Banyan Tree King was quite special. After all, one of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s cuttings were planted on Savage mountain. However, the Great Banyan Tree Kings had plenty of cuttings. There were only so many Fruits of Wisdom.

    Yue Wuyang furrowed his brows firmly and wavered slightly inside. Did the Asura Field really come from the Great Banyan Tree King?

    ¡°Even fathers aren¡¯t that close with their sons!¡± Yue Bing sighed, which earned him another glare from Yue Wuyang. He thought inside, I didn¡¯t expect this Li Qingshan to be so generous. Junior sister really hasn¡¯t waited all these years for nothing. So much for behaving like a tomboy most of the time. Her ability to pick men sure is admirable!

    ¡°Qingshan, thank you for this, but I can¡¯t accept something so precious. You better keep it for yourself!¡± Han Qiongzhi returned to her senses and returned the Fruit of Wisdom to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What¡¯s mine is yours, and what¡¯s yours is mine. I¡¯ve already eaten one anyway. It¡¯s useless if I eat another. This one is much better than the one I ate. The Great Banyan Tree King condensed it after becoming the god of the Mist province, so it contains some fragments of the Mist Province cauldron. He said that it has quite the effect.¡±

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s eyes narrowed, staring at the Fruit of Wisdom deeply. It was no wonder that he sensed something akin to the laws of the world from within the fruit. This Fruit of Wisdom was probably worth even more than the Asura Field, enough to change a cultivator¡¯s entire course of life. If it had not been Han Qiongzhi who was receiving it, he might even be overcome with the urge to steal it.

    Han Qiongzhi said nothing more. Actually, she felt both proud and a little dejected when she heard Li Qingshan sweep up the locusts. She had spent all these years cultivating arduously, such that she believed she could get a little closer to him. However, after seeing him again, she only realised the distance between them had grown wider, almost to a point where she could not catch up anymore, just as Han Anjun had predicted in the past.

    Gazing at Li Qingshan, she thought to herself, With this Fruit of Wisdom, I¡¯ll be a little closer to you!

    ¡°Eat it and give me the seed. I¡¯ll have the Great Banyan Tree King confirm this for them,¡± Li Qingshan said to Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. Qiongzhi, the Fruit of Wisdom is of extraordinary value. Take some time to refine it slowly!¡± Yue Wuyang said.

    ¡°Yes, master,¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    ¡°So you believe me now, Great General King?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Even if the Great Banyan Tree King gave you the Asura Field, where did he get it from?¡± Yue Wuyang pondered.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask the Great Banyan Tree King. If you don¡¯t want to go to the Mist province, you¡¯ll have to wait a moment.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he tell you anything when he gave it to you?¡± Yue Wuyang said.

    ¡°I think he found it somewhere,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Can I take a look?¡± Yue Wuyang asked.

    ¡°No problem.¡± Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field and passed it to Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°Hmm? I didn¡¯t expect it to have grown to such a state already. Looks like you¡¯ve spent quite the effort.¡± Yue Wuyang fiddled around with the Asura Field. He was surprised by how heavy the bloody aura around it was. Who knew how many battles it had witnessed already.

    ¡°I have.¡± Li Qingshan had won numerous important battles in the Asura Field.

    ¡°It can already summon Asura Commanders. Can you keep them under control?¡± Yue Wuyang asked in doubt. The battle prowess of asura far surpassed regular cultivators. Victory was basically impossible if their cultivations were roughly the same.

    ¡°I can, but they were all killed. Only one pleasing to the eye stuck around, so I don¡¯t need to keep them under control.¡±

    ¡°Who killed them? How were they killed?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a little troublesome to explain. May I ask what you want, Great General King? You¡¯re welcome to be direct!¡± Li Qingshan was already running out of patience.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m not here to work against you, or I wouldn¡¯t have called your master to come along. You need to know that every single Asura Field is different. I suspect that your Asura Field originally belonged to prince Si Qing before Northmoon stole it. Northmoon died in the Mist province, which was why it ended up in the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s hands.¡±

    In the past, when prince Si Qing came to the Ruyi commandery, he had caused a very large disturbance to refine the Asura Field. The Great General King was extremely familiar with this incident. Now that an Asura Field had appeared in the Clear River prefecture again, he immediately thought of this.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, but so what?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You should know that prince Si Qing has already undergone the third heavenly tribulation and become the third crown prince of Great Xia. The news of the Asura Field will reach his ears very soon. I heard he already has grievances with you. If he learns that the lost Asura Field is in your possession¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll probably come and make trouble for me immediately.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up slightly.

 Chapter 991: Si Qingâ€™s Arrival, Battle for the Asura Field

    Li Qingshan also held quite a bit of hatred towards this bastard Si Qing, but it would be far too troublesome to travel all the way to the Dragon province just to get revenge. If Si Qing could travel all the way here and offer himself up for a beating, that would be for the best.

    ¡°You¡¯re not worried?¡±

    Originally, Yue Wuyang thought that even if Li Qingshan did not pale in fright after hearing that, his face would sink at the very least. His reaction had been far too unexpected, or perhaps right from the beginning, this man had always been unexpected.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Worried? How am I not worried?¡± He was worried he would not come!

    ¡°Master, what should he do then?¡± Han Qiongzhi said in worry.

    Antagonising a great cultivator was already bad enough, and he was a prince of Great Xia on top of that. Si Qing had not spent a lot of time as the Marquis of Ruyi, but everyone had gained a deep impression of his vicious nature.

    ¡°The easiest way is to just return it to him, or Si Qing will never spare you. After all, he was the one who refined it, so he does technically deserve it. The Great Banyan Tree King you speak of is also an enemy of Great Xia now, so if you mention it to him, it might instead give him leverage over you.¡±

    Yue Wuyang was all serious, still rather unaccustomed to Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°disrespectful attitude¡±.

    ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, general, but making me hand over the Asura Field for free is quite unlikely.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile.

    ¡°There¡¯s another way. Give the Asura Field to me, and I¡¯ll say that I lent it to you. I¡¯ll bear all the blame from Si Qing.¡±

    Yue Wuyang patted the Asura Field in his hand and revealed his true objective. His identity as the Great General King was enough to stave off a crown prince of Great Xia.

    ¡°You have nothing to worry about. I, Yue Wuyang, would never take advantage of others or use my own position as leverage over them. The reason why I asked your master to come here was to serve as a witness.¡±

    If Li Qingshan was truly just a Golden Core cultivator, then this would without a doubt be the optimal solution. However, even if it were for luring Si Qing over, he would never hand over the Asura Field, not to mention that the value he held for the Asura Field was something that Yue Wuyang could never be able to compensate for.

    ¡°Are there any other ideas?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask your master then.¡± Yue Wuyang was confident that Li Qingshan would accept this solution in the end.

    ¡°What fellow Yue said is quite a good resolution. If you don¡¯t want to give up on the Asura Field, then you can go back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± the Unraging monk said seriously.

    ¡°If Si Qing insists on me handing over the Asura Field, can the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga really protect me?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. If it was Xiao An, then perhaps there was a possibility, but he would probably never receive such treatment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll protect you,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Thank you master, but I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you, let alone rely on the protection of others.¡±

    The Unraging monk¡¯s words proved Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts. The Green province was not a land of wilderness like the Mist province. Even if the five-thousand-year reign of the Great Xia Empire had begun to crumble, it could still deter a sect.

    If the Asura Field had belonged to him in the first place, then the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would have never allowed some outsider to lay their hands on him. However, while Si Qing only was slightly in the right about this, he could make it completely in the right through his identity as a prince. It was impossible for the abbott, the Dauntless monk, to directly oppose him. He might even turn around and persuade Li Qingshan to hand the Asura Field over for a peaceful settlement.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to consider it carefully before making a decision,¡± said Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. If Si Qing wants to come, then let him come!¡± When he reached there, Li Qingshan suddenly looked back. ¡°Hasn¡¯t he come already? Speak of the devil.¡±

    The Unraging monk and Yue Wuyang both stood up. They also sensed a tremendous aura rapidly approaching the Han estate. They glanced at Li Qingshan in slight surprise. To think that his senses were actually so sharp.

    In a single moment, the aura had enveloped the sky above the Han estate. A cold, dignified voice rang out, ¡°Where be Li Qingshan?¡±

    A man with a golden head ornament and faint-golden robes of coiled dragons overlooked the Han estate. He radiated with a chilling sense of nobility, which diluted his sunken and vicious bearing.

    A woman in white stood with her arms crossed beside him, holding a delicate, jade folding fan in her hand. She had a slight smile on her face. Her hair was tied up into a simple ponytail. She did not possess the same airs as the man, but she did have her own sense of aloofness and gracefulness.

    ¡°Si Qing, long time no see!¡± Li Qingshan arrived outside and said after a pause, ¡°And commander Gu.¡± Sure enough, after all these years, she had also undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Her current elegance surpassed that of her past self.

    ¡°Commander Li, the third crown prince wanted to see you, so I brought him over. You¡¯re not going to blame me for this, are you?¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Why would I? I can¡¯t even thank you enough.¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile, ¡°May I ask why the third crown prince is looking for me?¡±

    Si Qing gazed at the Unraging monk and Yue Wuyang behind Li Qingshan and held back his killing intent. He said as straightforwardly as possible, ¡°Hand over the Asura Field, and I¡¯ll forget about the grievances between us. Otherwise¡­¡±

    He stopped there, putting his threats on full display.

    ¡°What grievances do we have? Don¡¯t tell me you refuse to admit your defeat from back then?¡± Li Qingshan turned around and took the Asura Field back from Yue Wuyang, tossing it into the air casually. He immediately attracted Si Qing¡¯s attention, who blurted out, ¡°My Asura Field!¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s my Asura Field.¡± Li Qingshan corrected him.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, where did you get the Asura Field from?¡± Si Qing questioned.

    ¡°I found it on the side of the road. Why do you care? As the old adage goes, finders keepers!¡± Li Qingshan could not even be bothered with explaining.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Si Qing ground his teeth as he fumed inside. Ever since he underwent the third heavenly tribulation and went from being a regular prince to a crown prince of Great Xia, no one had dared to talk to him like that anymore. The viciousness in his eyes shone brightly. If it were not for the Unraging monk, he would have killed Li Qingshan on the spot.

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you one last chance. I¡¯m going to count to three. Hand over the Asura Field, and I¡¯ll treat it like nothing¡¯s happened at all. One!¡±

    ¡°Two!¡± Li Qingshan followed up with a smile.

    ¡°Three! If you have something to say, do come down and say it, fourth prince. If my disciple has offended you in some way, just put up with it! As his master, I regularly have to put up with him too.¡± The Unraging monk chuckled, patting Li Qingshan on the shoulder.

    Li Qingshan warmed up inside. It definitely was not just for say when the Unraging monk said he would protect him.

    ¡°Do you plan on covering up a fault, Unraging master?¡± Si Qing asked.

    ¡°Covering up a fault! What faults does my disciple have?¡± Even if he¡¯s disrespectful, arrogant, and ignorant, that¡¯s still better than massacring the innocent for personal interests!¡± the Unraging monk said.

    ¡°You!¡± Si Qing¡¯s face changed, and he clenched his fists. However, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was quite powerful right now, and they had close ties with the King of Chu¡¯s estate, so it was not like he could turn against him over a single mocking remark. Even if he turned against him, he probably was not the Unraging monk¡¯s opponent.

    ¡°A¡¯qing, let¡¯s just go down. If there¡¯s anything you have to say, you can take your time,¡± Gu Yanying said to Si Qing.

    ¡°Yanying, you brought me over at a time like this because you don¡¯t want him to die, isn¡¯t that right?¡± Si Qing communicated secretly.

    ¡°Perhaps!¡± Gu Yanying did not give him a direct answer.

 Chapter 992: Asking to be Killed, Deathmatch!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I admit you¡¯re much stronger than regular trash, so I have to advise you to not mistake yourself. Don¡¯t ruin your future prospects for the sake of worldly possessions!¡±

    Even when Si Qing stood in front of Li Qingshan, he was condescending and arrogant.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like my future prospects can be destroyed so easily, even if it¡¯s some prince or crown prince!¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the Asura Field and ignored Si Qing¡¯s threats.

    ¡°Unraging master, not only does this Asura Field belong to me, but it also belongs to the imperial clan, so I must take it back. Will the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga really oppose the empire for the sake of this kid?¡± Si Qing said to the Unraging monk as he held back his urge to kill Li Qingshan on the spot.

    ¡°You¡¯re only a crown prince. You still don¡¯t represent the empire. This Asura Field was soaked with the blood of cultivators from our Green province. If you want to take it back, I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that easy!¡± The Unraging monk responded in a way that was neither too rigid or flexible.

    ¡°You say all that just because you want some benefits. Alright, what are your conditions?¡±

    Si Qing snorted in disdain. He had noticed the thick, blood-red glow from the Asura Field. It was clearly much stronger than when he first refined it, so he did not mind paying a small price. It would all be paid back to him in the future.

    ¡°I have no conditions! You can¡¯t take this Asura Field!¡± Li Qingshan declined bluntly.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, why don¡¯t you check yourself? Is this a conversation you can participate in? Si Qing was infuriated. He had reached the limit of his patience after being provoked again and again by a White Hawk commander.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to give up on this, so let¡¯s just go for another gamble. The Asura Field can go to the winner!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Gamble on what?¡± Si Qing asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you like duels? Let¡¯s go for another duel!¡±

    ¡°You want your master to duel against me. What a great disciple!¡± Si Qing sneered.

    Yue Wuyang frowned heavily, viewing Li Qingshan with great disdain. Was he bold enough to go his own way just because of the borrowed might from his master?

    However, the Unraging monk did not think that. He understood Li Qingshan¡¯s personality very well. He was so independent that he was aloof and proud, even refusing to accept his protection, let alone sending him into battle in his place.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll duel with you!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone as he stared straight at Si Qing.

    With that, everyone was taken aback apart from Gu Yanying. They doubted their ears.

    Not only had Si Qing faced the third heavenly tribulation, but he practised the Black Emperor Dragon Classic of the Three Graves and Five Classics. His strength surpassed regular Soul Nascence cultivators.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t be impulsive!¡±

    The Unraging monk smiled wryly. Now this was Li Qingshan¡¯s personality. Damned disciple, oh damned disciple, you might as well have me fight instead!

    Yue Wuyang went from disdain to surprise. In the end, he could not help but admit that he really could not read Li Qingshan!

    ¡°Master, I know what I¡¯m doing. In the south, I¡¯m known as the ¡®King of Savages¡¯!¡± Li Qinshan smiled.

    The King of Savages. Don¡¯t tell me he¡­ No, that¡¯s impossible!

    With a quick thought, Si Qing immediately dismissed this unbelievable idea. As a prince, he possessed the best talent, the best resources, and the strongest cultivation method, yet it still took him three centuries before he reached this step. Going from the second heavenly tribulation to the third took over a century by itself.

    Given Li Qingshan¡¯s background, it was already a miracle that he could become a White Hawk commander at this age. He had only faced the second heavenly tribulation two or three decades ago. It was impossible for him to have undergone the third heavenly tribulation.

    Hmph, the so-called ¡°King of Savages¡± must merely be an undeserved reputation. What King of Savages? More like a savage! You don¡¯t even have to worry about being mocked in a land of wilderness like the south!

    It was not Si Qing¡¯s fault for thinking like that. No one present, apart from Gu Yanying, could guess that Li Qingshan had already undergone the third heavenly tribulation. This had nothing to do with intelligence. It was simply common sense.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re afraid? Your majesty the crown prince!¡±

    This bastard, even trying to bluff me! thought Si Qing.

    Si Qing felt humiliated over his hesitation earlier, so he said proudly, ¡°Dueling with you is an insult to me, but I¡¯ll give you the chance in consideration of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled inside. He had finally bitten the bait, or perhaps more accurately, the fish had leapt ashore itself with a curl of his finger. ¡°Since you want my Asura Field, then you should offer up something of equal value as a wager. Otherwise, this duel can¡¯t go ahead.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be that troublesome. I also have a condition.¡± Si Qing¡¯s eyes flashed coldly.

    ¡°What condition?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I want to face you in a deathmatch. Before our fates are decided, no one can interfere!¡± Si Qing¡¯s killing intent shivered, no longer under disguise.

    ¡°A¡¯qing, this isn¡¯t particularly appropriate!¡± Gu Yanying tried to persuade him.

    ¡°Yanying, this has nothing to do with you!¡± Si Qing said bluntly. He was certain that Gu Yanying was biased towards Li Qingshan and was trying to help him.

    Gu Yanying shook her head. Why bother at all?

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and acted like he was hesitating so that he could hide his inner joy. To think that there was something as great as this!

    Originally, he had to take Si Qing¡¯s identity into consideration. Killing him would definitely lead to endless trouble, which would completely destroy his plans in the Green province, so he was still considering whether to kill him or not. He never expected him to put forward such a delightful condition.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re afraid?¡± Si Qing became even more certain that Li Qingshan had been bluffing earlier.

    ¡°Uhh, I vaguely recall that duels can only be carried out with your own strength?¡± Li Qingshan asked a probing question as if he was trying to shirk away on the spot. However, he had already made up his mind to kill inside. He thought, This bastard should have quite a lot of life-saving measures on him as a prince. If it¡¯s just a regular encounter, I might not actually be able to kill him.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. No foreign items are allowed in duels. The sumeru rings will be handed to an intermediary, and the victor will obtain everything. How¡¯s that? The wager is much bigger than the Asura Field.¡± Si Qing was afraid that Li Qingshan would change his mind, so he made the offer a little more tempting.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan acted like he had just made a very great decision. He thought inside, Si Qing, oh Si Qing. You can¡¯t blame me if you¡¯re just asking to be killed!

    When Li Qingshan answered, uneasiness suddenly surged through Si Qing¡¯s heart. It felt as if he had made an incorrect judgement over something. However, he immediately dismissed this feeling. There was no reason why he would fail.

    ¡°Great General King, please lend us your Asura Field!¡±

    ¡°Please hand over your sumeru rings, as well as all of your possessions!¡± Yue Wuyang took out an Asura Field with a flip of his hand. Sure enough, the patterning was different from Li Qingshan¡¯s, and the bloody aura was even heavier.

    ¡°Yanying, you can serve as the intermediary,¡± Si Qing said to Gu Yanying.

    ¡°That requires agreement from both sides.¡± Yue Wuyang looked down. The owner of the Asura Field normally served as the intermediary in duels. Si Qing clearly did not trust him.

    Gu Yanying nodded and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°May I?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    The two sumeru rings ended up in Gu Yanying¡¯s hand, which she clenched firmly. ¡°It¡¯s a deathmatch, but I¡¯d advise both of you to stop when you should.¡±

    Si Qing thought that Gu Yanying was talking to him. He sneered gently and made no comment.

    ¡°I have always stopped when I should.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He would not stop when he should not either.

    With that, he entered the Asura Field first. Under the familiar blood-red swirl and within the heavy smell of blood, everything was dyed with a layer of red light.

    The terrain there was roughly the same. Mountains rose and fell. Within the embrace of the mountains was an extremely expansive plot of open land.

    Li Qingshan watched as Si Qing appeared in mid-air. They stood at a distance, confronting one another.

    Soon afterwards, the Unraging monk and everyone else appeared on the highest peak, overlooking the battlefield below.

    ¡°Yue Wuyang, who are they?¡±

    With a flash of red, a dishevelled man appeared on the mountain peak, directly referring to Yue Wuyang by his name. The aura he gave off indicated that he was an Asura King.

    ¡°A living man and a dead man!¡± Yue Wuyang said.

    ¡°A deathmatch! Interesting!¡± the Asura King said.

    ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Yue Wuyang asked.

    ¡°There are actually duels with outcomes that even you can¡¯t grasp?¡± The Asura King was rather surprised. He scanned below and said, ¡°If this were a bet, I¡¯d put my wager on the kid on the right.¡±

    Yue Wuyang was slightly surprised. Li Qingshan was standing to the right. He said sternly, ¡°But he hasn¡¯t even undergone the third heavenly tribulation.¡±

    ¡°What? Was I mistaken?¡± The Asura King knew nothing about Li Qingshan. He had made the judgement purely based off his instincts as a warrior. He gazed at Li Qingshan deeply. ¡°His aura is completely hidden, so how do you know he hasn¡¯t undergone the third heavenly tribulation? Why do I feel he¡¯s much more troublesome of an opponent than the kid on the left? Perhaps you¡¯re mistaken.¡±

    Yue Wuyang wanted to deny that, but he was unable to bring himself to question an Asura King¡¯s instincts for battle. Had he really mistaken instead?

    ¡°Li Qingshan, use whatever you¡¯re capable of! I¡¯d like to see where your confidence to face me comes from. I heard you practise the secret cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Demon Suppression Statuary. Let¡¯s see how impressive it is!¡±

    ¡°As you wish!¡±

    Li Qingshan released his suppression over the demon heart. Immediately, demon qi rushed into the air and gushed out in all directions like the tide.

    He had not spent enough time building up ¡°quality¡±, but from the perspective of ¡°quantity¡± alone, it was quite a startling effect.

    Si Qing was stunned. He refused to believe it.

    ¡°Demon King!¡±

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s eyes narrowed. All he saw was Li Qingshan¡¯s dark-red eyes shining like cold stars within the surging demon qi as strange demonic markings covered his body.

    Suddenly, he understood what was going on. Killing a locust Daemon Commander within a locust swarm with ease was not something a Golden Core cultivator could achieve. He definitely had not been relying on the Asura Field alone. But how was this possible? He was only so old right now!

    The Unraging monk was taken aback before chuckling aloud. This disciple of his would always surprise him.

    ¡°The third heavenly tribulation. He¡¯s already undergone the third heavenly tribulation!¡± Yue Bing murmured. Thinking about how he had said he wanted to test Li Qingshan out in the Chain mountains, only now did he realise how hilarious of a proposition that was.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. So I¡¯ve still underestimated you.¡± Han Anjun glanced at Han Qiongzhi again and saw how she was unworried. He could not help but sigh inside.

    ¡°Do you think you can defeat me with just this?¡± Si Qing recovered from his shock, roaring as he turned into a black dragon. He lunged towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Alright, we don¡¯t even need to guess now. The outcome has already been determined!¡± the Asura King said.

    ¡°The difference in their strength isn¡¯t great!¡± Yue Wuyang remarked. Si Qing was even slightly stronger.

    ¡°You still don¡¯t understand? I think you¡¯ve spent far too much time as the Great General King that you¡¯ve even forgotten about the very basics. When wild beasts hunt prey, don¡¯t they all hide themselves as much as possible? It was completely possible for the kid on the right to keep his strength hidden and launch a sudden attack when it mattered.¡±

    Yue Wuyang became speechless. Did he stop hiding because he had already achieved his objective and possessed absolute confidence in killing Si Qing here?

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 Chapter 993: The Black Dragonâ€™s Death Grip, Getting a Little More Serious

    The blood-red swirl began to spin!

    The black dragon let out a cry, which echoed across the entire Asura Field. He lunged towards Li Qingshan in a threatening manner.

    Apart from Yue Wuyang, the Unraging monk, Gu Yanying, and the Asura King, everyone else only saw a flash of black rushing towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Heh!¡± Li Qingshan laughed gently. His demon qi erupted like thick smoke, immediately swallowing his figure.

    Bang! The black dragon ran head-first into a plume of smoke. A huge, metallic hand extended out of the surging demon qi, pressing down on the dragon¡¯s head.

    The black dragon put up a struggle, but he was unable to take another step forward. He roared inside, This is impossible! I¡¯ve practised the Black Emperor Dragon Classic arduously! When I transform into a black dragon, my body is so tough that it even surpasses Daemon Kings. How can I be stopped like this!?

    A colossal figure faded in and out within the demon qi. Suddenly, he took in a deep breath, and the demon qi flowed backwards, finally revealing an armoured giant that stood three hundred meters tall like a mountain. His eyes shone in a gloomy, demonic fashion, which abruptly lit up. The huge hand on the black dragon¡¯s head tightened and wrenched backwards.

    The black dragon and its body that was almost six hundred meters long rushed forwards powerlessly before another large hand grabbed him firmly. Li Qingshan swung him around violently, slamming him heavily into the ground.

    Boom!

    Rocks shattered, and the ground cracked open.

    The black dragon widened his eyes and felt his entire body ache. The pair of huge hands tugged him forcefully, swinging his colossal body at the air again.

    Boom!

    Like a child flinging a snake around, Li Qingshan grabbed the black dragon and slammed him about. Laughter rang out from his heavy armour.

    All of the spectators were at a loss for words. This was no nervous battle to the death. It was clearly a one-sided game.

    ¡°I¡¯ve mistaken too. How can his strength be so great?¡± the Asura King remarked in amazement.

    The black dragon¡¯s body was even tougher than the Asura King¡¯s. Even the Asura Kings that pursued physical strength could not block his full-powered lunge with a single hand.

    Physical strength was not the only standard of measure for battle prowess, but once the difference in physical strength reached a certain point, especially when it came to close combat, then the outcome of the battle would be as clear as day.

    The Asura King pursed his lips. ¡°I sure do want to fight him!¡±

    ¡°The Demon Suppression Statuary really is a secret cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. It¡¯s even greater than the Black Emperor Dragon Classic!¡±

    Yue Wuyang could not help but re-evaluate the monk who drank and ate meat right beside him. Even his disciple possessed such strength, so would he not be even stronger as the master?

    The Unraging monk was engrossed by the battle. Only after returning to his senses did he smile. ¡°That would be an inaccurate compliment, fellow. He probably had some kind of fortuitous encounter in the Mist province. Just the Demon Suppression Statuary alone isn¡¯t this mighty!¡± However, he did frown slightly, as Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance and behaviour was far too irregular.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary did condense a demon heart, but their nature was still vastly different from demonfolk. However, the current Li Qingshan seemed no different from a Demon King. The completely-uncontrolled malice he gave off was even stronger and more terrifying than regular Demon Kings. The Demon Suppression Statuary had turned into something completely different in his hands.

    Has he suffered from cultivation deviation? The Unraging monk soon dismissed this thought. Li Qingshan¡¯s regular behaviour was very normal, without any signs of a drastic change in personality or becoming emotionally unstable. On top of that, cultivation deviation was a frightening state riddled with downsides. He had never heard about growing stronger after cultivation deviation.

    Just what had he encountered in the Mist province?

    ¡°Li! Qing! Shan!¡±

    The black dragon was tossed into the air again and let out a furious roar. Never had he felt so humiliated before. He opened his mouth and black water gushed out like a black river, surging right into Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a chuckle.

    With a hiss, a thick layer of his visor was eaten away, but there was more thick armour underneath. His demonified form was basically completely composed of armour, making his defences devilishly strong. It provided no other benefits.

    The black dragon produced a forceful wriggle and slid through Li Qingshan¡¯s hands. He smiled viciously, intentionally loosening his grip. Within the violent sounds of metallic scraping, countless scales were stripped and thrown into the air.

    The agony akin to being subjected to slow slicing almost sent the black dragon into a frenzy. He coiled around Li Qingshan, digging into Li Qingshan¡¯s vital points deeply with his four dragon claws while biting Li Qingshan¡¯s neck viciously.

    The claws and teeth thrusted in deeply. With the twisting sound of metal, the demonic armour distorted violently.

    Black Dragon¡¯s Death Grip!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s demon qi subsided, and his demon heart dimmed. It became wrapped with a thin, black thread that happened to be a miniature black dragon.

    It wrapped around the demon heart firmly, preventing him from using his cultivation. This was not just a death grip over the body, but also a direct suppression of his energy reserves.

    ¡°I want you to die!¡± The black dragon roared with heavy killing intent.

    ¡°This kid has been far too careless, or in other words, he has absolutely no fighting spirit. Victory will be difficult to say now that he¡¯s caught up in this attack!¡± The Asura King shook his head, but he was puzzled by why he still could not sense much fighting spirit even now.

    I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be suppressed today instead despite practising the Demon Suppression Statuary. But unfortunately, it¡¯s still too weak. Even if the people I¡¯ve once viewed as great enemies have been cultivating relatively quickly, they¡¯ve already become so weak. Let alone powerful Demon Kings like the Martial Chief King and the Kings of Yin and Yang, even the half-assed Bone Eating Shaman King is stronger than you! A battle like this is far too boring! Li Qingshan thought to himself.

    Li Qingshan could not feel his blood boiling at all. Although it was said that even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, that was because the rabbit would escape if the lion did not use its full strength. A rabbit that threw itself at the lion and gnawed away furiously would only make the lion very embarrassed!

    But to the others, Li Qingshan was truly in a precarious situation. His colossal demonic armour constantly distorted and shrank, constantly being eaten away by the black water as the teeth and claws constantly dug deeper. No matter how thick and heavy the armour was, it would not be able to protect him very soon.

    ¡°Si Qing, I¡¯m going to blow up my demon heart! I¡¯ll take you down with me!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed.

    ¡°You-¡±

    Si Qing became conflicted. This was a powerful killing strike, but it possessed a fatal flaw. He could seal up the enemy¡¯s cultivation, but he could not stop them from blowing themselves up. Once the enemy became determined to detonate themselves, it was very easy for him to die with them in his current state. He was not afraid of death, but a death like that would be far too regretful.

    ¡°Tsktsk, you didn¡¯t think that a mighty crown prince like you would actually die here with a person like me, did you? Why don¡¯t you admit defeat, and I¡¯ll spare your life?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Si Qing flew into a fury. Li Qingshan was clearly in dire straits, yet he still had the courage to threaten him.

    ¡°Then pershing together it is!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Come at me!¡± Si Qing roared, using his full strength to kill Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan fell silent, and Si Qing¡¯s heart sat in his throat. He was ready to pull back and dodge at any moment.

    ¡°Just kidding. You¡¯re dreaming if you think I¡¯ll perish with you!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, but the jokes stopped there. He made a total of two decisions.

    First of all, he would not use the absolute strength from the Ox Demon Transformation to crush him anymore. He would not be using the powers of the other transformations either. He would use only the Demon Suppression Statuary against him. He would use this opportunity to test out his new powers, as well as to prevent himself from attracting too much suspicion from the spectators.

    Second of all, he would be getting a little more serious.

 Chapter 994: Paybackâ€™s a Bitch

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes gently and brought his focus onto the demon heart.

    ¡°His aura has changed!¡±

    The Asura King who had been sitting cross-legged suddenly stood up, gazing at the battlefield in interest. His lips curled into a vicious smile. ¡°It¡¯s finally getting a little interesting.¡±

    ¡°I, Si Qing, belong to the imperial clan of Great Xia! I am chosen by fate! You¡¯re just a lowly common person who only made it here today through some luck! To think you would actually try and oppose me! Today is the day you die!¡±

    The black dragon roared as he tightened around him, reducing the armour to scrap metal.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t this stupid back then. Has the lightning rendered you a dimwit when you underwent the tribulation?¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and murderousness immediately began to surge. Malice rushed into the air. The blood-red swirl rapidly sped up, and his demon heart shone with rings of light, slamming against the black dragon around it.

    To a large extent, the power of the demon heart originated from the demonic nature. When he was basically playing around, he did not use his true strength.

    ¡°What bold fighting spirit!¡± Yue Wuyang praised. As a warrior, he obviously admired true warriors. He held Li Qingshan in a different light now. He turned around and asked Han Anjun, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you accept him as a disciple of the school of the Military back then?¡±

    Han Anjun was unable to answer him. Everything had boiled down to a coincidence.

    ¡°Though, you aren¡¯t losing out to have a son-in-law like him,¡± said Yue Wuyang.

    Han Anjun smiled wryly. Originally, he did not want a son-in-law like him. It was all because of his daughter¡¯s stubborn insistence.

    As Li Qingshan ¡°got serious¡±, Si Qing immediately felt his surekill death grip loosen slightly. He was alarmed and furious inside, How is this possible? This is a killing strike from the Black Emperor Dragon Classic. Even if it¡¯s not enough to defeat those with higher cultivations than me, how can he break free from this?

    ¡°There are no whys. You¡¯re just a little weaker than me when it comes down to both strength and will. Undergoing the third heavenly tribulation and becoming a crown prince of Great Xia has only given you an illusion of strength. You¡¯re even weaker than when I first saw you, Si Qing!¡± Li Qingshan seemed to read Si Qing¡¯s thoughts as he smiled away.

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°At the very least, you still knew fear, and you still knew schemes back then! Now, you¡¯ve just become some shitty crown prince, and you actually believe you¡¯ve already arrived at the top of the food chain, where you can look down on all and do whatever you want?¡±

    Li Qingshan hit the crux of the issue with every word he said. The murderousness he gave off became heavier.

    In a daze, Si Qing was caught up in a misapprehension. He was not the one who forced Li Qingshan into dire straits. Instead, Li Qingshan had grasped his fundamental weakness!

    He had become a crown prince less than a year ago. The sudden change in his status and identity gave him unprecedented confidence. As soon as he heard that the Asura Field had appeared in the Green province, he rushed right over. He was as relaxed and composed as taking candy from a baby. However, all of the developments had greatly exceeded his initial expectations. Just what had gone wrong?

    In the World of the Nine Provinces, facing the third heavenly tribulation could be regarded as arriving at the peak. He could ease up and enjoy the sight of everything below a little. He also happened to practise one of the best cultivation methods out there and possessed an extremely great status. He even had the opportunity to make an attempt at the emperor¡¯s throne. However, when he suddenly looked back, he discovered that an insignificant figure he had once looked down on had already caught up to him, even surpassing him by a step.

    ¡°If my enemies are all of the likes of you, then revenge would be far too boring¡ªRemorselessness of the Demon Heart!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    The demon heart erupted with light, immediately breaking free from the restraints. Demon qi gushed out.

    ¡°Fall!¡±

    Several dozen Demon Suppression Towers of various sizes jutted out from the demonic armour like sharp spearheads.

    With a painful cry, the black dragon oozed with blood, and his death grip halted, but he still refused to let go. He thought, I just have to last a little longer. Once I rip off this damned armour, I¡¯ll be able to kill him!

    ¡°Begone!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered, and demon qi surged out, sending the black dragon flying.

    ¡°Chains!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, and the Chains of Demon Suppression shot out, binding the black dragon¡¯s tail.

    The Chains of Demon Suppression became taut as the black dragon tried to fly away, desperately attempting to break free from the restraints. He finally felt the sensation of fear he had not experienced in a very long time.

    ¡°Suppress!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    A huge shadow descended from above. A Demon Suppression Tower so large that it resembled a mountain fell down right over the black dragon.

    The black dragon turned around and bit through the Chains of Demon Suppression. Abruptly, he shrank in size, dodging the Demon Suppression Tower and fleeing towards the mountains beyond the battlefield.

    This took everyone present by surprise. Si Qing had actually been forced into fleeing!

    The Black Emperor Dragon Classic was powerful, but it did not have any advantage over the Demon Suppression Statuary. On top of that, even if Li Qingshan did not use the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, his battle prowess exceeded that of regular Demon Kings with his powerful demonic nature as a foundation.

    ¡°Fellow Yue, what happens now?¡± Li Qingshan was not in a hurry to go after him, or in other words, he really could not catch him if he did not use his other abilities.

    ¡°The battle is still not over. I¡¯ve already sealed up the Asura Field. Only one person can leave here!¡± Yue Wuyang said solemnly.

    Yue Wuyang did not want a crown prince to die in his Asura Field, but duels had rules. If he had the determination to kill, then he had to be ready to be killed.

    ¡°What if he keeps running?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I will shrink the range of activity available to you every two hours. This is also one of the rules of the duel,¡± said Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°You can say that payback is a bitch.¡± Li Qingshan chuckled aloud. Several years ago, Si Qing had used this exact rule to force many cultivators into meeting their doom.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll wait here for him!¡±

    He dispersed his heavy armour and demonficiation, sitting down and studying his demon heart. After a small battle that was not exactly intense, his demon heart had shrunk by quite a lot, but it had also eliminated quite a lot of impurities.

    ¡°Remorselessness of the Demon Heart! Damned disciple, how did you practise the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡± The Unraging monk questioned him loudly.

    ¡°I obviously comprehended it from the Demon Suppression statues. Is there something wrong?¡± Li Qingshan feigned ignorance.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just wrong. It has basically been incorrect right from the beginning. It¡¯s completely and utterly wrong! How are you any different from demonfolk right now?¡± the Unraging monk said with bitter hatred.

    ¡°Difference? Not only do I avoid doing bad things, but I even held off the locust swarms and saved over a million people. What difference do you think there is? Master, your horizons are far too narrow. Who knows, I might be practising the right version, and you might be practising the wrong version.¡±

    The Unraging monk was also uncertain. Did this path really exist in the Demon Suppression Statuary? Then he asked, ¡°When did you face the third heavenly tribulation.¡±

    ¡°Not too long ago,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°So much for keeping it hidden. That¡¯s clearly due to a guilty conscience.¡±

    ¡°I keep a very clear conscience, so what guilt is there to feel?¡± Li Qingshan yelled at the sky, ¡°Si Qing, stop wasting time! Get down here to face your death!¡±

    His voice echoed through the entire mountain range. In a mountain stream, the black dragon had shrunk to the size of a little finger, hidden within the cracks of the rock like a little snake. He concealed all of his aura as he hid there.

    Various emotions like fury, fear, irritation, and regret surged through his heart. His pride as a crown prince had collapsed in a single day. He thought to himself, No, I still can¡¯t die here. I want revenge. Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll definitely make you feel regret!

 Chapter 995: Say Your Last Words

    Time passed slowly, so Li Qingshan just focused on cultivation, continuing to refine the demon heart. Meanwhile, Yue Wuyang constantly shrank the range of the battlefield.

    After who knew how long, a wisp of black clouds rose up from the stream and spread between the mountains. Thunder boomed in the clouds as the figure of a dragon faded in and out.

    ¡°Finally!¡± A smile spread across Li Qingshan¡¯s face as he said loudly, ¡°Stop dilly-dallying and come and put an end to this!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the dark clouds reached over from the horizon and shrouded the sky above Li Qingshan. Black rain poured down from above, stirring up his protective demon qi and producing clouds of white mist.

    At this moment, another two hours had passed, so Yue Wuyang shrank the battlefield further. The empty land surrounded by the mountains, as well as some mountains and rivers in the surroundings, were the entire region available to them now. They were all enveloped by the black clouds.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, your moment of death has arrived!¡±

    The figure of the dragon flew about. Si Qing¡¯s voice rang out from the dark clouds, coupled with the rumbling thunder like an order from heaven.

    This move was called the Dark Clouds Overhead. Originally, it was a move used for sieges from the Black Dragon Emperor Classic. It possessed extremely great destructive power, but it was not suited for individual clashes, or the enemy could rise up above the dark clouds with a single flash.

    However, Si Qing had grasped the timing and the geography, so Li Qingshan could not avoid it. All he could do was directly confront the attack.

    ¡°You spent half a day preparing just to give me a shower?¡± Li Qingshan stood on the battlefield and exhaled deeply, tearing apart the curtain of rain and ripping apart the clouds. He saw the black dragon¡¯s tail and the Chains of Demon Suppression whistled out.

    With a swing, the tail evaded the Chains of Demon Suppression, vanishing into the dark clouds again. The dragon constantly spat out mist from its mouth, making the clouds grow thicker, weighing heavily over the battlefield. The torrential rain poured down, pooling up to Li Qingshan¡¯s ankles before long. The black water seemed to be alive, tossing and turning to swallow him.

    Li Qingshan shuddered, and the water turned into countless droplets, shooting off in all directions.

    ¡°Demonification!¡±

    The surging demon qi turned into a colossal set of armour around three hundred meters tall. The sharp horn on his head almost touched the clouds, but compared to its clumsy shape from before, it seemed a little more slender.

    A demonic eye was condensed on the forehead of the armour, which produced a streak of light that searched for the black dragon¡¯s location in the clouds.

    Suddenly, he saw a dragon flash by, so he threw a punch!

    A great hole tore open in the clouds before gradually closing up again, but the black dragon was nowhere to be seen.

    Si Qing remained hidden until the dark clouds had amassed to the limit. The rolling sound of thunder in the clouds could not be suppressed anymore either. He abruptly let out a cry.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    With a flash, a bolt of lightning rained down with the wrath of revenge, falling on Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The electricity was blinding, turning into sparks that coursed through his body. It vanished with a flash.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s entire body turned numb. Blinding electricity filled his eyes as rumbles filled his ears. A string of lightning crashed down!

    The Unraging monk frowned slightly. The Three Graves and Five Classics of the imperial clan really were something else. Even the protective formations around an entire sect could fall to an attack like that, and lightning was relatively effective against demon qi. If it had been some regular Demon King instead, they definitely would have perished to the lightning!

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s eyes were filled with worry, but she did her best to hide it. Yue Bing watched without blinking. His eyes were glued.

    As for Yue Wuyang, he lamented over how the younger generation was here to take over the old. After all, they had both only undergone the third heavenly tribulation recently, but when it came to fighting, even he, the Great General King, did not have absolute confidence in emerging victoriously.

    He used this opportunity to scold and teach his son. ¡°Yue Bing, do you still dare to call yourself a genius and neglect your cultivation now?¡±

    ¡°I would never!¡± Yue Bing said obediently, but he thought, Since when have I ever neglected my cultivation? Am I really not a genius for possessing such a cultivation at my age? The two of them are just complete deviants, especially that Li Qingshan. I heard Qiongzhi say that he¡¯s only a few dozen years old. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s a Reincarnated Celestial?

    The Demon Suppression Tower that jutted towards the sky on Li Qingshan¡¯s helmet basically became a lightning rod. The scorching lightning ripped through his demonic armour and left marks as the black water at his feet constantly surged up, furiously eating away at the armour.

    The dragon cries lingered around, filled with the delight of revenge. Si Qing controlled the white lightning and black water as he tried to obliterate Li Qingshan. Only then would he be satisfied.

    Li Qingshan did not move at all as if he had lost all ability to resist, allowing the lightning to strike him. His lips curled into a smile.

    The reason why his demonified form was so clumsy was because it had not been refined by the tribulation lightning, and the demon energy he had devoured from the various Demon Kings could not merge together completely. He just happened to be most in need of refinement, only for Si Qing to go out of his way to help him and make up for this shortcoming for him perfectly.

    What else could he say? All he had to do was stand there obediently and let the lightning strike him. It was a joke to consider he would actually die to the lightning. Even without using the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, his powerful physique was still something. Even if he got rid of the armour and let Si Qing strike him with lightning for a century, it would be nothing.

    Li Qingshan silently circulated the Demon Suppression Statuary, and the speckled impurities in the demon heart slowly faded away under the refinement of lightning. His demonic nature surged, but it was no longer the tiger demon¡¯s fighting spirit, but the ox demon¡¯s endurance, silently enduring the lightning strikes.

    His colossal body rapidly shrank, reaching less than a hundred and fifty meters tall very soon. Meanwhile, the black water rose up rapidly, forming a black lake and reaching up to Li Qingshan¡¯s waist. The fierce waves slammed against his body, but he was like a black piece of reef, standing there without budging.

    A while later, the black water reached his chest.

    ¡£

    Qingshan, just a little longer! the Unraging monk thought. The lightning strikes had already begun to weaken. Without any pills or spiritual stones, even Si Qing could not maintain an attack of such intensity for too long.

    Just a little longer!

    Si Qing gritted his teeth and used every last drop of energy in him. Victory was right before his eyes. Li Qingshan had already reached his limit. As long as he continued for a little longer, it would end with his success. He would redeem himself from his humiliation and take back his Asura Field!

    However, Li Qingshan also happened to be thinking, Si Qing, a little longer! The effects of the refinement were quite impressive. This short moment had saved him half a year at the very least.

    Li Qingshan turned smaller and smaller. Another while later, Li Qingshan was completely swallowed as a wave slammed down.

    The rumbling thunder eased up, and the dark clouds began to disperse. The black dragon glided around a few times on the surface of the water and wondered, Has he died?

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi took a step forward in concern.

    The Asura King glanced at her. ¡°What¡¯re you panicking for? Your man has won. He¡¯s even stronger than I anticipated him to be!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s won?¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    Jangle!

    A Chain of Demon Suppression burst out of the water, wounding around the black dragon¡¯s neck before tugging downwards suddenly.

    The black dragon fell heavily into the water, and the lake surged violently. The dragon tail would surface from time to time, slamming against the water and producing colossal waves, but the head remained submerged.

    With a boom, the black dragon burst out of the water. Among the splashes, Li Qingshan stood high on the dragon¡¯s head. He had turned back into human form, his demonic armour stripped away. Layers upon layers of demonic markings riddled across his robust body.

    He held the Chain of Demon Suppression in his hands like a rope, reining in the violent black dragon under his feet.

    ¡°Say your last words!¡±

 Chapter 996: Win-win

    The black dragon let out a violent roar. He wriggled around as he tried to break free from the chain and shake off Li Qingshan from the top of his head.

    The black dragon dove into the water at times and produced startling waves, or he rushed into the clouds and fragmented them even more.

    However, Li Qingshan stuck to his head like he had been hammered in, standing there firmly. He would casually pull the chain and the dragon head would tilt to one side. The pitch-black chains dug deeply into his flesh.

    Si Qing sank into madness. Compared to the physical pain, he found the humiliation and despair even more unbearable. Suddenly, he straightened himself out and rushed forwards, slamming head-first into a mountain.

    Boom!

    Dust filled the air. The mountain trembled as if it was going to collapse.

    However, when the black dragon emerged from the dust, Li Qingshan was still standing on his head. As a matter of fact, he stood as straight as before, without any changes to his posture.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The black dragon circled through the mountains and slammed through over a dozen of them in a single breath. The peaks tilted and snapped, sending rock and soil falling into the deep, black water and producing great waves.

    However, a few more chains wrapped around the black dragon now. Even wriggling his body became extremely difficult. These chains continued to tighten around him, giving off the great power of suppressing demons.

    In order to power the lightning, the black dragon had already used up all of his strength. Exhaustion finally caught up with him after his furious rampage. Choked by the chains, he constantly shrank until he returned to human form. He fell on the top of a mountain, which happened to be a close neighbour of the tallest peak where the Unraging monk and the others stood.

    Si Qing was dishevelled. His dragon robes were in tatters, and blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. He was in an extremely sorry shape. He continued to glare at Li Qingshan with hatred, refusing to accept this as his fate. He was like a wolf that had fallen into a trap, gazing at the hunter outside.

    ¡°That gaze! That¡¯s more like it!¡±

    Li Qingshan crouched down and stared at Si Qing. The demonic markings covered his body as the demon qi surged. Compared to Si Qing who radiated with imperial nobility, he seemed more like a great villain.

    ¡°Who are you exactly?¡± Si Qing still found this all to be a little difficult to accept.

    ¡°Me? I¡¯m a citizen of Great Xia, a loyal subject of yours, your majesty!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed Si Qing by the head and tightened his grip. Within the sounds of the shattering skull, Si Qing¡¯s furious roar rang out, ¡°I will never spare you!¡±

    The figure of a black dragon flashed past as if it had leapt into a different space, directly passing through the restraints of the Asura Field and flying towards the distant Dragon province.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He did not expect the way his soul escaped would be so special. It must have been a life-saving technique unique to crown princes of Great Xia. He immediately formed a fist, about to hurl it out with the power of tremors, but after some thought, he still ended up loosening his grip.

    Now was not the time for him to expose himself. If he wanted to learn the ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary, then he had to access the Demon Suppression hall. He did not want to make an enemy out of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga just yet, especially his own master, the Unraging monk.

    Li Qingshan had destroyed Si Qing¡¯s body, so it was definitely a heavy blow to his cultivation. Who knew how long it would take before he recovered. By then, he could obviously crush Si Qing with ease. There was no need for him to be in such a hurry.

    ¡°Victory to Li Qingshan!¡± Yue Wuyang announced loudly. His voice echoed through the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan picked up Si Qing¡¯s corpse and leapt up to the highest peak. After being refined by the lightning, he no longer needed to use the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to keep his demon heart suppressed. The demon qi dispersed, and the demonic markings faded away, but he still seemed a little eerie.

    There was a blood-red flash, and the Asura King blocked Li Qingshan¡¯s path. Murderousness surged into his face. ¡°You¡¯re called Li Qingshan, right? Are you bold enough to face me in battle?¡±

    ¡°Boring.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up slightly, but he continued forwards without stopping. The Asura King¡¯s murderousness fluctuated unceasingly as if he could strike at any time. Holding back was not a concept that existed to asura. They were definitely out to kill the moment they struck.

    However, Li Qingshan did not respond to that at all as if he could not see the danger involved. You can fluctuate all you like. I¡¯ll just remain steadfast. He directly brushed past the Asura King.

    A sliver of surprise flashed through the Asura King¡¯s eyes. He did not end up striking.

    Li Qingshan arrived before Gu Yanying and extended his hand. ¡°My spoils!¡±

    Gu Yanying placed two sumeru rings into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Their eyes met, almost as if they were holding a conversation.

    Han Qiongzhi embraced Li Qingshan as soon as she rushed over, saying excitedly, ¡°Wonderful! You won!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I let that bastard get away,¡± Li Qingshan said with some regret.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing. Including Si Qing, there are only three crown princes of Great Xia. His status cannot be compared to regular great cultivators. Even if he dies in a duel, the imperial clan might not necessarily be willing to simply drop the matter.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°In other words, it¡¯s still a win-win in the end. I got the spoils and he got to live.¡±

    ¡°How is this a win-win? He came to the Green province in high spirits to collect his debt, yet not only did he lose his sumeru ring in the process, he was almost beaten to death!¡± Yue Bing refuted.

    ¡°I still think there¡¯s something wrong with your Demon Suppression Statuary!¡± The Unraging monk did not understand. From Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance and behaviour, he did not seem like he had fallen into the demonic path.

    ¡°We can talk about something unimportant like this in the future! Master, I need to spend some time with the madam.¡± Li Qingshan brought his hand around Han Qiongzhi¡¯s waist, and she reddened slightly.

    ¡°Damned disciple, oh damned disciple!¡± The Unraging monk shook his head. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll be waiting for you on Great Buddha mountain!¡±

    They left the Asura Field and returned to the main hall of the Han estate.

    ¡°There¡¯s something else that I¡¯d like to discuss, seeing how fellow Gu happens to be here,¡± said Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°What is it? Didn¡¯t the Great General King come here because of the Asura Field?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a private matter. You are indeed worthy of an Asura Field.¡±

    Yue Wuyang spoke mildly, no longer criticising Li Qingshan for his lack of modesty and respect towards his elders. As a disciple of the school of the Military, he followed the basic principle of the Asura realm. Strong warriors were all worthy of respect.

    ¡°There¡¯s official business aside from that. The Soaring Locust King hates you very much. Could you tell me the reason for that?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the Unraging monk, and the Unraging monk nodded. Actually, even he did not understand too well why the Soaring Locust King hated Li Qingshan so much.

    ¡°Actually, it was nothing major. He tried to delude me back then in the Demon Suppression hall and I cursed back at him!¡± Li Qingshan gave a rough explanation of everything that happened.

    ¡°I see. Sure enough, impressive courage! I believe this hatred can be used. I mean no offence, but you can serve as bait to lure out the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body!¡±

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s private or official, none of it seems to be any good business!¡± Li Qingshan remarked.

    ¡°Originally, there was great danger involved in this. You master and I were giving this some further thought, to see how we could ensure your safety, but from your performance today, the Unraging master has absolutely nothing to worry about. We just wanted to ask what you thought,¡± said Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind, but while the Soaring Locust King seems brash and short-tempered, he¡¯s actually very cautious and vigilant. He won¡¯t fall for it so easily.¡± Li Qingshan did not think the Soaring Locust King had become blinded by hatred. During their few, short interactions, he could sense the cold and calculating nature of an insect beneath his brash and irritable appearance.

    ¡°Even if there¡¯s just the slightest chance, it¡¯s worth a try!¡± Yue Wuyang said.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be waiting for your call.¡±

    In a certain, glorious palace within the Dragon province, the figure of a dragon suddenly appeared on an imposing altar engraved with nine, colossal dragons. The figure gradually assumed human form, translucent in appearance. His face was twisted with viciousness as he roared at the sky.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you will never be forgiven!¡±

 Chapter 997: Date

    Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi left the Han estate. Suddenly, snowflakes began to drift down from the gloomy sky.

    ¡°What a sight I haven¡¯t seen in a long time.¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand and touched a snowflake. In the blink of an eye, snow drifted throughout the entire place. The world seemed to fall quiet too.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked.

    ¡°As the madam wishes. We¡¯ll go wherever you say!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Who¡¯s your madam? You seem to have forgotten about something,¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    ¡°How could I forget it? Though, proposing the marriage just then seems a little hurried. I¡¯ll come here again once you refine the Fruit of Wisdom. Hopefully your father doesn¡¯t object again.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the grand entrance behind him.

    ¡°What if he objects again?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll give him a beating!¡± Li Qingshan waved his fist around and revealed a toothy grin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Han Qiongzhi widened her eyes before laughing as well.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else I can do. All I know is to use my fists.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi held his hand gently. ¡°Since you treat me as your madam, what¡¯s so important about holding a wedding?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯ll definitely be one.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and clouds gathered under their feet, lifting them up into the air. They flew off into the distance.

    He purposefully remained below the clouds, travelling through the wind and snow. The snow fell harder, drifting through the air like feathers. The ground became pure-white very soon.

    Han Qiongzhi leaned against him in his arms. ¡°If only we could remain like this.¡±

    ¡°We still have a long time ahead of us!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Really? Stop trying to coax me. I¡¯m not as easy to coax as before. I can sense that you¡¯ll be going to a very, very distant place!¡± Han Qiongzhi raised her head. Her beautiful face was melancholic, while her voice was so soft that it was almost drowned out by the wind.

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He had never explicitly told her about his identity, much less mentioned his aspirations beyond the Nine Heavens to her.

    ¡°I¡¯m right, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m not particularly clever, but for some reason, I feel like I can always understand your thoughts,¡± Han Qiongzhi said rather proudly.

    ¡°I will bring you with me.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened. Han Qiongzhi grabbed his mouth forcefully. ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t make a promise about something you can¡¯t achieve so easily. And you said something like cherishing a one and only despite all the women in life. My ass!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t slander me. I¡¯ve spent three decades on cultivation and only cultivation. I¡¯m as innocent as snow. Why¡¯re you looking at me like that? Don¡¯t you believe me¡­¡±

    Under Han Qiongzhi¡¯s gaze, Li Qingshan gradually ran out of confidence too. ¡°Alright, I admit that I made some mistakes every now and then. Please be the bigger person, madam, and forgive me!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, who wants you to apologise? Feel free to do whatever you want!¡± Han Qiongzhi suddenly pushed Li Qingshan away.

    She left Li Qingshan scratching his head. He had no idea what to say.

    ¡°Who made me like a guy like you? It¡¯s not like I plan on getting along with you for my entire life! I originally thought I wouldn¡¯t fall in love with any man, and I would be fortunate if I came across one. I just never thought our time together would be so short. I thought it would be a century at the very least, and then I¡¯ll run out of patience with your philandering and kick you away for good. You bastard, you¡¯re not even giving me this opportunity. Wouldn¡¯t that make it impossible for me to get over you?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face changed, sometimes furious and sometimes with sighs. As she went on, her eyes reddened. When Li Qingshan had demonstrated his true cultivation to her, she felt happy for him, but she also completely understood something. She would never be able to catch up to him.

    ¡°Qiongzhi¡­¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart stirred. He wanted to say something, but he was unable to say anything.

    Han Qiongzhi arrived at one end of the cloud alone and gazed at the pure-white ground. When she waited for his return, perhaps it was a form of hardship, but she still clung onto a ray of hope. Yet now, she had to watch as he travelled further and further away. Eventually, he would completely vanish from her world. Just what kind of despair was that?

    She rubbed her eyes and looked back with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I might not be able to become your cultivation partner, but I won¡¯t become your deadweight either. You have to do your best to travel a little further. You have to become a hundred times better than that bastard Si Qing. You have to make everyone look up to you!¡±

    Within the wind and snow, she was like a ball of fire, which dazzled Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. His heart burned with even greater fervour than when he gave Si Qing a fierce beating.

    Han Qiongzhi arrived before him, holding him by his cheeks and asking him, ¡°Do you want me?¡± Her face was completely red, but her eyes remained fixed on him. She said seriously, ¡°My husband, I want you!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms with a single stroke and kissed her on her lips before collapsing together on the cloud. The mist surged and enveloped them, and the entire cloud vanished into the cloud layer too.

    ¡£

    He could still remember when he first saw her. He did not have any good impression of her. Even when he accepted her courtship, he had done so reluctantly. Back then, his head was still full of Gu Yanying. Only after spending a period together did he develop these romantic feelings for her.

    Among all the women he had seen in his life, she was not the most beautiful, nor was she the one who made his heart throb the most, let alone the one who provided him with the greatest existence. With closer thought, even this romance was surprisingly ordinary. Sometimes, it even gave him the feeling that he did not transcend to a whole new world. Instead, he had remained on a certain university campus and was involved in a plain relationship. There was neither the awkwardness and repression of the cowshed, nor were there the ups and downs after he had left the mountains.

    However, when he looked back, only this period of plainness had made him want to pause and stop, keeping him from thinking about some aspiration beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Following the deep kiss, Li Qingshan began disrobing her as he gently kissed her neck. His heart was filled with tenderness. Even his actions became especially gentle.

    Slap! Han Qiongzhi smacked the back of his head. ¡°What¡¯re you dilly-dallying around for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a woman who¡¯s so bad at reading the mood like you!¡± Li Qingshan widened his eyes.

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯ve finally given yourself away! Tell me, how many women have you done this with?¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head again to seal her lips with his mouth. With a forceful tug, there was a rip, and he tore apart the red clothes.

    ¡°My clothes¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi said vaguely.

    Before long, enchanting moans rang out from the clouds, drifting and dispersing in the snow and wind.

    ¡­¡­

    Several days later, in Han Qiongzh¡¯s dwelling.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll become smarter if you eat this thing?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi laid in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms lazily and lifted up the Fruit of Wisdom. They were both naked, filled with a healthy and vigorous sense of beauty. They faced each other calmly without any embarrassment.

    ¡°What else can happen?¡± Li Qingshan yawned. Even he felt a hint of lethargy after several consecutive days of entanglement, but not because he was exhausted. The Strength of the Earth could support him physically forever. He had just completely relaxed mentally.

    ¡°You said you ate one before, so why don¡¯t I feel like you¡¯ve gotten any smarter?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked.

    ¡°Because I¡¯ve always been very smart, so the effects clearly won¡¯t be obvious. It¡¯ll definitely have an effect if you eat it!¡± Li Qingshan grinned.

    Chomp! Han Qiongzhi could not be bothered with refuting him, eating the Fruit of Wisdom in a single gulp. ¡°You can go now. Don¡¯t get in the way of my cultivation!¡±

 Chapter 998: The Crane Cries in the Snow, the Painter and the Scholar of Ink

    ¡°You¡¯re casting me aside as soon as you¡¯re done with me!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°So what if I am? I¡¯m sick of using you anymore. You can piss off!¡± Han Qiongzhi chewed the Fruit of Wisdom, and she kicked Li Qingshan away rudely, but her actions gradually became powerless. Light shone through her eyes. The Fruit of Wisdom began to take effect.

    ¡°So dizzy! I wonder what¡¯ll happen.¡± Han Qiongzhi sighed with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you again when I wake up. This isn¡¯t a place where you should stay. Go, get out of here¡­¡± She murmured like that before finally closing her eyes and collapsing in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    Li Qingshan hugged her firmly, unwilling to part with her. Quite a long while later, he kissed her gently on the forehead and patiently dressed her, tidying up her hair. He left behind a formation, a few bottles of Virtue Accumulation pills, and a stack of violet talismans beside her. These were all spoils he had obtained from Si Qing¡¯s sumeru ring.

    ¡£¡±

    Then he paced through the dwelling a few times before suddenly smiling and shaking his head. He mumbled to himself, ¡°I will be back, no matter how long I¡¯ve been gone for.¡±

    Afterwards, he set foot out of the dwelling, vanishing into the whistling wind and snow alone.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi murmured inaudibly with her eyes shut.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan remembered how there was still one person he had not seen with his return to the Green province this time. From Liu Changqing, Li Qingshan had heard he had become a recluse many years ago, so Li Qingshan crossed through the wind and snow and arrived in a serene mountainous forest.

    Unlike the other places ravaged by the locust plague, the vegetation was still lush, and the lakewater was still tranquil. Within the snow, it seemed particularly neat and beautiful.

    ¡°Danqing, are you here?¡± Li Qingshan called out loudly.

    A short while later, the formation opened and revealed a few exquisite huts. A handsome young man stood in front of the huts and said, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re back from the Mist province!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve undergone the second heavenly tribulation!¡±

    ¡£

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. In order to repair the Three Absolutes Calligraphy for him, Chu Danqing¡¯s cultivation had regressed to Qi Practitioner. In the few decades since he last saw him, not only had he completely recovered, but he had even reached new heights. He seemed even more elegant in bearing now.

    ¡°You¡¯ve undergone the third heavenly tribulation!¡±

    Chu Danqing was extremely surprised. After refining the demon heart, Li Qingshan no longer intentionally suppressed it with the spirit turtle, so the aura he naturally gave off was clearly of the third heavenly tribulation.

    ¡°Looks like neither of us have been wasting any time.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°I really have no idea how on earth you cultivated. It¡¯s unbelievable. Don¡¯t stand in the snow. Come in and take a seat!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no point sitting inside. We¡¯re better off admiring the snow here.¡± Li Qingshan pointed at the lake. There was a simple pavilion there with a rooftop covered in thick thatching. It was a fine place to admire the snow.

    ¡°Alright. I just happen to have a jar of fine alcohol. We can drink as we admire the snow!¡± Chu Danqing was clearly in quite the mood too.

    The two of them sat down in the pavilion, and Chu Danqing took out a painting. With a tremble of his hand, the painting unfurled and female servants emerged, either carrying zithers or stoves. In the blink of an eye, the pavilion was properly arranged for their enjoyment.

    A few cranes then flew out of the building, dancing about in the snow above the lake. They were natural, without the slightest hint of artificiality, merging with the surrounding scenery perfectly like an impressionistic landscape painting. There was also the thrumming of a zither that seeped into the snow and water, which was refreshing. For a moment, it seemed like paradise.

    ¡°Your methods as a painter sure are useful. Even I struggle to tell whether they¡¯re real or fake.¡± At first glance, Li Qingshan was actually unable to distinguish whether these people were real or not. He sighed in amazement inside, After all these years, Chu Danqing¡¯s painting technique has become more ingenious too.

    ¡°It still can¡¯t match the school of Novel¡¯s ability to turn fiction into reality, but looking at your cultivation, it seems unrelated to the school of Novels,¡± Chu Danqing said modestly.

    ¡°The matters of the world are always unpredictable. Oh right, don¡¯t tell me the alcohol you¡¯re inviting me to was painted too?¡±

    ¡°How could it be?¡± Chu Danqing took out a porcelain jar and opened it as he said that.

    Fragrance rushed out of the jar and permeated the chilly air, but it was unlike any regular fragrances of alcohol. Li Qingshan gazed into the jar, only to see a pitch-black liquid rippling inside. Only then did he realise something. ¡°Is this ink? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re inviting me to drink ink!¡±

    ¡°This is Alcohol of Vermillion and Black. Normally, even I can¡¯t bring myself to savour it!¡± Chu Danqing said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s made with your blood?¡± Li Qingshan remembered how Chu Danqing possessed a unique bloodline called the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, which made him suspicious. He had already drunk the blood of a friend before. He did not want to drink a second.

    ¡°I can¡¯t make alcohol like this. Have a taste!¡± Chu Danqing told the beauties from the painting to pour the alcohol. When it entered the cup, the fragrance became even heavier, resembling both ink and alcohol.

    Li Qingshan tried a sip, and his eyes lit up. The strange, perfumy taste spread through his mouth. He felt like his flesh had melted away wherever the alcohol reached. It did not burn, but it seemed to be much more than that. There was extremely pure spiritual qi inside as well, so it definitely was not just for savouring.

    He drank the entire cup in a single gulp, and even his organs felt like they had descended into chaos. He shut his eyes and savoured it for a while, refining the cup of alcohol. Only then did he praise, ¡°That¡¯s some fine alcohol!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s it? I didn¡¯t lie to you, did I?¡± Chu Danqing savoured the alcohol slowly.

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯ve been cultivating so quickly. Where did you get this alcohol from?¡± Li Qingshan asked in wonder. Even third heavenly tribulation cultivators could not necessarily get their hands on spiritual alcohol like that, and Chu Danqing had said it was not him who brewed it.

    ¡°My master gave it to me.¡± Respect from the bottom of his heart filled Chu Danqing¡¯s face.

    ¡°Master Chu left it to you?¡± Li Qingshan asked. However, Chu Shidao had already passed away, and he was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    ¡£¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s another master.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve taken on another master! I wonder what kind of senior he is!¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He knew all too well how attached Chu Danqing was to Chu Shidao. He would never take on another master so easily.

    ¡°Master will probably come here today. You¡¯ll know when you see him.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯d like to see him. Come, cheers!¡± Li Qingshan held back his curiosity and conversed with Chu Danqing. When he mentioned the various wondrous sights of the Mist province, Chu Danqing became filled with anticipation too. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely have to travel around in the future and paint all the sights that the nine provinces have to offer!¡±

    ¡°Have you been staying here during the recent years?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Master wants me to focus on cultivation and painting. Even when it comes to those acquaintances from the academy, I can only see them once in a while. They take my paintings to deal with the locust plague.¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t any locusts come to disturb you?¡± Li Qingshan asked. He was located deep within the mountains and forests, but it was not exactly remote compared to the rest of the Green province, but there were actually no signs of any feeding locusts in the surroundings.

    ¡°Probably because the Soaring Locust King hasn¡¯t gotten around to here yet.¡±

    ¡°You sure are fortunate to be able to avoid all of the conflicts and live here in seclusion!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan sensed something and gazed into the distance. Before he knew it, a figure had appeared on the shore of the lake nearby. He was dressed in black robes that gave off a hint of navy. His long hem and sleeves dragged along the pure-white snow, like a trailing brush on paper.

    The wind and snow blurred his appearance. All Li Qingshan could tell was he was a slender man carrying a red, oil-paper umbrella that resembled a maple leaf. He approached them gradually.

    ¡°My master is here!¡± Chu Danqing stood up to receive him.

    ¡£

    In the blink of an eye, the man had arrived before the pavilion. Li Qingshan looked at him carefully. His face was thin and of classic elegance. His eyes were sunken, but his nose bridge stood tall and straight. He gently pursed his thin lips as his long, ink-like hair scattered messily near his waist with curls.

    For some reason, he reminded Li Qingshan of those despondent scholars mentioned in ancient poems. With a sense of destitution and bleakness, he walked through the winter snow, but what he brought was the entire season of late autumn.

    As for his exact cultivation, it was instead easier to neglect. Even if Li Qingshan tried to distinguish it, it was unclear. Compared to the female servants in the pavilion, he seemed more like a person from a painting.

    Li Qingshan suddenly noticed that his eyes were completely white, devoid of irises. He thought, Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s blind? No, with my eyesight, I can even clearly make out a mosquito from five kilometers away. How can his appearance be obscured in my eyes just by some wind and snow?

    ¡°Master, this is the Li Qingshan I¡¯ve mentioned.¡± Chu Danqing introduced him.

    ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡± The man gently shook off the snow on the umbrella as if he was not surprised by Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation, or perhaps because he was overly dejected and exhausted that he no longer cared about anything in the world.

    ¡°May I ask for your name, senior?¡± Li Qingshan asked with clasped hands. He felt rather puzzled inside. They had clearly never met before, yet why did he give off a bizarre sense of familiarity?

    ¡°Mo Wuhen.¡± The man nodded, keeping talking to a minimum just like before.

    TL: The meaning of the name is quite important to the next chapter. The surname, Mo, means ¡®ink¡¯, while Wuhen means ¡®without a trace¡¯ or ¡®traceless¡¯.

    ¡°The surname Mo, or ink, isn¡¯t particularly common.¡±

    Li Qingshan had some understanding with regards to the great cultivators of the Green province, but he had never heard of that name before. He shuddered inside, suddenly remembering an enemy also with Mo as a surname, the prince of the Green province daemons, Mo Yu. He could not help but study the man before him closely. Surely he was not¡­

 Chapter 999: Kings Meet

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Mo Wuhan answered indifferently. He gazed at Li Qingshan with his pupilless eyes. ¡°Have we met before?¡±

    His eyes did not have irises, but they were not deathly-white like a blind man¡¯s. Instead, they were more like the blank-white of a painting. They contained a boundless space within, reflecting everything in the world.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt naked in the world of snow and ice as if he could not hide away. The blank-white eyes passed through his body and soul as if they were searching for something. He began to circulate the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression almost instinctively before finally being able to get rid of that feeling. He smiled. ¡°Probably not, or I¡¯ll definitely have quite the impression of you!¡±

    Li Qingshan had a guess, but he was not certain about it yet. After all, the guess was far too startling. How could it be so coincidental? And it really did not feel that way too.

    ¡°Probably,¡± said Mo Wuhen.

    Before he knew it, the crane cries and zither thrums had stopped. There was only the rustling of snow. The two men faced one another, trying to verify a certain doubt that they both had. Although they found this doubt to be quite unbelievable, they could sense an extremely subtle connection between them.

    The thread of fate that had once snapped in the past began to tangle together again.

    ¡°My master has spent many years as a recluse, so there¡¯s nothing strange about not knowing him, Qingshan.¡±

    Chu Danqing sensed the peculiar atmosphere, mediating between them as he took the red umbrella from Mo Wuhen¡¯s hand, inviting him into the pavilion.

    ¡°Fellow Mo, you¡¯ve heard about my name before?¡¯ Li Qingshan returned to his seat. Before he knew it, he no longer referred to him as a senior.

    ¡°Li Qingshan. It¡¯s a good name.¡± Mo Wuhen sat down as well. His long hem and sleeves draped down, and his hair almost touched the ground.

    ¡°Qingshan, I''ve mentioned plenty about you to master!¡± Chu Danqing did his best to ease up the tension.

    ¡°I quite like this name too. Must you be buried in your place of home? Sufficient are the green mountains overgrown,¡± Li Qingshan recited slowly.

    ¡°A fine poem.¡± Mo Wuhen seemed to be slightly surprised.

    ¡°Qingshan, I didn¡¯t even know that! So that¡¯s where your name came from!¡± Chu Danqing said.

    ¡°I wonder which poem ¡®Wuhen¡¯ comes from?¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the alcohol cup.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a mere name. It¡¯s no reference to any poems!¡± Mo Wuhen said.

    ¡°Truly a pity then,¡± Li Qingshan shook his head with a gentle sigh. Was it really just a mere name, or was it a fake name?

    Suddenly, he said, ¡°It does make me think of a poem. People write to and fro like autumn geese, but matters between them leave no trace, like spring dreams.¡±

    ¡°People write to and fro like autumn geese, but matters between them leave no trace, like spring dreams,¡± Mo Wuhen repeated slowly as if he was enraptured by the poem.

    ¡°Qingshan, after all these years, not only has your cultivation progressed dramatically, but you¡¯ve even become a great poet. I¡¯ve failed to notice that.¡±

    Chu Danqing was surprised. In his memory, Li Qingshan and the word ¡°elegance¡± were completely unrelated, so why had he suddenly changed today? His master was behaving a little differently too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m a disciple of the school of Novels.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He said to Mo Wuhen, ¡°I haven¡¯t prepared any gifts for our first meeting, so please accept this poem instead, fellow. That way, at least I haven¡¯t drunk the Alcohol of Vermillion and Black for free!¡±

    ¡°Your gift sure has a refined taste to it.¡± Chu Danqing smiled, but Mo Wuhen said, ¡°I won¡¯t accept it!¡± It made Chu Danqing¡¯s face stiffen, gazing at Li Qingshan in worry.

    ¡°How come?¡± Li Qingshan was not angered or surprised. He only sipped the alcohol slowly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a fine poem, but the theme is wrong. There are neither autumn geese or spring dreams right now.¡± Mo Wuhen gazed at the snow outside the pavilion.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Li Qingshan strolled to the side of the pavilion and gave it some thought. ¡°How about this one? Among the mountains are no birds in flight, on the paths are no footprints in sight. Alone, an old man in thatching sits afloat, fishing in the snowy river from his boat.¡±

    ¡°A fine poem!¡± Chu Danqing praised it excitedly. ¡°Qingshan, I didn¡¯t know you had such literary talent!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°The theme is right, but it has nothing to do with ¡®Wuhen¡¯.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Mo Wuhen spoke up to reject it again, leaving Chu Danqing perplexed. He wondered why his master had suddenly become so picky as if he was going out of his way to make things difficult for Li Qingshan.

    ¡°It has never been traceless. What you say in the past, what you do in the past, will always leave behind a trace. Even those matters that you think you¡¯ve already erased might just leap out at you again some day,¡± Li Qingshan said mysteriously.

    ¡°If I can erase it once, then I can erase it twice. It¡¯s not that important.¡± Mo Wuhen changed the topic. ¡°You do happen to possess a gift that I¡¯m interested in. I just wonder whether you¡¯re willing to part with it.¡±

    ¡°What would you like, fellow? Feel free to mention it!¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms.

    ¡°The Three Absolutes Calligraphy.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flashed. He could not help but look at Chu Danqing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Qingshan. Master asked about it when he treated my injuries¡­¡± Chu Danqing said apologetically.

    In the past, when he encountered Mo Wuhen, he had yet to completely recover from the wounds left behind from repairing the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. Not only had Mo Wuhen treated his injuries, but he even demonstrated extraordinary painting technique, which was why he made up his mind about taking him on as his master.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s all insignificant.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unconcerned. Chu Danqing and he were only friends, which was below a master-disciple relationship. Chu Danqing had always honoured his master too, so he obviously would not lie to his own master. Even the Asura Field in his possession had been exposed, so he did not care about this measly Three Absolutes Calligraphy.

    ¡°But unfortunately, I don¡¯t have the Three Absolutes Calligraphy on me. I would not give it away if I possessed it either.¡±

    ¡°Where did you obtain it?¡± Mo Wuhen did not ask where the Three Absolutes Calligraphy went. He only asked where it came from, which made Li Qingshan even more certain about his guess. As a result, he said, ¡°A good friend gave it to me.¡±

    ¡°And the name of your good friend is?¡±

    ¡°Northmoon!¡± Li Qingshan nodded slightly. His eyes under his thick eyebrows stared at Mo Wuhen right before him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that¡­ Northmoon who was killed in the Mist province by the Dragon King of Ink Sea?¡± Chu Danqing said in surprise. He faltered half way through his sentence, subconsciously glancing at Mo Wuhen.

    Li Qingshan became even more certain before asking, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you know this good friend of mine, fellow Mo?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± Mo Wuhen did not hide it.

    Li Qingshan suddenly began to laugh aloud. His laughter broke the silence. He no longer tried to probe him out indirectly. He pressed down on the table and leaned forward, staring straight at Mo Wuhen. He spoke his mind, ¡°Fellow, are you perhaps the Dragon King of Ink Sea?¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± Mo Wuhen said indifferently.

    ¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    Chu Danqing was rather stunned. Actually, he had guessed Mo Wuhen¡¯s identity a long time ago during all these years they spent together. There were no nameless great cultivators in the world. However, since his master never mentioned it, he could not ask too much about it either as his disciple.

    ¡°I wonder which poem the name Northmoon comes from,¡± Mo Wuhen asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a mere name. It¡¯s no reference to any poems!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the cup. His pupils suddenly turned scarlet red, gazing at Mo Wuhen. ¡°A toast to the dragon king from Northmoon!¡±

    A pair of pitch-black irises suddenly condensed in Mo Wuhen¡¯s blank eyes. They were not the eyes of a human, but the eyes of a dragon that radiated with endless might, looking down anything and everything.

    The moment their eyes met, the snow came to a halt!

 Chapter 1000: A Tiger and a Dragonâ€™s Struggle

    ¡°Master¡­ Qingshan¡­¡±

    Chu Danqing stood up, at a loss as to what to do. Both of them had become so foreign. They were clearly inches away, yet also beyond arm¡¯s reach.

    Sharp claws grew from the fingers on Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand as teeth protruded from his smile. The bronze cup passed through the cool air, slowly extending towards the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    Chu Danqing seemed to hear the hollow echoing of shattering air. With every inch that the cup covered, it grew larger. It was no cup, but clearly a mountain forged from bronze, whistling down from above. The cloud patterns engraved on there seemed to become a blanketing cloud layer, almost suffocating him.

    Thunk!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea raised his cup, and the two cups collided.

    Chu Danqing seemed to hear a clap of thunder, making him blank out. What bronze mountain and heavy clouds? The cup was still a cup, held in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    The alcohol in the cup rippled. A sliver of surprise flashed through the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s eyes.

    Thrum! A ring of invisible power emanated outwards, sweeping aside all of the snow. The female servants and white cranes all dispersed. The wind settled too. The world fell silent.

    Li Qingshan drank all the alcohol in the cup before casually casting it beside him. It turned to powder mid-air.

    ¡°Satisfying!¡±

    Meanwhile, the Dragon King of Ink Sea covered his face with his sleeve and drank slowly. He placed the cup down gently in the end. The moment it left his hand, there was a crack, and a fracture ran through the cup.

    ¡°You¡¯ve grown stronger.¡±

    ¡°I have.¡±

    ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t have returned to the Green province.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°I originally had no interest in killing you a second time, but perhaps this is the will of the heavens.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong!¡±

    ¡°Wrong?¡±

    ¡°Completely wrong. Absolutely wrong! First of all, you never killed me. Whether you admit it or not, I¡¯ve fooled you. Second of all, it¡¯s no shitty will of the heavens, but my decision! I want to resolve matters once and for all with you!¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea said in thought, ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, which is why I have to kill you again, to settle this once and for all!¡±

    ¡°Then come!¡±

    Li Qingshan widened his scarlet eyes, just like a vicious tiger. There was a blood-red flash from his hand that swung towards the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±

    Chu Danqing wanted to stop them, but with a jolt of the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s sleeve, he flew out of the pavilion. In the process, the Dragon King of Ink Sea took his umbrella back from him, drawing out a sword that blocked Tiger¡¯s Fang¡¯s bite. His movements had been as fluid as water, elegant with vulgarity.

    Chu Danqing was launched mid-air. He did not hear the clash between a sword and blade, but a tiger¡¯s roar and a dragon¡¯s cry. They constantly surged and rose up until they reached the sky. He gazed at the pavilion with widened eyes, but he could not see the two of them. All he saw was a coiled dragon and a crouching tiger!¡±

    ¡°Not bad!¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea stared at Li Qingshan with his dragon eyes as if he was also surprised that he had grown to such a level in such a short amount of time.

    ¡°How about this?¡± Li Qingshan asked. He gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands and swung it as hard as he could.

    The sword suddenly bent, caving in under this tremendous strength. Blood-red light reflected in the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s eyes, and he leaned backwards. The blade swept past his face, but a strand of black hair drifted through the air.

    Boom!

    The blood-red light rushed out of the pavilion, destroying everything in its path. The frozen lake shattered, the mountains split apart, and it left behind a terrifying gash several thousand meters long in the ground.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the strand of hair and sniffed it. He said from the bottom of his heart, ¡°Now this is called revenge!¡±

    Fury flashed through the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s eyes. The strand of hair suddenly twisted and turned into several dozen strands of pitch-black sword qi, shooting towards Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Every single strand was like a full-powered attack from a great sword cultivator. With it suddenly erupting at such a close range, even Daemon Kings would suffer.

    ¡°Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell! Last Reflection of the Setting Sun!¡±

    A hexagonal mirror surface appeared before Li Qingshan, reflecting the sword qi. They turned back into a strand of hair mid-air, merging with the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s hair again.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed out and used the Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath. Fierce winds surged and gathered. This move was violent and abrupt. He had once directly blasted the Nine-headed King¡¯s head into pieces with it.

    However, the Dragon King of Ink Sea suddenly vanished without any prior sign. Li Qingshan felt a hand press against his back. The Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s voice rang out from behind, ¡°It¡¯s been settled!¡±

    The hand immediately erupted with devastating power, but it also seemed fluid under the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s control, seeping in silently. It did not create any other disturbances, as natural as ink spreading through paper.

    ¡°That¡¯s nowhere enough!¡± Li Qingshan stood firmly and suddenly looked back. His scarlet eyes burned like fire.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea felt a membrane that actually blocked his power outside. Instead, the power of tremors emerged from Li Qingshan¡¯s body, passing through his hand and travelling throughout his body.

    Tremors of the Ox Demon!

    Boom! The ground cracked. The cracks spread in all directions, and the pavilion was smashed to pieces.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea appeared in the air with a flash. He looked at his right hand, and a sliver of surprise appeared in his eyes. There was a tiny wound in the palm of his pale-white hand where black ink flowed out.

    Not only had he failed to kill Li Qingshan with the palm strike, but he had even become injured instead. He had basically forgotten just how many years it had been since he experienced something like this. On top of that, the sense of power Li Qingshan gave off was already vastly different from when they first fought.

    However, this was nothing to him. It could not even be regarded as a wound. With a wave of his hand, it turned back to how it was before. He gazed at Li Qingshan below. Just what were his origins?

    Li Qingshan stood on the cracked ground. The skin on his back had darkened with a black handprint on there.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea had once hunted him down across thousands of kilometers, but their actual clash had only lasted a split second. He had basically been killed instantly, so he did not have an accurate understanding of the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s strength. Only now did he truly sense his strength. If it were not for the Ox Demon Forges its Hide, not only would his flesh be obliterated, but even his tiger bones would be damaged. Meanwhile, the Dragon King of Ink Sea had not even shown his true form.

    Death cast a shadow on him, but his blood began to surge instead, becoming scorching and boiling. Compared to the likes of Si Qing, this was an opponent that he preferred!

    Even if the enemy was powerful, even if he lost the upper hand, how could he know the outcome of a battle to the death without a battle?

    ¡°Demonification!¡±

    Li Qingshan erupted with demon qi, which turned into a vicious-looking set of armour. He extended Tiger¡¯s Fang towards the sky. ¡°Come, Dragon King of Ink Sea. Let¡¯s settle this once and for all today! Don¡¯t even think about running. If you can¡¯t kill me today, then you won¡¯t get another chance in the future. Even if you run back to the Ink sea, I¡¯ll definitely come and find you.¡±

    ¡°Running away?¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea revealed an expression akin to a smile for the first time, putting his aloofness on full display.

    £¡

    Li Qingshan gripped the hilt with both hands and raised the sword. He suddenly unfurled his wings of wind, and the ground sank down drastically. A streak of scarlet light rushed into the air. He swung the blood-red sword aura and rose up into the sky!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea flicked his blade, which thrummed with a dragon¡¯s cry. He did not even bother to dodge, pointing his sword straight at Li Qingshan as he fell straight down like a black meteor!

    Chu Danqing opened his eyes as widely as possible. All he could see was the stirring of wind and clouds, a struggle between a tiger and a dragon!

 Chapter 1001: Want to Kill Me?

    ¡°Master, Qingshan, don¡¯t¡­¡±

    The deafening boom swallowed Chu Danqing¡¯s voice. A wave of air rushed out, whistling through the clouds and allowing a ray of resplendent sunlight to pass through. The fierce wind soon followed, like a passing hurricane. It lifted up the thick snow and revealed the brown earth.

    Chu Danqing flew up like a leaf. Originally, he still wanted to stop this battle, but he knew it was just a pipe dream after seeing this. He used the gales to fly back to his dwelling, supporting the formations to block the repercussions of the battle. He felt pained inside. Neither of these two men would accept anyone¡¯s persuasions!

    Qingshan, I won¡¯t be able to save you!

    Chu Danqing was filled with regret. He never should have told the Dragon King of Ink Sea about the Three Absolutes Calligraphy.

    Who was the Dragon King of Ink Sea? His name had echoed through the Green province for thousands of years. No one believed the young and inexperienced Li Qingshan stood a chance against him.

    Like the collision of two meteors, the intense confrontation gave off an illusion that they had stopped moving. The world was dyed with black and red.

    The blood-red blade aura and inky-black sword qi constantly collided. One was valiant and scorching, pressing forward in an indomitable manner, while the other was majestic and ever-changing. They shattered and collapsed at the same time, sending out endless rumbles. Waves of air whistled out as the holes in the sky rapidly piled up and expanded.

    The surroundings had turned into a sea of storms. The calm lake surface heaved with waves. Entire trees were uprooted, tossed into the air like blades of grass.

    Even the formation around the dwelling began to shake. Chu Danqing gazed at this terrifying, apocalyptic sight and felt extremely shocked. This was a clash between cultivators who stood at the very peak. However, there was something else that caused him even more disbelief. Qingshan can actually hold his ground against master in an open confrontation!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet hair drifted through the air as his eyebrows were firmly locked. The Dragon King of Ink Sea was truly powerful. His sword style was identical to the path of the sword within the Three Absolutes Calligraphy, but it actually possessed a flexibility that arcane treasures could not match. He had completely mastered the entire style, wielding it freely.

    The sword qi were like slivers and strands, wrapping around the blood-red blade aura. The violent blade aura seemed to fall into a net, rapidly worn down by the sword qi.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, the difference between us cannot be made up for with strength alone. You are still too young.¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea gazed at Li Qingshan from above. The inky-black sword qi directly crossed through the blade aura to attack Li Qingshan. They were ingeniously profound, tearing through his demonic armour with ease and leaving behind inky traces in the air. If it were not for his Ox Demon Forges its Hide, he would have been ground to death.

    He can actually still spare the effort to talk!

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. He understood that his blade style was not just slightly worse than the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s path of the sword. In the beginning when he managed to cut a strand of his hair, that was probably because he had been too careless.

    Great strength could lead to victory even when severely outnumbered, but that was given there was enough strength to crush them all. Harassing the likes of Si Qing was fine, but it was nowhere near enough to subdue an existence like the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He wanted to use his full strength, but he felt like he had no idea where to start. Even his all-conquering power of tremors could only shake up the sword qi.

    If this continued, defeat was certain!

    ¡°Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, get through to him!¡±

    ¡£

    Li Qingshan let out a roar and abandoned all defences. The sword qi struck with this opportunity, making blood splatter from all over his body. His wounds reached all the way to his bones. However, he did not seem to sense it. All that existed in his eyes was the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He cut through the layers of sword qi with a single stroke and cleaved his blade at his head.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea was surprised before immediately recovering his calm. He said nonchalantly, ¡°You¡¯ve overexerted yourself.¡± He vanished with that.

    Right when the slash was about to miss, Li Qingshan widened his scarlet eyes. The muscles on his arms rippled, and he forcefully twisted the blade, producing a crescent arc as he slashed it to the side with a roar.

    The slightly stunned face of the Dragon King of Ink Sea was dyed red by the blade. He never expected Li Qingshan to predict where he would move to. Was this simply luck?

    Clang!

    The blade and sword collided. Their eyes met and sparks flew!

    The sword trembled rapidly, nullifying the force in the blade. Thousands of clashes piled up together, forming a strange resonance. The curtain of clouds in the air was swept clean, and the fierce wind immediately settled down. The huge trees all fell out of the sky before suddenly turning into dust and scattering through the air.

    In the Ruyi commandery, the Great General King Yue Wuyang faced a map as he planned out his trap to kill the Soaring Locust King. Suddenly, he heard something and made his way out, gazing at the horizon. He said in surprise, ¡°What great might! Who are the ones fighting?¡± He shot off into the air.

    Countless cultivators sensed this fierce struggle, but only great cultivators who were confident in their strength flew over. Who knew how many years it had been since a battle on such a level had occurred.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea caught a glance from the corner of his eye and frowned slightly. He bent his finger and flicked it, sending out a droplet of ink.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up and suddenly saw an opening. With a violent flap of his wings, he turned into a scarlet streak and rushed past the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    A fragment of a sword circled through the air, and a horrific slash appeared along the waist of the Dragon King of Ink Sea, almost splitting him into two. Thick ink surged inside, wanting to repair this wound.

    The scarlet light produced an arc and returned with a flash. Li Qingshan followed up this successful strike quickly, giving the Dragon King of Ink Sea no time to catch his breath. However, he was rather puzzled by why the Dragon King of Ink Sea had suddenly done something so meaningless. Was it some kind of scheme? He followed the droplet of ink and gazed over.

    The huts left behind by Chu Shidao had completely vanished already, reduced to dust. Chu Danqing knelt on the ground as he covered his ears, his face in pain. Blood trickled out between his fingers. He had been injured by the repercussions of the battle already.

    The droplet of ink landed on him and turned into a black sphere, enveloping him.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside and came to a halt. He became uncertain.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯re you hesitating for? You can¡¯t maintain this state for too long.¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea gripped his broken sword and remained calm as if he had not received that slash at all. He looked down on Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Nothing!¡± Li Qingshan casually slashed himself, leaving behind an identically horrific wound as the one on the Dragon King of Ink Sea. ¡°I¡¯ll return this slash to you. Let¡¯s continue elsewhere!¡±

    He was not a person overflowing with sympathy, nor did he mind harming a few innocent people. He did not even desire a fair battle with the Dragon King of Ink Sea. As a matter of fact, he wholeheartedly wanted to go dragon slaying with Xiao An by his side. However, he would never use a friend¡¯s safety to create an opening against the enemy. That was where his pride lay!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea reevaluated Li Qingshan. He asked, ¡°Do you really want to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill me here, and it¡¯s no different even if we switch locations. Even if I just stand here without moving and let you slash away at me, I won¡¯t die,¡± said the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    ¡°Then stand right there without moving!¡± Li Qingshan pointed his blade at the Dragon King of Ink Sea. He hated those who posed around the most.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea completely ignored him. With a flash, he arrived beside Chu Danqing and patted him on the back gently. Chu Danqing spat out a mouthful of blood, and his complexion immediately improved. He said, ¡°Master, please stop fighting. If you have any grievances, can¡¯t you just come to an agreement over them?¡±

    ¡°Be quiet.¡± Then the Dragon King of Ink Sea said to Li Qingshan without even looking back, ¡°Of course, you won¡¯t be killed so easily by me either. Once you stand no chance, you¡¯ll flee. It¡¯s pointless for us to continue like this!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll flee? Then may I ask when can I kill you, sir dragon king?¡± Li Qingshan sneered.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid of death, then come to the Painting Tomb! Only there will you have an opportunity to kill me.¡±

    ps£º Ä¿Ç°ÕýÔÚ³¤É³²Î¼ÓÆðµãÒ»¸öÉ³Áú£¬ÕâÁ½Ìì¸üÐÂ»áÓÐµã²»ÎÈ¶¨£¬¾´Çë¼û?£¡

 Chapter 1002: Daughter

    No matter how he viewed it, it only seemed like a clumsy attempt at goading him into a trap. However, the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s expression was so calm that it seemed like he was stating a simple fact.

    Li Qingshan actually believed him. Perhaps he was not a true dragon, but he possessed the pride of a dragon. He would never stoop low enough to play these games, so he praised him.

    ¡°The Five Absolutes Immortal sure managed to capture the bearing of a dragon in his painting!¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s expression suddenly changed. Even when Mo Yu had been killed, even when Li Qingshan landed a strike on him, he had been deeply indifferent, but at this moment, he seemed to be truly angered. He glared at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Just saying that alone makes you deserve death!¡±

    Li Qingshan had been expecting this. ¡°Whether I deserve death or not is not something that can be decided by what I say. Don¡¯t worry, whether it¡¯s the Ink sea or the Painting Tomb, I¡¯ll be there when the time comes. However, it won¡¯t just be me by then. Today also happens to be your only opportunity to kill me.¡±

    ¡°Bring as many people as you¡¯d like!¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea stormed off. He grabbed Chu Danqing¡¯s shoulder, and they vanished at the same time.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts slightly before suddenly sensing something. He muttered, ¡°There sure are a lot of nosy people!¡± With that, he also concealed his aura and dove into the ground.

    Soon after he had left, several powerful auras rushed over from afar. They were all alarmed. ¡°What great destructive power!¡±

    The clouds in the sky were completely dispersed, and the forest and vegetation was completely flattened. The lingering daemon qi in the surroundings was frighteningly dense, but the two fighting daemons had already vanished, which left them rather disappointed. After greeting one another, they used their soul sense to search around.

    They were not being nosy. Instead, even if the conclusion of a battle between existences at a realm like this could not influence the world, it was definitely enough to influence the overall situation of a province.

    Yue Wuyang sank into his thoughts, The daemon qi seems to be different from any regular Daemon King¡¯s. One of them was the Dragon King of Ink Sea, so who was the other? To think they can actually hold their ground against the dragon king, and they weren¡¯t killed on the spot! Perhaps it¡¯s another great Daemon King.

    He did hope that the Soaring Locust King and the Dragon King of Ink Sea would turn against one another, but the likelihood was not high. It was probably a great Daemon King from another province, very likely to be one of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings.

    ¡­¡­

    Deep underground, Li Qingshan gazed at Tiger¡¯s Fang in his hand. There was an evident nick on the blood-red blade, which reminded him of the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s strength yet again.

    He had grasped an opening with that swing and cut through the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s sword, but it came at a tremendous cost. It might have been a tiny nick, but it directly destroyed the entire structure of the asura armament. As such, its might and toughness decreased drastically. If he clashed against a powerful enemy like the Dragon King of Ink Sea again, it might even become a lethal opening for him.

    He could use his blood to repair it gradually, but Li Qingshan had already decided on switching to a new weapon. This blade was more suitable for crushing weak enemies instead of receiving powerful foes in battle. In particular, when he was up against a bloodless enemy like the Dragon King of Ink Sea, the weapon seemed extremely feeble.

    If they had kept fighting earlier, the blade would definitely break!

    Given my current strength, it¡¯s enough to pull out a stronger asura armament from the Asura Altar of Armaments, but where am I supposed to find so many weapons to offer up? Li Qingshan sheathed his blade as he thought to himself.

    For the sake of this Tiger¡¯s Fang, he had already offered up all the weapons he had gathered over the years. If he wanted a stronger weapon, then he had to find even more and even better offerings.

    Whatever. I¡¯ll go back and find Xiao An first.

    Li Qingshan moved through the underground caves riddled with roots rapidly, flapping his wings and accelerating. He arrived in the territory of the Clear River prefecture very quickly and suddenly recalled the adventures he had been through here. He could not help but smile.

    I wonder how the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s great plan of ascending is going. He even said he had a gift for me. I wonder if this gift can help me out with dragon slaying or not.

    He made a turn and arrived deep underground. Within Cobweb city of the past, the sculptures left behind by the night roamers had already become covered in spider webs. It had truly become a spider¡¯s nest.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. There was a familiar sense of viciousness and venom within the permeating daemon qi, far more powerful than before. As it seemed, she had not wasted this time either. He thought of their ¡°wonderful¡± memories from the past and knocked on a wall with a smile. ¡°Little Lolth, are you here?¡±

    His voice echoed through the cavern, making the threads tremble. In the blink of an eye, the resonance from the threads filled the entire cavern. A huge cocoon wrapped in spider silk in the centre of a huge spider web suddenly split open. Four pairs of gloomy green eyes lit up in the darkness.

    ¡°Northmoon!¡±

    Lolth emerged from there, and her gorgeous face was filled with delight. She approached Li Qingshan quickly with her pitch-black dress dragging behind and fluttering about.

    Li Qingshan stepped onto the long bridge woven from spider silk and approached her too. He spread his arms and gave her a hug. ¡°So you¡¯ve undergone the third heavenly tribulation too!¡±

    ¡°Did you know? I¡¯ve always been waiting for you, waiting for you to become my prey!¡± Lolth¡¯s smile suddenly became cruel and vicious as she bit down on Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. She had waited just too long for this moment. She was eager to see him howl and beg for mercy.

    ¡°How does it taste?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°You-¡±

    Lolth¡¯s face changed drastically. She discovered her venomous fangs were unable to pierce his skin, while the force from his arms became greater and greater. She immediately used her innate ability to turn her skin silver, but to her surprise, it did not stop his arms from gradually closing around her at all.

    She suddenly recalled what he had just said, So you¡¯ve undergone the third heavenly tribulation too. Had he already become a Daemon King?

    ¡°Stop messing around. I just had a battle with the Dragon King of Ink Sea. I got nothing out of it, so I¡¯m not in the best mood. It¡¯s very easy for men to become violent at a time like this. You sure are forgetful.¡±

    ¡°The Dragon King of Ink Sea!¡±

    Lolth took a step back in surprise and raised her head, gazing at Li Qingshan in disbelief. With all the years she had spent in the Green province, she understood how terrifying the Dragon King of Ink Sea was. Even when she became a Daemon King, she dared not oppose him. She was far too astounded, such that she even forgot about the pain from her body.

    ¡°Oh right, I think I told you in the past that I¡¯ll butcher you if you ever lay your hands on me. I almost forgot! So you can go die!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed and suddenly closed his arms around her forcefully.

    Lolth let out a groan, and all the bones in her body creaked as they twisted. She wanted to use the new innate ability she had comprehended after reaching Daemon King, but under the gaze of the scarlet eyes, she actually felt like she could not put up any resistance. She dared not put up any resistance.

    Even until now, he had yet to release any daemon qi. After several decades since she last saw him, just what kind of monster had he become? Suddenly, she recalled what the Golden Cicada Spirit King had said to her when she emerged from the tribulation successfully. Back then, all she wanted to do was redeem herself and eat him.

    ¡°Lolth, you may have become a Daemon King, but if you ever meet him again, do not lay your hands on him, or even I cannot save you. Bear this in mind!¡±

    Roar! The tiger¡¯s howl was filled with violence and malice. A tiny figure rushed out of the huge cocoon.

    ¡°Where did this little daemon come from?¡±

    Li Qingshan casually grabbed the figure by the neck. It was a little girl radiating with daemon qi, dressed in clothes woven from spider silk. Her eyes were wide open, and her expression was extremely vicious, putting up a forceful struggle in his hand.

    Then he noticed the faint tiger markings on the girl¡¯s face, as well as the curled tiger tail behind her back. He found her scarlet eyes to be rather familiar too, which left him uncertain.

    ¡°Northmoon, if you want to kill me, then kill me, but even a tiger does not harm its cubs¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and Lolth flew out, snapping countless strands of silk and slamming against the wall heavily. However, she eased up inside. She felt like she had just survived a brush with death.

    Back then, when she sensed a movement in her womb, she had considered directly wiping it from existence. It was the Golden Cicada Spirit King who had persuaded her otherwise. He said to her, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this child. Raise her well. She might save your life in the future.¡±

    The little girl leapt in fright. She had never seen such a terrifying person before, but she refused to back down, glaring right back at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan stared at the little girl and sensed an aura that resembled Lolth¡¯s. However, there was another aura that was even more powerful and violent, which he also found to be extremely familiar. That was the aura of the tiger demon!

    Apart from that, there was a feeling of a connected bloodline and fate. He no longer had any doubts. He only found it a little surreal.

    ¡°This little girl is my daughter!?¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond. He had just promised Han Qiongzhi that he did not have any illegitimate children, only for one to appear right here. On top of that, he had her with the loathsome Spider Queen. This was basically a colossal joke!

    ¡°That¡¯s right. She is your daughter.¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s voice rang out in his head. He also seemed to be smiling.

    ¡°Is this supposed to be a surprise?¡± Li Qingshan exhaled and let go of the girl¡¯s neck. He knelt down on one knee and faced her, asking her, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Go die!¡±

    ¡°You have quite the personality. Like me!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he released the aura of the tiger demon. He asked again, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I- I¡¯m called Tigress¡­¡± The little girl experienced a sense of dread and reverence instinctively. The man before her gave off a special sense of familiarity. She became puzzled, looking back at Lolth in search of help.

    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Li Qingshan pointed at himself.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Tigress asked tenderly.

    ¡°I¡¯m your father,¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°And I¡¯m your mother!¡± Tigress said angrily.

    ¡°Fucking hell!¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand before lowering it gently again. He patted her on the head. ¡°You still don¡¯t know anything right now, so I¡¯ll spare you this time!¡± Then he barked to Lolth, ¡°Explain everything to her and teach her some manners in the meantime too!¡±

    Lolth only sneered.

    Li Qingshan pointed at his feet. ¡°Get your ass over here. You better not think I won¡¯t kill you just because you have this protective charm!¡±

    Only then did Lolth walk over, pulling Tigress to her side.

    ¡°Don¡¯t blame her. She¡¯s violent and easily irritable. Even my buddhist dharma struggles to change her,¡± said the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

    ¡°Did she only inherit the bloodline of the tiger demon?¡±

    Li Qingshan murmured softly. The numerous bloodlines in his body only formed a single entity through the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, and many conflicts still existed. Inheriting only a single bloodline basically made sense. Though, from a combination of Lolth¡¯s viciousness and the tiger demon¡¯s violence, it really would be quite difficult for her to end up as some good child.

    ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s not talk about this. She has her own path to walk. She can already be regarded as extremely fortunate compared to regular daemons. You haven¡¯t ascended yet?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m already at the final juncture, but I still need you to lend me a hand!¡±

    My Conditions¡ªFemale and Living

    I just got home. I feel a little tired. I seem to always feel tired. Things that others can achieve easily always seem to be particularly difficult for me.

    I set off on the 24th and got back on the 28th. During that time, I released a total of two chapters. The chapter about the clash between Qingshan and the dragon king was just a measly two thousand characters, but I had to skip the activities organised by Qidian, spending an entire afternoon to write it. I really didn¡¯t slack off. I was under the watch of my head editor, big sis Wintermelon, the entire time.

    By the time the authors got back from the publishing house, we took a group photo together downstairs, and then I went back to my room to keep on writing. I couldn¡¯t attend the dinner together tonight either. Only at six o¡¯clock when we set off for Zhangjiajie did I come downstairs starving and board the bus. It¡¯s all thanks to big sis Wintermelon who brought some food. I had a meal on the bus with a boxed meal in my hands.

    And I¡¯m still relatively dissatisfied with that chapter. The clash should have spanned much deeper, matching the set up from earlier to form an even more perfect rhythm. It might just be the difference of five hundred characters of content, but it¡¯s like a crack in a bowl. It¡¯s painful.

    If I were at home with much more time, then I¡¯d be able to come up with these five hundred characters, but under the pressure of releases, I really couldn¡¯t. As a result, after an entire afternoon of hard work, I¡¯ve become exhausted, and I¡¯ve been left with a bit of a sense of defeat yet again.

    But even if I wrote those five hundred characters, I¡¯d just be calm, like that was supposed to happen. Feeling calm is rare enough. I¡¯ve written three novels, over five hundred million characters. The number of times when I truly felt satisfied have always been pitifully less.

    Actually, I¡¯m not asking for a lot¡ªusing an adequate style of writing, a consistent logic, and fleshed-out characters to write a novel that leaves people happy. If you call me tasteless, then I¡¯ll admit to it gladly, as this is a novel I¡¯d like to read.

    This is the exact same standard as what damned shut-ins who can¡¯t find a wife have for their partner¡ªfemale and alive.

    Webnovels need satisfying points, but you can¡¯t just keep repeating the plot and be satisfying from beginning to end. How is that any different from jerking off? Though, perhaps the direction of development for webnovels really just needs to cast aside all impure thoughts and concentrate on writing ability, to use a simple and direct rhythm to bring the reader to a rapid, mental climax, relieving them of the various pressures of life.

    Of course, there¡¯s nothing wrong with this. I¡¯ve frequently done both of the things I¡¯ve mentioned, and I can sense the relaxation and joy involved. (PS: I am referring to writing cookie-cutter novels and reading cookie-cutter novels here.)

    Though, I noticed a very long time ago that my seemingly-simple request is basically no different from a damn shut-in looking for a girlfriend.

    However, I believe that no matter how much they grumble and complain, all shut-ins will find a girlfriend. No matter how tired or defeated I feel, I¡¯ll end up writing a novel that I¡¯m satisfied with.

    Last of all, let¡¯s summarise the achievements for this month. My target is a hundred thousand characters. So far, I¡¯ve just exceeded eighty thousand characters. I¡¯m certain that if it weren¡¯t for this gathering by Qidian, which made me spend around four or five days outside, I would have achieved this goal with ease.

    There are still two days left. I will continue working hard on writing. If I really can¡¯t achieve it, then just treat it like I hit a hundred thousand characters, alright? Give me some monthly votes to motivate me.

    I want to write a hundred and twenty thousand characters next month!

 Chapter 1003: Where Conscience Lays, Without Weighing the Costs

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°A hand from me is extremely powerful. The Clam King of Mirage Sea ascended upon seeing me, while the Great Banyan Tree King soon became a god. You¡¯ve basically found the right person!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I do believe that. Do you know about the Soaring Locust King?¡± the Golden Cicada Spirit King asked.

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t in the Green province?¡±

    ¡°I have a great grievance with him. When I ascend, he¡¯ll definitely come to ruin my attempt. I¡¯ll need you to watch me.¡±

    ¡°The two of you have grievances!¡±

    Li Qingshan was very perplexed. The Golden Cicada Spirit King and the Soaring Locust King were both part of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings, and they were both carapaced Daemon Kings, so why would there be any grievances? Even if there were grievances, surely the Soaring Locust King would not take the risk given how cautious he was! He had even hurled insults at the Soaring Locust King in Clear River city, yet it was not like his main body came for revenge. The Golden Cicada Spirit King was a Daemon King who stood at the very apex of the nine provinces on top of that.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know, but we used to be good friends. Suppressing him in the Demon Suppression hall of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was a plan I came up with.¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s infant-like voice drifted over as if his thoughts were in the distant past.

    ¡°Betrayal!¡±

    Li Qingshan understood now. It was no wonder the Golden Cicada Spirit King was so certain that the Soaring Locust King would come and ruin his attempt at ascension. This hatred was basically immense. If Li Qingshan himself had been the Soaring Locust King, having spent several thousand years suppressed while the person who betrayed him was allowed to ascend in peace, he would never allow it even if he knew the dangers involved. He would definitely interfere!

    Compared to that, being cursed a few times and losing a few clones could not be considered as some major grievance at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I was the one who fooled him into the Demon Suppression hall.¡±

    ¡°And then your identity was exposed, leading to your expulsion from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°What was the point of that then?¡± Li Qingshan frowned. If he had not been expelled by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Golden Cicada Spirit King would be able to practise the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga. Perhaps he would have ascended a long time ago.

    ¡°I had no other choice.¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King sighed, but he was certain that even if he could make the choice again, he would go with the same decision.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why not face the tribulation elsewhere? Aren¡¯t you friends with the tree king too? You¡¯ll have him watching your back in the Mist province. Even the Soaring Locust King won¡¯t be able to do anything to you.¡±

    ¡°I have no other choice.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m a disciple of buddhism. I cannot allow him to massacre life freely.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s even more important than leaping out of the well?¡±

    Li Qingshan was astounded. He would be wagering on his path of cultivation both times, going as far as to betray a good friend just to stop him from butchering humans. That was basically a great love for life that even surpassed the boundaries of race. Even among human great cultivators, there were not many who would throw their lives at the Soaring Locust King for the sake of a few mortals!

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to think of me as some noble being. If I turn a blind eye to this, it¡¯ll become an inner demon, which will instead be detrimental to my ascension. Among all the things in the world, your conscience is the only thing you cannot flee from. Since I have a heart of benevolence, then I can only act benevolently, which is why I say I have no other choice.¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s voice was calm. There was neither any resentment from being expelled from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, nor was there any pride from thinking of himself as a hero. It was as if he was only doing something within his duty.

    Li Qingshan became solemn with respect, not because of the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s heart of benevolence, but because he had no other choice.

    All that guided him in life was his conscience. He did not weigh the numerous costs and benefits, calmly accepting all that fate had to offer.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll lend you a hand!¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be leaving the Green province any time soon. When you ascend, let me know, and I¡¯ll rush over immediately. Oh right, where¡¯s my gift?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get it when the time comes, but since you¡¯ve come, I¡¯ll give this blade to you.¡±

    A golden streak of light flew out of the magma and passed through the earth. Li Qingshan extended his hand and caught the light, swinging it around. It was a buddhist blade without an edge. It was not decorated at all, but it seemed simple and solemn, possessing a buddhist truth to it. Grasping it in his hand, even his mind settled down. It was an extremely rare buddhist treasure.

    ¡°This is my personal blade. When I first arrived at the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, I wanted to steal the cultivation methods and strengthen my cultivation, as well as destroy the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and deal a heavy blow to the human cultivation community of the Green province if the chance ever arose. However, as I progressed with my cultivation, I became uncertain, so my master gave me this blade. This blade is not for battle, but for concentrating the mind and severing afflictions, which is why it is called ¡®Affliction Severing¡¯.¡±

    ¡°What a fine name!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised the edgeless blade, and the golden light illuminated the entire cavern. Even without the suppression of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, his demon heart fell quiet. From a perspective of cultivation, Affliction Severing was even more precious than Tiger¡¯s Fang, but unfortunately to him, he did not have much use for it. Since he had comprehended Remorselessness of the Demon Heart, he could only follow down this path until it led to his demise. Compared to severing his afflictions, he would much rather prefer killing powerful enemies.

    ¡°Affliction Severing!¡± Lolth said in surprise.

    Having spent all these years with the Golden Cicada Spirit King, Lolth obviously recognised the blade. She never imagined the Golden Cicada Spirit King would actually give this blade to Li Qingshan. When she recalled the terrifying strength he had demonstrated earlier, her various thoughts of revenge gradually faded away. Daemons worshipped the strong. He had already proved his strength.

    As a result, she walked over with Tigress. Tigress looked up at Li Qingshan, and her face was filled with reluctance, but after a glare from Lolth, she still ended up saying tenderly, ¡°Father!¡±

    ¡£

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. This was different from having a foster son. This was his bloodline. His blood flowed through the veins of this little bugger. He naturally became attached to her.

    He glanced at Lolth. ¡°You¡¯ve taught her well. I¡¯ll spare your life this time.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t lay my hands on you ever again,¡± said Lolth.

    ¡°Whatever you want.¡± Li Qingshan looked at Tigress and said, ¡°I may be your father, but there¡¯s not a lot I can give you apart from your bloodline. You¡¯ll have to walk the path ahead of you yourself!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to give me anything. I¡¯m very strong myself!¡± Tigress said.

    ¡°Really? You really are my daughter!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. With a clang, he drew Tiger¡¯s Fang from his waist and brought it together with Affliction Severing, bringing them in front of Tigress. ¡°Choose one!¡±

    Neither of the blades were a weapon that she could wield right now. Her personality would definitely be drastically affected in the process. She was not choosing a blade, but a path in life as well.

    If she chose Affliction Severing, then she could inherit the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s buddhism. Her disposition would gradually settle down, and she would not be so violent and irritable anymore. However, if she chose Tiger¡¯s Fang, then she would embark on the path of an asura. She would fight and slaughter to the very end, completely unleashing the blood of the tiger demon within her.

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished what he was saying, Tigress rushed over and grabbed Tiger¡¯s Fang before returning to her prior spot. Her eyes twinkled brightly as she fiddled around with it fondly, like a child who had just been given their beloved toy. She did not even spare a glance at Affliction Severing.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t want anything from me?¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he sheathed the remaining blade. The sheathe the Great Banyan Tree King personally created changed shape naturally, swallowing Affliction Severing.

    Tigress turned bright red and replied defiantly, ¡°It¡¯s not like I asked you for it! You insisted on giving it to me!¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King sighed, and Li Qingshan said, ¡°Fellow, there¡¯s no need to sigh. This also happens to be where her conscience lies.¡±

 Chapter 1004: Teaching the Daughter, Planning and Preparing

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King said nothing more. Apart from his irreconcilable dispute with the Soaring Locust King, he was reluctant to become involved with anyone¡¯s conscience.

    Then Li Qingshan asked Tigress, ¡°Do you like it?¡±

    Tigress nodded firmly. Her eyes were glued to Tiger¡¯s Fang the entire time. She had not refined Tiger¡¯s Fang yet, but she was already under its influence. Murderousness pulsed inside her, tempted to kill something right now.

    ¡°The name of this blade is Tiger¡¯s Fang, which sure does match you. However, you are nowhere near enough to wield it right now. Don¡¯t try to wield it forcefully either, or you¡¯ll die. It¡¯s the same with your own powers!¡± Li Qingshan pressed down on Tigress¡¯s shoulders and said seriously.

    If it were not for the fact that he had fed sufficient blood to Tiger¡¯s Fang after the battle with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, she would have been devoured by the weapon in the blink of an eye, becoming an offering to the asura armament.

    Tigress could not help but lower Tiger¡¯s Fang and gaze at this man known as ¡°father¡±. She met his scarlet eyes and suddenly experienced an indescribable feeling. She held back the violence in her heart.

    ¡°Sense it.¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and a colossal amount of murderousness abruptly erupted from his body. Tiger markings sprawled across his body, forming three lines on his forehead. His scarlet hair danced like fire as a vicious tiger demon appeared behind him. He had used his innate ability, Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!

    Lolth retreated almost instinctively, gazing at Li Qingshan in shock. Now that was his true strength. Just the might he gave off made her feel like she stood no chance.

    Tigress sensed it even more deeply like Lolth. It was as if she had been devoured by the scarlet tiger. She could not see or hear. There was only the deepest darkness. If it were not for the fact that she also possessed the tiger demon¡¯s bloodline, her mind would have completely collapsed then and there.

    ¡°This is the first thing I¡¯ll be teaching you, fear!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from the darkness.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t fear¡­ anything!¡± Even Tigress¡¯ thoughts became inconsistent.

    ¡°Only a dead man knows no fear. Try befriending it!¡± Li Qingshan rebuked, but he felt some admiration inside. She truly had inherited the tiger demon¡¯s blood after all.

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    ¡°Look at my eyes!¡± Li Qingshan abruptly opened his eyes, which were like a pair of scarlet stars that lit up in the endless darkness. Tigress could not help but gaze over, and she felt like her mind was drawn in, only to discover that the eyes filled with frenzy and killing intent were still clear, as calm as the eye of a hurricane.

    ¡°This is the second thing I¡¯ll be teaching you. I can¡¯t describe this form either. It¡¯s not just simple self-control, but it¡¯s not being controlled by the killing intent either. Remember this feeling.¡±

    Li Qingshan halted the innate ability. At that moment, Tigress began to pour with sweat. Strength drained from her body. She only remained standing by leaning on Tiger¡¯s Fang.

    ¡°Lastly, don¡¯t listen to anyone¡¯s nonsense, even if it comes from your mother or father. Walk your own path. This is the third thing I¡¯ll be teaching you.¡± Li Qingshan let out a laugh before turning around and vanishing into the darkness.

    Tigress ran out of strength and fell forwards. Before she hit the ground, Lolth had already lifted her up. She said coldly, ¡°How useless!¡±

    Tigress became ashamed, lowering her head and pouting her lips silently.

    ¡°That¡¯s the expression I hate the most, just as loathsome as your father¡¯s. Get out of here!¡± Lolth flung her far away, like she was tossing away a piece of trash.

    ¡°Mother?¡± Tigress landed on the ground gently and gazed at Lolth in surprise.

    ¡°Within the next year, don¡¯t return here. If I discover you even five hundred kilometers near here, you better be careful, or I might just force you into the magma!¡± Lolth¡¯s face was filled with viciousness.

    ¡°I¡¯m never coming back here!¡±

    Tigress¡¯ eyes reddened. She let out a great roar before leaving immediately while clutching the blade. Her tail swayed behind her. She ran over fifty kilometers away in a single breath, smashing through who knew how many stalagmites. Tears rippled in her eyes. She was tempted to sob out loud.

    She had inherited the tiger demon¡¯s blood, but she had not inherited a mental legacy, so she was still a child at the end of the day.

    At this moment, Lolth¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in her head, ¡°Don¡¯t leave the territory!¡±

    ¡°Like I need you to care!¡± Tigress continued onwards.

    ¡°You can leave here with her,¡± the Golden Cicada Spirit King said to Lolth.

    This place would become a battlefield very soon. It would involve a clash between three great Daemon Kings, coupled with the fourth heavenly tribulation. Even Lolth, who had recently become a Daemon King, was in danger of dying.

    ¡°Sir Golden Cicada, I have no idea when I would become a Daemon King if it weren¡¯t for all the care you¡¯ve shown me over the years. Perhaps I would have died to that bastard Northmoon already. No matter what, I will see you off one last time, but if there are any lethal threats, I will flee.¡±

    ¡°See me off one last time? How ominous of you.¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King smiled.

    ¡°Who made me so vicious in nature?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you already understood the feeling of love and concern?¡±

    Lolth sensed Tigress¡¯s aura all the way until she left the range of her senses. Suddenly, she felt lost.

    From a spider to a Daemon King, she experienced a sense of attachment for the first time in her life.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan returned to the Qing Xiao dwelling. Xiao An was still forging Skull Prayer Beads, and it did not seem like she would be done any time soon. He told her about his clash with the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    ¡°Looks like I guessed correctly. He¡¯s also a painting by the Five Absolutes Immortal. The painting should be located in the Painting Tomb, so we have to go to the Painting Tomb if we want to kill him for good,¡± Xiao An touched her chin and said in thought as she powered the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    ¡°When I mentioned the Five Absolutes Immortal, he flew into a rage.¡± Li Qingshan grinned.

    ¡°That¡¯s probably the inner demon haunting the Dragon King of Ink Sea. The Clam King of Mirage Sea was afraid that everything is a dream, while he actually comes from imagination. Even his own will and personality was crafted by another. How can someone as proud as him endure that?¡±

    ¡°I see. I think you¡¯re right, but if it were me, simply looking ahead would be enough. Why care about where you come from? A painting by the Five Absolutes Immortal is far more noble that being a cowherd in Crouching Ox village.

    Li Qingshan could remain optimistic no matter what it was. He did not understand what this highly-intelligent and extraordinarily-powerful Daemon King was hung up over.

    ¡°The smarter you are, the easier it is for you to become caught up in your own thoughts and actions.¡± Xiao An sighed slightly inside. If she had not been so determined to follow Li Qingshan¡¯s path, she would either be hung up over the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty or caught up between buddhism and the demonic.

    ¡°So you¡¯re basically saying I¡¯m all brawn and no brain!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°I never said that.¡± Xiao An stuck out her tongue and said, ¡°When you fought against him, how did you find his strength to be?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s stronger than me, but you¡¯ll only really be able to tell when you reach the final moments of a battle to the death. However, if I go to the Ink sea right now, it¡¯ll be certain defeat. I might even die there.¡±

    ¡°Try avoiding the Painting Tomb and killing him in the Green province,¡± Xiao An said calmly.

    The Painting Tomb was an unknown territory. Who knew how much strength the Dragon King of Ink Sea could unleash there. He might even be stronger than when he was in the Ink sea. On top of that, once Li Qingshan was defeated, there was nowhere for him to go.

    ¡°I obviously won¡¯t be strung around by him like a fool, but I sure do want to fight him alone in a battle to the death!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. It had only been a short clash, but the Dragon King of Ink Sea had been the best opponent he had ever encountered. They all said that a true partner or friend was difficult to find. A fine enemy was no different.

    Xiao An said, ¡°It¡¯s not like you won¡¯t have the chance.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps I need to practise with the Soaring Locust King first!¡± Li Qingshan mentioned the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s request to her, and they continued their discussion. When he brought up Lolth and Tigress, the eyes of the little phoenix who was on the side suddenly lit up. ¡°First father, are you saying that I have a younger sister!?¡±

    ¡°Or an elder sister.¡±

    ps£º ÉîÒ¹Âë×ÖÇóÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 1005: The Power of the Affliction Severing Blade

    ¡°No, I¡¯m definitely the elder brother!¡± The little phoenix was particularly staunch about this.

    ¡°Alright, whatever you want.¡± Li Qingshan looked away and continued his conversation with Xiao An.

    ¡°Father, I want to find her!¡± The little phoenix grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s arm.

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°Do I even need a reason? We¡¯re siblings!¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re just sick of this place.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°I spend my time here like it¡¯s a prison. It¡¯s so boring. At least I still had some skeleton monsters to fight in the beginning, but now I only sit around doing nothing. I might as well go out and toughen up instead. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be completely pointless for me to come to the Green province? Please, father, I¡¯m begging you. Just let me go!¡± the little phoenix pleaded.

    ¡°I promised your second father that I¡¯d take care of you. If you end up being butchered or eaten, how am I supposed to face him?¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s because I deserved it. If I¡¯m still afraid to go out and roam the world even with this strength, can I still be called a man? Father, when you wandered the world, you weren¡¯t even as strong as me!¡± the little phoenix balled his fists and said in high spirits.

    ¡°You were never a man!¡± Li Qingshan leaned against his fist and expressed his disapproval.

    The little phoenix was very overwhelmed by that.

    ¡°Just let him go!¡± Xiao An said.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed to it after some consideration. Nothing here could provide any benefit to the little phoenix¡¯s cultivation anymore, so going out and toughening up was not a bad idea. As for the issue of safety, he was not actually concerned with it much at all. The little phoenix had the heart of a child, but with the phoenix¡¯s legacy, he was much smarter than the regular person. As long as he did not go out of his way in search of death, provoking opponents on par with the Dragon King of Ink Sea, he could always flee even if he could not defeat them.

    The little phoenix let out a cheer and rushed out of the dwelling, turning into a streak of light and flying around. He vanished between the mountains.

    ¡°If he can undergo the third heavenly tribulation, he¡¯ll be able to provide quite the assistance.¡± Xiao An passed a handful of phoenix feathers to Li Qingshan. She had come up with plenty of reasons to pluck his feathers during this time.

    ¡°I can¡¯t depend on something like that. I better just reach the fifth layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a quickly instead!¡± Li Qingshan drew the Affliction Severing blade from his waist and handed it to Xiao An. ¡°Is this blade of any use to you? If it¡¯s not, then I¡¯ll keep it as an offering.¡±

    ¡°Affliction Severing!¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°You recognise this blade?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°This monk¡¯s blade is an heirloom wielded by past abbots of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. It¡¯s one of the greatest buddhist treasures in the world. It has even been regarded as the greatest treasure of buddhism. Afterwards, it fell into the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s hands. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has always wanted to recover it, but they couldn¡¯t find it.¡±

    ¡°Even if they can find it, it¡¯s not like they can do anything to him! But in other words, the Golden Cicada Spirit King almost became the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga publicly offered a reward for anyone who recovered this blade, whether they¡¯re a buddhist disciple or not. They¡¯re willing to offer up any three items apart from the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga as a reward, whether they¡¯re arcane treasures, cultivation methods, or pills.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that precious! Then is it of any use to you?¡±

    Li Qingshan had not taken the blade too seriously in the beginning. He only wanted to use this opportunity to resolve his matters with the Soaring Locust King. He never expected such a great story behind the Affliction Severing blade.

    ¡°Regular buddhist treasures are useless to me, but this blade, Affliction Severing, is different. It can assist me in balancing buddhism and the demonic. It can greatly benefit my cultivation.¡±

    Xiao An gently stroked the edgeless blade, and a faint, holy glow emerged from the tips of her fingers, gradually enveloping the entire blade, seeping in and beginning the refinement process. She possessed the cultivation of a Monk King, and the Golden Cicada Spirit King had already removed his imprint on the blade, so she successfully refined it very quickly. The holy glow around the blade faded away, returning to how simply it seemed before.

    Suddenly, she gathered her focus, and holy light flickered through her eyes. She swung the blade at Li Qingshan, and the holy glow turned into a sharp edge, putting on an impressive and forceful display as if it was about to slice Li Qingshan into two.

    Li Qingshan did not dodge, allowing the blade to land on his head. With a rumble in his mind, something seemed to split open. A ray of light appeared in the darkness, and his mind opened up. He touched his head, but there was not a single mark on there, which left him rather puzzled.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said that this blade can sever three thousand strands of afflictions. How is it?¡± Xiao An asked with a smile.

    To Li Qingshan¡¯s surprise, his demon heart had actually become much clearer and brighter. He had forcefully elevated himself to Demon King through devouring the demon hearts of other Demon Kings. Although he had been selective during the process, it was unavoidable for some of the demonic natures of the other Demon Kings to be mixed in too. That was even more difficult to eliminate than the impurities in the demon energy. He never expected this blade to have such a wondrous effect.

    ¡°What a fine blade! But it¡¯s clearly a buddhist treasure, yet it can assist demonic cultivators. How strange.¡±

    ¡°This blade is known to only sever afflictions, not people. what matters is not your moral alignment, but your own conscience. From this perspective, there is no difference between a demon heart and a ?ar¨©ra.¡±

    Xiao An placed the Affliction Severing blade across her knees and came to a realisation over something.

    ¡°I see.¡± Li Qingshan nodded gently. His battle-hungry and bloodthirsty demonic nature had merged with his demon heart. That was basically a part of his own conscience, his own nature. However, as a living creature, who didn¡¯t have a hint of kindness and benevolence in them? It made him wonder whether the demonfolk who created the Demon Suppression Statuary had been struck by this blade or not, which allowed him to become true to his own conscience.

    ¡°No wonder the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga offered such a great reward. The Affliction Severing blade is basically divine for cultivation, and you can use it on others too. It can elevate the overall cultivation of an entire sect. If you bring the Affliction Severing blade back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, do you think the Dauntless monk will let you succeed him as the abbot?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility.¡± Xiao An smiled and said in thought, ¡°Perhaps this was exactly what the Golden Cicada Spirit King was thinking, returning the Affliction Severing blade to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga through my hand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding. If you return it now, you¡¯ll definitely attract suspicion from those monks. Hit me a few more times!¡± Li Qingshan pointed at his head.

    ¡­¡­

    In the blink of an eye, over a dozen days had passed, and the entrance to the dwelling opened up.

    Li Qingshan stepped out of the dwelling, and Yue Bing was waiting right outside. He handed over an invitation from the Great General King politely, requesting Li Qingshan to come and take part in their plan against the Soaring Locust King.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the invitation and asked, ¡°Has Qiongzhi emerged?¡±

    ¡°Not yet.¡±

    ¡°Please have the Great General King wait a few days. I need to pay a visit back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and then I¡¯ll go to the Han estate to keep my appointment.¡± Li Qingshan took off after that.

    All Yue Bing could do was smile wryly. The current Li Qingshan was obviously qualified to make the Great General King wait.

    Li Qingshan soared through the air. During the past few days, he had refined those phoenix feathers. Although it strengthened his phoenix bloodline, he had not made much progress with the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a due to the suppression from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. All he could do was slowly balance fire and water first before breaking through.

    Instead, the demon heart had become even more pure and transparent under the profound might of the Affliction Severing blade, allowing him to stabilise his foundations. He was returning to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga this time to learn the ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    Even if it could not be compared to the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he was confident his strength would reach a whole new level once he completed this cultivation method.

    Around dusk, under the rays of the setting sun, a great buddha sat among the mountains.

    They had arrived at the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!

    ps£º ¹«²¼Ò»ÏÂÎÒµÄÐÂÀËÎ¢²©ÕËºÅ£¬êÇ³ÆÊÇ¡°ÆðµãËµÃÎÕß¡±£¬ÓòÃûÊÇ/shuomengzhe£¬»¶Ó­´ó¼ÒÇ°À´¹Ø×¢¡£ËÄÔÂ×îºóÒ»ÌìÁË£¬ÔÂÆ±ÔÙ²»Í¶¾ÍÃ»ÓÃÁËÇ×£¡^_^

 Chapter 1006: The Ninth Floor of the Demon Suppression Hall

    Even non-buddhists would be overcome with a shock of the immensity of buddhism at this sight. Li Qingshan had been like that in the past, but right now, he thought of something different altogether, If I assume my form of the demonic and divine, I¡¯d still be much shorter than Great Buddha mountain!

    ¡°Who is it? Flying is forbidden above the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± A bellow rang out from the monastery.

    ¡°I almost forgot about this rule!¡± Li Qingshan descended from above and arrived at the huge entrance. He called out, ¡°Secular disciple Li Qingshan!¡±

    His voice rolled out, booming through the entire mountain.

    Behind the mountain, before the Demon Suppression hall.

    ¡°What, he still won¡¯t come out?¡± the Dauntless monk asked with a frown.

    The Unraging monk shook his head. His plump face that always had a smile was now filled with worry. ¡°If we hadn¡¯t sealed up his cultivation, he would have suffered from cultivation deviation already. However, if this continues¡­¡±

    ¡°Then no wonder. Even you or I cannot just shrug off something like that. If we had the Affliction Severing blade, there might still be a chance to save him.¡± The Dauntless monk sighed heavily.

    ¡°His inner demons have already become deeply rooted. Even with the Affliction Severing blade, it might not be enough to sever all of his afflictions,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°I wonder where the Golden Cicada Spirit King is right now.¡±

    The two Monk Kings were in a discussion when they suddenly looked back. Li Qingshan¡¯s voice then rolled over.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± The Dauntless monk frowned slightly. He had no good impression of Li Qingshan. He asked the Unraging monk, ¡°Has he really undergone the third heavenly tribulation?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see him!¡± The Unraging monk smiled. He opened his mouth and yelled back, ¡°Damned disciple, why don¡¯t you get over here now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and strode over.

    The other monks only heard him. Before they could even make him out, he had already crossed through the entrance and passed through the halls and pavilions, arriving at the back of the mountain. A fierce wind followed right after him, sweeping up countless robes.

    ¡°Dauntless abbot, long time no see!¡± Li Qingshan arrived before the Demon Suppression hall and suddenly stopped, clasping his hands with a smile.

    The Dauntless monk shivered inside. Just his actions and movements alone revealed his cultivation. He stared straight at Li Qingshan silently.

    Li Qingshan did not conceal his aura. The aura that resembled a Demon King from him made the Dauntless monk¡¯s frown deepen. If it were not for the fact that he knew about the Demon Suppression Statuary, he probably would have attacked him to purge demons already.

    ¡°Your cultivation has progressed yet again!¡± the Unraging monk said in surprise. It had only been so many days since he last saw Li Qingshan, yet the aura he gave off was even more pure than before. He had actually completely consolidated his cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation already. This disciple always brought him far too many surprises.

    ¡°Time waits for no one, so of course, I have to advance valiantly. Master, please open up the Demon Suppression hall. I want to go to the ninth floor!¡± Li Qingshan cut right to the chase.

    ¡°Go!¡± The Unraging monk did not dilly-dally either. With a wave of his hand, the entrance to the Demon Suppression hall opened up. It was dark and gaping, filled with unknowns, but Li Qingshan leapt inside without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡°Senior brother?¡± The Unraging monk gazed at the Dauntless monk beside him.

    ¡°His cultivation speed is truly puzzling. Do you know the reason for this?¡±

    The Dauntless monk loosened his fist under his sleeve. Gaining a third heavenly tribulation cultivator should have been something worthy of celebration, but it made him feel slightly uneasy instead.

    ¡°He befriended the Great Banyan Tree King in the Mist province. He must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter!¡± the Unraging monk said, but even he himself found this explanation to be a little far-fetched.

    Apart from Reincarnated Celestials that possessed innate knowledge, no one could cultivate so quickly, but Li Qingshan¡¯s behaviour the entire time really did not match a Reincarnated Celestial¡¯s. On top of that, if he were a celestial, why would he have taken the Unraging monk as a master and learnt the Demon Suppression Statuary?

    ¡°He¡¯s colluding with daemons?¡± the Dauntless monk said in thought.

    The Green province was not wild and chaotic like the Mist province. There was a clear divide between humans and daemons. In particular, disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were forbidden from making contact with daemons without good reason.

    This crime varied in size, mainly depending on which ¡°daemon¡± he colluded with. If he colluded with the Soaring Locust King, then even death would be fortunate. If it was only some regular daemon, then sending him to the Disciplinary courtyard for punishment was enough. He might even be let off with just a warning.

    However, coming in contact with one of the Ten Daemon Kings was something that even the Dauntless monk struggled to judge. There had never been an example of this in the past. The Green province¡¯s Dragon King of Ink Sea was proud and aloof. He did not even pay much attention to the daemons of the Green province, let alone making contact with humans.

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King has always been known for his kindness and love for peace. He cannot be treated like any regular daemon,¡± the Unraging monk said seriously.

    ¡°I may not practise the Demon Suppression Statuary, but the feeling he gives me is no different from a Demon King. If his fortuitous encounter came from his friendship with the Great Banyan Tree King, then so be it. However, the Mist province has been overwhelmed by the demon plague, with countless demon caverns opening up everywhere¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much, senior brother. Regular Demon Kings would never come here, let alone setting foot in the Demon Suppression hall so calmly. He worked with the Merfolk King in the south to sweep up the demon caverns too, which everyone knows about. Perhaps he¡¯s been a little unruly and uncontrolled, but his actions have lived up to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, as well as me. You shouldn¡¯t worry so much, senior brother!¡±

    ¡°I also hope that I¡¯m just worrying too much, but don¡¯t shield him just because he¡¯s your disciple either. If the situation seems off, I¡¯ll order you to suppress him in the Demon Suppression hall under the name of the abbot. You¡¯ll have to do it!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll obviously take responsibility for my own disciple,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    By now, Li Qingshan had already arrived on the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall. He reviewed the Demon Suppression statues one by one again, making them fall in line with his own Demon Suppression Statuary. He gained some more understanding yet again. Then, he stood in silence before the eighth Demon Suppression statue for a moment before finally entering the ninth floor.

    Immediately, demon qi flooded his face like thick mist that refused to disperse, surging through the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had returned to the demon caverns in the south. He confirmed his suspicions. Sure enough, there really is a demon cavern under the Demon Suppression hall, and it¡¯s far larger than any of the demon caverns I saw in the south. If it¡¯s unleashed, it can affect thousands of kilometers.

    Li Qingshan let out his soul sense and searched for the ninth Demon Suppression statue. He discovered that the area of the ninth floor was much more expansive than the eighth. Apart from the demon qi, there was nothing else there. Let alone the gilded walls, there was not even a pillar. It truly seemed like he had arrived in another world.

    ¡°I found it!¡±

    Li Qingshan found the ninth Demon Suppression statue very soon, parting the demon qi and making his way over. A delicate glow abruptly appeared before his eyes, illuminating a shrivelled figure who sat right in front of the Demon Suppression statue without budging at all.

    Li Qingshan walked over and discovered that the shrivelled figure was a monk. His aura was extremely feeble, and his skin was pale and withered. His shabby, faded robes were basically held up by bones alone. His eyes were firmly shut, and his face that basically resembled a skull was filled with pain.

    He held a damaged lamp in his withered hand, which gave off a feeble glow, protecting the monk from the demon qi. However, under the surging demon qi, it could be snuffed out at any moment.

    Li Qingshan found the lamp to be more and more familiar before finally remembering where he had seen it before. He said in surprise, ¡°The One Lamp monk?¡±

    The One Lamp monk heard him and opened his eyes slowly. When he made out Li Qingshan¡¯s face, his expression twisted from anger. He said hoarsely, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    A Domineering Plea for Monthly Votes¡ªLend Me a Hand!

    I said two days ago that I wanted to write a hundred and twenty thousand characters this month.

    That amount is not even worth mentioning among webnovels. I¡¯m often ashamed about that too, unwilling to ask for monthly votes without any good reason. All I do is lament a little at the start of the month and overtly ask for some monthly votes when I pretend to look around at the scenery.

    However, the sense of shame ends here. Qingshan has even become a supreme Daemon King, so how can I continue with such negativity?

    Alright, I admit that this is all I can write even when I use everything within me. There¡¯ll be no mass releases. I can¡¯t even guarantee six thousand characters every single day, so does that make me an irresponsible author? Who says! Do you know how much effort I¡¯ve been putting in? Sigh, why does that come to me so easily? Whatever, who cares. I¡¯ll learn from Li Qingshan today and be domineering for once.

    My one hundred and twenty thousand characters will be an absolutely wicked hundred and twenty thousand characters. Every single character, every single conversation will contain a hundred and twenty percent of my effort. It¡¯ll have things that you can¡¯t find in the hundred and twenty thousand characters you read elsewhere.

    From Li Qingshan to Xiao An, from the Great Banyan Tree King to the Dragon King of Ink Sea, they¡¯re all demonstrations of my sense of responsibility! If you don¡¯t see it, then read it again!

    Many readers have said to me, If you put some more work into the releases, you won¡¯t be any worse than those god-level authors. Originally, I didn¡¯t believe it at all. That¡¯s just how pessimistic I am, but I¡¯ll try it this year. If a hundred and twenty thousand characters isn¡¯t enough, then I¡¯ll do a hundred and forty thousand. Please tell me if this is putting some work into the releases!

    TL: God-level is basically a level of writing ability for authors. It¡¯s also the name of one of the various levels of contracts offered to authors. It doesn¡¯t make their writing actually divine. Above god-level is platinum authors.

    I¡¯ve written Legend of the Great Sage for two years now. Countless people have predicted that it¡¯ll end badly or be dropped. I¡¯ve always been disinclined to give them a reply, so let me tell you right now, Just what kind of a joke are you telling? This is Qingshan¡¯s path to the nine heavens, as well as my path to the ninth heavens!

    Come, come, come. That fellow over there, lend me a hand. I¡¯ll take you to beyond the Nine Heavens for a look!

 Chapter 1007: Youâ€™re Too Weak

    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Li Qingshan said in surprise. Back then, he had saved the One Lamp monk from the Soaring Locust King, and he had even been extremely grateful. Why had he ended up like this now?

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! It¡¯s all your fault!¡± The One Lamp monk grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist firmly.

    ¡°What did I do?¡± Li Qingshan became even more perplexed.

    ¡°Why- why did you save me!?¡± The One Lamp monk glared at Li Qingshan, like he was looking at an unforgivable enemy and not his saviour.

    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with your head!¡± Li Qingshan shook off his hand and gazed at the Demon Suppression statue.

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t saved me, the Soaring Locust King wouldn¡¯t have escaped, and all these people wouldn¡¯t have died¡­¡± The One Lamp monk murmured to himself.

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t try to deny your responsibility in this. You were the one who was deluded by the Soaring Locust King and insisted on going to the ninth floor!¡± Li Qingshan turned around and pointed at him in the face.

    The One Lamp monk shuddered and began slamming his head against the ground. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all my fault. I deserve a thousand deaths!¡±

    His face became all bloody before long, strewn with tears too. He was both miserable and pitiful.

    Ever since the locust plague erupted, the One Lamp monk had been under tremendous mental pressure. He spent every single day in pain and regret. Although no one said he was responsible, he had clearly played a critical role in the Soaring Locust King¡¯s escape.

    In the very beginning, he still rushed around and fought the plague, but then a year ago¡­

    Over five hundred kilometers from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga stood an earthen city where wind roared. Howls rose and fell throughout the entire place as the dark cloud of insects flew in the air. A ball of fire rose into the air and incinerated all of the insects before pulling back into a lamp.

    The glow from the lamp was particularly bright, burning and flickering with great instability. The One Lamp monk locked his eyebrows as his ugly face was filled with exhaustion. His steps were extraordinarily heavy and clumsy. In order to stop the locust swarms, he had basically rushed around tirelessly, completely depending on pills and spiritual stones to sustain himself. However, even that was not enough to stop the spread of the locust plague. All he could do was watch helplessly as the cities were devoured by the locusts one by one.

    The scorching sun beat down on him. He pursed his dried lips and called out, ¡°Soaring Locust King, get out here! One Lamp is right here!¡±

    ¡°One Lamp master, we meet again!¡± A burly man with dry, yellow skin emerged from around a corner, giving off dense daemon qi. He was a locust Daemon Commander. An enthusiastic smile stretched across his face, like he had come across an old friend. He even offered up something in his hand. ¡°You want some?¡±

    It was an arm, and there was still a string of prayer beads around the wrist. The One Lamp monk recognised the prayer beads at first glance and widened his eyes. ¡°Junior brother One Virtue!¡±

    ¡°So you know each other! This bald ass bit off more than he could chew, actually mouthing off right in front of me. He thought he was you, the One Lamp master.¡±

    ¡°Prepare to die! The Light of the Buddha Reaches All!¡±

    The One Lamp monk flew into a rage. He erupted with resplendent, whitish-golden light, which swallowed half the city. Even the sunlight dimmed in comparison.

    The dust settled, and a black hole appeared in the ground. All of the structures there had been destroyed. However, the locust Daemon Commander stood on the edge of the hole and said, ¡°One Lamp master, you sure are fucking bright. I have something very bright and shiny here too. I¡¯ll give it to you!¡±

    He tossed over a head, which rolled over to the One Lamp monk¡¯s feet. It was ¡°junior brother One Virtue¡¯s¡± head. His eyes were wide open with regret, while his face was filled with pain and fear.

    ¡°Spear of Great Radiance!¡± The One Lamp monk charged at the locust Daemon Commander furiously, and streaks of whitish-golden light shot out.

    The locust Daemon Commander rose up and retreated, dodging the streaks of light with ease. He let out a savage and delighted laughter.

    ¡°Come at me! Come kill me! Don¡¯t you hate the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga? I¡¯m a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so why don¡¯t you send your main body here?¡± the One Lamp monk yelled hysterically.

    ¡°Kill you? Why would I kill you? You¡¯re my great saviour. I can¡¯t even thank you enough! It¡¯s all thanks to you that I could taste so many delicious things.¡± The locust Daemon Commander arrived behind the One Lamp monk with a flash.

    ¡£

    The One Lamp monk suddenly swung his arm backwards, and the lamp oil splashed out, bursting into flames. However, the locust Daemon Commander had already taken off.

    ¡°Come down here and fight me to the death!¡± the One Lamp monk yelled at the sky.

    ¡°I know you want to die very much, so I¡¯ll never kill you. I¡¯ll keep you around as a witness so that you can witness just how I eat billions of humans and how I eat your senior and junior brothers. Hahahaha!¡±

    Within the burning city, the One Lamp monk collapsed on his knees and sobbed away with ¡°junior brother One Virtue¡¯s¡± head in his arms.

    Three days later, he returned to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and personally requested to enter the Demon Suppression hall as punishment. He remained there until today.

    Seeing an adult man like him sobbing away, even Li Qingshan found it a little difficult to put up with. ¡°Do you have to be like this? It¡¯s not like you did it on purpose. Speaking of which, I didn¡¯t do it back then to save you. Instead, it was purely because I refused to just relent like that. If he hadn¡¯t let go, you would have been torn apart. I didn¡¯t expect him to escape either. I really didn¡¯t.¡±

    Outside the Demon Suppression hall, the Dauntless monk¡¯s face darkened. Originally, he had still been grateful to Li Qingshan for saving the One Lamp monk, but he never expected that he had no intentions of saving anyone at all. Instead, he had even prepared himself to commit murder.

    ¡°How can you be so at ease!?¡± the One Lamp monk asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I did anything wrong.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°Do you know just how many people in the Green province are in misery and just how many have died to the mouths of the insects?¡± the One Lamp monk asked emotionally.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I killed them. You can say it as many times as you¡¯d like. Even if I¡¯m at fault, so what? If I¡¯m at fault, then I¡¯m at fault!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The One Lamp monk became speechless for a good moment. ¡°You¡¯re not a disciple of buddhism at all. You don¡¯t have the slightest benevolence in you. You understand nothing!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Li Qingshan immediately became infuriated. He hated it the most when others told him he knew nothing in a presumptuous manner. Even the Great Banyan Tree King who knew everything had not said something like that to him.

    He grabbed the One Lamp monk by the collar and pulled him up close. A demonic glow vaguely appeared in his eyes. ¡°You really are a piece of trash!¡±

    Anger flashed through the One Lamp monk¡¯s eyes. As the genius disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga with the best chance at undergoing the third heavenly tribulation, no one had ever labelled him with those three words.

    ¡°You are indeed at fault! But do you know where you are at fault? It¡¯s because you¡¯re too weak!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m too weak?¡± The One Lamp was stunned. No one had ever said that to him.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t so weak, you wouldn¡¯t have become deluded by the Soaring Locust King, and you wouldn¡¯t have set foot on the ninth floor. You¡¯ll be able to find the Soaring Locust King and finish him off!¡±

    Li Qingshan was very adept at finding simple answers to complicated questions. The answers might not always be correct, but they would definitely be very practical.

    The One Lamp monk was stunned.

    ¡°Do you know why a demonfolk like him could place a statue here?¡± Li Qingshan grabbed One Lamp¡¯s head and turned it towards the Demon Suppression statue.

    ¡°He set aside the butcher¡¯s blade and achieved enlightenment!¡± The One Lamp monk responded almost instinctively. During the year-long meditation, he had also come to some understanding regarding the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ¡°Absolutely incorrect. It¡¯s because he was strong enough. What ¡®set aside the butcher¡¯s blade and achieved enlightenment¡¯? It still boils down to being strong enough. Trash don¡¯t even have a butcher¡¯s blade to set aside. Don¡¯t hate the Soaring Locust King. If you want something to hate, hate yourself for being too weak!¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed aside the One Lamp monk and stared at the final Demon Suppression statue. He began comprehending the ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    ps£º ¸üÐÂ»¹ÓÐ£¬ÔÂÆ±ÄÃÀ´£¡

 Chapter 1008: Switching Cultivation Methods?

    ¡°What nonsense!¡± the Dauntless monk said furiously.

    There were no buddhist disciples that would advocate for a law of nature where the strong preyed on the weak like this, or why would they still need the buddhist canon? A relentless pursuit for power was something that demonic cultivators practised.

    ¡°Look, senior brother!¡± The Unraging monk pointed out. On the image that reflected the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, the One Lamp monk fell backwards on the ground, and his expression fluctuated. The oil lamp beside him flickered before lighting up.

    ¡°He¡¯s in mental turmoil. He actually even accepted such nonsense!¡± The Dauntless monk frowned.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s nonsense, it has its uses. You can call it fighting fire with fire!¡± The Unraging monk smiled.

    The One Lamp monk wavered inside. No one had ever said something like that to him. He had grown up in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. While there was intense competition here, they definitely did not adhere to the brutal principle where the strong preyed on the weak. Even when they entered the Demon Suppression hall for training, it was for the sake of purging demons, which went without saying. Even if they ended up dying in there, they would be dying as a martyr, and their souls would go to paradise.

    It was exactly because he set doing good and assisting all life as his life goal that he found it so unacceptable when he discovered that his actions had actually led to such a terrifying consequence. Even the Dauntless monk who tried to convince him to get his act together subconsciously believed he was very responsible for this, so no one could actually convince him otherwise. He could not forgive himself either.

    However, Li Qingshan had given him another answer, which made him feel his mistakes were no longer so unforgivable.

    He gazed at his withered hands and murmured, ¡°So I¡¯m too weak? So that¡¯s why nothing is up for me to decide. That¡¯s why the Soaring Locust King cannot even bother with killing me. If I were as strong as the Dauntless abbot, I wouldn¡¯t have been used by him. I wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this. I wouldn¡¯t have caused so many people to die!¡±

    Suddenly, he began to yearn for strength very much!

    He who had almost collapsed under the weight of his guilt seemed to find a path in the endless darkness. His regret for the past would only continue to torture his mind, and it would not change no matter how much he punished himself, but his desire for strength bestowed him with new energy. This was the power to advance and climb higher.

    Abruptly, the lamp began to glow brilliantly, purging the demon qi in the surroundings.

    I¡¯ve been saved by him yet again! The One Lamp monk glanced at Li Qingshan¡¯s figure before shutting his eyes, practising the Scripture of Great Radiance. He glowed with light and broke through the seal that the Unraging monk had placed on him.

    If he wanted to become stronger, then all he could do was increase his cultivation and undergo the third heavenly tribulation!

    Gradually, his withered body became full once more. Colour returned to his skin. However, his appearance was still extremely ugly. His nose was flat, his lips curled upwards, and his ears flared out. He did not seem any better than a skull. However, the righteous aura he gave off was enough for people to neglect his appearance.

    Li Qingshan caught a glance of him from the corner of his eye and could not help but smile. He had not said that to the One Lamp monk because he had nothing better to do. He could still remember how the One Lamp monk arduously tried to convince him out of visiting the eighth floor of the Demon Suppression hall when they first met. That was a concern for his safety without any selfish motives. He clearly possessed startling strength, but he did not have any of the arrogance that came with all the ¡°first senior brothers¡± he had seen so far.

    Afterwards, when they killed their way through the eighth floor, the One Lamp monk had provided him with assistance too. He had personally slaughtered five or six Demon Commanders alone, as well as countless more Demon Generals and demonfolk, which left Li Qingshan with quite a fine impression of him. He did not wish to see him die in his regret either.

    The pain on the One Lamp monk¡¯s face subsided, replaced by solemnity. His tattered robes burned away in the light and turned to ash, revealing his robust body. A halo rose up behind his head.

    He had become the strongest disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga several decades ago, having undergone the second heavenly tribulation in his forties. He possessed supreme talent that placed him on a pedestal higher than all other disciples. Even across the entire Green province, he had made quite a name for himself. People even believed he would become the next abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, at least until Xiao An arrived.

    During the decades that Li Qingshan spent in the Mist province, he had never stopped cultivating. He made good progress, and with the full support of a major sect like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the third heavenly tribulation was definitely within his reach. He had an even greater chance at breaking through than the various head monks. If he had not become ensnared by his inner demons, perhaps he would have entered secluded cultivation to prepare for the tribulation already.

    The Soaring Locust King did not refuse to kill him just to torture him, but also because it would be very difficult to kill him unless his main body took action. If he was careless, it would cost him Daemon Commander clones in the process. However, if his main body took action, the four guardian kings of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were no joke either, so this risk was not worth it at all. That was why he constantly provoked him verbally, making him suffer from cultivation deviation. However, this was also a form of training and strengthening to the One Lamp monk.

    Outside the Demon Suppression hall, the Dauntless monk was relieved. The entire monastery had placed high hopes on One Lamp. Even with One Will¡¯s appearance, the Dauntless abbot still believed he was more suitable for inheriting the position of abbot. It truly was an occasion worthy of celebration that he could overcome his demons and reinvigorate himself. He immediately found Li Qingshan much more pleasing to the eye.

    ¡°Senior brother, it was right to send in my disciple, wasn¡¯t it?¡± The Unraging monk smiled.

    The Dauntless monk nodded. He could not help but admit this as well. He silently calculated. Li Qingshan might be a secular disciple, and he doesn¡¯t have much loyalty towards the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. However, he still respects junior brother Unraging to a certain degree, so they basically get along. One Lamp has a very good chance at the third heavenly tribulation. I just wonder which stage One Will has reached with her cultivation, but she should be close to the third heavenly tribulation by now. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has successors!

    Then he said, ¡°Since he refuses to become a monk, the monastery can¡¯t force him to become one, but since he¡¯s your disciple, just mention it if you need any support. We can¡¯t let others think the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga is stingy.¡±

    ¡°Yes, senior brother.¡± The Unraging monk smiled. He knew that the Dauntless monk had basically recognised Li Qingshan, and the Dauntless monk¡¯s recognition was the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s recognition. They would provide Li Qingshan with sufficient resources to mend their relationship. Even if Li Qingshan did not become loyal to the monastery, there would be good will at the very least.

    This recognition did not just arise from the assistance that Li Qingshan gave to the One Lamp monk. It was only a way for the Dauntless monk to express his position on this matter. What truly mattered was still actual strength. Even to major sects, great cultivators were extremely rare. They could increase a sect¡¯s strength qualitatively. Unless they had no other choice, no one would want to push these people away.

    This instead proved Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°nonsense¡±. There was indeed a great difference between the strong and the weak.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how he cultivates,¡± the Dauntless monk said with expectations.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Unraging monk was still bothered by a worry. Qingshan, oh Qingshan, you better not have become an actual Demon King, or even I won¡¯t be able to shield you.

    Li Qingshan starred at the ninth Demon Suppression statue and discovered it to be unlike the eight previous statues. Not only was it several times larger, but the material it was made from differed drastically too. It seemed much heavier, sitting there in a lotus position with a calm and tranquil expression like a meditating monk.

    He observed it for a while and did not immediately receive the Demon Suppression Statuary¡¯s inheritance, so he pressed his hand against the statue, powering the demon heart as his mind sank into his sea of consciousness.

    With a rumble, the Demon Suppression statue seemed to spring alive, standing in his sea of consciousness like a mountain and moving about.

    The first form, Initial Remorse of the Demon Heart

    The second form, the Immovable Demonic Nature!

    ¡­¡­

    Each move was extremely coherent, moving up the levels before achieving the enlightenment at the end and stopping all movements. Sitting above the sea of consciousness in the lotus position, his dishevelled hair all fell away, converting to buddhism and undergoing tonsure.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised what was going on. As it turned out, the ninth Demon Suppression statue did not just contain the ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary, but the cultivation method¡¯s general principles too. Only here would it demonstrate many of its wonders.

    He was exhilarated. If he could comprehend and master it, his human cultivation would definitely progress drastically. He began to concentrate on the comprehension, but gradually, his eyebrows became furrowed instead.

    Qingshan, if you¡¯ve travelled down the wrong fork in the road, you still have a chance to correct it here! the Unraging monk thought to himself.

    Originally, there was only a single Demon Suppression statue in the Demon Suppression hall. The eight previous statues were modelled on this one in an attempt to simplify the profound cultivation method so that others could understand it more easily. However, the fundamentals in the very end still boiled down to this final Demon Suppression statue, just like how all rivers lead to the ocean.

    However, Li Qingshan had not taken a fork in the road at all. Instead, he had been travelling in the opposite direction right from the beginning. It was basically a miracle that he could cultivate until now.

    When he tried to comprehend the ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary, he discovered that this conflict had already become so large that he could not correct it anymore. Let alone mastering the entire cultivation method, he even struggled to grasp the ninth layer. His demon qi would immediately collapse once it circulated to his point.

    He tried sitting in the same lotus position as the Demon Suppression statue, but he discovered it to be very awkward. He had never even considered becoming a monk, while this demonfolk who realised his errors and mended his ways ended up as a monk.

    His cultivation could be increased forcefully, but the practice of cultivation methods still relied on comprehension at the end of the day.

    Do I really have to switch to another cultivation method?

    ps£º ËµÓÐ¸ü¾ÍÓÐ¸ü£¬ËµºÃµÄÔÂÆ±ÄØ£¡

 Chapter 1009: The Battle Demon Statuary

    Switching cultivation methods was not that easy. Since he had already condensed a Demon King¡¯s heart, he had to continue down this path, or all of his previous efforts would go to waste. However, this was not the Demon domain, so where was he supposed to find a demonic art on par with the Demon Suppression Statuary? Even if he found it, it would probably form an extremely great conflict with the Demon Suppression Statuary, causing his cultivation to regress.

    For a moment, Li Qingshan could not come up with any ideas either. All he could do was stare at the Demon Suppression statue and continue attempting to comprehend it, but it ended in failure time and time again, making no progress. Instead, the One Lamp monk behind him shone brighter and brighter after overcoming his demons, purging the thick demon qi.

    Time ticked by. Who knew how many times Li Qingshan had failed, but not only did he refuse to give up, but it made him even more stubborn, constantly making more attempts.

    This was not blind persistence. He had been wondering a question the entire time. If I was wrong right from the beginning, then why could I successfully practise the Demon Suppression Statuary to the eighth layer with no signs of cultivation deviation? This makes no sense at all!

    He had never heard of a situation where a cultivation method could still be successfully practised to a very high level despite completely misunderstanding it. He could vaguely sense that the Demon Suppression Statuary was not as simple as this.

    However, after thousands of attempts, he finally confirmed one thing. The ninth layer of the Demon Suppression Statuary was a complete mismatch to the eight previous layers he practised. There was no possibility of any union. Even the general principles were poles apart.

    However, these attempts did not go to waste either. During the process, he discovered something strange. Whenever he did not use the method recorded in the nine Demon Suppression statues to practise it, it would instead become much smoother, which led to some thoughts.

    Daoist cultivation methods condense golden cores and soul nascences, while buddhist cultivation methods condense ?ar¨©ra and golden avatars. What kind of cultivation methods condense demon hearts?

    The answer was basically screaming at him. The Demon Suppression Statuary was originally a demonic art, not a buddhist cultivation method.

    This inspiration had come from Xiao An. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had not been created from thin air. Instead, it was based on the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s entire lifetime of buddhist cultivation, going from buddhism to the demonic. No matter how wicked it seemed, it still condensed a White Bone ?ar¨©ra.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary was the exact opposite. It went from the demonic to buddhism, so it was very likely for another version to exist, or even the original version. That was why he could successfully practise the first eight layers, and issues only appeared when he reached the final step of ¡°to buddhism¡±.

    As a result, he did not have to find another demonic art at all. All he had to do was deduce the original version of the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and broke off his connection with the Demon Suppression statue, completely casting aside the Demon Suppression Statuary, whether it was the general principles or the ninth layer.

    ¡°Demonification!¡±

    The surging demon qi turned into demonic armour that clad Li Qingshan. The shape was different from before, but he did not care. When he clashed against the Dragon King of Ink Sea, the demonic armour had been as delicate as paper, sliced to pieces by the sword qi with ease. It could only be used to harass enemies like Si Qing.

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    Jangle! Black chains whistled over and wrapped around him firmly, clashing against the demonic armour and producing countless sparks.

    Boom! The Demon Suppression Tower descended from above, suppressing him below. It was larger than it had ever been.

    This was the complete form of his Demon Suppression Statuary that he had practised so far.

    His eyes settled down like a deep, waveless ocean as he circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as quickly as possible. He deduced the eight layers he had comprehended so far one by one.

    The fifth layer of the spirit turtle could not be compared with the living supercomputer that the Great Banyan Tree King was, but it was still extremely powerful when it came to calculations. If it had been regular formations, he could deduce how they worked in the blink of an eye.

    The Demon Suppression Statuary was no more complicated than a formation, but most importantly, there were far too many unknowns. There were many blanks that no one could fill in through deduction. It required a great element of imagination.

    If the Demon Suppression Statuary really did have an original version, just what kind of a cultivation method would it be?

    In the history of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, there had only been two people who had truly comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary through their own ability. One was the Unraging monk, while the other was him. Duoge had comprehended it with foreign assistance, so he did not count.

    Why were other people unable to comprehend it?

    Was it because their ability to comprehend was insufficient? That was impossible. Across several millennia, who knew how many geniuses the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had produced? After all, just the One Lamp monk behind him was a super genius. He was definitely no worse than the Unraging monk when it came to talent and his ability to comprehend.

    On top of that, Li Qingshan never believed he possessed a particularly powerful ability to comprehend.

    Was it because their demonic nature was insufficient?

    That might have been a possibility, but with all the disciples that belonged to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, it was impossible for all of them to be benevolent. There must have been some that became corrupt. At the same time, while the Unraging monk possessed a demonic nature, he stood on the side of justice the entire time. He had never fallen into the demonic path.

    We must share some common ground, which satisfies the condition to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary! Master has a fiery personality and opposes all evil fiercely. He was once known as the Raging monk, rushing all over the Green province to fight injustice and purge demons. He¡¯s renowned for his defiance before authority and power. He¡¯s an old cynic. As for me, while I also like good people and hate bad people, it¡¯s nowhere close to opposing all evil fiercely, much less being a cynic.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. There was only a single answer left¡ªbelligerence and battle-hungriness!

    Their objectives had been completely different, but before they comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary, they had rushed around committing slaughter. They both had a very heavy nature of murderousness to them!

    That would explain why only the Unraging monk and he had comprehended the Demon Suppression Statuary in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga over all these years.

    The abstaining from killing living creatures was the greatest precept of buddhism. The Green province had been in a state of peace for the past few thousand years. Given the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s status in the Green province, their disciples basically did not have to fight against anyone. They only practised on the demonfolk. The Unraging monk who had slaughtered countless people was a freak exception.

    The original version of the Demon Suppression Statuary was very likely to be a demonic art that pursued destruction and slaughter to the very limit. It had only led to methods that trapped the enemy without killing them like the Chains of Demon Suppression and the Demon Suppression Tower through the powerful demonfolk¡¯s great conversion.

    Thinking of that, the spirit turtle¡¯s deductions immediately became much smoother, filling in large blanks. The Demon Suppression Statuary gradually began to demonstrate a form he had never seen before.

    Li Qingshan was filled with anticipation. This was the cultivation method he required!

    After who knew how long, he said slowly, ¡°I need no restraint!¡±

    The Chains of Demon Suppression shattered and vanished.

    ¡°I need no suppression!¡±

    The Demon Suppression Tower immediately collapsed.

    ¡°I need no protection!¡±

    The demonic armour was stripped from his body.

    The three objects turned into demon qi, surging and gathering behind Li Qingshan. The demon qi in the entire ninth floor rushed over, forming something that seemed to be trying to spring into existence.

    Li Qingshan suddenly sat down in the same lotus position as the ninth Demon Suppression statue, lowering his gaze like a meditating monk.

    Outside the Demon Suppression hall, the Dauntless monk asked, ¡°He¡¯s completed it?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Unraging monk was unable to answer that question, as Li Qingshan¡¯s current state seemed a little different from when he completed the Demon Suppression Statuary.

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan changed postures very soon. He assumed the posture of the eighth Demon Suppression statue, followed by the seventh, the sixth¡­ until the very first¡ªInitial Remorse of the Demon Heart!

    His face was filled with regret and remorse, just like the Demon Suppression statue. Abruptly, his lips curled into a smile. He had finally followed the powerful demonfolk¡¯s path and arrived at the starting point, allowing him to see the true form of the cultivation method!

    His smile gradually widened, becoming hideous. Murderousness began to surge.

    The Unraging monk could not smile at all anymore. In what way was this still the Demon Suppression Statuary?

    ¡°Demonification!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out.

    The surging demon qi behind him began to condense, forming a giant demon that stood three hundred meters tall. Its appearance bore some resemblance to Li Qingshan, but it was filled with a bearing of violence and malice. Demonic markings wove together, and bone spikes jutted out. He carried a pair of war banners on his back, and the banners were inscribed with two flagrant, brutal words of blood¡ªBattle Demon!

    This cultivation method was called the Battle Demon Statuary!

    Two views overlapped in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Once was his original view, while the other came from the giant battle demon behind him. He raised his right arm, and the battle demon raised an arm as well, hurling out a punch.

    Boom! The surging demon qi was all blown away, exposing the entire ninth floor.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± The One Lamp monk felt a terrifying pressure and roused in fright from his cultivation, opening his eyes.

    Li Qingshan smiled at him. The smile on his face was still quite gentle and friendly, but the smile on the battle demon¡¯s face could only be described as hideous.

    The One Lamp monk took a step back.

    The Unraging monk was dumbfounded. He basically could not believe his eyes.

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 Chapter 1010: A Falling Out Between Master and Disciple

    A battle demon!

    The Unraging monk leapt in fright inside. As the first successor of the Demon Suppression Statuary, he had once investigated the origins of the powerful demonfolk through the convenience that came with watching the Demon Suppression hall. He possessed a much deeper understanding about the Demon domain than any regular person.

    Demonfolk seemed to come in all shapes and sizes, especially when they demonified. If they could be imagined, then they basically existed. There were even ones that existed beyond imagination. However, they were actually divided into many clans of different sizes. The powerful demonfolk who created the Demon Suppression Statuary originated from the Battle Demon clan renowned throughout the Demon domain.

    The battle demons served Qiangliang of the twelve Demon Gods. They were renowned for their violence and battle-hungriness, and their demonified forms were vastly different from any regular demonfolk. They would condense a colossal battle demon behind them, which bore some resemblance to the golden avatars of buddhism, just like what Li Qingshan had condensed right now.

    ¡°Is this also the Demon Suppression Statuary?¡± the Dauntless monk said in doubt.

    The Dauntless monk had not practised the Demon Suppression Statuary before, but even he could tell that Li Qingshan was basically even more fierce and brutal than regular Demon Kings. There was not a buddhist nature in him. There was only demonic nature on full display.

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Unraging monk was rather hesitant. He never imagined that not only would Li Qingshan fail with the Demon Suppression Statuary, but he would even embark on the opposite path and become a king among battle demons instead.

    ¡°Monks are forbidden from lying. This has to do with the entire Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± the Dauntless monk said fiercely. They were the mighty Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, yet they had actually produced a Demon King as a disciple. That was basically a colossal joke!

    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± The Unraging monk was compelled to say that. He was also aware of the possibility for an original version of the Demon Suppression Statuary to exist, but he did not understand how Li Qingshan had managed to deduce the Demon Suppression Statuary to such a point in such a short time. It made absolutely no sense.

    ¡°He¡¯s your disciple. Don¡¯t forget about what you said earlier. Buddhism is vast, but it cannot allow the existence of a Demon King!¡± the Dauntless monk said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll head down.¡± The Unraging monk entered the Demon Suppression hall.

    ¡°Don¡¯t alarm him. Bring One Lamp back first.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The rumbling continued. Li Qingshan tested his new-found powers as he continued with deducing the Battle Demon Statuary.

    ¡°Blade!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his arm and closed his fingers, and the battle demon swung its arm as well. The demon qi gathered over and condensed into a huge blade, swinging down with it.

    Clang! With a thunderous boom, it left behind a deep mark in the ground. Fierce winds swept out in all directions.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. Sure enough, it was much more powerful than the Chains of Demon Suppression, and he had only deduced around sixty or seventy percent of the Battle Demon Statuary so far. If he deduced it completely, it would definitely be even more powerful. If he faced an opponent like Si Qing again, he could easily emerge victoriously even if he did not use the Nine Transformations of the Demon Suppression at all.

    Not only was this because the Battle Demon Statuary placed a much greater focus on destruction than the Demon Suppression Statuary, the Battle Demon Statuary suited his personality much more too. The murderousness and malice from the tiger demon was enough for him to unleash a hundred and twenty percent, or even a hundred and fifty percent of this cultivation method¡¯s power. However, it was inconvenient for him to try it in the Demon Suppression hall.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯ve become a Demon King?¡±

    The One Lamp monk¡¯s robes were swept up by the fierce wind. He even began to stutter slightly. He had no idea what to be more surprised about, that he had undergone the third heavenly tribulation, or that he had become a demonfolk!

    ¡°That¡¯s how cultivation is supposed to be. It¡¯s supposed to be fast. How else do you kill the Soaring Locust King?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. His voice was relatively gentle and calm, but the battle demon behind him roared away instead, filled with murderousness and fighting spirit as if it was expressing how he felt inside. The two voices overlapped and formed a strange rhythm.

    ¡°Kill the Soaring Locust King!¡±

    The One Lamp monk was astounded. He had overcome his inner demons, and the third heavenly tribulation was in sight, but he really did not have the courage to say kill the Soaring Locust King. The difference between them was far too great.

    ¡°Have I said all that for nothing? Why do you want to become stronger? Isn¡¯t it just to kill powerful enemies and achieve revenge? Don¡¯t you even have that bit of determination in you?¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the huge blade in the battle demon¡¯s hand pointed at the One Lamp monk.

    The One Lamp monk blanked out. He had not adjusted himself to Li Qingshan¡¯s principles of life just yet, but his hatred for the Soaring Locust King was extremely deep. He said loudly, ¡°I do!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. Becoming stronger is for the sake of finding your true self and upholding justice, not for revenge!¡± The Unraging monk suddenly appeared and placed one of his huge hands on the One Lamp monk¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Senior uncle Unraging!¡± The One Lamp monk bowed in a hurry.

    ¡°I''m glad that you could overcome your inner demons, but don¡¯t let hatred blind you, or it¡¯ll become another inner demon!¡± the Unraging monk said sincerely.

    ¡°I have taken the advice to heart!¡± The One Lamp monk reflected on himself in a hurry. Now that was the saying he was accustomed to.

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference? Finding your true self is possessing hatred. Upholding justice is slaughter.¡±

    Li Qingshan disagreed as the battle demon roared away.

    ¡°That¡¯s a complete inversion of the truth!¡± The Unraging monk scolded loudly, immediately drowning out the battle demon¡¯s roars.

    Li Qingshan was mildly stunned. He had known the Unraging monk for all this time, but never had he seen him so furious. It really was a shocking sight. As it seemed, this eminent monk of buddhism still had his principles no matter how casual he seemed normally. However, Li Qingshan had never been a fan of verbal bickering, so with a clang, the battle demon placed its huge blade over its shoulder.

    ¡°Reason doesn¡¯t side with who¡¯s louder. What¡¯re you yelling for?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I told you to practise the Demon Suppression Statuary. What did you end up practising?¡± The Unraging monk pointed at the battle demon. That was truly an inversion now.

    ¡°This is my understanding of the Demon Suppression Statuary. What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°Reverse the cultivation method immediately and return to the correct path!¡± The Unraging monk ordered.

    ¡°Let me warn you. I might call you master, but I hate it the most when others tell me what to do!¡± Li Qingshan said in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°How dare you! I¡¯ve spent my days being too tolerant of you, which is why you ended up falling into the demonic path. I¡¯ll teach you a lesson today, damned disciple!¡±

    The Unraging monk swung his hand and tossed the One Lamp monk onto the eighth floor before taking a step forward. A colossal guardian king appeared behind him, scarlet-red all over like he was forged from bronze. He stood over six hundred meters tall with a crown on his head and a floating sash around his body. He was bare-chested with a protruding belly, standing upright and solemnly. Although he had been condensed from demon qi, he had a faint halo behind his back.

    The Unraging monk had once been known as the Raging monk. Now, he was known as the Unraging Guardian King!

    The guardian king wielded a crescent monk¡¯s spade, also taking a step forward with the Unraging monk. With a great boom, the entire Demon Suppression hall seemed to shake.

    ¡°Damned fatty, you¡¯re crazy!¡±

    Li Qingshan had guessed that his conversion to the Battle Demon Statuary would make the Dauntless monk frown heavily¡ªthat old monk had always been trying to make things difficult for him¡ªbut he never expected the Unraging monk¡¯s response to be so violent.

    The Unraging monk bellowed out, ¡°Fury of the Guardian King, Subduing the Four Demons!¡±

    The guardian king widened its eyes into a glare and erupted with a holy glow.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt restrained and repressed. He knew that the Unraging monk¡¯s Demon Suppression Statuary had already reached a realm of mastery, which was particularly effective against demonfolk, but he refused to back down. The battle demon pointed out with its blade. ¡°Teach me a lesson? I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have that ability!¡±

    Only the master and the disciple remained on the ninth floor of the Demon Suppression hall, confronting one another. The battle demon radiated with violence while the guardian king shone with fury.

 Chapter 1011: A Punch, a Thought

    The One Lamp monk arrived outside the Demon Suppression hall and brought his palms together. ¡°Greetings, abbot!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve come out. Very good.¡± The Dauntless monk did not say anything more than that, staring at the sight on the ninth floor.

    The One Lamp monk followed the Dauntless monk¡¯s gaze, only to see Li Qingshan and the Unraging monk poised for battle in the Demon Suppression hall.

    ¡°Abbot, junior brother Qingshan¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already fallen into the demonic path,¡± said the Dauntless monk.

    ¡°But I feel like junior brother Qingshan is mentally sound. He doesn¡¯t seem to have fallen into the demonic path. Perhaps something just happened to his cultivation method,¡± said the One Lamp monk.

    ¡°I know you owe him, but do not confuse your personal favours with the greater good! Demonfolk defile the buddha and the dharma. They¡¯re a great enemy of buddhism. There can never be any compromise,¡± the Dauntless monk said sternly.

    ¡°But he hasn¡¯t even committed any wrong-doing!¡± The One Lamp monk argued.

    ¡°Is turning his back on his master not wrong-doing?¡± The Dauntless monk pointed at the scene.

    The One Lamp monk became speechless. Regardless of the sect, drawing weapons against their master was a colossal sin, no matter how many reasons they had.

    He sighed inside, Qingshan, you really shouldn¡¯t have done this! If the Unraging master misunderstood you, you should have knelt down and explained it clearly to him. Won¡¯t this make it so you have no chance at reconciliation anymore?

    ¡°Damned disciple, are you really going to fight your master?¡± the Unraging monk bellowed.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who wants to fight me!¡± Li Qingshan found this to be extremely troublesome. He did not want to fight the Unraging monk at all, but making him admit his mistakes and submit was absolutely impossible.

    ¡°Alright, you really have become fully-fledged and developed thoughts of your own. Let¡¯s see what you¡¯re capable of then!¡±

    The unraging guardian king took a step forward and raised his crescent monk¡¯s spade high in air, twirling it around and swinging it down over the battle demon¡¯s head with a fierce gust of wind.

    Clang! With a clashing of metal, a wave of air surged out.

    The battle demon raised its blade to block the monk¡¯s spade. It was colossal, but before the unraging guardian king, it was like a child to an adult.

    ¡°Oi, you¡¯re actually serious!¡±

    All Li Qingshan saw was the Unraging monk¡¯s robes fluttering around several dozen meters away with a peaceful expression. It was as if all of his killing intent and demonic nature had merged with the unraging guardian king. The huge spade that resembled a dam pressed down slowly, grinding against the edge of the blade violently and producing an ear-splitting rumble.

    The demon qi surging around the battle demon constantly dispersed, and the bone spikes began to shrink back as well. Its body showed signs of shrinking too. The Unraging monk¡¯s attack possessed the power of demon suppression, so it was extremely effective against all demonfolk. It was even more effective against battle demons.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°If you ask for forgiveness and admit your crimes now, I can still give you the opportunity to change. However, if you continue to cling onto your mistakes, then all I can do is cripple your entire cultivation!¡±

    ¡°What crimes have I committed?¡± Li Qingshan became infuriated as well. He never expected the Unraging monk to be so vicious. His demon heart shone brightly, and the bone spikes protruded from the battle demon¡¯s body. The huge blade stopped the crescent monk¡¯s spade.

    ¡°You released the Soaring Locust King,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Li Qingshan was completely infuriated now. With a violent swing of his hands, the huge blade deflected the monk¡¯s spade and swung towards the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Damned disciple, the stronger your demonic nature is, the greater the suppression you face. Considering that we¡¯ve been master and disciple, I won¡¯t take your life. You can just stay here and reflect on your actions in the Soaring Locust King¡¯s place!¡± the Unraging monk said.

    The monk¡¯s spade twirled around in the unraging guardian king¡¯s hand, knocking away the huge blade with ease and sending the battle demon flying in the process.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. The Soaring Locust King had been imprisoned in the Demon Suppression hall for thousands of years. He did not believe he could break out of here easily. The Unraging monk had become completely unreasonable now, actually wanting him to replace the Soaring Locust King for punishment, which left him laughing out of anger. ¡°Stay here? How kind of you!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything more!¡± The unraging guardian king tailed closely and relentlessly, producing a violent storm from his swings of the monk¡¯s spade.

    ¡°Bald ass!¡± Li Qingshan swung his blade again to receive him. The battle demon war banners buffeted in the wind!

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The weapons clashed countless times like claps of thunder, forcing Li Qingshan into a retreat. Even when he pushed his bladesmanship to the limit, he could only hold on barely. He was forced back all the way to the edge of the ninth floor, with no more room for retreat. The huge blade in the battle demon¡¯s hand collapsed loudly.

    Bang!

    The monk¡¯s spade pressed against the battle demon¡¯s throat, pressing it against the hall.

    I still haven¡¯t completely deduced the Battle Demon Statuary. The suppression I face is far too great. Coupled with the drastic difference in our cultivation, I can¡¯t win at all unless I use the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine!

    However, once he used his daemon abilities, then there really would be no more room for compromise. Even if he could defeat the Unraging monk, the Unraging monk only needed to retreat from the ninth floor, and he could still keep him imprisoned here. As a result, if he wanted to break free from here, he had to kill the Unraging monk, the watcher of the Demon Suppression hall, and then kill his way out of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡±

    With a swing of his hand, the Chains of Demon Suppression flew out. Li Qingshan did not dodge, just staring straight at the Unraging monk as he allowed the chains to shackle him. His demon qi was suppressed. The battle demon let out a reluctant roar before collapsing.

    The Unraging monk dispersed the unraging guardian king and arrived before Li Qingshan. ¡°Damned disciple, do you understand your crimes?¡±

    Li Qingshan simply shut his eyes.

    ¡°Hmph, then reflect on your actions! Demon suppression!¡± The Unraging monk snorted coldly and turned around furiously. The Demon Suppression Tower slammed downwards heavily.

    ¡°Sigh.¡± The One Lamp monk exhaled heavily.

    The Dauntless monk was rather surprised. He never expected the Unraging monk to be so merciless, which did make him seem like he had returned to being the stringent Raging monk of the past. He must have been infuriated by Li Qingshan¡¯s rudeness!

    Suddenly, the Chains of Demon Suppression shattered, and a hand caught the Demon Suppression Tower. Li Qingshan snapped open his eyes and surged with murderousness, punching towards the Unraging monk like a tiger. He formed a fist with his right hand and hurled it out at full strength!

    ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    He was so close to him, and the Unraging monk was completely unprepared. Li Qingshan could basically visualise punching in his round head already.

    ¡°Junior brother!¡±

    The Dauntless monk was alarmed by this sudden turn of events as well, but he was in no shape to provide any assistance. The Demon Suppression hall had its own set of rules. Even if the Unraging monk wanted to reach the ninth floor, he had to make his way down floor by floor.

    Boom! The Demon Suppression hall shook violently. Even those on Great Buddha mountain could feel it.

    The dust dispersed. Li Qingshan knelt on one knee with his right fist in the ground, in the centre of a great crater. There was a Demon Suppression statue tattooed on his wide back, but at a closer glance, it turned out to be a violent battle demon!

    The Unraging monk stood on the edge of the huge crater. The left half of his face was slightly red. In the final moments earlier, Li Qingshan had shifted his punch and brushed past his face, slamming the ground instead.

    ¡°You can go!¡± Li Qingshan said without looking back, ¡°Your Demon Suppression hall can¡¯t keep me imprisoned!¡±

    The Unraging monk touched his cheek and suddenly smiled. ¡°Damned brat, so this is your true strength! What terrifying strength. If you had landed it, probably no one could withstand it!¡± No one understood the toughness of the Demon Suppression hall better than him. The power behind this punch was enough to collapse an entire mountain outside.

    Li Qingshan looked back in surprise, only to see the Unraging monk with his palms together, speaking solemnly, ¡°Senior brother, I do think this child practises a demonic art, but his will is firm, and he has a clear distinction between what is good and bad. He cannot be treated like a regular Demon King!¡±

 Chapter 1012: Assured With His Life, Possession of the Battle Demon

    The Unraging monk did not wait for the Dauntless monk¡¯s reply after that, saying to Li Qingshan, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Master¡­¡± Li Qingshan suddenly had no idea what to say.

    ¡°What, you really want to be imprisoned here?¡± The Unraging monk smiled.

    ¡°How dare you mess with me!¡± Li Qingshan was furious. It was no wonder the Unraging monk had seemingly become someone completely different all of a sudden. Every single thing he said was basically an attempt at infuriating him.

    ¡°Damned brat, so what if I¡¯m messing with you? You were yammering away, calling me bald ass. We¡¯re basically even now.¡± The Unraging monk went back to being as casual as before, which left Li Qingshan wondering whether he should feel happy or furious.

    The two of them left the Demon Suppression hall together. The Dauntless monk and the One Lamp monk had already vanished.

    The Unraging monk sat down heavily on the stone tablet in front of the hall again and began dining with his alcohol and meat.

    ¡°He must have been the one who told you to come down!¡± Li Qingshan took half the alcohol and meat for himself and guessed at what had happened. If it were not for the Dauntless monk stirring up trouble between them, the Unraging monk would have never fought him.

    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± The Unraging monk gulped down some alcohol.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid that my temperament would change drastically after switching to the Battle Demon Statuary, which was why you intentionally tested me?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    Judging a person by their cultivation method was not actually simple or crude in the cultivation community. A cultivation method¡¯s influence on a cultivator was extremely profound, especially among those demonic cultivators and demonfolk who practised demon arts. Finding a good person among them was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

    Even with the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he would probably end up entirely different if he did not have the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression and the phoenix¡¯s balancing. Even if he managed to maintain a bit of his true nature, he would definitely be much more violent, stubborn, and uncontrollable.

    After converting the Demon Suppression Statuary into the Battle Demon Statuary, his personality had indeed been influenced slightly. He became a little more irritable, and his offensive power had grown much greater. Otherwise, he would not have been infuriated by the Unraging monk so easily.

    ¡°Not exactly. I trust you enough, but not everyone understands you like me. Don¡¯t blame the Dauntless abbot either. I only have to be held responsible for you, but he has to be held responsible for the entire monastery!¡±

    Ever since the Unraging monk witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s battle with Si Qing, especially when he stopped the black dragon directly with a single hand, he knew he was hiding a great power.

    As a result, he ventured into the Demon Suppression hall and intentionally provoked Li Qingshan verbally, even using suppressing him as a threat. In the end, he purposefully revealed an opening. He did not do this to test whether he had become a demon, but to prove to the Dauntless monk that he was not an enemy of the monastery.

    In order to make others believe the vicious tiger was not dangerous, all they could do was venture into the cage themselves. This was how the Unraging monk took responsibility for his disciple. When he assured him by putting his very life on the line, even the Dauntless monk had nothing else he could say. Even if he could not accept the Demon King Li Qingshan, all he could do was leave Li Qingshan up to the Unraging monk to handle. That was the understanding and trust between them as senior and junior brothers.

    ¡°Thank you for ¡®trusting me enough¡¯!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at the plump monk in front of him deeply and felt a little touched, raising his jar of alcohol high into the air.

    ¡°That punch of yours sure was vicious. Surely you weren¡¯t actually thinking about killing your own master back then!¡±

    The Unraging monk recalled Li Qingshan¡¯s punch and really felt a little shaken inside. He had guessed Li Qingshan¡¯s true strength to be very great, but only when he experienced it in person did he learn it was actually that great.

    ¡°Your ability at mockery doesn¡¯t even live up to eighty percent of mine. There¡¯s nothing strange about wanting to kill my master. Though, if I actually became determined to kill, you definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to leave the ninth floor!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled drunkenly as he drank. He was decisive in nature. He either avoided it altogether or went all out. If he actually wanted to kill the Unraging monk, that punch would not have been just that.

    In reality, he had not even used a hint of daemon qi, or any innate abilities.

    When the Unraging monk heard that, he was taken aback. He studied Li Qingshan carefully. ¡°Just what else are you hiding?¡±

    ¡°A person like me has always been so unfathomable!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud.

    ¡°I suddenly feel some regret now. I just feel like you¡¯ll stir up some big trouble for me in the future. Perhaps I really should suppress you in the Demon Suppression hall.¡± The Unraging monk shook his head.

    ¡°Then let me give you another opportunity!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and turned around, entering the Demon Suppression hall again. He made his way straight to the ninth floor and sat down below the Demon Suppression statue. He wanted to use it to completely deduce the Battle Demon Statuary.

    The Unraging monk let out a great sigh. He really had no idea whether it was a curse or a blessing to have a disciple like him.

    Time flew by. Several more months had passed.

    ¡°So I¡¯ve still ended up with only eighty to ninety percent in the end!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up. He did not have the original version after all. The deductions of the spirit turtle were already approaching the limit. If he continued like this, it would only lead to a negligible difference, but he had not ended up with nothing either. He could even describe it as a great surprise.

    ¡°Apparition of the Battle Demon!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out.

    Demon qi surged out, condensing into a battle demon behind him. It was much larger and more consolidated than before.

    ¡°Possession of the Battle Demon!¡±

    The battle demon suddenly leaned forwards, falling on Li Qingshan. The wisps of demon qi stretched and curled, completely merging into his body. It turned his skin to a dark red as black demonic markings intertwined together, filled with an aura of violence. The pair of war banners on his back were flagrantly inscribed with the words ¡°Battle Demon¡±.

    His expression became ferocious and ruthless, but his body had not changed much. Only his muscles had become even firmer and stronger, but he could sense the power surging through him. In terms of human cultivation alone, his strength had reached a new peak at this very moment.

    Originally, he could not maintain this state for too long. Not only would his demon qi be exhausted rapidly, but it also placed an extremely great burden on his body as well. However, with Li Qingshan¡¯s physique, he could withstand this burden with ease.

    Most importantly, the Battle Demon Statuary and the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine truly melded together. It was unlike the Demon Suppression Statuary he practised before, where his demonic armour had been smashed to pieces in just a few attacks. In short, it had not been exceptionally useful before.

    If he used it with the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, his battle prowess would be instantly elevated to a whole new level. That would be the peak in his overall strength.

    He could not deduce the complete version of the Battle Demon Statuary, but he had decided to fill in the remaining ten to twenty percent as he wished. It might even end up stronger than the original version.

    ¡°Blade of the Battle Demon!¡±

    With a swing of his hand, the demon qi condensed into a long blade. It was somewhat shaped like Tiger¡¯s Fang, except it was much larger. The thick, wide blade was curved too, which made it seem much more dangerous.

    The Blade of the Battle Demon was condensed from demon qi, but its nature resembled the Demon Suppression Tower slightly. It definitely was no weaker than any regular demonic treasure, and it could shrink or expand as its master wished. He never had to worry about it being destroyed either.

    However, Li Qingshan ended up shaking his head. Condensing a Blade of the Battle Demon would take up demon qi and effort, which was not worth it when he was in the state of the Possession of the Battle Demon. What he required right now definitely was not just a weapon on this level. It had to be even stronger than Tiger¡¯s Fang.

    Li Qingshan arrived outside the Demon Suppression hall and waved his hand at the Unraging monk. ¡°Master, my demonic treasure please!¡±

    ps£º ¸üÐÂ¸øÁ¦£¬ÔÂÆ±¸øÁ¦£¡

 Chapter 1013: An Offering of Weapons, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower

    Night had just descended. The evening bell lingered on Great Buddha mountain, and the Unraging monk became serious for once too. He sat on the grey stone tablet and shut his eyes, reciting the scriptures quietly.

    ¡°Choose yourself!¡± The Unraging monk flicked his finger without even opening his eyes. A sumeru ring spun into Li Qingshan¡¯s palm.

    The sumeru ring was different, enveloped in a thick layer of demon qi and greyish-brown in colour. Li Qingshan opened it and took a look, and his eyes immediately lit up. It was cluttered with who knew how many demonic artifacts, ranging from blades and spears to swords and halberds. Just the demonic treasures inside amounted to five or six, which left him overjoyed.

    The Unraging monk had watched the Demon Suppression hall for all these years. Demonfolk did not like to use external tools as much as human cultivators, but he still ended up accumulating many demonic artifacts. This was exactly what Li Qingshan needed right now, so he smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need to choose.¡±

    ¡°What, there¡¯s none that you like?¡± The Unraging monk opened his eyes by a crack.

    ¡°Thank you master. I¡¯ll be taking it all.¡±

    ¡°Brat, you¡¯ve come to rob me!¡± the Unraging monk opened his eyes fully and said furiously.

    ¡°You sure are stingy, master. Whatever. I won¡¯t take it for free. I¡¯ll offer something in exchange, alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan took out all the spoils he had collected in the south. Although he had offered up all the weapons already, the pills, shaman gu, cultivation methods, and so on still amounted to a sizable sum. He brought out everything, including the Blood Oath Scroll, which left the place shining with the glow of artifacts for a moment.

    ¡°How many people did you kill in the south?¡± The Unraging monk glanced through the items. They clearly did not come from a single cultivator. He also felt amazed inside.

    ¡°I was just upholding justice and purging demons. If it isn¡¯t enough, please bear with it, master.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Whatever. I have no use for these demonic artifacts anyway, but you have to tell me what you¡¯re planning to do with all these demonic artifacts,¡± the Unraging monk questioned.

    In terms of value, the demonic treasures alone far outclassed everything Li Qingshan had taken out, but as a righteous sect of buddhism, disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could not refine demonic artifacts. If they became contaminated by the demonic nature, it would be terrible, and reforging them was quite troublesome too.

    The world had been at peace for several thousand years, so the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was not lacking buddhist artifacts and buddhist treasures. The Unraging monk could sell them to demonic cultivators, but he would never do that.

    ¡°I have a use for them,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about touching a single demonic artifact if you don¡¯t explain yourself!¡± The Unraging monk grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist. He was just afraid he would run off with all these demonic artifacts to build some underground organisation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you trust me?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I trust you, but you still have to show me some respect. I¡¯m still your master after all!¡± the Unraging monk said.

    Even the Unraging monk himself felt like he was doing terribly as a master. When other masters questioned their disciples, their disciples would answer them candidly. Since when was there a master who had to ask his own disciple for respect?

    ¡°Have you heard of the Asura Altar of Armaments before?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°The Asura Altar of Armaments! Even the Great General King doesn¡¯t have one. Where did you get it from?¡± the Unraging monk asked in surprise. That was even rarer than Asura Fields.

    ¡°Some guy from the Asura realm gave it to me!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Probably because he thought I have quite a future ahead of me and wants to befriend me! He even invited me to the Asura realm, but I turned him down,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking of ascending to the Asura realm in the future?¡± the Unraging monk asked.

    ¡°Perhaps!¡± Li Qingshan answered. He could not help but admit that place of endless slaughter was a very big temptation to him.

    ¡°The Asura realm is not a lesser realm, but it still pales in comparison to the Heaven realm and Human realm!¡± The Unraging monk shook his head and felt a little overwhelmed. Just how old is this kid, and he¡¯s already discussing the topic of ascension with me?

    ¡°At least it¡¯s better than the Demon domain!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll break your legs if you even think about going to the Demon domain!¡± the Unraging monk said. The thing he worried about the most was Li Qingshan actually becoming a demonfolk after practising the Battle Demon Statuary.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ll be honest with you. I¡¯m definitely going to pay a visit to the Demon domain, but not to mess around with demonfolk.¡±

    Ever since the battle with the Unraging monk, Li Qingshan became even more unwilling to fall out with him in consideration of his trust, so he intentionally hinted at certain things, so even if his identity as Northmoon was exposed in the future, at least it would not ruin their relationship as master and disciple.

    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡± the Unraging monk asked.

    ¡°I have an enemy there. I need to kill him!¡± Li Qingshan mentioned lightly.

    ¡°I¡¯d tell you to quit dreaming. The Demon domain is extremely vast and extremely chaotic. Even if you neglect the possibility that you can¡¯t find your enemy, he might have been killed by other demonfolk already before you can even enter the Demon domain.¡±

    The Unraging monk thought Li Qingshan had formed a feud with a Demon King in the south.

    ¡°Qingqi mountain should be very easy to find! And Qiongqi probably won¡¯t be killed so easily either,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    The Unraging monk was taken aback. He waved his fat hand. ¡°Go hold your offering. I don¡¯t want to hear your insane nonsense!¡±

    He had obviously heard about Qiongqi before. He was one of the twelve Demon Gods of the Demon domain, a true god. Why would Li Qingshan be qualified to feud with him? He only brushed it off as a joke.

    ¡°Oh right, and this.¡± Li Qingshan then took out a spiritual stone and flicked it over.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    When the Unraging monk saw the spiritual stone, he did not take it too seriously. Only when it ended up in his hands did it leave him astounded. The spiritual stone gave off a gentle, green haze, and the spiritual qi was abundant and pure. It could basically rival a Monk King¡¯s ?ar¨©ra, and it contained a hint of the profound laws of the world.

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King gave it to me. You¡¯ve been quite nice to me, master, so you better not say I¡¯m not good enough to you.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand and entered the Asura Field with that.

    The Unraging monk gazed at the spiritual stone in his hand and guessed that it came from the Mist Province cauldron. He shook his head with a smile, feeling both delighted and helpless.

    When the Unraging monk accepted him as his disciple in the past, he wanted to guide the direction of his advance, but Li Qingshan did not give him that opportunity at all, striding away blindly. He had caught up to him already, and perhaps before long, he would completely surpass him.

    ¡°Qingshan, oh Qingshan. Just where are you headed?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Under the blood-red clouds, Li Qingshan stepped onto the Asura Altar of Armaments under the gaze of a group of asura with Yin Qing at the lead.

    He felt slightly eager. He was far more powerful right now than when he obtained Tiger¡¯s Fang, and he had prepared many more offerings. Just what kind of blade would he obtain this time?

    As a result, he no longer suppressed or concealed his aura. His scarlet hair danced like fire, and his daemon qi rushed into the air. The Asura Altar of Armaments under his feet trembled.

    So powerful! He¡¯s become even more powerful. Yin Qing licked her lips, finding this to be quite unbelievable. He seemed to have surpassed the constraints of time.

    ¡°Blade!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    The figure of a blade leapt out from the mottled altar.

    Li Qingshan placed the demonic treasures onto the Asura Altar of Armaments one by one. When he placed down the fourth, the Asura Altar of Armaments suddenly lit up with a blood-red ring, producing the sound of clashing weapons as if a weapon was about to leap out.

    ¡°Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist and immediately used the tiger demon¡¯s innate ability. Murderousness surged and malice erupted. The blood-red swirl in the sky began to spin. His skin became a scarlet red as the black tiger markings formed three lines on his head.

    He roared inside, Still not enough! It needs to be stronger!

    The blood-red light dimmed again, recognising Li Qingshan¡¯s strength and desiring even more offerings.

    Only when Li Qingshan placed all six demonic treasures in there did the blood-red light appear again, even more turbulent than last time.

    ¡°Possession of the Battle Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan roared. His demon heart flashed with light, and demon qi rose up to three hundred meters in the sky. The image of the demon on his back flew out, flowing back into his body right when it was about to turn into a battle demon.

    Like the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, Li Qingshan staggered and dropped down on one knee. His body shook violently as if he could not endure it anymore. He gritted his teeth firmly as his lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°Very good!¡±

    The blood-red light dimmed once more. Only when Li Qingshan placed several hundred demonic artifacts into the Asura Altar of Armaments did a column of blood-red light rush into the sky. Thousands of weapons thrummed and sang.

    Yin Qing who watched on from afar frowned. She thought, He¡¯s biting off more than he can chew. A weapon he obtains like this will be almost impossible to wield!

    Weapons were not always better when they were stronger. There were no powerful asura armaments that did not try to devour their masters. There had been countless instances where asura had become slaves to powerful weapons

    Bang! Li Qingshan slammed down with his hand. ¡°Come out!¡±

    The blood-red light condensed and gathered together before forming a single streak in the end that shattered and dispersed.

    A blade was planted on the Asura Altar of Armaments. It was huge and magnificent, putting on a flagrant and reckless display like a gorgeous, blooming flower. The stem served as the hilt, and the petal served as the edge, spitting out a single, wide blade. The blade itself was covered in graceful patterns that resembled petals. It did not look like a weapon, but more like a piece of art. He seemed to be able to smell the fragrance of flowers.

    A smear of joy appeared on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He sucked in a deep breath and stopped his abilities. His body split open at countless different parts, spraying and soaking him in blood.

    This was the first time he had used these two explosive moves together, and it was actually a little difficult for his body to endure. However, it made sense when he thought about it. The Frenzy of the Tiger Demon had always been about pushing his battle prowess to the limit. If he threw the Possession of the Battle Demon into the mix, it would only make matters worse for him.

    Fortunately, he had not used it on the battlefield, or it would be difficult for him to wield it even if he possessed terrifying strength. He had to take his time and adjust first!

    ¡°Though, at least I¡¯ve finally succeeded!¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand, about to test out the power of this blade, when another hand beat him to it. It closed around the hilt, and with a clang, the blade was drawn out with ease.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Only now did he see the blade¡¯s true appearance. It was even larger than he imagined it to be, almost the same height as him. The arc in the blade formed a flagrant curve.

    In that moment, the blade erupted with light like the furious bloom of a flower. It was a hundred times brighter than the sun. An unruly aura filled his face, followed by sharp killing intent, not a floral fragrance.

    Li Qingshan gazed into the light and vaguely made out the figure of a woman, holding the blade high in the air. He was uncertain and thought, Who is she? How can she approach me silently? Don¡¯t tell me Yin Qing shifted over to steal the blade?

    ¡°Be careful! That¡¯s the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower!¡± Yin Qing called out in the distance.

    ¡°The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower!¡± Li Qingshan frowned, only to hear a voice from the light. ¡°Little guy, you¡¯re still not worthy of becoming my master. How dare you use these puny tricks to fool the Armoury of War and Chaos and disturb my sweet dreams! You can die!¡±

    The blade fell, swinging towards Li Qingshan like a bolt of lightning!

    ps£º ÀîÇàÉ½µÄÐÂ±øÆ÷À´ÁË£¬ÇóÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 1014: I Got an Ox for a Head

    A large, black hand caught the bolt of lightning, and the blade paused, stopping above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. A few strands of scarlet hair drifted down.

    The Blade Soul of Frenzy Flower let out a sound of surprise.

    Only now did Li Qingshan completely make out the Blade Soul of Frenzy Flower. She was no different from a regular female asura, except her appearance was particularly gorgeous and showy. Her long, blood-red hair rolled like down waves, and her figure that was even taller than his was clad in flowery armour, radiating with a sharp sense of murderousness.

    This was the first time he had seen a real artifact spirit. The Soaring Dragon sword, the Bloodjaw blade, and the other weapons he had once wielded all possessed a certain level of awareness, but they were not exactly intelligent.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower gazed down at him from above, saying with some praise and mockery, ¡°You sure are tough. Don¡¯t waste my time. Just die!¡±

    The blade suddenly pressed down, landing on his tiger bones and producing the screeching of metal.

    Li Qingshan felt a sharp pain from his hand. Blood flowed down along his arm before turning into scorching flames. He was both surprised and overjoyed. He was surprised over the fact that his Ox Demon Forges its Hide had been cut through and overjoyed over the fact that this blade really was a powerful weapon.

    ¡°You¡¯re a mere weapon, yet you still boast? Tremor!¡±

    Black cracks emanated out from between Li Qingshan¡¯s fingers, and the light collapsed and shattered. The blade thrummed.

    ¡°This power!?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was slightly surprised. She wanted to pull the blade back, but Li Qingshan¡¯s hands had firmly caught it.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out, but before he could even spit out the winds, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower seemed to anticipate his movements. She launched a roundhouse kick at his face.

    Li Qingshan tilted his head slightly, and the wind brushed past the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower, producing a gully several thousand meters long in the ground.

    ¡°So you¡¯re not an asura!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.

    ¡°How can you tell?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°The attacks of Asura Kings can¡¯t be read so easily!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower showed a hint of disdain and planted a foot on Li Qingshan¡¯s face, pulling as hard as she could. ¡°Let go!¡±

    The earth beneath the Asura Altar of Armaments collapsed suddenly. Even the ground became riddled with cracks.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his phoenix wings and rushed into the air. He asked, ¡°Do Asura Kings possess strength as great as mine?¡±

    The muscles on his arms rippled as he grabbed the blade firmly. The blade trembled and thrummed, but it was unable to break free. He could already tell that both the battle experience and skill of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower surpassed his own. If she were free to use her bladesmanship, then she might really become a troublesome opponent.

    Based on his fighting instincts, he made the most optimal choice¡ªto never let go!

    ¡°It¡¯s just brute force. Furious Bloom of the Frenzy Flower!¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower snorted coldly, and the flower-like blade suddenly opened up. The patterns on the blade itself flowed as rings upon rings of blade aura bloomed furiously, trying to swallow Li Qingshan.

    ¡°This is called the strength to overpower ten. Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth, but he ignored the blade aura on him. He poured all of his power of tremors into the blade.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    The figure of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower trembled and faded in and out in an extremely unstable manner. The power of the Tremors of the Ox Demon could shatter space, as well as shake up the blade spirit. Meanwhile, her blade auras landed on Li Qingshan, but the attacks were unable to penetrate his Ox Demon Forges its Hide, which left her fuming inside. How is this kid¡¯s skin so thick?

    As a blade spirit, she could not leave the blade, and she had to use the blade to unleash her overwhelming abilities. Now that Li Qingshan had trapped her main body, she was like a toothless tiger. She was extremely vicious, but she did not possess the corresponding lethality. She felt great regret. She should not have been so careless in the beginning and allowed him to grab the blade.

    ¡°Hmph, I might not be able to stop the blade, but do you really think you can hurt me with some measly blade auras?¡± Li Qingshan shut his eyes firmly, and his skin darkened, pushing the Ox Demon Forges its Hide to the limit. He would endure whatever she threw at him.

    ¡°You coward! Let go and face me in battle! Don¡¯t even think about gaining my recognition like this!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was very frustrated. She had never encountered someone like him before.

    ¡°Shut your mouth, bitch! I¡¯m undefeatable right now. Only an idiot would let go!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    In the air, a man and a blade were entangled together, cursing each other out. They sometimes rose higher and sometimes sank lower, leaving the asura below dumbfounded.

    Suddenly, they sailed across the sky like a meteor, hurling into a mountain and producing a deafening rumble.

    The mountain collapsed, having been reduced to a great crater. Li Qingshan gripped the blade firmly in the crater and plunged it into the earth. The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower attacked him and cursed him, but he endured it silently. He was as resilient as a stubborn ox.

    He used the four abilities of the ox demon at the same time. His dark ox hide blocked all damage, endless power channelled into his body from the earth, and he unleashed a great suction force from his palm, preventing the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower from breaking free. Meanwhile, waves of tremors surged into the blade constantly, shattering the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s resistance bit by bit.

    He simply cast everything else aside and poured all of his efforts into the Ox Demon Transformation!

    Li Qingshan abruptly experienced a wondrous feeling he had never experienced before. He was no longer a human, but an ox, not because of his cultivation method, but because he was born a calf.

    Hehe, didn¡¯t I grow up in a cowshed? Li Qingshan mocked himself inside.

    He instinctively restrained the Blade Soul of Frenzy Flower as he sank into the wondrous feeling. He gradually entered a slight trance and his bearing began to change, becoming much heavier and more sedated. The violence of the tiger demon, the peace of the spirit turtle, and the elegance of the phoenix gradually receded.

    The bloodline of the ox demon flowed violently through his body as the curved horns on his head became wider. His dark head extended and enlarged, resembling the head of an ox a little more. His large body became even more robust and powerful.

    His feet turned into a pair of huge hooves and something new seemed to appear on his bottom. Looking back, it was actually an ox¡¯s tail. He was unable to describe what he felt, and he could not help but let out a moo. His voice was rather deep, like it originated from the depths of the earth, echoing through the mountains slowly!

    He had realised something. The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was demonstrating a new form. Apart from a balance, it turned out it could also push a single transformation to the limit!

    Unleashing the various innate abilities of the ox demon became as easy and free as any other common task, particularly with the Ox Demon Forges its Hide and the Strength of the Earth. The dark colour seemed to seep into the depths of his skin, such that he no longer had to use it intentionally. When the sharp blade aura landed on his skin, it could no longer cause any harm at all.

    Meanwhile, all of his actions were imbued with the Strength of the Earth. He had cast aside the other transformations, but he had become even greater in terms of strength. He gripped his hands firmly, and the blade could not even put up a struggle anymore.

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll just recognise you for now!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower suddenly let go. Li Qingshan was imbued with the Strength of the Earth and she was not. Her strength had almost run out.

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses and shook his ox head. He discovered that he was a little unadjusted to it. He looked at the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower with his ox eyes and droned, ¡°Not for now. If you¡¯re not convinced, then we¡¯ll continue!¡±

    ps£º ÕÙ»½ÔÂÆ±£¬ÍíÉÏ»¹ÓÐÒ»ÕÂ¹þ£¡

 Chapter 1015: I Want to See You Die

    ¡°I obviously won¡¯t yield if you use methods like this!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.

    ¡°Methods like this? The path of slaughter has always been using whatever method is available, to attack the enemy¡¯s shortcomings with your forte! If I lost to you instead, am I supposed to blame you for possessing too great of an ability and refusing to face me in a contest of strength?¡± Li Qingshan countered with a question.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was unable to rebuke him. She suddenly swung her hand. ¡°So be it. Victory is victory. Defeat is defeat. I¡¯m the one who¡¯s being petty. Though, I¡¯d advise you to place me back into the Asura Altar of Armaments, or you better take responsibility for the consequences yourself!¡±

    With that, she leapt into the blade and vanished.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. These intelligent weapons truly were a hassle to deal with, but no matter what she said, he would never just let go of something that was already his.

    Right as he was about to refine it, Yin Qing warned him.¡°Be careful, my king. This Frenzy Flower of Path¡¯s End is a renowned blade of misfortune in the Asura realm. All of the asura that wielded this blade were either killed or died from madness. It¡¯ll definitely lead you to the end of your path!¡±

    ¡°Frenzy Flower of Path¡¯s End! That¡¯s far too uncreative of a name. I think I better just call it Tiger¡¯s Fang 2.0 instead!¡± Li Qingshan said complacently.

    Yin Qing felt helpless inside, He only cares about the name?

    ¡°Tiger¡¯s Fang 2.0! Don¡¯t even think about refining me with that shitty name!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower roared furiously.

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s not for you to decide!¡±

    Li Qingshan pressed down on the hilt and sent his soul sense inside. The landscape around him suddenly changed. Countless gorgeous flowers bloomed and withered in a boundless space. At a closer glance, they were all woven from sword auras, hiding an endless combination of bladesmanship.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower stood among the flowers. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯ve come! You can¡¯t use your brute force here anymore!¡±

    Her warning was not kind-hearted advice, but malicious provocation. She wanted revenge here.

    ¡°So what if I¡¯ve come?¡± Li Qingshan tried withdrawing his soul sense, but it was actually locked in here firmly, but he remained unfazed.

    ¡°Kid, if you kneel down and beg for mercy, I can still turn you into my blade slave. Otherwise, death awaits!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s mad laughter rang out from the surroundings, echoing through the entire space.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. Let¡¯s continue!¡±

    Before Li Qingshan had even finished what he was saying, blade qi rushed over from everywhere. He hurled out a punch, and the blade qi all suddenly condensed into a Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, gripped in the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s hand as it swung down!

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. He was unable to describe the wonders of that swing. It was completely undodgeable and undefendable.

    The swing shattered his soul sense and damaged his mind, but the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower refused to stop there. Blade intent rushed into Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness instead, forming the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s figure. She said proudly, ¡°Serve me as a blade slave or die!¡±

    ¡°Impressive technique!¡± Li Qingshan praised.

    The bladesmanship of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was unbelievably powerful. She truly was worthy of being a renowned blade from the Asura realm. Compared to that, the bladesmanship he had comprehended himself was basically as crude as cutting down firewood and butchering pigs.

    As it turned out, this was what made the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End terrifying. Unlike the outside world, it was completely a battle of wills here. Almost all abilities and techniques were rendered unusable, while the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower could unleash her bladesmanship to the limit in this space of blade intent. Even Asura Kings would not be able to defeat her here.

    And once they failed to refine the blade, she would take advantage of the opportunity and attack their sea of consciousness. If they were not careful, they would be ¡°refined¡± by her instead, becoming a so-called blade slave.

    ¡°Tiger¡¯s Fang 2.0, you sure talk a lot of nonsense!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Die!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower turned into a streak of light, rampaging through his sea of consciousness. She tried to stir up the entire place.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and a spirit turtle appeared in the depths of his sea of consciousness, giving off a faint glow. It filled the entire sea of consciousness in the blink of an eye, and the streak of light seemed to be trapped in mud, dimming and becoming sluggish. It was suppressed very soon.

    ¡°You!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was stunned. Just what else was he capable of!?

    ¡°Who said I only have brute strength?¡± Li Qingshan circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, and the spirit turtle¡¯s figure appeared around his body outside. The faint glow enveloped the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and seeped in slowly.

    Standing on a spirit turtle, Li Qinghan appeared in the space of blade intent again and was about to directly suppress the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower called out.

    All the flowers bloomed in the space, tearing apart Li Qingshan and the spirit turtle. The sharp blade aura cut through the glow.

    ¡°Suppress!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were serene, and the figure of the spirit turtle consolidated.

    Stuck together and wearing each other down gradually, neither of them were actually capable of doing anything to the other.

    Li Qingshan still ended up being the first to feel exhausted. If his mind was being constantly worn down, it would place an extremely great burden on him. All he could do was temporarily give up on the refinement.

    In terms of will alone, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was much more powerful than Li Qingshan. The greatest advantage that weapons possessed was they would never suffer defeat. They would always be wielded by the victor. The endless slaughter of the Asura realm allowed her to accumulate countless victories and allowed her to devour countless blade slaves, which culminated into the space of blade intent.

    However, weapons were still weapons at the end of the day, and wills could not be directly converted into strength. The bladesmanship and blade intent were limited by power, not just the enemy¡¯s power, but also her own power.

    Even if they fought another hundred times, Li Qingshan was confident about subduing her, so as long as he kept trying to refine her, there was nothing the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower could do about him. He was basically in a state where defeat was not possible.

    However, this would also mean that the weapon he had exchanged for after so much difficulty would be completely useless to him, and he had to remain vigilant over any sneak attacks from her at all times.

    Li Qingshan was running out of patience. He stood on the blade and bellowed, ¡°If you keep putting up a stubborn resistance, I¡¯ll snap you to pieces and turn you into a pile of scrap metal!¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower sneered in disdain, perhaps because she had guessed that Li Qingshan would not do that, or because she did not fear it at all. She had been condensed from pure blade intent, and she had been passed through the hands of countless asura in the past. None of them feared death.

    ¡°I won¡¯t change your name then, so just get refined!¡± Li Qingshan ended up compromising when his coercion failed.

    ¡°Are you begging me?¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.

    ¡°Beg my ass!¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed and dragged the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End back to the Asura Altar of Armaments, considering whether he should exchange her for a different weapon, but he also felt rather reluctant to do that. The space of blade intent was his greatest obstacle to refining the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, but it was also quite the treasure. It could allow his bladesmanship to advance rapidly.

    As he hesitated, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said, ¡°Unless you get a trash weapon, there are no weapon spirits that will yield to a weakling!¡±

    ¡°The weakling who subdued you? I¡¯d advise you against provoking me. Once I lose my temper and get carried away, I don¡¯t really consider the consequences. Even if I can¡¯t refine you, I can seal you up or even destroy you!¡± Li Qingshan said coldly.

    ¡°What a coincidence, because I don¡¯t want to go back to gathering dust in the Armoury of War and Chaos either. I can give you an opportunity, not only for you to refine me, but also to teach you bladesmanship so that you become even stronger!¡±

    ¡°Why¡¯d you change your mind all of a sudden?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t accept it if I don¡¯t see you die!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower did not even try to hide her killing intent.

    ps£º Á½¸üÀ´Ò²£¡

 Chapter 1016: Pathâ€™s End

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. It made him think about what Yin Qing had said. All the asura that wielded the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End had either been killed or died from madness. There was nothing strange about being killed. The Asura realm was about killing left and right in the first place, but dying from madness was quite a curious way to go.

    The Asura realm produced powerful asura endlessly, so at least some of them could refine the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. However, all of them seemed to meet a bad end after refining her, so just what caused the madness?

    ¡°You afraid?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower tried to provoke him.

    ¡°A little.¡± Li Qingshan confessed.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was taken aback by the reply. She never expected an answer like that from Li Qingshan.

    ¡°But you¡¯re definitely not what I¡¯m afraid of the most!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed and sent his soul sense into the space of blade intent. This time, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower did not put up any more resistance, allowing him to leave behind his mark in the blade. He successfully refined the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    Li Qingshan raised the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, and the edge flashed. With a casual swing, a streak of light flew out, and a mountain split open several kilometers away, collapsing loudly!

    ¡°What a fine blade!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. The destructive power of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End far surpassed Tiger¡¯s Fang. If he wielded Tiger¡¯s Fang, he could only unleash a swing like that when it was satiated with blood, while just a casual swing of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End could achieve the same effect. He no longer had to worry about being a one-trick pony when he faced the Dragon King of Ink Sea again.

    ¡°That goes without saying! But your bladesmanship is far too weak. You¡¯re just swinging it around blindly.¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower mocked Li Qingshan¡¯s bladesmanship again. She did have that right.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s only pity. He had not truly subdued the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower. He had only achieved a cooperative relationship as equals, so he was unable to inherit the profound bladesmanship recorded within the blade. However, he was confident that there would be a day when he could completely subdue the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower and become the true blademaster of frenzy flower as his cultivation continued to increase.

    ¡°You want to learn it? If you do, I can teach it to you!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan could obviously tell she was up to no good, and the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower did not seem to be trying to hide it either.

    ¡°I have two different ways of teaching you. One¡¯s quick and one¡¯s slow. How would you like to learn?¡±

    ¡°How does the quick way work? How does the slow way work?¡±

    ¡°You send your soul sense into the blade and spar with me. I¡¯ll teach you hand by hand. That¡¯s the slow way.¡±

    ¡°You can stop right there. I¡¯ll choose the slow way. Patience produces fine results.¡±

    ¡°Though, I¡¯m temperamental, so I might be in a good mood sometimes and in a bad mood at other times. Even if I scold and curse you, you¡¯ll have to put up with it. My guidance will be all over the place too¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, just cut the nonsense. How do you want to ¡®teach¡¯ me?¡±

    Li Qingshan was not someone who could not put up with some scolding and cursing, but given the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s attitude, he probably would not learn anything even if she taught him for a century.

    ¡°The quick way obviously! I can guarantee that you¡¯ll achieve the essence of the blade intent without anything unnecessary, and this also happens to be the strongest move of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. It can make your battle prowess skyrocket instantly and let you kill powerful enemies!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s actually something as great as that? What¡¯s the name of this move?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°A Madman at Path¡¯s End!¡±

    ¡°That sure sounds auspicious. I go crazy and then reach the end of the path, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. She really was a blade from the Asura realm after all. She did not even try to hide this trap, even explaining it clearly to him that he would die if he leapt into it.

    ¡°Exactly. If you want great power, if you want powerful bladesmanship, how can you go without taking a little risk?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s voice was reeking of ill intent.

    ¡°Let me think about it.¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and his mind became as serene as the ocean. He used the spirit turtle to divine, but the result left him a little surprised.

    ¡°If you decline, you better just send me back to the Armoury of War and Chaos! I definitely won¡¯t fight for you! I can accept a weakling, but I can never accept a coward!¡±

    ¡°I can accept that, but on one condition.¡±

    ¡°What condition?¡±

    ¡°If I don¡¯t reach the end of my path as you wish I do, then you¡¯ll accept my control. You¡¯ll fight for me without causing any trouble!¡±

    ¡°I respect the courageous, and I respect the strong even more. None of the past masters of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End died because of trouble from me,¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and smiled. ¡°Then let¡¯s try it!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Grip the hilt firmly and open your mind!¡±

    The figure of the blade spirit appeared once more, half-transparent this time and intangible. She overlapped with Li Qingshan¡¯s body and gripped the hilt.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and opened his mind.

    Suddenly, the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End produced a strange thrum, and a ripple spread through his sea of consciousness. His soul began to tremble with it. He and the blade gradually formed a strange resonance as his sea of consciousness and the space of blade intent overlapped slowly.

    In a daze, Li Qingshan saw the past masters of the blade wielding the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End against various powerful foes, unleashing profound bladesmanship of unpredictable flexibility. He ravished with joy inside. This was the blade intent he wanted to inherit!

    ¡°You¡¯re celebrating too early. You haven¡¯t seen anything yet!¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s lips curled into a smile.

    ¡°One With the Blade, A Madman at Path¡¯s End!¡±

    The flower-like blade suddenly bloomed furiously. Gorgeous petals upon petals inverted and wrapped around Li Qingshan¡¯s hands as complicated patterns extended along his arms, covering his entire body in the blink of an eye. It was identical to the patterns on the blade. His skin shone with a metallic lustre as if he had become a part of the blade.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. He felt himself overlap with the figures of the past masters of the blade, and his sea of consciousness turned into a space of blade intent. Great confidence surged through him. I can also unleash a technique like that!

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was no longer so difficult to wield anymore. He understood every single curve and pattern on it. The blade moved with his will, producing afterimages upon afterimages. It seemed like he was merely swinging it around pointlessly, but only after magnifying it thousands of times was it possible to make out the countless specks of dust in the air that had been gently sliced apart by the blade.

    Cutting apart mountains was easy, but cutting apart dust was not!

    The former only required strength, but the latter required subtle and wondrous bladesmanship!

    ¡°How¡¯s that? Have you grown stronger? But this is nowhere near enough. I will completely unleash all of the potential within you!¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower laughed madly. Basically all of the asura that had died from madness had died to this move. She really had not gotten in their way as they fought. Instead, she helped them fight, except they would definitely approach the end of their path after the hysterical dance of madness.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s laughter halted. ¡°How¡¯s this possible!?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so impossible about this?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Turning his sea of consciousness into the space of blade intent did cause an extremely great mental burden. The furious blade intent left behind by the past masters was enough to drive even Asura Kings to madness. His murderousness also swelled, while his face became extremely twisted with viciousness, but his scarlet eyes remained clear and deep.

    The results of the spirit turtle¡¯s divination had left him surprised because there was unexpectedly no danger at all!

    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone mad?¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower asked in surprise.

    ¡°Probably because I¡¯ve grown accustomed to the madness and the frenzy a long time ago!¡±

 Chapter 1017: Arrogant and Mouthy

    The Tiger Demon Forges its Bones, with a Frenzied Heart.

    This was the state that Li Qingshan was accustomed to, from the day he began cultivating to today when his bloodline of the tiger demon had already become so thick. Even when he used the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, he had never lost his mind and gone insane.

    The feeling that the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End¡¯s A Madman at Path¡¯s End gave him was slightly different from the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, but it was not enough to make him die from madness.

    This move isn¡¯t particularly evident when it comes to unleashing power. It can be compared to the Possession of the Battle Demon to a certain degree, but it¡¯s nowhere close to the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon. Though, it¡¯s probably much stronger in terms of the increase it brings to battle prowess. It can make up for my greatest shortcoming, Li Qingshan thought as he concentrated on comprehending the blade intent.

    However, before long, he felt deeply fatigued, so he forcefully separated himself from the space of blade intent despite the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s tuggings.

    The patterns on his body receded back onto the blade, and the metallic lustre on his skin faded away. In that moment, an intense feeling of emptiness swallowed him. The profound and flexible bladesmanship was no longer his, and he had lost the feeling of being able to wield the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End in his hand freely. He could not help but feel a little despondent.

    However, just like how the tide would leave behind many traces and marks on the beach after it receded, he had comprehended a hint of blade intent, which was enough for his bladesmanship to improve.

    He smiled. The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower had not lied to him. This was indeed the fastest way to learn bladesmanship. As long as he constantly fused with the blade and merged with the space of blade intent, his bladesmanship would reach a whole new level very quickly.

    He flicked the blade gently. ¡°Do you have anything else to say?¡±

    ¡°Looks like it wasn¡¯t completely because of deceiving tricks that you could obtain me from the Armoury of War and Chaos. Since you¡¯ve already passed the test, I¡¯ll fight for you!¡±

    After three consecutive attempts at killing Li Qingshan, which had all ended in failure, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower seemed to finally give up on that thought.

    Li Qingshan let go of the hilt and laid down on the ground. A clash of the mind was basically even more exhausting than a great battle. He fell deep asleep before long.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was planted in the ground right beside him. The edge was only a few inches away from him, and he seemed completely defenseless. The blade shimmered with light as if it was staring at him with a shining eye.

    Within the space of endless blade intent, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said to herself, ¡°What a strange guy. His malice is even heavier than Asura Kings, yet he¡¯s completely unaffected mentally. It¡¯s exactly because of that that he can remain calm during A Madman at Path¡¯s End, but can you still remain so composed in a battle to the death? Hehe!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Fellow Unraging, where is Li Qingshan? Tell him to drag his ass out here!¡±

    Yue Wuyang was furious. Extremely furious! Anyone would be furious if they were stood up, let alone being stood up for a good half a year. Who knew how many years it had been since someone last toyed with him.

    In order to deal with the Soaring Locust King, he had carefully crafted an entire plan and even notified the King of Chu¡¯s estate, but the main character of the plan, Li Qingshan, never appeared. He said he had returned to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to study his cultivation method, and then there was no more news of him. He had sent people numerous times to urge Li Qingshan, but the end result had all been Li Qingshan cultivating in seclusion in the Demon Suppression hall.

    The Soaring Locust King was still at large in the Green province. He had become much less active compared to before, but that was because he had already cleaned out the various cities and villages, and there was insufficient food to replenish his clones. The risk that came with attacking prefectural cities was far too great, so he had toned down his activity himself. The counterattack from the King of Chu¡¯s estate was less of a reason for this.

    As long as the locust plague persisted, the mortals would not be able to recuperate and recover like normal, and the foundations of the cultivation community in the Green province would be shaken.

    ¡°Please calm down, Great General King. He¡¯s inside.¡± The Unraging monk pointed at the Asura Field beside him.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t he cultivating in the Demon Suppression hall?¡± Yue Wuyang asked.

    ¡°He came out and entered there,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Get him to come out! Does he really think he can brush aside everyone and act as he pleases just because he¡¯s undergone the third heavenly tribulation?¡± Yue Wuyang said.

    ¡°This is his arcane treasure. Even I can¡¯t open it!¡± The Unraging monk shrugged.

    ¡°If you won¡¯t open it, then I¡¯ll open it!¡± Yue Wuyang had truly been angered this time, reaching towards the Asura Field. He moved like a bolt of lightning.

    ¡°That¡¯s not really a good idea, is it?¡± The Unraging monk pressed down on the Asura Field with his huge hands.

    ¡°Unraging monk, this is touches on matters of great significance. As an eminent monk of buddhism, can you really bring yourself to watch as the common people are plunged into misery?¡± Yue Wuyang asked.

    ¡°This is the Green province¡¯s crisis. How can you place all your hopes on a single person?¡± The Unraging monk shook his head.

    ¡°Who¡¯s calling for me?¡±

    At this exact moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from the Asura Field. Soon afterwards, Li Qingshan leapt out from the Asura Field with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End on his back. Due to his fantastic sleep, he was brimming with energy.

    Yue Wuyang wanted to fly into a rage the moment he saw Li Qingshan, but his gaze was drawn away by the blade on his back, not only because of the huge, flagrant appearance of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, but also because of its unique bearing.

    Just like how alcohol enthusiasts were drawn to fine alcohol and painters were drawn to famous paintings, Yue Wuyang possessed an instinctive intuition for the quality of weapons as a disciple of the school of the Military. He could sense that life seemed to be pulsing within the cold weapon.

    Was it an asura armament?

    ¡°The fuck you¡¯re looking at?¡± A provoking voice rang out, but it did not come from Li Qingshan, but the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. It directed its chilling killing intent straight at Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°A weapon spirit!¡± Yue Wuyang was very surprised. This was actually an asura armament with a weapon spirit! Just how did this kid obtain it? And how could he keep it under his control?

    ¡°You¡¯re still looking! I¡¯ll cut you down if you keep looking!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower continued to raise a clamour. She said to Li Qingshan eagerly, ¡°This guy is not bad. Let¡¯s feed him to the blade! And count in the fatty beside him too.¡±

    The Unraging monk was also taken aback, widening his eyes. He had never seen such an arrogant weapon before. Even the most self-aware buddhist treasure in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could not be compared to that.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to look around. I¡¯m talking about you. Your fat will be perfect for oiling and maintaining the edge. Come at me, the both of you!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Li Qingshan ran out of patience and slapped the hilt forcefully. Originally, he did not want to carry the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End on his back, but the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said to him, ¡°If you want to comprehend the blade intent a little faster and unleash the full power of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, then you better just carry me properly!¡±

    ¡°Oh my! You really think you¡¯re my master! With your bit of strength, I¡¯ve already shown you plenty of respect by being willing to fight for you. Don¡¯t take it too far, kid! Argh! I want to go back to the Asura realm! This world is far too boring! To think that I can¡¯t actually kill whenever I want to! How boring!¡±

    Why would the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower listen to Li Qingshan? She yammered away as the blade constantly thrummed.

    The only reason why Li Qingshan had managed to refine the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was because she wanted to kill him, so she cooperated proactively. However, it resulted in a relationship of equal cooperation. She no longer tried to kill Li Qingshan anymore, but since they were equals, he could forget about controlling what she said too!

    ¡°Damned disciple, this blade sure suits you!¡± The Unraging monk watched this with quite some interest and chuckled.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Arrogant and mouthy!¡±

    ¡°Damned fatty, why don¡¯t you fucking say that again!¡± Before Li Qingshan could even reply, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower began roaring away.

    Li Qingshan felt like someone was covering his face in spittle with all the things she said. Earlier, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower still seemed rather quiet and cool, but now she had completely become an annoying, aggressive patient with manic episodes. He finally understood how the past masters of the blade had died from madness. Carrying the blade basically meant a constant barrage of disrespect every single moment of the day. Even if he managed to survive his enemies, he would be driven to madness by her yammering.

    He shoved the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End into the Asura Field and secretly made up his mind about completely refining her one day and changing the name to Tiger¡¯s Fang 2.0!

    ¡°Fellow Yue, long time no see. I¡¯ve made a fool of myself with my inadequate use of discipline. Oh right, have you specially come for me?¡± Li Qingshan almost forgot about the Great General King¡¯s plan.

    ¡°Of course I¡¯ve come for you!¡± Yue Wuyang glared at him with widened eyes and said furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve already forgotten about it.¡±

    ¡°Haha, how could I? I really must apologise for this. Many things happened during cultivation this time, so I really had no choice. Let¡¯s set off right now!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°There¡¯s no reason to hurry. Where did you get the asura armament from? I¡¯ve never heard about a blade like this across the nine provinces.¡± Yue Wuyang changed the topic, also temporarily casting the overall situation of the Green province and the misery of the common people to the back of his head to ask the question he cared most about.

    ¡°I exchanged for it from the Asura Altar of Armaments with a lot of demonic weapons.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged without hiding it.

    ¡°You have an Asura Altar of Armaments!?¡±

 Chapter 1018: A General Inferior to a Blade

    It was not Yue Wuyang¡¯s fault for being so surprised. The Asura Field was used to connect with the Asura realm, while the Asura Altar of Armaments took it one step further. It was directly connected to the Armoury of War and Chaos in the Asura realm.

    The Asura realm was almost boundless, so it was relatively easy to connect with, but even that came at an extremely great cost. Meanwhile, the Armoury of War and Chaos was a holy land within the Asura realm. It was basically impossible for humans that were not asura to connect with it.

    ¡°I do!¡± Li Qingshan said like it was common sense.

    Since everyone in the world already knew about the existence of Asura Fields, there was nothing to hide about Asura Altars of Armaments. He had obtained it far too easily anyway, so he did not find it to be particularly precious.

    ¡°Where did you get it from?¡± Yue Wuyang took a step forward. He was rather excited and also slightly unconvinced.

    ¡°Someone gave it to me,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Gave it to you!¡± Yue Wuyang frowned. He did not believe it at all now. Why would anyone give away a treasure like that so easily?

    ¡°I just finished a great battle with someone that day, and suddenly, a voice rang out overhead, saying something like ¡®Natural warrior, begin an endless battle of blood in the Asura realm¡¯. I did want to go, but I still ended up turning him down after some thought. I said I would establish dominion over the entire Asura realm in the future, and then he just tossed out a stone disc from the blood-red swirl. Only afterwards did I learn it was called an Asura Altar of Armaments.¡± Li Qingshan explained calmly.

    ¡°You mean you received the Asura realm¡¯s calling?¡±

    Yue Wuyang was very shocked. Compared to the Unraging monk, he possessed a much deeper understanding of the Asura realm, and he viewed the Asura realm as the final promised land.

    ¡°If that is the Asura realm¡¯s summoning.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°After turning it down, it still gave you an Asura Altar of Armaments! You better not be boasting! Only souls that have fallen in battle will receive the Asura realm¡¯s calling!¡±

    As for establishing dominion over the entire Asura realm, that was just a madman¡¯s nonsense through and through. It was not worthy of his attention.

    ¡°Probably because I¡¯m awesome!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. He could not be bothered with explaining too much. He could believe whatever he wanted.

    ¡°Can I take a look at the Asura Altar of Armaments?¡± Yue Wuyang decided to disregard Li Qingshan¡¯s nonsense for now and take a look at the legendary Asura Altar of Armaments first.

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    With a thought, a blood-red swirl appeared from the Asura Field, and Yue Wuyang stepped inside eagerly, but what met him was a whistling streak of light. As it turned out, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower had attacked him fearlessly.

    ¡°Impressive bladesmanship!¡± Yue Wuyang praised loudly. He gripped a halberd and equipped a set of armour, becoming entangled in a battle against the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower.

    Immediately, blade aura criss-crossed, and the halberd danced furiously. The sound of clashing weapons was thunderous, forming a ruckus.

    ¡°Fellow Yue, let me get rid of this blade,¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from outside the Asura Field.

    ¡°No need. I¡¯d like to test this blade spirit¡¯s capabilities!¡± Yue Wuyang said. In the moment they clashed, he had sensed that the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s bladesmanship was something else. Her martial prowess actually surpassed his slightly, which left him eager to test his own skill.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t stick your nose in this!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower also called out. She had been subdued by Li Qingshan through brute force, so she was filled with frustration and fury right now. She wanted to use this opportunity to vent.

    ¡°Fine!¡±

    Sand and stones flew through the Asura Field and killing intent rushed into the sky. The blood-red swirl in the sky spun rapidly.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower became bolder the more she fought. Even when she could not completely unleash her bladesmanship in the real world like when she was in the space of blade intent, she still left Yue Wuyang feeling more and more shocked the more they fought. As a disciple of the school of the Military, he had trained and cultivated arduously for a thousand years, and he was confident that his martial prowess was no weaker than any regular Asura Kings, yet before the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower, he was actually overwhelmed again and again.

    Sure enough, the legends are true. Every single weapon spirit from the Asura realm is thoroughly tempered, having experienced countless battles, while their martial prowess is at the acme. Obtaining one is like taking on a renowned master.

    Yue Wuyang became even more fervent inside, but the greatest issue right now was how was he supposed to defeat this weapon spirit?

    The current Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was even stronger than when she first emerged from the Asura Altar of Armaments. After Li Qingshan refined the blade, they obviously established a connection, allowing her to draw energy from Li Qingshan. This basically solved the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s greatest worry.

    Li Qingshan could turn down the blade spirit¡¯s request, but the last thing he lacked was mischief. He provided the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower with energy proactively just to provide the Asura Field with resources to evolve.

    ¡°Alright. At least you¡¯re of some use, kid. You¡¯re not stingy!¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower communicated with Li Qingshan, but she sighed slightly inside. Weapons were still born to be used by people after all, and a blade with a master was simply stronger than a masterless blade. This kid was a little weak, but at least he possessed some potential, making him worthy of some guidance.

    Li Qingshan grinned, which left the Unraging monk very curious. He asked, ¡°What¡¯re you smiling for?¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and a blood-red light displayed the intense battle in the Asura Field.

    The Unraging monk was very surprised too. Among the hundred schools, the school of the Military was most adept at battle. Yue Wuyang had truly lived up to his title as a Great General King too. He demonstrated startling ability, but he was actually overwhelmed by a single blade, so how could that not be surprising?

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower fought to her satisfaction and directly merged with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. All they could see was a rampaging streak of light now. Her body was the toughest part available, the blade itself, so there were no so-called vital points at all. She was even more troublesome of an opponent than an Asura King.

    On the other hand, Yue Wuyang¡¯s armour was already in tatters, and he was covered in wounds. While he had avoided the vital points, which prevented any lasting injuries, he still seemed to be in an extremely sorry shape.

    ¡°Just how did you subdue this blade?¡± the Unraging monk asked. Even he was not confident about subduing a blade like that.

    ¡°Through my charms!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°More like bonding over your repulsive habits! You better recall this blade quickly. Don¡¯t let the Great General King embarrass himself too much.¡± The Unraging monk advised.

    ¡°If I did that, then wouldn¡¯t it mean that the mighty Great General King can¡¯t even defeat a blade?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    This kid is always strutting around in front of him. I wonder what kind of expression he¡¯ll have if he loses.

    The Unraging monk obviously did not believe Li Qingshan¡¯s excuse, but given the situation, it really was inconvenient to interfere.

    Suddenly, the blade aura shot past Yue Wuyang like a flash, leaving behind a cut on his face. It had paused slightly because it had been greedy with this attack.

    ¡°You can forget about leaving!¡± Yue Wuyang¡¯s eyes erupted with light and his halberd hooked onto the blade. With his fingers open, he snatched the hilt and was about to suppress the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    He¡¯s asking for trouble! My blade¡¯s not that easy to take!

    Li Qingshan was mentally connected with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. He could clearly sense that she had done this intentionally. It was a trap.

    Yue Wuyang had no other choice either. He definitely did not have the power to break the Frenzy Flower Blade of path¡¯s End, so the only way for him to achieve victory was to directly attack the blade spirit, but unbeknownst to him, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was condensed from pure blade intent even if she was just a spirit and lacked any vitality. She was even stronger than the blade itself.

    Sure enough, Yue Wuyang¡¯s face changed and he halted. He became riddled with openings.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower suddenly appeared and snatched over the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, swinging it at Yue Wuyang and laughing madly, ¡°Die!¡±

    She had used all of the moves that had failed against Li Qingshan on Yue Wuyang.

 Chapter 1019: Xiao An Emerges

    Oh no, it¡¯ll be troublesome if the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower actually cuts down Yue Wuyang!

    Li Qingshan was just about to stop them when Yue Wuyang let out a bellow. A circular wave of air swept out from him, reaching several dozen kilometers away and blasting the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End away.

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s eyes were blood-red, and he rippled with muscles. His wounds rapidly recovered, just like a true Asura King. He entered an explosive state similar to the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon and rushed towards the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. He was several times faster than earlier as he swung out with his halberd.

    A streak of sharp light moved like lightning, tearing through everything in its path like it was unstoppable.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally getting a little interesting.¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower smiled and swung the blade to receive the attack, only to suddenly vanish.

    ¡°Fellow Yue, I think we should stop here!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached in and scooped the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End out of the Asura Field.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower roared furiously, ¡°Li Qingshan, I warned you! Don¡¯t stick your nose in this!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t kill him,¡± Li Qingshan said with certainty.

    ¡°Who said!¡± The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End shook violently.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him so much. If he can¡¯t beat you, that doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t run away,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Shut up. Where can he run off to in the Asura Field?¡±

    ¡°I never said I would trap him for you.¡±

    ¡°You traitorous son of a bitch!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth, bitch! This is your battle, not mine!¡±

    The man and the blade cussed away at each other, such that even the Unraging monk became embarrassed as he listened to them. He was also shocked by the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End¡¯s might. With that sword in hand, even a mortal could kill a great cultivator, so just what kind of power would it possess in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand?

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s chest heaved a few times violently, and only then did his eyes turn back to normal. The battle had caused him quite the impact. He had actually almost lost to a blade, but it also roused his desires. If he could obtain a weapon like that, then his strength would undergo an overwhelming change. With a flash, he arrived before the Asura Altar of Armaments and gazed at the mottled stone disc. His eyes shone.

    Before long, Yue Wuyang emerged from the Asura Field, having tidied up his clothes already. He said seriously, ¡°Fellow, please lend the Asura Altar of Armaments to me!¡±

    He completely recognised Li Qingshan¡¯s strength now, no longer treating him as a junior.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Chain mountains, in the Qing Xiao dwelling.

    Thirty-three Skull Prayer Beads spun through the air, constantly shifting position and maintaining the Skeleton Demon Formation the entire time. They kicked up a fierce wind in the centre of the mountain, ruffling Xiao An¡¯s bluish-white monk robes.

    With a wave of her hand, the skulls turned back into prayer beads and strung together, returning to her pale wrist.

    She sank into a moment of thought. Suddenly, she began to radiate with a faint, golden glow, which made her seem solemn. Anyone who saw her would be filled with a deep sense of reverence.

    She raised her hand with the Sull Prayer Beads, and the light all gathered on it, gilding the shiny, white prayer beads with a layer of gold. They no longer seemed wicked at all, instead seeming like supreme treasures of buddhism.

    Only then did she step out of the dwelling. Mist flowed through the mountains, and the rain formed a continuous chain. The mountains had become lush and verdant again.

    ¡°You¡¯ve hidden yourself for all this time, which hasn¡¯t been easy on you. You can come out now!¡± Xiao An¡¯s clear voice echoed through the mountains.

    A hoarse, brutal voice rang out, ¡°I heard you¡¯re Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation partner, as well as the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s most outstanding disciple?¡±

    Xiao An leapt onto the peak of a mountain and drew the Affliction Severing blade in the process, raising it high into the air.

    ¡°The Affliction Severing blade!¡± the voice said in surprise.

    ¡°The Affliction Severing blade,¡± Xiao An repeated calmly.

    ¡°Where did you get this blade from?¡±

    The clouds and mist suddenly parted, and a locust the size of a ship rushed down. The buzzing wings were deafening, producing the shrill whistling of wind.

    Boom!

    The mountain beneath Xiao An¡¯s feet collapsed, and boulders shot off in all directions. She had already arrived on another mountain.

    The locust Daemon Commander¡¯s colossal compound eyes reflected countless figures of Xiao An. He was filled with surprise. Her strength far surpassed his expectations, but he stopped caring about all this with what Xiao An said next.

    ¡°Do you want to know the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s whereabouts?¡±

    ¡°The Golden Cicada Spirit King!¡± The Soaring Locust King ground his teeth. During the countless days and nights beneath the Demon Suppression hall, he had been thinking about how he would get his revenge, but there was no hatred that ran deeper and cut deeper than this one.

    ¡°The Golden Cicada Spirit King,¡± Xiao An repeated calmly again.

    ¡°Tell me where he is exactly! I can spare your life!¡± the Soaring Locust King said.

    ¡°He¡¯s right in the Ruyi commandery, and he¡¯ll be ascending soon. If you want to stop him, then prepare yourself!¡± Xiao An said emotionlessly.

    ¡°Where in the Ruyi commandery?¡± The Soaring Locust King pressed further. The Ruyi commander spanned several thousand kilometers. Finding a great Daemon King hidden there was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

    ¡°You will know when the heavenly tribulation descends,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°You¡¯ll tell me right now!¡± The Soaring Locust King roared and rushed towards Xiao An again.

    Xiao An stood on the top of the mountain and opened her mouth slightly. The mountains suddenly became dyed with a holy light as the cries of a dragon filled the surroundings.

    ¡°Monk King!¡±

    The locust Daemon Commander exclaimed. His colossal body disintegrated in the dragon¡¯s cry, and a single strand of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone swept out in the dazzling light, collecting the resources.

    The light gradually dimmed. Clouds and mist coiled through the mountains.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to spare my life.¡± Xiao An sheathed the blade before turning around and taking off.

    Several mountains away, Ru Xin emerged from her dwelling with a vicious plague ghost beside her. She touched her chin and thought for a moment before smiling and tailing behind her closely, flying off into the clouds.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Lake of Dragons and Snakes, there was an uninhabited island so small that basically no one recognised it to be an island. The bustling disciples of the Academy of the Hundred Schools all avoided this island from afar, not only because this was where the White Wolf commander cultivated in peace, but also because terrifying screams would regularly ring out from there.

    Regardless of day or night, the freezing winters or scorching summers, the screams that seemed to originate from the depths of hell lingered in everyone¡¯s minds.

    A few months ago, a disciple from the school of Legalism wanted to approach the island and obtain a fortuitous opportunity from this senior of the school of Legalism, but before he could even set foot on the island, he returned to his residence without a single shred of blood on his face. He died from madness very soon, and as a result, no one dared to approach this place again.

    At this moment, the screams rang out once more. In the centre of the lush island, a naked woman knelt on the ground as gorgeous tiny snakes wrapped around her body, slithering around on her skin. They would sometimes raise their heads from her skin and taste the air with their green tongues. Her appearance, which could be regarded as quite beautiful, was now twisted because of the pain. Her eyes were filled with hatred, which made her seem even more ugly, like a fiend that had fallen into the very depths of hell.

    Suddenly, the hell snakes became restless, all raising their heads and gazing in the same direction. They were filled with hostility.

    Qian Rongzhi raised her head and saw a figure approach her. Her steps were light and silent, like she trod on the wind, while her clothes drifted through the air. Qian Rongzhi could not help but hold her breath. As the figure approached her, the hell snakes settled back down again, diving into her skin and linking together to form eerily-beautiful tattoos.

    Xiao An said, ¡°You wanted to see me?¡±

 Chapter 1020: Sand in the Heart, the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan

    Qian Rongzhi opened her mouth, but she seemed to have lost her voice, emitting a hollow, meaningless sound that resembled a snake¡¯s hiss slightly. An extremely tiny sense of pain pierced her heart, but it was even more unbearable than when she was entwined in snakes. Almost unable to bear with it, she tried to curl up.

    Xiao An sighed gently and draped a piece of clothing over her.

    ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes flickered with a hint of surprise. In her memory, she always gazed at everything with a pair of clear, empty eyes. There was no like or dislike, no sorrow or joy, so she would never do something like that. Suddenly, a sense of fury overcame her. The two words seemed to be a query too.

    ¡°Then what exactly is our original selves?¡± Xiao An countered with a question.

    ¡°Thank you for visiting me. I¡¯ve already seen you. You can go and return to Li Qingshan¡¯s side.¡± Qian Rongzhi lowered her head. She felt a sense of disappointment that even she was unable to describe properly.

    Wind blew across the lone island, making the grass and trees rustle.

    Clang!

    Xiao An drew the Affliction Severing blade and raised it high in the air. ¡°You¡¯ve once guided me, so let me guide you too!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly raised her head. The hell snakes on her let out a hiss of caution together. She suddenly smiled and shut her eyes. ¡°Sure!¡±

    The blade moved like lightning, brilliant and pure, vanishing in a single flash.

    A long time later, Qian Rongzhi opened her eyes slowly and discovered that she was still alive. Her body was completely unscathed, but the blade had left a mark in her heart, having severed and ripped away something.

    The memories she had abandoned long ago filled her head once more. As a result, she understood just what was still causing her pain.

    Even when she had already twisted, crushed, and annihilated these matters of the past, certain things only became more refined and condensed, like glistening grains of sand.

    Since she chose to associate with snakes, then she should become a snake. Only then would this hell become normal, or even paradise. Otherwise, all that awaited her was this endless, hellish pain.

    This was the source of her afflictions, her troubles, but even the Affliction Severing blade could not cut it away, because it did not just contain her memories of the past, but also all the wonderful hopes that a human possessed, the hopes for happiness, the hopes for peace.

    This was even more firmly rooted than all of the greed, wrath, and foolishness of humanity. This was why gods and buddhas dwelled high above in the heavens.

    She gazed at the sky. She was lost. She murmured, ¡°Just what is our original selves?¡±

    No one answered her. There was only the rustling of wind.

    ¡­¡­

    Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, before the Demon Suppression hall.

    Yue Wuyang gazed at Li Qingshan sincerely. Li Qingshan had no reason to turn him down, so he agreed to his request.

    ¡°Though, weapon spirits aren¡¯t easy to subdue. Your life might even be in danger if you don¡¯t handle it well.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not have any doubts at all that Yue Wuyang could take out even more weapons to offer than him, while his strength should not be any weaker than his. At the very least, he was unable to clash with the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower like how Yue Wuyang did. He could only restrain it through the use of his innate abilities.

    ¡°I will be careful. As for the dangers specifically, I¡¯ll have to ask for your advice when the time comes, fellow.¡±

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s change in attitude was not unnatural at all. He had not become an asura yet, but he followed the principle where the strong were to be respected. The fact that Li Qingshan could refine the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End already demonstrated his strength. It definitely was not as simple as his battle against Si Qing.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End clearly had not submitted to Li Qingshan, but no matter how she cursed away, she never actually attacked them. That could already be regarded as quite the recognition.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ill impression of Yue Wuyang vanished as well. After all, he was still Han Qiongzhi¡¯s master. He said modestly, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it advice. I just have some experience. Let¡¯s go to the great general¡¯s estate first?¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The Unraging monk suddenly grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°What now?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Something good!¡± The Unraging monk smiled.

    ¡°Sure doesn¡¯t sound like it.¡±

    ¡°What, am I supposed to screw you over? Please hold on for a few days, fellow Yue. Come up Great Buddha mountain with me. Hide your demon qi first!¡±

    The Unraging monk grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and arrived at the top of the mountain with a single step, right in front of the grand hall.

    The Dauntless monk sat before the buddha in a lotus position and said without even looking back, ¡°You¡¯ve emerged.¡±

    His voice echoed through the spacious, deep hall. Together with the curling hint of incense, it gave off a sense of solemnity of its own.

    ¡°The abbot has been waiting for me?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°Because you have a buddha nature.¡±

    ¡°Pft!¡± Li Qingshan burst out laughing, earning him a glare from the Unraging monk. Only then did he stifle his laughter. ¡°Cough, cough. My apologies. I couldn¡¯t help myself. What did you say I have?¡±

    ¡°A buddha nature.¡±

    ¡°Since when?¡± Li Qingshan found this to be rather funny. Just recently, the Dauntless monk had been tempted to suppress him as a Demon King, so why did he suddenly say he possessed a buddha nature now?

    ¡°The buddha dwells in the heart at all times.¡±

    ¡°Damned disciple, why don¡¯t you keep laughing?¡±

    The moment Li Qingshan¡¯s lips began to curl upwards, the Unraging monk scolded him, and the smile vanished again. He raised his hands. ¡°Alright, alright, alright. I¡¯ll stop laughing. But how can you tell, abbot? I¡¯ve said this a long time ago that I have never cultivated good karma in my life, with a special liking towards conflict and sins¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish what he was saying, the Dauntless monk interrupted him. ¡°There¡¯s a strong buddha nature behind those words!¡±

    ¡°If I recall correctly, the only reason why I was imprisoned in the Demon Suppression hall back then was because of these words.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. These words did indeed come from the mouth of a great monk. The dharma name of the monk was Zhishen. As for whether it contained any buddha nature, he had absolutely no idea at all. He just found it extremely hearty to say.

    TL: Zhishen is referring to Lu Zhishen from the book Water Margin. The saying originates from the first two lines of Lu Zhishen¡¯s ode when he dies, which you can read more about here.

    ¡°You entered the Demon Suppression hall, but you ended up cultivating the Demon Suppression Statuary. You practise demonic arts, yet you haven¡¯t fallen into the demonic path, so you obviously have a buddha within you. It was me who was mistaken back then. Instead, it¡¯s junior brother Unraging who was wise and insightful enough to accept you as his disciple.¡±

    The Unraging monk chuckled, feeling quite proud of himself.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, it suddenly seems quite reasonable. Though, don¡¯t tell me you want me to become a monk again!¡± Li Qingshan said cautiously.

    ¡°The breadth of buddhism is vast, and people are free to come and go. We won¡¯t force you to do anything. If you want to be a secular disciple, then you can be a secular disciple!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what you said originally.¡±

    Originally, in order to prevent him from influencing Xiao An¡¯s cultivation, the Dauntless monk had been quite determined for him to take on some precepts.

    ¡°That was a temporary measure back then. This is the buddhist dharma now.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. You called me here just to tell me this?¡±

    ¡°You may be a secular disciple, but you¡¯re also a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. You possess a buddha nature, but if you don¡¯t receive any further guidance, it¡¯ll be corrupted by demonic thoughts, and you¡¯ll become a true Demon King in the end, so I¡¯ve prepared a dharma ceremony for you.¡±

    ¡°Stop right there. I get a headache as soon as I hear about scriptures.¡± Li Qingshan wanted to leave the moment he heard those two words. He was stopped by the Unraging monk. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You don¡¯t need to understand the scriptures, and it can develop your root of wisdom. The Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan isn¡¯t one that anyone can enjoy.¡±

    ¡°The Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan!¡±

    Li Qingshan could vaguely recall that Xiao An had once mentioned that she had also experienced a Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan during the time she cultivated in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Apparently only the most outstanding disciples of the monastery could experience it. It had brought tremendous benefit to her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and the effect was akin to the Fruit of Wisdom, except schools of chan had their own realms and enlightenments.

    So this monk realised he can¡¯t overwhelm me and wants to rope me in now. Though, I obviously won¡¯t turn down something free like this. He clasped his hands, ¡°Then thank you for your generosity, abbot.¡±

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 Chapter 1021: Guest from the Dragon Province, the Monk King of Seven Treasures

    The bells chimed through Great Buddha mountain, shining with a holy light. The figures of buddhas and bodhisattvas appeared vaguely in the light with heavenly maidens and temple guardians flying among them. The sounds of chanting could be heard hundreds of kilometers away.

    All the monks of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga faced the direction of the grand hall and brought their palms together, uttering, ¡°Amit¨¡bha.¡±

    ¡°The Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan! I wonder which disciple is fortunate enough for that,¡± a middle-aged monk stopped sweeping the ground and said enviously.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be envious, senior brother. As long as we work hard on cultivation, we¡¯ll have a day like this too.¡± A young monk persuaded on the side before lowering his head to concentrate on sweeping aside the fallen leaves again.

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s nowhere near that easy!¡±

    Just like how it would take the Great Banyan Tree King quite the effort to condense a Fruit of Wisdom, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would use up ten thousand years worth of power of belief to hold each Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan. They were extremely careful with the selection of each target.

    ¡°Sure enough, Junior brother Qingshan really isn¡¯t a Demon King.¡±

    The One Lamp monk opened his eyes in a courtyard and smiled gladly before shutting his eyes and returning to cultivation.

    In the centre of the grand hall, Li Qingshan sat in a rather improper lotus position under the gaze of the towering buddha statue. He placed his hands on his knees casually as his long, black hair draped down freely. His bronze face was solemn too.

    Suddenly, the half-closed eyes of the buddha statue seemed to open a little more. Profound chanting emerged from between its rich, golden lips. In that moment, the sky seemed to bloom with flowers, and the ground became layered with golden lotuses, surreal yet realistic.

    The flowers from above landed in his sea of consciousness and produced ripples. The ripples merged together, blooming with even more golden lotuses.

    Li Qingshan gradually relaxed his posture and switched back to sitting with crossed legs. He leaned against one hand, and he seemed to be in thought, seemingly comprehending something.

    Outside the grand hall, the Dauntless monk relaxed. ¡°Sure enough, he does have a buddha nature.¡±

    If a Demon King from the Demon domain was treated to a Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan, their minds would definitely collapse, and their powers would run out of control, dying on the spot. However, he did not show even a hint of struggle or pain on his face, enduring it calmly, which was enough to prove he was not a Demon King.

    ¡°You¡¯re still worried, senior brother?¡± The Unraging monk smiled.

    ¡°If you were the abbot, you¡¯d be worried too,¡± said the Dauntless monk.

    Time trickled by. The setting sun vanished in the west, and the sky gradually darkened. Only the light from Great Buddha mountain became brighter and brighter. All of the adherents within several hundred kilometers knelt in the direction of Great Buddha mountain, prostrating in worship.

    Suddenly, a seven-coloured haze drifted over from the distance, entering this golden sky and landing at the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s entrance. It turned into a ruddy monk who beamed with energy. He wore a great, red kasaya with golden threads, which was adorned with gemstones and gave off a strange glow. He wielded a nine-hooped buddhist staff in his hand, and it jangled about as he moved.

    ¡°Welcome, senior brother Seven Treasures. Please forgive me for failing to anticipate your arrival.¡±

    With a rumble, the main entrance opened up, and the gates on the mountain swung open one after another. The Dauntless monk personally came to receive him, bringing his palms together and bowing as a greeting.

    ¡°Junior brother Dauntless, it¡¯s already been a hundred and thirty years since we last saw each other after you inherited the position of the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King returned the gesture. A smile appeared on his face, but it vanished in a flash.

    ¡°Please!¡± The Dauntless monk raised his hand, and the two of them made their way to the top of the mountain together. Then he greeted the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the grand hall is occupied today, so please come to the side hall, senior brother,¡± said the Dauntless monk.

    ¡°Is someone listening to the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan inside?¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King pointed at the tightly-closed grand hall and asked.

    ¡°A disciple.¡± The Dauntless monk refused to go into further detail and exchanged glances with the Unraging monk. They both wondered why the Seven Treasures monk had come.

    The three of them arrived in the side hall and sat down. An acolyte served up some tea, which the Seven Treasures Monk King only used to moisten his lips before setting it down softly.

    ¡°Is the tea not to your liking, senior brother?¡± the Dauntless monk asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve drunk too much of the Three Leaved Bodhi tea from the Spirit K?etra temple, so I just find any other tea to be lacking a sense of chan now,¡± said the Seven Treasures Monk King.

    ¡°The monastery is small, so we don¡¯t have any better tea. I do have a few jars of fine alcohol though, if you don¡¯t mind, senior brother Seven Treasures.¡± The Unraging monk chuckled and finished off the tea in a single gulp.

    ¡°Junior brother Unraging is still the same as before. A lot of your murderousness is now gone, but you do seem to be drinking more and eating more meat than before. The school of chan is not bound by rigid rules, but we still have to uphold the buddhist precepts. Otherwise, how else are we supposed to serve as an example to all living beings?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King frowned slightly.

    ¡°Only senior brother Seven Treasures is capable of carrying out the great mission of serving as an example to all living beings. Someone as slow-witted as me can only look up to you,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King noticed the sarcasm and smiled. ¡°I¡¯d advise junior brother against being overly unbridled today.¡±

    The Unraging monk raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when the Dauntless monk asked, ¡°No one visits without a reason. Senior brother, why have you come to the Green province instead of cultivating in peace in the Dragon province?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of this, this has to do with junior brother Unraging. Do you have a disciple called Li Qingshan?¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King asked.

    The Unraging monk shivered inside. ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡±

    ¡°Seven days ago, the third crown prince of Great Xia, Si Qing, submitted a written statement to the imperial court about Li Qingshan practising demonic arts, becoming a Demon King and serving as a lackey of the Demon domain. Our Spirit K?etra temple is responsible for all monks across the world. Under the orders of the grand preceptor of the left, I¡¯ve specially come to investigate this. May I ask where Li Qingshan is right now? Please tell him to come here and meet me!¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said plainly, but he gave off the sense that he would not take no for an answer, directly treating the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as his own backyard. When he recalled Si Qing¡¯s instructions and promise before he had set off, he became even more confident inside.

    Si Qing had lost his body to Li Qingshan. He had found a new one after much difficulty and spent a lot of time melding his soul with it, but it was still unavoidable for his cultivation to take a drastic hit. His hatred for Li Qingshan was immense.

    Originally, a crown prince losing his body and almost dying was enough for the imperial court to fly into a rage, but he had faced Li Qingshan in a fair duel, and it was even him who had suggested the deathmatch. If they tried to stir up trouble from this perspective, they would be asking to be humiliated. They would only become laughing stocks, so they came up with this idea instead.

    The Dauntless monk frowned. Sure enough, he had not come with kind intentions.

    The Spirit K?etra temple was known as the greatest temple in the world, the leading sect among buddhism in the nine provinces, while the abbot of the Spirit K?etra temple happened to be one of the two grand preceptors of Great Xia. They possessed the status of leading all buddhist disciples in the world. Even the succession of abbots in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had to be reported to the Spirit K?etra temple and be approved by them. It was just a formality, but that was enough to demonstrate their influence.

    Aside from their status, they also possessed the corresponding strength. They had produced Monk Kings endlessly. Even with how much Great Xia had declined so far, the Dauntless monk still dared not underestimate them.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± The Unraging monk cursed.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s face sank.

    ¡°Senior brother Seven Treasures, don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not talking about you, but that kid Si Qing. He lost in the duel and instead of refocusing on his cultivation, he¡¯s slandering my disciple, calling him a Demon King. He really is an embarrassment to the imperial clan!¡±

    ¡°Our Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has a cultivation method unique to us, the Demon Suppression Statuary. It seems rather similar to demonic arts, but it¡¯s well and truly a buddhist cultivation method. That¡¯s the cultivation method I practise, so does that make me a Demon King too?¡±

    The Unraging monk said that and demonstrated the Demon Suppression Statuary. He radiated with demon qi, but he possessed a buddhist nature about him too.

 Chapter 1022: Intimidation, Meeting Head-on

    ¡°You are you. Li Qingshan is Li Qingshan. You cannot get the two confused! If he really hasn¡¯t fallen into the demonic path, why won¡¯t he come and see me?¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King questioned.

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you senior brother, but the person listening to the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan in the grand hall is Li Qingshan. If he really were a Demon King, would he still be alive?¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King realised this too. Being able to listen to the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan safely basically confirmed that Li Qingshan was not a Demon King, but he had not come all the way from the Dragon province to prove this.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to wait for the dharma ceremony to end. After that, please have him accompany me to the Dragon province.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Seven Treasures, aren¡¯t you going a little too far with that?¡±

    The Dauntless monk became serious. Not to mention the fact that Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation method was a demonic art, the Dragon province basically belonged to the imperial clan, so they had countless ways to deal with him there.

    ¡°This has to do with a crown prince of the imperial clan. Even I dare not make a rash judgement about this. The final conclusion can only be determined at the Spirit K?etra temple by the grand preceptor of the left!¡±

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk exchanged glances. They both found this situation to be extremely troublesome. The opposition was also an eminent monk of buddhism, a Monk King whose title was conferred by the imperial court, so they could not treat him as an enemy. Once Li Qingshan emerged from there, it would definitely lead to a great mess.

    Li Qingshan was not the kind of person who would just be led away by the nose. He could show mercy to the Unraging monk, but he would definitely be ready to kill a monk who had specially come here from the Dragon province to deal with him. By then, the situation would truly get out of hand.

    In the blink of an eye, the entire night passed. As dawn broke, the buddhist glow around the mountain gradually subsided.

    The flowers in the sky dispersed, and the golden lotuses scattered. The towering buddha statue closed its eyes.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes slowly. The entire world around him seemed different as if he had just experienced an entire decade. There was now a hint of gentleness on his previously-staunch face. He smiled. ¡°Interesting!¡±

    The benefits of the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan were not obvious, but it had far-reaching effects. It also gave him a deeper comprehension with respect to his own path of cultivation, as well as new inspiration for balancing water and fire and allowing the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to progress.

    This was equivalent to an increase in his ability to comprehend, but it came with some side-effects too, such as a heart of benevolence. After all, the dharma of buddhism did not pursue a natural balance like the Great Banyan Tree King did.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ears twitched, catching the disputes from outside.

    ¡°Please hold on, senior brother Seven Treasures!¡±

    In front of the entrance to the grand hall, the Unraging monk stopped the Seven Treasures Monk King.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan over? Please tell your disciple to come and see me! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to hide something with how violently you¡¯ve stopped me? Or perhaps you¡¯re trying to hide a demon!¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said.

    ¡°I know best if I am trying to hide something or not.¡±

    Anger flashed across the Unraging monk¡¯s face. The Seven Treasures Monk King was clearly going to such great lengths to target Li Qingshan because of Si Qing.

    ¡°He needs to meditate and comprehend in peace after the dharma ceremony in order to completely digest his experience, so you may as well wait a little longer, senior brother,¡± the Dauntless monk said from the side as he shot a glance at the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Please don¡¯t misunderstand, junior brother Unraging. I just do not wish to see an ancient temple like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga become a place that shelters evil and harbours demons. Waiting a little longer is fine.¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was extremely composed. He did not believe that Li Qingshan could remain hidden in the grand hall for his entire life.

    The Unraging monk hesitated and communicated with Li Qingshan, ¡°Qingshan, don¡¯t come out for now.¡±

    ¡°Master, who¡¯s outside?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously.

    The Unraging monk gave a rough explanation of the entire story, as well as their many qualms regarding the Spirit K?etra temple.

    ¡°If it¡¯s a blessing, then it¡¯s a blessing, but if it¡¯s a curse, it¡¯s unavoidable. If this damned baldy dares to screw me over, he won¡¯t be leaving the Green province alive!¡± Li Qingshan said resolutely.

    Failing to kill Si Qing had already left him with quite the pity. Now, Si Qing actually egged on someone else to deal with him? What else was he supposed to do or say? He would kill them as they came!

    The Unraging monk thought to himself, Oh no. Then, there was a rumble behind him. The doors to the grand hall swung open and revealed Li Qingshan¡¯s tall, large figure. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was already on his back. Perhaps because he sensed the killing intent within Li Qingshan, the Unraging monk instead calmed down and said nothing more.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s eyes flashed. He actually became stunned by Li Qingshan¡¯s bearing and thought, Sure enough, the person who destroyed Si Qing¡¯s body must be anything but ordinary! His aura is completely concealed, so he must be hiding something intentionally. It¡¯s said that this kid isn¡¯t even a hundred years old, so he must have ties with the Demon domain. Otherwise, reaching his current cultivation at such a young age should be absolutely impossible unless he¡¯s incurred the help of some powerful existence.

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡± Li Qingshan stepped over the door sill and made his way over right to the Seven Treasures Monk King. It took him less than ten strides.

    ¡°Accompany me to the Dragon province!¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said indifferently, but there was a condescending, order-like tone to it.

    This was a sense of pride he had developed since young as he grew up in the Spirit K?etra temple. Regardless of the sect, monastery, or temple, all buddhist disciples in the world had to submit to the Spirit K?etra temple¡¯s orders.

    ¡°Why should I?¡± Li Qingshan asked coldly.

    ¡°What, you want to attack me?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King smiled as if he had been anticipating Li Qingshan¡¯s resistance and found it to be a very funny thing to do.

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Li Qingshan smiled too.

    ¡°You sure are making your fierce and insubordinate nature abundantly clear! Very good. I¡¯ve been wanting to see just what your demonic arts are capable of!¡±

    The buddhist staff in the Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s hand shuddered, and the golden rings jangled about. When they fought, it would be impossible for Li Qingshan to keep his aura hidden. As long as he revealed his true cultivation, as long as he had even the slightest connection to demonfolk, he would not even have to take him back to the Dragon province. He could directly ask the Dauntless monk to capture him, or that would be colluding with the Demon domain. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga definitely could not carry a name like that.

    Li Qingshan had not been thinking as much. Just a single swing of his blade was enough anyway!

    The two of them spoke very little, but were already on the verge of fighting. A battle was on the brink of erupting.

    Suddenly, a large, plump figure stood between the two of them. The Unraging monk frowned. What could go wrong basically went wrong. He definitely could not let the Seven Treasures Monk King die here, or they would never be able to face the Spirit K?etra temple, as well as all the buddhist disciples in the world.

    ¡°Junior brother Unraging, look at the situation. Are you still going to shield this mistake? Have you really cast all the buddhist precepts and rules to the back of your head? Is the Demon Suppression Statuary exactly a demonic art or not? Is that the reason why you¡¯ve become so mad?¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King bellowed.

    ¡°I¡¯m not shielding a mistake. I just don¡¯t wish to see Great Buddha mountain being spattered with senior brother¡¯s blood!¡± the Unraging monk said nonchalantly.

    After witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s strength and the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s bladesmanship, even he himself did not believe he could defeat Li Qingshan. Once they actually began fighting, perhaps a single swing of the blade was enough to determine the outcome.

    ¡°Great Buddha mountain being spattered with blood! What a boast! I¡¯d like to see just how Great Buddha mountain will be spattered with my blood!¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King completely ignored the Unraging monk¡¯s warning. For the sake of his own pride, Si Qing had even skipped over the details about how he had lost to Li Qingshan. If it were not for the fact that the Unraging monk had witnessed it all in person, no one would believe that Li Qingshan who had only just undergone the third heavenly tribulation recently could defeat and kill the Seven Treasures Monk King.

    The Unraging monk furrowed his brows firmly. He really was asking to die! And yet they just could not let him die. They were basically caught between a rock and a hard place.

    At this exact moment, a voice drifted over from the horizon, ¡°Fighting and killing would be inappropriate in a place of quiet buddhist cultivation. Why don¡¯t I witness your brilliant moves instead, Seven Treasures Monk King?¡±

 Chapter 1023: The Bane of Monks

    Li Qingshan smiled.

    Xiao An drifted over to the grand hall and landed at the entrance. The sunlight turned one side of her golden. She smiled. Even the heavenly flowers and golden lotuses would have paled in comparison to her. She did not hide her aura, and she seemed to be wrapped in a holy haze, both with the self-restraint from the school of vinaya as well as the wisdom and natural grace of a disciple from the school of chan.

    ¡°Greetings, Dauntless abbot.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, you¡¯ve finally returned, One Will!¡±

    The Dauntless monk held back his joy and uttered the buddha¡¯s name softly. Compared to a stubborn and foolish secular disciple who had almost fallen into the demonic path like Li Qingshan, Xiao An was the true hope of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, while her almost-divine speed of cultivation left him overjoyed yet again.

    The Unraging monk glanced at Li Qingshan. Compared to his murderous, unruly appearance, Xiao An, who resembled a heavenly maiden, truly did possess a bearing that was more befitting of a buddhist disciple.

    ¡°You¡¯re One Will?¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s eyes lit up. He tried judging Xiao An harshly, but he realised he could not find any flaw with her at all. Even when she was only dressed in a plain set of blueish-white monk¡¯s robes, it outshone his embroidered kasaya, yet he was simply unable to become envious of her.

    Xiao An nodded and said nothing more.

    ¡°You want to face me?¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King asked.

    Xiao An nodded again. Her rather-disrespectful silence instead gave her a sense of solemnity and grandeur, which the Seven Treasures Monk King could not resent at all. Instead, he said in praise, ¡°I¡¯ve heard many things about you even back in the Spirit K?etra temple. I didn¡¯t expect you to have undergone the third heavenly tribulation already. You truly are a wondrous prodigy of buddhism!¡±

    ¡°The Monk King has been too kind.¡±

    ¡°You want to face me for his sake?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King pointed at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°For the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s sake.¡± Xiao An brought her palms together and stood her ground without coming off as too rude.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha,¡± the Dauntless monk uttered the buddha¡¯s name and showed delight from the bottom of his heart.

    Li Qingshan pouted. He thought, This guy. I did all those good things, and you ignored them all. Xiao An has just said that as a formality, and you hold her on such a high pedestal!

    As it seemed, even eminent monks of buddhism would be fooled by her falsehoods of great beauty. In particular, ever since she comprehended buddhism and the demonic in one and rediscovered her humanity, her great beauty had reached a whole new level. It seemed to be particularly effective against people of buddhism.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King sank into his thoughts for a moment and let out a sigh. ¡°So be it. We¡¯re both disciples of buddhism. I don¡¯t wish to face you.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but say, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m also a disciple of buddhism, even if it¡¯s just a secular disciple!¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King shot Li Qingshan a glance and did not even dignify him with a response. He turned back to Xiao An and said pleasantly, ¡°With your cultivation, it¡¯s enough for you to be conferred the title of Monk King. Why don¡¯t you return to the Spirit K?etra temple in the Dragon province with me to accept the conferment? The grand preceptor has specially asked about you in the past. He¡¯ll definitely honour you with a gift if he sees you.¡±

    ¡°The grand preceptor knows about me too?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Yes, and he admires you very much! Having seen you today, you really do live up to your reputation!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Seven Treasures, it¡¯s not exactly mandatory to go to the Spirit K?etra temple to accept the conferment of Monk King!¡±

    The Dauntless monk immediately stood forward and expressed his objection. He felt deeply threatened.

    ¡°They all say that you haven¡¯t really been a monk until you visit the Spirit K?etra temple. The conferment is secondary. The important part is broadening your horizons!¡±

    After seeing Xiao An, the Seven Treasures Monk King had already changed the goal of his trip. Standing up for Si Qing was secondary. Recruiting an extraordinarily-talented disciple for the Spirit K?etra temple¡ªnow that was what mattered.

    The Spirit K?etra temple had not become the greatest temple in the world through the Great Xia empire¡¯s support alone. It had also achieved its current status through absorbing talent from across the nine provinces, constantly nurturing their foundations. The Great Xia empire might crumble one day, but the Spirit K?etra temple would be passed down through the ages.

    Many of the talents that the Spirit K?etra temple absorbed were outstanding disciples from other sects and temples, but normally, they would not use force, nor did they have to use force. Buddhist disciples all had a habit of wandering the land to grow their knowledge and experiences and to toughen their mentality. As a holy land of buddhism, the Spirit K?etra temple would often be their first choice.

    Countless monks visited the Spirit K?etra temple on short stays. As long as they demonstrated sufficient strength or talent, they would receive special treatment. The resources they received might even surpass what their original sects could offer. Most of these monks would just stay there for good. Even though they did not originate from the Spirit K?etra temple, they were no different from monks of the Spirit K?etra temple.

    As time went on, the Spirit K?etra temple became stronger and stronger, and they could learn from everyone¡¯s strengths. They embraced all the streams of thought. Even when many monks did not receive any special treatment, they would still be willing to stay behind and cultivate there, to grow through constant discussion and communication.

    While the other temples and sects would lose their disciples to their chagrin, they could only suffer in silence, as this was a set of rules that had existed from the very moment buddhism had been established. It was highly beneficial to buddhism overall, and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in the Green province was no different too.

    ¡°One Will has only just returned from the Mist province. She doesn¡¯t have to go to the Dragon province to broaden her horizons!¡± The Dauntless monk¡¯s face immediately sank. His voice became cold and rigid too.

    ¡°The Mist province is a land of wilderness, where evil sects are rampant and demonic cultivators run amok! How can it be compared to the Dragon province, the Spirit K?etra temple?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King countered.

    ¡°In senior brother Seven Treasures¡¯ eyes, even the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga of the Green province pales drastically in comparison to the Spirit K?etra temple!¡± the Dauntless monk said coldly.

    ¡°I never said that,¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said, except his expression was much more convincing than his words.

    ¡°Seven Treasures, you better not go too far. This is the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, not the Spirit K?etra temple!¡±

    The Unraging monk was infuriated, but he felt a little uncertain inside. Xiao An had not grown up in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and her abnormal personality was particularly difficult to grasp too. She did not seem to possess much loyalty to the sect, only on an arduous search for the boundless buddhist dharma.

    Going to the Spirit K?etra temple was truly the best choice, let alone the fact that the grand preceptor paid special attention to her too. If she actually agreed to go to the Spirit K?etra temple for cultivation, it could not even be regarded as betrayal.

    ¡°What, you also want to spatter Great Buddha mountain with blood, junior brother?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King smiled.

    As the Dauntless monk and the Seven Treasures Monk King bickered with one another around Xiao An, Li Qingshan suddenly felt like he had no business here anymore, so he could not help but shrug. ¡°Do you still need me to be here?¡±

    Xiao An arrived by his side silently and held his hand gently. ¡°You¡¯re free to go.¡±

    ¡°Girl, you sure know how to steal thunder. You¡¯re basically the bane of monks!¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head, only to see the Seven Treasures Monk King glaring straight at him when he raised his head.

    ¡°Bane of monks? What a horrible name.¡± Xiao An stuck out her tongue. She said to the Seven Treasures Monk King, ¡°Master, thank you for your kind offer, but please forgive me as I cannot venture to the Dragon province for now.¡±

    The Dauntless monk sighed inside. Some things still had not changed after all. In the past, he had not been able to stop her from going to the Mist province, except he never imagined that there would be a day when she would stay in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga through the exact same way.

    ¡°Fine then!¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King sighed before suddenly looking at Li Qingshan again. ¡°Do you still want to face me?¡±

    ¡°Up to you.¡± With this interruption, especially with how he was put in a great mood after seeing Xiao An, he no longer had much murderousness remaining.

    ¡°Then come with me!¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King waved his buddhist staff.

    ¡°Master Seven Treasures, just let me witness your brilliant moves instead!¡±

    ¡°You move aside. I said that I don¡¯t wish to face you.¡±

    ¡°If I somehow manage to win, then please return to the Dragon province. If I lose, I¡¯ll go to the Spirit K?etra temple with you.¡±

 Chapter 1024: I Can Defeat You

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s eyes lit up. This was the exact outcome that he wanted.

    ¡°You must not!¡± the Dauntless monk said. He turned around and said to the Seven Treasures Monk King, ¡°Seven Treasures, do you really think there¡¯s no one else around in my Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that you can just harass her with your superior cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Junior brother, One Will is no longer a child. She¡¯ll receive the title of Monk King before long, standing on equal footing with us. Don¡¯t tell me she can¡¯t even make her own decision over something as small as this?¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was already certain that Xiao An would try and lose to him intentionally so that she could justify going to the Spirit K?etra temple. A contest like this was merely to provide the Dauntless monk with an explanation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, abbott. I won¡¯t lose,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°You see!¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King smiled at the Dauntless monk. He did not take Xiao An¡¯s words seriously at all.

    By now, even the Dauntless monk was unable to stop this anymore. He glanced at Xiao An deeply and said, ¡°Do what you must and take care!¡±

    ¡°One Will, you can strike first!¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said to Xiao An happily.

    ¡°Please go first, master.¡± Xiao An let go of Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and walked over slowly.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King swung his hand, and the coins and gems on his kasaya glimmered under the sunlight. He was in no hurry to strike, instead asking, ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m known as Seven Treasures?¡±

    ¡°Buddhism has seven treasures. That ought to be where the master¡¯s name comes from,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Which seven treasures are they?¡±

    ¡°Violet gold, white silver, glaze, crystal, agate, coral, and amber.¡±

    ¡°Correct. What I practise is the Spirit K?etra temple¡¯s Dharma Flower Scripture of Seven Treasures. Among all the buddhist disciples in existence right now, only I have practised this cultivation method to my level and refined the seven treasures as my lifebound buddhist treasures,¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said rather proudly.

    The Dauntless monk growled heavily. Whether it were arcane treasures or buddhist treasures, it was not necessarily better if there were more of them. The number that cultivators could control was limited. Even he was capable of wielding the seven buddhist treasures, but their might would definitely be affected, and they could get in each other¡¯s way. When facing enemies, the effect he could achieve with just two or three buddhist treasures would instead be far better.

    However, the Seven Treasures Monk King could wield seven buddhist treasures at the same time. Not only would their might be unaffected, they could even compound one another to greater effect. Even if it did not make him invincible, very few people could defeat him. No matter how talented Xiao An was, she had only undergone the third heavenly tribulation recently after all. Her cultivation had been lacking in comparison to his in the first place. If she had to face another seven buddhist treasures, she basically had no chance at victory at all.

    ¡°Master¡¯s buddhist dharma is profound. You have One Will¡¯s admiration.¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King smiled with that. He brought the violet gold staff in his hand forward horizontally, and the golden hoops jangled about. ¡°This buddhist staff is forged from violet gold. For the sake of purging demons, this treasure alone is sufficient. I don¡¯t mind letting you witness a little more today.¡±

    As he said that, a streak of golden light appeared. A silver dharma wheel flew out from his sleeve and spun about, radiating with dazzling silver light. It dyed the entire mountain peak silver, and the light alone was enough to cut through mountains.

    A large, illusionary golden hand then extended out from behind the Seven Treasures Monk King, holding a glazed cup. It rippled with light such that it seemed like it was holding an entire lake, where it could flood Great Buddha mountain the moment it tipped over.

    ¡°Truly wondrous!¡± Xiao An praised. These three buddhist treasures were no longer just ¡°foreign objects¡± for triumphing over enemies. They were also closely connected to the Seven Treasures Monk King as if they were part of him.

    ¡°Ever since I forged the seven treasures and received the title of Monk King, all of the opponents I¡¯ve encountered have only forced me to use three treasures at most,¡± said the Seven Treasures Monk King.

    ¡°Then I wonder what the four other treasures look like.¡± Xiao An did not give off any fighting spirit at all as if she was a modest disciple asking for a master¡¯s guidance on the buddhist dharma.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve asked, I¡¯ll broaden your horizons then.¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King smiled and unleashed all seven treasures¡ªa crystal sword shining with rainbow light, an unpolished piece of white agate, a bright-red mountain of coral, and a string of amber prayer beads. They all shone with different colours.

    Immediately, the colourful lights filled the surroundings and mingled together, even outshining the sun that had just risen in the east.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King stood in the centre of the lights. An illusionary buddha statue appeared behind him with three heads and six arms, flowing with light and colour. It extended its six arms and wielded six treasures individually, making it seem even more solemn and magnificent.

    ¡°This is Prabh¨±taratna, the buddha of the eastern Treasure Purity world, as well as the buddha I worship.¡±

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk lowered their heads and uttered Prabh¨±taratna¡¯s name. While the sect of chan did advocate for staying true to the buddha within them, without any demands beyond the dharma, they still held true buddhas in absolute reverence, even if they were just an illusion or statue.

    Only Li Qingshan stood with his head held high, staring straight at the buddha statue. He felt like it was no different from the other buddha statues apart from being a little more fancy and colourful.

    What a damned disciple! If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I have other plans in mind for today, I¡¯ll definitely make you suffer for good! The Seven Treasures Monk King was displeased inside. At the same time, he treated Xiao An¡¯s behaviour of staring straight at the buddha as an act of worship.

    ¡°I managed to practise this Dharma Flower Scripture of Seven Flowers not only because of my talent and ability to comprehend, but also because of the Spirit K?etra temple¡¯s full support, which allowed me to forge the seven treasures. In any other sect, even if they had a cultivation method like this, no one would be able to practise it.¡±

    The Dauntless monk was unable to rebuke the Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s words. The seven buddhist treasures were not only precious because of their value, but also because they were very difficult to collect. Only the Dragon province could assemble such precious treasures from across the world.

    ¡°How is it? You wished to see it, so I showed it to you. Do you still wish to face me?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King smiled at Xiao An.

    ¡°One Will, if you wish to go, then go! With your talent, you can earn a place of your own no matter where you go.¡±

    The Dauntless monk sighed. He was not confident she could defeat the Seven Treasures Monk King. She could hold her ground at most. Xiao An had basically made the bet with the intention of throwing it.

    ¡°Master Seven Treasures, I can defeat you.¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s voice remained just as calm as before. Even her respect towards the Seven Treasures Monk King in her expression and tone had not changed, but when she said that, she stunned everyone apart from Li Qingshan.

    In particular, the Seven Treasures Monk King even suspected he had heard her wrong. He gazed at Xiao An and asked, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Li Qingshan sat on the tall door sill to the grand hall in an unconcerned manner as if it had nothing to do with him. Normally speaking, it was impossible for Xiao An to defeat the Seven Treasures Monk King if she hid the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty and could only rely on her buddhist cultivation, but he was even less worried about Xiao An than himself.

    ¡°I can defeat you,¡± Xiao An said.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King laughed instead of becoming angered. ¡°Alright then. You can come at me then!¡±

    ¡°Be careful.¡±

    Xiao An extended her right hand and revealed a buddhist treasure as well. On her wrist that was so white and clean that it seemed like it had been carved from ivory was a string of golden prayer beads. With a gentle wave of her hand, it scattered through the air like stars, falling into a vague formation and flying towards the Seven Treasures Monk King.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King did not take the prayer beads seriously. They were only an ordinary buddhist treasure. Only when the formation assembled from the thirty-three prayer beads enveloped him did his face change in shock. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    It actually was not a buddhist treasure, but a set of buddhist treasures. The quality of each prayer bead was not too high, but once they assembled the formation, they possessed enough might to topple whole mountains!

 Chapter 1025: A New Plan

    Immediately, the colourful lights were firmly suppressed, now only enveloping several meters around the Seven Treasures Monk King. The figure of the Prabh¨±taratna swayed as well as if it could collapse at any moment.

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with shock, unable to describe how they felt inside. They both looked at Xiao An again.

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes were calm like before. There was not the slightest hint of complacency on her face. She remained modest and polite. ¡°Master Seven Treasures, these are my buddhist treasures. Please provide me with guidance.¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was already in no shape to reply to her. He powered the seven buddhist treasures as hard as he could as they darted about.

    The thirty-three golden prayer beads spun in the air and did not press any further. Instead, she allowed the Seven Treasures Monk King to try and break free.

    In order to hide her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, she had not unleashed the full might of the Skeleton Demon Formation, but it still managed to suppress Seven Treasures with ease. No matter what he tried, he could not even shake it.

    The red sun in the east rose slowly as time trickled by. Sweat oozed out from the Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s forehead, no longer in the same high spirits as before. He was filled with anxiety. Everything that occurred before his eyes had surpassed his imaginations by so much that he struggled to accept it even now.

    Suddenly, Xiao An took a step forward, and her right hand landed on the hilt of the blade on her waist. With her footsteps, the Skull Prayer Beads slowly pressed in like they bore the weight of mountains. They were unstoppable!

    ¡°Hmm? Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Was she trying to use the Affliction Severing blade?

    If she showed the Affliction Severing blade, the Dauntless monk would definitely recognise it. How was she supposed to explain herself then?

    Xiao An arrived before the Seven Treasures Monk King. The Skull Prayer Beads had already arrived within a meter of him, and Prabh¨±taratna¡¯s figure collapsed violently. Under his shocked gaze, the blade shone like snow.

    ¡°You must not, One Will!¡±

    The Dauntless monk called out to stop her. No matter how much he loathed the Seven Treasures Monk King, he could not actually let his blood splatter on Great Buddha mountain. Otherwise, how was he supposed to face all the buddhists in the world? The Spirit K?etra temple would never just let this matter be either. However, everything had happened far too quickly such that he could not stop her in time.

    In the blink of an eye, the colourful lights, the buddhist glow, and the flash of the blade all vanished.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King fell back on his bottom. His expression changed several times, sometimes in thought with his brows furrowed, sometimes filled with regret and annoyance, and sometimes smiling happily.

    Xiao An returned the blade to its sheath and stood there quietly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the blade is¡­¡±

    The Dauntless monk was very surprised. From the moment the Affliction Severing blade had left the sheath, he had made out its appearance. The Affliction Severing blade had been lost for many years now, but every single curve it possessed was firmly engraved in the minds of past and present abbots. He dared not forget it, nor could he forget it. This led to an even greater impact on him than the thirty-three buddhist treasure prayer beads.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Affliction Severing blade. How do you feel, master?¡± Xiao An flicked her wrist gently, and the Skull Prayer Beads returned.

    ¡°So this is the Affliction Severing blade. It truly is filled with endless wonder. You have my thanks.¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King stood up and brought his palms together, bowing towards Xiao An deeply.

    ¡°You¡¯re too polite, master.¡± Xiao An avoided the bow.

    ¡°So much for my several centuries of cultivation. I developed thoughts of greed, yet I was unaware, even becoming too proud and arrogant, breaking the precept of falsehoods. It¡¯s all thanks to that swing of your blade that I could return to my senses,¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King said with guilt.

    If it were not for the fact that he knew the wondrous powers of the Affliction Severing blade, Li Qingshan basically would have suspected that Xiao An had broken the Seven Treasures Monk King¡¯s head somehow. This effect sure was impressive.

    If he fought instead, killing the Seven Treasures Monk King would be easy, but he would definitely make a great enemy out of the Spirit K?etra temple. Even if he defeated him without killing him, the Seven Treasures Monk King would definitely return with resentment, which would still net him another enemy.

    Li Qingshan had never been afraid of falling out with people, but he did find trouble to be annoying. The swing of Xiao An¡¯s blade really did bear the meaning of severing afflictions and annoyances to a certain degree.

    ¡°I¡¯m returning to the Spirit K?etra temple for self-reflection. Farewell.¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King sighed.

    ¡°Take care, senior brother Seven Treasures,¡± the Dauntless monk was in a hurry to ask about the Affliction Severing blade, so he did not try to persuade the Seven Treasures Monk King to stay.

    Before he left, the Seven Treasures Monk King said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Even if you¡¯re not a Demon King, you¡¯re not a person of buddhism. Crown prince Si Qing seems to hold a great grudge with you, so you should be careful!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master. All men will seek their revenge. A fool like him will fall to my blade sooner or later!¡± Li Qingshan answered.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King glanced at Li Qingshan deeply before telling Xiao An, ¡°Your conferment as Monk King will arrive very soon. The gates of the Spirit K?etra temple are open to you at all times!¡± Only then did he fly off. Compared to when he came, he seemed much more modest and discreet.

    ¡°One Will, where did you obtain the Affliction Severing blade?¡± the Dauntless monk asked in a hurry as soon as the Seven Treasures Monk King had left.

    ¡°This is not a place to talk, Dauntless abbot,¡± Xiao An said.

    As a result, they entered the grand hall, and Xiao An drew the Affliction Severing blade again, passing it to the Dauntless monk.

    The Dauntless monk accepted the blade with both hands. He was extremely excited, and he was completely entranced by the buddhist blade in his hand. He murmured, ¡°Sure enough, sure enough, it¡¯s the Affliction Severing blade!¡±

    It was not his fault for being so emotional. The significance of the Affliction Severing blade to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was far too great. Even ten buddhist treasures could not compare to it.

    ¡°The Golden Cicada Spirit King gave me this blade,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°The Golden Cicada Spirit King!¡± Only now did the Dauntless monk look away from the Affliction Severing blade. That was a name that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could not forget.

    ¡°Why did he give it to you?¡±

    ¡°He gave it to me in exchange for the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°You!¡±

    The Dauntless monk pointed at Xiao An. If any ordinary disciple was bold enough to pass the ultimate technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to the Golden Cicada Spirit King, he would have taken direct action himself and captured them. Even if they brought back the Affliction Severing blade, they would still be heavily punished.

    ¡°I¡¯ve broken the monastery¡¯s rules. Please punish me, abbot,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°So be it. You managed to bring the blade back, which is a great contribution to the monastery. Let¡¯s just say it offsets your crimes!¡±

    The Dauntless monk hesitated a little before still waving his hand helplessly in the end. The rules of the monastery were important, but they had to be flexible as well. As the abbot, what he had to consider first was still the future of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that had stood for over ten thousand years. He definitely could not shoot the monastery in the foot.

    And when he thought a little more about it, he would have also given it some consideration if the Golden Cicada Spirit King had offered him a condition like that. With Xiao An¡¯s cultivation and identity, she already possessed the right to make a decision like that for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so with that, he was convinced.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t just exchange for this blade,¡± Xiao An added.

    ¡°What else then?¡± the Dauntless monk asked.

    ¡°The Soaring Locust King¡¯s life as well,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°What!¡±

    ¡°The Golden Cicada Spirit King will be ascending soon. I¡¯ve already told the Soaring Locust King about this.¡±

    What Xiao An said was simple, but no one present was a fool. They immediately thought of a rough plan.

    The Soaring Locust King held a deep grudge towards the Golden Cicada Spirit King. When the Golden Cicada Spirit King would ascend, the Soaring Locust King would definitely do everything within his ability to stop him. As long as they set up a trap then and there, they would definitely be able to kill him, and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga might be able to settle their grievance of several thousand years with the Golden Cicada Spirit King too.

    Li Qingshan looked at Xiao An in surprise. This was completely different from their original plan. If everything really unfolded as expected, they could completely isolate themselves from this affair and just watch as the great cultivators of the Green province encircled and killed the Soaring Locust King. They would not be in any danger at all.

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s face lit up. He passed the Affliction Severing blade back to Xiao An and said, ¡°You¡¯ve done very well!¡±

    ps£º ËãÁËËã£¬Õâ¸öÔÂ»¹ÒªÐ´ÆßÍò¶à×Ö£¬ÈÎÖØ¶øµÀÔ¶°¡£¡

 Chapter 1026: Numerous Calculations, Letting Down No One

    The Dauntless monk hesitated and faltered. Xiao An immediately understood what he wanted to do. She smiled. ¡°Abbot, would you like to test the power of the Affliction Severing blade too?¡±

    ¡°I do. Who doesn¡¯t have afflictions as people who live in this world?¡± The Dauntless monk shook his head with a smile.

    Xiao An said nothing more, swinging down with the blade conveniently. The entire hall was illuminated by the flash of the blade before rapidly returning to gloominess.

    The Dauntless monk brought his palms together and stood exactly where he was without budging.

    Only a while later did he open his eyes and praise, ¡°Sure enough, this blade is wondrous!¡±

    ¡°Come, come, come. There¡¯s another one here!¡±

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on the Unraging monk¡¯s shoulder and called Xiao An.

    ¡°I have too many afflictions, far more than you can sever, so it¡¯s fine even if they aren¡¯t severed! It¡¯s just like how you just stop worrying if there¡¯s enough to bother you.¡± The Unraging monk smacked aside Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and chuckled.

    ¡°You possess great wisdom, master, so assistance from a foreign object like this isn¡¯t necessary,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told One Lamp to come. He¡¯s only a step away from the third heavenly tribulation. He¡¯s in need of this blade right now,¡± said the Dauntless monk. The Unraging monk did not need it, but the countless disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga did. After personally experiencing the wondrous powers of the Affliction Severing blade, he could already imagine a sight where all the disciples of the monastery were free of afflictions and their cultivation progressed drastically.

    ¡°Alright,¡± said Xiao An.

    The Dauntless monk said a few more names in thought. They were all renowned figures in the monastery. Life always led to some afflictions, and cultivators did not necessarily have any fewer afflictions than mortals. In particular, mortals could live with these afflictions, but cultivators, especially buddhist cultivators, would struggle to advance their cultivation if they were haunted by these afflictions. If the afflictions became too deep, they would even turn into inner demons.

    The Affliction Severing blade was basically a saviour that had just dropped on them, while Xiao An who wielded the blade had gained an extraordinary status even if she did not inherit the position of abbot, let alone the fact that she possessed startling strength too. Standing before the Dauntless abbot, she did not lose out in gravitas at all anymore.

    ¡°Senior brother, afflictions are also opportunities for enlightenment!¡± the Unraging monk said suddenly.

    If a person grew up without encountering any afflictions or troubles at all, that definitely would not lead to so-called wisdom. Without wisdom, afflictions would definitely rise up very quickly to haunt once more even if they were temporarily severed away, and this would all be in vain.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Senior brother is right. I¡¯ve become carried away and lost sight.¡±

    The Dauntless monk sorted through the list in his mind again and greatly reduced the number of names on there. He secretly made up his mind to only use the Affliction Severing blade to save disciples whose afflictions were so heavy that they almost became inner demons.

    Before long, the people on the list arrived in the grand hall. Li Qingshan noticed that their cultivations varied in strength, but they all seemed distressed. In particular, there was an old monk who basically seemed to possess severe depression. His eyes were sunken, and his face was ashen. In comparison to him, even the One Lamp monk¡¯s ugly appearance seemed a little pleasing to the eye.

    ¡°May I ask why the abbot has assembled us?¡± the One Lamp monk asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ve all been bound by afflictions, which have been affecting your cultivation. Coincidentally, One Will has recovered the treasure of our monastery, the Affliction Severing blade. You can try it, said the Dauntless monk.

    The monks all became surprised and emotional. ¡°The Affliction Severing blade!¡± ¡°Is it really the Affliction Severing blade?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t it end up in the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s hands?¡±

    Someone else questioned, ¡°But abbot, the Affliction Severing blade is the ultimate treasure of our monastery. It can¡¯t be wielded so easily!¡±

    ¡°You have nothing to worry about. One Will has already undergone the third heavenly tribulation. She will be conferred the title of Monk King soon.¡±

    The hall fell silent, and everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on Xiao An. Who didn¡¯t know what ¡°Monk King¡± signified?

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°If you want to rely on your willpower to overcome your afflictions, then please take a step back.¡±

    A while later, not a single monk stepped back. The Dauntless monk nodded in satisfaction. At least they were all aware of their own limits.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to feel any disgrace for relying on a foreign object. I just tried the blade myself, and the Seven Treasures Monk King from the Spirit K?etra temple had benefited greatly too. The effects of the Affliction Severing blade are only momentary, but as long as you remember the feeling at that moment, remain with a clear and open mind and find your true self, it¡¯ll definitely bring great benefit to your cultivation!¡±

    As a result, the monks took turns to accept swings of the blade from Xiao An. Li Qingshan watched on from one side and lamented a little inside, She really has changed.

    ¡­¡­

    On the ¡°left shoulder¡± of Great Buddha mountain, in a quiet courtyard, Li Qingshan pushed through the circular gate and gazed at the rising and falling mountains in the distance, but he felt a little perturbed inside. He suddenly looked back and asked, ¡°You¡¯re all done?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao An stood quietly beneath the bodhi tree in the courtyard.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then¡­¡±

    The courtyard suddenly fell silent again. Only the moonlight poured in quietly. Li Qingshan mulled over his words, but he did not know how to start the conversation.

    ¡°Qingshan, are you blaming me for arbitrarily changing the plan?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you. You¡¯re doing it for my sake after all, but we are both indebted to the Golden Cicada Spirit King. Wouldn¡¯t this just be biting the hand that fed us?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. He had always kept clear tabs on his debts, but Xiao An¡¯s plan had sold out the Golden Cicada Spirit King, which went against his principles severely.

    Xiao An walked over to his side slowly and leaned against him gently. ¡°Helping the Golden Cicada Spirit King ascend successfully is also a part of the plan.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°We have a total of two objectives. The first is to help the Golden Cicada Spirit King, while the second is to kill the Soaring Locust King. However, the Soaring Locust King isn¡¯t that easy to kill.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. A great Daemon King without a bottom line was simply disgusting. ¡°But if we work together, we¡¯ll have a seventy to eighty percent chance of success.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that high. I am the greatest factor in this. The Green province is not located over the ocean. When the Golden Cicada Spirit King faces the tribulation, he¡¯ll definitely draw over all of the great cultivators. Meanwhile, once I unleash my Path of White Bone and Great Beauty publicly, there will be no buddhist sects that can allow me to exist any further. I¡¯ll definitely be viewed as a great enemy by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and it might end up as a chaotic battle, but I don¡¯t wish to kill anyone from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡±

    ¡°And if the Golden Cicada Spirit King wishes to ascend successfully, it¡¯s very likely for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to become an obstacle only second to the Soaring Locust King. I¡¯m certain what the Dauntless abbot hopes for the most is for him to perish with the Soaring Locust King, so instead of accepting fate, we¡¯re better off reducing the variables as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already told the Dauntless abbot about the fact that the Golden Cicada Spirit King would want to eliminate the Soaring Locust King even if it comes at the risk of his ascension failing. It¡¯s not difficult to believe in this given what the Golden Cicada Spirit King has done in the past. He¡¯s handed over the Affliction Severing blade too, which can be viewed as a proactive attempt at peace. I believe the Dauntless abbot will make the correct choice.¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes shone with an intelligent light.

    Li Qingshan was immediately rendered speechless. Not only did her planning and preparation increase their chances at killing the Soaring Locust King, but it also provided the Golden Cicada Spirit King with a greater chance at ascending successfully, and they did not have to fight either. And gloriously enough, it did not let down the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, nor did it let down the Golden Cicada Spirit King, let alone him.

    He pulled her into his arms and said gladly, ¡°I see. So I¡¯ve been over worrying.¡± Then he shook his head. ¡°Though, I suddenly feel like I¡¯ve eaten the Fruit of Wisdom for nothing.¡±

 Chapter 1027: Evening Conversation in the Kingâ€™s Estate

    ¡°You just don¡¯t like to consider these things.¡± Xiao An smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m already prepared to go for a great battle with the Soaring Locust King. You sure know how to undermine me!¡± Li Qingshan pinched her nose in both blame and affection.

    ¡°I just want to reduce your troubles as much as possible,¡± Xiao An said in an aggrieved manner.

    ¡°I know, but you should still discuss it with me first in the future! Sometimes, the simplest and most effective method isn¡¯t always the best. No problems also means no challenges. At the end of the day, the path I walk is to advance valiantly, not hiding away somewhere and scheming. Oh! I suddenly understand what they mean by afflictions are also opportunities for enlightenment. Looks like I didn¡¯t eat the Fruit of Wisdom for nothing.¡±

    Xiao An could not help but giggle. She bit her lip to stifle her laughter and said, ¡°Yeah, I promise.¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and kissed her on the forehead gently. The red mole between her eyebrows was just as distinct as before, but she had already gone from a muddle-headed child to a beautiful young woman. Her petite body had become much more graceful too. Most importantly, she had her own thoughts and ideas now, which left him both glad and also somewhat despondent to a certain degree.

    ¡°You probably have to stay here for a few days?¡±

    ¡°I want to take part in the entire plan.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. I need to find the time to pay a visit to the Sword Collection palace and pull out the sword they owe me.¡±

    The treasured swords of the Sword Collection palace had already become inessential to Li Qingshan, but why would he not take it when it was free? He could basically get some payback against the Sword Collection palace too, so why not?

    ¡°The Sword Collection palace,¡± Xiao An murmured in thought.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re humming and hawing again. Oh right, since your memory has recovered, who exactly was the one who harmed you originally? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that Light Queen or whoever she is? We¡¯ll get revenge no matter what!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say.¡± Xiao An shook her head, also a little uncertain.

    ¡°We¡¯re in no hurry anyway. Once this wraps up, we¡¯ll investigate properly. Who cares who the bastard is. We¡¯ll line them up and give them a beating one by one.¡±

    Li Qingshan said that and was about to set off for the north. Xiao An clung onto him firmly and said softly, ¡°You can leave tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    As a result, the two of them just embraced each other quietly, watching the moon sink below the endless mountains. They did not say anything, but they understood one another.

    On the peak of Great Buddha mountain, the Dauntless monk saw this from afar and frowned a little before letting out a sigh in the end and turning around to return to his meditation room. He contemplated the people who he had to contact for the plan this time.

    The Fierce King of Chu would definitely be the first!

    ¡­¡­

    The King of Chu¡¯s estate.

    The caretaker of the estate led two people through the meandering hallways and arrived before a small, quiet building. Before the caretaker could even say anything, the doors suddenly opened, and a middle-aged man walked out. He was dressed in fancy, green clothes with a book in his hand. He studied the two people behind the caretaker indifferently.

    One of them was a short, old man with skin as dark as charcoal, while the other was a slender woman with a face like white jade. The woman¡¯s cultivation was clearly an entire realm higher than the old man¡¯s, but she treated the man with great respect. They were Ru Xin and Hua Ci.

    ¡°Disciples of the school of Medicine, Hua Ci and Ru Xin, greet your majesty!¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu asked, ¡°I heard you have a way to deal with the locust plague?¡±

    ¡°We do,¡± Ru Xin said confidently.

    ¡°You¡¯re not human?¡± The Fierce King of Chu squinted his eyes slightly. He noticed Ru Xin¡¯s otherfolk aura immediately, but to his surprise, he was actually unable to immediately differentiate the bloodline she possessed.

    ¡°Is that important?¡± Ru Xin answered with a question.

    ¡°Answer honestly. Whether it¡¯s important or not is not for you to decide,¡± the caretaker rebuked.

    ¡°Is this how the king¡¯s estate treats talents?¡± Ru Xin was well-versed in life, so she could not be frightened by a single caretaker. Instead, Hua Ci felt rather unnatural, except it was not particularly obvious given his complexion.

    ¡°Talents? None of the honoured guests in the king¡¯s estate have a cultivation below the third heavenly tribulation.¡± The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s lips curled into a mocking smile that was not particularly obvious.

    ¡°Then you¡¯re welcome to have them deal with the locust plague, your majesty. We¡¯ll be taking our leave,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°Alright, tell me your idea. I hope it¡¯s not a waste of my time!¡± the Fierce King of Chu said.

    Ru Xin began to tell him her plan. In the beginning, the Fierce King of Chu had still been rather inattentive. How could a Golden Core cultivator and Foundation Establishment cultivator resolve a problem that even a group of great cultivators struggled to solve, let alone the fact that they were disciples of the school of Medicine, the school least skilled in combat. However, he gradually became serious as he listened to Ru Xin¡¯s explanation.

    On all previous occasions when he assembled the honoured guests for discussions, his objective had always been to find Soaring Locust King somehow and to kill him. However, Ru Xin had put forward a completely different solution. It could not kill the Soaring Locust King, but it could contain the locust plague from the very source and constrain the Soaring Locust King.

    When Ru Xin finished telling him her plan, the Fierce King of Chu shut his eyes and pondered over his thoughts for a moment. He opened them again and said, ¡°Stop wasting time. Spread the plague immediately. I¡¯ll send people to provide you with protection, as well as to give you their full cooperation. Once this is over, you will be honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate. I will personally arrange a banquet to celebrate your deeds!¡±

    Ru Xin and Hua Ci bade farewell, and the Fierce King of Chu paced through the courtyard a little longer alone. Suddenly, he received a message from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, which left him delighted. The heavens are smiling upon me. With this two-pronged approach, it¡¯s finally time for me to deal with this source of great trouble!

    There was another piece of news with the message, which left him extremely curious.

    Not only has that One Will recovered the Affliction Severing blade and reached an agreement with the Golden Cicada Spirit King, but she¡¯s even undergone the third heavenly tribulation and defeated the Seven Treasures Monk King! What an unbelievable genius. Even Xuanri pales slightly in comparison to her!

    He had heard about Xiao An¡¯s achievements a long time ago, but he had never seen her in person. He felt slightly eager for some reason, which surprised him a little. He temporarily set this thought aside, planning to go to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to meet her first. He was considering exactly who to send to protect the two disciples of the school of Medicine.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Please hold on. My king is sending someone over right now.¡±

    In a small garden within the king¡¯s estate, the caretaker became much more polite towards them.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Hua Ci.

    ¡°Congratulations, master. Felicitations, master. You¡¯re becoming an honoured guest of the king¡¯s estate.¡± Ru Xin clasped her hands with a smile.

    ¡°Just you coming was enough. Why did you have to drag me along?¡±

    Hua Ci originally refused to come to the king¡¯s estate with Ru Xin. He had been dragged here against his will by her. Gazing at Ru Xin before him, the little girl from the past had finally grown up such that she had thoughts of her own. She was finally free from her hatred too, which made him sigh with a smile.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the sake of letting master have it easy in the future, why would I travel all the way here?¡± Ru Xin said.

    ¡°It was a very correct decision for you to return,¡± said Hua Ci. Even he had never imagined a plague would be able to save everyone.

    ¡°I have to help you break through the second heavenly tribulation at the very least. Look, even someone like Qian Rongzhi could become a Golden Core cultivator. Master, you¡¯ve been too negligent of your cultivation during the recent years,¡± said Ru Xin.

    ¡°She¡¯s a genius like you, not someone I can compare to.¡±

    ¡°Genius? I think she just suffered a little more than others!¡±

    When Ru Xin returned to the Academy of the Hundred Schools to find Hua Ci, she saw another genius make it onto Qian Rongzhi¡¯s island. His name was Lin Xuan, or perhaps Chu Tian.

    By now, it had already become very difficult to tell whether their sickness of madness and arrogance had been cured or if they had already reached beyond salvation!

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡± ¡°Meow~¡±

    A faint voice rang out from the darkness, coupled with the lazy meow of a cat. The Dark Queen emerged from within the dancing tree shadows, holding a black cat with heterochromia. ¡°Under the King of Chu¡¯s orders, I¡¯ve come to protect the two of you.¡±

    This Month is Still Not Over Yet

    I¡¯m currently participating in an event organised by Qidian. I arrived in Shanghai yesterday before flying to Xinchang today. During that time, I discarded the plot that I thought of previously and outlined some new details. I basically stayed in the hotel for the entire afternoon yesterday. When they asked me how many characters I had written, I said, ¡°A single sentence.¡± Alright, I¡¯m overestimating myself here. I ended up deleting that sentence too.

    When I write, it¡¯s like the breathing of a patient in critical condition. It¡¯s always almost non-existent and survival can only be ensured in the intensive care ward isolated from the world. Just living by itself already takes all of my energy, and even just the slightest interference from the outside world makes me feel like my time is up.

    But I don¡¯t plan on apologising for now. It¡¯s a hundred and twenty thousand characters. It isn¡¯t the end of the month yet, so I still have hope! Today, I even said in the chat group that I¡¯ve basically achieved the specifics of what I promised, such as how many releases there would be yesterday and how many there would be today.

    As for something as vague as when I said I wanted stable releases, it actually wasn¡¯t just for say either. Most of the time, it¡¯s when I think the upcoming plot will be relatively smoother and I have a relatively complete outline in mind, but I¡¯ve realised almost immediately that thinking up half a month¡¯s worth of plot in half a day doesn¡¯t suit me at all. If I force myself to follow the outline, it¡¯ll be written horribly.

    According to my precise calculations, I¡¯ve released forty eight thousand words so far. I¡¯m still missing seventy two thousand, which is roughly six thousand characters a day from now onwards. Alright, it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t tried a release rate like that. I also find two thousand words a day to be dissatisfying.

    One more day tomorrow and the event will be basically over. Then, it¡¯s about time I march on forwards. I really don¡¯t feel despair until it¡¯s staring me right in the face, don¡¯t I?

 Chapter 1028: Old Acquaintances of Tonight (1)

    The night was forlorn. A dim half-moon shimmered among the dark clouds.

    In the empty city, the standing buildings seemed to narrate its former glory.

    Under the gentle night wind, white joss paper scattered across the ground, sometimes fluttering with the wind.

    Within the murky buildings, a black horse carriage was silently pulled along a long street. Two glazed lanterns burned with dark-green ghost flames like gloomy eyes. The four large horses that pulled the carriage shimmered about. The clip-clopping of horse hooves were nowhere to be heard.

    The arrival of the carriage did not break the deathly silence in the city. Instead, it was like an underground river that flowed into a lake.

    The curtains to the carriage were lifted up, revealing a jade-like face. Ru Xin scanned the surroundings and was not fazed at all. She looked back and asked, ¡°Your majesty, many people have died here before, but there doesn¡¯t seem to be a lot of eggs.¡±

    This was once one of the eighty-one prefectural cities of the Green province. Ever since the Soaring Locust King breached the city, millions of people died in the mouths of the insects. At the same time, it became the largest insect nest in the north of the Green province, giving birth to countless locust Daemon Generals or even Daemon Commanders. However, after the combined efforts of the Green province cultivators, it had completely become a ghost city. The streets paved with stone were unsuitable for normal locusts to multiply in too.

    ¡°There are other insects here.¡±

    The Dark Queen sat back and gently caressed the cat in her arms. The black cat lay on her lap lazily and did not become annoyed, which sure did compliment her bearing.

    ¡°People from the Sword Collection palace?¡± Ru Xin asked casually.

    ¡°Am I supposed to praise you as clever?¡± the Dark Queen asked.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Ru Xin smiled and lowered the curtains, silently circulating the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace. She did not try to persuade the Dark Queen against creating any unnecessary problems, even if this was the north of the Green province, the region under the Sword Collection palace¡¯s control.

    ¡°You truly are very clever.¡± The Dark Queen nodded. She lowered her head and said to the cat on her lap, ¡°My dear Xuanyue, I¡¯ll kill two people from the Sword Collection palace to avenge you.¡±

    Ru Xin opened her eyes slightly. There was a hint of surprise.

    ¡°Master, you don¡¯t have to bother. The one who harassed me is already dead.¡± Xuanyue waved her tail in disinterest.

    ¡°How can he die? The Sword Collection palace doesn¡¯t run out of people to die, but there will be a day when I kill them all, one by one, before refining them into ghost slaves,¡± the Dark Queen said gloomily. A slight smile formed on her pale and depressed face.

    Xuanyue glanced at the Dark Queen before curling up. She knew she was not talking to her. She had been like that ever since the battle of Burial Mound mountain. Perhaps she had always been like that, which was why Xuanyue wanted to leave this cosy nest and travel to the distant Dragon province.

    ¡°Meow. Then kill them!¡± However, she no longer wanted to go to the Dragon province now. She thought to herself inside, I¡¯ll avenge Big Blacko too. Just you wait, Dragon King of Ink Sea. I¡¯ll never spare you for killing my Big Blacko!

    This thought was so hopeless, yet she was also so determined.

    The closer the carriage got to the centre of the city, the more damaged the surrounding structures became. The buildings had all collapsed, basically reduced to ruins, but in the centre of the ruins, a man strolled about, dressed in green clothes with a broken sword. He was lonely.

    Nearby, a woman in violet sat on the half-collapsed eaves of a building, leaning against her hand as she gazed at the changing clouds in a daze. She was not an absolute beauty, but she did possess a flourishing sense of vigour. Even the dark night sky and the miserable ruins could not affect her. Instead, it only fed the aspirations in her eyes.

    The man in green raised his head and looked at her, and his face warmed up. ¡°Zijian, let¡¯s head back!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Yu Zijian answered and leapt down from the eaves. ¡°Did you find anything, senior brother?¡±

    ¡°The Green Ruins sword intent is too profound. It¡¯ll probably take me another century before I completely comprehend it.¡±

    Fu Qingjin felt a hint of uncertainty. Ever since the Green Ruins sword was snapped, his cultivation over the years had progressed extremely smoothly. He had even undergone the second heavenly tribulation. However, ever since the start of the year, he encountered a sense of incompatibility when he comprehended the Green Ruins sword intent as if he was missing something, which was why he came to these ruins in search of inspiration.

    ¡°Alright. By then, we¡¯ll fuse our swords together and kill all of the monsters like the Soaring Locust King!¡± Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes shone brightly. Her killing intent was pure and clear.

    ¡°There¡¯ll be too many of them.¡±

    Fu Qingjin shook his head. No matter how hard they tried, ruins like this would still be created. Even the most glorious of structures would have a moment when they collapsed and fell into ruin. Protecting and conserving them blindly would only be creating problems for themselves.

    Even without daemons to devour and kill them, all these lives still would not have been able to escape death in the end, so what was still so important about so-called good and evil?

    ¡°We¡¯ll kill them even if there are too many!¡± Yu Zijian said stubbornly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you to wherever you go.¡±

    Fu Qingjin then wondered why he would have such a strange thought where he blurred the lines between good and bad. Was the influence from the Green Ruins sword intent too heavy? But ever since the Green Ruins sword was broken, it broke off the influence from the past masters of the sword. All of these thoughts should have originated from himself!

    ¡°Thank you, senior brother. I¡¯ll work hard on cultivation too so that we can fuse our swords sooner,¡± said Yu Zijian.

    Fu Qingjin stared into her eyes and saw a brilliant violet flowing inside vaguely. Yu Zijian asked in confusion, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Fu Qingjin shifted his gaze first and shook his head.

    Green Ruins and Violet Clouds, a yin and a yang. When one emerged, the other would always soon follow. Most swordmasters ended up as lovers, but strangely enough, they had already spent so many years together and they could basically read each other¡¯s thoughts, yet they did not feel any affection for one another.

    ¡°Let¡¯s return to the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    The half-moon emerged from the clouds, sprinkling the ghost city with its light. The two streaks of light were just about to take off when a ghost-like figure suddenly rose up, spreading over the ruins rapidly. Fu Qingjin abruptly looked back, only to see a huge ghost claw swinging down heavily. It was undodgeable.

    Boom!

    With a thunderous rumble, the ground shook violently. Countless pieces of rubble were thrown into the air.

    A huge ghost that resembled a mountain stood within the ruins with a hand on the ground. It was the Void-bellied Ghost King.

    The horse carriage stopped beneath the huge ghost¡¯s feet quietly, and the Dark Queen disembarked. ¡°Green Ruins and Violet Clouds. I didn¡¯t expect it to be two big fish.¡±

    A mixture of green and violet light poured out between the fingers of the Void-bellied Ghost King. Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian crossed their swords, forming an almost-illusionary domain. Violet buildings appeared vaguely on the green ruins. The green was heavy, while the violet was dim, but they managed to stop the Dark Queen¡¯s fatal strike together.

    ¡°Dark Queen, is such a lowly act really befitting of a great cultivator?¡± Fu Qingjin asked. Not only was she targeting them despite being overwhelmingly stronger, but she had even used a sneak attack on them.

    ¡°Damned insects.¡± With a face of disgust, the Dark Queen did not even bother to rebuke him. The other hand of the Void-bellied Ghost King slammed down, and the illusionary domain of green and violet immediately reached the brink of collapse.

    ¡°Do you really want to declare war against the Sword Collection palace?¡± Fu Qingjin asked.

    ¡°I only want to crush you,¡± said the Dark Queen.

    ¡°Your majesty, this probably won¡¯t benefit our plan against the Soaring Locust King.¡± Ru Xin also disembarked and walked over.

    ¡°Ru Xin, I just praised you as clever, so don¡¯t be foolish now.¡±

    ps£º Ä¿Ç°¸üÐÂÎåÍò£¬Ê£ÏÂ¾ÍºÃËãÁË£¬Ã¿ÌìÆßÇ§×Ö£¡

 Chapter 1029: Old Acquaintances of Tonight (2)

    The Dark Queen glanced over indifferently, and Ru Xin immediately felt a heavy sense of danger. The woman before her was extremely dangerous. Demonic cultivators never bothered with something like reason. Some of them did not even bother with weighing the consequences, acting purely as they wished. The Dark Queen clearly belonged to that type.

    ¡°Please do whatever you¡¯d like.¡±

    Ru Xin returned to the carriage, but her hand in her sleeve had silently shattered a jade talisman.

    The Dark Queen sensed it and squinted her eyes slightly, but she turned around again, gazing at Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian beneath the Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s hand.

    He asked her if she actually wanted to declare war against the Sword Collection Palace. That was exactly what she wanted, to declare war against the Sword Collection palace!

    She was not how she seemed, a person who completely acted on their wishes. Instead, she had calculated this consequence a long time ago. This was something that ran much deeper, a sense of fearlessness and disregard. Even if she had to wager the entire Umbral Yin sect and everything they had built up during the past ten thousand years, she would still make what she had said come true. She would kill everyone from the Sword Collection palace!

    ¡°Senior brother, I can¡¯t hold on for much longer. You should find a way and escape by yourself!¡±

    Yu Zijian¡¯s sword-wielding hand trembled slightly. As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, just enduring the Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s aura had taken up all of her efforts. If it were not for the fact that she was working with Fu Qingjin, she would not have even lasted for a second.

    ¡°Hang on for a little longer. Reinforcements will arrive very soon!¡±

    Fu Qingjin tossed out a violet talisman. A glorious streak of light pierced the ghost claw and shot towards the Dark Queen. The ruins and earth in its path were gently split open like a thin piece of paper. Even the hazy moonlight and gentle night breeze were no different.

    The slash was akin to the full-powered strike of a great sword cultivator!

    But under the Dark Queen¡¯s cold, indifferent gaze, the slash began to twist and dim before it could even come within three hundred meters of her, dispersing into the night in the blink of an eye. She continued to caress the cat. She had already sealed off this region a long time ago.

    If even her attempt at the lives of two juniors ended in failure, then she really had cultivated for nothing!

    Fu Qingjin frowned heavily. Violet talismans were extremely precious, equivalent to the strike of a great cultivator, but their effects were extremely limited before another great cultivator, let alone the fact that they had been taken by surprise. Were they really going to die here tonight? He was not afraid of dying, but he wanted to protect the woman beside him!

    ¡°Senior brother, it¡¯s fine.¡± Yu Zijian forced out a smile. Her eyes continued to shine. ¡°Actually, I know it¡¯s impossible to kill all the monsters in the world. I also know I¡¯d die in the hands of monsters sooner or later. I just never expected it to be so soon. You better go!¡±

    Fu Qingjin pursed his lips and said nothing, firing off violet talisman after violet talisman that turned into slashes, lightning, and fire, but it was unable to stop the advance of the Void-bellied Ghost King¡¯s hand.

    Yu Zijian looked at Fu Qingjin and opened her mouth, but she did not try to convince him to leave anymore. It turned into a smile. ¡°Then let¡¯s die together, but I don¡¯t want to end up as a soul in the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s hands.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t!¡± Fu Qingjin said.

    Immediately, the faint layer of violet buildings collapsed, only leaving behind the Green Ruins Illusion.

    The final violet talisman was burned to a crisp.

    The Dark Queen said, ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re just delaying the inevitable!¡±

    ¡°There sure are a lot of acquaintances tonight!¡±

    A sigh suddenly rang out. In the beginning, it still came from the horizon, but when it reached the last word, it had already arrived nearby.

    Li Qingshan walked over through the ruins and stepped into this sealed region. He clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Greetings, your highness the Dark Queen.¡± Then he glanced deeply at the cat in her arms and could not help but smile resplendently, revealing a set of pure-white teeth.

    Xuanyue¡¯s ears pricked up, and she stared at Li Qingshan. Her eyes were filled with curiosity. She just found him to be rather familiar for some reason.

    ¡°This is the reinforcement you¡¯ve called over?¡± The Dark Queen ignored Li Qingshan and gazed at the horse carriage behind her.

    ¡°He has always liked to stick his nose into other people¡¯s business.¡± Ru Xin lifted up the curtains and smiled.

    ¡°Not everyone is capable of sticking their noses into my business. Li Qingshan, do you really think I¡¯d be afraid to kill you because you¡¯re the Unraging monk¡¯s disciple?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Fu Qingjin thought of something. He could still clearly recall this name. Meanwhile, a strange light flashed through Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes, and she muttered soundlessly, ¡°Niu Juxia!¡±

    ¡°Your highness, don¡¯t listen to that woman¡¯s nonsense. I¡¯m not here to stick my nose into any unnecessary business. I¡¯m a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace after all. When disciples of the Sword Collection palace are troubled, I obviously have to lend a hand. Oh right, you¡¯re welcome to kill that guy called Fu. Just hand the woman over to me. If you don¡¯t mind, you can include the cat in your arms too. I just happen to be lacking a pet.¡±

    When Li Qingshan finished what he was saying, even the Dark Queen was taken aback. She never expected him to be so audacious. Only when the cat in her arms let out a furious meow did she return to her senses. Her face immediately sank.

    ¡°Even if the Unraging monk was here, he would never talk to me like that.¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve mentioned it before, but I¡¯m Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, looks like we don¡¯t have to die today!¡± Yu Zijian smiled happily.

    ¡°He just indicated that he wanted me to die!¡±

    Fu Qingjin smiled wryly. She was always so optimistic, but the difference in strength was so great, so what could a last resort like him do apart from buying time until the reinforcements of the Sword Collection palace arrived? But was that even possible?

    ¡°He¡¯s just joking. There¡¯s no need to take it seriously, senior brother, ¡° said Yu Zijian.

    ¡°You know him very well?¡± Fu Qingjin glanced at her deeply.

    Yu Zijian nodded without denying that.

    ¡°What a Li Qingshan. I¡¯ll kill them first and then teach you a lesson!¡± The Dark Queen waved her hand, and the Void-bellied Ghost King opened its gaping mouth, sucking at Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian.

    Like a whale inhaling water, black wind immediately surged through the surroundings, and Yu Zijian was blown into the air uncontrollably. Fu Qingjin grabbed her hand firmly, but his feet had left the ground too. After lasting for so long, he had depleted his spiritual qi too.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, just do it for my sake!¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand at the distance and surging demon qi condensed into a black arm covered in muscles, reaching towards the Void-bellied Ghost King with fingers outstretched. The Void-bellied Ghost King let out a furious roar, but it was unable to break free from the black, demonic claws. The black winds halted as a result.

    ¡°Demon King!¡± The Dark Queen shivered inside as her dispirited expression became one of astonishment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense. I¡¯m a buddhist disciple!¡±

    Li Qingshan pushed his hand forward, and the mountainous Void-bellied Ghost King was launched far away, smashing through countless buildings. He turned around and arrived before Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian, smiling. ¡°Zijian, long time no see! And brat Fu too!¡±

    Fu Qingjin was stunned as well. In the past, when he first met Li Qingshan, he was still just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It had only been a few short decades, and he already possessed such strength, which was simply unbelievable. The power from the Demon domain made him fearful too.

    On the other hand, Yu Zijian was not surprised by Li QIngshan¡¯s strength or his abilities as a Demon King at all. She smiled, ¡°It really has been a long time. I heard you returned from the Mist province. If you still didn¡¯t come to the Sword Collection palace, I was going to go to the Clear River prefecture to look for you.¡±

    The Dark Queen said furiously, ¡°Li Qingshan, do you think you can stop me with just this?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not bold enough to clash with the Dark Queen, but this is the Sword Collection palace¡¯s territory after all, so I¡¯d advise you to leave here quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at the northern sky. A streak of light as bright and clear as snow pierced through it.

 Chapter 1030: Battle Between Light and Dark

    The Dark Queen¡¯s eyes narrowed suddenly, but there was not the slightest hint of fear or hesitance. There was only bone-deep hatred. ¡°Light Queen!¡±

    The streak of light was like a moonbeam, piercing the layer of clouds in the sky and arriving above the city. Suddenly, it came to a halt, revealing the figure of a woman. The woman wore a simple palace dress, bright and noble in appearance, but she did have a pair of firm, straight eyebrows.

    She called out coldly, ¡°Dark Queen, how dare you come to the north and act so wildly. I¡¯m not sparing you today! One Sword as a Myriad!¡± With a casual swing of her hand, she emitted a streak of glorious light that suddenly split into thousands in the middle of the air, raining down like a storm.

    ¡°Umbral Ghost Domain!¡±

    The Dark Queen took a step forward, and her large sleeves drifted in the air. Gloomy ghost qi immediately rose up from the ruins, forming a dense ghost domain. Twisting faces of ghosts received the downpour of swords.

    Li Qingshan darted about, grabbing Ru Xin and Yu Zijian by the shoulder and taking them away from this battlefield. They arrived on a tall building in the distance, only to see the streaks of light land on the ghost domain and produce ripples.

    The streaks of light were devoured and absorbed by the ghost qi, while the ghost qi was agitated and dispersed by the streaks of light. They were yin and yang, one forceful and one flexible, just like natural, sworn enemies.

    There were no violent booms from the collisions, only deep explosions of air that immediately sucked the entire city into the storm. Countless pieces of rubble swept through the air before being ground to pieces.

    All of the dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and the half-moon shone dimly like a half-closed eye that observed the two women¡¯s crazed hatred for one another.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you save senior brother Fu?¡± Yu Zijian asked.

    ¡°Because I only have a pair of hands.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised both arms, expressing his powerlessness. He was not a good person who always took the high road. Fu Qingjin had made quite a lot of trouble for him in the past, so it would only be best if he died here. Most importantly, his interference could restrain the Light Queen and give the Dark Queen the opportunity to retreat with ease.

    However, the developments took him by surprise. The Dark Queen had no intentions of retreating. Instead, she summoned a few more vicious Ghost Kings that rushed towards the Light Queen with gloomy ghost flames. She wanted a battle to the death!

    Fu Qingjin powered the Green Ruins sword as hard as he could. He merged with his sword and turned into a streak of green light, charging out of the battlefield. The Dark Queen suddenly appeared before him and extended a beautiful, pale hand, grabbing the streak of light.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Fu Qingjin felt like he was about to suffocate to death, even though it had already been many years since he last needed to breathe to sustain his life. The slender hand was even more terrifying than the Ghost King¡¯s claws. A wisp of bone-chilling coldness spread through him, even freezing his soul. He could not maintain his current state with the sword anymore.

    ¡°You bitch, don¡¯t you dare harm the disciples of our Sword Collection palace!¡±

    The sky suddenly lit up. The sword erupted with white light, forcing back the Ghost Kings. The Light Queen charged into the gloomy ghost domain with just her sword, heading straight for the Dark Queen. Her sword thrummed in an overwhelming display of might.

    The Dark Queen turned around with composure, and her lips curled into a slight sneer. ¡°Sure enough, she¡¯s come!¡±

    She held a tiny banner in her hand, which she gently waved at the Light Queen.

    Immediately, the howls of a thousand ghosts filled the surroundings.

    ¡°The Myriad Ghost Banner!¡± The Light Queen raised an eyebrow, and the sword in her hand trembled violently, but it had already lost its original rhythm as if it was about to escape from her hand.

    The Myriad Ghost Banner was the treasure of the Umbral Yin sect. The ghosts that went into it were much more than just ten thousand. Instead, it ranged into the hundreds of thousand, the millions. It gathered countless vicious ghosts and vengeful spirits. The vengefulness and ghost qi was so heavy that it could even make the world pale.

    The Dark Queen had gently released Fu Qingjin, but his mind continued to rumble. He felt like his sea of consciousness had exploded. Immediately, he parted from his sword and blood sprayed from his mouth, which rapidly darkened in the air. He flew off into the distance.

    ¡°Senior brother!¡±

    Yu Zijian cried out and wanted to fly towards Fu Qingjin, but the ghost howls filled her with weakness and disgust, making her collapse on one knee. Her cultivation was far too weak. Even under the second-hand effects from so far away, she still found it rather difficult to withstand.

    Li Qingshan released a ring of demon qi and blocked out the ghost howls. However, the building under his feet collapsed too.

    Fu Qingjin fell to the ground unconscious, but his body continued to jerk around violently. The gloomy ghost qi rapidly invaded his body. Death was close.

    ¡°This sure is quite a sight!¡±

    Li Qingshan shielded the moonlight from his eyes and watched leisurely. He did not have any good impressions towards either of the combatants. The only one he cared about was Xuanyue, but who knew where the Dark Queen had shoved her. She was nowhere to be seen, which made him wonder if she was in any danger or not.

    Suddenly, he felt his wrist tighten. Yu Zijian grabbed his arm firmly and lowered her head. ¡°Niu Juxia, I know my senior brother has treated you horribly, but please save him!¡±

    Li Qingshan originally wanted to decline, but upon hearing ¡°Niu Juxia¡±, he could not help but waver. He thought, Even if kiddo Fu survives, he¡¯s basically crippled, and I¡¯ll basically have my revenge, so saving him really makes no difference. It¡¯s about time for me to separate these two women too.

    ¡°Take care of her!¡±

    He instructed Ru Xin before leaping out, arriving at the edge of the battlefield. He picked up the unconscious Fu Qingjin with one hand as he fiddled around with the Green Ruins sword in the other. Sure enough, the sword was dim, while Fu Qingjin¡¯s vitality was as feeble as it could get.

    Li Qingshan dug his ear with a little finger, as he found the ghost howls to be a little noisy. However, he suddenly heard something, and his eyes flashed coldly. He looked up.

    ¡­¡­

    The others felt no different, while the Light Queen at the forefront of the battle experienced tremendous pressure too. She ground her teeth secretly, This ghost bitch has actually obtained the Myriad Ghost Banner, and she¡¯s targeting me! She assumed a defensive stance with a swing of her sword. The snowy-white light blocked out the howls.

    The Dark Queen stabbed the Myriad Ghost Banner into the ground conveniently, and the Umbral Ghost Domain that was on the brink of collapse immediately consolidated again, sealing up the region. Several Ghost Kings descended from above, surrounding the Light Queen.

    ¡°You bitch! Give me back my child¡¯s life!¡± The Dark Queen¡¯s soft voice pierced through the howls like a golden thread on white cloth. It was clear and memorable.

    ¡°Who knows how your child died! Speaking of which, I always thought you liked dead ghosts!¡± The Light Queen sneered.

    Before the Dark Queen could say anything, a voice as cold as steel interrupted them, asking the Light Queen, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The Light Queen was slightly surprised as she found it rather difficult to make out Li Qingshan¡¯s origins. He could be regarded as a friend for saving Yu Zijian, but he also intentionally neglected Fu Qingjin, only appearing when he was almost about to die. Now, he had come to question her.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who I am. I¡¯m only asking you a single question. Were you responsible for her child¡¯s death?¡± Li Qingshan arrived right before the two of them and clenched his fist tightly as he asked.

    ¡°Go away. This has nothing to do with you!¡±

    The Dark Queen was worried that Li Qingshan had come to interfere again. The strength he displayed earlier was enough to ruin her plans.

    ¡°You foolish woman, do you really think you can kill her? She¡¯s clearly treating herself as bait! Do you really want to die here?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and scolded. He had realised a long time ago that the Light Queen¡¯s cultivation surpassed the Dark Queen¡¯s. Even with the Myriad Ghost Banner, she could not kill her easily. The reason why she behaved like she had been so overwhelmed, even intentionally provoking the Dark Queen, was to keep her here.

    The Dark Queen and Light Queen¡¯s faces changed.

    ps£º ½ñÌì»¹ÓÐ£¡

 Chapter 1031: Much Suspicion

    ¡°Answer me!¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his first firmly as killing intent built up in his heart.

    The Dark Queen did not possess the ability to kill the Light Queen, but he did! As long as the Light Queen was bold enough to admit it, then he was bold enough to kill her immediately. Fuck the King of Chu¡¯s Estate and the Sword Collection palace. This was a line they should have never crossed with him!

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with me!¡± the Light Queen said proudly.

    ¡°Liar!¡± the Dark Queen said. The Ghost Kings howled out and lunged towards the Light Queen.

    ¡°Die, bitch!¡± The Light Queen swung her sword to receive them. She became wrapped in light as she became caught among the Ghost Kings, but she held her ground firmly.

    At this moment, two majestic streaks of light rushed over from the horizon as if they were proving what Li Qingshan had said.

    The Dark Queen furrowed her brows and wanted to retreat, but the Light Queen stuck close to her. She was determined to kill this mortal enemy here and then.

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the battlefield. The fierce winds swept up his long hair as he released his fist, lowering his head in thought. He took out an item from within his clothes, a curved horn.

    It was the exact same xiezhi¡¯s point that had almost pushed him into dire straits several decades ago, possessing the wondrous ability to detect lies. He had found it in Fu Qingjin¡¯s sumeru ring, and it had not responded to what the Light Queen said.

    Of course, perhaps the Light Queen possessed ways to fool the xiezhi¡¯s horn, but Li Qingshan¡¯s gut feeling told him that the Light Queen did not seem to be lying.

    The Dark Queen was so certain that the Light Queen was the murderer, except she was more like a stubborn mother who had lost her child. She did not have any convincing evidence. If she actually did possess evidence, then the Fierce King of Chu probably would not have ignored this and treated it as a cold case.

    There were many details involved that invoked suspicion, such as how the witch in Crouching Ox village practised the Umbral Yin Ghost Control technique and not the sword control techniques of the Sword Collection palace. Looking at it now, the witch could not be much stronger than a regular mortal, so how was she able to refine Xiao An¡¯s soul into a ghost slave?

    Many questions flooded his mind. Li Qingshan shook his head and stowed the xiezhi¡¯s horn away again. Since even Xiao An was uncertain about who the murderer was, he did not want to do anything recklessly like a ruffian. He would take his time and investigate!

    However, no matter who the murderer was, Li Qingshan was prepared to butcher their entire family!

    Looking up again, he saw the Dark Queen stuck with the Light Queen, unable to break away from her any time soon. The two streaks of light on the horizon pincered the Dark Queen from left and right. The combined efforts of three great sword cultivators was enough to kill the Dark Queen here.

    ¡°Possession of the Battle Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan growled, and his demon heart flashed. The image of the battle demon imprinted on his back swelled and blurred, flowing until it covered him completely. It merged with him, turning him into a battle demon!

    Immediately, demon qi flooded out into the surroundings, and Li Qingshan leapt up, wielding his fingers like a blade and clashing it against the Light Queen¡¯s sword. He was using the bladesmanship he had learnt from the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower, which was perfect for disrupting the Light Queen¡¯s attack.

    The Dark Queen used this opportunity to escape into the distance. She stared at Li Qingshan and felt rather perplexed. This man claimed to be an elder of the Sword Collection palace and had just saved the disciples of the Sword Collection palace, yet he was helping her now. His actions really were puzzling!

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die, brat!¡±

    The Light Queen became even more furious. Her sword moved violently, as sharp as lightning.

    Li Qingshan swung his hands with ease and dismantled the moves as they came at him. He did not lose the upper hand at all. He said to the Dark Queen, ¡°You can go!¡±

    He did not exactly respect her or have any good impression of her, but she was Xiao An¡¯s mother after all. Li Qingshan would never allow himself to watch her die here.

    The Dark Queen turned around and drifted away. The two streaks of light pursued her for a good distance, but they still ended up giving up and turning around.

    One of them was a tall and upright middle-aged man. With his sword in hand, he stood like a lone mountain. His aura even surpassed the Light Queen¡¯s, making him the strongest sword cultivator Li Qingshan had seen in his life. The other one was much younger and his appearance bore some resemblance to the Light Queen¡¯s. He was dressed in the faint-yellow clothes befitting of a swordsman and gave off a bearing of brilliant splendour like someone chosen by heaven.

    Together with the Light Queen, they sealed off Li Qingshan¡¯s path of retreat.

    ¡°You can die in her place!¡±

    With a flash, the Light Queen pulled back and stared at Li Qingshan coldly.

    The three great sword cultivators assembled a sword formation and surrounded Li Qingshan. Killing intent filled the air!

    ¡°I saved your disciples for heaven¡¯s sake. Do you have to treat me like an enemy?¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands and smiled. In the current world, people who could force him into dire straits basically no longer existed anymore. Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea could not do that. It just seemed like he could not get his freebie from the Sword Collection palace anymore.

    ¡°Are you from the Demon domain?¡±

    The master of the Sword Collection palace gazed at Li Qingshan. He radiated with surging demon qi, clearly a Demon King, and one that was even stronger than regular Demon Kings. Unless it was during an age where the Demon domain launched a large-scale invasion, Demon Kings like him would all be stationed in demon caverns. They would not be rampaging through the world.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m a buddhist disciple, as well as a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°Nonsense!¡± The Light Queen rebuked. It was already funny enough when he said he was a buddhist disciple. The Sword Collection palace had no elder like him!

    However, the master of the Sword Collection palace thought of something, and his eyes shone. ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Someone knows my name for once,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°So you¡¯re Li Qingshan!¡± the young man said in surprise.

    ¡°Do you have any evidence?¡±

    ¡°Palace master, he really is Li Qingshan. He saved us just now!¡± Yu Zijian arrived nearby with the unconscious Fu Qingjin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t come over here, Zijian!¡± The Light Queen called out.

    ¡°Yes, but he has no ill intentions. First senior brother, please save senior brother Fu quickly!¡± Yu Zijian stopped where she was and pleaded with the young man.

    Li Qingshan thought, Another first senior brother, and he¡¯s the first senior brother of the Sword Collection palace.

    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, Zijian. Palace master, mother, Qingjin¡¯s life is more important right now!¡± Ji Xuanri said.

    Not only was he the first senior brother of the Sword Collection palace, but he was even the first one to undergo the third heavenly tribulation among the younger generation, as well as the son of the Fierce King of Chu and the Light Queen, the crown prince of the Green province humans. If nothing went wrong, he was the next king of Chu, truly someone chosen by the heavens.

    ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga can actually allow the existence of a disciple like you?¡± The palace master swung his hand, and a streak of light shot out, entering Fu Qingjin¡¯s body. The gloomy ghost qi was immediately forced out.

    ¡°The Dauntless abbot has said that I possess a great buddha nature,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Why exactly have you come here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace. The Sword Collection palace still owes me a sword!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re a guest elder, why did you assist the Umbral Yin sect?¡± the palace master asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve always loathed unfair embarrassment in my life, so I couldn¡¯t help myself but help out and uphold justice. As for the exact sect or palace involved, I didn¡¯t really consider that.¡±

    ¡°Oh! You¡¯re a Demon King, but you know what helping out and upholding justice is,¡± said the palace master.

    ¡°That, my friend, has nothing to do with you. If you¡¯re not going to do anything, then I¡¯m leaving.¡± Li Qingshan flew off.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The palace master blocked his path in a flash, and the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri cooperated. The sword formation continued to seal Li Qingshan in, preventing him from setting even a foot out.

    ¡°You actually want to kill me?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You¡¯re a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace. Since we promised you a sword, come and collect it in the Sword Collection palace!¡±

 Chapter 1032: In the Sword Collection Palace

    ¡°But I¡¯m a Demon King.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Even if the master of the Sword Collection palace wanted to kill him here, he would not be surprised. After all, the power he used was unacceptable to the righteous path, which would even raise the suspicion that he was colluding with the Demon domain. He had even gotten in the Light Queen¡¯s way and let the Dark Queen escape.

    If the master of the Sword Collection palace had not turned against him, then so be it, but he even allowed him to collect a sword, which was just a little too generous of him. Was there a scheme involved?

    ¡°Even the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga believes you have a buddha nature, so it¡¯s not up to the Sword Collection palace to do some house cleaning. My Sword Collection palace upholds all promises it has issued. Since we have agreed to give you a sword, then come collect one!¡±

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to go?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s up to you too.¡±

    The master of the Sword Collection palace proactively moved out of the way and made an inviting gesture, expressing that he was free to leave.

    The Light Queen and Ji Xuanri exchanged glances and also stowed their swords away.

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I come off as haughty if I don¡¯t go, given the palace master¡¯s sincerity? Let¡¯s go then!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. No matter what kind of scheme was in place, he was confident he could break through it by force. Even if it was a lair of danger, he would barge right into it.

    ¡°Sure enough, you do have some courage!¡± the master of the Sword Collection palace said. He had not seen a single hint of fear from Li Qingshan the entire time.

    ¡°What, is the palace master supposed to harm me?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    They travelled north together. Ji Xuanri and the Light Queen took Yu Zijian and Fu Qingjin with them, while Li Qingshan flew next to the master of the Sword Collection palace.

    The swords moved extremely quickly, such that Li Qingshan fell behind very soon. He just smiled and did not try to keep up with them.

    But soon after, Li Qingshan saw the Sword Collection peak that was renowned throughout the world.

    A single peak hovered in the sky, splitting open the sea of clouds like a lone island.

    Great Budda mountain of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga earned its name because it resembled a great buddha, while the Sword Collection peak resembled an unrivalled sword!

    Many mountains stood below. They were just like swords, paying homage to the divine sword in the sky!

    Between the Sword Collection peak and the many mountains below were countless colossal, metal chains as if the divine sword would fly away the moment they snapped.

    Li Qingshan thought, The mountains form the terrain, and the terrain composes the formation. The protective formation of the Sword Collection palace is definitely anything but ordinary. If I enter here and the master of the Sword Collection palace suddenly turns against me, it won¡¯t be any safer than entering the Ink sea.

    ¡°Please!¡± The master of the Sword Collection palace raised his hand.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Sword Collection palace did not have a rule where flying was forbidden like the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was littered with buddha statues and pagodas. Buddhist disciples were forbidden from flying over the heads of eminent monks, bodhisattvas, and buddhas. However, to sword cultivators, flying on their swords was a basic among basics.

    The various peaks flashed with streaks of light, assembled into sword formations as groups, dueling against each other one-against-one or flying alone, practising their sword-riding ability as they toured through the landscape. They really possessed the bearing of sword immortals.

    The master of the Sword Collection palace invited Li Qingshan onto the Heaven Leaning peak, into the towering main hall of the sword palace. He issued orders. ¡°Go inform the swordmasters of the various peaks to hold the Sword Selection ceremony immediately!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed outside. The sword-like peaks all suddenly lit up with lights of various colours, and they rapidly reached the Sword Collection palace along the metal chains.

    In that moment, Li Qingshan heard a strange thrum. There was a rising lightness within the heaviness, enough to make his soul tremble.

    The Sword Collection peak had been activated. A streak of light shot into the air, shattering all of the clouds and revealing the bountiful stars and boundless moonlight. They seemed to be spinning, which was a dizzying sight.

    All of the disciples from the Sword Collection palace stopped what they were doing, looking up at this sight. Their expressions were basically no different from the disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga when the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan was being held.

    ¡°What an annoying sound. Li Qingshan, where the hell are you right now?¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s voice suddenly rang through Li Qingshan¡¯s mind. In order to stop the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower from talking drivel and making enemies for himself, he had kept the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End in the Asura Field the entire time. However, they were mentally linked.

    Only now did Li Qingshan look away. He asked in surprise, ¡°You sensed it?¡±

    ¡°I hate swords the most. Hurry up and hack apart that damned sword for me!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower ordered.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just one sword!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the Sword Collection peak. Who knew how many swords were planted there. The strange sound was probably produced when all the swords trembled away together.

    ¡°Really? Then hack through all of them!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said restlessly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t. One of the swords even belongs to me!¡± Li Qingshan was nowhere near bored enough to do that.

    ¡°What! You want to use a sword!? You dare to use a sword!?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower suddenly lashed out. Blade intent rushed straight into Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness, producing colossal waves.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Li Qingshan used the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to suppress it in a hurry.

    ¡°You already have me. You¡¯re forbidden from using any other weapon, let alone a sword. Those who use swords are all hypocrites who pose around. I kill them as I see them!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said furiously.

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve hit the nail right on the head! Not only are they hypocrites, but they¡¯re posers too! Apart from my Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan completely forgot about the fact that he also used swords in the past. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m only pulling out a sword. I¡¯m not exactly going to use it.¡±

    ¡°Then you better not blame me for not warning you. If you dare to refine another sword, any sword, we¡¯re going our own ways!¡±

    ¡°Fellow, why do you smile?¡± The master of the Sword Collection palace only saw Li Qingshan smiling mysteriously.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I just felt a little excited when I saw this.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the master of the Sword Collection palace. If what the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower had said was correct, then this would be the greatest hypocrite and poser the world had to offer.

    As they spoke, the swordmasters of the various peaks and the elders all arrived in the hall. One of them said in surprise, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced over. He was a handsome man who also possessed a cultivation at the second heavenly tribulation. He must have been the swordmaster of a certain peak. Even the joy on his face was unable to dilute the sense of melancholy that he gave off, which Li Qingshan found to be rather familiar, but he was unable to recall his name on the spot. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡±

    ¡°Yin Xiaochou! You¡¯ve come at the perfect time! Are you bold enough to face me again?¡±

    Yin Xiaochou¡¯s face turned cold as he gripped the Breaking Water sword on his waist firmly. He had cultivated arduously for all these years exactly for this moment. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan had been in the Mist province, he would have visited him and challenged him a long time ago.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you!¡± Only now did Li Qingshan recall him. In the past, he had used a water sword to break through Yin Xiaochou¡¯s Water Breaking sword. He had basically made his name in the Clear River prefecture through that battle.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve come, why still pose around?¡±

    Yin Xiaochou was certain that Li Qingshan was intentionally trying to humiliate him by forgetting his name. Unfortunately, Li Qingshan had faced countless battles over the years, even losing count over the number of third heavenly tribulation cultivators he had killed. He had come close to death at all those times. How could a single battle with a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the past leave behind a deep impression?

    At the very least, Fu Qingjin had still managed to pose a colossal threat to him, while Yin Xiaochou had been defeated by him in a single strike. His memories of him had vanished over the decades a long time ago.

    ¡°Posing around!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but say, ¡°I don¡¯t even use the sword anymore!¡±

    ¡°Xiaochou, don¡¯t cause a disturbance!¡± the master of the Sword Collection palace said.

    ¡°Please allow me to spar with elder Li, palace master!¡±

    Li Qingshan had forgotten about this a long time ago, but Yin Xiaochou had basically etched it into his heart, using it to motivate himself day and night. Now that an opportunity finally presented itself, he basically did not care about anything else.

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 Chapter 1033: No Sword in Hand

    Li Qingshan grinned and stood with his arms crossed. This Yin Xiaochou sure had an unlucky name, always challenging him when he was at his strongest. He was basically creating worries for himself, despite his name.

    TL: Yin Xiaochou¡¯s name basically sounds like ¡°drinking away your worries or sorrows¡± in Chinese. I think it¡¯s a reference to a poem by Li Bai. You can read an English translation of it here, which is basically ¡°drinking away your sorrows or worries, only to sink further in them¡±. That¡¯s why his name is unlucky and also why he seems melancholic all the time. That¡¯s also exactly what he¡¯s doing, riddling himself with worries.

    His behaviour only incited the various swordmaster and elders of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s disdain towards a common enemy. They said together, ¡°Please grant permission, palace master!¡±

    The master of the Sword Collection palace frowned slightly, while the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri exchanged glances too. They had all witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. Yin Xiaochou stood absolutely no chance at all, but if they just told him this, he definitely would not find it acceptable. The others would not be convinced either. However, if they let Li Qingshan unleash his methods as a Demon King here, it would lead to many issues too.

    After a slight consideration, the palace master nodded.

    ¡°Thank you, palace master.¡± Yin Xiaochou clasped his hands and turned towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just defeat you again!¡± Li Qingshan made his way out of the hall, brushing past Yin Xiaochou. He arrived on the terrace before the hall, gazing at the Sword Collection peak hanging in the sky.

    Yin Xiaochou followed close behind. He said to Li Qingshan while he was looking away, ¡°If you don¡¯t have a suitable sword, you can face me after you¡¯ve selected a sword from the Sword Collection peak.¡±

    Not only did he want to win, he wanted to win convincingly and with dignity.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary!¡± Li Qingshan turned around.

    ¡°What, you want to use a water sword again?¡± Yin Xiaochou¡¯s face turned slightly cold.

    ¡°No, my swordsmanship had already reached an even greater realm. I have no sword in hand and no sword in heart either. Just come at me!¡± Li Qingshan wielded his fingers like a sword.

    The sword cultivators all frowned. Saying his swordsmanship had reached an even greater realm in the Sword Collection palace was basically trying to show off before an expert, while that ¡°no sword in hand and no sword in heart either¡± was simply nonsense.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to be humiliated. Watch my sword!¡± Yin Xiaochou called out.

    Yin Xiaochou¡¯s various emotions dispersed, turning into a faint sense of melancholy. The Breaking Water sword leapt out of its sheath silently, and its curved blade was like a crescent moon, rapidly flying across the calm lake surface towards Li Qingshan¡¯s throat.

    ¡°Breaking Water, Free From Sorrow!¡±

    It was like a startling streak, a glimpse of heaven, yet also mysterious in its own way, without a single trace to be found.

    The sword cultivators were all amazed. He really was the successor of a renowned sword after all. Even they could not say they could block a strike like that. They could only dodge it.

    However, Li Qingshan did not move at all. He had also once been amazed by Yin Xiaochou¡¯s sword intent, while Yin Xiaochou¡¯s current sword intent was ten times of the past. He had truly inherited the supreme swordsmanship within the Ten Renowned Swords!

    There was absolutely nothing wrong with the sword intent. What was wrong was it was far too slow and too weak!

    Right when the sword cultivators thought Li Qingshan would be slain on the spot, Li Qingshan extended his hand. He did not use any swordsmanship or bladesmanship, merely bringing his middle finger and index finger together.

    The flying moon turned back into an edge, and the edge suddenly halted, unable to advance an inch further. The other thing that stiffened was Yin Xiaochou¡¯s expression.

    He did not even have to use his demon qi, so why would he need a water sword?

    ¡°There will always be something you cannot break, you cannot cut through, such as sorrows, such as water, such as me!¡±

    There was a slight sense of lament in Li Qingshan¡¯s voice. Sure enough, posing around in front of a group of damned posers sure felt satisfying.

    The sword cultivators were all rendered speechless.

    ¡°H- how is this possible..¡± Yin Xiaochou let go of the hilt and took a step back as he murmured to himself.

    To sword cultivators, their swords were as important as their lives. He had let go of the hilt unconsciously, clearly having been overwhelmed mentally already.

    After several decades of bitter cultivation and pursuit, he had finally arrived before his opponent again, yet his opponent had even forgotten his name. He wanted to pay him back with a strike, only to discover the distance between them had grown even wider than before. Immediately, he felt like everything had just been a waste.

    Suddenly, a hand pressed down on his shoulder. The master of the Sword Collection palace said, ¡°Xiaochou, there¡¯s no need to feel discouraged. Fellow Li has already undergone the third heavenly tribulation. You¡¯re naturally not his opponent.¡±

    ¡°The third heavenly tribulation!¡± Yin Xiaochou cried out and stared at Li Qingshan in disbelief.

    The sword cultivators were all stunned. Undergoing the third heavenly tribulation was equivalent to making it to the apex of the nine provinces. All of them were figures who had made a name for themselves in the world. Just how old was the person right before them? Yet he had already undergone the third heavenly tribulation! What was this cultivation speed?

    Only a small number of people were aware that Li Qingshan had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Even if they knew, they were reluctant to disclose it publicly, as his cultivation just bore far too much resemblance to a Demon King¡¯s.

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was already prepared to hold a grand ceremony when Xiao An was conferred the title of Monk King to celebrate. They had invited all the great cultivators across the Green province, as well as other fellow buddhists from other lands. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan would never receive a treatment like that.

    Li Qingshan tossed the Breaking Water sword back to Yin Xiaochou. Yin Xiaochou gazed at the blade of the sword, which reflected his expression. After a moment of daze, he said, ¡°I¡¯m going back to cultivate.¡± With that, he leapt down Heaven Leaning peak. He did not ride his sword.

    The sword cultivators were all gloomy. The palace master watched Yin Xiaochou leave as he thought, Xiaochou, it¡¯s about time you understand that the greatest worry in the world is powerlessness! If you¡¯re powerless, it¡¯s impossible for you to rid yourself of worries!

    Li QIngshan shrugged and turned towards the palace master. ¡°Can I pull out my sword now?¡±

    ¡°Any time, but since you are a guest elder of my Sword Collection palace, you have to follow our rules!¡± the master of the Sword Collection palace said.

    ¡°What rules?¡±

    ¡°You must not obtain it through strength!¡± the palace master said.

    ¡°Then what do I use?¡± Li Qingshan replied with a question.

    ¡°With your heart! The Sword Selection ceremony is not the person selecting the sword, but the sword selecting the person!¡± the palace master said.

    ¡°Alright. I will use my heart.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not believe that at all. From the Soaring Dragon sword to the Frenzy Flower Sword of Path¡¯s End, there had not been a single weapon that had selected him and allowed him to use them obediently, but in the very end, he still used them as he wished.

    I haven¡¯t worked my ass off with cultivation so that weapons can be picky!

    ¡°We need to seal up your cultivation!¡± the palace master said sternly.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He smiled in thought. ¡°You¡¯re really making things difficult for me, palace master!¡± Being unable to pull out the best sword was but a trifle, but if his cultivation was sealed up and the palace master suddenly turned against him mercilessly, wouldn¡¯t he just be a sitting duck?

    ¡°That¡¯s part of the rules. We¡¯re not singling you out specifically!¡± the palace master said.

    Any disciple who could draw out a sword from the Sword Collection peak had undergone the first heavenly tribulation recently. Not only had they obtained this opportunity, but their strength was still insufficient to contend against the Sword Collection peak, so they were forced to let the swords select them through their luck. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s strength was completely enough to ignore the heart of the sword and yank them out by force.

    ¡°Since that¡¯s what you¡¯ve said, then fine then!¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms and said calmly, ¡°Please seal up my cultivation, palace master!¡±

    The palace master approached him and wielded his fingers like a sword, immediately striking several major acupoints on Li Qingshan¡¯s body. With each strike, he injected a strand of sword qi into the acupoint, and the gloomy demon qi became a little more withdrawn until it was completely forced back into the demon heart. The demon heart had already become encapsulated in layers upon layers of sword qi now.

    Li Qingshan would struggle to unleash any of his human cultivation now, while the palace master only needed a single thought to set off the sword qi and destroy his demon heart.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the palace master with a smile. There were certain things that could not be sealed, which were his greatest power. He only needed a single thought to suppress the sword qi. Even if he could not get out of this unscathed, it was nothing major.

    However, the master of the Sword Collection palace less than three steps away from him might not be able to block his Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End!

    ps£º ×Ü¶øÑÔÖ®£¬»¹ÓÐ£¡

 Chapter 1034: Looking for a Sword

    Their eyes met, one with a deep gaze and the other with a clear gaze.

    Both of their figures were tall and straight. As they faced one another, they were basically equally matched. There was an indescribable aura that flowed between them, like the mountain winds that whistled between the peaks.

    ¡°You can go,¡± said the palace master.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan thought, Doesn¡¯t he want to strike here?

    Li Qingshan arrived behind the main hall, and a metal chain extended up almost vertically, linking up with the Sword Collection peak in the sky.

    Li Qingshan glanced up before leaping onto the chain and starting his vigorous climb upwards.

    Everyone watched as Li Qingshan rapidly climbed higher. Between his leaps, he was like a vicious tiger. He climbed all the way until he reached right below the Sword Collection peak.

    Li Qingshan glanced downwards. Everyone had already become tiny specks. When he looked up again, the Sword Collection peak basically seemed no different from a regular mountain from such a close distance. Lush vegetation grew between the rocks as the entire place was entwined with vines, except almost every single rock was planted with a sword, amounting to thousands in total. It was quite a sight.

    However, the blades of the swords were all covered in a layer of rust, preventing anyone from making out their quality. They had to choose based on their gut feeling, and if the sword did not select them, they could forget about pulling it out.

    Everyone wanted to know just what sword he would pull out.

    I want the strongest sword!

    Li Qingshan leapt onto the Sword Collection peak and had no doubts about that at all. Even though he had already given up on the path of the sword, weapons were always better if they were stronger. He could offer them up even if he did not use them himself.

    Thinking up to there, he could not help but consider an idea. If he offered up all of the swords on the Sword Collection peak to the Asura Altar of Armaments, just what kind of asura armament could he receive?

    But right now, all he could do was think about this idea. The Asura Altar of Armaments also tested the user¡¯s strength. The Frenzy Flower of Path¡¯s End was already the strongest weapon he could wield right now.

    Casting these random thoughts aside, Li Qingshan began to search through the Sword Collection peak. The palace master had sealed up his demon heart, but he could not seal up his strength of the ox demon, so he was confident about pulling out any sword he wanted from the Sword Collection peak. The issue was just how was he supposed to find the strongest sword?

    He climbed up and down as if he was devoting himself to finding a sword. He would grip the rusted hilts from time to time before letting go again. In reality, he silently circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to deduce and calculate which swords were better.

    On a terrace at the foot of the Heaven Leaning peak, a group of outer disciples that were only Qi Practitioners raised their heads in awe too. Their eyes were filled with envy and hope as they discussed softly among themselves.

    ¡°Who is that? He¡¯s so amazing!¡± ¡°You really have been living under a rock. Haven¡¯t you even heard of Li Qingshan?¡± ¡°I heard he¡¯s around the same age as us, and he¡¯s already become a guest elder, and he¡¯s a White Hawk commander of the Hawkwolf Guard too!¡±

    During the discussion, only a single young man remained silent. His eyes were locked onto Li Qingshan¡¯s figure the entire time, without budging at all. His bronze face was weathered and well-defined. If someone looked closely, they would discover that he bore some resemblance to Li Qingshan.

    A short, plump man beside him smiled. ¡°Senior brother Xiaoyao, why¡¯re you solemn? You both share the surname Li, so don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re relatives?¡±

    ¡°How can that be possible?¡± Li Xiaoyao looked away and smiled. ¡°I¡¯d sure like a relative like that.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, now I¡¯m the one who wants a relative like you. You already have senior uncle Hua covering your back, which is enough. You¡¯ll probably undergo the heavenly tribulation too in the next two years and pull a sword from the Sword Collection palace. By then, we¡¯ll need you to cover our backs!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t cover your back.¡±

    Li Xiaoyao shook his head with a smile. He knew this junior brother Tian was known for his straightforward and blunt nature, such that he was not particularly dishonourable or calculating. As for the assistance that Hua Chengzan had provided him with, there was no point in trying to deny it at all, as it would have been impossible for him to reach the tenth layer of Qi Practitioner at his current age.

    ¡°Whatever, whatever. I knew I can¡¯t rely on you. I just have to rely on myself after all. Oh right, why haven¡¯t I seen senior uncle Hua around lately?¡±

    ¡°He seems to be in secluded cultivation.¡±

    ¡°I heard senior uncle Hua and elder Li are good friends. Do you think that¡¯s true?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. You¡¯ll have to ask senior brother Hua.¡±

    Actually, Li Xiaoyao did know about this. The major reason for why Hua Chengzan treated him so specially was because of the man on the Sword Collection peak right now, his uncle!

    Of course, he did not possess that kind of startling talent at the end of the day. After so many years, he had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation.

    However, he was satisfied with this. This was the swordsman¡¯s path he wanted to walk. Even if he could not make it to the apex, he would still continue down it step by step.

    He thought to himself, Uncle, Even if you don¡¯t recognise me, I still treat you as my uncle.

    Li Qingshan sensed something and glanced down. When he saw Li Xiaoyao, he obviously experienced a connection from his bloodline, which made him smile. The child of the past had already grown up into an adult.

    By now, he had already eliminated most of the swords on the Sword Collection paek. They were all some spiritual artifacts and arcane artifacts. Only twenty-three true treasured swords remained. They seemed to be speckled with rust in the eyes of regular people, no different from the other swords, but they shone in his eyes.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh to himself. The Sword Collection palace sure has quite a heritage. It¡¯s a mystery where they collected all these treasured swords from. Coupled with the ones already in use down there, there are several dozen in total. The South Sea Sword pavilion also counts as a large sword cultivator sect, but they¡¯ll probably bawl their eyes out if they see the Sword Collection palace.

    However, what came next was a little more difficult. He could vaguely recall that two or three of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace still had not been pulled out. Those were his targets, but how was he supposed to find these renowned swords among the twenty-three remaining swords?

    By ¡°Sword Collection¡±, they did not just collect swords. They also sealed them.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s knowledge of the Ten Renowned Swords was very limited. He did not even know the names or special characteristics of the remaining swords. When their quality were approximately the same, even the spirit turtle struggled to identify which was a renowned sword.

    He felt a tinge of regret inside. If he had known earlier, he should have done some investigation first. He made up his mind and just began examining them one by one.

    ¡°He seems to have identified the levels of the swords!¡± The Light Queen frowned at the palace master.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. It counts as his skill.¡± The master of the Sword Collection palace was not particularly bothered over the fact that Li Qingshan was about to take away one of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s treasured or even renowned swords.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± The Light Queen sneered gently.

    Hmm? The Soaring Dragon sword seems to have been planted here before!

    Li Qingshan noticed a hole in a rock that was shaped like the Soaring Dragon sword. He peered into the depths of the hole, and the hole seemed to stare right back at him like a black eye, but at a closer glance, it only seemed normal.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Was it merely an illusion?

    In the end, he eliminated another six or seven swords from the mix and was unable to distinguish between the rest anymore, so he simply gave up. So be it. They¡¯re all treasured swords anyway. It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll be using it, so I¡¯ll just pick one!

    At this moment, to the west side of the Sword Collection palace, a treasured sword suddenly flashed.

 Chapter 1035: Honoured Guest Elder, Definitely No Ill Intentions

    It flashed extremely quickly, so quickly that it only lasted for a split second. If Li Qingshan had not been focusing on searching for a sword, he probably would have missed it. He was surprised. What¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t tell me the master of the Sword Collection palace is intentionally trying to fool me into choosing a worse sword?

    He was not at fault for being so paranoid. Ever since he set foot on the path of cultivation, the Sword Collection palace had never expressed any good will towards him. Even now, they seemed to radiate with a vague sense of hostility.

    But upon further thought, petty tricks like this did not fit the palace master¡¯s style. They only had a brief confrontation, but he had always possessed sharp judgement over his enemies.

    If the palace master doesn¡¯t want me to pull out a sword, why would he let me come here? Or perhaps he wants to kill me on the Sword Collection peak, but that doesn¡¯t really seem necessary?

    Whatever. It¡¯s a treasured sword anyway. I¡¯ll just take it!

    Li Qingshan flew over and grabbed the sword by its hilt. Originally, he thought he had to use his strength of the ox demon to pull it out, but he never expected the sword to slide out with the slightest tug. It was as easy as pulling a sword out from its sheath.

    With a gentle tremble, the specks of rust on the sword all fell off. The sword was as thin as a cicada¡¯s wings, almost transparent. The bright and clear moonlight suddenly twisted and gathered on the sword¡¯s blade, seeping in bit by bit. Only then did the blade gradually swell and fill up.

    There was a half-moon on the hilt. Li Qingshan raised the sword into the air and brought it together with the yellow moon in the sky. It formed a perfect full moon.

    ¡°It¡¯s Soul Cycling!¡± Ji Xuanri¡¯s expression changed and subconsciously grabbed the Spirit Destroying on his waist. There was a scorching sun on his hilt.

    Soul Cycling and Spirit Destroying were both part of the Ten Renowned Swords.

    These two swords were not a yin and yang pair like Green Ruins and Violet Clouds, but they still involved the principles of creation that came from yin and yang. It was said that they were forged at the same time, making them a pair of twins. A mysterious connection existed between them.

    Don¡¯t tell me renowned swords actually have spirits in them?

    Li Qingshan was astounded. Even without refining the sword or testing the sword¡¯s might, just the aura it gave off was well beyond what any regular treasured sword could rival. It was definitely a renowned sword.

    His feelings inside were quite mixed. Originally, he was even planning on cheating, only for the answer to directly leap out at him, which left him feeling both pity and delight, as well as some disbelief.

    At the same time, he could sense that the renowned sword did not resist him at all. He could probably refine it in a short while.

    It¡¯s probably because my charms are far too overwhelming. When this sword saw me, it was like a young girl seeing a man chosen by heaven, immediately offering itself up.

    Among the gasps, Li Qingshan leapt off the Sword Collection peak with the Soul Cycling sword in hand.

    Boom! Li Qingshan bent over slightly and landed before the main hall, leaving a great pit in the ground.

    Li Qingshan straightened himself out and said to the palace master, ¡°You can help me remove the seal now, palace master!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! You¡¯re not a sword cultivator, so how can you obtain the Soul Cycling sword¡¯s recognition? You must have used some kind of trick!¡± One of the elders berated Li Qingshan furiously.

    ¡°Yeah, his cultivation was clearly sealed up, yet he could leap down from the Sword Collection peak unscathed. Something is amiss. Please capture him and investigate the matter closely, palace master!¡±

    A swordmaster also expressed his doubts. Even disciples of the school of Military with their body forging techniques would probably end up injured when all of their cultivation was sealed away.

    For a moment, everyone raised a ruckus. They wanted to take back the Soul Cycling sword and chase Li Qingshan off the mountain.

    It was no wonder why they would behave so emotionally. The significance of the Ten Renowned Swords to the Sword Collection palace was far too great. Even the elders and swordmasters could not receive one, so now that an outsider had suddenly taken one away like this, they basically felt like their own children had been abducted. They struggled to accept this.

    Not to mention that this outsider had not shown even a hint of respect towards the Sword Collection palace since the very beginning, even wanting to stand on equal footing with the palace master. How could they accept this?

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± the palace master said sternly.

    The Heaven Leaning peak immediately fell silent. The palace master said, ¡°Li Qingshan is not an outsider, but a guest elder of our Sword Collection palace. He¡¯s taken a sword from the Sword Collection peak while following the rules of our Sword Collection palace, so there¡¯s no issues at all. Since he has chosen the Soul Cycling sword, the Soul Cycling sword has also chosen him. Everything is fate!¡±

    No matter how unconvinced the sword masters and elders felt, they could only accept this result now that the palace master had spoken.

    Li Qingshan listened along silently. Something simply felt off, but he was unable to describe exactly what. As he thought about it, he managed to summarise it in a few words, which was that everything had progressed a little too smoothly today.

    He had grown accustomed to danger around every corner a long time ago, so he was not used to obtaining a renowned sword so easily. On top of that, the palace master had been a little too nice to him.

    If it were other people, then so be it, but he had personally witnessed Li Qingshan assume the form of a battle demon. Was he not afraid that his demon qi would contaminate or corrupt the renowned sword?

    The palace master clasped his hands towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Congratulations on obtaining the renowned Soul Cycling sword, fellow. You¡¯ll definitely achieve great things in this age!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your auspicious words, fellow,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    The palace master then said, ¡°The sword contains a supreme path of the sword, which you can comprehend slowly, but for the sake of wielding the Soul Cycling sword better, you¡¯re free to study all of the sword cultivator techniques our Sword Collection palace has to offer, including the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth.¡±

    ¡°You must not, palace master. Li Qing- elder Li is only a guest elder. The Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth is a secret that we never pass onto others. According to the rules, we can¡¯t pass it onto guests.¡± The elders who had just berated Li Qingshan furiously immediately spoke up.

    ¡°Obviously not for guest elders, but elder Li¡¯s cultivation has already reached the third heavenly tribulation. He can be promoted to ¡®honoured guest elder¡¯, which gives him the right to study the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth.¡±

    King¡¯s estates had honoured guests, and sects also had honoured guests. The full title to ¡°honoured grand elder¡± was ¡°honoured guest grand elder¡±. They possessed an aloof status in the sect, but the chances they appeared was much smaller. Often, they would go centuries without an honoured guest elder.

    Great cultivators were far too rare, often requiring both exceptional talent and a tremendous amount of resources. Given their talent, they would obviously be absorbed into great sects, so there was no need for them to be a guest, and the resources that guests received could not compare to actual disciples.

    As a result, the term ¡°honoured guest elder¡± had basically been forgotten. Now, the palace master had mentioned it again.

    The elder who was extremely dissatisfied with Li Qingshan immediately turned red. Once Li Qingshan became an honoured grand elder, it meant even he would have to bow to him when he saw him. He was about to protest loudly when the palace master glanced over, immediately silencing all of the objections. Many of them all sank into their thoughts regarding this.

    ¡°Elder Li, how do you feel about this?¡± the palace master then asked Li Qingshan. His attitude was extremely friendly.

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously delighted by the palace master¡¯s treatment. I¡¯ll definitely use this sword properly.¡± No matter how he looked at it, the palace master was just trying to get on his good side, but something felt a little wrong to Li Qingshan, so he asked one more thing, ¡°You¡¯re not harbouring any ill intentions towards me, are you, palace master?¡±

    ¡°Definitely not.¡±

    Before he could even finish speaking, the xiezhi¡¯s horn in Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes suddenly lit up. The light that poured out of his clothes seemed particularly dazzling in the night.

    Li Qingshan and the palace master both had nothing to say. The atmosphere suddenly became rather awkward.

    Why did this thing suddenly work again?

 Chapter 1036: Soul Cycling and Spirit Destroying, Xuanri and Xuanyue

    Li Qingshan decided to say something and break the awkward atmosphere. He took out the xiezhi¡¯s horn from his clothes. ¡°This¡­¡±

    There was perfect silence, enough to hear a pin drop.

    All of the elders and swordmasters recognised the xiezhi¡¯s horn. They all knew about its power to tell lies. They could not help but look towards the palace master. They all felt rather awkward too.

    Regardless of how hostile they were towards Li Qingshan, having a lie exposed so openly was basically like a slap across the face. After all, the Sword Collection palace was still a famed, righteous sect, and the palace master¡¯s face basically represented the entire sect¡¯s face.

    The palace master squinted his eyes slightly as a hint of anger seemed to flash through them, but he immediately recovered his calm. ¡°The xiezhi¡¯s horn is an item that belongs to my Sword Collection palace. Why are you in possession of it, fellow?¡±

    ¡°I borrowed it.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched as he did his best to hold back his smile. He was laughing just too hard inside. Even if the palace master might directly turn against him, he no longer cared.

    ¡°Can you return it to me?¡± the palace master asked.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan handed the xiezhi¡¯s horn back to the palace master. He could not help but ask, ¡°Palace master, does what you just said still count?¡±

    ¡°Of course it does. Far too much time has passed already. This item is no longer as functional as before. You don¡¯t have to worry about this, fellow,¡± said the palace master.

    ¡°It¡¯s but a trifle, so I obviously won¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Li Qingshan became even more certain that there was a scheme involved, but he was unable to think of what kind of scheme it was. If they wanted to harm him, when they sealed up his cultivation just then was the optimal moment.

    Even if he had hid his strength, several great sword cultivators working together combined with the formation around the entire Sword Collection palace still posed an extremely great threat. Even he was not confident about getting out of here unscathed. Just what was the palace master scheming?

    Though, since the palace master did not turn against him, Li Qingshan was happy to spend some time as an honoured guest elder and see what he was trying to do!

    ¡­¡­

    The next morning, all of the light on the Sword Collection peak had dispersed. Sunlight illuminated the many mountains below.

    The palace master held a simple ceremony on the Heaven Leaning peak, formally making Li Qingshan an honoured guest elder of the Sword Collection palace.

    In the lofty main hall, regardless of their thoughts, all of the swordmasters and elders bowed towards Li Qingshan and said, ¡°Honoured guest elder!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood high on the pedestal with a leisurely smile on his face. The Soul Cycling sword hung from his waist.

    The palace master asked from one side, ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to say, honoured guest elder?¡±

    Li Qingshan coughed gently into his fist. ¡°Then let me say something. There¡¯s no need for everyone to be too polite with me. Since I¡¯ve become an honoured guest elder of the Sword Collection palace, I¡¯ll definitely do my best to serve the Sword Collection palace as the palace master wishes. I¡¯ll even go through fire and water. Of course, there still might be people here who harbour ill intentions towards me, but I¡¯m completely sincere with you. If you don¡¯t believe me, you can use the xiezhi¡¯s horn.¡±

    The swordmasters and elders looked at one another. Their gazes were all disgruntled. If he had been completely insincere with what he said at the start, then so be it, but he even decided to rub it in at the end. This kid was as despicable as he could get.

    Li Qingshan could see from the corner of his eye that the little finger of the palace master¡¯s hand placed on the Heaven Leaning sword was trembling. If he continued like this, the palace master might directly draw his sword and turn against him, so he could not help but ease up the atmosphere.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding, I¡¯m kidding. Anyway, I hope that we can work hard together, so the Sword Collection palace becomes better¡­¡±

    Following the speech of nonsense, the palace master could not be bothered with saying anything more for the sake of formalities anymore. He directly said to Ji Xuanri, ¡°Xuanri, bring the honoured guest elder to the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth to comprehend the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth.¡± Afterwards, he left in a huff, and the elders and swordmasters dispersed with him.

    The main hall quietened down, and Ji Xuanri smiled. ¡°Elder Li, we¡¯ve known each other for so long already, but I¡¯ve never formally introduced myself. I am Ji Xuanri. If you don¡¯t mind, you can just call me Xuanri.¡±

    He spoke politely, and he was friendly, but his sense of pride as a great prodigy was unconcealable. It was like the sun in the sky. As it illuminated the world with its glow, it remained high above, aloof from the world.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan had almost butchered a crown prince of Great Xia recently, so why would he care about a ¡°prince of the Green province¡±?

    ¡°Then I¡¯m not going to hold back and call you Qingshan. Speaking of our swords, there¡¯s quite the connection!¡±

    ¡°Really? What connection?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Qingshan, your knowledge of our Sword Collection palace¡¯s Ten Renowned Swords must be very limited! My sword is called Spirit Destroying. It was forged from the same cauldron as Soul Cycling, so they¡¯re technically brothers.¡± Ji Xuanri patted the Spirit Destroying sword on his waist.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ve gotten the better of the deal, since I can befriend someone like you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and then asked, ¡°You must have a lot of siblings! You¡¯re called Ji Xuanri. Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s a Ji Xuanyue too?¡±

    TL: The ri in Ji Xuanri means sun. The yue in Ji Xuanyue means moon. That¡¯s why Li Qingshan can bring Ji Xuanyue into the conversation.

    He was already roughly certain that Xiao An¡¯s original name was Ji Xuanyue, and the Dark Queen had named her cat Xuanyue in memory of her late daughter, except they were homophones.

    Ji Xuanri fell into a moment of silence. ¡°Let¡¯s walk and talk!¡±

    The two of them left the main hall. Ji Xuanri did not fly, walking over to the back of the Heaven Leaning peak slowly. He began to talk after thinking over his words.

    ¡°This is a private affair of my family, which should not be shared with outsiders, but the private affairs of the King of Chu¡¯s estate is the public affairs of the Green province. Who knows how many rumors have already spread. Since you want to know, then there¡¯s nothing really to hide. I do have a younger sister called Xuanyue, except she passed away in her childhood. It¡¯s also something that I lament about in my life!¡±

    Ji Xuanri seemed slightly defeated as if he truly regretted this very much.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan observed him closely, but he was unable to tell whether this was true or not. All he could do was lament over the fact that the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine did not have a Xiezhi Transformation, or he would have been able to see through lies and throw a punch straight at those posers.

    ¡°You might not believe it, but while the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect are rather hostile with one another, our relationship had been very good in the past. However, ever since Xuanyue died young, her majesty the Dark Queen has been a little eccentric. She blindly believes that my mother killed Xuanyue.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s still better to just kill her off!¡± Li Qingshan grinned.

    ¡°Not exactly. The Green province is currently facing both internal and external threats. The locust plague runs amok internally, while the Mist province pressures us externally. We¡¯re currently in need of the two major sects setting aside their differences and banding together. If her majesty the Dark Queen had not provoked us, insisting on killing the disciples of our Sword Collection palace, we would have never struck out proactively either. Actually, even if you didn¡¯t interfere, I would have spared the Dark Queen.¡±

    The way that Ji Xuanri spoke really did possess the bearing of the future King of Chu. He had the entire Green province in the palm of his hand.

    ¡°Oh. You¡¯re not afraid your mother will be angry?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°This is for the sake of the Green province. I¡¯m sure my mother will understand. We¡¯ve arrived at the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth.¡±

    Ji Xuanri stopped. When he said that, they had already arrived before a pavilion. The pavilion was chiseled out of a mountain, standing three hundred meters tall. It was majestic and imposing and engraved with three words, ¡°Heaven and Earth¡±. The engraving seemed to be done by a sword, sharp and graceful, grand and magnificent.

    ¡°The two great elders are also comprehending the sword inside right now. You can go in and meet them, Qingshan. Oh right, you haven¡¯t refined the Soul Cycling sword yet, have you?¡± Ji Xuanri mentioned that as if he had done so carelessly.

    ps£º ½ñÌì»¹ÓÐ£¡

 Chapter 1037: Protection and Departure

    ¡°I¡¯ll refine the Soul Cycling sword after I take a look at the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    With the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower around, he would probably never refine the Soul Cycling sword.

    ¡°Fair enough. You¡¯re in no hurry anyway. You can comprehend the swordsmanship properly in the meantime. Hopefully, we can fight alongside one another one day!¡± Ji Xuanri clasped his hands and left gracefully.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin in thought for a while. Various questions flowed through his head. As it seemed, the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri really were not the murderers responsible for Xiao An¡¯s death, while Ji Xuanri was clearly trying to befriend him and rope him in. He did not seem to possess any ill intentions.

    However, the matters of the world and the minds of people were unpredictable, so he could not just confirm it here. He could not help but sigh inside again. Why don¡¯t I have a Xiezhi Transformation?

    Whatever, I¡¯ll go learn the Sword Collection palace¡¯s ultimate art first and see just how impressive it is! Even if I don¡¯t practise the path of the sword, I can teach it to Xiao An. I can give her this Soul Cycling sword too.

    With that, Li Qingshan strode into the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth.

    ¡­¡­

    The howl of a thousand ghosts rang out by his ears. Fu Qingjin awakened from the darkness. He felt like his head was about to split apart as every part of his body moaned. He reached towards his side almost instinctively, and the cool, mellow sensation entered his hand, giving him peace. The Green Ruins sword was still around!

    ¡°Senior brother, you¡¯ve awakened!¡± Yu Zijian said in delight.

    ¡°Zijian, as long as you¡¯re fine.¡± Fu Qingjin saw Yu Zijian and squeezed out a smile with difficulty, but it did come from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°Senior brother, your cultivation¡­¡± The rims of Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes reddened.

    Fu Qingjin shut his eyes and peered inside his body, only to find that his cultivation had virtually been destroyed. Even his soul was heavily injured, probably impossible for him to recover ever again. If a regular cultivator experienced something like this, they would probably lose their minds.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. If my cultivation is gone, I can always develop it slowly again. As long as I¡¯m still alive, I still have a chance. Oh right, who saved me?¡±

    Fu Qingjin opened his eyes and only smiled wryly. Back then, when the Green Ruins sword broke, he was under far greater mental distress than right now, and yet he still managed to get through it. Since everything would be reduced to ruins, he did not particularly care about his cultivation anymore.

    Yu Zijian explained everything that happened and became apologetic. Li Qingshan had originally possessed the ability to save Fu Qingjin. Although she understood the grievance between these two men and was unable to blame Li Qingshan for his choice, she still felt like she had let Fu Qingjin down.

    ¡°I see. A lot sure happened last night. I really have to thank this honoured guest elder,¡± said Fu Qingjin.

    ¡°You don¡¯t blame him?¡± Yu Zijian said in surprise.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t he save me? And at the very least, he saved my life too, or I would have never lasted until the palace master and the others arrived,¡± Fu Qingjin said as he gently stroked the Green Ruins sword.

    As he sensed the declining intelligence inside, he sighed a little inside. He was not the only one who had been sucked into the aftermath of the Myriad Ghost Banner from so close away. Even the Green Ruins sword had been heavily damaged.

    His expression changed, having suddenly sensed something different. ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Yu Zijian noticed that and asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Fu Qingjin shook his head and sent his soul sense into the Green Ruins sword, but his brows gradually became furrowed.

    Suddenly, warm sunlight flowed into the room, and Ji Xuanri walked him. He was completely immersed in the morning sunlight such that he seemed friendly even at first glance. He asked gently, ¡°Qingjin, are you better?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve come, first senior brother!¡± Yu Zijian stood up. She respected this first senior brother very much.

    ¡°Senior brother Xuanri, I don¡¯t feel too well, so please forgive my rudeness.¡± Fu Qingjin sat in bed and clasped his hands with a smile.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry then, seeing how you are fine. Swords can break, but the heart cannot. Don¡¯t worry. Even if I have to do everything that I can, I¡¯ll help you recover your cultivation. You can accept these pills for now.¡±

    Ji Xuanri patted Fu Qingjin on the shoulder and took out many porcelain bottles. They were all pills and medicines at the apex of the world, not just bestowed upon him by the Sword Collection palace, but also from Ji Xuanri¡¯s personal supply.

    ¡°Thank you, first senior brother.¡±

    Yu Zijian warmed up inside. In her eyes, this care and concern for one another exactly happened to be the charm of the Sword Collection palace, while the first senior brother right before her was a spitting example of this. Swords might have been devoid of emotion, but people had emotions.

    Fu Qingjin nodded gently, but he did not open the sumeru ring. Yu Zijian helped him accept the pills in a hurry.

    Fu Qingjin suddenly said, ¡°Senior brother, I want to go out for a stroll.¡±

    ¡°Right now?¡± Ji Xuanri said in surprise.

    ¡°My body is like a set of ruins. I can use this opportunity to comprehend the Green Ruins swords intent. When I was injured last time, my cultivation progressed drastically.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s too dangerous,¡± said Ji Xuanri.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have Zijian to protect me. The Dark Queen probably won¡¯t come again. This is a path of slaughter, the path of the sword, so how can I go without facing any danger at all?¡± Fu Qingjin was extremely feeble, but his eyes were extremely determined.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Ji Xuanri considered it for a good moment before still agreeing in the end. He left behind another stack of talismans. ¡°Though, it¡¯s best if you recover first. I¡¯m not going to disturb your rest then.¡±

    When Ji Xuanri stepped out of the door, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked back. He gave Fu Qingjin and Yu Zijian another gentle smile before flying off on his sword.

    Fu Qingjin tailed Ji Xuanri with his eyes as he vanished. Yu Zijian beside him said in praise, ¡°First senior brother is such a good person!¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Fu Qingjin nodded. Before last night, he also believed that. Ji Xuanri had basically been the figure of an elder brother to his junior brothers and sisters, but now, he felt a hint of doubt. Was everything really as it seemed on the surface?

    ¡°Senior brother, when do we set off?¡± Yu Zijian asked.

    ¡°Right now,¡± said Fu Qingjin.

    ¡°We¡¯re in such a hurry?¡± Yu Zijian was surprised.

    ¡°I can¡¯t miss out on this fantastic opportunity. Can you protect me, Zijian?¡± Fu Qingjin smiled.

    ¡°I can!¡± Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes shone brightly.

    Fu Qingjin gazed at the woman before him with a smile. She had gone from weak to strong, while her thoughts had become much sharper and more mature too, but there always just seemed to be something that had not changed. He glanced at the Violet Clouds swords behind her and thought to himself, I will protect you too, even if it costs me this life of mine.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Yu Zijian took out a tiny, delicate paper boat and tossed it into the air gently. The paper boat expanded to the size of a regular boat, hovering in the air. Yu Zijian carefully helped Fu Qingjin onto the boat.

    ¡°This must be a machine by the mohists! Where did you get it from?¡± Fu Qingjin asked curiously.

    ¡°A friend from the Clear River prefecture gave it to me. It¡¯s very interesting, isn¡¯t it? Lie down well, senior brother. We¡¯re setting off!¡± Yu Zijian sat down on the nose of the boat, and the boat glided down from the mountain peak, delivered into the distance by the mountain gales.

    On the Heaven Leaning peak, Ji Xuanri watched all of this unfold, waving his hand with a smile. Only when the small boat left the Sword Collection palace did his smile gradually fade away. He said without looking back, ¡°Mother, Qingjin seems to have sensed it.¡±

    ¡°If he¡¯s sensed it, then let him sense it! They¡¯re still incapable of changing anything.¡± The Light Queen leaned against a pillar, standing in the shade. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for that Li Qingshan, would you really have let that bitch go?¡±

    Ji Xuanri smiled. ¡°The Umbral Yin sect is not our enemy!¡±

    ps£º »¹ÓÐ£¡

 Chapter 1038: Elders of Heaven and Earth

    The moment Li Qingshan set foot in the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth, the landscape before him twisted and changed. What he saw was no longer a towering pavilion, but an entire world.

    Below the blue skies and white clouds, above the thick earth, mountains and rivers, birds, beasts, fish, and insects wandered freely. There was anything and everything.

    Li Qingshan arrived before a small, clear stream. The gentle breeze made the green grass sway as the stream gurgled away, emanating with ripples of light under the sunlight. A few red carp swam around in an extremely lively manner.

    Li Qingshan thought of something and crouched down, plucking a blade of grass. The moment its roots broke, the grass suddenly turned into a strand of extremely thin sword qi, shooting towards Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead. It actually resembled sword qi produced by a supreme swordsman.

    ¡°Interesting!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and exhaled, causing the sword qi to shift to one side.

    However, by plucking the grass, he seemed to have set off the entire world. The wild grass grew frantically, turning into endless sword qi that surged towards Li Qingshan. They were filled with an endless, profound sword intent.

    Li Qingshan leapt up gently, arriving in the middle of the air.

    The red carp in the stream suddenly leapt out of the water, turning into a streak of red sword qi that swam towards him. It was highly flexible and intelligent, possessing another form of sword intent.

    Li Qingshan swung his hand to knock away the sword qi.

    In that moment, the stream, the grass, the trees, the flowers, the birds, the fish, and the insects all sprang alive, turning into thousands of strands of colourful sword qi and displaying various forms of sword intent.

    Even the drizzle from the sky turned into a sword as it swayed with the wind. It was either endless, flexible, or heavy, taking on many more forms than words could describe.

    It was as if he had entered a sword¡¯s world. Everything there could turn into swords, and they also hid profound sword intent.

    Are they thinking of doing it here? Li Qigshan surged with demon qi and forced back the layers upon layers of sword qi.

    ¡°Damn it! What is this place!?¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower roared furiously.

    ¡°I want to find out too! Be quiet for now. I might have to use you later.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. Clearly, this place was not just for studying swordsmanship. Perhaps this was the trap that the palace master had set up for him, the realisation of that ill intent. However, he did not sense any life-threatening danger so far.

    If they wanted to kill him with an ambush like this, they were dreaming.

    Afterwards, he saw it. Even the white clouds drifting through the sky and the continuous chain of mountains in the distance were composed of boundless sword qi. One was wispy and hazy, while the other was heavy and firm.

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Apparition of the Battle Demon!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s demon qi surged into the air, gathering and condensing into a vicious battle demon. With a swing of his right arm, a huge blade appeared, which began to dance about.

    Violent blade qi shredded the sky full of sword qi, slashing through the mountains and the white clouds. Even the world began to pale!

    ¡°You use the blade!¡± A surprised voice rang out from the sky.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you practise the path of the sword?¡± A voice immediately responded from beneath the ground.

    The two voices were just as old, except one was clear and one was heavy, like heaven and earth.

    As the two voices rang out, the evolving sword qi in the surroundings turned back into creatures and the landscape. The world returned to how it was before. Even the blade of grass that Li Qingshan pulled out had regrown, swaying about gently.

    ¡°You must be the Sword Collection palace¡¯s Elders of Heaven and Earth!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s understanding of the Sword Collection palace was limited, but he still possessed some knowledge regarding their great sword cultivators that stood at the apex. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had the four guardian kings, while the Sword Collection palace had three great sword cultivators. Apart from the palace master, they were the Elders of Heaven and Earth.

    The Elders of Heaven and Earth did not seem to possess any killing intent. Was this not a trap that the palace master had set up?

    ¡°Kid, since you know who we are, then why don¡¯t you state your identity?¡± Earth elder Di said.

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Qingshan, a new honoured guest elder of the Sword Collection palace,¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands before lowering them again. ¡°Though, don¡¯t tell me you actually don¡¯t know?¡± He refused to believe the palace master had not contacted them about this.

    ¡°So what if we do know? So what if we don¡¯t?¡± Heaven elder Tian said.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t really matter if you do or don¡¯t. What is this place?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Inside the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth,¡± said elder Di.

    ¡°The Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth,¡± said elder Tian.

    ¡°Then may I ask where I can view the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Everything you see is the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth. However, the number of sword moves you can comprehend will depend on your ability,¡± said elder Di.

    ¡°Since you use the blade, then it¡¯s useless even if you¡¯ve come here,¡± said elder Di.

    ¡°Then I better just leave!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Hold on. Since you¡¯re here already, just try comprehending it!¡± ¡°Since you could pull out the Soul Cycling sword, it means you have a destiny with the sword. The path of the sword spans far and wide. It¡¯s well beyond what any blade style can match.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought to himself, If I told this to the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower, she¡¯ll probably leap out immediately and butcher you two old posers.

    Compared to some nonsense like having a destiny with the sword, he trusted his own instincts more. However, he was surprised by how eager the Elders of Heaven and Earth were for an outsider like him to comprehend the ultimate techniques of the Sword Collection palace.

    Li Qingshan pondered, Just what is the palace master thinking? Looking at it right now, he¡¯s clearly trying everything he can to befriend and rope me in, so where do his ill intentions reside exactly? The Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth is quite wondrous, worthy of comprehension. It¡¯ll definitely be of great benefit to Xiao An¡¯s path of the sword.

    As a result, he said, ¡°Since you¡¯ve demonstrated such sincerity, I¡¯ll try and comprehend it.¡±

    The Elders of Heaven and Earth fell silent. They had been rendered speechless by his shamelessness.

    ¡°Oh right, may I ask how many moves the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth possesses?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°No one knows. No one has been able to comprehend all the sword moves in here,¡± said elder Tian.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to seek perfection. Just comprehending half the sword moves is enough for you to wander the world freely with a sword,¡± said elder Di.

    ¡°Then may I ask just how many sword moves you¡¯ve comprehended?¡±

    ¡°Two thousand, one hundred and forty two moves.¡± ¡°One thousand, nine hundred and fifty one moves.¡±

    The two elders replied at the same time rather proudly. They spent most of their time in secluded cultivation within the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth, so they understood the depth and wonders of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth more than anyone else. The difficulty in comprehending it to the limit was what made the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth most attractive.

    Li Qingshan suddenly began to laugh aloud.

    ¡°Kid, what are you laughing for?¡± elder Di asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing at the uselessness of the Sword Collection palace!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    ¡°How bold of you!¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± The two elders flew into a rage.

    ¡°Why else would all of you fail to learn a complete set of sword moves?¡± Li Qingshan did not spare any opportunity to mock these posers.

    ¡°You arrogant, ignorant bladesman! How would you know the wonders of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth?¡± ¡°All this talk is useless. Let¡¯s see how many sword moves you can comprehend!¡±

    ¡°Whatever. So be it. Justet me tell you how many sword moves there are in the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth exactly!¡±

 Chapter 1039: Three Thousand Sword Moves

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes slowly, and his sea of consciousness settled down, without a single ripple anymore.

    When it came to comprehension, he had never believed this was a field he was particularly strong in. When he first saw the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, he could not understand it at all. Instead, Xiao An had comprehended a set of sword moves before teaching it to him.

    However, through his observations from earlier, he discovered that studying the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth did not require comprehension, but deduction.

    The two often seemed similar, but they actually had differences down to their very essence.

    Comprehension was the flash of inspiration when the apple fell on the head, while deduction was a large quantity of calculations, eliminations, and experimentations. While the final objective of the two were the same, to find the correct answer, the abilities they required were actually different.

    When the Great Banyan Tree King comprehended the laws of the world through the Mist Province cauldron, he used his tremendous number of cuttings for deduction. It did not rely on his ability to comprehend.

    No one could comprehend the entire set of sword moves within the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth; it was not because the Sword Collection palace was actually useless¡ªover the past several thousand years, who knew how many startlingly talented figures they had produced, so how could absolutely none of them possess an outstanding ability to comprehend? Xiao An¡¯s ability to comprehend was outstanding, but it had not reached the level where it was unprecedented yet¡ªinstead, the complexity of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth had exceeded the limits of what a person could deduce.

    When it came to deduction, Li Qingshan was filled with confidence. This was the spirit turtle¡¯s forte!

    He silently criculated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. His sea of consciousness reflected the entire Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth as he began his deductions.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, and he grasped a gentle wisp of wind.

    ¡°The first move of the sword manual!¡±

    The Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth that had returned to peace moments prior began to surge once more, but this time, it was around Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s arm moved around gently. The breeze in his hand drifted about, sometimes mellow and sometimes turbulent, constantly changing about.

    ¡°The second move. The third move. The fourth move¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan began to dance about. The entire Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth began to dance as well.

    The grass grew, the stream gurgled, the carp leapt out of the water, and the pebbles lay in silence.

    Every single form, every single feature of the landscape, contained a sword move.

    A while later, Li Qingshan had deduced five hundred and thirty eight moves.

    The Elders of Heaven and Earth were dumbfounded. Back then, it had taken them over a year to comprehend that many sword moves, yet now, an outsider who was not even a sword cultivator had deduced all of them in a short while. It was virtually beyond their imaginations.

    Heaven elder Tian said, ¡°Junior brother, you don¡¯t have to be too surprised. He¡¯s already at the third heavenly tribulation, an entire realm higher than us back then. Who knows how many times faster his soul sense works, so he can obviously comprehend these simple sword moves particularly quickly. This is only the beginning.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, senior brother. The sword moves of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth become more profound and obscure as you go. He¡¯ll learn his lesson very soon.¡±

    Sure enough, when he reached the seven hundred and sixty seventh move, Li Qingshan¡¯s movement gradually slowed down, but they remained as smooth as before, like flowing water.

    He pushed the deductive powers of the spirit turtle to the limit. Compared to the unfathomable, unpredictable strands of fate, the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth hidden within the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth was not particularly complicated.

    Elder Di asked in surprise, ¡°What are his origins? How can he comprehend so quickly? Even great cultivators can¡¯t comprehend that quickly!¡±

    Elder Tian said in doubt, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s a natural sword cultivator prodigy?¡±

    Elder Di responded with a question, ¡°Then what does that make us?¡±

    Elder Tian was unable to answer him. Were any of those who became great sword cultivators not sword cultivator prodigies? They even happened to be among the best of the best.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep watching. He¡¯ll encounter a great bottleneck very soon. Right now, the sword moves he¡¯s comprehending are merely the basics among the basics.¡±

    When Li Qingshan comprehended a thousand and one moves, his movements suddenly halted, as he had already comprehended all of the most basic elements that comprised this Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth, ranging from as small as a blade of grass and a droplet of dew to as large as a white cloud and a mountain.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I do admit that you¡¯re a part of our path of the sword. Your name can basically be written into the Sword Collection palace¡¯s history for comprehending over a thousand sword moves in such a short amount of time.¡± Elder Tian sighed with a sense of delight.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s stop here for today! Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew. These thousand sword moves require a decade at the very least before you can fully grasp them. They¡¯re enough for you to use for the rest of your life,¡± said elder Di.

    ¡°Can the two of you shut up? When others are cultivating, don¡¯t disturb them. You¡¯re already so old, yet you don¡¯t even understand this?¡± Li Qingshan called out rudely.

    ¡°You-¡± The Elders of Heaven and Earth were furious. Even the surroundings responded. It had already been many years since someone last spoke to them like that.

    ¡°You sure know how to take it too far! Then why don¡¯t you keep comprehending? Don¡¯t even think about leaving the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth until you comprehend one thousand, nine hundred and fifty one moves,¡± elder Di said furiously.

    ¡°Stop comparing me to the likes of you!¡± Li Qingshan pondered to himself for a moment and suddenly thought of something. ¡°I got it!¡±

    Li Qingshan began to move again, wielding his fingers like a sword and pointing them at the sky.

    Rumble!

    A bolt of lightning sliced through the air, and the clouds surged and amassed. Gentle drizzle fell down, gathering as streams. The streams seeped into the earth, allowing the vegetation to grow and thrive. The tiny insects hidden within the soil crawled onto the leaves and branches, letting out their various cries.

    It was all thanks to the inspiration from the Elders of Heaven and Earth when they attacked him to test him. Just gathering the basic elements could not be regarded as a world. The elements had to work together as well to create even more things.

    As a result, he disturbed, reassembled, and derived¡­

    After bringing in these changes, the deductions multiplied in difficulty. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s movements never stopped despite being slow.

    The spirit turtle was calm to the limit and also patient to the limit, deducing it move by move.

    The two elders could no longer say anything. They could not help but call out inside, A little slower! A little slower!

    However, Li Qingshan completely ignored how they felt. Before long, he had exceeded the one thousand, nine hundred and fifty first move that elder Di had mentioned. A few days later, he surpassed elder Tian¡¯s two thousand, one hundred and forty second move.

    The Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth began to demonstrate changes that even the two elders had never seen before.

    The sun rose and fell. The moon vanished, and the stars shifted. Cold frost layered the ground as winter snow descended.

    Apart from the most basic cycle of life, Li Qingshan had drawn in the four seasons as well.

    The two elders no longer had any more thoughts. They only watched blankly as everything unfolded. What happened next was like a dream to them. One moment ago, it had been a remote desert, yet now, it was the raging waves of the ocean.

    Li Qingshan was like a god, standing in the centre of the world and controlling everything as he wished. Whether it was the frigidness of glaciers or the intensity of erupting volcanoes, they all contained profound sword moves.

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes, and the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth shattered. He stood in a gloomy, towering hall with two sword-wielding old men sitting nearby, staring at him blankly. Their mouths hung wide open as if they were completely unaware of that.

    Li Qingshan set foot outside the pavilion and only left behind three words that echoed through the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth.

    ¡°Three thousand moves!¡±

 Chapter 1040: Refined the Sword or Not

    How many days had passed outside the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth was a mystery. The sun continued to shine.

    Everything that happened in the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth was like a dream. Li Qingshan glanced at his hands. That feeling of being able to control everything was truly enthralling. It was no wonder the Elders of Heaven and Earth would hole up inside.

    He took in all three thousand sword moves. The wonders behind their change and the miracles behind their evolution widened his horizons. The standard it was on was no less than the bladesmanship that the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End possessed.

    This was probably the strongest sword style this World of the Nine Provinces could come in touch with. Once unleashed, it was enough to overwhelm the world.

    Of course, who knew how much more time it would take to truly master the sword moves, but it would definitely be much easier for him than the Elders of Heaven and Earth, as he possessed the full sword manual. There was an intrinsic difference compared to comprehension where they were only feeling their way around.

    Though, who exactly left behind the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth?

    Li Qingshan had a vague guess. When he deduced the three thousand sword moves, he could sense a connection to the sword intent within the Three Absolutes Calligraphy. They took completely different forms, but they achieved the same effect.

    As a result, he brought the swordsmanship he had learnt from the Three Absolutes Calligraphy into the deduction process, and sure enough, they corresponded with one another. That was why he managed to completely deduce all three thousand sword moves in such a short time.

    The Five Absolutes Immortal had sure left a deep mark in the Green province. Li Qingshan glanced backwards. Don¡¯t tell me?

    ¡°Congratulations on comprehending the supreme swordsmanship within the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, fellow!¡±

    The master of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s gaze was rather mixed as well. As the palace master, he had only comprehended up to the one thousand, seven hundred and fifty first move. Meanwhile, the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri behind him changed in expression, feeling both surprised and annoyed, as well as some disbelief.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t seem particularly difficult. Have the three of you been specially waiting for me here?¡±

    Li Qingshan was very confused. No matter what the Sword Collection palace was scheming, five great sword cultivators working together combined with the protective sword formation made even Northmoon dying here a possibility, while the strength he had demonstrated the entire time was limited to a Demon King¡¯s. Did they have to offer up benefits to him again and again like this?

    Under the circumstance where their strength formed a drastic difference, what was the point of a scheme? Or were they after even more than that?

    ¡°Qingshan, I do have a personal request. Could you record the three thousand sword moves?¡± Ji Xuanri asked eagerly. The palace master and Light Queen were thinking about this too.

    This was the greatest difference between comprehending all of the sword moves and comprehending just a part of the sword moves. It was basically impossible for the latter to pass on these moves, as the process of derivation and evolution was far too complicated in the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth. Apart from the most basic sword moves, every sword cultivator would have their own experiences and comprehensions when they arrived at the stage of merging them together. None of the paths they took would be completely the same. At most, they could cross-verify with one another.

    Only at the very peak could they take in everything as a single view. Only when they understood all the moves could they pass it onto others. That was not possible even if a single move was missing.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not a problem. What can I do about the fact that I¡¯m an honoured guest elder of the Sword Collection palace? If it weren¡¯t for the palace master¡¯s generosity, I would have never been able to study this Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth,¡± Li Qingshan said with great generosity.

    The palace master¡¯s eyes lit up, and his lips curled. Not only could a complete Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth allow his cultivation to progress drastically, but it would also bring a qualitative change to the Sword Collection palace¡¯s overall strength too.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you, Qingshan,¡± said Ji Xuanri.

    Then Li Qingshan burst their bubble. ¡°Though, I¡¯m not a sword cultivator after all. So far, I¡¯ve only deduced a rough approximation of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth. I have to master it first before I can summarise the profound sword style within. If I have to write out the entire sword style on paper, probably even ten thousand pages won¡¯t be enough. It¡¯s definitely not something I can complete overnight either. If I make any mistakes or miss anything when I¡¯m in a rush, that would be horrible of me.¡±

    Li Qingshan brushed them aside with a serious demeanour. He clearly knew they were hostile towards him, and yet he would still give them a set of supreme sword moves? That was something only an idiot would do. This was perfect for stringing them along too, so the palace master would have some qualms and reconsider whatever scheme he had in mind.

    The palace master frowned. He could tell how Li Qingshan was trying to shirk away from this responsibility, which left him very displeased, except Li Qingshan¡¯s excuse made perfect sense. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. On top of that, since he hoped Li Qingshan would leave behind the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, he could not press him too far.

    ¡°Then take your time with the comprehension, fellow. Hopefully, you succeed soon. By then, you can become a true great elder of our Sword Collection palace!¡±

    ¡°Bear in mind, I¡¯m a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The status of great elders in the Sword Collection palace was no less than the palace master himself. They even surpassed him slightly, able to determine the overall trajectory of the entire sect. They possessed much more authority than guest elders. The palace master actually wanted an outsider like him to become one?

    ¡°You¡¯re just a secular disciple. I¡¯m sure our Sword Collection palace will be much more open-minded than the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga,¡± said the palace master, hinting at something.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be a day like that.¡± Li Qingshan smiled inside. The three thousand swords moves sure are attractive.

    ¡­¡­

    In the tall pavilion, the lighting was a little dim. Dust particles floated through the air.

    Li Qingshan walked between the tall, heavy bookshelves, rapidly flipping through the books before closing them again, picking up the jade slips one by one before placing them down again.

    The Sword Collection pavilion¡ªthis was the place where most disciples of the Sword Collection palace studied the sword. It was the foundation of the Sword Collection palace.

    Only swordsmasters and elders who had undergone the second heavenly tribulation were allowed to enter the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth. Many disciples of the Sword Collection palace would never set foot inside this place for their entire lives.

    After deducing the three thousand swords moves, Li Qingshan really had become slightly tempted to pick up the path of the sword again. The Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth had been temptingly powerful, but the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower simply refused to let him refine the Soul Cycling sword.

    Li Qingshan could only give up. After all, while the Soul Cycling sword was a renowned sword, it could not compare to the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End yet. The latter was regarded as a renowned blade even in the Asura realm.

    But regardless, the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth had still been worth comprehending, even if it was only to teach it to Xiao An. Meanwhile, he did not spend too much time on the most complete system for sword cultivators in the Sword Collection pavilion either with his deductive abilities.

    Li Qingshan passed through another row of bookshelves and suddenly saw a familiar figure standing with his back to the light at the end of the aisle. He was a handsome man, currently smiling at him.

    ¡°Chengzan!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Qingshan, long time no see! Or should I call you honoured guest elder?¡± Hua Chengzan walked over. He carried a sword on his back, which made him seem a little more graceful.

    ¡°You¡¯ve undergone the second heavenly tribulation too. You really are the greatest genius of the Clear River prefecture.¡± Li Qingshan patted his shoulders with a smile.

    ¡°Stop making fun of me. Compared to you, what kind of genius am I supposed to be? It¡¯s all thanks to the sword on my back that I managed to achieve this cultivation. It can¡¯t compare to your renowned Soul Cycling sword, but it¡¯s also a rare, treasured sword¡­¡± Hua Chengzan said slowly, but he never mentioned his sword¡¯s name.

    Li Qingshan thought of something. Someone seemed to have asked him that before!

 Chapter 1041: Shadow

    ¡°Not yet. I plan on refining the Soul Cycling sword once I get a good grasp over the path of the sword. What, is it a problem?¡±

    Li Qingshan gripped the hilt of the Soul Cycling sword. The icy-cool sensation was extremely comfortable in his hand. He had almost become somewhat convinced that he truly had a destiny with the Soul Cycling sword.

    Hua Chengzan said, ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. That works too! Given your strength, it doesn¡¯t really matter whether you have a sword or not anyway.¡±

    ¡°Junior brother Hua, so you¡¯re here too!¡± Ji Xuanri¡¯s voice suddenly rang out as he stepped into the gloomy Sword Collection pavilion with a warm smile.

    ¡°First senior brother.¡± Hua Chengzan lowered his head and bowed. The hand in his sleeve trembled slightly.

    ¡°You¡¯re both old friends. If I¡¯m not busy, I¡¯d definitely invite the two of you to a drink.¡± Ji Xuanri nodded towards Hua Chengzan and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Qingshan, have you heard?¡±

    ¡°Heard what?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ve just received the news that the One Will master has already been granted the title of Monk King. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga will be holding a conferment ceremony on Great Buddha mountain. They¡¯ve invited cultivators from across the Green province. I¡¯ve been invited too.¡±

    Ji Xuanri walked over and glanced at Hua Chengzan for some reason. Hua Chengzan¡¯s hand stopped trembling again.

    ¡°So soon!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He understood that this probably was not only for the sake of celebrating Xiao An¡¯s achievements, or it would have never been so hurried. They were probably using this opportunity to discuss their plan against the Soaring Locust King together, just in case they startled him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve spent quite a few days in the Pavilion of Heaven and Earth. Looks like you knew already. If I recall correctly, you¡¯re the One Will Monk King¡¯s cultivation partner! I¡¯m basically filled with admiration with how quickly you cultivate.¡± Ji Xuanri smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind. When do you plan on setting off?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Probably today. Would you like to come along with us?¡± Ji Xuanri asked.

    ¡°Probably not. You can go first! I¡¯ll spend a little more time reading here. The breadth and depth of the knowledge in the Sword Collection pavilion is simply tremendous. I¡¯d also like to catch up with Chengzan.¡± Li Qingshan gazed at Hua Chengzan beside him.

    ¡°Fair enough. Then you should stay here and study the sword techniques first! Oh right, junior brother Hua, come to the Heaven Leaning peak. The palace master has some things to pass onto the swordsmasters and elders of the various peaks before he leaves,¡± said Ji Xuanri.

    ¡°Yes, senior brother!¡± Hua Chengzan followed the orders and made his way out of the pavilion. Right when he was about to step out, he glanced back and smiled. ¡°Qingshan, don¡¯t refine the sword.¡±

    The sunlight illuminated his face, rendering it half light and half dark. It outlined his handsome figure, which was filled with ease and joy.

    Ji Xuanri¡¯s eyes narrowed. His warm smile stiffened on his face.

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan followed up closely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re particularly suited for the path of the sword. You should try a blade instead,¡± said Hua Chengzan.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go get a drink together!¡± Li Qingshan rushed over and placed his hand onto Hua Chengzan¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Maybe at night! It¡¯s been so many years since I last saw you. I also want to have a good talk with you.¡±

    Hua Chengzan waved his hand with a smile and stepped outside, entering the charming sunlight.

    Li Qingshan was about to go after him when Ji Xuanri blocked his path, shaking his head with a smile. ¡°Junior brother Hua is overly intelligent. He just likes to make decisions for himself sometimes.¡±

    ¡°Really? Or is there something wrong with the Soul Cycling sword?¡±

    With a clang, Li Qingshan drew the Soul Cycling sword and pointed it at Ji Xuanri¡¯s throat.

    ¡°I heard that Li Qingshan is someone who keeps clear tabs on his debts. Our Sword Collection palace has only treated you kindly, not only making you an honoured guest elder, but even allowing you to comprehend the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth. Is this how you pay us back?¡± Ji Xuanri questioned.

    ¡°Clear tabs on my debts!¡± Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°That¡¯s correct, I do keep clear tabs on my debts. When others show me a droplet of kindness, I will obviously show a spring of support. I can serve as an honoured guest elder of the Sword Collection palace, and I can write out the Sword Collection Manual for you. Even refining the Soul Cycling sword isn¡¯t an issue. However, no matter what you¡¯re up to, I¡¯d advise you to give up on it. I¡¯m not an enemy that you¡¯d like!¡±

    ¡°You should believe that what I want is a friend, not an enemy. As for whether you write the sword manual or not, or refine the Soul Cycling sword or not, that¡¯s completely up to you. I won¡¯t force you to do anything.¡± Ji Xuanri moved the sword aside gently.

    Li Qingshan sheathed the sword. This was the Sword Collection palace. He could begin a great battle recklessly, but he had to take Hua Chengzan¡¯s safety into consideration. Hua Chengzan had clearly come to warn him despite the great risk. Once he fell out with them, there would be no more room for reconciliation.

    Ji Xuanri turned around and took his leave gracefully. Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts for a moment and gripped the Soul Cycling sword, drawing out a portion of it again. It was as thin as the wings of a cicada, filled with moonlight.

    Is the sword where the Sword Collection palace¡¯s scheme lies? Whatever. No matter what, I have to protect Hua Chengzan first! Li Qingshan thought.

    Right when he was about to leave the Sword Collection pavilion and catch up with Hua Chengzan, there was a flash of light before his eyes, which wove into a wall.

    Streaks of light rushed over from the various peaks, converging above the Sword Collection peak in the sky. A beam of light shot down from the Sword Collection peak, enveloping the Sword Collection pavilion and sealing Li Qingshan inside.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°The audacity!¡±

    A while later, there was a great rumble, and the beam of light from the Sword Collection peak twisted and shattered. The Sword Collection pavilion, which had stood for several thousand years, was reduced to countless splinters, spraying out in all directions.

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the ruins with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End placed before him. He looked around, but there was no ambush like he had been imagining.

    The surroundings were peaceful. Only thousands of pages fluttered through the air like great snow.

    He raised his head and glanced at the Sword Collection peak. Clearly, the might of the protective sword formation had not been completely unleashed.

    Just what is the palace master thinking? Did he only want to trap me here for a moment?

    Li Qingshan expanded his soul sense and searched around, but he was unable to find Hua Chengzan¡¯s aura.

    ¡­¡­

    Beneath the Heaven Leaning peak, swords glimmered as sword qi rampaged about.

    Li Xiaoyao currently concentrated on circulating his true qi as hard as he could as he powered the sword in his hand. He was involved in a serious spar with his seniors and juniors.

    After they heard a great rumble, everyone stood and looked in the direction of the Sword Collection pavilion.

    Li Xiaoyao looked over, before continuing with his training. Suddenly, a large figure appeared before him. ¡°Where is Hua Chengzan¡¯s dwelling?¡±

    Li Xiaoyao was taken aback. He had never expected Li Qingshan to appear before him out of his own accord and strike up a conversation with him.

    Everyone lowered their swords and bowed in a hurry. ¡°Honoured guest elder!¡±

    ¡°Honoured guest elder, elder Hua has left with the palace master and everyone else,¡± Li Xiaoyao said politely.

    ¡°Did any other elders and swordmasters accompany them?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank as he questioned closely.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    ¡°Damn it!¡± Li Qingshan cursed.

    It was basically impossible for anyone but great cultivators to be involved in the plan against the Soaring Locust King, and if it were only an ordinary ceremony, there was even less reason to take Hua Chengzan along with them.

    ¡°Honoured guest elder, is something wrong?¡± Li Xiaoyao could not help but ask. Hua Chengzan had shown him much care over the years, so he was obviously concerned for him too.

    ¡°Which peak is Yu Zijian on?¡±

    Li Qingshan then learnt that Yu Zijian had gone out travelling with Fu Qingjin, which made his frown deepen even more. Fu Qingjin had suffered such heavy wounds, so what was he doing travelling outside instead of staying in the Sword Collection palace and recuperating?

    A shadow was cast over his mind. Li Qingshan made up his mind. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll pay a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and see just what kind of tricks you¡¯re trying to use!¡±

    ps£º ºô£¬¸Ð¾õºÃÀÛ°¡£¬²»¹ý»¹Òª¼ÌÐø£¬ÇóÖ§³Ö£¬Çó¹ÄÀø£¬ÇóÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 1042: Do You Know Your Crimes?

    Li Qingshan looked around, only to see the confused Li Xiaoyao. He had decided a long time ago to end this tie, but the feeling of their connected bloodline could not be severed. He recalled how the name ¡°Xiaoyao¡± came from his horrible tastes, so he said, ¡°Come with me!¡±

    ¡°Me? To where?¡± Li Xiaoyao pointed at himself.

    ¡°What¡¯re you asking so many questions for? I saw that you possess a bit of talent, so I want to take you out for training!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed Li Xiaoyao by the shoulder and flew off. The protective sword formation no longer obstructed him, so they vanished into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

    The group of disciples were dumbfounded. They had no idea what had just happened. The short, plump man sighed. ¡°Sigh, Xiaoyao is really in luck. He¡¯s actually caught the honoured guest elder¡¯s eye. Sigh, why don¡¯t I have that kind of luck?¡±

    ¡°Honoured guest elder, where are we going for training?¡±

    Li Xiaoyao had arrived at such a high altitude for the first time in his life. He only saw the landscape on the ground rapidly changing beneath him. Apart from an instinctive sensation of fear, he also felt an irrepressible sense of excitement inside.

    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± With a twist, Li Qingshan descended rapidly.

    At first, Li Xiaoyao felt the world spin around him before the ground flew right into his face. He could not help but pale in fright. He felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

    With a thud, Li Qingshan landed on the ground, only kicking up some dust.

    Li Xiaoyao threw himself onto the ground, still feeling like the world was spinning around him. It took him quite a moment to recover. He looked around at the surroundings, but all he discovered was they were at the foot of a barren mountain. It did not even seem as precipitous as the mountains in the Sword Collection palace.

    ¡°Honoured guest elder, where are we right now?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me honoured guest elder!¡± Li Qingshan called out. He had basically grown completely sick of that term of reference now.

    ¡°Then¡­ s- senior!¡± Li Xiaoyao shivered inside and felt his knees buckle slightly. It was basically even more terrifying than flying through the sky.

    ¡°Why¡¯re you so afraid? Am I supposed to eat you?¡± Li Qingshan said with displeasure.

    However, Li Qingshan had forgotten about the fact that he was furious right now. He was surrounded in the fierceness and ruthlessness of a Daemon King and Demon King unknowingly, which was truly enough to frighten people to death.

    If it were not for the fact that Li Xiaoyao believed this uncle of his would not harm him, he probably would have turned around and fled a long time ago. He gritted his teeth and said with a trembling voice, ¡°No, you won¡¯t!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°You know who I am to you. Maintaining your distance from me is not a bad thing for you. You¡¯ll understand in the future. Anyways, the Sword Collection palace is not a good place. Don¡¯t go back.¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± Li Xiaoyao cried out.

    All Li Xiaoyao ever wanted to be was a swordsman. He had joined the Sword Collection palace after so much difficulty and lasted for all these decades. He was just about to pull out a sword from the Sword Collection peak, yet he had been asked to never return. That was basically like killing him.

    Before he could object or plead with him, a huge hand that resembled a dark cloud loomed over him, grabbing him by the head.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re lucky today! Originally, you might not even be able to come into contact with this Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth even in a thousand years¡¯ time, but I¡¯m passing it onto you now. How much you can comprehend will depend on your own ability.¡±

    The various combinations and changes in the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth were reflected in Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness, which he directly imprinted onto Li Xiaoyao¡¯s mind.

    Li Xiaoyao convulsed like he was being electrocuted. Unimaginable pain shot right through his body as if an entire world had been squeezed in against his will, making his body and soul swell up to a thousand times their original size. He felt like his head was about to explode. He wanted to faint, but it was also terrifyingly clear, allowing him to closely sense every single shred of pain.

    In reality, if Li Qingshan had not suppressed him with the spirit turtle, he would have directly blown up on the spot.

    As for whether Li Xiaoyao would directly go insane, that was not within Li Qingshan¡¯s considerations. Such a great fortune had fallen into his lap. If he could not even withstand this little bit of suffering, then he could go and die!

    It hurts! Let me die! Li Xiaoyao wailed out inside.

    Li Xiaoyao truly wanted to die. Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept past his face. He was like a person coming across a droplet of dew when they were about to die from thirst in the desert. It was not enough to save his life, but it did bring him great comfort.

    He tried gathering his focus on it, and in a daze, he saw the flow of sword qi. His mind shuddered.

    Even without talent, even without an affinity for comprehension, this was what he loved the most, the sword!

    Like the rainbow light refracted by a droplet of dew, his mind gradually absorbed the endless wonders within, allowing him to withstand this pain.

    The first move of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth!

    The three thousand sword moves appeared one by one. Li Qingshan used a method of absolute crudeness to directly imprint the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth onto Li Xiaoyao¡¯s mind.

    Li Xiaoyao felt like ten thousand years had just passed, except the sun continued to shine in the sky, only shifting by a tiny amount.

    Li Qingshan removed his hand, and Li Xiaoyao immediately collapsed on the ground like a wooden puppet with its strings severed. Before he fainted, he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s deep voice. ¡°At least you have a bit of endurance. You haven¡¯t let down your name, Li Xiaoyao. Don¡¯t forget about what I said. Stay away from the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    ¡°Yes, uncle,¡± Li Xiaoyao murmured in reply.

    Li Qingshan smiled, but the smile immediately vanished soon after. He looked up in the direction of Great Buddha mountain. He had a feeling that the conferment ceremony this time would be anything but peaceful.

    Of course, something had happened every single time he returned to Great Buddha mountain, but what exactly was waiting for him this time?

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Because it was a peaceful land of buddhist cultivation, there were no splendid decorations. It had just been cleaned carefully. However, the monks and disciples were all filled with joy. Ever since the Soaring Locust King escaped from the Demon Suppression hall, the entire mountain had been shrouded in dark clouds.

    Under the Soaring Locust King¡¯s vengeful attacks, the news of fallen colleagues constantly rang through their ears. Countless lives had died in the mouths of the insects too. The One Lamp monk was not the only one who felt sinful. Every single disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga felt like they were responsible, unable to face their fellow monks and followers.

    But with the birth of a new Monk King, an opening seemed to appear in these dark clouds, finally giving them some relief. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would never be defeated by any danger!

    Three streaks of light shot across the air, landing at the entrance. They turned into the master of the Sword Collection palace, the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri. The monk for reception came up to receive them in a hurry.

    The palace master said loudly, ¡°The Sword Collection palace has come to visit!¡±

    ¡°Welcome, palace master. Please forgive me for failing to welcome you at the entrance. Please come on up!¡± The Dauntless monk¡¯s voice drifted down from the top of the mountain.

    The three of them climbed up the stairs and passed through numerous gates, arriving before the grand hall. All they saw were the four guardian kings gathered together. Even the Unraging monk had changed into a new kasaya, standing there in a jolly mood.

    After greeting one another, the palace master asked, ¡°Where is fellow One Will?¡±

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°One Will is still preparing herself behind the hall. Please spend a moment in the side hall first. The ceremony will begin very soon. She¡¯ll come out to see you all by then.¡±

    The Unraging monk personally led the way for the three of them, bringing them to the eastern side hall. Only then did he bid farewell and take his leave.

    The Light Queen drew her sword, and with a gentle tremble, the blade of the sword vanished. The space there rippled, and Hua Chengzan rolled out.

    The palace master stared at him from above. ¡°Elder Hua, do you know your crimes?¡±

 Chapter 1043: Buried Swords

    The Sword Collection palace, the Breaking Water peak.

    Yin Xiaochou gripped the Breaking Water sword firmly with both hands, pressing his forehead against it as he knelt in his pitch-black dwelling.

    He had already maintained this position for a very, very long time. Fury, humiliation, hatred, and confusion ebbed through his mind like the black tide.

    I¡¯m a sword cultivator prodigy, the successor of a renowned sword, a rising star of hope of the Sword Collection palace. I¡¯ll become a great sword cultivator sooner or later, and I might even become the master of the Sword Collection palace, but why? Why did I lose?

    And he had lost in such a miserable fashion, in front of so many fellow disciples, leaving him utterly humiliated.

    The palace master clearly knew he had already undergone the third heavenly tribulation, so why didn¡¯t he tell me? Why did he make me go through such great humiliation?

    He seemed to be asking himself, yet also asking the Breaking Water sword. The two had merged together a very, very long time ago. His heart was the sword, and the sword was his heart.

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re too weak!¡±A voice suddenly rang out, and the Breaking Water sword thrummed gently. He was unable to tell whether it came from the sword or his heart. He murmured, ¡°I¡¯m too weak?¡±

    He shook his head violently. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already undergone the second heavenly tribulation and become the master of a peak in the Sword Collection palace. How can I still be weak?¡±

    ¡°Weaker than Li Qingshan!¡± the voice said.

    Yin Xiaochou was devastated. The name was like a nightmare, looking down on him from high above and mocking his weakness. He could not even muster the confidence to face him in battle again.

    ¡°What is the path of the sword?¡±

    ¡°Purging demons and upholding justice?¡±

    ¡°Wrong. The sword is a tool for slaughter. There is no good or bad, much less some shitty justice. The sword is cold. The sword is slaughter. The sword looks down on the world and is invincible!¡±

    Yin Xiaochou was left dazed for a moment. He was unable to say anything.

    ¡°You will become even stronger! You will become even stronger! Even stronger than Li Qingshan!¡± the voice roared loudly, and the Breaking Water sword thrummed louder and louder with a strange tone.

    ¡°I will become even stronger! I will become even stronger! Even stronger than Li Qingshan!¡± Yin Xiaochou¡¯s eyes began to light up, cold and sharp.

    ¡°I will kill Li Qingshan!¡± Yin Xiaochou said. He heard his voice merge together with the voice, echoing through the gloomy dwelling.

    If someone else had been present, they would have heard Yin Xiaochou muttering to himself with two different tones.

    ¡­¡­

    A paper boat glided with the winds. Fu Qingjin lay on the boat quietly, staring at the blue sky in a daze.

    At the very front of the boat, Yu Zijian sat with her back towards Fu Qingjin. She leaned against her hand and said without looking back, ¡°Senior brother, what are you thinking about?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking about my childhood. I grew up in the Sword Collection palace. All of my senior and junior brothers were like family to me. The palace master was always so serious, but he would be particularly lenient with me, like a benevolent father. The Light Queen was much more powerful in comparison, such that I feared her since young. She was like a strict mother. Senior brother Xuanri¡­¡±

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s voice was soft and fleeting as if it was about to drift away through the air.

    ¡°Senior brother Xuanri must have been a gentle and kind elder brother! I didn¡¯t grow up in the Sword Collection palace, but I can understand how you feel, senior brother. When I was in the Proud Sword manor, everyone had been like siblings too,¡± Yu Zijian said in a rather cherishing manner.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­¡±

    ¡°Really? Ah! Senior brother, why are you crying? Is it because your wounds hurt? Or because you¡¯re worried you can¡¯t recover your cultivation? Didn¡¯t first senior brother say so already? You¡¯ll definitely be able to recover your cultivation!¡±

    Yu Zijian turned around, only to see Fu Qingjin¡¯s face already strewn with tears. She wiped away his tears in a frantic hurry. She had never seen him so feeble before.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡­¡±

    Fu Qingjin shook his head gently. Compared to his wounds and his destroyed cultivation, there was a much deeper sense of pain and despair that truly ripped away at his heart, chewing up these beautiful memories. He looked back at the broken sword by his hand. He used to always believe that perhaps there were certain things that would not be reduced to ruins.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I only feel a little sad inside. Where are we now? How far away are we from the Sword Collection palace?¡± Fu Qingjin asked. He had been in a daze the entire way, such that he did not even pay attention to their current location and the distance they had covered.

    ¡°We¡¯ve just reached the White Earth prefecture, almost a thousand kilometers away from the Sword Collection palace. This boat flies smoothly, but it¡¯s far too slow. Senior brother, where would you like us to stop?¡±

    Yu Zijian felt very perplexed inside. Fu Qingjin had originally said he had come out to comprehend the Green Ruins sword intent, but he had not stopped at all the entire way.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s stop here!¡± Fu Qingjin said.

    ¡°But there¡¯s only barren land below. There are no ruins at all!¡± Yu Zijian said.

    ¡°Just under that tree will do.¡± Fu Qingjin sat up and pointed at a withered tree on the barren land.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    The tiny boat landed softly, and Fu Qingjin hoisted himself up by leaning on his sword. Yu Zijian wanted to help him, but he pushed her aside.

    ¡°Dig a hole, a deeper one!¡± Fu Qingjin pointed beneath the withered tree.

    ¡°Okay!¡± Yu Zijian drew the Violet Clouds sword. With a gentle flash of violet light, she had dug a deep hole. There were countless broken roots inside, all dead too.

    ¡°So the earth of the White Earth prefecture isn¡¯t white! Give me your sword.¡±

    Fu Qingjin extended his hand, and Yu Zijian placed the Violet Clouds sword in his hand.

    Fu Qingjin gazed at the Green Ruins and Violet Clouds in his hands. He had once believed these were the strings of fate between them, but as it turned out, it was only an illusion too. As a result, he tossed them into the air gently, and the Green Ruins sword and Violet Clouds sword landed in the pit.

    ¡°Senior brother?¡± Yu Zijian widened her eyes, confused by his actions.

    ¡°Sever your connection with the Violet Clouds sword and fill in the hole!¡± Fu Qingjin shut his eyes.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Yu Zijian basically wondered whether Fu Qingjin had lost his mind or not. To sword cultivators, their swords were basically everything, not to mention the fact that these two were renowned swords.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask. I will tell you the reason in the future.¡±

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s voice was extremely feeble but filled with determination.

    If the Green Ruins sword had not been broken, destroying the inherited will inside, if it had not been heavily damaged by the Myriad Ghost Banner, destroying its intelligence, perhaps he never would have discovered this secret.

    ¡°F- fine then!¡± Yu Zijian decided to listen to Fu Qingjin for now. Then she secretly remembered this place so that she could come back and dig up the swords in the future.

    ¡­¡­

    Hua Chengzan supported himself with his right hand as he knelt on one knee. His long hair draped on the ground as he shook his head slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then did you know you¡¯re actually harming him?¡± The master of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s voice was cold and dignified.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Hua Chengzan shook his head again.

    ¡°So much for treating you as someone clever, and so much for how much I nurtured you. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d do something so foolish in the end.¡±

    ¡°Palace master, you¡¯ve been completely overestimating me. If I really were so clever, why would I have come to the Sword Collection palace?¡± Hua Chengzan smiled wryly.

    Ji Xuanri crouched down beside Hua Chengzan and lifted his chin with his hand. He maintained the same, warm smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with pity. ¡°Junior brother Hua, with your talent, it wouldn¡¯t have taken you long before you could stand among our ranks. We never thought you would ruin your own future prospects.¡±

    ¡°By then, will I still be me?¡± Hua Chengzan answered with a question.

 Chapter 1044: Before the Ceremony

    ¡°You¡¯re saying something foolish again. Humans are all constantly changing. If you don¡¯t change, then you¡¯re not a human. Originally, you should have ended up as our most capable helper. Unfortunately, you just made a momentary slip.¡± Ji Xuanri¡¯s face was filled with disappointment.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just a momentary slip. Our paths are completely different altogether.¡± Hua Chengzan shook his head.

    ¡°So be it. I know I can¡¯t convince you, nor do I plan on punishing you. You still are the junior brother that I admire the most after all. However, you¡¯ll have to make up for the problems you¡¯ve created yourself. Don¡¯t forget. This is equivalent to Li Qingshan dying by your hands. He originally could have fought by our side.¡±

    Ji Xuanri stood up and said to the palace master and the Light Queen, ¡°I¡¯ll go visit my father!¡±

    ¡°First senior brother, not everything might go as you planned!¡±

    Right when Ji Xuanri was about to step out of the hall, he heard Hua Chengzan, which made him furrow his brows slightly. He turned around and glanced backwards, giving him a smile before stepping out. The education he had received since young was about grasping everything in the palm of his hand. Even if some accidents happened, they were merely some small, joyous surprises that life offered.

    The palace master swung his hand and pressed his fingers against Hua Chengzan¡¯s forehead

    Hua Chengzan shuddered and felt his final sliver of consciousness sink, devoured by the sword intent. He gazed at the palace master deeply and said stutteringly, ¡°The palace master¡­ wants to¡­ control people¡­ through the sword¡­ but are you aware¡­ that you yourself¡­ are being controlled by the sword?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve just become one with the sword. It doesn¡¯t matter who controls what,¡± the palace master said indifferently and pulled back his hand.

    Hua Chengzan collapsed on the ground, without budging at all.

    The Light Queen frowned. ¡°I never expected a careless mistake like this!¡±

    The palace master said, ¡°This child didn¡¯t start off as a sword cultivator, and he¡¯s overly clever, so there¡¯s nothing strange about him being able to fool our eyes. Unfortunately, he still made a momentary slip. As long as he maintained a sliver of clarity, he could have easily contacted Li Qingshan behind our backs.¡±

    The Light Queen, ¡°It¡¯s just a pity with the three thousand sword moves.¡±

    ¡°What we are after are much more than the three thousand sword moves. Anyway, let¡¯s deal with this potential source of trouble first!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very simple.¡± The Light Queen sneered as cold light flashed through her eyes.

    Hua Chengzan crawled up from the ground slowly and shook his head forcefully. He said apologetically, ¡°Chengzan knows his crimes!¡±

    ¡°As long as you know your crimes.¡±

    Dong! Dong! Dong!

    Rising and falling sounds of a bell rang out from outside. The conferment ceremony was about to begin.

    Cultivators emerged from the side halls around the grand hall in small groups.

    The Light Queen and the Dark Queen basically discovered each other at the same time. Their gazes met, and they did not hide their hostility at all.

    The master of the Sword Collection palace and the master of the Umbral Yin sect stood behind them respectively, gazing at one another coldly.

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had intentionally separated the Umbral Yin sect and the Sword Collection palace, just in case any disputes arose, but it was still unavoidable for them to meet in the end.

    ¡°Fellows, please come on in! The ceremony is about to begin.¡±

    The Unraging monk invited in a jolly manner. He saw Hua Chengzan behind the palace master and felt a little perplexed. He clearly had not seen him earlier, but he did not think too much of it.

    On Great Buddha mountain, everyone had to show respect towards the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so the palace master and sect master both stepped into the hall.

    Very soon, all of the invited cultivators arrived in the grand hall. There were not too many people, only around a dozen or two. When they conversed, they did so with whispers or directly through their soul sense. They only made the lofty grand hall seem even more spacious and quiet, such that the conferment ceremony seemed extremely solemn instead of lively.

    However, all of these people were great cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Basically all of the powerful cultivators of the Green province cultivation community had gathered here. Even when they intentionally masked their auras, the presence they gave off gushed into the air when they gathered together.

    The four Monk Kings of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga received the guests as the hosts, while the four great cultivators from the Sword Collection palace and the Umbral Yin sect each occupied a corner of their own, radiating with a cold, chilling aura. No one tried to talk to them, and they did not try to talk to anyone else either.

    Unlike the Mist province, all of the great cultivators that belonged to sects in the Green province came from these three major sects.

    Apart from them were the grandmasters of the hundred schools, ranging from confucianism and daoism to legalism and mohism. They amounted to the most people, and they currently discussed quietly among themselves.

    ¡°I heard the One Will Monk King isn¡¯t even a hundred years old? How young!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that she might not even be fifty.¡± ¡°How unbelievable. How many years has it been since the world has produced a figure like that? Now that I think about it, they¡¯ve all been Reincarnated Celestial!¡± ¡°Oh right, wasn¡¯t there a Reincarnated Celestial in the Clear River prefecture a few years ago?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it. He already died.¡± ¡°Hehe, even celestials can be divided into good and bad.¡±

    Yue Wuyang stood with his arms crossed. His face had darkened from anger as he said absolutely nothing.

    Jin Fugui asked with a smile, ¡°Old Yue, what are you angry about this time?¡±

    Yue Wuyang glanced at this Gold Hawk commander. ¡°You¡¯re still so nosy!¡±

    Jin Fugui chuckled and did not lose his temper. ¡°I¡¯m caring for an old friend, so how can you call it being nosy? If you¡¯re always so angry, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t live past a thousand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll just end up in the Asura realm if I can¡¯t. You¡¯ll have to go down to hell if you can¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. Just tell me. If the worst comes to worst, I¡¯ll help you out with venting your anger!¡±

    ¡°Do you know Li Qingshan?¡± Yue Wuyang thought about it.

    ¡°Of course. He was even my subordinate back then!¡± Jin Fugui had an extremely deep impression of Li Qingshan.

    ¡°That kid has fooled me twice already!¡± Yue Wuyang ground his teeth. He had been stood up by Li Qingshan again.

    Back then, Li Qingshan had gone to attend the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan. Yue Wuyang did not want to wait around doing nothing, so he told him to meet him in the great general¡¯s estate once the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan ended. He planned on carrying out the plan of baiting out the Soaring Locust King. However, so many days had passed since the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan ended, but no matter how Yue Wuyang waited around, he did not even catch a glimpse of Li Qingshan. He had almost gone crazy from anger.

    The school of the Military was about military orders being paramount. ¡°If he were a disciple of the school of the Military, I¡¯d butcher him!¡± Yue Wuyang ground his teeth. Of course, that was given he was capable of something like that first.

    Actually, it was not Li Qingshan¡¯s fault for brushing aside Great General King Yue. Xiao An had come up with a new plan that was better, so he did not want to wait around as bait like a fool. Originally, he planned on mentioning it to Yue Wuyang after he had pulled out his sword in the Sword Collection palace, but so many things had happened along the way, so he completely forgot about it now.

    Jin Fugui chuckled loudly with that and glanced at the Unraging monk nearby. ¡°Can¡¯t you just teach him a lesson when the Unraging monk is around? Or I can teach him a lesson for you. He¡¯s still a part of my Hawkwolf Guard after all.¡±

    Yue Wuyang said, ¡°You? You might not even be able to teach him a lesson now.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Jin Fugui did not believe there would be any problems if he tried teaching a junior a lesson. The Unraging monk was not someone petty like that either.

    ¡°He underwent the third heavenly tribulation a long time ago. Crown prince Si Qing came all the way from the Dragon province to kill him, yet he almost died at his hands. How are you supposed to teach him a lesson?¡± Yue Wuyang hesitated, but he was unable to hold in his anger.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ps£º ÈÃÎÒÃÇ¼ÌÐø£¡

 Chapter 1045: Queen Mother, Iâ€™ve Returned (Teaser)

    Jin Fugui doubted his ears. His impression of Li Qingshan was still stuck from several decades ago. It had also been because of Si Qing that the Unraging monk had hurried over from thousands of kilometers away to save him.

    ¡°This kid is very vicious. We¡¯re already fortunate enough that he hasn¡¯t come to teach us a lesson. How can we teach him a lesson?¡±

    Yue Wuyang could not help but sigh a little despite his anger.

    ¡°What are you whispering about, uncles?¡± Gu Yanying walked over.

    ¡°We¡¯re talking about how we¡¯ve grown old. You should have begun wearing these clothes a long time ago.¡± Jin Fugui smiled.

    ¡°Forget about it. I hate the colour gold,¡± Gu Yanying said as she looked at Hua Chengzan.

    She felt like he had changed drastically, completely different from the ¡°little Hua¡± in her memories. On top of that, it was rather strange that he had appeared here.

    Hua Chengzan seemed to sense her, turning around and smiling at her.

    Gu Yanying responded with a smile, but she found him unfamiliar and distant. She thought about it, but she still decided against making her way over. Perhaps this was not a bad thing for him.

    At this moment, Ji Xuanri suddenly walked towards the master of the Umbral Yin sect and the Dark Queen. His bold action immediately made the grand hall fall silent. Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered over.

    Who did not know about the grievances between the two major sects? Ji Xuanri might have been the crown prince of the Green province, but what he carried on his back was a sword.

    ¡°Greetings, your highness the Dark Queen and the sect master. It¡¯s been many years since we¡¯ve last seen one another, but the sect master¡¯s demeanour is just the same as before!¡±

    Ji Xuanri maintained a warm smile as if he was not facing the great enemies of the Sword Collection palace but his own seniors.

    ¡°But the crown prince sure has been improving with each passing day.¡±

    The sect master nodded and forced out a smile, which made him seem even more eerie.

    ¡°Crown prince, didn¡¯t we just meet recently? Weren¡¯t you even trying to kill me?¡±

    The Dark Queen caressed the cat in her arms and gazed at Ji Xuanri loathingly. Her words made the atmosphere in the entire grand hall stiffen.

    The Fierce King of Chu was currently in a conversation with the Dauntless monk. When he heard that, he could not help but frown.

    Ji Xuanri came off as much more modest. ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood, your highness. I never intended something like that. I¡­¡±

    ¡°Stay away from me. I feel disgusted whenever I see your face!¡±

    The Dark Queen simply shut her eyes, but it was not just for humiliating Ji Xuanri. His face, his name made her think of the person she had lost.

    Ji Xuanri¡¯s smile stiffened slightly. Originally, he wanted to demonstrate his composure and bearing as the future King of Chu, but he never expected the Dark Queen to completely disregard the situation. She was not even afraid of angering the Fierce King of Chu. He thought, What a crazy woman!

    ¡°You bitch, find some shame in your actions!¡± The Light Queen called out as she pressed down on the hilt of her sword. ¡°Xuanri, what¡¯re you acknowledging this bitch for? Get over here.¡±

    The Dark Queen said, ¡°Truly mother and son. You¡¯re just as loathsome as one another!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡± The Dauntless monk uttered the buddha¡¯s name loudly, and his voice boomed through the hall. He tried to mediate the situation. ¡°In this peaceful land of buddhist cultivation, could the two queens temporarily set aside your grievances for my sake and spend a moment of peace together?¡±

    There was almost no one across the Green province, or even the entire world, that would not do something so simple out of respect for the Dauntless monk, but there just happened to be two of them here, and they were two infuriated women.

    The Light Queen behaved like she had not heard the Dauntless monk at all. She sneered and said, ¡°Some bitch has lost her child, so of course, she¡¯ll go crazy from jealousy when she sees us, a mother and a son, getting along fine!¡±

    The Dauntless monk became helpless. So be it then!

    ¡°You-¡± The Dark Queen widened her eyes, and her face became even more pale. This was the greatest source of pain in her life. She said in pure hatred, ¡°I will definitely kill you. I will kill everyone from the Sword Collection palace.¡±

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk exchanged glances and smiled wryly. Originally, they still wanted to discuss the matter of the Soaring Locust King after the ceremony, but that plan had almost fallen apart before the ceremony had even begun. They could not help but blame this crown prince Xuanri for picking such an untimely moment.

    ¡°Both of you, be quiet!¡± The Fierce King of Chu flew into a rage, and a tremendous aura swept out. Fierce winds whistle through the grand hall.

    With the wrath of the King of Chu, the Green province shook. Even great cultivators would be alarmed, but it was still useless.

    ¡°What, you still want to protect this bitch? She just said she¡¯ll kill me!¡±

    ¡°What a joke. A man who couldn¡¯t even protect his own child can actually bring himself to order others around?¡±

    The Light Queen and Dark Queen actually directed their abuse towards the Fierce King of Chu now. Perhaps this was the only common ground that existed between them.

    The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s chest heaved heavily, clearly utterly furious. However, he was unable to vent his anger.

    Right when the situation was about to develop out of control, a voice suddenly rang out, ¡°Please calm down, father.¡±

    However, the voice did not come from Ji Xuanri. Instead, it came from behind the hall. It was a woman¡¯s voice, fleeting and gentle, enough to rouse everyone¡¯s emotions.

    In a daze, everyone caught the faint scent of sandalwood. A woman walked out from behind the hall, dressed in a bluish-white kasaya. She was spotless. Her dark, long hair draped down to the ground, while her beautiful appearance made her resemble a heavenly maiden. Her steps were so gentle that she seemed to be treading on air.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu was momentarily taken aback. In that moment, a profound sensation sprang forth within him. This was a connection of fate, a bond of bone and blood.

    ¡°One Will, what did you say?¡± The Dauntless monk raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Father? I haven¡¯t misheard, have I? Alright then, I admit it. I¡¯ve been particularly hard of hearing today.¡± Jin Fugui communicated with Yue Wuyang secretly.

    ¡°I¡¯m also doubting my ears right now. In my knowledge, his majesty doesn¡¯t have a daughter like this. Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me?¡± Yue Wuyang seemed to remember something before letting out a gasp of surprise.

    The cultivators all responded in various ways. They began discussing, ¡°So she¡¯s One Will. Sure enough, she¡¯s very young. But what¡¯s this ¡®father¡¯ about?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she heard about the Dark Queen¡¯s painful loss of her child at the end and wants to take on a foster father and mother?¡±

    However, even the person who mentioned that did not believe their speculation. If that was the case, it had been a little too sudden. Buddhist disciples had always focused on severing their connections to the secular world and with her outstanding talent, did she even need someone like that in her life?

    ¡°Is it coming?¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Yanying, what do you know?¡± Jin Fugui.

    ¡°Just keep watching and you¡¯ll know,¡± Gu Yanying said with interest.

    The Fierce King of Chu stared at Xiao An. Thousands of possibilities also flowed through his head, but he eliminated them one by one. In the end, only that name remained, the most likely yet also unlikely name. He still struggled to believe this.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Xuanyue!?¡±

    ¡°That has been my name before. So you still remember it, father!¡± Xiao An gazed at the Fierce King of Chu with a smile, overlapping with the figure in her memories.

    The Dark Queen held her breath the moment Xiao An walked out. Her eyes were completely fixated on her. Her body began trembling gently as her pale face lit up with a red glow. She murmured, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ my Yue¡¯er¡­¡±

    Xiao An bowed slightly towards the Fierce King of Chu and arrived before the Dark Queen, holding both of her hands gently, ¡°Queen mother, I¡¯ve returned.¡±

    It was about time for her to take back everything she had lost.

    ps£º ¸ÐÐ»¡°Æ··±¡±µÀÓÑµÄ¶¦Á¦Ö§³Ö£¬ÎÒ»á¼á³ÖÕ½¶·ÏÂÈ¥µÄ£¡

 Chapter 1046: A Bodhisattvaâ€™s Successor

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡± The Dark Queen was already crying heavily. She let go of the cat in her arms and embraced Xiao An firmly with all of her strength. She was afraid that this was all a dream.

    Meow! Xuanyue landed on the ground gently and turned around, crouching down on the side. She gazed at the embracing mother and daughter, feeling both happy and lost.

    ¡°Sorry, mother. I¡¯ve made you wait.¡±

    Xiao An rubbed her back as she also felt warmth flow through her heart. In a daze, she felt like their identities had been switched. She was no longer a child anymore.

    ¡°One Will, are you really princess Xuanyue?¡± the Dauntless monk said in disbelief. He felt a little overwhelmed by the information.

    ¡°I once was.¡± Xiao An¡¯s voice was gentle, with the power to calm everyone, such that no one could develop any doubts.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! You¡¯re lying!¡± the Light Queen said loudly.

    The Light Queen felt deeply threatened. Originally, the position of the King of Chu only had a single successor, Ji Xuanri. Now that such a powerful competitor had suddenly appeared, that changed many things or even everything.

    ¡°You bitch, how dare you-¡± The Dark Queen was furious.

    ¡°Mother.¡± Xiao An patted the Dark Queen¡¯s hands and shook her head at her with a smile before asking the Light Queen, ¡°Your highness, what would you like to say?¡±

    ¡°Xuanyue is already dead!¡± the Light Queen said firmly.

    ¡°Oh? How do you know?¡± Xiao An asked.

    ¡°Everyone in the world knows!¡± the Light Queen said.

    The Fierce King of Chu felt a hint of doubt too. He had asked naturalists from the school of Yin-yang to carry out divinations numerous times, but the end result was always that Xuanyue had run out of vitality. How could she come back from the dead?

    Xiao An said, ¡°I have indeed died once, but I was saved by someone, so I came back alive.¡±

    ¡°Who saved you? I must thank them heavily,¡± the King of Chu asked.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a person of this world. He¡¯s already flown off.¡±

    Xiao An raised her head slightly. Her gaze seemed to pass through the ceiling, drifting towards the distant heavens. Perhaps it was because he had mentioned it far too many times around her, but she also wanted to take a look at beyond the Nine Heavens. In the past, she had never cared about something like that.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying! How can someone from beyond this world enter this world freely?¡± the Light Queen said.

    Yue Wuyang and Jin Fugui exchanged glances. They both found this to be unbelievable. All of those who had been invited to the conferment ceremony were existences that stood at the apex of the nine provinces. They understood the powers of the laws of the world best. If it were not for the protection from the laws of the world, the Demon domain would have swallowed the nine provinces a long time ago.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure either.¡± Xiao An confessed.

    This did go against common logic. Even for an existence like Demon God Qiongqi, descending here once would take tremendous effort and create a very large disturbance. The only explanation was that Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°brother ox¡± was an existence even higher than Qiongqi, but even if she said that, it was not something these people could understand!

    ¡°One Will, you sure have hidden it well from me. So this is where your true legacy came from.¡±

    The Dauntless monk came to a realisation instead and let out a great sigh.

    Originally, he was still worried that Xiao An had inherited the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s legacy, but even the Golden Cicada Spirit King could not make her undergo three consecutive tribulations in the short span of a few decades. On top of that, the ability to control the thirty-three buddhist treasures at once was not something that belonged to this world. With what she said, everything made sense now.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t want me to reveal this.¡±

    ¡°The ¡®he¡¯ you speak of, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s actually a bodhisattva?¡±

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s voice trembled slightly, instinctively believing that this person from outside this world was a part of buddhism. He believed that only bodhisattvas could travel through the worlds, revive the dead, and make flesh regrow on white bone, nurturing a buddhist prodigy like her.

    Xiao An said, ¡°He did mention bodhisattva before.¡± Except he was talking about the White Bone Bodhisattva. ¡°And I¡¯ve never seen him reveal the form of a bodhisattva.¡±

    ¡°Bodhisattvas can take on thousands of embodiments to bring salvation to all. It¡¯s normal even if he doesn¡¯t reveal his true form.¡± The Dauntless monk ravished with even greater joy, even developing deep respect towards Xiao An because she had seen a bodhisattva.

    If this all was true, then she was the chosen one. She was the hope of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, no, the hope of all of buddhism. He was willing to believe in this too. Compared to that, the mere status of Monk King was nothing.

    A messy jangle rang out from behind the grand hall.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King gripped his buddhist staff firmly, unable to hold back his excitement, which made the golden rings shake. He had come with the edict to confer the title of Monk King to Xiao An, and he was prepared to persuade Xiao An again. However, when Xiao An went out to reunite with her mother and father, she had asked him to wait there.

    He never expected to actually hear such a shocking secret. Having lost to Xiao An¡¯s thirty-three buddhist treasures, he basically believed in what she said more than anyone else. He repeated again and again inside, I see! I see! I need to report this to the grand preceptor. I must get her to visit the Spirit K?etra temple! I must get her to visit the Spirit K?etra temple!

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, benevolent be the buddha!¡±

    The four guardian kings brought their palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name, bowing towards Xiao An. They were not bowing towards her, but the vague figure of the bodhisattva behind her.

    Immediately, the grand hall became enveloped in a mysterious, solemn, and religious atmosphere.

    The cultivators all looked at one another. They struggled to understand this feeling as non-buddhists.

    If Xiao An truly was the successor of a certain bodhisattva, then that was akin to the arrival of the saviour of the world to all buddhist disciples in the world. The bodhisattva must have revealed himself to Xiao An to guide this world.

    I see. That¡¯s the only way to explain their cultivation speed and unbelievable power, except that probably wasn¡¯t some bodhisattva! Gu Yanying thought to herself. She had witnessed both Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon body and Xiao An¡¯s form of white bone. She struggled to believe that was a bodhisattva¡¯s handiwork.

    Caught in this atmosphere, the Light Queen was unable to dwell on this problem any further either. She questioned, ¡°Alright then. Even if what you¡¯ve said is true, why have you waited all this time to disclose your identity? If I recall correctly, you became a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga many years ago!¡±

    ¡°I was murdered. My soul was injured, and my memories were lost. In the very beginning, I couldn¡¯t even talk! Even if I could still recall some memories, I would never be bold enough to admit it. Only afterwards did I completely recover my memories of the past. I¡¯ve made you wait, mother,¡± Xiao An said apologetically.

    ¡°Who murdered you? Was it that woman?¡± the Dark Queen pointed at the Light Queen and asked.

    Xiao An gazed at the Light Queen deeply. Her clear, empty eyes actually made the Light Queen feel a hint of fear. That was not a gaze for looking at a person. It seemed more like she was gazing at nothing.

    The Fierce King of Chu frowned heavily. If Xuanyue actually identified the Light Queen as the murderer, then the issues would become severe.

    Xiao An shook her head gently. ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. After all, I was still young back then. But this isn¡¯t important. What¡¯s important is that I¡¯ve returned, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± The Dark Queen¡¯s hatred could not be pacified, but she did not want to investigate the matter right now either and ruin the happiness of their reunion.

    ¡°No matter who the murderer is, I will make them pay!¡± The Fierce King of Chu eased up, basically recognising Xiao An¡¯s identity indirectly. Even without that wondrous feeling that existed between close family, he did not believe she had a need to impersonate his daughter.

    ¡°Thank you, father.¡± Xiao An bowed and turned around. She asked the master of the Sword Collection palace, ¡°Palace master, please take out the xiezhi¡¯s horn! Have I told any lies?¡±

    ps£º ÍÛ£¬ºÃÀÛ°¡£¬¸Ð¾õ¿ìÒªÈ¼³É»Ò½ýÁË£¡

 Chapter 1047: Please Put Him to Death Together

    Immediately, everyone¡¯s gazes converged on the palace master. His face sank slightly, and he brought out his right hand from behind his back, which held a curved horn.

    From the moment Xiao An had appeared, the palace master had taken out the xiezhi¡¯s horn secretly, but he never expected her to notice. She had not just noticed through her powerful cultivation, but also because of her sharp judgement. He could vaguely sense that she would become an unexpectedly powerful enemy in the future.

    The great cultivators present all knew about the wondrous effects of the xiezhi¡¯s horn, which only proved the veracity of Xiao An¡¯s words. Originally, they still had a tinge of doubt, but that had completely vanished now.

    ¡°The old are truly being succeeded by the new. Now that¡¯s what you call a true prodigy!¡± Ji Fugui sighed.

    Princess Xuanyue, the One Will Monk King, and an unbelievable successor of a bodhisattva. When these three identities were combined, even Ji Xuanri¡¯s identity as the crown prince of the Green province paled in comparison.

    He could already foresee that her existence would definitely influence the overall situation across the entire world.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Congratulations, your majesty. Congratulations, your highness. Your family is united once more. You¡¯ve regained your lost daughter.¡± The Dauntless monk smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m filled with gratitude over all the care you¡¯ve shown my daughter over the years. I¡¯ve almost forgotten, but I have to congratulate the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga on gaining a new Monk King.¡± The Fierce King of Chu also smiled with delight. This had been something that constantly weighed on his mind.

    ¡°Thank you for the congratulations then.¡±

    The Dauntless monk and the Fierce King of Chu exchanged glances and smiled. The fate of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and the King of Chu¡¯s estate were basically firmly bound together. This was good news to both.

    The cultivators all congratulated the Fierce King of Chu and the Dauntless monk before congratulating Xiao An.

    The Light Queen¡¯s expression changed again and again, unsure about how to respond. The palace master shut his eyes as if he was thinking about something.

    Xiao An said nothing more, just nodding with a smile, but no one found that to be rude.

    Everything was developing according to her expectations. At least she had not let him down.

    From this moment onwards, her will could represent the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and even influence the entire cultivation community of the Green province. Whether it was killing the Soaring Locust King or assisting the Golden Cicada Spirit King with his ascension, she could go about it with ease.

    The only pity she felt was that he was not here.

    ¡°Sister Xuanyue, welcome back. It¡¯s fantastic that you¡¯re still alive. That way, we can resolve all of the misunderstandings.¡± Ji Xuanri walked over with a kind smile. Those who were not in the know would actually believe they were a pair of close siblings.

    Xiao An was about to reply when she suddenly sensed something and gazed out of the grand hall. Ji Xuanri¡¯s existence seemed to completely vanish from her eyes.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t I warned you? Keep your distance. Don¡¯t make us feel disgusted!¡± The Dark Queen¡¯s voice was filled with joy.

    Damned bitch! Ji Xuanri thought inside as anger flashed through his eyes. It was not only because of what the Dark Queen had said, but because her appearance had ruined all of his plans.

    Xiao An did not do this to insult Ji Xuanri. Instead, she sensed the approach of that familiar aura, which made her think to herself.

    He¡¯s finally here. He¡¯s so slow! He even missed out on my performance! Hmm? He seems to be very angry. What happened?

    In the north, a streak of light whistled over, heading straight towards the peak of Great Buddha mountain.

    With a boom, it slammed into the ground outside the grand hall like a rock.

    Li Qingshan stood within the flying dust and bellowed, ¡°Ji Xuanri, get your ass out here!¡±

    His voice boomed like thunder, ringing across the entire mountain.

    ¡°Who is it!?¡±

    In the grand hall, everyone was alarmed. Who was Ji Xuanri? The crown prince of the Green province, the future King of Chu. Only the Dark Queen was bold enough to insult him openly. Just who else was bold enough to tell him to ¡°get his ass out here¡±?

    Ji Xuanri instead began smiling. He communicated to the Light Queen. ¡°Mother, our guest elder is here.¡± Finally, a part of the plan had returned to its original course!

    The Light Queen sneered too. Originally, she thought they would still need a few more tricks before they infuriated him. As it turned out, he was even more foolish than they imagined him to be!

    Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. Great Buddha mountain will be where you die, and the people who kill you will be from your sect.

    Li Qingshan took a step into the grand hall. The golden tiles under his feet shattered as his black hair drifted backwards.

    He raised his thick brows and pursed his lips, exhibiting his fury. Even without letting out a hint of his aura, he could strike awe into the hearts of others.

    The cultivators all felt a foul air rush into their faces as if a ferocious tiger had broken in among them and was looking for prey. They all raised their guard the moment he glanced at them.

    ¡°Sure enough, he¡¯s vicious alright. I finally believe that he can kill, that he¡¯s bold enough to kill Si Qing!¡± Jin Fugui was stunned at first before sighing in surprise to Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°This kid is getting bolder and bolder. I¡¯d like to see how he gets out of here today!¡± Meanwhile, Yue Wuyang was a little worried. He had been stood up twice consecutively, but they were still two people engaged in the same pursuits, and he did not wish to see Han Qiongzhi heartbroken either.

    Li Qingshan saw Hua Chengzan in the corner with a single glance. Seeing how he was fine, seemingly unscathed, he eased up slightly inside. He strode over, but there was a flash, and Ji Xuanri blocked his way again. He asked with a smile, ¡°Qingshan, what do you need me for?¡±

    Li Qingshan refused to be impelled by his words or actions anymore. He spit out two words. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Ji Xuanri shrugged and moved to one side.

    The Light Queen called out, ¡°How dare you! You¡¯ve offended the crown prince. Do you understand your crimes?¡± She turned towards the Dauntless monk. ¡°Dauntless abbot, is this how your Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga teaches your disciples?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, what¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± the Unraging monk grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and asked frantically.

    ¡°Master, this is between me and the Sword Collection palace. Don¡¯t get involved!¡± Li Qingshan pushed aside the Unraging monk gently and took a step forward. He said to the palace master, ¡°Hand him over, and we¡¯ll go our own ways, or¡­¡±

    The palace master interrupted him. ¡°Or what? Chengzan is a disciple of my Sword Collection palace! He¡¯s not someone you can act so brazenly with!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, little Hua. You have me today. If anyone even touches a hair on you, I¡¯ll butcher them!¡± Li Qingshan surged with murderousness.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, why don¡¯t you check where you are right now?¡± The Dauntless monk was furious.

    ¡°Qingshan, this is a peaceful land of buddhist cultivation. No one can harm him. You might as well explain everything first.¡± Xiao An walked over and grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, expressing that he was not alone and without support.

    Li Qingshan settled down inside and considered the situation a little. His priority right now was still to ensure Hua Chengzan¡¯s safety. For the sake of his friend, Hua Chengzan had willingly taken on the risk. Li Qingshan could not allow anything to happen to him no matter what.

    However, before he could even explain himself, Hua Chengzan beat him to it. ¡°Qingshan, so much for your friendship. Are you really so determined to kill me?¡±

    ¡°Little Hua, what did you say!?¡± Li Qingshan was alarmed. The Hua Chengzan before his eyes had become extremely foreign.

    ¡°So be it. If that¡¯s the case, then let me make your scheme known to the public so that you can be judged by everyone. Not only has this person become a Demon King, but he¡¯s even colluding with the Demon domain and wants to throw the Green province into turmoil. The Soaring Locust King only managed to break free because of his assistance. Please put him to death together, everyone!¡±

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 Chapter 1048: Northmoon Descends, Listen to My Roar!

    The incense smoke curled through the room. The towering buddha statue sat high above with its eyes half-closed, calm and collected. The murals depicted the arhats and the heavenly maidens, as well as the eight legions. They assumed various postures and appearances, vivid and life-like, overlooking everything that happened in the hall.

    ¡°Please put him to death together!¡±

    The words were like a clap of thunder, echoing through the hall and landing in everyone¡¯s ears. They all looked at Li Qingshan.

    Demon King! Released the Soaring Locust King! Colluding with the Demon domain!

    Out of all these accusations, only one of them had to be proven, and that was a crime large enough for death.

    Li Qingshan stood proudly, completely unfazed by this. His heart only sank lower. He was not worried about these accusations and slandering. He was worried about Hua Chengzan. Even if he faced death threats, he was certain that Hua Chengzan would never say something like that unless his will was subjected to someone¡¯s control.

    ¡°So this is the secret within the sword, Sword Collection palace?¡±

    Xiao An wanted to argue for him, but she saw Li Qingshan standing there sternly, without uttering a single word. He did not want to argue with a friend, and with everything that had happened, there was nothing to argue about! He had not trained and cultivated for all these years to bicker with others!

    As a result, Xiao An let go of his hand and stood to one side silently.

    Ji Xuanri smiled. ¡°Sister Xuanyue, given your current identity and status, you should draw a boundary with people like him.¡±

    Xiao An smiled at him. Her beauty was enchanting, leaving Ji Xuanri momentarily stunned, unable to say anything.

    ¡°Fellow Hua, you say my disciple has been colluding with the Demon domain and that he released the Soaring Locust King. Do you have any evidence?¡± the Unraging monk asked.

    ¡°Unraging master, we¡¯ve already come so far. Do you still plan on shielding your disciple? If you don¡¯t believe me, then ask him to release his aura. Let¡¯s see whether it¡¯s demon qi or not!¡±

    Hua Chengzan responded aggressively. His face was filled with regret and helplessness. He unleashed his wit and intelligence, but it was for dooming Li Qingshan.

    The Unraging monk frowned. This was indeed the greatest hole with Li Qingshan. His cultivation was indeed a Demon King¡¯s. The various twists and turns involved in this matter were difficult to explain to others. Once this part about him was exposed, it would be unavoidable for others to become somewhat convinced that he was colluding with the Demon domain, and this would become a colossal scandal for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Gu Yanying furrowed her brows slightly. Something is a little off with little Hua¡¯s behaviour!

    The Fierce King of Chu said, ¡°Li Qingshan, release your aura! Whether you¡¯re colluding with the Demon domain or not can be verified through the xiezhi¡¯s horn. I will ensure you get your innocence.¡±

    ¡°No need. I¡¯m not innocent, nor do I need any innocence!¡±

    Li Qingshan declined indifferently. He had already become sick and tired of dancing to other people¡¯s tunes. He had already been fooled so much. Was that not enough?

    In the end, even if it was proven that he was not colluding with the Demon domain, so what? Could he save Hua Chengzan? Perhaps he would lose this friend forever.

    ¡°You!¡± The Fierce King of Chu raised an eyebrow. He never expected him to decline in such a straightforward manner.

    ¡°In other words, you admit you¡¯re a Demon King, that you¡¯ve been colluding with the Demon domain, and that you released the Soaring Locust King?¡± The Light Queen communicated to him at the same time. ¡°Kid, how does it feel to be betrayed? You asked for this. Originally, all you had to do was refine the Soul Cycling sword obediently, and you would have been fine.¡±

    Li Qingshan gave no reply. He remained as silent as a rock.

    Then Hua Chengzan said, ¡°And I know about another great secret of his. He had another identity¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand and pointed straight at Hua Chengzan. Right when everyone present thought he would rebuke him furiously and threaten him menacingly, he instead spoke seriously.

    ¡°This person is my friend! I¡¯m taking him away with me. Anyone who stands in my way will die!¡±

    Hua Chengzan shuddered inside. Meeting Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, he saw no hostility or blame in his dark pupils. There was only apology and concern.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re taking away no one today.¡± The Light Queen glanced backwards. ¡°Chengzan, what¡¯s his other identity? Tell us what it is!¡±

    She was also rather curious. Just what other secrets did Li Qingshan have for Hua Chengzan to expose? A scene where friends turned against each other sure was moving!

    ¡°I¡­ Qingshan¡­¡± Hua Chengzan¡¯s voice was hoarse, and his face twisted and became conflicted. His handsome expression immediately seemed rather hideous. He bent over slightly and knelt down on the ground. Determination flashed through his eyes, and he suddenly bit down. A streak of blood flowed out from the corner of his lips, dripping onto the golden tiles.

    Everyone was stunned, and the Dauntless monk was alarmed. Seeing blood in the grand hall was not a good omen.

    ¡°Chengzan!¡± Li Qingshan immediately saw red. He wanted to go up, but the Light Queen blocked his path again. ¡°Li Qingshan, just drop your facade! If you want to silence him with death, you better get through me first!¡±

    Then she communicated to him. ¡°Hmph, you sure can hold in your anger, but as it seems, we really can¡¯t keep him around any longer. Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll give you one more opportunity. Kneel down and admit your mistakes right now, and I can still spare his life. Otherwise¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. Thousands of golden tiles shattered, and the entire hall shook. He threw his fist.

    ¡°You mustn¡¯t, Qingshan!¡± the Unraging monk yelled out to stop him, while the others all became astounded. ¡°He¡¯s actually done it!¡±

    A smile flashed across the Light Queen¡¯s eyes. Has he finally given in? Right from the beginning, they had never thought about proving Li Qingshan¡¯s collusion with the Demon domain. Simply infuriating him was enough.

    Under the gazes of the public, he was attacking a queen like her with his methods of a Demon King. Just that crime alone warranted death!

    With a clang, her sword emerged from her sheath!

    The blade of the sword trembled and turned to nothing, but it let out a wondrous thrum. The space there rippled and overlapped together.

    The Clear Space sword¡ªone of the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace. It possessed extremely wondrous abilities, able to establish a world of its own for defence and split through space for offence.

    At that moment, the Light Queen seemed to leave the grand hall, standing in a different world. She sneered as she stared at Li Qingshan¡¯s incoming fist.

    The Light Queen said secretly, ¡°Back then when I faced off against that bitch the Dark Queen, I just hid my strength intentionally. Do you really think you can harm me?¡±

    The Light Queen suddenly discovered that Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes had turned red. It was not a bloodshot red, but a clear, scarlet red. His long hair drifted through the air like fire, and his handsome face became extremely foreign too. A pair of curved horns grew from his head, engraved with the words ¡°north¡± and ¡°moon¡±.

    Immediately, daemon qi gushed into the air, making everyone pale in shock. Even the towering, golden statue of the buddha paled in comparison.

    ¡°Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye!¡±

    The Light Queen¡¯s breath came to a halt. Her mind blanked out as she experienced a hint of fear uncontrollably.

    ¡°Strength of the Earth!¡±

    The Light Queen widened her eyes. The incoming fist rapidly grew in size, filling her entire view like a mountain.

    ¡°Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

    Black cracks criss-crossed together, shattering the overlapping space. The Clear Space sword became visible again before shattering loudly!

    ¡°Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a furious roar and planted his fist heavily onto the Light Queen¡¯s face.

    ¡°How is this¡­¡± The Light Queen was filled with disbelief, and her beautiful face soon shattered like the Clear Space sword. The power of tremors flowed through her body, pulverising her entire body to a bloody mist. Droplets of blood shot across everyone¡¯s eyes, splattering against the murals and the statue and dyeing the grand hall red.

    ¡°Are! You! Satisfied! Now!?¡±

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 Chapter 1049: I am Northmoon, I am Xiao An

    Li Qingshan¡¯s furious roar shook up the entire grand hall, ringing across all of Great Buddha mountain.

    A small, white sword flew out from the droplets of blood, also having been blown away by the punch. It spiralled away and was eventually planted into the lotus pedestal beneath the buddha statue.

    The tiny sword was half-transparent. There was the figure of a woman that resembled the Light Queen inside. It was the Light Queen¡¯s sword nascence.

    Li Qingshan pulled back his fist and did not even glance back a second time.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Fear filled the Light Queen¡¯s face. She recalled the secret that Hua Chengzan had failed to disclose.

    Crack! A black crack appeared on the sword nascence. The sword nascence trembled a few times, but it was unable to stop the spread of the crack. It enveloped the entire sword, and the sword shattered violently!

    Brilliant light poured out every door and window in the room. A circular wave of air swept out from Great Buddha mountain, reaching hundreds of kilometers away.

    The light was like an ocean, and the sword qi surged violently. All of the great cultivators unleashed their defences to block the terrifying might from the shattered sword nascence.

    Suddenly, the sounds of chanting rang out. Golden light enveloped the grand hall; the protective formation of the sect had been activated already.

    The repercussions settled.

    The sword had shattered, the person had died, and the nascence had been destroyed!

    Anyone who stood in his way would die. He said it, and he did it.

    The great bell behind the hall droned loudly. All of the great cultivators present felt like they had a bell like that in their heads. They were filled with disbelief. They basically suspected everything that unfolded before their eyes was merely a dream. A renowned great sword cultivator had just been slain with a single punch!?

    Jin Fugui widened his eyes as his mouth drooped slightly, but he did not notice it all. Only now did he realise how hilarious and dangerous of a thing it was to say that he would teach Li Qingshan a lesson!

    Yue Wuyang was stunned as well. Even though he already knew Li Qingshan was hiding much of his strength, he never expected him to actually be such a colossal existence. Suddenly, he recalled what the Asura King had said to him following that duel with Si Qing, ¡°For some reason, I feel like I¡¯ll be in danger of being finished off if I fought this kid instead! How strange!¡±

    The Dark Queen was stunned too. She utterly hated the Light Queen, but everything had unfolded too quickly, so quickly that she could not relish in the retribution. Instead, she was filled with disbelief.

    Gu Yanying smiled and sighed slightly. Had the kid from the mountains beneath the pine tree all those years ago finally reached this step?

    The Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner¡ªthis was a saying she had gifted him back then, but to him now, the Green province was only but a corner!

    The Dauntless monk shut his eyes painfully. Was it another Golden Cicada Spirit King? No, it was a daemon even more terrifying than the Golden Cicada Spirit King. Even if it were the current Golden Cicada Spirit King, he would never be bold enough to strike valiantly and kill the Light Queen in the grand hall in front of so many great cultivators!

    ¡°I am Northmoon!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly.

    He personally announced to the world the secret that Hua Chengzan would rather bite off his tongue to keep hidden!

    He felt great delight inside. From this moment onwards, he no longer had to hide carefully. He no longer had to be all secretive. Li Qingshan was Northmoon, and Northmoon was Li Qingshan. If a path to the Nine Heavens really existed, then this would be the starting point!

    Daemon King Northmoon!

    The same three words filled the minds of all the great cultivators present. As it turned out, the Northmoon who had been hunted down over thousands of kilometers by the Dragon King of Ink Sea had always been hiding his identity! So he was not dead!

    The blood that sprayed across the ground was bright and eye-catching, making them shiver inside. Among them, many were not stronger than the Light Queen. Stuck in the grand hall, they were like mortals trapped in the same cage as a vicious tiger. They experienced a sensation of fear, a sensation they had not experienced in a very long time. This was the threat of death!

    ¡°Qingshan, you- No wonder! No wonder!¡±

    The Unraging monk gazed at the scarlet-haired, scarlet-eyed figure, and his smile suddenly became very wry. Just like that, everything illogical about Li Qingshan could be explained, but it was the last explanation he could ever want.

    ¡°Master, I hope you don¡¯t regret taking me on as your disciple. Whether I¡¯m a Demon King or a Daemon King, I am still me!¡± Li Qingshan pressed against his chest and said sincerely.

    ¡°Is there any point in saying all that now?¡± The Unraging monk let out a deep sigh. Damned disciple, oh damned disciple! Even if I believe you, what about the others? Perhaps you don¡¯t need anyone else to believe in you anymore.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± The Fierce King of Chu was overcome with fury, launching a palm strike towards Li Qingshan with as much force as he could.

    At that moment, the surroundings began to twist and collapse. The great cultivators only experienced the side-effects of his strike, but they all felt like they had lost their footing.

    All Li Qingshan felt was the world around him overturning and distorting. The buddha statue and murals in the surroundings became bizarre in appearance; it was as if they were mocking him, as if they were lamenting, as if they were sneering.

    He thought, He truly is the lord of the Green province! The power behind that strike is definitely no less than the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s. However, that¡¯s all there is!

    His eyes flashed, seeing through the bizarre landscape. He struck back with a palm strike.

    Bang!

    The two palms collided, and the twisted world recovered.

    The Fierce King of Chu was filled with shock and fury, staring at Li Qingshan in disbelief. The power behind his strike was enough to even crumble a mountain, yet Li Qingshan did not budge at all. He was like a mountain forged from metal, completely immovable. Instead, a great force well beyond what the Fierce King of Chu could withstand flowed over, together with a strange power of tremors.

    When it came to struggles of physical strength, Li Qingshan had never lost to anyone before, not even the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    ¡°Your majesty the King of Chu, your woman was far too noisy, and her mouth was as foul as it could get. I have no idea how you put up with her, but I can¡¯t.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Sorry, Xiao An. I messed up your plan.¡± Then he smiled at Ji Xuanri. ¡°You too!¡±

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Ji Xuanri let out a furious roar and drew the Spirit Destroying sword, about to avenge the Light Queen. However, right when he took a step, the tip of a white sword poked out from his chest. The three protective arcane treasures on him did not serve any purpose at all. He had not even sensed anything beforehand.

    He turned around and ground his teeth. ¡°Ji, Xuan, Yue!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. As long as you¡¯re happy,¡± said Xiao An. Her sneak attack was even more fatal than Li Qingshan¡¯s forceful strike.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be happy. This guy must be your elder brother!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve always hated him since I was young, basically wishing he would die!¡± Xiao An drew out the Buddha Slaying sword.

    Ji Xuanri collapsed on the ground and felt the sensation of death creep up on him. He widened his eyes, which were filled with confusion and fear. What¡¯s going on? I was just stabbed. I don¡¯t want to die¡­

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone erupted from his wounds, swallowing him immediately. In the moment before death, he suddenly understood what Hua Chengzan meant, Not everything might go as you planned

    ¡°Xuanri!¡± The Fierce King of Chu was utterly enraged. That was the successor he had placed all his hopes on.

    ¡°One Will!¡±

    The four Monk Kings all changed drastically in expression. Their shock was even greater than when Li Qingshan killed the Light Queen. Her ghastly, eerie methods did not seem like they belonged to a buddhist cultivation method at all. Instead, they were filled with a sense of blasphemy, even more than demonfolk.

    ¡°Apologies, father, as well as the masters. I¡¯m neither Xuanyue or One Will, but Xiao An.¡±

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 Chapter 1050: Heavily Surrounded, a Land of Buddhism

    Behind Xiao An¡¯s alluring beauty, her white bones faded in and out.

    From the moment Li Qingshan turned into Northmoon and killed the Light Queen, they had crossed the point of no return. It was impossible for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga to just stand by, and if that was the case, then they would face them together!

    Through weal or woe, I will bear half of it for you!

    ¡°Father, please back away!¡± Xiao An drifted over and slashed down.

    After witnessing the terrifying might of the Buddha Slaying sword, he refused to let the edge touch him, so all he could do was pull back. He said in bitter hatred, ¡°Xuanyue, I¡¯m your father!¡±

    Xiao An said apologetically, ¡°Father, I can never pay you back for giving birth and raising me, but given my path, all I can do is go my own way!¡±

    ¡°Is patricide and fratricide your repayment, your path?¡± the Fierce King of Chu questioned. Having gone from great joy to great sorrow in a split second, even the King of Chu found it rather difficult to bear despite his willpower.

    Xiao An shut her eyes, unable to answer him. She possessed a human¡¯s heart now. Having taken back everything of the past, she also had to bear with the various restraints and pains, but she also needed to make a decision!

    Li Qingshan originally could not be bothered with saying anything, but he could not help but stand up for her at a time like this. ¡°So what if she¡¯s committed fratricide? That kid Ji Xuanri is posing around, completely up to no good. He¡¯s even worse than his mother. She¡¯s done right in killing him. Otherwise, he¡¯ll definitely destroy the Green province if he becomes the King of Chu in the future. You¡¯re responsible for this too as the father. Don¡¯t you know that we¡¯ve helped you out tremendously? As for patricide, you can stop with your lies. We haven¡¯t even killed you yet, and we obviously have no plans of killing you. Isn¡¯t that correct, Xiao An?¡±

    Xiao An had no idea how to respond. He had a point, but just who would say they were helping someone after killing their wife and child? In particular, his statement at the end was extremely insulting.

    The Fierce King of Chu was absolutely livid. He was filled with hatred, blaming the wretched daemon for everything. ¡°I don¡¯t care whether you¡¯re Li Qingshan or Northmoon, a human or a daemon. Don¡¯t even think about leaving Great Buddha mountain today! Fellows, what are you waiting for?¡±

    With the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s order, everyone responded.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I originally thought you had a buddha nature, deep with the root of wisdom, which was why I allowed you to cultivate in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. As it seems now, I¡¯ve actually committed a critical mistake. Not only have you hidden your identity as a daemon, but you even brazenly committed murder in this buddha hall, committing a heinous atrocity. Do you really think you can just get away with this? I¡¯ll be purging the sect today!¡±

    The Dauntless monk swung his arm and activated the protective formation. The grand hall was enveloped in golden light, sealing off all exits and turning the place into a golden cage. He glanced at Xiao An and let out another sigh.

    The hopes that the Dauntless monk had placed on her were even higher than what the Unraging monk had placed on Li Qingshan, but it was all in vain at the end of the day, which left him extremely disappointed.

    ¡°Stop with the nonsense! The right and wrong in this will become clear in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his arm. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was already in his hand. Sensing the roaring fighting spirit within him, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower called out excitedly, ¡°Kid, are you finally going for a massacre?¡±

    ¡°Do you think you still have a future? Dauntlessness of the Guardian King!¡±

    The Dauntless monk roared furiously, and golden light flooded his body, turning into a dauntless guardian king. At the same time, two other guardian kings rose up around him, forming the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings. However, there was a huge hole in the formation.

    ¡°Unraging!¡±

    The three guardian kings looked at the Unraging monk together. The Unraging monk shut his eyes before snapping them open again, shining with light. He turned into the unraging guardian king and filled in the gap.

    The four guardian kings assembled the formation together and bellowed out at the same time, ¡°The Guardian Kings Subdue the Demon!¡±

    Their voices boomed like thunder. The golden, buddhist light condensed into a colossal vajra mountain and slammed down on Li Qingshan. When it arrived three feet away from his head, it came to a sudden halt.

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡± Li Qingshan held up the vajra mountain as the Strength of the Earth flowed in from his feet endlessly. However, the vajra mountain was even heavier than any regular mountain. Under the combined efforts of the four guardian kings, it continued to press down.

    With a thought, Li Qingshan used the Gravity of the Earth, and the vajra mountain immediately became weightless. The four guardian kings lost their footing too.

    ¡°Go!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised both hands and pushed as hard as he could, throwing the vajra mountain towards the towering buddha statue in the grand hall.

    The buddha statue suddenly snapped open its eyes and stared at Li Qingshan. It extended its hands and caught the vajra mountain like it was weightless, standing up slowly. It was even taller and larger than the four guardian kings. It was a condensation of over ten thousand years of power of belief from millions of followers.

    The great buddha strode towards Li Qingshan with heavy steps. At the same time, the arhats, heavenly maidens, and guardians in the surrounding murals all sprang alive. Many of them possessed the third heavenly tribulation, which reminded Li Qingshan that they had also been the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s handiwork.

    In that instant, the grand hall seemed to become a land of buddhism in a realm of mortals, emanating with endless golden light.

    For the sake of cleaning up their sect, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had already unleashed their full strength!

    Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang exchanged glances and drew their weapons. They were also honoured guests of the King of Chu¡¯s estate. Regardless of their opinion of Li Qingshan, they could only oppose him for now.

    The other great cultivators of the hundred schools stood forward too, unleashing their various techniques. A grandmaster of the school of Mohism released several Puppet Kings as the grandmaster from the school of Names prepared many curses.

    ¡°Wretched daemon, today is the day you die! When you killed the disciples of my school of Confucianism, did a day like this ever occur to you?¡± an old man with a long beard asked loudly. He was dressed in the yellow robes of a confucian scholar, clearly a grandmaster of the school of Confucianism.

    ¡°Haha, you better be careful. I don¡¯t know you, so once we start fighting, I¡¯m not going to be showing any mercy. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll kill another disciple of the school of Confucianism.¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    ¡°You¡¯re already at death¡¯s door, yet you still boast!¡±

    Even in the chaotic Mist province, the King of Southern Yue could lead a group of demonic cultivators, let alone the fact that this was the Green province with a strict order in place. It was a place with a reign that lasted even longer than the Great Xia empire itself, so the King of Chu¡¯s estate possessed paramount authority. After the Fierce King of Chu gave his order, all cultivators had to obey.

    However, this was also the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, or everyone would also have to consider just how great of a price they could pay.

    ¡°What a sight!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The current situation really did reflect the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. It really did feel a little like he was at the end of his path. However, before he saved Hua Chengzan, he would never retreat!

    The master of the Sword Collection palace remained in the corner of the grand hall the entire time, staying right beside Hua Chengzan. Even when the Light Queen and Ji Xuanri had been killed, he had not moved away from there, giving Li Qingshan absolutely no opportunity at all.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to avenge the two dead ones?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Death is certain for you, so why do I need to fight? You¡¯re looking for an opportunity to rescue this traitor!¡±

    The palace master was extremely furious. If it were not for Hua Chengzan¡¯s warning, Li Qingshan would have refined the Soul Cycling sword, and none of this would have happened. The Sword Collection palace would not have lost two great sword cultivators in such a strange way, and his plan would not have fallen apart.

    ¡°If you even touch a hair on him, I¡¯ll butcher your entire family!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill him first, and then I¡¯ll kill you!¡± The palace master drew the Heaven Leaning sword and swung it at Hua Chengzan¡¯s neck.

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 Chapter 1051: The Hot Wind Hell, the Howl of a Myriad Ghosts

    With a swing of the Heaven Leaning sword, its powers were on full display. There were no complicated or fancy tricks, but it could cut through all.

    In the face of death, Hua Chengzan¡¯s eyes cleared up. His mind had never been so clear before. The light filled his eyes, but the same figure in clothes whiter than snow filled his mind. He smiled. He was simply unable to forget in the end!

    ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡±

    Li Qingshan was frantic. He spread his fingers and reached over, using the Gravity of the Earth.

    Hua Chengzan was immediately lifted into the air, flying towards Li Qingshan, but he was not faster than the Heaven Leaning sword. Right when he was about to be split into two, a folding fan appeared out of nowhere and blocked the sword.

    The atmospheric winds and glow from the sword clashed violently, kicking up waves and waves of fierce wind that echoed through the entire hall.

    Gu Yanying rode over on the wind with her drifting, white clothes, arriving in a split second.

    ¡°Commander Gu!¡± Hua Chengzan widened his eyes and gazed at her deeply.

    ¡°Gu Yanying, are you planning on assisting this wretched daemon too? Don¡¯t forget who you are!¡± The palace master glanced over and stared at Gu Yanying. His gaze condensed into an invisible sword intent.

    ¡°This person has publicly revealed the crimes of this wretched daemon. You should be rewarding him, so why are you trying to kill him?¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes turned into that of a hawk¡¯s. She seemed to be able to see through everything, nullifying the invisible sword intent and making her seem even more valiant.

    ¡°He¡¯s a part of my Sword Collection palace. I have rules to uphold. Do you really think you can stop me?¡±

    The palace master struck his hilt, and the Heaven Leaning sword turned into a streak of light. Sword controlling techniques had always been the basics of sword cultivators. Having left his hand, the Heaven Leaning sword was like a serpent in the ocean, even slighter faster than when it was in his hand. It swung viciously towards Hua Chengzan.

    ¡°Hot Wind hell!¡±

    Gu Yanying seemed to have anticipated this a long time ago. Before the sword had even flown out, she had already unfurled her folding fan. With a gentle swing, surging hot winds whistled over and swallowed Hua Chengzan, sucking him into the Hot Wind hell.

    ¡°Domain!¡±

    The Heaven Leaning sword missed and spiralled back into the palace master¡¯s hand. He pointed it at Gu Yanying. ¡°Gu Yanying, I¡¯d like to see just how long you can last. If you don¡¯t hand over Hua Chengzan, don¡¯t even think about leaving here today!¡±

    Hua Chengzan knew far too many secrets about the Sword Collection palace. He had to die!

    ¡°Very long.¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Thanks, commander Gu!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°No need to thank me. This is my friendship with little Hua. It has nothing to do with you, though you better hurry up and do something!¡±

    Gu Yanying waved her hand without looking back. She waved her fan, fueling the hot winds as they dispersed the incoming sword qi.

    She had established a domain around herself, embodying hell. Such a move was powerful, but it took a great mental toll too. It was impossible for her to continue like this, let alone the fact that she had to fend off a great sword cultivator in the process too.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan no longer had anything holding him back now. Glancing around at the hostile faces and the land of buddhism emanating with golden light, he became filled with enthusiasm, like he was facing an army alone on the battlefield. ¡°Allow me to witness what you¡¯re capable of, everyone. If you end up dying to my blade, don¡¯t even think about grumbling in the afterlife. Come!¡±

    ¡°Wretched daemon, stop with the boasts!¡±

    However, the person who struck first was a pale, chubby, middle-aged man standing in the distance. He was a grandmaster from the school of Names. He formed a seal with his hands and called out, ¡°Freeze!¡±

    It was a simple word, but it contained endless might. It contained his entire lifetime of cultivation, and it was also the unique curse of the school of Names, the Freezing curse!

    The grandmaster of the school of Names smiled calmly. ¡°I¡¯ve already frozen this daemon. Please kill him, masters!¡±

    He was rather disapproving of Li Qingshan inside. How ignorant. You might have the absolute strength to kill the Light Queen in a single punch, but we have so many people that even great Daemon Kings would suffer at our hands. What are you supposed to do, overwhelm us all?

    Li Qingshan shuddered and immediately became immobilised.

    ¡°Let me lend you a hand, fellow!¡±

    In a battle to the death, moving even just a split second slower could be the difference between life and death.

    ¡°The Guardian Kings Subdue the Demon!¡± the Dauntless monk bellowed as the four guardian kings moved together. Under the effects of the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings, the four powers combined into a single strike, turning into a colossal vajra club that slammed down.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed, unleashing the Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar. He broke free from the Freezing curse in a single stroke and raised his blade, blocking the incoming vajra club.

    Boom! The ground shattered, and the grand hall shook.

    The grandmaster from the school of Names paled and took a step back uncontrollably. He never expected Li Qingshan to break free from his Freezing curse so quickly. At the same time, the tiger¡¯s roar rang out by his ears, making his head spin. He had suffered a backlash.

    Before the tiger¡¯s roar had even subsided, a dragon¡¯s cry rose up. It was very gentle at first, but it flooded the surroundings in the blink of an eye, like a dragon dancing through the air. It poured straight into his head, stirring up his blood and making him take another step back.

    ¡°The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡±

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s heart skipped a beat. All he saw was Xiao An opening her mouth slightly as the dragon¡¯s cry poured out endlessly. It was the ultimate technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga!

    Right now, she seemed so solemn and filled with esteem that she was clearly still the same, outstanding disciple he had placed his hopes on or even the successor of the bodhisattva. Her bluish-white robes fluttered through the air without giving off a hint of blasphemy at all. The sounds of the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga were wondrous too, deep with the spirit of buddhism such that even the Monk Kings felt admiration.

    ¡°One Will, oh One Will, why must you walk alone with a single will and sink into depravity willingly?¡±

    Xiao An said nothing.

    The grandmaster from the school of Names took a total of five or six steps backwards before spitting out blood. He stared at Xiao An in disbelief. The dragon¡¯s roar refused to spare him, growing louder and louder instead. It was like a rope being slowly tightened around his neck, such that he almost could not breath.

    The pleasant and graceful voice of a woman rang out from behind him. ¡°Let me lend you a hand, fellow!¡± When he heard that, it was like the sounds of heaven.

    She was a noblewoman with a delicate hairstyle, holding a pipa carved from green jade. She stared at Xiao An. ¡°The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga truly lives up to its reputation, but why don¡¯t you try my school of Music¡¯s Sounds of All?¡±

    She plucked the strings gently, and there was a thrum, which sliced through the dragon¡¯s cry like a blade.

    The grandmaster from the school of Names eased up inside and clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you, fellow!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll play the tune, Ambush on All Sides, to assist you all, fellows! We must kill these two wretched beings swiftly!¡±

    The grandmaster from the school of Music smiled, and her hands moved about even more rapidly, leaving behind a series of blurs. It was as if she now possessed hundreds of hands all of a sudden. The bass strings were deep and raucous in timbre, while the treble strings sprang a light and gentle tone like the clashing of swords in a cavalry raid. The invisible music rushed towards Li Qingshan and Xiao An like an army of thousands.

    Suddenly, there was a dark flash beside her, and a long dress drifted out. A gloomy voice rang out by her ear, ¡°Who are you trying to kill?¡±

    ¡°Your highness¡­ Don¡¯t!¡± She raised her head and met the Dark Queen¡¯s cold gaze before seeing the Myriad Ghost Banner in her hand.

    With a swing of the Myriad Ghost Banner, the howls of a myriad ghosts flooded the grand hall, drowning out the pipa music.

    The army of thousands were all reduced to ghosts.

    The grandmaster of the school of Music flew out, slamming heavily against the glistening wall. The strings of her pipa snapped.

    ¡°Dark Queen!¡± The grandmaster from the school of Names glared at her furiously.

    The Dark Queen said, ¡°That¡¯s my Yue¡¯er, princess Xuanyue of the King of Chu¡¯s estate, the future sect master of the Umbral Yin sect. Anyone who dares to touch her will become a mortal enemy of my Umbral Yin sect!¡±

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 Chapter 1052: Bald Ass, Iâ€™ve Put Up With You For a Long Time Now

    ¡°Mother!¡± Xiao An called out

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yue¡¯er. This time, I¡¯ll definitely ensure your safety. No matter what you do, I¡¯ll give you my full support. Li Qingshan, you killed that bitch and avenged me, so I have to thank you too.¡±

    The Dark Queen looked back at the Fierce King of Chu. ¡°Xuanyue is your daughter. Do you really want to force her to her death?¡±

    ¡°My Ji clan has many roots and branches with countless descendants. We don¡¯t lack an unfilial daughter like her! Dauntless abbot, I¡¯ve failed when it comes to managing my household, and I¡¯ve brought shame to my ancestors. Please do not hold back and kill these two wretched beings immediately!¡± The Fierce King of Chu recovered his dignified bearing and orderly resolutely.

    ¡°You- Alright! Then from today onwards, I have nothing to do with your Ji clan. You might as well kill me too!¡±

    The Dark Queen summoned several Ghost Kings with a wave of her hand as she yelled out furiously. At the same time, the howls of a myriad ghosts filled the air, which turned the golden hall a little more gloomy.

    The Dauntless monk bellowed furiously, ¡°You even have the audacity to use these devilish tricks in a sacred place of buddhism? Protection of the Sa?ghar¨¡ma Gods, Buddha Hymn Purges the World!¡±

    A temple god faded into existence over Great Buddha mountain and spouted with the obscure, sacred sounds of the buddha. It was even vaster and mightier than the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    The sa?ghar¨¡ma gods were protector gods of buddhism, gods that protected all temples. They amounted to eighteen, including Pleasant Hymn, Buddha Hymn, Heavenly Drum, Wondrous Sigh, Buddha Servant, and so on. Sa?ghar¨¡ma god Buddha Hymn was one of them, and the protective formation of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was known as the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn.

    TL: If you¡¯re wondering why I didn¡¯t use the sanskrit names for the eighteen sa?ghar¨¡ma gods, it¡¯s because that doesn¡¯t exist. The scripture they were first mentioned in appears to be first written in Chinese, so this is exclusive to Chinese buddhism.

    Across Great Buddha mountain, all the bells and drums were struck at the same time like accompaniment to the hymn. It formed a great, golden river, pouring into the grand hall.

    The howls of the ghosts were immediately washed away by the river, while the roars of the Ghost Kings immediately turned into shrieks. They began to smoke as they shrank rapidly. Demons, ghosts, and the undead had always been particularly vulnerable to buddhist techniques.

    The Dark Queen¡¯s expression changed, also experiencing a tremendous pressure descending around her. She held on barely and gritted her teeth. ¡°Yue¡¯er!¡±

    The Hot Wind hell that Gu Yanying had unleashed was affected to a certain degree too. She thought, Sure enough, fighting on Great Buddha mountain wasn¡¯t a smart choice.

    The two grandmasters from the school of Music and school of Names instead felt their bodies lighten up. They bathed in the golden river, and their wounds rapidly healed. They sneered at the Dark Queen.

    Her presence today made absolutely no difference. If she wanted to die, then she could come!

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother. Qingshan and I will deal with this ourselves.¡±

    Xiao An was calm, unaffected by the hymn, which puzzled even the Monk Kings. Had she really fallen into the demonic path?

    At this moment, Li Qingshan said to Xiao An without even looking back, ¡°Have you learnt it?¡±

    ¡°I have.¡± Xiao An nodded and let go of Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    From the moment she arrived by Li Qingshan¡¯s side, they had been holding hands. It was not just to comfort one another and cheer each other on, but also because Li Qingshan was passing on the three thousand sword moves of the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth to her. Sure enough, she had not disappointed him.

    ¡°Then come!¡± Li Qingshan laughed and mentally communicated to the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°You really want to use that move?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was surprised and uncertain.

    ¡°Why do you suddenly care about me now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll give way before you¡¯ve even launched a strike, blowing up on the spot and embarrassing me. I don¡¯t want to end up in the hands of these bald asses¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your trap, bitch!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see how you die! One with the blade!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was furious.

    ¡°Thank you for your blessing. A Madman at Path¡¯s End!¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    Abruptly, the blade bloomed furiously. The huge, magnificent petals wrapped around Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, and the patterning spread across his arms, covering his body in the blink of an eye. They shone with a metallic lustre, adding some devilishness and ferocity to his flawlessly handsome face.

    The figure of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower faded into existence, overlapping with his body and merging with him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body shuddered violently, and he dropped down to one knee. The Frenzy of the Tiger Demon had already unleashed the limit of his potential. Coupled with A Madman at Path¡¯s End, he had broken the limit, leading to an extremely great burden.

    The vajra club used this opportunity to press down heavily in an attempt to grind him to dust.

    ¡°Though, the limit has always existed to be broken!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed madly. A vicious light flashed through his eyes, and his scarlet hair danced like fire. His phoenix wings suddenly unfurled and fierce winds swept towards him, exhibiting a battle stance of absolute power.

    ¡°Split in half!¡± With a flash of his blade, the vajra club split in half with his bellow. The surface of the cut was as smooth as a mirror.

    What is this blade? The Dauntless monk was alarmed. The vajra club had been condensed through the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings by gathering the strength from all four of them. It was far tougher than any regular arcane treasure. Even the renowned swords from the Sword Collection palace could not cut through it easily.

    ¡°Fall!¡±

    Li Qingshan spun around rapidly, and the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End danced chaotically. There was a profound blade intent within the chaos. Streaks of black emanated from the edge of the blade, containing the power of tremors.

    In that instant, thousands of slashes erupted from the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings like the furious bloom of a flower.

    The Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings had fallen!

    The four guardian kings all retreated. They had to retreat. Their impervious avatars were as fragile as paper before the slashes.

    The slashes were like a tornado, rushing up to the ceiling of the hall. The layer of golden light could not stop it.

    Li Qingshan rushed out of the hall. The boundless, blue sky filled his eyes, He raised his head and gazed at the distant Nine Heavens, smiling away resplendently.

    His blood was not the only part that boiled. His soul boiled too!

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape, wretched daemon!¡± The Dauntless monk was overcome with alarm and rage. The cage he originally believed to be impregnable could not even withstand a slash from his blade. In a daze, he realised he had still underestimated Li Qingshan¡¯s strength after all. He was powerful enough to contend against the Ten Daemon Kings.

    Li Qingshan looked down and turned around. He gripped the hilt firmly with both hands as he flapped the wings of fire and wind violently.

    Having become one with the blade, he slashed down!¡±

    ¡°Great Palm of the Guardian King!¡± The dauntless guardian king launched a palm strike at the air, erupting with blinding, golden light. It possessed the paramount power of demon suppression.

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! With three collisions of metal, the three guardian kings pressed their hands against him, pouring all of their strength into him.

    The golden light suddenly pulsed brighter, scorching away like the sun. The Great Palm of the Guardian King became several times larger and rumbled as it received the falling slash.

    There was a boom, but it was not as loud as they imagined it would be. The blade passed through the Great Palm of the Guardian King, slicing into the avatar of the guardian king. It was unstoppable, cutting through all obstacles, heading straight for the Dauntless monk himself in the very centre.

    ¡°Great Wheel of the Guardian King!¡±

    The Dauntless monk brought his hands together and caught the blade. He gazed at Li Qingshan in disbelief. ¡°You wretched daemon¡­¡±

    ¡°Bald ass! You¡¯ve been going and on, wretched daemon this, wretched daemon that! Have you had enough? I¡¯ve put up with you for a very long time now!¡± Li Qingshan cast aside the blade and punched the Dauntless monk¡¯s face.

    The dauntless guardian king dispersed violently, and the Dauntless monk flew out, smashing through two pillars, followed by a wall of the grand hall.

    The grand hall fell silent. The abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, a great cultivator at the apex of the Green province, had just been sent flying by a single punch in his own sect, and this had happened when he had the assistance of three Monk Kings!?

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 Chapter 1053: The Eight Legions, the Blood Sea Banner

    The pillar broke and fell to the ground slowly. The ceiling collapsed, and the glazed roof tiles poured down like rain.

    Sunlight flowed in, producing a rainbow glow from reflecting off the tiles.

    Expressions of surprise were frozen on all of their faces. That was strength beyond imagination!

    ¡°Senior brother!¡± ¡°Abbot!¡± the Unraging monk and the two other old monks cried out.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master. Our abbot¡¯s head is plenty tough.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The Dauntless monk had always annoyed him in all sorts of ways, but he had still been quite nice to Xiao An, so he did not strike to kill. Otherwise, even if a tough-bodied Demon King took a punch from him, the only fate awaiting them was a ruptured head.

    ¡°You damned disciple! I¡¯m not sparing you today!¡± the Unraging monk said furiously.

    Demon qi surged from the Unraging monk¡¯s body, possessing the paramount power of demon suppression. It merged with his plump figure, and his fat immediately turned into rippling muscle. His body became scarlet-red like fire as if he had used the Possession of the Demon King, except the war banners on his back depicted the words ¡°Demon Suppression¡±.

    Li Qingshan, however, smiled when he heard that. Seeing how he still called him ¡°damned disciple¡±, he really had not held back in vain.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The pillars struck the ground, and the grand hall shook violently. The sounds of the shattering roof tiles filled the surroundings. Dust filled the air.

    The countless arhats, heavenly maidens, and guardians from the murals swarmed over together. Right when they were about to swallow Li Qingshan, a river of blood whistled over. The river water was dark red and sticky. It contained countless skeletons that moaned and wailed, extending their pale-white arms, and it also had some stronger evil spirits, brandishing their claws like they could swallow people whole.

    ¡°Xuanyue?¡± The Dark Queen looked over in surprise, only to see Xiao An holding a blood banner of white bone, swinging it around gently. It actually seemed even stronger than the treasure of the Umbral Yin sect, the Myriad Ghost Banner.

    It was a supreme treasure of white bone, the Blood Sea Banner.

    The blood sea surged, filled with great foulness. Wherever it reached, even the golden glow of the buddha dimmed. Whether it was the arhats, heavenly maidens, or guardians, they would be immediately devoured once they fell into it. It flooded this land of buddhism.

    Only eight strangely-shaped murals remained, able to leap out of the sea of blood.

    At first sight, they seemed somewhat human, but at a closer glance, none of them were human. They were either extremely handsome, snake-headed with a human body, ugly and vicious-looking, or four-limbed. They all possessed strength at the third heavenly tribulation.

    Li Qingshan immediately recognised the ugly and vicious-looking mural to be an asura.

    He was unable to tell normally, but as it turned out, the arhats and heavenly maidens only served as a contrast in the colorful, beautiful murals. Only the eight of them were the true leads.

    This was the legendary eight legions of deva-n¨¡ga , which were the deva, the n¨¡ga, the yak?a, the gandharva, the asura, the garu?a, the ki?nara, and the mahoraga. They were eight kinds of gods and spirits that resembled humans and had a close connection to the buddhist dharma. When the buddha expounded the dharma, they regularly participated and listened in.

    The deva and the n¨¡ga were the most important, which was why it was known as the eight legions of deva-n¨¡ga. They possessed an extremely important status in buddhism, and they were also the origins of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s name. The ultimate technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, sounded like the cries of dragons, of n¨¡ga, but it actually possessed the chants of deva.

    Li Qingshan grinned widely. ¡°You call me a wretched daemon, but the eight of them clearly aren¡¯t human either, yet aren¡¯t they still enshrined in this grand hall? Isn¡¯t the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga just a replication of a wretched daemon¡¯s sound? Do you have to be so biased?¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± ¡°How bold of you!¡± the two old monks called out.

    ¡°Damned disciple, the eight legions admire buddhism, which is why they had a destiny with the buddha and can be enshrined by us. They¡¯re not existences you can comment on,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Master, I also have a destiny with the buddha! The Dauntless abbot even said I¡¯m deep with a buddha nature. After listening to the Dharma Ceremony of Meditative Chan, I even developed a bit of a heart of chan!¡±

    ¡°Unraging, ignore his nonsense. Slay the daemon immediately and protect the sect!¡±

    ¡°Intelligence and Dharma Are Equivalent; All Life and the Buddha Are Equal¡ªFist Seal of Intelligence!¡±

    A Monk King struck out with both fists. Both hands were curled into fists, while the ten fingers interlocked together into a seal, hurling towards Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    This was the hand seal of Mah¨¡vairocana of the Vajra realm. It used great wisdom and intellect to tear down the mists and obstacles to enlightenment such that it was unavoidable. Then it used the strength of a guardian king to obliterate the enemy. It was one of the greatest techniques of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga

    ¡°Bodhidharma Sword of Wisdom!¡±

    The other Monk King lifted up a long sword over a meter and a half in length. He was small, skinny, and hunched over, like a child wielding an adult¡¯s weapon, which seemed extremely conflicting. However, his expression was plain and innocent, filled with absolute sincerity as he bowed forwards. The sword swung down over Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Right off the bat, he had unleashed the final form of the Bodhidharma Sword, the Boy Bows to the Budda!

    If they were not a true buddha, only death awaited them!

    At the same time, the eight legions struck at the same time.

    The deva was gentle in expression, pure and lofty. It was just like a god, chanting the scriptures softly.

    The n¨¡ga flew through the air, brandishing its claws and fangs as it emitted a sonorous dragon¡¯s cry that reached the clouds.

    The two sounds seemed to enter Li Qingshan¡¯s head independently from his left and right ear before rumbling and merging together. It was the ultimate technique of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, but unlike the monks¡¯ Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, it was much more savage and primitive, having replaced some of the profound dharma with wondrous destructive power. It stirred up his soul.

    The gandharva was graceful in figure and lithe in appearance. It was only wrapped in a piece of white cloth, but it was enveloped by layers upon layers of churning, colourful mist. It gave off a heavy fragrance, making people¡¯s heads spin, yet they were also unable to resist sniffing it. They felt like they were wallowing in a dream.

    The asura was the most vigorous and vicious. It let out a war cry and rushed over with a weapon in hand while having a raging battle spirit. It was basically no different from a true Asura King, and it was even a little more pure than one.

    The yak?a was no less vicious compared to the asura in terms of appearance. It had a green face, ferocious fangs, and a pair of horns protruding from its forehead, except its movements were nimble and silent. It unfurled its wings as it lunged over swiftly.

    The ki?nara had a single horn on its head, singing and dancing about gently as if it was not in a battle but attending a grand banquet. Its footsteps constantly varied such that it was unpredictable. It seemed to move slowly, but it had arrived before Li Qingshan in the blink of an eye. It went for his throat with movements that resembled a dance.

    The garu?a let out a long, anguishing cry and spread its wings, blotting out the sun and exhibiting a solemn appearance. It went for the back of Li Qingshan¡¯s head with its sharp, shining beak, moving so fast that it was difficult to react to.

    The mahoraga had the head of a snake and the body of a human. It suddenly turned into a huge, black python, opening its mouth that seemed to be hiding endless darkness as it lunged towards Li Qingshan.

    The eight legions only came from the mural, but the painter had clearly captured the essence of the eight legions already. They possessed might of their own, working together flawlessly. They were enough to hold off ten great cultivators working together, and on Great Buddha mountain, within the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn, their strength only multiplied.

    If some ignorant person wanted to break into the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, there was no need for the monks in the temple to do anything; this huge mural alone was enough to make them suffer. Just how capable had the person who painted this mural been?

    What a Five Absolutes Immortal!

    Apart from when Qiongqi descended, the current situation was even more dangerous than within the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous in the south.

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 Chapter 1054: The Buddha TathÄgata, the Buddha Nemesis One Will

    Bang!

    Right as those thoughts flowed through Li Qingshan¡¯s head, a golden foot landed before him, shattering the sea of blood. Even Great Buddha mountain shook as a result.

    The golden foot had an ankle that was even thicker than the pillars of the hall. Li Qingshan raised his head and was met with a golden, benevolent face, which made him shiver inside. This was the great buddha that had sat in the grand hall for thousands of years.

    Time seemed to freeze. The great buddha seemed to stand beyond the river of time. It was clearly just a statue, devoid of any expressions, but it seemed even more alive than the eight legions that assumed various different forms. It was more alive than all the creatures he had seen in his life.

    Countless emotions seemed to be surging and flowing under the golden buddha¡¯s face, but it did not seem arrogant at all. It even seemed gentler than mortals, except it stood at an unattainable height, overlooking all creatures across the six realms and the trichiliocosm.

    The great buddha had gathered the power of belief from millions of followers, so it contained a hint of a true buddha nature. Every single movement it made possessed tremendous force, even greater than the Great Palm of the Guardian King unleashed by the four Monk Kings together, even stronger than the fire god Zhurong Li Qingshan had once fought on Fire Melt mountain.

    So this is the strongest existence of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. It¡¯s not some reclusive sweeper monk, but it¡¯s the great buddha that sits at the top of Great Buddha mountain. Even the attacks from Qiongqi back then in the south were probably equal to this at most!

    The so-called saying of ¡°even killing gods and buddhas that stood in the way¡± was merely nonsense by mortals. Only when they personally witnessed the existence of a god or buddha¡ªeven if it was only a will, a hint of self-awareness¡ªcould they understand the terrors of gods and buddhas.

    Standing before him was not a low level god like fire god Zhurong or Demon God Qiongqi, but the forefather of all buddhas, Tath¨¡gata himself!

    Li Qingshan could no longer spare the strength to deal with everything else going on around him. He had to muster all the willpower within him, and only then could he stave off the great buddha¡¯s ¡°buddha nature¡±.

    The great buddha raised its thick, wide palm high into the air. It seemed extremely heavy and sluggish as it pressed down on Li Qingshan slowly.

    The buddha¡¯s palm was only around a dozen meters across at most, but it felt boundless to him. It was unavoidable. With each inch it pressed down, the pressure on him multiplied.

    A slight, cold smile appeared on the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s face. Even a great cultivator would be pulverised by a palm strike like that, let alone the fact that there were the eight legions and two Monk Kings assaulting him too. Even if it had been him on the receiving end instead, he would have been in tremendous danger.

    The grandmasters from the hundred schools all eased up inside. After witnessing the Dauntless monk being blown away, they no longer had the lofty ambition to go daemon slaying anymore. If the battle could end just like this, that would be for the best.

    Before the buddha¡¯s palm had even arrived, the golden peak of the garu?a had almost struck the back of Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The flawless hand of a woman extended over out of thin air and grabbed the golden beak gently. Xiao An had rushed over.

    With a wave of her hand, the string of golden prayer beads scattered and turned into thirty-three revolving skulls, letting out a strange crackle. Then they turned into thirty-three Skeleton Demons whose eye sockets burned with the pale-white Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. Their bodies became gilded with a layer of gold, assuming a strange form where the buddhist and the demonic coexisted.

    Bang! Clang!

    The Fist Seal of Intelligence and the Bodhidharma Sword of Wisdom struck two Skeleton Demons at almost the same time. They were launched away, but with a flip, they climbed to their feet again, cackling away just like before. There was the deep imprint of a fist and a sword slash in their bones, but it was not enough to kill them.

    Skeleton Demons had never exactly been alive in the first place, and the buddhist techniques that were particularly effective against demons and evil did not seem particularly effective on the Skeleton Demons.

    Instead, two other Skeleton Demons used this opportunity to swing their claws and gnash their jaws, forcing the two Monk Kings into retreating.

    The other Skeleton Demons split up and lunged at the eight legions. The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga immediately halted. No matter how vicious the attacks of the asura was, it could not simply kill a Skeleton Demon whose body was even tougher than arcane treasures. The mysterious fragrance of the gandharva was rendered useless too.

    No matter how unpredictable the dance of the ki?nara was, no matter how nimble and silent the yak?a was, they could not avoid the encirclement and interception of over a dozen Skeleton Demons. The mahoraga did manage to swallow three Skeleton Demons in a single gulp, but it immediately began to toss and turn in pain.

    In particular, the garu?a whose beak had been grabbed by Xiao An had its colourful wings caught by two Skeleton Demons. They bit away at it viciously, and its golden feathers drifted through the air messily. Its cry became even more anguished.

    In a single instant, the difference in numbers had been turned around, and it had been turned around so dramatically that it left all the cultivators present dumbfounded.

    In particular, the thing that the grandmaster from the school of Mohism took the greatest pride in was his Puppet Kings. Every single Puppet King possessed strength on par with a great cultivator, and they did not fear death. However, when compared to these Skeleton Demons, they were lower in quality, and they were nowhere close in terms of quantity. It immediately delivered a mental blow to him.

    Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang exchanged glances. They possessed the same shock and doubt. Was this still the nine provinces!? A battle, no, war, on such a scale was something they had never witnessed in their entire lives.

    ¡°Yue¡¯er!¡± The Dark Queen was both surprised and overjoyed, but she also felt a hint of melancholy within her pride. She no longer needed her protection. No one could harm her again either. She sneered at the Fierce King of Chu. ¡°Do you feel regret?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu was unable to believe that this was his daughter, which made him feel a hint of regret. The Ji clan had many roots and branches with countless descendants, but none of them could compare to her, not even Ji Xuanri.

    If she became the King of Chu, perhaps she would be the strongest King of Chu in history. Coupled with the assistance from Li Qingshan, they could even settle their grievances for good with the Kingdom of Southern Yue. Perhaps he should not have spoken in such a resolute manner.

    However, he immediately dismissed this thought the moment it occurred to him. He was not the kind to be overcautious and indecisive. He was in no position to feel any regret today.

    So the little ghost from back then has become so terrifying as well! Gu Yanying sighed inside and said to the master of the Sword Collection palace nearby, ¡°You could have done anything, so why did you have to provoke them in particular? It¡¯s not going to wind down easily now.¡±

    The palace master was powering the Heaven Leaning sword and attacking the Hot Wind hell when she said that. His face sank, and he also felt slightly annoyed inside. What exactly were the two monsters he had provoked!?

    Dealing with Li Qingshan was originally just an unimportant move he had made casually. If he could not reach his objective, then he was prepared to simply eliminate him with ease, but he never expected this chess piece to flip the entire chess board in the blink of an eye, almost costing the chess player¡¯s life instead.

    Everyone all thought the same thing. If the two of them did not die today on Great Buddha mountain, just who across the nine provinces could still restrain them?

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan felt his body lighten, but it was not because the attacks from the eight legions and two Monk Kings had been blocked. Instead, it was because the golden palm over his head had suddenly switched targets, swinging towards Xiao An. The eyes of the buddha opened a little more too, staring at her.

    Xiao An refused to take it on forcefully. With a gentle wave of the Blood Sea Banner, she sucked the great golden buddha inside.

    The Blood Sea Banner had always possessed a space of its own, and unlike the Asura Field, it was specially made for capturing the enemy. The river of blood did not actually demonstrate its true might.

    A Monk King roared furiously, ¡°One Will, you buddha nemesis!¡±

    ps£º ÎÒ²ÂÓÖ¸ÃÓÐÈËËµÐ¡°²±ÈÇàÉ½À÷º¦ÁË^_^

 Chapter 1055: A Great Buddha, Two Figures with Outstretched Limbs

    Before anyone had realised it, the Seven Treasures Monk King had already arrived in the grand hall, gazing at Xiao An furiously. The figure of Prabh¨±taratna appeared behind him, wielding the seven buddhist treasures that shone with solemn, rainbow light.

    Originally, he was still thinking about how he could bring Xiao An back to the Spirit K?etra temple with him, but he never expected an incident like this. Even when Xiao An killed Ji Xuanri and stood by Li Qingshan¡¯s side, he still held onto a ray of hope. Perhaps it was better described as a fantasy, fantasising that there must have been something else going on with her.

    His impression of Xiao An had been far too great, such that only when the thirty-three prayer beads that had once defeated him turned into thirty-three Skeleton Demons did his fantasy shatter completely. Fury from being deceived and taken for a fool immediately filled his head, such that he could not stand by anymore.

    ¡°Buddha nemesis?¡± Xiao An¡¯s heart rippled. It made perfect sense, yet she also disapproved of it for some reason.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad title.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    The term ¡°buddha nemesis¡± had the meaning the name implied. It meant an enemy of buddhism, but it was not a title that could be given to just any person. Even the Soaring Locust King who had killed millions and had an irreconocible grievance with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was not worthy of that title, let alone any regular demons or daemons.

    However, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty she unleashed immediately made all eminent monks of buddhism think of these two words. The very essence of the cultivation method was an insult to the buddhist dharma and its vows included slaying buddhas. As she progressed through the layers, she only became more true to this title of ¡°buddha nemesis¡±, and this would continue until she became the White Bone Bodhisattva.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was furious. He said nothing more, outlining circles in the air with both hands and pushing them forwards.

    ¡°The Seven Treasures Subdues the Demon!¡±

    The seven buddhist treasures shot towards Xiao An with seven streaks of colourful light.

    This time, Xiao An did not have the thirty-three prayer beads to stop them. The Blood Sea Banner was flapping violently too, having reached its limit after trapping the great buddha for a moment. At the same time, the Seven Treasures Monk King was completely on guard, so it was impossible for him to let the Buddha Slaying sword touch him.

    Suddenly, she became stern, solemn, and awe-inspiring. She chanted softly, ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya.¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King shuddered and became immobilised. He exclaimed, ¡°A great master of laws!¡±

    He was not referring to the kind that stood up in court and handled cases. Instead, it was a term of respect towards great cultivators of the school of vinaya.

    The school of vinaya grasped and inherited the many laws, rules, and precepts of buddhism, so they possessed great prestige within buddhism. They could even punish disciples from other sects and disciples. However, because the precepts were overly strict, cultivation was far too difficult, and many regular buddhist disciples found it to be unbearable. As a result, they had an extremely small number of disciples, while great masters of vinaya were even rarer.

    He had never imagined that the buddha nemesis before him was also a great master of vinaya! He put up a fierce struggle as he continued to power the seven buddhist treasures.

    ¡°Seven Treasures master, be ready to catch your buddha!¡± Xiao An swung the Blood Sea Banner.

    ¡°What!¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King widened his eyes. All he saw was a great buddha covered in blood hurling towards him like a golden mountain.

    The seven buddhist treasures collided with the great buddha, and they were all sent flying. The coral mountain even shattered on the spot, but he could not become pained over the loss, as he soon discovered that he was still immobilised.

    Buddhist cultivation methods were solemn and righteous. They were impervious to the evils, while the Seven Treasures Monk King who practised the Dharma Flower Scripture of Seven Treasures had a particularly great willpower. Originally, the last thing he should have been afraid of were decrees and curses like the Freezing curse.

    However, when it came to what suppressed buddhist cultivation methods most, then it would be the various laws and precepts of the school of vinaya. The rules and precepts were for maintaining the order of buddhism. They were created for buddhist disciples in the first place.

    Xiao An had inherited the Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s ?ar¨©ra too, so compared to the school of chan¡¯s Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Dharmagupta-vinaya was instead closer to the foundations of her cultivation.

    As a result, the Seven Treasures Monk King could only watch helplessly as the great buddha hurled towards him. A thought flashed through his head, She¡¯s clearly a buddha nemesis, so why can she use the cultivation methods of buddhism? She can even employ them to such an ingenious degree, even stretching across the two major schools.

    Bang!

    The Seven Treasures Monk King had his face stuck firmly to the great buddha with his limbs outstretched, slamming into a wall of the grand hall and falling off the mountain. From the corner of his eye, he saw a monk with a disfigured face leap out from one of the cliffs, his face also filled with surprise.

    Bang!

    Before the Seven Treasures Monk King could even warn him, the great buddha struck the disfigured monk and another thought flashed through his head, That face seems a little familiar!

    ¡­¡­

    The Dauntless monk had been launched off the mountain by a punch from Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan had not tried to kill him, but he had not held back either. He fell off the cliff and only returned to his senses after a good moment. He was both alarmed and furious. Ignoring the half of his face that had directly collapsed, he immediately flew up again.

    Right when he wanted to face Li Qingshan in a battle to the death, all he saw was the great buddha he had prostrated himself to for his entire life hurling towards him. There was even a Seven Treasures Monk King stuck on there, which stunned him.

    He had not been hit by Xiao An¡¯s decrees, but Li Qingshan¡¯s punch had already incapacitated him for good, so he could not run back and stir up more trouble. His mind was shaken and dizzy from the attack, so how could he respond in time?

    As a result, a great buddha and two figures with outstretched limbs fell off Great Buddha mountain together.

    ¡°Abbot, please forgive my rudeness,¡± Xiao An said inaudibly.

    There was no rumble from the great buddha hitting the ground from below the mountain. With a flash, the great buddha had already shaken off all the blood, planting its golden feet on the mountain again. It radiated with golden, buddhist light, like waves of sunlight.

    The great buddha was without any emotion, but its sense of benevolence had dispersed. With a step, it arrived before Xiao An and slammed down with a palm strike.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, a little help here!¡±

    Gu Yanying called out from afar. Under the attacks of the Heaven Leaning sword, the Hot Wind hell was already on the brink of collapse. She could escape with ease, but protecting Hua Chengzan would be difficult.

    ¡°Just go, Qinghsan. Leave here to me!¡± Xiao An said.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan trusted Xiao An¡¯s strength and intelligence. Even if she could not win, protecting herself posed no difficulty. His true enemy was not the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga either. He looked towards the palace master and killing intent surged through his eyes.

    At this moment, a scarlet-red figure blocked his path. It was wrapped in black chains with the words ¡°Demon Suppression¡± fluttering about on its back.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. This was the last opponent he wanted to face. He would rather face the great buddha in battle than oppose the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Apologies, Qingshan. My Skeleton Demons can¡¯t keep him busy,¡± Xiao An communicated as she avoided the great buddha¡¯s palm strike.

    The eight legions just were not particularly intelligent at the end of the day, so they were caught up with the Skeleton Demons. Meanwhile, the two Monk Kings were the same as the Seven Treasures Monk King, viewing Xiao An as their greatest enemy. Only the Unraging monk¡¯s gaze remained fixed on Li Qingshan the entire time.

    ¡°I call you damned disciple all the time, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be a prophecy come true. So be it. I¡¯ll just call you Qingshan from now on!¡± The Unraging monk sighed.

    ¡°Whatever you¡¯d like, master,¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°I never thought there¡¯ll be a second time so quickly,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Master, you¡¯re not my opponent!¡± Li Qingshan said seriously.

    ¡°I know, but what can I do about the fact that I¡¯m your master?¡±

    Asking for Monthly Tickets!

    It¡¯s the last day and I¡¯m still lacking over ten thousand characters. Why do I feel like I¡¯m instead a step closer to the cliff after struggling for an entire week?

    You all know my speed. Right now, all the joints in both of my hands are aching. After just starting this chapter for a while, I had to stop and swing them around a little.

    I¡¯m not grumbling. I hate grumbling. This is my choice, my career, my dream. I¡¯ll obviously endure all of the hardships and I¡¯ll also enjoy your delightful cheers too.

    I¡¯m not thinking about giving up. There¡¯s no other reason. Since it¡¯s called a promise, I need to last until the final second!

    I want to say I can keep going! What about you?

 Chapter 1056: The Raging Monk, Three Questions

    Li Qingshan heated up inside. As he gazed at the scarlet-red face, he was suddenly at a loss over what to say.

    The grand hall collapsed slowly. The sonorous hymns echoed endlessly, traceless and weightless, but it weighed down on him like a mountain, slamming and shaking up his soul endlessly like a surging river. It was to the extent that only the spirit turtle could keep it suppressed.

    His body was scarlet-red like fire too. His blood surged and boiled under his thin layer of skin, like magma flowing beneath the surface of the earth, ready to surge out and swallow him at any time.

    Limits were to be broken, but breaking the limit came at a cost. He could not sustain this state for too long.

    However, this pain from both inside and outside paled in comparison to the guilt he felt inside. Just recently, the owner of this face had used his own life to assure him, allowing him to leave the Demon Suppression hall with ease, allowing him to summon the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    He had never forgotten about his debts, but he owed him far too much.

    ¡°Demon suppression!¡± The Unraging monk bellowed.

    A huge shadow blotted out the sunlight. The pitch-black Demon Suppression Tower descended from above, towering like a mountain.

    Li Qingshan raised his head. This was the largest Demon Suppression Tower he had seen in his life. It was not only because the Unraging monk¡¯s cultivation of the Demon Suppression Statuary was extremely high, but also because his demonic nature was extremely powerful.

    Li Qingshan did not dodge. In the moment the Demon Suppression Tower descended on him, he looked at the Unraging monk and said, ¡°Master, I might be a daemon, a demon, but I¡¯m not a bad person!¡±

    Boom!

    Great Buddha mountain shook, and Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanished under the Demon Suppression Tower.

    The Unraging monk shuddered inside and clenched his fist, I know!

    The Demon Suppression Tower brought peace to Li Qingshan¡¯s ears.

    The vast hymns were blocked outside, allowing his surging soul to settle down. He understood that the Unraging monk had done this intentionally. He shut his eyes, but he raised the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End¡ªhe could not stop here just yet!

    ¡°Qingshan, give me some time,¡± the Unraging monk¡¯s voice rang out.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s useless.¡± Li Qingshan seemed to be able to guess what the Unraging monk was trying to do, which made him shake his head. He gripped the hilt firmly, but he did not swing down with the blade.

    ¡°Unraging, this is the fantastic disciple you¡¯ve accepted!¡± the grandmaster from the school of Confucianism yelled furiously.

    ¡°Zhu Fuzi!¡± The Unraging monk looked back.

    ¡°Stop with the nonsense. Lift up the tower now and let us kill him!¡± Zhu Fuzi lifted up his sword, radiating with murderousness.

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°I can imprison him in the Demon Suppression hall-¡±

    ¡°What a Demon Suppression hall. You want to create another Soaring Locust King?¡± Zhu Fuzi interrupted him with a sneer.

    ¡°Northmoon is not the Soaring Locust King!¡± the Unraging monk said firmly.

    He knew that Northmoon had many disputes with the cultivators of the Green province, but he definitely did not simply believe it was all one side¡¯s fault.

    ¡°Unraging monk, I know you¡¯ve always been sympathetic towards daemons, but there is no other outcome with this matter today.¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t destroy the glorious, ten-millennia-long reputation of Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga over a momentary slip!¡±

    The grandmaster gathered over and spoke up.

    Li Qingshan was originally trapped in the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings, so apart from the grandmasters of the school of Names and Music, the others could not help out with the battle. Afterwards, the great buddha slammed down with its palm strike, so they did not see the need to fight anymore.

    Only when Li Qingshan sliced apart the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings and sent the Dauntless monk flying with a punch, coupled with Xiao An turning the tables in a single stroke, did the grandmasters return to their senses. They were just about to purge him, but they were stopped by the Demon Suppression Tower now.

    Various gazes gathered on the Unraging monk, filled with disdain, sneers, and blame.

    The Unraging monk met the gazes coldly. He was unfazed.

    Zhu Fuzi said, ¡°Unraging monk, you were deceived by daemons, opening the door to disaster such that the Light Queen died. That¡¯s a large enough crime already, yet now, you refuse to cooperate with us to kill this daemon swiftly and redeem your mistakes. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still thinking about sheltering this daemon?¡±

    ¡°You old bastard, if you hate daemons so much, why don¡¯t you go dragon-slaying in the Ink sea instead of making noise here?¡± the Unraging monk said, rebuking him.

    ¡°You-¡± Zhu Fuzi was taken aback. He never expected him to still be bold enough to talk back.

    ¡°Unraging, stop being stubborn. Even if he¡¯s not a daemon, the crime he¡¯s committed warrants death. Where did the Raging monk of the past who feuded against evil go?¡± the Fierce King of Chu stepped forward slowly and said in a dignified manner.

    ¡°How can I tolerate evil? However, there is something extremely suspicious about this. Otherwise, why would he have to do it here? It¡¯s not like he¡¯s gone crazy. Even if you want to kill him, let¡¯s iron out the truths behind this first!¡±

    The Unraging monk did not blindly trust Li Qingshan. Instead, he found this to be very illogical. Li Qingshan was violent-tempered, but he was not foolhardy. There must have been a very important reason why he would go as far as to expose his identity and put himself in dire straits just to kill the Light Queen at a time and location like this.

    None of the grandmasters were fools. They obviously have their own speculation as well, but that did not affect their determination to kill Li Qingshan.

    No matter what the truths behind this matter were, none of it was important. Just the incident of a Daemon King killing a great cultivator publicly was enough to incite their bitter hatred for a common enemy.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about your identity!¡± the Fierce King of Chu said harshly.

    No matter how many arguments and evidence pointed to the fact that the Light Queen deserved to die, he had to kill Li Qingshan.

    This was not even his personal grievance anymore, but a conflict between humans and daemons. Even if Li Qingshan had not killed the Light Queen, but some other unrelated great cultivator, he would still have to lead everyone to execute Li Qingshan as the leader of the Green province cultivation community.

    ¡°Is my identity even more important than what is correct?¡± the Unraging monk roared furiously. His scarlet face became rather vicious as if the Raging monk had been reborn.

    In the past, the Raging monk had paid no regard to any so-called identity. Regardless of who or what they were, whether it be mortals or cultivators, humans or daemons, he killed them if they were wicked and saved them if they were good, trekking down a path of his own. The end result was enemies everywhere and being condemned by all. He had almost been forced into dire straits. He had only managed to survive through the protection of his sect. He was unable to pacify the fury within him such that he had almost suffered from cultivation deviation.

    ¡°It¡¯s been so many years, yet you still haven¡¯t thought it through?¡± the Fierce King of Chu said.

    ¡°Yes, I haven¡¯t thought it through. Is it wrong to show compassion and leniency? Is it wrong to punish the wicked and embrace the good? Is it wrong to treat all living creatures as equal?¡± The Unraging monk stood with a furious, widened gaze.

    ¡°Junior brother!¡±

    The Dauntless monk climbed up Great Buddha mountain again. The great, golden buddha had stabilised itself halfway through the air, while he had activated the guardian king avatar to shield himself too, so the impact had not been too severe on him. His face had become even more disfigured. He stared at the Unraging monk in shock.

    Like a repeat of the past, the Raging monk had once again put forth those three exact questions in the grand hall!

    Perhaps the Raging monk had never died, just lurking beneath Great Buddha mountain and refusing to ignite its fury again.

    The Fierce King of Chu frowned heavily. Zhu Fuzi said, ¡°Your majesty, even back then, this bastard had associated with daemons, something that our cultivation community could not tolerate. Now, he¡¯s even become contaminated with demon qi, completely falling into the demonic path. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga really doesn¡¯t know how to pick their disciples.¡±

    With a clang, he drew his sword and pointed it at the Unraging monk. ¡°Bald ass, if you still refuse to open the tower, you better not blame my sword for showing no mercy!¡±

    Before he could even finish what he was saying, he suddenly flew up and rushed towards the Demon Suppression Tower. The others even thought he was eager to face Northmoon in a battle to the death, so he had leapt up to cut through the Demon Suppression Tower. They all praised his courage inside!

    Zhu Fuzi, however, had a face full of fear. He had been seized by an invisible force.

    ps£º ÊÖÖâºÜÌÛ£¬Ë¼Ð÷ºÜ¶à£¬Ð´µÄºÜÂý£¬²»¹ýÒ»Ö±ÔÚÐ´£¬½ñÌì»¹ÓÐ£¡

 Chapter 1057: A Pull, a Grasp, a Bellow, and a Slash

    Li Qingshan tore through the Demon Suppression Tower with a slash of the blade in his right hand and spread the fingers of his left, reaching towards Zhu Fuzi¡ªGravity of the Earth!

    At the same time, his scarlet eyes were like a tiger¡¯s, reeking with malice¡ªNightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye!

    ¡°Be careful, fellow!¡± Only now did the grandmaster realise that something was off and raise their voices.

    When they forced the Unraging monk to let out Li Qingshan, the fact that he was suppressed under the tower also brought them relief. They never expected him to be able to pull people towards him with the Demon Suppression Tower between them, so none of them could react in time.

    In hindsight, this was the exact move that Li Qingshan had used to save Hua Chengzan from the palace master¡¯s blade. It was not because they had atrocious memories, but because even Qi Practitioners were capable of drawing objects to themselves from afar. They never expected it to be an innate ability.

    ¡°Wretched daemon!¡±

    Zhu Fuzi only saw Li Qingshan rush over with a hideous grin. All of his hairs stood on end. In particular, when he met the scarlet eyes, he shivered inside. He remembered the Light Queen¡¯s miserable fate and desperately tried to break free and escape, but the invisible force was so great that he stood no chance.

    That was something that even the Myriad Poison Ancestor had failed to achieve in the past, so it was even less likely for him to achieve such a thing. Who knew how many times stronger Li Qingshan was right now compared to then.

    Oh no. If I let this wretched daemon stun and frighten me, I¡¯ll probably die for good!

    ¡°Heart of the Heavens, Heart of Mine, One with the Heavens!¡± Zhu Fuzi called out and went up to receive him, fully unleashing the special method of the school of Confucianism, the Three Policies of Heaven and Man. His confucian robes began to swell, radiating with righteousness and incorruptibility. He broke free from the Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye, and there was no more fear on his face. He stood in the world like a gentleman from ancient times.

    ¡°The Sword is a Weapon of the Gentleman!¡± Zhu Fuzi raised his arm and swung down with his sword.

    The slash was right and proper, gentle and glorious. There was not the sharpness of the Heaven Leaning sword or the sincerity of the Bodhidharma sword, only a sense of emotional magnanimity, wanting to give the world emotion, to give his life to the people, to continue the teachings of past sages, to bring prosperity to a myriad ages!

    TL: The last four phrases, basically ¡°to give the world emotion, to give his life to the people, to continue the teachings of past sages, to bring prosperity to a myriad ages¡±, are basically part of the Four Sayings of Hengqu. It¡¯s basically four goals for confucian scholars to achieve, written by Zhang Zai, which you can read more about here.

    The slashes stacked together like the continuous walls of a city, crushing down on Li Qingshan. It was both defensive and offensive, possessing no openings at all.

    Zhu Fuzi stood high on the city walls, looking down at Li Qingshan from above like a general refined in scholarly pursuits. He seemed like one who could bring peace upon the world through writing, yet also quell turmoil with military might, about to lead three armies into suppressing the bandits.

    TL: Ancient Chinese officials are normally divided into two categories, scholar officials and military officials. Scholar officials basically manage affairs outside of war, while military officials manage the affairs of war. Basically, the ideal official is versed in both normal administration, as well as warfare, which is why Zhu Fuzi should exhibit characteristics of both.

    Everyone eased up inside and thought, Zhu Fuzi really is a grandmaster of the school of Confucianism after all. He¡¯s already mastered the Gentleman¡¯s Sword Style. Powered by the special method of the school of Confucianism, the Three Policies of Heaven and Man, its power has only multiplied. The ancient Evil Warding sword in his hand is no weaker than the Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace either. He only needs to hold on for a moment, and we¡¯ll be able to assist him in putting this wretched daemon to death.

    TL: The Evil Warding sword in pinyin is the Biexie sword. If you¡¯re familiar with Louis Cha¡¯s wuxia novels, there¡¯s something called the Biexie Swordplay, which is related to the Sunflower Manual used by Dongfang Bubai in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s too big of a connection here, but it¡¯s just something worth noting.

    Li Qingshan continued to unleash the Gravity of the Earth with his left hand as he wielded the blade in his right. He pulled him over casually, without any vicious movements. It even came off as slightly disrespectful.

    With a flash of the blade, the Gentleman¡¯s Sword Style crumbled, and the Evil Warding sword broke!

    ¡°Get over here!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Zhu Fuzi¡¯s head. You can make your city as impregnable as you want. I¡¯ll ride in alone, kill my way up the city walls, and capture the commander alive!

    Only now did everyone return to their senses. They immediately became afraid to use their arcane treasures and techniques, all dumbfounded now. How was this possible!? When the Light Queen had been killed with a punch, they could still say she had been caught off-guard and had fallen to the wretched daemon¡¯s sneak attack. However, Zhu Fuzi had just used his full strength, yet he had still been captured by the daemon so easily.

    Only Yue Wuyang vaguely guessed this end result. He had personally experienced the power of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was even sharper than the Ten Renowned Blades, and who knew how many times more ingenious the bladesmanship of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was compared to Zhu Fuzi¡¯s swordsmanship?

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was confined by its insufficient power, so it could not completely unleash the entire blade style, yet that was still enough to almost force a Great General King like him into dire straits. After fusing with Li Qingshan, this was no longer bladesmanship that the nine provinces should have possessed. It was bladesmanship from the Asura realm, so how could Zhu Fuzi stand a chance?

    ¡°How dare you, wretched daemon!¡± Zhu Fuzi was absolutely shocked inside. A strange power of tremors flowed through his entire body, shattering his bones and immobilising him. He could not maintain his bearing as a gentleman anymore.

    ¡°Is bald ass something the likes of you can call him?¡± Li Qingshan bellowed and slashed down with his blade.

    Blood-red light poured out, and Zhu Fuzi suddenly felt like his vision had been split in half. He saw the other half of his body, as well as the shocked faces of the grandmasters in the surroundings.

    Everything had happened in a single instant. With a pull, a grasp, a bellow, and a slash, Li Qingshan had cut down Zhu Fuzi before everyone''s eyes!

    All of them recalled what Li Qingshan had said, ¡°If you end up dying to my blade, don¡¯t even think about grumbling in the afterlife!¡±

    No, I definitely won¡¯t die here!

    A white soul nascence flew out, fleeing into the distance frantically, but a huge hand tailed after it closely like a net. ¡°You think you can leave?¡±

    ¡°Freeze!¡± the grandmaster from the school of Names called out and unleashed the Freezing curse.

    Li Qingshan halted.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, wretched daemon!¡± Go, fellow Zhu!¡±

    The grandmasters took action together, unleashing the special techniques of their various schools.

    Li Qingshan shuddered, but as soon as he broke free from the Freezing curse, a boundless expanse of fields unfurled around him. He discovered that he was standing in a golden sea of wheat that reached up to his waist. A few white wisps of clouds drifted through the blue sky as the warm wind kicked up waves in the wheat. A scorching yet refreshing smell filled the air, bringing him peace, yet also making him drowsy.

    ¡°This is my Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens. Your murderousness is too heavy, fellow, so you¡¯re welcome to catch a break here and admire the scenery of the fields and gardens!¡± An old voice rang out from the sky.

    ¡°You¡¯re the great cultivator of the school of Agriculture?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m just an old man who tends to the fields. Rainfall of Heaven, Nature¡¯s Bloom!¡±

    The grandmaster of the school of Agriculture ordered, and the scenery in the Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens suddenly changed. Countless vicious plants sprouted from the ground, shooting towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Is this your so-called scenery of the fields and gardens?¡± Li Qingshan sneered.

    ¡°You¡¯ve caused your own demise, so don¡¯t blame others. Fellows, please strike immediately and purge the daemon!¡±

    Before he had finished talking, the strings of an instrument thrummed. Immediately, murderousness filled the air like an army of thousands was charging over.

    It was the grandmaster of the school of Music¡¯s pipa. It was not as grand and vast as the buddhist hymns and chanting, but it was sharp like blades, reaping through the fluctuating wheat and slicing towards Li Qingshan.

    The blue sky dimmed. Wind surged and dark clouds gathered, followed by the sudden rumbling of thunder.

    A daoist priest with a prominent head ornament dressed in a feathered cloak stood in the air, wielding a peachwood sword. Lightning coiled around his sword. He swung the sword in an arc, pointing it at Li Qingshan. ¡°Lend me your assistance, Lord of Thunder! Heavenly Lightning Slays the Daemon!¡±

    A colossal figure wrapped in lightning faded into existence. It had a pair of wings on its back, a sharp mouth, and a thin face. It wielded a wedge in one hand and a chisel in the other, slamming them together violently.

    The world lit up, and a bolt of lightning sliced down over Li Qingshan.

    This was the most powerful lightning technique of the school of Daoism. The past leader of the school of Daoism from the Academy of the Hundred Schools had practised this cultivation method, but compared to the grandmaster of the school of Daoism, it had been like child¡¯s play.

    It was as if the Lord of Thunder had actually descended, enforcing the laws on behalf of the heavens and slaying the wicked daemon!

    ¡°I want to kill him. Who can stop me?¡±

    Li Qingshan slashed down!

    A New Starting Point!

    It¡¯s already past twelve, but my month of May still isn¡¯t over. I¡¯m still around ten thousand characters away from a hundred and twenty thousand. We agreed on this at the start of the month.

    Please give me a little more time. Since it¡¯s a promise, I have to uphold it!

    Of course, I don¡¯t need something as long as ten thousand years.

    These two days, I need to adjust myself slightly. Earlier, even just typing up this felt extremely difficult. My head seems to be frozen.

    The experience from these few days is difficult to describe. I went from writing chapter by chapter, to paragraph by paragraph, and then to sentence by sentence. Today, I¡¯ve already reached character by character.

    I¡¯ve never been the fast type, and I¡¯ll probably never experience the delight of pumping out several thousand characters in an hour, so all I can do is try my best. Not only can¡¯t I do anything else, I can¡¯t even think about it, just in case it messes with my mood.

    Apart from the usual deeds I need to do each day, it¡¯s just refining the plot and slaving away at the keyboard, day in and day out. I spend much more time on the former than the latter.

    I don¡¯t dare to touch alcohol, but I have been smoking very intensely. In the past, I rarely ever smoked. I was thinking about taking a photo of the used cigarettes in the ashtray and posting it on weibo, but I decided against it after some thought. It¡¯s Children¡¯s Day, so I can¡¯t misguide the little ones.

    Though, I actually feel very happy. Originally, I only wanted to uphold a promise, which makes perfect sense. That¡¯s something I should do. However, with each bit of effort I put in, you all pay me back ten fold, a hundred fold, so it really is very nice. It feels a hundred times better than missing releases.

    This is Li Qingshan¡¯s new starting point, as well as Legend of the Great Sage¡¯s new starting point. I¡¯ll continue asking for monthly votes, subscriptions, and recommendations. I¡¯ll ask for them all!

    Let¡¯s go, all the way to beyond the Nine Heavens!

    And finally, stable releases really are more important than mass releases!

 Chapter 1058: Piss Off Back to the Fields

    The rolling power of tremors were imbued with the slash. A black streak shot by, and the Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens shattered conveniently.

    ¡°Master, hear me out. Doing good is rarely rewarded, and punishing the wicked will always result in retribution. All living creatures are not necessarily equal either. There are no gods watching over up above. Justice lies within the blade!¡± Li Qingshan took a step and said slowly.

    Whether it was the vicious plants, the sharp music or the terrifying lightning, he threw it all behind him.

    The Unraging monk let out a sigh, feeling powerless at this moment.

    ¡°Oh no! Fellow Feng is still outside!¡± The grandmaster of the school of Names¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°H- how is this possible!?¡± a wrinkly old man exclaimed. Gazing at Li Qingshan who had suddenly appeared, his face was filled with disbelief. It was impossible for his Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens to be cut apart so easily.

    Domains were an extremely powerful and rare type of technique in the cultivation community. Even among great cultivators, a very small number of them had grasped them. They were mostly used for fending off and trapping the enemy.

    The master of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s swordsmanship was close to perfection, but even he had yet to get through Gu Yanying¡¯s Hot Wind hell. The great golden buddha possessed the great strength of a god descending from a higher plane, yet Xiao An had still managed to trap it momentarily with the Blood Sea Banner.

    Originally, they thought it would take Li Qingshan a good moment before he could break free at the very least¡ªthe Fierce King of Chu and the grandmasters would never give him that opportunity¡ªonly for him to split apart the Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens in a single slash.

    Little did they know that Li Qingshan possessed an extremely powerful innate ability, Tremors of the Ox Demon. He had already punched his way through actual space countless times, even forcefully shattering the Mist Province cauldron, so how could a measly domain stop him?

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was sufficient to withstand the power of tremors. Unleashed through the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s profound bladesmanship, it could basically cut through whatever that was in his way!

    ¡°You¡¯re the farmer?¡±

    A colossal shadow loomed over him, rapidly drawing closer. A pair of scarlet-red eyes gazed at the old man from above.

    ¡°You- I-¡±

    The grandmaster from the school of Agriculture took a step back as his expression changed drastically. He shivered inside. He swung a glistening plow towards the black figure as hard as he could, but he seemed extremely feeble, without any will to fight.

    The agriculturists had never been skilled in battle. Even the arcane treasure was not for fighting. Even a great sword cultivator who wielded a renowned sword like the Light Queen had been killed in a single punch, so where was he supposed to find the confidence to fight Li Qingshan?

    But at this very moment, apart from him who still remained in the grand hall, the other grandmasters, including the Fierce King of Chu, had all been sucked into his Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens.

    The master of the Sword Collection palace seemed uninterested in providing any assistance, assaulting the Hot Wind hell alone as if he really was doing all that he could to kill Hua Chengzan.

    As a result, the grandmaster of the school of Agriculture was forced to confront Li Qingshan alone.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the grandmaster by the neck, lifted him up like a baby chick, twirled him around, and threw him at the ground head-first.

    ¡°Farmers should piss off back to the fields!¡±

    The grandmaster of the school of Agriculture basically could not respond. He just felt his neck tighten, followed by the world spinning around him. He saw a horrified face reflected in the mirror-like tiles, growing larger and larger¡ªit was his face!

    ¡°No¡­¡± Thunk!

    Half of his body was planted in the tough, golden tiles of the grand hall, only leaving behind a pair of slightly-bowed legs kicking around in the air. Blood seeped out, covering the ground.

    Li Qingshan was about to give him another slash when he saw that Zhu Fuzi¡¯s soul nascence had almost flown out of the grand hall, while the Fierce King of Chu and the others had all escaped from the Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens too, rushing over aggressively. A bolt of lightning tore through the air.

    With a flap of his wings of wind and fire, Li Qingshan avoided the lightning and lunged towards Zhu Fuzi¡¯s soul nascence. He left behind a threat.

    ¡°You old bastard, I¡¯ll spare you today. If you ever come and make trouble again, I¡¯ll claim your life!¡±

    The bowed legs immediately stiffened, sticking up without moving at all like a seedling that had just been planted in the ground.

    The grandmasters all found this to be extremely hilarious, but upon remembering the fact that their fates might be exactly the same if they ended up in Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, they could not laugh anymore.

    They could not help but recall the great cultivators that had faced Li Qingshan since the beginning till now. The Light Queen had been pulverised, where even her sword nascence directly shattered. The Dauntless monk had been sent flying by a single punch, and he had clearly been holding back with that. Zhu Fuzi¡¯s body had been destroyed, and given the current situation, even his soul nascence would not be able to escape. Only this fellow Feng could be regarded as rather fortunate.

    They could not help themselves as their interest in purging daemons faded slightly. They did not have fellow acquaintances that had died at Li Qingshan¡¯s hands, so they did not have the same kind of hatred for him as Zhu Fuzi. The Light Queen and Ji Xuanri¡¯s fates were miserable, but they were not their wife or child after all. Undertaking such great risk simply because he was a daemon did not seem like a particularly appealing idea, just like how no one was foolish enough to go daemon purging in the Ink sea. Northmoon right now did not seem too different compared to the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    However, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. They could not just watch Zhu Fuzi be killed, or where would they find the dignity to remain in the Green province? On top of that, the King of Chu had already issued his order, so they could not just ignore it.

    ¡°Northmoon, I swear I will never relent until you¡¯re dead!¡± the Fierce King of Chu roared furiously and turned into a streak of light, going right after Li Qinshan.

    When Zhu Fuzi was cut in half right in his face, that had already caused him great humiliation. In the blink of an eye, another person had fallen, which was basically like two slaps across his face. He was utterly furious inside. He gripped a golden seal in his left hand and a tiny cauldron in his right, both simple in design but heavy in appearance.

    But at this very moment, there probably was only a small handful of people that could move faster than Li Qingshan. In the blink of an eye, he had arrived before Zhu Fuzi¡¯s soul nascence, reaching over with his huge hand and grinning viciously. ¡°Let¡¯s see who can save you this time!¡±

    ¡°Wretched daemon, I¡¯m taking you down with me!¡±

    Zhu Fuzi sure had some resolve, detonating his soul nascence without the slightest hesitation.

    ¡­¡­

    The Unraging monk had already reverted to his original appearance, but he seemed rather dejected. All of his efforts had still ended up in vain at the end of the day. Suddenly, he looked at the grandmaster from the school of Agriculture planted in the ground with a rather strange expression and asked, ¡°Fellow Feng, do you need me to help you out?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± A muffled cry rang out from underground. He adjusted his tone slightly. ¡°Unraging¡­ master, you don¡¯t have to worry about me. I can get out by myself. You should be worrying about your wretched daemon of a disciple instead!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, apologies!¡± the Unraging monk said apologetically.

    Gazing at the ruined grand hall, he obviously could not help an outsider as a disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but it was impossible for him to assist the Fierce King of Chu and the others in capturing and killing Li Qingshan either. Suddenly, he shook his head. He made his way back down Great Buddha mountain and arrived before the Demon Suppression hall, collapsing on the grey boulder and snoring away.

    In the grand hall, the pair of bowed legs began to squirm once more, but they inched down until they completely vanished into the soil.

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 Chapter 1059: A Furious Blast

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. The flow of time seemed to slow down. All he saw was the soul nascence lose its intrinsic shape, going from the form of an infant to a blurry white ball. It became covered in cracks as blinding white light poured out. Under Zhu Fuzi¡¯s final command, it rapidly flew towards him.

    It was completely impossible for him to dodge such a swift charge. An intense feeling of danger filled his mind. He had used the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon and A Madman at Path¡¯s End simultaneously, so his body was already on the brink of collapse. He could not withstand the denotation of a soul nascence.

    ¡°Fellow Zhu!¡± ¡°Damn you, wretched daemon!¡±

    The grandmasters all called out furiously, but they eased up inside. Surely the wretched daemon was dead this time, right? Sacrificing himself for the sake of purging daemons was an act enough for Zhu Fuzi to be remembered by the entire cultivation community for a thousand years.

    The Fierce King of Chu did feel some pity in failing to personally end Li Qingshan¡¯s life, but he did feel delighted inside.

    An idea flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s head, and he made up his mind. Snatching out with his huge hand, he grabbed the soul nascence, and the figure of the spirit turtle appeared behind him, suppressing down on it.

    The soul nascence immediately became much more stable, and the white light was forced back inside at the same time. However, the cracks on the surface only multiplied, ready to blow up at any moment.

    Under the stunned gazes of the grandmasters, Li Qingshan did something extremely bold. He shoved the soul nascence into his mouth and gulped it down.

    The spirit turtle¡¯s suppression was even greater when it came to his interior, but the cracks had already covered the entire soul nascence. An explosion was already unavoidable. If this continued, he would only be blown to pieces.

    Is this wretched daemon tired of living?

    The same thought crossed everyone¡¯s heads, only for them to see Li Qingshan abruptly stand up and widen his eyes fully. His mouth unhinged to an unbelievable angle, and a blinding streak of light appeared in his throat.

    Since he could not suppress it completely, then he would find a way to release it.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Breath, a furious blast!

    ¡°What!¡± The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s expression changed.

    A streak of dazzling, white light whistled out, like a flood that had just overcome a dam, rushing towards the grandmasters.

    As soon as the white light left his mouth, it was no longer restrained, rapidly swelling and expanding in size and assuming the shape of a cone. When it arrived before them, it had already sealed up all of their paths of retreat.

    Li Qingshan even shook his head around maliciously, making the white light twist and surge so that he could guarantee that this furious blast covered an area that was large enough, so that he could guarantee that he would not spare a single bad person or a single good person either!

    ¡°When a White Horse is not a Horse, a Confusion Between Labels and Reality!¡±

    TL: This is based off the Chinese philosophical paradox, which you can read about here.

    The grandmaster from the school of Names¡¯ expression changed. A hazy figure emerged from his mouth; it was shaped like a horse, yet not a horse, seemingly white in colour, yet not white. When the light blast struck it, it all turned into nothingness as if his words had directly negated it.

    ¡°Mechanical Battle City!¡±

    The grandmaster of the school of Mohism swung his hand and summoned a towering, black city. It was littered with gaping cannons. The cannons all fired together, erupting with white light.

    ¡°Confusion of the Heavenly Melody.¡± The grandmaster of the school of Music swung her hands and plucked the strings of the pipa rapidly, producing waves after waves of sound, except they only gathered together, stacking together right in front of her in defence.

    The grandmasters unleashed their various techniques, all supreme defensive techniques unique to their respective schools. If it were a regular detonation of a soul nascence, then perhaps they still could have guarded against it, but the detonation this time did not spread in all directions under Li Qingshan¡¯s intentional restraint. Instead, it was concentrated in a single direction under his control, so its destructive power was more than ten times greater.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The white horse died, the battle city fell, and the heavenly melody shattered!

    The grandmasters were like mortals caught in a flash flood. They were washed downwards uncontrollably, slammed against the base of Great Buddha mountain heavily.

    The light blast splattered, and Great Buddha mountain shook violently.

    The grand hall on the peak was completely enveloped in white light. Countless glazed roof tiles and golden tiles collapsed and shattered, such that even the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn could not protect this grand hall that had stood for ten thousand years. It completely collapsed, going up in dust.

    The Fierce King of Chu let out a violent bellow, and a pentagram appeared before him, flickering with five kinds of light. It possessed the profound phenomenon of mutual promotion and restraint, spiralling as it blocked the blast. Only he managed to advance against the flow.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan wiped his mouth even though that part of him no longer existed. His neck to his entire oral cavity had been melted away by the violent power, revealing his jagged bones. Four long teeth intersected from above and below, shining with a metallic lustre, but that did not hide his hideous grin.

    Before he knew it, the sonorous hymns had eased up drastically, and his soul settled down. Battle spirit surged through his heart as he swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    ¡°Again!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Deep within the soil, the grandmaster of the school of Agriculture sensed the shaking earth and did his best to dive deeper. Because all of the soil on Great Buddha mountain had been seeped with holy light, it was an extremely slow process for him to move through the soil, but he had the patience. All he wanted to do right now was leave this damned place and return to the fields and gardens that he yearned for.

    Li Qingshan had been very rude with what he said, but it made very good sense to him. Farmers should remain in the fields obediently. They should not be running around everywhere outside.

    What purging daemons and upholding justice? That was not something an old farmer like him should have participated in.

    Perhaps he would be ridiculed by his colleagues for deserting in the face of battle, but farming had never been a particularly glorious task in the first place. If he desired to prevail over others back then, he would not have chosen the school of Agriculture, and it would have been impossible for him to reach his current realm of cultivation.

    He dove straight to the depths, entering the underground caves that crisscrossed the Green province. A slight smile appeared on his wrinkly face. He could finally move through the earth at full speed now.

    He sat on a rock and took out a smoking pipe in a jolly mood, taking a sweet hit and even letting out a few smoke rings. He had grown all of the tobacco in his Secret Realm of Fields and Gardens, so not only did it cause no harm, but it was even filled with spiritual qi instead. If mortals caught even a whiff of it, they would become addicted.

    ¡°Old man, give me a taste too!¡±

    A pair of cold, compound eyes lit up in the darkness behind him. A raspy voice rang out.

    ¡°You¡¯re-¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, countless monks stared at the top of the mountain dumbfoundedly. The grand hall had vanished!?

    However, most of them could not care about this anymore. A great buddha was rampaging through the monastery right now, chasing after a small, white figure.

    Boom!

    The great buddha swung down with his hand, which sank several meters into the mountain and left behind a deep handprint. A large swathe of temples and halls collapsed.

    Xiao An was sent flying by the shockwave, basically evading the attack by the skin of her teeth. Before she could even catch her breath, there was a flash of golden light from the corner of her eye, and the great buddha swung his hand over again. It was unavoidable this time.

    Bang!

    Bones shattered, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone were extinguished with a flash. The strange cackling came to a halt. A Skeleton Demon had been smashed to pieces. Its body that was even tougher than arcane treasures was as frail as a clay idol under the great buddha¡¯s hand.

    In the heat of the moment, Xiao An released a Skeleton Demon that blocked the attack for her. She used the opportunity to pull a little further away.

    By now, seven of the thirty-three Skeleton Demons had already been destroyed. Only three had been destroyed in the chaotic battle between the two Monk Kings and the eight legions. The four others had all crumbled from a single palm strike from the great buddha.

    The Skeleton Demons that were as powerful as great cultivators could only be used as meat shields before the great buddha. Fortunately, the great buddha did not know any techniques and lacked sufficient intelligence, such that it was very easy to predict its movements, or she would have stood absolutely no chance.

    But even with that being the case, this was the strongest enemy she had faced in her life so far.

    This is just a statue. If it was a real buddha, just what would it be capable of? If it weren¡¯t for the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty that makes me immune to the suppression of the great buddha¡¯s buddha nature, I probably would have become stuck in a bitter battle already. Sure enough, slaying buddhas isn¡¯t that easy, Xiao An thought to herself.

    She gripped the Buddha Slaying sword in her hand, but she never found an opportunity to strike. Perhaps a slash from her could injure the great buddha, but she would not be any better off compared to the Skeleton Demons if one of those palm strikes landed on her.

    If she summoned all the Skeleton Demons and assembled the Skeleton Demon Formation to suppress the great buddha, she could create an opportunity, but she did not choose to do that. Apart from the five prayer beads in her hand, the remaining twenty-one Skeleton Demons had all been scattered.

    Under the fearful gazes of a group of monks, a hideous Skeleton Demon climbed up a bell and drum tower with difficulty. Under the barrage of the chanting and humans, its body shook violently. Its bones could shatter at any moment, but it could not drown out the cackling laughter.

    Finally, it reached the very top and tore through the ringing bell with a single swipe, which made the hymns weaken slightly yet again. It ignored the group of monks and lunged towards the next tower.

    The same scene happened all over Great Buddha mountain. The Skeleton Demons darted left and right, destroying countless bells and drums like there was no one to stop them. That was the foundation of the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn.

    The eight legions had been annihilated, while the two Monk Kings that fell to the bottom of Great Buddha mountain were on the brink of death. No one could stop them anymore in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. The hymns gradually subsided, guaranteeing that Li Qingshan would not be suppressed anymore.

    ¡°Now, I can finally go to that place.¡±

    That was the place she had always wanted to go to from the moment she set foot in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Bang! Another Skeleton Demon had been smashed to pieces.

    She did not even spare a glance at it. Instead, she gazed at a certain location on Great Buddha mountain. Right when she was about to fly over, two figures blocked her way.

    ¡°Buddha nemesis!¡± The Dauntless monk and Seven Treasures Monk King glared at Xiao An furiously. They both seemed to be in rather sorry shape, but they were filled with determination. One unleashed the guardian king avatar, while the other controlled five buddhist treasures.

    She had two Monk Kings blocking her way in the front and a great buddha tailing after her from behind. With another palm strike, she was immediately thrown into dire straits.

    She smiled in an alluring manner, ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you all this time.¡±

    Xiao An swung the Blood Sea Banner without even looking back, sucking the great buddha inside again, before raising her hand.

    ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya!¡±

    The furious expressions of the two Monk Kings stiffened, before immobilised. A familiar sight unfolded before them yet again.

    Bang! Bang!

    They saw each other from the corner of their eyes. They should not have been so close together¡­

    With a rumble, the great buddha landed head-first on the mountainside, leaving behind a great gully as it slowed down.

    With a hiss, a hole ripped open in the Blood Sea Banner and the blood-red colour dimmed heavily. Xiao An stowed it away and leapt towards the forest of pagodas and st¨±pas standing in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    The exquisite buddhist towers were scattered about randomly, varying in height and age. They enshrined the ?ar¨©ra left behind by past eminent monks. These were not bones that had not been incinerated during cremation, but a condensation of true power. Those that could condense ?ar¨©ra had undergone the second heavenly tribulation at the very least too.

    These ?ar¨©ra happened to be the best resources for the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty!

    Xiao An brought her palms together, shutting her eyes and murmuring, ¡°Past seniors and masters, please lend me your ?ar¨©ra.¡±

    ps£º °¡£¬ÎÒÓÖ×ö»Ø3kµ³ÁË£¬¸Ð¾õÊ®·ÖÓäÔÃ£¬²»¹ýÒ²ºÃÀÛ£¬¸Ï½ô³é¿ÚÑÌ·ÅËÉÒ»ÏÂ£¡

 Chapter 1060: The King of Chuâ€™s Seal, the Body of the Demonic and Divine

    ¡°Your cunning is unbefitting of a sword cultivator, palace master!¡±

    Swords slashes flashed through Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes in the ruined grand hall. She gazed deeply at the palace master. The Hot Wind hell was a special technique of hers, but it was not the method of battle she was most skilled in. The foundations of her cultivation could not be compared with this great sword cultivator either, so under normal conditions, her domain should have fallen a long time ago. Even if it was split apart in a single slash, she would not have been surprised.

    While the palace master¡¯s attacks were vicious, he had only used the most ordinary sword techniques of the Sword Collection palace. As a matter of fact, when her domain was clearly on the brink of collapse earlier, the sword master¡¯s attacks had weakened accordingly, allowing her to last until now. When the grand hall had been destroyed, she had tried to force back the attacks and leave with Hua Chengzan, but the attacks suddenly erupted with light, giving her absolutely no opportunity.

    It could not be any more obvious. The palace master had clearly been holding back the entire time. He was Li Qingshan¡¯s great enemy, yet he could easily avoid the battlefield without facing that sharp edge of the blade and the terrifying abilities. He could even use Hua Chengzan to keep Li Qingshan here, or Li Qingshan would only need a single thought to fly off with no one to stop him.

    ¡°And you know what the path of the sword is?¡± the palace master said coldly. The Light Queen and Ji Xuanri¡¯s deaths did not seem to affect him much.

    ¡°Everyone in the world believes the Sword Collection palace to be staunch and resolute and the Umbral Yin sect to be scheming and cunning. As it seems, even I can¡¯t avoid being misled by this false impression.¡±

    Gu Yanying raised her eyebrows and could not help but sigh.

    In order to merge their hearts with the sword, sword cultivators would always have a hint of rational coldness regardless of the sword intent, as this was the nature of the sword. As for ghost cultivators, they could not avoid being mentally affected either in order to control ghosts. They would often come off as more emotional instead.

    The Dark Queen and the Light Queen formed a clear contrast. This difference between yin and yang was like the difference between a man and a woman. The viciousness of a woman would be fully displayed in a palace harem, but that was only turning their love rivals into human swine. The viciousness of men was throwing the world into turmoil and slaughtering the masses. Not only would they feel no guilt, but they would even say bold words like ¡°This is how a great man should be¡±.

    TL: Turning their love rivals into human swine is a reference to the fate of consort Qi mentioned in the Records of the Grand Historian. Quoting wikipedia, ¡°She then had Concubine Qi''s limbs chopped off, blinded her by gouging out her eyes, cut off her tongue, cut off her nose, cut off her ears, forced her to drink a potion that made her mute, made her dumb with toxins, and locked her in the pigsty, and called her a "Human Swine" (ÈËåé)¡±. Some really vicious stuff.

    ¡°I¡¯ve said this long ago. All of the people from the Sword Collection palace should die, while this one deserves to die the most!¡±

    A distant voice rang out. The Dark Queen stared at the palace master coldly with the Myriad Ghost Banner in her hand. The power of the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn had been greatly weakened by Xiao An, so the restraint she was under immediately lightened.

    ¡°The Dark Queen truly has impressive foresight!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. As a guest from the Dragon province, she had already surprised a lot of people by not choosing to stand by the Light Queen¡¯s side originally. After all, whether it was her obligations as a Hawkwolf Guard, her temperament, or her reputation, it all matched the Sword Collection palace¡¯s a little more.

    ¡°Yanying, you should change the way you refer to me! I¡¯m no longer a queen.¡± The Dark Queen swung the Myriad Ghost Banner, and the howl of a myriad ghosts rang out. Then she summoned a few Ghost Kings, which lunged towards the palace master together.

    She was concerned for Ji Xuanyue¡¯s safety, but she also knew that even if she went over to help her out, she could not do anything to the great buddha. Her Ghost Kings probably could not even approach the statue. She had already realised that her daughter would not retreat as long as Li Qingshan remained, while Li Qingshan was determined to save his friend and kill this palace master. As a result, the crux of the issue lay here.

    Abruptly, the palace master lit up with resplendent light, landing on the top of Great Buddha mountain like a falling star. Not only did he shatter the howls of the ghosts, but even the Ghost Kings were forced back, afraid to approach him.

    ¡°Sure enough! There¡¯s no need for you to decide on impulse, sister. There¡¯s still plenty of time ahead of you.¡± Gu Yanying felt the pressure on her lighten. She turned around and asked, ¡°You¡¯re not helping out, sect master?¡±

    The master of the Umbral Yin sect stood with his arms behind his back, far away on the side of the mountain. This prominent existence of the Green province demonic path paid attention to all the battles, but he neither went to kill Li Qingshan under the King of Chu¡¯s orders, nor did he deal with his mortal enemy, the master of the Sword Collection palace. His entire stance on this matter seemed extremely ambiguous. Who knew what he was thinking. If he was willing to take action, he was enough to hold off the palace master.

    ¡°Fellow Gu, I¡¯m an honoured guest of the king¡¯s estate, while Xuanyue is the future sect master of the Umbral Yin sect. I¡¯m in a tough spot just like the Dauntless master!¡± The sect master grinned, revealing a set of pale-white teeth, but he did not seem like he was in a tough spot at all.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan had eaten Zhu Fuzi¡¯s soul nascence and let out a furious blast. The white light whistled out.

    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s another one dead. A pity, a pity. If I could refine the soul nascence of great cultivators into a ghost slave, they would be extremely useful,¡± said the sect master.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s words made the Dark Queen think of something. She raised her head and gazed into the white light, at the Fierce King of Chu. Now, the Light Queen was already dead, while the crown prince Ji Xuanri had died with her. The Sword Collection palace and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had both been weakened. Among the three major sects of the Green province, only the Umbral Yin sect remained as powerful as before. Xuanyue possessed such great strength that she had already become the optimal choice to inherit the King of Chu¡¯s throne too.

    He would always find this humiliating and unbearable in the moment, but as long as he made it through this battle, she could slowly convince him otherwise, and that did not necessarily mean there could not be any favourable terms. Perhaps she could even reignite their previous sentiments for each other.

    The grand hall was enveloped in white light.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Reversal of the Five Elements, the Worlds in Distortion!¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu swung his arm, and the pentagram before him pushed forwards, suddenly expanding to ten, to a hundred times its original size. It revolved over Great Buddha mountain, causing the surrounding landscape to twist and change. Compared to the hurried palm strike from earlier, who knew how many times more powerful this attack was.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had fallen into a rapidly-changing magic mirror. His limbs would be elongated at times and shrunken at others. Everything before his eyes had become bizzarre. Only the Fierce King of Chu constantly grew larger; he was like an indomitable god gazing down at him coldly and solemnly. With a flip of his left hand, a golden seal crushed down. It was deeply engraved with a few words, the King of Chu¡¯s Seal!

    In that instant, Li Qingshan felt like he was facing the great buddha¡¯s palm strike again. As the golden seal pressed down, he heard the voices of countless common people. There was the hawking of markets, the reciting of scholars, the crying of children¡ªall of the sounds the world had to offer, without any meaning behind them whatsoever. They gathered together like a tsunami, flooding the surroundings.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Impressive technique, fellow!¡± Li Qingshan said in praise.

    This strike alone bore some resemblance to the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s attacks. If he had been a regular great cultivator, then all he could do was wait to be pulverised. However, even his praise had been distorted by the landscape, becoming extremely strange-sounding.

    His figure swelled up in the face of attack. Thirty meters, three hundred meters, and so on, continuing until he reached over two thousand meters tall, assuming the body of the demonic and divine. His iron hooves landed on the ground loudly, standing on the top of Great Buddha mountain and sending his hands upwards.

    Boom!

    His iron hooves sank deep into the ground, and countless cracks spread across the mountain. If it were not for the fact that it had been seeping in holy light for the past ten thousand years, it basically would have collapsed.

    ¡°Just that isn¡¯t enough to kill me!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter rolled out like thunder. He stopped the King of Chu¡¯s Seal with his arms and endless power flowed through his body, even making the distorted world turn back to normal.

    Everyone raised their heads. This sight was imprinted deeply in their minds such that they could never forget about it.

 Chapter 1061: To Kill or Not to Kill, to Save or Not to Save

    Rumble!

    A boulder rolled down from the top of the mountain with a trail of dust. It smashed through several halls, but it showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, it moved faster and faster, destroying everything in its path. The monks fled in all directions like the world was ending.

    The Annihilum Light Chan Master arrived before it in a flash, shattering the boulder with a palm strike. He looked up and saw a pair of iron hooves that resembled columns, as well as a pitch-black body that seemed to be cast from black iron.

    Great Buddha mountain seemed to have grown taller, gaining a new peak out of thin air. Towering over the mountain, his wide wings were unfurled magnificently, blotting out the sky like clouds, but what it cast was not a shadow, but whistling winds and luminous firelight.

    Great Buddha mountain was burning!

    ¡°Wretched daemon!¡±

    He was filled with fury, wanting to step forward and face him in a battle to the death, but he knew that would only be futile. He could not even withstand the repercussions of their battle.

    The various head monks took action, blocking the boulders. They were all renowned monks in the Green province, but right now, all they were capable of was minimising the damage that the battle could cause to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Boom!

    A bolt of lightning lit up a range of several hundred kilometers and struck Li Qingshan¡¯s head. He tilted his head slightly and felt his entire body grow numb. The King of Chu¡¯s Seal pressed a few meters lower.

    ¡°Fellows, use this opportunity to slay the daemon!¡±

    Before the grandmaster of the school of Daoism had even finished what he was saying, several Puppet Kings took to the sky. They were humanoid or bestial in appearance, and they could be as large as buildings or as small as half an adult.

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re taking advantage of my situation!¡±

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes and exhaled gently. A wisp of air whistled out, blowing the grandmaster of the school of Daoism away. With a swing of his tiger tail, it swept out with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. The shrill winds were wrapped in sword aura, sucking in two Puppet Kings and immediately pulverising them. They exploded loudly.

    The music drifted over as the curses and chants rang out endlessly, throwing his mind into disorder. Looking back, he saw the grandmasters of the school of Music and Names standing extremely far away, afraid to approach him again.

    ¡°Two flies!¡± Li Qingshan turned around and composed himself mentally. He released waves of the power of tremors through his hands, constantly varying the strength and frequency such that the King of Chu¡¯s Seal resonated with it. The glow it gave off subsided in the process.

    The Fierce King of Chu said, ¡°Commander Jin, general Yue, I think you¡¯re much more capable than just this!¡±

    Ji Fugui and Yue Wuyang exchanged glances. When it came to fighting and slaughter, schools of thought like Music and Names stood no chance against the Military or Legalism, except they had not used their full strength at all. Jin Fugui had quite a friendship with the Unraging monk, and he also found the details of this matter to be suspicious, while Yue Wuyang had quite a good impression of Li Qingshan. Because of Han Qiongzhi too, he was reluctant to make an attempt on his life.

    Originally, they wanted to go with the flow and watch the others slay the daemon, but they never expected Li Qingshan to be so powerful, killing Zhu Fuzi right before everyone and even making fellow Feng of the school of Agriculture vanish without a trace. The Fierce King of Chu had even taken out the King of Chu¡¯s Seal, but he still struggled to kill him. If they still did not use their full strength, it would be quite difficult for them to explain themselves.

    ¡°Black Sand hell!¡±

    Jin Fugui extended his hands, and a few wisps of fine, black sand appeared from the centre of his palms. His appearance no longer seemed so friendly or mediocre at all. His face had darkened, like a cruel official from hell. Raising both hands, the sand spiraled through the air like a surging black cloud, flowing towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan turned his head, and his breath whistled over. Originally, he wanted to disperse the cloud of black sand, but the sand constantly churned and surged over, enveloping his surroundings. Even his breath was not all-conquering. When the black sand landed on his body, he felt an intense sensation of pain that reached the depths of his soul, which made him furrow his brows. This was a domain specially used for battle. It could not be compared with the school of Agriculture¡¯s Secret Realm of Gardens and Fields.

    Yue Wuyang narrowed his eyes and locked onto the blade that whistled through the air madly. He leaned forwards with his tall, straight body like a vicious beast about to pounce. He pressed down on the spear in his hand, and with a flash through his eyes, he thrusted it through the air. It was like the rise of a black dragon.

    Clang!

    The blade and spear collided, and a notch immediately appeared on the tip of the spear. Yue Wuyang experienced a tremendous force from the blade, which pushed him backwards. He was alarmed. Just a single tail possesses such great strength? However, he soon became determined. How could I lose to a single tail? Muscles rippled across his arms, pinning down the blade as hard as he could. The whistling storm came to a halt.

    ¡°Nicely done, fellows!¡± The grandmaster from the school of Daoism called out, ¡°Rain of Lightning!¡±

    Lightning coiled into the figure of the Lord of Thunder. Suddenly, he unfurled his wings and let out a cry that resembled both a hawk¡¯s and an ox¡¯s, releasing thousands of bolts of lightning that slammed into Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    Li Qingshan was unable to dodge with his colossal size, so he could only take on the attacks. Under the state of the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, he could not use any defensive abilities at all, so he was forced to endure everything with this body. His tall, straight back immediately hunched over.

    ¡°This guy sure is troublesome!¡±

    ¡°Kid, have you lost your manhood? They¡¯re trying to kill you! So hurry the fuck up and kill them! Even if they¡¯re your fathers, is this a time for you to hold back? Do you really think you¡¯re invincible?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower that had remained silent since the beginning of the battle suddenly cursed aloud.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. The incidents today had been dangerous, but it was nowhere close to being considered as dire straits, so he did not have the determination for a battle to the death. Instead, everything had occurred because of the Sword Collection palace, so he did not have much killing intent towards these grandmasters that he was not familiar with. Instinctively, he would always hold back and leave some room for him as if he was only testing out his abilities.

    He could have killed the grandmaster of the school of Agriculture with a single punch, but he planted him in the ground like a joke. He could have cut down Zhu Fuzi in a single slash, without even giving him the opportunity to escape with his soul nascence, but he did not feel like Zhu Fuzi had harmed him in any way. He only loathed his foul mouth.

    He refused to kill anyone from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Even when he faced the Fierce King of Chu who was determined to claim his life, he could not help but think, He¡¯s Xiao An¡¯s father. I can¡¯t kill him!

    It was exactly these subtle beliefs that served as invisible shackles to his actions, such that all of his abilities and bladesmanship just lacked a little something. Even in a battle among two mortals, if one had the determination to kill and the other did not, it could decide their very lives.

    The palace master looked at Li Qingshan and became even more stern. This power basically made no sense at all. Even most of those great Daemon Kings that had lived for millennia did not possess such battle prowess.

    ¡°Palace master, do you understand that when you play with fire, you get burnt? I¡¯d advise you to return to the Sword Collection palace quickly. With the protective sword formation, perhaps you still might be able to protect your life,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°If he doesn¡¯t die here today, then my Sword Collection palace will never be at peace. Since you¡¯re running out of patience, then I¡¯ll give you a quick one!¡±

    Abruptly, the Heaven Leaning sword rose high into the air. Its glow whistled and extended. By the time it swung down, it had already turned into a huge sword of three hundred meters long, slashing towards Gu Yanying and Hua Chengzan who was in the Hot Wind hell, except the final target was Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see if you save him or not!¡±

 Chapter 1062: The Phoenixâ€™s NirvÄ?a, Doing it All Again

    The streak of light was as blue as the sky, like a section of the heavens had been clipped. It virtually merged with the space there. Before it had even fallen, the Hot Wind hell began to shatter and collapse, revealing Hua Chengzan.

    With a white flash, Gu Yanying arrived before him. She received the streak of light with her delicate folding fan and furrowed her brows slightly. Even if she blocked this attack, she could not remain unscathed, while the aftermath alone was enough to kill Hua Chengzan.

    Suddenly, a black shadow shot over and enveloped them, blocking the Heaven Leaning sword. As it turned out, it was a large, black hand.

    Boom!

    The King of Chu¡¯s Seal crushed down heavily. Li Qingshan dropped down to one knee, and the ground cracked. His muscles bulged as he gritted his teeth, holding up the seal with a single arm and shoulder. He gripped the streak of light firmly as blood flowed from his palm like pouring rain. It all turned to fire in the middle of the air.

    The light and his tiger bones clashed together like the sounds of rolling thunder.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Hua Chengzan looked over, only to see a smile on Li Qingshan¡¯s huge, ferocious daemon face. He said, ¡°I¡¯m still not dead!¡± Then he said to Gu Yanying, ¡°Take him and go!¡±

    Jin Fugui sighed inside. Even a daemon possessed such loyalty to his friends, doing all that he could to save his friend, so just how wicked could he be? It was not without reason that the Unraging monk was determined to protect him. Compared to that, the palace master¡¯s actions did not seem particularly honest and upright.

    But given the circumstances, death was already certain for him!

    With that in mind, the cloud of black sand swept back, and Yue Wuyang pulled back his spear. From the moment the golden seal landed on him and the palace master launched his attack, the outcome of the battle had been set in stone. No matter how they felt, all they could do was watch as he died.

    ¡°Don¡¯t die.¡±

    With a hawk¡¯s cry, Gu Yanying grabbed Hua Chengzan and turned into a swift gale of wind, flying off into the azure sky. She moved extremely quickly.

    ¡°Elder Hua, are you trying to betray the sect?¡± The palace master¡¯s voice rang out from afar, reaching Hua Chengzan¡¯s ears. His face changed, and the sword on his back thrummed away. He suddenly drew the sword and swung it at Gu Yanying, roaring in a slur, ¡°Sword destruction!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s slender fingers on her right hand twisted and changed, catching the blade of the sword like a hawk¡¯s claws. The atmospheric winds and the blade clashed together, sending sparks flying. With a ping, the sword shattered into pieces, falling to the ground.

    Hua Chengzan spurted with blood and glanced back again, fainting completely this time. However, he still gripped the hilt of his sword firmly.

    Li Qingshan eased up inside. His lifebound sword was destroyed, which definitely would have caused him great harm, but his life would not be in danger because he had Gu Yanying caring for him.

    ¡°¡±You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    The palace master turned his cold, indifferent gaze towards Li Qingshan. Many accidents had happened, but it was about time for him to take this chess piece. With a twist and slash of his sword, several huge fingers flew into the air, landing on the ground heavily.

    He strode over with composure. The Heaven Leaning sword brushed past Li Qingshan¡¯s arm, landing on his mountainous body and sending blood spattering. A horrific slash extended from his left shoulder to his waist. Blood poured out like a river, going up in flames.

    With a fierce whistle, his tiger tail swept towards the palace master with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. The palace master caught it in the corner of his eye and slashed backwards without even looking back.

    Clang!

    The Heaven Leaning sword and Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End clashed, and a sharp wave of air erupted, shaving off an entire layer from Great Buddha mountain. The ruins of the grand hall were completely buried now.

    In that instant, the blade and sword clashed a thousand times, demonstrating the greatest swordsmanship and bladesmanship the world had to offer. Li Qingshan only had a tail, but he had comprehended the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, so he knew the palace master¡¯s swordsmanship extremely well. For a moment, they were evenly matched as Great Buddha mountain was shaved down layer by layer.

    ¡°Slay!¡±

    With a flash of lightning, the grandmaster of the school of Daoism flew over. The Lord of Thunder behind him wielded a wedge in one hand and a chisel in the other, slamming it against Li Qingshan¡¯s head heavily.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head was knocked to one side, and a hole appeared. His body swayed in the process too, allowing the King of Chu¡¯s Seal to press another thirty meters lower. His body bent over deeply.

    ¡°Break!¡±

    The palace master used this opportunity to land a slash. The tail was severed as the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End spiralled away.

    ¡°Suck, Treasure Gathering basin!¡±

    The eyes of the grandmaster of the school of Miscellany who had maintained a very low profile the entire time suddenly lit up. He leapt out and tossed out a metal, dark-green basin. Green light surged out, enveloping the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and sucking it inside.

    The Treasure Gathering basin was the most renowned technique unique to the school of Miscellany. It was specially used for collecting the enemy¡¯s arcane treasure. No matter what kind of arcane treasure it was, they would struggle to take it back once it ended up in his Treasure Gathering basin.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End¡¯s value had caught his eye a long time ago, but he also understood his limitations, so he refused to provoke Li Qingshan without good reason, just in case he ended up suffering the same fate as the Light Queen and Zhu Fuzi. That would be a horrible deal then. Now that an opportunity had finally presented itself, he obviously would not let it slip by.

    ¡°Myriad Sword technique!¡± The palace master formed a seal with his hand and pointed it at Li Qingshan. The Heaven Leaning sword began to multiply, turning into thousands of streaks of light. It assembled a river of light that completely swallowed Li QIngshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s bones shook and creaked. Swords were planted across his body, leaving him covered in slashes. Even the places where he was not hit split open with gashes, revealing his jagged bones. Blood poured out like streams.

    This was the limit with the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon. His body was currently collapsing. The madman had reached the end of his path!

    ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡± the Fierce King of Chu bellowed, pushing down with both hands. The golden seal fell heavily.

    Boom! Great Buddha mountain shook violently, and Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ve killed me!¡± His mountainous body of the demonic and divine was crushed under the golden seal. In the blink of an eye, his turbulent daemon qi vanished.

    Northmoon was dead!

    Everyone responded in different ways. The grandmasters seemed to feel some disbelief, but they also let out a sigh of relief. This bitter battle had finally come to an end.

    Before the Demon Suppression hall, the Unraging monk rolled over and sat up, gazing at the top of the mountain in the distance. Fury flooded his face, and he smashed the tablet beside him with a single strike.

    The palace master sheathed his sword. So what if he possessed supreme strength? If he had no sense of propriety and acted on impulse alone, death would be unavoidable.

    The Fierce King of Chu stowed the golden seal away. Great Buddha mountain had become over thirty meters shorter now, while the grand hall, along with its ruins, had been completely destroyed, only leaving behind the four words ¡°King of Chu¡¯s Seal¡± on the ground.

    Rumbles rang out constantly from beneath the mountain. The pagodas and st¨±pas fell one by one. Xiao An maneuvered her way through the structures, avoiding the great buddha in the process as she collected the ?ar¨©ra one by one. The Skeleton Demons all gathered within the forest of pagodas too, harvesting away like diligent farmers. She was not affected by his death at all.

    The Fierce King of Chu said, ¡°Xuanyue, Li Qingshan is already dead. I can still give you a chance, so-¡±

    Before he could even finish speaking, a familiar voice rang out and interrupted him. ¡°Apologies, I¡¯ve caused you disappointment. This was only round one. Round two has only just begun, but this time, I won¡¯t give you any opportunities anymore.¡±

    Soon afterwards, the clear cry of a phoenix rang through the world. Flames filled with vitality roared away, rushing into the sky and turning into a soaring phoenix with its wings spread.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. Even something like this was possible!? It had already taken them tremendous difficulty to st kill him once, almost losing their lives in the process, and they had to do it all again now!?

    ps£º ºÃ£¬ÖÕÓÚ°ÑÕ®»»ÍêÁË£¬Ê®¶þÍò×Ö£¬´òÍêÊÕ¹¤£¬ÐÂµÄÒ»¸öÔÂ¿ªÊ¼ÁË£¬¹þ¹þ¹þ¹þ£¡ÍíÉÏÒªÐ´Ò»¸öÈýÇ§×ÖµÄÓÎ¼Ç£¬È»ºó¾Í¿ÉÒÔ¼ÌÐøÁË£¬ÈÃÎÒËãÒ»Ëã£¬Èç¹ûÕâ¸öÔÂÒ²ÒªÐ´Ê®¶þÍò×ÖµÄ»°£¬Ã¿ÌìÒª¶àÉÙÄØ£¡

 Chapter 1063: Within the Palm of My Hand

    The magnificent phoenix overlooked the entire mountain, dyeing the sky a fiery-red. The sky full of flames abruptly gathered together, condensing to a limit and erupting with a ring of fire.

    In the centre of the flames, scarlet hair drifted through the wind. Li Qingshan stretched and yawned. ¡°Dying every now and then feels quite great!¡± He pressed against his jaw and cracked his neck, waving his hand. ¡°Heh, everyone, we meet again.¡±

    He grinned revealing his sharp, tiger teeth. His scarlet eyes were dark like blood.

    Everyone was dumbfounded, completely at a loss as for how to respond.

    Then he looked towards Xiao An in the forest of pagodas. ¡°Xiao An, give me a moment. I¡¯ll come and help you very soon.¡±

    Xiao An smiled. ¡°If you still don¡¯t come, I¡¯ll have to deal with it myself.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t let that happen!¡± Li Qingshan gazed at his right hand and murmured to himself, ¡°A heart of slaughter? It¡¯s not that simple!¡±

    The palace master¡¯s face was completely sunken. He could vaguely sense that something was amiss. The current Li Qingshan made him feel endangered. He drew the Heaven Leaning sword again and said, ¡°Your majesty!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I killed you once, so I can kill you a second time!¡± With a wave of his hand, the Fierce King of Chu leapt into the clouds, launching a palm strike at Li Qingshan. ¡°Reversal of the Five Elements!¡±

    The world changed and twisted. A resplendent slash shot over, basically arriving before Li Qingshan at the same time.

    ¡°A second time!¡± Li Qingshan looked at the sky before lowering his head again, blinking his eyes.

    ¡°Last Reflection of the Setting Sun!¡±

    A water surface devoid of any ripples unfurled, reflecting the landscape.

    The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s eyes narrowed. The distorted world of the Reversal of the Five Elements loomed over him instead, and the resplendent slash shot back as well. With a flash, the palace master moved aside, and the slash landed on the top of Great Buddha mountain, leaving behind a three-hundred-meter-long gash.

    ¡°What is this ability!?¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu shattered the distorted world with a palm strike, but Li Qingshan had already vanished. A streak of scarlet light brushed past his shoulders, turning into an arc as it shot towards the grandmasters of the school of Names and Music. He warned them loudly, ¡°Be careful, fellows!¡±

    The two of them paled drastically in fright. The grandmaster from the school of Music plucked her strings in a hurry, but before she could even play the first note, fierce wind rushed into her face, and a pair of scarlet eyes appeared, stunning her mentally.

    Li Qingshan snatched the jade pipa and smashed down with it.

    ¡°Freeze!¡± the grandmaster of the school of Names widened his eyes and bellowed out, pushing his cultivation to the limit and unleashing the Freezing curse. However, before he could even finish what he was saying, he suddenly became immobilised. He saw his own panic-ridden face gradually twist and distort. A smooth mirror surface turned into water rippled and dispersed.

    ¡°Noisy! Noisy! Noisy!¡± Li Qingshan repeated three times and smashed the jade pipa three times.

    With the first time, the strings snapped, and her head was crushed.

    With the second time, the pipa cracked, and half of her body was destroyed.

    With the third time, the pipa shattered, and her soul nascence fled.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth and sucked hard, gulping down the soul nascence and suppressing it with the spirit turtle, giving her absolutely no opportunity to detonate her soul nascence. He licked his lips. ¡°Tasty!¡±

    The grandmaster of the school of Names watched this unfold before his eyes while completely immobilised. He felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, extinguishing his flames of fury inside. All he could do now was shiver, wanting to escape as far away from here as possible!

    The roaring sounds of the populace rang out in his ears, and Li Qingshan looked up. Golden light enveloped him from above as the King of Chu¡¯s Seal fell like a wall, just as unstoppable and undodgeable as before.

    Rumble! Hundreds of streaks of lightning danced around like frenzied dragons. The grandmaster of the school of Daoism bellowed furiously, ¡°Die, wretched daemon!¡±

    ¡°Myriad Sword technique!¡± The palace master formed a seal with his hands, and the Heaven Leaning sword split into thousands, assembling sword formations upon sword formations and surrounding Li Qingshan. They closed around him and thrusted at him together.

    No matter how powerful your abilities are, just how many directions can you block? Once the golden seal falls, the end result will still be all the same.

    ¡°Fellow, lend me your body for a second.¡±

    Li Qingshan casually reached out with his right hand without even looking back. The moment the grandmaster of the school of Names broke free from the Freezing curse, he felt his body being pulled over uncontrollably, frightening him out of his wits. He put up a struggle desperately.

    ¡°Eat my blade!¡±

    Li Qingshan wielded the grandmaster of the school of Names and unleashed a ¡°hidden blade technique¡±. Out of the thousand bolts of lightning and the myriad swords, a good majority landed on this ¡°blade¡±.

    In a split second, the grandmaster of the school of Names became riddled with holes, virtually ground to a paste. He wanted to flee with his soul nascence, but he was firmly stuck in Li Qingshan¡¯s right hand. Seeing how there was no way out alive, he roared furiously, ¡°I¡¯m going to take-¡± He only managed to say the first half when he discovered he was being raised into the air rapidly.

    ¡°And your soul nascence too.¡±

    Li Qingshan flicked his right hand gently, and the pull suddenly became a push. His soul nascence immediately soared through the air. The grandmaster¡¯s face of surprise and fury melted away, becoming riddled with cracks that poured out with light. He slammed head-first into the King of Chu¡¯s Seal.

    Boom!

    The soul nascence exploded, and the violent power whistled hundreds of kilometers away, sweeping aside all of the lightning and swords with ease. The golden seal came to a sudden halt in its fall too, being lifted several dozen meters into the air instead. A layer of golden light faded away.

    Li Qingshan shielded his eyes from the light and took a look, clapping his hands. ¡°How useful!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± The palace master growled. Li Qingshan looked over, and anger flashed across his face.

    ¡°One with the sword!¡± The palace master swung the Heaven Leaning sword, and a blinding streak of light suddenly shot out from the top of Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡± Li Qingshan flapped his wings and turned into a scarlet streak of light to receive the attack.

    The palace master beamed with joy inside. As long as he paused even for a moment under the golden seal, they could still put him to death.

    Right when the two streaks of light were about to collide, Li Qingshan shifted a few meters away out of nowhere, brushing past the palace master. He tilted his head and sneered. ¡°Idiot!¡±

    With a boom, Li Qingshan landed on Great Buddha mountain again, making his way towards the grandmaster of the school of Miscellany. ¡°Again!¡±

    ¡°Stop him, fellows!¡± the grandmaster of the school of Miscellany cried out and fled without any hesitation. He had already made a tidy profit by obtaining the treasured blade. He did not want to pay with his life at a time like this.

    Li Qingshan stopped and looked away. All he saw was a cold flash, and a spear thrust towards him. The tip trembled, splaying with cold light like stars across the night sky, enveloping him. It also resembled the rise of a black dragon, able to pierce and destroy everything in its path.

    Li Qingshan did not dodge or look at the tip of the spear. He gazed at Yue Wuyang behind the spear indifferently.

    ¡°Black Sand hell!¡± Jin Fugui roared furiously, and black sand flooded the surroundings, enveloping Li Qingshan and Yue Wuyang.

    Within the roaring sand, the spear stopped before the scarlet eye. It only needed to advance another three inches, and it could pierce Li Qingshan¡¯s right eye.

    Li Qingshan did not move. He did not even use any abilities to block as if he had halted the spear with his gaze alone.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you block?¡± Yue Wuyang asked.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you thrust?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Yue Wuyang said nothing. He did not go through with the strike because Li Qingshan did not dodge, or because he did it for the sake of Han Qiongzhi. There was something else on top of all of that, a voice warning him again and again inside, You¡¯ll die! You¡¯ll die! You¡¯ll die! He was not afraid of dying, but he did not want to die so pointlessly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to break Qiongzhi¡¯s heart.¡± Li Qingshan turned away and no longer looked at Yue Wuyang anymore, making his way forwards.

    The tip of the spear trembled, and Yue Wuyang remained in the posture of thrusting the spear. A good while later, he let out a long sigh and stood with the spear beside him. He clasped his hands at the sky. ¡°Your majesty, forgive me, but I cannot partake in this battle!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way through the black sand and felt the pain from the depths of his soul again. Suddenly, he waved his hand twice like an adult shooing away an annoying child. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The black sand suddenly gathered towards, sweeping back into Jin Fugui¡¯s hand. He scratched his nose and smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m still your superior after all-¡± Seeing Li Qingshan raise his eyebrows, his heart lurched inside, and he said to the Fierce King of Chu in the sky, ¡°Your majesty, there are many details of suspicion involved. The Hawkwolf Guard requires closer investigation.¡±

    ¡°Are the two of you even human?¡± The Fierce King of Chu was furious. He did not say that to insult them. Instead, he was questioning their allegiance.

    Yue Wuyang shut his eyes and said nothing, but Jin Fugui smiled. ¡°I¡¯m a Golden Hawk commander of Great Xia!¡± Even if you¡¯re the governor of a province, mighty with a king¡¯s authority, you have no right in sending the two of us to our deaths! Especially sending us to our deaths over such a strange matter.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright!¡± The Fierce King of Chu was livid. In the blink of an eye, his encirclement around Li Qingshan had fallen apart. He gazed at the figure with drifting scarlet hair. He had only rebirthed once. Even the powers he used were no longer as great as earlier, and he had even lost his weapon, yet the feeling he gave off had completely changed. It was as if he had replaced him as the King of Chu and now controlled everything within the palm of his hand.

    By now, the grandmaster of the school of Miscellany had already used the opportunity to flee. Li Qingshan stood on the cliff and bellowed out, ¡°Get your ass back here!¡± His voice boomed like thunder, but it did not contain any abilities.

    ¡°Kid, I thought you died from stupidity!¡±

    With a flash, the Treasure Gathering basin split open, and the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower appeared, cutting through the grandmaster of the school of Miscellany in a single stroke.

    ps£º ºÃÁË£¬ÁùÔÂµÚÒ»ÕÂ£¬Ê®¶þÍò×ÖµÄµÚÒ»²½£¬Å­ÇóÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 1064: The Various Transformations All Exist in One

    The soul nascence flew away, and the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower flew towards Li Qingshan. She smiled complacently. ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s called bladesmanship!¡±

    The soul nascence only managed to fly a few kilometers away before suddenly splitting into two and exploding loudly. Blinding light illuminated a region of several hundred kilometers as waves of air swept out violently.

    ¡°Demon blade!¡± The grandmaster of the school of Daoism could not help but retreat. Another grandmaster had died on Great Buddha mountain, and he had died to a blade. The brutality of this battle completely surpassed his imagination. His determination to purge daemons was gradually replaced by fear, and the figure of the Lord of Thunder behind him dispersed slowly too.

    There were no cultivators who did not cherish their lives, and the school of Daoism placed particular emphasis on longevity. He did not have any direct grievances with Li Qingshan. If it was only helping out the Fierce King of Chu, then so be it, but it really would be a bad deal if it cost him his life. Seeing how Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang had both backed out of the battle, he no longer hesitated anymore. Suddenly, he turned into a bolt of lightning and whistled away. He did not even notify the Fierce King of Chu before he did that.

    The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s face was frigid. Now, even if he killed Li Qingshan, the prestige that the King of Chu¡¯s estate possessed would have fallen apart. Coupled with the honoured guests that had died in the process, his losses were immeasurable. It only made him hate Li Qingshan even more.

    The master of the Umbral Yin sect continued to watch on from the side. His expression changed again and again with a mix of joy and worry. Who knew what he was thinking about.

    The Dark Queen thought, It¡¯s not without reason that Xuanyue is doing everything she can to support this Li Qingshan.

    The palace master wanted to retreat as well. Given the situation, killing Li Qingshan had already become almost impossible. Instead, he faced the danger of dying now. He thought, This kid has developed a great feud with my Sword Collection palace. It¡¯s already reached a point where he will never relent unless one of us dies. If I can¡¯t kill him here, he¡¯ll definitely become a tremendous issue for the entire Sword Collection palace. The entire plan will be affected too.

    ¡°We finally have some peace and quiet, don¡¯t we? The two of you, it¡¯s time for us to settle our grievances and disputes.¡± Li Qingshan could not be bothered with going after him. He casually grabbed the incoming Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End by the hilt and planted it in the ground beside him. He did not use it.

    ¡°Kid, what are you doing?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was perplexed.

    ¡°Just watch.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. Whenever he underwent the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, it would always meld together all the powers within him, making him feel like he had been reborn. The nirv¨¡?a rebirth this time made him come to a slight realisation as well. He gained a completely new understanding over his entire way of combat and his entire self.

    ¡°You have a powerful weapon, and you¡¯re not even using it. Are you an idiot? Pick up the blade and hack them to death!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower called out in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Even if I pick up the blade right now, I don¡¯t have the killing intent that you¡¯d want. Speaking of which, I¡¯m not actually lacking in killing intent. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m an asura. I never needed to maintain killing intent at all times in the first place!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. If he let his killing intent surge, killing everyone in his path and slashing through everything in his way, it could push the violent and battle-hungry nature of the tiger demon, as well as the bladesmanship of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, to the limit, allowing him to easily slay Zhu Fuzi and everyone else. However, if he really ended up like that, that would not be him anymore!

    And, that was nowhere close to being his strongest form, as the Tiger Demon Transformation was only one of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. Because it was well-versed for battle and also because it possessed powerful abilities like the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, he had instead become overly dependent on it.

    During all this time, he had let his demonic nature overwhelm his divine nature, to endure, to slaughter, but the true him also knew how to forbear, hesitate, and sympathise. That did not come from his various transformations, but from his own conscience.

    He did not work so hard in pursuit of power to become someone else, nor was it possible for him to become someone else.

    He was him, Li Qingshan!

    In that moment, the incompatible powers of the spirit turtle and phoenix gradually merged together. Fire and water aided one another, growing and thriving together. This was not just a balance between the two transformations, but also his demonic nature receding and his divine nature growing.

    The various powers in him merged as one, no longer possessing any element of conflict. Immediately, his strength had reached a whole new level.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower originally wanted to rebuke him, but sensing the change in his aura, she could not help but remain silent. Perhaps the principles of the Asura realm could not be applied to everything in the world.

    Very soon, Li Qingshan comprehended the fourth innate ability of the phoenix. A powerful vitality spread through his body, right through his soul. Without any surprise, it was still the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a!

    He bent his fingers and counted. This way, I can rebirth four times. If I set aside the time when I turn into an egg, that¡¯s three times. I just died once, so in other words, I can still undergo rebirth twice. He could not help but smile.

    If the palace master knew about this, he probably would have fled on his sword immediately. He would not even dare to consider killing Li Qingshan another two times.

    The Fierce King of Chu powered the golden seal again, which slammed down heavily. The palace master swung the Heaven Leaning sword again too.

    ¡°It¡¯s all the same old stuff!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back and watched the attacks without dodging. He was not in dire straits, so there was no need to use something like A Madman at Path¡¯s End, and he did not exactly hold much fury towards a dead person, so he could set the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon aside too. Since you want to overwhelm me with strength, I¡¯ll show you real strength!

    The bellow of an ox seemed to ring out from the depths of Great Buddha mountain. Li Qingshan¡¯s body expanded rapidly. Thirty meters, three hundred meters, fifteen hundred meters¡­

    Everything seemed to be a repeat of the past¡­

    But this time, he did not transform into his usual body of the demonic and divine. Instead, he turned into a colossal ox demon, standing on Great Buddha mountain.

    Ox Demon Transformation, daemonification!

    He had become much smaller and shorter compared to before, only around fifteen hundred meters tall, but he seemed even more firm and impregnable than before, becoming a part of the earth itself.

    Boom!

    Great Buddha mountain shook violently, and a pair of hooves sank deeply into the ground. However, no matter how hard the Fierce King of Chu tried, the golden seal was unable to advance another inch, which left him stunned. He understood exactly how powerful the golden seal was. Even when the detonation of the soul nascence from earlier had shaved away some of its power, it could still easily crush a mountain.

    Li Qingshan raised his left arm high in the air, using a single hand to stop the King of Chu¡¯s Seal. His ox eyes were silent and calm, without any fury, without any killing intent, just persistence that would never bend even until death.

    The four innate abilities of the ox demon had become like instinct. They had become as normal as eating and drinking.

    The Strength of the Earth provided him with the greatest support, and he could use the gravity of the Earth as he pleased now, turning it into a great repulsive force that served as great assistance in holding off the King of Chu¡¯s Seal. The Ox Demon Forges its Hide made it such that the sword slashes only left behind white marks on his body when they landed on him, vanishing in the blink of an eye like small scratches.

    The palace master wheezed slightly. The prolonged battle made him feel exhausted too. He had already become rather weary when he faced the endless innate abilities, even feeling a hint of despair. Just what else was Li Qingshan capable of!?

    ¡°Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

    With a deep bellow, the earth shook and rumbled like thunder. Waves of the power of tremors rose up from his feet, gathering in his right hand. He slowly curled his fingers into a fist as he threw a punch at the King of Chu¡¯s Seal.

    With a great boom, the King of Chu¡¯s Seal was lifted upwards, and an entire layer of the golden light was shaved away. The destructive power behind the punch was actually no less than the detonation of a soul nascence.

 Chapter 1065: The King of Chuâ€™s Seal Shatters, a Palm Strike to the Knee

    The waves of air whistled out, and the shockwaves rippled and emanated, twisting the surrounding landscape. Even space shook.

    A tremendous force passed through the golden seal with powerful tremors. The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s hand trembled, actually feeling like he was losing control. His arm suddenly bent, and he was pushed upwards, which left him widening his eyes in disbelief.

    The King of Chu¡¯s Seal was a symbol of the king¡¯s authority. It had existed since the founding of the Kingdom of Chu, having gathered the power of belief from a population of billions. There was actually someone in the world who could contend against it alone!?

    Moo! The bellow of an ox was so deep that it sounded like it came from the depths of the earth. Li Qingshan leapt up and hurled another punch at the golden seal.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The space tremored constantly as layers upon layers of golden light shattered, dispersing in the air like a snowstorm.

    Li Qingshan barraged the King of Chu¡¯s Seal again and again, like a frenzied bull that had locked onto the opponent right before him. Retreating was not a concept. There was only advance. Even if it sank into the mud, it would never change its ways!

    The Unraging monk gazed at the clouds and had no idea whether he should smile or sigh. When he accepted him as his disciple back then, perhaps it was exactly because he sensed that his deep stubbornness was even firmer than his. No matter how flexible they seemed on the surface, both of their natures never changed.

    I don¡¯t know what kind of path you want to take, but if you want to, then go on ahead!

    The Fierce King of Chu was pushed upwards and backwards again and again, basically unable to contend against this terrifying persistence. With the booms, the golden seal was lifted up again and again. Its glow dimmed to a minimum, and there was a sudden crack. The ¡°Chu¡± word on the seal fractured.

    ¡°How dare you, wretched daemon!¡± The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s heart ached, and his face changed drastically. The King of Chu¡¯s Seal was basically even more important than his ancestral shrine, and it was a lifebound item, so he would also suffer when it was damaged.

    ¡°How wouldn¡¯t I dare? Why can¡¯t I dare? Shatter!¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched both fists and lifted his arms, punching the ¡°Chu¡± word with all the ox demon¡¯s strength within him.

    Boom!

    The mountainous King of Chu¡¯s Seal was knocked three hundred meters in the air. It shook violently, actually vibrating now.

    The rebounding force of the attack knocked Li Qingshan downwards as he smiled in delight. The crack spread right before his eyes, covering the entire seal very soon.

    Boom!

    Countless fragments scattered in all directions as thousands of streaks of light like a meteor shower. The indestructible King of Chu¡¯s Seal that had been passed down for ten thousand years and had once crushed Li Qingshan to death had just been forcefully shattered like this.

    The Fierce King of Chu felt like he had been punched in the chest. He saw black and almost coughed up blood. He glared at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°That¡¯s called retribution!¡± Li Qingshan landed on the ground loudly and pointed at the sky.

    Spurt! Blood sprayed from the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s mouth.

    Li Qingshan turned his head and glared at the palace master with his round, moist ox eyes. ¡°Have you had enough?¡±

    Blood trickled from his back. When he attacked the King of Chu¡¯s Seal with all of his might, the palace master had used the opportunity to attack him desperately. By concentrating all of his attacks on a single point, he managed to pierce the Ox Demon Forges its Hide and cause some harm to him, but it was nowhere close to any lethal damage.

    ¡°Wretched daemon, I¡¯ll spare you life for today!¡± The palace master no longer hesitated, merging with the sword and turning into a resplendent streak of light as he tried to fly off.

    ¡°You¡¯re sparing me, but I¡¯m not sparing you!¡± Li Qingshan opened his hands and reached towards the streak of light. ¡°Gravity of the Earth!¡±

    The streak of light halted as if an invisible rope had reined it in. It was tugged back inch by inch.

    The palace master was shocked. He immediately understood Zhu Fuzi¡¯s predicament. Originally, he thought he could overcome the pull of this strange ability because he was confident he was much stronger than Zhu Fuzi, but he never expected all of Li Qingshan¡¯s ox demon abilities to become even greater after assuming the Ox Demon Transformation. He was unable to break free from this invisible force either.

    ¡°Come, blade!¡± Li Qingshan reached down with his right hand, and the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End flew up, rapidly expanding until it turned into a huge blade several hundred meters long. Gripped in the huge, black hand, it shone brilliantly under the sunlight. There was no violent murderousness, there was no profound bladesmanship, and there was not even a sharp edge. There was only immensity, heaviness, and vastness. Just as simple as that, he swung down with the blade.

    The blade left behind a black trajectory where it passed, but all the palace master could see was the arrival of a world of darkness.

    ¡°Assist me, fellow!¡± The palace master communicated, but he received no reply. A hint of fury flashed through his eyes, and he lifted up the Heaven Leaning sword resolutely.

    ¡°Hehe, let me send you off. Finger of Nether!¡± The master of the Umbral Yin sect suddenly took action, extending his thin finger towards the palace master.

    ¡°You!¡± The palace master shuddered all over, and the ghastly face of a ghost appeared on his face. Normally, he would not fear an attack like this at all, but at a time like this, it was like the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. The Heaven Leaning sword rapidly collapsed. ¡°My great plan¡­¡± He used his final strength to roar out, ¡°Li Qingshan, you won¡¯t meet a good end!¡±

    ¡°Something like that is of no concern!¡± Li Qingshan gripped the hilt with both hands and pressed down hard, annihilating the palace master with the black power of tremors.

    At this moment, the Fierce King of Chu lifted a cauldron high into the air. The cauldron flowed with a dazzling array of lights, and the various landscapes of the Green province unfurled across the sky endlessly, enveloping everything and giving off a non-human sense of prestige and dignity. This was a condensation of the laws of the world. It was one of the nine cauldrons, the Green Province cauldron. It possessed even greater power than the King of Chu¡¯s Seal that had gathered the power of belief from billions, but he would rather let the Green Province cauldron be destroyed than the King of Chu¡¯s Seal.

    The reason behind that was not only because the Green Province cauldron was a symbol of authority, but also because it was a manifestation of subservience, so the Fierce King of Chu would never use it unless he had no other choice. Normally, the golden seal alone was enough to suppress and overwhelm all. His eyes were wide open, and his long hair was messy. He did not have a single expression on his face, but it only demonstrated his indescribable fury.

    No one could ignore a threat like that, not even the kings of the eight provinces or the Ten Daemon Kings. However, Li Qingshan only glanced upwards. ¡°You don¡¯t want that anymore either?¡±

    With that, he made his way down Great Buddha mountain, heading towards the great buddha that had been chasing after Xiao An the entire time.

    A hint of struggle appeared on the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s face. He was not free to wander the world and do as he pleased like Li Qingshan. As the lord of the Green province, the king of the Kingdom of Chu, his great authority also came with great responsibility. It was the will and inheritance of several dozen past kings and countless wars and battles that had shaped the Kingdom of Chu¡¯s ten-millennia legacy. If he continued like this, how was he supposed to fend off the Kingdom of Southern Yue¡¯s attacks?

    He did not want to become the lord of a fallen kingdom, so he hesitated.

    The great buddha was focused on chasing down Xiao An when a huge shadow suddenly enveloped it. A huge hand slammed down, grabbing the buddha by the head and lifting it up.

    The buddha turned around and launched a vicious palm strike at Li Qingshan¡¯s knee.

    ps£º Õâ¸öÔÂµÄÈÎÎñÒ²ºÜ¼è¾ÞÂï£¡

 Chapter 1066: Buddha Slaying in a Stroke, the Boundless Buddhist Dharma

    Crack! With the sound of shattering metal, his knee was almost smashed to pieces. Li Qingshan grinned, grabbing the buddha by the head with both hands and pulling it up. ¡°Up you get!¡±

    He pressed down on the buddha¡¯s eyes as hard as he could with his thumbs. He released waves of the power of tremors from both hands, which clashed with the holy glow, producing strange sounds. The great buddha lifted its golden palm and swung it at Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist.

    Crack! His wrists broke at the same time.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the buddha by the head firmly, refusing to let go until his arms had shattered. The great buddha truly is powerful. Its body is even tougher than the King of Chu¡¯s Seal, such that I¡¯ll struggle to destroy it even if I use my full strength. If I were facing it alone, I¡¯d really struggle to defeat it.

    However, before he knew it, the effect of the feeble yet boundless buddha nature on him had weakened. This had nothing to do with their sizes. It seemed that the stubbornness and persistence of the ox demon was much more suited for fending off the aura of those who dwelled high above compared to the violence and battle-hungriness of the tiger demon. When the tiger demon rampaged in a frenzy, the ox demon sank down in the mud, but it refused to change.

    However, he was not alone!

    The sun sank down in the west, and the sunlight beamed over horizontally. Blueish-white robes drifted over, becoming gilded with a golden-red edge. A pair of flawless, bare feet landed on the great buddha¡¯s head gently.

    ¡°Atone for your actions, buddha,¡± Xiao An said gently and held the Buddha Slaying sword in both hands with a reverse grip. Without any hesitation, she stabbed down.

    The sword of white bone pierced the buddha¡¯s head with surprising ease. It only stopped when the entire blade of the sword became embedded.

    The great buddha¡¯s forceful body suddenly halted. Golden light poured out from the wound and turned into countless beams in the blink of an eye. Her blueish-white robes ruffled around in the air, swallowed by the vast glow.

    At this moment, the great buddha¡¯s face that had been devoid of any emotion the entire time suddenly assumed a strange expression, which covered the entire face like a ripple before rapidly disappearing again. Its eyes swiveled upwards. Xiao An stood in a blind angle, but it clearly made out Xiao An¡¯s existence.

    Xiao An¡¯s face was devoid of any emotion. Pale-white flames burned in her eyes, but she was enveloped in a golden, holy light, making it difficult to distinguish her demonic or buddhist alignment. She seemed to be filled with respect towards the great buddha, yet there was also plenty of determination to kill it.

    The great buddha draped its gaze again, bringing its palms together and recovering an expression of benevolence. The sun set behind it, overlapping with its halo perfectly. It shone with the sun.

    The Dauntless monk uttered the buddha¡¯s name loudly. His face that had originally become twisted from fury suddenly eased up again. He prostrated deeply on the ground and chanted, ¡°It can bestow dauntlessness to all beings. When somebody makes that seal, it is called the Seal of Dauntlessness.¡±

    TL: This is a twist on a part from the Mahavairocana Tantra, from the section of Mudr¨¡s, or seals.

    The Unraging monk smiled again; it was not a cynical sneer, but instead filled with great joy from the bottom of his heart. He threw his chubby body on the ground in prostration and said firmly, ¡°By showing compassion and leniency, by punishing the wicked and embracing the good, by treating all living creatures as equal, all can attain buddhahood!¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King and all the other monks bowed deeply, chanting the essence they had comprehended in their lives in devotion. The thousands of voices poured together like rivers flowing into the ocean, merging with the boundless buddhist dharma. It was even mightier than the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    The landscape of the Green province projected from the Green Province cauldron in the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s hand suddenly faded, no longer possessing the great prestige and dignity that could overwhelm everything. The laws of the world had become meaningless too. All glory went to the great buddha.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. The great buddha that was less than three hundred meters tall seemed to grow a thousand times larger, bursting through this world and looking down from an indescribable height. It actually shone even brighter than the sun. It did not have to swing its hands. Just its gaze could melt everything.

    It felt like even if he threw his entire life into hardships and struggles, he could not even reach one of the great buddha¡¯s toes. Even his legs that had remained standing despite the shattered knee felt an urge to bend over. That was a sense of reverence that did not originate from fear or power, but more like the sense of insignificance humanity felt when they first discovered the existence of the universe and realised the entire world in their belief was merely a speck of dust hovering in the boundless sea of stars. It was an indescribable sensation of despair.

    His knees trembled, and he gritted his teeth, even shattering them. Blood and fire surged out from his mouth, but even that was not enough to drown out the deep feeling of despair. This danger was even greater than when the Dragon King of Ink Sea hunted him down and when Qiongqi threatened him. None of the hopeless situations he had faced in this life could compare to it. Even if someone killed him, that was only destruction, but at this very moment, his very will wavered violently.

    If he lost himself to it right now, then it would all be over, but how was he supposed to contend against it? He could not even attach the label of ¡°enemy¡± to everything before his eyes right now. There was nowhere for him to channel the tiger demon¡¯s battle spirit, the spirit turtle¡¯s longevity could only last an instant, and the phoenix¡¯s nobility seemed lowly. All that remained was groundless, meaningless, pointless persistence!

    A word of entrustment rang out in his mind again. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t lower your head to anyone, as you have once ridden on my back!¡±

    As a result, he did not kneel!

    A while later, the final ray of holy light vanished into the air, and the crack ran across the great buddha¡¯s cheek. In the blink of an eye, cracks spread across the entire statue, and the great buddha¡¯s impervious body shattered and dispersed. The setting sun melded into the horizon.

    The short moment felt as long as an entire age.

    Li Qingshan remained in the same position, his ox face filled with stubbornness. His body was stuck in the mud, but his heart was in the Nine Heavens!

    The monks had originally been bowing towards the great buddha. Now that the great buddha was gone, they seemed like they were bowing towards him.

    Xiao An drifted over and widened her eyes. In a daze, she seemed to see the existence of another figure, but only when she blinked her eyes again did she realise it was a false impression.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan fell backwards stiffly, like the collapse of a mountain. With a boom, he leaned against Great Buddha mountain.

    In the underground caves deep below, the Soaring Locust King suddenly stood up. His mouth split open a little, and he shoved the remaining half of the grandmaster of the school of Agriculture into his belly. Demon qi surged behind him as he murmured to himself with a hideous grin, ¡°Killing you once isn¡¯t enough for you to die, but twice should be enough!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Xiao An arrived beside Li Qingshan.

    ¡°A bunch of trash!¡± The Soaring Locust King sat back down, turning into a thumb-sized locust and flying off into the depths.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. How are you?¡± Li Qingshan spread his limbs and gasped for air. His body slowly shrank before turning back to normal. Even a mere hint of buddhist nature could suppress his mind, and the bearing alone could make his will waver. Just what kind of monster was brother ox up against beyond the distant Nine Heavens?

    ¡°It¡¯s been quite the harvest!¡± Xiao An smiled. Not only had she obtained all the ?ar¨©ra left behind by the past monks of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, paving a foundation for her upcoming cultivation, but she had benefited quite a lot from the final Buddha Slaying stroke too. What she gained from that was no less than the former as a matter of fact. She raised her right hand and showed the Buddha Slaying sword to Li Qingshan. A golden thread now pierced the entire sword, and Li Qingshan could vaguely sense the changes inside as well.

    ¡°What an annoying sword! Keep it away from me!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s voice was laced with a hint of alarm.

    ¡°That truly is an existence beyond belief!¡± Xiao An said from the bottom of the heart, half out of admiration and half out of joy. Even Li Qingshan who had the demonic and divine coexisting within him struggled a little to understand how she felt right now.

    The Dark Queen drifted over. Before she could even speak up, the black cat leapt out of her arms and landed beside Li Qingshan and Xiao An. She said in utter surprise, ¡°Meow! Big Blacko! Li¡¯l Whitey! It really is you!¡±

    ps£º ºÃÁË£¬ÐÂ¾ÓËù»ù±¾¸ã¶¨£¬¿ÉÒÔ¾²ÏÂÐÄÀ´£¬×öµã¸Ã×öµÄÊÂÇéÁË£¡

 Chapter 1067: Xuanyue Meows, a Promise of the Past

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An smiled at each other. It really had been quite some time since they last heard those two names!

    ¡°So you didn¡¯t die, and you¡¯ve become so powerful. That¡¯s fantastic. I don¡¯t have to go to the Ink sea anymeowre.¡± Xuanyue used her claws to rub her chest, letting out a great sigh of relief. She said hesitantly, ¡°Then¡­ am I still your meowster?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never treated you as my master!¡± Li Qingshan said in exasperation, but a smile hung on his face.

    ¡°Damn it! Sure enough, you¡¯ve turned against me the meowment the opportunity arises! I even personally engraved those two words on your head! Otherwise, how could someone like you come up with such a great name?¡± Xuanyue leapt onto Li Qingshan¡¯s head gently and patted his ox horns heavily with her claws, reminding him about this blessing she had given him.

    ¡°I was tempted to butcher you back then!¡± Li Qingshan stared into her eyes.

    ¡°Haha, you stayed meowd back then, but you still ended up accepting me obediently. Come, call me meowster!¡± Xuanyue gawked down with her furry head on Li Qingshan¡¯s head, looking at him with her glistening, heterochromatic eyes.

    ¡°Did you see just how powerful I was just a while ago or not?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his forehead.

    ¡°You were very powerful. You became as tall as a mountain and killed all those damned people. You were basically even more powerful than meowster!¡± Xuanyue said excitedly.

    ¡°The two of you¡­¡± The Dark Queen was taken aback. Even when she faced Li Qingshan, she would do so with some reverence.

    Li Qingshan stood up and pointed at his head. ¡°I just happen to be lacking a pet. Could you give this cat to me?¡±

    Before the Dark Queen could even answer him, Xuanyue yelled out, ¡°I¡¯m not your pet! I¡¯m your meowster! Meowster!¡±

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s not for you to decide!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her by her collar and lifted her up. He could still remember exactly how she had kidnapped him to the Dragon province back then.

    ¡°Mother.¡± Xiao An nodded towards the Dark Queen and said to the Fierce King of Chu in the air, ¡°Please stop, father!¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu said after a moment of silence, ¡°Xuanyue, are you aware that you¡¯ve already become the public enemy of buddhism now?¡±

    ¡°If anyone wants to kill me, tell them to come. I won¡¯t hold back with anyone apart from the people of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡± Xiao An shook her head. She did not mind adding a few more Skull Prayer Beads to her collection.

    By now, even if the grand preceptor of the left from the Spirit K?etra temple wanted to kill a ¡°buddha nemesis¡± like her, he would have to consider his decision carefully. Buddhism had never lacked a spirit of martyrdom, but they also had a bottom line. They would not carry out things like suicide attacks.

    The Fierce King of Chu shut his eyes and let out a sigh. In the cultivation community, the strong was revered and did not require the opinions of the weak, and the path that she walked was without a doubt a profound and distant one. Compared to that, even the position of the King of Chu was nothing! He glanced at Li Qingshan deeply again, unable to hide the hatred in his eyes. ¡°Li Qingshan, our grievances are vast like the ocean and the mountains. It¡¯s beyond reconciliation!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not an opponent that I¡¯d like, nor are you my opponent! If you want to hate me, then hate me. However, the matters today aren¡¯t as simple as they seem. Who knows what the Sword Collection palace is scheming, but that doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. He would pay another visit to the Sword Collection palace when he had the time in the future and butcher the Elders of Heaven and Earth. Maybe he would pull out all the swords on the Sword Collection peak in the process.

    The Fierce King of Chu flew away. He personally believed he was capable of facing Li Qingshan in battle, but if it included his ¡°daughter¡± on the side, then he would truly stand no chance. He would only be asking to be humiliated if he continued to put up a struggle. Gazing at the sun that had sunken into the horizon, he suddenly felt a sense of desolation. He was aware that he would probably never get his revenge.

    The Dark Queen gazed into the horizon and suddenly felt rather sentimental too. Xiao An said from beside her, ¡°Mother, father is not in a good mood. You should spend some time with him!¡±

    ¡°Then you¡­¡± The Dark Queen was reluctant to part with her.

    ¡°He probably doesn¡¯t want to see me right now,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Xuanyue, why don¡¯t you go back to the Umbral Yin sect with me and take a look? You can wait there for your mother. You¡¯ve spent so many years apart, so you should spend a few days together at the very least,¡± said the master of the Umbral Yin sect, except his sinister tone did not match the heart-warming contents at all.

    ¡°Thank you for earlier.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands at the master of the Umbral Yin sect. While he did watch on indifferently from the sidelines and only struck in the final moments when the situation was favourable to him, which Li Qingshan did not approve of, at least he had not opposed him. On top of that, if it were not for his finger at the very end, it would have been quite troublesome for Li Qingshan by the time the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s Green Province cauldron had crushed down on him.

    ¡°Hehe, it was nothing. I should thank you instead, fellow, for resolving the conflict between the Umbral Yin sect and Sword Collection palace for good,¡± said the sect master.

    Under the Dark Queen¡¯s pleading gaze, Xiao An nodded in agreement, and the Dark Queen smiled, which made her seem a little more cheerful. ¡°I¡¯ll be back very soon!¡±

    Right when she was about to fly off, a slender hand grabbed her by her sleeve. Turning around, it was a beautiful, young girl with a crescent moon on her forehead.

    ¡°Xuanyue, sorry about that. I almost forgot about you. You can come with me!¡± The Dark Queen was in an extremely good mood, such that she even apologised for once, but she felt rather perplexed. She basically never assumed her human form around her.

    ¡°I won¡¯t be, meowster. You¡¯ve already found the real Xuanyue. I don¡¯t need to be your Yue¡¯er anymeowre.¡± Xuan Yue smiled, revealing her sharp fangs.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to leave. I¡¯ll still treat you like before!¡± The Dark Queen was not a particularly sentimental person, but she was still somewhat attached after all those years they spent together.

    Xuanyue shook her head, and the bell on her neck jingled. The Dark Queen glanced at Li Qingshan and did not try to persuade her to stay anymore. ¡°You can come back any time!¡±

    Xiao An reached an agreement with Li Qingshan to meet up again when the Golden Cicada Spirit King ascended before setting off for the Umbral Yin sect. She had benefited quite a lot from this battle, so she just happened to be in need of a quiet place for secluded cultivation. She needed to refine the ?ar¨©ra, repair the Skull Prayer Beads, and perhaps forge another arcane treasure of white bone. She was not afraid of assaults from buddhism, but she did not want to be disturbed either.

    Xuanyue watched the Dark Queen fly off until she vanished into the horizon. Only then did she turn around, ¡°Hey, Big Blacko, are you a man of your word?¡±

    ¡°I always have been!¡± Li Qingshan touched his horns.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s set off!¡± Xuanyue extended her finger in high spirits.

    ¡°Where to?¡±

    ¡°The Dragon province!¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s the south!¡±

    ¡°Does it matter!?¡± Xuanyue became furious out of embarrassment.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Actually, the Mist province is quite nice too. All of the people from the Dragon province are very annoying.¡±

    ¡°You lie! The Nine-tailed Fox Empress is beautiful and powerful. Only a bumpkin of a daemon like you would enjoy a land of savages like the Mist province!¡±

    ¡°How dare a mere Daemon General act so brazenly before this Daemon King! Whatever, as long as you¡¯re happy!¡±

    Li Qingshan wrapped his arm around her waist and unfurled his wings. In the next moment, he had already passed through the cloud layer. His gaze pierced the clouds and gazed at the rising and falling mountains. The monks of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were still caught in a holy atmosphere, prostrating on the ground and ignoring everything else going on beside them. If it were not for the fact that he had witnessed the boundlessness of the buddhist dharma, perhaps he would be mocking their foolishness, but he only sank into his thoughts now.

    The Unraging monk seemed to sense that. He raised his head and his face was filled with helplessness.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand with a smile as farewell. He suddenly experienced a hint of uneasiness, but it flashed by in the blink of an eye.

    Gazing into the distant north, it was time for him to uphold his promise of the past!

 Chapter 1068: Beneath the Ice Sword Cliff

    Under the dark blue sky, the clouds rose and fell like mountains.

    The sun sank in the west, and the moon rose up in the east, resulting in another exchange between the celestial bodies.

    Li QIngshan slowed down and stopped all of his abilities, borrowing the night wind that blew into his face to soar freely over the sea of clouds.

    ¡°So high! Big Blacko, you can already fly so high.¡± Xuanyue extended her hand in an attempt to touch the moon.

    ¡°It¡¯s still nowhere near enough!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. With a flap of his wings, he abruptly pulled higher, leaving the sea of clouds far behind.

    The world fell quiet. Even the sounds of wind gradually faded away.

    ¡°Stop climbing. If you climb any higher, there¡¯ll be atmospheric winds,¡± Xuanyue said in a hurry.

    ¡°It¡¯s still nowhere near enough!¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the sky, but he gradually descended, piercing the sea of clouds. The mountains down below were the Boundless Mountains. In the past, they had once crossed these mountains together to travel to the Dragon province only to stop at the boundary.

    Suddenly, he pointed at a long, blue line on the horizon. ¡°Look at what that is.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ the Ice Sword cliff!¡± Xuanyue widened her eyes, only to see the blue line rapidly grow larger and taller. In the end, it turned into a towering mountain of ice that pierced and split mountains. There was a long line of dark clouds amassed on top, drifting with huge snowflakes. The sounds of wind and snow rang out in their ears again, growing louder and louder.

    Finally, Li Qingshan arrived beneath the Ice Sword cliff one more time. The mountain of ice was just as towering and magnificent as before, but it no longer seemed so unscalable.

    The fierce wind swept up his long, scarlet hair, and the snow melted away from the heat given off by the phoenix wings before they could even touch his body, turning into white steam.

    ¡°You want to climb it again?¡± Xuanyue asked in wonder.

    ¡°No. Once is enough for something like that.¡± Li Qingshan took a step forward and pressed his hand against the mountain of ice gently.

    ¡°Big Blacko, come to the Dragon province with me! I won¡¯t treat you as my pet anymeowre,¡± Xuanyue was embarrassed by what she said for once.

    ¡°Now is still not the time.¡±

    However, Li Qingshan understood that perhaps there would never be a time. Originally, he wanted to keep her by his side, but he discovered the distance between them was even greater than when she had been taken back to South Hub city. The current him was already capable of visiting South Hub city with ease. He could even roam through the Dragon province and steal a glimpse of the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯ appearance, but he could not shorten this distance. Since asking her to stay was pointless, then he might as well make her wish come true.

    This was the time for them to part.

    ¡°Forget about it! I¡¯ll just go by meowself!¡± Xuanyue said viciously, but her large eyes were somewhat lost, gazing at his back in a daze.

    Abruptly, the Ice Sword cliff began to tremble gently like a giant of ice shaking its body. The accumulated snow was thrown into the air, which seemed extremely beautiful under the moonlight.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes as if he was listening for something. He released pulses of the power of tremors from the centre of his hand, fluctuating in intensity. He adjusted it delicately.

    The ice that formed the Ice Sword cliff was even tougher than steel. It contained a strange spiritual qi that definitely had not been formed naturally. Legend had it that the Ice Sword cliff had been formed by the fallen sword of a deity, but over all these years, not a single cultivator had come to smash through the ice in search of the sword, which left him rather puzzled. However, he did not think too much about it either.

    Right now, it was exactly because the ice mountain blocked his path. Brother ox had departed here too, leaving behind the entrustment beyond the Nine Heavens, which involved far too many emotions and promises.

    Since this was the starting point of everything, then he would restart here!

    ¡°Resonance!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes, and a wave of power of tremors rippled out from the palm of his hand, shaking off the layer of white frost and revealing the half-transparent blue ice. Then it passed through the ice and spread across the entire cliff. The power of tremors was not particularly powerful, but it made the entire cliff shake violently. Boulders of ice tumbled down.

    Crack! From the centre of Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, fractures spread out like a spider¡¯s web, penetrating the Ice Sword cliff deeply.

    The cracks spread further and grew wider, extending freely like black bolts of lightning.

    Li Qingshan pulled his hand back and turned around, pulling Xuanyue into his arms and kissing her on her soft lips.

    ¡°Meow?¡± Xuanyue widened her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck firmly and kissing him deeply.

    In the blink of an eye, the Ice Sword cliff collapsed loudly. With an earth-shaking rumble, mountainous pieces of ice rained down. The ice powder in the air basically dispersed the dark clouds that hung around all year round, swallowing their embracing figures.

    The dark clouds dispersed, the ice powder settled, and the moonlight shone.

    The Ice Sword cliff turned into glaciers, assuming various beautiful shapes. They shone coldly and magnificently under the refraction of the moonlight.

    Nothing stood in their way to the Dragon province anymore. The cold winds came and went, pleasant and refreshing.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to set off.¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head. Her cat ears trembled, reluctant to leave. She seemed so small and delicate in his arms, such that he could not help but develop a protective urge over her and worry about her unknown future. He tried to persuade her. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to the Mist province instead? The Great Banyan Tree King is a good friend of mine. He can take care of you.¡±

    ¡°Like I need you to care!¡± Xuanyue turned Li Qingshan down bluntly and pushed him away, wiping her mouth forcefully and fuming away in anger. She was not as adorable and likeable as she seemed. She had always possessed a stubborn side to her, but within the path of cultivation, who didn¡¯t possess a stubborn side?

    Li Qingshan shrugged and embedded an imprint in a jade talisman, shoving it into her hands. ¡°No matter what danger you face, no matter where I am!¡±

    ¡°I get it! Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡± Xuanyue accepted the jade talisman and suddenly pointed at the depths of the glaciers.

    Li Qingshan followed her finger and looked over. There was a particularly large piece of ice there, standing in the centre of the glaciers like a miniature mountain. In the centre was a white, oval object. It did not give off any special aura, so he had failed to notice it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that that¡¯s the legendary fallen sword?¡±

    Li Qingshan became rather curious too. He arrived before the ice and discovered it was particularly clear and transparent, as well as abnormally tough. There seemed to be a huge cocoon in the centre of the ice, constantly radiating with coldness. He bent his finger and knocked it against the ice gently. The ice shattered, exposing the white cocoon. It was only a few meters tall, but the threads that wove the cocoon were fine and white like snow. They were crystalline like ice and did not resemble silk. He was unable to send his soul sense inside, nor could he sense any aura of life.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so curious, or you might freeze to death!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed Xuanyue¡¯s hand, which was about to touch the cocoon. He pressed his own hand against the cocoon instead. It was so cold that even he felt it chill his bones. So this was the source of the Ice Sword cliff?

    ¡°I¡¯ll never die. Quick, take a look what¡¯s inside! If it¡¯s a treasure, I want half! I saw it first!¡± Xuanyue said.

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Li Qingshan said as he unleashed the power of tremors, but he discovered that the cocoon was abnormally tough, and unlike the ice, he could not destroy it through resonance.

    ¡°Be a little more careful. Don¡¯t break it,¡± Xuanyue said nervously.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his phoenix wings, which burned with roaring fire. They spread over thirty meters across before enveloping the entire cocoon.

    The silk melted away, turning into gurgling streams. Gradually, a figure in the cocoon was exposed.

    Xuanyue murmured, ¡°How do we split it?¡±

 Chapter 1069: The Frost-feathered Moth King, the Divine Axe of Profound Ice

    ¡°You can eat it all,¡± Li Qingshan said casually.

    Even until now, he did not sense the aura of anything alive. No matter who it was that had been sealed under the Ice Sword cliff, they seemed to have frozen to death already.

    ¡°Eat!?¡± Xuanyue widened her eyes in displeasure before gazing at the figure that gradually cleared up in the cocoon, considering the suggestion seriously.

    The red flames were like burning blood, melting away a majority of the cocoon. A woman with white hair curled up in there, dressed in a white, graceful dress with edges adorned with furry, white feathers. Her facial features were delicate and cold, like a spirit of ice.

    ¡°If she¡¯s alive, I could give her a taste!¡± Li Qingshan grinned.

    ¡°You like to eat it raw?¡± Xuanyue said in surprise.

    Li Qingshan sniggered and gave no further explanation. ¡°So this isn¡¯t the Ice Sword cliff, but the Ice Axe cliff!¡±

    The woman held an ice axe embedded with patterns of snow within its crystalline structure. However, its overall appearance was colossal and vicious-looking, a combination of the beauty of art and the violence of a weapon. It radiated with a deep, bone-chilling coldness.

    Li Qingshan could tell with a single glance that the ice axe was not some regular arcane treasure. It was probably on par with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, and it might even have a weapon spirit.

    ¡°Meowhehe, we found an axe. Big Blacko, give it to me quick!¡± Xuanyue smiled.

    ¡°That¡¯s not something you can wield.¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand and grabbed the hilt of the blade, coming into contact with the white-haired woman¡¯s skin, but he discovered it was not as stiff as he imagined it to be; instead, it was extremely soft and delicate. At the same time, it was extremely cold, and it seemed to contain pure and powerful spiritual qi, which made him murmur to himself, ¡°I might actually be able to eat her.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then you can keep her to eat. I want the axe!¡± Xuanyue cheered and leapt around.

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with responding to her. He wanted to pull the ice axe from the woman¡¯s arms, but the axe seemed to be frozen to her body. If he pulled it away forcefully, even her body might shatter with it, which he felt somewhat reluctant to see happen. As a result, he powered the phoenix flames again in an attempt to melt away the rigid ice.

    The flames burned and flowed. The woman with white hair was unscathed, but it did add some warmth to her icy-cold body. The ice axe in her arms radiated with cold light.

    Suddenly, her snow-white, crystalline eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes. A pair of white, hazy eyes stared at him coldly as a growl rang out from the depths of her throat. ¡°Fire! I hate fire!¡± She leapt out of the cocoon and swung the ice axe right down at Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Immediately, the fierce winds bellowed, the ice and snow roared, and the surroundings paled.

    ¡°She¡¯s alive again!¡± Xuanyue was alarmed, hiding behind Li Qingshan with a flash.

    ¡°I better just let her die!¡±

    Even Li Qingshan could not help but shiver. He extended his hands through the ice and snow, grabbing the axe with his left hand and tugging it gently while gripping the woman¡¯s throat with his right. The power behind the swing was impressive, but compared to the huge palm strike from the great buddha and the falling seal from the Fierce King of Chu, it was nothing.

    The woman with white hair put up a fierce struggle, and the ice axe trembled away too. In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan was covered in a layer of frost, but ever since he experienced the coldness and loneliness of the water from Ruin¡¯s End, this kind of coldness was nothing to him.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered gently, and all of the frost on him shattered. He emitted a wave of faint blue light that enveloped the ice axe and the woman. Both of them settled down.

    ¡°Kill her!¡± Xuanyue called out.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve killed a lot of people over the past two days.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and was just about to do it when a pair of irises appeared in the woman¡¯s hazy eyes. They were white as well, but they bore a crystalline pattern, shaped like snowflakes. She was slightly confused as she made out Li Qingshan¡¯s figure, saying with an extremely feeble voice, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ the one who saved me?¡±

    Her voice was completely different from before. She gave off faint daemon qi, also very feeble, but it was extremely pure. She was clearly a Daemon King, and an extremely powerful one at that.

    ¡°Which one are you?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had some guesses.

    ¡°Bai Xiao¡¯e.¡± The woman furrowed her brows as if it took her quite the effort to remember the name. Then she said, ¡°Or¡­ the Frost-feathered Moth King!¡± Her confusion gradually faded away, recovering her coldness and pride.

    ¡°One of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings! Ah, I¡¯ve heard much about you, I¡¯ve heard much about you.¡± Li Qingshan sighed in amazement. So an old daemon like her was actually sealed beneath the Ice Sword cliff. All of the Seventy-two Daemon Kings he had seen so far were male¡ªapart from the Clam King of Mirage Sea that was neither man nor woman¡ª so this was the first time he had met a female one.

    ¡°Could you let me down first?¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e tried to turn her neck, but the force behind the hand was startling. She was in a feeble state, so she actually struggled to break free. She sighed to herself inside, I¡¯ve been sealed in ice for so many years that the Daemon race has produced another member this powerful?

    ¡°You just tried to kill your saviour earlier.¡± Li Qingshan had no intentions of letting go.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t me!¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e glanced at the ice axe.

    ¡°Ah, I see!¡± Li Qingshan let go.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e rubbed her neck. Her expression suddenly changed, lifting the ice axe high into the air again. She let out a deep growl. ¡°Kill!¡±

    ¡°Tsktsk, you actually let a weapon spirit control you!¡± Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed and shook his head, completely ignoring the incoming axe. Both the daemon and the axe were in a state of great feebleness. She could not pose any threat to him at all.

    ¡°Be fucking quiet!¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e¡¯s face changed, and the ice axe circled around, slamming into the ground heavily. With a great rumble, a huge crevasse appeared in the ice.

    Li Qingshan stood on the edge of the cliff, glancing into the crevasse. Even the brilliant moonlight could not reach the bottom. A new problem had appeared on his path from the Green province to the Dragon province. He thought to himself, Sure enough, the strong are still strong even when weakened. None of the old daemons are weak.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e gripped the axe firmly with both hands and flew into the air. She absorbed the spiritual qi of the world and unfurled her long, pure-white wings. The moonlight twisted as a result, gathering on her body, leaving her cold and pure in appearance.

    ¡°How do we split it now?¡± Xuanyue peeped over Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, and he shrugged. He called out at the sky, ¡°Hey, can I discuss something with you?¡±

    With a flash, Bai Xiao¡¯e arrived before Li Qingshan again, pointing the axe at his nose. ¡°Take back what you just said!¡±

    ¡°Is this how you treat your saviour?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°First of all, I haven¡¯t been controlled by the weapon spirit, and how would a mere junior like you understand the power of a weapon spirit?¡± When Bai Xiao¡¯e reached the very end, she was basically grinding her teeth. In order to subdue the Divine Axe of Profound Ice, she had paid a heavy price, so she would not let anyone judge her so easily.

    ¡°A weapon spirit? I have one too!¡± Li Qingshan drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and gently moved the Divine Axe of Profound Ice out of his way.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower roared, ¡°How dare that bitch point a weapon at you! Why aren¡¯t you fighting back? Are you even a man or not? And that shitty axe too, I¡¯ll cut that in half too!¡±

    The Axe Spirit of Profound Ice said, ¡°Just by you? Asuras have all suffered defeat at my hands!¡±

 Chapter 1070: Grievances of Old, the Myriad Ghosts Abyss

    The two weapons began cursing at one another, tempted to go to war. If it were not for the fact that they were held in the hands of their respective masters, perhaps they really would have gone to war.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e stared at Li Qingshan. If it were not for the warmth from the phoenix¡¯s flames, it would have taken quite the effort to awaken her from her hibernation, except the pair of ox horns on his head was rather jarring. He was not an avian, so how did he have the bloodline of the phoenix?

    ¡°Li Qingshan, or the Daemon King Northmoon. Don¡¯t you find it a little noisy?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Very noisy.¡±

    The two of them stowed away their weapons at the same time, and the world immediately recovered its peace.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°We can finally get down to proper business. Oh right, you were discovered by her.¡± As he spoke, he brought Xuanyue out from behind him. ¡°We agreed on splitting what we found in half earlier. Give the ice axe to her. As for my half¡­¡± He studied Bai Xiao¡¯e. ¡°I¡¯ll just not take it.¡±

    Bai Xiao¡¯e stared at Xuanyue. Under the gaze of her snowy eyes, Xuanyue could not help but shiver, but she refused to back down. ¡°What¡¯re you staring at me for? I¡¯m also your saviour!¡±

    ¡°I will pay you back for saving me, but I still have a use for the Divine Axe of Profound Ice. I can¡¯t give it to you,¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e said calmly.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s change the conditions!¡± Li Qingshan was not surprised at all. He had no intentions of taking the Divine Axe of Profound Ice in the first place. Only weapons that could be used could be considered as weapons. A single Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was noisy enough. He only said that to test out this Frost-feathered Moth King¡¯s response. He hefted Xuanyue in his hand. ¡°She¡¯s going to the Dragon province. Protect her.¡±

    Just like that, he could completely carry out his promise of sending her to the Dragon province, but he continued to worry about her a little.

    ¡°Why? I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s protection!¡± Xuanyue called out.

    ¡°That¡¯s your condition?¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e reminded him. ¡°You could have obtained something of much greater worth.¡±

    ¡°Oi, are you saying I¡¯m worthless?¡± Xuanyue said in displeasure.

    ¡°And what can you provide me with?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e sank into her thoughts for a good while. ¡°That¡¯s true. You¡¯re very powerful. Apart from the Divine Axe of Profound Ice, I have nothing I can give you. I accept your condition. I just happen to be going to the Dragon province too.¡±

    ¡°Hey, listen to me! Don¡¯t look down on Daemon Generals! I¡¯ll become a Daemon Commander, no, Daemon King very soon!¡± Xuanyue was livid.

    ¡°Then I¡¯d advise you to be a little more careful. You¡¯ve been sealed in ice for all these years, so you probably don¡¯t even know how the Dragon province has changed,¡± Li Qingshan said. The Great Xia empire had been founded five thousand years ago, but the Ice Sword cliff probably existed for much longer than that.

    ¡°Is it called Great Xia?¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e¡¯s eyes rippled slightly.

    ¡°You know?¡± Li Qingshan was slightly surprised.

    ¡°I once heard it from somebody¡­ she doesn¡¯t seem to want my protection.¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e pointed at Xuanyue who bit the back of Li Qingshan¡¯s hand viciously. ¡°Since she¡¯s also my saviour, she possesses half the authority too. You can¡¯t force this upon her.¡±

    Li Qingshan said to Xuanyue earnestly, ¡°Alright, stop acting like a child. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re going on a holiday when you go to the Dragon province. What¡¯s wrong with having such a great bodyguard looking after you? You say the Nine-tailed Fox Empress is noble and powerful, but I think she¡¯s not much different, and she seems very reliable!¡±

    ¡°The Nine-tailed Fox Empress!¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e blanked out slightly as if that had roused an extremely distant memory. She actually smiled. ¡°What a coincidence, she just happens to be my friend.¡± The coldness in her eyes grew heavier.

    ¡°You¡¯re ma¡¯am fox empress¡¯ friend?¡± Xuanyue let go and discovered in dejection that she did not even leave a print of her teeth on Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Bai Xiao¡¯e.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t she come and save you?¡± Li Qingshan asked in confusion. Given the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s identity and cultivation, destroying the Ice Sword cliff would have been nothing difficult at all!

    ¡°I¡¯m about to ask her that question too,¡± said Bai Xiao¡¯e.

    ¡°Heh. Don¡¯t tell me you were screwed over by somebody?¡± Li Qingshan asked in a joking fashion. Weapon spirits were powerful, but it was a little too miserable for a great Daemon King to end up being sealed in ice for several millennia for the sake of subduing a weapon. It suddenly made him think of the Clam King of Mirage Sea. Even when she ascended, she had left a part of her behind to venture to the Dragon province. He wondered how she was doing now.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e remained silent.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to gamble that you¡¯re not your old friend¡¯s opponent, even when you have the Divine Axe of Profound Ice!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± said Bai Xiao¡¯e.

    ¡°I suddenly regret this a little.¡± Li Qingshan said to Xuanyue, ¡°Just go to the Mist province!¡± The Dragon province definitely was not a peaceful place, especially during the age when Great Xia was on the verge of collapse.

    ¡°You have a grievance with the Nine-tailed Fox Empress? What kind of grievance is it?¡± Xuanyue ignored Li Qingshan and asked curiously.

    ¡°It has nothing to do with you. If you want to change your request, then make it quick. I¡¯m setting off. She might come here very soon.¡± Bai Xiao¡¯e unfurled her wings and gazed towards the north.

    ¡°That seems very interesting. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go to the Dragon province!¡± Xuanyue waved her hand in a dramatic manner.

    ¡°Oh, you!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and let go. If she insisted on doing this, then he would not stop her. Her path was still hers to choose at the end of the day.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e grabbed Xuanyue and turned into a streak of white light, flying off in the north-western direction. She was alarmingly fast, so fast that even Li Qingshan sighed in admiration. She was still in a feeble state. If she had recovered her full strength, perhaps she might even be a little faster. Unless there was a trap, killing a great Daemon King like her was basically impossible. Xuanyue probably would not be in any danger under her protection.

    ¡°Oh right. If anything happens to her, you better be ready to be buried with her!¡±

    Bai Xiao¡¯e glanced backwards, neither surprised nor furious. She nodded gently, cold like a machine. Li Qingshan had no idea whether this was just the way she was, or if her personality had changed drastically because she had been deceived by her friend, or if it was just a combination of both.

    I wonder how little Hua is doing with his wounds.

    Li Qingshan thought of his own friend. He spread his wings and flew off.

    A while later, the space there suddenly became hazy. A woman in a magnificent fur cloak drifted down, gazing at the deep crevasse and smiling. ¡°Xiao¡¯e, welcome back! But it¡¯s already too late.¡±

    At the same time, above a valley that was even deeper and larger.

    The master of the Umbral Yin sect said, ¡°Xuanyue, you still remember here, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Of course I do,¡± Xiao An said.

    Out of all of her memories from her previous life, half of them were in the King of Chu¡¯s estate and the other half were here.

    The Umbral Yin sect, the Myriad Ghosts abyss.

    Like a huge, black mouth that had split open in the air, it whistled with chilly winds, containing the mournful cries of ghosts. It was enshrouded in yin qi all year round, never seeing the light of day. The only sources of light were specks of ghost light, sometimes gathering together and sometimes separating. It did not seem like a place inhabited by the living, but an extension of the Hungry Ghost realm. The abyss was criss-crossed with countless stone bridges and jagged rocks, which seemed more like the sharp teeth of the huge mouth, waiting for prey to deliver themselves.

    The master of the Umbral Yin sect smiled. ¡°As long as you remember. Let¡¯s head down. Once your mother returns, I¡¯ll gather everyone in the sect immediately and name you as the next master of the Umbral Yin sect!¡±

 Chapter 1071: Final Strike

    ¡°I would never be worthy of the position of sect master.¡± Xiao An¡¯s eyes rippled as if she was tempted.

    ¡°With your strength at this current moment, what in the world aren¡¯t you worthy of? I¡¯ve already grown old. I should have become a ghost a long time ago. Originally, I said your mother would inherit the position, but I don¡¯t think she would contend against you.¡± For once, the sect master demonstrated sincerity on his gloomy face.

    ¡°Then I can only oblige.¡± Xiao An smiled.

    ¡°Please then!¡± The sect master swung his hand, but he sneered inside, Sure enough, you still want the position, but let¡¯s see whether you¡¯re actually fortunate enough or not!

    ¡°Please, you first, sect master- Qingshan!¡± Xiao An suddenly looked up and beamed with joy.

    The sect master shivered inside. He was rather fearful and vigilant of Li Qingshan. If he came to the Umbral Yin sect as well, his plan would probably struggle to succeed. However, when he looked back, the sky was empty, just layers of clouds with no person to be seen.

    The joy on Xiao An¡¯s face faded away. All of her human emotions faded away. Her eyes were clear and deep, burning with pale-white flames. She stared right at the sect master and opened her red lips, but no sound came out. ¡°One sword as three thousand.¡±

    The Buddha Slaying sword struck out silently, without any sharpness or murderousness, but it had merged with the profound flexibility behind the three thousand sword moves, becoming as quiet and ungraspable as her.

    ¡°Oh no! Nether Claws of Illusionary Yin!¡± The sect master immediately turned around, and yin qi spurted out over his hands, conjuring a pair of ghost claws. They left behind a string of afterimages as he swung them around, stacking together in various shapes to receive the sword.

    Black and white criss-crossed, and the swords and ghost claws shattered one another. In a single breath, the two of them had clashed a thousand times.

    They did not give off any sound or energy, but the danger involved was no less than any other battle. They were less than three meters away from each other, almost face to face, so they could clearly make out each others¡¯ expressions.

    One was sunken and vicious, radiating with a gloomy aura, while the other was alluring and graceful.

    It was like a battle between good and evil, except a skull flickered behind the great beauty, which made it seem even more eerie.

    Xiao An gripped the sword firmly and pushed her swordsmanship to the extreme, piercing the layers upon layers of ghost claws.

    The sect master was secretly alarmed. He was extremely familiar with the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, but her level of comprehension actually seemed even greater than the master of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s. If it were not for the fact that she was inexperienced with many of the moves, he basically would have stood no chance. He caught a slight opening, and a vicious expression flashed across his face. His arms drew back, and his sleeves swelled up from the yin qi. A pair of vicious ghost claws shot out suddenly.

    ¡°Break through!¡±

    He broke through the three thousand sword moves in a single breath, and the ghost claws grabbed the Buddha Slaying sword. He asked in surprise and fury, ¡°Xuanyue, what are you doing!?¡±

    ¡°Killing you.¡± Xiao An twisted her sword and broke the golden thread left behind when she slew the great buddha. The sword suddenly lit up with golden holy light, immediately purging the yin qi. A huge, vajra sword condensed around the sword like an avatar for the sword, slashing through the Nether Claw of Illusionary Yin in a single stroke and leaving behind a golden sun.

    The sect master¡¯s hand ached, and he retreated rapidly. He said sinisterly, ¡°When did you discover it?¡±

    ¡°Discover what?¡± Xiao An did not go after him, tilting her head slightly in thought.

    ¡°Then why¡­¡± The sect master was stunned. Was she only probing him out by suddenly attacking him like this?

    ¡°When people of the demonic path do things, they have to ask why?¡±

    Xiao An fiddled around with the Skull Prayer Beads. In the beginning, she only wanted a quiet place for cultivation, but after coming to the Umbral Yin sect, she had a new idea. When the sect master wanted her to inherit the position, it only consolidated her idea¡ªto destroy the Umbral Yin sect.

    ¡°Hehe, do you want to find out how you died back then?¡±

    The sect master pulled a little further away and activated the protective formation¡ªthe Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts¡ªof the Umbral Yin sect with his full strength. Chilly winds spouted out from the black abyss, swallowing the sky full of stars and the lone moon. The whistling resembled the howls of a huge ghost.

    Immediately, the region within fifty kilometers of them became a ghost domain.

    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s connected to you, but I¡¯m not interested.¡±

    Xiao An shook her head gently. If it was not the Sword Collection palace, then it was the Umbral Yin sect. Only these two great sects of the Green province possessed the capability and would want something like that to happen. As for the truth behind everything and who the murderer was, none of it mattered anymore. All she had to do was kill all the suspects. The murderer would definitely be amongst them!

    ¡°Hehe, are you aware that the Hungry Ghost realm forbids your existence? The Hungry Ghost realm wants you to die regardless of the cost, even if they have to devour this world. I¡¯d advise you to just offer up your head obediently and assist my Umbral Yin sect in becoming the master of this world. Your mother will thank you for your sacrifice too.¡±

    The sect master spread his arms, and the chilly winds flooded the surroundings, forming a black swirl over the abyss. Everything in the surroundings twisted, including the edge and cliffs around the abyss. It seemed like a huge mouth, squirming about and ready to swallow everything.

    Xiao An¡¯s clothes ruffled about, also being drawn towards the swirl, but she did not put up any resistance. ¡°Oh, so there¡¯s a reason like that? Coincidentally, I¡¯ve come for the Hungry Ghost realm too.¡±

    With the progress of her cultivation, the demand that the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had for resources grew greater and greater as well. Perhaps there would be a day when it would become so great that even butchering all the mortals in the nine provinces would not be enough. She was reluctant to kill indiscriminately, while collecting ?ar¨©ra only offered temporary relief. However, the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s Gate of Hungry Ghosts was very suitable for this. Destroying the Umbral Yin sect would just be something she did in the process of gaining control over it.

    However, she never imagined she would dismantle the sect master¡¯s scheme in the process. Logically speaking, roping her in went without saying given the talent and strength she had demonstrated. There was Li Qingshan on her side as well. If it were not for the fact that the Hungry Ghost realm was offering up a startlingly large reward, the master of the Umbral Yin sect who was extremely skilled at avoiding disasters would never take a risk like this.

    As it seemed, she had another group of natural enemies apart from buddhism, all of which were extremely terrifying. However, obtaining such great power would always come at a certain price.

    ¡°Hehe, then you don¡¯t have to worry. I¡¯ll send you to the Hungry Ghost realm very soon!¡± The sect master smiled sinisterly.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. You¡¯re already dead,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°What madness are you on about!?¡± The sect master was completely unconvinced. He opened his hand subconsciously, only to see a golden gash on there. The holy, buddhist light prevented it from closing, except it was only a single slash, which was nowhere near enough to threaten his life. He closed his hand forcefully and shattered the light.

    Suddenly, he felt intense pain from his palm. Ever since he had refined himself into a half-ghost, half-corpse existence, it had been a very long time since he last experienced this sensation, but very soon, the intense pain turned into a kind of numbness, spreading throughout his entire body and reaching deep into his soul.

    ¡°What! What¡¯s going on? What did you do?¡±

    The sensation of death filled him. As a ghost cultivator, he should not have feared death. Following death, he would convert himself into a Ghost King before entering the Hungry Ghost realm, and he would still be able to exist for a very long time. However, he experienced a primitive, instinctive fear, so he used all of his cultivation to fend it off desperately.

    At this moment, a wisp of pale-white fire surged out from the wound. The sect master widened his eyes in fright, dying just like a regular mortal, swallowed by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Xiao An gazed at the Buddha Slaying sword in her hand. ¡°If I use the Buddha Slaying sword like this, it does become more powerful, but the effect will be delayed?¡±

 Chapter 1072: The Holy Fire Descends

    It was rather unexpected, but it was not bad news. The lethality behind the Buddha Slaying sword was extremely great. Just a scratch was enough to claim the life of the enemy, but that was not easy either when the enemy was fully prepared and possessed extraordinary battle prowess. Even when she launched a sneak attack and pushed her swordsmanship to the limit, she had almost failed at injuring the sect master.

    But now that there was the hint of buddhist nature, she could use her buddhist cultivation in the process too, pushing the might of the Buddha Slaying sword to a whole new level, which made it easier to pierce the enemy¡¯s defences. Afterwards, all she had to do was wait for the buddhist glow to fade away and for the wounds to kick in.

    It was only a single stroke, but it possessed the wonders of both the buddhist and demonic.

    Only now did Xiao An basically confirm the path that she had taken was not wrong.

    The sect master¡¯s body had been completely devoured by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. He wanted to turn himself into a Ghost King¡ªan ability that automatically came with the cultivation methods of the Umbral Yin sect. His strength would not only face no decline, but it would even climb bigger. However, he would face suppression from the laws of the world, so he would have to enter the Hungry Ghost realm to continue cultivating.

    However, the wound from the sword had reached all the way to his soul, giving him no opportunity at all. He was filled with a sense of indescribable weakness. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone flowed in deeply, setting his soul alight too and almost burning it to a crisp in the blink of an eye. Let alone turning into a Ghost King, even detonating his soul nascence became almost impossible. He was overcome with a tremendous sense of fear.

    ¡°How!? What is that sword!?¡±

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was comprehension over life, death, and sa?s¨¡ra, but it was for the sake of shattering sa?s¨¡ra and annihilating all living and dead beings across the three thousand worlds. It could not even allow the existence of a single soul.

    Xiao An said nothing. With a wave of her hand, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone flowed back, gathering in her hand. Apart from the sect master¡¯s howling and struggling soul, there was a black sumeru ring, shining with a special gloss; a string of dark-violet soul beads, where each bead suppressed a Ghost King, totalling to nine; as well as a black set of tattered, ceremonial robes, called the Robes of Mourning. It was the supreme treasure of the Umbral Yin sect that had been passed down through the millenniums. It could give the wearer immunity to the effects of techniques that directly attacked the mind like curses and decrees, and it could also forcefully withstand strikes from arcane treasures. However, it was useless against the Buddha Slaying sword.

    Watching as everything he had built up through tremendous effort over the past millennium end up in the hands of his enemy, the sect master cursed resentfully, ¡°You won¡¯t be leaving the Umbral Yin sect today!¡±

    The Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts had never stopped operating, and the black swirl instead spun faster and faster, its suction growing stronger and stronger. It dragged Xiao An towards it step by step. If she had been a regular great cultivator, even her soul would have been drawn away.

    Under the abyss, countless ghost lights rose up and converged together, dyeing the world with a gloomy colour. A colossal army of undead flooded out like the ocean with countless Ghost Generals and Ghost Commanders in the mix. The deafening war cries even made Xiao An¡¯s bones jolt. Several dozen colossal clusters of yin qi rose up as well, all existences of the third heavenly tribulation.

    The Umbral Yin sect was skilled in ghost controlling techniques. Every single great cultivator in the sect could control a few Ghost Kings, as well as countless Ghost Commanders and Generals. Perhaps this army was not even particularly powerful.

    However, above the Myriad Ghosts abyss through the power of the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts, they could summon millions of ghosts from the Hungry Ghost realm to protect the sect. Ghost Kings would be forced to listen to their command as well. Given the geography, they could even unleash their full strength, such that they were no weaker than when they were in the Hungry Ghost realm. They did not have a terrifying existence like the great buddha, but they possessed an absolute advantage in numbers.

    None of the three great sects of the Green province were easy to take down. Only even larger organisations could achieve something like that at a great cost. If Li Qingshan barged into the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga alone, he would have struggled with just the great buddha even if the Fierce King of Chu and the other great cultivators were not around. He would only be able to find a way to escape.

    Yet right now, not only was Xiao An without Li Qingshan¡¯s assistance, almost half of her Skull Prayer Beads had been destroyed, and the Blood Sea Banner was rendered useless too since the battle on Great Buddha mountain. She did not possess a powerful ability that could shatter space like Li Qingshan, so she struggled to break free from the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts. She was at a position of absolute disadvantage.

    This could be regarded as dire straits to any cultivator across the nine provinces.

    ¡°Who are you? How dare you act so wildly in our Umbral Yin sect!¡± Two great cultivators of the Umbral Yin sect stood in the sea of ghosts. One had a pale-white complexion, while the other had a darkened complexion. Ghost flames lit up in both of their eyes. They exchanged glances that were filled with fright and fear.

    They had sensed them the moment the sect master returned. When the two of them clashed and the sect master activated the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts, they were not even prepared to lend any assistance yet. They just felt like Xiao An had no idea what she was doing, but to their surprise, the sect master actually ended up losing, and he would be defeated so quickly that even his soul ended up in the hands of the enemy. They both made up their minds to never let Xiao An get anywhere close to them.

    Xiao An was no different from usual, or in other words, completely expressionless. She ignored the two great cultivators and said to the sect master, ¡°I am neither the living, nor am I planning on leaving. However, the people of the Hungry Ghost realm seem to have never told you why they want me to die!¡±

    She had no idea about the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s feats in battle within the Hungry Ghost realm, but she could already guess some of the reasons behind this. Bringing her thumb and index finger together like an orchid, she flicked out a Skull Prayer Bead.

    The sect master was taken aback. He had a vague understanding that it was related to a certain prophecy. It seemed as if some ¡°white holy fire¡± had descended in the Hungry Ghost realm and caused great damage. As for the exact extent of the damage, even the Ghost Sovereign who he was working with did not seem to know the details.

    This was not an attempt by the Hungry Ghost realm to keep it a secret, but because virtually all of the undead that had witnessed the White Bone Bodhisattva had died. The ones that survived were all powerful Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals. Their statuses were so great that the Umbral Yin sect could not even come close to them. Unless they had a strange and twisted personality like Qiongqi, they would never lower themselves to talk with existences that were ¡°ants¡± in their eyes.

    The sect master experienced an ill omen. All he saw was the Skull Prayer Bead fall into the flood of ghosts before being swallowed immediately. Only then did he ease up slightly. No matter how powerful that skeleton monster was, it could not fend off a million ghosts, let alone several dozen Ghost Kings.

    However, Xiao An did not transform the Skull Prayer Beads into a Skeleton Demon. With a crisp snap of her fingers, the Skull Prayer Bead shattered loudly, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone poured out.

    Like sparks to gasoline, there was a whoosh, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone immediately spread to several dozen kilometers away. Let alone regular Ghost Soldiers, even Ghost Generals were immediately set alight, becoming a part of the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. Only Ghost Commanders could fend it off slightly, but that was only slightly. They were immediately swallowed by the flames, feeding the fire in the process. It drowned out the roaring ghost flames and flooded the Myriad Ghosts abyss, filling it to the brim such that it reached the skies. It dyed the dark night and ground a pale-white.

    In that instant, the alarming war cries sank from the sky to deep underground. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone did not give off any sounds like regular flames. Instead, it spread without sound, rendering anywhere it passed to eternal silence.

    Immediately, the sect master understood all of it. He understood where the prophecy of the white holy fire came from, as well as why the Hungry Ghost realm tried everything they could to kill her. Only a single thought remained in his head, Kill her quick! Kill her quick!

    The sky full of flames left the two great cultivators of the Umbral Yin sect utterly shocked. They let out their yin qi and refused to come within even thirty meters of the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. At the same time, they forcefully ordered all of the Ghost Kings to lunge at Xiao An.

    Xiao An raised her hand. The remaining Skull Prayer Beads on her fair wrist scattered and flew out, receiving the several dozen Ghost Kings. This was obviously a battle of certain defeat, but with her actions, the endless sea of fire gathered and surged up, cascading like huge waves until it reached thirty thousand meters in the air, turning into the shape of a hand.

    She swung down, and the hand of flames fell like a mountain. The Ghost Kings all dodged frantically, but there were still over two dozen that were sent flying by the hand. Their assault immediately collapsed, while the remaining were stopped by the Skeleton Demons, preventing them from approaching her. As if they had encountered their natural enemy, the Ghost Kings experienced fear from their very instincts. They had been placed under forceful control, but they had no fighting will at all.

    She nodded gently. Everything was going according to plan. These weaker ghosts were much easier to digest than ?ar¨©ra. She could convert them into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone¡¯s power immediately. In her plan, the ?ar¨©ra were for increasing her buddhist cultivation.

    Her white clothes drifted through the air as she stood in the sea of flames, actually openly overwhelming the entire Umbral Yin sect alone.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± The sect master howled hysterically.

    Xiao An glanced down again. The black swirl was already within arms reach. If she was sucked inside, even her white bones would struggle to withstand it.

    Without even looking at him, she extended her hand and closed it gently.

    ¡°No¡­¡± The sect master¡¯s soul was shattered, turning into a wisp of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and completely vanishing from the world.

    Afterwards, she made her way towards the black swirl.

 Chapter 1073: Devastation

    The two grand elders of the Umbral Yin sect were not saddened by the sect master¡¯s death at all. They watched eagerly as Xiao An was sucked into the black swirl.

    Suddenly, Xiao An took out a formation disc. It was palm-sized, pure-black in colour and octagonally shaped with two rings inside and outside. The inside ring was engraved with the vicious face of a ghost, while the outside ring revolved rapidly, turning it into a blurry circle. It bore close resemblance to the black swirl.

    The expressions of the two grand elders changed. That was the formation disc to the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts, an item passed down from past sect masters. Without controlling and grasping this formation disc, they could not be considered as masters of the Umbral Yin sect.

    Xiao An understood this extremely well. After killing the sect master, the first thing she did was open the sumeru ring, find the formation disc, and begin refining it.

    Formations were different from regular arcane treasures. Refining it required deep knowledge about its structure, except even regular formations possessed an extremely complicated structure, let alone the protective formation of a great sect that possessed even more capabilities and variations. Originally, it should have been impossible to refine it within a short amount of time.

    However, when Xiao An was still princess Xuanyue, she had gained a deep understanding of the structure of the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts with the Dark Queen, as well as its various capabilities and variations. Originally, it was preparation for her to inherit the position of sect master one day, but never did they think she would use it like this one day.

    In hindsight, perhaps that was the reason why she had died.

    There were both agreements and conflicts between a sect and a clan. What sects were most afraid of was being infiltrated and controlled by a clan, but they could not turn down outstanding disciples from clans either, especially from a great clan like the King of Chu¡¯s Estate. However, maintaining their independence would become a great issue.

    Among the three great sects of the Green province, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was a holy land of buddhism. The buddhist dharma was paramount, and their faith outweighed everything else, so they were the least afraid of being infiltrated and controlled. They were the closest with the King of Chu¡¯s estate too, essentially sharing the same fate, so instead, it was the King of Chu¡¯s Estate that had to worry about being overly influenced by the buddhist philosophy.

    The Sword Collection palace had a system of their own and emphasised the friendship between members of the sect. In particular, the legacies on the Sword Collection peak ensured the loyalty of disciples as well as their independence from the king¡¯s estate.

    Instead, the Umbral Yin sect that seemed to act most as they wished was the easiest to be controlled, as demonic cultivators had neither faith nor friendship. They did not have much loyalty towards the sect, only valuing their personal cultivation and strength. Their internal conflicts were the most intense as well. It was already quite an achievement that they did not split up.

    If two consecutive sect masters were both surnamed Ji¡ªand as people closest to the Fierce King of Chu, which would earn them absolute support from the Ji clan¡ªthen the Umbral Yin sect would not be an independent sect anymore.

    In the past, the sect master had eliminated princess Xuanyue and stumped the Dark Queen¡¯s cultivation, oppressing the forces that belonged to the king¡¯s estate in the sect with a single stroke, which was quite a demonstration of the determination to cut losses quickly. However, he had not done so for the sake of the sect¡¯s greater good, but to guard his position as sect master. Otherwise, if the Dark Queen had faced the third heavenly tribulation a few decades earlier, combined with the support of the King of Chu¡¯s estate, the only option available to him would be to step back and become a grand elder.

    Xiao An had guessed this possibility slightly, so when the sect master expressed with great generosity that he would be abdicating, it had attracted her suspicion and consolidated her determination to destroy the Umbral Yin sect. Even if it was a misjudgement on her behalf, it would not matter. She could never go wrong with increasing her cultivation, just like something Li Qingshan had once said, ¡°I would rather let down everyone in the world than have everyone in the world let me down.¡±

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had never been a path of goodness in the first place. Instead, it was extremely outrageous and wicked, a demonic path among demonic paths.

    However, the facts proved that striking preemptively would always end up quite fine when getting along with people of the demonic path.

    As for destroying the sect master¡¯s soul, she had not done so to vent, but to clear the final obstacle to refining the formation disc. However, that was still insufficient. If she wanted to grasp the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts completely, she had to risk her life and enter the centre of the black swirl.

    As a result, she stepped into the black swirl resolutely. In the blink of an eye, all of her flesh had been carved away by the chilly winds, exposing her shiny bones. They jolted violently as if they were about to shatter.

    At the same time, the entire sea of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged into the black swirl together.

    The world was dark and gloomy. The night was long.

    All of the disciples of the Umbral Yin sect raised their heads, completely shaken. The sea of white flames earlier had been like a nightmare. Had they woken up from it now?

    The pale-white flames in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets remained calm like before. Suddenly, a thread of gold flashed by, and the black formation disc in her bony hands erupted with a ring of pale-white fire. The face of the ghost gradually twisted and changed, becoming a skull. The outskirts of the black swirl lit up with a ring of white flames as well.

    Boom! The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out from the centre of the swirl, turning it pale-white and spinning it in the opposite direction. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone rapidly gathered together like a white sun, illuminating hundreds of kilometers.

    The countless disciples of the Umbral Yin sect were immediately blinded by the white light. The white light clearly possessed no warmth, but they all felt an indescribable scorching sensation from the depths of their souls. They waved their arms and legs around furiously, but they could not even cry out when they tried to. They were enveloped in deathly stillness. Their souls were alight, turning into Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and pouring out from all of their orifices. The flames wrapped around them and reduced them to thousands of white torches.

    Xiao An stood in the centre of the swirl as her pure-white jaw opened and closed. ¡°All Ghost Kings, heed my command.¡±

    The Ghost Kings were all seized by fear, lowering their heads and demonstrating even more subservience than when the two great elders earlier controlled despite knowing that the final fate awaiting them was destruction. For the sake of convenience, most of their intelligence had been erased by past masters of the Umbral Yin sect. They only obeyed the controller of the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts.

    ¡°Destroy the Umbral Yin sect.¡±

    The Ghost Kings obeyed and lunged towards the disciples of the Umbral Yin sect, carrying out a massacre.

    A freakish Ghost King with no arms and several dozen eyes emitted beams of black light from its eyes, which whistled through and crisscrossed the air.

    An elder of the Umbral Yin sect activated an escape talisman, turning into a streak of light and fleeing. However, when he had only flown a few kilometers, he was struck by a beam of black light. The light around him vanished, and he rapidly withered away. He turned into a Ghost Commander and tried to continue fleeing, but he was sucked towards the white swirl in the sky. He caught alight when he was still three hundred meters away, turning into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone and becoming a part of the swirl.

    The disciples of the Umbral Yin sect that had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation basically could not put up any resistance against the several dozen Ghost Kings. It was a one-sided slaughter.

    Xiao An did not direct her attention to these battles either. Instead, she concentrated on the two grand elders, sending over twenty Ghost Kings and ten Skeleton Demons to surround them. The two grand elders released over a dozen Ghost Kings to hold them off, turning around and fleeing towards the depths of the Myriad Ghosts abyss.

    ¡°You want to open the Gate of Hungry Ghosts?¡± Xiao An said in thought.

    Gradually, she broke free from the white swirl. Her flesh regrew, from the tips of her fingers to her entire arm, before covering her entire body in the blink of an eye. She seemed even more pure and flawless, absolutely splendid in appearance.

    She swept aside her long, black hair and draped the Robes of Mourning over her, descending from above slowly and falling towards the depths of the Myriad Ghosts abyss.

    All of the Ghost Kings and Skeleton Demons gathered back together, standing in formation and protecting her sides like a army about to completely destroy the Umbral Yin sect.

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 Chapter 1074: The Gate of Hungry Ghosts

    Beneath the scorching white sun, shadows criss-crossed in the abyss. Xiao An flew through them and various memories of the past filled her mind, leading to faint ripples.

    She gripped the Buddha Slaying sword without any sorrow or joy, flying along at a steady pace. The stone bridges all collapsed. As she swung her sword, she cut down all the Ghost Kings that blocked her path until she reached the very bottom of the Myriad Ghosts abyss, above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    The legendary Gate of Hungry Ghosts was not shaped like a gate, but a small lake instead. It spanned just five kilometers across, and it was surrounded with neat piles of obsidian, engraved with various different patterns that formed a perfect circle. It kept the gate firmly sealed.

    The lake was not filled with water, but a sticky, inky-grey liquid. That was a condensation of all the yin qi and death qi gathered there.

    There was not a single ripple on the surface of the lake, nor did it give off any reflections.

    The two grand elders stopped above and called out, ¡°Stop! If you take another step closer, we¡¯ll destroy the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. It won¡¯t just be you. The entire world will be buried as well!¡±

    ¡°If you destroy the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, the entire Myriad Ghosts abyss will shatter. You have nowhere to run in the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts, so you¡¯ll probably still die in the end.¡±

    Xiao An did not look at them. She stared at the unfathomably deep Gate of Hungry Ghosts. This was her greatest objective behind destroying the Umbral Yin sect.

    She had gained a lot from the two battles at the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and the Umbral Yin sect, but they were only temporary measures. Most of the ghosts under the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s control had been summoned from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Only by controlling the gate would she have an endless amount of resources.

    Given that, it made perfect sense why the Hungry Ghost realm would view her as a great enemy. Perhaps the White Bone Bodhisattva had done something similar in the past too!

    ¡°W- who are you exactly!?¡±

    The two great elders were shocked. Destroying the Gate of Hungry Ghosts was the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s final trump card. They would never use it unless they faced a situation of life or death, as the Umbral Yin sect would be completely destroyed with that. It was basically no different from mutual destruction. This was a core secret of the Umbral Yin sect, not something that an outsider could know about.

    ¡°Hmph, are you aware that the Gate of Hungry Ghosts is the core of the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts? Once the Gate of Hungry Ghosts is destroyed, the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts will naturally be destroyed too!¡±

    Xiao An glanced around at the Ghost Kings and Skeleton Demons around her. ¡°You can¡¯t escape. Even if you survive somehow, the Hungry Ghost realm is not that great of a place to reside in.¡±

    There was nothing that the two grand elders could say anymore. Among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, the Hungry Ghost realm was one of the three lower realms. The corpses and ghosts inside were ridden with hunger, devouring one another in the process. The brutality in there was no less than the Asura realm¡¯s, except they could not be reborn like in the Asura realm. Unless they ran out of choices, even they were reluctant to join it. After all, they were still human.

    In short, she seemed to have calculated everything, which was even more terrifying than the white flames.

    Thinking about it now, if she had not withdrawn the Ghost Kings and skeleton monsters that chased after them earlier, they would have tried and destroyed the Gate of Hungry Ghosts as they were in dire straits. So this was also within her calculations. It made them shiver at this revelation.

    Xiao An said, ¡°You can go. I¡¯ll spare your lives.¡±

    ¡°Why should we believe you?¡± ¡°Only if you completely shut down the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao An considered it for a moment before nodding and taking out the formation disc. With a gentle press, the rapidly-revolving formation disc came to a halt slowly, and the white sun in the sky sank gradually as well. It devoured and burned away all of the Ghost Kings before melding with her body and wrapping her in luminous Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Immediately, the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts stopped operating. The night sky had never been so clear before. A clear moon high in the sky, with countless stars around it.

    The two grand elders exchanged glances. Once a formation of such a scale was stopped, reactivating it would take quite an effort. As long as they were not restrained by the formation, they were confident enough about slipping away. There were not a lot of people in the world that could stop them.

    Compared to being ghosts in the danger-ridden Hungry Ghost realm, they would much rather spend their time as humans. As a result, they used a technique unique to the Umbral Yin sect at the same time, the Escape Technique of the Ghost Show, and separated, flying towards the two ends of the Myriad Ghosts abyss. Their figures drifted about constantly, making it difficult to grasp their trajectories.

    ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Conduct of Vinaya.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The brilliant moon sank in the west, and two streaks of light shot through the sky, landing on the sides of the Myriad Ghost abyss. They turned into a man and a woman, the Fierce King of Chu and the Dark Queen respectively.

    The Dark Queen had followed the Fierce King of Chu all the way back to the King of Chu¡¯s estate to reignite their former passion for one another. She also gave him a thorough convincing, and only then did the Fierce King of Chu agree to come with her to the Umbral Yin sect to have a talk with their daughter.

    After all, she might become the cultivator who would make it the furthest throughout the entire Ji clan. The Green province required her strength to fend off the Mist province too.

    However, the sight before them left them stunned. They basically wondered if they had come to the right place or not. There was no gloomy yin qi, and there were no burning ghost lights. There was not even a person or ghost in sight.

    What had happened to the Umbral Yin sect!?

    There was a speck of light at the bottom of the Myriad Ghosts abyss, golden and white in colour.

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡± The Dark Queen flew down in concern, and the Fierce King of Chu followed close behind.

    Xiao An was currently meditating by the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, digesting everything she had obtained from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and Umbral Yin sect. She reforged her set of white bones and refined the ?ar¨©ra one by one. Suddenly, she turned around and smiled. ¡°Mother, father!¡±

    ¡°Xuanyue¡­ the Robes of Mourning!?¡± The Dark Queen walked over and suddenly discovered that the black robes were extremely familiar, which made her halt.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± The Fierce King of Chu asked with a frown.

    ¡°Mother, father, I¡¯ve already gotten to the bottom of the truth. The person who murdered me in the past was the master of the Umbral Yin sect, who I¡¯ve killed already. The Umbral Yin sect has been colluding with the Hungry Ghost realm to kill me, so I¡¯ve eliminated them too. Unfortunately, one escaped.¡±

    Xiao An was calm and modest, but towards the end, she was slightly disappointed too. No matter how thorough her plans were, it was very difficult for them to be perfect.

    This news was like a clap of thunder to the Dark Queen and Fierce King of Chu¡¯s ears. It left them speechless for a very long time.

    ¡­¡­

    The Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind always maintained a clear, blue sky, regardless of night or day. The gentle breezes drifted through the place, making the lotus flowers ripple. Their fragrance permeated the entire place.

    Gu Yanying arrived on the terrace outside the pavilion and clasped her hands. ¡°Congratulations, fellow Northmoon. Your name now resounds throughout the world!¡±

    Li Qingshan descended from above and landed on the terrace. He asked, ¡°How is Chengzan?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°His life is in no danger, but his soul¡¯s been damaged and his cultivation has been severely impacted. He¡¯s still unconscious.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thanks. As long as he¡¯s fine. I will find ways to help him recover his cultivation, but the damage to his soul is rather troublesome. Though, there still are ways to treat it.¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived inside the pavilion quickly, only to see Hua Chengzan laying quietly on a bed. His breathing was feeble, but extremely steady, which brought Li Qingshan some relief. When he saw the hilt that he firmly gripped in his hand, he could not help but frown.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°He¡¯s already developed a sword embryo, becoming one with the sword. The sword¡¯s been destroyed, but it¡¯s almost impossible to completely remove the influence. I can¡¯t remove the hilt from his hand rashly either. I plan on waiting until he wakes up.¡±

    Li Qingshan took out the Soul Cycling sword and drew it from its sheath, which reflected his face. He said in thought, ¡°Just what is the Sword Collection palace scheming?¡±

    He had once used a sword from the Sword Collection palace, the Soaring Dragon sword, and he had used it until it broke, but he did not sense anything wrong with it, so why did it have such a great influence on Hua Chengzan? With these various suspicions in mind, he suddenly made up his mind.

    He would refine the Soul Cycling sword!

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 Chapter 1075: Iâ€™m a Hero

    Gu Yanying could tell what he was planning to do, so she tried to persuade him. ¡°It¡¯s best if you be a little more careful.¡±

    ¡°If just a single sword can twist my will, I¡¯ve spent these decades cultivating for nothing!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly.

    ¡°Decades!¡± Gu Yanying could not help but sigh in amazement. Regular cultivators probably had not even faced the first heavenly tribulation in such a time span, yet he had already made it to this step, which made her feel pressured for some reason.

    ¡°How¡¯s that? You regret it now?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°A little.¡± Gu Yanying smiled as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s still not too late,¡± Li Qingshan said as he drew the Soul Cycling sword with a clang. He gripped the hilt with both hands and shut his eyes, sending his soul sense inside. The blade of the sword lit up.

    Gu Yanying gazed at him with a strange expression, scanning him from up to down, sparing absolutely no details as if she was trying to see through him.

    She had basically watched him make it to where he was right now step by step. He was not exactly a shrewd and calculating person. As a matter of fact, he was even a little more simple and straightforward than regular people, except he was always shrouded in a thick layer of mist, preventing her from seeing him properly.

    A while later, she looked away and unfolded her fan, waving it about gently. She smiled in a self-deprecating manner. Surely she had not actually regretted it?

    The heart of the battle demon flashed with blood-red light, and demon qi surged into the Soul Cycling sword, seeping into the blade. Before long, it was dyed with a layer of demonic light. The refinement process unfolded extremely smoothly, perhaps because his cultivation was greater than when he refined the Soaring Dragon sword, or because the Soul Cycling sword had chosen him, but nothing strange happened at all.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. He was rather puzzled. Is this it?

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Gu Yanying closed her fan with a face full of surprise.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°You used demon qi?¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s wrong with that? Am I supposed to use daemon qi instead?¡±

    He was originally a human, and he seemed no different from a human right now, but he was actually no longer a human anymore, but half a daemon and half a demon. Compared to that, full demons were closer to humans, so he obviously used demon qi to refine human arcane treasures. That was what he did when he refined the Soaring Dragon sword back then too.

    ¡°The renowned swords of the Sword Collection palace are all prepared for sword cultivators. How can they be refined so easily with demon qi?¡± Gu Yanying said in surprise.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ probably because it¡¯s easier to pick up bad habits than good ones! I once obtained a Soaring Dragon sword, which I also refined into a Demon Dragon sword.¡±

    Right from the very beginning, Li Qingshan had advanced valiantly with his cultivation, frequently ignoring the common practises and conventions of cultivation. He had never taken the common knowledge of the cultivation community seriously.

    ¡°So the Soaring Dragon Elder really did die because of you!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes flashed. In the past, the Soaring Dragon Elder had been outstanding even among Golden Core cultivators, yet he had died on the Ice Sword cliff without any proper reason. As a matter of fact, that could not even be regarded as death. He had been directly erased from existence.

    ¡°That was the beginning of my grievances with the Sword Collection palace!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He had thought about this many times in the past. If it were not for this, would brother ox have left so soon?

    ¡°Let me think about it¡­ I understand now!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes shone. She arrived beside Hua Chengzan and pressed down on his dantian gently; this was where his sword embryo resided. A wisp of hot wind wormed in, wrapping around the sword embryo.

    Hua Chengzan¡¯s face suddenly became stricken with pain. His body shook violently, and he was drenched in sweat in the blink of an eye. A while later, Gu Yanying let go and frowned. ¡°The Hot Wind hell won¡¯t work. Looks like I need that disciple of mine instead.¡±

    ¡°What did you understand?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Even if it¡¯s an arcane artifact, converting it into a demonic artifact is anything but easy, let alone an arcane treasure, much less a renowned sword specially prepared for sword cultivators like the Soul Cycling sword.¡± Gu Yanying flicked the Soul Cycling sword gently. ¡°Unless this is a demonic sword in the first place!¡±

    ¡°A demonic sword!¡± Li Qingshan lifted up the Soul Cycling sword. The Soul Cycling sword really did resemble a demonic sword right now.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°That would all make sense. When cultivators refine demonic artifacts and demonic treasures, they have to cleanse and purify the demon qi inside first, or they¡¯ll be contaminated by the demon qi, such that they develop various demonic thoughts. Back on Great Buddha mountain, little Hua¡¯s behaviour did not make him seem like he was under someone¡¯s control, but battling the demonic thoughts within his heart!¡±

    There were various kinds of demonic thoughts, like bloodthirstiness and battle-hungriness, or stubbornness and a desire for novelty. However, most demonfolk were without any morals, perverting the concept of right and wrong. They would never sacrifice themselves for their friends. They did not even have the concept of friendship.

    When Hua Chengzan framed Li Qingshan in the grand hall, his thoughts were sharp, his speech was direct, and his acting was first-rate. It was basically a demonstration of all of his intellect and wisdom, and it matched his personal interests too. He had basically put his life on the line with the twist that came later, and sure enough, he had almost been executed on the spot by the palace master.

    ¡°It is no wonder that I didn¡¯t sense that anything was off.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to some understanding. His heart and mind had always been a battlefield between the demonic and divine, and his demonic nature even surpassed his divine nature. The swords of the Sword Collection palace could lead people down the demonic path, except he was bounding down this path in the first place, having grown accustomed to the heavy demonic nature within his heart a long time ago.

    ¡°You¡¯re not a regular cultivator after all. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, the sword is hiding a demonic seed!¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°A demonic seed?¡±

    ¡°Basically a condensation of demonic thoughts. From the moment demonfolk are formed as an embryo, they are deeply imbued with a demonic seed, which gradually grows with the pregnancy and turns into a demon heart the moment they¡¯re born. Hmm? Sword embryo, sword nascence. What a coincidence!¡± Gu Yanying clapped her hands.

    ¡°Uhh, could you explain it a little simpler?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°The sword is hiding a demonic seed, while sword cultivators become one with the sword. When their hearts megre with the sword, that¡¯s equivalent to proactively planting the demonic seed within them, except it doesn¡¯t influence them immediately. Only when they undergo the second heavenly tribulation and condense a sword embryo will the demonic seed firmly take root, growing through absorbing their various negative emotions. Only when they undergo the third heavenly tribulation and condense a sword nascence will it bloom and fruit, but it just happens to be at the stage of an ¡°infant¡±, or a ¡°nascent being¡±, so they still seem like sword cultivators on the surface, and the techniques they use are still normal. However, their minds will be warped completely. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, they¡¯ll only become a demon through and through when they undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, converting all of their cultivation to demon qi. They will probably ascend to the Demon domain too.¡±

    Gu Yanying used her knowledge and experiences to deduce everything step by step from the demonic seed in the sword, yet the end result left even her a little bewildered. After all, the Sword Collection palace was a renowned, righteous sect in the world. They had existed for ten thousand years.

    ¡°You mean the entire Sword Collection palace is a hidden pawn planted here by the Demon domain?¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised as well, but in hindsight, it made sense. He had put his cultivation as a Demon King on full display, yet the palace master not only refused to purge him, but he even invited him to the Sword Collection palace to pull out a sword. His behaviour was truly a little abnormal. As for the ¡°Daemon Suppression alliance¡± or whatever it was and inciting conflict between the two races across the Green province, they were basically up to no good either, making preparations for the Demon domain¡¯s invasion.

    ¡°It¡¯s very likely. What a fantastic plan. Not only are they free from the bounds of the laws of the sword, only their most outstanding disciples can become a part of the plan, and only great sword cultivators can learn about it.¡± Gu Yanying praised. ¡°Oh right, perhaps you saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and even the entire Green province!¡±

    ¡°The Demon Suppression hall!¡± Li Qingshan said with a revelation.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Beneath the Demon Suppression hall is one of the few great demon caverns in the world. If it¡¯s suddenly destroyed, the consequences will be unthinkable. Perhaps all of the great cultivators in Great Buddha mountain would have been taken down in one fell swoop, except just three great sword cultivators working together still seems a little lacking. Perhaps they were hiding something else!¡±

    Even Gu Yanying had no idea that the Soaring Locust King had been lying in ambush in the underground caves beneath Great Buddha mountain the entire time.

    Li Qingshan began to laugh loudly. His laughter rolled out, and the sea of flowers rose and fell as a result.

    ¡°So I¡¯m a hero!¡±

    The only person he felt like he had let down during the battle on Great Buddha mountain was the Unraging monk. If Gu Yanying¡¯s speculation was correct, then it was totally possible for him to go to the Demon Suppression hall, rub the Unraging monk¡¯s big, bald head, and say, ¡°Master, your trust in me wasn¡¯t misplaced!¡±

    Even the Fierce King of Chu would be forced to admit that he had done fantastically by butchering his wife! Li Qingshan felt extremely satisfied inside. He suddenly spread his arms and pulled in Gu Yanying. ¡°Thanks!¡±

    Immediately, a scorching pain from the very depths of his soul spread across his entire body, but he did not let go.

    Gu Yanying was taken aback. She patted his back with a smile. ¡°Alright, stop taking advantage of me. Don¡¯t you find it painful?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned and let go of her. His heart rippled slightly, feeling a hint of disappointment again. It had been so many years, yet she was still her. However, he was no longer the Li Qingshan of the past. He discarded these useless thoughts very quickly and said sincerely, ¡°I owe you another time!¡±

    If it were him, he probably would have never imagined it was not that the Sword Collection palace was not clever enough, but because of their lack of knowledge. It was quite hilarious now that he thought of it. He had even witnessed the twelve Demon Gods of the Demon domain and killed who knew how many Demon Kings, yet he had basically no understanding of the Demon domain at all. Thinking up to there, he could not help but miss the Great Banyan Tree King. If he were around, he definitely would have been able to provide him with an answer a long time ago!

    He secretly made up his mind. Qiongzhi has probably digested the Fruit of Wisdom already. I¡¯ll get the seed from her and plant myself a bonsai too.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You can just treat it as once.¡±

    ¡°Alright. If you need help with anything, I¡¯ll definitely assist you!¡± Then Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Were you trying to purge the demonic seed in Chengzan¡¯s sword embryo earlier?¡±

    ¡°The Illustrations of Naraka are indeed capable of something like that.¡± Gu Yanying nodded. The Hell realm existed to punish the various sins and crimes, and there was nothing more sinful in the world than demonfolk. ¡°However, the power of my Hot Wind hell is too great, so it might injure little Hua. At the same time, wind is fleeting and not fixed, so it¡¯s not appropriate for something like this. Though, the venomous snakes of that disciple of mine are a little more clever. I¡¯ve already called her over.¡±

    Unlike regular techniques, the pain from practising the Illustrations of Naraka was uncontrollable. Even the smallest wisp of hot wind was a punishment from hell, which was not something Hua Chengzan could withstand with his cultivation.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi!¡± Li Qingshan frowned.

    ¡°You still remember her!¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why did you accept her as your disciple?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find her to be very similar to us?¡±

    ¡°In what way?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Stubbornness! Even in the cultivation community, that kind of stubbornness is very rare. I have very high hopes for her.¡±

    ¡°Be careful, as she might just bite back at you. She definitely hates you. She hates everyone.¡± Li Qingshan warned her.

    ¡°Looks like you have very high hopes for her as well. It¡¯ll be boring if that¡¯s not the case.¡±

    The two of them made small talk as they waited for Qian Rongzhi to arrive. Li Qingshan developed another doubt. The Sword Collection palace should be very aware that a demonic seed is useless on a Demon King. Chengzan found out that I¡¯m a demon a long time ago, yet he still risked his life to stop me from refining the Soul Cycling sword. Does he really have so little faith in me?

    ps£º ¾ÃÎ¥µÄÈýÇ§×Ö°¡£¡

 Chapter 1076: The Demonic Seed in the Sword, the One Behind it All

    They would only get an answer to everything once Hua Chengzan awakened!

    ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll assist the Golden Cicada Spirit King in ascending, and I might as well kill the Soaring Locust King in the process. Then I¡¯ll pay a visit to the Ink sea. Oh right, I might need to pay a visit to the Sword Collection palace and weed them out. After that, I¡¯ll have to find a way to ascend.¡±

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin and considered the path ahead of him.

    ¡°Must you go to the Ink sea?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°Why are you asking that?¡± Li Qingshan replied.

    ¡°Just like what you said on Great Buddha mountain, uncle isn¡¯t a bad person either.¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed. During the years she had spent in the Green province, the Dragon King of Ink Sea was aloof, but he had always treated her quite well. If Li Qingshan went to the Ink sea, only one of them would emerge alive. She did not want to see either of the results.

    ¡°I know! But I¡¯ve never spared someone because of that.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. He did not have a lot of ill will towards the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but ever since he killed Mo Yu and then was killed by the Dragon King of Ink Sea, there was no more room for negotiation left. He had to face him in battle.

    ¡°Perhaps you can change the way you go about it? As long as you don¡¯t enter the Ink sea, uncle won¡¯t be able to do anything to you anyway.¡± Gu Yanying gazed at the bobbing sea of flowers.

    ¡°Haha, if the dragon king heard you say that, he wouldn¡¯t be happy.¡± Li Qingshan began to laugh.

    ¡°What if I use the favour you owe me?¡± Gu Yanying turned around and faced him, saying seriously.

    ¡°Forget about it! You¡¯re not that kind of person.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve always been a selfish and self-centred person, so I¡¯m really not capable of something like that. Just forget about what I said earlier completely. Don¡¯t forget, you still owe me a favour. Get ready to go through fire and water!¡±

    Gu Yanying looked away. How stubborn!

    ¡°No problem!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Before long, Qian Rongzhi arrived at the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind and bowed politely towards Gu Yanying. ¡°Master.¡±

    Gu Yanying gave her a series of instructions and asked, ¡°Can you do it?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I can try, but I can¡¯t guarantee anything.¡±

    Li Qingshan could vaguely sense that she seemed to have changed slightly, but he was unable to describe exactly where, so he simply forgot about it. ¡°If you can succeed, I will pay you back.¡±

    The three of them arrived in the pavilion. Qian Rongzhi placed her right hand over Hua Chengzan¡¯s dantian, and a gorgeous, tiny snake slithered out from her sleeve, hissing and flickering its tongue. It dove head-first into Hua Chengzan¡¯s body.

    Hua Chengzan furrowed his brows firmly as pain flooded his face, except the pain from the venomous snake was clearly much more bearable compared to the hot wind.

    Li Qingshan flicked the hilt of his sword gently and waited on the side. With nothing better to do, he sent his soul sense into the sword again. The Soul Cycling sword also had a legacy of sword intent left behind by past swordmasters. The swordsmanship inside also originated from the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, but it was nowhere near as complete as he had deduced it to be. Instead, it was subtle in its own way, compatible with the Soul Cycling sword intent.

    The Ten Renowned Swords of the Sword Collection palace all had their special abilities. The Soul Cycling sword was no exception either. Just by directing the sword at the enemy, it could twist and cycle their souls, with the effect varying with the distance and the strength of the enemy. However, even a slight pause in battle could determine life or death, so it truly was a deadly weapon!

    I wonder what that demonic seed looks like.

    Li Qingshan used the spirit turtle to deduce. His soul sense dove inside as he tried to find the demonic seed hidden within the sword.

    As time slipped by, he gradually understood the Soul Cycling sword¡¯s structure, analysing and separating the glyphs carved within. He was not an artifact smith, but he still learned how it worked in general.

    At the same time, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s venomous snake had dove deep into Hua Chengzan¡¯s sword embryo. She said suddenly, ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡±

    In the very depths of the sword embryo was a demonic seed, having sprouted and taken root already. The demonic nature it constantly gave off influenced Hua Chengzan¡¯s mind, and it constantly spread and grew larger as it fed off his demonic thoughts.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Can you weed it out?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Qian Rongzhi made the venomous snake swallow the demonic seed in a single bite.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan had parted the mysteries before him and discovered the demonic seed within the Soul Cycling sword as well. He thought, Sure enough! No wonder!

    Sure enough, Gu Yanying was right. It was no wonder that he had not discovered the demonic seed in the Soaring Dragon sword back then.

    It was just like how nobody would be bored enough to dismantle an electrical appliance and study every single component. They only needed to read the manual, and they would know how to use it. The structure of an arcane treasure was much more complicated than an electrical application. Just learning how to use it was extremely difficult. Without the powerful deductive powers of the spirit turtle, he probably would have struggled to notice the existence of the demonic seed even if he was skilled at artifact forging.

    He frowned slightly. The demonic seed was not exactly powerful, but the demonic nature it contained was extremely pure. It was impossible for the demonic seeds condensed within demonfolk of the Demon domain to reach such a level when they were first born. Even the hearts of Demon Kings paled in comparison. Just who exactly had set up this scheme?

    At this moment, the demonic seed trembled and suddenly erupted. Twisted, warped demonic thoughts surged violently, filling Li Qingshan¡¯s mind immediately. A strange, malicious laughter appeared with it.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Li Qingshan shivered inside. Clearly, the Soul Cycling sword did not have a sword spirit.

    ¡°I am your master.¡± The voice announced, continuing to laugh away.

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Li Qingshan cursed.

    ¡°How dare you destroy your master¡¯s plan. Do you know what price you¡¯ll have to pay?¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s all because of you! You better wish I don¡¯t come across you!¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? I¡¯ll prove it to you.¡±

    Before it had even finished what it was saying, the Soul Cycling sword thrummed, and the moon on the hilt began to spin, emanating with clear light.

    Li Qingshan suddenly receded backwards, drifting into the air. Looking down, he saw another ¡°himself¡± currently drawing the Soul Cycling sword and swinging it towards Hua Chengzan on the bed.

    ¡°Qingshan!?¡± Gu Yanying cried out. Everything had happened far too suddenly, and Li Qingshan had struck extremely swiftly too. She could not intercept it in time.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas,¡± Li Qingshan called out and suppressed the clear light from the Soul Cycling sword, immediately regaining control over his body. The sword stopped right above Hua Chengzan¡¯s head, continuing to thrum away. He said to Gu Yanying, ¡°Looks like the swords from the Sword Collection palace don¡¯t just have an issue of demonic seeds!¡±

    The unconscious Hua Chengzan suddenly sat up. A strange, twisted smile stretched over his face as he threw himself at the sword.

    Li Qingshan casually sheathed the sword and pressed down on Hua Chengzan¡¯s head. ¡°Suppress!¡±

    ¡°You¡­ will regret this¡­¡± Hua Chengzan said that before falling back down. His face darkened slightly, enveloped in a layer of faint demon qi.

    Qian Rongzhi took a step back and said with her head lowered, ¡°The demonic seed in his sword embryo erupted. It¡¯s already contaminated his soul. There¡¯s nothing I can do anymore.¡±

    ¡°What was that just then?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a pity that my Demon Suppression Statuary has become the Battle Demon Statuary.¡± Li Qingshan frowned. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression could suppress demonic natures, but that was internally. It suppressed everything externally. Even if he could wake up Hua Chengzan, his personality would change drastically.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to return to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and find my master for help.¡±

 Chapter 1077: Shackles

    The brilliant moon sank in the west. It happened to be the moment in a day when the night was the heaviest, as well as the darkest moment for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga in the past few millennia.

    Great Buddha mountain was a mess, littered with the ruins left behind by the battle. The monks busied about treating the survivors and cleaning up the ruins, but they all did so silently and gloomily.

    Great Buddha mountain no longer resembled a great buddha anymore. The original design of the grand hall matched the entire mountain, such that it seemed even more like a great buddha, but now, the grand hall was destroyed, a few dozen meters had been sliced off from the very top, and over a hundred places had collapsed. If a comparison had to be drawn, then it would be a headless buddha.

    The Dauntless monk stood on the headless Great Buddha mountain. His expression was much sterner than usual as he fiddled with the prayer beads in his hand constantly.

    The One Lamp monk arrived at the peak and reported, ¡°Abbot, we¡¯ve already tallied the total losses. Eighty-three have passed away, with countless more injured. There are several thousand halls and residences destroyed, while all the ?ar¨©ras left behind by eminent monks have been stolen.¡± He basically seemed like he was about to burst into tiers, which made his ugly face seem even worse.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An had no intentions to kill any disciples from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but the effects of battle were far too terrifying. It was all thanks to the fact that all the cultivators who could cultivate on Great Buddha mountain possessed some strength that they were not crushed to death by the collapsing buildings. If it had been a city of mortals instead, there probably would not have been a single survivor.

    The Dauntless monk shuddered and crushed a prayer bead.

    ¡°Dauntless, look at the disciples your Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has accepted! One¡¯s a buddha nemesis, and the other¡¯s a daemon!¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King had mostly recovered from his wounds after a period of recuperation. His face that had collapsed from the great buddha had turned back to normal as well. He stood up and angrily denounced the Dauntless monk. Six of his seven buddhist treasures had been destroyed, leading to a great decline in cultivation. It would probably take him over a century to recover, and he felt extremely aggrieved from being knocked off Great Buddha mountain twice.

    The One Lamp monk said furiously, ¡°Master, no one could have foreseen something like this. Didn¡¯t you want One Will to cultivate in the Spirit K?etra temple back then?

    ¡°H- how dare you talk to me like that? I¡¯ll definitely report this to the grand preceptor. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga must take responsibility. In particular, that Unraging. When we faced the buddha nemesis, where was he?¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was furious. The two other Monk Kings rushed over to console him, but they also had many complaints about the Unraging monk, which only showed just how displeased they were given their level of composure and cultivation.

    The Dauntless monk shut his eyes. A while later, he opened them again and said sternly, ¡°Where is the head monk of the Disciplinary courtyard?¡±

    ¡°Annihilum Brilliance is present.¡± A hunch-backed old monk arrived on the top of the mountain.

    ¡°Escort Unraging here. One Lamp, gather all the disciples,¡± said the Dauntless monk.

    The two of them left with the orders.

    Behind Great Buddha mountain, before the Demon Suppression hall.

    ¡°We¡¯re still missing a piece. Go take a look in the bush over there, Duoge!¡±

    The Unraging monk ordered Duoge around as he tried his best to reassemble the stone tablet.

    ¡°Master, senior brother he¡­¡± Duoge faltered. He had been travelling and training outside, so he just happened to have missed the battle on Great Buddha mountain. When he returned, all he saw was a mess. He caught wind that it had to do with Li Qingshan, so he rushed back to the Demon Suppression hall in a hurry, only for the Unraging monk to order him around to look for rocks.

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± the Unraging monk said.

    Duoge was powerless. All he could do was continue searching in the bushes. The tablet of the Demon Suppression hall was just a regular piece of rock. It was no different either once it was shattered. All he could do was identify them by their shapes and colour.

    Suddenly, a few auras drew close, and the Unraging monk could not help but stand up. The Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master arrived with four disciples, as well as a huge set of dark, heavy chains. Its glow was completely contained, clearly a buddhist treasure.

    The four disciples of the Disciplinary courtyard had all undergone the first heavenly tribulation, yet they only managed to lift up the chains when they worked together.

    ¡°Head monk Annihilum Brilliance?¡± Duoge was taken aback. The shackles were a treasure of the monastery known as the Fetters. Not only did they weigh thousands of tonnes, but they could seal up cultivation as well. The Unraging monk had even joked in the past that he would send Duoge to the Disciplinary courtyard to try them on.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally here,¡± the Unraging monk said softly and reassembled the stone tablet in his hands.

    ¡°Senior uncle Unraging, forgive us.¡± The Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master brought his palms together.

    The Unraging monk stood up and planted the stone tablet that had a piece missing firmly in the ground before the Demon Suppression hall. He turned around and extended his hands. ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡±

    ¡°On the shackles!¡± the Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master said, and the four disciples of the disciplinary courtyard carefully ventured over before opening the shackles with great difficulty, bringing them around the Unraging monk¡¯s hands and neck.

    ¡°Master!¡± Duoge rushed over.

    ¡°Keep looking!¡± the Unraging monk said. Duoge stopped in his tracks.

    ¡°Lock the shackles!¡± the Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master ordered sternly. With a click, the shackles closed together firmly.

    The Unraging monk¡¯s shoulders sank before straightening again. His feet sank into the soil. Under the escortment of the disciplinary disciples, he made his way to Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to looking for it!¡± Duoge followed after the Unraging monk.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not going to look for it, then go travelling outside!¡± The Unraging monk glanced at Duoge deeply. He was born as a demonfolk, and his position in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had always been awkward. Now that something like this had happened, he would definitely face hostility from all the monks if he remained on Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± Duoge said.

    ¡°Sigh, both of them are so disobedient now. If I had known earlier, I should have just stuck with eating meat and drinking alcohol. Why¡¯d I have to copy others and take on disciples?¡± The Unrasging monk smiled wryly.

    Figures flickered on Great Buddha mountain. Virtually all the disciples had been gathered, amounting to several thousand people.

    The four Monk Kings stood at the very centre, where the grand hall originally stood. Beside them were the various head monks and elders. They were all solemn.

    The sounds of jangling shackles suddenly rang out from the distance, together with the heavy sound of footsteps. The Unraging monk made his way over step by step, wrapped in shackles and leaving behind a trail of deep footprints in the stone steps behind him. Duoge followed after him blindly.

    The people parted to form a path, gazing at the Unraging monk with various different feelings¡ªsympathy, indignation, abhorrence!

    Perhaps they did not know what a buddha nemesis entailed exactly, but the figure of the demonic and divine that stood over two thousand meters tall on Great Buddha mountain had given them an unerasable deep impression. It was that daemon that had ruined the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. That was his disciple!

    He had always been different in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. He ignored the rules and disciplines, he ate meat and drank alcohol, and he spent even more time with demonfolk than with monks. In the end, he even created a disaster like this, which seemed to make perfect sense. Some people even speculated spitefully that he probably had fallen into the demonic path already, or he would have never taken on a demonfolk as a disciple with all the outstanding disciples that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had.

    The Unraging monk made his way through the crowd calmly. Duoge was blocked by the four disciplinary disciples as he called out, ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Go!¡± the Unraging monk looked back and said.

    Duoge did not budge at all. A great clearing appeared around him. All of the monks maintained their distance from him.

    ¡°Abbot, we¡¯ve brought Unraging,¡± said the Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master.

    ¡°You are in charge of the Disciplinary courtyard. What crimes has he committed today?¡± the Dauntless monk said.

    ¡°Poor judgement of character, sympathy with daemons, abstention from protecting the temple, desertion from battle!¡±

    ¡°How should he be punished?¡±

    ¡°By beating and imprisonment!¡±

    The Dauntless monk nodded and asked the Unraging monk, ¡°Do you acknowledge your crimes?¡±

 Chapter 1078: Touch Him and See What Happens

    The Unraging monk said nothing, only nodding towards the Dauntless monk. He could argue and attempt to justify Li Qingshan¡¯s actions, but someone had to take responsibility for everything.

    ¡°Alright! Carry out the punishments, Disciplinary courtyard!¡± the Dauntless monk ordered authoritatively, but his brows were heavily furrowed. If he had not been the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he would rather endure the punishments by beating himself.

    ¡°Yes, abbot.¡± Annihilum Brilliance took out a dark and heavy disciplinary staff. It was clearly quite a mismatch between his hunched-over shape and the huge disciplinary staff, but they were just as stern in appearance. He arrived behind the Unraging monk and said sternly, ¡°Please lean over, senior uncle!¡±

    The shackles jangled, and the Unraging monk lay down on the ground with his huge, chubby body. There was a ruckus among the spectating monks. That was a Monk King after all! No matter how unruly and brazen he seemed on the surface, he was still someone they had to look up to, so how could he endure such humiliation? Even the people who felt furious and indignant suddenly eased up inside.

    The sighs of the various head monks and elders grew even heavier. They all shut their eyes.

    The staff was raised high into the air, about to fall.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King suddenly stopped him.

    ¡°What do you have to say, senior brother Seven Treasures?¡± the Dauntless monk asked.

    ¡°Unraging may have broken the rules, but as a Monk King, regular monks do not have the right to punish him. He cannot be punished by monks from the same sect either, just in case of the suspicion of bias,¡± said the Seven Treasures Monk King.

    ¡°Where are we supposed to find a great master of vinaya at a time like this?¡± The Dauntless monk frowned.

    Monk Kings held an extremely great status within buddhism. If they broke the rules or precepts, they would usually invite a great master of laws from the school of vinaya to judge them. They would carry out a set of extremely solemn and tedious procedures before issuing the punishment themselves so that they could ensure the fairness of the rules and the severity of the punishment.

    However, the Dauntless monk was in a hurry to pacify everyone¡¯s anger and console them while keeping the influence to a minimum and maintaining the reputation of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and the Unraging monk. He would never go through a procedure like that.

    ¡°I may not be a disciple of the school of vinaya, but I come from the Spirit K?etra temple, which has the responsibility of monitoring all the monks in the world. I can carry out the punishment!¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King took a step forward and said with no room for disputes.

    ¡°Seven Treasures!¡± The Dauntless monk frowned heavily as he fumed inside, Seven Treasures has always loathed junior brother, and he¡¯s full of anger right now. If he carries out the punishment, then junior brother won¡¯t just be humiliated. Even his life will be in danger.

    ¡°Junior brother Seven Treasures, this is a matter of our Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so just let the Disciplinary courtyard carry out the punishment!¡± ¡°Yes, we don¡¯t need to trouble you, junior brother!¡±

    The two other Monk Kings also spoke up. Even though they blamed the Unraging monk for this, they had spent all these years in the same sect after all. Right now, the Unraging monk was shouldering all the responsibility, so they also felt it was sufficient if he just endured such severe punishment.

    ¡°What are you worrying for, senior and junior brothers? Are you afraid that I¡¯ll be too heavy-handed? That¡¯s right, I definitely won¡¯t hold back, or would there still be any dignity to the precepts of buddhism? Or are you saying that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s punishment is merely a formality?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King refused to back down, giving off a hint of malice within his authority.

    ¡°Please let senior brother Seven Treasures carry out the punishment!¡± The Unraging monk, who had remained silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up.

    The Dauntless monk let out a long sigh.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King took the disciplinary staff from the Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master and asked, ¡°How many strokes?¡±

    ¡°Three thousand,¡± said the Annihilum Brilliance Chan Master.

    Buddhism had the so-called trichiliocosm, or ¡°three thousand worlds¡±, so the great number of strokes for beatings with a staff was three thousand. Anything further than that warranted even more severe punishment, such as crippling their cultivation, expelling them from buddhism, or even directly executing them.

    Buddhism had already shown great mercy. Rarely were monks that broke the precepts punished with death. Most that died died to the beatings. However, they would never stop until the punishment was carried out in full even if the punished person was on their last breath.

    ¡°That¡¯s particularly merciful.¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King weighed the staff in his hand and said coldly, ¡°Junior brother Unraging, I¡¯ve said already that I won¡¯t be holding back. Whether you live or die will be up to the buddha¡¯s will!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha.¡± The Unraging monk brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name. He smiled. ¡°Then let me thank you first, senior brother, for sending me off to Sukh¨¡vat¨© early. I¡¯ll definitely put in a good word for you before the buddha.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you still talk back even in your state! You really don¡¯t know how to change!¡±

    The Seven Treasures Monk King swung the disciplinary staff furiously. A bright arc lit up in the sky, illuminating the entire mountain top. He used his full strength and struck down viciously.

    ¡°Master!¡± Duoge cried out.

    ¡°Bald ass, beat him and see what happens!¡± A voice suddenly ran out from the horizon.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was alarmed, and the disciplinary staff came to a halt. He brought it before himself in a defensive posture. Looking up, he saw a scarlet light rush through the air, which made him cry out fearfully, ¡°It¡¯s him!¡±

    ¡°Wretched daemon!¡± The Dauntless monk felt extremely astounded when he heard the familiar voice. The wretched daemon had actually left and returned. The current Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga no longer had the strength to fend him off.

    Li Qingshan descended from above, landing in the clearing among the monks. He furled up his phoenix wings, and his scarlet eyes turned black again, assuming his human form.

    ¡°First senior brother!¡± Duoge said in delight. There was a whoosh around him, and all of the monks backed away in fear. The encirclement of several thousand people immediately grew larger.

    ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± Cries rang out from the entire crowd. Several dozen monks standing by the cliff even lost their footing and fell down, while some of them just chose to roll down the mountain with that.

    Originally, even masters of the jianghu would not have been reduced to such a sorry state, but the monks standing in the outskirts had always been the disciples with the weakest cultivations. They were devoted to the buddha, but they feared this demon even more. At this moment, all they wanted to do was avoid him from as far away as possible. However, if they turned around and fled, they were afraid of being accused of ¡°abstention from protecting the temple and desertion from battle¡±, so they rolled away instead!

    Li Qingshan waved his hand without even looking back. The monks that had just stopped around Duoge immediately backed away even more with a whoosh, leaving behind a huge clearing.

    Duoge looked around in surprise. He clearly had not even sensed a breeze. He was basically convinced that his first senior brother had developed some new ability that could repel people.

    Li Qingshan pointed at the Seven Treasures Monk King. ¡°Bald ass, if you even touch a hair on him, I¡¯ll cut off your bald head and kick it around as a ball!¡±

    ¡°You-¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King could not help but take a step back too, getting a little closer to the Dauntless monk and the others.

    ¡°Damned disciple!¡± the Unraging monk turned around and bellowed.

    ¡°Sorry, master. I¡¯ve hurt you accidentally.¡± Li Qingshan made his way over and rubbed the Unraging monk¡¯s head, laughing away. ¡°What¡¯re you on the ground for? And wearing this shitty thing? C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon, c¡¯mon, I¡¯ll help you up. You better not say I haven¡¯t shown a sense of honour towards you as your disciple!¡± With a gentle tug, he ripped apart the shackles and went to help up the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Go away! Why did you come back? Are you afraid that you haven¡¯t hurt me enough?¡± The Unraging monk had no idea about how to respond. He was basically clueless about what expression he should exhibit right now. It took him all of his strength to stop Li Qingshan from helping him up.

    ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t be like this! From where I¡¯m from, you¡¯re trying to cheat people out of money like this! Whatever, let¡¯s get to the important stuff. I¡¯ve come this time because I want your help to save my friend, as well as to tell you about the great deed I did. Just like how names are supposed to be left behind when a good deed is done, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga better be ready to erect a memorial tablet for me! Hahahaha!¡±

    TL: By ¡°trying to cheat people out of money¡±, he¡¯s referring to a certain scam that¡¯s prevalent in China, where people basically throw themselves at cars (either stationary or moving very slowly) and behave like they are injured, refusing to get up off the ground until they¡¯re compensated for their ¡°injuries¡±.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°important stuff¡± completely infuriated the Dauntless monk. He bellowed furiously, ¡°Wretched daemon, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

 Chapter 1079: The Truth Revealed

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile vanished; he looked over. ¡°Gone too far? I think it¡¯s asking to be humiliated!¡± He approached the Dauntless monk as he said that.

    The Monk Kings all assumed a posture like they were facing their mortal nemesis, ready to throw their lives away, but they were all aware that they stood no chance against him. The Dauntless monk lamented inside, Are the heavens really so determined to destroy my Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!?

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± The Unraging monk leapt to his feet and grabbed Li Qingshan. ¡°Are you really going to make me betray my sense of honour towards you?¡±

    ¡°So be it. I haven¡¯t come here to fight. I¡¯ve just come to tell you that you haven¡¯t let the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga down. If anyone tries to punish you again, feel free to slap them in the face. You have my support!¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    The Unraging monk was perplexed inside. No matter what, he was connected to the deaths of those disciples, let alone the other damages. His actions had not just let down the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga; it was basically enough for him to become their most wanted criminal. As for Xiao An, that went even more without saying. Just the description ¡°buddha nemesis¡± could explain everything.

    At this moment, a gust of wind blew over.

    ¡°Masters, you may still be uncertain about why Qingshan went as far as to expose himself and throw himself into a dire situation just to kill the Light Queen! This is the reason. Please save him, Unraging master.¡±

    Gu Yanying descended from above with Hua Chengzan, placing Hua Chengzan before the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Demonification!¡±

    The Unraging monk was surprised. He pressed his hand against Hua Chengzan¡¯s chest and could sense that he was rapidly turning into a demonfolk from a human. A portion of his spiritual qi had already been converted to demon qi. He unleashed the Demon Suppression Statuary in a hurry, suppressing the demon qi before venturing deeper and suppressing the surging demonic nature.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± The Dauntless monk interrogated.

    Li Qingshan ignored him and crouched down beside the Unraging monk. ¡°Master, can you save him?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I can¡¯t save you, but does that mean I can¡¯t save others?¡± the Unraging monk said. Hua Chengzan trembled, and the demon qi around him thinned and dispersed. His expression became peaceful.

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s good then!¡± Li Qingshan completely stopped worrying now.

    ¡°Dauntless abbot, if you are caught up in your prejudices, that instead prohibits you from seeing the truth clearly. Not only does this have to do with the fate of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but it also has to do with the fate of all the people in the Green province. Please calm down and hear me out. Whether you believe me or not is up to you.¡±

    On the way here, Gu Yanying had already reached an agreement with Li Qingshan that she would handle the talking once they arrived on Great Buddha mountain, just in case it led to more disputes.

    ¡°Alright, go on then!¡±

    The Dauntless monk shut his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. When he faced Li Qingshan, he truly was unable to hold back his anger. He was basically ready to go down with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga just then. However, Gu Yanying had made quite a reputation for herself over the years in the Green province as she punished the wicked and maintained order. Her father was the Guardian Hawk God, so he had to take her seriously.

    Gu Yanying pointed at Hua Chengzan. ¡°Didn¡¯t you find his behaviour to be very strange in the grand hall?¡± She paused for a moment, giving everyone time to recall before she said, ¡°I discovered a demonic seed in his sword embryo.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± The Dauntless monk frowned.

    ¡°Please take a look, abbot.¡± Gu Yanying was in no hurry to explain. She took out the Soul Cycling sword and passed it to the Dauntless monk.

    ¡°This is a demonic sword! What do you want to say?¡± The Dauntless monk glanced at the sword in his hand before looking at Gu Yanying again.

    ¡°I think almost everyone in the Green province knows this demonic sword¡¯s name¡ªSoul Cycling,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°The Ten Renowned Swords, the Soul Cycling sword?¡± The Dauntless monk was surprised. He examined the sword in his hands closely again.

    ¡°There is a demonic seed hidden within this sword too,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Are you saying that the Sword Collection palace is under the Demon domain¡¯s control? What a joke. Do you think we will believe such absurdity?¡±

    The Monk Kings were not fools. They immediately understood what Gu Yanying was trying to say, but they all found it to be unbelievable. The Sword Collection palace was a righteous sect that had stood for ten thousand years. They had numerous disciples. If they really were colluding with the Demon domain, how had they kept it hidden for all these years?

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to hear me out before deciding if it''s an absurdity or not¡­¡±

    Gu Yanying restated her analysis regarding the demonic embryo and sword embryo. The Monk Kings¡¯ expressions all varied, sometimes surprised and uncertain, sometimes sinking into their thoughts.

    ¡°...so it was very likely for the three from the Sword Collection palace to have come to destroy the Demon Suppression hall. That way, they can turn Great Buddha mountain into a demon cavern and take down the cultivation community of the Green province in one fell swoop.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s final conclusion was even more shocking, leaving everyone speechless.

    ¡°That¡¯s all just your speculation.¡±

    The Dauntless monk frowned, but he wavered slightly inside. Refining one of the Ten Renowned Swords into a demonic sword was not an easy feat. In hindsight, the master of the Sword Collection palace basically treated Hua Chengzan like he was trying to silence him.

    ¡°It is speculation! Though, if you want a witness, you have one right before you. It just depends on whether you believe him or not.¡± Gu Yanying glanced at Li Qingshan beside her.

    The Dauntless monk said furiously, ¡°This wretched daemon spouts lies¡­¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, just hear him out and see what he has to say! Everything that has to do with the Demon domain is important!¡±

    The Unraging monk was solemn. As someone who watched the Demon Suppression hall all year round, he understood the horrors of the Demon domain the most, and he knew how terrifying the consequences would be once the Demon Suppression hall was destroyed. When he suppressed Hua Chengzan¡¯s demonic nature, he also noticed the severity of the demonic nature, which was not something that could be developed overnight.

    Then he said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Damned disciple, you may lie to me all the time normally, but you cannot lie about this, or, or¡­ Sigh, just do it for my sake!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Master, do you think I have a need to lie right now? Even if I go and smash in the Demon Suppression hall right now, who here can stop me?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t make that kind of joke!¡± The Unraging monk glared at him.

    ¡°Though, let me just make this clear first. Even if the group of people from the Sword Collection palace have nothing to do with the Demon domain, I regret nothing. You should all be aware that I became a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace a long time ago. A few days ago, I went to the Sword Collection palace to pull out my sword, but I ran into some accidents along the way¡­¡± Li Qingshan explained everything he had gone through in the Sword Collection palace until he rushed over to Great Buddha mountain. ¡°In the end, that bitch constantly provoked me through mental messages. You might be able to put up with it, but I can¡¯t, so I just gave her what she wanted!¡±

    ¡°I see. Nicely done! If you can even put up with something like that, then you wouldn¡¯t be human,¡± The Unraging monk praised him. ¡°Others might not be convinced, but I¡¯m convinced. Hahahaha, damned disciple, I haven¡¯t misjudged you!¡± His laughter rang throughout Great Buddha mountain, filled with delight and relief.

    The monks looked at one another. In the blink of an eye, the cruel, forceful Demon King had become a sentimental and righteous hero. This twist was just a little too exaggerated.

    Even if the Dauntless monk refused to believe it, he still found that it made perfect logical sense. It explained everything that happened in the grand hall very well. Suddenly, he remembered an item and removed a sumeru ring from his sleeve. It was the master of the Sword Collection palace¡¯s sumeru ring.

    Back then, Li Qingshan had cut down the palace master with a single slash before going off to assist Xiao An. He was in no shape to pay attention to these small details, so the sumeru ring remained on Great Buddha mountain.

    The Dauntless monk originally wanted to return it to the Sword Collection palace, but he abruptly remembered that there was a xiezhi¡¯s horn inside that could detect lies. ¡°Li Qingshan, let me take out the xiezhi¡¯s horn. Do you have the courage to repeat what you just said? Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s wrong?¡± the Unraging monk asked. The other Monk Kings all cast inquisitive gazes over too.

    The Dauntless monk blanked out for a moment. He took out the xiezhi¡¯s horn first, but he did not make Li Qingshan repeat everything. Instead, he then took out a jade slip that was deep-violet in colour, reeking with demon qi. It was as clear as day that this did not come from the nine provinces. Then he took out a small, black ball.

    ¡°A blasting thunder! No wonder. Dauntless abbot, there¡¯s probably more than just the one in there!¡±

    Gu Yanying recognised it with a single glance. The small, black ball was a treasure of the school of Mohism, a blasting thunder, or in other words, a bomb. Only grandmasters of the school of Mohism could refine it, and it was renowned for its powers. It was known to possess the same might as the detonation of a soul nascence, and it had an extremely low requirement on the user.

    However, while it was powerful enough, it could not discriminate between friend or foe, blowing them up together. If regular cultivators used them, then they were looking to die, while countless things could happen in an instant in a battle between great cultivators, so they were difficult to use. As a result, they were normally only used when attacking formations, which was why they were known as blasting thunders.

    The Dauntless monk was stern. He nodded. ¡°There¡¯s over thirty of them¡­¡±

    The Monk Kings looked at one another. The sword cultivators of the Sword Collection palace were renowned for not relying on anything apart from their swords, so why had they stockpiled so many blasting thunders? The school of Mohism had a monopoly over the blasting thunders as well, such that they fetched for an extremely high price. Just one of them could be exchanged for an arcane treasure.

    The Unraging monk became fearful at the thought of what could have happened. The Demon Suppression hall was extremely tough, but it could not withstand an attack like that.

    Gu Yanying sighed with a smile. ¡°Looks like they¡¯ve schemed for all these years, only for it all to fall apart because of an accident. What¡¯s recorded in the jade slip?¡±

    ¡°A Demon Sovereign Sword Classic¡­¡±

    The Dauntless monk let out a great sigh. This was clearly a cultivation method that only demonic cultivators practised. Perhaps he could pass it off somehow as the palace master obtaining the cultivation method coincidentally and only keeping it around for study, with other uses for the blasting thunders. However, there were many more things in the sumeru ring that proved the connection between the palace master and the Demon domain apart from these two objects.

    The truth was like a louse on his bald head. It could not be any more obvious.

    ¡°Do you still need me to repeat what I just said?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡±

    The Dauntless monk waved his hand powerlessly. He had no idea what to say. As it seemed, Li Qingshan had instead saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. If they really let the Sword Collection palace open the demon cavern, perhaps the great cultivators would have still had a chance at survival, but the several thousand disciples would be dead for sure.

    However, thanking Li Qingshan was something he could never bring himself to do. He smiled wryly. ¡°So I¡¯ve really been asking to be humiliated, and I¡¯ve almost made such a huge mistake!¡± If they really killed Li Qingshan then and there and allowed the palace master to free himself up, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

    The Unraging monk tried to persuade him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to blame yourself, senior brother. It¡¯s all because the Sword Collection palace¡¯s scheme is too deep. We never would have suspected it in the first place!¡±

    ¡°Junior brother, we¡¯ve made you suffer,¡± said the Dauntless monk. If he had not made a ¡°poor judgement of character¡± and accepted this ¡°wretched daemon¡± as his disciple, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would have been reduced to a demon cavern already.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I forgive you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. That punch really had been quite satisfying.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I can thank you, but One Will is still a buddha nemesis!¡± the Dauntless monk said sternly. Just stealing all the ?ar¨©ra of the past eminent monks was unforgivable to him.

    ¡°Cut the bullshit. If you have the balls, go and kill her!¡±

 Chapter 1080: Iâ€™ll Gift You a Head, the Power to Move Mountains

    The monks in the surroundings fell silent and looked at one another. If that were the case, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had almost faced a disaster, yet they had actually been saved by this daemon, which reminded them about the Golden Cicada Spirit King from a very long time ago.

    The Unraging monk smiled as well, focusing on saving Hua Chengzan.

    The Dauntless monk was stern. ¡°Li Qingshan, you may have saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but that is not enough to redeem you. You have to take responsibility for all the damage you¡¯ve caused, not to mention the fact that you hid your identity as a daemon and deceived the entire monastery, which is unforgivable! From today onwards, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga formally expels Li Qingshan and will be taking back all cultivation methods. Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°Whatever!¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. This was merely a formality. He was not even a formal disciple of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, and the Battle Demon Statuary was a demonic cultivation method through and through. It was not a cultivation method of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    At this moment, the hawk tablet on Gu Yanying¡¯s waist flashed. She was rather surprised, so she grabbed it gently and listened for something. Even she, who always remained so graceful and composed, blanked out for a moment, glancing at Li Qingshan strangely before looking at the Monk Kings with a slight smile.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I just received news that the Umbral Yin sect has been destroyed,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°What!?¡±

    The Dauntless monk and everyone else was startled. The three major sects of the Green province had all stood for over ten thousand years, all deeply rooted. It was difficult to connect them with the concept of ¡°destruction¡±. In fact, the Umbral Yin sect was the least likely to be destroyed out of the three. Just the Gate of Hungry Ghosts alone could make everyone reconsider their actions. However, when they considered what the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had just faced, it did not seem so impossible anymore.

    He asked in a hurry, ¡°Commander Gu, what happened exactly? Who did it? Is it an invasion from the Kingdom of Yue? Has anything happened to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts?¡±

    ¡°Is it Xiao An?¡± Li Qingshan asked with raised eyebrows.

    ¡°It¡¯s her, the ¡®buddha nemesis¡¯. It¡¯s said that a white sun illuminated the Myriad Ghosts abyss, and she gained control of the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts. Only a grand elder Ming managed to escape, with all the other disciples dead. Fortunately, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts wasn¡¯t opened,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°This girl sure is vicious when she strikes!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He knew her Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was extremely effective towards the undead, and she had always been very prudent and far-seeing with her plans, so he did not feel particularly surprised.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King lowered his head, and his expression changed. He balled his fists within his sleeves. The buddha nemesis was so powerful. What were they supposed to do?

    The Dauntless monk remained silent for a good moment. ¡°Just what is she trying to do?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t understand even if I tell you.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. He had guessed Xiao An¡¯s plans slightly.

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve completely suppressed his demonic nature. He¡¯ll awaken before long.¡± The Unraging monk sucked in a deep breath and drew his hand back.

    Li Qingshan saw that Hua Chengzan¡¯s complexion had turned back to normal. He clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you, master!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only because he has a heart of benevolence. Otherwise, if he only relies on external forces, then even if I can save him in the moment, I won¡¯t be able to save him for good,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°Once he awakens, perhaps we can learn even more about the Demon domain¡¯s scheme,¡± the Dauntless monk said cautiously.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s interruption, the Dauntless monk was unable to carry out his judgement ceremony either. He dispersed the monks so that they could go back to tidying up the monastery. The Seven Treasures Monk King also used this opportunity to bid farewell. He glanced at Li Qingshan silently and dared not say anything more.

    Li Qingshan was waiting for Hua Chengzan to wake up, so he idled around on the top of the mountain with nothing to do. He strolled around with his hands behind his back. He did not seem like he had been expelled from the sect at all; instead, it seemed like he was strolling through his own backyard. This was probably the first time a daemon had done something like that. The Golden Cicada Spirit King was forced to leave when he exposed himself.

    The Dauntless monk found him to be a great eyesore, but he was powerless over the circumstances. Fighting him right now was not a clever decision, and he had just saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. For the longevity and development of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he could only accept this.

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that Great Buddha mountain doesn¡¯t have a head anymore.¡± Li Qingshan sighed.

    Li Qingshan basically went for what pained them the most. The Dauntless monk immediately glared over viciously, his sore spot inside having been touched.

    The Unraging monk also said in exasperation, ¡°If you have nothing to do, then just wait here. What¡¯re you strolling around for?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t blame me. The top of the mountain was clearly flattened by the golden seal. Speaking of which, I even avenged you! Whatever. For the sake of my master, I¡¯ll just give you a new one.¡±

    Li Qingshan flew up and arrived among the mountains. He looked around for a while and found a small mountain. ¡°Alright, this one will do!¡± He descended from above and landed before the small mountain, suddenly assuming his physique of the demonic and divine. He embraced the small mountain and bellowed out, ¡°Rise!¡±

    The small mountain shook. The countless trees swayed violently, and boulders rolled down as the mountain was slightly pulled up from the ground. The mountain streams sprinkled down as waterfalls.

    He used all of his strength to carry the mountain on his shoulders, trudging towards Great Buddha mountain with heavy steps. Each step he took was like a miniature earthquake.

    The monks in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga all raised their heads, watching this in shock. The Monk Kings became speechless too. Something like this was completely unheard of!

    When it came to destroying a mountain, basically all great cultivators were capable of something like that, but almost no great cultivator could pull a mountain up from the ground as one whole piece. Even the great Daemon Kings with powerful bodies could not achieve something like that.

    The mountain was just a small mountain, only around two hundred meters tall, but it weighed a million tonnes at the very least. If it was completely composed of rock, then it might have even exceeded ten million tonnes. The King of Chu¡¯s Seal could expand to the size of a mountain, but it actually weighed much less. Shifting such a colossal object already surpassed the strength of great cultivators. This was the legendary ¡°power to move mountains¡±.

    Actually, Li Qingshan did not primarily rely on his personal strength. Instead, he used his innate abilities, producing a repulsive force through the Gravity of the Earth to mitigate most of the mountain¡¯s weight. He was basically borrowing strength from the earth. This was an inspiration he had gained when he fended off the King of Chu¡¯s Seal. Otherwise, even if he reverted to his true form, towering over two thousand meters, more than ten times the mountain¡¯s height, he would still struggle to pick it up.

    Even a mortal can lift up a rock of corresponding size, yet I can¡¯t with the physique of demonic and divine that possesses four powerful bloodlines. Looks like bigger isn¡¯t always better with the physique of demonic and divine. It needs further refinement, or all I¡¯ll be left with is size, Li Qingshan thought like that as he arrived before Great Buddha mountain.

    He planted a foot on the mountainside and lifted the small mountain high into the air with both arms. He called out, ¡°Move aside, the mountain is coming!¡± A great shadow loomed above, and the Monk Kings all dodged frantically.

    Boom! The small mountain landed on Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°Looks pretty good!¡± Li Qingshan studied it while rubbing his chin, nodding in satisfaction. He did not need thousands of years to gather the power of belief. Just the might behind an attack like that seemed to match the King of Chu¡¯s Seal. He could not throw it at people, but it was completely possible for him to throw it at cities and sects. If a small mountain like that fell down from above, just what protective formation could stop it?

    The Gravity of the Earth¡ªthis innate ability that originally seemed very useless was gradually demonstrating startling power. Perhaps it was time to change its name.

    ps£º ¹ýÈ¥ÕæÃ»Ïëµ½Ò»×ùÉ½ÓÐÄÇÃ´ÖØ£¬ºóÀ´Ä³ÌìÍ»È»ºÃÆæ²éÁËÒ»ÏÂ£¬²Å»ÐÈ»Ã÷°×£¬ÄÑ¹ÖÎò¿Õ¸çÀÏ±»Ñ¹µÄ°ëËÀ²»»îµÄ£¬ÊµÔÚÊÇÌ«tmÖØÁË¡£×îºó³ÏÕ÷¡°´óµØÒýÁ¦¡±µÄÐÂÃû×Ö£¬Õâ¿ÉÄÜ»áÊÇ±ÈÅ£Ä§Õðµ´¸üÇ¿µÄÉñÍ¨¡£

    PS: In the past, I¡¯ve never considered how much a mountain weighs. Then one day, I suddenly got curious and looked into it. Only then did I come to a realisation. It¡¯s no wonder why brother Wukong was squashed half-dead. It¡¯s too fucking heavy. The last part is a sincere hint for the Gravity of the Earth¡¯s new name. It might be an ability even more powerful than the Tremors of the Ox Demon.

 Chapter 1081: Chengzan Awakens, the Secret of Sword Collection

    After a while of deep thought, he combined his various knowledge from his past life, unleashed his solid cultural foundation, and decided to change the name to¡­ Force Field of the Earth!

    Yeah, even though it¡¯s just splitting a word into two, this makes the entire innate ability sound much grander. I really am a genius when it comes to names!

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± the Dauntless monk roared at the sky furiously.

    As it turned out, while Li Qingshan had given Great Buddha mountain ¡°a head¡±, the tremor just then collapsed countless more buildings. Compared to that, the halls he crushed under his foot were nothing.

    By unleashing the Force Field of the Earth, he had made all the ruins fly into the sky, as well as several hundred monks in the mix. They flailed around in the air, crying out in shock.

    ¡°No need to thank me. It didn¡¯t take much at all!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand ¡°generously¡±.

    ¡°Qingshan, release the ability immediately!¡± the Unraging monk called out.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Only now did Li Qingshan notice the ¡°specks of dust¡± drifting around him. He had basically experienced first-hand ¡°all beings are like ants¡±. The difference between his strength and these monks that had not even undergone a single heavenly tribulation was basically even greater than the difference between ants and normal people.

    ¡°Apologies, I didn¡¯t notice.¡± As a result, he stopped his ability.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Among the cries, several hundred monks suddenly began to plummet. They experienced the omnipresent pull of the earth once again.

    ¡°Hah, now that¡¯s not something you see everyday,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    Gu Yanying unfurled her folding fan, and with a casual swing, a gust of wind rushed out, splitting up into several hundred streams and catching the monks.

    However, before the monks could even catch their breaths, the countless pieces of rubble fell down from above.

    Li Qingshan unfurled his wings of wind to several thousand meters across. With a gentle flap, he blew away the ruins.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve even saved you the trouble of cleaning up. Are you satisfied now?¡±

    The Dauntless monk only saw that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga originally littered with structures had become barren and bare. Only around a dozen structures still protected by formations stood there lonesomely, making it seem extremely bleak. He trembled all over in anger, but there was nothing he could do. This daemon was no longer something they could restrain.

    He did not even want to say a single word to Li Qingshan anymore, so he simply turned around and looked at the recovered ¡°buddha head¡±, but even that was unable to bring him any consolation. It seemed more like a monument that the daemon had left behind to flaunt his martial prowess, a mark of disgrace for the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. He was basically tempted to get rid of it again, except moving mountains was not that easy of a feat, and it would come with the suspicion of desecrating a statue of the buddha. His priority right now was still to rebuild the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. He could only leave this matter to the future.

    ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll just help you out till the end.¡±

    Li Qingshan who had been busying himself with endless good deeds hummed a tune to himself happily as he extended his hands and moulded the top of the mountain. Before long, a face gradually took shape, but its twisted features seemed more like blasphemy to the buddha. He had not done that intentionally. He was already trying very hard. When he was done, even he found it to be rather strange, so he remoulded it a few times, but it never ended up being particularly successful. He sure was open-minded. At least it¡¯s better than before! Great Buddha mountain in the past was just a silhouette. However, little did he know that the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had never intended on turning Great Buddha mountain into an actual buddha statue, or the grand hall constructed at the very top and the countless monks wandering on the mountain would be sacrilege.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡± Li Qingshan brought his palms together and bowed towards Great Buddha mountain with a strange smile, but the entire incident seemed more like a child playing around in mud made from his own piss and piling it up into a burial mound before bursting into tears before it.

    The Dauntless monk shut his eyes. He did not even have the strength to get angry anymore.

    The Unraging monk shook his head with a smile. He never took rules seriously and was aware that Li Qingshan had no ill intentions. He had just saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, so how could he not have a heart of kindness? Demonfolk would never take pride in doing something good. That bow of his was closer to a joke than anything else, but it still was a first step towards paying respect to the buddha.

    He moved Hua Chengzan to the back of Great Buddha mountain before asking the two other Monk Kings to help heal him.

    The two Monk Kings utterly loathed Li Qingshan such that they did not even want anything to do with the Unraging monk. One of them declined indirectly, saying that he had to heal the monks, while the other downright turned him down.

    The Unraging monk said seriously, ¡°This has to do with the invasion of the Demon domain. Now is not the time to act based on your biases!¡±

    The Monk Kings exchanged glances and let out a sigh. Only then did they help out.

    Hua Chengzan was enveloped in the golden, buddhist glow. Buddhist cultivation methods were skilled at recovery, so before long, he woke up slowly. He looked around in confusion, only to see a few shining, bald heads. He thought in surprise, Why am I back in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?

    ¡°Chengzan, you¡¯re awake!¡± Li Qingshan had turned back to human form and rushed to his side, helping Hua Chengzan up.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re fine? That¡¯s fantastic.¡± Hua Chengzan let out a feeble smile before asking, ¡°This is¡­ Great Buddha mountain?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The masters have already learned about the Sword Collection palace¡¯s scheme and understood that I¡¯ve saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. We¡¯ve already buried the hatchet,¡± Li Qingshan said rather proudly.

    The corner of the Dauntless monk¡¯s eye twitched, but he did not refute him.

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Through his observations, Hua Chengzan knew the matter was nowhere near as simple as Li Qingshan had described it to be, but he did not point that out. He said in surprise, ¡°You saved the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    ¡°Fellow Hua, you¡¯ve spent many years in the Sword Collection palace. Do you know anything in detail about the Sword Collection palace¡¯s collusion with the Demon domain?¡± the Unraging monk asked.

    ¡°The Sword Collection palace¡¯s colluding with the Demon domain? Oh, I see. They probably came for the Demon Suppression hall this time!¡± Hua Chengzan was taken aback before guessing the reason. He said apologetically, ¡°Sorry, Unraging master. A secret like that isn¡¯t something a regular elder like me can come into contact with. However, after undergoing the second heavenly tribulation, wicked thoughts gradually sprang up in my mind, which I could not dismiss. Only then did I realise there was something wrong with the sword, but I was already too deep in. It¡¯s all thanks to you, Qingshan, who forced me to make a decision.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I always do good deeds without noticing!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Yeah, that would make sense.¡± The Unraging monk was rather disappointed, but this was expected. Probably only great sword cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation could learn about such a crucial secret, but by that stage, they probably would have fallen into the demonic path completely already, leaving them beyond salvation.

    ¡°However, the source of all problems might lie within the Sword Collection peak.¡± Hua Chengzan changed the topic.

    ¡°The Sword Collection peak! What do you mean?¡± the Unraging monk questioned closely.

    The Unraging monk speculated that the Sword Collection palace had given into the temptations of the Demon domain. He even suspected them to possess a demon cavern specially for communication with the Demon domain, but he never suspected the Sword Collection peak. That was just a mountain after all, and it had already existed for several thousand years.

    ¡°I once looked into the historical annals of the Sword Collection palace. In the very beginning, the Sword Collection palace was not called Sword Collection palace, nor did they possess such great might and influence. They only began to rise when it was passed into the hands of their seventh palace master, Sikong Cangjian¡­¡±

    The Dauntless monk interrupted him. ¡°That¡¯s not a secret. Sikong Cangjian was known as the Sword of the Nine Provinces back then. Even in the current day, all the sword cultivators throughout the world worship him. He also changed the name of the Divine Sword palace to the Sword Collection palace, so he can even be described as the first palace master of the Sword Collection palace.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. This name change sure was tasteless.

    TL: The ¡°Cangjian¡± in Sikong Cangjian and the ¡°Sword Collection¡± in Sword Collection palace are the same characters. In a sense, Sikong Cangjian basically named the Sword Collection palace after himself.

    ¡°The Sword Collection peak also appeared around then?¡± Gu Yanying said in thought.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Even many of the renowned and treasured swords appeared during that age, forming the foundation of the Sword Collection palace.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying Sikong Cangjian colluded with the Demon domain and planted the demonic seeds in the swords on the Sword Collection peak?¡± the Unraging monk asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s the greatest source of doubt. This palace master Sikong ascended long ago, while many of the swords on the Sword Collection peak were gathered afterwards. My original sword is an example. It only entered the Sword Collection palace two thousand and seven hundred years ago, so who exactly planted the demonic seed in the sword?¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it was the past masters of the Sword Collection palace if they began colluding with the Demon domain right from the beginning,¡± the Dauntless monk suggested.

    The Unraging monk denied that possibility. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Even they themselves have not completely converted to demonfolk. They don¡¯t even have a hint of demon qi, so they can¡¯t condense demonic seeds like this. The demonic nature within these demonic seeds are extremely pure too, something that even regular Demon Kings can¡¯t achieve. It¡¯s probably the handiwork of a Demon Emperor or Demon Sovereign from the Demon domain.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°But that would mean opening a demon cavern and sending the swords through. However, even if you ignore the cost of that and whether it¡¯s worth it or not, Great Xia had already been established two thousand seven hundred years ago, and the nine cauldrons had been forged. It would be impossible to fool the King of Chu¡¯s Green Province cauldron if they opened any demon caverns.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t consider that. However, as a sword cultivator, I understand just how difficult it is to meddle around with a sword cultivator¡¯s lifebound sword. On top of that, demonic seeds are merely a condensation of demonic thoughts. They cannot exist forever. Also, every single sword was pulled out of the Sword Collection palace before being returned there.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, Yangying, don¡¯t tell me the guy we encountered was the Sword Collection peak?¡± Li Qingshan recalled the despicable voice he heard in the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind.

    At the same time, thousands of kilometers away, the Sword Collection peak cleaved through the cloud layer and hovered in the sea of clouds like a lone island, no different from how it had been for the past few millennia.

 Chapter 1082: Parting After a Thousand Years, a Storm Brews Once More

    In the dark, gloomy Sword Collection pavilion, elder Tian and elder Di sat together, both in thought. This was the first time in the past century that they had no interest in comprehending the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth. When they heard about everything that happened on Great Buddha mountain, they went from disbelief to beyond belief, followed by the silence right now. Only two hours had passed.

    Regardless of their moral alignment, sword cultivators never lacked resolve, yet they were stuck in a period of great hesitation now.

    ¡°Should we¡­¡± elder Tian asked hesitantly.

    ¡°Have you forgotten about the teachings handed down through the sect? Unless the sect faces destruction, we should never do that. It is something completely beyond our control!¡± Elder Di declined firmly, but his eyes also flickered with uncertainty.

    ¡°If this continues, we¡¯ll basically be watching as the sect faces destruction! Li Qingshan, Northmoon.¡± Elder Tian ruminated over those two names. ¡°If we had known earlier, we should have kept him here by force.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention matters of the past anymore¡­ If we really did that back then and let him fly off into a frenzy here, we both would have been in life-threatening danger, so forget about it.¡± Elder Di felt slightly glad. Li Qingshan¡¯s feats in battle on Great Buddha mountain had been far too terrifying.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Elder Tian nodded.

    The two of them were grand elders of the Sword Collection palace, but they were not saddened or infuriated by the palace master, the Light Queen, and Ji Xuanri¡¯s deaths. From the moment the demonic seed had sprouted and taken root, it had eliminated their sense of sympathy, not that they found anything wrong with that. Sword cultivators were supposed to be cold like the sword in the first place, casting aside all distracting thoughts of weakness. Having a strong sense of justice and helping the weak was merely a fantasy.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much, senior brother. The Sword Collection palace¡¯s Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth has it as its core. It¡¯s nowhere near as flimsy and useless as the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn. If we really run out of options, we¡¯ll just take him on in a battle to the death,¡± said elder Di.

    ¡°That¡¯s true! Looks like junior brother is still the one with a greater composure!¡± Elder Tian praised.

    ¡°It¡¯s devolving into a mess outside. Senior brother, you better go out and console everyone!¡± elder Di said that and shut his eyes, submerging his mind into the profound Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth.

    Elder Tian arrived outside the hall. The dark clouds in the sky hung low as the darkness was extremely heavy. Streaks of light travelled to and fro from the mountain peaks. Everyone in the Sword Collection palace was jittery. He was in no hurry to console everyone; he never planned to in the first place. Instead, he raised his head and looked at the Sword Collection peak, showing quite some scorn. ¡°Junior brother, oh junior brother. Look at the situation around us, and you¡¯re still so patient and conservative. Your lack of courage and resolve is your greatest weakness!¡±

    In the dim Sword Collection pavilion, elder Di opened his eyes again. ¡°Senior brother, oh senior brother. You¡¯ve always liked to take risks. You¡¯ve managed to make it to today with your outstanding talent, but little do you know that gamblers only need to lose once to lose it all. I¡¯m not going to gamble with you!¡±

    Elder Tian rose up into the air and flew towards the Sword Collection peak, beginning the greatest gamble of his life.

    Elder Di merged with the sword and dove into the earth, leaving this troublesome place that was the Sword Collection palace.

    They had both been expecting this. Their understanding for one another and their relationship that they had built up over a thousand years had vanished like this.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Then should I call you Li Qingshan or Northmoon? Or a clone?¡±

    On the sandy shoal, Ru Xin played around with the icy-cold river water. She jokingly asked Li Qingshan nearby, or perhaps more accurately, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone.

    The two of them made their way across the barren land, spreading the plague everywhere. However, ever since Li Qingshan entered the Sword Collection pavilion and began deducing the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, they had stopped here. Li Qingshan also needed his full attention to deal with everything that happened afterwards. He only managed to share this ¡°story¡± with Ru Xin after the battle had come to an end.

    ¡°Call me whatever. I am me.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The so-called mirror clone was just another body he had condensed through his innate abilities. During the battle, he had not recalled his mirror clone to Great Buddha mountain. It was not only because he possessed absolute confidence in his strength, but also because the sandy shoal happened to be located between Great Buddha mountain and the Sword Collection palace according to the mental map of the Green province. He could intercept the fleeing palace master if he got away, but he never had to resort to something like that.

    ¡°The Sword Collection palace is actually colluding with the Demon domain. Humans sure are capable of anything. Thankfully, you forsook wickedness for righteousness, or I wouldn¡¯t even have the courage to speak with you anymore.¡± Ru Xin patted her chest.

    ¡°This has nothing to do with race. You have no right to criticise me,¡± said Li Qingshan. The Sword Collection palace saw how he was a demon and wanted to rope him in, while the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga found out he was a daemon and wanted to expel him, but little did they know that the only side he took was his own.

    ¡°Yeah. Oh right, when do you plan on attacking the Sword Collection palace?¡± Ru Xin asked.

    ¡°A little later!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed in the direction of the Sword Collection palace. He was very curious about what the Sword Collection peak was hiding, but after rebirthing again, he could vaguely sense that the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a was close to breaking through to the fifth layer. He had some other matters to deal with, so he was in no hurry.

    He looked back and asked, ¡°Let¡¯s continue?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Let the plague spread by itself!¡± Ru Xin was lazy. They had already covered a large enough region. All they had to do was wait for the plague to spread across the entire Green province.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?¡± Li Qingshan shot a glance at her.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with going out for a stroll together? Who knows if we¡¯ll still have this opportunity in the future.¡± Ru Xin sighed even though she had grown accustomed to farewells a long time ago.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened, but he did not give her some promise like they would never part. He arrived beside her with a flash and held her hand. He smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s make some memories.¡±

    ¡°You better settle your other debts first!¡± Ru Xin patted his cheek with a smile.

    ¡°Sigh, just like how it stops itching when you have enough lice, you just stop worrying when you have enough debts.¡± Li Qingshan laid down on the sandy shoal.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be an insect. Speaking of which, that big insect still hasn¡¯t appeared. We haven¡¯t even seen a clone of his during this time!¡±

    Ru Xin laid down beside him. The effects of her plague were infestation. Wherever it reached, locusts died in the hundreds of millions. In particular, the eggs and nymphs buried deep underground were unable to put up any resistance at all. If this continued, the Soaring Locust King would lose all of his foundations before long.

    ¡°As long as I¡¯m here, they¡¯ll only be delivering themselves to their deaths unless the main body comes. Though, that insect has been suppressed for several thousand years, so he¡¯s become very cautious and careful now. He probably won¡¯t take a risk like that, but we can¡¯t be so sure about the future,¡± Li Qingshan said in thought.

    The cultivation community of the Green province had suffered heavy losses. The Soaring Locust King no longer had to fear any ambushes or traps anymore, so it would not be strange even if he emerged right now.

    At this moment, he heard a strange buzz. ¡°So soon!¡± He could not help but gaze into the distance. A dark cloud appeared on the northern horizon, sweeping over across the skies, but there was not a lot of daemon qi.

    ¡°What a jinx. There wasn¡¯t even a single locust within a radius of a thousand kilometers¡­ Hmm? They don¡¯t seem to be coming for us!¡±

    Ru Xin was prepared for battle as well, but when the cloud of insects passed by, they did not come for them. Instead, they continued south.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Clear River prefecture.¡±

    Li Qingshan received news from Gu Yanying very soon that all the locusts across the Green province had mobilised, converging in the direction of the Clear River prefecture. As it seemed, the Soaring Locust King had already made up his mind. He wanted to fight the Golden Cicada Spirit King to the death!

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go back!¡±

 Chapter 1083: Renowned Through the Nine Provinces

    In the depths of the Mist province that was forever verdant and wrapped in mist, a great burst of laughter suddenly rang out from the King of Yue¡¯s Estate within the Mist capital. The hearty and delightful laughter rang across the entire city, startling countless birds in the forests that circled over the place.

    ¡°That¡¯s his majesty¡¯s laughter!¡±

    The cultivators all noticed that and were shocked. They wondered what had made the King of Southern Yue so happy.

    ¡°Mister Ram, prepare a banquet right now. I want to invite the guests to go on an expedition against Chu!¡±

    The King of Souther Yue whose facial features were delicate like a young man¡¯s suddenly pushed aside the chess board before him, ordering the head caretaker.

    ¡°Yes, your majesty!¡±

    Mister Ram backed away with his back bent, also smiling away. Normally, just being called ¡°mister Ram¡± by the King of Southern Yue would bring him great joy, but he was still shocked by the news he had received earlier. He could not help but think of the tall, straight, composed, and dauntless figure.

    ¡°He¡¯s actually already so, so¡­¡±

    He was simply unable to find the appropriate word to describe him.

    ¡°Oh also, send Liangmu to the Green province. I want to give him a great gift. What a King of Savages!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue added before pacing around excitedly under the apricot tree. The news he had received was only a short message, but when he imagined the battle on Great Buddha mountain, he could not help himself as his blood boiled.

    The great cultivators and grandmasters of the Green province had all gathered together. Even the Fierce King of Chu was amongst them, but they actually stood no chance against him alone. He butchered great cultivators like they were dogs. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could not restrain him, the Sword Collection palace could not hold him off, and even the King of Chu¡¯s Seal was shattered. Just how mighty was that?

    Following the battle, the cultivation community of the Green province had taken a great hit to their strength. Among the three major sects, two were heavily wounded, and all that remained was the Umbral Yin sect that had no loyalty to speak off. The grandmasters of the hundred schools had almost been annihilated.

    For the first time in several thousand years, the Kingdom of Chu was significantly weaker than the Kingdom of Yue. Letting Li Qingshan return to the Green province was basically the greatest decision he had made in his life.

    The locust plague was still ongoing in the Green province, but the demon plague in the Mist province had already been suppressed by the combined efforts of the Great Banyan Tree King and the King of Southern Yue. All of the demon caverns had been sealed up, and they no longer had to worry anymore.

    Now was the best time to eliminate them.

    The King of Southern Yue became more excited the more he thought about that. He already began thinking about the glory he would have before his ancestors after destroying the Kingdom of Chu. From the corner of his eye, he saw the tiny banyan bonsai in front of the chessboard wielding its thick, stocky branches to reassemble the board.

    ¡°Fellow, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± the King of Southern Yue asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re in such fine spirits, your majesty. My words will only spoil the mood, so it¡¯s best if I stay silent.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s laughter was vast and fleeting,

    ¡°If I have been negligent in any of my considerations, please give me advice, tree god!¡± The King of Southern Yue bowed deeply.

    ¡°Xiao An is princess Xuanyue, the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s daughter, as well as his only daughter now,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t they already fallen out? I heard she¡¯s already been deemed as a buddha nemesis, and she even attacked the Fierce King of Chu, which is very much like something a descendant of my Kingdom of Yue would do,¡± said the King of Southern Yue.

    ¡°They¡¯re still connected by blood after all, which isn¡¯t something that can be severed so easily. On top of that, she¡¯s already become the only direct successor of the Fierce King of Chu now,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°Just how can she alone stop my army?¡± the King of Southern Yue said.

    ¡°That¡¯s what the Fierce King of Chu thought as well, which was why he was defeated on Great Buddha mountain. If princess Xuanyue wants to stop you, do you think Daemon King Northmoon will just stand by? And you seem to have underestimated her strength too much. I just received a piece of news as well, but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s good news to you or not.¡±

    ¡°What news?¡±

    ¡°The Umbral Yin sect has been destroyed. Even among the Xuanming elders, only elder Ming managed to escape,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°Who did that?¡± The King of Southern Yue shivered inside. The Umbral Yin sect was deeply rooted, and they had a Gate of Hungry Ghosts under their control. To think they would actually be destroyed.

    ¡°She did, alone,¡± said the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    The King of Southern Yue became speechless. His expression changed a few times before he suddenly made up his mind. ¡°No matter what, we¡¯re going forward with the expedition to Chu!¡±

    The temptation was far too great. He would do it even if there was only a thirty percent chance at success.

    ¡°If I still refuse to take a gamble like this when the odds are in my favour, am I still a man? Fellow, don¡¯t you want to extend your branches to the Green province? I can help you obtain the Green Province cauldron!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about dragging me into this, and someone has already said that to me before, except he promised me the nine cauldrons.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°Li Qingshan?¡± The King of Southern Yue was stunned.

    ¡°Who else could it be?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    ¡°Now that is what a word that carries the weight of nine cauldrons means!¡±

    TL: A word that carries the weight of nine cauldrons basically means that someone has issued a promise that they will never take back. It bears so much weight that they will be a man of their word. The idiom is a reference to the nine cauldrons cast in ancient China, which represent dominion over China. You can read about it here. If you scroll to the bottom, you can find an explanation of this idiom and how it connects to the nine cauldrons.

    The King of Southern Yue sighed. If someone gave a promise like that, he would probably laugh at the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s foolishness. The eight other cauldrons were not a problem, but even if the eight provinces poured their strength together, they would struggle to obtain the Dragon Province cauldron.

    However, if that person was Li Qingshan, then he could only be envious of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s good fortune.

    When he thought of that, he suddenly found this to be quite funny. In the past, when Li Qingshan claimed he was a fellow of the Great Banyan Tree King, everyone thought he was merely an ignorant brat trying to place himself under the patronage of the Great Banyan Tree King. Who would have thought that the situation would completely reverse before long? Instead, the Great Banyan Tree King was relying on him to succeed with his great cause.

    Perhaps before long, he would stand at the apex of the nine provinces!

    ¡°If he really tries to stop me, I¡¯ll have a good talk with him,¡± the King of Southern Yue said to the Great Banyan Tree King right when he left the courtyard.

    ¡°A clever decision.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the Shadow Palace, the Shadow Queen Ye Weiyang sat on the obsidian throne and sighed with a smile. ¡°Sigh, what a great man. He¡¯s enough for me to have his child. A pity, a pity. Liusu, when is Liubo¡¯s child going to be born?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s not a pure night roamer, it¡¯s very difficult to estimate the pregnancy. However, the child¡¯s vitality is extremely vigorous, much more than normal. According to Liubo, it¡¯ll definitely be a daughter.¡±

    Ye Liusu recalled Ye Liubo¡¯s expression of happiness and also felt extremely delighted, as well as a tinge of pity.

    ¡°Very good. I like daughters. Send her to my palace. I¡¯ll personally take care of her from now onwards. Just like how an outstanding father does not have mediocre children, I¡¯ll test her potential once she¡¯s born. Who knows, she might become the sweetheart of the Shadow palace!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Before Ye Liusu could finish what she was saying, Ye Weiyang suddenly appeared in her face. She held her cheeks with both hands before sliding down slowly, going from her neck to her shoulders, then her chest and waist. ¡°What a pretty face. What an enchanting figure. Even the laziest of men become willing to work hard when they see you. You¡¯re welcome to pay a visit to the Green province too. We can never have enough sweethearts. Don¡¯t you have to experience that feeling too?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t, master!¡± Ye Liusu reddened and took a step back.

    ¡°Am I supposed to set off in person?¡± Ye Weiyang touched her chin as if she was seriously considering that question.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m taking my leave.¡± Ye Liusu backed out of the hall, and Ye Weiyang¡¯s unrestrained laughter rang out from behind, making her shake her head helplessly. She remained where she was and contemplated a little more. I better tell this news to Liubo quickly!

    She would tell her that her child was already basking in her father¡¯s glory before she had even been born.

    At the same time, the Frost province, the Cloud province, the Lightning province, the Harmony province, the Cool province, the Scarlet province, as well as the Dragon province all heard about the Daemon King Northmoon¡¯s name. The battle of Great Buddha mountain had shaken up the world, stunning the nine provinces.

 Chapter 1084: Not Waiting

    Hua Chengzan sat with his legs crossed. Li Qingshan stood behind him, pressing down on both of his shoulders. The figures of the spirit turtle and the phoenix appeared and replaced one another, sometimes deep and serene, sometimes rising with glorious light. He illuminated the back of Great Buddha mountain.

    Hua Chengzan felt like he was submerged in the deep ocean at times, his mind extremely peaceful as he avoided all disasters and pain¡ªthe remaining influence of the demonic seed thinned out and faded away in the lengthy passage of time.

    At other times, he felt like he rose up in the air, straight into the clouds. He was filled with a desire for eternal life¡ªa scorching yet harmless flame rose up in his heart, circulating through his body with his blood and healing his wounds.

    The Unraging monk, Gu Yanying, and Duoge watched on from the sides. They were all amazed.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were deep and serene like the deep ocean. At the same time, his bearing was noble and unapproachable like he had become someone completely different, or more accurately, he had become a ¡°god¡±. The phoenix and spirit turtle were both naturally born as gods. They were completely free of any vulgar and secular thoughts. They were life forms that were completely different from regular humans and daemons.

    If it weren¡¯t for the disturbance of the demonic thoughts, he would be like this!

    The Unraging monk sighed inside. For the first time in his life, he felt like possessing some demonic thoughts was not exactly a bad thing. At least it added some humanity.

    Although the life pursuit of all cultivators was to become ¡°inhuman¡±, they would always feel a reluctance to abandon their ¡°humanity¡± the moment before they actually became buddhas or immortals.

    Gradually, the still water and scorching flames merged together as one. As Li Qingshan healed Hua Chengzan, he also practised the various powers within him.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression had the wondrous effect of calming the soul, but if he only used that one power, it would drastically change Hua Chengzan¡¯s personality, or even make him become lost in the ¡°deep sea¡± forever. It was like how the power of Ruin¡¯s End influenced Gong Yuan. As a result, he needed to use the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a to neutralise it, to incite his rising passion and free him from the ¡°deep sea¡±, as well as to heal his wounds.

    This lasted for three whole days and nights.

    Li Qingshan exhaled and drew back his hands. He had completely familiarised himself with the brand-new power, paving a foundation for the fifth layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a.

    Hua Chengzan opened his eyes slowly. At first, they were rather lost as if they had been split into two. One half was slumbering in the deep ocean, while the other half was soaring through the sky. Only quite a while later did the two perspectives gradually overlap, returning to ¡°Hua Chengzan¡¯s¡± perspective. However, he gained a new understanding about various things in the world.

    His cultivation had not been recovered immediately, but his mind was calm and clear, and his body was filled with vitality. With that as a foundation, recovering his cultivation was merely a matter of time. He could even climb higher than before. Influenced by the divine natures of the phoenix and the spirit turtle, it made him seem a little more unblemished on top of his already extraordinary grace and handsomeness, enough to make any woman¡¯s heart flutter, but she still remained an exception.

    Gu Yanying asked with a smile, ¡°Little Hua, how do you feel?¡±

    ¡°Can anything still go wrong if I¡¯m the one behind it?¡± However, even Li Qingshan struggled a little to guess Hua Chengzan¡¯s changes. After all, even though the phoenix and spirit turtle¡¯s divine natures conflicted, they were still divine natures after all. There was no ox demon or tiger demon to balance them out.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been better. Qingshan, your world is much more fascinating than I imagined!¡± Hua Chengzan looked back and smiled.

    ¡°Actually, this isn¡¯t the most fascinating part.¡± Li Qingshan stopped worrying and grinned. His countenance returned to normal. His eyes were dark and bright, but not deep, while his bearing was not exactly noble either.

    ¡°Really?¡± Hua Chengzan was rather curious.

    ¡°Though, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t experience the other part.¡±

    Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulder. No matter how great the influence of the divine natures were, it could not result in anything bad, but the demonic natures were different. Neither stubbornness nor battle-hungriness were exactly good ideas.

    Hua Chengzan bowed in gratitude, but Li Qingshan grabbed him by the hand to stop him. ¡°Speaking of which, I haven¡¯t thanked you either!¡±

    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t gone as far as to expose your identity back then and save me, I would have died a long time ago. What I said in the grand hall has already become a source of great guilt for me. If you don¡¯t accept this, I really can¡¯t get any peace of mind.¡±

    ¡°You were just influenced by the demonic seed. What guilt is there supposed to be?¡± Li Qingshan disagreed.

    ¡°The growth of the demonic seed happened because of my wicked thoughts.¡± Hua Chengzan shook his head.

    ¡°Yeah, if you think like that, then you don¡¯t have to be afraid about falling into the demonic path. The difference between buddhism and the demonic is just a single whim. With eminent monks, they never have any wicked thoughts, so even if they have a demonic seed within their hearts, it¡¯ll only wither away with time. I think you are endowed with a root of wisdom, so why don¡¯t you undergo tonsure and join our Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga instead?¡± the Unraging monk said suddenly.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Hua Chengzan was taken aback slightly. ¡°Thank you for your graces, Unraging master, but I¡¯ve already gone down the path of the sword, so perhaps not.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, speaking of the path of the sword, I¡¯ll pass this onto you as well.¡± Li Qingshan pressed down on the top of Hua Chengzan¡¯s head and passed all of the variations within the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth to him.

    Quite a while later, Hua Chengzan roused from the complicated, varying sword moves, except his head still felt like it was about to split open. He smiled wryly. ¡°Let me prepare myself first at least!¡±

    ¡°Haha, who ever worries about choking when you have a table of delicacies before you? As for your cultivation, I think it¡¯s best if you recover it yourself.¡±

    ¡°That goes without saying. Could you send me off?¡±

    ¡°To where?¡±

    ¡°The Clear River prefecture.¡±

    ¡°Now is not a good time. The Soaring Locust King has gathered all of his swarms there. It¡¯s quite a frightening sight.¡±

    At this moment, Li Qingshan used his clone to watch over the prefecture, protecting Ru Xin as she continued to spread the plague among the insects. However, the effect was nowhere near as great as with the regular locusts. The clouds of insects formed one single unit under the lead of a powerful cluster of daemon qi like a dark cloud that never dispersed. They gave off a rhythmic buzz like continuous claps of thunder deafening everyone nearby.

    Under the effects of the plague, tens of thousands of locusts died at every moment. They even constantly devoured one another to maintain their existence. However, it did not even leave a scratch in the existing population. Even Li Qingshan, who had witnessed plenty of grand sights, was slightly shocked. The Soaring Locust King¡¯s resolve was enough to make him frown.

    ¡°That¡¯s only more reason to go back. My entire family is there. Oh right, Qiongzhi¡­ is still waiting for you!¡±

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s time to go back.¡± Li Qingshan nodded.

    ¡°Qingshan, it¡¯s all up to you.¡± The Unraging monk reminded him.

    ¡°Leave it all to me!¡± Li Qingshan said confidently.

    ¡°You take care as well, master. The Soaring Locust King probably hates you no less than the Golden Cicada Spirit King. Perhaps he¡¯s already colluding with the Demon domain and wants to destroy the Demon Suppression hall. We can¡¯t be so sure that he hasn¡¯t created such a great disturbance as merely a diversion. Even now, the whereabouts of the grandmaster from the school of Agriculture is still unknown. There¡¯s something fishy about this,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Thank you for your reminder, commander Gu.¡± I¡¯m also worried about that. I¡¯ve already reported this to my senior brother, the abbot. Before the dust settles, I won¡¯t take a single step away from Great Buddha mountain. If the Soaring Locust King comes alone, he probably won¡¯t get anything out of that!¡±

    The three of them bade farewell to the Unraging monk. Li Qingshan and Hua Chengzan travelled to the Clear River prefecture, while Gu Yanying returned to the Waterside Pavilion of Listening Wind. She had no interest in partaking in this slaughter.

    Li Qingshan arrived at Han Qiongzhi¡¯s dwelling, but he did not see her. There was only a handwritten letter on the table. Opening it up and taking a look, there was only a single message on the white paper. ¡°Li Qingshan, you great bastard, I¡¯m not waiting anymore.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned and scratched his head.

 Chapter 1085: Immortal Relinquished

    Li Qingshan looked up slightly, and his nostrils twitched gently. The familiar fragrance filled his lungs and figures appeared before his eyes, composed of smells. His own figure was among them, except it was extremely faint.

    Vaguely, he ¡°saw¡± her waver a few times before the table; she wrote down that message before making her way out and vanishing from the dwelling. However, a long ribbon of smells tailed behind her. As a result, he smiled and went after her.

    ¡­¡­

    Han Qiongzhi stood on the pavilion, gripping the railing with both hands and overlooking the entire Han estate. Her clansmen were gathering all the items. Even the calmest of members were rather frantic now. Every single person who had personally witnessed the swarm of insects pass by felt fear. Perhaps she was an exception, but not because she was courageous, but because her mind was occupied by various other thoughts.

    The warm wind ruffled her red clothes. Time had already left behind some marks on her face, making her seem much more mature. Her eyes shone with an intelligent light, such that her overall bearing changed in a subtle manner.

    ¡°Qiongzhi, it¡¯s time to set off,¡± Han Anjun¡¯s voice rang out from behind.

    ¡°We sure are puny!¡± Han Qiongzhi sighed.

    The Soaring Locust King amassed his swarms, but he did not launch an attack. Instead, he scattered most of his insects within the network of underground caves. In her knowledge, he was searching for traces of the Golden Cicada Spirit King. However, the various clans were all preparing for a great migration, in a hurry to leave the Clear River prefecture like children who had been frightened by mere shadows.

    ¡°If the enemy is powerful, then we should proactively retreat and conserve our strength.¡± Han Anjun paused for a moment before he said, ¡°We¡¯ll still return here. We¡¯ll become even more powerful.¡±

    ¡°I must have come off as a fool back then. I knew we¡¯re not from the same path, but I never imagined the difference between our paths would be so great. However, I don¡¯t regret it.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi leapt down from the pavilion, her long hair drifting behind her as she landed on the ground gently. She thought, ¡°Even if we return stronger, times will have changed already, and certain people will be gone.¡±

    The clansmen all gathered on the drilling grounds. A Soaring Dragon ship was parked there. Han Tieyi currently organised them to board the ship.

    Han Anjun and Han Qiongzhi arrived on the drilling grounds together. The clansmen all halted and saluted. Even the children that had only recently learnt how to walk saluted in a similar manner.

    Han Qiongzhi patted Han Tieyi on the shoulder and smiled. ¡°Kid, you sure are looking a little like a patriarch now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re prepared now as well?¡± Han Tieyi was just as cold as before, but his eyes were filled with concern.

    ¡°Of course¡­ not!¡± Han Qiongzhi smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to be concerned about my matters. Keep going. Let¡¯s set off as soon as possible, just in case undue delays lead to unnecessary trouble.¡±

    ¡°Could you take me with you?¡±

    A voice rang out from above, making Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart shudder. Looking up, a black speck rapidly drew closer, piercing through the air.

    In the blink of an eye, the figure that had once made her yearn for day and night had arrived before her. Gazing at the familiar smile, she was actually unable to say anything for a moment.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    The name did not only appear from Han Anjun¡¯s mouth, but also in the heads of the various clansmen. This unrivalled genius from the Clear River prefecture, first young miss Han¡¯s fianc¨¦, had recently demonstrated a shocking identity and strength on Great Buddha mountain. They could not help but discuss him among themselves.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand and said to Han Anjun, ¡°General Han, are you seeking refuge?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it got to do with you? Li Qingshan, from today onwards, our Han family will be drawing a clear line with a wretched daemon like you. Let go of my hand!¡± Han Qiongzhi returned to her senses and called out.

    ¡°I read your letter, except I object!¡± Li Qingshan took out Han Qiongzhi¡¯s letter. With a gentle wave, it was reduced to dust.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what else do you want?¡± Han Qiongzhi fumed.

    Li Qingshan suddenly let go of her and clasped his hands towards Han Anjun seriously. ¡°General Han, I¡¯ve specially come to ask for your daughter¡¯s hand in marriage!¡±

    It was powerful and resonating, like a great gust of wind had blown across the drilling grounds. All the clansmen fell silent.

    Han Anjun and Han Tieyi exchanged glances, both rather surprised. Then they looked towards Han Qiongzhi.

    Han Qiongzhi was taken aback. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°Qiongzhi, I¡¯ve come to marry you!¡±

    ¡°I know everything about what you¡¯ve done!¡± Han Qiongzhi stared right into Li Qingshan¡¯s hands.

    ¡°So?¡± Li Qingshan smiled resplendently, feeling no shame at all.

    ¡°So? So I decline!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be troublesome. If you don¡¯t agree, then I¡¯ll have to take you for marriage by force!¡±

    ¡°How is that any different from abduction?¡±

    ¡°Who cares about the difference? I¡¯m a powerful, wretched daemon. The Soaring Locust King has killed millions of people, so can¡¯t I even abduct a woman I love?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, oh Qingshan!¡± Han Qiongzhi lowered her head and sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s talk elsewhere! Don¡¯t get in the way of the migration.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t get in the way of anything.¡± Li Qingshan said to Han Anjun, ¡°Father-in-law Han, please prepare a grand wedding for us!¡± Then he said to the clansmen below, ¡°Please stay behind to serve as witnesses and attend the wedding feast.¡±

    ¡°I refuse. Who¡¯s getting married to you!?¡± Han Qiongzhi said.

    However, before Li Qingshan could speak up, Han Anjun said to Han Tieyi, ¡°Cancel the plans and help everyone settle back down. Prepare the wedding.¡±

    ¡°Yes, father!¡± Han Tieyi accepted the orders.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Han Qiongzhi was surprised. In the past, Han Anjun had been so bent on rejecting them, and it was even less likely for him to yield to martial prowess now.

    ¡°Since you regret nothing, then what¡¯re you afraid of?¡± Han Anjun said.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Han Qiongzhi was unable to say anything. She had always been the person who anticipated the wedding the most during the entire time. Even now, it was no different.

    ¡­¡­

    Thousands of kilometers away, elder Tian stood on the Sword Collection peak, overlooking the sea of mountains. He felt a sense of delight as if the world was within his grasp. He smiled. The negotiation that had lasted several days had finally led to a conclusion.

    The complete Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth filled his head. This was something that none of the past palace masters could achieve, forced to comprehend it for themselves from the Sword Collection pavilion, or more accurately, the Sword Tomb. However, he had obtained it from the Sword Collection peak.

    At the end of the day, it was merely a sword. No matter how powerful it was, it still needed to be wielded by a person.

    With a wave of his arm, he spread his fingers, enveloping the Sword Collection peak. ¡°Now, tell me your name!¡±

    ¡°My name is Immortal Relinquished!¡±

    An icy-cold voice rang out from the Sword Collection palace, but it gave off a deep sense of being warped. If Li Qingshan heard it, he would have identified it immediately. That was the voice he had once heard through the Soul Cycling sword.

    ¡°Immortal Relinquished. What a good name. Sure enough, you were sealed within the Sword Tomb by the Five Absolutes Immortal.¡± Elder Tian smiled as his heart scorched with desire. This was the greatest treasure within the Sword Tomb, the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s personal sword. Even the Ten Renowned Swords combined were not as great as a single Immortal Relinquished.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the restrictions placed down by that old bastard, did you really think you could trap me? Cut the nonsense and sever the Chains of Heaven and Earth!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. We¡¯ve agreed already. Once I become the master of the Immortal Relinquished sword, I¡¯ll naturally let you out. Roaming the world in my hand will always be better than being trapped in here!¡± elder Tian said. He liked to take risks, but that did not mean he did not know how to avoid risks.

    ¡°Then come, my master!¡±

    A chill suddenly ran through elder Tian¡¯s heart. Even someone as resolute as him felt a hint of hesitation. He reviewed his plan again, but he found no flaws. Only then did he consolidate his thoughts and begin refining the sword!

 Chapter 1086: Brother and Sister

    ¡°Golden Cicada, get out here! Golden Cicada, do you know how many people I¡¯ve eaten? Where¡¯s your benevolence? Where¡¯s your repentance? Get out here!¡±

    The locust swarm whistled through the pitch-black underground caves, kicking up fierce howls like the vicious wind over an icy tundra. They did not care if they did not receive a response. They howled and roared endlessly, churning up even the darkness in the deepest depths.

    Buzz! The insect swarm poured into a cavern like a flood. The sea of Blue Butterfly flowers that had once bloomed in the darkness for thousands of years all dimmed and withered away, devoured clean. All that remained was a lonely stone platform, sitting in the middle.

    A while later, the buzzing travelled away, and two figures emerged from the stone platform.

    ¡°Oof, they¡¯re finally gone. These insects seem to have gone crazy!¡±

    The little phoenix Li Fengyuan exhaled. Only now did he sense the pain from his arm. Tigress who was even smaller than him gnawed away at his arm viciously, letting out a furious growl. Her tiger ears pricked up.

    ¡°Damned girl, have you bitten me enough? How many times do I have to tell you? I¡¯m your elder brother. Even if we¡¯re not related by blood, we¡¯re even closer than that. If it weren¡¯t for me, you would have been eaten by the insects already. And yet you still bite me!¡± Li Fengyuan swung his arm around in an attempt to shake her off, but he was also afraid to use too much strength, which would hurt her.

    Suddenly, he heard a gentle buzz. A locust flew out from between the stalactites above, staring at them with its cold, compound eyes.

    With a flash, Li Fengyuan swung Tiger¡¯s Fang and cut the locust in half.

    At this moment, the deafening buzz reappeared in the depths of the caves.

    ¡°Oh no, we need to leave here as quickly as possible!¡±

    With a spin, he erupted with flames and illuminated the pitch-black cavern. The flames turned into magnificent wings, assuming the form of a phoenix. He grabbed Tigress with his talons and flew off.

    A streak of flowing firelight sped through the dark cavern, except the buzzing appeared from all directions, gradually converging together.

    Suddenly, a strange, withered, and yellow face blocked their path, assembled from countless locusts. Its mouth opened and closed, letting out a hoarse voice, ¡°It¡¯s actually a phoenix! It seems very delicious! Come over quick. Let me taste you.¡± Suddenly, it widened its mouth and lunged over.

    ¡°Taste your mother!¡± Li Fengyuan made up his mind and let out a resonant phoenix¡¯s cry, diving head-first into the face.

    With a thump, the face collapsed, and countless locusts were scattered, reduced to ashes in the flames. However, even more locusts swarmed over.

    He felt like he was stuck in mud. Whatever he could see, whatever he could hear, whatever he could sense, it was all endless locusts. This was not just a simple gathering of tremendous numbers. Instead, they were all connected, forming a single entity. The strength of millions of locusts stacked together, leading to an intrinsic change in their strength.

    Li Fengyuan struggled to advance any further. The flames on him gradually weakened as he protected Tigress carefully in his arms. All he heard was the hoarse voice, ¡°So hot! So hot!¡± Those were not cries of pain, but more like a greedy, wild beast enjoying some scorching food, chewing away carefully yet also with great enthusiasm.

    ¡°Growl! Give me back my blade!!¡± Tigress put up a fierce struggle.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to swing it at me again¡­ Ouch!¡±

    Li Fengyuan felt a slight sting from his arm. A locust had breached the barrier of fire and taken a vicious bite. It had been reduced to ashes immediately, but he felt life-threatening danger. He thought, Looks like I can¡¯t go without asking for help! He took out the jade talisman that Li Qingshan had given to him and crushed it.

    Bang! Like the crack of lightning, something ripped through the countless locusts.

    ¡°So quick!¡± Li Fengyuan was surprised.

    A long, black whip pierced through the swarm like a venomous dragon, wrapping around them and tugging them out. However, the insects clung on firmly, refusing to give up.

    Tigress snatched over the Tiger¡¯s Fang and swung it forward as hard as she could. A blood-red crescent whistled out, slicing through the insects.

    Li Fengyuan flapped his wings as hard as he could as well. His view abruptly cleared up. The other end of the whip lay in the hand of a silver woman. She was graceful and voluptuous, except her expression was extremely cold.

    ¡°Mother!¡± Tigress called out.

    ¡°So it¡¯s not father, but your mother! Whatever! Let me help you out!¡±

    Li Fengyuan tossed a fiery-red wutong fruit into his mouth, and his flames returned.

    Lolth glanced at him and swung her whip as hard as she could. After swinging the blade, Tigress¡¯ face paled, but the frenzy in her eyes grew heavier. Right when she was about to swing it a second time, Lolth snatched the blade over.

    Li Fengyuan¡¯s strength was on par with Daemon Kings. When he worked together with a carapaced Daemon King of extraordinary strength like Lolth, they could hold off the vicious attacks of the insects, but they struggled to break out of the encirclement. Surrounded by the insects, they basically could not afford to use any innate abilities, as the only fate awaiting them was being eaten once their daemon qi ran out. However, the insects seemed endless. They gradually entered dire straits again.

    Why isn¡¯t father here yet? Li Fengyuan panicked inside, but in the face of danger, the latent power within his body was gradually unleashed.

    ¡°Tremors of the Ox Demon!¡±

    In the face of death, an extremely heavy voice suddenly pierced through the earth and rang out from above the cavern, followed by a great rumble.

    Boom! The thick, sturdy rock and soil shattered and split open, all pouring down. It buried them with the insects.

    ¡°Force Field of the Earth!¡±

    ¡°Father!¡± Li Fengyuan beamed with joy inside. Abruptly, he felt his body lighten, and he rose up with the earth around him. The brilliant light of day filled his eyes, having left the underground cavern in the blink of an eye. He saw the landscape above ground again, as well as the figure standing in the sky.

    ¡°Father, you¡¯re too slow!¡± Li Fengyuan called out.

    ¡°I arrived a long time ago! Otherwise, do you really think you could play hide-and-seek for so long?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone had been roaming through the underground caves the entire time. He used his innate abilities several times secretly to help Li Fengyuan and Tigress avoid being discovered by the Soaring Locust King.

    ¡°What? Then why didn¡¯t you help out sooner?¡±

    ¡°If I helped out sooner, would you have had an opportunity to perform?¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at the cylindrical hole down below. The insects did not come after them, instead scattering in the underground caves again. He thought, He sure can bide his time! He¡¯s basically too patient!

    During the past few days, he had been searching for the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body the entire time. Otherwise, trying to slaughter all the locusts within such a large cave system would take far too much effort. He would struggle to complete that before the Golden Cicada Spirit King ascended.

    As long as the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body appeared, the Han estate was only a few hundred kilometers from here, so his main body could sense him immediately and carry out the plan of killing him. However, the Soaring Locust King was much more prudent than he had been expecting. Even with so many insects around, his main body never appeared. He did not even give off a hint of his aura.

    However, that did make sense upon further thought. The Golden Cicada Spirit King focused on cultivation, preparing for his ascension, but that did not make it impossible for him to take action. Once the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body appeared, he might not be the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s opponent. Combined with support from Li Qingshan, only defeat would be awaiting the Soaring Locust King. He only had an opportunity at revenge by waiting until the Golden Cicada Spirit King faced the tribulation. He needed to borrow the might of the heavenly tribulation.

    Looks like he¡¯ll only appear in the instant when the Golden Cicada Spirit King ascends. Whatever, we¡¯ll deal with him then. If Xiao An and I work together, you¡¯ll have even less of a chance!

 Chapter 1087: Grand Wedding

    The Han estate was decorated with lanterns and streamers everywhere. The lively, tumultuous atmosphere even seemed to disperse some of the gloom and sorrow that had lingered for several days. It seemed like they had returned to several decades ago, when the world was still at peace.

    The school of the Military did not have many unnecessary and overelaborate formalities. Li Qingshan changed into a set of new clothes and stood at the entrance of the hall with Han Tieyi, welcoming the guests. Among them, there were both many familiar faces, as well as figures that had become blurred to him or he found to be completely unfamiliar. When they arrived before him, they all became a little more careful, saying cautiously, ¡°Congratulations!¡±

    Li Qingshan received them all with a smile. His smile was not fake at all, but filled with joy from the bottom of his heart, which instead made him a little more approachable than Han Tieyi on the side.

    The people who once had contact with him could not help but stop worrying after seeing that. They immediately warmed up to him. As for the people who never had any contact with him before, they all struggled to believe that he was the shrewd Daemon King Northmoon who had fooled everyone in the world.

    During this time, the reason for why the battle on Great Buddha mountain had occurred had been publicised. The violent, bloodthirsty Daemon King had become the hero that had saved the Green province in the blink of an eye, which only made people feel that the matters of the world sure were unpredictable. They also felt slightly dubious about this news. After all, that was the Sword Collection palace.

    However, the Sword Collection palace never made a response to this, so they basically admitted to the truth of colluding with the Demon domain through their silence, which amazed everyone even more. It was all thanks to this as well, or probably only a very small number of guests would have shown up. It would basically be even more terrifying than facing the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body. The damage of the locust plague was widespread, but it primarily killed mortals. Even if a few cultivators died in battle, there had been no great cultivators that had been eaten by the insects. On the other hand, all of the great cultivators that died on Great Buddha mountain had renown to their names.

    Hua Chengzan and Hua Chenglu arrived together, clasping their hands. ¡°Congratulations, Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Chengzan, I heard that the Hua family is migrating the entire clan. I¡¯d thought you wouldn¡¯t be coming!¡±

    ¡°How can I miss out on your grand wedding? Speaking of which, there¡¯s probably no place safer than here across the entire Green province!¡± Hua Chengzan smiled. His cultivation had not recovered, but his bearing seemed even more fleeting and composed. However, Hua Chenglu¡¯s expression was rather mixed.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes at her. ¡°What, you don¡¯t recognise me anymore?¡±

    Hua Chenglu felt a sense of familiarity. He was still the same him, just even more uplifting in spirit and aspiration than before, such that she could not make direct eye contact with him. She smiled wryly. ¡°Big brother Li, y- you sure know how to fool people! And elder brother, so much for calling you elder brother. You¡¯ve actually kept me in the dark for so many years!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Hua Chengzan smiled at each other. Li Qingshan feigned seriousness. ¡°How can you say I¡¯ve been fooling you? I¡¯ve always been sincere towards you!¡±

    ¡°How dare you still say that!¡± Hua Chenglu called out. Han Tieyi on the side coughed heavily.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Alright, alright. Go in. There are more people coming.¡±

    Hua Chenglu stepped through the entrance before looking back. ¡°Big brother Li, I¡¯m really happy for you and elder sister Han!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. Hua Chenglu gazed at the side of his chiseled face and recalled how he had used his body to shield her when they first met. Suddenly, she felt a little despondent, but that was it. She was no longer the little girl of the past anymore.

    Two streaks of light descended from above. Yue Wuyang and Jin Fugui arrived at the entrance, gazing at the jubilant Li Qingshan with varying expressions. They were much better informed than any regular cultivator. It was basically confirmed that the Sword Collection palace had been colluding with the Demon domain and had tried to destroy the Demon Suppression hall. However, it also made them feel even more overwhelmed than any regular cultivator.

    Originally, it would become a case of irresolvable grievance, but now, they no longer had any right to criticise Li Qingshan¡¯s slaughter. Instead, they had to blame themselves for not realising things earlier.

    ¡°Fellows, I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d meet again so quickly!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Yeah, I really didn¡¯t think so either!¡± Jin Fugui sighed, while Yue Wuyang furrowed his brows, remaining silent the entire time like he was contemplating an extremely complicated question.

    ¡°Great General Yue, we¡¯ll be completely relying on you for the ceremony today.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Yue Wuyang was Han Qiongzhi¡¯s master, as well as the Great General King, so he was most suited to officiate this wedding. He did not say much, only agreeing with what he said, except he had already expressed his stance on this entire event by arriving.

    After all, Li Qingshan had once held back against him on Great Buddha mountain. That was something he could not deny.

    The sun reached its zenith, and the guests all gathered in the hall, gradually relaxing and temporarily emerging from the shadow of the Soaring Locust King, seeking protection from an even stronger Daemon King. Just like what Hua Chengzan had said, there was no place safer than here in the Green province. For a moment, the place actually bustled with activity.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze swept past many familiar faces. Gu Yanying, Liu Changqing, Liu Chuanfeng, Sun Fubai, Hao Pingyang¡­ The various incidents that occurred in the Clear River prefecture filled his mind, making his emotions fluctuate a little as well. He simply smiled.

    Suddenly, he sensed a familiar aura approach him, making him raise an eyebrow.

    A woman walked in. Her long dress dragged on the ground; she was dressed in splendid attire. Apart from her alluring face, she gave off a unique, exquisite charm, looking around in unmatched glory and drawing everyone¡¯s gazes over. She stood in the centre of the hall, saying nothing at all and staring straight at Li Qingshan. The hall quietened down.

    Everyone in the Clear River prefecture knew her name. Apart from her cultivation and charms, she also had an ambiguous relationship in the past with Northmoon, who also happened to be the lead of today¡¯s wedding, Li Qingshan.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes swayed between the two of them. Han Anjun shut his eyes and sat without budging. Gu Yanying touched her lips and smiled silently. Hua Chengzan sighed. ¡°Karma.¡± before glancing at Hua Chenglu.

    There was no one else in Qiu Haitang¡¯s eyes, only Li Qingshan. She stared straight at him.

    ¡°Haitang¡­¡± Faced with that sad gaze, he felt even more troubled than when a group of great cultivators encircled him.

    ¡°The Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty, a prophecy comes true, unfortunately. If this is the will of the heavens, what else can I say?¡±

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s sorrowful voice echoed through the quiet hall, except she neither criticised him nor asked him for anything. She turned around and left.

    ¡°The will of the heavens?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly began to laugh. He did not agree with what she said.

    Qiu Haitang shuddered and looked back, only to see him smile firmly and with composure, without a hint of regret. It made her grind her teeth.

    This guy, even now he¡¯s still¡­ A scorching feeling rose up within her. She was unable to describe whether it was irritation or something else. A smear of red appeared on her pale face, and her sadness completely vanished. She made up her mind and flew away. Hmph, Northmoon, just you wait. I¡¯ll make you witness my power soon enough!

    ¡°Everyone is here!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged and said to Gu Yanying in the crowd, ¡°Commander Gu, seeing how wide your smile is, would you like to say something?¡±

    ¡°You really want me to say something?¡± Gu Yanying contemplated, except her smile was a little evil. ¡°Then I¡¯ll actually say it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, maybe not then!¡±

    At this moment, Yue Wuyang bellowed out like he was issuing a military order, ¡°The chosen hour is here!¡±

 Chapter 1088: Sovereign Li

    The Myriad Ghosts abyss.

    A ?ar¨©ra melted away at the tips of the pale-white fingers, giving off a gentle, golden glow and merging with the hand, like a golden thread. It ventured deep within the white bone, turning into marrow and flowing about.

    The great winds passed through the chasm, immediately turning into chilly winds through the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts. It howled like the shrieks of ghosts as the long banners fluttered in the air.

    Xiao An stood up and looked up. A crescent moon hung in the sky; it was like she was submerged in a pitch-black river. The chilly winds were the water, and the edges of the valley were the banks. The moonlight was dim.

    She took out an object that resembled a sharp pick. It was pale-white like an arcane treasure of white bone, while it was shaped like countless ghosts devouring and embracing one another. It did not give off any glow, but it gave off a sense of sharpness that could pierce domains, a power that could twist space.

    This was the key to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. With this Key of Hungry Ghosts, she could use the Gate of Hungry Ghosts freely and make all the people who viewed her as a buddha nemesis think twice about attacking her.

    The Dark Queen had given her the key. After learning that her death was the result of the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s scheme, she believed her without any doubt at all. The Fierce King of Chu only let out a sigh. ¡°Xuanyue, do what you must and take care.¡± before leaving.

    When she recalled everything that had happened back then, she could not help but let out a slight sigh, very much like a mortal that was filled with emotions and affection. She refined the many ?ar¨©ra she had collected on Great Buddha mountain, channelling new power into the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    However, it was unavoidable. The intense conflict between the buddhist and the demonic had resulted in a human heart, which led to many different feelings. She would now have emotional responses to many things.

    For example, Li Qingshan¡¯s wedding.

    She did not care about these empty formalities, nor was she envious of Han Qiongzhi, let alone worried that Li Qingshan would be tied down by his feelings, but she still felt a little strange inside.

    She could not help but shake her head, casting aside these unnecessary thoughts. She planned on continuing with the next step of cultivation. She obviously would not be attending the wedding, just in case she stole the bride¡¯s thunder. She would go to the Clear River prefecture after they killed the Soaring Locust King!

    By now, the Umbral Yin Formation of Gathering Ghosts had already been activated again, and the Blood Sea Banner and Skull Prayer Beads had been completely repaired too. She had reforged the Buddha Slaying sword yet again, and her cultivation of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty had climbed to a higher level. She was basically fully prepared, only waiting for the Gate of Hungry Ghosts to open.

    However, before this, she wanted to forge a new treasure of white bone, the Soul Stirring Bell!

    ¡­¡­

    Within the endless expanse of sand stood a lone city.

    The sand and wind swept through the world, obscuring the night sky.

    This was the boundary between the Green province and the Scarlet province. It was riddled with storms all year round, and it would even draw in the atmospheric winds from above sometimes, forming terrifying tornados that sucked in the sand. These would be like yellow dragons, destroying everything in its path. Only powerful cultivators could survive here.

    The lone city served as the headquarters of the Sand Boat sect. Through his Arts of the White Camel, the sect master had already undergone the second heavenly tribulation and condensed a Golden Core. He possessed quite the renown in the Scarlet province.

    But at this moment, the Sand Boat sect was dead silent. The disciples were nowhere to be seen, while the formation that had guarded the sect for thousands of years was wide open. The camels sculpted from white rock silently endured the bombardment of sand and wind.

    A miserable shriek rang out from the Wild Sand hall. That was not the call out of a human. Within the gaping entrance, dim-blue ghost fire swayed and flickered. All of the disciples were gathered in the hall, except they had all become withered corpses, while their souls suffered in the ghost fire. The sect master was among them too, letting out a resentful curse.

    ¡°We had no grievances at all, yet you¡¯ve actually gone so far¡­ I curse you to a horrible death!¡±

    ¡°Heh, no grievances? Don¡¯t we have one now?¡±

    Elder Ming sneered. It had been many years since he had done something like this. As a grand elder of the Umbral Yin sect, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had an endless number of ghosts, so there was no need for him to do something that would result in public condemnation like refining live souls.

    However, he no longer cared now. As he gazed at the wailing souls in the flames, he was filled with a twisted sense of delight. However, when he recalled the white flames over the Myriad Ghosts abyss again, he shivered inside and strengthened the ghost flames.

    However, he did not do this for the sake of venting his anger or for cultivation. As the wails grew louder and louder and the flames grew stronger and stronger, he took out a black memorial tablet solemnly and arrived before the altar table in the hall. Behind the thick, yellow curtains stood the sculpture of an old man. His face was covered in deep wrinkles, and his messy hair had completely greyed. He was hunched over, leaning against a poplar cane and staring ahead blankly.

    The gaze filled elder Ming with disgust for some reason. The statue must have been the first sect master of the Sand Boat sect. He had already destroyed the entire sect, so there was even less reason for him to take a sculpture seriously. With a wave of his hand, the sculpture flew out and slammed into the wall, shattering into pieces. Then he placed the memorial tablet on the altar table carefully. There was a tiny line of words written in golden lacquer¡ªThird sect master of the Umbral Yin sect, Li Meizi.

    When the past sect masters and grand elders of the Umbral Yin sect entered the Hungry Ghost realm¡ªwhether through ascension or by becoming a ghost¡ªthey would all leave behind a memorial tablet like that and deposit a wisp of their consciousness in there. They were all stored in the Ancestral Spirit hall of the Umbral Yin sect, which elder Yin was responsible for looking after. When the need arose, he was responsible for holding ceremonies, giving up offerings of live souls to summon the ancestral spirits.

    However, the consciousness in most memorial tablets would vanish very quickly. As a matter of fact, they might even vanish in just a few days after they had been enshrined. Even these great cultivators that roamed the nine provinces fearlessly were unable to avoid the fate of being devoured in the Hungry Ghost realm, which was truly a frightening revelation. This was why elder Ming would never choose to enter the Hungry Ghost realm unless he had absolutely no choice. Even if he were to enter it, he would do so through ascension, just like what this third sect master had done.

    The calls of the sand and wind grew louder and louder. Elder Ming assumed a solemn expression, dropping to his knees and lowering his head. His chants merged wondrously with the shrieks of the souls, gradually blocking the sounds of wind out of the hall. Then he cast the live souls into the memorial tablet one by one, and a pitch-black figure suddenly sprung out of the tablet, twisting about into a humanoid shape. It filled the entire hall in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Greetings, sect master!¡± Elder Ming lowered his head deeply. He felt a coldness that reached the depths of his bones.

    ¡°Why have you called for me? Have you found the successor of white bone?¡± The voice seemed to ring out from the depths of a cave, echoing through the darkness in a hollow manner.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I wanted to report on¡­¡±

    Elder Ming began telling him about everything that had happened in the Umbral Yin sect in full detail. He pushed all the blame onto the deceased sect master, saying he fell for the successor of white bone¡¯s tricks, which led to the sect¡¯s destruction.

    The black figure fell silent for a moment as if it had not expected something like this either. It suddenly approached elder Ming and said sinisterly, ¡°So you escaped alone? Why didn¡¯t you open the Gate of Hungry Ghosts!?¡±

    ¡°I did so in order to report this to you! The white flames are anything but ordinary. Even an army of a million undead were set alight instantly. Not even several dozen Ghost Kings were her opponent. If I opened the Gate of Hungry Ghosts rashly, it¡¯ll probably only provide her with resources, which will make her even more difficult to deal with!¡± Elder Ming prostrated himself even further.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re afraid of death, but I forgive you. Once you come to the Hungry Ghost realm, I¡¯m even going to reward you, if¡­ your soul hasn¡¯t been destroyed¡­ Long time no see¡­ so you¡¯re still alive, you old hunchback¡­¡±

    The black figure gathered in the memorial tablet again, and the voice gradually drifted away, filled with a sinister sneer. However, what he said at the end was not for elder Ming.

    Elder Ming was stunned. Suddenly, he turned around and saw a hunch-backed old man leaning against a cane, standing at the entrance and staring ahead blankly. If it were not for the almost indiscernible daemon qi, he basically would have suspected him to be the statue from before.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± A name suddenly flashed through elder Ming¡¯s head. The White Camel Sand King!

    One of the Ten Daemon Kings, the king of the Scarlet province daemons.

    Unlike the Great Banyan Tree King and the Dragon King of Ink Sea who remained in the same place all the time, the White Camel Sand King regularly roamed through the sea of sand in the Scarlet province. His tracks were a mystery, and very few people ever saw him.

    It was rumored that he would turn into a white camel and guide lost people through sandstorms, even leading sandstorms away from oases where life gathered. He was treated as an auspicious omen, but even fewer people had ever seen his human form.

    Elder Ming had only heard about the name of the White Camel Sand King too. Without any hesitation, he turned into a ghostly figure and flew away. All of the Ghost Kings in his possession had been lost during the battle in the Umbral Yin sect, so he was currently in his most feeble state. Even if he were in peak condition, he would struggle to hold his ground against one of the Ten Daemon Kings. However, he was still reasonably confident about slipping away.

    The White Camel Sand King stood blankly without budging. He tapped the poplar cane in his hand gently, and the sandstorm immediately intensified by several hundred times, sweeping through the entire region and devouring everything.

    ¡­¡­

    On the other side of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, an endless wave of gloomy figures descended. Countless Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings lay in prostration. There were even a few Corpse Emperors and Ghost Emperors that cast aside their dignity and went up to welcome him, calling out, ¡°Welcome, sovereign Li!¡±

    Sovereign Li ignored them, staring straight at the Gate of Hungry Ghosts as if he could see what was happening on the other end. ¡°Come, I know you¡¯ll be opening this gate. I know you feel the same greed and hunger!¡±

    This Lowly Monk Comes From Tang of the East~

    I recently moved into a new environment, an environment that¡¯s more suited for writing. Although it¡¯s also led to many new problems that I have to face, it still feels pretty great so far.

    The journey I¡¯ve been taking has been far too twisted the entire time, circling around and detouring, stopping and going, which makes people wonder whether I can actually make it to the end or not. However, I actually understand how distant the end still is better than anyone. The journey ahead is still very, very long. You can only say I¡¯m halfway so far, or not even that.

    I¡¯ve never written such a long novel before. Every single step I take comes with unknown circumstances. I don¡¯t know what other hardships I¡¯ll face. The eighty-one tribulations are probably an allegory for endless!

    TL: This is a reference to Journey to the West. Tripitaka has to face eighty-one tribulations during the story.

    The greatest problem with retrieving scriptures from the west is not the monsters blocking the journey, but why the fuck should we go in the first place?

    Sun Wukong says, ¡°You fool, I only need a single somersault, and I¡¯ll have finished the journey!¡± Zhu Bajie says, ¡°Let¡¯s just break up. Gao village is not a bad place to just settle down in!¡± Sha Seng says, ¡°First senior brother, second senior brother, master has been abducted by a monster again!¡±

    Only afterwards did I realise that elder Tang¡¯s wholehearted devotion to buddhism isn¡¯t that simple. He said he has the protection of three great disciples, but protection my ass. If the monsters didn¡¯t suffer from perfectionism, procrastination, infatuation, and other sorts of mental disorders, he would have been turned into takeout a long time ago.

    Monsters can be subdued, but if elder Tang decided to give up halfway through the journey, then even the buddha would be powerless.

    Alright, let¡¯s stop here with these boring parallels. I originally wanted to announce loudly something along the line of ¡°I, Dream Teller, am back. From today onwards, two releases a day, one at 8 in the morning and one at 6 in the evening, a hundred thousand words a month¡±. But when I think about it now, I always have such naive thoughts whenever I overcome a difficulty, so let¡¯s just play it safe this time.

    Anyway, I still have to keep going. I¡¯ll have to gamble that every single monster in my path suffers from mental disorders and that those three bastards will always be able to save me, and then I¡¯ll continue forward.

    Oh right, there¡¯s going to be an auction in Shanghai in August. They¡¯re auctioning the game rights to Legend of the Great Sage. I better move faster!

 Chapter 1089: Ascension

    With Yue Wuyang¡¯s announcement, Han Qiongzhi strode out from behind the hall without the slightest hint of shyness. She was not dressed in flowing robes and fancy ornaments, but in a set of valiant martial attire. She wore a fiery-red set of flexible armour on the outside with a blade on her waist. As she looked around, she only seemed even more valiant. She did not seem like a bride partaking in a wedding, but more like a warrior about to set foot on the battlefield.

    She spread her arms and asked Li Qingshan, ¡°How is it?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely splendid!¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely.

    ¡°Even compared to sect master Qiu?¡± Han Qiongzhi then asked.

    ¡°Prettier!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly. Now was not the time for him to hesitate.

    ¡°Even compared to commander Gu?¡± Han Qiongzhi smiled at Gu Yanying, and Gu Yanying smiled back.

    ¡°Prettier!¡± Li Qingshan rolled his eyes.

    ¡°Even compared to Ru Xin?¡± Han Qiongzhi continued to ask.

    ¡°Prettier!¡± Li Qingshan agreed without any reservation. He had no idea whether he should actually celebrate or not over the fact that Ru Xin was not attending the wedding.

    ¡°Even compared to Xiao An?¡± Han Qiongzhi asked after a moment of thought.

    ¡°She counts?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Han Qiongzhi refused to relent.

    It led to a roar of laughter from the crowd. Cultivators were not bound by formalities and traditions, but rarely did they ever see something like this.

    Li Qingshan also began to laugh helplessly. ¡°Today, you¡¯re the prettiest!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just trying to avoid the question!¡± Han Qiongzhi blushed. Warmth surged through Li Qingshan as well. He could not help but hold her hand.

    ¡°Master.¡± Han Qiongzhi nodded towards Yue Wuyang as an indication.

    Yue Wuyang¡¯s expression did not change. He did not waste any time either, directly proceeding with the ceremony.

    ¡°A bow to the heavens and the earth!¡±

    Li Qingshan became serious and bowed. Even cultivators needed to obey the heavens and respect the earth, and only by standing on the earth could he reach the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°A bow to the parents!¡±

    Then Li Qingshan bowed deeply in the direction of Crouching Ox village. That was a place he had sworn he would never return to again, but he would regularly think of that place, the beginning of everything.

    ¡°Exchanging bows!¡±

    The two of them faced one another, and memories of the past flooded their heads. For a moment, they were unable to describe this feeling. They were both enveloped in happiness, about to bow towards each other.

    Boom!

    Thunder suddenly roared out. It was so distant that it seemed to come from an entirely different world, making it extremely faint, but it was still enough to shock people. It was like the first sound since the formation of the world, destroying everything yet also creating everything.

    ¡°Tribulation thunder!¡± Li Qingshan abruptly looked back. A sound that he had only heard once in his life before rang out. ¡°The heavenly tribulation for ascension!¡±

    Yue Wuyang immediately abandoned his duties as the officiator, rushing outside first and gazing in the direction of the thunder. The other cultivators all surged out as well. Even Han Anjun, who sat high up at the front in the position for the parents, was no exception.

    Ascension¡ªacross the nine provinces, there was nothing more curious and important than that.

    In the blink of an eye, the hall had emptied out, only leaving Li Qingshan and Han Qiongzhi facing each other.

    ¡°Golden Cicada sure knows how to pick his times! Alright, let¡¯s exchange bows. I can get that in before I go at the very least!¡± Li Qingshan bowed towards Han Qiongzhi and straightened himself out, only to see Han Qiongzhi staring at him with a strange expression. He asked in confusion, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you bowing?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi broke out into laughter, laughing so hard that she clutched her belly with one hand and held onto Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with the other.

    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Li Qingshan was puzzled. He felt the earth beneath his feet tremble slightly. The Golden Cicada Spirit King had already begun ascending.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing at you!¡± Han Qiongzhi grinned widely.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny about me?¡± Li Qingshan was serious. Another clap of thunder rang out in the distance as if it was urging him.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing at how you¡¯re really good at pretending to be human!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°Sigh. Weddings aren¡¯t as interesting as I thought they¡¯d be, but you¡¯ve technically upheld your promise now!¡± Han Qiongzhi patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder, expressing her satisfaction.

    ¡°This is not just a promise, and it¡¯s still not over. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s do the last bow.¡± Li Qingshan urged her.

    ¡°I¡¯m already satisfied. Speaking of which, I suddenly don¡¯t want to be your wife anymore,¡± said Han Qiongzhi.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°I might not be the prettiest woman in the world, but a daemon like you is not that charming either. I¡¯ve changed my mind. Cancel the wedding, cancel the wedding!¡± Han Qiongzhi announced loudly.

    The people outside all turned around in surprise. They had no idea what had happened. Some of them were worried Li Qingshan would go berserk, so they were already prepared to slip away.

    Han Anjun, however, was relieved, while Gu Yanying smiled faintly. Hua Chengzan sighed inside. Qiongzhi, oh Qiongzhi!

    ¡°Qiongzhi!¡± Li Qingshan frowned slightly, clasping Han Qiongzhi¡¯s hand firmly.

    At the same time, the claps of thunder seemed to be calling for him.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Give me a smile!¡± Han Qiongzhi rested her head on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest as the corner of her eyes glimmered.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again. ¡°Alright, I understand!¡±

    However, when he let go, Han Qiongzhi suddenly grabbed his hand again. She said, ¡°Be careful.¡± before letting go slowly again.

    Li Qingshan took a step back, glancing at her deeply and firmly imprinting her figure in his mind. However, then he turned around resolutely and spread his wings, sailing off into the air.

    Gu Yanying, Jin Fugui, and Yue Wuyang followed close behind.

    Han Qiongzhi watched their figures vanish off into the sky. She said to everyone, ¡°Apologies, we¡¯ve let everyone come for nothing. However, I won¡¯t be giving back those congratulations! Don¡¯t worry, there won¡¯t be a second time.¡±

    Everyone looked at one another. They had no idea what to say. Han Anjun said, ¡°You¡¯ve done very well!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go and cultivate.¡± Han Qiongzhi tried to smile, but she seemed rather sad. She made her way out of the hall and arrived in the pavilion, gazing into the horizon as she thought to herself, Even though it¡¯sjust in name, it becomes a shackle to both you and me once the marriage has been completed. That¡¯s not something you¡¯d like, nor what I¡¯d want. Go. Go to the place you want to go. Do the things you want to do!

    Dark clouds amassed in the horizon, flickering with lightning. The rumbling followed close behind, growing louder and closer.

    Li Qingshan spread his wings and used his innate abilities, flying at full speed. He arrived in the blink of an eye.

    The tribulation clouds blotted out the sky, forming circular rings that enveloped hundreds of kilometers. The bolts of tribulation lightning building up inside gave off the terrifying might of heaven, but they were merely a prelude for what was to come.

    Right below the centre of the tribulation clouds, a mountain several thousand meters tall protruded from the flat ground. The bolts of tribulation lightning slammed into the peak of the mountain¡ªperhaps better described as electrical currents unintentionally given off by the tribulation clouds than tribulation lightning. They easily cleaved through the rock and soil, but the mountain continued to pull higher, reaching towards the clouds.

    Right when the mountain peak and the clouds were about to touch.

    Boom!

    With a flash of lightning, the world shook. Even Li Qingshan jolted. The towering mountain collapsed in an instant, and scorching magma and flames spurted out from the depths of the ground. Among them was a golden speck, an infant curled up in a fetal position shining with resplendent, golden light. Suddenly, it opened its eyes, revealing a pair of dark-golden eyes that were pure and deep. Then it opened its mouth, but what it let out was not a baby¡¯s cry, but the sonorous cry of a dragon.

    The Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga¡ªthe Golden Cicada Spirit King!

 Chapter 1090: Gift

    The dragon¡¯s cry rang out endlessly, growing louder and louder. There was nothing to see, but Li Qingshan seemed to visualise a golden, divine dragon swimming through the sea of thunder, interrupting the mighty decree of the heavens.

    In that instant, he actually experienced a sense of serenity.

    Li Qingshan could not help but hold his breath. He had once witnessed the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s ascension. This was not all to the heavenly tribulation of ascension, or more accurately, the true heavenly tribulation of ascension had only just begun.

    From the centre of the ring of clouds, a column of white light rained down, slamming into the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan had to squint his eyes to see that the column of white light was actually composed of thousands of bolts of lightning. The rumble came from thousands of claps of thunder, shaking up the space violently while shaking up everyone¡¯s minds.

    The terrifying power left even him astonished¡ªit was as if the heavens had been infuriated!

    Curled up like an infant, the Golden Cicada Spirit King gradually brought his palms together in a solemn manner. He continued with the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, except only he could hear it. However, the golden speck of light was never put out by the thunder and lightning. Instead, it moved against the light, rising slowly and steadily.

    Li Qingshan stood on the edge of the clouds and gazed at this grand sight. He thought to himself, This is what I¡¯ll be facing very soon. Though, I think this guy owes me a gift.

    Right when he wondered whether the Golden Cicada Spirit King had forgotten or if he had just been fooling him, he suddenly heard the familiar buzzing again.

    After collapsing under the tribulation lightning, the bulging mountain turned into a huge pit. The sound had come from the pit. The buzzing grew louder and louder, such that even the thunder could not drown it out.

    Soon afterwards, a black, thick cluster rushed into the air!

    That was a swarm of millions of insects, throwing themselves at the scorching column of white light like moths to a flame.

    They obviously were not trying to shield the Golden Cicada Spirit King from the damage of the heavenly tribulation. With the entry of the swarm, the light became even more blinding, and the column thickened as well.

    This was a test from the heavens, one that no one could avoid. Even relying on external objects was pointless, so at a time like this, only lifebound items were worth using. Using something like a powerful formation to fend off the heavenly tribulation would only make it even mightier, and the power of the heavens was endless.

    The Soaring Locust King was abusing this exact aspect. He wanted to make the heavenly tribulation so powerful that the Golden Cicada Spirit King could not endure it.

    ¡°He¡¯s finally here!¡± Li Qingshan grinned. He took out a curved piece of transmission jade and called into it, ¡°Xiao An, Xiao An, the food delivery is here! Get over here!¡± These swarms of insects were the perfect fuel for the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    However, he did not receive any reply, which left him slightly puzzled, but he did not think too much about it. She must have been focusing on cultivation. It was quite a pity, but he alone was more than enough to handle something like this.

    Seeing how the heavenly tribulation was becoming stronger and stronger, Li Qingshan stopped hesitating. He sucked in a huge breath until his belly bulged before blowing out again. A wisp of wind whistled out, twisting and curling like a long snake and sweeping aside the insects!

    The black mass of insects was as sturdy as a rock. Even when they were struck head-on, they continued to struggle towards the lightning.

    ¡°Let me lend you a hand!¡±

    Gu Yanying arrived beside Li Qingshan and opened her folding fan. With a gentle wave, wisps of atmospheric wind merged with the breath, multiplying the strength of the attack instantly. Before the insects could even approach the lightning, they were sucked into the wisp of air and ground to powder. They immediately staved off the Soaring Locust King¡¯s attack.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Li Qingshan communicated mentally.

    ¡°Where is Xiao An?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, probably still cultivating. But we¡¯re enough.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    At this moment, the Golden Cicada Spirit King looked over and nodded as if he was thanking them.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and decided to not dwell on the matter of the gift. However, the Golden Cicada Spirit King gradually began to change in shape. His tender skin hardened and became half-transparent. Within the skin, the Golden Cicada Spirit King was no longer human. He had turned into an insect, squirming around under the golden, half-transparent skin.

    His transformation did not come off as eerie at all. Instead, he gave off a sense of holiness, like the development of a nobleman, like a phoenix undergoing rebirth in fire.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°The golden cicada is shedding its skin!¡± Gu Yanying blurted out and smiled towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Looks like that¡¯s for you!¡±

    Li Qingshan praised inside, The Golden Cicada Spirit King sure is a man of his word. I can tell that the golden cicada skin is something good with just a single glance.

    At this moment, the insect swarms began to recede, returning to the underground cavern. He suddenly became puzzled again. Everything had progressed a little too smoothly. Even until now, he had yet to sense the Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body.

    Don¡¯t tell me the Soaring Locust King has given up on seeking revenge on the Golden Cicada Spirit King?

    He immediately dismissed an idea like that. The Soaring Locust King clearly was not that generous and forgiving.

    Or perhaps he¡¯s afraid of being sucked into the heavenly tribulation, as well as being intercepted, so he¡¯s hiding underground and controlling the insect swarms?

    That was very likely.

    ¡°The Soaring Locust King is not here,¡± Gu Yanying said with a frown.

    ¡°How do you know?¡± Li Qingshan immediately asked.

    ¡°They¡¯re too weak. They shouldn¡¯t be so weak. They¡¯re like a formation missing a core, which seems to still operate, but they can¡¯t even unleash half of their strength.¡± Gu Yanying furrowed her brows in thought.

    ¡°Perhaps he knows he¡¯s not our opponent, so he refuses to show himself,¡± Li Qingshan said. That was the most logical guess.

    ¡°In terms of strength alone, probably only the Great Banyan Tree King across the entire world can surpass him. If he really wants to fight, not even we can necessarily stop him,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. He had never clashed properly with the Soaring Locust King.

    ¡°Yes. In the past when the locust plague swept through the Green province, beyond anyone¡¯s control, the Soaring Locust King had not achieved that through caution. Back then, the Soaring Locust King was not even as cautious as right now. He once gathered the insect swarms for a direct confrontation against the armies of Chu. Although it ended in his defeat, his terrifying strength was enough to be recorded in the annals of history. His main body might not be particularly powerful, but once he gathers billions of insects, he can contend against an entire kingdom. An attack as feeble as this is pointless.¡±

    ¡°You mean this is just a front and a diversion? The main target for his attack is elsewhere?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about how Xiao An had never replied and became slightly worried, but he did not find that to be particularly likely. Even if the Soaring Locust King really were that foolish, Xiao An was not that weak, and if she really was in danger, she would obviously ask him for help. Their transmission talismans came as a pair. If one was destroyed, both were destroyed. Even if they were sealed up in different spaces, unable to convey messages to one another, they could still seek help from each other.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of any target that¡¯s even more important than the Golden Cicada Spirit King,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°No, there might be one.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart lurched.

    Gu Yanying said directly, ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga! But that¡¯s not too likely. Most of the insects are all gathered here. We can¡¯t be wrong about that. If the Soaring Locust King only uses the strength of his main body, he¡¯s definitely not the opponent of the four guardian kings.¡±

    At this moment, the Golden Cicada Spirit King used the might of the heavenly tribulation to break free from the cicada shell bit by bit.

    ¡°Perhaps we¡¯re overthinking.¡± Li Qingshan crossed his arms. ¡°Who knows, he might just appear from underground in the next moment!¡±

    ¡°Hopefully he does!¡±

 Chapter 1091: A Chaos of Swords

    Rumble!

    A consecutive chain of lightning shot across the sky. Rain poured down over the Sword Collection palace, wetting the empty, stone ground. People practised the sword arduously day and night here, regardless of the seasons and weather.

    At this moment, apart from the thunder and rain, all else was quiet. Under the dark clouds, the mountainous forests seemed even dimmer. Clouds and mist wandered between the mountains.

    The Sword Collection palace had already shut up the sect from the outside world for many days. Under the watch of the various swordmasters, all of the disciples returned to their respective peaks. They were forbidden from leaving the palace without permission, and they forbid the entry of any outsiders.

    On the Heaven Leaning peak, the swordmasters and elders all gathered in the main hall. The discussion had already lasted for several days now.

    The demonic seed had already been planted within their sword embryos, but it was not enough to completely demonify them, so they had no right to collude with the Demon domain. As a result, some of them suggested going to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and finding a way to purge the demonic seed from the sword embryos, but they were immediately met with great resistance. Not only would they be placing their lives in the hands of others, but their cultivation would be completely ruined even if it succeeded. That was even more terrifying than death to a sword cultivator.

    The group of people split into two factions and called each other various things¡ªcowardly and useless, embracing depravity willingly, shameless and despicable¡­ Prompted by their past and current grievances, their fury and demonic natures, they drew their swords very quickly. If it were not for a few guest elders that stood up to mediate the situation, it basically would have devolved to a battle to the death already.

    There were many sword slashes littered on the walls and pillars in the main hall. This was something that had never occurred in the several thousand years of the Sword Collection palace.

    The discussion did not end. They all sank into silence in the end. The lamps had been extinguished long ago, but no one cared. Only the flashes of lightning illuminated the hall from time to time, but it was unable to illuminate their sunken faces.

    A slovenly doaist priest in unkempt clothes arrived under the eaves outside. He took out a gourd of alcohol and drank away. As he gazed at the dancing lightning in the air, he sighed. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s been many years since I¡¯ve last seen such restless lightning. It¡¯s not a good sign! I wonder how Zijian is doing.¡± He touched the Lightning Slaughter sword on his waist and thought, Thankfully!

    A few other guest elders also emerged from the main hall, exchanging glances with one another. They all felt rather fortunate. None of them had drawn their swords from the Sword Collection peak. Some of them could not even be considered as sword cultivators, so they did not have to worry about any demonic seeds.

    The Sword Collection peak was swallowed by the surging dark clouds. Only the dozen or so huge chains that emerged from the clouds served as evidence of its existence. From time to time, bolts of lightning would strike the chains, making them light up, before dimming again.

    ¡°Everyone, I think it¡¯s time. I think we¡¯ve already lived up to our duty by staying until now. They¡¯re waiting for the Elders of Heaven and Earth to make a decision. If the Elders of Heaven and Earth really decide to work with the Demon domain, we don¡¯t have any demonic seeds. They don¡¯t even have any leverage over us, so we probably won¡¯t have it easy,¡± Zhou Tong said before flying off on his sword.

    ¡°You¡¯re completely correct, fellow Zhou. Let¡¯s leave as well!¡±

    He had spoken their minds. The Sword Collection palace had provided them with many benefits, but it was not their sect after all. There was no loyalty to speak of. Since the tree was already swaying, then they obviously had to leave first as the macaques that did not belong here.

    Just when Zhou Tong flew half way into the air, a mighty voice suddenly fell down from above the clouds. ¡°Without my order, no one is permitted to leave!¡±

    ¡°Elder Tian!¡± The swordmasters and elders arrived outside the hall and looked up. Peering through the dark clouds, they saw elder Tian standing on the Sword Collection peak, his eyes shining with a brightness they had never seen before.

    Zhou Tong experienced a sharp, tremendous pressure and suddenly fell out of the sky, landing heavily on the stone terrace. He could not help but grip the Lightning Slaughter sword tightly as he ground his teeth. ¡°Looks like the rumors are true! The Sword Collection palace really has sided with the bastards from the Demon domain.¡±

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s the Demon domain or the nine provinces, people like us only pursue strength! Only with strength can we be free and unhindered. Without strength, you¡¯re just an ant no matter how much good you do. You¡¯ll be lucky even if you can live to the age of a hundred.¡±

    Elder Tian¡¯s voice seemed to ring out from the Sword Collection peak itself, even louder than the thunder. The chains trembled with it. The great jangles mixed with the claps of thunder, making it difficult to distinguish between the two.

    Many of the swordmasters and elders expressed agreement. The concept of good and bad was far too vague. Only strength was truly tangible. Even the faction that vehemently disagreed in the beginning began to waver slightly under elder Tian¡¯s stern announcement.

    Zhou Tong began laughing aloud. He called out through the rain, ¡°Those who dominate others are strong, but those who overcome themselves have strength! Elder Tian, so much for your millennium-long cultivation. You don¡¯t even understand such a simple principle? If you lose yourself, what¡¯s the point even if you¡¯ve obtained all that power?¡±

    Elder Tian said, ¡°Zhou Tong, is this your school of Daoism¡¯s values again? I will let you witness the point of possessing this power right now. You¡¯re a guest elder of the Sword Collection palace, yet you refuse to follow the Sword Collection palace¡¯s path, so you can go and die!¡±

    Bang! Under a tremendous force, Zhou Tong was pressed heavily against the stone terrace.

    ¡°Elder Zhou!¡± ¡°Fellow Zhou!¡± The guest elders paled in fright.

    ¡°Go! I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing on the Sword Collection peak, but he can¡¯t use his full strength right now! Once he frees himself up, it¡¯ll be too late,¡± Zhou Tong said with difficulty.

    ¡°Killing you is a piece of cake, except the Sword Collection palace is currently welcoming the age of greatest prosperity throughout all of history. I hope you can witness this with me!¡± elder Tian said.

    After several days of effort, he was only a single step away from refining the Immortal Relinquished sword. Very soon, he would become the swordmaster of Immortal Relinquished, as well as the master of the Sword Collection palace.

    He urged the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished inside, ¡°Hurry up. Help me refine the Immortal Relinquished sword, and then I¡¯ll free you!¡±

    ¡°You sure know how to dream. Do you really think you¡¯re worthy of being my master? No, I have no master!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said.

    ¡°What did you say!? You want to be shackled here forever? If you don¡¯t help me refine the Immortal Relinquished sword, I¡¯ll never release you!¡± Elder Tian threatened sternly as he was overcome with surprise and fury.

    ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re just the final obstacle¡­ Now, my slaves, sever all the chains, and I will give you even greater strength!¡±

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished¡¯s twisted, warped voice rang out in the heads of all the swordmaster and elders. It was filled with a strange, deluding power as if their own hearts were speaking to them. The demonic seeds erupted instantly, and the demonic natures spread rapidly.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Elder Tian heard this voice as well. It was as if the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished was mocking his foolishness. Having reached the critical moment of the refinement process, pulling out now could not be done in a short moment.

    Clang! Yin Xiaochou immediately drew the Water Breaking sword and swung it towards the closest chain. The swordmasters and elders all did the same as if they were possessed.

    Sparks flew, resonating with the thunder and lightning.

    Zhou Tong stood up and saw this terrifying sight together with the other guest elders. Without any hesitation, they immediately flew away as quickly as they could.

    However, elder Tian was immobilised. He could only watch helplessly as they left. Once it was free from the bounds of the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth, the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished could kill him with just the backlash from the sword intent.

    Had he really lost the gamble this time?

    At this moment, a streak of light rose up from the ground. With a wave of his hand, elder Di swept aside all the swordmasters and elders.

    ¡°Junior brother!¡± Elder Tian beamed with joy. With a great sword cultivator present, none of the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished¡¯s tricks would be of any use. ¡°Immortal Relinquished, you¡¯ve already used up your trump card, but I can still give you an opportunity. Let me refine you!¡±

    ¡°Used up my trump card? Give me an opportunity? Hehehehe!¡±

    The moment a guest elder rushed out of the sea of clouds, he was swallowed whole and chewed to a pulp.

    Zhou Tong suddenly looked back. A locust the size of a mountain tore through the sea of clouds at an unbelievable speed.

    ¡°The Soaring Locust King!¡±

 Chapter 1092: Severing the Chains

    I¡¯m done for!

    Zhou Tong could not help but hold his breath. All of the blood in his veins seemed to freeze. If the Soaring Locust King wanted to kill him, it would be as easy as breathing. He would only need a single moment.

    However, the Soaring Locust King only swept past him with his cold, emotionless compound eyes before flapping its wings and descending rapidly, parting the clouds.

    Zhou Tong caught his breath again and wondered in confusion, Why is the Soaring Locust King in such a hurry?

    He could vaguely see the hideous image of a demonfolk printed on the Soaring Locust King¡¯s wide, yellow back, with sinister demon qi within his daemon qi. He could not afford to think about the reasons for this. He bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of blood onto the Lightning Slaughter sword, flying away as quickly as he could.

    ¡°The Soaring Locust King!¡± The Elders of Heaven and Earth cried out together. Why has it come here?

    The Sword Collection peak was the core of the Sword Formation of Heavenly and Earth, able to suppress the Immortal Relinquished sword while drawing on its power to fend off the enemy. Originally, it was an extremely ingenious design, but for the sake of refining the Immortal Relinquished sword, elder Tian had entered a stalemate with the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished, making the formation lose its core.

    The Soaring Locust King overcame the sword formation with ease. Buzzing its wings, it hovered above the Sword Collection palace, deflecting the sky full of rain and wind.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, ¡°A damned insect like you sure has taken your time, making me waste so much effort to control the timing!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Do you want to remain trapped here?¡± the Soaring Locust King roared angrily.

    ¡°Then do you want to be burdened with your hatred forever? A weak, useless little insect like you needs my power, so no matter how I insult and humiliate you, you¡¯ll put up with it, as this bit of disgrace is absolutely nothing in comparison to true hatred! However, we have both served as prisoners, so even I cannot help but feel a hint of sympathy towards you. Hehehehe, come, release me and make everyone in the world pay!¡±

    The Soaring Locust King gritted his teeth. Unless he had absolutely no choice, he refused to release that sword, but right now, he could see the Golden Cicada Spirit King undergoing the heavenly tribulation through countless compound eyes, with billions of images overlapping and assembling together. He roared out, ¡°Golden Cicada!¡±

    The fierce winds created by his wings uprooted countless large trees. The roaring lightning ripped through the sky.

    ¡°Junior brother, stop him, quick! Without his insect swarms, he can¡¯t be much stronger than a regular Daemon King!¡± elder Tian said.

    ¡°Myriad Sword technique!¡±

    Elder Di formed a seal with his hands and stared straight at the Soaring Locust King. Thousands of streaks of light appeared around him, on the brink of shooting forth.

    ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The Soaring Locust King let out a roar, and demon qi erupted from within him. His tremendous body grew even larger, and his withered, yellow skin became covered in a layer of pitch-black. Boney spines protruded out, making him seem even more ruthless and hideous.

    With a flap of his wings, he did not lunge towards elder Di, but the closest chain. He opened his sharp mandibles and took a vicious bite. Half of the chain split open.

    ¡°Quickly, junior brother!¡± Elder Tian urged him. Compared to the Soaring Locust King, now this was true horror.

    However, elder Di did nothing. The light around him gradually dispersed, and he said sternly towards elder Tian on the Sword Collection peak, ¡°Senior brother, you¡¯ve lost your gamble!¡±

    If he were to clash with the Soaring Locust King, then perhaps he would stand a chance, but if he wanted to stop the Soaring Locust King from biting through the chains and destroying the sword formation, that was impossible.

    ¡°Save me!¡± Elder Tian extended his hand, but elder Di flew away without even looking back.

    The Soaring Locust King¡¯s sharp mandibles opened and closed forcefully, and the chain snapped loudly, swinging into the Heaven Leaning peak. Countless structures were reduced to ruins as rubble scattered through the air.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The chains broke one by one, swinging around madly like tendrils and slamming into the mountains that once kept it tethered.

    The Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth was on the brink of collapse. All of the swords on the Sword Collection peak began to resonate. In the further depths of the Sword Collection peak, an eerie, strange sound began to spread, making all the swords in the Sword Collection palace thrum.

    In the blink of an eye, only a single chain attached to the Heaven Leaning peak remained, leading straight into the air.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s still one last chain, and your mission will be complete!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said.

    ¡°You can break free from this chain yourself!¡± The Soaring Locust King turned around and flew away.

    ¡°Hehe, how clever!¡± The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished communicated with elder Tian. ¡°Now, all that¡¯s left is you and me. Don¡¯t refine me, alright? Let¡¯s go!¡± A frenzied sword intent rushed into elder Tian¡¯s sea of consciousness, tearing through everything in its path. It was unstoppable.

    ¡°Stop! Let me go, or I¡¯ll blow up my sword nascence!¡± elder Tian called out.

    ¡°Are you asking me to be a little gentler? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be very gentle!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said slowly, and the frenzied sword intent vanished.

    Before elder Tian could even catch his breath, the vanished sword intent erupted once more, having infiltrated the depths of his sea of consciousness unbeknownst to him. He suddenly widened his eyes, and resplendent light poured out from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. His limbs were fully outstretched as his robes became filled with sword qi.

    ¡°Though, I still prefer it a little more violent. It¡¯s just a pity that this body is too weak, nowhere close to that of Li Qingshan¡¯s. I¡¯ll just forge it a little then!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said.

    At that instant, all the lightning in the sky gathered on the Sword Collection peak, on elder Tian.

    Elder Tian¡¯s consciousness was like a candle in the wind, ready to be put out at any moment. Blowing up his sword nascence had already become a fantasy. He glanced past a mountain from the corner of his eye and abruptly recalled something that someone had once said to him a thousand years ago.

    ¡°Tian¡¯er, obtaining a renowned sword isn¡¯t all good fortune. Even a mortal can wield a metal sword, but a renowned sword is much more dangerous¡­ Remember, the sword is not your friend, nor is it your lover. The sword is cold and emotionless. You have to grip the hilt firmly, or you¡¯ll be injured by the sword!¡±

    That was his first master, the person who taught him the most basic swordsmanship. However, after he had undergone the heavenly tribulation and pulled out a renowned sword, he no longer had the right to guide him. In the end, he gifted him with that word of advice, but it had already become blurred.

    He had never taken that seriously. What right did an old man who had never even undergone the second heavenly tribulation in his entire life possess to lecture the successor of a renowned sword like him? Instead, he believed this caution would only affect his cultivation.

    ¡°Was I wrong?¡±

    ¡°No, you weren¡¯t wrong. You were just not strong enough!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished answered.

    Elder Tian could not hear it anymore. His consciousness had been completely destroyed by the wild sword qi. The light from his face gradually subsided, and his face twisted. His bearing changed drastically, now filled with a warped aura. He swung his arm in a dramatic manner.

    With a flash, the final chain was severed silently. Even the curtain of rain was sliced apart in the process. The sun beamed with golden light, but even it could not match the glory of that sword.

    All the swords on the Sword Collection peak sung. The Sword Collection peak fell like a broken kite, slamming straight into the Sword Collection pavilion.

    Boom!

    The entrance to the Sword Collection pavilion collapsed, and the Sword Collection peak twisted as if it had forced its way through the door, vanishing from sight.

    At this moment, the swordmasters and elders all returned to their senses. The demonic thoughts in their minds had subsided drastically. Controlling the minds of people through demonic seeds could not be sustained for long after all. They gazed at the horrific sight of the Sword Collection palace, unable to completely recover from their fright.

    Under the glow of the white sun, the Sword Collection peak rose up slowly again, but what rose up with it was the entire Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth.

 Chapter 1093: Sword Peak

    ¡°Old bastard, you wanted to use a Sword Tomb to keep me buried, but why don¡¯t you take a look at who¡¯s the master of the Sword Tomb now?¡±

    ¡°Elder Tian¡± spread his arms and laughed wildly. There were no irises in his eyes, only eye whites.

    The almost-intangible Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth around the Sword Collection peak twisted and changed, turning into a sinister, terrifying Demon domain. It enveloped the Sword Collection palace, dyeing the white sun blood-red.

    Under everyone¡¯s terrified gazes, the Sword Collection peak rose up slowly. Elder Tian suddenly lowered his head and smiled viciously. ¡°I almost forgot about you crawling ants. I¡¯ve spent several thousand years waiting for this day!¡± His old face became even more hideous as his body twisted and arched. He roared furiously, ¡°Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill¡­¡±

    Clang¡­

    All of the swords on the Sword Collection palace basically shot out of the rock at the same time, turning into thousands of streaks that spiraled around before falling down. As they whistled around, human heads dropped to the ground. The swordsmanship was unmatched, such that not even the swordmasters and elders could block any of the swords. Some of them even lost control over the swords in their hands and were stabbed by them instead.

    In the blink of an eye, blood flowed through the Sword Collection palace as streams. Even the wild beasts between the mountains had all been slaughtered, truly leaving none alive!

    ¡°That¡¯s too quick. I don¡¯t feel any satisfaction!¡± Elder Tian looked back at the south. ¡°It¡¯s time to help out that little damned insect and make his foolish wish come true!¡±

    The bloody swords flew back, assembling into a formation around the Sword Collection peak. The Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth was reactivated, not only possessing a ¡°core¡± again, but also becoming more powerful than it had ever been before after merging with the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth.

    The Sword Collection peak tilted slowly, pointing towards Great Buddha mountain with its tip before suddenly vanishing from where it was, leaving behind a trail of light. No one could imagine that a mountain could actually fly at such speed. If it were not for the fact that it was only a sword and not a regular creature, the heavenly tribulation of ascension would have begun raining down a long time ago.

    Now, it had appeared in the world with strength that surpassed the third heavenly tribulation. Just what could still oppose it?

    ¡°I will turn this entire world into my sword domain!¡±

    Hundreds of kilometers away, the Soaring Locust King maintained a safe distance and watched from afar, letting out an extremely delighted laughter.

    ¡°Hahahaha, Golden Cicada, are you seeing this? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make you see it!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°What¡­ is that?¡±

    The Dauntless monk made his way out of the new grand hall currently under construction and gazed into the north. The sky was blue and the sun was white, except there was also a star that shone brighter and brighter, giving off a cold, demonic light, which filled him with an ominous feeling.

    A figure leapt out up behind the mountain, landing behind the Dauntless monk. ¡°Senior brother, it¡¯s an enemy!¡± The two other Monk Kings sensed it as well and gathered over.

    ¡°Should we scatter the disciples?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s already too late. Activate the formation and prepare to receive the enemy!¡±

    ¡°So fast. What is that exactly?¡±

    A Monk King formed a seal with both hands, pointing at his temples at the same time. His eyes shone with golden light, unleashing the Heavenly Eye knowledge of the six types of knowledge. He made out the star, but it stunned him. ¡°That¡­ seems to be¡­ the Sword Collection peak!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    The Dauntless monk was in disbelief. Just a few days ago when Li Qingshan carried a mountain on his shoulders, he had already left everyone extremely shocked. The Sword Collection peak was not exactly small, so how could it fly through the air at such speed?

    ¡°Elder Tian of the Sword Collection palace is on there¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! He doesn¡¯t possess such power!¡±

    ¡°So be it. The Guardian Kings Subdue the Demon!¡±

    The four guardian kings assembled a formation together, and a guardian king of fury rose up from the ground, standing on Great Buddha mountain. It swung its vajra club, receiving the incoming demonic star!

    The Sword Collection peak whistled through the air. Right when everyone thought it was going to collide against Great Buddha mountain, it came to a halt without any sign, which made everything seem even stranger.

    ¡°Finally, there are some people worth killing!¡±

    Elder Tian tilted his head, staring at the guardian king with a smile. His posture was all over the place, like a wooden puppet on strings.

    ¡°You¡¯re not elder Tian. Who are you exactly?¡± the Dauntless monk asked in surprise.

    The Dauntless monk could directly sense the enemy¡¯s strength from both the sinister, changing Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth and the thousands of swords.

    ¡°Who am I. Who am I? Who am I!¡± Elder Tian¡¯s face changed again and again, twisting around in an exaggerated manner. Suddenly, he smiled viciously. ¡°Dead people have no need to know!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Among the vast Ink sea, there was a single, tiny island. The island had mountains, rivers, and trees, flowers, birds, fish, and insects, except they were all ink-coloured. They were almost like imitations, even twisting and converting between them from time to time.

    In a small hut on the island, Chu Danqing faced the space before him and painted away diligently. Beside him stood the Dragon King of Ink Sea with his arms behind his back. When Chu Danqing finished painting, a few birds sprang alive from the tip of his brush, flying out of the window. They were all composed of just a few strokes, making them extremely simple, but also extremely vivid.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea nodded. ¡°Not bad.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your praise, master!¡± Chu Danqing said.

    A pair of dragon pupils suddenly condensed in the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s empty eyes. He looked up and gazed into the distance, frowning heavily.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Chu Danqing asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s broken free!¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea said.

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°A demonic sword¡­¡±

    The Ink sea suddenly began to surge. Huge mountainous waves rose and fell. Among the dragon¡¯s cry, an ink dragon rose up into the clouds.

    ¡­¡­

    The world rumbled and flashed. Under the tribulation lightning, the Golden Cicada Spirit King gradually broke free from his shell, turning back into the form of an infant. His eyes were gently closed, and his expression was peaceful. Sanskrit flowed across his body.

    Li Qingshan held his breath. He had finally reached the final moments. Whether he could ascend successfully or not would all be up to now.

    ¡°Golden Cicada, are you leaving?¡± The Soaring Locust King¡¯s voice rang out from the underground caves as if it was produced by the buzzing of countless locusts. ¡°Golden Cicada, oh Golden Cicada. I once trusted you so much. Just what did you get out of the betrayal? The position of abbott at the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga? Hahahaha!¡±

    ¡°Attacking by force isn¡¯t working, so he¡¯s trying to assault him verbally?¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°He just never gives up!¡± Li Qingshan disagreed. With the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s willpower, how could he waver over just a few words.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King did not budge at all. He kept his palms together solemnly, facing the bombardment of lightning with composure.

    ¡°Everything you did ended up in failure. You wanted to protect the common people, yet I¡¯ve devoured several dozen times as many this time! You wanted to save the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but very soon, not a single person will be left alive on Great Buddha mountain. The Demon domain will invade the nine provinces once more, and this time, no one will be able to stop them! The world will sink into depravity. All living beings will either demonify or die. Where is your benevolence now!?¡±

    ¡°What the hell is he on about?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s rational side told him that the Soaring Locust King was merely spouting nonsense in order to disturb the Golden Cicada Spirit King, but his instincts told him the Soaring Locust King was serious.

    ¡°Qingshan, there¡¯s something a little wrong with this!¡± Gu Yanying clutched a bronze coin, divining in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and used the spirit turtle to divine. Suddenly, he felt that someone close to him would be facing great danger soon.

    ¡°Open your eyes and take a look! This is Great Buddha mountain right now!¡± the Soaring Locust King said.

 Chapter 1094: Rushing to the Rescue

    Under the tribulation clouds, the insect swarm surged out from the underground caves again, spreading over the uneven ground like a surging ocean. The locusts all spread their wings at the same time, producing the image of a mountain that resembled Great Buddha mountain somehow.

    The sunlight was brilliant, but Great Buddha mountain was enveloped in a giant shadow.

    ¡°The Sword Collection peak!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He made out the source of the shadow.

    ¡°Oh no! His target is the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga!¡± Gu Yanying frowned.

    Thrum!

    The Sword Collection palace let out a strange resonance. All of the swords trembled and turned into streaks of light, whistling down like a meteor shower.

    The buddhist hymns rose once more, but without the accompaniment of bells and drums, it seemed extremely feeble, almost drowned out by the whistling.

    ¡°The formation can¡¯t last too long! Attack!¡± the Dauntless monk said.

    ¡°Alright!¡± the three Monk Kings answered together.

    Bang! The guardian king leapt up from Great Buddha mountain and swung its vajra club towards the rain of swords, receiving the Sword Collection peak.

    ¡°The Guardian Kings Subdue the Demon!¡±

    The tip of the club erupted with reseplent light, rising up into the sky like a golden star.

    ¡°Huh?¡± However, to the Dauntless monk¡¯s surprise, the whistling rain of swords did not block their attack. Instead, they flew around in circles in the surroundings, assembling the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth to seal up the entire Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t just want to destroy the Demon Suppression hall, but kill us as well?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no difference! We stand as the hall stands. We perish as the hall perishes!¡± the Unraging monk said firmly. Watching the Demon Suppression hall was his duty.

    The three other Monk Kings were determined as well. Even if it would cost them their lives, they would stop the invasion of the Demon domain. Fleeing in the face of danger was not a concept to them.

    ¡°Sword Qi of Heaven and Earth.¡± Elder Tian sneered in a twisted manner and spread his arms, wielding his fingers like a sword and suddenly pointing it at the Sword Collection peak beneath his feet. ¡°Go!¡±

    A streak of light suddenly shot out from the Sword Collection peak. Li Qingshan almost mistook it for a bolt of tribulation lightning. He never expected the Sword Collection peak to possess such terrifying power. It definitely could not be stopped by the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    ¡°Are you seeing this? Golden Cicada, that will be the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s fate. Very soon, the Demon domain will arrive once more. You can imagine the fate of the nine provinces. Don¡¯t you have a heart of benevolence? Where are you trying to flee by ascending now?¡± The Soaring Locust King laughed madly.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King glanced down, and his ascension immediately came to a halt. He wavered slightly inside. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga bore extraordinary significance to him. He had realised his true self there, and it had allowed him to embark on a correct path. However, the consequences of the Demon Suppression hall were unthinkable, so he could not help but glance at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Just face the tribulation in peace. Their scheme won¡¯t succeed! Yanying, I¡¯ll leave here to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly spread his phoenix wings and produced a wave of air, soaring off towards Great Buddha mountain. He felt slightly uneasy inside. He had an extremely wide network of acquaintances, but he did not have a lot that he held dear. The Unraging monk happened to be an extremely important one, so he prayed, Master, you have to hold on.

    ¡°But I also want to¡­ whatever!¡± Gu Yanying exhaled sharply and blew a few strands of her hair over her forehead up into the air. She looked at the insect swarm below and said, ¡°I can watch from here anyway!¡±

    With a boom, the ground cracked, and earth was thrown into the air. A shockwave ripped apart the scene created by the insect swarms.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone stood on the ground. His promise to the Golden Cicada Spirit King was still in effect.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Gu Yanying shut her eyes.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King smiled and withdrew his gaze.

    ¡°Hahahaha, Golden Cicada, do you think he can stop the Immortal Relinquished sword? And just who can stop me now?¡±

    The Soaring Locust King laughed madly. His sound no longer came from the buzzing of the insects, but from much deeper underground. It was hoarse and dry. Violent daemon qi gushed into the air, together with sinister demon qi.

    Gu Yanying shivered inside, The Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body is here! Everything he did was still for the Golden Cicada Spirit King after all!

    All of the insects surged out from underground, but they did not swarm over madly anymore. Instead, they fell into formation, constantly moving about flexibly like a chaotic army that had gained a commander. Their bearing changed completely!

    The Soaring Locust King stood on the cloud of insects, rising up slowly from underground and standing in the very centre of the formation. He was the absolute ruler of this army of locusts. A pair of cold, compound eyes locked onto the Golden Cicada Spirit King in the air, filled with bone-deep hatred. He made Gu Yanying feel pressured before he had even done anything.

    ¡°Li Qingshan is right here!¡±

    Li Qingshan controlled his clone to stride through the sea of insects, piercing through the waves and hurling a fist at the Soaring Locust King. Black shockwaves cascaded, giving off a false illusion of slowness. His clone only possessed around thirty or forty percent of his main body¡¯s strength, but the destructive power behind this punch already surpassed what regular Daemon Kings were capable of. He wanted to kill the commander amidst this army of millions and make the army of locusts collapse on itself.

    The Soaring Locust King swung his hand without even looking back. A huge, yellow hand composed of locusts rose up from the swarm and swung towards Li Qingshan.

    Boom! The hand and fist collided together, and a wave of air rushed out. The yellow hand dispersed and shattered, while Li Qingshan¡¯s clone was launched away as well. With a flap of his wings, he stabilised himself and frowned heavily.

    The Soaring Locust King¡¯s current strength really is as great as Gu Yanying described it to be. If he was just out for me, then I could still maneuver about, but stopping him from interfering with the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s tribulation is virtually impossible. This grievance has developed well beyond the point of any reconciliation, so what are we supposed to do?

    The Soaring Locust King completely ignored everyone else. All he could see in his compound eyes was the Golden Cicada Spirit King. He closed his claws firmly and said, ¡°Golden Cicada, I will make you pay the most severe price for what you¡¯ve done, which will include your life!¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King sighed, unable to refute him. This was all karma.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Demon subdual!¡±

    The four Monk Kings roared out furiously together, and the guardian king advanced against the attack, rushing through the sharp streaks of light and swinging the vajra club heavily towards the Sword Collection peak.

    At this moment, ¡°elder Tian¡¯s¡± eerie figure suddenly appeared. With a wave of his left land and wielding his right hand like a sword, he touched the guardian king¡¯s forehead gently.

    Thunk!

    Like the long ring of a bell, a great sound erupted, and the guardian king froze up. Its body began to dim.

    As if a very, very long time had passed, a crack began to spread from its forehead, reaching across its body. Golden light poured out from the cracks.

    Boom!

    The guardian king shattered, the formation collapsed, and the four Monk Kings fell out of the air. Their faces were filled with disbelief. They could accept defeat¡ªafter all, Li Qingshan had recently defeated them in an open confrontation¡ªbut a miserable defeat like this had happened just too quickly and just too unbelievably.

    The Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings was the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s strongest formation. It was righteous and mighty, without any flaws. Only Li Qingshan was able to tear it apart in a direct confrontation through absolute strength. The strength that ¡°elder Tian¡± had unleashed was much lesser than Li Qingshan¡¯s, and the resplendent streak of light was only a feint. Despite that, he had actually grasped the weakest point in the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings instantly, using it as an opening to destroy it in a single strike.

    They suddenly realised to their horror that compared to great strength, it was the supreme swordsmanship that far surpassed anything in this world.

    ¡°Hehehehe, you even have the courage to clown around in front of me? You can all go and die!¡±

    Elder Tian stuck out his bright-red tongue and spread his fingers, swinging his hands down.

    Thousands of streaks of light shot towards Great Buddha mountain, preparing for a slaughter!

 Chapter 1095: Friend or Foe

    Bang! Boom! Rumble!

    The four Monk Kings collided into the ceiling of the grand hall that was currently being constructed and landed on the ground heavily. Their faces changed, all recovering their solemnity and sitting up within the dust and tiles.

    ¡°Buddha Hymn Purifies the World!¡±

    The Dauntless monk sat towards the south. Raising both arms, the three other Monk Kings sat with their backs to him such that they faced the four directions. They sat in different poses as they chanted away softly.

    An indomitable sa?ghar¨¡ma god appeared, guarding the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. The hymns that had almost been drowned out by the thrumming of swords suddenly rose up again, bearing some resemblance to the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga. The four Monk Kings poured their strength together to power the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn.

    From that clash, they knew they were not ¡°elder Tian¡¯s¡± opponent, let alone protecting the Demon Suppression hall. All they could rely on was the protective formation now.

    ¡°All but a feeble attempt!¡±

    Elder Tian snickered viciously. He pressed down with both hands, and the Sword Collection peak descended slowly. The shadow began to expand as the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth blotted out the sky, just a repeat of when the Sword Collection palace had been destroyed.

    As soon as the sa?ghar¨¡ma god came into contact with the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth, it began to surge like a shadow in water encountering a ripple. All it could do was drag out a miserable existence.

    Originally, it should not have been so feeble, but the recent battle had virtually destroyed the foundations of the entire protective formation. The master of the Sword Collection palace never revealed his true intentions, but he had cleared the greatest obstacle to the Sword Collection peak¡¯s attack.

    The hymns faded away again, and Great Buddha mountain shook violently. Countless halls and pavilions collapsed silently.

    A monk watched this unfold in fright before suddenly noticing that his face was rather moist. He touched it, and his hand was covered in blood. Looking around, he discovered that everyone began to ooze blood from their pores, which drenched their robes apart from the monks that had undergone heavenly tribulations. They became covered in blood in the blink of an eye. Only now did they vaguely make out the sharp sword thrum.

    The great battle that occurred recently had left the monks extremely shocked, but the impression it gave them was grounded. It was a mighty force well beyond what they could withstand, and the harm had not been widespread. However, everything occurring before their eyes right now was like a nightmare come true. The familiar faces around them became covered with blood as they could not help themselves but be stricken with fear. Immediately, someone screamed out hysterically, setting off a string of cries like a chain reaction that rose and fell. It turned a holy land of buddhism into a grim hell.

    The hymns rose up again, but it seemed to be corrupted and twisted by the screams, no longer a wondrous blessing, but more like a sinister curse. Even the monks that had undergone heavenly tribulations and possessed extraordinary cultivation began to waver mentally. Their eyes were completely bloodshot.

    ¡°Senior brother, this is a demonic sound. If this continues, all of the disciples will die from madness!¡± the Unraging monk said sternly.

    He had witnessed the abilities of countless demonfolk and heard many eerie demonic sounds, but none of them could match this. It could actually penetrate the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn, even twisting the hymns. Something like this was basically unheard of.

    ¡°Hold our ground. We need to last until the King of Chu arrives!¡± The Dauntless monk¡¯s face had darkened, but he did not waver.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    However, they all had a worry that they never mentioned. Could the Fierce King of Chu really stave off such a terrifyingly powerful enemy?

    At this moment, a black streak suddenly appeared on the horizon, twisting and curling about as it pulled a blanket of dark clouds with it, enveloping the skies. Scales and claws faded in and out as a dignified dragon¡¯s head protruded out. The dragon¡¯s cry immediately drowned out the faint, sharp thrums.

    Clouds followed dragons, and the wind followed tigers.

    But at a closer glance, the dark clouds were not actual clouds. Instead, they seemed like ink that had been diluted in water, making them a little wispy and intangible.

    The Dauntless monk was extremely shocked. The Dragon King of Ink Sea had always been a recluse, ignoring everything that happened around him. He never thought he would actually leave the Ink sea, but was he a friend or a foe? If he were a friend, then he would be the most unexpected support, but if he were a foe, then probably no one would be able to save the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga anymore.

    As a result, he said, ¡°Your majesty the dragon king, this demon desires to destroy the Demon Suppression hall and open the world to the incursions of the Demon domain, so please lend us a hand. All living beings of the world will be grateful for your kindness.¡±

    ¡°What do the living beings of the world have to do with me?¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea said.

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s heart sank.

    ¡°Hehe, and I was wondering who it was. So it¡¯s you, you blindy. You broke free from the Painting Tomb all those years ago, yet you actually refused to help out this old acquaintance of yours. How unbrotherly of you. Though, it¡¯s still not too late. Let¡¯s work together and make a mess. Let¡¯s show all the living beings what we ¡®inanimate objects¡¯ are capable of,¡± said elder Tian.

    ¡°Inanimate objects?¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea said, and the inky clouds weighed down. They were like strands and wisps, yet also like whole mountains and cities, constantly changing and surging. They possessed both airiness and weight.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re angry? Don¡¯t tell me you still pretend to be a living being? We both know that not only are you an inanimate object, you¡¯re an incomplete inanimate object at that, as that old guy didn¡¯t even give you the most basic form of completion, which is why you¡¯re so weak. If you don¡¯t want to work with me, then just wait and see!¡±

    A scarlet streak of light shot through the skies. Li Qingshan rushed over as quickly as he could, covering several thousand kilometers in just a short while. He saw Great Buddha mountain before him; then he suddenly frowned. The Dragon King of Ink Sea! After that, he took out the transmission talisman again. ¡°Xiao An, come to Great Buddha mountain for help!¡±

    Even though he had only caught a glimpse of the image that the Soaring Locust King had produced, he had already confirmed that the Sword Collection peak would be an unprecedentedly powerful enemy. If his old rival, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, was thrown into the mix as well, then it would definitely be a great battle.

    However, Xiao An did not give him a reply this time either. He temporarily set this matter aside and arrived before Great Buddha mountain, calling out, ¡°You still haven¡¯t died, have you?¡±

    ¡°Haha, if I don¡¯t see my damned disciple one last time, how can I bring myself to die?¡±

    The Unraging monk became reinvigorated, letting out a great laugh. Now this was the powerful support he trusted the most.

    ¡°Just you wait. I¡¯ll come and rescue you right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped worrying inside. Right when he was about to fly over, a dragon tail sliced through the sea of clouds and swept over, blocking his path. The Dragon King of Ink Sea turned his head and stared at him.

    ¡°Dragon king, this is not the place for our decisive battle that we decided on!¡±

    Li Qingshan experienced tremendous pressure. He had already become even stronger, but the Dragon King of Ink Sea was still a powerful opponent he could not underestimate. If it had been any other time, then he would welcome a battle where he could try out his new techniques, but the Unraging monk¡¯s life took priority right now.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea said nothing. His inky-black whiskers rose and fell. Within the silence, the sea of clouds froze as well.

    ¡°Nicely done. Keep the kid busy. Once I butcher the bald asses, I¡¯ll come and help you kill him!¡±

    Elder Tian snickered viciously and powered the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth. The swords spun about, gathering greater and greater power. They were about to completely destroy the World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea roared furiously, and the sea of clouds began to surge, rushing into the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth and dyeing the domain an inky-black. The sword formation immediately became sluggish too. ¡°Do not mention me with the likes of you again!¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He never expected the Dragon King of Ink Sea to actually stand on his side.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea seemed to read his thoughts. He said without even looking back, ¡°Li Qingshan, I am not doing this to assist you!¡±

    ¡°Whatever you say!¡± Li Qingshan grinned and stepped forward. The two great Daemon Kings met the Sword Collection peak head-on.

 Chapter 1096: Working Together

    Within the inky, sea-like clouds, the Dragon King of Ink Sea dove and swam, fading in and out of sight. He ushered the clouds towards the Sword Collection peak.

    Li Qingshan strode through the air, making his way to the front at a steady pace. With each step, he swelled to ten times his original size. Space would shake, letting out a hollow echo that grew louder and louder like war drums!

    The four Monk Kings were all at peace. With such powerful reinforcements, what else could they still fear? They also found this to be absolutely ridiculous. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had always discriminated against daemons, yet they actually needed two great Daemon Kings to rescue them in the end.

    The Dauntless monk¡¯s expression changed slightly. The world was now turbulent. The Demon domain could launch a large-scale invasion at any moment. Everything that happened right now was only a prelude. By then, the conflict between humans and daemons would become secondary. If they could not unite the strength of the entire world as much as possible, then they would probably follow the footsteps of the otherfolk. Perhaps the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga needed to change its principles as well.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh over the fact that the matters of the world would always be able to take people by surprise. He never expected his greatest enemy to actually become his most powerful support. The Dragon King of Ink Sea was truly one of the best helpers he could ever have.

    Elder Tian was fearless. He smacked his lips. ¡°What a pity. You still can¡¯t break free from that old guy¡¯s will. You look like a dragon, but you¡¯re actually just a dog. No, even less than a dog. Dogs at least can still bark out as they wish. Everything you possess is just a shoddy imitation.¡±

    ¡°Whether I¡¯m a dragon or a dog is not for you to decide! Is your warped sword intent not from another¡¯s will?¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea answered with a question. His voice was vast and dignified as if it was no different from a true dragon¡¯s.

    ¡°What a joke. Do you know how the person who forged me died? Even now, I can still remember the taste of his blood. Why don¡¯t you kill that old guy and show me instead? Even he could not twist my sword intent!¡± elder Tian said proudly.

    ¡°You have to betray yourself, and that¡¯s the only way you can prove your existence? What a pitiful guy! So what if you killed the person who forged you? Does that prove you weren¡¯t forged by him? How much stronger than a dog can you be?¡± If a dog doesn¡¯t admit it¡¯s a dog, then it¡¯ll only become a mad dog in the end!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head in disagreement.

    ¡°You¡­ I will make you regret this!¡± Elder Tian seemed like Li Qingshan had just hit his sore spot. His expression became even more twisted, and the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth experienced some disarray, shrinking back and receding in the surge of the inky clouds.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea sank into his thoughts. With every single thought he had, he had to consider whether it came from himself or not, which was indeed an extremely painful process. When ¡°inanimate objects¡± like them developed intelligence, how they were supposed to coexist with these ¡°innate¡± wills did become their greatest problem. Both complying and resisting would come with great conflict.

    .As a ¡°living being¡± that did not seem particularly clever, it truly was unexpected that Li Qingshan could spot and state the crux of the issue and cause conflict for the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished. As it seemed, it was not entirely through a fortuitous encounter that he could reach his current cultivation given his age.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense!¡±

    Li Qingshan had already swelled up to over two thousand meters tall. He swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End that was just as giant and vicious as him towards the Sword Collection peak. The blade aura contained the power of tremors, leaving behind a black trail. Even space seemed to blacken and rip apart.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Elder Tian¡¯s face became even more vicious. Suddenly, he spread his arms, and beams of light poured out of his ears, eyes, mouth, and nose before uniting into a single streak again. It immediately penetrated Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, and only afterwards did the inky clouds it pierce disperse, basically leaving Li Qingshan with no time to react. He easily ate through his skin and flesh, revealing his jagged bones that also shook and melted away in the beam.

    Li Qingshan ignored it. He gripped his blade¡¯s hilt firmly and swung the blade heavily into the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth. Countless swords received his blade, all shattering upon making contact. His blade did become much slower as a result, but it continued along its path, hurling toward elder Tian viciously.

    Boom! With a great rumble, the mad blade landed on the Sword Collection peak, leaving behind a deep slash. Cracks rapidly began to spread, and the earth split open.

    Elder Tian avoided the attack, but Li Qingshan¡¯s target had never been him. He had noticed a long time ago that elder Tian was just a puppet, or perhaps better described as a slave to the sword. The true enemy was the Sword Collection peak.

    The flames of the phoenix lit up in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, doing its best to fill in the huge hole. Sure enough, the strange Sword Collection peak was just as tough as he expected it to be. If it were not for the Dragon King of Ink Sea who held off the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth and the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth, a full-powered swing from him would not have been able to pose any threat at all. This power had far surpassed what regular great cultivators were capable of, reaching a higher realm. He basically had no chance at victory if he was fighting alone. Sure enough, having a powerful teammate was very important!

    ¡°Is that it?¡± Li Qingshan laughed madly before swinging the blade at the Sword Collection peak again!

    A speck of light lit up between his eyebrows. He experienced a great sense of danger, drawing back his blade in a hurry to block.

    Boom!

    A streak of light landed on the blade, erupting with thousands of beams like a resplendent flower. Every single beam basically possessed the power of a great sword cultivator¡¯s attack.

    Li Qingshan retreated as a result with his colossal size, and he left behind two deep trails in the ground with his feet. Extending his right foot backwards to support himself, he crushed a small mountain before halting himself. However, before he could even catch his breath, the beams of light twisted back, attacking all the vital points on his body. The swordsmanship was so profound that it was unavoidable.

    ¡°Last Reflection of the Setting Sun!¡± Li Qingshan said with composure.

    Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rose up, assembling a perfect sphere and reflecting all of the beams back towards elder Tian.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea could not help but glance over, clearly sensing that he had grown much stronger yet again compared to when they clashed back then. This rate of growth was simply unbelievable! However, he did not let such a great opportunity slip by either. He advanced further with his inky clouds, further contaminating the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth and shrinking the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth. He understood very well that he did not have to serve as the main offence in this battle.

    Elder Tian¡¯s expression changed slightly. As a daemon, this Li Qingshan possessed a little far too many innate abilities. He pushed his hands forward and gathered all of the light in his hands. Bringing his hands together, the light condensed into a ball. Then he swung out with it as hard as he could, producing a ring of light that shook away the heavy, inky clouds.

    He fought two people at the same time, all the while maintaining pressure on the four Monk Kings, and he actually did not lose the upper hand.

    ¡°Kid, this sword is very powerful! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that it doesn¡¯t have a fitting master, we wouldn¡¯t be its opponent at all.¡± Even the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower that rarely ever spoke during battle could not help but tell Li Qingshan.

    ¡°It¡¯ll have a master very soon. Watch as I suppress and subdue it!¡±

    ¡°You have the balls to? I¡¯ll cut it apart!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯ll be up to how you perform then. Come, A Madman at Path¡¯s End!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed and became one with the blade. He swung the blade in a frenzy, shaking off all of the incoming sword qi and drawing closer to the Sword Collection peak step by step. The clashing between the blade aura and sword qi was like thunder.

    At this moment, there was a flash of red light on the horizon, and a scarlet streak of light whistled over, slamming into the Sword Collection peak.

    .From the corner of his eye, Li Qingshan saw a scarlet battleship that bore extremely close resemblance to the Silver Dragon King flying over. The Fierce King of Chu stood on the deck, and beneath his feet was the strongest mechanical weapon the Green province had to offer, the Scarlet Dragon King!

 Chapter 1097: Pride

    The Sword Collection peak was blown to one side, with a great hole blasted open. Large boulders collapsed and shattered. In terms of destructive power alone, this weapon that only the king of a province could possess was truly unheard of. It was possible to say that this was the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s strongest form. After all, unlike daemons, human cultivators had never been averse to using external objects. Even sword sects that placed the most emphasis on personal cultivation required an unmatched treasured sword, while the Scarlet Dragon King was the sword in the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s hands.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh. If the Scarlet Dragon King had been present during the battle that day, the outcome really would have been a mystery!

    ¡°Your majesty, long time no see. How have you been?¡± He greeted him with a smile, but with his mouth filled with sharp teeth, his smile obviously became very ferocious in appearance.

    The Fierce King of Chu glanced at him and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ve come late. Thank you for your assistance, dragon king!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not assisting you, so there¡¯s no need to thank me,¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea said with composure.

    ¡°I obviously understand that, but thanking you is on me. It has nothing to do with you,¡± the Fierce King of Chu said indifferently.

    Heh, look at the two of them! Li Qingshan grinned inside, but he also understood that given the current circumstances, they each possessed their own pride. They were not as casual as him.

    As a result, a human king, a Daemon King, and a half-human, half daemon stood on the same front lines together despite the numerous disputes that existed between them.

    With the three supreme cultivators of the Green province working together, the outcome of the battle seemed to be as clear as day!

    ¡°You damned¡­¡±

    Elder Tian stabilised himself. His face became even more twisted and inhuman, but he could not finish what he was saying.

    ¡°A Thousand Autumns in a Painting!¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea circled and flew, and the surroundings turned white. Apart from the inky clouds and the graceful, flying ink dragon, everything else in the surroundings had become pale-white like a grand painting that had been unfurled. The entire world, the past and the future, had all been absorbed into the painting.

    ¡°Frenzy Blade of Path¡¯s End, Descent of the Blood Moon!¡±

    In that moment, Li Qingshan swung the blade a thousand times, merging it into a single attack. A crescent blade aura pierced the air, scarlet-red like blood and scorching like fire, like a blood moon had descended from above. It was unstoppable and unblockable, becoming the most distinct existence within this pale-white canvas.

    The Fierce King of Chu rose up into the air, and the Scarlet Dragon King let out another furious roar. A beam of scarlet light blasted out from the main cannon like true dragon fire. It was unstoppable, destroying everything in its path. At the same time, he lifted a tiny, simple, and ancient cauldron into the air with a flip of his right hand, unleashing a domain in the sky. Not only was it completely harmonious with the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s ¡°canvas¡±, but it even increased its strength.

    They needed no communication, no exchanges of glances. Li Qingshan, the Fierce King of Chu, and the Dragon King of Ink Sea struck out at the same time, but their teamwork was flawless as if they had practised this thousands of times already.

    As the painting unfurled and the Green Province cauldron crushed down, the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth actually showed signs of collapse, the thousands of swords all became powerless, and the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth was completely suppressed. The inkiness began to spread, even dyeing the mossy Sword Collection peak as if it had become a component of the painting.

    At the same time, the blood moon landed on the Sword Collection peak. Only when the scarlet light landed heavily against the peak did a smooth slash silently appear.

    The countless holes on the Sword Collection peak erupted with countless streams of blood-red light. The blood moon within the mountain immediately collapsed, turning into thousands of strands of blade aura, tearing everything apart.

    Immediately, the Sword Collection peak became covered in cracks. Blood-red light surged through the place, making it shake violently such that it seemed like it could collapse at any moment.

    Li Qingshan thought, This battle seems to have become a little too easy once these two powerful enemies had become allies.

    The four Monk Kings gazed at the sky that resembled an ink landscape painting. They all felt extremely shocked. This was the power behind a combined attack by them. The Sword Collection peak that they had struggled so much to stop earlier was actually approaching the brink of destruction with just this attack.

    It was exactly because of cultivators as powerful as them that the invasions from the Demon domain had ended in failure time and time again.

    Originally, they were planning on coordinating with the Fierce King of Chu to attack the Sword Collection peak, but their response was slightly too slow. After seeing this, they completely stopped worrying, planning on just holding their ground and guarding the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    But suddenly, the Sword Collection peak that was on the brink of collapse rapidly grew closer and larger!

    ¡°Blood sacrifice to the sword!¡±

    Elder Tian brought his palms together, and his clothes flew apart as tatters. His skin also ripped apart, and blood splattered out, merging with the Sword Collection peak below his feet. The mountain immediately stabilised.

    However, elder Tian did not have a single piece of intact skin anymore, revealing his flesh and blood. He bore no resemblance to his previous self. Instead, he was more like a fiend that had crawled out of a pool of blood in hell. He suffered the fate of a sword slave. Everything he possessed could be sacrificed to the sword spirit at any time.

    ¡°Origination of the Myriad Swords!¡±

    Elder Tian stood upside down, plunging a hand viciously into the Sword Collection peak like he was wielding a huge sword. The swords all flew back, and the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth suddenly shrank, operating in overdrive.

    The Sword Collection peak forcefully erupted and broke free from the canvass, falling rapidly towards Great Buddha mountain.

    The four Monk Kings went up to receive it together. The weakened World Purifying Formation of Buddha Hymn only lasted for a split second before completely collapsing.

    Faced with this sight that was no less terrifying than a natural disaster, their instincts told them to dodge immediately, or the only thing awaiting them would be death. However, right below their feet were the foundations of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that had stood for over ten millennia. If the Sword Collection peak landed against it, the entire Great Buddha mountain would collapse, and all the disciples would die from the rubble. As a result, the four of them refused to budge.

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°Today is the day we die for the monastery! Holding true to our hearts of chan, to the buddha!¡±

    The three other Monk Kings repeated, ¡°Holding true to our hearts of chan, to the buddha!¡±

    Golden light erupted, and the four Monk Kings turned into a guardian king that stood over three hundred meters tall, raising its arms to receive the incoming Sword Collection peak.

    Boom! There was a great rumble, but they did not experience the violent impact they were expecting. A pair of black columns rose up around them, and following it with their gazes, they saw a huge, indomitable ox demon holding up the entire Sword Collection peak on its shoulders.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± the Unraging monk called out.

    ¡°What are you waiting for? Go!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned as his bones crackled. Even with the Ox Demon Transformation and the numerous abilities of the ox demon, he struggled to contend with the Sword Collection peak¡¯s pressure. His shoulder bones completely shattered, his spine bent and fractured, and his flesh and blood went even more without saying, grinding against the rock of the Sword Collection peak and turning into rising flames. However, his pair of horns locked against the mountain peak and held on firmly. His ox hooves sank deeply into Great Buddha mountain, making the head of the buddha crack and collapse.

    The Dauntless monk was moved. He said solemnly, ¡°We owe you our lives!¡± Then he ordered loudly, ¡°All disciples, retreat from Great Buddha mountain immediately!¡±

    He was reluctant to admit it, but they no longer had a place in this battle anymore. They were basically an entire realm of cultivation away from the Sword Collection peak. Only supreme cultivators that had reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation like the Dragon King of Ink Sea could stand a chance. The others would just be sending themselves to their deaths for nothing.

    ¡°You damned insect. Watch as I crush you!¡± ¡°elder Tian¡± said, but it was no longer his voice. Instead, the entire Sword Collection peak roared furiously.

    Rumble! Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal body was basically pushed into Great Buddha mountain. His bones crackled and popped throughout his body, but he only became even more determined. He said sternly, ¡°Come!¡±

    With a dragon¡¯s cry, the inky clouds tossed and turned, gathering beside Li Qingshan and lifting up the Sword Collection peak together. The Dragon King of Ink Sea coiled around Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°Reversal of the Five Elements!¡± The Fierce King of Chu planted a foot on the Sword Collection peak and launched a palm strike at ¡°elder Tian¡±.

    ¡°Elder Tian¡± kept one hand in the Sword Collection peak as he formed a seal with the other.

    He had no sword in hand, but he seemed to have the entire Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth in the palm of his hand. The swords and the palm clashed a thousand times in a single instant. Even though his posture was all over the place and his body could not twist or turn freely, he did not lose the upper hand at all. The collateral energy kicked up a storm.

    A huge, inky dragon¡¯s head rose up from the eastern face of the Sword Collection peak, biting over.

    ¡°Elder Tian¡± pointed his hand at the Fierce King of Chu as his right leg twisted at a strange angle, planting his foot heavily on the dragon¡¯s head.

    The dragon¡¯s head suddenly turned into human form¡ªno different from the Mo Wuhen that Li Qingshan had once seen¡ªraising his arms gracefully and swinging down with his sword.

    Clang! With the clashing of metal, all of the flesh on ¡°elder Tian¡¯s¡± right leg vanished, and his bones turned into the edge of a sword, blocking the slash. His left leg transitioned in the same way, extending out with a flash.

    The imposing, scarlet light from the Scarlet Dragon King was split into two, and it was deflected as well, hurling towards the Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea respectively.

    The Fierce King of Chu struck out with his hand. The space before him distorted, and the scarlet light was deflected, flying off into the horizon.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea drifted like ink, avoiding the scarlet light with ease. There was a great rumble several dozen kilometers behind him, and a mushroom cloud rose up into the air. The circular shockwave knocked the retreating monks off their feet.

    The four Monk Kings struggled to hide their shock. The swordsmanship was basically unbelievable. It was not a coincidence that they had been defeated in a single strike earlier. As a matter of fact, it could even be described as fortunate.

    The Sword Collection peak let out a strange, twisted laughter, filled with fury, delight, hatred, and viciousness, like a madman¡¯s hysterical laughter. It was filled with chaos, making it impossible for people to distinguish what was behind the laughter, except its effect was like the sound of demons. The monks all collapsed on the ground, clutching their heads and howling in pain. The Monk Kings had to unleash the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, and only then did the disciples survive.

    Within the storm, ¡°elder Tian¡± who bore no resemblance to a human anymore contended against the three powerful cultivators alone.

    The landscape and scenery blurred and changed, sometimes a mighty canvas, sometimes the landscape of the Green province, but it never managed to completely destroy the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth.

    With the Dragon King of Ink Sea and the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s assistance, Li Qingshan felt the pressure on him become much lighter, but only relatively. The Sword Collection peak still weighed on him heavily, almost immobilising him as it ate away at his flesh, blood, and bone. His shoulders had almost been crushed to pulp, completely relying on his body to hold it up.

    No matter how powerful his allies were, it was useless if his cultivation was insufficient. However, since when was he the kind to rely on others?

    ¡°Moo!¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and sucked in a deep breath, letting out the heavy bellow of an ox. He threw his head against the Sword Collection peak heavily!

    Elder Tian suddenly widened his eyes. He never imagined him to still possess the strength to fight back given his state, and his counterattack was so forceful and without any regard.

    Boom! With an earth-shaking rumble, the Sword Collection peak was smashed to pieces. A wave of air swept hundreds of kilometers away as countless boulders shot off like rain.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s skull fractured and blood poured from his head, all turning into flames and roaring away, like his battle spirit that had never been extinguished. Standing on the half-collapsed Great Buddha mountain, he straightened out his body and roared furiously with his head held high, ¡°Come crush me!¡±

    The monks all looked at Great Buddha mountain from a distance. For a moment, their spirits surged, unable to contain their emotions!

    The Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea exchanged glances, both unsurprised.

    With his bearing, just who could praise or belittle him? That was his pride!

 Chapter 1098: War

    The power from the shattering Sword Collection peak shook apart the surging, inky clouds, and a beam of sunlight landed on Li Qingshan. He gazed into the sky and thought to himself, Show me your true appearance!

    An extremely strange ¡°sword¡± hovered in the light. The hilt was irregular and uneven, while the sword itself was twisted and warped. If it were not for the dense sword qi, it would have been almost impossible to distinguish it to be a sword. It seemed more like a piece of trash that had ended in failure within the furnace. It made people uncomfortable no matter how they looked at it, igniting a sense of disgust and repulsion.

    However, it was exactly this sword that controlled the Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth, powered the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth, and enslaved elder Tian. There was probably no other weapon across the nine provinces that could rival it.

    Li Qingshan suddenly realised something. The colossal, towering Sword Collection peak was just its ¡°sheathe¡±. The battle had not ended yet. Perhaps this was only the beginning.

    The swords fell like rain¡ªall the swords that assembled the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth fell from the sky, but they did not launch an attack, cast aside and relinquished like trash.

    ¡°Controlling these pieces of trash really is a waste of effort!¡±

    ¡°Elder Tian¡± gripped the hilt of the sword with his remaining hand. His body twisted, becoming even more deformed, like an object appended to the sword, only taking a form befitting the sword to unleash the power of the sword.

    ¡°And that old guy¡¯s shitty domain can piss off too!¡±

    ¡°Elder Tian¡± swung the sword madly. The Sword Domain of Heaven and Earth that had not even collapsed under the Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s combined efforts was immediately destroyed.

    The sword peak, the sword formation, the sword domain!

    All of these foreign existences were cast aside and relinquished, only leaving behind a man and a sword, standing in the sky, or more accurately, just a sword, a sword even loathed by immortals.

    However, Li Qingshan, the Fierce King of Chu, and the Dragon King of Ink Sea could clearly sense it had become even more threatening than before, but they were not afraid. If the three of them could not even overcome a single sword when they worked together, then they would be laughing stocks of the world. Perhaps it would gain the upper hand momentarily, but it could not emerge victoriously in the end.

    ¡°I must admit that you¡¯re all very powerful compared to the standards of this world. If we were elsewhere, you¡¯d really be quite troublesome, but unfortunately, this is Great Buddha mountain. You never had any chance at victory right from the beginning. Alright, the games end here. Hehe, I¡¯m going to cut apart the Demon Suppression hall now!¡±

    ¡°Elder Tian¡± spoke slowly and suddenly began spouting reason, except his body gradually melted away, merging with the Immortal Relinquished sword in his hand. He had been devoured by the sword. Only a skull remained, letting out a vicious grin before vanishing from the world. The sword faded into space.

    From that moment onwards, ¡°elder Tian¡± no longer existed in the world. With the power obtained from devouring a sword slave, the Immortal Relinquished sword launched a counter attack!

    Li Qingshan was prepared a long time ago. His eyes suddenly became as deep as the sea, and he punched the space beside him. ¡°Come out!¡±

    The space shook violently, and the Immortal Relinquished sword appeared vaguely. A black thread wormed over, wrapping around the sword and pulling it out of the space there. It was the Dragon King of Ink Sea. Without giving the Immortal Relinquished sword any opportunity to respond, the Fierce King of Chu slammed down with the Green Province cauldron.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally over!¡±

    The Dauntless monk saw this and let out a great sigh of relief inside. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had survived a calamity yet again.

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion!¡± The Dragon King of Ink Sea flew out from the Green province cauldron and spat out.

    The Fierce King of Chu frowned, only to see the Immortal Relinquished sword within the Green Province cauldron gradually fade away and disperse. It was actually just an image. Not only did the Immortal Relinquished sword possess the strange ability of hiding in space, but it could even fool the spirit turtle¡¯s divination.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. The Immortal Relinquished sword emerged from space and turned into a curved streak of light, vanishing into the Demon Suppression hall. Now, all he could hope was that the Demon Suppression hall was tough enough to withstand the sword slightly so that it could earn them a second opportunity to strike.

    However, contrary to his wishes, a crack suddenly appeared on the ceiling of the Demon Suppression hall.

    In terms of toughness, the Demon Suppression hall was even stronger than the grand hall of the past, or it would not have been able to keep so many demons imprisoned and the demon cavern suppressed. However, it was actually just as feeble as a regular structure under the Immortal Relinquished sword.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. This sight was not particularly surprising. He said to the Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea beside him, ¡°Be prepared to suppress the demon cavern again!¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu and the Dragon King of Ink Sea both said nothing in reply. They had all prepared themselves mentally to a certain degree for this worst-case scenario. After all, the enemy was so powerful. Defeating it was already extremely difficult, so stopping it from fleeing or wreaking havoc was virtually impossible.

    While it would be horrible if the Demon Suppression hall was destroyed, the three of them could kill Demon Kings effortlessly when they worked together. All they did now was wait and see who would be emerging first, and then they would use the divine artifact, the Green Province cauldron, to suppress it again.

    Rumble! The cracks rapidly spread across the entire Demon Suppression hall, and demon qi surged out from within. The surrounding vegetation did not wither away, demonifying instead. The Demon Suppression hall was gradually swallowed by the demon qi too.

    With a great rumble, a spout of demon qi rose up into the air, rapidly expanding in size and reaching several dozen kilometers away, dimming the world.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He had truly never seen such a large demon cavern before. He was unable to imagine how the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga would be able to suppress it without the Green Province cauldron.

    An extremely obvious black hole appeared on the Green Province cauldron in the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s hand. He was stern, raising the cauldron high into the air. ¡°Fellows, please lend me your assistance!¡±

    Before they could answer him, he leapt into the Green Province cauldron, and the cauldron flew towards the demon cavern, expanding in the wind and growing larger and larger. The images of the mountains and rivers on there became clearer and clearer, as well as more and more consolidated, forcefully intercepting the demon qi and slowly pressing down.

    Li Qingshan and the Dragon King of Ink Sea arrived before the demon cavern, ready to kill anyone who tried to stop them, as well as to stop the Immortal Relinquished sword from stirring up any more trouble. However, they waited for a short moment and did not encounter any sneak attacks from the Immortal Relinquished sword. Powerful auras flooded out from the demon cavern, every single one belonging to a Demon King¡¯s.

    ¡°This is quite a big scene!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. The attacking Demon Kings did not amount to three or five, or just under a dozen, but several dozen in total. It was the maximum capacity of Demon Kings that the demon cavern could hold at the same time.

    They must have been prepared a long time ago in the Demon domain, having assembled the Demon Kings to immediately launch an attack the moment the Demon Suppression hall fell.

    On top of that, these Demon Kings did not just swarm over chaotically. Instead, they assembled a simple battle formation.

    Anyone who possessed even just a slight understanding of the Demon domain knew it was virtually impossible for two Demon Kings to get along peacefully. If several dozen Demon Kings were placed together, it would devolve into a chaotic battle very soon. This was a fact determined by the nature of demonfolk, the laws of the Demon domain.

    It was a world without trust and full of malice. This was only possible through the orders of even stronger demonfolk, through the coercion of absolute force.

    Li Qingshan could not help but think of the terrifying sword qi he had encountered in the demon domain in the south that destroyed everything in its path.

    This was no longer simply a battle, but a war they had spent much time planning and preparing!

 Chapter 1099: A Sharp Turn

    The Clear River prefecture.

    The column of lightning pierced the world as the clouds and seas of insects dove into the light wave after wave like moths to a flame, endlessly, unceasingly.

    Gu Yanying swung her folding fan, and a hundred tornadoes swept towards the insects, but she could no longer kill the locusts with ease. Suddenly, she shivered inside. The Soaring Locust King had disappeared from view. She swung her fan backwards, and the sharp atmospheric winds mixed with the hot winds of hell, whistling out together.

    ¡°You sure are quite sharp, but those who stand in my way will die! Possession of the Battle Demon!¡±

    The Soaring Locust King abruptly appeared, buzzing his wings as he suddenly erupted with startling demon qi. He became clad in demonic armour with war banners on his back written with ¡°Battle Demon¡±. He moved a little faster, advancing in the face of the attack and moving against the wind, lunging towards Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying raised an eyebrow. A pair of powerful, white hawk wings unfurled behind her back, assuming a half-daemon form as she retreated backwards. She called out, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Coming!¡± Li Qingshan shot over and threw a punch at the Soaring Locust King. His main body was currently focusing on fending off the Sword Collection peak, so his control over his mirror clone was much weaker. Seeing how the Soaring Locust King actually used the Possession of the Battle Demon, he was startled inside.

    Sure enough, he¡¯s comprehended it!

    Even without the deductive calculations of the spirit turtle, the Soaring Locust King still managed to comprehend the true form of the Demon Suppression Statuary over so much time through his cultivation as a great Daemon King, making up for his greatest flaw. However, this was the worst piece of news possible to Li Qingshan. It meant that killing him on the spot was no longer possible.

    ¡°Die!¡± The Soaring Locust King flapped his wings, and razor-sharp light shot out.

    A huge gash was ripped open in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, but there was no flesh or blood. There was only shimmering, flowing water.

    There was another flash across his eyes soon after, so he could only pull back as well, focusing on recovery. It was all thanks to Gu Yanying¡¯s assistance that his mirror clone had not completely collapsed.

    Scarlet, white, black¡ªthree wings of different colours mixed and parted, dancing around together for a good moment.

    Li Qingshan glanced down, only to see that no one was controlling the tornadoes anymore, so they collapsed in the blink of an eye within the surging swarms of insects. The insects surged into the lightning without any obstruction, making the tribulation even more violent.

    No, it can¡¯t continue like this! The strength of the mirror clone is still too weak. It¡¯s more than enough to deal with regular Daemon Kings, but it¡¯s not enough against a great Daemon King. If this continues, all I¡¯ll be able to do is watch helplessly as the Golden Cicada Spirit King is electrocuted to death. Dammit, why¡¯re both sides so hard to deal with?

    ¡°Useless! Useless!¡±

    The Soaring Locust King laughed madly, zipping through the surroundings like a streak of black lightning as he fended off both of them. He would mobilise the swarms to come and assist him from time to time. Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying could only protect themselves. They could not obstruct him at all.

    ¡°The source of the locust plague, the Soaring Locust King, is right here. Do the two of you plan on continuing to watch on?¡± Gu Yanying called out.

    Yue Wuyang and Jin Fugui exchanged glances. They had been coming up with plans and schemes to kill the Soaring Locust King the entire time. Now was indeed the best opportunity. Originally, they planned on swooping in after the Soaring Locust King and the Golden Cicada Spirit King had exhausted each other.

    However, after witnessing the Soaring Locust King¡¯s strength after demonifying, they could not help but admit that they could not prevent him from leaving at all as long as the Soaring Locust King tried to flee. As a result, they no longer hesitated.

    ¡°Black Sand hell!¡± ¡°Sweeping Away All!¡±

    With a phoenix''s cry, a phoenix flew over and called out, ¡°First father, I¡¯ve come to help you!¡±

    Lolth stood on the little phoenix¡¯s back, spitting out countless strands of silk.

    ¡­¡­

    Great Buddha mountain.

    Demon qi rushed into the air like thick, black smoke.

    The situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Their enemy was no longer a single person and a single sword, but the boundless Demon domain. Behind the several dozen Demon Kings were probably an even larger demonfolk army.

    During all of the invasions in the past, they had to gather the strength of the entire world to fend off the Demon domain. This was a war between two worlds. The effect of individuals had greatly diminished. Even when the three of them were supreme cultivators, they struggled to prevent a war from happening.

    The Unraging monk clenched his fist firmly and gazed at Great Buddha mountain in the distance as it was swallowed by demon qi. He seemed to see the murals and the statue dim and fade away as the scriptures engraved in the tablets gradually blurred. His eyes became slightly moist.

    The buddhist nature and glow hidden within the rock and vegetation was completely washed away. Even if they suppressed the demon cavern again, returning to its former shape would probably still take a millennium, and before long, even the spiritual vein would be contaminated.

    ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga has been destroyed!¡±

    A monk wailed, and all of the monks began to weep, even sobbing out loudly. For a moment, wails and despair filled the air.

    To them, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was no different from a homeland to mortals. No matter how great their mental composure and cultivation was, they could not help but experience emotional upheaval at a time like this, overcome by their feelings.

    ¡°As the abbot, Dauntless has failed to protect the monastery, bringing disgrace to the predecessors. Even ten thousand deaths cannot atone for this!¡±

    The Dauntless monk kneeled on the ground in the direction of Great Buddha mountain. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga had actually been destroyed in his hands.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to blame yourself, senior brother. Since the Demon domain is determined to invade this world, then no one can do anything about it!¡±

    The Unraging monk consoled him. Although he was filled with sorrow and fury, he had mentally prepared himself a long time ago as someone who watched the Demon Suppression hall for all these years. He had even anticipated all of this, as the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was built on the mouth of a volcano in the first place!

    The world had been at peace for several thousand years. Demonfolk had just become tools for training the disciples of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. It was very easy for them to neglect the strength of the Demon domain, as well as the fact that demon caverns were originally tunnels dug for the sake of invasion. The demon cavern behind Great Buddha mountain was so large. Even with the Demon Suppression hall, it was much easier to break through there than opening up a new demon cavern.

    It was like the war between two kingdoms. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga was only akin to a stronghold on the frontier. Even without the Sword Collection peak to open them up from within, they would still struggle to fend off a large-scale attack from the Demon domain in the past. After all, just how many prosperous, divine kingdoms of otherfolk had been destroyed by demon plagues throughout the wars of the past? When it came to both history and strength, probably none of these ¡°divine kingdoms¡± were any weaker than the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Let alone the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but probably the entire World of Nine Provinces could only be regarded as a stronghold to the Demon domain.

    ¡°Fellows, please assist me in killing the demonfolk and suppressing the demon cavern as much as possible. I will definitely thank you in the future!¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu was so sincere that he almost came off as humble. Given the situation, anyone could retreat, but as the King of Chu, he had inherited the will of the past kings, so he had a responsibility to protect the land, which left him with nowhere to go. Even if he knew it would result in nothing, he still had to try his best.

    Neither the Dragon King of Ink Sea nor Li Qingshan gave him a reply, and the Fierce King of Chu¡¯s heart sank. Without their help, there was no point trying at all!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea turned to dragon form again. He circled around the demon cavern, drawing in the inky clouds to converge around the demon domain. They restrained the demon qi and assisted the Fierce King of Chu in suppressing the demon cavern.

    Li Qingshan turned back to his regular form and uttered softly, ¡°Possession of the Battle Demon.¡± He stepped into the surging demon qi, swinging the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End; he was ready for the upcoming battle.

    At the same time, he saw what was going on in the Clear River prefecture through his mirror clone, which made his heart weigh even heavier.

    Although their combined effort had mostly contained the Soaring Locust King, they still could not stop his furious revenge, just like how they struggled to stop the Immortal Relinquished sword from destroying the Demon Suppression hall. The situation on both sides only became worse.

    At this moment, he missed Xiao An very much. He was also extremely worried. Just what had happened to her?

 Chapter 1100: Trap

    ¡°Xiao An¡­ Come to¡­ Great Buddha¡­ mountain for¡­ help!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s broken-up voice rang out from the transmission talisman. Xiao An sank into her thoughts for a moment before stowing it away. She did not crush it.

    The surroundings were filled with mist, deathly-grey in colour and extremely thick. It pressed against her body like it possessed weight, seeping into her body and mind through every single pore, filled with a sense of repression and despair.

    Xiao An was quiet, without any emotions at all. She peered through the thick mist with her clear eyes, but an invisible membrane blocked her vision. This place no longer seemed to belong to the nine provinces. She had been brought to the boundary of the world.

    Looking from extremely high above, the Myriad Ghosts abyss was enveloped by a sphere. Thick mist surged through there like an invisible beast, swallowing the entire abyss in a single gulp before digesting it slowly.

    This all began when she placed the key inside the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. When she twisted the key to draw in some corpses and ghosts as resources for cultivation, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts instead expanded suddenly, turning into a sphere and swallowing the entire Myriad Ghosts abyss.

    Having been through the battle on Burial Mound mountain, she understood this region was currently being devoured by the Hungry Ghost realm, and the enemy was much, much more powerful than the Corpse King. That was why he could expand the Gate of Hungry Ghosts to such a degree in a single instant, to the point where she could not react in time.

    After enveloping the entire Myriad Ghosts abyss, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts stopped growing larger, gradually shrinking instead, which only demonstrated the strength of the ¡°person¡± behind this. They must have come for her.

    The basic laws of the Hungry Ghost realm was to devour. With the power behind this Gate of Hungry Ghosts, it was completely possible to devour a region a hundred times the size of this, or let countless corpses and ghosts flood this world, but none of that happened!

    Until now, she had not even seen a small ghost, just silent, surging mist. Even though she had no idea who was behind this, she knew she had fallen into a trap. It must have been connected to that elder Ming who managed to get away.

    Once this region was completely devoured, then she would end up in the Hungry Ghost realm. As a white bone successor, what awaited her would definitely be an extremely warm ¡°welcome¡±.

    The situation was enough to drive people crazy, except she only paced around the mist in her white clothes before sitting back down where she was before. She fiddled around with the Skull Prayer Beads and chanted softly with the Blood Sea Banner standing behind her.

    Suddenly, a sense of coldness attacked her, and a voice interrupted the chanting, ¡°You¡¯re not going to try and escape?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°I can¡¯t escape!¡±

    The owner of the voice seemed to be dumbstruck by how composed she responded, uncertain about how to continue the conversation.

    ¡°Interesting. You really are a successor of white bone. Sure enough, you¡¯re extremely interesting. The Umbral Yin sect hadn¡¯t been destroyed by your hand for nothing!¡±

    Xiao An listened silently.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know who I am and what relationship I have with the Umbral Yin sect? Don¡¯t you know what the fate awaiting you will be once you arrive in the Hungry Ghost realm?¡±

    A face appeared in the mist, circling around Xiao An, sometimes a man¡¯s, sometimes a woman¡¯s, sometimes an old man¡¯s, and sometimes a child¡¯s. Its expression was sinister and eerie, enough for people to shiver.

    Xiao An sat without budging and shook her head.

    ¡°Very good. Looks like you¡¯ve already accepted your fate.¡± The face in the mist gazed at her from above.

    Xiao An agreed to that softly, except she was so calm in expression and in emotion that she did not seem despaired.

    ¡°I am sovereign Li, a past master of the Umbral Yin sect¡­¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡± Xiao An interrupted.

    ¡°You¡¯re also what?¡±

    ¡°A past master of the Umbral Yin sect.¡±

    Xiao An smiled. The previous sect master had already agreed to retire and pass the position to her, so she could be regarded as the last master of the Umbral Yin sect.

    ¡°Hahahaha, how funny. I can consider sparing your life. Why don¡¯t we make a deal? As long as you give me the white bone legacy, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Liar.¡± Xiao An shot him a glance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt me!!¡±

    The voice that drifted around her ears suddenly turned into a furious roar, filling the valley. The whistling winds swept up Xiao An¡¯s long hair, as well as the bright-red Blood Sea Banner, making it ripple.

    Xiao An sat where she was. As the Myriad Ghosts abyss was devoured by the Hungry Ghost realm, the power that the enemy could unleash would grow stronger and stronger too. Once she ended up in the Hungry Ghost realm, she would probably have to face an existence two major cultivation realms above her. No matter how effective the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was against the undead, she would stand no chance.

    Sorry, Qingshan. I won¡¯t be able to go to Great Buddha mountain to help you out!

    She clutched the transmission talisman firmly. I¡¯ll wait just a little longer. I need to grasp the timing.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts gradually shrank, and the aura from the Hungry Ghost realm grew heavier and heavier. She could vaguely make out the wails of a myriad ghosts.

    ¡­¡­

    The surging demon qi flooded their faces as the battle formation composed of several dozen Demon Kings rapidly drew closer. Li Qingshan could already make out their strange, bizarre faces.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, and his blade danced gently in his hand. Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open, and they shone with scarlet light. He slashed out like the furious bloom of an orchid, turning into a thousand streaks of light that shot towards the demons!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea was slightly surprised. The attack was fierce, but he had struck a little too early. An error like that was not befitting of him!

    The Demon Kings laughed even more madly. Had this guy been frightened out of his wits? However, some of the Demon Kings gazed at his scarlet-haired, scarlet-eyed figure and seemed to realise something. They could not help but shrink backwards.

    The light left behind criss-crossing black slashes wherever it passed by, shattering the space instantly. The laughter came to a halt.

    The Demon Kings were unable to respond in time, running head-first into the region. The first dozen or so Demon Kings were immediately carved into several hundred pieces, while the others used their various abilities to dodge. The formation immediately sank into disorder. Some of them cried out, ¡°It¡¯s Northmoon!¡±

    Before they set out, they had heard this name being mentioned many times. That was one of the many powerful cultivators from the World of the Nine Provinces. He was even more dangerous than the Ten Daemon Kings and the nobles of the eight provinces exactly because of his powerful ability to shatter space, which was extremely destructive to demon caverns.

    ¡°Good work!¡± Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea could not help but let out a praise. He flew into the demon cavern, shrinking from several thousand meters long to just a meter or two and navigating between the spatial cracks.

    The dozen or so unlucky Demon Kings had been diced to pieces, but none of them actually died through their bizarre vitality as demonfolk. They desperately tried to assemble their bodies back together. A streak of ink flew over along a curved and winded trajectory, piercing the heart of a Demon King.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The power from seven or eight demon hearts exploding immediately swept through the entire demon cavern, and the gushing demon qi was also severed. The Fierce King of Chu used this opportunity to slam down with the Green Province cauldron.

    Li Qingshan exhaled. They were not as great as Xiao An, but at least these two allies were of help. However, he also felt great exhaustion. It had already taken him quite the effort to clash with the Immortal Relinquished sword earlier, and producing a slash like that was not easy either. If he had to keep fighting, then he would have to consider rebirth.

    However, he was already thinking of retreating. The chances of stopping the invasion were not big, so he was better off returning to the Clear River prefecture and dealing with the Soaring Locust King. He was very worried about Xiao An¡¯s safety as well, so he was quite eager to pay a visit to the Myriad Ghosts abyss.

    Just as he hesitated over what to do, a golden thread shot across the sky, turning into a vine and wrapping around the Green Province cauldron in the blink of an eye, about to drag it away by force.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°Madam Vine!¡±

 Chapter 1101

    ¡°Xuanyue! Xuanyue!¡±

    The Dark Queen called out frantically, trying to rush into the Myriad Ghosts abyss without any regard. However, no matter what she tried, she was unable to break through the invisible barrier.

    A resplendent streak of silver light appeared on the southern horizon, like a sharp sword flying over.

    The Dark Queen suddenly looked back. ¡°The Silver Dragon King!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue stood on the bridge of the ship and gazed at the land of the Green province. He felt slightly excited inside. Behind him were a group of honoured guests. He had gathered all the strength that the Kingdom of Yue had to offer to declare war against the Kingdom of Chu.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, he noticed something and sensed the Dark Queen¡¯s aura.

    The honoured guests behind him sensed it too and spoke up.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Dark Queen! And she¡¯s alone. This is a good sign. Let¡¯s capture her quickly!¡±

    ¡°Killing her is easy, but her identity is something else!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re already declaring war against the Kingdom of Chu, so what, are we supposed to fear the Fierce King of Chu?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about her man, but her daughter.¡±

    ¡°Her daughter¡­¡±

    The honoured guests all fell silent. They already knew about how the Umbral Yin sect had been destroyed. It was rumored to be the handiwork of the Dark Queen¡¯s daughter, princess Xuanyue. Originally, they still had some doubts, but before they set out, the King of Southern Yue had specially brought this up to them. He said they should do all that they could to avoid conflict with two people. One was Li Qingshan, while the other was this ¡°princess Xuanyue¡±.

    The Silver Dragon King pulled closer rapidly. The Dark Queen gritted her teeth, but she refused to abandon Xiao An.

    ¡°Then what do we do? Are we supposed to just spare her? That¡¯s strange, why isn¡¯t she fleeing?¡±

    ¡°Something seems to have happened to the Umbral Yin sect!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the Gate of Hungry Ghosts!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue had noticed the abnormalities with the Myriad Ghosts abyss a long time ago through the mechanisms of the Silver Dragon King. He had guessed it was connected to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. On top of that, according to his intelligence, Xiao An was currently cultivating in the Myriad Ghosts abyss. The Dark Queen¡¯s abnormal behaviour proved this too.

    The head caretaker mister Ram stood forward and bowed. He said softly, ¡°Your majesty, the heavens are smiling upon us!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue said nothing. Given the current Green province, the only two people he feared were Li Qingshan and Xiao An¡ªeven the Fierce King of Chu had already entered a decline in his eyes, definitely unable to stop his army. He feared Xiao An even more than him. After all, she was princess Xuanyue, the only successor to the Kingdom of Chu right now. Once she took action, Li Qingshan definitely would not just stand by either.

    Letting Xiao An be devoured by the Hungry Ghost realm was equivalent to eliminating his greatest threat. The heavens truly were smiling upon him.

    However, he had a much greater concern. If Li Qingshan found out he had simply stood by and watched, who knew how he would respond!

    He could not help but smile in a self-deprecating manner. As the lord of a kingdom, he could even brush aside the destruction of a kingdom as insignificant, yet he had to be so concerned about a single person right now. However, as soon as he thought of Li Qingshan¡¯s frenzied manner, he could not help but handle this cautiously.

    With a thought, he seemed to remember something, and he made his decision. He swung his arm, and the main cannon of the Silver Dragon King began to gather specks of silver light.

    The silver light in the Dark Queen¡¯s eyes grew brighter and brighter. With a sudden flash, the silver light whistled out, but it shot over her head and slammed against the invisible barrier around the Myriad Ghosts abyss, producing thousands of silver ripples.

    ¡°Your majesty?¡± Mister Ram was taken aback.

    ¡°She¡¯s already severed her relationship with the Fierce King of Chu, so she¡¯s not our enemy. She even helped us take down the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and destroy the Umbral Yin sect, so of course, I should help her break free. You don¡¯t have to say anything more!¡± the King of Southern Yue said righteously.

    The honoured guests behind him exchanged glances. That was not a particularly widely-accepted principle in the Mist province. The strong preying on the weak was.

    However, since the King of Southern Yue had said that, they could only accept this explanation. In the past, perhaps there would still be people who would speak up or object, but ever since the King of Southern Yue gained the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s support, his influence had become as prominent as the midday sun in the Mist province. No one could defy him.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s me who¡¯s been short in knowledge,¡± mister Ram said in thought.

    The King of Southern Yue piloted the Silver Dragon King, and the silver light bombarded against the invisible barrier endlessly. As the greatest class of siege weapons the world had to offer, even the invisible domain created by the Gate of Hungry Ghosts could not fend it off entirely. It began showing signs of melting apart.

    The reason for this decision was because he remembered the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s warning before he had set out. ¡°If Li Qingshan insists on stopping you from destroying the Kingdom of Chu, do not use force. You only ever want to befriend him, not oppose him!¡±

    He had always admired the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s wisdom. Now that the Great Banyan Tree King had become the god of the Mist province, his plans and schemes reached even further. As a result, he suddenly realised that saving or not saving her was exactly a decision of whether to befriend or to oppose. As a result, he chose ¡°befriend¡± resolutely.

    At this moment, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts accelerated with its shrinking, which made the King of Southern Yue frown. He said to the honoured guests on the side, ¡°Everyone, this is the first battle in the Green province. Let me witness your ability!¡±

    The guests all accepted the order, turning into streaks of light and flying out of the Silver Dragon King. They bombarded the Myriad Ghosts abyss with everything they were capable of.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing all that I can. Whether you can break free is up to you.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue made his decision and also relaxed inside. Having come this far, even if Li Qingshan refused to assist him, he would not go as far as to insist on stopping him at the very least given Li Qingshan¡¯s personality for never forgetting his debts!

    Xiao An suddenly raised her head, only to see a silver star growing brighter and brighter. A stream of silver light shot in. She let go of the transmission talisman in her hand. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I need to use it anymore.¡± She smiled. ¡°This works too!¡±

    The surrounding domain rapidly shrank. The Hungry Ghost realm was already right before her eyes. She stood up gently and flew into the air.

    ¡°You think you can leave?¡± With a roar, the death qi that resembled thick mist suddenly began to surge, turning into Sovereign Li¡¯s face and lunging towards her.

    The Buddha Slaying sword struck out conveniently. Xiao An had been waiting for this exact moment. If you don¡¯t show yourself, then so be it, but you actually condensed a form? You better not blame my sword for being merciless then!

    ¡°Argh!¡± With a painful cry, the face condensed from death qi collapsed and dispersed.

    With a swing of the Buddha Slaying sword, just who could stop it? You might be some ¡°Sovereign Li¡± in the Hungry Ghost realm, but this is the nine provinces!

    Xiao An looked back and smiled. She said loudly, ¡°Sovereign Li, I¡¯ve given you the legacy of white bone, so thank you for sparing my life. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll meet again!¡± With that, she swung the Blood Sea Banner to receive the resplendent silver light!

    ¡°You actually¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu flew into a rage and launched a palm strike towards the golden vine, but the power behind the palm strike was absorbed without achieving much effect. The golden vines rapidly began to spread, covering the entire Green Province cauldron.

    ¡°Madam Vine, you want to steal the cauldron, but now¡¯s not the time!¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that madam Vine possessed extraordinary abilities. She could devour spiritual qi, and she possessed supreme vitality and defence. Striking at a time like this was basically the final ¡°brick¡± that broke the camel¡¯s back.

    ¡°Hmph, now¡¯s not the time? Then when¡¯s the time? You¡¯re not going to help me, but don¡¯t even think about getting in my way!¡± madam Vine said.

    Ever since she came to the Green province, she had been searching for an opportunity to steal the Green Province cauldron, but the Green Province cauldron was not that easy to steal. She stood even less of a chance if she tried to do so overtly. Now that such a heaven-sent opportunity had fallen into her lap, she was not just going to let it slip by.

    The Green Province cauldron shook violently. As the golden vines spread and tightened, the illusion of the Green province rapidly shrank and collapsed, allowing the demon qi to surge up.

    The Fierce King of Chu had already become exhausted from his battle with the Immortal Relinquished sword, and he had to suppress the demon cavern now. Caught between two fronts, he immediately felt like he could not maintain a grasp over the Green Province cauldron.

    ¡°Alright, whatever then!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced into the demon cavern. The spatial cracks gradually closed together as demon qi surged within the depths of the demon cavern. Who knew how many demonfolk were lurking in there, ready to go. The demon cavern was far too large. The power of tremors was great, but they could not seal up such a large gap.

    At a time like this, even if he chased madam Vine away, he could not stop the Demon domain from invading.

    Letting out a sigh, he shrugged and was about to apologise when the transmission talisman in his clothes suddenly lit up. Xiao An¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯m fine now. I¡¯m heading to Great Buddha mountain right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a laugh and pointed at madam Vine in the sky. ¡°Let go of the cauldron right now!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Xiao An passed through the silver light and glanced back at the rapidly-receding Myriad Ghosts abyss. She also rejoiced inside. That Sovereign Li had been conserving his strength.

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡± The Dark Queen rejoiced.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, mother. I¡¯ve made you worry. Come with me!¡± Xiao An comforted the Dark Queen before clasping her hands towards the Silver Dragon King in the sky. ¡°Thank you, your majesty. This is not a good place to linger around!¡± Afterwards, she turned into a white flash and flew off north. The Dark Queen followed close behind.

    ¡°Not a good place to linger around¡­¡±

    The King of Southern Yue glanced down. The Gate of Hungry Ghosts had shrunken to just a few kilometers across, but the entire Myriad Ghosts abyss was inside, which made it seem extremely twisted and strange. However, it expanded once again very soon, swallowing several hundred kilometers of land in the blink of an eye.

    He said nothing at all, immediately flying away on the Silver Dragon King.

    Xiao An flew several hundred kilometers away and looked back, only to see the surging yin qi blotting out the sky. She thought, Sure enough!

    Sovereign Li had been conserving his strength to kill two birds with one stone, to both capture her and invade the nine provinces through the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. After all, forcefully restraining the Hungry Ghost realm¡¯s will to devour was essentially a deed that went against heaven. He would definitely endure a backlash for that.

 Chapter 1102

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1102: Please Back Down

    Madam Vine obviously would not oblige to Li Qingshan¡¯s order, but she could not help but take it seriously as well. She called out, ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t forget what you promised to a certain ¡®person¡¯!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re stealing the cauldron for the Great Banyan Tree King?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I¡­ of course not!¡±

    Madam Vine twisted her words quickly and denied it vehemently. Making her admit she had travelled thousands of kilometers to the Green province for the sake of that heartless old tree daemon was impossible. She had already thought it through too. Once she obtained the Green Province cauldron, she would definitely make him beg and plead with her before she gave it to him.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s no so-called ¡®person¡¯.¡± Li Qingshan smiled before becoming solemn again. ¡°Alright. I will give the nine cauldrons to the Great Banyan Tree King in the future, but now is still not the time, so you better put the cauldron down obediently, or¡­¡±

    Demon qi gushed out from behind him. A Demon King swam out of the demon cavern first. After demonifying, it had become something akin to a tadpole, except it was countless times larger. It was sticky and snow-white, without ears, eyes, a mouth, or a nose. It gave off a vicious stench.

    A tiny tail riddled with spikes swung around behind it, producing ripples in the air and allowing it to move with startling speed. A crimson-red gash that resembled a mouth suddenly split open on its huge, round head, swallowing Li Qingshan in a single gulp. The gash immediately closed up again.

    ¡°Or what?¡± Madam Vine smiled, wrapping around the Green Province cauldron firmly and tugging at it with her full strength.

    The Fierce King of Chu was no weakling. As the lord of the Green province, he was the natural possessor of the Green Province cauldron, and that kind of connection could not be severed so easily. He continued to hold onto the Green Province cauldron as hard as he could, and after hearing the conversation between Li Qingshan and madam Vine, he became even more afraid to relax.

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King sent you?¡±

    No matter how peaceful and neutral the Great Banyan Tree King was, he still represented the Mist province at the end of the day, and he had close connections with the King of Southern Yue. There were signs indicating that they were working together.

    The balance in strength between the Green province and the Mist province had been completely lost now. If he lost the Green Province cauldron as well and allowed the Great Banyan Tree King to become the god of the Green province, then the fate of the Kingdom of Chu would be completely at his whim.

    Madam Vine said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sent by anyone. Fierce King of Chu, I¡¯d advise you to just let go! You can¡¯t suppress this demon cavern anyway. Perhaps there might be someone who would be willing to help you out with this.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need an outsider helping out with the matters of my Green province!¡±

    That was what the Fierce King of Chu said, but he could not help but feel like he was already past his prime.

    At this moment, a sharp howl rang out from below. The tadpole Demon King squirmed around violently, rampaging through the air. Its body swelled up like a balloon. Countless tears appeared, every single one howling out.

    With a boom, flesh and sticky liquid exploded across the entire place. A group of Demon Kings had just charged out the demon cavern, and they all tried to dodge upon seeing this. Some of them could not dodge, so they were drenched in the liquid, leading to a hiss of white smoke. Large pieces of their flesh were eaten away. Even their protective demon qi was useless.

    Swallowing was the tadpole Demon King¡¯s most terrifying ability. Its body was basically entirely composed of a corrosive, sticky liquid. It could not only corrode physical objects, but various kinds of energy as well. Entering its belly was equivalent to passing through the gates of death. Even Demon Kings would be reduced to a puddle.

    However, Li Qingshan was no ordinary Demon King. If you¡¯re bold enough to swallow me, then swallow me! As soon as he entered the tadpole Demon King¡¯s belly, he immediately used the Force Field of the Earth to push the liquid away from him.

    Force fields were different from regular techniques and abilities. They were immune to corrosion. As a result, the tadpole Demon King was forcefully burst open by the invisible force, dying on the spot.

    No one was surprised by this result. Instead, it would be unbelievable if Li Qingshan actually died here.

    Li Qingshan gripped a demon heart in his hand and said to madam Vine, ¡°Or this will be your¡­ whatever, just you wait!¡±

    In consideration of his relationship with the Great Banyan Tree King, killing his wife did not seem particularly appropriate, so he said something vicious that street thugs regularly used but bore no threat at all. Li Qingshan tossed the demon heart into his mouth and chewed it violently. A streak of demonic light erupted from his mouth as he swung his head around madly. The demonic light swept around randomly, forcing back the group of Demon Kings.

    In the end, he said to the Fierce King of Chu with his burnt mouth, ¡°Fellow Chu, just hold on. Your daughter will be here very soon!¡±

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡± The Fierce King of Chu was reinvigorated. If Ji Xuanyue were here, then there was no need for him to worry about this vine daemon, and it would give them a better chance at suppressing the demon cavern. He responded coldly, ¡°My surname is not Chu!¡±

    Hearing that Xiao An would be here soon, madam Vine tightened her grip and pulled against the Fierce King of Chu even harder in a hurry. Meanwhile, the Fierce King of Chu downright decided to fend her off even if he had to give up on the demon cavern. He controlled the Scarlet Dragon King at the same time to fire away at the demon cavern at full power. Puppet Kings flew down from the battleship, entering the battle. He was wagering everything on this now!

    Li Qingshan let out a laugh and swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End to receive the demons. The blade danced wildly. He turned into a battle demon and swept through the surging demon qi, completely unaffected by the environment. Instead, it strengthened him mentally, allowing him to push the Possession of the Battle Demon to an even higher realm.

    With a punch, the Demon Kings flew back in retreat. With a twist of his blade, the demons all evaded!

    On Great Buddha mountain, demon qi gushed into the clouds, forceful attacks crisscrossed the place, and the figure of a dragon soared!

    Li Qingshan and the Dragon King of Ink Sea worked together to fight the demons. The Dragon King of Ink Sea could expand and shrink at will, making him almost intangible. Even if he was cut to pieces, he was not particularly affected. He was basically unkillable.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body was tough, so he could also put up a fight. Moreover, he could undergo Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, so there was even less to fear. Even if he took on a few blows, he simply shrugged it off. Instead, he became bolder the more he fought, exchanging wounds for wounds, lives for lives.

    A Demon King shaped like an avian pierced his chest with a single claw. He did not try to dodge or block, extending his hand and ripping off the Demon King¡¯s head. He turned around and took a blast to the face. As his head was thrown back, his blade left his hand, slashing the Demon King in half before circling back into his hand.

    His vicious, intense attacks made even the Demon Kings shiver. They had been ordered to attack the nine provinces, and they would derive great benefit from it. Once everything ended in victory, they would receive the graces of the Demon domain, receiving the ¡°blessings of heaven¡±. However, nothing was more important than their lives. If they fell here, then there would be no benefits awaiting them.

    Even the Battle Demon clan was not as great as that!

    Half of Li Qingshan¡¯s tiger bones were exposed, the war banners on his back had been ripped apart long ago, and he had taken a blast to the face, so he was completely disfigured, but flames roared within his eyes as his battle spirit scorched.

    With his damaged body, he actually gained the upper hand momentarily, leaving everyone amazed once again. Without anything to worry about, he had already decided to fight to the very end, to fight to his heart¡¯s content. As for the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s side, he had come up with an idea too!

    A while later, a white figure strode over through the air. Xiao An swung the Buddha Slaying sword gently, and a Demon King was immediately converted from life to death, reverting to his original form in fright. She said to Li Qingshan apologetically, ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait.¡±

    ¡°You can never be too late for something as great as this. Send your little skeletons to help out in the Clear River prefecture. Golden Cicada can¡¯t hold on for much longer!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Xiao An swung her arm, and the Skull Prayer Beads flew out. Then she turned towards madam Vine and bowed. ¡°Please back down!¡±

 Chapter 1103

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1103: Battle Demon

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Madam Vine shivered inside. Xiao An had once killed then rescued her, so it obviously felt completely different when it was coming from her. She had taken a stroke from her sword as well, so she also knew how terrifying the Buddha Slaying sword was.

    ¡°Please back down!¡± Xiao An repeated without any expression.

    ¡°Whatever, whatever. I don¡¯t want to be slashed by your sword again!¡±

    Madam Vine sighed and slowly let go of the Green Province cauldron reluctantly. Due to the Great Banyan Tree King, Li Qingshan could not make an attempt on her life, but if Xiao An insisted on taking action, then it would be merciless.

    That was because she was not fighting for herself either.

    ¡°Many thanks,¡± said Xiao An.

    The Fierce King of Chu finally let out a sigh of relief and regained control over the Green Province cauldron. He never expected his daughter to be so mighty and influential, being able to force back this madam Vine in just a few words, which filled him with various emotions. He cast aside these random thoughts. ¡°Xuanyue, help me suppress the demon cavern!¡±

    ¡°Yes, father!¡±

    A phoenix¡¯s cry rang out!

    Li Qingshan fought until he exhausted his strength, dragging a Demon King with him before turning into a phoenix in the blink of an eye and undergoing Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. He said to the utterly dumbstruck Demon Kings, ¡°Everyone is here, so we can formally start the war now. Who¡¯s prepared to die?¡±

    His battle spirit roared. The demons all retreated, gathering right above the demon cavern.

    Actually, not a lot of Demon Kings had died since the beginning of the battle. The largest loss had occurred at the very start, when Li Qingshan used the geography to shatter the demon cavern with a single punch, allowing the Dragon King of Ink Sea to kill seven Demon Kings consecutively.

    By now, there were still almost thirty Demon Kings present. They possessed an absolute advantage in numbers. If it were not for the fact that both Li Qingshan and the Dragon King of Ink Sea were extremely good at taking a beating, one unkillable and one able to undergo rebirth, combined with the fact that the Demon Kings were selfish and would never want to risk their lives, they would have lost this battle a long time ago. They never would have lasted until now.

    However, having fought until now, even when they had a geographic advantage, they had failed to even kill a single enemy, which severely dampened the morale of the army of Demon Kings. They dared not be careless anymore, re-establishing their formation. For once, they discovered the importance of unity, but they also seemed to be waiting for something!

    ¡°Nicely done, damned disciple!¡±

    The Unraging monk covered several dozen kilometers and arrived beside Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Why have you returned?¡±

    Li Qingshan looked over. The Unraging monk was not the only one that had returned. The three other Monk Kings were present too.

    They had led the entire monastery of monks away from the battlefield. After settling them down and spending a moment catching their breaths, they returned to help out.

    ¡°This is the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Watching the Demon Suppression hall is my duty. I practise the Demon Suppression Statuary exactly for this situation!¡±

    The Unraging monk surged with demon qi, but it did not seem foul at all. Instead, it seemed very righteous and incorruptible. It turned into a Chain of Demon Suppression, wrapping around him like a dragon. He formed a seal with his left hand and held a Demon Suppression Tower in his right. The surging demon qi from the demon cavern dispersed as soon as it arrived near him.

    ¡°You sure do look like you¡¯re about to put up a fight.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°You don¡¯t say. When I was out and about, fighting and killing, you weren¡¯t even around yet!¡± the Unraging monk said.

    ¡°Abbot.¡± Xiao An brought her palms together and bowed towards the Dauntless monk. She was so dignified and harmonious in bearing that they struggled to connect her with the word ¡°buddha nemesis¡±.

    ¡°One Will!¡± The Dauntless monk¡¯s expression was mixed. He originally tried to ignore her, to pretend that he did not see her. Otherwise, between a buddha nemesis and demonfolk, the buddha nemesis had priority in being eliminated first.

    Xiao An said nothing more to him either. She said to Li Qingshan, ¡°The army of the Demon domain is coming.¡± She could sense the auras of countless beings in the Demon domain, gathering together like a long river. Who knew how many demonfolk were swarming over here.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come at the perfect time. It¡¯s a pity that your little skeletons aren¡¯t here, but having the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone is enough!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°The demon qi is too dense, so the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone will be affected. These demonfolk aren¡¯t undead after all, or we could go for a great blaze.¡±

    ¡°That would be a little troublesome,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Quantity could turn into quality. The Soaring Locust King had already demonstrated that. He could put up a fight against several dozen Demon Kings, but if it were a demonfolk army of millions, then it would not be enough even if he had all the daemon qi in the world.

    Looking at the sky, the Fierce King of Chu was currently setting up the landscape of the Green province again to stop the surging demon qi. However, they definitely could not suppress the demon cavern in a short moment.

    ¡°The Blood Sea Banner should work though, and I¡¯ve forged something new.¡±

    Xiao An blinked her eyes and raised her left arm. She held a bell in her left hand hidden within her sleeve; it was only the size of a palm, dark-blue in colour and half-transparent. As she held it in her hand that resembled a white lotus, it seemed extremely detailed and delicate, but at a closer glance, it was covered in countless, twisted faces.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s up to you!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and brought his arm around her shoulder, pecking her forehead heavily.

    Xiao An touched her forehead and smiled resplendently. ¡°Alright!¡±

    The army of demonfolk drew closer and closer. The aura from their gathering merged with the demon qi, almost pushing the Green Province cauldron aside. The Fierce King of Chu only managed to keep it in place after using his full strength, so suppressing the demon cavern was impossible.

    The auras of the several dozen Demon Kings from earlier were completely dwarfed in comparison. No matter how pure it was, it was nothing when compared to that.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh inside. It was no wonder those naturally-endowed otherfolk would lose divine kingdom after divine kingdom. Before an army like that, everyone would feel their insignificance. However, he was not worried, and it was not just because he believed in himself, but also because he believed in her.

    Xiao An seemed to sense that. She looked back, and they smiled at each other.

    At this moment, it did not seem to matter even if they did not have the Fierce King of Chu or the Dragon King of Ink Sea. As long as they worked together, they could face all crises and enemies.

    Clop! Clip! Clop!

    Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves rang out from within the demon cavern, piercing the deafening roars and battle cries and reaching everyone¡¯s ears clearly as if it was drumming against their heads. It made their hearts sink.

    Li Qingshan sensed a powerful aura that surpassed all the Demon Kings present in both quality and quantity. He thought, That¡¯s probably the Fierce King of Chu or the Dragon King of Ink Sea of the Demon domain. Given how vast the Demon domain is, not all of them will be mediocre, but why does this aura feel a little familiar?

    Whinny! With a horse¡¯s cry, a knight in black armour emerged from the demon cavern.

    With just a man and a horse, they strode ahead of the army and arrived in this world. Behind them was the devastating army of demons, but beside them was absolutely no one else.

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood where this sense of familiarity came from. The war banners on the black knight¡¯s back, sure enough, were detailed ¡°Battle Demon¡±.

    ¡°What a bunch of trash!¡±

    The black knight bellowed at the Demon Kings, and the war horse beneath him showed contempt as well.

    ¡°And how are you any better?¡± The rebuke did not come from the mouth of the Demon Kings. Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed, gazing at the knight in interest. ¡°Are you from the Battle Demon clan?¡±

    ¡°Battle Demon Hun!¡± The black knight stated his name. ¡°You are Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually heard of my name. At least you have some knowledge, except it¡¯s a pity that you don¡¯t really use your head, or you would have fled already,¡± Li Qingshan fired away with his sneers. He pointed at Battle Demon Hun and said, ¡°Leave this ass-rider to me!¡±

 Chapter 1104

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1104: Army

    ¡°Ass-rider!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun¡¯s eyes shone coldly. He drew a huge sword from the side of his saddle. The war horse that had been called an ¡°ass¡± was even more furious. Veins bulged from its body as two jets of hot air sprayed out from its nostrils. It leapt about restlessly and uttered in broken sentences, ¡°Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun swung his sword forward, pointing it at Li Qingshan. ¡°You better not run!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I don¡¯t have an ass to ride, so I won¡¯t be able to get away quickly even if I try to!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud and clenched his fists firmly. He crossed his arms and shuddered, assuming the form of a battle demon.

    With his blade in hand and his wings unfurled, he turned into a scarlet streak of light, rushing towards Battle Demon Hun and the demonfolk army alone.

    ¡°Come!¡±

    ¡°Battle!¡±

    Battle Demon Hung roared and became one with the horse, charging towards Li Qingshan with a string of blurs.

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    The demonfolk army yelled at the same time. The might was like a tsunami, rushing into the clouds on the surging demon qi.

    Boom!

    A wave of air rushed out.

    The blade and the sword collided, making their edges cross. Two powerful forces clashed violently.

    Their eyes met, only inches away from one another. One pair was scarlet-red, while the other was a bloody-red. Sparks flew. Both were surprised by their enemy¡¯s strength, which only led to even greater killing intent!

    Li Qingshan felt his shoulder ache, having been bitten by the war horse. At that moment, it no longer seemed like a horse, but a venomous snake, springing up to cause harm. Its mouth was filled with long, sharp teeth.

    Having gained a thorough understanding of the Ox Demon Transformation, he could use the various innate abilities of the ox demon with even greater ease. The skin on his shoulder immediately turned into the black hide of an ox, fending off the sharp teeth. He grinned. ¡°Your ass is pretty impressive, but my blade is a little better!¡±

    The blade cut into the edge of the sword slowly. The figure of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower seemed to overlap with Li Qingshan¡¯s, gripping the hilt firmly. A forceful clash like this demonstrated the quality of weapons the most. Clearly, the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was still better.

    Battle Demon Hun let out a mad roar. With a twist of his sword, he swung it over Li Qingshan¡¯s head with enough strength to cut through mountains.

    Li Qingshan dared not treat him like a regular Demon King. He twisted his blade, producing a profound arc and intercepting the sword. ¡°You can¡¯t hit me!¡±

    ¡°Battle!¡±

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Like claps of thunder, the blade and sword clashed a hundred times in a single instant. The world shook, and the waves of air turned into storms.

    In the centre of the storm, Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet air danced in the air as he used both A Madman at Path¡¯s End and Possession of the Battle Demon at the same time, attaining a delicate balance between strength and technique. He met every single attack from Battle Demon Hun fiercely and calmly, savouring the battle to his heart¡¯s content.

    Among all the people here, the person who was most geographically advantaged by the battlefield in the demon cavern would definitely be him!

    The Green Province cauldron was like a mountain, hanging in the sky and unleashing the illusion of the Green province. The demon cavern was like a huge, black mouth, constantly spouting with demon qi and corrupting this world with the laws of the Demon domain.

    This was where the two worlds met, while he was both a child of the nine provinces and a king among demons, so not only was he uninhibited by any of the laws, he obtained the support of the two worlds too, easily gaining the upper hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll crush a sham like you very soon. Even if you try to flee now, it¡¯s already too late!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun growled. His voice was icy-cold and steady. To be able to speak in such an intense battle, he clearly had not used his full strength yet. A colossal army pushed forward right behind him. The military formation a million strong advanced quickly and boldly, their final targets the Green Province cauldron.

    Li Qingshan was just a slightly larger obstacle to them.

    With the advance of the army, Battle Demon Hun¡¯s demon qi became thicker and thicker, and the force behind his blade became stronger and stronger too. Even with his strength of the ox demon, Li Qingshan actually began feeling like he could not hold him off anymore.

    At the same time, through the Demon Suppression Statuary¡¯s effectiveness against the demonfolk, the Unraging monk became the strongest among the four Monk Kings. They assembled the Demon Subduing Formation of the Guardian Kings and poured all of their strength into him, condensing a furious guardian king. It swung black chains around in one hand and wielded a Demon Suppression Tower in the other, smashing it about as a weapon.

    Despite that, they were constantly under attack under the encirclement of almost thirty Demon Kings, only able to shrug off the attacks through the power of demon suppression. And that was with the Demon Kings constantly guarding against any sneak attacks from the Dragon King of Ink Sea, which prevented them from using their full strength. They were like a wild bull caught between a pack of wolves. Collapsing was just a matter of time.

    And when the demonfolk army surged over, all they could do was retreat step by step. Once they were swallowed by it, it would probably only take an instant before they were ripped to pieces.

    The Scarlet Dragon King fired away at full power, blasting out with hundreds of streams of scarlet light that barraged the demonfolk army. As a weapon of war, it did indeed suit the current situation, except this was not an internal strife of the nine provinces. Whenever each stream of light illuminated the dim surroundings enveloped in demon qi, it was also weakened and nullified, limiting its killing power. The number of demonfolk it killed was completely negligible compared to the size of the entire army.

    Meanwhile, the Puppet Kings released from the Scarlet Dragon King had been dismantled by the Demon Kings long ago. One of them had even been controlled by a Demon King through some kind of method.

    The Fierce King of Chu was tense. Not only was he severely exhausted having fought until now, but it would have been impossible for him to stop an army like this even if he was in prime condition. It was impossible for the Green Province cauldron to suppress such a great army either.

    He could not help but look at his long-lost daughter. Her bluish-white monk robes fluttered in the air, but she had not done anything the entire time. She enveloped the delicate bell in her hand and seemed to be chanting something.

    The four Monk Kings fought as they retreated.

    ¡°Sure enough, the buddha nemesis is unreliable! She¡¯s evading the battle!¡±

    ¡°We should have never thought about relying on some buddha nemesis in the first place!¡±

    ¡°Gather your focus! Say no more!¡± the Dauntless monk said.

    Xiao An¡¯s identity as a buddha nemesis was already indisputable, but those words still made him feel rather uncomfortable. He continued to believe in her for some reason, believing that she would play a vital role in this battle, even determining the overall outcome!

    And if she could truly learn what fear and dread was, then that would be good too.

    Demonfolk were warped and twisted, but most of them had no right to be called ¡°buddha nemesis¡±. Anyone with some wits about them knew the buddha could not be opposed.

    Even now, he still felt pained. One Will, oh One Will. When you cultivated as a buddhist, you clearly possessed limitless potential, so why must you choose to be a buddha nemesis?

    At this moment, a colossal shadow rose up, enveloping the guardian king that the four Monk Kings assembled together.

    Battle Demon Hun¡¯s demon qi rose to the very limit before turning into a vicious battle demon standing over three thousand meters tall behind him.

    These methods of gathering and combining the power of many was not surprising. Li Qingshan had once witnessed the disciples of the school of the Military use it, as well as the undead from the Hungry Ghost realm. However, when Battle Demon Hun used it, it bore terrifying might that was worlds apart from anything he had seen before. He was unstoppable, enough to crush anything in his path.

    ¡°This world will become a part of the Demon domain. That is a shift of events that cannot be stopped. Do even the likes of you think you can put up a futile struggle?¡±

    Battle Demon Hun and the colossal battle demon spoke at the same time. Their voices overlapped, echoing through the surroundings.

    Towards the very end, he suddenly swung his huge sword, and the battle demon behind him swung its colossal demon sword as well. A ring of sword qi swept several dozen kilometers away, actually slashing the Scarlet Dragon King in half.

    Everyone watched helplessly as the greatest weapon of war the nine provinces had to offer fell out of the sky.

    A sight like that was basically enough for people to despair.

    At this moment, the sound of a bell rang out!

 Chapter 1105

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1105: Stirring of Insects

    Under the deep-blue sky, white asteroids penetrated the sea of clouds, gradually accelerating and heating up as they rubbed against the air, slamming into the endless sea of insects one after another with faint-yellow tails.

    There were a total of thirty-three consecutive rumbles. Each rumble could make an entire swarm of insects collapse. They targeted the points of weakness among the clouds.

    Yue Wuyang and the others still had no idea what was going on, but Northmoon¡¯s clone let out a sigh of relief. ¡°They¡¯re finally here!¡±

    The Soaring Locust King was alarmed. He was overwhelmed by an extremely uneasy feeling.

    A sharp, vicious bone claw suddenly extended out from a deep pit, and a Skeleton Demon stood up. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned in its skull, ready to strike.

    It opened its mouth and let out a soundless roar. An invisible ripple swept across the ground, all of them resonating together.

    The thirty-three Skeleton Demons assembled the Skeleton Demon Formation and spat out the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone at the same time, sweeping towards the sea of insects.

    Xiao An¡¯s Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone were most suited for dealing with enemies that were weak as individuals but amounted to a tremendous number. Even though every single locust was imbued with daemon qi, they could not contend against the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. There was no demon qi here to interfere with the flames either.

    In the blink of an eye, fire rose up from across the swarms, reflecting in the Soaring Locust King¡¯s compound eyes. He could not help but become both startled and furious. He swooped down, grabbing a Skeleton Demon by the skull with a claw.

    Bang! The Skeleton Demon was shoved into the ground. It became gilded with a layer of faint, buddhist light, which fended off the Soaring Locust King¡¯s demon qi.

    Bang! The Soaring Locust King launched another strike. The Skeleton Demon¡¯s skull split open, revealing the fire inside.

    Bang! Only with a third strike did the Skeleton Demon¡¯s head rupture. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone exploded, sweeping out as sparks and setting a great swathe of the insect swarm alight.

    The Soaring Locust King moved extremely quickly. Destroying a tough Skeleton Demon would only take him a few seconds, except there were thirty-three of them in total here. Gu Yanying and the others would not just stand by and allow him to do as he pleased either. They all encircled him and attacked him as well.

    The Soaring Locust King was not afraid of being surrounded, but the flames spread at a startling speed. It was basically like thirty-three sparks landing in a pot of oil. Before he could even respond, the sea of insects had already turned into a sea of flames.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone did not have the power to harm the original body like the Buddha Slaying sword, but having so many clones destroyed in a split second still made the Soaring Locust King¡¯s blood boil. His emotions were in turmoil.

    Without any regard, he broke out of the encirclement and crushed three Skeleton Demons consecutively, but he was unable to stop the spread of the fire. The insect swarm he had spent all these years accumulating was incinerated in the flames. His hatred of several thousand years was reduced to nothing in a single day.

    ¡°No!¡± He roared hysterically.

    Without the insects causing trouble, the heavenly tribulation of ascension immediately stabilised. The Golden Cicada Spirit King used the tribulation of the world to free himself from the cicada skin, and his body began to grow as well, going from an infant to a child, then to a young adult. He was brimming with spirit¡ªhandsome, clever, and pure in appearance. His eyes were dark and clear. If it were not for the slightly wrinkly cicada wings on his back, he was no different from a human enlightened monk, even surpassing them in bearing.

    He was like an egg that had waited in the dark earth for all these years, just for the joy of bursting forth from the ground, breaking free from his restraints and soaring through the air one night.

    Everyone could sense it. His aura was changing in a qualitative manner. He had already reached the final juncture of the tribulation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± The Soaring Locust King controlled his remaining locust Daemon Commanders and charged at the tribulation lightning without any regard.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

    The Skeleton Demons turned back into the pure-white Skull Prayer Beads and zoomed over, killing all of the remaining Daemon Commanders before turning into skulls and tightening the formation. They cackled away as they surrounded the Soaring Locust King.

    Xiao An had just not sent her entire string of Skull Prayer Beads here to help the Golden Cicada Spirit King ascend, but also to completely eliminate the problem that was the Soaring Locust King.

    The developments occurred so quickly that they were like a plunging waterfall, swift, flexible, and as smooth as possible. She had reversed the entire situation in a single instant.

    Yue Wuyang and Jin Fugui exchanged glances, almost unable to return to their senses. They obviously also managed to recognise that this was that ¡°princess Xuanyue¡¯s¡± handiwork. The battle on Great Buddha mountain had already left them extremely shocked, but they never thought she had not even been using her full strength.

    As it seemed, it was not a rumor that the Umbral Yin sect had been destroyed by her alone. It made sense when they thought about it too. Throughout history, were there any of the people who were worthy of the title ¡°buddha nemesis¡± that were not supreme cultivators?

    They, who had just been outnumbered by the Soaring Locust King earlier, used this opportunity to converge around him. They wanted to end the locust plague that had wreaked havoc across the Green province from the very source, to avenge all the people that had fallen.

    With each turn of the skulls, the Skeleton Demon Formation became tighter. None of them were in a hurry to strike either, only holding their ground and plugging up any possible holes. They pressed closer to the Soaring Locust King slowly, just in case he wanted to throw his life at any of them.

    Having been forced into dire straits, the Soaring Locust King seemed to be dumbfounded. He ignored everything going on around him, gazing at the sky. His eyes became bloody as the corner of his eyes split open, allowing two streaks of blood to run down as tears. He roared hysterically, ¡°Golden Cicada!¡±

    The fierce wind whistled and moaned like the accumulation of hatred, blowing across the ground, blowing across the sky. This was fury and hatred that he could never be freed from.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King looked back. He seemed to let out a sigh, recalling those matters of the past.

    A cicada nymph that was drawn to the spiritual qi but refused to crawl out of the ground and a locust that refused to go with the autumn wind like the millions of others of its kind met at the same spiritual vein. They endured countless springs, summers, autumns, and winters together, unlocking a ray of intelligence within their consciousness.

    They were insects, ignorant, foolish insects, feeble, fleeting insects, ones that managed to emerge and stand out among their species. The chances for them to become daemons was negligibly small, yet among the millions, the billions of choices that the will of the heavens could make, they became friends, spending their lives together.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Look at you, you bumpkin. Do you know the delight that comes from soaring through the air? When I become a Daemon King, I¡¯ll call myself the Soaring Locust King!¡±

    ¡°There will be a day when I fly too, but before that, I need patience!¡±

    ¡°What patience? I¡¯ll take you flying right now!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Stop¡­ It¡¯s too high!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°That damned baldy. It hurts so much!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a monk.¡±

    ¡°What monk? If I ever see a baldy again, I¡¯ll eat them. I won¡¯t spare a single one!¡±

    ¡°Stop moving around. Let me heal you.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ve assumed a human form. When I eat humans, I won¡¯t be discovered so easily.¡±

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t eat humans, those monks wouldn¡¯t have pursued you so relentlessly.¡±

    ¡°Is there something wrong with your head? If I don¡¯t eat humans, what am I supposed to eat? If I just drink tree sap, how long will that take before I become a Daemon Commander? Speaking of which, don¡¯t you think humans taste better?¡±

    ¡°Whatever. If you die, don¡¯t blame me!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Sigh, I almost faced annihilation this time. Sure enough, the King of Chu¡¯s estate is not an easy enemy to face. Fortunately, you warned me.¡±

    ¡°Just stop already. If you continue like this, you¡¯ll be killed.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. Do the likes of them really think they can kill me, the Soaring Locust King? Speaking of which, I have you helping me out, don¡¯t I? Those monks would never think of your identity. Alright, stop showing me a long face. Once you obtain the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga and I get my revenge, let¡¯s ascend together!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Push over the Demon Suppression hall? What a good idea! Let¡¯s make a mess!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Golden Cicada! Why? Why!?¡±

 Chapter 1106

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1106: Revenge

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King suddenly roused, turning his head in the direction of Great Buddha mountain. He could not see the gushing demon qi from here, but he could sense the collapse of space and the surging of the demon cavern, and the sensation was becoming clearer by the moment.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Xiao An and I will deal with the demon cavern ourselves. Just go without worrying!¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King nodded and gently shed his skin. ¡°This is my gift.¡±

    The tribulation clouds gradually dispersed as the whistling tribulation lightning slowly gathered together as well. He spread out his slightly-wrinkly cicada wings and faced the sky again.

    He had waited ten millennia for this moment!

    However, in the final moments, a certain part in his heart began to hurt more and more, like a deeply-buried spine. Originally, he thought it would vanish with time, but he had only grown accustomed to the pain. It had never disappeared. It had pierced his heart once again to his surprise, making him bleed inside. His expression began to change, sometimes saddened and sometimes confused.

    The tribulation lightning that originally posed no more threat suddenly became even sharper and more terrifying than ever before. The rumbling thunder filled his sea of consciousness, even giving him the false impression that his body and mind was falling apart.

    Xiao An saw this through the eyes of the Skeleton Demons and seemed to realise something. Then she looked at the Soaring Locust King in dire straits.

    ¡°Golden Cicada!¡± With a mad howl, the Soaring Locust King rushed towards the tribulation lightning without any regard.

    Everyone struck together. The sharp atmospheric winds, the sweeping black sand, the dragon-like spear, as well as Northmoon¡¯s clone supporting them, all trying to prevent him from breaking free.

    The Soaring Locust King did not dodge, forcefully enduring all the attacks with just a single thought in mind!

    The Skeleton Demon Formation revolved and closed around him, even making the Soaring Locust King feel despair. However, he continued to buzz his wings as hard as he could, flying towards the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

    The Skeleton Demons in his way suddenly shifted to one side, and the Soaring Locust King immediately broke free from the encirclement, rushing into the clouds.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡± Li Qingshan was rather perplexed, but he believed she had her reason for doing this.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King gazed at the incoming Soaring Locust King. There was no fear or panic. Instead, he became relieved, and his expression settled down. The roaring thunder faded off into the distance, having been discarded from his mind.

    ¡°Go die!¡± The Soaring Locust King used all of his strength, extending a claw towards the Golden Cicada Spirit King. He completely disregarded the fact that he had been swallowed by the tribulation lightning as well, or perhaps this was his objective in the first place. He would do it even if they perished together!

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King gazed deeply into the Soaring Locust King¡¯s eyes. His cold, compound eyes possessed a natural viciousness, a hysterical hatred as well as deep pain.

    They had known each other for ten thousand years, but never had he seen him in so much pain. Even when he had been hunted to the brink of death all those times, he would always go back to planning his revenge in a frenzied manner. Under his frenzy, he was actually very clever, possessing intelligence unbefitting of an insect, even more clever than the Golden Cicada Spirit King himself. He had never cast aside his cultivation for the sake of something like revenge. He did not even take revenge seriously. He viewed any and all precarious predicaments as perfectly logical and natural. It was perfectly logical and natural to eat humans, and it was perfectly logical and natural to be hunted down by humans. All it came down to was who was stronger in the very end.

    However, this revenge had broken that principle of his. He had not multiplied furiously for cultivation, much less to satiate his gluttony. Instead, it was purely for the sake of revenge. He carried out a massacre like he was venting, and it was just so that he could make him see it all.

    ¡°I understand. From beginning to end, I was the only one you hated.¡±

    The betrayal that time led to a grievance that the Soaring Locust King would never forget, but it also became something that weighed on his mind for several thousand millennia, something he could never free himself from. He constantly thought about it in recollection. Was there perhaps a better way to handle it? Had he perhaps been wrong right from the get-go?

    Was it saving all living creatures? Was it out of benevolence? Was it upholding justice? Was it punishing the wicked?

    Or was it selfishly selling out friends! Using deceit to defeat trust! Using ill will to defeat goodwill!

    He had not buried himself deep within the magma for the sake of cultivation only.

    Lolth could be regarded as vicious in nature, yet he remained hidden in the magma, allowing her to do as she pleased, just in an attempt to find an answer.

    But even until now, there was no answer. He could not satisfy both sides!

    But at the very least, he could still bear it.

    As a result, when the claw shot towards him, he did not fight back or assume a defensive position. Instead, he spread his arms and apologised.

    ¡°Sorry. I was¡­ wrong!¡±

    In the next moment, the sharp claw pierced his chest, and golden blood splattered out. The Soaring Locust King gritted his teeth and said hoarsely, ¡°Golden Cicada, it¡¯s too late!¡±

    The tribulation lightning intensified once again, drowning them in lightning and blurring their figures.

    ¡°I know¡­¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King murmured.

    ¡°You¡¯re always so hesitant and uncertain! Since you¡¯ve already made your decision to betray me, then you should have downright killed me! You wouldn¡¯t have today if you did that,¡± the Soaring Locust King said viciously.

    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± said the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

    ¡°But you¡¯ve already killed me!¡± the Soaring Locust King bellowed.

    The tribulation lightning had already reached its end, but due to the Soaring Locust King¡¯s entry, its might had reached an unbelievable level. The figure of the battle demon on his back rapidly faded away, and soon afterwards, even his body began to disintegrate.

    The Skeleton Demons watched closely. Even if he pulled out of the lightning immediately, he definitely would not be able to escape with his injuries. He had no intention of escaping either.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King was unable to say anything in response. He lowered his head.

    ¡°I¡¯m at fault too. I clearly knew you were soft-hearted and a fool, easily deluded and deceived by others. I shouldn¡¯t have let you go to the monastery of baldies!¡± The Soaring Locust King suddenly noticed the half-transparent cicada wings on the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s back. The madness and hatred on his face faded away, seeming rather remorseful.

    ¡°Sigh, we¡¯re both going to die, yet you still say something like that.¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King sighed, but his heart lightened up for some reason as if he had returned to a very long time ago.

    The spine in his heart vanished. As an ignorant, foolish insect, a feeble, fleeting insect, perhaps there was nothing he could complain about for having a life like this!

    ¡°Die? I still haven¡¯t forgiven you yet! I will make you regret it forever!¡± The Soaring Locust King extended a claw slowly, throwing a punch at the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s face.

    Li Qingshan caught the golden cicada skin that drifted down from above. It felt weightless, yet it also felt indestructible. He looked up at the sky again, and even he did not expect a conclusion like this, where the two great Daemon Kings perished together.

    Gu Yanying glanced at the Skeleton Demons. Just like that, they could kill the Soaring Locust King without any risk, without any loss, and no one would be able to find any fault in it. Even the Golden Cicada Spirit King himself had accepted this conclusion. Her calculations were truly unpredictable. As a matter of fact, she was not even sure to describe it as benevolent or cruel.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Qingshan noticed something. The Soaring Locust King and the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s figures suddenly separated in the resplendent lightning. Originally, he thought the Soaring Locust King had gotten his revenge and was planning to flee, but all he saw was that he turned into a locust, flying against the lightning and into the sky. His colossal body almost intercepted the lightning, but it only sped up his disintegration.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King fell down with his eyes wide open. All he saw was the Soaring Locust King gradually vanish within the lightning.

    ¡°No!¡± He immediately spread his wings and flew towards the sky.

    Boom! A great rumble drowned out all of the thunder, and the Soaring Locust King¡¯s body shattered violently. Blinding light illuminated the surroundings, even more dazzling than the lightning. A violent wave of air slammed the Golden Cicada Spirit King against the ground heavily.

    The heavens seemed to have unleashed their final bit of fury, and the tribulation clouds finally dispersed gradually. Sunlight peeked through the cracks, scattering on the ground.

    This was his final revenge!

 Chapter 1107

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1107 ¨C Soul Stirring

    Cling!

    The clear ring of a bell echoed out, rendering all silent as if it had drained away all sounds. That was the silence and speechlessness of death.

    Clang!

    The bell shook again, and the clear ring was immediately shattered, becoming extremely disorderly and raucous.

    The demonfolk army began to move restlessly. The sounds of the bell constantly entered their ears, but it rang out in their hearts.

    The restless feelings of desire, the unforgettable feelings of regret, anger, loss, loneliness, fear¡­ They all began whispering away, and as the sound of the bell rippled, they grew greater and greater, louder and louder, roaring away and clashing endlessly.

    This was the confusion and noisiness of life.

    Between life and death, there were great horrors and great confusion, just to confuse and stir the soul!

    Xiao An wielded the Soul Stirring Bell frantically as she chanted away, possessing both the obscure cries of dragons and the stern decrees of vinaya. It merged with the ringing, making it even messier.

    Her silence earlier was not just to control the Skull Prayer Beads in a long-range battle, but also to balance the buddhist and the demonic so that she could push the power of the Soul Stirring Bell to the limit.

    Most of the demon army were still regular demonfolk, so they immediately fell into disorder, beginning to tear one another apart. Even the Demon Generals felt restless, tempted to start a massacre. The Demon Commanders could still maintain their rationality, but they were not enough to maintain the formation.

    The Demon Kings were unaffected, but they did not possess the authority to command the army at all. This was an army that only belonged to Battle Demon Hun.

    With the military formation in shambles, they immediately lost their unity, and the colossal battle demon began to blur. Battle Demon Hun¡¯s face changed, and he immediately became overwhelmed with killing intent.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed inside. This was basically a weapon of mass destruction. Sure enough, Xiao An was still the reliable one!

    The huge sword that had sliced through the Scarlet Dragon King swept through the air, churning up the demon qi and slashing towards Xiao An.

    Xiao An completely ignored it. She did not even budge. She focused on the Soul Stirring Bell as her blueish-white robes drifted in the wind.

    A bloody moon rose up into the sky, and Li Qingshan cut through the sword in a single stroke, guarding Xiao An¡¯s side. He swung his blade towards Battle Demon Hun. ¡°Your enemy is me!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun suddenly let out a furious roar. The colossal battle demon behind him spread its arms and let out a terrifying war cry, immediately weakening the sounds of the bell. The demonfolk all recovered from the chaos.

    ¡­¡­

    The Clear River prefecture.

    The sunlight illuminated the devastated ground, giving it a layer of warmth. The Golden Cicada Spirit King gazed at the sky blankly as the cicada wings on his back rippled magnificently in the light.

    Li Qingshan was rather stunned too. Had he failed the tribulation? After all, if he succeeded with the tribulation, then he could no longer reside in this world. Since he had not ascended successfully, then it meant failure.

    However, something like this rarely ever happened. Facing the heavenly tribulation was often a battle between life and death. Success was climbing to a greater height, while failure was absolute devastation. Normally, only with the first heavenly tribulation was there a chance to fail and still survive, and the chances of that were already extremely slim. The injuries resulting from that would often be enough to sever their path of cultivation.

    Never had he heard of an example of failing a heavenly tribulation of ascension and still surviving. On top of that, the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s cultivation had clearly increased, only a step away from ascension. Not only was he unharmed, but he had even benefited from it, which was unbelievable.

    Gu Yanying could vaguely guess the reason for this. The heavenly tribulation was already approaching its end in the first place. The Soaring Locust King had sent countless clones that bore his aura into the lightning at first, while his main body had died in the lightning in the very end. Coupled with the fact that his own strength was extremely close to undergoing the tribulation, he misled the heavenly tribulation into believing the person facing the tribulation was already dead.

    There were far too many obscure strokes of fortunes and coincidences involved that led to this end result, which made her sigh. The Soaring Locust King devoted himself to stopping the Golden Cicada Spirit King from undergoing the heavenly tribulation, even going to such great lengths, only to endure the horrific price of failing the tribulation in place of the Golden Cicada Spirit King in the end.

    Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang both eased up. Regardless of the result, at least they had dealt with a great problem of the Green province. This fell under their responsibilities as the Gold Hawk commander and the Great General King.

    Suddenly, they remembered the scene that the Soaring Locust King had shown in the beginning and asked Li Qingshan in a hurry, ¡°How¡¯s the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga?¡±

    ¡°The Demon Suppression hall has been destroyed, and the demon cavern has been opened up. The Demon domain has launched a large-scale invasion, and a million-strong army is already making their way over. I¡¯m going back right now to provide support. If you¡¯re interested, you can take a look with me.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the Golden Cicada Spirit King. Even this piece of news could not get a response out of him; instead, he continued to stare at the sky blankly. Li Qingshan felt some pity inside. If he could help out, he would definitely be an extremely powerful ally. After all, it was very likely for him to possess the highest cultivation across the nine provinces right now, wedged between Daemon King and Daemon Emperor.

    However, it was best if he did not disturb him right now!

    As a result, he extended his hand and allowed the string of Skull Prayer Beads to wrap around his wrist. He unfurled his wings and sailed off.

    ¡°First father¡¯s clone, wait for me!¡± The little phoenix chased after him.

    ¡°Why do you call me first father¡¯s clone?¡± Li Qingshan shot a glance at him.

    ¡°Is there something wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t follow me. You haven¡¯t even undergone the third heavenly tribulation, so what¡¯re you getting involved for? Go play with your younger sister!¡± Li Qingshan ordered.

    The little phoenix was reluctant, but he refused to talk back to Li Qingshan, even if it was just his ¡°first father¡¯s clone¡±. All he could do was turn around and fly off.

    The sound of wind reached his ears, and Li Qingshan glanced back. Gu Yanying had caught up with him, travelling beside him. She smiled. ¡°How can I not get involved with something like this?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but be careful. This battle is extremely dangerous!¡± Li Qingshan warned sternly. Even great cultivators could not necessarily protect themselves in a war like this.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m over-worrying. Given your ability to make decisions on a whim and to conserve strength, it¡¯ll only be strange if you face any danger.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t describe me in such a horrible way. After all, I¡¯ve helped you several times in the past!¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, I will never forget commander Gu¡¯s great kindness!¡± Li Qingshan joked. He suddenly felt the Skull Prayer Beads around his wrist tighten. Yeah, the situation with the battle was critical. It really was not time to joke around.

    Gu Yanying let out a laugh and accelerated, speeding off into the distance.

    Hearing what Li Qingshan said, Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang were both grim as well, exchanging glances and feeling slightly pained inside. Dealing with a Soaring Locust King alone had been so difficult. They had just put out the locust plague, and now, a demon plague had come, and it was even more dangerous than the locust plague. The Green province sure faced a lot of disasters.

    It was a mystery how they would respond if they learnt about the Myriad Ghosts abyss¡¯ current situation and the army from the Kingdom of Yue that was gradually pressing closer.

    ¡°Are we going?¡± Jin Fugui let out a sigh and asked Yue Wuyang.

    ¡°We are!¡± Yue Wuyang said firmly. As someone from the school of the Military, how could he shirk away from a battle?

    ¡°The Hell realm is nowhere near as fun as the Asura realm,¡± said Jin Fugui. The position of Gold Hawk commander that Great Xia had granted him was not worth taking a risk like that.

    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to go.¡±

    ¡°Even you¡¯re going, so how can I not go?¡±

    ¡°Travel a little more slowly and catch your breath!¡± A smile also appeared on Yue Wuyang¡¯s solemn face.

    In the blink of an eye, only Lolth remained there. She gazed at the Golden Cicada Spirit King and faltered before returning underground without saying a single word.

    Suddenly, everyone heard the cries of cicadas, making them look back. The cicada cries bore some similarity to the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, except it was also vastly different at the same time. It was much more wondrous, tremendous like singing at the top of his lungs, completely filling the world.

    There were no ingenious, profound buddhist truths, only unspeakable sorrow.

    It was a sombre song of grief!

    The cries grew greater and greater, louder and louder, virtually surpassing what could be heard.

    A streak of golden light rose up into the horizon, shooting over everyone¡¯s heads at an extremely great speed, heading right towards Great Buddha mountain.

 Chapter 1108

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1108: Certain Defeat

    The monks of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga stood on the top of the mountain, gazing into the distance. Within the gushing demon qi, they could only make out a blurry outline of Great Buddha mountain. It was enveloped in a much deeper and larger shadow, which was the shadow of the demonfolk army. They roared out as they surged towards the Green Province cauldron in the sky. At the very front was the three-thousand-meter-tall battle demon that looked down on all of them, leading the demon army a million strong. Even from here, they could clearly make out the war cries.

    An ink dragon swam around the surroundings of the demonfolk army, maneuvering between the Demon Kings. Its body was slashed apart, ripped apart, and even pulverised countless times, but it would reassemble every single time. It just seemed much more feeble.

    He was already using his full strength to keep the Demon Kings busy, but there were far too many of them. They supported one another, making it difficult to kill any single one of them. If it were not for the fact that he could not be killed, he probably would have died here a long time ago.

    The only hope resided in the sky.

    The Fierce King of Chu controlled the Green Province cauldron, trying his best to keep the gushing demon qi at bay. He sucked Xiao An into the illusion of the Green province as well. Xiao An shook the Soul Stirring Bell, forcing the colossal battle demon to use its war cries to fend off the ringing, preventing it from wreaking havoc as it wished. Li Qingshan swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, constantly attacking Battle Demon Hun and stopping his advance.

    As for the four Monk Kings, even with the Unraging monk¡¯s Battle Demon Statuary, they were chased all over the place by the Demon Kings, facing constant danger. Even protecting themselves became an issue.

    With the decline of the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s strength, more and more Demon Kings were freed up, and they provided support to Battle Demon Hun in a hurry. They did not attack Li Qingshan, instead looping around him and directly attacking the Fierce King of Chu.

    If the illusion of the Green province shattered, then the power of the demon cavern would no longer be suppressed. Both the demonfolk army and them, the Demon Kings, would be able to unleash their full strength. No one would be able to stop them anymore.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. No matter how powerful he was, his arms were full. He was in no shape to support the Fierce King of Chu.

    The Fierce King of Chu was stern. As he stood in the centre of the landscape, the obscure illusions suddenly seemed to solidify, turning into mountains, rivers, and vegetation. As soon as the Demon Kings stepped in there, they were immediately met with the rumbles of thunder, the collapse of mountains, and various natural phenomena.

    A Demon King suddenly halted. His expression twisted and distorted as if he was suffering from some sort of disease or something had gone wrong during cultivation. A string of lightning just happened to crash down on him, blasting him to pieces with a rumble!

    The other Demon Kings lost the courage to advance any further. They lingered around the outskirts of the illusion, pushing in slowly.

    As invaders from a foreign world, they faced the restraint from the laws of the World of the Nine Provinces. The illusion produced by the Green Province cauldron was a condensation of the power of laws. As a result, it demonstrated alarming power right now, holding off the Demon Kings¡¯ attacks like an impregnable fortress.

    However, this was one of the largest demon caverns in the world. The demon qi that gushed into the air could easily contaminate thousands of kilometers. As the bridge tower for the Demon domain¡¯s invasion, how could it be suppressed so easily?

    Boom!

    The blade and sword clashed again. Battle Demon Hun let out a furious roar and suddenly swung down with his huge sword.

    Li Qingshan drifted backwards in retreat, and a few strands of scarlet hair floated down.

    After gaining the power of the entire army, Battle Demon Hun¡¯s strength had reached an unbelievable level. Even more terrifyingly, he could wield this power as he pleased. He was flawless in terms of both battle technique and battle spirit.

    Li Qingshan tried his various innate abilities and techniques, but he struggled to kill him. Even if it led to some damage, it would just¡­

    Battle Demon Hun glanced at the sword in his hand. It was covered in nicks and slashes. A dim, demonic glow flowed into the sword from his arm, and the damage vanished in the blink of an eye, like it had gone back to being brand-new.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I admit that your strength is extraordinary. Unfortunately, you¡¯re far too foolish.¡±

    ¡°Foolish! What do you mean by that?¡± Li Qingshan said. The battle in the Clear River prefecture had just ended, so he was more than happy to buy some time.

    ¡°You chose the wrong side. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re a demon as well. Your battle is completely pointless. If this world becomes a part of the Demon domain, it¡¯ll only be to your benefit, not detriment. With your talent and strength, it¡¯s completely possible for you to join the Battle Demon clan and become a true battle demon! This world is far too weak. It even struggles to express its will. If you join my side and fight for the Demon domain, you¡¯ll learn what the ¡®will of the heavens¡¯ means. It comes with endless benefits!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun tried to tempt him. He knew that even if he defeated Li Qingshan, he would struggle to kill him here, and he would become a huge problem in the future. However, if he recruited him into the ranks of the Demon domain, then he would become a great ally. At the same time, it would provide him with even more opportunities to kill him.

    ¡°That does sound very reasonable. Allow me to consider it.¡± Li Qingshan stroked his chin as if he was actually considering changing sides.

    ¡°Damn it! This kid is going to change his allegiance!¡± a Monk King said, but with further thought, what ¡°allegiance¡± did a wretched daemon have to speak of in the first place?

    ¡°He won¡¯t¡­¡± The Unraging monk said with absolute confidence.

    Before he could say anything more than that, there was a great rumble, and the furious guardian king collapsed under the combined efforts of several Demon Kings.

    ¡°In that past, there was a foolish battle demon that had been deluded by bald asses here, setting off on a wicked path of opposing the Demon domain. If you can realise his errors and join the Battle Demon clan, that would form quite a story!¡± Battle Demon Hun added.

    He was certain that Li Qingshan would make the correct decision. With each invasion launched by the Demon domain in the past, they had never lacked any traitors that defected to their side.

    ¡°Then what kind of position would I get if I join you?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Only second to me in the vanguard army!¡± Battle Demon Hun said. However, he was the only one who controlled the army in the first place, so it made no actual difference.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very tempting!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. Qiongqi had also offered up a position of being ¡°second to him¡± in the past, but who knew how many times greater his status was compared to Battle Demon Hun. As a result, he smiled. ¡°What if I want to replace you?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Killing intent flashed across Battle Demon Hun¡¯s face. ¡°Alright, very well. Even now, you¡¯re still trying to buy time? Though, I¡¯m not different. You will face certain defeat in this battle. If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re welcome to take a look up there.¡±

    In that instant, the illusion of the Green province was gradually corrupted by the demon qi. An oriole in the illusion currently perched on a branch and sang when its feathers suddenly became pitch-black. Its body twisted and swelled, and it let out a miserable cry that was no longer pleasant even in the slightest. The other vegetation and creatures all began to demonify too. The Demon Kings pressed closer and closer towards the Green Province cauldron.

    The black splotch on the Green Province cauldron that represented the demon cavern grew in size, spreading out like veins.

    The demonfolk army was like an army carrying out a sieve. Even though they moved much more slowly due to the disturbance from the Soul Stirring Bell, they still pressed up close to the Green province illusion. They only needed to surge forth, and Li Qingshan definitely would not be able to keep them at bay. The Green province illusion would not be able to keep them suppressed either, and they would have basically lost this battle!

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk flew several hundred kilometers away from Great Buddha mountain before finally escaping the Demon Kings¡¯ pursuit. They were both utterly exhausted and covered in wounds. The two other Monk Kings had already fallen, blowing up their ?ar¨©ra to stop the demon army¡¯s advance and to earn them a chance at surviving. However, within the gushing demon qi, even the glow from their self-destruction seemed so feeble.

    They gazed at Great Buddha mountain, refusing to accept this result. ¡°Have we really just been defeated?¡±

    Li Qingshan was completely unworried. He stretched and let out a yawn. ¡°You will face certain defeat in this battle. If you don¡¯t believe me, you¡¯re welcome to listen closely!¡±

    In that instant, everyone heard the cries of cicadas!

 Chapter 1109

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1109: Breaking Out of the Situation

    A golden star lit up on the horizon before soon turning into a golden thread that shot across the sky.

    ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°What speed!¡±

    The Unraging monk and the Dauntless monk were both surprised. Never had they seen such a swift streak of light, and even more confusingly, the golden light bore some resemblance to the holy light of buddhism. Had a fellow from another Buddhist sect come to provide support?

    In the next moment, they also heard the cries of cicadas!

    They exchanged glances. Was it perhaps¡­

    ¡°The Golden Cicada Spirit King!¡±

    The first one who mentioned the name was actually Battle Demon Hun, which only demonstrated just how well he understood the nine provinces. He was rather stern, but he said in disdain, ¡°What a joke. Do you really think you can reverse the situation with just a measly Daemon King?¡±

    ¡°Just try him, and you¡¯ll know!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The golden light halted, stopping above Great Buddha mountain. He overlooked Great Buddha mountain with its golden eyes, but there was no delight from spreading his wings and soaring through the air. The cries of the cicadas only became even louder and clearer, almost shrill.

    The battle demon¡¯s roar suddenly halted. The cries of the cicada were almost tangible, entering through its mouth and silencing all other sounds. Golden light began to spill out from its body.

    The ringing of the bell immediately became clear again. For a moment, the demon army sank into chaos and began turning against one another again. Blood began to flow like rivers, splashing into the sky.

    The colossal Battle Demon Hun shuddered and immediately blurred, accelerating its collapse within the cries of the cicada.

    ¡°Attack! If anyone hesitates or dawdles, they¡¯ll be executed without mercy!¡±

    Under Battle Demon Hun¡¯s order, the Demon Kings no longer cared about the power of the laws of the world. Facing the lightning, thunder, hail, and storms, they charged towards the Green Province cauldron menacingly.

    The contamination of demon qi on the Green Province cauldron became even worse, now struggling to keep the demon qi at bay. Instead, it was pushed upwards. Even the Fierce King of Chu struggled to keep his control over it.

    With a flash of golden light, a handsome, young monk, brimming with spirit, descended from above, landing on the Green Province cauldron. His kasaya drifted through the air with a sense of nobility that far exceeded the entire Green province.

    He brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name, ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡±

    His clear voice turned into a golden ring of light, sending a dozen or so Demon Kings flying and stabilising the corruption of the demon qi.

    The cries of the cicadas had never stopped during all of that.

    Battle Demon Hun also charged over with the other Demon Kings. The horse underneath him galloped away like it was unstoppable!

    Li Qingshan stopped them with his blade. He could not allow them to set foot in the illusion of the Green province. The Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s cultivation was high, but he had already used up much of his strength when he faced the tribulation earlier. He could not outlast so many Demon Kings.

    Suddenly, an inky figure bobbed up and down beside him, turning into human form and standing beside Li Qingshan with a sword in hand.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him. ¡°You still well?¡±

    He was not expecting a reply from the Dragon King of Ink Sea, but what he received was, ¡°I¡¯m very well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then!¡± Li Qingshan let out a hearty laugh.

    The two great Daemon Kings lifted their weapons at the same time, receiving the demons!

    ¡°Force Field of the Earth!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vision darkened and brightened. With him as the centre, the surrounding force field constantly fluctuated, shrinking and expanding, making the Demon Kings advance and retreat uncontrollably. He could not concentrate his powers on a single Demon King, so he could not completely stop them, but he immediately ripped apart their encirclement and broke the rhythm of their combined attacks.

    The fastest was still Battle Demon Hun. His legs had already vanished, merging with the demon horse underneath him to a certain degree. He became one with the horse, slashing over with his sword. ¡°Die!¡±

    If Li Qingshan let go of his control of the force field and allowed the Demon Kings to unleash their advantage in numbers, then the outcome of the battle would be determined immediately. However, if he brushed this slash aside, it definitely was not something he could take on forcefully.

    The inky figure drifted about. Mo Wuhen turned around and swung his sword to receive Battle Demon Hun. His sword seemed puny compared to Battle Demon Hun¡¯s colossal sword, but in the moment they clashed, the inky-black spread, reaching Battle Demon Hun through the sword and dragging him into the painting.

    This was the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s special technique, A Thousand Autumns in a Painting!

    The Demon Kings all responded extremely quickly. In the moment they faced the interference from the Force Field of the Earth, they used their strongest attacks, splitting open with several hundred eyes, condensing a dark-purple ball of light between the three horns on their heads, and so on. The terrifying, demonic light that was enough to destroy an entire mountain hurtled over!

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea dragged Battle Demon Hun into the painting, giving him an absolute geographic advantage, but he could not move about freely anymore. And even if he could move, the Green Province cauldron could not.

    The Fierce King of Chu had reached his limit already. Xiao An had to focus on the Soul Stirring Bell, while the Golden Cicada Spirit King used his cries to suppress the colossal battle demon while holding off over a dozen Demon Kings himself. Such a feat was already extremely impressive. If these dozen or so Demon Kings were thrown into the mix, the illusion of the Green province would definitely shatter.

    After demonifying, none of these Demon Kings really resembled humans anymore. Instead, they seemed more like daemons. However, when it came to their scheming and cunning, they were far more powerful than any regular human cultivator.

    Their combined strike basically guaranteed success. If anyone tried to block it forcefully, it did not matter if they had bones forged from metal or a thousand autumns in a painting. It would all be annihilated before the crushing strength!

    The Force Field of the Earth had a great effect on anything tangible, but the effects were not so obvious anymore when it came to waves of light and streams of air.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s abilities had always been very comprehensive, covering all bases. He stood before the illusion of the Green province without cowering at all. His eyes suddenly became calm and rippleless, deep like the ocean. The terrifying light was reflected in them. He spread his arms and unfurled a smooth mirror surface before him.

    ¡°Last Reflection of the Setting Sun!¡±

    However, when the terrifying attack landed on the mirror, the mirror twisted and warped, also struggling to endure such a vicious attack. It began to crack violently.

    Li Qingshan frowned and launched a palm strike. ¡°Return!¡±

    Boom!

    With a great rumble, the mirror shattered, and the demonic light exploded. A wave of air swept hundreds of kilometers away, cleaning up the surroundings.

    Even the gushing demon qi had been pressed back, a good portion of Great Buddha mountain was swallowed by the light, and the Green Province cauldron was hurled high into the air by the collateral damage. However, at least it had avoided the full brunt of the attack, allowing the Green province illusion to remain intact.

    The Thousand Autumns in a Painting shattered, and Battle Demon Hun broke free. He had completely merged with his war horse by now, swinging his sword without any hesitation as he charged over.

    Half of Li Qingshan¡¯s bones were exposed. He swung his blade and cut through the light. ¡°Again!¡±

    The cries of cicadas, the ringing of bells, the cries of battle, the howls¡­ the various sounds gathered together, merging together and filling the surroundings!

    The buddhist glow, the demon qi, the blade aura, the sword slashes¡­ the various colours criss-crossed, sometimes dim and sometimes bright, clashing together and dispersing one another!

    This was the conflict between two worlds, but under the ringing of the Soul Stirring Bell, the demonfolk army approached the brink of collapse very soon.

    The Soul Stirring Bell was actually more suited for dealing with the undead. They were either walking dead or lacking a body, which made it easy for them to fall into chaos. Against regular cultivators, the effects would greatly diminish.

    However, the warped, absurd way of thinking that demonfolk were born with made them intrinsically possess a part of the distortion and chaos, which was why she could achieve such an effect. Xiao An had also tried combining it with the special technique of buddhism, the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga, which made it even more effective.

    The first to collapse was the colossal battle demon. As the demonfolk army sank into a chaotic battle between themselves, it could not maintain its form anymore, collapsing loudly into surging demon qi.

    The cries of the cicadas suddenly became even louder and clearer. A coil of golden light appeared from the demon qi, flying around like a dragon and splitting into over a dozen streaks of light. It moved between the demons, such that even the Demon Kings could not respond in time. They all shuddered and were immobilised.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone arrived with the string of Skull Prayer Beads, immediately entering the fray!

 Chapter 1110

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1110 ¨C Sea of Blood

    How could Li Qingshan let such a great opportunity slip by? The stripes of a tiger spread across his face, forming a special pattern on his forehead. Malice gushed from his body as he used the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon. He maintained his state of the Possession of the Battle Demon and A Madman at Path¡¯s End, so he erupted with all three at the same time. He bellowed out, ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun felt like he had just been punched in the face. He flew backwards with an expression of disbelief.

    In a daze, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure had vanished. He turned into a tiger demon with a blade in its mouth, producing a bounding streak of scarlet light. Then he turned back into human form in the next moment, having stopped the ability already. His bones were covered in cracks, and his body was on the brink of collapse. He looked back and grinned. ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡±

    Several Demon Kings were smashed to pieces, killed instantly in a single strike!

    ¡°No!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun roared furiously. They possessed such a great force on their side, so how could they have lost to a measly handful of people? However, in the cultivation community, all might belonged to the individual. ¡°Quantity¡± could never contend with ¡°quality¡±.

    Li Qingshan ignored Battle Demon Hun¡¯s defeated howl. He said to Gu Yanying in the distance, ¡°Have you come to watch?¡±

    ¡°I thought I didn¡¯t have to do anything seeing how you¡¯ve pulled together and overcome the enemy, but fine!¡±

    After arriving on Great Buddha mountain, Gu Yanying had been standing in the distance the entire time, watching the Dragon King of Ink Sea and Li Qingshan work together to fend off the enemy. She could not help but sigh slightly and feel delighted.

    At this moment, she casually unfurled her folding fan and swung it downwards, drawing down the atmospheric winds from above before sweeping it back up, raising the hot winds of hell. They blew towards the demons together.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King stood on the Green Province cauldron. His face was devoid of any emotions as the invisible cry moved through the demons like a golden streak of light. Wherever it reached, even the Demon Kings shuddered. Only a powerful battle demon like Battle Demon Hun could withstand the disturbance of the cries to a certain degree.

    The winds whistled, the cicadas sang, and the situation gradually reversed.

    Li Qingshan felt the scorching flames of the phoenix in his body as they rapidly healed his wounds.

    In the past, if he unleashed all three explosive states at the same time, his body would immediately collapse even if he managed to launch a single strike.

    But now, after a bitter battle, he could still exit that state with ease, so he truly had grown stronger. In particular, the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a was only an inch away from the fifth layer.

    Once he broke through to the fifth layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a, it did not just represent another opportunity for Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth or being able to last a little longer in his explosive state. Instead, he would achieve complete balance between the four transformations of the demonic and divine. His strength would reach a whole new realm!

    This battle was critical for the breakthrough.

    Before he knew it, the ringing gradually subsided.

    The demon army of a million had almost completely fallen into madness. Their losses had already surpassed half of the army, while the remaining demons continued to tear away at one another. Rivers of blood flowed everywhere. Without the introduction of any external forces, it was already impossible for them to return to their senses.

    Xiao An exhaled and stowed the Soul Stirring Bell away. With a wave of her left hand, the Skull Prayer Beads flew out and assembled the Skeleton Demon Formation, revolving around the Green Province cauldron and blocking the attacks from the Demon Kings and the invasion of the demon qi. They guarded the unstable Green Province cauldron.

    With a wave of her right hand, a flow gushed out of the Blood Sea Banner, and the river of blood plunged down, sweeping the army away. At first, it used the deceased to ¡°strengthen¡± the flow. Then it devoured the living as well, growing mightier and mightier.

    In the blink of an eye, the river of blood had expanded to a hundred times its size, raging around like a blood-red dragon. Even Demon Generals and Demon Commanders could not avoid being swallowed. Then it flew back and coiled around the illusion of the Green province, leaving the Green Province cauldron virtually impregnable.

    Xiao An cupped her hands together and slowly moved them about. The sea of blood and the Skeleton Demon Formation intermingled.

    Only now did the Demon Kings that attacked the Green Province cauldron notice that something was amiss. They wanted to rush out of there, but they discovered the surroundings had already turned into blood and fire.

    The demonfolk army lost their flesh and blood in the sea of blood, turning into skeletons. They surged towards them as they howled away with each cascading wave. The Skull Prayer Beads would turn into Skeleton Demons from time to time, cackling away as they lunged at them.

    It basically felt like they had ended up in hell, which left even the Demon Kings shocked.

    The Fierce King of Chu gazed at Xiao An¡¯s figure. The Blood Sea Banner rippled, her blueish-white monk robes fluttered, and her hair drifted in the wind. Her figure that was not particularly large or tall gave off a paramount might that could reign over everything, which he suddenly found to be all surreal. That¡¯s my daughter¡­

    A sliver of surprise flashed through the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s eyes too. He wondered whether he had made the right decision or not by drawing her to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. However, he discarded this thought as soon as it occurred to him. He could sense that her buddhist nature was definitely not a sham.

    The Dauntless monk and Unraging monk gazed at this and were also rendered speechless. The ringing of the bell had been powerful, but its effects were still invisible after all, so it did not have such a great impact.

    Was this the power of the buddha nemesis?

    ¡°Senior brother¡­ this buddha nemesis¡­ is probably beyond what we can handle, but looking at her behaviour, she doesn¡¯t really resemble a buddha nemesis either,¡± the Unraging monk said in thought.

    The breadth of his mind and his tolerance was something else. He would not simply label her as a buddha nemesis just because of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    ¡°Whether she¡¯s a buddha nemesis or not no longer has anything to do with us. Even if the religious preceptor of the left was here in person, what would he be able to do?¡±

    The Dauntless monk shook his head helplessly. If they included the fierce and brutal Li Qingshan, just who could still do anything to her? Just who was still bold enough to do anything to her? Buddhism did include dauntless sacrifice, but that did not mean they condoned dying pointlessly. And as the Unraging monk had said, she had not slaughtered en masse, carrying out a massacre like the Soaring Locust King.

    In the blink of an eye, the situation was reversed. The Demon Kings were all slain one by one, becoming a part of the endless sea of blood.

    Xiao An downright relinquished her control over the Skull Prayer Beads, allowing them to turn into Skeleton Demons and fight and kill freely. She gripped the Blood Sea Banner with both hands and leapt up into the air, giving it a swing.

    A fan-shaped wave of blood-red light shot across the sky, and two Demon Kings vanished.

    The Blood Sea Banner surged and danced in her hands as waves of blood-red light shot through the air. Demon Kings fell into the Blood Sea Banner one after another, putting up a struggle and churning up the banner. The thick, sticky blood adhered to them firmly, spreading across their entire body. They tried everything they could to fend off the sea of blood.

    Their colossal figures after demonifying became covered with skeletons of various sizes, like ants on an elephant, gradually gnawing their way through the flesh.

    The effects that the Blood Sea Banner could achieve had always been extremely limited. It had a space of its own, but whenever she obtained resources, she would always increase her personal cultivation first before forging the Buddha Slaying sword and then the Skull Prayer Beads. The resources she had given to the Blood Sea Banner were almost negligible, so it could not be of much use anyway.

    However, after devouring the million-strong army, the Blood Sea Banner had reached an unprecedented level of power, demonstrating the terrifying might of the boundless sea of blood and how there was no salvation even with repentance.

    Under the Golden Cicada Spirit King and Gu Yanying¡¯s support, Li Qingshan and the Dragon King of Ink Sea slew over a dozen Demon Kings consecutively. Battle Demon Hun had almost been rendered a loner, no longer possessing the same might and influence he had when he first arrived. Even escaping became an issue for him now.

    ¡°How has this happened!?¡± Battle Demon Hun refused to accept this. At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out in his ear, ¡°Do you want to win?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Come, refine me and kill all of them!¡±

    A strange, warped sword shot out of the space there, appearing before Battle Demon Hun. He grabbed the hilt instinctively.

    ps£º ¸ÃËÀµÄ¸ÐÃ°ÖÕÓÚÈ¬ÓúÁË£¡

 Chapter 1111

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1111: Decisive Battle

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Originally, he thought the Immortal Relinquished sword had already fled into the Demon domain seeing how it had not reappeared after so much time, but he never expected it to still appear, and it appeared when it mattered the most.

    Everyone who had witnessed the might of the Immortal Relinquished sword before shuddered inside. They were overcome with an ill omen, like they were about to face their dooms.

    In the cultivation community, an absolute difference in strength often could not be made up for through numbers, just like how the million-strong army of demons had still collapsed like clay idols before Xiao An.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword itself was already more powerful than Li Qingshan and the others. If a Battle Demon Hun was added to the mix, they would probably reach an unimaginable height.

    ¡°Stop him!¡±

    Li Qingshan lunged over, and Xiao An followed beside him, swinging down with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and the Buddha Slaying sword at the same time. The edge of the blade was wrapped in black shockwaves, while the edge of the sword was coated in a golden, buddhist glow. Either weapon was enough to easily butcher Demon Kings.

    ¡°Come! Refine me, and you will obtain power you have never seen before!¡±

    The tempting voice of the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished rang out in Battle Demon Hun¡¯s head.

    It had never taken action, waiting until now; this was because as a sword, it was constrained to its natural limitations even if it possessed extraordinary power. It had to be wielded by someone, whether it was a swordmaster or a sword slave. In short, someone had to grip the hilt.

    Through its own powers, it could go on a rampage for a moment, but that would not be enough to last through a prolonged battle. Earlier, when it cut through the Demon Suppression hall, it had basically used up all of the power from ¡°elder Tian¡±. If it struck out again rashly, then it would be in danger of being captured, so it hid in the demon cavern and waited for an opportunity.

    Now, the opportunity was finally here!

    ¡°You want me to become a slave to you?¡±

    Battle Demon Hun was filled with caution. He could sense the abnormality in the sword within his hand. This definitely was not a weapon that Demon Kings could control with ease.

    ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯ll just be a cooperative relationship. If we work together, killing these people won¡¯t be difficult at all. Or are you saying you want to die here pointlessly and become a huge laughing stock, a miserable failure?¡±

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished spared no effort to tempt him, filled with urgent desire. This Battle Demon Hun was basically the best choice possible. He was far more powerful than elder Tian, so he could unleash even greater power from it, yet at the same time, he lacked the ability to become its master. Finding an opportunity mid-battle and refining him into a sword slave was not particularly difficult.

    Normally, Battle Demon Hun would have never refined the Immortal Relinquished sword so easily no matter what it said. More accurately, there was not a single Demon King who would take this risk. Even if they were to refine it, they would make all the preparations possible. No one wanted to end up being a sword slave, devoured by a sword.

    However, the current situation gave him no time to hesitate. Their conversation had been completed in a split second. As the blade and sword fell, he said resolutely, ¡°Alright!¡±

    He tossed aside the huge sword in his hand, which turned to ash mid-air. He gripped the Immortal Relinquished sword firmly with both hands, and it suddenly erupted with blinding, demonic light.

    Boom!

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and the Buddha Slaying sword landed on the demonic light at the same time, and the light suddenly began to extend and shrink uncontrollably like a sword, actually stopping the blade and sword. This was the light from the Immortal Relinquished sword.

    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s time for you to die!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun and the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished¡¯s voice overlapped. The surrounding space twisted and collapsed, becoming covered in countless, tiny cracks.

    Li Qingshan became even more stern. This meant that Battle Demon Hun¡¯s strength had already surpassed the limits that this world would bear. If it were not for the fact that they were located above the demon cavern, it definitely would have led to an extreme phenomenon of nature. He had only witnessed something like this when Qiongqi descended.

    With a swish, Xiao An used the Blood Sea Banner to sweep them into the sea of blood. The endless sea began to surge, piling up into a hemisphere and enveloping them. Countless skeletons surged over, but they were shredded by the pulsing light before they could even get close.

    Xiao An was not relying on the Blood Sea Banner to deal with Battle Demon Hun either. She just hoped it could temporarily delay his refinement of the sword.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°It won¡¯t work. The Blood Sea Banner can¡¯t keep him trapped. We can¡¯t stop him from refining the sword either. Before long¡­¡±

    Before Xiao An could even finish what she was saying, streaks of light erupted from the Blood Sea Banner, and the sea exploded loudly. A streak of light rushed out, completely unstoppable!

    Once Battle Demon Hun broke free, slashing through the illusion of the Green province that was on the verge of collapse would be a piece of cake. Even the Golden Cicada Spirit King would not be able to stop him. Once the illusions shattered, then the demon cavern would no longer be suppressed, and the surroundings would be corrupted into a land of demons very soon. By then, even fleeing would be an impressive feat, let alone defeating Battle Demon Hun.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea, Li Qingshan, Xiao An, and the Golden Cicada Spirit King would be fine. They each possessed their own abilities. However, the Fierce King of Chu, the Dauntless monk, the Unraging monk, and the others would probably have to die here, together with all the monks from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that had not managed to flee too far away, as well as all the life within several hundred kilometers. All of them would fall into the claws of the demons.

    After such a bitter battle, even when the powerful cultivators of the Human and Daemon race of the Green province worked together, were they still unable to stop the Demon domain¡¯s invasion?

    ¡°If you want to leave, then do it now. It¡¯ll be too late if you continue to hesitate,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°Please all back down, fellows. Leave this to me!¡± the Golden Cicada Spirit King said.

    ¡°You might not be this demon¡¯s opponent, fellow Golden Cicada.¡±

    Li Qingshan was basically being polite by saying that. The Golden Cicada Spirit King had just failed his tribulation. He had been pierced through the chest by the Soaring Locust King. After that, he faced another great battle, even assisting the Fierce King of Chu in suppressing the demon qi at the same time. He had already reached his limit. It was impossible for him to be Battle Demon Hun and the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s opponent.

    ¡°There¡¯ll always be a way.¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s spirited, handsome face was indifferent. ¡°However, I might have to destroy that arcane treasure of fellow Xiao An!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan realised something. The Golden Cicada Spirit King was clearly ready to die, to perish together with Battle Demon Hun. Perhaps he had already made that decision before he came here, wanting to die as a martyr to save the living beings of the world, or to give the Soaring Locust King an explanation, or perhaps a combination of both!

    He checked their situation, which was not optimistic at all. Even if he ignored the Fierce King of Chu and everyone else¡¯s situation, the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s strength had declined completely despite being unkillable. Xiao An had preserved a large portion of her strength though, even stronger than when she first arrived, but she would struggle against an opponent that surpassed her drastically in strength.

    In particular, after refining the Immortal Relinquished sword, Battle Demon Hun¡¯s swordsmanship would be so great that it would be impossible for him to be cut by the Buddha Slaying sword. Perhaps only he who wielded the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End stood a chance.

    He saw the light spilling from the Blood Sea Banner grow brighter and brighter. Perhaps this was the only way.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King made his way towards the sea of blood. There was no fear of death on his face, or even any of the passion or sorrow of sacrifice. There was only relief.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± A large figure stopped the Golden Cicada Spirit King. Li Qingshan said, ¡°How can you just give up on the cultivation you¡¯ve developed arduously so easily? Please find a way to suppress the demon cavern. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    With that, he stepped into the sea of blood, facing Battle Demon Hun and the Immortal Relinquished sword.

    This was the final, decisive battle!

 Chapter 1112

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1112: Fall of a Kingdom

    ¡°Fellow Qingshan!?¡±

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King was slightly taken aback, while the others were stunned too. How was Li Qingshan supposed to hold off Battle Demon Hun who had refined the Immortal Relinquished sword alone? Perhaps there was not a single person or daemon here that could achieve that. It was basically no different from sending himself to his death.

    ¡°He has the confidence,¡± Xiao An said, but it seemed more like she was consoling herself. There was probably no one in the world who cared more about Li Qingshan than her, but there was also no one who trusted Li Qingshan more than her. She breathed in slightly. ¡°Please suppress the demon cavern immediately.¡±

    The Unraging monk stood forward first. He circulated the Demon Suppression Statuary and hoisted a Demon Suppression Tower high into the air. It grew larger and larger, almost to the size of a small mountain, before being tossed towards the demon cavern. Under the stimulation of the demon qi, the Demon Suppression Tower grew to twice its size before landing heavily, but it still seemed much smaller than the colossal demon cavern.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King brought his palms together and spread his cicada wings. They trembled away like a golden haze, and the cries rose up once again, spreading like they were tangible.

    The Dauntless monk, Gu Yanying, as well as the later arriving Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang, got to work as well. They used the buddhist lights, the black sand, the atmospheric winds, and the battle qi to suppress the gushing demon qi.

    The Fierce King of Chu ingested a spiritual pill and slowly pressed down with the Green Province cauldron.

    But at this exact moment, the demon qi suddenly became turbulent, instead pushing up the Green Province cauldron. Clearly, a powerful demonfolk had taken action on the other end of the demon cavern.

    Shortly afterwards, deafening cries began to ring out from the demon cavern again.

    Everyone changed in expression. Only now did they remember that the demon army they had spent all their strength to destroy was merely the vanguard. By now, everyone was already exhausted. Even the Green Province cauldron was on the brink of collapse from the corruption of demon qi, which filled them with a sense of despair. How were they supposed to stop them this time?

    Xiao An sucked in a deep breath and said loudly, ¡°Your majesty the King of Yue, you¡¯ve spectated the battle for so long already, so could you show yourself?¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu shivered inside. He followed Xiao An¡¯s gaze and saw a huge cloud hovering in the distant horizon. As Xiao An¡¯s voice rang out, the cloud gradually dispersed, and there was absolutely nothing inside. However, the light in the space there twisted and trembled very soon, revealing a glistening Silver Dragon King that sailed straight towards Great Buddha mountain.

    Everyone resided above the demon cavern, where the two worlds intersected, so their senses were greatly affected. They had been focusing on fending off the demonfolk too, so none of them actually managed to sense it.

    The Fierce King of Chu felt pained inside. When it rained, it really did pour. The Green province had just faced so many disasters and crises. The reinforcements from the Dragon province they had been waiting for never arrived. Instead, what arrived was their mortal enemy.

    The Silver Dragon King drew close, and the King of Southern Yue announced loudly, ¡°Fierce King of Chu, today is the end of the Kingdom of Chu!¡±

    The Dauntless monk, Yue Wuyang, and Jin Fugui all changed in expression.

    ¡°King of Yue, come and help me suppress the demon cavern.¡± Xiao An did not seem to hear the King of Southern Yue¡¯s declaration of war.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± The King of Southern Yue was taken aback. He also became amused by this. ¡°Fellow Xiao An, have you heard me clearly? I¡¯ve come to destroy the Kingdom of Chu. Even if I helped you earlier, you can¡¯t push your luck!¡±

    If it were not for the fact that he had witnessed Xiao An¡¯s terrifying might when he lurked within the cloud, he would have directly attacked already and made her witness his determination to destroy the Kingdom of Chu.

    He waved his hand. ¡°Since you¡¯ve already become a buddhist monk, this is none of your business anymore. You can back off to one side!¡±

    ¡°Father, please pass the position to me.¡± Xiao An turned towards the Fierce King of Chu.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The Fierce King of Chu did not hesitate at all. Only this daughter of his could save the Kingdom of Chu now. As long as he could preserve everything his ancestors had built up, it no longer mattered whether she was a buddha nemesis or a disciple of buddhism.

    ¡°From today onwards, princess Xuanyue will be inheriting the position of the King of Chu, known as the Dark King of Chu!¡±

    ¡°The Dark King of Chu¡­¡± Xiao An muttered it softly before saying to the King of Southern Yue, ¡°Now it is my business.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re forcing me into doing this!¡± The King of Southern Yue frowned.

    ¡°Have you come to take the Green province this time, King of Yue?¡± Xiao An asked.

    The King of Southern Yue said in thought, ¡°I have not!¡±

    The Green province was much smaller in area than the Mist province, and their resources were not as plentiful as the Mist province either. Even their greatest advantage, their population, had declined to a pitiful level after all these disasters.

    However, before he had set off, the King of Southern Yue had still been very interested in ruling over the Green province. This was not just the wild ambition of the past kings, but also because the population would only take a century at most to recover. However, after witnessing what had happened to the Myriad Ghosts abyss and Great Buddha mountain, he had completely changed his mind. He would have to fend off the attacks from the Hungry Ghost realm and the Demon domain at the same time, so who the hell would want to rule the Green province?

    ¡°Then you¡¯ve come to destroy the Kingdom of Chu?¡± Xiao An then asked.

    ¡°Exactly that!¡± The King of Southern Yue said. He had travelled thousands of kilometers to come here. If it were not for destroying the Kingdom of Chu, was it supposed to be a holiday instead?

    ¡°Alright. Then in the name of the King of Chu, the Kingdom of Chu ceases to exist from today onwards. It had formally fallen,¡± said Xiao An.

    With that, let alone the King of Southern Yue, even the Fierce King of Chu was dumbstruck. The Kingdom of Chu that had stood for ten thousand years had actually fallen in the time it took to say a single word?

    ¡°You¡­ what are you trying to do?¡± The King of Southern Yue said.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve already destroyed the Kingdom of Chu. Are you satisfied with this now? Or are you planning on weeding out any and all potential trouble, even killing me, the lord of a fallen kingdom?¡± Xiao An said.

    The King of Southern Yue smiled wryly. ¡°You should know. I¡¯ve never had any intentions of making an enemy out of you or Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°I object!¡± the Fierce King of Chu said furiously, and the Green Province cauldron shook. ¡°King of Southern Yue, if you want to destroy my Kingdom of Chu, then get ready to die with me!¡±

    ¡°Hmph. It¡¯s not like the one to suffer first will be my Kingdom of Yue anyway!¡± The King of Southern Yue obviously could not accept a threat like that.

    Right when they had their daggers drawn, Xiao An called out, ¡°Both of you, shut up!¡± Her furious bellow that contained the Chant of Deva-N¨¡ga was like the chime of a great bell, enough to open the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf.

    ¡°You two are so short-sighted, and yet you claim to be kings! You fight over tiny pieces of land, for what? The Demon domain and the Hungry Ghost realm are invading simultaneously right now. The nine provinces are on the brink of falling. Do you plan to become undead or demons?¡±

    Xiao An had always been very peaceful and calm. Apart from Li Qingshan, no one had ever seen her lose her temper. Now, with her anger, the world fell silent.

    ¡°Well said!¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King praised. ¡°Please reconsider, fellows!¡±

    ¡°Alright! What can I do about the fact that you¡¯re the King of Chu?¡±

    The Fierce King of Chu was powerless. After pacifying his anger, he also thought it through. The Kingdom of Chu was only a name, a concept, at the end of the day. As long as he could preserve the Ji clan, would he not have any opportunities to revive the kingdom in the future?

    The King of Southern Yue also contemplated what Xiao An had said. Neither the Hungry Ghost realm or the Demon domain were easy opponents. Once demons and undead really ran amok, it would be impossible for the Mist province to have any peace either.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll assist you in suppressing the demon cavern, but only to assist you!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, your majesty.¡± Xiao An bowed and thought to herself, Copying how Qingshan talks every now and then really does seem quite useful.

    She was nowhere close to losing her temper. She was already prepared to pull out of this and get away. There had been benevolence involved, such that she wanted to suppress the demon cavern and save all the living beings of the world, but even if it was the nine provinces combined, it would be nowhere near as important as Li Qingshan alone.

    The King of Southern Yue furrowed his brows and touched his chin. Suddenly, he felt rather perplexed. Just why did I come to the Green province in the first place? Then he felt a bit of regret. I shouldn¡¯t have come if I had known earlier.

 Chapter 1113

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1113: The Fifth Layer of the Phoenix

    As soon as Li Qingshan set foot in the sea of blood, light flooded his eyes. He crossed his arms before his chest instinctively, and stinging pain soon followed. The edge of the swords slashed through his arms, and the tip pierced his chest.

    His skin darkened, and his arms rippled with muscle, forcefully blocking the attacks with his strength of the ox demon.

    ¡°So you¡¯ve come to die!¡± The voices of Battle Demon Hun and the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished overlapped. His eyes were filled with killing intent.

    Li Qingshan met the gaze calmly. ¡°Even if you become a slave and lose your sense of self, you have to win?¡±

    Battle Demon Hun shivered inside, and a slight disharmony appeared in his unity with the Immortal Relinquished sword. No one wanted to be a slave, let alone a sword¡¯s slave.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    The sword pierced Li Qingshan¡¯s body deeply. Even the Ox Demon Forges its Hide could not keep it at bay. Instead, it began to give way.

    ¡°As an enemy, you are not worthy of my respect!¡± Li Qingshan grinned, filled with contempt.

    ¡°Go die!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun roared and pushed Li Qingshan along as he advanced madly. The sword qi of Immortal Relinquished erupted, mincing Li Qingshan¡¯s organs before crushing his tough tiger bones.

    There was a flash, and the light brushed past Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan glanced back. His body disintegrated loudly, turning into raging phoenix flames.

    With a cry, a phoenix rose up, and the flames gathered together, condensing into Li Qingshan¡¯s body again. He stared at Battle Demon Hun with his scarlet eyes as if he was saying, It¡¯s still not over yet!

    Battle Demon Hun sat on his horse with the sword in hand, casting aside all of his other thoughts. Only Li Qingshan existed in his eyes. He only had a single thought in his head, which was to kill him completely.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how many more times you can revive. If you revive once, then I¡¯ll kill you once. If you revive ten times, then I¡¯ll kill you ten times. I will continue until your soul perishes and you are doomed eternally!¡±

    Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth was a powerful ability, but before an absolute disparity in strength, it would only take a little longer to kill him for good. Li Qingshan understood this principle as well.

    He smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is the last time!¡±

    If he died again, then he would become an egg, which was no different from directly killing him. This was the limit to the number of times he could rebirth given his current cultivation as a Daemon King. Even if he broke through to the fifth layer of the phoenix, he could not increase it. It was well and truly the ¡°last¡± decisive battle.

    ¡°Then die!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun swung his sword. The twisted, changing light shot towards Li Qingshan from an unbelievable angle.

    Clang!

    Li Qingshan cut through the light with a single stroke. His mind was as calm as the ocean. It took him both the divination of the spirit turtle and his battle instincts to barely block the attack, but the strange sword qi within made him shudder all over.

    In the next moment, the actual sword arrived right before him, without any prior signs.

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell appeared and shattered!

    The Ox Demon Forges its Hide hardened and was ripped apart!

    The sword and the tiger bones clashed. With the screeching of metal, the sword became embedded in the bones, and only then did it come to a halt.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan fell into the sea of blood, kicking up a colossal wave.

    Battle Demon Hun followed him like his shadow. The sea of blood rushed towards him, but it shattered as soon as it reached three hundred meters of him, turning into bloody splashes in the air.

    The skeleton cackled away as they assembled the Skeleton Demon Formation in an attempt to restrain and stop Battle Demon Hun. Battle Demon Hun did not even look at them, swinging his sword and silently bisecting three of the skeletons in his path. They erupted with Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, illuminating the gloomy sea of blood.

    Battle Demon Hun rushed out of the sea of fire and laughed madly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Li Qingshan? Is this all you¡¯re capable of? How pitiful!¡±

    It was no longer possible to tell whether that was Battle Demon Hun or the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished¡¯s voice. He raised the sword high into the air and swung down violently.

    The deep sea of blood was split into two by the twisted light. Within it, Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and swung his blade, barely blocking the attack yet again. Another notch appeared on his blade.

    ¡°This can¡¯t go on! You¡¯re not his opponent!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower could not help but say.

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower had no way to respond. As an asura armament, getting her to admit she felt afraid was impossible. She had known long ago that she was destined to meet such a fate as a weapon, but when this day truly arrived, she still wanted to continue thriving, refusing to accept this fate.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m afraid too!¡± Li Qingshan said calmly.

    Even Li Qingshan was afraid of dying, so who wasn¡¯t? However, this was the exact path he had chosen, a path where he wagered his life. Even if there was fear, there would be no hesitation!

    Battle Demon Hun rapidly drew closer, like the arrival of the grim reaper. The shadow of death enveloped him. Ever since he became a Daemon King, this was the first time he had come so close to death. However, his heart only burned hotter. That was the desire to live.

    As a result, he flapped his wings and rushed into the air, unleashing his blade and going up to receive him!

    Xiao An was as nervous as she could be. She desperately powered the Blood Sea Banner and the Skull Prayer Beads to interfere with Battle Demon Hun¡¯s movements, but what she achieved was negligible. It took all the willpower within her to not enter the sea of blood, as she understood very well that it was impossible for her to land a strike on Battle Demon Hun with her Buddha Slaying sword. Instead, it was easy for her to be heavily injured by the Immortal Relinquished sword, which would distract Li Qingshan. That would only have a detrimental impact on him.

    She subconsciously bit her lip. She failed to sense it even when she began to bleed. No, this is still not enough. I need to become even stronger!

    The frenzied blade and the demonic sword parted as soon as they made contact, and Li Qingshan was thrown back yet again. Another horrific gash appeared on his chest, extending from his left shoulder to his right ribs, deep enough to see his bones. If it were not for the toughness of his tiger bones, he basically would have been cut into two. Battle Demon Hun stuck to him closely like a shadow, giving him no time to recover.

    He was just an inch off from the fifth layer of the Phoenix Transformation, but he had absolutely no time to consider where he was lacking this inch.

    Roar!

    A tiger¡¯s roar rang through the world, filled with great rage and fury.

    The war banners of the battle demon fluttered against the wind.

    The blade rose!

    Li Qingshan completely erupted with his full strength, engaging Battle Demon Hun.

    The flashes of the blade and sword blurred their figures. In the end, all that was left was the violent collisions between arcs of a sword and a blade, falling from the sky to the sea of blood before rising back up to the sky. The waves of sharp air shattered the sea of blood and ripped through space.

    ¡°Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun roared like he was deranged. His face was twisted and insane, completely unleashing the bizarre swordsmanship of the Immortal Relinquished sword. Who knew how many times more powerful than elder Tian he was.

    Immediately, the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End became covered in slashes, while Li Qingshan was also littered with wounds. His blood splattered and turned into flames. Just maintaining this explosive state brought his body and soul to the edge of collapse.

    Death drew closer, like a black abyss trying to drag him in, making him constantly fall.

    However, Li Qingshan felt his heart burn hotter and hotter, warding off death. The darker it became, the brighter the flames burned. The further he fell into the abyss, the more he spread his wings and soared.

    ¡°Die!¡± Battle Demon Hun bellowed, and the sword cut through the blade arcs, slashing into Li Qingshan¡¯s body viciously.

    On the brink of death!

    A voice in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart became clearer and clearer, brighter and brighter, turning into the clear, bright cry of a phoenix.

    The Phoenix Undergoes Nirvana Rebirth, with an Undying Heart!

    The phoenix wings were suddenly fully unfurled, reaching three thousand meters across and shining with glorious light.

    The fifth layer of the Phoenix Transformation!

    Flames lit up in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. With a forceful flap of his wings, he stirred up the sea of blood, filling the air!

 Chapter 1114

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1114: Descent of the Demonic and Divine

    The glorious cry of the phoenix completely filled the sea of blood, even bringing a split second of silence to the countless fallen souls. They all gazed up at the undying bird.

    Grimness flashed across Battle Demon Hun¡¯s face, which was immediately twisted and overwhelmed by madness. He swung his sword, slicing through the sea of blood!

    The phoenix descended from above, pecking at Battle Demon Hun with its sharp beak. That was the frenzied blade in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand!

    In the moment the weapons clashed, blinding light erupted, and space shattered.

    With a hiss, a huge hole was ripped open in the Blood Sea Banner.

    Under the King of Southern Yue¡¯s support, everyone poured their efforts together and were forcing back the gushing demon qi. The battle cries in the demon cavern were growing louder and louder too. At this exact moment, Battle Demon Hun appeared, which made everyone pale.

    The strange, twisted Immortal Relinquished sword was enough to reduce all of their efforts to nothing instantly.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan tossed an item high into the air, and a blood-red swirl bloomed. It was the Asura Field. With a magnificent streak, he flew into it.

    Battle Demon Hun hesitated for an instant. In the past, he definitely would have ruined Xiao An and the others¡¯ plan of suppression first, but the madness of the Immortal Relinquished sword had already reached deep in his heart. His mind was occupied by his killing intent and hatred towards Li Qingshan, so he followed him closely into the Asura Field.

    A bloody-red filled his eyes. This was different from sinking into the sea of blood. Instead, it was the bloody songs of warriors, awakening his primitive desire of slaughter. As a result, his killing intent became even heavier.

    Li Qingshan stood with his back towards him, and the phoenix wings shrank back to their usual size. He let out a gentle sigh of relief. If Battle Demon Hun had not followed him here, then there would have been nothing he could do either.

    ¡°Hehe, are you finally afraid? But unfortunately, it¡¯s already too late. Once I kill you, I¡¯ll kill all the people you love and the people who love you. I¡¯ll make you understand the consequences of opposing me!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun smiled viciously, radiating with murderousness. Before he had even struck, the blood-red swirl in the sky began to revolve rapidly, observing this battle like a lone eye.

    ¡°Then come!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around, and the tip of the sword had already arrived a few inches away from his nose. With a flap of his wings, he rapidly retreated, and the tip of the sword struggled to cross this tiny distance. It was so close, yet so far away.

    After reaching the fifth layer of the phoenix, he became no slower than Battle Demon Hun, but this was only the beginning. His body was currently undergoing a ¡°revolution¡±!

    The tipping scales slowly recovered their balance again. Fire and water, the spirit turtle and the phoenix, as well as the divine and the demonic¡­

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had already retreated to the edge of the Asura Field. He could not retreat or dodge anymore, or the Immortal Relinquished sword would rip through the Asura Field with ease. Extending a few fingers, he pointed them at the tip of the sword!

    Battle Demon Hun¡¯s smile became even more vicious. The edge of the Immortal Relinquished sword can¡¯t be blocked with flesh. No matter how many innate abilities you have, you¡¯ll still be pierced by the sword.

    Li Qingshan did not use any abilities at all. A wisp of fire appeared on the tips of his fingers, together with a wisp of water. They wrapped and coiled around each other, assuming the form of a drill.

    Battle Demon Hun suddenly sensed a strange power from the tip of his sword which divided and nullified his sword qi. Beyond his surprise, he became even more furious, pouring all of his force into the sword such that it was unstoppable!

    Bang!

    Like a thousand fireworks being set off at the same time, Battle Demon Hun was knocked five kilometers away within the resplendent light. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan slammed heavily against the invisible wall of the domain behind him, creating a great swathe of cracks. A droplet of blood oozed out from the tip of his finger from his dangling right arm. The sword qi moved through his meridians, pressing right towards his heart.

    ¡°Are you crazy? Use the blade!¡± The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End howled.

    ¡°If I keep using you, you¡¯ll shatter. Take a break! Leave the rest up to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the crack-ridden Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End in his hand and casually tossed it aside. It was planted in a distant mountain.

    ¡°Accept your fate!¡± Battle Demon Hun lunged over.

    ¡°Fate?¡± Li Qingshan smiled and brought his fists together. He muttered, ¡°Ox! Phoenix! Tiger! Turtle!¡±

    Every single word was extremely solemn and heavy, like there had been a huge gap between them, yet also like they had followed each other instantly. The figures of the ox demon, phoenix, tiger demon, and spirit turtle appeared above and below him, to his left and right. They began to revolve rapidly, blurring into a ring of light.

    Li Qingshan felt unprecedented power fill his body and soul. The various transformations all gathered on a single body¡ªthe ox horns and hooves, the phoenix wings and feathers, the tiger teeth and claws, the turtle shell and eyes. In that moment, he was both the ox demon and the tiger demon, both the spirit turtle and the phoenix, and after balancing all of the divine and demonic natures, he was still Li Qingshan.

    As a result, he extended his left hand, and the sword that followed an unpredictable trajectory entered his hand. Blood splashed, but he gripped it firmly.

    He extended his right hand, forming a fist and hurling it heavily against Battle Demon Hun¡¯s stunned face.

    Boom! Battle Demon Hun slammed against the ground like an asteroid. The left half of his face collapsed, leaving him overcome with madness.

    Li Qingshan did not follow up with any attacks. Instead, he spread his wings and pursed his lips firmly. All of his muscles rippled, and the ground shook violently. Several hundred boulders flew into the air, compressing violently as he tightened his fists; this continued until the boulders were condensed to the size of fists. They revolved and circled around him.

    Under Battle Demon Hun¡¯s stunned gaze, the entire Asura Field began to shake violently. Centred around Li Qingshan, the fierce winds whistled, the scorching flames roared, and the water rushed into the air, wrapping around him. It was earth, fire, wind, and water, the four basic components of the world.

    At that moment, he seemed to rule this world!

    ¡°Battle Demon Hun, it¡¯s time for you to die!¡± Li Qingshan announced.

    His voice contained the ox demon¡¯s bellow, the tiger demon¡¯s roar, the phoenix¡¯s cry, and the spirit turtle silence. It reverberated through the entire Asura Field.

    ¡°You only won a single clash, and you really think you¡¯ve won this battle?¡± Battle Demon Hun turned into a streak of light and rushed into the air.

    Li Qingshan raised his right arm into the air, and a mountain was lifted up from the ground.

    With a rumble, the streak of light pierced the mountain. Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and exhaled forcefully. Within the earth-shaking tiger¡¯s roar, the fierce wind whistled, and the streak of light gradually slowed down. The mountain behind it was blown to bits, turning into dust in the air.

    The streak of light halted, revealing Battle Demon Hun again. He was blown away with a face of disbelief.

    Li Qingshan flew after him and pushed out with his left hand. Five sparks surged out from between his fingers, each turning into a colossal fireball that flew towards Battle Demon Hun with arcs like asteroids.

    Battle Demon Hun spurred his horse and ran madly, but the fireballs followed him relentlessly. They were so scorching that even he dared not take them on forcefully. He made several sharp turns, and the five fireballs exploded behind him one after another, producing lakes of lava.

    This is impossible! How can his strength instantly increase by so much!? Battle Demon Hun cried out inside.

    A colossal invisible force weighed on Battle Demon Hun heavily, and all the ground within five kilometers of him suddenly sank by several meters. In that moment, firelight filled his face, and the sphere composed of earth, fire, wind, and water descended from above. He powered the Immortal Relinquished sword in a hurry, and with a blur, he appeared three hundred meters away.

    Boom!

    The sphere smashed into the ground, and a wave of earth surged off in all directions, only stopping when it reached fifty kilometers away, turning into a circular mountain range. The landscape had been completely changed.

    Battle Demon Hun was pushed aside by the wave of earth, falling beneath the mountain range. Suddenly, he looked up, and with a great rumble, the rock and soil collapsed and was tossed aside. The sphere smashed into the mountain range as Li Qingshan gazed at him from above, like the descent of both a god and a demon!

 Chapter 1115

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1115: Damned Brat

    Battle Demon Hun let out a hysterical roar. Li Qingshan was indifferent. His eyes were filled with a light that resulted from the combination of the divine and demonic nature. It was as if he had become one with the world, surrounded in the lofty, heartless phenomena of nature.

    ¡°There¡¯s something very strange about this Li Qingshan. It¡¯s probably related to this domain. Let¡¯s force our way out!¡± the black war horse said to Battle Demon Hun.

    ¡°Do you want to swallow the bitter fruit of failure? Do you want to be mocked by the other demonfolk? Do you want even greater strength? I only require a bit of sacrifice.¡± The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished¡¯s voice echoed through Battle Demon Hun¡¯s head as well.

    ¡°I¡­ want¡­ to¡­ win!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun ground his teeth and suddenly swung back with his sword. With a splash of blood, a huge horse head flew into the air, staring at Battle Demon Hun in surprise and fury. ¡°You¡­¡±

    ¡°There is no such thing as defeat today! If I cannot emerge victoriously, then only death awaits me!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun raised the Immortal Relinquished sword high into the air as the twisted light devoured the war horse impatiently. The head had become part of the light before it had even touched the ground, dyeing the edge with a bloody red. New power rushed through his body, and his demon qi became even more powerful, contending against Li Qingshan in the air as an equal.

    Li Qingshan gazed down indifferently. Only when Battle Demon Hun¡¯s demon qi rose to a peak did he say, ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Die!¡± The ground beneath Battle Demon Hun split open as he rushed into the air.

    Li Qingshan controlled the sphere of elements as he descended from above.

    Boom!

    The world shook, and the two figures halted in the air. There were no abilities, no swordsmanship, just an intense clash of primitive strength. The furious arcs of the sword and the bands of earth, fire, wind, and water clashed several thousand times in that instant.

    Air and light rippled like waved, stirring up the entire Asura Field.

    The blood-red swirl in the sky spun rapidly, and a tiny figure suddenly appeared in the very depths of the centre. He was dressed in a great, red dudou and had pigtails. He even clutched a slingshot in his hand. He was actually a boy.

    TL: Dudou is a traditional Chinese garment normally worn by children just as is, or as an undergarment for women. It looks like this.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him from the corner of his eye and thought, Have we finally drawn in an Asura King? He even seems quite powerful!

    He seemed a little special, but external appearances meant nothing in the cultivation community.

    Battle Demon Hun was very frightened. This was Li Qingshan¡¯s Asura Field after all. If this Asura King partook in the battle and assisted Li Qingshan, the situation would probably become extremely disadvantageous.

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s all just fighting and killing. There¡¯s no end to it. Though, this place doesn¡¯t seem as weak as I imagined it to be!¡±

    The boy looked around with his dull, dead-fish eyes. He was not brimming with interest towards battle like regular asura. Instead, he was rather dispirited. Let alone partaking in the battle, he was not even interested in spectating it. He let out a sigh before looking away, which made them wonder whether he actually was an asura or not.

    He pressed against the blood-red swirl with both hands and pulled out his legs, descending from above. The violent collateral energy of the battle swept through the Asura Field, but it parted into two when it approached him, unable to touch him at all.

    Yin Qing hid in the space there, avoiding the collateral energy of the battle. When she saw the black sun and moon on the boy¡¯s dudou, she immediately became shocked.

    ¡°There¡¯s even an Asura Altar of Armaments here!¡± The boy landed on the Asura Altar of Armaments first before arriving beside the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End with a flash. Standing on his toes, he pulled the blade out of the ground and said, ¡°Yeah, it seems to be called the Frenzy Flower of Path¡¯s End!¡± Then he returned to the Asura Altar of Armaments with a flash. When he travelled from and to the altar, he was actually no slower than Li Qingshan and Battle Demon Hun, and he had achieved it with even greater ease.

    He was like a dead fish, laying down on the Asura Altar of Armaments with his limbs outstretched. He gazed lifelessly at the blood-red swirl in the sky before randomly swinging the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End about. His bored, disinterested demeanour made them doubt his species once again.

    ¡°Let go of me!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower roared, and the blade shook. However, after facing a bitter battle, it no longer had the strength to break free from the tiny hand¡¯s grip.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve been loathed again!¡± He casually tossed the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End to the side and pulled his slingshot into his arms. ¡°Li¡¯l Y, you still treat me the best!¡±

    ¡°What exactly is he supposed to be? Oh no!¡±

    Surprise appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s indifferent gaze, and a hint of disharmony appeared in the elements around him.

    His current form did not originate from his strength alone but also from his absolute control over the entire Asura Field¡ªto maintain this form, he was not even bold enough to use an innate ability. However, the boy¡¯s appearance led to a large opening in his control, even when he had done absolutely nothing so far.

    How could Battle Demon Hun let such a fantastic opportunity slip by? The sword clashed through the ring of wind, water, and fire consecutively, travelling right towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan swung his arms around, and the revolving rocks stopped right before him. He pushed his hands forward violently, and the rocks shattered and collapsed, turning into a storm of sand and grit.

    Battle Demon Hun turned into a warped streak of light, dodging rapidly, but he was still sucked into the storm.

    Rumbles rang out endlessly, and dust filled the air. He became riddled with a thousand holes.

    The dust dispersed. Battle Demon Hun had been reduced to a blood mess. He smiled viciously. ¡°Li Qingshan, it¡¯s over. You can¡¯t win against me. You can never win against me!¡± With that, he raised the Immortal Relinquished sword high into the air, slashing at the space before him. He wanted to escape from the Asura Field.

    ¡°No, kill him first!¡± Battle Demon Hun¡¯s expression changed, and he paused.

    ¡°You fool! I¡¯ll obviously kill him next! I need even more sacrifices right now!¡±

    ¡°Kill¡­ him!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun gritted his teeth as his expression constantly changed, getting into a loud argument with himself as if he suffered from schizophrenia. A huge wedge appeared between him and the sword.

    This was not because Battle Demon Hun was a fool and did not understand the principle of building up power. Instead, in the intense battle earlier, he could sense the will of the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished rapidly seep into his mind, attempting to enslave him. Earlier, it had also directly chosen to escape without his permission. This situation was extremely dangerous for him, even more than his battle against Li Qingshan.

    If he allowed the Immortal Relinquished sword to obtain many more sacrifices, then it would completely gain the upper hand. Only through the clashes with Li Qingshan could he constantly exhaust the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s power, maintaining this balance and avoiding the fate of a sword slave.

    Sure enough, external forces aren¡¯t that convenient to borrow. Power that you can¡¯t grasp will only turn around and enslave you, Li Qingshan thought, but he did not use this opportunity to follow up. Instead, he called out, ¡°Oi, kid, go home!¡±

    Only by chasing away this strange asura kid would he have the confidence to trap Battle Demon Hun in the Asura Field. Otherwise, even if he won, it would be pointless.

    ¡°Do I need you to care?¡± The boy just rolled over and laid on the Asura Altar of Armaments despondently.

    ¡°This is my territory! If you¡¯re not going home, then help me out. Otherwise, if this place is destroyed, you won¡¯t be able to stay here either,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Are you an asura?¡± the boy asked powerlessly.

    ¡°I will be.¡± Li Qingshan released his surging murderousness.

    ¡°I hate asura.¡± The boy picked his nose.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an asura?¡± Li Qingshan countered with a question.

    ¡°I hate myself too.¡± The boy switched a finger and continued picking his nose.

    ¡°Alright then. Actually, I¡¯m a human.¡±

    ¡°I hate humans more.¡± The boy shoved the finger that he had just used to pick his nose into his mouth and tasted it. ¡°Pah! Pah! Tastes like boogers. Ah, I don¡¯t have any boogers!¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed inside, Fucking hell, this fucking damned brat!

 Chapter 1116

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1116: A Lone Eye

    Sword qi rushed into the air, and Li Qingshan suddenly looked back. The light soared through the space, twisting and criss-crossing over.

    Battle Demon Hun and the Immortal Relinquished sword had reached a temporary agreement. They would kill Li Qingshan first.

    Li Qingshan frowned and flapped his phoenix wings, rising up into the air and flying off. He shot past the centre of the blood-red swirl and thought, Given the current situation, I can only win by sending him into the Asura realm. I don¡¯t have much of a chance, but all I can do is try!

    The blood-red clouds brushed past him, and the blood-red swirl leaned against the sky like a funnel. It seemed much deeper from the distance. The higher Li Qingshan flew, the narrower the surroundings became. At the same time, the aura of the Asura realm grew heavier, making his killing intent boil.

    The sword pressed right behind him. Sure enough, Battle Demon Hun followed behind him closely, constantly drawing closer.

    The swirl became narrower and narrower. If he ventured any higher, there would not be much room for maneuver anymore. Li Qingshan turned around and faced Battle Demon Hun. He was prepared to use his innate abilities when a lone eye suddenly appeared in the blood-red swirl over his head. It was five kilometers across and bright-red like a lake of blood. The iris was a deeper red.

    Li Qingshan shivered. What the hell is this?

    Battle Demon Hun paused momentarily as well, gazing at the sky.

    If this was a monster that was not just an eye, then they could basically imagine the size of the eye¡¯s owner. That definitely was a existence powerful beyond their imagination in the Asura realm. Even with the invisible obstruction of worlds, the gaze cast down by the blood-red eye felt tangible, filled with the hostility of mad slaughter, yet it also seemed like it was searching for something.

    ¡°They just won¡¯t give up!¡± the boy laid down on the ground again, muttering to himself with his face down.

    Under the gaze of the blood-red eye, Li Qingshan felt all the blood in his body boil. In that instant, the sense of danger it brought him actually vastly surpassed Battle Demon Hun. He punched out almost instinctively, and the black shockwaves whistled and surged, turning into lightning-like cracks, ripping apart the tunnel between the Asura Field and the Asura realm and blocking off the eye¡¯s gaze. Despite that, he still felt shaken inside.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun grasped the opportunity, and the light split up and twisted, filling the blood-red swirl and surging towards Li Qingshan. Behind him was shattered space, so there was nowhere for him to go. All he could do was take this attack forcefully. Having lost the first strike, he had ended up in an extremely dangerous situation.

    At this moment, the boy sprang up from the Asura Altar of Armaments and fished out a stone from the pouch on his waist. The slingshot in his hand suddenly tightened, pointing it towards the sky.

    In that instant, his entire bearing changed. His despondence and depression vanished. His eyes shone with black light that could pierce everything, except it made the world dim.

    ¡°That really is¡­¡±

    Hidden in space, Yin Qing¡¯s view had been enveloped by the darkness too. Even the last few words she said were swallowed by the darkness.

    The darkness engulfed Li Qingshan and Battle Demon Hun¡¯s surprised faces too. Within the deep darkness, they felt like they had just experienced an eternity, or perhaps it was only an instant.

    When the darkness vanished, Battle Demon Hun¡¯s sword-wielding arm suddenly broke off. The severed arm gripped the Immortal Relinquished sword firmly and continued to fly towards Li Qingshan, but it had lost its original power.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. The thing that had broken off Battle Demon Hun¡¯s arm was the stone that the boy had shot from his slingshot. It was technically a sneak attack, but at their realm of cultivation, how could they be hit with a sneak attack so easily?

    The darkness earlier was extremely strange, like a heavy, black, falling curtain. Even though it had lasted for an extremely short period, it had enveloped and shrouded everything, obscuring Battle Demon Hun¡¯s senses. This definitely was not a move that a regular Asura King was capable of. Just what were the origins of this kid?

    He obviously would not let this opportunity slip by. As he thought about that, he had already rushed through the streaks of light, using the Force Field of the Earth to suck the incoming Immortal Relinquished sword into his hand. He gripped it firmly and called out, ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun suddenly experienced unprecedented feebleness even though his severed arm had regrown in the blink of an eye, back to how it was before. It was not a particularly severe wound.

    However, the rock had not just broken his arm, but his connection with the Immortal Relinquished sword as well. He gazed down in surprise and fury. The boy had already turned back to how he was before, laying down on the Asura Altar of Armaments and muttering, ¡°Who can help the fact that I hate demonfolk even more?¡±

    ¡°Thanks!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a laugh and thanked him. The Immortal Relinquished sword in his hand erupted with light, refusing to be suppressed, which he actually struggled slightly to keep under control. He let out a sneer and flexed the muscles on his arms, darkening slightly in colour as he unleashed the power of tremors at full force. The Immortal Relinquished sword shook violently and thrummed away. Enveloped in the black shockwaves, the light it gave off was shattered again and again.

    ¡°If you keep resisting, I¡¯ll definitely destroy him!¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    Regardless of how tough the materials the Immortal Relinquished sword was forged from were, it did not stand a chance at all against the current him when it had lost its slave master. The power of tremors was extremely destructive towards solid objects too. It was enough to completely shatter and destroy the sword after wasting away its power.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I can fight for you and recognise you as my master. Stop already!¡±

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished immediately yielded. Originally, as a sword, it was not afraid of failure. No matter who obtained it, they would all require its power, so they would never be able to bring themselves to destroy it. However, he could clearly sense earlier that Li Qingshan was serious. He had said so with cold resolve. No matter how mad or twisted it was, it still had a desire to survive.

    Battle Demon Hun was surprisingly resolute as well. He did not attempt to recover the Immortal Relinquished blade. Instead, he attacked the space before him as hard as he could, prepared to escape!

    With the Immortal Relinquished sword taken away from him, he immediately recovered much of his clear thought. He understood that there was no longer any chance of victory with this battle. It was impossible for him to kill Li Qingshan given his current state no matter what. However, this had not exactly been a bad thing. At least he had managed to break free from the Immortal Relinquished sword and did not have to worry about being enslaved.

    Once I make it outside and reunite with the army, I¡¯ll fight him to death again!

    ¡°Hmph, you think you can escape?¡± Li Qingshan lunged down. The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, ¡°Refine me, and you will obtain unprecedented strength! Killing the likes of him will be as easy as drinking water!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    Li Qingshan devoted a majority of his strength to suppressing the Immortal Relinquished sword, just in case it suddenly turned against him and fled. Just the Asura Field alone was not enough to stop Battle Demon Hun from escaping. Right when Battle Demon Hun was about to slip away right before his eyes, a bone sword plunged into the Asura Field from the outside, stabbing towards Battle Demon Hun.

    Battle Demon Hun¡¯s heart turned cold. He sensed danger. The sword gilded with faint, golden light gave off a great sense of horror, except Li Qingshan had already arrived. As a result, he gritted his teeth and condensed his demon qi into a sword, shaking off the bone sword.

    ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Battle Demon Hun rushed out of the Asura Field, brushing past Xiao An. He felt his waist ache slightly, still having been cut by the sword in the end. Such a small wound was not worthy of his attention at all. Even if the buddhist light prevented it from healing, it was nothing. He would survive even if he was split into two.

    Under his surging demon qi, the buddhist light was purged in the blink of an eye, and the wound was exposed. The sensation of death suddenly began to spread through his body, and he paused. Under the pull of an invisible force, he returned to the Asura Field.

    Flames bloomed from the wound, just like a white lotus!

 Chapter 1117

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1117: The Spirit Turtle Transformation

    Just like everyone else Xiao An had struck with the Buddha Slaying sword, Battle Demon Hun¡¯s face was filled with disbelief. He watched helplessly as the pale-white flames surged and spread, feeling as feeble as a mortal.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°I¡¯ve lost?¡± In his final moments before death, Battle Demon Hun instead recovered his cool. ¡°The Demon domain is determined to obtain the nine provinces and the Immortal Relinquished sword. You will follow my footsteps very soon, Li Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the Immortal Relinquished sword in his hand and smiled. ¡°The Demon domain is indeed very troublesome, but it can¡¯t be more troublesome than Qiongqi, right?¡±

    ¡°Demon God Qiongqi!?¡± Battle Demon Hun was stunned. He stared at Li Qingshan deeply before the flames swallowed him.

    A sliver of surprise flashed through the eyes of the boy who laid on the Asura Altar of Armaments like a corpse. He thought, Qiongqi, is it? That is indeed troublesome, but what does it have to do with me? Am I supposed to be in less trouble compared to that?

    Xiao An accepted the ball of flames into her sleeve. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How is it outside?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright for now.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go out and take a look!¡± Then Li Qingshan instructed the boy. ¡°Hey, just stay here and don¡¯t go anywhere for now. I¡¯ll talk with you later.¡±

    However, he understood extremely well that given the great powers that this strange ¡°Asura King¡± had demonstrated earlier, no one could stop him from leaving this Asura Field, even if he was the master of the Asura Field.

    The boy laid there without budging. He said powerlessly, ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me. I hate you¡­¡±

    Outside the Asura Field, the King of Southern Yue and the Fierce King of Chu worked together as they slowly pushed back the demon qi. It was all thanks to Xiao An¡¯s Soul Stirring Bell and the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s cicada cries that they effectively disturbed the demonfolk army, buying them a lot of time.

    However, the demonfolk army clearly had powerful demons presiding over them. They rapidly pressed closer towards Great Buddha mountain.

    ¡°That¡¯s strange. Why have reinforcements from the Dragon province still not arrived?¡± Jin Fugui controlled the black sand, washing away the demon qi wave by wave as he said anxiously and in confusion.

    The Green province was distant from the Dragon province, but whether it was the Guardian Hawk God or the grand preceptors of the left and right, they should have arrived a long time ago. For the sake of something as major as an invasion from the Demon domain, it would not be strange even if the three ducal ministers and the nine ministers were mobilised, but why had they not even seen a shadow until now?

    ¡°You can forget about it. They¡¯re not coming. The divine kingdoms of otherfolk fell because of demonfolk. Why would they want to follow their footsteps?¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Invasions of the Demon domain affect all nine provinces, all living beings in the world. Who can remain uninvolved?¡±

    Yue Wuyang frowned heavily. Unless they had no other choice, otherfolk were reluctant to oppose demonfolk as well.

    ¡°Perhaps the son of heaven has something else in mind?¡± Gu Yanying shrugged and said as food for thought.

    ¡°Something else in mind?¡± Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang were slightly surprised. The Fierce King of Chu and everyone else all listened in too.

    Gu Yanying came from the Dragon province, and her status was anything but ordinary. Her acquaintances were all descendants of the imperial clan, so she knew even more than an old dragon who spent several millennia cooped up in one place like the Dragon King of Ink Sea. Her knowledge even surpassed the kings of provinces like the Fierce King of Chu and the King of Southern Yue. Everyone could not help but ponder over her words.

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk exchanged glances. They had developed their suspicions long ago. As the leading sect of buddhism in the world, the Spirit K?etra temple had turned a blind eye to the appearance of the buddha nemesis and a deaf ear to the invasion of demonfolk, which was far too strange. Just what were they brewing in the Dragon province right now?

    However, now was not the time to think about that. What Gu Yanying had said had basically cut off all possibilities of any external support. If it were not for the fact that great cultivators all possessed great willpower, perhaps they would have fled in every direction already.

    The current situation was not turning for the better. The bellows and war cries from within the demon cavern were growing closer and closer. By the time that demonfolk army had arrived, no one would still possess the strength to keep fighting.

    ¡°Your majesty, we¡¯ve already done everything that we can. Why don¡¯t we just retreat to the Mist province?¡± A great cultivator silently communicated with the King of Southern Yue mentally.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already come so far. There¡¯s no need to say anything more!¡± the King of Southern Yue said firmly.

    The great cultivator no longer spoke, but clearly, he was rather displeased. He conserved even more of his strength now as he helped out.

    The King of Southern Yue knew exactly what kind of people these honoured guests were. Probably all of them were dissatisfied with his decision. If there was no risk, then perhaps they could help out, but as soon as the demonfok arrived, they would immediately ask to retreat.

    He could not afford to throw his own resources at the demonfolk either, so he thought, Li Qingshan, I¡¯ve already lived up to my duty!

    At this moment, Li Qingshan stepped out of the Asura Field with the Immortal Relinquished sword in hand. He looked around and said loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve slain Battle Demon Hun!¡±

    Everyone was reinvigorated. They even found it a little hard to believe. Just how terrifying of a combination was Battle Demon Hun and the Immortal Relinquished sword? Yet, Li Qingshan had actually killed him and stolen the sword, so just how powerful had he become now?

    At this moment, the war cries from the demon cavern were already near at hand. The demon qi became even more turbulent, difficult to restrain and suppress.

    Li Qingshan handed the Immortal Relinquished sword to Xiao An. ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t let it escape. The path of the sword inside is indeed extraordinary. It¡¯s no weaker than the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth. You¡¯re welcome to take a shortcut and comprehend it!¡±

    With that, he dove into the demon cavern.

    Xiao An gripped the Immortal Relinquished sword and began refining it. As soon as it left Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, the Immortal Relinquished sword began to shake violently before gradually fading away too, wanting to escape into space.

    Xiao An planted the sword into the Blood Sea Banner first before drawing it out again, now coated in a thick layer of blood-red light. Then she controlled the Skull Prayer Beads and turned them into tiny skeletons that bit down on the sword. Finally, she hung the Soul Stirring Bell on the end of the hilt, which jingled away as soon as the sword trembled. She did not forget to add, ¡°If you resist, I¡¯ll have Qingshan destroy you later.¡±

    Sure enough, what she did and said was effective. The Immortal Relinquished sword gave up on the struggle, switching to threats instead. ¡°I¡¯d advise you to just let go. Do you know what fate awaits you if you want to become my master? Your mind will be gradually twisted, and your consciousness will sink into madness. In the end, you won¡¯t even recognise yourself anymore.¡±

    Xiao An smiled. ¡°So you sense it!¡±

    White bone and great beauty, life and death, prosperity and decline. In the eyes of regular people, her heart of white bone had already been an extremely twisted and mad existence. Even when she had coincidentally obtained a bit of humanity through cultivation, it was not her true nature. A measly sword spirit was trying to shake up the great will and great views passed down in the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. That was basically no different from dreaming.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished was rendered speechless for a moment. He thought resentfully, Just what are the origins of these two?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure grew as he flew through the air, turning into an indomitable ox demon. He slammed down violently with both fists.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The demon cavern cracked and shattered, becoming covered in criss-crossing spatial cracks.

    However, this was only a temporary measure. The surging demon qi clearly was not afraid of being sliced apart by space. There would always be a moment when the cracks recovered.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and laid down above the demon cavern. He said silently, ¡°Spirit Turtle Transformation!¡±

    At that moment, multicoloured light poured out and permeated the surroundings like an ocean!

 Chapter 1118

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1118 ¨C Shouldering the Cauldron

    Li Qingshan¡¯s back arched high into the air, turning into a turtle shell that resembled a multicoloured mountain. His limbs dangled down like four columns as the colour of his body became mild like jade, shimmering with a divine glow. He slowly sank down, churning up and dispersing the demon qi.

    The spirit turtle suppresses the seas, rippleless for ten thousand kilometers.

    Everyone was left momentarily speechless, shocked by the great power.

    Boom!

    The colossal spirit turtle that Li Qingshan had turned into loomed over the demon cavern. He pushed the might of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to the limit and let out a deep below, like the cry of a dragon from the depths of the ocean.

    The demonfolk army surged before the demon cavern, only to be met with a jade wall that shone with a divine glow. It blocked their paths.

    ¡°That fool Battle Demon Hun actually had his army annihilated!¡±

    The commander of the demon army was a small, short old woman. She wore absolutely nothing, but was instead covered in red fur. Her withered face was filled with malice. She said to the Demon Kings behind her without even looking back, ¡°Smash through him!¡±

    Instantly, streaks of demonic light filled the cavern, erupting forth!

    The red-furred old woman snickered. Just how powerful was the combined attack of several dozen Demon Kings? It was enough to instantly destroy a mountain. Trying to block the demon cavern with his own body was basically a futile effort. However, the jade wall suddenly flashed with a mirror-like lustre, and the attacks rebounded, raging through the narrow demon cavern.

    The old woman¡¯s expression changed, and she flew backwards. It was fine for her to retreat, but the Demon Kings retreated as well. Originally, it was very possible for them to block the attacks given their strength, but no one wanted to stand forward, so the attacks whistled into the demon army and countless demonfolk were reduced to ash, suffering heavy losses.

    Li Qingshan grinned. Just like when he used the Ox Demon Transformation, the power behind the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and the Last Reflection of the Setting Sun had reached an unprecedented level. On top of that, they had basically become second instinct to him.

    The red-furred old woman was furious. ¡°Go get him! If anyone even takes a step back, I¡¯ll execute them without mercy!¡±

    Seeing how the techniques were useless, her red fur began to grow, stabbing towards Li Qingshan like a million needles. The Demon Kings rushed over as well, launching furious attacks.

    Li Qingshan felt a prick and an itch on his belly, followed by violent shaking. He could not last too long like this. He raised his head that resembled both a dragon¡¯s and a snake¡¯s and said to the Fierce King of Chu, ¡°What are you still waiting for, fellow?¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, the Fierce King of Chu pointed down, and the Green Province cauldron fell heavily. With a rumble, it rested on the back of the turtle.

    Li Qingshan shouldered the mountainous Green Province cauldron, feeling no discomfort at all. Instead, he felt like he had become one with the entire Green province, forming a single, whole entity. The landscape of the Green province flashed through his tranquil eyes. Every single mountain was a part of his body, and every single river was a blood vessel. The stinging and pain from his abdomen immediately faded away.

    The Fierce King of Chu was surprised as well. He had actually comprehended the Green Province cauldron in such a short time, allowing him to borrow the power within.

    The red-furred old woman gave up on the attack. Her face was completely sunken. The region above the demon domain had been suppressed and sealed up again. Although it did not possess the power of suppressing demons like the Demon Suppression hall, it was far sturdier than the Demon Suppression hall had ever been. Given their strength, they could never get through it within a short period of time.

    ¡­¡­

    The churning demon qi dispersed, revealing the sky full of stars again. Before they knew it, night had already arrived.

    Everyone could not help but gaze at the sky. Never had they found the galaxies to be so resplendent. When they looked down again, the ground no longer bore any resemblance to before. What replaced it was a divine turtle that shouldered a huge cauldron.

    He was the one who had ended the battle.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    The Unraging monk arrived before the spirit turtle, filled with a multitude of emotions. Given Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, he could have left as he pleased with no one to stop him. Even if the demonfolk conquered the world and turned the nine provinces into the Demon domain, there were no Demon Kings that could do anything to him. Speaking of which, he counted as half of a battle demon, so perhaps he would have been better off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, master. The demon cavern has already been suppressed!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned over with his huge head. His profound eyes seemed azure at first glance, but upon gazing into them, they became darker and darker, dark like the deep ocean. They shone with the glow of demonic nature, flowing with profound truths and tranquility.

    The Unraging monk felt his heart heat up. Even throughout buddhism, just how many people could undertake such a responsibility and make such a sacrifice? Who could still say his disciple was unworthy of being a disciple of buddhism?

    The Dauntless monk brought his palms together towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. I express the thanks of all living beings of the world. Fellow, you might be a daemon, but your actions are like the dragons and elephants of the buddhas. Your kindness knows no bounds!¡±

    ¡°Heh, thank you for your praise, abbot, but I¡¯d rather be the ox that carries a child on my shoulders.¡±

    TL: ¡°The ox that carries a child on his shoulders¡± has multiple meanings. It comes from a story where Duke Jing of Qi had a son, An Ruzi, that he spoilt so much that despite being the lord of a kingdom, he got on his knees and allowed his son to ride around on his back with a rope in his mouth like an ox. His son fell off his back by accident and tugged on the rope, breaking his teeth. The Ruzi in ¡°An Ruzi¡± also means ¡°little boy¡±. Anyway, the historical meaning is being spoilt by your parents, but the meaning was later changed by Lu Xun in a poem to mean possessing a selfless spirit to serve the people.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan understood what brother ox was thinking a little. If he were to choose, he would rather carry a child on his back too instead of serving the gods and buddhas as a mount, a domesticated animal.

    The Dauntless monk frowned, but it did make him sigh without any surprise.

    ¡°Exactly!¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King smiled.

    Gu Yanying sank into her thoughts. She approached him and asked with a smile, ¡°Is it heavy?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask? Why don¡¯t you try and shoulder it?¡± Li Qingshan said in exasperation.

    Actually, it was not exactly heavy, but the issue was he could not move, which made him very irate. Now was the perfect time to demonstrate the usage of the Watermirror¡¯s Image¡­

    ¡°I can never shoulder something like that.¡± Gu Yanying shrugged. ¡°Is this worth it?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to do it, so it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s worth it or not.¡±

    With a thought, a mirror clone walked out from his left eye and let out a great yawn and stretch. Soon afterwards, another mirror clone emerged from his right eye, twisting and stretching his neck with force.

    Under the Spirit Turtle Transformation, all of the spirit turtle¡¯s innate abilities had become stronger, which gave him sufficient ability to move around.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve already found a way to deal with it,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Of course. I can¡¯t stay here forever. I still have to pay a visit to the Ink sea!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the Ink sea. Don¡¯t make me wait for too long!¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea left without any hesitation, turning into a dragon and vanishing into the horizon.

    ¡°You fought alongside one another after all. Can¡¯t you just set aside your differences and befriend each other?¡± Gu Yanying sighed.

    ¡°We don¡¯t need a woman sticking her nose into matters between men!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Save it.¡± Gu Yanying shot him a glance before breaking into a smile. She extended a hand and patted Li Qingshan¡¯s head. ¡°I¡¯m going. You can just lay there!¡±

    Snap!

    Li Qingshan gnashed his teeth, but Gu Yanying had already ridden off in the wind. A single message drifted over through the sky. ¡°Hurry up and free yourself. You still owe me something. I¡¯ll be needing your help very soon.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Then Li Qingshan raised his head to the Fierce King of Chu and the King of Southern Yue. ¡°Your majesties, could you come over here?¡±

    ¡°I was just about to bid farewell. Qingshan, is there anything else you need help with?¡± the King of Southern Yue said extremely warmly, which made the Fierce King of Chu furrow his brows heavily.

    ¡°Xiao An has already told me all about your assistance. I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Qingshan.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue smiled. He had been waiting for that. It could be said that the only reason why he had done everything he did in the Green province was because of Li Qingshan¡¯s personality, where he paid back all of his debts. He immediately felt like everything had been worth it.

    ¡°Your majesty the King of Chu, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss with you,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What is it?¡± the Fierce King of Chu asked.

    ¡°Given the Green Province cauldron to the Great Banyan Tree King, or you and I will be stuck here forever.¡±

 Chapter 1119

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1119 ¨C From the South

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! If you want to keep the demon cavern suppressed over long periods of time, the tree king is the best choice. The various demon caverns in the Mist province are all suppressed by a great banyan tree.¡± The King of Southern Yue clapped and added.

    The King of Southern Yue was basically hoping the Great Banyan Tree King could take root in the Green province and become the god of the Green province.

    ¡°Kid, at least you haven¡¯t disappointed me.¡±

    A streak of golden light flew over. Having been forced back by Xiao An, madam Vine obviously was not willing to just leave like that. Coupled with how startling the battle had been, she had been lurking in the dark the entire time, waiting for another opportunity.

    The Fierce King of Chu fell silent and looked around. Everyone stared at him, waiting for his decision. However, apart from the Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk, probably everyone, including both the Golden Cicada Spirit King and the King of Southern Yue, would side with him. His own daughter went even more without saying. She was basically bewitched by Li Qingshan.

    He could not help but sneer. ¡°If I were to decline, you¡¯re probably going to force me to anyway!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a laugh, but he did not deny that. He still had a lot of things waiting for him to do. He could not stay here for too long.

    ¡°The Gate of Hungry Ghosts in the Myriad Ghosts abyss has opened. If we just leave it be, the Green province will become a land of death very soon,¡± said Xiao An.

    This could be verified by the huge hole to the south of the Green Province cauldron.

    ¡°Your majesty, I think that¡¯s the only option now.¡±

    The Dauntless monk gave it some consideration before standing forward and advising him. The Dauntless monk was reluctant for Great Buddha mountain to fall into the hands of a daemon, but at least it was better than letting demons occupy it.

    ¡°The nine cauldrons are a symbol of subservience to Great Xia, so there¡¯s no reason why you can¡¯t part with it. On top of that, the Green province has faced numerous disasters, but has Great Xia even sent a single soldier? Instead, you received help from me, your mortal enemy,¡± the King of Southern Yue stood with his arms crossed and said slowly.

    The Fierce King of Chu gazed at the King of Southern Yue with a frown, and the King of Southern Yue gazed back at him without backing down. They were natural enemies, but this was a grievance passed down from their ancestors. They did not exactly have any grievances between them as individuals.

    The Fierce King of Chu could not help but recall what Xiao An had said, how they were just fighting over tiny pieces of land. Perhaps it was time to put an end to this. He let out a great sigh and finally nodded. ¡°Alright!¡±

    He made his decision and completely severed his connection with the Green Province, turning around and flying away.

    ¡°Your majesty.¡±

    The Dark Queen stood forward and bowed gracefully. Towards this dejected man, she instead showed a little more respect than usual.

    The Fierce King of Chu¡¯s solemn and dignified demeanour melted away gradually too. He glanced back, and Xiao An also saw him off, which made him sigh inside. No matter what, his Ji clan had finally produced a cultivator with a limitless future. As for how far she could make it, it would be completely up to her fortune.

    However, how could he just fall behind his daughter willingly? He sucked in a deep breath. Compared to the myriad worlds out there, the fifteen thousand kilometers of the Green province truly was a tiny piece of land. As a result, he opened his mind and said to the Dark Queen, ¡°Accompany me as I travel the lands!¡±

    ¡°As you wish,¡± the Dark Queen said softly.

    A silver streak of light shot through the air. The King of Southern Yue controlled the Silver Dragon King and returned to the Mist province with his honoured guests.

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯m going to go and gather with the monks for now. I¡¯ll have to trouble you with here,¡± said the Unraging monk.

    ¡°If you want to go, then go! What¡¯s all the nonsense for!¡± Li Qingshan said rudely.

    After the Fierce King of Chu completely severed his connection with the Green Province cauldron, he immediately felt much lighter. He had benefited quite a lot from comprehending the laws of the world within.

    ¡°Damned disciple!¡± the Unraging monk bellowed before smiling to himself. ¡°Now that¡¯s just more fitting to say!¡±

    He turned around, only to see the Dauntless monk talking with the Golden Cicada Spirit King. The Dauntless monk was extremely polite, which surprised him slightly.

    ¡°According to the seniority of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, fellow Golden Cicada would be our senior.¡± The Dauntless monk brought his palms together.

    ¡°You are too kind, abbot. How can someone expelled be regarded as a senior?¡± The Golden Cicada Spirit King returned the gesture.

    ¡°That is an old tradition of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, but it does seem quite flawed looking at it now. Fellow, you¡¯ve protected the buddhist dharma and purged the demons. You¡¯ve shown great kindness to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. I¡¯m willing to take back the expulsion in the name of the abbot. Would you be willing to accept that, fellow?¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand what the Dauntless monk had in mind. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga just happened to be at its weakest. Not only had they lost their sect, two of the four Monk Kings had died as well, with countless other losses. In this chaotic age, it definitely was not a good sign.

    If he could invite the Golden Cicada Spirit King back to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, then their strength would increase substantially. After all, in terms of battle prowess alone, even the four Monk Kings probably were not his opponent.

    He could not help but lament over the fact that everyone who served as leaders had an element of pragmatism about them.

    If it had been a different Daemon King, perhaps they would not agree to it, but the Golden Cicada Spirit King possessed special attachment to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. He did not view his expulsion as unjust treatment or humiliation either. He brought his palms together. ¡°Then thank you for your generosity, abbot.¡±

    Just like that, a human and a daemon got along well with each other. They gathered with the monks and discussed the matter of rebuilding the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Jin Fugui and Yue Wuyang bade farewell as well. Madam Vine was still reluctant to see the Great Banyan Tree King, so she had vanished a long time ago.

    In the blink of an eye, Great Buddha mountain fell quiet. Only the sounds of wind filled his ears.

    Xiao An crossed her legs and sat on Li Qingshan¡¯s head, gazing at the crescent moon.

    Li Qingshan smiled and shut his eyes, sending his mind into the Green Province cauldron.

    Time flew rapidly¡­

    An ancient, delighted laughter suddenly rang out from Towering city, making the sea of trees ripple.

    To the northern edge of the sea of trees, a great banyan tree grew at an accelerated rate, reaching around half the size of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main body. It glowed with a verdant green and gradually shrank, assuming human form and travelling northwards.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and smiled. ¡°He¡¯s finally here.¡±

    With that, the Great Banyan Tree King arrived before Li Qingshan. Studying the spirit turtle that shouldered the huge cauldron, he smiled and praised him.

    ¡°I immediately set off when I caught wind of the good news. Qingshan, your strength has climbed higher yet again!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re no different. Come take the Green Province cauldron!¡±

    ¡°Alright, but I¡¯ll have to take it slowly this time, just in case the demonfolk strike if an opening is presented to them.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll stay here for a little longer, until you become the god of the Green province!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King leapt into the Green Province cauldron. A while later, the cauldron began to shine with verdant light, rushing straight into the sky.

    Lush, green leaves spilled out of the cauldron like water from a spring. A great banyan tree pulled into the air and aerial roots spread and draped down, coiling around the Green Province cauldron.

    During the battle against the Demon domain, the Green Province cauldron had been struck several times, so it was covered in many hairline cracks invisible to the naked eye. They were perfect for the Great Banyan Tree King to send in roots that were even finer than hairs. Then he used his countless cuttings to comprehend the laws of the world within.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already comprehended a part of it. You can use it as a reference, fellow,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Under the Spirit Turtle Transformation, his ability to comprehend and deduce was alarming. As a result, he passed everything he had gained so far to the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°Hmm? You¡¯ve actually comprehended so much already. You really are talented. You sure have saved me quite the time.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King sighed in amazement. He had the experience of digesting the Mist Province cauldron and was far more powerful than before, so it was several times easier this time. He dismantled the Green Province cauldron in a systematic manner.

    At the same time, on Dragon Head mountain, the imperial court of Great Xia, the Dragon Province cauldron shook violently.

    A middle-aged man with a tasselled crown on his head dressed in bright-yellow dragon robes touched the cauldron. He said to himself, ¡°What wild ambitions! You want to become the god of the nine provinces? Unfortunately, that¡¯s just a fantasy!¡±

 Chapter 1120

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1120: The Ghost Tower

    In the open fields and deserted villages, the shrouding death qi enveloped the land, rendering it barren. It was even more deathly silent than after the passing of locusts, no longer with any living creatures around. Even if a ¡°creature¡± appeared every now and then, they had already become citizens of the kingdom of death.

    Li Qingshan stood on the land of death and could not help but frown. This was the instinctive loathing that the living had for death.

    The clip-clopping of horse hooves rang out from behind, and a corpse horse lunged over. A majority of its body had rotted away, revealing its jagged white bones. Green light shimmered in its eyes, filled with a desire to devour and a hatred for the living.

    Li Qingshan glanced back. He had sensed the existence of the corpse horse a long time ago, but he never thought it would actually have the courage to rush over here. Don¡¯t they even have the most basic sense of fear?

    Something stirred in the deserted village, and villagers emerged on the streets, all half-rotten. Their movements were sluggish and stiff. When they saw Li Qingshan, they were like people who had been starved for three days that had just seen a piece of meat, all surging over. There were plenty of ethereal existences among them, all vengeful spirits and hungry ghosts.

    A phoenix¡¯s cry!

    Li Qingshan rose up into the air and turned into a streak of firelight, sailing towards the Myriad Ghosts abyss. The abandoned village behind him was burned to a crisp within the flames.

    The ground rapidly receded under him. There were many more cities and villages that had all been swallowed by the death qi, which reached hundreds of kilometers away!

    Because they were close to a great sect like the Umbral Yin sect and the disciples of the Umbral Yin sect were skilled in ¡°human¡± wave attacks, even the Soaring Locust King had his second doubts, so they were not particularly affected by the locust plague. Instead, many people gathered here for refuge. Never did they think that they would survive the locust plague, only to face another crisis like this and be reduced to undead.

    A large city appeared on the horizon, no smaller than the prefectural city of Clear River. It must have been a prefectural city as well, except its prosperity had already become a matter of the past. It had completely turned into a land of the dead, with several million undead roaming about. Even the horror films he had watched in his past life came nowhere close to this.

    Li Qingshan recalled how the White Lotus Mother had massacred a city of two hundred thousand for the sake of forging an arcane treasure in the past and how he had felt extremely shocked. Only now did he truly understand what human life was worthless meant, which made him sigh. He still had not learnt the coldness and the heartlessness of the world back then, how it viewed all as nothing.

    Arriving above the city, he suddenly descended from above, accelerating himself through the use of gravity like an asteroid. With a long tail of flames behind him, he landed loudly in the centre of the city.

    A wave of earth swept through the entire city. Wherever it reached, structures collapsed, and countless undead were buried alive; it was like a great earthquake had occurred. Perhaps it was exactly that, a great earthquake!

    Looking around again, the city strewn with buildings had already been reduced to ruins. He looked at his hands and thought, This is my current power, my destructive power, and it¡¯s just a mirror clone. What should I use this power to do? To rescue the world and uphold justice? Or to indulge in myself and do as I please?

    He flew up and continued on his way, leaving behind a message in the ruins of the city that drifted away with the wind.

    ¡°Apologies. I¡¯m sympathetic to your misfortunes, but I don¡¯t fight for you!¡±

    Arriving a hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Myriad Ghosts abyss, Li Qingshan uttered, ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    His vision suddenly pulled up close, and the Myriad Ghosts abyss was clearly reflected in the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. He could not help but gasp. ¡°That¡¯s-¡±

    A tall, bone tower that stood three thousand meters tall jutted into the air, but it seemed like only the foundations had been laid so far. Its height after completion was unimaginable. Could it even link up with the sky?

    Many figures busied about on the white bone tower, like labourers who toiled about in cities.

    However, when Li Qingshan used the Profound Light Illuminates All, these ¡°labourers¡± all sensed him and looked over.

    The labourers building the tower were actually Corpse Kings, while the supervisor was a constantly-changing spirit. A half-transparent tendril landed on a Corpse King¡¯s back. It seemed so light that it was almost gentle, but it made the Corpse King quiver. A gash appeared on his skin that could not even be pierced by arcane treasures.

    ¡°Keep going! Don¡¯t stop! If we can¡¯t keep up with the schedule, not only will this world reject you, but you won¡¯t have a place in the Hungry Ghost realm either!¡±

    The spirit¡¯s cold gaze pierced through the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and glanced at Li Qingshan, which made him feel a chill run down his back. He could not help but furrow his brows. No matter what the Hungry Ghost realm was planning, they were determined to get Xiao An. If he just ignored this, it would definitely lead to great trouble in the future!

    However, this was different from the battle against the demon army. These undead had already gained a footing and cast down formations. The bone tower was not complete yet, but it had clearly come into effect already, making him feel great danger.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts below had already ripped even wider than the original Myriad Ghosts abyss by now, like the Hungry Ghost realm had opened its mouth, trying to swallow them.

    ¡­¡­

    The mountainous Green Province cauldron was drowned in deep green, replaced by a towering tree. Its thick, serpentine roots coiled around the spirit turtle. Li Qingshan did not budge at all.

    The sun, moon, and stars set and rose as time trickled by. The Green Province cauldron let out a gentle sound as the roots grew vigorously in the cracks of the cauldron, gradually widening them and dismantling the cauldron.

    Rain poured down from above, washing the soil that had been contaminated by the demon qi. The remaining part of Great Buddha mountain stood within the grey rain as the water rushed down as a river, flowing around the great banyan tree.

    Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes, and his body gradually changed. He let out waves of power of tremors, and the Green Province cauldron boomed like a great bell.

    Clang!

    The Green Province cauldron shattered into countless specks of colourful dust, shaking away the pouring rain and dark clouds.

    For a moment, sunlight poured down, passing through the cracks between the leaves. It was glorious and resplendent.

    The great banyan tree swung its branches around, gathering several specks of dust on its green leaves, making it resemble a multicoloured divine tree. It began to rapidly grow again.

    With a flash, Li Qingshan flew out from beneath the tree and turned around to look. As soon as the demon qi surged out of the demon cavern, the roots rapidly spread out and sealed off the demon cavern, plunging deeply into the earth. The tree became even sturdier too, like it could touch the skies!

    At the same time, countless great banyan trees rose up throughout the Green province, with countless creatures watching in surprise.

    The aura of the Great Banyan Tree King became even broader and deeper, surpassing the range of regular daemons; it was as if he had become a representative of the world. This was just the beginning. Once he refined the nine cauldrons, he would truly become the god of the nine provinces, the representative of the world¡¯s will.

    Li Qingshan asked with a smile, ¡°How does it feel to become the god of the Green province?¡±

    ¡°Not bad, or should I say, fantastic!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    ¡°Can you use the power of the world to suppress the Gate of Hungry Ghosts?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. My power can¡¯t enter there either. The white bone tower you speak of seems to have sealed off the laws of the world completely. Unless it¡¯s destroyed, it¡¯ll be very difficult to suppress the gate.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King expressed his powerlessness too. ¡°If you really want to suppress it, then you better do so quickly. Once the gate rips open even wider, it¡¯ll all be too late.¡±

    Li Qingshan contemplated a countermeasure as he stroked his chin when Yin Qing suddenly stepped out of the Asura Field. ¡°My king, could you pay a visit to the Asura Field? Are you aware of the child¡¯s identity?¡±

 Chapter 1121

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1121 ¨C A Child of a God

    ¡°The child? You mean the Asura King.¡±

    It took Li Qingshan a moment before he returned to his senses. There was actually such a strange guy in his Asura Field. It was not because his memory had been horrible, but because the child was just alarmingly obedient. He spent all these days trapped in the tiny Asura Field and actually did nothing at all.

    ¡°He¡¯s not a regular Asura King. If I am not mistaken, he should be a R¨¡hu!¡± Yin Qing said sternly.

    ¡°What¡¯s a R¨¡hu?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s a R¨¡hu asura!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King was extremely surprised. After becoming a god, rarely did he ever give off such obvious fluctuations in his emotions.

    ¡°R¨¡hu is the name of a primordial asura, which is also the first asura in the Asura realm, as well the god king of the Asura realm. Legend has it that he was slain by the gods and deva for the elixir of immortality. Afterwards, the Asura realm became fragmented and entered eternal war and chaos.¡±

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King truly is knowledgeable, but god king R¨¡hu already possesses an undying body, so he was not slain. That¡¯s where the undying bodies of asura come from¡­¡±

    Only after Yin Qing¡¯s introduction did Li Qingshan understand what ¡°R¨¡hu¡± meant. In the Asura realm, they were equivalent to the princes of Great Xia, and they did not have numerous descendants like the imperial clan of Great Xia. The stronger the lifeform was, the more difficult it was to produce offspring, so there was an extremely small number of R¨¡hu.

    There was still a very small number of accomplished princes of Great Xia because they were still ¡°human¡± at the end of the day. However, the R¨¡hu were a true divine clan. They were born as gods. The difference between the two was even greater than village chief Li¡¯s sons from Crouching Ox village and the princes of Great Xia.

    Yin Qing said, ¡°The black sun and moon is a symbol of R¨¡hu. It symbolises the divine power to devour the sun and moon.¡±

    TL: By ¡°devouring the sun and the moon¡±, the author is referring to the power to usher eclipses. You can read more about R¨¡hu here.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    The power to devour the sun and moon probably was not an exaggeration. He never thought such an important figure would show up in his Asura Field, which was no wonder why he possessed such power. He had seen another Asura King in the past, but he definitely was not that powerful.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t certain in the very beginning either. After all, as a R¨¡hu, he¡¯s far too weak.¡±

    ¡°Far too weak!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He had crippled Battle Demon Hun who wielded the Immortal Relinquished sword in a single move, and he was far too weak. Could this son of a god show some respect to mere mortals like that? However, when he considered his Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he could no longer criticize him anymore. He had started off less than a century ago, and he was already close to being invincible in the world. That was enough to anger all the cultivators in the world to death.

    He said speculatively, ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s just too young. He¡¯s still a kid.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the case. You¡¯ll know once you see him, my king!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go check out this child of a god then.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An entered the Asura Field with Yin Qing, and they could not help but be overcome with surprise. The child actually continued to lay on the Asura Altar of Armaments, like he was half-dead. He had not been cultivating, as his aura had not grown stronger at all. Instead, it even seemed to have weakened slightly, and his external appearance seemed a little younger too.

    He immediately understood that this child of a god was currently declining with each day.

    ¡°He¡¯s lost his fighting spirit.¡± Yin Qing reminded softly.

    ¡°I see.¡± Li Qingshan nodded and called out, ¡°Hey, kid, it¡¯s time to wake up!¡±

    The child currently lay there with his arms and legs out sprawled, gazing at the sky with dull eyes. When he heard that, he turned away from Li Qingshan.

    ¡°How useless!¡± Then Li Qingshan said to Yin Qing, ¡°If you butcher him, can you become an Asura King?¡±

    Yin Qing was alarmed. She took a step back. ¡°You can¡¯t spout nonsense, my king!¡±

    If he accidentally roused the fighting spirit of this R¨¡hu, then it would not be a joke anymore.

    Li Qingshan shot him a glance. The child did not respond at all. He smiled. ¡°How am I spouting nonsense? If this continues, this kid is going to become an Asura Commander. He definitely won¡¯t be your opponent.¡±

    Yin Qing could not help but be slightly tempted. She studied the child¡¯s figure. As an assassin, this was exactly what she specialised in, striking when others were disadvantaged. If she could obtain the R¨¡hu clan¡¯s divine blood of immortality, then that would come with endless benefits.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t get her to try. Even if I¡¯m reduced to a regular asura, I can crush the likes of her with a single finger,¡± the child said powerlessly, but his voice was filled with indescribable confidence.

    Yin Qing shivered inside and immediately discarded the thought.

    ¡°Have you finally decided to talk? You only really find out when you try. Don¡¯t be afraid, Yin Qing. He¡¯s definitely putting up a front, which is why he said that,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    Yin Qing was pained. How could slaying a god be that easy? The huge eye that had appeared in the blood-red swirl had probably come for this god¡¯s blood.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already grown tired of battle. You better not force me.¡±

    ¡°What if I insist on forcing you?¡±

    Li Qingshan crouched behind the child, his murderousness building up inside of him, like a tiger about to pounce. He revealed his sharp teeth, like he could bite at any moment.

    ¡°That fake murderousness basically makes me want to vomit. Stop probing me out pointlessly anymore. You¡¯re annoying me to death!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve read me. I¡¯m just curious.¡± Li Qingshan stood up. ¡°I, Li Qingshan, always pay back my debts. You assisted me in the past, so as long as you¡¯re in my territory, I¡¯ll obviously ensure your safety. No one will be able to touch a hair on you!¡±

    The child turned his head slightly and saw him from the corner of his eye. Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was calm and determined. He actually said he would ensure his safety with just his cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation, which was an absolute joke. However, when it emerged from his mouth, it actually sounded convincing.

    And, he had clearly seen one of the countless spying eyes already!

    ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    The child looked away and said nothing.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to tell me? That¡¯s fine, but for the sake of convenience, let me give you one! Speaking of coming up with names, hahaha!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up as he let out a mad laugh.

    Xiao An blinked her eyes. She knew he was about to unleash his ¡°talent to come up with names¡± again.

    Li Qingshan paced around the Asura Altar of Armaments, gazing at the sky at times and lowering his head in thought at other times. He stroked his chin and contemplated for a good moment before his eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed at the child.

    ¡°I got it. Sun and moon form the character brilliance, or ming. I¡¯ll call you Xiaoming!¡±

    ¡°Xiao¡­ Ming¡­¡±

    The child squeezed out those two words from between his teeth. His aura immediately erupted, and he sat up slowly.

    ¡°How¡¯s that? It¡¯s easy to say yet also deep in meaning. It¡¯s concise, yet anything but simple. You can forget about your original name. Right, Xiao An?¡± Li Qingshan smiled confidently.

    ¡°Yep!¡±

    Xiao An nodded seriously. Compared to Ji Xuanri, Xiao An really did sound much better.

    ¡°Xiao An¡­¡± As if he had confirmed that Li Qingshan was not intentionally insulting him, ¡°Xiaoming¡± lay back down on the Asura Altar of Armaments, slamming his head against the rock. ¡°You¡¯re fortunate that you encountered me in my present state¡­¡±

    ¡°Xiaoming, if you want some help with rousing your fighting spirit, could you take part in a fight for me?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly asked.

    If he had the assistance of this child of an asura god, then his chances at victory would definitely increase drastically against the Hungry Ghost realm.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Xiao An was touched. If it were not for his concern for her, even in the face of utter doom, he would never ask anyone else for help.

 Chapter 1122

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1122 ¨C Where to Ascend to

    ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± Xiaoming said firmly.

    ¡°Then forget about it.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not insist on it either. It was merely an attempt anyway. He studied ¡°Xiaoming¡± curiously. Just how powerful was he supposed to be before he declined from the loss of fighting spirit? Probably at least enough to easily crush him right now!

    Gazing at the blood-red sky, the blood-red swirl that led to the Asura realm was still riddled with cracks. Unlike demon caverns opened up by the Demon domain, the connection between Asura Fields and the Asura realm was not exactly close, so it repaired itself much more slowly.

    However, he was confident that even if it completely repaired itself, the owner of the huge eye would not enter here so easily and endure the counterattack from the World of the Nine Provinces. This was what he was relying on the most when he tried to probe a response out of Xiaoming, as well as when he issued his promise. This was also what he was relying on the most when he faced the Demon domain and the Hungry Ghost realm.

    Standing within this well known as the ¡°nine provinces¡±, it held him down, but it was also his greatest protection, saving him the trouble of facing powerful cultivators of the vaster universe.

    But at this exact moment, having reached the fifth layer of the phoenix and balanced the demonic and divine transformations, he had already touched the edge of the well. If he took another step further, he could leap out of the well and venture to a larger and more dangerous world.

    Whether it was Qiongqi, sovereign Li, or the child of a god right before him, they were merely an indication of what to come.

    There, the tremendous advantage from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine would diminish. His enemies would no longer be cultivators alone. There would even be figures of gods, immortals, buddhas, and demons.

    Upon thinking about that, he could not help but shudder slightly inside, not out of fear or cowardice, but out of indescribable excitement and anticipation.

    But right now, his path to the Asura realm had been severed¡ªwho knew if the owner of the huge eye was waiting on the other side. As a result, all that remained was ascension!

    As the ultimate goal of all cultivators in the world, he faced a problem right now¡ªhow was he supposed to take this final step? And where would he end up once he took this final step?

    The first question was enough to stump countless cultivators in the world. Who knew how many geniuses and powerful cultivators halted there. Even the Golden Cicada Spirit King had been stuck at that step for many years.

    This was different from a regular tribulation. Instead, they would be completely transcending this world.

    When he suppressed the demon cavern as a spirit turtle, Li Qingshan had already discussed this problem with the Great Banyan Tree King. The Great Banyan Tree King who was determined to ¡°turn into the well¡± gave a relatively detailed explanation.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°We actually share a mother.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re long-lost brothers?¡±

    The spirit turtle laying under the tree shade opened its eyes and looked at the lush tree with a strange gaze.

    ¡°Not that. I¡¯m referring to this world. It is the mother of all living beings of this world. Whether it¡¯s our souls or our body, everything we possess comes from it. Although every single creature seems like an individual entity on the surface, we are closely linked to this world from the very beginning. During the process of cultivation, this link becomes even tighter. We¡¯re all chosen and blessed by the heavens.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so cultivation is like an infant drawing nutrients from its mother through its umbilical cord.¡± Li Qingshan realised.

    ¡°Correct. The more it spoils and loves you, the less willing it is for its child to leave it. And since when were children willing to leave their mother?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice was filled with deep emotion, like a child longing for home. His vow to become the god of the nine provinces was not just for the sake of his wild ambitions.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Having reached our cultivations, we¡¯ve all gathered a tremendous amount of spiritual qi from this world. The will of the world is probably reluctant to lose this energy, which is why it binds and constrains us. It would rather have us die here and return everything back to the world than have us leave. If the world is a mother, then all ascending cultivators are unfilial children, rebels!¡±

    Li Qingshan objected. His soul did not come from this world, and as a person who even abandoned his hometown resolutely, he obviously could not understand the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s feelings towards the world. Probably only the Great Banyan Tree King could come in contact with the deep, unfathomable consciousness of the world too.

    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s not exactly wrong. However, even gods must halt in the face of ¡®mother¡¯s¡¯ powers. If it¡¯s really that selfish, then how can ascending cultivators exist in the first place? And even if it has the power to bind and constrain us, it also has the power to reject and repulse us. Otherwise, how would we be able to break through the barrier of the world and ascend to another world through our own powers? You might as well treat this as a test. Capable children can travel far and wide with their mother¡¯s blessing.¡±

    Li Qingshan contemplated that. ¡°I must apologise. After all, this mother has never asked for anything from me.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to apologise. This is your advantage, which is also an extremely important step in ascending, which is to sever your attachments with this world. I¡¯m certain that even fellow Golden Cicada who wanted to ascend so much still had this attachment inside.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s unavoidable.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. Just like regular people leaving their hometowns for the first time, attachments and longing were unavoidable. However, he had already left a world before. He had not been chosen and blessed by that world, but it had still given him a reverie of dreams.

    ¡°You have no attachments with this world. You basically count as a natural-born rebel.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King smiled.

    ¡°This world only counts as my stepmother. It¡¯s treated me quite nicely, but it¡¯s still not the mother that gave birth to me after all.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. His benefits of transmigrating that time were basically negligible. He did not even have to carefully hide it anymore, but he never expected it to have an effect like this on him.

    ¡°Without any mental hindrances, all that remains is power. I¡¯m certain that won¡¯t be an issue to you either.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Li Qingshan was extremely confident. As long as he spent some time and consolidated his current cultivation, he had basically made his preparations for ascension.

    ¡°However, your problem does not lie with ascension itself, but your gamble with Qiongqi and how to ascend to the same world with Xiao An.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King hit the mark with a single statement regarding Li Qingshan¡¯s greatest worry. Once he ascended to a higher world, his promise of five centuries with Qiongqi would definitely speed up, and it was very likely for him to face Qiongqi alone.

    ¡°What are the worlds available to ascend to?¡±

    ¡°Apart from the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, all that remains is the Demon domain. There are no other possibilities. If it were not for the numerous invasion attempts from the Demon domain, there would only be the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra traverse the myriad worlds, making them omnipresent. Even if living beings do not ascend, their souls will return there after death.

    ¡°Then how is the world you ascend to decided? Hopefully, I don¡¯t end up in the Demon domain. I¡¯ll be unlucky if that happens.¡±

    ¡°Race, cultivation method, and mental disposition all have an influence, but it¡¯s difficult to say if there are any other elements too. You might practice the Battle Demon Statuary, and your demonic nature is quite heavy, but you have an intrinsic difference from demonfolk, which conflicts with the laws of the Demon domain very much, so you probably won¡¯t end up in the Demon domain.¡±

    ¡°The Hell realm and the Hungry Ghost realm are unlikely too. Although there are many parts from the Heaven realm and the Asura realm that are compatible with you, that¡¯s just one side to you, so it¡¯s not likely either. Your chances of ending up in the Human realm are instead a little higher, but in my opinion, the place you¡¯re most likely to ascend to is the Daemonic Beast realm. That should be quite a good choice, except it¡¯s the least likely world that Xiao An will ascend to.¡±

 Chapter 1123

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1123 ¨C The Daemonic Beast Realm

    ¡°Then where do you think I¡¯ll ascend to, tree king?¡± Xiao An suddenly spoke up.

    ¡°I¡¯m not certain either. Your cultivation method is special, which exists between life and death, buddhism and the demonic, and you were originally a human too. The Hell realm, Hungry Ghost realm, Heaven realm, and Human realm might all open up to you. The Demon domain might embrace you as well due to those twisted vows. However, only the Asura realm and the Daemonic Beast realm are least likely, the former because of your mental disposition and the latter because of your race. You have no fighting spirit, nor are you a daemon.¡±

    ¡°We must ascend to the same world, no matter what,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Even if you end up in the Hungry Ghost realm?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King asked.

    ¡°Even if I end up in the Hungry Ghost realm!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly, ¡°However, surely we can make a compromise and choose a world we both want to go to. I think the Human realm and Heaven realm are both decent choices.¡±

    ¡°But ascension is the world choosing you, not you choosing the world, and you better accept the world¡¯s choice. Unlike the World of the Nine Provinces, high-level worlds like them have wills that manifest extremely well. In a suitable world, you¡¯ll basically have the blessings of heaven for both cultivation and battle, making your life easier. It¡¯s basically the principle of those who oblige prosper and those who defy die.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at R¨¡hu Xiaoming right before him. He was the most realistic example. An asura without a fighting spirit was probably as horrible as a living person in the Hungry Ghost realm!

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s final word of advice echoed through his ears. ¡°Instead of sticking together against the odds, why not just separate and wander off freely? You¡¯ve already reached such a realm of cultivation together. If you take another step further, then the entire world is yours. Why must you persist with sticking together?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the Daemonic Beast realm.¡±

    That was Xiao An¡¯s answer.

    In the Daemonic Beast realm, daemons ran amuck, and the myriad beasts were untethered.

    It was said to be a world filled with life. While it did possess the brutality of the survival of the fittest, Li Qingshan was certain that it was the world that suited him the most. The Asura realm would only satisfy the tiger demon¡¯s desire for battle, and the Heaven realm would reject his demonic nature. Perhaps the Human realm could accept the coexistence of his demonic and divine nature, but he had already had his fill of a life spent hiding among the crowds as a daemon. It definitely would not be as great as the freedom that came with just being a daemon.

    Li Qingshan said nothing more. He nodded towards Xiao An. ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll go to the Daemonic Beast realm.¡±

    The two of them smiled at each other, making their decision like that.

    They had no clues about how to control the world they ascended to right now, but it did not matter how the worlds chose. How could they be at ease if they just separated and wandered off freely? They would definitely go to the places they wanted to go together.

    The Great Banyan Tree King had nothing to say either. Who knew whether he was happy for them or sighing.

    ¡°Come!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand, and with a flash, the blade landed in his hand, plunging into the ground before him with a twirl. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was covered in sword slashes. He stroked the blade and said, ¡°That battle really has been tough on you.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, now that¡¯s what you would call a battle. Though, please put me on the Asura Altar of Armament and sacrifice some scrap metal,¡± the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End said proudly.

    Apart from offering up weapons in exchange for new ones, the Asura Altar of Armaments also possessed the ability to repair or strengthen weapons. Many weapons would become divine artifacts renowned throughout the Asura realm step by step as they followed their masters.

    ¡°No problem!¡± Li Qingshan agreed happily. Before he knew it, the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower had already recognised him completely.

    ¡°What a good slave.¡± A sarcastic voice rang out from behind Xiao An. It came from the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished.

    ¡°The fuck are you on about?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower flew into a rage, possessing instinctive hatred towards swords.

    ¡°I am disdained to speak with slaves,¡± said the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished.

    ¡°It was my blademaster who won. Your swordmaster lost and died. You couldn¡¯t do your job, which was why that happened.¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t my swordmaster, and weapons don¡¯t lose. They will forever be wielded in the hands of the victor, such as right now.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve already comprehended the path of the sword in it. You can use it to get a better weapon!¡± Xiao An drew the Immortal Relinquished sword and stabbed it into the Asura Altar of Armaments.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying! With the depth and breadth of my path of the sword, how can you comprehend it all in such a short time!?¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished called out.

    ¡°You really don¡¯t need it anymore?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Most of the path of the sword can only be unleashed through this sword. Just this sword is enough for me.¡±

    Xiao An gripped the Buddha Slaying sword. The skull on the hilt grinned away viciously. The Buddha Slaying sword was her lifebound sword, not only startling in might, but also able to be further forged and strengthened. She did not have to worry about being betrayed either, so it was obviously a hundred times better than the Immortal Relinquished sword.

    The blade and sword both fell silent. No matter how tough and sharp weapons were, they were still external weapons in the end. They would be replaced and relinquished the moment they were not required anymore.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not going to the Asura realm!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished called out.

    As the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s personal sword, he knew no less about the Asura realm than Li Qingshan. If he ended up in the Armoury of War and Chaos, then it would definitely be reforged into an asura armament. That would basically be a devastating blow to it that constantly tried to become the master itself.

    ¡°How laughable. You¡¯re afraid now?¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower mocked.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to be abandoned too? Do you think that fool Li Qingshan will use two blades?¡±

    ¡°I knew this day would come a long time ago, but I didn¡¯t imagine it to come so fast.¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s voice was depressed, but she became reinvigorated again. ¡°Alright. Kid, send me to the Armoury of War and Chaos. I¡¯ve grown sick of this place a long time ago!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan planted the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End in the Asura Altar of Armaments too. ¡°Hey, Xiaoming, move over!¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming rolled over, and then he rolled over again. Just like that, he rolled off the Asura Altar of Armaments.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He really had no fighting spirit at all!

    He pressed down on the hilt of his blade and activated the Asura Altar of Armaments. He said to the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower, ¡°I don¡¯t have any scrap metal, but a sword should suffice!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was stunned. She sensed that not only had Li Qingshan decided against offering her up, but he was even prepared to repair her and further strengthen her.

    ¡°I was planning on switching you for a new blade, but considering how you¡¯re obedient for once, I¡¯ll see just how you do one more time!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. He was rather eager to see how powerful of a weapon he could obtain from offering up the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and the Immortal Relinquished blade, but he still chose to further strengthen the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End this time.

    ¡°Pah! Obedient my ass!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower cursed rather happily.

    ¡°If you want to strengthen the blade, then I¡¯d advise you to do it in an orderly fashion and offer up some regular weapons. Otherwise, you might just break it.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s lethargic voice rang out from beneath the Asura Altar of Armaments.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. He found this notification to be very familiar, and a few remote but terrifying memories filled his head, which made him shiver. He grabbed the hilt in a hurry, as if the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End would shatter if he was not careful.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Hurry up. I definitely won¡¯t shatter!¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower called out.

    Only with power that could surpass the limits could she become intrinsically stronger. Otherwise, it would just imbue her with a layer of light, making her a little sharper, which would be worn down rapidly through battle.

    ¡°This¡­ let me reconsider!¡±

    ¡°Hold on! I know where the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s other secret tombs are! I can take you to collect the treasures!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished called out.

 Chapter 1124

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1124 ¨C Rebuilding

    ¡°You know!?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. From the Cursive Sword Calligraphy in the very beginning to the Immortal Relinquished sword today, the various items left behind by the Five Absolutes Immortal had peppered his entire cultivation journey, both supporting and opposing him. Some of them had even threatened his life greatly in the past, but it only made him more curious about this Five Absolutes Immortal

    He was clearly a cultivator, yet he was known as an ¡°immortal¡±. That in itself was anything but normal. Let alone third heavenly tribulation cultivators, even those from the fourth or fifth probably had no right to be called that. Coupled with brother ox¡¯s praise, perhaps the legends were true. Perhaps he was really an immortal who had ended up in a lower world, which was why he was so capable.

    Regular arcane treasures could no longer catch Li Qingshan¡¯s attention, but the treasures left behind by the Five Absolutes Immortal were an entirely different story.

    The central treasure to the Sword Tomb was the Immortal Relinquished sword. If the twisted sword spirit was ignored, then in terms of strength alone, it was probably the greatest sword in the world. The central treasure to the Painting Tomb would definitely be a painting scroll, and it was very likely to depict the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s true body.

    If he could pillage them before he ascended, then all of this cultivation really would have been worth it.

    ¡°I was still that old guy¡¯s personal sword after all. When he sealed up the four other tombs, I watched him do it. I just never expected to be sealed up as well in the end. Damn him!¡±

    When the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished mentioned this, he was still furious about it, radiating with murderousness.

    ¡°That¡¯s called being used and then abandoned, which was why you changed your name to Immortal Relinquished. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be quite attached to your previous swordmaster.¡± Li Qingshan grinned.

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯d carve that old guy into a thousand pieces!¡±

    ¡°No, you shut up.¡± Xiao An flicked the sword, and it thrummed away.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished snorted a few times in exasperation, but it dared not be so disrespectful anymore.

    ¡°The Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s secret tombs float through space. Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea can¡¯t come and go as he pleases with his true body in there. So what if you know where they are?¡± Li Qingshan stroked his chin.

    ¡°Don¡¯t compare me to the likes of that fake dragon. I¡¯ve already merged with the Sword Tomb. What¡¯s so difficult about traversing through space?¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said proudly.

    Li Qingshan could not help but look at Yin Qing. She said, ¡°I might be able to hide in space, but my strength is insufficient, so I can¡¯t move through space freely or open up any sealed regions.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. It was no wonder the five secret tombs had always been a rumor throughout the years. In other words, the Immortal Relinquished sword was the key to the tombs.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll believe you this one time.¡±

    ¡°You have to swear that you won¡¯t offer me up!¡± The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished demanded.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be up to your performance. If everything goes smoothly, I¡¯ll obviously pay you back. Though, how can an oath like that restrain anyone?¡± Li Qingshan would never swear an oath to a sword like this, even if it was merely an empty one.

    ¡°Hey, kid, you said you would strengthen me!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower was displeased.

    ¡°What¡¯re you panicking for? You fight by my side, so what, are you supposed to worry that there aren¡¯t any good offerings? Let me repair your damage first, just in case it weakens you permanently.¡± Li Qingshan patted the hilt and comforted the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End as he considered where to find more weapons to offer up.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just for repair, then these weapons should be enough.¡±

    With a wave of the Blood Sea Banner, there was a great clatter, and countless demonic artifacts fell onto the Asura Altar of Armaments, piling up into a small mountain. Their quality was not outstanding, but their quantity was simply alarming. They were the spoils she had obtained from swallowing the demonfolk army with her Blood Sea Banner.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be enough then.¡±

    Xiao An was always so prepared. Li Qingshan immediately activated the Asura Altar of Armaments. A stream of red light rushed into the air, and all of the demonic artifacts melded away in the light.

    Thick liquid surged out from the centre of the Asura Altar of Armaments, like molten metal, yet also like some kind of energy. It gradually coated the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, gathering on the damage and carrying out the repair.

    Li Qingshan ordered Yin Qing to keep an eye on this before leaving the Asura Field with Xiao An. Before he left, he glanced at R¨¡hu Xiaoming again. He laid on the Asura Altar of Armaments and gazed at the sky without budging at all. He seemed extremely depressed.

    A child of an asura god with depression? The world really does have everything fathomable.

    ¡­¡­

    The autumn winds were bleak. A sword flew through the wilderness, parting the dry grass and leaving behind a long trail before suddenly rushing into the air again.

    Li Xiaoyao rode on his sword as the wind filled his face. He felt absolutely delighted. Just recently, he had undergone the heavenly tribulation in the Clear River prefecture, becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

    The battle on Great Buddha mountain had already ended, and various pieces of news reached the Clear River prefecture. Li Qingshan had told him to keep his distance from the Sword Collection Palace, but he still could not help himself to go back and take a look. That was where his dream of being a swordsman had begun, and there were many amicable senior and junior brothers too. Now that the overall situation of the Green province had settled and the demon and locust plague had been suppressed and prevented, he was certain there would not be any dangers.

    The Sword Collection peak no longer hung high in the air, but the surroundings gradually became familiar. The Heaven Leaning peak faded into view on the horizon. The Sword Collection palace was already very close.

    He rode his sword over a mountain. Two figures stood on the mountain top, their violet and green robes fluttering in the wind as they gazed at the Sword Collection palace.

    ¡°Senior uncle Fu! Senior uncle Yu!¡±

    Li Xiaoyao recognised the two seniors who each wielded one of the Ten Renowned Swords with a single glance. He leapt down from his sword, and his sword returned to its sheath. He completed the entire movement in a single stroke.

    ¡°Oh, Xiaoyao. You¡¯re fine! That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Yu Zijian looked over.

    Li Xiaoyao saw that face full of care and concern and could not help but warm up inside, but he also noticed some melancholy on that charming face. Senior uncle Fu did not look back at all; it was as if he was in a trance.

    Fu Qingjin¡¯s personality was well-known in the Sword Collection palace, so Li Xiaoyao did not care. After practising the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, he only found the world to be even broader and vaster, so trifles were not worth being so hung over. However, when he made his way over, he followed Fu Qingjin¡¯s gaze and also widened his eyes, becoming completely stunned.

    Even if the Sword Collection palace had been utterly obliterated, he would not have been so surprised.

    He only saw that the damaged and destroyed buildings on the various mountain peaks had already been completely repaired, with curling smoke rising from them. In a daze, it seemed like the Sword Collection palace had not faced destruction at all. All that was missing were the streaks of light that zipped around between the mountains.

    However, the chanting and humans drifted through the mountains, and Heaven Leaning mountain had a great buddha carved in. Anyone who saw this place for the first time would definitely think of it as a temple.

    ¡°Senior uncle, w- what¡¯s going on?¡± Li Xiaoyao was tongue-tied.

    ¡°This is¡­ the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.¡± Fu Qingjin finally spoke up, but his voice was filled with a sense of pain.

    The Dauntless monk had led the monks up north and re-established the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga here.

    On the top of the Heaven Leaning peak, the Dauntless monk suddenly stopped chanting. He made his way out of the grand hall and gazed towards the south.

    ¡°What are you looking at, abbot?¡± a young acolyte responsible for sweeping up the fallen leaves mustered the courage and asked.

    ¡°A few lone geese, lost from their flock.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡± The acolyte looked around.

    ¡°You¡¯re still young, so you can¡¯t see them. You¡¯ll see them once you grow up.¡±

    The Dauntless monk rubbed the young acolyte¡¯s head. This was where the future hope of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga lay.

 Chapter 1125

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1125 ¨C Zijian

    ¡°The Sword Collection palace¡­ no longer exists?¡± Li Xiaoyao murmured.

    Li Xiaoyao found this to be surreal. The laughter and calls of his senior and junior brothers still seemed to echo through the mountains, but when he returned to his senses, they were merely ripples of memories. Before he knew it, tears had already begun running down his face.

    Even if the palace master and elders had been colluding with the Demon domain, all of his companions had been innocent!

    ¡°Li Xiaoyao, are you still a disciple of the Sword Collection palace?¡± Yu Zijian asked suddenly.

    ¡°I am!¡± Li Xiaoyao answered instinctively.

    ¡°Then the Sword Collection palace hasn¡¯t died out. At the very least, there¡¯s still the three of us.¡±

    Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes shone with violet light. The setting sun behind her wove into brilliant violets and reds, but under her influence, it seemed like the rising sun, filled with hope.

    Fu Qingjin and Li Xiaoyao were both surprised. Was there still a point in saying something like that at a time like now?

    If the Sword Collection palace had been destroyed by enemies, then so be it. They could swear on revenge and reinvigorate the Sword Collection palace. However, the reality was the Sword Collection palace had colluded with the Demon domain and caused their own demise. All of the disciples had died to the Sword Collection peak. They could not even object to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga taking over their territory. If they still called themselves disciples of the Sword Collection palace, they would basically be asking to be humiliated.

    ¡°Zijian, there¡¯s a beginning and an end to everything. A rising sun comes with a setting sun. The Sword Collection palace is no different. Why must you be so stubborn?¡± Fu Qingjin sighed gently. All he wanted to do was travel far from here and roam the world now.

    ¡°Yeah, senior uncle. Why don¡¯t we just return to the Clear River prefecture and continue cultivating there? We can still live by our swords and uphold justice. I only said it out of habit just then. I think it¡¯s fine even if I stop being a disciple of the Sword Collection palace!¡± Li Xiaoyao also shook his head.

    ¡°We can forget about ever being disciples of the Sword Collection palace, but what about our brothers and sisters who died for nothing? They clearly did nothing wrong, yet they¡¯ve all become fools and bad people, shouldering the infamy forever.¡±

    Yu Zijian clenched her fist firmly. Her voice trembled, and her eyes moistened, but she did not shed any tears.

    Fu Qingjin shuddered inside and gazed at Yu Zijian deeply. Given how kind she was, the pain she faced was even deeper than theirs!

    Sigh, before I¡¯ve even realised it, you¡¯ve already become much stronger than me.

    Li Xiaoyao had nothing to say either. He was ashamed.

    Yu Zijian shook her head and apologised. ¡°Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have said something like that. I¡¯ve troubled you. However, I really don¡¯t want to just leave like this. Senior brother Fu, thank you for all these years of care and concern, and Xiaoyao, you¡¯ve cultivated arduously for all these years, finally undergoing the heavenly tribulation, so you should wander a little in leisure. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be letting down your name.¡±

    Her smile flashed across her face, and she became determined again. She gazed at the Heaven Leaning peak in the distance. ¡°The Sword Collection palace has committed many sins, so let me atone for them!¡±

    Fu Qingjin and Li Xiaoyao gazed at her figure. Her skinny shoulders seemed like they tried to bear all the sins and infamy, shouldering a burden that did not belong to her. They could not help but exchange glances.

    Fu Qingjin let out a long sigh. ¡°Zijian, oh Zijian!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve left the two of us with no more dignity as men.¡± Fu Qingjin smiled.

    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± Yu Zijian waved her hands around frantically, but she had no idea how to explain herself.

    ¡°You know me. I¡¯m just a piece of trash that only knows how to sigh and lament in a bunch of ruins. Without you, I basically have no idea how I¡¯d live, so please let me accompany you for another journey.¡± Fu Qingjin bowed slightly.

    ¡°Senior uncle Yu, I¡¯ll continue with being a disciple of the Sword Collection palace! I might be the only disciple, as it seems, but I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to go against your wishes¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going against my wishes. I haven¡¯t thought as much as you, but if I become a swordsman in the future, how am I supposed to answer if they ask me whether I¡¯m from the Sword Collection palace or not? I might as well just admit it frankly. That way, I won¡¯t let down my senior brothers and juniors, nor will I let down the sword in my hand!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ fantastic!¡± Yu Zijian cheered and hugged them together, diluting her grief and melancholy.

    ¡°We need a leader. Since the Sword Collection palace still exists, then there should be a palace master.¡± Fu Qingjin smiled.

    ¡°Yeah. We might only have a single disciple, but we still need a palace master.¡± Li Xiaoyao smiled at Yu Zijian.

    Yu Zijian hesitated. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be the palace master!¡±

    As a result, they had decided on the new master of the Sword Collection palace, a position once renowned through the Green province, in just a few words.

    ¡°Greetings, palace master!¡±

    Fu Qingjin and Li Xiaoyao bowed towards her together, both solemn and showing her plenty of respect.

    Yu Zijian wanted to avoid the bows instinctively, but she stayed put, which made her feel rather unnatural.

    ¡°Palace master, if we want to rebuild the Sword Collection palace, we might have to find another place with rich spiritual qi. Fortunately, there are a lot of free locations in the current Green province, so it won¡¯t be too difficult to find,¡± said Li Xiaoyao.

    ¡°I do know a few places that are suitable, so we could take a look,¡± said Fu Qingjin.

    ¡°No. We¡¯ll go to the Heaven Leaning peak first.¡± Yu Zijian pointed at the mountains in the distance.

    Li Xiaoyao was surprised. What¡¯re we going to the Heaven Leaning peak at a time like this for? Are we supposed to ask the monks to return the Heaven Leaning peak? That¡¯s completely impossible!

    Though, it¡¯s said that senior uncle Yu is extremely familiar with my uncle. If we have his support, perhaps there might be some hope.

    Fu Qingjin, however, seemed to understand what she was trying to do.

    The Dauntless monk turned around and said to the young acolyte, ¡°Go pass on the orders. Prepare to receive the master of the Sword Collection palace.¡±

    ¡°Yes, abbot!¡±

    The acolyte set his broom aside and jogged into the grand hall.

    A while later, the sounds of bells rose up throughout the mountains, together with the banging of drums.

    The monks gathered over from everywhere, all curious. Wasn¡¯t the master of the Sword Collection palace dead already? Even if he were still alive, he would be the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s mortal enemy. Why were they still receiving him with such treatment?

    Yu Zijian and the other two climbed up the mountain, but they left the monks even more surprised. Their cultivations were far too low! And apart from the nameless fellow at the back, they were not even equipped with swords. What kind of sword cultivators were they supposed to be?

    Li Xiaoyao made his way along the familiar mountain path, surrounded by the monks, which made him feel very unnatural and very uncomfortable. However, he noticed that Yu Zijian up ahead was stern, without her usual gentleness, which did make her seem a little like a palace master. Perhaps she was trying to negotiate with the Dauntless monk?

    When they made it to the very top of the mountain, a large, solemn monk stood there.

    In the past, Li Xiaoyao¡¯s cultivation had been far too low, so his senses were extremely limited. Only now did he properly understand slightly what a great cultivator meant. That aura basically resembled a mountain¡¯s, stifling his breath. Then he recalled how his uncle looked when he glared at him and thought that this monk could not be any more impressive than that, and only then did he relax slightly. However, he dared not consider asking for the Heaven Leaning peak anymore.

    ¡°Master of the Sword Collection palace, Yu Zijian, has brought elder Fu Qingjin and disciple Li Xiaoyao to greet the Dauntless abbot.¡±

    ¡°Please come into the hall, palace master.¡± The Dauntless monk looked at her rather strangely, giving her sufficient respect.

    However, Yu Zijian declined. She expressed that they had not come as guests before apologising to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga publicly under the identity of palace master. At the same time, she gave all the mountains including the Heaven Leaning peak to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga as compensation.

    The sun set, and the afterglow dispersed. What followed was a lengthy night.

    However, it would still rise up once more, turning into the morning glow and heralding a return of the violet.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Please Give Me Some Time

    This is the best time, as well as the worst.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s journey in the nine provinces has finally arrived at a peak. Up ahead is a completely new journey, and I¡¯ve also compiled a total of a hundred documents in the folder called ¡°Legend of the Great Sage¡± now.

    I say this is the best moment because this novel has reached an all-time high in terms of readers, which also means your support. Three million characters of plot have laid a firm foundation for this world of Xianxia, as if everything is ready now, as if all Li Qingshan needs to do next is continue with his adventures, defeat powerful foes one after another, and he¡¯ll be able to make it to the Nine Heavens.

    However, this is also the worst moment. With the rapid scaling of strength, the story will become less and less grounded, while a formulaic progression will leave people weary. In the beginning, even just killing a group of mountain bandits and obtaining an incomplete fragment of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy could leave people excited and happy. Now, he¡¯s killed several thousand times more demonfolk and obtained a supreme demonic sword like the Immortal Relinquished sword, yet it¡¯s gradually turning into just a symbol.

    It¡¯s always the easiest to lose your focus when you¡¯re in such a free and light state.

    At a time like this, certain things become easy, while others things gradually become several times more difficult.

    Of course, we aren¡¯t without a way to deal with this. The simplest way is through ¡°satisfaction¡±, to climb higher, to climb faster, to grow stronger, such that the main character and the plot charges ahead like a mad bull, fighting and killing, until he uses up his final breath, and then we wrap up the story.

    Or, through ¡°unexplained plot points¡±, raising various questions and suspense like in Approaching Science, one after another, until we reach the moment when we finally reveal the answer, only to find out it¡¯s difficult to fill in all the gaps of the story, or downright just not presenting the answer in the end and saying stuff like ¡°Call me whatever you want, but the novel is over already. There¡¯s nothing you can do about that.¡±

    TL: Approaching Science is a Chinese documentary film program. Basically, a lot of the episodes cover ¡°scientific mysteries¡± or ¡°supernatural events¡±. If you want to be concise, these phenomena can be explained in probably just a few minutes, but the documentary has the habit of ¡°stringing¡± along its watchers, basically to fill time I guess.

    I know exactly how to use these two methods, and I know they¡¯re very effective too, very suited for the environment of webnovels. The former results in fast releases, while the latter results in a sticky audience. Unfortunately, neither is the best way to go.

    People chase after immediate benefit, so they look for shortcuts. It¡¯s impossible for me to avoid thoughts like that either. Now that I¡¯ve mentioned it, I haven¡¯t blocked off all these boring shortcuts in the beginning to act all high and mighty, only because I believe I¡¯m capable of much more than this. If you have a mighty ambition like a kunpeng, then you should dive to the depths of the ocean and brave the winds. How can you copy a mere sparrow?

    Even if I end the book here and leave behind regrets, I wouldn¡¯t want it to decline with each passing day until people loathe it.

    But I¡¯m still filled with confidence that I can finish this book. Ever since I finished Chronicles of Xu Xian, I feel like there¡¯s basically no book in the world I can¡¯t finish. The many difficulties I faced earlier were the best training and practice I could receive.

    Some people said I made a fair sum from selling the game rights, so my mind is no longer on writing the novel. All I can say is you don¡¯t understand me at all. I¡¯ve always been a pessimist, a depressed overthinker. I even find indulging myself to be troublesome. Even if this sum was ten times larger, it¡¯ll be very difficult to give me a completely new outlook on life. What¡¯s truly stopping me is exactly these flaws in my personality. They¡¯re like a stubborn illness, making it particularly difficult to treat.

    This is my explanation, not excuse. I¡¯ll bow my head and acknowledge my guilt to all those who judge me, and I¡¯ll apologise shamefully to all those who spoke up for me. There are many, many aspects that I am just as bad with, just like writing novels, which brings me shame.

    However, perhaps every single person needs to continue battling against themselves, pacing between crushing defeat and reinvigoration. Perhaps it¡¯ll be quite a sorry sight to behold, but I still can¡¯t accept the peace that comes with failure. Please give me some more time.

 Chapter 1126

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1126 ¨C Featherfolk

    Li Qingshan laid lazily on a banyan leaf that was as wide as a rowboat. The autumn sun shone on his skin, making him feel a little tipsy. Of course, the primary culprit might have been the several hundred jars of alcohol he had just drunk, but did that matter?

    The breeze drifted over, giving him comfort.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve already laid here for ten days,¡± the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice echoed through the cloud-like canopy.

    ¡°Could you raise me a little higher- Alright, just like that.¡± Li Qingshan made the banyan leaf take an angle that received more sunlight before suddenly realising what the Great Banyan Tree King had said. He cocked his head and said, ¡°Ten days? It¡¯s been that long? Heh, it feels like I just drank the first cup!¡±

    As he said that, he picked up a jar of alcohol and polished it off with a few glugs before casually tossing it aside. The jar vanished behind a cloud on the horizon. Then he laid down comfortably again, letting out a belch. He spoke up with a half-narrating, half-singing voice.

    ¡°How many times in life do you get to drink¡­ Only through drinking will you find peace of mind!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I didn¡¯t expect the legendary Daemon King Northmoon to be so depraved.¡±

    There was a flash of white in the depths of the clouds. Then, it descended from above, hovering above the canopy and turning into a woman in white. Her skin was milky-white, and her beautiful appearance gave off a holy feeling. She looked down at Li Qingshan from above. However, nothing stood out like her pair of pure-white wings.

    ¡°An angel?¡± Li Qingshan murmured, ¡°Oh, an otherfolk.¡± He vaguely remembered the existence of this race.

    The term ¡°otherfolk¡± made the woman in white frown. She corrected him. ¡°It¡¯s godfolk!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fucked in the head!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud, and the canopy shook.

    The woman¡¯s expression changed. With her cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation, she actually sensed a tremendous pressure from the laughter. Sure enough, this Li Qingshan really was worthy of his reputation. She developed a little more respect.

    ¡°I¡¯m the Chamberlain for the Imperial Insignia from the Clouded divine kingdom, Bai Jie. Under my king¡¯s orders, I¡¯ve come to invite you to pay a visit to the divine kingdom.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    ¡°Bai Jie,¡± the woman repeated proudly.

    ¡°Nice name!¡± The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up, and he studied her closely, which left Bai Jie feeling unpleasant for some reason. Holding back her disgust, she said, ¡°Please come with me!¡±

    ¡°I refuse,¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°You actually declined? This is an invitation from Clouded city. Do you know just how many people want to set foot in Clouded city but can¡¯t?¡± Bai Jie said in disbelief.

    ¡°Go away. You¡¯re blocking the sun.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand impatiently.

    ¡°Alright, I hope you don¡¯t regret this!¡± Bai Jie turned into a streak of white light and vanished into the horizon.

    Li Qingshan sipped his alcohol as he watched her leave.

    ¡°Why did you decline?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King asked.

    ¡°Stop playing the fool. Can¡¯t you tell?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly flashed. ¡°A great banyan tree trying to pass off as a spring onion. Hahahaha!¡±

    After grasping the Spirit Turtle Transformation and comprehending the laws of the world, his senses became sharper. The invitation this time was not out of the enthusiasm and hospitality from brothers of a minor ethnic group. It was clearly hiding danger.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why you shouldn¡¯t have declined!¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said. Given Li Qingshan¡¯s personality, since when did he fear danger?

    ¡°I want neither women nor enemies right now. Sigh, you seem like you don¡¯t want me to be around here!¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King replied with a question. Even the sky dimmed.

    All the alcohol Li Qingshan drank during the past few days had been made with his tree sap. Li Qingshan had even been picky, making him use the laws of the world to replicate aging the alcohol by centuries and millennia. Many cultivators would never even see such precious spiritual alcohol in their entire lives, yet he drank away like water, downing a few hundred jars.

    Li Qingshan was just like someone who had nothing better to do apart from living off his parents like a parasite. If he had nothing to do, then he would drink a little and act madly. It obviously led to contempt from his seniors.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I watching over Xiao An?¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. Xiao An was still cultivating beneath the tree, reforging her white bone artifacts.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t need you to watch over her.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King dismantled his excuse mercilessly. He asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have an aspiration that lies beyond the Nine Heavens?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry, there¡¯s no hurry.¡±

    The tipsiness in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes vanished, recovering their clarity. He gazed at the distant sky. He was not laying there to slack off and rest. His cultivation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine had reached a relatively stable level. Drinking all the spiritual alcohol was also for preparing for the next step of cultivation.

    ¡°Alright then. I was afraid your ambition died down, so I was reminding you. Do you still want to drink more?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I would never, or we¡¯d really end up falling out.¡± Li Qingshan sat up and stretched his neck. ¡°Tell me about the Featherfolk.¡±

    ¡°Featherfolk are one of the seven great otherfolk races. Their entire race shares the surname Bai, and they¡¯re proud and reserved. They claim to be true descendants of gods, and they look down on other races, including other otherfolk. It goes even more without saying with humans and daemons. The divine kingdom in the sky they founded called ¡°Clouded city¡± is separated from the divine kingdoms of other otherfolk on the ground. It¡¯s said that from birth to death, their feet never touch the ground.¡±

    ¡°What a strange bunch. Why don¡¯t they check the age that they¡¯re in? Didn¡¯t Great Xia handle these guys when it was founded?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously.

    ¡°Featherfolk are one of the races least affected by war. They possess extraordinary strength, but they have a disdain for war and battle, so rarely do they experience any internal conflict either. They rarely interfere with any battles on the ground either even from the age of the divine kingdoms. They only take action when demonfolk launch large-scale invasions, and they¡¯ve always managed to turn the tides at critical moments. They¡¯re a decisive force against the Demon domain.¡±

    ¡°When Great Xia was founded, they remained neutral the entire time. Afterwards, they seemed to sign some kind of agreement and did not go to war with each other. And after that, no one ever really saw them again. Clouded city is located in the Cloud province to the east most of the time too, or it is drifting over the ocean.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King demonstrated his immense knowledge once again.

    ¡°They sound like a race filled with greatness, brilliance, and righteousness. If you throw in liberal democracy, it¡¯ll basically be far too uncanny. Though, why would a race like that want trouble with me?¡±

    ¡°Probably because the invasion of the Demon domain caught their attention. As for why they want you specifically, that¡¯s difficult to say. It was right of you to decline their invitation. Over five thousand years of development, the strength of the Featherfolk is probably only second to Great Xia. They cannot be underestimated.¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed with that very much. Otherfolk were always extremely talented. If they had numbers on their side too, then there would definitely be a fair few powerful existences at the third heavenly tribulation. However, as long as he did not go to the Clouded city, there was nothing the Featherfolk could do to him either, so he did not have to worry too much.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to go out for a walk.¡±

    Li Qingshan reached into the Asura Field and drew out the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. The damage was already completely repaired, and it was shining brightly and even sharper than before. He still had many matters to resolve before he ascended.

    ¡°Dragon King of Ink Sea, I¡¯m coming!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, several thousand kilometers away, a streak of white light entered a palace hidden within a cloud.

    ¡°He declined?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s his strength?¡±

    ¡°Significant, but nowhere close to being invincible in the world, much less being compared to his majesty.¡±

    ¡°Then prepare to invite our true guest!¡±

 Chapter 1127

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1127 ¨C Fighting the Dragon

    Near a sheer cliff on an island in the Ink sea, Chu Danqing focused on his painting as the Dragon King of Ink Sea stood with his arms behind his back, giving him guidance from time to time. Suddenly, he raised his head, and a pair of dragon pupils condensed in his blank eyes.

    ¡°Danqing, we¡¯ll stop here for today!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    ¡°Leave the Ink sea.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Chu Danqing was surprised.

    ¡°He¡¯s come.¡±

    ¡°Must you really fight?¡±

    ¡°We must fight.¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea made his way out of the hut. He gazed across the sea and met with a pair of scarlet eyes.

    Li Qingshan stood with his back to the sun, on a piece of black reef. The smell of ink drifted through the sea wind, sweeping up his scarlet hair.

    He was full of curiosity, bending down like a large cat. He wondered what the water of the Ink sea tasted like.

    ¡°Hey, you over there! You can¡¯t drink seawater!¡±

    A fisherman was returning to shore on his boat. When he saw this, he could not help but warn him loudly.

    Li Qingshan looked up and glanced at him. The fisherman saw how his scarlet hair had not been dyed red by the setting sun, and his scarlet eyes seemed to possess powers of their own, silencing him.

    Li Qingshan still took a sip of seawater. The sickeningly bitter, astringent, and salty taste filled his mouth. He swallowed it with a gulp and stuck out his pitch-black tongue, murmuring to himself, ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s horrible, but the taste is quite special!¡±

    Then he waved towards the fisherman. ¡°Hey, old bro, go home quick. A storm is coming.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ alright¡­¡± The fisherman returned to his senses and rowed away in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan took out a painting scroll from his clothes. It was the Three Absolutes Calligraphy by the very hand of the Five Absolutes Immortal. He looked through it carefully again. From when he obtained the first fragment, the Cursive Sword Calligraphy, in the Black Wind stronghold until now, everything that had been related to it flashed across his mind. In the end, he cast it into the Ink sea.

    The Three Absolutes Calligraphy drifted on the surface that seemed to be set alight by the setting sun and gradually sank down. The strokes that bore a sword-like sharpness on the painting gradually dissolved in the inky seawater.

    Li Qingshan revealed a smile. The Dragon King of Ink Sea had not declined. This was very good!

    Then he looked back at the fisherman who rowed away arduously and could not help but shake his head. Leaping up, he cupped his hands and yelled out, ¡°Everyone by the Ink sea, listen up. A storm is coming!¡±

    Sound waves swept across the ocean and reached the entire Ink sea, echoing like the voice of a god. Countless people were surprised before rowing away desperately, leaving the ocean.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    Chu Danqing heard this and suddenly left the Dragon King of Ink Sea, flying towards where the voice came from. Soon after he had left the island, the dragon cries from behind him rang through the air everywhere, and the island was swallowed by the furious sea waves. A dignified ink dragon coiled on the island, gripping the rock with its sharp dragon claws. Its colossal body bobbed in and out of view among the huge waves, letting out a cry with its head raised like it was giving a reply to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Sigh!¡± Chu Danqing furrowed his brows and let out a great sigh before accelerating. However, the surging sea water below him was already churning towards the shore faster than him. The sky rapidly dimmed.

    The glow of the setting sun dimmed and vanished. The world was dark.

    A great wave lapped against the black reef, smashing into pieces and landing on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. His heart was just like the sea before him. It began to surge.

    A black speck flew over from the surface of the sea, and Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Oh, Danqing. Long time no see!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, please don¡¯t fight. Just treat it as I¡¯m begging you!¡±

    Chu Danqing landed before Li Qingshan and grabbed him by the shoulder, gasping for air.

    ¡°The disciple of the Dragon King of Ink Sea shouldn¡¯t just beg others without good reason.¡±

    Li Qingshan continued to smile. His fighting spirit burned brighter.

    ¡°I¡¯m not just doing it for my master, but also for my friend. I don¡¯t wish to see anything happen to either of you!¡± Chu Danqing pleaded.

    ¡°No one will die. Your master¡¯s true body isn¡¯t here, isn¡¯t that the case?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you think your victory is guaranteed?¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s deep voice rang out from the sea water as if the entire ocean was speaking.

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Li Qingshan was filled with confidence, even if this was the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s home field.

    There would not be any helpers in this battle, nor would there be any Nirv¨¡?a Rebirths. It would just be him and the Dragon King of Ink Sea. It was no longer for the sake of revenge, but for the sake of testing himself, to see if he had the power that surpassed the Ten Daemon Kings.

    ¡°What arrogance!¡±

    With a furious roar, a black dragon rose up into the cloudy sky. The ocean surged with ¡°mountains¡±, which seemed to link up with the low-hanging clouds. The dragon traversed between the clouds and the sea.

    Bang!

    Rubble shot off everywhere, and the reef beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s feet shattered. He curled his lip. ¡°How stingy!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan¡­¡± Chu Danqing wanted to continue to persuade him into changing his mind. Li Qingshan suddenly stared straight into his eyes and said sternly, Go away!¡±

    Chu Danqing could not help but let go. Li Qingshan patted his shoulder and smiled. ¡°If you have nothing else to do, then paint a painting!¡±

    Chu Danqing watched blankly as Li Qingshan stepped into this churning Ink sea, swallowed by the water in the blink of an eye and nowhere to be seen anymore.

    But following closely, a mountain rushed out of the Ink sea and stood up on the horizon. The pair of curved horns ripped through the clouds, filled with an unyielding battle spirit. A pair of magnificent, resplendent wings spread three thousand meters across, shining with a divine glow.

    The colossal waves slammed against the mountain, but they could not even shake it. Instead, the waves around it gradually settled down, becoming perfectly still like a mirror.

    Li Qingshan strode forward, advancing towards the centre of the Ink sea. Wherever he passed by, the furious sea would settle down, which formed an extremely great contrast against the raging waves in the surroundings.

    Met with the cool sea water, Chu Danqing suddenly quivered and flew high into the air. A piece of white paper unfurled before him, and he gripped a brush firmly in his right hand, staring closely at the ocean.

    At this moment, Gu Yanying and Si Bao arrived, staring at the Ink sea.

    ¡°Big sis, they¡¯re actually going to fight!¡± Si Bao said in amazement.

    ¡°This is completely unavoidable. Let¡¯s just watch!¡± Gu Yanying shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s good that they fight. So much for telling me to enter secluded cultivation. I missed so many interesting events!¡±

    Si Bao was extremely excited. Even her eyebrows rose up.

    Gu Yanying, on the other hand, was powerless.

    ¡°Big sis, who do you think will win?¡±

    Si Bao took out a bag of dried fruit and ate one of them, even crushing the seed inside with her teeth.

    ¡°Logically speaking, no one can defeat the Dragon King of Ink Sea in the Ink sea,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°But he just doesn¡¯t conform to logic, does he? It sure is unexpected, to think that that kid would actually become so powerful!¡±

    Si Bao remembered the battles she had missed out on and could not help but feel both pity and anticipation.

    The tall statue of the first King of Chu pressed down on his sword and gazed at the magnificent Ink sea, also as if he was in thought. In the lofty South Hub city behind him, the cultivators all climbed onto the city walls to watch, only to see the world unleash its rage, which left them startled.

    Li Qingshan had almost reached the centre of the Ink sea, and the waves became even more violent, such that even the water around him rippled. The dragon cries faded in and out between the fierce wind and waves, but it never halted, wrapping around him slowly.

    As a result, he raised his blade high into the air!

 Chapter 1128

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1128 ¨C Great Winds

    Obliterate!

    The clouds split open, and the sea parted!

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back, meeting a dragon head. The jagged horns jutted into the sky, and the inky-black whiskers danced around, letting out a furious roar at the same time.

    The tiger roars and dragon cries resounded through the Ink sea!

    The fierce winds suddenly became several times more intense, stirring the world into a mess.

    On the top of the walls in South Hub city, the cultivators used their techniques in a hurry to block the great winds that filled their faces, but the heavy smell of ink and blood still made their heads spin. They gazed at the surging, grand sea in shock and awe.

    This was the strength of Daemon King Northmoon and the Dragon King of Ink Sea!

    Li Qingshan had just raised his blade when a great force pushed him into the ocean. His vision was filled with the firm body of a dragon, flowing like a great river and coiling around his mountainous body of the demonic and divine. It felt like the entire Ink sea was pressing against him. His joints ached, having been gripped firmly by the sharp dragon claws, submerging him in the inky-black water.

    The Ink sea seemed bottomless, such that he sank down with no end. The deep voice of the Dragon King of Ink Sea combined with the dragon cries rang out in his ear, ¡°Li Qingshan, this is the greatest mistake you¡¯ve made in your life. Perhaps the victory at Great Buddha mountain has made you arrogant. This is where you die!¡±

    The dragon claws gnashed together and blood spattered. He felt like his neck was being ripped apart.

    ¡°Heh, that sounds extremely familiar. Oh also, the arrogance is just an impression you¡¯re experiencing!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile turned into a frenzy, and tiger stripes spread across him rapidly, forming three lines on his forehead. The teeth and claws of the dragon dug into his body even deeper, but the pain was like oil poured on a fire, turning his fury into frenzy!

    The wings of wind suddenly expanded, knocking the water hundreds of kilometers away.

    Bang!

    A scarlet tiger leapt out of the Ink sea with its long tail wrapped around a blade. It shot across the surface of the sea rapidly and swung it against the dragon.

    Wherever the blade passed by, a colossal wave of several thousand meters would roll across the surface of the sea, like a curtain that reached towards the sky, obscuring the dragon and the tiger.

    The curtain rose and fell, only to reveal that the dragon king had been slashed in half. The scarlet tiger broke free and stood proudly in the surroundings.

    ¡°How powerful!¡±

    Si Bao was dazzled. Despite being an imperial princess and well-versed in battle, she had basically never even heard about a battle on such a scale. If this was just the Dragon King of Ink Sea, then so be it, but she was even more shocked by Li Qingshan. He actually managed to hold his ground perfectly in such a disadvantageous environment, or even gaining the upper hand slightly.

    ¡°It¡¯s only just begun,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    If the dragon king residing in the Ink sea was only capable of this, then she would not have come to spectate the battle in the first place.

    Sure enough, the two severed parts of the Dragon King of Ink Sea fell into the ocean and rose back up immediately as two colossal dragons that were no smaller than earlier. They lunged and coiled around Li Qingshan.

    With a turn, Li Qingshan¡¯s blade swung out as an arc, and a huge, circular wave swept across the ocean.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea was cut apart again, but in the blink of an eye, he turned into four colossal dragons. His aura did not weaken at all, instead climbing with each attack.

    The slashes were like lightning ripping through the pitch-black sky, cutting apart the Dragon King of Ink Sea again and again. However, the dragons between the ocean and the sky only grew, wrapping around Li Qingshan once after another, such that he felt like he was stuck in mud. The more he struggled, the deeper he would sink.

    ¡°How¡­ can you ever achieve victory with this?¡±

    Si Bao shuddered inside. She was completely unable to distinguish the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s true body. Perhaps there was no true body to speak of. The Ink sea was the dragon king, and the dragon king was the Ink sea. As long as the Ink sea had not dried up, the dragon king would not die.

    ¡°This can only be regarded as the mid-game. Girl, watch closely. He might be the greatest enemy of your family,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°My family¡¯s greatest enemy?¡± Si Bao raised her eyebrows before exhaling and objecting, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to make an enemy out of him over some strange plan!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled and patted her head. Her hawk eyes remained the same as ever, piercing through the storm and waves and gazing at the depths of the Ink sea.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, do you still think you can win now?¡±

    The a hundred ink dragons spoke at the same time, and the sea of clouds that had been ripped open closed up again, forming something that was even thicker and lower-hanging.

    ¡°Merging with the entire Ink sea is indeed impressive. If you hadn¡¯t asked a foolish question like that, I¡¯d have even more admiration for you!¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms as if he wanted to take in the entire sea. ¡°Come!¡±

    The dragon cries echoed through the sky and sea. The cloud layer fell, and the ocean surged. It was as if the world had tipped over, wanting to crush Li Qingshan to pieces. All around him, a hundred ink dragons shot towards him together.

    Li Qingshan leapt up. Demon qi erupted from his body, unleashing the Possession of the Battle Demon. His body shone with a metallic lustre, using A Madman at Path¡¯s End!

    The flow of time seemed to slow down. Every single movement became so clear, such that they seemed to be frozen. He lifted his arms, raised his eyebrows, turned around, and swung his blade.

    The great winds rose, and the tiger demon danced in a frenzy!

    In a daze, Li Qingshan vanished, turning into a scorching-red storm that flickered with sharp light. The whistling winds were like a war song, tearing apart the clouds, the Ink sea, and the dragons!

    ¡°Haha, how can you defeat me through quantity alone? If you¡¯re the Ink sea, then I¡¯ll shatter the entire Ink sea.¡±

    The scarlet storm rampaged around madly, wreaking havoc everywhere. Regardless of how many Dragon Kings of Ink Sea there were, they were actually all helpless against him.

    For a good moment, inky-black rain poured down from above before being blown away by the storm. The Ink sea drifted.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea fell silent. Had he already become so powerful before he knew it?

    ¡°Finally, it¡¯s time to determine the outcome,¡± Gu Yanying murmured to herself.

    The numerous dragons gathered together again, gazing at the scarlet storm.

    ¡°A Thousand Autumns in a Painting.¡±

    With the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s deep voice, the storm and the sea, the clouds and the rain, all froze in that instant. All of their colours vanished, and all of their sounds receded away, only leaving behind the silence of black and wind like a grand painting.

    Chu Danqing was completely drenched by the rain. He gripped the brush firmly in his right hand, gazing at the churning ocean, but he was unable to bring it to paper. He cared about both sides of the battle. He did not wish to see either of them defeated, so he was filled with conflict.

    Only now did his eyes suddenly light up. He began to pour his heart and blood out, no longer possessing all of his worries. Only the painting existed in his mind.

    In a daze, Li Qingshan discovered he had turned back to human form. His right hand was pitch-black ink as if it had been painted by an extremely skilled painter, possessing the utmost detail like it was true to life. Using something like that to describe himself seemed rather strange, but that was exactly how it felt like.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to use this move originally. Borrowing the power of the world above the Ink sea, as well as the power of the five absolutes, is enough to end this battle without even fighting.¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea, or more accurately, Mo Wuhen, walked over right in front of him. He produced inky ripples with each step, going from dark to light in an extremely profound fashion. His figure constantly changed between human and dragon, but it seemed perfectly natural.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had been completely cut off from the world, unable to absorb any spiritual qi of the world or even sense the existence of the earth. He came to a realisation. So this was the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s true home field.

    ¡°The winner takes all, so does it matter even if we don¡¯t end up fighting? You talk like you¡¯ve already won.¡±

    Li Qingshan swung the inky Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

 Chapter 1129

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1129 ¨C Painted Dragon

    The world fell silent. The sounds of wind, rain, and waves all merged with the painting. What constantly churned and changed was the inky person and dragon.

    Their movements left behind extremely fast, long, and inky trails. Only a pair of forceful, graceful smears were visible, darting around, meeting and parting, growing faster and faster. In the end, they seemed to become stuck together, forming a rapidly-spinning spiral. The entire painting was a mess.

    Everyone watched this alarming battle. Only Chu Danqing focused on the canvas before him, blood flowing from his wrist down to his fingers, then to the tip of the brush, dancing freely on the canvas.

    The Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black, using blood as ink.

    His face gradually paled, but he brimmed with energy, such that he seemed slightly crazed. He cast everything in the world to the back of his mind, such that only the painting before him existed.

    Gu Yanying glanced back in surprise before turning around and focusing on the battle again.

    After who knew how long, there was a sudden crack. It was extremely gentle yet extremely clear as if it had rung out in everyone¡¯s minds. It broke the silence between the sea and sky.

    A figure fell out of the sky, falling into the Ink sea with a plop before floating back up. It was Li Qingshan. His eyes were firmly shut as he floated on the sea without moving at all. His long, scarlet hair spread out on the surface of the water, and he was missing his left leg and right arm. He was covered in wounds, except they were not red with blood, but black with ink.

    Gu Yanying exhaled, but it turned into a sigh when it reached her mouth.

    ¡°The outcome has been decided!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s died in battle?¡± Si Bao said in some disbelief.

    Gu Yanying shook her head. ¡°He¡¯s won.¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and gazed at the sky quietly. His lips curled into a smile. ¡°Dragon king, you¡¯ve lost!¡±

    Before he could even finish, the sound of cracks merged together, going from a soft murmur to a rumble. It deafened the entire Ink sea.

    The painting gradually collapsed, all falling into the sea. The world regained its colour, which happened to be the final glow of the setting sun.

    All of the spectators were in a trance. As it turned out, the battle had only lasted for such a short period.

    Abruptly, Mo Wuhen appeared again, standing over the sea. He was only inches away from Li Qingshan¡¯s head, lowering his head and gazing down at him.

    ¡°What? You want to keep fighting?¡± Li Qingshan raised his head and met his eyes.

    The spiritual qi of the world flooded into his body as the Strength of the Earth bestowed him with endless strength. The flames of the phoenix burned away, purging the ink and healing his wounds. Even his severed limbs began to regrow within the curling flames.

    ¡°A Thousand Autumns in a Painting is indeed an extremely powerful move, especially above the Ink sea, but it still stands no chance against my fist.¡± Li Qingshan raised his right fist that had just regrown within the flames. The power of tremors truly was very effective against a move like that. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End let out a gentle thrum, which made him add, ¡°Oh yeah, and my blade!¡±

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea said nothing, nor did he do anything.

    He understood something extremely well. Even with the entire Ink sea behind him, he could not overwhelm Li Qingshan. It would only allow him to last a little longer, preventing him from being defeated so soon.

    In simpler terms, the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s destructive power was not enough to penetrate the turtle¡¯s shell and ox¡¯s hide, to crush Li Qingshan¡¯s tiger bones and extinguish his phoenix flames.

    ¡°Strange. You don¡¯t actually have an innate ability,¡± Li Qingshan remarked.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea had used many different moves, but none of them could be truly regarded as an innate ability, and to daemons, their innate abilities were everything.

    If the Dragon King of Ink Sea possessed an offensive innate ability, any offensive innate ability, and truly unleashed it with the Ink sea¡¯s colossal power, then the outcome of this battle would have been a mystery.

    However, a certain fact puzzled him¡ªthe crown prince of the Green province daemons, Mo Yu, a guy who knew how many times weaker than the Dragon King of Ink Sea, possessed innate abilities.

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not a daemon,¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea finally said.

    ¡°Oh. You could help turn Mo Yu from a painting into a daemon, but you¡¯re unable to help yourself? That sure is maddening. So the one that I¡¯ve viewed as a powerful enemy the entire time is really just a painting, or should I say, a painting spirit!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and suddenly leapt up, shattering Mo Wuhen with a single punch. Ink splattered through the air.

    ¡°However, regardless of whether you want to fight anymore or not, I will never stop as long as I have not been completely obliterated by you!¡±

    Mo Wuhen¡¯s figure reappeared in the distant sky, nodding towards Li Qingshan. If he simply stopped here, then that would be the greatest humiliation. However, blindly throwing himself at the enemy even when he knew he stood no chance was not his personality either. The dragon pupils in his eyes faded away, becoming blank once more. His expression suddenly seemed rather bleak.

    At this moment, Chu Danqing completed his final stroke. He had not painted the intense battle, but the scene when the dragon and tiger roared at one another in the very beginning. However, the battle that came next seemed to have been incorporated into the painting completely, enough to rouse boundless imagination among people.

    He let out a pale smile. His aura had plummeted to an absolute minimum. Only then did he suddenly realise that the battle had already ended. He looked around for the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s figure, and a voice suddenly rang out from behind him, ¡°A fine painting.¡±

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Chu Danqing looked back. The Dragon King of Ink Sea studied the painting with his blank eyes and praised him.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already achieved an understanding over some of the essence of Five Absolutes¡¯ path of painting. You can study by yourself slowly now.¡±

    ¡°Master, you¡­¡± Abruptly, Chu Danqing realised something.

    ¡°I¡¯ve spent all this time out here. It¡¯s time for me to go back,¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea said slowly.

    Suddenly, with a wave of his arms, the Ink sea began to surge and churn again. The inky colour gradually faded away from the coastline, converging and gathering towards the centre of the sea. In the end, a single droplet of ink rose up into the air, hovering in the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s hand. It shot into Chu Danqing¡¯s dantian, merging with his body, his limbs, his soul, and his sea of consciousness, surging through his blood vessels.

    The Ink sea beneath them became azure. The Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s influence that had lasted for over ten thousand years had been erased, allowing it to turn back into an azure ocean. After doing all that, the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s figure dispersed with the wind. Chu Danqing extended his hand, but all he came into contact with was the warm sea breeze.

    At the same time, within a distant space, an ink dragon gradually appeared on a snow-white mural. It was robust and powerful in bearing, yet its eyes were blank, which immediately made it seem so powerless, trapped in the wall against its will.

    In a daze, there seemed to be two figures, a man in black and a man in robes of yellow.

    The man in robes of yellow asked, ¡°Fellow, why have you stopped here? You¡¯ve only painted the dragon without dabbing in the eyes, which really limits the mood.¡±

    The man in black answered, ¡°If I dab them in, then that¡¯ll be ascension, so let¡¯s just forget about it!¡±

    ¡°Ah, fair enough, fair enough.¡±

    The man in robes of yellow was still in disbelief. People would cultivate for an entire millennium, but even then, ascension would come with extreme difficulty. It was only a measly painting, yet he actually claimed it would ascend? That was utterly groundless.

    The man in black seemed to sense something. He smiled at the dragon in the painting.

    The sun fell, and the moon rose, shining with its clear glow.

    Chu Danqing recalled everything they had gone through together over the past few years and could not hold back his tears. He used his sleeves to wipe them away, but his sleeves were splotched with ink, which stunned him.

    ¡°Danqing, are you fine?¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way over and asked out of concern, only to see Chu Danqing completely covered in pitch-black ink. Standing in the darkness, he was almost invisible, well and truly pitch-black like ink. Even his eye whites had turned completely black.

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Chu Danqing gazed at his hands. He understood that the Dragon King of Ink Sea had merged the entire Ink sea¡¯s power into his body through his unfathomable ways, but it only saddened him even more. He sobbed bitterly.

    ¡°Hey, stop crying. It¡¯s far too much of a waste.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that Chu Danqing could not keep this power under his control at all right now, let alone digest it.

    ¡°Qingshan, does your promise to me still hold?¡± Chu Danqing wiped away his tears and asked Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°The Painting Tomb is almost going to open.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll pay a visit with you!¡±

 Chapter 1130

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1130 ¨C Captured

    The phoenix soared through the air, straight towards the Ink sea. A girl wielding a huge blade stood tall on the back of the phoenix, gazing at the surging clouds and wind in the distance. Pointing out with her blade, she said with a childish yet gruff voice, ¡°Hey, hurry up. They¡¯ve already begun!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I¡¯m afraid you might fall off, why would I fly so slowly in the first place? My name is not ¡®hey¡¯. I¡¯m still your elder brother after all.¡± Li Fengyuan accelerated, also in a hurry to spectate the battle up ahead. He pouted. ¡°Jeez. First father is doing something like this, and he doesn¡¯t even contact me!¡±

    ¡°Shut up¡­¡±

    As soon as Tigress opened her mouth, she caught a mouthful of wind and staggered. She lost her footing, so she lay down in a hurry.

    Li Fengyuan snickered. Little girl, let¡¯s see who¡¯s shutting up now.

    Suddenly, a streak of white light descended from above, blocking their path. Bai Jie said solemnly, ¡°Divine bird phoenix, my king invites you to Clouded city.¡±

    ¡°Move aside. A good dog doesn¡¯t get in the way of others!¡±

    Li Fengyuan flapped his wings impatiently in an attempt to make his way around her.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already said. My king invites you to Clouded city.¡±

    With a flash of white, Bai Jie blocked his path again, except her tone was much firmer this time.

    ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be a mighty divine bird, a phoenix, yet you speak in such a crude fashion. Truly like father, like son.¡±

    ¡°Do you want a fight?¡± Li Fengyuan shot a glare at her.

    ¡°That is not what I wish for, but I cannot disobey the king¡¯s orders. If you continue to resist, I can only use force.¡±

    Bai Jie¡¯s unfurled wings emitted waves of white light, demonstrating her extraordinary strength at the third heavenly layer.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see just what an idiot like you is capable of!¡±

    Li Fengyuan was completely unfazed. He sprayed out with flames that immediately swallowed Bai Jie.

    There was a flash of a few white specks, and several arrows pierced the rolling flames.

    Li Fengyuan dodged frantically, but the light arrows still brushed past and injured him. Feathers rained down.

    Bai Jie held a bow in full draw and was completely wrapped in white light. She said in disdain, ¡°Even if you¡¯re a divine bird, you¡¯re merely a Daemon Commander.¡± However, she sighed with amazement inside. He really is a phoenix. Her arrows had been probing shots, but she had not held back either, yet she actually failed to land any of them on him properly.

    ¡°This featherfolk is not an easy opponent, well beyond what any regular Daemon King can match up to, so we better flee first! Hang on tight. Ouch!¡±

    Before Li Fengyuan could even finish what he was saying, claws sprang out from Tigress¡¯s fingers. She gripped his back firmly. Li Fengyuan could not afford to care so much anymore at a time like this.

    With a great cry, he spread his wings and soared away, turning into a resplendent streak of colourful light instantly and shooting in the direction of the Ink sea. It was one of his innate abilities, the Phoenix Soars Far.

    Bai Jie stowed her bow away and turned into a white streak of light in close pursuit. To her surprise, she actually could not overtake Li Fengyuan with ease. If they actually managed to reach the Ink sea, then it would lead to a whole host of issues, so with a wave of her right hand, a ribbon of pure-white light shot out.

    The colorful streak of light twisted, and Li Fengyuan avoided the ribbon, except he felt his back lighten up. He looked back.

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t want her?¡±

    Bai Jie held Tigress by the back of her neck. Tigress let out a growl, swung her claws, and gnashed her teeth, but she was helpless against a cultivator as powerful as her.

    ¡°Let go of her!¡± Li Fengyuan was furious.

    ¡°She¡¯s useless to me. If you come with me, then I¡¯ll let her go.¡± Bai Jie smiled widely.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to this bitch!¡± Tigress growled.

    ¡°How vulgar!¡± Bai Jie frowned and immediately closed her hand around her neck with a bit more force.

    Tigress gritted her teeth firmly, but she remained silent.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come with you.¡±

    With a swing of her hand, ribbons of light shot out from Bai Jie¡¯s sleeve and wrapped around Li Fengyuan firmly.

    ¡°Let go of her. If you break your word, I¡¯ll- I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯ll what?¡± Bai Jie asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you perish with me!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, do you really think I¡¯m the kind to lie to you?¡± Bai Jie said with disdain and casually tossed Tigress aside. She turned into a streak of white light and flew away.

    Tigress adjusted her posture mid-air and began using all four limbs, riding the winds and running after them, but she could only watch helplessly as the white light vanished in the east.

    She let out a growl before turning around again and gazing at the Ink sea.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°But aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll find your master¡¯s main body and kill him again?¡± Li Qingshan asked Chu Danqing with a smile.

    ¡°You- I-¡± Chu Dangqing was taken aback. His expression changed, except it was very difficult to tell on his pitch-black face. ¡°Then it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t go with me¡­¡±

    ¡°How can I break a promise I¡¯ve issued?¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This is our final battle.¡±

    Chu Danqing exhaled. Perhaps this was the best outcome possible!

    ¡°Congratulations on your complete victory, fellow.¡± Gu Yanying clasped her hands in congratulations as Si Bao beside her studied Li Qingshan closely. She acted as if he was some kind of rare beast.

    ¡°That goes without saying,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Danqing, you better be prepared!¡± Gu Yanying said sternly.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go and cultivate right now.¡± Chu Danqing left without any hesitation.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and laid out his hands, asking, ¡°Commander Gu, how is my current strength?¡±

    ¡°The nine provinces are only but a corner.¡±

    In the past, she had once said to him, ¡®The Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner.¡± Back then, he was still a kid in the jianghu, still wet behind the years, yet right now, the nine provinces to him were basically just like that jianghu. It could not make him stay for too long.

    ¡°Surely you can tell me about the request that I owe to you now? Otherwise, once I ascend, it¡¯ll all go to waste!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s still not time yet. We have to go with the flow for this matter.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tell me that even strength like this is still insufficient?¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. ¡°In my experience, everything that forces you to go with the flow is mostly due to the fact that you¡¯re not strong enough.¡±

    ¡°You could say that,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Oh, you. Just what do you want?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at her deeply.

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out when time comes. Though, if you want to ascend, then ascend. You don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±

    Gu Yanying unfurled her folding fan and swung it gently. She was just as graceful as before. She did not seem to be overly dependent on him at all.

    Li Qingshan admired this. She was still the same Gu Yanying that he knew.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    He turned around, only to see a tiny figure bounding towards the shore. He arrived before Tigress with a flash. ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    ¡°Big brother has been captured,¡± Tigress gasped for air.

    ¡°By who?¡± Li Qingshan frowned.

    ¡°A white-feathered bitch!¡± Tigress ground her teeth.

    ¡°Sure enough, she hasn¡¯t come with good intentions¡­ Are you fine?¡± Li Qingshan rubbed her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. If it weren¡¯t because of me¡­¡± Tigress lowered her head as tears pooled up in her eyes. She seemed extremely sad.

    ¡°Alright, you don¡¯t have to cry. I¡¯ll go and save that kid.¡± Li Qingshan picked up Tigress, showing some tenderness for once.

    ¡°Who is she referring to by ¡®white-feathered bitch¡¯?¡± Gu Yanying asked suddenly.

    ¡°A featherfolk called Bai Jie. She calls herself the Chamberlain for the Imperial Insignia or something.¡±

    ¡°Then the one that was captured was¡­¡±

    ¡°Li Fengyuan, my son. You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just confirming.¡± For once, Gu Yanying smiled wryly. She let out a long sigh. ¡°Looks like there are some matters that I have to lay bare.¡±

 Chapter 1131

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1131 ¨C Time

    Gu Yanying said to Si Bao, ¡°Bao¡¯er, take this child of his home first.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Si Bao arrived before Li Qingshan and extended her hands towards Tigress. ¡°Come with big sister!¡±

    Tigress glared at her.

    ¡°Go find your mother.¡±

    Li Qingshan handed Tigress to Si Bao with great reluctance and watched them leave.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk elsewhere!¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Where?¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows firmly. He could feel a storm building up.

    ¡°The east, the Cloud province!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t we need helpers? I don¡¯t think featherfolk are an easy opponent to deal with.¡±

    Li Qingshan never expected Gu Yanying to be so resolute, even though he was in a hurry to go to Clouded city, beat up the whole lot of them there, and teach these damn kidnappers just how ¡°death¡± was spelt.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be very difficult to resolve this matter through strength alone!¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s still because I¡¯m not strong enough!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    His feats in battle could be regarded as glorious, yet the featherfolk were still bold enough to do something like this.

    ¡°You could put it that way.¡± Gu Yanying soared higher, merging with the sharp atmospheric winds. Li Qingshan followed close behind. ¡°The thing you want my help with is related to the featherfolk, right?¡±

    ¡°More precisely, it¡¯s related to the Featherfolk King.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The further east, the thicker and heavier the clouds in the sky became, eventually forming an endless mass. The clouds piled up like mountains, sometimes crackling with lightning and booming with thunder.

    Bai Jie travelled through these cloud mountains with Li Fengyuan.

    ¡°Why does your king want to see me?¡±

    Li Fengyuan tried to break free, but the white ribbons were even tougher than he imagined them to be, and they firmly sealed up his powers.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you get there,¡± said Bai Jie.

    ¡°Do you know who my father is? His surname is Li¡­¡±

    ¡°And his name is Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°You know?¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, why else would I say like father, like son? Legend has it that the phoenix has five virtues, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. You speak so rudely, which is improper. You ask such foolish questions, which is a lack of wisdom. You agreed to go to Clouded city with me, yet you try to escape, which is untrustworthiness. You can only barely be considered to possess a bit of benevolence and righteousness.¡±

    ¡°Even if I¡¯m improper, unwise, and untrustworthy, that¡¯s still better than your shamelessness!¡±

    Bai Jie snorted coldly. With a tremble of the white ribbon, Li Fengyuan fell into the rumbling black clouds below. By the time she hoisted him out again, all of his feathers were standing on end, but he continued to call out, ¡°Shameless! Shameless! Shameless!¡±

    ¡°Call me whatever you want. I can¡¯t be bothered with stooping down to your level.¡±

    ¡°Shameless woman, you¡¯re in big trouble now!¡±

    After flying for who knew how long, a city suddenly appeared between the clouds. The lofty, white palaces seemed to be forged from clouds, shining with white light under the sunlight.

    But at a closer glance, only the largest, highest palace in the very centre was truly pure-white. All the palaces around it paled slightly in comparison. They gradually became milky-white or greyish-white, except they all possessed the texture of clouds, floating gently in the sky.

    Featherfolk spread their wings as they soared and played between the clouds, all beautiful, dressed neatly, and elegant in their actions. They gave off an aura of tranquility and peace.

    ¡°This is Clouded city,¡± Bai Jie said proudly.

    ¡°What¡¯s so impressive about it?¡± Li Fengyuan said in disdain.

    A pair of tall, clouded pillars served as the gates. The pillars were covered in engravings of clouds. On the very top stood a strange statue with the face of a man, the body of a bird, and a sharp crown on its head.

    The moment Li Fengyuan crossed through the pillars, he felt like he had entered another world. The tranquil, peaceful atmosphere seemed to seep into his body.

    ¡°Bai Jie, do not be so disrespectful to our guest. Release him this instance.¡± A clear, grand voice rang out from the largest palace.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Having arrived in Clouded city, Bai Jie was no longer afraid that Li Fengyuan could escape, so she removed the white ribbon around him.

    Li Fengyuan stretched his arms and legs and said with composure, ¡°Come. Let me see your king.¡±

    The elegance and dignified demeanour he had inherited from the phoenix¡¯s legacy was on full display, and he demonstrated the courage and resolve to face anyone and anything at the same time.

    Bai Jie was rather surprised, feeling slightly ashamed. This must have been the demeanour that a phoenix was supposed to possess!

    On the speckless, pure-white streets, the featherfolk lined the streets to welcome him, sprinkling flowers and playing music as if they were really welcoming an important guest.

    Bai Jie also retreated behind him, allowing him to enjoy this glory alone.

    Li Fengyuan stood on the soft clouds and made his way forward calmly and gracefully.

    Phoenixes never lacked glory, nor did they ever need glory.

    This continued until he reached the large hall in the very centre. Two pillars also stood on the square before the hall, both with similar sculptures on the very top. There were only subtle differences in their expressions. As he made his way across the square, he felt like they were staring at him the entire time.

    Climbing up the tall steps, Li Fengyuan looked up, only to see three large words ¡°Divine Feather Palace¡± shining gloriously under the sunlight.

    ¡°Please come in.¡± The clear, grand voice rang out from the hall once more.

    Li Fengyuan ignored it. He looked around and studied the engraving on the door to the hall. Bai Jie had to extend her hand and push him into the hall.

    The intoxicating smell of incense filled the hall. Crane-shaped censers gently curled with white smoke.

    Warm sunlight poured in from the windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling, which only made the place seem even more spacious. A figure stood among the smoke, fading in and out of sight.

    ¡°Welcome, divine bird phoenix.¡±

    A handsome, bright man stood up from the white jade throne and spread his arms. His pure-white wings were originally furled up behind his back, but they abruptly spread out with his movements, blowing the smoke away. He shone brilliantly, making even the sun dim.

    ¡°I¡¯m Li Fengyuan!¡±

    ¡°The Featherfolk King, Bai Chen.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to die soon,¡± said Li Fengyuan.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± The Featherfolk King was unfazed. He made his way down from the throne, and his long, white robes dragged on the ground behind him. He smiled. ¡°Who can kill me?¡± In terms of both authority and strength, he stood at the apex of this world.

    ¡°Time,¡± Li Fengyuang said.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Featherfolk King looked down.

    ¡°No matter how thick the incense is, it can¡¯t hide the stench you give off.¡± Li Fengyuan wrinkled his nose. Actually, it was not a smell, but more like an instinct. It was the aura of decline and age. ¡°Maintaining a youthful experience is just an attempt to deceive others, as well as yourself, let alone the way you talk, which is just like how a poser talks. You aren¡¯t the light of dawn, but the shade of dusk!¡±

    ¡°You truly are the divine bird, the phoenix. Not all lives can enjoy eternity like you. Even celestials have times when they decline and decay. However, please maintain some respect. That will benefit both of us.¡±

    The Featherfolk King¡¯s face sank. As he frowned, wrinkles began to spread across his face. Even his voice became deeper and huskier, like a senile old man.

    Li Fengyuan immediately felt breathless. He was clearly so old, yet also so powerful, vast and mighty like the sky. With a glance, he suddenly noticed a smear at the ends of the Featherfolk King¡¯s pure-white feathers. It was a dark azure, yet it surpassed all of the other pure-white feathers. It made him feel a sense of closeness. He raised his head and asked, ¡°What do you want from me?¡±

    ¡°Time.¡±

    ps£º ¸ÐÐ»¡°ÎÞµÐ°£Ï£¡±Í¬Ñ§ÈÙÉýÕÆÃÅ£¬ÕæÊÇ¾ÃÎ¥ÁË£¡^_^

 Chapter 1132

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1132 ¨C Feather

    ¡°I am after a feather.¡± Aspiration appeared in Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes.

    Li Qingshan recalled something. ¡°Back then during the battle against the Corpse King on Burial Mound mountain, you used a feather that made space extremely fragile, which was why I could successfully kill the Corpse King.¡±

    ¡°That was a Space-splitting bird¡¯s feather. It¡¯s extremely rare, but if I really want to get my hands on one, it¡¯s not exactly difficult.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. With the Guardian Hawk God on your side, what can¡¯t you obtain?¡±

    ¡°As a father, he¡¯s nowhere near as kind as you.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. She really had been quite surprised by how tender he was when he picked up Tigress.

    ¡°So what if I¡¯m kind to her? Those who are heartless to their children aren¡¯t necessarily true heroes, while treasuring their children doesn¡¯t necessarily make them any less great!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    After all, she was his flesh and blood, so how could he not be attached to her? Since he was attached to her, why did he have to act like he was not?

    ¡°Those who are heartless to their children aren¡¯t necessarily true heroes, while treasuring their children doesn¡¯t necessarily make them any less great!¡± Gu Yanying repeated. ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s not the case in the cultivation community. Everyone is weighed down and burdened by their emotions. There are countless people who want to become heartless and emotionless.¡±

    ¡°Such as you?¡±

    ¡°Not me. In the eyes of others, you¡¯re actually very heartless too.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    For a moment, the two of them had nothing more to say. They continued to soar through the sky, traversing over countless clouds.

    ¡°We¡¯re almost there,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Clouded city?¡± Li Qingshan gazed into the distance.

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Look up!¡± Gu Yanying pointed up.

    Li Qingshan looked up, only to see an empty haze at an extremely high altitude, which was rather difficult to make out from the blue background. However, he could clearly sense that the space here was rather strange, yet it was different from being ripped open like demon caverns and Gates of Hungry Ghosts. Instead, it felt more like it had been stirred up into a mess.

    As a result, he waved his hand and used the Profound Light Illuminates All, pulling the chaos up close. In that instant, a mysterious power seemed to extend over, and the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell twisted and distorted.

    However, with just the glance he had caught, Li Qingshan had already discovered that the chaos was far more tremendous than it seemed. It spanned a hundred kilometers across, and its depth was immeasurable.

    He could not help but ask, ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°Probably around ten years before you were born, a feather flew down from beyond this world and pierced the barrier of this world. That is the trace it has left behind.¡±

    Gu Yanying gazed at the chaotic space almost in reverence.

    ¡°A feather!?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. If the world was an egg, then this barrier would be the eggshell. It was so tough that it was almost indestructible. Even with the ox demon¡¯s powers of tremors, he definitely could not directly smash through this shell. On top of that, the atmospheric winds grew sharper the higher he was. He could not even approach it.

    Whether it were demon caverns, Gates of Hungry Ghosts, or the blood-red swirl in the Asura Field, the reason why they could create a hole and connect with this world was because the Demon domain, the Hungry Ghost realm, and the Asura realm were countless times more vast. It was equivalent to borrowing the tremendous powers of their worlds, but even with that being the case, it came with great difficulty when they tried to expand.

    Even when Demon God Qiongqi wanted to descend here, he had to do so through a demon cavern, and he had to pay a corresponding price. Contending against a world as an individual was something beyond belief, as the power they possessed were on two completely different levels.

    That was the exact reason why the sight before him had completely surpassed the limits of his understanding.

    ¡°It¡¯s very impressive, isn¡¯t it? Just the fall of a single feather could pierce the wall of the world with ease. It might not have even been intentional, yet even until now, the world has not recovered from what it left behind. It¡¯s just a single feather! Can you imagine what kind of existence its owner is?¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed again and again, which was quite a disparity from her usual composure and elegance. She was like a child describing a toy she absolutely adored but could not obtain.

    Li Qingshan thought about it, but it was not completely unimaginable. Brother ox¡¯s powers were probably no less than the owner of the feather¡¯s. Reaching there, a thought suddenly filled his head.

    Ten years before I was born?

    If he thought about it, that was the exact time when brother ox appeared in his home¡¯s cowshed. Were the two perhaps connected?

    ¡°The feather is in Clouded city right now?¡±

    ¡°More precisely, it¡¯s with the Featherfolk King, Bai Chen. Back then, it even led to a battle. All the avian Daemon Kings in the world sensed it. My father personally took part in the struggle too, but Bai Chen ended up obtaining it because he was closer. These matters sure were unpredictable. Perhaps featherfolk also count as a type of avian? Who knows, but if it hadn¡¯t ended up in his hands, then there would be quite a lot of trouble even if my father obtained the feather.¡±

    ¡°You said all avian Daemon Kings sensed it?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. It was like a calling. Father speculated that it contained a legacy. Even if it¡¯s not truly a legacy, the power and knowledge contained within the feather is enough for any avian to step into a whole new domain. Speaking of which, I sure am envious of that foster son of yours. Born as a divine bird, the phoenix, his talent and bloodline are unmatched. Ascension is only a matter of time for him. Even when he moves on to a higher power, he¡¯ll possess an extremely great advantage.¡±

    ¡°As for me, while I do have some advantages in the nine provinces, I have nothing once I ascend. My half-human, half-daemon bloodline might even disadvantage me. Even going to the Human realm or the Daemonic Beast realm has become a rather awkward matter. If I want to make it even further, then I must create an even greater advantage before I lose my advantage. I think I¡¯ve said a bit too much, but you understand what I mean. Or perhaps you don¡¯t understand. After all, the legacy you possess is almost beyond imagination. I hope you can help me with this.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I can understand, and I will do my best to help you. Even without you, I¡¯d like to test out the Featherfolk King.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at Gu Yanying who had almost become a little talkative and felt slightly embarrassed. The advantage he possessed was so great that he really was in no place to criticise this daughter of the Hawk God. However, she was also constantly striving and planning arduously to change her fate.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Gu Yanying nodded and recovered her usual composure. ¡°However, you still don¡¯t understand why I¡¯ve brought you here. It¡¯s exactly to tell you that this matter can¡¯t be resolved through force alone. So many years have passed already. Even if the Featherfolk King is unable to completely refine the feather and accept the legacy, he¡¯s still extremely terrifying as long as he can unleash even a bit of its power. I even suspect him to have become the strongest in the world already.¡±

    ¡°Then how did you plan on dealing with him originally?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t plan on dealing with him. According to the lifespan of featherfolk, he reached his limit a long time ago. He¡¯s basically used up all the methods to extend his life too. I originally planned on waiting him out. Everyone coveting the feather and hidden in the dark will strike at that moment. Clouded city might be powerful, but they¡¯ll definitely descend into chaos, and I¡¯ll strike then!¡±

    Gu Yanying extended her hand and closed her fingers, like a hawk hunting its prey, yet also like the wondrous feather was already in her hands.

    Once that moment really arrived, even the Hawk God would become her opponent, and they might even clash quite a few times. She had already made many preparations, and Li Qingshan would be her greatest support.

    However, she opened her hand again, and it was empty inside, which made her smile helplessly. She originally hoped the Featherfolk King could last a few more years, which would give her ample time to grow and even greater confidence in success in the future, but who would have expected this to happen? The god of avians that had vanished for all these years had actually appeared in the nine provinces once more.

    The exact power that the phoenix possessed was the symbol of eternal life.

    The Featherfolk King definitely took Li Fengyuan away to lengthen his own life. If they just let him be, then who knew how much longer he could last. A century? A millennium? Or even longer than that!

    ¡°Anyway, our enemy possesses unmatched influence and invincible strength. Having lived for so long, he¡¯s quite clever too. Isn¡¯t he completely flawless then?¡±

 Chapter 1133

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1133 ¨C The Frost Province

    Bai Chen recovered his handsomeness and vigour again. He was like an immortal as he stood within the incense smoke. He bent forward slightly.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind being generous. I will treat you as an honoured guest.¡±

    Sure enough, he¡¯s come for this!

    Li Fengyuan could obviously tell what he was hinting at. If he refused to cooperate, then he would become a prisoner. This was also the greatest reason why his second father refused to let him leave Fire Melt mountain. His phoenix bloodline was the most precious resource in the world. There were no cultivators in the world that loathed longevity.

    He took a step back and spread his arms, which turned into glorious wings. Wondrous light flowed across his body and holy flames burned away, illuminating the entire Divine Feather palace.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do this, Featherfolk King!¡±

    ¡°How unwise. Don¡¯t you understand that you stand absolutely no chance against me!¡±

    Bai Chen was slightly angered. The surrounding space ripple.

    ¡°I know. I don¡¯t even have a ten thousandth of a chance of defeating you, but even if I don¡¯t have that strength, I should demonstrate my strength at the very least. I¡¯m not going down without a battle!¡±

    Li Fengyuan shot towards the Featherfolk King resolutely with the glorious flames. The Featherfolk King before him suddenly vanished, and at the same time, he felt someone grip his neck firmly. His glorious flames immediately vanished.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going down without a battle? I think this is just a futile effort! You¡¯re pushing your luck!¡± Bai Chen gazed at Li Fengyuan coldly.

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ve had my battle. I¡¯ll be the honoured guest then!¡±

    Li Fengyuan raised his hands helplessly, but he glanced at the only different-coloured smear among Bai Chen¡¯s pure-white feathers again.

    ¡°Hmph. At least you have some sense in you!¡±

    Bai Chen let go slowly, not because he was merciful and generous, but because he required Li Fengyuan¡¯s cooperation if he wanted to maximise the effects of using phoenix blood to lengthen his life.

    Li Fengyuan massaged his neck and thought, That wasn¡¯t teleportation, but speed alone. To think he can actually move so quickly. How unbelievable. The source of his power seems to be the dark azure feather. It also seems to be connected to my bloodline somehow, but that¡¯s definitely not a phoenix¡¯s feather. What is it?

    As the gods of avians, phoenixes were connected to many divine birds by blood. Basically all avians were known for their speed as well, so it was very difficult for him to identify which species the dark azure feather belonged to.

    He called out loudly, ¡°Is this how featherfolk treat their guests? I¡¯m hungry and thirsty. I want meat and wine. Go prepare a feast for me right now!¡±

    Bai Chen glanced at him deeply before clapping his hands.

    Bai Jie walked into the hall and said politely, ¡°What are your orders, my king?¡±

    ¡°Go prepare a feast to welcome the honoured guest.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Bai Jie backed away, and Li Fengyuan followed her out of the hall. He was so casual that it seemed like he was at home.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Bai Chen frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m going for a stroll in the city. Am I not allowed? I am an ¡®honoured guest¡¯ after all.¡±

    ¡°Watch your mouth!¡± Bai Jie called out.

    Bai Chen waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine. As long as you don¡¯t leave Clouded city, you can go anywhere you want. Do you need a guide?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Li Fengyuan made his way out of the hall and flew away.

    ¡°My king, why do you let him act so freely? There¡¯s nothing impressive about the divine bird,¡± said Bai Jie.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t have a lot of time left, but I can afford to wait a day¡¯s time.¡± Bai Chen smiled faintly and praised, ¡°You¡¯ve done very well with this.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I couldn¡¯t get that Li Qingshan to come along. He¡¯s just defeated the dragon king in the Ink sea. He might be trouble.¡± Bai Jie was rather worried.

    ¡°That really is impressive. Someone like him is rare, but it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen someone like him before. If he wants to come, then let him come! I¡¯ll make him remain here forever. I heard he also possesses the bloodline of the phoenix, doesn¡¯t he?¡±

    Li Fengyuan strolled aimlessly through the city, doing his best to come up with a plan. He would constantly approach the edge of the city perhaps intentionally or otherwise, but when he saw the standing clouded pillars, he gave up on all attempts to rush out of here. The formation around Clouded city could not be destroyed so easily. Even if he escaped from here somehow, he definitely could not escape the Featherfolk King¡¯s pursuit.

    No matter how he thought, he was unable to come up with any good ideas. After all, all great schemes and plans were built off a foundation of strength. Sigh, if I could undergo another heavenly tribulation, then perhaps I¡¯d be able to escape.

    Around dusk, the sky became bright and clear. The stars were extremely dazzling.

    In the Divine Feather palace, a feast was underway.

    Bai Chen sat high up in the king¡¯s seat and raised his cup high into the air. ¡°My dear subjects, let¡¯s give a toast to welcome our honoured guest, the divine bird Li Fengyuan.¡± Then he asked Li Fengyuan beside him, ¡°Fellow, are you satisfied with these arrangements?¡±

    ¡°I am, I am.¡±

    Li Fengyuan looked around. The third heavenly layer cultivators within the palace actually amounted to over a dozen. Bai Jie had even said a few more were currently cultivating, so they could not make the feast. This was everything that the featherfolk had built up over the past few thousand years.

    However, the most dangerous opponent was still the Featherfolk King seated up there, Bai Chen. Just what was the dark azure feather?

    First father, I know you hold your children dear, but you can¡¯t just rush over and fall for this damned bird person¡¯s trap.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°If there aren¡¯t any flaws, then find a way to create a flaw! If taking it by force won¡¯t work, then steal it!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes became sharp like a hawk¡¯s. They were filled with absolute determination.

    ¡°Steal it? How are we supposed to steal it given our cultivation?¡±

    Li Qingshan really was unable to tell the difference between stealing and taking by force. None of them were mortals anymore. All of their senses were so sharp, let alone the fact that the feather was attached to the Featherfolk King¡¯s body.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little risky, but we have to try it.¡± Gu Yanying glanced at the chaos in the sky again. ¡°The scenery up there is very beautiful, but we¡¯re rushed for time unfortunately. I¡¯ll take you there if I get the opportunity. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡±

    ¡°The Frost province, the Valley of Eternal Sleep.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The large snowflakes were swept through the air by the north wind. The world seemed to sink into chaos. Snowy mountains stood on the icy tundra like giants.

    The area of the Frost province even surpassed the Mist province. It was known as the largest province in the world, and it had its own sense of vastness and spaciousness.

    ¡°What great snow!¡± Li Qingshan praised. If it were not for the fact that the little phoenix had been captured, he really would like to drink heartily to this sight. He just happened to have a companion to drink with him too.

    The wind and snow swept up Gu Yanying¡¯s sleeves. She stared straight ahead and pointed out. ¡°We¡¯re here. That¡¯s White Elephant mountain.¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way forward and arrived next to her, only to see a huge, snowy mountain on the icy tundra. It was like a huge, galloping white elephant in the snow and wind, forming a faint outline.

    Only when he arrived before the mountain did he see a long, deep, and narrow valley, splitting the mountain in half.

    ¡°So this is the Valley of Eternal Sleep, a forbidden area renowned throughout the world. It doesn¡¯t seem particularly special.¡±

    Li Qingshan peered in there. The valley did not seem to possess any danger. Even the spirit turtle had not sensed any dangers. If it were not for the extremely dense spiritual qi, it seemed no different from a regular valley.

    ¡°You¡¯ll understand once you go in there. Be careful, don¡¯t fall asleep.¡±

    Gu Yanying stepped into the valley, and Li Qingshan followed close behind. Suddenly, he glanced backwards. A daemon wolf crouched on a hill in the distance, peering over in their direction as if it was monitoring this place.

 Chapter 1134

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1134 ¨C Monster

    The daemon wolf immediately stiffened, and all of its hairs stood on end as if it had frozen up within Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hey, there¡¯s a strange daemon wolf over there.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfectly normal. This is a world that belongs to wolves.¡± Gu Yanying continued forwards without even looking back.

    ¡°The Wolf God is technically your uncle, right? Shouldn¡¯t we pay him a visit given that we¡¯re in his territory?¡±

    Li Qingshan understood what was going on. The Heavenly Frost Wolf King of the Ten Daemon Kings, who also stood beside the Guardian Hawk God as the second boss of the Hawkwolf Guard, watched over the Frost province.

    ¡°Have you ever seen a hunter with a hawk and wolf that are friends?¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. Compared to the Dragon province, this place sure is bleak. No matter how close you are with your master, dogs are probably still not as favoured as hawks!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped paying attention to the daemon wolf, following Gu Yanying into the depths of the valley.

    The daemon wolf quivered and gasped for air. What a terrifying gaze. It¡¯s basically no different from the wolf king¡¯s. No, I need to report this to the wolf king immediately! He turned around and bounded away, vanishing into the wind and snow.

    ¡°That would be wrong. This uncle wolf of mine proactively asked to be stationed in the Frost province. Not only is he the Daemon King here, but he¡¯s also the provincial governor, or in the words of the Frost province, the great chieftain.¡±

    ¡°The human cultivators of the Frost province actually accept this? Where¡¯d the original great chieftain go?¡±

    ¡°He was killed when Great Xia was founded. The Frost province is sparsely populated, and the mortals here are all nomads. Their method of cultivation is rather¡­ erm, ancient as well! You should have seen quite a similar situation in the Mist province. Tribes completely outnumber sects. Every now and then, a tribe manages to unite the Frost province and become the great chieftain, but they¡¯ve never truly developed into a kingdom.¡±

    Li Qingshan had a very deep impression of tribes like the Bone-eating shaman. By ¡°ancient¡±, she was referring to primitive. The boundary between humans and daemons was extremely blurred. Perhaps sometimes, humans resembled daemons even more than daemons. In short, strength came before everything else. Accepting a wolf as their great chieftain made perfect sense then.

    ¡°Sure enough, it really is a world that belongs to wolves. The reason why this place has become a forbidden area is probably related to the Wolf God too, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Don¡¯t you feel a little sleepy?¡± Gu Yanying asked suddenly.

    ¡°Sleepy?¡± Li Qingshan was mildly surprised. He had almost forgotten what sleepiness felt like, but with Gu Yanying¡¯s reminder, he really did feel a little drowsy. It was like the lingering lethargy of a summer afternoon.

    Looking out, it was only a hazy white, nothing particularly surprising. Suddenly, he let out an interjection of surprise and opened his mouth, blowing out hard. The wind and snow receded, sweeping away the thick snow. It was actually littered with white bones down below, piling up in the entire valley.

    Li Qingshan was not the same kid from the past anymore, so a sight like this was nothing impressive to him. He said in doubt, ¡°Sleepiness killed them?¡±

    ¡°All creatures that enter this valley will be overcome with irrepressible sleepiness and enter a slumber. Afterwards, they won¡¯t ever be able to wake up again. Of course, what kills them is not the sleepiness, but the hunger and the cold. The further you travel, the heavier the sleepiness will become. Eventually, even people with cultivations like us struggle to withstand it.¡±

    ¡°Drowsiness that even Daemon Kings can¡¯t withstand. How interesting.¡±

    When Li Qingshan first thought of a forbidden area, he either imagined a place filled with mechanical traps, or a place filled with venomous insects and beasts, but he never expected that it would just make people fall asleep. It made sense when he thought a little more about it. Mechanical traps were mostly the handiwork of the school of Mohism, while insects and beasts were closely tied to daemons. He had seen plenty of both, and they were nowhere near enough to comprise a ¡°forbidden area¡±.

    ¡°Just what forces are at work?¡±

    Every single power would always have an origin. If they could find the origin and then control such a great power, now that would be impressive.

    ¡°That¡¯s my objective of coming here!¡±

    Gu Yanying ignored the piles of bones beneath her feet and gazed into the depths of the valley.

    She had investigated this a long time ago. The power definitely did not come from some formation or special arrangement of the terrain. Something was definitely hiding in there, and it probably was not something living, which was why it could constantly give off such a great and mysterious power.

    What she wanted to do was grasp this power, make the Featherfolk King fall asleep, and then pluck the feather.

    ¡°That has always been one of your objectives!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, so just help me out!¡± Gu Yanying smiled gracefully.

    ¡°Then how are you going to contend against the sleepiness?¡±

    ¡°The Hot Wind hell! Pain always leaves people sober! Before I underwent the third heavenly tribulation, I had already made an attempt. In the beginning, I just wanted to test this place out, but I never expected the sleepiness to pile up so quickly. I almost died in there, but fortunately, the hot winds came into effect at the right time, which allowed me to escape.¡±

    ¡°Is it really that impressive? Why don¡¯t I give it a try instead? We can split whatever is inside in half between us.¡± Li Qingshan was rather eager to give it a go.

    ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll share whatever we obtain, but the most dangerous part of this forbidden area is not inside the valley, but outside.¡±

    ¡°Wolves watch the land.¡±

    Li Qingshan recalled the saying he had heard when he first joined the Hawkwolf Guard. As the master of the Frost province, even if the wolf king could not obtain the mysterious power within the forbidden area, he would never allow anyone else to obtain it. The reason why Gu Yanying could get out of here alive last time was not just through the hot winds of hell, but also because of her identity as the daughter of the Hawk God. If it had been someone else, they probably would have died in the mouths of wolves the moment they left the valley.

    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you let me butcher that wolf daemon?¡±

    ¡°The end result is no different. Instead, the wolf king will realise even sooner, and when he fights, he¡¯ll fight relentlessly too. That¡¯s probably a descendant of his.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll stand guard here. You can go!¡±

    Gu Yanying sucked in a deep breath, and hot winds rose up around her, turning the snow into rain. She gradually levitated, connecting with the Hot Wind hell as much as she could and drawing the winds of hell into her body.

    The hot winds filled his face, and Li Qingshan felt like they were scraping against his bones, making him furrow his brows. This was not even the direct impact. He could basically imagine how much pain Gu Yanying was in as she resided in the centre of all this, but within the twisted air, there was only determination on her face, or even a strange smile.

    ¡°What a deviant of a woman!¡± Li Qingshan murmured.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Gu Yanying suddenly opened her eyes.

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°If that uncle wolf of mine comes, what do you plan on doing?¡±

    ¡°Have him invite me to a drink.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°The spirits of the Frost province are renowned throughout the world.¡± Gu Yanying hesitated. ¡°If I fall asleep, pull me back.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He glanced at her deeply and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡±

    Gu Yanying flew into the depths of the valley slowly so that she could gradually adjust to the sleepiness. However, the drowsiness continued to grow heavier, and it did so without any malice at all. It was as if she had returned to a very, very young age, back when she could fall asleep very easily.

    The figure of a half-human, half-bird appeared in her head, but that was not the elegance or nobility of featherfolk. It had a sharp hawk¡¯s beak on its face, its hands were a pair of twisted talons, and it was littered with grey feathers. However, it just happened to be in human form. The voice it produced was sharp and hoarse.

    ¡°Monster¡± was the most appropriate label it deserved.

    ¡°Daddy, they all called me a monster!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you are a monster.¡±

 Chapter 1135

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1135 ¨C The Wolf King

    ¡°What did you say? I¡¯m your daughter! Is there something wrong with your head? You deviant, you cold-blooded¡­¡± The monster lunged over and swung its claws around.

    ¡°Actually, I have the power to turn you into a human.¡± The hawk stood firmly.

    ¡°Really?¡± The monster¡¯s eyes were filled with hope.

    ¡°But why should I do that?¡± The hawk gazed into the distance.

    ¡°You- I-¡± Even monsters would shed tears.

    ¡°If you want to be a human, then go and cultivate! If you want to hate me, then hate me! Just like how you hate them, this is your freedom.¡± The hawk finally looked at her.

    ¡°Go to hell! I¡¯m not your daughter!¡± The monster flapped its wings and swooped down from the cliff in an ungraceful manner.

    ¡°That is also your freedom.¡±

    The cold, golden hawk eyes still seemed to be there, watching her from above.

    Suddenly, she regained some clarity.

    Freedom was a terrifying thing.

    She had experienced this all too well back then.

    The chick fell down the cliff. It could ¡°freely¡± climb higher and ¡°freely¡± fall. She regularly wandered between these two feelings as well, unable to tell whether she had pierced the clouds and climbed to a higher sky already, or if she was about to hit the ground and be smashed to pieces.

    Perhaps neither of the two feelings were fake. With each day of cultivation, she became faster and stronger, yet she was also another day closer to death.

    The waves of drowsiness became more and more turbulent. The hot winds of hell raged on, almost blowing her body and soul to dust.

    The two sensations constantly replaced one another. The drowsiness gradually gained the upper hand.

    Take a rest. Just what exactly is the point of persisting like this? Staying awake only leads to pain and suffering¡­

    A wispy voice drifted through the fierce hot winds.That was her own mind.

    Before she knew it, she had already surpassed her previous limit and reached even further into the valley.

    Li Qingshan used the Profound Light Illuminates All and locked firmly onto Gu Yanying¡¯s figure. Seeing the drowsiness become more and more obvious on her face, he suddenly bellowed out at the sky. The bellow reached Gu Yanying¡¯s ears, and she shuddered slightly, regaining some attention and continuing onwards.

    Abruptly, the howls of a wolf rang out across the vast tundra, filled with a bold spirit amid their shrillness that was no less than Li Qingshan¡¯s bellow. When he first heard it, it was still hundreds of kilometers away, but it had reached the valley in the blink of an eye.

    Li Qingshan looked back, and a large man walked over through the wind and snow. He had a dark stubble and thick, snowy-white furs over his shoulders. Dark green light shone in the centre of his dark-brown eye whites.

    ¡°Wolf king?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Haha, I didn¡¯t expect my name to have spread so far.¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about you a long time ago.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s battle in the Ink sea had shocked the world a long time ago, and the Heavenly Frost Wolf King as one of the Ten Daemon Kings was very much affected. There was no doubt over the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s strength, yet he had actually lost to a junior that had not even cultivated for a century in his own territory.

    But regardless of everything, strength was worthy of respect.

    ¡°It¡¯s no different for me.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared a feast in the chieftain¡¯s yurt. Tell that niece of mine to come! She better not accidentally fall asleep in the wind and snow, or she¡¯ll freeze to death.¡± The wolf king made his way towards the valley.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of dining in a tent? We might as well just stay here, with the mountains as our ceiling and the sky as our tent, just the two of us, a good drink.¡± Li Qingshan stood in the wolf king¡¯s way with no intention of moving aside.

    Their gazes clashed, and sparks flew. It was a contention between a tiger and a wolf.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s see how far she makes it this time.¡±

    If Gu Yanying could not obtain that item, then it would just be pointless conflict right now.

    ¡°I heard the spirits of the Frost province are quite impressive.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at the alcohol flask on the wolf king¡¯s waist.

    The wolf king said nothing at all. He removed the flask and tossed it to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan also took out an alcohol gourd, tossing it to the wolf king in exchange.

    Glug, glug, glug. When the spirits hit his throat it was like flames and blades, like they had turned this world of snow and ice into a scorching sea of lava. In a single gulp, he had polished off almost half of the alcohol in there. Li Qingshan exhaled with a scorching breath of alcohol. ¡°Fine alcohol!¡±

    The wolf king furrowed his brows, somewhat pained. His alcohol flask was larger than it seemed, and the spiritual alcohol inside came with its difficulties to brew. Li Qingshan had drunk five hundred litres at the very least in that gulp.

    If he had been a regular Daemon King, then he definitely would have collapsed from intoxication if he drank that much, but Li Qingshan only seemed even more exuberant than before.

    ¡°The Great Banyan Tree King?¡± The wolf king opened the gourd and caught the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s scent. The spiritual qi inside was so dense that it even interested him, and he could sense a wisp of the wondrous laws of the world inside.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s alcohol was sap retrieved from the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s main trunk before being brewed using the power of a god. It was far more precious than the wolf king¡¯s spirits.

    ¡°Oh right, do you have any alcohol cups?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly asked.

    ¡°You use cups?¡±

    ¡°Actually, I only use a certain kind, the kind that has three legs and seems to be forged from bronze, which isn¡¯t actually the case. Nine of them form a complete set.¡± Li Qingshan gestured and suddenly said, ¡°You should be in possession of one!¡±

    The wolf king¡¯s face sank gradually, and he removed an item from within his clothes. ¡°Is this the cup you¡¯re talking about?¡±

    In his hand was a small, three-legged cauldron, engraved with the landscape of the Mist province. It was slightly whiter than the Mist Province cauldron in colour as if it was covered in a layer of frost. It was the Frost Province cauldron.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s the exact one!¡± Li Qingshan reached over and directly grabbed it. It was cool to the touch.

    ¡°Sir, you sure are bold, to use the nine cauldrons as cups!¡± The wolf king held on firmly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any particular uses for this, but it¡¯s very suited to be used as a cup.¡±

    Li Qingshan tried to use some strength, but the Frost Province cauldron did not budge. He understood that this was not just due to the wolf king¡¯s strength, but also because of the Frost Province cauldron¡¯s intrinsic weight. With the two combined, it definitely could not be shaken so easily.

    ¡°A cold, bleak land like this is unsuited for banyan trees.¡±

    The wolf king grinned hideously. The layer of frost on the Frost Province cauldron spread towards Li Qingshan¡¯s body along his hand, covering him completely in the blink of an eye.

    Hmph, you ignorant brat. I wasn¡¯t thinking of doing anything, but you actually reached over and grabbed it yourself. You¡¯re basically asking for this.

    ¡°I think this place could do with a little more greenery.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. The earth beneath his feet shattered, and he slowly pulled the Frost Province cauldron over. His smiling face had already become the head of an ox, which immediately made him seem rather simple and honest.

    The wolf king experienced an irresistibly great force, which made his face change. Just how heavy was the Frost Province cauldron? Under his control, it was even heavier than a mountain? How did this bastard possess so much brute force?

    He tried to pull back the Frost Province cauldron, but it seemed to be glued to Li Qingshan¡¯s hand now.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s skin had also turned into the dark hide of an ox, fending off the invasion of the frost. His feet were rooted deeply in the ground and strength constantly welled up in his body. He thought to himself, Heh, you old foolish wolf. I thought you just wanted to show it to me, but you actually let me grab it. You basically don¡¯t want it anymore at this point!

    ¡°Kid, let go this instant!¡± The wolf king managed to squeeze something out from between his teeth.

    ¡°Since you¡¯ve heard of my name, then have you heard that¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°My physical strength is unmatched in the world!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out and tugged with both hands. ¡°Hand it over!¡±

 Chapter 1136

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1136 ¨C A Tiny Bug

    When the Frost Province cauldron left his hand, the wolf king was still in disbelief. Someone had actually robbed him in the Frost province! And he had done so openly! And the stolen object was the Frost Province cauldron!

    ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    The wolf king¡¯s face protruded. His fur began to grow as he assumed the form of a wolf and lunged towards Li Qingshan.

    The lunge knocked Li Qingshan back. His back slammed heavily against the cliff face.

    With a rumble, half of White Elephant mountain collapsed and disintegrated. Rubble shot dozens of kilometers away.

    Li Qingshan lay in the rock pile and shook his large ox head.

    Within the dust behind him, a huge wolf glared at him viciously. Frosty air surged from its mouth filled with jagged teeth, about to clamp down on him.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his hand, making a gesture of pause. Then he lifted up the trembling Frost Province cauldron in one hand and the alcohol flask in the other, pouring the alcohol into the cauldron before drinking it all.

    He smacked his lips. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like anything special!¡±

    The furious wolf howl filled the tundra, but soon afterwards, an ox demon pulled up from the ground, sending the huge wolf flying.

    The reporting daemon wolf crouched on a snow mountain several hundred kilometers away and gazed at the two colossal, battling figures. The king has probably run into a difficult opponent this time!

    ¡°How bold of you!¡± The wolf king growled, and the snowstorm became even more intense.

    ¡°Thank you, but this is nothing much.¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head and laughed.

    ¡°Prepare to die!¡± The wolf king sprayed out with a breath of frost.

    ¡°Come, come, come! I¡¯ll use just one hand against you!¡±

    Li Qingshan gripped the Frost Province cauldron and brought it behind him as he curled his other hand at the wolf king. Soon, the frosty breath froze him, leaving him stuck in his provoking posture.

    The wolf king bit towards Li Qingshan¡¯s throat. Every single tooth shone with a dark lustre. It was his most lethal innate ability, the Kiss of Death.

    It could pierce the enemy¡¯s body and directly bite down on their souls. No matter how great their defences were, no matter how tough their lives were, they would suffer even if they managed to survive if they were bitten.

    Bang! Li Qingshan shook off the ice, but he was already one step too slow. Seeing how he could not dodge anymore, he simply grinned.

    Suddenly, the wolf king felt his body lighten, and the bite that was basically guaranteed to succeed was diverted away from its target. Right as he tried to adjust his posture, Li Qingshan reached out with a hand and an invisible force wrapped around him, accelerating him towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan swung the Frost Province cauldron and smashed it heavily against the wolf king¡¯s head.

    Bang!

    The wolf king was sent flying with the world spinning around him. If it were not for the fact that he was the Frost Province cauldron¡¯s master, he probably would have been in danger of his head being smashed in just then. He was both alarmed and furious. He had already forgotten how many years it had been since he suffered so much.

    Li Qingshan glanced at his hand that held the cauldron and suddenly recalled something. ¡°Sorry about that. You were in the perfect position just then, so I really couldn¡¯t help myself. Though, you seem much weaker than the Dragon King of Ink Sea.¡±

    The battle in the Ink sea had posed some danger to him, but the wolf king was not a threat at all. Originally, he had even thought he would have to be a little more careful considering the wolf king did have innate abilities!

    However, he had forgotten that the Dragon King of Ink Sea only managed to pose a threat to him with the Ink sea that the Five Absolutes Immortal had left behind. On top of that, apart from A Thousand Autumns in a Painting, all of the other moves had been useless. If it were not for the fact that the dragon king was actually unkillable, perhaps he really would have been slain in that battle. The lack of any innate abilities was the dragon king¡¯s greatest weakness, but his overall strength was no less than any of the other Ten Daemon Kings.

    Li Qingshan could defeat the dragon king in an open confrontation in the Ink sea without even using a single Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, which had already proven that his strength surpassed the Ten Daemon Kings!

    The wolf king was not too weak. He was too strong.

    ¡°You bastard!¡±

    The wolf king growled and turned back into human form. He lifted up a large, black flag that depicted the totem of a running wolf. He pointed it at the sky, and within the snowy clouds, a single star suddenly lit up.

    The wolf totem represented the supreme faith of the Frost province, having gathered the power of belief from millions of its citizens. The faith did not go to the Heavenly Frost Wolf King, but the legendary ¡°greedy wolf¡±. The citizens of the Frost province claimed to be the descendants of wolves. The reason why the wolf king could become their leader was related to this too.

    The wolf totem was the Heavenly Frost Wolf King¡¯s greatest trump card. It could summon the first star of the Great Dipper, the Hungry Wolf star, to kill the opponent. Having unleashed this, he was clearly more than eager to end Li Qingshan¡¯s life.

    The Greedy Wolf star flashed and emitted a stream of starlight as if it was falling down from an extremely remote part of heaven. Despite that, it pierced the clouds, wind, and snow instantly.

    Before the starlight had even landed, Li Qingshan felt greatly threatened. His skull was thick and his hide was tough, but probably even they were not enough to block the starlight. As a result, he threw himself on the ground and turned into a spirit turtle, suppressing the Frost Province cauldron firmly beneath him as he used his turtle shell to reflect the starlight.

    Of course, he did not reflect it back to where it came from. He used the spirit turtle to emulate the result and adjusted the angle of the turtle shell slightly.

    As a result, as soon as the wolf king swung the wolf totem, he felt his belly ache. Looking down in surprise, all he saw was a great hole from the light. The wound even glimmered with starlight. He clutched his belly and collapsed on his knees.

    The attack had been just too fast and just too strong, such that even he could not respond.

    He covered his wound with the wolf totem in a hurry, absorbing the specks of starlight. Fortunately, he was the master of the wolf totem, or he would probably be heavily injured after that attack.

    Li Qingshan did not follow up with any more attacks. Instead, he devoted his efforts to suppressing and refining the Frost Province cauldron. A head that resembled a dragon¡¯s protruded from the turtle shell and mocked loudly. ¡°Hahaha, you idiot!¡±

    ¡°Get your ass out here! Get out here!¡±

    The wolf king was absolutely livid. He was tempted to rush over and give the spirit turtle a fierce beating.

    Li Qingshan shrank inside the turtle shell again, continuing with the refinement of the Frost Province cauldron as he continued with the name calling, ¡°Idiot, idiot, idiot¡­¡±

    The thunderous rumbles landed in Gu Yanying¡¯s ears, but they seemed to be from an extremely distant place. She used everything she had in her to contend against the omnipresent drowsiness. Even the tortures of hell did not seem so intense anymore, which was not a good sign.

    However, the drowsiness also served as the perfect guide. She had to find its origins.

    The claws and teeth of the wolf king were clearly useless against the spirit turtle. Even when he bit down on the turtle shell with the Kiss of Death, it did not rip apart any souls. Instead, he felt his control over the Frost Province cauldron grow weaker and weaker.

    He was as furious as he could be, yet there was nowhere for him to vent. Suddenly, he turned around and looked at Gu Yanying. A vicious light flashed through his eyes.

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you against that. If you don¡¯t leave now, leaving later might be difficult.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out slowly from within the turtle shell, but it made the wolf king shiver deeply. His opponent¡¯s strength had far exceeded his expectations, not to mention the countless innate abilities and techniques. If he continued fighting, only one of them would be leaving here today.

    Under the wolf¡¯s gaze, Gu Yanying shivered inside and recovered from the edge of falling asleep. Right here!

    Disregarding the wolf king¡¯s threat, she took out a Space-splitting bird¡¯s feather and swept it through the space before her forcefully.

    The space split open. A tiny, colourful insect that seemed extremely ordinary was sealed within a completely transparent gemstone, something that resembled a piece of amber. The insect slept quietly in the space there.

    Sure enough¡­

    With a smile, Gu Yanying reached over, but before her fingers could even touch the amber, she completely fell asleep.

 Chapter 1137

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1137 ¨C Disagreements

    Suddenly, the wolf king looked back and pushed off the space there with the tip of his foot, shooting over as a shadow. As long as he obtained that, then all of the humiliation he had suffered here would basically be paid off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about leaving!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt up. Originally, he planned on chasing after him, but he abruptly remembered something and slowed down his pace, advancing gradually.

    The colourful insect hidden in the space there emitted invisible ripples. Even the whistling Hot Wind hell from Gu Yanying who was the closest settled down.

    The wolf king became overwhelmed by an urge to yawn as sleepiness flooded out. He thought, Oh no, I¡¯ve moved too quickly!

    The power of the tiny bug was much greater than he had imagined. Advancing quickly into the forbidden area had never been particularly appropriate. And, ever since Gu Yanying ripped open the space there, exposing the source of the forbidden area¡¯s power, the power from the colourful tiny insect had become even greater.

    With a bang, the wolf king fell down mid-air and began snoring away.

    Li Qingshan took advantage of how the wolf king was unconscious to completely suppress and refine the Frost Province cauldron. As he saw the ripped space gradually close up, he extended a hand, and an invisible force drew the piece of amber over. As the bug grew closer to him, he was also overwhelmed by a sense of irresistible drowsiness. Combined with the tipsiness from drinking the spirits, his body immediately began to sway a little.

    Heh, this bug sure is wondrous, but if it wasn¡¯t capable of something like this, how can it be effective against the Featherfolk King?

    He maintained a distance from the tiny bug and slowly arrived beside the wolf king. He removed the wolf totem first and shoved it into his clothes before finding a wolf teeth necklace around his neck. The largest tooth in the centre was a strangely-shaped sumeru ring.

    After doing all that, he drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. He was ready to root out this potential problem for good.

    ¡°Where¡­ is this¡­¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower also fell asleep.

    However, the wolf king shivered, and his face twisted as if he was doing all that he could to wake up.

    Li Qingshan considered it before stowing his blade away again, not because he had suddenly found his benevolent side and remembered the Unraging monk¡¯s teachings, but because it would probably be very difficult to kill the wolf king with just one swing. Instead, the attack would wake him up, leading to more unnecessary trouble. If the situation really devolved to the point where he blew up his daemon core in an attempt to drag him down, then it would be pointless.

    As a result, he tossed the bug into the Asura Field, and his mind cleared up immediately. Before the wolf king could wake up, he arrived beside Gu Yanying in a flash and picked her up, taking off into the sky.

    A while later, a hysterical howl rang out from the icy tundra.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned and completely ignored that. The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell formed a sphere around him, erasing their auras completely as they hovered high in the air. Gu Yanying in his arms continued to sleep away. After all, her strength still was not on par with the Heavenly Frost Wolf King¡¯s, and the Hot Wind hell had depleted all of her strength too. She seemed quite delicate for once.

    That familiar face of hers had once sent him into a reverie. He could not help but extend his hand now. Right when his fingers were about to touch her cheek, he curled them into a fist and smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°Am I just unwilling, or am I unable to bring myself to do this?¡±

    As a result, he did nothing else. He simply sat down like that, laying her down in his arms quietly.

    The sky was so blue that it was almost transparent; the white clouds rose and fell silently.

    Gu Yanying slept quietly. In a daze, she had returned to that tall, lone cliff. Finally, she was no longer a monster, and she had made everyone who ever called her that pay the price. She felt rather content. When she recalled everything she had faced in the past few years, it had helped her greatly in establishing her identity whether she was willing to admit it or not.

    Now, she had finally become strong enough. She was confident she could tolerate and forgive.

    Could she think of all of that like this, that he had done so for her sake?

    As a result, she stood before him once more.

    ¡°Actually, right from the moment you were born, I had the ability to turn you into a human.¡±

    That statement of his tore apart all of her psychological defences. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. To him, was this really something completely insignificant? Just what was the point of all these years of persistence.

    She forced out a smile. ¡°If this is a test for me, then isn¡¯t it a little far too brutal?¡±

    ¡°A test? That¡¯s not the case. The resources you received were not a form of concern or help. The pain you went through was not a form of training or test either. All of this is just your fate, your choice. It has nothing to do with me. I can only give you one thing, which is freedom. I hope you like it.¡±

    ¡°Father, do you hate me? Because I¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    The cold response made her wake up. She met Li Qingshan¡¯s pitch-black eyes. He asked, ¡°How was the sleep?¡±

    ¡°How long have I been asleep?¡± Gu Yanying pressed against his knee and propped herself up. She rubbed her forehead. The sky was already filled with stars.

    ¡°Not too long,¡± Li Qingshan said.¡± Their faces were only inches apart, but she was composed as ever, without any other emotions.

    ¡°Did you take it?¡± Gu Yanying stretched and yawned.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field.

    ¡°We must hurry. C¡¯mon!¡± Gu Yanying had already found her bearings. She was about to fly towards Clouded city.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed her sleeve. ¡°This thing can¡¯t discriminate between friend or foe. Once you take it out, both you and I will be affected. How do you plan on using it?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll go visit the Featherfolk King and ask for your son. He¡¯ll definitely let us into Clouded city. He might even hold a banquet to welcome us. You¡¯ll take out the bug silently and crush the surrounding amber so that its powers are completely released. Afterwards¡­¡±

    ¡°Afterwards, we¡¯ll all go to sleep! Isn¡¯t there some way to refine it? Speaking of which, just what is this tiny bug? It doesn¡¯t seem like a daemon. It¡¯s very strange!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a sleepy bug, not a true insect, but something akin to a technique or spell. It¡¯s the condensation of a great power. We¡¯re nowhere near powerful enough to control it, so we can only use it in the most foolish way possible.¡±

    ¡°A sleepy bug!¡±

    Even though Li Qingshan had become much more open minded after witnessing the impact that the feather had left behind with Gu Yanying, he was still amazed by the fact that an infamous forbidden area of the nine provinces originated from a single spell. It made him set aside his arrogance.

    ¡°Clouded city is the featherfolk¡¯s home ground. What exactly makes you think that the Featherfolk King will fall asleep before us?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s an old man. Old people are always sleepy.¡± Gu Yanying stated her reason after some thought, which left Li Qingshan at a loss for words. ¡°Why have I heard that people sleep less the older they get?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Gu Yanying was rather surprised by that. She said firmly, ¡°All we can do is gamble on this.¡±

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think you¡¯re in too much of a hurry?¡± Li Qingshan frowned. He felt like Gu Yanying was rushing things now that success was in sight.

    ¡°This has to do with your son¡¯s life. If you¡¯re a step too late, he might be refined into a pill and eaten by the Featherfolk King. Aren¡¯t you even a bit worried?¡± Gu Yanying replied with a question.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s his fate!¡± Li Qingshan remarked.

 Chapter 1138

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1138 ¨C Anger

    ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re not that kind.¡± Gu Yanying came to a realisation.

    ¡°Commander Gu, you¡¯re worried about your own matters, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t feign concern for the lives of others!¡± Li Qingshan said in displeasure.

    ¡°Alright, I must admit that. However, we¡¯ve screwed over the wolf king this time, so the matter regarding the sleepy bug definitely won¡¯t remain hidden for too long. If the Featherfolk King finds out, he¡¯ll definitely take precautions, and all of our efforts will go to waste.¡± Gu Yanying remained as persistent as before.

    ¡°I can ask the Great Banyan Tree King for a plan. It won¡¯t take very long.¡±

    ¡°The sleepy bug isn¡¯t something that this world should possess. Even the Great Banyan Tree King probably won¡¯t be able to come up with any good plans. Even if he comes up with one, we won¡¯t be able to make all the preparations quickly. It¡¯s a pure waste of time.¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily.¡±

    The two of them bickered away. Neither of them backed down. Under the blue sky and above the white clouds, the surroundings were still as beautiful as ever, except the atmosphere had become rather tense.

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips and demonstrated the inflexibility that he had always possessed. Having roamed the land for several decades, he had grown accustomed to moving and making decisions alone. When he was supposed to advance, he would never retreat even if it killed him. When he was supposed to retreat, he would never become too engrossed in battle either. He was not someone who changed his mind so easily.

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Gu Yanying sighed. Right when Li Qingshan thought she would give up on the dispute, she suddenly widened her hawk eyes and stared straight at him. ¡°Then I¡¯m not requesting you now. Instead, you need to complete your past promise and pay me back for my kindness. Are you going to do it or not?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He could not help but raise an eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re casting our friendship aside if you say that!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m casting aside our friendship,¡± Gu Yanying said firmly.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do it.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Gu Yanying was apologetic.

    Li Qingshan snorted coldly and stopped looking at her.

    A smile flitted across Gu Yanying¡¯s face before immediately vanishing again. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Before she had even finished what she was saying, Li Qingshan had already taken off. Gu Yanying shook her head and followed close behind, flying straight in the direction of Clouded city.

    ¡­¡­

    Clouded city.

    The morning sunlight pouring into the spacious hall. Li Fengyuan lay there with his arms outstretched as he snored away. Unable to come up with a way to slip away no matter how he racked his brains, he decided to have a hearty drink at the banquet. Afterwards, he simply slept until now.

    The Featherfolk King Bai Chen sat on the throne nearby, holding a cup of alcohol and savouring it slowly as he studied Li Fengyuan. He did admire Li Fengyuan¡¯s courage. Even with his current circumstances, he could still sleep.

    ¡°Get up!¡± Bai Jie walked over and kicked Li Fengyuan.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s morning!¡± Li Fengyuan stretched and yawned, gazing at the daylight outside.

    ¡°How was it? Were you satisfied with the feast?¡± the Featherfolk King finished off his cup of alcohol and asked with a smile.

    ¡°It was so-so!¡± Li Fengyuan said in an unconcerned manner, but he secretly panicked inside. This hall was like a colossal cage to him. No matter how polite the Featherfolk King behaved towards him, the butchering blade would still come for him in the very end.

    ¡°Now, I also have a small request, which I hope you won¡¯t decline.¡± The Featherfolk King fiddled with his cup.

    ¡°Feel free to mention it, as long as I can help you out.¡± Li Fengyuan understood that the Featherfolk King would actually turn against him if he still did not cooperate at a time like this, so he just agreed to it without hesitation.

    ¡°That would be for the best. I only require a droplet of blood from you.¡±

    The Featherfolk King raised his right hand, and a pure-white stream of light curled over, approaching Li Fengyuan like a snake.

    Li Fengyuan gulped and held back the urge to dodge. He only watched as the stream of light approached him, pierced the tip of his finger, and removed a droplet of phoenix blood.

    The bright-red phoenix blood shone with the light of flames, arriving by the Featherfolk King¡¯s side along the white stream and was directly injected into his body.

    The Featherfolk Kin shut his eyes. He emanated with red light as he seemed extremely pleased. The pure, scorching life force was basically a fatal temptation to him who was on the verge of death. He was almost tempted to drain all of Li Fengyuan¡¯s blood. He had to take a deep breath to hold back that urge. He could not rush this.

    Only when the white stream receded did Li Fengyuan¡¯s heart settle back down. In that moment earlier, he was already prepared to throw his life at the Featherfolk King, but he also understood that given the current situation, even dying probably would not be that easy.

    His fate was truly out of his hands now, completely at the whim of others. This deep feeling of helplessness filled him with unprecedented fury. He could not help but clench his fists.

    ¡°My king, how do you feel?¡± Bai Jie asked in concern.

    ¡°Fine, very fine, extremely fine!¡±

    The Featherfolk King opened his eyes. His complexion was healthy and vigorous as he answered that question three times.

    Sure enough, just as the legends had foretold, phoenix blood could lengthen lives. Furthermore, to his excitement, the dark azure feather also trembled gently with it. He felt the bloodline merge a little more with him too.

    The feather possessed unimaginably great power, or even a legacy, but he had never been able to properly grasp this power, let alone inherit the legacy.

    That was because featherfolk were not truly avians, so they were not recognised by this feather. Despite everything he tried, he could only use a bare minimum of the power inside, or he would not have to worry about the problem regarding his lifespan anymore.

    As the king of birds, phoenixes were naturally close to all avians, and what he felt right now only proved his original conjecture. The feather was extremely close to the bloodline of a phoenix. If his ¡°blood transfusion¡± succeeded and he gained the bloodline of a phoenix, it definitely would not only lead to a longer lifespan.

    Thinking up to there, he clenched his fist firmly, and the white jade cup was crushed to dust. He smiled from ear to ear.

    ¡°Bring the alcohol!¡± Li Fengyuan called out, interrupting the Featherfolk King¡¯s daydream.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Bai Jie made her way over, raising her hand to teach him another lesson.

    ¡°Stop!¡± The Featherfolk King ordered.

    ¡°Your majesty?¡±

    ¡°Give him his alcohol. Give him the finest alcohol we have, as well as a Mother Cloud pill.¡±

    ¡°A Mother Cloud pill!¡±

    Bai Jie was surprised. Mother Cloud pills were refined through gathering the essence of clouds. The process was extremely difficult. It could basically be regarded as the greatest pill the featherfolk could refine. Even among featherfolk, only a very small number of them could actually ingest one.

    ¡°Go. Just deduct it from my quota. I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± Then the Featherfolk King said to Li Fengyuan joyfully, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. I will make up for your losses on fold.¡±

    ¡°Not everything can be made up with pills!¡± Li Fengyuan said furiously.

    He was a mighty phoenix, yet he was being reared like a pig right now¡ªno, it was even worse than a pig. A pig only had to face the butchering blade once, and that would be the end of it. It did not have to be carved up daily. This sense of humiliation basically could not be put into words.

    ¡°I understand how you feel, but unfortunately, this is all that I can do. As cultivators, isn¡¯t longevity the exact thing that we¡¯re all after?¡±

    The Featherfolk King sighed as if he had no other choice, but he had already made up his mind inside. He would never let Li Fengyuan take another step out of Clouded city. No one knew exactly what extent a divine bird, a phoenix, could grow to. Only by killing him would he avoid any potential problems.

    He glanced at the dark azure feather. Once he grasped the power inside, he might as well kill Li Qingshan too! Afterwards, he would destroy the Great Xia empire so that godfolk would reign over this world again. Featherfolk would obviously become the supreme rulers.

    Everything was unfolding according to plan.

    At this moment, a bellow rang out in the air like a clap of thunder.

    ¡°Where be the Featherfolk King!?¡±

    ps£º ´ó¼Ò¾ÃµÈÁË£¬ÐÝÑøÉúÏ¢ÁËÐí¾Ã£¬½ñÈÕÆð±ø£¬ÔÙÕ½Ò»³¡£¡

 Chapter 1139

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1139 ¨C Stealing the Feather

    With the bellow, the clouds that wrapped around Clouded city suddenly dispersed like smoke, like a passing cyclone.

    Daemon qi rushed into the air and immediately enveloped the entire city. The azure sky seemed to be dyed red.

    The featherfolk were surprised and confused by what was going on. They all looked in the direction of the voice.

    ¡°Who are you? How dare you come and stir up trouble in Clouded city?¡±

    Over a dozen streaks of white light rose up from the city, all featherfolk cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. Their auras gathered into a sea of light, bursting through the red sky, but for a moment, they were actually unable to disperse the turbulent daemon qi, which astounded them. They had never imagined that such a powerful cultivator existed in the world.

    ¡°It¡¯s you, Li Qingshan!¡±

    Bai Jie met the scarlet eyes in the air with a frown. They no longer possessed the same lethargy and tipsiness as the other day. He had come with rage today, truly possessing a bearing that could conquer all, which left her secretly surprised.

    If it were not for the fact that she was currently located in Clouded city and could rely on the Featherfolk King here, she almost would have been overwhelmed by an urge to turn around and flee.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± Li Qingshan lashed out as soon as he saw that it was her. He reached out with his right hand.

    Abruptly, an invisible force caught Bai Jie, and she began to fly towards him uncontrollably. She could not help but be overwhelmed by shock. White light surged out around her as she flapped her pure-white wings, putting up a desperate struggle. At the same time, she drew her bow and unleashed an arrow. It turned into a furious column of light, whistling through the air.

    So he¡¯s Li Qingshan. Sure enough, you live up to your reputation! However, no matter how powerful you are, you¡¯re just a single person. You must be tired of living to stir up trouble in our Clouded city!

    That was what the featherfolk had in mind when they attacked at the same time.

    Featherfolk regarded themselves as elegant. They disliked and were unskilled in close combat, so their attacks were all streaks of white light. Not only were they extremely swift, but they also possessed enough force to destroy mountains, like the wrath of heaven. It swallowed Li Qingshan instantly.

    ¡°First father!¡± Li Fengyuan cried out in joy and surprise.

    He wanted to fly over, but a band of white light wrapped around his neck, immobilising him.

    ¡°Where are you going?¡± the Featherfolk King said.

    ¡°My first father is here. You¡¯re done for!¡± Li Fengyuan called out.

    ¡°Oh?¡± The Featherfolk King was unconvinced.

    ¡°Do you know what the Dragon King of Ink Sea¡¯s fate was?¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t the Ink sea. Very well. Since he¡¯s delivered himself to me, that¡¯ll save me some trouble¡­ hmm?¡± The Featherfolk King suddenly became surprised.

    Li Qingshan stood without budging within the furious light. Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell rose up as he used his innate ability, the Last Reflection of the Setting Sun, reflecting all the attacks. He did not merely send the attacks back to where they came from. Instead, he adjusted their angles carefully, so the light all bunched up and shot towards Bai Jie.

    Light filled her eyes, and Bai Jie opened her mouth slightly. An unprecedented sensation of fear filled her mind. The stream of light had combined the full-powered attacks of all the featherfolk. If it landed on her, then she would definitely perish with it. She had no chance of surviving.

    In that instant, various rumors regarding Li Qingshan filled her head again, from the devastation on Fire Melt mountain to the dragon slaying in the Ink sea. Perhaps provoking him was an incorrect decision.

    ¡°You want to force me to leave Clouded city? Alright, then let¡¯s go see this first father of yours.¡±

    The Featherfolk King backed away in surprise before recovering his composure again. With a gentle swing of his wings, the dark azure feather trembled gently, and he immediately ripped open the space there.

    Before Li Fengyuan could even respond, he had arrived outside the city all of a sudden. The turbulent white light filled his eyes.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. He never expected Li Fengyuan to suddenly appear. Even if he wanted to stop, it was already too late now.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± Bai Jie saw the familiar figure before her and beamed with joy.

    The Featherfolk King looked back and nodded. With another swing of his wings, the devastating attack was completely sucked into the ripped space as if it had never existed in the first place.

    Li Qingshan eased up slightly, but his vigilance also multiplied. Sure enough, just as Gu Yanying had said, the Featherfolk King was extraordinary. With his appearance, even the all-conquering Force Field of the Earth had been interrupted. The Featherfolk King was only standing there, but he seemed to reside in a completely different world. This was definitely not something he should have been capable of normally.

    At this moment, Gu Yanying caught up from behind and secretly approved of what she saw. Drawing the Featherfolk King and the other featherfolk cultivators out of Clouded city would only increase their chances at victory drastically. He was rather unhappy with this, but once it came to actual battle, he would still plan and scheme calmly, which brought her peace of mind. He was a fantastic partner to work with.

    As a result, she stayed quiet about what she originally wanted to say. He obviously knew what he had to do!

    ¡°First father!¡± Li Fengyuan called out, and he warmed up inside. He could not help but recall the children¡¯s song Li Qingshan had sung for him in the past, ¡®Fathers are the best in the world. Children without fathers are like a blade of grass.¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ve come to save you!¡± Li Qingshan said softly before looking at the Featherfolk King. ¡°Are you Bai Chen?¡±

    ¡°I am. Why have you come to make trouble in my Clouded city, sir?¡± The Featherfolk King struck back verbally.

    ¡°Cut the bullshit. Let him go!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°This is an honoured guest that I¡¯ve invited here. How can I just let him go at your request?¡± The Featherfolk King smiled. Li Fengyuan wanted to rebuke him, but the band of light around his neck suddenly tightened.

    ¡°What an impressive honoured guest!¡± Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°I was once invited to Clouded city too. Am I an honoured guest too?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± The Featherfolk King smiled as he rubbed his hands. ¡°Why don¡¯t we sit down in Clouded city then? I¡¯ll order people to arrange a banquet immediately, to welcome you as well as the fellow Gu beside you!¡±

    ¡°You know about me?¡± Gu Yanying said in surprise. She did have some reputation, but she had only undergone the third heavenly tribulation recently. She personally did not believe she could catch the Featherfolk King¡¯s attention.

    ¡°The daughter of the Hawk God, the rising star of the avians. How can I not know about you?¡±

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes lit up slightly when she saw the dark azure feather on the wings behind the Featherfolk King. She immediately realised what was going on. The Featherfolk King was in possession of a precious treasure, so he was wary of all avians in the world coming and trying to steal it. As a result, he constantly paid attention to any lurking opponents, which happened to be all the avian Daemon Kings. On top of that, her father was definitely one of the opponents that posed the greatest threat.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts for a moment, clearly wary of the consequences. In the end, he nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve heard about Clouded city for quite some time now. Let¡¯s check out just what kind of lair of danger it is!¡±

    ¡°Please!¡± The Featherfolk King raised his hand elegantly.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward, and Gu Yanying followed close behind. Both of them were tense. This was not just a show that they were putting up. Whether they could unleash the effects of the sleepy bug and get up close to the Featherfolk King would be critical to their success in this battle.

    Their behaviour was also so that the Featherfolk King could grow accustomed to all of this. Being too composed would instead draw suspicion.

    The Featherfolk King frowned slightly. As Li Qingshan drew closer, he felt a sense of danger for some reason. He felt like his advance was like a tiger preparing to pounce, about to hunt its prey!

    The featherfolk cultivators all gathered around him too, assuming a formation that immediately suppressed Li Qingshan¡¯s daemon qi. However, none of them seemed to be in a particularly great mood. During the clash earlier, Bai Jie had almost died, which was a great hit to their morale.

    The Featherfolk King relaxed as a result. They had already established the formation. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, he would merely be a caged tiger, while the Gu Yanying beside him was even more limited in strength. She seemed like she was already running out of patience. Once they entered Clouded city, even escaping would become a fantasy.

    Thinking up to there, he suddenly felt rather saddened. He was the mighty king of featherfolk, in possession of a peng¡¯s feather and a hostage, yet he was actually so fearful of a junior, which was an utter joke. It only made him realise even more that it was not just his body in decline, but his mind as well.

    Li Qingshan must have been less than a century old. He truly was enviously young. However, they were most vulnerable to setbacks when they were young and aggressive. Even dying would not be surprising.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s body trembled gently. Suddenly, she extended her hand and grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought she had been overwhelmed by the featherfolk¡¯s aura, but he felt pain from the depths of his soul instead. He immediately understood what was going on. She had already begun to activate the hot winds of hell at full force. She was making preparations to strike!

    In the eyes of the featherfolk, she was seeking his assistance, but in reality, she was sharing some ¡°clarity¡± with him.

    ¡°Fellow Gu, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± The Featherfolk King seemed to notice something as he asked suddenly.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just an old problem,¡± Gu Yanying said with difficulty, but her mouth had already become parched. Her skin became a burnt-yellow. Even her aura began to decline. Only her hawk eyes shone with spirit.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the school of Legalism¡¯s Illustrations of Naraka? What you practise should be the Hot Wind hell!¡± the Featherfolk King said.

    ¡°You truly are knowledgeable, your majesty. You even know about this.¡± Gu Yanying praised.

    ¡°It¡¯s said that those who practise this cultivation method have to endure the hardships of hell regularly. Your willpower is astounded, fellow.¡±

    The Featherfolk King smiled in a reserved manner, but he would never be able to imagine what kind of a threat this masochistic cultivation method could pose to him. Just that bit of hot winds of hell could not even touch a hair on him.

    Gu Yanying would never share even a hint of clarity with him either. She sighed and said, ¡°Living in this world, everyone has to go through a bit of pain. I¡¯ll have to endure it for now!¡±

    By now, Li Qingshan had already arrived within ten paces of the Featherfolk King. ¡°Some people are just always looking for trouble and pain!¡±

    Abruptly, he took out the amber that sealed the sleepy bug and flicked it gently.

    The amber shot out and shattered in the air, but the sleepy bug vanished.

    ¡°What did you do?¡± Bai Jie called out.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Don¡¯t tell me this is a fucking sham!?

    But shortly afterwards, endless sleepiness immediately became adhered to every single featherfolk like an invisible spider¡¯s web. Even the featherfolk in Clouded city were affected, all collapsing on the ground.

    At the very centre of the web were the Featherfolk King, Li Qingshan, Gu Yanying, and Li Fengyuan.

    Li Fengyuan immediately fell asleep.

    The Featherfolk King dropped down on one knee. His eyelids drooped, but they remained open as he asked feebly, ¡°What did you do?¡±

    ¡°I fucked you over!¡±

    Li Qingshan erupted with curses, but his eyelids weighed heavily, constantly drooping. His body swayed as well. He could sense that he had even lost control over his daemon qi.

    Even moving a finger became difficult. All he could do was power the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression and do his best to remain conscious.

    The sleepy bug did have an effect, and the effect was much greater than they had ever imagined.

    Just as Gu Yanying had said, it was not truly an insect, but a technique, a spell. It had been lost in the Frost province, constantly giving off its power. In this manner, it formed a forbidden area that could even halt the steps of the Heavenly Frost Wolf King. Now that Li Qingshan had shattered the amber, that was equivalent to releasing all of its power.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan was no longer in the state to think about just what kind of a person could cast such a spell. Instead, he was worried over whether Gu Yanying could hold on or not. Bai Jie and the other powerful featherfolk had already fallen into deep sleep, falling out of the sky. They vanished into the stretch of clouds in the blink of an eye.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s strength was impressive, but it definitely was nowhere close to Li Qingshan¡¯s or the Featherfolk King¡¯s. Her cultivation was more than a minor realm away from theirs. Right now, even they were immobilised, let alone her!

    Looking back, Gu Yanying had already let go of his hand, making her way towards the Featherfolk King.

    Her supreme beauty that had once made Li Qingshan fall in love at first sight had withered away by an almost terrifying degree. Buffeting hot winds around her sapped her skin of all moisture, rapidly charring it and making it turn black like she was burning.

    This woman¡­ Li Qingshan blinked his eyes with difficulty. Suddenly, he understood why she had accepted Qian Rongzhi as her disciple.

    Gu Yanying tread through the air, advancing forward step by step like a toddler learning how to walk. Every single step was so difficult, requiring all of her willpower and resolve.

    She gathered the hot winds without any regard, casting herself into hell mercilessly.

    Her organs burned, and her soul was on the brink of collapse.

    With a boom, her long hair caught on fire, and her charred skin cracked. The glow of fire poured out from the cracks. Before she had even reached her opponent, she had already become heavily injured and was on the brink of death. If she continued like this, she would die before long.

    Yet, she had only taken three steps so far towards the Featherfolk King that was ten steps away.

    It¡¯s just horrendous!

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. Right now, she was like a chicken that had been plucked and tossed into the oven, only to be forgotten by the chef. She was being burnt slowly. She no longer possessed any of the valiant bearing of a hawk.

    However, she was also like a phoenix in flames.

    The fourth step!

    ¡°Stay away! Stop right there!¡± The Featherfolk King ordered, but his voice was filled with hints of fear.

    Gu Yanying took another step forward. She had to reach the Featherfolk King¡¯s side and pluck the feather before the effects of the sleepy bug subsided, before she was burnt to death by the hot winds. Otherwise, once the Featherfolk King struck, perhaps Li Qingshan could still slip away, but she would definitely die.

    However, when she took the seventh step, she was unable to continue any further. Pain and exhaustion attacked her together before seemingly merging together in the end.

    The voice of her subconsciousness rang out once more, So tiring, so tired. Just what is the point of living painfully like this? You might as well just die. That way, you can sleep properly, and you don¡¯t have to face any more pain.

    The Featherfolk King was already inches away, within arm¡¯s reach, yet also at the opposite end of the world.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan began to move. The state he was in was absolutely horrendous as well. There was basically no better description of him right now than crawling his way over.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Old people do like to sleep more. Go!¡±

    As he said that, he pushed Gu Yanying on the back viciously. She lunged towards the Featherfolk King, and the Featherfolk King tried all that he could to dodge. However, she gripped his clothes firmly to pluck the feather, yet she was also afraid to touch his body. It was not because she was afraid of intimate contact with a man, but because she was worried the hot winds of hell would give the Featherfolk King clarity.

    Li Qingshan made his way over to assist her, except their movements had all become very sluggish and heavy. This clash between the peak cultivators of the nine provinces had devolved into something akin to a fight between kids in the end. Perhaps it was even worse than that, which really could render people speechless. However, the danger involved was no less than any of the battles Li Qingshan had faced in the past.

    Time trickled by, but it was actually only a short moment. Li Qingshan felt his frozen daemon qi begin to budge slightly. He understood that the effects of the sleepy bug were vanishing. A sudden outburst also meant a rapid decline.

    If the Featherfolk King managed to recover, then this battle would truly be hopeless, and it would cost Gu Yanying her life all for nothing.

    Thinking up to there, he brought his arms around the Featherfolk King¡¯s neck firmly. He said sternly, ¡°Pluck it!¡±

    Gu Yanying seized the Featherfolk King¡¯s wings and gripped the dark azure feather, plucking it forcefully.

 Chapter 1140

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1140 ¨C Bursting Through Space

    The moment she touched the dark azure feather, Gu Yanying experienced an unprecedented sensation of vastness and spaciousness as if she had been tossed up beyond the nine heavens. Everything in the world had become insignificant. Even the unbearable torturing of hell had become nothing all of a sudden.

    In that instant, she became as certain as she could be that this was exactly what she wanted.

    Suddenly, a hand gripped her wrist firmly. The force was so great that it almost crushed her bones.

    The Featherfolk King no longer possessed any elegance or demeanour with his appearance. He glared at Gu Yanying in an extremely vicious fashion, but his eyes were also filled with a smear of pain. It was exactly because Gu Yanying had made bodily contact with him that he was now under the influence of the hot winds of hell, allowing him to recover his clarity faster.

    He squeezed out a few words from between his teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡±

    ¡°Just let go! You¡¯re completely unworthy of something like this!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s voice was hoarse as she gripped the dark azure feather firmly. Compared to the difficulty she had faced getting here, even the pain of her bones shattering was nothing.

    ¡°I¡¯m unworthy? Even your father doesn¡¯t have the courage to say that! You¡¯re just a measly half-daemon!¡±

    The Featherfolk King rapidly recovered, but the flow of the white light around him was still sluggish. Although the hot winds of hell had given him clarity, he was clearly unaccustomed to this kind of pain.

    ¡°He¡¯s not worthy either!¡± Gu Yanying put her pride and arrogance on full display.

    ¡°How arrogant!¡±

    ¡°With you, even on the verge of death, you don¡¯t have the courage to put up one last fight and ascend. With him, he¡¯s a hawk raised and reared by a person. No matter how hard he struggles, he¡¯s unable to erase the imprints of the past. Both of you only possess strength, but that¡¯s it. You might dominate the nine provinces, but that¡¯s all there is to the two of you!¡±

    Gu Yanying seemed to be smiling, but her expression was extremely twisted. It was filled with endless delight.

    Li Qingshan was surprised as well. He had never imagined she would be hiding such arrogance and wildness behind her casual and graceful demeanour. She had even begun to look down on her father a long time ago. However, that did suit his tastes more.

    ¡°Well said! Let me lend you a hand!¡±

    His arms suddenly tightened, cutting off the Featherfolk King¡¯s response, but he was blocked by a layer of faint white light. For a moment, he was unable to claim his life.

    However, the exhaustion was fading away, and their auras basically rose at the same time. Li Qingshan¡¯s advantage in close combat gradually became evident, and his innate abilities slowly recovered too. He unleashed the power of tremors as hard as he could. Even though it was still extremely feeble, it could demolish the Featherfolk King¡¯s equally-feeble light.

    In that moment, the Featherfolk King¡¯s bones crackled throughout his entire body. Countless bones were broken. He used everything he had in him to contend against Li Qingshan.

    The daemon qi and spiritual qi collided, and the storm they produced dispersed all the clouds within several hundred kilometers, revealing the vast expanse of the Cloud province.

    Over a dozen streaks of white light rose into the air as if they had pierced the sun. They shot over.

    Bai Jie was utterly furious. Having fallen asleep, she fell the entire way down, continuing until she slammed heavily into the ground. It was not enough to kill her, but she was still scuffed up. She was all dirtied too, breaking the rule of never setting foot on the ground.

    However, it was exactly because she fell down that she left the vicinity of the sleepy bug, allowing her to recover so quickly.

    The featherfolk all worked together, tempted to tear Li Qingshan to a thousand pieces!

    Li Qingshan frowned, not because of these featherfolk¡ªeven if they had twice the number, he would not be afraid. Instead, it was because the dark azure feather had trembled slightly. Once the Featherfolk King recovered enough strength to power the feather, then all of their efforts would go to waste.

    However, killing him before both of them had completely recovered was almost impossible. No matter how much he had declined and become enfeebled, his foundation still belonged to the peak of the third heavenly tribulation.

    ¡°Caw!¡± Gu Yanying suddenly opened her mouth and emitted a sharp, strange call like the sorrowful cry of a crow. It was filled with an ominous vibe.

    Li Qingshan found it extremely familiar. He immediately recalled what it was. The Death Bringer Curse!

    It was one of Mo Yu¡¯s innate abilities, something almost akin to a curse. It could directly reduce the enemy¡¯s lifespan. In the past, it was this exact curse that had shaved off a century from his lifespan. Only when Mo Yu died was this curse released.

    However, from beginning to end, it had never affected him in any shape or form. He was extremely young, and he possessed the various bloodlines of the demonic and divine. His lifespan was immeasurably long.

    However, now that it had been used on the declining Featherfolk King, it was a terrifying, lethal strike.

    In that instant, time seemed to speed up. Wrinkles rapidly crawled across the Featherfolk King¡¯s handsome face, and he gave off a strange smell. It was the stink of a person on the verge of death.

    Streams of white light flowed around him like dancing snakes, dispersing away in the surroundings. His aura declined even more.

    That was the spiritual qi he had collected from this world. Now, it was time for him to return it to the world.

    Even celestials would face decay one day.

    In the face of death, supreme and aloof cultivators were insignificant like ants, like blades of grass.

    Gu Yanying used this to pluck the azure feather from the thick wings. All that remained was a stream of white light attached to it.

    So this is her final trump card?

    Li Qingshan raised his thick brows. Just like the talismans and scrolls of human cultivators, there was nothing strange with daemons condensing their innate abilities into a single spell. Mo Yu definitely would have been extremely cooperative with her too.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The Featherfolk King was overcome with surprise and fury. His voice was old and filled with despair. ¡°I¡¯ll make you perish with me!¡±

    ¡°Do you have that courage?¡± Gu Yanying said in disdain, instead goading him along. With Li Qigshan present, it would be pointless even if the Featherfolk King committed self-destruction. Instead, it would save quite a lot of trouble.

    ¡°I will never die!¡±

    Streaks of white light shot out from the Featherfolk King¡¯s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose before turning into thousands of ribbons. However, they ignored Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying, wrapping around Li Fengyuan instead.

    In that instant, all of them became blood-red.

    For the sake of maintaining his life, he went as far as to drain the phoenix blood without any regard. His spiritual qi immediately stopped leaking away, and the spread of the wrinkles slowed. His old face became filled with an unnaturally healthy glow.

    Li Fengyuan¡¯s cultivation was insufficient, so he was still asleep, but his face immediately paled. His aura rapidly declined, and his eyebrows were firmly locked together like he was experiencing a nightmare.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    Li Qingshan was enraged. He unleashed the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon, cutting through all the white ribbons with his fingers before punching in the Featherfolk King¡¯s face. Then he opened his huge mouth, revealing a row of sharp teeth. His head had already become a tiger¡¯s as he bit down on the Featherfolk King¡¯s wings and ripped away forcefully.

    With a rip, the wings were mostly torn apart, sending blood everywhere.

    Gu Yanying ripped through the white light too, plucking the azure feather from him completely. However, before she could even celebrate, the azure feather shook violently, erupting with a glow that matched the sky. It faded in and out as if it was about to drift away from this world.

    ¡°Hahahaha, if I can¡¯t obtain it, then don¡¯t even think about obtaining it either!¡±

    The Featherfolk King condensed a head from light and laughed madly, but it was filled with brutality. At the end of the day, he was unable to refine the azure feather and inherit the power and legacy within, which was why they managed to steal it from him like this. However, he had still been in possession of it for such a long time. Using his last bit of connection, he tossed the feather beyond the nine provinces.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s face changed. Were all of her plans, all of the risks she had taken, just going to fall to shambles like this?

    Under Bai Jie¡¯s lead, the featherfolk cultivators assembled a formation and surrounded them.

    ¡°Let go now!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°No!¡± Gu Yanying was determined. She no longer needed the hot winds to maintain her consciousness, so her destroyed appearance gradually recovered. Her expression softened. ¡°Qingshan, you can go. Our debts have been settled. I still want to make one last gamble!¡±

    Li Qingshan made up his mind and gripped Gu Yanying¡¯s hand firmly. He unleashed the power of tremors as hard as he could in an attempt to overwhelm the azure feather, but he felt the same vastness and spaciousness as Gu Yanying was experiencing. This was not something he would suppress or overwhelm.

    With a thrum, the azure feather emitted a rumble that shook up the space there, almost beyond the limits of hearing. It soon split open the space there and vanished with Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying.

    ¡°First father!¡± Li Fengyuan woke up from his sleep and happened to see this, which left him devastated.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± Bai Jie said in concern, only to see the spiritual qi begin to disperse from the Featherfolk King again.

    ¡°They¡¯re just asking to die!¡± the Featherfolk King said, but he felt no joy at all. He had not simply lost the azure feather in this battle. He had used up his last bit of life too. He was in danger of dying at any moment.

    At this very moment, the cry of a crane echoed through the sky.

    A colossal red-crowned crane shot towards Clouded city like a shadow. It was one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Cloud Shadow Crane King.

    ¡°You old bastard, you¡¯ve come too late! Too late! What you want is already gone. It won¡¯t ever return again,¡± the Featherfolk King said feebly.

    The white crane turned into a skinny but vigorous old man with a red crown and large robes, staring at the headless and almost-wingless Featherfolk King in shock. He struggled to believe there was actually someone in the world who could injure the Featherfolk King to such an extent and steal the feather that he dreamed about every single day.

    He was one of the few avian great Daemon Kings in the world. He had begun coveting the azure father a long time ago, but he never found an opportunity. He never imagined someone would beat him to it.

    Sensing the lingering drowsiness in the space there, he immediately came to a certain understanding. Had they used the power of the forbidden area in the north?

    He asked with a frown, ¡°Who did it?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying.¡± The Featherfolk King hid nothing, uttering their names as he ground his teeth.

    ¡°So it¡¯s them!¡± The Cloud Shadow Crane King was surprised. He had heard about these two people a long time ago. In particular, Li Qingshan¡¯s feats of dragon slaying in the Ink sea had shocked the entire world, but he also found this rather difficult to accept. Neither of them were pure avians. Couldn¡¯t the azure feather just choose a suitable owner?

    ¡°Where are they right now?¡±

    ¡°Who knows where they¡¯ve died,¡± said the Featherfolk King. Leaving the protection of the world and traversing through space was not an easy feat. There was basically no chance of surviving. Even if they survived somehow, they could not return to the nine provinces again.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King was unsurprised. Since they were bold enough to challenge the Featherfolk King, they had to pay a price. It was already astounding enough that they had made it so far.

    ¡°You¡¯re lying. My first father will never die. He¡¯ll definitely come back and punch in your damned head again!¡± Li Fengyuan threw himself at the Featherfolk King with tears in his eyes.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The Featherfolk King grabbed Li Fengyan by the throat furiously until he returned to his original form.

    ¡°Phoenix!¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King was surprised again. He had heard that the phoenix had reappeared in the Green province a long time ago, but he had never seen it for himself. He could not help it as he was overcome by a sense of attachment and reverence, which only confirmed his thoughts.

    He said solemnly, ¡°This is the lord of us avians. Please release him, fellow.¡±

    ¡°The lord of avians? That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m eating, the lord of avians!¡±

    The Featherfolk King sensed his life flow away. He had already reached the verge of death, so there was no longer anything holding him back anymore. HIs head condensed from light suddenly surged and split open in the middle like a huge, vicious mouth. He swallowed Li Fengyuan in a single gulp.

 Chapter 1141

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1141 ¨C The Surging of Clouds

    Beneath the great banyan tree.

    The wind blew through the leaves, making them rustle.

    Xiao An¡¯s hair flowed as she cultivated away quietly. The light speckled her bluish-white robes.

    Suddenly, she opened her eyes and stood up. She looked around in a daze. She felt empty inside as if she had lost something extremely important.

    Without any further thought, she muttered softly, ¡°Qingshan?¡±

    The only thing that answered her was rustling.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°You!¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King was both surprised and furious. This was basically like a slap across his face, completely brushing aside a great Daemon King like him as nothing.

    The featherfolk clustered around the Featherfolk King, spreading their wings that wove together and blotted out the sky. They gazed at him coldly. Right behind them was the majestic Clouded city.

    Bai Jie said, ¡°Does the Crane King plan on breaking several thousand years of peace and declaring war on Clouded city?¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King was aware that he had some prestige in the Cloud province, but he spent most of his time alone, withdrawn from other daemons. As such, he was not a king of myriad daemons like the Great Banyan Tree King. With his strength alone, he really would struggle to contend against the featherfolk outside Clouded city. On top of that, he was not acquainted with this phoenix at the end of the day. There really was no need for him to stand up for him. He could not help but grind his teeth.

    ¡°The phoenix is a divine bird blessed by the heavens, born with the five virtues. With all the sins you¡¯ve committed against it, you¡¯ll definitely be punished by the heavens!¡±

    ¡°He is a divine bird, while we are godfolk. It¡¯s a pity that phoenixes have already become extinct, or we¡¯ll all eat a few each and extend our lives a little,¡± a male featherfolk said proudly, leading to a series of approving laughter.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King¡¯s expression changed. A few phoenix feathers drifted past his eyes, and he caught them with a swing of his hand. All he saw was a ball of wiggling white light on the Featherfolk King¡¯s neck. It was as if he was chewing and digesting, yet also like the phoenix putting up a fierce struggle. He could not help but sigh. Reluctant to see any more of this, he turned around and left resolutely.

    Bai Jie smiled. This was the might of the featherfolk. Even the Ten Daemon Kings that each dominated an entire province would have to yield before them. Then she turned around and asked, ¡°Your majesty, are you fine?¡±

    There was no reply, just the surging of white light.

    Li Fengyuan had been swallowed by the white light, but never had his surroundings been so dark. Deep pain wrapped around him, plunging into him deeply like a thousand needles. The white light seemed tangible, squeezing and cutting into him recklessly. His feathers, his flesh, and his bones were all pulverised before being devoured and digested.

    His naturally tenacious life force only seemed to exist so that he could experience this despair with even greater clarity.

    All of his pride and stubbornness crumbled. He could not help but cry out for help.

    ¡°First father, it hurts so much! Save me!¡±

    However, he received no reply. The pain grew even heavier, originating from his very own heart.

    First father is no longer around because he tried to save me!

    His soul began to shatter as well. His remaining consciousness said, Is this¡­ just going to end like this?

    In the final moment, a majestic voice rumbled through his mind.

    No!

    That was not his voice, but the undying hope of the phoenix, Li Qingshan¡¯s unceasing will, the legacy he had been born with.

    As a result, in the instant he was about to be completely killed off, he provocatively burned away all of his vitality, reducing himself to ashes!

    The Featherfolk King no longer seeped with spiritual qi. Devouring a phoenix truly did have extremely great benefits to his lifespan. He could clearly sense the scorching phoenix blood flowing through his body, filled with never ending vitality. It purged the sensation of death and filled him with delight.

    Suddenly, all of the vitality was snuffed out, like the cinders left behind once flames had burned out.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    The white light condensed a new head, just as old and close to death as before. Having lost the vitality from the phoenix blood, his face was overcome with fear.

    What he worried about the most had happened.

    Phoenixes could not be digested that easily, which was why he chose to ingest the blood slowly at the very beginning. However, due to the circumstances being far too urgent, he had no other choice but to do this. Originally, he planned on eliminating any potential problems slowly in the future, but he never expected something like this to happen.

    He was filled with anxiety, but then he discovered that the spiritual qi had stopped seeping away, so he eased up slightly. Looks like it¡¯s still had some effect and lengthened my life!

    However, he soon discovered something wrong again. The spiritual qi stopped seeping away. Instead, it began gathering in his body.

    The white light that was almost transparently white was like a round pearl. An orangey-red flame suddenly lit up between it.

    Rumble!

    A clap of thunder rang through the air. In the azure sky, a wisp of dark clouds suddenly appeared, circling and growing, rapidly spreading into the surroundings.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± The Cloud Shadow Crane King suddenly looked back.

    The featherfolk all looked up, and Bai Jie shivered inside. Had the Cloud Shadow Crane King really jinxed it, where killing a phoenix would lead to punishment from the heavens? However, this was completely unheard of.

    ¡°Your majesty, are you alright?¡±

    ¡°A heavenly tribulation?¡±

    The Featherfolk King gazed at the sky. He was also slightly confused, but he soon realised what was going on. He used everything he had in him to try and snuff out the flame, but the end result was like adding fuel to the flames. Pure-white light flowed in rapidly, only to assist the growth of the flame.

    The tribulation clouds rapidly spread across the sky, and the thunder grew louder and louder. The Featherfolk King sensed that his aura had been locked onto. There were featherfolk clustered around him, such that even one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Cloud Shadow Crane King, dared not face him, but he suddenly felt like he was alone in the world.

    Failure or success were always possible with heavenly tribulations, but they could not be avoided. This was a test from the heavens!

    The tribulation clouds gathered in the sky as a black mass, continuing to spread out.

    A heavenly tribulation of ascension! The Featherfolk King is going to ascend right now? No, that¡¯s not it. This is the third heavenly tribulation!

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Originally, he thought the Featherfolk King was trying to ascend, but he soon realised the walls of the world had not been dispersed, and the colour of the tribulation lightning was intrinsically different too. However, in terms of scale alone, it probably matched the heavenly tribulation of ascension perfectly. The pressure it gave off was basically overwhelming, even making him feel rather stifled in the distance.

    He was still perplexed. Just what was going on? The Featherfolk King clearly was not ascending, so why had it locked onto him? It was on such a grand scale as well, so was it¡­

    ¡°Your majesty, what exactly is happening?¡± Bai Jie asked in surprise.

    The Featherfolk King¡¯s face reddened and paled. He spat out a single word with difficulty, ¡°Nirv¨¡?a!¡±

    The phoenix underwent nirv¨¡?a rebirth, rebirthing in flames. Being reduced to ashes had always been a prelude.

    Going from life to death, it involved great horrors. Nirv¨¡?a was akin to being snuffed out, to silence, which was even more terrifying than regular death. In the final moment, Li Fengyuan chose nirv¨¡?a, reducing all to silence, before springing up with new flames within. This was the so-called ¡°rebirth¡±.

    Bai Jie obviously had not seen anything like this before.

    ¡°Nirv¨¡?a!¡± The Cloud Shadow Crane King was amazed at first before letting out a great laugh. ¡°I said you would be punished by the heavens. You really do reap what you sow. Payback is never nice!¡±

    Actually, just how many of them present had guessed that the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a rebirth had become a legend in the nine provinces a long time ago?

    The primitive phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a rebirth was not actually an innate ability, but a capability that phoenixes were born with.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s phoenix bloodline was incomplete, and it was mixed with many other bloodlines. It was not pure enough, which was why it became an innate ability, constantly repeating and stacking on top of each other. He had to sacrifice all other abilities to push the strength of the phoenix¡¯s greatest ability to the limit.

    Yet at this moment, as the only true phoenix in the world, Li Fengyuan was demonstrating true nirv¨¡?a rebirth.

    I¡¯ve succeeded!?

    The new consciousness within the flames was filled with surprise and joy. This was the first rebirth he had undergone in his life, essentially verifying everything he knew from the phoenix¡¯s legacy. However, he immediately discovered his current situation to be rather strange. He had not become a new phoenix. Instead, he had fused with the Featherfolk King as if they were conjoined twins. Neither of them could separate from the other.

    This was both the result of the Featherfolk King¡¯s efforts to devour him, as well as the special influence from the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a rebirth. However, this definitely was not a stable condition. One of them would definitely completely devour the other.

    As soon as Li Fengyuan¡¯s consciousness awakened from the silence, he immediately faced the full-strengthened suppression from the Featherfolk King. He did not dare to use any spiritual qi. The two of them were basically a single entity. His power was their power. They could only clash through their soul sense.

    Even with that being the case, the Featherfolk King still possessed an absolute advantage. There was absolutely no chance of failure for him when it came to both experience and strength. Once he succeeded, he would obtain the bloodline of a phoenix, and his lifespan would no longer be an issue.

    The sky suddenly lit up.

    Boom!

    A bolt of tribulation lightning slammed against the Featherfolk King like a dragon. He plunged several hundred meters before stabilising himself.

    What might! The Cloud Shadow Crane King was secretly astounded.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± The featherfolk cried out and rushed over, wanting to block it for him.

    However, the bolt of lightning was like the first droplet of rain before a thunderstorm. Lightning began to pour down furiously.

    ¡°Back away!¡± The Featherfolk King only managed to say that before being swallowed by the lightning.

    The other featherfolk were affected too. The lightning flickered and leapt around on their bodies like chains.

    They had all undergone the third heavenly tribulation already, so they did not fear strikes from the tribulation lightning at all, let alone merely being affected by it. As such, they had the courage to linger around at such a close distance. However, the might of the heavenly tribulation was beyond their imagination. It actually numbed their bodies and was almost unendurable.

    Meanwhile, their auras made the tribulation clouds swell even more.

    ¡°We¡¯ll go!¡±

    Seeing how the situation was off, she returned to Clouded city first with a streak of lightning behind her. The lightning was obstructed by the half-transparent barrier of light. Even the tribulation lightning only stirred up a few ripples, demonstrating just how powerful the formation around Clouded city was.

    However, her face suddenly changed drastically. ¡°Oh no! Move the city quickly!¡±

    The tribulation clouds had already spread over. Shadows enveloped the white palaces, and the featherfolk in the city all woke up. They had only noticed this now and had not realised what was happening yet.

    Arcs of lightning rebounded and leapt around on the white barrier of light, producing ripples and growing denser and denser.

    The featherfolk cultivators all realised what was happening too. Their faces changed.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be troublesome if it gets sucked into the heavenly tribulation!¡±

    ¡°But only his majesty can move Clouded city.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s push the city away!¡±

    They made their decision after just a few words and all flew down, pushing the city against all the lightning.

    Clouded city slowly moved, leaving the vicinity of the tribulation clouds. Bai Jie eased up. Fortunately, they could even move a mountain if they worked together with their strength, or they really would be in trouble if Clouded city was sucked into the heavenly tribulation.

    Bang!

    The pure-white palaces swayed, and Clouded city suddenly halted, unable to be moved any further.

    ¡°Something seems to be blocking it!¡±

    ¡°Damn it! It¡¯s that old crane!¡±

    On the other side of Clouded city, the Cloud Shadow Crane King raised his hand and stopped the city with a single arm. His robes fluttered in the wind as vicious light flickered through his eyes. As one of the mighty Ten Daemon Kings, how could he just let others harass him as they pleased? Since they showed him no respect, he would show them no respect and see what would happen!

    ¡°Use your full strength!¡± Bai Jie called out, and the featherfolk all pushed together.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King felt a tremendous force. Abruptly, he spread his arms and turned back into his original form, a huge, red-crowned crane. Its wings were like clouds that blotted out the sky as it planted a foot on Clouded city. With a flap of its wings, the wind and clouds surged.

 Chapter 1142

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1142 ¨C Tribulations of the Heavens, Blessings of the Heavens

    The black clouds pressed against the city as the wind and thunder roared away.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King spread his arms, almost enough to envelope the entire city. He produced great gales.

    Avians were not known for their physical strength, but through his bones and tendons that had been forged over millennia, he forcefully stopped Clouded city.

    Bai Jie looked back, only to see a sea of lightning. The Featherfolk King was nowhere to be seen.

    Without the ruler of Clouded city, no one had permission to activate and control its formation. Their various methods of attack were all unusable, or they would definitely defeather this old crane.

    Meanwhile, their auras made the tribulation clouds spread further, reaching several hundred kilometers away. The sea of lightning became even more violent, without any gaps remaining between the rumbles and flashes. It seemed like the wrath of the heavens, wanting to destroy everything.

    She was wrapped in lightning, which only made the pressure on her multiply.

    The lightning that struck Clouded city multiplied and became thicker and thicker. No matter how tough the formation was, it could not contend against heaven. The might of the heavenly tribulation was limitless. It would adjust its strength accordingly when it encountered a powerful opponent.

    If this continued, both they and Clouded city would give way.

    ¡°Bai Ri, Bai Ling, come with me!¡± Bai Jie called out and went straight for the Cloud Shadow Crane King.

    At the same time, she rapidly racked her head, not daring to use any more threats. ¡°Cloud Shadow Crane King, we have no grudges with you, so why must you oppose us over a phoenix you¡¯re not even acquainted with?¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King snorted coldly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid yielding now is already too late!¡±

    ¡°The featherfolk will never forget about the grievance of today!¡±

    Bai Jie gritted her teeth and launched a single arrow. It turned into a rain of arrows half way, trailing with thousands of streaks of light.

    ¡°Eat my sword, wretched daemon!¡±

    Bai Ri swung a light sword several hundred meters long furiously. It whistled through the air.

    Bai Ling tossed out a hoop of white light. It rapidly expanded and enveloped the Cloud Shadow Crane King.

    ¡°The Crane¡¯s Cry Rings Through the Heavens!¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King raised his head and let out a great cry. It was sharp and resounding, like the sound of ripping cloth. For a moment, it even overwhelmed the thunder.

    The rain of arrows, the sword of light, and the hoop of light all twisted and disintegrated.

    Bai Jie frowned. Sure enough, this old daemon was not an easy opponent.

    She called out loudly, ¡°Continue the attacks, everyone. The safety of the entire race lies in our hands!¡±

    As she said that, she fired away with her arrows.

    The featherfolk erupted with resplendent light. In order to guard their homeland, to protect their clansmen, they used all of their strength, without any regard for injuries.

    A single person could hold off an entire group if they put their life on the line, let alone over a dozen featherfolk cultivators that had all undergone the third heavenly tribulation. The white light wove together like a huge hand, pushing Clouded city along slowly, moving it away from the region enveloped by the tribulation clouds.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King had to divert his focus to deal with Bai Jie, Bai Ri, and Bai Ling¡¯s harassment, so he struggled to keep the city at bay a little. Instead, he had shed quite a few feathers, but he still refused to simply give up like this.

    Countless cultivators on the ground gazed at this startling sight. They discussed among themselves.

    ¡°Just who is undergoing the tribulation for it to be so powerful?¡±

    ¡°It seems to be the Featherfolk King, but what has he done to provoke the crane king?¡±

    ¡°The crane king is aloof to any wealth or fame, so it must have been these bird people that made the old man so furious.¡±

    ¡°But he seems to have lost the upper hand.¡±

    ¡°Sigh. These featherfolk do have an advantage in numbers after all. Even Great Xia is powerless against them. The Cloud Shadow Crane King is struggling because he¡¯s alone in this situation.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the lord of the kingdom!¡±

    On the eastern horizon, a rainbow cloud glided over silently with a long tail.

    On the rainbow cloud stood a ruddy old man. He had a long beard, a wooden crown, and was dressed in cloud-patterned robes. He asked in surprise, ¡°Oldster He, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°The King of Eastern Lu!¡±

    Bai Jie leapt in fright inside. It was rumored that the Cloud Shadow Crane King and the King of Eastern Lu had a close relationship, that they regularly had tea and discussed the matters of cultivation together. If he opposed the featherfolk too, then that would be one disaster after another!

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King¡¯s words verified the rumor. He was overjoyed. ¡°Youngster Yun, you¡¯ve come at the perfect time. The featherfolk showed me no respect at all, even harassing me. Come lend me a hand!¡±

    Bai Jie said in a hurry, ¡°King of Eastern Lu, this has nothing to do with you, so you better not¡­¡±

    ¡°How dare they!¡±

    The King of Eastern Lu had already flown into a rage with what the Cloud Shadow Crane King had said. He took out a three-legged cauldron and hurled it at Clouded city.

    The rumor was not accurate. They were not simply close with one another, but the best of friends as well. During his youth, the King of Eastern Lu had once travelled the East sea on the back of a crane. This was a friendship that had already lasted an entire millennium.

    The tiny cauldron swelled through the air, turning into the size of a mountain. It was engraved with clouds and stars, as well as the landscape of the Cloud province. It was one of the nine cauldrons, the Cloud Province cauldron.

    Boom!

    Clouded city¡¯s advance came to a sudden halt.

    The King of Eastern Lu formed seals with both hands and chanted away. The rainbow cloud beneath his feet rose and spread, pressing towards Clouded city in layers.

    Only now did he ask the Cloud Shadow Crane King through his soul sense, ¡°Fortunately, I heard the disturbance and made my way over. What exactly happened here? Why are you angry with these featherfolk, and who exactly is undergoing the heavenly tribulation? It doesn¡¯t seem like a heavenly tribulation of ascension, but the disturbance¡­¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King told him about everything, as well as his own thoughts.

    ¡°I see, so something like that actually happened! This doesn¡¯t seem to be related to you in any shape or form?¡± the King of Eastern Lu remarked in surprise.

    The oldster He he knew was not someone who would go to war over a single word, much less someone who would drag his friends into war with him.

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with me. It¡¯s got something to do with you!¡± the Cloud Shadow Crane King replied.

    The King of Eastern Lu glanced at the distance again and nodded in understanding. ¡°This is indeed an opportunity.¡±

    How could others be allowed to snore and make a ruckus right by his bedside? That was why the ancient King of Southern Yue went to war with the merfolk, leaving behind the Lost Stalks of the King of Yue. In his case, the featherfolk were literally strutting around over his head.

    However, the featherfolk posed a much greater threat than the merfolk. Even if they did not compete against him for resources, they were basically a sword hanging over his head with all the forces they had gathered over several thousand years. Once the time was ripe, the King of Eastern Lu¡¯s estate would probably face a disaster. The past Kings of Eastern Lu had all tried to find a way to deal with this lurking source of trouble, but they were incapable of doing so unfortunately.

    ¡°Bai Chen has just lost the feather. We definitely can¡¯t let him devour the phoenix. He began coveting the Cloud Plane a long time ago. Now that the world is in chaos and Great Xia no longer possesses its former might, he¡¯ll definitely take action. Before you and I ascend, we have to deal with this problem for our juniors at the very least, just in case they become enslaved again,¡± said the Cloud Shadow Crane King.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking too. Let me summon the White Dragon King, and we¡¯ll blast Clouded city to pieces!¡±

    With a swing of his hand, the King of Eastern Lu tossed out a tablet of edict, gathering all the honoured guests.

    The Daemon King and human king of the Cloud province worked together to keep Clouded city stationary, preventing it from advancing even another inch forwards.

    By now, the tribulation clouds had already enveloped everything, dragging it all into its range. It also became even more intense as a result.

    In terms of scale alone, even the Golden Cicada Spirit King¡¯s heavenly tribulation of ascension came nowhere close.

    The featherfolk cultivators gradually weakened and gave way. Not only were they unable to push Clouded city away, but it had instead been pushed back by several kilometers. The protective formation faced the furious barrage of lightning, and the barrier of white light became much dimmer. Even the structures in the city began to tremble gently.

    The King of Eastern Lu clicked his tongue secretly. The capabilities of people were still limited at the end of the day. If it were not for the might of the heavenly tribulation, even unleashing the strength of all the great cultivators in the Cloud province would not be enough to breach Clouded city.

    ¡°No, if this continues, we¡¯ll all die!¡± a featherfolk called out.

    ¡°We can slip away, but what about the people in the city? Once the formation falls, it¡¯ll devastate the entire race!¡±

    ¡°What do we do? What do we do?¡±

    Bai Jie became filled with despair too. Was the divine bird really blessed by the heavens, where killing it led to bad luck?

    Suddenly, she dove resolutely into the depths of the lightning. This could not continue any further. She had to end this heavenly tribulation, no matter what she had to do!

 Chapter 1143

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1143 ¨C Sacrifice, Phoenix King

    Bai Jie navigated through the sea of lightning as white feathers scattered around her. She gazed into the distance. The Featherfolk King¡¯s broken light wing was replaced by a glorious phoenix wing. His body flowed with light and fire at the same time while his face changed constantly, twisted and vicious at times and furious and resentful at others.

    ¡°Give up! You can never defeat me!¡± the Featherfolk King said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to defeat you. I¡¯m trying to butcher a bastard like you!¡± Li Fengyuan bellowed out.

    They were like two people sharing one body, currently undergoing a battle to the death, and they had to fend off the heavenly tribulation too.

    However, the Featherfolk King endured most of the strikes from the tribulation lightning, as most of the power behind the heavenly tribulation had been set off by his powerful aura. He emitted rings of light like endless waves, colliding and nullifying the tribulation lightning.

    He was still a supreme cultivator at the peak of the third heavenly tribulation after all. The heavenly tribulation this time was on an extremely large scale and affected an extremely vast region, but it was still the third heavenly tribulation at the end of the day.

    ¡°Your majesty, if this continues, Clouded city will fall. All of the featherfolk will die!¡±

    Bai Jie called out to him, but she had no idea whether her words could reach the Featherfolk King¡¯s ears through the deafening thunder.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The Featherfolk King seemed to notice that. Suddenly, he looked back, and his twisted face paused.

    ¡°Sorry, your majesty, but this is for the sake of all featherfolk!¡±

    Bai Jie took out a delicately-crafted crystal dagger. It flowed with light, clearly a powerful arcane treasure. It was specially created for the sake of close combat. The Featherfolk King had even bequeathed it upon her as something to protect herself with.

    She gritted her teeth and advanced boldly, plunging the dagger into the Featherfolk King¡¯s chest viciously.

    The Featherfolk King was stunned. He shut his eyes, and his body shuddered.

    Right when the dagger was about to pierce his skin, a hand grabbed the blade firmly.

    Bai Jie raised her head. Had that Li Fengyuan taken over the body? However, all she saw was the Featherfolk King snap open his eyes. His left eye was fiery-red, while his right eye was an azure-blue. They were filled with the same intention.

    ¡°No, I still want to live!¡±

    The two faces, the two voices, merged together as one, filled with a desire to live.

    In that instant, they reached an agreement. They lifted a hand and grabbed Bai Jie by the neck.

    ¡°Your majesty, you¡¯re the Featherfolk King!¡±

    Bai Jie widened her eyes in disbelief. She could not help but recall something of the past.

    ¡°I once had the opportunity to ascend, but Great Xia had only just been founded. They posed a constant threat to Clouded city. As the Featherfolk King, I had to make the sacrifice, which was why I stayed behind, waiting for a new opportunity. I never imagined this wait to last a thousand years, making me miss all of my opportunities. Sigh.¡±

    He did sigh back then, but he seemed to be glowing.

    He had always been the genius, the hero, and the king of the featherfolk. He was worthy of all titles and honours. He had never disappointed anyone either, but she never thought¡­

    Now that he recalled all this, there seemed to be a smear of bitterness on his face. Was he also regretting this?

    Yes, he did regret this.

    Youths did not fear death because they did not understand the horrors involved at all. As his lifespan was slowly used up, as his body and soul declined with each passing day, it was like a huge, empty hole, swallowing all of his joys. Nothing could fill it in.

    Perhaps mortals could seek comfort in the concept of fate, giving them peace of mind, but he could not.

    If I had chosen to ascend back then, I must have reached the Heaven realm and embarked on a new journey already.

    This thought constantly lingered in the back of his mind, but it only multiplied his pain.

    Now, he had finally found an opportunity. He could make up for his regrets and start over, so how could he just let go?

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This time, I want to live for myself. You should go!¡±

    The Featherfolk King let go slowly. He did feel some guilt, but he was filled with resolve.

    He had to devour the phoenix and obtain the brand-new life he had been dreaming of. Then he would ascend to the Heaven realm.

    Nothing in this world had anything to do with him anymore.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡±

    Bai Jie could sense the tribulation lightning becoming mightier and mightier. If she remained here, then she would be in danger of dying. She looked back at the sky full of wind and lightning. Just how much longer could Clouded city last?

    The dagger fell out of her hand. Suddenly, she spread her wings and arms, shining with hazy white light. The light replaced her body and limbs, turning into a blurry, white humanoid.

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± The Featherfolk King was alarmed.

    ¡°Your majesty, you once taught me sacrifice, but why have you forgotten it yourself? However, you¡¯ve already done enough for the featherfolk. It¡¯s my turn now!¡±

    Bai Jie was completely calm. Abruptly, she exploded with light.

    A white sun rose up in the sky. Wherever its light reached, the rolling thunder and lightning parted too.

    The world fell silent.

    ¡°Bai Jie!¡± the featherfolk all cried out.

    The Featherfolk King had lost both of his wings, tottering about in the air. The entire front half of his body had basically been stripped of flesh, revealing the spark in his chest. The surprise and fury on his face faded away, revealing a hint of confusion.

    Gazing into the distance, the protective formation around the city was already on the edge of collapse. Streaks of light flew over from the horizon, all honoured guests of the King of Eastern Lu¡¯s estate.

    Following the momentary silence, the lightning began to rip and roar again. The battle between light and fire paused too. The light surpassed the fire, firmly establishing the upper hand, but it struggled to snuff out the spark.

    Bai Chen fell into silence for a moment before he suddenly said, ¡°Li Fengyuan, if we continue like this, we¡¯ll definitely end up perishing together.¡±

    As he spoke, he had actually recovered his usual elegance.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s perish together!¡±

    Li Fengyuan wanted to live, but that did not mean he feared death. Following the rebirth, he had gained a deeper understanding over life and death. He suddenly felt the powerful will that weighed on him firmly recede away.

    ¡°Life is always better than death, isn¡¯t it?¡± Bai Chen murmured to himself, ¡°I have a request. If you can agree to it, I¡¯m not going to clash with you any further. With my power, you can easily face the heavenly tribulation too.¡±

    ¡°What request?¡±

    ¡°Protect Clouded city in my place.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Li Fengyuan was surprised.

    ¡°I will bear all of the sins, but they have never hurt you.¡±

    The flame flickered. Li Fengyuan recalled everything he had seen and heard as he strolled through the city.

    The white springs under the sunlight, the beautiful music echoing through the air, the groups of featherfolk children messing around with him, the gentle scolding of mothers¡­

    Back then, he was filled with worry, so he was unable to truly take in all of these scenes, but now, it had suddenly all cleared up. The thunder had instead grown distant.

    ¡°What are you scheming now? Are you still trying to get me to waver?¡±

    ¡°This is all true. All of this is worth it too.¡±

    Bai Chen seemed to be speaking to Li Fengyuan, yet also to himself.

    The bolts of lightning hurtled down one after another. Bai Chen¡¯s consciousness faded away, and the flames rapidly rose.

    ¡°Wait, I still haven¡¯t agreed yet!¡± Li Fengyuan restrained the rising flames.

    ¡°Please protect them. I¡¯m begging you!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll go back on my word?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a virtuous phoenix.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, if it were my first father, he would have never agreed to this. Even if he did, he¡¯d be deceiving you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Bai Chen said sincerely.

    In the end, he opened his hand. Inside was a pure-white feather. He murmured away as if he was trying to say something. At that moment, the flames surged out, immediately swallowing him. The white feather drifted away.

    Within the flames, the wings spread once more, having become the glorious wings of a phoenix already. A high-spirited phoenix¡¯s cry rang out, and the phoenix rushed up against the lightning, heading towards the depths of the tribulation clouds.

    ¡°He actually succeeded?¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King was surprised. Originally, they planned on taking down Clouded city before dealing with the Featherfolk King. They never expected the phoenix to actually turn the tables successfully.

    ¡°He has helped us eliminate a great source of trouble. The White Dragon King is almost here. We¡¯ll definitely be able to take down the city by then!¡± the King of Eastern Lu said.

    ¡°What should we do with the featherfolk in the city?¡±

    ¡°Best if they all died to the tribulation!¡±

    The talent of otherfolk truly was terrifying, far greater than any regular human or daemon. Featherfolk also happened to be among the best of the best, so they had to eliminate this source of problems forever and annihilate the entire city.

    The featherfolk cultivators had already given up on pushing the city, now caught up in a battle against the honoured guests of the King of Eastern Lu¡¯s estate. Both sides poured their strength together and established formations. The light in the air wove into geometric shapes.

    However, with the two kings, the Cloud Shadow Crane King and the King of Eastern Lu, presiding over the battle, defeat was only a matter of time. Their king was no longer around anymore.

    A while later, a huge ship sailed over through the air. The pure-white hull bore some resemblance to the Scarlet Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King, except it possessed the complicated cloud patterns of the Cloud province¡¯s style. It was one of the few proper siege weapons of the world, the White Dragon King.

    When it was still hundreds of kilometers away, it had already opened its Dragon¡¯s Mouth. Specks of light began to gather. The light reached a certain limit, and a column of light whistled out, like the furious roar of a white dragon.

    The King of Eastern Lu glanced up. Before he knew it, the tribulation clouds had already begun to gather together. It was a pity that they had not been able to completely destroy Clouded city, but he was only a single strike away from his objective right now.

    ¡°Block it, quick!¡±

    The featherfolk cultivators produced a barrier of light together, but it was pierced instantly. Clouded city was about to fall.

    There was a flash of light in the sky that moved so quickly that even the Cloud Shadow Crane King was stunned. ¡°The phoenix?¡±

    It was exactly the phoenix. He had returned, landing on Clouded city with a single foot. His magnificent wings enveloped the entire city. The column of light slammed into his body, but it rapidly scattered and dispersed, yet he had not even shed a feather in the process.

    With a phoenix¡¯s cry, the glorious colour dyed the sky.

    Everyone¡¯s gazes were drawn over. They temporarily stopped what they were doing.

    As an avian, the Cloud Shadow Crane King was most deeply affected. Originally, even before the phoenix had faced the heavenly tribulation, it could already fill him with a sense of attachment and reverence. Now, it had almost turned into worship, lowering his head in subservience. Was this the legendary saying that all birds paid homage to the phoenix?

    A glance from the King of Eastern Lu allowed the Cloud Shadow Crane King to return to his senses. He tried his best to regain his composure as he asked, ¡°How may I refer to you, fellow?¡±

    ¡°Li Fengyang. Thank you for your assistance earlier.¡±

    ¡°Fellow, as the lord of my race, it goes without saying for me to provide assistance. There¡¯s no need for you to be so courteous.¡± The Cloud Shadow Crane King brushed that aside in a hurry before asking, ¡°What are you doing now, fellow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already promised the Featherfolk King, Bai Chen, to inherit the position of Featherfolk King and protect Clouded city in his stead.¡±

    Li Fengyuan lowered his head slightly. Light flowed through his phoenix eyes. Who knew what he was thinking.

    ¡°What did you say!?¡±

    It was not just the Cloud Shadow Crane King. Even the featherfolk were astounded. If it were not for the fact that Li Fengyuan had just blocked the attack from the White Dragon King, they almost would have erupted with curses.

    ¡°You really do know how to joke around, fellow. Didn¡¯t Bai Chen die by your hand? And you¡¯re not a featherfolk, so how are you going to become the Featherfolk King?¡±

    ¡°Bai Chen reaped what he sowed. He¡¯s already been punished. If it were not for his repeated requests, I would have never wanted the position of Featherfolk King. However, since I have promised him, I am bound to my word. I¡¯m very tired already today, so please return, fellows!¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King wanted to persuade him a little more, but he was stopped by the King of Eastern Lu, who said loudly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s nothing more for us to talk about. Let¡¯s see how capable you are!¡±

 Chapter 1144

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1144 ¨C The Lord of Clouded City

    ¡°Fellow, please listen to me. You¡¯ve killed and devoured the Featherfolk King. The featherfolk will never forget about this. You are creating future problems for yourself! You¡¯re dreaming if you think you can become some Featherfolk King.¡±

    Li Fengyuan looked around. Sure enough, none of the featherfolk cultivators tried to hide their hostility. Outsiders struggled to imagine Bai Chen¡¯s status in the hearts of featherfolk.

    Between the white towers in Clouded city, the featherfolk raised their heads fearfully. The magnificent phoenix wings were like burning clouds, shining with gorgeous colours.

    ¡°Mummy!¡± A featherfolk child was filled with fear.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± The mother embraced her. When she raised her head, her eyes full of worry met the phoenix¡¯s eyes.

    Their names appeared in Li Fengyuan¡¯s head, along with their history. Right now, he possessed a sense of familiarity towards all featherfolk like they were his own clansmen. He understood this was the influence from Bai Chen¡¯s spirit and memories. He thought, You wanted me to be a little more attached to them?

    He could not help but feel slightly speechless. In the final moment, Bai Chen had chosen to give up everything. Had he been touched by Bai Jie¡¯s great sacrifice, or was it because he realised his efforts of revival were all futile? Perhaps it was a combination of both.

    People were not trees and grass. How could they be devoid of emotion?

    They desired survival because of their emotions, but they also threw themselves at death because of their emotions.

    However, in comparison to this tiny bit of ¡°emotional burden¡±, the benefits that Li Fengyuan had received were immeasurable. Because Bai Chen had not put up any resistance at all, allowing him to devour and digest him, he had basically inherited another complete legacy. That included Bai Chen¡¯s seven thousand years of comprehension towards cultivation, as well as all of his powers.

    The power and legacy was so tremendous that he struggled to digest it all in a short period of time.

    Meanwhile, if they had clashed to the very end, even if he was fortunate enough to defeat Bai Chen and then survive the heavenly tribulation after that, he would be in a state of having just undergone the third heavenly tribulation, and he would be extremely feeble too. The legacy went even more without saying.

    It was like the clash between two enemies, the difference between surrendering and fighting until the last man standing. The end results were worlds apart.

    Li Fengyuan fell silent, sinking into his thoughts.

    Seeing this, the King of Eastern Lu smiled. The wise always adjusted to the circumstances, let alone the divine bird, the phoenix. His army was pressing over right now. Just who could stop him?

    The honoured guests all assumed a formation at the front with the White Dragon King supporting them from behind. The King of Eastern Lu and the Cloud Shadow Crane King were prepared to launch a decisive strike at any moment. This had already become a war between kingdoms, not a mere clash of abilities.

    Li Fengyuan said, ¡°I know how much they like Bai Chen, and I also know how much they hate me¡­¡±

    ¡°As long as you understand, fellow.¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King breathed a sigh of relief. Unless he had no other choice, he really did not want to oppose a phoenix. Perhaps this was the instinct of all avians.

    However, Li Fengyuan added a twist. ¡°However, what does that have to do with me? I¡¯m just doing what I want to do. It¡¯s not something their feelings can change.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I may be reluctant to make an enemy out of you, but all we can do is fight today!¡±

    ¡°All featherfolk, return to the city!¡±

    Under Li Fengyuan¡¯s orders, the featherfolk all looked at one another. Even if they ignored the fact that it was an order from the enemy, the formation of Clouded city was currently without a controller. Would they not just be waiting for their deaths if they returned to the city now?

    Li Fengyan said nothing more. He was confident that he could basically take on the entire Cloud province here, and it was not just because of his personal strength. Otherwise, just the Cloud Shadow Crane King would be enough to keep him busy, much less protecting Clouded city.

    Bai Chen had left him one other gift, which was Clouded city.

    Suddenly, Clouded city surged with white light, flowing down every street like a river and gathering in the central palace. A column of light rushed into the air, merging with Li Fengyuan and dyeing his every single feather pure-white. It was like he had become a white phoenix.

    Bai Chen had given him all the authority over the entire formation to him. He had bought some time earlier precisely for the sake of establishing complete control.

    The featherfolk cultivators looked at one another. This was the authority that only past Featherfolk Kings possessed, and gaining control over the entire Clouded city basically made him the actual Featherfolk King too. They communicated between themselves.

    ¡°What do we do now?¡±

    ¡°If we keep fighting, we¡¯re all going to die here. Should we retreat elsewhere instead?¡±

    ¡°Shut up! If the city stands, the people stand. If the city falls, the people fall! If anyone dares to desert the city, you will be a traitor of featherfolk, condemned by the people and the world!¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s return to the city for now. This is for the sake of the featherfolk!¡±

    There were several flashes and over a dozen streaks of light returned to Clouded city. Featherfolk moved so quickly that they almost topped the entire world. No one could stop them in time.

    ¡°Oh no!¡± The King of Eastern Lu¡¯s expression changed drastically. Originally, he wanted to use Clouded city to keep the featherfolk cultivators here before taking them out in one fell swoop, but he never expected them to slip away. He called out, ¡°Listen up! Attack the city at full force!¡±

    He controlled the Cloud Province cauldron and the King of Lu¡¯s Seal, even the sky full of rainbow clouds, sending it all towards Clouded city.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King used the Crane¡¯s Cry Rings Through the Heavens, the White Dragon King roared furiously, and all the great cultivators unleashed their special attacks. Energy surged and flowed like a flood. For a moment, they almost seemed capable of rocking the world.

    The barrier of light around Clouded city had already become extremely thin. It definitely could not block the attacks.

    Li Fengyuan had been expecting this. Landing in Clouded city, he turned into a handsome young man who called out loudly, ¡°Everything depends on this. Give me your strength!¡¯

    Just as the other featherfolk hesitated, the mother who held her child lit up with the first speck of light. Compared to her hatred, she wanted to protect her child more.

    Specks of light lit up throughout the city. All of the featherfolk, regardless of their strength, shone with white light. It merged with the roaring river of light, gathering in the main palace.

    Boom!

    Clouded city shook violently, like a lone boat in a turbulent flood. The towers and palaces collapsed one by one.

    Li Fengyuan stood on the palace ceiling and sensed the unprecedented power gathering in him. This was a condensation of all the will and power of the featherfolk. He gazed at the sky sternly. Was this enough to block it or not?

    The featherfolk looked at him as well. The flowing white light seemed to unfurl as a pair of pure-white wings. They seemed to see Bai Chen again.

    Time moved extremely slowly. Every second was elongated, turning into a form of torture.

    If the formation fell, all would go to waste.

    However, while the thin barrier of light did shake around, on the verge of destruction, it never shattered. It was far sturdier than anyone had imagined it to be.

    A smile spread across Li Fengyuan¡¯s face. He swung his hand again, and the pillars around the city and in front of the main palace all lit up. The humanoid statues with faces of birds crouching on there suddenly sprang alive, flapping their wings and receiving the King of Eastern Lu¡¯s army. There were almost a hundred of them, and every single one of them was equivalent to a Puppet King.

    As soon as the statues left Clouded city, several of them were smashed to pieces by the flow of energy, but they also managed to nullify most of the attack.

    The barrier of light stabilised and gradually thickened.

    Li Fengyuan controlled the statues, modifying their formations to hold back the King of Eastern Lu¡¯s army as he ordered the featherfolk cultivators, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there! Go and fight back!¡±

    The featherfolk cultivators were reluctant to follow his orders, but they could only pull together in the face of trouble now. They were never skilled in close combat, so they stood in Clouded city and unleashed their attacks to their fullest extent.

    Light whistled through the air as lightning split across the sky, working with the statues to fend off the King of Eastern Lu.

    Li Fengyan looked at the sky. The black mass of tribulation clouds slowly dispersed. The beautiful light from the sun accelerated the recovery of the barrier of light. That was the true source of energy for Clouded city¡¯s main formation. The more time they bought, the stronger the formation would become.

    A figure suddenly blotted out the sun. The Cloud Shadow Crane King loomed over the entire place, meeting Li Fengyuan¡¯s eyes and sending sparks flying.

    ¡°Give up, phoenix!¡±

    ¡°Rise, Clouded city!¡±

    Li Fengyuan raised his hand, and Clouded city rose up into the air, hurtling towards the Cloud Shadow Crane King.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King extended a foot, standing on Clouded city gently and stopping its rise. He continued to blot out the sun with his colossal wings.

    With a phoenix cry, Li Fengyuan rushed into the air and launched a palm strike at the foot through the barrier of light.

    ¡°Even if you¡¯re a phoenix, you¡¯ve only just undergone the third heavenly tribulation, so how can you¡­¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King suddenly sensed an overwhelmingly great power flow out beneath his foot. He was actually unable to contend with it. He glanced inside the city and immediately understood that Li Fengyuan had gathered all the power from the featherfolk. That was something only the Featherfolk King could achieve.

    Ripples appeared on the barrier, and the two forces collided violently. Clouded city continued to rise up stubbornly, rising until it reached the atmospheric wind layer.

    The higher it climbed, the sharper the atmospheric winds became, whistling as they slashed at the barrier of light. The barrier immediately dimmed slightly, but the atmospheric winds diluted the constant attacks from the King of Eastern Lu as well, greatly diminishing their power.

    Through Bai Chen¡¯s memories, Li Fengyuan understood that this had always been the most ordinary way that Clouded city functioned.

    The formation possessed the function to fend off the atmospheric winds. If any enemies attacked, they could raise the city into the atmospheric cloud layer, and the enemy would struggle to do anything.

    The formation¡¯s defences were limited, so it could not reach too high of an altitude, but it was enough to ensure that no enemy could climb higher than Clouded city. Otherwise, if any random person could cut off its energy source, would the city not just be a joke?

    It is no wonder that even the Great Xia empire is powerless against the featherfolk. This Clouded city is basically made for war, well beyond anything that some White Dragon King or Scarlet Dragon King can compare to. It¡¯s a pity that it¡¯s been weakened far too much by the heavenly tribulation in the beginning, preventing the use of its various attacks, or why would they fear a measly King of Eastern Lu?

    A few crane feathers drifted down, but they were all sliced apart by the atmospheric winds before long. Even the Ten Daemon Kings could not reside so high up in the atmospheric wind layer for long. The Cloud Shadow Crane King descended helplessly.

    Before the light could even shine on the city properly, there was a great rumble and the Cloud Province cauldron crushed down on the city.

    Seeing how they were actually about to slip away, the King of Eastern Lu ran out of patience, unleashing the Cloud Province cauldron at full strength.

    The cauldron that gathered the power from the Cloud province¡¯s landscape was extremely heavy. Clouded city began to sink again. The atmospheric winds left marks on the cauldron, but they struggled to cause any actual damage in such a short period of time.

    If this continued, Clouded city would fall to the ground before the Cloud Province cauldron was destroyed.

    Li Fengyuan made up his mind. He opened the barrier of light, and the Cloud Province cauldron whistled down with the atmospheric winds.

    Li Fengyuan rushed straight at it.

    Boom!

    The palace was reduced to ruins, and Li Fengyuan vanished too.

    The featherfolk all paled in fright. Before they knew it, he had already become their backbone. If even he fell in battle, then the featherfolk would be in danger of devastation.

    The Cloud Province cauldron weighed down on Clouded city and continued to sink, but a bellow rang out from the ruins below the tripod, ¡°Close!¡±

    The barrier of light closed up again, forcefully swallowing the Cloud Province cauldron.

    Li Fengyuan supported the cauldron with both hands as blood flowed down his face, turning into flames. He called out, ¡°You don¡¯t want this anymore? Then give it to me!¡±

    At that moment, he was a spitting image of Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 1145

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1145 ¨C Drifting

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    The King of Eastern Lu¡¯s face changed. He felt his connection with the Cloud Province cauldron suddenly break. He had still ended up underestimating the power of Clouded city.

    Just recently, Bai Chen had tried to lure Li Qingshan into the city when he came knocking. Clouded city possessed the ability to suppress and isolate everything. Once they set foot in there, they would struggle to break free even if they were capable of exceptional things.

    Li Fengyuan grinned. He made Clouded city climb higher until it reached an impressive altitude.

    The atmospheric winds produced thousands of ripples as they swept against the barrier. At the same time, sunlight poured in without any obstructions. The barrier of light gradually recovered its glow. It was an extremely gradual process, but they were clearly undefeatable now.

    Li Fengyuan exhaled deeply. Alright, at least he had managed to protect Clouded city. This was one of the most important spoils of his battle.

    Although it had cost him many of the bird-faced statues, they were not actually his anyway, so he was not pained.

    ¡°My king, what do we do now?¡± a middle-aged man asked.

    He was also one of the honoured guests of the king¡¯s estate, but he had only undergone the third heavenly tribulation recently, so he could not venture deep within the atmospheric winds like the Cloud Shadow Crane King. Speaking of which, even if he could, he would be reluctant to do so.

    The other cultivators all stopped their attacks too. Clearly, they were thinking the same thing.

    The King of Eastern Lu and the Cloud Shadow Crane King exchanged glances. All they could do was sigh.

    Even if the White Dragon King reached such an altitude, it would fall apart very soon, let alone regular cultivators. Coupled with the desperate resistance of the otherfolk, taking down Clouded city had already become an almost-impossible mission. If they tried everything that they could, it was not completely impossible to achieve victory, but a bitter victory was pointless.

    ¡°Fellows, there¡¯s no point in fighting any more, so why don¡¯t we just call a ceasefire?¡± Li Fengyuan said complacently.

    ¡°Return the Cloud Province cauldron, and we¡¯ll go our own ways!¡± the King of Eastern Lu said.

    ¡°Hehe, your hopes are getting a little too high.¡±

    Li Fengyuan rubbed his head. It still ached a lot. The Cloud Province cauldron had left quite a mark.

    ¡°I once went as far as to make an enemy out of the featherfolk to assist you. Is this how you pay me back?¡±

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King never would have imagined everything to develop like this. He had vaguely guessed that it was probably because Bai Chen had given up on all resistance that Li Fengyuan could gain control over Clouded city so easily. Even if it were him instead, he would probably be reluctant to see Clouded city be destroyed if he had the opportunity to control it. And, it would even allow him to restrain the entire race of featherfolk, immediately giving him control over a powerful force in the world.

    Bai Chen was truly the Featherfolk King to be able to make such a decision.

    ¡°I will pay you back for your assistance, fellow, but please leave for today!¡±

    Li Fengyuan was relatively grateful towards the Cloud Shadow Crane King, or there was a good chance he would have died here today. Regardless of what they were thinking, a debt of kindness was still a debt of kindness. It had to be paid back.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    With no other choice, the King of Eastern Lu turned around furiously, returning to the White Dragon King.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King flew off as well. The other honoured guests looked at one another before scattering.

    Only now did Li Fengyuan completely stop worrying. He lowered Clouded city slightly so that the formation could recover faster.

    The featherfolk in the city were still shaken up as the featherfolk cultivators gathered over silently. They linked up with each other through the glow they gave off, establishing a geometric shape around Li Fengyuan.

    ¡°Mmm, sure enough! Are you trying to revolt?¡±

    Li Fengyuan sat high up on the Cloud Province cauldron. He was not surprised at all as if he had been anticipating this the entire time.

    ¡°Clouded city is a city that belongs to featherfolk, so what do you mean by revolting? Li Fengyuan, in consideration of the assistance you¡¯ve provided us today, hand over the control over the formation, and that¡¯ll be the end of the grievances between you and the featherfolk. You can leave.¡±

    Li Fengyuan gazed at the sky. He asked while looking at him from the corner of his eye, ¡°Were you the one who said if there were still phoenixes around, you¡¯d all eat a few each?¡±

    ¡°So what if it was me?¡±

    Before he could even finish what he was saying, Li Fengyuan had arrived before the featherfolk in a flash. He moved so quickly that none of the featherfolk cultivators could respond.

    Li Fengyuan swung his hand. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The featherfolk cultivator was launched high into the air, flying out of the barrier of light.

    The battle had just ended, so his aura was extremely weak. The sharp atmospheric winds swept in from all directions, immediately tearing his body to pieces. Even his soul was shattered. He blew up with a wave of white light.

    ¡°Nice fireworks!¡± Li Fengyuan said as he patted his hands.

    With Bai Chen¡¯s powers combined with the divine powers of the phoenix bloodline, he had few opponents at the same realm of cultivation.

    Featherfolk called themselves godfolk, but how could they be compared to this divine bird that was loved by the world in terms of talent?

    ¡°Kill him!¡± The featherfolk cultivators flew into a rage.

    Li Fengyuan pressed down with one hand.

    The geometric formation woven from light collapsed, and all of the featherfolk¡¯s powers were pressed into the ground by white light.

    Inside Clouded city, just who could threaten the ¡°Featherfolk King¡±?

    There were still others who wanted to put up resistance, so the bird-faced statues flew down and gathered around Li Fengyuan, glaring at the featherfolk cultivators on the ground.

    Suddenly, Li Fengyuan let out a sigh. All of his vigour and complacency vanished, replaced by sorrow. ¡°I¡¯m in a very bad mood right now. There are many things I don¡¯t know how to handle. Do you really want me to kill you all before killing all the featherfolk in the city?¡±

    In that instant, all of the featherfolk shivered. Li Fengyuan gave off no murderousness at all, but no one doubted his resolve. Not only was he the son of a phoenix, but he was also the son of Li Qingshan. He had never lacked decisiveness and resolve.

    ¡°Why? Why did the king hand Clouded city to you?¡± A featherfolk cultivator growled, refusing to accept this.

    ¡°Because back then, only I could save you! Even though he wanted to abandon you and live for himself right from the beginning. And that woman¡­¡±

    Li Fengyuan told them about everything that had happened in the heavenly tribulation. He did not twist any of the facts, nor did he hide anything.

    The featherfolk were shocked.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. You can¡¯t deceive us with your lies. How could his majesty turn his back on us? It must have been you¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up. Whether you believe me or not, I am the king of featherfolk from today onwards. Those who refuse to listen to my command can all piss off and leave the city, or I¡¯ll kill you when I see you!¡±

    Li Fengyuan turned around and returned to the top of the Cloud Province cauldron. He gazed into the west with furrowed brows. The sky gradually darkened, and the glow from the setting sun was like fire.

    The featherfolk cultivators only felt the pressure on them immediately vanish. Despite their utter reluctance to accept this, attacking him now would only send them to their deaths for nothing. They secretly discussed among themselves about what to do next, but it gradually devolved into a dispute, leading to a great fragmentation.

    ¡°The featherfolk have been unfortunate today. Clouded city has been taken by an outsider. We will lead all the featherfolk away from here and establish a new Clouded city!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. Clouded city was founded through tens of thousands of years of effort from our ancestors. How can you rebuild it so easily?¡±

    ¡°Then what do you say we do? What, are we supposed to serve an outsider as lackeys?¡±

    ¡°Anyone who does that is a traitor to the race!¡±

    ¡°We definitely can¡¯t abandon Clouded city, or that¡¯ll be letting down our ancestors. The clansmen can¡¯t leave here either!¡±

    The significance that Clouded city bore to the featherfolk was far too great. They did not only have various emotional attachments to it as their homeland and motherland. It was also a precious place that all featherfolk depended on to survive.

    Just the speed of cultivating in the city far surpassed any other place. And, there were tremendous amounts of resources sealed within the vaults, which also provided assurance for the cultivation of all featherfolk. They could not abandon it on a whim, so the two factions became locked in dispute.

    Li Fengyuan had no interest in the outcome of their debate. If they chose to stay behind, he could unleash greater powers from Clouded city and would gain a group of powerful subordinates. If the featherfolk all left, leaving a ghost city for him, it would still be a weapon of war, and he would not have to uphold any promises to the featherfolk either.

    I need to tell the tree king about this, as well as¡­ her!

    Li Fengyuan was stronger than he had ever been in the past, but when he recalled that emotionless expression, he still could not help but shiver. As a result, he piloted the city out of the atmospheric wind layer, flying towards the Green province.

    The featherfolk were sensible enough to stop questioning him, but they knew that they had to make a decision quickly.

    By the time the sky darkened completely, the featherfolk had made a decision. Five third heavenly tribulation featherfolk cultivators left Clouded city with almost a third of the featherfolk.

    The seven remaining cultivators met with Li Fengyuan together. ¡°We¡¯re willing to accept you as our king and obey your command, but on one condition¡­¡±

    ¡°Speak.¡±

    ¡°When you ascend, you have to hand Clouded city back to the featherfolk.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Perhaps it was because he had agreed to it far too readily, but the featherfolk hesitated slightly. Li Fengyuan sneered. ¡°Do you really think your shitty city interests me?¡±

    Even if the featherfolk refused to accept this, they could not help but admit that a phoenix really did possess the ability to say something like that.

    ¡°We believe you will uphold your promise, your majesty!¡±

    By now, Clouded city had already left the Cloud province. Stars scattered across the night sky. Li Fengyuan murmured to himself, ¡°First father, where exactly are you right now?¡±

    The stars twinkled, but no one answered him.

    A feather drifted throughout the deep, dark, starry sky. A pair of hands held each other.

    ¡°Where¡¯s this?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Outer space,¡± Gu Yanying answered before deliberating over her words. ¡°You¡­ why?¡±

    ¡°If I had known this was the end result, I would have never come!¡±

    ¡°Do you regret it?¡±

    ¡°I never regret anything I do!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then, or it¡¯ll only add to the pain. Do you feel it? Our powers are currently dispersing!¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Why¡¯s that? Nevermind, forget that I asked.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not sense any spiritual qi at all. Instead, his own aura, whether it was his daemon qi or spiritual qi, was dispersing away. It felt like he was being sucked dry by a huge, invisible sponge.

    If this continued, they would die very soon, and pitifully enough, they would be starving to death.

    ¡°The stars here sure are bright!¡±

    The stars formed a resplendent sea like luminous pearls embellishing a pitch-black curtain. As they drifted through space, they were like a speck of dust on the curtain.

    ¡°Yeah, at least there¡¯s that. This is the scenery I wanted to show you! That father of mine once brought me through the atmospheric winds to see this, except it wasn¡¯t as majestic as right now. Sigh, we sure are insignificant!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes reflected the stars as she let out a sigh that resembled a child¡¯s.

    ¡°Alright. Have you thought of any ideas?¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but ask. During that short period of time, he had already tried everything he could, but the powerful abilities that had allowed him to run amok through the nine provinces unhindered were completely useless here. They would only exhaust his powers for nothing.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t been thinking.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because I had no ideas that I called it a gamble!¡±

    ¡°You bastard! I refuse to believe there are no ideas!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field.

 Chapter 1146

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1146 ¨C Kunpeng

    If they could enter the Asura Field and then switch into the Asura realm, then all problems would be solved.

    The Asura realm was riddled with dangers, but at least that was better than being trapped in outer space and dying.

    However, there was no response from the Asura field.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. This is beyond the worlds. The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra are only connected to the various worlds,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°In other words, if we die here, we can¡¯t even enter sa?s¨¡ra?¡± Li Qingshan frowned heavily.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Yanying nodded.

    ¡°With our strength, we still don¡¯t possess the ability to traverse through outer space. Can you refine the feather?¡± Li Qingshan then asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. There¡¯s not enough time.¡±

    ¡°Let me try.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s mine!¡± Gu Yanying glared at him.

    ¡°I¡­ look at the situation we¡¯re in!¡± Li Qingshan said furiously.

    ¡°Who told you to come with me anyway?¡±

    ¡°You bastard!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled her over and raised his hand high in the air, about to swing down. Gu Yanying did not try to dodge either, raising her head and meeting it fearlessly.

    In the vast expanse of space, with countless stars as the backdrop, they gazed at each other.

    Li Qingshan lowered his hand. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯m not going to stoop to your level. Adversity really does reveal the true colours of people!¡±

    ¡°What, do you regret it?¡± Gu Yanying asked again.

    ¡°I never regret anything I do!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°Thank you for not killing me, but don¡¯t be angry. We still have a chance.¡±

    ¡°What chance?¡±

    ¡°This feather.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you couldn¡¯t refine it?¡±

    ¡°Even for you, it¡¯s impossible to refine this feather in a short period of time. It¡¯ll only expend your power faster and make you die faster. However, have you ever considered why this feather just happened to end up in our world?¡± A wise light flashed through Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°There are all these worlds. It just ended up in the nine provinces out of coincidence.¡±

    ¡°That would be wrong. The trichiliocosm has more worlds than you can describe, but can it even be compared to this boundless space? Though, I don¡¯t believe this feather was intentionally cast into our world either. The World of the Nine Provinces isn¡¯t exactly special among all the worlds.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you never know. That world had me. Perhaps the feather was prepared for me!¡± Li Qingshan rebuked, and he felt like it made sense.

    ¡°Alright. If that really is the case, I¡¯ll give you the feather then!¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°Hmm? Just earlier, you were even more attached to this feather than your father. Why have you become so generous all of a sudden?¡±

    ¡°This is my ¡®path¡¯, so of course, I¡¯m even more attached to it than my father. However, you better pray this feather wasn¡¯t prepared for you, or we¡¯ll probably be in a lot of trouble this time!¡±

    ¡°So what if it is? So what if it isn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°If it isn¡¯t and it just happened to end up in this world, then perhaps it was drawn to the world, or perhaps the feather itself wanted to land in this world. Otherwise, what would be the point of it drifting through outer space? This is all only my speculation though.¡±

    ¡°You think the feather possesses some kind of will?¡±

    ¡°Yes. If it really is a legacy, then it¡¯ll definitely seek a successor or a world that possesses a successor at the very least.¡±

    ¡°So you aren¡¯t losing out no matter how you put it.¡±

    Li Qingshan basically understood what she was trying to say. Only if everything went according to her speculations would they still have a chance at surviving, and the feather obviously would not belong to him. If she were wrong, then everyone would be dying together. Who the feather went to would no longer matter.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Yanying nodded firmly.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say this sooner?¡± Li Qingshan frowned. If she had explained everything, he would not have lost his temper.

    ¡°Adversity reveals the true colours of people!¡± Gu Yanying smiled resplendently. That was exactly what Li Qingshan had said to her earlier.

    ¡°You really are becoming more and more annoying.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. Who knew where the throbbing of his heart from falling in love at first sight back then had gone by now.

    ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re supposed to embrace each other for warmth before confessing our feelings for one another on the verge of death, swearing a solemn pledge of love, and say something like how we might not be born on the same day, but we hope we can die on the same day together? I¡¯m not Xiao An.¡±

    Li Qinghsan fell silent. Where was she right now? Perhaps she was on the other end of some planet. Who knew how great the distance between them had become.

    They had once agreed to enter the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, where only death could part them¡­

    ¡°Sorry.¡± Gu Yanying said apologetically.

    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re not Xiao An. I regret this very much right now!¡± Li Qingshan shook away her hand. ¡°This is simply fantastic. In the depths of outer space, two people holding hands and dying in loneliness. This is utterly fantastic! Though, screw your shitty feather. I don¡¯t care for it!¡±

    He already possessed the best legacy the world had to offer, the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. It did not conflict with other powers, but the dark-azure feather was not that simple either. It definitely originated from some powerful lifeform, probably no weaker than any of the divine or demonic transformations in terms of both power and bloodline. If he refined it rashly, it was very likely that the balance of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine would be broken. He would struggle to recover from that too.

    Actually, this balance had always been extremely delicate. Even the Battle Demon Statuary could influence it, let alone a legacy like this. As such, he had no interest in the feather at all.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Gu Yanying said.

    ¡°You¡¯re thanking me for not fighting over the feather with you?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m thanking you for accompanying me. If I were alone, I definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to smile right now.¡± Gu Yanying raised her left hand. She pressed her thumb against her ring and pinkie finger. ¡°I, Gu Yanying, swear to the stars that I will definitely do everything within my ability to unite Li Qingshan and Xiao An!¡±

    ¡°And what if you break your oath?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her and said without much thought.

    ¡°Erm¡­¡± Gu Yanying considered it seriously. ¡°If I break the oath, I¡¯ll pledge myself to you!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Li Qingshan originally thought she would say something along the lines of being struck by lightning and dying a horrible death. He could not help but be taken aback by that. ¡°What¡¯s this supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°A solemn, poisonous oath!¡± Gu Yanying said sternly.

    ¡°Solemn, poisonous oath my ass!¡±

    Gu Yanying broke into laughter. The sounds of her laughter were swallowed by the silent space, but her expression became much more relaxed and graceful.

    Great horrors existed between life and death, but there were also great joys!

    Amidst the silent laughter, the dark-azure feather suddenly began to shine with hazy light, constantly extending and transforming until it changed into a large, dark-azure bird. Its wings pierced thousands of kilometers of space.

    Both Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying were dumbfounded. The feather they held was currently attached to the tip of the wings. They were like two fleas.

    They immediately understood exactly what the owner of the azure feather was.

    ¡°Who knows how many thousand kilometers the back of a peng stretches for!¡± Li Qingshan murmured.

    This was the feather of a kunpeng. Gazing at the kunpeng that completely filled his view, he suddenly thought of brother ox¡¯s back.

    There seemed to be some resemblance, except one was firm and sedated like the earth, while the other was vast and indistinct, giving off a bearing that he could not put into words.

    The kunpeng¡¯s sharp eyes gazed at the endless space, piercing it immediately and locking onto a distant target well beyond the reach of Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying. It raised its wings.

    Gu Yanying was excited. ¡°I was right. Heh, kid, hang on tight. We¡¯re going to set off!¡±

    At that instant, the sea of stars shifted backwards. The universe seemed to become a spinning kaleidoscope, and the stars seemed like they were falling together. Only they skyrocketed away.

    Even a fly could ride a horse¡¯s tail for hundreds of kilometers. The endless outer space was nothing to them anymore. They could go wherever they wanted, with everything within their reach!

    Gu Yanying cheered away like a child inside.

    Li Qingshan prayed, Hopefully, we can return to the nine provinces!

 Chapter 1147

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1147 ¨C Daemon Star

    The Green province.

    A cloud moved with abnormal speed, flying over to the great banyan tree. It hung so low that it almost touched the canopy.

    Li Fengyuan flew out from the cloud. Before he could even land on the branches, a white figure went up to receive him. She asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your first father?¡±

    ¡°He- I-¡±

    Under the gaze of the clear eyes, Li Fengyuan suddenly could not say what he had come up with already.

    Xiao An pursed her lips as if she had been expecting this. Her fate was connected with Li Qingshan¡¯s, so she could vaguely sense what had happened to him. If she could sense his whereabouts, she would have ventured off already, even if it were to the ends of the world. Why would she wait beneath the great banyan tree?

    ¡°Hmm? This is the featherfolk¡¯s Clouded city! Fengyuan, what happened exactly?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ancient voice rang out in surprise. There were no cultivators in the world that were not cautious of Clouded city.

    ¡°This is what happened¡­¡±

    Li Fengyuan took in a deep breath and told them about everything that had occurred.

    The twists involved were so bizarre that even the Great Banyan Tree King sighed in amazement. He could not help but worry for Li Qingshan. Leaving this world like that was basically equivalent to being sent into outer space. If that were true, it would be horrible.

    Xiao An was pale. She tightened her grip around her sword subconsciously and trembled gently.

    ¡°D- don¡¯t panic. The heavens are always watching over the good like first father, so he¡¯ll definitely be fine!¡±

    Li Fengyuan basically thought she wanted to draw her sword and cut him down. For a moment, he had no idea what to do, so he could only whip out some auspicious words used by mortals to comfort her. His power had already reached the peak of the nine provinces through his various fortuitous encounters, but he was still too young after all.

    Xiao An shut her eyes and let go of the sword slowly. She said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m going to go find him!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s no longer in this world. How are you going to find him?¡± the Great Banyan Tree King said.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to other worlds to look for him.¡±

    ¡°Going to other worlds is easier said than done. Do you know how many worlds there are out there?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll search through them one by one!¡±

    Xiao An opened her eyes and gazed at the stars in the distance. Her voice was filled with resolve, but even for someone who was not observative, they could clearly sense she had lost her composure.

    ¡°Compared to looking for him, you¡¯re better off waiting for him to return, or both of you will be lost within the sea of stars, making it even more difficult for you to see each other again.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King advised her.

    In this short period of time, the Great Banyan Tree King had already used all of his cuttings to deduce from all of the information carefully, and he reached a similar conclusion to Gu Yanying¡¯s. If the feather really was the legacy of a certain powerful god or demon, then they should not end up suffering from the worst fate at the very least, which was drifting through outer space forever.

    With this analysis, Li Fengyuan¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°That¡¯s definitely the case. The feather is not a phoenix feather, but it¡¯s definitely no weaker than the phoenix bloodline. Its powers go even more without saying, so why would it land in the nine provinces for no good reason? It¡¯s no regular bird either, so there¡¯s definitely a legacy. First father must have gone to another world!¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An nodded. Despite the endless distance between them, she simply had a feeling that he was definitely still alive. However, she did not know if that was just her wishful thinking. Now that she heard the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s analysis, she became much more certain. As long as he was still alive somewhere, there would always be a moment when they reunited.

    ¡°Since commander Gu has obtained the feather, she only needs to inherit the legacy and cultivate a little further, and they should be able to return here. After all, she comes from this world. It¡¯s easier for someone to return home than for you to leave home and search for them through the countless worlds.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your enlightenment, senior tree king. I will wait here for his return.¡±

    However, the Great Banyan Tree King had another worry that he never mentioned. If Li Qingshan ended up in a world equal to the nine provinces, then it would still be fine. However, if he entered some other smaller world, he would probably face the intense rejection of the world immediately. That would be lethal.

    It was like how a Demon Emperor would be slain by the phenomena of nature even without anyone¡¯s interference if they forced their way into the nine provinces. This was the basic law of all worlds.

    On top of that, there was a very high possibility of this happening. After all, there were plenty more smaller worlds among the trichiliocosm than large ones.

    ¡°Hopefully, he can return safely!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In an unknown world, the skies happened to be littered with stars at this exact moment.

    The mountains rose and fell, and the rivers flowed endlessly as if there was nothing strange about it. However, compared to the nine provinces, everything was clearly much ¡°smaller¡±.

    However, it was complete with everything despite its ¡°size¡±. Apart from the regular landscape, there were also human cities.

    Even the scattered palace lanterns could not completely illuminate the palace. All of the splendid decor was swallowed by the darkness.

    A dignified, middle-aged man made his way through the palace with his hands behind his back. Along the way, all of the guards and servants he encountered prostrated on the ground. They called out, ¡°Long live the alliance leader!¡±

    The man disregarded them. He made his way over to a three-hundred-meter-tall building in a hurry. With a leap, a whirlwind rose up beneath his feet, and he reached the top of the building.

    Five kilometers away from the city was a small mountain. On the mountain was a daoist temple. Two old men happened to catch this sight in the distance.

    One of them was dressed like a monk, while the other was dressed like a daoist priest. The monk¡¯s head was shiny and luminous. Let alone any hair or beard, he did not even have eyebrows. Instead, he was like a great, shiny ball. Meanwhile, the daoist priest¡¯s hair was unkempt, his face covered with a full beard. He gulped away at the alcohol.

    ¡°The alliance leader¡¯s Wind Controlling technique has become even more wondrous than before. It probably won¡¯t be long before he shatters through space and ascends with the heavenly tribulation!¡± the monk said.

    ¡°Ascension is not that easy. Who knows how many alliance leaders of the martial arts society history has produced, but less than a tenth of them end up ascending. In my opinion, this alliance leader Zhang won¡¯t be that fortunate.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be envious. During the martial arts gathering last time, you ended up losing by a single strike, which was why you ended up on this barren mountain, unable to live happily in the city.¡±

    ¡°At least I wasn¡¯t like you, losing without fighting, intentionally admitting defeat.¡±

    ¡°This lowly monk is an exception. I don¡¯t have much interest in the position of alliance leader.¡±

    ¡°I think you just stood no chance and was afraid of embarrassing yourself!¡±

    ¡°You ox nose, you really know how to push your luck. I came to check on you out of kind intentions, and you say something like that to me. Do you want to taste my Great Fist of Subduing Tigers?¡± The monk shot him a glare, immediately becoming much more malicious than before.

    ¡°Alright, bald ass. I¡¯ve made some further progress with my Method of Violet Clouds recently. I just happen to be looking for an opponent!¡±

    Immediately, one of them glistened with golden light, while the other coiled with violet qi above his head. They were about to fight.

    At this moment, that ¡°alliance leader Zhang¡± clasped his hand towards the tiny mountain from the tall building. The two of them dispersed their true qi helplessly, clasping their hands back.

    Zhang Yuntian lowered his hands and remained indifferent. They were so far away anyway, so they could not see each other¡¯s expressions. As a result, he could not be bothered with putting up such a fake facade. He cursed, ¡°These two old coots!¡± before continuing to absorb the spiritual qi of the world.

    Suddenly, an azure light swept through the air, landing in a place up north.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Zhang Yuntian¡¯s face changed. On the small mountain outside the city, the monk and the old daoist priest exchanged glances, both filled with shock. They spat out the same six words at the same time, ¡°The arrival of a daemon star!¡±

 Chapter 1148

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1148 ¨C The Unlucky Bastard from Hell

    The river of stars receded as time lost its meaning. Li Qingshan could not even distinguish a second from a day now. Instead, the joy Gu Yanying experienced never dispersed, which sure did make him admire her¡­ madness a little.

    This woman only behaves like a regular person. So much for having lived two lives, even I was almost fooled by her.

    Their spiritual qi rapidly dispersed. It declined at first; then it became feeble before almost running out.

    Death grew closer with each step. The endless river of stars seemed to become some kind of concept of obscurity, preventing anyone from developing any actual fear, but a much deeper emptiness welled up in their hearts.

    Perhaps Gu Yanying was right, but when the feather of the kunpeng searched for a place to pass on its legacy, it probably had not considered the fates of the two insects perched on its wings.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a waste of this life to die here before such a grand sight, but I still refuse to accept it!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, don¡¯t worry. This is a test.¡± Gu Yanying communicated, except the joy in her voice had only increased compared to before.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed that while she had become very feeble as well, her condition was slightly better than his. The difference between their strength was not particularly large, but it was not exactly small either. She should have been much more feeble unless there was some other fortuitous factor involved.

    The fortuitous factor was probably the kunpeng¡¯s feather.

    ¡°I can sense it. It likes me!¡±

    Gu Yanying did not try to hide her complacency at all. As if their bearings conformed in some sort of way, she could sense that the kunpeng¡¯s feather had recognised her and established a slight connection. Although she had yet to obtain the legacy, she was confident that she would definitely make it even further as long as she had ample time.

    ¡°Hopefully, it doesn¡¯t ¡®like you to death¡¯.¡± Li Qingshan made an unfunny joke.

    ¡°Haha, my heart resides high up in the heavens, so I¡¯ll definitely rise up swiftly. How can I die in a place like this!¡± Gu Yanying was in high spirits and was filled with confidence.

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes, but he also found that to be slightly familiar.

    Bang! The sky full of stars dispersed. It felt like they had collided against something extremely tough, only to pierce it instantly. The kunpeng conjured by the feather vanished, and an entire world filled their faces!

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. Right when he tried to absorb the spiritual qi and unleash his innate abilities, he suddenly felt the entire world wrap around him. Invisible shackles extended into his soul, pinning him down firmly.

    Suddenly, he recalled the laws of the worlds. ¡°Oh no!¡±

    Boom!

    With an earth-shattering rumble, all plunged into darkness.

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan woke up slowly. The stars shone between the tall-standing mountains. He had finally stopped somewhere. He tried to stand up, but he felt his entire body ache. He was immobilised. Who knew how many bones had been shattered. Probably even his meridians and muscles were severely damaged.

    In his arms was a warm body. Gu Yanying lay on his chest, unable to move, but she was clearly much better off compared to his horrible shape. Apart from her hair being a little messy, even her clothes remained mostly clean. She was so silent that she seemed to have fallen asleep. What angered him even more was her lips had actually curled into a smile. Clearly, the kunpeng¡¯s feather had protected her.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief, but even something as small as that made his body shudder, so he just lay there quietly and waited for his wounds to heal.

    However, he discovered immediately that his injuries did not heal very quickly. He could not use any innate ability, let alone anything else. Even the spiritual qi of the world rejected him. There was clearly nothing around him, yet he could clearly sense a deep and tremendous sense of hostility. This was hostility from the entire world!

    Right as he tried to gather his thoughts and understand his current predicament, he began experiencing a pain thousands of times worse than the pain he currently felt from Gu Yanying. He was not unfamiliar with this pain. It was the Hot Wind hell.

    Sure enough, the pain of hell followed her like a shadow. Having left outer space, the hot winds began to surge again.

    Gu Yanying furrowed her brows, and her eyelashes trembled. She opened her bright eyes and smiled. ¡°Morning!¡±

    ¡°Would you mind getting off me?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°What, you¡¯re injured?¡± Gu Yanying had no intentions of obliging.

    ¡°Clearly.¡±

    ¡°Very good then.¡± Gu Yanying smiled resplendently. ¡°I will take care of you, as I¡¯m completely unscathed!¡± She leapt up gracefully, and the soil beneath her feet suddenly sank, making her lose her footing. Then her head planted into the ground and happened to strike a rock, producing a thump.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Despite all the pain, Li Qingshan began laughing aloud. When had he ever seen her suffer so much?

    ¡°I understand!¡± Gu Yanying sat up. She had gone from being clean to all dusty and dirty just like that.

    ¡°What have you understood?¡±

    ¡°This is a small world!¡±

    ¡°Tsk, I knew that already.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know why I fell over?¡± Gu Yanying said as blood trickled down her head.

    ¡°Pft, because our power has been restrained by the world! Though, we¡¯re still quite lucky. This world is small enough. Not only is it lacking in power, but its will is extremely weak too. It¡¯s probably related to the fact that we used up all of our power in outer space as well, or we¡¯ll probably be rained on by lightning right now, leading to our deaths. Hey, you better bandage your head, or it¡¯ll be hilarious if you died from blood loss.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re completely correct, but this isn¡¯t luck. From now onwards, we have absolutely no luck to speak of!¡±

    Gu Yanying tried to rip off her sleeve, but her arcane treasure robes were far too tough. Even if the world could suppress all of its powers, the material itself was not something she could cut through. She thought of an idea and grabbed the kunpeng¡¯s feather, scoring along her sleeve gently and removing a long piece of white cloth. She cleaned away the blood on her face before bandaging her head.

    ¡°You look like your father just died,¡± Li Qingshan commented.

    ¡°If my father were in this world, then he¡¯d probably actually die because of me, given he was a mortal. I¡¯m aware my power is restrained. I was a little complacent earlier, but I still checked under my feet. Though, when I stepped down, there just happened to be a hole. When I tried to adjust my posture, my head just happened to hit a rock, and it was even buried under the soil. Don¡¯t you find this to be far too much of a coincidence? It¡¯s basically a flawless trap by nature.¡±

    ¡°In other words, the world doesn¡¯t have the ability to directly wipe us out, but it¡¯s trying very hard to, so we¡¯re very unlucky?¡± Li Qingshan came to an understanding and brightened up. ¡°Now, let me give you a nickname¡ªthe unlucky bastard from hell!¡±

    Gu Yanying fell silent for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s kind of dry.¡±

    ¡°Look. Your Hot Wind hell is still at work, and you¡¯re also such an unlucky bastard¡­¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t say anything more, or I¡¯m going to die of thirst from how dry your jokes are.¡± Gu Yanying covered his mouth. ¡°You don¡¯t seem too happy.¡±

    ¡°Do you think I should be happy? You¡¯ve won your gamble, and you¡¯ve won big, but I only feel more like I shouldn¡¯t have come!¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the stars with his pitch-black pupils. He actually seemed slightly depressed.

    ¡°You should be happy, but because you¡¯ve already developed attachments, you can¡¯t be happy,¡± Gu Yanying rubbed his forehead, blocking his gaze with her face.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. He had once abandoned Crouching Ox village without the slightest hesitation and sworn that he would never return. Was he really more attached to the nine provinces right now than a Crouching Ox village back then?

    He had once decided to visit places he had never been, see sights he had never seen, and conquer the strongest enemies. This place was not as high up and distant as the nine heavens, but was it not an entirely new world? The enemy he had to face were the ¡°heavens¡± on top of that.

    Even if he was heavily injured, he should be beginning a new adventure in great spirits and enthusiasm, not reminiscing about the nine provinces.

    ¡°I know I can¡¯t replace Xiao An¡¯s position in your heart, nor do I plan on replacing her, but I will do my best to help you until the day you reunite again. That is the solemn oath I¡¯ve sworn!¡±

    ¡°You sly woman, do you really think I can¡¯t tell what you¡¯re getting at?¡±

    The solemn oath seemed like nothing. As a matter of fact, it could be considered as ¡°poisonous¡± to her. This was not as simple as rolling around in bed with him, but changing her path, establishing an oath and becoming his cultivation partner.

    However, that was equivalent to giving up on searching for Xiao An to him, letting her replace Xiao An. How was that possible?

    ¡°Heh, so you¡¯ve noticed! Though, you should be able to understand me. If you have too many attachments, you won¡¯t be able to advance ahead boldly!¡±

    Gu Yanying grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s arms and lifted him up, carrying him on her back. She climbed out of the pit carefully and arduously.

    Li Qingshan was left momentarily speechless. He was very tempted to make a hot-blooded declaration like ¡°it¡¯s exactly because of my attachments that I advance ahead boldly¡±, but he understood very well inside that his relentless advance was not because of anyone.

    Brother ox was obviously aware of this, and Xiao An knew about it very well too. That was why he continued onwards despite forgetting about everything in the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s illusion.

    Was his marriage to Han Qiongzhi, his friendship with the Great Banyan Tree King, and his fatherhood to Li Fengyuan not a form of attachment?

    He let out a sigh. ¡°A heartless, unfeeling person like you sure is annoying.¡±

    ¡°Hah, right back at you. Sigh, you¡¯re too heavy. You weigh like a mountain!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s forehead was laced with sweat as she gasped for air. She glanced back, hinting at something.

    ¡°Even the Hot Wind hell is useless?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Yeah, all that remains is the torture.¡± Gu Yanying climbed out of the pit after great difficulty, placing him on the ground gently. Her hands were covered in blood as she frowned. ¡°We need to find a way to heal your wounds, or they¡¯ll probably rapidly worsen. We¡¯re not particularly welcome in this world!¡±

    Before she had even finished what she was saying, a muffled rumble rang out in the valley. Cracks rapidly stretched across the cliffs on the two sides.

    ¡°Erm¡­¡±

    This could be written off as a result of the collision earlier, but they could clearly sense the existence of the will of the heavens from this, and it was teeming with malice.

    Boom!

    The entire cliff collapsed. The rocks turned into a flood, surging into the valley.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve still lost the gamble in the end!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled wryly. In their current state, only death awaited them if they were swallowed by all the rocks.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to run?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at a flat area between the mountains nearby.

    ¡°Forget about that. We might not be born on the same day, but let¡¯s die on the same day together.¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head helplessly and plonked down beside him. She gazed at the incoming clouds of dust, but she showed no regret at all.

    ¡°At least you still have some conscience to you!¡±

 Chapter 1149

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1149 ¨C A Place of Training

    Boom!

    A crack-ridden hand pressed against the ground, kicking up fine particles of dust. It seemed to be even tougher than the flowing soil.

    Despite wounds so severe that he was immobilised, Li Qingshan actually sat up. His body was still covered in injuries, but rainbow light flowed around him.

    Gu Yanying was slightly surprised. All she felt was her waist tighten.

    In the moment before the rockslide was about to swallow them, a whirlwind appeared and swept them into the night sky.

    Li Qingshan stood at the top of the whirlwind, his hair fluttering around like ink. He gazed into the distance, taking in the entire landscape. The valley below had already been filled in by the rocks, almost becoming their grave. However, the vastness of the sky full of stars was no less than the glory of the nine provinces.

    ¡°This time, is our enemy the heavens?¡±

    The pain of separation turned into fighting spirit and enthusiasm again. He was not someone who groaned and sighed.

    Gu Yanying looked up at him, and her heart trembled slightly. Sure enough, he was still him!

    The dust dispersed, and Li Qingshan landed slowly. His feet gave way as he collapsed on one knee. He was nowhere close to making a complete recovery from his injuries.

    Gu Yanying helped him up in a hurry and remarked, ¡°What power is it that¡¯s beyond the laws of the world?¡±

    ¡°The Divine Talisman of Great Creation.¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his hand. A multicoloured, shining talisman hovered in there. It was the central power of the school of Novels, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    While in the crater, he had tried all of his powers one by one. Only towards the very end did he discover the Divine Talisman of Great Creation that he had almost forgotten about. It continued to flow with light.

    It was under the restraints of the laws of the world, such that it was limited to the capabilities of Qi Practitioners. It was unable to break the invisible limit of this world, but that was enough.

    ¡°I almost forgot you¡¯re from the school of Novels. I understand now. So it¡¯s the power of belief.¡±

    Gu Yanying understood what was going on a little. The power of belief had always been an extremely special power. It appeared most frequently with buddhist disciples. Regardless of the world, as long as they could pray from the bottom of their heart, they could connect with gods and buddhas.

    However, as a cultivation method, gathering the power of belief was far too troublesome, and it was not exactly useful in battle either. It was a consumable on top of that, so rarely did anyone take this path. At most, they would treat it as a supplementary power and forge an arcane treasure or two, such as the golden seals in the possession of the various provincial governors. If something like that ended up in a smaller world like this, they definitely could not be wielded.

    From this perspective, the school of Novels truly had freaks.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky that you encountered me!¡±

    From the devastating sight earlier, they could tell that they definitely would not just be facing misfortune as enemies of the world. Danger would occur wherever it might occur. If they encountered a mountain, it would crumble. If they encountered a river, it would overflow. If they ventured out on a stormy day, they would definitely be struck by lightning. If they did not possess a sufficiently powerful force, they would not even be able to survive a day.

    If Gu Yanying were alone, she probably would have died there already.

    ¡°It¡¯s called as long as you keep the ¡®mountains green¡¯, you¡¯re not going to run out of firewood!¡± Gu Yanying patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder seriously.

    TL: This is a horrible pun made by Gu Yanying. If you remember the origins of Li Qingshan¡¯s name, the ¡°Qingshan¡± part means green mountains. There is another saying in Chinese which is as long as you keep the mountains green, you¡¯ll never run out of firewood. This basically means if you can get out alive, there¡¯ll always be more opportunities in the future.

    ¡°That¡¯s far too dry. I have no interest in dying on the same day as a humorless woman like you.¡±

    ¡°It would obviously be best if we don¡¯t die. How are your wounds?¡± Gu Yanying smiled complacently.

    ¡°Not enough to kill me.¡± Li Qingshan moved his limbs around. He powered the Divine Talisman of Great Creation and continued to heal himself. He extended his hand and touched Gu Yanying¡¯s head. Light poured out between his fingers.

    ¡°What a useful ability, but you better conserve it a little. We¡¯re probably going to be trapped here for a very long time.¡±

    Gu Yanying removed the bandage. Her wound had already recovered, and her head had become much clearer too. It was not a particularly severe wound, but she had absolutely no doubts that if she did not treat it in a timely fashion, it would be enough to claim her life.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t wrong. I still have attachments, and it is not just Xiao An. I still have many debts and grievances I¡¯ve yet to settle. I need to return to the nine provinces. How long will it take before you completely refine the kunpeng¡¯s feather, accept the legacy in there, and take us back to the nine provinces?¡¯

    ¡°That¡¯s very difficult to say. This world is far too small, so it restricts all of my powers. I was probably born stronger than right now. Even if you give me an arcane artifact right now, I¡¯ll struggle to refine it, let alone this kunpeng¡¯s feather.¡±

    Gu Yanying furrowed her brows. Her current state really was no better than a mortal¡¯s. At the end of the day, it was impossible for an individual to contend against a world, even if it was a small world.

    ¡°You really are a jinx from hell. You just never have it easy.¡±

    ¡°I disagree. I feel like this is the luckiest place we can be. Think about it. If we were in a slightly larger world, what would happen? If we were in a world even larger than the nine provinces, what would happen then?¡±

    ¡°Fair enough!¡±

    If the world was slightly larger, then it would not be as simple as a restraining force. Instead, lightning and fire would directly come for them.

    If it was a world on the same level or even larger than the nine provinces, then who knew how many powerful cultivators they would draw over by descending from above in such a glorious manner. Not only would they lose the kunpeng¡¯s feather, but their lives might have even been in danger.

    It was exactly because this world was weak enough that no one had actually responded and rushed over here despite so much time having passed.

    ¡°It¡¯s just far too weak. Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re rushing over on horseback?¡±

    Li Qingshan never imagined he would actually guess correctly. A large group of men were rushing over here at this exact moment on horseback.

    ¡°Actually, I have a feeling that it¡¯s exactly because I considered these things when I was traversing through outer space that it brought us to this small world. I told you, it likes me. As long as I can get out of here, I can definitely refine it.¡±

    ¡°Without the kunpeng¡¯s feather, how are we supposed to get out of here? If your thoughts really can control it, why didn¡¯t you think of returning to the nine provinces?¡± Li Qingshan questioned.

    ¡°Err, of course, this is all my speculation. It¡¯s not exactly accurate,¡± Gu Yanying said seriously.

    Actually, if she wanted to keep the kunpeng¡¯s feather, she was probably better off staying here than returning to the nine provinces. However, the fall of an asteroid had still been far too conspicuous.

    ¡°I believe you. Hand it over!¡± Li Qingshan reached for the kunpeng¡¯s feather.

    ¡°Hey, what are you doing? This is my¡­¡± Gu Yanying put up a fierce struggle, but how could she stand a chance against Li Qingshan¡¯s brute force? He forcefully pried open her hands and took away the kunpeng¡¯s feather, which earned him a glare. ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the kunpeng¡¯s feather and tried to analyse it with the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Sure enough, apart from resonating with the phoenix slightly, it faced the violent rejection of the spirit turtle, ox demon, and tiger demon.

    That was expected. It had always been difficult to merge together the most powerful of bloodlines. The figures of the four remaining transformations of the demonic and divine did not include the existence of a kunpeng either.

    ¡°If you¡¯ve seen enough, then give it back!¡± Gu Yanying huddled up close to him in a rather nervous manner.

    Li Qingshan grinned inside. No matter how graceful and composed she seemed, it was just because she had yet to encounter something dear to her.

    He bellowed out as a result, ¡°You short-sighted woman! The kunpeng¡¯s feather is so extraordinary, yet you actually treat it like a regular arcane artifact or treasure. If it possessed intelligence, it definitely would have flown into a rage already. Your powers might be restrained, and you might feel absolutely feeble, but in the eyes of the owner of this feather, does your strength really make such a great difference?¡±

    Gu Yanying shuddered and suddenly lost all of her strength, making her feel feeble as never before. With what Li Qingshan said, she suddenly felt like she saw a glimmer.

    ¡°Originally, you were a frog in a well. Now, you¡¯ve just become a bug in a well, but when a hawk soars through the sky, it probably won¡¯t even notice you, whether you¡¯re a frog or a bug.¡± Li Qingshan held the kunpeng¡¯s feather between his fingers confidently. ¡°If there really is a legacy inside, then the standard it uses to measure its successor definitely isn¡¯t strength, but something else!¡±

    He was talking from his experiences. A black ox had once accompanied a kid from the mountains for his entire childhood, and it was not because of how powerful he was.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ reasonable!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes lit up, filled with undisguised admiration. Even when he saved her life earlier, she had not been so excited. She clasped her hands. ¡°Thank you. My sights are still too narrow after all. I¡¯ve made such a great deal out of my own strength for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Deal with it quickly then!¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡± Gu Yanying took the feather back from Li Qingshan eagerly.

    ¡°We¡¯re back to the original problem. I hope I can return to the nine provinces as soon as possible,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news right now. Which one do you want to hear first? I better just tell you the bad news first! When it traversed through space with us, it used up all of the powers it originally possessed. Although it¡¯s currently recovering slowly through a method that I don¡¯t understand, it¡¯s really, really slow. It¡¯ll probably take a century!¡±

    ¡°A century!¡± Li Qingshan frowned hard.

    ¡°Or two centuries. We need to gather enough power for our next journey through outer space.¡±

    ¡°Then what about the good news? Hold on, I know what it is!¡±

    The good news abruptly came to Li Qingshan. The flow of time in large worlds and small worlds was different, and they might differ drastically. Even something like a day in heaven being a year in the mortal realm was common.

    According to the clues that brother ox had left behind, the temporal ratio between beyond the Nine Heavens and the nine provinces was very likely to be a day to a decade. The disparity between this small world and the nine provinces probably was not that great, but it definitely was not small either.

    As a result, a century would not be too long. It might even just be equivalent to a single period of secluded cultivation in the nine provinces.

    ¡°This world is restraining us and trying to destroy us, but it¡¯s given us what we need the most, time! I need time to obtain the kunpeng¡¯s legacy, while you need time to train and toughen up mentally. After all, you¡¯ve cultivated far too quickly. The so-called feats that would even take geniuses a millennia has only taken you a tenth of the time, but some things can¡¯t be made up for through talent.¡±

    ¡°That is indeed good news!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. Gu Yanying was extremely right about that. Many of the times, advantages existed alongside disadvantages.

    Concepts like disposition, comprehension, and toughening up sounded abstract, but they had an extremely great influence on a cultivator. So-called bottlenecks basically all arose from these concepts.

    In the past, the great dream he had faced with the Clam King of Mirage Sea had benefited him greatly. Now that he mentioned it, it was slightly similar to his current predicament. He had also lost all of his powers and had to face pain and various setbacks, but that had still been a dream after all. Right now, he would have to face an actual world. What he would get out of it would definitely be much deeper.

    To the mediocre, staying here was a waste of time, as they would not be able to cultivate at all. But to them, this was the perfect place of training.

 Chapter 1150

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1150 ¨C Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    ¡°It¡¯s like what they say, to have the world as a furnace and nature as the blacksmith. Since we¡¯re trapped in this world, let¡¯s temper ourselves properly!¡± Li Qingshan roared out, which echoed through the dark mountainous forests.

    Li Qingshan had lost almost all of his powers, but his spirit to toughen himself through danger had not weakened at all. Instead, the more setbacks and difficult situations he faced, the firmer and tougher it became.

    Gu Yanying looked at him with a smile. Who knew what she was thinking. She raised her hand towards the sky. ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s here again.¡±

    Dark clouds suddenly gathered like a huge tent obscuring all the stars. The sounds of winds gradually rose up with bone-chilling coldness.

    ¡°A snowstorm is coming.¡±

    Gu Yanying sucked in a mouthful of cool air, which cleared her head even further.

    It happened to be late autumn. They were located far north in a land of coldness, so there was nothing strange about the snow. It could only be described as a little soon and a little more intense. Just like what they had experienced earlier, everything that could go wrong would go wrong.

    ¡°This place is fantastic apart from the fact that it¡¯s too boring.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. If only bad things happened without anything good, then wouldn¡¯t his life be missing that portion of joyous surprises?

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m a little cold. Let¡¯s go and find somewhere warm!¡±

    Gu Yanying hugged her arms and shivered.

    The restraint from the world was truly impressive. Not only did it seal away all of their powers, but their bodies had become extremely frail too. If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s Divine Talisman of Great Creation, they probably would have frozen to death in this land of snow and ice.

    However, a warm place would definitely have humans, which would let him find ways to build up more power in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Then he could fend off the endless disasters they would face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt slightly strange inside. Once they set aside their disagreements, they could understand each other in just a few words. That was a level of tacit understanding he only possessed when he was with Xiao An, except it was slightly different too.

    Before he could study the differences closely, the forests began to howl, like sobs of sorrow and bellows of fury. Together with the chilly winds was an endless bleakness.

    ¡°It¡¯s endless,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Who said we¡¯re only unlucky? Our luck is here, isn¡¯t it?¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Fair enough. I take back what I said earlier.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. He just happened to be contemplating where to go!

    The power of the world was well beyond what they could withstand and almost endless, but its will was far too profound and obscure, so it could not truly think like a living creature.

    The howls rapidly grew closer. Pairs of green eyes lit up in the darkness as robust figures leapt out. Their weapons shone with cold light.

    ¡°Seems like monkeys.¡± Gu Yanying listened closely. Due to the restrictions of the world, her hawk eyes lacked their usual sharpness. She could only make out the black figures leaping around, which did not seem to be human.

    ¡°It¡¯s apes.¡± Li Qingshan corrected her.

    The world in his eyes remained as clear as before, vivid with colours. Only when he saw how Gu Yanying squinted her eyes did he suddenly recall that he had once dripped ox tears into his eyes during his youth. However, apart from using it to see Xiao An, it had not been of much use later on. Even regular Qi Practitioners could see in the dark with ease. He never expected it to be unaffected by the laws of the world.

    Gu Yanying vaguely made out that they had been surrounded by a group of apes, dressed in armour and wielding various weapons. Although they constantly leapt around restlessly, they seemed to have undergone training, ready to launch a combined attack. The daemon qi they gave off shook up the wind and snow.

    ¡°Is there anyone here who understands what I am saying?¡± Li Qingshan asked, but only the howls of apes filled with hostility answered him, which made him shake his head.

    After all, they were still only daemons¡ªno, even the daemons only amounted to two or three. The rest were daemonic beasts. Even if they could understand him, they could not answer him.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    A strange, hoarse voice suddenly rang out, bearing some resemblance to an ape¡¯s howl.

    The apes all fell silent. They even bent over and lowered their weapons, like subjects welcoming the arrival of their king.

    Li Qingshan followed the sound and looked over. A sword as bright as snow shot over.

    This time, even Gu Yanying made it out clearly. She could not help but sigh. ¡°Oh, sword control!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s what it is!¡± Li Qingshan said. In this small, remote world, it was far too nostalgic to see someone control a sword telepathically.

    The sword whistled and fell, turning around and returning to its sheathe. A white ape wielding the sword stood over thirty meters away, giving off a sense of aloofness and arrogance. He was even dressed in robes. If it were not for his apeish face, he really did resemble a human swordsman.

    Tsk, he actually speaks human tongue!

    Li Qingshan was amazed inside. This white ape clearly had not undergone the heavenly tribulation yet. In the past, when he served as a Daemon General underground, none of the daemon soldiers under his command possessed that ability, but perhaps they had no need to communicate with humans either.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the white ape said coldly.

    ¡°I am Li Qingshan. She is Gu Yanying. May I ask for your esteemed name, fellow?¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan was prepared to capture a pair of apes as mounts so that they could take them away from here, but seeing how he could communicate as well, he probably was not under the control of this world. As such, he decided to communicate with him. He wanted to go for a ¡°Close Encounters of the Third Kind¡± and conserve the Divine Talisman of Great Creation¡¯s powers.

    ¡°Do the likes of you think you¡¯re worthy of learning the name of me, the White Ape King?¡±

    The White Ape King turned his head slightly and gazed at the man and woman in rather sorry shapes with a frown. It had already been many years since humans found the courage to intrude upon his territory, and they were actually a pair of mortals who had not even reached the innate realm. The man had a robust figure, so it seemed like he had practised some external martial arts, but he did not practise any internal martial arts. He basically had no hope left either given his age. He could not live past a century.

    The woman was even more frail, but she possessed beauty he had never seen before. In particular, her bearing basically could not be put into words, even making his mind sway.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. It had already been many years since anyone had spoken to him like that. If any Daemon King tried to sass him in the nine provinces, they would immediately be served an iron fist. Right now, it was actually an ape daemon that had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation, which left him at a loss for words. He had seen his fair share of kings, but one this weak was definitely a first.

    ¡°So it¡¯s the White Ape King. I¡¯ve heard many things about you. May I ask why you¡¯ve come, sir?¡± Gu Yanying asked with clasped hands.

    Li Qingshan understood what she was trying to do. She would get some information out of him first. It was not like he had actually been angered by this White Ape ¡°King¡±, so he let her be.

    ¡°Have you seen where the daemon star landed?¡±

    The White Ape King¡¯s expression eased up slightly. He just happened to have questions for them too.

    The arrival of the daemon star was a major event that rarely happened even across millennia. Back then, he just happened to be cultivating, so he did not witness it for himself. He only learnt about it through the reports of his subordinates, but he struggled to determine the precise location of where the daemon star had fallen. Only when he heard the rockslide did he rush over, but he failed to see the ¡°daemon star¡± he imagined. He only ran into this pair of strange people.

    He had witnessed the arrival of the previous ¡°daemon star¡±. He never expected the ¡°daemon star¡± would be living people, and they would be standing right before him.

    ¡°Daemon star.¡± Li Qingshan immediately understood what was going on. When Gu Yanying and he landed here, it probably was like the fall of an asteroid.

    ¡°Have I asked you?¡± The White Ape King¡¯s eyes flashed with cold light.

 Chapter 1151

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1151 ¨C Sorrow

    ¡°I don¡¯t fucking care if you asked me or not!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The White Ape King sneered. ¡°Interesting. It¡¯s already been many years since someone has found the courage to talk to me like that!¡±

    Ever since he saw them, he felt an indescribable feeling of disgust towards them. In particular, he only wanted to dispose of Li Qingshan sooner. He never planned on sparing him, and now, it only roused his killing intent. The apes all bared their teeth, demonstrating their viciousness. They brandished their weapons as they approached them, wanting to tear Li Qingshan to pieces.

    ¡°Communication doesn¡¯t work.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged towards Gu Yanying. The White Ape King¡¯s hostility towards him was basically unfounded. Was it perhaps because he was also under the influence of the will of the world? That was not impossible. It was said that many people approaching their fated end would all behave in a deranged manner and seek death in all sorts of ways. The obscure heavenly secrets and fate sure were fearsome.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you might not want to live, but don¡¯t pull me down with you. Sir, I¡¯m willing to surrender to you!¡±

    Gu Yanying raised her hands and welcomed the weapons of the ape daemons, making her way towards the White Ape King.

    ¡°You?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. She was no stronger than a mortal right now, but he immediately understood what she was scheming. It was a risky move, but it was an ingenious one at the same time. If it succeeded, it would save them a lot of trouble.

    The regular ape daemons were still bound by their bestial nature. They did not care what kind of beauty she was, so they were about to welcome Gu Yanying with their weapons.

    ¡°Let her through!¡± the White Ape King said. With how rare of a beauty Gu Yanying was, he could take her back to his dwelling and take his time with her.

    Gu Yanying made her way around the weapons. It was rather difficult as she made her way through the rubble left behind by the rockslide. She had to test out the ground beneath her feet with each step, just in case she fell for another unlucky trap.

    The White Ape King saw this and dismissed his last bit of worry. Her martial prowess was even worse than he originally imagined it to be. She was so cautious that it was almost cowardly. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, but they were slightly lost, clearly unable to see too clearly. However, despite that, she still possessed a strange bearing that drew away his attention.

    Gu Yanying made it to the White Ape King¡¯s side after great difficulty. Right when she eased up, she lost her footing and fell forwards.

    The White Ape King extended his arms to catch her, and Gu Yanying used the opportunity to grab his furry hands. From beginning to end, she had not revealed any hostility, not even now.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    The White Ape King was overwhelmed. An indescribable, unimaginable pain gripped his soul, like he was in hell. Gu Yanying¡¯s smile blurred and turned into darkness. He could only hear the whistling of wind, except it had become utterly scorching. It made him collapse and curl up on the ground.

    The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were omnipresent, and the pains of hell followed her everywhere.

    This was Gu Yanying¡¯s only remaining ability.

    The ape daemons were both surprised and furious. With a series of howls, they charged towards Gu Yanying.

    A ring of blade aura swept through a range of thirty meters, sweeping up all of the snow.

    Blood spattered, and limbs were thrown into the air, dirtying the snowy-white ground. The howls fell silent all of a sudden.

    Li Qingshan wielded a golden blade. It was not the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, but the ¡°Dragon-slaying sabre¡± from the adaption of the Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. The blade only lasted for an instant before vanishing.

    That¡¯s strange. Even though I poured all of my strength into that swing, condensing the blade aura to the limit, it¡¯s much more powerful than I imagined it to be, Li Qingshan remarked inside.

    As it seemed, the various differences between small and large worlds were not limited to the flow of time and the density of spiritual qi. He needed to study this closely in the future.

    Wind rose up beneath his feet, and he shot past the rubble, arriving beside Gu Yanying. He conveniently drew the huge sword on the White Ape King¡¯s back. He was hit by its coldness, but at a closer glance, it was only a regular spiritual artifact. It was not even a high grade spiritual artifact, so there was no intelligence to speak of. The material it was made out of was not bad, however. The hilt was engraved with two words, ¡°True Steel¡±.

    He gripped the hilt with both hands and lifted up the great True Steel sword with some difficulty, swinging down on the White Ape King¡¯s neck.

    With a clang, like the clashing of metal, the sword rebounded. It only left behind a white mark on the White Ape King¡¯s neck.

    ¡°Truly the White Ape King.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The White Ape King only managed to claim dominion due to the lack of anyone stronger, but he was still one of the peak cultivators of this world. If Gu Yanying had not overwhelmed him, it would probably take them quite a lot of effort.

    The White Ape King suddenly raised his head. In the face of death, he finally recovered a hint of clarity from the pain, only to see his subordinates annihilated, the ground littered with limbs and blood. Even he had fallen into the hands of the enemy. His face became warped with malice.

    His expression was enough to strike fear into the hearts of anyone from this world, except the two people before him were not from this world.

    ¡°Some willpower, not bad.¡±

    Gu Yanying nodded. The spiritual qi in this small world was so sparse that it definitely was not an easy feat to reach such a realm of cultivation. Perhaps he was restricted by the world around him, but his disposition was still not bad.

    However, she did not worry too much either. This was the first time he had faced this torturing of hell, so he definitely could not adjust and grow accustomed to it in a short while.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Li Qingshan answered before swinging down with the True Steel sword again. He lamented over the fact that his great strength of the ox demon had actually declined to such a point where he even struggled to wield a large sword with ease.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t actually kill him. Why don¡¯t we try and get him to surrender? If we could get this fellow White Ape¡¯s assistance, we¡¯ll have it much easier,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Forget about that. He¡¯s not a measly daemon, but a mighty daemon king. Just that pride of his won¡¯t allow him to surrender. Even if he surrenders, he can strike back at any time, which is far too troublesome. Just let me cut him down!¡±

    ¡°Hold on. Don¡¯t damage his hide. Just let me do it instead!¡± Gu Yanying held the kunpeng¡¯s feather between her fingers.

    The White Ape King flew into a rage. They actually treated him as a regular wild beast. In the face of despair, the surrounding spiritual qi surged, and his daemon qi suddenly erupted. His throat gurgled away as he actually seemed like he was about to make a breakthrough on the spot.

    Abruptly, his throat felt cold, and blood spurted out.

    No, I should have noticed the issues with them long ago. How can two ordinary people venture so far north? How can she possess such beauty? And that man is a hundred times more dangerous than any opponent I¡¯ve ever faced in my life, but he doesn¡¯t even hold much hostility towards me. Why didn¡¯t I handle this carefully, instead overwhelmed by an urge to kill him? Don¡¯t tell me?

    His reflections on the brink of death brought him clarity. He understood several things, but it also filled him with even more doubts. The coldness infiltrated his wound with the blood, filling his entire body.

    At the end of the day, he was still just an ape daemon that had not undergone a heavenly tribulation. It was impossible for him to possess the same powerful vitality as Daemon Generals and Daemon Commanders. In a short moment, he had died with a grievance in his own blood, soon covered up by the great snow.

    Li Qingshan felt a hint of sorrow. He did not feel sorrow because of death. No matter when or where, he would never feel sorrow if someone died in battle. What was truly sorrowful was he had died without knowing how he had died. He was clearly so puny, yet he believed himself to be powerful, harassing others as he pleased. This way of dying was not merely sorrowful. It was basically a disgrace.

    He reminded himself again, Li Qingshan, you¡¯re still nothing yet. Daemon King Northmoon isn¡¯t exactly more powerful than this White Ape King, so you better just stay honest and continue striding forwards!

    Gu Yanying removed a whitish-gold daemon core from the ape¡¯s belly and handed it to Li Qingshan. ¡°Eat it and see if you can recover any strength. There are another three over there. It¡¯s basically impossible to move around as just mortals, and we can¡¯t keep wasting the power of belief either.¡±

 Chapter 1152

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1152 ¨C Mountain Manor

    ¡°You took quite a bit of risk in this battle too. Speaking of which, even your basic survival has become a problem now, so let¡¯s share it!¡±

    Li Qingshan weighed the daemon core in his hand. In the nine provinces, neither of them would be interested in a few daemon cores like this, but now, they were clearly extremely precious.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the time to ensure fairness. Given the same cultivation, your strength is far beyond mine, so you should use all the resources first so that you recover your strength quickly. That way, we¡¯ll both have a safeguard to rely on, or I wouldn¡¯t be so generous either. Speaking of which, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m not getting anything out of this. I plan on trying out invigoration through my diet. Help me collect the ape meat!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re actually going to eat it?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. With all the limbs and blood scattered on the snowy ground, even gluttons could lose their appetite. The White Ape King¡¯s corpse that had died in resentment resembled a human¡¯s as well.

    ¡°It might not be as disgusting as it looks. It¡¯s still the flesh of intelligent, cultivating creatures, so it¡¯s worth a try. Hurry up. Let¡¯s go and find the White Ape King¡¯s dwelling before the snow covers up the traces.¡±

    As she said that, the snowstorm grew heavier. The snowflakes swept through the world with the fierce wind like goose feathers, sending the world into chaos.

    Li Qingshan said nothing more. He conjured a large sack and swept all the corpses in there before riding off in the wind with Gu Yanying in his arms, vanishing into the wind and snow.

    All he left behind was a snowy, white land, hiding the blood and rubble.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes and looked around carefully. The ape daemons were agile, so the traces they left behind had already been extremely sparse. Coupled with this snowstorm, it became particularly difficult to find their way.

    The cold attacked every inch of their skin, piercing into their bones. It had already been a very long time since Li Qingshan felt so cold. Gu Yanying¡¯s lips had even turned blue. If this continued, they would definitely catch a great cold, so he was forced to use the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to produce some warmth.

    ¡°Conserve your power. It doesn¡¯t have to be so warm. The Hot Wind hell does make me feel quite warm.¡±

    Gu Yanying leaned against Li Qingshan as they relied on each other to stay warm.

    Warm?

    Li Qingshan shook his head. This was basically an insult to hell. All he felt was the pain of his soul scorching, like he had ended up in the middle of a desert and every bit of moisture was being baked out of his body, all while remaining conscious. If he did not have a bit of persistence in him, then even death would seem like liberation.

    What was truly warm was her soft body beneath her thin clothes.

    The wind and snow howled. The world was in chaos.

    Only the two of them seemed to remain in the world, advancing alone, rejecting fate and contending against the entire world. This feeling could not be put into words.

    Li Qingshan glanced down. Her graceful smile had become slightly stiff from the cold, but she continued to smile away, which resembled the spring breeze in March. Her hawk eyes remained as determined as ever, but he had no idea how she truly felt inside.

    ¡°Keep your eyes on the path!¡± Gu Yanying looked back at him.

    ¡°The snow is too heavy. I¡¯ve already lost track of the traces,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Then find another way. Don¡¯t forget about our deal. All that exists between us is friendship. We will not develop anything more than that.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t forget that. You should stop making me feel so good about myself too!¡± Li Qingshan sneered.

    ¡°I¡¯m just reminding you. After all, we¡¯re a man and a woman alone in a world, but speaking of which, neither of us really seem like people who can be affected by our environments.¡±

    ¡°Are you telling that to yourself?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Gu Yanying was completely calm. Even if they went through thick and thin together, she had to keep her heart to herself.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, Li Qingshan¡¯s Divine Talisman of Great Creation erupted with rainbow light, and a black hound materialised out of nowhere. It landed on the snowy ground gently and sniffed around with its nose, scurrying off into the forest.

    ¡­¡­

    The colossal peak sliced through the wind and snow, pointing straight at the sky.

    There was a speck of lantern light at the top of the mountain. It was like a guiding star, but in reality, it was a well-lit mountain manor.

    The southern cliff was carved with five colossal words, three hundred meters across for each¡ªSword Sect of the World.

    Everyone who saw this for the first time would gasp at the wondrous swordsmanship of the person who carved it, as well as their extraordinary boldness to look down on the entire world.

    However, there was an exception today. Actually, there were two exceptions.

    ¡°The white ape sure knows how to boast!¡° Li Qingshan.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably true in this world. At the level of Qi Practitioners, daemons possess a clear advantage with the toughness of their bodies. Coupled with an innate ability and intelligence no less than a human¡¯s, he probably is without any rivals.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but the spiritual qi in this world is so thin. Producing a daemon like that probably isn¡¯t very easy.¡±

    Li Qingshan rode his way up on the wind, landing at the entrance of the mountain manor.

    The gate was very large, embellished with eighty-one doornails, which demonstrated the bearing of a ruler. The gate was not guarded by stone lions, but a pair of stone apes. A power seemed to envelop the entire mountain manner.

    Li Qingshan remarked in surprise, ¡°There is actually even a formation here, but it is an extremely low level one.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s more than enough to deal with Qi Practitioners. Look, this is the formation disc, but we probably have to reach the core of the formation if you want to switch owners.¡±

    Gu Yanying took out the formation disc she had found on the White Ape King¡¯s waist and conveniently checked if there were anything like hundred treasures pouches in this world. If they did exist, then the White Ape King would definitely possess one. The difference between this world and the nine provinces was not just the absence of everything above Qi Practitioner. Their entire way of cultivation was behind.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go knock. Huh? Nevermind.¡±

    The vermillion gate suddenly opened, and several dozen figures flickered inside. The lantern light illuminated the snowy ground, casting long shadows behind Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Who are you? How dare you intrude upon my Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape without reporting yourselves!?¡± the middle-aged man at the front yelled out.

    The middle-aged man¡¯s face was fiery-red, and his voice boomed like a bell. The short beard on his chin was trimmed extremely neatly, which added a sense of charm to him. He was the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword renowned throughout the world, Hou Hongtao, a grandmaster of the sword at the ninth layer of the innate realm.

    He gazed at the two people before him in uncertainty. He had no idea how they had managed to make it here without setting off any alarms through the wind and snow on the mountain path. For a master like him, he obviously did not take the mountain path, directly flying up here on his sword, but the two of them clearly seemed like regular people. One of them even carried a huge sack on their back, and the sack reeked with the smell of blood.

    They had not come with good intentions!

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying exchanged glances. They never expected the White Ape King¡¯s den to have so many humans, but it was exactly what they wanted. As long as there were people around, they could learn about this world very quickly.

    ¡°Do you still want to talk?¡± Li Qingshan asked Gu Yanying.

    ¡°You better try instead!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Through their contact with the White Ape King, a gentle method clearly was not particularly appropriate, so he would establish his might first!

    With a wave of his hand, the sack vanished, and the limbs scattered on the ground. The most complete item in the sack was the White Ape King¡¯s corpse.

    ¡°Ah! That- that¡¯s¡­¡±

    Everyone staggered backwards in an uproar.

    ¡°The lord!?¡±

    Only Hou Hongtao remained exactly where he was, staring at the White Ape King¡¯s corpse like he was entranced. He murmured, ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible!¡±

    It had been less than a day since the renowned White Ape King had left the mountain manor with his subordinates, yet he actually ended up facing such a horrific fate.

    Thinking of the daemon star shooting across the sky, he could not help himself as a prophecy appeared in his head¡ªwith the arrival of the daemon star, the world falls into chaos.

    ¡°Heh, to think this old ape is a lord! From today onwards, we¡¯re in charge of here. You¡¯re all my subordinates.¡±

    Li Qingshan announced loudly and strode forwards. Everyone retreated again in fear.

    ¡°I am guarding the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape in the White Ape King¡¯s place. If you take another step forward, sir, then forgive my rudeness.¡± Hou Hongtao¡¯s heart thumped away as he stood exactly where he was. He gripped the Fierce Fire sword on his waist, having calmed down already. He came up with the most logical explanation. ¡°Do you really think you can fool us with mere illusions?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it must be illusions. Wise be the marquis!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s tricks by people of the demonic path again!¡±

    The swordsmen all recovered and drew their swords.

    ¡°You said this is an illusion?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was strange. The bastards of these worlds really did not know how to cooperate, no matter what they tried. Did he really have to carry out a massacre before they learned their lesson?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance would have a successor, but you¡¯ve actually produced such a laughable illusion. Don¡¯t you know that even if that old demon woman was here in person, she would not even be able to touch a hair on the ape king?¡±

    Hou Hongtao became more confident in his judgement and glanced at the ape corpses on the ground in disdain. If someone had tried to poison them in secret, then so be it. Even if the chances of that succeeding were pitifully small, at least it was easier to accept. However, it was absolutely impossible for the White Ape King¡¯s entire group to have crumbled in such a heavy-handed manner.

    On top of that, the greatest hole in all of this was not that, but the woman¡¯s beauty. In comparison, all the beauties in the White Ape King¡¯s harem that he had gathered from across the world seemed mediocre. How could such a beautiful person exist in the world? It could only be explained through the use of illusions, but even when he thought of that, he could not help but steal another glance or two.

    ¡°It¡¯s fake. It¡¯s all fake. Kill these two wretched members of the demonic path!¡± a person called out complacently.

    ¡°How tiresome. You really just can¡¯t communicate with them.¡± Li Qingshan sighed.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe us, you¡¯re welcome to check.¡± Gu Yanying shrugged, also powerless over the situation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go, marquis! Who knows what they¡¯re scheming!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s kill them first!¡±

    ¡°Whatever. Let¡¯s head in for now.¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled Gu Yanying along as he made his way through the entrance. His right hand clenched firmly before opening up again, ready to draw the Dragon-slaying sabre.

    Swords flashed in the surroundings, but it was also like a repeat of what had happened earlier. Without Hou Hongtao¡¯s orders, no one dared to attack them.

    Hou Hongtao gazed coldly at the approaching Li Qingshan. His sword-wielding hand lit up with flames. I don¡¯t care what kind of demonic being you are. I¡¯ll cut you down with my sword.

    However, a sense of uneasiness gradually surged out in his heart. Compared to the woman¡¯s beauty, the man¡¯s appearance was nothing special. His stature could only be considered as a little larger than normal as if he had practised some external martial arts before. From head to toe, there was nothing frightening about him, yet in the flickering firelight, he gave off an indescribable and ominous feeling.

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you against that. I¡¯m in a very bad state right now, so I won¡¯t be able to hold back,¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely as he made his way around Hou Hongtao.

    With a clang, the flames shone.

    Most of the Fierce Fire sword had been drawn from its sheath, but to everyone¡¯s surprise, Hou Hongtao, who possessed the temper of flames and the pride of a marquis, did not end up striking them. His face turned red.

    However, a few people noticed that during the instant he brushed past him, Li Qingshan had wielded his fingers like a sword and made a few casual gestures. After a moment of thought, their expressions also changed.

    Hou Hongtao ordered, ¡°The two of you, go and check carefully. Illusions aren¡¯t completely flawless, and they can¡¯t be maintained forever.¡±

    The two of them went up reluctantly and spent a good while checking the remains. They reported blankly, ¡°Marquis, i- it doesn¡¯t seem to be an illusion!¡±

    In that instant, Hou Hongtao turned pale white. Cold sweat drenched his clothes.

 Chapter 1153

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1153 ¨C The Descended Tiger and the Soaring Divine Hawk

    ¡°What? This is impossible! Did the two of you check properly or not!¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe us, check it yourself. What¡¯re you saying that for?¡±

    Seeing how they did not fall into some vicious trap, the others gathered over as well. They held back their disgust as they flipped through and checked the remains, but they could not find anything false about it at all.

    Only the White Ape King¡¯s corpse was left alone. That vicious expression at death even made them shiver. They tried their best to maintain their distance from it.

    All of their expressions gradually changed as they subconsciously gripped the hilt of their swords.

    The formation around the mountain manor vanished with a flash. Its owner had already been replaced.

    Hou Hongtao let out a painful smile. His smile truly seemed even uglier than when he was crying. If the White Ape King was still alive, he would have never handed the formation to anyone. This was the best evidence there was.

    However, he still wondered whether he was currently in a nightmare or not.

    ¡°Marquis, what should we do now?¡±

    Everyone was frightened. There were plenty of swordsmen among them who roamed the land unhindered. Normally, they would not even bat an eye when they killed people, but everything that happened tonight was far too surreal, such that they even became overwhelmed by what they were supposed to do.

    ¡°The White Ape King is dead. The Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape is destroyed. We better leave quickly!¡±

    ¡°But the snowstorm is so heavy. Where are we supposed to go? Once we become lost, we¡¯ll be done for.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s strange now that you mention it. The snow has arrived just a little too early this year, and it¡¯s so intense right from the get-go. It basically seems like the heavens are unleashing its wrath. Don¡¯t tell me the two from before-¡±

    Suddenly, he stopped talking. The whistling winds and snow seemed to be hiding a massive beast, lurking above the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape and ready to lunge down at any moment.

    Or perhaps this feeling was not a false impression.

    ¡°Stop with the nonsense. How can man oppose the might of the heavens? Let¡¯s go back!¡± Hou Hongtao gritted his teeth.

    ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡±

    ¡°If they wanted to kill us, they would have done so a long time ago. I¡¯d like to see just what their origins are!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Our origins have nothing to do with you. All you have to do is serve us like how you served the White Ape King.¡±

    The magnificent hall was warm like spring. A charcoal fire burned away in a compartment in the wall. All of the decor was basically as extravagant as it could be.

    The only thing that seemed a little simple was a throne forged from thousands of swords, but it was more renowned than any of the ornaments here. Every single sword had a story, a master that had lost to the White Ape King¡¯s sword.

    Li Qingshan sat there lazily, gazing at the beautiful patterns on the ceiling in a daze. From clashing with the Featherfolk King till now, he had faced danger again and again. Now that he had the opportunity to catch his breath, he was more than willing to relax a little.

    Gu Yanying stood beside him, fiddling around with a metal fan. She had found this in the White Ape King¡¯s secret room. It was forged with mechanisms, allowing it to shoot out sharp hidden weapons. It was something good for protecting herself with.

    She had already reached an agreement with Li Qingshan. They would not expose their origins for now, just in case it led to the spread of some rumors like ¡°with the arrival of the daemon star, the world falls into chaos¡±, which would turn them into enemies of the public.

    ¡°I am Hou Hongtao. My fellows of the martial arts community have gifted me with an esteemed nickname, the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword. May I ask for your esteemed names?¡±

    Hou Hongtao stated his identity and hoped the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword could draw their attention, but to his disappointment, they did not respond at all.

    ¡°I am Li Qingshan. The people of the jianghu call me the Descended Tiger.¡±

    As soon as he heard that Hou Hongtao had a nickname, Li Qingshan could not go without a nickname either, so he could not help but think of the one he was originally given. It was a perfect match for his current situation. He had not just descended from a mountain. He had descended from a world too.

    In a different time and place, perhaps Hou Hongtao would have burst out laughing. Even small time thieves and bandits would scorn to use a nickname as tasteless as the Descended Tiger. On top of that, he was basically flattering himself by saying the people of the jianghu called him that. Who would ever remember a figure like him?

    However, he was simply unable to laugh now. No one could laugh. The White Ape King¡¯s corpse was still in the courtyard.

    All those who possessed the courage and qualifications to enter the hall and learn a little more about what was going on were innate masters. These figures that had roamed the world were all stern. Everything that was about to occur here would probably stir up the overall situation in the north or even the entire world. It might even be recorded in history.

    ¡°The Soaring Divine Hawk, Gu Yanying.¡± Gu Yanying smiled. She was slightly exhausted, but her expression was relaxed just like Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    ¡°Oi, since when did you have a nickname? Why aren¡¯t you called the Soaring Hawk? If you¡¯re going to copy me, then do a better job at copying me!¡± Li Qingshan glanced in displeasure at Gu Yanying, a shameless pirate.

    ¡°That¡¯s called excelling and surpassing the original. Your nickname isn¡¯t impressive enough.¡± Gu Yanying looked up at the sky.

    ¡°So it¡¯s impressive when you just add a ¡®Divine¡¯? I think you¡¯re getting a little ahead of yourself!¡±

    Li Qingshan slammed the armrest in exasperation at her failures.

    ¡°This place can be called the Mountain manor of the Divine Ape, so why can¡¯t I be called the Soaring Divine Hawk?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be the Descended Demonic Tiger. Sigh, forget about it. It¡¯s far too tasteless if you add the ¡®Demonic¡¯. It doesn¡¯t read particularly smoothly either. I¡¯ll just be the Descended Tiger!¡± Li Qingshan ended up giving up on his idea of changing his nickname. He announced proudly, ¡°The Descended Tiger, Li Qingshan. All of you remember it.¡±

    ¡°Ah! Yes.¡±

    Hou Hongtao was left in a trance by their conversation. He even forgot how to say everything he had thought of beforehand.

    The masters behind him were dumbfounded too. Was this the time to discuss nicknames? These were the people about to influence the entire world?

    ¡°The Monkey of the Fierce Fire Sword, is it? You don¡¯t look like a monkey, but let¡¯s just say you are one. If that old ape had been as clever as you, he wouldn¡¯t have died.¡± He glanced at Gu Yanying. ¡°Sigh, some people have a ¡®divine¡¯ in their nickname, and they actually think they¡¯re gods.¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not monkey. It¡¯s marquis!¡±

    TL: Marquis and monkey are pronounced the same in Chinese.

    Hou Hongtao could not help but correct him, but it only made the atmosphere seem even stranger. There had been people in the past who mocked him for spending all his time with the White Ape King, saying he was better off just changing his nickname to the Monkey of the Fierce Fire Sword. Their end result was obviously a horrible death, but he was simply unable to muster his anger right now. Clearly, he had no intentions of insulting him either, as even the Monkey of the Fierce Flame Sword was countless times better than the Descended Tiger.

    ¡°Really?¡± Li Qingshan came to a realisation. ¡°Like I was thinking, if you were a monkey, it wouldn¡¯t be your face that¡¯s red.¡±

    Hou Hongtao¡¯s face became even redder.

    ¡°Alright, alright. It¡¯s just a joke to lighten up the mood.¡±

    ¡°Even I¡¯m about to turn red.¡± Gu Yanying held her forehead and suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

    ¡°Hmph, at least you still have a sense of shame.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just hear what this fellow Hou has to say!¡±

    Hou Hongtao sucked in a deep breath. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re mistaken with regards to one thing. We are not the White Ape King¡¯s subordinates. We¡¯re just here to learn the sword¡­¡±

    As it turned out, while the White Ape King was a daemon, he was quite fixated on his reputation and refused to be a hermit. As long as people offered up a gift, either precious treasures or fine women and alcohol, he would be willing to give some guidance on their swordsmanship. He welcomed both good and evil, and he did not accept any disciples either. Anyone from any sect throughout the world could come and seek his advice, without any worry of prejudice.

    Swordsmen exchanged their ideas and opinions here and clashed with their swords, so the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape had basically become a holy land for all swordsmen throughout the world. Many swordsmen would spend as much as several years preparing a gift so that they could pay a visit and study the sword.

    This was originally a fantastic offer that everyone in the world knew about. When Hou Hongtao finished explaining all of that in a single breath, he also became filled with mixed emotions.

    Li Qingshan seemed to be entranced by that. Only a while later did he speak.

    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯m called the Descended Tiger?¡±

 Chapter 1154

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1154 ¨C Man Conquering the Heavens

    Hou Hongtao held back his anger, leaving him bright-red, but he was unable to hold it in any further. ¡°Sir, were you listening to me or not? Do you still view us as absolutely nothing?¡±

    Li Qingshan began laughing aloud, which echoed through the hall. He did not inject any of his powers or aura into the laughter, but it radiated with a sense of heartiness.

    ¡°I said that exactly because I heard what you said. Just like how monkeys claim to be king when there are no tigers around, you lot only know how to pay respect to a monkey, but you don¡¯t know how to fear a tiger. Isn¡¯t that absolutely hilarious?¡±

    Hou Hongtao¡¯s face changed a few times. He was forced to admit this, but there was still a strange feeling in him that prevented him from accepting this. He said in refutation, ¡°Perhaps the White Ape King is just a monkey in your eyes, sir, but his existence is beneficial to us. How are you beneficial to us, sir?¡± He pointed backwards before he continued, ¡°Do you know just what kind of price they¡¯ve paid to be here so that they can study the sword? It¡¯s all gone to waste thanks to you.¡±

    The swordsmen heard that and were very touched. Even now, the marquis is still standing up for us, so how can we still shrink back?

    ¡°This is the holy land of all swordsmen throughout the world. It belongs to all of the swordsmen. If you want to replace the White Ape King as the lord of the manor, you need everyone¡¯s permission.¡±

    ¡°I think the marquis is the best choice. I¡¯m willing to support the marquis in becoming the new lord of the manor. What do you all think?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    ¡°I support that!¡±

    ¡°Sir, since you are the Descended Tiger, then why don¡¯t you descend from the mountain right now and go back to where you came from?¡±

    For a moment, everyone became carried away by their emotions, such that they no longer cared about death. Even the swordsmen that waited outside the hall and had not reached the innate realm all surged in, pressing down on their hilts as if they would chase Li Qingshan off the mountain if he even dared to say no.

    ¡°You all!¡±

    Originally, Hou Hongtao only refused to accept this humiliation, which was why he spoke up, but at this moment, he became impassioned as well. If he could become the new lord of the manor, he could turn the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape into the strongest sword sect in the north through his prestige. No, by then, it would not be the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape anymore, but the Mountain Manor of the Divine Sword.

    The wealth that the White Ape King had accumulated over the past century, the beauties in his harem, and his tremendous amount of resources, would all become his.

    Living in this world, could a man ask for anything more than that?

    His desires gradually overwhelmed his fears.

    However, what he failed to notice was he had never been a person who would be carried away by the heat of the moment. Since he had not drawn his sword at the entrance, why had he changed his mind after being impassioned by everyone?

    Above the mountain peak enveloped by the wind and snow, in this beautifully-adorned hall, the ¡°will of the heavens¡± was omnipresent, influencing everything without a single trace.

    ¡°Fucking hell. I treat you with a bit of respect and you start going on about democracy with me. I¡¯ve given you plenty of opportunities, and you just have to push your luck. Do you really think a tiger won¡¯t eat people?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised a thick eyebrow. When the White Ape King was around, he refused to believe these miserable wretches could find the courage to propose something like electing a new lord of the manor. Was he, Li Qingshan, supposed to be an easy target instead? It would merely cost him a little more power of belief.

    Hou Hongtao¡¯s heart leapt up, almost afraid to meet the furious gaze. He felt a hint of regret, but he was already past the point of no return, so he mustered his determination.

    ¡°If the two of you really are so powerful, then why have you been hiding it the entire time? Perhaps they¡¯re also heavily injured after the battle with the White Ape King, and they have nowhere to go in the snowstorm, which was why they came here to seek shelter. If we give them the chance to recuperate, we¡¯ll miss out on a heaven-sent opportunity!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan leapt to his feet. He gripped his right hand, about to cut down this bastard in a single stroke.

    Right when the hall was about to turn into another slaughterhouse, Gu Yanying cleared her throat and drew over everyone¡¯s attention. She patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder with a smile.

    Li Qingshan grinned, and Gu Yanying laid out her hands. It was almost like a hint, but what she was trying to say was extremely clear.

    You again? It¡¯s simply impossible to communicate with these bastards, so we might as well just kill them all.

    Killing them is easy, but it¡¯ll probably only set them all off, and it¡¯ll lead to even more problems.

    Li Qingshan sat back down, hoping her attempts at communication could work this time.

    Gu Yanying looked back at the swordsmen and sighed. ¡°Why bother with all of this? We were a little injured when we killed the White Ape King. We don¡¯t want to fight anymore, just in case it affects our injuries, but if we actually do fight, which of you will be able to leave here alive? Particularly you, Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword. If you draw your sword, we¡¯ll definitely use the formation to restrain you at full force and kill you first. No matter who becomes the new lord of the manor, it probably won¡¯t be you.¡±

    Not only did she avoid putting on a tough front, but she even falsely claimed she was injured.

    Although Li Qingshan spoke the truth, it was well beyond the imaginations of these people, which instead made it difficult to believe. If they wanted to scare a group of mice, just a cat was enough. A tiger would simply be unnecessary.

    ¡°Do you think we¡¯re afraid of dying?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, we won¡¯t be threatened by anyone,¡± Hong Houtao said staunchly, but he already began developing other thoughts. The other swordsmen hesitated slightly too.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s words were all lies, but it seemed to make perfect sense. Two supreme masters at the tenth layer of the innate realm were enough to drag everyone here down with them even if they were heavily injured.

    Her beauty also seemed to weaken their unfounded feelings of hostility and disgust. If she only stood there without moving, probably none of them could actually bring themselves to attack her.

    ¡°I want to win you over by virtue and convince you through reasoning, not overwhelm you by force. You¡¯ve all come here to study the sword, not to throw your lives away. Look at what this is.¡±

    Gu Yanying took out a thick book from her sleeve and flipped through it casually. Who knew what kind of leather it was made from. Every single page was as thin as the wings of a cicada, filled with tiny words with several detailed drawings, all depicting a white ape wielding a sword.

    ¡°The White Ape Sword Classic!¡± Hou Hongtao widened his eyes.

    At that moment, everyone¡¯s gazes became glued to the book, their eyes filled with burning enthusiasm, like a pervert coming across a beauty, a miser finding a gold mine, or an alcoholic catching the scent of fine wine. Some of them could not even help but take a few steps forward before coming back to their senses.

    Over the past century, as the White Ape King gave guidance to others about their swordsmanship, he also constantly noted their strong points before merging it with his own understanding of swordsmanship, producing this book, the White Ape Sword Classic.

    He had also boasted to everyone in the past that the most exceptional sword styles in the world were all gathered in this book, like all the rivers gathering in the ocean. If this book became widespread, basically all the existing sword manuals could be discarded and burned.

    If the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape was the holy land to all the swordsmen in the world, then the White Ape Sword Classic was their bible.

    Of course, there was not a single person in the world who would allow their ultimate knowledge to be spread to others so easily. They would even hide it away from those they held dear. As a result, everyone here knew about the book, but none of them had ever seen it in person.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is the peerless sword style renowned throughout the world, the White Ape Sword Classic.¡±

    Gu Yanying spoke seriously, but Li Qingshan noticed the corner of her lips curl slightly.

    Of course, they had also found this in the White Ape King¡¯s secret room. They casually flipped through it and discovered it was worthless. It did not even come close to the basic sword techniques of the Sword Collection palace.

    Back then, Li Qingshan had even joked about it. ¡°This monkey is swinging a tree branch around randomly, yet he still dares to call this some Sword Sect of the World? He even wrote such a thick book! What an absolute joke!¡± Afterwards, he casually tossed it aside. He did not notice that Gu Yanying had picked it up again.

    ¡°W- what are you trying to do? This belongs to our Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape. Please¡­¡±

    Hou Hongtao¡¯s eyes were extremely sharp. As Gu Yanying flipped through the pages, he made out many of the words and diagrams. It truly was absolutely wondrous. It could not be a fake.

    Rip! Gu Yanying grabbed a page and tore it out.

    ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Stop!¡±

    Everyone almost cried out at the same time as if they had just been slashed by a blade.

    ¡°Since we are the new masters of this place, then we must uphold all the responsibilities of the old master as well, which is teaching everyone swordsmanship. Unfortunately, we do not practice the path of the sword, so we can only let you all study it yourselves.¡± Gu Yanying casually tossed out the page she had ripped out. ¡°Please check if it is real, marquis, before sticking it on the screen wall outside.¡±

    ¡°Sticking it on the screen wall?¡±

    Hou Hongtao caught the thin page carefully in his hands as he doubted his ears. This was the White Ape Sword Classic for heaven¡¯s sake. Even if he became the new lord of the manor, he would never show this book to anyone without good reason, let alone ripping it up and sticking it on the wall. To members of the martial arts community, they would rather let their wives sleep with someone else than hand over their secret manuals.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. We don¡¯t practise the path of the sword, so the book is useless to us. Keeping it hidden is a waste, so we plan on teaching the White Ape Sword Classic to everyone. How do you feel about this?¡±

    Everyone was overwhelmed with shock and joy. They were so happy that they were in disbelief. Who could object to this?

    Occasions where people threw their lives away for a secret manual in the martial arts community were far too common, yet could any of them rival the White Ape Sword Manual? They could obtain it without even the slightest bit of risk. Since when did something so great exist in the world?

    ¡°Y- you want to make the White Ape Sword Classic public?¡± Hou Hongtao asked.

    ¡°Yes. Everyone, even servants and guards, can view it freely. If anyone tries to stop that, the others are welcome to cut them down immediately. I¡¯ll leave this to you to handle, but you better burn it into your memory, as once you lose it, it¡¯s gone. It would be best if everyone makes a copy first,¡± Gu Yanying said with great consideration. In the eyes of the swordsmen, she was basically like a goddess.

    Hou Hongtao sensed everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on him. Their gazes were completely different from earlier when they recommended him as the lord of the manor. As he held the thin page, it suddenly seemed to weigh like a rock in his hands.

    He still refused to accept this. ¡°If it¡¯s merely a single page, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything impressive about it at all! You better just take it back!¡±

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not merely a single page. It¡¯s just that the White Ape Sword Classic is far too deep and profound. In order to prevent you all from suffering from cultivation deviation, we¡¯ll release it slowly. I will guarantee a daily release. Tomorrow will be the second page, and the day after will be the third, continuing until the entire book is released. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°An impressive scheme, ma¡¯am! You actually want to use a single book to control us all!¡± Hou Hongtao said coldly.

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°Sigh, all I have is kind intentions, and I still have to face such criticism. If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯ll step down willingly and hand the position of manor lord to you. The White Ape Sword Classic will be yours as well. You can teach it to whoever you¡¯d like. Qingshan, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Please hang on, the two of you. I¡¯m willing to accept the two of you as lords of the manor!¡± ¡°Yeah, we just happen to be in need of two kind, generous manor lords like you.¡±

    Two innate masters exchanged glances before both switching sides. If the White Ape Sword Classic ended up in Hou Hongtao¡¯s hands, he would not even show it to his very own father, let alone outsiders like them.

    In particular, the weaker swordsmen all voiced their support loudly. Hou Hongtao did not care about this single page, but they did. They did not care about the future. They only wanted what was presented right before them for now.

    Gu Yanying shot a glance at Li Qingshan and stared at Hou Hongtao. ¡°Do you have anything else you¡¯d like to say? If you still object, then we¡¯ll leave right now. We definitely won¡¯t stick around!¡±

    Hou Hongtao shivered inside. They were no longer united anymore, and the duo only needed to activate the formation to overwhelm him. Coupled with a casual strike, that would be his death. Even if they actually left, probably no one would stop them. Everyone only cared about the White Ape Sword Classic. The hall would definitely experience an extremely brutal battle.

    That was because no matter who obtained the White Ape Sword Classic, they would never share it with anyone else. Only a single person would be emerging from this hall in the very end, and they only needed to loop back here¡­

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m also willing to accept you two as the new manor lords. I hope you will uphold your promise, or we definitely won¡¯t forget about this!¡±

    ¡°That goes without saying, but I do hope you can behave, watch out for each other, and wait for the releases obediently. If anyone harbours any other intentions and tries to claim the White Ape Sword Classic for themselves¡­¡±

    ¡°Then I, Hou Hongtao, will be the first one to stop them!¡±

    ¡°Alright. We need to go back and recuperate. Please take your time with studying the first page of the sword manual, everyone!¡±

    Gu Yanying left the hall with Li Qingshan in tow and returned to the back courtyard of the mountain manor. The young swordsmen watched reluctantly as she left before developing a deep sense of envy towards Li Qingshan.

    But very soon, their attention was drawn away by the page of the sword manual.

    ¡°Marquis, hurry up and show us the White Ape Sword Classic.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you in a rush for? Let me check if it¡¯s real or not first.¡± Hou Hongtao began studying it carefully with a serious expression.

    Everyone chimed in, ¡°Are you looking down on this page of the sword manual?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A gust of cold wind blew a snowflake into her face, and Gu Yanying sneezed. She rubbed her nose and smiled. ¡°The will of the heavens control the will of the people. How interesting!¡±

    ¡°Heh, we¡¯re basically mocking ourselves right now. Those people were completely unaware that they were being controlled by the will of the heavens.¡±

    ¡°And who isn¡¯t affected by their environment? Let¡¯s just try and deal with it in the gentlest way possible! These are all your future readers.¡±

    ¡°Hah, fair enough.¡±

    ¡°Manor lord, madam, you¡¯ve finally come out. I¡¯ve been worried sick.¡± A middle-aged woman made her way over swiftly to receive them. Her face that still possessed some of her former beauty was filled with worry. She was even carrying two large cloaks in her hands.

    ¡°You are?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. He did not recognise this woman at all. He could vaguely recall that he seemed to see her when they broke into the main room in the back courtyard and gained control over the formation.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yuan Feifei. I¡¯m responsible for managing the back courtyard of the mountain manor. I¡¯ll be responsible for all of your basic necessities. I¡¯ll definitely leave you satisfied.¡±

    Yuan Feifei carefully observed their responses. Originally, she was a concubine of the White Ape King, but her beauty had declined with age. However, through her scheming, she became the caretaker of the main courtyard. Together with Hou Hongtao, they managed the interior and exterior of the mountain manor.

    While she did know some martial arts, her strength was simply pitiful, having only just reached the innate realm. She basically completely relied on pleasing the White Ape King to consolidate her position. Now that the White Ape King was dead, she was obviously in a hurry to offer up her services and protect her position.

    ¡°Hah, who said the will of the heavens can control the will of the people? This is a perfect example of man conquering the heavens!¡± Li Qingshan accepted the cloaks and draped one around Gu Yanying with a smile.

    Gu Yanying began laughing as well. ¡°It¡¯s only influence at the end of the day. It¡¯s unable to twist it completely, or this would be the Asura realm.¡±

    Yuan Feifei was puzzled. She had no idea what they were talking about.

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 Chapter 1155

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1155 ¨C The Back Courtyard of the Mountain Manor

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Alright. You¡¯ll continue to be in charge of the back courtyard, but I¡¯m not the mistress, but the vice manor lord.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, manor lords. I will definitely do all that I can to serve the two manor lords. If there is anything you require, please let me know. We may be located in the distant north, in a land of cold, but even the alliance leader of the martial arts society cannot rival the everyday food and clothing we have.¡±

    Yuan Feifei smiled from ear to ear. She never expected them to be so easy-going, without any haughtiness at all. They seemed a little easier to handle than the old ape.

    ¡°All I want right now is a good shower and then a few fine cups to drink,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°May I ask what kind of alcohol you¡¯d like, manor lord? We have the Thousand Leaf Spring of the south, the Jade-red Blush of the west¡­¡± Yuan Feifei named over a dozen types of alcohol with ease, all well-aged and fine liquors.

    ¡°I want them all!¡±

    ¡°Impressive capacity, manor lord. What about you, vice manor lord?¡±

    ¡°Get the kitchen to cook up this ape meat. I want it later,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    Yuan Feifei¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go prepare right now!¡±

    Afterwards, she backed down in a hurry. Her footsteps were light and silent, clearly possessing impressive movement arts, but when she made her way around a corner, she stepped on the snow and tripped over. If it were not for the fact that her reaction was fast enough, that she caught herself with a hand, she almost would have slammed her head against a column. She cursed a little under her breath and thought, I¡¯ve really been neglecting my martial arts practice lately.

    Seeing this familiar sight, Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying exchanged glances. Was their misfortune supposed to be infectious?

    ¡°Looks like anyone who stands on our side, even if it¡¯s all fake, will be affected too,¡± Gu Yanying said in thought.

    ¡°Then if they¡¯re sincere, wouldn¡¯t we basically be killing them? Don¡¯t tell me we are suffering from the legendary fate of loneliness and misfortune?¡±

    ¡°Manor lords, caretaker Yuan has sent me to take you to the bathing pool.¡±

    As they conversed, a woman in red came over with a lantern to lead the way.

    ¡­¡­

    Within the steam, Li Qingshan held a jade alcohol cup as he bathed within the pool constructed from white jade, exhaling deeply.

    Four beauties, each with their own peculiarities, knelt behind him, holding items like a jug of alcohol, a fan, and so on. They would fill up the cup as soon as it was emptied, and they would even fan away gently. They were dressed in thin clothes, which made it possible to make out their graceful shapes beneath.

    Li Qingshan had never been a gentleman that was impervious to lust. As a matter of fact, he could even be described as someone who would never let any opportunity slip by, but right now, all he could do was down cup after cup.

    That was because Gu Yanying was sitting right on the other side of the pool, dipping her feet in the pool water. She smiled towards him. ¡°You can treat me like I don¡¯t exist and do whatever you want.¡±

    She did not possess any ability to protect herself right now. Even falling over could be potentially lethal, so she could not leave Li Qingshan¡¯s sight.

    ¡°I can treat you like you don¡¯t exist, but they can¡¯t. In particular, look at what you¡¯re holding. Who can still get into the mood with that?¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a belch. His gaze had already become slightly blurred. At least there was one benefit to this world, which was he could get drunk particularly quickly.

    However, the four beauties behind him were stiff with fear. They did not dare to look in Gu Yanying¡¯s direction at all.

    ¡°The monkey brains taste quite nice. Would you like to try some?¡±

    Gu Yanying currently held the White Ape King¡¯s head with a silver spoon in her hand as she ate away scoop by scoop. Her movements were just as elegant and graceful as ever.

    Monkey brains were the easiest to cook, so this was the first dish the kitchen had delivered to Gu Yanying. Perhaps because they felt like it hinted at something, they made the dish with great care.

    After a series of preparations, all that remained on the head was white bone. The skull had been opened up too, like a strangely-shaped vessel that served the monkey brains that was as tender as tofu. After a simple cooking process involving hot oil, it permeated with a heavy fragrance, but the vicious and resentful aura never dispersed. Combined with her beautiful appearance, it formed an eerie and frightening atmosphere, like something that could only be seen in a dream.

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He had even killed him, so was he supposed to be afraid to eat him?

    ¡°Catch.¡±

    Gu Yanying tossed the White Ape King¡¯s head over. A few screams rang out from behind Li Qingshan as the four beauties retreated frantically. The jug was knocked over, and the fan fell on the ground. This was the ¡°person¡± they had been serving the entire time, yet he had actually become food to others now. Was there anything more chilling and brutal than that? One of the women even collapsed on the ground and began dry-heaving with tears and snot strewn across her face.

    Li Qingshan caught the head. With a quick glance at them, he shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ve really become monsters.¡±

    If they had done this with a ruthless, sadistic mindset, then so be it. They would just be twisted madmen devoid of any morals. However, they did not actually treat this as a big deal at all. It was only an attempt to recover some strength. At most, they would feel a little bit of disgust inside.

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯m far too talented then. I was born a monster. You had to rely on effort.¡± Gu Yanying pressed her hands against the edge of the pool and lifted herself up. Her long hair touched the ground.

    ¡°Thank you for the praise. It does taste quite nice.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and polished off the monkey brains before picking up the jug and filling up the skull, downing it in a single gulp. He waved his hand. ¡°You can go!¡±

    As if they had just been spared, the four women scrambled for the exit.

    Within a warm pavilion, Yuan Feifei learnt about this and slapped the four of them across their faces. She scolded them. ¡°You whores. How dare you disrespect the manor lord? What happened to the etiquette I normally taught you?¡±

    The woman in red who brought Li Qinghan to the bathing pool said, ¡°Forgive us, caretaker! We were just too frightened! You didn¡¯t see it for yourself, but when he ate- ate it, it was like he was eating normal food! It felt like he could open up our heads and eat our brains at any time!¡±

    Smack! There was another slap, which made the woman in red see stars.

    ¡°Refer to him as the manor lord!¡± Yuan Feifei sank into her thoughts for a moment before easing up. ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for being so heavy-handed. This is all for your sake. It¡¯s quite late, so you should go and get some rest!¡± Then she looked in the direction of the bathing pool. ¡°Li Qingshan, Gu Yanying, just who are you?¡±

    The four women left the warm pavilion resentfully with swollen cheeks.

    The woman in red said, ¡°Come to my room and wait for me there first. I¡¯ll go check on the situation outside!¡±

    A while later, the woman in red returned to the room. She shut the door carefully and took out a piece of paper with ink that was still wet. She was excited. ¡°I have something good for all of you!¡±

    ¡°Sis Feihong, what is it?¡± a young woman in yellow asked.

    ¡°This is the first page of the White Ape Sword Classic. That old ape daemon bragged quite a bit about it.¡±

    ¡°The White Ape Sword Classic!¡± the three women exclaimed at the same time.

    Martial arts were extremely widespread in this world. They all possessed internal martial arts, except it was only for the sake of preserving their beauty and lasting in bed. They were forbidden from learning any techniques, so it was even less likely that they could come across such powerful martial arts.

    ¡°Where did you get it?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know yet, but something huge has happened in the outer courtyard¡­¡± The woman in red explained before suddenly smiling. ¡°And that old ape claimed he was invincible in the world! Not only has he been exterminated with everything confiscated from him, but even his brains have been eaten! Now this is called retribution!¡±

    ¡°Just stop, sis Feihong. Just the thought of it is disgusting.¡±

    ¡°But if the caretaker finds out¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph, once we learn this supreme sword style, would we still have to fear that old demon woman?¡±

    ¡°Who are you calling an old demon woman?¡± Yuan Feifei¡¯s stern voice suddenly rang out from outside, which made the expressions of the four women change drastically.

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 Chapter 1156

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1156 ¨C A New World

    Li Qingshan used the skull to finish off all the alcohol. By now, he was already as drunk as he could be. It took him all the strength he had in him to crawl out of the pool. The clear pool water flowed off his bronze, powerful body.

    It had already been many years since he had become so drunk. As his cultivation constantly increased, he would always maintain a sliver of clarity no matter how much alcohol he drank. He could rarely ever indulge himself like this.

    However, he did not feel weak as a result. It was the exact opposite. He had become more dangerous than any other time. If those swordsmen dared to anger him at a time like this, then they would learn what violence meant.

    Gu Yanying did not shirk away from him, much less develop any emotions like embarrassment. She sized him up and down and arrived by his side through the hazy steam. She picked up a towel from the ground and carefully dried his body.

    Li Qingshan suddenly grabbed her hands. His gaze burned away brightly. Gu Yanying met his eyes quietly, but her gaze was as tranquil as the sky.

    Li Qingshan seemed to see himself. He slowly let go, shut his eyes, and began snoring away.

    Gu Yanying behaved like nothing had happened at all. She draped the cloak over him and sat down beside him with her legs crossed. She took out a map and began studying it. Compared to some White Ape Sword Classic, what she truly needed right now were books regarding the geography and history of this world.

    Books piled up one by one. Before she knew it, it was already morning. The snowy white illuminated the window paper.

    She let out a yawn, having gained a rough grasp of the world already.

    This world was indeed much smaller than the nine provinces, less than five thousand kilometers across in any direction. They were roughly divided into five regions, the eastern, western, southern, northern, and central region. The geography and climate bore some resemblance to the nine provinces, cold in the north and warm in the south, except the mountains and rivers were smaller. She wondered whether some kind of connection existed between the many worlds.

    The answer to this question was not something she could investigate right now.

    The world basically did not have much of a concept of cultivation. The thing that was most dominant was martial arts and not spells or techniques. As opposed to personal cultivation, they placed more emphasis on battle. She realised the reason after a little bit of thought. The spells and techniques of Qi Practitioners were completely limited by the spiritual qi of the world. The rate at which they unleashed them was much slower than close combat too, so it was obviously eliminated through battles after battles.

    The Qi Practitioners of the nine provinces did not place much emphasis on techniques in battle because even the Foundation Establishment cultivator that was the least skilled in battle could kill a Qi Practitioner with a flick of a finger. Rapidly increasing their cultivation was the dominant strategy.

    However, there were also many similarities. They had undergoing the tribulation and ascending as their final objective, which was also known as shattering through space here. The powerful also ruled over this world, even though it had never led to any absolute monarchies like the Great Xia empire. The larger sects and clans only served as backbones behind loose alliances. The leader of the martial arts community would be constantly replaced to maintain the so-called righteousness of the martial arts community. From time to time, they would band together to purge any unorthodox practices. It was probably better described as order triumphing chaos than good triumphing evil.

    As for the famous masters of the martial arts community, she did not put too much effort into memorising them. After all, even the strongest would only be on par with the White Ape King.

    Actually, the path that Li Qingshan suggested was not necessarily impossible, where they killed as they pleased so that they became the embodiment of fear. They could use fear to extinguish any hostility. A book written by a demon king might attract far more attention than one written by a hero.

    Thinking up to there, she glanced at Li Qingshan, but perhaps it was better to try strategy before brute force!

    At this moment, Yuan Feifei¡¯s voice rang out from outside, ¡°Manor lord, there¡¯s something I wish to tell you about!¡±

    Li Qingshan snapped his eyes open. They were filled with caution as if he had never fallen asleep in the first place. However, by the time he returned to his senses, he became lethargic again. He stretched a little and noticed Gu Yanying¡¯s exhaustion. ¡°It was tough on you last night. Actually, I don¡¯t need anyone watching over me as I sleep.¡±

    Even if he had declined so much, his instincts forged through countless battles remained. If there were danger, he would sense it automatically.

    ¡°I was in a hurry to learn about this world. I have a rough idea in mind. I¡¯ll tell you about it later.¡± Gu Yanying yawned again.

    ¡°No hurry. We have plenty of time. Catch some sleep first!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later. Go take a look at what¡¯s happened. Don¡¯t forget, try to preserve peace and win people over through virtue!¡±

    Opening up the door, Yuan Feifei showed off what she had found eagerly. ¡°Last night, I found these deceitful traitors. Please deal with them, manor lord!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The wind and snow whistled for the entire night and only let up slightly when day broke. The snow piled up to their ankles, rendering the world snow-white.

    Four women knelt in the courtyard. They were the four beauties that had served Li Qingshan last night. Their clothes were just as thin as before, except their graceful figures had almost been covered up by snow.

    In particular, the woman in red was actually completely naked right now. She knelt in the snow without a single piece of clothing on her. Her skin had already turned blue from the cold. Even the approaching footsteps failed to make her respond.

    ¡°What have you done?¡± Li Qingshan frowned.

    ¡°Look, manor lord. These little whores actually tried to steal martial arts. They should be punished with death!¡± Yuan Feifei offered up the page of a sword manual in a hurry and even added, ¡°I haven¡¯t even taken a single glance at the martial arts on here.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Haven¡¯t I been clear enough last night? Everyone in the mountain manor can learn the martial arts on there. If you want to look at it, then look at it. They¡¯re obviously allowed to do the same!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Kind be the vice manor lord, except these whores were messing around with the men in the outer courtyard as well. Who knows what kind of shameful things they¡¯ve done¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth! Are you the manor lord, or am I the manor lord? How dare you abuse your power and punish them without my permission? Are you tired of living?¡± Li Qingshan showed his pale-white teeth.

    ¡°Hehe, caretaker Yuan, did you do this as well when the White Ape King was here?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m doing this to preserve the rules and order of the mountain manor!¡±

    Yuan Feifei¡¯s eyes darted about, and she lowered her head. These four women possessed the most outstanding appearances in the White Ape King¡¯s harem. If the White Ape King were still around, she would have never found the courage to lay her hands on them. Now, she wanted to use this opportunity to punish them, but she never expected her intentions to be read so easily.

    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you the rules.¡±

    Gu Yanying extended her hand. Yuan Feifei wanted to avoid it, but she also dared not. When the tips of Gu Yanying¡¯s fingers touched the back of her hand, she immediately crumpled on the ground. Her mouth hung agape, but she was unable to let out any sound at all. She stared at Gu Yanying like she was staring at a demon.

    Even the White Ape King could not withstand the pains of hell, let alone her.

    ¡°Do you understand now?¡±

    Yuan Feifei nodded in a hurry.

    ¡°Very good. You know what you should do now. Don¡¯t let this happen another time.¡±

    With that, Gu Yanying returned to the White Ape King¡¯s training room with Li Qingshan.

    Yuan Feifei sat up on the ground and checked herself. There was actually not a single wound on her body. She had no idea how Gu Yanying had managed to achieve something like that, but that was a sensation she never wanted to experience again. She did not dare to underestimate the new manor lords¡¯ schemes and methods. She recovered and scolded them. ¡°You whores, you¡¯re lucky today. The manor lords are kind and generous. They¡¯re sparing your puny lives!¡±

    Not only did she have no complaints, but she instead developed even more respect for them. As a matter of fact, she found this to be perfectly logical. This was the might and influence that the manor lord of the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape should possess. She did not dare to waste any more time. If these whores actually froze to death, even her own life might be in danger.

 Chapter 1157

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1157 ¨C Inherent Nature

    The building stood alone in the snowstorm, located in the centre of the mountain manor. It was the core of the entire formation, as well as a place of cultivation. Down below was a secret room that extended into the mountain, which also served as a treasury.

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying arrived on the terrace at the top of the building. The wind and snow there was particularly intense. The manor below their feet had already become a blur. If they were any further away, it would have become a hazy-white.

    Gu Yanying pulled her cloak around her. ¡°No wonder the White Ape King is so difficult to communicate with. His aloofness was probably developed here.¡±

    Standing on the highest peak, all the other mountains seemed small.

    Even just scaling up a mountain every now and then would result in sentiments like that. If he remained so high up every single day, coupled with his unrivalled martial arts, it was unavoidable for his disposition to be affected.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with swordsmen possessing a bit of aloofness, but there¡¯s always a mountain higher. The wind and snow is far too intense here. Let¡¯s head down. Try not to catch a cold.¡±

    Descending from the terrace, Li Qingshan left Gu Yanying in the study room on the second floor of the building to rest as he ventured alone to the secret room deep underground. It was pitch-black and icy-cold down there, not only lacking any light, but also lacking all facilities to provide warmth. The White Ape King¡¯s body was tough enough to be impervious to the cold, and he did he need any light. However, as long as even a glimmer of light reached here, the precious treasures within the nooks of the walls would immediately shine and glow.

    Li Qingshan did not look at the precious treasures around him. He only stared at the mountain rock below his feet that had been polished to a mirror-like surface, enough to make the fine texture. There was not a lot of it worth any attention, but in his eyes, it was even more enchanting than any treasure. He stared at it extremely seriously, even dropping down to one knee and touching it gently, feeling the hardness of the rock. His gaze seemed to lie in an extremely distant place, passing through the mountain and directly penetrating underground.

    Actually, he was slightly different from Gu Yanying. As opposed to the vast, spacious sky, he preferred the firm and solid earth that bore everything on its back that would never be aloof. Even the cliffs and mountains were only equivalent to small bumps compared to the entire ground. Even mortals could scale precipitous mountains with a bit of effort, even complacently claiming they had conquered the mountain.

    Does this world really restrict all of my powers?

    Li Qingshan did not believe and refused to believe he only had the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. He sucked in a deep breath and sensed the deep earth below his feet quietly. Time trickled by.

    The weather turned the mountain rock into something that was cold like metal. The coldness seeped into his body from the base of his feet, and his blood carried it to the rest of his body, making him gradually turn stiff. He did not use the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to stay warm. He even cast his cloak aside.

    His body temperature rapidly plummeted, gradually approaching the verge of death. The obscure will of the heavens restrained everything, like a stern and cold father. He remained where he was, without moving, like a rebel son that would never yield.

    Gradually, the icy-cold ground emitted warmth. The firm rock seemed to soften as well.

    Like a needle that had pierced some kind of barrier, a sliver of power flowed from the ground beneath his feet into his body. It was an extremely insignificant amount, but it was endless. It bore some resemblance to his innate ability, the Strength of the Earth, but it was definitely much more than that.

    The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud!

    Unlike the other transformations of the demonic and divine, the Ox Demon Transformation was his foundation. From roaming the jianghu to running amok in the world, it had always been his most powerful transformation. Today, he had cast everything external inside, which instead revealed something that was most inherent to him.

    The familiar and intimate power poured into his body, purging away the coldness as if it refused to see him die. He was the rebel son of the heavens, but the beloved son of the earth.

    Li Qingshan was emotional. He bent down and kissed the ground firmly before standing up again and throwing a punch!

    Bang! The thump of air echoed through the secret room.

    He shifted his feet backwards and twisted his waist, throwing both fists. The indomitable ox demon bucks its horns.

    It was as if he had returned to many, many years ago, to the same youth who focused on practising martial arts below Crouching Ox hill. However, he was just not that youth anymore. Every single move and strike was slow and heavy, channelling the very spirit he had developed through his entire life.

    However, before long, a grumbling sound rang out in the darkness. It took Li Qingshan a good moment of surprise before he discovered it was his stomach. He could not help but rub his belly and smile. He had to continue eating meat and drinking alcohol!

    Gu Yanying slept very deeply. She dreamt of wandering through outer space, where it was boundless, dark, and spacious. But this time, she was no longer clinging onto a pair of wings. Instead, she had become the kunpeng.

    When she woke up, she was still in a daze. She lay on the soft bed and raised the dark azure feather high up, playing around with it in her right hand like she was emulating how it drifted through the air. She let out sounds like ¡°swish¡± and ¡°swoosh¡± as if the feather was sweeping up fierce winds and traversing through outer space.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Li Qingshan grinned. She was basically like a child who could not be bothered getting out of bed, having a daydream.

    Gu Yanying blushed for once. She stowed the kunpeng¡¯s feather away and sat up. ¡°What did you do today?¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to tell here. You¡¯ll know later,¡± said Li Qingshan. His connection with the earth was still extremely weak, such that it did not exist when he was in the building. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s get something to eat!¡±

    Gu Yanying also noticed she was famished. She glanced at the hourglass. ¡°It¡¯s time to release the second page, or these guys are going to run out of patience.¡±

    When they left the building, Gu Yanying immediately noticed Li Qingshan¡¯s change. Every single step he took was grounded and firm, possessing a familiar sense of power. ¡°Your power has recovered?¡±

    ¡°A little bit, but at least I¡¯m not that feeble anymore.¡± Li Qingshan gripped his fist firmly. ¡°You seem to have changed slightly as well.¡±

    ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t put in as much effort as you. I just slept.¡±

    ¡°Then feel free to sleep a little more from now onwards.¡±

    The two of them arrived in the hall of the external courtyard after a leisurely stroll. All of the swordsmen were already waiting there. The hubbub immediately vanished as they watched them nervously and eagerly. Basically none of them had caught a wink of sleep the entire night, constantly studying the page of the sword manual. They only found it to be absolutely ingenious and well beyond anything that words could describe. Apart from Hou Hongtao and a small number of innate masters, most of the others had not even understood what the page was dictating.

    Hou Hongtao also noticed their differences. In particular, Li Qingshan¡¯s changes were most obvious. His resolute and firm bearing actually made him feel immovable. If they still wanted to deal with them, he had already lost his best opportunity, but none of them had the time or energy to think of anything else with the page of the sword manual before them.

    Li Qingshan sat on the throne forged from swords. All he saw was a woman emerge from the crowd and call out, ¡°Greetings, manor lord!¡±

    The swordsmen were forced to copy her. ¡°Greetings, manor lord!¡±

    Only after a daze did Li Qingshan recognise the woman. She was the one who knelt in the snow naked in the morning. She had already changed into a set of clothes that were easy to maneuver in, and she now carried a sword on her back, having changed her appearance completely. He truly struggled to recognise her after she had put on clothes.

    Seeing how she was still pale, he could not help but ask, ¡°Are you a little better?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, manor lord. I¡¯m already much better, but my three sisters did not have inner force as great as mine, so they were affected by the cold. Even now, they¡¯re still coughing away. I, Feihong, would like to thank the two manor lords for saving their lives in their place!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. Hou Hongtao, don¡¯t you practice Fierce Fire true qi? Help cure them!¡± Li Qingshan ordered him around casually.

    ¡°I don¡¯t practice martial arts for something like that,¡± Hou Hongtao said proudly. Even the White Ape King did not have the courage to order him around like a servant.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it!¡±

 Chapter 1158

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1158 ¨C Martial Arts for Everyone

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to fight me! Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t suppress you with the formation. I¡¯ll make you die in a convincing fashion!¡±

    Gu Yanying rolled her eyes at him. Did she not just tell him to preserve peace?

    Li Qingshan smiled at her. Since his strength could recover slowly, then he did not have to be so conservative with the power of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation anymore. He did not have to be so cautious either.

    Gu Yanying said in persuasion, ¡°Fellow Hou, once this mister Li gets carried away, he won¡¯t even recognise his own family. He just wants you to save a person¡¯s life, which can be considered as a good deed. Why must you be so prideful?¡±

    Hou Hongtao began laughing out of anger. ¡°They count as people? This whore has the courage to stand among us. I¡¯ve already been patient enough with her, yet you still want me to expend the effort to heal their wounds? That¡¯s simply absurd!¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Forget I said anything.¡± Gu Yanying took a step back. If someone really wanted to die that much, no one could do anything about it.

    ¡°If they aren¡¯t people, what are you supposed to be?¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and said furiously.

    ¡°I am the mighty Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword. Even the White Ape King would not insult me over a few whores!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth. If you continue to compare me with that old ape, you¡¯re not even going to have an opportunity to strike!¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯d like to see just what backs up your arrogance!¡±

    With a clang, the Fierce Fire sword was drawn from its sheath, illuminating the entire hall. The temperature suddenly began to rise, and the swordsmen all retreated due to the waves of heat.

    Hou Hongtao released his true qi; it turned into raging flames, dyeing his beard red. He strode towards Li Qingshan, one step, two steps, three steps. His aura rose to the limit.

    Sword qi whistled and flames surged like the cry of a dragon.

    The sword turned into a streak of bright-red flames, slashing towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Fire Dragon Slash!¡±

    The swordsmen were amazed. In particular, the two eighth layer innate realm swordsmen were astounded. They had a clear understanding of Hou Hongtao¡¯s strength. They never thought he would actually make another breakthrough. Was it because of the page from the White Ape Sword Classic?

    However, little did they know that even Hong Houtao himself was pleasantly surprised. In the moment he lashed out against Li Qingshan, the flow of his true qi suddenly resonated with the spiritual qi of the world, conforming with a certain obscure will. He had already been stuck at the ninth layer for many years, but right now, he actually felt like he was about to break through, allowing him to launch a strike more powerful than anything he had unleashed in the past.

    All he saw was Li Qingshan sitting exactly where he was. Hou Hongtao thought, Hmph, even the White Ape King would not take this attack on directly, yet you¡¯re actually so confident in yourself? You¡¯re asking to die!

    Li Qingshan raised his hand slowly and pressed down.

    With a rumble, the hall shook, and the raging flames vanished. A deep handprint appeared on the ground.

    Hou Hongtao lay in the centre of the handprint, raising his head in disbelief. He wanted to say something, but blood spurted from his mouth. All of the bones and organs in his body were either broken or had ruptured. A sliver of regret flashed through his eyes before he passed away on the spot.

    Li Qingshan drew back his hand slowly. Dealing with the likes of him was far easier than the White Ape King, as the powers of this world limited the various abilities the Divine Talisman of Great Creation conjured. Against a supreme master like the White Ape King, it would take him a couple of moves and some techniques. As for the weaker ones, he could directly crush them with absolute strength.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. They never imagined that the mighty Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword could not even withstand a single strike and would suffer a fate like this.

    The bit of hope and disdain that originally existed because they had not witnessed him fight vanished immediately. If they were not capable of something like this, how had they killed the White Ape King?

    ¡°Marquis!¡±

    Some of the swordsmen were on good terms with Hou Hongtao. Witnessing this, they were absolutely devastated. Rage overwhelmed their rationality for some reason, and they stood forward with drawn swords. They called out, ¡°Let¡¯s get him together, everyone! Revenge for the marquis!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll kill you untameable dogs!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered, about to carry out a massacre.

    With a rip, Gu Yanying tore out another page of the White Ape Sword Classic and called out, ¡°Take them out!¡±

    The two eighth layer innate realm swordsmen exchanged glances and drew their swords. With a flash, the people who called out for revenge all collapsed on the ground. They also killed a few others caught up in the disturbance, stabilising the situation. Thick blood began to flow, dyeing the decorated hall red.

    Sheathing their swords, they stood forward and clasped their hands. ¡°Manor lord, Hou Hongtao¡¯s remaining allies have all been beheaded. We are not with them, so please spare us!¡±

    The martial arts community had always respected the strong. Lowering their heads to people like them was nothing humiliating. In hindsight, they clearly possessed such great strength, yet they had been relatively reserved the entire time. They even offered up the White Ape Sword Classic to share with everyone. Hou Hongtao¡¯s actions were basically as foolish as it could be. He really had lived up to what they said, that they only knew how to respect a monkey and not a tiger, only to die in the tiger¡¯s mouth in the very end.

    Gu Yanying said nothing else. She tossed down the page, and the two people extended their hands, each grabbing a half and refusing to let go.

    ¡°From today onwards, you will be responsible for the matters in the external courtyard. I name you the protectors of the left and the right.¡±

    ¡°The protector of the right thanks the manor lord!¡±

    In the current world, there was bias against the left, so one of them immediately let go of the page and bowed gratefully, stealing the position of the protector of the right. The sword manual was available for anyone to view anyway.

    The other person cursed inside, but all he could do was bow gratefully as well. ¡°The protector of the left thanks the manor lord. Manor lord, I don¡¯t practice the Fierce Fire true qi, but I can heal these women.¡±

    ¡°Me too.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave this matter to you. I don¡¯t wish to see anyone be punished again for learning the sword. I want everyone in this mountain manor to be able to learn. I want martial arts to be available for everyone to practice so that everyone has the opportunity to become supreme masters!¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and announced loudly, trying his best to hold back his smile.

    The two protectors said in a hurry, ¡°Kind-hearted be the manor lord. As you wish!¡±

    The regular swordsmen all roused with enthusiasm from that. Who did not want to be a supreme master? They raised their arms and cheered, ¡°Everyone can learn! Martial arts for everyone!¡±

    The woman called ¡°Feihong¡± even began shedding tears emotionally. ¡°I will never forget the manor lord¡¯s kindness!¡±

    ¡°Pick up the sword!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Feihong picked up the Fierce Fire sword in a hurry.

    ¡°From today onwards, the sword belongs to you. Learn the sword well. I think you can definitely become a supreme master. Don¡¯t let my hopes down.¡±

    ¡°Yes, manor lord.¡± Feihong choked back sobs.

    Li Qingshan finally could not hold back his laughter anymore. ¡°I¡¯m going back to rest! Everyone, practise the sword well!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The banquet at night was extremely sumptuous, and Li Qingshan had another hearty drink. During the feast, Yuan Feifei carefully made her way over and asked if they wanted the back kitchen to cook the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword as well.

    Li Qingshan was speechless. He waved his hand and declined, which let Yuan Feifei and everyone else in the mountain manor let out a great sigh of relief.

    Li Qingshan listened to Gu Yanying¡¯s summary of this world¡¯s cultures and geography. He suddenly slapped his knee. ¡°I know what kind of book to write!¡±

    ¡°I thought you were just going to copy out the books you wrote in the nine provinces again!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re an outsider to this trade. The audience is completely different!¡± Li Qingshan said complacently.

    ¡°Then what do you plan on writing about?¡± Gu Yanying asked curiously.

    ¡°The White Ape King¡¯s chronicles.¡±

    Gu Yanying immediately understood. ¡°I see. That really is a good idea. By then, probably everyone in the world would want to buy a copy and take a look.¡±

    They were clueless about the White Ape King¡¯s life, but none of that was important. What was truly important was the White Ape Sword Classic. As long as they could write the sword style in the book, did they have to worry that no one would buy it?

    By then, there really would be martial arts for everyone.

 Chapter 1159

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1159 ¨C Li Qingshan the Novelist

    He got straight to work. Li Qingshan immediately ordered people to bring a brush, ink, and paper. He pushed aside all the dishes before him and set up the table before throwing his head back and having another hearty cup of alcohol. Right when Gu Yanying thought he was going to use the alcohol for inspiration, to go off on a great artistic creation and line the paper with words, Li Qingshan began biting the end of the brush, sometimes in thought and sometimes letting out a great sigh. A while later, he actually began drinking alcohol and eating meat again.

    ¡°Well what are you waiting for? Get writing!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m planning?¡± Li Qingshan said restlessly as he chewed away at the tough ape meat.

    ¡°But you¡¯re clearly eating.¡±

    ¡°Only novelists understand. What would a woman like you know?¡± Li Qingshan shot her a glance.

    ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t know anything. Please continue, mister Li,¡± Gu Yanying said helplessly. She felt like perhaps he was not reliable all the time.

    Afterwards, she saw Li Qingshan wander around in the warm room with the brush in his mouth, admiring the snow outside the window, looking at the precious paintings on the wall, and basically flipping through every single item in the room. Only then did he sit back down in front of the table and grip the brush in a rather awkward manner. Suddenly, he said to Gu Yanying, ¡°What do you think those guys outside look like when they practise the sword?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Gu Yanying lay on her side on the bed, holding a book called the Secret History of the Martial Arts Society in her hand. She did not even glance at him.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we¡­¡±

    ¡°Not going.¡±

    ¡°I never said we should go and take a look.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up and write.¡±

    ¡°Is this my novel or your novel?¡± Li Qingshan was furious.

    ¡°So be it. It¡¯s not like you can write anything anyway, so let¡¯s go out and take a look!¡± Gu Yanying put her book down and smiled.

    ¡°Who said I can¡¯t write anything? I¡¯m basically done with planning. I¡¯ll write right now and show you!¡±

    As a member of the school of Novels, how could Li Qingshan endure such humiliation? He immediately got to work and wrote away fervently. His horrible handwriting was very funny in Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes, but she said nothing when she saw how serious he was. She could help him write out a copy in better handwriting later anyway.

    The whistling of the wind and snow rang out softly from the windows, which only highlighted the silence in the room. The fireplace crackled from time to time.

    She leaned against her hand. She had already forgotten how many years it had been since she had so much leisure. Perhaps she never possessed any from the very day she was born.

    She had no regard for the flow of time, nor was she in a hurry to do anything. She had nothing to do anyway. To mortals, perhaps this was a very ordinary feeling, but she cherished it very much. She had been fixated on the people in the distance, so she obviously had no time to admire the scenery of the journey.

    After spending who knew how long in a trance, the sound of Li Qingshan placing his brush down made her return to her senses. She asked with a smile, ¡°Have you finished writing?¡±

    ¡°Of course?¡± Li Qingshan picked up a page complacently and handed it to Gu Yanying.

    ¡°So little!¡± Gu Yanying was slightly suprised. She felt like she had dazed off for at least two hours.

    ¡°What did you think I was doing? Do you know what writing a novel means?¡± Li Qingshan slammed the desk and roared.

    ¡°Forgive me. I¡¯m mistaken.¡±

    Gu Yanying even felt her ears reverberate. Even when they were in outer space, he had not been so short-tempered, perhaps because he had actually poured his heart out into writing. As a result, she apologised helplessly and took a look. The characters were very difficult to read, but she could still guess what they meant. Her expression gradually became rather strange. In the short time she took to read the page, her furrowed brows turned into a smile before becoming a sneer.

    Afterwards, she rolled the page into a ball and threw it on the ground. She smiled and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t mistaken!¡±

    ¡°Gu Yanying, what are you doing!?¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a furious roar so loud that even the people in the external courtyard could almost make it out clearly. They all leapt in fright. Even when he killed Hou Hongtao in a single strike, he had done so without even batting an eye, so just who had left him so furious, and what would be the end result? The thought of it alone was terrifying.

    Li Qingshan kneeled on the ground, cupping all of his efforts that had now been scrunched up into a ball. He was absolutely livid.

    Gu Yanying shook her head and said seriously, ¡°Li Qingshan, no one will read something like that. Even if you¡¯ve added a secret martial arts manual into the content, they¡¯ll only read the secret manual!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed a few times before he suddenly shrugged. ¡°Alright, I give up!¡± He returned to the bed on the other side and laid down with his arms and legs sprawled out, downing cup after cup of alcohol.

    Gu Yanying was surprised at first before letting out a wry smile. Was this still that relentless, indomitable Li Qingshan she knew?

    ¡°Xiao An is still the better one! Xiao An, where are you right now? I can¡¯t go on without you!¡±

    Li Qingshan recalled the wonderful time he had spent on Cloudwisp island with Xiao An. Back then, he wrote and she supported him. It was harmonious.

    Gu Yanying became a little restless. She sat up and apologised, ¡°Mister Li, don¡¯t be like this. I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m wrong, alright? Why don¡¯t we think of some other way?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in the wrong, so you think!¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll think, I¡¯ll think.¡± Gu Yanying paced around and said in thought, ¡°Since it¡¯s a chronicle regarding the White Ape King, you only need to learn a little bit about what he¡¯s gone through in his life and then string these stories together. Isn¡¯t that basically a book then?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m tired. You can go learn about it!¡± Li Qingshan rolled over, turning away from Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying rolled her eyes and called Yuan Feifei inside, ¡°Caretaker Yuan, I heard you¡¯ve followed the White Ape King for many years?¡±

    ¡°Manor lord, you can just call me Feifei. You¡¯ll be overwhelming me if you call me something like caretaker.¡± Yuan Feifei glanced at Li Qingshan nervously. His furious roar earlier had almost made her pee herself out of fright.

    ¡°Alright, Feifei. Tell me about his stories, the more detailed the better.¡±

    Gu Yanying nodded. When it came to their age, there really was nothing wrong with calling her Feifei.

    Yuan Feifei began to talk. She went from stuttering to eloquent speech. She had always been a clever-tongued fellow, and the White Ape King loved boasting about his various stories when he was drunk too. As such, there were basically as many stories as they could ever want.

    Gu Yanying listened quietly, only to see Li Qingshan secretly listening in as well, which made her smile.

    After listening for a while longer, Li Qingshan suddenly sat up and turned around. He was stern.

    Yuan Feifei paled in fright and knelt down on the ground. She cried out, ¡°Spare me, manor lord!¡±

    ¡°Keep going. Why would I want your life?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡±

    They continued until the middle of the night. Even when she became parched, she did not dare to stop.

    Gu Yanying waved her hand. ¡°Enough, you can go for now. We can continue with the rest tomorrow.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin in thought and noticed the exhaustion on Gu Yanying¡¯s face. He snuffed out the lamps. ¡°It¡¯s quite late, so you get some rest too.¡±

    Gu Yanying laid down and shut her eyes, gripping the kunpeng¡¯s feather in her hand as she anticipated the dream.

    ¡°You can support me with the writing tomorrow!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly said. That was originally Xiao An¡¯s job.

    Gu Yanying opened her eyes and smiled. ¡°Sure. I even feel a little flattered.¡± After a moment of silence, she could not help but ask, ¡°It¡¯s fine even if you don¡¯t have Xiao An?¡±

    ¡°Of course, not!¡±

    ¡°Poor Xiao An. She must be very envious of me.¡± Gu Yanying shut her eyes again and adjusted herself into a more comfortable posture.

    ¡°Only the people trapped here are pitiful.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, poor Gu Yanying.¡±

    Regardless of everything that had happened, Li Qingshan¡¯s plan to write had finally begun again.

    ps£º ×î½üÆðµãÓÐÒ»¸ö»î¶¯£¬¾ÍÊÇÈÃÃÀÅ®·ÛË¿·¢ÕÕÆ¬Ö§³Ö£¬ÊÖÀïÄÃ¸öÃæ°åÐ´Ð©Ö§³ÖÎÒµÄ»°£¬¾ÍÄÜÁ´½Óµ½¸öÈËÖ÷Ò³£¬ÆØ¹âÒ»¸öÔÂÊ²Ã´µÄ£¬Ã²ËÆ»¹ÓÐ»ú»áÀ´Ö£ÖÝÍæ£¬ËäÈ»ÎÒÖªµÀ¿´Õâ±¾ÊéµÄ´ó¶àÊý¶¼ÊÇÒ¯ÃÇ£¬µ«ÊÇÖ¤Ã÷ÄãÃÇ²»ÊÇ»ùÀÐ£¬Å­ìÅÅ®ÓÑµÄÊ±ºòµ½ÁË£¬ÔÚË«Ê®Ò»ÄÇÒ»Ìì£¬¸øµ¥Éí¹·ÃÇÖÂÃüÒ»»÷°É£¡Ð´µ½ÕâÒ»¾ä£¬ÑÛÀá²»ÓÉ×ÔÖ÷µÄÁ÷ÁËÏÂÀ´£¬¾ÝËµ¹ý¶ÈµÄÉËÍ´»á·â±Õ¼ÇÒä£¬Ò»¶¨ÊÇÎÒºöÂÔÁËÊ²Ã´ÖØÒªµÄÊÂ°É£¡

 Chapter 1160

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1160 ¨C The Birth of a New Book

    Unfortunately, Gu Yanying¡¯s plan of invigoration through diet ended in failure. The ape meat did have spiritual qi, and it had been carefully prepared and cooked. However, she was only left with a painful jaw for quite a few days in the end. As a result, most of it went to Li Qingshan to go with his alcohol. The only comment he gave about it was ¡°very chewy¡±.

    All of the spiritual qi in the world rejected them, refusing to be absorbed and digested by them. As a result, they could not recover even a sliver of what they exhausted during their long journey in outer space.

    Li Qingshan could draw out wisps of power from the ground beneath him, but that could only restore some simple strength, and it was as difficult as extracting water from a desert.

    Fortunately, their plan of writing novels was extremely successful. When it came to this world, the White Ape King¡¯s life could be regarded as absolutely fascinating, composed of a series of highs and lows. Meanwhile, the caretaker of the back courtyard, Yuan Feifei, was extremely good at storytelling. Most of the time, Li Qingshan only needed to record what she said before passing it to Gu Yanying for the final touches¡­ in simpler terms, the novel actually had nothing to do with him at all. His ¡°expertise¡±, not in novel-writing, but in something else, was what actually mattered.

    The Legend of the White Ape King definitely did not draw in its readers through a fascinating story or realistic characters, but the White Ape Sword Classic. He happened to be extremely familiar with this plot device. In the book, the White Ape King would regularly experience ¡°instantaneous comprehensions¡± and start a great monologue before sighing at the very end. ¡°Now this is the higher realm of comprehension of the sword!¡±

    No matter how much alcohol the White Ape King drank, he would not disclose any secrets of the sword, so this was obviously all made up by Li Qingshan. However, even these lies he made with his eyes closed would be much clearer and deeper than anything the White Ape King could come up with himself. He even took this world¡¯s level of acceptance into account and specially tailored it to these newbies. It was basically equivalent to a detailed, annotated version of the White Ape Sword Classic. All that it lacked was a great red sticker on the cover, ¡°Best text for learning the sword!¡±

    As for the effects, they had already experimented on Yuan Feifei and seen the result. She actually did not have much talent for martial arts at all. She even lacked basic interest. Virtually the only reason why she had managed to make it to the innate realm was because of the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape¡¯s resources. The White Ape Sword Classic was simply too deep and profound to her, so she did not even have the patience to read the entire page of the sword manual that Gu Yanying released daily. Only when she read Li Qingshan¡¯s novel did she suddenly feel enlightened.

    If a secret martial arts manual was a shortcut up the mountain, whether the mountaineer could actually make it up the mountain would still depend on whether they possessed the talent and willpower to scale the cliffs and overcome the hardships. Li Qingshan had basically detailed every single cliff and obstacle in the task, and he explained how they could be dealt with.

    No one in this world had ever written a secret manual like that. Even when they taught their disciples, they could not explain it so precisely and with so much detail. It was not because they were intentionally trying to make things difficult, or that the concepts involved really were that profound, but they completely lacked that ability.

    However, that would also mean the book would be destined to be extremely long. Gu Yanying had expressed her worries about this as well, to which Li Qingshan responded, ¡°I¡¯m intentionally making it long. Once we have a hundred pages, we¡¯ll release the first book, and then a second and a third. We¡¯ll turn it into a series of books. I think even coming up with a few dozen of them won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Gu Yanying could not help but approve of that. Li Qingshan¡¯s content about swordsmanship was extremely trivial, but it was logical with a clear sense of order. It was way better than the stories he came up with.

    ¡°The White Ape King thought the White Ape Sword Classic was the vast ocean. I¡¯d say this is the vast ocean instead!¡±

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m flattered. Just you watch as I use this ocean to flood this land!¡±

    At the same time, the mountain manor became enveloped in an unprecedentedly nervous atmosphere. Everyone gripped a sword in their hand, all possessing a few pages of the sword manual. Even the chef and the maidservants were no exception, let alone the swordsmen in the outer courtyard. They minimised their sleep as much as possible, even studying the sword manual when they ate or when they sat on the toilet. They even forsook their martial arts training.

    The release rate of a page a day was far too fast. Apart from a small handful of innate masters, none of the others could keep up. All they could do was study it desperately, day in and day out. By the time over a dozen pages had been released, even the protectors of the left and the right became swamped. When they reached the twentieth page, two swordsmen had already passed away from exhaustion, one had suffered from cultivation deviation, and another went insane, jumping off the cliff. It was said that he was even screaming out as he fell, ¡°It¡¯s fake, it¡¯s all fake!¡±

    The other swordsmen only used their spare time to sneer. ¡°Fools like them obviously won¡¯t be able to understand such a profound sword manual!¡±

    Most of the swordsmen even stopped paying attention to the news of the outside world. As they made their way through the manor, they would often come across swordsmen who gripped their swords with vicious expressions as they muttered away under their breaths. They seemed like they were out to kill, but they were probably too distracted to even move out of the way if someone walked into them.

    Just like that, a month had passed. The swordsmen gathered in the hall again, waiting for the thirty-second page of the sword manual. All of their gazes were blank with their necks extended, like a group of ducks waiting to be fed. Even though they were so full that they were on the brink of rupturing, no one could stop themselves from continuing. Some of them even suspected this to be a scheme of the two manor lords to torture everyone to death. They swore they would never look at the sword manual again, but they normally always made the oath after they had seen the newest page of the sword manual.

    ¡°Greetings, manor lords!¡±

    Amid the feeble voices, Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying arrived on time. Compared to the feebleness of the swordsmen, they seemed very energetic. They smiled at each other.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You¡¯ve all had it tough lately, which was very painful to watch. For the sake of your health, we¡¯ve decided that¡­ there will be no page today.¡±

    Everyone was taken aback. It took them tremendous effort to return to their senses. A spark flashed through their eyes, and immediately, the entire crowd was set off.

    ¡°No page today?¡± ¡°Why is there no page?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d release the entire book?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Li Qingshan spat out the two words, and everyone reeled back like ducks grabbed by the neck. Even to this day, a clear handprint still remained where the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword had been killed. Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Caretaker Yuan, bring the box over and broaden their horizons.¡±

    Yuan Feifei arrived in the centre of the hall with a great box in her hands, placing it down gently. She opened it gracefully. Sure enough, there was a stack of books inside.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fight, don¡¯t snatch. There¡¯s a book for everyone!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    The eyes of the swordsmen lit up as they immediately gathered over. The title, Legend of the White Ape King, filled their eyes instantly, as well as the extremely prominent ¡°by Li Qingshan¡± on the cover, which made them all sigh in disappointment at the same time.

    Holding back their disappointment, they took a closer look and noticed a few remarks on the cover. ¡°This is the glorious life of a grandmaster of the sword. This is the great sigh of sudden death!¡±

    The Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword fiercely recommends. ¡°My greatest regret in life is that I couldn¡¯t live until the birth of this book!¡±

    At the very bottom, there were even four large, bright-red words. ¡°Best text for learning the sword!¡±

    The faces of the swordsmen all twitched as they mulled inside, Weren¡¯t you the ones that killed the White Ape King? Since when did the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword say something like that? Even if he regrets something, he¡¯ll probably regret that he ¡°couldn¡¯t live¡±!

    However, in consideration of the White Ape King and the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword¡¯s fates, they decided to be patient. Everyone took a book and began flipping through it.

    ps£º ÎÒ¹ûÈ»ÊÇÌ«±¯Í´ÁË£¬¶¼ÍüÁËËµ£¬´ó¼ÒµÄÕÕÆ¬¿ÉÒÔ·¢µ½ÎÒµÄÎ¢²©£¬Ò²¿ÉÒÔ·¢µ½ÈººÍÌù°É£¡

 Chapter 1161

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1161 ¨C Shadowy Figure

    Just who in the mountain manor did not know about the White Ape King¡¯s glorious past? They struggled to develop any interest, but they gradually realised something and widened their eyes after reading a few pages. Was it perhaps¡­

    ¡°I get it now!¡±

    A young swordsman beamed with joy. He had not reached the innate realm yet, but he could be regarded as quite impressive given his age. Neither his experiences nor cultivation were sufficient to understand the White Ape Sword Classic, so he became more confused the more he looked at it, yet he could not stop looking at it either. During the past few days, he was approaching the verge of cultivation deviation. Now that he saw the Legend of the White Ape King, he suddenly felt like all of his questions had been answered. The answers were so simple that it made him wonder whether it was actually true or not, but the stability of his inner force proved everything.

    ¡°I see! I see!¡±

    All of the swordsmen began understanding with him. This book was not about the White Ape King. It was clearly about the White Ape Sword Classic.

    No, this definitely isn¡¯t just the White Ape Sword Classic, but supreme swordsmanship!

    The protectors of the left and the right glanced at each other, temporarily setting their desire to outdo each other aside. All that remained was amazement. Only they could see this book was not merely an annotated version of the White Ape Sword Classic. Behind the complicated and messy details was a whole different understanding of swordsmanship. If they extracted it, they could write a sword manual countless times simpler than the White Ape Sword Classic, yet also countless times greater. The highest realm of this swordsmanship had already surpassed the limits of this world, like a figment of imagination, well beyond arm¡¯s reach.

    ¡°How¡¯s the book?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s fantastic! It¡¯s basically like rain after a long drought! Wise be the manor lord!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, if that brother of mine saw this book sooner, he wouldn¡¯t have suffered cultivation deviation.¡±

    ¡°If we still don¡¯t understand, then we¡¯re either blind or just utter fools!¡±

    Everyone was both amazed and strangely overjoyed. If their experiences over the past month was like a free lunch that had fallen into their laps, then the current situation was like an invisible hand breaking the lunch into bite-sized pieces and feeding it to them.

    ¡°The swordsmanship of the manor lord truly is profound and unfathomable!¡± the protector of the right said from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°Yeah. Compared to you, the king, the White Ape King is like a clown.¡± The protector of the left refused to be outdone. Originally, the title of ¡°king¡± belonged to the White Ape King. Now, he gave it to Li Qingshan without any hesitation as well.

    Their eyes met, and neither of them refused to relent.

    ¡°I¡¯ve given up on swordsmanship a long time ago. It¡¯s just for beguiling children.¡± Li Qingshan confessed.

    The two protectors refused to believe that, nor could they believe that. If swordsmanship like this was just for beguiling children, then what was their swordsmanship supposed to be? A fight between a dog and a cat?

    ¡°Look at how you gaze at each other in dismay. Aren¡¯t you like children? The world is so vast, yet your view is so narrow.¡±

    Li Qingshan rebuked them in a glorious manner. Gu Yanying opened her metal fan and used it to cover her smile. A guy who became so engrossed in lecturing children did not resemble an ¡°adult¡±.

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance!¡± ¡°We will definitely set aside our differences and devote ourselves to the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape.¡±

    The two protectors expressed their sincerity. At that moment, they did not merely let go of their disputes, but also their original sect and various other ties. Since they had already witnessed swordsmanship like that, there was nothing worth bickering about in the mortal world. Wielders of the sword had never lacked a heart of resolve.

    ¡°Calling this place the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape is no longer appropriate. Please issue a new name, my king!¡±

    Li Qingshan was a little tempted, but after a moment of hesitation, a shadowy figure flashed through his head. He waved his hand. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to broaden your horizons? It¡¯s just a plaque, so why switch it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up and raised both hands. ¡°Very good. Answer me together, everyone. What¡¯s our motto?¡±

    ¡°Everyone can learn! Martial arts for everyone!¡±

    ¡°Is this a good book?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡±

    ¡°Very good. Since it is a good book, you need to memorise it word for word. I will test you in the future. Anyone who can¡¯t memorise it won¡¯t be getting any new pages of the sword manual!¡±

    Li Qingshan revealed his true intentions. His eyes shone brightly like he was staring at a flock of sheep about to be butchered. Once the book spread across the world, he definitely would not be able to make this demand to all of his readers, but what could they do about the fact that they were in his territory?

    ¡°We will definitely abide by the king¡¯s order.¡±

    Everyone was overjoyed. Never did they think there would be a sword manual available to them, as well as a supreme master around to annotate it for them! Since when did something as great as this exist in the world?

    As for memorising the book, none of them found it to be a big deal. The book was called a legend, but it was only a hundred pages, so a few tens of thousand words at most. Among all of the people who studied the sword in the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape, who was not sharp-minded? On top of that, apart from the glorious history of the White Ape King that would bore them to death, the book also contained an ingenious theory on martial arts. Even if no one asked them to, they would still try and memorise it.

    However, very few people noticed the final sentence at the end of the book. ¡°To be continued¡­¡±

    Even if they noticed it, they would be filled with anticipation. None of them could imagine what it actually meant.

    Gu Yanying developed a sliver of pity. That would be several dozen books after all¡ªno, that probably was his conservative estimate. Once he really reached that point, it would probably be several million words or even more than that!

    Thinking up to there, she could not help but smile, which made the hall fall silent. They were all stunned by that instant of beauty.

    Gu Yanying immediately stopped smiling. Just like how beauties could lead to trouble, hopefully it would not lead to any more problems with the heavens. Even if it would not be enough to deal with them, it would be troublesome enough.

    The two of them left the hall again. The snow that had gone on for several days had actually stopped. In the deep-blue sky, the stars gathered around a crescent moon. The moonlight gilded the snowy world with a layer of resplendent silver.

    The weather varied with time, but it was relatively constant overall. Even the obscure will of the heavens could not create endless wind and snow.

    Li Qingshan felt the power of belief in his Divine Talisman of Great Creation grow slightly. Only now could they be considered to have gained a footing in this world and overcome a difficult stage. His heart lightened up as well, which made him laugh aloud. His resonant laughter shook up the icicles on the roof, which made them fall. They were sharp like swords, and they accelerated due to gravity, making them deadly enough to pierce skulls.

    With a wave of his hand, all of the icicles shattered into dust, glimmering in the air like silver powder and dispersing with the wind.

    From this moment onwards, even if the will of the heavens created endless problems, it could not do anything to him!

    His laughter gradually subsided. All Gu Yanying saw was Li Qingshan standing exactly where he was without budging, his brows furrowed as if he was contemplating something.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Since we already have something basic we can rely on, let¡¯s continue to climb higher!¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the sky in high spirits.

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Go back to the tower. I want to spend some time in secluded cultivation to refine these daemon cores!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his palm. The White Ape King¡¯s daemon core glimmered, shining with a metallic colour.

    ¡°Will it work?¡± During this period, Gu Yanying had tried various kinds of pills and foods, but all of it ended in failure. This was a part of the restraints, or these invisible shackles would be far too easy to overcome.

    ¡°Perhaps, but they aren¡¯t what matter!¡±

    The shadowy figure appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s mind again. He was eager to see it reveal its true form.

 Chapter 1162

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1162 ¨C Fool

    Below the towering building, inside the gloomy secret room.

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed. He placed the smallest daemon core into his mouth and swallowed it.

    Something like that did not melt away like regular pills. It took tremendous effort to refine, which was why he had delayed it until now.

    Now, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation had finally changed the situation, and he did not have to worry about exhausting his power of belief anymore. As such, he made an attempt.

    He silently powered the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, converting all of his power of belief into spiritual qi and enveloping the core. It formed a hazy ball of light that shook in his belly.

    He was unable to look inside his body, but Li Qingshan had become extremely familiar with the refinement process a long time ago, so he gathered his focus and ensured his control was as precise as possible, drawing out the energy sliver by sliver. If this scene was magnified a hundred times, it would be possible to see thousands of silver threads rising up from the daemon core. Every single thread was even thinner than a strand of hair.

    It should have been very easy to digest and absorb, but this world refused to let that happen. As soon as the threads of energy left the daemon core, it immediately dissipated, merging with the spiritual qi of the world and forming an extremely sturdy shackle.

    It seemed to be telling him that all of his attempts at recovering his powers were futile.

    Li Qingshan had been anticipating this, so he was not surprised at all. He continued to draw out the power within the daemon core. His target was not to recover his strength through these daemons cores, but to unlock a brand-new power that truly belonged to him, a power that he would struggle to cultivate in the nine provinces, an opportunity that he had almost forgotten about.

    Gu Yanying climbed up to the terrace at the very top of the building. The mountain winds were chilling, sweeping past her ears sharply. Originally, this was her favourite sound, but now, she was forced to wrap herself firmly in a cloak. She gripped the kunpeng¡¯s feather in her hand. Her cheeks that had turned red from the cold formed another smile as she imagined the day she would turn into a kunpeng and reach the other side of these stars.

    This was her cultivation. Taking Li Qingshan¡¯s suggestion into account, she tried to get the kunpeng¡¯s feather to recognise her will. In the very end, she would conform with it and obtain the legacy, turning into a peng and soaring off to the heavens!

    Perhaps one day, I¡¯ll be able to fly even higher than the guy in the cellar!

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan finally refined the first daemon core, but not only had he obtained no energy at all, it had instead exhausted a tremendous amount of power of belief.

    He did not give up. He took out the second daemon core and swallowed it.

    Time trickled by. Eventually, only a single daemon core remained in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession, which also happened to be the White Ape King¡¯s. If he still did not succeed, then all of his efforts would go to waste. He was slightly stern as well, but he was filled with anticipation. He could sense he was only inches away from reaching his goal.

    ¡­¡­

    The courtyard flickered with swords cries. A group of beautiful women in magnificent clothes wielded swords, all under the lead of the woman in red that Li Qingshan had bestowed the Fierce Fire sword to. She was dressed in a set of fiery-red clothes as she stood with her sword in hand, serving as the instructor.

    Originally, she was called Yuan Feihong, but she removed the ¡°Yuan¡± part without any hesitation after the White Ape King¡¯s death. As such, only ¡°Feihong¡± remained.

    Originally, she might have changed her name to Li Feihong or Gu Feihong. Although the two manor lords had shown her kindness, she was quite reluctant. Instead, she had heard how that old demon woman insisted on changing her surname to theirs shamelessly, only to be rebuked by the manor lords. Just imagining her expression back then was hilarious.

    ¡°Sis Feihong, is this move right?¡±

    ¡°You idiot, you¡¯ve already copied out that book so many times, so how do you still not understand such a simple move?¡±

    ¡°Just copying out the book makes me dizzy and nauseous. Why would I still care about what is written inside?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll demonstrate it again for you. Watch closely.¡±

    Feihong could not help but recall how the manor lord had suddenly summoned everyone a few days ago. At first, they thought they were going to be eating, talking, and having some fun, but the end result was they made them copy out the book. Because of how she owed them, she paid great attention to copying out the book¡ªapart from the parts regarding the White Ape King¡¯s glorious achievements¡ªand the end result was her mastering the thirty pages of the sword manual. None of the others had the same patience, unfortunately.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯d rather serve the manor lord than copy out the book again. Even now, my hand still hurts a little!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, you little whore. I think you¡¯re eager for that to happen!¡±

    ¡°I am eager. The manor lord is so powerful and so kind. He¡¯s way better than that furry old monkey.¡±

    ¡°The manor lord has the vice manor lord. He¡¯ll never come to us!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t even imagine someone as beautiful as her. I can¡¯t even get envious.¡±

    ¡°But I heard that the manor lord and the vice manor lord sleep in separate beds. What do you think their relationship is exactly?¡±

    ¡°I think¡­¡±

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Feihong roared out, raising the Fierce Fire sword and cutting through a boulder in the courtyard. ¡°You bunch of foolish women, do you still remember what Hou Hongtao said? No one treats you like people, and you don¡¯t even treat yourselves as people. All of you, focus on practising the sword! I¡¯ll kick whoever that doesn¡¯t practise off the mountain!¡±

    ¡°Yuan Feihong, do you really think you¡¯re that great? You¡¯re not the caretaker, so what gives you the right to order us around? Do you think you can swagger around now just because the manor lord bestowed a sword to you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, with our appearances, we can get by comfortably no matter where we are. Do we really have to spend all day fighting and killing like a group of stinky men? The White Ape King and Hou Hongtao were so impressive, yet weren¡¯t they still killed? Yeah, the sun and the wind is far too harsh on our skin. This is our blessing, unlike certain people who don¡¯t know how to be grateful for this.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re not practising anymore!¡±

    They threw their swords on the ground, producing a series of clanks.

    ¡°You¡­ fools!¡± Feihong gritted her teeth.

    ¡°Hmph, practising the sword so arduously, only to be killed? Who¡¯s supposed to be the fool?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going as well!?¡±

    ¡°Sis Feihong, don¡¯t force us. We¡¯re really not made for this. May you become a supreme master soon!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, only she remained standing in the courtyard. She trembled in anger, but when she looked at the tall building again, she gradually calmed down. She wondered how the two manor lords were doing.

    She could never forget that furious roar. If she¡¯s not a person, what are you supposed to be? She always longed for that natural graceful figure that stood in the world alone too.

    However, when she thought about what those foolish women had said, it was not without reason either. No one liked to kill or be killed. She was no different. Touching her face, her skin seemed to have become slightly coarser compared to before. Was she really the fool?

    ¡­¡­

    A great sigh rang out in the gloomy secret room. Li Qingshan stood up slowly with a rather heavy heart. The final daemon core had been exhausted, and it had still ended in failure. He had exhausted tremendous amounts of power of belief for nothing.

    His goal that originally felt only inches away suddenly felt well beyond his reach, worlds away from him.

    It was not that he could not accept this failure, but he could not help but feel a little gloomy. He emerged from the building alone.

    The brilliant moon hung in the sky. All of its incompleteness had already vanished, turning into a full moon.

    Gu Yanying stood on the top of the building and faltered. Right now, what he needed was not consolation.

    He had put in all of his effort, yet he obtained nothing. This feeling was truly difficult to bear, but it was even more important that he bore it himself, as this was the exact path he was taking. It was not completely impossible for him to realise that all his efforts and sacrifices right from the beginning had been for nothing. By then, even a man of mediocrity could claim his life of mediocrity was better, and what was he supposed to do?

 Chapter 1163

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1163 ¨C The Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void

    The night was cool like water. The moon was cold like frost.

    Li Qingshan made his way through the dancing tree shadows. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a sword piercing the air, flashing with scarlet light in the courtyard ahead. He could not help but make his way over, only to see a woman practising the sword. He watched for a while under the entrance before shaking his head. ¡°It¡¯s wrong.¡±

    Feihong looked back in surprise. ¡°Manor lord, you¡¯ve emerged!¡±

    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re called Feihong, right?¡± Li Qingshan was a little absent-minded. If it were not for the Fierce Fire sword, he almost did not recognise her.

    ¡°So the manor lord still remembers me.¡± Feihong beamed with joy. ¡°May I ask what is wrong?¡±

    ¡°Your swordsmanship is wrong.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m just following the sword manual.¡±

    ¡°Yours is different. Speaking of which, the sword manual is wrong too.¡±

    ¡°Please give me guidance, manor lord.¡± Feihong immediately offered up the Fierce Fire sword carefully.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her and casually accepted the Fierce Fire sword. He began to move with it slowly. His movements were slow and sluggish, not completely for the sake of demonstrating swordsmanship to her, but because his strength was still below hers even after recovering quite a bit.

    But in her eyes, it seemed to conform with the world.

    The Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth was the most profound swordsmanship Li Qingshan had ever come into contact with. If someone attained its highest realm, everything in the world was available for them to wield. They could achieve unprecedented softness and flexibility, as well as unprecedented firmness and strength.

    However, the most ironic part of this all was nothing in this world was available for him to wield. His mind fluctuated, and the sword came to a halt. Suddenly, he looked back. ¡°Do you have a blade?¡±

    It was like a spark, which alarmed Feihong. Only then did she realise it was his gaze, like a charcoal fire rising up in the darkness. ¡°Manor lord, this is the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape. How can there be any blades?¡±

    The glow of the fire dimmed again, and Li Qingshan returned the Fierce Fire sword to her. ¡°Then forget about it. Keep practising the sword.¡± He turned around and continued on his stroll.

    ¡°Manor lord, I have something else that I¡¯d like your advice on.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Li Qingshan looked back.

    Feihong told him about what happened earlier today and hesitated. ¡°Do you think I should practise the sword?¡±

    ¡°How would I know?¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands and shrugged.

    ¡°Huh?¡± In Feihong¡¯s eyes, he was filled with mysteriousness. She felt like nothing could stop or stump him.

    ¡°If your swordsmanship is wrong, I can teach you, but you must choose your path yourself.¡±

    ¡°But how am I supposed to choose?¡±

    ¡°Those who use the sword die to the sword. None of what they said is wrong. If you practise the sword, then you need to become bloodied, and you might die on the streets. It truly isn¡¯t as safe and secure as being a canary in a cage, and you can have a relatively easier life too. However, I don¡¯t think you can take that path.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re not an idiot!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ an idiot¡­¡± Feihong was stunned.

    ¡°So if you don¡¯t practise the sword, you¡¯ll regret it for the rest of your life. You won¡¯t even have what they have.¡±

    ¡°I get it. I¡¯m not an idiot!¡± Feihong smiled.

    ¡°Wolves eat meat. Dogs eat shit. Everyone has their way of getting by. If you practise the sword, then even if you get married off to someone in the future, your husband¡¯s family will have to treat you with some respect. They have such a great, heaven-sent opportunity, yet they don¡¯t know how to grasp it, all because they find it too laborious. Despite that, they go on about something like how peace is happiness? They deserve to eat shit for the rest of their lives!¡±

    He went on about idiots and shit, which really did leave Feihong feeling disgusted, but she also felt enlightened. She could not help but laugh aloud. ¡°Manor lord, you¡¯re far too interesting, but I¡¯m not going to get married. I want to achieve peerless swordsmanship and shatter through space!¡±

    Those were three words that even a master like Hou Hongtao did not dare to mention carelessly, yet now it came from the mouth of a woman who almost possessed nothing. It was a dream.

    ¡°And what about after that?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡± There was nothing Feihong could respond with. Originally, her blood had been boiling with enthusiasm, but now she felt a chill as the night breeze swept by.

    The difficulties that lay in a dream was not the twisted path leading to it, but the fact that no one knew what would happen once it came true.

    What if she ended up wandering through the void forever after shattering through space? What if she was eaten in a single gulp by a powerful demon as soon as she arrived in a different world?

    When it came to this, his ¡°beyond the Nine Heavens¡± was not necessarily much better than her ¡°shattering through space¡±.

    ¡°You can think about it yourself slowly!¡± Li Qingshan strolled away with his hands behind his back.

    Feihong gazed at his back and felt troubled. She had just dealt with a problem after so much difficulty, only for him to toss her a greater one. She spent a good moment thinking about it, but she could not come up with anything. Whatever. I¡¯ll deal with it when the time comes. You better watch as I achieve peerless swordsmanship first and make those foolish women die from regret!

    There were some problems that others did not have to think about, but Li Qingshan had to think about them. The tiny failure could not even be considered as a setback compared to the trials of life and death he had faced in the past. However, in the current situation, it just happened to perturb his worry hidden in the depths of his heart.

    What was awaiting him beyond the Nine Heavens? Even if he had the ox demon¡¯s persistence and the tiger demon¡¯s vigour, what if his centuries and millennia of hard work was all an empty illusion? Or perhaps it was like what the Clam King of Mirage Sea had said, that the world had always been an empty illusion, and everything was merely the murmurs of someone else as they slept.

    Li Qingshan arrived by a pool. The full moon reflected in the pool as if it was right by his side.

    Abruptly, he thought of something. He could not help but bend over and attempt to scoop up the moon.

    However, the water rippled, wrapping around the tips of his fingers gently. The moon shifted as a result.

    The reflections in the water were obviously beyond his reach.

    His mind was completely absorbed by the rippling moon. He extended his hands again, but he grabbed nothing again. Only water trickled between his fingers. As the ripples settled, the full moon appeared on the water surface again, and his disappointment immediately turned back into hope. He was extremely serious with every single attempt he made, such that he forgot everything else going on around him, including his past failures. He did something so foolish that even little children would not do.

    Like that, he repeated it who knew how many times. Suddenly, he returned to his senses. ¡°Hang on, there¡¯s something off. It¡¯s winter right now, so why hasn¡¯t the water frozen over?¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the pool was sealed up by ice. Even the moon was obscured by the clouds. The surroundings were dark and quiet.

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded. He smiled wryly. ¡°Have I suffered from cultivation deviation?¡±

    Even now, he continued to long for the moon in the water, with the same pure sincerity as a child. It was so gentle and close, such that he wanted to cup it in his hands.

    Like a bolt of lightning through the night sky, a shadowy figure suddenly lit up in the depths of his sea of consciousness. A black ape hung upside down, extending its long arms like it was trying to scoop up something.

    A mantra leapt out at him. The Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void!

    A tremendous amount of information flooded through his sea of consciousness, turning into the Ape Demon¡¯s Method of Moon Scooping.

    Indeed, it was the fifth transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the Ape Demon Transformation!

    However, Li Qingshan was unable to smile. He murmured to himself, ¡°The Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void, All to Null and Void!¡±

    Unlike the Ox Demon Transformation and the Tiger Demon Transformation, the ape demon neither possessed the ox demon¡¯s persistence to never yield even in the face of death, nor the tiger demon¡¯s ambition to fight anything and everything, which were both filled with a solemn and stirring spirit. The ape demon¡¯s figure even bore a sense of playful innocence.

    All the ape wanted to do was scoop up the moon in the water. That was fated to be an empty illusion, but it was completely unaware, trying tirelessly, continuing until even the world around it collapsed. Was that not a form of great sorrow?

    Even in the legendary last layer of hell, Av¨©ci, at least those trapped in there would be aware they were being punished and tortured, and perhaps they would even struggle and put up resistance. Even if they could not put up a struggle, at least they still understood despair.

 Chapter 1164

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1164 ¨C I¡¯m Very Happy

    Dark clouds loomed, and light snow fell.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. None of the demonic transformations were about anything particularly auspicious. There was the ox demon¡¯s stubbornness, the tiger demon¡¯s frenzy, and now, there was the ape demon¡¯s ignorance as well.

    Brother ox, oh brother ox, just what are you trying to tell me?

    Through his previous cultivation experience, he understood that this was a spirit contained within the brand-new transformation, and it was not something he could comprehend overnight. As a result, he simply stopped racking his brains about it.

    The path lay right below his feet, and all he had to do was advance!

    He was certain there would be a day when he understood exactly what the moon in the water meant.

    Li Qingshan let out a great howl, which lingered endlessly. It churned up the sky full of light snow, but it did not possess the brutality and violence of a tiger¡¯s roar.

    ¡°The howl of an ape!¡±

    Everyone throughout the entire mountain manor suddenly realised it had already been a very long time since they last heard this ape howl. In the past, the White Ape King loved letting out howls. If it were not for the fact that they sounded completely different, they almost would have believed that the White Ape King¡¯s soul had come back alive and was currently haunting the mountain manor.

    The White Ape King¡¯s howls were always high and sharp, possessing the pride and aloofness of looking down on the world. On the other hand, this howl was hollow and distant, full of flexibility and interest, but they could not help but develop a sense of sorrow after listening to it for a while.

    On the tall building, Gu Yanying slammed her hand against the stone railing and gazed in the direction of the howl. However, the clouds blotted out the moon, so everything was dark. Has this kid comprehended something again?

    ¡°Manor lord?¡±

    Feihong set down the Fierce Fire sword and listened closely for a good moment. Did someone like him experience sorrow as well?

    Suddenly, the howl vanished in the snow and wind. Li Qingshan lurched forwards, swinging his arms about. His eyes were filled with colour and intelligence as if he had turned into a great big ape. He had formally begun practising the Ape Demon¡¯s Method of Moon Scooping.

    As he leapt and bounded about, there was no violent, offensive behaviour, just like an ape playing about and having fun in the forest.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was filled with joy as well, feeling as if he had returned to his childhood. Even when he was alone, he did not feel bored. The world was filled with joys and strange things, which were more than enough to stop him from frowning.

    This was the first time he had felt so joyful and happy when it came to practising a cultivation method. The melancholy from the futile effort of scooping the moon had been cast to the back of his mind long ago.

    Of course, any cultivation method he practised required the support of resources. The world definitely would not give him even a sliver of spiritual qi, but why would he need anyone¡¯s charity? He powered the Divine Talisman of Great Creation at full strength, producing extremely pure spiritual qi. As it flowed through his body, his movements became more agile, whooshing about with the sounds of wind.

    The benefits of this world had been demonstrated at this point in time. The invisible restraints had instead removed all of his obstructions. He did not have to consider any balance between the demonic and divine. All he had to do was dance to his heart¡¯s content.

    Whether it was the ox demon and tiger demon or the phoenix and spirit turtle, all they could do was watch helplessly as this little monkey leapt around, unable to influence it at all.

    Only when day broke did Li Qingshan stop. He was covered in sweat, but his face was filled with excitement and joy. The Ape Demon Transformation sure was fun. There was actually such a joyful cultivation method in the world.

    But before he knew it, he had already used up almost half of the power within the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. That power was enough for him to kill the White Ape King two hundred times, but his cultivation of the Ape Demon Transformation had only just begun.

    It was like how killing a person only needed a gentle swipe, yet forging a treasured blade required tempering and beating thousands of times.

    Thinking back to the time he spent in the nine provinces, even eating meat and drinking alcohol could be regarded as cultivation, and who knew how many pills he had eaten. It was equivalent to the entire world supporting him. Now that he had left the nine provinces, he could only depend on himself. It was truly like how ¡°Mothers are the best in the world. Children without mothers are like a blade of grass.¡±

    However, at least he had forced open a path. As long as he sold the Legend of the White Ape King across the world, would he still have to worry about insufficient power of belief? Before he left this world, he should at least reach the first layer of the Ape Demon Transformation and grasp an innate ability.

    Abruptly, he discovered that his body felt rather different. Only when he raised his arms did he discover they had become much longer. His hands had been elongated too, covered in thin fluff. He touched his face in a hurry, and his entire face seemed to have bulged forward slightly too.

    Oi, if this continues, I¡¯m actually going to turn into a monkey. But at least it bears some resemblance to a human!

    Li Qingshan glanced over and saw the frozen pool again. With a leap, he extended his arm, and his fingers pierced the air.

    With a clank, he forcefully ripped out a piece of the rock-hard ice and crushed it to pieces.

    Then he raised his arm gently, and the drifting snow seemed to be sucked into his hand. He rolled it into a snowball and threw it hard, causing it to vanish off into the sky.

    Gu Yanying was currently peering into the darkness when a speck of white suddenly appeared in her vision, rapidly growing larger. Before she could even respond, a ball of coldness struck her in the face, sending snow everywhere and making her reel over.

    ¡°You bastard!¡±

    With his hands on his hips, Li Qingshan laughed aloud.

    ¡­¡­

    From that day onwards, a few discussions began in the mountain manor. The manor lord seemed to have gone insane.

    First of all, he changed the plaque from the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape to the Mountain Manor of the Ape Demon, and he wrote it personally. He wrote two extremely ugly characters on paper and stuck it to the plaque with his spittle.

    Yes, his spittle, and all thanks to the fact that it was currently winter, it froze very quickly, or it would have been blown away by the winds in the blink of an eye.

    Everyone was dumbfounded the first time they saw the new plaque. They had no idea how to respond. No one understood the meaning behind changing the divine ape to the ape demon. Was he intentionally getting it backwards?

    He also liked to climb and leap around the icy-cold, precipitous cliffs, letting out a strange howl and laugh at the same time. Sometimes, he would leap up from the cliffs suddenly and make them leap in fright.

    Someone said it was because he ate the White Ape King¡¯s daemon core that he became more monkey-like, but the person was rebuked immediately. Even the White Ape King was not that monkeyish.

    He became more and more temperamental and unpredictable too. A few days ago, he abruptly gathered everyone to hold a banquet, but the end result was everyone¡¯s tables only had fruit. Fruit was extremely precious given the season, except his table was piled up with meat and alcohol. He ate away all by himself as if he was striking back at them for calling him a monkey.

    During the banquet, a young swordsman grumbled under his breath in displeasure, and Li Qingshan immediately threw the White Ape King¡¯s skull that he used as a cup over, leaving the young man bloodied. Right when everyone thought he was about to fly into a rage and carry out a massacre, he began laughing aloud, giving the cup to the young man. He went on about something like it was already his, as he had marked the cup with his blood.

    Everyone could still recall the young man¡¯s expression back then, but they could not describe it or even imagine it. It was an expression that actually bore fear, shame, surprise, and joy at the same time. The young man originally considered whether to beg for his life or not, but it suddenly became whether he should thank him or not. The end result was he simply stood there in a daze.

    Towards the end, everyone basically became a little envious of him. Just by getting smacked in the head, he obtained the White Ape King¡¯s skull. Even when a few swordsmen from aristocratic clans offered a tremendous sum for it, he refused to sell it, as he also came from an aristocratic clan.

    Gu Yanying was deeply affected. Li Qingshan had come up to her and said he wanted to show her something all mysteriously. Then he brought her to the corner of a wall and showed her the bathing women on the other side through a tiny hole. She basically wanted to choke him to death.

    ¡°Kid, I know you¡¯re doing this to comprehend the nature of the ape, but even when it comes to cultivation, you don¡¯t need to be so devoted!¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m very happy!¡±

 Chapter 1165

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1165 ¨C A Clap of Spring Thunder Shakes the World

    Bright light flowed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. On the precipitous cliff beneath his feet, there were thousands of tiny holes, all claw marks left behind by his hands.

    The will of the heavens had toyed with him countless times, where the rock crumbled under his grip, or snow and wind bombarded him from behind. He had all dealt with it in the moment. As long as he slipped up even just once, his body would be smashed to pieces, but he never used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, nor did he lose his smile.

    He was very happy, definitely not just due to the influence from the ape demon¡¯s demonic nature. Instead, as he followed his heart in an almost hysterical manner, he recalled his original sentiments.

    He recalled how unwilling he felt to simply submit to fate when he was on the brink of death, having lived this fleeting life in such a mediocre manner. He also recalled how happy and joyful he felt when he gained a new life and how he swore he would not let this life go to waste.

    Back then, all he thought of was having a satisfying life across his century of lifespan, but before he knew it, he already possessed far more than he initially wanted. He possessed unimaginably great strength and an unimaginably lengthy lifespan, so why had he become afraid instead?

    Formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness. That was the unavoidable cycle of the world.

    Were the gods and buddhas truly immortal and undying? No matter who or what it was, were they not reduced to emptiness in the very end?

    Scooping the moon was futile, but so what?

    The will of the heavens toyed with him, but did he have to care what the end result was?

    If the moon in the water was truly so enchanting, then he should just scoop away!

    Gu Yanying seemed to understand something, leaving her momentarily speechless. She patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Listening to the splashing water next door, she suddenly smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t think that much, it really is very interesting, except¡­¡±

    She took out the peng¡¯s feather and swung it gently.

    Crack! The stone wall was split into pieces, which slid and shifted before collapsing loudly, sending water surging. The pasty-white bodies within the steam all froze there.

    ¡°Then you better look carefully!¡±

    Within the screams, Gu Yanying turned around and left while fanning herself. Her foot suddenly slipped, and she lurched forward violently. Li Qingshan caught her by the waist.

    ¡°The damned heavens are basically even worse than you!¡±

    Gu Yanying gritted her teeth. During the time she spent in the building, she had been careful with everything, such that she had almost forgotten about her bad luck.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m about to compete with it!¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    ¡°Alright. You¡¯ve basically spent enough time running around recently. It¡¯s time for you to go back with me to write the novel.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t we already have a book? I¡¯m going to the front courtyard for a stroll!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt troubled as soon as sitting there with a brush and writing away crossed his mind. Climbing around dangerously on the cliffs was still more fun.

    ¡°If you¡¯re training, then I don¡¯t care, but you¡¯re bored enough to show me this today, so you¡¯ve clearly encountered a bottleneck. You¡¯re probably running out of the power of belief within the Divine Talisman of Great Creation!¡± Gu Yanying grabbed his elongated arm and stared at him sharply.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t hide anything from you.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. During the past few days that he spent climbing around on the cliffs, he had already pushed the powers of the ape demon to the limit.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re aware. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re a novelist.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t forget that.¡±

    ¡°Before the beginning of spring next year, we need to make ample preparations.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, definitely.¡±

    ¡°You should be able to help me up now!¡±

    Gu Yanying lay in the crook of Li Qingshan¡¯s arm and carried out this serious conversation, except right behind them was the chaotic bathing pool. It truly was a very strange sight.

    ¡­¡­

    The weather came and went. The snowflakes fell at times and stopped at others. The whistling mountain wind never stopped.

    The winter up north was especially long, but before they knew it, the icicles began to melt away silently, dripping with translucent beads of water.

    Boom!

    A bolt of lightning shot across the sky, and the entire mountain manor shook. Everyone in the mountain manor felt like the clap of thunder had exploded right by their ears. By the time they had recovered from the shock, cries rang through the mountain manor.

    ¡°Oh no, the main building has been struck by lightning!¡±

    ¡°The formation has fallen! It must have struck the central point!¡±

    ¡°How is it that coincidental?¡±

    ¡°Where are the two manor lords?¡±

    ¡°Still in the building!¡±

    Dark clouds hung low in the sky. Following the clap of spring thunder, even more lightning began to build up in the cloud layer, all pouring down on the building. The lightning twisted and expanded on the stone walls.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is the heavenly tribulation of ascension?¡±

    In the secret room below the building, Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying were completely aware that this was not some heavenly tribulation. It was only a regular lightning storm, but it happened to occur above the mountain manor, and each bolt happened to come for them.

    The rumbling echoed through the secret room, deafening them.

    ¡°You got lucky! Otherwise, if a bolt struck you! No one would be able to save you!¡± Li Qingshan yelled at the top of his voice.

    Gu Yanying basically spent every single day cultivating on the terrace, regardless of the wind and snow. She happened to have not gone up there today, dragging him into the secret room to check the treasures in preparation for leaving the mountain. As such, she managed to avoid this disaster.

    ¡°It¡¯s not good luck! I observe the clouds every single day! If I hadn¡¯t brought you here! You would have died to the lightning long ago!¡± Gu Yanying yelled at the top of her voice too.

    Since young, she had always liked to fly, so she was completely familiar with the various kinds of clouds. Lightning clouds and regular clouds were completely different. As soon as she noticed changes in the weather, she dragged Li Qingshan here. This was the lowest point of the mountain manor, as well as the sturdiest and safest place.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner!?¡±

    ¡°Surprise!¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Surprise your grandfather!¡± Li Qingshan rolled his eyes, but he saw Gu Yanying¡¯s smile stiffen as she pointed behind him and roared out, ¡°Be careful, lightning!¡±

    How could there be lightning here? He had even closed the heavy stone door to the secret room.

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought she was joking, but looking back, he saw a ball of lightning that had passed through the stone door somehow, wandering around silently. The air was filled with a strange stench.

    ¡°Fucking hell¡­¡±

    ¡°Boom!¡±

    Violet light filled the secret room.

    After a good while, the lightning clouds dispersed, and the stone door opened up.

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying crawled out, dirtied and covered in dust. A good half of the building above them had collapsed, and flames rose up in the mountain manor. The figures of people rushed about to put it out.

    However, when the lightning ran amok earlier, it had killed several people, so no one dared to emerge.

    By now, the fire had already spread completely. Even the innate masters were powerless.

    The mountain winds whistled, feeding the flames and turning the mountain manor into a sea of fire. The lone mountain seemed to have been set alight like a huge torch. Even from dozens of kilometers away, it was possible to see the fire.

    ¡°Oh no, my novels!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed. He had spent an entire winter writing the Legend of the White Ape King to the fifth volume before having his subordinates make over ten thousand copies by hand. With this fire, it had all gone up in ashes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve ordered them to seal the books in chests before burying them in the ground. They¡¯re impervious to fire and water!¡±

    Li Qingshan eased up. Earlier, he had used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation again to stay alive, which used up a lot of power of belief. He had already reached an extremely dangerous point. Once it completely ran out, he would be forced to gamble his life against the heavens with his naked body.

    He produced a whirlwind to force back the heat waves. The two of them stood within the roaring flames as a plume of black smoke rose up into the sky, circling around the mountain like a black dragon brandishing its claws, staring at them in malice.

    Gu Yanying gazed at the sky. ¡°Looks like the heavens are urging us to get on with our path!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then let¡¯s set off and go make a mess! Let¡¯s make the entire world aware of me, the Descended Tiger Li Qingshan, and you, the Soaring Divine Hawk Gu Yanying!¡±

    ¡°Erm, could you drop the two nicknames?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Nope.¡±

 Chapter 1166

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1166 ¨C I Have a Dream

    Within the coiling smoke, the Mountain manor of the Divine Ape, once renowned throughout the north, had been reduced to ruins. The embers flashed in the darkness.

    Feihong rushed over, passing through the ruined courtyard and arriving beneath the collapsed building. All she saw was Li Qingshan seated on the tall, stone steps, robust and quiet with a smile on his face. Gu Yanying stood beside him, peering off into the distance. Her clothes fluttered as if she was about to drift away with the wind.

    Feihong eased up inside. She could not see even the slightest disappointment from the two of them, which filled her with even more admiration.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come, Feihong,¡± Li Qingshan greeted like usual.

    ¡°Manor lord, as long as you¡¯re fine. Sigh, so many of my sisters died to the flames.¡± Feihong sighed emotionally. When she recalled the charred corpses, she still felt some disgust. Feihong smiled wryly. If it were not for the improvement of her martial arts lately, she almost would have been in trouble too.

    Seeing how her face had blackened from the smoke, he smiled. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s still a bit of benefit to learning martial arts.¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s destroying! It¡¯s destroyed! It¡¯s all destroyed! Manor lord, what are we supposed to do?¡±

    Yuan Feifei rushed over in a tear-stricken manner. Originally, she wanted to remain in this manor comfortably for the rest of her life as the caretaker, but it had all gone up in ashes now.

    ¡°What¡¯re you wailing around for?¡± Li Qingshan barked.

    He stood up slowly and allowed his hands to dangle, reaching all the way to his knees. He sucked in a deep breath and howled at the sky.

    The howl rang out across the entire mountain, and everyone gathered over. Basically none of the swordsmen in the external courtyard had suffered any losses. Apart from an unlucky bastard who was killed by lightning, the others were perfectly fine. Over a dozen people died in the back courtyard, but almost everyone possessed inner force after all, so most of them managed to survive.

    The night was deep. Figures flickered about, all staring at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan extended his limbs and pointed at the sky. He asked loudly, ¡°Do you know why the lightning happened?¡±

    Everyone was silent. He patted his chest. ¡°It came for me!¡±

    All of them had felt the lightning storm was related to Li Qingshan somehow, but when he personally admitted it, they also found it to be absolutely absurd. How could a mortal incur the wrath of the heavens?

    ¡°The damned heavens want me dead. Do you know why?¡±

    Li Qingshan scanned around with his orangey-yellow pupils. Finally, someone could not help but ask, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m trying to do something big!¡±

    ¡°What big thing?¡±

    ¡°Who still remembers our motto? Feihong, you tell me!¡±

    ¡°Everyone can learn! Martial arts for everyone!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s exactly what it is. I¡¯m going to make my way off the mountain right now and make this come true! I want to spread the books I¡¯ve written across the world so that everyone in the world can learn supreme secret arts, the strongest martial arts!¡±

    Everyone looked at one another, filled with shock. They never imagined him to be serious with the motto and not joking around. That was basically even crazier than everything he had done as the manor lord, but due to their reverence and fear for him, no one dared to speak up.

    ¡°Manor lord, you must never do that. You¡¯ll be making an enemy out of all the aristocratic clans in the world!¡±

    A swordsman spoke up to object. He was the young man that Li Qingshan had thrown the skull at.

    ¡°If I recall correctly, you¡¯re from an aristocratic clan.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank.

    The young man regretted it slightly now. He said reluctantly, ¡°I¡¯m from the Ximen family of the west. This is only my personal opinion. It has nothing to do with my clan.¡±

    ¡°Keep going!¡±

    ¡°This is a place beyond the influence of any clan, so you¡¯re welcome to do whatever you want, manor lord, but if the Legend of the White Ape King spreads across the world, all sword sects and sword schools will face extinction. No, not just sword sects and sword schools. By then, all the sects and clans in the world will rally together against you. Please reconsider, manor lord!¡±

    The young man bowed deeply. His forehead gradually became laced with cold sweat. Even he himself had not imagined how severe the consequences would be before he spoke up. He only hoped that it would be another skull that was thrown at him.

    The other swordsmen were shocked, unable to imagine what kind of a sight that would be. Across the world, there were only a handful of cultivation methods that could rival the White Ape Sword Classic. If he included the annotations in the Legend of the White Ape King, it would basically be unrivalled.

    If it truly spread across the world as Li Qingshan proclaimed, who would still want to take on a master and study martial arts by then? Even most master-disciple successions would be lost. Even a farmer in the mountains could kill the descendants of great clans and disciples of great sects as long as they possessed sufficient talent and willpower.

    There were several instances of this in the martial arts community¡ªa young genius has a fortuitous encounter, suddenly rising up like a star, which leads to a hubbub of discussion and conversation. However, something like that rarely even happened across each century. These geniuses were all from lineages with masters, and they would become masters themselves in the end, either forming a sect or establishing a clan.

    If this became commonplace, then the order of the martial arts community would completely collapse. The world would sink into unprecedented chaos.

    ¡°Well said!¡±

    With a wave of his hand, a streak of frosty light pierced the air from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, shooting towards the young man.

    The young man¡¯s eyes narrowed. He could not draw his sword in time. He thought, I¡¯m done for!

    However, the frosty light formed an arc, planting into the ground right by his feet.

    ¡°You sure have a bit of courage, kid, to speak so frankly. I¡¯ll reward you with the White Ape King¡¯s True Steel sword!¡±

    ¡°T- thank you, manor lord!¡± The young man was both surprised and overjoyed, while everyone else¡¯s gazes were filled with envy.

    ¡°But that¡¯s exactly what I want, to make an enemy out of all the sects and clans in the world!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly.

    Actually, Gu Yanying had already told him about this a long time ago, and she had explained it with even greater clarity. He wanted to use the White Ape Sword Classic to spread his novels. Even though it was a shortcut to success, allowing him to rapidly accumulate the power of belief, he had to pay a price as well.

    Martial arts was extremely popular in this world, but most importantly, the thousands of sects and clans had a monopoly over the most important martial arts manuals. If a peasant youngster did not have a fortuitous encounter, he could never defeat an adolescent young master even if he trained for his entire life. As a matter of fact, even the sects and clans themselves were divided into various levels. There were the external and internal courtyards, direct and branch descendants. These formed a firm system.

    At the very centre of all this, it would usually just be a single secret art or a few kinds of martial arts.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s actions would definitely be challenging the order of the world that had lasted for centuries and millennia. Coupled with how he had acted in the past, the response was obviously as clear as day.

    ¡°But what¡¯s the point of this?¡±

    No one could understand why he would try and do something so difficult and fruitless.

    ¡°For the sake of justice! Across the entire world, just how many young and great heroes devote themselves to building their reputation and only just that? How many good deeds have they done in their lives? The so-called fine brigands of the forests are known to rob the rich and give to the poor, but just how many rich families have they robbed, and just how many poor families have they given to? Not to mention that the actions of these people are like looking down on others and pitying some. They don¡¯t even treat people as people, just tools of self-fulfilment.¡±

    ¡°I will show everyone in the world right now just what true righteousness is and what is truly robbing the rich and giving to the poor. I want all the weak and feeble people in the world to possess the power to protect themselves! I want to give all those from humble circumstances the opportunity to become supreme masters! I dream that one day, there will be no division left in the world, no difference between the rich and the poor! I want everyone to have a fair chance, so everyone can achieve something great by themselves! I want to leave these haughty people born with a silver spoon in their mouths dumbfounded!¡±

    ¡°What clans and sects? They¡¯re absolutely nothing! Before the unstoppable changes sweeping across the world, even the obscure will of the heavens can¡¯t stop it! Those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish! That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m doing today, going against the heavens!¡±

    The weather changed, and the sun rose up in the east. Li Qingshan glowed brilliantly, such that no one could stare at him directly.

 Chapter 1167

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1167 ¨C Those Who Submit Will Prosper And Those Who Resist Will Perish

    At that moment, he seemed like a combination of the demonic and divine, merging justice and evil, chivalry and tyranny, heroism and madness into a single body. Under the glorious morning sunlight, it seemed like even the obscure heavens had no idea whether to destroy him or assist him to success.

    ¡°Perfect timing.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s lips curled slightly. He had hidden his true intentions ingeniously before coming up with a fake reason for why the world rejected him. She never expected the kid who always liked to move alone would actually be so cunning. However, she also remembered how he always upheld his word. He could say something so enthusiastic and exciting that even she felt a little excited, but did that mean¡­

    She paid attention closely, only to see his gaze burning away with determination. Even she could not find an element of falsehood. Was he perhaps serious?

    Suddenly, she recalled a few months ago when she grumbled about how the heavens were even worse than him, and he had smiled. ¡°I¡¯m about to compete with it!¡±

    The red sun gradually rose up in the east, and everyone recovered from their shock. Their expressions all varied as they sank into their thoughts silently. They felt both fear and shock, as well as a strange sense of anticipation.

    A middle-aged swordsman suddenly said, ¡°Well said, manor lord. There¡¯s nothing impressive about clans and sects. Why are they just allowed to be better than everyone else right from birth?¡±

    In order to join the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape to study the sword, he had spent almost a decade gathering enough treasures to offer up to the White Ape King, but he was already past the optimal age to learn the sword. He had little hope of reaching the innate realm, and he had to face the scorn from the aristocratic swordsmen in the mountain manor too. He had become filled with annoyance a long time ago. Li Qingshan¡¯s White Ape Sword Classic had instead become his hope at becoming a supreme master.

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to follow the manor lord too!¡±

    Shortly afterwards, a few other swordsmen called out. They were all born as peasants, and their strength was nothing special. They had not even reached the innate realm. Li Qingshan¡¯s words had spurred their feelings of injustice.

    Most importantly, only by following Li Qingshan could they get the opportunity to continue to comprehend the White Ape Sword Classic. The Legend of the White Ape King was detailed, but they still had to look at the original text for many parts to truly understand what it meant.

    However, most of the swordsmen looked around hesitantly. They were all from aristocratic clans. How could they turn against their families?

    ¡°Manor lord¡­¡± The young swordsman from the Ximen clan mustered the courage to speak up again. Li Qingshan looked at him. ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Ximen Yingjie is willing to follow the manor lord and contribute to this great cause!¡±

    Ximen Yingjie bowed deeply. Originally, he wanted to speak up in objection, but he immediately shivered inside when those orangey-yellow eyes looked over. Li Qingshan was ready to kill!

    He could not help but tighten his grip on the True Steel sword. With certain matters, he could not afford to hesitate any further once he became involved. If he still tried to defy him now, not only would he probably lose all access to the White Ape Sword Classic, but even his life might be in danger. As such, he changed his thoughts in a hurry and expressed his support.

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯re from an aristocratic clan too. I thought you were going to object!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He was originally prepared to make an example out of him.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing this to protect the Ximen clan. No matter how powerful the Ximen clan is, how can they oppose the entire world? Only by adapting to the changes and going with the flow can we avoid a disaster. Even if the White Ape Sword Classic is spread across the world, I¡¯m sure the people of the Ximen family won¡¯t be any weaker than anyone else.¡±

    With Ximen Yingjie as a model and the model reason he had given, other swordsmen expressed their submission as well. The temptation of the White Ape Sword Classic was far too great, and Li Qingshan¡¯s pressure was far too strong.

    ¡°You all understand the greater good and have the bigger picture in mind, which I admire very much. If anyone else has any objections, you¡¯re welcome to tell me now. If you don¡¯t tell me today, you won¡¯t get the opportunity again in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded, but he understood very well that the loyalty of these people was worthless. Once he demonstrated weakness, they would turn against him immediately, but that was the interesting part. Just like when he climbed and bounded about on the cliffs, would it still be interesting if there was no danger involved?

    ¡°The manor lord¡¯s aspirations are grand. Please forgive this lowly daoist¡¯s insufficient strength, which prevents me from lending the manor lord a hand. I¡¯ll take my leave right now!¡± a skinny old man in the robes of a daoist priest said slowly.

    He had already reached the seventh layer of the innate realm. His strength was only second to the two protectors, and he was the first elder of one of the seven great sects in the world, the Abstruse temple. The master of the temple was even his junior brother. Coupled with his old age, it was very difficult for him to advance his cultivation even with the White Ape Sword Classic, so he obviously refused to join Li Qingshan.

    He secretly made up his mind. He would rush back to the Abstruse temple as soon as he left the mountain. Then he would alert the orthodox members of the martials arts community about this demon in the north. If they did not eliminate him quickly, the martial arts community would definitely be in for a great disaster, and it would be even worse than any of the disasters in the past.

    This man called Li Qingshan could not be compared to any of the demonic and heretic people that had appeared in the history of the martial arts community. Before his terrifying ambition, the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance and the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters basically seemed as gentle as children. He was not after any mundane object in the world. He was completely after weaving chaos into the world.

    Was the arrival of the daemon star prophesying him?

    ¡°Good, very good. I like people with courage. Who else?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Several swordsmen seemed to find someone to rely on and clasped their hands to bid farewell. One of them even openly spoke out against Li Qingshan, saying that he was asking for death with his actions and was better off stopping here.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile grew wider. Before they knew it, it had already been a lengthy winter since he killed the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword, Hou Hongtao, with a single palm strike. Ever since then, he had always appeared relatively easy-going, going without killing another person. As it seemed, certain people were beginning to underestimate him now?

    ¡°Where are the protectors of the left and the right?¡±

    ¡°What are your orders, manor lord?¡±

    The two protectors stood forward. Over the winter, their swordsmanship had progressed drastically. For the sake of undergoing the tribulation and shattering through space, they had already decided to continue following Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Kill them.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand gently.

    ¡°This!¡± The two protectors hesitated. Once they did that, then it would result in an unforgivable grievance with the Abstruse temple.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, are you trying to exterminate everyone?¡± the skinny old man called out in surprise and anger.

    ¡°I already said it earlier. Those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish. Did you think I was joking? Protectors, what are you waiting for? If you don¡¯t do it, then I¡¯ll have to do it myself!¡±

    The two protectors shivered inside. They both recalled the pile of ape corpses at the entrance of the mountain manor several months ago. He was no longer that friendly, easygoing manor lord whose actions could even be regarded as somewhat puzzling. Instead, he was a tyrant of the martial arts community.

    There was not much hesitation in the choice between death or ascension. With a clang, they drew their swords resolutely!

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re playing the jackal to the tiger!¡±

    ¡°Haha, so you still remember my nickname, the Descended Tiger!¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    ¡°Shut up! The manor lord has a great cause in mind, which is not something the likes of you can understand! If you realise your errors, mend your ways, and ask the manor lord for forgiveness right now, you might still have a chance to live!¡± the protector of the right called out.

    ¡°Hmph, unlike you lot, I¡¯m not afraid of death. You won¡¯t be able to hide this matter. The Abstruse temple will avenge me. Come!¡±

    At that moment, sword qi crisscrossed the surroundings, and several heads fell to the ground. A while later, only the old man remained, having been captured by the two protectors. He was brought before Li Qingshan as he continued to yell and curse.

    ¡°Manor lord, why don¡¯t we keep him as a hostage to coerce the Abstruse temple?¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his arm and lifted the old man high into the air, tossing him off the cliff.

    There was a lengthy cry, which then came to a sudden halt.

    ¡°Those who submit will prosper! Those who resist will perish!¡±

 Chapter 1168

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1168 ¨C Finishing Him Off

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan looked back with his teeth exposed and his face twisted, like an angered ape. No matter how fun and playful the ape demon usually seemed, it was still a demon born with a demonic nature. With his widened, orangey-yellow eyes, he stared at the two protectors.

    ¡°You pieces of trash!¡±

    The expressions of the two protectors changed. They were both renowned swordsmen, so when was the last time they were hit with such insults?

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°What, you¡¯re unconvinced? The path of the sword is a path of slaughter, yet you don¡¯t even have the courage to kill, so what are you apart from pieces of trash? Are you going to capture all the enemies you encounter in the future and hand them over for me to deal with as well? Why¡¯re you even practising the sword? You can piss off back home and pick up embroidery instead!¡±

    The two protectors¡¯ faces darkened and reddened. They said nothing. Both of them had claimed several dozen souls under their swords, so how could they be lacking the courage to kill him?

    ¡°I know. This old bastard has some status, so you¡¯re afraid. Not only are you pieces of trash, but you¡¯re fools too! If you support me, then you should cast away any second thoughts and advance valiantly by my side. If you cannot bear the sight of me and want to kill me before stealing the White Ape Sword Classic, then there¡¯s even more reason for you to butcher this old bastard so that you earn my trust. Your hesitance truly is laughable!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in the right, manor lord. I understand where I¡¯ve gone wrong!¡± ¡°We definitely have no intentions of betrayal!¡±

    The two protectors lowered their heads. From the moment the old man was thrown off the cliff, they had already developed a grievance with the Abstruse temple, so they were better off killing him resolutely and satisfying Li Qingshan. After all, after witnessing his extraordinary swordsmanship, it was impossible for them to give up and disperse. Now, they could only follow him down this path to the very end.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s anger immediately vanished, now replaced by joy. ¡°There¡¯s nothing better than learning from your mistakes. At least I haven¡¯t misjudged you. Your heart of the sword right now cannot even be considered as a sword embryo, which just happens to be in need of forging. Even the White Ape King could not achieve this. Waging war across the world with me is a heaven-sent opportunity. Try not to let it slip by.¡±

    ¡°Definitely not!¡±

    ¡°Alright, prepare to leave the mountain.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand and turned towards Gu Yanying. ¡°You organise them.¡±

    Gu Yanying shrugged and went up to issue orders. In a few words, she mobilised everyone.

    Some went off to gather lumber and build sleighs. Some went off to dig up the granary and food. Some continued to put out the fire and gather precious treasures that could not be burned¡­ In the end, she made the two protectors maintain order here and supervise everyone.

    She ensured that everything was fair and reasonable, ordered and methodical. On top of that, their tasks all linked up together perfectly, maximising their efficiency.

    She had spent so many years in the Ruyi commandery as the White Hawk commander, so a trifle like this obviously could not trip her up. However, it only filled everyone with admiration. With their strength and intelligence, perhaps they really can achieve something great!

    Li Qingshan stood to one side leisurely with his arms crossed.

    Gu Yanying said softly, ¡°Qingshan, is this a little too intense? We could have taken our time with everyone.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t have such a bearing, how are you supposed to motivate everyone? A revolution isn¡¯t a simple task. The heavens are watching every single act of man!¡±

    Li Qingshan disagreed with that. With their unluckiness, even if they tried to take their time, it would only lead to endless accidents. In the end, they would still make an enemy out of the clans and sects with only a group of dishonourable scoundrels on their side. Compared to that, they were better off standing forward with their heads held high, winning over the public and riding the momentum into a satisfying battle with all their enemies.

    ¡°I think all you have is a bearing. I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll do without me,¡± Gu Yanying said in exasperation.

    If they wanted to oppose all the clans and sects in the world, just Li Qingshan and his two fists definitely were not enough. They had to build a complete organisation and borrow strength from everything they could borrow from, expanding and strengthening like a snowball. The multitude of matters involved would definitely fall on her shoulders. She would have to consider and examine what the general public wanted too.

    ¡°This is training for you.¡± Li Qingshan patted her shoulders. ¡°If you want to go from a kun to a peng, you need to experience the violent undercurrent first and clash with the fierce winds and waves. Only then can you rise up into the heavens.¡±

    ¡°That does sound quite reasonable¡­¡± Gu Yanying could not help but sink into her thoughts, but when she noticed that Li Qingshan¡¯s smile was identical to when he made mischief, she grumbled, ¡°I actually almost believed you!¡±

    ¡°Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I do have plenty of experience in this field.¡±

    That was not a boast. Li Qingshan practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, which was to constantly comprehend the spirit behind each transformation. When he traversed through space, he had also comprehended the spirit of the kunpeng slightly. That was a breadth that could embrace everything in the world, yet it lacked the silence and forbearance of the spirit turtle. Instead, it was filled with a will to rise up high.

    Even if it dove deep into the ocean, it was for the sake of rising up into the heavens. Even when it relied on the seas and the skies to live, it wanted to break free from its binds. He took a great liking towards this spirit. As a matter of fact, he even felt slightly disappointed, as the figure of a kunpeng was not among the three remaining transformations.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gu Yanying was not a timid or overly cautious person either. It was only because she currently lacked strength and had just experienced a lightning storm that she became so cautious. Right now, Li Qingshan had ignited her fighting will again, so she said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll gamble with you!¡±

    Before she had even finished saying that, the kunpeng feather in her clothes flashed gently as if it was responding to her.

    ¡°How¡¯s that? I wasn¡¯t wrong, was I?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°You¡¯ve taught me something.¡± Gu Yanying bowed slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself. Hurry up and go down to the secret room to fetch everything.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡±

    At the same time, a skinny, furious old man clung firmly onto a pine tree that grew horizontally from the cliff face. He was the elder of the Abstruse temple that Li Qingshan had tossed down, and his aura had instead become even greater than before.

    As it turned out, when he faced life-threatening danger this time, he had instead broken through his bottleneck and reached the eighth layer, breaking free from the seals on his pressure points in the process. He happened to encounter this tree half way down, which was why he managed to stay alive. However, he was still quite injured, so he refused to move around carelessly. He decided to make his way down the mountain once night arrived and return to the Abstruse temple.

    ¡°The heavens are definitely helping me so that I can purge the evil and get revenge! Li Qingshan, just you wait!¡±

    The sun reached its zenith, and all of the preparations were complete atop the mountain. They were only waiting for an order from Li Qingshan before setting off.

    Li Qingshan raised his arm high into the air. Right when he was about to formally announce they would be setting off, he suddenly sensed something and murmured to himself, ¡°Looks like some people just don¡¯t die when they fall off a cliff!¡±

    ¡°Manor lord, I had already sealed up all of that old bastard¡¯s pressure points. He¡¯s dead for sure!¡± the protector of the right said.

    ¡°Not necessarily!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived by the cliff and took a close look. Sure enough, he discovered a figure halfway down the mountain through the hazy mist. He smiled. ¡°What¡¯d I say? Looks like I¡¯ve become softhearted too. To think I didn¡¯t kill him with my own hands!¡±

    Afterwards, he looked around and picked up a boulder, tossing it down forcefully. He missed, so he went again with brimming interest.

    Everyone shivered in disgust. And that¡¯s being softhearted!?

    A while later, there was a familiar cry, except it was much shorter this time.

    ¡°I have to finish them off when I need to finish them off. I can¡¯t be careless like this in the future!¡± Li Qingshan was satisfied. He flipped off the sky with his middle finger and waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 1169

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1169 ¨C The World¡¯s Society

    Despite the flames and smoke, the towering main gate to the mountain manor remained standing. As a matter of fact, even the paper with the words ¡°Ape Demon¡± that Li Qingshan had stuck on there with his spittle remained.

    ¡°Do you still remember that night of wind and snow a few months ago?¡±

    ¡°Manor lord, of course, we still remember. When we think about it now, it still feels like a dream.¡±

    That led to sighs of agreement. That night was not just like a dream. Basically everything they experienced in the past few months was like a dream. Now, it was time for them to experience an even wilder dream.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you. That snowstorm came for me as well, but not only are the damned heavens powerless against me, but I¡¯ll even be growing stronger in this battle. On top of that, with your full support, what can¡¯t we achieve?¡± Li Qingshan laughed.

    Everyone else laughed as well. If they heard something like that half a day ago, they would have thought he was boasting, but now, they could not help but be convinced. They could even feel a sense of boldness of contending against the heavens from him, which made him give off a strange charm and spirit.

    ¡°I can guarantee that every single person here will be able to shatter through space as long as they survive this great trial!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at everyone and made a shocking declaration. After all, just how many years did it take the martial arts community to produce each supreme master that could shatter through space? It was clearly such wild nonsense, yet it was unbelievably convincing.

    Seeing how everyone had been stunned, he grinned again. ¡°Though, I can¡¯t guarantee if you¡¯ll survive the tribulation lightning.¡±

    ¡°Even if I die to the tribulation lightning, that¡¯s better than spending my life in mediocrity!¡± Feihong raised her arms and called out.

    Out of everyone in the mountain manor, her martial arts had definitely progressed the fastest. In a few months, she had gone from nothing special to a first-rate master.

    She had both the perseverance and the patience, as well as decent talent. From time to time, Li Qingshan would even give her special treatment, taking some of the pills from the White Ape King¡¯s secret room and giving them to her. Now, she had become the best model, which motivated everyone.

    ¡°Before I die to the tribulation lightning, I definitely can¡¯t die!¡± Ximen Yingjie gripped the True Steel sword firmly. He could not help but feel slightly motivated as well. He was tempted to encounter some enemies right now and throw himself into battle.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be watching you! Though, the mountain manor has already been destroyed, so I¡¯m no longer the manor lord.¡±

    ¡°Then how should we refer to you?¡± the protector of the right asked.

    If they really were supposed to call him the Descended Tiger, then wouldn¡¯t a Descended Tiger that resembled a monkey be a little too hilarious?

    ¡°I will enforce justice across the world and bring shame to all so-called ¡°great heroes¡± throughout history. I will be called the hero king!¡±

    ¡°Yes, my king!¡± Everyone answered loudly, their hearts thumping away. Now that was a title their leader was worthy of.

    Only one person was unhappy with that, Gu Yanying. She stood right beside Li Qingshan and said, ¡°Then I don¡¯t want to be called the Soaring Divine Hawk!¡±

    ¡°Then what do you want to be called? The hawk king? The kun king? Or the peng king?¡±

    ¡°None of them. I want to be called ¡®the greatest in the world¡¯!¡± Gu Yanying smiled gracefully and with composure

    ¡°W- what kind of greatest in the world are you?¡± Li Qingshan was unhappy with that too.

    Seeing the two manor lords in dispute, everyone could only remain silent. Such a title was even wilder than hero king. Even among all the supreme masters that had shattered through space, none of them had the courage to call themselves the greatest in the world.

    ¡°You can only call yourself the second greatest in the world!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly.

    Everyone was speechless. So they were only bickering over the ranking? However, it did not surprise them either.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± Gu Yanying raised her head, refusing to look at him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s nostrils flared like an ox¡¯s, but there was nothing he could do about her.

    ¡°Please calm down, my king. I think the title ¡®the greatest in the world¡¯ does fit her.¡±

    Ximen Yingjie glanced at Gu Yanying before immediately looking away. No matter how many times he looked at her, he felt like he could not maintain eye contact with her. Of the two times when he stood up to Li Qingshan, there was definitely an element of envy at work.

    Feihong sighed inside. If she was not the greatest in the world, then who was?

    Li Qingshan understood what they meant and smiled. ¡°That makes sense. If you want to be the greatest in the world, then be it! I would never be shameless enough to use a title like that.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled as well. ¡°Since the mountain manor is gone, let¡¯s form a new society so that we can let everyone know you¡¯re our subordinates. I¡¯ve already thought of the name. Let¡¯s call it the World¡¯s society!¡±

    ¡°The gathering of the world, for the people of the world. A good name!¡±

    ¡°A mountain manor entails fierce entrenchment, while the World¡¯s society possesses the ambition to devour the world.¡±

    The protectors of the left and the right praised the name. They had both noticed that most of the actual affairs were probably handled by this ¡°greatest beauty in the world¡±.

    ¡°Hold on, that makes everything sound like you¡¯re the leader of the World¡¯s society,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. I am the society leader.¡±

    Gu Yanying let out a toothy grin. She had been spurred on by the heart of the kunpeng, refusing to hide behind Li Qingshan anymore as a subordinate who just came up with plans.

    ¡°Then what about me?¡± Li Qingshan pointed at himself.

    ¡°You¡¯re the hero king. Of course, if you want to, you can be the vice leader.¡± Gu Yanying nodded. Damned kid, you¡¯ve made me serve as the vice manor lord for all this time. It¡¯s my turn now.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes widened. This isn¡¯t fair! Look at how small the mountain manor is!

    Gu Yanying looked away to express, There are even fewer people right now than when we first arrived. As for how many people we can recruit in the future, that¡¯ll be completely due to my efforts. It¡¯s as far as you can get!

    In the end, Li Qingshan let out a great sigh. ¡°So be it, so be it. It¡¯s all just empty titles. I¡¯ll let you have this one.¡±

    Afterwards, Gu Yanying took a step forward and asked people to retrieve a brush and some paper so that they could take note. She explained eighteen rules, which were simple and rigorous. They were straightforward and clear, covering all bases. She even explained their direction of development. It was better than what any clan or sect in the world could come up with.

    When it came to making rules, who could contend against the school of Legalism?

    ¡°Please commit these eighteen rules to heart. If you violate them repeatedly, you¡¯ll definitely face the tortures of hell!¡±

    Gu Yanying was stern, making her radiate with might. Her cloak fluttered as hot winds swept off in all directions.

    In that instant, the alluring beauty had become an adjudicator of hell. Everyone felt great prestige and great awe. This ¡°leader of the World¡¯s society¡± who had never demonstrated any powers and seemed even more feeble than a regular person was actually so impressive and dignified. Li Qingshan¡¯s respect for her definitely did not just arise from her beauty that was the ¡°greatest in the world¡±.

    They all said, ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at her and sensed an intangible power. She had only borrowed a wisp of the Hot Wind Hell¡¯s aura, but that was enough to frighten these people. As it seemed, she had not wasted the winter either.

    Under the light of day, the group made their way down the winding mountain path. The plaque slowly dripped with water, and a corner of the paper with ¡°Ape Demon¡± written on it was lifted up by the wind. It was ripped off gently, flying off into the wind.

    It drifted to the bottom of the mountain. In a nook piled up with thick snow lay a person, the elder of the Abstruse temple. Beside him was a broken pine tree, as well as a shattered boulder. His face was covered with blood, but his chest heaved slowly.

    Suddenly, his fingers twitched, and he opened his eyes slowly. He croaked through his dry lips, ¡°Li Qingshan, you motherfucker!¡±

 Chapter 1170

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1170 ¨C Leaving the Mountain

    The boulder that Li Qingshan had hurled down struck the pine tree, but it did not directly hit him. The thick snow accumulated over the entire winter had softened his fall and saved his life. He just happened to land in a nook. At the same time, the supreme secret manual of the Abstruse temple, the Method of the Violet Clouds, preserved his life. He could be regarded as extremely fortunate.

    However, he could sense the obscure will of the heavens from this. He thought, The heavens be on my side! If I can kill this thug, I¡¯ll definitely be blessed by the heavens. Perhaps even shattering through space won¡¯t be anything difficult! No, this is exactly what it is. I just have to announce this¡­

    ¡°Fucking hell, you¡¯re still alive?¡±

    A familiar curse suddenly echoed through the sky. Li Qingshan¡¯s face appeared above the cavern, blocking out the clear blue sky. He was so furious that it seemed like he was the one who had been thrown off the mountain instead.

    ¡°Y- you¡­¡±

    He widened his eyes, but before he could even respond, he had been tugged out of the nook by the legs. The world spun around him before a cliff face filled his eyes.

    ¡°No¡­¡±

    Splat! His head burst open, and blood splattered everywhere.

    Splat! Splitch! Splotch! Splat!

    A while later, Li Qingshan tossed the pair of legs aside in satisfaction. ¡°You really gotta make sure you see the corpse even when you think they¡¯re dead. Can¡¯t afford to be careless at all. Let¡¯s see how you live now?¡±

    The cliff face and the snowy ground were rich with colours. The bloody mess obviously did not have the ability to answer him.

    ¡°With how clear the will of the heavens is, it¡¯s not exactly a bad thing. We just need to consider the worst-case scenario for everything, and that¡¯ll be sufficient. It¡¯s convenient for planning,¡± Gu Yanying¡¯s voice rang out, but it originated from a large basket on Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    ¡°Greatest in the world, how does it feel in there?¡± Li Qingshan turned his head slightly and asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s very nice. If you could walk a little more steadily, it¡¯ll be even better.¡±

    Gu Yanying poked her head out with a smile, like a little monkey curled up on a big monkey¡¯s back. She had personally designed this basket. It was layered with thick furs, with four tough ropes criss-crossed across Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, keeping the two of them firmly bound together.

    The mountain path was precipitous, and there were many goods they had to transport with them. However, Li Qingshan was impatient, so she suggested they could make their way down the mountain first to take a look. Sure enough, they had found something.

    ¡°I want to be more steady, but do you know how many traps there are beneath the snow?¡±

    Li Qingshan shot off, kicking up the snow beneath his feet. He had planted his bare feet deeply into the ground, where a wisp of power surged into the balls of his feet with each step. He used this power to advance. He was swift like the wind, yet extremely firm and steady.

    When they made it to the other side of the mountain, it was already dusk. Torches were lit, and everyone saw their return. They bowed.

    ¡°My king!¡± ¡°Society leader!¡±

    Li Qingshan said a few more words to raise everyone¡¯s morale, which roused them with enthusiasm. He placed down the basket on his back and asked, ¡°Where are we heading?¡±

    Gu Yanying crawled out of the basket and stretched out her body. ¡°If the others heard you say this, they would probably be in an uproar right now. The mighty hero king actually doesn¡¯t even know where we¡¯re going.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m the society leader. What¡¯re you thinking about that for?¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down and picked up the fine alcohol prepared on the table. He took a sip before spitting it out, slurring his words. ¡°There¡¯s poison in the alcohol.¡±

    A sharp-smelling wisp of smoke rose up from the ground, which only demonstrated the potency of the poison. He remained unfazed. Instead, he seemed more displeased about the fact that Gu Yanying did not let him become the society leader.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Gu Yanying smiled, which left Li Qingshan absolutely fuming.

    Gu Yanying took out a sheepskin map and laid it out on the table.

    ¡°Five hundred kilometers south of here is a place under the rule of the Ma clan, one of the four great aristocratic clans of the world. They¡¯ve already ruled over the region for two centuries now. Their descendants control every single field and mine in the region. It¡¯s said that even every single leaf here bears their surname. Their leader, Ma Xingkong, is a ninth layer Qi Practitioner, with countless masters under his command. I was originally thinking of going to Pegasus city to negotiate with them. They have the largest number of literate people gathered there, so it¡¯ll help with spreading your novels too.¡±

    Li Qingshan slammed the table. ¡°To hell with your bureaucracy. This isn¡¯t Great Xia, and you¡¯re not the daughter of the Hawk God. You¡¯re leaning towards capitulationism and surrender. Negotiation will not result in a final victory for the revolutionaries, nor will it help us in uniting our comrades.¡±

    ¡°You sure ramble on about a lot of strange things! But you¡¯re right. I¡¯m too accustomed to this. Once we try to play according to the rules of this world, we¡¯ll be riddled with openings and overwhelmed everywhere. We might as well strike first and catch them off-guard, so our first target should be here!¡± Gu Yanying pointed at a spot on the map.

    ¡°The mines.¡±

    ¡°And there¡¯ll be a lot of miners. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll take a liking to your ideas.¡¯ Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes were bright, reflecting the firelight.

    ¡°You finally understand what I¡¯m trying to say.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°There are intrinsic differences between this world and ours.¡®¡¯

    The next morning, it began to snow gently again. Li Qingshan carried Gu Yanying on his back and led the group towards the south.

    Their journey was filled with twists and turns. In those few days, they actually encountered two avalanches. If Li Qingshan¡¯s senses for danger had not remained as sharp as before and Gu Yanying did not constantly examine the terrain and assume the worst, either one of the avalanches would have been enough to completely bury their recently-formed World¡¯s society.

    Everyone had realised that they were currently strewn with disasters, so their morale completely bottomed out. Fortunately, Li Qingshan had described this as a journey against heaven right from the beginning, or the group would have fallen apart a long time ago. There was no one that did not fear the unknown. But even with that being the case, a few people fled in the night after the first avalanche. The two protectors hunted down and executed all of them, which managed to put a stop to this behaviour.

    By the dusk of the fifth day, they had reached their destination. The mountains surrounded a huge pit five kilometers across, and the pit was filled with rows upon rows of buildings. It was clearly a small city.

    Countless miners scurried in and out of the mines like ants, hollowing out the mountain through the use of various simple machinery. They collected coal in the same place and forged various kinds of weapons. Then they imprinted the weapons with the symbol of a flying horse and transported them away by the river, delivering them across the world.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the fluttering flying horse banner in the mines and said to Gu Yanying, ¡°We need to make some banners too.¡± He turned and ordered the protector of the right. ¡°Take down this place, but don¡¯t kill anyone. We¡¯ll hold a public trial at night.¡±

    No one had any idea what a public trial was, but taking down a mine like this was as simple as it could get to a group of swordsmen. They basically did not encounter any proper resistance at all. In particular, the protectors of the left and the right basically took out all of their opponents in a single strike. After all, no matter how powerful and influential the Ma family was, they could not station a ninth layer master to watch the mines. Either one of the protectors was enough to destroy the Ma family¡¯s control here.

    ¡°Have you noticed that the spiritual qi is clearly so thin, yet they¡¯re no weaker than the Qi Practitioners of the nine province, not even in the slightest. They¡¯re even slightly stronger,¡± said Li Qinghan.

    ¡°Looks like this is also a difference between small and large worlds, just like the difference between being in earth and water. It¡¯s easier to produce ripples in water. But it¡¯s still manageable. If they were just a little bit stronger, it would be troublesome,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    The intrinsic difference of this world compared to the nine provinces was the strength of individuals had not completely surpassed the strength of groups yet.

    In the nine provinces, even if they combined all the mortals, it still would not be enough to even touch a hair on Li Qingshan, but a different possibility existed in this world.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s change the way we play!¡±

 Chapter 1171

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1171 ¨C Army

    Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

    The bell tower rang out urgently, and the dirty miners all looked up. That was a signal to gather. It had already been a very long time since the bell was last sounded.

    There was a wooden platform located on the square in the centre of the town. It was a place for mass gatherings. During festivities, there would be shows available there, but it was currently completely illuminated by lantern light.

    A row of people wrapped in ropes knelt on the platform with a group of silent swordsmen around them. Their shadows flickered in the firelight, giving off a sense of bleakness.

    ¡°You¡¯re from the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape. Why have you launched a sneak attack on us? Did the White Ape King tell you to do this?¡± a man in expensive robes raised his head and asked in surprise.

    Earlier, he was enjoying a feast comfortably in his courtyard, but now, he had already become a prisoner. His cultivation at the second layer of the innate was more than enough to rule over these mines, but how could he stand a chance against over a dozen innate masters? He was even as familiar as he could get with some of these people¡¯s titles. Even in Pegasus city, they would be important guests, so why had they suddenly attacked him?

    ¡°It¡¯s not the White Ape King, but me!¡±

    A voice rang out from the darkness. The man looked back in surprise. A pair of orangey-yellow specks glimmered in the darkness. The figure leapt onto the platform, and the swordsmen lowered their heads together. ¡°My king!¡±

    The man widened his eyes, but it was not the White Ape King that he was expecting. Instead, it was a burly man with arms that reached his knees, but he was unable to tell what cultivation he possessed. He made his way over and crouched down before him, tilting his head. ¡°Are you in charge here?¡±

    ¡°W- who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan straightened himself out and yelled out from the platform, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±

    No one dared to answer him. They were only miners of the lowest status. Even a mere foreman would whip them as they pleased, yet even the insurmountable mine leader Ma had to kneel there obediently.

    ¡°I am Li Qingshan¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was not particularly loud, but everyone heard him loudly and clearly. With each word he uttered and each gesture he made, the crowd gradually became heated up. Thousands of eyes were glued to the platform, to the strangely-shaped man in the firelight. It was as if he gave off a strange charm, pointing out a path to greatness for them.

    Just as Gu Yanying had said, these people liked his ideas far more than the swordsmen, or in Li Qingshan¡¯s words, Those with vested interests are much less likely to become revolutionaries compared to the oppressed, so we need to spur on the masses and depend on the masses, from the masses, to the masses.

    TL: This is a reference to Mao Zedong¡¯s ¡°Mass Line¡± method, which you can read more about here.

    The miners were strong and healthy, but most of them only possessed a very crude level of inner force. It was not even enough to save them when mines caved in. Everyday, they walked along the edge of death. On the other hand, death had never been something worthy of fearing in this world where martial arts were widespread. On top of that, the White Ape Sword Classic had always been a martial arts manual that even first-rate masters of the jianghu were willing to risk their lives to steal.

    Towards the end, the cheers rose and fell like waves. Apart from Li Qingshan, the expressions of everyone on the platform changed. For the first time in their lives, they witnessed such an uproar.

    ¡°Are the nobles really born as nobles?¡± Li Qingshan spread his arms.

    ¡°Hero king! Hero king! Hero king!¡± The miners raised their arms and cheered.

    Li Qingshan reached back and grabbed mine leader Ma, throwing him into the masses. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll leave him to you to handle!¡±

    The crowd all stepped back, forming a ring. This was out of the reverence for the Ma family that had been established over the past two centuries. Mine leader Ma called out in fear and surprise, ¡°If you even try¡­ Pegasus city won¡¯t spare any traitors!¡±

    The miners were immediately angered. ¡°Since when did those who bore the surname Ma ever spare us?¡±

    ¡°I was starving, so I caught a deer in the forest and was sent here. With no one to take care of my pitiful parents, they just starved to death like that!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything at all. I just said something wrong and offended someone who bore the surname Ma!¡± ¡°Compared to working to our deaths here, we might as well just throw our lives away and try to achieve something!¡± ¡°Throw our lives away and try to achieve something!¡±

    The crowd swallowed the mine leader like waves. The miserable shrieks broke through the waves, ringing through the air before coming to a halt.

    An innate master had died like that. Even the swordsmen shivered.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud before grabbing another person and throwing him into the crowd. The man shrieked in the air before being torn apart in the blink of an eye.

    Shrieks rang out one by one as figures bloomed one by one as flowers of flesh and blood.

    The atmosphere reached a climax. It was almost a frenzy. The tied-up prisoners shook violently, pleading for mercy loudly.

    Li Qingshan spared no one. He was like a demon king from hell, feeding living people to a group of ghosts, yet he was also the embodiment of justice, breaking through the shackles and revolutionising the world!

    Dawn broke. Only the traces of blood remained.

    Over a dozen blacksmith furnaces were placed on the square, radiating with heat. Several thousand miners formed long queues.

    Within the hisses, the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air.

    Several dozen people took shifts, using scorching brands to imprint the word ¡°World¡± on the chests of the miners as evidence of joining the society. Afterwards, they could collect a page of the White Ape Sword Classic. Those who were still waiting in line were all too eager, while those that had collected a page of the sword manual were brimming with joy. This was a supreme swordsmanship manual. Even if it was only a page, it was enough to send them on a skyrocketing rise and turn them into first-rate masters.

    From today onwards, they did not have to work in the mines anymore. They could practise martial arts formally, and they would not be the only ones practising. It was said that they would even receive the personal guidance of the leader of the World¡¯s society. That was something everyone here could only dream of. Many of them were illiterate, so they could not understand the sword manual. Not everyone possessed the talent to understand by themselves either.

    On an empty plot of land outside the town, everyone gripped a standard-issue metal sword and stood in neat rows, swinging the sword move by move. The atmosphere was extremely fervent. A swordsman was responsible for demonstrating the moves, while the other swordsmen made their way around between the groups and gave guidance. In their eyes, these miners were extremely clumsy, basically wielding the swords as ploughs. Not a lot of them could catch their eyes, and they had passed the optimal age to learn martial arts too. If it were not for the two figures on the distant hill, they would have begun to slack off a long time ago.

    However, there were also insightful people who thought, This is only the beginning. Out of all these people, there should be a few talented folk, and even if they can¡¯t become great masters, their descendants will have plenty of opportunities!

    On the hill, Gu Yanying looked back and asked, ¡°Qingshan, how is it?¡±

    She wore a silver hawk mask. This was forged overnight by the most skillful swordsmith in the town, used to hide her appearance that was the ¡°greatest in the world¡± and make things more convenient.

    ¡°We¡¯ve made an extremely good move. Our miner brothers are very disciplined and submissive.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded in commendation. Gu Yanying had not wasted the previous night. She drew up a large number of blueprints for armour and repeating crossbows and made the craftsman create them according to the blueprints. The crossbows were designed so practically and ingeniously that even the most experienced craftsmen were amazed. Instead, the issue appeared with the simplistic armour. Armour was not popular in this world, as it would only become a burden in the battles of the jianghu. Not only would it severely limit movement, but even their defences would be extremely limited. Any single master of internal martial arts could rupture organs through the armour.

    However, unbeknownst to anyone, they were not trying to found a society. Instead, they were using the methods of the school of the Military and the school of Mohism to create an army. They were completely changing up the way they played the game!

 Chapter 1172

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1172 ¨C Setting Off

    Gu Yanying spent the day choosing almost a hundred captains for five man squads and ten man units. She made sure these squads and units would be punished if even one member made a mistake. Then she executed a few people to demonstrate the strict and impartial military law, which was very heavy-handed. However, it did make the atmosphere change, where they seemed to bear some resemblance to an army now. Everyone witnessed the might of this ¡°greatest in the world¡±.

    Around dusk, she ordered everyone to adjust where they stayed, turning the town into a military camp. She enforced a strict curfew and ordered the swordsmen to patrol the place, killing anyone who broke the curfew regardless of the reason.

    The sky had only just begun to darken, but the town was already pitch-black. Only the large courtyard half-way down the mountain continued to shine with light. Li Qingshan stood by the railing of the pavilion in the courtyard and peered off into the distance. ¡°Is this a little too strict?¡±

    ¡°A combination of reward and punishment allows you to control others. You¡¯re the hero king, so I¡¯ll have to play the villain! And I can¡¯t win people over like you do. I need to use the power of law to quickly build an army.¡±

    Gu Yanying focused as she painted the image of a ballista.

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m the spiritual leader. I¡¯m supposed to be leading the army as well, but seeing how pitiful you are, I¡¯ll leave this job to you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your great kindness, my king, but I only find it troublesome!¡± Gu Yanying said without even looking at him. ¡°Once we establish the army, you won¡¯t have to be bound to my side anymore. You can go off to do whatever you want to do.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ve waited long enough.¡± Li Qingshan looked back and saw how she was still wearing the silver hawk mask. He made his way over and helped her take it off. ¡°You don¡¯t need to wear this thing here!¡±

    Gu Yanying had just finished her final stroke. She eased up and smiled. ¡°From today onwards, only you are allowed to see my face.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the kind of thing where you have to pledge yourself to me after I see you?¡±

    ¡°Just seeing it is fine. Learn to be satisfied.¡±

    Yuan Feifei¡¯s voice rang from outside, ¡°My king, society leader, Feifei is here.¡±

    ¡°Come in!¡±

    Yuan Feifei pushed through the door and bent over, smiling at them. ¡°Why have you called for me, my king? Are the dishes to your liking?¡±

    ¡°I want to know exactly what you are dissatisfied with that you¡¯d try to poison us.¡± Gu Yanying did not look at Yuan Feifei as she gently blew the ink dry.

    ¡°What! There¡¯s poison in the food? Society leader, you have the wrong person! How could I ever do that?¡± Yuan Feifei called out in face of the injustice.

    ¡°You know extremely well that I¡¯m not talking about today, nor am I talking about the food,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll only be all the more clueless. I¡¯m devoted to the society leader and the king. Please examine this matter carefully!¡± Yuan Feifei knelt on the ground and said emotionally.

    ¡°Oh? She was the one who poisoned the alcohol?¡±

    Li Qingshan recalled this. Back then, they had only just left the mountain. In order to preserve their morale, he had not investigated the matter.

    ¡°I have been a White Hawk commander for all these years after all. This is as obvious as it can get.¡±

    ¡°Then kill her!¡± Li Qingshan was just as casual and unfazed as when he drank the poisoned alcohol the other day. ¡°Hah, no wonder you removed the mask. So whoever sees your true appearance must die!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. Are you really going to take that seriously?¡±

    Yuan Feifei turned paler and paler, and she trembled harder and harder. Suddenly, she slammed her head against the ground. ¡°I- I had a momentary lapse in judgement. Please forgive me, manor lord!¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s happened once, then it can happen twice. Let¡¯s do this! Don¡¯t even think about running. You can¡¯t escape from the protectors of the left and the right¡¯s pursuit. Only by killing me will you have an opportunity to live.¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan said that, a streak of light shot straight for his throat. Yuan Feifei¡¯s face was twisted with viciousness. ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°What kind of shitty swordsmanship is this supposed to be?¡±

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. When he reached ¡°shitty¡±, he had already gripped Yuan Feifei¡¯s neck with his large hand. The sword stopped before Li Qingshan¡¯s face, unable to advance any further.

    ¡°Spare¡­ me¡­¡±

    Crack. Li Qingshan let go, and the corpse collapsed on the ground. He was still very curious about why she had tried to poison them, but the minds of women were unfathomable. He had no reason to probe too far into the matter!

    ¡°Your strength sure is recovering slowly. You better not let me overtake you.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. Li Qingshan had killed Yuan Feifei in a single strike, basically no different from crushing a bug, but his actual strength was around the same as her or even slightly weaker. It was just that their differences in other areas were far too great.

    ¡°I¡¯ll obtain new power very soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan was confident. When he entered the estate, he sensed a treasure buried beneath this place.

    On the same night, Feihong took over as the caretaker of internal affairs.

    Crack, crack. The river of ice leading out of the mountain gradually melted away. The chilling spring breeze gained some warmth as well. The grass emerged from beneath the snow tenaciously, heralding the arrival of spring.

    Murderousness filled the mines. The miners trained night and day, gradually becoming soldiers. They became much more austere.

    Gu Yanying set up stops at the various exits and locked down the entire place to prevent any information from leaking out. However, once the river completely thawed, all the weapons and ore they had accumulated should have been transported over the entire river downstream. Then they would bring in food and new workers. It would definitely be impossible to keep all of this a secret by then, and the Ma family would launch a counterattack very soon. Everyone was aware of this, so they endured the training that was even more brutal than working in the mines.

    However, they did not go without entertainment. They did not gather together to watch shows. Instead, they listened to Li Qingshan¡¯s speeches on the Legend of the White Ape King. He would stand on the platform in person every single day, explaining the complicated, profound swordsmanship in the sword manual in a single and direct manner. At the same time, he would spread his ideology. ¡°Why do we fight?¡± ¡°Who is our enemy?¡± ¡°Victory to the revolutionaries!¡± ¡°This is a path that opposes the heavens!¡±

    Every single time, he would leave them in an enthusiastic uproar, not only uniting everyone, but also silently destroying any feelings of objection to the strict military law, preventing them from becoming too tense in this aspect.

    The Divine Talisman of Great Creation would gather a large quantity of power of belief everyday as well, more than ten times faster than when they were in the mountain manor. Consequently, he was no longer in danger. Li Qingshan was basically raring to go. Once the river thawed, that would be the time they struck.

    Rumble! Like claps of spring thunder, it filled every corner of the mines. The river had begun to thaw.

    On the empty land outside the town, thousands of soldiers stood in formation, every single person dressed in armour and wielding weapons. They were completely silent, having established the basic form of an army already. They had constructed a platform for acknowledging general in the centre of the land.

    With the sounds of the river shattering, Gu Yanying climbed up the platform step by step in armour. The clanging of the armour seemed to merge with the shattering sounds.

    A pair of hawk eyes swept across the entire place, and the brutality of hell arose spontaneously. Everyone held their breaths involuntarily. None of them would ever imagine that the ¡°greatest in the world¡± was originally a description of her appearance.

    At this moment, a burly figure suddenly leapt out before everyone, climbing up the platform in just a few steps like he was riding the wind. Everyone immediately erupted into cheers, completely forgetting about her might. They cried out, ¡°Hero king!¡±

    It was Li Qingshan. He held a banner in his hand and swung it forcefully, planting it on the platform. The banner waved in the wind, depicting the head of a hawk that bore some resemblance to her mask.

    Everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn to the banner. The banner was the soul of the army.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands towards her. ¡°General!¡±

    The eight commandants chosen from the entire army for their skill stood forward and dropped down on one knee. They clasped their fists. ¡°General!¡±

    The entire army answered as well. ¡°General!¡±

    At that instant, a colossal aura gathered on her body, turning into tangible energy that filled her surroundings. This was the school of the Military¡¯s methods of gathering the morale of an army, bearing the same principle as the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. They both borrowed the powers of others to fend off the might of the heavens.

    Gu Yanying could not help but become slightly excited as well. With a clang, she drew her sword.

    ¡°The river of ice has already shattered. Today, we set off!¡±

 Chapter 1173

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1173 ¨C Treasure

    The town was filled with busy figures, gathering at the harbour and making final preparations before setting off.

    At the same time, a wrinkly old man in the courtyard halfway up the mountain said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Hero king, the tunnel is already over a hundred and fifty meters deep, but we¡¯ve only encountered rock. We haven¡¯t found any mineral veins!¡±

    Towards the end, he even felt slightly shameful, as if it was his fault they did not discover a mineral vein.

    Right when they first settled down here, Li Qingshan had gathered a group of old miners unsuited for the army and had made them dig up a mine here. For this, he even dismantled a manor and destroyed a garden, but the end result was nothing. They did not even find a single piece of ore.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not looking for some kind of mineral vein, or rather, a mineral vein already exists here.¡±

    Li Qingshan patted the old miner on the shoulder with a smile. Through his connection with the earth, he had sensed it the moment he arrived here. On top of that, the manor they had dismantled also happened to be the original mine owner¡¯s training room, which only verified what he felt.

    ¡°Yes¡­ yes¡­¡±

    The old miner was puzzled. He was confused about what kind of vein it was that he had not seen before. However, he also felt slightly flattered. The person before him was different from all the other important figures he had seen before. He possessed a sense of sincerity.

    Li Qingshan peered down. The dark tunnel plunged straight into the heart of the mountain, radiating with chilly air. ¡°How are the fortifications?¡±

    ¡°My king, you have nothing to worry about. It definitely won¡¯t collapse. The mineral veins on this mountain are quite sparse, so there aren¡¯t a lot of mines in the first place. That¡¯s why that Ma person was bold enough to build an estate here. If we have some more time, we can even build a set of stairs for you.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯m not that entitled and useless. You¡¯ve done extremely well. Once we leave here, you¡¯ll be rewarded heavily.¡± Li Qingshan looked around as if he was waiting for something.

    With a series of clanks, Gu Yanying arrived with around a hundred soldiers. Her footsteps were swift and gentle like the wind, finally free from the shackles of fate. She could move around as she pleased now.

    The two of them exchanged a glance, and Li Qingshan leapt into the dark hole, arriving at the bottom instantly. As he had instructed, the bottom had been expanded into a small, stone room, and it was instead slightly warmer there.

    Spiritual qi flowed like water in the rocks beneath his feet, which made Li Qingshan smile.

    Yes, this should have been a spiritual stone vein, but because the spiritual qi in this world was far too thin, it failed to form any spiritual stones. However, it was still a blessed place for cultivation.

    He was unable to draw spiritual qi from the air, but he could receive nourishment from the earth. When he tried to draw out the strength of the earth like usual, the spiritual qi within the rocks flowed into him as well, spreading and merging with his body with a cool sensation.

    The quality of the spiritual qi was nowhere close to the nine provinces¡¯, but it was like a well in the desert to him. It was much more precious than any river or lake he had encountered in the past.

    For a ¡°sip of this water¡±, he had taken an extremely great risk too. A single earthquake was enough to bury him here. Even if the heavens were unable to stir up any large activity in this reinforced earth, he still had to guard against others. After all, destruction would always be easier than construction.

    But now, he could finally relax slightly, as she was watching over him outside.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Everyone, what do you want?¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s dignified voice rang out from beneath the mask. She looked around with her hawk eyes.

    Around a dozen swordsmen, almost a third of the total, inched closer to her with swords in their hands, their eyes filled with hostility. The three leaders had all reached the innate realm.

    ¡°We want to eliminate a great pest for the martial arts community and avoid throwing the world into misery.¡±

    The swordsmen were all filled with a sense of righteousness. As Li Qingshan had said, many of these people were from a social hierarchy that objected to a movement like this. Many of them did not truly agree with his ideology, and they would stir up trouble at critical times.

    ¡°Oh? And what is the great pest you are referring to?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°That demon, Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Bullshit!¡± ¡°Traitors!¡±

    Before Gu Yanying could even get a word in, the soldiers had already flown into a rage. Li Qingshan was their great hero. How could they let others insult him?

    Gu Yanying raised her hand to comfort the soldiers. ¡°Heh, I originally thought I¡¯d be a pest too!¡±

    ¡°Yes, you are a pest too! But in consideration of the fact that you¡¯re just a feeble woman, coerced by Li Qingshan, we obviously won¡¯t harm you as long as you surrender obediently.¡± None of them could forget about the unmatched beauty under the silver hawk mask.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so bold. So you¡¯re just harassing a feeble woman. When the demon you spoke of was around, why didn¡¯t any of you stand forward?¡±

    Shame flashed across the faces of the swordsmen. That was true. If Li Qingshan was here, they would not even have the courage to utter the word ¡°no¡± to him. For the first time in their lives, they truly understood what ¡°haughty¡± meant. They could not even muster the will to put up any resistance before him.

    It was exactly because Gu Yanying had never demonstrated any martial arts that they were bold enough to stir up trouble at a time like this. In fact, she appeared even weaker than regular people, where she had to be carried down the mountain on Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    ¡°Great people don¡¯t bother with trifles. As long as we can eliminate evil for the martial arts society, why should we let something as small as this bother us?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to study the White Ape Sword Classic?¡± Gu Yanying said in a teasing manner.

    ¡°We can obviously find it from his corpse. It might be a little troublesome digging him out of the ground again, but the last thing we¡¯re lacking here are lowly miners!¡±

    Apart from people who were infatuated by the path of the sword and could truly understand the wonders behind Li Qingshan¡¯s swordsmanship like the two protectors, the others only coveted the White Ape Sword Classic. They had gone from a holy land of swordsmanship to these mines, spending every single day with those filthy, crude miners, which had already filled them with resentment and anger.

    The soldiers stirred again. They had all been lowly miners in the past, but they were no longer accustomed to being treated so worthlessly after all these days of inspiration from Li Qingshan.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t need to go that far. The White Ape Sword Classic is on me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfect then.¡± ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t fall for her attempt at buying time. Let¡¯s strike together and quickly. We can capture her first before burying Li Qingshan alive!¡±

    As they said that, the swordsmen rapidly approached her. They could not help but look towards the tunnel, afraid that Li Qingshan would suddenly burst out.

    ¡°Sure! I just happened to be worrying that we had no one to sacrifice to the flag for a successful expedition!¡± Gu Yanying waved her hand, and the soldiers all raised their metal swords.

    ¡°Hmph, do you really think you can stop us with a bunch of trash like them?¡±

    However, Gu Yanying¡¯s calmness took the swordsmen by surprise slightly. One of them called out, ¡°Give up. Do you really think you¡¯re the greatest in the world? You¡¯ve already sent everyone else to the harbour. No one can save you. Once Li Qingshan dies, there will be no more World¡¯s society anymore.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s reply was a cold bark, ¡°Kill them!¡±

    ¡°Kill them!¡± The soldiers all yelled out and swung their swords at the swordsmen.

    Three figures leapt over the group, the three powerful swordsmen that had reached the innate realm. Their swords whistled as they went straight for Gu Yanying.

    This was why armies did not exist in this world. Even if a weakling had an army a hundred thousand strong, they could not fend off the assassination of masters, while the strong would rather use the time and energy they had to devote to an army to strengthen themselves.

    ¡°I sent everyone away precisely to draw you out!¡± Gu Yanying muttered to herself.

    With a swish, she opened her metal fan and swung it gently.

    The three swordsmen froze, their faces filled with pain and horror. They were hacked to pieces as soon as they fell to the ground.

    ¡°W- what is this demonic art?¡±

    The other swordsmen were stunned, even more shocked than when Li Qingshan killed the Marquis of the Fierce Fire Sword in a single palm strike. They clearly did not see her launch any attack at all, yet the three swordsmen had died horrifically. For a moment, they even forgot to advance, forced back by the soldiers.

    The hot winds of hell were invisible but ever-present.

    After standing on the platform and being acknowledged as the general, Gu Yanying¡¯s strength had rapidly recovered. Despite that, she had only just reached the innate realm, which was nowhere near enough to fend off these swordsmen. However, she could use this power to penetrate the restraints of the world and resonate with the Hot Wind Hell.

    Of course, the wisps of hot wind she had drawn in were insufficient to cause any lethal damage. They were like snakebites, with the wounds caused being completely insignificant. The truly lethal aspect was the venom contained within the bite¡ªthe suffering of hell.

    ¡°If Li Qingshan said I wasn¡¯t the greatest in the world, then so be it, but even a bunch of trash like you have the courage to tell me what I am and what I¡¯m not?¡±

    Gu Yanying emerged from the group and strode forwards. Her silver hawk mask radiated with a brutal sense of might and prestige.

    The soldiers automatically shifted to the sides, also filled with shock. Originally, they still did not completely approve of this mysterious and cold society leader, but now, they were sincerely convinced. This power was well beyond what any mortal could withstand.

    One of the swordsmen was confident in his movement techniques. Watching her press closer, he leapt onto the eaves in a single movement.

    Gu Yanying swung her fan without even looking at him, and he fell down heavily from the eaves. His face twisted painfully, such that it no longer seemed human.

    The other swordsmen were all frightened out of their wits, turning around to flee, but even their courage to run away ran out. One of the swordsmen dropped to the ground and bowed his head again and again. ¡°Spare me, society leader. I- I had a momentary lapse in judgement. I¡¯ll never do it again!¡±

    ¡°I believe you all only had a momentary lapse in judgement,¡± Gu Yanying said camly. If it were not for the influence of the will of the heavens, perhaps these people would not have done this, but right when the swordsmen developed a sliver of hope, she said, ¡°However, military law is without mercy!¡±

    Her voice went from a warm spring to a chilly winter as if she had turned into someone else altogether. ¡°Kill them!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan walked out of the cave in satisfaction. He had already absorbed all the spiritual qi in the ground here, and his Ape Demon Transformation had progressed further. Right now, he was extremely eager for the first innate ability of the ape demon. What welcomed him outside the cave was a series of cheers.

    Li Qingshan looked around and saw many soldiers bloodied. ¡°So they did come.¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Gu Yanying said sincerely. Originally, he could have commanded this army personally and enjoyed this power alone.

    ¡°Only through the division of labour can there be cooperation. You¡¯re welcome.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He roared to the soldiers, ¡°You lot, which ones of you killed the traitors with your own hands?¡±

    ¡°I- I killed one!¡± ¡°I killed one too!¡± ¡°I killed half of one!¡±

    ¡°Kid, that¡¯s dishonest of you. What¡¯s half of one supposed to mean?¡± Li Qingshan smiled, leading to a roar of laughter.

    ¡°When I swung down, the guy was already almost dead. Number five just had to dish in another strike!¡±

    ¡°What are you on about, number six? The guy was very tenacious. You wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill him with that attack of yours!¡±

    ¡°Comrades, comrade number five is absolutely correct. Never forget to finish them off. When you encounter enemies in the future, you¡¯re welcome to throw in a few extra slashes and strokes. I¡¯ll be rewarding anyone and everyone who managed to cut someone today! If you missed out, don¡¯t be disappointed. You¡¯ll have an opportunity in the future!¡±

    The soldiers no longer experienced the discomfort from killing someone the first time anymore. Instead, their blood boiled enthusiastically.

    Gu Yanying shook her head with a smile. If this guy became the general, he definitely would have produced a lot more army qi than she did.

    Li Qingshan swung his hand. ¡°Fellas, it¡¯s time to set off. The world is ours!¡±

    The army moved out. Almost a hundred boats of various sizes went with the flow. A large, iron-clad boat served as the flagship, smashing through the floating ice.

    Around a dozen heads hung high from the mast. No one dared to underestimate this leader of the World¡¯s society anymore. Their morale became even more consolidated than before.

    An ape¡¯s howl suddenly rang out, without any sorrow at all. It was filled with a sense of loftiness, to take on the world.

    The world is different when I¡¯m around.

 Chapter 1174

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1174 ¨C Spark

    Many cities and villages sat on the banks of the river. It went without saying that all the city lords to village chiefs bore the surname Ma. Obviously, Li Qingshan would not let an opportunity to spread the embers of revolution slip by, so he took cities when he encountered cities and entered villages when he encountered villages. Who knew how many public trials he had held and who knew how many people who bore the surname Ma he had executed. Sure enough, the Ma family was up to all kinds of evil. Despite visiting so many places, he struggled to find a single one that did anything virtuous. He heard about their evil deeds, and he watched as their heads fell to the ground. It was as satisfying of a slaughter as it could get.

    Of course, not everyone who bore the surname deserved to die. Li Qingshan did not carry out a clan massacre either, but confiscations definitely happened. After an entire winter, the army lacked provisions. If they needed anything, they purchased it from the villages and cities they encountered with money. They refused to do even the slightest harm to the common people.

    The title of the hero king truly began to spread, and it spread righteously.

    When the army set off and moved onto the next destination, the entire city or village would send them off cordially. Everyone shed tears of joy, and many of them even joined the World¡¯s society. They had only covered a few hundred kilometers, but the number of people on the boats had basically doubled, which only demonstrated how the public felt about this.

    By now, even if the swordsmen were unhappy with Li Qingshan, they could not help but sigh. ¡°Throughout history, I¡¯ve never heard of a great demon who¡¯s thrown the martial arts community into chaos do something like this. No matter how great their martial arts are or how much authority they possess, they¡¯ve always acted in service of their selfish interests. No, even those from the righteous path aren¡¯t necessarily like this. Perhaps this is truly what you call upholding justice!¡±

    A single spark lit a fire, which spread with enough force to raze down an entire plain of grass. As this all unfolded, the far north remained as a land bound by ice.

    Many people of the jianghu searched through a bumpy snowy tundra. They formed an extremely tight encirclement around this barren land that was devoid of anything, guarding against the countless peering eyes in the mountains and forests in the distance.

    A small, skinny man who resembled an accountant arrived before a large tent in a hurry. He was carrying a geomantic compass and had a long, whiskery mustache. He called out, ¡°Shen Suanzi wishes to see the alliance leader!¡±

    ¡°Come in!¡± A dignified voice rang out from within the tent.

    The guards lifted up the heavy curtains at the entrance, and Shen Suanzi ducked in. Warm air flooded his face as his eyes were filled with luxury and splendour. Below his feet was a thick, soft carpet, such that he could not sense the coldness of the snowy ground at all anymore. The tent was extremely spacious inside, with a group of young women attending to two men carefully.

    The two men both sat up high, enjoying their tea. Even the simplest movements they made gave off an aura possessed by figures of importance.

    ¡°Greetings, alliance leader Zhang, clan leader Ma.¡±

    Shen Suanzi bowed deeply towards the leader of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian, before turning towards the old man with a head full of silver hair and bowing deeply again.

    Zhang Yuntian had travelled up north in a hurry, so the luxurious accommodation he received was obviously all thanks to the greatest aristocratic clan in the area, the Ma family. The old man was the clan leader of the Ma family, Ma Xingkong, who also bore the nickname Pegasus.

    However, Shen Suanzi was much more envious of his other title, Stud.

    Ma Xingkong was already up in the years, but he could still sleep with numerous women daily, which he very much preferred. There were countless beauties in his harem that had given birth to hundreds of descendants for him. On top of that, not only was he unoffended by the title of Stud, but he even took pride in it. He boasted that if every descendant of the Ma family could be as powerful as him, then the north would not have any other surnames left.

    ¡°How is it?¡±

    Zhang Yuntian placed down his cup. He had basically waited an entire winter for this. He had ventured up north alone numerous times, but he failed to find the fallen daemon star. As a result, he invited a grandmaster of divination in the martial arts community, Shen Suanzi, to come along. He could use the secret techniques of the Divine Secrets sect to pinpoint where the daemon star had fallen.

    As for the Ma family, they had sent a great group of people up north as soon as spring arrived, carrying out a large-scale search. They had ended up converging together. They had found where the daemon star had fallen, but there was no daemon star in sight.

    ¡°Alliance leader, according to my calculations, this is where the daemon star fell. It even led to a rockslide.¡±

    ¡°Shen Suanzi, are you saying the daemon star is buried under here?¡± Ma Xingkong¡¯s voice boomed loudly.

    ¡°That¡­ I only said the daemon star had fallen here. Whether it¡¯s actually under here is difficult to say.¡±

    ¡°Then what the fuck do you have to report!?¡±

    ¡°Brother Ma, this isn¡¯t your territory. It belongs to that old ape from the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape. It¡¯s not impossible that he got to the daemon star first and took it away with him.¡±

    Zhang Yuntian took a sip of tea. He had invited Shen Suanzi to come, so he obviously could not let any person just scold him. The reason why he had ventured up north alone in the past was because regular masters could not move through this snowy landscape, and he had to guard against Ma Xingkong. He did not want to share this with him.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The daemon star is not a rock. You can¡¯t just take it away because you want to. The White Ape King might be a grandmaster of the sword, but this isn¡¯t regular frozen earth. It¡¯s impossible to dig a tunnel here. Even if I bring all of our miners here, it¡¯ll take two or three months before we get through the rubble. The Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape does not have that kind of manpower.¡±

    Ma Xingkong toned down with his haughtiness slightly, but he was basically implying, ¡®Without my Ma family¡¯s manpower and resources, even you, the leader of the martial arts alliance, can forget about seeing the daemon star.¡¯

    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent people to visit the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape. They should be back very soon. If that old ape obtained the daemon star, he definitely won¡¯t be able to hide it. He doesn¡¯t even need to hide it. There¡¯s nothing we can do about him. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find out very soon.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you let me know about this, alliance leader?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure brother Ma wouldn¡¯t want to spend a tremendous amount of effort just to clear up some rubble. It¡¯s not like we can hide what¡¯s happening here from the White Ape King anyway, so we might as well make things clear.¡± Zhang Yuntian¡¯s face suddenly changed. ¡°Please give me a moment, brother Ma. Let me go out and take another look. Even sodden shrimps you can just pick up from the streets want a share of this. I¡¯ll go teach them a lesson!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian left the tent with Shen Suanzi again. The people he had sent to the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape had finally returned.

    A young man who bore great resemblance to Ma Xingkong asked in confusion, ¡°Grandfather, isn¡¯t the arrival of the daemon star supposed to be bad news? If it was crushed under the rockslide, that would be the best. Why do so many people want it?¡±

    ¡°My dear grandson, now you don¡¯t understand this. It¡¯s just like how they say curses and blessings come together. In great danger hides great fortune. You know the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters who once ran amok? He was originally a regular bladesman being hunted down by his enemies. He just happened to encounter the fallen daemon star. In the end, he comprehended the Seven Slaughters Blade Style. He killed all of his enemies and even founded the Demonic School of Seven Slaughters, which took the combined efforts of the four aristocratic clans and the seven great sects to destroy. That¡¯s only one of the examples. Anyone who came into contact with the daemon star and survived all experienced drastic progress in their martial arts. As long as your will is firm and you don¡¯t let the daemon star bewitch you, you can comprehend the acme of martial arts, unite the martial arts community under you, and shatter through space!¡±

    ¡°Grandfather, you have to make the daemon star take our surname as well!¡±

    A gust of chilly wind rushed in. Ma Xingkong was about to break into curses, only to see Zhang Yuntian walk in with furrowed brows. ¡°The Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape has already been reduced to ruins. It seemed like lightning struck it before it was burned to the ground.¡±

    ¡°Haha, now that¡¯s what you call retribution! Surely the White Ape King and the swordsmen weren¡¯t all burnt to death!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re all missing. We only found some corpses in the back courtyard.¡±

    Zhang Yuntian furrowed his brows even further. He felt like this matter was filled with suspicious points.

    ¡°What! Don¡¯t tell me he actually took the daemon star for himself and ran away with it? No, that¡¯s impossible!¡±

    A frantic figure burst into the tent and threw himself on the ground near Ma Xingkong¡¯s feet. ¡°Clan leader, bad news! They¡¯re rebelling! They¡¯re all rising up in rebellion!¡±

 Chapter 1175

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1175 ¨C Attacking the City

    ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Ma Xingkong has ventured up north with a large number of people to search for the daemon star and isn¡¯t in Pegasus city right now?¡±

    The army ventured downstream along the river, and the climate gradually warmed up. The towns and cities on the banks of the river became busier as well. Li Qingshan had just taken down a small city. He discovered there were many people from the martial arts community in the city, so he learnt about this as soon as he asked.

    In terms of location, the small city happened to lie right in between Pegasus city and where they had landed.

    ¡°Yes, my king. Right now, the entire martial arts community is astir. Many have ventured up north in search of the daemon star, but it¡¯s said that the Ma family has already locked down the entire place. Those below the innate realm aren¡¯t even allowed to approach the place.¡±

    A group of people from the martial arts community looked at Li Qingshan carefully. They were all shaken. Never had they heard of a person like him before, actually bold enough to oppose the Ma family openly and even make those two figures submit to him and serve him as his protectors. However, the White Ape Sword Classic truly was tempting.

    Unlike the nine provinces where sword cultivators only formed a minority, swordsmanship was mainstream in this world.

    Gu Yanying nodded. ¡°I see, but what exactly is the daemon star that you speak of?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at her in surprise. Aren¡¯t we the ¡°daemon star¡±? However, he soon understood why she had asked that question. This world¡¯s understanding of the daemon star seemed a little strange¡ªon one side, they said it was an omen of chaos and trouble, which was very normal. Ignorant guesses would always lead to these strange connections. On the other side, they also seemed to treat it as some sort of precious treasure, actually leaving the entire world astir and desiring it.

    However, under the various descriptions from these people of the martial arts society, Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became even stranger, sharing a glance with Gu Yanying. There was quite a bit of surprise in her eyes as well. The daemon star they spoke of would lead to a drastic change in character upon close contact, turning people into bloodthirsty murderers. However, if they could control their thoughts and not die from madness, it would lead to a drastic improvement in martial arts instead.

    All of this sounded like the Rock of Slaughter, which was also the original form of Strongboulder, one of the three Daemon Generals under Spider Queen Lolth¡¯s command. It had fallen onto the nine provinces from the Asura realm and was contaminated with the mad killing intent of the Asura realm, so it could naturally influence the minds of others.

    It was even less strange that it could lead to a drastic improvement in martial arts. The Rock of Slaughter had always been filled with tremendous amounts of pure spiritual qi. It was very difficult for it to assume the form of a daemon in this world, but it was basically like the perfect nourishment to members of the martial arts community. Even a wisp of its spiritual qi was enough to remould them through and through, not to mention the will of slaughter from the Asura realm was basically an embodiment of the limits of martial might. It could transform a person in all aspects from spirit to body.

    With all of this in mind, they could basically imagine the chaos and slaughter the previous daemon star had created.

    ¡°With the arrival of the daemon star, the world falls into chaos¡± was not some foolish prophecy. Instead, they were going off from the first impression, which led to a misunderstanding.

    ¡°Then where is the previous daemon star right now?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°After the Demonic School of Seven Slaughters was destroyed, the Salvation temple sank it into a lake. They said they wanted to use the boundless buddhist dharma to suppress the demonic nature within and prevent any future disasters.¡±

    The Salvation temple was located in the central region. It was one of the seven great sects and was even called the leader among the seven. Li Qingshan had no idea whether they possessed the boundless buddhist dharma, but they were probably a force to be reckoned with.

    ¡°What a great plan by those monks!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Large temples could gather the power of belief and greatly diminish the killing intent within the Rock of Slaughter, while the pure spiritual qi inside could turn the entire temple into a blessed land of cultivation.

    ¡°It¡¯s basically prepared for you.¡± Gu Yanying swung her metal fan gently.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. As long as he could absorb the spiritual qi within the Rock of Slaughter, his strength would definitely recover rapidly. ¡°But we can¡¯t rush things. Let¡¯s take down Pegasus city first.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say something like starting off with villages because they surround cities?¡± Gu Yanying said.

    TL: This comes from a saying by Mao Zedong before the CCP gained control over all of China (so in around 1928), to establish a foundation in villages before expanding into cities once they built up enough influence.

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve failed to comprehend my spirit! You can also influence villages from cities! What matters is we grasp this opportunity and destroy the enemy¡¯s fighting forces!¡± Li Qingshan gripped his fist.

    The people of the martial arts community looked at one another. They were a little puzzled, but they could clearly sense the horrors involved. The Ma family was in trouble this time.

    Gu Yanying immediately issued the orders, and the army went straight for Pegasus city.

    Basically half of the population in Pegasus city bore the surname Ma, but due to the sheer number of descendants, not every one of them was wealthy and well-off. In the past, they would still strut around with their heads held high, looking down on others even if they lived in poverty. However, their faces all changed when the surname ¡°Ma¡± was mentioned these days.

    Rumors ran amok in the city. A person called the hero king specially went around killing people surnamed Ma. Who knew how many families he had destroyed already. He was said to be extremely vicious, not even sparing newborn babies. He would brand other people with a hot iron and turn them into slaves.

    Some of the rumors were even more absurd, something like they needed to offer up a woman to him every single day, or he would fly into a rage and carry out a massacre. It was as clear as day that it was an exaggerated description of Ma Xingkong¡¯s habits, yet it happened to sound so vivid. As such, it was most persuasive, throwing the entire city of people into fear.

    When the long fleet of boats sailed down the river and approached Pegasus city, the entire city was startled with alarm bells ringing loudly.

    It was dusk. The setting sun dyed the city a brilliant red.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s sharp gaze landed on the tall, large city walls and a thick and heavy gate. Figures moved about on the walls, amounting to several thousand. Even without any proper military training, all of them knew martial arts, which demonstrated the firm foundation of the Ma family.

    They did not possess an advantage in quantity or quality in this battle, and their army was limited by the geography too. If they tried to take the city by force, it would definitely lead to severe losses, and their momentum would be broken. The situation would become extremely disadvantageous to them.

    ¡°Qingshan, what are you thinking about?¡±

    Li Qingshan stood on the front of the boat and listened to the frantic ringing of bells. ¡°What do we want to eat for dinner?¡±

    ¡°That sure is a question.¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    Li Qingshan let out a laugh and leapt off the front of the boat. Over a hundred figures followed behind him. Some of them possessed exceptional movement techniques, without leaving behind any ripples when they stepped on the water, while others were clumsy in their movements, producing plops.

    However, they all knew martial arts. The swordsmen from the mountain manor had already become a minority. Instead, they had recruited far more members of the martial arts community along the way. However, when it came to their strength, the swordsmen still possessed an absolute advantage. With just the two protectors working together, killing everyone would not be a problem.

    They all gathered by Li Qinghan¡¯s side now, without assembling into any kind of formation. They were either proud, unruly swordsmen or fine men of humble origins, so they could not be tamed by military law. Instead, they had always served Li Qingshan, which made them seem more like a gang than anything else.

    ¡°It¡¯s quite late, so I¡¯ll cut to the chase, just in case we miss out on dinner. I heard Ma Xingkong¡¯s den is hiding quite a lot of fine alcohol, so I¡¯ll invite you all to a drink tonight. I also heard that the old bastard has a lot of wives. I don¡¯t think he has any use for them, so we might as well share them between us.¡±

    Everyone erupted into roars of laughter, voicing their agreement.

    ¡°But let me just put this out there first. I¡¯ll be taking the lead today, and you¡¯ll be following behind me. If I discover any of you flee-¡± Li Qingshan paused. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do, but there will be a day when they will have no place left to hide in this world!¡±

    ¡°We are willing to kill the enemies with the king!¡±

    ¡°Alright! Raise the flag!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his hand, and a great flagwas raised into the air. The thick pole was forged from a mixture of metals. The flag depicted a scarlet tiger that swayed with the wind, brandishing its claws and teeth and lunging straight for Pegasus city.

 Chapter 1176

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1176 ¨C Breaching the City

    The army fell into formation on the red plains. Clad in silver armour and mounted on a white horse, Gu Yanying ordered them around with composure.

    Li Qingshan stood at the very front. The setting sun cast a very long shadow towards Pegasus city. Unlike the other martial arts practitioners, he was dressed in black, heavy armour, with a horned helmet on his head. Coupled with the metal flag pole, he probably had almost five hundred kilograms of equipment on him, standing there like a man of metal.

    With each step he took, he would produce a great thump, leaving behind a trail of deep footprints. His movements seemed slow and clumsy, and the others had to slow down to keep pace with him.

    When he reached three hundred meters away from the city gates, he gradually began to speed up, and his footstep instead became lighter and lighter. Every step he took seemed to be cushioned by a spring, allowing him to bound up immediately and move faster and faster. The thumping footsteps were like the gradually accelerating heart beats, thumping away in the chest of every single person on the walls.

    ¡°He¡¯s trying to breach the gate by force. Release the arrows!¡± ¡°Prepare the stones! Once he comes over, we¡¯ll smash him to death and avenge our dead clansmen!¡±

    Cries rang out constantly from the walls. Swishes erupted as arrows pierced the air, mostly targeting Li Qingshan. It led to a series of clings and clangs against his armour, producing brilliant sparks, but it only managed to leave behind white markings.

    The protectors of the left and the right followed him closely on his two sides, cutting down most of the arrows.

    ¡°Argh!¡± There was a painful cry. Someone had still ended up being hit by an arrow, but it missed their vital points because they had responded fast enough. They plucked out the arrow and followed close behind with gritted teeth. Before long, there was another cry of pain, but no one collapsed. After all, they all possessed martial arts, so they could not die to a single arrow. No one fell behind the group either.

    They were unable to describe what they felt inside. All they knew was the man at the very front had already sucked everyone along with him, turning them into a part of his might. Before they knew it, they were no longer just martial arts practitioners that only knew how to act tough.

    Li Qingshan felt power surge through his body. This was the point of the scarlet tiger flag. Like Gu Yanying, he was currently the commander of this group, and he had become a machine of war. Under his lead, the aura from these hundred or so people was no weaker than the army behind them.

    When they reached thirty meters away from the city gates, cries rang out from the walls above, ¡°Throw the stones!¡±

    The martial arts practitioners could not help but look up. Unlike the light arrows, if the stones struck them, their bones would be shattered even if they managed to avoid having their heads split open.

    With a whoosh, a black cloud soared over their heads and scattered on the top of the walls, leading to cries of pain. A few arrow-ridden figures fell down.

    Gu Yanying sat high on her horse, maintaining the same posture with her metal fan. At the front of the army, every single person wielded a crossbow, overwhelming the guards on the walls who had no idea how to fight off a siege easily. Then she ordered, ¡°Swords!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan lowered the flag pole in his hand like it was a huge spear. He planted a foot deep into the ground and bellowed out, ¡°Fall!¡±

    With a great thunk, he forcefully pierced the thick, heavy gate clad with metal, directly crushing a guard¡¯s head.

    Within the splinters, the other guards were left shocked. Before they could even respond, a great boom rang out. A humanoid shape bulged out from the city gate before it shattered loudly!

    Li Qingshan smashed his way into the city. Without even looking around, he swung his flag pole around and sent over a dozen guards flying with a series of cracks. He laughed aloud. ¡°Li Qingshan be the one who breached the city!¡±

    At the same time, the distorted gate behind him became criss-crossed with slashes. The two protectors slashed out at the same time, completely cutting down the gate.

    An old man in embroidered robes, wielding a golden blade, rushed down from the walls with a great group of people. The aura he gave off was at the eighth layer of the innate realm, which made it obvious that he was someone only second to Ma Xingkong in the Ma family. Making out the faces of the two protectors, he cried out in surprise and anger, ¡°It¡¯s you!?¡±

    The world was not big. There were not a lot of powerful people known as masters either.

    ¡°Our Ma family has no grievances with you. When you went to the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape, we even offered you gifts of silver and gold. Is this how you pay us back?¡±

    The two protectors said nothing. What were these petty favours supposed to be compared to the peerless path of the sword and shattering through space? They too had benefited tremendously over the winter, where they made drastic progress with their martial arts. Often, just a casual piece of advice from Li Qingshan could leave them feeling enlightened. Compared to the pages of the White Ape Sword Classic, this was what truly bore value to them.

    The White Ape King was only at the tenth layer of the innate realm after all. No matter how wondrous his swordsmanship was, it was limited, let alone a book written by him. How could it compare to Li Qingshan who had comprehended the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You old coot, I¡¯ll pay you back for all of the measly gold and silver, but I¡¯ll have to burn it to you in the afterlife. You¡¯ll get as much of it as you want!¡±

    The old man in embroidered robes flew into a rage and swung his golden blade. ¡°The fate of the Ma family lies with this battle. My children, kill them with me!¡±

    The Ma family¡¯s guards, coupled with the clansmen they had temporarily recalled to protect the city, amounted to ten thousand. They let out a furious roar together and surged over like a flood.

    Even great swordsmen like the two protectors could not help but be shaken. Regular conflicts of the jianghu would only involve a hundred people at most, and the majority of them were small battles of threes and fives. Since when had they ever witnessed something like this?

    Boom! With a heavy footstep, they discovered in a daze that Li Qingshan had already charged into the ranks of the enemies. Only then did they follow after him in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan charged at the front, wielding the flag pole like a dragon. The two protectors remained by his side, cutting through everything around them. The other martial arts practitioners followed behind them, plunging into the ranks of the enemy army like a sharp blade. They sent figures flying and limbs dancing.

    Even with their army that was ten thousand strong, there were only around a dozen people that could actually approach the three of them. They had not undergone any military training, so their teamwork was a complete mess. They did not have any room to maneuver about in either, so they struggled to even unleash their martial arts properly.

    With his golden blade in hand, the old man had charged forward several times, only to pull back again, afraid that he would die immediately from the combined attacks of the three if he approached them right now. All he could do was raise a clamour and cut down a few guards that retreated in fright. Blood ran down their weapons.

    Li Qingshan was already doused in blood. Borrowing the strength of the earth, not only did he feel no exhaustion, but he even became bolder the more he fought, fighting so relentlessly that he basically did not even try to catch his breath. With the metal pole that weighed one or two hundred kilograms in hand, he only needed a casual swing to cause tremendous damage, pushing the advantage of his strength to the limit. On top of that, he relied heavily on his custom-made armour that had been further thickened and reinforced, or who knew how many blows he would have endured already.

    He did not take a single step back, stepping over the corpses and paving a path of blood straight towards the old man.

    The two protectors experienced tremendous pressure. No matter how ingenious their swordsmanship was, they struggled to unleash it properly in such a large battle. With every single moment, there would be several blades swinging over in their direction. All they could do was push their true qi to the limit and make their moves as simple as possible, swinging their swords without any regard. They completely tossed aside those concepts they cared about before, like their bearing as a supreme master and their principle of killing in a single stroke.

    However, this led to a tremendous exhaustion of true qi. In a short while, they had used up almost half of their sword qi. If they ran out, they would be at the whim of others. There was no one around that could stop them if they tried to escape, but glancing at Li Qingshan up ahead, perhaps this was the exact moment to comprehend the truths of the path of the sword, so they threw themselves into slaughter.

    The path of the sword was also a path of slaughter!

    With a whinny, Gu Yanying rode at the front, leading the army into the city. The army formation pushed forward layer by layer like a meat grinder, mincing the flesh of both sides of the battle and constantly pushing forwards. A long snake actually faded into existence in the air, twisting its body as it meandered about. It was the Military Formation of the Coiled Snake.

    The enemy began to panic, all raising their heads and retreating.

    The old man in embroidered robes cut down another dozen people and roared, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! It¡¯s only an illusion! If anyone even takes a step back, you¡¯ll be a traitor of the Ma family!¡±

    He felt extremely puzzled as well. Apart from the hundred or so people, the enemy clearly consisted of crude men who did not know martial arts, so how did they produce such might by simply gathering together? They were basically unstoppable as they crushed their way forwards. However, he did understand something. If this continued, defeat would be guaranteed.

    Looking over the surging sea of people, he saw Gu Yanying on the white horse and gave an order to the group of masters from the Ma family around him. ¡°Kill the one on the white horse!¡±

    Over a dozen innate masters leapt up, stepping over the sea of people with their movement techniques and going straight for Gu Yanying.

    Under the silver hawk mask, Gu Yanying smiled. Sure enough, the army qi was most condensed during a battle. The snake did not possess any lethal power, but it did make her stronger. She had dressed in such a conspicuous manner exactly for this moment too.

    Abruptly, Li Qingshan swung the flag, producing a clearing in the crowd. He called out, ¡°Protectors, now is the time!¡±

    Two streaks of light shot through the air. The two protectors rose up on their swords, slashing towards the old man in embroidered robes.

    Gu Yanying swung her metal fan, and the dozen or so innate masters all fell into the sea of people like dumplings, hacked to death by the random swings and trampled to a pulp.

    The old man suddenly widened his eyes. ¡°How is this possible? What did she do?¡±

    Before he could even think much about it, he had to raise his golden blade to receive the swords. He was waiting for the enemy army to exhaust themselves. He still had large groups of guards at his disposal, as they were nowhere close to losing the upper hand.

    ¡°Go!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised the flag high into the air and poured all of his strength into it, tossing it out!

    The flag whistled through the air and pierced the old man¡¯s chest, lifting him up and nailing him against the stone walls.

 Chapter 1177

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1177 ¨C Complete Victory

    The noisy crowd fell silent. The old man in embroidered robes was dumbfounded. He had clearly maintained his guard the entire time, so why was he unable to dodge it?

    The protectors looked at one another, also surprised. The strike earlier was so powerful that probably even they could not dodge it. They could not help but recall Hou Hongtao¡¯s death.

    This man¡¯s strength was always so unfathomable. Normally, he did not seem particularly powerful, but he could always crush all enemies with ease when it mattered.

    Li Qingshan lowered his right hand and dispersed the colourful light. He called out, ¡°Li Qingshan be the one who killed him!¡±

    Immediately, a tremendous wave of cheers rang out from behind.

    He no longer possessed a weapon, but the guards of the Ma family all backed away when he advanced, their faces filled with fright. They actually allowed him to reach the old man step by step. He said, ¡°Enough, just stop trying. Don¡¯t make me finish you off!¡±

    The old man pointed at Li Qingshan. He opened his mouth and tried to say something, but blood spurted out immediately. He passed away there, dying in regret. The golden blade fell out of his hand.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and caught the blade by the hilt. He swung it conveniently and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a little light, but this still suits me better!¡± Then he shed his damaged, heavy armour. With that, his bearing changed, now on full display and radiating with murderousness.

    ¡°Grandpa! Grandpa! You can¡¯t die!¡±

    A beautiful woman rushed over without any regard, throwing herself beneath the old man and sobbing away in misery. She was one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World. Coupled with the fact that she was grieving right now, basically everyone who saw her would feel saddened.

    Suddenly, she looked back with her eyes filled with hatred, swinging her blade and lunging towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Give me back my grandpa!¡±

    With a flash of gold, a beautiful head rose up into the air, her face still perplexed and confused as if she struggled to believe someone could bring themselves to attack her. Blood spurted a meter into the air from the neck as the headless corpse stumbled a few more steps before collapsing.

    ¡°Heh, your bladesmanship sucks!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. If she wanted to kill, then she had to be aware that she could be killed too. Speaking of which, he was currently submerged in the delight of swinging a blade that he had not experienced in a very long time, so he completely failed to notice whether the woman was beautiful or ugly.

    ¡°You animal! Everyone, let¡¯s get him together! Kill this demon!¡±

    The woman was clearly extremely spoiled in the Ma family and had countless admirers. After seeing him behead her in a single stroke, everyone became angered.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s a question. Am I exactly an animal or a demon?¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his hand and caught the woman¡¯s falling, spinning blade. Since the quality was no good, then he would make up for it with quantity!

    With a mad laugh and two blades in hand, he extended his long limbs and began to spin. The flames of the blades turned into a tornado, rampaging through the crowd. Wherever he went, limbs were thrown into the air, and a great number of heads rolled across the ground.

    This was the savage dance unique to the tiger demon. It growled and bounded around, grinding its teeth and drinking blood, devouring life by the mouthful.

    ¡°W- what is this bladesmanship? The Ma family¡¯s bladesmanship is basically nothing compared to it. Even father¡¯s Seven Slaughters Blade Style probably comes nowhere close! I¡¯ve never heard of the name Li Qingshan before. Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s also obtained the power from the daemon star?¡±

    A pale, skinny man leaned against the railing on a tall building in the distance, watching this dumbfoundedly. He carried a long bundle on his back, which was clearly a weapon like a sword or a blade. However, he kept it wrapped and hidden for some reason. At this moment, the bundle trembled away.

    Suddenly, he stood up and called out, ¡°Hero king, let me lend you a hand!¡± Then he leapt out of the building.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him in surprise. With his sneers and jokes alone, he had actually managed to convince someone he was not familiar with into helping out.

    The man was young, but he had broken through to the innate realm. He unwrapped his bundle and drew out a long blade. The blade was pitch-black like ink, without the slightest shine, but it abruptly produced a beam of light several meters in length. It slashed through three masters of the Ma family in a single stroke. His pale face was filled with hysterical and maddening killing intent.

    ¡°Nice blade!¡± Li Qingshan said. When it came to this world, the two blades in his possession could both be considered as treasured blades, but they were already heavily damaged.

    ¡°The Demonic Blade of Seven Slaughters! This kid is the successor of the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters!?¡±

    There were many people from the martial arts community in the city, spectating the battle here from afar. They had watched the battle until they became absolutely frightened and dazzled. There were so many renowned masters here, yet they had all been cut down with such ease. Some of them had even died to the hands of regular soldiers with almost no martial arts.

    Upon seeing the blade, many people immediately recognised it. In comparison to the hero king Li Qingshan, the Demon Lord of Seven Killings was infamous throughout the world, and he had also risen up after the arrival of the daemon star. He had caused a slaughter in the martial arts community.

    With the arrival of the daemon star, the world would fall into chaos. It was true!

    They could not help but think of the same thing as the skinny young man. This man called Li Qingshan must have obtained power from the daemon star, which was why he possessed such violent murderousness.

    The Ma family had lost their leader, and the innate masters had suffered heavy losses, so the two protectors no longer had to force their way through the ranks of the enemy anymore. They unleashed their ingenious swordsmanship, turning into two streaks of light that darted about in the crowd, especially finding and assassinating enemy masters.

    The army under Gu Yanying¡¯s command had suffered quite a lot of losses too, but their morale only grew stronger, and the snake in the air consolidated. It glanced down with its cold snake eyes, flickering its bright-red tongue like it was about to swallow them whole.

    The setting sun dropped below the horizon. Blood replaced the sunlight, dyeing the ground red.

    The white horse under Gu Yanying had almost been dyed red as well, gasping away for air.

    The Ma family was unexpectedly tenacious as if everyone had entered a frenzy because of this battle that they had never witnessed before. Gu Yanying glanced at the frosty sky. Was it the will of heavens at work again?

    It must have influenced them while they were unaware, achieving even greater effects when everyone was in disarray, or the enemies would have dispersed a long time ago.

    However, this was good. If these people all fled into the city and began fighting on the streets, they would not be able to assemble such a large military formation. That way, even ten soldiers would not be the opponents of a single martial arts practitioner, so who knew how much trouble they would have to deal with. They were better off destroying them in one fell swoop.

    She was not worried about defeat at all. Li Qingshan and the protectors were rapidly closing up their differences in terms of quality. If it all came down to numbers, then she had even more soldiers to flood the city right behind her, all people they had recruited afterwards. There were a large number of them, but they had not undertaken a lot of training and were not armoured, which was why she left them at the back of the army in the beginning. They could not add much to the battle right now in terms of individual strength, but they could strengthen the army¡¯s aura. The gushing army qi consolidated the huge snake even more until it completely took shape.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan and the two protectors had basically cleaned up most of the mainstays of the Ma family by now, Gu Yanying swung her metal fan, and the snake reeled back before lunging forwards again, swallowing several dozen guards in a single gulp.

    ¡°I- it¡¯s not an illusion!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a snake daemon! It¡¯s a huge snake daemon!¡±

    Faced with something well beyond their imaginations, the Ma family¡¯s morale immediately collapsed. They all turned around and fled.

    The battle turned into a pursuit, and Li Qingshan charged at the very front. He paid no regard to any moral codes of the jianghu, killing whoever he got his hands on without any mercy at all. He was completely doused in blood. The flashes of the blades followed his mad laughter, leaving everyone who heard it trembling and everyone who saw him stricken with fear.

    At this moment, the final smear or red vanished in the west. The dark night descended completely.

 Chapter 1178

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1178 ¨C The Blade Arrives

    The flag on the city walls changed. Now, the flag of the scarlet tiger flew instead. It was rather tattered, but it only seemed more valiant now that it was drenched in blood.

    The reeking of blood within the city gates was so heavy that it refused to disperse as the ground soaked up the blood and turned to mud. The soldiers cleaned up the battlefield, finishing off any surviving enemies they encountered.

    They had not noticed it during the intense battle earlier, but now that they looked at this corpse-ridden land where blood trickled as streams, it basically seemed like the lowest level of hell. Many people collapsed on the ground and vomited, but they continued with cleaning up the battlefield when they stood up again, gradually growing accustomed to it.

    Following this battle, they were no longer new recruits.

    Gu Yanying could clearly sense that their numbers had diminished and their morale had plummeted with the end of the battle, but their quality had reached a whole new level. Perhaps there were more ingenious ways to take the city, but this was not personal grievances, but full-blown war. Only through trials of blood and fire could this army develop their worth.

    The crows refused to return to their nests, flapping around and feasting off the corpses.

    Li Qingshan led the people to take down the inner city, which was the main estate of the Ma family. They extinguished the flames that were about to develop out of control and conveniently cleaned up a few remaining forces. They even finished off a few people of the martial arts community who tried to take advantage of the situation. Only then did they stabilise the overall situation.

    Worried about Gu Yanying, he returned to the city gates again, only to see everyone by his side exhausted. Even the two protectors were no exception. After all, not everyone possessed the endless support of the earth. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve had it tough, everyone! Let¡¯s sit down and get some rest!¡±

    He tossed aside the two ruined blades and sat down on a corpse. When everyone heard him, they all seemed to lose their bones, flopping down on any corpse they could find. The protectors no longer cared about their identities as great swordsmen either, each leaning against a wall to rest as they clutched their swords.

    Only the young, skinny man arrived before Li Qingshan, kneeling down and lowering his head deeply without any regard for the bloody mess on the ground.

    ¡°Kid, what¡¯s up with you?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile.

    ¡°Hero king, please accept me as your disciple!¡±

    ¡°And I had thought you were inspired by my great cause. Turns out you¡¯re thinking of something like this.¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow, but he was not angered. Seeing how the young man¡¯s black blade was in perfect condition even after a battle, he said, ¡°Your bladesmanship is a little shabby, but your blade is not bad!¡±

    Noticing how Li Qingshan had praised his blade twice, the young man became conflicted inside. He made his decision and suddenly offered up the blade. ¡°Lei Lie is willing to offer the blade to the king as a gift of accepting him as a disciple!¡±

    ¡°Is this the Demonic Blade of Seven Slaughters?¡± Cold light flashed through the eyes of the protector of the left.

    ¡°Are you the disciple of the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters?¡± The protector of the right questioned closely.

    ¡°I am the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters¡¯ son!¡± Lei Lie said boldly, leading to a series of gasps.

    ¡°The Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters!¡± Li Qingshan only understood this title after learning everything about the daemon star. He was the lucky bastard who had obtained powers from the daemon star, which was no wonder the aura from the blade was so familiar. It had probably been forged from the metal contained within the daemon star, so it came with the aura of the Asura realm naturally. However, he shook his head with a smile. ¡°It just reminded me of my blade. Why would I want your blade? Since your father gave it to you, you better keep it for yourself!¡±

    Lei Lie eased up slightly. This blade was his family heirloom, and it bore great significance to him. However, he also felt deeply disappointed. Compared to his unrivalled bladesmanship, how important could a blade like this be? He refused to simply accept this. ¡°May I ask what kind of blade your blade is? I can say with confidence that there is no other blade in the world that can match this blade.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still too young.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. How could a blade like that compare to the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End?

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re worried that my identity will cause you trouble? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll take my leave right now!¡± Lei Lie¡¯s pale face reddened.

    ¡°Lei Lie, have you ever committed any evil deeds?¡±

    ¡°I began practising the blade at the age of three without ever missing a day, so how could I ever get the opportunity to do anything evil? Even when it comes to my father, that¡¯s all slander from others¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what kind of person your father is. Just understanding you is enough. From today onwards, you are a member of my World¡¯s society!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°However, it¡¯s inconvenient for me to take on any disciples. You¡¯re not suited to use the blade either, so set the blade aside and switch over to the sword from now on!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his hand in a dramatic manner. The two protectors exchanged glances and nodded. Just like that, he could hide the identity of the son of the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters. Even if his identity was exposed, he could say he had changed his ways by joining the society, which would not damage the reputation of the World¡¯s society.

    That was not what Li Qingshan had been thinking about at all. He had never taken the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters seriously. Instead, he had managed to see through Lei Lie¡¯s foundations with his insight.

    The sword was believed to be superior in the world, viewed as the gentlemen of all weapons, while blades would even be used by regular farmers to cut down firewood and cut up meat. It did not require a lot of practice. All this time, only the path of the sword existed. There was no so-called path of the blade. At most, it was just bladesmanship.

    The blade never had a path. There was nothing honourable about it either. However, in the Asura realm, the blade held an extremely great status. If weapons were said to be created for the sake of slaughter, then blades were the embodiment of the limit of this killing intent, except it made them difficult to wield. They were almost mediocre due to their simplicity, such that it was difficult to unleash their specialty. As a result, not a lot of asura actually wielded blades.

    Blades were the courage of all weapons. Li Qingshan¡¯s initial comprehension had come from the blade too.

    ¡°What!¡± Lei Lie was both surprised and furious. He had basically begun practising the blade from the moment he was born, swinging it thousands of times each day, yet someone actually told him that he was not suited to use the blade today.

    ¡°You are filled with hatred, such that the blade controls you. If you continue like this, you¡¯ll only end up becoming a madman.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s right. If you don¡¯t believe him, you¡¯re welcome to leave this blade for a period of time, and the killing intent within you will naturally disperse. Not everyone is as battle-hungry and bloodthirsty as him.¡± Gu Yanying rode over on her horse. Even with her silver hawk mask, her voice brought warmth to those who heard it.

    Li Qingshan licked his lips and grinned. ¡°Sometimes, I really do want to know how it feels to cut you down in a single stroke.¡±

    ¡°Others all swing their swords to cut through their emotions. What¡¯re you wielding the blade for?¡± Gu Yanying made fun of him.

    ¡°Haha, swords cut through emotions, and blades cut down people. The effect is basically the same.¡±

    Lei Lie tightened his grip around the hilt as his expression changed in uncertainty.

    At this moment, there was a swish, and the crows all flew up in alarm and cried out.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan hunched over with his fingers splayed out, like a wild beast that had sensed danger.

    However, a lazy yawn rang out from behind him, and a child walked out. His face bore a sense of deprivation and depression that conflicted with his age. He glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°Thanks for the sleepy bug. I slept so deeply. Uhh, where is this place?¡±

    ¡°Xiaoming!?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised, as this child of a god with an unknown identity had become even younger. He seemed only three or four years old, and his aura had declined to below the first heavenly tribulation. However, Li Qingshan had no idea how he had emerged from the Asura Field that was sealed up by the world.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming gazed at the stars with his hands on his hips as if he managed to tell this was a miniature world. He said in disdain, ¡°You sure have regressed.¡±

    ¡°You sure are shameless to say that to me.¡± Li Qingshan laughed. He thought of something. ¡°You¡¯ve only thanked me verbally. Do you have any gifts of thanks?¡±

    ¡°Here, it insisted on me bringing it out.¡±

    With a wave of his hand, a huge, flagrant blade was planted in the ground right in front of Li Qingshan. It was the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End!

 Chapter 1179

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1179 ¨C Qingshan Seals Away His Blade, Xiaoming Has No Heart

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. He grabbed the hilt immediately. ¡°My Flowery!¡±

    Gu Yanying tilted her head. What the hell was that name supposed to be?

    ¡°This world¡­ is so oppressive¡­ and¡­ don¡¯t call me Flowery¡­ you fool!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s feeble voice rang out in Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Li Qingshan swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End around without any regard. He brought it in front of Lei Lie and said, ¡°Kid, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s actually called a blade!¡±

    The violent and unrestrained murderousness filled his face. Lei Lie could not help but stumble backwards, falling onto his bottom.

    Everyone was alarmed. Just what was that blade!?

    Even with the numerous restraints from the world, the blade was not an actual creature, so it would not plummet completely in strength all of a sudden. It still maintained a shred of its power. At the very least, its sharpness and toughness would not be affected by much. It could basically be regarded as a divine weapon in this world.

    What puzzled everyone even more was the child who had suddenly appeared. Everyone had clearly sensed the aura of danger earlier, such that they were still shaken up. The crows circled through the sky and refused to land.

    However, he also seemed so deprived and feeble now. Their gazes returned to Li Qingshan. This man was wrapped up in far too many mysteries.

    Li Qingshan swung the blade around for a good while in great interest. The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower asked in confusion, ¡°Kid, what¡¯s happened to you? Why has your murderousness become so weak?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded and said, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not too suited to use the blade right now. I really don¡¯t have a lot of murderousness.¡±

    The world had suppressed the tiger demon, and while the ape demon was irritable and restless, it was not battle-hungry or bloodthirsty.

    Everyone was bewildered. With how you looked like when you just carried out a massacre earlier, that¡¯s supposed to be not a lot of murderousness?

    ¡°Whatever. As long as you¡¯re alive,¡± said the Frenzy Flower of Paths¡¯ End. Before she knew it, she had already forgotten about her plans to devour him at any opportunity.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts for a moment before coming to a decision. He ordered people to retrieve some thick white strips of silk so that he could cover up the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End temporarily. He wrapped the silk around the blade patiently.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Gu Yanying asked out of curiosity.

    ¡°Sealing away the blade,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    He had come to this world to practise the Ape Demon Transformation. Carrying out a massacre with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End in his hand was extremely easy, but this fantastic opportunity would go to waste. If he wanted to kill, he would be better off going to the Asura realm to kill. There was no point in harrassing a group of miserably weak natives. He was better off doing his best to preserve the purity of his mental state, avoiding any influences from other factors.

    ¡°Neither of us can kill to our satisfaction here, so I might as well go without using her!¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower accepted this calmly. She added, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t say it like that! You still should use me when you need to! If you are defeated, you might not find it embarrassing, but I will!¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯m not a fool. Do you really think I¡¯ll forget how to fight back when others are going too far? You can catch some rest first!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t make me wait too long¡­¡±

    In the eyes of others, Li Qingshan was muttering to a blade all by himself. Even in the nine provinces, a weapon with a spirit was rare to see, let alone in a small, remote world like this.

    ¡°I understand.¡± Lei Lie bowed deeply and stood up, sheathing the blade again. Even a blade fanatic like Li Qingshan was sealing away his blade with such resolve, so if he continued to dawdle, he would seem far too hesitant and uncultured. ¡°However, I¡¯m not giving up on bladesmanship. I¡¯m just copying you by sealing away my blade. I will use swordsmanship to correct my disposition until the day that I can control it. I hope you will be willing to accept me as your disciple then, my king!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see!¡±

    Li Qingshan put the blade on his back and strode off towards the main estate of the Ma family.

    Gu Yanying followed close behind on the horse when R¨¡hu Xiaoming suddenly said, ¡°I want to ride a horse!¡±

    Gu Yanying had already noticed that R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s background was anything but ordinary, so she smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re called Xiaoming, right? Was this name given to you by the person at the front?¡±

    ¡°You sure are clever.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes flashed as if he had noticed something about her. It was no wonder they could traverse such a great distance through outer space and arrive in this world.

    ¡°If I give you the horse, are there any gifts you¡¯ll thank me with?¡± Gu Yanying dismounted from the horse.

    ¡°If you want to conquer the world using the methods of the school of the Military, you better keep him happy,¡± Li Qingshan looked back and said.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Gu Yanying directly reached over and hoisted R¨¡hu Xiaoming onto the horse. As she had expected, the tortures of hell did not produce a single response from him. That was something that even Li Qingshan had failed to achieve.

    ¡­¡­

    As promised, Li Qingshan held a celebration feast in the main estate of the Ma family, rewarding those that had done well in battle. He handed out treasures, cultivation methods, and secret manuals constantly like they were worth nothing. Having swallowed everything the Ma family had built up over the past two centuries, these rewards barely amounted to anything, but it did strengthen the army¡¯s unity, which paved a foundation for when they swept through the world.

    Having occupied this entire region with a population of several million under his control, replenishing the power in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation was basically as easy as it could get as long as he had a bit of time.

    Following this battle, the name of the World¡¯s society would definitely ring through the world before long.

    At the banquet, R¨¡hu Xiaoming sat between the two of them silently. He did not drink any alcohol, nor did he eat anything, just sitting there blankly with a heavy heart. He stood out very much as he conflicted against the atmosphere. No one had any idea about his origins. As a matter of fact, some people even began discussing quietly whether he was the son of the two manor lords.

    Late at night, they returned to the back courtyard.

    With a single lamp, the three of them gathered together facing one another.

    ¡°Tell me, what do you want me to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan took a sip of alcohol. This child of an asura god was actually kind enough to help him bring out the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, so he must have been up to something. He was not some good samaritan.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming fiddled around with his slingshot called Li¡¯l Y. With his head lowered, he said absolutely nothing.

    Gu Yanying stood to one side with her arms crossed. She took off her mask with a face of curiosity. Before Li Qingshan had told her about R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s origins, even she did not think his background was so powerful, the child of an asura god from the R¨¡hu clan.

    ¡°When you came out from here, you probably didn¡¯t just wake up. You probably jerked awake!¡± Li Qingshan took out the Asura Field again. ¡°If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, the blood-red swirl leading to the Asura realm is gradually repairing itself. You¡¯ve already been weakened to the point where you can¡¯t destroy it.¡± Even now, he still shivered at the thought of the huge, peering eye.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming neither admitted nor denied it. He only asked, ¡°You said you would protect me. Did you just say it to make conversation, or were you serious?¡±

    ¡°Normally, I would be serious, but if the owner of that eye directly kills their way into this world, then you can just treat it like I was trying to make conversation!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°If it really reaches that point, it¡¯s useless even if you¡¯re willing to risk your life for me.¡±

    ¡°I will do my best to protect you. That¡¯s all I can promise.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough. I have no other choice but to trust you right now. Clearly, you¡¯ve already noticed that I¡¯m growing weaker with each day. In the future, I might even become more feeble than a newborn mortal. Even a single wild beast will be able to kill me. If I die then, I won¡¯t be reborn in the Asura realm.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming clenched his fist, but he still seemed so unmotivated, without any of the fighting spirit that an asura should have possessed.

    ¡°May I ask how you ended up like this?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said after a moment of silence, ¡°Some ¡®one¡¯ stole my ¡®heart¡¯.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood what he was saying. He was not referring to the thumping piece of flesh in his chest, but some kind of condensation of spirit and will. Sure enough, he had not lost his fighting spirit by himself. Instead, some other figure had stripped him of it through some method.

    This method was basically well beyond anything he could come up with. It was unimaginable.

    ¡°Heh, I feel like I¡¯ll be sucked into the battles of the Asura realm sooner or later.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯ve already been sucked in.¡±

 Chapter 1180

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1180 ¨C An Army of Asura

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at R¨¡hu Xiaoming deeply. He understood that the latter was not just referring to the endless, bloody battles of the Asura realm, but also the battle of gods.

    ¡°What, you afraid? Given your current strength, you really would be pushing your luck.¡±

    For once, R¨¡hu Xiaoming formed a smile on his face¡ªa sneer.

    ¡°Hehe, a little.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s answer took R¨¡hu Xiaoming by surprise. Instead, he stopped sneering. ¡°Very good.¡±

    Those who did not know fear could not be regarded as courageous.

    Far too many asura had forgotten about this, including Li Qingshan himself in the past. Because they possessed an undying body, because they did not want this fighting spirit to diminish, they threw themselves into battle after battle fearlessly, killing and being killed in a crazy manner until they lost themselves in the end.

    ¡°No wonder you could gain its recognition. I hope you will never forget about the fear you feel right now.¡±

    ¡°By it, are you referring to the Asura realm?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no.¡±

    Gu Yanying interrupted them. ¡°I have a question. If you are currently being hunted down by a certain god from the Asura realm, Xiaoming, wouldn¡¯t we be done for if they come for you through the Asura Field? In simpler words, I don¡¯t think this small world can keep a god at bay.¡±

    As soon as she said that, a powerful figure leapt out of the Asura Field, tripping over violently. If Li Qingshan had not extended his hand and caught her, she almost would have been decapitated by the circular blade she wielded.

    Yin Qing straightened herself out in a rather sorry shape. ¡°Is this¡­ a small world?¡±

    ¡°How is it inside?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming asked.

    ¡°Most of the cracks have closed up. The tunnel will open again very soon. The aura has already begun seeping in.¡±

    Yin Qing¡¯s face changed. She immediately forgot about the numerous restraints from the world.

    Originally, she was not too worried, but she had obtained a droplet of divine blood from R¨¡hu Xiaoming, which was equivalent to branding herself as a part of the R¨¡hu clan. Once the owner of the huge eye forced their way in, there definitely would not be a good fate awaiting her. Rebirthing in the Asura realm would basically become a dream.

    ¡°We need to destroy the Asura Field,¡± said R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    ¡°Hey, why do I feel like I¡¯m going to be losing out heaps here?¡±

    Li Qingshan was very unhappy. He had stolen the Asura Field after so much difficulty. Only after all those battles did it evolve to its current level.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said lazily, ¡°You best give up on it. You once helped me obstruct her. Just from that alone, she won¡¯t spare you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I said I would protect you, so of course, I¡¯ll protect you!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not a hesitant, indecisive person. He tossed the Asura Field to R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming fiddled around with the Asura Field for a while, but he was not in a hurry to destroy it. Li Qingshan admired his patience. ¡°What are you waiting for?¡±

    ¡°I can use the Asura Field to turn your army into an army of asura.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes lit up. The battle today had exposed the fatal flaw of this army as well.

    As it was entirely composed of mortals, they could only overwhelm regular martial arts practitioners even if they used the battle formations of the school of the Military. They would still require her to deal with innate masters, or in other words, Qi Practitioners. However, she was not that powerful most of the time. If she did not have Li Qingshan¡¯s protection, she would struggle to fend off assassinations from masters.

    Even if Li Qingshan could protect her, there was nothing he could do about the regular soldiers. If their camp was constantly assaulted with sneak attacks, their morale would plummet before long. An army truly possessed far too many flaws in a world where personal strength completely overwhelmed the strength of groups.

    ¡°Hmph, you sure are lucky!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    ¡°I used my horse to trade for this.¡± Gu Yanying smiled. Then she asked R¨¡hu Xiaoming, ¡°When can we start?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. The flow of time here is very slow. Go make some preparations first!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The next morning, Gu Yanying gathered the army outside the city. The thousands of corpses from the enemy army piled up into a terrifying mountain.

    Li Qingshan and the others stood on the top of the corpse mountain, gazing at the black mass of people below.

    Feihong tried her best to avoid looking at the mountain of corpses beneath her feet. She asked Li Qingshan carefully, ¡°My king, what are you doing with this?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s something fantastic. Today, I¡¯ll be taking out my treasure to share with everyone. However, how much of it you can collect will be up to your own luck.¡±

    Li Qingshan had already understood from R¨¡hu Xiaoming. While this ceremony could convert many people into asura, they were still fakes. Just their strength alone was nowhere close to true asura, and if they did not possess the heart of an asura, they would revert back to normal humans very soon. They could not even remain as fakes.

    Then he asked Yin Qing beside him, ¡°Feel a bit better?¡±

    ¡°I feel much better, my king.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good then. I will find ways to help you recover your strength.¡±

    ¡°As long as there¡¯s battle and slaughter, it¡¯ll be enough.¡±

    ¡°I almost forgot that you¡¯re a true asura.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve rested for so long, so it¡¯s about time I set off again.¡±

    Yin Qing gazed out. Within the thin morning mist, the silhouettes of mountains rose and fell, which reminded her of her homeland, which was also so small. She had once been as delicate as that woman called Feihong, but now, she possessed the divine blood of the R¨¡hu clan. Even though it was only a single droplet, it had led to a qualitative change.

    Feihong glanced at her in admiration. There was even some envy.

    ¡°Qingshan, they¡¯re waiting for you to say something,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    Li Qingshan took a step forward and said loudly, ¡°You¡¯ve all received the rewards, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Everyone answered loudly, booming through the air.

    ¡°Very good, but all of that is nothing. I¡¯m going to give you far more than that. Pegasus city behind you is just an appetiser. We¡¯re going to take the entire world and send those aristocratic clans that stand so high and those conceited masters of the martial arts community to their deaths! We¡¯re going to pile up corpse mountains after corpse mountains and stand on top of those people who have always been strutting over your heads!¡±

    ¡°Long live the hero king!¡±

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s speech, everyone gradually forgot about their fear and sorrow, the fighting spirit within them set alight. Sound waves quaked through the ground and sky.

    ¡°You all know about the arrival of the daemon star. Right now, all the masters of the world are searching for it in the north, but they¡¯ll never find it, as the daemon star is in my possession. I¡¯m going to share its power with all of you now so that you also have the opportunity to become a supreme master like the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words made the crowd fall silent. Soon, they erupted with cheers as if they were trying to burst the very skies with their voices.

    Even the two protectors were stunned. They had received an answer to all of their questions. Sure enough, he was connected to the daemon star. Their eyes became filled with fervour soon afterwards too.

    Li Qingshan looked back and signalled at R¨¡hu Xiaoming. ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming bit into his index finger and brought it to the Asura Field gently.

    In that instant, the inscriptions and formations hidden within the Asura Field suddenly expanded, turning into complicated, blood-red lines. A thin, bloody mist enveloped a region of five kilometers, filled with a violent killing intent, except its effects were vastly different from the Rock of Slaughter.

    At this moment, Ma Xingkong rushed towards Pegasus city with a great group of people around him, only to see that the sky had turned blood-red.

    ¡°Something has happened to Pegasus city. Everyone, move faster!¡±

    After issuing the orders, Ma Xingkong whipped his horse as hard as he could before telling the innate masters under Zhang Yuntian¡¯s lead, ¡°Please lend me a hand with this, everyone. The Ma family will not forget about your kindness!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian said, ¡°You have nothing to worry about, brother Ma. Gathering the heroes of the world and purging heretics and evil is my responsibility as the leader of the martial arts alliance!¡±

 Chapter 1181

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1181 ¨C Lifting the Seal

    The blood-red glow that dyed the sky left the leader of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian, slightly uneasy inside. However, when he glanced back, everyone seemed so relaxed apart from the people of the Ma family. The World¡¯s society might possess a large force, but they only had a handful of true masters.

    And because of the arrival of the daemon star, almost a third of all the masters in the world had gathered here. All seven great sects had at least one representative here, which was well beyond what that hero king could handle. As for the army composed of mortals, even fewer people were worried about it. No matter how many more there were, ants were still ants.

    ¡°This lowly monk would like to see if that hero king really is as superhuman as he¡¯s rumored to be!¡±

    ¡°Even if he¡¯s actually superhuman, how can he withstand the master¡¯s Great Fist of Subduing Tigers?¡±

    The Tiger Subduing monk laughed aloud, accepting this compliment calmly. It was true. There were only a handful of people in this world that could block a punch from him.

    The group travelled through the thick forest. A large river blocked their path up ahead with several boats of various sizes docked there. That was where Li Qingshan had disembarked. When they saw the sight outside Pegasus city in the distance, they were all shocked.

    A blood-red outline criss-crossed through the air as a thick mist of blood enveloped the entire city. They all stopped where they were, facing a hill.

    Pegasus city is surrounded by flat ground. Where did this hill come from?

    Right when they developed this thought, they peered through the bloody mist and discovered it was actually a mountain of corpses. They all paled. Such a horrifying and eerie sight was completely unheard of.

    ¡°Argh!¡± Ma Xingkong cried out. He was overwhelmed with fury. There were many familiar faces within the mountain of corpses.

    Li Qingshan followed the sound and looked over. ¡°They sure know when to come. What do we do?¡±

    ¡°If the enemy does nothing, then we do nothing!¡± Gu Yanying said calmly.

    ¡°It¡¯ll only be suspicious if we do nothing. Why don¡¯t you take a look at what¡¯s beneath our feet?¡±

    Li Qingshan kicked a head, which happened to belong to the old man whose chest he had pierced. It was as if they had placed him in this spot because his status was relatively more important.

    ¡°I¡¯ll never spare them!¡± Ma Xingkong¡¯s roar crossed over the river and rang out from afar.

    ¡°Yeah, fair enough. Though, speaking of which, why did we have to pile up all the corpses?¡±

    Gu Yanying gazed at R¨¡hu Xiaoming in confusion. She originally thought it was a sacrifice, but that did not seem to be the case!

    ¡°For fun.¡±

    ¡°Does it really serve no purpose at all?¡±

    Gu Yanying frowned. In order to pile up these corpses, she had spent the entire night awake, personally watching over the operations and ordering the people around.

    ¡°Why would piling up a bunch of dead corpses serve a purpose?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming glanced at her in contempt.

    The other people standing on the corpse mountain were speechless. They endured a multitude of feelings as they stood here, yet it was actually all because of a mindless request from this brat. Do you think this is a pile of sand instead?

    ¡°Hah!¡± Li Qingshan patted R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s tiny shoulders. ¡°Nicely done!¡±

    ¡°No problem.¡±

    ¡°Hey, Li Qingshan, you get a little serious too. Everyone you¡¯re about to face are ¡®masters¡¯. You better take out your ¡®Flowery¡¯ and cut them down!¡± Gu Yanying said in exasperation. Right now, apart from Li Qingshan and her, everyone else had reached a critical moment of being converted into asura.

    ¡°I refuse! I just sealed my blade away yesterday. If you want to go, go yourself!¡±

    Li Qingshan was unhappy. So much for sealing away his blade so seriously yesterday. Why would he be a hypocrite and slap himself in the face now?

    ¡°If I could go, why¡¯d I ask you? Cut the nonsense and get going!¡±

    The army could not be mobilised, so Gu Yanying was extremely feeble right now. She definitely could not stop so many ¡°masters¡±.

    If it were not for R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s sudden appearance, having brought the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End out with him, it would definitely be a bitter battle even if they could mobilise the army.

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged helplessly. He grabbed the hilt of the blade and leapt off the corpse mountain.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End awakened and immediately mocked and taunted him.

    By the time Li Qingshan reached the river bank, his forehead was already bulging with veins. He was absolutely furious. He yelled at Ma Xingkong, ¡°Old bastard, what¡¯re you yelling out for? What, your whole family is dead?¡±

    ¡°Y- you¡­¡±

    Ma Xingkong almost fainted from anger. His face reddened before turning purple; he pointed at Li Qingshan, unable to utter a single word. He was about to rush over the river and throw his life at him.

    ¡°Please hold on, brother Ma. This might be a trap by the enemy!¡± Zhang Yuntian said.

    Ma Xingkong looked back. Apart from his family, everyone else¡¯s faces were filled with hesitation and fear. The river before him raged violently. Apart from a small number of innate masters, no one could cross it with ease. He was experienced with the jianghu after all, so he held back his rage and hatred and clasped his hands. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the decision to the alliance leader!¡± Then he said to everyone else, ¡°No matter who kills this bastard and avenges the Ma family, I¡¯m willing to offer ten cities as a reward!¡±

    With that, everyone became tempted. Ten cities was a range of several hundred kilometers at the very least, with a population of hundreds of thousands. That was enough to found a sect.

    The Ma family is done for, Zhang Yuntian thought. The mountain of corpses was basically the foundation that the Ma family had built up over the past two centuries. Originally, they thought the World¡¯s society was only using their advantage in numbers to attack the settlements in the surroundings, but they never expected Pegasus city to fall so easily as well, without even managing to hold them off for a single day. Even if Ma Xingkong won this battle, his forces would shrink drastically. The ten cities were only a friendly gesture that came at no extra cost.

    The figure on the other side of the river had arms that reached all the way to his knees, which matched the rumors perfectly. Zhang Yuntian asked sternly, ¡°Are you Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your father, me!¡± Li Qingshan said.

    Zhang Yuntian¡¯s face changed as he pointed straight at him. ¡°Demon, I originally thought you were just a hypocrite fishing for fame, but I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so devoid of morales, even opposing the entire martial arts community! You¡¯re basically beneath a beast!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely wrong! I¡¯m like a beast, but definitely not beneath a beast!¡±

    Within the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the phoenix was an avian and the tiger was a beast, so Li Qingshan really was telling the truth.

    Zhang Yuntian¡¯s face sank even further, but he felt even more uneasy inside. Never had he been put in a situation like this before, where he confronted an enemy like him.

    ¡°Alliance leader, this Li Qingshan is just a fool they sent to buy time. They seem to be carrying out some sort of ceremony, so now is the perfect time to launch an attack. We can¡¯t let them succeed!¡± Ma Xingkong said loudly.

    ¡°Sir Ma is absolutely correct. Good and evil have never been able to coexist. If we work together, are we really unable to deal with him alone? I think there¡¯s nothing impressive about this Li Qingshan apart from possessing a pair of overly long limbs! Perhaps he might be a crossbreed born from the White Ape King and some human woman!¡±

    The Tiger Subduing monk took note of the aura that Li Qingshan gave off. It seemed to have reached the innate realm, but it definitely was not powerful. Even the White Ape King would suffer at their hands if they worked together, so it did not matter even if he had a secret technique to hide his true strength.

    Before the Tiger Subduing monk had even finished what he was saying, he suddenly saw his own shoes. He could not help but blink his eyes forcefully. He had no idea what had happened.

    With a thump, his bald head fell to the ground, only leaving the bottom half of his body still standing.

    Zhang Yuntian¡¯s eyes almost leapt out of their eye sockets. He wondered whether he was dreaming. Li Qingshan had only swung his blade on the other side of the river, and the Tiger Subduing monk right by his side had been bisected along the waist.

    ¡°What the hell are we up against!?¡±

    The other responded as well. They almost went crazy on the spot.

    ¡°It¡¯s an illusion! It must be an illusion! How can something like this actually be possible?¡±

 Chapter 1182

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1182 ¨C Ketu

    With a flash of the blade, it leapt across the river, turning into Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. He kicked over the bottom half of the Tiger Subduing monk.

    ¡°Bald ass, you¡¯re the crossbreed!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian felt like his blood was about to freeze. He was stunned there, unable to move.

    The others were no different, their eyes blank and their faces pale as if something had possessed them.

    Even under the restraints and suppression, it was extremely easy for the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End to cut down a Qi Practitioner. Instead, it was Li Qingshan who found it rather difficult to control. If it were not for the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s full cooperation, he actually lacked the strength to wield the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End right now.

    ¡°Look at you. I sure am tempted to just possess you!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower laughed.

    ¡°Possess my ass!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not care about that at all. He arrived before Ma Xingkong with the blade in hand. ¡°Are you Ma Xingkong?¡±

    ¡°You demon!¡± Ma Xingkong drew his blade with a furious roar.

    Li Qingshan swung his blade again, and a red line appeared on Ma Xingkong¡¯s forehead, reaching all the way down. His two halves separated and collapsed on the ground.

    ¡°Who else?¡±

    No one said anything. They were absolutely dumbfounded.

    Li Qingshan swept his gaze towards Zhang Yuntian. ¡°Oh right, you too! What did you just say to me? Fishing for fame, devoid of morales, beneath a beast!¡±

    Each phrase plunged into Zhang Yuntian¡¯s heart like a blade. He trembled gently as a great sensation of powerlessness filled him inside. He felt deep regret about becoming involved in the matters of the northern region, and he regretted venturing south with Ma Xingkong even more. Even if the entire Ma family died, what did it have to do with him?

    Li Qingshan was no demon. He was basically a demon king!

    He mustered up more courage than he had ever possessed in his life and asked, ¡°W- who are you exactly?¡±

    ¡°And who are you?¡±

    ¡°I am the leader of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian!¡± Zhang Yuntian said proudly.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°The leader of the martial arts alliance! Alright, then let¡¯s have a discussion. You give me the position of leader. Just look at how much greater my martial arts are than yours!¡±

    There was nothing Zhang Yuntian could say.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower pouted. ¡°Hmph, if it weren¡¯t for me, would you even stand a chance against them right now? The position of leader should go to me instead!¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°And I was thinking that the title of alliance leader was far too tasteless! It¡¯s nowhere near as awesome as the hero king!¡± Then he said to Zhang Yuntian, ¡°Whatever, I don¡¯t want to be the leader of the martial arts alliance anymore. Let¡¯s give it to this blade of mine instead! How¡¯s that? Are you going to hand it over?¡±

    Zhang Yuntian sucked in a deep breath. ¡°The position of alliance leader is not decided purely by strength. It requires agreement from more than half of the four aristocratic clans and seven great sects.¡±

    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s pretty democratic of you. Kid, if you¡¯re just trying to brush me aside, get ready to eat my blade!¡±

    ¡°Hold on! There are people from all four clans and all seven sects here. They¡¯re right behind me. If they¡¯re willing to recognise you as the alliance leader, I¡¯ll step down!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian glanced at the corpses of Ma Xingkong and the Tiger Subduing monk. At the very least, there were two groups that could not object anymore. Having lived a life of domination, he definitely could not accept something as humiliating as this, but he was even more reluctant to die, so he just left the matter to the others to deal with.

    Seeing Li Qingshan gaze over, the people from the other clans and sects all erupted with curses inside.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! If anyone objects to my ¡®Flowery¡¯ becoming the alliance leader, come out and face her!¡±

    ¡°You demon, I¡¯ll never¡­¡±

    Spurt! A head fell to the ground.

    Li Qingshan cut down a few more ¡°challengers¡± that bit off more than they could chew. Finally, there were no more objectors. He asked for the official seal of the alliance leader from Zhang Yuntian, which was a jade tablet with the words ¡°alliance leader¡± engraved on one side. He hung it on the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, bestowing it with the glorious throne of the leader of the martial arts alliance. He pointed the blade at the sky. ¡°Do not forget this! When the sovereign of the martial arts community, the treasured blade Flowery, orders the world, no one can disobey!¡±

    ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t call me Flowery!¡±

    Everything that happened here left the original members of the World¡¯s society on the other side of the river speechless. This great danger had ended in such a joke-like manner.

    ¡°The danger has been dealt with. Everyone, please focus,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    Even if Li Qingshan possessed strength well beyond what anyone in this world could contend with, he still had to establish an organisation and conquer the world if he wanted to gather the power of belief as quickly as possible. She could also tell that it was impossible for Li Qingshan to remain in battle for too long given his current state.

    The restraints on weapons were much smaller, but they still required support from the wielder¡¯s strength to unleash their true strength. The Immortal Reliquished sword had to devour elder Tian and sacrifice the entire Sword Collection palace before gaining the strength to put up a battle.

    Li Qingshan was unable to provide the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End with power. Right now, he was completely relying on the power built up in the blade beforehand to battle, so there would be a time when it ran out. If he wanted to replenish it, he would still have to rely on the Divine Talisman of Great Creation.

    Right as she pondered about that, an unfathomable power suddenly descended from above, pouring into the top of her head and piercing her soul.

    Gu Yanying felt like she had just been struck by lightning. She noticed that the mountain of corpses below her feet and everyone by her side had vanished. Only the blood-red ground extended off forever. She raised her head slowly. A single eye filled the sky, staring straight at her!

    At that instant, her eyes became blood-red, reflecting a black sun and moon. Her aura suddenly changed, and a fiendish aura flooded the surroundings.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan looked back with his eyebrows firmly locked. What had happened?

    The criss-crossing, blood-red outline began to twist as the mist of blood surged and churned violently.

    Yin Qing noticed the change with Gu Yanying. She took a step back and cried out, ¡°Ketu!¡±

    The R¨¡hu and the Ketu were two divine clans that stood on equal footing in the Asura realm. It was said that their first ancestors were split from the same being, so they both took a black sun and moon as their insignia. The black sun and moon in Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes mirrored the one on R¨¡hu Xiaoming, forming the insignia of the Ketu clan.

    TL: You can read more about Ketu here.

    Yes, apart from the Ketu clan, who could drive a R¨¡hu into a hopeless corner?

    ¡°Sir R¨¡hu, what do we do?¡±

    Gu Yanying slowly turned her head over. She gazed at R¨¡hu Xiaoming with her blood-red eyes. ¡°Found you!¡±

    Her voice was sharp and hoarse but strangely pleasant. It was no longer Gu Yanying¡¯s voice, but it also belonged to a woman.

    ¡°You really have come.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered slightly.

    ¡°Do you think you can escape just by hiding in a place like this? Look at how feeble you¡¯ve become. You¡¯re basically like an insect, which sure will save me some trouble. Die!¡±

    She extended her hand towards R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s throat. The laws of the world shattered, causing the space there to twist. Faced with this cross-world attack from a god, everyone could only watch on helplessly. R¨¡hu Xiaoming was no different, but the sneer remained on his face, instead growing heavier.

    A dark-azure feather drifted down, gracefully and silently, but it swept open a bloody mark on the huge eye that filled the sky, revealing R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s sneer inside.

    Gu Yanying jerked away from the nightmare. She discovered that she could see the outside world again, but she still could not control her body. Only then did she realise that she had been possessed.

    ¡°What¡¯s this!?¡±

    The hoarse and pleasant voice was filled with surprise and fury. She never imagined there would actually be something that could harm her in a small world like this, even when she had only sent a wisp of her consciousness. The power within the dark-azure feather was insignificant, yet it was also filled with a vast and lofty will, well beyond what she could contend against.

    ¡°Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather!¡±

    ¡°Have you finally noticed? This is just a small payback,¡± said R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    ¡°So it is a trap. You¡¯re just as crafty as before, kid!¡± The voice suddenly became extremely soft and intimate. When the bloody mark ripped open the sky, she said resolutely, ¡°Even if I have to search the entire trichiliocosm, I will find you, my dear son!¡±

 Chapter 1183

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1183 ¨C Rapid Progress

    The crisscrossing blood-red outline in the sky shattered and vanished together with her like a snapped string.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming pursed his lips and said nothing.

    He regressed at a visible rate. His appearance became even younger, and his depression became even heavier.

    Gu Yanying swayed and leaned forwards. Li Qingshan rushed back and caught her. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Then he questioned R¨¡hu Xiaoming fiercely, ¡°What¡¯s this all about!?¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head and said in realisation, ¡°So I was the sacrifice!¡±

    Originally, she was the same as Li Qingshan. Neither of them had any plans to turn into asura. Even if they wanted to become asura, they would not do so through such an inferior method.

    It was R¨¡hu Xiaoming who made her stand at the top of the corpse mountain. He said it was to demonstrate her position as the commander of the asura army, and it also happened to be the centre of the entire ceremony. As it turned out, it was to draw over the consciousness of the thing going after R¨¡hu Xiaoming so that it would descend in her body.

    The corpse mountains definitely served a purpose. At the very least, it had managed to fool her.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°My bloodline is connected to hers. If I can¡¯t sever the traces and obscure the heavenly secrets, she¡¯ll be able to find me no matter where I go.¡±

    Li Qingshan said furiously, ¡°So you used us as bait? I really should just let her find you and kill you!¡±

    ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll still go out of her way to descend with her consciousness if she pinpoints my location? She will directly destroy this world from the Asura realm. No one will be able to escape.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming touched the slingshot called Li¡¯l Y on his waist. He seemed rather lost.

    ¡°Then I might as well butcher you right now and settle this problem!¡± Li Qingshan raised the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Gu Yanying grabbed his blade-wielding hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine. You can even say it was a blessing in disguise.¡±

    As it turned out, when the kunpeng¡¯s feather severed the descended consciousness, a sliver of divine nature had merged with her soul. Under the influence of this world, she was unable to tell if there were any other benefits, but she did gain a deeper understanding of the legacy within the kunpeng¡¯s feather.

    ¡°It¡¯s not a blessing in disguise. It¡¯s always been the remuneration included in the plan,¡± said R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    ¡°Am I supposed to thank you too?¡±

    Gu Yanying raised an eyebrow. Being possessed by a god was not a fantastic experience.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. You deserved this.¡±

    ¡°Actually, if you had told me earlier, I definitely would have been willing to cooperate.¡± She had never lacked a spirit for risk taking.

    ¡°Once you are aware and subconsciously prepared, who knows what kind of accidents might happen. And, that man doesn¡¯t seem particularly willing for you to take risks.¡±

    Gu Yanying glanced at Li Qingshan before suddenly shifting her gaze again. ¡°Whatever. Everything still ended up fine.¡±

    Li Qingshan slowly lowered his blade and internalised his anger. He said to R¨¡hu Xiaoming, ¡°I have made a promise to you in the past, but if something like this happens again, I won¡¯t be showing any mercy!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming forced out a ¡°yep¡±.

    Apart from this ¡°small¡± accident, the ceremony progressed extremely smoothly. Besides Yin Qing, the others did not even know what had happened. They were completely submerged in the ceremony. When they opened their eyes again, their black pupils shone with a red sheen. They already bore some special characteristics of asura.

    The auras of the two protectors surged up, directly breaking through to the ninth layer of the innate realm. The other martial arts practitioners experienced an increase in their cultivation as well.

    The path of martial arts and the asura path of slaughter had always been connected. As a matter of fact, they were fundamentally the same.

    However, they were not the ones who had benefited the most, but the thousands of soldiers. Originally, they had all missed the optimal age to learn martial arts, so it was no longer possible for them to become masters in their lives, but now, it was like a new breath of life. Their bodies were renewed, giving them the possibility to improve.

    Within the deafening cheers, Li Qingshan gazed towards the banks of the river. Zhang Yuntian and everyone else had already vanished.

    He did not want to kill unnecessarily. Originally, he planned to capture them as hostages, which would remove a lot of obstacles when they tried to conquer the world, but he never expected a twist like this to happen. He wondered whether it was the obscure will of the heavens at work again.

    If he went after them now, it would be pointless even if he managed to kill one or two of them. It would only be a waste of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End¡¯s power.

    ¡°Whatever. We¡¯ll let them spread our names. The effect is probably the same.¡±

    Afterwards, Gu Yanying ordered everyone to dig a great pit to bury the corpse mountain. The stench would linger for months.

    On the way back, Gu Yanying tried to get some information out of R¨¡hu Xiaoming. ¡°That¡¯s your mother? There¡¯s actually a mother like her in the world!¡±

    ¡°This feather is called Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather. What¡¯s Heaven-stirring referring to?¡±

    But from that moment onwards, R¨¡hu Xiaoming fell silent. He seemed even more depressed and defeated.

    Li Qingshan instead began to pity him slightly. Hunted down by his own family, even if that was not the only reason why he lost his fighting will, it probably had an extremely profound effect on him. However, a thought like that only flashed through his head before vanishing. He had many more things to deal with than taking pity on him.

    Gu Yanying led the army to uproot the forces of the Ma family in the northern region, and many soldiers in the army experienced a skyrocketing rise in their martial arts. Following that, the entire army began to change in terms of quality. Gu Yanying¡¯s strength grew with theirs, no longer requiring Li Qingshan¡¯s constant protection.

    Li Qingshan remained in the city and ordered people to copy out the Legend of the White Ape King. At the same time, he trained a great group of storytellers. They did not just spread his novel, but also spread his ideology of world peace and equality for all. He did not have to worry about insufficient manpower ever again.

    They were not in a hurry to expand outwards. Instead, they devoted their efforts to digesting the benefits that came with their victory. The Legend of the White Ape would spread to wherever the World¡¯s society expanded to, and the power of belief within his Divine Talisman of Great Creation grew a hundred times faster.

    Li Qingshan discovered that while the world was much smaller than the nine provinces, the power of belief it provided was no less than the nine provinces.

    The nine provinces were vast, but the range of influence of his novels was limited to the Clear River prefecture or the Ruyi commandery. It would also only remain as a form of entertainment. Afterwards, following the chaos of war, the common folk struggled to even stay alive, so why would they still be in the mood to enjoy themselves?

    From that moment onwards, the accumulation of power of belief had stagnated, and it grew at an extremely gradual pace. Li Qingshan had also stopped paying attention to it, directing his attention elsewhere.

    While this world was small, basically everyone desired the secrets of martial arts hidden within the Legend of the Great Ape King. He also had the authority to spread it by force, so this novel could reach the eyes and ears of every single person. The effects were obviously on a whole different level.

    And as they toppled the reign of the Ma family and split up the land titles and property with the common people, the reputation of the hero king was basically as prominent as the midday sun in the northern region. Many people admired him almost to the point of fanaticism.

    It was said that there was an old man in a village to the north of Pegasus city that did not know any martial arts and was completely illiterate, yet he could recite the several hundred thousand characters Li Qingshan had written flawlessly.

    Li Qingshan had even specially summoned him for a meeting. Let alone practicing martial arts, the old man basically had a foot in the grave already. He had not done this for the secrets of martial arts in the book, so it basically went without saying how devoted he was. In the end, Li Qingshan rewarded him with many treasures and ordered people to escort him back to his village, which led to a craze in memorising the book.

    If I can conquer this world, the power of the Divine Talisman of Great Creation will definitely rise to an unprecedented level!

    Li Qingshan thought as he converted his power of belief into raging spiritual qi, waiting for the first innate ability of the Ape Demon Transformation to appear.

 Chapter 1184

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1184 ¨C Snow Mountain

    Time flew. Spring went and summer came.

    It was another night with a full moon. Under the weeping willows, beside a pond, Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed, gazing at the moon in the pond.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming rested his head on his arms and laid on a round rock nearby. The rock was not large, except his figure had become even smaller than before. Gazing at the sky full of stars, the melancholy on his face had eased up slightly, like the innocence of having just become self-aware, yet also like the clarity before death.

    Li Qingshan speculated that he practised a cultivation method like the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a. After all, if this really continued until he turned into a tadpole, why would he care so much about staying alive?

    Ever since R¨¡hu Xiaoming left the Asura Field, he remained by his side closely. After so much difficulty, Gu Yanying finally did not need his protection anymore, yet he was now stuck with him instead. All he could do was continue with his job as a bodyguard.

    He shut his eyes and began to glow with rainbow light, filling the pond with glorious colours.

    Half a month earlier, he had already accumulated enough power of belief in the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. He had only been waiting for this night of the full moon.

    Pure spiritual qi raged through his body as he powered the Ape Demon¡¯s Method of Moon Scooping as hard as he could. His heart was filled with joy and happiness, which made him smile. No matter when, the ape demon would always make him feel happy, such that he was almost tempted to dance around and let out a few satisfying howls. However, he held back this urge and continued to cultivate.

    As he constantly ventured deeper with cultivation and no longer had to balance the other transformations, his appearance became even more monkey-like. Whenever he smiled, he would always seem rather funny.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming looked over. His eyes were filled with contempt, but his lips curled into a smile. He had never been in such a good mood before.

    He also had his speculations about Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation method. Although he had almost lost all of his cultivation, his insight remained. Li Qingshan¡¯s changes definitely were not limited to his outer appearance. Instead, something much deeper was changing every single day.

    That did not seem particularly unusual to him. The bizarre aspect was the aura that the ape demon gave off. Despite being in its budding stages, he could clearly sense that this definitely was no regular monkey, but some exotic breed of a demon or god. It might have even been one of the four legendary apes. Once it completely matured, its bloodline definitely would not be any weaker than his own.

    If that was all, then so be it. Perhaps Li Qingshan was born with a bloodline legacy that he could unleash more of through constant cultivation. However, he had personally seen Li Qingshan possess multiple auras simultaneously. Each aura represented a bloodline, and each bloodline was almost supreme, yet they managed to meld together perfectly.

    He definitely had not been born like this. It had to be due to the impact of some cultivation method, but even when he scoured his memories, he was unable to think of any cultivation method that had such an effect.

    Perhaps a cultivation method like this could not exist within the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm!

    Then only one possibility remained¡­

    He looked back at the stars again. His gaze became extremely deep as if it had pierced the night sky and reached an even further and more distant place.

    He came to an understanding. Their meeting by chance was perhaps fate!

    ¡°Haha, I did it!¡±

    Abruptly, a burst of laughter broke the silence. Li Qingshan¡¯s round, monkeyish eyes were filled with joy.

    Without the influence of the other transformations, the cultivation of the Ape Demon Transformation was exceptionally successful. He basically encountered no obstacles at all when he comprehended the first innate ability of the ape demon.

    Li Qingshan extended his right arm and cupped his fingers before looking at the moon in the pond. He extended his hand to scoop up the moon, cupping the moon in his hand.

    The moon hung high in the sky. The moon in his hand was only an illusion, but at least he had taken another step forwards.

    There would be one day when he would make it to the nine heavens and seize the moon!

    ¡°Congratulations,¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. The water trickled between his fingers, flowing back into the pond.

    The two of them had spent the past few months together, but any conversation between them remained at a minimum. It was not exactly because they had developed ill will due to the incident on the corpse mountain last time. Even the victim did not care, so why would he cling onto this?

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming declined mentally with each passing day. He spoke very little, rarely answering any questions he was asked, so Li Qingshan obviously would not go out of his way to provoke a response out of him. It was basically epoch-making that he had begun a conversation today, and he had even started it off with something good.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Li Qingshan said, ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you about.¡±

    ¡°Ask then.¡±

    ¡°Can people live even if they have no heart?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a person.¡±

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the difference between a person and a god?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no difference.¡±

    ¡°I get it. Fuck you! C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go back and have a few cups in celebration!¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped over the pond and picked up R¨¡hu Xiaoming, making his way towards the estate beaming with lantern light.

    ¡­¡­

    The great winds whistled, the dark clouds weighed heavily, and the mountain rain suddenly began to pour.

    The tiny town at the foot of the mountain was immediately enveloped by wind and rain. The summer solstice had already passed, but the mountain still glimmered with white snow, which only demonstrated how tall it was. That was where one of the seven great sects of the world, the Snow Mountain sect, was located.

    The wind and rain left the sky gloomy. It was only the middle of the afternoon, and the restaurant¡¯s interior had already darkened. They had received almost no customers the entire day. The manager checked through the accounts behind the counter while the waiter leaned against a table and slept away.

    The rain had only just begun to fall when a few figures walked in. They were all dressed in snowy-white clothes and carried swords, which made them seem very valiant. Their leader was a woman who wore a bamboo hat that draped down with a pure-white veil, hiding her appearance.

    Looking up and noticing who they were, the manager made his way out from behind the counter in a hurry and bowed. ¡°First young miss, you¡¯ve come!¡±

    ¡°Uncle Hong, you¡¯re still the same as before. We¡¯ve come to seek shelter from the rain.¡± Xue Bing nodded in acknowledgement.

    The waiter jerked awake. He wiped down a table and pulled out a chair in a hurry. ¡°First young miss, over here!¡± He could not help but take a peek. Even with the veil obscuring her appearance, his face still reddened immediately when he met her eyes that were clear like water.

    Xue Bing paid no regard to it, while the swordsmen behind her were accustomed to it too. What could they do about the fact that she was one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World? There would always be toads who were swept away by their imaginations.

    The manager personally served up a few delicate desserts. ¡°You¡¯ve come without any warning, first young miss, so we couldn¡¯t prepare much. What we have here can¡¯t match what you have on the mountain, so just have some if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind. I¡¯ve come here many times to eat when I was young.¡±

    Xue Bing had no appetite at all, but she still picked up an osmanthus cake out of politeness.

    The manager immediately smiled from ear to ear. ¡°Yes, yes. You were still young back then. In the blink of an eye, you¡¯ve become one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World.¡±

    The osmanthus cake that she had just brought to her lips immediately froze. She had never liked that title, and right now, that was the last thing she wanted to hear.

    The so-called Ten Great Beauties of the World were just beautiful women chosen from the clans and sects of the four great aristocratic clans and the seven great sects. Their background would come first, while their martial arts would come last in the selection process.

    But now, the Ten Great Beauties of the World had been reduced to nine. The greatest aristocratic clan of the northern region, the Ma family, would never be able to produce a beauty again. Meanwhile, the Snow Mountain sect happened to be the greatest sect in the northern region.

    After destroying the Ma family, the World¡¯s society had swept up the various other clans and sects in the north. Now, all that remained was the Snow Mountain sect. Their traditional range of influence had been reduced to less than a hundred kilometers across. She had come out with others on patrol, but she noticed that the situation was not optimistic.

    The World¡¯s society had not even marched over yet, but the Legend of the White Ape King that contained supreme swordsmanship had already spread through the place a long time ago. Probably even this town had copies of it, as the leader of the Snow Mountain sect high up on the mountain, her father, had a complete collection of it. She had read through it closely as well and was amazed by the swordsmanship it contained. She was even more amazed by the fact that someone would be willing to show this supreme art to others, even pouring their efforts into spreading it.

    In the very beginning, she thought that they did not care about the martial arts because it was not theirs, but her father had asserted that the most ingenious part definitely was not by the White Ape King, as even he was unable to comprehend all of it. He could only sense its breadth and extensiveness.

    In more pessimistic terms, even if the World¡¯s society did not attack them, the legacy of the Snow Mountain sect would end with them.

    Since there was such an easy shortcut to learning unrivaled swordsmanship, who would still take on a master and depend on others for a living? The supreme art of the Snow Mountain sect, the Blizzard Sword Style, had always been taught to only a select few.

    The disaster brought by the arrival of the daemon star this time was far greater than last time. The order of the martial arts community that had remained since time immemorial faced unprecedented destruction. Even a great sect like the Snow Mountain sect that had existed for several centuries struggled to remain uninvolved and preserve their lineage, so why would they still care about something like the Ten Great Beauties?

    She sank into her thoughts momentarily, which made manager Hong panic. ¡°First young miss, are the desserts not to your liking?¡±

    ¡°Old man Hong, what are you kicking up a fuss here for? Go back to your accounting!¡± A crude and rash young man waved his hand impatiently before saying enthusiastically to Xue Bing, ¡°Junior sister, you don¡¯t have to worry. As long as I¡¯m around, no one will even touch a hair on you.¡±

    ¡°Damned brat, you only practised martial arts for a few years, yet you talk so big? Speaking of which, the first young miss is such a kind and charming woman. Who can bring themselves to harm her?¡±

    Manager Hong was displeased. He only knew some basic martial arts, so he definitely was not this young man¡¯s opponent. However, this town had always existed together with the Snow Mountain sect. Over the centuries, many of them had ventured up the mountain to learn martial arts, so there was a web of connections between the two. Even when it came to the first young miss of the Snow Mountain sect, he had basically watched her grow up, so he obviously did not fear martial arts practitioners that much.

    This was the difference between a sect and a clan. A sect had to accept disciples from everywhere. They were not dominated by a single family and placed a little more emphasis on their reputation. They would not constantly expand and branch out like aristocratic clans either. The mountain could not support too many people, nor did the people there require too many resources. They had disciples to cover all their basic necessities, so all they had to do was maintain a certain range of influence, and that was enough.

    ¡°Who else is there? It¡¯s obviously that great demon, Li Qingshan!¡±

    The arrogant young man clearly could not see Xue Bing frown when he mentioned that name.

    ¡°Li Qingshan is not a demon. He¡¯s the hero king!¡±

    The waiter who remained on one side quietly suddenly blurted out, which left everyone surprised.

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost your mind! You have no place to talk here. Get to work!¡± manager Hong called out.

    ¡°Alright, so there¡¯s a spy from the World¡¯s society here! Just you wait. I¡¯ll teach you a lesson, and you¡¯ll understand whether Li Qingshan is the hero king or a demon!¡± The haughty young man rolled up his sleeves.

    ¡°Even if you beat me to death, Li Qingshan is still the hero king. He¡¯s the saviour of common people like us!¡±

    The waiter turned bright red and called out at the top of his voice.

    ¡°Alright, enough. Let¡¯s report back to the mountain once the rain stops!¡±

    Before Xue Bing had finished what she was saying, the restaurant suddenly became illuminated by the lightning, casting a figure¡¯s shadow on the ground.

    Boom!

    The thunder seemed to explode right over their heads, shaking up all the plates and bowls. It left everyone¡¯s ears ringing.

    A large figure directly barged in with the wind and rain.

 Chapter 1185

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1185 ¨C In the Restaurant

    He rolled along the ground in a sorry manner. As soon as he climbed to his feet, he called out, ¡°Boss, bring me some alcohol!¡±

    Pitter! Patter! Splatter!

    The rainwater on him splashed everywhere.

    Xue Bing narrowed her eyes and released her true qi, blocking the water droplets.

    The others were not as fortunate. They had not reached the innate realm, so they only possessed inner force and were drenched. The water soaked all of the desserts on the table as well, rendering them inedible.

    Then they looked at the man who had barged in. He was bulky and disheveled, dressed in yellow robes with sleeves that almost touched the ground. Originally, it was rather elegant attire, but his chest was exposed while his bare feet were muddy, so there was absolutely no elegance in sight.

    Not to mention that his appearance was strange, bearing resemblance to a monkey. And, he was smiling from ear to ear, which made him seem slightly funny. It reminded them of a monkey in clothing.

    Manager Hong was absolutely furious. If he was drenched, that was nothing, but the desserts he had prepared had all been ruined. He said firmly, ¡°We don¡¯t sell alcohol, so please go somewhere else, sir!¡±

    ¡°You call yourself a wine house but don¡¯t sell alcohol? Don¡¯t joke with me. Go fetch it quickly. I¡¯ll pay you handsomely. Oh right, remember to bring some side dishes for the alcohol!¡±

    ¡°As I said, we don¡¯t sell alcohol here!¡±

    Manager Hong was aware he possessed martial arts, but this was at the base of the Snow Mountain sect. Right beside him were disciples of the Snow Mountain sect, so why would he be afraid of an unknown outsider?

    The rash young man from the Snow Mountain sect wiped away the water on his face. He was about to question the man fiercely about where he was from and whether he was a spy from the World¡¯s society when Xue Bing¡¯s warning rang out in his ears, Stay quiet!

    Her voice was icy-cold while trembling slightly. Gazing at the unfamiliar man, she suddenly recalled someone.

    Rumble!

    Another series of thunder boomed, shaking up all the cups and dishes as if a thunder dragon was wandering through the air above the restaurant. The lightning made the entire restaurant flicker.

    The roaring thunder startled everyone, but only the man stood stationary as his shadows danced around on the walls. His face brightened and darkened with the lightning, which suddenly added a sense of viciousness and fierceness to his rather funny face.

    A wild gust of wind rushed into the restaurant, lifting Xue Bing¡¯s veil, but her clear eyes were fixed on the man¡¯s sleeves. They did not dance with the wind, instead draping down like normal. Her red lips had turned pale before she even realised it.

    It was him, it had to be him!

    That murderous demon king who sowed chaos through the entire world!

    Her blood seemed to freeze. Before she saw him in person, she never thought she could experience such fear.

    He definitely did not come here to drink alcohol, but for the entire Snow Mountain sect.

    She could basically imagine the scene where blood trickled through the Snow Mountain sect, and the first one to die would be manager Hong who did not even know who he was and refused to sell him alcohol. However, she could not even muster the courage to warn manager Hong.

    Abruptly, the man let out a childish laugh, which seemed extremely eerie. It made them all shiver. Manager Hong took a step back and cried out, ¡°you¡­¡±

    ¡°The fuck are you laughing at?¡±

    The man looked behind him. A toddler crawled up his back, sitting down on his wide shoulders. He sneered as he said, ¡°You wanted to drink, but they¡¯re not even going to sell it to you. What¡¯re you going to do now?¡±

    Thunderstorms had always begun suddenly in summer. Not only did this bastard refuse to hurry up and find shelter, but he even happened to spot the flag of a restaurant and insisted on rushing over there. In the end, he was almost struck by lightning.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do? What else can I do?¡±

    The man simply shrugged and turned around, arriving at the entrance. He peered through the wind and rain at the snow mountain in the distance, actually giving up like that.

    He did want to drink some alcohol as he waited for the rain to stop, but there was no reason for him to harass a regular old man over this small interest of his. There would be people to invite him to alcohol once he reached the top of the mountain anyway! By then, if anyone still dared to act stubborn with him, he could chop off their heads and use that as a cup.

    ¡°You suck!¡± The toddler clapped his hands and laughed.

    Xue Bing¡¯s eyes were filled with surprise. Had she been wrong? In a situation like this, any person of the jianghu, as long as they were slightly vicious, would probably be out to kill. Even the good-tempered ones would teach manager Hong a lesson and force him to bring the alcohol.

    However, when she saw the huge blade wrapped in white cloth on the man¡¯s back, her wisp of hope shattered.

    A few months earlier, her first senior brother had personally witnessed the Tiger Subduing master of the Salvation temple and the patriarch of the Ma clan dying to this exact blade. They were like pigs to a butcher, offering no resistance at all. From then onwards, her first senior brother had lost his mind slightly, regularly jerking awake from nightmares.

    The child matched the most recent information as well. No matter where he went, he would bring a boy along with him. Some people suspected the boy to be his illegitimate child with the leader of the World¡¯s society.

    Afraid that it would only demoralise them, they kept this information a strict secret, so only a very small handful of people within the Snow Mountain sect were allowed to know about this. She happened to be one of them.

    All of his characteristics were a perfect match. He was definitely the hero king, Li Qingshan!

    ¡°Hmph, at least you have some sense in you. You better not think you can do whatever you want just because you know a bit of martial arts. As long as you¡¯re aware of what this place is!¡±

    Manager Hong pointed at the snow mountain outside in both complacence and pride.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Snow Mountain sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the glistening white snow atop the mountain. This was the last stronghold in the World¡¯s society¡¯s territory of the north. He would personally deal with them and test out his new innate ability in the meantime.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re a martial arts practitioner, so you obviously have to know what it is. These are all esteemed disciples of the Snow Mountain sect, and the one in the middle is the daughter of sect master Xue, the leading figure among the Ten Great Beauties of the World, first young miss Xue!¡± Manager Hong raised his hand and introduced them.

    If it were not for the fact that Xue Bing dared not act rashly, she basically would have begun cursing old man Hong.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned his gaze towards Xue Bing. She felt like his shining eyes had already pierced the veil and seen her appearance, perhaps even seen through her completely. Her heartbeat accelerated as a sense of numbness spread through her body.

    Manager Hong gave Li Qingshan a stern scolding. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you drenched me in rain, but you didn¡¯t even apologise when you got the rain on them. Don¡¯t you know any manners?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a bit of rain. Why be so petty! Whatever, whatever, stop glaring at me. I barged in here in a hurry, so I¡¯m sorry about that. Old man, would you like me to wash your clothes as well?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned and made fun of manager Hong, reaching out and grabbing him by the collar.

    This was the foot of the Snow Mountain sect, so there would naturally be people from the Snow Mountain sect here. There was nothing strange about that. If the master of the Snow Mountain sect was present, then that would instead save him some problems. He would not have to climb up the mountain. However, why would he care about a young miss?

    Xue Bing eased up inside. She ordered her senior and junior brothers, ¡°It¡¯s not like it was intentional, so let¡¯s not haggle over this, All of you, sit down. Uncle Hong, I don¡¯t really have an appetite. You better tend to the customer!¡±

    The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect listened to her every single word, so they immediately sat down obediently, treating this as a minor incident that was completely negligible.

    ¡°Out of her generosity, the first young miss has decided to forgive you. Hey, let go. Don¡¯t rip it. I have a wife, so I don¡¯t need you washing my clothes!¡± Manager Hong gazed at that funny face and could not help but smile. ¡°Kid, you sure do look like a monkey. Didn¡¯t you want some alcohol?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t sell it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t sell it. I¡¯m inviting you to some!¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯m afraid I might be a little too much for you.¡±

    ¡°Go out and ask around. Our Snow Peak restaurant¡¯s ancestral cellar stores a hundred jar of Snow Peak alcohol at all times. With each jar removed, it is immediately replaced, so how many do you want to drink? Though, let me make this clear. You can¡¯t use inner force to digest the alcohol!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of using inner force to digest the alcohol? It¡¯s called Snow Bounty wine, is it? A timely fall of heavy snow ensures a bountiful harvest. What a good name! C¡¯mon, let me try it! You can invite me to alcohol, and I¡¯ll invite you to some meat, but feel free to use inner force to digest the meat!¡±

    ¡°Look at how impatient you are, but it¡¯s not bounty. It¡¯s peak, the same as snowy peak. And using inner force to digest meat? You sure are imaginative! It¡¯s raining today, so I have nothing better to do. I might as well have a few cups with you. Little Bei, go fetch some alcohol and meat!¡±

    Manager Hong sat down boldly and ordered in a generous manner.

    ¡°Haha, I used to tend to the fields.¡± Li Qingshan sat down in front of him and glanced at R¨¡hu Xiaoming. ¡°Look at this. I wasn¡¯t wrong to come here, was I? When someone invites you to alcohol, it tastes especially nice!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming curled his lip and leapt onto the table, shaking off all the rain on him.

    ¡°Sigh, you have such a small kid, yet you still come out roaming with him. Little Bei, go fetch a towel.¡±

    ¡°He insisted on coming along. I had no other choice either. Oi, what are you waiting for? Thank him.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming accepted the towel, but he was filled with a strange feeling. This was the first time in his life that he had thanked someone, and it was for the sake of an insignificant towel and to an ant-like mortal. His eyebrows became firmly furrowed as he lowered his head and sank into his thoughts.

    ¡°This child is?¡±

    ¡°My son.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m your father!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming leapt up, kicking Li Qingshan in the chest. A very long time ago, even the snow mountain outside would vanish to a kick like that, but now, it did not even tickle Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Sigh, look at what I¡¯ve turned him into by spoiling him. I¡¯m making a fool of myself.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming glared at him. Within him, a long-lost desire for power began to burn.

    The waiter made his way over with a jar of alcohol before serving up a hot dish of braised pork.

    ¡°You said you tended to the fields in the past. Why did you stop?¡± manager Hong asked casually.

    ¡°I lost my ox, so I came out to look for it.¡±

    Manager Hong laughed aloud, only treating that as a joke. ¡°Now that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve heard of a reason for wandering the jianghu like yours. Though, men always aspire to leave home and achieve something great. If you didn¡¯t come out wandering, you wouldn¡¯t have developed such great martial arts!¡±

    The rain poured down violently, slamming against the roof tiles. It was both noisy and quiet, which only made the lively atmosphere seem even more casual.

    The thunder instead softened. A tiny town tucked between the mountains never really received much lightning in the first place. The obscure will of the heavens was left momentarily helpless against Li Qingshan in the restaurant too.

    With the alcohol poured into the bowl, Li Qingshan was about to pick it up when R¨¡hu Xiaoming suddenly snatched it over and drank it all, leaving manager Hong wide-eyed. He had never seen such a young child so capable of drinking.

    ¡°Give me another bowl!¡± Li Qingshan told the waiter to join them. He said to manager Hong, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not going to get your value if you¡¯re eating alone!¡±

    ¡°Let me pour for you.¡±

    The waiter huddled over happily. He found this man to be far more likable than those esteemed disciples of the Snow Mountain sect, but of course, he still stood no chance against the first young miss.

    Within the gloomy restaurant, a few people of vastly different identities sat together and drank away!

    Xue Bing glanced over again and again. She struggled to imagine that this was the demon king who stood on the mountain of corpses that her second senior uncle spoke of!

    Perhaps the situation was not as horrible as she imagined it to be. For the sake of the Snow Mountain sect¡¯s survival, she could not bother with being reserved anymore. She stood up and made her way over, gazing at Li Qingshan. ¡°Could you count me in too?¡±

 Chapter 1186

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1186 ¨C A Trip Up the Mountain (One)

    ¡°First young miss!¡±

    Manager Hong and the waiter stood up frantically. The disciples from the Snow Mountain sect were stunned as well.

    Li Qingshan leaned against the table and chewed away. He glanced at her and muttered, ¡°Sit!¡± Then he took a few more gulps of alcohol and said to the manager and the waiter, ¡°What¡¯re you standing for?¡±

    Xue Bing took seat gracefully and said, ¡°You sit too!¡±

    Only then did the two of them sit down carefully.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°When men drink, women just destroy the mood!¡±

    Xue Bing took off her bamboo hat and revealed her appearance. Her skin was white like snow, her hair dark like ink. Sure enough, she was a beauty.

    She slammed the alcohol jar, causing a wisp of alcohol to fly into her bowl. She opened her red lips slightly and drank it all in a single gulp, showing off the empty bowl. ¡°I joined in despite not being invited, so I¡¯ll punish myself to this bowl as an apology!¡±

    ¡°Junior sister!¡± ¡°Senior sister!¡±

    The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect were dumbfounded. She never drank, so they had never seen her drink like this. They all stood up.

    ¡°Sit back down!¡± Xue Hong called out.

    Her white cheeks reddened, making her seem even more gorgeous, like peach blossoms. The waiter on the side could not even maintain eye contact with her anymore.

    The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect vaguely sensed that something was off. They all sat down slowly and pressed down on their swords.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You sure are exceptional among women, but we¡¯ve agreed that we won¡¯t use true qi to digest the alcohol!¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Xue Bing felt a burning sensation in her belly as a tipsy feeling assaulted her, which she endured with gritted teeth. Instead, it made her a little bolder. She directly asked, ¡°Sir, may I ask why you¡¯ve come here?¡±

    ¡°To seek shelter from the thunder.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a grown man, yet you¡¯re afraid of thunder?¡±

    ¡°I have no choice. I¡¯ve done too many good things. The heavens cannot permit my existence.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only ever heard that lightning strikes those who are evil.¡±

    Xue Bing felt the tipsy feeling spread through her body, which made her forget about fear. She gradually sensed the benefits of this alcohol, so she drank another bowl.

    ¡°Which evil fellow in the world has died from lightning? The murderers and arsonists always end up with lined pockets, while those who build bridges and pave roads have always suffered horrible fates!¡±

    ¡°Then sir, are you trying to be a murderer, an arsonist, or a bridge-builder, a road-paver?¡±

    ¡°Neither! The heavens are unfair, so I will uphold justice in place of the heavens!¡±

    As they spoke, Li Qingshan drank several more bowls, finishing off the entire jar. ¡°Go fetch some more!¡±

    ¡°What big words, sir!¡±

    Xue Bing¡¯s emotions surged. She no longer had any doubts at all. Who else apart from the hero king could say something so wild?

    Li Qingshan suddenly smiled. ¡°But that¡¯s all just trifles!¡±

    Those were trifles? Xue Bing asked in interest, ¡°Then may I ask what is not a trifle?¡±

    ¡°Finding my ox.¡±

    Xue Bing had no idea about how to respond. ¡°If you can¡¯t find it, I can give you one!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Little girl, even if you offer me ten thousand oxen, they probably can¡¯t compare to that ox of mine!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was overwhelmed by the alcohol, so he leaned against his arm and nodded off. However, when he heard that, he suddenly shot Li Qingshan a glance and sank into his thoughts.

    ¡°Little girl.¡± Xue Bing¡¯s expression was strange.

    ¡°Whatever, whatever. Let¡¯s not talk about this. Let¡¯s drink!¡± Then Li Qingshan asked manager Hong, ¡°You mentioned the Ten Great Beauties of the World earlier. We have one here, so who are the nine others?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you asking this for?¡± manager Hong asked cautiously.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking that wouldn¡¯t it be wonderful if I could marry all of these beauties!¡±

    That was the dream of all men in the world, but no one had ever dared to say that, much less in the face of one of the beauties.

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Manager Hong cried out, ¡°First young miss, please ignore this drunk!¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect all drew their swords.

    Xue Bing waved her hand, signaling for everyone to settle down. ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to be disappointed!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Only nine of the ten so-called great beauties of the world remain now, so even if you¡¯re capable of exceptional things, you¡¯ll struggle to marry them all.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t tell me the first young miss wants to relinquish the title? This is just a mere trifle for me, so I don¡¯t really think I need to be capable of anything exceptional.¡±

    ¡°This has always been a title that the people of the world forced onto me. If I could relinquish it, I would have done so a long time ago! One of the beauties happens to have passed away already, but of course, unless you¡¯re able to revive the dead.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a pity. To think that someone could actually be vicious enough to kill a beauty. That¡¯s basically like tossing away the heavens¡¯ gifts. I¡¯ll make a toast to her.¡±

    Li Qingshan took a great gulp. He had said that thoughtlessly in the first place. He did not actually feel any pity.

    Xue Bing said coldly, ¡°Are you still trying to hide this, sir? You were the one who was vicious enough to kill the beauty!¡±

    ¡°Me? Since when?¡± Li Qingshan was surprised. He truly had no idea. Why would anyone ever bother with informing him about something as pointless as that?

    ¡°The beauty came from the Ma family. She died in Pegasus city, and it was rumored that the hero king, Li Qingshan, claimed her life with his own hands!¡±

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    A series of cries rang out in the restaurant. Manager Hong widened his eyes, stood up, and backed away. He tripped over his seat, falling back onto his bottom.

    The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect all drew their swords and brought it before them, but none of them dared to approach him.

    A person¡¯s reputation followed them wherever they went. The hero king¡¯s name was as prominent as it could be in the northern region, so who did not fear or revere him?

    All of a sudden, this tiny restaurant became as terrifying as a lair of demons.

    Li Qingshan tried his best to recall this. ¡°Maybe that did happen. I¡¯ve killed countless people in my life, so it¡¯s really difficult to distinguish how beautiful or ugly they were. I¡¯ve made a fool of myself before first young miss Xue. But if I killed her, then I killed her. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s drink!¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re admitting it!¡± Xue Bing questioned. It took her all of her courage to remain seated there.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am Li Qingshan. Speaking of which, since when did I try to hide that? If you asked me, I would have told you a long time ago!¡±

    Reaching there, Li Qingshan suddenly stood up. Xue Bing only felt a colossal shadow envelop her, almost stifling her breath. However, he gazed outside and said, ¡°The rain has stopped.¡±

    The storms of summer came quickly and ended quickly too. The dark clouds all dispersed. Rays of light landed on the snowy mountain, making it glow like it was sacred.

    ¡°Old man, thanks for your alcohol. This is the money for the meat.¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed out a piece of silver, picked up R¨¡hu Xiaoming, and made his way through the door.

    Xue Bing rushed in front of him and blocked the door. ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Up the mountain obviously.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you spare the Snow Mountain sect?¡±

    ¡°How can I let others snore and make a ruckus right by my bedside?¡±

    ¡°You call yourself the hero king and say you want to uphold justice in place of the heavens, but are you aware that the Snow Mountain sect has never oppressed the common people like the Ma family?¡±

    ¡°If that wasn¡¯t the case, the Snow Mountain sect would be long gone from this world already. Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t plan on killing anyone today. However, the trend of the times has already taken shape. Everyone is either a friend or a foe. I need to deal with the Snow Mountain sect!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything bad in my life. If I stand in your way, are you going to kill me too?¡±

    ¡°Little girl, look at what you¡¯re holding in your hand. Those who use the sword die to the sword, so what else can you say? Move aside. You don¡¯t want me to fall out with the Snow Mountain sect completely right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan could kill one and would not mind killing another. He had destroyed the Ma family and did not mind destroying the Snow Mountain sect as well. Even if they were good, innocent people, he would only bear that sin. There was no need for him to dwell on this matter and blame himself or try to justify his actions.

    This determination to press on forwards could never be changed. Even if it was a person who did good for their past ten lives, even if it was a benefactor to all, he would kill them if they stood in his way!

    Xue Bing bit her lip and hesitated before sheathing her sword and moving over to one side. This man was known as the hero king, but he definitely was not bound by the concepts of justice and heroism.

    ¡°There you go.¡±

    Li QIngshan brushed past Xue Bing and stepped outside. He sucked in a deep breath; the air was filled with the sweet smell of moist soil. He planted his bare feet on the ground, covering a great distance with each step. He strode off towards the snow mountain.

    Xue Bing used her movement techniques and caught up. ¡°I¡¯ll escort you up the mountain!¡±

    ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s keep drinking once we make it up the mountain. I hope there¡¯ll be someone else to invite me to some alcohol again!¡±

    Li Qingshan smacked his lips with a smile as if he was savouring the aftertaste of the alcohol.

    ¡°If there¡¯s no one to invite you, I¡¯ll invite you to some alcohol!¡±

    Xue Bing could hear the cold murderousness within his voice. She knew that the fate of the Snow Mountain sect would be decided today.

    ¡°Senior sister!¡± ¡°Junior sister!¡±

    The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect rushed outside, but Li Qingshan and Xue Bing¡¯s figures had already turned into two specks as they scaled the mountain.

    It took manager Hong quite a while before he returned to his senses. He was overcome with a sense of lingering fear, drenched in cold sweat despite it being a sweltering day. That was actually Li Qingshan! He had even told him off, lecturing and scolding him in front of so many people! He truly had no idea how ¡°death¡± was spelt.

    The waiter was so excited that his face became bright red. ¡°Manager, did you see that? That¡¯s the hero king. Hmph, if it weren¡¯t for his generosity, you would have lost your head already- ouch!¡±

    Manager Hong leapt up and used the martial arts that he had not touched in many years to kick him in the bottom. ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to lose your head! Get back to work!¡±

    The waiter rubbed his bottom and fumed. ¡°Hmph, once I join the World¡¯s society and learn some supreme martial arts, let¡¯s see if you¡¯ll still be bold enough to kick me!¡±

    Manager Hong smiled wryly as he murmured to himself, ¡°He sure does live up to his name. The Snow Mountain sect is in trouble now.¡±

    Li Qingshan refused to follow the proper path. If he encountered a river, he would cross the river, and if he encountered a crevice, he would jump over the crevice, making his way straight up.

    He slowed down slightly. Xue Bing caught up, already gasping for air. She had reached the innate realm recently, so her true qi was not as abundant as her inner force before.

    ¡°Want a break?¡± Li Qingshan asked with a smile.

    ¡®That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Xue Bing gritted her teeth. She was representing the Snow Mountain sect right now.

    However, Li Qingshan lay down instead, basking in the sun and enjoying himself.

    Xue Bing sat down in a hurry to catch her breath. He did not intentionally make things difficult for her, which made her feel slightly grateful, but that only puzzled her. He¡¯s come to deal with the Snow Mountain sect. Why should I feel grateful?

    ¡°Hero king, you¡¯re climbing up the mountain alone. Aren¡¯t you afraid of dying there?¡±

    ¡°Are you concerned about my safety?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m advising you to back down in the face of difficulties!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. His voice echoed through the grounds.

    Abruptly, Xue Bing felt like it would be a pity if a man like him ended up in dire straits, but she shook her head and dismissed that thought as preposterous. Who knew how many people in the world wanted him dead right now. If an opportunity really presented itself, probably even she would not let it slip by, but just who could deal with him?

    ¡°I¡¯m done resting. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    A conversation rang out in the main hall of the Snow Mountain sect. A man advised anxiously, ¡°Sect master Xue, your dear disciple was a witness. That great demon Li Qingshan piled corpses into a mountain. Murderousness is a part of his nature. He will never spare the Snow Mountain sect, so please make a decision quickly so that we can fend off the World¡¯s society together!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, master. With just our Snow Mountain sect¡¯s strength, we definitely stand no chance against the World¡¯s society. We can only put up a fight if we work with the entire martial arts community!¡±

    All of the important members and elders of the sect gathered in the hall. They were all worried. Meanwhile, the sect master, Xue Hanfeng, remained silent.

    At this moment, a man and a woman stepped into the hall. Xue Hanfeng said in surprise, ¡°Bing¡¯er?¡±

    The two people who pleaded with Xue Hanfeng turned pale-white. They cried out, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 1187

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1187 ¨C A Trip Up the Mountain (Two)

    Li Qingshan glanced at the two people who were talking. One old and one young, both of which he had met outside Pegasus city. They were among the innate masters around the alliance leader, Zhang Yuntian, who then fled individually when Gu Yanying was possessed.

    The young one was a handsome man. He was dressed in the same white clothes, a disciple of the Snow Mountain sect.

    The old one had clearly come to persuade them to join their efforts. As it seemed, there were still some people who refused to accept defeat and wanted to put up a stand against him.

    The people in the hall all paled in fright. For a moment, only the sounds of swords being drawn rang out.

    ¡°Bing¡¯er, get over here!¡± Xue Hanfeng said as he activated the sect formation.

    The temperature in the hall suddenly plummeted. Despite it being the height of summer, all of their breaths became visible mist. Li Qingshan suffered from most of the coldness. Frost formed beneath his feet and rapidly spread up his body.

    Li Qingshan ignored it. He pointed at the old man and made a gesture with his thumb, extending it behind him.

    As if he had just been spared, the old man scrambled for the door, which left everyone surprised. He was also a figure who had made a name for himself many years ago, yet he actually fled the moment he got the opportunity, without even throwing behind a threat. Little did they know that he did not even have the courage to face Li Qingshan directly after witnessing how the latter killed people. He was not afraid of dying in battle like a warrior, but he did not want to be squatted to death like a bug.

    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Li Qingshan barked.

    The old man was about to step over the door sill. When he heard that, he froze there like a nail hammered into the ground and dared not move again.

    Li Qingshan said without looking back, ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve spared your life twice, and you¡¯re not even going to say a word of thanks?¡±

    The old man¡¯s expression changed. He lowered his head and clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you for sparing my life!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve done it once and twice, but there won¡¯t be a third time. If it happens again, you might as well join the World¡¯s society.¡±

    The old man looked up and glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. He nodded firmly. ¡°Alright!¡± Then he said to Xue Hanfeng, ¡°Sect master Feng, we¡¯ve known each other for many years. I know you are a kind and righteous person, so I don¡¯t wish to see the Snow Mountain sect suffer the same fate as the Ma family. I- it¡¯s best if you simply surrender!¡±

    He let out another heavy sigh before leaving without even looking back.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. Whose side was he supposed to be on?

    Li Qingshan glanced at the young man in white again. He was like a mouse that had just seen a cat. He shuddered and lowered his head, refusing to utter another word.

    Xue Bing¡¯s heart ached at this sight. Was this still the same haughty first senior brother as before?

    Xue Hanfeng clasped his hands sternly. ¡°I am Xue Hanfeng, the nineteenth sect master of the Snow Mountain sect. Please forgive me for failing to welcome you from afar, hero king.¡±

    ¡°Sect master Xue, I¡¯ll cut right to the chase. Will you be fighting or surrendering? Tell me your decision right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. With a thunk, the hall shook, and the frost shattered.

    ¡°May I ask how we will be fighting and how you want us to surrender?¡±

    ¡°If you want to fight, then all of you come at me. There¡¯s no need to haggle over so many details. If you want to surrender, then from now onwards, there is no more Snow Mountain sect, only a Snow Mountain hall of the World¡¯s society. You will be the hall master!¡±

    All of their hearts sank. You¡¯re trying to end our Snow Mountain sect! If it were not for the word of advice from the old man earlier, someone probably would call out and rebuke him immediately. Now, all they could do was edge forwards slightly with their swords, expressing that they were willing to go down with the Snow Mountain sect.

    Only the young man in white remained where he was, gazing at the ground with hollow eyes as he murmured, ¡°It¡¯s useless! It¡¯s useless!¡±

    Xue Bing stopped looking at him. The first senior brother of the past was already dead, not killed, but frightened to death. She pulled away from Li Qingshan and returned to her father¡¯s side before looking back at him.

    Li Qingshan stood in front of the door without budging at all. The daemon qi he gave off filled the entire hall, like a black cloud weighing on the snow mountain. It was almost impossible to connect him right now to the man who had barged into the restaurant in such a miserable shape and even laughed off the manager¡¯s scoldings.

    But at a closer glance, he had not actually changed at all. His glowing, round eyes seemed to be filled with smiles at all times, but now, it seemed like he viewed everything as a game.

    Xue Hanfeng sucked in a deep breath and said, ¡°The Snow Mountain sect and the World¡¯s society have no disputes. I will give up everything beneath the mountain and swear we will never oppose the World¡¯s society!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°That won¡¯t work. I¡¯ve already said this to your dear daughter before. The trend of the times has already taken shape. Everyone is either a friend or a foe. There will be no bystanders!¡±

    Xue Hanfeng was angered. ¡°Sir, you are going too far. The Snow Mountain sect has stood for centuries. How can I let it end in my hands?¡±

    ¡°You really haven¡¯t thought things through, sect master Xue. No one can avoid the process of birth, death, illness, and old age. Everything conforms to the process of formation, existence, disintegration, and emptiness. You are more than welcome to set your sights a little further. Once I conquer the world, there will be no division of sects left. This is the unstoppable trend of the times, where those who submit will prosper, and those who resist will perish. Becoming the Snow Mountain hall will only lead to greater prosperity. It will be equivalent to gaining a new breath of life in your hands!¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and spoke boldly, except his expression did not make him seem like he was going on about something grand. Instead, it seemed like he was saying something that was common sense.

    Xue Hanfeng clenched his fist firmly. He had never faced such a difficult choice in his life before. Suddenly, he let out a long sigh and waved his hand. The temperature in the hall began to rise again.

    ¡°Sect master, you must not!¡± ¡°I would rather die than join the World¡¯s society!¡±

    For a moment, people in the hall flew into a rage.

    Xue Bing bit her lip as tears pooled up in her eyes. Was the man as grand as a snow mountain in her eyes going to submit to this man¡¯s shadow as well?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Now that¡¯s the correct decision.¡±

    Then Xue Hanfeng drew his sword slowly, pointing it towards Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What are you trying to do, sect master Xue?¡±

    Xue Hanfeng said resolutely, ¡°As the sect master, if I surrender without a fight, how can I still face my predecessors? All I want is a fair battle, to witness the hero king¡¯s supreme martial arts!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of this?¡± Li Qingshan could tell he was already ready to die, which earned him some admiration.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, father!¡± Xue Bing panicked. She would rather him submit than die here.

    ¡°Sect master, the codes of the jianghu do not apply to this demon. Let¡¯s get him together!¡±

    ¡°Back down, Bing¡¯er!¡± Xue Hanfeng said to everyone sternly, ¡°If I am defeated, then the Snow Mountain sect will become the Snow Mountain hall. No one is permitted to avenge me. This is the order of the sect master!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Sect master Xue, if I kill you, just your dear daughter will hate me for the rest of her life, let alone the others. If she tries to lay her hands on me, all I can do is give her a quick one, which really will put me in a tough spot! Whatever. I respect you as a man. You¡¯ve done many righteous deeds in your life. If I touch a single finger on you or take even half a step back today, that¡¯ll be my loss. How¡¯s that?¡±

    A sliver of joy flashed through Xue Bing¡¯s eyes, but her expression became rather mixed. She really did not know whether to thank him or to hate him!

    Xue Hanfeng happily agreed. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal!¡± He thought, Even if your martial arts is unrivaled, how are you supposed to defeat me if you can¡¯t even touch a finger on me?

    The sword turned into a flash. The bright, blue flash lingered without dispersing, blooming in the air like flowers and layering together like snow, growing thicker and thicker. Right off the bat, he used the Great Avalanche Form of the supreme secret art of the Snow Mountain sect, the Blizzard Sword Style.

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan did not budge, allowing him to build up the attack.

    Everyone was absolutely tense, but suddenly, they heard a yawn. R¨¡hu Xiaoming climbed up onto Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder and leaned against his hand in a drowsy manner, looking around lethargically.

    Xue Hanfeng frowned. I am the master of the Snow Mountain sect, so how can I lay my hands on a child? Don¡¯t tell me that this is his scheme?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You have nothing to worry about, sect master Xue. If you kill this kid, it¡¯s on me.¡±

    ¡°Watch my sword!¡±

    Xue Hanfeng made up his mind, and his presence rose up to the peak. True qi surged out like raging waves, rushing over turbulently.

    Only now did Li Qingshan extend his hand with his fingers open. The surging daemon qi gathered in his hand, but it was not released.

    Abruptly, Xue Hanfeng froze mid-air. The resplendent sword slash condensed together as if it was sealed up in invisible amber. He spat out a mouthful of blood violently and landed on the ground heavily.

    Everyone widened their eyes, but they did not see what Li Qingshan had done. It only looked like he had extended his hand and Xue Hanfeng was defeated. Like he had said, he had not touched a finger on him.

    ¡°Father!¡± Xue Bing went up to help him up.

    Xue Hanfeng swatted away her hand and stood up by himself. He was filled with regret. ¡°This is martial arts!?¡±

    ¡°Not martial arts. An innate ability.¡±

    The first innate ability of the Ape Demon Transformation.

    ¡°An innate ability! You¡¯re a daemon?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. No and yes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your relationship with the White Ape King?¡±

    ¡°Nothing really. I only cut off his head.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve lost!¡± Xue Bing yelled at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°How have I lost?¡±

    ¡°You said you wouldn¡¯t touch a single finger on my father, yet you¡¯ve heavily injured him. What, innate abilities suddenly don¡¯t count?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, women are born unreasonable. Feel free to ask your father if I ever injured him or not.¡±

    ¡°Bing¡¯er, there¡¯s no need to say anything more. I¡¯ve lost.¡±

    Xue Hanfeng could not understand this any more clearly. All of his wounds had originated from the backlash of true qi.

    Xue Bing lowered her head in dejection. Tears poured down her cheeks like rain.

    ¡°You cheater!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming curled his lip. Li Qingshan¡¯s innate ability did not possess any offensive power at all. It could not even kill an ant. However, the effect of the innate ability had left him stunned as well when he first saw it. It was not some freezing technique, but directly sealing up space.

    ¡°The master of the Snow Mountain hall, Xue Hanfeng, pays his respects to the hero king.¡±

    Xue Hanfeng stepped forward and bowed. The elders and disciples of the Snow Mountain sect all bowed as well, regardless of how they felt inside.

    In the martial arts community, the strong still claimed supremacy at the end of the day.

    The young man in white who served as the first senior brother of the Snow Mountain sect eased up greatly. He felt like this was as good of an outcome as it could get, but he was also worried about what he said in the hall earlier and whether Li Qingshan had heard it or not, which could displease him.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Listen up, hall master Xue!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Fetch me some alcohol!¡±

    Xue Hanfeng was taken aback. Originally, he thought it would be some kind of important order.

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t drink my fill at the foot of the mountain, so it¡¯s perfect that I can continue here. Your dear daughter promised me.¡±

    Xue Bing recalled what he had said below the mountain and was left truly speechless. That same night, they set up a banquet in the hall. Xue Hanfeng used the opportunity to ask, ¡°My king, what would you like our Snow Mountain hall to do?¡±

    After a moment of silence, Li Qingshan laid out his hands and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±

    Xue Hanfeng was speechless. Did you end the Snow Mountain sect just for some alcohol? We shouldn¡¯t have gone out like this!

    ¡°I just got bored in Pegasus city, so I came out to have some fun! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m the leader of the World¡¯s society, so why would I bother with these miscellaneous matters? Once you get to Pegasus city, you can ask around yourself!¡± Li Qingshan said impatiently, ¡°Let¡¯s drink, let¡¯s drink!¡±

    Xue Hanfeng widened his eyes. Unable to hold back his internal injuries, blood sprayed out of his mouth.

    ¡°Father! Father!¡± Xue Bing rushed over.

    ¡°Your father is not too good with alcohol, so you better take him back to rest!¡±

    Xue Bing raised an eyebrow. How does this have anything to do with alcohol? You clearly angered him so much that this happened!

    ps£º ¾ÃÎ¥µÄÇóÔÂÆ±£¡

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-

    A Long-time-coming Author¡¯s Word¡ªHow Can I Rest Before I¡¯ve Done All That I Can?

    It¡¯s been so long since I last asked for monthly votes, so I¡¯ll ask for some today!

    Yeah, that¡¯s basically the main point. I can start rambling about nonsense now.

    A few days ago, when I was talking to a friend, I said, ¡°It¡¯s a day if you¡¯re happy, it¡¯s also a day if you¡¯re unhappy¡­¡±

    He must have thought I would say, ¡°So you might as well live a little happier.¡±

    However, that wasn¡¯t my conclusion. I said, ¡°Then I¡¯d rather be a little unhappy and do something.¡±

    In hindsight, what a terrifying thought!

    If a person wants to be happy but can¡¯t be happy, that¡¯s already horrible enough. It¡¯s basically horrendous if they can be happy but refuse to be happy.

    Go away, you damned happiness! Stop tempting me!

    There must be something wrong with my head! When exactly did this begin? From when I read far too many books that I shouldn¡¯t have read. After that, I was never able to fool myself again. I still ended up going from being unable to become part of the crowd to intentionally keeping a distance from the crowd.

    In society, I¡¯ve come across a lot of people. The way to judge whether someone is a failure is very easy. Just talk about fate with them. As long as they say something like ¡°Everything is fate¡±, then that¡¯s that.

    I¡¯ve come across a lot of successful people too. Determining whether they¡¯ve grown complacent is very simple too. Just talk about effort with them. If they attribute all of their success to themselves and believe all failures don¡¯t try hard enough, then there¡¯s no need to listen to anything else they say.

    I was thinking that I can¡¯t be like this.

    When I fail, I need to think that a chance of success definitely still exists, and I just didn¡¯t achieve it, which is obviously an issue of my ability.

    When I succeed, I need to think that if it weren¡¯t for this perfect luck, I would have never made it so far. Oh great fate!

    As a result, failure is all because I¡¯m useless, and success is all because I¡¯m lucky. Look at how logical I am. Whenever I fail, I turn it into self-torture, and whenever I succeed, I just have to ruin the mood.

    Can constantly working against yourself be regarded as being toyed around by fate?

    Actually, everyone just wants to live life a little more comfortably. Perhaps I am just the idiot who thinks of himself as so clever.

    However, I just want that one day, when I suffer a crushing failure and someone asks me what happened, I can say, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s because I¡¯m useless.¡±

    Not because of vile human nature, the darkness of society, the arrangements of fate, or any other boring answer.

    As a result, for the sake of this ¡°great¡± goal, I constantly battle with myself, pushing into the mud time and time again in a painful struggle.

    Sinking in the mud, with a frenzied heart, scooping the moon to null and void¡­

    Others all think there¡¯s something wrong with you. There¡¯s a good life right there for you to live, yet you choose to be all hung up about something.

    Yeah, that¡¯s what I am. I have a fucking problem! Even at my age, I still refuse to believe some nonsense like ¡°simple is best¡±.

    Even if all the chickens in the coop tell me that eating rice, pecking insects, and sunbathing is the good life, I¡¯ll still want to climb up onto the top of the coop and soar like a hawk.

    Even if I can never become a hawk, I¡¯ll never recognise a good life of eating rice, pecking insects, and sunbathing. The heavens are above, so let them forever torture me!

    Once all is done, you can rest easy. How can I rest before I¡¯ve done all that I can?

    Yeah, this is my request for monthly tickets. I haven¡¯t deviated from the main topic at all.

 Chapter 1188

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1188 ¨C The Greatest

    After Xue Hanfeng bowed and took his leave, Xue Bing helped him to the back courtyard.

    Xue Hanfeng glanced at the new moon in the air, floating in the sea of clouds. Tears suddenly began to roll down his cheeks. He sighed and said, ¡°Bing¡¯er, the Snow Mountain sect is over.¡± When he said that, he seemed like he had aged by a decade.

    ¡°Father.¡± Xue Bing wept as well.

    ¡°The world falls into chaos with the arrival of the daemon star. Perhaps this is the will of the heavens!¡±

    ¡°He is not the will of the heavens!¡±

    Xue Bing made her way out of the residence. She was received by a handsome young man. ¡°Junior sister, is master¡­ still alright? Sigh, that power really isn¡¯t something you can contend with as a human. Perhaps joining and following the World¡¯s society is the best choice. The hero king didn¡¯t even use his blade earlier! At least that¡¯s a silver lining to all of this.¡±

    ¡°Has the banquet ended? Where is the hero king right now?¡± Xue Bing asked coldly.

    ¡°He¡¯s admiring the moon on Flying Snow cliff. What are you trying to do?¡±

    ¡°I want to make a deal with him.¡± Xue Bing made her way towards Flying Snow cliff.

    ¡°You¡­¡± The first senior brother realized something. He wanted to go with her, but he still ended up watching her vanish off into the distance.

    Li Qingshan peered beyond the cliff with his head raised, looking at the new moon in the sky. He wondered whether the moon was the same right now in the nine provinces, whether Xiao An was gazing at a similar moon too.

    The sound of footsteps rang out from behind. Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°Is your father alright?¡±

    The dim moonlight sprinkled on Xue Bing¡¯s face as if it enveloped her in a layer of frost. She was filled with determination. She clasped her hands and said, ¡°Hero king, you previously said in the restaurant that you wanted to marry the Ten Great Beauties of the World.¡±

    Li Qingshan corrected her. ¡°It¡¯s the nine great beauties. Yeah, I like alcohol.¡±

    TL: This is a pun. ¡°Nine¡± and ¡°alcohol¡± sound the same in Chinese.

    ¡°I can be the first, whether it¡¯s as a wife, a concubine, or a servant. As long as you spare the Snow Mountain sect, I¡¯ll be yours,¡± Xue Bing said sternly with her chest held high.

    Li Qingshan began laughing aloud.

    ¡°What are you laughing about?¡± Xue Bing felt furious about how he simply brushed her aside.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing at how much importance you¡¯ve attached to the Snow Mountain sect and how little you¡¯ve attached to yourself. You should go to Pegasus city and meet with that leader of the World¡¯s society. She doesn¡¯t even take her own father seriously.¡±

    Everything that Xue Bing possessed came from the Snow Mountain sect. Originally, she thought Li Qingshan would mock her for having no right to make this kind of deal, so she was slightly taken by surprise when she heard his response. No one had ever said something like that to her. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the leader of the World¡¯s society, Gu Yanying, is the greatest beauty in the world. Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never had the opportunity to meet her.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just a title others have given her. The ¡®beauty¡¯ part doesn¡¯t exist in her mind. That¡¯s right, even when she faces me, she refuses to be the second greatest in the world.¡±

    ¡°Do you like her very much, my king?¡± Xue Bing asked. She was curious about what a woman who could make him exhibit an expression like that looked like.

    Li Qingshan thought about it before smiling with composure. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°What if she were here, making this deal with you?¡± Xue Bing suddenly felt a hint of envy.

    ¡°She won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯m different from her. I¡¯m willing to sacrifice myself in exchange for peace for the entire Snow Mountain sect.¡±

    ¡°If you fly high enough one day, you¡¯ll discover that this snow mountain is merely a mound of earth. Though, you are quite right about me. If it weren¡¯t for this brat, I¡¯d lunge over right now and then refuse to uphold my end of the deal.¡± Li Qingshan then lifted up R¨¡hu Xiaoming. R¨¡hu Xiaoming shot him a glance, ¡°Do whatever you want. I¡¯ve seen plenty of stuff like this before.¡±

    Xue Hong reddened. ¡°And you call yourself the hero king?¡±

    ¡°Fuck the hero king. It¡¯s only a name. Oh right, I have a supreme secret manual in my possession called the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi. Do you want to exchange for that instead? I can guarantee you that it¡¯s a fair deal, a deal you simply can¡¯t miss out on.¡±

    Xue Bing was taken aback. She stomped her foot furiously and said, ¡°I refuse!¡±

    She had come to sacrifice herself for the Snow Mountain sect, not to sell her body for some supreme secret martial arts manual. She had almost been swept into his rhythm, which left her fuming.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pity then.¡± Li Qingshan looked at her as if she had just missed out on a fantastic deal. Then he asked, ¡°You really don¡¯t want to go forward with that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t. Farewell!¡¯ Xue Bing clasped her hands as she fumed, only to see Li Qingshan¡¯s expression change. He sneered and said, ¡°We¡¯ll be making that exchange whether you want to or not.¡± With that, she noticed that she had been immobilised, leaving her shocked. Is he going to?

    Li Qingshan approached her step by step, raising his hand and sealing up her acupoints. The maximum length of his innate ability was far too short right now.

    Xue Bing watched as he brought his face towards hers, which made her close her eyes. However, she heard him utter by her ear, ¡°Listen up!¡± Following that, she heard a string of mantras for a cultivation method.

    She opened her eyes in shock, only to see a mischievous smile. ¡°Stop. I¡¯m not listening.¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored her and recited the entire Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi with a smile. This was his original cultivation method as a Qi Practitioner. Even now, he could still recall it perfectly.

    Xue Bing¡¯s body slackened. Her acupoints had been released. She saw how he had already arrived by the edge of the cliff, gazing at the dark clouds rising up on the horizon. Gradually, the clouds swallowed the new moon. He said without looking back, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving. Wait for me!¡±

    ¡°Where are you going? Why would anyone wait for you? I never agreed to that deal! I¡¯ve already forgotten everything you recited to me!¡±

    His actions of forcing the deal on her had already left her furious, but she suddenly felt a hint of reluctance when she heard how he would be leaving.

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve remembered it! As for where I¡¯m going? This hero king is obviously off to uphold justice and maybe check out the eight other great beauties.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re going to do this alone?¡± Xue Bing understood what he meant. The eight great beauties corresponded to the five great sects and three remaining aristocratic clans. He was probably off to take on the martial arts community across the entire world.

    ¡°There¡¯s the two of us! Hey, stop always forgetting about Xiaoming. Xiaoming is very important!¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted up R¨¡hu Xiaoming and shook him around violently.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shot a glare at him from the corner of his eye. Killing intent erupted from his body.

    At this rate, he would recover his fighting spirit even before the red lotus¡¯ bloom.

    ¡°Hero king, who knows how many freaks and strange people capable of all sorts of techniques and abilities there are in the world. Even with your unrivaled martial arts, you might not be able to get out unscathed.¡±

    ¡°Are you worried about me?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m worried you¡¯ll turn the Snow Mountain sect into a laughing stock of the world, so I wish you success with subduing the other sects and clans.¡±

    ¡°Haha, thank you for your blessing.¡± Li Qingshan suddenly furrowed his brows and said in distress, ¡°Speaking of which, are there any cute nuns in the Salvation temple?¡± The Salvation temple guarded and suppressed the daemon star, so he had to pay them a visit. The spiritual qi he could directly extract might help him recover a lot of his strength.

    ¡°Of course not,¡± Xue Bing said in exasperation.

    Li Qingshan clapped his hands. ¡°I know. They don¡¯t have one, so I¡¯ll just confer one to them. That way, there¡¯ll be the Ten Great Beauties of the World again.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡± Xue Bing widened her eyes in response to his bizarre ¡°great idea¡±. She found it both fuming and funny.

    ¡°Yep. You¡¯re the first.¡± Li Qingshan grinned and leapt off the cliff.

    ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Xue Bing rushed to the edge of the cliff and called out, but the only reply she received was his laughter. She watched him vanish off into the darkness.

    Everything she had gone through during the short half a day was like a dream. There was fear, sorrow, and hatred, as well as joy, gratitude, and admiration, yet in the end, it also seemed like a joke. Never had a man managed to make her emotions heave like that.

    ¡°Hopefully, you can return safely!¡±

    ps£º ×òÌìºÈÁËµã¾Æ£¬ÐÄÀïÓÐµã¸Ð¿®£¬²»¹ýÒ²ÖªµÀ¿Ï¶¨»áÓÐºÜ¶àÒâ¼û£¬¾õµÃÄã¸üÕâÃ´Âý£¬»¹ºÃÒâË¼ÔÚÕâÀïß¶±Æß¶£¬ÇóÔÂÆ±¼òÖ±¾ÍÊÇ²»ÒªÁ³¡£ÎÒ¶®£¬°®Ö®ÉîÔðÖ®ÇÐ£¬ÎÒÒ²Ò»Ö±Éî¸ÐÀ¢¾Î£¬ÄÄÅÂÒÑÇã¾¡ËùÓÐÅ¬Á¦£¬µ«Ã»×öµ½¾ÍÊÇÃ»×öµ½£¬ÉõÖÁÁ¬¡°ÎÒÐ´µÄÂýÊÇÒòÎªÎÒÐ´µÄºÃ¡±ÕâÖÖ×ÔÐÅ¶¼Ã»ÓÐ¡£

    PS: I drank a little yesterday and felt slightly emotional. I know it¡¯ll lead to a lot of different opinions and a lot of people thinking how slowly I release, yet I can still bring myself to ramble here and how I¡¯m absolutely shameless to still ask for monthly votes. I understand. The more responsible you feel, the more exasperated you become when things don¡¯t go right. I¡¯ve always felt ashamed about this. Even if I do everything I can, if I haven¡¯t achieved it, then I haven¡¯t achieved it. I don¡¯t even have the confidence to say ¡°I write slowly because I write well¡±.

    I write slowly and badly, and I suffer from various emotional problems. I can only apologise to everyone for not being a robot. At a time like this, just smiling is enough. However, under these circumstances, I still ask for monthly votes, as I have something I can rely on. Even if I¡¯m a chicken, flapping my wings countless times will make me a little stronger! That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve found my motivation again, and I¡¯m standing on the top of the coop again. In order to prevent you from missing out when I rise up, I¡¯m giving you a reminder, so if I fall down again, just treat it all as a joke. I¡¯ve grown used to it anyway. However, I will make another attempt before you even realise, with lightning speed, so watch closely!

 Chapter 1189

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1189 ¨C Searching for Beauties

    Li Qingshan ventured down the snow mountain and took off, making his way south.

    At this moment, the benefits of the small world were on full display. He used the endless strength of the earth to cover several hundred kilometers in a single night, reaching the central region by dawn. If it were not for the thunderstorm in between, he would have moved even faster.

    The climate became evidently hotter. A red sun rose up in the east and gradually turned white, shining with scorching light and baking the earth.

    Li Qingshan finally came to a halt; it was not out of exhaustion, but because he felt his stomach growling. He found a main road and traveled along it to see if he would encounter any cities where he could have a feast.

    At the same time, he seriously contemplated his ¡°great plan¡±. There were no aristocratic clans in the central region, only many gangs and sects. The three great sects among them were the Salvation temple, the Abstruse temple, and the Divine Wind sect. On top of that, there was the renowned Xuanwu city, which was the headquarters of the martial arts alliance.

    The Abstruse temple and the Divine Wind sect each had one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World, but Li Qingshan¡¯s first target was the Salvation temple. No matter how much he wanted to mess around, he had to increase his strength first before he could have fun to his satisfaction. He was determined to obtain the daemon star.

    However, a problem appeared now. There were no beauties in the Salvation temple!

    Originally, this was merely a joke. If he were just someone with a voracious sexual appetite, then it would be completely unnecessary to force the title of ¡°beauty¡± onto a monk, but his current mental state was under the influence of the ape demon. The funnier and the more joke-like it was, the more serious he was. Instead, he had cast the serious matter of conquering the world to the back of his head. Leaving that up to Gu Yanying to deal with was enough.

    However, he was not familiar with this world, so where was he supposed to find a beauty?

    He could not simply find any woman off the street. They had to be ¡°qualified¡±. Their external appearance went without saying, but their martial arts could not be too weak either. It would be best if they possessed a certain level of reputation and possessed some public recognition.

    But upon further thought, who in the world would recognise a great beauty from a temple of monks?

    However, as soon as he imagined the expressions of the monks, he found it absolutely hilarious. He could not help but laugh aloud.

    Perhaps it was better described as his inherent nature at work than being influenced by the ape demon.

    ¡°Who¡¯s behind there?¡±

    Right as he was lost in his thoughts, a bellow rang out from ahead. A group of mercenary escorts stopped in the dust and gazed cautiously at Li Qingshan who ran over.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He was not familiar with this world, but someone would be. He could ask around.

    A man with a full beard rode over on his horse and thought to himself, He runs with such startling speed, so he must be an innate master. He definitely is someone of some renown. We need to deal with him carefully.

    He clasped his hands. ¡°I am Hou Zhen of the Wind Gale Mercenary Escorts. May I ask for your name and why you¡¯re here?¡±

    ¡°I am the hero king, Li Qingshan. I¡¯ve come to rob the carriage.¡± Li Qingshan was concise and comprehensive.

    ¡°L- Li Qingshan!¡±

    Like he had seen a ghost, Hou Zhen almost fell off his horse in fright. The armed escorts erupted in an uproar too. In a short three months, Li Qingshan¡¯s name had already spread across the world. Everyone had heard about him and knew who he was. Many people in the northern region sang praises about him, but he was known as a murderous demon king in other places.

    Li Qingshan approached them, and the armed escorts all backed away. He patted the carriage. ¡°What¡¯re you delivering?¡±

    ¡°Just some treasure. Hero king, you¡¯re so rich up in the northern region, so how could the goods we¡¯re delivering catch your eye?¡±

    Hou Zhen dismounted from his horse and bent over. His face was so ugly that it seemed like he had just eaten something that tasted horrible. If he did not have renown, then no one had renown.

    ¡°Let me ask you a question. If you can answer me, I¡¯m not going to rob you.¡±

    ¡°Please ask away, hero king.¡±

    Hou Zhen¡¯s heart sank. He did not feel like he was up to anything good. This question was either an attempt to intentionally make things difficult for him, or he would be investigating the secrets of the martial arts alliance.

    ¡°Where in the world has the most beauties? No, where in the central region has the most beauties?¡± Li Qingshan did not want to travel that far.

    ¡°Huh?¡± Hou Zhen was taken aback. He doubted his ears. The murderous demon king had chased after them to ask a question like that?

    Li Qingshan raised his hand impatiently. The carriage flew out, slamming into a tree and snapping the tree in half. The glistening silver pieces scattered on the ground.

    Hou Zhen quivered and clasped his hands. ¡°Hero king, if you want a place in the central region with the most beauties, it would definitely be Xuanwu city!¡±

    ¡°What famous beauties does Xuanwu city have?¡±

    ¡°The Myriad Flower parlour has a lady Hu Xian¡¯er. Her charms and arts are both exceptional, and she¡¯s known to be a goddess from heaven. She¡¯s definitely on par with the Ten Great Beauties of the World!¡±

    ¡°Then where is Xuanwu city?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up again. He never expected such a suitable choice to exist. It sure had saved him a lot of trouble.

    ¡°Follow this road and travel south. Xuanwu city is less than two hundred and fifty kilometers away.¡±

    Li Qingshan left without any hesitation, running off towards Xuanwu city. For a moment, he forgot about his grumbling belly too.

    Hou Zhen stared off into the distance for a good while, confirming he had already vanished into the horizon. When he wiped the sweat on his forehead, he finally noticed he was so drenched that he seemed to have just been swooped out of the water.

    An old escort made his way over. ¡°Head chief, isn¡¯t alliance leader Zhang holding a martial arts gathering in Xuanwu city to discuss how they will deal with the World¡¯s society? And didn¡¯t that Hu Xian¡¯er announce to the world that she¡¯ll pledge herself to whoever eliminates Li Qingshan, regardless of their age or status?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s exactly what I had in mind, to lure him to Xuanwu city. All the heroes of the world are currently gathered in the city. The masters of six great sects and the leaders of three aristocratic clans are all there. That Hu Xian¡¯er isn¡¯t simple either. It¡¯s said that any man who¡¯s seen her appearance is willing to cast away their life for her. He¡¯ll be running head-first into a trap by venturing south to Xuanwu city alone!¡±

    A young apprentice came over to suck up to him. ¡°What impressive courage, head chief. You could even think of this in such an urgent situation! You can laugh at me if you want, but I was so frightened earlier that my calves began to spasm.¡±

    Why would anyone laugh at him? Who wasn¡¯t frightened out of their wits earlier? And it was rumored in the jianghu that even that alliance leader Zhang had to hand over the position of alliance leader obediently when he saw Li Qingshan. Even an ant could probably draw more attention from Li Qingshan than a mere apprentice like him.

    Everyone praised the head chief as well, describing him as valiant and wise. It was as if they had gone blind all of a sudden, unable to see Hou Zhen¡¯s legs that were still trembling away under the light of day.

    ¡°Take my horse and hurry back to the headquarters immediately. Send a pigeon to Xuanwu city and tell them that great demon Li Qingshan is coming.¡±

    Hou Zhen knew exactly what had happened back then. His mind had blanked out, and he had not dared to utter a single lie, so why would he still consider so much? As for whether the various heroes in Xuanwu city could take down Li Qingshan, whether lady Hu Xian¡¯er was in trouble or not, that was none of his business. At least he would not be the one dying.

    In Xuanwu city, the martial arts gathering that had brought together all the heroes across the world was enveloped by a miserable atmosphere.

    A moment earlier, the old man who had been sent to the Snow Mountain sect to persuade them to join their side had returned after a lengthy journey. He only said, ¡°The Snow Mountain sect has probably fallen already. I¡¯m leaving. I definitely can¡¯t see him a third time, or I¡¯ll have to join the World¡¯s society.¡±

    Afterwards, Zhang Yuntian immediately stood up and asked to take his leave. He expressed he was no longer the alliance leader, so he could not host a grand gathering like this. Instead, he would be returning to the Divine Wind sect for secluded cultivation, and he asked for someone more competent to take his place!

 Chapter 1190

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1190 ¨C A Gathering of Leaders

    Under the blazing lights, a fancy character, ¡°martial¡±, was engraved in the centre of a large, round table. The twelve zodiac animals and the twelve time periods of a day were depicted around the centre. There were twelve designs around the edge, depicting a whirlwind, a snowflake, a buddha statue, a pegasus, and so on. They were the symbols of the seven great sects and the four aristocratic clans.

    There was one seat that they specially left blank, which corresponded to the ¡°dragon¡± among the twelve zodiac animals and ¡°chen¡± among the twelve time periods. This was to commemorate the first leader of the martial arts alliance, Long Potian. He had single-handedly founded the martial arts alliance and established the order of the martial arts community over the past few centuries. Then he shattered through space, becoming a legend of times.

    He was not from any clan or sect. He stood alone, aloof from all of them.

    Currently, the various masters and leaders of the sects and clans occupied the seats, but there were two more empty spots, corresponding to the pegasus and the snowflake, representing the Ma family and the Snow Mountain sect. Everyone knew that the two spots would remain empty forever.

    Even more people sat behind them. They were the various ¡°heroes¡± that had been gathered here. Right now, they all stared at Zhang Yuntian silently.

    The martial arts alliance had stood for several centuries. Whenever demonic or unorthodox practitioners wreaked havoc in the martial arts community, they would hold a martial arts gathering and launch an expedition. However, something like this had never happened before, where the alliance leader actually threw aside his responsibilities and resigned.

    The Suffering Subduing abbot of the Salvation temple uttered the buddha¡¯s name and spoke up to persuade him. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Fellow Zhang, you cannot say something like that. You just had no other choice but to resign to the situation outside Pegasus city. How can the position of alliance leader be taken away by someone else with just a few words? I only pity my junior brother Tiger Subduing who loathed evil and fought against the wicked all his life, only to die to that demon¡¯s hands!¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple added, ¡°It¡¯s just as the master said. A few days ago, I received the news that my senior brother also died at his hands. It has already been verified now. His corpse has already been brought back from the north, but it¡¯s in such horrific shape that anyone would weep at the sight of it. This demon Li Qingshan is truly an atrocity, well beyond anything the heavens can tolerate!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian sighed. ¡°My condolences. I also happen to be a survivor. All I want to do is preserve my life in these chaotic times. I really do not want to become involved in any disputes of the martial arts community.¡±

    However, he was sneering inside. The two sects had each lost an important member to Li Qingshan, so their grievances with him were so deep that it was well beyond any chance of forgiveness. The Snow Mountain sect could still submit to the general trend of events and surrender to the World¡¯s society, but they could not. As such, they were naturally hell-bent on resistance.

    The leader of the Lu family from the eastern region slammed the table and stood up. ¡°The demon is still wandering free in the northern region. Now is not a time for grief. Alliance leader Zhang is already on the verge of shattering through space, but have you ever considered what will happen to your Divine Windsect if the demon ventures south? Are you really going to just watch as the demon destroys your sect? The world may be big, but we no longer have anywhere to go. The Ma family and the Snow Mountain sect are lessons we need to draw from. If we still don¡¯t unite together, we might as well join the World¡¯s society right now and submit to Li Qingshan. Why are we even holding a martial arts gathering?¡±

    He immediately received the agreement from the two other clans. The fate of the Ma family in the north was far too miserable.

    Zhang Yuntian remained silent. He thought to himself, You aristocratic clans are rampant normally, acting as you please. Have you finally learnt fear now?

    Everyone spoke up to convince Zhang Yuntian to stay. The position of alliance leader that the various clans and sects had competed for arduously during other times had now become a position that no one wanted. No matter how they thought about this, they could only have Zhang Yuntian continue as the alliance leader. After all, at least Li Qingshan would not be cutting them down first. They wanted to find someone to shoulder all of the responsibilities and blame first. In the end, even if they failed, it would be the alliance leader and the entire martial arts alliance¡¯s failure.

    Zhang Yuntian contemplated their suggestions for a good while before finally saying, ¡°I can continue as the alliance leader, but I want the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon, the authority of the great alliance leader.¡±

    ¡°The great alliance leader!¡±

    Everyone was alarmed. Since the founding of the martial arts alliance, there had only been a single great alliance leader¡ªthe first alliance leader, Long Potian. Not only did he possess the authority to execute anyone at whim, but he could even dismiss any of the clan leaders and sect masters whenever he wanted. He was essentially the lord of the world, a man of paramount status.

    ¡°Alliance leader Zhang, that might be inappropriate!¡± Someone objected immediately. Who would want to hand their lives and fates over to the hands of others?

    ¡°Alliance leader is only a single word away from great alliance leader. We¡¯ll obey your orders all the same, so why must you go to such difficulties?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really stuffy in here, so I¡¯m going outside to catch some air. You¡¯re welcome to discuss among yourselves. As long as someone, anyone, objects, I¡¯ll leave Xuanwu city immediately and return to the Divine Wind sect for secluded cultivation. When the World¡¯s society ventures south, I¡¯ll simply lead our disciples and surrender.¡±

    Zhang Yuntian left in a huff. There¡¯s not a lot of authority, yet you want me to bear such a great responsibility? Keep dreaming!

    A young woman stood up and chased after him. Gusts of wind arose beneath her feet, such that she did not touch the ground, demonstrating her unmatched movement techniques. Her appearance was pure and exceptional too. Normally, there would definitely be a lot of people praising her abilities, but right now, no one was in the mood for that. They all lowered their heads and contemplated Zhang Yuntian¡¯s words.

    On the terrace, Zhang Yuntian thought back to the night when the daemon star arrived. The young woman¡¯s voice rang out from behind him, ¡°Master, is the great demon really so powerful that even so many masters are powerless against him?¡±

    Zhang Yuntian saw the young woman and smiled. ¡°Xuanfeng, you haven¡¯t seen him for yourself. He¡¯s not just powerful. He cut down Ma Xingkong from the other side of the river before cutting down the Tiger Subduing monk right in front of us. I didn¡¯t even make out his attack properly.¡±

    ¡°How is that possible?¡± Zhang Xuanfeng clicked her tongue in amazement.

    ¡°If I hadn¡¯t seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed it either. Even if Long Potian was still around, he definitely would not be his opponent. However, I¡¯m certain he¡¯s not invincible. If we switch in and out of battle, perhaps we still have a chance at victory, but the person who leads the battle will definitely die!¡±

    ¡°Then you can¡¯t lead the battle, master!¡± Zhang Xuanfeng said with complete concern.

    ¡°Why would your master do something as foolish as that?¡±

    Zhang Yuntian sneered slightly. The great alliance leader could send others to their deaths instead.

    And, he had discovered a great secret within the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon that Long Potian had left behind, so it was not like they did not have a chance to defeat Li Qingshan. If things did not work out, he could shatter through space and ascend. By then, even if the world was in chaos, what did that have to do with him?

    Zhang Xuanfeng suddenly felt a chill inside.

    Zhang Yuntian added gently, ¡°Things will work out. You don¡¯t have to worry too much. Go do whatever you want to do.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. With master around, I¡¯ll never be afraid of that Li Qingshan!¡±

    Zhang Xuanfeng smiled innocently as she thought inside, Do whatever I want? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to die soon. Looks like even master is undependable this time. Whatever, the hell does it have to do with me? Once Li Qingshan kills his way over, I¡¯ll just turn around and get out of here immediately. At least that¡¯s better than being a corpse under his blade like young miss Ma. Sigh, originally, I could use my appearances too. I¡¯m one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World after all, but it¡¯s said that Li Qingshan is actually a monkey and has no concept of beauty at all, so this might not be too effective.

    The master and the disciple each had their own thoughts, but their thoughts were identical.

    The sun in the sky shifted gradually, and the leader of the Lu family came out to the terrace personally. ¡°Alliance leader, everyone is inviting you back.¡±

    Zhang Yuntian smiled. He was about to leap down the terrace when he suddenly looked back. A grey carrier pigeon flew over from the north.

    By now, Li Qingshan had set foot in Xuanwu city. He saw how the city was filled with people of the martial arts community who carried weapons around. It was clearly as busy as it could get. He stopped one of them casually and asked, ¡°Do you know where the Myriad Flowers pavilion is?¡±

 Chapter 1191

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1191 ¨C The Myriad Flower Parlour

    ¡°Hehe, to think there would actually be someone bold enough to ask me for directions!¡±

    An old man looked back. His face was a sunken green as he revealed a row of yellow teeth with his smile.

    ¡°Who¡¯re you? If you don¡¯t know, I can ask someone else.¡±

    ¡°Kid, you actually don¡¯t know who I am? Get ready to go back and prepare for your funeral!¡± The old man swung his hand that resembled chicken claws.

    ¡°So you¡¯re a madman! Damned heavens, you¡¯re making trouble for me even when I¡¯m asking for directions!¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed. There was a street full of people, yet the one he stopped just happened to be crazy. His luck was horrible.

    If he knew who the old man was, he would know his luck was not merely horrible. Instead, he was unlucky to the extreme.

    The old man was the leader of the Five Poisons cult, a master of the demonic path of equal renown to the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters and the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance in the past. He roamed the martial arts community with his poison arts and was infamous for his diabolic nature.

    Ever since the martial arts alliance destroyed the Five Poisons cult, he had gone into hiding. Now that the martial arts community was in chaos, he has returned to the jianghu. This time, he had infiltrated Xuanwu city to do something alarming and major. With the swing of his hand earlier, he had already poisoned Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You¡¯re cursing at me? Originally, I thought I¡¯d give you some time to prepare for your funeral, but you can just die right now!¡±

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult¡¯s face sank, and he unleashed his poison arts.

    Li Qingshan felt his palm grow numb. His hand turned slightly green, and the colour rapidly spread. He knew he was poisoned, which infuriated him. He was only asking for some directions. He had not provoked anyone, yet this happened to him.

    ¡°If you listen to what I say, perhaps you can still preserve your life, or¡­¡±

    Before the leader of the Five Poisons cult could finish what he was saying, he suddenly realised he was immobilised. He was hit in the face by a slap, causing him to spit out a mouthful of yellow teeth.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you keep poisoning me, huh?!¡±

    Li Qingshan pushed over the cult leader and gave him a beating, sealing up all of his acupoints in the process before lifting him up from the ground. ¡°Where¡¯s the Myriad Flower parlour?¡±

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult extended his trembling, rat-claw-like hands and pointed in one direction. He shot a glance at Li Qingshan that was filled with viciousness. He never imagined that after spending his entire life roaming the jianghu, where even the martial arts alliance was powerless against him, he would actually make a blunder here. Fortunately, Li Qingshan did not know who he was.

    Once the poison kicks in, I¡¯ll have you die a horrible death!

    ¡°Fucking hell, still glaring at me!¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand and gave him another slap. He hoisted up the leader of the Five Poisons cult and strode away. ¡°If you¡¯re lying to me, you better watch what I¡¯ll do to you!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Greetings, great alliance leader!¡±

    In the discussion hall of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian sat on the throne solemnly as everyone bowed towards him. He had become the second great alliance leader in history, but he felt anything but happy inside..

    Once everyone finished bowing, he took out the letter from the pigeon and announced, ¡°I¡¯ve just received news that Li Qingshan has already ventured down south alone. He¡¯s making his way straight for Xuanwu city- No, he might be here already.¡±

    With that, there was a series of cries. Everyone¡¯s faces changed.

    The innate masters that had once seen Li Qingshan all looked towards the entrance at the same time. Only when they saw that Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen did they relax slightly, but they had clearly become restless.

    ¡°What do we do?¡±

    ¡°How bold of that demon!¡±

    ¡°He probably fears nothing! After all, courage comes with great skill!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s close the city gates quickly. We can¡¯t let him sneak into the city!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian shook his head. If they could stop Li Qingshan with some city walls, what would be so frightening about him? They had clearly lost their composure and become frantic. The people here bore no resemblance to the martial arts masters that dominated the world anymore. They were basically no different from a group of country bumpkins that paled at the mention of something fearful.

    The leader of the Abstruse temple said, ¡°With how composed the alliance leader is, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve already thought of a great plan against the demon?¡±

    ¡°In my knowledge, his target is not here, but the Myriad Flower parlour in the city.¡±

    ¡°The Myriad Flower parlour?¡±

    ¡°Yes, he hasn¡¯t come for us, but for Hu Xian¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, he truly is a lecherous folk!¡±

    Everyone could not help but ease up with that.

    ¡°But who knows if he¡¯ll come for us or not if he hears we¡¯re holding a martial arts gathering.¡±

    Zhang Yuntian changed the conversation topic, and the atmosphere became tense again.

    ¡°What should we do now? Alliance leader, please give us orders!¡±

    ¡°This matter affects the fate of everyone, so it¡¯s not something I can decide alone. There are only two paths in front of us right now. Either we rush to the Myriad Flower parlour right now, take Li Qingshan on in a great battle, and leave our fates up to the heavens to decide, or we hold our ground, set up an ambush, and wait for him to walk into the trap himself,¡± Zhang Yuntian said indifferently.

    The first path was throwing their lives at him, a so-called ¡°head-to-head¡± clash. They would be gambling that Li Qingshan¡¯s physical strength would run out first. However, even if they managed to win somehow, despite how severe the losses would be, many of the people present had seen how quickly Li Qingshan could move when he flew over the river. If he wanted to leave, who could stop him? Even if they died in the end, they probably would have died for nothing.

    As for the second path, it was as clear as day to everyone that while it sounded fancy, like ¡°setting up an ambush and waiting for him to walk into the trap himself¡±, it really was just crossing their fingers and hoping Li Qingshan would downright ignore them, praying that he would not come for them. Otherwise, it would be no different from the first path.

    This was a last resort. Everyone present had a sense of pride and reputation about them. They could not scramble away when they had not even caught a glimpse of him. Otherwise, what would they look like in the eyes of the public?

    The hall sank into an awkward silence. They looked at one another, all rather embarrassed.

    ¡­¡­

    Around dusk, rows and rows of large, red lanterns were hung high up around the entrance of the Myriad Flower parlour. A mixture of the smell of alcohol and food, coupled with perfume and cosmetics, filled his nose. Li Qingshan¡¯s belly began to grumble again. He was still carrying the leader of the Five Poisons cult, which immediately raised a lot of attention, but they all became submerged in the fun in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re fine!?¡± the leader of the Five Poisons cult exclaimed in surprise. Li Qingshan should have died from poison a long time ago.

    ¡°Hmph, do you think that puny poison of yours can do anything to me?¡± Li Qingshan had used a bit of power of belief to nullify it. No matter how ingenious the schemes of the will of heavens were, the effects were still very limited. Then he said, ¡°Your martial arts isn¡¯t half bad, so you should have some reputation in the martial arts community! How¡¯s this? Why don¡¯t you join and follow me instead?¡±

    ¡°I- I- Who are you exactly?¡±

    ¡°Haha, you actually don¡¯t know who I am.¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped into the Myriad Flower parlour, only to see that the entire place was filled. The only open space was a high platform in the centre.

    A waitress came up to him and said, ¡°Sir, we¡¯re full today, so please come back another day!¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Hu Xian¡¯er? Get her to come out. Her fortunes are here!¡± Li Qingshan scanned around, only to see a familiar person upstairs. He could not help but smile. ¡°Go fetch some meat and alcohol first. Someone has saved a good seat for me.¡±

    ¡°Who do you think you are? How dare you call lady Xian¡¯er by her full name!¡± The people in the parlour were immediately infuriated.

    ¡°All of you, shut up!¡±

    A furious roar deafened everyone; the true qi it contained left them startled. However, that did not come from Li Qingshan.

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes, an old man made his way downstairs slowly. His face was so sunken that it seemed like he was grieving for his father¡¯s death. He directly arrived before Li Qingshan and bowed deeply. ¡°This subordinate greets the king!¡±

    He was the old man who had been sent to the Snow Mountain sect as a persuasive speaker.

 Chapter 1192

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1192 ¨C Hu Xian¡¯er

    Abruptly, the parlour fell silent. Only the sounds of instruments continued to ring out.

    Perhaps a lot of people still did not know who ¡°the king¡± was, but they did know who the old man was. He was a renowned figure of the martial arts community. Originally, they thought he had come down to teach this madman a lesson, so why did he pay respects to him instead?

    ¡°You can forgo the formalities. You sure stick to your word!¡±

    Li Qingshan patted the old man¡¯s shoulder in appreciation.

    ¡°I have always been a man of my word!¡±

    The old man glanced at the large hand on his shoulder as the corner of his lips twitched. He did not want to stick to his word, but he was afraid that Li Qingshan would stick to his word a little too much and refuse to spare him.

    The parlour was filled with disciples and descendants of sects and clans. If he had not come down to mediate the situation, who knew how many people would die if they continued with their nonsense and actually angered Li Qingshan.

    ¡°These kids are all short-sighted and careless when they talk. Please forgive them, my king.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a mere trifle, nothing worth mentioning. Oh right, I still don¡¯t know your name.¡±

    ¡°I am Tie Xiong. Because I wield a pair of judge¡¯s brushes, my friends of the jianghu have given me the nickname of the Iron-faced Judge.¡±

    TL: The ¡°tie¡± in Tie Xiong means iron or metal. Judges brushes are weapons that come in pairs:

    Tie Xong did not tell him the full story. Another reason he was known as the Iron-faced Judge was because he was upright and extremely staunch against evil, but he could no longer bring himself to mention that now.

    ¡°So it¡¯s old brother Tie. Even judges like to drink with women?¡± Li Qingshan joked with a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s a funny joke, my king. I was just in a bad mood, so I had a few cups.¡±

    Normally, Tie Xiong would never come to a place like this, but he had been in a horrible mood today, so he came to have some fun and check out Hu Xian¡¯er who was rumoured to be like a goddess. He never expected to run into Li Qingshan again after a single day. He was simply down on his luck.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re known to be a judge, you should know how to discriminate between good and evil. If you just kill small, backgroundless crooks and turn a blind eye to a large crook like the Ma family, wouldn¡¯t that make you unworthy of your name? Heh, if you¡¯re still unwilling to accept this, then so what if I spare you another three times? Let¡¯s have a hearty drink first tonight. I¡¯ll deal with you tomorrow!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled Tie Xiong upstairs. There were still a few ordinary folk downstairs, but everyone upstairs belonged to the martial arts community, mainly young people but with a fair number of middle-aged people too, except none of them had reached the innate realm. All of the martial arts practitioners that amounted to something in the city were all attending the martial arts gathering.

    Right now, everyone upstairs gazed at them in a dumbfounded manner. Some of them already gained an inkling about Li Qingshan¡¯s identity, so they dared not move at all. The people that had yelled at him earlier had all paled in fright by now.

    Tie Xiong had the best seat, which allowed him to see the platform right below. He dismissed the singers and dancers, inviting Li Qingshan into the seat before asking, ¡°May I ask how brother Xue of the Snow Mountain sect is doing?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s now master Xue of the Snow Mountain hall.¡± Li Qingshan tossed the leader of the Five Poisons cult by his feet. He did not let out a peep of sound.

    ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s good to hear. Congratulations on gaining another powerful ally, my king.¡±

    Tie Xiong felt slightly better inside. Whether it was martial arts, renown, or authority, Xue Hanfeng surpassed him drastically in all aspects, yet he was no different now, also having surrendered to the World¡¯s society.

    He asked, ¡°May I ask if the king has come today for the martial arts gathering?¡±

    ¡°The martial arts gathering?¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the reason why you came here?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not. What¡¯s the martial arts gathering for? Are they competing with their martial arts?¡±

    Tie Xiong basically wanted to slap himself across his face right now. He never expected Li Qingshan to even be ignorant about such a great event. If he told him what it was, would that not make him a traitorous bastard who sold out friends and stabbed them in the back?

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, that¡¯s fine. There¡¯s bound to be someone who knows here!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced around, and the young heroes and young masters all shivered.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ll tell you. Alliance leader Zhang has gathered all the heroes across the world to discuss matters within the inner city.¡±

    ¡°Alliance leader? Didn¡¯t he step down already?¡±

    Li Qingshan flicked the jade tablet of the alliance leader that hung from the hilt of the blade on his back.

    ¡°About that¡­ alliance leader Zhang wanted to step down, but everyone objected.¡±

    ¡°I see. You don¡¯t need to say anything more. What a shameless bunch. What else can they be discussing? It¡¯s obviously about how they can deal with me. I¡¯ll pay them a visit when I have the time.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and smiled in an evil manner.

    ¡°My king, if you remain here, it might lead to some trouble. Why don¡¯t we go elsewhere, just in case it destroys the drinking mood.¡± Tie Xiong tried desperately to save the situation.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Trouble? Even if they possess my courage, they won¡¯t be bold enough to come. They should be absolutely grateful that I¡¯m not making any trouble for them.¡±

    Tie Xiong did agree with that inside. ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Let¡¯s drink.¡± He filled Li Qingshan¡¯s cup to the brim, hoping that he would have a good time and forget about this matter.

    Li Qingshan drank several bowls of alcohol all at once before eating a few pieces of beef, alleviating his hunger. Then he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Hu Xian¡¯er? Why isn¡¯t she out yet?¡±

    Compared to some martial arts gathering, this was the important stuff.

    ¡­¡­

    Behind the Myriad Flower parlour was a series of buildings. At the top of a small, exquisite building.

    Hu Xian¡¯er was currently grooming herself in front of a mirror. Sure enough, her face was extremely gorgeous. She had a pointy chin and a pair of large eyes, filled with craftiness and intelligence. A white gown covered her delicate body, which could send someone into a reverie of fantasies.

    ¡°Big sister, you¡¯re becoming more and more beautiful, but if you continue at such a slow pace, the young heroes and young masters outside will probably run out of patience,¡± the young maidservant in green behind her said. She was a little skinny and scrawny, but she was definitely a beauty in the making. She bore some resemblance to Hu Xian¡¯er.

    ¡°Let them wait. It¡¯s the last night anyway. If they can properly enjoy themselves before their deaths, at least they can¡¯t say I¡¯ve betrayed their love for me.¡±

    ¡°There are quite a few lecherous men among them, but the ones like young master Lu and young hero Wang are serious about you, big sister. Sigh, I feel reluctant about this just from the thought of it.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, serious? They¡¯re merely lusting after my beauty. If I were to show them my true form, would they still be serious? Don¡¯t forget about how mother died!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er gazed into the mirror. The maidservant in green immediately lowered her head and fell silent, fiddling around with the hem of her clothes.

    Hu Xian¡¯er looked away. ¡°If they want to get a piece of me, they can go and butcher that Li Qingshan in the northern region first!¡±

    ¡°But is it really a good idea to provoke that Li Qingshan? I heard his martial arts is unfathomable, and no one in the world can withstand a single swing of his blade.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m saying this exactly because of his exceptional martial arts. I don¡¯t care who ends up dying to him. It¡¯ll only add to my reputation!¡±

    ¡°But what if he comes for you? What do we do then?¡±

    ¡°How are you so cowardly? This is Xuanwu city. Speaking of which, he¡¯s just a stinky man. Am I supposed to be afraid that he won¡¯t submit to my beauty. By then, I can kill whoever I want to kill. I can avenge mother too. Speaking of which, what¡¯s that poisonous old thing doing? Why isn¡¯t he here yet?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go out and take a look.¡± The maidservant in green immediately made her way out.

    Hu Xian¡¯er let out a sigh. When their mother died, she had been far too young after all. She did not understand the depth of this grievance, but she was unable to forget about it, such that she would even go as far as to work with the dangerous leader of the Five Poisons cult.

    A while later, the maidservant rushed back, gasping for air. She said frantically, ¡°Bad news, big sister! Li Qingshan has come, and he¡¯s demanding to see you!¡±

    ¡°What!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er was alarmed and leapt to her feet. Why tonight of all nights?

    ¡°Let¡¯s flee! If we wait any longer, it¡¯ll be too late!¡±

    The maidservant in green gathered the jewellery and valuables in a hurry. When she bent over, a red fox tail poked out.

    ¡°What¡¯re you panicking for? Hide your tail. Once I finish my makeup, I¡¯ll go out and check him out!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er sat back down and continued to apply her cosmetics in front of the mirror.

    ¡°Big sister, your tail is also¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

 Chapter 1193

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1193 ¨C Lessons

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words led to a stir in the parlour again. Every single person present had come for Hu Xian¡¯er, and the bounty she had put out for the martial arts community despite her personal sacrifice had added a glorious halo to her. After hearing how Li Qingshan had specially come to make problems for her, they immediately became rather restless. Their feelings of righteous indignation overwhelmed their fears.

    Li Qingshan began to laugh. As it seemed, this Hu Xian¡¯er was quite charming. He really had found a suitable choice!

    The eyes of the leader of the Five Poisons cult laying underneath the table twitched as well.

    Tie Xiong¡¯s forehead immediately became covered with cold sweat. These young and aggressive kids had never witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s horrors before. If they became carried away in the heat of the moment, acting out of anger for a beauty, he did not believe Li Qingshan would be merciful with them. On the other hand, he was acquainted with their father¡¯s generation, so he could not just sit by and watch them die. However, if he took action, he would lose his life for nothing.

    ¡°Lady Xian¡¯er is just ignorant due to her young age, which is why she¡¯s opposing you, my king. Why must you stoop down to her level with your magnanimity, my king? Why don¡¯t I call her over and have her apologise to you?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s opposing me?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Tie Xiong was tongue-tied. His face went from red to purple as he murmured inside, So he doesn¡¯t know! So he doesn¡¯t know!

    ¡°That¡¯s interesting. Just half a day ago, I¡¯d never even heard of her name. Why does she want to oppose me? How is she going to oppose me?¡±

    ¡°T- t- this¡­¡±

    Tie Xiong felt as troubled as he could be. He was unable to answer. He could sense everyone¡¯s gazes towards him were filled with contempt.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, that¡¯s fine.¡± Li Qingshan looked towards a table on the side and waved his hand at a young man in fancy robes with a folding fan in his hand. ¡°You tell me!¡±

    ¡°I, Lu Zixiu, would rather die than sell out lady Xian¡¯er!¡±

    Lu Zixiu was proud. Despite how troubled he felt inside, he refused to embarrass himself right now.

    It led to a series of cheers throughout the parlour. ¡°He¡¯s truly young master Lu!¡±

    Lu Zixiu clasped his hands at everyone. His face was rather pale, but he gave off a solemn bearing of having cast death aside. The cheers became even louder, seemingly dispersing the terrifying gloom that Li Qingshan had caused.

    ¡°Senior Tie, I respect you as a reputed figure of the martial arts community, but I never expected you to be a little man who sucks up to people with power!¡±

    ¡°Y- you have no idea what you¡¯re doing!¡±

    Tie Xiong was both frantic and furious. Was he really just trying to preserve his own life by enduring this humiliation for the sake of the greater good?

    ¡°I want you to know that not everyone is afraid of dying!¡±

    Li Qingshan watched on in interest. R¨¡hu Xiaoming woke up from his sleep and said restlessly, ¡°It¡¯s so noisy. What are you waiting for? Kill all of them!¡±

    His voice was childish and feeble, but the parlour fell silent all of a sudden, which proved that most people were still afraid of dying.

    Li Qingshan stood up and made his way over. Lu Zixiu secretly gulped. Suddenly, he discovered that his knees had become rather weak. He called out loudly, ¡°Hero king, even if you can kill me, you won¡¯t be able to kill my sincerity and devotion towards lady Xian¡¯er!¡±

    With that, a huge hand filled his eyes like a dark cloud. It was so fast that he could not respond at all, making him close his eyes, I¡¯m done for. Lady Xian¡¯er, are you seeing this?

    With a rip, there were no torn tendons, broken bones, and splattering blood, nor was there a cracked skull or a corpse to be seen.

    Lu Zixiu felt a chill, but he felt no pain at all. He could not help but open his eyes, only to discover that everyone was staring at him. A familiar figure appeared on the platform below. Her mouth was slightly agape, and her face was filled with surprise. It was Hu Xian¡¯er.

    She never expected to see something like this as soon as she appeared¡ªLu Zixiu standing naked upstairs.

    As it turned out, Li Qingshan had not injured Lu Zixiu at all. Instead, he had ripped off all of his clothes. He was completely nude.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little small.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced down and smirked before looking up again. He just left young master Lu there, naked.

    Lu Zixiu¡¯s fair complexion turned beet-red. Suddenly, he let out a hysterical cry and leapt out of the window. What happened today would definitely haunt him for the rest of his life.

    ¡°Lady Xian¡¯er!¡±

    Everyone noticed Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s appearance. Tie Xiong¡¯s face darkened. How bold of this Hu Xian¡¯er, actually still brave enough to come out. Beautiful women truly are the roots of trouble!

    Li Qingshan glanced at Hu Xian¡¯er before gesturing towards a young man in black. ¡°Tell me, why does she want to oppose me?¡±

    ¡°Demon, I don¡¯t know anything! You might as well just kill me!¡±

    The young man gritted his teeth. He would rather die than be humiliated like that.

    ¡°Hero king, you don¡¯t need to interrogate anyone else. You¡¯re more than welcome to ask me yourself!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er drifted over with a trailing, long dress, arriving before Li Qingshan. She glanced at the leader of the Five Poisons cult beneath the table from the corner of her eye, which made her blank out for a moment.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms and studied her. He felt a sense of familiarity.

    ¡°I announced to the world that I am willing to marry anyone who claims your life, regardless of their age or status, whether they have a partner or not, and serve him for the rest of his life.¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er held her head high as if she was about to directly confront the problems of the world for the greater good. She gave off a holy and noble bearing, which immediately touched everyone present. However, it also put her graceful figure on full display, which might have been intentional.

    ¡°Hah, enemies are just bound to meet!¡± Only now did Li Qingshan learn the full story. He circled around Hu Xian¡¯er and studied her. ¡°Yep, yep. Your appearance is not bad, and your figure is nice as well. Your martial arts are so-so too. Apart from being a little resentful, everything is up to standard!¡±

    Resentful!

    Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s heart lurched. Never had a man labelled her like that, which made her feel completely seen through. Fortunately, he did not have any killing intent. He was not as vicious as the rumours described him to be.

    As long as there was lust, everything would be easy.

    She sucked in a deep breath. ¡°Hero king, you¡¯re welcome to do anything you want to me, whether you want to torture me or kill me. I definitely won¡¯t put up any resistance. Please, just spare the entire parlour of innocent people.¡±

    She touched the entire parlour with those words, which they also found to be shameful and unbearable. They were proper men, yet they needed a woman to protect them? What kind of men were they? They all drew their weapons, ready to throw their lives at Li Qingshan!

    ¡°Don¡¯t be rash, everyone! I¡¯m not worth all of this!¡± She called out loudly as she thought inside, Bunch of fools, time to send yourselves to your deaths!

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. There was no one else in his eyes apart from her. He said to Hu Xian¡¯er, ¡°You sure are vicious.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, hero king.¡±

    Abruptly, Hu Xian¡¯er widened her eyes as intense pain filled her belly. Li Qingshan had punched her in the stomach. He smiled. ¡°Do you understand now?¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er slowly knelt down on the ground. She never expected him to actually hit him.

    Everyone widened their eyes. They never thought a man could bring himself to do that.

    ¡°Sorry, I couldn¡¯t hold in that punch. You reminded me of an annoying woman, but I think you can still be saved. You¡¯re only in need of someone to teach you a few lessons.¡± Li Qingshan lifted her pointy chin. ¡°You want to deal with me, but not only will I spare you, I¡¯ll even give you tremendous benefits too. I want to make you become the great beauty of the Salvation temple, making up for the missing spot from the Ma family. Then I¡¯ll accept you. How¡¯s that?¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er was completely speechless, almost to the point where she forgot about the pain. What tremendous benefits? What was the great beauty of the Salvation temple supposed to be?

    Tie Xiong¡¯s mind was a mess. What was going on? Had he ventured down south for this alone?

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Lady Xian¡¯er¡¯s virtues truly leave this lowly monk in admiration.¡±

    ¡°To think the mighty hero king would harass a woman like this. How despicable.¡±

    With a solemn and bitter mentioning of the buddha¡¯s name, a buddhist monk and a daoist priest stepped into the parlour. They were the Suffering Subduing abbot and the leader of the Abstruse temple.

    After a series of discussions, the martial arts alliance decided to sit back and wait for Li Qingshan to come to them, except for the fact that they were completely helpless if that actually happened.

    Others could have stayed put, but they could not. If their enemy was within arms reach and they still avoided him like the plague, would they still have any sense of pride to roam the jianghu?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°So there¡¯s actually people bold enough to come and make trouble!¡±

    The Suffering Subduing abbot said, ¡°If I don¡¯t enter hell, who enters hell?¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple said, ¡°Li Qingshan, did my senior brother die by your hand? The grievance involving the Tiger Subduing master must be resolved too!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed the back of his head. ¡°Who are you even talking about? Speaking of which, who are you?¡±

    ¡°My king¡­¡± Tie Xiong suddenly spoke up and explained the full story before introducing the two of them. Afterwards, he let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Why did you come?¡±

    Li Qingshan realised what was going on now, only to ask the leader of the Abstruse temple, ¡°You should have one of the Ten Great Beauties too, right?¡±

 Chapter 1194

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1194 ¨C Vixen

    ¡°Demon!¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple went on about grievances, but Li Qingshan went on about women with him, which left him furious.

    ¡°Look at how furious you are. Your senior brother asked to die himself. I gave him so many benefits, only for him to turn around and try to screw me over. He¡¯s basically an insatiable dog. And with you, you monk, your junior brother was technically an ascetic, yet he still fucking spouts dirty curses. Has he ever heard of the precept to abstain from curses? If I didn¡¯t punish him in place of the buddha, how can I still regard myself as a secular disciple of buddhism?¡±

    Then Li Qingshant lifted up Hu Xian¡¯er and said to the Suffering Subduing abbot, ¡°You¡¯re the abbot, yet you don¡¯t even ensure your disciples adhere to the precepts strictly. That alone is punishable by death, but you still praise her virtues? As long as you accept her as a disciple and make her one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World, I¡¯ll spare you life. And you. Hurry up and offer up that whoever, or you¡¯ll have to die as well.¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er shut her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was a weeping beauty, truly a sight that incurred sympathy.

    ¡°Demon, release lady Xian¡¯er!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get him!¡±

    The young masters and young heroes were furious. With these two seniors of the martial arts community around to support them, they immediately became much bolder.

    Li Qingshan smacked the back of her head. ¡°Fake crying!¡±

    Even more tears poured out as Hu Xian¡¯er choked through her sobs, ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    It had already been many years since someone treated her like that, so she felt extremely aggrieved inside. On top of that, she discovered this man was not someone she could control, so she felt slightly afraid as well.

    ¡°Then keep it in!¡±

    Li Qingshan shot her a glance, and Hu Xian¡¯er immediately lost the courage to keep crying. With her lips pursed, she looked at Li Qingshan pitifully.

    ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Today is a day of great joy for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed the back of her head with a smile. Hu Xian¡¯er lowered her head and fell silent.

    ¡°Die, demon!¡±

    Right when the young masters and young heroes were about to run out of patience, the Suffering Subduing abbot assumed a horse stance and extended both arms, erupting with a great bellow that sounded like a booming bell. His voice reached several kilometers away as a golden light slammed into Li Qingshan.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Lion¡¯s Roar!¡±

    This roar could directly shake the enemy to death. The Seven Demons of Yan Mountain had died to this move. It was known as ¡°Seven Demons Perishing in a Roar¡±.

    But it only made Li Qingshan shake his head. ¡°More like a dog¡¯s bark!¡±

    From the corner of his eye, he saw Hu Xian¡¯er clutching her ears with a face full of pain, which left him wondering. He did not use her as a meat shield. She was merely affected by some of the collateral damage, so she should not have been like this!

    Then he glanced down. There seemed to be something moving around under her fiery-red dress, like a great tail. He lowered his head and sniffed her neck forcefully. Through the thick perfumes and the faint body fragrance, he actually caught a hint of a daemon qi. ¡°That¡¯s strange!¡±

    She had not undergone the heavenly tribulation, so why could she transform?

    And after transforming, it was impossible for her fox tail to simply appear unless she was unable to maintain the entire form. However, he soon understood everything. This Hu Xian¡¯er was probably the same as Gu Yanying, a cross between a human and daemon. Fox daemons were naturally skilled with charms and illusions, so she had not truly transformed.

    ¡°So you¡¯re a vixen!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er shuddered and turned pale. She hid her tail in a hurry.

    Everyone only felt like Li Qingshan was out of his mind. How dare he still tear and molest lady Xian¡¯er at a time like this? However, they could not help but feel he was truly worthy of his title of hero king. He could remain so composed even when facing two great masters of the current age.

    At this exact moment, a flash of lightning illuminated the entire Myriad Flower parlour. The leader of the Abstruse temple let out a bellow and performed a series of ritualistic daoist gestures, unleashing the Abstruse temple¡¯s supreme art, the Palm Style of Five Lightnings. Electricity arced between his two hands, hissing and crackling loudly.

    ¡°Hah!¡± The Suffering Subduing monk destroyed his kasaya with a shudder, revealing a body rippling with muscle. He seemed to be gilded with gold.

    However, Li Qingshan did not even look at them. He said to Hu Xian¡¯er, ¡°I said you¡¯re a vixen!¡±

    In the ears of others, they thought he was flirting with her, but Hu Xian¡¯er was dejected. She knew he had seen through her, but she was too afraid to rebuke him at the same time. Her lips trembled as she communicated secretly, Since you already know I¡¯m not some beauty, why won¡¯t you let me go, king?

    ¡°Haha, I for one think I¡¯ve made the right choice in coming here today.¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er saw no disgust on his face at all. Instead, his round eyes shone with interest, which captivated her slightly. Was there really a man who did not care about her identity?

    The Suffering Subduing abbot rose up from the ground, smashing apart the floorboards and throwing out a string of prayer beads. They turned into golden specks and whistled over.

    The string of ?ar¨©ra prayer beads amounted to a hundred and eight in total. It was refined from the ?ar¨©ra left behind by the past monks of the Salvation temple. Not only did it possess startling might, able to pierce rock and metal, but it could even freely change its trajectory mid-air, making it undodgeable. Who knew how many demons had died to it throughout history.

    The leader of the Abstruse temple waved his arms around and wielded the lightning, arriving beneath Li Qingshan with a flash. They wanted to hit him with a pincer attack from above and below.

    ¡°Hero king, just release me first! I¡¯ll only drag you down like this!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er said frantically.

    Looking at the lightning and prayer beads from afar filled her with more fear than she had ever experienced in her life. If they hit her, even if it was not the full brunt of the attack, she would probably revert to her true form.

    ¡°If these two pieces of trash can even touch a hair on you, I¡¯ll write my surname backwards.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze pierced the thick floorboards as he pressed down with his right hand.

    The leader of the Abstruse temple was about to unleash the lightning when his right hand suddenly became immobilised, frozen mid-air. The lightning exploded in his hand.

    ¡°Lightning is not that easy to play around with!¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple suffered from the same problem as Xue Hanfeng. They both tried to use their ultimate move to finish him off instantly, pushing the might of the technique to the limit regardless of the consequences. On top of that, lightning was powerful, but it was inherently the most difficult to control. Having been momentarily affected by the ability, it immediately lost control and made him suffer a backlash.

    Then Li Qingshan looked at the incoming prayer beads. ¡°It¡¯s merely a set of subpar spiritual artifacts!¡±

    Right when he was about to counter it, there was a gust of wind from behind. The leader of the Five Poisons cult, who had remained on the floor the entire time, suddenly leapt to his feet, producing a strange croak that resembled a toad¡¯s. Surging true qi condensed into a scorpion¡¯s tail that shot towards Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    ¡°The Demonic Arts of Five Poisons!¡±

    Tie Xiong paled in fright. He had participated in the expedition against the Five Poisons cult, but he never managed to recognise that the old man on the ground was actually the leader of the Five Poisons cult.

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult had suffered an absolute beating at Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, such that his face was black and blue. He had even lost all of his teeth, truly beaten to a point where even his mother would not be able to recognize him. On top of that, who would have thought a great demon who once rampaged through the world would curl up under a table like a dog? He carefully hid his face from view too. If Hu Xian¡¯er had not been thinking about him the entire time, she definitely would not have recognised him either.

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult was at the tenth layer of the innate realm, so his current cultivation surpassed even Li Qingshan¡¯s. He had broken free from the seals on his acupoints a long time ago, but after learning Li Qingshan¡¯s identity, he did not have the courage to act rashly. He lay on the ground the entire time. He waited until an opportunity arrived and was about to flee immediately.

    But for some reason, when he recalled the beating, it filled him with resentment, leading him to launch this lethal strike.

    He did not even stick around to see how his move would pan out. He unleashed his ultimate movement technique, the Centipede¡¯s Walk, and fled from the parlour.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, this is what you get for disrespecting me!¡±

    ¡°I almost forgot about you! Get back here!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached out without even looking back, and the leader of the Five Absolutes cult halted. Power of belief turned into a huge hand, pulling him back and bringing him in front of Li Qingshan as a shield.

    The leader of the Five Absolutes cult widened his eyes. Golden light glistened in his eyes as the prayer beads filled them.

    He could only power the Demonic Arts of Five Poisons with everything that he had, releasing his true qi externally in defence.

    However, how could his frantic actions contend against a full-powered strike from the Suffering Subduing abbot?

    In an instant, his protective true qi shattered, and the one hundred and eight prayer beads slammed into his body.

 Chapter 1195

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1195 ¨C All Creatures Are Equal, I Stand Above the Buddha

    Smack! Splatter! Smack! Splat!

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult splattered with blood. A dark, sticky, green fluid landed on the floorboards and led to a hiss, producing acrid white smoke.

    Li Qingshan smiled. No wonder his face was a dark green. As it turned out, he had refined his blood into poison, turning himself into a poison man. He could kill people with a mere touch. However, the prayer beads were soaked in the poisonous blood now, so they were probably quite damaged too.

    For a mere Qi Practitioner to be able to control so many spiritual artifacts, the Suffering Subduing abbot must have refined them into lifebound artifacts. While this did allow him to unleash alarming strength, the backlash he faced would be quite terrifying if it was destroyed.

    Sure enough, the Suffering Subduing monk¡¯s expression changed drastically. His complexion went from golden to red as blood spurted from his mouth violently, reaching several meters away. The golden colour on him faded away too, returning to a normal shade. He pointed at Li Qingshan, unwilling to accept this. ¡°You-¡±

    Afterwards, he collapsed on the ground and fainted.

    The leader of the Abstruse temple was charred black, laying downstairs motionlessly.

    Li Qingshan tossed the half-dead leader of the Five Poisons cult aside.

    The entire parlour fell silent. Everyone looked at Li Qingshan like they were looking at a monster. In the blink of an eye, three orthodox and unorthodox masters had been defeated at his hand. It was basically as easy and simple as a game to him.

    Actually, he had only taken action properly a total of two times. The Suffering Subduing abbot and the leader of the Abstruse temple were both heavily injured by the backlash of their attacks, but in the eyes of others, Li Qingshan¡¯s abilities were almost god-like.

    Hu Xian¡¯er eyes widened even more. Suddenly, Li Qingshan smiled and lowered his head, kissing her deeply on his lips. He pried open her lips recklessly and savoured her tongue.

    Hu Xian¡¯er shut her eyes with a gentle moan and stopped putting up any resistance like she had accepted her fate. Her face became enchantingly flushed.

    The young heroes and young masters throughout the parlour were absolutely devastated, but none of them dared to say anything.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Are you going to agree with what I proposed earlier?¡± Then he said softly, ¡°If you keep posing around like before, I¡¯m going to expose your fox tail.¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er lowered her head and let out a soft, almost inaudible, ¡°alright¡±.

    ¡°Good.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He ordered Tie Xiong to bring the leader of the Abstruse Temple and the Suffering Subduing abbot over.

    None of them had died. Backlash from their own techniques and lifebound spiritual artifacts were not lethal. Instead, the leader of the Five Poisons cult suffered the heaviest injuries. He was on the brink of death.

    The leader of the Abstruse temple and the Suffering Subduing abbot both recovered their consciousness, glaring at Li Qingshan furiously.

    Li Qingshan kicked the leader of the Five Poisons cult on the ground. ¡°Hey, stop playing dead. Tell me about what you want now! Speaking of which, what were you thinking when you attacked me again? Just because you¡¯re old doesn¡¯t make you immortal. Are you sick of living?¡±

    He was restrained by the world, so his reaction time was very slow. If it were not for the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End that had blocked the scorpion¡¯s tail, he would have almost been hit. His life would not have exactly been in danger, but it was embarrassing, and it would give others a feeling of surrealism, that he was not undefeatable.

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult snorted. ¡°Please spare my life, hero king. I- This one had a momentary lapse in judgement. I¡¯m willing to join the World¡¯s society and serve the hero king like a dog!¡±

    Tie Xiong said, ¡°My king, you must not! The leader of the Five Poisons cult is vicious and cruel. He loves killing the innocent. If he joins the World¡¯s society, he¡¯ll definitely damage your reputation!¡±

    Li Qingshan said casually, ¡°Then kill him!¡±

    ¡°Oh? What big thing?¡± Li Qingshan was curious. He noticed a tremble from Hu Xian¡¯er in his arms.

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult said viciously, ¡°I wanted to poison all of the brats in the parlour to death!¡±

    With that, the entire parlour was thrown into an uproar.

    If Li Qingshan had not appeared out of nowhere, who could still be the leader of the Five Poisons cult¡¯s opponent? All of them probably would have fallen for his scheme.

    ¡°How vicious!¡± Tie Xiong gasped. Originally, he thought he was down on his luck by running into Li Qingshan, but looking at it now, probably his life would have been in danger too if Li Qingshan had not been here.

    The leader of the Abstruse temple and the Suffering Subduing abbot exchanged glances, both filled with shock. They directed all of their attention to Li Qingshan, only to forget about the other demons. However, he had remained in hiding the entire time, so how did he know what was going on in Xuanwu city?

    ¡°Tsk, and that¡¯s supposed to be something big? If you said you¡¯ll poison everyone attending the martial arts gathering to death, I might respect you a bit, but what¡¯s so impressive about harassing a bunch of brats? You can die!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand, about to slam down with it.

    The leader of the Five Poisons cult called out, ¡°My dear girl, save me!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er trembled all over. She lowered her head and said nothing.

    ¡°All of this was your plan. If you hadn¡¯t lured me here, why would I be in so much trouble? You have a powerful ally now, yet you won¡¯t even speak for me?¡±

    ¡°What!¡±

    Everyone paled in fright. Their gazes all gathered on Hu Xian¡¯er, filled with disbelief.

    ¡°Heh, I knew you were up to no good.¡± Li Qingshan smacked the back of her head again and kicked the leader of the Five Poisons cult to death. ¡°Don¡¯t make friends with such a bad person again.¡±

    ¡°This can¡¯t be true, lady Xian¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Yes, it was me. I did it to avenge my mother. Everyone from the martial arts alliance deserves to die!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s face was filled with resentment.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you¡¯re the successor of the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance?¡± The Suffering Subduing abbot realised what was going on. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Madam Hu, your mother used her illusions to kick up who knew how many chaotic slaughters. She deserved death. And sir Li, you call yourself the hero king, yet you have no idea that your actions have thrown the world into chaos. You have no idea how many people have lost their families because of you.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, my deeds are just like the buddhas. Aren¡¯t I making sure that all living creatures are equal? No, I stand even higher than the buddha. The buddha only mentioned it, but I¡¯m going to achieve true equality and make it so that everyone in the world has the opportunity to learn supreme martial arts. I¡¯ll overthrow and bring ruin to all of the pretentious, oppressive clans and sects and bring these little brats that have been born into nobility back down to earth. I¡¯ll make them compete with their servants. That¡¯s right, I want to throw the world into chaos!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly, without any faith in a higher being.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Sir, your demonic nature is so deep that even the buddha cannot save you. When you are alive, you will be submerged in the sea of suffering. When you die, you will fall into hell, never to be reborn again.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell, you can¡¯t beat me in an argument, so you start cursing me. You can¡¯t bring me salvation, so you just find someone else to do that!¡± Li Qingshan crouched down and patted his bald head. He pointed at Hu Xian¡¯er beside him. ¡°Look at how wicked she is. She¡¯s in need of guidance from the buddhist dharma, so hurry up and accept her as a disciple so I can spare your life!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s expression was strange. At the end of the day, everything he did was still for the sake of this. She suddenly smiled. ¡°Suffering Subduing abbot, I¡¯m willing to join the Salvation temple and listen to the wondrous teachings of the buddha daily.¡±

    One of the Ten Great Beauties of the World. That was a title even her mother had never received.

    The Suffering Subduing abbot simply shut his eyes and said nothing.

 Chapter 1196

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1196 ¨C A Gamble on the Chessboard, a Wager of Beauties

    Li Qingshan stood up and shrugged. He lifted his right foot, about to step down on the bald head.

    ¡°Please give me a moment, my king,¡± said Tie Xiong.

    ¡°A moment for what?¡±

    ¡°The Suffering Subduing monk has spent a life preaching benevolence. He¡¯s not just a renowned senior of the martial arts community. He also holds a supreme status in the hearts of all buddhist disciples. If you kill him here, it¡¯ll probably make even more enemies for the World¡¯s society.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying that he can kill me, but I can¡¯t kill him?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank slightly, which covered Tie Xiong in cold sweat.

    Tie Xiong said reluctantly, ¡°Who can stop the king in his domination? However, killing him brings no benefit, so why kill him at all? I can try and persuade the master again. He might change his mind after a few days.¡±

    ¡°Alright, in consideration of the fact that he¡¯s spent a life preaching benevolence, I¡¯ll give you four days. By then, if he still refuses to change his mind, I¡¯ll kill him even if all the buddhist disciples in the world are standing in front of me!¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled back his foot, and Tie Xiong eased up. He helped up the Suffering Subduing abbot in a hurry and channelled true qi into him to heal him. The Suffering Subduing abbot nodded his head in thanks.

    Li Qingshan let them be. It was impossible for him to recover from his wounds in a few days. Since the monk still wanted to live, it was not impossible for him to change his mind. Then he turned to the leader of the Abstruse temple. ¡°Your turn.¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple was quite injured and reeked of a charred smell. The backlash from the lightning had not been light on him. Before he came, he was already aware that this battle would end in defeat, but he never expected to lose in such a horrible manner.

    Li Qingshan asked Hu Xian¡¯er, ¡°What¡¯s the beauty of the Abstruse temple called?¡±

    ¡°Yang Miaozhen, but she¡¯s also known as fairy Miaozhen. Aren¡¯t I enough?¡± Hu Xian¡¯er lowered her head and grumbled in a flirtatious manner.

    ¡°Heh, save it. We haven¡¯t even known each other for an hour, so what¡¯re you acting smitten for? Of course, you aren¡¯t enough. I¡¯m trying to gather all ten beauties of the world. Speaking of which, you¡¯re not even one of the Ten Great Beauties of the World yet, so just stay out of my way!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not sound like he was going after beauties. Instead, he was more like a child stubbornly trying to collect a set of cards, and he was not attached at all to Hu Xian¡¯er who never belonged to the set in the first place.

    Hu Xian¡¯er pouted. What a strange person!

    Li Qingshan said to the leader of the Abstruse temple, ¡°Ox nose, offer up Yang Miaozhen in exchange for your life!¡±

    ¡°Demon, keep dreaming!¡± the leader of the Abstruse temple said. Li Qingshan immediately lifted his foot and pointed at Tie Xiong. ¡°You shut up!¡±

    Tie Xiong was about to speak up to try and convince him otherwise. Now, he could only remain silent.

    ¡°Look at how clever the master beside you was, saying nothing at all. All those who drown are people who know how to swim, while all those who are beaten to death are mouthy and defiant! Time for you to die!¡±

    ¡°Hero king, I¡¯m right here, so please spare him!¡±

    A female daoist priest with a special head ornament walked in from outside. She was completely calm with a tall and slender stature. She wore no makeup at all, and her footsteps were graceful like those of a crane¡¯s. She seemed extremely elegant.

    ¡°Oh, another one!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. In less than two days, he had already obtained three of the ten beauties. He had been making rapid progress.

    Yang Miaozhen climbed up the stairs step by step in a completely composed manner. She bowed towards Li Qingshan and the leader of the Abstruse temple individually as if she could not see the leader of the Abstruse temple¡¯s horrible state at all.

    ¡°Alright, so you¡¯ve come in exchange for the ox nose¡¯s life!¡± Li Qingshan questioned.

    ¡°Miaozhen, you must not! I¡¯d rather die than that!¡± the leader of the Abstruse temple said.

    Yang Miaozhen shook her head gently. ¡°I haven¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ve come to collect his corpse!¡±

    ¡°Not that either. I want to play a match with the king.¡±

    ¡°Chess?¡±

    ¡°The Myriad Flower pavilion is a place of graceful interests. Lady Hu Xian¡¯er and I often compete in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting here. It would be difficult to determine who is better when it comes to zither, chess, and calligraphy, so all we can do is clash on the chessboard. If I am victorious, please release him immediately. If I am defeated, then I will belong to you from here on out, without any regrets.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen remained calm and indifferent regardless of what she mentioned, even when it was her own fate.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°As long as I reach out, do you think you can still escape? Why should I play chess?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s easy to overwhelm people by force, but it¡¯s difficult to win people over by virtue. I heard the king go on about his great cause outside earlier, which filled me with admiration, almost tempted to join you. However, all of my cultivation comes from the Abstruse temple, so how can I just leave like that? I have to do something for the temple at the very least. I¡¯m sure you are a man of virtue, and you won¡¯t disappoint me. If you aren¡¯t familiar with chess, you¡¯re welcome to have lady Hu Xian¡¯er take your place. She possesses renown when it comes to chess.¡± Yang Miaozhen explained patiently in a confident and humble manner. However, her behaviour only aroused a greater masculine desire to conquer her.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You sure know how to talk. If I win against you, I probably won¡¯t kill anyone because I¡¯ll be in a good mood, so you save this ox nose¡¯s life regardless of the outcome, and you¡¯ve even earned yourself a chance at victory.¡±

    ¡°Your wit far surpasses mine. Your ability with chess must be beyond mine as well.¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er said softly, ¡°Be careful, my king. My ability with ches¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan finished off all the alcohol in his jug first before sweeping aside everything on the table. ¡°Bring a chess board!¡±

    A while later, the maidservant in green carried a chessboard over. She threw herself into Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s arms. ¡°Big sister!¡±

    ¡°This is your younger sister?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°Yes, my king.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±

    ¡°Hu Ling¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°Take good care of her. If I accidentally kill a beauty, at least I have a backup.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen¡¯s eyes rippled, and Li Qingshan sneered inside. She was not as composed as she seemed on the surface!

    The two of them sat before each other. Originally, they were supposed to guess the colour of the piece to determine who went first. Yang Miaozhen said, ¡°Your ability with chess must be absolutely exceptional, so could I be permitted to move first and take black?¡±

    ¡°Whatever you want! I haven¡¯t played a lot before, but it¡¯s more than enough to win against you.¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple lay on the ground and sneered inside. What bold words, demon! You have no idea just how great Miaozhen is at chess!

    Chess was different from martial arts. It placed an extremely great emphasis on talent and disposition. Yang Miaozhen naturally preferred being alone. She had no interest in martial arts. The only thing she had apart from cultivation was playing chess, which she was almost obsessed with. When she was thirteen, she defeated the leader of the Abstruse temple. By the time she was fifteen, she had never lost again.

    At this moment, a great gust of wind rushed into the parlour. A young lady arrived, directly entering the second floor through a window. She clasped her hands. ¡°Hero king, big sister Yang, could I take part in this wager too?¡±

    ¡°You are?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I am Zhang Xuanfeng of the Divine Wind sect, and I also happen to be one of the ten great beauties.¡±

    Zhang Xuanfeng had changed into a set of man¡¯s clothes, so she radiated with a sense of valiance. However, she felt extremely wry inside. She had not come willingly.

    A moment earlier, she had tried to flee from the city, to get as far from Li Qingshan as possible, only to be caught in the act by Zhang Yuntian. Afterwards, she was sent here as the wager.

    ¡°Oh? What do you want in exchange then?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Everything was as easy as it could get.

    ¡°I want you to put your blade up as a wager!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian stood on the inner city walls in the distance and gazed in the direction of the Myriad Flower parlour. From the information he had received, Li Qingshan did not possess such great power before he obtained the blade. It took him a bloody battle before he managed to take Pegasus city.

    ¡°Xuanfeng, you cannot blame me for my heartlessness. This has to do with the fate of the entire martial arts alliance. Since Li Qingshan wants to collect the Ten Great Beauties of the World, staying alive definitely won¡¯t be too difficult with how clever you are.¡±

    Master, I curse you to a horrible death! With a smile on her face, Zhang Xuanfeng cursed Zhang Yuntian a thousand times.

 Chapter 1197

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1197 ¨C Martial Arts and Practising Qi, a Prisoner of Solitude

    A streak of red light rushed into the air, ripping through the dark night. Murderousness swept out like furious gales.

    Zhang Yuntian¡¯s expression changed. That was from the Myriad Flower parlour¡¯s direction. Had he run out of patience and turned against them? However, even when two supreme masters ventured inside earlier, something like this had not happened, so how did Zhang Xuanfeng anger him?

    Li Qingshan had not been angered. What had been angered was the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower. The murderousness she erupted with immediately turned the Myriad Flower parlour into an asura battlefield.

    Everyone paled in shock. Some of them even wailed out in fear.

    Yang Miaozhen could not maintain her composure either. She felt like an army was roaring through her head. Her body shook uncontrollably like a fallen leaf in the wind.

    Many of the young masters and young heroes in the parlour hid beneath the tablets, unable to endure the terrifying murderousness.

    Zhang Xuanfeng¡¯s face paled. She could not help but take a step back, falling back on her bottom.

    Li Qingshan reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of the blade. ¡°C¡¯mon, don¡¯t be so agitated!¡± Only then did the violent murderousness ease up slightly. He said to Zhang Xuanfeng, ¡°Little girl, you¡¯re still not worthy enough to make me put my blade up as a wager!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m unworthy. Farewell. Sister Yang, take care.¡± Zhang Xuanfeng leapt up, about to turn around and flee.

    ¡°Stop right there. You¡¯ve even said such immensely ignorant and arrogant words, and you think you can just leave?¡± The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled up. ¡°You¡¯re not enough to make me wager my blade, but look. There¡¯s a monk here, the Suffering Subduing master of the Salvation temple. If you can win him over, he¡¯ll definitely thank you properly. C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon, there¡¯ll be no room for regret in this! It¡¯s too late for any regret anyway.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Zhang Xuanfeng turned around unhappily and made her way over to Yang Miaozhen¡¯s side slowly.

    The Suffering Subduing abbot brought his palms together. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Thank you for coming to save this lowly monk, lady Zhang.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite, master. This is something I should do.¡± Who the hell would want to save an old monk like you? Then Zhang Xuanfeng said, ¡°Hero king, why don¡¯t we make this game of chess public, so the entire city can witness your extraordinary abilities on the chessboard?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re worried I¡¯ll use tricks or go back on my word? Alright, whatever you want!¡±

    A while later, a huge chessboard woven together by cloth hung down from the parlour.

    With a clank, a black piece was placed on the board. Yang Miaozhen actually ended up taking the first move. ¡°Please, hero king! May I ask what the name of the treasured blade on your back is?¡±

    ¡°The Frenzy Flower of Path¡¯s End.¡± Li Qingshan casually made a move.

    ¡°A hero at path¡¯s end. This name might be a little ominous.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen glanced at the board. The move he had taken was not backed by reason or strategy at all. Was he really unskilled at chess? After a slight thought, she began to make moves as she pleased.

    ¡°The blade is a weapon, so why should it be auspicious? Since I am a hero, why should I be afraid of the end of my path?¡±

    Li Qingshan made another casual move, without much thought at all.

    ¡°Well said! May I ask where you¡¯re from and what martial arts you practise, hero king?¡±

    ¡°What I practise isn¡¯t martial arts. Aren¡¯t you no different?¡±

    ¡°So you can tell. I don¡¯t like fighting and killing with others, so I don¡¯t like martial arts. I practise the Scripture of the Grand Profound from daoism.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen¡¯s hand paused slightly as she revealed an expression of surprise. The path he walked was actually the same as hers.

    For the sake of cultivation, she had paid an extremely great price. She had not set a single step out of the Abstruse temple because she completely lacked the ability of self-preservation. Once she entered the jianghu, it was very likely that she could not even match a regular martial arts master that had not reached the innate realm.

    She never took part in the martial arts competitions within the sect either. She did not even have any interest in fighting, even when others mocked her, saying how she possessed all that true qi yet had no idea how to use it. She believed she took a dazzling path, so she also looked down on those competitive martial arts practitioners. She thought of them as a group of wild dogs fighting over food.

    As a result, she was probably the last person to care about Li Qingshan¡¯s infamy. She thought he was a vicious wolf at most until this very moment¡­

    ¡°Your disposition is not bad. It¡¯s suited for cultivation.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her. Under the effect of the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s murderousness, she was basically the one who had recovered the fastest, so her mental composure and disposition was very impressive. Actually, from the moment she set foot in the parlour, he had sensed that her bearing was different from others. It was closer to a cultivator¡¯s than a martial arts practitioner¡¯s.

    There was no clear distinction between practising martial arts and cultivation, but their main goals were drastically different. Martial arts was for triumphing enemies, while practising qi was for longevity. One was about fighting and a clash of guts, while the other was about the cultivation of personal character.

    The path for the latter obviously reached much further, but in this small world, it clearly was not as practical as the former. If they could not even survive the constant battles, how could they focus on longevity? If Yang Miaozhen was not from a great sect like the Abstruse temple, she would have absolutely no right to make a choice like that. She might not even come across a proper method for practising qi.

    He had taught the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi to Xue Bing because her identity gave her the opportunity to not pursue immediate strength in exchange for greater future developments and a greater chance at ascending.

    ¡°I¡¯m just naturally passionless,¡± Yang Miaozhen said. That was what many people had labelled her as.

    ¡°Those who are overly passionate have never been suited for cultivation. The paths of martial arts practitioners will be adorned with splendour and fascination, but the path of cultivation is destined to be lonesome.¡±

    For once, he encountered a cultivator in this small world, which left Li Qingshan impressed. With her talent and disposition, she would definitely have a great future ahead of her if she was born in the nine provinces.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t believe you walked the same path as me originally, but I¡¯m convinced now¡­ But are you lonely, hero king?¡±

    Trapped in this world, even if he could do whatever he pleased, he was still like a prisoner. Separated from Xiao An, even if there were thousands of people cheering him on and admiring him, he still felt solitude.

    Yang Miaozhen let out a smile of surprise. ¡°If I had the ability, I might be the same as you.¡±

    ¡°You will have this ability. At the very least, you¡¯re greater than everyone here. That old man¡¯s life isn¡¯t worth wagering yours. Coincidentally, I said something similar to someone else just last night.¡±

    ¡°Was it first young miss Bing Xue?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±

    ¡°Then what did you give in exchange, hero king?¡±

    ¡°A method of practising qi.¡±

    ¡°A method¡­ of practising qi. Is it similar to the Scripture of the Grand Profound?¡±

    ¡°Recite the Scripture of the Grand Profound. Let¡¯s hear it.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen began reciting after a moment of hesitation, as the Scripture of the Grand Profound was not exactly a great secret to the Abstruse temple. Even outer courtyard disciples could view it freely, but no one ever wanted to practice it.

    Li Qingshan listened along quietly and discovered that it bore some resemblance to the Innate Method of Practising Qi. As a matter of fact, it was even worse than that. At the very least, the Innate Method of Practicing Qi was simple and direct. Everyone who practised it knew what part they were up to, and it could only be regarded as a rudimentary course for cultivators. It was not profound like the Scripture of the Grand Profound, nor did it go on about some great dao ignorantly.

    ¡°Abstract, obscure, and filled with nonsense. It¡¯s complicating things that should be straightforward and simple. Perhaps even the author himself doesn¡¯t really understand it!¡±

    He casually pointed out a few mistakes, and Yang Miaozhen immediately felt enlightened. An innocent light flashed through her eyes. So there was something wrong with the cultivation method! If it were not for the fact that the leader of the Abstruse temple was lying on the floor right beside them, perhaps she would have changed the wager to a cultivation method.

    ¡°If you win, I¡¯ll give you a cultivation method, but unfortunately, you¡¯ve already lost.¡±

    As they spoke, multiple moves were made, and Li Qingshan¡¯s bearing gradually changed. His eyes were no longer bright and lively, instead giving off a sense of depth and tranquillity. That was the gaze of the spirit turtle.

 Chapter 1198

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1198 ¨C Seed

    Yang Miaozhen gazed at the chessboard. Clearly, they had not even reached the midgame, and she possessed a great advantage, having captured a large region of his pieces. On top of that, the white pieces were still all over the place, which seemed extremely scattered and disorderly.

    Zhang Xuanfeng could not help but say, ¡°You can¡¯t cheat us, hero king. Who knows how many people are watching outside.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, let¡¯s just keep going then.¡±

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes and recovered his casual, joking manner again. He picked up a jug of alcohol and poured it into his mouth. He already knew all the possible outcomes of this game.

    He had not played many games in his life. In the beginning, he had made all of his moves blindly, but afterwards, he powered the Spirit Turtle Transformation through the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. Compared to the complexity and depth of formations, predicting and simulating the possible moves of a game of chess was as simple as it could get.

    Yang Miaozhen pondered her moves and continued to cast out pieces, but she was clearly much more cautious now.

    Li Qingshan spent no time thinking at all, responding with casual moves. Having grown bored of the waiting, he asked Zhang Xuanfeng, ¡°Is the master of the Divine Wind sect that leader of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian?¡±

    ¡°Yes, my master.¡±

    ¡°Oh, and he sent you to test me out?¡±

    There was nothing Zhang Xuanfeng could say in response.

    ¡°Your master is a real piece of trash.¡±

    Zhang Xuanfeng expressed deep agreement. She was extremely worried inside. Yang Miaozhen took longer and longer between her moves. She leaned forward slightly too, clearly devoting all of her attention to the game, but her brows became more and more furrowed.

    There seemed to be an invisible force that loomed over the board, such that she could not escape from his schemes no matter how she struggled.

    The game had progressed more than half way now. Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you still don¡¯t admit defeat, you¡¯ll just be dragging out a pointless existence.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen admitted her defeat. She removed the yellow head ornament on her head as a gesture of renouncing asceticism. Her dark hair spilled out.

    ¡°The king¡¯s skill at chess is truly well beyond anything I¡¯ve witnessed in my life. It is my complete and utter defeat. From here onwards, I am yours.¡±

    When she said that, she could not help but blush slightly. She was still a young woman after all.

    ¡°However, I still have an unreasonable request.¡±

    ¡°You want me to release the ox nose.¡±

    ¡°Not that. What right do I have to put forward a request like that? I only hope you can bestow me with a method of practising qi so that I can continue cultivating and help you out in the future.¡± Yang Miaozhen bowed deeply towards the leader of the Abstruse temple. ¡°Temple leader, I¡¯ve been useless. I am unable to save you.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t blame you for this. I hope you can treasure the rest of your life,¡± said the leader of the Abstruse temple.

    ¡°If anyone thinks you¡¯re not familiar with the ways of the world, then they¡¯re absolute fools. Ox nose, you should be glad that you have such a great disciple. I¡¯ll spare your life for today. Go back and think about this carefully. Think about whether you want to lose the Abstruse temple to the tides of time, to have it burned to a crisp, over some personal grievances.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He lifted up the leader of the Abstruse temple and tossed him out the window.

    Over a thousand people were gathered outside the parlour. Someone caught the leader of the Abstruse temple in a hurry and sent him back into the inner city.

    If he did not dish out any punishment, others would only take him for a weak pushover. However, blind slaughter would only lead to even more hatred and resistance, continuing until the situation completely lost control under the effects of the will of the heavens.

    Li Qingshan had no killing intent. He never planned on killing anyone in the first place when he ventured down south. The leader of the Five Poisons cult had run into him himself before basically asking to die again and again. He had served as a good example.

    He arrived on the terrace and called out, ¡°Everyone in the world, listen up! I, Li Qingshan, will definitely change this world! There will be no more noble and lowly statuses, no more classes and oppression, no more sects and clans. Everyone will be able to achieve something with their own hands. If you want to learn supreme martial arts, go to the north!¡±

    His words rushed through the crowd and the city like the hot summer wind. Who didn¡¯t want to learn supreme martial arts? But even for those from clans and sects, how many of them possessed the right to learn supreme martial arts?

    On top of that, the hero king, Li Qingshan, was not a murderous demon king as rumoured. Instead, he had dismantled a great scheme and slain the leader of the Five Poisons cult, saving an entire parlour of people.

    Li Qingshan glanced towards the inner city walls. It was empty. Zhang Yuntian was no longer there.

    He turned around and waved his hand. ¡°You can all go! Don¡¯t forget about what happened here today. How can you only look at the surface when it comes to good and evil?¡±

    As if they had just been spared, the young heroes and young masters all fled from the parlour, but there were a few that bowed towards Li Qingshan and thanked him.

    A seed had already been planted, planted in the very centre of the martial arts community. It would take root and sprout one day until it destroyed the entire martial arts community.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. The world will fall into chaos!¡± The Suffering Subduing abbot sighed.

    ¡°What you share and spread is the ingenious buddhist dharma and happiness in future lives, while what I share and spread is supreme martial arts and immediate strength. You¡¯re welcome to take a look at just who is a little more benevolent.¡±

    ¡°Hero king, I can accept this lady Hu as a disciple, but the ceremony must be held in the grand hall of the Salvation temple.¡± The Suffering Subduing abbot lowered his gaze.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes and smiled. ¡°Now that¡¯s a good monk, but there¡¯s no hurry. Xuanwu city is a city renowned throughout history after all. Since I¡¯m here, how can I leave without taking a tour? Rest up well, master, because you¡¯ll have to take me around the inner city tomorrow.¡±

    That night, Li Qingshan simply stayed in Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s residence, teaching this vixen that was up to no good a proper ¡°lesson¡±.

    Yang Miaozhen visited him quietly, wanting to ask him for the cultivation method. From the corner of her eye, all she saw was a child sitting at the entrance, the same child that usually followed Li Qingshan everywhere. He leaned against his hand in boredom, thinking about something.

    As for Hu Ling¡¯er, she crouched on the other side of the entrance, plugging her ears with both hands with a scarlet face.

    Yang Miaozhen heard the sounds from the room as well, which made her blush and spit in contempt. As soon as she remembered how this would be her fate as well, her heart struggled to remain calm. She left the room in a hurry.

    Zhang Xuanfeng was waiting for her there. ¡°Sister Yang, you¡¯re finally back. Let¡¯s leave quickly while that demon is messing around with the daemoness!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve lost, so how can we leave? If we just leave like this, the king will definitely direct his anger towards the Abstruse temple and the Divine Wind sect.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen never really valued any promises or sects either, but she was still hung up about that cultivation method. And regardless, at least he was a cultivator. No one had ever been able to understand how she felt. She basically felt like she had encountered an oasis in the desert, which only left her even more certain about the path she had taken.

    ¡°Whatever. If you¡¯re not leaving, then I¡¯m leaving. I don¡¯t want to do something like that with a monkey!¡± Zhang Xuanfeng leapt out of the window and rode away on the wind.

    ¡°Monkey?¡± Yang Miaozhen could not help but smile. On second thought, he really was like a monkey, but his bearing would always make her forget about his appearance.

    In the blink of an eye, Zhang Xuanfeng flew back into the room backwards.

    An old man stood outside the window. He said sternly, ¡°Lady Zhang, if the king hears that from you, you¡¯ll be in for a lot of trouble.¡±

    Zhang Xuanfeng was both surprised and furious. ¡°Senior Tie, what¡¯re you doing here instead of keeping an eye on the Suffering Subduing abbot?¡±

    ¡°The king has said that the monk might be able to escape, but he can¡¯t run away with the temple. He¡¯s only told me to watch you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re playing the jackal to the tiger!¡± She was one of the few masters within the younger generation, but she obviously was not the opponent of an old senior like Tie Xiong.

    ¡°You just had to wager yourself, so what¡¯s it got to do with me? Since I¡¯ve joined the World¡¯s society, I should be devoted to my duty. This is for the greater plan of the martial arts community too!¡± Tie Xiong said emotionlessly.

    If Zhang Xuanfeng escaped, Li Qingshan would definitely go to the Divine Wind sect in search of her. The leader of the Divine Wind sect, Zhang Yuntian, was the leader of the marital arts alliance too, so who knew what kind of mess it would lead to in the end. The slightest carelessness would lead to a bloody situation. He had to take the entire situation into consideration and nip a potential danger like this in the bud.

    ¡°What an Iron-faced Judge. Then I won¡¯t leave!¡±

    ps£º Ã÷ÌìÒªÈ¥ÉîÛÚ²Î¼ÓÌÚÑ¶¾Ù°ìµÄÒ»¸öÍøÂçÎÄÑ§·å»á£¬²»È·¶¨»á²»»áÓ°Ïì¸üÐÂ£¬»°Ëµ×òÌìÄÇ¸öµÚÈýÕÂ±¾À´ÊÇÏë´æ¸åµÄ£¬½á¹ûÊÖ¿ì·¢³öÈ¥ÁË£¬ÕæÊÇ±¯¾ç£¡²»¹ýÎÒ¶¼Èý¸üÁË£¬Äã»¹²»Í¶ÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 1199

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1199 ¨C Transformation Grass, Wild Monkey

    Within the curtain of thin silk lit by red candles, Hu Xian¡¯er had completely learnt her lesson. She lay in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms obediently as she gently panted for air. Her fair skin was flushed, and her eyes were blurred. However, the colour of her pupils had become an orangey-yellow, one that belonged to a fox.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hand slid down her smooth, moist back and grabbed the fluffy, fiery-red tail. Her sharp fox ears trembled, and she called out, ¡°Don¡¯t touch my tail!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do exactly that.¡± Li Qingshan grabbed it and played around with it. That was just how forceful and stubborn he was.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you frightened by my appearance, my king?¡± Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s fox ears perked up.

    ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Li Qingshan said.

    She had basically preserved all of her human characteristics perfectly, which added a sense of wildness to her that only made her seem even more charming.

    Hu Xian¡¯er covered her smile. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re basically no different from me, like a great big baboon. You don¡¯t loathe me. I don¡¯t loathe you either.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re like a baboon!¡±

    Not only did Li Qingshan talk back, but he even fought back as well. He grabbed her tail and spanked her bottom, leaving behind a clear palm print.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m already yours, yet you still hit me!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er felt wronged. All the men she previously met in her life had treated her politely, yet this man in particular would hit her without hesitation. He did not know how to cherish women at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m hitting you for your own good, to fix the fact that you¡¯re always cooking up something bad,¡± Li Qingshan said without any sincerity at all as he yawned, resting his head against her thigh.

    ¡°How am I always cooking up something bad? I¡¯m doing this to avenge my mother.¡± Hu Xian¡¯er immediately straightened herself out, which made her chest jiggle.

    ¡°Your mother is the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance! Didn¡¯t you hear what the monk said? Your mother threw the martial arts community into chaos. She deserved to die.¡±

    ¡°It was clearly those men that were lustful and killed one another. How is it my mother¡¯s fault?¡± Hu Xian¡¯er bit her lip as her chest heaved.

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re saying your mother didn¡¯t instigate them at all? Do you really think I don¡¯t know what daemons are like? She¡¯s dead anyway, so why still be so caught up with her?¡±

    Li Qingshan could easily imagine what a fox daemon that was not bound by human laws and morals could do. Let alone her promiscuity, making a group of foolish men fight over her was something that even a regular woman would consider, much less a fox daemon that knew how to use illusions.

    Making a group of second-choices go at one another¡¯s throats¡ªwas that not throwing the martial arts community into chaos?

    ¡°My mother¡¯s illusions were unrivalled in the world. If she had not been sold out, why would she have died?¡± Hu Xian¡¯er was gloomy.

    ¡°She was sold out by your father?¡±

    ¡°How did you know!?¡±

    ¡°Otherwise, it won¡¯t be selling out. She toyed with the emotions of others, only to have her own emotions toyed with in the end. You can call that retribution. Hehe, speaking of which, I can¡¯t really blame your father! If I was going at it and suddenly discovered I was in bed with a fox, I¡¯d definitely be angry enough to kill too.¡± Even Li Qingshan felt disgusted by the thought of it.

    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. My mother once ingested a stalk of Transformation grass. She¡¯s no different from a human. It¡¯s just that she accidentally revealed her original form afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Transformation grass!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Do you have any more?¡±

    He could not help but admit he was truly becoming more and more monkey-like with the rapid progress of the Ape Demon Transformation, such that he seemed more like a monkey than someone turning into one. He personally did not mind, but if he continued to transform like this, people would definitely think he was a daemon like the White Ape King. Under the influence of the will of the heavens, it would definitely turn into repulsion and rejection, which was detrimental to his process of conquering the world.

    ¡°Of course I do, but you have to admit that my mother didn¡¯t deserve to die!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er persisted.

    Li Qingshan shot a vicious glance at her. ¡°I think you¡¯re in need of another lesson!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er grumbled sadly, ¡°Sigh, can¡¯t you treat me a little better? Alright then, I¡¯ll tell you. My mother specially left two stalks of Transformation grass for my sister and me, along with all of the treasure she had accumulated across her life. It was all taken away by that man. Transformation grass is useless on humans, so it probably still remains.¡±

    ¡°Alright, once we go to the Salvation temple, we¡¯ll go and find the Transformation grass immediately and butcher that fickle and faithless father of yours in the process too to avenge your mother. How¡¯s that? Am I treating you well enough?¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s fantastic!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er threw herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. She held her face. ¡°My king, I¡¯m already yours, so you better not sell me out.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. How can I sell you out? It¡¯s not like you¡¯re worth much anyway.¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s eyebrows arched up in anger. She was tempted to bite him.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud and rolled over on top of her. ¡°With how vast the world is and how boundless the universe is, we are bound to part one day. Let¡¯s have some fun in the moment. At least that way, our meeting wasn¡¯t in vain!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er let out a gentle moan, accepting his intrusion and contact. She gazed at his monkeyish face that seemed rather funny and thought to herself, I know you won¡¯t sell me out, as it¡¯s not something you¡¯ll even bother with. You¡¯ve never taken me seriously, just as a game that you were carried away with in the moment. You even scolded me and harassed me¡­ If I said I¡¯ve fallen in love with you, you¡¯ll probably just laugh at me for posing around again!

    ¡­¡­

    On the snow mountain, Xue Bing meditated in silence, converting the Blizzard true qi into Gui Water true qi.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s words seemed to bear some kind of magic. The Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi flowed through her head flawlessly.

    This cultivation method could not be regarded as some divine art or secret manual, but it did come from a world of cultivators. It had been refined and summarised by thousands of generations of people, so it was a perfect balance of difficulty and speed. It did not have a particularly harsh requirement on the cultivator¡¯s talent, so it could be regarded as one of the most universal cultivation methods.

    From a certain perspective, it was even more precious than the Arts of the Boundless Ocean that Li Qingshan had once practised. At the very least, it was much more suited to this world.

    During the day, she had discussed this with her father. Xue Hanfeng was left sighing in amazement. He said the cultivation method¡¯s offensive power was not as great as the Blizzard Sword Style, but it progressed step by step and accumulated strength over time, conforming with the characteristics of water. It provided a greater chance of reaching the tenth layer of the innate realm and shattering through space.

    The techniques that came with it were extremely special and ingenious too. If they were used appropriately, they might be even more powerful than martial arts. If it were not for the fact that his Blizzard true qi was close to completion, he definitely would have switched over to this cultivation method too.

    However, she voiced her worries, which was the deal that Li Qingshan had forced on her.

    Han Xuefeng could only sigh about that. ¡°As your father, I¡¯ve been useless. I¡¯ve failed to protect you. Whether you practise that cultivation method is completely up to you. However, in my opinion, the hero king is a relaxed and joy-seeking man, but he¡¯s not a man blinded by lust. If you vehemently refuse to submit to him, he probably won¡¯t force himself on you. You can still marry your senior brother. Haven¡¯t you always liked him?¡±

    Marry my senior brother?

    No, the purpose of my life definitely is not to get married and give birth to the next leader of the Snow Mountain sect. I¡¯m more important than the Snow Mountain sect!

    That was the belief that the man had indoctrinated in her. Speaking of which, the Snow Mountain sect no longer existed.

    As a result, she began practising the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi resolutely, completely converting her true qi into Gui Water true qi. Afterwards, she could not help but think, Am I putting myself up for the deal? I wonder when he¡¯s going to come and settle everything. What am I supposed to do when that happens?

    Then she thought unhappily, Where did he go? Is he in danger? If this was a joke, he¡¯s probably forgotten about me a long time ago. For the first time in her life, she understood the feeling of lovesickness.

    It had only been so long, yet the young man from the mountains who gazed at a beauty from afar had also developed the charms to make others fall in love with him at first sight.

    Even if he resembled a wild monkey right now.

    ps£º ºÃ¾Ã²»¿´ÔÂÆ±ÏÉÏÀ°ñ£¬·¢ÏÖ¶àÁËºÃ¶àÊé£¬¡¶´óÊ¥´«¡·²ÅÅÅÔÚµÚÊ®Ãû£¬ÕæÊÇµÄ£¬Ç°ÃæµÄÊéÓÐÕâÃ´ºÃ¿´Âð£¿

 Chapter 1200

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1200 ¨C The Trap in the Salvation Temple

    The morning sunlight poured into the room. Yang Miaozhen sat seriously on a cushion.

    ¡°The name of this cultivation method is the Yi Wood Method of Living Qi. Listen closely!¡±

    Li Qingshan held a bowl of soy milk in one hand and a meat bun in the other, eating and sipping away as he passed on the Yi Wood Method of Living Qi. By the time he had finished, he had basically finished eating too. He ordered the Suffering Subduing abbot to lead the way, venturing to the martial arts alliance in the inner city.

    As they moved through the streets, they drew an entire city of onlookers. They jostled about on the sides of the streets, wanting to see the legendary hero king for themselves. Behind him, Hu Xian¡¯er, Yang Miaozhen, and Zhang Xuanfeng received attention from all of them as well.

    Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s footsteps were gentle as if she was extremely feeble. This was the consequence of being taught a few lessons. Yang Miaozhen¡¯s attention was elsewhere, concentrating on comprehending the wonders of the Yi Wood Method of Living Qi. Zhang Xuanfeng seemed worried, constantly looking around for an opportunity to escape.

    However, when they reached the inner city, not a single person remained there anymore. The towering trees cast their thick shadows on the red walls and green tiles. Only the cries of cicadas remained, which made it seem extremely bleak.

    Li Qingshan let out three great laughs and strolled through the city aimlessly. He saw a large statue enshrined within a memorial hall. A valiant young man wielded a sword in his right hand and a seal in his left, sitting on a throne. Beneath him were two rows of statues, depicting all sorts of people, whether they were buddhist monks, daoist priests, women, or men. They stood tall like subjects waiting on their lord. At the very end was the current alliance leader, Zhang Yuntian.

    ¡°What is this place?¡±

    The Suffering Subduing abbot said, ¡°This is the martial arts hall. It enshrines the past alliance leaders.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the one in the middle?¡±

    ¡°The first alliance leader, Long Potian. He single-handedly¡­¡±

    Before the Suffering Subduing abbot could even finish what he wanted to say, Li Qingshan had already made his way over and kicked over the statue, which shattered on the ground. ¡°Monk, I know you refuse to submit to me, but if you try any tricks, you just might lose the buddha¡¯s statue in your temple.¡±

    The Suffering Subduing monk said nothing.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go to the Salvation temple.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A warning bell was set off in the Salvation temple. A hundred and eight warrior monks wielded staves and stood in an arhat formation. All the masters of the temple gathered together, ready for battle.

    By the late morning, the sunlight was already scorching.

    Sweat poured down the faces of the monks, either from the heat or from their nerves.

    At the very least, the eminent monks that had reached the innate realm could not be fazed by the summer heat. However, no one found this to be embarrassing, and it was all because the demon was far too infamous. He had destroyed the Ma family, forced the Snow Mountain sect into submission, captured the Suffering Subduing abbot and the leader of the Abstruse temple in a few moves, and butchered a prominent figure of the demonic path, the leader of the Five Poisons cult. He had forced back the entire martial arts alliance alone.

    Who did not fear someone like that? Perhaps what the Salvation temple was facing right now was a once-in-a-century disaster.

    They had no idea if anyone could survive past today.

    A monk in grey robes hurried into the grand hall, no longer bothering with the formalities as he cried out, ¡°The demon has arrived at the foot of the mountain!¡±

    ¡°Keep watching him!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    A while later, another monk in grey robes rushed over. ¡°The demon has reached the mountain gate.¡±

    ¡°Keep watching him!¡±

    This continued for another two hours, except ¡°the demon¡± had only reached the halfway mark. The sun had already risen high into the sky by now, reaching its zenith.

    The monks felt more and more restless. They believed this to be a mental attack, intentionally dragging it out to pressure them, and it had succeeded. Many of the monks were drenched in sweat as if they had just been scooped out of the water. Their morale plummeted drastically.

    ¡°The demon must be trying to hide his fear to resort to such despicable tactics!¡± An old monk concluded.

    ¡°That¡¯s right! We have to order the disciples to remain on guard so that they don¡¯t fall for the demon¡¯s scheme!¡±

    This had absolutely nothing to do with Li Qingshan. It was Hu Xian¡¯er who threw a tantrum every now and then to stop and rest. Last night was her first time. Even as a half-daemon, it had been very tough on her. On top of that, they had travelled all the way here from Xuanwu city. She was already absolutely exhausted.

    No matter how unreasonable Li Qingshan was, he could not be forceful with her at a time like this. ¡°Alright, today is a grand occasion for you anyway, so get as much rest as you want!¡± All they could do was climb up the mountain slowly. They did not seem like they had come to make trouble. Instead, they were more like hikers on a sightseeing tour.

    Finally, at around late afternoon, Li Qingshan set foot in the temple. The sun was already sinking in the west. He ignored the monks and arrived in front of the grand hall before turning to face the Suffering Subduing abbot. ¡°We¡¯re here!¡±

    The arhat formation surrounded their group, leaving them with absolutely no room to retreat. The arhat formation was ready to strike at any moment!

    In front of the grand hall, the old monks all said together, ¡°Greetings, abbot!¡±

    The Suffering Subduing abbot ordered, ¡°Everyone, back down!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Despite their reluctance, the monks could not disobey him. They thought, Don¡¯t tell me the abbot really plans on yielding to the demon?

    Incense curled through the hall as the great buddha sat with his eyes half-open, half-closed, gazing at all the living creatures in the world. Its golden body glistened gloriously.

    Even Hu Xian¡¯er developed a sense of reverence. Without any hesitation, she knelt down before the great buddha and bowed.

    The Suffering Subduing abbot ordered a monk to bring a razor. Hu Xian¡¯er immediately shielded her hair and gazed at Li Qingshan pleadingly.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to go through tonsure. She can just become a secular disciple.¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand.

    As a result, the Suffering Subduing abbot said nothing more. He asked solemnly, ¡°Hu Xian¡¯er, you are forbidden from telling falsehoods for the rest of your life. Are you able to uphold this?¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er hesitated for a moment and glanced at Li Qingshan before saying softly, ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±

    Li Qingshan added, ¡°If she can¡¯t then she can¡¯t! It¡¯s almost impossible to stop a fox daemon from lying, and you¡¯ll be dreaming if you think you can stop a woman from lying. The next one!¡±

    ¡°You are forbidden from stealing for the rest of your life. Are you able to uphold this?¡±

    With someone backing her up, Hu Xian¡¯er found her courage. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡±

    The Suffering Subduing abbot did not bicker. He continued to the next precept. ¡°You are forbidden from killing for the rest of your life. Are you able to uphold this?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er said loudly. She still had an outstanding grievance, so how could she give up on killing now?

    The Suffering Subduing abbot shut his eyes. ¡°You are forbidden from sexual activity for the rest of your life. Are you able to uphold this?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Obviously not! Alright, that¡¯ll be that!¡±

    The Suffering Subduing abbot opened his eyes and said coldly, ¡°If lady Hu cannot even uphold a single buddhist precept, then I cannot accept her as a disciple.¡±

    Tie Xiong¡¯s face changed drastically. He called out, ¡°Master!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er was taken aback. She sneered inside, Kill all of these bald asses!

    Zhang Xuanfeng thought to herself, Once all hell breaks loose, will I be able to escape?

    Yang Miaozhen was still engrossed in the cultivation method, so she completely failed to sense what was going on around her.

    Li Qingshan continued to smile like before. ¡°Alright, monk, show me what you¡¯ve got! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re just being obstinate with nothing to back it up!¡±

    ¡°The buddha is benevolent, subduing the demons!¡±

    The Suffering Subduing abbot brought his palms together. His voice was grand and solemn, booming through the grand hall. The great buddha behind him surged with golden light, producing a sea of gold that swallowed Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Power of belief!¡± The golden light reflected in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    Not only was the Salvation temple an ancient temple, but it was also the buddhist holy land of this world, so the power of belief it had accumulated was absolutely tremendous. It was quite inflexible, but the terrifying power alone was something that Li Qingshan could not afford to underestimate even when he was not suppressed by the world, let alone now.

    Now, the Suffering Subduing monk had unleashed it all, wanting to kill Li Qingshan regardless of the price. Even his face was slightly twisted with viciousness.

    ¡°Die, demon!¡±

 Chapter 1201

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1201 ¨C By Force

    When Li Qingshan was just starting off, he had once witnessed a Peachwood Prayer Sword from the Dragon¡¯s Gate sect. It had only been worshipped by the disciples of the sect daily, yet it possessed extremely startling power, well beyond what any martial arts practitioner was capable of. Afterwards, he also saw the great buddha that had run amok in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. If it were not for Xiao An¡¯s Buddha Slaying sword, it was essentially invincible.

    If he had suffered from this twice and still did not know to be cautious, then so much for the ape demon¡¯s cleverness.

    However, when he came to the grand hall, he was also making a gamble. He was gambling that the people of this world were unable to convert the power of belief into a killing strike. At most, they could activate it and were incapable of controlling it. This was not a power that a Qi Practitioner could control.

    He had won his gamble¡ªSince it¡¯s masterless, let me borrow it!

    Li Qingshan produced the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, which shot into the sea of gold with a streak of rainbow light, immediately becoming dyed with all sorts of colours. He called out sternly, ¡°Create!¡±

    The tremendous amount of power of belief surged towards him as spiritual qi. It was so dense that it was visible, gushing out of the grand hall and contending against the sun¡¯s luminance.

    The surging spiritual qi did not come from the power of belief within the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, so it was not Li Qingshan¡¯s. However, it was not affected by the restraints of the world either.

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth and took in a deep gulp, absorbing the surging spiritual qi. He powered the Ape Demon Transformation as hard as he could, converting the spiritual qi into cultivation.

    The Ape Demon Transformation was quite a good fit for his disposition. He had basically finished comprehending the first layer, so the aspect he lacked right now was precisely spiritual qi and resources.

    With the howl of an ape, the fur on Li Qingshan began to grow at a visible rate. His arms thickened and lengthened as his furry face and protruding jaw made him bear quite a resemblance to an ape. A tail even grew out from his bottom, such that he was closer to an ape demon than a human now.

    The spiritual qi converted from a millennium of power of belief was so turbulent that Li Qingshan only absorbed a third of it forcefully before feeling absolutely full. He could not digest it in time. Even with the toughness of his body, he had already reached his limit. The surging spiritual qi began to disperse.

    Li Qingshan said to the dumbfounded Hu Xian¡¯er and the others, ¡°Stop staring. This is a boon!¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er immediately responded and began meditating. Yang Miaozhen used this opportunity to convert her Grand Profound true qi into Yi Wood true qi. Her sea of qi emptied out all of a sudden before immediately being filled with spiritual qi.

    Zhang Xuanfeng no longer thought about fleeing either. She would be an idiot if she did not take advantage of this!

    Tie Xiong was overjoyed. This was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even the little daemon fox, Hu Ling¡¯er, did not bother with maintaining her human appearance.

    Seeing how even a trump card like this was powerless against Li Qingshan, the Suffering Subduing abbot collapsed on the ground. He was ashen as he called out sternly, ¡°All monks, subjugate the demon!¡±

    Over a dozen figures rushed in from outside, all of them innate masters. The glorious hall became filled with murderousness.

    The one with the highest cultivation was a white-eyebrowed old man. He was already approaching the tenth layer of the innate realm. He lifted up a glistening buddhist staff and swung it down over Li Qingshan¡¯s head fiercely.

    ¡°Purge the demon and protect the temple!¡±

    All of the warrior monks surged into the hall. Their expressions were almost fanatic as they charged towards Li Qingshan without any regard.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and met the great buddha¡¯s eyes, letting out a grin. He converted the remaining power of belief into an invisible will, sweeping through the grand hall wave after wave until it spanned the entire Salvation temple.

    All of the monks blanked out. In their eyes, Li Qingshan had suddenly begun to radiate with light, as dignified as a god or buddha in human form and so stern that they could not bring themselves to do anything against him. They could not help but stop.

    The Suffering Subduing abbot¡¯s face was filled with conflict, but under the constant erosion of the waves, his resistance rapidly collapsed.

    The white-eyebrowed old monk¡¯s gaze became confused. The golden staff stopped over Li Qingshan¡¯s head, unable to progress any further.

    Hu Xian¡¯er and Yang Miaozhen both stared at Li Qingshan in infatuation, while a great sense of admiration overcame Tie Xiong.

    Zhang Xuanfeng never liked Li Qingshan¡¯s monkeyish appearance, let alone the fact that he had become even more monkey-like now. However, at this precise moment, she discovered that he was greater and more handsome than any man she had seen in her life. Sincere feelings that had never appeared before began to sprout in her heart before rapidly growing and strengthening.

    Everything happened in an instant, but it silenced the entire Salvation temple. Even the cicada cries had fallen silent before anyone had noticed. Only R¨¡hu Xiaoming remained unfazed. He looked at everything going on in the surroundings with interest. He was basically changing their beliefs by force!

    This move covered all bases and affected everyone. Its effects were similar to mesmerisation, except Li Qingshan had never learnt arts of mesmerisation at all. He did not know how to seduce and control others. He only relied on his strength to overwhelm them, almost like he had directly ravished their minds. He made men admire him and women fall in love with him.

    Actually, Li Qingshan had only come up with this idea on the spot. He originally planned on converting the remaining power of belief into spiritual stone, which he could slowly absorb for cultivation afterwards. However, the power of belief did not belong to him after all. It would only end up being reduced to nothing.

    By the time everything had settled down, the Suffering Subduing abbot stepped forward and prostrated on the ground with so much respect that it was like he was facing the statue of the buddha. ¡°This lowly monk greets the hero king!¡±

    The monks all bowed down. ¡°Greetings, my king!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a demon in your eyes anymore?¡± Li Qingshan asked. He was also curious about the effects of this move.

    ¡°It was this lowly monk that had been slow-witted. Please punish me, my king.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve basically treated your sickness of stubbornness. From now onwards, you are the leader of the Salvation hall.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. It was a pity that the entire martial arts community was not here, or he would have conquered them in one fell swoop.

    ¡°Out of benevolence, the king strikes with lightning speed, to punish the crooked and bring equality to all. I am willing to follow the king, to serve you diligently!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you can all get up!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. All of the monks stood up, but in the depths of their eyes, there was still a hint of confusion.

    Forcefully twisting the wills of others was not that simple. Those of great willpower and great perseverance would overcome this belief forced on them sooner or later and rediscover their true selves, but there were only a handful of people like that at the end of the day.

    However, it was possible for this belief to grow deeper and deeper, so a good majority of the people here would probably spend the rest of their lives in utter respect and devotion towards him.

    However, it was quite boring when he thought about it. He never liked playing a role similar to a god or a buddha. He glanced at Hu Xian¡¯er and Yang Miaozhen deeply, Hopefully, you can break free quickly, before glancing at Zhang Xuanfeng, As for this little rebel, you better watch how I deal with you tonight.

    ¡°Hall leader Suffering Subduing, the World¡¯s society promotes the freedom of religion. The disciples of the temple can remain here to cultivate. It¡¯s enough if you take a few eminent monks with you and report to the north and see what society leader Gu has for you.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thank you for your mercy, my king.¡±

    The Suffering Subduing monk eased up inside. This was his entire lifetime of faith after all. If Li Qingshan made an unreasonable demand with him, it would immediately lead to the most intense conflict within him. By then, even breaking free from the beliefs was not impossible.

    Li Qingshan truly was tempted to try that, but in the end, he still decided against something as pointless as that.

    ¡°Alright, take me to see the legendary daemon star!¡±

    ¡°Please come with me, my king. The daemon star is suppressed in the Lake of Suffering behind the grand hall.¡±

    ¡°I can sense it already.¡±

 Chapter 1202

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1202 ¨C The Rock of Slaughter, a Vicious Kid

    Spiritual qi combined with gushing murderousness almost dyed the sky blood-red. It emitted an aura that Li Qingshan found extremely familiar, reminding him of an enemy from a very long time ago¡ªStrongboulder.

    Sure enough, the rock was a Rock of Slaughter from the Asura realm!

    ¡°Huh?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you take a look.¡±

    Curious, Li Qingshan made the Suffering Subduing abbot lead the way. The group passed through the grand hall and arrived in the back courtyard of the Salvation temple. A lush bamboo forest hid a small lake, which glistened under the setting sun. There was a stone tablet on the side, inscribed with the words ¡°Lake of Suffering¡±.

    Li Qingshan sensed that the spiritual qi there was extremely dense, almost giving him the false impression that he had returned to the nine provinces. He understood that a formation suppressed the Rock of Slaughter¡¯s murderousness. As such, it only gave off spiritual qi, turning this small lake into a blessed land of cultivation.

    ¡°My king, the daemon star is at the bottom of the lake.¡±

    As soon as he said that, Li Qingshan leapt into the lake, leading to a plop. With his arms outstretched, he swam towards the bottom. The water was only a few meters deep and completely silent, basically devoid of any life.

    As the murderousness grew heavier and heavier, Li Qingshan knew he was getting close to his target. A speck of red light gradually grew larger in the darkness. A cone-shaped boulder was planted at the bottom of the lake, giving off a dark-red glow.

    I found it!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He pushed back with his legs and shot towards the boulder.

    At this moment, there was a roar from up ahead. The surging undercurrent attacked him.

    Hu Xian¡¯er and the others watched on from the shore in concern. Suddenly, they saw the lakewater bubble and vaguely produce the roar of a beast.

    ¡°My King!¡± Hu Xian¡¯er looked back at the Suffering Subduing monk furiously. ¡°Bald ass, is this another one of your traps?¡±

    The Suffering Subduing monk was panic-stricken too. ¡°I really have no idea!¡±

    With a thump, the water exploded, and a colossal figure rushed into the air, tossed forcefully towards the shore and landing in the bamboo forest.

    Zhang Xuanfeng sped over on the wind, only to discover a colossal turtle. Its shell had cracked, and it was close to death.

    ¡°There¡¯s actually a daemon in the lake!¡± The Suffering Subduing monk exclaimed in surprise.

    The Lake of Suffering was originally a pool in the temple for them to release creatures that were in captivity. With the entry of the Rock of Slaughter, the creatures began killing and eating each other. Despite the benevolence of the monks, they were forced to sacrifice them for the peace of the world and the development of the Salvation temple.

    They never expected a survivor. It lurked at the bottom of the lake the entire time and absorbed the spiritual qi from the Rock of Slaughter to cultivate, turning into a daemon. It became the guardian beast of the Rock of Slaughter.

    The surface of the lake settled down, but the murderousness became even more intense. A dark-red rock rose up from the water, rapidly growing larger in size as it approached the shore.

    ¡°T- that¡¯s the daemon star!¡± the Suffering Subduing monk said.

    Despite all these years of suppression and dilution, it could still make their blood boil as a desire to kill rose up in them slightly. Fortunately, they were all innate experts, so they possessed some resistance. Only Hu Ling¡¯er moaned, ¡°Sister, I feel horrible!¡±

    ¡°Ling¡¯er, go away from here. Stay away!¡±

    Splash! Water trickled down the boulder. Li Qingshan shouldered the Rock of Slaughter as he made his way over step by step along the bottom of the lake.

    ¡°My king!¡±

    Li Qingshan arrived by the shore and slowly set down the Rock of Slaughter, but it still produced a thump, which only demonstrated how heavy it was.

    ¡°It really is a huge piece of spiritual stone. Unfortunately, far too much spiritual qi has leaked away.¡±

    Even carefully-forged steel could not compare to the Rock of Slaughter¡¯s toughness. It seemed to have been forged and refined somehow, but it did not seem like an arcane treasure.

    Speaking of which, the Asura realm had so many asura armaments, so who would use a great big boulder as a weapon?

    He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. With this Rock of Slaughter, his Ape Demon Transformation could definitely progress even further. However, he still had not digested the spiritual qi he had just absorbed, so there was no rush.

    ¡°It¡¯s mine.¡± A young voice rang out, surprising everyone. R¨¡hu Xiaoming made his way over and patted the huge Rock of Slaughter.

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I said it¡¯s mine.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming showed a sense of attachment.

    ¡°You¡¯re just trying to take advantage of my work. I was clearly the one who carried it out of the lake.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, flip over the rock and take a look.¡±

    Li Qingshan flipped over the Rock of Slaughter doubtfully. Sure enough, there was the symbol of a dark sun and moon underneath, the insignia of the R¨¡hu clan. Suddenly, he recalled that the exact thing R¨¡hu Xiaoming had shot from his slingshot to devastate Battle Demon Hun back then was a stone.

    Just like that, everything made sense. It was impossible for a rock to leave the Asura realm by itself, and it was impossible for it to give off such intense murderousness, much less produce a daemon like Strongboulder that was ushered along by a great power.

    After a moment of thought, he waved his hand and dismissed everyone. Only the two of them remained on the shore. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What exactly is this about?¡±

    ¡°What else can it be about? I just shot them for fun.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming inadvertently touched the slingshot called ¡°Li¡¯l Y¡± on his waist. ¡°The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the many worlds are connected anyway. It¡¯s very easy to hit them.¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. Even without the obstructions of space, those were shots that crossed through worlds. Just how vicious had this child of an asura god been in the past!?

    As it turned out, the legend that the world would fall into chaos with the arrival of the daemon star was merely a child¡¯s game! And that Daemon General Strongboulder that had massacred dozens of cities and killed countless people.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the Rock of Slaughter in the nine provinces was from you as well?¡±

    ¡°Who else apart from me would be bored enough to do something like that?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s head tilted forwards as he squinted his eyes as if he had become sleepy again.

    ¡°So you¡¯re also aware of how dull you are!¡± Li Qingshan thought of something. ¡°Hold on. I¡¯ve only been to two worlds, but they all have rocks from you. This shouldn¡¯t be a coincidence, right?¡±

    The trichiliocosm was a term that referred to the great thousand worlds, medium thousand worlds, and small thousand worlds together. As for the exact amount, probably only the gods and buddhas in the nine heavens knew. He had picked out two worlds and both had Rocks of Slaughter.

    This was either a great coincidence, having run into something of an extremely low probability, or he had once shot out a large number of Rocks of Slaughter. Clearly, the latter was much more likely.

    Even without the spirit turtle¡¯s calculations, he could guess how great that number was. Even if half the worlds across the trichiliocosm had a rock of slaughter, then the chances of coming across two consecutively was only a quarter.

    He immediately felt like R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s story was incomplete. No matter how bored a child was, they would only shoot at birds, not every single leaf on a tree. Not to mention that the workload required was almost equivalent to shooting every single leaf in a forest once. Even to gods, that was anything but easy. It would take an immeasurable amount of time and effort. Was it truly for fun only?

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming laid out his hands. ¡°Do you understand just how bored I was now?¡±

    ¡°But why¡¯s it so big?¡±

    ¡°When it lands in a small world like this, of course, it¡¯ll seem large¡­¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s voice became more and more feeble. His eyes were half-closed. He added, ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll give this rock to you then. Stop asking me so many questions.¡± With that, his head drooped, and he fell asleep.

 Chapter 1203

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1203 ¨C A Burdened Turtle, a Faithless Person

    Seeing this, Li Qingshan no longer said anything more. Suddenly, he felt like he was being watched, which made him look around. All he saw was the glow of the setting sun and the rustling bamboo forest.

    There was probably no one in the Salvation temple right now that would disobey his orders.

    He remembered something and made his way over to the motionless turtle he had cast aside. He kicked the shell. ¡°Come out!¡±

    The colossal turtle refused to budge.

    Li Qingshan bellowed, ¡°If you still don¡¯t come out, I¡¯ll shatter your shell and turn you into soup!¡±

    A huge head extended out of the shell, dignified like a dragon¡¯s head. It gazed at Li Qingshan carefully with a pair of inky-green eyes.

    ¡°You can understand our language?¡±

    Only after hesitating did the turtle nod.

    ¡°In other words, you heard everything we talked about earlier? Looks like I need to silence you with death. I wonder how you taste.¡± Li Qingshan licked his lips.

    The turtle shrank back inside out of fright.

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. You seem to possess the bloodline of a spiritual beast, so it is no wonder you¡¯re so intelligent. That¡¯s quite rare in this world. Whatever, I¡¯ll spare your life. You can run around and do some errands for me!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to the Rock of Slaughter¡¯s side again. Leaning against the rock, he sat down, refining the spiritual qi in his body as he absorbed the spiritual qi from the rock.

    Three days later, as the sun reached its zenith, the morning bells and evening drums both rang out throughout the Salvation temple. All of the monks assembled together. They were no longer receiving an enemy nervously. Instead, it was a reluctant farewell.

    A delicate little house moved through the crowd. Li Qingshan sat at the entrance and waved to the monks. ¡°Thanks for all the help.¡±

    His cultivation had progressed even further, and he seemed even more like a monkey. He was covered in thick, dark-golden fur. As he crouched there without any regard for his image, a tail swayed about. He basically seemed even more like a monkey than the White Ape King back then.

    Now, even without the Divine Talisman of Great Creation and the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, he could put up a fight against the White Ape King.

    There was no longer anything in the world that could still threaten him!

    ¡°Anything for the hero king!¡±

    The monks were determined and fervent. They did not care about Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance at all.

    Li Qingshan patted the foundation of the house. ¡°Old Patience, a little faster!¡±

    The giant turtle immediately sped up.

    As it turned out, the house was built on the back of the giant turtle. Li Qingshan had unleashed his great talents of coming up with names again, calling the giant turtle ¡°Old Patience¡± because he had managed to remain in the back courtyard of the Salvation temple for so long without being discovered. He was truly extremely patient.

    However, probably only Li Qingshan knew whether he had been influenced by the memories of his past life or not.

    TL: This is a reference to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In Chinese (as well as Japanese), ninja, or shinobi, is written as ÈÌÕß. It basically translates to ¡°he who forebears/is patient¡±. So Li Qingshan gave the turtle a name that is closely related to ninjas.

    Perhaps because it had heard the conversation between Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming, Old Patience seemed extremely obedient, and it would bear the burden of all sorts of hard work. Its footsteps were steady and powerful as it squeezed through the gates, crawling off the mountain.

    Watching Li Qingshan vanish on the mountain path, the Suffering Subduing monk felt lost. He felt like he had done something wrong, yet he had no idea where he had gone wrong.

    Tie Xiong said, ¡°Master, we should set off too.¡±

    As a result, the Suffering Subduing monk ordered the monks, ¡°Let the world know that the Salvation temple is now the Salvation hall. Set off immediately for Pegasus city in the northern region to report to society leader Gu.¡±

    The turtle climbed down the mountain and passed through the mountain gate, taking off at full speed. Despite so many things on its back, it actually moved even faster than a galloping horse, and it remained as steady as before too.

    ¡°You really are a spiritual beast. Without your help, taking away so many items really might be difficult.¡±

    The turtle let out a growl in response.

    Li Qingshan returned to his walking residence. Not only were there the most beautiful women in the world in there, but there was also the wealth that the Salvation temple had accumulated across the years.

    Hu Xian¡¯er picked through it in interest. ¡°These monks sure know how to extort and plunder people, my king!¡±

    ¡°Even monks need to eat! Do you know where that faithless and fickle father of yours is?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not hate his current appearance. As a matter of fact, he found it to be extremely interesting. However, if the opportunity to regain his human appearance presented itself, he would not let it slip by.

    Hu Xian¡¯er¡¯s expression changed slightly. Hu Ling¡¯er raised her head as well.

    ¡°What, you regret it?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve waited far too long for this day.¡±

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    Around dusk the next day, the giant turtle arrived before a splendid estate that was surrounded by wonderful scenery.

    There was no lurking killing intent like he had been expecting. Instead, it was an atmosphere of peace.

    Before Li Qingshan could even knock on the door, the door opened by a crack. ¡°Is the hero king outside?¡±

    ¡°It is!¡±

    The crack grew a little larger, and a boy with delicate facial features walked out, carefully offering up a letter.

    ¡°My master has gone out to travel. He said that if you came to visit, we were to give you everything here. This is the letter he¡¯s left for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan opened the letter, which was covered in elegant handwriting. He glanced at Hu Xian¡¯er and read it aloud. ¡°It is an absolute honour of my humble abode to welcome a visit from the king. I¡¯ve heard much about the hero king¡¯s name since a very long time ago, such that I¡¯m tempted to have a fine drink together and get drunk together. Unfortunately, I recalled some matters of the past recently, which has caused me trouble sleeping from the painful regret I feel. I only wish to travel the jianghu alone now, with my identity no more. I offer up all that I have, whether it be maidservants or boy pages, fine clothes or fine steeds, as dowry. I hope that you can treat my two daughters well. Regards, Dongfang Yu.¡±

    He asked Hu Xian¡¯er, ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er was conflicted, unable to make a decision.

    Yang Miaozhen said, ¡°He¡¯s truly the Gentleman of Fine Jade. In just such a short letter, not only did he compliment the king, expressing how he did not want you as an enemy, but he also expressed his regrets and apologies, while wandering the jianghu with his identity no more can be regarded as atonement. In the end, he even cast aside everything that others can covet. What a clever and attentive man. No wonder he even managed to steal the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance¡¯s heart.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in disdain, ¡°Tsk, what clever and attentive? It all just comes down to looks! If he looked like me, it¡¯d be useless no matter how clever or attentive he was.¡±

    ¡°The king sure is self-aware.¡± Yang Miaozhen smiled, but her eyes were filled with tender feelings.

    ¡°I¡¯m all about that strength! C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go in and take a look first. We can find him if there isn¡¯t Transformation grass.¡±

    Sure enough, the Transformation grass was within the goods. The Gentleman of Fine Jade did not leave behind any reason to antagonise him. Hu Xian¡¯er gazed at it blankly as if she refused to simply let the matter be, yet it was also like she refused to take the matter any further.

    ¡°Think about it properly! Since I¡¯ve promised you, it¡¯s useless even if he escapes to the ends of the world.¡±

    Li Qingshan had seen plenty of spiritual herbs in the nine provinces, so he did not find it to be particularly special. He directly shoved it into his mouth, chewed away, and made his way into a room.

    Half a day later, when he emerged from the room again, even the women waiting for him outside were stunned. A different light flashed through their eyes.

    Li Qingshan had recovered his appearance as Northmoon again, but due to the other transformations being suppressed, there were still many changes. His scarlet hair had become dark-golden, and his round eyes were the same colour. His arms had become slightly longer too, but not so much that it seemed excessive.

    All of a sudden, he had gone from a wild monkey to a lady killer.

    ¡°Hehe, now I¡¯m all about that strength and looks!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. A monkey¡¯s tail swayed around behind him. That was a memento he had kept behind specially. Then he asked Hu Xian¡¯er, ¡°Have you thought it through?¡±

    Hu Xian¡¯er was gloomy. She said nothing.

    ¡°Forget about it then. Just wait here.¡±

    Li Qingshan bounded off. He only returned a few days later, tossing a human head before Hu Xian¡¯er. It was the head of a man. Despite his face being twisted, it was still possible to make out his handsome looks from when he was still alive.

    Hu Xian¡¯er took a step back. Her face was filled with both joy and sorrow, ¡°My king!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the one who wanted to kill him. It¡¯s got nothing to do with you.¡± Li Qingshan smiled in a self-deprecating manner. ¡°Faithless people are simply abominable!¡±

 Chapter 1204

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1204 ¨C Submission of the World, Get Your Ass Back to Writing

    There were even more treasures and antiques in the estate than in the Salvation temple. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save its master¡¯s life.

    Li Qingshan moved everything onto the giant turtle¡¯s back. His legs began to tremble, unable to remain standing anymore, so he crouched down on the ground and gazed at Li Qingshan for mercy.

    Li Qingshan kicked him. ¡°You shell of a bastard, get up. It¡¯s so little, yet you can¡¯t carry it anymore. You¡¯re useless!¡±

    Yang Miaozhen sympathised with the turtle and tried to persuade him. ¡°My king, there are plenty of horse carriages here, so just stop making things difficult for him.¡±

    ¡°What do you know? I¡¯m helping him with cultivation. I don¡¯t know what kind of spiritual beast he is, but his bloodline bears the spirit of advancing despite carrying a heavy burden, so carrying something heavy is the best way for him to cultivate.¡± Then Li Qingshan turned to the giant turtle. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to get up, then just lie here and wait for your death. I¡¯m not going to remove the stuff on you.¡±

    The giant turtle let out a deep growl and stood up slowly again. He advanced with heavy footsteps, moving with great difficulty.

    Then Li Qingshan leapt onto the giant turtle¡¯s back. The giant turtle stopped again, unable to bear the weight. However, Li Qingshan¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in his head.

    Li Qingshan passed some of the methods of circulating qi from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to him. The giant turtle¡¯s daemon qi consolidated, and his footsteps immediately became steady. He nodded towards Li Qingshan gratefully.

    A series of horse carriages followed behind the giant turtle, forming a great group.

    Hu Xian¡¯er remained where she was, without budging at all, as she held the human head. Hu Ling¡¯er remained by her side silently.

    Zhang Xuanfeng asked quietly, ¡°My king, aren¡¯t we going to wait for her?¡± Abandoning this vixen would obviously be for the best.

    ¡°Time waits for no one! Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯ll catch up by herself. Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m a faithless person too, so I wonder just who will come and claim this great head of mine!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter rang out in all directions.

    Even if he was faithful to the entire world, so what? Why go on about pain and regret? As a man, all he could do was bear the burden and keep advancing forwards!

    When Yang Miaozhen and Zhang Xuanfeng heard that, they both felt their minds clear up. They were unable to describe the ease and liveliness they felt inside.

    Hu Xian¡¯er shuddered and let go of the head, giving it a kick. With a plop, it landed in a stream and drifted down with it. She pulled Hu Ling¡¯er with her and caught up with the group, leaping onto the turtle¡¯s back and throwing herself into Li Qingshan¡¯s arms.

    They travelled northward, all the way to Pegasus city. The entire city learnt of the hero king¡¯s return and lined the streets to welcome him back.

    Before he had even arrived in person, the news of his deeds had already spread through the world. The north stopped worrying too.

    Arriving at the World¡¯s society, Gu Yanying stood at the entrance in her white clothes with a folding fan in her hand, smiling. ¡°Congratulations, you¡¯ve recovered a bit more of your cultivation. Looks like you¡¯ve gained quite a lot. These three must be part of the Ten Great Beauties of the World!¡±

    There was nothing that Hu Xian¡¯er could say. Originally, she thought her beauty was already unrivalled in the world. Even Yang Miaozhen and Zhang Xuanfeng lacked some femininity compared to her. However, when she saw the legendary leader of the World¡¯s society, she suddenly felt ashamed. The difference in their bearing was like a fox to a hawk.

    So she really is the greatest beauty of the world. He must like her very much!

    ¡°Where¡¯s your mask?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need it anymore,¡± Gu Yanying said.

    With the establishment of the asura army, she already possessed enough power that she did not have to worry about small issues caused by her appearance.

    Li Qingshan ordered people to unload the items from the turtle¡¯s back, and Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Good, I just happen to be in need of money!¡± The constructions throughout the northern region required investment everywhere.

    ¡°Why have you suddenly become a miser? That¡¯s not the breadth of mind that a kunpeng should possess.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Even he had spent at least a decade or so in poverty, but right from the day she was born, she probably had no idea what money was. Now that she had actually become so attached to it, it truly was quite funny. She was like a princess that had suddenly begun working in the fields.

    ¡°You¡¯re not in charge, so you don¡¯t understand the cost of things. You just toss everything to me and have fun by yourself, but you have no idea that it¡¯s exactly money that prevents many things from occurring. Whatever, you won¡¯t understand even if I explain it to you.¡±

    Gu Yanying waved her hand. This was the method she was using to temper her will. The heart of a kunpeng was extremely high and distant, but if she merely tried to imitate it, she could only act with great haughtiness, which would only lead to an absolute failure. Compared to that, she was better off settling down and handling the matters slowly and surely. And from the feedback that the kunpeng¡¯s feather had given her, her decision was correct. Before the kun became the peng, it had also spent many years submerged in the ocean.

    A while later, all of the leaders of the World¡¯s society were summoned to the discussion hall. Xue Hanfeng, the Suffering Subduing monk, and Tie Xiong were among them. Coupled with the original group from the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape and the martial arts practitioners that had joined them from various places afterwards, it was truly an assembly of masters.

    If they were evaluated using the traditional method, then the World¡¯s society had already become the greatest society in the world, far more powerful than any sect or clan. They could unite the entire martial arts community under them.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s changes surprised everyone, but they accepted it very quickly. After all, they were not standing there because of his external appearance. They clasped their hands together and greeted him, ¡°Greetings, my king!¡±

    Only in Xue Bing¡¯s eyes was there a little more bitterness. When Li Qingshan looked over, she lowered her head again and quickly reflected, We¡¯ve known each other for less than a month, and we¡¯ve spent less than a day together. At most, it can only be regarded as a single meeting, so why am I like this? Though, when he said he wanted to gather the Ten Great Beauties of the World, it turns out he was serious about that. In other words, I¡¯m among them too. What a despicable man! But he sure is handsome like this.

    Lei Lie stepped forward and said, ¡°The king has overwhelmed the martial arts alliance and subdued the Snow Mountain sect and the Salvation temple. There¡¯s no longer a single sect or clan that dares to oppose our World¡¯s society now. Why don¡¯t we just travel down south with an army and conquer the world?¡±

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°What do you all think?¡±

    Out of the people in the hall with the highest cultivations, the two protectors were besotted with swordsmanship, so they had no opinion about this matter. Xue Hanfeng had originally been worried about the World¡¯s society using the disciples of the Snow Mountain sect as cannon fodder for the war, but as it seemed now, Li Qingshan alone with his blade could finish off the remaining three clans and five sects, so there was absolutely nothing for him to worry about. As a result, he remained silent as well.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. I would object. The situation in the north has yet to settle down, so rashly invading the south will only throw the world into chaos and result in countless casualties. It would be unfitting to the king¡¯s path of justice and righteousness.¡±

    ¡°Bald ass, I think you¡¯re still only thinking about the martial arts alliance. Like how undue delays lead to problems, who knows what kind of trouble it¡¯ll lead to if we give the martial arts alliance an opportunity to catch their breaths,¡± Lei Lie said coldly.

    The Salvation temple had played a direct role in the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters¡¯ death back then, or why would the daemon star have ended up in the Lake of Suffering?

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Li Qingshan slammed the table and cursed. ¡°Damned brat, you sure know how to talk now. This is a place to discuss public matters. If you want personal revenge, you¡¯re more than welcome to challenge the Suffering Subduing hall leader to a separate battle elsewhere. Do you really think you can use the might of others just because you yourself are powerless against him?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll challenge him to a separate battle! Do you think I¡¯m scared of him?¡± Lei Lie turned red.

    ¡°Internal conflict is forbidden in the World¡¯s society. Hall leader Lie, you insulted the Suffering Subduing hall leader, so go and receive fifty beatings as punishment,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Yes, society leader.¡± Lei Lie lowered his head and accepted the orders. His fury completely vanished. Even a blind man could notice his strange behaviour. Even when he knew he had no chance, he was simply unable to disobey her.

    Meanwhile, Xue Hanfeng had noticed the strange behaviour of his daughter a long time ago, which left him sighing inside. The two leaders both possessed unrivalled appearances. Just who could escape from their charms and who could resist their power?

    ¡°The Suffering Subduing hall leader has raised a valid point. We can conquer the world through martial prowess, but we won¡¯t be able to avoid a great massacre, which will make many people lose faith in the World¡¯s society or even doubt the hero king¡¯s path of justice and righteousness. Only by achieving something great in the north can we disprove the rumour that the world descends into chaos with the arrival of the daemon star. I hereby take an oath that as long as the people of the world refuse to submit, the World¡¯s society will never make them submit by force!¡±

    ¡°Wise be the society leader. You have my admiration! I¡¯ll be honest, I once believed in this rumour as well. Then I witnessed the hero king¡¯s justice and the society leader¡¯s breadth of mind. Only then did I notice my own shallowness. I¡¯m willing to work like a horse, to give this world clarity such that everyone is equal, good is rewarded, and evil receives its punishment!¡±

    The Suffering Subduing monk¡¯s expression was filled with a sacred devotion, which made Li Qingshan feel rather strange inside. His path of justice was out of both public and personal interests, but on the contrary, he was not as serious about it as the monk. He had no idea whether it was due to the mental influence of the power of belief. However, Gu Yanying¡¯s decision had clearly increased his loyalty to them.

    Li Qingshan thoroughly agreed with what Gu Yanying had said too. The use of force had always been the swiftest method, but it was also the most unstable. In this world, instability would be magnified to the extreme.

    Conquering the world was easy, but what about afterwards?

    He could basically imagine that under the urgings of the will of the heavens, the organisations of resistance would spring up endlessly everywhere. If they suppressed them through force, it would only lead to even more hatred and opposition until it completely devolved into a tyrannical rule.

    It was just as Laozi had said, ¡°He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people is fit to rule them, and he who takes upon the country¡¯s disasters deserves to be king!¡±

    In his past life, a certain country already seemed like heaven in the eyes of other countries, yet their citizens were still filled with complaints.

    Right now, this world was like a huge piece of bait on a lure to them. If they swallowed it forcefully, it would definitely hook onto their throats.

    Compared to that, they would be better off leaving the martial arts alliance around. It was better to keep the enemy outside than among them. In the end, even if they grew into a problem, at least this all could be resolved by the blade even if their bad luck was through the roof.

    The two of them reached an agreement, and the others obviously had no objections. When everyone dispersed, Li Qingshan grabbed Xue Bing¡¯s hand. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯ve begun practising the cultivation method I gave you. Looks like you¡¯ve still ended up agreeing to it. How do I look right now?¡±

    ¡°Please show some self-respect, my king!¡± Xue Bing¡¯s face turned bright red as she sought help from Xue Hanbing.

    Xue Hanfeng smiled wryly. My dear daughter, if you¡¯re determined to resist, I¡¯ll draw my sword and challenge him to a battle right now. No matter how powerful Li Qingshan is, we can just die together at most, but look at you right now! What am I supposed to do?

    However, he could not simply stand there and watch without doing anything, so he also said, ¡°Please show some self-respect, my king!¡± Afterwards, he strode off just like that!

    My dear daughter, please ¡°endure¡± this for the sake of the Snow Mountain sect!

    ¡°Father!¡± Xue Bing truly was tempted to cry, but she found no tears. Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to go back on your word?¡±

    Gu Yanying scolded him. ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone out and messed around for such a long time. Get your ass back to writing!¡±

 Chapter 1205

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1205 ¨C Sixteen Years Later, the Assassin From the South

    The west wind blew fiercely at Peach Blossom crossing.

    The peach blossoms had fallen away a long time ago. Only bare branches remained.

    An abjected, middle-aged man stood in the wind and gazed towards the north. Bone-deep hatred flashed through his eyes.

    In truth, he was still very young, except the wrinkles of sadness on his face and the greying hairs near his temples made him seem extremely bleak.

    He would never be able to forget about fifteen years ago. That was the happiest moment of his life, as well as the saddest.

    On the day of his wedding, his beloved was taken from him.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    He could not help but utter that name. Hatred made his entire body tremble. Perhaps there was a deep fear as well, but this was not cowardice. That demon, daemon star, could make even the toughest people in the world experience fear and stop the cries of babies.

    Thinking up to there, he touched a broken bone in his clothes. Originally, it was one of his ribs, but it was covered in inscriptions now. As his finger ran along the bone, he could clearly recall every single inscription he had left behind, as he had sacrificed seven whole ribs before he managed to refine it successfully. In the end, he could only use it once.

    The Bone of Killing was a secret within his clan. It required the refiner to personally open up their body and engrave their bones with inscriptions before nurturing it in their bodies for seven years. After it was removed, it required another seven years of sacrifice before it was successfully refined.

    He had condensed a sense of hatred within it, such that he could kill others without them even realising. He only had to point it at the enemy from afar to curse the enemy to death. Even if the enemy possessed unmatched martial arts, they could not avoid death.

    However, very few people ever refined a Bone of Killing. Unless they held a great hatred, who would have the determination to wait fourteen years? If they focused on martial arts, perhaps a decade was enough for revenge.

    However, his enemy right now, that great demon, could not be defeated through any martial arts. Only with this Bone of Killing did he have a sliver of hope.

    The beautiful face appeared in his mind again. His hatred overwhelmed his fear.

    He thought to himself, Fifteen years. It¡¯s been fifteen entire years. I, Wu Huan, will definitely get my revenge for my wife being taken away from me!

    ¡°Hey, you over there! Are you leaving or not?¡±

    A ferryman with a straw cape stood at the end of the boat and called out to Wu Huan.

    ¡°I am, I am!¡±

    Wu Huan leapt in fright. The bellow was imbued with true qi, so it was resonant like a clap of thunder. He was actually an innate master. Had he perhaps encountered a great master that had retired from the jianghu? He dismissed all of his hatred and fear and went up with clasped hands.

    ¡°You¡¯ve reached the innate realm?¡± The ferryman stroked his full beard and studied Wu Huan.

    ¡°Yeah!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing travelling up north?¡±

    ¡°I want to join the World¡¯s society. How much does it cost to cross the river?¡±

    ¡°Haha, get on. It¡¯s free.¡±

    Wu Huan boarded the ferry and asked, ¡°Brother, are you also from the World¡¯s society?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask?¡± the ferryman responded proudly.

    He pushed off the shore with a pole, and the ferry moved towards the centre of the river. An autumn storm had just passed by, so the flow was quite rapid. A bamboo pole plunged into the water and seemed to become a tower of strength. He demonstrated his exceptional martial arts.

    ¡°Brother, with your martial arts, why are you serving as a ferryman here?¡±

    ¡°To make money and support my family, obviously.¡±

    ¡°To make money and support your family?¡± Wu Huan was deeply puzzled. How could an innate master lack money?

    ¡°The king and the society leader have said that profiting off the work of others is most despicable. They said that you shouldn¡¯t think you¡¯re a big deal just because you know some martial arts, that you can get others to serve you. Our World¡¯s society is from the masses to the masses. We use our martial arts to serve the people!¡±

    A few cheers of agreement immediately rang out in the cabin. Now that truly was something the World¡¯s society would support, something that the hero king would say!

    ¡°Haha, you¡¯re all flattering me. My father was a ferryman before, but he could only go a dozen or so rounds a day. Even when I¡¯m not serious, I can do a hundred times back and forth. You can basically call that practising martial arts!¡±

    Wu Huan looked down. The demon sure knows how to win people over. You basically deserve to work such a lowly job with how foolish of a bumpkin you are!

    Then the ferryman looked at Wu Huan. ¡°Of course, if there are any people up to no good that are trying to infiltrate the north, they better get through me first! Brother, you seem like you¡¯re from the southern region. I heard the reactionary forces are particularly stubborn there.¡±

    Wu Huan¡¯s heart leapt in fright. ¡°I¡¯m definitely not part of some reactionary force. I admire the king¡¯s reputation of justice, which is why I came to join him!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good then, but even if you are, I¡¯m not afraid.The king has said that all reactionary forces are merely paper tigers. If it were not for the society leader¡¯s mercy where she refuses to carry out a massacre, those shitting clans and sects would have been flattened a long time ago!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, yes.¡±

    Wu Huan nodded in a hurry. As soon as he arrived on the other shore, he leapt off the boat and hurried off north, no longer listening to how those lowly people on the boat sucked up to the demon.

    The ferryman stood on the boat and gazed at his figure coldly.

    A travelling merchant said softly, ¡°Boss Zhao, there¡¯s something a little off about him! When we mentioned the king, his expression became quite unnatural.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably a spy from the south. I¡¯ve seen plenty of people like that. I¡¯ll report this later. Hmph, let¡¯s see just how much trouble he can stir up!¡±

    Wu Huan travelled quickly. Upon remembering how he was in enemy territory, he slightly regretted losing his composure earlier. However, he calmed down very soon. He never planned on returning alive anyway.

    As a result, he raised his vigilance to a hundred and twenty percent. He only needed to see the demon. Just once was enough!

    This was the first time he had come to the northern region, but he was not worried about becoming lost. A road led to Beiping city, which was also known as Pegasus city in the past.

    The weather had already begun to grow cold, such that the first snow of winter was about to arrive. However, the road bustled with people, still as lively as ever. From time to time, a few villages or even small cities would appear on the sides of the road. The place was actually even more prosperous than the central region that he had visited before.

    The number of masters here had surpassed any other place he had seen, except none of these masters were dressed fancily. Some of them held sickles as they carried out a harvest. With a flash of cold light, the wheat would fall in entire groups. Others wielded metal hammers, smashing through boulders with a single boom before using the rocks to pave the road.

    Not only were the sickles and hammers forged from top quality steel, but they even possessed a spiritual nature. Even the legendary renowned swords and blades paled in comparison.

    A group of people rushed over and tied up the wheat. The young man placed down his sickle and said to the old man crouching on the side of the fields, ¡°I¡¯m done, uncle. It¡¯s all been cut!¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re done, then go back to the village and have some alcohol.¡±

    ¡°The alcohol is the alcohol, but my pay better not be missing.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get what you¡¯re owed. It sure is nice to practise martial arts. You alone cut through everything faster than the entire village combined!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that goes without saying. In the martial arts community, I¡¯m known as the Reaper of Wheat. The Wind Sickle in my possession was even personally bestowed to me by society leader Gu when I served as a model worker. All the wheat within a hundred kilometres of here is cut by me.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you sure are outstanding. Your father really hasn¡¯t sent you to the Youth hall to learn martial arts for nothing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with that old drunkard. I was clearly personally chosen by hall leader Lei. Hall leader Lei used the blade in the past too.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s the graces of the hero king.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, now that¡¯s more like it.¡±

    ¡°Damned brat, if I don¡¯t fill you up until you collapse, I¡¯m not your uncle!¡±

    A burly man placed the hammer on his shoulder and wiped away his sweat. He waved his hands. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re done for today! Let¡¯s continue tomorrow!¡± Looking at the day¡¯s progress, he felt very happy inside. Once this road was complete, carriages would be able to move through the town.

    He had not begun practising martial arts after the World¡¯s society had arrived. There was a hammer style passed down through his family, which possessed some renown in the northern region. However, since it had renown, it was unavoidable for people to come and challenge them in order to make a name for themselves. As a result, he practised martial arts daily to protect the reputation of his family.

    However, in the recent years, the World¡¯s society issued a decree. Not only did they forbid private conflict, but challenges and matches were a grave offence too. The hero king said, ¡°When a person dies, their death can bear the weight of mountains, or it can be as light as a feather. If they die fighting evil forces to bring benefit to the greater population, then their deaths bear the weight of mountains. Dying in a struggle for fame and gain, just to show who is tougher, is as light as a feather. It¡¯s not even as great as a pig¡¯s death. When a pig is butchered, at least it can still feed mouths. When a person dies, it¡¯ll even cost a coffin to bury them.¡±

    As a result, he was finally freed from the martial arts training grounds. He did not have to watch over his home and wait for people to challenge him. Compared to using his hammer to smash in the heads of people, he preferred smashing up rocks and paving roads.

    Suddenly, Wu Huan heard gusts of wind behind him. He looked back and was shocked!

    A few young men chased right after him, dressed in the same black robes. They wore shoes with embroidered clouds as they moved like they were riding the wind. It was the supreme movement technique of the Divine Wind sect.

    Oh no, I must have given myself away at the river crossing! The World¡¯s society has sent people to kill me!

    Wu Huan personally believed his martial arts was above the young men¡¯s, but he could not help but fear their movement techniques. Once they caught him, it would definitely draw over even more masters. As a result, he activated his true qi and accelerated.

    ¡°Looks like the old guy up ahead wants to compete with us.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s compete! Who¡¯s afraid of who?¡±

    The young men exchanged glances and also accelerated, going straight after him.

    Wu Huan had never been particularly skilled at movement techniques. He ran for over fifty kilometres and felt his strength running out, yet he was unable to shake off the young men. He thought, If I keep going like this, I¡¯ll definitely run out of true qi!

    He arrived in a remote area and made up his mind. He dove into the trees on the side of the road, standing still and catching his breath. He was ready for a battle, to completely kill these people tailing behind him!

    Come, hunting dogs of Li Qingshan!

    However, the young men stopped on the road, leaning against their knees as they gasped for air.

    ¡°That old guy sure runs quickly!¡±

    ¡°Brothers, do we go after him or not?¡±

    ¡°Go after him my ass! If we don¡¯t deliver the goods by tonight, do you want our pay to be deducted?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re delivery men?¡±

    Wu Huan made his way out from the trees. His eyes were completely widened. Only now did he understand why the travelling merchants on the road were completely unsurprised by them.

    ¡°Heh, your movement technique is pretty good! There aren¡¯t a lot of people that can beat us on this road, but I can tell with a single glance that you¡¯re not from here. We¡¯re not delivery men, but couriers! We¡¯re the Tailwind couriers!¡±

    Wu Huan was speechless. He had learnt far too many new words today. In the past, most of the people that possessed such movement techniques were either thieves or perverted rapists. He had never heard of anyone who specialised in delivering goods.

    He only watched speechlessly as the young men vanished off into the setting sun. It was not that his movement techniques were not good enough. He had just been mentally overwhelmed.

    Hmph, even if it¡¯s a thief or pervert, they can still wander the jianghu freely and easily. At least that¡¯s better than being an errand boy for others!¡±

    Wu Huan made his way along the road slowly. As the sun set, he passed by a small village. He felt a little parched in the throat, so he sped up.

    ¡°Kill!¡±

    He was about to find a place to get something to eat and drink when a battle cry rang out from the earthen wall ahead. His relaxed nerves immediately became tense again.

    It¡¯s an ambush!

 Chapter 1206

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1206 ¨C A Village Family, a Bountiful Year in a Cup

    A group of children wielding wooden swords ran around the streets and swung swords at each other. Wu Huan gulped. He wondered whether he had been a little too alert or not, but at a closer glance, he was surprised. As it turned out, the children were not merely messing around. Their swordsmanship was very orderly. Despite each move and stroke still being extremely undeveloped, it was clearly extremely profound swordsmanship.

    This particularly applied to the boy running at the front with a darker complexion. He was not exactly large or small among the group of kids. For some reason, he had angered them all, such that they all chased after him to give him a beating.

    He seemed to have grown accustomed to this a long time ago. His small face was filled with a sense of maturity, fighting and retreating as he went. Every time he swung his wooden sword, a child would fall on the ground with a cry.

    ¡°Hold your swords! Surround him first!¡± an older kid called out, and the other children stopped attacking him rashly. They assumed a defensive stance and pressed closer until they cornered him against a wall and surrounded him.

    The older kid laughed. ¡°Tiedan, let¡¯s see where you run off to this time. We¡¯re going to give you a thorough beating today!¡±

    ¡°With just you sons of bitches, you can forget about even touching a hair on your daddy Tiedan!¡±

    ¡°Get him!¡± ¡°Beat him up!¡±

    A farmer¡¯s wife called out from within the village, ¡°Tiedan, your mother is telling you to go home and eat!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± The boy called out, ¡°Sweeping all away!¡± Suddenly, he bent over and swept along the ground, immediately filling the air with dust and sand. Right when the other children were blinded, he leapt backwards and rose a metre off the ground, climbing up the earthen wall and flipping over the top.

    Standing atop the wall, he raised his wooden sword high into the air and laughed aloud. ¡°I¡¯m the hero king!¡±

    Afterwards, he dropped his pants, fished out his willy, and began peeing. The other children all tried to dodge.

    ¡°Throw our swords at him!¡±

    Around seven or eight wooden swords flew into the air. The boy wielded his wooden sword in one hand and clutched his willy in the other. After dodging a few swords with difficulty, he was still hit by one in the head, falling off the wall with an ouch. A stream of translucent pee even sailed through the air under the glow of the setting sun. He had ended up wetting himself.

    Loud crying rang out from behind the wall. The other children laughed so hard that they began rolling around on the ground. They had gotten their revenge.

    The crying gradually vanished off into the distance, and the laughter gradually vanished. They each went home to find their mums.

    Wu Huan stood where he was in a daze for quite a good while. The boy called Tiedan had clearly produced inner force already, and he even knew techniques to control his movements and breathing. Not only was he a martial arts prodigy, but he was a prodigy of the sword too. Even rarer, he was familiar with practical battles and knew how to adjust to situations. If he joined a sect, any sect, he would definitely stand out very quickly.

    The other children were not the same level of genius as him, but they all knew swordsmanship and knew the basics of how to respond in battle. In particular, the older child who led the others was a talent of his own. In the end, he had even used their combined efforts to defeat a proud, complacent genius.

    The spiteless fighting among children resembled a clash of life and death in the eyes of someone experienced with the jianghu like him, like a battle between a pack of wolves and a tiger.

    However, this was no clan or sect, but a regular village in the northern region!

    If they had another sixteen years, who knew how many more masters would appear? How was the martial arts alliance supposed to stand a chance against them? The ambitions of the demon were far too terrifying!

    I¡¯m bound to die on this journey. If I can leave behind a legacy before my death and plant a seed of resistance in the northern region, at least the martial arts I learnt wouldn¡¯t have gone to waste.

    As a result, he made his way around the earthen wall and followed the small footprints, arriving before a farmer¡¯s home. The curling smoke merged with the night sky as the smell of food permeated the air. Even the child¡¯s crying and the woman¡¯s scolding did not seem to break this peace.

    A certain feeling suddenly became caught in his throat, which made him stop.

    ¡°Who¡¯s lurking outside?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a traveller from a distant place. I want to join the World¡¯s society. Could you sell me something to eat, as well as some water?¡±

    Wu Huan returned to his senses and made his way into the courtyard, only to see a woman pressing the child called Tiedan against a chair with his pants pulled down and his buttocks bright red from the spanking. However, the child had already changed his clothes, and the wound on his head had stopped swelling too.

    The woman was in her early thirties with a handkerchief tied up in her hair. She was actually extremely beautiful with a very graceful figure, nowhere near as bulky as regular farmer¡¯s wives. She clearly possessed martial arts. He had already grown accustomed to the strange sights with his journey here. Basically every single person of this age in the north practised martial arts. However, her martial arts was not particularly powerful, nowhere close to the innate realm, which only proved that the child¡¯s talent was not hereditary.

    An old man crouched on one side, smoking a pipe. He grinned. ¡°You¡¯ve specially come to join the World¡¯s society, haven¡¯t you? Come on in and take a seat! Buy what food? It¡¯s just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks!¡±

    The old man did not know martial arts, which brought Wu Huan ease. ¡°Ma¡¯am, I saw it earlier. This child is very powerful. He fought so many of them alone. He¡¯s a prodigy when it comes to martial arts.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, all he knows is getting into fights every moment of the day. He¡¯s made a fool of himself before you.¡±

    The woman smacked the child¡¯s head, but she could not help but smile.

    Without the spanking, the child immediately stopped crying. He pulled up his pants and ran over to the dining table.

    ¡°Tiedan, why did you fight with them?¡± Wu Huan rubbed the child¡¯s head.

    ¡°They said my father is part of the opposition!¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s his father?¡±

    ¡°Dead.¡± The woman¡¯s face sank.

    ¡°How did he die? Don¡¯t tell me the World¡¯s society¡­¡± Wu Huan halted quickly, just in case he gave himself away again.

    ¡°Sigh, how did you know?¡± The woman glanced at him curiously.

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to join the World¡¯s society. I also wanted to know what the World¡¯s society does, so I investigated along the way. Their reputation can be regarded as very good. I never expected something like this.¡±

    ¡°Then you might as well forget about it. His father was originally a member of the World¡¯s society. Afterwards, he went out and took a woman by force. He was sentenced to death.¡±

    Wu Huan said nothing. He hated something like that the most in his life. He studied the woman. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m that woman. Hurry up and eat. The dishes are getting cold.¡± The woman rubbed the boy¡¯s head. ¡°Tiedan, if they tease you in the future, just say you have no father.¡±

    Tiedan wolfed away at the food and replied with a full mouth.

    Wu Huan was unable to describe his feelings, but it made him think of that beautiful face again. Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan, you absolute hypocrite. You can sentence others to death, but you can¡¯t sentence yourself. Even now, she¡¯s still suffering because of you!

    However, this was an opportunity. The grievance from killing a father was completely unforgivable, even worse than stealing a wife. It was the will of the heavens!

    The dishes were very plentiful, with both meat and fish. The old man even brought out a jar of alcohol. The liquid was clear, unlike the unfiltered moonshine normally made in villages.

    ¡°I heard that the northern region suffers disasters every year. I didn¡¯t expect everything to still be quite well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all due to the society leader and the king¡¯s graces. They built many reservoirs and canals, so we¡¯re basically impervious to all droughts. They don¡¯t collect tax either, so our days have never been better. The seeds are different from the past too. The amount of grain we harvest is always in surplu and the meat is very cheap, or how else would Tiedan be so healthy and vigorous? Sigh, when I was young, we couldn¡¯t even feed ourselves properly, let alone practise martial arts¡­¡±

    ¡°Dad, you¡¯re starting to ramble again. Didn¡¯t you just make it onto the news once? And you just can¡¯t forget about that saying now, can you?¡±

    The old man ran out of patience. ¡°That was the network news broadcast. My portrait occupied an entire page.¡±

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 Chapter 1207

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1207 ¨C A Whim Between the Buddhist and the Demonic, a Blurry Line Between Good and Evil

    The woman smiled. ¡°Look at how much you¡¯re boasting. If they didn¡¯t teach you this, you wouldn¡¯t even know how to say it right now. Just drink your alcohol!¡±

    ¡°Something others taught you? Isn¡¯t that a lie then?¡± Wu Huan could not help but say.

    The old man was furious. ¡°What lie? You¡¯re the liar. I¡¯m speaking from the bottom of my heart. I just don¡¯t know how to put it into words!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve misspoken.¡± Wu Huan apologised.

    The old man instead became rather embarrassed by that. He rubbed his head. ¡°I¡¯m just strutting around with borrowed feathers. In the past, I wouldn¡¯t even have the courage to look at you properly!¡±

    ¡°How come?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a martial arts master. It¡¯s only the matter of a single swing of your blade to kill common people like me. Now, we have the hero king watching over us, so even if you become an innate master, you¡¯ll have to pay for your actions if you kill anybody.¡±

    ¡°Dad, he is an innate master.¡±

    ¡°Ah, forgive my declining vision. I¡¯ll give you a toast!¡±

    Tiedan also raised his head from his bowl, staring straight at him.

    Only now did Wu Huan realise why the atmosphere in the northern region was so different. Normally, when he roamed through the jianghu, common people would completely avoid provoking anyone from the jianghu. Even regular martial arts practitioners would keep a wide berHow bizarre was that?

    The caution between people vanished, so even with so many martial arts practitioners in the north, the sense of danger of being in the jianghu was gone.

    If it were not for his great hatred, perhaps he would admire this hero king as well!

    However, despite his mixed feelings, his bone-deep hatred would never change at all.

    Li Qingshan, either you die or I perish!

    ¡°It¡¯s quite nice like this. I¡¯ll punish myself to a cup first!¡±

    Wu Huan tilted his head backwards and drank an entire cup. The dishes were delicious, and the alcohol was high quality spirits. Apparently, the almighty society leader Gu had changed the method of brewing alcohol. Wu Huan felt slightly tipsy after only a few cups.

    Wu Huan wanted to accept the child as his disciple, so he asked to feel him out, ¡°Ma¡¯am, it must be quite difficult to take care of your child and your father alone!¡±

    ¡°The hero king has said that the potential of women is just as great as men. Women can become supreme masters too. My martial arts is alright. There aren¡¯t a lot of men in the village that can match me. If anyone talks behind my back, I¡¯ll go and teach them a lesson. Tiedan is not a useless boy either. In the future, he¡¯ll join the Youth hall and return with supreme martial arts. By then, who won¡¯t be envious of me?¡±

    ¡°The Youth hall?¡±

    Wu Huan only found out after some investigation that it was one of the halls of the World¡¯s society, managed by the son of the Demon Lord of Seven Slaughters, Lei Lie. They specially recruited talented children from across the land. Not only was it absolutely free to learn martial arts in the Youth hall, but if they could pass the final exam, they could even join the World¡¯s society directly. It was what every single child in the north dreamt of.

    The woman rubbed the boy¡¯s head. ¡°Everyone who knows martial arts in the village has said that Tiedan¡¯s talent is outstanding and that he¡¯ll definitely be chosen to join the Youth hall!¡±

    ¡°Mum, I¡¯ll definitely be able to do it!¡±

    Wu Huan said nothing. In the past, if an innate master proactively tried to take on a disciple, that was something that common people could only dream of. Many stories of legends began like that.

    But under these circumstances, an unknown person like him clearly was not as enticing as the Youth hall of the World¡¯s society.

    Before he had even realised it, it was late at night.

    The woman invited him to stay, making him sleep with the old man. He was rather unwilling to leave like this, so he agreed to it.

    In the middle of the night, a dark figure arrived before the child¡¯s bed. The white moonlight illuminated his face, which made him seem extremely twisted. He whispered, ¡°It¡¯s someone from the World¡¯s society who raped your mother. It¡¯s the World¡¯s society who killed your father! You¡¯re exactly what they call you, a vile spawn! This is all Li Qingshan¡¯s fault!¡±

    The child was completely unaware as he slept away soundly.

    Wu Huan was about to extend his hand and wake him. He planned to awaken the hatred within his heart, but it only made him feel his missing ribs, which left him at a loss again.

    No one understood how painful the feeling of hatred was better than him.

    And what did all of this have to do with this child? And that woman, had she not gone through enough pain already? She had already experienced such humiliation. The child was all that she had left.

    If I had married her back then and had a child, he¡¯d probably be grown up by now as well. He would definitely have the same kind of talent, and I could have taught him martial arts¡­

    At that moment, a blank smile appeared on his face before he snapped back to his senses.

    No, I want revenge!

    A while later, he staggered out of the door, flipped over the wall, and shot off.

    ¡°Guest!?¡± The woman heard the disturbance. She draped some clothes on her and rose out of her bed, rushing over to the child and shaking him. ¡°Tiedan! Tiedan! Wake up!¡±

    The child rubbed his eyes. ¡°Mum, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    The woman let out a sigh of relief before discovering a bag of silver pieces by the bed. She thought, What a strange man, but he is much more pleasing to the eye than the old charlatans and young thugs in the village.

    Wu Huan ran through the wilderness and let out a furious howl like an injured beast.

    The moonlight was like frost, while the autumn wind was like blades. He paid no attention to his path, only travelling northwards blindly.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, come! Come! Let¡¯s settle this once and for all!¡±

    When the sky began to light up, he arrived before Beiping city, the legendary demon¡¯s lair. He entered the city with the flow of the people, only to see everyone weeping and dressed in white. It made him feel even more dreary inside. Is there a plague in the city? The demon has defied the will of the heavens, yet you foolish people have actually stayed here to follow him. This is retribution!

    However, the streets were bustling, so it did not seem like a plague. They all gathered in one direction.

    He stopped a pedestrian. ¡°Where are so many people heading? Who¡¯s holding a funeral?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, the Suffering Subduing master is about to pass away. We¡¯re all going to see him off!¡±

    Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the Suffering Subduing abbot of the Salvation temple?

    Wu Huan was surprised. That was someone whose name already rang through the world when he was young. Afterwards, he suddenly pledged his loyalty to the World¡¯s society, which threw the entire martial arts community into an uproar of disbelief. Some believed he decided to bear the humiliation in an attempt to assassinate Li Qingshan, while others believed he had no other choice in order to protect all of the monks in the temple.

    There were all kinds of speculation, but no one said he was afraid of dying. Afterwards, when the World¡¯s society never ventured any further south, it was said that his words played a very great role in this, so he still possessed an extremely great reputation in the martial arts community.

    Sigh, I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d end up dying in the demon¡¯s lair!

    He could not spend too much time lamenting about this. He could sense that he was getting closer and closer to his revenge!

    ¡­¡­

    The buddha hall was empty. An old monk sat alone before a single lamp.

    Formation, existence, disintegration, and emptiness. Fate had both life and death in store. If he could not ascend, then there would be a time when the end of his life arrived.

    He never had a particularly large chance at shattering through space, not to mention the fact that he almost had no time to practice martial arts in recent years.

    If the Youth hall was the future hope of the World¡¯s society, then the Salvation hall was their final safeguard. They specially handled emergency relief, taking in orphans and the disabled. Over the past sixteen years, natural disasters basically happened every year. Even with their successes at handling the disasters, it still resulted in a large number of orphans, which were all taken in and taken care of by the Salvation hall. As the leader of the Salvation hall, he provided these children with food and clothing.

    The wealth of the World¡¯s society was limited, and they had to build bridges, roads, and dams, so the most that they could do was ensure these people did not starve or freeze to death. In order for these children to eat a little better and be clothed a little better, all he could do was roam the land to seek alms.

    He who had been an eminent monk detached from society in the past could no longer remain within the hall on the mountain. All he could do was move among the common folk, sometimes even relying on holding dharma ceremonies to make money. During his busiest times, he would hold over a dozen of them consecutively, completely relying on his true qi to hold on.

    With these sixteen years, his reputation in the northern region was only second to Li Qingshan¡¯s. It was even greater than Gu Yanying¡¯s. He was basically a benefactor to all.

    At this very moment, the entire city of crying was evidence.

    Throughout the night, he finally issued all of his instructions for after he passed away, such that his death would not be mishandled at the very least. Finally, he had a moment of peace to himself, where he could contemplate his life.

    Suddenly, he discovered that it had already been a very long time since he reflected like this. He was so busy that let alone any bad thoughts, even all of his good thoughts had been cast to the back of his mind. It made him recall the great drought in the central region where people starved to death left and right two decades ago. He had led the monks to chant and pray before the buddha, which lasted for three days and three nights without catching a wink of sleep.

    Compared to the past few years, that was basically leisurely fun.

    By now, he had almost even forgotten the scriptures he chanted back then, which made him smile wryly. Am I even a monk anymore?

    The true qi in his dantian began to disperse as his complexion declined, but his eyes suddenly shone with clear light, like someone that had woken up from a dream. Suddenly, he realised he had probably been bewitched back then.

    However, when he recalled everything he had done over the years, he actually could not find any regret at all. Instead, a sense of warmth filled him, like a lamp that was lit inside his chest, giving him an explanation.

    ¡°Hero king, what are you exactly? Good or evil?¡±

    Sunlight poured in as the morning bells rang out. The lone lamp was extinguished.

    ¡°Master has passed away!¡±

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 Chapter 1208

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1208 ¨C The Incoming War, the Grievances to be Settled

    The autumn rain began to fall again.

    ¡°You want to join the World¡¯s society?¡±

    Gu Yanying placed down the documents in her hand and studied Wu Huan. Even though everyone in the northern region now practised martial arts, only a very small number could break through to the innate realm. Innate masters were still important talents they required, not to mention the fact that he had come from the south, which made him even more important, as well as require even more investigation.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Wu Huan tried his best to recover from his shock. He still struggled to believe there was such a beautiful woman in the world. Originally, he thought her beauty had already reached the limits of mortals, but even with his love for her, he could not help but recognise the disparity that existed between the two of them.

    Perhaps describing her as ¡°beautiful¡± was not particularly accurate anymore. She gave off a stern sense of dignity, so even the ordinary table seemed thousands of metres tall. She sat right behind that table and gazed at him from above, where her cold gaze could pierce his heart. It made him tremble.

    Was this the might of the leader of the World¡¯s society?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡¯ Gu Yanying crossed her fingers and sat back in her seat.

    ¡°I admire the hero king¡¯s righteous deed, and I want to learn even greater martial arts.¡±

    These two reasons were perfectly normal. Wu Huan lowered his head to hide his thoughts.

    ¡°Oh?¡± Then what deed by the hero king do you admire the most? And what martial arts do you want to learn?¡±

    Wu Huan was taken by surprise. The fury he felt when she was taken away filled his head again. That was the ¡°righteous deed¡± by Li Qingshan that had left the deepest impression on him. He was a man on the verge of death too, so what martial arts did he want to learn?

    He thought quickly. Only as a member of the World¡¯s society could he get close to Li Qingshan naturally. If he exposed himself before that, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    Right as he tried to string together a lie, Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Which hall would you like to join?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m merely a ruffian who knows some martial arts, so I don¡¯t really understand the difference between the halls. I only want to work beside the hero king!¡±

    Wu Huan could not meet her eyes anymore. Every moment he spent before her was like torture.

    ¡°The hero king is taming the waters in the north right now.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and tame the waters,¡± Wu Huan said immediately.

    ¡°Alright, I accept your request to join the society. Once you take the oath, you can set off immediately, Wu Huan!¡±

    ¡°Yes-¡± Wu Huan choked up. His heart began to thump. ¡°Society leader, my name is Wu Geng.¡±

    ¡°Wu Huan, Wu Feng. Aren¡¯t you a little too careless with coming up with a fake name? Your father must be the first cave master of the seventy-two caves of the southern region, Wu Ming!¡±

    Wu Huan was shocked. He tried his best to explain. ¡°I¡¯m a distant nephew of cave master Wu, Wu Geng.¡±

    Since he needed to specify the martial arts he practised when he filled in the form and would be specially tested for that, he did not fake his background. However, the Wu clan had a large population. They were not one of the great clans and were located towards the south of the southern region, which was several thousand kilometres away from here. The leader of the World¡¯s society had to tend to a host of problems every single day, so how could she remember such an unimportant detail?

    ¡°Cave master Wu has a total of eight nephews, none of which are called Wu Geng. As for being a distant relative, how can you be a figure without any renown given your martial arts? You must have come for one of the ten great beauties back then, Nangong Wan¡¯er, right? If I recall correctly, you were engaged to her back then. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d still come for revenge after so many years. Have you developed some kind of surekill move?¡±

    Wu Huan was pale-white as if he had been stripped bare in the eye of the public. He reached towards the Bone of Killing in his clothes instinctively. If he could not kill Li Qingshan, then all he could do was kill the society leader right before him.

    ¡°Just follow the river to the north of the city, and you¡¯ll be able to find him. Coincidentally, Nangong Wan¡¯er is there as well.¡±

    Gu Yanying lowered her head again to handle the paperwork.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to kill me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not my enemy, so why would I kill you? On top of that, I also feel like he¡¯s acted a little far too inappropriately with this. You¡¯ve practised and trained arduously for all these years, so you should get an opportunity at the very least.¡± Gu Yanying did not even look at him. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t actually trying to join the World¡¯s society, just go. I still have other matters to handle!¡±

    Wu Huan made his way out of the World¡¯s society tensely. He did not encounter the slightest obstruction, which left him rejoicing and furious. He rejoiced over their carelessness, but he was furious over the fact that they did not take him seriously.

    Hmph, when I see Li Qingshan, you¡¯ll definitely regret this!

    Gu Yanying did not pay too much attention to something as insignificant as this. If Li Qingshan could be assassinated that easily, who knows how many times he would have died already. Over the years, he had travelled across the entire world, basically stepping into all the traps laid down for him. Whether it were strange poisons, mazes, or immense dangers, none of them could do anything to him. Only then did he slowly rein in his playful nature and come back, focusing on work.

    Actually, even without her broad knowledge and sharp memory, she could still see through Wu Huan¡¯s lies with ease, as her connection with the Hot Wind Hell had rapidly strengthened throughout the years. Even without any external help, she could unleash the hot winds of hell. If she returned to the nine provinces, she would definitely make a breakthrough with the Illustrations of Naraka.

    After all, she had set down laws in this world and enforced them strictly for sixteen years. That was not something she could experience in the nine provinces. The role she played here was just a sheriff. The world around her might have varied in size, but what she learnt from her training and trials would always apply.

    As a result, the solemnity she gave off became heavier and heavier. If someone had a guilty conscience, they would be frightened out of their wits as soon as they saw her. Meanwhile, she also gained a wondrous ability to see through falsehoods and distinguish truths from lies.

    As a result, from the moment Wu Huan had set foot in here, she knew he had not come to join the World¡¯s society.

    Of course, she was not planning on using this assassination as an excuse for war either. She stood up and arrived by the window, gazing towards the south. ¡°Those guys are probably running out of patience already!¡±

    Over the past sixteen years, she carried out the entirety of her plan on this land, which contained the methods from various schools of thought, like confucianism, mohism, and so on. She established a system of grammar, revolutionised technology, opened free trade, and improved the crops.

    The World¡¯s society had not raised an army to invade the south, but the trend of times they had developed had already swept through the world, such that they gradually won over the people. Let alone the common folk, even the new generation within the sects and clans had accepted a part of the World¡¯s society¡¯s ideologies unknowingly.

    This was thanks to the martial arts alliance. In order to contend with the World¡¯s society¡¯s invisible assault, the great alliance leader Zhang Yuntian had ordered the various clans and sects to release a large number of martial arts manuals so that they spread among the people. After all, if they still did not do that, then everyone in the world who wanted to learn martial arts would have moved to the northern region.

    However, this instead coincided with the World¡¯s society¡¯s ideology, which made it more convenient when they wanted to unify the world in the future. The younger martial arts practitioners who began as commoners obviously felt a sense of gratitude towards the World¡¯s society.

    Great alliance leader Zhang even devoted a tremendous amount of effort to reduce the clans and sects¡¯ oppression of the common people. He even established a proper set of laws for that too. He basically did whatever the World¡¯s society did. By now, the martial arts alliance was basically an inferior replica of the World¡¯s society. The people of the martial arts alliance all joked that he was the number one spy sent down by the World¡¯s society.

    He had ended up developing an extremely impressive reputation instead, basically consolidating his status as the great alliance leader. As a matter of fact, he no longer resembled an alliance leader, but the lord of a country. It had turned into a confrontation between two countries.

    Now, all the common people were satisfied, and everyone was only waiting for the day when the World¡¯s society ventured south. She had already begun ordering people to encroach on the south too. In another sixteen years¡¯ time, the world would be united, and even war would not be necessary anymore.

    If the other side refused to accept their fate of failure, then all they could do was put up a desperate battle. War was already imminent!

    It was time to settle this once and for all.

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 Chapter 1209

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1209 ¨C Slaying the Demon and Assassinating the King, Labouring Asura

    Within the endless darkness, fury, curses, abuses, fear, and hatred bombarded over as waves. Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the darkness without budging, grinning. ¡°What can you do about me?¡±

    As a result, the darkness dispersed. Laying on a tree, he opened his eyes and saw the sky dark with rain. The autumn rain landed on the tree leaves. Three children crouched on the branch, varying in age, but all of them stared straight at him. They were like three wild monkeys, all holding brushes in their hands. Seeing how he had woken up, they all hid their brushes behind them in a hurry.

    ¡°Dad, you¡¯re awake.¡±

    Li Qingshan wiped the ink on his face. ¡°You better watch as I spank your bottoms in!¡±

    As a result, the three monkey children scrambled off the tree. He managed to grab the smallest one, who tried to defend himself. ¡°I- it¡¯s mum that made me do it!¡±

    Sure enough, a woman rode a white elephant in the distance, laughing until she keeled over.

    Li Qingshan tossed the child aside. The white elephant lifted its trunk and caught the child gently, bringing him back to his mother¡¯s embrace.

    ¡°Gosh. You used so much force. What if he falls to his death?¡± the woman grumbled.

    ¡°If he falls to his death, then he deserved it! I have plenty of sons anyway!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. There was at least one record he had broken in this world compared to the nine provinces, which was having children.

    By now, he had almost twenty children in total. That was basically unimaginable in the nine provinces.

    First, he had sufficient time. He rarely ever had any leisure in the nine provinces, and even if he did have spare time, he would spend it on cultivation. Furthermore, his power had been greatly suppressed. His body had grown countless times weaker, but his fertility had been drastically increased.

    The world restrained his powers, but it did not restrain his ability to reproduce. And, the children he produced were not affected by the restraints of this world. Instead, they inherited his bloodlines, and every single one of them was energetic and vigorous.

    He guessed this to be the world¡¯s attempt to drain his energy. What a terrifying scheme!

    The child was not afraid at all. He giggled away. ¡°Even if you die, I won¡¯t!¡±

    With a smack, he was thrown on the ground viciously. The two other monkey children laughed their asses off, pointing at him. He climbed up in a dishevelled manner and lunged over with a roar. The three of them immediately became caught up in a fight.

    Li Qingshan leapt down from the tree. He was holding a tiny infant in his arms. That was R¨¡hu Xiaoming. The sixteen years had made him grow even more feeble, so he was now no different from a regular human infant. He spent most of his time sleeping.

    Li Qingshan was basically worried he would turn into a tiny tadpole if this continued.

    He handed him over to the woman to take care of and arrived before a great canal. Almost a thousand people rested on the two sides of the canal. He asked loudly, ¡°Have you all rested up!¡±

    Everyone exploded into roars of laughter. As it turned out, Li Qingshan¡¯s face had been painted pitch-black.

    ¡°Laugh my ass. Get to work!¡±

    All of them answered his order loudly.

    Li Qingshan leapt down. When he was still mid-air, he had already grabbed the hilt of the blade behind him. He swung down in the direction of the canal.

    A blade aura whistled out, throwing earth everywhere and leaving behind a deep gash several hundred metres in the ground.

    Everyone gathered over with tools, clearing away the rock and soil to build the canal.

    Li Qingshan did not idle around either. He extended his monkey arms and dug away at the soil, advancing valiantly.

    By now, he was no longer smiling anymore. Instead, his face was filled with firm endurance.

    The group of people began working in full swing. Even the autumn rain over their heads seemed to evaporate as a result.

    The woman made the white elephant help out with moving the soil too. The white elephant had already become a daemon, possessing boundless strength. Even when it carried several tonnes of earth, it seemed effortless. It did not need orders from anyone at all.

    The woman only leaned against a tree and held the infant in her hands as she ate some sunflower seeds, watching the three children fight. From time to time, she would even encourage them. It was not like she had anything better to do.

    Wu Huan followed the river and finally came across a canal that was still dry. They had not connected it with the water yet.

    With the constant rain, the river swelled higher. As it seemed, it was only a matter of time before it burst its banks.

    The demon and his lackeys might be building the canal right now. If I destroy the barrier and let the water rush them¡­

    However, he dismissed that thought very quickly. He had come to kill the demon. It was impossible for the demon to die to a flood.

    ¡°Have you come to find the hero king?¡± A deep voice rang out as a glorious, dragon-like head poked out from the earthen barrier.

    Wu Huan leapt in fright. Only now did he discover that the barrier separating the river and the canal was a giant turtle.

    That was Old Patience that Li Qingshan had brought over from the Salvation temple. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s guidance, his cultivation progressed very quickly, and he grew larger and larger. He could even speak human tongue now, so Li Qingshan arranged for him to serve as the barrier.

    This must be the demon¡¯s legendary mount! The demon loves associating with wretched daemons!

    Wu Huan bowed respectfully. ¡°May I ask where the hero king is?¡±

    ¡°Right at the end of the canal.¡± The giant turtle¡¯s head shrank back inside.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Wu Huan followed the canal, but he felt his heart thump more and more, almost to the point where it stifled his breath. He stopped and gazed at the gloomy sky.

    I¡¯m not just doing this for the save of my revenge, but also to purge the demon so that the world can recover its peace. Right now, the martial arts alliance has already begun assembling an army for an expedition to the north. This battle will probably lead to great bloodshed and casualties. What I¡¯m doing here is preventing war! A hundred years later, there¡¯ll definitely be people who¡¯ll remember my name. I, Wu Huan, will be the warrior who slew the demon and assassinated the king.

    With such a great cause in mind, he did his best to calm himself down. He advanced resolutely.

    Suddenly, a white speck appeared on the horizon. When he made it out, it was a white elephant, which made his heart skip a beat. She really is here! That was the spiritual beast passed down through the generations of the Nangong clan. It had been taken as well while it was taking her to her marriage, ending up in the northern region.

    Venturing a little further, he discovered the white elephant moving soil laboriously. Even the white elephant had ended up like this, so what kind of pain had she been through?

    However, it brought him relief. If he could die right in front of her and make her personally witness the man who loved her sacrifice his life to avenge her, it all would have been worth it!

    Perhaps, perhaps he could even take her away from here! In a land of wilderness like this, there was only a measly group of labourers digging the canal. As long as he killed Li Qingshan, who could still stop him?

    He gripped the Bone of Killing in his clothes and widened his eyes. Li Qingshan, I¡¯m here. Where are you?

    The canal was filled with dust as figures moved about. For a moment, he was unable to locate him.

    ¡°Hey, you over there. You¡¯ve come for revenge, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from within the canal.

    At that moment, everyone stopped what they were doing, looking towards Wu Huan. Their eyes all shone with red light.

    These dirty, dishevelled labourers had suddenly become asura.

    All of the blood in Wu Huan¡¯s body seemed to freeze. He discovered that every single one of them was actually an innate master. Standing in unity, their murderousness filled the air, with enough force to destroy everything in their path. It almost made his determination for revenge, for the greater good, collapse instantly.

    Now, he finally realised he would not just be facing some demon, but the king of demons!

    He was unable to utter a single word. He was unable to find the courage to do anything. He just stood there blankly, trembling on the verge of collapsing.

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 Chapter 1210

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1210 ¨C The Will of the Heavens Toys With Man

    The slumbering R¨¡hu Xiaoming opened his eyes. These were asura he had personally converted. Back then, over ten thousand people attended the ceremony. Through these sixteen years of selection and elimination, less than a thousand of them still maintained the heart of an asura. Most of them had turned back to mortal humans, gaining the opportunity to learn martial arts.

    However, this had already left him surprised enough. The heart of an asura required tempering through the flames of battle. It had been over a decade since any battles had happened, so even if they could preserve a few dozen of them, they would have been doing wonderfully.

    Li Qingshan had given a speech many years ago. ¡°Fighting against the heavens is better than fighting against people. Man will conquer the heavens!¡±

    He led these people to fight all sorts of natural disasters, from floods and fires to earthquakes, droughts, and locust plagues. The intangible will of the heavens basically unleashed all the natural disasters it could on this land.

    That was even more brutal than war. Under the vast might of the heavens, even standing in unity became extremely difficult. It was like they were facing an undefeatable opponent. Most of the time, they were completely at the whim of the heavens, watching it leave behind destruction powerlessly.

    Some died in the fight, dying to the seas of fire or vanishing in the floods.

    Many gave up, choosing to get married and start a family, to spend their days in a more comfortable manner.

    However, these people managed to persevere, fighting the heavens arduously and becoming true asura!

    The battle spirit they had condensed was extremely special. They were not bloodthirsty or battle-hungry like regular asura. Instead, they possessed a sense of breadth where they wanted to change the world, even leaving the child of an asura god amazed.

    If it were not for this small world, if it were not for the leadership of someone like this, leading them to fend off the natural disasters, it was completely impossible for asura like them to appear.

    He was very curious whether these asura would receive ¡°its¡± commendations or setbacks in the Asura realm.

    A group of warriors battled arduously, not to obtain its graces, but to carry out a spirit. They were even willing to go as far as to oppose the heavens.

    However, he was confident they would be spoiled by the Asura realm, as they were true warriors.

    Li Qingshan did not mistreat them either. He provided them with cultivation resources to the best of his ability, as well as all the amusements that the world could offer. Whether it was wealth or women, he bestowed it to them generously, basically a small compensation for their sacrifices.

    However, that was only a small adjustment between the battles to these true warriors. That had stopped being their true interests a long time ago.

    Of course, every single one of them were innate masters, or they could not be called asura. It no longer had anything to do with the inner force or true qi within their bodies. Instead, it was an intrinsic change to their bloodlines and bodies. It was possible to say that they had reached the innate realm through willpower alone.

    Before an existence like that, how could Wu Huan stand a chance mentally? His willpower had already been quite tough considering the fact that his mind had not collapsed immediately.

    Right when he felt like he could not last any longer, Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Give us a moment. We¡¯re almost going to let the water in! Alright, stop looking at him. What¡¯s there to look at? Let¡¯s get to work so that we don¡¯t make him wait.¡±

    The specks of red light vanished as everyone returned to normal, continuing to toil about in the soil. They spoke and joked around like nothing was going to happen. It was as if they were not worried that the rising waters were about to breach the barrier, let alone the avenger who had been frightened out of his wits.

    They seemed ordinary yet fearless, humble and lowly yet filled with lofty sentiments.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming closed his eyes again. He sure was tempted to lead an army like this into battle!

    Wu Huan collapsed on the ground, gasping for air like a person close to drowning that had just been rescued. He poured with sweat as if he had just been scooped out of the water. Suddenly, he did not want revenge anymore. All he wanted to do was make a scramble and get as far away from these people as possible. However, as soon as he remembered she was currently watching him, he was unable to move. He only lay on the banks like a statue.

    ¡°Mum, that person is so strange!¡± a child said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go over there. That¡¯s your father¡¯s enemy. He might eat you in a gulp if you¡¯re not careful! Though, why does he seem so familiar? I feel like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere before.¡±

    The rain fell even harder, leaving the world miserable. The banks of the river became covered with cracks, and the largest crack happened to ¡°coincide¡± with the direction of Beiping city. From high above, the river seemed like a restless dragon, twisting its body and brandishing its claws, wanting to break out of the banks and devour the city.

    A great howl rang through the air.

    The giant turtle in the distance heard the howl. It spread its limbs and shifted its body.

    With a boom, the waters rushed in. Even with his size, he could only bob around in the water.

    The water level in the river rapidly fell as the flood rushed into the canal like a pack of horses. All of the asura began to roar, filled with delight.

    They had won this battle.

    Li Qingshan stopped howling, also smiling in delight.

    ¡°Give me a hand, my king!¡± the giant turtle Old Patience called out from the waters.

    ¡°Go take three days¡¯ break and have some fun!¡±

    ¡°But I¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan watched as the giant turtle was washed away by the flood before making his way over to Wu Huan. ¡°C¡¯mon! Tell me what kind of grievance we have.¡±

    ¡°A grievance of a taken wife! I will never forgive you!¡± Wu Huan suddenly raised his head. His eyes were completely bloodshot.

    ¡°Can you be a little more precise?¡± Li Qingshan felt a little troubled. Back then, every single one of the ten great beauties had a great group of admirers.

    ¡°Do you still remember how you kidnapped my soon-to-be wife fifteen years ago in the southern region, Nangong Wan¡¯er of the Nangong clan?¡± Wu Huan said as he slowly took out the Bone of Killing.

    ¡°Ah! You¡¯re that- that Wu whatchamacallit!¡± Nangong Wan¡¯er stood beneath a tree in the distance to shelter from the rain. When she heard her name being mentioned, she hurried over and studied Wu Huan. ¡°It really is you. You¡¯ve changed so much. I almost couldn¡¯t recognise you!¡±

    Wu Huan lowered his head. She was still as beautiful as back then, but he had already changed. When he saw the three children, he felt like a blade had just sliced him three times. His hatred immediately overwhelmed his fear, which made him grip the Bone of Killing firmly.

    ¡°So we do have a grievance of a taken wife, but you can¡¯t completely blame me! Back then, I asked her if she wanted to leave with me, and she agreed!¡± Li Qinghan shrugged, without any interest in taking responsibility.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Wu Huan was overcome with fury as he roared out.

    Nangong Wan¡¯er was angered too. ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±

    Before Wu Huan could even feel a tinge of relief, Nangong Wan¡¯er added, ¡°You clearly said ¡®Come with me!¡¯ back then!¡±

    ¡°I just said it casually. I absolutely regret it now.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    ¡°You clearly came specially for me!¡± Tears pooled up in Nangong Wan¡¯er¡¯s eyes. ¡°Li Qingshan, you heartless bastard! I gave birth to children for you, one after another, and you actually treat me like this!¡±

    However, she was unable to forget that sight fifteen years ago. In the gloomy jungle, the broken sunlight scattered on the ground when he descended from above like a god, standing on the white elephant that was taking her to her marriage. His golden hair drifted like the fierce winds as his golden eyes shone like stars. He extended his hand towards her. ¡°Come with me!¡±

    As a result, she grabbed the hand without any hesitation.

    ¡°You can take them back then!¡± Li Qingshan barked.

    He could still remember how she had angered him to the point where he flew into a rage as he brought her back to the northern region, dragging her off the elephant and teaching her a vicious lesson.

    It was not that he did not know how to cherish women, but she had been asking for a beating far too much. Out of the Ten Great Beauties of the World, she was the most stubborn and unruly one. Her personality was basically as horrible as it could get. If she wanted the stars, then the moon would not suffice. Weeping, tantrums, and threats to hang herself occurred every second day. Despite being a madam of the hero king, her face was always twisted with displeasure for some reason. Her sharp mouth was vicious and absolutely horrific too. It had taken him a tremendous amount of effort to teach her how to behave.

    The others had their own matters to tend to. Only she loafed around every single day, following him everywhere on the shitty elephant, and that was the result of teaching her how to behave after all these years. Of course, the three children were also one of the results.

    In the past, they basically had a big argument every three days and a small bickering every single day. It only became slightly better after she had children.

    Now, she took her children with her wherever she went, basically using them as a protective charm. She showed signs of slipping back into her old habits again.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re not human!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re more than welcome to leave with anyone who¡¯s a human. Look, there¡¯s one right here, and he¡¯s your old fiance! It¡¯s perfect!¡±

    The asura gazed over, laughing. Even the three monkey children giggled about, clearly having grown accustomed to this already.

    Wu Huan blanked out. He murmured, ¡°Wan¡¯er, tell me this isn¡¯t true. Tell me this isn¡¯t true¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, Wu Huan, stop calling out randomly. There¡¯s absolutely nothing between us. We only met a handful of times. You¡¯re so weird!¡±

    Wu Huan cried out hysterically, ¡°We were husband and wife with an engagement, to be married in a formal manner! What do you mean there¡¯s absolutely nothing between us!?¡±

    Nangong Wan¡¯er said in contempt, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the fact that my father wanted to bring those barbarians of the seventy-two caves under his control, would I have been married off to such a shitty place? Why don¡¯t you check yourself in the mirror? In what way are you worthy of me? Speaking of which, you were an absolutely abhorrent sight to look at back then.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head in disbelief. He could not stand it any longer. ¡°Enough of you. He went as far as to come here to die, just for revenge. Don¡¯t you have a bit of human decency?¡±

    ¡°Ah, so you¡¯re siding with him now? If I slept with every single man who¡¯s willing to die for me, a decade would not be enough to get up to a bastard like you!¡± Nangong Wan¡¯er stood with her hands on her hips and her face bright red. She felt like it had been a very long time since she felt so satisfied.

    Veins bulged on Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead as he ground his teeth. Nangong Wan¡¯er, just you wait for tonight!

    Nangong Wan¡¯er glared back at him. Who¡¯s afraid of who? It¡¯s not like you can kill me!

    Wu Huan¡¯s face was completely ashen. He felt like something in his heart had shattered.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s getting late, so if you want to fight, let¡¯s do this! However, do you really love her that much and hate me so much? Or have you been toyed with by the heavens?¡±

    The curtain of night fell. Wu Huan listened to the sounds of the waves as he slowly raised the Bone of Killing in his hand.

    By now, Li Qingshan had already led everyone back to the city. He was currently deep within the hero king¡¯s manor, teaching miss Nangong how to ¡°behave¡±. He did not show any mercy no matter how she moaned or pleaded with him.

    Wu Huan adjusted the Bone of Killing, pointing it towards his forehead. He shut his eyes and activated the vicious curse he had spent fourteen years building up.

    A while later, he opened his eyes and discovered himself unscathed.

    The Bone of Killing could kill without any person noticing, such that even supreme masters would struggle to block it, but it happened to be useless against the person who created it. No one had ever known about this, as no one had ever tried to commit suicide like this.

    The will of the heavens toyed with men!

    The next morning, smoke rose up from the village. The woman rose from bed to make breakfast and saw a man collapsed at the entrance, making her leap in fright. She made her way over carefully. ¡°Guest?¡±

    At the same time, a letter of challenge was spread through the world. The leader of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian, had challenged Li Qingshan to a decisive battle outside Xuanwu city to determine the possession of the world!

    ps£º ÓÐ¸üÐÂ£¬ÇóÔÂÆ±

 Chapter 1211

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1211 ¨C The Million-strong Army

    The west wind was fierce, filling the sky with sand and dimming the red sun.

    Outside Xuanwu city, the military camp stretched for several hundred kilometers. Soldiers came and went, like ants on an anthill.

    Zhang Yuntian stood on the city walls and leaned against the battlements. His gaze seemed to see everything through the sand.

    He asked without looking back, ¡°How many soldiers have we gathered so far?¡±

    ¡°Alliance leader, a hundred and fifty thousand,¡± said the leader of the Abstruse temple.

    ¡°It¡¯s not enough. Before the decisive battle begins, we need a million bold warriors.¡±

    ¡°Many people refuse to fight against the hero king. It¡¯ll be difficult to provide them with provisions too.¡±

    ¡°Make the clans and sects think of ideas themselves. Whether it¡¯s through offering great rewards or forcibly recruiting men, I want an army of no less than a million. They have to bring their own provisions as well. It¡¯ll be enough as long as we last through that day of ¡®Great Snow¡¯.¡±

    Great Snow¡ªgreat was synonymous with heavy, so it was the day of heavy snow!

    TL: The day of ¡°Great Snow¡±, which also corresponds to the seventh day of the twelfth month on the lunar calendar, is one of the thirty-six Chinese solar terms. You can read more about them here.

    The seventh day of the twelfth month was the day of the decisive battle.

    ¡°But if the demon king doesn¡¯t answer the challenge, the million-strong army will be useless.¡±

    The leader of the Abstruse temple¡¯s face was filled with worry. As long as Li Qngshan delayed it by a few days, the army of a million soldiers would immediately collapse due to a lack of provisions. It would even lead to a backlash on Xuanwu city.

    ¡°He will come, and he will be neither early nor late!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian gazed at the distant north. For the sake of this day, he had spent sixteen entire years in preparation.

    ¡°The Abstruse temple will obviously provide the alliance leader with its full support, but what if the leaders of the other clans and sects object?¡±

    ¡°Threaten them or tempt them. Anything is fine. If that¡¯s not enough, kill them!¡± Zhang Yuntian said indifferently. It was like he was not talking about a group of prominent figures of the jianghu, but a group of ants instead.

    Throughout the sixteen years, he could sense the will of the heavens bless him. Everything progressed as smoothly as it could, and he had grasped unprecedented power too. He had ceased being that Zhang Yuntian of the past a long time ago. He was confident that even if the first alliance leader, Long Potian, was standing right before him, he could kill him with ease.

    A chill ran through the heart of the leader of the Abstruse temple. Gazing at his figure, he felt a sense of deja vu.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, temple leader. I won¡¯t become a second demon king. Once I complete my duty, I¡¯ll ascend.¡±

    Zhang Yuntian gazed at the yellow skies. He would not be facing any dangers at all when he ascended. That was his reward from the heavens.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go and prepare right now.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for many years, but military law is merciless. Be careful!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian¡¯s voice did not contain any murderousness, but the implications were extremely clear. Anyone who breaks my military law will be executed!

    A smear of anger flashed through the leader of the Abstruse temple¡¯s eyes. He bowed deeply. ¡°Yes!¡±

    The heavy injuries from back then had unearthed a much darker side of him. He flew down the stairs and looked back at the figure swallowed by the wind and the sand. He recalled what happened a few years ago. A group of horse bandits had risen up in the western region and launched an attack on the central region, having benefited from the widespread propagation of the martial arts manuals over the years. These bandits were all martial arts practitioners, and their leader was even a seventh layer innate master.

    Zhang Yuntian faced them in battle alone. He launched a single strike, ringing with the cries of a dragon and sending sand and stones flying. He slaughtered the entire group of horse bandits and shocked the entire martial arts alliance.

    That was a power that even tenth layer innate masters did not possess. Apart from Li Qingshan, who was still his opponent in this world?

    Thinking up to there, he touched the scar on his face. That had been left behind by the lightning. Despite the wound healing a long time ago, the scar remained permanent. It had also destroyed all possibility for him to ascend. Hatred burned like a fire within him.

    Li Qingshan, the day of your death is here!

    Ten days later, the four clans were destroyed, and the six sects met their end, all because they either resisted Zhang Yuntian¡¯s call to convene or responded too slowly.

    All of the figures of power were overwhelmed. They understood his determination. From the western, southern, and eastern regions, groups upon groups of soldiers set off for the central region.

    The northern region was like a pot of oil set alight by sparks as well, burning fiercely like fire. Numerous people pleaded for battle, willing to destroy the martial arts alliance with the hero king and capture Zhang Yuntian alive.

    Due to the letter of challenge, the entire world began to churn. Everyone began to stir.

    ¡°My king, just give me the order, and I¡¯ll serve as the vanguard.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a measly martial arts alliance, so what do we need a vanguard for? A single swing from the king will basically be enough.¡±

    The meeting room was a ruckus. Only masters at the sixth layer or higher had the right to be seated there. The others could only stand at the back and listen along. A total of several hundred people gathered there, where young faces made up more than half of them. Many innate masters were tasked with important missions, so they could not make the meeting. The asura army was resting up and being reorganised in the city too, so they only sent a few people to take part in the meeting.

    Before they knew it, the World¡¯s society already possessed such a magnificent assembly of people, well beyond anyone¡¯s imaginations. It also made everyone believe they could crush all opponents in the world. They had begun mentioning conquering the world several years back, and the only stubborn pacifist, the Suffering Subduing monk, had passed away recently too. There were no longer any objections in the meeting room. They were all united.

    In their eyes, Zhang Yuntian was basically asking to die. It was also perfect to use this opportunity to make the World¡¯s society truly become the World¡¯s society!

    ¡°It¡¯s a trap!¡± Gu Yanying said with absolute confidence.

    The meeting room immediately fell into absolute silence. No one doubted her wisdom, just like how no one doubted the hero king¡¯s power. With the two of them combined, they were basically representations of omniscience and omnipotence.

    On top of that, their ideas had only ever faced objection from one another. As a result, everyone looked at the other end of the long table. Li Qingshan sat back lazily in his chair with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End standing to one side. He casually asked, ¡°What trap?¡±

    ¡°I have received reliable intelligence that Zhang Yuntian has already grasped the first martial arts alliance leader¡¯s Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon.¡±

    ¡°The Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon, what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an item that gathers the will of the people, a symbol of authority throughout the world.¡±

    Gu Yanying took out a seal engraved with an identical jade dragon. This was not a coincidence. By founding a country and gathering the will of the people, the lord of the country obtained the faith of their citizens, becoming a god among people. This power was also known as dragon qi.

    In the centre of the nine provinces was the Dragon province. The central piece of the nine cauldrons was the Dragon Province cauldron.

    However, the nine cauldrons were a creation of powerful cultivators. They had forged countless Mountain and Water God Seals, merging with the laws of the world, so it obviously was well beyond what a measly Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon could compare to. However, it was still the peak power that this world could offer.

    Over the years, she had handed the asura army over to him, exactly because she had begun to utilise this power instead.

    As the first organisation in history to unite the world and last several centuries, even if the martial arts alliance could not be regarded as a country, the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon had still existed first. It was just that after the first alliance leader Long Potian¡¯s ascension, it only existed in name. It did not possess any power.

    That was until Zhang Yuntian became the great alliance leader. Over these years of development, the martial arts alliance became closer to being a country. Coupled with the blessings from the intangible will of the heavens, an extremely great power had definitely gathered in the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon.

    ¡°If we can obtain this Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon, we can contend against the will of the heavens!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Man will conquer the heavens! We might even have the opportunity to replace them!¡±

    ¡°So everything you did over the years was intentional!¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Over the years, with the establishment of each law and the founding of each hall, the World¡¯s society was basically teaching the martial arts alliance how to build a country.

    ¡°There¡¯s someone to help us lay a foundation, so why not?¡±

    ¡°So this can¡¯t be regarded as a trap.¡±

    ¡°Zhang Yuntian is currently gathering a great army. He¡¯s probably trying to give us a taste of our own medicine!¡±

    The army qi of the school of the Military was a secret existence, but it was not a particularly profound thing in the first place. Making an inferior replica was anything but difficult. As long as there were enough people, it would still be a force to be reckoned with.

    Li Qingshan sat up straight. ¡°It¡¯s finally getting a little interesting!¡±

 Chapter 1212

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1212 ¨C Southbound

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°If it¡¯s a trap, is there any way to deal with it?¡±

    ¡°I have a total of three plans, a good one, an ordinary one, and a bad one. The good plan is for you to launch a sneak attack on Xuanwu city immediately and claim Zhang Yuntian¡¯s head. Just the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon is not enough to stop your Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. The ordinary plan is to delay the day of the battle so that they run out of provisions and the enemy army just collapses on themselves. The bad plan is to confront them on the day, where you confront the enemy directly, and I¡¯ll lead the army in a sneak attack. Their morale will naturally crumble.¡±

    Gu Yanying swung her folding fan gently with absolute confidence.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Then I choose the bad plan. On the seventh day of the twelfth month, I will let Zhang Yuntian push his powers to the limit before openly defeating him!¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head instead. ¡°No, that¡¯s actually the best plan. We will win over the people through virtue and claim the world through benevolence. We won¡¯t carry out a massacre. We¡¯ll only take out the ringleader!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve always been disposable to you.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡±

    ¡°Though, everything that happens after the battle is what¡¯ll be truly troublesome. You better be careful when dealing with it.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have plans in mind.¡±

    The two of them conversed like no one else was around. Everyone remained silent as if they had become part of the background, but they had grown accustomed to this a long time ago. Even among the seated innate masters, none of them believed they were equal to them, not because of how arrogant they were, but because they had clearly noticed they were completely different existences.

    However, with the two of them as leaders, it sure did save a lot of effort and worry.

    Several of the ten beauties were present. At that moment, they suddenly felt rather saddened. Despite their physical intimacy, even giving birth to children for him, they had never managed to close this great distance. Meanwhile, despite being seated at opposite ends of the table, the two of them seemed to be standing side by side, facing the enemy together.

    Li Qingshan stood up to leave the meeting. He opened the door, and sunlight flowed in. He glanced backwards with a smile.

    ¡°Everyone, I will reclaim your fate for you!¡±

    Fate!

    That word left everyone stunned. In particular, the innate masters who were qualified to be seated there all sank into their thoughts.

    The World¡¯s society had offered countless benefits, but it had also caused a great problem for them. Throughout the sixteen years, not a single person had managed to ascend, including the two protectors who followed the hero king right from the beginning. Originally, they had become capable of making an attempt a long time ago, but Li Qingshan persuaded them out of it.

    Ascending was not just about fending off the tribulation lightning. They had to break through the restraints of the world too and face the tests of the intangible will of the heavens. However, everything that Li Qingshan had done in this world could be summarized in three words¡ªdefying the heavens!

    The heavens wanted him to die, yet he tried his best to survive. The heavens wanted to weaken him, yet he constantly strived to become stronger. The heavens wanted him in utter isolation, yet he wanted to unite the world.

    Everyone who supported him endured the wrath of the heavenly will as well, which was why the northern region faced natural disasters every single year.

    He could rely on the kunpeng¡¯s feather to return to the nine provinces, but his subordinates, women, and children would be trapped in this world, enjoying a lifespan of a measly century. Even if they made it to the tenth layer of the innate realm, they would struggle to make it past two hundred years old.

    Since the damned heavens are already powerless against me, now¡¯s the time to fight back!

    Li Qingshan strode into the sunlight. Everyone stood up, sending off the hero king.

    The hero king would be accepting the challenge. On the seventh day of the twelfth month, they would clash in the wilderness, with only one making it out alive.

    On the first day of the twelfth month, the World¡¯s society set off on their campaign. The common people gathered together and followed them closely. Not only did the World¡¯s society refuse to recruit any people, they instead sent people to various places to calm the common people so that they could pass the winter in peace without following them into battle.

    However, there were still many people that followed along. They said they were not here to fight, but to boost their morale. In a single day, they had amassed a hundred thousand people.

    Basically every single person that practised martial arts in the world had to gather in Xuanwu city. A great battle like this was a once-in-a-millennium event.

    The giant turtle lifted up the residence and advanced through the resounding cheers. The asura army parted the crowds and formed a path.

    All of the beauties gathered in the residence, apart from Yang Miaozhen. The others all brought their children with them, gazing at him in admiration. The children were so excited that their faces were all red.

    Throughout history, who had ever enjoyed such a resounding reputation?

    Sixteen years ago, had any one of them imagined that they would share a husband in the future? But now, it felt like it made perfect sense. Perhaps only the woman right before him had the right to make him remain faithful until his death, but after so many years, they could also confirm that no special feelings existed between the two.

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying sat before each other. Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°How does this feel?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to your arduous administration over the past sixteen years, so let me give you a toast!¡±

    They brought their cups together and drank away.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Though, it¡¯s nothing special.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Whether I¡¯ve been praised by all or insulted by all, there¡¯s never been any intrinsic difference. I¡¯ve just been following my heart. Though, I happen to be a good person as well.¡±

    ¡°A good person?¡± Gu Yanying broke into laughter and looked around. ¡°Just this alone isn¡¯t something a good person would do.¡±

    The women reddened and clicked their tongues.

    ¡°Dad, a little higher! I think I can almost see him!¡± Tiedan urged.

    Li Qingshan seemed to notice something. He lifted up the curtain and saw Wu Huan in the crowd, as well as the child on his shoulders. He could not help but give him a nod.

    The crowd erupted into another series of cheers. After a slight moment of hesitation, Wu Huan nodded back.

    Li Qingshan lowered the curtain again. Gu Yanying asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I might not be a good person, but regardless, seeing people in happiness leaves me much more cheerful than seeing them in pain.¡±

    Tiedan called out, ¡°Dad, the hero king nodded at me just then! The hero king was nodding at me!¡±

    The group passed through the village. Wu Huan smiled. ¡°Since you¡¯ve seen him, then let¡¯s go home. Your mother is almost done with making lunch.¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Tiedan nodded firmly before asking, ¡°Dad, aren¡¯t you going to follow them and take a look? There¡¯s so many people in the village who¡¯re going. They said they want to comprehend some supreme martial arts from this battle.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going. Let¡¯s go home and eat. Once we¡¯re done eating, I¡¯ll teach you a few more moves.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    They travelled south, crossing the boundary of the northern region and entering the central region. The common people welcomed them with food, water, and cheers.

    The name of the hero king had spread through the world a long time ago. Meanwhile, in order to gather his million-strong army, Zhang Yuntian had carried out a large-scale conscription, taking and reallocating provisions. He had already become loathed by everyone. Apart from the clans and sects that had vested interests, all of the commoners looked forward to the day when the hero king conquered the world and built a world of peace like the northern region.

    ¡°Hero king, I am Hou Zhen of the Wind Gale Mercenary Escorts! I gave you directions in the past!¡± Hou Zhen called out vigorously. His full beard had already become grizzled now.

    The group passed by, and his youngest disciple asked, ¡°Master, did you really give the hero king directions in the past?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The hero king¡¯s kindness and justice knows no bounds. He treats everyone with courtesy and consideration. You have no idea just how friendly he was to me! I even wanted to lead the way for him, but he declined.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t you afraid of offending the martial arts alliance?¡±

    ¡°That son of a bitch Zhang Yuntian! I think he doesn¡¯t have many days left in him!¡±

    Hou Zhan was furious. The martial arts alliance had basically taken away everyone from his group of escorts. They had confiscated most of the wealth they had built up over the years as well.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go to Xuanwu city and take a look too! We can lend the hero king a hand!¡±

    ¡°Go for what? It¡¯s very easy to get injured. All I have left is you, my only disciple. If you get hacked to death, who¡¯s going to take care of me when I¡¯m old and handle my funeral?¡±

    The youngest disciple thought, But my senior brothers haven¡¯t even died yet!

    On the sixth day of the twelfth month, Li Qingshan arrived outside Xuanwu city and set up camp for the decisive battle tomorrow!

 Chapter 1213

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1213 ¨C Monster

    Deep into the night, snow drifted through the sky.

    The two army camps sat before each other outside Xuanwu city. The light from lanterns illuminated dozens of kilometers like a meteor shower on land. It illuminated the night of wind and snow.

    Zhang Yuntian stood on the city walls, gazing at the firelight in the distance. Even as someone blessed by the heavens, he felt nervous. The powerful enemy he had waited sixteen years for was less than ten kilometres away, while he was currently in an extremely feeble state.

    Much of the dragon qi in the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon had vanished, which symbolised a shift in the will of the people.

    He had proactively declared war, conscripted soldiers, and gathered provisions en masse, and his enemy was someone renowned for his good reputation, Li Qingshan. Under these various factors that worked against him, he was currently losing the trust of the people, leading to a decline in power.

    If Li Qingshan rushed over right now, it would be his defeat.

    However, he knew he would not do something like that, or he would not have come here with such a large army.

    ¡°Hey, long time no see! You¡¯re called Zhang Yuntian, right?¡± A voice suddenly rang out.

    Zhang Yuntian¡¯s heart tightened. He gazed in the direction of the voice, and a pair of dark-golden eyes flickered in the darkness. Li Qingshan stood on the battlement as his cloak fluttered in the wind and snow like a great flag.

    ¡°Y- you¡­¡±

    ¡°I was bored in the main tent, so I came out for a stroll. Hey, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re afraid?¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    Zhang Yuntian pressed down on the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon. Fierce winds surged around him, whistling like the threatening growls of wild beasts.

    ¡°With how you are right now, you sure would make me lose interest. Hopefully, you don¡¯t disappoint me too much tomorrow.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great laugh and leapt into the wind and snow. His voice continued to echo, resounding through Xuanwu city.

    ¡°Alliance leader!¡± The leader of the Abstruse temple hurried up. Only when he saw how Zhang Yuntian was safe and sound did he let out a sigh of relief. If Li Qingshan had struck at that moment, then all of their efforts would have gone to waste.

    ¡°How is it?¡± Zhang Yuntian composed himself. Suddenly, he no longer possessed the confidence that everything was within his control.

    ¡°The army of a million is already prepared.¡±

    ¡°I will take the platform and have them acknowledge me as their general immediately!¡±

    Zhang Yuntian launched a palm strike at the battlements. With a boom, shrapnel exploded in all directions.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you will pay for your arrogance!¡±

    In the tent, Yang Miaozhen meditated and rested on a cushion as a gust of cold wind, together with snowflakes, rushed in. Before she could even respond, she was pushed down on the thick carpet. When she raised her head, she was met with a pair of dark-golden eyes. She asked indifferently, ¡°Why have you come?¡±

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I come?¡± Li Qingshan threw aside his cloak and extended his hands to disrobe her.

    ¡°You better remember that I don¡¯t know all those tricks to serve you.¡± Yang Miaozhen turned her head away as her face blushed slightly.

    ¡°Then let me serve you!¡±

    With a grin, Li Qingshan took everything off her. Her beautiful, slender body lay on the ground as he held her cheeks with boths hands, gently sliding past her neck, breasts, waist, and stopping on her flat belly. ¡°I¡¯ll help you give birth to a child.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to! Have you seen my master?¡± Yang Miaozhen grabbed his hands as he tried to slide down further.

    ¡°How did you know I went to Xuanwu city?¡±

    ¡°I guessed.¡±

    ¡°I just caught a glance of him. How¡¯s this? If you serve me well tonight, I¡¯ll spare his life again!¡±

    ¡°Each to their own fate!¡± Yang Miaozhen closed her eyes and silently braced herself for the intrusion of his large hands. Her body gradually heated up.

    ¡°Heh, fate.¡±

    Suddenly, a dragon¡¯s roar completely resounded through the surroundings, drowning out the wind and snow.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Yang Miaozhen was startled, making her open her eyes.

    ¡°A dog¡¯s barking.¡±

    Li Qingshan bent over. A while later, soft, enchanting moans filled the tent.

    The morning arrived. It was the seventh day of the twelfth month, the day of the battle.

    Surrounded by thousands of tents, Zhang Yuntian stood on the tall general¡¯s platform and gazed towards the north. His voice pierced the wind. ¡°Come, Li Qingshan!¡±

    He spoke softly, yet it was thunderous, piercing dozens of kilometres and pre-emptively issuing the challenge!

    The million-strong army gazed at the platform from afar. The walls of Xuanwu city were completely filled with spectators. The entire world was waiting for the result of this battle.

    Zhang Yuntian waved the flag, and the army qi from a million soldiers surged towards him like it was tangible.

    All of Zhang Yuntian¡¯s muscles swelled up, bulging with veins and bursting through his clothes. He knelt down on one knee on the general¡¯s platform as his face became filled with pain. It was not always better to have more army qi, let alone the fact that he was still at the tenth layer of the innate realm. He was not even a proper cultivator yet. Even after a night of adjustment, he struggled to endure such tremendous power.

    But at this moment, the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon in his clothes shone with light, devouring the surging army qi.

    Not only was he the general of a great army, but he was also a son of heaven personally leading the troops to vanquish the enemy!

    With a dragon¡¯s roar, his clothes were ripped to shreds as his body rapidly expanded. A pair of horns grew from his head as he became covered with scales, developing sharp teeth and claws.

    The general¡¯s platform creaked and moaned before collapsing loudly.

    In the blink of an eye, he had already grown taller than the general¡¯s platform. Then he became taller than Xuanwu city behind him, co until he reached three hundred metres tall. By now, he did not seem human at all anymore. The lower half of his body winded along the ground, while the upper half of his body was armed with teeth and claws, like a giant dragon that had become so swollen that it was almost disfigured, both ugly and terrifying. His body continued to wriggle and transform.

    Having gathered such a large number of people suddenly, the army definitely was not united, and his method of gathering army qi was crude as well. Despite that, he could crush everything with just his size along.

    He experienced unprecedented power, enough power to destroy everything.

    He let out a deafening, furious roar, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Even the entire city shook gently. All of the spectators were dumbfounded. Didn¡¯t a monster like that only exist in nightmares? Even the people who were absolutely confident Zhang Yuntian was going to die in the very beginning began to waver now. Just who in the world could defeat a monster like this!?

    The martial arts alliance was greatly invigorated. Victory was guaranteed with this battle. They were just worried that Li Qingshan would flee in the face of the enemy. However, if he did that, his reputation would definitely be severely damaged. Even if he managed to conquer the world, it would not be rightfully his.

    The main base of the World¡¯s society was astir too. They originally thought this battle would be effortless, but they never thought they would encounter a monster like this. Even innate masters were probably like ants before it. Even Li Qingshan had never demonstrated such terrifying power.

    Some people could not help but wonder whether this battle could actually be won or not.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the king?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Find him quickly!¡±

    ¡°The king went to rest in one of the madam¡¯s tent. It¡¯s impossible to find him!¡±

    ¡°Go and find the society leader!¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped out of the tent and yawned, ¡°What¡¯re you making a fuss for? What, you in a hurry to move onto the afterlife?¡±

    ¡°My king, there¡¯s a monster!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed over. Even from so far away, he could clearly make out the mountainous monster.

    At the same time, a pair of dragon eyes locked onto him, filled with cruel hostility.

    Li Qingshan shielded his eyes from the sun, ¡°Is that our enemy? He¡¯s quite big!¡±

    Gu Yanying rode over on a horse, ¡°Sure enough, the army qi gathered from a million soldiers is nothing to scoff at. You better not lose.¡±

    ¡°Who do you think I am?¡±

    With their appearance, the army camp gradually settled down.

    Li Qingshan arrived at the front of the camp. The asura army had already assembled there, waiting for him. He waved his hand, ¡°Follow me into battle!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

 Chapter 1214

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1214 ¨C Supremacy

    The blizzard swept through the land, blurring everything. Only the figure of the dragon stood like a mountain as its roars rumbled like thunder.

    He was the lord of a country that had gathered the power of its citizens, the general of a million-strong army, and this world¡¯s chosen son of the heavens. He represented the heavens to eliminate the foreign kind, so who stood a chance against him?

    Everyone on the walls of Xuanwu city could not help but think of the same question. Against such an undefeatable opponent, would the hero king still come?

    A clamour rose up in the wind and snow, going from gentle to loud. It seemed to be cheering, coming from the base of the World¡¯s society.

    ¡°The hero king is entering battle!¡±

    Li Qingshan carried the blade on his back as his cloak drifted through the air. He strode ahead alone!

    The blood-red asura army qi condensed on him, turning his hair and pupils a bloody-red. In the snowy world, he was like a droplet of blood on white paper. He was extremely eye-catching.

    The dragon¡¯s eyes locked onto him, bending its body and pulling its head back. The light in its mouth reached a limit and surged out.

    Boom!

    A crater three hundred metres across appeared in the ground. The dissipation of the power twisted the air. The fierce wind swept up the ice and snow, which all melted and vapourised with the snow in the air. The surroundings cleared up.

    ¡°What is this power!?¡±

    The spectators were all stunned. They felt Xuanwu city tremble under their feet as broken rocks fell down as if the city could collapse at any moment.

    The cheers from the base of the World¡¯s society halted as well. The only fate awaiting anyone who received that strike was death. Was the hero king fine?

    Soon afterwards, everyone saw it. A lonely figure continued to advance ahead at a steady pace, having dodged the attack somehow.

    The dragon was infuriated. It swung its head, and a blurry stream of light swept across the ground.

    Rumble!

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. Within the noise and chaos, he seemed to be teleporting around as he was always one step ahead. He let the terrifying stream of light tail behind him, but it was unable to touch even a hair on him.

    ¡°Zhang Yuntian, so much for giving you sixteen years. Is this all you¡¯re capable of?¡±

    Abruptly, the light shattered, sweeping across five kilometres like it was rinsing the land.

    A battle like this had already exceeded everyone¡¯s imaginations. They felt like it was a battle between gods. Probably only Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming were the exceptions.

    Right as everyone from the World¡¯s society worried for Li Qingshan¡¯s safety, Gu Yanying shook her head. ¡°And I thought it was a trap. I didn¡¯t expect it to be so bad!¡±

    In terms of power alone, Zhang Yuntian had already far surpassed Li Qingshan, but he was unable to control this power very well. As a result, he seemed enormous and clumsy. Even his thought process had been disturbed.

    Of course, he was still an invincible existence in this world. Even if there were thousands of masters, they would only be crushed if they went up against him.

    However, his opponent was Li Qingshan!

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming just lay on the saddle and fell asleep. If he could hear everyone¡¯s thoughts, he would definitely crack up. What kind of battle between gods was this supposed to be?

    The violent power rinsed the land again and again, but Li Qingshan¡¯s figure had vanished. Some people discussed in doubt, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s fallen in battle?¡± However, others cried out, ¡°He¡¯s in the sky!¡±

    Beneath the heavy clouds, a figure stood in the air. That was Li Qingshan.

    The dragon let out a roar at the sky, which contained Zhang Yuntian¡¯s question, ¡°Hero king, do you only have the courage to dodge?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s put an end to this farce!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. He gripped the blade behind him and tightened his fingers, pointing the blade at the sky!

    The heavy clouds were cleaved in half. Glorious sunlight fell onto him, like the only spotlight on a dim stage. He also captured everyone¡¯s gazes.

    His body shone with colourful light as he suddenly turned into a rainbow and descended from above, landing on the walls of Xuanwu city before turning back into Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. The battlements beneath his feet had not cracked at all, demonstrating his absolute control over his power.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    The spectators on the city walls all leapt in fright, scrambling away from him to form a clearing.

    His cloak fluttered forwards. The colossal, frightening head of the dragon suddenly appeared behind Li Qingshan. It lunged down with teeth that resembled jagged rocks.

    With that bite, a great big hole would appear even in the large, sturdy walls of the city.

    The city walls were in an uproar. Many people directly leapt down in fright.

    Li Qingshan did not move. He did not even look back. He let his cloak flutter in the air as he snapped his fingers. ¡°Die!¡±

    Right when the dragon¡¯s teeth were about to touch him, they abruptly collapsed. A flood of power rushed past the entire city like fierce winds, blowing off the roofs of countless houses.

    ¡°No!¡± Zhang Yuntian¡¯s growl filled with reluctance rang out in the wind, but it immediately weakened and dispersed away.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got it wrong. It¡¯s not always better to have more power. It¡¯s always better to be more powerful!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s swing had already destroyed the dragon¡¯s ¡°heart¡±, the leader of the martial arts alliance, Zhang Yuntian. Then he extended his hand and caught the Jade Seal of the Divine Dragon that had been blown over.

    This was the difference between two worlds. In the past, when an embodiment of Qiongqi descended on the nine provinces, Li Qingshan had thoroughly experienced it as well. Even when Qiongqi was overwhelmed by the nine provinces, even when the power he could utilise was no greater than his, he stood absolutely no chance!

    The difference in quality was already so great that it could not be made up with quantity. He thoroughly understood the harshness behind the promise of five hundred years.

    The difference involved definitely could not be made up through step-by-step cultivation, but in this world, he found a possibility.

    By the time the gales had settled down, everyone raised their heads, still badly shaken. A figure with golden hair and eyes stood on the city walls. The sky cleared up and shone brightly with sunlight, illuminating the surroundings.

    It was just like the legends, the hero defeating the dragon.

    ¡°Long live the hero king!¡±

    Suddenly, someone raised his arms and cried out, and that rapidly spread through the entire city. Even the army of a million soldiers outside the city began to cheer as well, both out of their sincerity to support him and their irrepressible fear. The momentum carried away even the leaders of the clans and sects that whole-heartedly wanted Li Qingshan dead, forcing them to cheer him on. They only hoped he would forget about their hostility towards him.

    Their hostility had truly vanished as well. With their delicate hearts as mortals, could they develop hostility towards an existence like that?

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky and muttered to himself, ¡°Damned heavens, this is just an appetiser!¡±

    Gu Yanying led the elites of the World¡¯s society into the city on horseback. When she passed through the gates, she looked up at him. They smiled at each other.

    With sixteen years of preparation, the world had gradually grown accustomed to the changes brought on by the World¡¯s society. They no longer viewed it as the source of chaos and fear. The World¡¯s society had accumulated sufficient strength as well. They could rapidly gain control of the entire world.

    At this moment, the ten great beauties played a special role. They were all treasured daughters and disciples of their respective clans and sects, and they had also become the hope in the eyes of the sects and clans. As it turned out, perhaps the arrangements and cooperation from the various clans and sects had played a role in why Li Qingshan had managed to gather the Ten Great Beauties of the World back then so successfully.

    Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Li Qingshan to coincidentally take Nangong Wan¡¯er away successfully right before her marriage. If he were late by a day or two and waited until they crossed the point of no return, he would have been forced into nominating another beauty again.

    The reason why Nangong Wan¡¯er father could remain firmly as the leader of the Nangong clan for sixteen years was exactly because of this.

    Now, they had finally reached the point for their protective charms to come into effect. The various clans and sects expressed that they would pledge their loyalty as long as the World¡¯s society did not exterminate them all.

    Li Qingshan did not disappoint them either. He did not want to plant any more seeds of hatred and give the damned heavens another opportunity to toy with people, so he accepted their pledges.

    The next morning, in the inner city of Xuanwu city, the various leaders all came to apologise and accept punishment. Only the leaders of the Divine Wind sect and the Abstruse temple were not present.

    The leader of the Divine Wind sect, Zhang Yuntian, had fallen in battle. Zhang Xuanfeng succeeded him as the leader, turning the Divine Wind sect into the Divine Wind hall. Xue Bing had become the leader of the Snow Mountain hall a long time ago as well. The other sects and clans all followed that example, stepping down and changing into halls so that they could preserve a little more of their power when any upheavals happened.

    Only the leader of the Abstruse temple retreated back to the Abstruse temple, holding his ground stubbornly until the end.

    A month later, Yang Miaozhen entered the temple alone and faced the leader of the Abstruse temple in a game of chess.

    A single branch of plum blossoms defied the snow. Beneath the branch, a game of chess lay sprawled out.

    Regardless of what Yang Miaozhen said, the leader of the Abstruse temple only responded with silence. Only in the end did he suddenly ask, ¡°Do you have his child?¡± He could hear the feeble heartbeat in her belly.

    Yang Miaozhen nodded. After sixteen years of arduous cultivation, her strength was completely different from the past. She did not have to worry about him suddenly attacking her and taking her as a hostage.

    ¡°Alright. From now onwards, you are the leader of the Abstruse temple- no, the Abstruse hall.¡± The leader of the Abstruse temple took off the sect master¡¯s ring and tossed it onto the chessboard. From that moment onwards, he entered secluded cultivation, never to emerge again.

    Yang Miaozhen touched her belly and sank into her thoughts.

    From then onwards, all of the leaders of the major clans and sects were members of Li Qingshan¡¯s harem.

    Achieving supremacy in the world was nothing more than this.

    Everyone could foresee that their children would become new masters of the world once the hero king ascended.

    Right when he was invincible throughout the world, a great battle for the throne had already begun brewing.

 Chapter 1215

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1215 ¨C A Little Bit About Xiao An¡ªThe Painting Tomb (One)

    The World of the Nine Provinces.

    The setting sun dyed the rising and falling sand dunes a bright red as they stretched to the ends of the world. It made people remember why this place was called the Scarlet province.

    Abruptly, a mirage appeared above the desert. It was clearly monochrome, yet it produced a magnificent scene, enough to give people the feeling that it contained the entire universe.

    In this remote land of deathly stillness, almost a thousand cultivators had gathered together at this exact moment, running from puny Qi Practitioners to powerful Golden Core cultivators. They gazed at the mirage in the sky as they carefully guarded against one another.

    Recently, news that the Painting Tomb would be opening began to spread, even containing the precise time and location. It produced terrifying waves between disciples of the school of Painting throughout the world. They all gathered in this barren desert.

    There were even some cultivators that were not from the school of Painting who had come to try out their luck. The tombs of the Five Absolutes Immortal had always been more about luck. Perhaps they could slip into the Painting Tomb somehow. Even if they could get their hands on only an arcane treasure or two, it would be worth it.

    However, it was exactly because the news had become widespread that no one dared to try anything funny, so overall, it was still quite peaceful. As for whether a bloody battle would erupt when the Painting Tomb actually opened, no one knew.

    Suddenly, wind and sand began to sweep through the desert. The fine grains were like a fiery-red haze, blurring the mirage in the sky.

    Terrifying daemon qi immediately enveloped the desert. The cultivators all looked back in fright. A hunched-back old man appeared on the sand dune to the east, staring at them indifferently.

    ¡°The White Camel Sand King!¡± Someone immediately pointed out the old man¡¯s identity, which led to even greater fear.

    ¡°Leave the desert.¡± The White Camel Sand King¡¯s voice was deep and hoarse, as emotionless as the desert.

    Someone tried to plead with him. ¡°Senior, this has to do with the legacy of our school of Painting, so please give us some time. Once the Painting Tomb opens, we¡¯ll leave by ourselves!¡±

    ¡°Leave the desert!¡±

    The wind and sand intensified, blotting out the sun.

    The sand dunes began to move as if they had become giants that were trying to stand up and crush the fools that dared to wake them from their dreams.

    The cultivators all paled in fright. A Daemon King was well beyond what they could fend off.

    However, even when the wind and sand obscured the mirage in the sky, it became clearer and clearer as if it was merely inches away.

    The Painting Tomb was about to open.

    Right when they hesitated between retreating or not, a resounding dragon¡¯s cry boomed through the surroundings.

    Another Daemon King? The cultivators felt even more despaired.

    The White Camel Sand King raised his head slowly. An inky-black dragon descended from above, landing beneath the mirage.

    ¡°Fellow White Camel, they had no intention of causing any offence, so why must you stoop down to harass them?¡±

    A chubby old man with glowing cheeks unfurled a painting with a swing of his hand. The dragon returned to the painting, but it continued to soar inside.

    As it turned out, this dragon that possessed the strength of a Daemon King was only a painting. It made everyone think of the Dragon King of Ink Sea from the past.

    Then what kind of existence would the person who controlled such a painting be?

    ¡°Grand preceptor Dong!¡± The cultivators were pleasantly surprised. They never thought the opening of the Painting Tomb would lead him here. Fair enough, how could he not know about something so important?

    TL: I am making a retcon, changing the grand preceptor of the left (basically a buddhist official that the Seven Treasures Monk King constantly mentioned before) to the religious preceptor of the left.

    The grand preceptor was one of the three ducal ministers. They held an extremely great status in the imperial court of Great Xia in the Dragon province. Even regular great cultivators had no right to hold the position. They had to be existences that stood at the apex of the world.

    The current grand preceptor was this old man Dong. He also came from the school of Painting, and he was known to have collected ¡°A Hundred Scrolls of Wonders¡±. Every single painting possessed startling might, and the Painting of the Soaring Dragon from earlier was only one of them.

    Just like how the schools of Buddhism and Daoism revered the religious preceptors of the left and the right respectively, all the disciples of the school of Painting throughout the world revered this grand preceptor Dong.

    The White Camel Sand King said nothing. Only the wind and sand continued to whistle as the sand dunes surged towards the cultivators like waves.

    Grand preceptor Dong smiled and unfurled another painting. The painting was filled with splotches of ink, depicting a rustling bamboo forest, but all of the bamboo was bent over. A breeze rushed out of the painting gently, blocking the wind and sand and dispersing the sand dunes.

    This painting was known as the Bamboo Breeze Painting. It was not a painting of bamboo, but wind!

    The White Camel Sand King looked back at the distant horizon. He frowned heavily before dispersing the wind and sand and leaving the sand dune without hesitation.

    Everyone let out sighs of relief, admiring grand preceptor Dong¡¯s abilities even more. He could even fend off the White Camel Sand King.

    A few young men and women stood behind grand preceptor Dong, all giving off a sense of aloofness and nobility. They all praised him at this moment.

    ¡°Master truly is powerful, subduing the wind and sand with a breeze. Even the White Camel Sand King is powerless, forced into a retreat.¡±

    ¡°Master is the grand preceptor. Opposing master is equivalent to opposing Great Xia. He¡¯s only willing to back away once master has taken action. This White Camel Sand King sure is stubborn as rumoured.¡±

    As for the others, they did not even have the right to praise him. They all came up to thank him with clasped hands. All of them were careful.

    Grand preceptor Dong stroked his beard gently and said with humility, ¡°Our titles have all been conferred by Great Xia, so we would be subjects of the same court. Our status is approximately identical too. He¡¯s only doing me a favour.¡±

    ¡°Master is located in the centre of the empire, the Dragon province, while the White Camel Sand King is merely a Daemon King. He¡¯s even said to be in league with the traitor, the Grand Banyan Tree King. How can you be mentioned together?¡± an arrogant young man said. He had already undergone the second heavenly tribulation, so he had the ability to back up his arrogance.

    ¡°Stop with the nonsense! This is his territory after all. If you anger him, it won¡¯t benefit anyone.¡±

    Grand preceptor Dong scolded him, but a smile remained on his face.

    At this moment, the mirage in the sky became clearer and clearer. The ink turned into mountains, landscapes, and figures, depicting birds, beasts, and critters. It was the wonders of the school of Painting, which even left grand preceptor Dong amazed. The Five Absolutes Immortal was truly a talented figure to be able to push painting to such a level. If he could go in and take a good look, it would definitely benefit his cultivation tremendously.

    ¡°Master, the Painting Tomb is about to open. What do we do about these people?¡± The arrogant young man pointed at them casually with a face filled with contempt as if he was looking at a group of mangy dogs that did not know how to behave.

    ¡°Grand preceptor, we¡¯ll leave right now!¡± one of the sensible people called out in a hurry.

    ¡°The opening of the Painting Tomb is a grand occasion for our school of Painting. You¡¯ve all travelled a great distance to come here, so how can I chase you all away? Whether we can enter the Painting Tomb completely depends on our individual luck, not our status or strength, so you might as well wait around. However, those who are not from the school of Painting should leave!¡±

    Grand preceptor Dong waved his hand, and almost a hundred cultivators dispersed in a hurry. All those who remained behind were disciples of the school of Painting. They all sang praises about grand preceptor Dong¡¯s generosity, hoping that they could be the lucky ones to enter the Painting Tomb.

    Grand preceptor Dong smiled. Very few people knew that it was him who spread the news, with his objective being to gather the disciples of the school of Painting and establish a great sect like the Spirit K?etra temple. That way, he would be both the leader of a school and the master of a sect.

    With the amount of upheaval the world was facing, the Great Xia empire was on the brink of collapse. Clearly, the position of grand preceptor alone was no longer particularly reliable.

    When the Painting Tomb opened, who could beat him anyway?

    In order to obtain this news from prince Si Qing, he had sacrificed one of his wondrous paintings. He could not allow anyone to take anything away. However, that Chu Danqing with the Jade Blood of Vermillion and Black had not come, which must have been because he did not have that wretched daemon Li Qingshan supporting him!

    Right as he thought of that, his eyes narrowed. A white figure stood on the sand dune that the White Camel Sand King had just left. Her bluish-white monk robes drifted with the night wind as her long hair reached all the way to the ground. Even without any emotion, her beautiful face was breathtaking, but they were embedded with a pair of terrifying eyes.

    If the White Camel Sand King was like the desert, then there was still life and hope under his indifferent outer appearance. Countless lives thrived in the desert. The undercurrents surged under the sand, ready to turn into an oasis at any moment. He had served as a guide for countless people in the past, giving them hope in the sandstorms.

    However, her eyes were empty. Let alone the desert, even the Hungry Ghost realm where only the dead could survive seemed too noisy in her eyes. There was far too much meaningless greed, hatred, and hope. She brought great destruction among them with her great benevolence.

    Grand preceptor Dong had actually failed to sense her appearance. Even when he looked at her with his own eyes, he failed to sense any aura, but it did suddenly make him remember a title¡ªthe buddha nemesis!

    His face changed drastically. He immediately understood why the White Camel Sand King had retreated, but he could not accept retreating right now. He spoke up, ¡°Fellow, are you¡­¡±

    Before he could even finish, she had vanished. A voice devoid of joy or sorrow rang out beside his ear, ¡°Dharmagupta-vinaya, Form of Vinaya.¡±

    Grand preceptor Dong immediately became immobilised. He struggled to even unleash his powers. However, the beautiful face was already within arm¡¯s reach. The white bone sword plunged straight towards his chest.

    At the very least, the White Camel King had still given them a warning. Meanwhile, she had begun a slaughter without hesitation.

 Chapter 1216

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1216 ¨C A Little Bit About Xiao An¡ªThe Painting Tomb (Two)

    What a buddha nemesis!

    Grand preceptor Dong was filled with both surprise and anger. He experienced the sensation of death he had not encountered in many years. The sky-blue robes on him suddenly swelled, becoming the colour of ice and forcefully blocking the Buddha Slaying sword.

    As it turned out, his robes were also a painting, depicting ice and permafrost that had remained frozen for thousands of years.

    Xiao An twisted her sword. The ice shattered, and the robes ripped apart!

    Grand preceptor Dong retreated in sorry shape. He was extremely shocked. His Painted Robes of Ice was a supreme defensive treasure, yet it could not even block a stroke from her! However, it had bought him some time at the very least. He spread his arms and called out, ¡°The Hundred Paintings of All!¡±

    Swish!

    A hundred painting scrolls unfurled together, depicting landscapes, figures, and critters, as well as hellish fiends and heavenly paradises. Each painting had its own special effect, either turning into a powerful existence of the third heavenly layer or conjuring powerful techniques of ice, fire, and lightning. They changed and weaved together into thousands of different colours.

    With the hundred paintings as one, it could form a domain of its own, enveloping and embracing everything.

    Alone, he could fend off the combined efforts of several dozen great cultivators. The grand preceptor was the leader of the three ducal ministers. He had definitely lived up to his reputation!

    As soon as the Hundred Scrolls of Wonders unfurled, they all vanished with a flash of blood-red light, ending up inside a blood-red banner.

    ¡°A spatial arcane treasure!¡± Grand preceptor Dong¡¯s expression changed.

    Xiao An wielded her sword in her right hand and the banner in her left. Her expression remained as emotionless as before like she had anticipated all of this.

    The string of prayer beads around her wrist scattered and flew out, turning into skeletons that bit down on grand preceptor Dong. Their sharp teeth rapidly tore apart his protective true qi, biting into his flesh.

    But strangely enough, no matter how the Skeleton Demons bit away at him, grand preceptor Dong¡¯s wounds would rapidly heal. They could not even draw a single droplet of blood, so the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone had nothing to ignite as if he was only a fleshless puppet or a painting.

    Grand preceptor allowed the Skeleton Demons to bite away at him as he stared coldly at Xiao An.

    At this moment, in the distant Dragon province, a portrait of grand preceptor Dong hung in the depths of the grand preceptor¡¯s estate, standing in the exact same posture with the exact same expression. The portrait would be destroyed slightly wherever the Skeleton Demons bit down.

    This was a supreme art of the school of Painting, the Painted Soul Substitution!

    As long as the painted soul remained and the substitution did not perish, he would not suffer any wounds. At the same time, it would leave him immune to many strange or special attacks, whether it was the preceptual decrees or the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    The weakest link when it came to painters was their body. Despite all the powerful paintings they could control, it would all be useless if they themselves were defeated, which was why they came up with such a wondrous technique. When the enemy tried to triumph over them through assassination, they would only end up running into a brick wall, becoming heavily surrounded instead.

    ¡°Do you think you can trap my Hundred Scrolls of Wonders with a measly arcane treasure? Buddha nemesis, I¡¯ll have you die here today!¡±

    Grand preceptor Dong powered the Hundred Scrolls of Wonders, and the Blood Sea Banner produced colourful ripples. They were about to break free.

    Xiao An abandoned the Blood Sea Banner. She gripped her sword with both hands. She gently stepped across the yellow sand with her bare feet that were so pale that they were almost transparent, but she did not leave behind any tracks. She swung her sword again.

    The swing was like a miracle of nature, completely devoid of any traces. It seemed to be part of the world, without any sharpness to be seen.

    Grand preceptor Dong frowned heavily. The buddha nemesis¡¯ swordsmanship was inconceivably powerful, and her various other methods were simply bizarre. It was no wonder why she had managed to commit such a heinous deed in Pearl city. If it were not for the Painted Soul Substitution, he probably would have died from carelessness today.

    However, when he met her hollow eyes, he suddenly experienced an indescribable sense of horror. Something was definitely wrong! He wanted to retreat, but the Skeleton Demons had bitten down on him, so it was already too late.

    The sword slid past his throat, and a streak of blood splashed into the air, igniting into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone in the air.

    Suddenly, a great gash appeared on the portrait in the grand preceptor¡¯s estate. As it turned out, no matter how the Skeleton Demons bit away at him previously, only the painting broke. However, the gash had pierced the very canvas, located right across his neck.

    How is this possible!?

    Grand preceptor Dong widened his eyes that were filled with disbelief. Death devoured his entire body. He could not help but clutch his neck with both hands, kneeling down like a mortal. He desperately tried to escape with his soul nascence, but a similar wound had appeared on the neck of his soul nascence.

    Blood trickled between his fingers, landing on the sand and bursting into white flames. He tried his best to raise his head. Her beautiful face was emotionless as always as the night wind lifted up her white clothes and black hair. It was like she was the embodiment of death.

    With a boom, the pale-white flames spread, enveloping the entire portrait and reducing it to ashes instantly.

    Everything happened in a split second. Before the others could even understand what was going on, they already saw grand preceptor Dong go up in flames. Pale-white fire poured out all of his openings. They all cried out in fright inside.

    Master!

    Grand preceptor!

    Chu Danqing flew over the sand dune, gasping for air. He cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    Half a month ago, he went to find Li Qingshan to protect him in order to enter the Painting Tomb. Only then did he learn that Li Qingshan was no longer in this world anymore, which left him greatly disappointed. Originally, he planned on coming to the Scarlet province to try his luck anyway, but Xiao An had proactively accepted this task because it was a promise that he had made.

    Along the way, they said nothing at all. She was more foreign than she had ever been in his memories. Her absolute beauty did not bring him attraction but fear instead. As a matter of fact, he could not even come up with an outline of a portrait of her mentally. It was all just blank, as if it could suck away all colours.

    A while earlier, she had suddenly accelerated, which filled him with an ominous feeling. He managed to catch up to her after so much difficulty, only to see this.

    Grand preceptor Dong held an extremely great status in the hearts of disciples from the school of Painting. Chu Danqing had once copied from many of his works too. Unless he had no other choice, he definitely did not want him as an enemy, but he never thought she had killed already him.

    Xiao An grabbed the Blood Sea Banner again, which spewed out the Hundred Scrolls of Wonders. Without a master anymore, they collapsed on the ground feebly.

    Afterwards, with a casual swing, she sucked all the cultivators present into the blood sea. At the same time, she raised her hand. The Skull Prayer Beads rose into the air, scattering in all directions.

    The surging sea of blood swallowed all of the cultivators, only spitting out their arcane treasures and arcane artifacts.

    The Skull Prayer Beads had pierced and killed all of the cultivators that the grand preceptor Dong had dismissed, causing them to burst into Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. It was an extremely dazzling sight in the desert at night.

    As a result, no one was left alive.

    The desert recovered its silence again. Only the wind continued to whisper.

    A waning moon had risen into the sky before they had realised it, confronting the setting sun silently.

    Chu Danqing watched all of that happen in a daze. He questioned furiously, ¡°What did you do? Why did you kill them? They weren¡¯t even your opponent¡­¡±

    Xiao An suddenly looked back. Her hollow eyes silenced all of his words.

    Chu Danqing shivered inside. Abruptly, he realised that she really could kill him, just like how she had killed these people. The only thing connecting them was a single promise from Li Qingshan!

    At this moment, as the sunlight and moonglow merged together, the mirage in the sky erupted with gorgeous colour, surging magnificently like a kaleidoscope.

    As the sun and moon shone together, the Painting Tomb opened!

    However, even the magnificent sight could not enter her eyes. She gazed into the depths of the night sky and finally said something, ¡°It¡¯s time for you to go in.¡±

    ps£º Ð¡°²ÖØÏÖ£¬ÇàÉ½¼´½«ÖØ·µ¾ÅÖÝ£¬ËµÃÎÕßÇ¿Á¦ºô»½ÔÂÆ±£¡

 Chapter 1217

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1217 ¨C A Little Bit About Xiao An¡ªThe Painting Tomb (Three)

    The moonlight was silver, the vegetation was lush, and the lake was quiet. Vines sprawled out everywhere.

    Perhaps this was normal in the Mist province or the Green province, but it was a rare sight of beauty in the Scarlet province.

    The oases in the desert were frequently referred to as pearls, while this oasis was the largest pearl in the Scarlet province, Pearl city.

    The palace with a circular roof that bore the distinct style of the Scarlet province stood quietly in the darkness. The lamps of the households from the past had been completely extinguished a long time ago. The streets that once bustled were covered in moss. There was not a single sound in the surroundings, whether it be the cries of birds or insects. When the night breeze blew past from time to time, there would be a few clear echoes of wind bells.

    The White Camel Sand King stood on the moss, staring at the string of wind bells. He saw how they were originally just a camel bell. Indifferent and unfazed, he made his way off towards the depths of the oasis.

    He arrived before a magnificent gate and stepped over the tall door sill, making his way under the mottled plaque.

    The plaque was labelled with four fancy words, ¡°King of Wei¡¯s Estate¡±, which signified its former status.

    There was a large lake in the king¡¯s estate, radiating with dense spiritual qi. In the centre of the lake was a small island with many magnificent halls. Originally, this was the heart of the entire king¡¯s estate, as well as the Scarlet province, but it was now enveloped by a towering tree. The aerial roots reached around like snakes while the thick foliage even blocked out the moonlight, hanging over Pearl city like a dark cloud.

    The White Camel Sand King made his way over the lake and arrived beneath the tree. He tapped the trunk with his cane. ¡°My old friend, that little friend of yours is far too vicious!¡±

    ¡°Have you come to lodge a complaint?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s simple, elegant face appeared on the tree. His eyes were even deeper and vaster than before.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m warning you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for warning me, but she¡¯s no one¡¯s friend.¡±

    ¡°Originally, I thought she was fighting for you, so you could influence her at least a little.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not fighting for me. It was just for a promise. Apart from him, no one can influence her.¡±

    ¡°One of the three ducal ministers has died here. Great Xia probably won¡¯t just let this go.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s already killed a provincial governor, so why would she care about killing a grand preceptor? And from the moment I began on this path, Great Xia would never let this go. You know I favour life over death, but no matter how mad and unreasonable her actions seem, it¡¯s all based on rational judgement.¡±

    ¡°Is killing them all supposed to be rational as well?¡±

    The White Camel Sand King answered with a question. He had been born and raised in the desert. He was constantly exposed to the difficulty of life, which was why he extended a helping hand towards the mortals again and again. Even to feeble otherfolk, he would give them a chance at survival.

    In front of the Painting Tomb earlier, he had tried to give these cultivators blinded by greed a chance at survival as well. He wanted them to not have to face her, but grand preceptor Dong had interfered. Unwilling to face her, he could only retreat. A single painting from grand preceptor Dong had not forced him back.

    The end result was even worse than he had imagined. She had not even spared the people that had given up on the Painting Tomb and travelled far away.

    ¡°Do you think a few words is enough to get grand preceptor Dong to leave and to disperse these people?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Right now, she has dealt with all of the problems without even uttering a word. She has weighed all of the advantages and disadvantages. That is called being rational.¡±

    ¡°You really are close to godhood now!¡± the White Camel Sand King said.

    If the Great Banyan Tree King had not told him this, he probably would have never imagined that someone had killed one of the three ducal ministers of Great Xia for the sake of saving a few words.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be angry. I know you cherish life just like me. This is only my speculation of her thoughts. There are indeed many sources of uncertainty in the Painting Tomb, and grand preceptor Dong is the greatest lurking threat. She has cleared up everyone before the Painting Tomb opens to ensure that the person Li Qingshan promised is the only choice. The dangers from the others might not be particularly large, but it barely even took her any effort to eliminate these potential sources of trouble. She must have considered all of this too.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t trust you.¡±

    ¡°That has always been the path she has taken. Perhaps I¡¯d rather see her trapped in the Painting Tomb too?¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you at least slightly worried that the entirety of the nine provinces would end up like this? She¡¯s far more terrifying than the Soaring Locust King!¡±

    The White Camel Sand King was furious. He raised his cane and pointed at the entire Pearl city. A fierce gust of wind sweeped past the wind bells, making them ring.

    A year ago, the governor of the Scarlet province refused to hand over the Scarlet Province cauldron. The Great Banyan Tree King commanded the daemons and otherfolk of the Mist province, while Li Fengyuan led the featherfolk from Clouded city. Due to his friendship with the Great Banyan Tree King, the White Camel Sand King had lended him his support too. The three organisations merged into a single army that attacked the city at full force.

    Only she had done nothing the entire time, guarding against any incidents that could potentially occur. Only when they breached the city did she suddenly strike, personally slaughtering the King of Wei, his wife, and eight honoured guests before setting it all ablaze. She did not even spare a single bird or insect.

    Then she moved through the Scarlat province, destroying all the sects that had participated in the battle against them. The number of great cultivators that directly died at her hand almost amounted to thirty. The human cultivation community of the Scarlat province had almost completely collapsed.

    The name of the buddha nemesis rang through the world!

    Only when she emerged from the shadow of Daemon King Northmoon did everyone realise how terrifying her great beauty and her set of white bones were.

    The Hawkwolf Guard announced her to be their greatest enemy, even surpassing the Great Banyan Tree King, but neither the Guardian Hawk God or the Heavenly Frost Wolf King had ever showed up. Even when the White Camel Sand King encountered her in his territory, he had to make a detour.

    ¡°This is my sin. If it were not for that battle, the developments afterwards would not have been so successful.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King shut his eyes. He already occupied the Mist province, the Green province, the Scarlet province, the Harmony province, the Cloud province, and the Lightning province, six provinces in total. That was equivalent to claiming more than half of the nine provinces.

    A major reason why everything had unfolded so successfully was because of her influence and deterrence. Even great cultivators experienced fear. They had to weigh the costs and benefits and consider the consequences. After that, the various estates all accepted the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s conditions and handed over their cauldrons, as none of their guests wished to meet her in battle.

    He opened his eyes again. His face was completely filled with worry now. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so worried before. No one understands her horrors better than me. She assists me in obtaining the nine cauldrons both for a promise and to borrow my power to suppress the Hungry Ghost realm. I don¡¯t even have the courage to disappoint her because then she¡¯ll take matters into her own hands.¡±

    The White Camel Sand King shivered inside. He could not imagine the ensuing consequences, but he also deeply understood one thing. The greatest threat in this world did not come from the invasions of the Demon domain or the devouring of the Hungry Ghost realm. Instead, it was her.

    ¡°You should feel very fortunate. She still hasn¡¯t resorted to slaughter purely for the sake of power yet. Hopefully, Qingshan can return quickly.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed from the bottom of his heart.

    Before Chu Danqing could even get another word in, he was sucked into the Painting Tomb.

    Xiao An followed close behind him, but the Painting Tomb closed right in her face, so she grabbed the Immortal Relinquished sword and slashed down. She seemed to sense something, which made her glance in the direction of the Pearl city.

    Qingshan has taken away the Frost Province cauldron, while the Dragon Province cauldron can¡¯t be taken so easily. Once I obtain the Cool Province cauldron, we¡¯ll begin an attack on the ghost tower. If the attack fails, then I¡¯ll eliminate the greatest obstacle immediately¡ªthe Great Banyan Tree King.

 Chapter 1218

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1218 ¨C A Little Bit About Xiao An¡ªThe Painting Tomb (Four)

    Incinerating thirty percent of all life in this world should basically be enough to suppress the ghost tower¡­

    This was the conclusion she had reached with her calculations. However, once she began with that, the remaining seventy percent would definitely put up a violent resistance. The Great Banyan Tree King had already occupied six provinces and was determined to become the god of the nine provinces, so he would definitely oppose her with everything he had. Compared to that, it was better to burn him to a crisp.

    The Great Banyan Tree King was colossal. His branches and roots wove together everywhere, so he was almost invincible in the nine provinces. However, he was also vulnerable to the Buddha Slaying sword, so he should not be too difficult to deal with. With his calculations, he must have realised this as well.

    She hoped he could do everything within his abilities to take down the ghost tower, or Li Qingshan would definitely fly into a rage once he returned.

    However, even if it angered him, she had to do this!

    She still could not leave here before he returned.

    An ancient temple stood deep within the mountains. The rustling red leaves covered the steps.

    ¡°So this is the Painting Tomb!¡±

    Chu Danqing stood before the temple in amazement. Suddenly, he looked back and discovered in surprise that she was standing behind him silently. Her bluish-grey monk robes actually matched the scenery of the ancient temple extremely well, but her expression would never match any scenery. She held a strange, twisted sword in her hand, which conflicted with the scenery even more for some reason.

    ¡°Qingshan¡¯s promise to me has already been upheld. You¡¯ve obtained grand preceptor Dong¡¯s Hundred Scrolls of Wonders. There are many dangers in the Painting Tomb, so you should just go!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, a brat talking so big. How dangerous can this shitty place be? Once we see that fake dragon, cut him a few times, and you¡¯ll understand who¡¯s more dangerous.¡± The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished let out a strange, sharp laugh, completely breaking the tranquil surroundings.

    Chu Danqing¡¯s expression changed drastically. Xiao An curled her finger and flicked the sword gently, and the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished immediately fell silent.

    ¡°Only when you have left the Painting Tomb safely will the promise be complete.¡±

    ¡°A- alright then!¡± Chu Danqing stepped on the red leaves and climbed up the stairs.

    Xiao An followed close behind him. When she set foot on the first step, the step suddenly dispersed like smoke. The fiery-red maple trees on the sides sprang into real flames with a whoosh, sweeping towards her.

    Only now did Chu Danqing realise that everything around them was actually paintings. The flames were only inches away from him, but he felt no heat at all. Instead, his blood began to heat up and churn slightly, which was an extremely pleasant sensation.

    That step separated two worlds.

    He could not help but stop and looked back in worry.

    Xiao An stood in the empty air firmly, without any emotion as if nothing had happened at all.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword twisted and warped with light, and the surrounding scenery immediately shattered, unable to touch her.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword was originally the ruler of the Sword Tomb, and the path of the sword was a path of slaughter. Its destructive power and lethality was well beyond anything that the Painting Tomb could match.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection. I¡¯m begging you, Xiao An. Just go!¡±

    Chu Danqing was troubled. He folded his hands and bowed because he wanted to protect this Painting Tomb. Every single object here, whether it was the flowers or trees, were a famed painting, yet they had actually been ripped apart so heartlessly. It basically made his heart bleed.

    Xiao An said nothing, but she had no intentions of leaving.

    The Painting Tomb began to surge. Even more of the landscape took part in the attack, but the Immortal Relinquished sword obliterated it all.

    ¡°Sigh, there¡¯s really nothing I can do about you!¡±

    Chu Danqing did not dare to stay here for any longer. He ran forwards desperately as Xiao An followed behind him at a steady pace. The Immortal Relinquished sword tore through all obstacles, cutting open an empty hole by force.

    Deep within the meditation room, the flowers and trees contrasted against a snowy-white mural. An ink dragon floated there, about to soar off.

    Chu Danqing saw it from afar and called out at the top of his voice, ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, that old blindy. Why don¡¯t we just cut him down!¡±

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished snickered, so Xiao An stowed him away. Before this mural, the surroundings suddenly stabilised, no longer launching a furious attack at her.

    Chu Danqing bowed before the mural. The ink dragon lowered his head as if he was looking at him, except his eyes were blank. The ink around him was very faint. The battle in the Ink sea had not injured his true body, but it still had quite an effect on him.

    He said sternly, ¡°Danqing, you¡¯re here.¡± Then he looked at Xiao An. ¡°What do you have to say?¡±

    ¡°I only have a single question. Will you still oppose us once you break free?¡±

    Xiao An pressed down on the Buddha Slaying sword again. Saving an enemy for the sake of completing a promise was something Li Qingshan would do, but she would not. Speaking of which, she would only complete the promise successfully once Chu Danqing left the Painting Tomb safely.

    ¡°So that¡¯s your true intentions!¡±

    Chu Danqing stood up between her and the mural, gazing at her furiously.

    ¡°Danqing, back down,¡± the Dragon King of Ink Sea ordered in a dignified manner.

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± Despite his reluctance, Chu Danqing could only step aside.

    ¡°If I said I won¡¯t, would you believe me?¡± said the Dragon King of Ink Sea.

    ¡°Fellow, you are too proud to lie. Even if it is a lie, it¡¯ll count,¡± said Xiao An.

    ¡°In other words, you want to coerce me into agreeing that I won¡¯t ever oppose the two of you again?¡±

    With a rumble, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky. Dark clouds began to gather in layers. A storm was about to erupt.

    Chu Danqing felt extremely distressed. He knew how his master was proud and aloof and would never agree to any threats, but under these circumstances, he definitely was not the buddha nemesis¡¯ opponent. He never imagined all of his efforts would end up claiming his master¡¯s life.

    ¡°Life and death are just ordinary affairs. You can¡¯t call it coercion. The dragon king is free to make a choice, but I do hope I can avoid a battle.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°If I kill you, your disciple will definitely try to avenge you. I¡¯ll have to kill him too, but he¡¯s Qingshan¡¯s friend. Unless I have no other choice, I don¡¯t want to do that either.¡± Actually, there was another reason. Paintings could not be ¡°eaten¡±.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea sank into his thoughts. Only the dark clouds grew thicker and thicker.

    Their eyes met. One pair was blank, while the other pair was empty. The blankness was with emotion, but the emptiness was truly emotionless.

    Since there were emotions, he had to care, just like how his disciple was willing to risk his life at any time out of his concern for him, just like how he cared about his dream to soar through the heavens and swim through the seas.

    Meanwhile, the emotionlessness was almost unworldly. He was in the painting, but his heart lay outside. Those words did not even resemble a threat, but the embodiment of some kind of law.

    The Dragon King of Ink Sea let out a sigh. ¡°If Li Qingshan said something like that to me, I¡¯d fight him again no matter what!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan won¡¯t say something like that.¡±

    ¡°I will never oppose the two of you ever again.¡±

    Xiao An nodded. With a swing of her sword, she cut through the Painting Tomb and was about to leave.

    ¡°Hold on. I originally planned on giving Qingshan this painting as a thank you. I want to give it to you instead now.¡±

    Chu Danqing gazed at her deeply and passed over a painting.

    Unfurling the painting, Xiao An¡¯s expression changed slightly like a ripple across a lake. Her eyes were glued to the painting.

    As it turned out, it was a portrait of Li Qingshan, standing there casually with his hands on his hips.

    ¡°Hopefully, you don¡¯t forget about him!¡±

    Xiao An returned to her senses and agreed with him in a hurried manner before tossing down a pile of paintings. She drifted off into the crack.

    Chu Danqing gazed at the Hundred Scrolls of Wonders on the ground. He was dumbfounded. That was almost a hundred arcane-treasure-level paintings, yet she had tossed them to him. It left him smiling wryly. Was she copying Li Qingshan, ensuring that all of his debts would be paid off?

    He let out a deep sigh of relief and turned towards the mural. He was already holding a brush in hand. He dripped a droplet of blood onto the tip of the brush and brought it towards the mural.

    The brush was silent as he dabbed out twice.

    With a rumble, the mural shattered, and the ink dragon soared.

    The Painting Tomb shook violently. All of the scenery turned into rapidly-spinning colours like a kaleidoscope, gathering towards the vigorous dragon.

    Chu Danqing had already exhausted everything in him with those two dabs of the brush. As the world spun around him, he fell down, directly into the great desert where night had already taken over. All he saw was the figure of a dragon meander about in the colourful mirage. With each meander, he became even larger. In the beginning, he could still see his entire body, but towards the end, he could only see a scale and half a claw.

    In the end, a colossal dragon head poked out, followed by a slender body. As if it had been dyed by the colours of the mirage, pigments emerged from the inky-black, adding to the texture.

    A dragon¡¯s cry rang through the desert as the ink dragon rose into the air. The Painting Tomb no longer existed, having merged with him.

    The imitation trapped within the painting could finally soar through the world like a true dragon.

    The stone door to Qing Xiao¡¯s dwelling opened up.

    A beam of moonlight entered the dark, hollow centre of the mountain, outlining her figure.

    The dwelling that they had dug out so seriously back then had become so crude now.

    She drifted down and unfurled the scroll, gently touching the painting.

    Even with the wonders of white bone and great beauty, there were still appearances she could not completely see through and discard. It furrowed her brows and moistened her eyes.

    The moonlight was lucid. Tears fell like rain.

    How could she forget about him?

 Chapter 1219

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1219 ¨C The Lonely Me

    ¡°Xiao An¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself as he woke up from his dream. The night sky was boundless, and the stars were vast. He could not help but press down on his chest. He felt like there was a hole there, which made him feel extremely empty.

    He had already become the lord of the world, obtaining everything that a man could ever want¡ªauthority, women, wealth, whatever he wanted. He even had a sufficiently long lifespan for him to slowly savour all of his, but he regularly experienced the same feeling as when he had first been reborn. He was so lonely, without anything at all.

    When he fought over possession for the world, at least there was something to distract him, so he could temporarily forget about his predicament. Now that the world was unified, they had been at peace for many years. There were no longer any enemies. Even his greatest enemy, the will of the heavens, seemed to have given up.

    Gu Yanying told him that it was because he had become the ¡°chosen son of the heavens¡±. Back then, Li Qingshan¡¯s reply was, ¡°I have no father as foolish as that!¡±

    The more accurate explanation was as the lord of the world, he ruled over all lives in this world, so everyone in the world was his supporter. He was blessed by all life. Even the will of the heavens could not go around punishing every single person.

    He refused to go back to sleep, so he got up and paced around the place.

    Even the ape demon could not cheer him up. Instead, it made him rather cranky. Neither the person most important to him nor the dream he cared about the most were beside him.

    Shadows stretched throughout the depths of the palace. Feihong held a lamp as she approached his residence. Noticing his complexion, she asked carefully, ¡°My king, why are you in a bad mood?¡±

    ¡°Feihong, I feel so lonely.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a heavy sigh. He did not try to hide his feelings like a shrewd person would.

    ¡°Which concubine would you like to join you in your residence?¡±

    Looking at how sad he seemed, Fei Hong could not help but take pity on him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see them. They have many matters that are more important to consider.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand impatiently. Ever since he became the ruler of the world, those beauties had all become repulsive to look at. For the sake of their clans and sects, for the sake of authority and resources, they all came up with endless schemes and plans, basically demonstrating to him what a harem struggle was. They had almost turned against one another completely.

    The battle blinded all those cute, innocent children of the past as well. The talent they had been born with turned into their weapons. Apart from each other, who else had the right to serve as their opponents?

    All of this was merely the tip of the iceberg. As Gu Yanying had originally anticipated, when there were no more enemies left outside, the enemies were inside. Fragmentations and conflicts throughout the lands and halls became commonplace, but fortunately, there was Gu Yanying around to deal with all of this, or the newly-founded country would have collapsed a long time ago.

    As a result, he simply slept. He could not be annoyed if he did not see it. He did not give anyone the opportunity to win over his favour and convince him to help them out.

    Feihong said, ¡°Then take on some new concubines?¡±

    ¡°Just spare me! Speaking of which, even if you bring all the women in the world here, it¡¯s useless.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you want to change up your tastes?¡± Feihong whispered.

    Li Qingshan smacked her in the head. ¡°Change my ass!¡±

    Feihong rubbed her head and said in a troubled manner, ¡°Then I¡¯m out of ideas, my king. If there¡¯s anything else you¡¯re unhappy with, I can try and help you out.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s too cramped here.¡± Li Qingshan stamped his foot.

    Feihong looked around at the deep and spacious palace. Even the lamp in her hand struggled to illuminate it all. She said in surprise, ¡°This is cramped?¡±

    ¡°Whatever. Even if I tell you, you won¡¯t understand.¡±

    Li Qingshan paced around where he was restlessly as his tail waved around casually. He was like a monkey trapped in a small, cramped cage. All that was missing was scratching his head in distress.

    His heart moved like a monkey, while the world around him was like a prison. It was simply unbearable.

    Suddenly, he stopped and said with a face full of seriousness, ¡°No, I have to go!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the middle of the night! Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go back to the nine provinces first and pick up Xiao An before killing my way up the nine heavens and finding my brother ox!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly. A smile appeared on his face again. Simply thinking about these things motivated him. It was much more interesting than claiming supremacy in this world. As he said that, he picked up a set of swaddling blankets and strode out of the palace.

    Feihong¡¯s face was a mess. What was going on? Every single word made sense, but strung together, none of it made sense. Return to what nine provinces? Who was Xiao An? Where were the nine provinces? And what was this brother ox about?

    By the time she chased after him out of the palace, Li Qingshan had already vanished, which made her shake her head with a wry smile. He was still the same as before.

    The moonlight was clear like frost. She raised her head and gazed at the bright moon above her, which reminded her of that night many years ago. Before she had realised it, so many years had passed already. She was no longer that lowly concubine but the authoritative caretaker of the palace, a supreme master whose cultivation had reached the ninth layer of the innate realm.

    As matters progressed, everyone changed. Only he did not seem to change, not even in the slightest. He was neither a wise king nor a vicious demon but a brave and stubborn child.

    She thought silently, May you have a safe journey!

    Li Qingshan obviously could not just shatter through space like that and return to the nine provinces. He directly went to find Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying was focusing on rectifying the laws when Li Qingshan suddenly barged in hastily. He pressed down on the desk with both hands. ¡°I want to go back to the nine provinces!¡±

    Gu Yanying lowered her brush and sighed inside, Here we go again!

    ¡°Qingshan, haven¡¯t I told you already? It¡¯s still not time! We¡¯ve obtained an entire world after so much difficulty, so we should thoroughly temper ourselves. You should gather more power in your Divine Talisman of Great Creation too.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. You¡¯re the one who brought me here. You need to take responsibility, or pay with your body immediately. Ouch!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached out, directly grabbing Gu Yanying by the shoulders. Pain appeared in the depths of his soul, making him cry out in pain.

    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡± Gu Yanying smiled. Over the years, she had created laws and enforced the punishments. All of the death penalties required her to personally sign off on them, completely implementing the spirit of the school of Legalism in this world that originally had no laws. It also agreed with the will of the Hell realm, so her connection with the Hot Wind Hell grew stronger and stronger.

    The pain from hell became deeper as well, but wondrously, the pain she experienced gradually lessened. She had reached a whole new realm, like she was going from the torturee to the torturer. She was confident that she could complete the Illustrations of Naraka before long if this continued, and she would not encounter any more bottlenecks. All she lacked was a slightly larger world.

    However, she was not in a hurry to return to the nine provinces. She could even not go back, so she obviously did not experience the same sense of urgency as Li Qingshan.

    It hurt Li Qingshan so much that his teeth creaked, but he refused to let go. ¡°You can¡¯t frighten me with this little bit of pain! Either we return to the nine provinces immediately, or you pay with your body immediately!¡±

    Gu Yanying stood up and spread her arms. She asked with a smile, ¡°If I were to agree to that, could you wait until the time is right?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Li Qingshan answered without hesitation.

    Sure enough! Gu Yanying shrugged. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back then!¡±

    The fact that she had agreed so happily had instead surprised Li Qingshan.

    ¡°But before we leave, there¡¯s still something we need to try out.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Becoming the god of this world!¡±

 Chapter 1220

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1220 ¨C Interfering With the Cauldron

    ¡°Become a god? So you were thinking of this, but how am I supposed to become a god? This world can¡¯t even condense Mountain and Water God Seals, so how am I supposed to comprehend the laws of the world? Even if there is a way, becoming a god means merging with the world. Doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯ll be trapped here forever?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. He had no idea what she was thinking.

    ¡°You have the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, so you can conjure anything in the world. Can¡¯t you conjure a substitute? Even if it¡¯ll take up some power of belief, that¡¯s for an entire set of laws of the world! It¡¯s definitely worth a try!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but nod in agreement. Even the Great Banyan Tree King had not managed to comprehend all of the laws of the world from the World of the Nine Provinces. This was indeed a rare opportunity.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°As for the Mountain and Water God Seals, don¡¯t you have them?¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­ the Frost Province cauldron?¡±

    It took Li Qingshan a moment of thought before he understood what she was referring to. The Frost Province cauldron he had stolen from the Heavenly Frost Wolf King was forged from Mountain and Water God Seals. He had been brought to this world before he could hand it over to the Great Banyan Tree King.

    ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the Mountain and Water God Seals of the World of the Nine Provinces. What does it have to do with this world?¡±

    ¡°Worlds might differ in size, but they must be connected in some way or form. The Frost province is far larger than this world. If you don¡¯t try, how would you know?¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯ve agreed to give the Frost Province cauldron to the Great Banyan Tree King.¡±

    ¡°If you have a complete set of laws of the world for him to refer to, I¡¯m sure the tree king will be very willing to pay this price!¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan had been convinced. Most importantly, it had already been such a long time since he encountered something so interesting. He immediately used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to forcefully open his sumeru ring, removing a small cauldron from inside. It depicted the landscape and plains of the Frost province as if it was covered in a layer of frost. It was the Frost Province cauldron. The cauldron shone with brilliant light and rapidly began to swell.

    ¡°Wait, take it back inside!¡± Gu Yanying tried to stop him in a hurry, but it was already too late.

    ¡°Let me just take it out and give it a try!¡±

    Even with both arms, Li Qingshan could not hold up the great cauldron. All he could do was throw it onto the ground.

    With a great boom, the entire palace rocked as a result.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡±

    Feihong furrowed her brows and rushed over, only to see a huge cauldron smash through the palace and continue to grow larger.

    Outside the palace, Gu Yanying stood around helplessly as Li Qingshan yelled out excitedly, ¡°Bigger! Bigger! Bigger!¡±

    The cauldron smashed through a hundred different rooms and halls. The sound of collapsing structures filled the air.

    When the cauldron finally stopped growing larger, it was visible from every corner in the city. It was basically like a mountain. The mouth of the cauldron sprayed with colourful sparks that rushed straight into the air, producing rings of hazy light before slowly dispersing. It was like magnificent fireworks, dyeing the sky with colour.

    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful!¡±

    Li Qingshan brought his hand over his eyes and gazed into the distance with a face of admiration.

    ¡°Society leader, what¡¯s going on?¡±

    After a moment of consideration, Feihong decided to ask Gu Yanying. Through her experiences over the years, Gu Yanying was much more reliable than him most of the time.

    ¡°Feihong, go and disperse everyone in the palace and take my official seal to mobilise the royal guards to maintain order in the city, just in case of any hysteria!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    A while later, dark clouds suddenly gathered in the sky, forming a great swirl. Under the glow of the colourful lights, it seemed like a kaleidoscope, vaguely depicting images of various landscapes.

    Rumble!

    With a clap of thunder, a bolt of lightning slammed against the mountainous Frost Province cauldron as if it was trying to shatter it.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Li Qingshan, create a substitute quickly! The world is digesting the Frost Province cauldron right now!¡±

    ¡°Digesting?¡±

    In the past, Li Qingshan had tried taking out pills and arcane treasures from the sumeru ring. They had all been suppressed by the world. He had never imagined that the world would respond so violently to the Frost Province cauldron. As it seemed, Gu Yanying was right. There was some kind of connection between worlds.

    The spiritual qi of other worlds faced violent rejection from this world, but towards Mountain and Water God Seals that had been condensed from the laws of the world, it was like a sumptuous feast. The world wanted to devour and digest the cauldron greedily at the first opportunity and turn it into a part of itself.

    ¡°Do you think a substitute can withstand the lightning?¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed above. The violent lightning filled the cauldron as countless electricity arcs sparked and danced. Even a single one of them was enough to kill an innate master. Under the restraints of the world, the strongest substitute he could create would only be at the tenth layer of the innate realm. He would basically be dreaming if he thought it could enter the cauldron safely.

    The cauldron became filled with lightning, turning into a moat, a pool of lightning. Let alone a substitute, even his true body could not withstand it.

    If the world had been this serious on them when they first descended here, they would have perished several decades ago.

    As it seemed now, they were like two insects that had landed on a sleeping fatty. The fatty would swing his hands to swat them subconsciously, but he had grown accustomed to them in the end, so he simply continued to sleep. After all, the insects were annoying, but they did not exactly bring much harm or benefit to the world overall.

    Only with the Frost Province cauldron¡¯s appearance did he seemingly wake up.

    ¡°I¡¯ve miscalculated. I¡¯ve never tried something like this before after all. We can only wait for the world to digest the Frost Province cauldron now, and then we¡¯ll have to collect it all over the world.¡± sighed Gu Yanying.

    Refining and condensing god seals from mountains and bodies of water was anything but simple. This world was not large, but it still had thousands of mountains and bodies of water, and at the end of the day, whether they could actually condense god seals successfully was still unknown. Probably all that Li Qinghan could do now was go crazy seeing how he was in such a hurry to return to the nine provinces.

    ¡°Women, oh women. Normally, they¡¯re always more clever than the next, but once it actually matters, you just can¡¯t rely on them!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head, like he was disappointed and exasperated with her.

    Feihong rushed back to report back to them. When she heard that, she curled her lip in disdain. If it weren¡¯t for society leader Gu, would you have been able to spend all these years lazily and content?

    Gu Yanying could not be bothered arguing with him. She asked in surprise and joy, ¡°You have an idea?¡±

    ¡°Hah, I have plenty of ideas!¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again. The smile on his face had already vanished. His eyes shone with a deep-blue light, tranquil like the deep ocean. He said gently, ¡°Watermirror¡¯s Image!¡±

    The Divine Talisman of Great Creation could help him overcome the restraint from the laws of the world and activate his innate abilities.

    Under Feihong¡¯s surprised gaze, a shadow appeared from Li Qingshan¡¯s body, gradually growing clearer until it stared right back at him. It possessed the same appearance and expression, like it was the reflection in a mirror. It was a mirror clone that he had not used in many years.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°A clone technique. Yeah, you do have this move, but your clone seems far too weak. You¡¯d even do better with a substitution!¡±

    Li Qingshan and the mirror clone turned towards her at the same time and smiled. ¡°Just watch, and you¡¯ll see!¡±

    Immediately, the mirror clone rushed towards the cauldron. A few bolts of lightning struck the mirror clone, but a rainbow light blocked it.

    ¡°The Divine Talisman of Great Creation!¡± Gu Yanying narrowed her eyes and immediately realised what he was doing.

    The mirror clone was almost equivalent to an extension of Li Qingshan¡¯s body, so it could obviously wield the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to protect itself. The power of belief he had accumulated over the years was as vast as the ocean. Even the lightning would struggle to breach this barrier with ease.

    The mirror clone finally climbed to the top of the cauldron. With a leap, it threw itself into the pool of lightning.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of failing and losing the Divine Talisman of Great Creation for nothing?¡±

    ¡°You gain some, you lose some. Why think so much about it? Though, it¡¯s all your horrible idea. Get ready to pay with your body!¡±

    ¡°Keep dreaming.¡±

 Chapter 1221

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1221 ¨C Godhood, Parting

    Li Qingshan said nothing more. He shut his eyes and focused on controlling the mirror clone.

    ¡°Greetings, my king!¡± Greetings, society leader! What has happened here?¡±

    Figures gathered over from every direction, all staring at the mountainous cauldron in shock.

    ¡°You can stay quiet. Just watch!¡±

    Gu Yanying waved her hand. Everyone stood in silence behind her, listening to the thunder rumble and feeling the vibrations. They could not help but gaze at Li Qingshan. Had he set off such great might of the heavens again?

    The Frost Province cauldron was extremely tough, and it was not restrained by the laws of the world, so it stood firmly even under the bolts of lightning.

    The ground began to shake violently. Suddenly, cracks split open, and magma surged out. The scarlet flames rushed straight towards the bottom of the Frost Province cauldron.

    With that, no one dared to stand in front of the cauldron anymore apart from Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying. They all backed up far away, still feeling shocked.

    The world seemed to become a furnace with nature as its blacksmith, the earth as its anvil, and the lightning as its hammer, doing its all to melt and reforge the Frost Province cauldron.

    A gust of hot wind blocked the lightning and fire that had been knocked askew. Gu Yanying watched on silently. Only now had she seen basically an inkling of the so-called might of the world, but it also manifested the laws of the world.

    While it was possible to comprehend the laws of the world through various matters normally, that frequently was only surface-level knowledge. Just like when a person had lost their temper or was intoxicated, it was much easier for them to show their true colours.

    This was indeed the best opportunity for comprehending the laws of the world. She wondered whether Li Qingshan could grasp it and comprehend the laws of the world in a single stroke or even become the god of this world.

    However, would his main body truly be unaffected if his clone became the god?¡±

    Time trickled by. The power of the world was endless. Even the Frost Province cauldron began showing signs of giving way. With a crack, a fracture appeared on the bottom before rapidly spreading across the rest of the cauldron.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed slightly. A streak of rainbow light poured out of the crack.

    Rainbow light poured out wherever cracks appeared, like it was trying to repair the damage.

    However, Gu Yanying could tell he was currently competing against the world to refine the Frost Province cauldron first.

    Finally, the Frost Province cauldron became covered with cracks. Rainbow light poured out everywhere, completely dyeing the entire cauldron.

    Time seemed to stop for a moment. With a great rumble, the cauldron exploded into pieces as a wave of air rushed out to hundreds of kilometres away. Rings of rainbow light began to expand, turning the sky a magnificent colour.

    The fragments of the cauldron melted away in the air like ice, devoured and digested by the world.

    The colour of the sky whited slightly as the lightning and magma gradually subsided. The magma completely destroyed the palace, and ash had covered the entire city.

    Fortunately, there were countless innate masters in the city. Everyone had rushed to the fires in time, which was the only reason why the city had not burned to the ground.

    Above the ruins, Li Qingshan opened his eyes slowly. They were clear and empty as if they could pierce everything in the world.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°How is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to say, but I¡¯ve definitely lost the Divine Talisman of Great Creation. You better hurry up and pay with your body.¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone entered the Frost Province cauldron, he used the Divine Talisman of Great Creation to power the Spirit Turtle Transformation. He did so to deduce the laws of this world while fending off the strikes of lightning and the scorching of the magma. Afterwards, he competed against the world to refine the Frost Province cauldron first. The power of belief he had accumulated over all these years basically trickled away like water.

    Fortunately, he had once shattered the Mist Province cauldron and eaten a Fruit of Wisdom, so he had some comprehension of the laws of the nine provinces. The refinement process was reasonably successful, so he managed to refine the Frost Province cauldron first in the end.

    However, the Frost Province cauldron was unable to withstand the attacks from the lightning and magma, so it shattered and was devoured by the world. Even his mirror clone and the Divine Talisman of Great Creation had been swallowed.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. How has it gone exactly?¡±

    ¡°Even I don¡¯t know how to describe my current state. On one hand, I¡¯m standing here, right in front of you, and on the other hand, I¡¯m wandering through the world, coexisting with the world. I can dive into the oceans or scale to the top of mountains in a single thought. Yeah, there¡¯s a woman sleeping naked here. Her figure is quite nice, but there¡¯s something wrong with her digestion¡­¡±

    Originally, Li Qingshan had been completely solemn and serious, like an observer from beyond this world, but the words he said in the end immediately exposed his true nature.

    Gu Yanying shot a glance at him in exasperation. ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°I can also see the endless laws, but all I can do is stroll around and see them. I don¡¯t think I count as a god¡­¡±

    This was the first time in Li Qingshan¡¯s life that he had experienced such a wondrous state. When his gaze landed on Gu Yanying standing right before him, he instead saw a ball of whistling hot winds of hell, wrapped around a dark-azure feather, which left him slightly disappointed. He never expected her to have reached such a level with the Illustrations of Naraka, such that she basically coexisted with hell!

    From his expression alone, Gu Yanying knew what he was doing. She finally ran out of patience and smacked him over the head with her iron fan.

    Li Qingshan realised he could not see Gu Yanying clearly, so he continued to wander through the world, only to be caught off-guard and smacked over the head. He rubbed his head. ¡°What¡¯re you hitting me for? It¡¯s not like I saw anything!¡±

    Looking at how furious and aggrieved he seemed, Gu Yanying truly struggled to stay angry. She sighed. ¡°You¡¯re close to omniscience in this world now. This is already the ability of a god.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s reasonable, but it¡¯s been far too short after all. I still haven¡¯t comprehended all of the laws of the world, so I¡¯ll obviously struggle to grasp the power of the world.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. Suddenly, he suddenly smacked her over the head. ¡°Heh, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m not getting my revenge. It¡¯s just not time yet!¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head in disbelief. She was speechless. She felt like she could not stoop down to his level in front of so many people.

    ¡°But will your main body really be unaffected by your clone? Let¡¯s hope you don¡¯t assimilate with the world.¡±

    After all, no matter how great of a power he grasped in this world, he could not bring it back with him to the nine provinces. If he assimilated with the world, that was even more terrifying than being rejected by the world.

    ¡°It¡¯s like a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water. It¡¯s all just a reflection. Of course, I won¡¯t be affected.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, given that it¡¯s you, you probably won¡¯t be affected anyway.¡±

    Gu Yanying sighed. Who would still peep on women when they were in this state!? They would have submerged themselves in the endless laws of the world a long time ago, viewing everything in the mortal world as fleeting like clouds. She almost felt some admiration towards his disposition. How was he so thickheaded and stubborn?

    ¡°Though, you have no idea. This really is great fun. It¡¯s basically like a game!¡±

    It reminded Li Qingshan of the sandbox games from his past life, but even at their largest, it would be a city while the realism would be very limited too. This was an entire world, and it was detailed down to each grain of sand, each speck of dust.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a game like that, but your ability sure is wondrous!¡± Gu Yanying praised.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Apart from in the very beginning, when the Mirrorwater¡¯s Image helped him hide his identity, the assistance it had brought actually diminished as time went on. As his identity was exposed and the enemies he faced grew stronger and stronger, his clone could be used as a meat shield at most. It truly felt rather useless.

    But this was because of his lack of understanding. Actually, clone techniques were not a particularly high-level move. Even Qi Practitioners could use them, but normally, they only used them in battle. They were all limited by distance, almost like puppets.

    Only extremely powerful cultivators would possess true clones that could replace the main body and wander the world. However, clones like that would definitely influence the main body. On top of that, there was a risk, which was a disunity between the main body and the clone. It might even develop a consciousness of its own and break away from the main body, which would be a huge loss.

    His mirror clone was almost like an extension of his body, and the issue of disunity did not exist. Instead, it had a wondrous self-defence system, preventing the main body from being influenced by the clone. No matter how twisted the reflection became in the mirror and water, the flower and moon would remain independent and unaffected.

    If his main body became the god, then his disposition would definitely be heavily affected. How could the immensity and breadth of an entire world not leave behind a mental impact?

    This was an innate ability that existed within the bloodlines of spirit turtles. When spirit turtles submerged themselves in the ocean and controlled their clones to go travelling, a clone would be meaningless if it could break away with ease or if their main body could be injured through the clone. Why would they take this risk at all?

    Only by creating a mirror clone like this could they ensure they remained in the safest position possible the entire time.

    If Li Qingshan learnt about this, he would definitely lament over how spirit turtles were basically natural damned shut-ins. The Watermirror¡¯s Image was basically like a computer screen, forming a barrier that isolated them from the world.

    Everyone gathered over again and asked what had happened.

    A young man stepped forward from the crowd. His back bulged slightly, and his figure was very wide and thick, but his appearance was extremely handsome and delicate, bearing some resemblance to Li Qingshan. He clasped his hands. ¡°Father, mother has asked you to meet her in the Abstruse temple.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡±

    When Li Qingshan asked that, he already saw Yang Miaozhen in the Abstruse temple, and he already knew the answer to that question. Finally, someone would be leaving him!

    The matters of the world progressed and people were on the move. He was not the only one that could leave those around him.

    Yang Miaozhen suddenly sensed something and stood up, looking around at the surroundings.

    How sensitive. Is it because you¡¯re about to ascend? Li Qingshan praised inside.

    Yang Miaozhen was the greatest among all the women, whether it came to her talent and comprehension or her disposition and willpower. Over the years, she had focused on cultivation without missing a single day, completely disregarding the conflicts of the world. Even Hu Xian¡¯er, who was not weighed down by any clans or sects, would try to fight for his favour. Only she remained indifferent, seeking nothing.

    However, it was exactly because of this indifference that they had gradually grown apart over the years. Even when Li Qingshan summoned her, she would regularly ignore the summonings. By now, she had reached the highest realm of the tenth layer, only a single step away from ascension.

    The reactions from the heavens that night had given her quite the inspiration. She noticed a wisp of the laws of the world from within. Now, she was about to ascend, so she ordered her son to ask Li Qingshan to come.

    Xuanwu city of the past had now become the Central capital. It was not far away from the Abstruse temple. Li Qingshan did not make her wait for too long. As soon as day broke, he arrived before her, smiling. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡±

    ¡°You really haven¡¯t changed one bit, while I¡¯ve aged.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen stared at the man before her. He did not seem like he had changed at all compared to many years ago. It was not just his appearance. Even his mentality was the same, while she felt like she had witnessed many shifts of times.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Yeah, you have aged.¡±

    Actually, her appearance had not changed by much either. The Yi Wood Method of Living Qi had the effect of preserving youth, so there was not a single wrinkle on her face or a single strand of white hair on her head. Her figure remained as slender as before, but she had still aged after all.

    After all, she was only a mortal. She did not possess some powerful bloodline, and the world did not have a lot of medicines that could prolong life. Once she aged and declined to a certain point, that was death! Even if she still resembled a young woman, dying was still dying after all.

    If she refused to part with him through death, then she could only part with him through life. Now was a time of parting.

 Chapter 1222

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1222 ¨C Farewell, Comprehension

    A faint smile remained on Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He was rather breath taken, but he was not saddened.

    When the ape demon tried to scoop the moon, it was destined to end in nothing, so why should he feel saddened when the moonlight trickled between his fingers?

    ¡°We¡¯ve been husband and wife, so isn¡¯t there anything you want to say to me?¡±

    Yang Miaozhen could not help but say. The man before her had once made her so lost and crazy from love such that she even bore his child.

    ¡°I do have many things to say to you, but we aren¡¯t husband and wife. Originally, I was thinking of leaving you. I didn¡¯t expect you to beat me to it.¡±

    ¡°We aren¡¯t?¡± Yang Miaozhen¡¯s heart ached slightly with that.

    Li Qingshan said firmly, ¡°We aren¡¯t! I once had a woman that I wanted to marry, but I let her down in the very end. Originally, I thought I could take her with me to wander the jianghu, but only in the end did I realise I was just dreaming. From that day onwards, I swore to never take on another wife, or swear some great oath to anyone, as in my life, it¡¯s far too easy for everything and everyone around me to change.¡±

    Only now did Yang Miaozhen understand why he only ever took on concubines without holding a single wedding. Previously, she thought it was because of his restless personality, as he could not stand these unnecessary and overly elaborate formalities.

    It made her sigh gently. ¡°I see. I¡¯ve never heard you mention this to me.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. Why would I say something that¡¯ll only annoy you?¡±

    ¡°Then why are you not afraid of annoying me today?¡±

    ¡°No matter how indifferent you seem, I know you are a person who values your relationships and your feelings. I¡¯m afraid you still have something you can¡¯t let go of, which will influence your ascension. After all, you¡¯re a woman. There¡¯s only an extremely small number that can be like Gu Yanying.¡±

    ¡°So at the end of the day, you still like society leader Gu.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this. Just sit here and listen to me. It¡¯s only the beginning after you ascend!¡±

    As a result, they sat before each other as one spoke and the other listened. Li Qingshan went from the matters to take note of during the tribulation to the cultivation method after ascension to the battles between cultivators. He covered everything, regardless of how important or trivial, passing all of the potentially useful knowledge like a master instructing a disciple that was about to leave him. Yang Miaozhen would speak up from time to time to ask questions.

    They were no longer like a king and a concubine, but a senior and a junior, a conversation between two cultivators. Before she had realised it, the faint sorrow of parting had been completely washed away. Instead, she became filled with anticipation and hope for the future.

    Three days later, there was a great storm of lightning. Yang Miaozhen rose up into the air, contending against the tribulation lightning.

    A moment later, the clouds dispersed. Yang Miaozhen looked back and nodded at Li Qingshan before vanishing into the sky.

    From that moment onwards, they were separated by the vast space. She was lost in the boundless sea of stars, probably never to see each other again.

    This was not fickleness and faithlessness but because they had greater pursuits. Congratulating each other, no matter how far apart, was always better than reminiscing about a mere mound of earth.

    Li Qingshan said softly, ¡°Miaozhen, may everything go smoothly for you!¡±

    He turned around and returned to the Central capital. By using his clone to observe the heavenly tribulation of ascension, he had gained a little more comprehension over the laws of the world, which he needed to properly digest. When he left this world in the future, it probably would offer him quite some help.

    After devouring the Frost Province cauldron, the world began to change in a subtle manner, but none of these changes were instant. Instead, they silently took effect. Perhaps one day in the future, it would also be possible to condense Mountain and Water God Seals from the mountains and bodies of water in this world. It might even develop into a vaster world, but that was something for centuries or millennia in the future.

    Finally, Li Qingshan no longer felt bored.

    Very soon, they rebuilt the palace in the Central capital that the lightning and magma had destroyed; this time, it bore the distinct style of the Green province. In particular, it had a large statue standing in a square, carrying a blade on its back and gazing off into the distance. It was a statue of Li Qingshan. Everyone who passed by it would bow to it.

    Deep within the palace, Li Qingshan leaned against his arm as he lay sideways on a couch. He was surrounded with snacks, whether it was peanuts, melon seeds, fruit, or cakes. He would casually grab some and shove them into his mouth as he maintained a mysterious smile as if he was daydreaming.

    His hand felt around an empty plate, so he immediately called out, ¡°Feihong, melon seeds!¡±

    Feihong brought over a plate of melon seeds helplessly and cleaned up all the seed shells and fruit peels scattered on the ground. This was an important place where Gu Yanying handled official business, so regular maidservants had no right to enter here. As a result, a head caretaker like her was forced to personally serve the hero king.

    From that day onwards, Li Qingshan became even lazier than before. In the past, he still went out for regular strolls, but now, he basically spent all of his time on the couch, without moving at all. He would go days and nights without sleep too, so he even developed black eye circles. To think he was the invincible hero king with unrivalled martial arts!

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly burst out laughing, which made Feihong jump in fright. However, his eyes were empty . He was not looking at anything at all, which made Feihong let out a great sigh. She looked towards Gu Yanying who focused on official business. ¡°Society leader Gu, is the king really fine like this?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯s comprehending the laws of the world right now!¡±

    Comprehending the laws of the world? Feihong looked at Li Qingshan again. She saw the smile on his face ease up, except it became a little¡­ perverted.

    Living in the world, everything that a person did involved some comprehension of the laws of the world, but never had she seen someone comprehend the laws of the world like this. She could not help but shake her head and take her leave.

    Gu Yanying asked without even looking up, ¡°Qingshan, take a look at the south of the southern region. I¡¯ve just received news that a few cave masters haven¡¯t been particularly peaceful.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, give me a moment! Oh, I see it. The old bumpkins of the seventy-two caves have gathered a great group of natives for a meeting. They say the laws you¡¯ve passed recently are too stringent, and they are trying to find a way to boycott it.¡±

    After so many years, organisations that dared to oppose the World¡¯s society openly no longer existed, but small incidents like this where they secretly disagreed and opposed what was happening were still unavoidable. The laws passed would often become completely unrecognisable by the time they had reached the lowest level of the system. Some people even took advantage of it to their own benefit, damaging the reputation of the World¡¯s society.

    Gu Yanying kept Li Qingshan here to use him as a super surveillance system. There was nothing in the world that could be hidden from him. She could immediately understand the true situation before tailoring a solution to the problem and rectifying the laws in a timely manner. She could maintain the respect and fear for the laws too, which conformed with the Hell realm even more.

    And as Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehension of the laws of the world deepened, it was no longer as simple as observation. It even involved the past and the future, such that he could learn the entire story behind an incident with a single glance. He could even observe the most subtle changes in the thoughts of people, or split his focus and observe multiple events. This was truly something only a god was capable of.

    However, he treated this ability as television, ranging from dramas between the rich to love stories in the country, from animal world to humanity and nature. Every single channel was filled with interest, requiring his constant focus. There were even a few programmes of ¡°that¡± sort, which he had watched plenty of as well, basically just so that he could change things up.

    The only matter that brought Gu Yanying relief was he finally stopped throwing a tantrum about going back to the nine provinces.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense that. He abruptly said, ¡°Gu Yanying, once I comprehend the laws of this world, we¡¯re going back to the nine provinces. Don¡¯t even think about putting it off!¡±

    ¡°Alright, please continue.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha, these grandsonnies are simply hilarious!¡±

 Chapter 1223

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1223 ¨C Karma Flames of Red Lotus, Where are the Nine Provinces?

    The spring rain, the summer thunder, the autumn gales, and the winter snow came and went. The seasons changed.

    Within the tribulation lightning, Li Qingshan set off acquaintance after acquaintance. He asked R¨¡hu Xiaoming, who was bundled up in blankets, ¡°Where do you think they ascended to?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had become incredibly tiny, even smaller than a newborn. It only took Li Qingshan a single hand to hold him up. His skin had even become a tender pink, and he spent most of his time with his eyes shut like an infant sleeping away. However, his brows would always be furrowed, and his expression would sometimes twist until it was almost hideous. He poured with sweat, regularly soaking the blankets as if he was stuck in a nightmare that he could not wake up from.

    Li Qingshan would always shake him awake at a time like that and ask him about something.

    As a result, R¨¡hu Xiaoming opened his eyes. His eyes shone like rubies, but they were blurred with a layer of mist. It took a while before he focused his gaze. His lips moved as he mouthed a reply, ¡°The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.¡±

    ¡°Sure enough!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded because one of the asura under his command had recently ascended. Through the eyes of his mirror clone, he clearly saw a blood-red swirl appear in outer space, sucking the asura away.

    Originally, he thought they would ascend from small worlds to medium worlds, and then from medium worlds to large worlds. As it seemed now, the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were all the worlds in outer space, the final destination of all creatures, whether it was through life or through death!

    That did make sense. It was obviously impossible for those who ascended to travel through space and arrive in another world. Only the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra was connected to every single world, which was why it was possible to ascend in the first place. However, the exact form that the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra existed in was not something Li Qingshan could understand right now, but he was finally beginning to understand this world gradually.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming fell asleep again, and his expression gradually became twisted again. It was even filled with fear.

    Asura were always known for their courage, their viciousness, and their fearlessness, so Li Qingshan had no idea exactly what could make this son of an asura god show an expression like that. His nightmares were growing deeper as well, so deep that even Li Qingshan could not wake him anymore. His aura became weaker and weaker too until it was almost non-existent.

    This continued. One day, he entered an extremely long slumber, so long that Li Qingshan thought he would never wake up again. Then he suddenly snapped open his eyes and began to cry loudly like a child, filled with sorrow and pain.

    Li Qingshan was taken by surprise. He picked up the blankets in a hurry, only to smell the reeking of blood, which made him open up the bundle to take a look. His tender skin cracked open as droplets of blood fell down, igniting as red lotuses.

    His instincts for danger made him let go of R¨¡hu Xiaoming and back far away. The feeling that the red lotus flames gave him was actually even more terrifying than Xiao An¡¯s Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. They seemed to possess some kind of law, even more profound and ancient than the laws of the world. It was undefiable, penetrating the countless worlds.

    It was exactly this law that had turned against this son of an asura god that once possessed immeasurable might.

    Gu Yanying, who was coming up with new laws, was dumbfounded too. Gazing at the blooming red lotuses, she felt like even the laws from the Hell realm struggled to rival the laws within them.

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying both held their breaths.

    The red lotuses all began to wither and fall after blooming to their limit. R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s crying stopped. A red lotus emerged from his mouth, much larger than the other red lotuses. Its petals all opened up, around the size of a washbasin, with an infant lying inside. He looked exactly like R¨¡hu Xiaoming. A delighted smile stretched across his face, devoid of any sorrow. When they looked beneath the lotus again, the original R¨¡hu Xiaoming had already been reduced to ash.

    The final lotus began to wither away slowly before shedding its petals and dispersing in the very end. Everything had happened in a short while.

    The infant tottered about as he stood up. He studied his body in satisfaction and placed his hands on his hips, proudly placing the little elephant between his crotch on display.

    In that moment, all of his depression and degeneration had been washed away. He ordered boldly, ¡°Li Qingshan, go get me some food. I want milk and grapes!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying exchanged glances, still rather puzzled by the situation. R¨¡hu Xiaoming seemed to go through some kind of alarming change, but looking at him, he only seemed a little more energetic.

    Li Qingshan asked with uncertainty, ¡°Xiaoming?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s just settle on Ming then, but get rid of that ¡®Xiao¡¯. From today onwards, I am R¨¡hu Ming!¡±

    ¡°Sure, Xiaoming.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s R¨¡hu Ming.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s face darkened.

    ¡°No problem, Xiaoming.¡±

    ¡°You bastard of a thing!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming shot a vicious glance towards Li Qingshan. His eyes were filled with fighting spirit like a true asura.

    Li Qingshan approached him slowly and crouched down. He extended his right hand in an experimental manner, pulling back his middle finger.

    ¡°What are you trying to do? Don¡¯t you dare!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming swayed around as he tried to avoid Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Smack! Li Qingshan flicked R¨¡hu Xiaoming in the head. He collapsed with that, leaving him red with anger.

    Li Qingshan scratched his chin and grinned. ¡°What, I had thought you had suddenly developed some kind of impressive ability! It¡¯s not special at all!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sat up. ¡°Li Qingshan, I will never spare you in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan slowly pulled back his middle finger on both hands, and R¨¡hu Xiaoming decided to avoid trouble by keeping quiet.

    Li Qingshan ordered others to bring over milk and grapes. R¨¡hu Xiaoming immediately stopped caring about anything else and began stuffing his face.

    Gu Yanying asked curiously, ¡°Xiaoming, what was the fire just then?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in exasperation, ¡°The Karma Flames of Red Lotus.¡± Then he said seriously, ¡°We need to leave here quickly!¡±

    TL: The Karma Flames of Red Lotus are a reference to the seventh cold hell of buddhism. The cold makes a person¡¯s flesh crack open, resembling a red lotus.

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. Even Li Qingshan was not in a hurry to leave right now, so of all the people that were anxious to leave, why him?

    ¡°Have you noticed my changes yet?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming clenched his fist.

    ¡°You¡¯re growing!¡±

    Gu Yanying noticed the hair on R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s head. It had become much thicker compared to when he first emerged from the red lotus. His voice had become clearer too.

    However, Li Qingshan saw much more. The original R¨¡hu Xiaoming did not face rejection from the world, but he was not accepted by the world either. However, ever since his rebirth in the Karma Flames of Red Lotus, the spiritual qi of the world surged towards him, almost like it was unstoppable.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. If this continues, I¡¯ll undergo the first heavenly tribulation before long. I can¡¯t undergo the tribulation in this world, or I¡¯ll return to the Asura realm.¡±

    Unlike a half-assed god of a world like Li Qingshan, R¨¡hu Xiaoming was born as a god, and he was ¡°born¡± in this world too, so he became a son of the heavens protected and blessed by the world. Even if he was isolated from the spiritual qi of the world, he could rapidly grow through his diet alone. He became stronger with each passing second, and this would continue until he reached the limit that the world could withstand.

    ¡°Yeah, your mum is searching the entire universe for you. Wouldn¡¯t you just be delivering yourself to her then?¡± Li Qingshan expressed his agreement. He asked Gu Yanying impatiently, ¡°Gu Yanying, are you going or not?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have to comprehend the laws of the world?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already comprehended most of it. I can just comprehend the rest once I get back to the nine provinces.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid you¡¯ll lose the connection with your clone over such a distant space?¡±

    ¡°Foolish woman, don¡¯t underestimate my innate ability!¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s set off then! Though, clever man, where are the nine provinces?¡±

    ¡°Are you kidding me?¡±

 Chapter 1224

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1224 ¨C Resolve

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes in fury and raised his thick eyebrows, staring straight at Gu Yanying¡¯s slender, beautiful neck. His large hands tightened before opening up again.

    In the sky, winds surged, black clouds amassed, and thunder muffled. Under his wrath, the weather actually changed.

    Gu Yanying knew that he had been truly angered. She explained in a hurry, ¡°When we came, the kunpeng¡¯s feather made all the decisions. It casually chose a small world in all of outer space. Do you really think returning along the same trajectory will be easy?¡±

    ¡°Then let the kunpeng¡¯s feather make a decision again!¡± Li Qingshan roared fiercely. A clap of thunder suddenly erupted outside.

    Gu Yanying smiled wryly. ¡°The kunpeng¡¯s feather has a spirit of its own, but it doesn¡¯t possess any so-called intelligence. I¡¯ve already inherited a part of its legacy, so it¡¯s even more impossible for it to make a decision on its own.¡±

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯ve been fooling me the entire time!?¡± No wonder you¡¯ve constantly put off returning. Gu Yanying, oh Gu Yanying. I trusted you so much all this time, and you actually treat me like this!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward, baring his teeth with his face twisted.

    The claps of thunder strung together as the lightning made his face dim and brighten. A few tiger stripes vaguely appeared. Clearly, he was truly ready to kill.

    Gu Yanying sighed inside. She knew that if she did not handle this appropriately, her life might be in danger. No matter how casual and flippant he normally seemed, he still had a vicious tiger inside of him. If he had truly been angered, there definitely would not be any softheartedness or mercy. By then, ¡°paying with her body¡± would not be a joke anymore, and she would actually have to pay him back with her flesh.

    If she died at his hands in the end after traversing through space and overcoming the many trials, it would truly be a tragedy.

    ¡°Qingshan, I only found out about this recently too. I wasn¡¯t deceiving you intentionally. Originally, I thought I might be able to inherit the complete legacy of the kunpeng and find the route back when you truly became the god of this world.¡±

    ¡°Hey, he might be able to wait around, but I can¡¯t!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming knew about the origins of the feather. He knew that Gu Yanying could not inherit the legacy without at least a few decades or a century given her cultivation, not to mention the kind of world they were stuck in.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shrugged. He had learnt this movement from Li Qingshan, expressing that he did not care too much. It was fine for him anyway as long as he found a slightly larger world and did not return to the Asura realm.

    To Gu Yanying, she was probably indifferent to whether they returned to the nine provinces or not as well.

    Only Li Qingshan insisted on going back and finding Xiao An.

    Then R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Even if there is a route, I¡¯d still advise you to give up on searching for some original world. You have absolutely no idea how many dangers there are in outer space. Last time, the kunpeng¡¯s feather helped you choose the optimal route. So much time has already passed, so is it still the optimal route now? You should just use your wits.¡±

    ¡°Xiaoming, you asked for this!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached out and pressed down on R¨¡hu Xiaoming, targeting his bottom and giving him a fierce spanking. Pitter-pattering rain poured down outside.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming spewed out curses and put up a desperate struggle. As a mighty son of a god, since when had he endured such humiliation before?

    Gu Yanying was left completely speechless. It made her remember something Li Qingshan had said in the past, ¡°Give your beatings to your children on rainy days. It¡¯s not like you have anything better to do.¡± She felt extremely apologetic inside. If it were not for her, Li Qingshan would not have ended up in a world like this, while R¨¡hu Xiaoming was completely taking the rap in her place, enduring Li Qingshan¡¯s raging fury.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and the slingshot called ¡°Li¡¯l Y¡± leaned against the couch quietly. They even communicated with each other, feeling deeply ashamed. The two of them were completely hopeless.

    That was the first clash in their lives, which ended in Li Qingshan¡¯s complete victory. However, R¨¡hu Xiaoming also managed to curse all of his ancestors. Right now, he glared at Li Qingshan like he was about to kill him.

    Li Qingshan completely ignored him. He sucked in a deep breath and calmed down. His eyes grew tranquil and distant. ¡°Sure enough, women just aren¡¯t reliable when it matters! Oh yeah, children aren¡¯t reliable either!¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­¡± Gu Yanying pinched the bridge of her nose. There was nothing she could say in reply.

    Actually, this had nothing to do with gender or age. Traversing through outer space with a cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation and shuttling between two distant worlds was equivalent to a child ending up in a desert without any preparations whatsoever.

    All they could rely on was a kunpeng¡¯s feather, and they could not even completely grasp and control their only tool.

    ¡°We¡¯ll set off tomorrow. I¡¯ll calculate a route.¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, you know it¡¯s impossible to calculate!¡±

    Gu Yanying furrowed her brows. No matter how much she trusted Li Qingshan¡¯s abilities, she still had some basic common sense. The distance between the worlds would probably be measured in millions of kilometres, and it was not a straight line. Who knew how many twists and turns there were. The amount of information contained within the route was even more complicated than the laws of this world.

    ¡°Once we leave this world, my powers will return, and I can start calculating. I can¡¯t calculate the entire route at once, but I can use how the stars change as we travel to decrease the difficulty.¡±

    Li Qingshan was completely calm as if he was describing something that was perfectly ordinary. It was just navigating as he went.

    ¡°That¡¯s basically suicide!¡±

    Gu Yanying could not help but make that evaluation. There was such a great distance to cover. As long as his calculations were off by even a tiny bit, it was possible for them to never arrive at their destination. The calculations would take a tremendous amount of spiritual qi too, which outer space did not provide at all.

    ¡°You promised me this!¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows before lowering them again. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to leave, I can¡¯t force you to leave. We¡¯ll just say that our destiny together ends here. You take your brilliant path from now onwards, and I¡¯ll take my path of solitude. We¡¯ll part here.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s heart seemed to ache. ¡°But without the kunpeng¡¯s feather, how are you supposed to¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan said firmly, ¡°I will return to the nine provinces through the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming could not help but sneer. ¡°Hah, what a joke. That plan is even more foolish than the previous one. Do you know how vast the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra are? Do you really think you can use the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra as a bridge just because they¡¯re connected with all the worlds?¡±

    ¡°Regardless of the risk, I must return to the nine provinces. Xiao An is waiting there for me right now. I¡¯ve already made her wait too long.¡±

    Li Qingshan strode out the door. The storm had arrived quickly, and it had ended quickly too. In the blink of an eye, it had dissipated, and the vast sea of stars shone even brighter. At this very moment, she was waiting in a certain place on the other end of the starry sky for him to return. He had never doubted that.

    As a result, it gave meaning to the sea of stars, which became part of his aspirations.

    Suddenly, Gu Yanying¡¯s voice rang out from behind him. ¡°Then let¡¯s set off!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. The corner of her lips curled into a smile, graceful like the wind. As a result, he smiled as well.

    ¡°Are you crazy?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was alarmed. If he wanted to leave this world, the person he would be relying on the most was Gu Yanying. If she left here, he would have to follow along.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You¡¯re afraid?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s gaze moved back and forth between Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying. Both of them seemed to be shining, shining with a light that even he, a former god, had to take seriously.

    ¡°You two cursed bastards!¡±

    Afterwards, he threw himself at the milk and grapes, shoving it into his mouth desperately to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

 Chapter 1225

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1225 ¨C The Many Children

    Deep in the middle of winter, in the northern region.

    The night sky was clear like water while the moonlight was bright like frost, illuminating the vast sea of trees. The glow of snow surged through the land.

    A single mountain stood among the sea of trees and among the snowy tundra. Five colossal words, ¡°Sword Sect of the World¡±, were carved deeply into the cliff, facing the south and overlooking the world.

    There was a disturbance in the sea of trees, and a young man leapt out. He gazed at the five large words and smiled smugly.

    He was handsome, with some golden shades within his short, black hair. His eyes were perfectly round and filled with intelligence.

    Afterwards, he landed on the ground gently without leaving behind a single trace. His eyes landed on the large figure of a man standing beneath the cliff, immediately becoming filled with mixed emotions. There was both respect and intimacy from the bottom of his heart, as well as some unavoidable resentment and dissatisfaction.

    But at the very least, there was one thing he could not deny. This man was far more towering than the lone mountain in his heart, perhaps even a little unattainable.

    As such, he walked over and bowed. ¡°Father.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back with a smile. ¡°Yao¡¯er, sure enough, you¡¯re the first one to arrive.¡¯

    The young man was his youngest monkey child.

    ¡°Father summoned me, so how can I not get here early?¡±

    ¡°In the past, you would definitely throw yourself on my back.¡±

    A sliver of reminisce appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He was not a blade of grass or a tree. He too had feelings.

    ¡°Father, a- are you really going to be leaving?¡±

    The young man suddenly became extremely unwilling to see him go. The person standing before him was not just the renowned hero king but also his father.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Your brothers and sisters will probably take a while before they get here. Go catch some game. I want to have a cup.¡±

    The young man obliged and dove into the trees again, but before long, he returned with a great brown bear on his shoulders.

    Another three people had appeared beside Li Qingshan. They all greeted him with a smile. One of them said, ¡°Old Yao, you sure are enthusiastic!¡±

    The young man snorted and began butchering the bear by himself.

    Li Qingshan ordered the other three to go fetch some firewood.

    By the time they had started a fire and the bear meat began radiating with fragrance, multiple figures had already appeared beneath the cliff, including both males and females. They were all people of outstanding talent. Either sitting or standing, they maintained their distance from each other.

    They were all princes and princesses, having inherited the most outstanding bloodline of this world. They all possessed wondrous powers that regular people did not. Even people with a greater cultivation than them struggled to defeat them, not to mention the fact that most of them already possessed cultivation at the apex. They would definitely become rulers of the world in the future.

    The only reason why they still were not yet was because the current ruler, or their father, was still seated here. However, all of them knew he would not be staying here for too long.

    Half a year ago, the leader of the World¡¯s society, Gu Yanying, transferred her power and authority, ending a rule that lasted several decades. Afterwards, she announced they would be leaving this world soon, throwing the entire world into unrest. Fortunately, the laws she had established maintained basic stability, and the hero king was still around, so who would dare to cause trouble?

    However, the work that she had once undertaken alone now required the combined efforts of several dozen people to complete. Most importantly, they lacked a decision master. The world needed a new king.

    They were the qualified ones, and it was not just because of their identities. This was a world where the strong ruled after all. If they were not sufficiently powerful, they could not consolidate their power no matter how able they were.

    As a result, only they could contend for this position.

    Just like that, let alone siblings of different mothers, even siblings of the same parents would grow wary of each other. On top of that, they were certain that Li Qingshan had gathered all of his children tonight to choose someone to inherit the throne from among them, so they found each other to be even more unpleasant to the eye now.

    Li Qingshan seemed to be unaware of all of this. He ordered with a smile, ¡°Huchen, you cut the meat! Fengxian, come and fill my cup!¡±

    A bare-chested man with a full beard walked over and drew the blade from his waist, cutting out the bear¡¯s heart that was still bloody and offering it up to Li Qingshan. Afterwards, he cut off one of the bear¡¯s paws and began stuffing his face like no one was around. Apart from Li Qingshan, no one could accept his service.

    The others were all unhappy with this, but they knew his personality was like that. His cultivation was not the strongest among the siblings, but no one believed they could defeat him in an individual battle.

    A woman with a phoenix crown of pure gold, dressed in a lovely dress, walked over while pouting. Clearly, she was very reluctant to do something like filling his cup. She did not want to be some hero king anyway, so why would she want to suck up to the ¡°old man¡±?

    Li Huchen and Li Fengxian had inherited the bloodlines of the tiger demon and the phoenix respectively. They were unique even among the many children, and they were also the proudest, so Li Qingshan loved ordering them around the most. He said it was to keep their arrogance in check, but no one believed that explanation. They truly believed the ¡°old man¡± was just harassing them.

    Yao¡¯er had already reached his teenage years too. He was at his rebellious phase.

    Many of them had already reached their middle ages if measured according to the lifespan of regular people. They were no longer the naive, innocent children of the past. Even when Li Qingshan ordered them, he could not make them comply wholeheartedly.

    Of course, that was exactly what Li Qingshan wanted. Loyal and filial children were the most boring.

    He shook his head with a smile and ate a third of the bear¡¯s heart in a single bite. He chewed it without much thought and washed it down with a cup of alcohol. ¡°Guinian, you split the meat!¡±

    ¡°Yes, father.¡±

    The young man who had once helped Yang Miaozhen pass on the message stood forward. After a slight thought, he wielded his fingers like a blade, splitting the bear meat between his siblings piece by piece. No one was dissatisfied with their portion, clearly not just because he was thorough with his considerations, ensuring that there would be no disputes in the allocation.

    Li Guinian was the only one who inherited the bloodline of the spirit turtle, as well as the only one who was disinterested in authority over the world. Instead, he bore a great resemblance to his mother, Yang Miaozhen, devoting himself to cultivation without any other desires. On top of that, he had the spirit turtle¡¯s forbearance and strategy, so despite his age among his siblings, he was the only one without a rival.

    Li Qingshan glanced past his many children. Apart from the three of them, most of the others were monkey children, obviously because the ape demon¡¯s bloodline had gained the upper hand. They were lively and could not be tethered down.

    The rest were a bunch of calves. They were much milder when it came to their personalities, but every single one of them were very stubborn.

    One of them was bald. He was the only one who did not receive any bear meat, as he was a monk. Who knew how many times Li Qingshan had given him a beating, but he still ended up becoming a monk, adhering to the precepts very strictly. At this moment, he had his palms brought together as he chanted under his breath, expiating the soul of the poor bear.

    Li Qingshan wondered why he had given birth to a ¡°strange one¡± like him. Perhaps it was because he had a destiny with the buddha but had not become a monk in the end. He grabbed a clump of snow and cleaned off his hands before standing up and gazing at the top of the mountain. ¡°Children, you¡¯ve had something to eat and drink, and you¡¯ve warmed up, so get ready to climb the mountain with me. Be careful not to fall down. Don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew. If you¡¯re not heading up, then stay here. You better not say I didn¡¯t warn you as your father if you end up falling to your deaths.¡±

    All of the children thought he was joking. It was a mere mountain. How could they fall off it?

    Even the youngest child who happened to possess the worst cultivation did not think this would be particularly difficult. After all, he had spent his childhood climbing trees.

    Suddenly, Li Guinian looked towards the north. He lowered his head and said, ¡°Father, I want to stay here.¡±

    ¡°My damned turtle of a son, you¡¯re still the cleverest.¡± Li Qingshan still treated him like a little boy and rubbed his head. ¡°However, not everything can be divined. You miss a lot of fascinating parts of life if you blindly avoid trouble.¡±

    Li Guinian sank into his thoughts. He abruptly raised his head and looked at him as if he had understood something. ¡°Then I¡¯ll come along too!¡±

    A simple climb up the mountains did not pose any problems to him, but as he said that, dark clouds rapidly swept over from the north, obscuring the stars and moon and making snow fall.

    ¡°Let¡¯s set off then!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt onto the cliff with his children following close behind him. Only Li Fengxian spread her wings and flew through the surroundings with ease. Those who could fly were always so complacent. However, as the light snow turned into great snow and eventually heavy snow, she could not fly like that anymore as the fierce winds screamed through the world.

    She was not a true phoenix after all. With her current cultivation, her body as a human was still too heavy, so all she could do was land on the cliff again. She yelled at Li Qingshan, ¡°You must have had this all in mind!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud and spread his arms at the sky. ¡°¡±Make the blizzard a little more intense!¡±

    As if the heavens heard his voice, the wind became even fiercer. The entire sea of trees swayed violently. The snow was no longer falling either, surging through the surroundings recklessly instead. Even the thick layers of accumulated snow were lifted into the air.

    With a crack, a tree that towered over the forest was forcefully snapped apart, sucked into the sky by the winds. It landed several dozen kilometres away loudly.

    Before such might of nature, even the princes and princesses became as insignificant as mortals. Not only did the climb become extremely difficult, but the sudden drop in temperature made things even worse.

    Originally, no one had taken the cold seriously. With their bodies, they were completely impervious to the usual winter cold, so none of them wore winter clothes. By now, even their breaths turned to ice, which made them understand the dangers. They could only unleash their true qi to ward off the coldness, but it would rapidly deplete their true qi.

    Li Qingshan just happened to choose the most dangerous route as well. He even took twists and turns intentionally.

    Everyone was certain that this was a test. Even if it was not for the authority over the world, none of them gave up for the sake of their pride as princes and princesses.

    The group gradually formed a long, twisted line. The lips of the young man at the very end had already turned blue, and both his arms had grown numb. The figures of his elder brothers and sisters blurred in the snow, making it even more impossible to see his father at the very front.

    Glancing down, he could not see anything apart from wind and snow. Who knew how high he had climbed already. If he fell down from here, he would definitely be smashed to pieces, so all he could do was grit his teeth and continue onwards.

    At that instant, all of the figures in front of him vanished. Apart from the whistling wind, there were no other sounds, so it seemed as if only he remained in the world. All of the blood in his body almost seemed to freeze.

    Suddenly, the rock he was holding onto loosened. Originally, this was something that happened very frequently when climbing, but his rigid body prevented him from adjusting in time. He lost his balance immediately and began to plummet.

    ¡°Ahh!¡±

    ¡°Old Yao!¡±

    Abruptly, Li Fengxian looked back. She spread her wings and leapt down, grabbing the young man before trying to return to the cliff.

    However, even flying alone was impossible in the snowstorm, let alone when she was carrying another person with her. She was like a broken kite, thrown around in the wild wind. Right when they were both about to fall, another figure leapt off from the cliff and called out, ¡°The monkey scoops the moon!¡±

    This was not the name of some powerful move, but the name of a game that all the monkey children had played in their youth. Li Qingshan had told the story about the monkey scooping the moon to them all.

    Seven or eight figures threw themselves at the wind and snow one after another. The first one grabbed Li Fengxian and felt his legs tighten at the same time. In the end, they formed a huge human ladder, swaying in the snowstorm.

    Li Huchen let out a tiger¡¯s roar and sliced through the winds with his blade.

    The bald prince and the other brothers worked together and pulled everyone back forcefully. He constantly uttered the buddha¡¯s name, ¡°Amit¨¡bha, amit¨¡bha!¡±

    The young man returned to his senses. He felt several powerful arms pressing him against the cliff firmly as true qi was injected into his body. The concerned faces all pressed up against his. For a moment, he was unable to tell which arm was whose. His chest was filled with warmth as tears poured down from his eyes, immediately freezing into ice.

    When he had fallen off the cliff earlier, if any of them had hesitated even in the slightest, he would have fallen to his death already.

    ¡°You fool, why¡¯re you crying? If you couldn¡¯t hold on, couldn¡¯t you just tell us?¡±

    Li Fengxian said, ¡°Li Yuanfei, you were just in front of old Yao before. Don¡¯t you know how to take care of him?¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell, I almost couldn¡¯t hold on myself, so how am I supposed to care about him? Speaking of which, if I hadn¡¯t responded quickly enough, you all would have been done for.¡±

    Li Yuanfei felt aggrieved. Earlier, it was him who lunged out and called out, ¡°The monkey scoops the moon!¡± gathering his siblings to help out.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    A clear, hearty smile rang out over them. Everyone looked up, only to see Li Qingshan with his arms crossed, standing horizontally on the cliff like none of it had anything to do with him. He even said complacently, ¡°How¡¯s that? It¡¯s all thanks to me that I taught you this move!¡±

    Everyone glared at him furiously.

    Li Qingshan curled his hand at them. ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll give the position of hero king to whoever makes it to the top of the mountain first.¡±

    They looked at each other. In the snowstorm, their faces had instead become so clear to one another. A long-lost sense of family flowed through them.

    Li Guinian said, ¡°I¡¯ll cover your backs!¡± Li Fengxian said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. What shitty hero king? I have no interest at all!¡±

    As a result, they reorganised the group. The strongest took turns in leading and opening up a path, producing footholds in the hard, icy-cold cliff. They did not chase after Li Qingshan desperately, instead climbing straight up the mountain.

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. With a leap, he shot straight to the top of the mountain, vanishing into the wind and snow.

    With his disappearance, the storm began to weaken. All of the princes and princesses were certain he was behind the unnaturally violent blizzard earlier. They did not know how he could control this vast power of the world, but that was what they believed in. They even began to fume over this.

    Perhaps fathers were just all-powerful in the eyes of all children, except most children would realise that was not the case after they grew up. However, Li Qingshan continued to give off that feeling. No matter how close or easygoing he seemed, he was still like a great, mysterious mountain, standing at the end of the world, such that they could only look at him from afar, unable to approach him.

    When they approached the top of the mountain, it was Li Huchen¡¯s turn to lead the group. His beard had turned frosty-white, and his bare chest was covered in a layer of ice too. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the cliff before moving to one side and giving way. He said, ¡°Whoever wants to be the hero king can just go be the hero king!¡±

 Chapter 1226

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1226 ¨C As the Great Winds Rise, the Peng Takes Flight

    ¡°I still have to focus on cultivation, so I don¡¯t have the time to deal with all this random business.¡± ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m not accustomed to being tied down.¡±

    ¡°The old man is clearly messing with us again. We can¡¯t let him get his way!¡±

    They all conceded, refusing to climb up. As they bickered away, someone said, ¡°We might as well let old Yao go!¡± It actually led to a complete agreement. ¡°If the old man wants to continue being complacent, then we¡¯ll let the weakest, most useless old Yao become the hero king!¡±

    ¡°Li Yuanfei, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s the weakest and most useless. Let go of me! I don¡¯t want to be the hero king!¡±

    As a result, they passed the young man up one by one. Only he objected loudly, except his body was frozen stiff, so how could he put up any resistance? He was delivered all the way to the edge of the cliff, so panic-stricken that he even turned red.

    At this moment, a large hand extended right before his eyes. Gazing up along the arm, he saw Li Qingshan smile.

    ¡°Alright, I promise you, if you don¡¯t want to do it, then you don¡¯t have to!¡± Then Li Qingshan glanced down. ¡°Hehe, old man? You idiots!¡± However, according to the standards of a regular human, he was indeed an old man that was already over a century old.

    Everyone cursed inside, We¡¯ve been fooled by the old man again!

    By the time they had all reached the top of the cliff, they were so exhausted that even Li Fengxian no longer bothered with her appearance, laying on the ground and gasping for air.

    Li Qingshan stood on the side of the cliff with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing through the destroyed gate. After several decades of erosion from the wind and snow, even the ruins no longer bore any semblance to the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape of the past.

    This was where he had started off in this world. Now, it was also where everything would end.

    ¡°My children, I¡¯m leaving!¡±

    The princes and princesses were all surprised. They knew that this day would come sooner or later, but they still found it to be extremely sudden when it actually arrived. Perhaps they had accepted a certain false impression a long time ago, that this man would stand in the distance forever, like a mountain, until the end of time. They could not help but become filled with a multitude of emotions and even a reluctance to see him go.

    Li Guinian sighed. He stood up and clasped his hands. ¡°Father, there are still many matters that you haven¡¯t dealt with properly. The world-¡±

    ¡°What does the world have to do with me?¡±

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. At that moment, he actually seemed even younger than his children. Perhaps some prisoners would fall in love with their prison in the end, but he would not, whether he was trapped for a century or for a millennium.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, but you are the hero king!¡±

    Everyone felt like he owed the world a responsibility, even when he had not actually been up to anything serious during the recent years. Just his title of the hero king alone could deter all crooks and troublemakers. It was even more effective than Gu Yanying¡¯s strict and fair laws.

    ¡°I am the hero king. I am also your father. I have many, many identities and names, but actually, I¡¯m Li Qingshan. Now, Li Qingshan is going off to do what Li Qingshan wants to do.¡±

    Li Qingshan clapped his hands. What lord of the world? What authority over the world? He tossed it all aside like an old shoe, making his way towards the gate of the mountain manor with ease. Gu Yanying was waiting for him there.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Father, please stay for a little longer. The world will descend into chaos with how suddenly you¡¯ve left!¡±

    ¡°You put amit¨¡bha first, so why are you begging me? The world is not the hero king¡¯s world, nor is it the World¡¯s society¡¯s world, but the people of the world¡¯s world. If the people of the world think the world should be in chaos, then let there be chaos!¡±

    Li Qingshan had never actually believed in Gu Yanying¡¯s set of strict and fair laws. It brought the world peace, such that even sleeping with unlocked doors and finding items exactly where they were lost had become commonplace. As a matter of fact, they had almost achieved universal equality. However, when princes broke laws, they suffered the same punishment as common people. The powerful were unable to oppress the weak. The clever were unable to manipulate the foolish. Groups made concessions for individuals. Was this actually logical?

    Everyone had a liking towards the good and an aversion to the bad, but good and bad were unable to explain everything at the end of the day. It had never been an absolute standard either.

    This age of peace and order was only a grand dream they had created through methods that surpassed this world. It was a dream that belonged to Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying. Now, they were finally waking up from it.

    He had never considered maintaining the World¡¯s society through all ages. Was there really a thing in the world that did not come to an end sooner or later? He had never considered making his descendants coexist peacefully in love and devotion to one another either. If they wanted to butcher each other like insects trapped in a jar, then they were free to do so. They had their own paths to take.

    He had already given everyone opportunities. The various secret martial arts manuals were so widespread in this world that they could basically be found on every corner of every street. No one could seal it away and monopolise it anymore.

    ¡°Children, if you want the world to turn out a certain way, then go and make that come true with your own hands! If you want to do good, then go do good. If you want to do bad, then go do bad. I¡¯ll be watching you from the heavens and laughing at your foolishness.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, stepping through the gate and vanishing into the ruins.

    The children all looked at one another. For a moment, they had no idea what to say.

    Suddenly, a dark-azure cloud shot through the sky, directly crossing the horizon. It went from the northern region to the central region, even falling down to the southern region, obscuring the skies with a wonderful, even texture.

    All of the children raised their heads in surprise. Everyone in the world could see it as long as they raised their heads.

    A great cry that could not be described with words rang through the sky. The dark-azure layer of clouds suddenly began to fall, which made everyone feel like the sky was collapsing. The cowardly had already curled up on the ground.

    Great winds rose!

    It was not fierce and cold like the snowstorm. Instead, it possessed warmth like the summer wind from the sixth month. It made all the ice and snow in the world melt as it whistled and surged.

    A verdant colour appeared in the sea of trees, bending over like tiny blades of grass. Great waves began to surge through the eastern ocean.

    The children all found it difficult to breathe. Right when the dark-azure clouds were about to weigh down on them, it abruptly rose up again, shrinking by a hundred times in the blink of an eye. Only then did they clearly see what it was. It was a giant bird. It made them all widen their eyes as they could not feel more shocked. They felt like their minds had been burst open, feeling the endless breadth of the land. Before they knew it, their faces had already become strewn with tears.

    However, they felt no joy or sorrow inside. They all felt extremely insignificant, actually unaware of why they were crying.

    As the great winds rose, the peng took flight!

    In the blink of an eye, the kunpeng had travelled far away. The stars glimmered in the clear universe.

    The children all stood on the cliff for a very long time. When they returned to their senses, they felt a little dispirited. Everything they had believed to be extremely important in the past had suddenly seemed insignificant now.

    ¡°Father is gone,¡± said Li Guinian.

    ¡°Is he really gone?¡± the young man asked blankly, ¡°Didn¡¯t he say he would be watching us from the heavens?¡±

    Li Yuanfei patted his shoulders casually. ¡°Old Yao, you really are far too young. To think you would even believe something like that. It¡¯s more like he¡¯ll forever live in our hearts.¡±

    As soon as he said that, the weather began to change. Wisps of clouds surged forth, forming a great big smiley face under the moonlight. It was like a child¡¯s drawing, yet it also bore some resemblance to Li Qingshan.

    Li Yuanfei murmured, ¡°This¡­ surely isn¡¯t a coincidence, right?¡±

    ¡°How annoying!¡± Li Fengxian lowered her head, but she could not help but smile.

    The young man suddenly yelled at the sky, ¡°Father, just you watch! We definitely won¡¯t disappoint you!¡±

    Ape howls immediately rang out from the cliff, and the cloud face gradually dispersed with the winds.

 Chapter 1227

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1227 ¨C Let¡¯s Fly

    The endless outer space filled their eyes as the stars turned into thousands of streaks. The kunpeng suddenly pulled in its wings and stopped firmly in outer space.

    Li Qingshan lay on the back of the kunpeng. He could not help but glance backwards. The small world had already been cast far behind him, turning into a shining star tens of thousand kilometres away.

    He looked towards the depths of space again. The darkness was deep while the stars were brilliant. He immediately understood that every single planet here represented a world, and countless things were happening in each world.

    ¡°Qingshan, are you still connected with your clone?¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s voice rang out in Li Qingshan¡¯s mind as if it had become vaster.

    She had decided to uphold her promise of taking him back to the nine provinces, to take this gamble with him, but she was not taking a reckless risk either.

    It was crucial for Li Qingshan to remain connected with his clone if he wanted to calculate the route back, as he would require the spiritual qi for support. Otherwise, his spiritual qi would constantly disperse in outer space, and the calculations themselves took a tremendous amount of spiritual qi.

    ¡°Let me say this one last time. Returning now is still not too late!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s voice rang out. He was near Li Qingshan, his appearance already resembling a two or three year old toddler. He was covered in jiggly fat, like a small, plump mound. Even with his face full of seriousness right now, he did not seem serious at all.

    ¡°Of course, I still have a connection, and it¡¯s very strong!¡±

    Li Qingshan heard the conversation between his children on the cliff and even controlled the clouds to paint a self-portrait.

    Sure enough, his mirror clone had not disappointed him. Just like that, he had the support of an entire world on his way home.

    More wondrously, the flow of time in the small world was much faster than outer space. Everything seemed to be on fast forward. In the blink of an eye, the clouds had gathered and dispersed, and the sun and moon had changed places. The children scattered through the world, each doing as they pleased.

    Originally, he was even thinking of appearing with his clone and going for a return of the king so that he could make everyone leap in fright, but looking at it now, the title of the hero king would probably become a distant legend by the time he actually could do that.

    However, that was fine too. They could take their own paths! He could take his own path too.

    ¡°Good. Start calculating then!¡±

    Gu Yanying flapped her wings gently again, and she felt an unprecedented power surge and flow through her.

    This still was not her own power, and she had only managed to recover it after who knew how many years, but she was certain there would be a day when she would become a true kunpeng!

    At this very moment, the connection between her and the kunpeng¡¯s feather had reached an unprecedented level.

    Since they were birds, they wanted to fly.

    The kunpeng possessed a form as a giant fish, but like how butterflies metamorphosed from caterpillars, every moment they spent swimming in the deep sea, crawling around the ground, was for the day when they could soar through the sky. Only that could be regarded as staying true to themselves. Hiding away in forbearance blindly was not truly the kunpeng¡¯s heart. This journey to her was not just for the sake of a promise but a greater trial for her to overcome.

    Li Qingshan nodded and tried utilising his powers. Without the small world¡¯s restraints, the ox demon, tiger demon, spirit turtle, and phoenix all woke up, opening their eyes once more.

    In that instant, all of his powers recovered, dyeing his dark-golden eyes. They were not a deep red anymore, instead becoming pitch-black. He was almost tempted to shout out, I, Li Qingshan, have returned!

    However, as he powered the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, his mind settled down again like the deep sea.

    He examined his current state first. The Ape Demon Transformation was still at the first layer, so it did not influence the balance of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine too much, but nothing flowed as smoothly and freely as before. However, this was a new power after all. Blindly seeking balance was meaningless. Only when new powers constantly surged forth could he reach greater heights than before.

    At this moment, he suddenly felt a hint of worry, as the Spirit Turtle Transformation¡¯s powers completely recovered, the connection between him and his mirror clone became stronger, making it easier to control. That in itself was not an issue. It was like how a person would definitely find their bodies to be much more nimble and much smoother after exercise.

    However, if it could grow stronger, then could it grow weaker too? If he really moved millions, tens of millions, or hundreds of million kilometres away, could he really maintain the connection?

    That did not change his determination to return home, but he did not hide this matter either. He informed Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming about this.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Xiaoming, what do you think?¡±

    ¡°If your clone ability comes from the spirit turtle clan of Ruin¡¯s End, then it truly is extremely powerful. I¡¯ve heard that certain spirit turtles would make their clones wander through the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, but you need to know that while the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra are large, it cannot be compared to all of outer space. There is a limit to all abilities, no matter what they are. Omnipotence definitely does not exist. I¡¯m not certain how much of an impact distance will have on your ability either. All we can do right now is continue onwards and find out experimentally. It would be best if you can approximate our distance from the nine heavens during this period. We can make our decision then!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming did not condone this distant journey, but since he had said, ¡°Let me say this one last time.¡± previously, then it really would be the last time. Li Qingshan had not changed his mind, so he would not say anything more. Instead, he would offer his full support and give the best suggestions using his knowledge and experience.

    As a god in the past, he understood outer space the most out of the three of them. He was still very feeble right now, but under these circumstances, knowledge was much more important than strength.

    Similar to how Li Qingshan would not nip him in the bud just because R¨¡hu Xiaoming had shouted he would get his revenge, they both had an element of open-mindedness to their personalities, which was why they could travel together.

    ¡°Yeah, I will do everything that I can to see if I can calculate any of the patterns involved.¡±

    When the kunpeng flew over here, it had not travelled in a straight line at the same speed. Instead, their path had been filled with twists and turns. With how quickly the kunpeng moved, the variation in its speed was so great that it was beyond their imagination. Even he was not certain whether he could find the pattern involved.

    ¡°But even if I lose my connection with my clone, I won¡¯t be turning back!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°By then, it¡¯ll be too late. We need to find another world to make a stop at before you lose connection with your clone. Then we need to build up strength so that we can wait for the next opportunity. You¡¯ve both crossed through worlds before, so you should know the dangers involved. Gu Yanying, do you have this ability?¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s not too far away, I have the confidence to fly over with you, but I can¡¯t screen the worlds one by one.¡±

    When they first flew to the small world, the kunpeng¡¯s feather had been under the influence of her will, which made it choose the safest world, but despite that, they had still faced hardships before they gained a footing. If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s Divine Talisman of Great Creation, they probably would have died in the small world already.

    Now, the Divine Talisman of Great Creation was already lost in the small world. It could not be used to save their lives anymore, so the choice of the worlds became even more important. If they were careless, their lives would be in danger.

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll screen the worlds then. I¡¯m very good at that.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled in a self-deprecating manner and touched the slingshot on his waist.

    ¡°Alright, thank you for your support then!¡± Li Qingshan said sincerely.

    With such companions, how could he still worry about not being able to achieve something great?

    ¡°You can save the nonsense. We¡¯ve left the small world anyway, which was important to me as well. In outer space, it happens to be difficult for her to lock onto my location.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought to himself, I sure am lucky to have encountered these two!

    ¡°Xiaoming, let¡¯s make another promise. If you can help me return to the nine provinces, I¡¯ll definitely help you with beating up your mum!¡±

    Li Qingshan spoke solemnly, issuing a promise of great weight while completely ignoring the fact that another powerful god would be added to his enemies! He already had a promise of five centuries with Qiongqi anyway. Just like how he would stop worrying when he had enough debts, it stopped bothering him when he had enough gods as enemies.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was taken aback. His eyebrows scrunched up. ¡°Why does it sound so off?¡±

    ¡°Haha, as long as you get what I mean! She wholeheartedly wants to kill her own son. Now that¡¯s a mother even beneath a beast! You might as well just kill her!¡±

    Li Qingshan had known R¨¡hu Xiaoming for several decades, so he personally believed he understood his personality slightly. He had no idea what kind of great sin he had committed such that he would actually be burnt to death by his own karma, but he definitely was not an extremely violent and wicked person. The other aspects went even more without saying. He was definitely someone worth befriending.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. A friend? That was something he had never had before. In the past, who had the right to be friends with him?

    Li Qingshan said nothing more. He shut his eyes and began focusing on calculating the route. In order to deal with the risk of losing his connection with his clone, he needed to calculate as much of the journey as possible here.

    The spiralling, receding sea of stars when they first arrived appeared in his mind once again before gradually slowing down. He matched up the stars one by one.

    It was only a small world, but the spiritual qi it possessed was absolutely tremendous. He did not seem to have to worry about running out. However, in outer space, the rate at which his spiritual qi dispersed was far too fast. He had to stop very frequently and wait for his spiritual qi to slowly recover.

    He could not help but become slightly envious of Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming. Gu Yanying had become the kunpeng, so she was not relying on her own power at all. Meanwhile, R¨¡hu Xiaoming had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation, but not only did his powers remain, but he could even draw power from outer space. He was focusing on cultivation right now.

    Can I lock in the spiritual qi? But even the spirit turtle can¡¯t suppress it, let alone the ox demon and tiger demon. But wait! Li Qingshan thought of something. He extended his hand and pressed down on the top of his head, muttering under his breath, ¡°The Ape Demon Locks the Space!¡±

    That was the name of his first ape demon ability!

    Originally, the Ape Demon Transformation was far too weak, severely overwhelmed by the four other transformations. It was possible to imagine an image with a black ox to the left, a scarlet tiger to the right, a spirit turtle at the bottom, and a phoenix standing on top, with a pitiful ape squished in between, scratching its head in distress. Now, it had finally been freed, stretching its arms and locking up space.

    Immediately, Li Qingshan felt he had been isolated from the vast space. Sure enough, the spiritual qi stopped leaking away.

    He was completely immobilised under this state and maintaining the innate ability would take a certain amount of spiritual qi, but it was still much better than the situation before.

    The calculations and reverse engineering did not require him to move anyway. Thinking was enough, so his efficiency immediately increased drastically.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming could not help but open his eyes and glance at him. He really did have various powerful bloodlines, and strangely enough, they all merged together in him.

    If the ability to lock up space truly was from that legendary monkey, then once it completely matured, roaming through outer space would be nothing difficult.

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan opened his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s fly!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Give Me Monthly Votes¡ªThe Great Chicken Spreads its Wings

    This month, I caught a cold, I attended a summit meeting and dealt with all sorts of annoying housework. In the past, any of them would be enough for me to miss releases, but this month, I haven¡¯t missed any.

    The chicken that leapt from the roof of the coop still seems to be beating its wings with difficulty in the middle of the air, but it¡¯s held on without landing. Can I also feel some delight and then find even greater courage?

    As a result, please lend me a hand to fly high in the sky!

 Chapter 1228

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1228 ¨C Xiaoming Undergoes the Tribulation, Blocked By Mountains

    An azure path was reflected in the kunpeng¡¯s deep, intelligent eyes. It spread its wings with a width of who knew how many kilometres and flapped them forcefully!

    There was no wind in outer space, but the wings produced ripples, twisting the dark space and immediately producing an existence akin to wind. It followed the azure path and vanished into the endless space.

    The galaxies spun and receded. In the vast cosmos, even the kunpeng seemed as insignificant as the seed of a mustard plant, but it possessed the grace and ease of a fish returning to the ocean. If it were trapped in the small world, even spreading its wings would become difficult. Even in the World of the Nine Provinces, it could not fly to its heart¡¯s content.

    Gu Yanying had become completely submerged in this joy of flight.

    Yes, this was what she had been searching for the entire time, limitless freedom!

    Only the azure path served as a constraint, which regularly gave her the urge to leave the path. It took her all of her effort to resist this temptation.

    The path continued to extend at an extremely gradual pace, nowhere close to keeping up with the kunpeng¡¯s pace.

    Li Qingshan stood on the kunpeng¡¯s back with his eyes wide open, gathering his focus. He used the receding stars around him to constantly verify his calculations before taking another step forward.

    However, as he did this, he was unable to use the Ape Demon Locks the Space to prevent his spiritual qi from leaking away, so he obviously was not efficient with the calculations.

    Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with the path he had calculated so far. All of it matched up with the stars, which made him sigh in relief.

    In the end, after weighing some considerations, he stopped calculating and only handled the verification. It would better conserve his spiritual qi, preparing for the next series of calculations.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was completely submerged in cultivation. With each passing second, he seemed to be growing.

    Li Qingshan was rather envious of their ease and grace, but he still preferred standing firmly on the ground. Perhaps it was because he had become too accustomed to the nurturing of the strength of the earth that he felt empty as soon as he left the earth.

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in Li Qingshan¡¯s mind, and the kunpeng furled its wings, stopping in space.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to undergo the tribulation!¡±

    With that, a clap of thunder rang out in outer space, and a bolt of lightning ripped through the darkness, reflecting in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. It made him sigh inside, The heavenly tribulations really are present everywhere!

    The tribulation that was originally absolutely terrifying now seemed so nostalgic, but it also made him wonder. R¨¡hu Xiaoming must have undergone numerous heavenly tribulations already in the past, so how could it happen again? Even with the phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth and starting over as an egg, the heavenly tribulations he had already faced would not happen again.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming leapt up to receive the heavenly tribulation.

    Before long, he landed back on the peng¡¯s back. He had become much thinner, and he had grown taller, now like a child that was five or six years old. The entire process of facing the tribulation had been extremely smooth, basically as easy as breathing. The bolts of tribulation lightning were like docile puppies in his hands, only able to bite him softly and leave behind a few teeth prints at most.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan was filled with doubts. R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°If I can¡¯t even fool the heavenly tribulations, I would have been incinerated by my karma already.¡±

    Asura had always been undying, able to be constantly reborn, let alone this child of an asura god. However, let alone Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, even entering sa?s¨¡ra would not be enough to avoid the backlash of karma.

    ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯re close to the tribulation too, right?¡± Gu Yanying asked suddenly.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded sternly. Undergoing the tribulations was originally something that every cultivator dreamed of. There was rebirth with each tribulation they underwent. It was not just an increase in strength. Even their intrinsic nature would change, allowing them to go from a mortal all the way to the realm of immortals and buddhas.

    However, he definitely could not undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation right now, as that would exceed the limit that the nine provinces could contain.

    The nine provinces were not a small world. It would not be as gentle as restrained power and a string of bad luck. He had once personally witnessed what had happened when Qiongqi descended. Now that was truly a rain of lightning. The atmospheric winds and the magma assaulted him together, never to stop until the intruder had been destroyed.

    After balancing the four transformations, he was only a step away from the fourth tribulation, and now, he had begun with the Ape Demon Transformation. Fortunately, he had only reached the first layer with the Ape Demon Transformation, so its power was extremely limited. At the same time, it broke the original balance, which was the only reason why it did not immediately incur the heavenly tribulation.

    However, with how compatible he was with the Ape Demon Transformation, the future cultivation definitely would not be too difficult once he broke free from the small world.

    He had truly benefited quite a lot from the trials he had faced in the small world too.

    First of all, he had comprehended the strength of the earth through the restraints of the world. Only the ox demon possessed that kind of ability, so it obviously laid a foundation for when he broke through to the sixth layer of the Ox Demon Transformation. He could even attempt the breakthrough right now. Among the many transformations, the Ox Demon Transformation was his foundation, as well as the transformation that matched his personality the best. Even the Ape Demon Transformation was slightly worse in this respect.

    During the several decades he spent contending against the heavens, the battle spirit of the tiger demon had awakened a long time ago, constantly being tempered and tested. However, the Tiger Demon Transformation had always been about explosive breakthroughs. If he wanted to reach the sixth layer, he would still require a great battle to provide him with that opportunity.

    And after he became the god of the world, observing everything in the world and comprehending the laws of the world brought benefit to the Spirit Turtle Transformation no less than the benefit to the Ox Demon Transformation. As a matter of fact, it was even more lasting with the Spirit Turtle Transformation. These two transformations both happened to emphasise accumulation over time, so breaking through to the sixth layer of the Spirit Turtle Transformation was only a matter of time too. Doing his best to calculate the path was a form of cultivation as well.

    Even with the Phoenix Transformation that could be regarded as a ¡°shortcoming¡±, he gained a comprehension akin to rebirth in flames after the process of entering the world before eventually leaving it.

    It was possible to say that all the transformations were budging, wanting to push Li Qingshan to a higher cultivation. If he could find a world that was equivalent or even larger than the nine provinces at a time like this, he could undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation immediately and become a Daemon Emperor.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will suppress my power. If I really run out of options, I¡¯ll just undergo Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth again.¡±

    Once he returned to the nine provinces, he would undergo the tribulation immediately and ascend to the Daemonic Beast realm with Xiao An.

    Even if it were not for the sake of returning to the nine provinces, outer space definitely was not a good place to face tribulations. Just the issue of dispersing spiritual qi would drastically affect the success rate. He was confident, but he was not arrogant enough to believe he could face the fourth heavenly tribulation as easily as R¨¡hu Xiaoming had faced his first heavenly tribulation.

    The kunpeng began to fly again. Afterwards, they stopped another two times so that Li Qingshan could settle down and calculate the upcoming route. His connection with the mirror clone had indeed become weaker, but he could still control it with ease as if he was completely unworried the connection would break. Everything progressed much more smoothly than he had ever anticipated.

    Li Qingshan even had the spare effort to plan out everything after he had reunited with Xiao An. He would help the Great Banyan Tree King become the god of the world and would conveniently pop by the Dragon province to butcher prince Si Qing. Han Qiongzhi was probably well, but he wondered how Ru Xin was doing¡­

    Right as he was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly sensed the strength of the earth that he had not experienced in a very long time. However, when he gazed out, even the nearest star was a million kilometres away.

    Apart from the many worlds, did boundless outer space have earth too?¡±

    The kunpeng suddenly accelerated. A group of mountains blocked their path.

    That had not existed when they travelled to the small world. Their luck finally seemed to run out.

 Chapter 1229

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1229 ¨C A Shattered World

    Mountains spread through outer space, varying in size. The large ones spanned tens of thousand kilometres, akin to small worlds, while the small ones were only the size of a fist, far too many to count. There was no end in sight, all just hovering there silently and watching the insignificant Li Qingshan on the peng¡¯s back.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyebrows were firmly locked together. This had not existed when they travelled through outer space the first time, or the kunpeng must have taken a detour with its colossal size. However, the path he had calculated crossed right through it.

    ¡°Are you sure you haven¡¯t made a mistake with your calculations?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s correct,¡± said Li Qingshan. The mountains basically seemed like they had appeared from thin air.

    ¡°Look closely. Is there a star missing in the surroundings,¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again. ¡°There is one missing! Don¡¯t tell me this is it!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a destroyed world, that¡¯s all,¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said faintly.

    He glanced at his own hand again as his face darkened slightly.

    ¡°What destroyed the world?¡±

    A chill ran through Li Qingshan¡¯s heart as he gazed at the mountains warily as if a terrifying monster was lurking behind one of them.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. It¡¯s probably just due to natural decline.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming held his chin and observed.

    ¡°Natural decline?¡± Li Qingshan murmured.

    Among the two worlds that Li Qingshan had visited, they varied in size, but both of them seemed like they would exist forever. He never expected to personally witness the demise of a world.

    ¡°Everything goes through creation and destruction. Even a world cannot exist forever, possessing its own birth and decline. Stars fall with each passing moment in outer space. There¡¯s no reason to make a fuss.¡±

    ¡°But this star was originally very far away from here.¡± Li Qingshan furrowed his brows in confusion.

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because of that that I confirmed it was a natural decline. The death of worlds is not a sudden explosion. Instead, it¡¯s like everything else. It gradually falls apart. Often, it will last for a very long time. Once it is no longer anchored in outer space, power will spurt out in all sorts of directions. No one knows where it might be pushed to.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. This could be described as a coincidence, but it really could not be considered as a coincidence in such a long journey through such a vast space.

    Gazing at this colossal ¡°corpse¡±, he discovered that it was not still. Even the largest mountains slowly moved. Who knew where it would stop in the end.

    Atmospheric winds echoed between the mountains like the last breath of the world. The magnetic field varied in strength, constantly changing in an unstable manner like its spirit that refused to disperse. These two existences were originally located high in the air and underground respectively, but now, they had mixed together, making everything extremely chaotic.

    Countless asteroids shot through the surroundings. As such, the smaller the rock, the more powerful it actually was. Even the attacks of great cultivators could only rival them. After all, this was the might of a world. Even the lingering powers were extraordinary.

    ¡°Looks like we have to take a detour.¡±

    Gu Yanyin asked, ¡°But Qingshan, once we deviate from the path, can you still find a correct route back? This detour is going to be tens of million kilometres long.¡±

    The dead world was clearly not a small world. The thick earth had completely collapsed and dispersed, filling several million kilometres of space. Any detour would be a journey of tens of million kilometres.

    ¡°That would be difficult to say.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head slightly. When he had been constantly locating the stars along the way, that was not because he had nothing better to do. Instead, he had been constantly correcting their path according to the stars. If they took a detour like that, then all of their previous efforts would go to waste. There were no clear markers in outer space, and the stars all seemed roughly the same. It might be possible that they would never find a correct path again and become completely lost in outer space.

    ¡°I can try shrinking in size and passing through,¡± said Gu Yanying.

    ¡°What do you think, Xiaoming?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°No matter what, we need to leave this region as quickly as we can.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming was stern.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t find out.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled in a chilling manner.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s cross through.¡±

    Gu Yanying sucked in a deep breath. The kunpeng gradually shrank until its wingspan was only three thousand metres across. It would still be a colossal creature in a world, but it had become even more insignificant in the vast outer space as it flew towards the mountains.

    She controlled the powers of the kunpeng, fending off the power of the magnetic fields that was present everywhere while gathering the tremendous atmospheric winds to knock away the incoming asteroids. That was not even the most dangerous part. Instead, it was the spatial fragments of various sizes. They were like broken pieces of glass, almost completely transparent. Even the kunpeng had to avoid them carefully, which drastically affected its speed too.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming became even sterner, but he said nothing. He stared at the surroundings in a daze.

    When they approached a great mountain that stretched tens of thousand kilometres, Li Qingshan shut his eyes and reached out with his hand, but he did not sense the strength of the earth. Was it because it was too small, so it still could not be regarded as the earth?

    However, even the largest mountains here were of that scale. It was quite difficult to find mountains that large in the nine provinces too. Clearly, they still possessed parts that originally belonged underground.

    However, he could clearly sense the strength of the earth, and it was growing stronger and stronger, almost like a calling. He could not help but become filled with curiosity. Just what was waiting for him up ahead?

    ¡°Look over there!¡±

    Gu Yanying broke the silence. Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming followed her gaze and looked over, only to see a colossal structure built into the side of a large mountain. The style differed drastically from anything in the nine provinces, and it was severely damaged, but they could still see some of its past glory.

    ¡°That¡¯s definitely not something mortals can build. It must be a major sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather amazed. Buildings by mortals definitely could not survive, but even cultivators had ended up like this, so let alone mortals?

    ¡°Yeah, you can even see the layout for the protective formation. It seems to have been swallowed by magma. Hmm? There¡¯s someone there! Oh, it¡¯s just a stone statue.¡±

    Gu Yanying could vaguely make out a figure standing on the top of the mountain, but only when she flew closer did she realise it was a stone statue. It depicted a female, complete with all the minor details like eyebrows and hair. She was lifelike.

    ¡°That¡¯s not a stone statue. She petrified herself in an attempt to survive this. Hmph, how foolish. If she had committed suicide a little earlier, she might still have the opportunity to enter sa?s¨¡ra.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming showed contempt. Once a world declined to a certain level, its connection with the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra would be broken, but regular people obviously did not know about that.

    Only now did Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying notice the despair on the woman¡¯s face. Clearly, this was a final struggle in the face of death. Outer space did not just devour spiritual qi. It devoured souls as well, so what was the point of turning herself into a stone statue?

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Perhaps she was waiting for someone too!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the woman¡¯s face without a word.

    Gu Yanyin said, ¡°Apologies.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but the nine provinces won¡¯t be destroyed so easily. The scale of the world doesn¡¯t seem to be any less than the nine provinces¡¯. Do you think there¡¯ll be any treasures left behind?¡± Li Qingshan felt the calling from the strength of the earth become stronger.

    ¡°With the destruction of a world, all of the spiritual qi disperses. Everything that relies on it will be destroyed as a result.¡±

    That image appeared in R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s head again¡ªon the blood-red earth, a child wielded a slingshot and hunted down the stars under his mother¡¯s guidance.

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 Chapter 1230

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1230 ¨C The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was pale-white. He pressed down on his chest firmly. The backlash of karma had already made him sacrifice all of his power to nullify it, but the memory still remained.

    Even in a small world, the number of lives it held was measured in the billions.

    He had destroyed worlds and annihilated all living creatures, and he had done so even without a proper reason, without bringing any value or benefit, completely out of his groundless malice. Even the twelve Demon Gods of the Demon domain would never do something like this. They would only expand the Demon domain, spread their ideology, and twist the concepts of good and evil.

    Even the Demon Gods came nowhere close to this kind of evil. As a matter of fact, it was so great that he could not even feel it. It was only the fall of stars, one by one.

    However, the Asura realm was not the Demon domain. Instead, it was one of the three higher realms within the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Asura definitely were not evil gods.

    The world right before him seemed like he had destroyed it with his own hands. The mountains all weighed on his chest, suffocating him.

    ¡°Xiaoming, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Li Qingshan asked in surprise.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming waved his hand powerlessly.

    Li Qingshan arrived before him with a single step and threw a punch.

    Boom!

    An incoming asteroid was smashed to pieces, almost pulverising R¨¡hu Xiaoming. In his current state, even if he managed to survive somehow, he would be heavily injured.

    Li Qingshan suffered from the rebound instead, taking half a step back as he felt his body churn. The power behind the asteroids was far too great. He lowered his head and asked, ¡°You fine?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thanked him with difficulty.

    By now, the kunpeng had already left the huge mountain, venturing further into the mountains. Great mountains hovered everywhere around them, and the atmospheric winds and the magnetic fields had become even more disorderly and violent.

    The kunpeng constantly shifted its posture, flapping its wings, controlling the atmospheric winds, and fending off the magnetic fields. It could no longer afford to watch over Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming on its back.

    Li Qingshan lifted up R¨¡hu Xiaoming and spread the wings of wind, absorbing the atmospheric winds as he dodged on the kunpeng¡¯s back. When he was unable to dodge, he would use the Force Field of the Earth to shift the position of the asteroids.

    The only fact worth rejoining over was the strength of the earth growing stronger and stronger, providing him with endless energy.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was dispirited as if he had returned to the state before his rebirth. As a result, Li Qingshan asked him intentionally, ¡°If you can survive in outer space, why don¡¯t you just stay here, find a remote corner, and cultivate for a few thousand years? Your strength will probably have recovered by then.¡±

    ¡°We belong to worlds, not outer space. Mortals can also survive by eating grass and bark, but they will decline. Spiritual qi is a vital resource, so choosing an appropriate world is more important than anything.¡±

    The higher the lifeform, the closer to the fundamental powers the energy they possessed was, but the closer the energy was to the fundamental powers, the more difficult it was to absorb and convert. Spiritual qi to cultivators was equivalent to food to mortals. Even for certain talented existences that could break free from the need for food, absorbing sunlight like plants, it would be nowhere near as convenient or efficient as directly absorbing spiritual qi.

    ¡°I see. If you return to the Asura realm, your strength will probably recover much faster!¡± Li Qingshan remarked.

    The Asura realm was much larger than the nine provinces, and the will of the world was much stronger as well. As a beloved son of the Asura realm, the benefits he would receive would be unimaginable. He would be endowed by fate.

    ¡°Going back before I completely recover will just be death¡­ but if I could get my hands on a few more Asura Fields, it would be extremely useful.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming hesitated before mentioning a request for once.

    ¡°Once we return to the nine provinces, I¡¯ll steal a few for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan generously offered up other people¡¯s items. He would be going to the Dragon province to kill prince Si Qing anyway. By then, he might as well teach his entire family a lesson. How difficult would returning with a few Asura Fields be?

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought about it. ¡°Though, this place isn¡¯t without treasures. Since the atmospheric winds and the magnetic fields still remain, there must be Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles. They can be used to forge innate arcane treasures. The fragments of the world are extremely precious as well, but we don¡¯t have the ability to collect them right now.¡±

    ¡°Innate arcane treasures!¡± Li Qingshan was very interested.

    ¡°Atmospheric Wind Essence! Does that really exist? I originally thought it was all a legend. I even searched for it before.¡±

    Gu Yanying was extremely interested as well. Her jade folding fan from before was already destroyed. She was in need of a new fan.

    ¡°These two items both exist with worlds, like the blood vessels beneath its skin. Only when the world collapses will they appear, so they¡¯re obviously quite difficult to find. Once you drain out the ¡°blood vessels¡±, the world will decline faster too.¡±

    ¡°Then aren¡¯t we standing in a mountain of treasure right now? The world is dead anyway. It¡¯s perfect for us to search its corpse!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes glowed with interest. He felt like even if outer space was dangerous, it came with its own opportunities.

    ¡°Though, I¡¯d advise us to not stray too far from our path or stay here for too long. This is not a safe place.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming had not mentioned this in the beginning because he did not want them to stay here for too long. Then he murmured to himself, ¡°In such a large world, there might even be that¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Just forget about it. Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles bear very evident special characteristics and come in vast quantities. That item doesn¡¯t give off any aura at all. Even if it does, it¡¯s a tiny, tiny amount. Only by smashing open mountains one by one do you have a chance at fighting it, but it¡¯s possible for that to not exist at all. However, if you can find a piece, it¡¯ll be worth it. Unfortunately, we¡¯re far too weak right now.¡±

    When R¨¡hu Xiaoming spoke about the Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles, he was surprisingly calm. Who knew how many worlds he had shattered already, so of course, he would not be interested in these ¡°common goods¡±. However, when he mentioned that item, even he showed interest.

    Li Qingshan urged him. ¡°Look at how you¡¯ve described it! Just what is it!? Tell me!¡±

    Gu Yanyin suddenly warned them. ¡°Be careful ahead!¡±

    A great cloud of asteroids hurtled over, varying in size and amounting to several tens of thousands. If one of the larger pieces fell on the nine provinces, it would directly flatten Great Buddha mountain, and even the small pieces were more than enough to kill great cultivators.

    The area it covered was extremely great, such that even the kunpeng was unable to avoid the cloud. All it could do was gather the atmospheric winds and prepare for a rough battle.

    Li Qingshan was stern. He brought his arms together and completely unleashed the Force Field of the Earth. The invisible force pulled and pushed in various directions. Some asteroids were repelled far away, while other pieces smashed together. Not only did he protect himself and Xiaoming, but he also protected the kunpeng beneath him.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sighed. ¡°If I didn¡¯t see this for myself, I¡¯d really struggle to believe this is something a Daemon King is capable of!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at his arms. He had always found the innate abilities of the ox demon easy to use, but he had outdone himself this time, probably because of the influence from the strength of the earth. He wondered whether that was the item R¨¡hu Xiaoming was talking about, so he mentioned the power he sensed to them.

    ¡°You can actually sense the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was shocked. Just how many more innate abilities did he have? The strength of the earth was something that could be regarded as a fundamental power.

    ¡°Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens? What¡¯s that?¡±

    After such a long time, Li Qingshan finally heard the words ¡°Nine Heavens¡± again.

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 Chapter 1231

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1231 ¨C Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°It¡¯s a type of soil that lacks a spiritual nature and does not give off any light. As a matter of fact, it seems no different from regular soil. However, it can grow and increase endlessly, which is why it¡¯s called Swelling Earth.¡±

    TL: More on swelling earth in Chinese mythology here.

    ¡°Then what¡¯s the Nine Heavens about?¡± Li Qingshan questioned closely. Even in this empty, silent outer space, his enthusiasm was roused all of a sudden.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go beyond the Nine Heavens? That¡¯s the first world among the myriad worlds. It¡¯s said that the trichiliocosm was separated from there. It is not a world if it does not have earth, so the Swelling Earth is also known as the source of earth. As a result, it¡¯s been named after a combination of the two, Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens.¡± Then R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°You can sense where it is? If it doesn¡¯t deviate from our path too much, we¡¯ll head over right now.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we should leave this region as quickly as possible?¡±

    ¡°If we can obtain a piece, the risk is worth it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s just close up ahead, less than ten thousand kilometres away from our path.¡± Li Qingshan shut his eyes and calculated it. As long as he restricted it to this range, he basically did not have to worry about losing their bearings.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said from the bottom of his heart, ¡°You sure are lucky, but if that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t go out of your way to gather the Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles. It would be best if we come across it on the way, but if we don¡¯t, so be it.¡±

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s called strength.¡±

    Li Qingshan recalculated the path and drew a long arc in outer space, which was reflected in the kunpeng¡¯s eyes. The kunpeng swung its wings gently and glided over.

    ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All.¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his hand and pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell scattered, producing hundreds of images in all directions. It was not as sharp as the kunpeng¡¯s eyes, but it could get around obstacles, making it easier to find what they were looking for.

    Sure enough, they found a strange wisp of atmospheric winds before long. It did not dance wildly like regular atmospheric winds, maintaining a stable shape the entire time instead like a thin, long snake. It vaguely bore a silvery lustre. At a closer glance, it was quite easy to see that the whistling atmospheric winds in the surroundings originated from it.

    ¡°Atmospheric Wind Essence! But how do we collect it?¡± Gu Yanying asked. Even regular atmospheric winds were difficult to wield, let alone this Atmospheric Wind Essence. ¡°Can sumeru rings contain it, or do I have to directly swallow it?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in exasperation, ¡°If you do that, then our journey ends right here. The level of your sumeru rings is too long, so they can¡¯t hold the Atmospheric Wind Essence. If you trust me enough, you can use my cosmic pouch.¡±

    As he said that, he patted the pouch on his waist. Its appearance was extremely normal with a red pull string at the top. It was very similar to a child¡¯s money pouch. In Li Qingshan¡¯s memory, he had fished out his slingshot ammunition from there.

    ¡°There¡¯s probably quite a lot of good stuff inside there, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his hands as if he was about to rob him before disposing of him.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming downright ignored him.

    ¡°Qingshan, stop messing around. Draw the Atmospheric Wind Essence over.¡±

    Gu Yanying urged as she made the kunpeng stop and hide within a pocket in the mountain, avoiding all of the incoming asteroids. Clearly, she was very tempted by it.

    ¡°Alrighty!¡±

    From the mountain, Li Qingshan extended his hands towards the wind essence, and the Force Field of the Earth unleashed its wonders again.

    Even the Atmospheric Wind Essence was unable to escape from the invisible pull. After flowing for a bit, like a hooked fish, it was drawn over.

    It set off a domino effect. All the atmospheric winds within thousands of kilometres began to move, scraping against the mountain they hid themselves in and immediately carving off layer by layer. Originally, approaching the centre of the violent atmospheric winds was difficult. The kunpeng was only an image after all, so being able to control the atmospheric winds was already its limit. Now that they had a shield like this, they no longer had to worry about anything.

    The Atmospheric Wind Essence pierced through the mountain with ease and arrived before them. It was much larger than they had imagined it to be, curling and flowing with Li Qingshan¡¯s hands like a long dragon.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming opened the cosmic pouch, and Li Qingshan swung his hands violently. With that, the Atmospheric Wind Essence flowed inside, which let him sigh in relief. ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s something good. Though, what does the Earthen Magnetic Poles look like?¡±

    However, during the next part of their journey, they did not even see any Atmospheric Wind Essence, let alone Earthen Magnetic Poles, which filled him with pity. According to R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s explanation, the Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles would disperse with the destruction of the world.

    Instead, there were many world fragments hovering in the surroundings, and they would not disperse in outer space. However, it was also exactly because of that fact that even the cosmic pouch could not store them. Perhaps only another world could devour and digest them.

    Li Qingshan asked curiously, ¡°You said worlds are being destroyed with each passing moment in outer space, so there should be world fragments everywhere, but why haven¡¯t we seen even a piece along the way here? And while spiritual qi will completely disperse with a world¡¯s destruction, there¡¯s still so much soil. Surely it won¡¯t just vanish without any reason. I¡¯ve never really seen any asteroids either.¡±

    ¡°The things that cannot be broken down in outer space will obviously be broken down by other things.¡±

    ¡°Space-devouring beasts?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually even heard of space-devouring beasts. You really are knowledgeable for your cultivation.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve even seen the eyeball of a space-devouring beast before. A Corpse King from the Hungry Ghost realm used it when he tried to invade the nine provinces. He sealed up a great region, and I was almost swallowed by the Hungry Ghost realm.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said firmly, ¡°Then he must have obtained it through a coincidence. Even the weakest space-devouring beasts are not something a mere Corpse King can deal with.¡±

    Li Qingshan recalled the brutality of that battle too. That was the first time he had come into contact with the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. He smiled. ¡°If we can butcher another two space-devouring beasts and get our hands on a few eyeballs, that¡¯ll be even better.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, you don¡¯t jinx it. Space-devouring beasts are the scavengers and cleaners of outer space. They can devour everything. World fragments just happen to be their favourite kind of food. A lot of space-devouring beasts will be lured over before long, so we better collect the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens quickly and leave!¡±

    The kunpeng flew another several tens of thousand kilometres and stopped. They stared at a small mountain over five thousand kilometres away.

    Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming did not possess Li Qingshan¡¯s ability to sense the strength of the earth, but even they were certain the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens was there!

    There was nothing special about the small mountain at all, but there was no other mountain within five thousand kilometres of it. There was not even an asteroid. Wisps of Atmospheric Wind Essence wrapped around it, turning the space there into a sea of atmospheric wind. Both mountains and asteroids were shredded to dust.

    However, the sea of wind glimmered with specks of light, moving around freely without any pattern whatsoever while completely unaffected by the atmospheric winds. However, they remained near the small mountain the entire time. Even from so far away, Li Qingshan could already sense his daemon qi collapse slightly. That was the most direct effect of the magnetic fields, so the specks of light must have been the Earthen Magnetic Poles that R¨¡hu Xiaoming spoke of.

    They did not have to spend any effort looking for them. Whether it was the Atmospheric Wind Essence or Earthen Magnetic Poles, they were everywhere here!

 Chapter 1232

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1232 ¨C A Bountiful Harvest

    ¡°A bountiful harvest!¡±

    Li Qingshan whistled, but he immediately felt troubled again, as there were no mountains nearby to shelter them. Even if they traveled a little further away, the pulling force would just be a little weaker at most, but the Earthen Magnetic Poles were extremely difficult to deal with. Even from so far away, it could make his daemon qi collapse slightly, so if it were closer, would the influence not be even greater?

    ¡°Sigh, looks like we have to take it slowly then.¡±

    Even if it was for the sake of the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, they could not give up right now. He was about to make Gu Yanying fly towards the closest mountain nearby.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°How long are you going to take then? Are you really going to wait until a space-devouring beast swallows us all?¡±

    ¡°Then what do you think we should do? We can¡¯t just give up like this, can we?¡±

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens calling for him. Perhaps it was only an illusion, but there was something he was absolutely certain about. The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens would be of great benefit to the Ox Demon Transformation, so he really could not accept simply giving up like this.

    ¡°Here!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming passed the cosmic pouch to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan accepted the cosmic pouch and said in surprise, ¡°For me?¡±

    ¡°You bastard! I¡¯m just lending it to you.¡±

    ¡°Haha, how stingy.¡±

    Li Qingshan channeled daemon qi into the pouch, and he could immediately control it. Clearly, R¨¡hu Xiaoming had made it like that for him. He did not say anything, but he was slightly touched inside. Only with this much trust could they truly travel together in one boat.

    ¡°Let me teach you how to use it¡­¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming explained slowly, and Li Qingshan nodded away. The cosmic pouch was basically a work of a god. It definitely was not as simple as an upgraded version of the sumeru ring. It was basically like a miniature world.

    He tossed the cosmic pouch high up. It rapidly expanded, becoming several hundred kilometres wide; this was under the circumstances of Li Qingshan¡¯s limited strength, or it could become even larger. It was a complete mystery what its limit was.

    ¡°Open!¡± Li Qingshan shouted out.

    The cosmic pouch opened up like a great stomach that had opened its mouth. It sucked in a deep breath, and the atmospheric winds in the area all whistled over. Strands of Atmospheric Wind Essence entered the pouch.

    However, the Eathen Magnetic Poles were completely unaffected, continuing to move around freely without any pattern. Their intrinsic nature was vastly different from Atmospheric Wind Essence. They clearly seemed tangible, but the atmospheric winds did not affect them. Instead, they resembled balls of lightning as they flickered with light.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Use your pull!¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth, locking onto the Earthen Magnetic Poles one by one, but the end result was not as smooth as he imagined.

    The pull affected the Earthen Magnetic Poles, but they were clearly much more reluctant to leave the mountain. Just like that, they entered a stalemate. Who knew how long it would take before he could pull them over.

    Li Qingshan closed his eyes and sensed for the small mountain¡¯s existence. It actually possessed a motherly warmth within the cold, empty outer space. He said softly, ¡°Please lend me your power!¡±

    The great pull from the mountain suddenly weakened, while Li Qingshan¡¯s Force Field of the Earth rapidly strengthened. The balls of Earthen Magnetic Poles immediately shot over like arrows, all landing in the cosmic pouch.

    Pulling the red string shut, the pouch was closed, and it gradually shrank, falling into Li Qingshan¡¯s hand again. It was plump and round as if it had been filled with wind. He casually passed it back to R¨¡hu Xiaoming as if it was a regular money pouch that only contained a few pieces of silver.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming extended his hand and accepted it before hanging it on his waist again, behaving like it was perfectly normal.

    The region had been cleared out, but there were still a large number of world fragments floating around. They gathered more densely here than any place they had passed by. Unless the kunpeng could shrink even further, they could not approach the mountain.

    Li Qingshan experimented around. The Force Field of the Earth could affect the world fragments, but even the cosmic pouch was unable to store them, as their nature was definitely on par with the cosmic pouch or even greater.

    However, there was no reason to feel any pity either. This trip had been extremely worth it even if they only looked at the amount of Atmospheric Wind Essence and Earthen Magnetic Poles they had gathered. However, the best would always be saved for last.

    Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, I¡¯m coming!

    Li Qingshan spread the phoenix wings and said to R¨¡hu Xiaoming, ¡°Lend me some wind!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming opened the cosmic pouch slightly as a wisp of atmospheric winds whistled out. Li Qingshan¡¯s wings of wind reached three thousand metres across, borrowing the winds to rise up. He did not encounter any resistance in outer space, so he reached an extremely great speed. Then he used the Force Field of the Earth and immediately became several times faster again. At the same time, he constantly adjusted his posture to dodge the world fragments.

    This was the first time he had flown this quickly through his own strength, which made him understand Gu Yanying¡¯s pursuit slightly. However, what he was after was not the sky, and he loathed the silence of outer space even more. Sensing the calling of the earth, he flew towards the small mountain like a child throwing himself into his mother¡¯s embrace.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°He¡¯s not going to crash into the mountain and die, right?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Surely not!¡±

    From their perspective, Li Qingshan was basically hurtling head-first towards the small mountain. Only when he reached within fifty kilometres of it did he suddenly spread his wings and reverse the force field, but he still moved extremely quickly. Right when he was about to crash into the mountain, he threw a powerful punch.

    The small mountain cracked opened silently, and Li Qingshan ventured in along the cracks until he reached the very centre. There, he finally saw the legendary Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens.

    As R¨¡hu Xiaoming had said, its appearance was not special at all. It seemed like an absolutely normal brownish-yellow lump of soil. It did not possess any spiritual qi, much less give off any glow, and it was only the size of a fist.

    However, in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart, the tiny lump of earth was even heavier and vaster than all of the mountains here.

    Only a pile of countless pieces of rock could be regarded as a mountain. Only the accumulation of an endless amount of soil could be regarded as the earth.

    However, on the tiny lump of earth, every single bulge was like a mountain, and every single nook was like a valley. It seemed to be the very origin and symbol of the word ¡°earth¡±, regardless of where or when, regardless of its size or shape. None of that could influence its nature.

    Li Qingshan extended his arms slowly, approaching the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens. Brother ox¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in his heart as everything before his eyes changed, from practising martial arts in Crouching Ox village in the very beginning to the various kinds of cultivation and trials he faced afterwards, the first layer, the second layer¡­ all the way until the fifth layer of the ox demon. Every single ability of the Ox Demon Transformation flashed through his head at that instant, such that he actually felt like he had mastered them all at that instant.

    He could not help but say sternly, ¡°The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud!¡±

    There was no longer a single obstacle between him and the sixth layer of the Ox Demon Transformation anymore. As a matter of fact, he could even break through right now and obtain the unprecedented strength of the ox demon.

    He sucked in a deep breath and controlled his emotions. He never expected just seeing the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens would bring him such great benefit. It was similar to when the spirit turtle obtained the power of Ruin¡¯s End.

    The power of Ruin¡¯s End was vast and so plentiful that it was boundless, so how could it be compared to the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens? Even in this world that was no smaller than the nine provinces, there was only such a tiny lump of the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, and it was not always guaranteed to have any. Just how precious and scarce was that?

    The tip of his finger touched the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens. At that moment, Li Qingshan felt endless power surge through his body, completely trivialising the power he once possessed!

 Chapter 1233

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1233 ¨C Devouring Everything, a Storm of Meteors

    Li Qingshan could not help but cup the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly with both hands. His entire body trembled gently.

    This power did not fill his body all of a sudden and make him feel like he was about to explode. Instead, it was filled with boundless thickness and sincerity, wrapping him inside gently.

    The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens did not require refinement, nor could it be refined. If he wanted to use it, the power would be there for him to use. If he did not want to use it, the power would just be in there.

    The spiritual qi within all spiritual stones would be depleted, but its power was endless.

    Gu Yanying gazed at the small mountain. Even with the powerful eyesight of a kunpeng, Li Qingshan was as tiny as a grain of sand from several thousand kilometres away. She said in worry, ¡°Xiaoming, why isn¡¯t he out yet? Don¡¯t tell me something¡¯s happened to him?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said mysteriously, ¡°You care a lot about him!¡±

    ¡°I do!¡± Gu Yanying smiled without trying to hide it.

    ¡°You should be careful of damaging your heart of cultivation because of personal feelings.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your warning. I¡¯ve been carefully keeping it under control the entire time. However, if my heart of cultivation is sturdy enough, why would I be afraid of some measly personal feelings? I¡¯m still lacking in this area. I hope I can be like him in the future.¡± Gu Yanying smiled.

    ¡°Fair enough. I really do wonder who taught this guy.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought about Li Qingshan. He was basically covered in personal feelings. He never treated his feelings as an obstacle and sometimes he was so optimistic that he almost seemed naive, yet he was able to advance valiantly. He clearly was not particularly bright, yet he was able to keep an open mind and think through everything. R¨¡hu Xiaoming really could not help but feel admiration for him.

    However, there was one exception, which was during their journey right now. He had virtually been too attached to personal feelings, and he had been far too narrow-minded. He wondered what kind of charms Xiao An possessed to make someone like him become so attached to her.

    ¡°Must be someone from beyond the Nine Heavens!¡±

    During the several decades Gu Yanying spent with Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming, she felt like her horizons had become much broader. Her view was no longer limited to the tiny nine provinces, and her identity as some daughter of some Hawk God was even less worth mentioning.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming jokingly said, ¡°Perfect. If he keels over, we don¡¯t have to go to the nine provinces anymore.¡±

    ¡°No, we still have to return to the nine provinces.¡± Gu Yanying was determined. Whether it was for a promise or because of her personal feelings, the destination of this journey definitely would not change. ¡°We should at least lay him to rest in the earth!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then may our fellow Li live to a ripe old age!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shrugged, but that was expected. If she did not have even this amount of determination, what gave her the right to travel with him?

    ¡°Look, he¡¯s come out, and he seems very happy!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt out of the cracks and stood on the tiny mountain. He roared mentally, ¡°You two bastards, have you said enough? You¡¯re the ones who¡¯re going to keel over. You¡¯re the ones who¡¯re going to be laid to rest in the earth! You¡¯re the ones who¡¯re going to live to a ripe old age!¡±

    Despite being thousands of kilometres away, their consciousnesses were linked. They could even sense each other¡¯s stronger emotions, or how would Gu Yanying be able to tell from so far away that Li Qingshan was happy or not?

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Hah, how is the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens? Is it as wondrous as the rumours say it is?¡±

    ¡°The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens is filled with wonders, but how can it be used so easily?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said. The more pure the power and the closer it was to being a fundamental power, the more difficult it was to use. That was simply how the world worked.

    ¡°Hmph, just you watch!¡± Li Qingshan spread his legs, brought his left hand to his waist, and gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly in his right hand, lifting it high into the air. He called out inside, ¡°Grant me your power! I am Li Qingshan!¡±

    An invisible, great power immediately spread through outer space. Even the mountains shook, let alone the tiny asteroids. Even the world fragments began to move, gathering towards his hand. Originally, the pulling force could influence world fragments, but the effect was nowhere close to this.

    At that instant, his hand seemed to become the centre of the universe. Even the kunpeng had to swing its wings to resist this pull.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Not only was Gu Yanying speechless, but even R¨¡hu Xiaoming was dumbfounded. How was he still a Daemon King? Was the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heaven¡¯s greatest effect bestowing power to others and not for constructing some blessed land of cultivation? No, that was impossible. Fundamental powers of the world did not possess any so-called will, so it was even more impossible for it to ¡°bestow¡± any power. That must have been the case.

    ¡°He¡¯s just yelling out randomly. Don¡¯t take him seriously,¡± Gu Yanying said. Xiaoming¡¯s emotions were far too intense, so intense that even she heard his thoughts. She had known Li Qingshan for many years, so she was clearly much more familiar with his personality.

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming could not help but smile wryly. Perhaps only he could wield the power within the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens in such a simple and crude way, and perhaps the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens existed exactly for him. His strength increased far more than a dozen times. R¨¡hu Xiaoming had never heard of a third heavenly tribulation cultivator that possessed such power. Even he, a son of the R¨¡hu clan, was not capable of something like this in the past.

    ¡°But what¡¯s he trying to do?¡±

    The endless pull attracted everything there, whether it was the Atmospheric Wind Essence, the Earthen Magnetic Poles, the countless mountains, or the world fragments.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just ask him? Hey, Qingshan, we¡¯ve already witnessed your powers. You can come back, and we can continue on our way!¡± Gu Yanying called out inside as she hid behind a large mountain to avoid the violent asteroid rain.

    ¡°Heh, I haven¡¯t even done much!¡± Li Qingshan was not just doing this to show off his power. When the first asteroid arrived before his eyes, he said sternly, ¡°Watermirror¡¯s Image, both real and an illusion!¡±

    Beneath his feet, the mirror-like water surface instantly spread hundreds of kilometres away. The asteroid fell into it, produced a ripple, and vanished.

    At the same time, in the small world, a meteorite shot across the sky. The sparks it created from the friction against the air made everyone raise their heads!

    In the Abstruse temple. Li Guinian stood up and arrived outside in the courtyard. He furrowed his brows, Is it a regular meteor or a daemon star?

    The Watermirror¡¯s Image could do more than create clones. It could also transfer items between the main body and clone, except this ability had become rather pointless as his clone became more and more useless. Only when his clone ascended to godhood did he finally use it again to transfer spiritual qi.

    Inside the small world, everyone who gazed at the night sky was stunned. Before the first meteorite had even landed, a hundred, ten thousand, a hundred thousand meteorites descended at the same time, drowning out the original stars and filling the entire night sky.

    The grand and glorious sight was like a dream. It was as if they had returned to a decade ago when the kunpeng spread its wings and took off.

    Above a busy city, Li Fengxian watched on in an enamoured manner. She murmured, ¡°Father, is it you?¡±

    On the top of a large tree, Li Yuanfei scratched his head. ¡°What¡¯s the old man doing now?¡± Who else apart from him could create such a great disturbance?

    On the snowy mountain in the northern region, Xue Bing was dressed in white clothes with her hands empty, no longer wielding a sword. A stream of water wrapped around her, contending against the bolts of tribulation lightning. It was constantly dissipated before constantly recovering again, completely unleashing the flexible nature of water while condensing it into ice from time to time.

    As the leader of the Snow Mountain hall, she had a lot of responsibilities and did not devote herself to cultivation like Yang Miaozhen either, so she cultivated much more slowly. However, after many years of accumulation, she had finally reached this point. She had already mastered the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi completely and had added her own variations to it.

    Now, as she faced the tribulation in an attempt to ascend, she was already sixty percent confident that she would succeed.

    Even at most, it would only be sixty percent. By the standard of mortals, she was already an old person. Even with her preserved youth, she had already gained many white hairs on her head. If she continued to wait, she would not even have a sixty percent chance anymore. She could not help but become slightly envious of Hu Xian¡¯er. She did not cultivate quickly, such that she still had not ascended even now, but the length of her lifespan was well beyond anything she could rival.

    The incident in the sky distracted her momentarily, and she felt the heavenly tribulation suddenly go through some kind of change, but she did not think too much about it. She focused on overcoming the tribulation.

    Gu Yanying said in surprise, ¡°He¡¯s trying to become a space-devouring beast!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming frowned. ¡°Everything else won¡¯t be too difficult, but the world fragments aren¡¯t that fun to deal with! Do you know how many innate abilities he possesses? Doesn¡¯t a Daemon King only have four?¡±

    Gu Yanying laid out her hands and shrugged. ¡°Even a mighty son of a god like you doesn¡¯t know, so how would I know?¡±

    By now, the first world fragment had finally been pulled over to Li Qingshan. His face became stern as well. He was not doing this to put on a fireworks show for the small world. What everything boiled down to was whether these world fragments could overcome such a great distance and be transported to the small world.

    The world fragment fell into the Watermirror¡¯s Image and immediately produced an unprecedented ripple. It was not immediately sucked away like the asteroids either. Instead, it was stuck there, leading to a strange sight where one half was in outer space and the other half was in the small world.

    So it doesn¡¯t work? But it shouldn¡¯t be a definite no. It¡¯s the cultivation of my Spirit Turtle Transformation that¡¯s still too weak.

    Li Qingshan and his mirror clone gazed at the two halves of the world fragment and frowned at the same time.

 Chapter 1234

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1234 ¨C A New World

    But at this very moment, the small world produced a tremendous force of attraction, swallowing the world fragment in a single gulp. Even Li Qingshan, who had already become the god of the world, failed to sense it. This was the instinctive desire of the world, just like how a person would struggle to control their desires no matter how clever they were. The body did not lie.

    Li Qingshan had become the god of the world far too recently, and he had used a clever way to sneak his way into the will of the world.

    The small world was Li Qingshan¡¯s body, but he was like a vegetable. He was the only clear consciousness, but he could not even control the twitch of a finger. Otherwise, it would not be as simple as intensifying a snowstorm or drawing in the sky with clouds. He would be able to move entire oceans and mountains.

    The world fragment completely fell into the small world and was immediately devoured. The laws of the world instantly changed in a subtle manner, affecting the entire world. Afterwards, it gave off an even stronger desire, basically even more obvious than when it devoured the Frost Province cauldron.

    The Frost Province cauldron was only a condensation of the laws of the world, while the world fragments were the laws of the world themselves. They were on a level several times higher than the small world. It was basically the best nourishment it could receive.

    As a result, under the cooperation from the small world, the second world fragment was sucked in basically without pausing at all when it fell into the Watermirror¡¯s Image, becoming a lovely meal for the small world.

    Li Qingshan had been thinking the entire time that if he could send these world fragments into the small world, it would assist the world¡¯s growth and perhaps provide him with even more spiritual qi as support. On top of that, from a long-term perspective, the value of a world could never be underestimated.

    As the world fragments fell into the small world, Li Qingshan felt his will rapidly grow and expand. In the past, he still had to shuttle around to observe the world, but now, his view had become vaster and vaster, deeper and deeper.

    It was as if the vegetable could finally move a finger. The entire world answered him. In the past, he was still a thief that had managed to infiltrate the place, but now, he truly belonged there, gradually becoming the true lord of the world. He only needed a single thought and spiritual qi would surge over.

    At the same time, the gradually-weakening connection between his main body and his clone had cleared up again. It was no longer his main body trying his best to sense for the world. Instead, a star was twinkling at him in the endless space.

    He started with the smallest asteroids before moving onto boulders and small mountains. The meteor shower in the small world had already become colossal, burning stars, illuminating the dark night sky and becoming even grander and more glorious.

    The great mountain that stretched several thousand kilometres was an issue. Li Qingshan gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly, tugged slightly with the Force Field of the Earth, and the mountain was torn apart. He even asked inside, ¡°Xiaoming, Xiaoming, look at me. Am I like a god?¡±

    ¡°A god my ass! You¡¯re only able to act so freely in outer space!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming acted unimpressed, but he could not help but admit inside that this was simply astounding.

    Power alone was not particularly impressive. Throughout the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, there were basically plenty of people with these powers. In his peak condition, who knew how many times more powerful he was than this. However, the potential he had shown was basically unheard of. What he was wielding was the ever-present fundamental power of worlds, while in terms of age, he was merely a beginner on the path of cultivation. He had not even formally set foot in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra yet.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming struggled to imagine what kind of upheavals he would bring when he formally entered the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Probably all the standards and laws would be rewritten because of him.

    Mother, oh mother. You¡¯ve made me find quite an impressive¡­ friend!

    Li Qingshan discovered that the small world liked the large mountains very much as well. Its response was not as intense as with the world fragments, but it accepted everything that came its way. It had a fantastic appetite.

    Of course, these meteors that could not burn up in the air had become a problem. If he were not careful, then it would turn into the Armageddon mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

    After being ripped apart, the pieces of the great mountain were still several hundred kilometres across. No matter where they landed, it would lead to an earthquake, let alone everything else. Regardless of whether they were innate masters or Qi Practitioners, not a single person would survive within a radius of several hundred kilometres. As a result, the ocean became the optimal choice.

    After devouring the world fragments, the small world¡¯s mass rapidly swelled, becoming larger and larger. The land was not too affected, but the sea level rapidly dropped. Only when Li Qingshan tossed the mountains into the ocean did it essentially stabilise.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    As if the ocean was boiling, huge waves filled the skies, blotting out the sun.

    However, he still had to control the rhythm, or it would lead to another great flood. Fortunately, the world fragments and the mountains belonged to a complete world originally, so some kind of balance existed, which would not lead to too great of an issue.

    When the lightning on the snowy mountain subsided, Xue Bing descended from above and fell back onto the peak. She looked around in surprise. She had not successfully ascended, but she had indeed succeeded with the tribulation. Both her cultivation and her strength had completely changed.

    When she swung her hand again and condensed some ice into a mirror, she discovered that not a single strand of white hair existed on her head. Even the wrinkles on the corner of her eyes had faded away. She was filled with a youthful vigour, clearly a sign of a large increase in lifespan. She was astounded. Just what is going on?

    After devouring a large quantity of world fragments, the small world was no longer a small world. It could allow the existence of higher cultivators, and the first heavenly tribulation no longer led to ascension either. However, this was good news to her. Regular heavenly tribulations were obviously easier to overcome than heavenly tribulations of ascensions, so her sixty percent had become eighty percent or even a hundred percent.

    This was fantastic news to all the cultivators in the world. The larger the world was, the easier it would be to cultivate.

    From that day onwards, the situation of the world changed. Foundation Establishment cultivators that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation became the masters of the world, while the jianghu and the martial arts community completely became a dream of the past.

    The situation between people was not everything that had changed. There was the entire situation with the world¡¯s geography too.

    Li Qingshan had sprinkled a bunch of islands in the ocean, not because he particularly liked islands, but because the Watermirror¡¯s Image could only allow objects of such a size pass through.

    The dead world no longer had any living creatures left, but its warm corpse still possessed a lot of information. Many strange, brand-new creatures would definitely be born on these islands.

    However, perhaps that could not be said in such absolute terms. The petrified woman was so sturdy that even the flames and tremors struggled to destroy her, but a crack had suddenly appeared on her despairing face now. Despite losing all of her spiritual qi, perhaps a soul or a lingering will still persisted.

    The pills and arcane treasures that had lost their value recovered a glow under the nourishment of the spiritual qi of the world.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice suddenly rang through the entire world, ¡°Want my power? Then go find it in the depths of the ocean!¡±

    A new age began.

    The hero king had never left!

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 Chapter 1235

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1235 ¨C Space-devouring Beasts

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming abruptly looked back. By now, countless mountains had gathered together under the pulling force, blocking his vision.

    Through the cracks, he could see a few stars embedded in the depths of space, silently glimmering with light. They were distant and quiet, but he caught the scent of unease from within.

    Gu Yanying also looked over along his gaze.

    ¡°Something¡¯s amiss! There¡¯s an ill omen!¡±

    However, the first one to speak was Li Qingshan. The spirit turtle had given a warning, where the good omen turned ill, and it was an extremely bad one at that. The shade of death that wrapped around them was as thick as the darkness of outer space.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°If you¡¯ve had enough fun, let¡¯s leave here as soon as possible!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    There were still many more mountains and world fragments that had not been absorbed, but Li Qingshan did not hesitate at all. With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the Watermirror¡¯s Image and reversed the Force Field of the Earth, pushing the mountains and asteroids away. He shot back towards the kunpeng.

    Their vision opened up as a result, and Gu Yanying narrowed her eyes. Something was approaching them from the depths of space. In the beginning, it was still as small as a speck of dust, but it had instantly expanded in size. She cried out, ¡°So fast!¡±

    The thing definitely moved no slower than the kunpeng. Even its size was no smaller than the kunpeng, but it was unlike any avian or beast. It did not even resemble an insect. It was completely a half-transparent bright-green, such that its organs were vaguely visible. A tendril even longer than its body grew where its head was supposed to be, producing ripples in space as it swam over quickly.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°A space-devouring beast!¡±

    ¡°How strong is this thing? How many heavenly tribulations? Can we destroy it?¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but ask. His power had recently reached an unprecedented state, yet he encountered such great danger already, which he truly struggled to adjust to. He was tempted to go for a satisfying battle in outer space, however.

    ¡°Space-devouring beasts don¡¯t face heavenly tribulations. They¡¯re different from all living creatures. They¡¯re almost equivalent to natural disasters. I¡¯d advise you to stick to running away! When the smell of blood spreads in the ocean, it doesn¡¯t just draw a single shark over.¡±

    As soon as R¨¡hu Xiaoming said that, space-devouring beasts appeared in all directions.

    Every single one was a different shape. One of them was perfectly round and covered with countless, short antennae. One was shaped like a yellow jellyfish, with a rough and uneven head and seven or eight long legs below. Another downright had no stable form, constantly moving around like liquid¡­ They were basically ugly monsters from nightmares.

    However, every single one of them was hundreds of kilometres across, and the largest one had even reached into the thousands. With their size, probably every single one of them would be a god-like existence if they were a proper living creature.

    ¡°What the hell are these? Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately held back his fighting spirit and leapt onto the kunpeng¡¯s back gently. He did not want to go to battle against a group of things like this.

    ¡°Qingshan, you open a path!¡±

    The kunpeng¡¯s wings spread out as it returned to its original size.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth. Fierce winds swept away the mountains and asteroids like leaves, clearing all obstacles.

    By now, the space-devouring beasts had already gathered over, like ants drawn to breadcrumbs. They tried to devour everything there. In just a few moments, two space-devouring beasts had devoured a mountain that stretched thousands of kilometres, and the spatial fragments had become a popular item that they all fought over too.

    Li Qingshan could not help but feel rather relieved that he had the spirit turtle giving him warnings. If he had been one step slower, he would have been trapped in there. The destructive powers of the space-devouring beasts was far too great. However, he also felt slightly puzzled. These space-devouring beasts moved alarmingly fast, but it should not have been that fast!

    At this moment, the space-devouring beast that constantly changed shape and resembled a liquid suddenly opened numerous eyes of different sizes. They were all blank and without any emotion, all fixed on the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°It spotted us!¡±

    Li Qingshan gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and swung it violently. A great mountain moved over, blocking the space-devouring beast¡¯s path, but it was devoured immediately. Then even more eyes appeared as if it was confirming its target.

    A piece of Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens surpassed all of the mountains, and it even treated the kunpeng as food. It did not have the thought processes of a living creature, but under the control of its powerful instincts, it rapidly swam towards the kunpeng.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. The sense of danger he experienced peaked. The space-devouring beast was several times larger than the kunpeng. If they were swallowed, they would probably be done for.

    ¡°Yanying, don¡¯t worry about the obstacles ahead. Just accelerate and shake it off!¡±

    Without any more regard, Gu Yanying flapped the wings and took off.

    Li Qingshan cleared the obstacles in their path as he used the Force Field of the Earth to throw all the rocks behind him, creating obstacles for the space-devouring beast.

    The space-devouring beast tailed them closely, devouring everything in its way. It did not slow down at all, instead gradually closing the distance between them.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming opened the cosmic pouch, and atmospheric winds rushed out. The kunpeng rode on the winds and moved a little faster, traversing the many mountains instantly. They saw the endless darkness of outer space again.

    Two colossal objects raced through outer space in the most primitive pursuit possible at an unbelievable speed. They were only tens of thousand kilometres from each other. That was a tremendous distance in any world, but upon considering their size and speed, it was almost like a single step away.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Qingshan, if we keep flying for a little longer, we¡¯re going to deviate from the path you calculated. Think of something!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around, gripping the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and throwing out a punch.

    Using the strength of the earth from the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, the Tremors of the Ox Demon had been pushed to an unparalleled level of might. Even the dark space shook.

    The kunpeng used that to accelerate again, but the space-devouring beast dove head-first into the trembling space. Its figure twisted and changed. It was unscathed, but it had slowed down drastically all of a sudden.

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy inside, Sure enough, it works!

    He threw punch after punch, decelerating the space-devouring beast again and again and widening their distance. It gradually seemed smaller as it grew further and further away.

    Suddenly, the space-devouring beast vanished as if it had never existed.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°Did we shake it off?¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned heavily. The sense of danger in him had not vanished. Instead, the shade of death grew heavier and heavier.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming called out, ¡°No, up ahead!¡±

    Li Qingshan abruptly looked back. The vanished space-devouring beast had appeared in front of them, its colossal body filling their eyes. Its half-transparent skin shone with bright, green light, and a crevasse of several thousand kilometres suddenly split open in it, stretching across outer space and waiting for the kunpeng to fly in by itself.

    Finally, he understood why these space-devouring beasts could move with extraordinary speed. They could actually perform long-distance teleportations in outer space.

    The kunpeng was moving as fast as it could, so even changing directions was too late. It dove head-first into the crevasse, which closed up again subsequently. Its bright-green surface surged around like a great big mouth that had swallowed the kunpeng in a single bite and was currently chewing away, savouring the taste.

 Chapter 1236

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1236 ¨C Attacking the Tower

    The tower poked through the clouds, pointing straight at the sky!

    The white sun faded in and out within the deathly qi. Even the sunlight seemed lifeless. Everything within a range of fifteen hundred kilometres had already been reduced to a land of death.

    Perhaps this was the tallest building this world had ever witnessed. It shimmered with ghost flames as souls of the deceased lingered about, moving around through the tower. However, it only made everything seem even more deathly silent.

    Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings constructed the tower without a single grumble, silently enduring the harsh scolding of the supervisors like lowly slaves. They held all of their fury and resentment inside, anticipating the day the tower would be completed.

    By then, it would be a greedy feast, where all the living creatures of this world would become food in an attempt to satisfy their hunger that would never be satiated.

    That day would not be too far off.

    At this moment, a green sprout erupted from the earth in the dense jungle forever covered in mist at the boundary of the land of death. In the beginning, it was still very tender, such that it was impossible to tell what kind of plant it was, but it swelled up very soon. It grew into a great banyan tree that was even wider than a person with their arms outstretched.

    It spread its branches towards the sky as if it still was not satisfied. Aerial roots as thick as dragons plunged into the ground to support its trunk that only became even more glorious.

    The laws hidden beneath the sky and within the earth silently got to work, like a pair of invisible hands helping this newborn.

    Yes, it was a child of the world.

    When the great banyan tree grew to the point where it was taller than any tree or mountain throughout the history of this world, it could already rival the tower over a thousand kilometres away. The milky-white mist was spread out at his base like a thick, soft carpet with dark-green patterns.

    At the end of the ¡°carpet¡± were deathly-grey floorboards with many sharp, black nails scattered across it. It also resembled a cutting board¡ªthe withered, lifeless forest stood there in despair.

    The great banyan tree opened a pair of inky-green eyes, gazing at the tower in the distance. The uneven bark was like firmly furrowed eyebrows, while the drooping leaves and branches were like a beard. It formed the vague image of a face, which was the Great Banyan Tree King.

    Using his control of over half of the world, he unleashed his ten millennia of cultivation and all of his strength to prepare for this battle.

    This battle would decide the fate of the world, as well as his fate.

    He obviously was not alone. Daemon qi rushed into the air, gathering behind him. It was not just the Daemon Kings from the Mist province, but from the Green province and the Scarlet province as well. The White Camel Sand King was among them. There were many of his other old friends too. He had begun making preparations a year ago, and he had assembled them three days ago!

    It was not just daemons. When the Silver Dragon King sailed over, the great cultivators all showed themselves too. They followed the King of Southern Yue¡¯s lead, but it was not only the honoured guests of the King of Southern Yue¡¯s estate. The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk were among them.

    A cloud descended from above, purging the grey haze and maintaining its pure-white colour. It shone with a dazzling, white light above this world of death. Wrapped in white feathers, Li Fengyuan clasped his hands towards the Great Banyan Tree King from afar, demonstrating his bearing as a king.

    Who wasn¡¯t a king here? Those that had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation did not even possess the right to participate in this battle.

    He had used all of his connections and gathered all of his forces. They were only waiting for one person to arrive now.

    The true target of the Hungry Ghost realm, the buddha nemesis Xiao An!

    Out of everyone present, they were all countless times older than her apart from Li Fengyuan, but no one felt displeased. Over the years, she had basically made it to where she was right now through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, stepping over the corpses of countless Daemon Kings and great cultivators. She made ¡°buddha nemesis¡± become a reality, and she was even more terrifying than the Daemon King Northmoon of the past!

    There was a disturbance throughout the entire ghost tower. Under the organisation of the supervisors, the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings stood ready for battle. Death qi surged into the air, standing in opposition.

    It was like a siege. There were no so-called sneak attacks in consideration. Between the living and the dead, there was no such thing as deception or schemes.

    Instead, the undead were much better assembled. The Corpse Kings roared away furiously, possessing greater morale than their enemies. It was not just because they had a commander of absolute power behind them¡ªsovereign Li, but also because they had no path of retreat. They either died here or they would be devoured.

    The Daemon Kings and cultivators were divided into several dozen groups of different sizes. Even if they failed to take down the tower, they could retreat from this land of death. The Great Banyan Tree King had only recruited them. Not a lot of powerful cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation were accustomed to following the orders of others, as they already stood at the apex of the nine provinces.

    However, battles on such a scale occurred very frequently in the Hungry Ghost realm. Even Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings knew to follow the orders from those above them.

    The Great Banyan Tree King furrowed his brows even more. This battle would definitely be filled with danger, but why hadn¡¯t the Dragon province made a single response at all yet?

    According to his original plan, the Great Xia empire would serve as the mainstay of this battle. This had nothing to do with personal debts and grievances. According to his calculations, this world would be anchored to the Hungry Ghost realm once the ghost tower was completed, unable to break free again. That would be countless times more terrifying than invasions from the Demon domain.

    When the Demon domain wanted to invade, they completely relied on demonfolk to fight. At most, they had the convenience of demon caverns, but those were only equivalent to secret paths for sneaking in.

    However, behind these undead was the Hungry Ghost realm. The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra had always been closely connected to all the worlds. Once they opened a path, it would be a highway. Countless undead would be able to surge in. That was why the Umbral Yin sect had treated it as their trump card to ensure mutual destruction with the world.

    The Hungry Ghost realm also happened to be extraordinarily aggressive. It was basically the natural predator of worlds. Several decades ago in the Green province, a mere Corpse King had almost ripped away a chunk of the nine provinces.

    The reason why the Hungry Ghost realm had not launched a large-scale invasion immediately, instead spending the effort to build the tower here, was exactly because of Xiao An¡¯s existence. She was far too effective against them.

    Once the ghost tower was completed, they could probably borrow the power of the Hungry Ghost realm and break free from the restraints of the laws of the world, allowing existences that surpassed the third heavenly layer to pass through or maybe even that sovereign Li. By then, even the Great Xia empire would be absolutely useless.

    However, under such a precarious situation, the Dragon province actually made no response at all, basically completely ignoring the world as it descended into chaos. They allowed the ghost tower to rise higher as they blindly held their ground in the Dragon province, which greatly subverted his expectations. His messages for assistance a while ago were met with absolutely no reply either. Now that the ghost tower was about to be completed, he finally ran out of patience and had to take action.

    That was because if he still did not take action, she would be taking action.

    Cling!

    The hollow sound of a bell rang out, so clear that everyone felt it was right by their ears. Their seas of consciousness rippled, basically unable to stay calm.

    The White Camel Sand King¡¯s blank face changed slightly. Right before she had incinerated Pearl city, this was the exact bell she had rung.

    Out of everyone present, even if they had not personally heard the bell before, they had heard of its rumours and legends.

    ¡°She¡¯s here!¡±

    Clang!

    There was a commotion in the ghost tower. The impact they had received was far greater than what the cultivators and Daemon Kings experienced. The supervisors all swung their whips to maintain order, but fear flashed through their eyes as well. Clearly, they knew what they would be facing. This morale immediately plummeted.

    When the white holy flames descended, the Hungry Ghost realm would be destroyed.

    They had come here just so they could end this legend or perhaps witness a legend!

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 Chapter 1237

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1237 ¨C The Tree God

    The bell stirred, and souls quivered near collapse. White bone turned to great beauty.

    With jade-white skin and black, sleek hair, lotuses bloomed from the flesh and blood.

    All of the eyes on the towering tree and great tower took that in. She already understood both life and death, but an obsession prevented her from discarding her original self.

    Suddenly, she shivered inside, making her glance at the distant sky. Was he in danger again?

    Cing clang!

    The urgings of the bell on her waist returned her to her senses. She could not think too much about it. With a few steps through the air with her bare feet, she landed on the branch of the tree and said softly, ¡°Thank you, senior.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King sighed slightly inside. It had already been a very long time since he had seen her so polite, but he was aware she only did this for the battle, as she refused to let any details influence the overall situation. However, if the battle ended in defeat, this politeness would probably turn into terrifying hostility.

    ¡°This battle is not for you or me, or for anyone present, but for the nine provinces, for all living creatures in the world. Fellows, please follow my command temporarily. Only by pouring our strength together through unity can we defeat the enemy!¡±

    The humans and the daemons all said, ¡°Your wish is our command, fellow!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King knew that this was already as far as they could go to demonstrate their obligation, but that was enough. ¡°I don¡¯t need to elaborate on the dangers involved. The laws of the world in this region have already been contaminated by the Hungry Ghost realm. Please use the Silver Dragon King to probe them out first, your majesty the King of Yue.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± the King of Southern Yue said.

    The main cannon at the front of the Silver Dragon King opened up. Specks of silver light gathered together, condensing to its utmost limit in the form of a ball of light.

    With a thrum, a glorious beam of silver light shot towards the ghost tower.

    The attack was enough to split open mountains, but as soon as it entered the land of death, the resplendent silver light became covered in a layer of grey haze, rapidly weakening the attack.

    A Ghost King supervisor swung his whip, splitting the silver light into pieces. The scattered light was rapidly swallowed by the grey haze as if it never existed in the first place.

    ¡°Hehe, foolish living creatures. All you know are tricks like that.¡±

    The undead let out roars of laughter.

    The King of Southern Yue¡¯s expression changed slightly. Even pure energy attacks were affected like that. If he personally set foot in there, he would definitely face extremely great suppression. The surroundings of the ghost tower were basically a forbidden zone for the living. He glanced at Xiao An. Probably only she was an exception. However, with that, their morale would definitely plummet. He had no idea what the Great Banyan Tree King was planning.

    The Great Banyan Tree King said sternly, ¡°You¡¯ve all seen it, fellows. We cannot approach the ghost tower without good reason. We must maintain a safe distance and attack it from here.¡±

    ¡°Tree king, but how are we supposed to attack the ghost tower if we can¡¯t get near it?¡± a Giant Lumberfolk King asked.

    The Silver Dragon King¡¯s attack range and destructive power had completely exceeded any regular Daemon King or great cultivator. From several hundred kilometres away, regular abilities and techniques would come nowhere close, let alone the fact that they still had to face the weakening and suppression.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We have a powerful support.¡±

    ¡°A powerful support? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the Daemon King Northmoon, Li Qingshan?¡±

    Many people were not aware that Li Qingshan was no longer in this world. Li Fengyuan resided high up in Clouded city. When he heard that, his heart ached. He murmured, ¡°First father.¡±

    Qingshan! The Unraging monk also sighed inside. He had specially asked Xiao An about Li Qingshan¡¯s whereabouts, but he never expected this great disciple of his to leave the world in such a way.

    Xiao An¡¯s clothes fluttered in the air as she stared at the ghost tower in the distance as if she had heard nothing at all.

    ¡°If Qingshan were here, our chances at victory would increase drastically!¡± The Great Banyan Tree King sighed heavily inside. That kid would always surpass his expectations and turn the impossible into the possible. ¡°Unfortunately, he can¡¯t come. The powerful support I am talking about is not someone like us, but this world!¡±

    His voice was mighty, echoing through the world. Countless branches and aerial roots condensed into a pair of arms, extending high into the air and plunging into the whistling atmospheric winds, truly upholding the heavens. At the same time, it was like their ancestors who pleaded with the heavens for rain in the ancient times, filled with sincerity and reverence.

    The heavens seemed to be touched by this sincerity. The winds whistled down, blowing away the thick clouds.

    Instantly, the entire region cleared up, shining with sunlight.

    Shortly afterwards, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s body pulled higher once again. The roots firmly embedded in the ground were split into two bunches, forming a pair of powerful legs. Afterwards, he pulled out his legs and strode forwards, setting foot in that land of death.

    Boom! The ground shook, splitting open with crevasses. The invisible underground magnetic field surged, purging the ghostly aura of death.

    Even the ghost tower seemed to shake before this might of the world, even when it was not built from the ground up.

    Gazing at the indomitable tree person, the undead could not laugh any longer. He definitely had not come to simply die. On top of that, they could sense the hostility from the entire world.

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s power shocked everyone. Perhaps he could not even be called the Great Banyan Tree King. The moniker of a Daemon King was not enough to describe such power.

    Even for the Great Banyan Tree King himself, this was the first time he had used such might. It was no longer just his own power. The world refused to let the Hungry Ghost realm devour it, so it viewed all foreign invaders with hostility. The World of the Nine Provinces was much vaster than the small world, so the will of the world was much stronger and mightier too.

    This was exactly what the Great Banyan Tree King was borrowing, the wrath of the world. He wielded the might of the world to destroy the geographic advantage the ghost tower created.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The Great Banyan Tree King strode towards the ghost tower. He covered thousands of metres with each step, and vegetation would sprout and bloom vigorously where he had stepped. The twisted laws of the world returned to normal too.

    No, not just normal Everyone could clearly sense the existence of the intangible will of the heavens. Surging spiritual qi gathered in him, flowing much more smoothly than it had ever flowed. The abilities and techniques that originally required their full concentration to unleash could now be cast on a whim.

    When the time came, the world lent them its powers!

    They had received the blessing of the heavens in this battle. If they could emerge victoriously, the heavens would definitely reward them!

    Even the White Camel Sand King was slightly fazed. One of the critical components to the ascension was the intangible will of the heavens. The World of the Nine Heavens did not possess such an extreme expression of will like the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Obtaining its recognition and support was almost impossible. This truly was a rare opportunity.

    Their morale immediately skyrocketed, following the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s advance towards the ghost tower.

    The King of Southern Yue nodded gently. He truly was the Great Banyan Tree King. With that, all of the conditions, whether it was the timing, the geography, or the numbers, were favourable. They could attack the enemy!

    Xiao An was slightly affected as well. The Great Banyan Tree King truly was a powerful support. When Li Qingshan promised to gather the nine cauldrons for him back then, he had only done so out of their friendship in the heat of the moment. She never expected it to play such an important role.

    All creatures were sentient to a certain degree. Advantages and disadvantages could not be calculated that easily. However, the path she took disagreed with the living and even more so with the dead. It was impossible for her to establish any ties with others. She had to remain vigilant at all times.

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡±

    A familiar name, yet one she had not heard in a very long time, rang out by her ear. The Dark Queen drifted over. At this moment, there was some gladness on her chilly, pale face. ¡°Thankfully, I made it in time!¡±

    Many people secretly frowned. The ghost tower had only appeared because of the Umbral Yin sect, and they were renowned for their crazy declaration of mutual destruction with the entire world. On top of that, she had almost become the master of the Umbral Yin sect.

    She ignored them. Only Xiao An existed in her eyes. She made her way over, but she also stopped again.

    ¡°Mother.¡± Xiao An noticed that she was alone.

    The Dark Queen explained, ¡°Your father is in secluded cultivation¡­¡±

    No matter what, this battle would be extremely dangerous. The Fierce King of Chu was already approaching ascension. Since even the Great Xia empire had not made a response, there was even less reason for him to become involved with this mess.

    For some reason, Xiao An recalled something that Li Qingshan had said, Mothers are the best in the world.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± The Dark Queen reminded her.

    ¡°Yes,. Xiao An nodded indifferently.

    By now, the Great Banyan Tree King had already approached the ghost tower. Looking over, the tower seemed like it was about to collapse. The faces of the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings were all twisted, but they were enormous.

    Xiao An wielded two swords in hand, Buddha Slaying in the left and Immortal Relinquished in the right. She extended both of them towards the ghost tower!

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 Chapter 1238

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1238 ¨C Sovereign Li¡¯s Trap

    The Great Banyan Tree King finally arrived before the great ghost tower. The land of death within one thousand five hundred kilometres of the tower had become a flourishing grassland. Only a few dozen kilometres surrounding the ghost tower was stuck with grey haze, making it seem even more gloomy.

    Several dozen kilometres was not far, but it still played a tremendous role. Attacks launched from beyond a few dozen kilometres would struggle to harm the ghost tower at all.

    The Great Banyan Tree King understood the instincts of the Hungry Ghost realm were no laughing matter. This was all the assistance the World of the Nine Provinces could grant him. The rest was up to them.

    ¡°Fellow Fengyuan, please do it!¡±

    The skies within several thousand kilometres had all cleared out, with only a white cloud remaining. That was Clouded city. It currently hovered over the great ghost tower.

    Li Fengyuan nodded. With a whoosh, he spread his splendid wings, revealing the bearing of a king he was born with. He shut his eyes and swung his hand gently. The thick clouds beneath his feet produced waves of light, which made it become even whiter and brighter.

    All of the featherfolk were ready. They spread their wings and erupted with light, pouring their powers into Clouded city.

    The white cloud became brighter and brighter as if it was no longer water vapour but a clump of floating white light. The protective formation faded into view. The spherical barrier was covered in complicated, beautiful inscriptions. All of the light gathered directly below the spherical barrier as if a second sun had appeared in the sky.

    Li Fengyuan snapped open his eyes. They were filled with light. ¡°Sky Strike!¡±

    The world dimmed as a brilliant column of light whistled down, directly slamming into the top of the ghost tower. Construction was still taking place there, so it was the weakest point of the great tower.

    The column of light pierced the layers of death qi and constantly fell lower. Streaks of light poured out from cracks in the ghost tower, shooting off in all directions. The light directly vaporised the white bone at the very top as it stripped the tower away layer by layer.

    A Corpse King several hundred metres tall stood at the top of the tower. His response was only slightly delayed, yet the white light had already destroyed a majority of his body, directly falling off the tower.

    The King of Southern Yue saw this glorious sight through a cabin window and sighed. ¡°Now that is truly the holy land of the featherfolk. Even a full-powered strike from the Silver Dragon King comes nowhere close! I heard the first Soaring Dragon ship was inspired by Clouded city, but looking at it now, it¡¯s still nowhere close. Otherfolk truly possess wonders!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too greedy, King of Yue? The featherfolk have existed for who knows how many thousand years. There¡¯s only a single Clouded city, yet there are as many Soaring Dragon ships as you can ever want. That strike basically combined the power of all featherfolk in the world, which includes many that have undergone the third heavenly tribulation, so of course, Soaring Dragon ships come nowhere close.¡±

    There were many great cultivators gathered here, but anyone who dared to directly label the King of Southern Yue as greedy would not come from the Mist province. Instead, it was the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, the Dauntless monk. The ghost tower had been constructed in the Green province. As the only remaining sect of the three great sects of the Green province, he obviously had to take part. After all, if the Hungry Ghost realm invaded the world successfully, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga that had just laid a foundation again would face another disaster.

    Even when the war between the Green province and the Mist province had already come to an end, it was unavoidable for them to find each other unpleasant to the eye. This was probably just a case of so-called regional discrimination.

    The King of Southern Yue smiled like a young man. ¡°Dauntless abbot, may I ask where the Fierce King of Chu is?¡±

    The meaning behind his words were, The Green province faces such a great disaster, yet you still need my assistance.

    ¡°The King of Chu is currently right over there, opening up a path with the Great Banyan Tree King.¡±

    The Dauntless monk squinted his eyes slightly and said nothing. The King of Chu he was talking about was Xiao An. She had indeed inherited the position of the King of Chu from the Fierce King of Chu too. Instead, he mocked the King of Southern Yue for only having the courage to hide so high up in the air.

    The faces of a group of honoured guests darkened. None of the great cultivators from the Mist province were the kind to live down insults.

    The King of Southern Yue said, ¡°Sigh, isn¡¯t this fellow Xiao An the buddha nemesis?¡±

    The Dauntless monk speechless. The buddha nemesis was the mortal enemy of buddhist disciples. This violent conflict and difference even surpassed the conflict between the living and the dead. However, they were powerless about Xiao An, and the threat from the Hungry Ghost realm was much more urgent too.

    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard about it in the past, but I never expected Qingshan¡¯s foster son to be so powerful!¡±

    The Unraging monk let out a loud sigh, resolving the awkward atmosphere.

    Since the King of Southern Yue had gained the upper hand, he stopped making things difficult for them. ¡°The phoenix is obviously extraordinary. Among the seven great otherfolk races, the featherfolk represent yang. Their powers happen to suppress the undead. With his assistance, our chances at victory have increased by twenty percent at the very least. It¡¯s a pity that Qingshan isn¡¯t here, or who knows how much higher our chances would become.¡±

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Who knows, he might be able to make it in time.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. Fellows, prepare for battle!¡±

    As they spoke, an extremely dense cluster of death qi surged out from the bottom of the ghost tower, blocking the column of light.

    The grassland teeming with life reached five kilometres away from the ghost tower. The Great Banyan Tree King and the great ghost tower stood right in front of each other, within arm¡¯s reach.

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s legs separated into roots again and plunged deeply into the soil. Then he spread his arms. His dragon-like aerial roots were like blood vessels and muscles, which swelled up rapidly now. However, as soon as he approached the ghost tower, the green leaves on his arms would all die and fall, and his aerial roots would rapidly wither away too. The laws of death from the Hungry Ghost realm invaded them and added a layer of deathly grey to them.

    But compared to his mountainous arms, that was only a negligible issue.

    Crack!

    A whip flew through the air like an order.

    Black smoke, ghost flames, bone spikes, and thistles all bombarded the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s colossal body simultaneously, and they all targeted a single point.

    All of the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings had launched an attack together under the command of that Ghost King supervisor.

    ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s make this damned tree taste our power!¡±

    A silver streak of light shot over from the side, destroying the combined attack from the undead.

    The Silver Dragon King emerged from behind the Great Banyan Tree King. All of the great cultivators appeared. They gathered a colossal amount of spiritual qi, unleashing everything they were capable of in their lives to attack the ghost tower.

    With a cry, a large, yellow bird landed on the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s shoulder gently, singing away loudly at the top of its voice. Its song bore some resemblance to Xiao An¡¯s Soul Stirring Bell, except it was brimming with vitality, agitating the death qi.

    A large, colourful snake slithered up the tree, opening its huge mouth and shooting two streams of venom. A Corpse King¡¯s corpse wall blocked it, which melted it into death qi.

    In a split second, the daemons gathered, the giant beasts emerged, and daemon qi surged.

    Between the great ghost tower and the towering tree, light and shadows intermingled. They were only five kilometres away from each other, but it seemed to separate two worlds. Unbeknownst to anyone, the laws of life and death clashed violently.

    Neither the living nor the dead were willing to leave their world and set foot in the other. Even the Great Banyan Tree King was rooted in the nine provinces, grabbing the ghost tower firmly with both arms and pushing it as hard as he could.

    The white bones that assembled the ghost tower moaned loudly. Some of the ¡°smaller¡± bones cracked apart, rumbling like an entire world was collapsing. However, the white bones that were as thick as mountains only twisted slightly. Clearly, this was not enough to collapse the bone tower.

    Formations appeared one after another. They were the true backbone of this ghost tower.

    Someone needed to venture in deeply and destroy the ghost tower¡¯s structure, but there was only a single person present that could traverse between life and death!

    Xiao An pointed her swords backwards, soaring like they were wings. She stepped on the Great Banyan Tree King and shot towards the ghost tower. She was so small and insignificant in size, yet she was like a single firefly within boundless darkness. As soon as she appeared, she immediately attracted everyone¡¯s attention.

    The Ghost King supervisor bellowed, ¡°She¡¯s coming! Anyone who can kill her will definitely undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation- no, the fifth heavenly tribulation and become a sovereign!¡±

    The Corpse Kings and the Ghost Kings all roared out in response.

    The Dark Queen was about to follow her when Xiao An¡¯s voice rang out in her ears, ¡°Mother, stay away!¡±

    Even if the Dark Queen had spent many years in close contact with ghosts, she was still a living creature. The laws of death definitely would not welcome her, let alone venturing deep within the ranks of the enemy.

    The Dark Queen warmed up inside. She understood that her daughter had already become far more powerful than her, and she would only serve as a deadweight if she followed along. As a result, she stopped where she was and made the Void-bellied Ghost King follow her, but she was filled with concern.

    The half-destroyed Corpse King fell into the Gate of Hungry Ghosts and sank down even further, gathering the death qi in a hurry to repair its body.

    Actually, he had the opportunity to dodge that strike, except the battle was far too dangerous. If it was only the half-god that could control the laws of the world, then so be it. The Hungry Ghost realm had never cared about these tiny obstructions when it devoured worlds. Most importantly, it was the woman called Xiao An. If a legend could be ended that easily, it would not be a legend anymore, so he was better off taking that blow and avoiding this battle altogether.

    When he sank to the very depths of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, the feeling of up and down suddenly switchd, and the familiar Hungry Ghost realm appeared before his eyes again. The gloomy clouds that never dispersed enveloped the barren ground that was piled up with bones and remains.

    However, before he could even admire the scenery, a black shadow enveloped him, gripping every part of his body and preventing him from putting up any resistance.

    ¡°Sovereign Li, I¡¯m heavily injured! I¡¯m in no shape to fight anymore!¡± the Corpse King called out.

    Soon afterwards, he noticed several Ghost Kings and Corpse Kings in the surroundings. There were even some Ghost Emperors, and all of them were staring at him. Their faces either twisted with sneers or were just cold, but they had no intentions of crossing through the mouth of the hungry ghost and supporting the ghost tower.

    He immediately understood that his judgement had been correct. He was merely bait, hung on a hook for a fish to bite.

    They used Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings as bait, the great ghost tower as a hook, and the World of the Nine Provinces as the waters to catch a legendary fish.

    As for the person behind the pole, who else could it be apart from sovereign Li? He said grimly, ¡°How dare you try a trick like this on me!¡±

    ¡°I hav-¡±

    Before he could even say the second half of ¡°haven¡¯t¡±, the Corpse King¡¯s colossal body was torn to shreds. The undead in the surroundings all fought over his remains like a pack of starving, feral dogs.

    Only the Ghost Emperors stayed put. Devouring this Corpse King would not bring too much benefit to them anymore. They refused to disgrace sovereign Li.

    One of the Ghost Emperors asked politely, ¡°Sir Sovereign Li, why don¡¯t we just complete the Fang of the Hungry Ghost and devour this world first?¡±

    The Fang of the Hungry Ghost¡ªthat was the great ghost tower¡¯s true name. It plunged into the world to invade like a hungry ghost¡¯s tooth, such that it could not escape again.

    ¡°Her strength is already close to ascending. We cannot ensure that no accidents happen before the Fang of the Hungry Ghost is complete. This world is absolutely nothing compared to her. You¡¯re still not strong enough, so you can¡¯t hear the voice of the Hungry Ghost realm. This time, what it wants to eat the most is not this world. I¡¯ve never seen it in such a hurry before, not even when it devours large worlds. This battle will directly affect the rise and decline of our Umbral Yin lineage. We must take this all seriously.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s here.¡±

 Chapter 1239

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1239 ¨C The Tides of Victory

    Passing between the boundary of life and death, Xiao An¡¯s body suddenly erupted into flames, burning away her great beauty, her skin, and her appearance. Within the flames, she revealed her form of white bone and advanced forwards!

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone formed a long trail behind her like a pale-white comet, shooting towards the great ghost tower.

    Venturing deep within this domain of death, she did not feel any restraint at all. Instead, it increased her comprehension of the conversion between life and death slightly.

    Roar!

    The undead bellowed out as countless attacks hurtled towards her, flooding her surroundings and leaving her with nowhere to dodge.

    The support from the great cultivators and Daemon Kings was not slow. The two forces slammed together in the air. Light and air gushed out as waves, filling the entire region.

    A blood-red light surrounded Xiao An, sucking all of the residual power from the attacks into the Blood Sea Banner. It immediately split open and could not be used anymore.

    In a battle of such scale, the weight of individuals seemed so insignificant. Apart from an existence that borrowed the power of the world like the Great Banyan Tree King, even she faced tremendous danger.

    The moment she approached the ghost tower, Xiao An glanced down. The foundation of the tower plunged deeply into the deep Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    Numerous formations wove together, forming the core of the ghost tower located directly above the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. If she wanted to destroy the ghost tower, the simplest and swiftest way would definitely be to attack the base.

    There were plenty of powerful existences among the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings, but they were overwhelmed by her powers, so they could not stop her at all.

    The Soul Stirring Bell shook frantically. The chaotic sounds threw the undead into a chaotic stir.

    However, she considered that and rushed straight up instead, following the tower and reaching the sky. She chose to unleash her attacks from the very top. That was the location of the ghost tower¡¯s opening, and she had the support of Clouded city too.

    ¡°Kill her with me!¡± the Ghost King supervisor bellowed out.

    Several dozen Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings rushed towards the top of the tower. They actually were not concerned with the ghost tower at all, completely devoted to capturing and killing her here.

    A strange echo rang out from the ¡°mouth of the hungry ghost¡±, and all of the undead suddenly swelled in aura. At that moment, the will of the Hungry Ghost realm had definitely manifested.

    The Great Banyan Tree King ordered, ¡°Fellows, destroy the tower with everything you have!¡±

    From so far away, no one could make it in time to support her apart from him.

    He stopped pushing the tower, and a hand dispersed as thousands of aerial roots, assaulting all of the undead.

    Xiao An raised her arm, and the Skull Prayer Beads scattered as Skeleton Demons, landing on the ghost tower. They cackled away and leapt about, stopping the undead in their tracks.

    Firelight flickered in her eye sockets. The white bones flashed before her face. Only when she arrived near the resplendent white light did she stop and leap towards the ghost tower, slashing down in a single stroke!

    Clang!

    The Buddha Slaying sword bounced off a layer of black qi, failing to harm the tower at all.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said in disdain, ¡°Your shitty sword¡¯s destructive power is just weak! You should just watch me!¡±

    She swung the Immortal Relinquished sword. The twisted, sharp edge cut through the black qi, slicing deep into the white bone and leaving behind a deep mark.

    Clearly, the Immortal Relinquished sword was more suited for attacking fortifications than the Buddha slaying sword. However, this slash was clearly insignificant to the entire ghost tower and just even the white bone. She was like an ant trying to shake a tree, biting off more than she could chew!

    However, the flames in her eyes flickered, and she flew towards the slash with a flash.

    Inside the empty ghost tower, the sticky death qi was like pitch, constantly contending against and devouring the white light from above. As soon as she landed on the top of the ghost tower, it all surged towards her suddenly.

    This was the weakest place of the ghost tower, but it was also where all the defences were concentrated.

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡± the Dark Queen cried out.

    The death qi could contend with all of Clouded city after all. She could not help but ball her fists as she shimmered with gloomy light.

    A large, verdant hand reached over and shielded Xiao An. Countless aerial roots formed a barrier. The Great Banyan Tree King had been watching over her the entire time. ¡°Do what you need to do quickly. I can¡¯t stop it for too long!¡±

    Xiao An gripped the Buddha Slaying sword firmly with both hands and stabbed down forcefully at the white bone beneath her feet.

    The Great Banyan Tree King sensed the powerful will of the Hungry Ghost realm contained within the sticky death qi, filled with an almost hysterical desire to devour. The giant hand rapidly withered away, forced to gather all of its power just to contend against the will. The aerial roots slithered out like dragons and snakes. Even the Great Banyan Tree King grew shorter.

    However, the rate at which the aerial roots grew was unable to keep up with the corrosion from the death qi. The sharp tendrils penetrated the cracks between the branches and reached her shiny bones before immediately contaminating them.

    In the blink of an eye, her bones had gone from white to pitch-black, directly spreading to the Buddha Slaying sword in her hand. All that remained were the two pale-white flames in her eyes, but even they fluctuated, gradually going out.

    The battle came to a halt. Both sides knew she was critical to this battle, so they could not help but look over.

    Xiao An showed no sorrow or joy, no worry or fear. She directed all of her focus to her hands. She did not even spare any strength to contend against the corrosive death qi.

    The tip of the Buddha Slaying sword plunged into the ghost tower slowly like a sharp spine.

    Compared to the damage the Immortal Relinquished sword dealt, this strike seemed insignificant. A tongue of fire surged out from the tip of her blade, injecting deep into the white bone below her feet.

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s hand had completely rotted away. Death qi surged towards her from all directions. There were even countless blurry, twisted faces within the death qi, all with their mouths agape.

    Xiao An pulled out the Buddha Slaying sword. With a boom, the pale-white flames surged out of the slash and enveloped around her, but even that could not contend against the death qi.

    But in the blink of an eye, fire began to pour out. The white bone that reached three thousand metres long began to burn, and it gradually melted away in the flames. Shortly afterwards, the two connecting bones were ignited as well. The ghost tower was like a bonfire ignited by a spark. The raging flames incinerated the ball of dense death qi.

    ¡°That sword¡­¡± Even the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished was speechless.

    Using this opportunity, the white light from Clouded city pierced down, illuminating the entire ghost tower. The cultivators and Daemon Kings all launched their attacks together, heavily damaging the supports of the ghost tower and destroying several dozen formations.

    The tides of the battle turned quickly. They had gained the upper hand all of a sudden.

    Xiao An stood within the roaring flames as the black on her gradually faded away. She stared at the Gate of Hungry Ghosts beneath. The undead all stared at the flames in fright. They could sense fear from their instincts, almost wanting to retreat back to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    However, a tremendous aura suddenly rose up from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Two specks of green light became brighter and brighter. A dragon¡¯s cry roared out, filled with a sense of violence. A corpse dragon rushed out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    The King of Southern Yue said, ¡°The body of a true dragon!¡±

    Dragons were the most renowned divine beasts, as well as the kind that prospered the most. The world had once been ruled by dragons. They were born with power and intelligence. Even upon death, they were no laughing matter. This Corpse Dragon King was only at the third heavenly tribulation, but it was much more powerful than any regular Corpse King.

    Soon afterwards, Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings stepped out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, with plenty of strange and powerful existences like the Corpse Dragon King among them.

    The reinforcements from the Hungry Ghost realm had arrived.

    However, the Great Banyan Tree King eased up inside. If reinforcements still did not arrive under these circumstances, it would be a little too strange. However, it would mean a bitter battle was unavoidable. They had to destroy the core of the ghost tower as soon as possible and borrow the power of the world to suppress and seal up the Gate of Hungry Ghosts.

    With a sky full of fire, Xiao An lunged towards the undead.

 Chapter 1240

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1240 ¨C None to Rely On

    The Corpse Dragon King rushed in front. Right as it raised its head to let out a breath, the sea of fire swallowed it, which filled it with fright. It powered its corpse qi to block, and a white figure shot by it.

    Xiao An fell straight down, splitting open the mountainous white bones. The Soul Stirring Bell rang out frantically as the Immortal Relinquished sword sliced through all the obstructions, refusing to become locked in combat with anyone.

    As she approached the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, she suddenly felt a sliver of unease. However, if she could not destroy the ghost tower quickly and seal up the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, this battle would definitely end in defeat. As a result, she made up her mind and made a push straight for the core of the ghost tower.

    However, Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings stepped out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts constantly. More and more enemies appeared in her way, and the attacks from the cultivators and Daemon Kings were all blocked by the ghost tower, struggling to provide her with any support. As a result, she infiltrated the ranks of the enemy alone. Even with the momentum from the fire, she could not avoid constant injuries. Many cracks appeared on her bones.

    The Great Banyan Tree King understood the outcome depended entirely on this, so he lunged forward. Billions of roots penetrated the ghost tower, coiling around the undead and opening a path for her.

    Xiao An finally reached the core of the ghost tower. With both swords in hand, she crossed them and slashed down as hard as she could.

    Suddenly, the core of the ghost tower condensed to a single point, shining with a deep, distant light. The swords all stopped within an inch of it, unable to advance any further.

    Sovereign Li¡¯s voice rang out from within, ¡°The fish has taken the bait.¡±

    With that, the entire ghost tower collapsed inwards. The colossal bones rapidly shrank to a hundredth of their size, turning into a cage of white bones, trapping Xiao An inside and then rapidly falling downwards.

    ¡°Oh no, it¡¯s a trap!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King used his aerial roots to wrap around the white bone cage, but the closer they were to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, the faster they withered away. There were more than a hundred undead there too, all kings that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation. They possessed a geographic advantage, and they all assembled formations, so not a single root could pass through.

    Flames gathered in Xiao An¡¯s eye sockets. She raised the Immortal Relinquished sword and the Buddha Slaying sword before lowering them slowly again.

    It was impossible for the swords to cut through the white bone, regardless of which one, so there was no point in trying.

    Perhaps she never had a chance at victory right from the beginning. Alone, how was she supposed to contend against the Hungry Ghost realm that was one of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra?

    She could make out the sparse stars in the night sky through the cracks of the cage. She thought silently, Sorry, Qingshan. I¡¯m going to break our promise.

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts cracked open a little more as if it was eager to swallow her.

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡±

    The Dark Queen brought her fingers together and formed a seal, shining with a dim, violet-blue light. Her figure began to fade, gradually blurring and turning faint. She suddenly vanished and appeared in the white bone cage.

    Under the dim glow, Xiao An¡¯s figure instead gradually appeared and faded into existence. She recovered her great beauty again. She was slightly stunned, ¡°Mother!¡±

    The Dark Queen turned around, looking at Xiao An with relief and delight. Her lips opened, but not a single sound or thought could pass through the cage of white bone.

    The King of Southern Yue said, ¡°It¡¯s the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s Positional Swap!¡±

    ¡°You bitch, you¡¯re also a disciple of the Umbral Yin sect, so how dare you ruin my plans! I will definitely make your soul suffer all the torture in the world, never to be reborn again!¡± Sovereign Li¡¯s furious roar rang out from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts

    The Dark Queen lowered her head silently. Xiao An took a step forward.

    The white bone cage hovered about the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Sovereign Li asked, ¡°Do you want to save her? If you come to the Hungry Ghost realm, I¡¯ll release her!¡±

    The Dark Queen waved her hands and gestured anxiously. Xiao An stopped where she was and turned around, taking off into the air.

    Suddenly, a golden comet shot across the sky, right towards her.

    In a daze, she was unable to dodge in time, so the golden light struck her right in the back. With the cracking of bones, she was like a bird that had been struck by an arrow, falling out of the sky.

    The golden comet flew back, landing in the hand of an old monk. It was a mallet to a wooden fish, a buddhist instrument.

    The old monk wore a buddhist crown on his head and a splendid kasaya. His long eyebrows were snowy-white like frost, yet his skin was as tender as an infant¡¯s. Halos upon halos lingered behind his back as he shone with golden light, descending from above slowly with boundless aura and dignity.

    The Dauntless monk cried out, ¡°Religious preceptor of the left!¡±

    As it turned out, this old monk was the leader of all buddhist sects in the world, the abbot of the Spirit K?etra temple and the religious preceptor of the left of the Great Xia empire. His authority was paramount, and his strength was supreme. No one expected him to be hidden away the entire time, only launching a sneak attack now.

    The Unraging monk flew into a rage. He took a step forward and questioned, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of tarnishing the name of the religious preceptor of the left with such thuggish behaviour?¡±

    The white eyebrows of the religious preceptor of the left leapt about. ¡°I am executing the buddha nemesis for the buddha, so why would I care about these empty titles? Unraging, not only do you harbour daemons, but are you actually going to harbour the buddha nemesis as well? You really have gone too far with the demonic arts! I punish you to meditative self-reflection before a wall in the Spirit K?etra temple!¡±

    He spoke calmly, but his voice allowed no room for defiance, much less any room for change. All disciples of buddhism in the world had to adhere to his orders.

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°My junior brother is rude with his actions and has caused offence to the religious preceptor, so please forgive him! The buddha nemesis is a mortal enemy of our buddhism, but the Hungry Ghost realm is an even greater problem. How can we just forget about this and focus on the buddha nemesis?¡±

    ¡°The Spirit K?etra temple has its arrangements regarding the Hungry Ghost realm. My word is not the law, but very rarely has it not counted.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left threw out a wooden fish that swelled as it flew. The crack expanded and tried to swallow the Unraging monk. ¡°If you dare to resist, your punishment will be made worse!¡±

    ¡°You wretched little man!¡± The Unraging monk transformed into a battle demon and sent the wooden fish flying with a punch.

    Xiao An landed in the lush plants. The fresh smell of plants was laced with a flowery fragrance, which drifted in the night wind. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in her ear, ¡°Xiao An, the Spirit K?etra temple has already set up a tight encirclement. Many Monk Kings are hurrying over right now. The power of the Hungry Ghost realm is about to erupt. I can¡¯t keep it restrained anymore.¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, streaks of golden light leapt out from the horizon as the barren landscape rapidly spread through the grassland.

    In the blink of an eye, all the plants around her had withered away. Countless flowers wilted.

    The Great Banyan Tree King fell silent too.

    ¡°Buddha nemesis? Hehe, a monster like you doesn¡¯t belong to the world of the living or the death, the path of buddhism or the demonic. Do you still want to drag out a feeble existence? If you come to the Hungry Ghost realm right now to die, you can still save your mother¡¯s life! Otherwise, if you end up in the hands of these bald asses, you¡¯ll die the same, horrible death!¡±

    Sovereign Li refused to simply give up like this. He ordered the undead to surround her.

    The Daemon Kings all retreated far away, unable to withstand the corrosion from the power of death. The White Camel Sand King said, ¡°I never believed what these bald asses preached, but this is retribution for Pearl city!¡±

    The great cultivators all retreated back into the Silver Dragon King too. The King of Southern Yue¡¯s eyebrows were firmly locked. He was rather hesitant.

    An honoured guest said, ¡°Your majesty, this child is heartless. Even when her own mother takes her place, she doesn¡¯t even bat an eye, so why must we risk our lives for her? We¡¯re better off pulling out quickly and leaving those damned ghosts to the bald asses.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue let out a great sigh. The Silver Dragon King turned towards the south and sailed off, leaving behind the Dauntless monk wondering how he could stop the Unraging monk¡¯s fury. He would glance at her occasionally, but his gaze was also cold and indifferent. A buddha nemesis was a buddha nemesis after all.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, ¡°My dear master, don¡¯t be sad. I definitely won¡¯t abandon you like those bastards. I¡¯ll definitely do my best to protect you. However, I¡¯m also powerless in this situation. Why don¡¯t you just commit suicide with the sword instead, just in case you end up going through all this humiliation for nothing. You know how sharp I am. You won¡¯t feel any pain!¡±

    She lay on the barren plains. Her empty eyes reflected the endless sea of stars.

    The religious preceptor of the left took down the Unraging monk very quickly before raising the wooden fish mallet high into the air. ¡°Amit¨¡bha, prepare to die, buddha nemesis!¡±

 Chapter 1241

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1241 ¨C Blessing

    Li Fengyuan ordered loudly, ¡°Save her!¡±

    However, the resplendent light around Clouded city gradually dimmed. The featherfolk around him were all indifferent, drawing back theirpowers.

    Even if Li Fengyuan could control Clouded city, he required the combined effort of all featherfolk in order to unleash its true power. He said in surprise and fury, ¡°Are you trying to rebel against me?¡±

    ¡°My king, you wanted us to deal with the Hungry Ghost realm. We¡¯ve already done that, so please stop here!¡±

    ¡°Alright. You don¡¯t want to help me. Then I¡¯ll do it myself!¡±

    Li Fengyuan sneered and made the entire city descend.

    ¡°You are risking the entire featherfolk race. Even if you save her, neither the Spirit K?etra temple nor the Hungry Ghost realm will just give up with that. As the king of the featherfolk, do you really only value her without any regard for the fate of all the featherfolk in the city?¡±

    Li Fengyuan shuddered inside. The familiar faces flashed through his mind, with many children and infants among them. The word ¡°featherfolk¡± had stopped being just a name to him. Instead, it represented many familiar lives.

    Even if he received a lot of influence from Li Qingshan from the moment he was born, his nature was still a benevolent phoenix after all. How could he cast them aside so easily?

    ¡°The city of featherfolk will remain here. I will go down by myself. Is that good enough?¡±

    Li Fengyuan was about to storm off when a featherfolk grabbed him by the sleeve. ¡°You are just walking to your death like this, and the featherfolk will be without a king.¡±

    The featherfolk all said, ¡°Please reconsider, my king!¡±

    Unknowingly, not only did he have the featherfolk in his heart, but the featherfolk had him in theirs too. Benevolence could unite the hearts of people.

    Meanwhile, the heartless were destined to be lonely.

    Boom!

    The golden comet slammed into the ground, producing a great pit several thousand metres across in the barren land and demonstrating the terrifying force behind the strike. However, there was no one in the pit.

    The buddhist glow illuminated the sky. There were actually over twenty Monk Kings present.

    Not only had the religious preceptor of the left gathered all the Monk Kings of the Spirit K?etra temple, but he had even gathered the Monk Kings of the various large sects and monasteries throughout the world purely to kill the buddha nemesis.

    Even if she could dodge that attack, how could she contend against such a great force while heavily injured?

    However, the religious preceptor of the left did not continue with his attacks, as she was teetering towards the Gate of Hungry GHosts.

    The world of the dead rejected all of the living. In particular, it rejected the people of buddhism.

    ¡°Religious preceptor, do we pursue her?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. She¡¯ll be dying no matter where she goes.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left pulled back the mallet and stared at her closely.

    The undead were like vicious hounds fighting over food. They gathered all of their strength as they scrambled over desperately.

    The intense will from the Hungry Ghost realm made them all feel that if they could personally end this legend of the Hungry Ghost realm, then they would receive endless benefits. Even undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation would become a piece of cake.

    ¡°A clever choice! Let her through!¡±

    Sovereign Li¡¯s words shattered their dreams. After scheming for so long, how could he let someone else take all the benefits?

    The Corpse King Dragon suddenly lunged towards Xiao An. Every single one of its vicious, interlocking teeth were a hundred times larger than her. It paused violently in front of her as flames surged from its nostrils, but it did not dare to bite down.

    That was the law of the Hungry Ghost realm. Competing against higher beings for food was definitely not a clever choice.

    Xiao An made her way through the mountainous undead. Blood soaked her white clothes, dripping on the ground and rising up as sparks.

    Under a tight encirclement, she approached the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. She raised her head and looked at the Dark Queen in the white bone cage.

    The Dark Queen gripped the white bone firmly. Her expression was grief-stricken and filled with despair. ¡°Xuanyue.¡±

    ¡°Wait for me, mother,¡± Xiao An said silently.

    With a wave of her hand, her long air rose up into the air, and a handful of small, black balls shot out.

    The Corpse Dragon King stared at one of the small black balls that had flown over. Great fear suddenly surged forth, causing it to try and retreat.

    Boom!

    Over thirty tiny, black balls exploded simultaneously, turning into scarlet balls of light that contained terrifying energy before rapidly swelling and enlarging. Every single ball erupted with blinding scarlet light. The light all wove together, turning into a colossal scarlet ball of light that swallowed everything around her.

    The ground shook violently, throwing waves of dirt several hundred metres into the air and reaching several hundred kilometres away. Waves of air swept through the surroundings wildly like several dozen storms stacked together.

    The Monk Kings all stopped far away in the air, struggling to regain their footing. Their ears rumbled as they were dumbfounded by the terrifying destructive power.

    The undead bore the brunt of it, such that their tight encirclement ended up suffering lethal damage instead. Numerous Ghost Kings and Corpse Kings were blasted to pieces, even annihilating their souls.

    Everything had happened in a split second, yet it also felt like a very long time ago. A mushroom cloud rose into the sky slowly as the land was now replaced by a huge pit several dozen kilometres across.

    Bang!

    The Corpse Dragon King¡¯s head that was covered in cracks fell to the ground. The flame of its soul had already been extinguished.

    Several dozen Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings died on the spot, while the remaining were all injured too. Like startled birds, they circled around the pit, afraid to approach it.

    ¡°It¡¯s the school of Mohism¡¯s blasting thunders!¡±

    The religious protector of the left furrowed his brows firmly, recognising the origins of the small, black spheres with a single glance.

    Only grandmasters of the school of Mohism could produce blasting thunders. They were extremely difficult to forge and difficult to control. They could not be used in battle, only for destroying cities or formations. However, every single one of them possessed the great might to annihilate entire mountains. They pursued the most extreme destructive power possible. They wondered how she had managed to gather so many.

    However, the Dauntless monk vaguely recalled that Li Qingshan had obtained many blasting thunders when he slew the master of the Sword Collection palace. The Sword Collection palace had originally prepared them to blast the Demon Suppression Hall. He never expected them to be used here in the very end, almost taking them down with her.

    He sighed inside. The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga did owe her and that Li Qingshan a debt after all. If she were not the buddha nemesis, perhaps she would have inherited the position of abbot already.

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°Blasting thunders affects everyone. The buddha nemesis was located in the very centre of the blast, so she must be very injured. We have to use this opportunity to kill the buddha nemesis, or she¡¯ll definitely become a great source of trouble in the future!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± The Monk Kings all answered.

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°Religious preceptor, this is a heaven-sent opportunity, so why don¡¯t we send some people to seal up the Gate of Hungry Ghosts and rid the world of a huge problem?¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left hesitated slightly. The Hungry Ghost realm was indeed a great source of trouble too.

    Argh!

    A hysterical roar rang out from the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. Sovereign Li was at a tipping point. Not only had he failed to catch the fish with his plans and preparations, but he had even sustained heavy losses instead.

    Death qi surged out of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. It ripped wider like a huge mouth roaring furiously at the sky. The barren plains of death rapidly spread until they reached the boundary of the Mist province. The clear skies were obscured by the dark clouds again, and the clouds had become even thicker.

    From the boundless sea of trees, the Great Banyan Tree King saw this unfold. He knew this was not just sovereign Li¡¯s power. It was also the culmination of the size of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, as well as the final balance between two worlds. Even if the ghost tower was raised higher, all that would spread was the barren plains of death.

    This was the Hungry Ghost realm expanding, eagerly devouring this world and her!

    The destruction of the world seemed to have become unavoidable now.

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°Let¡¯s forget about these undead for now. We have t ofind her!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King used his powers as a god to slowly send his consciousness deep underground, except he gave up, ¡°Xiao An, I don¡¯t want you as an enemy, because that breaks my promise and deal with Qingshan, but I am unable to side with you either, because I know what you¡¯re about to do.¡±

    Under the washing of the death qi, the Dark Queen¡¯s body rapidly withered away. She was dying.

    She was too busy to take something so unimportant into account. She crossed her arms behind her chest. That was not a technique, but a blessing¡ªa mother¡¯s blessing.

 Chapter 1242

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1242 ¨C Stomach

    Li Qingshan clutched at his heart. He felt his chest tighten as his ears rang slightly.

    ¡°Qingshan, stay focused!¡± ¡°Hahaha, we¡¯re done for! The journey ends here!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s urgings and R¨¡hu Xiaoming mad laughter pulled Li Qingshan back to his senses. He noticed that he was still in danger. Perhaps it was only a false impression during the instant when the space-devouring beast swallowed him, but he had never reacted so violently just because of danger.

    Xiao An?

    The interior of the space-devouring beast was as tranquil as outer space. Countless world fragments floated there silently, together with the mountains that it had recently devoured.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had entered another world and no longer had to drift through space, so it gave him a strange sense of safety. However, the threat of death did not vanish as a result. Instead, it became extremely strong. The two feelings merged together to form an extremely strange mental state.

    He could not help but hold his breath and gather his attention, clutching the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly as if something terrifying was about to happen

    The kunpeng pulled in its wings as well, shielding Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming as it looked around warily.

    Only R¨¡hu Xiaoming laughed away, laughing at fate and laughing at himself. He continued until Li Qingshan smacked him in the back of his head. Only then did he look over furiously and meet a pair of pitch-black eyes. Fear and despair also appeared within them, but that was not enough to sway his tenacious will.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve suffered another beating, Xiaoming! Could you try and think of some ideas while you laugh so that we can escape?¡±

    These guys!

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any¡­¡±

    He had clearly uttered ¡°ideas¡± already, but it seemed to be shrunken countless times. His voice had not been compressed. Instead, its sense of presence had been compressed.

    Li Qingshan watched as a mountain suddenly vanished before his eyes. Only at a closer glance did he discover it did not actually vanish. Instead, it had become the size of a fist, flying off into the distance under the pull of an invisible force.

    The kunpeng¡¯s figure suddenly shrank to a tenth of its original size. Gu Yanying said, ¡°That¡¯s not me. The space-devouring beast is digesting us!¡±

    The space-devouring beast obviously possessed the ability to digest them if it was bold enough to swallow them. The constant compressions were like the contractions of the stomach, enough to destroy everything. If it were not for the kunpeng¡¯s protection, R¨¡hu Xiaoming would have definitely died. Even Li Qingshan might have died here.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Do you understand now? We¡¯re going to be crushed into mince meat- no, diced meat very soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I don¡¯t like either of them. Yanying, break out!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    The kunpeng flapped its wings and flew in the opposite direction of the mountain.

    Li Qingshan lay on the back of the kunpeng, his heart tense as he held his breath. He held the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens in one hand and R¨¡hu Xiaoming in the other, awaiting for the second compression.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming glanced at him and suddenly remembered another man, that man that he thought he had almost forgotten about already.

    Father, am I still so weak?

    As if a hundred years had passed, yet also like a heartbeat, Li Qingshan thought of an idea. ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡±

    He unleashed the Force Field of the Earth at full power!

    At that moment, there was clearly no sound at all, but it felt like the universe was collapsing around them.

    The kunpeng shrank once again. Its wingspan was less than three hundred kilometres now.

    Li Qingshan behaved like he had just been hit with a punch. His face was bright red, but his expression only became even more stubborn. He turned his head away and spat out some blood gently.

    The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens was his ultimate tool, not only able to provide him with endless power, but also able to strengthen the innate abilities of the ox demon, but that power did not belong to him at the end of the day.

    In that instant earlier, he had almost exhausted all of his daemon qi. All he could do was quickly replenish it from the small world. He even needed the phoenix¡¯s vitality to sustain him through the backlash due to the Force Field of the Earth being forcefully compressed. Instead, R¨¡hu Xiaoming beside him was completely unscathed.

    ¡°Yanying, shrink the kunpeng until it fits within the Force Field of the Earth!¡±

    Gu Yanying was concerned about him. ¡°But can you hold on?¡±

    ¡°We need to conserve the kunpeng¡¯s power,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    Even in the face of almost certain death, he wanted to be a stubborn bone that was extremely difficult to digest.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought of something and suddenly said, ¡°Stop! Turn around!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t break out of a space-devouring beast that easily. Even if we escape somehow, it¡¯ll continue to chase after us, so we¡¯ll still struggle to survive. We need to venture deeper into the space-devouring beast to confront death in an attempt to survive!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable! Now that¡¯s something you should be saying instead!¡± Li Qingshan patted R¨¡hu Xiaoming on the shoulder with a smile.

    Their mental conversation was complete in an instant. The kunpeng shrank without hesitation, turning around and flying at full speed.

    She used everything she had, but their speed still came nowhere close to when they moved through outer space. She said silently, ¡°Hold on, Qingshan!¡¯

    During that time, Li Qingshan faced another two compressions. His large, tall body shrank slightly as his organs all ruptured. His brain was a complete mess, and even the almost-indestructible tiger bones became covered in cracks. He knelt down on one knee with his head lowered on the kunpeng¡¯s back, covered in blood, but he remained still and patient like the earth, silently counting down to the next compression.

    Perhaps that would be the last compression too.

    However, nothing arrived. The kunpeng passed through an invisible membrane. Li Qingshan raised his head. ¡°We succeeded?¡±

    Many blurry glimmers of light appeared before his eyes. Had they returned to outer space?

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming replied, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re half way there. We¡¯ve already left the space-devouring beast¡¯s stomach. This should be its womb. These are all small space-devouring beasts that are still taking shape.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s shattered eyes congealed and recovered, and his vision gradually cleared up too, only to see thousands of small space-devouring beasts gathered together. What shone were their eyes, if those could be called eyes.

    ¡°How the hell are these ¡®small¡¯ space-devouring beasts?¡±

    These damned bastards came in all shapes and sizes. None of them bore any resemblance to their mother, and none of them could be considered ¡°small¡±.

    Gu Yanying smiled wryly. ¡°With how ¡®small¡¯ they are, they shouldn¡¯t be aggressive, right?¡±

    As she said that, all the small space-devouring beasts began to move, pressing closer towards them.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing these ¡®small¡¯ guys aren¡¯t coming to greet us.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. The sight before him was basically like shoving countless monsters all into a single nightmare. Instead, it seemed rather absurd.

    The space-devouring beasts rapidly pressed closer. If they retreated, they would be digested. If they moved forward, they would be split among them and eaten.

    Gu Yanying, ¡°Hey, think of something, you two big men.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°I¡¯m just a child, thank you.¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the incoming herd of space-devouring beasts, ¡°Xiaoming, you mentioned that space-devouring beasts turn into worlds.¡±

    ¡°I did.¡±

    ¡°I just happen to have a world, or in other words, I have a space-devouring beast.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°That¡¯s correct!¡±

    ¡°Both of you, shut your eyes.¡±

    Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming both closed their eyes. The kunpeng shut its eyes as well.

    Li Qingshan brought his palms together and unleashed the ability of the spirit turtle at full force, the Watermirror¡¯s Image.

    Xiao An¡¯s figure appeared in his mind. She seemed to be in both pain and sorrow. Afterwards, he shut his eyes as well.

    ¡°May the heavens be watching over us.¡±

    The space-devouring beasts engulfed them.

 Chapter 1243

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1243 ¨C Navy Li¡¯l Fatty

    White clouds took all sorts of shapes and sizes within the small world. Time trickled away in a hurry as the moon and sun shuttled through the sky.

    Whether a god existed or not, the will of the world remained the same, operating according to a fixed law. That was the so-called ¡°will of the heavens¡±.

    From a certain perspective, the will of the world was like a lazy owner. He never paid any attention to the various chores at home. With just a daydream, entire eras came and went.

    Only when a thief broke into his home would he make a slight response, almost out of instinct. It was basically no different from the state of space-devouring beasts digesting food.

    The existence of a god was equivalent to a head caretaker that handled everything without consulting anyone. They could handle the duties in place of the owner.

    Li Qingshan had gone from the identity of a thief and finally made his way up to head caretaker after great difficulty.

    When he used the tremendous amounts of world fragments and land to satisfy this lazy owner¡¯s most primitive desire, he had gained the further recognition of the owner as the caretaker, or in other words, the ¡°will of the heavens¡± was now on his side.

    Normally, Li Qingshan would do as he pleased as long as he possessed sufficient authority as the head caretaker. He would never care about what the lazy owner thought. As a matter of fact, it would be best if the owner had no thoughts at all, so he could lead the people with the will of the heavens on his side.

    But at that moment, he was forced to awaken the will of the world, but even he did not have much confidence in whether it would succeed or not.

    Whether the will of the world could cross such a great distance through the Watermirror¡¯s Image like other objects and whether it could fool the space-devouring beasts were all unknown.

    Everything depended on this!

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes slowly. The space-devouring beasts swam around them as if they were wondering why the food had suddenly vanished.

    ¡°It worked?¡± Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming both experienced some disbelief.

    Li Qingshan did not answer them. He felt the vast, empty will of the world coexist with him. If that was all, then so be it, but even more wondrously, a navy-blue, spore-like bubble was rapidly growing in size, enveloping them inside and giving them a deep sense of peace as if they had returned to the small world.

    However, the nature of the ¡°blue bubble¡± was so similar to the space-devouring beasts in the surroundings, or perhaps it was a space-devouring beast. As it rapidly grew, it developed a long tail that swayed around gently. It seemed like a tiny tadpole.

    The space-devouring beasts completely lost interest and gradually dispersed.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was astounded as well. Even with his knowledge as a god, he had never heard of something like this before.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan had no answers either. He originally wanted to fool them all using the will of the world so that the space-devouring beasts did not treat them as food. He never thought he would actually create a true space-devouring beast.

    Gu Yanying said in speculation, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is the small world¡¯s original form? But why would it appear here? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s because this is the space-devouring beast¡¯s womb? Can you call this a clone of the small world? Qingshan, what¡¯s going on in the small world? Have there been any changes?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Everything¡¯s normal. Maybe it¡¯s just a package deal, where you buy a house and get a pet for free!¡±

    ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ve managed to survive yet again.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming let out a sigh of relief. This probably touched on the very fundamental laws of the trichiliocosm and the endless space. There were far too many coincidences involved, so probably only the gods and buddhas in the Nine Heavens could give an answer. Perhaps even they would sigh in amazement if they saw this.

    After all, world gods had always been very rare. After becoming a god, they would be trapped in the world forever, unable to roam through outer space anymore. There were not a lot of cultivators that would go to outer space either, and if they possessed that ability, they would not be eaten by space-devouring beasts, much less entering the womb of a space-devouring beast.

    The chances of each incident occurring was almost non-existent, so together, it was basically impossible.

    As they spoke, the space-devouring beast finally stopped growing, also reaching thirty thousand metres long.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°Qingshan, can you control this small space-devouring beast? Surely it won¡¯t just eat us after it grows up!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t call it absolute control, but I do have some influence over it.¡±

    Li Qingshan sensed it slightly. As the god of a world, he could always act in place of the will of the world.

    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±

    ¡°Alright, now this is what you call great blessings if you manage to escape death! Yanying, stow away your kunpeng¡¯s feather! Let¡¯s try out our new mount!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand dramatically. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Hold on, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty is¡­¡±

    The space-devouring beast transformed from the small world swung its tail and swam ahead.

    The corner of R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eye twitched. ¡°Why?¡±

    Li Qingshan said it like it was common sense, ¡°Well, it needs a name, so you know what I¡¯m talking about. Otherwise, we are in the belly of a small space-devouring beast inside the belly of a big space-devouring beast facing a bunch of small space-devouring beasts.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming pursed his lips and nodded. ¡°Okay, I was expecting that, but why did you come up with this damned name?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s navy-blue, it likes to eat a lot, and it¡¯s very fat. Don¡¯t you find this name to be¡­¡®¡¯

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming raised hand. ¡°Alright, forget that I asked.¡±

    As a result, the three of them rode ¡°Li¡¯l Fatty¡± and advanced through the colossal womb of the space-devouring beast.

    Li Qingshan peered around with his eyes wide open, studying the shape of every space-devouring beast like he was on a tour beneath the sea.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°Qingshan, can your new pet take us out of here?¡±

    Li Qingshan said without looking back, ¡°Why would we want to get out of here? Aren¡¯t we going to butcher this space-devouring beast?¡±

    ¡°We have no other choice, don¡¯t we? Killing such a large space-devouring beast probably isn¡¯t an easy feat. Who knows if there is any danger lurking ahead. Why don¡¯t we just find a way to return to outer space? Space-devouring beasts shouldn¡¯t attack their own kind.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, space-devouring beasts shouldn¡¯t attack their own kind,¡± Li Qingshan murmured. Then he asked, ¡°What do you think, Xiaoming?¡±

    ¡°Of course, or with the power of a herd of space-devouring beasts, who knows how many worlds they would have devoured already.¡±

    ¡°Then I have nothing to worry about.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled resplendently, and Navy Li¡¯l Fatty suddenly lunged towards a space-devouring beast covered in tendrils nearby. His head split open to form a great big mouth, biting down viciously on one of the tendrils.

    ¡°What are you doing!?¡±

    Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming were both alarmed. The space-devouring beast was more than ten times the size of Navy Li¡¯l Fatty. It was basically a suicide attack.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Revenge is a must! Watch as I butcher its entire family first!¡±

    Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming were both tense. They said space-devouring beasts would not attack their own kind, but no one knew what would happen when a space-devouring beast attacked another. If he infuriated the entire group, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    Sure enough, the space-devouring beast did not fight back. It merely swam away.

    However, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty grew a little larger after devouring the severed tendril. Although it had been driven by Li Qingshan to attack its own kind, it showed no intention to resist at all. It continued to munch away with a great appetite.

    Li Qingshan also noticed that he had gained even more graces with the ¡°will of the heavens¡±. ¡°When it¡¯s worth making a gamble, you need to make a gamble, or there¡¯ll be a day when you won¡¯t be able to gamble even if you want to!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, nicely done!¡±

 Chapter 1244

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1244 ¨C Devouring Space

    The three of them had never lacked courage and resolve. They were all bold enough to take a gamble when it mattered.

    If they could obtain a powerful space-devouring beast as an escort, then the next part of their journey would be extremely safe.

    And the reality showed that Li Qingshan had won the gamble.

    The space-devouring beasts that were originally so terrifying had now become harmless. All they could do was dodge under Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s attacks, and they never learnt their lesson either. They would flee for a short distance before stopping again.

    As a result, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty was like a wolf in a herd of sheep. He took a bite left and right, slowly growing in size, going from a cub to a vicious wolf. It was even more impossible for the other space-devouring beasts to put up any resistance now.

    Devour, devour, devour¡­

    Space-devouring beasts vanished into its mouth one by one, but it did not grow as quickly as they imagined. Sometimes, after a period of digestion, it would even become slightly smaller.

    Li Qingshan discovered the reason. The small world on the other end of the universe was rapidly growing larger too. Perhaps it could not be called a small world anymore, but a medium-small world at the very least. That was where Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s body actually resided.

    He became more and more worthy of the title of god of the world too, truly able to make mountains fall on a whim. After facing death, he finally had the leisure to devote his attention to the small world.

    Ships set out in the ocean, searching for the ¡°hero king¡¯s power¡±. Countless people died out at sea, but there were many people who got lucky too, gaining unprecedented power that led to them roaming the oceans.

    As a result, it drew even more people out to sea.

    For a period of time, the world faced upheaving changes as people of talent arose one after another.

    There would be battles and slaughter every day, as well as new legends every day. The jianghu of the past seemed to return again, becoming even more turbulent than ever.

    Everyone in the world believed this was the true will of the hero king. After all, only a world like this was more interesting. The strict and impartial rule before was all the handiwork of the World¡¯s society¡¯s leader, Gu Yanying. It did not truly match the hero king¡¯s tastes.

    However, the World¡¯s society obviously refused to give up their rule over the world, and the many children of the hero king had become the forerunners of this adventure.

    Li Guinian took Old Patience with him and established an office on the ocean, relocating the Abstruse temple under his control to an island dense with spiritual qi in an attempt to bring the order of the World¡¯s society back to the chaotic seas. He used the advantage of his bloodline to sail through the turbulent waves, becoming known as the Sea King.

    As the world became even larger, the spiritual qi became denser as well. Both the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea possessed greater opportunities. The White Ape King and the Daemon Maiden of Illusionary Dance stopped being coincidences. The Daemon race was rising up into prosperity.

    ¡°Before me, the Great Governor of the East Sea, the fuck do you think the World¡¯s society is? The fuck do you think the hero king is?¡±

    A ship sailed on the seas. The decks were rowdy, currently holding a joyous celebration. The captain¡¯s drunken boasts made the deck fall quiet. The hero king possessed a great reputation and prestige with everyone, but no one dared to openly revolt against this violent Great Governor of the East Sea.

    ¡°Pah! What a great idiot!¡±

    A man was tied up against the mast. His dark skin was covered in wounds, but he seemed like he was completely unconcerned.

    The Great Governor of the East Sea flew into a rage. ¡°Cut off his limbs and feed him to the fishes! No, I¡¯ll do it myself!¡± With a hideous grin, he walked over and raised the treasured blade he had just obtained.

    Spurt!

    The Great Governor of the East Sea was crushed to death on the deck like an insect. His flesh and blood scattered everywhere, while his treasured blade was planted where he originally stood.

    ¡°Aaaaaargh!¡±

    There was a panic on the deck. The criminals that usually licked the blood off their blades began screaming like girls.

    The man was taken aback. He laughed aloud, but that instead allowed the pirates to gradually return to their senses. They gathered over with ill intentions, about to carry out the Great Governor of the East Sea¡¯s final wishes.

    The man said, ¡°You can kill me, or you can make me your captain. Otherwise, with your bit of cultivation, you won¡¯t be able to keep anything in the cabin.¡±

    The pirates looked at one another. They had never seen someone so shameless before, but the man¡¯s swordsmanship was wondrous, almost having reached the limit with the White Ape Sword Classic. In terms of individual strength, he was even stronger than the deceased Great Governor of the East Sea. Once they let him go, no one would be able to overpower him again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense! Butcher him first, and then we¡¯ll find a remote port to split the booty and disband!¡±

    With a few slashes, he gained even more wounds, but the man was unfazed, ¡°Don¡¯t forget about how that idiot great governor died.¡± He glanced at the sky. ¡°The hero king has remembered this ship. If it weren¡¯t for me, his son, you¡¯d be at the bottom of the ocean already.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a son of the hero king!?¡± The pirates were all alarmed. Every single one of them was a prominent figure.

    ¡°Illegitimate son.¡± Sorry about this, old man Wu. You¡¯re not my father by blood, but you¡¯re that in my heart.

    The pirates were uncertain. There had always been countless people in the world who claimed to be illegitimate children of the hero king, but the previous sight was extremely convincing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Not only am I not vengeful, but I¡¯m even a very faithful and trustworthy person. I¡¯m also much stronger than that idiot great governor!¡±

    After a dispute, none of the pirates could bring themselves to do it, so they untied the man and released the seals on his acupoints.

    He stretched his body a bit and called out, ¡°Remember, my name is Wu Tieshan! Wu Huan¡¯s Wu, Tiedan¡¯s Tie, and Qingshan¡¯s Shan! Which of you hit me just then? Get over here!¡±

    A pirate said, ¡°Hmm? Your surname is not Li?¡±

    Wu Tieshan dragged him over and sprayed his face with spittle. ¡°I took my stepfather¡¯s surname. What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±

    He gave the pirates a proper beating and glanced at the pile of flesh and blood. Only then did he become soaked in cold sweat. He prayed inside, Please watch over me, hero king. He arrived in the cabin and gazed in a daze at a woman¡¯s statue. He had a strange feeling that the woman could spring alive at any moment.

    A voice suddenly rang out in his head, ¡°Where is this?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, now¡¯s not the time to watch these shows!¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s voice pulled Li Qingshan back to reality. He shook his head with a smile. In the blink of an eye, he had already witnessed Wu Tieshan¡¯s entire life. He never thought they had actually met before. The child from back then had already grown up. He was basically extremely fortunate to obtain the statue.

    By now, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty was basically done with eating. Its size had already surpassed the other small space-devouring beasts, basically catching an entire one with each attempt. It polished off the remaining space-devouring beasts swiftly and neatly.

    Li Qingshan told them about what had happened to the small world. He felt like he was brimming with spiritual qi.

    ¡°You sure are fortunate!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sighed. This was basically a world that could devour other worlds. If he continued like this, could he devour all of outer space? By then, just how large would the small world become?

    ¡°Of course, but do you think this is appropriate for someone that was born as a god to admire another¡¯s good fortunes?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He was not arrogant enough to believe this was all due to his hard work, nor would he forget about the original reason why he could be standing here today, that wide and vigorous figure.

    In hindsight, he probably only needed to give away a single ox hair, and that would be enough to complete the legacy. There was no need for him to let a clueless boy ride on his back.

    Li Qingshan did not do this to pay back some kind of favour. Instead, he wanted to prove that his judgement had been right!

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re done with the small ones. It¡¯s time to eat the big one. Li¡¯l Fatty, I choose you!¡±

 Chapter 1245

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1245 ¨C Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water, a World of its Own

    Under Li Qingshan¡¯s hot-blooded, high-spirited, and somewhat strange command, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty rushed out of the ¡°womb¡± and returned to the big space-devouring beast¡¯s colossal ¡°stomach¡±.

    This was obviously a farfetched description. Space-devouring beasts were inherently different from regular creatures. Compared to saying its ¡°stomach¡± occupied most of its body, it was probably better to say that their interior was the stomach. R¨¡hu Xiaoming called that ¡°space¡±.

    Navy Li¡¯l Fatty was rapidly compressed, but after the invisible pressure vanished, it immediately returned to its original size. Under Li Qingshan¡¯s will, it swung its long tail and swam towards the depths of the ¡°stomach¡±. They came across a few more strange regions, but none of them posed any threat.

    Suddenly, a star appeared in the darkness, twinkling with various colours.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He could see clearly within the deep darkness, but the star seemed to have appeared suddenly. It clearly only possessed three colours, red, yellow, and blue, yet he had never seen something so resplendent before.

    Each colour flowed and changed¡ªscarlet red, crimson red, blood red¡­ orangey yellow, bright yellow, soft yellow¡­ azure blue, light blue, dark blue¡­ There were so many different shades that it could not be described with words. The three colours merged together and changed even more, containing all the colours in the universe.

    As they drew closer and arrived before the star, Li Qingshan understood why the star twinkled. Apart from the three colours, an invisible gas surged across the star. Whenever it blew past, the star would twinkle, and its shape and colour would change slightly.

    ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful!¡±

    Gu Yanying was enchanted by it as well. She was like a regular woman facing jewels, all the jewels available in the world in this case.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°It¡¯s a world.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. ¡°Earth, fire, wind, and water. So this is the original form of a world. This must be the heart of the space-devouring beast then!¡±

    As they drew closer, the star grew larger, and the brilliance it gave off became even more blinding. The heavy earth, the scorching fire, the wild wind, and the deep water formed a grand scene.

    Even when they already knew that space-devouring beasts nurtured worlds, they still experienced intense shock when they saw it for themselves. The tremendous power it contained was enough for anyone to respond like that.

    Perhaps millions of years in the future, all of this would turn into a new world, and the night sky would gain a star. Afterwards, countless creatures would form into existence and thrive, developing into countless cases of love and hatred, kindness and grievance, unions and partings.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s knowledge far exceeded theirs, but when he saw this, he could not help but think of the worlds he had destroyed with his very own hands. For a moment, he also fell silent.

    On top of that, he noticed that Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying had entered a state of ¡°comprehension¡±, which gave him even less reason to speak up and disturb them. Personally witnessing the course of a world was an extremely rare opportunity even for him, let alone them.

    ¡°Comprehension¡± involved endless wonders, but the logic behind it was quite simple. It was just like how when a mortal saw a newborn, they would experience the abstract notion of ¡°life¡±, which would lead to many feelings. It could potentially change the way they acted.

    Even a mortal would require a lot of knowledge and experience if they wanted to achieve something, let alone cultivators.

    The nature of cultivation was a pursuit of truth and change. Only with a change in mentality would a change in cultivation occur, except to cultivators, opportunities like that only became rarer as they went. They had witnessed far too much life and death, rise and decline, so they could not comprehend anything major from that. Often, they required prolonged periods of accumulation and consolidation.

    If they had not gone through sufficient accumulation and consolidation, that would lead to bottlenecks, and their cultivations would stop progressing.

    Sometimes, what they could get out of a single thought, a single moment, could surpass centuries or millennia of cultivation.

    That was why cultivators with great talent for comprehension possessed such a great advantage. Seeing a fallen leaf and knowing autumn had arrived was already something that regular people struggled with. However, those deviants and freaks that could understand the laws that the planets operated under from just a fallen apple. Regular people could not even dream of achieving something like that.

    There were ways to make up for it, but it would take a hundred times the effort and hardships.

    For the sake of what they could get out of this single thought, the three of them had truly faced great risk. Only now did they obtain something that was theirs.

    No matter how large the world grew to, no matter how powerful Li¡¯l Fatty became, they were all foreign entities. They could use them and borrow them, but they could not rely on them. Only their comprehension and cultivation truly belonged to them.

    After who knew how long, Gu Yanying returned to her senses. Both her mind and body seemed to go through a baptism, such that she sensed she had become even closer to the kunpeng¡¯s feather. Even if she did not have the kunpeng¡¯s feather, the fourth heavenly tribulation would not be an issue anymore.

    That was not just because of what she had witnessed right before her. Instead, from leaving the nine provinces until now, everything she had been through during that journey was unheard of to the cultivators of the nine provinces. She could not help but become even more certain about the path she had chosen. She wanted to fly higher and further away and see wider and more. She wanted to obtain true freedom.

    Looking back at Li Qingshan, she saw that he still had not budged. From the star composed of earth, fire, wind, and water reflecting in his eyes, she knew his comprehension and what he had gotten out of this was even greater than hers. She stood to one side and waited quietly.

    Li Qingshan did not just see earth, fire, wind, and water. He also saw the existence of space.

    Without space, earth, fire, wind, and water were unable to condense. Without earth, fire, wind, and water, there was no point to space.

    Earth, fire, wind, and water happened to coincide with the four transformations he had balanced, the Ox Demon Transformation, the Phoenix Transformation, the Tiger Demon Transformation, and the Spirit Turtle Transformation.

    This definitely was not a coincidence. Instead, it was a foundation planted in him by the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, forming a world within his body. Just how lofty of a sentiment was that? On top of that, probably the only possible way to balance these various extreme and pure powers was by imitating the way a world was created and operated.

    In the past, when he fought against the Demon King in the Asura Field, he had relied on his control over earth, fire, wind, and water to turn the tides, but from that moment onwards, the Demon Suppression Statuary had been deeply suppressed. When he comprehended the Ape Demon Transformation, he broke this balance again, but now, he witnessed a whole new type of balance.

    In hindsight, a major reason why he could balance earth, fire, wind, and water was because he was located in the Asura Field. The Asura Field served as his ¡°space¡±.

    Once he left the Asura Field, the powers faced influence from everything in his surroundings, so the extremely subtle balance no longer existed. All that remained was a rough balance.

    But now, he saw an opportunity. The Ape Demon Transformation just happened to represent space.

    I understand now. When I cultivated the first four transformations, the balance had already been established. After that, what I need to balance is no longer the divine and demonic natures. Instead, I need to construct a world within me. The Ape Demon Transformation is not a troublemaker that breaks the balance between the demonic and divine, but a crucial power for truly creating a world.

    When Li Qingshan thought up to there, the Ape Demon Transformation broke through to the second layer. Originally, he was worried that even the slightest increase in his cultivation would lead to the fourth heavenly tribulation, but he no longer had that worry now.

    Power leaked out and scattered from his body. His aura declined, but his power became much more consolidated and condensed.

    A great sword forged from scrap metal could never match a treasured sword of regular size. Perhaps it could be used to smash people in battle, but if it were to be improved, it had to be further forged and reforged.

    He powered the Spirit Turtle Transformation at full force, deducing from the rudimentary form of a world before him.

    If he had not seen it with his own eyes, the deduction process alone would have been an almost-impossible mission. Everything he saw today was what he had obtained, and he was still comprehending the laws that the small world operated on. As such, everything was as simple as it could get.

    After completing his inference, a model took shape in his head. He began to imitate it.

    Firstly, he compressed and reassembled his powers, constructing them with a better method. If he were in his daemon form right now, his stature would definitely be shrinking rapidly.

    No, that still doesn¡¯t work. The Ape Demon Transformation is too weak. Space cannot contain the earth, fire, wind, and water unless I increase the Ape Demon Transformation to the fifth layer as well. The first and second layers aren¡¯t really an issue, but later on, the power will begin to grow abruptly, and the fourth heavenly tribulation will definitely descend upon me, Li Qingshan thought with furrowed eyebrows.

    He came up with an idea very soon. ¡°Please watch over me!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming were both serious. Their paths had coincided together, and their lives were in each other¡¯s hands, so watching over him was but a trifle.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and burst into great flames. Vaguely, it was possible to make out a phoenix dancing within the fire.

    The phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a, rebirth in flames!

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had proactively used the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. In the past, he had always been beaten to his death, using the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth because he had no other choice.

    The feeling this time was very different. He was in the best shape he had ever been, both in terms of his body and his mind. On top of that, he had a world providing him with spiritual qi.

    With the rebirth, everything was now on a clean slate. Before his powers had even begun to recover, he devoted himself to constructing a new balance.

    The ox demon stood still while the tiger demon leapt about. The spirit turtle submerged while the phoenix soared.

    The ape demon spread his arms that constantly elongated, embracing them all.

    With a rumble, his daemon core shattered, and a world was born within his body.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. The world was so measly and insignificant. It was still in a primitive, rudimentary form, but it was complete with everything despite its size. By everything, that was earth, fire, wind, water, and space.

    However, his aura had become much weaker, all because he suppressed the ox, the tiger, the turtle, and the phoenix to the second layer.

    In the beginning, the transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine were all very weak. With his foundational cultivation at the second layer, it would not be strange at all if his powers regressed to Daemon General. Even at most, it would be Daemon Commander. However, he was clearly still a Daemon King right now.

    If making Navy Li¡¯l Fatty take a risk by devouring the space-devouring beasts was a gamble and going from a bicycle to a motorbike, then right now, he went from a steam engine to a nuclear reactor. He underwent a change in quality.

    With that, he could continue cultivating the Ape Demon Transformation. That was not exactly difficult to him. Once his Ape Demon Transformation reached the fifth layer, then the power of the other transformations could completely recover. By then, he would possess unprecedented power, basically equivalent to having undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation.

    However, the most wondrous part of that was according to his calculations, he still would not trigger the fourth heavenly tribulation once that occurred. He would maintain his cultivation at Daemon King, allowing him to return to the nine provinces and reunite with Xiao An with ease.

    ¡°How is this possible? Just what is your cultivation method?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was astounded. This was not an aura that a Daemon King was supposed to possess. Regular cultivators often relied on undergoing tribulations to change like this. How could he just jump around on the same spot as before and immediately learn how to fly?

    ¡°The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine!¡±

    Li Qingshan told him the truth, both out of trust and confidence. He also wanted to learn some related information from R¨¡hu Xiaoming. After all, brother ox definitely would not be a figure without renown.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought about it for a while before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about him.¡±

    A cultivation method like this definitely should not have been unknown, so the only explanation was it had been newly-created, and it had only been taught to him. Perhaps it was made for him.

    ¡°I really am a little envious of your good fortunes. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s your father?¡±

    ¡°My father is a father. That¡¯s my brother!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and waved his hand. ¡°Devour away, Li¡¯l Fatty!¡±

 Chapter 1246

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1246 ¨C Counter-devouring

    Navy Li¡¯l Fatty seemed to have run out of patience a long time ago, but without Li Qingshan¡¯s will, it was unable to overcome its instincts to attack its own kind. Now that it had finally received permission, it immediately split open with a great mouth and swallowed the resplendent star composed of earth, fire, wind, and water in a single gulp.

    The balance of the star was immediately broken. The earth collapsed and erupted, the flames spread and blazed violently, the winds surged and blew, and the water swelled turbulendently. A world that was about to be born was destroyed.

    Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s body immediately swelled to several dozen times its original size, almost losing its original shape as if it was about to burst.

    The earth, fire, wind, and water could not even be considered as the actual elements. Instead, they were the purest of powers, the substance that formed the basis of the world.

    Even when great cultivators and Daemon Kings faced this, they would be as feeble as mortals going up against natural disasters.

    The three of them hid in an unknown organ inside Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, gazing at the soul-stirring sight in the ¡°stomach¡± through a transparent spatial membrane. It led to another series of amazed sighs and some more comprehension.

    ¡°This space-devouring beast is extremely large, so the world it contains must be colossal too. Can your L- Li¡¯l fatty digest it?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming endured how inappropriate the name was and stated his worries.

    Li Qingshan answered, ¡°Even a god like you doesn¡¯t know, so how would I know? Heh, it¡¯s turning into a Big Fatty soon.¡±

    ¡°Alright then! I think Li¡¯l Fatty is still a bit better.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming felt that his tolerance for these dumb names was limited.

    Li Qingshan was delighted. ¡°So you¡¯ve finally developed some taste for names, Xiaoming!¡±

    The corner of R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Li Qingshan, you and I are definitely going to have a battle!¡±

    Gu Yanying interrupted their staredown,.¡°We¡¯re quite lucky. If it weren¡¯t for Li¡¯l Fatty, we wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand an energy explosion like this even if we killed the large space-devouring beast. We¡¯d be dying anyway!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°it¡¯s not just luck. If it hadn¡¯t devoured the small space-devouring beasts, Li¡¯l Fatty would have never been able to devour this star either.¡±

    At this moment, the violent flood of energy gradually settled down, like water sucked up by a sponge.

    All of the volcanoes in the small world erupted, regardless of whether they were located on land or in the ocean, whether they were active or dormant. Lava and earthen flames spewed out as thick plumes of black smoke gushed into the air.

    Great winds swept through the entire world. Fierce winds, violent winds, and tornados surged around, but they were unable to disperse the blanketing dark clouds. Lightning crackled and thunder flashed as rain poured down endlessly. Floods ran amok, rampaging across the land freely.

    This apocalyptic sight could even make the toughest, unruliest martial arts practitioner tremble.

    The ship was like a toy, tossed high into the air by the waves before landing heavily again. They navigated between mountainous waves, giving them the false impression that they were navigating at the bottom of the ocean.

    Wu Tieshan steered the ship personally, but it was completely useless. The pirates behind him constantly shouted out, ¡°Spare us, hero king!¡±

    He could not help but think to himself, Don¡¯t tell me my mother¡¯s been lying to me, and I¡¯m actually his son? My dear father, please stop messing around!

    Bang!

    A great wave smashed into the ship, sending wooden splinters flying through the air together with countless treasures.

    Wu Tieshan sucked in a deep breath and found the statue of the woman. He leapt out, sinking into the ocean with the statue in his arms.

    Li Qingshan did not have the time to pay any attention to the events in the small world. He was not the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion, Avalokite?vara. Each to their own fate.

    He was paying attention to how Navy Li¡¯l Fatty transported the earth, fire, wind, and water to the small world. When Navy Li¡¯l Fatty devoured the small space-devouring beasts, he had tried understanding this, but he did not see the existence of something like a portal. It was no different now.

    There seemed to be an invisible tunnel between Navy Li¡¯l Fatty and the small world, linking them together in a way that he did not understand. It was an even firmer connection than the one between him and his mirror clone, just like how the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were connected with all the worlds.

    A while later, the earth, fire, wind, and water ran out. Navy Li¡¯l Fatty had grown much larger yet again, becoming even more lively.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. There were far too many secrets across the many worlds. He would probably only get an answer after he made it to beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Fortunately, he no longer had to worry about losing his connection with his clone. Right now, he felt like he was still in the small world. His connection with his clone had become extraordinarily clear again, able to control the clone with ease.

    However, he also felt some pity. It¡¯s unfortunate that my power isn¡¯t enough right now. Otherwise, if I can absorb the earth, fire, wind, and water, it¡¯ll probably push my ox, tiger, phoenix, and turtle transformations to an unbelievable height. Though, it¡¯s not like it can end up with someone else. It¡¯s all inside the small world, so I can take my time with absorbing it.

    Perhaps the small world could no longer be called a small world anymore. Not only had it grown to ten times the size, the flow of time had become much slower too. It was still nowhere close to the nine provinces, but once it completely digested everything it had devoured, it should become capable of containing second heavenly tribulation existences.

    In outer space, the large space-devouring beast without a fixed form drifted in the darkness, searching for new food.

    Suddenly, its body twisted violently and began to collapse gradually, exposing Navy Li¡¯l Fatty inside.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°The large space-devouring beast is dead. We¡¯ve succeeded.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming let out a sigh of relief as well. They had finally gotten away with their lives intact again, and they had something they could rely on for the next part of their journey. With a space-devouring beast as a mount, they basically did not have to worry about any dangers at all.

    All Li Qingshan saw was the remains of the large space-devouring beast drifting through space. He rubbed his chin. ¡°If we just wait here, do you think we can lure even more space-devouring beasts over?¡±

    That was basically a deal with all upsides and no downsides. The larger the small world became, the more abundant and purer the spiritual Qi he obtained would be. Navy Li¡¯l Fatty would grow stronger too. Perhaps it could just venture to the Demon domain in the future and swallow Qiongqi in a single gulp. That way, he would not have to worry about some promise of five hundred years anymore.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered. ¡°That¡¯s not something for you to decide.¡±

    As they spoke, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty had already begun stuffing his face, ignoring Li Qingshan no matter how he tried to stop it. It wolfed away at the large space-devouring beast¡¯s collapsed corpse. When the large space-devouring beast had been destroyed, it stopped treating it as a being of the same kind.

    With his identity as the god of the world, Li Qingshan could make the space-devouring beast overcome its instincts and attack its own kind, but he could not control the space-devouring beast¡¯s instincts to devour everything. After all, it was not that obedient of a pet.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°You just can¡¯t stop glutton. We don¡¯t have the time anyway. If we stay any longer, Xiao An is going to start panicking. Alright, let¡¯s return to our original route first!¡±

    Using the stars around him, he calculated his position. In order to maintain the balance of the five powers, he was forced to suppress his own powers, leading to an overall decline in strength. Only his deductive powers had grown stronger, which was a nice surprise.

    A while later, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Start teleporting, Li¡¯l Fatty!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty appeared a million kilometres away, returning to the position where they had been swallowed by the large space-devouring beast.

 Chapter 1247

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1247 ¨C The Heart of the Demonic and Divine, the Stone Heart Empress

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°That sure is convenient. It¡¯ll save me some work.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Space-devouring beasts are born and raised in space. Even if the kunpeng has the ability to cross through outer space, it can¡¯t compare to something that lives in outer space.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°We¡¯ll be able to go home very soon, the two of you.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered. ¡°Home?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Oh, home!¡±

    ¡°Even a bird needs a sky. I admit the nine provinces are a little small, but it¡¯s still better than here.¡±

    Gu Yanying tilted her head and thought about it. ¡°Somewhat reasonable.¡±

    Li Qingshan pressed down on R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s shoulder. ¡°And you. Hopefully, you can go ¡®home¡¯ sooner and take back everything that belongs to you!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming furrowed his brows before smiling. ¡°That¡¯s right! Don¡¯t forget to lend me a hand when that time comes.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but you might have to help me fight a battle first.¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand over.

    Many years ago, inside the Asura Field, Li Qingshan had once mentioned a similar request, for a similar enemy, the Hungry Ghost realm!

    But this time, R¨¡hu Xiaoming agreed happily. ¡°No problem.¡± He also extended his hand.

    The two hands, one large and one small, gripped each other firmly. With an oath between men, they now shared common enemies.

    Gu Yanying suddenly had a feeling that perhaps one another was the greatest thing they had gotten out of this. It was also something she had gotten out of this. Finding people of the same path who could support one another through various reasons was a great joy of life.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you¡¯re just too useless right now.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said furiously, ¡°Say that again!¡± However, he felt spiritual qi surge out from the hand, which surprised him.

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°The small world has grown larger, so it¡¯s more abundant with spiritual qi. Apart from calculating the path, I don¡¯t need so much spiritual qi for now, so from now onwards, I¡¯ll give it my all to increase your cultivations. What do you think?¡±

    Gu Yanying said nothing. She directly extended her hand, except her slender hand gave off the same feeling of power and sharpness as a hawk¡¯s claw.

    Li Qingshan held her hand gently. Their gazes met. The tiger eyes were like fire, while the hawk eyes were like lightning. They were locked in a stare down.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming rolled his eyes and just closed them.

    Gu Yanying looked down and began refining the spiritual qi.

    Li Qingshan smiled victoriously and began focusing on calculating the upcoming journey. He did not only use the spirit turtle¡¯s power anymore. Instead, he used the new world within his body. That was the true secret to why his abilities to calculate and deduce had increased.

    Because it had originated from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, Li Qinsghan called it the Heart of the Demonic and Divine.

    ¡­¡­

    In the small world, the sun shone brilliantly. The sky was clear with white clouds as seagulls cried out. Everything was peaceful. Even the ocean had recovered its peace.

    The long, twisted coastline was littered with miscellaneous items washed up from the ocean. Wu Tieshan carried the heavy statue on his shoulders as he trudged out of the water, collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. However, he forced himself back on his feet again, gazing out into the distance.

    ¡°Where is this? I don¡¯t recall such a large island in this region of ocean, and it¡¯s so barren.¡±

    The female statue¡¯s enchanting voice rang out in his head, ¡°This is not an island, but a continent.¡±

    Wu Tieshan had already grown accustomed to all the bizarre events on the ocean, so a statue that could talk did not seem too surprising to him.

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The world only has one continent¡­ hold on, since there can be new islands, why can¡¯t there be a new continent¡­¡±

    At this moment, grass and plants began to sprout on the barren ground, growing at a visible pace.

    The female statue fell silent as well. She had been born towards the end, where spiritual qi became thin. This was an aura she had never experienced before. The spiritual qi perhaps could not be regarded as pure to her, but it was filled with vitality and liveliness, like a newly-born infant, filled with endless possibilities.

    On the vast ocean, a new continent took shape, more than ten times larger than the original continent. It rapidly gained a new layer of green.

    ¡°Sigh, the islands have already filled the ocean with bloodshed. Now, there¡¯s a new continent as well, it¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s just fantastic! Long live the hero king!¡±

    The female statue asked, ¡°Who is the hero king that you speak of?¡±

    ¡°The greatest person in history!¡±

    The female statue fell silent. That must have been a powerful aborigine of this small world, so just how great could he actually be?

    ¡°Yet, it was me, this aborigine, that saved you!¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± the female statue asked. She never thought there would actually be someone who could directly read her thoughts.

    ¡°I am Li Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan had originally been observing the changes to the small world. The blooming life on the new continent had given him a new comprehension again. Among the three shadowy figures left in his sea of consciousness, another suddenly began to stand out gradually.

    He immediately held his breath, waiting for the new transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine.

    However, perhaps because his comprehension was still insufficient, the shadowy figure did not end up appearing, but Li Qingshan was not disappointed, as he could sense that the seed had already been planted. It was only a matter of time before it sprouted.

    He had a Heart of the Demonic and Divine to temper and grow right now, so he was not in a hurry to learn the new transformation.

    Wu Tieshan and this female statue were the first visitors to the new continent, as well as existences that he had paid attention to before, so he glanced over and heard the woman¡¯s thoughts.

    The female statue said, ¡°So you¡¯ve become the god of this world, but even a god should not possess such power.¡±

    ¡°Obviously not for regular gods.¡±

    ¡°Fellow, please help me break free from this state.¡±

    ¡°And what do I get in return? Until now, you haven¡¯t even uttered a word of thanks.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I will definitely pay you back. You know I¡¯m not lying to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but admire the woman¡¯s temperament slightly. Without any privacy, all people would become flustered or even angered and resentful. However, she instead used this to increase her persuasiveness.

    ¡°But people change.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the mighty hero king, the god of the world, and you¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll go back on my word?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I was an aborigine just then! Would you mind if I learn about you a little more? Mainly about the world you came from.¡±

    The woman hesitated momentarily. ¡°Feel free.¡± After surviving those impossible odds somehow, all she wanted to do right now was start over. She merely brushed this off as the curiosity of someone beneath her.

    Li Qingshan had been struggling to survive the entire time before, so he had no time to pay any attention to the islands created from the world fragments. Now, his mind swept across the island and ventured deep within the woman¡¯s sea of consciousness. The information he gathered from both sources appeared in his head.

    That was a world that was even a level higher than the nine provinces. Cultivators needed to undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation before they could ascend. However, towards the end of the world, spiritual qi became exhausted and even cultivators that could undergo the second or third heavenly tribulation became very rare, let alone the fifth heavenly tribulation. However, the woman had managed to undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, such that she was known as the Stone Heart Empress. Whether it was her talent and bloodline or her disposition and talent for comprehension, she was the cream of the crop.

    If it were not for the fact that the world¡¯s connection with the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra had been completely severed as it declined, she even would have had the opportunity to ascend and become the Stone Heart Sovereign. In the end, her luck could only be regarded as terrible.

    But looking at it now, even her fortunes were the best of the best, which was why she could survive such a desperate situation in such an unbelievable manner.

    She was the only survivor of that world. The world was in decline, but its cultivation community was extremely well-developed, far surpassing the nine provinces in terms of both quality and quantity. It was a treasure trove of knowledge.

    Originally, he had just been sifting through garbage, but he never expected to find a treasure.

 Chapter 1248

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1248 ¨C New Cultivation Method, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction

    Li Qingshan happened to be thinking about changing his human cultivation method.

    The Battle Demon Statuary originated from the Demon domain. It could be cultivated to a very high realm, but the version he had obtained was modified and incomplete, so he could reach the fourth heavenly tribulation at most.

    It was completely impossible for him to venture deep into the Demon domain and ask the Battle Demon clan for the complete cultivation method. By the time he could ignore the threat from the twelve Demon Gods, venturing deep into the Demon domain to face Qiongqi, what would he still use the Battle Demon Statuary for? For wiping his ass?

    In terms of practicality, the Possession of the Battle Demon was a very nice move, but after he condensed the Heart of the Demonic and Divine, the demonic and divine within him had been balanced, and the five transformations had become one. The additional ¡°battle demon¡± would bring more harm than good.

    Even in battles in the future, he would probably have to base everything around the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and use his human cultivation method as a supplementary resource.

    As a result, he opened his mind and searched through the islands. Sure enough, he had found many jade slips, but they had all run out of spiritual qi. Even if they would gradually recover as spiritual qi seeped in, the information they contained would no longer exist anymore.

    He did find some cultivation methods carved into cliffs and rocks, but all of them were incomplete and were not of a high standard either. They were not even as great as the Battle Demon Statuary.

    That did make sense. Any cultivation method that was up to scratch would contain a tremendous amount of information, enough to fill over a hundred books. As for the cultivation methods he wanted, if it were all recorded down as words, even engraving an entire mountain would not be enough, so it would all depend on this Stone Heart Empress now.

    ¡°Fellow Stone, I can help you recover, but I¡¯d advise you to retain your current form for now! You¡¯ve already undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. You¡¯ve lost all of your cultivation, but you don¡¯t belong to this world after all.¡±

    ¡°Fellow, as the god of the world, you can¡¯t even resolve such a simple issue? If you have any requests, feel free to mention them. I¡¯ll definitely fulfill them to the best of my ability.¡±

    ¡°I do have a request, but I don¡¯t think it can be fulfilled that easily. I need a cultivation method to replace my current one. The one I practise right now is called the Demon Suppression Statuary, derived from the Battle Demon Statuary of the Battle Demon clan from the Demon domain. I twisted it and used it to deduce the Battle Demon Statuary and even used it to condense a demon heart, so I¡¯m basically no different from demonfolk in terms of cultivation now. I want to return to the path of regular human cultivators again, so do you have any ideas for that?¡±

    Even Li Qingshan felt a little awkward. The creator of the cultivation method had gone from the demonic to buddhism after so much difficulty, yet he just had to undo everything he did and go back to the demonic. Once a demon heart had been condensed, converting it back was anything but easy, so he did not hold too many hopes.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already become the god of the world. From now onwards, you coexist with the world, so why would you still need a cultivation method?¡±

    ¡°It was just my clone that became the god.¡±

    ¡°To think that¡¯s actually possible. You definitely aren¡¯t from this world.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. In short, I saved your life in outer space.¡±

    ¡°You can even roam through outer space!?¡±

    The Stone Heart Empress dared not view Li Qingshan as an aborigine of the small world anymore. If she possessed that kind of power, she definitely would not have turned into stone out of despair when the world was destroyed. However, as an existence that could wander through outer space, how was his cultivation so low? This Li Qingshan seemed to be hiding an endless amount of secrets.

    ¡°Thank you again for saving my life. I can provide you with a cultivation method, and it¡¯s one of the greatest cultivation methods from my world.¡±

    ¡°Oh, what is it?¡±

    ¡°The Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity.¡±

    ¡°Sounds nice. Let¡¯s hear more about it.¡±

    ¡°The greatest sect from our world was called the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple, and the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity was the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple¡¯s greatest teaching. It can be practised to an extremely high cultivation. Not only can it let the cultivator undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation, but it can also reach the peak of the fifth heavenly tribulation, the limits of Human Sovereign, which is why it¡¯s called the ¡®Sovereign¡¯s Limit¡¯.¡±

    The greatest cultivation methods of a world would normally surpass the limits of the world, as it was possible for people that had ascended to connect with their original world and pass down some stronger cultivation methods. On top of that, through the long river of time, various coincidences and fortuitous encounters would occur, such as something like a Reincarnated Celestial.

    Li Qingshan could recall that the ¡°Three Graves¡± in the Great Xia empire¡¯s Three Graves, Five Classics, Eight Chains, and Nine Mounds corresponded to this level of cultivation method. Perhaps it was slightly worse, but it would not be too different for cultivation methods of the same realm. After all, the world that the Stone Heart Empress originated from had developed for all those years, and they were a realm higher than the nine provinces, so how could it be of the same standard?

    ¡°Do you have anything better? Such as cultivation methods that reach the sixth heavenly tribulation?¡±

    The Stone Heart Empress said, ¡°Don¡¯t be greedy, fellow. You condense a Yin Soul after the fourth heavenly tribulation. Only after the fifth heavenly tribulation do you condense a Yang Soul. If you want to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation, you need to combine yin and yang and attain an Origin Soul, and then you are known as a Human Immortal. For people of buddhism, that would be attaining the fruit of An¨¡g¨¡mi, only a single realm away from the fruit of Arhat. By then, they would have completely shed their mortality, no longer reborn in the greater Desire realm upon death. Such a cultivation is well beyond what the likes of me understands.¡±

    Li Qingshan remembered that the fruit of An¨¡g¨¡mi was the third fruit of the four fruits of Arhatship. Undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation was known as an arhat of the first fruit, which was also known as the fruit of Srot¨¡panna. The meaning of Srot¨¡panna was ¡°entering the ranks¡±.

    If he used the schools from his previous life as a comparison, Qi Practitioner were ¡°kindergarteners¡±, while the next three realms were primary school students, middle school students, and high school students respectively. Only at the fourth heavenly tribulation could they be considered as ¡°university students¡±, now with a clear objective and direction. The various forms of cultivation that came before that could be described as preparation for that step.

    After that, the second fruit was known as the fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi, which was a step further. That could be regarded as ¡°graduate students¡±. If they attained the third fruit, the fruit of An¨¡g¨¡mi, then that would be impressive. No matter where these ¡°doctoral students¡± went, they would be viewed as eminent monks, much higher than ¡°graduate students¡±.

    However, once they reached that stage, they had basically reached the end of their path of learning. If they wanted to make further progress and join ¡°academia¡±, then they had to undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation and attain the true fruit of Arhat, which was becoming a true arhat. That was equivalent to the Dragon Subduing Arhat and the Tiger Taming Arhat that regular people knew.

    They would enjoy eternal glory, gaining the recognition of buddhism and getting added to the ranks of their sages, standing divine, liberated from life and death, unbound by the cycle of suffering.

    The Human Immortal for those not part of buddhism was equivalent to the third fruit of buddhism. They would reach a new limit on their path of cultivation, finally obtaining the right to be known as an immortal. However, if they wanted to remove the ¡°human¡± from their name, they needed to go higher.

    Any higher and they would stand among the ranks of immortals, shining with the moon and sun, coexisting with the world.

    The difference between immortals and mortals was like an uncrossable chasm. By the sixth heavenly tribulation, they had not transformed into a butterfly yet, but they had already entered the cocoon. The regular cultivation methods would be isolated outside the cocoon, not something that cultivators could view. Even if they saw one, they would not be able to understand it.

    Li Qingshan possessed the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, so he did not actually have to worry about this. Once he gave the twelve Demon Gods a thrashing in the Demon domain and beat up Xiaoming¡¯s mum, was he still supposed to worry that he did not have a suitable human cultivation method?

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve been thinking too much. But the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity sounds like an orthodox cultivation method of daoism. Can it convert demon hearts?¡±

    ¡°It couldn¡¯t originally, but the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple went from daoism to the demonic afterwards, turning it into the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction in pursuit of extreme destructive power. You can start with that cultivation method first before going from the demonic to daoism.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. She truly was a figure that stood at the very apex of the world. Originally, he thought this would be very troublesome, but it was actually so easy to resolve when it came to her. This was probably also because that world¡¯s cultivation community had been extremely well-developed.

    Then he became rather curious. ¡®Since the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple was already the greatest sect in the world, why did they go from daoism to the demonic? Don¡¯t tell me they still wanted to unify the world under them? And how did these cultivation methods end up in your hands?¡±

    ¡°If only unifying the world was all that the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple wanted. Because of insufficient spiritual qi of the world, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple worked with nine great sects to destroy all other sects and independent cultivators. Their alliance then fractured, leading to an array of different alliances, rivalries, and chaos for many years. They wanted to make the Asura realm descend, but the Asura realm never descended. Afterwards, five of the great sects worked together to destroy the Sovereign¡¯s Limit temple, which allowed this cultivation method to spread. From that moment onwards, everyone understood that our world had been completely severed from the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra already, so even gathering spiritual qi became pointless. By then, cultivation methods had become worthless, so even mortals could come into contact with most of them. If you want them, I have a few more cultivation methods of equal strength that I can teach you.¡±

    When she reached there, even the Stone Heart Empress¡¯s mind trembled despite remaining very calm and composed the entire time.

    Engulfed by the shadow of the end of the world, the war lasted over an entire millennia. Most cultivators in the world fell in battle, and ninety percent of mortals had been eradicated too. That was indescribably brutal. Everyone was filled with despair until the world collapsed and was destroyed.

    It was exactly because of this that she was filled with such a strong desire to survive, not just to live, but to achieve longevity too!

 Chapter 1249

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1249 ¨C Final Stop, the Nine Provinces

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then please pass the two cultivation methods to me, fellow!¡±

    The complete cultivation method of the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity appeared in the Stone Heart Empress¡¯s mind. Li Qingshan browsed through it quickly and discovered it was truly extremely profound. It both possessed the wonders of humanistic pragmatism and the spirit to embrace the world, to hold the world within one¡¯s palm. It was much better than the Battle Demon Statuary right now, except he had no idea how to go from the demonic to daoism.

    The Stone Heart Empress just remained there silently. Li Qingshan understood what she wanted and smiled.

    Wu Tieshan was scavenging the beach for anything useful. He planned on catching some fish to eat when a figure suddenly appeared on the beach, making his way towards his treasured statue.

    ¡°Who are you!?¡±

    Wu Tieshan immediately tensed up, gripping his sword firmly like a leopard about to pounce. He gazed at the person with hostility. However, the person¡¯s appearance seemed so familiar for some reason, which made his jaw suddenly drop. ¡°H- h- hero king!¡±

    He had only ever seen this man once in his life, and he had done so on his father Wu Huan¡¯s shoulders, but it was a memory that he could never forget about.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Tiedan, long time no see. Your mother is quite nice, but I really am not your father.¡±

    Wu Tieshan trembled in excitement. ¡°You¡¯re really¡­ You didn¡¯t leave?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never left.¡±

    Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulders and made his way over to the statue, tapping it gently with his index finger. The spiritual qi of the world was drawn over, surging towards her along the finger and making her erupt with blinding light.

    The greyness of the stone gradually receded, revealing the fair skin underneath. The tough rock then turned into gentle clothes, dancing in the sea breeze.

    The Stone Heart Empress blinked her eyes. They were dark and bright, except her gaze was as unyielding as rock. She said forcefully, ¡°Thank you, fellow.¡± Afterwards, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction appeared in her mind.

    Li Qingshan could tell with a single glance of the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction that the Stone Heart Empress had not been lying to him. The cultivation method was filled with the resolve to destroy everything, a demonic art through and through. It could convert his demon heart and replace the Battle Demon Statuary.

    When he compared the two versions, he found it to be even more wondrous.

    He stared into the Stone Heart Empress¡¯s eyes and said with sincerity, ¡°May you have fun in my world.¡±

    At that instant, the laws of the world pulsed around the Stone Heart Empress. As the god of the world, Li Qingshan had given her a blessing, so she no longer faced the rejection of the will of the heavens. She could move through the world freely.

    The Stone Heart Empress eased up. She spoke with a bit more sincerity too, ¡°Thank you! The hero king truly lives up to his name!¡¯

    Her heart was firm like stone, but she was completely at his whim. He practised the cultivation method of demonfolk, so his disposition was questionable. It really would be difficult to tell what would happen to her. Only then did she confirm that he held good will towards her. There was very little good will like this in a world that was about to end.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Let¡¯s meet again if fate allows it.¡±

    This was his good fortune too. Perhaps she could become a powerful assistant for him in the future, but he soon remembered she was far too weak right now. She had his blessing, but it was difficult to say absolutely nothing would happen to her. He could not constantly watch over her either, so he said, ¡°Let me find you a protector! Tiedan, get over here!¡±

    Wu Tieshan was already dumbfounded when he saw the statue turn into a woman and talk with the hero king as an equal. Now that Li Qingshan was calling for him, he cupped his hands in a hurry. ¡°What are your orders, hero king?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You owe me a life.¡±

    Wu Tieshan recalled what had happened on the ship and smiled as well. ¡°Anything you want, whether it¡¯s through fire or water!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Protect her in my place for some time. It shouldn¡¯t be too long.¡±

    Wu Tieshan glanced at the Stone Heart Empress. When he met her determined and cold eyes, he shivered inside, no longer able to pay any attention to her alluring beauty. He lowered his head in a hurry. For some reason, he found her to be more feminine when she was a statue.

    ¡°I definitely won¡¯t disappoint you!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction. He raised his hand and pressed down on his forehead before vanishing from the world.

    Wu Tieshan felt like he had fallen into the stormy seas again, leaving his head spinning for quite a while. He discovered that a cultivation method called the Arts of the Boundless Ocean had appeared in his sea of consciousness.

    Looking into it a bit, he immediately cheered, ¡°Long live the hero king!¡® The cultivation method was basically a perfect fit for him and a perfect fit for the current situation. It could actually allow him to undergo the second heavenly tribulation. Just how great of a cultivation was that?

    He turned towards the Stone Heart Empress. As someone who could stand on equal footing with the hero king, her identity must have been something else. He cleared his throat. ¡°If you have any orders, senior, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°You can cultivate for now! I will call you when I need you.¡±

    The Stone Heart Empress found a rock and sat down with her legs crossed, absorbing the spiritual qi.

    A very large portion of her world had been digested by the small world. As its only survivor, she did not face the rejection of spiritual qi, so it was only a matter of time before her cultivation recovered.

    However, once her cultivation reached the limits of what this world could contain, she could neither ascend nor traverse through space, so she would still be trapped here. By then, she would still have to ask Li Qingshan for help. That was the awkwardness that came with losing her world.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s attention returned to outer space. Navy Li¡¯l Fatty carried out the third teleportation, crossing ten million kilometres with ease.

    Outer space flickered with lightning as R¨¡hu Xiaoming faced the second heavenly tribulation. Ever since he received the endless supply of spiritual qi, this child of an asura god had been making progress at a tremendous pace, not just because of his bloodline, but also because he had taken this path once before. He was like a doctoral student in high school. It could not get any easier than that.

    He could not help but think of the Reincarnated Celestial, Chu Tian. After inheriting his past memories and becoming Lin Xuan, he probably grew rapidly too! However, he was probably also constrained by the quality of spiritual qi.

    A while later, R¨¡hu Xiaoming returned. He was so relaxed and leisurely that he seemed like he had just returned from a holiday. He became much older again, now a handsome young man around thirteen or fourteen years old. His strength was already on par with regular great cultivators. When they actually became locked in battle, the one dying definitely would not be him.

    However, his demand for the quality and quantity of spiritual qi also surpassed regular cultivators. ¡°The quality of spiritual qi from the small world is still too low, with far too many impurities. You don¡¯t need to provide me with any more in the future. I¡¯ll undergo the third heavenly tribulation once I return to your nine provinces!¡±

    Li Qingshan agreed with that. Cultivators had to ascend to higher and larger worlds so that they could obtain a more appropriate environment for cultivation.

    ¡°Oh right, I just obtained two cultivation methods. Take a look and give you your appraisal.¡±

    ¡°Ah, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity and the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction does bear some resemblance to great lord Mahe?vara¡¯s path, except it¡¯s nowhere close in terms of quality. Great lord Mahe?vara grasps destruction and prosperity with his two hands. Compared to that, these two cultivation methods seem a little half-assed¡­¡±

    ¡°But from the perspective of mortals, it¡¯s quite impressive. It reaches the apex of mortals. For once, it contains a sliver of the will of great destruction. It would be very difficult to comprehend so far unless you experienced the destruction of a world¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan listened carefully and benefited tremendously. The knowledge of gods truly was extraordinary. Most importantly, it came from a certain height.

    At this moment, Gu Yanying stopped cultivating too, also saying that the spiritual qi of the small world was no longer of much help to her anymore. It was enough to maintain her current cultivation, but she would struggle to make any progress with it.

    Li Qingshan clapped his hands. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll stop here with cultivation. Let¡¯s set off immediately! Final stop, the nine provinces!¡±

    Navy Li¡¯l Fatty swung his tail, producing a cascading wave of ripples as it slid several tens of thousand kilometres ahead before suddenly vanishing into space.

 Chapter 1250

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1250 ¨C Home

    The grey haze passed through the sea of trees, making all the leaves wilt. With a gust of wind, they danced through the air like snow, displaying their final resplendence.

    The gaping mouth of the hungry ghost devoured the nine provinces impatiently. The mushroom cloud that filled the sky had not dispersed yet. The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s orders continued to echo through the surroundings, ¡°We have to find her¡­ find her¡­¡±

    Beneath the thick earth, she trudged through the criss-crossing underground maze with difficulty. One of her eyes was deep and clear, while the other eye socket burned with flames. Half of her flesh and blood was present, like a palace column that had been stripped of its crimson red paint, exposing the jarring white bones covered in cracks.

    A strange voice rang out, ¡°Give up. You won¡¯t be able to survive this, my dear master.¡±

    The voice tempted patiently, but it was filled with a twisted malice. The Immortal Relinquished sword was not loyal to any of its masters.

    She ignored it, continuing onwards and trying her best to avoid leaving behind any traces.

    ¡°Even if you possess no aura, hiding beneath the ground, you have over twenty bald asses going after you. That¡¯s enough to flip every stone in this region. With the shape you are in right now, how are you going to escape?¡±

    Rumble!

    The shockwaves from the explosion reached underground, producing countless earthquakes of different sizes. Perhaps it would take several years before the activity completely died down.

    The caves shook as rocks fell like rain, ready to collapse at any moment. Magma oozed out from the cracks. The entire world seemed to be shaking.

    ¡°Even if you can escape, Li Qingshan won¡¯t return!¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Flames flashed through her eye sockets, and the Skull Prayer Beads wrapped around the Immortal Relinquished sword firmly, slamming into it loudly.

    ¡°If you do that, you¡¯ll definitely draw over those bald asses.¡±

    The Immortal Relinquished sword thrummed gently, but it was unable to break free from the claws and teeth of the Skeleton Demon. After all, she served as his reservoir of power, and he had also sustained damage from the intense battle earlier.

    She drew the tattered Blood Sea Banner and wrapped it around the Immortal Relinquished sword. She said calmly, ¡°If you come out, you die.¡±

    Afterwards, the flames in her eye sockets faded away. She fell forwards, falling unconscious.

    The Skeleton Demons clustered around her and let out strange cackling calls, but they were unable to awaken her. Her wounds were far too severe.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword fell into the sea of blood. It erupted with light and trembled violently. It knew she had never been in a state more feeble than right now. It was the perfect opportunity for it to devour her.

    The Monk Kings all ventured underground, establishing a great formation that spanned several hundred kilometres around the religious preceptor of the left like a great net.

    Every single Monk King stood at a juncture point, glowing with waves of buddhist light without sparing even a single inch of earth. They rapidly swept towards her.

    The Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings drew closer too. Every single one of them was filled with greed, wanting to use her life to exchange for the blessings of the Hungry Ghost realm. Sovereign Li had committed a great mistake, so he dared not stop them anymore either.

    This was a hunt. There was quite a bit of risk involved, but the greed allowed them to forget about everything.

    For a moment, she faced problems both near her and around her, yet she had lost all power to resist. All that remained was a firm will.

    The Skeleton Demons stopped cackling about, lifting up her damaged body and rushing off towards the west. They had to leave the mouth of the hungry ghost before the Monk Kings had tightened the net around them.

    Within the sea of blood, the thrumming stopped. The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished chose to give up.

    ¡°If I go out and devour her right now, I¡¯ll just become easy pickings and end up in the hands of the bald asses. That¡¯ll just be foolish.¡±

    He refused to admit that he deeply feared her.

    She had always been a ¡°monster¡± that could bring fear to the living and the dead, as well as all existences that possessed self-consciousness. That was why they were in such a hurry to destroy her.

    A while later, the Monk Kings returned above ground, gathering by the religious preceptor of the left¡¯s side.

    ¡°Religious preceptor, the buddha nemesis has probably left the region already. The buddha nemesis is skilled at masking her aura, so she¡¯s almost impossible to find. Should we ask the Bureau of Astronomy for help?¡±

    The Bureau of Astronomy was skilled at peering into the heavenly secrets and observing fate. Their supervisor happened to be the leading figure of the school of Yin-yang.

    ¡°The buddha nemesis is a monster that¡¯s neither living nor dead. Trying to capture her through the heavenly secrets might not be that easy!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t we try? It¡¯s better than letting her escape.¡±

    The Monk Kings discussed while the religious preceptor of the left listened quietly. He suddenly asked, ¡°Dauntless, do you have any clues?¡±

    The Dauntless monk was stern, having remained silent the entire time. He brought his palms together in response and bowed. ¡°Religious preceptor, I do not.¡±

    She was the buddha nemesis, but her ties and debts with the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could not be explained so easily. He was currently thinking about how to save the Unraging monk, and he truly did not have any ideas. However, if he did know something, he definitely would not hide it either.

    The religious preceptor of the left frowned. The Bureau of Astronomy was currently dealing with something big. They could not divert the manpower to help him find someone. That matter was so significant that even the invasion from the Hungry Ghost realm came after it in terms of importance, let alone a measly buddha nemesis.

    As a result, he led the Monk Kings to expand their search area, moving off in all directions and expanding their search radius to fifty kilometres across, but they still found nothing.

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°The buddha nemesis is heavily injured, so she must be in search of a place to recover. Who does she trust most?¡±

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°It¡¯s Li Qingshan. It¡¯s probably only Li Qingshan as well.¡±

    ¡°So that wretched daemon who dueled against crown prince Si Qing, Unraging¡¯s fantastic disciple. Where is this wretched daemon right now?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Ever since his battle with the Featherfolk King Bai Chen, he has vanished. Perhaps he¡¯s no longer in this world anymore.¡±

    ¡°I recall that the wretched daemon and the buddha nemesis have a dwelling in the Chain mountains of the Ruyi commandery in the Green province,¡± the religious preceptor of the left said in thought. In order to capture and kill the buddha nemesis, he had made ample preparations.

    ¡°But that¡¯s just a small mountain. The spiritual qi there is sparse, and it was abandoned a long time ago. It doesn¡¯t offer any defences at all.¡±

    The Dauntless monk understood the Green province¡¯s geography. Let alone a small mountain, even the entire Chain mountains were not some good place for cultivation. In the past, the renowned mountains had all been occupied by sects of various sizes, which was why cultivators would establish dwellings there. Now, the Green province had faced numerous disasters, and many locations had been freed up. Cultivators had stopped going there a long time ago.

    And she was not a fool. Instead, she was the cultivator with the greatest talent for comprehension he had seen in his life. Why would she hide in such an obvious place?

    It was exactly because the religious preceptor was aware of this that he did not rush off to the Chain mountains immediately. The other Monk Kings also found this to be unlikely.

    ¡°Perhaps the Great Banyan Tree King is sheltering her.¡± ¡°Clouded city is possible too.¡± ¡°She might still be deep underground, hiding in the magma. The interference from the underground magnetic field is too strong, so we can¡¯t find her.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°No one can permit the existence of the buddha nemesis. She won¡¯t trust these people, and it¡¯s even more impossible for her to hide deep underground in her current state.¡± He made up his mind. ¡°We¡¯re going to the Chain mountains!¡±

    Home¡ªnow that was definitely the place where a person felt the safest. After enduring all the pain from the outside world, it was the only place where they could find comfort.

    Within the rising and falling Chain mountains, the small, lonely mountain seemed so ordinary.

    However, the three words engraved in rock, ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home¡±, contained unforgettable memories. This was their home.

 Chapter 1251

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1251 ¨C Snake

    Outside the commandery city of Ruyi, in the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard.

    The hawk spread its wings on the white clothes, with a silver hawk tablet hanging from the waist. This had once been the attire that Gu Yanying wore all the time. It was also the uniform of one of the three major pillars of the Ruyi commandery, the White Hawk commander.

    Gu Yanying had already left this place a very long time ago, while the princess, Si Bao, had been summoned back by the imperial court.

    The person currently holding the position was still a woman, Gu Yanying¡¯s only disciple, the past White Wolf commander and the current White Hawk commander, Qian Rongzhi.

    She stood with her hands behind her back, possessing a slight resemblance to Gu Yanying¡¯s past bearing, but the rigid and forbidding aura she gave off had far surpassed Gu Yanying¡¯s. With her cultivation of the Illustrations of Naraka, the Venomous Snake hell gradually merged with her body, instead making her seem more like a disciple of the school of Legalism.

    All of the White Wolf guards would be particularly careful in front of her, even when her behaviour seemed much more generous than Gu Yanying¡¯s.

    She waited at the transmission formation quietly for news from the south.

    A gorgeous little snake emerged from her collar, slithering along her cheek and flickering its tongue. However, more followed¡ªa second one, a third one¡­ In the blink of an eye, her face that could be regarded as beautiful was covered in snakes that all entwined together. She became particularly frightening to behold.

    In the darkness, the rising and falling hisses were enough to make people shiver.

    Her neck bulged with veins. The tortures of hell were anything but ordinary, but she did not budge. Only a pair of eyes were still exposed on her face, also having become the eyes of snakes, shining away dimly. They were even colder and more vicious than the snakes from hell.

    The door to the transmission room suddenly opened up, and a streak of sunlight poured in, making her hawk tablet glimmer with silver light. She furrowed her eyebrows. Without her orders, no one could come and disturb her apart from one person.

    A handsome man leaned against the door frame. His smile was even brighter than the sunlight. ¡°Rongzhi, have you received any news yet?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi turned towards him, facing Lin Xuan with her terrifying face. ¡°Commander, Lin, please call me commander in the Hawkwolf Guard.¡±

    Anyone who saw a face like that suddenly would leap in fright, but Lin Xuan¡¯s smile remained. As a matter of fact, it even became a little softer and more sympathetic. ¡°Commander, aren¡¯t you working a little too hard with cultivation?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stared at him with her snake eyes as if she was trying to read his true intentions.

    ¡°But why are you so concerned about this fellow Xiao An?¡± Lin Xuan asked curiously.

    Over the years, she had always used the various channels available to her to keep an eye on any information regarding the buddha nemesis, but they had never made any contact.

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you.¡±

    At this moment, the transmission formation lit up slightly. Qian Rongzhi looked over and accepted the news quietly: the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s attack on the ghost tower had failed, the Gate of Hungry Ghosts had widened further, and the Dark Queen had been captured.

    Her face suddenly changed. The religious preceptor of the left led many Monk Kings in a successful ambush against the buddha nemesis. The buddha nemesis retreated with heavy wounds and was currently missing.

    After a moment of silence, she suddenly made her way towards the door. She brushed past Lin Xuan. ¡°Don¡¯t follow me.¡±

    Lin Xuan stopped as a result, watching her vanish into the horizon. His smile was still as bright as the sunlight, except it was filled with a sense of powerlessness.

    A few passing White Wolf guards teased him. ¡°Commander, aren¡¯t you going to follow after her?¡±

    He waved his hands. ¡°Go away, or I might just send you to the south to fight the Hungry Ghost realm.¡±

    The White Wolf guards left with a smile. They clearly did not hold much fear towards this friendly, sunny White Wolf commander.

    He made his way towards the transmission formation, and his gaze turned cold.

    This damned woman! It¡¯s been so many years, yet she¡¯s still wary of me. Don¡¯t tell me she knows that I¡¯m Chu Tian? No, that¡¯s impossible, or she would have turned against me a long time ago. If I can¡¯t get her with my ingenuity, then I have to use force, but her cultivation improves so quickly as well. She basically cultivates like there¡¯s no tomorrow. Coupled with the Heaven Climbing Vine, my Heaven Climbing Vine, it¡¯ll be very likely for her to undergo the third heavenly tribulation before me.

    Arriving before the transmission formation, he also accepted the news and thought, I¡¯ve never seen her with an expression like that. What exactly is her relationship with that buddha nemesis? Whatever, I need to take back the Heaven Climbing Vine as soon as possible. I don¡¯t have much time left. Even if I have to make a fool of myself a little, I¡¯ll have to do that.

    Qian Rongzhi travelled towards the northwestern direction first before turning southwards, turning into a snake-shaped streak of light and landing in the Chain mountains. She arrived right in front of the Qing Xiao dwelling.

    She thought to herself, Will she be here? Surely not! How can she be that foolish?

    Turning around, she passed through the formation in the figure of a snake and arrived at the entrance. A formation like this without anyone¡¯s active control had stopped being enough to stop her a long time ago. That only seemed to prove even more that the dwelling was empty. She had not noticed the presence of any aura either.

    She pushed through the stone door and entered the dwelling.

    The bottom of the hollowed mountain burned with a cluster of almost-transparent white flames like a blooming lotus.

    Xiao An laid quietly within the lotus flower. Her face was also so pale that it was almost transparent.

    All of the Skeleton Demons gathered around her, spitting out the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone to heal her.

    There was a pile of huge, vicious bones on the ground. Less than ten Skeleton Demons remained. After running out of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, they were all reduced to a pile of bones again.

    She¡¯s actually here! Qian Rongzhi widened her eyes. She felt some disbelief but also some joy. She seems to have lost consciousness. No wonder. Looks like these Skeleton Demons brought her here. Did they do that out of her instincts?

    At this moment, the Skeleton Demons all gazed towards Qian Rongzhi at the same time, immediately making her feel greatly threatened.

    The Skeleton Demons had become extremely feeble, but a measly Golden Core cultivator was still insufficient to be their opponent.

    Qian Rongzhi called out, ¡®Xiao An, wake up. It¡¯s too dangerous here! You can¡¯t stay here!¡±

    Xiao An seemed to be deeply asleep, giving no reply.

    Qian Rongzhi sucked in a deep breath and took a step forward. She descended slowly until she landed at the bottom of the dwelling.

    The heads of the Skeleton Demons moved with her. Their joints clacked against each other as they raised their huge bone claws.

    However, they did not launch an attack immediately, perhaps because they had not received any orders from Xiao An, or perhaps because they had not sensed any hostility.

    Qian Rongzhi moved through the piles of bones and approached the white lotus.

    The Skeleton Demons were like threatened beasts. They withdrew their Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, ready to face the enemy before them.

    Xiao An was placed gently on the stone platform, still unconscious.

    Qian Rongzhi stopped. She was blocked by the colossal bodies of the Skeleton Demons. Their jaws clashed together, producing a clacking sound. That was not a strange laughter but a final warning.

    She could clearly sense that if she took another step forward, these vicious Skeleton Demons would attack her immediately.

    She suddenly sneered. ¡°You¡¯ve been deceived!¡±

    A small, gorgeous snake made it over to the stone platform and bit down on Xiao An¡¯s slender wrist.

    The Skeleton Demons roared furiously. Their claws tore through the air, reaching towards her together. She just closed her eyes.

    Every single Skeleton Demon possessed the strength of a Daemon King. Now that they struck together, they were like a thousand bolts of lightning with nowhere to dodge.

    She thought calmly, I heard if you die in the white flames, even your soul will be incinerated, unable to undergo rebirth. But that¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s just end it here! She suddenly thought of Lin Xuan¡¯s smile again, It¡¯s been so many years. What exactly are you after?

 Chapter 1252

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1252 ¨C Why Cling to Home?

    Over twenty streaks of golden light sailed through the air, stopping above the Chain mountains.

    The religious preceptor of the left gazed down at the rising and falling mountains. His eyes narrowed as his gaze passed through the Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks, locking onto the three words ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home.¡±

    He asked, ¡°Dauntless, is this the buddha nemesis and the wretched daemon¡¯s dwelling?¡±

    The Dauntless monk said, ¡°Religious preceptor, I¡¯m not sure. It might be!¡±

    ¡°Fellows, please lend me a hand!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left raised the wooden fish mallet slowly, and the Monk Kings all brought their palms together, uttering the buddha¡¯s name.

    Tremendous amounts of golden light gathered on the religious preceptor of the left, condensing on the wooden fish mallet. It was even brighter than the sun.

    As buddhist cultivators, they came from different sects, but they were still closely-connected to one another. This alone ensured that their teamwork would be far greater than the same number of regular great cultivators working together. On top of that, they had a powerful cultivator that stood at the very peak of the world like the religious preceptor of the left. He was someone who could utilise this terrifying power with ease. Even if Xiao An were in her best condition, she would struggle to take this on openly, let alone the fact that she was heavily injured now.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡±

    Only when the religious preceptor of the left had gathered sufficient power did he strike down with his mallet.

    At that moment, it was like a sun had fallen into the mountains. Wherever the light reached, the mountain forest was set alight. It was a hundred times more powerful than his sneak attack on Xiao An.

    The Eight Gates Formation of Golden Locks were torn apart like a thin piece of paper. The sun fell on the mountains, and the words ¡°Qing Xiao¡¯s Home¡± melted away in the golden light.

    Boom!

    Golden light illuminated the world. Over a dozen mountains in the surroundings vapourised instantly as countless mountains collapsed. The entire Chain mountains were reduced to a mess, raging away with fire.

    The golden light dispersed, and the sky turned back to blue.

    Qing Xiao¡¯s dwelling had vanished from the world already, without a single trace left.

    Perhaps there had always been nothing in the world that could not be destroyed, whether it was a mountain or a memory. It would always gradually grow faint in the flow of time until it never seemed to exist in the first place.

    So why cling to home?

    ¡°Religious preceptor, the buddha nemesis doesn¡¯t seem to be here.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. In my opinion, no matter where the buddha nemesis has gone to heal herself, it wouldn¡¯t be here.¡±

    The Monk Kings discussed among themselves. They all revered the religious preceptor of the left, but they were still of the same cultivation. Buddhism also placed emphasis on equality, so it was not enough for them to stay quiet.

    The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s face was completely sunken. He had gone to such great lengths, yet he still found nothing, so he also felt a little embarrassed. Then he gazed at the burning Chain mountains. Countless birds and beasts had perished in the flames just like that. There even seemed to be a few households.

    He let out a great sigh. ¡°Sigh, so be it. The buddha nemesis is vicious and crafty. She truly is a mortal enemy of buddhism. We¡¯ve failed to kill her today, which will definitely lead to great suffering. We can only make another move another day. It¡¯s just a pity that all the living creatures in the mountain have met such a fate, dragged down by the buddha nemesis for nothing. Dauntless, you stay here and recite the Sutra of the Fundamental Vows of the Bodhisattva K?itigarbha, the K?itigarbha Bodhisattva P¨±rvapra?idh¨¡na S¨±tra, to expiate their souls!¡±

    ¡°Religious preceptor, my junior brother¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about your identity!¡± The religious preceptor of the left warned solemnly.

    The Dauntless monk knew the religious preceptor of the left was currently in a horrible mood. Mentioning the Unraging monk right now would only infuriate him. He did not have a temperament great enough to suck up to him either, and he was in an extremely bad mood too. As such, he simply stood to one side silently with a cold expression.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left snorted coldly and stormed off. The other Monk Kings followed close behind.

    He glanced back at the burning Chain mountains again. So much for being the abbot of the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, this Dauntless is so unaware of his status and the bigger picture. Sure enough, the school of chan is almost a school of heresy. However, we¡¯ve managed to deal a heavy blow to the buddha nemesis this time. She probably won¡¯t come out and make any more trouble. Once we complete that great deed, it¡¯s not like it¡¯ll be too late to deal with her then.

    The Dauntless monk gazed at the burning mountains with a frown. He did not recite any K?itigarbha Bodhisattva P¨±rvapra?idh¨¡na S¨±tra, directly returning to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    ¡­¡­

    A while ago.

    The sharp claws pierced Qian Rongzhi¡¯s cheeks, only to suddenly stop and slowly pull back.

    Qian Rongzhi opened her eyes. Through the cracks between the jagged, white bones, she saw Xiao An with her eyes open, looking at her with her clear eyes, which made her tremble inside. She smiled, but it also made her feel a little wry for some reason.

    ¡°Pain leaves people with clarity, right?¡±

    Xiao An raised her hand and gazed at the four tooth marks from the snakebite on her wrist. She nodded seriously.

    With a wave of her hand, the Skeleton Demons turned back into prayer beads and returned to her wrist, except they were very sparse now.

    With another wave of her hand, the huge, white bones on the ground turned back into Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, which she sucked into her body through her mouth.

    Inspecting her body internally, her white bones were covered in cracks. Her wounds could not recover that easily, but at the very least, it seemed much better on the surface.

    She reached into the Blood Sea Banner and grabbed the Immortal Relinquished sword by its hilt before grabbing Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hand and venturing deep underground.

    Rock and soil flashed past rapidly. Qian Rongzhi felt a multitude of emotions as she gazed at her back. She felt like something had filled her up inside, yet it was also empty.

    At this moment, a great rumble reached underground. The ground shook.

    Xiao An stopped and raised her head as if she saw the destruction of the Qing Xiao dwelling. She balled her fists.

    A while later, she lowered her head. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°Are¡­ your wounds fine?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi seemed to have lost her usual silken tongue. Sometimes, sincerity was even more difficult than lying.

    Xiao An shook her head gently and sat down on a rock. Her face was still devoid of any emotions, but she seemed both weary and lonely.

    Qian Rongzhi immediately became rather flustered, unsure about what to say. She gave it some thought and sat down on the ground beside her. Suddenly, she brought her hand before her, and a green vine sprouted from her palm. Its powerful tendrils reached deep into space, off to a place unknown.

    Xiao An¡¯s gaze was drawn away by the wondrous plant as well. She asked, ¡°Did you obtain this from Chu Tian?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°You still remember Chu Tian.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still alive. He¡¯s called Lin Xuan now.¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s calm voice was like a bolt from the blue to Qian Rongzhi. She murmured, ¡°I see, I see¡­ Why didn¡¯t you tell me before?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan didn¡¯t want me to.¡±

    Xiao An pursed her lips, displaying such a human expression for once.

    As a result, Qian Rongzhi was completely unable to blame her for hiding this from her in the past. ¡°Alright then. Why did you tell me now then?¡±

    She did not think she had a concept of gratitude. Even if she did, she probably would not betray Li Qingshan¡¯s wishes over something so small.

    ¡°I want to do some things that Qingshan doesn¡¯t want me to do.¡± Xiao An was rather gloomy. She looked at the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll forgive me.¡±

    ¡°This is all for him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Then he¡¯ll definitely forgive you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m going to go.¡± Xiao An sounded a little more grateful. ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°I want to stay here for a while longer.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Xiao An left, leaving Qian Rongzhi there alone, murmuring to herself, ¡°Chu Tian, Lin Xuan, Chu Tian, Lin Xuan¡­¡±

    The corner of her lips curled into a smile. The smile gradually grew wider as she let out a chuckle. Then it turned into shrill laughter, continuing until it turned into maniacal laughter.

    Snakes danced madly around her, savouring this pain to her heart¡¯s content as they swallowed her.

 Chapter 1253

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1253 ¨C Sparks of Fires

    Silver moonlight illuminated the golden fields of wheat. Fireflies flickered by the pond, reflecting in the black water like they shone with the stars.

    A white figure glided over the surface of the water swiftly as silent as a ghost. She did not even disturb the fireflies.

    She walked past the wheat fields at the height of summer. The smell of harvest filled the air. They did not understand the battles between cultivators. As long as they still managed to survive, the mortals would continue passing each day like normal, year after year.

    A pale, slender hand swept past the sharp awns of wheat. Her head had been raised the entire time as she stared straight at the sky with her clear eyes. It was like she was trying to count the stars, like she was searching for an answer.

    Swish!

    A cool summer breeze swept past, making the wheat bob in the air. Her long, seaweed-like hair scattered behind her.

    The sparks of fire, of stars, were in the distant horizon, giving no reply.

    As a result, she gazed towards the village in the distance. The golden awns of wheat pierced the tip of her finger, letting a single droplet of blood fall. It turned into a pale-white lotus of fire, landing within the fields and spreading silently.

    In the blink of an eye, the bobbing waves of wheat turned into a sea of fire.

    The fields had not just been set alight. They had only lost their colour, becoming pale-white, without any sense of vitality remaining, returning to absolute silence.

    The white flames surged over the pond, and the fireflies all dimmed as well, falling into the dark water and producing ripples.

    The great blaze began to burn, traversing over mountains and valleys, over great rivers and over villages, towns, and cities like the surging night wind.

    In a quiet little village, a sleeping child was experiencing a wonderful dream. He pursed his lips and rolled over. The white flames touched his forehead gently, and he became a part of the flames.

    In an ancient town, an old man approaching death endured the torturing of sickness, unable to fall asleep as his desire for a longer life grew. The pale-white flames were reflected in his turbid eyes, and the pain vanished very quickly, turning into gentle flames together with his life.

    In a sturdy city, the brothels and parlours operated into the night, blazing with lights. Wine cups were raised and emptied as music, drunken curses, and free laughter filled the place, without any signs of ending.

    The beggars outside gazed at the customers that came and went with uncertainty. They wanted to go up, but they did not have the courage. They wanted to back away, but they refused to do so. They evaded between the lights and shadows, but before they realised it, that had already been their entire lives.

    The pale-white flames surged in and surged back out. The lights were still ablaze and the laughter still echoed, except the music had stopped and the people were gone.

    In the pale-white wheat fields, she twisted her body as her clothes fluttered in the air. Her steps were gentle as her posture changed, controlling this great blaze like a dance to her heart¡¯s content, only facing the stars.

    Women and men, the wise and the foolish, the good and the bad, the poor and the rich, the despairing and the hopeful, the painful and the happy.

    All of these had once differed by so much, but they were all equal within this dance now.

    However, living creatures were not equal. Even in the face of death, there would always be cultivators who refused to accept their fate, wanting to surpass everyone else, occupy blessed lands, cast down powerful formations, and guard their entrances. The pale flames could not invade those places either.

    She stood under the silver moonlight, turning her body and raising her arms. The bells trembled, her black hair drifted, and the prayer beads scattered, vanishing into the mountains.

    With a thought, the sword rose, twisting and turning, vanishing into space.

    As a result, the entrances were breached, the powerful formations fell, and all perished.

    By the time the east had begun to light up, not a single creature remained within a range of several hundred kilometres, whether it was the weakest of ants or the strongest of cultivators.

    Smoke did not rise up in the distant villages, without any crowing of roosters or barking of dogs. The city even further away had become empty as well. Everything remained exactly how they were before, like nothing had happened at all.

    The stars hid away and the dancing stopped. The flames swept back.

    The cracks on the white bones closed up bit by bit. When she raised her wrist, there was now an additional prayer bead.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty showed signs of breaking through again. This was the first time she had carried out the teachings of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty since she began practising it, as well as the first vow of the cultivation method¡ªThe boundless creatures, I vow to slaughter!

    As if she had been freed from her shackles, the effect was so great that it took her by surprise.

    The oceans accepted all, even the trickling streams, which was why they could reach their depths.

    Although the bodies and souls of mortals could not compare to those of cultivators, they possessed a vast advantage in numbers, and it was much easier to slaughter them too. Even plants possessed spirits and essence. Every single bit was insignificant, but they could turn into the sparks of fire, gathering enough momentum to raze down grasslands.

    Perhaps this was the true path of the white bone.

    Under the azure sky, a black dragon ship emerged on the horizon. The governor of the Harmony province gazed at the barren land beneath him. When he first received the news, he was in disbelief, but he was forced to believe it now. He ground his teeth. ¡°Buddha nemesis!¡±

    The honoured guests behind him all fell silent, struggling to believe this was something a cultivator was capable of. This was no longer slaughter, but extermination.

    In the past, the Soaring Locust King had also managed to throw the Green province into a mess, devouring countless living creatures, but that was after a very long period of preparation before he expanded his swarm like a snowball. Even after he achieved a certain scale with his swarm, he could not reduce several hundred kilometres into barren land within a single night.

    The Soaring Locust King¡¯s main body never appeared without good reason, and the great cultivators could kill millions of locusts with a flick of their wrist. No matter how severe the plague was, it struggled to threaten them. Even regular cultivators were capable of protecting themselves and remaining alive. Yet right now, even they felt deeply threatened.

    An honoured guest deliberated. ¡°Your majesty, I heard that the religious preceptor of the left led twenty Monk Kings in an ambush, yet they still failed to kill the buddha nemesis. We¡­¡±

    ¡°As the governor of the Harmony province, how can I just ignore this? Look, she¡¯s right there. Everyone, get ready to strike! I heard she seems to be injured. Perhaps this is an opportunity, our only opportunity.¡±

    She gazed at the incoming ship in the distance. Right when she was about to move, a tender sapling sprouted, turning into a banyan tree. The branches swayed, and the leaves rustled. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s saddened and pained face appeared on the bark. ¡°Stop! Xiao An, I¡¯m pleading with you. You are making the world your enemy right now!¡±

    He possessed unrivalled calculating power, yet he had still underestimated her horrors. The flames basically existed for extermination and extinction, exterminating all of the living and the dead. Her threat to the world was definitely no less than the Hungry Ghost realm and the Demon domain. As a matter of fact, her threat was even more direct and even more lethal.

    This was the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, razing the trichiliocosm with the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. In the past, it was only Li Qingshan¡¯s presence that greatly offset the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s influence, which stopped her from ever using the powers like this.

    ¡°My enemy?¡±

    She narrowed her eyes slightly. With a swing of Buddha Slaying, the tree snapped and collapsed, burning and withering away.

    The world shook gently, like something holding her back being torn apart silently. As a result, she no longer had any qualms.

    In Towering city of the Mist Province, a wound several hundred metres in length suddenly split open on the great banyan tree. Sap poured out like blood.

    Even as the god of half of the world, having grasped the power of the heavens and the earth, he could not heal from this wound. This was a sword that even Demon God Qiongqi was wary of.

    By the time the governor of the Harmony province¡¯s Black Dragon King had arrived, she had already vanished. The honoured guests all breathed a sigh of relief.

    The governor of the Harmony province said sternly, ¡°Request reinforcements from the Dragon province!¡±

 Chapter 1254

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1254 ¨C The Enemy at the Bhik?u Mountain temple

    As soon as the governor of the Harmony province sent a request for help to the Dragon province, his face suddenly changed. He used the Aura Observation technique, only to see the aura of the populace rapidly diminishing in the east of the province several thousand kilometres away. Even natural disasters like droughts, floods, and plagues could not wreak such havoc.

    ¡°She¡¯s in the east!¡±

    ¡°Your majesty, what do we do now?¡±

    The governor of the Harmony province spent a good moment considering that question. He let out a long sigh. ¡°We wait for reinforcements!¡±

    Even if they rushed over there now, they could not stop her.

    They could not lock onto the aura of an opponent like that, nor could they divine her position. Her strength was equivalent to theirs as well, even surpassing the Ten Daemon Kings. It was basically unfathomable.

    He could not help but resent the religious preceptor of the left a little. He had such a great opportunity, yet he still failed to kill her. He really was useless.

    ¡°Also report to the Dragon province that if this continues, the Harmony province will be left without a single living soul before long!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the Spirit K?etra temple of the Dragon province, the religious preceptor of the left¡¯s face was sunken. He just stood there silently.

    The Monk Kings felt extremely shocked. Originally, they thought they had dealt heavy injuries to the buddha nemesis and had made her grow wary, needing to spend a period hidden to recover at the very least. They never expected her to strike back so quickly. Perhaps she did not even understand what wariness meant.

    Under the solemn atmosphere, a young monk with delicate facial features stood up and bowed. ¡°Please go to the Harmony province to provide reinforcements immediately, religious preceptor!¡±

    He was the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple. The Bhik?u Mountain temple was located within the Harmony province as their largest buddhist monastery.

    The religious preceptor of the left waved his hand. ¡°Say nothing more. The opportunity is not there yet. The buddha nemesis is capable of extraordinary things, and she¡¯s in possession of the Five Absolute Immortal¡¯s Immortal Relinquished sword. Unless we have an exceptional opportunity, we will struggle to kill her.¡±

    Only when Great Xia gathered all of their forces did they have some chance, but that was absolutely impossible right now, which was why they had left the matter of reinforcements to the Spirit K?etra temple.

    ¡°Then I take my leave!¡±

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple brought his palms together and bowed, turning to leave.

    ¡°It¡¯s of no benefit even if you return. Your life might even be in danger,¡± the religious preceptor of the left said sternly.

    Something major was at hand. He had not gathered the monks from everywhere just to deal with a buddha nemesis. The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple was a rare talent within buddhism, undergoing the third heavenly tribulation in less than three centuries. He had a very vast future ahead of him.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple said, ¡°Over the past ten thousand years, my Bhik?u Mountain temple has received the worship and prayers of the people of the Harmony province. As the abbot, how can I just turn my back on them?¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left scolded him. ¡°Foolish! Narrow-minded!¡±

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple had already made his way out, sailing off into the air.

    The other Monk Kings looked at one another. Many of them also disagreed with the religious preceptor of the left. The buddha nemesis was a mortal enemy of buddhism. Even if their strength was insufficient and the odds would be against them, they had to do everything that they could to eliminate this threat to the world. How could they let her wantonly massacre the living?

    The religious preceptor of the left became even more furious. With a flip of his right hand, he grabbed the wooden fish and swung it gently.

    The Unraging monk rolled out on the floor, having been placed under the restraints of numerous formations already, such that he was immobilised. He glared at the religious preceptor of the left furiously.

    The religious preceptor of the left threw a transmission jade talisman at his face. ¡°Unraging, look at the great deed you¡¯ve done. If it weren¡¯t for you, I would have killed the buddha nemesis already and saved countless lives!¡±

    The Unraging monk felt the restraints loosen. He grabbed the jade talisman and saw the news, which also left him shocked. He said sorrowfully, ¡°Xiao An, oh Xiao An. Do you really plan on continuing like this, going your own way!?¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°Do you understand your crimes?¡±

    ¡°The crimes are with the religious preceptor!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left laughed out of anger. ¡°You really have gone too far with the demonic arts.¡±

    The Unraging monk said furiously, ¡°If the buddha nemesis is here, I¡¯m willing to perish with her and save everyone! However, if the religious preceptor had attacked the ghost tower a little earlier without resorting to such underhanded tricks like a lesser person, launching an ambush in secret, would any of this have happened in the first place?¡±

    ¡°A lesser person! What a lesser person! You have no idea about the general situation, no understanding about the bigger picture. Do you think the buddha nemesis will perish with you if you just die? The Hungry Ghost realm wants her. If she doesn¡¯t die, the Hungry Ghost realm will never give up!¡±

    ¡°Among the buddhist scriptures I have read, I have only heard about the buddha cutting flesh from his own body to feed hawks, sacrificing his own body to satiate tigers. I have never heard about the buddha setting ambushes to capture and kill hawks and tigers. I have never learnt about any general situation or bigger picture either. As the religious preceptor, you should be setting yourself as an example so that all buddhist disciples throughout the world understand the spirit of the buddha, not scheming and resorting to trickery, only weighing the costs and the benefits¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­My death might be useless, but I still have countless colleagues, as well as the arhats and bodhisattvas. Perhaps the Hungry Ghost realm might not give up, but without the nine provinces, there is still the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Even in the face of countless difficulties, as long as the buddhist dharma is not twisted, it can shine forever, bringing light to all! The true buddha nemesis is not in the outside world, but within us.¡±

    Despite the restraints, the Unraging monk¡¯s spirit of grandeur filled the hall. There would always be some ¡°fools¡± who firmly believed the concepts mentioned in the books, refusing to turn back even if the world left them bloodied. Even when he dirtied himself with alcohol and meat, spending his time among demonfolk, that was not enough to extinguish the spirit within him.

    ¡°Be quiet, y- you heretic who twists the buddhist dharma. What do you know about the spirit of the buddha?¡±

    ¡°I know nothing, but if the buddha also launched sneak attacks and set up ambushes like the religious preceptor, then I¡¯d rather hurl myself at the buddha¡¯s statue and die!¡±

    ¡°I hereby abolish your identity as Monk King. Drag him out and punish him with three thousand beatings!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The sun sank in the west. A short day had passed. What came next was the lengthy night.

    ¡°Fellows, reinforcements won¡¯t be coming from the Dragon province. If we want to fight the buddha nemesis, we can only rely on ourselves! As the governor of the Harmony province, I have a duty to the land, so I must fight. If anyone refuses to take this risk, you are welcome to leave. I definitely won¡¯t force you to stay,¡± the governor of the Harmony province said to his honoured guests sternly. Behind him was the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple.

    Not a single honoured guest left. All of them had been born and raised in the Harmony province. They were extremely far away from being mortals now, but if all mortals died, then where would the cultivators come from? Their sects and schools would end with them as well.

    ¡°Your wish is our command, your majesty!¡±

    The governor of the Harmony province took out a mental map of the province. ¡°All we can do is this¡­¡±

    Late at night.

    The honoured guests scattered throughout the sky of the Harmony province, forming groups of twos and threes as they watched the various regions of the Harmony province. Once they discovered the buddha nemesis¡¯s activity, they would not be in a hurry to strike. Instead, they would send the news to gather everyone so that they could deal a lethal blow to the buddha nemesis.

    The governor of the Harmony province watched the auras on the platform in the Black Dragon King, presiding over the entire situation.

    Fortunately, the Harmony province was even slightly smaller than the Green province. Otherwise, if it had been as large as the Frost province or the Mist province, then it would be impossible to watch the entire place. However, the Mist province was the main headquarters of the Great Banyan Tree King, while the Frost province was freezing and very sparse in population, which was why they had not served as her first choice.

    ¡°Your majesty, there are flames in the east!¡± The governor of the Harmony province received the news and immediately looked towards the east. Sure enough, he saw the aura of the populace decline. ¡°Is it still the east?¡±

    Right when he was about to gather the honoured guests and venture to the east, he received more news. ¡°Your majesty, there are flames in the northwest too!¡± ¡°The south as well!¡±

    At that moment, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone burned in every single part of the Harmony province.

    The Skeleton Demons that had recovered their strength ran through the wilderness with strange cackles, setting the mountains, forests, and cities alight like sparks.

    The governor of the Harmony province hesitated. He tried using the Aura Observation technique to determine where the buddha nemesis actually was.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple who had remained silent the entire time suddenly said, ¡°Your majesty, I can sense that the formation of the Bhik?u Mountain temple has been destroyed! The buddha nemesis is at the Bhik?u Mountain temple!¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible!? The Bhik?u Mountain temple has the Heavenly King¡¯s Formation of Enveloping Earth. Even the Black Dragon King would struggle to breach that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The enemy is at the Bhik?u Mountain temple. Please provide reinforcements quickly. Oh no, the buddha nemesis is trying to open the demon cavern and cause a demonfolk invasion!¡±

 Chapter 1255

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1255 ¨C Opening the Demon Cavern, Slaying the Great Buddha

    The Bhik?u Mountain temple¡¯s status in the Harmony province was equivalent to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s status in the Green province. As a matter of fact, it was even older than the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, basically the standard example of a ten-millennia-old temple. The temple was littered with pagodas and halls, built on a series of rising and falling mountains.

    By ¡°bhik?u¡±, they referred to buddhist monks. It was a mountain of buddhist monks.

    The ¡°Heavenly King¡± in the Heavenly King¡¯s Formation of Enveloping Earth referred to the Heavenly King of the East who Upheld the Realm, Dh?tar¨¡??ra, a renowned protector within buddhism. The formation was almost impregnable. Tonight, in order to deal with the buddha nemesis, the Monk Kings in the temple had all been mobilised, so no one was worried about suffering from a sneak attack.

    Xiao An stood on the top of a mountain, gazing down at the Bhik?u Mountain temple glowing with golden light. She gripped the Immortal Relinquished sword firmly and leapt down.

    In the air, she became one with the sword, turning into a twisted streak of light as she plunged straight into the Bhik?u Mountain temple.

    There were very few formations in the world that could block the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s edge. No matter how impregnable the formation was, it could pierce them as easily as a needle through leather.

    However, just entering the formation would place the person in danger for nothing. Destroying the formation from inside was not that easy either. Also, once the controller of the formation returned, the intruder would immediately face dire straits. Even with how much the Soaring Locust King hated the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he had never launched an attack on Great Buddha mountain.

    A golden streak of light leapt out from the horizon. The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple rushed over at full speed, activating the formation from afar. At the same time, he contacted the honoured guests. ¡°The enemy is at the Bhik?u Mountain temple. Please provide reinforcements quickly!¡±

    Immediately, a warning bell rang out in the temple, and a figure of Dh?tar¨¡??ra faded into existence. His face was dignified as he wielded a pipa, staring straight at the streak of light. The pipa twanged.

    The streak of light paused, but the Immortal Relinquished sword could not be trapped that easily. It wriggled about like a fish, shooting towards the feet of the Heavenly King. That was the core to the entire formation, located on the largest mountain in the temple where the grand hall sat.

    The buddha nemesis is walking right into the net!?

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple was both surprised and overjoyed. Only when he saw the twisted streak of light vanish into the mountain did he suddenly understand. Oh no, the buddha nemesis is trying to open the demon cavern so that the demonfolk can invade!

    The Bhik?u Mountain temple and the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga shared another similarity¡ªthey both suppressed a large demon cavern. It was located right beneath their grand hall.

    Suddenly, the mountain began to shake violently, like a colossal beast trying to roll over.

    All of the wells on the mountain bubbled as several dozen plumes of demon qi gushed out.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, ¡°How ironic. Back then, you tried everything to stop me from opening the demon cavern! Though, you are indeed the master I¡¯ve been most satisfied with. Apart from your swordsmanship being a little lacking, you even match that old bastard Five Absolutes. The things you do are much more interesting!¡±

    Back then in the Green province, it was exactly the Immortal Relinquished sword that had destroyed the seal and opened the demon cavern!

    Xiao An said nothing. She swung her sword again, and another third of all the chains that criss-crossed the area were severed. Even more demon qi gushed out.

    ¡°Stop, buddha nemesis!¡±

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple¡¯s furious roar rushed into the dark mound like the furious roar of a thousand lions. The demons beginning to stir in the demon cavern were all stunned.

    With a jingle, the Soul Stirring Bell on Xiao An¡¯s waist disrupted the lion¡¯s roar. She was unfazed.

    With another swing, the chains all collapsed, and the demon cavern was wide open.

    The surging demon qi immediately cut off the lion¡¯s roar, gushing out of the accumulating holy light and earth.

    The mountain suddenly swelled, becoming covered in cracks of various sizes as it shook violently. Apart from the grand hall at the very top, all of the other halls and buildings had collapsed.

    Demon qi rushed out of the cracks and rose into the air, swallowing the grand hall and enveloping the entire Bhik?u Mountain temple.

    The figure of Dh?tar¨¡??ra began to flicker as well. After all, it was not the true Heavenly King, merely an image constructed by a formation.

    From entering the Bhik?u Mountain temple to opening the demon cavern, it had taken her three seconds at most. It had only taken her three swings of her sword.

    And that was under the restraints of the Heavenly King¡¯s Formation of Enveloping Earth. Otherwise, a single swing would have been sufficient!

    During the battle on Great Buddha mountain, the Immortal Relinquished sword still did not possess a master. It completely relied on devouring elder Tian to obtain power. Now that it had obtained a swordmaster that could definitely be considered as powerful, and one that had completely comprehended the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth, its destructive powers became even more terrifying.

    The Bhik?u Mountain temple fell into a state of panic. The golden light descended from above, landing in front of the grand hall heavily. The mountain shook; the demon qi dispersed. Even the figure of the Heavenly King consolidated.

    The monks seemed to see their saviour. They called out, ¡°Abbot!¡±

    However, the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple felt like he was standing on a volcanic crater that was about to erupt at any moment. With the slightest of carelessness, demon qi would burst forth, and the entire temple would be reduced to a demonic land. The formation would rupture as well.

    He uttered the six-syllabled mantra, ¡°O? ma?i padme h¨±?! Benevolent by the buddha, purging the demons!¡±

    The towering great buddha sitting within the grand hall stood up slowly. The polished granite tiles under its feet immediately collapsed and sank as golden light layered in its surroundings. It had a halo behind its head, radiating with a sense of righteousness and solemnity. The statues of bodhisattvas and arhats around it all began to move as well, like the place had turned into a land of buddhism.

    The Bhik?u Mountain temple was obviously capable of what the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga could do, and it would only be stronger, not weaker.

    The great buddha had gathered over ten thousand years of power of belief, making it far stronger than regular great cultivators. In the past, a great buddha had put Xiao An in dire straits. If Li Qingshan had not interfered when it mattered, she almost would have faced the danger of dying. The heritage behind a great buddhist sect could not be underestimated.

    Perfect timing. I¡¯ll use the formation to trap you here, and then I¡¯ll destroy you with the great buddha. Let¡¯s see where you run to now, buddha nemesis.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple thought like that when the great buddha suddenly stopped. He vaguely heard the sounds of shattering, which brought him great unease.

    Behind the great buddha, the Buddha Slaying sword plunged deep into its body. A pure-white hand gripped the shiny hilt and twisted the sword slowly. The cracks spread rapidly.

    In the blink of an eye, the cracks ran across the great buddha¡¯s full cheeks, covering its body. Its glow dimmed and receded, turning back into a regular statue and collapsing slowly, scattering across the floor of the grand hall.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple¡¯s alarmed and furious gaze met a pair of clear eyes, which flickered with a holy glow, having comprehended a little more.

    ¡°Kill the buddha nemesis!¡±

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple roared furiously, but the chiming of a bell rose again, nullifying one another.

    Several dozen arhats and bodhisattvas lunged towards her at the same time, every single one possessing the strength of a great cultivator. She had already scattered the Skeleton Demons, and the Blood Sea Banner was in no shape for further use. Even with the two swords in hand, she would struggle to fend off a combined attack like this.

    Boom!

    The grand hall rumbled violently. Fragments of the great buddha shot into the air.

    A streak of light twisted and flew out, shooting over the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple¡¯s head and leaving the grand hall, making its way towards another mountain.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple recognised that to be the forest of pagodas with a single glance. He could not help but fly into a rage. ¡°How dare you, buddha nemesis!¡±

    The arhats and bodhisattvas all rushed through the walls in hot pursuit, taking them down in the process. The grand hall became even more unstable.

 Chapter 1256

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1256 ¨C Bloodbath on Bhik?u Mountain

    The moonlight was like water as the tree shadows danced about.

    Xiao An stood among the forest of pagodas. To her, now this was the largest treasure trove in the entire Harmony province.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple¡¯s return had created some problems, but it was all within her calculations, so it could probably be called even better. In Qingshan¡¯s words, this would be revenge!

    Of course, she did not actually feel something like that. She did not even hold the slightest resentment towards the religious preceptor of the left who launched a sneak attack on her.

    Everything made perfect sense. Nothing had made so much sense before.

    There was no need to become conflicted between the demonic and the buddhist, nor was there a need to consider right or wrong. In the words of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, the endless afflictions, I vow to fell!

    However, was she truly free of afflictions just like this?

    Swish!

    A large, golden sword slashed towards her from behind. She swung the Buddha Slaying sword without even looking back.

    Clang!

    The swords clashed. The Buddha Slaying sword cut deeply into the golden sword. The bodhisattva statue wielding the sword immediately lost its lustre, crumbling to the ground. Even the weapons they wielded could not endure a single strike from the Buddha Slaying sword.

    At this moment, several dozen statues gathered over.

    With a flash, the sword painted a twisted trajectory, sending three heads flying into the air.

    Becoming one with the sword, she broke out of the encirclement and split open a stupa and removed the ?ar¨©ra inside. Clutching it in her hand, it immediately began to burn, turning into Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Boom!

    The stupa before her was smashed to pieces as a ten-metre-tall statue of the Tiger Taming Arhat with a face of wrath reached towards her. Simultaneously, a swift gust of wind rose up from behind her, forming a pincer attack.

    She directly threw herself into the Tiger Taming Arhat¡¯s arms. The Buddha Slaying sword in her left hand extended slightly. A slash appeared in the Tiger Taming Arhat¡¯s palm, immediately halting it.

    She smashed apart the statue and tossed the Immortal Relinquished sword backwards with her right hand. The sword was like a soaring dragon, sweeping around her and cutting and piercing the statues.

    Buddha Slaying defending and Immortal Relinquished attacking!

    The two swords simultaneously unleashed extremely similar yet vastly different Sword Collection Manuals of Heaven and Earth, creating a net of attacks. Not a single statue could block a single attack from her, nor could any of them touch the hem of her clothes.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    She shot through the stupas and pagodas as the statues chased after her closely. The towers and buildings collapsed one by one.

    She removed the ?ar¨©ra one by one in the process and merged them with her white bones, becoming faster and faster, stronger and stronger.

    Finally, all of the pagodas and stupas collapsed. She had collected the ?ar¨©ra of all the eminent monks from the past ten thousand years.

    Her originally-clear eyes now burned with flames. Looking back, there were still over a dozen statues pursuing her relentlessly.

    With a turn, she went up to receive them. The agile streak of light danced fluidly, vanishing after a single flash in the darkness.

    Returning to her original position, all of the statues froze before slowly collapsing.

    ¡°Buddha nemesis!¡±

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple was absolutely fuming as he watched the destruction of the forest of pagodas, but he was unable to leave the grand hall.

    After losing all the pagodas, the Heavenly King¡¯s Formation of Enveloping Earth became even more unstable. Countless roars and howls rang out from beneath his feet, like a bunch of fiends banging on the gates of hell. Once the suppression was removed, the demonfolk would return to this world!

    ¡°Fellows, the Bhik?u Mountain temple is in trouble. Please provide us with support!¡±

    At this moment, several streaks of light leapt out from the horizon. Reinforcements had arrived.

    Xiao An was completely unscathed. She took out the Blood Sea Banner and waved it gently, making it expand in the process. A sea of blood surged out as the sticky blood swallowed the mountains and halls, desecrating the statues of buddhas and gods.

    Among the mountains, cries rose and fell. As soon as the monks ended up in the sea of blood, countless skeletons would entange them before tearing them apart, reducing them to a puddle of blood in the blink of an eye. Only a skeleton would remain, which would then hunt down the people who fell into the sea of blood with the other skeletons.

    There were many people who used their exceptional cultivations to rise up into the air, but a great crimson wave filled their faces, sucking them into the sea of blood. At the same time, a sword shot about as a streak of light, openly beheading the monks that flew high enough. Regardless of their cultivation, how could they block the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s edge?

    In a short while, the sea of blood reached all of the mountains, only leaving the grand hall untouched, turning it into a lone island.

    The Blood Sea Banner was so damaged that it could not be used in a direct confrontation, but it was still quite useful for attacking fortified positions. After swallowing the entire temple of monks, the tears on the Blood Sea Banner gradually closed up, becoming even more crimson.

    The holy glow vanished, and the formation collapsed. The figure of Dh?tar¨¡??ra vanished.

    Boom!

    The grand hall was thrown into the air as demon qi surged out. Countless demonfolk of various sizes crawled out of the demon cavern.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple stood in the surging demon qi. He was somewhat dazed as if he was in a nightmare. He struggled to believe that the Bhik?u Mountain temple that had stood for ten thousand years had been destroyed in his hands like this.

    Tears rolled down his face as the thousands of demonfolk swallowed him.

    Roar!

    A furious roar of hysteria killed the demonfolk and purged the surging demon qi.

    The abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple formed a lion¡¯s seal with his hands, unleashing all the cultivation he had accumulated over his life. He turned into a frenzied golden tiger, lunging towards Xiao An.

    Xiao An gazed over. Her expression was calm and harmonious, even slightly benevolent-looking.

    She extended a finger. A three-hundred-metre-tall wave rose up from the turbulent sea of blood, rushing into the air like a wall. It intercepted the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple and fell towards him.

    Bang!

    The blood splattered everywhere as countless skeletons were smashed to pieces. The golden lion rushed out of the sea of blood. ¡°Buddha nemesis, you¡¯re going down with me!¡±

    However, the spot where Xiao An previously stood was completely empty, which immediately made him feel empty inside. Only then did he hear the ringing of a bell.

    He felt his chest ache. Looking down, there was a skeleton that he had failed to smash apart, clutching a sword that plunged deeply into his chest.

    The golden lion vanished, only leaving the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple. He wanted to blow himself up and take the buddha nemesis down with him, but he was no longer capable of that. He was filled with anger, resentment, and a refusal to go down like this. ¡°How can the orthodox methods of buddhism be overwhelmed by so much? How is this possible?¡±

    If it were not for the Buddha Slaying sword, just the great buddha alone could have fended her off. If it were not for the Blood Sea Banner, the Heavenly King¡¯s Formation of Enveloping Earth would not have collapsed so easily. If it were not for the Skeleton Demons that directly participated in the battle, why would the king¡¯s estate of the Harmony province be so scattered? The Immortal Relinquished sword had played an extremely great role too, breaching the formation at first before destroying the seal over the demon cavern and butchering the statues like it was butchering dogs.

    She pushed the power of these arcane treasures to their limit, striking when they were weakened and claiming their lives in a single stroke.

    Xiao An did not answer him. She drew out the Buddha Slaying sword.

    A ball of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged into his body, and the abbot of the Bhik?u Mountain temple¡¯s face of anger, resentment, and a refusal to go down vanished.

    With that, she had recovered from all of the injuries she sustained from the battle at the ghost tower, and her cultivation had instead climbed higher. She turned around to look at the reinforcements.

    ¡°Abbot!¡±

    The honoured guests were all dumbfounded. The Bhik?u Mountain temple renowned throughout the Harmony province had just been destroyed overnight like this. How was this possible?

    ¡°Buddha nemesis!¡±

    With a golden flash, an old monk rushed over without any regard, also a Monk King that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation.

    Xiao An wielded both swords, stepping on the blood sea to receive him.

    With a jingle, their figures intersected, and the old monk perished.

    The honoured guests paled in fright before all retreating.

 Chapter 1257

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1257 ¨C A Person and a Sword, No One to Stop

    The Harmony province was not too big, so the honoured guests all arrived one by one, but no one dared to step forward. It was not just because of the surging sea of blood, but also because of the gushing demon qi.

    The pitch-black demon qi was so thick that it was almost a liquid, surging out from the demon cavern endlessly and filling the surroundings.

    The demon qi spread out in the night sky, turning into demonic clouds and shrouding the moon and stars. It corrupted the land within several dozen kilometres, and that range rapidly grew larger.

    If cultivators set foot in this demonic land, they would face suppression. Even their arcane treasures would be contaminated by demon qi.

    However, she was an exception.

    Since life and death meant nothing to her, the Hungry Ghost realm and the nine provinces were equal in her eyes. At the same time, good and evil meant nothing to her, so the Demon domain was nothing in her eyes.

    How could a person that was neither living nor dead be afraid of becoming contaminated by demon qi? The thick, deep sea of blood was even more foul than the demon qi.

    The Black Dragon King sailed through the night sky, stopping beyond the corrupted land.

    The governor of the Harmony province basically struggled to believe this had once been the Bhik?u Mountain temple.

    The honoured guests all reported what they saw earlier. ¡°Your majesty, the buddha nemesis is far too powerful. We¡¯d struggle to kill her even if we were elsewhere. If we enter¡­ the Bhik?u Mountain temple rashly, we might sustain losses!¡±

    The governor of the Harmony province ground his teeth. ¡°We wait. I refuse to believe she¡¯ll remain above the demon cavern forever. Demonfolk definitely won¡¯t thank her for opening the demon cavern!¡±

    The howls of the demonfolk filled the air as the black demon qi flickered with specks of light that were as dense as stars. That was the foul, corrupted eyes of demonfolk, all fixed on Xiao An.

    Dressed in white clothes, she stood above the turbulent sea of blood, standing out like a white lotus flower within the surging demon qi.

    Before the demonfolk could even attack her, she struck.

    Raising the Blood Sea Banner, the surging sea of blood immediately poured into the demon cavern. The eyes immediately became filled with fear.

    The sea of blood had no bounds. Even with repentance, there was no shore of salvation, only sinking into deprivation.

    A few Demon Commanders demonified without any regard, turning into vicious, grotesque monsters. They abandoned their limbs that had been eaten away by the sea of blood and rushed into the air.

    With a ring of the Soul Stirring Bell, they were like birds that had been hit by arrows, falling head-first into the sea of blood again.

    Whether it were demonfolk or monks, there was no difference to her, bringing them all to salvation.

    Only when Demon Kings appeared would she have to take action personally. Whether it was Buddha Slaying or Immortal Relinquished, it only took a single slash!

    The sea of blood became even thicker. Even from dozens of kilometres away, the reeking of blood was present.

    More and more skeletons appeared in the sea of blood, some with strength on par with Daemon Kings. Every single one of them was hideous, composed of a strange assortment of bones. They were all deceased Demon Kings. A shining demon heart was embedded deeply in their white bones. As a matter of fact, they retained some of their original intelligence and techniques, except they had all become slaves to the blood sea already, unleashing a massacre on the demonfolk.

    The great cultivators of the Harmony province watched this slaughterfest in shock. Only now did they understand that her reason for opening the demon cavern was not for an incursion of demons at all. Instead, she wanted to feed off the demonfolk.

    Whenever a Demon King died, the great cultivators would shiver inside. They did not believe they were stronger than the Demon Kings. If they launched an attack rashly, they would even face suppression from the demon qi, so they would probably meet even worse fates.

    Throughout history, demonfolk invasions had brought disasters to the nine provinces. Now, she stopped them alone, and she even grew stronger as she fought.

    Towards the end, she did not even have to do anything personally. The sea of blood gained more and more powerful skeletons and slaves. She could not order them around freely like the Skeleton Demons, but she could mobilise them through the Blood Sea Banner.

    Gripping the Blood Sea Banner, she stood above the sea of blood like the commander of an army of thousands, butchering the endless demon folk army.

    A three-headed, six-armed Demon King rushed out of the encirclement, except he had already lost two heads and only three arms remained. He gazed at her above the sea of blood in fright. ¡°What monster are you!?¡±

    It was hilarious for a Demon King to ask a question like that, except no one could laugh.

    A strange, twisted sword entered the Demon King¡¯s hand. Before he could even respond, sword intent rushed through his sea of consciousness and his eyes rolled backwards. His body began to convulse.

    The Demon King suddenly produced a strange, deranged smile. ¡°Master, let me have some fun too!¡±

    Xiao An nodded. Ever since she cast the Immortal Relinquished sword into the Blood Sea Banner, the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished had become much more obedient.

    Their equal relationship between person and sword had already changed. She was becoming the true master of the sword step by step, embedding her will in the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished.

    This was not a difference in strength¡ªit was almost impossible to subdue the Immortal Relinquished sword with a cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation unless they were a mysterious existence like the Five Absolutes Immortal. Instead, in a clash of wills between the person and the sword, the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished had already admitted defeat.

    To not bite back at her when she was most vulnerable was already evidence of his fear, and when she began to uphold the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, inheriting the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s will, it was without a doubt the one that had experienced it most deeply. Its own twistedness and madness suddenly seemed as laughable as a joke.

    In the eyes of regular people, the Immortal Relinquished sword was a mad, demonic sword, so how could it compare to a mad bodhisattva? Even a wisp of the bodhisattva¡¯s will could overwhelm it and make it truly subservient.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished forcefully devoured the Demon King¡¯s powers. The Demon King¡¯s colossal body shrank rapidly as bones jutted out from his flesh, piercing his skin and flying out. They hovered above the sea of blood and began to shine with the same glow of swords.

    Xiao An immediately understood what the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished was trying to do. All she heard was the ¡°Demon King¡± say, ¡°Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth!¡±

    With the Immortal Relinquished sword as the core and several hundred bones as support, it assembled a Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth and descended beneath the sea of blood, butchering the demonfolk madly. Only Demon Kings could stave it off temporarily, but even they could not avoid death.

    The great cultivators were all stunned. ¡°That sword¡­¡±

    Some people knew about the Immortal Relinquished sword. ¡°The name of the sword is Immortal Relinquished. It¡¯s said to be the Five Absolutes Immortal¡¯s personal sword and was sealed in the Sword Tomb. Afterwards, the Sword Collection palace obtained it, and it became the renowned Sword Collection peak in the Green province. Afterwards, it devoured elder Tian and destroyed the entire Sword Collection palace before breaching the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and taking on the Fierce King of Chu, the Dragon King of Ink Sea, and Daemon King Northmoon, Li Qingshan at the same time. It was unable to defeat them, so it opened the demon cavern. In the end, it was subdued by Li Qingshan. That¡¯s probably the strongest weapon in the nine provinces. Very few of us stand a chance against it.¡±

    The shocking battle feats left the great cultivators in even more despair. They bemoaned, ¡°Let alone the buddha nemesis, even just this sword would serve as a difficult opponent! Is the Harmony province really unable to overcome this disaster?¡±

    ¡°Not just the Harmony province. It¡¯s a disaster for the nine provinces!¡±

    However, the Immortal Relinquished sword had not actually unleashed its full strength during the battle on Great Buddha mountain. Weapons were to be used. A masterless sword could not unleash its full power. Most importantly, it had no source of energy, so it could not even use its unmatched swordsmanship freely. This was also the main reason why it had been defeated back then.

    Afterwards, while Xiao An had become the master of the Immortal Relinquished sword, it barely wanted to help her at all, and it constantly tried to devour her.

    Under these circumstances, Xiao An obviously would not give it too much power. She had to maintain its feeble state. As a result, the Immortal Relinquished sword had even less power than when it had no master.

    But now, with the gradual submission of the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished, Xiao An began to give it more support.

    The main culprit behind the attacks of two great sects on the Green province was gradually unleashing its true strength.

    With a swing of the Blood Sea banner, thousands of skeletons were delivered to her from the sea of blood. She cast out a ball of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, forging all of the skeletons into three hundred and sixty four tiny bone swords that were as thin as cicada wings.

    They did not possess any special powers. Instead, they were extremely sharp and tough, on par with arcane treasures, and they formed a set too.

    With a swing of her hand, the tiny bone swords shot through the air, piercing the Demon King that the Immortal Relinquished sword had devoured, gradually becoming soaked in the demon blood.

    ¡°Fine swords!¡±

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished immediately discarded the large bones and controlled the tiny bone swords instead, assembling the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth again.

    Immediately, the power behind the sword formation skyrocketed. Even when Demon Kings were sucked into the sword formation, they would be ground to a pulp immediately, unable to put up any resistance.

    This was the first time they had worked together. As a matter of fact, she did not even need the Buddha Slaying sword, the Blood Sea Banner, the Soul Stirring Bell, and so on anymore. Just a person and a sword was enough to sweep through the nine provinces and butcher kings like dogs.

    ¡°Your majesty, what do we do?¡±

    The great cultivators looked at one another, all with fear. Even if they ignored the abysmal chance at victory, just how many of them were going to survive if they actually managed to kill the buddha nemesis by some fluke?

    The governor of the Harmony province used the Aura Observation technique and peered into the distance in all directions. In the end, he let out a sigh. ¡°Fellows, return to your sects and hold your ground!¡± Why would cultivators even be willing to throw their lives away for mortals? Let alone the honoured guests and great cultivators, even he, the provincial governor, was reluctant to do something like that.

    Suddenly, he remembered the Bhik?u Mountain temple was right here, so the other sects might not be able to hold their ground either. ¡°Gather all your disciples and return to the king¡¯s estate with me!¡±

 Chapter 1258

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1258 ¨C Subjugating Immortal Relinquished, Forging the Sword Formation

    The slaughter lasted for an entire night, continuing until not a single demonfolk dared to set foot out of the demon cavern.

    It was currently the darkest time of the day, right before dawn. Demon qi filled the air, making the darkness seem even deeper.

    Xiao An swung the Blood Sea Banner. The turbulent sea of blood surged back towards her, over ten times larger than when it first appeared. It had gathered many powerful skeletons and blood slaves too. Towards the end, not only could it trap enemies, but it could even kill them as well.

    The sea of blood receded, and the buildings were exposed again, actually without sustaining much severe damage at all. The statues continued to stand solemnly, except they were mottled from the corruption. The spiritual nature and holy glow hidden within had completely vanished.

    Under the blasphemy of the blood sea and the corruption of demon qi, this was no longer a mountain of bhik?u anymore.

    She walked through the halls and buildings quietly. This was the first sa?ghar¨¡ma, or monastery, she had destroyed with her own hands.

    During the battle on Great Buddha mountain, she had also caused much damage, but she had no other choice in that. On top of that, the destruction of Great Buddha mountain was still because of the invasion from the Demon domain after all.

    She recalled two more vows of the White Bone Bodhisattva¡ªthe limitless dharma, I vow to destroy; the unsurpassable buddha way, I vow to end!

    TL: If you don¡¯t remember this, it appeared in chapter 126. The bodhisattva vows consist of the fourfold vows. The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty includes a corrupted version of these four vows.

    Finally, the four vows had manifested on her, which led to a lot more comprehension¡ªcomprehension and resources were equally important, but comprehension was often much rarer.

    Suddenly, she stopped before a stone buddha statue and brought her palms together. She shut her eyes and recited from the Diamond S¨±tra.

    ¡°All conditioned dharma are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble and a shadow. They are like dew and also like lightning. Thus should they be meditated on.¡±

    All phenomena are impermanent, and all phenomena are devoid of the concept of self. Without permanence and self, there was no difference between life and death. The buddhist and the demonic were one and the same.

    She gave off a gentle, buddhist glow, radiating with warmth in the darkness and illuminating the stone buddha before her. The buddha¡¯s face seemed to move within the light as if it had lowered its head to look at her.

    The Divine Nun of the South Sea¡¯s strict face appeared in her heart again before fading away gradually.

    The path that she wanted to tread could no longer be bound by mere decrees and precepts.

    Originally, she thought balancing the demonic and the buddhist was a new path. As it turned out, she was merely getting ahead of herself.

    It was just like how a river would eventually flow into the ocean in the end. Even if it dried up halfway, seeping into the earth or evaporating into the sky, it was only a part of the water system throughout the world.

    This was a path paved by a bodhisattva, so how could it be surpassed or twisted that easily? Even trying to suffer from cultivation deviation was not possible. That was why nothing had gone wrong with her Path of White Bone and Great Beauty. This experience only seemed to exist for her to make it even further.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was different from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. It did not pursue a balance between the demonic and divine, constructing a world of its own. Instead, it was after the fact that nothing existed independently, and their intrinsic nature was emptiness, to burn out for good with nirv¨¡?a.

    After understanding this, the buddhist glow merged with her white bones, and her appearance seemed even more harmonious and peaceful. She faced the stone buddha silently. Anyone who saw her right now would think she was the most devout believer.

    Was the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s path just one among the limitless dharma and the unsurpassable buddha way? Perhaps going from buddhism to the demonic was only a false impression.

    There was no way for her to tell. At that instant, she had completely digested and mastered the first three layers of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    By now, she already possessed the right to ascend, not only climbing higher and attaining the fruit of Srot¨¡panna, but also escaping from the threats of the Hungry Ghost realm. However, she made the same choice as Li Qingshan millions of kilometres away, choosing to give up on ascension and further consolidate her power.

    Suddenly, the grim aura of a sword filled the air, and murderousness surged.

    With the three hundred and sixty four tiny bone swords, the Immortal Relinquished sword assembled the Sword Formation of Heaven and Earth, rotating rapidly to try and kill her. They obliterated all the halls and buildings they passed along the way.

    The blueish-white robes were raised into the air by the murderousness, but she did not budge as if she had completely submerged into cultivation. She did not dodge, nor did she resist.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword arrived a metre away from her and suddenly slowed down. The sword trembled gently and swept through space, leaving behind black splashes and demonstrating an ever-changing set of sword moves. The tiny bone swords all revolved around her.

    Through devouring Demon Kings and butchering demonfolk, it had gathered an unprecedented amount of power. Now was the perfect time for it to devour her!

    As well as its final opportunity.

    Clang!

    The three hundred and sixty five swords resonated together and closed around her rapidly.

    The swords had cut a strand of her black hair, which fell to the ground slowly. This was the first time she had been injured since the battle of the ghost tower.

    She opened her eyes by a crack and gazed at the Immortal Relinquished sword inches away.

    At that instant, the world seemed to lose all of its colour, becoming pale-white.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished felt like everything had lost their meaning. Even his own will had become empty in this pale-white world, unable to forget this feeling ever again. He thought in a daze, She¡¯s only at the third heavenly tribulation, so how can she possess such a will? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s also a reincarnated immortal like the old bastard Five Absolutes?

    When she extended her hand, the Immortal Relinquished sword turned around, allowing her to grab its hilt.

    At that moment, their balance had been completely broken. The imprint had been placed, and their relationship as master and servant had been set in stone.

    From that moment onwards, the Immortal Relinquished sword no longer possessed an opportunity to devour her. Even if she were heavily injured and unconscious, it could only guard its master wholeheartedly.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword became wrapped in the raging Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. The hilt that she gripped became covered with layers upon layers of hollow patterns of white bone that seemed to resemble skeletons. Actually, its appearance did not matter at all. What mattered was she had completely refined the Immortal Relinquished sword now.

    As if nothing had happened at all, the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished grumbled, ¡°Master, these swords aren¡¯t particularly convenient to use!¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Xiao An communicated with the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished. Under his request, she reforged the tiny bone swords.

    The artifact forging section within the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty could be regarded as the most important part. They were not just so-called ¡°external objects¡±, but also extensions of her body. They were like the lifebound swords of sword cultivators, and their connection could be even closer than that.

    Over all these years, she had basically never stopped forging the various white bone artifacts. Even her body of white bones and great beauty could be viewed as an ¡°artifact¡± of another form.

    She was extremely skilled at forging artifacts. As long as she was forging from bones, she could forge anything even if it was not something recorded in the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    Within the roaring flames, the tiny bone swords gradually melted away and took shape again, all strange and twisted.

    Some were curved like blades, some were right-angled, and others were downright missing the other half. None of them seemed like swords. Even their quantity changed in the very end. Originally, there were three hundred and sixty four of them, three hundred and sixty five when including the Immortal Relinquished sword. They had formed a perfect cycle, but now, only a hundred and thirty nine remained. Not only were there far fewer than before, but it was even a strange prime number, which gave off a twisted, incomplete feeling.

    There were plenty of arcane artifacts that came as sets in the world. None of them would use such a pointless and meaningless number.

    However, the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished was absolutely ecstatic. He flattered her. ¡°This is fantastic! This is exactly what I want. That way, I can kill even more freely. Master, you¡¯re much better to me than that old bastard Five Absolutes.¡±

    It was not a complete lie. To the Five Absolutes Immortal, the path of the sword was only one of the five absolutes. It was the path of slaughter, the most important path, but the issue was no one in the nine provinces could serve as his opponent. Coupled with the fact that the Immortal Relinquished sword was not exactly a fine sword to him, one that he would relinquish sooner or later, why would he spend all the effort to forge such a twisted sword formation? He was better off spending his time playing the zither and painting.

    Meanwhile, Xiao An had numerous threats to handle right now. The most direct threat were the great cultivators from the various provinces, as well as the demons from the Demon domain. The Harmony province and the Bhik?u Mountain temple were only a beginning. On top of that, her greatest threat was the Hungry Ghost realm, and who knew what the Great Xia empire was up to.

    This was her own battle, just for her, while her enemy was the entire world.

    At the very least, over an extended period, the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s destructive power was worthy of use. The sword spirit could save her quite a lot of effort too, fighting on its own.

    As a result, she continued to forge artifacts.

    Skull Prayer Beads rolled out of the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone one by one and turned into Skeleton Demons, bowing towards her before flying off in all directions.

    By the time she refined thirty-three Skull Prayer Beads, she had finally recovered all of the white bone artifacts she had lost in the battle of the ghost tower.

    She did not stop there. She forged another three prayer beads, assembling a set of thirty-six.

    At that instant, the Skeleton Demons scattered throughout the Harmony province all became stronger and tougher. Their strength surpassed regular Daemon Kings and great cultivators, reaching the standard of mid third heavenly tribulation.

    It was only three measly prayer beads, but it allowed the entire set of Skull Prayer Beads to climb to a whole new level.

    The thirty-six prayer beads represented thirty-six afflictions. Vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought formed the six senses, or sadindriya. Each sense had two versions of the three senses, pain, happiness, and ambivalence for one and pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral for the other, which formed the thirty-six afflictions. It was a transitory stage from low grade to mid grade for the Skull Prayer Beads.

    Twenty-seven prayer beads were still of low grade. Only when she forged fifty-four of them could they be regarded as mid grade.

    Xiao An did not continue with forging Skull Prayer Beads. It was still a little difficult for her to forge fifty-four of them. Even if she were just missing the last one, it would only lead to an increase in number. Another dozen or so Skeleton Demons were not too useful.

    As a result, she began forging the Soul Stirring Bell instead. This was the white bone artifact she had forged most recently, and she had never found the time to forge it further. As such, it was very lacking in power. She needed to use it now too.

 Chapter 1259

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1259 ¨C On Dragonshead Mountain, the Imperial Court of Great Xia

    A cloud sailed across the blue sky. Li Fengyuan stood on the surging water vapour as he gazed at the ground sternly.

    After receiving news of her, he rushed over to the Harmony province immediately, but this was the sight he saw.

    The sun blazed down on the earth. It was originally a season of plant growth, yet there was only empty, barren land as far as the eye could see.

    There were no birds in the sky or fish in the waters. Even the deserts of the Scarlet province and the permafrost of the Frost province was not so deathly silent.

    A third heavenly tribulation featherfolk said, ¡°My king, I heard she even opened the largest demon cavern in the Harmony province. The north is currently surging with demon qi, with hundreds of kilometres of land contaminated. Even demonfolk struggle to match such evildoing. Are you still going to help her despite this?¡±

    Li Fengyuan looked away, gazing at the sky, ¡°She no longer needs my help. She doesn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s help. We¡¯re returning to the Cloud province! No, we¡¯re going straight to the East sea, away from this land of trouble!¡±

    The featherfolk all said, ¡°Wise be the king!¡±

    Li Fengyuan suddenly looked back, vaguely hearing the strange sound of a bell.

    The featherfolk failed to sense anything. They asked curiously, ¡°My king, what¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    The cloud rose up, shooting off into the east with a long tail and vanishing into the horizon.

    Cling¡­ clang¡­

    The sounds of bells rang out as Xiao An shot across the open wilderness, landing gently within a city. She stood on the tallest building with her bare feet, before rising high into the air again. The Soul Stirring Bell on her waist shook about loudly!

    On the bustling streets, within the restaurants where cups were raised¡­ wherever the sounds of bells reached, it stirred souls, making them suddenly erupt into a ball of pale flames. Wisps surged into the sky one by one, following after he figure.

    She seemed to wander through the world aimlessly with millions of pale streaks of fire following behind her, traversing the tall mountains and deep valleys, walking through day and night¡­

    The Dragon province.

    The countless mountains surged towards the centre like turbulent waves, clustering around a tall mountain, like a colossal dragon raising its head from the ocean, about to take flight.

    This was the head of all mountains in the world, Dragonshead mountain!

    It was rumoured that this mountain originated from the corpse of a true dragon, but that had already become a matter of a million years ago. The Dragon clan had left this world a long time ago, so many rumours could no longer be verified.

    A hall that stood three hundred metres tall resided on the top of the mountain, standing above the sea of clouds and almost connecting with the sky, as if it sat above the nine provinces.

    Under the glow of the sun, it manifested with a multitude of colours, flowing and changing, like it was surrounded by neon lights. It was as majestic and glorious as it could get.

    This basically did not resemble a creation of man, much less a creation for man.

    That was the reality too. This was the senate constructed by the godfolk during the age of the divine kingdoms.

    Each race of godfolk would send representatives here and hold conferences. The senators of the seven great divine races were responsible for mediating the conflicts between the races, discussing the strategy against the demonfolk, as well as to quell the rebellion of slaves.

    Apart from the Giant Lumberfolk, the shapes and statues of the godfolk were all human-like. It was said that they had only made the hall so large under the influence of the Dragon clan.

    In order to celebrate the arrival of the new age and strengthen their respective race¡¯s right to speech, every single race devoted themselves to the construction of this majestic hall.

    There should have never been such a tall mountain in the world. It was the Clayfolk that had raised Dragonshead mountain to such an unbelievable height and the Merfolk that changed the flows of hundreds of rivers, creating this natural formation and structure.

    The great architects of the Night Roamingfolk merged the styles of the various races and designed the original appearance of the hall.

    The Featherfolk were renowned for their elegance, but they were accustomed to spending time up in the clouds, so they were forced to degrade themselves and do some ¡°lowly¡± work, transporting over the materials from distant lands, or even the ocean, so this hall could be built.

    It was said that the Featherfolk had once designed a staircase of clouds that wound around Dragonshead mountain without ever dispersing, leading straight to the top of the mountain, but it was destroyed in the flames of war afterwards, just like the hanging gardens meticulously designed by the Giant Lumberfolk.

    However, the boulders forged by Fire Devouring folk and the metallic patterns personally laid down by the Metal Essence folk could not be destroyed that easily. Even after thousands of years, they continued to stand and shine.

    This was probably the one and only time the godfolk had poured their efforts together shoulder to shoulder to achieve something. Afterwards, even when the demonfolk invaded, it had been filled with schemes and skirmishes with one another, even hoping their enemy races to be destroyed by the demonfolk.

    These lowly ¡°slaves¡± were the best cannonfodder, especially the humans that could turn into demonfolk at any time. Instead, they were closer to the daemons that could serve as mounts.

    But back then, humans already possessed their own sects, schools and even beliefs. The generations upon generations of cultivators blazed open a trail, using cultivation methods that grew more and more profound to shorten their distance with the godfolk. Over a long period of accumulation, the Daemon race produced an endless number of Daemon Kings too, each possessing powerful abilities they were born with and an unruly temperament.

    Finally one day, the gods and the demons both sustained heavy losses. The slaves gained their freedom and the mounts broke free from their reins.

    By the time the young man had travelled across the nine provinces with the hawk and wolf, climbing up Dragonshead mountain, the godfolk had already become the otherfolk, while the hall had gone from the senate to the imperial court, continuing to rule over the nine provinces.

    At this moment, the emperor of Great Xia sat on a golden dragon throne. His appearance beneath his crown was filled with a sense of dignity and authority.

    The full court of officials and generals, the three ducal ministers and the nine ministers, all held ritual sceptres, standing to the two sides.

    In such a spacious hall, it was just unavoidable for the figure of humans to seem insignificant, but the auras they gave off truly made them seem like giants, and that was the result from intentionally holding back. Otherwise, any single one of their aura was enough to fill the entire hall.

    A stern voice echoed through the hall, ¡°As the governor of the Harmony province reports, the buddha nemesis has rampaged through the Harmony province, leaving none alive. Apart from the capital, Daliang city, and where the Great Banyan Tree King stands, the other cultivation sects have all been destroyed. Many cultivators have retreated to Daliang city. The daemons of the Harmony province had received the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s warning, either hiding deep underground, gathering by the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s side or downright fleeing from the Harmony province.¡±

    The Guardian Hawk God paused, before summarising, ¡°The Harmony province is done for.¡±

    The hall was so silent that they could even hear a pin drop. The danger of the buddha nemesis was so great that it took everyone by surprise.

    They all gazed towards where the three ducal ministers stood. Grand preceptor Dong was no longer around, while the faces of the remaining two became sunken.

    Originally, standing in their positions, the only thing they had to consider was facing the tribulation and ascending. The threat of death had ceased to exist a long time ago, but now, they deeply experienced it once more.

    Grand preceptor Dong had not even died a meaningful death, basically butchered casually, dying as worthlessly as a mortal. Back then, that had already been viewed as a challenge towards all of Great Xia. As it seemed now, perhaps she had not taken Great Xia seriously at all.

    The emperor of Great Xia asked, ¡°Where is she right now?¡±

    ¡°We are unable to pinpoint her location. She might have come to the Dragon province.¡±

    There was a series of whispers in the hall. What were they supposed to do if the buddha nemesis came to the Dragon province? Were they supposed to hide on Dragonshead mountain like the governor of the harmony province? But their sects and dwellings were all scattered throughout the Dragon province. If they retreated or avoided her, that would be a great disgrace.

 Chapter 1260

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1260 ¨C Reincarnated Celestial, Chu Tian and Lin Xuan

    ¡°Silence!¡± Si Qing called out.

    He was dressed in the gilded dragon robes of the crown prince, standing beside the emperor¡¯s platform and maintaining order within the hall.

    This job seemed to possess quite a lot of authority, but it was only strutting around in borrowed plumes. If there were eunuchs in this world, then this was the work of a eunuch.

    He was filled with annoyance, but he showed none of it on his face. What could he do about the fact that he was the weakest among the crown princes? Even Si Bao who had undergone the tribulation later than him was stronger. This was all because Li Qingshan had destroyed his body back then, making his strength plummet. His hatred for him never decreased, only growing with each passing day.

    The hall immediately fell silent.

    The emperor of Great Xia said, ¡°My mighty Great Xia has a full court of officials and generals, yet we can¡¯t even find a way to deal with a single person?¡±

    The leader of the nine ministers, the minister of state, said, ¡°There¡¯s something I¡¯d like to say. If it¡¯s just dealing with the buddha nemesis, there are plenty of methods we can use. We are not without a chance to kill her either, but it would take the strength of the entire empire. We are currently at a critical juncture with the offerings to heaven. Once the offerings to heaven is complete, the buddha nemesis will only be a small problem. If the offerings to heaven fails, the nine provinces will probably struggle to escape the fate of being swallowed by the Hungry Ghost realm even if we manage to kill the buddha nemesis.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°Originally, forcing back the Hungry Ghost realm would not be too difficult, but they¡¯ve come for the buddha nemesis this time, and they¡¯re determined to get her regardless of the cost!¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia frowned. ¡°The buddha nemesis again!¡±

    The minister of state said, ¡°It¡¯s as the religious preceptor of the left has said. The issue is not just with the Hungry Ghost realm. The buddha nemesis has already opened over a dozen demon caverns of various sizes. If this continues, then we¡¯ll face an unprecedented demon plague before long. The buddha nemesis is the one who¡¯s caused this, but our enemy definitely isn¡¯t a measly person, but two worlds.¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia shot to his feet and said furiously, ¡°Are you saying the heavens sent down the buddha nemesis to work against us? Are you telling me to watch on powerlessly as she runs amok?¡±

    Immediately, winds began to surge outside the hall as thunder rumbled.

    The minister of state said, ¡°We cannot become fixated on small things that will only destroy the bigger picture. Please prioritise the offerings to heaven, your majesty!¡±

    The officials all said, ¡°Please prioritise the offerings to heaven, your majesty!¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia sat back down slowly. ¡°So be it. Once the offerings to heaven are complete, a measly buddha nemesis can be taken down with ease! Hawk King, have you found that Reincarnated Celestial?¡±

    The Guardian Hawk God said, ¡°Not yet. The various provinces and commanderies have all provided a list, which includes some people of great talent. They might have been cultivators in their past lives, but they¡¯re not the celestial we¡¯re after. Most of them have only retained some occasional memories of their past lives, and their previous lives weren¡¯t even aware of what cultivation was. As such, they can¡¯t be considered as Reincarnated Celestials. Perhaps that celestial hasn¡¯t recovered his memories yet and hasn¡¯t remembered his duty, or he would definitely come to the Dragon province.¡±

    Actually, Reincarnated Celestials was quite a rough concept. The countless living creatures all underwent rebirth in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Any single person they found could be regarded as a ¡°reincarnation¡±. Only those who spent their past life as cultivators and retained some memories of their past life could be regarded as Reincarnated Celestials.

    The issue was the nine provinces spanned several tens of thousand kilometres, with their population exceeding ten billion at its maximum. There were far too many talented people. On top of that, something like memories of the past life could not be verified. Even if they did possess these memories, most of them were blurred and incomplete. They could only determine this through their talent for comprehension and cultivation speed.

    With some people, even if they did not admit it themselves, other people would think they were Reincarnated Celestials, like Xiao An.

    As a result, there were far too many people known as Reincarnated Celestials throughout the world.

    However, the imperial court of Great Xia was only after a single person. Over all these years, they had constantly ordered the Hawkwolf Guard to scour the land, but they never found anything.

    Many years ago, the Clear River prefecture had someone like that called Chu Tian. Back then, Gu Yanying had even been serving as the White Hawk commander of the Ruyi commandery, but perhaps intentionally or otherwise, she did not cooperate with her father¡¯s work, brushing it aside carelessly. Afterwards, Chu Tian ¡°died an early death¡±, and the matter of the Reincarnated Celestial just became a joke.

    The celestial that the imperial court of Great Xia had been searching for never appeared either.

    ¡­¡­

    Under the hazy moonlight, the night mist enveloped the tiny islands in the lake as if the turmoil of the world had not affected it, tranquil like a painting.

    A man and a woman strolled along the shore of the lake. The man was handsome and elegant, while the woman was beautiful and charming. They seemed like a match made in heaven that had grown weary of the battles and had retired in seclusion.

    ¡°Why do you treat me in such a special way?¡± The woman was rather perplexed, but also rather eager.

    A sliver of surprise flashed across the man¡¯s eyes as if he had never expected someone as clever as her to ask such a foolish question. He said in complete sincerity, ¡°Because you¡¯re very special!¡±

    ¡°Heh, especially bad!¡± The woman looked down and mocked herself.

    ¡°Yeah, not only especially bad, but very cruel too!¡± The man smiled.

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve always thought I hid that very well.¡± The woman smiled as well.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. I¡¯ve always noticed it, but it seems like the past White Hawk commanders of the Ruyi commandery were no different.¡± The man smiled wryly as if he was powerless about this.

    The woman grumbled flirtatiously, ¡°Hey, if you¡¯re talking about me, then so be it, but do you really have to talk about my master too?¡±

    The man was mildly surprised. He had never seen her behave like that, and she was actually surprisingly charming. Suddenly, he recalled how she had practised the arts of charm in the past before, but the tender feelings in her voice definitely were not fake. He smiled. ¡°Just as they say, like master, like disciple. Senior Gu is of unmatched charm. She obviously has her reasons for accepting you as her disciple. Anyone who¡¯s observant can notice how special you are.¡±

    ¡°Who knows, maybe she finds me particularly loathesome, so she¡¯s specially accepted me as her disciple so that she can torture me!¡± the woman said in a half-joking manner.

    ¡°Now I¡¯ve never heard of something like that, accepting a person you loathe as a disciple.¡± The man laughed aloud. His clear laughter startled a flock of egrets.

    ¡°The world has always been filled with many strange matters. Out of the eight sufferings of buddhism, isn¡¯t there one that refers to the union with those you hate?¡± The woman turned to look at the man.

    TL: The eight sufferings include the suffering of life, old age, sickness, death, parting with those you love, union with those you hate.

    The man looked back at her. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m not too familiar with this, but I think the greatest suffering in life is being unable to get what you want.¡±

    The woman looked away. ¡°What do you want then?¡±

    The man abruptly changed the topic. ¡°In the past, that primary disciple of the school of Legalism, young master Hua, was infatuated with your master. It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s already left the Ruyi commandery, or I¡¯d definitely invite him to a cup and ask for his advice on how to break free from this suffering of being unable to get what you want.¡±

    The woman fell silent for a while before she said, ¡°Did you know? The person I hate the most is my master.¡±

    The man asked curiously, ¡°Why?¡±

    The woman stopped and gazed at the moonlight floating in the lake. ¡°I¡¯ve never told you about my past, have I?¡±

    ¡°You haven¡¯t.¡± The man shook his head. Her past had always been a mystery.

    ¡°Would you like to hear about it?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to.¡±

    The man could sense that the woman was currently opening up to him. All of his efforts over the years had finally paid off. Joy welled up inside him. After racking his brains and making every endeavour, was this not the exact thing he was after, her true heart?

    Only once he had obtained her true heart could he personally crush it and take back everything that belonged to him!

    Qian Rongzhi, this is my revenge as Chu Tian!

 Chapter 1261

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1261 ¨C The Snake¡¯s Kiss

    ¡°Did you know? My original surname was Shangguan¡­¡±

    Qian Rongzhi dazedly gazed at the rippling moonlight in the lake as if her soul had crossed through time and returned to a very, very distant past, where all that remained now was an empty husk.

    Lin Xuan smiled. ¡°Shangguan Rongzhi does seem to sound a little better.¡±

    However, as she slowly told him about the past that she had buried away, Lin Xuan gradually could not smile anymore. He had no idea what to say.

    He was a man of two lives, having experienced various dangers. Even slaughter and death no longer meant anything to him, but when the deepest pains of a person, the bone-deep sense of shame that also happened to be unmentionable, was described by the exact person who had suffered it all, even he found it chilling.

    He could not help but think about his two lives. Compared to her experiences, it could all be described as smooth sailing. Even his greatest mistake was committed when his memories had not been awakened, during the period when he was called Chu Tian. But even Chu Tian spent most of his life in arrogance, complacency, and heartlessness.

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s voice was strangely calm as if she was describing the experiences of someone else altogether.

    Lin Xuan could not help but develop a sense of pity, but he immediately eliminated this thought, recovering the pride of a ¡°celestial¡±.

    There are plenty of pitiful people in the world, but just how many of them become a demoness like her? Since life is so painful, why don¡¯t you just die a little sooner, instead of making problems for others? How dare you get in the way of my mission, such that I still can¡¯t report back to the Dragon province even now. Damn you! Qian Rongzhi, oh Qian Rongzhi, if I don¡¯t lead you around like a dog before torturing you to death, I¡¯ll never be satisfied!

    However, an expression of sorrow and pity filled his face. He interrupted her, reluctant to see her continue. ¡°Rongzhi, don¡¯t say anything more.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s shoulders shivered, and she looked back slowly. Her face was sorrowful and miserable. ¡°Lin Xuan, I¡¯ve never mentioned this to anyone before, so please let me continue, alright? I want you to learn about my actual past, but if you¡¯re tired of listening, then just go! Forget anything ever happened here.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Please continue!¡± Lin Xuan said helplessly.

    After his change in disposition, he no longer found her to be particularly pitiful. Instead, he was filled with a sense of cruel pleasure. Digging open her old scars and making her bleed could only be regarded as a part of his revenge.

    Qian Rongzhi told him everything in a single breath. By then, her face was already covered in tears. She asked in a daze, ¡°Am I a monster?¡±

    Yes, you¡¯re a monster, a twisted, crazy monster! To think that you can even mention these details. You have no sense of shame!

    That was what Lin Xuan thought. He took a step forward and said tenderly, ¡°No, you¡¯re not. None of this was your fault! The people from the Qian family deserved to die, but since you¡¯ve already gotten your revenge, why don¡¯t you let go of it? Your master wasn¡¯t trying to torture you. She tried to make you turn back!¡±

    ¡°Can I really still turn back?¡± Qian Rongzhi was in a daze. As she looked at her hands, her gaze became determined again. ¡°No, I can¡¯t turn back anymore. If I turn back, then I have nothing. All I can do now is continue down this path. Sometimes, I feel like I am destined to suffer in this life. If that really is the case, how can I escape the arrangements of fate?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have nothing. You still have me. I will stay by your side forever!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi was touched. ¡°Really? After hearing all of this from me¡­¡±

    ¡°Really. I, Lin Xuan, swear to the heavens that I will stay by your side forever!¡±

    The intangible will of the heavens that flowed silently in the World of the Nine Heavens obviously would not take note of such empty words, but she was like a woman submerged in love. She seemed smitten, throwing herself at her lover without any hesitation.

    Lin Xuan hesitated for a split second, but he still spread his arms resolutely. This was a heaven-sent opportunity!

    Even feeble children could kill adults that were caught off-guard, not to mention the fact that their disparity in strength was not that great.

    He could not afford to drag out the matter of the Heaven Climbing Vine any further. The Dragon province was searching for him urgently. If he wanted to set foot in the imperial court of the Dragon province gloriously, he had to do it.

    When they embraced each other firmly, Lin Xuan felt pain, but he could endure it with his willpower. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s hoarse, apologetic voice rang out from beside his ear, ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m trying my best to suppress it.¡±

    Lin Xuan said sincerely, ¡°You¡¯ve already given me the best thing I could ever want. So what about this little bit of pain?¡± He considered just how he would subdue her, such that he did not kill her immediately.

    ¡°Really? I will give you even more, much more!¡± Qian Rongzhi murmured. She brought her red lips to Lin Xuan¡¯s neck and kissed away.

    At this precise moment, a cloud just happened to shroud the moonlight. The atmosphere spread with the darkness.

    Lin Xuan recalled the past that she had mentioned and felt disgusted, but the disgust was replaced with shock very soon. Pain more than ten times, a hundred times worse suddenly surged into his soul.

    Abruptly, he widened his eyes as he produced a meaningless gurgle from his mouth. Even a Reincarnated Celestial could not simply brush aside the suffering of hell, not to mention her almost-maddening way of cultivation. Hundreds and thousands of hell snakes lived in her body, and it was not just to borrow the power of hell. She could be described as a living hell.

    ¡°This is the best thing that I have. Do you like it? Don¡¯t worry, I will completely satisfy you.¡±

    Before anyone had noticed, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes had become a pair of cold snake eyes. The hell snakes slithered across her face. Even her lips and tongue were entwined with venomous snakes, hissing as they flicked their tongues.

    Lin Xuan¡¯s face sank as veins bulged. He squeezed out a name from between his teeth. ¡°Rongzhi!¡±

    He still refused to believe that his identity had been exposed. He was certain his disguise had been perfect and flawless. From Chu Tian to Lin Xuan, he had truly become an entirely different person. No matter how cautious Qian Rongzhi was, it was impossible for her to find any clues! So just what had gone wrong? Or was she still testing him?

    ¡°Chu Tian!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s voice was filled with excitement, embracing him firmly as if she wanted to dig into his body with her arms. The hell snakes slithered into his body, eating away at his soul.

    ¡°Did you know? I hate it most when others pity me. Am I really that pitiful? I will make them a hundred times, a thousand times more pitiful than me. Fortunately, I¡¯m not that cruel of a person. At least I won¡¯t pity them. Alright, I¡¯ve already given you enough. It¡¯s time for you to give me some too.¡±

    A vine extended out, plunging straight into Chu Tian¡¯s dantian.

    Chu Tian tried his best to gather his concentration. ¡°Release me, or I¡¯ll make you perish with me!¡±

    ¡°Sure! I can¡¯t wait for it.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi pulled him in even more tightly, like a great python trying to swallow an elephant. Even if it would burst apart to its death, it refused to let go of the prey in its mouth.

    ¡°You madwoman!¡±

    Chu Tian was filled with regret. He should have sought help from the imperial court a long time ago without being caught up over his pride as a celestial.

    At this moment, the Heaven Climbing Vine pierced the dantian, but it was empty, without the existence of a golden core.

    A smear of violet light lit up on his forehead. A small, violet person that resembled an infant shot off as a streak of violet light.

    The cultivation method he practised was the Heavenly Tome of Violet Manor from the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. He opened a violet manor in him instead of condensing a golden core, so he possessed the various abilities of a Soul Nascence cultivator after just the second heavenly tribulation. He mainly chose this cultivation method to deal with Qian Rongzhi, but he never expected he would have to use an escape technique akin to soul projection right from the beginning.

    Qian Rongzhi let go of Chu Tian¡¯s body that had been sucked dry by the Heaven Climbing Vine. She smiled gently. ¡°Coward!¡±

 Chapter 1262

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1262 ¨C I am You

    The small violet person slammed against a gorgeous, multicoloured barrier and rebounded heavily.

    The gorgeous barrier constantly wriggled about, actually composed of countless venomous snakes. It was her Venomous Snake hell.

    The school of Legalism was most skilled at capturing and imprisonment. Hell by itself had always been a series of prisons, suppressing the vicious spirits and fiends of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm.

    This is impossible. Only true great cultivators of the school of Legalism can produce a domain of their own. She¡¯s only at the second heavenly tribulation!

    The small violet person with Chu Tian¡¯s appearance finally became frightened. After escaping with his violet manor, even regular formations could not stop him, so he never imagined she could trap him.

    If she were a regular second heavenly tribulation disciple of the school of Legalism, then she could obviously do nothing to him.

    There were many disciples of the school of Legalism throughout the world, but most of them only borrowed the aura of hell, like the hell guards outside the prisons, inflicting pain to others. If they were supposed to get a taste of their own medicine, they would also respond violently and refuse desperately.

    There was a very, very small number of people like the two of them, master and disciple, who directly drew the hot winds of hell and the venomous snakes into their bodies.

    That could temper their souls and benefit their cultivation tremendously, as well as provide them with great power in battle. However, they had to face so much pain and torture day and night that living became pointless. It could even cause tremendous mental damage. On top of that, once they were possessed, they could not break free from it for the rest of their lives. Many disciples of the school of Legalism bold enough to take this step all ended up going insane or committing suicide.

    It was said that even upon death, they would be dragged into the corresponding hell. Now that was truly eternal damnation. As a result, the Illustrations of Naraka became a taboo of the school of Legalism, practised by a very select few.

    Gu Yanying came from an extraordinary background and had many methods to increase her strength. She had also been eyeing the kunpeng¡¯s feather the entire time, so she was not in too much of a hurry for quick success. She could slowly draw in the hot winds according to her ability to adapt. Then she could slowly balance and adjust to it, so it would not affect her mind. She had only reached this step after many years.

    Qian Rongzhi was different. Whether it was her background, her insight, her ability to comprehend, or her talent, she came nowhere close to Gu Yanying. She drew as many hell snakes into her body as possible in an almost self-destructive way, without any consideration for the so-called limit. She continued until she turned into a nest of snakes, unable to accept another venomous snake.

    She should have gone insane a long time ago, but her actions were already no different from insanity. She should have died a long time ago, as this was no different from seeking death. However, the deeper the pain was, the heavier her hatred became, cursing everything from within hell.

    As a result, whenever she submerged herself in cultivation, she would manifest this miniature Venomous Snake hell, producing a domain of her own and trapping herself.

    Qian Rongzhi advised him calmly. ¡°Lin Xuan, just blow yourself up, considering you still have the opportunity to drag me down with you right now.¡± Suddenly, she smiled. ¡°Others might even think we died over love!¡±

    Chu Tian happened to be considering using self-destruction as a threat, which immediately left him speechless. This crazy woman! Once I blow myself up, my soul will be destroyed! I¡¯m a mighty Reincarnated Celestial. I still have a limitless future ahead of me, so how can I die with a crazy woman like her?

    As a result, he calmed down. ¡°Rongzhi, I think we still can talk this out. Whether I¡¯m Chu Tian or Lin Xuan, I¡¯ve never done anything that¡¯s let you down, so why must we face mutual destruction like this? I¡¯ve lost this round. You can keep the Heaven Climbing Vine. I can even give you extraordinary cultivation methods that can completely free you from your current pain. I will leave the Green province forever. We can each go our own way from this moment onwards, without anything to do with each other.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said furiously, ¡°You¡¯re lying. These venomous snakes have already become embedded with my soul. How can they be removed?¡±

    Chu Tian became hopeful. ¡°No, nothing is impossible. There¡¯s a heavenly tome from the Myriad Heavenly Tomes called¡­¡±

    Qian Rongzhi listened patiently as if she was rather tempted.

    Chu Tian said, ¡°Let me go, and I¡¯ll give you the heavenly tome.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi furrowed her brows. ¡°If I let you go, what if you change your mind?¡±

    That led to another series of disputes before they finally came to a compromise. Chu Tian threatened her. ¡°If you still don¡¯t agree to these conditions, I¡¯ll blow up my violet manor immediately!¡± A strange sensation of heaviness suddenly overcame him, and his consciousness blurred slightly. A wisp of black smoke rose up from the forehead of the small, violet person. ¡°W- what did you do?¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s the Venomous Snake hell, there obviously will be venom! Except it just takes too long to come into effect,¡± Qian Rongzhi said.

    The venom of the hell snakes did not harm the body at all. Instead, it ate away and numbed the soul. Chu Tian practised the Heavenly Tome of Violet Manor, so his soul was abnormally powerful, which was the only reason why he had lasted until now.

    Chu Tian realised in surprise that she had been buying time the entire time. He said resolutely, ¡°I¡¯ll take you do-¡±

    Before he could even finish his words, Qian Rongzhi suddenly opened the Venomous Snake hell and pulled back.

    Chu Tian was immediately thrown into a dilemma. If he went after her, it would be almost certain death for Qian Rongzhi with the violet manor¡¯s flight speed, but after a moment of consideration, he turned into a streak of violet light and shot off towards the east.

    As long as there was a chance at survival, who would simply let it slip by?

    ¡°Coward!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi turned into a streak of colourful light, diving into the earth and slithering away towards the north.

    The boundary between the Green province and the Dragon province, where the Ice Sword cliff once stood, had been replaced by jagged glaciers.

    After so many years, roasted by the proud sun of summer countless times, it still did not melt. Instead, with each winter, it grew even larger and sturdier.

    A streak of violet light landed among the glaciers, turning into the tiny, violet person again. However, his originally distinct facial features had now become blurred. His body was enveloped in a layer of black smoke. The snake venom had completely come into effect.

    He thought with a great reluctance to let everything end here, I am the genius of the Human realm, the first senior brother of the Myriad sect. I am tasked with an important duty, so how can I die here!? It¡¯s all that woman¡¯s fault, that damned woman!

    He crossed his legs and sat down, doing his best to gather his concentration and purge the snake venom.

    With the wonders of the Heavenly Tome of Violet Manor, it was not a problem for him to suppress the snake venom and make it to the imperial court of the Dragon province.

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly walked about from behind a glacier. ¡°You¡¯ve come!¡±

    Chu Tian was absolutely shocked. With his speed, he should have shaken her off a long time ago, and he had clearly travelled off towards the east.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I am a White Hawk commander. The celestial that the imperial court is searching for is you, right?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi made her way over to him and crouched down. She extended her hand, and a tiny snake slithered out of the violet manor, returning to her hand. The snake was basically even thinner than a hair, able to directly slither into pores.

    ¡°Lin Xuan, why didn¡¯t you perish with me? You had the opportunity.¡±

    Chu Tian could no longer say anything. His consciousness blurred, basically unable to maintain a humanoid form. Her voice seemed to ring out from an extremely distant place. The anger and hatred in him made him attempt to gather his focus and blow up his violet manor.

    A vine wrapped around him gently and sucked away everything. Glistening, violet light lit up, flowing into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body along the vine. She shut her eyes and tilted her head backwards, letting out a moan of great joy.

    Countless fragmented thoughts flew through her sea of consciousness. These were probably the memories of Lin Xuan and Chu Tian. There were even some memory fragments that were distant and blurred, such that she could not identify them clearly. They were probably from his past life.

    But among them, there was one memory that was extremely clear, even clearer than all the memories of his current life. It was as if it was embedded in his soul.

    Qian Rongzhi opened her eyes. It all made sense now.

    She said in a mournful manner, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will make your final wish come true.¡± She began to laugh again. ¡°From today onwards, I am you.

    She stood up, crossed over the layers upon layers of glaciers, and made her way towards the Dragon province.

 Chapter 1263

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1263 ¨C Devouring the World

    The Gate of Hungry Ghosts

    No one could stop the mouth of the hungry ghost that had completely split open. Under the watch of countless undead, the white bone tower shot into the air like a sharp tooth, penetrating deep into the atmospheric winds until it connected with the sky.

    Boom!

    The entire world seemed to shake, like a sheep with its neck pierced by a wolf¡¯s fangs, trembling away on the brink of death.

    The colour of the sky changed. The deathly grey replaced the deep blue and spread slowly. It did not move quickly, but it was unstoppable. It would not stop until it dyed the entire sky.

    Within the grey sky, countless eyes peered down on the land of the nine provinces.

    All the living creatures gazed up, screaming in fright and fleeing in panic like an ants¡¯ nest that had just been unearthed, scurrying around everywhere on the ground.

    Even the strongest ¡°ants¡± were shocked. This was an unprecedented disaster for the nine provinces.

    The constant invasions of demonfolk were basically like a child¡¯s game in comparison. The invasions of the demonfolk would only lead to world wars upon world wars. At the very least, they could still put up a struggle or even defeat the enemy.

    Now, there was only despair.

    The Great Banyan Tree King despaired as well. He had not even become the god of the world yet. However, even if he achieved that, becoming the head caretaker of this world, he could only capture a few thieves that snuck into his courtyard secretly and deal with some thugs at most. Instead, what he faced now was an army. Whether he resisted or yielded, it would be a massacre regardless. They had no chance of getting out alive!

    The sea of trees that spanned thousands of kilometres in the Mist province seemed to enter a harsh winter. They all began to wither and shed their leaves under the grey sky.

    A butterfly fluttered through the air gently before suddenly falling without any prior signs, joining the endless, rustling fallen leaves.

    Small creatures scurried through the forests as wild beasts rampaged about as if they had sensed that the end was near. Countless birds took to the skies as they cried out, trying to migrate to the south. Their feathers blotted out the sky, but they fell back to the ground again after a short while.

    Within a tribe of barbarians, all of the tribesmen knelt and worshipped a totem pole, slamming their heads heavily against the barren ground.

    Only the shaman was dressed with a cloak woven from the colourful feathers of birds, dancing around the totem pole. He chanted away as if he was singing an ancient folk song.

    The old people collapsed first, without any sound or movement afterwards.

    The middle-aged people became old people. Their shallow wrinkles dug deeply into their faces like the merciless marks of time. Tears were strewn across their faces.

    The young people became middle-aged people, looking at each other with faces full of fear as they witnessed each other rapidly age.

    The young children began to grow old before they could even grow up, rapidly meeting the end of their lives.

    In the end, only the shaman remained. His throat was dry and hoarse, and his movements were sluggish and stiff, dancing around between the corpses like a strange wooden puppet. Suddenly, his string snapped, and he also collapsed and died.

    The tribe fell into silence. The shaman suddenly stood up again and glanced down at the corpse draped in feathers, realising that it was him. Before he could even think too much about it, an irrepressible sensation filled his soul, making him recall the great famine from many years ago. He had gone many days without eating, almost starving to death. The feeling right now was a hundred times worse than back then.

    Corpses rose up from the ground, turning into undead.

    Without a second of hesitation, the undead turned on each other and began devouring one another, without any regard for how they had been father and son or brothers the moment earlier. Everything was in an attempt to satiate that deep hunger.

    That was the curse that the Hungry Ghost realm had bestowed upon all undead. It was completely impossible for low level undead to overcome this instinct.

    Situations like this happened everywhere, which filled the Great Banyan Tree King with sorrow. Compared to this, they would be better off being devoured by her Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. At the very least, there was no pain like that.

    Among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, the Hungry Ghost realm was a lesser realm only second to the Hell realm. Anyone who experienced it would understand that hunger itself had always been a form of torture.

    Finally, within the ancient tribe, only the shaman was left standing, and his power had grown to a greater height, but his hunger had not been satisfied. He rushed off into the dead jungle, searching for new food.

    However, just because they became undead did not mean they had a chance to ¡°survive¡±. Under the constant elimination, very few of them would remain even after becoming undead. The others were all reduced to food.

    And when the Hungry Ghost realm completely devoured the nine provinces, the powerful undead would swarm the place. Even if all the living creatures in the nine provinces became undead, they could not escape the fate of being devoured.

    Only humans, daemons, and otherfolk that had been powerful cultivators in the first place had a slight chance at surviving.

    The Great Banyan Tree King could not afford to bother with the other provinces anymore. He gathered all of his strength in Towering city, making the countless leaves shine with resplendent green light, protecting all the creatures within several thousand kilometres from the corrosion of death.

    In the imperial court of the Dragon province, dragon qi rushed into the air, turning into the figure of a true dragon that coiled around Dragonshead mountain, watching as the grey skies drew closer. All it did was protect the imperial court, neglecting all other places aside from there.

    Apart from these two places, only the various provincial governors could contend against it. The formations of regular sects only managed to preserve themselves.

    Cultivators could not be corrupted that easily, but it was only a matter of time. The very cornerstone they depended on to survive no longer existed. Apart from becoming undead, there was no other path they could take.

    Suddenly, the Great Banyan Tree King discovered that the most crucial power which contended against the devouring of the Hungry Ghost realm was actually the demon caverns. The demon qi rushed into the air like thick smoke, obstructing the spread of the greyness in the sky.

    The Demon domain was not one of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, but it was no weaker than the Hungry Ghost realm in terms of the level of the world. No matter how vicious demonfolk were, they were still living creatures.

    When the laws of the two worlds collided, the expansion and devouring of the Hungry Ghost realm would slow down until the demon caverns were purged and eliminated. This was no longer as simple as sealing or suppression, but stealing their food, completely breaking off the connection between the nine provinces and the Demon domain.

    The demon caverns were like sharp bones studded within a fish¡¯s body. They had to be picked out carefully, or the nine provinces would actually become a point of vulnerability like their underbelly.

    Don¡¯t tell me she was expecting this as well? the Great Banyan Tree King contemplated.

    Over the past few months, she had rampaged through the various provinces and carried out a great massacre, basically opening up most of the demon caverns throughout the world. Now, they finally came into effect. Not only could they stop the devouring of the Hungry Ghost realm, but they also served as an optimal path of retreat.

    Otherwise, even if they ascended now, they would probably just ascend to the Hungry Ghost realm.

    It was not that he was incapable of calculating that. Instead, he had not considered it at all. With becoming the god of the world as his objective, he basically hoped to suppress all the demon caverns, so why would he encourage an invasion from demonfolk?

    Now, he could not afford to think too much about it. He immediately opened the demon caverns littered throughout the Mist province, letting the gushing demon qi contend against the spreading grey haze of death.

    He could not help but lament. Perhaps only with no emotions and no desire can you reach the limits of wisdom! But if she were truly emotionless, she should be leaving the world right now.

    On the great plains of the Cool province, the wind from the north swept up her white robes. Suddenly, she looked back. Countless eyes in the distant heavens pierced through the obstructions of the zones, gathering on her.

    The feeling was like a tiny insect that children observed through a glass cover. There was contempt, curiosity, interest¡­ and of course, caution.

    Because she was not a regular tiny insect, but a ¡°venomous¡± one, the legendary venomous insect that would destroy the Hungry Ghost realm.

    There was only caution in these gazes, not exactly fear. Out of all the existences that could gather around the ¡°glass cover¡±, any single one of them could flatten the nine provinces if it were not for the glass cover. As a matter of fact, their gazes alone could collapse the minds of people.

    But she was unfazed. She only came to an understanding. So the ghost tower had still been completed in the very end.

    ¡°Master, let¡¯s go to the Demon domain! It¡¯ll be too late once the Hungry Ghost realm completely devours the nine provinces.¡±

    However, the eyes did make the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished shiver or even experience fear. It would no longer be possible for him to defect to another swordmaster. If he clashed against them, he would definitely be destroyed.

    The Cool province had many demon caverns of various sizes too. All of them led to the Demon domain. As long as she made it to the Demon domain, even the Hungry Ghost realm would be powerless over her. They could not even send in undead to hunt her down.

    However, she shook her head. ¡°Take me to the tombs of the Five Absolute.¡±

    The Five Absolutes Immortal had left behind five tombs. They were all known as zones, drifting among the nine provinces. The spirit of the Painting Tomb was the Dragon King of Ink Sea, while the spirit of the Sword Tomb was the Immortal Relinquished sword. The Zither Tomb, Calligraphy Tomb, and Chess Tomb still remained.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, ¡°That¡¯s just wasting time. The cultivators of this world are far too weak, which is why they can¡¯t find the five tombs. Meanwhile, the Hungry Ghost realm even has plenty of Ghost and Corpse Immortals. The five tombs are connected with the nine provinces. Once this world is completely devoured, we¡¯ll have nowhere to go.¡±

    ¡°My mind has been made. Say no more.¡±

    Tombs corresponded to graves. Hiding within a tomb was truly an ominous sign. However, before his return, she definitely could not leave, even if she perished within a tomb.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Becoming one with the sword, they twisted around and circled about, diving into the space there.

    Under the great ghost tower, the mouth of the hungry ghost abruptly spat out a black coffin. It sailed into the sky before landing heavily.

    The coffin was covered in strange, complicated engravings. Suddenly, a crack opened, and not a single wisp of corpse qi or ghost qi leaked out. Instead, a pale hand grabbed the edge of the coffin gently, pushing open the lid completely.

    A young man tried stepping out of the black coffin. His foot touched the barren earth, and he smiled. ¡°So it does work!¡±

    There were two sharp fangs protruding from the corners of his mouth, but aside from that, he seemed no different from a human. He was dressed in white clothes and black armour, with a blade hanging from his waist, like a valiant soldier. He did not seem vicious or horrifying at all like the regular undead.

    He looked around. All of the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings lowered their heads, afraid to meet his gaze. They cried out inside, Zombie!

    If the Hungry Ghost realm filled with chaotic slaughter was said to possess a ¡°divine clan¡± as well, then that would definitely be the Zombie clan.

    Unlike the vicious and twisted others of their kind, the external appearance of zombies basically bore no difference to the living. They even possessed a body temperature and a heartbeat. They were neither tortured by hunger, nor did they devour other undead, yet their strength surpassed regular undead. They were truly the favoured children of the Hungry Ghost realm, almost equivalent to the R¨¡hu clan in the Asura realm.

    However, all R¨¡hu were born as R¨¡hu, while zombies were unable to procreate. Aside from their ancestral god, N¨¹ba, they all inherited legacies after birth. Only extremely powerful zombies could produce descendants, and it would come at a cost to their fundamental powers, so they would only choose from the unrivalled geniuses of the trichiliocosm.

    Kuang Tianyou was one of these zombies. He asked, ¡°What¡¯re you gathering here for instead of finding the living to feast on?¡±

    ¡°This is sovereign Li¡¯s orders, sir zombie. It¡¯s rumoured that the enemy is in the north.¡±

    Once they left the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, even if the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings worked together, they were not her opponents.

    ¡°I have the guide of the stars. I don¡¯t need you to tell me.¡±

    Kuang Tianyou glanced at the sky. The eyes of various sizes were just like the stars, gathering some place up north. At this moment, many of the gazes gathered on him too.

    He bowed towards a pair of the eyes and waved his hand. ¡°Since I¡¯m here, you don¡¯t need to worry about some sovereign Li anymore. Go make a mess! Hahaha, once I destroy the successor of white bone, I will be the sovereign of this domain!¡±

 Chapter 1264

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1264 ¨C A Desperate Counterattack

    Boom! The ground sank by three hundred metres.

    Within the mad laughter, Kuang Tianyou rose up, rushing through the haze until he reached the end of the sky.

    The rolling atmospheric winds slashed against his body, but it failed to even leave a mark.

    He overlooked the nine provinces. Even under the gazes of the countless eyes, he felt no fear. He murmured to himself, ¡°This is my territory!¡±

    Whether it was the Great Banyan Tree King in the south or the imperial court of Great Xia in the north, neither of them were worth his attention. As a matter of fact, even his main target for his trip, the successor of white bone, he could kill with ease.

    That was not arrogance or conceit, but absolute confidence.

    He had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation a long time ago. According to the standard for regular undead, he was a Corpse Emperor, but he did not find this to be a term of respect, at least to a true zombie.

    Even the strongest cultivators in the World of the Nine Provinces had only reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation, an entire realm of cultivation away from him, so the difference in strength was worlds apart too. On top of that, a tremendous gulf in power existed between the third heavenly tribulation and the fourth heavenly tribulation in the first place.

    Buddhist cultivators that had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation were known to have attained the fruit of Srot¨¡panna, which meant ¡°entering the ranks¡±. It was not called that without a reason. On the path to becoming an immortal or a god, they basically had not entered the ranks if they had not undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation.

    Even if thousands of great cultivators banded together, they definitely would not be his opponent. Even to any Corpse Emperor from the Hungry Ghost realm that happened to be slightly stronger, this mission would be of no difficulty. His only opponent was the world itself.

    However, the corpse gods and ghost immortals that ruled the Hungry Ghost realm were absolutely determined to emerge victoriously in this battle. Even if there was an insignificant amount of risk, they wanted to nip it in the bud.

    As a matter of fact, they did not even wait until the Hungry Ghost realm had completely devoured the nine provinces, directly sending in a ¡°zombie¡± that had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. Even with the might and influence of the Hungry Ghost realm, they had paid quite a large price to construct this black coffin that could fool the heavens. They were truly determined.

    Kuang Tianyou sucked in a deep breath. His fangs protruded; his aura rose up, pushing away the endless atmospheric winds. For a moment, the wind and clouds surged like an unstoppable, vicious fiend had descended on the world. However, his pupils shone dimly with a golden light, giving off the aura of a divine nature.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King sensed him. He had never experienced such a terrifying aura in the nine provinces before. That was not something Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings possessed. With a thought, the invisible laws of the world swept towards the source of the aura like a huge net.

    But as soon as they approached it, the laws of the world lost their effectiveness as well, like it was a blindspot.

    Kuang Tianyou immediately sensed it. He glanced towards the south. ¡°You¡¯re not even the god of the world, yet you¡¯re trying to lay your hands on me? You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    Anger flashed across his face. The backlash from the world was not a joke. If he did not handle it properly, then that would be certain death. Even when true gods and true immortals descended, they could not directly contend against a world. Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to send him here.

    However, his mood immediately recovered again. Even the laws of the world could not do anything to him right now, so what was he supposed to be afraid of? This was basically an outing to him, and a territory would fall into his lap for free too.

    He parted his lips and said without a single sound, ¡°Once I kill the successor of white bone, I¡¯ll come and kill you if the Hungry Ghost realm still hasn¡¯t devoured your consciousness!¡±

    His voice erupted like thunder above Towering city. The pressure it contained even made the Daemon Kings tremble, sweeping across the entire sea of trees as turbulent waves.

    The Great Banyan Tree King sighed. As it seemed now, becoming one with the world was actually a great mistake. He would have been better off ascending a long time ago.

    Once the Hungry Ghost realm completely devoured the nine provinces, perhaps the others could still turn into undead and eke out a living, but he would definitely die. His opponent was the will of the entire Hungry Ghost realm. Even now, he could feel that his consciousness was already being gnawed away.

    Kuang Tianyou burst through the atmospheric winds, actually moving even faster than the light he gave off, crossing through the Green province in the blink of an eye and entering the Dragon province. He directly flew over Dragonshead mountain and glanced at the golden dragon coiled around the mountain, but it only made him sneer in disdain.

    This is probably the toughest bone to chew in this world, but bones are still just bones at the end of the day! Once I complete the mission, I¡¯ll come back and take my time with you! I¡¯ll widen the horizons of you aborigines and have you witness what a true emperor is.

    In the blink of an eye, he crossed through the Dragon province and arrived in the Cool province.

    However, the place where the eyes in the sky were all staring at was a great empty grassland.

    Kuang Tianyou understood what was going on with a slight thought. As it turned out, it was a zone attached to his world, something akin to a secret realm.

    ¡°To think that someone is actually capable of something like this in this world! How surprising! But if you think you can stop me with these tricks, you¡¯re getting a little too ahead of yourself!¡±

    As he said that, he drew the blade on his waist.

    ¡­¡­

    Curtains upon curtains draped through the palace.

    A woman in dark-green palace attire sat peacefully and played the zither. Her fingers were slender as they plucked the strings leisurely. The music lingered in the air like the songs of nature.

    Her appearance behind the curtain was blurred, but she was definitely an absolute beauty. Suddenly, she furrowed her brows gently. The music changed, becoming as cold as ice, thrumming with the sound of weapons.

    ¡°Who are you!?¡±

    A slash ripped through the thick curtains. Xiao An stood on the cold, white jade railing outside the palace, but she did not look at the woman playing the zither. She only gazed at the dark-green zither under her hands. That was her true body.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Deviance!¡±

    The woman originally wanted to ask Xiao An, but she suddenly noticed the sword in her hand. Her face changed, and she immediately called the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s original name¡ªDeviance!

    As objects that the Five Absolutes Immortal once treasured, they were basically as familiar as they could be with one another.

    She picked up the zither, turning to leave. With a casual swing of her hand, zither strings criss-crossed through the curtains. The strings were sharp and sensitive, poised to erupt with violent sounds.

    Before Xiao An could say anything, the Immortal Relinquished sword leapt out, twisting and flying around, cutting through countless strings. Then he assumed a human form too, blocking the woman¡¯s path. ¡°Green Ripple, long time no see!¡±

    One of his eyes was wide open, while the other squinted. His left shoulder was raised high, with his right shoulder as a slump. He resembled a young man in appearance, and he was not exactly ugly, but he reeked with a strange, twisted aura. Even his clothes did not suit him at all.

    Even the words he spoke reeked of a pervert¡¯s tone.

    The woman called ¡°Green Ripple¡± behaved like she had just been harassed by a pervert too. Her face was filled with fright, clearly very afraid of him.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword pointed at Xiao An. ¡°This is my new master. Hurry up and accept her as your master as well! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll hack apart your shitty zither immediately!¡± When he said that, he even smacked his lips. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to do this for a very long time!¡±

    Without even waiting for a reply from Green Ripple, he raised his sword and gestured at the zither in a threatening manner.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± the woman cried out. Her voice was extraordinarily enchanting.

    Xiao An said nothing. The Zither Tomb was clearly based around this Green Ripple zither. If she could make it submit, it would be of great benefit to her.

    Before she could even think of something appropriate to say, the Zither Spirit of Green Ripple had yielded, dragged over by the sleeve by the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished with a face of resentment. She held the zither in her hands as she said with great reluctance, ¡°Master!¡±

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished was complacent yet filled with disappointment, behaving as if it was a great pity that he could not hack apart the zither.

    Out of the five treasured items of the Five Absolutes Immortal, it was indisputable that the Immortal Relinquished sword ranked first in terms of destructive power.

    Unlike the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, only the sword was a tool for slaughter. No matter how ugly or twisted he was, he was a treasured sword as long as he could kill the enemy. Very clearly, the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished had threatened these ¡°companions¡± of his many times in the past. He really had built up an infamous reputation with them already.

    If it had been anyone else, even if they possessed supreme strength, they would struggle to make the Zither Spirit of Green Ripple submit to them if they could not obtain her recognition. If they tried to use force, she would probably rather perish than be sullied.

    However, against an ¡°old friend¡± like the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished, the Zither Spirit of Green Ripple was not bold enough to do that. She possessed a heart of the zither, so she was very clever. She understood that arguing with a madman would get her nowhere. At a time like this, she was better off holding back with her pride of rather perishing than being sullied!

    However, she still could not help but ask Xiao An, ¡°Do you know how to play the zither?¡± She had no idea how she had managed to make the Deviance sword submit to her. Even the Five Absolutes Immortal back then could not make the Sword Spirit of Deviance behave so obediently. Of course, the Five Absolutes Immortal had never taken a sword that he was destined to relinquish seriously either, so he did not spend too much effort keeping him in check.

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Xiao An placed her hand on the zither, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged forth.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± The Zither Spirit of Green Ripple accepted this helplessly.

    As soon as Xiao An refined the Green Ripple zither, one of the great buildings within the cluster of structures was cut in half in a single slash.

    If it were not for the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished who had served as a traitorous guide, that would have been the main entrance of the Zither Tomb.

    Blade aura surged and whistled, cutting through several dozen buildings before coming to a halt. The fierce winds lifted Xiao An¡¯s clothes, making her look back.

    Kung Tianyou stood above the missing ruins and met her gaze from afar as she stood on the top of the buildings.

    ¡°The successor of white bone! You sure are a beauty. A pity!¡±

    He took a step forward before suddenly halting again. A zither string caught his foot.

    Before he knew it, the entire space had been filled with criss-crossing zither strings.

    Xiao An pressed down on the Green Ripple zither with both hands and plucked it forcefully, without any proper technique for zithers. She only used a single move to push the destructive power of the Zither Tomb to the limit.

    She also understood that she only had a single chance.

    All of the strings thrummed together, producing a chaotic reverie.

    The strings entwined around Kuang Tianyou layer by layer as if it was trying to weave a great cocoon.

    With a slash of his blade, the countless buildings were reduced to dust, and the strings all snapped together.

    The building where Xiao An stood bore the full brunt of the attack, reduced to empty land. A gully appeared in the building¡¯s original location, where the sights of the nine provinces were actually visible within the gully. As it turned out, the slash from earlier was only the collateral damage left after he forced open this place.

    However, Xiao An had vanished. Kuang Tianyou said, ¡°How sly! You think you can exhaust my strength and buy time?¡±

    He could deceive the laws of the world, but he could not use even a wisp of spiritual qi from the World of the Nine Provinces to replenish his strength. He had to return to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts for that. He could return here in a short while with his speed, but there were so many eyes watching in the sky right now. He definitely could not humiliate himself like that.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to see where else you¡¯ll flee to once you leave this place.¡± But after leaving the Zither Tomb, he followed the guide of the gazes in the sky and arrived at another empty place. ¡°More?¡±

    Within a thatched hut, a scholar with a great beard clutched a brush and wrote a couplet. There was the flash of a sword before him, and the brush in his hand trembled. He cried out, ¡°Deviance!¡±

    ¡°Call me granddaddy Deviance!¡± The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished snatched his beard.

    A while later, Xiao An refined a brush. She twirled it around at the tip of her fingers and looked down. The couplet detailed, ¡°Smooth sailing from year to year, may all things go as planned!¡± There was a horizontal scroll as well, ¡°Shine bright, the stars of fortune!¡± However, the last stroke in ¡°fortune¡± was dragged out dramatically.

    With a rumble, the Calligraphy Tomb had been breached!

    With a swing of the brush, all of the works of calligraphy in the Calligraphy Tomb, including the couplet on the table, rushed out through the gap.

    In an instant, a figure rushed through the storm of calligraphy strokes and forced his way into the thatched hut.

    The thatched hut was already empty by now.

    Kuang Tianyou raised an eyebrow and became angered. He never thought a trifle like this would actually take him so much effort!

    The entire Chess Tomb was a colossal chessboard. Black and white pieces scattered across the place, forming a series of endgames. Every single game was like a formation, constantly changing and evolving.

    The chess spirit had a long, black-and-white hat and long white robes. His facial features were delicate like a woman¡¯s. He tried to wait for his master here, for a genius chess player that could solve all of his endgames. However, right now, he had already yielded to the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s blade with a pale face.

    The Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished said, ¡°These three guys are all easy to deal with. If it were that fake dragon instead, I¡¯d be forced to hack him to pieces!¡±

    Perhaps they were all bound by their inherent dispositions. The zither, chess, brush, and sword were all for people to use. Apart from the mad, traitorous Immortal Relinquished sword, the zither spirit, chess spirit, and brush spirit had all been waiting for a suitable master, so they were relatively easy to force into submission.

    Paintings were different. They could only be admired and not used, so they had a disposition of their own, not to mention the fact that the Five Absolutes Immortal had painted a dragon. As such, he would have never accepted the Immortal Relinquished sword¡¯s threats.

    ¡°Once this place falls as well, we will have nowhere left to go!¡±

    Xiao An planted the Blood Sea Banner in the chess board silently and assembled the Skeleton Demon Formation. She made the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished control the sword formation and placed the zither and brush beside her so that they could also assist her.

    Yes, there were no more paths of retreat!

    Her chances at survival were extremely slim, but there was no fear, only a deep sense of apology.

    I¡¯m sorry, Qingshan. I¡¯m going to break our promise. I might not be able to accompany you to beyond the Nine Heavens!

    The chessboard shuddered. The Chess Tomb had been breached!

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s eyebrows were firmly furrowed. Stars glimmered within his eyes. The entire night sky formed a chessboard, and the glittering stars were chess pieces.

    Unfortunately, compared to solving these puzzles slowly, he preferred crushing them with absolute strength. He cut apart the night sky with a single slash, but another board replaced it.

    In the blink of an eye, he had overcome several dozen endgames. He became even more impatient as he yelled out, ¡°Successor of white bone, stop dragging out a feeble existence and just come and die!¡±

    The chess spirit called out, ¡°I¡¯m almost running out of endgames! Master, just who is your enemy? How are they so powerful!?¡±

    Xiao An said nothing as she tightened her grip around the Buddha Slaying sword!

    Kuang Tianyou destroyed the last ¡°night sky¡±. Suddenly, his feet touched solid ground. He stood on a colossal chessboard.

    On the board, the two sides clashed like an ancient battlefield between armies of thousands. He was caught in it immediately.

    The zither music was chaotic, launching an ambush from all sides. The almost indiscernible rings of a bell stirred up his soul too.

    The boundless sea of blood surged turbulently as an army of skeletons, a million strong, rode the waves and tried to swallow him.

    Thirty-six prayer beads spun and descended from above. A hundred and thirty nine bone swords criss-crossed and wove together.

    The endless slaughter of billions of lives was just for this battle!

    Kuang Tianyou finally became cautious. He could not afford to mess up such a simple task!

    Golden light flashed in his eyes, stabilising his soul. With a forceful stamp, the entire chessboard shuddered, and the chess pieces were thrown into the air. He allowed the tiny bone swords to hit his body, resulting in a series of clangs. The sword formation that could butcher Demon Kings actually failed to harm him at all.

    With a swing of his sword, the sea of blood parted. He suddenly felt his neck tighten. The Skull Prayer Beads wrapped firmly around him, turning into tiny skeletons that bit down on him viciously, dragging him into the air.

    With a flash, the Immortal Relinquished sword pierced through the air, slashing down right over him.

    He gripped the prayer beads with his left hand and ripped them off forcefully as he swung his blade with his right hand and repelled the Immortal Relinquished sword.

    At this moment, a white figure silently emerged from the sea of blood, arriving behind him. The sword pierced through the air!

    The multiple ambushes and layers upon layers of formations were just for this strike.

    The Buddha Slaying Sword!

 Chapter 1265

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1265 ¨C Arrival of the Colossal Star, Qingshan Returns

    The sword pierced the black armour and white clothes, making contact with his skin.

    All of Kuang Tianyou¡¯s hairs stood on end, experiencing the terror of approaching death. Disbelief filled his eyes. Having inherited goddess Ba¡¯s bloodline, his body was so tough that even atmospheric winds could not leave a mark on him. His regeneration was even more powerful. Even if he were sliced to pieces, he definitely would not die. As a matter of fact, zombies had even been mistaken to be unkillable.

    The word ¡°death¡± was far too foreign to him.

    As he thought, his response had not been delayed at all, reaching around and gripping the sword.

    Looking back, golden light shone from his eyes, meeting the dark eyes. He sneered. ¡°What else are you capable of? Ah!¡±

    Suddenly, he felt pain from his palm as blood gushed out, dyeing the Buddha Slaying sword red. It immediately turned into flames, spreading along the injury that it had ripped open.

    ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Kuang Tianyou swung his arm and sent Xiao An flying. His right arm, all the way up to his wrist, had been set alight. In the blink of an eye, it reached up to his elbow.

    Without any hesitation, he made a decision and cut off his arm. His entire right arm broke off from his shoulder, turning into a ball of flames in the air.

    Xiao An felt some pity. If she had struck a vital point with the attack, she had an extremely good chance at killing him. No matter how tough his body was or how rapid his regeneration was, it would still be death. Even if she only stabbed his torso, she could heavily wound him.

    She had managed to cut off an arm, but she would never get another opportunity again.

    Her slim chance at survival was snuffed out swiftly.

    ¡°How dare you injure me!¡±

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s fangs protruded as his face twisted viciously, letting out a bellow. The strike had not just cut off his arm. It had also injured his soul, as well as his dignity.

    The feeling was like when a person played around with ants, only to be suddenly bitten by one. If it only hurt, then so be it, but the ants were venomous as well, forcing the person to amputate his limb to survive. That was basically a miserable joke.

    His humiliation turned into anger, and his violent aura rampaged about, shaking up the Chess Tomb. Even the sea of blood that gushed towards him immediately dried up as soon as it approached him.

    Xiao An gripped the Immortal Relinquished sword, becoming one with it and leaving the Chess Tomb, flying towards the south.

    Under the watch of the countless eyes, she clearly knew her end was near, yet she would not be fazed by this emotion and simply wait for her death.

    Surprisingly, the Corpse Emperor did not go after her immediately, which left her slightly puzzled. Had she heavily injured him with that strike?

    In the Chess Tomb, Kuang Tianyou¡¯s forehead bulged with veins. He kneeled on one leg as he gathered all of his strength in his right shoulder. A fleshy stump sprouted, where the tip divided into five parts, vaguely resembling a small hand.

    He was confident about killing the successor of white bone with a single hand, but he did not want to run around with a missing arm in front of so many people. That would basically be absolutely humiliating. He would definitely become the laughing stock of the Hungry Ghost realm.

    And among the many eyes were his master¡¯s too.

    Originally, he could recover from a ¡°small injury¡± like this with a single thought. It would only take a little bit of strength at most, but now, he discovered that it was not that simple. On the Great Banyan Tree King in Towering city, that sword slash had already become insignificant, yet it still existed. Wounds created by the Buddha Slaying sword could not close up that easily.

    ¡°Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! I will definitely butcher you!¡±

    Xiao An travelled southwards, crossing into the Dragon province until she arrived beneath Dragonshead mountain. She stopped there.

    The golden dragon condensed from dragon qi roared at her. The roar was like a warning, ringing throughout the imperial court.

    The emperor of Great Xia, the officials, and the generals all arrived on the cliff. Peering through the clouds beneath their feet, they saw the white figure.

    ¡°It¡¯s the buddha nemesis. What is she trying to do?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi happened to be among them. She clearly had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation yet, but she seemed to be highly respected, even able to stand with the emperor of Great Xia, which made her seem quite proud of her success. But right now, there was a gloomy haze in her eyes. She already understood what Xiao An was trying to do.

    No one present was a fool. They all realised it too.

    The religious preceptor of the left said furiously, ¡°The buddha nemesis is trying to lure the Corpse Emperor to the imperial court!¡±

    To her, the nine provinces were large, but there was nowhere for her to go. She had to make use of everything she could make use of, so all she could do was use the Immortal Relinquished sword to breach the formation of the imperial court and make her way in. However, she had to grasp the timing properly if she wanted to divert the problems, or she would be stuck in a pincer. The imperial court of Great Xia also viewed her as a mortal enemy, and Dragonshead mountain was basically the belly of the beast. If it were not for the fact that she was out of options, she would have never taken this risk.

    The religious preceptor of the left added, ¡°Your majesty, why don¡¯t we use this opportunity to kill the buddha nemesis?¡±

    Regardless of when and where, the buddha nemesis was the primary enemy of buddhism. As for the demonfolk and the undead, they all came after the buddha nemesis.

    It led to a sneer. Everyone looked towards Qian Rongzhi. The religious preceptor of the left frowned. ¡°Why do you laugh, fellow?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°I¡¯m laughing at your priorities, religious preceptor. If we battle it out with the buddha nemesis first, do you think the Corpse Emperor is going to thank us once he arrives? That he¡¯ll just watch us make offerings to heaven? If the offerings to heaven fail, then it¡¯ll only be mutual destruction. Even the best outcome would be turning into undead.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s face changed, but upon considering her identity and origins, as well as the fact that the officials beside her agreed with her, he was forced to stay silent.

    The emperor of Great Xia asked, ¡°What would be your opinion, fellow?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°If she wants to come in, then let her in. Don¡¯t attack her. Set aside your grievances for now and work with her to fend off the Corpse Emperor.¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to fend him off. That definitely isn¡¯t an ordinary Corpse Emperor.¡±

    ¡°We can buy as much time as we can. We¡¯ll start the offerings to heaven immediately!¡±

    The minister of rites said, ¡°But we still haven¡¯t completed all of the preparations!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said, ¡°We can¡¯t afford to worry about that. Once the Hungry Ghost realm completely devours this world, we¡¯ll only be able to make offerings to ghosts.¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia glanced at the sky and suddenly discovered an additional blue star among the countless eyes. It was extremely small and dim, but that definitely was not an eye.

    In the blink of an eye, it vanished again. He could not afford to think too much about it. He had already made up his mind, so he ordered, ¡°Begin the offerings to heaven!¡±

    They immediately arrived before a tall altar in the centre of the imperial court.

    The altar was composed of two bands, round on the outside and square on the inside, raised towards the north and sunken towards the south. The exquisitely carved white jade railings were clearly different from the style of architecture by otherfolk, so it was definitely built by man. It was not particularly large, but it was stylistically simple and grand. It was a ¡°temple of heaven¡±.

    Qian Rongzhi made her way onto the altar. Right when she was about to plant the Heaven Climbing Vine in its centre, she suddenly looked up. She also saw the deep-blue star, shining away with extraordinary brightness.

    Everyone followed her gaze. The star vanished again.

    This time, it did not take long for the star to reappear. It was like a blue moon, shining brilliantly and illuminating the nine provinces.

    From the Merfolk of the South sea to the shepherds of the Frost province, all of the living creatures gazed into the distance and asked, ¡°What is that?¡±

    Xiao An looked up as well. Abruptly, she felt her own heartbeat. That meaningless piece of flesh seemed to actually become the support of her life, beating with each flash of the star.

    The feeling was abnormally warm and abnormally familiar.

    When the blue moon appeared again, it smashed apart the malicious sky, flying towards Dragonshead mountain with a long tail like a colossal meteor.

    Everyone in the imperial court paled with fright. If the meteor struck Dragonshead mountain, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    Xiao An gazed at it in a daze, like a girl who had made a wish towards a shooting star.

    The star landed at the foot of the mountain, merging with the space there like a burst bubble before vanishing.

    Before Xiao An could even return to her senses, she was firmly embraced. His voice rang out from beside her ear, ¡°I¡¯ve missed you!¡±

    The world seemed to shake. All of her emotions since she parted with him suddenly surged through her heart. The longing and pain, the grievances and the guilt turned the clear, tranquil lake into a surging ocean before settling again in his arms.

    All of her wishes had come true.

    ¡°Qingshan¡­¡±

 Chapter 1266

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1266 ¨C New Ability, the Ape Demon Extends its Arm

    The land was vast, watched by the stars. The mountain towered, coiled around by the colossal dragon.

    At this very moment, all of that had become completely insignificant. Only the person in each other¡¯s embrace could not be replaced.

    This was an opportunity forged by the adherence that would never change even in the face of death and the stubbornness to even cross through outer space.

    As a result, they were reunited.

    Li Qingshan breathed in the faint smell of sandalwood from her hair deeply as an indescribable sense of joy filled him, making up for the intangible emptiness and giving him a sense of peace.

    Suddenly, he frowned. He could sense many broken bones under her soft skin. He asked, ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡±

    Xiao An jerked back to her senses and recalled her current predicament. The swing from the Corpse Emperor earlier had already injured her.

    Resting her head against Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, she gave him a simple account of the Hungry Ghost realm¡¯s invasion, the Corpse Emperor hunting her down, and her plan. All of a sudden, she felt rather annoyed. He would be facing danger as soon as he returned because of her, facing a virtually undefeatable opponent.

    Li Qingshan understood what she was thinking. He smiled. ¡°What, you¡¯re not going to welcome my return?¡±

    ¡°Welcome back.¡±

    Xiao An smiled. She would never say something foolish like getting him to leave first. Living and dying together had already become something that needed no further explanation to the two of them.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and gazed at the sky, meeting the eyes filled with malice. ¡°Looks like the nine provinces really have changed by quite a bit during the time I was gone. But fortunately, I¡¯ve been constantly changing too. Allow me to save this world!¡±

    Xiao An wanted to say something, but she faltered. She was a little worried about how he would respond once he heard what she had done, but now was not the time to mention that.

    On Dragonshead mountain, the emperor of Great Xia said, ¡°So that¡¯s Li Qingshan!¡±

    He had never seen Li Qingshan before, but crown prince Si Qing did have a lot of contact with him in the past, so he glanced at Si Qing. Si Qing¡¯s face twisted with hatred as he gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. His gaze contained a sense of deeply-hidden fear behind his hatred. He clearly stood on the mountain, looking down on him, yet he felt like he was looking up at an unscalable mountain.

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°He is that wretched daemon!¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia said, ¡°Wasn¡¯t he launched into outer space by Bai Chen? And what was that blue shooting star earlier?¡±

    No one could answer him. They could not help but admit that the matters were already out of their control. All great plans and schemes required strength as a foundation. It was not something that could be achieved by murmuring in the darkness and acting like they were manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

    ¡°Big sis!¡±

    With her large eyes and thick eyebrows, Si Bao waved excitedly at Gu Yanying. She had already become one of the many crown princes and princesses of Great Xia now.

    Gu Yanying just happened to be looking at Li Qingshan and Xiao An in thought. She looked back and smiled.

    In the blink of an eye, she met a pair of hawk eyes as well. The Guardian Hawk God was looking at her too.

    Gu Yanying bowed from afar as if she was admitting defeat, or in other words, there was no need for them to clash anymore. There was no need for her to seek his approval anymore either.

    Her various mixed and ambivalent emotions of the past vanished with the bow. She had already flown higher and further away, having witnessed a sky that even the ¡°Hawk God¡± had not seen before.

    Her father was still her father, but her father was also just her father.

    That seems to be the temple of heaven!

    Gu Yanying thought through everything before also giving Si Bao a hug.

    The altar was basically surrounded by all the great cultivators. The three ducal ministers and the nine ministers was only a generalisation. There were the religious preceptors of the left and right as well, several crown princes, the six ministries, and so on. There were several dozen in total, but not a single person saw how she had crossed through the formation and arrived on the mountain peak.

    ¡°Big sis, you¡¯re so powerful!¡± Si Bao was surprised.

    Gu Yanying still possessed a cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation. She had not even reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation. What granted her this power was obviously the kunpeng¡¯s feather. It was all thanks to Li Qingshan¡¯s new mount that she managed to preserve some of the kunpeng¡¯s feather¡¯s power.

    A part of this power did not truly belong to her, where it would diminish with each use. It recovered extremely slowly too, but it had already paved a path for her.

    The Guardian Hawk God immediately understood she had obtained that feather and inherited its legacy. On top of that, she had comprehended it even further and deeper than Bai Chen in the past.

    If she had not succeeded yet, he definitely would not have considered their relationship as father and daughter. He would even go as far as to turn against her, but now, his gaze softened instead. As he gazed silently at Gu Yanying¡¯s face, that elderly figure in his memories became young again, bearing great similarity to Gu Yanying.

    As a result, he shut his eyes as if he had let out a sigh of relief. The young hawk he had pushed off the mountain had already found her own sky, and she had left him far behind her.

    ¡°My dear disciple, what are you doing here?¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s gaze suddenly landed on Qian Rongzhi who stood on the altar. She had her thoughts and was about to make her way over to ask what was going on when the emperor of Great Xia blocked her path, gazing at her cautiously.

    The ¡°celestial¡± played a critical role in the offering to heaven¡¯s success, and the offering to heaven was supposed to save the entire Great Xia empire, so he could not allow anything to happen to her.

    Gu Yanying stopped and sighed. ¡°Your majesty, you¡¯re going to regret this. This disciple of mine¡­ whatever, we have been master and disciple after all.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi did not look at Gu Yanying. Only when Gu Yanying rose up to the top of the mountain did she glance at her indifferently. That was the behaviour befitting of a true celestial. On top of that, she was still rather worried about Xiao An. That Corpse Emperor definitely would not give up.

    Sure enough, a violent aura rose up into the sky in the north, churning the wind and clouds and immediately locking onto Xiao An.

    A figure rushed over. The face that was no different from a human¡¯s had now become extremely twisted.

    Kuang Tianyou spent a very long time trying in the Chess Tomb, but he discovered it was completely impossible for him to regenerate his entire limb in a short amount of time. Killing the successor of white bone was his only mission this time. The entire Hungry Ghost realm was watching this matter, so he could not stay in hiding forever.

    As a result, he rushed out of the Chess Tomb despite the sense of shame. The eyes in the sky seemed to see his missing arm, which left him even more furious and violent.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Kuang Tianyou bellowed fiercely, swinging down with his blade!

    There were no tricks, no splendour, just great force!

    Zombies did not develop techniques or abilities. They only fought with their bodies. Wherever the blade passed by, it left behind a black slash as if even the world could not contain the attack.

    The blade was no longer restrained by the tombs, so it was as vicious as a natural disaster. It continued to build up force as if it was trying to cut down Dragonshead mountain as well.

    He did not take Li Qingshan beside Xiao An seriously at all. Just the collateral damage from the attack was enough to crush the likes of him.

    ¡°Qingshan?¡± Xiao An saw how Li Qingshan had no intentions of retreating into the imperial court of Great Xia. Even if he retreated now, it would not be enough to block the attack.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You have me around.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head. He took a step forward, standing in front of her. He looked at Kuang Tianyou and said, ¡°Idiot from the Hungry Ghost realm, you better not think I won¡¯t give you a beating just because you¡¯re disabled. Come, come at me! I¡¯ll only use one hand too!¡±

    Abruptly, his left arm shrank as his right arm began to extend, becoming strangely thick and sturdy. It became covered in black fur like an ape¡¯s arm.

    He was obviously talking nonsense about just using one arm. This was the second innate ability of the ape demon, the Ape Demon Extends its Arm.

 Chapter 1267

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1267 ¨C A Combination Between Li Qingshan and Xiao An, Carving up the Corpse

    Lifting up his huge ape arm, Li Qingshan¡¯s entire body thinned down.

    The Ape Demon Extends its Arm did not have any special or cool effects. It just gathered all of his strength in one arm, but it was quite simple and practical. After all, basically all of the ape demon¡¯s innate abilities were about the arms. That was equivalent to strengthening the entire Ape Demon Transformation.

    As for other abilities and transformations, as long as he unleashed them using this ape arm, their power would skyrocket as well, except the other abilities like the wings of wind and the Ox Demon Forges its Hide would drastically diminish in power, or even be rendered completely unusable. Both his speed and defence would be heavily affected.

    If he wanted to achieve victory, this innate ability alone definitely was not enough.

    ¡°Disabled!¡±

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s forehead bulged with veins. When he saw how Li Qingshan dragged his arm along, he basically felt like he had been slapped across the face. Even the successor of white bone who had cut off his arm did not fill him with as much hatred.

    With a twist of the blade, the violent attack poured towards Li Qingshan. He would butcher him first.

    If Li Qingshan also possessed an innate ability as a human, that would definitely be called the Great Mockery technique. He agitated others as easily as pie, and he loved doing that too.

    Li Qingshan continued to look at him with scorn and contempt, but he was extremely wary inside. His enemy was a Corpse Emperor that had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, an entire major realm of cultivation higher than him. On top of that, he did not even seem like a regular Corpse Emperor, so even in terms of bloodline and the toughness of his body, he would not have too many advantages.

    This was the strongest enemy he had faced so far. Even Qiongqi back then was essentially an embodiment only, limited by the laws of the world to the peak of the third heavenly tribulation.

    His current state was nowhere close to his prime condition either. He had already comprehended the Ape Demon Transformation to the third layer, so in order to maintain the balance of the small world inside him, the other transformations were all suppressed to the third layer too. In terms of cultivation, he was even weaker than when he left the nine provinces.

    However, the fighting spirit within him burned and roared.

    His feet sank into the ground, and his body became connected with the earth, closely bound. Endless strength flowed into his body. He was the son of the earth¡ªStrength of the Earth.

    He extended his fingers and claws sprang out. His arm abruptly thickened again, kicking up fierce winds like the roar of a vicious tiger¡ªFrenzy of the Tiger Demon!

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes became as tranquil as the deep ocean, calculating and seeing all the variations possible within the attack. In the past, he would have never been able to use these two techniques at the same time, but nothing hindered him now.

    He lifted up his ape arm slowly; it was like a drawn bow, ready to strike at any moment.

    Kuang Tianyou experienced a hint of unease. His sharp instincts told him that this man who had suddenly appeared was not a weakling he could destroy with a flick of his hand. He had become a vicious beast that could threaten him. In particular, that single arm was the fang of the beast.

    Maybe I shouldn¡¯t clash with him directly. As long as I avoid a direct clash slightly¡­

    Abruptly, he jerked back to his senses, discovering that Li Qingshan¡¯s fighting spirit had actually stunned him, which left him feeling even more humiliated.

    Idiot! It¡¯s already a great disgrace that I lost an arm! With so many of the old coots watching, I¡¯ll really have embarrassed the Zombie clan if I can¡¯t even directly crush a measly Daemon King. How am I supposed to face my master once I¡¯ve returned to the Hungry Ghost realm?

    When he looked at Li Qingshan again, his eyes became filled with contempt. ¡°With your cultivation, you don¡¯t choose to find an opportunity for a sneak attack like the successor of white bone, instead choosing to confront me directly. What a foolish choice. You better watch how I crush you to pieces!¡±

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    Li Qingshan completely disregarded his words and hurled out a fist! However, his arm seemed to be weighed down by something heavy, making it extremely sluggish. It seemed to pause with every inch it covered.

    Kuang Tianyou became filled with even more contempt. He had confirmed he was unable to control that power at all. His blade swung down.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    The blade landed on the fist and time seemed to freeze.

    Li Qingshan did not budge, sneering at Kuang Tianyou.

    Kuang Tianyou was stunned with his eyes wide open, filled with disbelief.

    Crack!

    A fracture ran along the blade, covering the entire weapon in the blink of an eye. With a clang, it shattered to pieces.

    The iron fist slammed heavily into Kuang Tianyou¡¯s face of disbelief. The power of tremors that had been charging up for all this time poured forth.

    Bang!

    Space shattered like a mirror. Cracks ran across Kuang Tianyou¡¯s body. When Li Qingshan sent him flying, he was already in a thousand different pieces.

    On Dragonshead mountain, all of the cultivators were dumbfounded. Even the emperor of Great Xia no longer cared about his image, letting his mouth hang agape. A single punch from a mere Daemon King had actually slain the powerful and unstoppable Corpse Emperor?

    The ¡°stars¡± in the sky lit up as well, filled with surprise and doubt.

    After shattering Kuang Tianyou in a single punch, Li Qingshan did not follow up with anything. He maintained the same punch-throwing posture, standing exactly where he was without budging, like a statue that stood the test of time.

    Bang! The earth beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s feet shattered and collapsed.

    Rumble! Like a great earthquake, Dragonshead mountain shook as well as if it could collapse at any moment. A crack even ran across the mountain.

    Suddenly, his ape arm exploded like a pricked balloon. His body began to rupture at the same time.

    Forcefully taking on that slash had already surpassed the limits of what his body could endure. Even when he tried his best to redirect the blade qi into the ground beneath his feet, the blade qi had still ripped his body to pieces and shattered his tiger bones.

    An ordinary-looking lump of earth fell down. Almost no one from the World of the Nine Provinces recognised it, but cries rang out in the Hungry Ghost realm, ¡°Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens!¡±

    Li Qingshan had clenched this lump of Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens in his fist the entire time. That was a divine object that even regular worlds had no right to possess, turning powers and abilities unfathomably powerful, which was why he could forcefully shatter Kuang Tianyou¡¯s divine body as a zombie.

    This left everyone even more surprised. In a single clash, the two of them had shattered their bodies one after another, actually pershing together in the very end!

    Si Bao murmured, ¡°No, they haven¡¯t perished together. Neither of them are dead. So powerful!¡±

    The moment Li Qingshan¡¯s body ruptured into pieces, a phoenix¡¯s cry rang through the sky. Flames burned and roared as he underwent Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth.

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s scattered pieces began assembling mid-air too.

    Everything happened in a split second. The two of them only needed a moment to recover their battle prowess. Whoever achieved that faster would possess the upper hand.

    However, they were not the only ones fighting. When Li Qingshan obliterated Kuang Tianyou, a white figure emerged with a flash behind him, swinging the Buddha Slaying sword and stabbing the countless pieces in the air.

    The sword stabbed into a piece that resembled an ankle before being pulled back immediately and stabbing out again, repeating this simple action.

    A hundred flashes seemed to erupt at the same time, like the furious bloom of a flower.

    Despite being apart from many years, their teamwork was still flawless, so wondrous that it was subtle.

    The pieces that she stabbed all began to burn.

    In a single moment, Kuang Tianyou had regathered all of the pieces of his body, except he became extremely frightening and horrifying to look at. A third of his head was missing, one of his calves had vanished, and there was a great hole in his chest. He was missing parts from all over his body. The remaining half of his face was filled with surprise and anger.

    Only at this moment did the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens hit the ground, but it suddenly flew up again, returning to a large hand that tossed it around. Li Qingshan smiled brightly, basically in a condition even better than when he had first arrived.

    Rebirth in flames, growing stronger as he fought.

    No, why am I directly confronting him? I clearly have a myriad of different ways to defeat him, and I sensed danger right from the beginning. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ the world has clouded my mind and twisted my will!?¡±

    How could the boundless will of the heavens be deceived that easily?

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s mind cleared up. He immediately experienced the danger of death, which made him shiver inside. Kicking off the ground with his remaining foot, he rushed into the air, fleeing towards the Gate of Hungry Ghosts without any regard.

    ¡°You think you can still leave after offending Xiao An? Get back here!¡±

    Li Qingshan gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth at full strength, reaching towards Kuang Tianyou from afar.

    Kuang Tianyou came to a halt, having been caught by an invisible force. He was being tugged back bit by bit. He refused to accept this. What kind of fucking Daemon King is this? Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me that the successor of white bone had someone like him beside her!?

    After dragging Kuang Tianyou over, Li Qingshan threw another punch.

    Boom!

    Space shattered, corpse pieces scattered, and Xiao An took action, stabbing out with the Buddha Slaying sword.

    He reassembled his body and tried to flee again, only to be captured again.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    In the beginning, Kuang Tianyou still tried to fight back, but his resistance became weaker and weaker. Most of his body was destroyed, and the tiny remainder of his face was already filled with despair.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Are you tired?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Xiao An shook her head with a face full of happiness.

    The ¡°stars¡± in the sky twinkled violently. Dragonshead mountain was deathly silent. The great cultivators under the emperor of Great Xia¡¯s lead only watched on speechlessly as the powerful Corpse Emperor who had rampaged through the nine provinces was cut down bit by bit. The entire process was like slow slicing.

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°What a brutal combination!¡±

 Chapter 1268

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1268 ¨C The Endless Sins, I¡¯ll Shoulder Them Myself

    Kuang Tianyou was like a moth stuck in a spider¡¯s web. Even with everything he tried, he was unable to break free from the Force Field of the Earth. The more he struggled, the weaker he became instead. He roared out, unwilling to accept this. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for this damned world, preventing me from using the various techniques and arcane treasures, how could a measly Daemon King like you reduce me to such a state!¡±

    Facing imminent danger, his thought process instead became extremely clear. He understood that the world had unknowingly clouded his senses, and his thought processes had been affected. Not only did he confront Li Qingshan recklessly for some odd reason, but he even became rather uncertain about how the successor of white bone had managed to land that strike.

    Otherwise, with his cultivation, how could a sneak attack succeed so easily? There would be even less reason for him to obsess over healing his arm. Clearly, the slightest attempt was enough for him to know the impossibility of that.

    The obscure will of the heavens operated in their own way.

    Li Qingshan also understood why this most powerful opponent he had ever faced in his life lacked so many techniques, without even possessing a proper ultimate move. He could not help but recall the predicament he was in when he landed in the small world. He could use none of his powers or replenish his spiritual qi. He was as feeble as a mortal, and his luck was a complete mess.

    He had no idea how this bastard had slipped into the nine provinces, avoiding the direct suppression of the will of the world and preserving his strength, but he still faced numerous restraints. It was impossible for him to act as freely as he did in the Hungry Ghost realm.

    This was just like how even the world would lend him power when the timing was right, but when the timing was off, even great heroes would struggle to achieve anything. All creatures required a suitable world to move about freely, or they would face various kinds of tangible and intangible restraints.

    Li Qingshan threw another punch, smashing Kuang Tianyou to pieces. He smiled. ¡°If this place weren¡¯t the nine provinces, I would have undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation already. I would have killed you with a punch. Would you still be able to talk nonsense with me?¡±

    Kuang Tianyou refused to believe it, but he was forced to believe it. As a Daemon King, he was already so terrifying, so what would happen when he became a Daemon Emperor?

    But how could such a powerful Daemon King exist in the world!?

    The thought continued to echo through everyone¡¯s minds.

    Li Qingshan pulverised Kuang Tianyou a few dozen more times until all that remained was a small part of his head, which he clutched in his hand. A single eye continued to glare at him furiously, making him laugh. ¡°Heh, this guy¡¯s body sure is tough! Even like this, he¡¯s still alive!¡± Then he asked Xiao An, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill him?¡±

    No matter how tough his body was, its advantage greatly diminished before the Buddha Slaying sword. The only reason why this bastard could live until now was clearly because Xiao An had been holding back the entire time, without finding an opportunity to kill him in a single stroke. Instead, she controlled the power of the Buddha Slaying sword and weakened him bit by bit.

    Xiao An told Li Qingshan about the battle at the ghost tower, how the Dark Queen had fallen into the Hungry Ghost realm¡¯s trap in her place.

    Li Qingshan said in praise, ¡°What a great mother!¡± He showed her the part of Kuang Tianyou¡¯s twisted, vicious head. ¡°This guy seems to be quite important. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go exchange him for your mother!¡±

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s expression changed, actually gradually calming down. Originally, he thought he would be dead for sure, but he never expected he could still get out of here alive. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What, you¡¯re even thinking about revenge?¡±

    Kuang Tianyou said, ¡°You afraid?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He raised his head and faced all the eyes in the sky. ¡°My name is Li Qingshan.¡± His voice was not particularly loud or grand as if he was just stating a simple fact. ¡°You¡¯re in big trouble now.¡±

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s eye twitched. He realised Li Qingshan had never taken him seriously in the first place. The feeling of humiliation filled him with hatred, yet he also had a strange feeling that perhaps he would never get his revenge.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and said to Kuang Tianyou, ¡°Hopefully, you really are that important. Let¡¯s go, Xiao An!¡±

    ¡°Hold on. Qingshan, your master has also been captured¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan learnt about everything and furrowed his brows. ¡°What a Spirit K?etra temple!¡± He bellowed, ¡°Religious preceptor of the left, get your ass out here!¡±

    His bellow was like a clap of thunder, creating ripples on the protective formation. A stronghold on Dragonshead mountain crumbled.

    All of the officials and generals looked at one another in shock. The Formation of Gathering Dragons was the greatest formation in the world. Not only was it located in a place where the spiritual veins of the nine provinces gathered, but it was also supported by the power of belief from everyone too. It had not been completely activated, but it actually failed to stop the bellow completely.

    The Corpse Emperor was gone, but someone even more vicious had come and replaced him. They were without a doubt dreaming if they thought they could complete the offerings to heaven under these circumstances.

    Crown prince Si qing was pale-white, hiding behind everyone and afraid to show himself. He did not do that out of fear alone, but in reality, his behaviour would be all the same regardless. He clenched his fist before loosening it again. Impossible. How did he become so powerful in such a short amount of time?

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡± The religious preceptor of the left stood forward, gazing at Li Qingshan from above. ¡°Li Qingshan, you were a secular disciple of buddhism, so how can you be so blind, unable to distinguish between right and wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°I¡¯m blind? I¡¯m unable to distinguish between right and wrong?¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left pointed at Xiao An. ¡°Do you have any idea what the buddha nemesis beside you has done?¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head. Li Qingshan was surprised, glancing at Xiao An before saying, ¡°All I know is that when she launched a full-powered attack against the Hungry Ghost realm, you launched a sneak attack on her, you shameless bald ass!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll tell you what she did! She opened more than half of the demon caverns across the world, leaving the provinces surging with demon qi. She brought extinction to the people of four provinces, where the number of lives she¡¯s claimed is measured in the billions. The heinous crimes she has committed are too numerous to list. She¡¯s even more evil and terrifying than the Hungry Ghost realm.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left spoke righteously, standing at the top of the mountain and radiating with golden light. He was like Yama in hell judging the fiends, imprisoning them in the eighteen layers of hell to never be reborn.

    ¡°What are you on about? Xiao An would never¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan refuted him, completely unconvinced. He found the accusations to be hilarious. He placed his hand on Xiao An¡¯s shoulder, but he felt her tremble.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, then you can ask your master!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left took out the wooden fish. The wooden fish opened up its mouth, and the Unraging monk rolled out with all of his cultivation sealed up. He was completely unconcerned with that, brushing off the dust and standing up. When he saw Li Qingshan, his face beamed with joy, but when he saw Xiao An beside him, he could not help but sigh and show sorrow. He shut his eyes and remained silent.

    He was not completely clueless about everything that had happened throughout the world. The religious preceptor of the left had specially informed him about Xiao An¡¯s actions in an attempt to torture him with regret, or even make him waver, to make him wonder whether he was wrong or not and whether he should have assisted the religious preceptor of the left in killing Xiao An.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your master¡¯s interference that day, I would have killed the buddha nemesis already. Such sins cannot be atoned even by dying thousands of times. I was about to execute him on another day, but just you watch now. This is the price for assisting the buddha nemesis!¡±

    Li Qingshan yelled out furiously, ¡°Stop!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left felt a fierce gust of wind fill his face. By now, the Formation of Gathering Dragons had already been activated, yet it still struggled to block all of Li Qingshan¡¯s strength. However, his lips curled into a smile instead. ¡°If you want me to release your master, I can do that, but you have to atone for his actions!¡±

    Li Qingshan said coldly, ¡°How do you want me to atone for his actions?¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left suddenly widened his eyes, which shone with golden light. ¡°Kill the buddha nemesis immediately!¡±

    The stars in the sky lit up as if they had not expected this either.

    Li Qingshan laughed out of anger. ¡°You¡¯re dreaming!¡±

    However, his rebuke did not seem as powerful as before. He had also killed countless people in his life, but he did have a sense of gallantry about him. It would either be self-defence or revenge. Even when he clashed with others, he refused to drag down the innocent unless he had no other choice. He had never experienced thoughts like all living creatures were like ants and all life was worthless.

    Yet right now, the person closest and dearest to him had killed so many innocent people. That included countless infants and children, as well as countless honest and good people, all going up in flames.

    When he gazed out again. Whether in the sky or on the land, good or evil, buddhism or the hungry ghosts, all of them wanted her dead. The sins she committed also seemed to be so great that they actually could not be atoned for, such that she had to die.

    Xiao An said nothing at all, acting as if she was a prisoner on death row, having accepted her fate as she waited for the sentence. She neither struggled nor tried to defend herself.

    But in the sky and on the land, there was only a single person who could judge her!

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t listen to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart softened. ¡°No, this is not your fault. I¡¯m even glad that you did this.¡±

    Without sufficient power, she probably would have died at the hands of the Corpse Emperor sent over by the Hungry Ghost realm already with her body that was heavily injured from the sneak attack. They would have never been able to reunite.

    Xiao An smiled and threw herself into arms, without the slightest worry anymore.

    The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s plan fell through, which left him furious. ¡°Wretched daemon! Truly a wretched daemon through and through! Unraging, look at the great disciple you¡¯ve taught! Sure enough, he¡¯s the same as you, unable to distinguish between right and wrong and riddled with sins!¡±

    ¡°Those are all my sins!¡±

    When Li Qingshan said that, he felt like a mountain suddenly pressed down on his chest. He only raised his head even higher, like a towering mountain trying to uphold the sky.

    He had no plans to hide it. He had no plans to bicker, much less any plans to suddenly go on about some great principles that the world was heartless and all creatures were no different from ants, changing the thoughts he had always believed in. People were people, not ants. That did not mean they were more noble in any shape or form, just like how a dog was a dog, different from a cat. They had always been two completely different things.

    Whether it was for survival, for fending off the Hungry Ghost realm, or even for sacrificing some people in order to save the rest, they were all explanations, but sins were sins and innocence was innocence.

    The world fell silent. The Unraging monk abruptly opened his eyes, gazing at this first disciple of his and sinking into his thoughts.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming gazed at Li Qingshan in some admiration.

    The religious preceptor of the left called out, ¡°Wretched daemon, since it¡¯s your sins, then why don¡¯t you go and die!?¡±

    ¡°Come and kill me then, bald ass!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stern. If he continued down his path, perhaps he would commit even greater sins and drag down even more innocent people, but as long as he was still breathing, he would continue down it until he reached beyond the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°You¡¯re so greedy, Qingshan. I was clearly the one who killed them, so I should shoulder at least half of it.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and touched her cheek. ¡°I¡¯m still reluctant for you to wantonly kill the innocent for the sake of cultivation, but when you find the need, then kill away! Whether you¡¯re right or wrong, I¡¯ll shoulder it all.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright! You really are up to your neck in sins and beyond help! I¡¯ll kill your master first then!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left raised the mallet and slammed down, about to split open the Unraging monk¡¯s head and kill him.

    Li Qingshan did not even budge. He said coldly, ¡°Bald ass, if you even touch a hair on him, I¡¯ll butcher the imperial court of Great Xia!¡±

    The mallet abruptly stopped above the Unraging monk¡¯s head, which made him sigh wryly. ¡°My damned disciple, oh damned disciple!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s face changed, afraid to go forward with it. He had done this in the first place to coerce Li Qingshan, so how could he really bring it past the point of no return? Or perhaps he actually wanted to do this, but others would stop him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Master, I forgot you don¡¯t have any hair on your head. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely save you. If I really can¡¯t save you, then I¡¯ll avenge you! Xiao An, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°The Spirit K?etra temple!¡±

 Chapter 1269

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1269 ¨C Uprooting Mountains

    The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s expression changed drastically. He pointed straight at Li Qingshan. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, wretched daemon!¡±

    The Unraging monk said, ¡°Don¡¯t, damned disciple!¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored them. He tossed the remaining part of Kuang Tianyou¡¯s head to Xiao An and unleashed the wings of wind, gliding over the mountains. Xiao An followed closely behind him as they vanished into the horizon together.

    The Dragon province was covered in mountains, basically without any flat land at all. Virtually every single mountain had spiritual veins running through them, so the spiritual qi from any single mountain surpassed the Qing Xiao dwelling in the Chain mountains. It reminded Li Qingshan of how that old bald ass had destroyed the Qing Xiao dwelling, which left him even more furious.

    On Dragonshead mountain, Gu Yanying said, ¡°Your majesty, the Hungry Ghost realm is about to devour this world. We are all citizens of the nine provinces. If we continue to fight among ourselves like this, we¡¯ll make a fool of ourselves before the Hungry Ghost realm. Why don¡¯t you just set aside your differences and release the Unraging master. That way, you can continue with your offerings to heaven too.¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia frowned. ¡°How did you know?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I guessed. If you are sincerely after a compromise, I can serve as a mediator. Normally, the ¡®wretched daemon¡¯ is still quite reasonable.¡±

    Before the emperor of Great Xia could respond, the religious preceptor of the left sneered. ¡°My Spirit K?etra temple isn¡¯t a place that anyone can take down with ease. It won¡¯t be too late to discuss this once the wretched daemon has returned here after realising there¡¯s nothing he can do.¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia said in thought, ¡°The religious preceptor is correct.¡±

    With the strength that Li Qingshan had demonstrated, he would be a source of great assistance if he could convert him into a force of his own.

    There was a much deeper reason that he was unable to mention. As the emperor of Great Xia, he possessed paramount authority, so how could he allow a wretched daemon that had appeared out of nowhere to stand on equal footing with him so easily?

    ¡°If he¡¯s willing to yield, I can confer him the title of one of the Ten Daemon Kings and bestow a province to him.¡±

    Gu Yanying bowed slightly. ¡°May everything go as you wish, your majesty!¡± However, she shook her head inside. With everything that¡¯s happened so far, why would Li Qingshan still care about standing among the ranks of some Ten Daemon Kings? You¡¯re already doing quite well if he hasn¡¯t thrown you off Dragonshead mountain and taken the throne for himself.

    The territory of the Dragon province was not too big. In a short while, Li Qingshan saw a holy land of buddhism curling with incense smoke and enveloped in golden light among the mountains. That was the greatest temple in the word, the Spirit K?etra temple.

    The temple was littered with pagodas and halls, resplendent and magnicident, having merged with the mountains. It was like a complete block of gold had been poured there.

    At this moment, warning bells rang through the temple. A streak of buddhist light rushed into the sky, illuminating the surroundings. Another eight specks of golden light rose up, hovering above the Spirit K?etra temple.

    The religious preceptor of the left had already sent them a warning. The eight Monk Kings present in the temple guarded the Spirit K?etra temple through the use of their formation.

    The Seven Treasures Monk King was one of them. As he gazed at the sky full of daemon qi that swept over like dark clouds, he felt rather mixed inside. The religious preceptor of the left had informed them about the battle beneath Dragonshead mountain and the conclusion he had given was, The wretched daemon is fierce and tough. Do not leave the formation and clash against him in the open.

    Meanwhile, even the mighty religious preceptor of the left was too afraid to leave Dragonshead mountain and reinforce the Spirit K?etra temple right now, afraid Li Qingshan would intercept him along the way.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan landed at the temple gate and dispersed his wings of wind, gazing at the golden mountain. He did not have any plans to launch a direct attack. That would take a lot of time and a lot of effort. Just the unknown, protective formation was far more powerful than the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga¡¯s from back then. Who knew how many more tricks this holy land of buddhism was hiding. Even if he was not afraid of them, it was still trouble.

    ¡°Wretched daemon! How bold of you to shelter the buddha nemesis and create trouble for our Spirit K?etra temple!¡± the Seven Treasures Monk King bellowed out.

    The temple rang loudly with warning bells. The commotion was so great that it even overwhelmed Li Qingshan¡¯s bearing.

    Li Qingshan said sternly, ¡°You¡¯re the bold ones, you bald asses! How dare you destroy my dwelling!¡±

    ¡°Destroy your dwelling?¡± The Seven Treasures Monk King had basically forgotten about the tiny mountain cave in the Chain mountains. Only when he heard that did he recall it. ¡°You mean that barren mountain in the Chain mountains?¡± Probably no one in the world would think a tiny mountain lacking in spiritual qi could directly compare to the Spirit K?etra temple.

    ¡°Barren your mother! There were clearly trees on the mountain!¡±

    Li Qingshan flew into a rage. He took a step forward, and the ground shook. His figure swelled up rapidly as his skin darkened. His legs turned into hooves as a pair of horns shot into the sky. His surging daemon qi became even heavier and more consolidated.

    ¡°Moo!¡±

    An ox¡¯s cry seemed to rise up from the depths of the earth. In the blink of an eye, he had already turned into a colossal daemon standing three hundred metres tall, ox-horned, ox-hooved, ox-headed, and ox-tailed. He glared at the Spirit K?etra temple with his ox eyes. If it were not for the fact that he was still humanoid in shape, he basically resembled a huge ox standing there.

    He had abandoned the other transformations and pushed the Ox Demon Transformation of the Nine Transformations of Demonic and Divine to the limit. After shattering the daemon core and creating a world, his figure was no longer as exaggerated as before, which easily broke three thousand metres in height. However, he had become much more consolidated and refined.

    The eight Monk Kings communicated with one another.

    ¡°Be careful, the wretched daemon is coming.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already ordered all the monks to recite scriptures in the grand hall. Even Daemon Emperors can forget about getting through the formation, not to mention the fact that he¡¯s just a Daemon King. How is he going to breach the Spirit K?etra temple?¡±

    So-called formations had always been about utilising the climate, the geography, and human circumstances to defeat the strong as the weak. A holy land of buddhism like the Spirit K?etra temple even gathered the power of belief from buddhist disciples across the world. Individual cultivators would be completely incapable of shaking the formations. Even with absolute strength, they could not last through such a long battle.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ll go in and destroy the formation.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s called walking to our deaths!¡± the Sword Spirit of Immortal Relinquished screamed out. The Spirit K?etra temple was not the Bhik?u Mountain temple. A frontal attack was different from a sneak attack at night too.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Just stand on my shoulder and watch.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a simple grin on his ox face. The muscles throughout his body twisted and bulged as he slowly bent down and knelt down on one knee.

    A Monk King sneered. ¡°Wretched daemon, it¡¯s still not too late for you to kneel down and beg for mercy!¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. His back arched up like a mountain, like a volcano about to eru     pt. His arms that seemed to be forged out of solid metal were suddenly raised high into the air before slamming against the ground heavily.

    Boom! The mountains shook.

    The Monk Kings looked at each other, clueless about what he was trying to do.

    Boom! The ground cracked open.

    Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Li Qingshan struck the ground again and again. All of the buildings inside the Spirit K?etra temple shook and swayed, but under the protection of the formation, none of them collapsed. At most, they only lost all of their roof tiles.

    At this very moment, from a bird¡¯s eye view, it was possible to see two cracks running around the mountain spreading rapidly until they linked up behind the mountain, forming a circle.

    The spiritual qi in the Spirit K?etra temple immediately began to decline.

    ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s trying to sever the spiritual vein!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be flustered. The wretched daemon is just wasting his strength. Does he really think he can sever the spiritual vein by creating cracks? Even without the spiritual vein, the formation will remain standing. Let¡¯s see what else he¡¯s capable of!¡±

    Li Qingshan straightened himself out. He was not trying to sever the underground spiritual vein. Instead, he was trying to free the entire Spirit K?etra temple from the earth. He pointed at the temple. ¡°Rise!¡±

    Rumble!

    The colossal mountain actually began to rise gradually with his gesture and order.

    Thousands of tonnes of soil poured down. Pagodas tilted in the temple; halls collapsed.

    However, the grand hall stood very firm, except the chanting monks inside were unable to react in time, falling and rolling across the floor.

    The Monk Kings all paled in fright. They were in disbelief. What kind of power was this!?

    The remaining part of Kuang Tian¡¯s face was filled with shock as well. ¡°The power to uproot mountains?¡±

    Even in the Hungry Ghost realm, when he was in his peak condition, he could not pull such a large mountain out from the ground. Even if he underwent another heavenly tribulation, he probably still would not be capable of something like that! He immediately felt like his defeat was well-deserved. He even wondered whether Li Qingshan had been holding back some strength during their battle.

    It was obviously impossible for Li Qingshan to achieve this through his own strength, even if he turned into an ox. Back then, when he uprooted a small mountain and placed it on Great Buddha mountain as the buddha¡¯s head, it had already taken him all of his strength, and he had to do it in person. Right now, he was basically relying on the Force Field of the Earth alone to uproot the entire mountain.

    Everything still boiled down to the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens in his hand. With his source of the earth, he could deal with these mountains and rocks as easily as a father could order his son around.

    Of course, if it had been someone else, even if they were stronger than Li Qingshan in terms of cultivation, they could not wield the power of the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens like this. The power of the ox demon already neared the fundamental powers.

    As the mountain was lifted up from the ground, a great pit replaced where it stood originally. At the bottom of the pit was a black hole.

    Immediately, demon qi gushed into the air, shrouding the stars and dimming the sun.

    The Spirit K?etra temple suppressed a demon cavern of unprecedented size. Countless demonfolk climbed out of the demon cavern, with even a few Demon Kings among them. Having regained freedom, they all demonfied as they roared out, ready to make a mess.

    A hoof fell, shattering the demon cavern. The roars immediately vanished.

    The space where demon caverns resided had always been extraordinarily fragile. Li Qingshan¡¯s stomp had crushed it, cutting all of the demonfolk to pieces. Even Demon Kings could not withstand such damage. On top of that, it was completely impossible to reassemble themselves in the shattered space, so only death awaited them.

    A hundred thousand demonfolk and several Demon Kings perished from a stomp.

    The Monk Kings were about to rush out of the Spirit K?etra temple and throw their lives at Li Qingshan. When they saw this, they gulped instead and dismissed that thought.

    Even when a human unearthed an ant¡¯s nest and tried to crush all the ants, it would not be as simple as this. They were not afraid of dying, but they did not want to be casually crushed underfoot.

    Li Qingshan did not even look at the demon cavern. He raised his head high into the air as his bare, robust body was filled with a sense of primitive vigour. Supporting the Spirit K?etra temple with one hand, he stood in the world like a primordial demon god. He suddenly moved his hooves and ran off in the direction of Dragonshead mountain.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Stepping through rivers and stepping over mountains, he left behind a track of deep footprints.

    Many cultivation sects sat between the mountains along the way. The cultivators all watched in shock as they saw him run along madly with a mountain in his hand, unable to return to their senses.

    Li Qingshan said to Xiao An, ¡°Now these are our hostages! Several tens of thousand bald asses for a single bald ass. Now that bald ass has himself a fantastic deal!¡±

    On Dragonshead mountain, the vice minister of works who happened to be a grandmaster of the school of Mohism arrived at an extremely great altitude. He took out an arcane treasure that resembled a telescope and peered in the direction of the Spirit K?etra temple with one eye.

    ¡°Do you see it? Has the wretched daemon taken down the Spirit K?etra temple?¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left panicked inside. Just then, his connection with the Spirit K?etra temple had abruptly been broken as if the temple had vanished into thin air.

    The vice minister of works widened his eyes and furrowed his brows as if he was not too certain about what he was seeing. He blinked his eyes repeatedly before allowing his jaw to drop.

    The religious preceptor of the left urged him a few more times.

    The vice minister of works lowered his head. He was still rather stunned. ¡°He¡¯s returned¡­ with¡­ the Spirit K?etra temple!¡±

    ¡°With the Spirit K?etra temple?¡±

    Everyone below felt puzzled. What did that mean, with the Spirit K?etra temple? Had he stuffed the Spirit K?etra temple into his pockets or something? This vice minister of words had always been enthralled in the research of puppets and machinery, such that he was a little deranged, so everyone had their doubts.

    However, when a vigorous figure crossed over a mountain, running towards Dragonshead mountain with great steps, everyone was stunned. Their gazes all gathered on the golden mountain that hovered above his right hand.

    That was¡­ the Spirit K?etra temple!?

 Chapter 1270

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1270 ¨C The Spirit K?etra Temple Destroyed

    Dragonshead mountain was deathly silent. What authority? What schemes? Before absolute power like that, they were all a child¡¯s game. They still found it difficult to understand how he possessed such power despite clearly being just a Daemon King.

    The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens was exceptionally precious, yet also ordinary in appearance, clearly not something that these ¡°country bumpkins¡± could learn about. They had not even heard about it before. Even Kuang Tianyou from the Hungry Ghost realm had only ever heard of its name.

    Even among the eyes in the sky, only an extremely small number of them could identify the true name of this lump of earth with a single glance, but that only made them more puzzled. They had never heard that the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens possessed an effect like this.

    When Li Qingshan arrived before Dragonshead mountain again, he had gone from human form to the ox demon¡¯s form. ¡°Release him, or I¡¯ll butcher these bald asses first and then you bastards!¡±

    It was like a hostage situation between kidnappers and the police. The police neither spoke to them or tried to negotiate with them, directly kidnapping their entire families instead. They even grabbed the family dog that the kidnappers had raised for a decade, threatening to kill them one by one if they did not release the hostages.

    Of course, Li Qingshan was neither the police nor a great hero. Even you, a buddhist monk who openly embraces benevolence, is bold enough to take things so far and pull something like this on me. In that case, let¡¯s play to the very end. I¡¯m already shouldering an endless amount of sins, so I don¡¯t mind adding a few more souls to the list.

    ¡°You- you- you-¡± The religious preceptor of the left pointed straight at Li Qingshan, trembling from anger.

    The fellow cultivators beside him all stared at the wooden fish mallet in his hand nervously, afraid that he would execute the Unraging monk out of exasperation. By then, everything would be past the point of no return, and Li Qingshan would probably directly hurl the Spirit K?etra temple at them.

    Like the religious preceptor of the left, the emperor of Great Xia was originally quite confident in the Formation of Gathering Dragons. He believed stopping Li Qingshan would not be too difficult. He only did not want to interfere with the offerings to heaven. But as he gazed at the mountain hovering in the air, this confidence immediately vanished.

    There was absolutely no need for Li Qingshan to put himself in any danger and throw himself at the protective formation of the imperial court. As long as he uprooted mountains and threw them over, all they could do was take it all on. The altar would definitely be destroyed as well, so they could forget about some offerings to heaven.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Your majesty, looks like this Li Qingshan won¡¯t be satisfied with the mere status that comes with the Ten Daemon Kings.¡±

    The emperor of Great Xia furrowed his brows. Only now did he realise how hilarious his earlier words were. He said coldly, ¡°The you of right now probably won¡¯t be satisfied with that either!¡±

    ¡°That would have never been enough.¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°Unraging, oh Unraging. You sure have raised a fine disciple. First, the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga produces a buddha nemesis, and then you produce a wretched daemon like this who¡¯s trying to destroy my Spirit K?etra temple! What a prosperous land to foster so many talents!¡±

    The Unraging monk straightened himself out and sighed. ¡°Qingshan, just stop! I¡¯m only a monk who drinks alcohol and eats meat. I¡¯m not worth this. From today onwards, I expel you as my disciple. You and I no longer have anything to do with each other. As a disciple of buddhism, I¡¯m willing to face the punishments of buddhism. Please release my fellow colleagues of the Spirit K?etra temple!¡±

    Risking the lives of tens of thousand monks to save him was something he never wanted to see.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows before laughing again. ¡°You and I no longer have anything to do with each other, so why should I listen to you? If you want to live or die, that¡¯s up to you, but even if you commit suicide right now, I¡¯ll send the Spirit K?etra temple to the grave with you.¡±

    There was nothing that the Unraging monk could say. He let out a great sigh. This damned disciple already had an unshakeable mind of his own, so how could his master still influence him? Perhaps his master had never influenced him at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m counting down from ten!¡±

    Li Qingshan used the Force Field of the Earth and made the Spirit K?etra temple rise up in the air. When he reached ¡°five¡±, the Spirit K?etra temple had already reached the same altitude as Dragonshead mountain, about to enter the atmospheric wind layer.

    Even the featherfolk¡¯s Clouded city could not remain in the atmospheric wind layer for prolonged periods of time, let alone the Spirit K?etra temple that did not possess this function at all. Once the formation gave in, just how many monks could resist the atmospheric winds?

    Why did Li Qingshan have to risk his life to open the formation? Just using the might of the world was enough. When he reached ¡°three¡±, atmospheric winds had already begun bombarding the formation around the Spirit K?etra temple, making it pulse with golden light.

    Before the religious preceptor of the left could say anything, the emperor of Great Xia ran out of patience instead. ¡°Religious preceptor, I think the buddha nemesis is quite adherent to what Li Qingshan has said. She shouldn¡¯t carry out massacres anymore. The deceased are already deceased. They can¡¯t be revived. We are contending against the Hungry Ghost realm right now, so we¡¯re in need of their strength.¡±

    The various officials all spoke up as well. Apart from buddhist disciples, the others did not really understand the concept of buddha nemesis. Xiao An¡¯s actions were heinous, but it was not like she had gone after them. Since they lacked sufficient strength, there was no point in stirring up any more trouble. Cultivation was for the sake of longevity, not for ensuring that justice was upheld at all times. Even with the might of the gods and buddhas, it was not like they managed to destroy the Demon domain.

    There would always be someone who focused on the bigger picture, and the so-called bigger picture had never been about world peace or widespread justice, but the ¡°strong¡±. Often, the ¡°strong¡± was not a reference to a certain individual. When a group of ordinary people gathered together, they could judge a genius to be a madman only because they had an advantage in numbers. If they did not want to bear the wonderful title of madman, then they had to hold back. They had to focus on the bigger picture.

    Yet right now, Li Qingshan alone was in control of the bigger picture. He bellowed out, ¡°One!¡±

    ¡°Stop!¡± The religious preceptor of the left raised his hand and removed the restraints on the Unraging monk. He sucked in a deep breath. ¡°Unraging, you can go. You are no longer a disciple of buddhism.¡±

    The Unraging monk stood up. He showed neither joy nor anger. He bowed. ¡°The religious preceptor can beat me and kill me, but you are unable to strip me of my identity as a disciple of buddhism. As long as they have the buddha inside their heart, all living creatures are disciples of buddhism, even if they are a buddha nemesis.¡±

    All living creatures were equal and could attain buddhahood. That was the teachings of mah¨¡y¨¡na buddhism. However, just like everything else in the world that was regarded to be ¡°right¡±, if someone actually followed these principles and wandered the world, it would leave them bloodied or even abandoned by their own kind.

    The religious preceptor of the left bellowed, ¡°You¡­ can piss off!¡±

    As soon as the Unraging monk left Dragonshead mountain, an ugly monk flew over from afar. He called out, ¡°Master!¡±

    The Unraging monk said in surprise, ¡°Duoge!¡±

    He was the little demonfolk that Li Qingshan had met beneath the Demon Suppression hall, as well as his second junior brother.

    After learning that the Unraging monk had been captured, Duoge hurried over to the Spirit K?etra temple, but he had no idea how to rescue him. He did not even know the religious preceptor of the left had taken the Unraging monk to the imperial court with him. When Li Qingshan uprooted Spirit K?etra temple, he followed along and immediately saw the Unraging monk being released. He was filled with great joy, singing praises involuntarily.

    ¡°First senior brother, you really are a demon of great viciousness and ferocity!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitched. Only then did Duoge realise he had mispoken, leading to a dry laugh. However, that was not his nature as a demonfolk at work again. Instead, the way Li Qingshan had saved the Unraging Monk truly was very vicious.

    Seeing Duoge, the Unraging monk could not help but smile as well. Even if it had taken everything in him to convert this measly demonfolk, it had all been worth it.

    However, just how many people in the world would think a lofty, awe-inspiring Monk King who upheld justice would treat a lowly, twisted little demonfolk as an equal?

    Seeing how the formation had almost fallen to the atmospheric winds, the religious preceptor of the left called out, ¡°Li Qingshan, lower the Spirit K?etra temple!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Alright, whatever you want, religious preceptor!¡± As a result, he released the Force Field of the Earth.

    Seeing Li Qingshan¡¯s smile, the religious preceptor of the left¡¯s heart lurched. Something was amiss. The Spirit K?etra temple directly plummeted down.

    The religious preceptor of the left paled in fright. ¡°Stop, wretched daemon!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already stopped!¡± Li Qingshan stretched and yawned before shaking his hand.

    A great mountain weighed at least a billion tonnes. Apart from Li Qingshan who possessed the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, no one in the world could lift it up or stop its fall.

    Boom!

    With a devastating rumble, the mountain was tossed heavily into the earth¡¯s embrace. A ring of dust swept out in all directions. The earth cracked, and the mountain shattered, but it was merely returning to its original form.

    The pagodas, halls, and statues on the mountain were no different. Whether it was the holy land of buddhism, the bodhisattvas, or the arhats, they were all reduced to dust and earth again.

    The Spirit K?etra temple was destroyed!

    Spurt! Blood sprayed out from the religious preceptor¡¯s mouth. He glared at Li Qingshan. His eyes seemed like they were about to erupt in flames. ¡°You¡¯ve broken your word!¡±

    ¡°I remember exactly what I promised you, which was just the lives of the monks. Look, aren¡¯t they all unscathed?¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at the sky. As the Spirit K?etra temple fell, there were enough Monk Kings to save the entire temple of monks. Apart from a few Qi Practitioners, most of them did not even need saving. They could levitate in the air by themselves.

    ¡°You destroyed my dwelling. I smashed up your temple. Tit for tat. However, you launched a sneak attack at Xiao An using underhanded methods, so that¡¯s a debt I¡¯ll settle with you slowly in the future. I don¡¯t want much either. Just eating a punch of mine is enough!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left said, ¡°Wretched daemon, you will die a horrible death! All I regret is failing to kill the buddha nemesis back then, letting down the living creatures of the world!¡±

    Li Qingshan was furious. ¡°Buddha nemesis this! Buddha nemesis that! When she fought against the Hungry Ghost realm, where were you, bald ass? I will pay for all of her sins, so I don¡¯t need a bald ass like you berating me when you have the moral high ground. I don¡¯t have the time to deal with you, so just be ready to die!¡±

    ¡°Yanying, come with me!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned his back on the people on Dragonshead mountain and strode off towards the south. That was the direction of the great ghost tower.

    ¡°What¡¯re you doing?¡±

    ¡°Saving the world!¡±

 Chapter 1271

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1271 ¨C Death Ray

    As Li Qingshan drove the religious preceptor of the left to the limits of his anger, Xiao An had searched through the ruins of the Spirit K?etra temple and collected all the ?ar¨©ra left behind by the past monks in the pagodas.

    It truly was the greatest holy land of buddhism in the world. The quality and quantity of the ?ar¨©ra far surpassed the ones from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and the Bhik?u Mountain temple, so her collection became even more bountiful. Even after the fourth heavenly tribulation, they would be able to support her cultivation for a very long period of time.

    Then she found a few great buddhas covered in cracks. Large amounts of power of belief and buddhist light gathered on them. Even after falling from such a great height, their fundamental powers remained unharmed.

    Xiao An drifted over and finished them off, completely desecrating the buddhist nature within. The buddha statues immediately collapsed.

    A thread of golden light flashed by. The Buddha Slaying sword shone brightly before gradually dimming again, having grown even stronger. Only then did she return to Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder in satisfaction.

    The religious preceptor of the left was absolutely fuming. He had not activated the great buddhas in the Spirit K?etra temple because he was trying to preserve their strength, which they could use to rebuild the Spirit K?etra temple. He never expected that they would not be spared in the end either.

    Just the act of destroying buddha statues in front of monks was a great crime, let alone destroying buddha statues that had gathered over ten thousand years of power of belief. That was basically unforgivable.

    The Monk Kings basically wanted to charge over without any regard. Even the Unraging monk almost stood forward to intervene, but the mountainous ox demon that confronted the imperial court made all of them discard such thoughts. Before his unbelievable strength, any form of resistance or struggle was fruitless and just asking to be humiliated.

    Reaching the limits of his anger, the religious preceptor of the left instead calmed down. He coldly watched as Li Qingshan made his way off into the distance and said to the emperor of Great Xia, ¡°Your majesty, please begin the offerings to heaven quickly!¡±

    ¡°Offerings to heaven?¡± Li Qingshan asked Gu Yanying, ¡°What are the offerings to heaven?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the greatest secret of the imperial court of Great Xia. I¡¯ve only heard some rumours about it. It should be connected to the Human realm and the founding emperor.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. No wonder these guys were so indifferent when they attacked the ghost tower. Are they thinking of using the Human realm¡¯s power to contend against the Hungry Ghost realm?¡±

    Li Qingshan slowed down. The Strength of the Earth flowed into his body endlessly, washing away his exhaustion.

    Earlier, when he dropped the Spirit K?etra temple from the sky, it was not just for the sake of avenging the Qing Xiao dwelling¡¯s destruction, but also because he could not hold on for much longer either. The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens possessed some divine properties, but it only served as a lever, drastically strengthening the powers of the ox demon¡¯s abilities. It was still his strength that pried the lever.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You don¡¯t plan on stopping them?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°The priority right now is still the Hungry Ghost realm. The guys in the sky are Xiao An and my greatest enemies.¡±

    Gu Yanying could not help but look towards Xiao An, who looked back at her indifferently. Gu Yanying nodded towards her, and Xiao An turned her head away from her, focusing on healing the damage to her white bones.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Human realm and the Hungry Ghost realm are intrinsically different. It doesn¡¯t have the natural ability to devour worlds. Even if they¡¯re after the nine provinces, it¡¯s probably just a certain sect¡¯s selfish schemes. It¡¯s definitely not as great of a threat as the guys in the sky.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had been a god of the Asura realm. His knowledge of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra was unmatched in the nine provinces.

    ¡°What¡¯re you coming along for instead of finding somewhere to cultivate?¡±

    ¡°To help you save the world,¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said calmly as his eyes shone.

    ¡°I think I understand how you feel a little now. Once I deal with the Hungry Ghost realm, I¡¯ll help you find a few more Asura fields, and then I¡¯ll settle my debts in the nine provinces. Let¡¯s ascend after that!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. After raising a great fuss in the Dragon province, he could sense the Ape Demon Transformation budging again, almost breaking through to the fourth layer. The Ape Demon Transformation matched his nature far too well. He basically felt like he was having fun when he cultivated. It put him in a good mood too.

    At this moment, the cold wind blew over with the aura of death.

    The dark clouds sealed up the sky, obscuring the watching eyes.

    Before they knew it, the land was already devoid of all life.

    Li Qingshan frowned. This was only the boundary between the Green province and the Dragon province. As he continued along the barren earth, the aura of death became heavier, which made him feel like he had left the nine provinces and entered the Hungry Ghost realm.

    When the ghost tower appeared on the horizon, R¨¡hu Xiaoming frowned. ¡°Stop!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    There was a flash of black at the top of the ghost tower. A ray of black light pierced several thousand kilometres, brushing past Li Qingshan¡¯s right shoulder. That was where Xiao An had been standing.

    From beginning to end, it had not even produced a sound.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed violently. He actually completely failed to respond to it. His shoulder withered and cracked rapidly, covering a good portion of his body in the blink of an eye, extinguishing all of his vitality.

    Looking back, all he saw was Gu Yanying with her kunpeng wings unfurled, holding Xiao An in her arms. In that critical moment, she had used the speed of the kunpeng to save Xiao An.

    Li Qingshan eased up and immediately fell backwards.

    With a rumble, he shattered into pieces. Flames rose up, and he underwent rebirth.

    However, Li Qingshan still felt extremely feeble, completely lacking the usual sense of joy when he made a complete recovery on the spot. He punched the ground, and a mountain rose up, blocking right in front of him. Only then did the fear hit him.

    If that strike had managed to hit Xiao An, she would have no chance of surviving. Just brushing his body had forced him to rebirth. He had not obtained any warning from the spirit turtle either. Unless the heavenly secrets had been obscured, his reactions should not have been that sluggish even if he was not the target.

    Only now did he truly realise how terrifying of an existence he was facing, the Hungry Ghost realm of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    Xiao An broke free from Gu Yanying¡¯s arms. Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Fortunately, you came along.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°If we were another fifteen hundred kilometres closer, probably even I wouldn¡¯t have been able to respond in time.¡±

    They were still nowhere close to the ghost tower.

    A thin crack ran through space, refusing to close even after all this time, serving as evidence of the power behind the strike.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°It¡¯s the death ray from the Fang of the Hungry Ghost. They¡¯ve been building up power and waiting for us to approach it the entire time. These undead sure are crafty! This part of your world has already been devoured and assimilated into the Hungry Ghost realm. Breaking off the fang probably won¡¯t be that easy.¡±

    If the strike from earlier had even brushed a hair on him, he would have been dead. All he could do was rebirth in the Asura realm and face his savage mother. However, despite facing such danger, he was still unfazed, without the slightest fear or panic at all.

    Kuang Tianyou said, ¡°You¡¯re dreaming if you think you can destroy the Fang of the Hungry Ghost! Just watch as your world is devoured!¡±

    However, to his gloom, no one paid any attention to his threat.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°How¡¯s Li¡¯l Fatty doing?¡±

    ¡°Still adjusting to the laws of the world. He¡¯s actually far more lively here. Let¡¯s exchange hostages first.¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously would not attack the ghost tower in such a reckless and abrupt manner. He still had an important trump card that he had yet to play, which was the space-devouring beast, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty.

    Unlike the interior of the large space-devouring beast¡¯s body, the World of the Nine Provinces was already in possession of a complete set of laws of the world, which served as a restraint for all foreign intruders. That was why Navy Li¡¯l Fatty had vanished soon after entering the nine provinces. Currently, it was hidden in the space beside Li Qingshan, ready for a feast at any moment.

 Chapter 1272

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1272 ¨C Eating the Tower

    Li Qingshan raised the half a head high into the air. ¡°Give me who I want, and I¡¯ll toss this guy back into the Hungry Ghost realm.¡±

    The dark clouds in the sky obscured the eyes. They stood on two separate worlds, but he was confident those undead in the Hungry Ghost realm could see and hear everything.

    The winds sobbed. After a moment of silence, a voice rang out from the ghost tower, ¡°Release him first, and then I¡¯ll return the woman to you.¡±

    Xiao An could tell it was sovereign Li¡¯s voice, which left her slightly worried. If the enemy could make a Corpse Emperor rampage through the nine provinces, then perhaps the ghost tower was under sovereign Li¡¯s watch. The climate and the geography were both on his side, so they stood absolutely no chance.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid? Why would I believe a bunch of dead ghosts like you? If you¡¯re not going to release her, then I¡¯ll kill him, and we can be on our own ways.¡±

    Sovereign Li said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll exchange the hostages at the same time, or we¡¯ll go our own way! Our Hungry Ghost realm can afford to lose a Corpse Emperor. Unfortunately, you only have one mother. She might have to suffer a little.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I refuse! If you¡¯re not going to release her first, you can forget about having us release this guy.¡±

    ¡°If you go back on your word, wouldn¡¯t I become a fool? You can keep that half a head!¡±

    Kuang Tianyou cursed sovereign Li inside, but he remained silent on the surface. In the end, he simply closed his eyes as if he was ready to accept his fate.

    For a moment, they entered a stalemate. Li Qingshan frowned. He was not familiar with the Dark Queen, but just the fact that she had saved Xiao An was enough for him to do everything he could to save her in exchange, even if he was not acquainted with her at all.

    However, when it came to exchanging hostages at the same time, it was a colossal trap through and through.

    From the sneak attack earlier, he had already realised the difference that existed between them. It was completely impossible for them to clash and scheme against each other as equals. If he made even the slightest error, not only would they be unable to save the Dark Queen, but it could even drag them down as well.

    However, if this stalemate continued, all they could do was watch as the Hungry Ghost realm devoured this world bit by bit. It was far too disadvantageous.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I try instead?¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°Why?¡± Earlier, she had saved her only because it was convenient to do so. Handling the hostage exchange personally came with an extremely great risk.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°We¡¯re all in the same boat.¡±

    Xiao An said softly, ¡°Thank you¡­ let¡¯s let Qingshan decide!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked at Xiao An before looking at Gu Yanying. He felt absolutely troubled.

    By now, R¨¡hu Xiaoming had understood everything. He smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This guy is a zombie. The Hungry Ghost realm will definitely save him.¡±

    Kuang Tianyou opened his eye slightly and glanced at R¨¡hu Xiaoming. He was shocked inside. What are the origins of this kid? There are an extremely small number of zombies. Someone from beyond the Hungry Ghost realm actually knows about us!

    Li Qingshan said curiously, ¡°What¡¯s so impressive about zombies? I even fought a cave full of zombies before.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in disdain, ¡°They just happen to share the same name, a strained interpretation made by ignorant people. Beyond the Nine Heavens even has Daemon Kings! But can you really compare them with the Daemon Kings of this world? True zombies all possess the bloodline of great god N¨¹ba. Even in the Hungry Ghost realm, they¡¯re very rare. They are a powerful force, or they would never be able to get their hands on such a great task like killing the successor of white bone.¡±

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. He said to Kuang Tianyou, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell, but you¡¯re pretty important.¡±

    Kuang Tianyou¡¯s face changed slightly. He asked R¨¡hu Xiaoming, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°You¡¯re still not worthy enough to find out. Qingshan, countdown from ten again. Once you finish counting and they still haven¡¯t released her, kill him.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan said loudly, ¡°I¡¯m going to count down from ten. If you still don¡¯t release her, I¡¯ll crush this half a head first before destroying your ghost tower. Ten.¡±

    Sovereign Li did not give a single reply.

    Li Qingshan had always been very resolute. No matter how complicated and awkward the situation was, once he made up his mind, he would forget about all the worries. He counted down number by number, without any regard for their silence. ¡°Nine! Eight! Seven¡­¡±

    Kuang Tianyou widened his eye and observed Li Qingshan¡¯s expression, hoping he was bluffing, where he would never find the courage to kill him even if he continued counting past zero. However, he was disappointed. He¡¯s serious! He¡¯s actually going to kill me! That damned sovereign Li! Master is never going to give up on me.

    When Li Qingshan reached ¡°four¡±, Kuang Tianyou sneered. ¡°Do you think the Hungry Ghost realm is a crew of kind-hearted and caring people who will buy into your threat? If you kill me, you¡¯ll only make that woman suffer as much as possible.¡±

    ¡°Three!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze was firm. He did not waver. If he needed to shoulder a burden, then he would shoulder the burden. If he needed to give up on something or someone, then he would give up on them. No matter how painful or regretful the process was, this was the path he had chosen.

    Xiao An drew her sword and approached him. She pointed her sword at Kuang Tianyou¡¯s face. She definitely would not be holding back again.

    When she said she would let Li Qingshan make the decision, that definitely was not just for say. Instead, she trusted him and supported his decision unconditionally.

    ¡°One!¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head, shooting an apologetic glance towards Xiao An.

    Xiao An nodded and stabbed down.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    Right when the sword was about to pierce Kuang Tianyou¡¯s head, sovereign Li¡¯s voice suddenly rang out, filled with fury and a reluctance to accept this.

    Li Qingshan eased up, giving R¨¡hu Xiaoming the thumbs up.

    ¡°Alright, you win,¡± Sovereign Li said coldly.

    Sovereign Li did not care about Kuang Tianyou¡¯s fate at all. Instead, he wished a horrible death to this undead who stole his job and reward. However, this was not something he could decide. From the moment Li Qingshan began counting, an order had been issued to him. It was simply three words. ¡°Do the exchange.¡±

    However, the person who issued the order was someone he could never defy.

    It went without saying at all who was more important, a zombie Corpse Emperor or a regular Ghost King.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan clearly could have butchered the Spirit K?etra temple and gotten an even more thorough revenge, yet in the end, he did not touch a single person, which also served as an important reason. He had already proved that his word could be trusted.

    The Dark Queen drifted out from the vast and deep mouth of the hungry ghost. Her face was pale, but she was mostly unscathed. However, she had completely turned into a Ghost King. This was not due to sovereign Li. Instead, the Hungry Ghost realm was unable to accept the living. Of course, since she had been a disciple of the Umbral Yin sect in the first place, the conversion had not harmed her at all.

    Then Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s best if you don¡¯t play any tricks, or you better not blame me if I don¡¯t stick to my word!¡±

    Sovereign Li just happened to be considering whether to cast an underhanded technique on the Dark Queen and then set it off after they had completed the exchange. After hearing Li Qingshan¡¯s words, he gave up on that thought in the very end. Killing a Ghost King was completely meaningless. Kuang Tianyou definitely could not die because of him, or the Zombie clan would never spare him.

    ¡°Mother.¡±

    ¡°Xuanyue!¡±

    A reunion between mother and daughter had a joy of its own. Xiao An revealed a smile for once too. After Li Qingshan¡¯s return, feelings seemed to return to that human heart of hers.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am Dark Queen, please don¡¯t move and open up your mind. I¡¯ll examine you.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were tranquil like the ocean, extending his hand towards the Dark Queen.

    The Dark Queen furrowed her brows, but she did not decline. She allowed Li Qingshan to press down on the top of her head and carefully inspect her body. The spirit turtle did not detect any problems. Only then did he stop.

    Kuang Tianyou said, ¡°Release me!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered and murderousness surged out. ¡°I think you should just die!¡±

    A pair of eyes suddenly lit up in the sky. The light pierced the clouds. Kuang Tianyou¡¯s face changed drastically. ¡°How dare you¡­¡±

    The murderousness that filled his face abruptly vanished, which left Kuang Tianyou stunned. All he heard was Li Qingshan laugh. ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. Look at how frightened you are. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t go back on my word, as I know that people like you just love seeking death. In the future, you¡¯ll definitely come to me to die, so I¡¯ll just spare you for a few extra days!¡±

    With a ¡°see you sometime in the future¡±, he tossed the remaining half of Kuang Tianyou¡¯s head towards the great ghost tower like a shot put.

    Kuang Tianyou began to recover mid-air. His head became whole, and his body slowly grew out as well. The closer he was to the ghost tower, the less restraints from the laws of the nine provinces he was under. Originally, he wanted to stay beneath the ghost tower and come back for a battle against Li Qingshan, but now, the feelings he felt were rather mixed.

    If what he said actually comes true, wouldn¡¯t I be a colossal joke? Whatever, let¡¯s return to the Hungry Ghost realm first and make a complete recovery. That sword sure is vicious!

    He directly threw himself into the mouth of the hungry ghost without any hesitation, but there was a thought that he refused to admit. Not only had he been defeated in a direct confrontation, but it had even shattered his determination for revenge. The enemy was clearly weaker than him, yet he was also unimaginably powerful somehow. Just what kind of a man was he?

    ¡°I¡¯ve given you the person you want. Are you prepared to destroy the ghost tower now? Come! I can¡¯t wait to turn you into a corpse puppet!¡±

    Sovereign Li provoked as he poured the Fang of the Hungry Ghost, building up power silently so that he could fire the death ray at any time. Originally, even with a mountain between them, he could still kill the successor of white bone from such a distance and perhaps that Li Qingshan as well. Unfortunately, that damned woman was around.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll make my way over right now!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly asked a question, ¡°Are you inside the tower?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m right here. Are you bold enough to come?¡±

    A dark shadow moved up and down the ghost tower, sometimes condensing into the figure of a human and sometimes merging with the ghost tower. It was sovereign Li in person.

    The interior of the ghost tower basically counted as a part of the Hungry Ghost realm now, but before the Hungry Ghost realm had completely devoured the world, he could not completely eliminate the effect from the laws of the world. As such, he was unable to leave the ghost tower, and his strength had been heavily affected too.

    However, he was still a powerful Ghost Sovereign of the fifth heavenly tribulation. On top of that, the power of the Fang of the Hungry Ghost that he currently grasped was even greater than his personal strength. When he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s question, he felt a sliver of unease, but he quickly dismissed that thought. Unless Li Qingshan could undergo two heavenly tribulations consecutively right now, he was seeking death if he made his way over.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°As long as you¡¯re around!¡± However, he had no plans to make his way over. He simply swung his hand. ¡°Devour it! Li¡¯l Fatty!¡±

    Crack!

    A colossal, hemispherical opening appeared on the indestructible ghost tower out of thin air.

    Sovereign Li had merged with the ghost tower, so a good part of his body immediately vanished. He was both surprised and furious, as well as perplexed. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    A strange, navy-coloured and tadpole-shaped creature appeared in the space there, except it was countless times larger than a tadpole. It had almost broken the ghost tower into two with a single bite.

    It was their great saviour that had helped Li Qingshan cross through outer space, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty!

    Originally, the laws of the world restrained it, so it could only lurk in the space there, unable to do anything. However, the location of the ghost tower happened to be the boundary between two worlds. The laws of the world were a messy intersection, so it was immediately freed and able to go for a feast!

    Let alone sovereign Li¡¯s confusion, even the eyes in the sky were dumbfounded. They communicated fervently.

    ¡°What is that?¡±

    ¡°That seems to be¡­ a space-devouring beast?¡±

    ¡°How can a space-devouring beast attack a world that hasn¡¯t been destroyed?¡±

    ¡°He tamed a space-devouring beast?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Space-devouring beasts are completely devoid of feelings and attachments, and they definitely can¡¯t be threatened either!¡±

    Everything happened in a split second. Sovereign Li did not even have the time to identify what it was when he powered the Fang of the Hungry Ghost and tried everything he could to kill Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, bombarding it with death rays after death rays.

    However, space-devouring beasts were transcendent creatures, so how could they be killed so easily? Its body rippled, but it was completely unharmed as if it ate the death rays as well. Afterwards, it simply went about its own business and opened its mouth again, taking another bite out of the ghost tower.

    Crack!

    The great ghost tower snapped into two, and sovereign Li let out a horrific shriek. He suffered heavy damage with the tower.

    The dark clouds in the sky shrank rapidly. All of the eyes vanished, unable to peer into this world from the Hungry Ghost realm anymore.

    The Hungry Ghost realm was the only world out of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra that possessed the natural ability to devour other worlds, and the great ghost tower was its fangs that plunged into the bodies of its prey. But this time, the big foodie had met a small foodie and ended up having its tooth eaten.

    This did not mean Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s devouring abilities were stronger than the Hungry Ghost realm¡¯s. If Navy Li¡¯l Fatty entered the Hungry Ghost realm, it would probably be devoured very quickly. However, this was the nine provinces, not the Hungry Ghost realm. At the end of the day, the ghost tower was only a creation by the undead.

    Crack! Crack! Crack!

    The top half of the tower tilted and fell, vanishing piece by piece, having been polished off by Navy Li¡¯l Fatty. Afterwards, it began to eat away at the bottom half of the tower as well, continuing until only a base remained.

    Xiao An also widened her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just that easy?¡±

    Navy Li¡¯l Fatty swam around above the mouth of the hungry ghost, but it refused to get any closer as if it instinctively felt threatened.

    ¡°It¡¯s a good opportunity!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt out from behind the mountain and unfurled the wings of wind, lunging for the mouth of the hungry ghost.

    A shadow continued to pace around in the mouth of the hungry ghost, except it was even less humanoid now, like a ball of pitch. Suddenly, a hand emerged and pointed at Li Qingshan. A death ray pierced the air, but it began to dim and disintegrate half way.

    Originally, there was no reason for sovereign Li to fear Li Qingshan even if he was heavily injured. However, with the destruction of the ghost tower, the laws of the world immediately gained the upper hand again, firmly suppressing him inside the mouth of the hungry ghost. His techniques had been drastically affected too.

    Li Qingshan still felt greatly threatened. He bellowed out, ¡°Last Reflection of the Setting Sun!¡±

    A faint, blue screen appeared before shattering immediately. However, it managed to reflect the death ray, destroying the hand.

    Sovereign Li roared furiously, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    The reply he received was a punch.

    Boom!

    The space shattered, and the great ghost tower completely collapsed. The cracks split the dark shadow into pieces. Despite all of sovereign Li¡¯s reluctance and regret, all he could do was retreat back to the Hungry Ghost realm. All of the dark shadows coalesced and took shape, no longer bold enough to remain in the nine provinces.

    Xiao An followed closely behind, using the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone to ignite the shattered foundation of the ghost tower. It turned into rolling flames, illuminating the space that had shattered like glass. It gathered into a great ball of fire and rushed into the air.

    The laws of death weakened and Navy Li¡¯l Fatty began to fade, vanishing once more.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Heh, saving the world¡¯s just that easy!¡±

 Chapter 1273

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1273 ¨C The Person of Legends

    Li Qingshan secretly felt fortunate inside. If it were not for the space-devouring beast, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, they probably could not take down the ghost tower even if they gathered all the cultivators in the world. Just sovereign Li alone, even if he could not leave the tower, was not someone Daemon Kings or great cultivators could defeat.

    Sensing Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s current state, he could not help but feel some pity. Space-devouring beasts did turn into worlds, but they were still different at the end of the day. Navy Li¡¯l Fatty could go on a feast inside the large space-devouring beast¡¯s body, but the laws of the world in the nine provinces would restrain it, without the same freedom as outer space. Otherwise, even if he went to the Demon domain and faced Demon God Qiongqi in the future, he would have a great helper on his side.

    External help could be used but not relied on. Even the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens was no different. At the end of the day, it still came down to his own strength.

    ¡°So powerful!¡± Xiao An offered up her most sincere admiration without holding back at all.

    ¡°A piece of cake.¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud and pecked her face a few times.

    Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming glanced at each other, but there was no joy on their faces.

    ¡°Kid, the world is done for, but fortunately, you¡¯ve broken off the anchor. Let¡¯s hurry up and prepare for ascension!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sighed and destroyed the mood.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°We went to such great effort and finally destroyed this ghost tower, so how can you say the world is done for instead?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°What great effort? And who was the one who just said it was that easy to save the world earlier?¡± She pointed at the Gate of Hungry Ghosts below. ¡°Qingshan, don¡¯t celebrate too soon. Take a clear look yourself!¡±

    Li Qingshan followed her hand, only to see that the Gate of Hungry Ghost had not shrunken at all. Instead, it showed signs of expanding.

    It was like a great hole in a painting, bottomless and pitch-black. Everything was sliding and falling into the hole. The death qi continued to gush out of the mouth of the hungry ghost, constantly eating away at the rest of the painting.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. The Gate of Hungry Ghosts had always been the Umbral Yin sect¡¯s trump card to make the entire world perish with them. Once it was opened, it was very difficult to close. Even after destroying the great ghost tower, such a large Gate of Hungry Ghosts could not be sealed and suppressed so easily.

    The nine provinces remained in the mouth of the Hungry Ghost realm, being devoured slowly.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°The Hungry Ghost realm has an instinct to devour, and it seems to be very interested in this successor of white bone, probably because the White Bone Bodhisattva had left it with far too deep of an impression back then.¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. If he ignored the mouth of the hungry ghost, then the undead could rise up again at any moment. Constructing another ghost tower would be nothing difficult. Was saving the world perhaps just empty talk? He found this rather difficult to accept.

    ¡°There must be a way!¡±

    He summoned Navy Li¡¯l Fatty again, which opened its mouth and began inhaling everything.

    For a moment, the surroundings surged. The dark haze and the surging death qi whistled into Navy Li¡¯l Fatty. It immediately swelled up like a balloon.

    This clearly was not particularly nutritious to space-devouring beasts, but they were not picky at all. As long as Li Qingshan was bold enough to give it orders, it was bold enough to eat it.

    However, this made the small world change again. Many buried corpses crawled out of their graves under the blowing death qi. Souls filled with obsessions and hatred turned into ghosts within the winds.

    It set off an undead crisis. Countless people perished in the war, turning into undead, and countless people gained renown through battle too, becoming heroes. It made the already-turbulent small world even more wild.

    A forbidden land called Skeleton island was created. Many years afterwards, the greatest demonic sect was founded, the Undying sect, which led to countless more slaughters and deaths.

    Li Qingshan sighed slightly inside. He did not view mortals as ants, but when the difference in strength reached a certain degree, any single word or action of his could lead to a tremendous impact.

    He had only made Navy Li¡¯l Fatty devour the death qi to save everyone and everything that lived in the nine provinces. That could be regarded as a good deed done out of good intentions, but who knew how many innocent lives had been lost because of it.

    Even without this, he had caused countless earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions when he made Navy Li¡¯l Fatty devour the remains of the world back then in outer space, which turned into a meteor storm in the small world. How could it be possible that not a single life was lost? He definitely did not do this out of bad intentions either. It was a good deed that had benefited countless lives throughout the world.

    And back then, he did not even feel a hint of apology, as everything was far too distant and far too insignificant. He was not even certain if he could survive, so why would he care about the fate of others?

    These sighs were just sighs. Li Qingshan never regretted anything that he had done, nor could he bother with thinking about these overly complicated matters. Right now, sealing and suppressing the Gate of Hungry Ghosts was the priority.

    He was powerless about this, but there was definitely a certain ¡°person¡± who could do something about this.

    ¡°Xiaoming, recover your cultivation as quickly as possible. Yanying, help Xiaoming collect Asura Fields. Xiao An, you can¡­ alright nevermind, just stay by my side. We¡¯ll go and ask the Great Banyan Tree King. Whether we succeed or not, we won¡¯t be remaining in this world for too long.¡±

    Gu Yanying said nothing, just picking up R¨¡hu Xiaoming and leaving.

    Li Qingshan produced another mirror clone to watch over the mouth of the hungry ghost and ordered Navy Li¡¯l Fatty to stop the Hungry Ghost realm from trying any more tricks. Afterwards, he flew towards the Mist province with Xiao An.

    ¡°Qingshan, welcome back!¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan entered the Mist province, the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice echoed in the surroundings. The sea of trees surged, and all the residents of the trees looked up.

    Ye Liubo emerged from the Shadow palace, saying to the child in her arms proudly, ¡°Listen, that¡¯s your dad¡¯s name. Look at how impressive he is!¡±

    The child was still very young, but her pitch-black eyes were filled with an intelligent light. She repeated with a clear, tender voice, ¡°Daddy, Qingshan.¡±

    In the Mist capital, the King of Southern Yue had learnt about Li Qingshan¡¯s return a long time ago. He even knew all about how he defeated the Corpse Emperor and destroyed the Spirit K?etra temple. At his cultivation, news actually spread very quickly.

    Hearing the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s welcome, he immediately flew off into the distance, also hurrying to Towering city.

    The Green province, the Cloud province, the Harmony province¡­ All of the places where the Great Banyan Tree King had become a god echoed with his voice, basically booming across the entire nine provinces. Everyone murmured that name inside. This would become a new legend.

    Li Qingshan passed through the lush canopy and landed in Towering city.

    The Great Banyan Tree King assumed his human form and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve never underestimated you, but your performance always takes me by surprise!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve already said that many times now.¡±

    The King of Southern Yue studied him closely. ¡°Just how did you¡­ how¡­¡±

    ¡°You just have to try.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    The King of Southern Yue accepted this explanation helplessly, even though he still had no idea what he wanted to ask. Just how had he returned from outer space? How had he defeated the Corpse Emperor? And how had he toppled the ghost tower¡­

    Perhaps legends always possessed a rather inconceivable component that could not be understood.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the urgency of the matter, I¡¯d definitely go for a good drink with the two of you. May I ask the tree king how the mouth of the hungry ghost can be closed?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°This is a wound to the entire world. All cultivators are powerless with respect to this. All you can do is borrow the power of the world¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°You understand?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already been a god before.¡±

    The will of the world was powerful but blurred. Everything operated based on instinct, unable to unleash its power effectively. However, if there was a capable and powerful head caretaker, then that would be very different. At the very least, a Corpse King could not have snuck his way in. He could mobilise the winds and lightning to repel or even kill him.

    The Great Banyan Tree King was very surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve become a god?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let me pass on all of my experiences and knowledge to you right now. Haha, I never thought there would be a moment when I would have to guide you.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King smiled wryly. ¡°Your knowledge has surpassed mine. This has always been just a matter of time.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go collect the remaining cauldrons,¡± Xiao An suddenly said. Despite her reluctance, she still had to help him out. After a moment of hesitation, she said, ¡°You better not disappear again.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll definitely wait for you to return. The Frost Province cauldron is already gone, and you can wait for me to retrieve the Dragon Province cauldron. I¡¯ll leave the rest up to you.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King had already become the god of five provinces. All that remained were two cauldrons.

    The King of Southern Yue said, ¡°I might as well come along as a persuasive talker! Though, it would be best if we don¡¯t have to use force. This is for the sake of the nine provinces. I¡¯m sure those two fellows will have the bigger picture in mind.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You probably don¡¯t need me to visit in person then.¡±

    They split up again. Li Qingshan followed the hole that had opened up in the tree trunk and entered the internal pith of Towering city.

    His experiences as the god of a world were far too vast and profound. If he tried to pass it on using words, who knew how much saliva and ink it would take.

    Hollow, jade-green aerial roots extended out, directly connecting with Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The Great Banyan Tree King had always been capable of the Wisdom Imbuement technique. Today, he was just reversing it.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes. The corresponding information appeared in his sea of consciousness, surging towards the Great Banyan Tree King through the aerial roots.

    The information was just so vast and disorderly, containing both the profound nature of the laws of the world, as well as the indifference and loftiness that came with becoming a god of the world. If it had been any other Daemon King instead, they would probably be overwhelmed immediately, leading to a drastic change in disposition, or it might even drive them insane.

    Fortunately, the Great Banyan Tree King had already become the god of half of the world, which was why he could adjust to this influence. His countless cuttings spread across the world gave him an extremely great ability to digest and calculate. Every single banyan tree, regardless of size, accepted and checked the information. The countless banyan trees formed a complicated system similar to a neural network, collaborating together and pouring their efforts together.

    Waves of green light swept across the sea of trees. All of the banyan leaves trembled gently, filled with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s shock and joy. The knowledge was far too important to him.

    Originally, he was rather worried when he heard Li Qingshan mention that the Frost Province cauldron was gone, but now, he was completely unfazed. Even without the Frost Province cauldron, he was confident enough to become the god of the Frost province in a short amount of time.

    In order to conserve time and let the Great Banyan Tree King become the god of the world as soon as possible, he only gave him the purest information.

    The Great Banyan Tree King was unable to imagine just what kind of dangers he had faced in outer space to obtain something so great. At this moment, he could not spare the effort to imagine either. He gathered all of his power to digest this extremely precious treasure trove of information.

    And even despite that, it lasted for three days and three nights before the information transfer was complete.

    When Li Qingshan opened his eyes again, Xiao An and the King of Southern Yue had already returned with two cauldrons.

    ¡°Need me to shatter them?¡±

    ¡°That would be fantastic.¡±

    Li Qingshan punched out, and the cauldrons shattered.

 Chapter 1274

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1274 ¨C A True Dragon¡¯s World, the Legend¡¯s Arrival

    In that instant, a riot of colours shattered, passing by Li Qingshan.

    In a daze, the mountains, rivers, and seasons flowed, all merging with the tree. Every single leaf flowed with light.

    Li Qingshan gained a whole new understanding of the laws of the World of the Nine Provinces. Knowledge and experience could not replace power, but they did serve as an important foundation for power.

    ¡°Just like that, all that remains is the Dragon province.¡±

    At the apex of the Dragon province, on the altar, a verdant vine twisted and climbed upwards, plunging into the depths of the sky.

    The atmospheric winds were like blades and axes, yet they failed to even cut off a single leaf. The Heaven Climbing Vine was like a growing world, climbing into space after reaching an unfathomable height.

    Qian Rongzhi stood in the centre of the altar as she felt an unprecedentedly pure spiritual qi surge into her body. Coupled with the many benefits that the Great Xia empire had given her over the past few days, she neared the third heavenly tribulation.

    Under the watch of the entire imperial court, a golden shoe with embroidered clouds stepped out of the space there, landing on a leaf. Everyone shuddered inside. Only the emperor of Great Xia, the religious preceptors of the left and right, and a small number of people knew what was happening. The others had actually been kept in the dark about this, so they were rather unsure about what was going on.

    The Heaven Climbing Vine was like a staircase that led up to the heavens. Each leaf was like a stair. A man descended the stairs, emerging from space. Behind the tassels, his appearance was obscured. His attire was basically identical to the emperor of Great Xia¡¯s, but his bearing was even more natural, graceful, and poised.

    On the altar, the true emperor of Great Xia bowed deeply. He lowered his head. ¡°Welcome, founding emperor.¡±

    The officials all said, ¡°Welcome, founding emperor.¡±

    Only the Guardian Hawk God raised his head and met his eyes. There was a surge of emotions through his eyes. Who knew what he was thinking about.

    In the distant Frost province, the Heavenly Frost Wolf King murmured, ¡°Master.¡±

    The man completely emerged from space. He swung his hand. ¡°All rise.¡±

    His voice was swallowed by the wind and lightning, like a rock cast into a lake, kicking up a series of turbulent waves.

    The atmospheric winds surged recklessly, condensing into tornados. The lightning criss-crossed together and formed a blend of blue and violet, turning into a sea of lightning. The mountains swayed, and Dragonshead mountain shook violently. The earth quaked and split open as magma spewed out from the cracks. Columns of fire rushed into the sky.

    The world was like an infuriated beast. The wind was its roar, the lightning was its claws, and the fire was its teeth, lunging towards the man.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±

    Li Qingshan stood on the great banyan tree and gazed into the distance. Even from over fifty thousand kilometres away, he could clearly sense the disturbance in the Dragon province.

    He murmured, ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    The pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell overlapped and pulled the scene on Dragonshead mountain right before his eyes.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed. Against such might of the world, even he could not contend against it. He could only last for a moment. The strength possessed by individuals and worlds were on completely different levels.

    The emperor of Great Xia lifted the Dragon Province cauldron high into the air. It shone brilliantly, leaving it absolutely blinding.

    The winds and lightning settled down slightly, but it was still fierce. The wind, fire, and lightning slammed against the man viciously.

    The man seemed to be under heavy shackles, walking very slowly yet very firmly. He allowed the wind and lightning to smash apart the crown on his head, scattering his hair. His dragon robes were burnt to a crisp by the fire, revealing his chest, but he continued to make his way down step by step.

    The Great Banyan Tree King was alarmed. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡±

    ¡°Who?¡± Li Qingshan already had an idea about what was going on.

    ¡°The first emperor of Great Xia, Si Long.¡± The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice was filled with a sense of uneasiness.

    Li Qingshan nodded. That was the legend he had constantly heard about ever since he emerged from the mountains. Compared to how distant and blurred the legend of the Five Absolutes Immortal had become, the great feats of the founding emperor were basically at arm¡¯s length to him.

    He could not help but pull closer to the Profound Light Illuminates All so that he could see more clearly.

    Si Long seemed to sense it. He looked back.

    With fifty thousand kilometres between them, two legends met eye to eye.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and stared fixedly, while Si Long curled the corner of his lips. His pitch-black eyes seemed to be able to take in everything.

    His appearance was soon blocked by the wind and lightning. He still possessed the appearance of a young man.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He asked the Great Banyan Tree King, ¡°What¡¯s this guy coming back for? A beating?¡±

    The founding emperor¡¯s cultivation clearly was already beyond what the world could tolerate. Did he potentially have a bad time in the Human realm? But that did not seem to be the case!

    There was a flash of dark-azure light, and Gu Yanying returned to the Great Banyan Tree King with R¨¡hu Xiaoming. ¡°Originally, I thought they were going to borrow the power of the Human realm to contend against the Hungry Ghost realm. I didn¡¯t expect him to come down in person. He seems¡­ to have undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation already!¡±

    It had already been five thousand years since the founding emperor of Great Xia¡¯s ascension, but the flow of time in the Human realm was much slower, so it had probably only been a few centuries or even less. Despite that, he had actually managed to undergo another heavenly tribulation. Just how startling was his talent?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Another sovereign Li!?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°No, the Human realm does not have the ability to devour other worlds. He¡¯s just using the Heaven Climbing Vine as a passageway. He has to endure the might of the world. If it were not for the fact that he was born in this world, so the rejection he faces isn¡¯t that severe, he probably would have been reduced to ash already.¡±

    And that is supposed to be rejection that is not that severe!?

    Li Qingshan gazed at the terrifying sight that resembled the end of the world. The rejection from the World of the Nine Provinces was much more frightening than the small world. It was basically out to kill by force.

    Apart from that, there must have been numerous invisible restraints and misfortunes as well. It definitely was not something an individual could resist.

    The Great Banyan Tree King fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, he seemed to realise something. ¡°I¡¯ve walked into a trap!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He had never seen the Great Banyan Tree King lose his composure like that. He had always seemed like he was in control of everything with his great wisdom. Even if he made a miscalculation once in a while, it was not his fault.

    This feeling was like Zhuge Kongming calling out in the middle of the battle formation, ¡°Oh no, there¡¯s an ambush!¡± It was very unusual.

    TL: Zhuge Kongming, also known as Zhuge Liang, is a strategist from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This paragraph basically gives off the same energy as Admiral Ackbar¡¯s ¡°It¡¯s a trap!¡± from Star Wars.

    Before Li Qngshan could even ask the Great Banyan Tree King what kind of trap he had walked into, the founding emperor had already made it to the altar. Covered in wounds, the Formation of Gathering Dragons that protected the imperial court of Great Xia had been torn apart in the blink of an eye.

    The tremendous winds and lightning surged forth as the flames set the imperial court alight like it was the end of the world. Everyone paled. Clearly, the might of the world did not care about accidentally harming the innocent at all. In another moment, all of them would have been doomed.

    With a dragon¡¯s cry, the five-clawed golden dragon coiled around the mountain rushed out of the sea of fire, rose up to the top of the mountain, and rushed into his chest.

    Si Long pressed down on the Dragon Province cauldron gently. The cauldron shuddered and emitted a dragon¡¯s cry. A dragon cry also emerged from his mouth.

    Before anyone had realised it, his appearance had already changed. Dragon horns grew from his head, and his body was covered in dragon scales. He had become a mix between a dragon and a person. Only his smile remained exactly the same.

    Immediately, the sky full of wind and lightning dispersed as if it had never existed in the first place.

    On the altar, at the top of the mountain, Si Long fiddled around with the exquisite Dragon Province cauldron with a single hand. He murmured softly, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, nine provinces.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°So he¡¯s a dragon descendant. Yeah. He¡¯s probably become a true dragon already!¡±

    So-called dragon descendants were creatures that possessed the bloodline of the Dragon clan. The trichiliocosm possessed a great variety of strange bloodlines. The most widespread one was the dragon bloodline, and the one with the most descendants were dragon descendants. The bloodline of the Dragon clan could merge with other bloodlines. If dragon descendants cultivated arduously, they could purify their dragon blood and become true dragons.

    Li Qingshan was stern. It was no wonder why he could obtain the support of so many Daemon Kings. He had never been a pure human in the first place. ¡°This guy doesn¡¯t seem to be easy to deal with.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King let out a great sigh. ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re not his opponent. Get ready for ascension quickly!¡±

 Chapter 1275

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1275 ¨C The Sea of Trees Reduced to Dust, Ten Thousand Years Reduced to Nothing

    Li Qingshan did not agree with that at all. ¡°Fellow, why must you be so pessimistic and demoralising? His cultivation has been suppressed to below the fourth heavenly tribulation too, which is why he¡¯s managed to pacify the might of the world. When it comes to an actual battle, he might even be slightly weaker than that Corpse Emperor. I¡¯ll go fetch the Dragon Province cauldron right now and help you become the god!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°Sigh, you don¡¯t understand¡­¡±

    ¡°Old friend, you actually managed to obtain the cauldrons of seven provinces. That really has surprised me.¡±

    Si Long¡¯s voice passed through the Profound Light Illuminates All, slightly surprising Li Qingshan. He knew the Profound Light Illuminates All was capable of hearing as well as sight, but this innate ability had never been particularly useful. He had never tried to develop it seriously either, so now, the opponent had actually used it instead.

    ¡°Was everything according to your plan?¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King recalled how he had advised him to forge the nine provinces back then. He never expected to become enmeshed in a web of his own spinning.

    ¡°How can that be possible? Even true immortals aren¡¯t capable of that.¡±

    Si Long looked over and stared at Li Qingshan. ¡°The small friend beside you has surprised me very much. A powerful, external force probably intervened, right?¡± His gaze seemed as if he was trying to see through Li Qingshan. Then he shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this. Among the Seventy-two Daemon Kings, you were the one I respected the most. Unfortunately, our paths clashed, which forced us to become enemies. However, since you are an old friend, I will leave you with a chance of survival.¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist. The Great Banyan Tree King was one of the mighty Ten Daemon Kings, a god of half of the world, yet he talked about him like he was nothing, like he could be annihilated with ease.

    The Great Banyan Tree King settled down. ¡°Are you afraid I would throw my life at you?¡±

    ¡°If throwing your life at me worked, why would you bother with this conversation at all? Across the nine provinces, the Dragon province is the leader. Across the nine cauldrons, the Dragon Province cauldron is supreme. If you merged with the eight provinces and spent a century completely digesting them, then perhaps you might have a chance at victory. However, you¡¯ve only merged with seven provinces so far, and the Mist province is the only one that you¡¯ve achieved true coalescence, so why would you destroy your own chances at survival?¡±

    Si Long fiddled around with the Dragon Province cauldron. All of the light shrank back into it.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why you returned. Was it to become the god of the world? But you could have done so five millennia ago¡­¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King was puzzled. Low level worlds were not of much use to great cultivators. With Si Long¡¯s cultivation and pursuits, why would he return here? Just what was he after exactly?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in thought, ¡°A blessed land of cultivation.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, someone actually knows! That¡¯s right. The nine provinces will become a blessed land for our Myriad sect!¡± Si Long said proudly, ¡°How can the likes of me be confined to a world as some god of the world? Fellow, your wisdom is almost immeasurable, unrivalled in the world. It¡¯s a pity that your experiences are a little limited, and your aspirations are a little small. Just like how those of small aspirations are unable to use their intellect effectively! On the path of cultivation, how can you cower like that?¡±

    He raised the Dragon Province cauldron high into the air. The dragon¡¯s cry was mighty as the world shook.

    Leaping up, he turned into a golden dragon and dove into the Dragon Province cauldron.

    The pattern of a dragon appeared on the cauldron, brandishing its claws as it soared along it.

    Many landscapes that had never appeared before emerged around the cauldron. There were the trees of the Mist province, the deserts of the Scarlet province, the grasslands of the Frost province, the mountains of the Lightning province¡­

    The landscapes of the eight provinces gathered on the cauldron.

    Across the world, every single cutting of the Great Banyan Tree King began to tremble as if it was trying to fend off something invisible. Magnificent colours wove through the sky like auroras that filled the sky. They flowed and moved with each passing second. That was the clash of the laws of the world.

    Everyone raised their heads, uncertain about what was going on.

    Li Qingshan did not really understand what was going on in detail, but he did understand something at the very least. The Great Banyan Tree King had been screwed over.

    The Clam King of Mirage Sea and the Frost-feathered Moth King¡¯s encounters definitely were not exceptions. As a matter of fact, they could even be regarded as lucky survivors. The founding emperor who had already screwed over who knew how many Daemon Kings and great cultivators had understood the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s thoughts a long time ago. The nine cauldrons were not a shortcut to godhood but a great trap.

    The eight other cauldrons were bait, and the Dragon Province cauldron was the hook hidden within the bait. From the moment the Great Banyan Tree King merged with the Mist Province cauldron and became the god of the Mist province, he had fallen into the trap.

    All that could be done now was to destroy the Dragon Province cauldron.

    Li Qingshan rose up, about to head to the Dragon province. At this moment, an aerial root caught him by the foot. The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s voice rang out in his head, ¡°Qingshan, there is nothing that can be done anymore, so don¡¯t walk to your death. It¡¯s just a pity that Xiao An and your efforts have gone to waste¡­¡±

    ¡°Fellow, are you really unable to put up a fight if you gather the power of the seven cauldrons? The formation around the imperial court has already fallen, and those half-assed minions on the mountain are absolutely nothing. You only need to last for a moment¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what he wants you to think. He wants to use this opportunity to eliminate an accident like you! He personally forged the nine cauldrons, and the Dragon Province cauldron is central to the nine provinces. I can¡¯t last for too long. I know your current strength has far surpassed any Daemon King¡¯s. I also saw your battle with the Corpse Emperor. However, this is different. If you don¡¯t go to the Dragon province, he can¡¯t do anything to you for the time being. Go to the Frost province and ascend quickly!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King could feel the fragments of the cauldrons inside his body beginning to surge, merging back together piece by piece and forming great cauldrons. Even the Mist Province cauldron that had completely merged with him was no different. Only the Frost Province cauldron had been devoured by the small world, so it could not be reassembled again.

    Suddenly, he came to an understanding. Probably even the sensation of being locked in a stalemate right now was only a false impression.

    Li Qingshan stopped, not just because of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s caution, but also because of the spirit turtle¡¯s warning. A great omen of death enveloped all of his chances at survival. Even when he faced the Corpse Emperor and the ghost tower, it had not been so terrifying.

    If he went to the Dragon province right now, it was certain doom.

    He had already undergone rebirth twice, and he was in a weakened state right now. He still had another rebirth, but he would turn into the phoenix¡¯s embryo, no longer possessing any ability to fight or flee.

    Several dozen great cultivators gathered on Dragonshead mountain right now. Every single one of them possessed great strength, and who knew how many more trump cards the imperial court of Great Xia was hiding. On top of that, there was even the founder of Great Xia who wielded the Dragon Province cauldron with unknown strength.

    Under these circumstances, the situation was extremely disadvantageous to him.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, are you bold enough to face me in battle?¡±

    Si Long¡¯s voice possessed a deep dragon¡¯s cry, echoing through the nine provinces. It was equivalent to an open provocation towards Li Qingshan before everyone in the nine provinces.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. His gaze became tranquil like the sea abyss. ¡°Si Long, you will regret asking me that.¡±

    ¡°Interesting. I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the Dragon province.¡±

    As soon as Si Long said that, a yellow leaf drifted before Li Qingshan. Looking up, a large portion of the deep-green canopy had turned yellow. In another blink, it had all turned yellow, scattering through the air, like someone whose hair had turned grey overnight.

    When he looked at the sea of trees, it had also become an ocean of yellow.

    ¡°Tree king!¡± There were a series of cries throughout Towering city.

    The top of the tree suddenly shone with rainbow light, condensing a Fruit of Wisdom that landed in Xiao An¡¯s hand.

    ¡°As I promised. It¡¯s just a pity that I¡¯m missing two provinces. You slashed me with your sword, so the two provinces can be the price!¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King had once promised that he would condense an ultimate Fruit of Wisdom for Li Qingshan to give to Xiao An once he became the god of the nine provinces.

    A golden streak of light shot over. Madam Vine cried out, ¡°W- what¡¯s happening to you¡­¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King looked at her. He closed his eyes with a smile. ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    At that instant, the sea of trees were reduced to dust. Ten thousand years were reduced to nothing.

 Chapter 1276

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1276 ¨C The Matters Fleeting Like the Clouds, Not to be Lost, Not to be Forgotten

    The sunlight was blindingly bright. The shade of the canopy was no more. Towering city had already vanished, leaving behind a ground riddled with holes.

    Countless daemons, otherfolk, and barbarians rushed around in a panic. If they had not seen it with their own eyes, probably no one could have imagined that so many creatures and species actually lived in the sea of trees.

    All Li Qingshan did was gaze into the north. He said in thought, ¡°Si Long.¡±

    Madam Vine collapsed on her knees as tears rolled down her face, kicking up the dust. Suddenly, she rose to her feet again. Her eyes were filled with hatred as she flew towards the Dragon province.

    With a flash of white, Xiao An blocked her. ¡°He¡¯s still not dead yet!¡±

    Madam Vine gazed at the Fruit of Wisdom in her hand. Extending her hands, she sensed the sliver of a familiar aura hidden deep within the pit. Only then did she gradually calm down, showing sorrow and tenderness.

    ¡°P- please give the pit to me!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Xiao An immediately ate the Fruit of Wisdom. The new Fruit of Wisdom had been condensed from the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s ten thousand years of experience and comprehension with cultivation. The information it contained was extraordinarily tremendous. Having obtained all of that suddenly, she basically felt like she had achieved enlightenment. She was incapable of digesting it all without spending a good moment.

    She placed the pit in madam Vine¡¯s hand. Madam Vine closed her arms around it firmly as her tears began to flow again.

    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here. We need to plant the seed quickly too. Let¡¯s go to the South sea!¡±

    Li Qingshan could vaguely sense a pair of eyes watching him. He had been a god of a world before, so he understood that the Mist province had already fallen under Si Long¡¯s control.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You¡¯re not going to the Frost province?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The Frost Province cauldron is gone, but with what Si Long is capable of, merging with the Frost province is only a matter of time. That place is not suited for plant growth either. The climate of the South sea is a little more appropriate.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Yeah, and you have an old sweetheart there, that Merfolk Queen.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at her in a strange manner. After such a great upheaval, even he had not thought of that.

    Gu Yanying shifted her gaze, looking at the sky.

    Li Qingshan jokingly said, ¡°Yeah, I need to go and find that old sweetheart of mine!¡±

    In the depths of the boundless ocean, on a lush island, a place far from the nine provinces, madam Vine planted the seed solemnly.

    Under her eager gaze, a tender shoot sprouted from the soil and grew rapidly, turning into a tree in the blink of an eye. It obviously could not be compared to Towering city, nor could it rival any of his previous cuttings, but it clearly possessed the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s aura.

    Like the passing of seasons, it took root and budded, blooming and fruiting. Another cycle passed by.

    The face of a child appeared on the bark, possessing gentle and delicate facial features. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m alive again!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He found this quite strange, exchanging glances with Gu Yanying.

    ¡°It¡¯s fantastic! It¡¯s fantastic!¡± The child smiled. The branches waved around like he was cheering with joy.

    ¡°Great Banyan Tree King?¡±

    ¡°Ah, Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan, right? I remember that name.¡± The child thought about it seriously. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re good friends. You¡¯ve helped me a lot.¡± Everything he remembered seemed to be limited to some blurred concepts.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you forgot about everything!¡±

    Madam Vine shuddered and widened her eyes.

    ¡°I can still remember some things vaguely. Si Long, that despicable, shameless bastard screwed me over!¡± The child fumed, but there was not a lot of hatred. Instead, he was filled with a sense of innocence. Then he said helplessly, ¡°I can¡¯t help it. A seed can¡¯t contain that many memories. I still have to remember a lot of things regarding cultivation, so I just skipped over the other things carelessly!¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. He understood that the thousands of great banyan trees did not only form the reserve of the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s power, but also the foundation to his wisdom. Now that they had all been destroyed, with merely a single seed left, most of his memories had been lost too.

    ¡°D- do you still remember me?¡± Madam Vine walked over and asked nervously.

    The child stared at madam Vine with furrowed brows. For a moment, he said nothing.

    ¡°I- I¡¯m¡­¡±

    Madam Vine wanted to explain. She had a thousand things to say, yet she actually had no idea where to start. The little things accumulated over the several thousand years they had spent together had formed a great ocean a long time ago, but now, just how much of it remained? She felt extremely saddened, even more than when he had killed her back then.

    The child murmured, ¡°Strange, strange. It¡¯s so clear.¡± The memories regarding her basically took up half of all the space, even more than the memories for cultivation, as a part of the memories were for the overall situation of the nine provinces and the complicated interpersonal relationships too.

    That was very important to cultivation too. The Great Banyan Tree King had once shown great generosity to all. He had so many Daemon Kings and otherfolk kings under his lead. Even the slightest assistance they gave him would be endlessly beneficial to him. The kings of the Giant Lumberfolk had even come along with him, expressing that they remained loyal to him and would protect his safety. Many Daemon Kings had come along too, almost all of them.

    However, these memories were also blurred and vague. Even when combined, they could not match his memories of the golden-haired woman right before him. An overwhelming majority were insignificant details and pointless day-to-day conversations, yet they were all extraordinarily clear, without a single part missing.

    The child suddenly blanked out as if he had remembered something. He said in shame, ¡°I let you down. I¡¯m a fool. Please forgive me!¡± He was so sad that he basically seemed like he was about to cry.

    Everyone was taken aback. Li Qingshan scratched his head. The Great Banyan Tree King had actually called himself a fool. Was there anything more bizarre than that in the world? Even that great schemer Si Long had admitted his wisdom was unrivaled in the world.

    And even if the Great Banyan Tree King had let madam Vine down, that was all because madam Vine insisted on getting in the way of his path. No matter how ashamed he felt, he would make the same choice even if he chose a hundred times, yet now, he actually showed so much regret. It was far too bizarre!

    Madam Vine lunged over in surprise and joy, embracing the tree firmly. ¡°I forgive you!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s too tight! Alright then, what can I do about the fact that you¡¯re a vine?¡± the child said helplessly. His delicate face was filled with gentleness as if he had become much more mature all of a sudden. She who had occupied almost half of his memories had already become the most important existence to his new life.

    ¡°He¡¯s chosen a new path,¡± Xiao An suddenly said.

    ¡°Is he trying to make up for his past mistakes?¡± Gu Yanying also sighed.

    The two of them looked at Li Qingshan at the same time. Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oi, what¡¯re you looking at me for?¡±

    However, it made him wonder whether he could bring himself to kill them if they tried to block his path. Of course, a question like that was as boring and pointless as who would you save first if your mother and wife fell into the water at the same time.

    However, if there was no such thing as the Nine Provinces, it would be a great joy of his life to spend the rest of his life with them. As soon as this thought appeared, it ran out of control. The faces flashed across his face, either charming, quiet, or gentle. That was bound to be a great harem.

    He shook his head and discarded these thoughts, raising his hand and tapping the bark.

    ¡°Alright then, now that¡¯s called gals before pals! I don¡¯t need to count on you to provide me with any useful advice now anyway!¡±

    The child suddenly became solemn. ¡°Qingshan, leave the nine provinces!¡±

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, the child¡¯s face vaguely overlapped with the Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s face of the past, like a solemn warning.

    Was he just supposed to¡­ leave like this?

 Chapter 1277

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1277 ¨C I Want to Start a Harem

    ¡°No!¡± Li Qingshan answered firmly.

    His eyes shone with cold light like a vicious tiger crouching behind a barren mountain, grinding its teeth in a bloodthirsty manner as it was about to swallow someone whole.

    ¡°If he wants to play with me, then I¡¯ll play to the very end with him!¡±

    The winds surged, picking up waves and shattering the clouds. All of the vegetation on the island shivered.

    The world paled in the face of the killing intent.

    The otherfolk kings and Daemon Kings all shivered.

    In a daze, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure seemed to rapidly expand until he filled the world. He turned into a tiger of wind, occupying the South sea and gazing north at the Dragon province.

    In the distant Dragon province, the founding emperor Si Long was currently receiving the homage of the many officials. His heart suddenly shivered as if he had sensed that. His lips curled into a smile. ¡°Interesting.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, your majesty?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Everything is going as planned.¡±

    ¡°Just you wait, Si Long!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt a sense of elation. If he retreated now, it would definitely result in a heavy blow to the will of the tiger demon, unable to make any more progress in the future.

    Sometimes, the lurking and forbearance of the spirit turtle was necessary, but forbearance was not for the sake of forbearing forever. Lurking away and hiding was not a form of escape either.

    With Si Qing still alive and the religious preceptor of the left still roaming the land, how could he just hand over the world like this? If even a measly Human Sovereign, a dragon in shallow waters, could repel him, then how could he still go on about facing the Demon domain and fighting Qiongqi?

    It was like how neither of them had any good intentions towards each other, so why should they not fight?

    However, determination alone was not enough to even touch a hair on Si Long. The very fundamentals were still increasing his strength. Right now, the Ape Demon Transformation was his greatest shortcoming.

    Cultivating the Ape Demon¡¯s Method of Moon Scooping was actually very easy¡ªhe only needed to do whatever he wanted.

    Acting as he pleased, getting his own way, to his heart¡¯s content. He could try and scoop the moon from the water if he wanted. He could do whatever he wanted, regardless of whether it was something foolish or something bad. He completely cast aside the spirit turtle¡¯s resourcefulness, the phoenix¡¯s reservedness, the ox demon¡¯s stubbornness, and the tiger demon¡¯s battle-hungriness, all for the sake of being carefree.

    Being carefree was a simple concept, but how many people in the world could truly achieve it? Who didn¡¯t constantly weigh the costs and benefits? Who didn¡¯t constantly consider the right and the wrong, the good and the bad?

    Li Qingshan happened to be very adept at this. The razor-sharp murderousness faded away, replaced by a face full of smiles. It was filled with brimming interest, yet also a little funny. That was probably the same smile on the faces of naughty children when they made a bit of mischief, filled with a simple and innocent malice.

    The otherfolk kings and Daemon Kings in the surroundings could not help but shiver. Earlier, they understood at the very least that Li Qingshan¡¯s killing intent was not directed towards them, so they were only affected by the collateral impact. Yet right now, he gave them the feeling that he could twist off any of their heads at any moment and kick it around like a ball, and he would do so without any reason at all.

    No matter how this Daemon King Northmoon¡¯s bearing changes, he will always seem like a real piece of work! Though, if it is him, perhaps it really might be possible to defeat that Human Sovereign Si Long!

    The ape demon was still a demon after all. The destructive power of a naughty child could never be underestimated!

    Abruptly, Li Qingshan leapt into the air, made a few hundred flips, and plunged into the ocean. Almost at the same time, another Li Qingshan rushed out from the surface of the ocean, flying towards the north. That was another mirror clone of his.

    He did not explain anything to Gu Yanying, R¨¡hu Xiaoming, or Xiao An. They did not need any explanation from him either. Since they knew he was determined to face Si Long in battle, then they would make their preparations.

    Xiao An drifted away. She already possessed a large quantity of resources that she had never gotten round to using. She had also obtained all the ?ar¨©ra from the Spirit K?etra temple and a good portion of the Corpse Emperor Kuang Tianyou¡¯s body. She could further refine her body of white bone and the many white bone artifacts, as well as forge a new white bone artifact, the Trisepultural Robes.

    Gu Yanying took to the skies as well, vanishing in the blink of an eye. R¨¡hu Xiaoming simply found a cliff on the island and settled down, taking out an oval item shrouded in blood-red light.

    In such a short amount of time, Gu Yanying had already obtained an Asura Field for him.

    The otherfolk kings and Daemon Kings all bid farewell to the Great Banyan Tree King, leaving a Giant Lumberfolk King to guard him. No matter how loyal they were to him, they still had many clansmen to look after. The Daemon Kings all had their own territories as well. They could not be cramped up on this tiny island. They could only provide him with assistance when it was needed.

    Madam Vine turned into a golden sun vine, wrapping around the great banyan tree gently. Sun vine flowers bloomed one after another, absorbing the resplendent sunlight of the South sea and channeling warm spiritual qi into the great banyan tree.

    ¡°Uncle, you helped me in the past. Now, it¡¯s my turn to help you. Vines don¡¯t just steal nutrients from the tree. You have to listen to me from now on.¡±

    Tree and uncle was a pun she had made when she first developed intelligence, babbling her first words as she received his guidance. She still did not understand the difference between the two back then. When she mentioned it now, it bore quite the significance.

    TL: Tree and uncle sound similar in Chinese. One is pronounced d¨¤sh¨´ and the other is pronounced d¨¤sh¨±.

    The great banyan tree trembled, blooming with gorgeous pink flowers in the sunlight.

    Madam Vine said in surprise, ¡°Y- you¡¯re blooming!¡±

    ¡°Look at how important it is to start them when they¡¯re young!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. After facing such a great disaster, the one who would remain by the Great Banyan Tree King in the very end was still madam Vine who he had supported from plant to Daemon King.

    Gong Yuan furrowed her brows. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    They were inside the Crystal palace of the Merfolk of the South sea. Daylight and shadows rippled on the ceiling like an illusion, contrasting against a woman¡¯s absolute beauty. It made her seem like a deity. Her slender fishtail bobbed up and down with the water, and her dark-blue tail fins were like fine gauze.

    Li Qingshan ignored her. He stared at her, admiring her beauty.

    Gong Yuan felt rather uneasy. It had been many years since they last saw each other. The concept of time for cultivators was different from mortals, and the lifespans of Merfolk were lengthy too. Living on the gloomy bottom of the ocean, they were even less sensitive to the flow of time. However, she had clearly experienced the sensation of longing.

    Now, the man had returned again, and he was even stronger than before. Everything that had once happened between them filled her head again.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Do you know why I have to face him?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I refuse to see my women submit to another man.¡±

    Once Si Long refined the nine provinces into a blessed land, everything in it would be under his control. Even if she resided in the South sea, it would be impossible for her to remain independent. She would be forced to submit to the Great Xia empire.

    His shining eyes set off ripples in her deep, cold heart, but she maintained the nobility and pride of the Merfolk Queen. She shifted her gaze. ¡°Who¡¯s your woman? You better not be so melodramat- Mmf!¡±

    Li Qingshan directly lunged over and kissed her deeply on her icy-cold lips.

    Gong Yuan put up a struggle. She pushed against his chest as she swung her tail.

    Li Qingshan obviously possessed a crushing advantage with his current strength, but she did not put up a desperate struggle either. After all, this was the Crystal palace. Even he could not have acted so brazenly here.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Let¡¯s dual cultivate!¡±

    Gong Yuan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as she gazed at him in a strange manner. She understood that the dual cultivation this time would be different from any of the times in the past.

    Li Qingshan lifted her up in his arms and flew out of the Crystal palace, sinking towards the depths of the sea abyss until they reached the bottom of the ocean.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s hair floated in the surroundings. Her clothes slid off, revealing a figure that was perfect like a jade statue, gradually gaining some warmth in this icy-cold sea water. Her deathly-still eyes glistened and rippled as if she was trying to see Li Qingshan properly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s robust body had become bare a long time ago.

    There was no embarrassment in her eyes either. Instead, she asked, ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    The question seemed a little unnecessary. With a man and woman alone, facing each other with their bare selves, what else could they try and do?

    However, Li Qingshan considered that question seriously and answered seriously, ¡°I want to start a harem.¡±

    Yes, the thought that he had discarded recently had immediately leapt out again the moment he decided to do whatever he pleased, just like a little monkey running amok in his head and calling out, ¡°Start a harem! Start a harem! Start a harem!¡±

    It had to be mentioned that this idea was absolutely idiotic.

    Back then during the grand wedding, Han Qiongzhi and he had broken off their relationship with each other, and he already understood that was the end of their destiny together. Back then above the South sea, he had plenty of opportunities, but he never really did anything with Gong Yuan, even when he knew how she felt towards him.

    On the path to the Nine Heavens, they could not keep up with him, so was that not the most intelligent decision? He refused to let them be dragged down by him. He refused to interfere and disturb their cultivation, so was there really no feelings of affection involved?

    As a result, not only was this thought idiotic, but it was even horrible too.

    However, he could not care about that now, just like how he was drunk on the beauty of the moon in the water, unable to help himself but reach over and scoop it. Even when it was destined to be all in vain, even if he would break someone¡¯s heart and leave them in disappointment, he refused to simply stop, continuing to make attempt after attempt. Every single time, it would be filled with hope and anticipation. Perhaps there would be a time when he could actually grasp the moon and leave no regrets behind.

    Gong Yuan¡¯s heart fluttered. Her full chest rose and fell. ¡°Then¡­ can I decline?¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t.¡± Li Qingshan smiled as he brought his arms around her slender waist, pulling her in firmly.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Gong Yuan looked down. Her dark-blue fishtail swayed about, and the scales glittered as they fell, turning into specks of light. It turned into a pair of slender legs, curling up gently. They were at the peak of perfection, too chubby if they were slightly thicker and too skinny if they were slightly thinner. They pressed against each other firmly as if she had to adjust to this transformation.

    Although she said nothing more, although her expression was still a little cold, this was already the most precious thing that a female Merfolk could give to a man.

    Li Qingshan could not help but gently caress this flawless creation of nature. Emotions surged through him too, and he suddenly discovered that he still had the heart of a human. However, this thing was far too delicate, unable to compare to the heart of gods and demons. As such, he had protected it very well the entire time, never exposing it without good reason.

    It was like a child being caught in his fantasies. If only I had the perseverance of the ox demon so that I won¡¯t be defeated by difficulties; if only I had the courage of the tiger demon so that I can face all enemies; if only I had the intelligence of the spirit turtle so that I won¡¯t have to suffer any harm; If only I had the nobility of the phoenix so that I¡¯ll be able to resist any temptations; If only I had the ape demon¡¯s joy so that I could be free and at ease.

    But living in the world, man would always be struggling to persevere, hesitating in cowardice, enduring pain, lowly and uncertain, without a day of happiness, without a moment of freedom.

    With all of this, who would ever want the heart of a human? He should just get rid of this thing as soon as possible, but he was reluctant to part with it at the same time. The mere heart of a human could produce all perseverance, courage, intelligence, and nobility. It could also experience the various joys of life. Just by allowing the demonic and divine clash together, constantly searching within the uncertainty, perhaps it could find an answer that even the demonic and divine could not understand.

    ¡°Yuan¡¯er.¡± Li Qingshan brought his forehead to hers and called her name gently with a smile. He parted her legs gently and became one with her.

    Great waves surged through the abyss.

 Chapter 1278

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1278 ¨C Connected Heart to Heart, Gentle Like Water

    An icy-cool aura filled his body like it was trying to freeze his soul. Li Qingshan could not help but suck in a deep breath, but only icy-cold seawater flowed in. He exhaled it slowly and immediately circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression at full strength. Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell appeared in the darkness, forming a sphere around them.

    The surging currents in the abyss gradually settled down, just like the Gong Yuan in his arms.

    Gong Yuan opened her eyes. They were bright like the stars, blue like crevasses, and deep like the legendary Ruin¡¯s End, rippling away at this moment. The All Water to Ruin¡¯s End began to circulate as well with unprecedented smoothness. It was a mystery whether the power drove the emotions or the emotions drove the power.

    A sense of joy from the depths of her soul drowned out the discomfort that came with parting her tail. Her heart throbbed, and a smear of embarrassment flashed through her eyes, no longer bearing any resemblance to the cold and noble Merfolk Queen.

    Originally, it was merely something that she was indifferent about. If he wanted it, then she could simply give it to him. It was not like she had any other choice. From the moment he stole her heart many years ago, she had decided on him and only him. Merfolk were not fickle like humans, much less her.

    It was better described as a result of logical judgment rather than emotion. With her identity, cultivation, and age, it was basically impossible for her to go so far for a man. As a result, even when he said something as idiotic as starting a harem, she let him do whatever he wanted.

    Otherwise, regular Merfolk women would never accept something like this, let alone her. The infatuation of Merfolk women demanded the same in return.

    However, she had forgotten exactly how she was like before she met Li Qingshan. Influenced by the power of Ruin¡¯s End, her heart was filled with pain and deathly silence, almost to a point where she went insane. He was the one who had personally pacified her fears and made her heart beat again. However, due to spending several years apart, the power of Ruin¡¯s End gained the upper hand again, drastically influencing her will, so it turned her back into a woman that was strangely confident and believed herself to be cold.

    However, Li Qingshan breached her defences and her heart with great ease once again. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Beneath her crystal crown, the layer of frost on her beautiful face thawed, becoming much more gentle, but also gaining a hint of bitterness.

    ¡°Yuan¡¯er, how does it feel?¡±

    ¡°Are you satisfied now?¡± Gong Yuan ground her teeth. She tried to close her legs instinctively, but they only wrapped around Li Qingshan¡¯s waist.

    Li Qingshan brought his arms around her slender, delicate waist and conveniently pulled them closer. As he listened to her pleasant moans, he smiled. ¡°I¡¯m absolutely satisfied. I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t give up on you, or it would definitely become a regret for the rest of life!¡±

    Gong Yuan sighed gently. ¡°I can kind of understand how my younger sister feels now.¡± Then she grumbled, ¡°It makes no sense, you¡­ immature bastard.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. She could call him despicable and shameless or arrogant and conceited. He would accept it all, but he could never accept being called immature, as he truly had no grounds to refute that. In terms of age alone, he truly was much younger than Gong Yuan.

    ¡°Am I perhaps a choice that¡¯s even worse than a fire devourer?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a little better.¡± Gong Yuan compared what female Merfolk wanted in a partner to her hatred for fire devourers and finally found it acceptable, albeit barely.

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh. This hatred sure was of lasting influence, but he also thanked Ru Xin¡¯s mother for dropping the standards. He gently touched her face. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly a good man, but I will do everything that I can to help you and protect you. I¡¯m very strong, you know? You can¡¯t get everything in the world, but working hard in a pursuit of power doesn¡¯t come without benefits.¡±

    If he had not constantly grown stronger, the fire devourers would have taken down the Crystal palace. The two of them might have even died, so no matter how attached they were to each other, would it lead to anything at all? Tragedies were much more touching, but only if they occurred to others.

    ¡°This must also be the price I must pay in pursuit of power!¡±

    Gong Yuan let out a sigh. If she did not practise the All Water to Ruin¡¯s End that left such an opening in her heart, how could he have gotten his way with her so easily? Under the influence of the power from Ruin¡¯s End, she was cold to the limit on one hand, unaffected by anything in the world. On the other hand, she seemed completely vulnerable when she faced him, even desiring him instinctively. It was basically a trial she was fated to face.

    When the tearing pain gradually faded away, she brought her arms around Li Qingshan¡¯s neck and proactively kissed him on the lips, except it seemed a little clumsy due to her embarrassment.

    Li Qingshan could finally launch a reckless attack now. An enchanting moan rang out right beside his ear.

    Under the state of dual cultivation, their thoughts were connected, and their minds resonated. It was a form of enjoyment well beyond imagination.

    Quite a while later, Gong Yuan lay on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest with a face filled with exhaustion, with an appearance that was actually quite meek. The influence from the power of Ruin¡¯s End had been pacified by the spirit turtle, so she began to demonstrate the tenderness that female Merfolk were born with again.

    Li Qingshan ran his hand down her smooth, soft back, making it all the way down and grabbing a handful of softness. He could not help but get back to work again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t touch!¡± Gong Yuan grumbled. Her body was not as tough as his. She only maintained this state because she savoured the complete harmony.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go find someone else.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Gong Yuan said furiously, immediately demonstrating her bearing as the Merfolk Queen. She even began to radiate with coldness.

    ¡°What don¡¯t I dare?¡± Li Qingshan had never been one to be threatened. Many different faces naturally appeared in his mind.

    ¡°Then you can piss off!¡± Gong Yuan was so furious that she trembled gently, immediately cutting off their connection. She propped herself up, about to leave.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Oh my, how mighty of you, your majesty.¡± However, he saw tears running down her cheeks, turning into shiny mermaid pearls, which surprised him. He never expected her to be like that. He pulled her into his arms in a hurry and consoled her with everything he had. ¡°What¡¯re you crying for? I¡¯m just saying and thinking about it as a joke¡­¡±

    Gong Yuan turned her head away from him. ¡°I feel saddened inside, so what¡¯s it got to do with you? Go and start your harem! But I will never be a part of it!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled wryly. Being gentle like water was even more difficult to deal with than cold, frozen ice. This path to the harem sure was long with a heavy burden! However, this did feel quite nice. He had been reluctant to leave in the first place too.

    Afterwards, they held hands and returned to the Crystal palace. Gong Yuan did not keep their relationship a secret. Her meek and gentle appearance left all the merpeople utterly stunned. They all thought Li Qingshan was someone from beyond this world since he could pacify her.

    Afterwards, they wanted to hold a grand wedding for them. A merperson¡¯s selection of a mate for life was an extremely important affair, not to mention the fact that it was the Merfolk Queen.

    ¡°I still owe someone a wedding¡­¡±

    In Gong Yuan¡¯s magnificent residence, Li Qingshan rested his head against her thigh as everything that had happened between him and Han Qiongzhi flashed through his head. Back then, he was already prepared to ascend, so he refused to tie her down with all the grievances he had. Out of guilt, he swore to never wed with another again.

    Gong Yuan was slightly bitter about this, but she actually accepted it gently, postponing the wedding willingly. All she said was, ¡°However, when you¡¯re with me, you can only think of me.¡±

    If a regular woman said that, then it was just for say, but they were basically connected at all times.

    ¡°Obviously.¡±

    He stayed several days in the Crystal palace. The two of them travelled around together, admiring the grand sights of the South sea. They did not spend all their time entwined together either.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan controlled his mirror clone to do something big in the nine provinces.

    Of course, this had nothing to do with women, and it did not take much effort either, but it determined the entire future of the World of the Nine Provinces.

 Chapter 1279

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1279 ¨C Devouring the World

    The bright moon hung in the sky as its glow flowed like water.

    There was a tiny bamboo loft within the dim bamboo forest and the rustling shadows. Inside the loft, a lamp¡¯s pea-sized flicker of fire was surrounded by the darkness as if it could be extinguished at any time.

    A middle-aged man bent over in front of a table and wrote away swiftly, completely unaffected by the darkness. Actually, with his cultivation, he could see clearly even within the darkness. Even if he could not, he could open the windows and let the moonlight in.

    The lamp was only there to add to the atmosphere. As for what kind of atmosphere, even he could not describe it properly. Anyways, mortals would definitely light lamps at night. What he was writing right now was exactly for mortals to read.

    In the past, the public warmly received the story about the Heaven-leaning sword and the Dragon-slaying sabre. Currently, he was writing the sequel. It was a story about Zeng A¡¯niu¡¯s descendant, who first mastered the Ice and Fire Infinite Divine Arts of Nine Yin and Nine Yang on the Island of Ice and Fire. Then he waged war against the forbidden city, killing Zhu Chongba and unifying the world. Afterwards, he killed his way into the Persian Ming cult and added their holy maiden, Xiaozhao, to his harem.

    Of course, during this process, he had already developed a harem of beauties. Now, he was considering whether to have him add the Purple Dress Dragon King.

    From the perspective of mortals, she did seem a little old, but that was nothing to cultivators. With how powerful the martial arts in the novel were, they could be regarded as half-cultivators. If she were a a regular woman, then so be it, but what could he do about the fact that she was Xiaozhao¡¯s¡­

    TL: These are all references to Louis Cha¡¯s The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. If you understand it, then treat it as an easter egg. If you don¡¯t, just ignore this. I¡¯ll have to explain an entire novel if you want to understand what is going on in these three paragraphs.

    A mysterious smile appeared on his face, which seemed rather obscene between the shadows and firelight. His eyes lit up, about to bring brush to paper.

    The lamp was abruptly extinguished, curling up with a wisp of smoke. The man shuddered gently as if he had woken up from a wonderful dream. He seemed rather lost. Gazing at the wet ink on the paper, he let out a long sigh. He stood up and pushed open the bamboo windows. Gazing at the tranquil Lake of Dragons and Snakes, he seemed extremely bleak.

    The bamboo forest had died a long time ago. The lake no longer had a single fish left. He was the only living person left on the Lake of Dragons and Snakes!

    If it were not for the sake of inspiration, he would have never returned. He happened to have made it here after everything that occurred with the Hungry Ghost realm, so he activated the formation on Cloudwisp island and hid here to write. He found plenty of inspiration, but even if he finished writing it, how many people could read it?

    The world was in upheaval. The school of Novels had basically suffered a fatal blow. Poems could be recited on their own, while essays could voice will and spirit, but novels were for people to read. Otherwise, how was it any different from a daydream?

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡±

    He widened his eyes, only to see a half-moon rising up on the horizon. It was far larger than the moon in the sky, except it was not that bright and gave off an azure glow. It did not leave the horizon. Instead, it grew larger and larger as if it was alive.

    The man felt uneasy. Right when he was about to slip away, he suddenly discovered that a figure seemed to be standing on top of the azure half-moon. When he made out the figure, he saw a person with scarlet hair and eyes, devilishly handsome. He was Daemon King Northmoon!

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Liu Chuanfeng!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. Standing on the blue half-moon, he arrived on the Lake of Dragons and Snakes.

    Only now did Liu Chuanfeng discover that the blue half-moon really was something living. It was absolutely colossal. Just its exposed part towered like a mountain. He needed to look up almost vertically to see Li Qingshan standing atop with his arms crossed, yet he was also somewhat obscured. Under the moonlight, he seemed like a dream or an illusion, which made him wonder whether he was still dreaming or not. Otherwise, how could a monster like that appear in the world?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Come up.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng stowed his draft away and flew onto the giant beast¡¯s back, hesitating as he tried to muster the courage to directly set foot on it. Suddenly, he looked back; the entire Cloudwisp island had already been swallowed by the giant beast, making him cry out.

    Li Qingshan thought back to how he had even faced Chu Danqing in battle in the past for the sake of the Cloudwisp island around him, yet today, he would be destroying it with his own hands. It left him sighing inside a little. However, this place had been contaminated by the death qi from the Hungry Ghost realm, having already turned into a land of death, so he did not proactively control Navy Li¡¯l Fatty. In the blink of an eye, it had already swallowed most of the lake.

    Liu Chuanfeng wanted to say something, but he faltered. This disciple of the school of Novels had already become a great Daemon King whose name echoed through the world. Back then, the hundred schools had turned him down, and he had ended up on Cloudwisp island.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ came back to take a look.¡±

    ¡°Is Fubai still doing well?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s already passed away.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flashed; he asked nothing more. Many years ago, Sun Fubai had already become an old man. Undergoing the first heavenly tribulation was already his limit. Perhaps he had died in his sleep, or perhaps he had suffered an accident, but the deaths of people were like extinguishing lamps. None of it mattered anymore.

    At this moment, even mentioning the past would make him seem melodramatic. All he said was, ¡°I¡¯m no longer a disciple of the school of Novels.¡±

    The Divine Talisman of Great Creation had already been lost to the small world. It was impossible for him to condense it again.

    ¡°Have you come to destroy the evidence?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng could not help but ask. In the past, when Li Qingshan became a disciple of the school of Novels, he viewed it as an utter disgrace. Afterwards, even when it rose into prosperity, it could never compare to the larger schools like the school of Buddhism, Daoism, the Military, or Mohism. If that were the case, then he would be in danger. The nature of daemons were unpredictable.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°It was my greatest fortune to join the school of Novels!¡±

    If it were not for the Divine Talisman of Great Creation, he might have perished in the small world already. No matter how profound the cultivation methods of the other schools were, they would be useless. The school of Novels was truly the most interesting school too. It was a little weak, but to the ape demon, nothing was more important than being interesting.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng was shocked, as those words did not come from him. Instead, it fell down from above, ringing out from all directions. It possessed a great aura of prestige and power like a god¡¯s advent to the mortal realm, giving him the urge to prostrate on the ground.

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°Si Long, have you finally run out of patience?¡±

    ¡°Si Long. What a familiar name. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng widened his eyes and looked around, but he did not find any trace of the founding emperor of Great Xia. Instead, he discovered a huge chasm winding over from the skyline. All of the earth had ended up in the giant beast¡¯s belly.

    ¡°Do you know how severe of a consequence this will lead to?¡± Si Long growled, filled with anger.

    ¡°I obviously do.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The space-devouring beast had already swallowed the entirety of the Lake of Dragons and Lakes. It continued to cruise along the ground, swallowing everything it encountered. It was restrained by the laws of the world, unable to demonstrate the same kind of strength as in outer space, but after a slight adjustment, devouring the rock and soil was not a problem.

    The Great Banyan Tree King¡¯s warning was stern, but it also proved something. Si Long could not leave the Dragon province or even Dragonshead mountain. Refining the nine provinces into a blessed land of cultivation definitely could not be completed in a day or two either. As a result, Li Qingshan wanted to compete with him to see whether he could refine faster or whether he could devour faster.

    Si Long said sternly, ¡°You are destroying this world?¡±

    ¡°And so what? I can save this world. I can also destroy it!¡±

    Li Qingshan dug into his ear as an ape¡¯s tail swayed around behind him. The ape demon was neither stubborn nor frenzied, but its demonic nature was no weaker than the ox demon or tiger demon. Instead, it was much more impossible to apply common logic to its behaviour.

    Si Long said, ¡°You can¡¯t win the game of chess, so you want to flip the table? Fellow, aren¡¯t you a little too crass with this?¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt up, turning into a black, enraged ape and pointing at the sky furiously. ¡°Shut the fuck up. If you have the courage, come face me in battle, or piss off back to your Human realm! Do you really think you¡¯re playing a game of chess? Then I¡¯ll smack your face in with the chessboard!¡±

 Chapter 1280

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1280 ¨C The Fourth Layer of the Ape Demon, the New Ability

    Boom!

    A bolt of lightning from the blue dyed the surroundings white, like the wrath of the heavens.

    With a shiver, Liu Chuanfeng lay down on the back of the space-devouring beast, feeling like the lightning had erupted directly above him. Dumbfounded, he gazed at the figure that stared back at the heavens furiously, laughing away proudly. He never wavered even for an instant.

    Si Long said, ¡°Li Qingshan, if you want to destroy the world, then the world will destroy you!¡±

    Li Qingshan could also sense the hostility from the intangible will of the heavens. If he was still a beloved son of the world when he faced the Corpse Emperor, then he had become a rebellious son of the heavens now.

    He had anticipated all of this a long time ago, which was why he had hesitated back then. Once he took this step, he would be destroying what originally protected him, going up against the world. If this continued, the hostility and rejection from the world would grow stronger and stronger. The situation would not get any better. It would only become even more dangerous.

    ¡°I never thought you¡¯d be such a foolish person, sir!¡± Si Long said in contempt, but there was a hint of fury involved.

    Originally, according to Si Long¡¯s plan, Li Qingshan only had two choices, either to leave this world or to face him in battle.

    If he left, then that would be one less unpredictable enemy, and everyone that he cared about left behind in this world would end up in his hands. That could potentially turn into leverage over him.

    If he stayed behind, then that would be for the best. Once he refined this world into a blessed land, everything here would be completely at his whim. He would have a very great opportunity at getting to the bottom of Li Qingshan¡¯s secret too. Both the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens or his cultivation method were enough to tempt any cultivator.

    However, Li Qingshan chose to take the third path¡ªdestroying the world.

    This was basically mutual destruction, where they would both suffer severe losses. It could make his plans fall apart, but it would put Li Qingshan in an extremely dangerous situation, entwined in misfortune, restrained in terms of power. It would even directly invite an attempt from the world to kill him.

    Cultivation was for the sake of longevity, so which cultivator did not cherish their life? He was basically a madman beyond reason to make such a violent attempt at resistance.

    ¡°Hah, just you watch how I, a fool, destroy the world! How I slay the dragon! How I defy the heavens!¡±

    Li Qingshan made three declarations. The world rumbled with wind and thunder as the sea of clouds churned. He spread his ape arms, opening his fingers as if he wanted to grip the sky full of wind and lightning and the revolving celestial bodies in his hand.

    Even if he smashed apart everything, committed endless sins, and even destroyed himself, he refused to be a chess piece on another person¡¯s board. That was the heart of the ape demon.

    The fourth layer of the Ape Demon Transformation¡ªbroken through!

    Li Qingshan felt even more satisfied and carefree inside, which made him howl out. His voice pierced the earth and dispersed the clouds, such that the brilliant moon illuminated his heart.

    Who said the ape howls were sorrowful? The satisfaction behind the howls was like he had obtained everything in the world, even if he was empty-handed.

    Above the South sea, Gong Yuan suddenly saw Li Qingshan freeze, revealing a smile as bright and cheerful as a child¡¯s. He turned into a black ape as if he had broken through a bottleneck. His aura suddenly swelled, kicking up great waves and even forcing her back.

    The Ape Demon Transformation had originally been his only shortcoming. With that breakthrough, the ox, tiger, turtle, and phoenix had all returned to the fourth layer.

    For a moment, the tiger leapt, the phoenix danced, the ox mooed, and the turtle cried, appearing one by one within the small world in his body. There was also a black ape scratching its head among them and bounding around.

    He felt glad that he did not flee. The immense dangers, the fear, and the threats all served as a grindstone for polishing his disposition.

    Gazing up, the moon over the ocean was simply too far away, so he leapt up and used the Ape Demon Extends its Arm, slamming his hand against the surface of the water. Great waves surged into the air, reaching three thousand meters tall, looming like mountains!

    Reaching out and closing his hand, the mountains of water froze on the ocean with the Ape Demon Locks the Space, magnificent like a dream.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly. He clenched his hand forcefully. ¡°Destroy!¡±

    Boom!

    The water mountains shattered, turning into a sky full of water vapour that drifted away with the sea wind.

    Within the hazy mist, Gong Yuan¡¯s mouth dropped slightly, also shocked by this devastating sight. She probably could not endure a single attack from him now. There were no Daemon Kings or great cultivators in the world that could endure a single strike from him. Before she knew it, he had actually become so powerful already!

    This was the ape demon¡¯s third innate ability, the Ape Demon Destroys the Space!

    Of course, what it destroyed was not space. Instead, it used the power of space to destroy everything within it.

    Li Qingshan gazed at his hand and smiled in satisfaction. He had not used the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens to achieve this. Instead, he only used his own strength, and he had ¡°conveniently¡± comprehended the Ape Demon Transformation too, so he could now assume the form of the ape demon.

    The Ape Demon Extends its Arm drastically strengthened the ape demon¡¯s innate abilities, the Ape Demon Locks the Space trapped the enemy, and the Ape Demon Destroys the Space destroyed the enemy. These three abilities were basically an invincible bag of tricks. Once he used them together, they were completely unpredictable and undodgeable. They could only be received forcefully.

    As Li Qingshan¡¯s strength grew, his mirror clone grew stronger as well. Daemon qi rushed into the air, unafraid of the might of the heavens.

    Si Long fell silent. Originally, when he came down to the nine provinces, he had done so with an extremely relaxed mentality, ready to harvest everything. Yes, he did have that ability. Just several thousand years ago, he had the various Daemon Kings dancing in the palm of his hand. With his visit this time, he had almost destroyed the Great Banyan Tree King that had almost become a god with a flick of his hand, reducing his ten thousand years of cultivation to nothing.

    Yet, this Li Qingshan happened to be beyond reason, unable to be threatened and unpredictable. He was an obstacle that was both tough and annoying to deal with, and he was showing signs of becoming larger too. However, Si Long possessed great determination and confidence. Such a small difficulty could not frighten him. Regardless of what Li Qingshan was capable of, as long as he was still a Daemon King, that would be his limit.

    ¡°Fellow, clashing recklessly like this brings no benefit to you or me. It will only lead to many unnecessary risks.¡±

    Si Long¡¯s tone eased up, and the awful atmosphere in the surroundings vanished too.

    If the Great Banyan Tree King had not lost his memories, he would definitely become extremely cautious after hearing something like that.

    ¡°Then what do you want?¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. He sure changed his tone quickly. Sure enough, the reckless feared the violent, and the violent feared those who were willing to throw their lives away.

    Si Long said, ¡°I want to find a path that benefits you, me, and everyone else.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear it then?¡±

    ¡°This involves far too many matters. It¡¯s not something that can be settled in a few words. It¡¯s best if we both calm down and consider the costs and benefits. We also need to meet each other so that we can sit down and take our time to discuss.¡±

    ¡°You want me to go to your Dragonshead mountain to discuss, right?¡±

    Si Long obviously hoped Li Qingshan would go to Dragonshead mountain. He possessed absolute confidence in restraining Li Qingshan there, but unfortunately, while Li Qingshan was a madman, he was not a fool.

    ¡°On the fifteenth of the tenth month, on the day of heavy snow, I will be marrying the empress of Great Xia in the jade palace, so you might as well come and attend the wedding. We can make it clear there whether we¡¯re fighting or making peace.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll see how I feel!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand in an unconcerned manner.

    ¡°I await your arrival.¡± Si Long¡¯s voice echoed out before gradually dispersing.

    The feeling of being watched vanished. Li Qingshan held his chin and sank into his thoughts. The enemy clearly had not reached the level of a god of the world. The difficulty behind refining the nine provinces into a blessed land was definitely no less than becoming a god. Instead, it would definitely be even greater. He definitely could not leave the Dragon province right now either. He could not even leave Dragonshead mountain.

    The restraints from the laws of the world could not be overcome so easily. The Hungry Ghost realm did everything they could to kill Xiao An, where they even sent in a Corpse Emperor. A Human Sovereign like him would face even greater restraint, so how could he do as he pleased so easily?

    But in a few more months, he could not be too certain about that anymore.

    As for the Jade palace, was that not the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s dwelling?

 Chapter 1281

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1281 ¨C World Prosperity and World Destruction, Mahe?vara

    The cat daemon Xuanyue was probably in the Jade palace. As it turned out, that beautiful, noble, and powerful fox daemon had not married Si Long yet. He wondered what kind of show they would be putting on.

    ¡°Is that Nine-tailed Fox Empress beautiful?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly asked Liu Chuanfeng.

    Liu Chuanfeng was still dumbstruck. Their conversation left him completely speechless. This was a confrontation between the two strongest legendary figures throughout several thousand years of history in the nine provinces, competing for the world and deciding the fate of the world. Let alone taking part in it, he did not even have the right to comment on it.

    Only when Li Qingshan asked him did he return to his senses. He said in praise, ¡°The greatest beauty in the world.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve seen her before?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. This title was a little too exaggerated. Just how many great beauties were there in the world? Often, they all varied in their special way too. Gu Yanying could earn the title of the greatest beauty in the world in the small world because she possessed an absolute advantage as a cultivator. She stood no chance in the nine provinces, even when he thought there was no woman in the nine provinces that could surpass her.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Liu Chuanfeng rubbed his hands. ¡°But that¡¯s what all those who¡¯ve seen her say.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    Abruptly, Li Qingshan felt the urge to kill his way over to the Jade palace and abduct the Nine-tailed Fox Empress. He could see just how Si Long would respond.

    However, this thought only flashed past his head. It was not like he was lacking a fox daemon by his side. Doing something purely for the sake of unsettling the enemy was pointless.

    He was better off increasing his cultivation. As long as he could become powerful enough, he would not have to worry about any plans or schemes against him. He would definitely throw Si Long¡¯s wedding into a mess.

    He had Navy Li¡¯l Fatty continue to devour the earth. He had not stopped even when he confronted Si Long. Navy Li¡¯l Fatty was completely immune to the influence of the hostility of the world, having the feast of its life. It could swallow a small mountain with each bite, and it became even more obedient to Li Qingshan.

    It was like how the hero to one was the villain to another. He was both the villain of the nine provinces and the hero of the small world, providing the small world with a tremendous amount of resources.

    Many more islands appeared on the vast ocean of the small world, constantly growing larger. If he could swallow all of the nine provinces, then it would definitely form a new continent. The small world would grow to the same level as the nine provinces or even higher.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°You should go to the South sea!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The nine provinces have already become a battlefield. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Liu Chuanfeng obliged, clasping his hands and taking his leave. If the world really would be destroyed, then following his footsteps was without a doubt his only chance at survival.

    Rumble!

    The earth shook violently, like a colossal beast countless times larger than the space-devouring beast was awakening, letting out a deep roar. All of the mountains trembled, even directly splitting apart and collapsing.

    ¡°What a terrifying power! Even the Tremors of the Ox Demon at full strength do not possess such power!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh. Possessing the strength of the earth, he was particularly sensitive to this. He recalled the news he had seen in his past life. Magnitude 8 earthquakes possessed the same power as four hundred nuclear bombs.

    Fortuanately, the will of the heavens was obscure and intangible. The so-called ¡°hostility¡± was only a subconscious reaction. Otherwise, destroying him would basically be as easy as it could get.

    The earthquake definitely was not a coincidence. The space-devouring beast had devoured millions and billions tonnes of earth, destroying the structure of the earth. The entire crust had become very fragile, gradually being unable to hold back the flames of the earth deep below.

    And the Green province¡¯s crust was relatively thick. If this were the Mist province instead, volcanoes would have been erupting already. It would be an apocalyptic sight with lava flowing everywhere.

    Was this how it felt to destroy a world?¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes. The smile on his face vanished. Suddenly, he radiated with the terrifying aura to destroy everything. A greenish-black image condensed behind him with blurred facial features, terrifying yet also sacred.

    The Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction showed signs of breaking through. Compared to the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, this cultivation method was like an illegitimate child.

    He had never cared too much about it, nor did he devote any time or energy to practising it. Ever since he no longer needed to keep his daemon identity a secret anymore, he had treated all of his human cultivation methods like this. However, because it could increase his overall strength, he persisted with it.

    Actually, he always found it strange. Cultivation methods usually all possessed a sense of exclusiveness. People did not grow stronger when they practised more cultivation methods. Instead, the cultivation methods would conflict and influence one another.

    Every single transformation in the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was a cultivation method. Even with that, the various transformations would conflict with one another, but they never conflicted with his various human cultivation methods, from the Innate Method of Practising Qi in the beginning to the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction now.

    It was like a natural notice left behind for him, and he felt like it possessed great significance. He thought, The Ape Demon¡¯s Method of Moon Scooping has now reached the fourth layer. It won¡¯t be breaking through again in a short amount of time, so it¡¯s perfect for me to practise the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction.

    The Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction had been created in an age when a world ended. It possessed the will of great destruction and great annihilation. Originally, only gods possessed the right to come into contact with a will like this. Just like how Gong Yuan under the influence from Ruin¡¯s End, if cultivators used this power, they would definitely suffer from cultivation deviation and go insane in the very end.

    Not everyone had the opportunity to express this will either. Li Qingshan had only gained some comprehension after witnessing the remains after a world¡¯s destruction. If he had to be honest, his comprehension was still very shallow. Seeing a corpse and witnessing a murder was completely different.

    Yet now, he gained a much deeper and higher level of comprehension, and that was to destroy a world with his own hands, surpassing the creator of the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction.

    He began to make significant breakthroughs with the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction. He had a feeling that if he could push this cultivation method to the limit, its power would be no weaker than any of the transformations right now.

    If it were not for that opportunity in outer space, he never could have comprehended this. If he did not have the space-devouring beast, even ten Li Qingshans combined would not be enough to destroy the world.

    Legend had it that Mahe?vara controlled creation and destruction simultaneously. Unintentionally, Li Qingshan began to play that role too, sculpting the small world as he destroyed the nine provinces.

    ¡°Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Destruction, Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Prosperity. Perhaps they¡¯ve always been two sides of the same coin,¡± Li Qingsham murmured; the image behind him became a little clearer.

    The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    A crack suddenly ran across the plump, amiable face of a great buddha carved into a mountain.

    Crack!

    The praying monks were stunned. Only then did they notice that the mountains were shaking away. The bells shook loudly.

    ¡°Why are there earthquakes in the Green province?¡±

    The Dauntless monk walked out of the grand hall. The buddhist light condensed on his eyes as he unleashed the Heavenly Eye knowledge of the six types of knowledge, finding the source of the earthquake. He immediately saw the colossal space-devouring beast devouring everything, as well as Li Qingshan standing on the space-devouring beast.

    The Dauntless monk shuddered and cried out, ¡°Mahe?vara!¡±

    Others might not have been able to recognise the blurry image behind Li Qingshan, but how was it possible for him to not recognise it as an eminent monk of buddhism? That was a god of great prowess in buddhism, dwelling at the peak of the trichiliocosm, yet he also obstinately opposed the buddha, obstructed the buddhist dharma, and deluded monks.

    As a result, he was also known as the lord of the m¨¡ra, Mahe?vara. He was the prime buddha nemesis who openly supported buddhism but secretly defied it.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, just what kind of sins has our Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga committed!?¡±

 Chapter 1282

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1282 ¨C Forty Eight Thousand Insects in a Buddhist Temple¡¯s Bowl of Water

    The title of ¡°buddha nemesis¡± could not be earned from simply destroying a few temples and killing a few monks. It only went to those who blasphemed the buddhist dharma and destroyed the foundations of buddhism. As a matter of fact, it had nothing to do with strength.

    As a result, buddhist nemeses often had an extremely close connection to buddhism, or they were mighty figures of buddhism in the first place, like the White Bone Bodhisattva, like Mahe?vara.

    Perhaps it was exactly because of this that even with his limitless powers, the buddha could not destroy them.

    That only demonstrated how rare buddha nemeses were, yet two of them had appeared together, and they were both from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga.

    Mahe?vara was clearly a god in buddhism, yet there was not a single temple that would enshrine a statue of him. All those who believed in him were denounced as heretics. They would find ways to prohibit those practises completely.

    Li Qingshan obviously did not believe in Mahe?vara. The dark image behind him was akin to Prabh¨±taratna that the Seven Treasures Monk King conjured. It was not truly the god, but it did possess tremendous power.

    However, it took the Seven Treasures Monk King several centuries of persistent praying before he could condense the image of Prabh¨±taratna.

    He had done so completely based on his senses of the aura, conjuring the demon in a single thought.

    He could be certain that neither the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity nor the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction possessed this move. How could those who despaired when they faced the end of the world comprehend the true essence of great destruction and great annihilation? In the end, they all just sank into madness from how twisted it was!

    Anyone who possessed even a hint of reverence and belief in Mahe?vara could not manifest his power.

    A good while later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes, withdrew his aura, and dispersed the image. He still had no idea that he had already been labeled as a buddha nemesis, so he rode over to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga on the space-devouring beast. When the Dauntless monk rebuked him furiously as a buddha nemesis, he scratched his head in bewilderment.

    ¡°You monk, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve lost your mind? The buddha nemesis is Xiao An, alright? Since when have I opposed the buddha? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s supposed to be contagious?¡±

    Li Qingshan even felt slightly wronged. He had always been quite respectful of the buddha. He had beaten up and killed monks before, and he had destroyed temples before. He was even destroying the world now, but he could not be slandered like that.

    The warning bells rang out through the monastery. The monks were all fearful as if they faced imminent catastrophe. According to their past experiences, nothing good could come out of any visits from him.

    The Dauntless monk no longer wanted to say anything more. He found nothing more sorrowful than that. ¡°If you enter the temple, I¡¯ll throw my life at you!¡±

    ¡°Oh my, look at how foolish you are. I just can¡¯t stand something like that. Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to throw your life at me!¡±

    When Li Qingshan had specially paid a visit to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga, he had done so out of good intentions, yet he actually had the door slammed in his face, which left him fuming. He made his way up the stairs in a single step, about to force his way in.

    ¡°Damned disciple, don¡¯t be so unruly!¡±

    The Unraging monk rushed out in a hurry and blocked Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve already been expelled. I¡¯m not even a secular disciple anymore, aren¡¯t I?¡±

    The Unraging monk sighed. He was haggard, such that he even seemed slightly thinner.

    Li Qingshan could not bear to harm the Unraging monk any further. ¡°Whatever, whatever. There¡¯s nothing interesting about this monastery anyway. I¡¯ve come with important matters in mind.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll invite you to a cup.¡±

    The Unraging monk grabbed his arm and stepped out, arriving in a small town beyond the mountain.

    The sky was hazy, falling with a slight drizzle. The town was deathly silent.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Xiao An?¡±

    The Unraging monk shook his head. ¡°The Hungry Ghost realm.¡±

    The banner for alcohol became soaked in rain very quickly, drooping down. The two of them entered a small tavern covered in dust.

    Li Qingshan picked up a bowl; the Unraging monk had already drunk several bowls already. He took a sip, only to discover it was only water.

    ¡°Even without the Hungry Ghost realm, this tavern wouldn¡¯t have been able to remain open. This is no longer just diluting alcohol with water. You can¡¯t taste the alcohol at all!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s always been alcohol. I¡¯ve given up drinking.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, then why are you drinking away so heartily?¡± Li Qingshan placed down the bowl and said solemnly, ¡°The Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga cannot remain in the nine provinces anymore.¡±

    ¡°Buddha nemesis, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Before the Unraging monk could say anything, the Dauntless monk¡¯s furious roar rang out from outside, shaking up all of the dust in the tavern.

    ¡°If you call me buddha nemesis again, I¡¯ll actually act like one for once!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt to his feet. Actually, he did not have any particularly strong feelings towards the term ¡°buddha nemesis¡±. It was like calling a cat a dog and calling an ox a horse. It merely left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

    ¡°Senior brother, why do you call Qingshan a buddha nemesis?¡± The Unraging monk was perplexed too.

    ¡°I personally say the embodiment of Mahe?vara behind him!¡±

    ¡°The lord of the m¨¡ra, Mahe?vara!¡±

    The Unraing monk was stunned. The lord of the m¨¡ra, Mahe?vara, was unlike the other supernatural beings. Even those ¡°heretics¡± who worshiped Mahe?vara could not condense an embodiment of him!

    ¡°What the fuck does Mahe?vara have to do with me?¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan confirm the name of that image, but he did not revere him at all. Their paths merely happened to coincide, and he merely happened to develop a connection. Simply as that, he had been written off as a buddha nemesis. It was an absolute injustice. However, he did forget about something. If he coincided with Mahe?vara¡¯s path, then what was he if he was not a buddha nemesis? He was only half a monk, but his background was basically even greater than Xiao An¡¯s.

    The Dauntless monk pointed at Li Qingshan furiously. ¡°Yes, this is exactly what it is, this attitude of complete disrespect! You are clearly a buddha nemesis!¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. This was like how someone who said there was nothing wrong with them definitely had something wrong with them. It was basically impossible to continue this discussion.

    ¡°Whatever! If I¡¯m a buddha nemesis, then I¡¯m a buddha nemesis! I¡¯m not going to bicker with you. The Green province is almost done for, so you better move away quickly.¡±

    As if it was to verify his words, the earth shook again, and the water in the bowl rippled.

    The Dauntless monk roared furiously, ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±

    ¡°Do you know what kind of a sin it is to destroy the world and plunge the people into misery?¡±

    ¡°This is war. The innocent, the weak are always going to be the unlucky ones first. However, I didn¡¯t start this war.¡±

    Li Qingshan was calm. Since he had made up his mind, there was no point in acting all sympathetic to the misfortunate. Leaving the fate of his women and children to the enemy¡¯s benevolence was not something a man should do. No matter how many innocent people he killed, no matter how many sins he burdened, he would not be changing his mind.

    The Dauntless monk was so furious that he was left speechless. The Unraging monk wanted to say something, but he faltered, only sighing in the end.

    Li Qingshan pointed at the bowl of water and said slowly, ¡°Forty eight thousand insects in a buddhist temple¡¯s bowl of water.¡±

    The poem basically described that there were countless tiny organisms invisible to the naked eye in the water. Even drinking water was committing the sin of taking life and required chanting scriptures and expiation.

    ¡°Are the living creatures all equal, or are they not?¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed to be posing a question, yet he also seemed like he was talking to himself. If they were equal, then killing insects was no different from killing people. Right from birth, they had committed heinous sins. If they were not equal, then the difference between mortals and gods and buddhas was probably even larger than the difference between insects and mortals. As a result, massacring life would be as ordinary as drinking water.

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk both possessed great wisdom. They immediately understood what he was trying to say. They glanced at each other, but there were only two words in their eyes. ¡°Buddha nemesis!¡±

    This was questioning the buddhist dharma and slandering the buddhist dharma from its very core.

    Li Qingshan drank all the water in the bowl in a single bowl and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll call you master one more time, and that¡¯s the end of our relationship as master and disciple.¡±

 Chapter 1283

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1283 ¨C A Thought of Lovesickness, the Intangible Will of the Heavens

    With a bang, Li Qingshan erupted with a wave of air and shot off.

    The Unraging monk stared at the empty bowl on the table, unable to say anything for a very long time.

    In the past, he had hoped to change Li Qingshan, to guide him onto the proper path of buddhism and inherit his legacy.

    In a daze, so many years had passed. Only then did he discover that Li Qingshan had never changed. He had only grown stronger.

    However, he was the Unraging monk after all. He smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°Senior brother, you accepted a buddha nemesis, I accepted a buddha nemesis. Looks like¡­ we¡¯re in the same boat.¡±

    The Dauntless monk shot a sharp glance at him before smiling wryly as well.

    They each had bottom lines that they stuck to. Li Qingshan¡¯s actions were completely intolerable for buddhism, and he had even earned himself the title of buddha nemesis. As such, maintaining their relationship as master and disciple, even just in name, would only impede the Unraging monk¡¯s cultivation. As a result, they were better off cutting ties.

    Rumble!

    A bolt of lightning ripped through the air and landed on Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan could sense that the hostility of the world was growing stronger. Before the intangible will of the heavens, even cultivators would become frightened, but it instead reminded him of the situation inside the small world, which filled him with a hearty spirit, having the time of his life as he fought the heavens and defied fate.

    He flew back onto Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s back. It had not stopped devouring for even a second. It had already produced a great chasm outside the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga. Before long, this place would not just be affected by aftershocks. It would probably become the epicentre.

    Li Qingshan thought of an idea. Wielding his finger like a sword, he pointed it at the distant cliff face and waved away, drawing a vertical stroke, a horizontal stroke, a hook¡­ and even a circle at the very end. He studied it carefully before nodding in satisfaction, riding off on the space-devouring beast with a great laugh.

    The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk returned to the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga and saw a colossal word several hundred metres across on a distant cliff face¡ªRemove!

    There was even a crooked circle drawn around the world.

    The Dauntless monk was absolutely fuming, but as he gazed at the giant chasm at the entrance of the monastery and sensed the earthquakes growing in frequency, he had already decided to follow Li Qingshan¡¯s suggestion and leave the Green province, this place of trouble.

    Devouring, digesting, destroying.

    The space-devouring beast moved quickly and freely through this barren land.

    Within the apocalypse that he had created with his own hands, Li Qingshan deeply experienced the will of great destruction and great annihilation. He made daily progress with the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction.

    Gong Yuan had already bid farewell to him, returning to the sea abyss to consolidate everything she had gained over the past few days. With that, she could convert it into her cultivation and climb higher. They were not mortal men and women. They could not spend day and night together.

    Above the ocean, the white clouds churned and twisted with time. When cultivating, time always passed by extremely quickly.

    A thought suddenly flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s head. He felt a hint of uneasiness, so he opened his eyes and stood up. He was rather perplexed, as the sense of uneasiness did not come from him but somewhere else.

    As a result, he circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, calculating away calmly.

    The spirit turtle was born with the ability of divination. Ever since he formed a world within him, this ability had strengthened, so he found a clue before long. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a piece of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. It was hazy inside as countless scenes flashed by, but they were all obscured and unclear.

    Just like how the heavenly secrets were unpredictable, even true spirit turtles could not calculate everything, let alone a half-assed one like him. Without any information, it was very difficult for him to come to an accurate conclusion. Only when it had to do with his own fate would his senses be relatively sharper.

    He remained patient and slid his right hand across the mirror slowly, peeling away the thick mist. A beautiful face appeared before him.

    ¡°Haitang!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the face of peerless beauty. Not only had time failed to even leave a mark, but she had instead become even more beautiful than before. Her peach-blossom-like eyes peered through the mirror right at him.

    That was obviously impossible. She could not see him at all. The image was only a result of his senses from the heavenly secrets. However, the feeling was so strong that it felt like only a piece of glass separated them.

    Suddenly, he realised that she was thinking of him, or it would be impossible for him to develop this connection. Many things had happened between them in the past, but their ties actually were not that deep.

    She was neither like Gu Yanying, where he fell in love at first sight when he was still young and inexperienced, nor like Han Qiongzhi, becoming engaged when he was still an insignificant cultivator. Even with Gong Yuan who he had only met much later, they had dual cultivated together. They even fought beside each other several times, facing trials of life and death.

    The reason why this connection existed right now was almost entirely out of her thought for him, keeping them linked together like a red string.

    Unlike his memory of her, there was no hidden bitterness. Instead, she had a sense of calmness and indifference about her, so clear that it was almost transparent. She bore no resemblance to the pitiful woman who was helplessly besotted over love. Instead, she seemed more like an enlightened, eminent monk.

    There was no hatred due to separation, no sadness and haggardness, just a thought of lovesickness.

    It touched him. The image in the mirror rippled with his heart. He had to dismiss his thoughts in a hurry, and only then did the ripples stop.

    With my current disposition and when I¡¯m intentionally circulating the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, it can actually shake my mind. How unbelievable. To think that her love is so deep! Would this be what you call the utmost sincerity can even crack the toughest of stones?

    Even lovesick merpeople could not be so obsessed. It was not like she was a mortal woman either, someone who could not live without a man. A much wider and further path clearly lay before her, so why did she have to be bound by the feelings between a man and a woman?

    Han Qiongzhi had once stated clearly that she liked him when he advanced valiantly without being tied down. His admiration towards Gu Yanying was for the same reason too. Now that was the mainstream philosophy of cultivation. Even when they formed cultivation partners, cultivation came first.

    A woman like Qiu Haitang was truly an exception among cultivators.

    He had said he wanted to start a harem, but that had only come out of his nature to break free from anything that tied him down in his pursuit of freedom. From a certain perspective, that was also the ape demon¡¯s ¡°path¡±. It was impossible for him to actually move all the women he knew into a single palace. They all had their own paths and pursuits.

    And now that war was imminent, cultivation was the priority. Otherwise, if he were defeated, even remaining alive would be difficult, let alone starting some harem. He had basically spent all his time recently on the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction. He could not even afford to control his clones, let alone find women.

    But since he had developed a connection today, how could he just sit by and ignore this?

    Li Qingshan spread his wings and took to the skies. Simply by sensing around, he knew she was in the west. He did not have her precise location, but there was clearly a tie guiding him to her.

    Soaring over the ocean, he returned to the nine provinces, crossing through the Mist province and entering the Lightning province.

    The terrain suddenly pulled up, turning into lofty plateaus. The mountains rose and fell, shimmering with white snow. The clouds fluctuated, tranquil and pure. The sights were pleasant.

    Li Qingshan discovered that the earthen magnetic field here was particularly chaotic. When the clouds amassed to a certain degree, they would flash with lightning that was extraordinarily vicious.

    Much of the lightning did not rain down from above. Instead, it rose up from the earth, dancing about madly like snakes. As they connected the earth and the sky with each bolt, it was a grand and glorious sight.

    ¡°I¡¯m cursed with misfortune right now, so I¡¯m basically asking to be struck by lightning here. Hold on, don¡¯t tell me this place is also under the influence of the intangible will of the heavens and wants to place me in danger?¡±

 Chapter 1284

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1284 ¨C The Buddha Nemesis Enters the Buddhist City

    The heavenly secrets were unpredictable. They clearly did not possess a consciousness, yet they could control fate, setting up a kill zone without raising any attention. It was even more terrifying than any scheming strategist in the world. Even cultivators could have their judgment clouded, either becoming fools or becoming mad, trudging towards their deaths step by step, yet also completely unaware the entire time.

    If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s bloodline of the spirit turtle, it was completely impossible for this thought to have crossed his mind.

    I don¡¯t fear the will of the heavens, but my priority this time is to find Haitang. I might as well maintain a low profile and follow the spirit turtle, to avoid any problems just in case it leads to trouble.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes. His daemon qi vanished as his appearance turned back into a human¡¯s. When he opened his eyes again, his scarlet pupils had turned black. His expression was calm and indifferent. It was not just his aura. Even his sense of presence had become very flimsy. Without careful attention, he could even be neglected by others.

    The winds surged in the air as the clouds weighed down heavily with pouring rain and crashing thunder.

    Li Qingshan smiled. With a gentle leap, he vanished into the rain.

    Boom!

    A bolt of blue lightning brushed past him, smashing apart a boulder. The rubble was still soaring through the air when another cascade of lightning rained down, turning the world white.

    ¡°What a will of the heavens!¡±

    Li Qingshan navigated through the pitch-black rain, like a spirit turtle swimming through the ocean. Almost half of the lightning shot towards him. Even the combined efforts of ten great cultivators did not possess such power. This was the might of the world.

    However, not a single bolt of lightning managed to strike him. It was as if even the intangible will of the heavens was unable to lock onto him. He simply soared freely through the lightning.

    ¡°Haha, the will of the heavens? Even that can do nothing to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud as a bolt of lightning beside him suddenly twisted and slammed right into his face.

    He grinned. It failed to even leave a mark, but it was quite awkward. Fortunately, there was no one around. In hindsight, his mental state earlier was not very much like a spirit turtle¡¯s, accidentally giving his presence away.

    As he passed through the lightning storm in search of the thread of love in the depths of the Lightning province, he traversed several thousand mountains, several hundred major rivers, and encountered several consecutive thunderstorms. Suddenly, he saw a glorious mountain city, almost like a torch in the darkness, burning at the end of the world.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. She was there!

    The mountain city stood several thousand metres tall. Three large words were engraved at the entrance¡ªMyriad Buddha City.

    ¡°What a bold claim!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed over. The buddha statues that he had recently seen in the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga were actually everywhere here. Apart from the pavilions, halls, and buildings in the city, the entire place was engraved with buddha statues, far more than a myriad, basically in the millions. Probably even the Spirit K?etra temple came nowhere close to the dense buddhist light gathered in the mountains.

    But what¡¯s Haitang doing here? Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s converted to buddhism. I¡¯m speechless. I just earned the glorious title of buddha nemesis, and I¡¯ve come to the belly of the beast!

    The city gates opened as if they had been waiting for him.

    ¡°Who is it!?¡± A bellow rang out from the top of the walls.

    The other guards were startled as well. The entrance was completely empty without a shadow in sight. Only then did they stop worrying.

    ¡°There¡¯s no one there! What¡¯re you yelling out blindly for?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me I saw wrong? But I clearly saw¡­¡±

    ¡°Enough, you must have seen wrong. In this weather, even cultivators won¡¯t head outside without good reason. Speaking of which, even if there was someone, so what? Are they supposed to enter the city and wreak havoc? This is the Myriad Buddha city of our Western Liang. Even if they come in here, they¡¯ll just be hurling head-first to their doom! Look at the sky. It¡¯s going to start thundering again. Get ready to use the thunder for cultivation!¡±

    Before they knew it, the dark clouds had weighed down on the city, even swallowing the royal palace on the mountain, except not a single droplet of rain fell. It was like it was building up for something.

    A guard suddenly whispered, ¡°I heard¡­ the Green province produced a buddha nemesis, and she¡¯s the princess of the Kingdom of Chu. She came back from the dead somehow and even took down the capital of the Scarlet province, massacring everyone there.¡±

    All of the guards shivered. The dark clouds seemed to be hiding a monster that stared at them. Since ancient times, the Lightning province had revered buddhism. Basically everyone prayed and believed in the buddha. Even this capital of Western Liang was founded by monks, so were they not the buddha nemesis¡¯ greatest target?

    Boom!

    The clap of thunder made everyone leap in fright. When they returned to their senses, they all scolded the guard. Only when they changed the topic of conversation to women did the frightening atmosphere ease up.

    ¡°Hehe, when do you think the prince will embrace the beauty?¡±

    ¡°I think soon. The prince has undergone seven reincarnations and faced the third heavenly tribulation, yet he¡¯s infatuated with that sect master Qiu. Even a rock would probably melt apart before him.¡±

    High up in the mountain city, in an exquisite pavilion with a style different from the other buildings, a woman laid lazily behind veiled curtains. Her heart throbbed for some reason, or perhaps when she heard that name again, the throbbing had never stopped.

    ¡°Do you still remember me? Perhaps you don¡¯t! But that doesn¡¯t matter. All that matters is I remember you,¡± she murmured to herself. Her red lips curled into a smile, charming like a flower.

    A call interrupted her thoughts. ¡°Sect master, that prince Tsangyang has come again. He must have written you another love poem.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I know. Have him wait for a moment.¡±

    A while later, the curtains rose.

    The woman did not put on any makeup. She casually draped on a set of long robes and made her way out of her room slowly, arriving downstairs.

    Downstairs was filled with singing, dancing, and music, lingering on endlessly, but it only served as a backdrop to the laughter. It was a noisy sight of secular activity.

    With her appearance, the laughter suddenly fell silent. Through the music, everyone¡¯s gazes had been drawn towards her, whether they were men or women, old or young. However, the brightest gaze came from a monk.

    He was draped with great red monk robes. His hair was very short and very clean and tidy, not shaven like the monks of the central plains. It did not affect his delicate appearance at all, instead giving him a solemn and holy bearing.

    The gazes of the women in the building towards him were extremely fervent, while the men showed great respect, bowing to him from afar. However, he ignored all of it. Only when the woman appeared did he go up to receive her immediately, bringing his palms together and bowing.

    ¡°Haitang, you¡¯ve really become more and more beautiful.¡±

    His gaze was filled with sincerity, without any desire. He did not hide the admiration and appreciation in his heart at all, much less pay any attention to the gazes from others.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°I truly am not worthy of the prince¡¯s praises. May I ask why you¡¯ve come here?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve written another poem for you¡­¡±

    Qiu Haitang interrupted him. ¡°Your highness, thank you for this, but you should know about my background, and you should also know who my man is.¡±

    ¡°I have obviously heard of Li Qingshan before, but how can that loveless person be worthy of being your man?¡±

    The fuck is going on? Even a monk is trying to steal my woman. He even behaves like he¡¯s besotted, like there¡¯s absolutely nothing wrong in front of all these people. There¡¯s actually quite a few monks here too. Don¡¯t tell me Myriad Buddha city is actually the home base of lecherous monks!? Li Qingshan commented inside.

    Li Qingshan had locked onto Qiu Haitang¡¯s aura as soon as he entered the city, so he happened to hear the exchange.

    Little did he know that the buddhism in the Lightning province was a form of Vajray¨¡na or Tantric Buddhism. Even monks were not forbidden from marriage, which was why they could found the Kingdom of Western Liang. And compared to lands of wilderness like the Mist province and the Frost province, their social customs were extremely lax and progressive. Not only was it not a bad thing to publicly propose love, but it was even a deed worthy of praise.

 Chapter 1285

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1285 ¨C The Love Monk of Seven Lives

    Hmph, if I were a regular cultivator, then so be it, but I¡¯m still half of a buddhist disciple! You better watch as I use my abilities to protect the buddhist dharma and demolish you obscene bastards!

    With a thought, the heavenly secrets responded and roaring lightning crashed down.

    The scorching-white lightning was like a dragon, piercing the low-hanging clouds and illuminating his curled lips, revealing his teeth.

    The wind chimes on the eaves jingled as rain drifted over the cobbled streets, turning into a downpour in the blink of an eye. The surroundings darkened.

    Li Qingshan had already developed the intent to kill, so he simply let himself go, allowing the rain to pour down on him.

    It was already late. There had not been a lot of people on the streets in the first place, so it became even more empty with the rain. He was the only one left making his way through the streets.

    The sides of the streets were littered with niches and buddha statues, as well as guardian kings, arhats, and countless other strange beings that he did not know the name of. Their style differed drastically from the temples of the Green province, giving off a strange, non-human feeling as if they were silently observing him. Between the flashes of lightning, they were a frightening sight to behold.

    A grey-haired old woman spun a prayer wheel as she sat under the eaves, reciting the scriptures. Suddenly, she saw a figure make his way up the mountain. He clearly moved very slowly, yet he had arrived before her in the blink of an eye, which made her widen her eyes.

    The person smiled at her, revealing a toothy white grin.

    She trembled all over as chills ran through her body. In another blink of an eye, the person had vanished again as if it was merely an illusion.

    However, the smile was imprinted firmly in her mind. It made her recall the glory of all the statues of demons and gods she had seen before, yet none of them were as vivid as that ordinary man¡¯s face. It was as if he were a demon king that had emerged from a nightmare, resisting being vanquished, mocking the buddhist dharma, and shattering the buddhist country.

    She spun the prayer wheel as quickly as she could and chanted without stop, yet she struggled to hide her fear.

    Inside the Parlour of Clouds and Rain ablaze with lights, everyone gazed over carefully, even ignoring the pouring rain and lightning. They had grown accustomed to it a long time ago anyway. With the protection of the Thunderclap formation, none of the lightning would fall on the city. It was nowhere near as fascinating as the sight before them.

    This sect master Qiu actually said she already had a man. Clearly, she had no intentions of accepting prince Tsangyang¡¯s love, which was truly shocking.

    Prince Tsangyang did not disappoint them either. He immediately stated Li Qingshan¡¯s name, not only showing no fear, but even demonstrating determination instead. He was truly the Love Monk of Seven Lives.

    Qiu Haitang sighed gently. Since she had already laid everything bare, there was no chance for her to save this situation anymore. It was no longer appropriate for her to remain in the Lightning province, so she decided to make things clear. ¡°Is the prince truly in love?¡±

    Prince Tsangyang smiled. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, Haitang, you¡¯re welcome to ask everyone seated here. You¡¯re welcome to ask everyone in the city.¡±

    Even toddlers knew about the Love Monk of Seven Lives¡¯ reputation.

    The Mahachakra temple of the Lightning province enshrined the Wheel-turning King, Chakravarti. Their disciples did not enter the six realms for rebirth upon death. When they reached the end of their lives, they would condense their spirit and will into a true spirit; this would be placed into the body of a newborn like pouring water of the image of the buddha, turning them into ¡°t¨¹lku¡±.

    It was impossible for them to retain all of their experiences and memories, but they were much better off than regular cultivators. If one life did not work out, they could undergo rebirth, which was known as a minor cycle of sa?s¨¡ra.

    Just like that, they would accumulate experiences and good karma over their lives. As long as they did not die an unnatural death in the process, everyone had a chance at becoming a buddha. Some people were even known as living buddhas. Over countless years, there was basically an immeasurable number of reincarnated living buddhas in the Lightning province. That was the true meaning behind Myriad Buddha city.

    This prince Tsangyang was already on his seventh life. Every single one of his lives had a lingering influence on him. He was handsome and brilliant, such that he was the dream lover of all women in the Lightning province. They sang ballads adapted from his love poems everywhere, which was why he was known as the Love Monk of Seven Lives. Asking him whether he was in love was basically like asking if a monk had the buddha in their hearts.

    As a result, many people raised a fuss. ¡°If the prince is without love, then no one in the world has love!¡±

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°I¡¯m not asking anyone else. I¡¯m only asking you.¡±

    Prince Tsangyang¡¯s expression changed slightly. He smiled warmly. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re the woman who understands me the best. The love among cultivators is obviously different from common human feelings, and it surpasses common human feelings. If you become my partner, you will become the queen of the Kingdom of Western Liang in the future, and I will swear to never take on another woman!¡±

    There were a series of gasps in the parlour. The women were all filled with envy, refusing to accept this, while the men all sighed at the power and influence involved.

    Prince Tsangyang had gone through seven lives. During his sixth life, he had even been the abbot of the Mahachakra temple, almost able to ascend.

    For his seventh life, he had chosen a prince as his t¨¹lku. Not only was he destined to take the throne, but he could even continue to lead the Mahachakra temple, possessing unrivalled authority. He would truly be the greatest person in the Lightning province.

    All Qiu Haitang had to do was nod, and she would become only second to him, obtaining the support of the Mahachakra temple and the entire Kingdom of Western Liang. Even undergoing the third heavenly tribulation would be nothing difficult, basically going on a meteoric rise.

    Let alone a woman, probably even men could not decline such an offer.

    Prince Tsangyang ignored the responses of the people around him and gazed at Qiu Haitang tenderly. ¡°Haitang, is that enough to demonstrate my love? Perhaps my love is not satisfactory to you, but it¡¯s far better than that Li Qingshan¡¯s fickleness. He¡¯s probably forgotten about you already.¡±

    People surged outside the parlour. Even the fierce winds and rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators, completely surrounding the entrance.

    Li Qingshan arrived outside the parlour silently, hiding in the crowd. When he heard that, he was furious. Not only is this damned bald ass trying to steal my woman, but he¡¯s even trying to act superior to me!

    The conditions that this prince Tsangyang had put forward were truly fantastic, but he was not worried that Qiu Haitang would accept them. If her mind could be changed so easily, he would not have come to the Lightning province in the first place. There would not have been so many ties between them back then too. They would have lost each other in the sea of people a long time ago.

    ¡°Yes, he might have forgotten about me already. He has always had plenty of women by his side, and it¡¯s true that he¡¯s fickle. No, perhaps he¡¯s never taken the matter of love particularly seriously in the first place¡­¡±

    Qiu Haitang criticised Li Qingshan mercilessly. He was basically trash among trash as a man. Everyone felt like leaving a man like that was basically the justice enforced upon him.

    Even Li Qingshan¡¯s face had darkened, but he could not help but admit she really had not wrongly accused him of anything. He could hear the attachment within her voice too, so he continued to listen quietly.

    A smile appeared on prince Tsangyang¡¯s face. His persistence over the recent years had finally paid off. Several years might have been very long to mortals, but it was nothing to him who had lived seven lives.

    Female cultivators had always been relatively rare, and those that could reach her cultivation were even rarer. On top of that, she was naturally beautiful and striking, and she had practised the arts of mesmerisation, which pushed her beauty to the limits. As long as he had her, how could regular women still catch his eye? It would be of great benefit to his practice of the chan of delightful union.

    Other schools of buddhism viewed esoteric buddhism as heretical, and the chan of delightful union was almost a demonic path. Those who did not possess great wisdom and great willpower could not practise and adhere to it. They understood the buddhist truth that form was emptiness and emptiness was form through sexual desire and love, so it would always lead to the transcendence of lust.

    However, he felt guiltless. This was of great benefit to Qiu Haitang as well. If she could see through the emptiness of appearances and convert to buddhism, she too would enjoy endless benefits. She was basically his natural cultivation partner.

    Qiu Haitang said all of that in a single breath and paused for a moment. Suddenly, she changed her tone. ¡°But what does that have to do with me? And what does that have to do with you?¡±

    Prince Tsangyang was taken aback.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°Why must you always calculate the costs and benefits to such a precise degree? Why must there always be something in return for how you feel or what you do? I love him. That¡¯s my problem. What, if the buddha doesn¡¯t give you benefits, you¡¯d stop believing in the buddha?¡±

    Prince Tsangyang was annoyed. ¡°He¡¯s just a measly wretched daemon. How can he compare to the buddha?¡±

    ¡°How are you so muddle-headed, your highness? I¡¯m not talking about Li Qingshan, but love! To me, that¡¯s something even more important than the buddha. Even if Li Qingshan has let me down in countless different ways, I¡¯ve never wanted anything in return from him, much less does he owe me anything. Speaking of which, he¡¯s very powerful. Your highness, in consideration of the care you¡¯ve shown me over the years, I really do not wish to drag you into this matter, so I¡¯ll take my leave right now.¡±

    Qiu Haitang bowed gracefully, turning around to return to her room.

    The crowd was silent, whether inside or outside. As people of the Lightning province, nothing was more important than the buddha. They could not accept this reason, but they were still touched by it.

    ¡°Hold on. Where are you going?¡± Prince Tsangyang felt like he had just lost something extremely important to him, so he felt empty inside.

    ¡°Obviously to find him.¡± Qiu Haitang smiled back at him, without any resentment or regret.

    Prince Tsangyang became even more reluctant to see her go. He could not help but say, ¡°He has made an enemy out of Great Xia, out of the Human Sovereign. He no longer has much time left!¡±

    ¡°And so what?¡± Qiu Haitang was unsurprised. She did not feel like that was a particularly big deal, but when she considered the thought process of other people, she said in thought, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why you have the courage to persevere like this, unafraid of offending him¡­¡±

    ¡°How can you say that, Haitang? I confessed my love to you many years ago,¡± said prince Tsangyang furiously.

    However, he felt a little guilty inside. Back then, he had first confirmed Li Qingshan had been launched out of the nine heavens. He never thought Li Qingshan could still return. No one wanted to provoke a powerful enemy.

    Qiu Haitang did not delve deeper into the matter. ¡°Alright then. Please don¡¯t be angered, your highness. If you¡¯re willing to accompany me and explain this to him, then I¡¯ll have wrongly accused you. I¡¯ll definitely apologise.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to send me to my doom!¡±

    How could prince Tsangyang agree to that? Li Qingshan had killed a Corpse Emperor and destroyed the Spirit K?etra temple. Just how terrifying of a power was that? Just how violent of a personality was that? Even Si Long was momentarily powerless against him.

    If he went up to him and told him to the face that he liked his woman, would that not just be asking to die?

    Qiu Haitang smiled. ¡°I will speak for your highness. At least it won¡¯t be a certain death. Actually, he¡¯s not as terrifying as the rumours say. If I were you, I¡¯d go even if it¡¯s certain death. As long as I can make the person I love believe in my love and remember my appearance, so what if I end up facing eternal damnation?¡±

    She seemed to shine with invisible light, drawing over everyone¡¯s gaze, yet also so bright that they could not stare at her directly. She gave off an unbelievable feeling.

    When mortals spoke lightly of death, that was probably only in the heat of the moment. They would only lose a few decades, but to cultivators, that was centuries or even a millennia of freedom. That was time spent while preserving youth, free from the torture of sickness and pain, with the opportunity to become immortals. If they were killed, perhaps they truly did face eternal damnation, even losing the opportunity to undergo rebirth.

    As a cultivator who pursued longevity, she truly had shocked everyone by saying something like that.

    Prince Tsangyang¡¯s expression changed again and again. Not only had he failed to obtain her, but he had even suffered a great blow to his reputation as the Love Monk of Seven Lives. His wisdom, cultivation, and status were all much higher than hers, yet he came nowhere close when it came to love. He felt like he had been slapped across the face.

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. Alright then. This woman¡¯s madness is getting worse and worse! In the past, she was only an infatuated young woman, but now, she¡¯s almost become a saintess of love. Though, I like it!

 Chapter 1286

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1286 ¨C The Group of Three, a Gift Bundle

    Wind and rain swept across the gloomy sky. The lanterns were hazy, and the thunder had temporarily subsided.

    Qiu Haitang raised her head gently, actually resembling a solemn statue.

    Prince Tsangyang let out a sigh. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. I understand, but I have one request!¡±

    Qiu Haitang smiled. ¡°Please go on.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t place yourself in danger. I will do my best to protect you.¡±

    Prince Tsangyang¡¯s expression was filled with sincerity. He did not give up because she had turned him down. As long as she remained in the Lightning province, there would be a day when he could reach her.

    Qiu Haitang continued to smile. ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, prince Tsangyang, but this is my path, so I must walk it myself. You might be ¨¡nanda, but I am not Prak?ti!¡±

    Prince Tsangyang was stunned. This was the story he had constantly thought of inside, but he had never mentioned it to anyone, so how did she know?

    ¨¡nanda was one of the ten principal disciples of the buddha. He possessed a great appearance, a face said to be like the full moon and eyes like lotus flowers. He was loved by Prak?ti who tried everything in her ability to marry him, almost to a point where ¨¡nanda broke his precepts. Afterwards, she was ordained by the buddha, which was a fantastic conclusion for everyone involved.

    TL: If you want to read more about the story: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%80nanda#Resisting_temptations

    To him, the infatuated Qiu Haitang who refused to change bore resemblance to Prak?ti, while he was obviously venerable ¨¡nanda.

    ¡°So be it. Since this is your choice, how can I stop you? When you set off, please let me send you off.¡±

    ¡°Naturally.¡±

    Within the crowd, Li Qingshan smiled with a gentle expression, very different from when he climbed up the mountain. He thought, Originally, I wanted to demolish this den of obscenity, but this monk doesn¡¯t seem like a man of great wickedness. It¡¯s perfectly normal to like beauties. I¡¯m not that stingy either, so I¡¯ll just spare you!

    This was what it meant when a single whim separated the demonic and the buddhist. Qiu Haitang had truly managed to save him with her love, sparing Myriad Buddha city a disaster. He was just about to emerge from the crowd and pull her into his arms.

    Suddenly, three auras rapidly drew near, composed of a human great cultivator, a powerful Daemon King, and a Monk King of buddhism. On top of that, he found the three auras to be rather familiar.

    Hmm? Have my tracks been exposed?

    In the blink of an eye, the three people arrived before the parlour.

    ¡°Sect master Qiu, long time no see!¡±

    The person at the front was a sinister, handsome young man. He was dressed in the dragon robes of a crown prince, which made him stand out very much. He entered the parlour, completely missing Li Qingshan in the crowd.

    ¡°Crown prince Si Qing!¡±

    Qiu Haitang furrowed her brows slightly. She knew a great grievance existed between Si Qing and Li Qingshan. Back in the Ruyi commandery of the Green province, his subordinate, E Dan, had been determined to take her by force. In the end, he died at Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s been several years. You¡¯ve become even more beautiful. No wonder even prince Tsangyang is so smitten with you.¡±

    Every single word Si Qing said was filled with malice. He had been sent to the Lightning province under orders to make the Kingdom of Western Liang completely submit to Great Xia. This seemed like a fascinating job, but actually, it was a task that only the weakest crown prince would be assigned to.

    During the past few days, he stayed in the King of Western Liang¡¯s estate at the top of the mountain. As he listened to the hubbub in the city at night, it left him even more restless. When he heard those three syllables that he could never forget¡ªLi Qingshan¡ªhis past hatred and current hatred merged together and overwhelmed him. He immediately ran out of patience and flew over.

    ¡°Your highness, so you are acquainted with Haitang.¡±

    Prince Tsangyang went up and bowed, indirectly blocking Si Qing from Qiu Haitang. He had investigated everything that had happened in Qiu Haitang¡¯s past a long time ago, so he obviously knew about the grievances involved.

    Si Qing glanced at him. He knew about his special identity, and prince Tsangyang was no weaker than him. He was a crucial figure in his mission this time, so Si Qing could not directly turn against him.

    ¡°Junior brother Tsangyang, as a Monk King, how can you be so frivolous and indulgent that you come to such a foul place?¡±

    A bellow boomed out like a bell, drowning out the thunder. The religious preceptor of the left brought his palms together and stood outside the building, clearly reluctant to set foot in this ¡°foul place¡±.

    Si Qing only served as a representative of the imperial court of Great Xia. The Kingdom of Western Liang openly embraced buddhism, so the religious preceptor of the left, as the most prominent figure of buddhism in the nine provinces, served as a central member of the diplomatic group.

    Prince Tsangyang¡¯s ears were ringing as if he was under tremendous pressure. He could barely hold on right now, so how could he talk back?

    As a buddhist monk, the religious preceptor of the left was rebuking him with the rules and precepts of buddhism. He was completely in the right, such that he could not be refuted.

    ¡°Please do not spout nonsense, master. My Sect of Clouds and Rain is also a sect that has stood for a millennia. How can you call this place foul?¡±

    Qiu Haitang was furious. Whether it was the Minor and Major Methods of Clouds and Rain or the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge, they all required tempering amidst human society. That was their way of cultivation.

    ¡°Hehe, there¡¯s quite a spirited mare here. I sure would like to give it a ride. Prince Tsangyang, I didn¡¯t want to stick my nose into this, but since the woman has said his name, I¡¯ll definitely let you get what you want! If you can¡¯t get her, then I might have to swoop in and take her by force.¡±

    The Heavenly Frost Wolf King crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, ogling at Qiu Haitang without any attempt at hiding the lust in his eyes. His voice was sinister. His hatred for Li Qingshan was even more obvious than Si Qing¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan had paid a single visit to the Frost province. Not only had he managed to assist Gu Yanying in obtaining the sleepy bug he had been eyeing for all these years, but he even gave him a vicious beating, stealing his Frost Province cauldron and wolf totem. He even took his wolf tooth necklace that resembled a sumeru ring, which basically contained all of his possessions. This hatred was so deep that it was truly tremendous.

    The more wild and unpopulated an area was, the stronger the daemon forces were. The Lightning province was no different. Aside from the King of Western Liang¡¯s estate and the Mahachakra temple, the daemons formed a major force too. The Heavenly Frost Wolf King happened to be old acquaintances with the Daemon King of the Lightning province, who had also joined their diplomatic group.

    The three of them all had a blood feud with Li Qingshan. Due to various reasons and coincidences, they had arrived in Myriad Buddha city. When they heard the name ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, their gathering led to a case of misfortune.

    Boom!

    A bolt of lightning shot across the sky, illuminating everyone¡¯s faces. All of their expressions changed.

    Within the crowd, Li Qingshan was shocked. D- don¡¯t tell me this is the legendary luxury gift bundle? Old heavens, I want to thank your past eight ancestors!

    The Heavenly Frost Wolf King detected a sense of uneasiness through his powerful instincts. He traced it carefully, but it only seemed to be a false impression. Then he placed all of his focus on Qiu Haitang. Given his identity, it was inappropriate for him to get revenge like this, but since he had encountered such an opportunity, he would not simply let it slip by either.

    Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. No matter how powerful you are, you can¡¯t protect your woman right now. Though, the lightning of the Lightning province sure is vicious!

    Li Qingshan also sensed the deep horrors of the will of the heavens. If it were not for the spirit turtle¡¯s senses, he would have dove headfirst into Myriad Buddha mountain. If he wanted to take Qiu Haitang away, he would not just be facing these three foes, but prince Tsangyang as well, including the entire King of Western Liang¡¯s estate, coupled with that tantric Mahachakra temple.

    By then, all they had to do was open the formation around the city, and lightning would come crashing down. He would have to protect Qiu Haitang at the same time, so even if he were capable of impossible feats, he would be in danger of messing up something so simple.

    Hehe, now this is the wonders of the spirit turtle. Sure enough, the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, Foreboding Fate. I can be a spirit turtle, but I¡¯ll never be a tortoise, shrinking up in my shell like a coward.

    Li Qingshan did not let out a great roar and leap out of the crowd. Instead, he squeezed his way through the crowd and approached the religious preceptor of the left who had not raised his guard.

 Chapter 1287

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1287 ¨C Devastation

    The rain poured down violently. Li Qingshan was like a tiger in the forest, crouching down and sneaking over silently.

    The religious preceptor of the left gave off a gentle, golden glow that formed the vague shape of a bell, keeping the rain a metre from him.

    Prince Tsangyang was restrained by his aura. He had no idea what to do.

    With the return of the founding emperor, the Lightning province had to submit. In terms of both identity and status, the three of them were all people he could not deal with. Even if he could cast aside everything, no one would offend the Heavenly Frost Wolf King and crown prince Si Qing, as well as the Great Xia empire behind them, over a woman.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s face was sunken, but there was no fear. She gazed at the red string on her fair wrist. Was this all destined by fate?

    At this moment, Li Qingshan stepped out from the crowd. The religious preceptor of the left suddenly shivered. A chill ran down from his spine, from his neck all the way to his tailbone.

    Prince Tsangyang was taken aback. He gazed at the man who had emerged from the rain. His appearance was so ordinary that he was just like a droplet of water, such that he could meld into the pouring rain at any moment. He even gave off a strange feeling that he would have been completely neglected if it were not for the fact that prince Tsangyang was staring straight at him.

    Qiu Haitang also noticed the man who emerged from the crowd, which left her stunned. Her beautiful eyes immediately teared up, becoming even more misty. Her red lips trembled as if there were a thousand words she wanted to say to him.

    An extremely glorious bolt of lightning shot towards the parlour. The lightning tore through the darkness and made it as bright as daytime.

    Boom!

    The thunder erupted, shaking up the world.

    The religious preceptor of the left turned around. ¡°You¡¯re-¡±

    ¡°Your granddaddy!¡±

    Li Qingshan threw a punch.

    The religious preceptor of the left¡¯s vision darkened. The fist filled his face, pushing aside all the other scenery, like a colossal mountain hurling over towards him. He struggled to dodge, unable to put up any resistance.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, wretched daemon!¡±

    With a violent bellow, he erupted with layers upon layers of golden light like the endless tidal waves on the seashore. In the blink of an eye, he pushed his millennia of cultivation to the limit. Suddenly, the great red kasaya embroidered with gold on him began to surge, forming an impregnable seawall. It was the ultimate treasure of the Spirit K?etra temple.

    The fist was unstoppable, piercing the layers of golden light. As soon as it made contact with the kasaya, the piece of cloth shattered and erupted like butterflies. In the end, the fist landed gently on the religious preceptor of the left¡¯s back.

    Li Qingshan pulled back his fist and stopped paying attention to him. Letting out a roar at the sky, his daemon qi surged into the air and dispersed the curtain of rain, ripping apart the dark clouds. He lunged straight for the Heavenly Frost Wolf King.

    His eyes turned scarlet, like a tiger¡¯s, like fire!

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    As soon as the Heavenly Frost Wolf King realised what was going on, he met the scarlet eyes, which seemed to send him into a nightmare. His mind wavered, his aura was overwhelmed, and he lost control over himself.

    W- why is he here!?

    In that instant, he seemed to have returned to several thousand years ago, when he was only a wild wolf. Facing a tiger on the prowl, he could only serve as unlucky prey.

    He could not help but be tempted to take a step back. He shuddered. I can¡¯t retreat! If I even take half a step back today, I¡¯m dead for sure!

    As a result, he mustered his viciousness again, bared his fangs, and let out a howl, lunging back at Li Qingshan. He gave off a chilling coldness, covering everything in the surroundings with a layer of frost.

    A wolf and a tiger, frost and fire, fangs and claws. Two great Daemon Kings lunged towards one another like wild beasts.

    The tiger stripes formed three lines on Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead. He used the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon and erupted with malice, dispersing the frost. The image of the m¨¡ra appeared behind him, unleashing its will to destroy and annihilate everything.

    Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion used its full strength!

    A thought suddenly crossed the Heavenly Frost Wolf King¡¯s head, I¡¯ve lost!

    Before they had even collided, they had already clashed countless times mentally. Li Qingshan defeated him countless times until he was completely subdued. This was no longer a clash between two vicious beasts, but an unlucky prey encountering its terrifying natural enemy. Even his will to resist had been devastated.

    With his mind overwhelmed, his aura became disorderly. Just by reaching over, Li Qingshan made him collapse.

    He grabbed the Heavenly Frost Wolf King¡¯s neck with his left hand and plunged his right hand into his chest, fishing out a frosty-white daemon core and suppressing it with the spirit turtle.

    In a single bout, one of the Ten Daemon Kings renowned throughout the world, the Heavenly Frost Wolf King, had suffered a miserable defeat at Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. Let alone escaping, even blowing up his daemon core was no longer possible. His life was truly out of his hands now.

    The Heavenly Frost Wolf King was astounded. Impossible! How can my willpower that has been tempered by the bitter cold be so fragile?! It doesn¡¯t even stand a chance against someone that¡¯s not even a tenth of my age!

    Li Qingshan seemed to read his thoughts. He tossed him to the ground and planted his foot on him, sneering. ¡°Because you¡¯re not a wolf, but a dog! Even that piece of trash over there is more like a wolf than you!¡±

    Si Qing, who had been labelled as a piece of trash, possessed the weakest cultivation, so his reaction time was the slowest too. Only when Li Qingshan and the Heavenly Frost Wolf King clashed did he respond. He did not rush towards Li Qingshan, nor did he flee. Instead, he lunged towards Qiu Haitang.

    Only by capturing her as a hostage did he have a chance at surviving. Qiu Haitang was only at the second heavenly tribulation, so she definitely was not his opponent.

    ¡°Lock!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached out with his fingers splayed and bellowed out.

    Si Qing froze mid-air, becoming completely immobilised like an insect stuck in amber. Qiu Haitang was already within his arm¡¯s reach, yet he could not move an inch further. He immediately made his decision and detonated his soul nascence.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, even if I die, I¡¯ll butcher this woman and make you regret it for the rest of your life!¡±

    ¡°Destroy!¡±

    Li Qingshan closed his fingers firmly; the space there shuddered.

    Si Qing collapsed and disintegrated. Even his soul had been completely destroyed.

    Even Gong Yuan believed she could not withstand that attack from Li Qingshan. With such a great difference in strength, did he really think he could still make anyone perish with him?

    The lightning raining down from above was blocked by the formation around Myriad Buddha city. Everyone inside and outside the parlour only felt like the thunder had erupted in their heads. They all threw themselves on the ground.

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan had knocked down the religious preceptor, defeated the wolf king, and slain Si Qing. The sound of the thunder continued to linger, having not completely dispersed yet.

    The Heavenly Frost Wolf King knew he was done for. He roared furiously, unwilling to accept this, ¡°Li Qingshan, if you want to kill me, then kill me! But don¡¯t you dare humiliate me!¡±

    ¡°Humiliate you? Hah, I¡¯m not as bored as you. Wolves and dogs come from the same family. There was never any difference in bloodline. Those that run free in the wilderness are wolves, while those that are tamed and made to look after the house are dogs. I¡¯ve seen my fair share of Daemon Kings, but one that¡¯s as foolish and as shitty as you sure is rare! If you aren¡¯t living off borrowed might, thinking that I won¡¯t do anything to you just because Si Long is around, do you still think you would have the courage to bark right now?¡±

    Every single word Li Qingshan said stung. He stepped down forcefully.

    The Heavenly Frost Wolf King spurted with blood, unable to maintain his human form anymore. He reverted to his original form, collapsing on the ground and turning into a dead dog.

    ¡°How despicable, buddha nemesis!¡±

    The religious preceptor of the left was pale-white. He stood outside with his palms together, allowing the rain to pour down on him without budging. Blood seeped out from the corner of his lips, only to be immediately rinsed away by the rain.

    ¡°Bald ass, this is how you launched a sneak attack on my Xiao An! Do you understand how karma works and that retribution is a bitch now? So much for being an eminent monk of buddhism, just watching two pieces of trash harass an innocent woman, not only refusing to stop them but even assisting them! It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t punch you a few more times!¡±

    After landing the punch on the religious preceptor of the left, Li Qingshan had stopped worrying about him, only treating him as a dead man. The punch had combined several innate abilities and involved the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens. It was far more terrifying than the Ape Demon Destroys the Space.

    The religious preceptor of the left was filled with fury and hatred. He trembled; a crack ran across his bald head. His body collapsed like a stone statue.

 Chapter 1288

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1288 ¨C A Tiger¡¯s Prowess

    On Dragonshead mountain, in the imperial court, Si Qing¡¯s life lamp suddenly extinguished.

    Si Long noticed it in shock. He stood up and arrived outside the hall, gazing at the stars in the distance. His face was sunken.

    He still could not monitor the distant Lightning province, but he could already sense the devastation of the group.

    Several generations separated Si Qing and him, so he did not have any attachment to him, but he was still a central figure to the Great Xia empire.

    The Heavenly Frost Wolf King had truly followed him for many years. He had always demonstrated utmost loyalty and devotion, such that he was unmatched.

    The religious preceptor of the left was the leader of buddhism across the world, not only serving as a mainstay to Great Xia¡¯s strength, but also influencing the arrangements in the Human realm.

    He had no doubts about their murderer. Apart from him, just who in the world could still kill them? Who in the world still dared to kill them?

    An irrepressible rage immediately filled him. He uttered the name quietly, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Abruptly, he shivered inside and looked back. His gaze reached into the depths of the sky. He stroked the Dragon Province cauldron in his hand gently and sensed the tremendous, intangible, and indescribable will of the world.

    ¡°Is the will of the heavens at work?¡±

    Otherwise, it was far too much of a coincidence. A diplomatic mission to the Lightning province was anything but difficult. It would take two or three days to complete at most, yet they actually ran into Li Qingshan.

    In his knowledge, Li Qingshan had been cultivating in the South sea the entire time. It was impossible for him to learn about this diplomatic mission. Even if he did know about it, he would not stop his cultivation for the sake of this, as he did not take the religious preceptor of the left and everyone else seriously in the first place.

    Si Long sucked in a deep breath and pacified his fury and hatred. With my disposition and cultivation, I shouldn¡¯t have such strong emotional responses.

    As a result, he understood what was going on. All living things would face invisible restraints and influence as long as they were in this world. He was not an exception. The intangible will of the heavens wanted to kill with a borrowed blade, so it established a blood feud between him and Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Hmph, will of the heavens, you will submit to my will sooner or later, but this is fine. The will of the heavens stands on my side. If I can kill Li Qingshan, I¡¯ll definitely receive the blessings of the will of the heavens, and the nine provinces will be refined much faster. Li Qingshan, since you¡¯re bold enough to stay here, then you can forget about leaving the nine provinces alive!¡±

    With lofty aspirations and his killing intent concealed, he slammed the railing, shattering it!

    At the same time, over ten thousand kilometres away, in the Myriad Buddha city of the Lightning province.

    Slivers of golden light gushed out from the cracks on the religious preceptor of the left¡¯s body, flowing and dissipating in the air, dyeing half of the city golden.

    Countless citizens knelt on the ground and brought their heads to the ground. They all thought it was the power of the buddha, but little did they know it was actually the end of a Monk King.

    Li Qingshan reached out and collected the glistening ?ar¨©ra before taking the sumeru ring. As the abbot of the Spirit K?etra temple, there should be quite a lot of nice things inside. Then he collected the Heavenly Frost Wolf King and Si Qing¡¯s sumeru rings with a wave of his hand.

    Actually, spoils like that were no longer of any importance to him. However, killing enemies and taking all of their possessions was simply something that brought him joy.

    The religious preceptor of the left had been the strongest among them, and his disposition and willpower went without saying. As a vehement believer of a religion, his mind definitely could not be compared to the Heavenly Frost Wolf King¡¯s. At the very least, he would not be overwhelmed mentally. If he unleashed his various buddhist treasures and secret techniques, it would not be that easy even if Li Qingshan tried to kill him with a single punch.

    However, Li Qingshan did not clash with him. Instead, he launched a sneak attack out of nowhere, directly landing a punch to give him a taste of his own medicine.

    The bodies of human cultivators always struggled to match the bodies of daemons. Even the tough zombie emperor had been shattered apart by Li Qingshan¡¯s punches, not to mention the fact that his cultivation had progressed drastically, countless times more powerful than before. It was obviously well beyond what the religious preceptor of the left could withstand.

    ¡°Heh, so this is all the will of the heavens is capable of!¡± Li Qingshan extended his middle finger at the sky.

    Rumble!

    The thunder boomed endlessly as the surroundings became as bright as daytime.

    The clouds turned into a sea of lightning, pouring down on the Myriad Buddha city as if it was trying to crush the place along with the mountain.

    In the King of Western Liang¡¯s estate at the top of the mountain, the King of Western Liang¡¯s expression changed drastically. During all his years in the Lightning province, he had never witnessed such an intense lightning storm. Even the protective formation shook as a result, blocking the lightning before drawing it in and absorbing it.

    The diplomatic group from Great Xia has died here. What am I supposed to do now? A thought flashed through his head, My Lion¡¯s Formation of Great Thunderclap can borrow the might of the lightning. With such favourable conditions, could I¡­

    He glanced down the mountain and met the scarlet eyes, which made him lurch inside. He looked away in a hurry as if he did not see anything at all. He contacted prince Tsangyang. ¡°My son, this Li Qingshan is not a person you can just deal with. Apart from Si Long, no one in the world can match him. Handle this carefully. Do not make an enemy out of him!¡±

    He had already made up his mind to never partake in this war. Even though neither side of the war would be particularly fond of him if he maintained neutrality, joining a side, any side, would put the kingdom in danger of destruction.

    All meticulous and ingenious plans suffered from a problem. If any part went wrong, the entire plan would fall apart.

    Prince Tsangyang happened to be one of these crucial parts. When Li Qingshan and the Heavenly Frost Wolf King clashed, he was about to strike instinctively, but in the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Frost Wolf King had suffered a miserable defeat, prince Si Qing had been slain, and the religious preceptor of the left had died.

    It shocked him so much that he immediately dismissed that idea; it even covered him in cold sweat. He thought, Li Qingshan is extremely fierce and brutal. If I had struck him, I¡¯d probably be dead already, and I would have made a powerful enemy for the Mahachakra temple and the Kingdom of Western Liang!

    Then he heard the message from the King of Western Liang and thought, Oh no. Hopefully, he didn¡¯t hear what I said earlier!

    A thousand thoughts raced through his head, yet none of them dared to oppose Li Qingshan. He could not afford to consider Qiu Haitang anymore either. After all, compared to his personal feelings, the fate of the Kingdom of Western Liang and the Mahachakra temple was still more important. As a matter of fact, he even felt some regret. He should not have provoked him.

    Fortunately, I¡¯ve never disrespected her over the years. Hopefully, she can put in a good word for me.

    ¡°Haitang, I¡¯ve saved you again. How are you going to thank me?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled at Qiu Haitang on the stairs and also sensed her changes. This woman who resembled a peach blossom had bloomed even more delicately and charmingly. Her figure was just as great as before, but she had already hidden her irresistible charms away.

    ¡°Hmph, you were clearly the one who caused the problems, so why should I thank you?¡±

    Qiu Haitang sucked in a deep breath and tried her best to restrain her surging emotions. Her chest heaved as a result while her heart stirred.

    However, whether inside or outside, there was not a single pair of eyes that dared to fixate on her anymore apart from Li Qingshan. They all buried their heads, as timid and docile as a herd of sheep before this vicious tiger.

    Prince Tsangyang felt wry inside. Her voice was cold, but it did not give off an unapproachable feeling. Instead, it seemed more like flirting. That was something he had never experienced from her.

    A shadow loomed down. Before he knew it, Li Qingshan had arrived before him, patting him on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, you seem to have said a lot of bad things about me earlier!¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    Prince Tsangyang shivered inside. Sure enough, he heard it! Under the gaze of the scarlet eyes, how could he still muster any words? Only then did he understand the great horrors that existed between life and death.

 Chapter 1289

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1289 ¨C Upheaval

    After seven reincarnations, he thought he had already surpassed life and death. Only at this moment did he realise he was not as graceful and carefree as he thought he was. The irrepressible sense of shame turned him bright red.

    He raised his head and directly met Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze. ¡°Yes, I meant all of that. Even if you kill me, you won¡¯t be able to change my mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I couldn¡¯t tell, but you sure are quite bold.¡± Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He gazed deeply into his eyes and released the will of great destruction and great annihilation.

    He seemed to be Mahe?vara, the lord of the m¨¡ra, residing at the top of the Desire realm, overlooking the living creatures and mocking all of the cultivators¡¯ self-righteous perseverance.

    Prince Tsangyang trembled all over. He bit down on his lip until blood flowed out. Afterwards, he burst into tears like a child.

    With a gust of fragrance, Qiu Haitang grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s arm. ¡°Hey, stop scaring him! It¡¯s not like he was wrong! Prince Tsangyang, are you alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a laugh and admitted it honestly. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Then he said mysteriously, ¡°Though, looks like I don¡¯t have to kill him anymore. He¡¯s changed his mind.¡±

    Prince Tsangyang was dejected. His aura declined drastically, directly regressing by a major realm of cultivation. He seemed particularly miserable. The chan of delightful union that he had practised for seven lives had been forcefully upheaved. It basically left him even more miserable than if he was killed.

    Qiu Haitang said, ¡°How can you be like this? He has constantly been helping me over the years. He just spoke ill of you slightly!¡±

    Li Qingshan touched her fuming, beautiful face gently. Sure enough, she was beautiful whenever her emotions overwhelmed her.

    ¡°I¡¯m helping him out! I¡¯m technically half a person of buddhism too. This kid embarked on a path of depravity without knowing. He seems carefree, but actually, he¡¯s frivolous. He¡¯s even so full of himself. If he encountered a stronger opponent like the Heavenly Frost Wolf King, he would be slain with ease. Even if he¡¯s fortunate enough to not encounter any opponents, he¡¯ll only sink deeper into his depraved path.¡±

    Actually, he was not that kind. It was just when he heard him say, ¡°Even if you kill me, you won¡¯t be able to change my mind,¡± it was like a proud child saying, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of death at all.¡± As a result, he could not help but test him, yet in the end, it was merely a boast.

    When the child said they were not afraid of dying, that was only because they did not understand what ¡°death¡± was. If no one taught them, they would never understand, dying over a mere trifle on the streets, thinking that they were not afraid of death right to their very deaths.

    Suddenly, he understood how Mahe?vara felt. There were far too many people in buddhism who liked to boast and brag, going on about things like reducing the five skandhas to nothing or bringing salvation to all. There were far too many narcissistic lies used to blind themselves. He could tear away these lies with a single finger, and he did so completely out of reflex!

    Qiu Haitang was half-convinced. ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan only smiled. He turned around and questioned loudly, ¡°Monk, let me ask you again. Can I change your mind?¡±

    Prince Tsangyang said in dejection, ¡°You can.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± He rubbed his chin and studied him. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of cultivation method you practise, but you really don¡¯t see one that is so flimsy and feeble very often.¡±

    Normally, the willpower of people from buddhism was relatively firm. They placed great emphasis on the cultivation of their disposition. If it had been the Dauntless monk instead, even if he felt fear, he would still bellow out buddha nemesis.

    He had only obtained a wisp of Mahe?vara¡¯s bearing. He was not actually Mahe?vara, so how could he upheave a person¡¯s cultivation method so easily? Even against the Heavenly Frost Wolf King, he had primarily crushed him with strength. Otherwise, even if the Heavenly Frost Wolf King was called an old dog a hundred more times, he would still bare his fangs at Li Qingshan. He would have to be reduced to a dead dog before he truly fell silent.

    Prince Tsangyang recalled the path he had taken. He could not help but pour with sweat.

    Actually, tantric buddhism placed the greatest emphasis on ascetic cultivation. A very small minority practised the chan of delightful union, as it was simply far too easy to suffer cultivation deviation and go insane. Those without great wisdom and willpower could not practise it. He always believed he possessed great wisdom and willpower, so he never really appreciated those ascetic monks.

    In hindsight, just how foolish had he been? He enjoyed the joys and pleasures of the secular world while thinking he was pure and uncontaminated. He really had gotten too ahead of himself.

    With my aptitude, if I had persisted with ascetic cultivation, perhaps I would have ascended in the third life! Why would I still need my seventh life? If I can¡¯t develop an awareness, probably even ascending this life won¡¯t be possible. Just how many more lifetimes of wear can my true spirit last?

    Thinking up to there, he brought his palms together and bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Thank you for upheaving my chan of delightful union. From this moment onwards, I dare not bear the name of the ¡®love monk¡¯!¡±

    He glanced deeply at Qiu Haitang; his eyes contained undisguised admiration and sentiment, but he saw himself in her eyes that resembled peach blossoms. He tossed down a page of love poems resolutely before making his way out the door. His loud recital rang out from the rain.

    ¡°All feelings of love are important, unable to last for eternity. There are many fears in the world, where life is fleeting like the morning dew. Because of love, there is worry and because of love, there is fear, thus those without love are free from worry and fear.¡±

    From that day onwards, the Lightning province lost a love monk and gained an ascetic monk.

    Li Qingshan thought, So it¡¯s the chan of delightful union. I¡¯ve heard much about it. Interesting. I¡¯ve upheaved his entire cultivation, yet he¡¯s thanking me instead. No wonder Mahe?vara can be a god in buddhism. However, the true lord of the m¨¡ra is probably nowhere near as gentle as I am when he impedes the buddhist dharma. Once they fail his tests, they¡¯ll probably descend into the demonic even if they manage to survive, though I¡¯m not afraid of descending into the demonic. However, wouldn¡¯t life be a lot more boring without worry or fear?

    Qiu Haitang watched as prince Tsangyang vanished into the rain. She murmured, ¡°I could tell his infatuation was not as sincere as he thought it would be. I didn¡¯t expect this.¡±

    Li Qingshan said loudly, ¡°Who just then was bold enough to accuse me, to say that I was a petty person? My beloved woman was just courted by someone else. There¡¯s nothing impressive about that!¡±

    When Qiu Haitang heard him call her his beloved woman in front of everyone, she could not help but blush, so charming that it was impossible to ogle at her. She bit her red lips gently and said softly, ¡°I accused you wrongly.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re in the wrong, then get ready for punishment!¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted her up in his arms and made his way upstairs.

    Qiu Haitang let out a gentle squeal. She did not put up any resistance.

    Li Qingshan smiled and whispered by her ear, ¡°Where¡¯s your room?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and sniffed around, ¡°I found it.¡±

    The dark clouds in the sky dispersed. Moonlight poured down like water. The sky full of stars was resplendent and dazzling.

    In the parlour, everyone was still shaken. They looked at each other like startled sheep. The danger was gone, but they were at a temporary loss over what to do.

    The woman suddenly found a new dream lover. They felt like none of the men around him could interest them. The men ran out of interest too, so they all left, but they all felt their blood bubble slightly. They felt like that was how men were supposed to be.

    Li Qingshan stepped into the sweet-smelling room. That was not the smell of any spices, but the odour she gave off. He could not help but bury his face in his neck and take a deep breath.

    Qiu Haitang rubbed ears with him. She also indulged in his body, his warmth, and his smell. She was enchanted, still in some disbelief.

    After waiting for so long, has it finally paid off?

 Chapter 1290

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1290 ¨C The Joys of Reunion, the Pains of Parting

    Li Qingshan sensed her current emotions as well. All he did was embrace her firmly.

    Silver moonlight poured down from the glass ceiling, enveloping them like fine silk.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to blame me for wrongly accusing you?¡±

    Qiu Haitang touched his handsome face. She knew men all cared about that, except she had no other choice then. Whether prince Tsangyang was sincere or if he possessed ulterior motives, he had still helped her a lot in the past, so how could she repay his kindness with hatred and make him suffer because of her?

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Actually, you haven¡¯t wrongly accused me. I just found him annoying to look at. I wanted to teach him a lesson. I just never expected it to be so effective. Destroying the cultivation method of a love rival is a great joy of life!¡±

    ¡°You- I knew it!¡± Qiu Haitang found it both funny and angering. She shot him a flirting glance and said charmingly, ¡°Petty.¡±

    ¡°So what? You¡¯re my woman! How can I let others ogle you?¡±

    ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m in love with you, but that doesn¡¯t mean I belong to you- Ahh!¡± Her righteous declaration turned into a moan that could even melt bones.

    ¡°You do!¡± Li Qingshan would never bother to put up with her nonsense. Suddenly, his hand grabbed a peak and fondled away recklessly. Even with several layers of clothing between them, the full, soft, and elastic sensation was more than enough for him to enjoy.

    ¡°If you harass me like this¡­ aren¡¯t you afraid¡­ I¡¯ll fall out of love with you?¡± Qiu Haitang stuttered.

    She felt like a ball of fire was burning in her chest. Her face was bright red, and her gaze was tender. She became even more charming.

    ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t be here right now.¡± Li Qingshan smiled.

    ¡°Yeah, mister Qingshan has plenty of women. Why would he care about an ugly lady like me?¡± Qiu Haitang grumbled intentionally.

    ¡°If you are ugly, then would there still be any beauties left in the world? Though, perhaps there are places I haven¡¯t seen that are very, very ugly, so let me take a close look!¡±

    Li Qingshan carried her towards the bed. Qiu Haitang gazed at him in a daze, sinking into the soft, cloud-like bedding. She had spent a lot of time preparing for this day already, but she still felt a little flustered now. She grabbed his hand as he tried to remove her waistband. She uttered his name, almost like a murmur.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Her infatuation, her heart full of attachment, was completely contained in that.

    Li Qingshan felt like even his heart was about to become drunk. It also filled him with a desire to protect and cherish her. He restrained his desires. He knew he had been too impatient. It had been many years since they had last seen each other. She had never done it before either, so doing it together right after seeing her was a little hurried.

    As a result, he slowed down and held her soft hand. He asked, ¡°Haitang, why did you come to the Lightning province?¡±

    Qiu Haitang took off her hair pin. Her hair flowed down like clouds; she leaned in his arms as she explained patiently.

    ¡°Because of Xiao An. She carried out a massacre in the other provinces. She did not come to the Green province, but I felt that the Green province was not particularly safe. There was the Gate of Hungry Ghosts as well, so it had already lost all of its human activity. It no longer had a functioning human society, so it was unfit for cultivation. As a result, I wanted to go somewhere safer. I couldn¡¯t go to the Harmony province or the Cloud province. The Dragon province obviously would not work either, so I thought I should just go somewhere that was a little more remote.¡±

    ¡°Originally, the Mist province was a good choice, except it was too close to the Gate of Hungry Ghosts. The Frost province is too barren, and the wolf king is renowned for his lustfulness. No one can contend against him. As a result, I could only come to the Lightning province in the end.¡±

    ¡°You can say that this place is less civilised, but the people are progressive, welcoming, and enthusiastic. The scenery is fantastic and esoteric buddhism prevails here. Basically all the great cultivators are Monk Kings and guardian kings. They followed strict precepts of buddhism, so it¡¯s quite difficult to find someone that will covet me. A ¡®love monk¡¯ like prince Tsangyang is an exception, but he never did anything overboard¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan listened with a smile. Her voice was soft and sweet, filled with affection. He would not grow sick of it even if he listened for three days and three nights, not to mention the fact that she was in his arms right now, completely for him to enjoy.

    ¡°Haitang already knows how to protect herself. I¡¯m very glad.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I obviously know how to protect myself. When I became the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain, you were still a country kid. Sigh, I do so much to protect myself, only to be harassed by you. Why do I bother at all?¡± Qiu Haitang glanced at the hand that wandered around on her body and endured the throbs of her heart. ¡°I haven¡¯t even asked you yet. Why did you come to the Lightning province?¡±

    Li Qingshan held her chin and pressed his forehead against her. Their eyes met. ¡°I could sense you were thinking about me. I also sensed you were in danger, so I came to find you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°May I be struck by lightning if I am lying.¡±

    ¡°With you right now, why would you still be afraid of being struck by lightning? You¡¯re basically all too anxious for the heavenly tribulations to descend so that you can ascend then and there!¡±

    Qiu Haitang retorted, but her eyes were filled with affection. She took out a jade talisman from her clothes, which still bore her body warmth. Li Qingshan had given it to her, for her to crush and contact him whenever she was in danger.

    Earlier, she happened to be hesitating about whether to do that when he emerged from the crowd. It was like he had leapt out of her thoughts. She was unable to describe how she felt. She could not help but recall every single encounter they had in the past and how he had saved her time and time again.

    Li Qingshan thanked the spirit turtle¡¯s omens again. If he had hurried to the Lightning province after she had crushed the jade talisman, then the situation would be very disadvantageous. He could not have dealt with everything so easily and casually.

    ¡°Which cultivator doesn¡¯t want to ascend?¡±

    Qiu Haitang suddenly remembered that if he ascended, she could probably never catch up to him with the difference in their cultivation. As a result, she felt a sting deep inside despite the happiness, unable to restrain her emotions. Clear tears ran down her cheeks like rain.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He wiped away her tears in a hurry, but the more he wiped, the more tears there were.

    Qiu Haitang furrowed her brows and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just thought of prince Tsangyang¡¯s poem. All feelings of love are important, unable to last for eternity. Because of love, there is worry; because of love, there is fear. I originally thought I had already gotten over all of this, but I didn¡¯t expect to be so reluctant to see you go, feeling the pain of parting right after we¡¯ve reunited. Look at you, you¡¯re just great at destroying the cultivation of others.¡±

    Li Qingshan loved and pitied her dearly with her current appearance. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense! People are always going to die. If you¡¯re destined to die, so you¡¯re riddled with pain every single day, then why do we pursue longevity at all? If you¡¯re afraid to obtain because you¡¯re afraid of loss, even acting like you don¡¯t care and intentionally belittling these precious things, you¡¯re just a hypocritical coward.¡±

    Qiu Haitang blinked her eyes. ¡°Am I a precious thing?¡±

    ¡°You are someone I cherish. Even though I am fickle, even though I like beautiful women, even though I rarely yearn for others, I- I¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan continued until he ran out of words. He really was not that kind of man that placed love above all else! Even with Gu Yanying who he had once fallen in love with at first sight, she had not constantly occupied his mind. He only thought of Xiao An a little more, but that was because Xiao An was like a part of his body. It actually had nothing to do with love.

    Qiu Haitang smiled through her tears. ¡°It¡¯s not like I want you to be like me, or wouldn¡¯t we be crying together then? It¡¯s exactly because you¡¯re like that that you can constantly protect me. I¡¯m not that greedy.¡± She stuck out her tongue, but she felt a little guilty inside. What she wanted to do was exactly that greedy.

    The red thread of lovesickness would bind the person she loved firmly to her.

 Chapter 1291

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1291 ¨C Like When We First Met

    ¡°Yeah, just like that! When you live, you need to live well. When you need to be cheerful, then be as happy as you can be. When you really reach the day when you have to die, embrace death with open arms!¡±

    Li Qingshan saw how adorable she was and could not help but touch her cheeks. ¡°You really are like a child.¡±

    Qiu Haitang only found his words like a blade. They were simple and honest, but they could easily cut through troubling thoughts.

    There was only one thought that weighed on her mind that she did not know how to handle. Seeing how he doted on her like a child, she felt even sweeter inside.

    ¡°I¡¯ve at least changed quite a bit, but you¡¯re clearly no different from back then, yet you treat me like a child.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. With his bloodline of the demonic and divine, even if he remained here and did nothing, his lifespan would reach over ten thousand years with ease. A measly century was absolutely nothing. Of course, his appearance would not change.

    Naturally, Qiu Haitang was not talking about his outer appearance either; instead, she was referring to the inside him. The hearts of people constantly changed, grew, and aged.

    Actually, he had experienced far more things than Qiu Haitang. Various sights flashed across his eyes.

    Being hunted down to his death by the Dragon King of Ink Sea and rebirthing with the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a.

    Drifting and searching through the illusions created by the Clam King of Mirage Sea, Shen Mengdie.

    Becoming a husband, a father, the lord of the world, and the god of the world in the small world.

    Traversing through billions of kilometres of outer space, accompanied by the stars.

    Any single incident was enough to change a person drastically. At the very least, they would become a little more ¡°mature¡±.

    But he had never changed. He had never matured. He had never aged. Instead, he had developed a lively, cheerful ape demon in his heart, making him even more reckless and capricious.

    He kissed her ear gently and smiled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? At least it¡¯s better than changing drastically after being hit with a rude awakening, giving up on who you love and setting off on a different path.¡±

    ¡°Do you think everyone is as inflexible and unchanging as you?¡± Qiu Haitang lifted the corner of her lips. Her eyes were filled with affection.

    ¡°Sometimes, the more clever a person is, the easier it is for them to become lost. Fortunately, I¡¯m not that clever. Speaking of which, what¡¯s that ¡®love monk¡¯ on about? The chan of delightful union has always been a heretic practice. If he¡¯s a monk, then he better just stick with his vegetarian diet and his scriptures to chant. What¡¯s he thinking of women for?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him. Prince Tsangyang is known as the Love Monk of Seven Lives. He¡¯s the dream lover of countless women in the Lightning province! Not only was he infatuated with me, but he could even write poems. You have no idea just how great he was. Sigh, it¡¯s a pity that we met too late. I just had to meet a certain wretched daemon before him.¡±

    Qiu Haitang controlled the tone of her voice and swept the hair on her left shoulder behind her. In the end, she let out a sigh that was filled with pity.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Write poems?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve kept them all! There¡¯s a thick stack of them!¡± Sure enough, Qiu Haitang took out a stack of poem drafts from her sumeru ring and said playfully, ¡°Do you want me to read them for you so that you can broaden your horizons too and learn what¡¯s called true love?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan licked his lips. It was getting a little dangerous for her now.

    However, Qiu Haitang did not care at all. She continued to tease him and push his bottom line, clearing her throat and beginning to read. It truly was a love monk¡¯s love poems. The language was elegant and beautiful, and the rhyme was very refined. It was filled with admiration and affection towards her.

    She read through half of it when she suddenly let out a moan and stopped. She felt his scorching, large hand directly reach into her inner garments.

    The soft and smooth sensation was no longer blocked by clothes. All Li Qingshan felt was the tip of his fingers sink into a clump of softness as if they had melted away. He blew into her ear and smiled. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you reading anymore?¡±

    Qiu Haitang snorted and grabbed his mischievous hand, continuing to read as if she was venting against him. The warmth from his hand passed through her skin, gripping her heart, which made her breathing become more and more rapid as her face became redder and redder. Her body melted away in his arms like a puddle of water, yet she also felt something beneath her buttocks. She wriggled around in uneasiness, wanting to keep her distance from it a little.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. She was actually so enchanting! He pressed down on her belly with his left hand to make her sit still in his arms, which sank into the softness. He picked the red bean with his right hand and rubbed it gently.

    Qiu Haitang let out a moan and grabbed his hand with both hands. The drafts of the poems scattered across the bed; she was no longer reading them anymore. Her face was bright red, the same gorgeous shade as peaches and plums. Her beauty was unmatched, glowing with unprecedented charms.

    That was beauty she would only bloom with before the person she loved.

    ¡°All you¡­ do¡­ is fiddle around!¡± Qiu Haitang bit her lips and stuttered.

    Li Qingshan said proudly, ¡°Hmph, what¡¯s so great about writing poems? If I wanted to write them, I could come up with a hundred of my own too.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Qiu Haitang did not believe him. ¡°I don¡¯t want a hundred.¡±

    ¡°Listen up.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not some poet in his past life, but he still remembers quite a few of those renowned poems. However, cultivation boiled down to who was tougher, not who was more scholarly and talented. Copying out novels could help him amass the power of belief, but copying out poems gave him nothing.

    However, as a mighty transmigrator, how could he simply back down here?

    As a result, he said clearly, ¡°If only life was like when we first met!¡±

    He glanced at her, only to see her slightly blanked out as if she was very surprised. He could not help but become complacent inside. This poem might be absolutely everywhere, but to young, ignorant women, it¡¯s basically a killing machine.

    ¡°Yet why do we cast each other aside like fans in the autumn!¡±

    Qiu Haitang leaned against her hand and listened quietly.

    ¡°You are easily faithless, yet you call others faithless. You and I are like the Illustrious Emperor of Tang and Madam Yang, once swearing an oath of love together in the Palace of Longevity, yet they still parted resolutely in the end, without any resentment. But how can you compare to the Illustrious Emperor of Tang? At least he had still sworn to be bound like birds in the sky or roots in the ground.¡±

    TL: This is a poem by Nalan Xingde. It basically talks about how love is so warm, sweet, and happy at first, but as time goes on, it falls apart. The later part of the poem is a reference to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and imperial consort Yang, who were once smitten with one another. However, due to changing circumstances, the emperor had her choked to death in the end. It primarily references the Song of Everlasting Sorrow.

    Qiu Haitang sighed gently. ¡°Just the first line of the poem surpasses all love poems I¡¯ve read before. If your hand were not so restless, it would have been even better.¡±

    As it turned out, when Li Qingshan acted as a plagiarist, he had never stopped caressing her, just like how it would be difficult to stop stroking a piece of fine jade.

    ¡°Heh, are you convinced now?¡±

    ¡°Where did you copy it from? It doesn¡¯t really suit the current occasion for you to do something like that, does it?¡±

    ¡°Strictly original! You can investigate me if it¡¯s a copy!¡±

    Li Qingshan never expected her senses to be so sharp. He obviously planned on denying it to his death. ¡°How doesn¡¯t it suit the current occasion? This is a poem I came up with when I thought of you, when I worried whether you found someone else or not.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t believe you.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re so good, why don¡¯t you plagiarise too?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I¡¯ve caught you red-handed. You¡¯re miffed.¡±

    Qiu Haitang laughing charmingly. Suddenly, she brought her hand over his hand that was on her chest between the clothes and pushed down.

    Even Li Qingshan had not used so much strength before, afraid that he would hurt her. She simply said seriously, ¡°My heart will never change. Are you willing to give your heart to me?¡±

    How could Li Qingshan say no?

    ¡°You better not regret it.¡± Qiu Haitang seemed to be indicating something.

    ¡°I never regret anything.¡±

    Qiu Haitang gazed at him and suddenly smiled. As a result, she made up her mind. Since you¡¯ve already said that, then you can¡¯t blame me. I¡¯m just doing this to be doted on by you.

    She blinked her eyes and opened her lips. Her voice was clear and determined. ¡°Take me!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not hold back anymore, kissing her on her delicate and charming lips.

 Chapter 1292

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1292 ¨C Lovesickness Like a Dream, the Bright Moon in Embrace

    Qiu Haitang gasped and shut her eyes. She had already played out this scene in her mind countless times. Taken away by the moment, the Rouge Heart in her body began to surge, pushing her charms to a whole new level.

    She even left Li Qingshan, who had seen much of the beauty that the world had to offer, bedazzled. They had clearly known each other for many years now, yet it still filled him with the amazement of witnessing the world bloom during spring, like when he first saw peach blossoms. This was no longer an effect that could be achieved on the opposite sex through great beauty and a graceful figure. Instead, it was the so-called outer appearance that could blind people mentioned by buddhism, r¨±pa.

    Before Li Qingshan could do anything, Qiu Haitang brought her arms around his neck proactively and stuck her tongue down his throat in a passionate yet clumsy manner. Her peach blossom eyes were dazed and intoxicated, almost wrapping herself around him.

    ¡°Haitang?¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. He was confident in his startling charms, but he should not have reached the level where he was basically a walking aphrodisiac. On top of that, given her cultivation, she would maintain a sense of clarity no matter how deeply she submerged herself in her desires.

    Little did he know that throughout the recent years, she had devoted all of her efforts to the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red when she practised the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge.

    In order to condense this red thread of lovesickness, it took much more than her chaste. It also required feelings of lovesickness, slowly winding it around her Rouge Heart like a silkworm spinning in spring. Only then could it be called Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red.

    She could fool others about whether she was in love or not, but she could not fool herself. Without genuine feelings, where would this lovesickness come from?

    She had to offer up her heart first regardless of whether it succeeded or not, enduring the endless pain of lovesickness, basically making sacrifices without guaranteeing anything.

    That was the exact reason why among all the years the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge had been passed down, countless women had practised the cultivation method before, but rarely was anyone willing to practise this technique.

    Compared to all that time and effort required, they were better off practising other techniques in the cultivation method, and they could have men dancing in their palms. Was it really that fun to turn themselves into hopeless romantics?

    All people liked to take things, yet they were reluctant to give. That applied to wealth, and even more so to love. Only then would they be untouchable. In the words of Li Qingshan¡¯s past life, they lost as soon as they became serious.

    Yet, she offered up everything without any regard, like a moth to a flame.

    Silkworms never stopped spinning until their deaths. Even when Li Qingshan had been launched into outer space, this lovesickness had not halted for even a moment. Instead, it became even more pure, enduring all of the pain, without any regrets or complaints.

    This was a peculiarity too. In the past, all the women who managed to succeed with the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red would definitely refuse to suffer this pain of lovesickness again. It was impossible for the man to resist the mesmerising technique they had specially prepared for them either. It would always result in perfect harmony with the red string tying them together.

    Qiu Haitang was originally no exception either. Many years ago, from the moment she had succeeded with the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red, she had begun searching for Li Qingshan eagerly.

    But perhaps because the Aspect of Peach Blossom Beauty was truly cursed with misfortune, they travelled through the entire world, yet they were never united again.

    As a result, all Qiu Haitang could do was continue to practise the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red, forcefully turning the red thread of lovesickness into a red web of lovesickness. At this moment, she was unable to endure it anymore, basically suffering a backlash from the technique. Probably even the creator of the cultivation method never imagined this effect.

    Li Qingshan did not know he had already fallen into a web of lovesickness, but his tender feelings and concern for her instead drowned out his lust. He felt like she had suffered from cultivation deviation like this, so he circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression to comfort her mind.

    Qiu Haitang recovered slightly, which left her absolutely embarrassed. She turned her head away. ¡°What are you looking at?¡±

    Even the tone of her voice changed, like she was choking back sobs. Li Qingshan felt like a cat was scratching at his heart. It was enamouring. If it were not for his concern for her, his desires would have taken over already.

    Qiu Haitang also sensed her Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red had reached a level where it had to be activated, which left her both frantic and embarrassed, conflicted with pain. If she had to beg him, just how could she bring herself to do something like that? As a result, she gritted her teeth. ¡°Useless!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. He had never received a comment like that in his life. He was dumbstruck.

    ¡°How useless.¡±

    ¡°Fucking hell!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He no longer hesitated anymore, sweeping down her chest with his finger. Her clothes, chest band, and her flowery waistband split into two together. A pair of jade bunnies leapt out, even prouder than he imagined them to be, yet her waist was thin and slender, forming an enchanting curve.

    His heart skipped a beat. His finger slid down to her belly before continuing downwards, ripping through the red dress and the panties woven from lotus fibre. The tip of his finger felt slightly moist as a charming moan rang out by his ear.

    Her graceful figure was completely bare, laying in her ripped clothes and the scattered love poems like a lamb with a crimson shade. She was heart-stoppingly charming.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan forgot about everything around him. He grabbed her firm, round thighs and spread her firmly-closed legs, leaning over and parted the petals, reaching deep inside.

    Qiu Haitang opened her mouth, but she let no sound out. Her firmly-shut eyes suddenly opened again. A hint of pain flashed through them as a clear droplet of tears slid down from the corner of her eye, like the dew on the peach blossoms.

    With droplets of red, her lovesickness dyed the thread red.

    Instantly, Li Qingshan was swallowed by the tide-like feelings of lovesickness. An invisible thread seemed to wind around his heart, pulling tighter with each ebb. He soon lost control over his mind too.

    There was a flash of light in his eyes. The spirit turtle suppressed it instinctively, refusing to let him lose control like that.

    No matter how wondrous the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge was, it was only a cultivation method of the second heavenly tribulation. No matter how deep her lovesickness was, it stood no chance against the deathly silence of the deep ocean. It could even suppress all the waves on the ocean, let alone these ripples of emotions.

    This was the path of cultivation. There was no such thing as true love was invincible. There was only a confrontation of mind to mind, a clash of power to power, where the vanquished bowed down to the victor.

    Qiu Haitang sensed it. Her gaze was a little flustered. She could not help but tremble, which made her seem so delicate and feeble. If this were a battle, she had lost everything already.

    But why treat it as a battle?

    Li Qingshan opened his mind with a smile, leaning over and merging with her completely, kissing her deeply on her red lips. He allowed the red thread to stir up turbulent waves in his heart, embracing her warm body and accepting all of her lovesickness, allowing her to turn him into whatever she wanted him to be.

    This was not some curse, but the bliss of secular life and society.

    Perhaps appearances were all just nothing at the end of the day, but they were not fake.

    Li Qingshan felt the small world in his body respond too. The ape demon scratched its head in joy. The Ape Demon Transformation that had only recently broken through began to circulate again.

    Suddenly, he gained an understanding. The ape demon had always wallowed in illusions, foolishly chasing after the moon in the water. It definitely did not possess the intelligence and patience of the spirit turtle, completely disregarding the great truths of how form was emptiness and emptiness was form as it allowed itself to sink into joys after joys that were destined to fall through.

    There was no need to feel disappointment. There was no need to fear loss. We never had anything in the first place.

    If life was a dream, then what was wrong with being a little more serious and a little more committed?

    When scooping the moon fell through, a new moon would always be born in the water.

 Chapter 1293

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1293 ¨C Si Long¡¯s Might, the Heart of the People

    ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Qiu Haitang moaned softly. She had never experienced such great joy and pleasure in her life before. She felt like her soul was flying, all the way towards paradise. All of the pain and patience she had gone through had been paid by ten times, a hundred times over.

    Connected by the red thread of lovesickness, their thoughts were linked together. Li Qingshan also experienced great joy; he also understood all of her thoughts, as well as what kind of thing the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red was.

    At this moment, her figure in his arms trembled. A gentle and pure aura flowed into his body through their connection.

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He never expected her virginal yin to be so pure and possess such a wondrous power.

    He had experienced dual cultivation with Gong Yuan before. Gong Yuan¡¯s cultivation had far surpassed hers, yet the benefit from it came nowhere close. On top of that, the power surged over endlessly as if it wanted to drain her body clean.

    Her aura rapidly declined as her smooth, fair skin became a sickly crimson.

    However, she was completely unaware, or perhaps she did this intentionally. She embraced him firmly with her white arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, completely ignoring her breasts that were squashed against his body as if she wanted to become part of him.

    At that very moment, she poured all of the cultivation she had accumulated across her entire life into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. It was not just the golden core, but all of her vital energies as well.

    Li Qingshan came up with an idea. He accepted all of her virginal yin without holding back at all before returning it to her through a kiss on her lips after being absorbed, converted, and refined by the small world. He transmitted a scorching aura over, forming a perfect cycle.

    So this is what dual cultivation actually is! Gong Yuan and I just happened to have matching cultivation methods. I suppressed her inner demons for her in exchange for the power from Ruin¡¯s End. We could achieve that effect even without physical union. Right now, she¡¯s basically become my cauldron, which is why I can take her yin to compliment my yang. But at the same time, I am also her cauldron, purifying her vital energies for her and giving her my yang to compliment her yin.

    Both buddhism and daoism had dual cultivation methods, which only demonstrated the wonders of dual cultivation methods. They were so great that even buddhist monks and daoist priests would study them.

    However, it was far too easy to become lost and blinded by lust, suffering from cultivation deviation and falling into a corrupted path. As a result, it was not recognised by orthodox buddhism, even rejected as a heretic practice.

    However, regardless of whether it was recognised or not, dual cultivation was one of the possible paths to enlightenment. No one could deny that.

    The Sect of Clouds and Rain was a dual cultivation sect that belonged to daoism. They were split into two schools.

    One was to cast the net far and wide, to use all members of the opposite sex throughout the world as cauldrons so that they could collect yin or yang to compliment their yang or yin.

    This cultivation method resulted in extremely rapid progress, except the collected auras were not pure, so it took time to refine. It was also easier to encounter bottlenecks. The benefits were it allowed a person to temper themselves more, so they would not become ensnared by love so easily.

    The cultivation community did not have those conservative ideals applied to men and women like mortals. Even if they maintained their chaste, it was basically just for the sake of cultivation, not to remain so-called undefiled and pure. They were actually very lax and casual about this matter.

    However, many demonic cultivators could not bother to spend so much effort in nurturing a suitable human cauldron of their own. They would go as far as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, harming the foundations of their human cauldron¡¯s lives, or even draining them to their deaths. That was why it gained an infamous reputation. However, compared to those demonic cultivators that massacred cities to refine human souls, they could not be considered as people of great evil and wickedness.

    The other school was to find a suitable partner as a cultivation companion. That way, both parties would benefit, and their auras would be extraordinarily pure.

    Partners like that were not easy to find. Both of them had to possess decent cultivation talent, or they would become deadweights instead. On top of that, they had to be truly in union and agreement, with neither party being forced into the relationship at all. It would take a tremendous mental toll, and it was very easy to become ensnared by love, which was particularly dangerous towards women cultivators. Speaking of which, there were not a lot of male cultivators who were willing to take this path either.

    Just like how pigs could fly if men were reliable, ¡°men go bad when they¡¯re wealthy¡± was the ultimate truth of society regardless of what age or world, and cultivators were far more than simply wealthy.

    Actually, regardless of their gender, no one could ensure their mentality would not change on the endless path of cultivation. Once a problem arose between the partners, or if a problem arose with one party, it would be even more miserable than a divorce. Having their minds and souls damaged could be called a lighter consequence. They might even begin to believe that love was not absolute. Once that happened, they were probably better off taking a different path right from the beginning.

    The Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red basically provided female cultivators who took this path with a great safeguard, but the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge primarily focused on the first path as well. It had many methods to build and control a harem of men properly. It was just like how if a woman could be promiscuous, they could easily act like a paragon of chastity.

    Most disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain chose the first path, choosing suitable human cauldrons from the passers-by and obtaining a tremendous amount of resources too. They could even have some fun in the process, which was truly all upsides with little downsides.

    Qiu Haitang was an exception. Not only did she possess outstanding talent, but she also placed so much emphasis on the concept of love. She only treated the vast, secular world as a way to temper her mind, wholeheartedly waiting for her true love. Otherwise, her cultivation would be much higher than right now.

    Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms and gently caressed her long, dark hair that covered her back.

    ¡°What an idiot. If I turned down your red thread of lovesickness, not only would your cultivation be destroyed, but your life would even be in danger. Haven¡¯t you considered failure at all?¡±

    I have. Giving everything to you like this and then dying in your arms is not a bad fate, Qiu Haitang thought without any concern.

    Li Qingshan could sense her thought came entirely from the bottom of her heart, without any falsehood involved. There was not even any fear. Instead, there was a dreamy tinge of romanticism to it.

    ¡°You idiot! You need to think about how I feel!¡±

    But you didn¡¯t decline. Qiu Haitang¡¯s lips curled up slightly. ¡°You¡¯re not going to blame me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already fallen for your trick. I¡¯m now wholeheartedly devoted to you and absolutely obedient to you, so how can I still blame you? Didn¡¯t you plan all of this?¡±

    By now, how could she still hide those thoughts and plans of hers from Li Qingshan? It really was both an angering and hilarious situation.

    ¡°Then¡­ does it work?¡± Qiu Haitang asked hopefully.

    She had gone through such great pain and taken such great risks to capture his heart firmly so that they could accompany each other and never separate again.

    ¡°Nope.¡± Li Qingshan decided without hesitation. His mind was thoroughly tempered. Compared to the foolishness of the ape demon, the stubbornness of the ox demon was more deeply rooted in him. How could he be tied down so easily?

    ¡°Fucking hell! What kind of shitty cultivation method is this? It made me go through all those years of suffering! So it¡¯s all just a lie!¡±

    Qiu Haitang was greatly disappointed. If it were only for the sake of becoming cultivation partners with him, why did she bother with so much?

    Her eyes suddenly widened as soon as the thought flashed through her head. How could she have a thought like that? Even the tone was completely off.

    ¡°Looks like it still works.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. The red thread of lovesickness had indeed linked them. The connection was even closer than regular cultivation partners. He was truly smitten by her too, but it was probably better described as being touched by her gestures than being controlled by the technique.

    Cultivation partners could influence each other too. She was only a riverlet, while he was an ocean. Who would be influencing who obviously went without saying.

    Qiu Haitang wanted to say something else when Li Qingshan grabbed her behind the knees and leaned over on her again, basically bending her body over and beginning a great battle.

    The blazing flames of desire immediately set her alight. She could no longer think of anything else. At the same time, a tremendous aura surged into her body. The ocean began to pour into her.

    Qiu Haitang¡¯s aura erupted, filling her entire body. Her Rouge Heart shone with unprecedented light. Even her body was tempered, constantly growing stronger.

    She had not achieved her objective of completely ¡°taming¡± Li Qingshan, but a powerful cultivation partner still brought great benefit to her cultivation.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation far surpassed her own. What separated them was far more than a major realm of cultivation. The small world in his body was basically equivalent to an ultimate cauldron. If it were not for the fact that he was afraid she could not withstand it, even making her undergo the third heavenly tribulation was nothing difficult. To a cultivator, that was supposed to be their greatest priority. Only a freak like her would have ¡°taming¡± Li Qingshan as her greatest objective.

    This was not a free ride. For the sake of this day, she had spent her life preparing, giving up everything. It could also be described as great perseverance and great fortune. Her thoughts that differed from the norm were even more important to her than great wisdom.

    The room surged with their activity as the moonlight flowed in, clear like water. However, the King of Western Liang¡¯s estate at the top of the mountain was deathly silent. Li Qingshan¡¯s presence left everyone feeling uneasy. Even when he had expressed no ill will, no one could sleep soundly when a tiger lay right beside them.

    The King of Western Liang stepped into the hall and waved his hand, closing the doors. The hall was dark and gloomy. Only the violet crystal in the centre of the hall shone with a dim light.

    The King of Western Liang bowed towards the crystal politely. ¡°Fellow, what would you like to say?¡±

    Si Long¡¯s figure appeared on the violet crystal. His powers were still not great enough to influence a remote place like the Lightning province, but there was obviously a way for the governors of the many provinces of Great Xia to contact one another.

    The King of Western Liang was tense. He could not shirk away from the responsibility of the annihilation of the diplomatic group in Myriad Buddha city. If Si Long ordered him to attack Li Qingshan, what was he supposed to do? It was safer if he remained on the fence, but it would be unavoidable for him to anger both sides.

    But to his surprise, Si Long did not ask about Si Qing and the others. He only asked, ¡°Where is he?¡±

    The King of Western Liang answered honestly, ¡°He¡¯s still in the city, in a place called the Parlour of Rain and Clouds. He¡¯s with the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.¡±

    ¡°Heh, he faces imminent doom, yet he¡¯s still unaware, still drowning himself in the pleasures of a common woman.¡±

    Si Long seemed to be in control of everything. He was completely unaffected by the annihilation of the diplomatic group.

    The King of Western Liang had seen Qiu Haitang several times before. He disagreed very much with calling her a ¡°common woman¡±. If it were not for all those qualms, he would have wanted to accept her into his harem too. However, reality proved his qualms to be correct. It was best if he did not even look at Li Qingshan¡¯s women, just in case it led to trouble.

    He thought to himself, I don¡¯t know how he¡¯s facing imminent doom. If you want me to confront him, I¡¯ll probably be facing imminent doom first.

    Si Long seemed to read his thoughts. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t make you do something as pointless as throwing yourself at an undefeatable enemy. He¡¯s my opponent.¡±

    The King of Western Liang eased up. ¡°Then how may I help you, fellow?¡±

    Si Long said, ¡°I have a notice of denunciation. You will spread it across the Lightning province for me so that everyone knows about it.¡±

    ¡°A notice of denunciation?¡±

    The King of Western Liang was surprised. If denouncing someone worked, what was the point of cultivation? Was it only for the sake of venting? But that was not rational at all. Not only would he fail to harm even a hair on Li Qingshan, but it would completely expose his hostility instead and lead to mockery.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be surprised. You will understand in the future. He thinks he can threaten me by destroying the world, but it instead assists me in unifying the hearts of the people. On the fifteenth of the tenth month, during the wedding, I will make an offering to the heavens on Dragonshead mountain and gather the heroes of the world to slay this wicked person.¡±

    The King of Western Liang immediately understood what Si Long was trying. It made him shiver. He truly was the founding emperor, the Human Sovereign. Just like that, Li Qingshan was done for. He lowered his head deeply.

    ¡°Yes, your majesty!¡±

 Chapter 1294

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1294 ¨C A Rally Against Li Qingshan and Mengdie

    The sky was clear as far as the eye could see. The stars twinkled as fate was on the move.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and listened carefully.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiu Haitang asked.

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. It was a warning from the spirit turtle.

    From the moment he had flipped the table, fate had begun to move. The dangers became greater and greater, and it had become even more so just then. Even without thinking, he knew Si Long had come up with another way to deal with him. This was the greatest opponent he had ever faced in his life. Even a fifty percent chance at victory was a little too hopeful.

    If he were defeated, there would be no chance at returning alive.

    At this moment, it was like watching the wheel of fate crush down slowly. No one knew if they could stop it. The reason why he still stood there was probably just because fleeing was a worse choice. There were great horrors in life, so how could he be an exception? However, there was no need for him to elaborate and make her worry.

    Qiu Haitang sighed gently. She knew he refused to share it with a woman- no, with anybody. All she did was lie in his arms, giving him a little more warmth.

    Li Qingshan pulled her closer and shut his eyes. A while later, his aura settled down, gradually falling asleep.

    At the same time, a notice of denunciation, the Rally Against Li, spread across the world.

    ¡°Li was born in lowly circumstances, completely turning against common order by murdering his elder brother and raping his sister-in-law¡­¡±

    A dark, burly figure ripped away at an older, pretty lady¡¯s clothes with a man lying on the bed beside him, dead with his eyes wide open and blood pouring out from the orifices on his head.

    ¡°Blood-thirsty and battle-hungry, where he goes, he causes endless war and turmoil¡­¡±

    The dark, burly figure walked out of a village splattered with blood, stepping over the corpses littered across the open wilderness and reducing a city to ruins. His eyes became redder and redder as his figure twisted hideously, no longer resembling a human.

    ¡°Unsealing the demon caverns, opening the gate of ghosts, leading to an invasion of demonfolk and a reverie of undead¡­¡±

    The hideously-twisted figure sat on a throne piled up from corpses. A pair of scarlet eyes gazed down at the world that had become occupied by demons and undead. His lips curled into a terrifying smile, shining with sharp teeth.

    ¡°Slaughtering the people, destroying the world¡­¡±

    Within the wilderness that spanned several tens of thousand kilometres, the ground cracked, volcanoes erupted, and lava flowed everywhere like rivers of fire. Black smoke rose into the sky, almost resembling beacons.

    ¡°This wretched being is loathed by both man and god! Even the very world cannot stand his existence! He has lived a life of crime, having committed heinous deeds!¡±

    A terrifying demon king that towered like a mountain stood in this apocalyptic landscape. His horns curved like the moon as his unfurled wings were like the clouds. Spreading his arms, he let out a wild laugh at the sky as if he was mocking the futility of the heavens.

    ¡°Alas, even the world is about to be destroyed, so do we still have a place of belonging? The world is collapsing and the living will be turned to dust.¡±

    Countless living creatures fled fearfully, but they were devoured by the flames and swallowed by the flood.

    ¡°I am a descendant of Yu the Great, the successor of the true dragons, the founding emperor of Great Xia. To console the people and punish the wicked, I have returned to the nine provinces¡­¡±

    The sky shone with boundless light. A deity descended from above on a dragon, pointing his sword at the demon king, The living creatures watched on.

    ¡°With a call, the world answers my rally. From the seas in the south to the tundra in the north, furious be the world, raising the dragon banner, acting on behalf of the heavens to slay him under the law of the sovereign¡­¡±

    Under the boundless light, the deity raised a dragon banner. The living creatures raised their arms and called out; it was like he was the son of the heavens, the king of the world.

    ¡°In a bitter battle in the wilderness. Under the oppressive atmosphere, the mountains collapse. With the furious roars, the clouds churns. Under the wrath of the people, the wicked demon perishes. As the dragon qi rushes, the world returns to peace¡­¡±

    Imbued with the will of the heavens and standing on the golden dragon, the deity led the living creatures against the demon king, truly like the saviour of the world.

    ¡°I hereby declare that I shall slay this wretched being as the laws foretell!¡±

    The appearance of the deity suddenly cleared up. It was the founding emperor of Great Xia, Si Long.

    In his dream, these scenes constantly repeated themselves. Li Qingshan furrowed his brows firmly like he was experiencing a nightmare.

    It was as if he had actually become the terrifying demon king, filled with a terrifying will to destroy everything, wanting to face Si Long in battle and determine the final outcome. However, the dream would collapse there every single time and return to the beginning of the notice of denunciation, making him go through another surreal dream. He felt oppressed inside as if a mountain weighed on his chest.

    ¡°Are you afraid, Li Qingshan? Are you afraid, Li Qingshan? Are you afraid, Li Qingshan?¡±

    A voice drifted about, constantly echoing through the dream, sometimes coming from an old person, yet sometimes coming from a young child. It was a cold question at times, yet also a gentle joke at others.

    Li Qingshan immediately calmed down. ¡°That¡¯s not me, so why would I be afraid?¡±

    A butterfly floated into the dream lightly, flowing with colours and light. A laugh drifted around gently.

    All of the scenes froze and collapsed, turning into a boundless field of golden wheat.

    He stood in the waist-deep wheat, no longer a terrifying demon king. Instead, he had returned to being that village youth, yelling out furiously, ¡°Shen Mengdie, you¡¯re the one behind this!¡±

    He managed to fall asleep for once, yet someone had appeared in his dreams, and they had even manipulated them into a nightmare like this. It was absolutely despicable.

    The youth abruptly reached out. The butterfly slipped between his fingers, fluttering around him. ¡°How do you feel about that story just then?¡±

    The youth asked, ¡°That¡¯s the notice of denunciation that Si Long wrote?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you try and guess the outcome?¡±

    ¡°I get it. He wants to gather the hearts of the people to assist him in refining the nine provinces!¡±

    As someone who had served as the lord of a world and become the god of a world before, he immediately understood what Si Long was after.

    That was originally impossible, even in the small world. Even the hero king that was worshipped throughout the world could not achieve that. The hearts of people were complicated and constantly changing, let alone the hearts of all living creatures.

    However, Si Long had a chance at achieving this. It was not just because of the foundation from the five thousand years that Great Xia had stood for and the support from the intangible will of the heavens. Most importantly, they had a common enemy.

    Without a demon king trying to destroy the world, there would be no world saviour. Fear and hatred would always be better at unifying people than admiration and love.

    This was a flawless plan. From the moment he flipped the board resolutely, he had taken the opposing side to the living creatures of the world.

    However, if he had not done that, he had an even smaller chance at victory. That was neither a bad move nor a good move. It was simply a checkmate.

    Not only did Si Long refuse to give in, but he even issued a challenge resolutely instead.

    Having reached this point step by step, neither of them had any more chances at saving the situation.

    When kings confronted each other, there would be death!

    ¡°In a story like this, the hero of the world will probably defeat the wicked demon king! How saddening!¡±

    ¡°Heh, that¡¯s just a story he¡¯s woven by himself. It¡¯s a bunch of lies!¡±

    ¡°There will always be more fools than the wise. Lies will always be easier to accept than reality, without any complicated full stories, without any exact rights and wrongs that they struggle to distinguish. On top of that, even if it were the so-called truth, you are destroying this world, aren¡¯t you? Of course, you have no other choice but to do this. Compared to that man, you clearly are much more gallant and benevolent. You clearly have never viewed the living creatures as no different than ants. You clearly are trying to protect this world. Yet in the end, you¡¯ve become the most terrifying and most wicked existence. How ironic!¡±

    ¡°Hah. Because it¡¯s not like I¡¯m a good person. I don¡¯t need to pity myself! So why exactly have you appeared in my dreams?¡±

    ¡°Please turn back!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re advising me to give up on opposing Si Long?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. It¡¯s just turning around.¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan looked back. A woman with a paper umbrella stood within arm¡¯s reach of him, standing with her back to him. The umbrella was covered in flowers, constantly blooming and wilting, covering up most of her figure. However, none of them were as eye-catching as the lips beneath the umbrella.

    The butterfly stopped on her shoulder.

    ¡°Shen Mengdie?¡±

    The lips curled slightly, and the dream shattered.

    Li Qingshan jerked awake immediately. The voice continued to echo through his head.

    ¡°I¡¯ve spent much time waiting for you. The fifteenth of the tenth month. Please do not forget our meeting.¡±

 Chapter 1295

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1295 ¨C The Great Demon King and His Four Heavenly Kings

    Time flowed; the clouds churned. The fifteenth of the tenth month arrived in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°What heavy snow!¡±

    With a sigh of amazement, a man climbed up to the top of the mountain. The sharp, cold wings swept up the snowflakes, slamming against his exposed chest and immediately vapourising like they had fallen into a ball of fire. It enveloped him in hazy mist that obscured his appearance. However, his tall, straight figure clearly resembled a red flag planted at the top of the mountain, his clothes buffeting in the winds as his scarlet hair danced.

    He gazed out. The surroundings had turned into a world of ice and snow. Everything turned white, only left with a vague outline. It brought him great breadth of mind.

    It was not even dawn yet, yet it was already completely bright. However, if a mortal were here, they probably could not see beyond ten paces and probably could not survive fifteen minutes before turning into an ice statue.

    His scarlet eyes narrowed, piercing the sky full of snow and seeing a white palace standing within the surrounding mountains.

    It was not white because it was enveloped by snow. There was not a single snowflake on the palace. It was not a snowy-white either, but a warm and gentle pure-white. The entire place was actually carved out of white jade.

    Engraved on the decorated archway in front of the palace were two words, Jade Palace. The style was extremely smooth and gentle.

    It made people wonder just what kind of a person had written these words when they saw them.

    It was a woman without a doubt, but what kind of woman exactly would take a lot of thought to decide, and it would be difficult to make a final conclusion.

    He could not help but think of the woman with the umbrella in his dream, as well as that slight smile.

    He was still uncertain about whether that was an illusion created by the Clam King of Mirage Sea, Shen Mengdie, or the master of the Jade palace, the Nine-tailed Fox Empress.

    Thinking up to there, he pulled out a great cauldron from his sumeru ring. He filled it with water before tossing a skinned dog inside. Afterwards, he added scallions, ginger, cinnamon, bay leaves, and various other spices.

    Of course, perhaps some people would call that a wolf, and the king of the Frost province too, the Heavenly Frost Wolf King.

    But in his cauldron, it was merely a dog.

    Despite losing its daemon core, its flesh was still filled with spiritual qi. It did not require much preparation. Not even the blood was drained.

    The broth for stewing the meat was water from Ruin¡¯s End. He had specially asked Gong Yuan for it. When the dog meat fell inside, it became covered in a layer of ice first, and that was all thanks to the extraordinary origins of the dog meat. Otherwise, even metal would have been frozen into broken bits the moment it fell in there.

    The cauldron was an arcane treasure from alchemy, or it would be impossible to cook it thoroughly. An alchemy arcane treasure like that was extremely precious, worth more than ten regular arcane treasures. It was a spoil he had obtained from the religious preceptor of the left.

    Even the various spices were spiritual herbs cultivated by the school of Agriculture, coupled with various precious spiritual medicines. He could no longer recall clearly where he had obtained all this. It seemed to be from the sumeru ring of the grandmaster of the school of Agriculture he had faced during the battle on Great Buddha mountain.

    The man completed all the preparations and gazed at the sky. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get your ass down here?¡±

    With a flash, a young man descended from above. He wore colourful robes with a delicate crown on his head. His hair was combed back perfectly, which made him seem even more striking and extraordinary. He possessed quite the bearing of a king.

    He bowed deeply towards the man elegantly. ¡°First father.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked with a smile, ¡°Those subordinates of yours didn¡¯t stop you?¡±

    Li Fengyuan reddened. Back then, he had been discouraged by the Featherfolk, so he was unable to save Xiao An. He felt rather ashamed about this towards Li Qingshan. He patted his chest. ¡°No matter what the others say, I¡¯ll definitely lend you a hand! Even if you¡¯re destroying the world, I¡¯ll be there to the very end!¡±

    The Featherfolk must have refused to partake in the battle. Even if they were forced to take a side, they definitely would not join Li Qingshan. After all, the world would be destroyed. Even if they hovered in the sky, it was useless.

    At this exact moment, Li Qingshan discovered he really did bear some resemblance to the great demon king mentioned in the notice of denunciation. Originally, he still struggled to understand why all the demon kings in all those stories would have a group of clever and powerful supporters despite their viciousness and violence. Now, it made a little sense.

    However, he did not think Li Fengyuan had let him down in any shape or form regarding the matter with Xiao An. Even as father and son, they were still individuals. They had their own judgements and choices to make. There was no need for them to be a loving father and a dutiful son and copy that heart of gratitude like mortals.

    He patted Li Fengyuan on the head gently. ¡°Who told you to accompany me in destroying the world? Go start the fire!¡±

    ¡°Huh!?¡±

    ¡°I need to conserve my strength. This meat doesn¡¯t cook easily, so you need to use your phoenix flames, just in case it doesn¡¯t turn out well.¡± Li Qingshan explained the matter seriously.

    Li Fengyuan asked in disbelief, ¡°You summoned me to cook meat for you? I¡¯m still a divine bird, the phoenix, the Featherfolk King¡­¡±

    ¡°So much nonsense. Do you want to eat or not?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± Li Fengyuan immediately refined the cauldron and unleashed his phoenix flames, stewing the meat.

    A while later, the water began to bubble. As it gurgled, a special fragrance permeated the surroundings.

    ¡°Switch to a small flame.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The noble phoenix simply served obediently as the dog meat cook, and he even peered inside the cauldron greedily.

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin and sank into his thoughts. Li Fengyuan dared not disturb him, but he did hear him murmur, ¡°As the great demon king, how can I go without my four heavenly kings¡­¡±

    ¡°I know!¡± Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and pointed at Li Fengyuan. ¡°I name you the Meat-stewing Heavenly King!¡±

    Li Fengyuan. ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Do you have an issue with that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t, I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then what heavenly king am I?¡± Gu Yanying abruptly appeared on the top of the mountain, strolling over gracefully.

    Even Li Fengyuan was frightened by her. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he really struggled to believe a person could move that quickly.

    ¡°You are the Lookout Heavenly King,¡± Li Qingshan said confidently.

    ¡°Oh, so I¡¯m responsible for the lookout?¡± Gu Yanying arrived before the cauldron and sighed glumly. ¡°How pitiful of my uncle wolf. Not only has he been butchered, but he¡¯s even forced to offer up his body.¡± She took a deep whiff. ¡°Yeah, it smells great!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°If I die, others are more than welcome to cook and fry me into a great meal. At least that¡¯s better than rotting in the ground and being eaten by insects.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll definitely eat every last piece, without even leaving behind a droplet of soup!¡±

    A voice rang out from afar. By the time he finished talking, the person had already arrived before the cauldron and sat down. He radiated with murderousness, studying Li Qingshan as he locked his lips as if he was trying to tell which part of him tasted a little better.

    Li Fengyuan shivered inside. He felt like he was facing a powerful enemy, raising his guard instinctively.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Look, isn¡¯t it the Bird-shooting Heavenly King?¡±

    ¡°Stop giving me horrible nicknames randomly!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming glared at Li Qingshan. His murderousness froze the winds and snow. He had already undergone the third heavenly tribulation, having grown taller yet again.

    He was truly a natural god, and he had truly been a god in the past. His cultivation speed was basically as fast as a feral dog freed from its leash.

    Li Fengyuan felt all of his blood freeze as if he saw endless mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Just from the aura alone, he could tell he definitely was not his opponent. Since when did the nine provinces possess such a powerful existence?

    Li Qingshan was completely unfazed. He dug into his ear with his small finger. ¡°You¡¯re late. Oh you. Stop getting in the way of the Meat-stewing Heavenly King¡¯s job. Do you want to eat or not?¡±

    The clear ringing of a bell, hollow and penetrating, pierced the frozen murderousness, right towards R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    ¡°About time I get something proper to eat.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming immediately erased his murderousness as if it had never existed in the first place. Whether it was this guy right before him or that successor of white bone, Li Fengyuan could not overwhelm any of them through his presence alone. However, he would not be seated here either if it were not for that.

    Li Qingshan let out a gentle smile. ¡°My last heavenly king has come.¡±

    Xiao An drifted over and landed beside Li Qingshan gently.

    Li Fengyuan gazed at the three heavenly kings and suddenly discovered it was actually an honour to be the Meat-stewing Heavenly King. On top of that, he had only earned this title through the back door. If it were not for his father, he would have no right to be here.

 Chapter 1296

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1296 ¨C Slaughtering the Living!?

    When he remembered that he was stewing one of the Ten Daemon Kings, the Heavenly Frost Wolf King, Li Fengyuan felt a lot better as the Meat-stewing Heavenly King. He comforted himself inside, Hey, it¡¯s not that my job is too lowly. It¡¯s first father who doesn¡¯t know how to come up with names at all. The Heavenly Frost Wolf King is known as the Wolf God, so I¡¯ll be the Heavenly King of Divine Cuisine, Li Fengyuan!

    He immediately found himself to be much cooler, but he dared not mention this to Li Qingshan. He could only enjoy the thought of it alone.

    The fragrance became heavier and heavier. Dog meat was truly so fragrant that the smell would even sway immortals.

    ¡°It should be done!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said impatiently. Asura particularly liked fine alcohol and fine food.

    The sky was already brightening up. Dawn would be arriving very soon.

    ¡°Alright, let me have a taste.¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. The huge, wild blade clearly was not suitable for cutting meat. If it simply fell like that, it would cut the entire cauldron in half.

    ¡°Be good. I¡¯ll let you be the Meat-cutting Heavenly King.¡±

    ¡°Who would want to be the Meat-cutting Heavenly King!?¡± the Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said furiously, but the blade still shrank, turning into a knife.

    ¡°Open the pot!¡±

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s order, Li Fengyuan opened the cauldron, and steam surged out with fragrance. A stream of light rushed into the air.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ this is the legendary cuisine!¡± Li Qingshan could not help but tighten his grip around the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    Actually, there were many precious pills that would erupt with light when they were removed from the cauldron. After all, he had thrown in so many spiritual herbs, all filled with spiritual qi.

    The ingredients that went into this cauldron of soup was as extravagant as possible, so there was nothing strange at all for this to happen.

    With absolute certainty, Li Qingshan cut off a piece of dog meat. With a thought, the soup wrapped around the meat and hovered over to him. He opened his mouth and swallowed it in a single gulp.

    As if a ray of light had pierced his temples, the wonderful flavour bloomed on his tongue. A wave of warmth surged into his belly. The dog meat was tender yet very chewy. Even for him, he had to chew it viciously a few times before swallowing it.

    Then he pulled out an ancient jar of spiritual alcohol from somewhere and took a deep sip. The icy-cold surroundings seemed to become the sweltering summer with that.

    ¡°Satisfying!¡± Li Qingshan gave Li Fengyuan a thumbs-up. ¡°Truly my Meat-stewing Heavenly King.¡±

    Li Fengyuan mustered the courage and said, ¡°You can also call me the Heavenly King of Divine Cuisine.¡±

    ¡°What kind of shitty name is that?¡± Li Qingshan rebuked him.

    Li Qingshan began to split the meat and alcohol, where all of them got a share. The atmosphere immediately heated up.

    Li Fengyuan no longer cared about whether he was the Meat-stewing Heavenly King or the Heavenly King of Divine Cuisine either. He ate away without any care for his image.

    Xiao An was primarily responsible for gnawing the bones. Actually, it only took a glance from her. With that, the bones in her hand turned into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, which she then sucked into her mouth.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head with great tenderness and affection. As a practitioner of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, she actually lost many of the joys in life. Then he passed the religious preceptor of the left¡¯s ?ar¨©ra to her. ¡°Here, as a side dish!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°When normal people attend a wedding, they go with an empty stomach so that they can have a feast. We¡¯ve instead begun eating before it.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, dog meat can never make it onto the table. The host probably won¡¯t welcome a disrespectful guest like me, so I better go once I¡¯ve been fed!¡±

    ¡°Must you go?¡±

    Li Qingshan picked up a cup with a smile and clinked it against hers. ¡°I must go!¡±

    ¡°The men want to fight. They don¡¯t need women yammering on!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming raged with battle intent. From dying and rebirthing till now, he finally had a proper meal, but he had yet to experience a proper battle. He had run out of patience a long time ago.

    Asura could go without food, but they could not go without battles. They could go without friends, but they could not go without enemies.

    ¡°Forget I said anything.¡±

    Gu Yanying shrugged gracefully. Only the two of them would treat her like a woman, or perhaps the way they used her as contrast did bear some resemblance to a woman.

    Actually, she had expected this a long time ago. However, in a group, there always had to be a person speaking up in objection.

    Si Long distributed a million notices of denunciation. Every single notice of denunciation was equivalent to a spiritual artifact. Even the illiterate and non-human species could understand it, and their minds would be deluded. Coupled with the influence from the intangible will of the heavens, the hearts of the people were already swaying towards Si Long¡¯s side.

    If this continued, the more time he took, the more disadvantageous the situation would be.

    Right now, the notices of denunciation still could not influence the wills of cultivators, but after today, when Si Long completed his alliance of the world, he would be unshakeable.

    They only had a chance at victory if they dealt a lethal blow with all of their strength when Si Long left Dragonshead mountain today. However, how could Si Long not think of something that simple?

    As a result, the opportunity this time was basically bait. It was as clear as day.

    However, they knew it was bait, yet they had to eat it. This was what an open plan was.

    It could only be said that he was truly the founding emperor.

    Li Fengyuan had a wonderful time as he ate. He said in praise, ¡°It¡¯s far too delicious! First father, surely this isn¡¯t our last meal, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He studied him and said, ¡°You jinx, you mocking¡­ you sure are my son! If I were emperor, I¡¯d definitely make a little bastard like you the crown prince. Come, let¡¯s have a toast!¡±

    Li Fengyuan reddened and rubbed his head. ¡°You flatter me, first father. Compared to you, I¡¯m nowhere close!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°As long as you know. That Si Long is capable of all sorts of things, yet he¡¯s still been forced into resorting to this, forced to risk his life in a gamble against me. Yanying, the enemy is difficult to deal with, but they¡¯re not that terrifying. Look down on the enemy¡¯s strategy but place emphasis on the enemy¡¯s tactics. You have the time of your life when you fight the heavens, fight the earth, and fight the people. You need to learn to enjoy the process.¡±

    The million copies of notices of denunciation took a tremendous amount of resources to make, and they had to be distributed across the world too. Even with the Great Xia empire¡¯s wealth, power, and influence, it would not have been an easy feat.

    Whether it was bait or a trap, it all took risks.

    Originally, there was absolutely no need for Si Long to take any risks. He could stay in the imperial court and use the might and influence of the empire to crush the enemy. Now, he was forced to worry about whether he could still refine the nine provinces into a blessed land of cultivation once he mustered everyone¡¯s might. And if he wanted to crush anyone then, they would never simply offer up their lives willingly without at least trying to do something else.

    In the end, he would only obtain a world at the brink of destruction, as well as an unpredictable, powerful enemy.

    That was why he wanted to stop the destruction of the world and eliminate Li Qingshan completely. As a result, he had to reveal an opening and give Li Qingshan the opportunity to launch a lethal blow.

    ¡°Well said!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°If this person entered the Asura realm, he¡¯d definitely become a powerful asura!¡±

    ¡°Are these the joys of battle? I think it¡¯s enough if you just enjoy it yourselves.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. Of course, she understood that the battle between the two men had begun already.

    Scheming, arranging.

    Clashing, probing.

    They mobilised all their resources and used everything at their disposal, pressuring the enemy step by step, yet also throwing themselves into dire situations step by step. Neither side hesitated. That was the determination that came with swearing to kill each other the moment they learnt about each other¡¯s existence. The compromises and concessions they made in the process were all a false illusion.

    On this very day, when they confronted each other, they would definitely make sure only one of them would be coming out of this alive!

    Li Fengyuan felt his blood boil as he listened on, completely casting the matter of death aside. Suddenly, he heard Xiao An say, ¡°Qingshan, I can actually slaughter all of the living¡­¡±

    Slaughter the living!? Li Fengyuan¡¯s hot-bloodedness immediately froze over.

 Chapter 1297

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1297 ¨C The Mystery of the Nine Tails

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming and Gu Yanying both looked at Xiao An. She was completely calm. Her face was not twisted at all, and she did not give off even a hint of murderousness as if she was merely talking about something ordinary. Only Li Qingshan existed in her eyes.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback as well, rather surprised by this. From a certain perspective, that was almost no different from his destruction of the world.

    However, he had made the space-devouring beast devour the nine provinces to force Si Long into revealing an opening. It caused a lot of destruction, but it was basically all barren land. There were basically no living creatures involved.

    If he could kill Si Long here and now, then all of it would just end like that. He possessed resolve, but he still did his best to avoid pointless slaughter.

    ¡°I disagree! That¡¯s going too far!¡±

    Li Fengyuan could no longer care about his fear for Xiao An, leaping to his feet abruptly. The phoenix was still a bird of benevolence at the end of the day.

    Li Qingshan ignored him. He asked with a smile, ¡°What do you think?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming took a sip of alcohol and glanced at Li Qingshan. He said nothing.

    Gu Yanying played around with the alcohol cup with her slender fingers. ¡°Even if we support that idea, are you really going to just back down like this today? We might as well wait until after today. We can talk about this if you fail to take down Si Long today and still survive somehow!¡±

    ¡°Yanying be the one who knows me!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. His voice shook up the mountains.

    Having reached this point, if he still backed down, his influence and momentum would definitely decline. He was better off simply leaving the nine provinces instead of dragging all the living creatures down with him.

    Xiao An lowered her head, rather dejected.

    ¡°I understand. You¡¯re concerned for my safety. You don¡¯t want me to take the risk. As a result, despite knowing my decision, you still mentioned it.¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms and planted a heavy kiss on her tender cheek.

    Xiao An smiled with a slight blush; it was like the melting of glaciers, the glorious bloom of flowers in spring.

    ¡°In other words¡­ I¡¯m just the idiot?¡± Li Fengyuan pointed at himself and asked in disbelief.

    ¡°My foolish son, just stick with cooking your meat!¡±

    Li Fengyuan sat down in dejection. Once again, he felt like he was rather undeserving of the title of the Meat-stewing Heavenly King.

    Li Qingshan waved his hand and formed a barrier with the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. He became serious.

    ¡°Today is indeed a fine opportunity. When the Clam King of Mirage Sea ascended, she specially left behind a clone to deal with Si Long. She went to the Dragon province many years ago. Originally, I thought she would make a mess in the imperial court of Great Xia, but I¡¯ve never heard any news about her since then. She was probably waiting for Si Long to return in person. She visited me in my dreams a few days ago and specially reminded me to come today¡­¡±

    He described the various details of the dream, especially the final sight he saw.

    ¡°No wonder you¡¯re so determined, but I feel rather perplexed. The Jade palace is the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s territory after all. Can a mere clone of the Clam King of Mirage Sea really set up a powerful ambush there? Even if she¡¯s actually after Si Long, she¡¯s not a particularly powerful source of help. The Heavenly Frost Wolf King failed to even withstand a single strike from you. As a result, could that be a trap to specially lure you here?¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s hawk eyes narrowed slightly and gazed at the Jade palace in the distance.

    ¡°The person with the umbrella you saw at the end of your dream is most likely the Nine-tailed Fox Empress. It¡¯s said that she carries an umbrella like that with her all the time.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. He was unconcerned. ¡°Perhaps she managed to persuade the Nine-tailed Fox Empress to help us out.¡± He licked his lips. ¡°Have you seen the Nine-tailed Fox Empress before? I heard she¡¯s the greatest beauty in the world. I wonder if that¡¯s true or not.¡±

    Gu Yanying said in exasperation, ¡°When Si Long became acquainted with the Nine-tailed Fox Empress, your eightieth ancestor hadn¡¯t even been born yet! She might not have held a formal wedding with Si Long, but she actually became the empress of Great Xia a long time ago. For the past five thousand years, she¡¯s been constantly enjoying everything that the Great Xia empire can provide to her, so why would she turn against Si Long to help you? If the Clam King of Mirage Sea really has a plan, why didn¡¯t she make it clear with you so that we could coordinate with her appropriately?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Probably because she¡¯s afraid that Si Long would sense it, which is why she can¡¯t make it clear, just in case it¡¯s given away. Speaking of which, why¡¯re you so worked up?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s also possible that they¡¯re afraid you might sense it. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been bewitched?¡± Sparks flew from Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes as she observed Li Qingshan. ¡°How am I worked up?¡±

    ¡°Tell me, Xiao An. Is she worked up?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao An nodded seriously.

    ¡°Look, and you still don¡¯t admit it.¡± Li Qingshan smiled complacently.

    ¡°Oi, is this the time to discuss how I feel? Li Qingshan, I¡¯m very concerned about your mental state right now.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible? It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen women before.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but think of the smile under the umbrella in the golden fields of wheat. He clearly had not seen her entire appearance, yet that sight happened to be so clear. Had he really been bewitched? He shook his head and discarded these thoughts.

    ¡°Speaking of which, why would the Clam King of Mirage Sea ever assist Si Long against me?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Hold on, I have a question. Is the Nine-tailed Fox Empress you speak of a regular fox daemon blowing her own horn or an actual nine-tailed fox from the Kingdom of Green Hills?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What¡¯s¡­ the difference? They¡¯re all fox daemons anyway!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a great difference alright, like a snake to a dragon. If she¡¯s a true nine-tailed fox, then it would not be strange at all if you were bewitched. Even the Clam King of Mirage Sea you speak of might very well be bewitched.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°They¡¯re that impressive?¡±

    ¡°Nine-tailed foxes are a species even rarer than dragons and phoenixes. They¡¯re born with the delicate beauty of the world, blessed with great beauty among all. Even gods and immortals struggle to resist their charms. It can even affect far more than just sentient living creatures. Legend has it that the techniques nine-tailed foxes cast are through their charms, not their powers.¡±

    ¡°The wife of king Yu the Great, Tushan, was a nine-tailed fox. This Si Long claims to be a descendant of Yu the Great, which might just be a farfetched conclusion. However, he¡¯s definitely been bewitched as well. It¡¯s no wonder that he has split this world into nine provinces and established some Great Xia. He must be trying to please her.¡±

    TL: Yu the Great is a legendary king in Chinese mythology who split the land into nine provinces. You can read more about him here.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m worried about. How can a regular fox daemon leave Si Long so enamoured? If the two of them strike together, I don¡¯t think anyone can stand a chance. Why don¡¯t we just go and slaughter the living instead?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Though, if she really is a nine-tailed fox, it would be far too strange. They are different from dragons and phoenixes. Most of their species gather in the Kingdom of Green Hills. They rarely wander outside. And according to what you said, she already underwent the third heavenly tribulation five thousand years ago, so how has she still not ascended even now?¡±

    There were originally many divine and exotic beasts in the world. The world had even been ruled by the Dragon clan for a very long time. However, these clans and species of great talent all cultivated extremely quickly. Whether they ascended or perished in the tribulation lightning, none of them could remain in a world like this. Nine-tailed foxes were no different.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Probably because she doesn¡¯t want to ascend to the Daemonic Beast realm, so she¡¯s been waiting the entire time for Si Long to return.¡±

    ¡°Nine-tailed foxes can proactively choose their partners, but they aren¡¯t known for their loyalty. Will she really waste five thousand years in a place like this just for the sake of a measly Si Long?¡±

    Whether it was a trap or an opportunity, all of the mysteries gathered on the Nine-tailed Fox Empress, affecting the end result of this battle. Even with Gu Yanying¡¯s insight and R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s knowledge, they struggled to make an immediate judgement.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Very well then! The Nine-tailed Fox Empress is mine!¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head in disbelief and sighed. ¡°Oi, little bro Qingshan, did you hear what we said or not?¡±

    ¡°Of course I did. Looks like the Nine-tailed Fox Empress really is the greatest beauty in the nine provinces! Hmph, how dare that measly Si Long provoke me! He better watch as I eat his dog, butcher his family, and fuck his wife!¡±

    It was clear from Li Qingshan¡¯s expression that he was up to no good. He had already begun fantasising the taste of victory.

    ¡°Xiao An, this bastard must have been bewitched, right? He must have been bewitched!¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Xiao An nodded seriously.

    The east lit up slightly. Li Qingshan stood up and gazed over. ¡°Thank you for your fascinating analysis, everyone. You¡¯ve given me a whole new perspective on the situation, but I still have to make a choice in the end. Either I retreat out of fear and slaughter the living, or I give it my all in an attempt to kill Si Long. I choose the latter. So what if I¡¯m bewitched? So what if it¡¯s a trap? Si Long would have never just sat there and waited for me to kill him in the first place! Anyway, I feel like a battle is possible!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming lifted up the cauldron and drank all the soup in one stroke. ¡°Then let¡¯s battle!¡±

    ¡°Alright. I really have no idea how you got to where you are right now.¡±

    Gu Yanying was powerless. As someone who thought long and deep about everything, she had only ever acted on impulse for the sake of the kunpeng¡¯s feather. She really was unaccustomed to his brainless charges.

    ¡°Xiao An has always been coming up with plans for me. Of course, I have my sharp instincts as well¡ªhere he comes!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. The sun rose up in the east, and a colossal dragon leapt out from the horizon, splitting open the clouds with its head.

    At a closer glance, that was not a true dragon, but a fleet of ships. The ship in the lead was far larger than any one he had ever seen.

    Si Long stood on the nose of the ship, shining brilliantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s Great Xia¡¯s Sovereign Dragon King!¡±

 Chapter 1298

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1298 ¨C A Promise of Millennia, the Fox of Yousu

    ¡°What a tasteless name!¡± Li Qingshan said in contempt.

    It was a pity that the space-devouring beast was fiercely suppressed by the laws of the world as soon as it entered the Dragon province, or why would he have to take these shitty ships seriously at all?

    A hawk¡¯s cry pierced through the air. The hawk spread its wings and circled around the mountains, its sharp eyes staring at the cauldron for stewing meat. Despite being on bad terms with the Heavenly Frost Wolf King, he could not help but feel some sympathy. He let out another long cry.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and let out a roar filled with great vigour. The chilling aura drowned out the hawk¡¯s cry and enveloped the incoming fleet of ships.

    The court of officials and generals that had accompanied Si Long here on the Sovereign Dragon King all became stern when they heard this roar. They had witnessed his powers a long time ago back on Dragonshead mountain. Now, the religious preceptor of the left and the others¡¯ deaths had added to his infamy, enough to make them shake in fear.

    Si Long gazed down at the boundless land and met the scarlet eyes that scorched like fire. Their gazes clashed violently in the air. He smiled and looked back. ¡°My officials, just you watch how I capture and kill this wretched being today!¡±

    He took note of the officials¡¯ expressions and behaviour. After all, this was only a medium-sized world. There were many talents, but it was unavoidable for them to suffer from natural limitations. However, he had never planned on relying on them today in the first place. Once he returned to the Human realm, he would treat them as his most important followers, so he obviously had to demonstrate the bearing worthy of a wise lord right now.

    The religious preceptor of the right stood forward and bowed. ¡°May the sovereign succeed in this battle and claim this wretched being¡¯s head to offer up to the heavens!¡±

    The officials all said, ¡°May the sovereign succeed in this battle and claim this wretched being¡¯s head to offer up to the heavens!¡±

    Si Long smiled even wider. ¡°Today is a day of great joy for me, so there¡¯s no need to be so murderous. If he¡¯s willing to become my mount and pay for all the sins he¡¯s committed, it¡¯s not impossible that I¡¯ll let him live. Let¡¯s see how he chooses!¡±

    ¡°Benevolent be our sovereign. However, the wretched daemon is mad and unruly. I¡¯m afraid he cannot be tamed that easily.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to deal with him swiftly and forcefully.¡±

    As he spoke lightly, the terrifying, insufferably arrogant Daemon King seemed to be completely at his whim already, such that he could execute him with ease.

    These words rang out clearly. Anger flashed through Li Fengyuan¡¯s eyes. This damned Si Long actually wants first father to become his mount! He¡¯s getting too ahead of himself!

    Gu Yanying leaned against her hand and gazed at the hawk soaring through the sky. Her mind seemed to have drifted off to a distant place already.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was unfazed. He rubbed his belly and let out a belch.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed like a great statue, even more like a great flag. The smile on his face was cold and sharp.

    The fleet rushed through the sea of clouds and sailed over. The sun rose up in the east as the west snowed. The resplendent sunlight dyed the snowflakes a golden-yellow, like gold leaf being scattered through the air. It was magnificent, making the Jade palace seem a little more dreamy.

    The fleet finally stopped mid-air. With the officials behind him, Si Long disembarked from the Sovereign Dragon King, arriving in front of the Jade palace on foot. Even without those unnecessary and overelaborate formalities, he seemed extremely sincere and respectful. A smile stretched across his face as if he had already forgotten about Li Qingshan, completely submerged in the joys of the grand wedding.

    A fragrance almost indiscernible lingered in the surroundings. He made his way up the steps, knocking on the white jade gates.

    Clang! Clang! Clang!

    Even with his composure, he felt a little excited at this moment. Her beautiful figure had appeared countless times in his dreams. There, her appearance constantly changed, just like the myriad flowers that bloomed and wilted on the umbrella. It made him wonder if he had ever seen a woman like that in the first place. He thought inside, Mirao, I¡¯ve returned!

    Even if it were not for the sake of refining the nine provinces, he definitely would have returned, all for that promise.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°You want me to become your empress? But you¡¯re clearly not an emperor yet. It doesn¡¯t count if you call yourself one.¡±

    The umbrella twirled away. The surprise on the woman¡¯s face seemed both fake and real, while the mocking smile on her lips seemed to be both existent and non-existent.

    ¡°I swear I will definitely become a true emperor so that you can become a true empress!¡±

    The man was solemn with a heart filled with affection. As the paramount ruler of the world, he was confessing to the goddess in his heart at this very moment like a mortal, promising her a fine life ahead.

    ¡°Why me? Don¡¯t you have a lot of women? Such as that Bai Xiao¡¯e. She must want to be your empress. She wants that so much that she¡¯s basically going to eat me.¡±

    The woman licked her lips, which made her seem even more gorgeous and tender, vaguely revealing her snowy-white fangs.

    ¡°Mirao, in my heart, even if you put all the women in the world together, they don¡¯t even come close to a single hair of yours. As long as you agree, I will only belong to you.¡±

    The man¡¯s heart throbbed, taking a step forward and wanting to grab the woman¡¯s sleeve. The umbrella blocked him.

    ¡°Sigh, but when you ascend, you¡¯re going to the Human realm, while I¡¯m going to the Daemonic Beast realm. How can we still be husband and wife?¡±

    The woman sighed, furrowing her brows gently.

    The man only felt like his heart was about to shatter. He was tempted to pull her into his arms and spend the rest of his life comforting her. He said loudly, ¡°I can take you to the Human realm!¡±

    ¡°Then I might cause you a great deal of trouble.¡± The woman¡¯s smile became a little wry. ¡°My race is always like that.¡±

    The man became gloomy. In this world, he was already the paramount ruler, but in the Human realm, he was nothing. Possessing an object of desire would always lead to problems. Taking her as his wife was basically like a child visiting the markets while carrying gold on him.

    Many gods had perished because of her race in the past, and he believed the woman who he loved was even more beautiful than those women of the legends.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. My strength is nowhere near enough, but I definitely won¡¯t give up! Once I go to the Human realm, gain even greater strength, and come up with even better ideas, I will return for you. A- are you willing to wait in this world for me?¡±

    The man hesitated. He also found his request to be a little too much. She was far more talented than him, so how could she remain in a world like this for so long?

    ¡°I refuse!¡±

    The woman declined without hesitation.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been getting far too ahead of myself. Why would I, Si Long, deserve¡­¡±

    The man was devastated. He smiled miserably and drooped his head, struggling to accept this.

    ¡°But I will wait.¡±

    The woman raised her head. There was some powerlessness, but there was even more determination.

    ¡°R- really?¡±

    The man felt like he had just been lifted from hell into heaven, staring at her in disbelief. He could no longer hold back his feelings any longer, going up to embrace her.

    The woman pressed against his forehead with her index finger and smiled gently. ¡°You lecher, watch your manners. I¡¯m not your wife.¡±

    ¡°In my heart, you already are.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The sounds from the gates opening pulled Si Long back from his memories. Gazing at the beautiful, white figure behind the door, his smile stiffened slightly.

    On the distant mountain, Li Qingshan stared at the palace gate with all of his attention too, temporarily setting aside his grievances with Si Long, anticipating the appearance of this greatest beauty of the world.

    He murmured inside, Dammit! Bastard, move over!

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in thought, ¡°The Kingdom of Green Hills has three great clans, which are the Tushan clan, the Chunhu clan, and the Yousu clan. I wonder which clan the Nine-tailed Fox Empress is from.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°She should be from the Yousu clan. I heard her surname is Su, Su Mirao.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯re really in trouble. Qingshan, you better just forget about that!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°The three clans each have their merits. The Tushan clan is able, virtuous, and understanding, making a fine wife. The Chunhu clan is extremely clever, skilled in illusions and unpredictable. They both make fine partners. Only the Yousu clan is cunning and treacherous, most skilled in bewitchment. They¡¯ve produced many women who are only too anxious to see the world be thrown into disorder, often causing great problems for people. The infamy of nine-tailed foxes was primarily earned by them. Even I would not want to become involved with them.¡±

 Chapter 1299

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1299 ¨C Setting Foot in the Dragon Province, Entering the Jade Gates

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    Li Qingshan answered, but the interest in his eyes only increased.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming realised he had made a miscalculation. If he could accept a warning like that, he would not be Li Qingshan. If the foxes of Yousu were all too anxious to see the world be thrown into disorder, he was not any better.

    Bang!

    The white, jade gates of the Jade palace swung open completely. An elegant and exceedingly beautiful woman stood at the entrance, her hair white like snow and her clothes white like a fairy¡¯s.

    Her collar and sleeves were decorated with flakes of frost, which swayed in the wind. The snowflakes circled around her, like a snow fairy that had ended up in a mortal world.

    However, she held a great axe in her hand, crystal-clear and brutal in appearance. She stared at Si Long outside with her pure-white eyes, freezing all of his thoughts.

    ¡°Xiao¡¯e!¡±

    Si Long¡¯s expression changed. He never expected to encounter her here.

    ¡°The Frost-feathered Moth King!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. The white-haired woman was the Frost-feathered Moth King he had saved from beneath the Ice Sword cliff.

    Didn¡¯t she have a feud with the Nine-tailed Fox Empress?

    In the past, he had left Xuanyue to her, exactly because he did not want Xuanyue to become involved with Great Xia. He never expected her to be in the Jade palace.

    The wind and snow howled, growing fiercer and fiercer. The cold was bone-piercing.

    The Frost-feathered Moth King unfurled a pair of white wings. Her head full of white hair flew up into a mess as she swung the Divine Axe of Profound Ice with both hands. The sky full of snow revolved rapidly around the ice axe, turning into a tornado that rose straight up into the sky like a furious, white dragon.

    ¡°Si Long!¡±

    The Frost-feathered Moth King¡¯s voice was filled with icy, bone-piercing hatred. She grasped the opening that Si Long had shown due to his emotions and swung down suddenly with the Divine Axe of Profound Ice.

    The snow tornado poured down, like the collapse of a pillar from the heavens. It was unstoppable.

    The officials rushed over, either calling out ¡°Protect his majesty!¡± or ¡°Be careful of any sneak attacks from the wretched daemon behind!¡±

    No wonder the Clam King of Mirage Sea told me to come. It¡¯s a pincer attack against Si Long. The swing of that axe is very powerful, and the technique behind it is subtle enough. Looks like she¡¯s recovered her strength and gained control over the weapon spirit in the axe. There probably aren¡¯t a lot of people who can block a direct blow. However, that¡¯s still nowhere near enough to defeat Si Long!

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He was not optimistic about the Frost-feathered Moth King¡¯s attack, nor did he have any intentions of coordinating with her.

    Si Long recovered mentally. With a wave of his right hand, he ordered all of the officials to back down.

    He wielded his left hand like a sword and pierced the wind and snow instantly, pressing against the Frost-feathered Moth King¡¯s forehead.

    Time seemed to freeze there. The officials all stopped with various expressions. The Divine Axe of Profound Ice hung over Si Long¡¯s head, unable to drop even an inch further.

    Boom!

    The snow tornado that poured down immediately dissipated. The ice and snow it had gathered was like an avalanche, producing a deep chasm several thousand metres long in the ground. The Sovereign Dragon King was in the vicinity of the attack too, so a faint, golden barrier rose up, blocking the entirety of the attack.

    ¡°Xiao¡¯e, long time no see!¡±

    Si Long pulled back his hand slowly, completely ignoring the Divine Axe of Profound Ice hanging over his head. He stared straight at the Frost-feathered Moth King; his gaze softened.

    ¡°Si Long, you¡¯ve finally gathered the courage to attack me directly. And I had thought you were going to try some other treacherous scheme!¡±

    The Frost-feathered Moth King¡¯s lips curled into a sneer, recovering her usual cold and emotionless state.

    Taking a step backwards, she moved out of the way and raised her hand. ¡°Since you¡¯ve passed my test, please come in! Today is a day of great joy for you. Please do not be late.¡±

    Li Qingshan played Si Long¡¯s attack through his head again and again to determine his strength. Sure enough, the difference in strength is far too great. It can¡¯t be made up for with just a weapon!

    He said to Gu Yanying and the others, ¡°Wait outside to reinforce me. I¡¯ll go in to attend the wedding, as well as destroy it in the process!¡±

    Si Long nodded. ¡°Yeah. Today really is not the time to catch up. If I have ever let you down in the past, I will make it up to you to the best of my ability. Please forgive me!¡±

    He glanced backwards. A tremendous aura barged into the Dragon province. With a smile on his lips, he soon set foot in the Jade palace.

    The officials behind him soon entered in single file, carrying various kinds of exotic treasures that were covered in red silks. They were the betrothal gifts that Si Long had prepared carefully.

    The Frost-feathered Moth King blanked out slightly. Suddenly, a voice filled with joy and surprise rang out, ¡°Xiao¡¯e, it really is you!¡±

    Scarlet hair danced through the air, passing through the wind and snow and setting foot in the Jade palace at last. He pulled Bai Xiao¡¯e into his arms tightly, scorching like a ball of flames.

    ¡°It¡¯s the wretched daemon!¡± ¡°Be careful, fellows.¡±

    The expressions of Great Xia¡¯s officials changed drastically. No one thought he would arrive so hurriedly and swiftly. All of them behaved like they were facing a powerful enemy. Facing him at such a close range, their lives could be lost at any moment. They could not afford any carelessness.

    Si Long frowned. Who knew whether it was because of his subordinates¡¯ improper reaction or because Li Qingshan had pulled Bai Xiao¡¯e into his arms.

    Li Qingshan easily overwhelmed any resistance that Bai Xiao¡¯e put up and smiled. ¡°You bunch of trash, stop acting like that! I¡¯ve been formally invited to come!¡± Then he said slowly and tenderly to Bai Xiao¡¯e in his arms, ¡°Xiao¡¯e, that faithless man doesn¡¯t want you, but I don¡¯t mind you. Just accept me!¡±

    Bai Xiao¡¯e could not help but look towards Si Long with some hidden anticipation.

    Si Long¡¯s frown eased up; he clasped his hand. ¡°So it¡¯s fellow Li. I¡¯ve failed to welcome you from afar, so please forgive me. Since you¡¯ve come, please receive the bride with me and then come back to Dragonshead mountain with me for a drink!¡±

    Mirao definitely had Xiao¡¯e receive the guests as an attempt to test my sincerity. She¡¯s definitely watching from inside the palace. If I¡¯m overly intimate with her, Mirao will definitely be unhappy. She¡¯ll think I still have some lingering feelings.

    So be it! Fixation on trifles can ruin bigger things! Li Qingshan, after today, I¡¯ll turn all of your women into playthings.

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense the malice. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s exactly what I was thinking. Just like how you should resolve grievances instead of deepening them, let¡¯s have a proper talk!

    The more the enemy decided to be patient, their killing intent only became more obvious. What a hypocritical bastard!

    He could sense how Bai Xiao¡¯e no longer struggled in his arms, so he let go of her instead. He said, ¡°Leave here!¡± Afterwards, he strode towards Si Long.

    One step, two steps, three steps¡­

    His daemon qi constantly rose, like a tiger on the prowl. The two of them rapidly approached each other.

    Si Long seemed to be smiling, while the officials stood ready for battle, like a colossal dragon occupying the place.

    A battle was on the verge of erupting.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e suddenly drifted over. The Divine Axe of Profound Ice landed between Si Long and Li Qingshan. ¡°Elder sister Su invites the two of you into the palace.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid fellow Li might not have the courage.¡± Si Long smiled, refusing to defy what that ¡°elder sister Su¡± wanted.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. ¡°I just happened to be wanting to see how the bride looks. After that, I can put in a good word, just in case she ends up with the wrong person.¡±

    Bai Xiao¡¯e asked, ¡°And what if the bride refuses to change her mind?¡±

    ¡°I might have to butcher the groom then.¡±

    ¡°And what if the bride refuses to let that happen?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to kill them both so that they die a lovers¡¯ death!¡±

    Anger flashed through Si Long¡¯s eyes. If Li Qingshan said he wanted to kill him, he could laugh it off, but he could not allow anyone to threaten her.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e blinked her eyes and glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. She suddenly said, ¡°Li Qingshan, I swear to the heavens that if you succeed with that, I¡¯ll pledge myself to you, to pay you back for saving my life back then!¡±

 Chapter 1300

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1300 ¨C Female Daemon Kings, Congratulating the Groom

    Si Long¡¯s footsteps paused for a slight moment before continuing on his way without even looking back.

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin. What heavy resentment!

    He smiled at Bai Xiao¡¯e and blinked his eyes. ¡°Looks like the fox daemon definitely won¡¯t be able to stand my charms. You should just get ready to serve me as your husband!¡±

    With a great laugh, he strode off towards the depths of the Jade palace.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e gazed at his figure in a daze, only to see his scarlet hair dancing in the air, like a ball of flames, filled with scorching enthusiasm that even this world of snow and ice could not extinguish. He did not seem like a wild beast entering a trap; instead, he was like a king approaching his throne. He was simply that confident and spirited!

    Perhaps someone like him could actually defeat Si Long? But in terms of charms¡­ charms¡­

    As soon as she found some hope, a deep haze enveloped it again. A pair of jade-green eyes seemed to be watching everything from high above, making her shiver. She hugged herself subconsciously.

    Bai Xiao¡¯e, oh Bai Xiao¡¯e. She¡¯s still toying with you. The oath just then has probably added to her amusement. She definitely won¡¯t blame you. Instead, she¡¯ll praise you a bit!

    On this very day, no one could get what they wanted apart from her. They would only lose even more until they lost everything.

    Whether it was Si Long or Li Qingshan¡­

    Suddenly, she felt a hand touch her cheek, gentle like mist. A soft murmur, filled with smiles, rang out beside her, ¡°You basically seem even more beautiful than that butterfly when you¡¯re like a moth to a flame. Every single time, you leave me so touched! Just wait here. I¡¯ll go enjoy the feast. I¡¯ll show you once again just how unreliable men are.¡±

    The mist dissipated. The voice and the touch were all like a dream.

    Li Qingshan and Si Long stood side by side, passing through the many doors and corridors of the palace. They were only a few steps away from each other, maintaining the exact same pace, like groomsmen.

    They both noticed that the surrounding scenery had already repeated several dozen times. They did not move quickly, but they still should have arrived at the palace a long time ago. However, as they gazed out, the palace was still in the distance. It was not even an inch closer.

    Along the way, the wind and snow misted the surroundings as a fragrance drifted over. They had no idea what kind of flower it was, but it was enchanting. The officials meandering behind them had vanished a long time ago.

    In the wind and snow, between the beautifully-decorated structures, only the two of them remained.

    ¡°Mirao is being mischievous again. I¡¯ll just have some fun with her today then.¡± Si Long shook his head. He glanced at Li Qingshan beside him and asked with a smile, ¡°Have you finally learnt the feeling of fear?¡±

    ¡°How boring!¡±

    Li Qingshan stretched out with his arms, almost hitting Si Long¡¯s shoulder. His eyes narrowed, becoming as deep as the ocean¡ªthe Profound Light Illuminates All!

    The mist surged, but the Jade palace became even further away as if it sat on the horizon, almost becoming lost in the wind and snow.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. Aren¡¯t the Yousu clan known for bewitchment? How are they so good at illusions too? Once I start fighting Si Long later, it¡¯ll be a severe disadvantage with her creating problems on the side. A few miscalculations are enough to put my life in danger.

    Sure enough, this fox den is not that easy of a place to storm through!

    As if it had been waiting for this thought to occur to him, the Jade palace suddenly pulled up close, arriving right before him from the horizon in a heartbeat. Even he could not help but shiver inside and stop.

    In the palace with carved railings and jade inlays, great red lanterns hung high up in the surroundings. The red silks and ribbons produced a joyous atmosphere.

    Warm air surged out of the entrance as intoxicating as the winds of spring.

    The officials that had vanished before they knew it were actually standing inside, waiting for them. They were all stunned. They had no idea how they had ended up falling behind. They were not even sure how they had arrived in the palace.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows even more. He did not take them seriously, but they were still all great cultivators after all, yet in the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s Jade palace, they had actually all been dancing in the palm of her hand.

    ¡°Fellow Li, if you want to leave now, it might be too late already.¡± Si Long looked back at him with a sneer.

    Li Qingshan was about to rebuke him when a great group of women flooded out from the entrance. ¡°Sisters, the groom is here!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    These women were all great beauties, each possessing charms of their own. Of course, it was not like he had not seen a woman before. That alone could not make him lose his composure like this.

    None of these women were humans. They were all daemons. Even all the female daemons he had seen throughout his life put together came nowhere close to what he was seeing right now. On top of that, every single one of them were Daemon Kings, with many already at the peak of the third heavenly tribulation, existences akin to the Golden Cicada Spirit King.

    Thinking up to there, he recalled another bizarre matter. He basically had not seen any female Daemon Kings in the nine provinces, even in Towering city of the past where daemons gathered.

    Logically speaking, the ratio of females among daemons should have been much higher than the ratio of females among human cultivators.

    Human females suffered from many downsides compared to their male counterparts. They were visibly smaller in size and possessed inferior status among tribes. On top of that, it was easier for them to become ensnared by their feelings, being more emotional than males, which was greatly detrimental to their mental cultivation. They were bound by various social norms at the same time.

    Daemons did not stress so many things. Even when males possessed a dominant position in the community, females often possessed a very great advantage in numbers, such as lion prides. Many species even had females that were much stronger than males, such as spiders.

    He could already see Lolth. However, with her cultivation, it was not enough for her to pass through the group of powerful Daemon Kings and approach him. Strength was the clearest defining factor of hierarchy among daemons.

    When he saw this, he basically felt like all the female Daemon Kings in the world had appeared together. In terms of strength, they probably rivalled the Great Xia empire.

    If that was it, then so be it. It would only take him a battle at most.

    However, these female Daemon Kings all surged over and dressed him in red, neglecting Si Long instead. What were they up to?

    Li Qingshan tensed up. He possessed absolute confidence in his strength, but all these Daemon Kings working together was no joke. However, the hands all brushed past his body, without any intention of attacking him. Instead, they rubbed and stroked him like they were teasing him. Every single one of them teased and joked away, possessing none of the reservedness of human women.

    A while later, who knew how many hands had passed between his legs. Even a lolita daemon that only seemed to be seven or eight years old had rushed over and grabbed him viciously, which left him a little numb.

    There was absolutely nothing wrong with the groom¡¯s attire either. It was only made out of a regular piece of silk, so he stopped resisting to see what kind of tricks they were trying to play.

    With that, even Si Long¡¯s face had hardened. He could not smile any more.

    A while later, a groom emerged fresh out of the oven. Li Qingshan stood exactly where he was before with his arms spread. He found today¡¯s encounter to be absolutely bizarre. Just Si Long¡¯s expression alone actually made him feel very happy.

    The female daemons giggled and dispersed to the side. Suddenly, a fist sailed through the air, going straight for his crotch.

    Li Qingshan grabbed the lolita daemon¡¯s tiny fist. ¡°Hey, touching is enough! Do you know how much it¡¯ll hurt if you hit me like that?¡±

    She might have looked like a little girl, but who knew how many metres tall she would stand in her original form. That punch alone could probably collapse a mountain.

    The lolita daemon rolled her eyes at him and moved to one side obediently.

    The minister of rites said, ¡°You¡¯ve got it wrong. The one making the proposal is his majesty.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s correct. The palace master said the groom is him.¡± Shen Mengdie walked out from the back slowly. ¡°As for the emperor of Great Xia¡­¡± She considered that seriously. ¡°What kind of dog is that?¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at Si Long who had turned green and secretly sighed about how everything had been worth it today.

 Chapter 1301

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1301 ¨C Waiting For Who

    ¡°It¡¯s you! Clam King of Mirage Sea, what have you done!?¡±

    Si Long was enraged, pointing straight at Shen Mengdie. A streak of golden light immediately pierced her head, so sharp and eye-dazzling that it seemed like it could cut through their vision and draw blood.

    Li Qingshan wanted to provide support, but he was one step too slow. When he looked at the others, no one actually managed to respond in time, whether they were human or daemon.

    The expressions of the female Daemon Kings all changed drastically. If that finger had been directed towards them, they probably would have been in danger of dying on the spot.

    However, Shen Mengdie¡¯s head rippled as if she did not actually exist, just a reflection in the water. The hole in her head gradually closed up. She continued to smile in the exact same manner.

    ¡°Oh, and who did I think it was? So it¡¯s you! Have you also come to congratulate this fellow Li?¡±

    ¡°I spared your life back then. Not only are you unthankful, but you¡¯ve actually come here to ask to die! Let me send you off then!¡±

    Si Long sneered, approaching Shen Mengdie step by step. His pupils turned into golden dragon eyes, locking onto her firmly. Shen Mengdie¡¯s rippling body stabilised as if even the space there had been sealed up.

    ¡°Fellow, today is my day of great joy! That would be inappropriate!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood in front of Shen Mengdie. His burly body was like a mountain, preventing Si Long from locking onto her aura and enduring all of the pressure himself. He glanced backwards and grinned. ¡°Nicely done!¡¯

    ¡°Li Qingshan! I¡¯ll give you one more opportunity. Submit to me, and I¡¯ll forgive you for everything else. I can even guide you to the Mortal realm so that you become a guest of the Myriad sect!¡±

    Si Long stopped. The only person who could stop him in his steps today was the unpredictable man before him. He spoke like he was a great lord who stood high above the masses, trying to pacify a law-breaking bandit.

    ¡°Si Long, we¡¯ve already come so far, and you¡¯re still trying these petty tricks. Don¡¯t you just find it ridiculous?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head. His scarlet eyes were like flames, looking down on Si Long.

    When great masters clashed, it was just not about powers and abilities. It was a clash of will and spirit as well. As long as he was still hopeful, hoping that he could avoid this battle through pacifying him, his momentum would immediately weaken, and his chances at victory would plummet.

    On top of that, Li Qingshan possessed an edge in terms of spirit with what Shen Mengdie had done. Cuckolding would always just be better than being cuckolded. He felt just that little bit happier inside.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stick around for a little longer? We can compete once you¡¯ve said your toast for me. I heard that fellow Su is the greatest beauty in the world. Tsktsk, I never thought I¡¯d have such great fortunes today! If you can afford to wait, we might as well fight after we¡¯ve gotten married and had our honeymoon.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re- asking- to- die!¡±

    Si Long squeezed out four words from beneath his teeth. Never had he been so humiliated before.

    His aura surged violently, like a dragon rising up to the heavens, roaring away furiously.

    Whether it were the great cultivators or the female Daemon Kings in the surroundings, they all retreated, unable to remain within ten steps of him. They could not muster any thought of opposition either.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet hair swept back as his robes buffeted in the winds, but he remained as still as a mountain. He only crouched down slightly, like the prelude to a tiger pouncing at its prey.

    At that instant, murderousness rushed into the air.

    Rumble. A series of thunder made everyone feel like something was weighing against their chests, such that they wanted to cough up blood. All they had experienced was a clash of their auras.

    The great cultivators came to a realisation that this was not a battle they could interfere with at all. Perhaps all they could do was momentarily distract Li Qingshan, to make him attack them. The outcome might be decided in that split second, but it was very likely to cost them their lives.

    At this moment, Shen Mengdie emerged gracefully from behind Li Qingshan. ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t you take a look at where you are, the two of you?¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s Mirao? What have you all done?¡± Si Long could vaguely sense that something was amiss today. He was still worried about the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s safety.

    ¡°Hey, what are you waiting for? Let my bride in here right now!¡± Li Qingshan licked his lips. He was determined to make cuckolding Si Long a reality.

    ¡°Alright, alright, since you¡¯re both in such a hurry, then¡­ the chosen hour is here!¡±

    Shen Mengdie called out. Countless flowers bloomed in the surroundings, filling the entire palace. They constantly spiralled, stealing everyone¡¯s gazes and adding to the cheery atmosphere.

    A bride dressed in red bridal clothes emerged from behind the palace. She paused with each step, like steps to a dance. The beaded curtains rippled as the tassels drifted lightly. Every single step she took landed on everyone¡¯s hearts.

    She wore a great red, bridal veil that hid her face, but she gave off a charm that could not be put into words, immediately drawing over everyone¡¯s gazes. She even directly defused the battle that was on the verge of erupting between Li Qingshan and Si Long, as neither of them could devote all of their attention to the powerful enemy before them anymore.

    Despite all this, she continued to carry the umbrella. The handle rested against her shoulder as she twirled it gently in her hand. She even carried a cat in her arms. If it were not for her attire, she basically did not seem like she was here to be married, more like a young lady from a noble family on an outing.

    Li Qingshan became certain at the very first moment that this woman was the legendary Nine-tailed Fox Empress. There definitely was no other person who could exhibit such charms.

    For a moment, he was filled with a multitude of emotions too. Was she using him to test Si Long, or was she actually marrying him? None of this could be a part of Si Long¡¯s schemes anyway. There was no man who would do something like this for a scheme. Si Long had absolutely no need to do it either given his strength.

    Hmph, so be it if it¡¯s real or fake! If it¡¯s fake, then I¡¯ll make it real!

    ¡°Big Blacko!¡± The cat cried out in joy and lunged towards Li Qingshan, turning into a young lady mid-air and embracing Li Qingshan firmly.

    ¡°Xuanyue.¡± Li Qingshan brought his arm around her waist and smiled. ¡°Are you the maidservant coming with the bride?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m your master! Master!¡± Xuanyue pointed at his head viciously.

    ¡°Your master is almost going to become my wife,¡± Li Qingshan said with deep meaning. Regardless of what kind of scheme was hidden behind all of this, now was the time to expose it all.

    ¡°Mirao, what exactly is happening? Is it one of your jokes? If it¡¯s a joke, then you¡¯ve gone a little too far. I really can¡¯t accept this.¡± Si Long furrowed his brows heavily. His face was originally filled with fury and bewilderment, but in the end, it all just turned into a wry smile.

    ¡°Heehee!¡± The woman extended her hand under her bridal veil to cover her smile.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart rippled. He felt a little like he was floating, almost tempted to go up and remove her veil to see exactly how she looked.

    ¡°If I say this is a joke, can you forgive me?¡± An enchanting voice drifted out from beneath the bridal veil, like it was composed of wonderful musical notes.

    Si Long sighed. ¡°How can I say no? I know I¡¯ve made you suffer from all the waiting, which is why you¡¯re playing with me. So be it, so be it. I¡¯ll make things up to you once I deal with this Li Qingshan.¡±

    If he had not seen her with his own eyes, Li Qingshan definitely would have thought Si Long was a spineless fool, but he could understand it a little now. Probably even he would not be much better. This woman was basically a monster. He could not help but increase his vigilance, guarding against both her and Si Long at the same time.

    The woman sighed. ¡°This isn¡¯t a joke.¡±

    Si Long shuddered. He widened his eyes. ¡°What did you say? Have you forgotten about the promise between us?¡±

    ¡°What promise?¡±

    ¡°You said you would wait¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but the person I¡¯m waiting for is not you!¡±

 Chapter 1302

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1302 ¨C Fated Person

    Even with the great red veil, Li Qingshan seemed to be able to see her innocent look. He actually found her to be absolutely adorable, which made him wonder if there was something wrong with his head.

    Si Long was absolutely devastated. He took a step back and said with a face full of disbelief, ¡°No! This can¡¯t be true! Mirao, you must be joking with me. You¡¯re blaming me for becoming involved with too many women. I can promise you that you¡¯ll be the only one in my heart from today onwards.¡±

    His expression almost made him seem like he was pleading with her, which even earned him some sympathy from Li Qingshan. This sight basically resembled a nobody begging a goddess to not break up with him, only for the goddess to say, ¡°Nothing ever existed between us. All of it was just your hallucinations!¡±

    It was basically a living tragedy, so tragic that he even lost all of his friends. As a result, he began laughing and thought, Si Long, oh Si Long! To think you would have a day like this! Is the Nine-headed Fox Empress actually serious or still joking around? If she¡¯s serious, then who¡¯s she waiting for? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s me?

    He was aware that the Nine-tailed Fox Empress had already spent five millennia waiting in this world at the very least. Back then, even his eightieth ancestor had not been born. Even until now, he did not have a single clue about what the Nine-tailed Fox Empress looked like, but he still could not help but look forward to finding out a little.

    That was even when his reason had already come up with a speculation. The reason why the Nine-tailed Fox Empress had never ascended, remaining in the nine provinces, was probably like Xiao An waiting for him in the nine provinces. She was waiting for the return of a certain person, but that person was not Si Long. Of course, it was not him either. She probably wanted to use him to completely end Si Long¡¯s wishful thinking.

    The Nine-tailed Fox Empress said, ¡°Little Long, if I were willing to tie a knot with you, I would have married you five thousand years ago. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s been confused the entire time. I¡¯m doing this for your sake too. If you marry me, it¡¯ll only cause your endless problems.¡±

    ¡°For my sake?¡±

    Si Long feigned composure. He wanted to sneer in response, but his sneer seemed more like a miserable smile.

    ¡°Yeah, because you¡¯re completely unworthy of me.¡±

    The Nine-tailed Fox Empress said matter-of-factly as if she was stating a common fact like the sun was rough.

    What a vicious strike!

    Li Qingshan shivered. A chill ran from his tail bone to the top of his head. Even as just a spectator on the side, he found it absolutely dangerous, basically cutting his soul in half in a single stroke. He never thought he would actually hear something like that with his own ears, especially when Si Long had returned with riches and glory after many years of hard work and thought he had achieved great success. He had been sent from heaven to hell in an instant. It was basically as brutal as it could get.

    The damage to Si Long from everything he tried, everything he thought of, could not match that simple sentence. It was an absolutely correct decision to come today. Even if he were used as a tool to impersonate the groom, he found it extremely satisfying. In a short while, he had already developed a great impression of the Nine-tailed Fox Empress. Sure enough, she really was noble, beautiful, and powerful!

    Si Long¡¯s face changed drastically. ¡°I- I¡¯m not worthy of you?¡±

    The minister of rites could not help but call out, ¡°Fellow Su, what are you saying? Our emperor is the lord of the world, having undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation and condensed a Yang Soul. He¡¯s known as a Human Sovereign. You¡¯re just a measly Daemon King. I think you¡¯re the one who¡¯s unworthy of our emperor.¡±

    The officials that had accompanied Si Long all felt completely humiliated. They basically struggled to imagine just how Si Long felt right now. Was the Nine-tailed Fox Empress crazy?

    The Nine-tailed Fox Empress completely ignored him. She said earnestly, ¡°Little Long, you¡¯ve spent all those years in the Human realm. Calm down and think about it. Are you really worthy of marrying me just because you¡¯ve condensed a Yang Soul and become a Human Sovereign?¡±

    Even Li Qingshan found it devastating to his ears. She was basically trying to hack him to pieces!

    He could not help but clench his fists and prepare for battle. If he were in Si Long¡¯s place, he would definitely fly into a maddening fury out of shame and butcher everyone present.

    But to his surprise, Si Long fell silently, actually calming down. He sighed deeply. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right. A measly Human Sovereign still isn¡¯t worthy! Probably only True Immortals are worthy of you. That¡¯s why you¡¯re worried about sending me to my death, refusing to accept my proposal, refusing to accompany me to the Human realm, and trying to sever our tie in such a vicious manner.¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t make you wait here bitterly any longer. I will never give up on you either. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to cover yourself. There will be a day when I become a Human Immortal, and a True Immortal after that, such that you can accompany me by my side openly¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression immediately became strange. This Si Long sure was quite sick in the head. What ¡°only True Immortals are worthy of you¡±? Even those people who paraded beauty was in the eye of the beholder were not so exaggerated.

    However, was it really like what Si Long had said, that the Nine-tailed Fox Empress was actually thinking for him, which was why she came up with a horrible plan like this? Except with that thought, he felt vexed inside as if someone had stolen his love.

    Little did he know that while Si Long¡¯s words did have an element of exaggeration due to his emotions, it was not actually a lie.

    Nine-tailed foxes were blessed with beauty by nature. From birth, they possessed endless charms, earning the good graces of all. Wherever they went, it would always lead to a struggle. The Yousu clan even ranked first in terms of charms among the nine-tailed foxes, so they were even more disastrous with their beauties. Even gods and immortals had once died over them. On top of that, this Nine-tailed Fox Empress, Su Mirao, had been specially selected from the best among the best in the Yousu clan in the Kingdom of Green Hills.

    If that were not the case, it was impossible for Si Long to lose his composure like this, much less shake Li Qingshan¡¯s will. After all, neither of them were innocent, inexperienced men who had not seen women before. In their lifetimes alone, they had basically witnessed many vicissitudes.

    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. The person I¡¯m waiting for has already arrived.¡±

    Right as Si Long expressed his sincerity, a single reply from the Nine-tailed Fox Empress completely shattered all of his fantasies.

    Si Long roared out, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you! Tell me! Who is it exactly?¡±

    ¡°Look right before you. Why, isn¡¯t it him?¡±

    The Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s slender hand grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve gently. Her voice seemed to possess a hint of shyness and sweetness.

    Happiness came too suddenly!

    Li Qingshan felt woozy, basically wondering whether he was dreaming or not, or perhaps he had fallen into an illusion woven by the Nine-tailed Fox Empress a long time ago and everything he saw and felt was fake. However, he had confirmed a long time ago that everything happening before his eyes was not an illusion.

    Logically, it was impossible for an illusion like that to exist. No matter how great the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s hidden strength was, no matter how special her bloodline was, the power of the techniques she could use in the World of the Nine Provinces was limited. Si Long had only managed to overcome this limit through the will of the heavens, the heart of the people, and the nine cauldrons. Even with that, he still viewed Li Qingshan as a great enemy, so how could he be dancing in the palm of her hand?

    If it isn¡¯t an illusion, then am I actually the person she¡¯s waiting for¡­

    Li Qingshan bit the tip of his tongue viciously and circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, trying his best to maintain his mental clarity.

    No, I can¡¯t believe it so easily. Even if everything isn¡¯t an illusion, it might be a lie by this vixen so that we end up fighting viciously. Though, if I emerge victoriously, I¡¯ll never spare her.

    There was one person who refused to believe this even more than him. Si Long was furious. ¡°You¡¯re lying to me! He didn¡¯t even exist five thousand years ago! Even with his rebirths and reincarnations, it¡¯s enough for him to be reborn over a hundred times. How would you know he would be born here? If he really is the person you¡¯re waiting for, why didn¡¯t you meet with him much sooner, waiting for exactly this day before you mentioned it? Su Mirao, what are you trying to do exactly?¡±

    The Nine-tailed Fox Empress shook her head gently. ¡°Everything was the lord of the kingdom¡¯s arrangements. What can I do about it?¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡±

    Si Long shuddered inside. The lord of the Kingdom of Green Hills was definitely a Daemon Immortal, having undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation at the very least. He never imagined someone like her would interfere with the measly World of the Nine Provinces.

    Although he had just said he would become a Human Immortal, and then a True Immortal, so she could accompany him openly, he understood exactly how difficult this process would be and how slim his chances at succeeding were.

    The path of cultivation was more difficult the further one went. Throughout the countless creatures in the trichiliocosm, only so many were able to become immortals. The entire Myriad sect had only produced a single True Immortal in a million years. That was a million years in the Human realm.

    During this process, countless stars had been born and countless worlds had been destroyed. Human Sovereigns like him were like common carp. There were an immeasurable number of them. Who wasn¡¯t a genius of startling talent? Yet in the end, they all struggled to break free from the cycle of rebirth, sa?s¨¡ra.

    True Immortals had broken free from sa?s¨¡ra, no longer existing among the five elements. They coexisted with the world and shone with the celestial bodies. The difference between a True Immortal and a Human Sovereign like him was basically even greater than the difference between him and a mortal.

    As for the great cultivators and female Daemon Kings, they had not even made it past the basic threshold to become an immortal, so they could not really understand Si Long¡¯s shock.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyebrows pressed together slightly. He sank into his thoughts.

    If that was the case, everything made sense. A nine-tailed fox of unmatched talent would waste five thousand years in the nine provinces all because of an order from a superior, not because of something like infatuation.

    ¡°The lord of the kingdom placed me in this world and made me wait here for a fated person. She said I don¡¯t have to go out of my way to look for that person, as they will come to me one day. She wanted me to marry him, to become his virtuous wife and assist him in realising his dream, reaching beyond the Nine Heavens.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly raised his eyebrows. His scarlet eyes burned like fire.

    Beyond the Nine Heavens¡ªwhat a long time it has been since he last heard those four words!

 Chapter 1303

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1303 ¨C The Fox¡¯s Bewitchment

    Snow soared outside the palace with a biting cold. Flowers bloomed within the palace with a heavy fragrance.

    It was like two separate worlds.

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯ve specially come to receive you. All of the waiting for the past few millennia was for you. You are the chosen person, and I am about to become your wife. Once we leave this world, I will tell you how to reach beyond the Nine Heavens¡­¡± the Nine-tailed Fox Empress murmured softly, like a dream, like an illusion.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s breathing became slightly hurried. He stared at the Nine-tailed Fox Empress, and his eyes dilated slightly. A variety of scenes flowed through his eyes; on Crouching Ox hill, the black ox spoke to him, teaching him how to drink alcohol, eat meat, and kill people, giving him a great cultivation method that could pluck the stars and moon from the sky and move entire mountains to fill whole oceans.

    All of his pursuit, all of his dreams, pointed towards beyond the Nine Heavens. The four words were like a curse, becoming deeply embedded in his fate from the moment they occurred. He strived for it dauntlessly, with an indomitable spirit. It was his deepest obsession.

    Before he knew it, even the spirit turtle was unable to suppress the ripples in his heart. He could not help but reach towards the Nine-tailed Fox Empress, wanting to remove her bridal veil.

    Beneath the great red bridal veil, the Nine-tailed Fox Empress¡¯s lips curled into a smile, which made the entire Jade palace shine, pushing the so-called ¡°bewitchment¡± to the limit.

    A strange fragrance curled through the palace, so faint that it did not seem to exist. Wonderful music flowed through the place, fading in and fading out.

    The two merged together, leaving people enchanted. It was not actual fragrance and music, all just senses from the bottom of the heart. However, these illusionary senses were more realistic than any other smells or sounds.

    Xuanyue said in an enchanted daze, ¡°Big Blacko, I told you already. The fox empress is beautiful and noble and powerful. Do you finally believe me now?¡±

    Lolth bit her lips. She had joined the Jade palace recently, and her intrinsic nature was brutal and merciless, so she was not that deeply affected by the bewitchment. She felt rather mixed inside. This man who had conquered her through force and made her give birth to a child was gradually falling under the charms of another woman.

    Even more lamentable, she was no different. The Nine-tailed Fox Empress had stopped restricting her freedom a long time ago, yet she had lost the willpower to leave here. All she could do was watch helplessly as she constantly fell further, like those prey who fell into her webs. The web was already bound, and the venom had already been injected. Everything was beginning to melt away.

    Si Long was ashen. His aura constantly declined, falling into disorder. He watched as Li Qingshan lifted the bridal veil, yet he was unable to move a single finger. He only found it all pointless. He had become a pitiful joke, an ugly farce.

    At this moment, both of their inner demons flared!

    ¡°Your majesty! Your majesty, are you alright?¡±

    The calls seemed to come from an extremely distant place. A series of faces circled around him, filled with contempt and sneers. His body convulsed, flickering with light as if it could collapse at any moment.

    The two men that dominated the nine provinces experienced emotions that were complete opposites. One rose up to heaven, while the other fell into the abyss of hell. However, in the eyes of others, they both seemed possessed, dancing in the palm of a woman¡¯s hand, unable to free themselves from her.

    On the icy peak, Xiao An suddenly said, ¡°It¡¯s too quiet.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Yeah!¡±

    Just earlier, Si Long had given off a mighty aura. They thought a battle was on the verge of erupting, yet for some reason, it suddenly settled down again.

    Logically speaking, when two vicious beasts were locked in one cage, a horrific slaughter would immediately begin after a temporary staredown, yet now, there was actually no disturbance at all. It truly was extremely strange.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re actually holding a wedding! Or perhaps he¡¯s been entranced by the vixen,¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming fiddled around with his cup and said with deep meaning.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go in and take a look.¡± Xiao An tightened her grip around the hilt of her sword, about to force her way into the Jade palace.

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of going in? He doesn¡¯t even have the ability to start the battle. Let¡¯s just disperse here!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming raised his head in disapproval. He drank all of the ice and snow in his cup.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I concur, but something else has probably happened. After all, the Nine-tailed Fox Empress is only a Daemon King. No matter how crafty she is, controlling Li Qingshan as soon as they meet is a little too unbelievable.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming countered with a question, ¡°Is she really just a Daemon King?¡±

    Gu Yanying was taken aback, sinking into her thoughts.

    Xiao An had already taken off, landing before the Jade palace silently. She burst through the gates in a single stroke, flying through the entrance, except there was only an empty field of snow before her. The entire Jade palace had vanished.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan lifted the great red veil.

    At that instant, an invisible force gripped everyone¡¯s hearts. It went without saying that the female Daemon Kings all became enchanted and enthralled. Even the great cultivators blanked out on the spot, staring at her in a daze, forgetting about everything else in the surroundings.

    Only Si Long behaved like he had just suffered a great blow. Blood spurted from his mouth violently, turning into a golden mist in the air. His aura became even more disorderly and disheveled.

    However, the only person that existed in her eyes was Li Qingshan. Her jade-green fox eyes were like deep pools that reached the yellow springs, dragging his mind in.

    Suddenly, a red thread appeared around Li Qingshan¡¯s little finger. It tightened before snapping!

    It was the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red that Qiu Haitang had planted. He had once opened his mind and allowed the red thread to wrap around him, yet now, it had been forcefully destroyed.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart ached. He blinked his eyes as if he was about to recover.

    Su Mirao grabbed his hand and called out, ¡°Dear.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes became dazed again.

    Suddenly, a butterfly drifted past his face, shining with illusionary colours. It immediately obscured Su Mirao¡¯s face.

    Shen Mengdie smiled. ¡°Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. After such a great dream, when are you going to wake up?¡±

    ¡°Little Die, what are you doing?¡± Su Mirao said nonchalantly, reaching towards the colourful butterfly that drifted over.

    As if she had been expecting this, Shen Mengdie dodged it lightly. ¡°Heehee, dreams are only interesting if they¡¯re bizarre. And he¡¯s the main character.¡±

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you on about?¡±

    Su Mirao furrowed her brows. There was something wrong with this woman¡¯s head even back then, immune to the control of her bewitchment, so she specially came up with a scheme against her. She became trapped by her question for several thousand years, yet she actually did not die from insanity and cultivation deviation. Instead, she became even more deranged, which was truly unexpected.

    ¡°Su Mirao, you think everything will go as you planned? Yet you don¡¯t know that throughout the whole wide world, the main character is always the greatest, so of course, I have to stick with him. What kind of a future do I have with you?¡± Shen Mengdie declared righteously.

    With a red flash, Su Mirao drifted over. Her bridal clothes fluttered, and her tassels drifted through the air. Her hands turned into countless blurs like blooming flowers, trapping the butterfly within.

    Shen Mengdie spun and flew. The butterfly turned into countless blurs as well, slipping between Su Mirao¡¯s fingers from an unbelievable angle every single time.

    The myriad flowers bloomed as a thousand butterflies fluttered. One of them advanced as the other one retreated, one in pursuit and one in flight. Their clothes drifted about, no longer resembling female daemons. They were clearly goddesses in a mortal realm.

    They clashed in such a narrow space, yet they did not give off any aura, much less cause any damage. It seemed like a graceful dance of great coordination and instead gave off an illusionary sense of beauty.

    In a daze, it seemed like a splendid, white fox lunging towards a colourful butterfly.

    The fox¡¯s steps were light as the butterfly danced gracefully, drawing over everyone¡¯s gazes. Even Si Long was enthralled. Even in the Human realm, he had never seen a dance like that.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Su Mirao snorted coldly, becoming angered. A snowy-white tail abruptly extended out from beneath her dress, smacking the butterfly out of the air viciously.

    ¡°Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ you¡¯re actually the main character!? How tragic, how tragic. I don¡¯t want to live in a world with a female main character! It¡¯ll be too crazy!¡±

    PS: Apologies, I¡¯ve made you all wait. Writing up to this point has been a huge test to me. I can¡¯t afford any carelessness. Recently, I¡¯ve been doing my best with reading novels, almost to a point where I¡¯m possessed, which is also a major reason for missing releases. This is everything that¡¯s been built up over the past few years, converted into the most fascinating story, so the second half of Legend of the Great Sage can be even better. It¡¯s almost like coming up with a whole new book, yet just without the passion of a new book, which involves difficulties that cannot be put into words. For the sake of this goal, I¡¯ve basically cast aside everything else, whether it be wealth, love, or contact, living life like an ascetic monk, just so I can do my best and overcome my limits. As for how far I can take it, even I am uncertain right now. Ten years face to wall, I shall make a breakthrough, or die an avowed rebel daring to tread the sea.

    TL: The poem at the end is by Zhou Enlai, written in 1917, who later went on to become the first premier of the PRC. It basically means that he will spend 10 years of hardships in hopes of success, but even if he fails in the end and dies, he will still be a hero.

 Chapter 1304

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1304 ¨C Reason

    Shen Mengdie muttered away in a deranged manner, making Su Mirao feel rather helpless. She sneered. ¡°Little Die, I know this isn¡¯t your true body, but you better not think I¡¯m powerless over you. Once I leave this world, I have plenty of ways to track down your main body!¡±

    ¡°No, this is my true body!¡± Shen Mengdie refuted her immediately. Her eyes that rippled with colours were extraordinarily determined. ¡°Mirao, you can destroy me, but you can¡¯t deny my existence. I am a¡­ beautiful¡­ butterfly¡­¡±

    Towards the end, her gaze began to drift, possessing a sorrowful sense of beauty, yet also a childish stubbornness.

    Even Su Mirao found it rather difficult to do anything to her from the colour. She was just an unimportant clone anyway. Her priority right now was to continue with the wedding and completely tame Li Qingshan.

    As a result, she tried to understand the thoughts of a madman as she guided her slowly. ¡°Since you know I¡¯m the true¡­ main character, then stop opposing me, alright?¡±

    Abruptly, Shen Mengdie threw herself on the ground in prostration, praying towards the sky vehemently. ¡°Great lord of the dream, please forgive my ignorant arrogance. I shouldn¡¯t have tried to measure your ever-changing will¡­¡±

    Su Mirao was taken aback. She had seen her fair share of madmen before, but she truly was unmatched in terms of madness, as the others would go crazy to a certain extent and then die from cultivation deviation. Had she perhaps truly comprehended something?

    Suddenly, she jerked back to her senses. No, I can¡¯t let her influence me!

    At this moment, when Shen Mengdie raised her head and looked at Su Mirao from behind, a mysterious smile now stretched over her face.

    Li Qingshan was still standing in the same place without budging at all. Even his eyes had not budged¡ªeven when they clashed¡ªcontinuing to gaze ahead blankly as if Su Mirao was still standing there.

    But at this moment, a slender figure silently arrived behind him.

    ¡°Compared to you becoming a slave to others, it¡¯ll be much better if I just kill you!¡±

    Lolth raised her red lips, revealing her sharp, venomous teeth. She bit down on his neck viciously, injecting all of her venom into his body.

    Even when she was bewitched, unable to leave the Nine-tailed Fox Empress, it could not stop her from fulfilling the wish she had held for all this time, impelled by her envy¡ªkilling Li Qingshan!

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    Su Mirao was both surprised and furious. It was very likely for the great threat on his life to make him recover, breaking free from the bewitched state. It was completely impossible for Li Qingshan to die to her either.

    ¡°Yes, palace master.¡±

    Lolth¡¯s eyes blanked out. She let go, taking a few steps back, completely unable to defy her orders.

    However, she had still injected a large quantity of venom into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. Even when his body was abnormally tough, he did not suppress the venom at all in his dazed state, so his face immediately darkened, clearly poisoned already.

    ¡°It¡¯s all your fault!¡±

    Su Mirao looked back and glared at Shen Mengdie. She immediately remembered that it was exactly her who had led Lolth to the Jade palace. Due to her special relationship with Li Qingshan, Lolth had even received her special attention, except due to spending too little time together, she had yet to bewitch her completely. She never expected something like this to happen.

    Shen Mengdie snickered. ¡°Mirao, you think I don¡¯t know? Back then, you dealt with me through Si Long¡¯s hand. I had been drifting on the ocean all that time, so apart from a good sister of mine like you, who could understand my weakness so well? This is obviously a debt you¡¯ll have to repay. An accomplice like him is only an add-on to the deal.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been feigning madness the entire time?¡± Su Mirao called out, refusing to believe she could also be fooled by illusions.

    Shen Mengdie blinked her eyes like she had just been wrongly accused. ¡°What feigning ignorance? This mister Li Qingshan is our friend. Even if you¡¯re the chosen main character, I won¡¯t stand on your side.¡± Suddenly, she launched a tirade at the sky. ¡°You trash, idiot, fool, why don¡¯t you finish me off if you have the balls?¡±

    She was not saying that to anyone, but to the so-called ¡°lord of the dream¡±.

    She shut her eyes after the tirade, acting like she was about to face her death. A while later, she opened her left eye before opening her right eye. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m fine!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of you!¡±

    Su Mirao was so furious that she shook all over, finally certain that Shen Mengdie was actually mad! She had actually fallen for a madman¡¯s scheme, which was completely unforgivable. If this continued, she felt like even she would go crazy.

    Her hand pierced Shen Mengdie¡¯s chest like a bolt of lightning, grabbing a struggling butterfly. She was about to crush it completely when she suddenly froze.

    Su Mirao slowly looked back, meeting a pair of eyes that burned like fire.

    Li Qingshan had his arm outstretched, unleashing the Ape Demon Locks the Space. ¡°Fellow Su, please release my friend!¡±

    From the moment the red thread of lovesickness had snapped, he had recovered a sliver of clarity. The vicious assault from Lolth¡¯s venom had set off the spirit turtle¡¯s warnings too, forcing him to make an instinctive response for the sake of survival, which allowed him to recover some more clarity.

    He was still calm on the surface, but his fright and fury inside could not be put into words. He was not afraid of dying, but letting someone control his mind and reducing him into a slave, a puppet, was truly worse than death.

    He had encountered countless dangers in his life. If it were not for Shen Mengdie today, he almost would have doomed himself while handling such a simple task.

    In hindsight, from the moment he entered the palace, the Nine-tailed Fox Empress had already begun making a move against him.

    First, she dealt a vicious blow to Si Long to please him and make him lower his guard. Afterwards, she used ¡°beyond the Nine Heavens¡± to create an opening, taking his mind in a single stroke. She had basically turned him from thoroughly-tempered steel to something that completely wrapped around her finger at her whim.

    Su Mirao sighed gently and said softly, ¡°My dear husband, aren¡¯t I enough?¡±

    If she just went for it then and there, Shen Mengdie would definitely die, but it would definitely enrage Li Qingshan, allowing him to completely recover from her bewitchment. Her plan of several thousand years would fall into shambles.

    At the very least, there was something she had not been lying about. She had indeed remained in this world to wait for Li Qingshan. She had even sworn a Blood Oath of the Nether River in the past in exchange for many benefits from the lord of the kingdom.

    However, if she was willing to just follow the arrangements of others, she would not be Su Mirao. From the moment she arrived in the nine provinces, she began considering how she would swallow the bait and spit out the hook. Si Long was a tool she had prepared, as well as quite a nice toy.

    Actually, she had confirmed that Li Qingshan was the person she was waiting for a long time ago. The terrifying aura that had once appeared on the Ice Sword cliff could fool those great cultivators that lacked knowledge and cultivation, but it could not fool her.

    It was also exactly because of the aura¡¯s existence that she never found the courage to act recklessly. It also made her slightly hopeful, trying to abuse the loopholes in the oath. After all, as long as Li Qingshan never came to visit her, he could do whatever he wanted, whether it was being butchered by another person or ascending. None of it counted as her violating her oath. By then, she only had to endure a few more years. After that, she would be free from the Blood Oath of the Nether River, allowing her to leave this world easily.

    She had never thought that the tool she prepared in the past would instead become the reason why Li Qingshan would come and see her. In the very end, all of the circumstances, coincidences, reasons, and fortunes prevented her from getting away.

 Chapter 1305

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1305 ¨C Struggle Between the Tiger and the Dragon

    Su Mirao swivelled her jade-green fox eyes and thought, The lord of the kingdom is from the Tushan clan. She¡¯s familiar with the heavenly secrets and most skilled in divination, so she¡¯s probably calculated this already. Even more despicably, not only has she become a concubine for someone else, but she¡¯s even abused my ignorance given my young age to make me suffer here. Even if Li Qingshan manages to overcome all the hardships in his path to beyond the Nine Heavens, how will it benefit me even if he really becomes an immortal or a sage? If I¡¯m careless, I might even be dragged to my potential doom, dying in the process.

    If others were in a predicament like that, perhaps they would be devastated. They might downright accept their fate, but she was not that submissive in nature. Otherwise, she would not have set up this ambush either.

    She gritted her teeth. Hmph, since you want to feign your generosity, forcing me to be with him, then you better not blame me for taking advantage of his young age. It¡¯s not my fault if your plan gets ruined!

    As a result, she continued with her innate ability, unleashing her charms. Nine bushy tails extended out from under her dress, spreading out behind her like a throne, yet also like a peacock displaying its feathers. Spiritual qi surged towards her, gathering until it became visible light. It was as if even the world had fallen in love with her.

    As for the others in the hall, they went without saying. The religious preceptor of the right was a practitioner of daoism. Even to this day, he maintained the body of a child. The strength of his disposition was as clear as day, yet even he was dazzled right now, completely enthralled by her. He completely cast aside the daoist concepts of tranquillity and being at ease. Suddenly, he felt like even dying on the spot was worth it if she could just look at him properly.

    Si Long had been severely affected by her in the first place. As he gazed at her current form, he thought in a daze, Mirao isn¡¯t actually trying to marry Li Qingshan. Instead, she¡¯s trying to deal with him, but she¡¯s made me suffer instead. Sigh, does she really think that I wouldn¡¯t help her if she told me sooner?

    With that, he instead calmed down inside. His cultivation deviation was not as severe anymore.

    On the other hand, when Li Qingshan heard her say ¡°my dear husband¡±, he felt like he had just drunk fine alcohol. His heart rippled, and the bit of clarity he had recently recovered became blurred again. He tried everything he could to maintain a wisp of clearness in his head. This was the first time in his life that he had encountered such a powerful bewitching technique. When he had been bound by the red thread of lovesickness in the past, it only made him a little more attached. It was nowhere near enough to influence his mind like this.

    No matter how wondrous Haitang¡¯s Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge is, it¡¯s still a Golden Core cultivation method after all. This daemon fox¡¯s strength has definitely surpassed Daemon King, or even nine-tailed foxes would not be this powerful. I am in possession of five powerful bloodlines after all.

    It probably wasn¡¯t all lies when she said she specially waited here to receive me, so I can¡¯t just turn against her. Hmm? How can I think like that? Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve also been bewitched? Otherwise, why would I be unable to muster any killing intent at all after falling for such a deadly scheme by her? If I can¡¯t deal with this as quickly as possible, I might fall for her charms again.

    As a result, he made up his mind. He forced the venom in his body into his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, as well as his skin. He blinded his eyes, deafened his ears, and completely sealed off his five senses. Only then did his mind settle slightly.

    ¡°Fellow Su, since Si Long is not your partner, then we have no grievances, so don¡¯t force me to do this! I¡¯ll count to three. If you still don¡¯t release her, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    Su Mirao trapped the butterfly between her fingers and smiled. ¡°Counting again? You sure are a one-trick pony. I don¡¯t believe you can bring yourself to harm me. Why don¡¯t we just finish off the wedding? I¡¯ll do whatever you want me to do afterwards.¡±

    Even if she did not have a hostage, she did not believe Li Qingshan could attack her. If her bewitchment could be countered just by sealing off the five senses and steeling one¡¯s nerves, the foxes of Yousu would have vanished from the world a long time ago.

    Apart from being disastrous beauties, there was another reason why the Yousu clan possessed such an infamous reputation; they could get away with any misdeeds just because they were adorable.

    ¡°One!¡±

    Li Qingshan was blind and deaf, but her voice and smile had left a clear impression in his heart. He clenched his fist and took a step forward.

    ¡°Dear, are you really so afraid of seeing me?¡± Su Mirao smiled sweetly and approached him with gentle steps.

    ¡°Two!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his fist viciously, except he felt like he was soaking in warm water. His entire body felt soft, even unable to muster his daemon qi, let alone unleash any innate abilities. They had yet to formally clash, but the dangers he faced were no less than any of the powerful opponents he had encountered in the past.

    ¡°Oh my. Hit me then. C¡¯mon, beat me to death. Let¡¯s see who¡¯ll still want to be your wife.¡±

    Su Mirao raised her chest and grumbled, like a young lady throwing a tantrum. A smooth and fluffy fox tail silently wrapped around Li Qingshan¡¯s waist.

    Seeing this, Si Long¡¯s inner demons flared up again. He was tempted to skin Li Qingshan alive, yet he dared not move without permission, just in case he displeased her.

    ¡°Three!¡±

    Li Qingshan spat out the final number and punched out.

    Su Mirao continued to smile as she watched the punch pass by right in front of her before suddenly becoming stunned.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s arm lengthened abruptly, planting a punch in Si Long¡¯s face.

    Si Long was in a daze, so how could he respond? His face caved in violently, and his entire head dissipated.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°My dear wife, let¡¯s get married once I butcher this cuckolded emperor!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Su Mirao gritted her teeth. Bewitched by her, Li Qingshan could not attack her, but he could attack everyone else.

    Immediately, a furious dragon¡¯s cry reverberated through the Jade palace. Si Long¡¯s headless body rapidly shrank, exposing a jade seal with a golden dragon coiled around it. He turned into a five-clawed golden dragon and lunged towards Li Qingshan, coiling around him firmly and ripping away viciously.

    He unleashed all of his hatred at that moment, leaving Li Qingshan bloodied with cut flesh.

    ¡°Perfect timing!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great roar and turned into a vicious tiger, biting back at his neck. His tiger claws were like knives, producing deep gashes on the golden dragon¡¯s back.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure swelled up violently, standing like a mountain. His scarlet hair stood on end as he radiated with malice.

    The golden dragon began to expand as well, flowing like a river. His golden scales glistened as his horns stood gloriously.

    Rumble!

    Two colossal beings engaged in a battle in the most primitive way possible. The pillars snapped and the walls collapsed, reducing the Jade palace to ruins. The entire palace was brought to the ground.

    The tiger¡¯s roars shook the earth. The dragon¡¯s cries startled the sky.

    The tiger roars and dragon cries filled the surroundings, making the expressions of the female Daemon Kings and great cultivators change drastically. As if they had just woken up from a dream, they scattered and dodged.

    The fierce struggle turned this land of warmth and happiness into a battlefield. Cracks appeared in the space there.

    As it turned out, the Jade palace was like the secret tombs of the Five Absolutes Immortal, constructed in a separate zone opened up in space. Normally, it was only present as an illusion, which was why Xiao An found nothing.

    However, the power they possessed had passed the limit that the nine provinces could withstand a long time ago, let alone this measly zone. Signs of collapse immediately appeared.

    Su Mirao¡¯s expression changed several times. She understood that he wanted to use this battle to agitate his battle spirit so that he could resist her bewitchment. There were great horrors in life, but there was also great courage and great determination.

    ¡°Both of you, stop! Si Long, you¡¯ve destroyed my Jade palace. I¡¯m going to get angry. Li Qingshan, if you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll kill this mad butterfly.¡± Then she lifted up Xuanyue. ¡°And this cat!¡±

    The struggle between the tiger and the dragon paused.

    At this moment, a twisted streak of light ripped open the space there. Xiao An appeared with Immortal Relinquished in her left hand and Buddha Slaying in her right, thrusting the Buddha Slaying sword mercilessly towards Su Mirao¡¯s chest.

 Chapter 1306

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1306 ¨C Curses

    Su Mirao furrowed her brows gently. This successor of white bone was not that easy of an opponent. Just her clear eyes alone made Su Mirao feel unhappy inside. Her bewitchment was completely useless too. Xiao An was basically her natural nemesis.

    Gazing at the incoming sword, she grabbed Xuanyue and used her as a meat shield. Xuanyue said in a daze, ¡°Li¡¯l Whitey?¡±

    The sword did not pause at all, piercing her in a single stroke. Xuanyue¡¯s large eyes immediately dimmed, losing their light.

    The sword continued onwards, passing her body and piercing Su Mirao¡¯s upper garment.

    Su Mirao furrowed her brows. She never expected Xiao An to be so vicious, basically stabbing Xuanyue like she was a piece of dead wood, without any hesitation at all. Instead, it had cost her the initiative.

    Unfortunately, the cat was also a pet that she adored, but the cat probably could not live anymore. Being stabbed by that sword was no joke.

    She turned and dodged the sword. The tassels on the hem of her dress and the umbrella in her hand spun as a result.

    For a moment, the tassels revolved, and the myriad flowers bloomed, producing many blurs. It was impossible to pinpoint her exact location.

    An illusion appeared behind Xiao An, whispering in her ear, ¡°You white bone demon, do you really think you can do whatever you want just because you¡¯re immune to my bewitchment?¡± She shot a glance at the female Daemon Kings.

    ¡°Kill her! Protect the palace master!¡±

    The female Daemon Kings all lunged at Xiao An together like a group of crazed fanatics, launching attacks together. There were even the figures of a few great cultivators in the mix.

    Xiao An swung her left hand. The Skull Prayer Beads scattered through the air, turning into Skeleton Demons. Under her control, they coordinated together, standing ready for battle and blocking all of the attacks.

    She swung the Buddha Slayings word with her right hand and tossed Xuanyue¡¯s ¡°corpse¡± out through a spatial crack.

    Xuanyue¡¯s soft, cold body fell onto the snowy tundra.

    Suddenly, she blinked her eyes, and they recovered their previous light. The wound on her chest had closed up. Gazing at the sky full of snow, she said in a daze, ¡°Meow?¡±

    Xiao An stroked the sword with her left hand, removing the layer of golden buddhist light on there.

    The Buddha Slaying sword had never directly harmed Xuanyue. Although it was more than enough to kill a mere Daemon Commander, she did have a revival innate ability after all. As long as she maintained her daemon core, she could live.

    And from the looks of it, with a drastic increase in her cultivation, breaking through to Daemon Commander, the innate ability had become much more practical too. She revived very soon, and it freed her from the influence of the bewitchment.

    Cracks ran across the sky above the snowy tundra. The scales of a dragon and the stripes of a tiger flashed through these cracks as tiger roars and dragon cries swept up the sky full of snow, making the mountains and forests shiver. The force that leaked out scraped off the accumulated snow layer by layer, revealing the dark-yellow earth beneath.

    The Daemon Kings were locked in battle against the Skeleton Demons. Dazzling streaks of innate abilities ripped open even more cracks in space. The whistling light either riddled the ground with holes, making it shake constantly, or it shot through the air, piercing the long-hanging clouds and leaving behind thousands of gaps.

    Xuanyue shrunk back, instinctively feeling fear. A woman in white clothes appeared beside her gently. She raised her head in surprise. ¡°Gu- Gu¡­¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± Gu Yanying brought her folding fan up to her lips with a smile. Suddenly, her face turned vicious, and a pair of dark-azure wings unfurled behind her. Her right hand curved like a hawk¡¯s talons, reaching towards her.

    Xuanyue screamed out and scrambled away, running far away from here.

    Gu Yanying smiled before becoming stern again.

    Li Qingshan was dripping with blood. Even with what he was most skilled at, close combat, he could not gain any advantage at all. Instead, Si Long¡¯s aura became stronger and stronger, constantly pushing past the limits. Even when he was injured, he only lost scales in the process, without losing any blood. That was not a body of flesh at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a Yang Soul!¡±

    When they had been in outer space, she had asked R¨¡hu Xiaoming plenty of questions regarding cultivation, and she had made ample preparations for this battle too. She recognised the true nature of the golden dragon in a single glance.

    After undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation, the Soul Nascence became a Yin Soul, formally embarking on the path to immortality.

    From then onwards, they could project their souls out of their bodies, transcending the frail body of human cultivators. Not only would their lifespans lengthen drastically, but it also gave them access to a variety of profound abilities. Scattered, it was like gas; condensed, it took a proper form. They could hide their tracks as they moved about or go into hiding. They could also merge with their surroundings and traverse thousands of kilometres instantly.

    Just by breaking through, they developed an endless amount of new capabilities, and their various techniques would grow dramatically in power too. However, they were still vulnerable to the elements, such as lightning and fire, and it was very easy for their Yin Souls to be damaged in battle. They needed to forge a lifebound arcane treasure that the Yin Soul could latch onto when being projected out of the body. Only then could they kill enemies from thousands of kilometres away.

    By the time they had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation and condensed a Yang Soul, not only were they mostly impervious to the elements, but they could even gather the aura of nature and refine it in their Yang Souls. As such, their Yang Souls were basically equivalent to an indestructible arcane treasure.

    That was why Si Long seemed to be heavily injured when Li Qingshan had punched in his head, but the damage he had sustained was actually negligible. Instead, what Su Mirao said had almost made Si Long suffer cultivation deviation. The damage was greater, which was why he lost the initiative from the beginning, unable to avoid the punch.

    The golden dragon was actually the lifebound arcane treasure controlled by his Yang Soul. As a result, no matter how severely damaged it was, not a single droplet of blood could be drawn. Even Xiao An¡¯s Buddha Slaying sword would probably struggle to kill him in a single stroke. An opponent like that was truly difficult to deal with.

    He was an existence that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation after all! If it were possible, Li Qingshan really would like to avoid making an enemy like this. The difference between major realms of cultivation could not be made up for so easily, not to mention the fact that there was a Nine-tailed Fox Empress of unknown strength too.

    Su Mirao said, ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m going to count to three. If you still don¡¯t stop, I¡¯ll kill Shen Mengdie. Hmph, you can have a taste of this trick too. One! Two!¡±

    She counted extremely quickly, giving Li Qingshan no time to think at all. She even glanced at Xiao An in disdain. If you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you try and take this hostage from me too?

    Xiao An was unable to determine where Su Mirao¡¯s true body was, so she simply stood there. Suddenly, she opened her mouth. ¡°Bitch.¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Su Mirao¡¯s eyes narrowed suddenly.

    ¡°Bitch.¡± Xiao An repeated herself and even continued, ¡°You shameless vixen, you man-riding whore, apart from tempting men, you don¡¯t know how to do anything else¡­¡±

    She remained as expressionless as before. Even her voice was devoid of emotions. Her pink lips constantly opened and closed like she was reading from a script. However, if no one stopped her, she could continue to read away for all of eternity without ever repeating herself.

    The Skeleton Demons let out cackles as they fought, serving as the most loyal audience.

    The female Daemon Kings were all taken aback as if they did not know how to respond. It also seemed like they were in a state of disbelief.

    Despite being locked in battle, Li Qingshan and Si Long both noticed the situation here, as the people that they cared about the most in the world were standing there.

    Li Qingshan virtually blanked out. He felt like his heart had shattered. He murmured, ¡°My Xiao An¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± Si Long flew into a fury. If he was not entangled with Li Qingshan, he almost wanted to abandon Li Qingshan and lunge towards Xiao An.

    Su Mirao¡¯s chest rose and fell a few times. With her natural charms, she had never even been rebuked before, so how could she stand such insults? She sneered. ¡°Good, very good. I¡¯ll be butchering you for sure today. No one will be able to save you!¡±

    Li Qingshan heard that and flew into a fury. ¡°Bitch! How dare you!¡±

    Su Mirao was taken aback. She was in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ cursing me too?¡±

    A smile flashed across Xiao An¡¯s face.

 Chapter 1307

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1307 ¨C You Don¡¯t Understand

    Daemon Qi surged in Li Qingshan¡¯s body like bubbling lava. Under the restraints of the golden dragon, he lifted his head bit by bit and let out an earth-shaking roar.

    Immediately, like the violent eruption of a volcano, like a passing storm, the roar rushed through the entire zone, sweeping up billions tonnes of rock, turning the world into chaos.

    The Daemon Kings all panicked. The violent heat gradually receded; fear filled their minds. They recalled when they were still wild beasts, how they should scatter and flee as soon as they heard a sound like that.

    That was the king of myriad beasts!

    At this moment, even Si Long could only look up at him in disbelief, serving as a contrast.

    On the distant mountain, R¨¡hu Xiaoming also heard the warrior roaring with battle spirit. He leapt up and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s more like it! Li¡¯l Y, you¡¯ve waited for a very long time now too, so fight alongside me!¡± He picked up a stone, drew his slingshot, and was ready to fire.

    Su Mirao lowered her umbrella. Her expression changed. I thought he was just a country bumpkin that got lucky¡­ Suddenly, she stared at Xiao An again and studied her. ¡°What is your relationship with him?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s got nothing to do with you.¡± Xiao An pointed the Buddha Slaying sword at Su Mirao.

    ¡°Really? How difficult to accept is that? But is this worth it? Sacrificing everything just to win over the heart of a man, only for him to never truly belong to you.¡± Su Mirao lamented. ¡°With your talents and intelligence, as well as the legacy of white bone, you would have incinerated this world and ascended to the six realms a long time ago if it weren¡¯t for him tying you down.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Xiao An let go with her left hand. The Immortal Relinquished sword dove into the space there, circling around Su Mirao. Its sharp light flickered in and out of existence. Then she waved her hand, and the Skeleton Demons whistled back, assembling the Skeleton Demon Formation and surrounding Su Mirao.

    Su Mirao was surprised, not because of the threat from the formation and the sword, but because Xiao An was completely vulnerable from behind, basically in dire straits.

    Sure enough, no longer stopped by the Skeleton Demons and seeing Su Mirao in danger, the Daemon Kings immediately unleashed their innate abilities, which hurtled over like a great wave.

    A strong-bodied woman in black with a cold, proud expression turned into a black panther. Stepping on lightning, she accelerated to the limit. Lightning and thunder roared in her mouth, turning into a crackling pit of electricity, possessing terrifying destructive power.

    The Lightning Shadow Panther King was one of the past Seventy-two Daemon Kings. She possessed the bloodline of the lightning beast, having reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation a long time ago. However, she never left the nine provinces because she refused to part with the Nine-tailed Fox Empress.

    This move, Thunder Bite, was her strongest innate ability. Coupled with the accelerating ability, Lightning Strike, who knew how many cultivators she had killed. Most of them died in a single strike.

    Xiao An¡¯s bones were tough, but she would be injured if she received a strike like this. There were the attacks from all the other Daemon Kings behind her too, so Xiao An¡¯s life was in danger.

    At this exact moment, a scarlet tiger leapt out, lunging towards the Lightning Shadow Panther King. The wings of wind on its back reached thousands of metres long as it turned around and let out a roar.

    Roar!

    The Daemon Kings all backed down fearfully, unable to muster the courage to take a step forward. They clearly possessed an absolute advantage in numbers, but they all felt like they were facing this king of beasts alone.

    Su Mirao widened her eyes. She was in disbelief. How can he break free from Si Long? Then she saw how the scarlet tiger was drenched in blood. So he used that move. His innate abilities have recovered.

    Like Giving Wings to a Tiger, the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar, and the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon were the three great innate abilities of the Tiger Demon Transformation. Under the state of the tiger demon, he could push them to the limit, which was why he could break free from the golden dragon¡¯s restraints, take down the Lightning Shadow Panther King, and overwhelm the daemons with a single roar.

    He met Xiao An¡¯s clear eyes again. She was basically gambling with her life. If Li Qingshan had responded just a moment slower, or if he was unable to break free from Si Long, it was very likely for her to die here.

    No, even if she lost the gamble, she would still be able to completely awaken Li Qingshan¡¯s fighting spirit and free him from the influence of the bewitchment.

    Originally, Su Mirao planned on continuing to use Shen Mengdie to threaten Li Qingshan. Now, she was actually unable to say anything at all.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword suddenly shot out from space, gliding along a twisted and profound path. A hundred and thirty nine small, white bone swords criss-crossed. The swords enveloped her. The Skeleton Demon Formation tightened at the same time, spraying out with the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Su Mirao flicked her finger without even looking back, striking the Immortal Relinquished sword perfectly. With a clang, it was sent flying. The paper umbrella in her hand twirled around, and the white bone swords all fell to the ground. The rolling flames were unable to reach within nine metres of her. She actually fended it all off effortlessly, without any fear at all. The only thing that she was truly wary about was the Buddha Slaying sword.

    With a jingle of bells, the Buddha Slaying sword moved.

    Standing on a skull, Xiao An swung the sword.

    Su Mirao raised the umbrella, waiting for her to come. She made up her mind. I¡¯ll teach you a painful lesson and make you understand that men are all unreliable. I¡¯ll make you watch helplessly as this man dies in battle. Compared to killing you, that¡¯s the way for you to feel pain, right? No one can insult me without paying a price. Under this Myriad Flower Umbrella of Primordial Chaos, you¡¯ll understand my true horrors!

    Right as she concentrated on Xiao An, a hand extended out from space, snatching Shen Mengdie gently from her hand.

    Su Mirao was surprised. She dared not be distracted again.

    However, Xiao An pulled back her sword and returned. She actually did not look at her again. She returned to Li Qingshan¡¯s side to assist him, even taking back the Skull Prayer Beads and the Immortal Relinquished Sword formation.

    After taking down the Lightning Shadow Panther King and holding off the daemons with his roar, Li Qingshan immediately stopped all of his tiger demon abilities and transformed into the spirit turtle, shrinking into his shell. Si Long¡¯s furious attacks basically rained down on him at the same time. The claws and teeth left behind scrapes on the shell.

    Li Qingshan understood extremely well that an enemy like Si Long definitely could not be killed off in a single burst of the tiger demon. He chose to transform into the tiger demon to stoke his battle spirit and deal the greatest amount of damage to Si Long while he suffered from cultivation deviation.

    With this battle, he had truly witnessed Si Long¡¯s strength. He had not gained any advantages, but he had managed to force out all of the venom from his body and remove the influence from the bewitchment.

    However, Si Long was rapidly recovering too. Not only was he a Human Sovereign, but he also represented the intangible will of the heavens and the living creatures of the world to kill the demon king, Li Qinghsan. He forced Li Qingshan into transforming into the spirit turtle for the first time in battle, such that he could only sit there and endure a beating.

    The determining factor of this battle was Su Mirao who possessed unpredictable strength and did not distinguish between friend or foe.

    ¡°Fox empress, I¡¯ve heard much about you, and you truly do live up to your reputation. You really are a beauty. Even when I see you, my heart flutters.¡±

    Gu Yanying released Shen Mengdie and emerged from the space there. She was not devoid of emotions like Xiao An, so she was influenced by the bewitchment. Her sharp hawk eyes softened as well.

    However, her temperament was anything but ordinary. Ever since she obtained the kunpeng¡¯s feather, the gracefulness and desire for freedom became deeply etched in her bones. At the same time, she practised the Illustrations of Naraka. The hot winds of hell scoured her soul as she used the intense pain to fend off the bewitchment.

    Last of all, as a woman, she was not naturally vulnerable to bewitchment like men. Controlling her mind in a short while was definitely impossible.

    ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m free!¡± Shen Mengdie fluttered her wings happily. ¡°I understand now. I¡¯m the main character. The heaven is great, the earth is great, but I¡¯m the greatest! I am undying!¡±

    Su Mirao realised she had been bluffed by Xiao An again. She fumed inside, Why does Li Qingshan know so many crazy women!?

 Chapter 1308

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1308 ¨C Convincing the Enemy into Retreat

    ¡°Gu Yanying, do you think you can swagger around in front of me just because you obtained a random feather?¡±

    When the Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather landed in the nine provinces, Su Mirao was basically the first one to discover it, except she was not an avian. Even if she obtained it, it would not be of great value to her. It might even lead to a great struggle, which was not worth it at all.

    Gu Yanying bowed politely. ¡°I¡¯m not your opponent.¡±

    Su Mirao said maliciously, ¡°If I wanted to, I can make you call me mother!¡±

    The Guardian Hawk God was like a feather, thrown around uncontrollably in the chaos. Even though he had not rushed over to her aid, that was only because she had never truly paid any attention to him.

    The invisible bewitchment also crushed them with absolute strength. Even the Human Sovereign, Si Long, was not immune to it, while Li Qingshan had almost fallen for it too, let alone a male Daemon King.

    She only needed a single order to make a family tragedy play out.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°If my good-for-nothing of a father can actually catch your eye, that¡¯s obviously my honour. Calling you mother would go without saying. It¡¯s basically no different from stepmother.¡±

    Su Mirao felt like she had just made a fool out of herself. She felt vexed.

    She understood Gu Yanying¡¯s past extremely well, as she had once been collectible that she had decided on in the past. She was ready to strike as soon as she underwent the third heavenly tribulation. However, Li Qingshan appeared out of nowhere in the end. Their ties gradually deepened, and she was reluctant to become involved with Li Qingshan back then, which was why she gave up resolutely.

    Gu Yanying cared about and cherished her mother far more than anyone else. Originally, Su Mirao thought she could definitely infuriate her with this soft spot and increase her bewitching influence on her. She never expected a reply like that, which instead made her feel like she was the one losing out in this exchange.

    She sneered. ¡°I never thought you¡¯d end up in such a sorry state even with your disposition, risking your life for a man.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t tell me the only thing that exists in your eyes is love between a man and a woman?¡±

    Su Mirao questioned, ¡°Are you bold enough to say you¡¯ve never fallen in love before?¡±

    With swish, Gu Yanying opened her folding fan and covered the lower half of her face. That was clearly a posture that a woman took when they were embarrassed, yet she still seemed extremely graceful and at ease. She smiled. ¡°People aren¡¯t plants. How can they not have feelings?¡±

    A strange light flashed across Su Mirao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Alright, no wonder that Li Qingshan would fall in love with you at first sight yet never be able to obtain you. You will be one of the best additions to my collection. Come!¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be part of some collection, nor do I want to clash with you. I only want to bring your attention to something.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a mighty fox of Yousu, an existence that can bewitch all living creatures, yet you¡¯ve stooped to the level where you have to fight and kill yourself. Don¡¯t you find that a little unbefitting?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I don¡¯t have any other choice about this. Who can help the fact that these stinky men are so disobedient? And the fact that a woman as clever as you just refuses to come to your senses?¡±

    Su Mirao sighed helplessly. She even blinked her eyes innocently, such that Gu Yanying almost believed her. She completely relied on the hot winds of hell to maintain a wisp of clarity.

    ¡°Even if you get what you want from this battle, the women in the Jade palace will probably all perish.¡±

    Gu Yanying pointed at the chaos with her folding fan. A tornado opened a path, only to see the five-clawed golden dragon gradually ripping away at the spirit turtle¡¯s shell.

    But underneath the spirit turtle, the Lightning Shadow Panther King held on bitterly.

    Even when Li Qingshan went from the tiger demon to the spirit turtle, he had not spared her. Instead, he suppressed her with everything that he had, planning to use her to exchange with Su Mirao for Shen Mengdie. In the end, Shen Mengdie was saved by Gu Yanying, so he simply used her as a meat cushion, letting her share some of the pressure from the golden dragon.

    The Lightning Shadow Panther King was a renowned Daemon King as well, but how could she compare to the current Li Qingshan? Even with her full strength, she could not escape from the spirit turtle. There was even a golden dragon on top. She had been directly crushed until her organs ruptured and blood gushed out of her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. It was all thanks to her tough body that she had not been crushed to death, but if this continued, she could not hold on for much longer either.

    Xiao An watched over him on the side, blocking the attacks of the other Daemon Kings. Earlier, just the string of Skull Prayer Beads were enough to stop them, so now that she handled it personally, ringing the Soul Stirring Bell and unfurling the Blood Sea Banner, she had already captured several Daemon Kings.

    ¡°Gu Yanying, do you think I¡¯ll be threatened by that? Every single one of them is willing to die for me.¡± Su Mirao squinted her eyes and gave off a dangerous aura.

    ¡°No one doubts their devotion towards you, but if you just neglect their fates, how are you any different from those stinky men? Even the despicable, dirty, promiscuous, and heartless Li Qingshan would never do something like that.¡±

    Gu Yanying gazed deeply at Su Mirao. Her eyes were filled with trust, as well as a hint of worry.

    For a moment, Su Mirao was left speechless. She gritted her teeth. ¡°What a clever tongue. With what you¡¯ve said, if I don¡¯t admit defeat, I¡¯ll basically turn into an ugly, foolish, contemptible, and heartless woman who¡¯s not even as great as those stinky men!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re obviously not that kind of woman,¡± Gu Yanying said earnestly, without any insincerity.

    Su Mirao hesitated. ¡°Alright then! Li Qingshan, I order you to let go of my Ying¡¯er. I will no longer oppose you.¡±

    ¡°Mirao, you don¡¯t have to worry about me! Do whatever you want to do!¡± the Lightning Shadow Panther King said with difficulty.

    Regardless of whether she had been bewitched in the very beginning or not, it had already become her true intentions. As long as she could earn a smile from her, even sacrificing herself was worth it.

    Ying¡¯er!

    Su Mirao sighed inside. She recalled what Gu Yanying had just said, ¡°People aren¡¯t plants. How can they not have feelings?¡±

    Even if she had a heart of steel, her several thousand years of companionship and unconditional devotion was enough to leave behind a deep mark in her. Everything that occurred between them was visible right before her eyes. Did she really have the heart to see them all perish here?

    She could not help but look at the skies. ¡°Lord of the kingdom, this place is far too lonely. Is this also a part of your scheme?¡±

    ¡°Can I call you by your name too? Mirao, it¡¯s far too noisy here. Why don¡¯t we go to the East sea for a stroll? I¡¯m very furious about the Kingdom of Green Hills. Let¡¯s let the men deal with their own problems!¡±

    Gu Yanying extended her hand towards Su Mirao. They had to cross through three provinces to reach the east sea from here, a journey of a hundred thousand kilometres. Under the restraints from the laws of the world, it was impossible for her to return quickly. That was the only idea she could think of now.

    Su Mirao understood that Li Qingshan would never be at ease as long as she was still around. Perhaps right from the moment he broke free from her bewitchment, she had lost. It truly was pointless if they continued like this, but she simply refused to accept this.

    ¡°Si Long, you cannot blame me for being vicious. I¡¯m bound by the Blood Oath of the Nether River, forced to marry this man. I originally wanted to deal with this personally, but I never expected everything to fall through in the end. I can only hope that you can free me, so we can continue with what we had before!¡±

    Hearing that, Si Long was greatly revitalised, like a hero who had defeated all the demon kings receiving the encouragement of his ¡°true love¡±. The golden dragon bit down viciously on the turtle shell.

    Li Qingshan cursed aloud, ¡°This fucking idiot emperor cuckold!¡± However, he eased up inside.

    Su Mirao smiled craftily and grabbed Gu Yanying¡¯s hand. ¡°Yanying, you better accompany me well!¡±

    At that instant, the kunpeng spread its wings and soared off.

 Chapter 1309

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1309 ¨C Yang Soul

    Boom!

    As soon as Su Mirao left, the entire region collapsed. The violent energy that had been building up all this time surged out madly.

    A wave of air swept away the wind and snow, as well as all the clouds. The blue sky became perfectly clear. The sun shone dazzlingly.

    Soon afterwards, the billions of tonnes of upheaving earth shot off in all directions, ripping apart the mountainous forests. Yellow sand filled the air, obscuring the surroundings.

    From a pit several hundred metres deep, an earthen-yellow mushroom cloud rushed into the sky, reaching the depths. The entire world seemed to be trembling.

    A bolt of lightning shot out of the pit, turning into the Lightning Shadow Panther King. When the zone collapsed, the firm suppression on her slackened slightly, allowing her to escape after much difficulty. No thoughts of revenge crossed her mind. She glanced back at the battlefield with lingering fear. Was this still the nine provinces that she was familiar with?

    Then she looked to the east. The kunpeng spread its colossal wings, having reached the horizon already, also moving with unimaginable speed. She did not dare to linger there any longer, turning into a bolt of lightning in pursuit.

    With a swing of the Blood Sea Banner, several Daemon Kings rolled out from inside. The daemons scattered in the surroundings, with most of them flying towards the east.

    It took everything in the great cultivators that Si Long had brought with him to resist the bewitchment, so they were in no shape to bother with anything else. Under this blast, basically all of them became heavily injured.

    The great cultivators with weaker willpower that attacked Xiao An all became dazed, like they had just woken up from a dream after Su Mirao¡¯s departure. Xiao An grasped this opportunity, and they all perished under her swords.

    Li Qingshan thought, This is all thanks to Gu Yanying! At least one of the problems has been eliminated for now! Otherwise, if the Lightning Shadow Panther King blew up her daemon core, even he could not emerge unscathed. She was still a great Daemon King who had achieved renown five thousand years ago after all.

    Now, he only had a single enemy left. Finally, it was time to fight back.

    ¡°R¨¡hu Ming, what are you still waiting for!?¡±

    Si Long sensed something and raised his golden dragon head, gazing at the mountain in the distance. He saw R¨¡hu Xiaoming wielding his slingshot, his long hair dancing like fire as his handsome face seemed particularly vicious, like the embodiment of a demon god.

    ¡°R¨¡hu? Don¡¯t tell me!¡±

    Suddenly, he opened his mouth. Golden light gathered rapidly, spraying towards R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    Darkness that could envelope everything rushed out of R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes. The surroundings dimmed as if a black curtain had been pulled over the sky, obscuring all of Si Long¡¯s senses, even shrouding his connection with the heavenly secrets. He launched a strike that surpassed thte limits of this world.

    In an instant, the golden light vanished, and the dragon head was obliterated.

    ¡°Nice!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body eased up. The spirit turtle shone with colourful light as he transformed into his body of the demonic and divine. He grabbed the golden dragon viciously with his huge hand that loomed like a dark cloud.

    Xiao An descended from above, wielding the Buddha Slaying sword in a reverse grip with both hands. The sword was coated in buddhist light as she thrusted it viciously towards the golden dragon¡¯s back. The sword shattered the golden scales and plunged into the dragon¡¯s body.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside, Have we won?

    In the battles of the past, Xiao An¡¯s Buddha Slaying sword had been a primary weapon that determined the outcome and slew the enemy. No matter who they faced, if they suffered a strike from her sword, they were incapacitated even if they managed to survive somehow.

    Sure enough, the headless golden dragon shrank rapidly, turning back into a jade seal. The corners were a little damaged, and the golden dragon coiled on there was missing scales and claws, as well as its head.

    Suddenly, a hand picked up the jade seal.

    ¡­¡­

    In the bright-blue sky, the kunpeng soared towards the East sea with all the atmospheric winds within the surrounding several thousand kilometres.

    ¡°Relax. You don¡¯t have to hold me so firmly. I¡¯m not going to go back again.¡± Su Mirao smiled. ¡°Do you think he can win without me around?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll increase his odds at the very least!¡±

    Gu Yanying did not dare to be careless even in the slightest bit. The person beside her was even more dangerous than facing Si Long. With her current speed, Si Long would struggle to harm her, but the influence of bewitchment was everywhere.

    ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I am his only chance at surviving. If it wasn¡¯t for me, he might have died in battle already. Actually, I¡¯ve been helping him the entire time, but he doesn¡¯t appreciate it unfortunately, insisting on taking this path to his death.¡± Su Mirao shook her head in some pity.

    ¡°Really?¡± Gu Yanying neither agreed nor disagreed.

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe me? That would be no wonder. Who can help the fact that your cultivation is insufficient? Even when you¡¯ve obtained the Heaven-stirring Great Sage¡¯s legacy, you haven¡¯t converted it entirely into your own power. You¡¯ve never witnessed the power of a Human Sovereign before either.¡±

    ¡°The Heaven-stirring Great Sage!¡±

    As a result, Gu Yanying recalled the fact that she probably found out about the kunpeng¡¯s feather a long time ago with her cultivation. If she had taken action, why would it have ended up in the Featherfolk King Bai Chen¡¯s hands?

    She asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take it? Even if you don¡¯t need it, there are several avians in your Jade palace!¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want them to die for nothing.¡± Su Mirao sighed rather helplessly.

    ¡°In other words, Mirao really is as gentle and kind as I thought she was! Everything she does is out of kindness!¡±

    ¡°Heh, you don¡¯t need to mock me like that. I¡¯m bound by the Blood Oath of the Nether River, so I have no choice but to help Li Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°To help him become your slave?¡±

    ¡°Who can help the fact that I¡¯m just this charming? He couldn¡¯t control himself. How can you blame me? However, have you ever considered that I only needed to pull him under the Myriad Flower Umbrella of Primordial Chaos when we were getting married, and he would never be able to escape me? I was the one who made Si Long go insane with cultivation deviation, preventing him from unleashing his full strength, which is why he was forced to engage Li Qingshan in close combat in the most foolish way possible.¡±

    ¡°Really. I¡¯m actually very reluctant for Li Qingshan to die here, but since this is the path he¡¯s chosen, you can¡¯t blame me!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°So it¡¯s the R¨¡hu clan. Legend has it that one of the children of a god in the Asura realm passed away. He was known to be a supreme genius only second to R¨¡hula since the birth of the Asura realm, a chosen son of fate that could reunite the asura. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s you? No wonder you can shatter my Jade Seal of the True Dragon.¡±

    ¡°This is the only lifebound arcane treasure I¡¯ve brought from the Human realm to the nine provinces. It has gathered the dragon qi of the nine provinces, forged from the essence metal of the five elements from the Human realm, making it almost indestructible, yet you almost destroyed it in a single strike. How impressive!¡±

    The owner of the hand was the Human Sovereign, Si Long. His dragon robes were spotless as he fiddled around with the damaged Jade Seal of the True Dragon, explaining its origins slowly. He did not seem disheartened at all. Instead, there was even a smile on his face.

    ¡°Enough nonsense!¡±

    Li Qingshan threw a punch. The ground cracked and shook uncontrollably.

    However, with a flash of golden light, Si Long vanished. His voice rang out from the sky again.

    ¡°What a dangerous sword. You really are the successor of white bone. Fortunately, I¡¯m not a part of buddhism, or you almost would have destroyed this lifebound arcane treasure.¡±

    Si Long stared at Xiao An. Yang Souls were unlike bodies of flesh. They were capable of so much more. Right before the Buddha Slaying sword had plunged into the golden dragon, he had already condensed his Yang Soul again, so he was completely unscathed. His Yang Soul would only be injured if his lifebound arcane treasure was directly destroyed, but that was completely impossible.

    This was also a primary reason why he had not brought his body with him.

    Li Qingshan gazed at Si Long. His figure basically overlapped with the sun, standing high above, well beyond arm¡¯s reach like a god.

    This was the Yang Soul from the path of human cultivation, surpassing the limits of the body, an existence that could rival Daemon Sovereigns.

 Chapter 1310

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1310 ¨C Yanying and the Fox¡¯s Intentions

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I actually want to thank you.¡±

    When he reached there, Si Long bowed slightly. His fury had vanished a long time ago, except it did not affect his demeanour as a sovereign at all. Instead, he recovered his bearing like everything was under his control.

    ¡°If it were not for you, I would be forever caught under Mirao¡¯s bewitchment. Perhaps I¡¯ve never really known her. She is a fox of Yousu after all! Though, if it isn¡¯t for that, what right does she have to become my empress?¡±

    ¡°Si Long, do you remember how she said she wanted to marry me?¡±

    When Li Qingshan spat out that last word, he suddenly unleashed the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar. Fierce winds swept through the sky.

    Wielding his fingers like a sword, Si Long cut through the winds in a single stroke. It had not even managed to lift the hem of his clothes. ¡°Only the strong can claim the beauties of the world for themselves.¡±

    ¡°Well said!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s right arm suddenly swelled up. A single arm stretched across the sky with its fingers open, enveloping Si Long. ¡°Lock!¡±

    Si Long¡¯s fluttering clothes and hair abruptly froze as if they had been sealed in invisible amber.

    Li Qinghan closed his fingers, forming a fist. ¡°Destroy!¡±

    Si Long¡¯s body fractured and collapsed, turning into clumps of golden, hazy dragon qi.

    ¡°Quite an impressive innate ability, but it¡¯s useless, unfortunately. The Yang Soul can achieve both the limits of flexibility and rigidity.¡±

    The dragon qi condensed together, turning back into him. Even his smile was no different from before.

    Li Qingshan launched consecutive attacks, unleashing various innate abilities, but not a single one of them managed to truly harm Si Long.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming gripped his slingshot silently, while Xiao An pressed down on her sword without striking either. They watched as Li Qingshan circled around Si Long alone.

    It was vastly different from the violence when he had transformed into a golden dragon. Si Long allowed Li Qingshan to unleash his attacks to his heart¡¯s content, but he never fought back, like an adult teasing a child.

    Li Qingshan finally stopped, gasping for air a little. The restraints from the laws of the world made it rather difficult for him to absorb spiritual qi, so his daemon qi recovered at an extremely gradual rate.

    On top of that, the Phoenix Transformation¡¯s only innate ability, the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, had yet to completely recover. He could rebirth once at most in this battle. If he went for another, he would turn into an egg.

    ¡°Good. You¡¯ve finally realised the difference between us. You don¡¯t need to glare at me. Out of gratitude, I¡¯ve already let you unleash many attacks against me without fighting back. I know you three all possess extraordinary identities and legacies. If any of you possessed an equal cultivation to mine, I would definitely do all that I can to avoid conflict. As a result, I don¡¯t actually want you as an enemy, so why don¡¯t we try and turn this hostility into friendship?¡±

    As Si Long prevailed, he instead revealed his intentions for a compromise as if he feared their identities and backgrounds and did not want any trouble.

    ¡°How do you want to do this?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at R¨¡hu Xiaoming and Xiao An as if he actually wanted a compromise as well.

    Si Long smiled. Nothing was easier to deal with than enemies that had lost their fighting wills.

    Yes, he had never considered a compromise. If he feared their backgrounds, he would have tried to find a way to reach a compromise a long time ago. However, how could the struggle of cultivation allow for even the slightest sign of weakness? Having reached their cultivation, who had not encountered countless dangers before?

    However, with risk came reward. The divine blood of asura, Xiao An¡¯s white bone legacy, and Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation method were all rare treasures in the Human realm. They were worth risking his life. If he spared them today, they would definitely cultivate much faster than him with their bloodlines and legacies, so he could not ensure they would not come for revenge in the future. By then, that would truly be a fate worse than death.

    Xiao An said, ¡°He still hasn¡¯t completely recovered from his injuries. He¡¯s trying to buy time.¡±

    Si Long shuddered inside. He never expected her to see through him.

    Yang Souls achieved the limits of flexibility and rigidity. They were fast like lightning and almost indestructible, but they feared inner demons the most. The body was the vile skin-bag to be discarded in the very end, but it was also the ship that traversed the sea of suffering. Under a projected state, he required a great disposition and mental cultivation to control it. Once he suffered from cultivation deviation, the consequences were unthinkable.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°We can put up a fight, but we need to wait until Yanying returns so that we can triumph over his speed as a Yang Soul. Hmph, to think that even a mere Human Sovereign has the courage to pose around in front of me.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t say that. He¡¯s still very strong, requiring the four of us to work together to put up a fight. However, if he¡¯s going to pose around in an attempt to demoralise us, why doesn¡¯t he check who he¡¯s trying that on first? Si Long, your life is mine!¡±

    ¡°You!¡±

    Fury appeared on Si Long¡¯s face, unable to maintain his bearing as a sovereign anymore. He became stern. He could not spare anyone in the battle today.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the East sea.¡±

    Gu Yanying descended from above with Su Mirao, landing on a cliff that met the East sea.

    Embraced by the white clouds, the precipice stood thousands of metres tall, jagged and craggy like it had been chiselled away by blades and axes. They could see hundreds of kilometres away.

    The moist sea wind filled their faces as the water rippled and the seagulls soared through the sky together. It was a grand and tranquil sight.

    ¡°Cloud Cliff mountain. It¡¯s been very long since I last came here.¡±

    Su Mirao sank into her memories. This was a scenic spot renowned throughout the Cloud province, as well as the entire world. Throughout the many years, she had visited this place many times until she grew sick of it.

    When time was overwhelmingly abundant, it would become a great burden.

    ¡°Yanying, you are technically a disciple of the school of Legalism. Legend has it that the deepest Av¨©ci hell of the Hell realm has no other punishment. It just extends every moment indefinitely. I wonder if that¡¯s true or not.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. No one has ever managed to connect with the Av¨©ci hell.¡±

    They held hands. One was a disastrous beauty, enough to destroy cities, while the other was graceful and elegant, standing out brilliantly. At first glance, they were like a beautiful couple, visiting and admiring the scenes of nature.

    ¡°Must you go back?¡± Su Mirao tightened her grip around Gu Yanying¡¯s hand, afraid she would let go and slip away.

    ¡°I must!¡± Gu Yanying said firmly. She could rush back to the Dragon province and re-enter the battle quickly by turning into a kunpeng through the Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather. That was something she had decided before she had brought Su Mirao to the East sea.

    Su Mirao grumbled charmingly, ¡°You said you wanted to hear me tell you about the Kingdom of Green Hills. So you were lying to me.¡±

    ¡°Sorry about that. Maybe next time!¡± Gu Yanying apologised seriously.

    ¡°What if I just refuse to let go?¡± Su Mirao wrinkled her nose, except it seemed more like she was just throwing a tantrum.

    ¡°If you like it, I can give you this hand.¡±

    When she held Su Mirao¡¯s hand, she had already prepared herself for this. Great warriors were not the only ones bold enough to chop off their arms for the greater good.

    ¡°Hmph, who would want that? You have no idea how much it hurts just by holding this hand,¡± Su Mirao grumbled loudly before suddenly stroking her hand gently in deep concern. ¡°Does it hurt?¡±

    Gu Yanying shut her eyes and smiled wryly. If this continued, she would probably fall to her charms as well. If it were not for her experiences of traversing through outer space, she probably would have declared her surrender already.

    With a thought, she opened her eyes. A wisp of atmospheric wind swept down, cutting off her right hand along the wrist. Blood scattered on the cliff.

    Shortly afterwards, the great winds picked up. The kunpeng spread its wings, striking the water several hundred kilometres away and scattering the clouds.

    ¡°You can keep that as a memento. If I can still return, tell me about the Heaven-stirring Great Sage!¡±

    Su Mirao gazed at the great peng with wings that resembled clouds and felt slightly defeated inside. Am I the one who knows how to bewitch people, or is Li Qingshan the one who knows how to bewitch people? All of you take his side like you¡¯re possessed. She tossed the severed hand back at her furiously. ¡°I said I don¡¯t want it!¡±

    Gu Yanying thanked her with a smile, flapping her wings and taking off.

    Su Mirao sat down on the edge of the cliff with her legs dangling down. She said sadly, ¡°Am I really unable to avoid this? I¡¯m clearly just trying¡­ to be a good person.¡±

    Anyone who possessed the slightest understanding of the Yousu clan would probably be left dumbfounded by that.

    ¡°Whatever, whatever. I didn¡¯t want to take part in this great danger, but what can I do about the fact that beauties are cursed to an unfortunate life? The will of the heavens toys with people.¡±

    After taking pity on herself, she became filled with violent spite.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, if you really can survive this, then I¡¯ll assist you in throwing the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra into a mess, such that my great name reaches beyond the Nine Heavens. Even if I become eternally doomed, suffering eternal damnation, I will make this life as a fox of Yousu worth it!¡±

 Chapter 1311

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1311 ¨C Facing the Sovereign Dragon King

    ¡°Since you¡¯re all so obstinate, I¡¯ll play with you to the very end then!¡±

    When Si Long said the first half, he was still in the sky, but the second half rang out from the Sovereign Dragon. He had returned to his throne.

    ¡°Your majesty!¡±

    When the Jade palace completely collapsed, the great cultivators all fled back to the Sovereign Dragon King, using the Coiled Dragon formation to fend off the effects of the battle. They really had gone through quite an emotional upheaval. How they felt when the Nine-tailed Fox Empress was around went without saying. When the golden dragon had its head shot apart, they really were grief-stricken, but they were overjoyed again after Si Long recondensed his Yang Soul and left Li Qingshan powerless.

    Now that Si Long had returned to the Sovereign Dragon King, they truly did encounter a multitude of emotions.

    As Li Qingshan and the others had said, Si Long did not possess the ability to sweep them aside, or he would have annihilated the enemy a long time ago. He would not be retreating and defending right now.

    They had just fled from the battlefield, but in the blink of an eye, they had been dragged into a new battle. Perhaps Si Long could kill Li Qingshan in the very end through the wonders of the Yang Soul, but they would not necessarily live to see that day. The religious protector of the left and the Heavenly Frost Wolf King had been examples. A battle on this level was far too dangerous to them.

    Si Long ordered them. ¡°Minister Lu, set back immediately. Gather the lords and prepare to perform the offerings to heaven!¡±

    Minister Lu was the minister of works out of the nine ministers and six ministeries. He was the greatest grandmaster of mohism, the creator of this Sovereign Dragon King. He had remained on the Sovereign Dragon King with his two vice ministers, without participating in the battle in the Jade palace.

    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±

    Minister Lu¡¯s face was stiff and devoid of any emotion, like he did not see his colleagues¡¯ reactions. He immediately steered the Sovereign Dragon King in the air, turning the ship around at the same time and setting off for Dragonshead mountain.

    Si Long sat back in the golden throne and said indifferently, ¡°My officials, if you are fine, prepare for battle!¡±

    When the officials heard that, their hearts all turned cold. For a moment, no one actually responded.

    Since they could become great cultivators, none of them were fools. With how quickly Si Long could fly with his Yang Soul, it was impossible for Li Qingshan and the others to stop him, yet he just had to ride the Sovereign Dragon King back. That obviously was not so he could swagger around on his high horse. It was clearly for the sake of salvaging the ¡°waste¡± available to him to wear down the enemy¡¯s strength, and they probably were the ¡°waste¡±.

    Earlier, they could not even participate in the battle directly. Even the impact from the battle had injured them. In particular, their minds were severely wounded.

    The four vice ministers from the ministry of personnel and the minister of revenue were unable to resist Su Mirao¡¯s bewitchment and had perished under the Buddha Slaying sword. They had managed to hold on with their mental fortitude without losing control on the spot, but even a decade might not be enough for erasing the influence of the Nine-tailed Fox Empress. It might even form inner demons, affecting them for the rest of their lives.

    And now, Si Long actually wanted them to directly confront Li Qingshan. That was basically asking them to die. Once the Sovereign Dragon King exploded, no one was confident enough to say that they could survive.

    However, they were in the same boat right now, and they could not defy Si Long¡¯s authority. Some of them were already riddled with regret. They originally thought this was a shortcut to ascend to the Human realm, but they never thought it would hasten them to their deaths. If they had known earlier, they would have stopped the emperor from making offerings to heaven no matter what.

    Si Long took note of everyone¡¯s behaviour. He even sensed the violent upheaval of emotions in them. He sneered inside slightly. Since when did something as great as a shortcut without risks exist in the world?

    He was completely unconcerned about whether the Sovereign Dragon King could sail back successfully. As long as it stopped Li Qingshan, it was enough. Every bit of strength he depleted was a larger chance at victory for him. If Li Qingshan refused to follow along, that would be even better. He could take his time to adjust his Yang Soul and suppress his inner demons. By the time he returned to the imperial court, the overall situation would be set in stone. This was a fine plan.

    Flames and air surged out from behind the ship, and the Sovereign Dragon King began to accelerate. At this very moment, a dark shadow suddenly enveloped them.

    The officials gazed over, only to see a mountain uprooted from the ground, rushing into the sky and blocking their path east.

    A pair of scarlet stars flashed from beneath the mountain. They were Li Qingshan¡¯s tiger eyes that scorched like fire. He lifted up an entire mountain with his body of the demonic and divine.

    There was a series of cries from the deck. Even though they had already witnessed it once on Dragonshead mountain, it still made them lurch when they saw it again. They were filled with a sense of feebleness like they stood no chance.

    Si Long sat on the throne, completely unfazed. His eyes shone with golden light. ¡°Be careful, my officials! The wretched being is coming!¡±

    With a roar, Li Qingshan threw the mountain as hard as he could. It hurtled straight towards the Sovereign Dragon King.

    Si Long waved his hand.

    Boom!

    The main cannon at the stern of the Sovereign Dragon King, the Dragon¡¯s Roar, fired, piercing the mountain in a single blast and leaving behind a hole that stretched three hundred metres across. It paused in its trajectory as if it had been frozen mid-air.

    At the same time, countless cannons extended out from the deck and the hull, blasting away instantly. The dazzling light shattered the mountain to pieces.

    The dust rose up in the air like a yellow cloud as the rubble scattered like hail.

    The Sovereign Dragon King sailed through the cloud of dust, over Li Qingshan¡¯s head and right into the clouds.

    Si Long stood on the dragon head at the stern and gazed down at Li Qingshan below. He extended his hand conveniently, and thousands of streaks of light rained down on the ground.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The light fell like rain as hemispherical balls of light rose up from the ground, flattening mountains after mountains and leaving behind a ground riddled with holes.

    The colossal being of three thousand metres vanished. Li Qingshan turned back into human form, unfurling the wings of wind and manoeuvring between the streams densely-packed in the storm. He travelled against the flow, arriving directly beneath the Sovereign Dragon King, the blindspot where the firepower was weakest. He gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth!

    The Sovereign Dragon King rocked violently as if a mountain had abruptly weighed down on it. It came to a halt. The twisting and cracking of steel and wood filled everyone¡¯s ears. The great cultivators on the ship all felt like they were about to face imminent catastrophe.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    Li Qingshan used the opportunity to throw a punch. The power of tremors surged forth madly and cracks appeared in the space there.

    There were no formations in the world that could stop a punch from him. The great strength of the ox demon behind the punch was already enough to tear through all obstacles, let alone the fact that it was imbued with the all-conquering power of tremors. It was enough to split the Sovereign Dragon King into two.

    However, at this exact moment, golden light rapidly gathered at the bottom of the ship. All of the spiritual qi from the formation that enveloped the Sovereign Dragon King gathered at that point, dazzling like a golden sun. It forcefully stopped the terrifying power of tremors and made Li Qingshan¡¯s fist bounce back.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and flew away. It was as clear as day what Si Long was trying to do. He definitely could not exhaust too much strength here. Originally, he wanted to gather all of his strength and penetrate the ship in a single blow, but he still ended up underestimating what Si Long was capable of.

    Si Long sat back in his throne. He held a golden compass of delicate design in his hand. That was the disc that controlled the formation.

    Apart from him, no one in the world possessed such fast reactions and such great control to make a formation operate at such a level.

 Chapter 1312

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1312 ¨C Descent From Above

    When Si Long fended off Li Qingshan¡¯s attack, he did two other things at the same time. He paid attention to R¨¡hu Xiaoming and Xiao An. If they took the risk to launch a sudden attack, he was confident enough to kill them here. No matter how powerful their bloodline and legacy was, they were still at the third heavenly tribulation at the end of the day.

    But to his disappointment, the two of them remained a safe distance away, giving him no opportunity to attack them.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had spent countless years waging war in the Asura realm. His grasp over the situation was unmatched. He had only just undergone the third heavenly tribulation and had not reached the peak, so the power he possessed was limited after all. At the same time, he faced the restraints from the intangible will of the heavens, so he had to ensure that every single shot he made played a decisive role. He could not attack without good reason.

    Xiao An¡¯s intelligence was matched by very few, and she possessed a similar judgement. Her Buddha Slaying sword was for dealing sure-killing strikes. At the same time, she used the other white bone treasures to protect herself, just in case Si Long launched a sudden attack. If they wanted to claim victory in this battle, it was still far too early for her to strike.

    ¡°Heh, they¡¯re completely without openings! Sure enough, you¡¯re the one I have to kill first, Li Qingshan!¡± Si Long sneered. He waved his hand and ordered them. ¡°What are you waiting for, fellows?¡±

    The officials looked at each other. When Li Qingshan unleashed the Force Field of the Earth earlier, they had been affected too. They felt like all of their bones were about to snap under their own weight, and they still ached even now. If they directly faced Li Qingshan, they would probably just die for nothing.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The formation is extremely sturdy. You can unleash your techniques with ease, without the need to directly face the enemy. If Li Qingshan manages to breach the formation, then he¡¯ll be like a tiger in a flock of sheep. It will be an immediate annihilation!¡±

    Si Long was slightly displeased. His voice hid a slightly threatening tone.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    The officials dared not defy him. They all unleashed their techniques and powered their arcane treasures, planning to deal a painful blow to Li Qingshan, except it felt like teasing an enraged tiger through a cage woven with paper. They were all fearful.

    ¡°Hmm? Li Qingshan is gone.¡±

    By now, the Sovereign Dragon King had already arrived at a great altitude, yet they all lost track of Li Qingshan.

    The Guardian Hawk God narrowed his eyes. ¡°Above!¡±

    Having failed with his attack, Li Qingshan immediately let go and rose up into the atmospheric winds, continuing to climb higher. He simply allowed the atmospheric winds to whistle away, but they could not harm him at all. At his cultivation, neither the magnetic fields nor the atmospheric winds could stop his tracks.

    Si Long stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky. ¡°How will you turn this around?¡±

    The atmospheric winds suddenly became much more peaceful. He passed through the shining glow of the sun. The stars twinkled in the darkness of outer space.

    Li Qingshan stared straight at the sun. It was not a great ball of fire that actually existed in his past life but an illusion. Abruptly, he felt like this entire world was a mystery!

    When he looked back, he took in the entirety of the nine provinces in a single glance.

    The jade-green Mist province, the snowy-white Frost province, the yellow sands of the Scarlet province, the cloud seas of the Cloud province¡­

    The turbulent waves from the four seas clustered around the continent of the nine provinces. This is the world I¡¯ve been fighting the entire time!

    The enormous Sovereign Dragon King had turned into a golden mayfly, approaching the centre of the Dragon province slowly. To the east, a ¡°small¡±, dark-azure bird flew over.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. His daemon qi began to bubble and burn. He pushed the small world in his body to the limit. Earth, fire, wind, water, and space; the ox, tiger, turtle, phoenix, and ape; all of them merged together to form one entity, breaking free from the restraints of the laws of the world and drawing in all of the invisible power, making him shine with dazzling light.

    At this exact moment, as long as they raised their heads on the nine provinces, everyone and everything could see a dazzling star, contending against the sun!

    The kunpeng soared over the land. Gu Yanying smiled and accelerated even more.

    Su Mirao looked at the sky and suddenly became rather eager to see his victory. His posture of looking down on everything truly did give off a wondrous charm.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°I see!¡±

    The star descended from above!

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and spread his arms, assuming a posture of freefall, diving into the fierce atmospheric winds again.

    The wings of wind on his back constantly spread out, reaching thirty, three hundred, three thousand metres across as if he wanted to weave all the atmospheric winds into his wings.

    The Force Field of the Earth was unleashed at full power, making himself weigh thousands of tonnes more. Even with his sturdy body, he felt like he was about to be crushed.

    He plummeted faster and faster, rubbing against the air violently and leaving behind a long tail of flames, like a meteor falling from the sky.

    The earth filled his face; the blue seas vanished. The Cloud, Mist, Frost, and Lightning provinces rapidly receded into the distance until only the Dragon province remained in the end. The golden mayfly turned into a golden fish.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan snapped open his eyes, locking onto the Sovereign Dragon King. The sound that resembled thunder grew louder and louder, booming through the world in the blink of an eye. It shook up space like the howls of supernatural beings.

    ¡°Y- your majesty! He¡¯s too fast! The Sovereign Dragon King can¡¯t dodge this attack!¡±

    A hint of panic appeared on minister Lu¡¯s stiff face. He was not born like that. Instead, he had cast a technique unique to the school of Mohism on himself¡ªthe Heart of Steel¡ªto prevent any influence from his emotions, but at this moment, the technique almost collapsed.

    ¡°Then don¡¯t dodge. Fire away!¡± Si Long said furiously.

    He never expected Li Qingshan to be brazen, actually descending from above to openly tear open the formation. He was also shaken. He powered the golden compass in his hand and gathered the power of the entire formation, constructing an almost-tangible barrier of golden light above.

    But that would instead influence the Sovereign Dragon King¡¯s ability to fire away. Concentrating all of its powers on defence definitely affected everything else. It was anything but easy for the remaining cannons to lock onto the speeding ¡°meteor¡± too. At most, they could block it. There were only a handful of streaks of light that actually managed to touch the meteor. The rest were all torn apart by the winds before they could even get near.

    The officials were great cultivators, and they were flexible with their methods of attack, but the range of their techniques and arcane treasures were limited. They were all frantic. By the time Li Qingshan entered the range of their attacks, everything would be too late.

    They could only watch on helplessly as the meteor descended from above. It was clearly a sitting duck, yet no one on the ship had any way to counter it. Tearing open the formation directly seemed foolish, but it was actually the optimal tactic to turn this around.

    By now, no one could stop him anymore.

    In an instant, the meteor struck the Sovereign Dragon King in the air.

    Crack! The golden compass in Si Long¡¯s hand snapped in half.

    The golden barrier shattered violently. With a great rumble, Li Qingshan smashed into the deck. Everything beneath his feet immediately collapsed, forming a great hole.

    In the blink of an eye, a shockwave reached every single corner of the Sovereign Dragon King. The cabins collapsed one by one as splinters flew everywhere. The keel twisted and snapped. The colossal Sovereign Dragon King had basically been split into two from the attack.

    His wings of wind abruptly closed. The fierce atmospheric winds were like invisible blades and swords, slicing through all the obstacles they encountered.

    The great cultivators bore the full brunt of the attack. Their protective techniques and arcane treasures were torn apart by the violent atmospheric winds as their frail bodies were reduced to mince meat instantly. They wanted to flee with their soul nascences, but they were sucked into the atmospheric winds, reduced to dust. Only around seven or eight of them managed to survive.

    In a split second, the glorious Sovereign Dragon King had basically been reduced to ruins. It plummeted out of the sky rapidly.

    Li Qingshan stood in the ruins and raised his head, meeting Si Long¡¯s eyes. He spat out a single word. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The surviving great cultivators dispersed and fled without any regard.

 Chapter 1313

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1313 ¨C Counter Plan

    Not all of them were afraid of dying. However, they all cultivated for the sake of longevity, not for their love and loyalty towards the empire, let alone the fact that they had only met Si Long recently, so there was no loyalty to speak of in the first place.

    With their flight from the battlefield, perhaps they would face the wrath of Si Long when they returned later, but he probably would not kill them at the very least. However, if they continued fighting Li Qingshan, only death would await them. Considering the trade-offs, it was obviously better to get as far away from here as possible.

    Si Long said coldly, ¡°Trash will always be trash!¡±

    With a hawk¡¯s cry, sharp talons swooped down towards Li Qingshan¡¯s face, moving swiftly like lightning.

    However, Li Qingshan did not seem to notice him, showing no intentions of dodging. He simply raised his head and gazed at Si Long. His dangling right arm had formed a claw, condensing his murderousness. He did not want to kill Gu Yanying¡¯s father with his own hands, but in a clash of life and death, he definitely would not hold back either.

    ¡°Alright, you can back down!¡± Si Long ordered.

    The hawk shot up the sky again right before colliding, such that the talons brushed past Li Qingshan¡¯s face. One inch closer, and it would have been a matter of life or death.

    Si Long smiled before sighing again. ¡°I know you don¡¯t want to go to the Human realm with me. From today onwards, you are free!¡±

    The hawk turned back into human form, dropping down on one knee and glancing at him deeply. He spread his wings and took off, turning into a black speck instantly, embedded in the depths of the blue sky.

    In the past, the young man emerged from the mountains, accompanied by the wolf and hawk, conquering the world. Now, the wolf was dead, and the hawk had flown away. Even as a Human Sovereign, he felt a hint of loneliness, except that was how the path of cultivation was like.

    The Sovereign Dragon King continued to plummet as the splinters scattered across the sky. Si Long returned to his throne and continued to look down at him from above. ¡°Li Qingshan. I have underestimated you a little too much, but even if you¡¯ve destroyed this ship, what can you do about me?¡±

    At the same time, he used the damaged Jade Seal of the True Dragon to suppress his cultivation deviation. Under the influence from the will of the heavens, his inner demons were gradually settling down, allowing him to demonstrate his extraordinary disposition. That was actual power to cultivators.

    ¡°You will find out very soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned, circulating the small world to recover his daemon qi.

    A moment of eerie quietness actually appeared on the falling ship.

    In the next moment, Si Long¡¯s eyes twinkled, and he looked towards the east. He was surprised.

    Under the shining sun, the peng spanned thousands of kilometres with its wings outspread, gliding over.

    Si Long had never expected Su Mirao to fail at preventing Gu Yanying from leaving with her bewitchment, much less the fact that she would willingly cast herself into this battle that gambled her very life.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know how you did it.¡±

    ¡°If I were to choose between her and that vixen, I¡¯d definitely choose her. This is the power of true love. Are you afraid?¡±

    Gu Yanying heard this in the distance and could not help but roll her eyes. Then she recalled what she had seen when she flew past Dragonshead mountain¡ªunder the Heaven Climbing Vine that linked up with the sky, many powerful cultivators gathered around the altar, prostrating towards Si Long¡¯s body of flesh under the guide of the previous emperor.

    As a result, she smiled mysteriously.

    Si Long smiled indifferently. He did not panic. ¡°Do you think a fake kunpeng can threaten a true dragon? You probably still don¡¯t know, but the offerings to heaven have already been completed.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s heart tightened.

    ¡°When I set off back then, the offerings to heaven had already begun. Once I return to Dragonshead mountain, it¡¯s all over.¡±

    Si Long lifted up his right hand, splaying his fingers like everything was within his grasp.

    ¡°You still think you can go back?¡± Li Qingshan stepped over the shattered deck, walking towards Si Long step by step.

    Si Long shook his head, forming a slight sneer. ¡°You want to stop me? Don¡¯t tell me you think I¡¯d give you a chance at victory? Why would I tell you my plan so you have an opportunity at ruining it? It¡¯s too late unless you can turn back time.¡±

    ¡°What if I¡¯m actually capable of that?¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Gu Yanying. No matter how quickly Si Long¡¯s Yang Soul could move, it could not be faster than a kunpeng. If they could make it to Dragonshead mountain first¡­

    Si Long followed Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze and glanced out. ¡°I might as well explain this a little more clearly. I¡¯ve already reforged the Frost Province cauldron three days ago. The day of the wedding was chosen after meticulous calculation. Although it¡¯s merely a replacement, it¡¯s enough to make up for the missing cauldron. Do you know what the effects of merging the nine cauldrons together are? Even if you fall from the sky a hundred more times, you won¡¯t be able to breach the Barrier of the Nine Provinces around Dragonshead mountain, let alone her.¡±

    He simply stood up from his throne, almost meeting Li Qingshan¡¯s face. His golden eyes swivelled as if he was trying to observe the expression of a ¡°failure¡±, but to his disappointment, he did not see any dejection or dismay.

    ¡°Admit it. No matter what tricks you played in the Jade palace, it was all for nothing. Right from the very beginning, the only one who could threaten me was Mirao, yet you personally saved me right when I was in my most dangerous moment. Don¡¯t you find that very ironic?¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullshit! Eat my fist!¡±

    Li Qingshan punched through Si Long¡¯s chest, but there was no joy at all.

    Si Long had proactively adjusted the shape of his Yang Soul, opening up a hole in his chest. It was completely free from the limitations of a body of flesh. Even in close combat, it was capable of countless wonders.

    The shadow of the kunpeng arrived as the shattered Sovereign Dragon King fell to the ground.

    ¡°Try and stop me!¡±

    Boom! Si Long said.

    The central furnace to the Sovereign Dragon King exploded, immediately releasing destructive, pure energy that swallowed everything in the surroundings.

    Even Li Qingshan was forced to spread his wings and take off to avoid the blast, losing track of Si Long.

    ¡°The Profound Light Illuminates All!¡±

    The pieces gathered together and revealed everything within several hundred kilometres to him. He immediately discovered that Si Long had dived deep underground, rapidly moving towards Dragonshead mountain.

    Li Qingshan had escaped many times in the past like that, but he felt rather powerless now. He was unable to keep up with Si Long, while Gu Yanying could not open up the earth to dig up Si Long either. It had always been very difficult to kill cultivators in battle. No one could stop the Yang Soul from fleeing.

    ¡°What do we do?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming loosened his grip on his slingshot. He did not make the futile effort of shooting at him.

    For a moment, there was nothing Li Qingshan could say. Since even R¨¡hu Xiaoming was posing this question to him, his views and judgements were already as clear as day.

    Now was the optimal time for them to leave. They faced each other in a great battle, resulting in a draw or even gaining the upper hand slightly. However, once Si Long completed the offerings to heaven, the disparity in strength would become so great that it could not be made up for. No matter how they struggled, it would be pointless. Instead, it was very likely to cost them their lives. However, he struggled to accept the choice of retreat. This battle affected far more than just him.

    Gu Yanying suddenly said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Dragonshead mountain. Xiao An and I came up with a counter plan a long time ago regarding the offerings to heaven.¡±

    ¡°You?¡± Li Qingshan was very surprised, exchanging glances with R¨¡hu Xiaoming. Since when were the two of them this close?

    Xiao An nodded, expressing confirmation.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°There is an inferior scheme we came up with, but it¡¯s not guaranteed to succeed. To prevent Si Long from detecting it, we kept it as secretive as possible, limiting the number of people who knew about it, but looking at the situation now, it should be quite effective. Do you still remember that first and only disciple of mine?¡±

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi!¡±

 Chapter 1314

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1314 ¨C Devouring the Dragon

    Li Qingshan frowned heavily. There were very few people or matters that could make him frown now, but Qian Rongzhi would always be at the top of the list. She could get a frown out of him every single time. There were no bitter feuds worthy of mention between them, but he simply felt disgust instinctively when she was mentioned.

    However, he could not help but admit that after hearing the name, his confidence in Gu Yanying¡¯s plan had multiplied strangely enough, but it still left him feeling very uncomfortable.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming asked curiously, ¡°Who are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk after we get to Dragonshead mountain!¡±

    The kunpeng spread its wings, speeding the three of them into the winds and shooting off for Dragonshead mountain.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°She¡¯s just a Golden Core cultivator.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s already undergone the third heavenly tribulation several months ago.¡±

    ¡°Then she¡¯s just a Soul Nascence cultivator.¡±

    Even Li Qingshan had forgotten how many people of that cultivation he had butchered already. Now, a single glance from him might be enough to frighten a few cowardly ones to death. However, the progression of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s cultivation did not particularly surprise him.

    ¡°That first disciple of mine is a Reincarnated Celestial. She wields the Heaven Climbing Vine that connects the Human realm and the nine provinces.¡±

    ¡°Reincarnated Celestial. Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    There was a flash in Li Qingshan¡¯s head; he thought of a certain Reincarnated Celestial who was called Chu Tian at first and then Lin Xuan later. Just like that, the drastic increase in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s cultivation made sense. He immediately thought of something else. Lin Xuan had probably perished at her hands.

    He could tell as soon as he heard about the Heaven Climbing Vine that it was not from the nine provinces. It must have been a chess piece Si Long prepared beforehand to open a path between the nine provinces and the Human realm. That person should have been Chu Tian originally, but he foolishly became involved with her, almost losing his life. Afterwards, he turned into Lin Xuan, but by the looks of things, not only had he failed to get his revenge, but he had even been replaced instead.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°That¡¯s what it is.¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°In other words, if it weren¡¯t for her, Si Long never could have descended here in the first place.¡±

    Of course, he was also aware that it was rather unreasonable for him to say that. On the other hand, if it were not for her, Si Long would have descended here a long time ago.

    That was what made her freakish. When regular people obtained such a rare treasure, they would all keep it a secret carefully. Why would they proactively give it away and lure in an extremely powerful enemy? Si Long only needed to sense her intentions slightly, and she would meet a horrible end. She was basically like a great, greedy snake, devouring everything that she could devour with maddening malice, without any regard for whether she would swell up and burst to her death.

    ¡°Some people live to make the world burn.¡±

    Gu Yanying shrugged. Even Su Mirao, someone born as a harbinger of disaster, still possessed great caution despite possessing unbelievable power, prioritising her safety above all else. However, perhaps it was exactly because she was of noble birth and possessed great knowledge that she had many more worries.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming became even more curious. ¡°In other words, she¡¯s truly suited to cultivate in the Demon domain. Perhaps she might even be blessed by the heavens. Sigh, there sure are a lot of mad people in this world.¡±

    He glanced past Gu Yanying, Li Qingshan, and Xiao An. It was no wonder why he felt more and more ¡°ordinary¡±.

    The kunpeng moved swiftly. As they spoke, Dragonshead mountain had already arrived before them, even one step faster than Si Long. Moving through the earth was safe, but it was not as free as flying through the sky.

    Over a hundred great cultivators and several dozen Daemon Kings were atop the mountain, currently prostrating towards the altar. They saw the kunpeng¡¯s colossal figure, and their faces all changed drastically. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Si Long has actually been defeated!?¡±

    ¡°Continue the offerings! Don¡¯t become distracted!¡± The previous emperor of Great Xia ordered, but he was tense inside too.

    At this moment, a golden streak of light shot through the ground. Dragon cries rang out from the foot of the mountain. Si Long burst out of the soil and flew towards the top of the mountain.

    Li Qingshan leapt up, gripping the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly in his right hand as he threw a punch.

    There were no rumbles. There was no destruction. His punch seemed to be blocked by an invisible membrane, producing a series of ripples in space that dissipated instantly. He actually struggled to destroy anything.

    Nine cauldrons were arranged around the altar.

    They were the cauldrons of the nine provinces that had been forged by gathering all the god seals throughout the world. Not only had the Frost Province cauldron been reforged, but even the cauldrons that the Great Banyan Tree King had originally devoured had been condensed again.

    The nine cauldrons emitted nine columns of light, stirring up the clouds and wind and rushing straight into the sky, revolving around the Heaven Climbing Vine like towering pillars that upheld the sky. They also resonated with each other and connected with their auras, forming an impregnable entity.

    ¡°The Barrier of the Nine Provinces!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. This was no longer a formation by cultivators but a formation condensed from the laws of the world. If he wanted to take down the barrier, he had to defeat the world.

    ¡°Very good. So you have come. You can die here and now then!¡±

    Si Long smiled at Li Qingshan with the same confidence as before as if everything was within his grasp. There was also a hint of complacency like victory was near.

    By now, the offerings to heaven were completed already.

    The god seals produced by the world were a bridge that linked the living creatures with the world, while the nine cauldrons forged from the god seals were also symbols of the empire.

    Without the nine provinces, no matter how many people he won over, it would all be for nothing. It could not be converted into true power, much less completely break free the restraints from the laws of the world, even when he was facing the demon king who tried to destroy the world.

    Only by gathering the wills of the living creatures and making the heavens hear his will could he twist the intangible will of the heavens, becoming one with the heavens. Then he could unleash his true strength as a Human Sovereign. No, that was not all. The power he possessed in this world would be countless times greater than in the Human realm. He could completely crush the four of them.

    Under everyone¡¯s watch, Si Long made his way through the people and onto the altar.

    At that instant, his inner demons vanished without a trace. The wills of the living creatures could pacify any distracting thoughts, while the intangible will of the heavens made him extremely calm, no longer with any emotional fluctuations.

    He was the lord of the world, the son of the heavens. There was no need for him to be worried about anything. Everything would follow his will.

    Li Qingshan looked over, but he could not find Qian Rongzhi. Where had she gone? Surely she had not fled in fright?

    Coincidentally, Si Long thought of the exact same thing.

    Suddenly, a great feeling of uneasiness plunged into his heart like an arrow. There was no reason. There was no explanation. That was the senses of someone who had become one with the heavens, as well as the senses he should have possessed as a Human Sovereign.

    Ever since he arrived in this world, he had basically devoted all of his attention to Li Qingshan, thinking night and day about how he would deal with him. During the other times, he was extremely busy as well. Reforging the cauldron and understanding the laws of the world were all extremely strenuous tasks. He had to examine his subjects too and consider what he would do with them once he returned to the Human realm.

    Unknowingly, he had neglected the most important person, as this person had helped him complete his great cause, paving the path between the nine provinces and the Human realm. After all, this person¡¯s cultivation was nowhere close to his, spending most of her time cultivating.

    It might have even been the intangible will of the heavens shrouding his senses the entire time, only recovering some clarity at this precise moment.

    She should be standing watch over the altar and controlling the Heaven Climbing Vine. Where is she now?

    An even more terrifying thought appeared. Until this exact moment, he was actually unable to sense his body of the true dragon that was right beside him.

    Yang Souls could be projected from the body, but they still maintained a subtle connection with the body. Entering the Jade palace and raising the Barrier of the Nine Provinces would both affect this connection, but it was far too strange given the current circumstances.

    He could no longer bother with his image and composure as a Human Sovereign. He lunged towards his body of the true dragon seated on the throne. As soon as the tips of his fingers touched the body, it collapsed. It was merely an empty husk. There were countless tiny vines inside, squirming around like thousands of snakes.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°If there¡¯s a will, even a venomous snake can devour a heavenly dragon!¡±

 Chapter 1315

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1315 ¨C Entanglement

    The sun reached its zenith; the sky was clear with no clouds to be seen. At the top of the mountains, the altar was deathly silent.

    The various expressions were frozen on their faces, like funny masks.

    Si Long had almost blanked out. Losing his body was an unbearable loss. Although it was only the flimsy body of a mortal, it was critical to cultivation, let alone the fact that it was a body of a true dragon that had taken him colossal effort to achieve.

    He had not left his body here without any preparations at all. Instead, he had prepared various defensive measures. Even if Li Qingshan launched a sneak attack here, he would not even be able to touch it without a good while. However, he forgot about the Heaven Climbing Vine that could pierce space.

    It pierced all the defences layer by layer, draining dry his essence blood droplet by droplet.

    The verdant and tender vines wove into the face of a woman, who said, ¡°You¡¯ve returned, your majesty! Look at your expression right now! It¡¯s hilarious! Has something bad happened? Hehehehe¡­¡±

    ¡°She actually hasn¡¯t left!¡±

    Gu Yanying was mildly surprised. After doing something like that, not only did she stay, but she was even bold enough to openly provoke him. She would basically be facing Si Long¡¯s wrath alone.

    ¡°So that¡¯s Qian Rongzhi! She really is intriguing!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was brimming with interest. Dealing a vicious blow to Si Long while he had lost his connection with his body in the Jade palace was nothing too impressive, but provoking him openly like that took extraordinary courage.

    The hierarchy in the cultivation community was clearly divided. When the inferior faced the superior, they felt reverence almost instinctively. Even if they were in an untouchable situation, they would probably still be cautious. She should have understood very well that a single Heaven Climbing Vine was not enough to protect her life.

    The sharp laughter filled with malice immediately made Si Long jerk back to his senses. With a flash of golden light, he cut down the face swiftly and roared furiously, ¡°Qian Rongzhi, what have you done?¡±

    Like a reply to his question, there was a series of gasps and cries from around the altar.

    The previous emperor of Great Xia felt a prick from the sole of his foot; the prick was so small that it was almost undetectable. However, it managed to pierce his protective arcane treasure and tough body instantly, venturing deep into his soul and reaching straight for his soul nascence.

    In the next moment, he was like a balloon pricked by a needle. All of his vital energies flowed out through the needle hole uncontrollably. He experienced a sense of coldness and horror far greater than ever felt before.

    Thousands of vines emerged from the crowd, extending, twisting, entwining, and piercing amid the eerie laughter like dancing snakes. Between them were various frightened faces.

    As it turned out, the vines had filled the ground beneath the altar a long time ago. It no longer seemed like a solemn place to make offerings to the heavens; instead, it was a terrifying trap.

    And from a certain perspective, Si Long had personally set this trap.

    Chu Tian possessed the Heaven Climbing Vine from birth. By the time Qian Rongzhi had taken it from him, it had only managed to grow to the size of a bonsai in over two decades.

    The fact that he used a majority of the pure spiritual qi from the Human realm for cultivation did play a role, but it also demonstrated just how great of a demand the Heaven Climbing Vine had for resources. As a matter of fact, the vine seemed rather useless once their cultivation reached a certain level.

    If it were not for five thousand years of accumulation and preparation by the Great Xia empire, basically feeding it with the force of the entire empire, it would never grow to such a level even if it had another millennium. It might even come to a standstill. No matter how pure the spiritual qi it extracted was, it was still limited after all.

    When this strange plant that could pierce space or even worlds completely grew up, it would never be something harmless and useless that was just for decoration.

    Blood splattered everywhere. The Cloud Shadow Crane King cut off his legs resolutely, letting out a cry and spreading his wings for the sky. When he had only risen up halfway, a vine emerged from space, piercing his chest.

    The King of Eastern Lu powered the sword on his waist. It shone with sharp light, like a pool of clear water. It was possible to tell with a single glance that it was no regular arcane treasure. It slashed at a vine, but the sword passed through the vine smoothly, unable to harm it at all.

    The Heaven Climbing Vine¡¯s existence was both tangible and intangible. Only Si Long could cut through it with the aura of nature from his Yang Soul, but the other cultivators were completely incapable of that. They could not tear off even with the thinnest vine from them and cut it apart. Weapons could not touch it, and it was immune to techniques. Once these powerful cultivators fell into its ¡°claws¡±, they could never escape again.

    Before anyone had noticed, the vines had already filled the sky, taking out all of the humans and daemons who took part in the offerings to heaven in one fell swoop.

    Si Long did not actually care about the fates of these people. Even when it came to his own descendants, who knew how many generations separated them. He devoted all of his attention to the nine cauldrons. That was the crux to making the offerings to heaven. Even if he had lost his body, he could still complete the final step of the offerings with his Yang Soul.

    However, the brutal reality did not even leave him with a final sliver of hope. The columns of light rapidly dimmed as vines wove together inside the cauldrons, having covered them a long time ago. It was precisely for this moment.

    The power of belief from all of the living creatures gathered towards the trunk of the Heaven Climbing Vine. There seemed to be a figure standing there, maddeningly stealing the fruits of success from the offerings to heaven.

    The will of the people would always be used by the ambitious, while the unpredictability of human nature completely surpassed the intangible will of the heavens.

    Si Long felt light-headed. The feeling of becoming one with the heavens gradually left him. It let him completely understand how the Great Banyan Tree King felt in the past¡ªAll plans reduced to dust the moment he could see success right before him.

    It felt like he was only a step away from the peak, only to step into an abyss. The intense feeling of loss was enough to drive people crazy. He did not go crazy, but his inner demons flared again.

    Unwillingness, regret, resentment, sorrow¡­ various negative emotions flooded out.

    ¡°Hehehe, now, I¡¯m the one chosen by the heavens, the lord of the living! All of you can go and die!¡±

    The Heaven Climbing Vine was like a twisted snake as Qian Rongzhi¡¯s mad laughter filled Dragonshead mountain. The many talented great cultivators, the noble members of the imperial family, and the various Daemon Kings of flexible political allegiance all prostrated at her feet, putting up a painful struggle.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, remembering the sight from many years ago, except it was only a small mountain back then. Right now, she was at the top of the nine provinces. Even the paramount Human Sovereign had fallen for her scheme, suffering a disastrous defeat.

    ¡°Bitch, do you think I can¡¯t kill you just because you¡¯re hiding in the Heaven Climbing Vine?¡± Si Long roared furiously.

    Wielding his fingers like a blade, he cut through the trunk of the Heaven Climbing Vine with a single stroke. The Heaven Climbing Vine was terrifyingly powerful, but it was as delicate as a regular plant before even greater power.

    He pulled Qian Rongzhi out from there with ease and sensed the familiar aura she gave off. That was the bloodline of the true dragon that belonged to him. Because she was unable to digest and absorb it, a pair of dragon horns protruded from her head while her body was covered in scales. However, her eyes were better described as more snake-like than dragon-like, staring at Si Long mercilessly and viciously.

    He became even more furious inside. Golden light flashed in his eyes.

    Her flesh and blood scattered in the air, having been shaved away. In the blink of an eye, only a bloody, human figure remained with tiny, gorgeous snakes in between, which was a particularly grotesque sight.

    Xiao An showed no emotions, but she tightened her grip around her swords.

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. He really did find this child more and more difficult to understand. He did not like Qian Rongzhi, but he would always repay a debt, so he definitely would not simply watch her be killed. However, even without the Barrier of the Nine Provinces obstructing them, they could not save her from Si Long¡¯s hands.

    However, her laughter never stopped. Instead, it became even more elated as she urged him on. ¡°Quick, kill me! I have the bloodline of a true dragon! A small wound like this is nothing.¡±

    Her voice then sank, like the hissing of a snake. ¡°If you kill me, the Heaven Climbing Vine will wither, and you won¡¯t be able to return to the Human realm. You¡¯ll face the powerful rejection of this world too. If you kill me, a true dragon blessed by the heavens, you¡¯ll definitely face hostility from the will of the heavens, and the situation will become even worse. You¡¯ll let Li Qingshan get away with everything for nothing.¡±

    The purpose that the Heaven Climbing Vine served was similar to the great ghost tower. They both allowed existences that exceeded the limits of this world to descend upon the nine provinces. However, sovereign Li was unable to leave the ghost tower, while Si Long had basically turned this world into his own backyard using the various methods he had prepared beforehand and his advantage of being born in this world.

    However, Qian Rongzhi had basically completed the offerings to heaven in Si Long¡¯s place, becoming the ¡°chosen child of the heavens¡±. Even when she did not have too much power to wield, she was still blessed by the heavens. There would definitely be retribution if she was killed.

    Si Long trembled. He obviously understood that, which was why he could not bring himself to kill her. Instead, he felt even more oppressed inside, such that he almost wanted to cough up blood.

    His inner demons flared even more as he showed signs of suffering from cultivation deviation once again. Even more terrifyingly, the will of the heavens began to shift, and his powers were restricted. If this continued, he would blow up on the spot with his soul obliterated before he even clashed with Li Qingshan and the others.

    ¡°To think that a bitch like you is bold enough to devour my body and destroy my plans! Return everything that you took from me!¡±

    With his last wisp of clarity, he lunged forward with his Yang Soul, entering Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body. If he managed to possess her successfully, then he would still be the true dragon chosen by the heavens. All of his mistakes would be rectified.

 Chapter 1316

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1316 ¨C Possession

    Si Long sent the entirety of his Yang Soul into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body. The process of possession was extremely successful. Even the intangible will of the heavens could not stop him.

    This bitch is bold enough to use the Heaven Climbing Vine to devour my flesh and blood, but she¡¯s completely incapable of digesting it. She thinks she can threaten me just because she¡¯s blessed by the heavens, but little does she know that the living creatures all utter my name! How foolish! She¡¯s basically dug her own grave!

    He was like a returning king, facing no resistance wherever he went and reaching his capital city very soon. All that remained was torturing the thief who robbed him of his kingdom to death.

    This process took only a few seconds in total.

    Golden dragon qi soaked every inch of her flesh, every bone and every meridian, like a king recovering the world with its army. In the end, all that remained was a lone city, the soul nascence, except it was not shaped like a nascent human but a gorgeous, venomous snake. The snake bit its tail, forming a loop, like it was trying to eat itself.

    Even with Si Long¡¯s knowledge that he placed absolute confidence in, he had never seen such a strange Soul Nascence before. When he remembered it was all due to him that she could undergo the third heavenly tribulation so quickly, he became even more enraged inside, tempted to crush it immediately. That was without a doubt the fastest method of possession.

    However, that was equivalent to killing her with his own hands. She was currently blessed by the heavens and protected by the living creatures. No matter who killed her, they would all face an intense backlash. Not only would he lose the blessings from the heavens, but his body would collapse too. The Heaven Climbing Vine would not immediately accept him as its new master either.

    There was Li Qingshan and the others leering at him outside. This was not a result he could accept. Only by devouring and digesting her soul nascence could he replace her.

    The hell snake glanced at him. There was no fear in its eyes, only coldness, as well as hints of undisguised madness.

    Si Long was afraid she was mad enough to detonate her soul nascence, so his Yang Soul gathered over immediately, like a million-strong army clad in golden armour, charging into the capital.

    At this moment, the hell snake began to spin, forming a great spiral in the centre that sucked Si Long¡¯s Yang Soul inside.

    There was a mixture of light and shadows, and Si Long condensed his Yang Soul into human form again, standing in the muddy swamp and gazing out with uncertainty. Under the gloomy sky, countless venomous snakes wriggled and wallowed in the swamp, devouring one another. The hissing sounds were unending, enough to give him chills.

    The Venomous Snake hell!

    Si Long had clearly heard about the Venomous Snake hell from the Hell realm before. He completely understood the Illustrations of Naraka as well, but that was not enough to eliminate his current shock. Perhaps it was exactly because he understood what was going on that he felt even more bewildered.

    She actually internalised the Venomous Snake hell into her soul nascence!

    When regular disciples of the school of Legalism borrowed the power of hell, the role they served were the ¡°prison guards¡±. Only fools that were desperate for quick success would inflict the tortures of hell on themselves in an attempt to temper their wills and purify their souls, but most of them died from insanity.

    But compared to her, those people were all ordinary, forced to do so to break free from the restraints of their talent. When they truly reached her cultivation, they would still try everything that they could to return to being prison guards. After all, no one pursued longevity for the sake of enduring the tortures of hell.

    However, she had basically imprisoned herself into the depths of hell, such that she was basically in the Venomous Snake hell no matter where she was, day and night, without end, without even a moment of rest. As soon as she ascended, she would immediately end up in the Venomous Snake hell.

    It was no wonder why she could still laugh after being shaved to pieces. Compared to pain like that, no matter what kind of tortures her body faced, it was completely negligible. Killing her was basically a form of release.

    This madwoman!

    Si Long gritted his teeth. Just like that, if he devoured her soul nascence, he would have to shoulder the Venomous Snake hell in her place. Even he, a mighty Human Sovereign, could not sever a connection with the Hell realm so easily.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Quick, use this opportunity to kill him!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming drew his slingshot, and the surroundings dimmed. The stone pierced the Barrier of the Nine Provinces, leaving behind a black, spiralling trajectory.

    The Heaven Climbing Vine had basically drained the power within the nine cauldrons. Coupled with a blow like that, the nine cauldrons basically could not maintain the barrier any more. The recently-forged Frost Province cauldron exploded loudly, reduced to pieces. The Barrier of the Nine Provinces vanished.

    After devouring the great cultivators and Daemon Kings, the Heaven Climbing Vine spread and grew even more, almost enveloping the entire mountain peak like a green net.

    Li Qingshan lifted the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, unleashing A Madman at Path¡¯s End. In the blink of an eye, the flowery patterns covered his body.

    Merging with the blade, he turned into a dazzling, rotating flurry. The vines were cut down wherever he passed by, paving a path. He arrived right before Qian Rongzhi, but he stopped. His sharp blade hovered over her head.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming urged him. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. Her soul nascence cannot defeat a Yang Soul. Once Si Long possesses her successfully, all of our efforts will go to waste!¡±

    ¡°Let me do it!¡±

    Xiao An emerged from behind Li Qingshan, so quiet that she resembled his shadow. She lifted the Buddha Slaying sword slowly and sighed inside.

    At a time like this, that sword would be even more effective than the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    Li Qingshan grabbed her wrist and shook his head gently. He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s rare for you not to want to kill someone. Speaking of which, I don¡¯t want the horrible reputation of repaying kindness with hostility. What kind of man would I be if I got you to kill her for me? If everything goes to waste, then everything goes to waste. I will kill him with my own hands!¡±

    He always kept clear tabs on his debts. No matter how much he loathed Qian Rongzhi, she had helped him tremendously this time, so he definitely would not take advantage of her situation and kill her while she was vulnerable.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming wanted to say something, but he faltered. He was also in doubt. Logically speaking, with the difference between Yang Souls and soul nascences, possession would only take an instant. This woman called Qian Rongzhi stood absolutely no chance against him, yet many seconds had already passed, but they were still in a stalemate. Was it due to the blessing of the heavens?

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Both of you have raised valid points. This disciple of mine has always been particularly stubborn and insidious. Since she¡¯s bold enough to stay here and face Si Long, she must have something that she can rely on. She won¡¯t be possessed that easily. However, I don¡¯t think she has any chances at victory either. Once Si Long possesses her successfully, that¡¯ll be troublesome. Why don¡¯t we lend her a hand and destroy Si Long in her body? If that doesn¡¯t work out, then we¡¯ve basically tried everything that we can. We can launch a preemptive strike if Si Long possesses her successfully!¡±

    ¡°Good idea!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. Originally, even if they could defeat Si Long, killing him would be extremely difficult, but now was a fine opportunity.

    The four of them stood around Qian Rongzhi. The Heaven Climbing Vine filled the surroundings, so it did surround them. On top of that, with it out of control, the Heaven Climbing Vine was now impelled by its instincts to entwine and devour, but they were already prepared for this.

    With a wave of her hand, the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone roared out, enveloping them in the flames. As soon as the vines touched the flames, it stopped approaching them. Then she tossed out the Immortal Relinquished sword, shooting into the sky with a twisted flash and cutting off the very top of the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    At that instant, the connection between the nine provinces and the Human realm had been severed.

    ¡°Do it!¡±

    Li Qingshan placed his hand on Qian Rongzhi¡¯s head. The spirit turtle faded into existence, suppressing down viciously.

    Gu Yanying manifested the Hot Wind hell. The whistling winds surged into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming peered into Qian Rongzhi¡¯s eyes. His pupils turned pitch-black.

 Chapter 1317

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1317 ¨C Tribulation

    Si Long gazed at the Venomous Snake hell and realised how terrible the situation was. The time taken to devour a soul nascence and the time taken to devour a miniature hell like this was completely different. With the former, it only took an instant with the absolute advantage of his Yang Soul. All that would remain was slowly digesting it. However, the latter was not that simple.

    Had he fallen for this bitch¡¯s wretched scheme again!?

    For a moment, he became slightly hesitant. The Barrier of the Nine Provinces could not last for too long. If he did not complete the possession as quickly as possible and allowed Li Qingshan and the others to break in, he would basically be a sitting duck. However, he simply struggled to accept giving up now. On top of that, the Heaven Climbing Vine was no longer protected by the Barrier of the Nine Provinces. It definitely would be broken off by Li Qingshan and the others.

    Thinking up to there, he suddenly halted the possession process. Instead, he gathered the power of his Yang Soul, silently checking the situation of the outside world.

    A venomous snake slithered in the swamp. Its scales of interwoven black and red were particularly lustrous. It said in human tongue, ¡°Hiss hiss. Impressive scheme, your majesty!¡±

    Si Long glanced at her coldly. ¡°How can I compare to you?¡±

    ¡°You want to make them kill me?¡± The venomous snake flicked its bright-red, forked tongue. The hissing resembled a strange laughter.

    As it turned out, after finding out that he could not complete the possession in a short amount of time, Si Long just went with the flow. If Li Qingshan and the others thought he was still possessing her and killed her mercilessly, then that would be equivalent to personally murdering the person blessed by the heavens. His Yang Soul was only hiding here at most, so he would not sustain any damage at all. He could even launch a sneak attack while they faced the backlash of the heavens. It guaranteed success for him.

    When he heard that, he shivered inside. Not only had he sealed off all of this bitch¡¯s senses, but she could not even blow up her soul nascence anymore. Despite that, she managed to guess his plan, and she was completely without any fear. Such thoughtfulness and composure was truly rare. It also left him worried that she had been anticipating this the entire time.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome to take a guess. Will they betray you?¡±

    ¡°Hiss hiss. I am blessed by the heavens. I have the protection of the heavens. Look at me. Don¡¯t I look like a dragon?¡±

    The venomous dragon twisted its body, imitating Si Long as he turned into a dragon and rose up into the air. It seemed both hilarious and sickening.

    ¡°The heavens?¡± The fury in Si Long¡¯s heart almost lost control. He furrowed his brows firmly. My inner demons are becoming more and more severe. I can¡¯t afford any more provocations from this bitch.

    At this moment, a scorching slash whistled over. His plan was about to succeed. He secretly gathered all of his power, planning to launch a killing strike at Li Qingshan when he cut down Qian Rongzhi.

    He also found this difficult to accept. Sure enough, as the reports have detailed, the blade is an asura armament with an artifact spirit, enough to rival my Jade Seal of the True Dragon. If I receive this slash, my body will be destroyed. It¡¯s a pity that I couldn¡¯t bring any of my arane treasures down with me apart from my lifebound arcane treasure, or I wouldn¡¯t be in such a disadvantageous position! So be it, let¡¯s bring this to an end!

    However, the developments left him disappointed. Li Qingshan stopped in the final moment.

    Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s seen through my plan?

    After he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s words, he finally came to a realisation, but it also left him even more irritated. You sinful, wretched daemon, actually posing around at a time like this, acting all loyal and benevolent!

    Then he heard what Gu Yanying said and immediately made a decision. His Yang Soul gathered together rapidly, turning into a golden sun and completely illuminating the Venomous Snake hell.

    The thousands of snakes raised their heads. The light dyed their multicoloured bodies golden.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The venomous snakes shot towards the sun like arrows. The entire Venomous Snake hell became glorious.

    Si Long began the possession. Before absolute power, Qian Rongzhi struggled to put up a struggle regardless of how many schemes she had. Instead, she let out a peal of hysterical laughter. The laughter seemed to open the gates of hell, such that even more venomous snakes emerged from the depths of the swamp, swelling like the tides and throwing themselves at the sun in the sky like moths to a flame.

    Si Long endured the pain of being bitten by a myriad of snakes. The resentment and fury he experienced was indescribable, but he also felt a deep sense of sorrow and shame. How had a mighty Human Sovereign like him ended up in such a state?

    If this continued, before anyone had come to kill him, his inner demons would immediately set off. He would die from cultivation deviation.

    In this juncture of life and death, Si Long suddenly realised something. His trip to the nine provinces was his tribulation.

    Heavenly tribulations were not all the tribulations that existed in the world. This was a test of fate.

    He was assaulted by his inner demons and disturbed mentally, such that he lost his rational thought, suffering from cultivation deviation.

    Furthermore, due to the influence of his ties, he had been used as a borrowed knife, facing a powerful enemy and dragging him into battle.

    These two tribulations were often closely connected. His mind disturbed and his body wounded, he would collapse from the inside and out, his body destroyed and his mind annihilated. Even powerful cultivators would die to this.

    Cultivating for immortality and enlightenment had always been an act against the heavens. The greater their cultivation was, the heavier the tribulations they faced, and it would occur depending on the situation, making it completely unguardable. Countless cultivators died as a result. However, just like how afflictions were the seeds of knowledge, tribulations were also opportunities. The heart of a cultivator could be tempered through these many tests and tribulations they faced.

    Using this realisation, Si Long reflected on his past mistakes. When I came down to the lower world, I had lust, so I was deluded by Mirao. I was insatiable, so I was stopped by Li Qingshan. I was too proud and reserved, which was taken advantage of by Qian Rongzhi. That was why I faced these numerous disasters, my proposal of love falling through, the failure of the offerings to heaven, and the loss of my body, tortured by this hell. And now, I¡¯m basically in danger of dying. Before I came to the lower world, that was basically unimaginable.

    Thinking up to there, he could not help but smile wryly. It immediately turned into determination again. He had not spent his entire life cultivating arduously in vain!

    At this moment, the sweeping hot winds surged in. Gu Yanying powered the Hot Wind hell, adding in another punishment from hell.

    Darkness suddenly enveloped him, swallowing all of the golden light.

    He gritted his teeth, instead using the pain to restrain his inner demons. He felt that he had recovered some clarity, so his Yang Soul turned back into human form, emitting a dragon¡¯s cry. The golden light of the Yang Soul shone even brighter, ripping away all of the darkness.

    He completely opened up his mind, accepting the Venomous Snake hell, so his speed of refining the soul nascence became even greater.

    Despite the Immortal Relinquished sword severing the Heaven Climbing Vine and the connection between the nine provinces and the Human realm being broken, none of it could not shake his determination at all. Instead, he did two other things at the same time. As he refined the soul nascence, he mobilised a part of the power of belief from the living creatures to block the rejection from the laws of the world. At the same time, he paid attention to Li Qingshan and the others¡¯ actions. He had already gained control over a part of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body now, which gave him the power to put up a struggle when it mattered.

    Just like how there would always be a way out, the pain of hell was his chance at survival.

    The ouroboros that formed a circle was rapidly dyed by the golden light.

    Suddenly, clear light sprinkled in. The spirit turtle descended from above with the force to suppress everything.

    Si Long gazed up. His eyes shone with sparks as he forcefully halted the spirit turtle. The resplendent golden light dyed the spirit turtle as well. Just like that, it lasted for a few seconds before the clear light dimmed. The spirit turtle dispersed.

    ¡°It just doesn¡¯t work!¡± Li Qingshan took a step back. He felt dizzy. The spirit turtle created from his soul sense had almost collapsed. The Yang Soul was basically shamelessly strong.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming furrowed his brows. ¡°Not only is the Yang Soul a condensation of the soul and will, but it also possesses actual power. Our soul senses alone stand no chance against it. Originally, I thought he was suffering from soul deviation, so disturbing him mentally should have had some effect, but I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Cut the talk! Kill her!¡±

    Li Qingshan no longer hesitated either, signalling for Xiao An to use the Buddha Slaying sword. If this continued, Qian Rongzhi would be possessed before long. Killing her now might instead force out Si Long.

    Si Long reflected this scene above the Venomous Snake hell. ¡°Do you see this? This is your final outcome.¡± He tried to sway Qian Rongzhi¡¯s will while remaining on guard, ready to break out at any moment. He was sure that as long as she had even the slightest desire to survive, even just to get revenge against Li Qingshan and the others, she would cooperate with him obediently.

    ¡°Hehehehe, I will live in your body forever, continuing until you die!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s laughter became madder and madder, instead doing all that she could to fight against him for control over the body.

    Si Long could clearly sense a delight of liberation from the depths of her soul, which made him frown. ¡°You madwoman!¡±

    Xiao An said softly, ¡°Qingshan, I want to try one more time.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised before nodding. ¡°Alright.¡±

    Xiao An pulled out a cloth from within her sleeve and shook it open gently, spreading it out. It was as thin as the wings of a cicada and rectangular in shape. As it turned out, it was a kasaya, except it was not a proper red. Instead, it was pale-white in colour, divided into rectangles by black lines. The fasteners were neither gold or jade but white bone. However, apart from that, it was no different from a regular kasaya.

    However, the feeling it gave off resembled a shroud for corpses, having sent off countless dead in the past. Even when all of the blood and grime had been cleaned away, it could not hide its foul and blasphemous aura.

    This was the white bone artifact that Xiao An had forged most recently, the Trisepultural Robes. It flew towards Si Long like a pale-white bird.

    A sliver of uneasiness flashed through Si Long. Suddenly, he began to move, controlling Qian Rongzhi¡¯s body to make her kick her feet, rising up into the air.

    With a great boom, the altar shattered.

 Chapter 1318 - The Son of Heavenâ€™s Sword, the Common Manâ€™s Blade

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed as he roared out, ¡°Get back here!¡±

    With the Force Field of the Earth at full strength, he caught the mid-air Si Long instantly and dragged him back viciously.

    Li Qingshan immediately sensed that something was amiss. Not only did he put up no resistance, but he even moved with startling speed, basically hurtling towards him like a meteor.

    Li Qingshan only had enough time to raise his arms and assume a defensive stance when a great force collided against him.

    With a crack, his arms snapped at the same time. A good portion of his body became embedded in the rock.

    It was basically similar to when he descended from above to smash through the Sovereign Dragon King. It was truly a taste of his own medicine.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows, only to see a bloodied, humanoid figure radiating with a sense of dominance. It gazed down on Li Qingshan with a pair of golden dragon eyes, which did not contain any fury or hatred anymore. All it possessed was the coldness of gold, enough to withstand the scorching of fire.

    The surroundings dimmed.

    Boom!

    Si Long had been sent flying while his chest caved in deeply as a spinning rock pressed against it. His back arched up, almost having been forcefully pierced by the stone.

    As it turned out, R¨¡hu Xiaoming had already drawn his slingshot the moment Si Long began to move, locking onto him firmly as if he had been anticipating his counterattack the entire time. He struck decisively the moment he collided against Li Qingshan.

    However, there was no joy in R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes. He had noticed that Si Long¡¯s chest shone with golden light. Those were golden dragon scales, spreading across his body rapidly like glistening ripples, covering him completely in the blink of an eye. A pair of dragon horns jutted out from his forehead, manifesting with his bloodline of the true dragon that was unique in this world.

    Xiao An chanted away as the Trisepultural Robes swelled in the air, reaching several hundred metres across and blanketing over Si Long.

    Si Long¡¯s figure twisted in the air, spreading his hands that turned into dragon claws. He swung them at Xiao An.

    The entire movement was like a dragon extending its claws out of a cloud. It did not create a disturbance, nor did it exhibit any sharpness, but it did contain endless wonders.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face changed drastically. He also extended his hand. ¡°The Ape Demon Locks the Space!¡±

    Si Long¡¯s figure halted, but the dragon claw had already arrived.

    With a great rumble, a crater several hundred metres across suddenly appeared where Xiao An was standing. A large portion of the rock had basically been ground down to dust. There was not even any rubble that shot out. There was only swelling and expanding white dust.

    Gu Yanying rose up in the air with Xiao An, only to see a clear mark left on the top of the mountain. A sliver of shock also flashed across her face. Was this Si Long¡¯s true strength?

    The entire clash occurred in a split second, from Si Long rising up into the air to Gu Yanying saving Xiao An. It only took the blink of an eye, yet it contained great danger.

    Si Long spread his arms and raised his head. ¡°I am the son of the heavens, the sovereign of the nine provinces!¡±

    His voice thrummed like metal, echoing through the surroundings. Noise and ruckus began to rise up in the distant surroundings, like all the living creatures of this world answering to him.

    With that, the will of the heavens shifted. Everything changed in response.

    The severed Heaven Climbing Vine connected with the Human realm again through space.

    The Trisepultural Robes were inflated by the surging dragon qi, unable to envelope him properly.

    ¡°Qingshan, we can¡¯t give him any opportunity to catch his breath!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said.

    He drew his slingshot again and aimed at Si Long in the air befores suddenly leaping up. Multiple vines erupted from beneath him, almost piercing the sole of his feet.

    Mid-air, countless more vines emerged from the space there, winding towards him and sealing off all paths of retreat immediately. It was vastly different from when it was under no one¡¯s control earlier.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was the son of an asura god, so he did not fear the Heaven Climbing Vine like regular great cultivators. Even if he were caught, it would not pose any lethal threat on him, but he could not just allow the Heaven Climbing Vine to devour his essence. In a situation like that, he would not be able to threaten Si Long at all.

    Si Long had already obtained part of the control over the Heaven Climbing Vine from Qian Rongzhi. Once he devoured her and regained the will of the heavens completely, there would only be one possible outcome for this battle. Now, apart from Li Qingshan, no one could directly withstand Si Long¡¯s attacks, not even him.

    ¡°And I am he who slays dragons!¡± Li Qingshan roared madly.

    A blood-red slash shot up into the sky, challenging the dignity of the sovereign.

    ¡°Forging the Nine Provinces!¡±

    With a thought, the eight cauldrons moved together, swelling as they rose up into the air. They surrounded him like a fortress of metal.

    Li Qingshan only noticed the gap left by the missing Frost Province cauldron. Becoming one with the blade, he killed his way into the fortress, except Si Long was nowhere to be seen. The eight cauldrons crushed towards him like eight mountains.

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes roared with flames. She moved her fingers again and again while powering the Immortal Relinquished sword, the Skull Prayer Beads, and the Trisepultural Robes at the same time.

    The Immortal Relinquished sword erupted with sword qi, slicing towards the Heaven Climbing Vine again.

    The Skull Prayer Beads dispersed before gathering together again, assembling the Skeleton Demon Formation.

    The Trisepultural Robes played the most important role. This was the first time she had used it, so she was not certain about its effects, but she trusted the judgement of the enemy. If it posed no threat, it was completely possible for Si Long to simply continue with what he was doing before, fending off their combined attacks while devouring Qian Rongzhi¡¯s soul nascence. He could have even bought some more time. He would not have immediately launched a counterattack.

    At the same time, she tightened her grip around the Buddha Slaying sword and communicated with Gu Yanying, ¡°If an opportunity arises, fly me over there.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Gu Yanying nodded.

    Si Long lured Li Qingshan into the encirclement of the eight cauldrons as he rose up alone. Reaching out conveniently, the Immortal Relinquished sword that slashed towards the Heaven Climbing Vine ended up in his hand. He said in praise, ¡°A fine sword!¡±

    Boom!

    The cauldrons of the eight provinces shattered, resembling the furious bloom of a flower. There were a total of three colours. The centre possessed the sharpness of metal. The petals were crimson like blood, yet the edges were pitch-black like ink, completely composed of blade aura. It slashed apart all of the cauldrons.

    The countless fragments of god seals shot off into the surroundings before merging with the world again. The figures of mountains, rivers, and lakes appeared in the air. The peaks were lofty as the rivers raged on. The feeling they gave off was even more realistic than actual mountains and rivers.

    Si Long sucked in a deep breath and raised the Immortal Relinquished sword high into the air. Dragon qi gathered in the palm of his hand.

    ¡°The Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, Pacifying the World!¡±

    The golden light from the sword reached three hundred metres long, causing even the mountains and rivers to dim. The sounds and voices of the living creatures rose up in the surroundings like a tsunami. Even the unruly Immortal Relinquished sword was unable to put up any resistance.

    At that very moment, he was the great lord of the world. Everything beneath the heavens was his land. Everything within his land was his subject.

    All the living creatures were his subjects. When the lord wanted his subjects to die, they had to die. Li Qingshan was no exception either.

    The intangible will of the heavens and the will of the living creatures all gathered in that sword, slashing towards Li Qingshan along a trajectory that abided to the ancient principle.

    The flower wilted after blooming. Li Qingshan had just broken out from the encirclement of the cauldrons. His daemon qi was temporarily drained, and he was riddled with openings. As he gazed at the undodgeable and unstoppable son of heaven¡¯s sword, he was like a madman at the end of his path. There were no lucky breaks left for him.

    He let out a mad laughter and unleashed the Frenzy of the Tiger Demon. The tiger stripes stretched over his forehead as his blood bubbled. The demonic figure of Mahe?vara manifested behind him, swinging his blade to receive the attack with an indomitable spirit.

    The blade was not endowed by any other external force. All it bore was the resolute will to fight to the very death, without any fear of the heavens, without any fear of the will of the people. It was a common man¡¯s blade.

    The blade and the sword, the common man and the son of heaven, the inferior and the superior, clashed together!

 Chapter 1319

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1319 ¨C The Scripture of Trisepulture

    It was like a ball of colours erupting in the surroundings, splashing with beams of red and golden light.

    The mountains, rivers, and lakes that appeared in the air were like mirages in the hot wind. They blurred immediately, dispersing rapidly.

    Cracks filled the air above Dragonshead mountain like webs, unable to contain their existence. It was like what had happened in the Jade palace. The colossal stone structures that had stood for thousands of years at the top of the mountain were like sand sculptures on a beach, collapsing under the wash of the waves.

    However, the red light gradually dimmed, swallowed by the surging golden light.

    He was the demon king who faced the hostility of the will of the heavens, cursed by the living beings. Alone, how was he supposed to contend against the glorious might of the heavens and the will of the people?

    The flashes of the sword attacked every single opening available, sharp like light. Before he knew it, fine cracks covered his sturdy body, joining up to form bloody wounds. Like a bronze artifact in the face of the passage of time, it fell apart piece by piece.

    He completely disregarded it. Every single piece that fell was ignited again, turning into specks of flames. The cracks were like the fractured ground where scorching magma surged out, setting his entire body alight. He received the surging golden light and travelled against the flow, rushing right over to Si Long.

    With a clang, the blade and sword clashed. Li Qingshan and Si Long¡¯s eyes met. One was like fire, while the other was like gold. Neither of them wavered, not even in the slightest.

    However, true gold was impervious to flames, and flames would run out one day.

    With a bang, Li Qingshan¡¯s body collapsed, turning into flowing fire.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End spiralled out, falling towards the top of the mountain. It was left with a deep mark from the sword.

    He had fought from the Jade palace till now, facing the golden dragon first before taking down the Sovereign Dragon King. His body had reached its limits a long time ago. After cutting down the eight cauldrons, it was already on the brink of collapse, and he had to face the glorious strike from Si Long too. As such, he simply erupted with all of his strength. He was better described as proactively burning himself to a crisp than being cut down by that slash.

    A wound appeared between Si Long¡¯s eyebrows as blood flowed down. However, he was unfazed, staring at the flowing flames and lifting the Immortal Relinquished sword again.

    Xiao An tried everything she could to control the Immortal Relinquished sword, but she received no response. She was extremely anxious. ¡°Take me over!¡±

    ¡°Calm down. Believe in them. If we received that strike instead, we¡¯d be completely dead,¡± Gu Yanying said solemnly.

    Even if she possessed the speed of a kunpeng, she definitely could not escape if she rashly approached Si Long and allowed the sword intent to lock onto her.

    With a phoenix¡¯s cry, the flames condensed again. Li Qingshan had undergone rebirth. However, before he could use any of his abilities, an invisible power gripped him. The sword intent of the son of heaven had locked onto him.

    Si Long¡¯s eyes flashed with golden light as he swung down violently with a second strike.

    ¡°The Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, Pacifying the World.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head as the sword filled his face. The omens of warning blared out in his heart. He knew Si Long was determined to kill with this strike.

    If he died again, he would turn into a phoenix¡¯s embryo. By then, Si Long probably did not even have to swing out a third time. Just the residual might from an attack was enough to destroy it.

    Because of these consecutive, bitter battles, Si Long had already realised something. If he did not completely destroy Li Qingshan, this battle would never end. As long as he killed this rebel, the enemy would pose no threat to him anymore.

    In this moment of life or death, Li Qingshan felt no fear. He erupted with a roar and was about to receive the attack with a punch when a figure appeared in front of him.

    ¡°Xiaoming!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming crossed his arms, nurturing a cluster of deep darkness inside that constantly ate away at the incoming attack.

    However, with an absolute difference in strength, even the son of an asura god was powerless.

    In the blink of an eye, the darkness shattered. He turned around and nodded towards Li Qingshan. After that, he was torn to shreds, blocking the attack with his own body.

    Li Qingshan let out a furious roar, spreading his wings and rushing into the sky, lunging towards Si Long. He gripped the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth again, connecting them together firmly.

    A hint of viciousness flashed through Si Long¡¯s eyes. Using this attraction, he swung down.

    The twisted sword was like a golden bolt of lightning, plunging deeply into Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. The sword qi rampaged through his body, destroying everything.

    Not only did Li Qingshan make no attempt to dodge, but he even welcomed it instead, spreading his arms and embracing Si Long firmly. He used the Ox Demon Forges its Hide to catch the sword, opening his huge mouth and biting down on Si Long¡¯s neck. His four canines that resembled blades collapsed when they met the dragon scales, but his other teeth managed to rip through the scales forcefully, drawing the dragon¡¯s blood.

    Gu Yanying rushed over with Xiao An in her arms, arriving behind Si Long instantly. The Buddha Slaying sword thrusted forwards silently.

    Si Long furrowed his brows. He reached back with an arm, catching the sword firmly with his five fingers.

    Through Gu Yanying¡¯s speed, Xiao An¡¯s thrust was sharper than ever before. It forcefully passed through the obstruction of the claws, continuing towards Si Long¡¯s back with the sound of screeching metal. However, it was blocked by the golden scales, unable to move even another inch forwards.

    Time seemed to come to a standstill. Li Qingshan had already sustained a heavy wound. Si Long only needed to break free. With that, he would be in an undefeatable position again with no one able to block his path anymore.

    At this exact moment, Xiao An¡¯s voice rang out in his ears. It sounded like the chanting of a scripture, but there was nothing solemn or holy about it at all. Instead, it was filled with an ominous and blasphemous vibe.

    The Trisepultural Robes that had been drifting through the air the entire time descended, wrapping around the four of them.

    A figure flew out from the bundle, landing heavily on the ruined Dragonshead mountain. It was Li Qingshan. He bled from all of his facial orifices while his body was riddled with holes. Even the Immortal Relinquished sword was still planted in his chest.

    Shortly afterwards, Gu Yanying and Xiao An also flew out from the bundle.

    Li Qingshan eased up slightly. He wanted to stand up and continue fighting, but he was incapacitated. His organs were in pieces, his meridians were severed, and his body could collapse at any moment. If he let Si Long stab him a few more times, he would have become an egg already.

    No matter what, that was already his final bout. He had no idea whether it ended in success or failure.

    The bundle in the air surged constantly. Xiao An brought her palms together solemnly. Her thin, red lips opened and closed rapidly, chanting the scripture of blasphemy. The Soul Stirring Bell on her waist trembled away as if she was carrying out some sort of funeral ceremony of expiation.

    The bundle rapidly shrank, turning back into a kasaya that was draped over Si Long. A string of white prayer beads even hung around his neck as if he had gone from the son of heaven of Great Xia to a buddhist practitioner all of a sudden.

    The kasaya and the prayer beads were the Trisepultural Robes and the Skull Prayer Beads.

    The chanting was rapid; the ringing was stirring. The Skull Prayer Beads turned into cackling skulls as scripture lines appeared on the Trisepultural Robes, sharing the same rhythm as her chanting.

    The three sounds followed one another, rising and falling together and merging as one. It was as chaotic and noisy as possible.

    If the living creatures all roared when Si Long swung his son of heaven¡¯s sword, then this sound was like the creatures that perished in the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, calling out to him, Come over to our side! You won¡¯t feel any more pain or fear! This is paradise!

    Even Li Qingshan felt restless when he heard it, using the spirit turtle to suppress his mind in a hurry.

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Si Long covered his ears as his face twisted viciously. Hell snakes wriggled out from beneath his scale armour, raising their heads in Xiao An¡¯s direction as if they were listening along quietly.

    The world was like a dwelling of fire, a place where the living suffered. The sea of suffering was boundless, so just who could reach the other side?

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is the White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s Scripture of Trisepulture!?¡±

 Chapter 1320

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1320 ¨C End Game

    It took all of Li Qingshan¡¯s strength to turn his head over. After he did that, he was met with R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s smiling face. Apart from being sheet-white, he was actually unscathed, currently observing Li Qingshan¡¯s horrible state with brimming interest.

    He gripped the hilt of the Immortal Relinquished sword with both hands and placed a foot on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, pulling it out with difficulty. He lost his footing in the process and also fell over, so he simply spread his arms and legs and gazed at the sky.

    Asura were known to be undying. Not only could they be constantly revived, but their bodies possessed great life force and recovery too. Even with their heads chopped off, they could continue fighting.

    As an asura god, he could even be reborn from a droplet of blood. His body was as tenacious as possible. However, his cultivation was still too low after all. Having received a direct strike from the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, his situation was no better than Li Qingshan¡¯s one. All that could be said was his life was not under threat, but he could forget about continuing to battle.

    Blood gushed out from Li Qingshan¡¯s wounds as he almost perished in the process. The blood began to burn in the air, turning into flames and returning to his body. Only then was the chance of death averted. He could only still hold on because of the phoenix¡¯s powers. He said in exasperation, ¡°Thanks!¡±

    He found that Scripture of Trisepulture or whatever it was to be strangely familiar, but now clearly was not the time to worry about that. They had already reached the moment of reckoning with this battle.

    The mighty cry of a dragon suddenly rose up, growing with each wave, completely booming through the Dragon province until it reached the limits of the sky.

    Rumble! Thunder boomed in the clear sky like a reply to the dragon¡¯s cry, drowning out the ringing of the bell.

    Crack! A fracture appeared on the Soul Stirring Bell. The ringing immediately dulled.

    Si Long bulged with blood vessels all over, particularly on his forehead. He gripped the Skull Prayer Beads firmly with both hands and forcefully crushed seven or eight of them before tugging it violently!

    The prayer beads collapsed and scattered as the strange cackling halted too.

    Only the sounds of Xiao An¡¯s chanting continued onwards, going in circles without ever stopping, unaffected by everything going on around her.

    Si Long wanted to tear off the Trisepultural Robes, except it turned into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone wherever his dragon claws touched. His face became more and more twisted as a result, no longer possessing any of his absolute calmness from earlier. This was a sign of cultivation deviation. He roared furiously, ¡°Shut up!¡±

    With a flash of the golden figure, Si Long traversed through space with a single step and reached viciously towards Xiao An.

    Gu Yanying took off with Xiao An. Si Long pursued them relentlessly.

    A dragon and a peng whistled through the surroundings of Dragonshead mountain, leaving behind numerous blurs. The sharp whistling rose and fell.

    Gu Yanying seemed to be at great ease. Even in Yang Soul form, Si Long was unable to catch up to her. She maintained a safe distance from Si Long the entire time like she was flying a kite, guarding against any techniques that Si Long could use. However, there was something that left her feeling worried, such that she did not travel too far away from Dragonshead mountain.

    Very soon, her worries became true. Si Long suddenly stopped chasing her, lunging towards Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    Si Long was in an absolute frenzy, but his threats were still life-threatening.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes were sharp like lightning. With a turn, she sped over.

    The two figures basically arrived at the top of the mountain at the same time. Gu Yanying was faster, but she was further away from the mountain too. In a long-distance race, this was nothing, but in a short-distance competition like this, it made all the difference in the world.

    ¡°Don¡¯t come over!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    According to his calculations, once they entered Si Long¡¯s range of attack, they would be in life-threatening danger. Gu Yanying almost collided against Si Long. Even if she could beat him to it, they would not be able to escape. Only certain death would await. After all, they could not have the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth and an undying body.

    At this very moment, time seemed to slow down. A bolt of lightning gradually extended down from the sky, illuminating everyone¡¯s eyes.

    Si Long raised his right hand, extending his claws with their sharpness on full display.

    Life and death hung on this moment.

    White clothes drifted before Li Qingshan. The clear eyes reflected the golden dragon claws, filling her vision.

    Li Qingshan felt his shoulder ache. Gu Yanying grabbed him and Xiaoming sternly.

    He immediately understood her intentions, or perhaps it was Xiao An¡¯s intention. Only by blocking this attack from Si Long could they escape with Gu Yanying.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    The Blood Sea Banner expanded in the wind, drifting in front of her.

    With a hiss, the Blood Sea Banner was torn to tatters. Under the furious dragon cry, the claws ripped through space and shot towards her face.

    The fierce winds lifted up her seaweed-like hair that gently caressed Li Qingshan¡¯s cheeks. He widened his eyes, gazing at her back. Her figure suddenly blurred as if it could disperse at any moment.

    She brought her palms together and shut her eyes, displaying the same awareness of enlightenment in the moment.

    Boom! The thunder erupted.

    Dust filled the top of Dragonshead mountain. That was the tough rock that had been pulverised to dust. Gu Yanying grabbed Li Qingshan and R¨¡hu Xiaoming and rose up into the air.

    Li Qingshan was completely devastated, overwhelmed by fury and disbelief, yet he was unable to say a single word.

    Within the dust, her figure shimmered about, standing with her palms together and her head lowered silently. When she opened her eyes gradually, she saw a colossal pit behind her.

    Si Long¡¯s claws had brushed past her face. He trembled all over as his eyes were filled with fury. He growled, ¡°Qian Rongzhi!¡±

    Si Long fought two battles at the same time. He confronted Li Qingshan and the others while he devoured Qian Rongzhi¡¯s soul nascence. Originally, the latter was a battle of annihilation where he possessed an absolute advantage. It posed no threat to him at all. However, the former battle forced him to use the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, which left him in no state to deal with Qian Rongzhi.

    But despite that, it was as clear as day what the outcome between a Yang Soul against a soul nascence would be, at least until the Trisepultural Robes had been draped over him!

    The Trisepultural Robes were an extremely special white bone artifact. They could convert the living to the dead. Coupled with the Scripture of Trisepulture, it could convert enemies to the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    However, Xiao An did not possess any confidence that the Trisepultural Robes could threaten Si Long. After all, the difference in their cultivations was far too great. Even a demonic sword like the Immortal Relinquished sword had turned into a son of heaven¡¯s sword in Si Long¡¯s hands.

    And in reality, even until now, she had failed to convert Si Long, but she did manage to convert Qian Rongzhi, which made Si Long¡¯s inner demons sow chaos. It also allowed her to successfully regain control over a part of her body, twisting her wrist in the critical moment.

    Si Long roared furiously, attacking Xiao An with all of his strength, but his body was stiff and twisted. All of the attacks shot past Xiao An, unable to harm her at all. He wanted to use techniques, but his power would always collapse at the critical juncture.

    The scattered Skull Prayer Beads turned into skulls and bit down on him. Originally, he did not take these tricks seriously at all, but now, he could not even dodge. They bit down on his joints and acupoints, making him stagger and drop to his knees.

    Xiao An asked, ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°Kill¡­ me¡­ Use that¡­ bone sword¡­ I just¡­ can¡¯t win¡­ against him¡­¡±

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s voice faltered, together with Si Long¡¯s furious roars of despair.

    A stalemate like this could not last for too long. Yang Souls were undefeatable. From the moment Si Long decided to possess her, she had already lost.

    If a snake tried to swallow an elephant, it would definitely end up bursting. Even by dragging out a feeble existence, she could not change the final outcome.

    ¡°Kill me¡­¡±

    She looked at her as her lips curled into a smile. Perhaps this was not such a bad end either.

    Those who made the world burn also burned themselves. Those who did not forgive fate would not be forgiven by fate either. When she devoured everything without any regard, was it because the thing she wanted to devour the most was herself? She had grown sick of a cycle like this a long time ago. Everything could finally come to an end.

    She shut her eyes with a smile. Yes, there would be no cycle anymore. She would have rather not existed in the first place.

    As a result, Xiao An raised the Buddha Slaying sword.

 Chapter 1321

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1321 ¨C Demonification

    The sky was dazzlingly blue as the winds whistled by. It seemed like the sighs and sobs of the person chosen by the heavens reaching the end of his path.

    A hawk¡¯s cry tore through the air, having appeared before anyone had noticed it. A hawk circled under the sunlight.

    Si Long was dejected. He did not even continue to struggle against Qian Rongzhi. That would only make his defeat even more unbearable. His pride prevented him from doing that.

    However, was it just over like this?

    He refused to accept this! He was simply unable to accept this no matter what! In terms of actual strength, not a single one here could survive even a single strike of his. Even with all the people here combined, they would not be his opponent.

    Yet, he had been defeated. He even suffered a miserable defeat, like a nightmare he could not wake up from.

    Unifying the world and standing supreme in the nine provinces also seemed like a dream.

    The hatred fermented from thousands of negative emotions gnawed away at his heart like a venomous snake. The person he hated the most was not Li Qingshan, not Xiao An, and not even Qian Rongzhi. Instead, it was Su Mirao, the most beautiful woman he had seen in his life.

    If she had not driven him insane and made him suffer from cultivation deviation, would he have ended up like this? This should have been one of his peaks in life, yet he had fallen into a bottomless abyss, even dooming him eternally.

    His hatred arose from love¡ªbeing defeated by the enemy, being killed by the enemy, was all because he was not skilled enough. He could accept this outcome very calmly. Perhaps right from the moment he set off on the path of cultivation, he was already ready for that. Yet, being sold out by the woman he loved most and being defeated by an opponent weaker than himself was something he could not accept no matter what.

    His aura became abnormally chaotic, almost losing control and going insane. Cultivation deviation made him hallucinate, seeing the fragments of his distant past, basically reflecting on his entire life. If he had not been chosen by the heavens, perhaps he would have blown up already even without someone to kill him.

    The sword stopped mid-air without falling any further.

    ¡°Why?¡± Qian Rongzhi opened her eyes.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re chosen by the heavens. There will be consequences if I kill you.¡±

    Xiao An stowed the Buddha Slaying sword away and stated her reason. With a wave, the Immortal Relinquished sword flew into her hand. She touched its edge gently. Si Long had almost completely refined it, completely overwhelming the sword spirit.

    ¡°Really?¡± Qian Rongzhi murmured.

    A will for survival suddenly rose up in her heart. She wondered very much if this was due to Si Long¡¯s influence.

    But what other path was still available for her? She was both Qian Rongzhi, as well as the Human Sovereign Si Long.

    ¡°Xiao An!¡±

    Li Qingshan lunged over, pulling her into his arms tightly. As he sniffed the faint fragrance of sandalwood from her hair, he experienced a surreal feeling like he had just been reborn, like he had returned to the time when he had first arrived in this world.

    ¡°Qingshan.¡± Xiao An smiled, like the ripples in a tranquil lake.

    Li Qingshan calmed down and scolded her. ¡°Who let you do this!?¡±

    ¡°Not you anyway.¡± Xiao An stuck out her tongue.

    Li Qingshan was left speechless at first before becoming absolutely pained. His expression made him seem like all of his wounds had acted up at the same time.

    Suddenly, he sensed Qian Rongzhi¡¯s¡ªor perhaps Si Long¡¯s¡ªgaze. It was uncomfortable like being entwined by a venomous snake. If it were not for the fact that he refused to be an ingrate, he was tempted to finish them off right now. However, he trusted that Xiao An always thoroughly considered everything whenever she did something, so he cast a questioning gaze towards her.

    Xiao An said, ¡®Qingshan, I want to go to a place.¡±

    ¡°Where?¡±

    ¡°The Spirit K?etra temple.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Spirit K?etra temple of the past had already become the largest demon cavern in the nine provinces now. Black demon qi rushed into the air like a beacon that burned forever. Black clouds shrouded the sky as all the earth within several hundred kilometres had been corrupted. All of the living creatures there had been demonified, becoming abnormally twisted and violent.

    However, the demon cavern was surprisingly quiet. All of the demon caverns across the world had been opened. The nine provinces were completely unguarded, so it was an unprecedented opportunity for the Demon domain to launch an invasion. However, Xiao An had carried out a massacre whenever she opened a demon cavern back then, fighting and killing until not a single demonfolk dared to crawl out of the opened demon caverns anymore.

    Only after quite a while did they muster the courage to send in a scout, quietly investigating the situation of the nine provinces. However, the great ghost tower also swayed the demonfolk¡¯s determination to invade the nine provinces. The Demon domain was enormous, but they were still not powerful enough to steal from the mouth of the Hungry Ghost realm.

    If the invading Demon domain were herbivores, constantly chewing, regurgitating, and chewing before they could finally digest it, then the Hungry Ghost realm were downright carnivores, ripping away at the flesh and wolfing away at the meat.

    And afterwards, Si Long climbed down from the Heaven Climbing Vine, which made the situation in the nine provinces even more complicated and confusing. The terrifying aura that erupted from the battles that surpassed the limits of the third heavenly tribulation left the scouting Demon King trembling in fear. They advised the Demon Emperor several times to give up on the invasion of this world.

    However, the Demon Emperor only sank into his thoughts. He had other plans.

    By the time Li Qingshan¡¯s group had arrived before the demon cavern, the investigating Demon King had already fled back to the Demon domain a long time ago.

    Gazing at the immeasurably deep Demon cavern, Li Qingshan recalled what R¨¡hu Xiaoming had said. He already understood what Xiao An was trying to do.

    ¡°Why?¡± Qian Rongzhi gazed at the Immortal Relinquished sword in her hand and asked again.

    Xiao An did not answer her question. She only said, ¡°Go!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stared at her face before turning around and approaching the demon cavern. Her figure gradually blurred. When she arrived at the edge, she glanced back again before leaping and throwing herself into the demon cavern, vanishing into the surging demon qi.

    She fell freely into the dark abyss. The will of the living creatures and the intangible will of the heavens were gradually stripped from her body. He, or perhaps her, would not be the person chosen by the heavens in the nine provinces anymore. Even if they wanted to turn back, it was no longer possible.

    Afterwards, the Skull Prayer Beads flew away, only leaving the Trisepultural Robes, which was also gradually peeled from her body.

    Right as they were about to leave, a hysterical dragon cry suddenly rang out from the demon domain. It was not just to express his bone-deep hatred, but also to display his ravishing joy of escaping alive. Or perhaps it was merely a result of cultivation deviation.

    Xiao An asked with uncertainty, ¡°I haven¡¯t made a mistake, have I?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Who cares!¡±

    The nine cauldrons had already been shattered. Once he left the nine provinces, Si Long would no longer be chosen by the heavens. It was impossible for him to return again. He even hoped that Si Long would be able to devour Qian Rongzhi, such that they would meet again some day.

    He exchanged glances with R¨¡hu Xiaoming; their eyes shone with the same light. Despite being two major realms of cultivation away, hacking him to pieces simply did not feel that great. If an opportunity arose for him to get his revenge, that would be for the best.

    ¡°Who do you think will win?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s difficult to say. You¡¯ve witnessed the power of Yang Souls, but that woman will probably become chosen by the heavens in the Demon domain. Will man prevail over the heavens? Or will heaven prevail over man? The heavens sure do leave a way out for man all the time!¡±

    ¡°Chosen by the heavens? Will it really be that easy? Aren¡¯t those demonfolk all extremely violent and wicked?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re just a group of pitiful insects controlled by their demon hearts. They¡¯ll completely demonify from the slightest carelessness and be reduced to wild beasts. They constantly suck up to the heavens, hoping to receive even more charity from them. That¡¯s all just false evil. They¡¯re all just shams.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming bore great contempt towards demonfolk. The Asura realm was one of the three greater realms in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra after all. However, probably only the twelve Demon Gods could rival the sins he had committed.

    ¡°False evil!¡±

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had heard a phrase like that, but when he recalled the customs of a place like the Demon domain, he could not help but grin. Calling someone false evil in the Demon domain must have been an insult! When he visited the Demon domain in the future, he could try and use it. He still had a gamble to settle in the Demon domain!

    Abiding by the ancient, bloody oath, venturing to the very depths of the wicked Demon domain and challenging the undefeatable Demon God. Just the thought of it made his blood bubble!

    At this moment, a charming, enchanting, and unpredictable voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Oh my, I didn¡¯t expect you to make it through this! Let me calculate just how many days you have left in you then!¡±

    Li Qingshan frowned. ¡°Su Mirao!¡±

    Su Mirao raised her chin and smiled. ¡°If you want to survive against Qiongqi, get down to your knees and beg me!¡±

    In the past, when Demon God Qiongqi descended upon the nine provinces, how could she have not sensed it? As for the details of the Blood Oath of the Nether River, she had found out everything about it too.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was surprised. ¡°Demon God Qiongqi?¡±

    Li Qingshan stared at Su Mirao closely as he explained everything to this important ally of his.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming widened his eyes and exclaimed uncontrollably, ¡°Blood Oath of the Nether River! And an oath of five centuries! Are you aware that the five centuries is a trap? In a world like this, it¡¯s completely impossible for your cultivation to advance any further. Even if you stay here for five millennia, it¡¯s useless.¡±

    ¡°And even if you actually have five centuries, Qiongqi is a true demon that¡¯s undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation. Even across the entire six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, the entirety of the trichiliocosm, there are only a handful of existences like that. And you¡¯re even going to Qingqi mountain in the Demon domain to challenge him! There, even the Demon Purging Grandmaster of Zhenwu from the Desireless Heavenly palace is helpless against him!¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands. ¡°What can I do about that? Who can help the fact that I¡¯m just so charming? Qiongqi insisted on making me his second-in-command on Qingqi mountain. If I go to the Demon domain, I might become some shitty person chosen by the heavens or whatever that is too. I would have led an army and conquered the nine provinces a long time ago. Would I still have to fight such a bitter battle against Si Long?¡±

 Chapter 1322

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1322 ¨C Blood Oath and Demonic Seed

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was unsure whether to admire his courage or lament over the fact that the ignorant knew no fear. He was only at the third heavenly tribulation right now. An immeasurable gulf existed between him and the seventh heavenly tribulation true demon Qiongqi.

    When an ant fought against a human, they would always get the opportunity to get in a vicious bite even if they were crushed in the next second. However, even if Li Qingshan threw his life away, it would be impossible for him to get in a bite with Qiongqi.

    However, he was not surprised at all about Qiongqi showing Li Qingshan ¡°good graces¡±, as from a regular perspective of the cultivation community, this guy was far too strange. All of his words and actions differed from others.

    ¡°You have a way to remove the Blood Oath of the Nether River?¡±

    That was the only explanation. After all, even if R¨¡hu Xiaoming could return to the Asura realm right now and cultivate arduously, he definitely could not defeat Qiongqi in such a short amount of time. However, while it might not be impossible to remove a Blood Oath of the Nether River, that definitely was not something she was capable of.

    Su Mirao sneered. ¡°If I knew a way to change the Blood Oath of the Nether River, why would I still be here dilly-dallying with you?¡±

    She used her fingers to fiddle around with her hair. ¡°But I do have a way. It doesn¡¯t guarantee success, but it¡¯s better than dying, and it touches on a great secret too. Li Qingshan, with the way you act, you probably won¡¯t even be able to make it to Qingqi mountain once you go to the Demon domain, let alone defeating Qiongqi. Let me ask you again. Are you going to kneel or not?¡±

    Li Qingshan dropped his head and shut his eyes slightly, standing there without budging like he was in deep thought.

    Su Mirao stood with her umbrella as her clothes drifted in the air. Within the surging demon qi, she was like a goddess that radiated with light, while Li Qingshan was a lowly man waiting to be saved by her.

    Time trickled by. Su Mirao became slightly impatient and twisted her neck slightly. ¡°Oi, have you thought it through or not? I don¡¯t have the time to waste here with you!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb him. He¡¯s fallen asleep.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    Su Mirao took a close look. Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were closed, and his breaths were long and steady. Sure enough, he had fallen asleep.

    Li Qingshan had basically crossed through two major realms of cultivation in the battle this time. That was basically unbelievable in the cultivation community.

    No matter how fast Gu Yanying was, no matter how powerful R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s bloodline was, no matter how many arcane treasures Xiao An had, no matter how cunning and crafty Qian Rongzi was, none of it would have been of any use if Li Qingshan was not there to confront him directly.

    Before absolute strength, all schemes and strategies were futile. Li Qingshan was like a great mountain, silently enduring most of the pressure, maintaining the offence against Si Long in terms of strategy.

    Of course, as someone who practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he was far more than a Daemon King. Si Long was bound by the laws of the world too, so he could not unleash his powers as a Human Sovereign either. This offset was the only reason why such a miracle could occur.

    But despite that, this battle had still been difficult and dangerous to the extreme. The bewitchment of the nine-tailed daemon fox, the undefeatable opponent, and the threat from the intangible will of the heavens all required him to gather his focus and fight to the very end.

    It was like walking on a tightrope stretched between two peaks. One wrong step and would fall to his death. He had run out of vigour a long time ago, so as soon as the outcome had been determined, exhaustion surged through him immediately like the tides. His body completely relied on the Strength of the Earth to remain standing, truly ¡°standing until the last moment¡±.

    As for the condition that Su Mirao had put forward, he had not even spent a second considering it, as someone had once said to him, ¡°Don¡¯t lower your head to anyone.¡± He agreed with it deeply too. He even refused to lower his head, let alone dropping down to his knees.

    Perhaps the battle at Qingqi mountain would be his inescapable doom, but people were killed, not frightened to death. If he needed to eat and sleep, he still had to eat and sleep!

    ¡°Mirao, you¡¯ve made another miscalculation.¡± Gu Yanying opened her fan and smiled.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said proudly, ¡°That¡¯s just a difficult opponent, that¡¯s all. He¡¯s still not enough for Li Qingshan to lose sleep!¡±

    A sliver of anger flashed through Su Mirao¡¯s eyes. She felt like her behaviour earlier basically made her seem like a fool. She tightened her grip around the umbrella handle, tempted to butcher Li Qingshan right now.

    She did not actually plan on making Li Qingshan kneel. She only could not help but try to find a way to restore her pride. As long as Li Qingshan yielded slightly and gave her a way out without embarrassing herself, she would logically uphold her oath and provide him with aid. She never expected him to be so unrelenting and disrespectful.

    However, if Li Qingshan really did yield, then perhaps she would take it a step further. The art of bewitchment had always been about giving an inch and taking a mile, and she loved benefitting at the expense of others too.

    She was about to leave when she saw a silent, rippleless river in a daze, meandering through the air. It had surpassed time and space, unable to be determined through the regular concepts of length or width. It was the legendary Nether river.

    She gritted her teeth and was forced to stop where she was. Since they had already met, the oath had formally begun. She had to live up to her identity as the ¡°guide¡± and give Li Qingshan correct guidance. Otherwise, she would be breaking the oath, and she would fall into the Nether river forever.

    In a daze, she seemed to see a gentle smile and a pair of green eyes that could see through everything, gazing down on her from above. Mirao, just accept your fate!

    ¡°Can I kneel down and beg you instead?¡± Xiao An asked.

    Her face was devoid of any emotion. Her eyes were clear and deep as if she could see Su Mirao¡¯s internal struggle.

    Stare¡­

    Su Mirao felt like the gaze on her was basically no different from staring at a piece of wood. What other benefit could come out of a bow from her apart from irritating Li Qingshan? Even when she had no concept of shame or humiliation, Li Qingshan would definitely fly into a rage, making it even less likely for him to be bewitched. It might even affect the process of upholding the vow. This must have been one of her damned schemes too.

    She stressed with a single word. ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡±

    Su Mirao sucked in a deep breath. Only then did she suppress her anger. ¡°Have this bastard come and find me once he wakes up!¡± With that, she turned around and vanished.

    ¡°Looks like she actually knows something.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes shone brightly. Just what exactly would the method to defeat a god be? As long as he stood on this guy¡¯s side, he would never have to worry about not having enough battles.

    ¡°Hey, wake up!¡±

    Gu Yanying prodded Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead with her fan, and he collapsed on the ground. Gazing at his sleeping face, she shook her head with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s leave everything for when he wakes up!¡±

    When the kunpeng took flight again, Xiao An looked back at the depths of the demon cavern.

    Hopefully, you can tell me one day that this path of white bone of mine is wrong, that even those who suffer in the sea of bitterness and the dwelling of fire, those who wish they had never existed, had a value and reason for existing.

    The Demon domain.

    Under the glow of the black sun, the military camp stretched for hundreds of kilometres on the black, barren land. The ruckus filled the air. Among them were plenty of wicked, twisted demonfolk and colossal, vicious demonic beasts, but from their appearances, there was no difference between them most of the time.

    The sky was riddled with demon caverns, like hollow eye sockets. Every single one of them led to the same world, the nine provinces.

    However, they had already given up on this target. The army was about to retreat from this region and make way to a new battlefield for the invasion of a new world.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Suddenly, a demonfolk looked up and noticed a tiny figure fall out from the largest demon cavern in the sky. If he could see more clearly, he would have discovered that the figure was tearing and pulling at itself, constantly twisting and distorting.

    The black sun seemed to light up. At that instant, the surroundings responded.The demon qi surged and whistled, forming demonic clouds that spiralled to form a great whirl. In the centre of the spiral was the twisted figure.

    Everywhere within several hundred kilometres of the place fell quiet. All of the demonfolk held their breaths and gazed at the phenomenon in the sky. The same word filled all of their minds. Demonic seed!

    That was what demonfolk called the blessed children of the heavens that received the good graces of the Demon domain. It represented unmatched talent and power.

    The fervent atmosphere swept through the entire region like furious winds, making every single demonfolk¡¯s eyes light up with greed. Even the chaotic and foolish demonic beasts began to breathe heavily, instinctively wanting to devour the demonic seed that was about to take shape.

    In any world, being ¡°chosen by the heavens¡± meant receiving the protection of the heavens. Anyone who killed a chosen child of the heavens would face an intense backlash. In worlds with sufficiently powerful wills, the backlash could even be fatal.

    That was equivalent to having their children killed, so of course, the heavens would be furious, desiring revenge!

    However, the Demon domain was different. Not only would killing a demonic seed result in no backlash, but they could even take the blessing for themselves and obtain tremendous benefits. Demonic seeds themselves had always been the finest medicine the Demon domain had to offer. Even devouring the weakest, most ordinary demonic seed could lead to a drastic change in their demon hearts.

    As a result, the birth of every single demonic seed would lead to an intense battle and slaughter. Many demonic seeds died soon after they were born.

    It was like a vicious stepmother, intentionally giving the best toys to the children she loathed the most so that the other children would fight with them.

    This was the Demon domain. Even the intangible will of the heavens was completely twisted and wicked.

 Chapter 1323

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1323 ¨C Demonification

    ¡°This is¡­¡±

    A middle-aged man with a stubble in commoner¡¯s robes walked out from a grand tent that resembled a palace, gazing at the sky in surprise. It was not that he had not witnessed the birth of a demonic seed before. Instead, he had never seen or heard of one that could cause such a significant phenomenon.

    The Demon domain was boundless, well beyond anything that the nine provinces could compare to. If the nine provinces were a small lake, then the Demon domain was a tremendous ocean. It was impossible for a small lake to produce any large fish, while divine dragons could swim freely through the ocean.

    Its twisted and wicked will filled every single grain of dust. Perhaps there was no inherent difference from the will of the world in the nine provinces, but when a small lake rippled, the ocean surged and raged. Even true dragons could not swim against its current. If they could move with the current, then they would obtain endless assistance, just like everything was easier when the timing was right.

    And throughout history, demonic seeds were like carps that swam with the flow. They were also divided in terms of quality. The more pure they were, the more tempting they were.

    The aura from the demonic seed being born in the sky right now even tempted this man whose willpower was as pure and consolidated as a sword.

    He loathed this uncontrollable feeling, which was why he did not fly over on his sword to devour the demonic seed. What he loathed even more was the slight chill in the depths of his heart. He felt like the demonic seed was filled with disaster and bad omen.

    Regular demonfolk were unable to resist this temptation, let alone those mindless demonic beasts.

    A strange bird spread its greenish-black bat wings and swept away all of the demonfolk within several metres of it with a great gust of wind, rushing into the air.

    Caw!

    The sharp, ear-splitting cry was like the horn blown when charging. Hundreds of thousand of demonfolk flew towards the demonic seed.

    At that moment, the sky was blotted out. Hell was raised.

    The man¡¯s gaze was like a sword. He stood still without budging. Even as the commander of this army, he did not try to stop this reverie. Gazing out, all of the Demon Kings under his command remained where they were, ready to spectate what was about to happen. None of them acted carelessly, guarding against each other at the same time. In the end, their gazes all gathered on him. No one could compete against him for the demonic seed.

    ¡°Sir Demon Emperor, what do we do?¡±

    ¡°We wait!¡±

    In the very depths of the swirl, two voices, a man¡¯s and a woman¡¯s, engaged in an intense dispute. Two wills clashed desperately.

    ¡°Bitch, get out of me!¡± the man roared as he resisted the will of the heavens. With his absolute force, he maintained an absolute upper hand.

    ¡°Hehehehe, trash, failure, emperor cuck¡­¡± The woman laughed madly, bringing up these phrases with absolute flexibility, directly attacking the man¡¯s sore spots.

    ¡°All of the women in the world deserve to die!¡± The man¡¯s inner demons danced about madly. He was absolutely furious, tempted to perish together with her.

    ¡°Oh my! Just how sad would your mother be if she heard that!¡± However, the woman never treated death as a threat. She began to mock the man¡¯s uselessness even more freely.

    It was like a conflict between man and woman that never changed since time immemorial, a conflict between rationality and emotions, between force and flexibility. No matter how forceful the man was, he was unable to completely conquer the delicate woman, just like how rationality could never exterminate emotions, as the woman¡¯s body nurtured the ¡°blessing of the heavens¡±.

    In the centre of the swirl, this body of the true dragon that had been combined with the flesh and blood of numerous great cultivators and great Daemon Kings bobbed up and down. It was like a child tossed aside with no one to care for it even though it was the exact reason why the dispute occurred in the first place.

    As a result, it began to grow recklessly and fearlessly. Demon qi surged into it, making it swell to a thousand times of its original times. It turned into a gold-scaled snake that possessed a pair of dragon eyes, twisting and wriggling its body violently like it was mad.

    The Demon Emperor was tense. Such a large entity definitely would not be an easy opponent. The Demon Kings even began to consider retreating, basically giving up on devouring the demonic seed.

    The giant snake swallowed all of the demon qi as it fell to the ground. It fell into the colossal army at first before producing a great rumble and landing on the ground heavily, crushing countless demonfolk to pulp.

    However, even more demonfolk surged over, swallowing the snake as a black mass. From high above, they seemed like a swarm of ants trying to split up a dead snake.

    Rumble. The snake wriggled its body, grinding against the ground with each motion.

    Crack, crack! Bones shattered. Spurt, spurt! Blood and flesh sprayed everywhere.

    The sounds were all mixed together, enough for people to shiver and grow numb. In the blink of an eye, it had turned the land into a swamp of flesh and blood. It was filled with remains and severed limbs. The reeking of blood directly filled the air.

    However, the maddening atmosphere did not end. Instead, it escalated even further. Demonfolk continued to throw themselves at the giant snake.

    Most of those that were crushed to a pulp were regular demonfolk. The Demon Generals and Demon Commanders were like soldier ants that possessed wings, moving through the air with great agility. They simply allowed the other demonfolk to wear down the giant snake.

    Gradually, the giant snake stopped wriggling as if it had used up all of its strength during the struggle, laying on the ground like it was dead and allowing the ant swarm to cover it.

    Its golden scales were extremely tough, but it could not stop the teeth and claws of so many demonfolk. It was torn off and stripped away bit by bit.

    The demonfolk feasted on the sweet flesh and blood of a true dragon with great gulps. The mysterious power contained within the demonic seed left them a hundred times more energetic than before, becoming even more fervent.

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    The Demon Emperor was stunned. If that was all it was capable of, that was basically even worse than a regular wild beast. It was a waste of such a terrifying amount of power.

    He had a feeling that the giant snake was not struggling against the demonfolk, instead contending against an invisible enemy. Just what had happened in the nine provinces?

    He could not help but glance at the demon caverns in the sky; his eyes suddenly narrowed. All he saw was a strange, twisted sword hovering directly below the black demon caverns. He exclaimed uncontrollably, ¡°The Deviance sword!¡±

    Originally, he was just about to go and take the demonic seed for himself when he saw how the giant snake had stopped struggling, but now, he could not be bothered with that anymore. He immediately formed a seal. With a swoosh, the sword on his back exited its sheath. He rushed over on it soon afterwards, leaving behind a streak of violet light as he shot towards the sword.

    He saw the ground from the corner of his eye, only to see the Demon Kings throwing themselves at the giant snake from every direction, killing all demonfolk that dared to block their paths and carving up the snake¡¯s body. In order to eat faster, they even directly demonified.

    He sneered inside, I¡¯ll let you eat a little for now. If you dare to devour the demonic seed, you¡¯ll be asking to die!

    To him, the Deviance sword was even more important than the demonic seed. It was the main reason why he gave up on cultivation and personally led the invasion against the nine provinces. As he rapidly grew closer, he clutched another sword on his waist cautiously. He still had to be wary of the sword spirit within Deviance.

    However, even when he grabbed the hilt, the Deviance sword still did not respond.

    He could not help but laugh aloud. ¡°It really all comes down to luck after all, not effort! Once I obtain the demonic seed, what I¡¯ve gained will definitely be no less than taking down the nine provinces!¡±

    At this moment, miserable howls rang out from below. He discovered in shock that the howls actually came from the Demon Kings under his command.

    All of these Demon Kings were extremely brutal beings. Who knew how many slaughters they had been through before reaching where they were standing right now. They had almost grown numb to pain. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would basically be unable to believe that pain could make them produce a sound like that. It was basically as if they had¡­ fallen into the Hell realm.

    The giant snake continued to lay on the swamp of flesh and blood without budging at all.

 Chapter 1324

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1324 ¨C Draconification, Destruction

    The demonfolk that covered the snake all fell down, rotting and melting away mid-air. They fell into the swamp of flesh and blood and produced plumes of smoke, which curled and twisted like snakes. Dark-red, orangey-yellow, indigo-blue, deep-green¡­ countless colours spread through the swamp, mingling together and constantly mottling and changing. It turned into a devilishly splendid sight that could not be put into words.

    Haze and miasma rose up from the ground. The air was filled with a sweet smell. Even the demonfolk that were originally incapable of gathering over collapsed to this smell, becoming a part of it in the very end.

    The Demon Emperor was stunned. He immediately understood that the flesh and blood of the giant snake contained poison!

    The Demon Kings clutched their throats firmly and tore away at their chests with their claws, wanting to force out the poison. However, snake-like plumes wriggled out from their open wounds, slowly wrapping around them.

    The Demon Kings collapsed one by one, rotting away into foulness. The plumes all merged with the miasma.

    The demonfolk army of several million strong had been annihilated, with only the commander remaining.

    The Demon Emperor did all that he could to suppress the Deviance sword that trembled more and more violently in his hand. The chill in his heart became more and more intense. He experienced a bitter taste in his mouth. That was the taste of fear.

    The snake¡¯s eyes lit up with resplendent, golden light, resembling the eyes of a dragon. It opened its abyss-like mouth and sucked in deeply. All of the miasma surged in.

    It constantly twisted its bloodied body, growing rows upon rows of fine scales. The colour of each scale was different, and they constantly changed too, enhancing the colour of the miasma.

    A pair of sharp horns rapidly extended out from the snake¡¯s head, jagged and forked like the horns of a deer. A mane that resembled fire grew from its back and reached down all the way to its tail. Four sharp claws protruded out of the snake, lifting up its colossal body. It raised its dragon¡¯s head and let out a great roar. A violent aura swept hundreds of kilometres away, filled with fury and a refusal to accept this.

    ¡°Demon Sovereign!?¡±

    The Deviance sword almost flew out of his hand. The Demon Emperor discovered a woman¡¯s face bulging out from the top of the dragon¡¯s head. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and smiled mysteriously. The demonic dragon rose up into the air.

    He flew away on his sword without any hesitation. Even in the Demon domain, Demon Sovereigns could be considered as prominent figures, but how could someone from the nine provinces possess such a great cultivation? Even if the demonic seed could drastically increase their cultivation, it could not make a person skip over two major realms of cultivation instantly. On top of that, the heavenly tribulations would definitely descend in the process unless this person¡¯s strength had already reached the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    Dragon form, Human Sovereign, the nine provinces¡­ Surely not?

    Suddenly, he looked back. Under the glow of the black sun, the surroundings were completely bare. The army camp stretched off into the distance, deathly silent.

    The swamp of flesh and blood had completely evaporated away, having been swallowed by the huge dragon. By now, even the colourful dragon had vanished. Everything that occurred earlier was like a nightmare.

    ¡°Sikong Cangjian.¡±

    A voice abruptly rang out from before him, startling him. He turned around slowly, only to see the gorgeous colours fade away, revealing a valiant man with a striking appearance. His figure was slender and his limbs were long, but he also possessed a feminine beauty with a rhombus-shaped gem embedded in his forehead. It flowed with many colours, adding a hint of mysteriousness to him. He stared at him coldly.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Si Long!?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The kunpeng circled over the nine provinces, staring at the ground with its sharp hawk-eyes. Even someone as free and graceful as her felt exceptionally heavy-hearted right now.

    Plumes of smoke rose up everywhere throughout the nine provinces. That was the demon qi that the demon caverns constantly produced, corrupting millions of tonnes of soil and demonifying billions of lives. If these demon caverns were not suppressed, the world would turn into the Demon domain sooner or later even without invading demonfolk.

    However, that was still nothing compared to the actual threat.

    As she gazed towards the boundary between the Green province and the Mist province, the mouth of the hungry ghost had already turned into a deep abyss thousands of kilometres long, and it was currently ripping wider. Everything in its surroundings fell into it.

    The Demon domain was terrifying, but it could not instinctively devour worlds. As long as they suppressed all the demon caverns, there would be a day when all the wounds closed up and the corrupted land was purified.

    However, such a large mouth of the hungry ghost could not be sealed up at all. The laws of death had already begun twisting this world, and it was devouring faster and faster too.

    The destruction of the World of the Nine Provinces had already become just a matter of time.

    She let out a sigh and returned with a flap of her wings, covering several thousand kilometres and landing in a pure-white city that hovered among the sea of clouds.

    ¡­¡­

    A pair of eyes opened up, scarlet like fire and shining splendidly.

    Li Qingshan discovered he was lying on the surface of water. Milky-white light rippled in his surroundings with white feathers placed around him. Handsome and beautiful faces gathered around him, filled with mixed expressions of both fear and reverence. When he glanced over, they all avoided his gaze, afraid to meet his eyes.

    He pouted. ¡°It sure does resemble heaven!¡±

    The featherfolk looked at one another, unsure what he was talking about.

    ¡°First father, you¡¯re awake!¡± Li Fengyuan walked over with a face filled with surprise and joy.

    ¡°Where is this?¡± Li Qingshan yawned, giving off an exhausted sense of looseness.

    ¡°This is a sacred ground of the featherfolk. Who knows how many years it¡¯s taken to accumulate this pool of sacred liquid. Just healing you took up half the pool.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you sure are capable, making them agree to that. If this weren¡¯t bathwater, I¡¯d drink the other half too.¡±

    When he mentioned bathwater, the faces of the featherfolk all became rather ugly. However, they had opposed Li Fengyuan entering the battle with Clouded city back then, so they were afraid of Li Qingshan coming after them. As such, they could no longer care about this sacred ground anymore.

    Back then, Li Fengyuan wanted to lend his first father a hand as the Meat-stewing Heavenly King. However, after personally witnessing the level of the battle, he discovered that he really had only been kept around to make up for the numbers so that Li Qingshan could have ¡°Four¡± Heavenly Kings. Not only was he completely useless, but he might even need Li Qingshan¡¯s care in the process. If he were accidentally caught and used as a hostage, he would have made the situation even worse, so he cleverly chose to spectate from afar.

    By the time they reached the decisive battle on Dragonshead mountain, it was even more impossible for him to interfere. In the end, after all that difficulty, his first father finally emerged victoriously, so all he could do was continue with his miscellaneous jobs, healing Li Qingshan with his phoenix flames. The effects were extremely evident.

    ¡°If you want to drink, you¡¯re obviously drinking alcohol. I¡¯ve already prepared it all to congratulate you on defeating Si Long and conquering the nine provinces!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Find me a few pretty little featherfolk girls to accompany me while I drink!¡±

    The featherfolk¡¯s faces all sank, but they eased up inside. If they were to accompany him while he drank, then they would accompany him!

    A female featherfolk snuck in a gaze and even thought, Drinking with him isn¡¯t exactly humiliating. I¡¯ll just make this sacrifice for the sake of the featherfolk then.

    With a bang, the doors swung open, and Gu Yanying walked in. She said with a smile, ¡°Though, how are featherfolk girls worthy of you, mister Li? If it were me, I¡¯d made all seven otherfolk races each offer up a few girls and have a great feast of three days and three nights on Dragonshead mountain.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. By then, I¡¯ll have to ask you to offer up a dance performance too.¡±

    Smack! Before he could even finish, he was struck over the head.

    Gu Yanying sat down beside the pool and swung her folding fan gently. She asked with a smile, ¡°Are you satisfied with that performance?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s deal with the celebrations later. Let me handle the matters regarding the Hungry Ghost realm first, as well as these demon caverns.¡±

    Gu Yanying said in surprise, ¡°So you still remember!¡±

    Li Qingshan stretched. ¡°I¡¯ve always been trying to save the world.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. It¡¯s already too late.¡± Gu Yanying sighed gently, which was soon replaced by determination. ¡°We don¡¯t have any time to celebrate. We need to leave the nine provinces as soon as possible!¡±

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    Author¡¯s Word for Monthly Votes¡ªHappy Children¡¯s Day

    Yesterday afternoon.

    Walking on the dusty road alone, even the sun became hazy in the early summer of this small county city located in the central plains. I¡¯ve already lived here for over two decades, but there¡¯s still no memories worth recalling. All there was was floating depression and anxiety. I hate this city and I also hate reminiscing.

    But as I walked alone, this feeling still made me recall something clearly. Many years ago, for many of the times, when I was still a child, I seemed to have walked like this, walking for a very, very long time.

    Back then, I still hadn¡¯t become so dazed and distracted by other thoughts, neither thinking of the novel nor remiscincing the past. My gaze drifted around, from the telephone pole to the wheels on the car, from the sky to the advertisement boards, filled with fragmented details and scenes of unknown meaning.

    Children always just struggle to focus on anything. This is most definitely a form of bliss, because even pain could not keep me concentrated for long. As I cried, I would remember the half-eaten chocolate in my hand, shoving it into my mouth and eating as a cried, leaving my dad furious as he thought it was something that a good-for-nothing did..

    However, if children could focus on pain like adults, their frail hearts might not be able to endure it!

    With that kind of mood walking on that kind of road, I could not help but wonder whether I had grown up or not. Perhaps these two decades of memories were just an illusion. If the fine, bulky clothes on me were stripped away layer by layer, all that was inside was a dirty, naked boy, his gaze drifting about, eating chocolate as he cried away like a good-for-nothing.

    Sigh, I suddenly remembered an actual memory. When I was in the first grade, I went to the other side of the city with a group of friends to pick up bullet casings from the shooting range. When we were returning, the guy who pedalled me over insisted on me pedalling him back, but back then, I still hadn¡¯t learnt how to ride the bicycle. I only learnt how to ride the bicycle many years later, and it took me an entire week before I learned.

    After an argument, everyone felt unhappy inside, unwilling to take me with them. I just stood aside with a pout and said in the end that I would walk back myself. Afterwards, those bastards just rode off.

    As a result, I just walked in the sun and used that vague feeling to travel through the foreign city¡ªwhich still seemed absolutely humongous back then. I walked for more than three hours and by the time I had gotten home, it was already dark, yet all that I had obtained was a bullet casing. However, I did not feel particularly sad either. I even felt like it was supposed to be like that. I didn¡¯t know how to ride the bicycle, so all I could do was walk!

    Actually, thinking about it now, if I had just softened up my tone slightly or just made a scene shamelessly and clung onto their bicycles without letting them go, I would have been able to ride back with them!

    There were many other matters that came afterwards that seemed to have much better choices, but in the end, I still walked back alone with a pout. I really didn¡¯t learn at all!

    Ah, before I knew it, I¡¯ve already rambled about so much. Just treat it as sharing a wonderful childhood memory with you all, corresponding to Children¡¯s Day.

    Oh right, this is an author¡¯s word asking for monthly votes.

    Happy Children¡¯s Day, don¡¯t forget to vote. Of course, it makes perfect sense if you don¡¯t vote too. Those who release slowly don¡¯t deserve votes!

 Chapter 1325

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1325 ¨C Conversion, Salvation

    Li Qingshan furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°Why?¡±

    Gu Yanying told him about everything she had seen and heard, which made his brows furrow more and more tightly. The featherfolk present all paled in fright. If the world were destroyed, none of them would be spared. They could only go to the Hungry Ghost realm or the Demon domain, but both of them were a choice even worse than death to them.

    Meanwhile, those common living creatures would not even have a choice like that to make.

    Li Qingshan fell silent for a good while before asking, ¡°Is it my fault?¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head. ¡°Where your path exists is where your heart strives towards. You had no other choice.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s unlike you. What, you¡¯re afraid that I can¡¯t accept this? Even if I come up with thousands of excuses, I had a direct hand in this. Sure enough, it¡¯s just not that easy to be a hero. Before we leave, I better try one more time!¡±

    With a splash, he leapt out of the pool. The milky-white fluid trickled down from his bronze body. He was completely unclothed, currently as bare as a statue. He strode off towards the door.

    Li Fengyuan offered up the clothes he had prepared beforehand. Li Qingshan shook open a set of robes and draped it around him before fastening the waistband. He asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Xiao An?¡±

    ¡°She seems to be digging up graves all over the place.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The Mahachakra temple of the Lightning province.

    A hand brushed past the prayer wheel. It whirled away as she made her way through the dim corridor. She turned around a corner as the setting sun dyed the palace built into the mountain red. It was tranquil and glorious. The sounds of chanting rang out in the distance.

    Arriving at the entrance of the main hall, she stepped over the tall threshold with her pale, bare feet. Several thousand monks sat neatly in the spacious grand hall as their chanting rose and fell. It all suddenly stopped at this moment.

    The long-browed old monk seated on the platform said sternly, ¡°Amit¨¡bha. The sea of bitterness has no bounds. Repent and the shore is at hand.¡±

    His voice reverberated through the hall, awakening the deaf like thunder.

    The several thousand monks said together, ¡°The sea of bitterness has no bounds. Repent and the shore is at hand.¡±

    Their eyes were all drawn away by the white, ghost-like figure. Their voices were not as mighty and determined as the old monk¡¯s.

    As if she had not heard them at all, she made her way through the monks and approached the platform.

    ¡°Hah!¡±

    The long-browed old monk stood up. His withered body suddenly swelled up, filling his scarlet kasaya. Three monks stood to his left and his right, all with furious countenances.

    The seven great Monk Kings of the Mahachakra temple were all ready for battle. Their tremendous auras surged towards her.

    She ignored all of this, arriving before the platform step by step. Battle was on the brink of erupting, but she made her way around the platform in the end.

    From beginning to end, she had not even glanced at the long-browed old monk. Apart from her, everyone looked at the old monk. The old monk¡¯s forehead bulged with veins, clenching his fist like a wrathful guardian king, about to purge demons to protect the dharma.

    When she brushed past him, he suddenly seemed to deflate, falling back on his bottom on the platform.

    She arrived behind the grand hall and cut down a stone door with a single slash, entering the gloomy, underground palace.

    In the grand hall, a Monk King said, ¡°Abbot, the buddha nemesis has intruded on the ?ar¨©ra palace. Activate the Chakra formation! How can we just allow her to blaspheme the full body ?ar¨©ra of the past seniors?¡±

    The long-browed old monk countered with a question. ¡°So what if we activate the formation?¡±

    For a moment, the hall surged with vigour. ¡°We¡¯ll take the buddha nemesis down with us!¡± ¡°We swear to stand with the Mahachakra temple!¡± ¡°Let her know that the Mahachakra temple is not a place where she can come and go as she pleases!¡±

    The long-browed old monk then said, ¡°Perhaps we stand a chance against her, but what happens when Li Qingshan comes?¡±

    The monks fell silent. Most of them had never seen Li Qingshan before, nor were they familiar with the details of the battle on Dragonshead mountain. However, everyone knew about the Spirit K?etra temple¡¯s fate. It had shocked all the buddhist disciples across the world.

    He had uprooted the entire mountain, traversing several hundred kilometres before throwing it down before Dragonshead temple. That kind of power was basically beyond imagination. It made everyone lose their courage to put up a stand.

    The long-browed old monk brought his palms together and shut his eyes. ¡°So it be!¡±

    She had already arrived at the depths of the underground palace, currently located directly beneath the grand hall. The entire mountain had been hollowed out, with a nine-floored building constructed inside. This place consecrated a series of dried corpses. They were the full body ?ar¨©ra left behind by eminent monks of the past. Because they believed in the Wheel-turning King Chakravarti, they would send their speck of true spirit into rebirth as soon as it was no longer possible to ascend in their current life. As such, there were an extremely large number of full body ?ar¨©ra.

    With a shake of her hand, the Trisepultural Robes drifted up, wrapping around a dried corpse.

    She chanted the Scripture of Trisepulture. Blasphemous lines flowed across the Trisepultural Robes. The dried corpse¡¯s eyelids twitched as its skin went from yellow to white. Its sunken cheeks gradually filled up and reddened again, no longer any different from a living person. He stood up and knelt down before her, bringing his palms together and bowing. ¡°Master.¡±

    The Trisepultural Robes could revive the dead, reflesh white bone, and convert the living to the dead. It could convert others to the path of white bone.

    A while later, the dried corpses all stood up. There were both men and women. Regardless of their age and appearance when they passed away in meditation, they had all returned to the prime of their lives. Every single one of them was brimming with youth, vitality, and life as their eyes shone brightly.

    Unlike the Skeleton Demons that the Skull Prayer Beads transformed into or the skeleton and ghost kings from the Blood Sea Banner, they all possessed the power and intelligence from their past lives. They had just been converted by her, becoming her disciples.

    All those who could leave their full body ?ar¨©ra here were eminent monks of the Mahachakra temple in the past. It was possible to say that the moment she walked out of here, she could found a buddhist holy land no less than what the Spirit K?etra temple had once been.

    A monk stood forward. ¡°Master, the current abbot of the Mahachakra temple was originally my disciple. I¡¯m willing to discuss the dharma with him so that he gives up on his path of rebirth and converts.¡±

    ¡°What if he refuses?¡±

    ¡°Then I can only bestow him with eternal silence before asking master to convert him.¡±

    The eminent monks emerged from the underground palace. Before long, the Mahachakra temple was converted.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows slightly. Nowadays, he really did not understand what that child was doing sometimes. It made him sigh. Had the Xiao An who felt uncertain and asked for his guidance on the path of white bone already become a matter of the past?

    ¡°Then what about Xiaoming?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°He¡¯s trying to control the Heaven Climbing Vine on Dragonshead mountain so that it can connect with the Asura realm.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°The only thing he lacks now is resources. If he can succeed, he¡¯ll probably undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation very soon. We can use the Heaven Climbing Vine too. If we want to go to the Asura realm, we can go to the Asura realm. If we want to go to the Daemonic Beast realm, we can go to the Daemonic Beast realm. If we want to¡­¡±

    His voice gradually slowed down. A thought appeared in his head, except it floated around in uncertainty. It was blurry and difficult to grasp, which made him sink into his thoughts.

    Suddenly, he had a stroke of inspiration. ¡°Hold on, I have a good idea! If it works, not only can we save all the living creatures in the world, but it¡¯ll be of great benefit to us too. Let¡¯s complete what Si Long failed to do.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes flashed. ¡°You mean¡­¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon. We¡¯ll talk once we reach Dragonshead mountain.¡±

    The kunpeng rose up on the winds. Gu Yanying said to Li Qingshan on her back in exasperation, ¡°Haven¡¯t you recovered completely? Why can¡¯t you fly over there yourself?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so urgent. Aren¡¯t you fast? You know, able people should always do more work. Oh also, please be a little more polite to the hero who¡¯s about to save the world.¡± He spread his legs and stood on the kunpeng¡¯s back without a single care in the world.

    ¡°Do you know that you¡¯re really annoying sometimes? We¡¯ve arrived at Dragonshead mountain. Hurry up and get off me!¡±

    Gu Yanying rolled her eyes. The kunpeng circled around the Heaven Climbing Vine that linked the earth with the sky, slowly landing on Dragonshead mountain.

 Chapter 1326

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1326 ¨C Sorry

    A Heaven Climbing Vine suddenly emerged from space and shot towards the kunpeng.

    Gu Yanying dodged the attack gracefully, but even more Heaven Climbing Vines emerged from space, forcing her to close her wings and land in front of Dragonshead mountain instead.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming currently stood on a protruding boulder at the foot of the mountain.

    Li Qingshan leapt down, landing on a boulder nearby. He knew R¨¡hu Xiaoming had failed, but he still could not help but ask, ¡°How is it?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming curled his lip and shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re a god. How can you say it doesn¡¯t work?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming held his chest high. ¡°I am a war god, not a gardener. This Heaven Climbing Vine is less than a thousand years ago. It¡¯s only grown so large through external help. It doesn¡¯t possess any self-awareness or intelligence at all, let alone turning into a daemon. With our cultivation, destroying it is very easy, but controlling it is virtually impossible, unfortunately.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood that plant daemons were renowned for their lengthy lifespans, but their growth was extremely slow as well, particularly with exotic plants. It was very difficult for them to become daemons.

    Often, it would take a great period of time before they developed self-awareness, but that was only on par with wild beasts. It would take even longer before they possessed intelligence equivalent to regular humans.

    Otherwise, with those spiritual herbs and towering trees several thousand years old, the world would be littered with plant daemons if they could become daemons so easily. In reality, even among the Seventy-two Daemon Kings, there were only a handful of plant daemons.

    If the Heaven Climbing Vine could become a daemon one day, then right now, it had not even reached childhood. It was basically still an embryo, and it did not have any concept of self-awareness. It completely acted on instincts, unable to communicate, much less be threatened or tempted.

    Li Qingshan struggled to accept this. ¡°Then why could Qian Rongzhi control this Heaven Climbing Vine?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s only because she sent in her own consciousness while the Heaven Climbing Vine was still extremely young, giving her control over it. Otherwise, why do you think Si Long kept such a large source of potential trouble around? No matter how much you trust another, you¡¯re always better off personally controlling the Heaven Climbing Vine. That Qian Rongzhi probably calculated this.¡±

    From a certain perspective, Si Long¡¯s failure was very closely connected to this exact characteristic of the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the Heaven Climbing Vine that curled like a dragon on Dragonshead mountain and remained silent. He was very dejected. He had basically devoted himself to becoming the hero who saved the world, but everything was all over if he could not control the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    Am I really not made to be a hero?

    Gu Yanying had grown accustomed to seeing him fight on no matter what, no matter how miserable or dangerous it was, but she had never seen him with an expression like that, which left her strangely sympathetic. She tried to persuade him. ¡°Qingshan, let¡¯s just forget about it!¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. ¡°Xiaoming, can I ask you a question?¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned, but he discovered his smile was rather forced, so he exhaled and said seriously, ¡°How did you feel when you discovered what you did?¡±

    Shooting down the stars, destroying the world, massacring the living creatures.

    Just how grand and majestic of a concept was that? When he first heard of it, he was filled with envy, desiring this unbelievably great power. Aside from that, he did not feel anything else.

    Yet at this moment, when he faced this situation, he still felt extremely heavy-hearted even when he was not the direct instigator.

    Then he recalled how Xiao An had claimed billions of lives when he first returned to the nine provinces. He was extremely shocked, but how could he bring himself to scold her? He said he would shoulder this sin, yet that was only empty talk.

    Now, he suddenly discovered that as it turned out, he did not understand the weight of this sin. The feeling was completely different.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shut his eyes. He was frosty. ¡°I don¡¯t want to answer that.¡±

    ¡°You sure are an impressive bastard!¡± Li Qingshan praised him from the bottom of his head.

    Back then, Li Qingshan completely did not approve of his miserable demeanor of having lost his fighting spirit. He felt like he was not even as bold and daring as a regular asura and nowhere close when compared to himself. However, only now did he understand his strength.

    That was because eliminating this sense of guilt was actually very easy. Just yelling out, ¡°The world is benevolent and lives are worthless.¡± and then treating the living creatures as ants was enough. Many cultivators did that. He could do that as well, saying that the fault lay in the world, not him.

    He could even push the blame onto his mother, or even the living creatures. ¡°Who made you so feeble? This world has always been about the strong preying on the weak.¡±

    Li Qingshan had heard far too many things like that in both his past and present life, but R¨¡hu Xiaoming did not act like that. He chose to shoulder the sins and live each day in dejection until he died. Even when he was reborn in his flames of karma, no longer suffering from the bad karma, this weight would not vanish.

    ¡°Why bother at all!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming opened his left eye and glanced at him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the same?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the same.¡±

    Since he refused to twist his conscience, to invert the truth and push the blame onto others, then he would have to bear it himself. That was their pride. Two people who viewed all life as worthless could not travel together as peers for too long.

    Gu Yanying clapped her hands. ¡°Alright, you can stop sucking up to each other here! Boys, when do we set off? Qingshan, your women and friends in the South sea can be taken away from this world on Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, but there¡¯s nothing we can do about the others.¡±

    ¡°Let me try again!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt up and arrived on Dragonshead mountain. The countless vines extended towards him. As soon as they made contact with his body, they were shattered to pieces by the pitch-black power of tremors.

    That continued until he arrived before the Heaven Climbing Vine. The trunk was like a verdant-green wall. He tore down the wall and stepped inside.

    The vine was hollow inside. A twisted tunnel led into the sky, vanishing into space.

    Li Qingshan crossed his legs and sat down. His heart was still like water, using the spirit turtle to see if he could deduce anything first before trying everything else he was capable of¡­

    A long time later, Li Qingshan¡¯s heart gradually rippled. Everything he was capable of ended in failure. He smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°I sure am the standard hypocrite!¡±

    Yes, even if he could choose a hundred times again, he would not have the slightest hesitation. Even at this moment, he never felt a tinge of regret. In order to make his wish come true, he would do so even if he had to personally butcher all the living creatures.

    That was the ox demon¡¯s stubbornness, the tiger demon¡¯s violence, and the ape demon¡¯s desire to do whatever it wanted.

    But when he looked back, when he first set off on this path, he wanted to be ¡°Niu Juxia¡±, yet from beginning to end, the sins he had committed were thousands of times worse than the mountain bandits of the Black Wind stronghold. Life sure was filled with irony! He wanted to become the hero king. Perhaps he could only become one in a place like the small world, where he could crush everyone through absolute strength!

    No, even in the small world, countless innocent people have died because of me!

    His mind rippled. His scarlet hair gradually faded away, and the burning flames in his scarlet eyes were extinguished. His handsome face turned back, returning to his chiseled look from before. He furrowed his brows firmly, unable to smile everything away.

    The supreme Daemon King who had rampaged through the world was like a mortal who had made a mistake, demonstrating shame and guilt. He murmured, ¡°Sorry!¡±

    At that instant, his heart began to thump. A certain shadow in the depths of his sea of consciousness suddenly appeared.

 Chapter 1327

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1327 ¨C The Qilin, With its Hovering Steps, Sympathises With the Living

    A dragon¡¯s head and a deer¡¯s horns, a lion¡¯s eyes and a tiger¡¯s back, a bear¡¯s waist and a snake¡¯s scales, a horse¡¯s hooves and a pig¡¯s tail¡­

    A magnificent, glorious divine beast strode through the space, slowly emerging from the darkness. Its steps were unhurried and steady, without any sense of violence or malice. It met Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze with its faint-green eyes that were filled with life, refreshing like a spring breeze in March.

    It lowered its head and licked Li Qingshan¡¯s face. Li Qingshan¡¯s firmly-furrowed brows eased up, and he murmured, ¡°This is the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine¡¯s¡­ new transformation!¡±

    The feeling it gave him was completely different from the other transformations. The three demonic transformations went without saying, but it was very different from the two divine transformations as well.

    It was noble, but it did not possess the phoenix¡¯s reservedness and pride. It was intelligent, but it did not possess the spirit turtle¡¯s depth and coldness.

    Even the most feeble creature would not feel threatened before it. His heart with filled with a sense of peace and harmony, unable to help himself but to get closer with it.

    The strange charm it possessed was unable to be put into words. It made him sense the beating of his heart, the flow of his blood, the warmth of his skin, the taste in his mouth¡­ These complicated, detailed sensations merged together to form a feeling called ¡°life¡±.

    Nothing was more precious than life. Even those as small as ants had the instincts of survival. That was the driving force engraved in the souls of all living creatures, triumphing over everything else.

    Even for beings as powerful as cultivators, the exact thing they pursued was ¡°longevity¡±, no different from ants. If they could compare themselves with others, they would definitely learn the will of all living creatures and sympathise with the difficulty of life.

    Compared to being a hypocrite, I¡¯m better off being a tyrant where I¡¯d rather let everyone down than have everyone let me down. Life will instead be much more simple and satisfying that way. Unfortunately, I¡¯m just not a tyrant at the end of the day. Even when I¡¯ve committed all these sins, I still want to be a ¡®hero king¡¯ with a strong sense of justice!

    Li Qingshan sighed and shut his eyes. A mantra slowly appeared in his mind. The Qilin, With its Hovering Steps, Sympathises With the Living.

    Legends had it that the qilin was born during the creation of the world. It was the sovereign of all beasts. It spent its life striding through space without ever setting foot on the ground, not because it was reserved and prideful, afraid to dirty itself, but because it refused to harm even a blade of grass. It possessed great power, yet it did not abuse this power. Instead, it acted with even greater caution. It was a beast of utmost benevolence.

    If the world was without the qilin, then people would doubt the truth that the heavens took pleasure in the welfare of the living creatures. They would firmly believe the world was not benevolent, and it treated all life as worthless to be the utmost truth.

    This was the third divine transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the Qilin Transformation.

    The qilin raised its head and let out a neigh before leaping enthusiastically into his chest. It turned into the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity.

    ¡­¡­

    After watching Li Qingshan enter the Heaven Climbing Vine, Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming waited at the bottom of the mountain. However, even when the sun sank in the west and stars filled the sky, they still saw no sight of him.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t he come out yet? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s hiding inside and crying?¡±

    Ever since Gu Yanying obtained the kunpeng¡¯s legacy, she discovered that she was becoming more and more restless. She was tempted to spread her wings and take off immediately.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shot a glance at her and ignored her.

    Having just made a fool of herself, Gu Yanying rubbed her nose. ¡°Alright then, those with the same rotten tastes are drawn together and those with the same illness sympathise with each other. A good person like me just doesn¡¯t understand how you feel.¡±

    ¡°No, he might still have an idea!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes twinkled before telling Gu Yanying earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s your luck to obtain his legacy, but don¡¯t forget who you are. If your sense of self is eroded away, you won¡¯t make it too far at the end of the day.¡±

    Gu Yanying said solemnly, ¡°Thank you for your warning. I will never forget this.¡±

    For some reason, she thought of that first disciple of hers. If she had accepted her suggestion back then and chosen a path that was more comfortable, perhaps she would still be a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator even now. She might have died in a random upheaval. Even if she managed to survive, she would only be taken away by the flow, never able to control her own fate.

    The sun rose; the moon fell. Time passed in a hurry. The mouth of the hungry ghost ripped open faster and faster, rapidly devouring the living creatures.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming suddenly opened his eyes and gazed at the top of the mountain.

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan had arrived by the cliff, nodding towards R¨¡hu Xiaoming. Then he gazed into the distance, looking over the mountains.

    Countless vines curled towards him, but this time, he did not use the power of tremors. He allowed each vine to pierce his body.

    Gu Yanying said in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s he trying to do?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°Probably to save the world!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan was swallowed by the vines. The vines twisted and wrapped together to form a sphere, enveloping him firmly.

    Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s current cultivation, he could not endure an extraction like that. His essence rapidly depleted as his sturdy body withered away. His gaze remained peaceful and harmonious the entire time, giving off a faint green colour as he silently circulated the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity.

    In the small world within his body, a tender blade of grass suddenly grew from the vast land. It was so feeble and tiny, yet it changed the entire world all of a sudden, like breathing life into a puppet.

    Earth, fire, wind, water, and space were the basic elements that formed a world, but if it lacked the existence of life, then what was the point of existence even if it was the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, the trichiliocosm, or even beyond the Nine Heavens?

    It was exactly because of the existence of these many lives that they were like sparks, illuminating the vast night.

    Not only did the new Qilin Transformation leave the balance of the small world completely untouched, but it even merged with it perfectly, granting Li Qingshan new powers.

    He waved his right hand gently, and the vines opened up.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming beamed with joy. ¡°He succeeded!¡±

    Actually, Li Qingshan had not managed to reach the first layer of the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity in such a short amount of time. However, it did give him a sliver of the qilin¡¯s bloodline, which was enough for him to connect with all the living creatures in the world and influence them. In the past, none of the transformations possessed an effect like that. Even when he reached the first layer of the Ox Demon Transformation back then, it only made him stronger and larger.

    The nature of this power was not as simple as controlling plants. Instead, it was a power much more fundamental than that. It was the path for all living creatures to grow.

    He used this exact power to connect with the Heaven Climbing Vine. With a thought, the other end of the Heaven Climbing Vine pulled back from the Human realm and curled up on the top of the mountain, becoming extremely docile.

    Li Qingshan felt very fortunate. If he had lost his true self and become blinded by slaughter, only wanting to challenge those stronger than him and forgetting about the living creatures weaker than him, he would never be able to comprehend the true meaning of the Qilin Transformation.

    And now, it had only demonstrated a hint of what it was capable of, yet the wondrous powers of the Qilin Transformation already left him amazed. This was definitely no weaker than any of the previous transformations. It was even much stronger when it came down to certain aspects.

    However, the Qilin Transformation also came with its unique limitation¡ªonly thriving was allowed, not killing. He could not develop any malicious intentions when he connected with the living creatures, much less use them for destruction and slaughter.

    For example, if he tried to kill the Heaven Climbing Vine or use the Heaven Climbing Vine to destroy enemies, that would never work.

    The many mysteries and wonders involved still required him to uncover them slowly. Right now, all he wanted to do was save the living creatures.

    The space-devouring beast swam over from afar. Li Qingshan ordered.

    ¡°Devour the world, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty!¡±

 Chapter 1328

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1328 ¨C Acquaintances of the Distant Past

    Under the vast starry sky, the navy space-devouring beast was like a giant whale that had leapt out from the surface of the ocean, opening its abyss-like mouth and swallowing the entirety of Dragonshead mountain from bottom to top, which included Li Qingshan and the Heaven Climbing Vine at the mountain peak.

    Li Qingshan stood on the Heaven Climbing Vine, allowing it to branch out in the dark space, rapidly venturing deeper into the space-devouring beast¡¯s body.

    A while later, he opened both eyes in exhilaration. ¡°Success!¡±

    On a certain star billions of kilometres away, Li Qingshan¡¯s mirror clone who served as the god of the world observed closely as the Heaven Climbing Vine pierced through space and entered the world. Everything was going as he had expected.

    His plan was actually very simple. It was to use the Heaven Climbing Vine to connect the World of the Nine Provinces and the small world to pave a path of life.

    Originally, he was not certain whether this could succeed or not. The Heaven Climbing Vine could connect the World of the Nine Provinces and the Human realm because it possessed a natural connection with the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm. However, between two stars separated by billions of kilometres of outer space, it was impossible for the Heaven Climbing Vine to connect them no matter how powerful it was.

    The reason why it could succeed was all thanks to Navy Li¡¯l Fatty. From a certain perspective, it was the small world¡¯s clone. Their connection was even tighter than its connection with the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. After all, under ordinary circumstances, they were relatively isolated concepts.

    However, everything that Navy Li¡¯l Fatty devoured would be transported to the small world through a certain special ¡°organ¡± within its body, so they were actually one entity. It simply was not a regular creature.

    However, transportation required going through a process of ¡°digestion¡±. Even as the god of the world, Li Qingshan could forget about transporting himself through this process, let alone any other lives. Once they entered its mouth, all that awaited them would be death. Even great cultivators would not survive this digestion.

    Now, Li Qingshan had sent the Heaven Climbing Vine deep into Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, right to where the ¡°organ¡± for transportation occurred, so he successfully established a connection. He could finally cast aside all of his worries and make Navy Li¡¯l Fatty devour the World of the Nine Provinces. That was the only way to save all of the living creatures too.

    Li Qingshan flew out from Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s body. He was in high spirits, no longer dejected at all. ¡°Haha, I sure am a genius!¡±

    ¡°Great genius, what are you trying to do? Do you need our help?¡±

    Gu Yanying had been infected by his emotions as well, feeling strangely joyous inside. It made her think of that big monkey from back then in the small world.

    Li Qingshan ordered without any hesitation, ¡°Yanying, contact all the cultivators at the third heavenly tribulation. Make them gather in the South sea. Once I devour the nine provinces, I¡¯ll send them to the other world!¡±

    The cultivations of great cultivators and Daemon Kings were too high, well beyond what the small world could contain right now. However, once Navy Li¡¯l Fatty was basically done with devouring the World of the Nine Provinces, the small world would grow larger and evolve yet again. After that, it would definitely be enough to contain them.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s expression was quite strange. Why did that sound so dangerous? However, taking into consideration the fact that he was in high spirits, she did not say anything, immediately flying away.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°What about me?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Go to the South sea and maintain the situation. These great cultivators, Daemon Kings, and otherfolk kings have plenty of disputes between them. The great cultivators are even divided into the orthodox and the demonic and all those different sects. There are basically no Daemon Kings of the same species, while the otherfolk go even more without saying. They better not have started fighting and mostly killed one another by the time I get there, or that¡¯ll be a waste of all my trouble.¡±

    He said in thought, ¡°Yeah, once we get to the small world, I can try separating all of them. Humans will still be humans and daemons will still be daemons! If otherfolk want to be godfolk, then they can be godfolk.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll kill whoever starts fighting!¡±

    Li Qingshan said in lamentation, ¡°Now that you mention it, I kind of can¡¯t bear to see that happen! I¡¯m a qilin of paramount benevolence right now. You ever heard of the qilin?¡± Then he grinned. ¡°But that is a good idea!¡±

    After R¨¡hu Xiaoming left, Li Qingshan yelled out, ¡°Bigger! Bigger! Bigger!¡±

    Navy Li¡¯l Fatty swelled up like it had been pumped full of air, reaching thirty-thousand metres across, filling the surroundings. The white clouds floated beneath its body, such that he could clearly make out everything within five hundred kilometres around him.

    It opened its mouth to the limit as if it was trying to tear its body apart. Then it began devouring everything, whether it was the earth, the magma, the air, the river, or even the entirety of space.

    It made Li Qingshan think of a certain game from his past life called Pac-Man. He could not help but laugh aloud. ¡°Eat! Eat! The glutton saves the world!¡±

    In a single gulp, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty ate everything within five hundred kilometres of Dragonshead mountain. Even the magma underground had been completely swallowed. Then it travelled directly down south, arriving at the boundary between the Green province and the Mist province, stealing food from the mouth of the Hungry Ghost realm.

    The Hungry Ghost realm was naturally capable of devouring worlds, but it was not as simple and crude as a space-devouring beast. Time passed quickly. In only a little over a month, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty had already swallowed the majority of the nine provinces, which included billions of living creatures.

    With a heart of benevolence, Li Qingshan circulated the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity, pushing the shred of his qilin bloodline to the extreme. His eyes glowed with a green ripple, screening out all of the living creatures in the process, even if it was only the tiniest mayfly in the water. He used the Heaven Climbing Vine to deliver them all to the small world.

    The space-devouring beast also followed his will and selectively digested things. On top of that, Li Qingshan discovered that the small world welcomed these creatures very much.

    To the small world, as long as it was a part of its interior, then it was a part of it, and living creatures seemed to be an extremely precious resource. Sometimes, when he transported over a group of people, the feedback from the will of the world was even more intense than swallowing a mountain.

    If obtaining the good graces of the intangible will of the heavens made a person the chosen child of the heavens, then Li Qingshan right now could be regarded as the chosen father of the heavens to the small world.

    The small world originally had sparse spiritual qi and very little land, even unable to contain first heavenly tribulation cultivators. Ever since Li Qingshan became the god of the world, the world had been evolving at a maddening pace. Now, it was about to reach the level of the third heavenly tribulation. It basically grew even faster than a regular person cultivating to be a great cultivator.

    He had basically shown the small world the grace of rebirth. The rapidly-strengthening will of the world basically respected him and loved him like its father, all about, ¡°You can act as you please and do whatever you want!¡± As a result, his control over the small world¡¯s clone, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, became so great that it was like an extension of his body. The entire process was extremely smooth. The colossal creature that filled the world was even more obedient than a pet dog.

    And throughout this process, he encountered many familiar faces.

    In a desert towards the east of the Scarlet province, a man, together with an entire city, disappeared into the space-devouring beast.

    Li Qingshan found him vaguely familiar. A sickly face appeared in his head, and he blurted out a name, ¡°Huang Binghu!¡±

    He had stopped being sickly a long time ago. His complexion was much better too, except he was peppered with grey hair and covered in wrinkles. He had already become much older, actually having undergone the first heavenly tribulation to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Who knew what kind of fortuitous encounter he had experienced.

    Li Qingshan could not help but think of many years ago, during the struggle against the ginseng foragers. The hunters of Drawn Reins village had poured down with arrows as Huang Binghu stood high on the rock, landing every single shot.

    Back then, his life was hanging by a thread, so he could not worry about anything else, but right now, he could clearly recall the lush, verdant forests around him and the brilliant sun over his head. He recalled the old ox missing a horn, dragging the carriage and creaking along.

    ¡°Hah, brother ox even butted a person to death with his horn! That guy must have felt extremely unfortunate back then, to actually die to the horn of an old ox, but little does he know that it¡¯s basically an honour!¡±

    His memories gradually returned to him, even more vivid than when they first occurred¡­

 Chapter 1329

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1329 ¨C Thinking of the Past, the Memorable Years

    In a southern part of the Boundless mountains, a rat Daemon General and a den of rat daemons were swallowed by the space-devouring beast. They squealed at the top of their lungs. As they rolled through the Heaven Climbing Vine, one of them even called out, ¡°Spare me, great king Northmoon!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but laugh aloud. Back then, this ¡°rat king¡± had even chased after him! He called himself the Cat-eating Mouse, yet he had been so frightened by a single meow from Xuanyue that he scrambled back to his den. He never expected him to recognise him.

    Little did he know that ever since this rat king heard about Daemon King Northmoon¡¯s great reputation, he had never managed to catch a wink of proper sleep again.

    He wondered where the cat daemon that had once carved the words ¡°North¡± and ¡°Moon¡± into his horns had gone, but that was fine. As long as he continued like this, they would end up meeting.

    A dark-skinned old man called Diao Fei made Li Qingshan think of the time he spent as a Hawkwolf guard in Jiaping city. The most memorable part was not how he fought against his superior in a battle of wits and courage, but the courtesan Furong giggling and flirting with him, trying to use her arts of charm on him. In the end, it left him so disgusted that he killed her with a punch.

    Originally, he wanted to have a drink with him, but Diao Fei turned sheet-white as soon as he saw him, so nothing happened in the end. It was quite a pity, as he had gathered many fine alcohols from across the world.

    Apart from sparing the living creatures from being digested by Navy Li¡¯l Fatty, he kept the alcohol for himself. He liked alcohol, but he was not a connoisseur. He did not care about their varieties, storing them all in the same metal gourd. There was so much that it was enough to fill an entire lake.

    The metal gourd was an arcane treasure. Originally, its purpose was for absorbing the techniques of enemies. Gu Yanying had found it somewhere and given it to him, reporting the situation in the South sea to him in the process. There was no chaotic battle that he had been worrying about, which made him praise R¨¡hu Xiaoming for being able to keep the situation under control. He was truly from the R¨¡hu clan. However, he did not know why Gu Yanying¡¯s smile was rather strange.

    It was difficult to drink alone and alcohol drunk alone was tasteless, but fortunately, he encountered a fine man of the school of Mohism very soon. It was someone who had once fought alongside him, Hao Pingyang. His cultivation was already approaching the second heavenly tribulation, having built a mechanical city deep within the mountains.

    Hao Pingyang agreed to Li Qingshan¡¯s invitation enthusiastically. They talked about their adventure in the Zombie Cave and reminisced over their fallen colleagues. Among their sighs, he had already become completely drunk, so Li Qingshan tossed him into Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s mouth and sent him to the other world.

    When he arrived in Salt Mountain city, the place had already turned into an active volcano. He never expected to find Yu Shukuang here, much less alone. He was already very senile, spending his time in retirement by watching an empty grave. He was already prepared to be buried here.

    Old man Yu was very touched that Li Qingshan could send him off. He did not want to go anywhere else. After serious consideration, he directly ordered Navy Li¡¯l Fatty to eat him in a single gulp, tossing him onto the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    Heh, ¡°Niu Juxia¡± was not that agreeable of a fellow.

    The Green province was in ruins, having faced many disasters, but it was still his homeland. It still had many faces that Li Qingshan was familiar with, mostly old acquaintances from the Academy of the Hundred Schools.

    Before he knew it, most of the familiar faces had already become senile. Not everyone could continue down the path of cultivation forever.

    Li Qingshan suddenly discovered that he was actually still so young, young like he had just emerged from the mountain hamlet, roaming the jianghu with lofty aspirations.

    But the jianghu had already grown distant. Even the fifteen thousand kilometres of the Green province were not enough for him to roam. He was making his way out of the ¡°mountain hamlet¡± called the nine provinces right now and setting foot in an even vaster world.

    ¡°The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra have no end. The nine provinces are but a corner.¡±

    Returning to the Academy of the Hundred Schools, the Lake of Dragons and Snakes had stopped existing a long time ago, replaced by a deep ravine. Black smoke filled the place with magma flowing freely, no longer possessing any of the scenery from before. His acquaintances had all dispersed, and she was no longer here either.

    Even when he drank the entirety of the Ink sea, he did not see the dragon king. This literary man without pupils must have grown tired of this place and ventured to the true ocean to roam. Perhaps he was waiting for him right now in the South sea?

    The grievance of the past from being chased thousands of kilometres, dying in the Mist province, had already been let go. Instead, he thanked Xiao An for helping him complete his promise, giving him what he wanted.

    The South Sea commandery, Savage mountain, the Myriad Poison cult¡­

    He revisited these places one by one. When he swallowed the White Lotus cult, he thought of his encounters in the Mist province. As he savoured the memories, he could not help but take a few extra sips of alcohol.

    As the space-devouring beast ate away, his memories flowed like a river, moving faster and faster. As the alcohol in the gourd flowed into his throat, even Li Qingshan became slightly tipsy, constantly devouring the world with a heart of benevolence.

    A pair of fox eyes silently observed him the entire time.

    This bastard. Sure enough, he hasn¡¯t taken me seriously. I told him to come see me as soon as he woke up, yet he¡¯s actually wasting time on something so stupid. Isn¡¯t he afraid of Demon God Qiongqi at all?

    A stinky man was actually bold enough to ignore her charms. That was completely unforgivable. That was her speciality that she prided herself in. If he were free from desires and possessed quite a high cultivation, then so be it, but this man just happened to be extremely lustful with a cultivation beneath hers.

    Even worse, their fates were already deeply entwined. Once she took this step, she could not turn back anymore. Once it ended in failure, she would definitely be dragged down. Even the lightest consequence was perishing.

    However, since he had been chosen by that person, then one day in the future, perhaps he would become the greatest person she could rely on.

    It really is unheard of to ride a space-devouring beast as a mount. That must be a grand sight! Her heart rippled slightly, and she licked her lips. If I could regularly see sights like that, then it wouldn¡¯t be boring, but with the lord of the kingdom serving as an example, I definitely can¡¯t afford to become the concubine of anybody. Dammit, what am I thinking about this for? But whatever! I¡¯ll definitely take him down!

    ¡°Achoo!¡± Li Qingshan rubbed his nose and smiled drunkenly. ¡°There must be a beauty thinking of me. C¡¯mon, let¡¯s keep drinking!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming pointed lazily towards the south. ¡°You better go and explain yourself first.¡±

    The great cultivators and Daemon Kings of the nine provinces had all gathered above the South sea. They were all extremely nervous, gazing at Li Qingshan who sat on the back of the space-devouring beast. Behind him, the nine provinces had already turned into a boundless ocean, having all ended up in Navy Li¡¯l Fatty¡¯s stomach.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had a very easy time. It did not take him much effort to place the situation under his control. When Li Qingshan began his journey of ¡°reminiscence¡±, many of the cultivators basically began to despair.

    He was obviously ¡°saving the world¡±, but in the eyes of others, he was ¡°destroying the world¡±, causing everyone to die. This was truly an unprecedented disaster for the nine provinces. Sure enough, the Human Sovereign Si Long had not been wrong. He was a terrifying demon king.

    Gu Yanying had informed them about the situation, but many cultivators were certain Li Qingshan had gathered them together so that he could take them out in one fell swoop. After all, facts spoke louder than words.

    Under the terrifying threat, whether they were human, daemon, or otherfolk, they basically cast aside all of their prejudice and united together firmly, awaiting the arrival of this struggle to the death. However, no one had any confidence in being able to emerge victoriously. As a result, the atmosphere of fear continued to grow. It had already reached the limit.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sneeze earlier had almost made many cultivators launch an attack and begin a desperate struggle.

    Fortunately, there were many of Li Qingshan¡¯s acquaintances here too. They had all agreed on a principle beforehand. Before negotiations have fallen through, no one is to proactively attack Li Qingshan.

    As a result, like they had agreed on beforehand, the Unraging monk stood forward and smiled wryly. ¡°Qingshan, what are you trying to do?¡±

 Chapter 1330

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1330 ¨C Manipulating Nature (One)

    Between the sky and sea lay a colossal beast. Its navy skin was almost transparent, but no one could see all the way through it. It opened its abyss-like mouth and swallowed the seawater and wind.

    It was noon, but the sun seemed dim. The colour of the sky gradually became an inky-blue like the curtain of night had fallen prematurely. It was the dusk of the world.

    The legendary Daemon King stood on the back of the giant beast. The stars twinkled above him as the world prostrated at his feet.

    He did not answer the Unraging monk. Instead, he spread his arms and asked loudly, ¡°Fellows, you are all outstanding figures of the nine provinces, but have you ever seen such a grand sight before?¡±

    Everyone gazed at him, all remaining silent.

    The King of Southern Yue, Qian Lingzhi, sighed. ¡°We haven¡¯t just never seen it before. We¡¯ve basically never even imagined it before!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled brightly, ¡°I have, a very, very long time ago!¡±

    If they were serious, that statement of his was basically so flimsy that it would fall apart under the slightest questioning. A very, very long time ago, he did not even know what a space-devouring beast was. How could he have imagined a day like this? However, his expression made people believe him.

    Even across the fleeting span of human life, those who were fervent and made use of every single moment would leave a tremendous impact at the end of the day.

    The Golden Cicada Spirit King brought his palms together and stood on the water. A conversation of the past filled his head, leaving him convinced.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Fellow, you imagine those that others cannot imagine and do those that others cannot do. It is of no surprise that you stand here today.¡±

    Even the tiny tadpole in the well had a chance to become a shining, colossal star.

    Of course, Li Qingshan was still nowhere close right now. He had only managed to reach the edge of the well while croaking away loudly, allowing him to see a different starry sky.

    The air gradually grew thin as night slowly descended. Above the vast ocean, the stars shone resplendently as if they originated from the ocean.

    After dusk came the long night.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough time to make any explanations. Once you reach that side, you¡¯ll obviously understand everything.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his arm and made an inviting gesture, like an enthusiastic host inviting his guests into his door, except the door was the abyss-like mouth of the space-devouring beast.

    Everyone hesitated. They did not have the courage to put up a battle, but they did not have anywhere to retreat to either.

    Li Qingshan called out at the Unraging monk with a smile, ¡°Oi, the fat monk over there! Stop dilly-dallying! I¡¯m talking about you! Hurry up and get in here!¡±

    ¡°You damned brat!¡± The Unraging monk shook his head with a wry smile. He strode over and shook open his monk robes, making his way towards the abyss. Before he entered, he brought his palms together and bowed.

    ¡°Forty eight thousand insects in a buddhist temple¡¯s bowl of water. To be able to see this, you are already deeply endowed with a buddhist nature. Your time as a buddhist disciple has not gone to waste. Cutting off your own flesh to feed hawks and sacrificing yourself to feed tigers is something only the buddha is capable of, so you don¡¯t need to feel too guilty. If you can continue with cultivation, perhaps you will be able to meet face-to-face with the teacher and ask him to answer your doubts.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in irritation, ¡°You¡¯re the one deeply endowed with a buddhist nature. Your whole family is deeply endowed with a buddhist nature. I¡¯ve never regretted anything I¡¯ve done in my life, so why would I feel guilt? Bald ass, if you continue to blabber about nonsense, I¡¯ll send you off to see the buddha right now!¡±

    The Unraging monk smiled and stepped into the abyss.

    With a mighty dragon¡¯s cry, the Dragon King of Ink Sea who had been missing the entire time burst out from the surface of the ocean and leapt into the abyss.

    Afterwards, the cultivators followed behind them closely, mostly those who were connected to Li Qingshan in some shape or form in the past. The remaining cultivators were very cautious and fearful, but the world had almost been completely hollowed out now. It began to collapse on itself, already close to shattering.

    They could sense their spiritual qi rapidly leaking away. If they did not enter a world quickly, then even if they managed to defeat Li Qingshan, they would be left to face the boundless outer space. Such a scenario guaranteed death. The terrifying abyss had already become their only chance at survival. After an internal struggle, they finally made up their minds and entered it.

    In outer space, a star gradually dimmed. The flow of earth, fire, wind, and water came to a halt.

    With a bang, it collapsed inwards, emitting blindingly-bright light.

    The light would last for thousands of years, enough to reach billions of kilometres away. It would attract a large number of space-devouring beasts.

    But in the blink of an eye, it was completely enveloped and devoured by a navy bubble.

    In the eyes of people from other worlds, perhaps this was merely the extinguishing of a star, but on the other end of the sea of stars, a star rapidly shone brighter as if it was burning.

    The Unraging monk passed through the deep chasm and arrived on the other side, only to see the open seas and skies, majestic and grand. For a moment, he was spellbound. This was clearly extremely ordinary scenery, yet now, it seemed so precious, basically entrancing him.

    Li Qingshan emerged from the space there. His aura was vast and distant while his eyes seemed bottomless as if the complicated, profound laws of the world operated in them. He asked with a smile, ¡°How do you feel?¡±

    The Unraging monk could clearly sense that the aura of the Li Qingshan before him was vastly different from the one he had just seen before, yet there was an intangible connection between them, forming one entity. He said in surprise, ¡°This is your clone. You¡¯re the god of this world!?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded with a smile.

    The Unraging monk sensed the surroundings silently and discovered that his powers were bound by invisible shackles. ¡°Yeah, this world doesn¡¯t seem to be able to contain third heavenly tribulation cultivators just yet.¡±

    The cultivators that arrived afterwards all discovered this too. They felt very uneasy, but it also brought them relief.

    The situation was actually extremely dangerous. It was completely impossible for them to withstand the backlash from the laws of the world. If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s protection as the god of this world, all of them would have died. However, that did prove at the very least that he truly had no intentions of harming them.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just not beneficial to digestion when you binge eat and drink. Please give me a moment, fellows.¡±

    The space-devouring beast had swallowed a world several times larger than its own size in an extremely short amount of time, so it obviously could not assimilate with it that quickly. However, Li Qingshan had his plans too.

    He pointed down, and the sea shook. It began to surge. A mountain burst through the ocean, jutting towards the sky.

    Rumble!

    Thousands of mountains rose up, parting thousands of kilometres of ocean, and it continued to expand until it became a new continent. It was filled with precipitous cliffs, white-water rapids, as well as barren land.

    With a wave of his hand, plants sprouted and spread rapidly. In the blinks of an eye, the verdant colour covered the entire continent, immediately becoming brimming with life.

    He waved his hand again, and the birds and beasts returned to their habitats. The hawks took to the skies, and the tigers returned to the depths of the mountains. The myriad beasts were no longer tied down, able to run about freely. Countless daemons hid in the deep mountains and swamps too.

    He made all the daemons and beasts from the nine provinces settle down on this continent. Immediately, the entire continent surged with daemon qi.

    ¡°This is what I¡¯ve prepared for my fellows of the Daemon race. From now onwards, you are free to live and thrive, no longer having to mingle with humans. You will not face any threats from hunters, fishermen, or even cultivators. However, with that comes the survival of the fittest and the strong preying on the weak. Natural selection is unavoidable.¡±

    Everyone was completely dumbfounded by his methods of directly manipulating nature. They immediately understood one thing. In this world, he was the paramount god, but after realising that, they all sank into their thoughts. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Witnessing this in person, if they could comprehend something from the process, it would be of great benefit to their cultivation.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming also passed through the Heaven Climbing Vine and arrived in this world. He experienced quite the surge of emotions. As someone who had personally destroyed countless worlds in the past, he obviously would not be stunned by a mere sight like that. However, he did suddenly understand what Li Qingshan¡¯s plans were.

    He sighed in amazement inside. This is basically the Daemonic Beast realm!

 Chapter 1331

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1331 ¨C Manipulating Nature (Two)

    Someone asked, ¡°Then¡­ where are all the humans?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and pointed down. ¡°Look.¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, the surroundings rapidly changed. Various sceneries receded. The sky and ocean blurred into a bright, blue background as thousands of colours were extended into long streaks before suddenly halting again. They had already travelled thousands of kilometres away, once again experiencing the unbelievable power of a god.

    The green-eyed child that the Great Banyan Tree King had turned into was held by madam Vine. He had been trying to break free from her embrace the entire time, but he never succeeded. At this moment, he actually forgot about struggling, calling out loudly, ¡°So powerful! No wonder I wanted to become a god!¡±

    Everyone gazed in the direction that Li Qingshan pointed in. It was also a spacious continent, even larger than the one earlier in terms of area. However, it was an endless expanse of ¡°golden¡± plains.

    It was golden because an endless expanse of wheat fields grew there, glistening under the sunlight. There was also rice, fruit trees, mulberry trees, and all sorts of crops. It was a sight of a bountiful harvest. Even the great cultivators who had already grown distant from the society of mortals felt a sliver of joy well up inside.

    There were no towering mountains or white-water rapids on this continent, only smooth, sloping hills and criss-crossing waterways.

    The humans from the nine provinces were settled on this continent. Following their initial confusion, they all began a new life, harvesting the crops and building houses. The climate was extremely warm anyway, and the land was filled with edible food, so they did not have to worry about the cold or starvation. Many establishments had already begun to appear through the wilderness.

    Even after the numerous disasters the nine provinces had faced, their population still reached over a billion, but that was nowhere near enough to fill up this spacious continent. Cultivators who knew how to view the aura of the populace saw the aura of the people gathering and surging together, completely freed from the shade of war and death. They could basically foresee the future prosperity of this place.

    The King of Southern Yue thought, If I can found a country on this continent, it¡¯ll definitely surpass even the Great Xia empire!

    The continent basically possessed an environment most suited for human habitation. There was none of the misama from the jungles of the Mist province, none of the droughts from the deserts of the Scarlet province, and none of the harsh coldness from the tundras of the Mist province. It was basically covered in fertile, arable land. It did not even require much tending to at all. Just living off nature was enough for them to be well-off. It was basically the paradise that humans dreamt of.

    There were no obstacles from mountains or attacks from wild beasts. Coupled with the dense network of waterways, it brought great convenience to transport and communication, so both commerce and study became extremely convenient. That was exactly what served as the foundation of human development. They could found a perfect country here.

    They had lost everything they once possessed, but unknowingly, it had also taken away the various inequalities of society. Everyone had to rely on their own two hands to work and toil. With the intelligence of humans, countless cities and towns would be built very soon. A painting of a flourishing age was being gradually unfurled.

    However, that did not come without a price. In order to maintain the most basic ecological balance, Li Qingshan had also introduced many creatures like butterflies and bees, but he had not brought a single livestock like pigs, horses, cows or sheep, regardless of whether they were wild or domesticated. He had left them all on the Daemonic Beast continent so that they could face natural selection. He had basically divided them in the simplest and crudest way possible.

    After all, the workload involved would be far too great. It seemed like just a wave of his hand, but he had undertaken countless meticulous calculations in the background. From the distribution of the people to the density of the rivers, he had considered all aspects. Otherwise, it might have been possible for him to break up families or for rivers to flood again and again. The laws involved were even more complicated than the laws of the world.

    Even with the spirit turtle¡¯s powerful calculations, this was all he could do. He personally believed that was enough anyway. With so many humans, they were already doing fine if they could simply live well. At the very least, the tough life that the majority were forced to live had been improved. Whether the land owners and landlords could eat meat was none of his business. Even to his own sons, he was not that considerate, so why would he care about them?

    As a result, in a short while, even chicken eggs became items of luxury on the continent. A great big hog was even more coveted than a great beauty, while a fine steed could fetch the price of an entire city, serving as an absolute symbol of status and identity. If they could have a dog running behind them too, that was basically the definition of extravagance.

    Because there were no boats in the beginning, these common animals had all been captured and brought over from the Daemonic Beast continent by cultivators that had flown over the ocean, so their value went without saying. Of course, there were also many daemons that travelled thousands of kilometres to capture a few humans to eat, but they were all risking their lives in the process.

    As a result, most people were forced to spend their entire lives as vegetarians. A very long time later, the Dauntless monk secretly sung praises about Li Qingshan for this deed of his, saying that he truly did have a buddhist nature.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought, This should be the Human realm!

    ¡°Sir Qingshan, may I ask where my people are?¡± a Giant Lumberfolk King asked with great humility.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°To the next stop!¡±

    The third continent was much smaller than the previous two. Li Qingshan had specially left it to the otherfolk. Whether it were the Giant Lumberfolk or the Night Roaming Folk, as well as the various races beyond the seven great otherfolk races, they were all gathered there.

    Li Qingshan announced, ¡°Otherfolk, or should I say godfolk, no longer have to mingle among humans and daemons anymore! You do not have to be enslaved by anyone anymore. You can live your lives here or even rebuild your divine kingdoms and recover your former glory!¡±

    The Giant Lumberfolk King became even more polite, bowing down. ¡°Sir, I want to thank you for your benevolence as a representative of my race. I hope our experiences of these five thousand years can make us set aside our past grievances and rebuild our homeland.¡±

    The other otherfolk kings were interested too, bowing towards Li Qingshan gratefully as well. The continent was not large, but it was definitely enough given the smaller numbers of otherfolk. On top of that, the terrain was highly variable, clearly having taken Li Qingshan much thought to take the various races¡¯ habits and characteristics into consideration.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought, So-called otherfolk have always been extremely similar to the deva of the Heaven realm. This continent can be known as the Heaven realm.

    Li Qingshan accepted their bows and thanks calmly. He smiled. ¡°Hopefully, these arrangements can leave you all satisfied.¡±

    Suddenly, the world shook.

    In the endless outer space, a star shone with unprecedented light.

    The small world was evolving. He shut his eyes and sensed the expansion of the world, together with the transition in the laws of the world.

    The sun rose and fell. Time flew, yet it also felt like an instant.

    The cultivators of the third heavenly tribulation abruptly sensed that the invisible shackles had vanished. They were filled with a sense of indescribable joy and ease. They immediately understood the world had already accepted them.

    Their existence accelerated the evolution of the world too, as they were no longer ¡°foreign entities¡± that the world had to reject. Instead, they were extremely precious resources. Every single one of them were elites chosen by the spiritual qi of the world.

    The good graces that the world showed Li Qingshan had arrived at a new peak. With just a single thought, he could turn a mortal into a favourite of the heavens, as well as kill Daemon Kings and great cultivators. Divine graces were truly vast like the ocean, and divine might was truly fierce. As long as he wanted to, he could treat himself to all the joys and pleasures that a human could imagine.

    A voice in his heart said to him, Let¡¯s stop. Stay here and enjoy everything. Reward yourself properly. Stop chasing after those pointless things, just in case it all ends in nothing!

    However, he raised his head, casting his gaze towards beyond the Nine Heavens again.

    Su Mirao implied many things when she spoke, and he noticed all of them. He could basically imagine just how difficult and dangerous it would be for a nine-tailed fox that was only too anxious to see the world fall into chaos to want to avoid it at all costs.

    Not to mention that the broken horn on brother ox¡¯s head constantly reminded him. Even now, he was unable to imagine what kind of power could achieve that. Probably a mere finger was enough to crush him to death!

    The path ahead of him was hazy, enough for him to die a thousand times.

    However, for the ideal he held dear to his heart, he would not regret it even if he died a thousand times.

    ¡°Brother ox, let me cut off that bastard¡¯s head to pay you back!¡±

    At that moment, the smile on his face was flagrant and without any restraint, breaking free from all of his shackles inside.

 Chapter 1332

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1332 ¨C Prisoner

    On the other end of the Heaven Climbing Vine, in the endless expanse of outer space, Li Qingshan¡¯s main body revealed the same smile on the colossal space-devouring beast¡¯s back.

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An accompanied him, but they did not look at him.

    Su Mirao stood with her umbrella; she was like a blooming flower in outer space, even more dazzling than the stars. She was no longer bound by the laws of the world, but it instead left her looking especially gorgeous and charming. She was displeased with how cautious they were.

    She thought, Sure enough, these two women are the greatest troubles standing in my way of conquering Li Qingshan. Interestingly enough, they¡¯ve never truly conquered Li Qingshan either. One¡¯s become an adherent, while the other¡¯s become a collaborator. Even though they can influence many of his decisions, that¡¯s nowhere close to conquering him.

    To truly conquer someone is to change their mind, not just their actions. At the very least, I¡¯m not satisfied with this tiny bit I¡¯ve gained. Though, this bastard Li Qingshan refuses to look at me properly even more, and he¡¯s even grinning from ear to ear, so he must be having one of his daydreams. What a difficult guy to deal with. Though, that¡¯s what makes it interesting, isn¡¯t it?

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and said to Su Mirao, ¡°Now, we can talk.¡±

    He had devoted his attention to the small world the entire time, sensing the depth and breadth that came with being the god of a world, specially creating a world that belonged to him, basically uninfluenced by anything else.

    Now that he had returned to his senses, a smear of amazement flashed across his eyes; it lingered without dispersing.

    However, he did not dislike this feeling. Instead, he remembered that bold proclamation he had made about sleeping with the most beautiful women. However, if his willpower was not sturdy enough and he had been bewitched, he could not blame anyone else. After all, there was nothing wrong with beauty by itself.

    Before he knew it, he had already forgiven Su Mirao for everything she had done. Instead, he could not help but constantly think about her various upsides. He was simply unable to avoid being influenced by her charms.

    However, there was nothing he could do about that either. After all, she was talented, and she devoted all these years to cultivation. Was it all supposed to be for nothing, where he could just casually ignore it all? Being able to maintain a hint of clarity was already very difficult.

    In hindsight, if Lolth had not been a gorgeous beauty back then, she probably would have died to his fist a long time ago. Back then, she had actually wanted to butcher him. She had far more evil intentions than the Nine-tailed Fox Empress.

    As a result, it was difficult to decide what was called being bewitched or not. All he could say was it was unavoidable for people to be influenced by others. It was fine as long as he did not lose his sense of self. This battle without weapons had only begun!

    Su Mirao covered her gentle smile while her gaze was dazzling and bewitching. ¡°Dear, what would you like to talk about?¡±

    Li Qingshan was infatuated. ¡°Our future, of course.¡±

    ¡°What kind of future would you like? I can help you.¡±

    ¡°I want¡­¡±

    Spurt! Gu Yanying broke into laughter before shaking her head and sighing. She really could not watch this any longer. Xiao An stared right at Li Qingshan¡¯s face with her large, clear eyes.

    Li Qingshan felt an invisible pressure. He was unable to bring himself to say ¡°you¡±, so he corrected himself, ¡°¡­ the way to defeat Qiongqi!¡±

    Su Mirao raised her head proudly. ¡®Hmph, that¡¯s impossible!¡±

    ¡°Hey, but didn¡¯t you say¡­¡±

    ¡°Hehe, if you want to defeat Qiongqi, go cultivate for another ten thousand years,¡± Su Mirao said in contempt.

    ¡°What¡¯re you getting mad for? You¡¯re beyond reason!¡± Li Qingshan laid out his hands.

    ¡°I¡¯m beyond reason? Without me, you would have been crushed to death by Si Long already!¡± Su Mirao even raised her hand and made a ¡°crushing¡± gesture at Li Qingshan.

    How could Li Qingshan put up with something like that? He sneered. ¡°Tsk, you sure are shameless enough to mention it. It was my brilliance and valiance that dismantled your inferior plan, taking down Si Long in the process. Are you going to admit that or not?¡±

    Su Mirao was so furious that she arched her eyebrows and ground her teeth.

    ¡°Haha, alright, the two of you. The flirting stops here. Let¡¯s talk about the official business!¡± Gu Yanying smiled as she mediated the situation.

    Xiao An said indifferently, ¡°If you want to win the gamble, you don¡¯t have to defeat Qiongqi.¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°What an idiot. Try and recall the oath between you and Qiongqi.¡±

    Li Qingshan held his chin and sank into his thoughts. The contents of his Blood Oath of the Nether River with Qiongqi were very short. He could recall it a thousand times in an instant. Suddenly, he seemed to notice something before shaking his head. ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±

    There was indeed a loophole in the Blood Oath of the Nether River that allowed him to achieve victory while avoiding Qiongqi himself, but the loophole could not be considered as a loophole at all. It was even more difficult to achieve than defeating Qiongqi himself.

    Su Mirao said proudly, ¡°What you can¡¯t do can be easily accomplished by others.¡±

    ¡°But this is my gamble,¡± Li Qingshan said seriously.

    He had no doubts about that at all. If brother ox were around, Qiongqi would be absolutely nothing at all. However, those that could help him defeat Qiongqi without personally taking action would definitely be even more powerful than Demon God Qiongqi. Was it actually related to brother ox?

    ¡°The gamble never specified that you had to enter the battle against Qiongqi empty-handed.¡± Su Mirao gazed at him in a pitying manner like she was looking at a dimwit.

    As it had to do with brother ox, Li Qingshan refused to be carried away by her rhythm. He asked seriously, ¡°Who can help me?¡±

    ¡°A prisoner.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. He did not ask how a prisoner could help him. Instead, he was surprisingly excited. Don¡¯t tell me the prisoner is brother ox? Even if he was completely incapable of freeing him right now, just the thought of it left him exhilarated.

    ¡°Unfortunately, he¡¯s probably not the one you¡¯re thinking of, but you¡¯re not too far off.¡±

    A prisoner that was not too far off from brother ox, coupled with the broken horn on brother ox¡¯s head, made Li Qingshan come up with some guesses. He asked, ¡°What exactly happened beyond the Nine Heavens?¡±

    ¡°Even if I wasn¡¯t trapped in the nine provinces, the details aren¡¯t something that I can learn about. On top of that, there are certain names and matters that are best left unmentioned. Even if I know about it, I wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to talk about it with you here. However, when you see the prisoner, he¡¯ll probably tell you everything.¡±

    ¡°Where can I find him?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, Li Qingshan, you¡¯re not that unruly now, are you? You¡¯ll go wherever I tell you to go!¡±

    Su Mirao found an opportunity to regain the upper hand so that she could vent. Originally, she thought he would fly into a rage, but she never expected him to simply remain stern, asking again, ¡°Where can I find him?¡±

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll just tell you so easily?¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward and stared right at her with his scarlet eyes. ¡°Su Mirao, I know you know much more than me, which is why you¡¯re so fearful of us meeting. The enemy is so powerful that you don¡¯t even have the courage to say their name, afraid that they would sense it, but I¡¯m determined to face them, no matter who they are. I hope you can stand by my side, but if you still treat this all as a game even now, then I¡¯d advise you to back out early, as you can¡¯t afford to play at all!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Su Mirao glared at him. Nothing angered her more than the words ¡°you can¡¯t afford to play¡±. However, she could not help but admit that compared to Li Qingshan, she really ¡°could not afford to play¡± as much as him.

    ¡°I know you want me to lower my head, but someone told me to never lower my head, as kneeling won¡¯t get me to beyond the Nine Heavens. Don¡¯t tell me you want a piece of trash to play this life-threatening game with you?¡±

    A while later, Su Mirao spat out a pair of words like she was sighing. ¡°Ruin¡¯s End!¡±

 Chapter 1333

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1333 ¨C The World of the Five Continents

    Gu Yanying silently gave Li Qingshan the thumbs-up. Li Qingshan said to Su Mirao sincerely, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Su Mirao was fuming inside. She completely refused to admit that he had overwhelmed her mentally or his clever words had fooled her.

    This had always been a paradox. Regardless of whether she could deal with this bastard or not, nothing good would be awaiting her. It was basically like she had stepped into quicksand, and she was sinking deeper and deeper.

    Li Qingshan cleared his throat. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not a bad person. We¡­¡±

    ¡°Piss off!¡± Su Mirao leapt into the space-devouring beast¡¯s abyss-like mouth.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Sigh, women, oh women!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Is there something that you¡¯re dissatisfied with women?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m completely satisfied! C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go and ask Xiaoming just how I¡¯m supposed to enter Ruin¡¯s End!¡¯

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, Li Qingshan created three continents for the humans, daemons, and otherfolk. On top of that, he made many minute adjustments according to the actual situation to guarantee that all living creatures had a chance to live and thrive.

    He constantly practised the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity during the process. An aura brimming with life rapidly flowed through his blood vessels as he neared the first layer.

    Actually, he was currently in possession of both resources and comprehension.

    He had become the god of a world, and he had personally created new continents so that the living creatures could live and thrive. That was not something any person could experience.

    Using this as a foundation, pushing the Qilin Transformation higher by two or three layers definitely would not be of any difficulty at all.

    However, he was not in a rush to do so, as his power had already reached a certain limit. Even an additional shred might lead to the fourth heavenly tribulation, and he would be forced to ascend.

    Originally, he wanted to go to the Daemonic Beast realm, but now, his greatest objective had been changed to Ruin¡¯s End, so he was forced to reconsider his path. Before this, he had to settle a few matters too.

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then please return, fellows. Once I deal with everything, I¡¯ll pay a visit to some old friends with some gifts.¡±

    He glanced past a few people. All of them felt honoured.

    The King of Southern Yue was one of them. He smiled widely, clearly in an extremely good mood. Sure enough, he had made the correct decision back then.

    The others all sighed inside. If they had known earlier, they should have befriended Li Qingshan. If they had given him an arcane treasure or two back then, would it not all be paid back ten or a hundred fold today? But who would have thought the brat who had come to the Mist province back then as a White Wolf commander would now become the lord of a world?

    When everyone bade farewell and dispersed, Li Qingshan became slightly stern. He had already completed most of the work, and he had basically used up most of the resources from devouring the nine provinces, but there were still some ¡°recyclables¡± that he had to deal with.

    With a thought, he arrived in the far north, within the bitter cold. Icebergs floated on the ocean as the sharp, cold wind cut like blades. He opened his right hand and brought it over the entire ocean.

    Rumble!

    An icy peak emerged from the surface of the ocean. Another continent rose up, except it was filled with the aura of death and wickedness. That was the land corrupted by the Hungry Ghost realm and the Demon domain. Countless demons and undead were thrown onto this island.

    From the moment this continent was born, it was destined to be enveloped in ice, snow, and the severe cold forever. The living and the dead there had to undergo a brutal struggle for a chance at survival.

    This place was known as the Demon continent afterwards, becoming the most dangerous penal colony in the world. Either for the sake of escaping or for the sake of power, many humans fled here, turning into undead and demonfolk.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming followed Li Qingshan here. He thought, With such a brutal environment and such a cruel devouring process, this should be a fusion of the Hell realm and the Hungry Ghost realm!

    Just like that, all that was missing from the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra was the Asura realm, but he understood extremely well that a world war would erupt before long under this setting, and it was very likely to be the otherfolk and daemons working together to fend off the invading army of humans.

    Li Qingshan had realised this as well. He had settled the disputes and conflicts between the various races in the simplest and crudest way possible, but he had disrupted their original state of intermingling, assisting them in forming complete groups. It was far easier for wars to erupt like this than when they intermingled like before, which would drag in all the living creatures throughout the world.

    That was why he kept these demons and ghosts around. They were a tremendous threat to all living creatures. He hoped they could mitigate any internal conflicts, but fighting against these undead and demons would also bring slaughter and death.

    However, no one could do anything about that. Battle had always been the eternal theme of life. Even the gods and buddhas that stood high above could not avoid this fate.

    Only battle would never change. Where there was life, there were vicious battles.

    The wilful deeds he had committed actually bore resemblance to the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Was it a coincidence? Or was it unavoidable altogether?

    Gazing out now, floating on the endless expanse of ocean, the original continent of the small world was still located in the very centre with the four other continents in its surroundings. The seas were peppered with various isles and islands too, like springboards that vaguely connected the five continents.

    The small world in the past had five different regions, the east, the south, the west, the north, and the central. After a series of modifications, there happened to be five again.

    However, continuing to call this place the ¡°small world¡± was no longer appropriate. After all, its size had even surpassed the nine provinces. The one in his body was truly the ¡°small world¡±.

    As a result, Li Qingshan decided to give the world a new name. After some deep consideration, he came up with one.

    ¡°Ah, I got it. I¡¯ll call it the Li¡¯l Five World!¡±

    ¡°Can you not use ¡®Li¡¯l¡¯ as a prefix to everything?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming could not help but rebuke, which made him think of his own name, as well as Li¡¯l Fatty, Xiao An¡­ Unfortunately, unbeknownst to him, there was a Li¡¯l Red and a Li¡¯l Blue as well.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you find this name very friendly? Like a neighbourhood kid.¡±

    ¡°Why would anyone name a world after a neighbourhood kid?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming roared furiously.

    Does a monster like a space-devouring beast resemble a neighbourhood kid too? Do I resemble a neighbourhood kid as well? And that white bone successor! Aren¡¯t these three neighbourhood kids a little too terrifying!?

    ¡°So be it. I don¡¯t know what to do with you. Who can help the fact that we¡¯re friends? I¡¯ll go with A¡¯¡­¡±

    ¡°¡®A¡¯ doesn¡¯t work either!¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯t take things too far.¡± Li Qingshan squinted his eyes.

    ¡°You call this taking things too far!?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming widened his eyes.

    Right as they eyed one another like fighting cocks, Gu Yanying and Xiao An arrived. Li Qingshan grumbled to her loudly about how unreasonable R¨¡hu Xiaoming was.

    The Li¡¯l Five World? Gu Yanying also felt very powerless. ¡°Isn¡¯t what we should be discussing right now how you¡¯re supposed to get to Ruin¡¯s End?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you call it the World of the Five Continents!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. ¡°Alright then!¡± He prodded R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s chest with his index finger, expressing, You owe me for this.

    ¡°Now tell me, how am I supposed to get to Ruin¡¯s End? We¡¯ll settle our debts with that.¡± Then he blinked his eyes, expressing, You got the better end of the deal!

    ¡°Qingshan, I¡¯m really tempted to butcher you sometimes!¡±

    ¡°You aren¡¯t capable of that unfortunately! Hahaha!¡±

 Chapter 1334

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1334 ¨C Where is the Path?

    The laughter boomed through the sky, leaving R¨¡hu Xiaoming absolutely fuming, but it also filled him with a faint sense of warmth.

    He had possessed countless women in the past, all the most beautiful women of the Asura realm. He had also possessed countless subordinates too, all the strongest warriors of the Asura realm. The Asura realm had always been renowned for these two aspects.

    Laying with beauties while asleep and controlling the world while awake was a mere trifle within arm¡¯s reach to him, as right from birth, he was a god.

    However, he never had a friend.

    To him, a reliable, admirable friend who could assist him and treat him as an equal was far rarer than a beauty or a warrier, so he basically gave up on that thought.

    Yet now, he had a friend like that, who happened to be the man right in front of him that laughed away like a fool. He was not particularly clever, but he could fight to his death beside him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to get to Ruin¡¯s End either, but don¡¯t you know already?¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped laughing and stroked his chin. ¡°And I had thought you had some other ideas.¡±

    The Heaven Climbing Vine was obviously a shortcut to other worlds, but it was not all-powerful. It could not connect with all the worlds.

    However, as the god of a world, he could clearly sense the existence of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. That was an extremely wondrous feeling, as the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra was not a place like the Demon domain that required a demon cavern to link two worlds together. Instead, it coincided with the entire world as a great cycle, present everywhere.

    That was the exact reason why everyone would immediately enter the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and join this great cycle regardless of the size of the world, regardless of whether they ascended or died. Something like a Heaven Climbing Vine or a demon cavern was completely unnecessary.

    From a certain perspective, it was like the relationship between Navy Li¡¯l Fatty and the World of the Five Continents. They seemed to be several billion kilometres apart, but they were actually one entity.

    That was why the Heaven Climbing Vine could connect the two. Now, it could only connect with the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, which did not include Ruin¡¯s End.

    However, since he wanted to enter Ruin¡¯s End, there would definitely be a way.

    ¡°So I still have to enter the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra after all! Though, at least we can freely choose with the Heaven Climbing Vine. We don¡¯t have to worry about ascending to different places.¡±

    ¡°Actually, there are only three realms available to us. The Hell realm and the Hungry Ghost realm are both worlds of death. They will kill the Heaven Climbing Vine.¡±

    ¡°Understandable.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. The Heaven Climbing Vine only possessed mass. It was not a daemon yet, so it would definitely face the restraints of the laws of the world. On top of that, as a qilin, he could not make the Heaven Climbing Vine do something like that, so he asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s the other one?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered. ¡°The Heaven realm obviously!¡±

    The hatred between the asura and the deva would always be so unadulterated. After all, the other name to the Asura realm was Not-heaven.

    As the greatest realm of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, deva were free from pain and hardships and enjoyed a lengthy lifespan, allowed to live their entire life in joy. Apart from celestial decay, there was nothing they had to worry about. It was basically the treasured land that all living creatures yearned for. Even asura were filled with envy, pouring their heart and souls into taking down the thirty-three heavens so that they could occupy this treasured land for themselves.

    It was truly the beacon of the living creatures, the hope of the universe.

    However, it was also quite clear how severe of a situation with stowaways they had.

    Deva hated asura the most. After that, it was stowaways. One was bandits. The other was thieves.

    The Heaven realm was filled with order as well, nowhere near as chaotic as the other realms. Who knew how many people had tried to use something like a Heaven Climbing Vine to sneak in there, so they had developed a complete defence system a long time ago.

    Once the Heaven Climbing Vine reached into the Heaven realm, it would basically be detected immediately, and the Heaven Climbing Vine would be killed. An even worse situation would be the deva waiting for the thieves to ascend, or directly killing their way down the Heaven Climbing Vine to viciously punish these stowaways that were getting too ahead of themselves.

    ¡°Then the remaining are the Asura realm, the Human realm, and the Daemonic Beast realm. We can eliminate the Asura realm as well. Your mother is nowhere near as well-behaved as Qiongqi.¡± Li Qingshan blinked his eyes mischievously.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°And I can guarantee you that she¡¯s far more difficult to deal with than Qiongqi. She¡¯ll never play a game like this with you.¡±

    Li Qingshan struggled. With the battle prowess of an asura god, she probably did not have a lot of opponents throughout the entirety of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    ¡°Then that leaves us with two choices. For the sake of fairness, let¡¯s vote! Those who choose the Daemonic Beast realm, raise your right hand. Those who choose the Human realm, raise your left hand.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his right hand without any hesitation. He had already caught a whiff of the wild aura from the Daemonic Beast realm, wholeheartedly choosing the path of birds and beasts.

    He looked at R¨¡hu Xiaoming and put on a fake smile. He had pulled a trick here. R¨¡hu Xiaoming did not possess any daemon bloodline after all, so he would probably choose the Human realm. However, Gu Yanying who pursued freedom and also possessed the legacy of the kunpeng would definitely make the same choice as him. Xiao An went even more without saying. She would definitely follow him.

    His rigged attempt at democracy was not just to shut up R¨¡hu Xiaoming but also to harass him openly. It was definitely done out of malicious intentions.

    ¡°Are you a kid?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming raised his left hand in exasperation. ¡°I choose the Human realm!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed complacently. ¡°I knew it.¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled and also raised her left hand. ¡°I choose the Human realm as well.¡±

    Li Qingshan was astounded. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m not certain whether I¡¯ll turn into prey or not.¡±

    The Daemonic Beast realm possessed freedom, but it also followed the law of nature. There was a brutal side to it.

    Li Qingshan tried to persuade her. ¡°Don¡¯t be so cowardly. With your speed, just who can catch you?¡±

    ¡°Better to avoid that possibility altogether!¡± Gu Yanying said gracefully. She clearly was not a woman who could be persuaded easily.

    ¡°Alright, you win, alright? But that doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s just a draw.¡± Li Qingshan believed that he would still get what he wanted in the end.

    ¡°Who said it¡¯s a draw?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming glanced at Xiao An as his lips curled into a smile.

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°Xiao An, you¡¯ve raised the wrong hand.¡±

    Xiao An also looked at her jade-white left hand seriously. ¡°It¡¯s right!¡±

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded. He opened his mouth and roared away at the sky. His voice reached thousands of kilometres away. ¡°Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡±

    Countless cultivators gazed over from afar. They had no idea what was going on.

    The three others looked at each other and simply smiled quietly.

    Li Qingshan pointed at them in disbelief. ¡°Y- you¡¯re working together to bully me. Even you, Xiao An¡­¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming repeated what he said with a smile. ¡°For the sake of fairness¡­¡±

    Gu Yanying patted his shoulder. ¡°Alright. You¡¯ve just been drawn towards the Daemonic Beast realm because of the wild aura. Whether it¡¯s to accelerate your cultivation or to find the path to Ruin¡¯s End, we all require help and guidance. The Human realm is the optimal choice.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll cultivate even faster in the Daemonic Beast realm.¡± Li Qingshan persisted. He could deeply sense that the Daemonic Beast realm was calling for him. If you come here, you will definitely become chosen by the heavens! I can protect you and watch over you.

    Xiao An said softly, ¡°Qingshan, that¡¯s exactly the problem. When you become chosen by the heavens, your human side will be restrained or even snuffed out. If you take a long-term perspective, that¡¯s not necessarily beneficial to your cultivation.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°That¡¯s correct. The great advantage to the Human realm is that it adheres to humanity. There has never been any chosen children of the heavens. Do you really wish for a voice over your head, telling you what you should do and what you shouldn¡¯t do?¡± After a pause, he continued, ¡°And we might even be able to inherit a great deal of things from Si Long!¡±

 Chapter 1335

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1335 ¨C After Founding Your Kingdoms, Ascension is Prohibited

    Li Qingshan listened to their explanations and could not help but sink into his thoughts. In particular, what Xiao An said affected his path of cultivation.

    His human bloodline was unable to rival any of his bloodlines of the demonic or the divine, but strangely enough, he did not become a pure daemon. He maintained a human part.

    The stronger the cultivation methods were, the more they repulsed one another. The strength of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine went without saying. Even the cultivation methods it involved repulsed one another. The demonic and divine clashed while fire and water rejected one another, yet it never repulsed his human cultivation method.

    From the Innate Method of Practising Qi in the very beginning to the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction now, he had managed to practise all of them perfectly fine. Sometimes, they would even influence the balance between the demonic and divine instead. Now that he thought about it seriously, it really was extremely strange.

    Even if he were a remarkable genius of startling talent, he would have to rack his brain and temper himself arduously in order to pave a path like this!

    But in reality, he had made it to where he was right now in such a natural way, basically encountering no issues in this aspect.

    The only explanation was that the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine had left his human cultivation method with plenty of room for development, and then he considered the fact that only eight transformations had appeared in the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine so far. The ninth was nowhere to be seen in his sea of consciousness. The answer seemed to be calling out to him.

    Even if he was still uncertain, there was definitely a great connection between the two, so he definitely could not give up on the path of human cultivation.

    That way, the Human realm truly was the optimal choice. It was unlike the five other realms. Whether it was the good or the wicked, daemon or ghost, they could all thrive in the Human realm without worrying about any rejection from the will of the heavens.

    Of course, they could forget about fawning up to the heavens as well. There was truly only humanity, not the heavens.

    That was the home base of humans. Humans had never managed to reach a perfect agreement, so the so-called humanity was also a chaotic, unclear thing, far more unpredictable than the heavens.

    On the surface, it was order and righteousness, but it often conflicted with itself. The most wicked and the most holy existed simultaneously within the same race or even in an individual¡¯s heart.

    ¡°I have to admit that you do raise a solid point. But what do you mean by Si Long¡¯s inheritance?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°It¡¯s very likely for the other end of the Heaven Climbing Vine to be connected to Si Long¡¯s dwelling.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±

    With how vast the Human realm was, it was impossible for Si Long to scour the entire place for the Heaven Climbing Vine. He must have created some kind of marker, and it definitely would not be located in the wilderness either. To cultivators, nowhere gave them a better sense of safety than their dwellings.

    Since he had tried to refine the nine provinces into a blessed land of cultivation, it made perfect sense for the Heaven Climbing Vine to lead there.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming asked, ¡°Then can you get the Heaven Climbing Vine to find that anchor again?¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡±

    He was the god of the world after all. On top of that, more than half of the World of the Five Continents originally belonged to the nine provinces. It could even be described as a new nine provinces, so the connection had not been completely severed.

    ¡°But he¡¯s a disciple of the Myriad sect. If his master is taking part in this, then once we head over, we¡¯ll be walking right to our doom. Heh, it should be a Human Immortal at the very least, or even a True Immortal!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s a possibility, so we plan on sending you up first. If you get finished off, then we¡¯ll break up and that¡¯s the end of that.¡± Then he became serious. ¡°But I don¡¯t think this matter is of any great value to immortals. Even Si Long himself has already managed to make it so far with this matter. He could clearly take the world for himself, so why would he find an old man and split most of his fruits with him?¡±

    ¡°If he really did have powerful reinforcements behind him, then he definitely would have sought help from the Human realm when he was on Dragonshead mountain, but he did not do that. According to my speculation, he should have been alone in this matter, but it¡¯s possible that others knew about this too. As a result, if Si Long died, his life lamp in the sect would be extinguished, and we definitely can¡¯t go forward with this. As a mighty Human Sovereign, he¡¯s a figure of some significance no matter where he is. However, since he¡¯s still alive, we can give it a try.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brighter and brighter as he listened along. If R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s deductions were correct, then they would obtain a dwelling for free the moment they entered the Human realm. That was the dwelling of a Human Sovereign that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation. Just the benefits it brought to cultivation could be no less than becoming chosen by the heavens in the Daemonic Beast realm.

    Perhaps there might even be some pills or powerful arcane treasure. These items were what humans were most skilled at wielding and utilising. There was no other race better at using external items than them. Even without being chosen by the heavens, they could still make use of everything available in the world.

    He glanced past the three of them. ¡°You¡¯ve considered all of this beforehand already, haven¡¯t you?¡± As it was commonly said, the truth lay in the hands of the minority, so the worst situation possible was not knowing the truth while still being the minority. However, being in a team of people all better than him was still better than being stuck with a group of deadweights.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve been thinking about how to create the world all this time, so how can you spare the time to think about a trifle like this?¡±

    Xiao An said concisely, ¡°This world is extremely important.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Li Qingshan had not gone to such great lengths just to save the living creatures or play a sandbox game.

    Right now, he had already ordered Navy Li¡¯l Fatty to fly to the nearest star from the nine provinces. As long as it continued to devour, the growth of the World of the Five Continents would be limitless. In the future, it would definitely become the most important trump card in his possession.

    In order to carry out this great strategy, he had to make the World of the Five Continents as perfect as possible so that the various living creatures introduced from various other worlds could live and thrive very well.

    ¡°We¡¯re a team. We just have different work to do. Though, even after all this, there are still risks. Whether you want to take the gamble or not is up to you to decide!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. He already knew the outcome of that. A Li Qingshan who was afraid of taking risks was not truly Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll take the gamble! With risk comes reward!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand heartily before saying mysteriously, ¡°And I have a method of sure success There won¡¯t be any danger at all.¡±

    ¡°Hopefully!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. He made no comment.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s something else. We all possess far too many secrets. Whether it¡¯s Xiaoming¡¯s identity or Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, including the matters regarding Su Mirao, Si Long, and so on, absolutely none of it can be divulged.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming curled his lip. ¡°The troubles that can be brought by those who are connected to the two of you might be even larger than what you speak of!¡±

    ¡°Yes. If any of them enter the six realms, it¡¯s very likely for them to use this information to exchange for resources. At the very least, they won¡¯t go out of their way to keep this a secret for us, so¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already anticipated that.¡±

    Before long, under the lead of the Featherfolk and Merfolk, the otherfolk rebuilt their divine kingdom and began their first assembly. The Featherfolk King Li Fengyuan served as the first consul. The otherfolk all accepted him too. After all, he was part of a noble race that stood on par with the Dragon clan.

    Many great cultivators and Daemon Kings had been invited to attend the celebration ceremony. The highest consul, Li Fengyuan, and the Merfolk Queen, Gong Yuan, mutually announced at the ceremony that they would be sealing off the skies and the oceans. In the future, if other races wanted to enter the divine kingdom, they had to make an application and receive permission. Otherwise, it would all be viewed as intrusion.

    By now, Gong Yuan had completely united the Merfolk, becoming the second greatest race that stood neck-and-neck with the Featherfolk. It was rumoured that she received the secret support of Li Qingshan. Actually, Li Qingshan had not directly interfered with anything at all. He only personally constructed a Crystal palace for her. As the most powerful branch of Merfolk, the Merfolk of the South sea did indeed possess that right.

    A certain queen of the night roamers expressed intense envy and jealousy, completely regretting the fact that she did not tie up Li Qingshan in bed and do the good deed back then.

    In short, the announcement received the fervent support of all otherfolk. After thousands of years of drifting around without a home, they had already grown sick of coexisting among humans and daemons.

    By now, countless conflicts had already occurred between daemons and humans, primarily because the human cultivators plundered livestock in a hysterical frenzy. Later on, they basically took whatever living thing they could get their hands on, whether it were lions and tigers or rats and toads. They caught whatever they saw, even uprooting a few large trees.

    It was rumoured that a pig daemon that had not even undergone a heavenly tribulation had led to an intense conflict between cultivators. It even caused internal strife, costing the lives of several people. It was all because they wanted to bring it back as the main boar for breeding.

    There was originally no sense of unity among the daemons, but they gradually showed signs of banding together under this pressure, beginning a counterattack. They obviously gave their fierce support for the otherfolk¡¯s plan to lock out foreigners. If humans could just stay on their own continent obediently, that would be perfect.

    The original King of Souther Yue, Qian Lingzhi, also announced he would be founding a kingdom. His face was filled with kind and friendly smiles, expressing that he hoped to strengthen the exchange with the otherfolk¡¯s divine kingdom so that they could mutually prosper. It would also defuse the situation with the daemons, mutually benefiting them.

    One thing worth mentioning was the World¡¯s society in the central continent had also sent an envoy to participate in the ceremony. Their leader happened to be Li Qingshan¡¯s son, Li Guinian. Faced with the brand new world where Soul Nascences were commonplace and Golden Cores were worthless, the original inhabitants really had no idea whether to celebrate or mourn.

    It was quite easy to see that the undercurrents of the new world would not settle down so easily.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly descended with a declaration, which kicked up colossal waves.

    ¡°After founding your kingdoms, ascension is prohibited.¡±

 Chapter 1336

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1336 ¨C Are You Ready?

    With that, everyone¡¯s faces changed.

    To cultivators, that was equivalent to severing their path, making them lose the possibility of longevity. If a regular person said that, they would just be treated as an ignorant madman. No one would take it seriously, except Li Qingshan truly possessed the power to sever everyone¡¯s path of ascension.

    The complete silence left Li Qingshan slightly surprised. He originally thought someone would question or even rebuke him. He never expected everyone to be so ¡°calm¡±.

    As a result, he continued, ¡°As for the reasons involved, I don¡¯t think I need to make any further explanations. This has to do with my possessions and my life, so I can¡¯t take any chances. However, since I¡¯m bold enough to inform you in such a frank way without playing any secret tricks, you should believe me when I say I have no ill intentions.¡±

    He tried his best to seem approachable, but it only made the cultivators shiver. The heavenly tribulation of ascension had already been extremely difficult. If there was the god of the world stabbing them in the back too, then that was basically certain death.

    However, just as he had said, if he had not informed them about this, he definitely could have kept this hidden for over a century. There had always been only a handful of cultivators that were capable of ascending, so even if they failed the tribulation, it would make perfect sense.

    Qian Lingzhi smiled wryly. ¡°I believe you don¡¯t have any ill intentions, but can you give us some leeway so that you don¡¯t seal off our paths for good all of a sudden?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°There¡¯ll always be a way. There are still many matters in the future that I¡¯ll have to count on you fellows for, so how can I sever your path of cultivation? You should already know just how cramped the world originally was. Even cultivators and daemons basically did not exist back then, yet now, it¡¯s spacious enough for you to found sects and kingdoms.¡±

    Qian Lingzhi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°You mean¡­ the world can become even larger?¡±

    ¡°Of course! The heavenly tribulation of ascension is riddled with danger after all. Who knows what kind of situation you might encounter after you enter the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. You might be better off growing with the World of the Five Continents so that your sects prosper and your land is never conquered. Isn¡¯t that better?¡±

    Qian Lingzhi weighed the consequences. ¡°If that really is true, it could be accepted as good news. Alright, I¡¯m willing to support this!¡±

    He definitely could not openly oppose Li Qingshan in front of so many people. That would only damage their friendship that he had built up after so much difficulty. Even if he insisted on ascending, it was better if they discussed it privately. If the discussions were successful, it would benefit both of them, and he might even be able to obtain his help, greatly reducing the dangers of ascension.

    ¡°I support you too, first father!¡±

    The Meat-stewing Heavenly King would obviously support the great demon king unconditionally. The great demon king had never let down this trust either.

    Gong Yuan shot a glance at Li Qingshan and thought, If I really ascended, are you going to kill me or what? However, she had just unified the Merfolk. She still had not had her fill as the Merfolk Queen, so she was not in that much of a hurry to ascend.

    With their agreement, the otherfolk kings obviously had no objections.

    Daemons had always placed more emphasis on accumulation over time. They were renowned for their lifespans, so no one stood forward to oppose Li Qingshan either. However, they were not as easy-going in terms of attitude. Many of them were unruly.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll view this as agreeing to my suggestion. You can continue with your celebration.¡±

    He was quite satisfied. As the god of the world, he definitely did not wish to see any cultivators leaving this world, as every ascending cultivator possessed the essence of the world, basically his own flesh and blood. They would accelerate the decline of the world. That was why heavenly tribulations of ascension were so difficult, as it was the instincts of the will of the world trying to hold onto this resource.

    His decision also earned the absolute endorsement from the will of the world.

    Li Qingshan did not linger around. Before he left, he left behind another message with deep meaning. ¡°If anyone tries to ascend by force¡­ don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you!¡±

    His voice echoed through the surroundings as his figure faded away.

    Perhaps due to his might and prestige as a god, the six short words made all the great cultivators and Daemon Kings shiver, leaving behind an abnormally deep impression. Afterwards, it actually became a popular phrase for threats. When local gangs and factions negotiated and the negotiations fell through, they would leave that behind most of the time.

    On a vast ocean, on a barren island, an imposing altar almost took up the entire place. It bore great resemblance to the altar on Dragonshead mountain back then. All that was missing was the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    Li Qingshan, Xiao An, R¨¡hu Xiaoming, and Gu Yanying gathered together there once more.

    During this time, Li Qingshan had visited many acquaintances and offered them some help to the best of his ability, settling some past debts. For example, he gave the Unraging monk a Great Buddha mountain, he gave Qian Lingzhi a capital city, he gave Huang Binghu and Yu Shukuang two pills that increased their lifespans, and so on.

    There were also his women and his children. The emotions and sentiments involved went without saying, but they were not as dramatic as mortals. Apart from the exception, Qiu Haitang, they were all cultivators with their own pursuits. A man was not everything in their lives.

    He was much more careless when it came to his children, completely embracing the method of parenting of just not being there. They were free to do whatever they wanted and they would clean up any trouble they caused. They could forget about relying on him to help them. It was quite unbelievable when he mentioned it, but he had already become a grandfather now, and in a few years¡¯ time, he would probably be a great-grandfather.

    Gu Yanying laughed as she wished him many children and grandchildren, so Li Qingshan just stared at her belly, all the way until she smacked him over his head with her folding fan.

    She had received the complete support of Li Qingshan as the god of the world, so her cultivation progressed rapidly during this time, having reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation already. R¨¡hu Xiaoming was no different. When Li Qingshan made Navy Li¡¯l Fatty devour the nine provinces, he had confiscated plenty of Asura Fields, all of which he tossed to him.

    Xiao An went even more without saying. She had reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation a long time ago. If it were not for the sake of waiting for Li Qingshan, she would have undergone the heavenly tribulation of ascension back then in the nine provinces already.

    During this time, she remained on the frozen continent in the north. Li Qingshan originally thought she wanted to turn all the undead and demons into Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, but he never expected her to build a palace of white bone instead, making the group of monks under her command spread the path of white bone among the undead and demonfolk. The reason she gave for that was because she was not lacking resources right now. She was just trying to comprehend the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    The four of them all possessed great strength that completely surpassed cultivators of the same level through their cultivation methods, bloodlines, and legacies, so undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation was a piece of cake. However, they also shouldered great danger because of that. Countless powerful beings eyed them covetously from the Demon domain, the Hungry Ghost realm, the Asura realm, and even the Human realm.

    Those powerful gods were enough for regular cultivators to feel despair, to hide away forever.

    And in the distant beyond the Nine Heavens, there were even powerful enemies whose names could not even be mentioned.

    Thinking of it like that, the World of the Nine Provinces in the past was basically like a cradle. Those bloody struggles were only games to teach the younglings how to hunt, rehearsing for everything to come in the future.

    The surging tides and the rustling winds were like the last cradle song, sending them off.

    Now, they would be leaving this cradle and venturing to an even vaster and more unpredictable world to face all of the hardships it had in plan for them.

    ¡°Until enough heroes have grown in the bronze cradle,

    With hearts as strong as it used to be,

    They visit the omnipotent gods.¡±

    The Heaven Climbing Vine emerged from space, rising up from the altar like a giant dragon taking off, plunging into the depths of space again and forming a meandering path that lead into sa?s¨¡ra.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming, Gu Yanying, and Xiao An all looked over together. One was raging with fighting spirit, one was graceful like the wind, and the other was clear like a dream. It was as if they were asking him.

    Are you ready?

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    End of the Volume¡ªDreamer

    Just as the title suggests, you are not just seeing an author¡¯s word at the end of the volume, but also an author¡¯s word at the end of the first half and an author¡¯s celebratory word for three years. Now that I mention it, it sounds like some kind of twisted creature that mutated from exposure to radiation, so let¡¯s just call it a gathering of author¡¯s words.

    However, I am experiencing far too many emotions, such that I don¡¯t know where to start. How can the exhaustion and fatigue, the pain and struggle I went through over more than a thousand days and nights be expressed clearly in a thousand characters?

    If you see me in my daily life, you¡¯ll probably think I¡¯m a great failure, sinking into depravity with each day, even coming close to the day when I climb to the rooftop. Just recently, my mother said to me, ¡°Son, let¡¯s not do this. Can¡¯t you do something else instead?¡±

    I said nothing, but, no.

    That was because in front of the stone tablet of my ancestral grave in my old home, I pointed at the words which included my name and probed out my father. ¡°I might just become the most famous one on there.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    His attitude was truly depressing, probably like a teacher watching a primary school student saying how they wanted to become a scientist when they grew up. I¡¯m already so old, and I still say things like that. How shameful.

    However, I¡¯ve stopped being a primary school student a long time ago. I¡¯ve read those great works through the times. They shine gloriously, but they¡¯re definitely not beyond reach. Instead, they guide me, like the stars in the sky.

    I¡¯ve read those outstanding works of the contemporary era. Even though many of them are more outstanding than me, when I compare them to the resplendent stars in my heart, I can only smile and say, In a time without heroes, the significant are paraded as talents.

    Every child has a hero dream, so I tried my best to make up for my shortcomings, writing what I¡¯m least skilled in and living a life that I¡¯m unhappy with, such that I can¡¯t be swayed by anything around me as I assemble every single dragon ball that I require. That¡¯s just reading a great pile of books, enduring some loneliness and pain and constantly reflecting on the mistakes I¡¯ve made. If you say I don¡¯t have any life experiences, then alright, I¡¯ll go tour the world. I¡¯ll go and love and hate and understand it.

    I¡¯m not a talented genius, nor am I chosen by fate. Even if I¡¯ve gathered all the dragon balls, I might not be able to summon the dragon to make my wish come true. When I fail, it¡¯s all just a joke.

    But life is just so short! It is just like a novel with a predetermined end. As such, why not make the process a little more fascinating as much as possible? Even if I can¡¯t become a hero or a legend, I¡¯ll play out the tragedy of a mortal and earn a few tears and smiles. I might even downright warn the people that come after me, ¡°Mortals must never chase their dreams!¡±

    But even till today, I firmly believe that mortals can chase after their dreams too.

    With the end of the first half of Legend of the Great Sage, the three years haven¡¯t gone to waste. I¡¯ve taken one step closer towards my goal. I¡¯ve become even stronger, whether it¡¯s my willpower or my abilities, which will be sufficiently demonstrated in the upcoming second half. I¡¯ll verify what I¡¯ve gained and what I¡¯ve lost, what is correct and what is wrong yet again.

    I might take a rest, but you won¡¯t have to wait for too long. Please look forward to the twelfth volume of Legend of the Great Sage, the Myriad in the Human Realm!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s path to the Nine Heavens, my path to the Nine Heavens, has only just begun!

    This time, we will reach the Nine Heavens in one fell stroke!

 Chapter 1337

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1337 ¨C Into the Realm

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips. His gaze was firm, rapidly moving through the twisting tunnel as he made his way towards a brand-new world he had never set foot in.

    Suddenly, the end of the tunnel lit up.

    He grinned and moved even faster, filled with anticipation. Beyond the light was the Human realm. Just what would be awaiting him?

    But at this exact moment, his body suddenly collapsed like a burst bubble. A moment earlier, he was a multitude of colours, but in the next moment, he vanished without a trace like he had never existed in the first place.

    The World of the Five Continents, the lone island on the sea.

    A pair of scarlet eyes opened up slowly, taking in Xiao An, Gu Yanying, and R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s figures.

    Gu Yanying asked in concern, ¡°How is it?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°You can tell just from his expression that it failed!¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°The clone suddenly shattered. Don¡¯t tell me Si Long has set up some kind of trap? But I didn¡¯t even leave the Heaven Climbing Vine yet!¡±

    As it turned out, his so-called method of sure success was sending his mirror clone up first. That way, he did not have to worry about anything, whether it was traps or powerful enemies. At most, he would sever the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°It¡¯s not Si Long¡¯s trap. Instead, the laws of the world from the Human realm collapsed your clone.¡±

    ¡°Collapse?¡± Xiao An glanced over.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming nodded. ¡°Yes. His mirror clone originates from his innate ability. It¡¯s technically a technique. You can use techniques here, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can use them in the Human realm.¡±

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin in thought. ¡°All abilities and techniques only exist based on the laws. When I first ended up in the small world, I encountered a similar problem, unable to use any of my abilities. However, that was because I was restrained by the laws of the world. In other words, going from a lower world to a higher world will also lead to severe restraint?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°You can¡¯t call that restraint. Instead, it is conditioning. The waves in the ocean are obviously much larger than the ripples in a pond. Once you experience it personally, you¡¯ll obviously understand!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±

    Li Qingshan left behind a mirror clone and entered the Heaven Climbing Vine again, following the twisting tunnel up to the Human realm.

    Since there was no method of sure success, there was nothing else he could do. He would just have to take a gamble.

    His main body was far quicker than his clone. In the blink of an eye, the resplendent glow filled his eyes again.

    A moment earlier, the feeling of his mirror clone¡¯s collapse echoed through his mind, which made him become slightly nervous, but without a single hint of hesitation, he threw himself into the light.

    Suddenly, he understood that the brilliance was light emitted when the purity of spiritual qi had reached an absolute limit.

    He had never experienced such pure spiritual qi before. Even when he directly absorbed it from spiritual stones and spiritual veins, it could not reach such an alarming level. Every single breath he took felt like he had swallowed a spiritual stone, almost to a point where he felt like he developed indigestion.

    The glow was even more dazzling and blinding than the summer sun, but it began to ease up again after he crossed over some sort of boundary.

    He felt the tough, smooth rock under his feet. The light that filled his eyes had yet to completely disperse. He still could not observe his surroundings closely.

    At that instant, an indescribable sensation filled his body, like thousands of threads invisible to the naked eye piercing every single pore, every single inch of his skin, leaving him momentarily immobilised.

    Before he knew it, he had already passed through the Heaven Climbing Vine and arrived in the Human realm.

    He blinked his eyes as hard as he could and blurrily made out a space of splendour. An ornamental, grey pillar stood like the central mainstay, directly linking with the ceiling. On there coiled a vivid, five-clawed golden dragon.

    His heart jerked, only to realise that the golden dragon gave off no aura at all. It must have only been a decoration.

    As a result, he relaxed. Beneath his feet seemed to be a circular altar, made from the same material as the grey pillar. The pillar stood in the centre of the altar. When he blinked his eyes again, he discovered that the golden dragon above had vanished.

    Before he could even become shocked, he felt his chest ache. A golden streak of light had passed through his chest, making blood spurt out of his back and turn into rolling flames. A dragon-shaped sword appeared, whistling with sword qi and thrumming with dragon cries with its murderousness on full display.

    ¡°So there is an ambush!¡±

    And it was an extremely dangerous ambush too. Even when the sword pierced his chest, the spirit turtle had not given him any form of warning.

    He had not adjusted to the laws of the Human realm at all, so not only was he unable to use any of his innate abilities, but even his powerful body did not listen to his command. He was basically unable to put up any resistance.

    Having tasted blood, the dragon-shaped sword seemed to become even more excited. It circled through the air a few times before turning into a golden streak and swinging down over Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    If the sword landed on him, he would be split in half.

    Li Qingshan turned his head with difficulty. There was no fear in his eyes. Instead, he was very excited. He called out, ¡°Flowery!¡±

    Clang!

    A wild and magnificent blade of frenzy received the dragon-shaped sword. Their edges collided violently, and the screeching sound echoed through the splendid hall.

    However, the sword immediately gained the upper hand, pressing down inch by inch.

    His scarlet hair drifted through the air, breaking strand by strand. Li Qingshan¡¯s head ached as he began to seriously consider whether his head was hard enough or not. The sword definitely was not a regular arcane treasure. It was as powerful as the Immortal Relinquished sword at the very least. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was not weak either, but it had sustained severe damage during the battle on Dragonshead mountain. The Asura Altar of Armaments had been destroyed too, so he was unable to repair it.

    Blood trickled down from his forehead. He closed his eyes instead, becoming as still and firm as the earth. He gathered his focus to understand the ¡°threads¡± which pierced his body. That was the laws of the Human realm. He could not break free from them, so he could only adjust to it.

    However, the small world inside his body shrank rapidly under the restraint of the invisible power, such that it almost stopped operating. He was unable to draw a single shred of power from it, let alone unleash his innate abilities.

    However, the feeling was different from when he entered the small world. There were no restraints from the laws of the world. Instead, it felt more like a regular person suddenly being placed in gravity several times greater, such that even their circulatory system began to malfunction.

    Of course, he was not a regular person, but a cultivator that possessed great power. He definitely would not be in any life-threatening danger. As long as he had ample time, he would be able to adjust to this new environment.

    However, he did not even have a single minute right now. Under the threat of the golden sword, he seemed to see Si Long¡¯s golden dragon eyes again. He suddenly realised this was the true Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon.

    Perhaps it was exactly because of the laws of the world that Si Long had not taken it with him to the lower world, leaving it here to watch his dwelling, especially to guard against any stowaway that had entered his dwelling without his permission.

    Without any further thought, there was a clang and the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End sprawled away. The cracks on the blade grew larger yet again.

    The golden sword whistled down. Li Qingshan tilted his head slightly and the sword slashed down the right of his neck, cutting through his flesh, blood and bone like it was unstoppable. It reached all the way down to his lower belly, about to split Li Qingshan in half.

    At this moment, a pair of sturdy and powerful hands gripped the hilt firmly.

    Li Qingshan grinned, ¡°You¡¯re an object without a master and you still act so flagrantly!¡±

 Chapter 1338

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1338 ¨C Laws

    The Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon trembled violently like a true dragon putting up a furious struggle.

    Sword qi whistled as golden light shot off in all directions, piercing his organs and penetrating his body, leaving behind a series of bloody holes.

    However, among the roaring flames that the blood turned into, his hands remained firm around the hilt. He smiled away madly as if victory was within his grasp.

    He still could not use any innate abilities, basically completely relying on his body alone to wear down the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon¡¯s edge, finally grasping this opportunity. A fiery warmth emerged from his chest. The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens sat there, providing him with endless power. This was the most primitive and most basic power.

    Wielding his body as the hilt of the sword, he trapped the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, but that was all he was capable of. He could not triumph over it. It was only a matter of time before his body collapsed.

    As a result, he grinned and threw himself back into the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    As Xiao An and the other two waited silently, they suddenly sensed a powerful sword qi. A person and a sword rushed out from the Heaven Climbing Vine, falling into the ocean like a meteor and kicking up great waves.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    It was just a split second, but the three of them all saw Li Qingshan¡¯s horrific shape, riddled with wounds with a sword through his body. They thought he had encountered a terrifying enemy and had been beaten back from the Human realm.

    Right as they were about to charge over, Li Qingshan emerged from the bottom of the ocean step by step. His horrific wounds healed rapidly. He gripped the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon firmly with his right hand and flicked the edge. ¡°You¡¯re behaving now!¡±

    In the Human realm, it was virtually impossible for him to subdue this Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon in a short amount of time. Instead, it was very likely for him to be finished off by the sword. As a result, he returned to the World of the Five Continents without any hesitation.

    This was his territory. As the god of the world, even if Si Long arrived in person again, he would have to kneel down to him, let alone a measly sword.

    ¡°Looks like we were right. Up above there is Si Long¡¯s dwelling, and there are no other enemies around. That¡¯s fantastic news!¡±

    After an explanation from Li Qingshan, Gu Yanying became eager to venture up as well.

    ¡°There might be some other dangers. I¡¯ve already adjusted slightly to the laws of the Human realm, so I¡¯ll go up and take another look.¡±

    Li Qingshan planted the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon in a rock before making his way towards the Heaven Climbing Vine again.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be troubling you.¡±

    ¡°Women can just wait at the back. Paving a path is the work of men!¡±

    He purposely glanced at R¨¡hu Xiaoming, but he never expected R¨¡hu Xiaoming to be completely calm. Instead, he drew out the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon leisurely and studied it with a smile. ¡°Paving a path for me is your honour!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback by that before smiling. ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s my honour to be able to pave a path for you!¡±

    Only those who paved a path with their own two hands were worthy of being followed by others.

    He obviously had to pave the path to the Nine Heavens personally.

    As a result, he entered the Human realm a third time¡­

    ¡­¡­

    The Demon domain.

    A valiant man with a striking appearance rode on a sword under the black sun. Suddenly, he came to a halt as his face twisted slightly.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, how dare you¡­ how dare you¡­ I will definitely return to the Human realm and take back everything that belongs to me!¡±

    ¡°Si Long, I¡¯m hungry. Go and find something to eat.¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s lethargic voice rang out from the rhombus-shaped gemstone on his forehead.

    ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Si Long calmed down again and asked softly.

    ¡°I think Demon Emperors will do. I miss the taste of that master of the Sword Collection palace very much!¡±

    On that day, after obtaining enough information, the two of them basically overwhelmed Sikong Cangjian immediately even without any agreement beforehand. Then they coerced him with the tortures of the Venomous Snake hell. After searching his soul, they completely devoured him, erasing all possible traces.

    ¡°We¡¯ve already attracted the attention of the higher-ups of the Demon domain. Even with my abilities to conceal myself, we can¡¯t create any greater commotions.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s very reasonable, but I just want to eat.¡±

    After a moment of silence, Si Long said, ¡°As you wish.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    When Li Qingshan arrived on the grey altar once again, right in front of the grey column, he finally had the time to observe his surroundings.

    He remained vigilant as he studied his surroundings. This was a glorious hall on par with an imperial palace.

    The spiritual qi was dense like liquid. In the World of the Five Continents, the glow it gave off probably could be seen from hundreds of kilometres away, but here, it only gave off an undetectable haze.

    He could vaguely sense some kind of formation in operation, far more ingenious and subtle than any of the formations he had seen before. Its power went without saying. Fortunately, it had never attacked him, or Li Qingshan would have to retreat to the World of the Five Continents, completely giving up on this path. He would have to find a different way into the Human realm.

    Protective formations normally guarded against any external intruders, but basically all formations were most lethal in their interior.

    Apart from that, there were no other ambushes or attacks. Perhaps Si Long thought that it was enough to just have the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon watching this place.

    After all, all he was guarding against were stowaways that climbed up the Heaven Climbing Vine. Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s current strength, he was in danger of being killed. If it had been a different third heavenly tribulation Daemon King or great cultivator, they basically would have been butchered instantly.

    However, he did not act recklessly either. He stood on the altar cautiously so that he could return to the Heaven Climbing Vine at any moment, absorbing the pure spiritual qi as he adjusted to the laws of the Human realm.

    Time trickled by. The small world inside his body slowly began to operate again, but it was extremely difficult. That directly affected the strength of all of his innate abilities, including the toughness of his body and his regeneration. It was all restrained. He would struggle to demonstrate the same destructive power as he did in the World of the Five Continents.

    However, this restraint was not bad at all. Instead, it was good news, just like how only tremendous pressure could force out the effects of various spiritual herbs during the process of alchemy so that they could be condensed into tiny pills in the very end.

    Now, the world was like a cauldron, helping him refine his essence and condense his power.

    Whenever he took in a breath of spiritual qi and exhaled a breath of used air, his aura would become slightly more pure. The effects it had on cultivation could not be compared to when he cultivated in the World of the Five Continents.

    As for the power of his abilities and techniques, they had always just been a manifestation. It was like how it was always easier to kick up fierce winds than great waves. If he were buried up to his head in soil, then even moving about would be extremely difficult.

    He could not help but think of the time when he first ended up in the World of the Five Continents. The spiritual qi was clearly so sparse, yet the power of the techniques he cast through the Divine Talisman of Great Creation was surprisingly great.

    It was exactly because of the laws of the world that such dense spiritual qi was not pouring with light.

    Without this restraint, without this environment, probably everyone in the Human realm would be able to cultivate. Every living object could become a daemon. There would not be any mortals or wild beasts around.

    As the god of the World of the Five Continents, Li Qingshan had personally experienced the change in the laws of the world as the world expanded. The feeling it gave him was as if it was alive, maintaining a certain quality throughout, just like how a tiger could not grow into an elephant or a whale no matter how much it ate. It would only grow into a larger tiger.

    No matter how large the World of the Five Continents became, no matter how dense the spiritual qi became, not everyone would be able to cultivate and not every wild beast would become a daemon. Cultivators were both blessed children of the world, loved by nature, as well as rebellious children that wanted to betray the world.

    It was as if a paramount law existed beyond the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm, such that all the worlds maintained a certain similarity.

    He could not help but think of the illusionary sun he saw above the World of the Nine Provinces. Was the sun in the Human realm real?

    But that did not matter. One day, he would see the true sun.

    As a result, he sucked in a deep breath and stepped off the great altar.

 Chapter 1339 - Starting Point

    There was no immense danger or difficulties. Everything was no different from when he stood on the altar.

    Li Qingshan could not help but ease up slightly. The spirit turtle had already recovered its ability to warn him, but fate became even more unpredictable under the restraint of the laws of the world. It was no longer as sharp and clear as it was in the lower world.

    However, he was sure he would still sense it if he faced any life-threatening danger.

    After all, he was not currently facing a living opponent¡ªeven without any special methods, the complicated and highly-variable human nature naturally obscured the heavenly secrets, particularly with those that possessed a higher cultivation¡ªbut a formation without any self-awareness.

    Everything that came next was much more successful than he imagined.

    Li Qingshan relaxed very soon, idling around the dwelling like he was touring the place.

    Two words hung from the arch over the main entrance, Dragon¡¯s Pool, which should have corresponded to the dwelling¡¯s name. If Si Long were still around, then the place might have been worthy of its name, but as for now, hehe, it could only be changed to Tiger¡¯s Den.

    TL: This is a pun. In Chinese, a place of great danger can be expressed as an idiom that directly translates to dragon¡¯s pool and tiger¡¯s den. If Si Long were still around, this place truly would be a ¡°dragon¡¯s pool¡± and an extremely dangerous place. Unfortunately, he¡¯s not, and as Li Qingshan is a tiger, he¡¯s making a pun off that idiom.

    The entire Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling was located in a hollowed-out cave. Unlike the impression that the palace-like hall had left on him, its scale was not as large as he imagined. At the very least, it came nowhere close to Dragonshead mountain.

    However, every inch of the space there was delicately carved and filled with a sense of elegance and magnificence. There was a main hall, side halls, a study, a tea room, side rooms, a garden, and so on¡­

    The most valuable structure among them all was actually the garden. Not only were there many exotic herbs and orchids growing in there, but there was a spiritual spring as well. After he leaned over and took a few sips, he found that the spiritual qi was so dense that it left him feeling drunk. The strange, refreshing fragrances from the plants made the qilin restless too. The Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity circulated a little faster, about to break through to the first layer.

    However, apart from the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, he did not find any other proper arcane treasures, which made Li Qingshan curse Si Long as a broke-ass.

    However, he did find a box of bookmarks on the desk in the study. Some were carved from jade, some were crafted from silver, some were forged from bronze, and some were sculpted from wood. They were all of an elegant, antique design, giving off a strange spiritual qi, but they did not seem like arcane treasures for fending off or killing enemies. As such, he simply tossed them into his sumeru ring casually.

    Oh right, ever since he entered the Human realm, even the space within the sumeru ring had shrunken, such that less than a tenth of the original space remained. Fortunately, he did not have much in there in the first place, or his sumeru ring might have been in danger of bursting.

    Let alone everything else, just treating this place as his cultivation dwelling brought countless benefits. He could even try to push his cultivation to the level of the fifth heavenly tribulation step by step.

    However, there was something he dared not forget. After entering the Human realm, his promise of five centuries with Qiongqi had drastically shortened as well. If he could not find a deal with it, then it would be pointless even if he underwent the fifth heavenly tribulation. He had to find a way to enter Ruin¡¯s End.

    But after wandering around for a while, he did not find the thing he wanted to find the most¡ªthe core to the entire formation. Without the core, he could not control the entire formation, and the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling would not belong to him. He could not even cross through the formation and leave this place.

    Once he resorted to breaking out of the formation through force, it was very likely to lead to counterattacks from the formation, or it might attract the attention of others. After all, it was very likely for the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling to be located within the Myriad sect.

    As a result, he scoured the place carefully again, but he still found nothing.

    It was impossible for a formation to exist without a core. However, the formations of the Human realm were clearly far more ingenious than the ones from the lower world. It had hidden the formation core away.

    Li Qingshan had never studied formations before. In order to get through them, he always either used force or the calculations of the spirit turtle.

    But now, he could not use force, and there was nowhere for him to begin his calculations, which left him troubled. However, when he thought of what Si Long said back then, he had a flash of inspiration, realising something.

    Si Long had once said he wanted to refine the World of the Nine Provinces into his dwelling. That could not be as simple as connecting the World of the Nine Provinces with the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling through the Heaven Climbing Vine. He must have been trying to merge the two together somehow, making the World of the Nine Provinces become a part of the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling.

    As a result, Li Qingshan returned to where he had first arrived and studied the tall altar carefully. It was grey, like it had been carved from regular rock, yet it was strangely hard and smooth upon contact. It seemed like some kind of jade.

    Originally, he thought the altar only served as an anchor for the Heaven Climbing Vine, but it did not seem to be so simple anymore. Then he looked at the column that spanned the entire hall. Without the golden dragon that turned into the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, it seemed even more ordinary than before, but it stood in the centre of the altar, so how could it be as simple as a decoration?

    The golden dragon coiled above it. Perhaps it was not just to kill any stowaways but to protect it too.

    Thinking up to that point, Li Qingshan climbed up the altar again and arrived before the column. He tried extending his hand to touch it, but the spirit turtle suddenly gave off an intense warning, warning him that this might very well cost him his life.

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy instead. The column must have been the core to the entire formation. If anyone tried to destroy or refine it, it would immediately lead to attacks from the entire formation, so of course, there would be life-threatening danger.

    As a result, he brought his hand back and waited for the other three to arrive. If he wanted to refine the formation, he needed people watching over him.

    In that short period of time, the sun fell and rose again in the World of the Five Continents. Time moved at an extremely fast pace, which gave him a sense of urgency. Time waited for no one.

    Very soon, the three of them arrived. Sensing the pure spiritual qi, they all responded differently.

    Xiao An shut her eyes and sensed it. She did not rely on spiritual qi to cultivate, but if she wanted to reach the higher realms of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, she would have to cultivate in this world.

    Gu Yanying smiled widely without hiding the joy she felt at all.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming became rather sentimental. In such a short amount of time, he had actually gone from the small world with sparse spiritual qi to the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra again. This place could not match the Asura realm, but it was still a world of the same level after all. He could recover much faster here, and this was all thanks to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan waited for the three of them to adjust to the laws of the Human realm.

    Xiao An planted down the Blood Sea Banner, which surged forth with a river of blood that enveloped the altar. Then she assembled the Skeleton Demon Formation inside, creating a powerful defence.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming stood behind Li Qingshan, ready to cover any holes left by Xiao An.

    Gu Yanying spread her wings and served as the final safeguard. She was ready to take them back to the World of the Five Continents if the refinement process failed.

    With everything prepared, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes became deep-blue, tranquil and silent like the deep sea. He pressed a hand against the column gently.

    At that instant, fierce winds began to surge, kicking up turbulent waves of blood. Dark clouds gathered from all directions, filled with flashing lightning and deafening thunder.

    Li Qingshan ignored it, powering the Spirit Turtle Transformation to deduce the formation as quickly as possible.

    With a thrum, rain poured down from the clouds like arrows. Bolts of lightning slammed down like hammers.

    The surging river of blood blocked the rain, but the lightning managed to tear open a series of openings, allowing the rain to whistle in.

    Suddenly, R¨¡hu Xiaoming let out a furious bellow and began to move. He turned into a blurry figure, circling around the column. Every single part of his body, his fists, his feet, his elbows, his knees, and his head became a weapon, dispersing the rain and shattering the lightning.

    However, in just a split second, the Blood Sea Banner became riddled with holes and over a dozen Skull Prayer Beads had shattered. The entire Skeleton Demon Formation dropped by an entire level in strength.

    Blood oozed out from the corner of R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s lips. He called out, ¡°We can¡¯t last for much longer! Get ready, Yanying!¡±

    Even when they possessed extraordinary bloodlines and legacies, they stood absolutely no chance against the protective formation of a Human Sovereign¡¯s dwelling. At most, they could only buy some time for Li Qingshan. If he could not refine the formation in that time, then all they could do was retreat.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Gu Yanying abruptly noticed that some indents had appeared on the altar when the rain landed on it. ¡°If we retreat this time, the altar will probably be destroyed!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not just the altar. The formation core will be destroyed as well, and it won¡¯t be possible to refine the formation anymore. The Heaven Climbing Vine can¡¯t directly reach this dwelling either. This is probably the safeguard that Si Long has left behind!¡±

    Actually, Si Long had never thought this far. It was already unimaginable enough that a third heavenly tribulation cultivator could survive an ambush from the Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon, let alone fend off this Formation of Passing Clouds and Rain. Just a single gust of wind from the formation should have been enough to obliterate them.

    And once the protective formation was set off, it would not take anything else into consideration anymore. It would simply destroy the intruders regardless of the price, even destroying the formation core, giving the enemy no opportunity to refine it. This was a self-defence mechanism that the formation had been equipped with in the first place.

    Xiao An said calmly, ¡°You still have ten breaths of time left!¡±

    Seven! The rain poured down violently, smashing through the river of blood.

    Four! The lightning roared furiously, tearing apart the bones.

    One! The torrential rain and the circling lightning lunged towards the four of them from all directions.

    Gu Yanying grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder, about to retreat back to the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    Li Qingshan yelled out, ¡°Disperse!¡±

    At that instant, the dark clouds, the torrential rain, the lightning, and the thunder all vanished. It was like it had never existed in the first place.

    Gu Yanying was taken aback. A smile appeared on her face, and she gave Li Qingshan the thumbs up. He would always be so reliable.

    Li Qingshan spread his arms. ¡°Welcome to our new home. I¡¯ve already thought of a new name for it¡­¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming interrupted him. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here for too long, so just forget about the new name.¡±

    Gu Yanying also said, ¡°Yeah, names aren¡¯t actually that important.¡±

    Xiao An nodded silently.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hey, do you really think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking? You just don¡¯t want to hear the name I came up with.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming feigned surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so self-aware! I sure have underestimated you!¡±

    ¡°Whatever, sucks to be you then. You don¡¯t want to hear it? More like I don¡¯t want to tell you!¡±

    ¡°Thank the heavens! We need someone to set out immediately to gather news and understand the situation in the area so that we can plan our next step.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said they needed someone, but he was only looking at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan pointed at himself. ¡°Me again?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming nodded. ¡°Yep, you again.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this all about, having a professional warrior like you hiding at the back, acting like an advisor instead?¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Why don¡¯t I go instead? If I encounter any trouble, I can get away faster too.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°It¡¯s a little jarring when you have an asura in the Human realm, while beautiful women attract attention no matter where they go. It¡¯s even easier to lead to problems if you hide your appearance, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go. But before I leave, I want to tell you that this dwelling will now be called Starting Point.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was taken aback. Suddenly, he said, ¡°Sorry!¡± Gu Yanying also looked apologetic.

    Xiao An nodded. ¡°Good name.¡±

 Chapter 1340

    A great peal of laughter suddenly rang out. Li Qingshan slapped his knee. ¡°I just knew you¡¯re all so tasteless, so I purposefully tested you first! Starting Point dwelling¡­ hahahaha¡­¡±

    The corner of R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eye twitched, ¡°I really want to beat him up!¡± Gu Yanying rolled her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that you can¡¯t beat him!¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head. ¡°Sad.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head. ¡°My Xiao An is obviously an exception, but since it¡¯s called the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling, then let¡¯s just go with that! We truly cannot stay here for too long, just in case any ¡®guests¡¯ end up visiting. We need to find a new dwelling as soon as possible, a place to gain a footing. You can stay here for now and cultivate! Though, don¡¯t attempt the tribulation just yet. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll attract the attention of some observant people.¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Dummy Qingshan, do we need you to tell us that? So mouthy.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile stiffened. Xiao An began to laugh.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°Make sure the new dwelling isn¡¯t too disappointing!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll definitely be a good one.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed Xiao An¡¯s cheeks viciously before waving his hand and making his way out the entrance.

    With a rumble, the stone door swung open. Radiant sunlight poured in, swallowing his figure.

    The sun beat down harshly. It was currently the height of summer. The rising and falling forests in the mountains were verdant. The green colour was so dense that it seemed like it was about to flow down the mountains. With a breeze, the smell of vegetation would fill his face. Coupled with the cries of birds, it was a sight brimming with life.

    However, there was nothing particularly special about all of this. If it were not for the spiritual qi being extraordinarily dense, it basically would have made him think he had returned to the nine provinces and was currently standing on Crouching Ox hill, gazing at the Boundless mountains.

    Having formally set foot in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, he felt like he had just gone through a cycle himself. However, when he looked back, there was no hamlet, only towering mountains that trailed like a dragon.

    Li Qingshan casually picked up a rock and crushed it, sensing the changes in his power.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost equivalent to dropping a major realm of cultivation or maybe even more than that. If I assume the physique of the demonic and divine right now, I probably won¡¯t even reach three hundred metres. That¡¯s absolutely fantastic for cultivation. How interesting.¡±

    ¡°But sure enough, as I had expected, the laws of the world are now restraining. Otherwise, the birds and beasts would all have their lifespans drastically lengthened even if they don¡¯t become daemons in an environment with such dense spiritual qi. Once their lifespans are lengthened, their chances to become daemons are drastically increased. As the paragons of nature, probably all humans would be blessed in terms of physique, with the talent to become cultivators. If that¡¯s the case, this place probably wouldn¡¯t be called the Human realm anymore.¡±

    Apart from the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling behind him, there were no signs of human activity in the surroundings. That was expected too. Even when mortals became rich, they would build their manors in places of fine scenery. Cultivators would all choose to build their dwellings in blessed lands where spiritual veins converged, so it was even less likely for them to be gathered together. Otherwise, even he would not be bold enough to emerge from the main entrance in such an open fashion.

    However, that did not mean this place was safe. The Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling must have been located within the Myriad sect¡¯s range of influence. With the speed that cultivators could move at, anyone could come looking for Si Long at any time. If they noticed anything amiss, they would definitely investigate.

    With their strength, they could not even defeat a Human Sovereign right now, not to mention the fact that the strongest cultivator of the Myriad sect would definitely be far more than just a Human Sovereign. Even if none of this occurred, cultivation required peace of mind, so how could they remain uneasy at all times? Even undergoing tribulations required great caution, so they had to find another dwelling as a new base.

    However, as this was his first time in the Human realm, he was in an unfamiliar land without any acquaintances. Consequently, he had no idea where to go to learn more about his surroundings. He was about to choose a random direction to travel off in when he suddenly wrinkled his nose. Then he extended his hand and grasped a wisp of the wind, bringing it up to his nose and sniffing hard.

    ¡°Hmm? The scent of humans!¡±

    He grinned, like a daemon that was about to hunt down some humans. With a leap, he plunged down the enormous cliff.

    The mountain wind whistled past his ears as a green pool filled his eyes.

    With a splash, the greenness shattered, and he fell into the pool. He sank over thirty metres deep, but the bottom was still not in sight. Perhaps this was the reason why it was called the Dragon¡¯s Pool.

    The sunlight penetrated the water, glistening in the ripples. He raised his head and stared at this. After a moment of consideration, he swam upwards.

    By the time he had emerged from the pool and the water droplets had rolled off him, his scarlet eyes and scarlet hair had already become black eyes and black hair, having combined his daemon form with his original appearance as a human. He was still extraordinarily handsome, but no longer just a daemon all the way through.

    He obviously had to move about as a human in the Human realm, but even when he erased all of his daemon qi, he struggled to hide the wildness and violence of a Daemon King. Even with his human identity, he practised a cultivation method of great fierceness and brutality, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction. Basically all that he was missing was having the words ¡°bad person¡± engraved on his head. It really was not suited for gathering information on anything.

    With a wave of his hand, the pool settled down, becoming smooth like a mirror. He crouched down and checked his reflection, which made him frown. He immediately began to radiate with murderousness like a crouching tiger, enough to give other people chills.

    ¡°The tiger demon is too vicious! The phoenix is too proud, the spirit turtle is too cold, while the ape demon is just a goofball. It probably goes out looking for fun uncontrollably, or should I say trouble. The ox demon is not bad. It¡¯s reasonably honest-looking, but it¡¯s a little unreasonable, unfortunately..¡±

    He muttered to himself as he assumed a variety of expressions, ranging from being reserved to being indifferent. It was like he was changing his face. Every single expression differed drastically from the others, almost as if he was a different person altogether. They were the various special characteristics of the transformations of the demonic and divine. Not only did it influence his appearance and his bearing, but it even affected the way he behaved from within and his upcoming cultivation.

    An expression flashed past his face, and his eyes lit up. He patted his right cheek three times, and his expression changed three times. Then he patted his left cheek gently, finally capturing the expression that had just flashed past. He smiled in satisfaction.

    In the reflection, his face was filled with kindness, feeling enthusiasm from the bottom of his heart towards all life in the world, such that he could not bring himself to harm even a single blade of grass or an ant.

    In particular, his eyes actually seemed to be green, like the willow leaves swaying in the spring breeze, gentle and flexible, yet also like the seawater under the summer sun, filled with delightful vigour. It even seemed rather innocent. With a smile, he seemed like a boy.

    This was the benevolence that lay in the depths of his heart, which made the Qilin Transformation even more vivid.

    He touched his face and smiled. ¡°Alright, this is the one. We¡¯ll go with this face. If anyone dares to call me a bad person, I¡¯ll twist off their heads. I have to practise the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity too, so it¡¯s perfect.¡±

    He turned around and made his way into the forest, running off in the direction of the human scent.

    He crossed over mountains and travelled over fifty kilometres when a foul smell suddenly hit him. With a roar, a striped tiger leapt out from the forest, twice as large as a regular tiger. It was almost close to becoming a daemon, glaring at Li Qingshan and blocking his path.

    Li Qingshan erased all of his aura, which made him seem even more like a mortal. Gazing at the tiger in his way, he did not rush over. Instead, he stopped and smiled at the tiger.

    The tiger studied him doubtfully, pressing closer with each step. Suddenly, it met his eyes, lowered its head, and slowly backed away, opening up a path like a loyal general facing his benevolent lord.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile grew wider. ¡°Good kitty. We really are related. You should stick more to a vegetarian diet and eat less meat in the future. May you become a daemon soon.¡±

    The tiger called out like it was answering him, bounding back into the forest.

    ¡°Haha, sure enough, this move is effective. Let¡¯s just win people over by virtue in the future!¡±

    Li Qingshan continued forwards, making his way through the thick jungle. As he approached the human scent, he actually became slightly excited. He could not help but slow down. These were humans of the Human realm.

    Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows, becoming rather puzzled. There were quite a lot of people in the surroundings, but why were they all hiding behind trees, and why did they give off the faint smell of blood?

    With a swish, a blade extended in front of him with a flash. A burly man walked out from a tree with a vicious expression. He was bare-chested, rippling with muscle.

    ¡°Oi! Kid, I built this road and planted this tree. If you want to pass through here, pay up!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He felt overwhelmed. He thought in disbelief, I¡¯m actually getting robbed?

    The burly man instead lowered the blade in his hand and smiled. ¡°This kid has been frightened out of his wits. Brothers, come on out!¡±

    Over a dozen bandits emerged from the trees, studying Li Qingshan like he was cattle. They discussed all at once.

    ¡°This kid is empty-handed. He doesn¡¯t seem like a merchant, nor does he seem like he¡¯s just passing by. Who is he exactly?¡±

    ¡°Who knows, he might also be a fool seeking out immortals.¡±

    ¡°Haha, there¡¯s been plenty of fools like that recently. Why don¡¯t they take a piss and check themselves in the reflection! Do they really think they¡¯re worthy? If he really is, then we¡¯ll be able to have a feast again.¡±

    ¡°Though, he does look like he¡¯s penniless. He doesn¡¯t look too bad, so he might be able to fetch a pretty penny!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just eat him instead!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his senses, about to turn against them and butcher them all immediately. Then he remembered he had just decided on his way of conduct in the Human realm. These were also the first group of people he had encountered in the Human realm. Even if it was only for the sake of cultivation, he could not be carried away by their tune immediately.

    ¡°Whatever, you¡¯re lucky today. I¡¯ll treat it as the heavens watching over you. I¡¯m going to win people over by virtue now. By virtue!¡±

    He repeatedly muttered ¡°by virtue¡± as he stared at the bandit leader at the front. He smiled. ¡°My friend, just do me a favour this time!¡±

    The bandit leader stood there blankly as if he had been drawn away by his strange, charming eyes.

    Li Qingshan smiled, about to make his way around him.

    The bandit leader abruptly flew into a rage and brought his blade to Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. ¡°You sure are bold, kid, treating me like your friend! Kneel down right now, bow your head three times, call me grandaddy three times, and I¡¯ll do you a favour!¡±

    The qilin was the sovereign of all beasts. Even just a hint of its aura could repel vicious tigers. However, even if humans could be influenced by an aura of benevolence, they did not change their minds so easily. After all, qilins did not possess the same power of bewitchment like nine-tailed foxes.

    Li Qingshan fell silent for a moment. He squeezed out a sentence between his teeth. ¡°Fucking hell, the Human realm sure is unfriendly!¡±

    The bandits raised a ruckus. ¡°Sure enough, he¡¯s a fool! Why don¡¯t you take a look at what we do for a living! Do you really think you can get past us with just a few words?¡±

    ¡°Every single one of us here is your grandaddy. We all require three bows, and we all need to be called grandaddy three times. The one in front of you is your first grandaddy. I¡¯m your second grandaddy¡­¡±

    The bandit leader smiled viciously. ¡°If you dare to say no, I¡¯ll dig out your heart right now and eat it with wine!¡±

    ¡°Good idea!¡±

    The bandit leader blanked out for a moment, only to see that Li Qingshan had fished out a wine gourd from somewhere. After that, he polished off a bloody heart in just a few bites, sucking the blood from his fingers with relish.

 Chapter 1341

    ¡°Where did you¡­¡± The bandit leader suddenly felt his chest ache.

    ¡°My king!¡± A bandit pointed at his chest in horror. He lowered his head, only to see a splotch of blood. His vision darkened as he collapsed on the spot.

    A dark cloud shrouded the sun. The forest abruptly darkened.

    Several miserable cries rang out before everything rapidly fell silent again, with a few murmurs mixed in. ¡°Sigh, by virtue, by virtue.¡±

    But in the world, it was always easier to subdue wild beasts that win over the hearts of people.

    A tiger¡¯s roar echoed through the mountains. A while later, the branches swayed, and a foul air arrived. The tiger he had encountered in the forest earlier bounded over. Gazing at the pair of scarlet eyes in the dark forest, it lay on the ground with its hairs on end, trembling away. Even when it had already developed some intelligence, it struggled to connect him with the human that gave off the strange aura earlier.

    ¡°Big kitty, you gave way to me before, so I¡¯ll invite you to a feast! We don¡¯t owe each other anything anymore! Hahaha, in ancient times, the buddha sacrificed his body to feed tigers. Today, there will be Li Qingshan killing bandits to feed a tiger. Isn¡¯t that even better than the buddha?¡±

    Glug, glug. The alcohol poured down his throat, mad like a tiger.

    A while later, a handsome, delicate man who resembled a teenager walked out from the forest. The clouds passed; the sun shone brightly. He licked away the blood on the corner of his lips and smiled pleasantly.

    His belly grumbled a few times. A strange feeling filled his heart. Earlier, he had just been angered. You want to eat my heart with wine? I¡¯ll have a taste of you then!

    However, after eating it, the taste was surprisingly nice. Dense spiritual qi filled every inch of his flesh, such that it still throbbed in his mouth. When he bit down, it felt like a bouncy, juicy meatball. Afterwards, he actually could not hold back the urge and polished it off. If it were not for the fact that he still had a human nature in him, he probably would have been done with them before the tiger had even arrived.

    Was it because of the spiritual qi? No. When he ate the Heavenly Frost Wolf King in the past, the spiritual qi was even denser, but he did not encounter something like that.

    It was hunger! The laws of the Human realm returned this long-lost sensation to him, giving him the instincts of a living creature yet again. And as the paragons of nature, humans were perhaps a delicacy to daemons.

    He could not help but laugh. This world that seemed so ordinary actually hid so many wonders!

    He opened his hand. A delicate bookmark carved from wood lay in there, exactly the same as the bookmarks he had found in the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling. He had found it on the bandit leader.

    He lowered his head and sniffed gently. Apart from the bandit leader¡¯s horrid body odour, there was a much heavier smell that possessed a hint of freshness. It definitely was not a smell that came from mortals. He had no idea what the object could do, but it definitely did not belong to the bandits.

    He recalled what the bandits had said, A cultivator? Surely not!

    He followed the smell and arrived at the bandits¡¯ base. He found a young man that had been beaten black and blue, stripped bare before being tied up like livestock.

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan exhaled. From the smell of this guy, he really was a Qi Practitioner and his smell was identical to the one he had found from the wooden bookmark.

    Yep, a Qi Practitioner captured by bandits, and from the look of things, he was about to be eaten with wine.

    The young man said in both embarrassment and urgency, ¡°Save me! Save me!¡± His mouth was filled with the smell of spices.

    Li Qingshan took out the wooden bookmark. ¡°Is this yours?¡±

    The young man¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°It is mine. W- where did you obtain it? Did you kill the bandits?¡±

    ¡°A tiger ate the bandits. I picked it up off the ground.¡±

    The young man eased up, even forgetting about his current predicament. He said with great attachment, ¡°Could you¡­ return it to me?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sure!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fantastic! Life truly is filled with lucky escapes. Life is filled with lucky escapes. Can you untie me?¡±

    ¡°But let me ask you first, what¡¯s the purpose of this?¡± Li Qingshan brought the wooden bookmark up to his face and waved it around.

    ¡°T- that¡¯s my family heirloom. It doesn¡¯t really serve any purpose. It¡¯s just a memoir.¡± The young man¡¯s face changed slightly as his eyes shone with uncertainty.

    Li Qingshan began to laugh. In the box of bookmarks he had found, these ones carved from wood were the most plentiful, amounting to several hundred in total. Were they all supposed to be this naked kid¡¯s family heirlooms? Surely Si Long was not his ancestor!

    ¡°It¡¯s true! It¡¯s useless even if you take it. You¡¯ve saved my life, so I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future. I¡¯m a Qi Practitioner!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You¡¯re a mighty Qi Practitioner, so how did a group of bandits capture you?¡±

    In the nine provinces, even the weakest Qi Practitioner could easily kill hundreds of bandits, while the original World of the Five Continents went even more without saying. Those were called innate masters, and every single one of them was an existence that stood at the apex of the world.

    ¡°Sigh, they outnumbered me. In particular, that bandit leader¡¯s bladesmanship is just too good. I know a few techniques, but I¡¯m nowhere near as fast as his blade. However, once I establish a foundation successfully, I won¡¯t be afraid even if there¡¯s a few hundred of them!¡±

    The young man raised his head as hard as he could, wanting to come off as proud, but it only made him seem more miserable.

    ¡°Alright. Let me ask you again. What is the purpose of this?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you already? It¡¯s my family heirloom!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with being wary of people, but I¡¯m still your saviour after all. It¡¯s not appropriate to lie to me twice.¡± Li Qingshan revealed a slight hint of the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction¡¯s aura.

    The young man only felt like he had suddenly become absolutely domineering. He was afraid to make direct eye contact, feeling as if he would be destroyed at any moment. He called out, ¡°Senior! I¡¯ve been blind for failing to recognise your greatness! I¡¯ll tell you! I¡¯ll tell you! This is an Immortal Ascendance tablet!¡±

    ¡°An Immortal Ascendance tablet?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback. Looking at the wooden bookmark in his hand, he said, ¡°Just this?¡±

    If that was the case, would he not have ascended as an immortal several hundred times already? And according to the spiritual qi it gave off, the wooden bookmark was the lowest quality.

    With a wave of his hand, the ropes disintegrated, and the young man climbed to his feet. He did not even bother to find clothes to cover himself, kneeling down on the ground instead and saying excitedly, ¡°My name is Zhu Yingcai. May I ask what your cultivation is, senior? Have you already condensed a core?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Is it you questioning me or me questioning you? How do you ascend as an immortal with this thing?¡±

    The young man said, ¡°You must have come from abroad, senior! Otherwise, how can you not recognise this? This is a Black Wood bookmark that the Myriad sect distributes. The Myriad sect accepts disciples from everywhere once a decade. Anyone who possesses this can participate in the tests. If they pass, they can join the immortal sect and perhaps become an immortal, which is why it¡¯s known as an Immortal Ascendance tablet among the common people.¡±

    ¡°The Myriad sect? Yeah, I think I¡¯ve heard of that name before. What are the benefits in joining this Myriad sect?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned his head over. Even if it was only for the sake of self-preservation, he had to learn about the Myriad sect. On top of that, he had a great number of Immortal Ascendance tablets in his possession right now.

    Zhu Yingcai said, ¡°There are¡­ boundless benefits!¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan¡¯s belly grumbled. Looking at how white and clean he was, it gave him an appetite for some reason. He licked his lips. At least the bandits were not wrong about something. The hearts of cultivators should have been even more delicious!

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you put on your clothes, and we can talk slowly elsewhere? You don¡¯t have to be afraid. Someone like me always wins people over by virtue!¡±

    Zhu Yingcai felt a chill. Looking up, he met the delicate young man¡¯s face whose eyes were filled with harmony and benevolence, which warmed his heart.

 Chapter 1342

    The path that the bandits ambushed obviously would not be devoid of any human activity. The entire path permeated with the smell of humans, and as they continued onwards, the smell became heavier and heavier.

    Along the way, Zhu Yingcai showed this senior, Li Qingshan, as much respect as he could. He made conversation endlessly. When Li Qingshan showed even the slightest hint of good will towards him, he dropped down to his knees and accepted him as his master immediately.

    Li Qingshan countered with a question. ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to join the Myriad sect? How can you take me on as your master?¡±

    ¡°Err¡­ the Myriad sect is so large, so they shouldn¡¯t care about a trifle like this, right?¡±

    Zhu Yingcai faltered with his words, clearly not particularly familiar with the rules of the Myriad sect. Compared to the distant Myriad sect, he preferred Li Qingshan more. Otherwise, if he encountered any bandits along the way again, he would probably never reach the Myriad sect. However, making him give up on joining the Myriad sect to follow an unknown person for cultivation was completely impossible.

    ¡°Heh, so I¡¯m just a trifle.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly disappointed. Zhu Yingcai knew very little about the Myriad sect, basically only rumours combined with guesses, nothing that was particularly useful. He was only a Qi Practitioner after all, and this was the Human realm on top of that. Qi Practitioners were not a lot stronger than mortals here. If he had not been fortunate enough to encounter him, he basically would have become a meal in the bandits¡¯ mouths already.

    ¡°No, no, no. A day as a master, a master forever. No matter what happens in the future, you¡¯ll always be my master!¡± Zhu Yingcai swore, but it clearly was not persuasive at all.

    ¡°We¡¯ll see!¡±

    At this moment, their vision abruptly opened up. Before they knew it, they had emerged from the mountain forest. At the end of the path was a village. By now, it was already getting late, but not a single plume of smoke rose up from the village. There were no signs of activity from livestock either.

    At a closer glance, it turned out to be an abandoned village, having been abandoned only recently. A few feral dogs that were so skinny that their bones jutted out fought over a starved corpse that was just as thin. They bared their fangs and barked when they saw someone approach them.

    Li Qingshan glanced over. With that, the wild dogs lay down on the ground with a whimper, wagging their tails furiously like pet dogs that had just seen their masters. Perhaps recently, they really were pet dogs.

    Zhu Yingcai was surprised. He raised a blade he had found in the bandits¡¯ base and charged forwards valiantly. ¡°Senior, would you like me to butcher these mongrels for a special meal?¡±

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s probably quite a lot of human flesh in their belly.¡±

    ¡°Human flesh!¡± Zhu Yingcai¡¯s face changed before glancing at the dismembered body on the ground again. He covered his mouth in a hurry.

    ¡°What is this place?¡±

    Li Qingshan found many mixed scents in the air. Apart from blood, there were also weapons. Many people who did not belong to this village forced their way in here, taking away everyone. The people who could not leave all starved to death here.

    The Human realm is far too unreliable. They have immortals for heaven¡¯s sake, even True Immortals at that, yet it seems so turbulent. Can they not show me something like this right when I chose the benevolent path of the qilin?

    Zhu Yingcai took out a sheepskin map from the bamboo basket on his back and studied it carefully. ¡°Ah, this is inside the White Deer country!¡±

    ¡°Is it very famous?¡±

    ¡°Of course! It¡¯s extremely famous! It¡¯s only a few hundred kilometres across, but the capital city of the White Deer country is renowned for its prosperity. There¡¯ll definitely be something to eat there!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt even hungrier. He glanced at the sheepskin map and said, ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±

    He casually grabbed Zhu Yingcai and sailed off, vanishing into the descending curtain of night as the latter let out piercing screams.

    Li Qingshan concealed all of the transformations from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and only used the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction. Coupled with the restraint from the laws of the Human realm, he flew no faster than a bird, but a few hundred kilometres would not take too long. By the time they had descended outside White Deer city, Zhu Yingcai collapsed on the ground and emptied out his stomach as he gazed at Li Qingshan in utter respect.

    ¡°Senior- you can- fly- don¡¯t tell me- you¡¯re- a Soul Nascence cultivator?¡±

    Li Qingshan said with great disdain, ¡°Can¡¯t you talk to me after you¡¯re done vomiting? But this is the land of prosperity you spoke of?¡±

    Right ahead were city gates that were engraved with ¡°Deer City¡± at the top, except there were shacks of various sizes standing outside the gates, enveloping the entire city. It was bustling with human noise, with moans and even wails. Even from so far away, Li Qingshan could smell the stench.

    Alarmed by Zhu Yingcai¡¯s cries, a group of famished farmers dressed in tatters surrounded them with broken weapons or even just ploughs and bamboo sticks.

    ¡°W- who are you? Where are you from?¡±

    ¡°How dare you! How dare you disrespect senior like this! Great Dragon Fire technique!¡±

    With Li Qingshan beside him, Zhu Yingcai became particularly brave, cutting down the bamboo pole in front of him before waving his hand and producing a smear of flames. It illuminated the frightened faces, singing some hair and eyebrows.

    Li Qingshan could clearly tell that it was not this guy holding back. Instead, this was all he was capable of when he used his full strength. It was basically no better than putting on a show. However, the true qi in his dantian was extremely pure and condensed, such that even Foundation Establishment cultivators from the nine provinces could not match it. At the same time, there was an extremely small amount too. Just this ¡°trick¡± he performed had used up most of it. It was no wonder why he stood no chance against the bandits.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the incompetent ruler¡¯s magician! He must have come to gather military intelligence! Report him to the general!¡±

    The farmers retreated with cries before tossing aside their ¡°weapons¡± and fleeing.

    ¡°Military intelligence!¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan realise the shacks were military camps. It even resembled a siege. These people were probably an army of rebels composed of refugees. Everything he had seen in the abandoned village now made sense.

    He did not want to fly into the city directly, as he could potentially be noticed by observant people. However, the city gates were firmly shut right now, so he had no other choice. All he could do was erase his aura as much as possible. Then he grabbed Zhu Yingcai before leaping over the walls.

    The guards on the walls were quite relaxed. The officers and men lounged around, even drinking alcohol and gambling with each other, paying absolutely no attention to the army of rebels outside the city. None of them noticed the figure that had suddenly appeared on the city walls.

    Only one person suddenly widened his eyes, but when he blinked them, the figure was already gone, which made him rub his eyes. He cursed, ¡°Fucking hell! The others are drinking in Deer Cry garden, yet I just happened to be stationed here!¡±

    As he walked through the streets, Li Qingshan finally learned that Zhu Yingcai was telling the truth. This Deer city was indeed a land of prosperity. It was already night time yet people bustled about everywhere, forming a flourishing scene. Only a wall separated them from the outside, yet it seemed like two different worlds.

    It truly lived up to its title as Deer city too. There were deer everywhere, both male and female, both young and old, strolling through the streets leisurely. Not only were they not afraid of the people, but the pedestrians even gave way to them. It was a wondrous sight of harmony between man and nature.

    However, there were quite a few numb-looking beggars dressed in tatters on the streets, begging for alms as they were chased around. A single wall could not separate a world into two after all.

    He even discovered that more pedestrians fed the deer than offered alms to the beggars. The utterly-famished beggars ogled at the plump deer walking around hungrily, but none of them dared to do anything.

    Humans are less than deer. What a strange sight. Can this still be called the Human realm? If I caught one and ate it, I wonder what¡¯ll happen.

    He shook his head and discarded these thoughts that would only lead to trouble. He raised his head and sucked in a deep breath. The various smells of the cities entered his nostrils. He chose the most tempting scent and made his way through the crowd.

    Zhu Yingcai followed close behind. His eyes swivelled around as he wondered how he was supposed to fool Li Qingshan into going to the Myriad sect. Even if he could not become his master, he could still serve as a bodyguard. With Li Qingshan¡¯s ability to fly, probably just a day was enough for them to make it to his destination, which would save a great deal of trouble.

    Li Qingshan made his way onto a stone bridge. The water beneath the bridge gurgled away as boats drifted along the river. The fragrance came from a building blazing with light. The pleasant voices of women and musical instruments rang out from there endlessly. The intense smell of cosmetics had already drowned out the fragrance of food. He knew what kind of place that was even without guessing.

    It truly was the oldest human profession. However, when it came to the poem lines ¡°courtesans knew no hatred of fallen kingdoms, still singing about their fall in the parlour across the river¡±, even someone as crude as Li Qingshan found it very familiar.

    He could not help but think of Qiu Haitang. While they did meet a few times towards the end, they still spent more time apart than together. The broken red thread of lovesickness brought her great grief too, but she did feel much better after sleeping together.

    ¡°Senior, senior! Wait for me!¡±

    Zhu Yingcai rushed over as he gasped for air, catching up with Li Qingshan after quite the difficulty. All he saw was a faint smile on his handsome, delicate face, revealing an expression of reminiscence. He gave off an indescribable sense of gentleness and harmony as if he glowed faintly, which left Zhu Yingcai dumbfounded. He could not help but think, Senior saved my life. If I¡¯m still trying to use him, do I still have any humanity left in me?

    A few passing women on the side on the bridge became enthralled by him, almost falling into the water.

    However, they were not the ones that were most sensitive to him. Instead, it was a group of young beggars, impossible to distinguish as boys or girls, that gathered over with the desire for survival. It was like they had witnessed the arrival of true ¡°life¡±. They raised their bowls at him.

    ¡°Sir, could you spare me something! I¡¯m almost starving to death.¡± ¡°Me too, me too! It¡¯s been three days since I had anything!¡± ¡°Boohoohoohoo!¡± Others downright burst into sobs, their faces covered in snot and tears.

    Immediately, they completely surrounded Li Qingshan. Seeing how skinny and scrawny they were, they all seemed quite pitiful. With a wave of his hand, he said, ¡°C¡¯mon, I¡¯ll invite you to a feast!¡±

    The little beggars fell silent. Those raising a ruckus forgot to raise a ruckus, while those crying forgot to cry too. Originally, they only wanted some coins from him, but they never expected it to turn into a feast. By the time they returned to their senses, they had let out cheers and followed behind him, rushing towards the building blazing with lights. Li Qingshan did not care what that place was. When he ate, he would obviously be eating the best.

    Only now did Zhu Yingcai return to his senses, following along in a hurry. He sang praises of Li Qingshan inside, Visiting a brothel with a group of young beggars? Senior truly is an eminent master! You can¡¯t even think of something like this if you¡¯re not senior! But with how kind senior is, if I ask him to take me with him for a part of the journey, he probably won¡¯t decline, right?

    Li Qingshan strode away, parting the crowd as he approached the largest hole of money and house of joy in Deer city. All the beggars on the streets caught wind of this and moved too, following behind him.

    He both resembled the king of children, as well as the leader of the beggar¡¯s gang, but he forgot about something. He did not even have a single coin on him. Why would he ever store something like common gold and silver in his sumeru ring? Even if he thought of this, he would probably just sneer inside. I even eat people without paying, so why would I pay when I eat food?

    Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He felt a pair of eyes watching him, and he heard the strange cry of a deer. He looked back, but all he saw was the clear moon. Deer cries rose and fell throughout the entire city. It was probably just an illusion.

 Chapter 1343

    Before he could think too much about it, the magnificent building had already arrived before him, hidden between a few plum, peach, and pear trees in the courtyard at the front, which instead made it seem a little serene. The men and women hurrying about were all neatly-dressed and filled with confidence. If the rebels outside the city were the wailing souls of the Hell realm, then they were the deva that stood high above in the Heaven realm.

    The beggars all gulped and faltered, afraid to take a step forward. This was an example of the wealthy naturally giving off an oppressive aura.

    The ¡°deva¡± were disturbed by the activity in the courtyard. They all discussed in wonder, ¡°Ah, why are there so many beggars outside?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯ve come to make trouble? There¡¯s a very big mess outside the city right now!¡±

    The middle-aged procuress happened to be welcoming and seeing off guests at the entrance, so she hurried outside and flew into a rage. She called out at the top of her lungs.

    ¡°Guards! Guards! What are you all doing? Get rid of these beggars!¡±

    Several large, tough guards rushed out. Their leader reeked of alcohol and had a scar that stretched across his face. With his drunkenness and anger together, he turned bright-red, which made him seem particularly vicious.

    ¡°Fucking hell, you bunch of beggars, are you tired of living? How dare you come and make trouble here!¡±

    Before anyone could get another word in, he swung his hand towards a small beggar, kicking up a gust of wind. He clearly knew martial arts. If that slap landed, it would leave the beggar half-dead at the very least.

    It flew halfway across the air, but it landed on a fair, slender hand instead. The small beggar that had just survived the attack scrambled away. The other beggars all retreated frantically, revealing Li Qingshan¡¯s figure. His chest heaved a few times, and he muttered, ¡°By virtue, by virtue!¡± a few times before raising his head and smiling. ¡°These are all my guests!¡±

    He stood between the flickering lantern light and the mottled shadows of the trees. His gaze was as gentle as a pool of water. There was no woman who could shift their gaze from his face. They cried out, ¡°What a charming man!¡±

    It was truly a testament to the old adage, ¡°procuresses loved money, and the young ladies loved the handsome¡±. For a moment, they instead began to worry for him.

    ¡°Your guests!?¡± The leader of the guards widened his eyes and tugged his hand a few times, but it refused to budge as if it had ended up in a vice. He pulled his hand violently, and Li Qingshan let go, which made him fall back on his bottom with a thunk. He swore loudly, ¡°Brat, you¡¯ve come to crash the place, haven¡¯t you? Brothers, get him!¡±

    The guards rubbed their fist and hands, about to lunge over.

    ¡°Hold on! You back down for now! Let me talk to him!¡±

    The procuress saw how Li Qingshan was handsome and striking in appearance. On top of that, he gave off a certain composure like everything was in his control. She had only ever witnessed this bearing on a very small number of people, all great figures that possessed tremendous authority. On top of that, he even had a clean-faced servant behind him who pressed down on his blade, so she did not dare to handle this situation carelessly. ¡°Sir, where are you from? Why are you inviting these beggars to a meal?¡±

    If there was a person like him in the city, how could she have not heard about him before? If he was an outsider, why would he come and crash the place?

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Sister, I come from a very distant place. I just happened to be famished, so I wanted to have a feast. However, when I saw how these children were starving, I found them truly pitiful, so I decided to invite them to dine with me. Could you do me this favour?¡±

    Despite how politely he acted, the procuress did not buy his act. As soon as she heard how he came from a very distant land, she became filled with confidence as a local. What do you think this place is? Why would I let a group of beggars in just so they can loiter around?

    If it had been someone else, perhaps she would have chased him out of the door already, but seeing how politely he spoke and how his appearance was truly adorable, she studied him and said, ¡°These beggars are all reincarnated from hungry ghosts. Forgive my question, but have you brought enough money? The dishes from our Flower Fragrance parlour are very expensive!¡±

    ¡°Money!¡± Li Qingshan was empty-handed. All he had was the sumeru ring on his finger, but there obviously was not a single penny inside. He glanced at Zhu Yingcai beside him. ¡°Have you brought money?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Zhu Yingcai had been constantly trying to get Li Qingshan to escort him to the Myriad sect. Now that a rare opportunity for him to demonstrate himself had appeared, he immediately placed down the bamboo basket on his back and took out all of his money, which amounted to a few large pieces of silver and a small piece of gold. Oh right, he had scavenged most of it from the bandit¡¯s lair.

    It led to a roar of laughter. The procuress smiled in pity. ¡°That amount of gold and silver is probably only enough for a small jug of alcohol and a few side dishes. However, seeing how you¡¯re a guest from abroad, if you¡¯re hungry, I¡¯ll cover your bill out of my own pocket and invite you into the parlour for a proper fill!¡± She extended her hand and pinched Li Qingshan¡¯s hand gently before looking back. Her face immediately changed. ¡°What¡¯re you staring for? Get rid of these stinky beggars!¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    ¡°What else do you want to say, sir?¡±

    ¡°Do you accept anything else apart from money here?¡±

    The procuress smiled. ¡°What else do you have, sir?¡± ¡°Mum, send him up quickly so that we can give him a proper look!¡± It led to another roar of laughter. By now, the entire parlour had come out to see what was going on. Heads poked out of every window.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Since you¡¯re called the Flower Fragrance parlour, you must like flowers, but all of the flowers have wilted in the courtyard, so aren¡¯t you a little unworthy of your name? I¡¯ll give you a tree full of peach blossoms in exchange for a filling meal for them!¡±

    ¡°You sure know how to joke around, sir. Let alone peach blossoms right now, even all the peaches have been eaten already.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just like how sincerity can even crack metal and stone, as long as you have the heart, flowers can bloom again and fruit can form again. Will you accept my proposal?¡±

    The entire parlour raised a fuss. ¡°A tree of peach blossoms for a filling meal. How kind and refined of you, sir!¡± ¡°I just happened to be wanting to eat some peaches, so I¡¯m willing to give you a bead of gold in exchange!¡±

    The procuress did not believe him, but she did not want to ruin the interest of so many guests, so she smiled. ¡°Then I¡¯d like to see where your blossoms and fruits are. If you¡¯re really capable of that, even if it¡¯s just a single blossom or a single peach, I¡¯ll give these beggars their fill!¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way over to a peach tree. The peach tree was lush with leaves, like a carousel. Who knew how many years it had taken to grow to its current extent. He touched the coarse trunk softly and silently circulated the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity.

    At that instant, flowers bloomed across the entire tree, white, pink, and dark-red. Countless colours swayed in the night wind as the heavy fragrance drifted through the entire parlour. Between the branches, peaches took shape and grew rapidly.

    ¡°Ah!¡± Everyone widened their eyes, gazing at this in disbelief. The procuress¡¯ chin fell so far that she basically could swallow an entire peach.

    Even Zhu Yingcai who knew about Li Qingshan¡¯s powers began singing praises.His ability to change the seasons was basically unbelievable. His hopes for the future became more and more sincere. He had to become a true cultivator!

    Everyone returned to their senses as the cries rose and fell. The women all looked at Li Qingshan with even greater interest.

    The procuress bowed down and smiled flatteringly. ¡°So you¡¯re a magician, sir. You don¡¯t go to Deer Cry garden to drink the imperial alcohol and have instead come to play tricks on me.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The blossoms and the fruits are both present, so bring the food! Don¡¯t even think about deceiving me with leftovers!¡±

    ¡°How could I? How could I? I¡¯ll go and inform the kitchen right now!¡± the procuress said in a hurry. The beggars all cheered.

    Li Qingshan was just about to have a feast when a voice rang out from the parlour, ¡°Fellow, why don¡¯t you come to Deer Cry garden with me to see the lord of the country? With your powers, even asking for ten thousand taels of gold is nothing difficult. Why must you mingle with the common people?¡±

 Chapter 1344

    Being called ¡°fellow¡± truly brought Li Qingshan a nostalgic feeling, but his heart then shuddered. There was actually a cultivator in the parlour, and he had failed to notice him. Even though he had raised a great commotion and had not specially searched the area with his soul sense, this was something that never would have happened to him in the nine provinces. It was even more impossible in the World of the Five Continents. There, he could even read the minds of people.

    The laws of the Human realm severely restrained the power of cultivators, which included their senses and probing abilities. Even the senses of the spirit turtle became extremely blurred. Ever since he arrived in this realm, what he had relied on the most was instead his sense of smell.

    Then he recalled the sensation of being watched earlier, as well as the strange cry of a deer, which made him sink into his thoughts. Had he been far too careless by demonstrating his powers in the city?

    At this moment, a middle-aged man drifted down, but he was even more elegant and refined than everyone else. He had a long moustache and a beard on his thin face, and his green robes bore some similarity to the robes of daoist priests. He gave off quite a sagely feeling.

    He circled around the tree full of peach blossoms first, even picking a flower and placing it in his mouth to taste, confirming that this was an actual peach blossom and not some inferior trick. Afterwards, he arrived before Li Qingshan and said in surprise, ¡°What is this technique? Fellow, how did you achieve this?¡±

    ¡°A Foundation Establishment cultivator?¡± Li Qingshan asked.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I am but a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator,¡± the middle-aged man stroked his whiskers and said rather proudly.

    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Exactly due to the restraints from the laws of the world, the Human realm was not a world where Soul Nascences were commonplace and Golden Cores were worthless. Regular Qi Practitioners were only magicians. They were not even regarded as cultivators. There must have been many more cultivators stronger than him, but since they were scattered across the vast Human realm, the chances of encountering one would be almost negligible. If he did not even have the courage to demonstrate his techniques, then he would have been a little too cautious.

    ¡°I am Xie Maoshi. May I ask for your name and cultivation, fellow?¡±

    Xie Maoshi glanced at Zhu Yingcai and could immediately tell he was a Qi Practitioner, but he was unable to tell the cultivation of the handsome man before him. However, just from the demonstration of his prowess, he knew Li Qingshan was anything but ordinary.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, Soul Nascence.¡±

    Li Qingshan revealed a hint of his aura, but he hid the domineering and grim side of the Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Destruction as much as possible, temporarily switching over to the Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Prosperity. He naturally gave off a sense of importance as if the entire world was within his grasp.

    ¡°A Soul Nascence cultivator!?¡±

    Xie Maoshi paled in surprise. He had already guessed that Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was probably higher than his, likely a Golden Core cultivator, but he never expected it to be so much higher. He tidied his clothes in a hurry before bowing deeply again. ¡°So it¡¯s senior Li. Please forgive me for my rudeness!¡±

    Zhu Yingcai finally gained confirmation from Li Qingshan himself, so he was amazed too. He thought, A Soul Nascence cultivator. That¡¯s a figure of legends. If I can take him on as my master, it¡¯s worth it even if I don¡¯t go to the Myriad sect!

    Most people were not familiar with the significance behind Soul Nascence, but they were very familiar with Xie Maoshi. He was a person who stood on equal footing with the lord of the country; they referred to each other as fellow. He was renowned for his casualness and how he never stressed formalities, so they had never seen him treat someone with such politeness before.

    The women became even more interested. None of them imagined this young man who seemed as delicate as a boy would possess such a great status among magicians.

    Xie Maoshi could not believe this either, but when he remembered how all those great cultivators could preserve their youth, that was why he called him senior and considered himself as a junior. He was afraid of causing him the slightest offence, as that would only lead to misfortune.

    The procuress lowered herself even further, saying carefully, ¡°Sir Li, the dishes will be done soon, very soon! Please come into the parlour and take a seat!¡±

    Xie Maoshi waved his hand. ¡°Why bother with that? A brothel like this will only bring disgrace to senior!¡±

    The procuress¡¯ expression froze, but she did not dare to rebuke him. She cursed inside, You old lust fiend, which day haven¡¯t you come to my Flower Fragrance parlour? How come it doesn¡¯t bring any disgrace to you? Hmph, you¡¯re clearly worried that sir Li will steal your women if he comes inside!

    Xie Maoshi really had not been thinking of that. He had just become overly excited after seeing a living Soul Nascence cultivator. This was an extremely rare occasion.

    ¡°Senior, the lord of the country is currently inviting cultivators from abroad to dine in Deer Cry garden. Why don¡¯t we attend the banquet too¡­ No, no, no, that would be far too disrespectful to you, senior. I¡¯ll contact the people in the palace right now and inform them of your arrival. The lord of the country will definitely receive you in person!¡±

    ¡°The lord of the country is holding a banquet for cultivators, so why aren¡¯t you attending?¡±

    Li Qingshan was interested. He was trying to gather information, so this was a fantastic opportunity. On top of that, corpses of the starved lay everywhere outside the city, while the people in the city lived a life of luxury and hedonism. He happened to be interested in meeting with this incompetent ruler and asking just how incompetent he was.

    Xie Maoshi said in shame, ¡°I¡¯m passionate for women. I¡¯ve made a fool of myself, senior.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a romantic man. There¡¯s nothing funny about that.¡±

    Xie Maoshi¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°What a saying! Senior, you truly are enlightening, well beyond anything I¡¯m capable of. I¡¯ll have the people in the palace pass on the news immediately so that the lord of the country welcomes you at the main gates of the palace!¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. Tell me, in which direction is Deer Cry garden and around how far away is it?¡±

    Zhu Yingcai immediately understood what Li Qingshan wanted to do, so he covered his mouth with both hands.

    Xie Maoshi glanced at him in bewilderment, but he refused to defy Li Qingshan, so he provided him with the direction and the distance.

    ¡°Take good care of my guests.¡±

    Li Qingshan instructed the procuress. The procuress was about to respond when the three of them rushed into the air, shooting off in the direction of the imperial palace. She fell back on her bottom in surprise. ¡°An immortal!¡±

    ¡°Procuress, give me a few peaches. I¡¯ll give you five, no, ten taels of gold!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you twenty!¡±

    ¡°Mum, I want some too!¡±

    The parlour immediately became filled with noise. The procuress became reinvigorated again. ¡°Ten taels of gold for a peach! This is the base price. Please make a bid yourselves. It will be a fair sale, going to the one who pays most! Daughters, if you want a taste of them, you better ask the guests beside you.¡±

    Then she instructed a few eunuchs. ¡°Be sure to treat sir Li¡¯s ¡®guests¡¯ well. Give them a proper fill. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m doing good for once!¡±

    At the same time, within the fine scenery of the imperial garden, the trees provided shade as the cries of deer rose and fell. Within the pavilion surrounded by water, palace maids dressed in fine gauze moved around swiftly and gently like clouds.

    There were several dozen people in total, both lord and subjects, enjoying the delicacies while appreciating the music and performances. They sang poems and toasted to one another in great leisure.

    With a great boom, something fell down from above, kicking up a wave thirty metres tall that poured into the pavilion like a storm. It startled the palace maids and disturbed the music. For a moment, they all fell over in a dishevelled manner, and the dishes were all knocked over too. The lord and the subjects all leapt in fright. The lord of White Deer country called out, ¡°Guards! Guards!¡± He completely disregarded his own cultivation.

    The regular Qi Practitioners were even worse off. One of them directly threw himself under the table with his bottom sticking out.

    A voice rang out from beneath the pavilion, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, your majesty! It¡¯s me, it¡¯s me!¡±

 Chapter 1345

    ¡°Is it subject Xie?¡± The lord of White Deer country heard the voice and looked around. ¡°Why did you fall from the sky and cause such a great commotion?¡±

    ¡°Your majesty, I¡¯ve brought a senior to the banquet!¡±

    Below the pavilion, Xie Maoshi was pure-white as his stomach surged about. Only now did he understand why Zhu Yingcai had covered his mouth earlier. It took him quite a while before he forced it back. Actually, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was already capable of flight, but he could only leave the ground by a few metres and cover four or five kilometres at most. He had never experienced this sensation of whistling through the winds before.

    Then he looked at Li Qingshan beside him who stood firmly on the surging surface of the water. He no longer had any doubts about his cultivation. If he was not a Soul Nascence cultivator, how could he be capable of something like this?

    ¡°Oh! Senior, what senior?¡± The lord of White Deer country was more than familiar with Xie Maoshi¡¯s cultivation, so he immediately became interested when he heard the words ¡°senior¡±. He tidied his clothes in a hurry and sat firmly on the throne, demonstrating his bearing as the lord.

    ¡°It¡¯s a great Soul Nascence cultivator!¡±

    ¡°Is that true?¡±

    The lord of White Deer country¡¯s eyes lit up, ignoring the mess on the banquet table and arriving on the side of the pavilion steadily. He placed his hand on the railing and glanced down, meeting with Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes that resembled green jade. As if he had been entranced by an invisible power, he was immediately left speechless.

    Li Qingshan had always been quite contemptful of the incompetent lord of White Deer country. As the leader of a country, he managed to do such a horrible job that the country was a mess, so Li Qingshan purposefully asserted himself to knock him into his place. His gaze was also filled with judgement, such that it could make the lord of White Deer country succumb to him naturally.

    But to his surprise, the lord of White Deer country did not resemble the incompetent, self-indulgent ruler he imagined. Instead, he had a slender figure and clear, bright eyes. With the crown on his head, he was very neat, actually also possessing the cultivation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. He did not seem like a fool at all.

    If he really was an idiot, how could he cultivate? Even Qi Practitioners required great effort and intelligence, let alone Foundation Establishment cultivators.

    ¡°Welcome, senior! Please forgive me for failing to anticipate your arrival! Please come up!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country was enthusiastic. Li Qingshan¡¯s actions had not angered him at all, and he instead became even more polite and respectful. He did not seem like the lord of a country at all, but a junior who had encountered a powerful senior.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s experiences and insight, he could obviously tell his behaviour was not an act. He was completely sincere, without any hint of insincerity. He lifted up Zhu Yingcai and Xie Maoshi and leapt up gently, arriving in the pavilion.

    Sure enough, as he glanced out, all the guests were Qi Practitioners. This was a gathering of cultivators, just on the lower end of the spectrum.

    The guests all stood up. Most of them were drenched in water, which made them seem extremely miserable, but none of them dared to disrespect Li Qingshan or even show a hint of anger. They all bowed with the lord of White Deer country. ¡°Senior!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded in a reserved manner. The lord of White Deer country asked, ¡°May I ask how subject Xie encountered this senior?¡±

    Xie Maoshi explained everything that happened in the Flower Fragrance parlour, from beginning to end. The lord of White Deer country only became even more amazed after hearing that. ¡°A technique like that must only be a trifle to you, senior, but you sure have widened the horizons of these mortals. They truly are up on their luck! Servants, reset the banquet! Musicians, play well and receive this senior properly!¡±

    Afterwards, he invited Li Qingshan to the seat of honour while he sat on the side. The music started up again.

    All Li Qingshan saw was the basically-untouched delicacies being swept blindly into buckets by the servants, which left him sighing even more inside. He thought about how the homes of the wealthy reeked of the smell of meat and alcohol while the poor starved and froze to death on the streets. He could not help but sneer. ¡°Fellow, you sure are unfazed, without the slightest worry on your mind!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country became even happier when he heard how he had been referred to as ¡°fellow.¡± He asked, ¡°Senior, what do you mean by that? How do I deserve an evaluation like that?¡±

    ¡°You have rebels besieging the city, yet you¡¯re still in the mood to hold a banquet?¡±

    The lord of White Deer country waved his hand in an unconcerned manner. ¡°You have nothing to worry about, senior. They are merely some lower people. They¡¯ve been spurred on by scoundrels, which is why they¡¯re bold enough to commit such treachery. Just starve them for a few more days, and the siege will collapse by itself!¡±

    ¡°If you starve them to death, of course, dead people won¡¯t be able to cause any more trouble!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. Simply from looking at the extremely-lax soldiers on the city walls and the starving beggars inside, he knew that this city would fall before long.

    The lord of White Deer country clapped his hands and smiled along. ¡°A wise judgement, senior. That¡¯s exactly the case.¡±

    Li Qingshan lost his temper out of frustration. ¡°What an incompetent ruler!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country did not become angered. ¡°Whether competent or incompetent, a ruler will be reduced to a pile of soil in a century¡¯s time. Only through cultivation and comprehension can you realise longevity and endless freedom. Otherwise, all are ants. I ceased to care about the various affairs of mortal life a long time ago. Even this position as the lord of the country has become a shackle of burden to me. Fortunately, I¡¯ll be able to shed it from my shoulders and continue cultivating in the Myriad sect soon!¡±

    ¡°The Myriad sect again!¡±

    Li Qingshan became cautious. ¡°You must have obtained an Immortal Ascendance tablet already?¡±

    ¡°What Immortal Ascendance tablet? That¡¯s merely a rumour created by the ignorant. It¡¯s only a bookmark. Who knows how many the Myriad sect has forged and carved. If obtaining one was enough to ascend as an immortal, the world would be filled with immortals already.¡±

    The lord of White Deer country laughed as he retrieved a yellow bronze bookmark from his sleeve. It was identical to the bookmarks that Li Qingshan had obtained in Si Long¡¯s dwelling, only better than the Black Wood bookmark in terms of quantity.

    ¡°But you can¡¯t underestimate this bookmark. Once you get to the Myriad sect, there¡¯ll be plenty of times when you can use it! Pardon me, but it is similar to the gold and silver in the hands of mortals. You can use it to exchange for whatever you want!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood the purpose of the box of bookmarks. They were something akin to currency in the Myriad sect, or in other words, they were the money that Si Long had saved up. If he went off the spiritual qi they contained and their quantity, green jade was most valuable, followed by white silver, then yellow bronze, and lastly black wood.

    The one in Zhu Yingcai¡¯s possession was a Black Wood marker, while the lord of White Deer country had a Yellow Bronze market. It had to do something with their cultivations.

    ¡°It sounds like you are quite familiar with the Myriad sect.¡±

    The lord of White Deer country said proudly, ¡°Of course. Our princess emeritus cultivates in the Myriad sect!¡±

    ¡°Princess emeritus?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He had only ever heard of emperor emeritus, so what the hell was this princess emeritus? It was no wonder why this guy treated him respectfully but did not possess the same reverence and awe as Xie Maoshi. Originally, he thought it was because he possessed the bearing of a monarch. As it seemed now, it was because there was someone higher up.

    ¡°A country led by mortals can only last for a century or two. If it were not for the princess emeritus, how could White Deer country stand for thousands of years?¡±

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. He sure knew how to have run-ins with the Myriad sect. However, this was the Myriad sect, and everyone who cultivated was probably related to them, so he had to be careful. As a result, he asked further.

    ¡°Then what is the cultivation of your princess emeritus?¡±

    The lord of White Deer country clasped his hands at the sky. ¡°The princess emeritus is a direct disciple of the Myriad sect, at the fifth heavenly tribulation, a Human Sovereign!¡±

    Li Qingshan was shocked. It was not just because of this princess emeritus¡¯ cultivation, but even more by the fact that she was still a disciple in the Myriad sect. In other words, the sect master and the elders above would be Human Immortals of the sixth heavenly tribulation at the very least.

    And according to R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s speculation, it was very likely for the Myriad sect to have True Immortals.

    That was definitely a prominent figure he could not afford to provoke right now. Even a princess emeritus was probably well beyond what he could handle. He had personally experienced Si Long¡¯s power before, and that was when he was restrained by the laws of the nine provinces without the true Son of Heaven¡¯s Sword of the True Dragon. If they fought again in the Human realm, they basically had no chance at victory.

    But how could her name alone deter him? He scolded him. ¡°So you have no fear at all, unafraid that you¡¯ll perish with your country!?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s aura erupted instantly, making the lantern light flicker and extinguish one by one.

    ¡°W- what are you trying to do?¡±

    The lord of White Deer country shivered. As a cultivator, he understood how terrifying great cultivators were. A single major realm of cultivation made all the difference in the world, and his cultivation was even two major realms higher, so killing him was basically no different from crushing a bug.

    ¡°Senior, senior! Please calm down!¡± Xie Maoshi tried to persuade him in a hurry.

    The guests shuddered, wanting to leave first.

    Instead, the guards in the surroundings all drew their blades and called out, ¡°How dare you! Release his majesty!¡±

    With a casual wave of his hand, the guards flew out of the pavilion and landed in the water. He grabbed the lord of White Deer country who was trying to flee. ¡°You do the job that you hold! As the lord of a country, an incompetent ruler like you just cultivates and enjoys himself while neglecting the suffering of the common people, yet you still resort to sophistry!? Even a thing like you, no different from a pig or dog, dares to say something like all are ants?¡±

 Chapter 1346

    ¡°I have the princess emeritus to protect me. If you even touch a hair on me, she¡¯ll never spare you! I¡¯ve already sent a request for help to her in the ancestral temple. She¡¯ll be here very soon¡­ ouch!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country threatened loudly, which made Li Qingshan even more furious. He slapped him across the face and knocked the crown off his head, leaving him dishevelled. ¡°Hmph, touch a hair on you? You sure know how to dream!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country behaved like the slap had broken his bones. His entire body slumped down before he begged away desperately.

    ¡°Senior, senior! We¡¯re the ones who share the same path! Why are you becoming angry with me over those lowly people? Once the princess emeritus arrives, I¡¯ll help you put in a good word with her so that she gives you a Green Jade bookmark. With that, you can join the Myriad sect too. We¡¯ll be senior and junior brothers afterwards.¡±

    ¡°Who shares the same path as you? You have a Green Jade bookmark?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. Zhu Yingcai had a Black Wood bookmark, while the lord of White Deer country had a Yellow Bronze bookmark. In terms of cultivation, he would require a Green Jade bookmark to serve as his ¡°Immortal Ascendance tablet¡±.

    ¡°Do you know how precious Green Jade bookmarks are? How can a measly Foundation Establishment cultivator like me possess one? Senior, with your cultivation at the third heavenly tribulation, you need a Green Jade bookmark to participate in the test if you want to join the Myriad sect! If you are willing to kill the rebels outside the city, the princess emeritus will definitely reward you handsomely! White Deer country is renowned as her motherland. It¡¯s her home country!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country finally confessed his original objective. The dissidents outside the city gathered like fire, having sieged the city for almost a month now. Beggars filled the streets in the city, such that chaos could erupt at any moment. Once the city was breached, the consequences were unthinkable.

    He had sought help from the princess emeritus in the Myriad sect a long time ago, but he had never received a reply. Having gathered the various magicians for the banquet, he was already prepared to flee from the city and directly seek refuge from the Myriad sect, yet he was unsure about how he would face the princess emeritus if he did something like that.

    As he had said, White Deer country was the princess emeritus¡¯ motherland. Now that it had been reduced to such a miserable state under his rule, who knew what punishment awaited him.

    He purposely acted unconcerned and continued to hold banquets because he was confident about fleeing from the city with his cultivation. He also aimed to deceive the public and keep them from panicking.

    When he met the great Soul Nascence cultivator Li Qingshan, he came up with an idea. He planned on inviting him to a fine banquet. Once they were flushed from the alcohol, when it would be inconvenient to decline a request, he would ask for Li Qingshan¡¯s help to destroy the army of rebels outside the city. Then he could slip away with ease.

    Who would have thought that Li Qingshan would be so ill-tempered, completely unlike his appearance. Even when he heard about the Myriad sect, he was still bold enough to lay his hands on him, sitting proudly in the main seat.

    ¡°You incompetent ruler, you were originally planning to have me help you escape, weren¡¯t you? Hmph, you can keep dreaming!¡±

    Li Qingshan became tempted to kill. His eyes were about to shine with red light when he suddenly thought of something, and it silently faded away again. He sat down on the lord of White Deer country.

    At this moment, fresh alcohol and dishes had been delivered by the servants. They saw how the lord of the country had been captured, so all of them paled in fright, afraid to take a step forward.

    Li Qingshan felt like he was starving, so he called out, ¡°Bring me the meat, or I¡¯ll dig out your hearts to go with the alcohol!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country also called out from beneath him, ¡°What¡¯re you staring for? Bring the senior his alcohol and dishes!¡±

    Li Qingshan drank the alcohol and ate the dishes as they came. He acted as if there was no one else around, except he sank into his thoughts during the process.

    All he thought about was the path of the qilin. He wanted to win people over by virtue, so how had he even become tempted to kill? He had basically made no progress with the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity at all. It was even more difficult to progress with than the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m just not born to be kind, that I can¡¯t cultivate any good karma, and all I¡¯m capable of is conflict and sins?

    By the time he had had his fill, he had already made a decision. He had to pay a visit to the Myriad sect. Only by meeting even more cultivators that were even stronger could he truly understand the entirety of the Human realm, find the path to Ruin¡¯s End, and accumulate more resources for his future cultivation.

    The only issue was while he did possess the Green Jade bookmarks from the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling, he could not simply take them out. After all, they were far more valuable than Black Wood bookmarks. If the Myriad sect decided to ask him about their origins, that really would be a difficult question to answer. He might even give himself away, and that would basically be walking to his own doom!

    Zhu Yingcai suddenly said, ¡°Senior, I have a request!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at him. Seeing how conflicted he was, he could guess what he was thinking. He was clearly thinking of having him bring him to the Myriad sect, yet he was afraid of earning the princess emeritus¡¯ hatred due to Li Qingshan. He had only made his decision after all this time, yet he was still extremely afraid.

    ¡°Senior, if you are also trying to join the Myriad sect, could you take me along with you? There are far too many bandits on the road. If I were to travel alone, I probably wouldn¡¯t make it even if I spent the rest of my life travelling.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright!¡±

    Zhu Yingcai was overjoyed. ¡°Really?¡± He banged his head against the ground a few more times. ¡°Thank you for your kindness, senior!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country called out from beneath Li Qingshan, ¡°Senior, could you take me along with you too!¡±

    Leaving the city was very difficult for him right now. While he could fly a distance, he could only cover five kilometres at most. Once he fell into the army of rebels, that would be dangerous. These dissidents hated him to the bone. They would probably do anything to kill him.

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded by his shamelessness. He patted his head. ¡°Thank you for entertaining me, incompetent ruler! You take care!¡±

    Grabbing Zhu Yingcai, he shot off into the air. The lord of White Deer country crawled out from under the table and said resentfully, ¡°Just you wait! Once I get to the Myriad sect, I¡¯ll definitely report this to the princess emeritus!¡±

    Whistling through the night wind, Li Qingshan gazed down from above. The lights in the city waned as the people on the streets diminished, most having rested already. Only a few beggars wandered around like lost souls, searching through the garbage.

    The deep night instead outlined the fires from the camps around the city, like a wildfire surrounding a lone city, silently burning away. Who knew when it would burn through.

    Having flown twice, Zhu Yingcai became much more courageous now. He asked loudly, ¡°Senior, are we going to the Myriad sect now?¡±

    ¡°Wait here for me.¡±

    Li Qingshan left Zhu Yingcai at the top of a tall tower before landing before Flower Fragrance parlour quietly. The boisterous brothel had quietened down too with the doors tightly shut and the lights dimmed. Only two rows of large, red lanterns remained, illuminating the rustling shadows of the trees.

    Li Qingshan arrived beneath the peach tree, touching it once more. The peach blossoms fell, the green leaves wilted, and the tree withered away.

    He had unleashed all of its vitality all of a sudden, but he had also consumed all of its vitality. Perhaps he had managed to feed a group of beggars, but was killing still the qilin?

    Killing the incompetent ruler would bring him great relief, but even if he disregarded that princess emeritus and the Myriad sect, the city would definitely sink into chaos with the ruler¡¯s death. Once the rebels took the city, what good would they do?

    Burning, plundering, and killing would all be unavoidable, turning this White Deer city into a living hell, but what crimes had the common people in the city committed? It was exactly as they said, ¡°I don¡¯t kill because of benevolence, but I die because of benevolence!¡±

    Suddenly, he discovered that the path of the qilin was not that simple. Perhaps just possessing a heart of benevolence and some compassion was not enough. Many of the times, it would instead become restrictive due to too many qualms. Even upholding justice and helping the weak would become affected.

    So much time has passed already, yet I¡¯ve never reached the first layer of the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity. Perhaps I¡¯ve failed to comprehend its essence. I¡¯ve wholeheartedly tried to win people over by virtue, but ever since I arrived in the Human realm, what have I done that can be considered as winning people over by virtue?

    He sat down beneath the peach tree and circulated the Qilin¡¯s Path of Longevity silently. The various experiences he had since arriving in the Human realm flashed past his eyes.

    The qilin is a divine beast of paramount benevolence. Is benevolence just doing good and accumulating good karma? But what is good? Saving people yet killing a tree, slaying an incompetent ruler yet massacring an entire city. Because of a single thought of benevolence, I commit countless sins.

    No, that¡¯s definitely not the qilin¡¯s path. Even if I sacrificed the Heaven Climbing Vine in order to save all the creatures of the nine provinces, it never would have worked.

    Killing ants to save a person is not the act of a qilin. Killing a person to save tens of thousands is not the act of a qilin either.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts were clear. He said, ¡°Life, death, ups and downs, as fate foretells. A tree is as such, a country is as such!¡±

    White Deer country should have been destroyed a long time ago, yet it had continued to stand for millennia because of the power of cultivators. The lords of the country all prioritised cultivation. None of them were still interested in ruling. They allowed their domain to fall into upheaval and their people to fall into destitution, such that they were forced to come for this Deer city in the end. However, under the protection of a Human Sovereign, even an army of a million could not take down this city. They would only be reduced to starved corpses littered across the land.

    The remaining people would probably survive off cannibalism, no longer possessing any resistance. The army around the city would be driven back, never to rise up again until the next upheaval.

    ¡°That princess meritus sure is a bastard!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± A gentle woman¡¯s voice suddenly rang out from behind Li Qingshan.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

    With the Path Beneath Our Feet, the Nine Heavens Aren¡¯t Fa

 Chapter 1347

    All of Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs stood on end. Suddenly, he looked back, only to see a white deer standing high up on the ridge of the roof on the other side of the street. Its antlers pierced into the air like crystal coral. The moon hung behind its head, illuminating its snowy coat that shone with nine colours. It was clearly so bright and beautiful, yet it did not seem high and mighty at all. Instead, it was as gentle and noble as a streak of moonlight. He had actually failed to sense her approach.

    Thinking of the name of the place, White Deer country, and all the wild deer that lived in the city, Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re that princess emeritus?¡±

    ¡°Kid, is there something wrong with your eyes? I¡¯m clearly a nine-coloured deer. How can I be a human princess?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer leapt down gently and arrived before Li Qingshan without touching the ground. It stared at him in interest with its pitch-black eyes that had no eye whites, only pupils.

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er, you¡¯re talking nonsense again!¡±

    A soft voice rang out. The nine-coloured deer¡¯s voice was already extremely gentle, but the voice was even gentler. Even when she scolded the deer, it almost seemed like a murmur, about to vanish into the surrounding air.

    Li Qingshan became astounded once again, as only now did he notice a woman with long hair like ink and green clothes like bamboo sitting sideways on the nine-coloured deer¡¯s back, seemingly a little shy with strangers, her head lowered and her eyes down. She was like a timid, sleeping lotus.

    However, she just sat there boldly, with her figure much more slender than any regular woman¡¯s. It made Li Qingshan wonder whether there was something wrong with his eyes. Otherwise, how could he not have noticed her? Her ability to hide her aura was no weaker than the spirit turtle¡¯s, which made him even more cautious!

    Only upon closer observation did he discover that she had not hid her aura. Instead, she had blended together perfectly with the surrounding environment, as natural as bamboo that had grown there for several decades, unable to raise anyone¡¯s attention. She probably played a role in the fact that the nine-coloured deer could get so close to him without being discovered too.

    Just like how thoughts occurred like lightning, Li Qingshan made a judgement in a split second. The woman¡¯s cultivation was far beyond his. She definitely was not an opponent that he could fight right now, and it was very likely that she was the princess emeritus that the lord of White Deer country spoke of!

    Coupled with the nine-coloured deer beneath her that seemed to be an exotic beast yet possessed unknown strength, it was even more impossible for him to win. Just with the speed she had demonstrated when she leapt down, probably even fleeing would not be easy.

    ¡°You piece of wood, he¡¯s calling you a bastard, and you still don¡¯t let me talk back. Kid, it¡¯s not too late for you to take that back!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer threatened, but she seemed far too gentle and graceful, so it was not particularly threatening.

    The woman who had just been called a ¡°piece of wood¡± kept her head lowered and said gently, ¡°What they call me is their problem. What does it have to do with me? If they¡¯re right, then we should improve ourselves. Not only should we not get angry, but we should be thanking him instead!¡±

    ¡°What if he¡¯s wrong? Then you¡¯re a bastard?¡± the nine-coloured deer asked.

    ¡°Since I¡¯m not a bastard, then there¡¯s even less reason for it to have anything to do with us.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer lowered her head as if she had been defeated.

    Li Qingshan had already prepared himself for a struggle to the death, so he could not help but become stunned by that. What¡¯s going on? Not only has she not gotten angry when I called her a bastard, but she¡¯s even speaking for me. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve met a being that only exists in the legends, a good person?

    Impossible. That¡¯s absolutely impossible. Is this still the same cultivation community I¡¯m familiar with?

    He tried probing her out. ¡°You¡¯re that princess emeritus?¡±

    The woman confirmed gently, such that it was almost inaudible.

    ¡°I call you names, yet you don¡¯t get angry. You¡¯re not thinking of killing me?¡± Li Qingshan widened his eyes and made a gesture across his throat.

    ¡°You¡¯re a good person. Even if I get angry, I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    The woman glanced at him. Seeing him make that suicidal gesture, she could not help but smile, like green ripples on the surface of a lake.

    Ever since Li Qingshan had arrived in the Human realm, he had either seen bandits or rebels, as well as that foolish lord of the country who was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he viewed all the living creatures as ants. Even Zhu Yingcai whose life he had saved did not possess much gratitude. Instead, he wanted to hitch a free ride and take advantage of him a little more. It basically made him wonder whether he was wrong about winning people over by virtue.

    Now that he had heard such a simple sentence, even praising him as a good person, he was basically so emotionally touched that he wanted to shed tears.

    ¡°How do you know I¡¯m a good person?¡± He abruptly recalled the feeling of being watched and the strange cry of a deer. He immediately understood. ¡°So you¡¯ve been following me the entire time?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said in a disgruntled manner, ¡°How can you call that following you the entire time? We came here way before you and basically watched you jump over the city walls.¡± He sniffed Li Qingshan. ¡°You seem to possess the bloodline of the qilin?¡±

    ¡°You can even smell that?¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. The low-level cultivators of the Human realm were a bunch of weaklings, but powerful cultivators would definitely be capable of many things beyond his understanding. Fortunately, he had encountered this strange duo, or he really would be in danger.

    ¡°Of course! Hmm? That¡¯s strange. There seems to be other scents.¡± The nine-coloured deer moved closer, and the woman on her back moved closer to him too. Her face reddened slightly, and she scolded, ¡°Jiu¡¯er!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step back. ¡°Men and women should keep their distance. Please show some self-respect, lady!¡±

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re just asking to die. I can destroy you right now if you want!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m certain the two of you aren¡¯t people, er, deer, that kill the innocent.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, good people get deceived while good deer get ridden!¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°I am Li Qingshan. May I ask for your names, fellows?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, your ninth great aunt!¡± ¡°Ruan Yaozhu.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The nine-coloured deer was not weak. It was a Daemon Emperor at the very least. It might even be a Daemon Sovereign, but it was not particularly old. He was in the Human realm and his cultivation was below hers, so he struggled to determine her exact cultivation.

    However, this Ruan Yaozhu was definitely a Human Sovereign. A Human Sovereign with a personality and bearing like that was basically polar opposites from Si Long. It was extremely fascinating.

    ¡°Why are you here? To protect the incompetent ruler?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu touched the wilted peach tree. ¡°The peach tree died because of you.¡±

    Li Qingshan confessed. ¡°That¡¯s correct, so I¡¯m a bastard too. I¡¯ve committed a small act of weakness for a greater good.¡±

    However, when he looked at the dead peach tree, many new sprouts appeared again, having been revitalised.

    Li Qingshan did not sense the pulse of any powers. Her ability to manipulate the environment and control nature was far more profound than anything the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity was currently capable of. He even felt like she was more suited to practise the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity than him with her personality and bearing.

    A smear of sorrow appeared on her face. She said softly, ¡°You were right. Life, death, ups and downs, as fate foretells. A tree is as such, a country is as such! I can make wilted trees bloom again, but I cannot revive a fallen country. If you were to go off buddhism, then it would be ¡®magical powers stand no chance against karma¡¯.¡±

 Chapter 1348

    The nine-coloured deer looked back and licked her face, comforting the saddened woman.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan realised the nine-coloured deer was probably a legendary ¡°mount¡±, except the master who rode on her back was far too flimsy, such that it was easy to neglect her. Perhaps the relationship between a master and their mount was not like a master and a servant as he had imagined. After all, they did spend a lot of time together.

    He abruptly came up with a childish thought, Do all the powerful cultivators in the Human realm have mounts? I can¡¯t lose to them in terms of fanciness then. Speaking of which, that kid Fengyuan should be pretty fine. A pure phoenix and one that¡¯s close to the fourth heavenly tribulation. It¡¯s perfectly justified for a son to carry his father on his back too.

    ¡°Achoo!¡±

    In the World of the Five Continents, on the continent of otherfolk, the Featherfolk King Li Fengyuan rubbed his nose forcefully within Clouded city that hovered above the clouds. Little did he know that he had already been designated as a mount for his good-for-nothing father.

    Li Qingshan smiled in satisfaction and asked, ¡°How do you know each other? Why is this place called White Deer country?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer could not help but think back to a very, very long time ago¡­

    ¡°Save me! Save me!¡±

    The young hunter¡¯s calls for help echoed through the mountains and forests in despair as he sank bit by bit into the swamp, paying a price for his impulses as a young man. His hunting hound circled around beside him, but there was nothing it could do. Suddenly, it turned around and began barking madly at the depths of the forest.

    The young hunter tried his hardest to raise his head and peer into the woods, only to see a white deer walk out. Her antlers were like coral as its snowy-white fur glimmered with specks of colour. Even when he stared into the eyes of death, the young hunter was still astounded by her elegance and beauty. He pleaded with the white deer, ¡°Please, save me!¡±

    The white deer blinked its eyes and stepped over the water in the swamp gently, arriving before him and extending an antler towards him.

    The young hunter gripped the antler firmly and was dragged out of the swamp, gasping for air as he laid on the ground. He promised to the white deer in the depths of the swamp. ¡°Thank you. I will definitely pay you back!¡±

    Very soon, he upheld his promise, arriving by the swamp once more with a gift.

    The white deer sensed his good will and accepted the gift. At the same time, she became curious about this strange lifeform.

    From then onwards, the young hunter would frequent the depths of the forest and bring items that only humans possessed to the white deer, whether it was a piece of salt or a bamboo flute¡­

    The white deer collected precious herbs in return, and they gradually became friends. Not only did they exchange gifts, but they even played in the forest together, spending many wonderful moments together.

    The white deer experienced unprecedented joy, and the young hunter gradually became wealthy through the white deer¡¯s gifts, even marrying a wife. He understood exactly how precious and rare white deer were. If other hunters found out about this, the consequences would be unthinkable, so he kept this a secret the entire time, but it roused his wife¡¯s suspicion. One time, she followed him secretly into the forest and saw the white deer. She was discovered by the white deer as well.

    The young hunter introduced her to the white deer. ¡°This is my wife.¡®¡¯

    The white deer was rather disappointed. The way the woman looked at her left her rather uneasy.

    When the young hunter returned home, his wife tried to persuade him. ¡°What a beautiful white deer. Look at its horns and fur! If you offer it up to the lord of the country, you don¡¯t have to go into the mountains and hunt anymore!¡±

    The young hunter was very furious. He scolded his wife fiercely, but the seed had already been planted in his heart.

    Gradually, he was no longer young, no longer possessing the same impulses as before. Wrinkles began to appear on his forehead. He matured with each passing day, gaining several kids.

    Whenever he encountered people wealthier than him, his wife would mention this. The hunter gradually stopped scolding her too. The seed in his heart sprouted, turning into a terrifying thought. If I offer it up to the lord of the country, I won¡¯t have to worry about anything for the rest of my life!

    After hesitating for a very long time, he prepared a trap and poison, making his way towards the swamp in the forest again.

    Before long, the white deer was locked up in a cage and delivered before the lord of the country. She was filled with sorrow and fury. She did not understand why the hunter would do this. They had known each other for all these years! Not only had she saved his life, but she had even given him a plentiful life, so why was he still not satisfied? Was this what humans were?

    The subjects were all amazed by the white deer¡¯s beauty. One of them sucked up to the lord. ¡°Your majesty, if you place the antlers in your study, it¡¯ll definitely be a pleasant sight to behold! My lady, look at this fur. It can definitely complement your beauty. The deer blood and meat is most nourishing. Princess Yaozhu has always suffered from delicate health, so it¡¯s perfect for¡­¡±

    At this moment, the little princess hiding behind her mother suddenly called out, ¡°I¡¯m not eating it!¡±

    The white deer raised her head, and everyone looked at her. She panicked, choking back sobs. ¡°She¡¯s already¡­ so sad¡­ Y¡­ you still want to¡­ eat her?¡±

    The white deer widened her eyes. The lord of the country smiled and rubbed her head. ¡°Yaozhu, it¡¯s just a deer. There¡¯s no need to be so sad.¡±

    The lady smiled. ¡°This deer is splendid. It doesn¡¯t seem to be a regular wild beast. I don¡¯t know if it knows sadness, but I can¡¯t leave my dear daughter sad. How about this? We¡¯ll move it to the garden of beasts. If we have the time, we can even appreciate it. I have plenty of fox-fur robes. I don¡¯t need one made from deer fur.¡±

    As a result, the white deer was spared, but she lost her freedom. She was saddened by the betrayal of her friend, so she refused to eat or drink, silently waiting for her death.

    One night, the white deer heard a rustle from outside the garden. A tiny figure had climbed over the walls, almost falling down. Many places on her dress had been torn open, which made her seem a little miserable. She was the youngest princess.

    She arrived bside the white deer and pulled out a great handful of flowers, plants, and vegetables, still with soil and roots. She placed them before the white deer one by one as she said.

    ¡°Little deer, I heard you don¡¯t like to eat things. There¡¯s a lot of things I don¡¯t like to eat either, like lamb. The taste is so overwhelming. Pork, beef¡­ But there are a lot of delicious vegetables, like spinach, cabbage¡­¡± She listed out a great number of vegetables like no one¡¯s business before asking, ¡°What kind of vegetables do you like? I can go and pick them for you. I know it¡¯s horrible to be locked up. I broke another jade handle and mother¡­¡± She rambled on about a great deal of things before changing the topic back naturally, ¡°So don¡¯t be sad. I will take good care of you. Once I get a little older, I¡¯ll definitely release you.¡±

    The white deer stared at her for a very long time before finally lowering her head and eating. She just settled down in the garden of humans.

    The little princess gradually grew up, accompanied by the white deer every single day, spending their time together closely. The people of the country jokingly referred to her as the white deer princess.

    The white deer had recovered her strength a long time ago. The coloured specks on her body became brighter and brighter, such that she could leap over the high walls easily now, but she stayed behind because of the princess.

    One day, as they played around in the garden, a valiant woman in light armour descended from above. ¡°Woah, there¡¯s actually a nine-coloured deer here! How fortunate! Little girl, is this your deer? How much do you want for it? I¡¯ll buy it from you.¡±

    The white deer could not help but take a step back. She could sense the terrifying power of this woman.

    ¡°Big sister, she¡¯s not for sale.¡± The princess shook her head.

    The woman pinched the princess¡¯ cheeks. ¡°Little sister, you sure are a smooth talker. You don¡¯t seem poor, so how about this? If you give it to me, I¡¯ll give you eternal youth.¡±

    Right when the white deer felt slightly worried, she heard the princess say, ¡°Big sister, I don¡¯t want that.¡±

    The woman pinched her cheeks with both hands and pulled them. ¡°Tsktsk, how young. You still don¡¯t know the value of youth. You¡¯re going to regret this once you turn old.¡±

    The white deer waved her antlers around forcefully, fending off the woman¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Big sister, I won¡¯t regret it. You should go! If the guards discover you, it¡¯ll be bad.¡±

    ¡°Hah, you sure are a nice person, little girl. No wonder this little deer also wants to protect you too. If I separate you against your will, I¡¯ll be the one who comes off as unreasonable. Since that¡¯s the case, you can both come with me!¡± The woman kicked up a great gust of wind, sweeping the princess and the white deer away and vanishing into the horizon. She left behind a single message. ¡°I, Chao Tianjiao, am taking this girl and deer away!¡±

    Ever since then, the white deer princess became a legend. Many years later, the lord of the country approached the end of his life, and an army surrounded the city. Even after several months, they failed to take down the place, so they swore they would definitely massacre the entire city once they breached the walls.

    At this moment, the princess rode over on a white deer. The deer¡¯s antlers shone brightly, completely illuminating the night sky, which made the enemy army panic, afraid to launch another attack.

    And thus the country was preserved. To commemorate this and in hopes of further protection, they renamed themselves to White Deer country. For a moment, it became a habit to keep deer. It even became a part of the country¡¯s law that deer were revered.

    Before the lord of the country¡¯s deathbed, the princess swore she would protect this city forever, to never let anyone invade this place.

    ¡­¡­

    At this moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s ears twitched. A ruckus rang out from the eastern gate, becoming louder and louder. The sounds of cries, wails, and arrows whistling through the air appeared. Gradually, flames began to rise.

    People called out again and again, ¡°Kill the incompetent ruler! Butcher the white deer!¡± That was the chant of the rebels.

    ¡°The rebels have entered the city!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer looked back and let out a snort in contempt.

    ¡°Father, Yaozhu will be breaking her promise.¡± Ruan Yaozhu prayed silently towards the sky. ¡°Jiu¡¯er, let¡¯s go!¡± She took out a Green Jade bookmark from her sleeve and passed it to Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯ll give you this bookmark. Hopefully, I can see you again in the Myriad sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the Green Jade bookmark. ¡°Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re lending this to me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ruan Yaozhu smiled. With a few bounds, the nine-coloured deer vanished into the horizon.

    The noise in the city grew louder and louder. Lanterns lit up one by one in the Flower Fragrance parlour as flames rose up into the air in the surroundings.

    Li Qingshan clutched the Green Jade bookmark firmly and paced around under the peach tree, uncertain whether it could survive the flames tonight. He let out a gentle sigh and rose into the air slowly, overlooking the chaotic city. Houses were set alight one by one as deer were slaughtered one after another.

    ¡°Save me, senior! Please, save me!¡±

    The lord of White Deer country was trapped inside a tall building by the ¡°ants¡± that he spoke of. He only had around a dozen guards around him with the magicians nowhere to be seen. He had used multiple techniques already, such that his powers were depleted. If he tried to fly, he would definitely be shot down by arrows. He looked at Li Qingshan in the sky and called out loudly for help.

    Li Qingshan glanced over before never looking back again. He grabbed Zhu Yingcai on the tower and flew off towards the Myriad sect. He felt a little eager inside. Perhaps that place would be a little different from what he imagined.

 Chapter 1349

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1349 ¨C Le Tian

    The nine-coloured deer ran between the clouds and the moonlight. The inky hair of the woman on her back drifted through the air freely as if she was in thought. Just like that, the two of them seemed to merge into the moonlight.

    The nine-coloured deer looked back and said, ¡°Softwood, I know you admire that kid a lot, but a Green Jade bookmark is far too precious!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t he say he was borrowing it from me?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, just because he¡¯s borrowing it from you doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯ll return it. Even if he does return it, it¡¯s for the sake of sucking up to you so that you can take even better care of him in the future. I¡¯ve seen plenty of people like that before.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise, ¡°How¡¯s that possible? He has such a great cultivation, yet he still pities a group of small beggars. Others offend him, yet he does not resort to violence. Even when he killed a tree, he felt lament and grief. On top of that, he clearly knew White Deer country was connected to me, yet he still flew into a fury, teaching that incompetent ruler a lesson at the risk of offending me or even the Myriad sect. Despite all of that, he did not kill him in the heat of the moment either. How can someone like that be a person that you speak of?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just making a small comment, and you go lecturing again. Don¡¯t you find yourself annoying?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°Am I wrong?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer shook her head. ¡°Alright, alright. Reason is always on your side, and I can never understand your thoughts with my limited capacity.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said in thought, ¡°Do you hate him? But didn¡¯t you say he has the bloodline of the qilin? You should be liking him instead! Sigh, the qilin is the beast of paramount benevolence. No wonder he possesses benevolence like that.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I just knew you¡¯re a heartless little girl. You¡¯ve been thinking about kicking me aside and finding a qilin as a mount all this time, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu covered her mouth and laughed. ¡°Yeah, except he¡¯s not a qilin, unfortunately.¡± She suddenly realised her words were a little strange, which made her blush slightly.

    The nine-coloured deer sank into her thoughts and said, ¡°Strange. Apart from the aura of the qilin, he seems to have other auras, yet they don¡¯t resemble the auras of a human either. It makes me feel a little uneasy. Sigh, if he really is a qilin, then I¡¯d have nothing to worry about. However, he still is a human after all. Bloodlines are just bloodlines at the end of the day, while human nature is still human nature. You shouldn¡¯t be out to harm, but you need to be wary of others, especially with those stinky men. You have no idea how many bad thoughts go through their minds. I¡¯m only pouring some cold water on you right now, just in case you get too happy and get deceived without even realising it.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be happy when you encounter someone like that? There are far too many bad people in the world. If good people are still wary of one another, refusing to trust one another, just how sad would that be? I¡¯m willing to trust him, even if he¡¯ll disappoint me one day.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°I have no idea what to do with you, but I will keep an eye out on him for you. If he even dares to disappoint you, I¡¯ll never spare him.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer immediately developed an interest. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s that old gambling addict. It¡¯s going to be interesting now.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed. ¡°Yeah. The entrance test seems to be Black Water bay¡¯s Magnetic Field mountain¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, there! And Le Tian is in charge too! The people taking part in the test are in trouble this time. They¡¯re going to be turned into gambling paraphernalia!¡±

    ¡°Turn around, Jiu¡¯er. We¡¯re going to Magnetic Field mountain. I want to try again to change senior brother Le Tian¡¯s mind. The entrance test affects the future of the entire Myriad sect. How can he use it for gambling?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve tried to change his mind ever since you¡¯ve joined. It¡¯s already been a thousand years now, and you¡¯re still not giving up?¡±

    ¡°Whether he listens is up to him. Whether I try to change his mind is up to me.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, what a piece of wood, and a hollow one at that!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer shook her head helplessly, turning around and galloping off towards the west.

    ¡­¡­

    Making his way through the pitch-black caves, Li Qingshan felt like he had returned to the underground caves of the World of the Nine Provinces again. The intense disruption from the magnetic field influenced the powers in his body and even the operation of the small world.

    However, he was not underground right now. Instead, he was making his way through a mountain. He could still remember what he had seen when he gazed at this mountain from above just recently.

    A great, black mountain that stretched for dozens of kilometres extended towards the ocean like a twisting dragon. There was not the slightest hint of vegetation on the mountain as if it had been forged from black iron. The remaining part of the mountain vanished into the bay, even turning the seawater black. That was why it was called Black Water bay.

    However, the name of the mountain was not actually Magnetic Field mountain, but Black Dragon mountain.

    Magnetic Field mountain was only a term of reference, just like how mountains formed from rocks were called rock mountains and mountains that were abundant in copper ore were called copper mountains. Magnetic Field mountain also produced a certain kind of ore¡ªmagnetic ferrum. The arcane treasures and weapons forged from it possessed the ability to pierce protective energies around the body, so it was an extremely valuable kind of ore.

    However, mining the ore was not an easy task. The magnetic field would leave cultivators as feeble as mortals, and they could not even use their soul senses to search around.

    The Myriad sect clearly knew exactly how to make use of these ¡°trainees¡±. The details of the test this time was to make it from one end of the mountain to the other, all while collecting as much magnetic ferrum as possible.

    They had to make it to the designated area within three days, and they would pass as long as they handed up a piece of magnetic ferrum. Afterwards, they would become a glorious ¡°errand-runner¡± or ¡°servant¡±.

    However, when the direct disciple called Le Tian provided them with information, it was filled with ill will.

    Back then, over a thousand people had already gathered in the clearing before the mountain. There were people of all genders, ages, and cultivations. Some had already waited there for an entire month now. The day of the test was growing closer with each day, but they never saw anyone from the Myriad sect.

    Li Qingshan suddenly raised his head. There was a flash of golden light in the sky, and it rapidly expanded.

    With a boom, sand and rocks were thrown into the air as the ground shook. A three-legged golden toad descended from above.

    Li Qingshan raised his hand to block the sand and grit. Gazing out, he met a pair of long, thin eyes, basically spilling with smiles. They almost squinted until they were two slits, such that Li Qingshan could not even see his eyes. He was not even sure whether this person was looking at him or not.

    However, Li Qingshan felt like he was paying close attention to him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you all wait, fellows. I am in charge of the testing this time. My name is Le Tian. Remember, it¡¯s not the ¡®yue¡¯ from music, but the ¡®le¡¯ from happiness. If you can pass this test, then you can refer to me as senior brother Le in the future.¡±

    The man sat on top of the three-legged golden toad. He had a pair of long, thin eyes, a hooked nose, and thin lips. He wore three rings on each hand, all of various styles. He even wore a golden necklace around his neck, and he was dressed in an extremely tasteless silk gown. He was adorned with jewels, but he did not even try to make them match, so he seemed like a foolish son of a rich landlord trying to put all of his possessions on display.

    However, Li Qingshan had a feeling that Le Tian was definitely a Human Sovereign and far more dangerous than any of the fifth heavenly tribulation cultivators he had seen before, whether they were Si Long, Ruan Yaozhu, or that sovereign Li from the Hungry Ghost realm.

    But this is clearly the first time we¡¯ve met, so why is he paying so much attention to me? Have I given myself away, or am I just deluding myself?

    ¡°Croak!¡±

    The three-legged golden toad opened its mouth and let out a thunderous cry, almost bursting everyone¡¯s eardrums.

    Le Tian said with a smile, ¡°Alright, please hand over your bookmarks, everyone who¡¯s taking part in the test. If anyone has any gold to feed my darling, I¡¯ll thank you too.¡±

    The cultivators all gathered over, tossing the bookmarks into the golden toad¡¯s mouth. The Black Wood bookmarks were the most plentiful, amounting to almost a thousand. There were over a hundred Yellow Bronze bookmarks and over twenty White Silver bookmarks. The Green Jade bookmarks were the fewest, amounting to just a few.

    Every single person who went up to hand in their bookmark garnered everyone¡¯s gazes, but Li Qingshan felt like someone was spying on him. Ever since he arrived in the Human realm, he seemed to always have that feeling, which was absolutely horrible. Once he entered the Myriad sect, he would definitely find the way into Ruin¡¯s End quickly and increase his cultivation at the same time.

    There were clearly quite a few wealthy people among the cultivators. Many of them actually took out a vast amount of gold from their sumeru rings to feed to the golden toad. Le Tian smiled and thanked them all, which left them flattered. Towards the end, everyone would offer a bit of gold, regardless of how much it was. Those without any would even borrow some from the people around them.

    However, to Li Qingshan, this guy had just been smiling from beginning to end. He submitted his Green Jade bookmark and wanted to leave.

    Le Tian suddenly asked, ¡°Hey kid, you don¡¯t have any gold?¡±

    ¡°Sorry about that. I don¡¯t.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled gently and amiably, such that he seemed completely innocent. He was certain he was in someone¡¯s crosshairs now, but the reason left him wondering. He could only say that since there were strangely good people like Ruan Yaozhu, there would be many strangely bad people too, and the latter would often completely exceed the former in numbers.

 Chapter 1350

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1350 ¨C Gamble

    ¡°Very good. Fantastic! Hahahaha!¡±

    Le Tian abruptly began to laugh aloud. His mask-like face of smiles seemed to spring alive all of a sudden.

    However, it silenced everyone present, afraid that Li Qingshan¡¯s reply had infuriated him.

    Li Qingshan took in all of this and felt slightly sad about them. The laughter of the superior could lead to the fear of the inferior. However, Le Tian did not seem to possess any hostility. Instead, he only stared at him with a certain gaze that left him disgusted, like a human gazing at an interesting animal that could bring him benefits.

    Under the watch of the three-legged golden toad¡¯s cold, merciless, and bulging eyes that resembled golden balls, he bowed towards Le Tian and moved to the side.

    By the time everyone had submitted their bookmarks, the three-legged golden toad had shut its mouth again. Le Tian introduced some details of the test first before suddenly changing the topic.

    ¡°You must all know already, but when you join our Myriad sect, you all start off as ¡®servants¡¯ regardless of your cultivation. Once you¡¯ve made a certain level of contribution, you¡¯ll be promoted step by step¡ªattendant, reader, formal disciple, inner disciple, and then finally direct disciple. Every step comes with many benefits, some of which are on par with undergoing tribulations. It¡¯ll bring great benefit to your cultivation.¡±

    ¡°The Myriad sect has always been renowned for its fairness and being open to the public, so we¡¯re not ordering you around this time for nothing either. As long as you pass the test, the magnetic ferrum will be your first contribution to the sect. The more you contribute, the more you benefit. You might even be able to start off as an attendant or even a reader right from the beginning while making a decent sum.¡±

    ¡°Apart from that, there¡¯s another great benefit waiting for you all. In three days¡¯ time, whoever possesses the most amount of magnetic ferrum will place first in the test. They¡¯ll be promoted by three ranks in total, directly going from a servant to a formal disciple. Not only will you be able to exchange for weapons, mountains, and dwellings, but you can even enter the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes freely. If you offer up a good portion of your magnetic ferrum as well, then you won¡¯t be far off from becoming an inner disciple. It¡¯ll basically be a meteoric rise!¡±

    ¡°Second place will be promoted by two ranks to ¡®reader¡¯, while third place will be promoted by one rank to ¡®attendant¡¯. It¡¯ll save you quite a lot of time and energy. I hope you give it your all when you compete for this so that you can provide the Myriad sect with another direct disciple sooner!¡±

    His announcement, clearly an attempt to rally everyone, made all of their eyes light up. No one joined the Myriad sect to be a servant. In particular, the Soul Nascence cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation were all determined to place at the top.

    Someone in the crowd suddenly asked, ¡°Senior, do we have to collect the magnetic ferrum we offer up ourselves?¡±

    The atmosphere froze. No one present was a fool. They all understood what he was saying.

    If it was not themselves, then it could only be someone else. It could have been agreed on beforehand, it could have been purchased from others, and it could have even been robbed from others. The person who asked this question was filled with ill will. Everyone looked around, but they had no idea who had asked that question. In the end, they all began to suspect the Soul Nascence cultivators.

    Le Tian smiled just like before, laying out his hands. ¡°As you all know, all methods of monitoring are useless in Magnetic Field mountain, so I can only ask you to do your best. However, under the influence of the magnetic fields, this isn¡¯t a contest with a great disparity in strength. The Myriad sect obviously encourages fellow disciples to be friendly with one another, but since you haven¡¯t joined the Myriad sect yet, you¡¯re obviously not bound by these rules.¡±

    The atmosphere became even heavier. The spacious cave nearby was like the gaping mouth of a vicious beast, while the hanging stalactites were like teeth, waiting to feast on their flesh.

    Everyone became wary and distanced themselves from one another, standing with those that they were familiar with. None of the friendliness and peacefulness from earlier remained. In the caves, anyone beside them could become an enemy. The people who had just submitted Green Jade bookmarks earlier received a particularly large number of cautious gazes.

    Through his harmless appearance and gentle bearing, Li Qingshan happened to be the one who attracted the least amount of attention, but he still wondered about it inside.

    He¡¯s intentionally causing internal strife so that we turn on each other. What¡¯s he trying to do? The Myriad sect definitely isn¡¯t a demonic sect to produce a freak like Ruan Yaozhu. Don¡¯t tell me this is a test of character? But testing the character of people like this is just brutal and foolish.

    Humans are unpredictable, always influenced by their environments. If you intentionally arrange an extremely bad environment to unearth the so-called dark side of human nature, all I can is that it¡¯s fucking stupid. Even the conclusions you draw in the end are absolutely useless.

    ¡°Argh!!!¡±

    A miserable cry echoed through the dark, spacious cave, pulling Li Qingshan back from his musings. Only at this moment did the feeling of being watched fade away drastically, but it was still there.

    He could even imagine Le Tian¡¯s mask-like smile. Ever since his experiences in White Deer country, he would never treat this sensation as a false impression again. That guy must have been using some kind of method to spy on everyone in Magnetic Field mountain, but why?

    What he did not know was what happened once everyone entered Magnetic Field mountain.

    Another four figures descended from above outside the cave, three men and a woman. They all varied in bearings, cold and proud, standing with his hands behind his back; mysterious and unpredictable as his eyes swiveled about; deep and reserved, remaining silent without a word; and natural and peaceful, with a frown on her face.

    They all possessed their own sense of composure and bearing, standing on equal footing with Le Tian.

    It went without saying that they had all undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation. They were all Human Sovereigns.

    Even in the Human realm, Human Sovereigns were powerful existences that stood high above, only a step away from becoming Human Immortals. Normally, they all cultivated alone. Very rarely did they gather together unless something major had occurred.

    However, an entrance test like this was nothing major at all to the Myriad sect, yet it could lead to so many direct disciples spectating. It was truly a peculiarity.

    ¡°Seniors and juniors, you better watch. The gamble is about to begin. Junior sister Ruan, stop glaring at me. Why don¡¯t you take a stake too?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Le, how can you do this? You¡¯re going to kill a lot of people! There¡¯s not going to be a lot of people who will pass this test this time, and those in the lead will definitely be vicious and despicable folk. How are you going to explain this to the two sect masters?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu glared at Le Tian. Her voice was gentle, but it was filled with determination. The nine-coloured deer held her head up high, ignoring the three-legged golden toad on the side that swiveled with its eyes.

    The three other direct disciples all watched on in fascination. The mysterious and unpredictable senior brother Pi smiled. ¡°Senior brother Le, you¡¯re in trouble this time!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu immediately turned the spearhead towards them. ¡°Senior brother Ren, senior brother Pi, senior brother Leng, you¡¯re no different. As direct disciples, how can you fool around so much? Not only do you not discourage him, but you even gamble with senior brother Le¡­¡±

    The three direct disciples either buried their heads and said nothing or gazed at the sky and smiled away. They could not be more familiar with the personality of this junior sister Ruan. Across the entire Myriad sect, all of the direct disciples had been scolded by her in the past, basically leaving them embarrassed to call themselves direct disciples. Even the two sect masters had received much of her nagging before.

    They communicated with each other, ¡°Oi, Le Tian, what¡¯re you doing? Are we still gambling or not? Why¡¯d you get her to come along to ruin it for us?¡±

    ¡°Hah, once we get back to the sect, she¡¯ll definitely snitch on us.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m in charge of the rules and punishments. If you still don¡¯t have any ideas to deal with this, then I¡¯ll be leaving first. I can¡¯t afford this trouble, but I can run away from it.¡±

 Chapter 1351

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1351 ¨C Goodness and Wickedness

    Le Tian sighed with a smile. ¡°Sigh, how would I know that she would come? But that¡¯s fine. Accidents are a part of the gamble and the best part too. Won¡¯t we be fine as long as we involve her?¡±

    ¡°What are you on about? Junior sister Ruan will gamble with you?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, trust me. There are neither people who don¡¯t like gambling in the world nor people who never gamble. Get ready. The gamble is about to begin very soon.¡±

    Le Tian cleared his throat. ¡°I was tasked with this, so I hope you can respect that, junior sister. The entrance test has always been about eliminating the inferior. You don¡¯t have to worry either. Massacres won¡¯t happen. The Myriad sect is still an orthodox sect after all, so how can I just disregard that? I can guarantee you that as long as they can make it out of the mountain, I¡¯ll gift a piece of magnetic ferrum to every single person so that they¡¯re guaranteed to pass the test.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed. This was all she was capable of. The rules of the Myriad sect forbade them from interfering with the tasks of other direct disciples unless there was a good reason. Hopefully, the situation would not turn out too horrendously.

    Pi Yangqiu blinked his eyes. ¡°Oh my, junior brother Le, what makes you so confident that you can win against us this time?¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°Tell me, what are we gambling on this time?¡±

    Leng Yuan said nothing as if he was in thought.

    ¡°You must have guessed around with your intelligence, seniors and juniors. It¡¯s very simple. We¡¯ll gamble on the first, second, and third place this time. None of us know any of the people here. The information I possess is no different from you. For the sake of absolute fairness, so that no one gets cheated, the odds will be determined by what we wager.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said in thought, ¡°If we go with that, the strongest person will obviously place first. However, Magnetic Field mountain has drastically levelled out everyone¡¯s differences. It¡¯s added countless other factors to consider.¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°Hmph, even under the influence of Magnetic Field mountain, Soul Nascence cultivators are still Soul Nascence cultivators. How can they be threatened by others? These factors aren¡¯t worth considering at all. The person who places first will definitely be among them.¡±

    Leng Yuan said, ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. If they all mess up out of carelessness, what¡¯re they still cultivating for?¡± Le Tian smiled. ¡°If you¡¯ve made up your mind, then let¡¯s place our wagers! We¡¯ll go with the same rules as before. Junior sister Ruan, are you really not going to join in?¡±

    The four of them deliberated at first and made their choices before tossing out great handfuls of Green Jade bookmarks. Every single Green Jade bookmark represented a tremendous amount of resources. In comparison, the bit of magnetic ferrum he would be offering up to ensure all the cultivators that emerged from the mountains would pass was basically spare change.

    Even as a direct disciple as well, such a hearty gamble made Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s heartbeat speed up slightly as she watched on from the side. She was unable to understand exactly why these men would do something like that.

    By the time the truth was unravelled, there were a total of five choices, and the four of them actually chose completely different people. Three pairs of eyes gathered on the name that Le Tian had chosen at the same time before all frowning. They wondered whether they had missed something or not.

    Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Then she questioned in doubt, ¡°Why?¡±

    That was exactly what the three of them wanted to ask too.

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°He¡¯s a kid of unknown origins. Don¡¯t you know? I love betting on the dark horse.¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°Stop posing around already. Tell us, exactly what part of Li Qingshan caught your attention?¡±

    Logically speaking, he was the least likely to win. Even the female cultivator that no one chose had a greater chance at winning than him. The final victor of this game would definitely be the strongest, most vicious, and craftiest person.

    Le Tian grinned. ¡°Because he¡¯s the most wicked!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows and rebuked him. ¡°How¡¯s he wicked?¡±

    Le Tian pointed at his eyes with his fingers. ¡°I can notice these wicked people who have no regard for their own lives that can wager everything they possess on the gambling table without any hesitation with a single glance. Sigh, there really are fewer and fewer people like that among cultivators nowadays. It¡¯s all a bunch of overcautious and indecisive people. My luck has come this time. As long as it¡¯s necessary, someone like him is capable of doing anything. Even if he carries out a massacre inside, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said firmly, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. He¡¯s not that kind of person.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You know him.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°I met him recently. I lent him the Green Jade bookmark that he used to participate in the test. I know what kind of person he is. He¡¯ll never take the possessions of others for his own needs.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu sighed. ¡°You probably gave it to him originally, right? Only you would do something like that. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that I understand what kind of person you are, junior sister, I¡¯d basically suspect you¡¯ve taken a liking towards this kid.¡±

    Ren Aoyou laughed. ¡°Then I¡¯d be heartbroken. How¡¯s that, junior brother Le? You¡¯ve been careless this time.¡±

    Le Tian touched his thin lips, revealing a sharp smile. ¡°Then are you bold enough to place a wager on your choice, junior sister Ruan?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head. ¡°I only know he is not a wicked person as you said he was. I don¡¯t know if he can place first.¡±

    ¡°Then we won¡¯t gamble on first place, only on whether he¡¯s good or wicked! If you win, I¡¯ll give all the Green Jade bookmarks I win from this gamble to you. If I win, you¡¯ll pay me the same amount.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°I don¡¯t gamble!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°That¡¯s too crafty of you, senior brother Le. If you lose, you don¡¯t have to pay her anything.¡±

    Ren Aoyou said indifferently, ¡°You act like you¡¯ve already won. Aren¡¯t you lookin down on us a little too much?¡±

    Leng Yuan directly tossed out a handful of Green Jade bookmarks. ¡°If she wins, it¡¯s her victory. If she loses, it¡¯s my defeat!¡±

    ¡°Interesting. Count me in.¡± ¡°Me too!¡±

    Immediately, the amount wagered doubled yet again. The value it represented was enough to tempt Human Immortals.

    Ruan Yaozhu became rather uncertain. ¡°You¡­ I don¡¯t gamble¡­¡±

    The nine-coloured deer suddenly called out, ¡°Let¡¯s just gamble, Yaozhu. Don¡¯t you believe in Qingshan? I¡¯m sure he¡¯s definitely not a wicked person. Who knows, he might have never even stepped on an ant in his life. He¡¯ll never steal from others.¡±

    Haha, with so many people covering the risk, it¡¯s a free gamble! We¡¯ll be rich if we win! Damned brat, if you dare to make me lose, I¡¯ll never spare you.

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°You, oh you. You just want to rip me off viciously! Are you aware that failure often arises from false hope in gambles? Alright, I am someone who accepts all gambles, so I¡¯ll take you on!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°It¡¯s easy to distinguish first place, but how do we decide on being good or wicked?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you know who I am? Since I¡¯m bold enough to propose the gamble, I have something I can rely on! And the essence of the gamble lies in the process. If we just wait around here, that¡¯ll be far too boring.¡±

    Le Tian took out a map and unfurled it slowly. It emitted light, projecting the entire Magnetic Field mountain immediately. It included every cave and every person and was so detailed that it even showed every single rock.

    Whispers rang out from the map like the buzzing of mosquitoes, but upon listening closely, it was possible to make out many voices. With this map in hand, all of the sights and sounds occurring in the region were displayed before them.

    Pi Yangqiu said in surprise, ¡°This is a copy of the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing. Where did you get it from?¡±

    ¡°I won it of course. It¡¯s just an inferior copy, an inferior copy!¡±

    Le Tian¡¯s gaze gathered on a person on the map. He said with an extremely nauseating tone, ¡°Qingshan, oh Qingshan, my fine horse. You better not disappoint me!¡±

 Chapter 1352

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1352 ¨C Separation and Unity

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows heavily. The strange feeling of displeasure amassed inside him, like a cluster of flames that wrapped around him dimly. The feeling of being constantly watched made him feel like he was an insect inside a glass cover, with someone high above gazing down on him.

    However, he had to put up with it too, as this was the cultivation community, the place most distant from equality to all.

    Regardless of their social status, mortals were still all people after all. They were bound by the cycle of life and their intangible fates, possessing a lifespan of a century at most.

    However, cultivators could surpass the cycle of life and even fate itself through hard work. A difference of a major realm of cultivation basically made them two different kinds of creatures altogether. If two major realms happened to separate two people, then their difference would be no different from a human to an insect in terms of both power and lifespan.

    ¡°Wait for me, senior! Wait for me!¡±

    Li Qingshan was thinking when a bobbing bundle of fire caught up with him from behind. The fire could not illuminate the entire mine, so the jagged rocks all seemed like monsters brandishing their teeth and claws. Zhu Yingcai was like a frightened child, running and gasping for air as he held the fire bundle.

    ¡°Do you want to lure over earth fiend beasts?¡± Li Qingshan looked back and glanced at him indifferently.

    Zhu Yingcai suddenly came to a halt and covered his mouth with his hairs standing on end. He felt like Li Qingshan was different from before now. The firelight projected his figure onto the walls, and only now did he realise just how large or even terrifying he seemed.

    Instinctively, he wanted to flee from him, but as soon as he thought of the terrifying earth fiend beasts, he wanted to get a little closer to him too. The two extreme sensations of ease and uneasiness echoed through him, actually leaving him temporarily speechless.

    Li Qingshan saw the misery of the weak from him, the feeling of uncertainty, the feeling of uneasiness. Perhaps even he had once been like that too. This was not something that could be completely overcome through so-called faith or willpower. Instead, it required actual power.

    If he wanted to increase his cultivation as quickly as possible, he had to place first in the test and increase his status in the Myriad sect, obtaining as many resources as possible. Only like that could he find sufficient information to enter Ruin¡¯s End as well as learn more about Si Long. He had a slight feeling that this was not over yet.

    He said seriously, ¡°You¡¯ll have to walk the path presented before you by yourself.¡±

    ¡°Senior!¡± Zhu Yingcai let out a moan that almost resembled a whine.

    ¡°I saved your life, and you showed me the way. Our debts have been cleared. You don¡¯t owe me anything. I don¡¯t owe you anything either. We have nothing to do with each other now. If you continue to follow me, you will die!¡± Li Qingshan said that and set off for the depths of the caves immediately, vanishing into the darkness.

    Zhu Yingcai¡¯s expression changed, both with fear and an unwillingness to accept this. In the end, he was unable to ignore Li Qingshan¡¯s warning and follow him. He even felt a hint of resentment.

    You have such great power, so why can¡¯t you take me with you so that I can pass the test easily and become a disciple of the Myriad sect? It¡¯s clearly nothing for you to do something like this. Hmph, I know now. This is the cultivation community. Cultivators are all cold and heartless. I¡¯ll never rely on anyone again in the future. I¡¯ll have you understand that you should never underestimate anyone, even those weaker than you.

    He stood where he was, turning red at times and pale at others, feeling both furious and motivated. A strange growl suddenly rang out from the darkness as if it was very far away, yet it also seemed as if it lurked in the darkness right behind him. He immediately remembered something and ran off into the depths of the cave frantically.

    ¡°Sure enough, he¡¯s gotten rid of that deadweight first! How¡¯s that, junior sister Ruan? No matter how you look at it, you can¡¯t call that doing good!¡±

    Le Tian laughed aloud. He was overjoyed. How could someone that was bold enough to meet his gaze be a soft-hearted and indecisive person?

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°That¡¯s not exactly a wicked act either! They¡¯re neither friends nor family. He¡¯s already served his duty by that point.¡±

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°The gamble has only just begun. We haven¡¯t even gotten far yet! I¡¯m bold enough to wager that this guy will definitely leave us astounded.¡±

    Ren Aoyou sneered. ¡°Though, while a so-called gamble on being good or wicked is simple on paper, there¡¯s no standard to go off of in the end. If this devolves into a bicker, that won¡¯t be a particularly nice sight to behold.¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°No matter what you say, goodness is goodness and wickedness is wickedness. Fairness lies in the hearts of people. I¡¯m not going to twist the truth for the sake of a victory. This is my pride and character in gambling. And with the kind of person that junior sister Ruan is, do we really need an argument? This can only be viewed as a good sign. Let¡¯s keep watching. He¡¯ll show his true colours sooner or later. By then, try not to be too disappointed, junior sister Ruan.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu lowered her head and said nothing, but her gaze was as determined as before.

    Li Qingshan ventured deep into Magnetic Field mountain. Strange, jagged rocks filled his eyes. Some of these situations would have never occurred in regular mountains. The interference from the magnetic fields grew stronger, making the small world almost stopped operating. All he could rely on was his body of flesh and blood.

    He obviously possessed an absolute advantage with his tough body, and even if he could use almost none of his innate abilities, the Strength of the Earth still provided him with endless power.

    However, digging out enough magnetic ferrum to place first in the test still required a great amount of luck.

    The simplest method was to not dig at all. Instead, it was to head to the other side of the mountain and set up an ambush on a path where everyone had to pass through, engaging in that riskless business. With his strength, he definitely had no opponents.

    But if he did that, how was he any different from the mountain bandits that plundered passers-by? If he really had no other choice, he would not hesitate to do that, but as for right now, he still had to stick to the path of the qilin. After all, he had just been praised as a good person recently!

    As a result, he sucked in a deep breath¡­

    At this moment, the direct disciples gazed at a corner on the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing. The sight there zoomed in completely, such that they could clearly make out every single disturbance.

    That was a colossal cavern. Two Soul Nascence cultivators gathered there; they were the people chosen by Ren Aoyou and Pi Yangqiu out of the five Soul Nascence cultivators.

    Their appearances and attires were clearly visible. One of them was handsome and elegant, like a romantic gentleman, while the other had a complexion dark like the burnt bottom of a pot. His figure was thick and stocky, like a fiend. They did not seem related at all. Even if they were related somehow, they would definitely stand on different sides, ready to become locked in battle with each other.

    However, their conversation left Ruan Yaozhu astounded.

    The fair-skinned gentleman asked, ¡°Big brother, what do we do?¡±

    The dark-skinned fiend said, ¡°Little brother, do you even have to ask? Since the rules permit it, we should make good use of it. Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re actually supposed to dig in the mines?¡±

    The fair-skinned gentleman asked, ¡°Then what about the three other Soul Nascence cultivators?¡±

    ¡°Haha, if they¡¯re clever, then we don¡¯t have to worry about them. We¡¯re all going to be juniors and seniors in the future after all!¡±

    ¡°Brothers together!¡± ¡°Unity is strength!¡±

    A fair hand and a dark hand gripped each other firmly before rushing towards the end of the mountain together, planning on engaging in that riskless business that Li Qingshan had considered before.

 Chapter 1353

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1353 ¨C Earth Fiend Beasts

    ¡°They¡¯re brothers!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was surprised. Actual brothers and sisters had always been rare in the cultivation community. The two of them had never exactly communicated with each other earlier, and their names even differed drastically, so she never thought there would be a connection like this between them. Even the cultivation methods they practised and the auras they gave off were vastly different.

    But at a closer glance, she discovered that the two of them truly bore some similarity in appearance.

    Ren Aoyou snorted coldly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this far too many times. With them working together, no one in the mountain will stand a chance against them. First place will obviously be one of them, and it¡¯ll obviously be the elder brother. Junior brother Pi, you might have realised they¡¯re brothers too, but you¡¯ve mistaken who¡¯s the older one and who¡¯s the younger one!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Senior brother Ren, how do you know if I¡¯ve made a mistake? And how do you know that the elder brother won¡¯t let his younger brother take first place? On top of that, there is no kinship when it comes to contests, let alone brotherhood. It¡¯ll all come down to who¡¯s stronger and more vicious in the very end!¡±

    Le Tian clapped his hands and smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. There¡¯ll definitely be a struggle between the brothers!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re brothers.¡± Ruan Yaozhu sighed. ¡°Once you get greedy, families really do fall apart, and brothers really do turn against each other.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu giggled. ¡°You probably haven¡¯t experienced how it¡¯s like to have siblings. Compared to strangers, that¡¯s the only relationship that¡¯ll make you bicker from childhood to adulthood!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said seriously, ¡°How haven¡¯t I had siblings? The senior brothers and sisters and the junior brothers and sisters of the Myriad sect are all my siblings!¡±

    The four of them looked at one another and shook their heads with a smile. If someone else had said that, they would basically laugh their asses off, as it was so sappy that it was disgusting. However, it made them feel warmth inside.

    If she had not treated him as an elder brother, why would she nag them every single time she saw him? Gambling was his life. If someone else dared to make a fuss with him like that, he would have taught them a vicious lesson a long time ago, yet right now, he was even worried she would be deceived by someone else.

    If Leng Yuan and the other two did not view her as a younger sister, why would they make such a great wager and gamble in her place? Even though they were trying to rope her in against her will and teach Le Tian a lesson, it was completely unnecessary for her to take any risks at all for the opportunity to make a killing.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you should stop gambling, senior brothers.¡± Ruan Yaozhu used this opportunity to suggest this to them, completely ignoring the temptation of the pile of Green Jade bookmarks. All she wanted to do was lead them on the right path.

    Pi Yangqiu sighed. ¡°Sigh, I really can¡¯t stand you! Just with the slightest distraction, such a great gamble has almost been dismantled by you. I for sure don¡¯t treat these guys as my brothers, particularly with that guy Le Tian. I¡¯d basically like to see him lose everything, including his underwear.¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Once I win, I¡¯ll give you a few Black Wood markers out of generosity.¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°Then let¡¯s see how these brothers turn out! Junior brother Le, let¡¯s see how your dark horse is doing. Is he mining away obediently, or is he doing the same thing as these two?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed. ¡°He won¡¯t do something like that.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s the latter, then my bet with junior sister Ruan is settled. And I¡¯m certain that with his wickedness, the two brothers definitely won¡¯t stand a chance against him. I¡¯m going to make a fortune this time!¡±

    Le Tian cupped his hands over the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing and twisted them left and right.

    In an instant, the image gathered on Li Qingshan. He continued through the cave at a steady pace, neither digging nor setting up an ambush. Instead, he sang at the top of his voice. The resounding singing erupted from the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing.

    ¡°East flows the river! The stars shine ¡®round beidou!¡±

    TL: This is the same song that Li Qingshan sang when he met Si Qing in chapter 626. It is called the Song of Heroes from Water Margin, which you can listen to here.

    Even Le Tian¡¯s mask-like smile froze slightly. Ruan Yaozhu widened her eyes. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ singing?¡±

    Ren Aoyou sneered. ¡°He¡¯s afraid of the dark, so he¡¯s singing to build up his courage?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu thought of something and blurted out, ¡°No, he¡¯s trying to lure over earth fiend beasts!¡±

    Le Tian called out, ¡°What! Is he crazy?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Daemons and monsters¡ªthey were a similar concept, but they were actually two different things.

    Daemons were the Daemon race that took all shapes and forms. They could assume human form, and they possessed extremely high intelligence and wisdom.

    Monsters were a reference to strange beasts and creatures with great strength and low intelligence.

    From the perspective of humans, they frequently mixed the two together. The boundary between the two was not particularly clear either. When daemons reverted to their original forms and rampaged, they were basically no different from monsters. Monsters also possessed a chance to develop intelligence and become daemons.

    However, there were some extremely pure, true ¡°monsters¡±.

    They possessed absolutely no thought process to speak of. They were completely a product of a special environment, and they completely acted on their instincts. The most well-known and strongest variety were the legendary space-devouring beasts.

    Space-devouring beasts were so powerful that they could destroy worlds. Their power was no less than True Immortals, yet the heavenly tribulations would never descend upon them. It was as if they were merely a part of the natural phenomena. They possessed terrifying strength, but they were similar to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Although they possessed some characteristics similar to creatures, they were not truly living creatures.

    Earth fiend beasts were monsters like that. They only appeared in regions where the magnetic fields were extremely powerful like Magnetic Field mountain, and they would never leave the place either, which was why they were known as ¡°earth fiend beasts¡±.

    Earth fiend beasts had bodies made from rock and ore, and they fed off the magnetic field. They knew no pain, no exhaustion, and no fear, yet they attacked all living creatures indiscriminately. Normally, they only lived deep underground.

    It was as if the intangible will of the heavens had discovered that the regular magnetic fields were unable to stop cultivators from exploring the boundaries of the world, so it specially set up some terrifying guards.

    It was rumoured that the strongest earth fiend beast thrived with the earth, slumbering in the deepest depths, enough to even make True Immortals halt on their steps.

    Magnetic Field mountain obviously did not have such a powerful earth fiend beast. Every single one of them was a moving magnetic field, and their bodies were indestructible. They were basically immune to all abilities and techniques, making them extremely difficult opponents.

    In particular, in an environment like Magnetic Field mountain, even Human Sovereigns found them slightly troublesome to deal with. They were the greatest obstacle to mining magnetic ferrum, and they were endless too. They were a great deal of trouble.

    The entrance tests of the Myriad sect that occurred once every decade had never been about some mysterious experience or some puzzling test question. As for their strength, moral alignment, personalities, and specialties, they cared even less about that. Cultivators were all so busy, so who had the spare time to closely examine the good and bad in a group of ants, let alone waste resources to specially set up a testing centre.

    The objective of the test was extremely clear, which was to make these cultivators use their lives to exchange for precious resources that the sects required. Those who succeeded would be accepted into the sect, becoming a part of the overall system, while the failures would become cannon fodder. No one would care how many people died as long as they had nothing to do with each other anyway.

    As the person in charge this time, Le Tian had simply turned the test into an exciting gamble based on that, preparing to make a fortune off this. Who survived and who emerged victorious in the end did not matter at all. All was fine as long as the dark horse he had wagered on was fine. However, the situation was taking a rapid turn for the worst, such that even he became a little restless.

    He roared at the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing, ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± He did not care whether Li Qingshan could hear him or not. He was like a regular gambler who had lost a fortune and was desperately yelling at the dice to give him what he needed.

    Li Qingshan obviously could not hear him. Even if he could, he would not shut up. He obviously understood that the earth fiend beasts were the most dangerous part of the test. They had no sense of sight, smell, taste, or touch. Only their sense of hearing was particularly sensitive, so it was most important to remain quiet in Magnetic Field mountain.

    Li Qingshan did the opposite, intentionally singing at the top of his voice¡ªbecause yelling out constantly was far too stupid¡ªso that he could lure over earth fiend beasts, as earth fiend beasts definitely possessed extremely pure magnetic ferrum in their bodies.

    However, that would be risking his life!

    Ren Aoyou smiled. ¡°Junior brother Le, looks like your dark horse is about to die soon. You won¡¯t be able to continue with your gamble with junior sister Ruan. You can only call it a draw.¡±

    Le Tian clutched his head and pulled at his hair. ¡°I was wrong. I only managed to tell that he¡¯s a wicked person. I didn¡¯t realise there was something wrong with his head! I¡¯m willing to bet that he¡¯s never seen an earth fiend beast before!¡±

    Once Li Qingshan had been finished off by earth fiend beasts, then it would be his loss regardless of who won.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s not a wicked person!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu recalled the final warning that Li Qingshan had given. If you continue to follow me, you will die! She had already realised what he was doing.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that he doesn¡¯t understand the dangers involved. If he refuses to rob others and still wants to place first, this is the only way. He was not getting rid of a deadweight earlier either but preparing to risk his life. He told him to go somewhere much safer. That¡¯s out of kindness.¡±

    ¡°He would rather face life-threatening danger than harm someone else. He would rather be misunderstood and resented than send someone to their death. No matter what, I can¡¯t admit that someone like this is a wicked person.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu clapped his hands and said, ¡°Well said, junior sister Ruan! A certain person is even going to lose his underpants this time! It¡¯s just a pity for this good person. Tsktsk, sure enough, good people don¡¯t live for long!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, we all have it! Gazing at the sky the entire way, never to lower our heads!¡±

    As Li Qingshan sang away resoundingly, Le Tian raised a clamour, rolling around on the back of the three-legged golden toad. ¡°Junior sister, oh junior sister! How vicious of you! This is all I have!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu waved her hand in a hurry. ¡°Senior brother, I don¡¯t want to win against you. Let¡¯s just call it a draw.¡± Then she said rather awkwardly, ¡°I do have a request!¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Le Tian suddenly rose up and said firmly, recovering the same mask-like smile as if his behaviour earlier was all an act.

    ¡°I know you want me to go in and save this kid. That¡¯s quite rare of you to violate the sect rules for him. If this were a regular test, then even directly passing him is fine with me. However, this is a gamble, my gamble. I hope you can respect me, junior sister!¡±

    Leng Yuan, who had remained silent the entire time, said, ¡°Junior sister, as long as I¡¯m around, the sect rules will not be broken. This is my job after all!¡±

    The entrance test of the Myriad sect obviously could not allow for any interference, but this mere trifle was of absolutely no importance at all to direct disciples. Perhaps only Ruan Yaozhu would feel awkward. She could not just watch helplessly as a good person was killed before her.

    Le Tian said, ¡°If he just dies like this, then I admit defeat, and both of these gambles will count as my defeat. However, as long as he¡¯s still breathing, the gamble will continue. Hehe, now a gamble like this is interesting!¡±

    At this moment, Li Qingshan finished singing the song, so he started off with another one. His deep and magnetic voice echoed through the caves.

    ¡°Who begs who? Even the seasons only listen to the heavens¡­ Don¡¯t gamble! Fate will always triumph!¡±

    TL: This song is from the television adaption of another Chinese novel, A Step into the Past. You can hear it here.

    Le Tian let out a croak and collapsed on the ground. ¡°That¡¯s a bad sign, a bad sign!¡±

 Chapter 1354

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1354 ¨C Brutal

    ¡°That year, a repeat of today¡¯s events¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan sang at the top of his lungs as he advanced through the caves, song after song. Towards the end, he basically took pleasure in it a little. His voice was particularly resonant, shaking the pebbles on the ground endlessly. It spread through the entire mountain along the web-like caves, awakening the earth fiend beasts from their slumber.

    Suddenly, he stopped and listened closely, hearing a strange sound in the darkness. It bore some resemblance to the buzzing of electrical currents, as well as the clanging of repeated collisions between rocks. It rapidly grew closer from the depths of the cave, closer and closer until it was right before him.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes and wondered whether his eyes were deceiving him or not.

    The monster that rushed over from the depths of the caves was pitch-black and jagged, like a primitive, crude statue of a beast. There was even a slight post-modern style to it. It possessed four extremely thick limbs and sharp claws. There were no facial features on its head, just a great mouth that cracked open, lined with sharp rocks as teeth.

    There was nothing surprising about the earth fiend beast¡¯s appearance. Instead, it was only the size of a mastiff, reaching up to Li Qingshan¡¯s waist at most. Its movements did not seem particularly nimble and powerful either, but with its approach, the magnetic field became even more disorderly. The small world in his body was further affected.

    He rubbed his chin. ¡°So this is an earth fiend beast.¡±

    ¡°Sure enough, this kid hasn¡¯t seen earth fiend beasts before. He hasn¡¯t seen earth fiend beasts before!¡±

    Le Tian howled and slammed his hand against the three-legged golden toad¡¯s back, letting out a metallic thrum. The three-legged golden toad let out a croak and swivelled its eyes before shutting them again, completely ignoring its master¡¯s surging emotions.

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°An earth fiend beast that small really is rare. It¡¯s probably just born from the magnetism. Outside, it would be no threat to a Soul Nascence cultivator, but inside Magnetic Field mountain, he won¡¯t be able to use any techniques.¡±

    Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes and released his aura, but the tiny earth fiend beast felt neither fear nor reverence. Instead, it ran even faster and resonated even louder.

    When it reached thirty metres away, it kicked off its back claws and lunged forwards. As if it was sliding across the ground, its heavy body crossed the distance with ease. It bit at Li Qingshan¡¯s neck with its sharp teeth.

    With a thump, Li Qingshan casually raised his right foot and planted the tiny earth fiend beast¡¯s head into the ground viciously.

    The tiny earth fiend beast struggled desperately, scraping the ground with its sharp claws and leaving behind a series of white marks. However, it was completely useless under Li Qingshan¡¯s terrifying strength.

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°Yeah, his physique is not bad. He really is quite capable since he is bold enough to lure over earth fiend beasts. However, I think he¡¯s in trouble this time.¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like he could crush its stone head if he used a little more force, but this was the first time he had encountered such a strange creature. Coupled with the fact that he would be fighting even more earth fiend beasts later on, he crouched down, planning to study it closely.

    A colossal, hideous figure appeared behind him, over ten times the size of the tiny earth fiend beast. However, it hovered in the air silently as if it did not possess any weight at all. It slowly opened its mouth. Every single tooth was like a stalactite, biting down towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Ruan Yaozhu was nervous. Even if he was a Soul Nascence cultivator, his soul nascence could not last very long in Magnetic Field mountain once his body was destroyed. It would disintegrate in the magnetic field very quickly.

    She secretly made up her mind to charge into Magnetic Field mountain and save his life no matter what, even if she had to offend her senior brothers. She would preserve his soul nascence at the very least. Good people should always be rewarded!

    Unbeknownst to her, Li Qingshan was not a true Soul Nascence cultivator. While he did practise the human cultivation method, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Destruction, he had yet to convert the power of the demon heart completely into a soul nascence, so it was completely impossible for him to flee with a soul nascence.

    Le Tian called out, ¡°You fool, right behind you!¡±

    As if he had heard his warning, Li Qingshan casually crushed the tiny earth fiend beast¡¯s head and looked back. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a big one here too!¡±

    The sharp teeth filled his face as he threw a punch.

    Boom! Rock fragments shot into the surroundings, colliding against the walls and producing sparks.

    The two earth fiend beasts¡¯ heads basically shattered at the same time. Their stone heads that contained a vast quantity of metal was basically like pottery before his fists and feet.

    Le Tian and the others were all dumbfounded. With his fine facial features, this kid seemed completely harmless, yet his body was actually so tough. His reflexes were sharp, and he struck valiantly. Even right now, there was not a hint of nervousness on his face like it was all as easy as breathing.

    Pi Yangqiu praised him. ¡°Sure enough, he¡¯s capable!¡±

    However, Ren Aoyou said, ¡°This kid hasn¡¯t seen earth fiend beasts before. He¡¯s going to suffer!¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, something happened. The tiny earth fiend beast that had its head crushed clutched onto Li Qingshan¡¯s calf firmly. Another head extended from its neck, biting down on his leg.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vision darkened. A colossal claw filled his face. Everything occurred right next to him. Before he could even assume a defensive position, he was sent flying by the claw.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! He smashed through several stalagmites and smashed deeply into the wall, buried under the rubble.

    Ruan Yaozhu cried out. Soul Nascence cultivators were powerful, but their bodies came nowhere close to Daemon Kings of the same realm. In particular, they were even frailer under the influence of Magnetic Field mountain. After taking on that strike, his bones had probably shattered, and his organs had probably ruptured.

    She slapped the nine-coloured deer, about to rush into the cave and save Li Qingshan, but a figure flashed before her. Leng Yuan blocked her path, radiating with coldness and condensing an icy wall three hundred metres tall. He seemed completely unaffected by Magnetic Field mountain.

    Ruan Yaozhu bit her lip. ¡°Move aside, senior brother Leng!¡±

    Leng Yuan said, ¡°Junior sister, as long as I¡¯m around, you can forget about setting foot in the caves!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer expressed to her mentally, Piece of wood, oh piece of wood, you¡¯re not made for fighting. Even I¡¯m not better. We definitely can¡¯t win against Leng Yuan.

    ¡°It¡¯s over! My dark horse!¡±

    Le Tian clutched his head and sobbed like his parents had just died.

    Ren Aoyou shook his head with a smile. ¡°Give up, junior sister. It¡¯s already too late if you go in now. The kid has been carved up by the earth fiend beast a long time ago. You don¡¯t have to feel sad. You can only blame him for being too gutsy and too ill-informed. Earth fiend beasts are completely composed from rock. They have no so-called vital points unless you can find the magnetic ferrum in their bodies.¡±

    ¡°However, the magnetic ferrum might exist anywhere in the earth fiend beast, and it¡¯s said to move about constantly. It¡¯s impossible to find where it is under the interference from the magnetic fields too. You have to destroy most of an earth fiend beast¡¯s body to kill it. Junior brother Le, get ready to pay up!¡±

    ¡°Hold on! Look!¡± Pi Yangqiu pointed at the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing. ¡°He¡¯s still alive!¡±

    The rubble exploded, and Li Qingshan stood up again. His clothes were in tatters, but there were only a few faint claw marks on his chest. The tiny earth fiend beast on his calf bit away at him desperately, but it failed to even leave a mark.

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s more like it. If you¡¯re all this small, how will there be enough magnetic ferrum? I¡¯ve sung songs for such a long time after all!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu¡¯s expression became uncertain. ¡°To possess a physique like that with his cultivation, probably only first senior brother who practises the Heavenly Tome of True Dragon and first senior sister who practises the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu can rival him. As long as he doesn¡¯t actively seek out death, nothing in Magnetic field mountain can threaten him.¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°This kid either practises some special cultivation method, or he possesses a certain non-human bloodline. Hmph, he sure has hidden it well. I actually couldn¡¯t tell at all from his appearance! Le Tian, how could you tell?¡±

    Their discussion had basically exposed his secret instantly. It was exactly because Li Qingshan practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, coupled with his various non-human bloodlines, that he possessed such a tough physique.

    Le Tian laughed aloud. ¡°I only managed to tell that he was a vicious person. I didn¡¯t see what cultivation method or bloodline he possessed. However, with such a brutal and wicked personality, he definitely didn¡¯t get here by crouching and cultivating in a cave. He truly is the dark horse that I¡¯ve chosen. Nicely done!¡±

    At this moment, Li Qingshan used a leg sweep to send the incoming large earth fiend beast flying. The tiny earth fiend beast had shattered as well.

    With a bang, the large earth fiend beast¡¯s head was shattered once again, slamming heavily against the wall. Its body was covered in cracks as rocks broke off and fell down from above.

    Within the flying rubble, Li Qingshan casually caught a walnut-sized rock that was pitch-black like iron yet glistening with light. It was the magnetic ferrum within the tiny earth fiend beast¡¯s body.

    ¡°A small one as a first, as well as a large one as a second!¡±

    Li Qingshan was delighted. As he smiled away, he seemed even brighter, like a young man. The earth fiend beast did not know fear or pain, lunging over once more. Its terrifying size and invisible magnetic field was the bane of cultivators.

    But this time, no one doubted the outcome of the battle.

 Chapter 1355

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1355 ¨C Lair

    It was impossible for a person to hide everything, especially when they were doing something that they liked.

    Even though Li Qingshan could feel he was being watched, he did not plan on changing the way he acted. Within the battles that he was all too familiar with, he gave off a specific bearing naturally.

    Apart from Ruan Yaozhu who was still unaware due to her lack of expertise in fighting, the three other direct disciples could all sense that his bearing could only be developed by going through countless battles, fighting and killing decisively. He must have faced countless struggles to the death for him to be so graceful and composed.

    They all resented the fact that his harmless appearance had actually fooled them. They all looked at Le Tian. ¡°Hmph, so you¡¯ve made the correct bet yet again!¡±

    Regardless of the end result, Li Qingshan was indeed the person qualified to come first.

    Le Tian stroked the three-legged golden toad beside him gently and smiled. ¡°I have a feeling that I can win both bets.¡±

    The three faces sank. Who knows how bloodied his hands are to possess a bearing like that? And how can he be a kind-hearted person? Even if he butchers the entire mountain, it would be nothing surprising. Junior sister Ruan has probably been deceived by this kid this time. Hmph, if that really is the case, we¡¯ll never spare him! Le Tian might win against us, but how dare he mislead junior sister Ruan! He¡¯s asking to die!

    Li Qingshan was still unaware that due to some strange gamble, he had almost developed a grudge with three direct disciples before he had even joined the Myriad sect.

    Ruan Yaozhu raised a finger and said seriously, ¡°Senior brother Le, you can only win one gamble at most.¡±

    ¡°Hah, then let¡¯s just wait and see!¡±

    Li Qingshan completely pulverised the earth fiend beast. He did not strike to defeat or to kill. Instead, he smashed apart every single part of its body punch by punch until he found the magnetic ferrum. It was much larger than the magnetic ferrum in the tiny earth fiend beast¡¯s body, shimmering with light in the darkness.

    Li Qingshan fiddled around with it and shut his eyes to sense it. He sank into his thoughts.

    Sumeru rings could not be opened in Magnetic Field mountain, so he casually tossed the magnetic ferrum into the basket behind him. This had been allocated to every single person by the Myriad sect when they entered the cave. It had even come with a pickaxe for mining.

    A strange buzzing rang out from the depths of the caves again. Even more earth fiend beasts lunged over. He carried the pickaxe on his shoulder as he strode ahead, singing at the top of his voice.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Fine men, let¡¯s go with me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve travelled through the mountains, and I¡¯ve yet to grow old.¡±

    ¡°Young men and their lofty aspirations know no distress.¡±

    TL: This song is called Carefree Wandering from the show Legend of the Eight Immortals. You can listen to it here.

    The direct disciples exchanged glances. The lyrics and tone were strange, but it did give off an indescribable sense of carefreeness and heartiness.

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°This kid really is very interesting. He has a chance at becoming a direct disciple.¡±

    Leng Yuan said cautiously, ¡°You¡¯ve found out about his origins?¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°With how vast the Human realm is, coupled with the ascending cultivators from the trichiliocosm, how can we find out about everyone¡¯s origins?¡±

    Le Tian had truly experienced an upheave of emotions. His face flushed with excitement, such that even his mask-like smile became lively. ¡°It¡¯s far too exciting! It¡¯s far too fascinating! Right and wrong, success and failure. The intangible will of the heavens, the unpredictable thoughts of man. All of that is involved in this gamble. Junior sister Ruan, have you experienced the joys of gambling?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu pouted and shook her head.

    ¡°So be it, you little monster.¡± Le Tian rubbed his hands. ¡°Hehe, now all my fine little horse has to do is defeat these earth fiend beasts one by one, and it¡¯ll all be over. If he can kill a few unlucky bastards too and turn their magnetic ferrum into his, it¡¯ll be even more perfect!¡±

    Li Qingshan sped up, running through the twisted caves. He never hesitated whenever he encountered a fork. He ran into another two earth fiend beasts and finished them off efficiently, gaining another two pieces of magnetic ferrum in his basket. The largest one was almost the size of a peach.

    ¡°He¡¯s venturing down!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu and the others could clearly see from the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing that basically every choice Li Qingshan made when he encountered a fork would be downwards, completely defying the basic principle of exploring Magnetic Field mountain.

    The closer to underground, the more intense the magnetic field was, and the stronger the earth fiend beasts would be. The danger would be greater too.

    As a result, when they had to choose a path, they would try their best to travel upwards. If they could follow the ridge of the mountain, they basically would not encounter any earth fiend beasts at all. They would only venture down if they were unable to find any magnetic ferrum.

    Most of the cultivators partaking in the test had chosen this path, which had already led to countless battles and struggle. Normally, that would be the source of fascination in this gamble. Perhaps there would even be a few side bets out of interest, but now, no one cared about the fates of those people.

    The direct disciples all paid close attention to the lone figure that constantly ventured downwards. Ren Aoyou frowned. ¡°What¡¯s he trying to do?¡±

    Leng Yuan said coldly, ¡°He¡¯s trying to die!¡±

    Le Tian began to tug at his hair again. ¡°You fool, you already have victory guaranteed! What¡¯re you still going down for? Get your ass back up here!¡±

    After a furious sprint, Li Qingshan suddenly stopped and smiled.

    Beneath his feet was a cliff. The area before him was open. An underground cavern three hundred metres tall, as large as ten soccer pitches, lay before his eyes. It was basically impossible for such a large opening to appear in regular mountains.

    This was the very depths of Magnetic Field mountain. If he ventured any further, he would be leaving the mountain, and if he ventured any deeper, he would be underground.

    He leapt down from the cliff. Specks of light glimmered in the darkness, present everywhere whether it was above his head or below his feet, just like the starry sky. It was enough for him to forget about where he was, like he had been displaced in outer space.

    That was the lustre of the pieces of magnetic ferrum. They were half-buried in the walls, with some even exposed outside. It was possible to imagine just how much more ore there was beneath the stone ground.

    However, this dreamy sight also hid great danger.

    When Li Qingshan entered the depths of the cavern, the specks of ¡°stars¡± silently vanished into the darkness, no longer shining anymore.

    Even though he had not emitted any sounds, he had disturbed this place of silence, as well as the colossal beast slumbering in the darkness. Even though the senses of the spirit turtle had basically lost its effect, the chilling sensation was like needle pricks to his skin, giving him goosebumps. It roused the most primitive sensation of fear.

    The direct disciples all stopped talking, staring straight at the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing. They could clearly see the craggy walls shifting about, swallowing the magnetic ferrum half-exposed in the walls. Vicious heads protruded out, casting their gazes towards Li Qingshan¡¯s direction.

    This was not some magnetic ferrum mine but a lair of earth fiend beasts!

    Li Qingshan arrived in the centre of the lair. A strange rock thirty metres tall stood there. He leapt up onto the rock, but due to his angle, he failed to see the huge chunk of magnetic ferrum, almost the size of a watermelon, embedded on the other side of the strange rock. It shone brightly, slowly sinking into the depths of the rock.

 Chapter 1356

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1356 ¨C Mad Singing

    Li Qingshan coughed into his fist, which was like two claps of thunder in the silent cave.

    Rumble. There was a disturbance in the darkness. The sound of rubbing and colliding rock rang out endlessly, surging towards him like a tsunami.

    Standing high on the stage, Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and spread his arms, calling out.

    ¡°My dear friends, are you well?¡±

    Are you well¡­ you well¡­ well¡­ well¡­

    The echoes rampaged through the cavern. The reply he received was a strange buzzing, basically drowning out his voice, like a surging ocean surrounding the lone island he was on.

    Pi Yangqiu said with absolute certainty, ¡°He¡¯s mad!¡±

    Ren Aoyou laughed. ¡°No wonder you like to gamble on the dark horse, junior brother Le. This gamble is particularly interesting. Even losing would be worth it!¡± But up until now, he already had a certain victory over one gamble. Once the earth fiend beasts finished this guy off, he would win his second one too.

    Le Tian smiled wryly. ¡°Though, it seems to be a little too exciting.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was concerned, paying close attention.

    ¡°Now, please allow me, Li Qingshan, to perform a song for you¡ªMen Should Strive to Better Themselves!¡±

    Li Qingshan bent over slightly, raising his right arm and bowing. He smiled wildly and flagrantly.

    The giant rock under his feet shook¡ªno, the entire cavern was shaking.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and raised his chest, singing out loud, ¡°With a sense of pride, laughing over the myriad waves!¡±

    Roar! The beasts lunged towards him from all directions as they growled. The strange rock under his feet split open to form a gaping mouth that could swallow an elephant whole.

    ¡°Hot-blooded, hot like the red sunlight!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt up towards the ceiling of the cavern. The beasts collided beneath his feet. The commotion they created was like a rockslide. There were jagged rocks and overlapping magnetic fields everywhere as if it had turned into an abyssal hell.

    Boom!

    A colossal head smashed apart several dozen earth fiend beasts in its path, completely breaking free from the pull of the earth and biting towards Li Qingshan with unbelievable speed.

    Li Qingshan reached mid-air and gradually slowed down. He was unable to use any of his powers or daemon qi here at all. Unless he ignored the prying eyes and unfurled his phoenix wings, the only thing awaiting him was falling into the mouth of the whale-like earth fiend beast.

    ¡°Courage seemingly forged from steel!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and landed on the colossal beast¡¯s teeth. The moment the gaping mouth slammed shut, he leapt up again, touching the ceiling of the cavern. He punched out towards the black stalactite that weighed several hundred tonnes over thirty metres beside him.

    ¡°Pride seemingly carved from diamond!¡±

    The fist and rock collided, producing the thrumming of metal.

    With a bang, the stalactite broke off from the ceiling and hurtled towards the colossal beast that pursued him relentlessly.

    Boom! The colossal beast was smashed into the ground. Dust filled the air as the entire cavern shook violently.

    Li Qingshan used the rebounding force to push himself over to another stalactite. He was about to repeat the same trick when a gust of wind rushed over his head. An earth fiend beast had woken up in the ceiling, immediately lunging towards him while he was unable to dodge mid-air. It interrupted his singing, and the two of them fell towards the ground.

    Sharp and hideous teeth filled his eyes. He saw the ground from the corner of his eyes. Several hundred earth fiend beasts of various sizes raised their heads and ground their teeth, waiting for him. Even without these dangers, his body would be smashed to pieces if he directly fell three hundred metres even if it was forged from steel.

    No matter how tough his physique was, he was not invincible, much less in a place like this, in a world like this. The heavy fall damage would temporarily incapacitate him, and he would not be able to escape the fate of being torn apart by the beasts.

    Pi Yangqiu concluded. ¡°He¡¯s done for!¡±

    Perhaps this outcome had already become set in stone the moment he entered the centre of the mountain and challenged the beasts. That was the fate of those who overestimated themselves.

    ¡°No, he¡¯s still smiling!¡± Le Tian manipulated the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing, zooming in on Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    Sure enough, in the face of danger, as he rapidly fell towards the ground, he smiled even more wildly and flagrantly, wild like fire, flagrant like wind!

    He continued to sing with an even louder voice, ¡°A breadth of mind thousands of metres across, a vision thousands of kilometres long!¡±

    He spread his arms and gave the earth fiend beast on him a great hug, twisting himself in the air such that he was on top.

    Boom!

    Rock shot off everywhere, and the ground cracked. The earth fiend beast had been smashed to pieces.

    With his black hair drifting through the air and a smile on his face, Li Qingshan grabbed the third piece of magnetic ferrum and tossed it into the basket on his back. He sang with a smile, ¡°Swearing to improve yourself, to be a fine man, roar!¡±

    With a bellow, he lunged towards an earth fiend beast and plunged his hand into its chest with the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart, digging out another piece of magnetic ferrum.

    The earth fiend beast immediately froze as if it had turned into a stone statue.

    ¡°To be a fine man, improving with each day!¡±

    The buzzing drowned out his singing as several dozen earth fiend beasts swallowed his finger. In the next moment, even more resonant singing ran out.

    ¡°A hot-blooded man, even hotter than the red sunlight!¡±

    He stood barefooted on the ground. His imposing figure made him seem like he had turned into a beast of steel, opening his large hands like claws.

    ¡°Roar! Hah! Hey!¡±

    With each bellow and a Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart, an earth fiend beast froze. He was like a vicious tiger fighting off a pack of wolves. The wolf pack was vicious, but the tiger was much more fatal, killing them until wolf corpses lay strewn, afraid to approach him again.

    The direct disciples were all dumbfounded. Pi Yangqiu said in disbelief, ¡°How is he doing this?¡±

    The most troublesome part of earth fiend beasts was their lack of so-called vital points. Sometimes, they could even continue fighting after most of their bodies had been destroyed. That was fine when there was only one opponent, but once they became surrounded by them, then that was like being tossed into a stone mill. They would be crushed and ground to pieces very soon.

    However, Li Qingshan relied on this one attack that could not be more commonplace to deal an effective blow whenever he struck, forcefully paving a path for himself.

    The only explanation was he could instantly determine the location of the magnetic ferrum in the bodies of the earth fiend beasts. However, even the Human Sovereigns present were not capable of that.

    Le Tian shook his head slowly. ¡°I don¡¯t know. This dark horse is already so dark that even I don¡¯t know how to explain it anymore.¡± He suddenly became excited, dancing around. ¡°But nicely done. Qingshan, kill them all! Make them taste your power!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu let out a sigh of relief while the nine-coloured deer wondered inside, Does this guy really have the bloodline of the qilin? It doesn¡¯t seem like it with how he fights. It¡¯s as if he¡¯s turned into someone different altogether! He¡¯s quite fearful, actually! But whatever. As long as he can help me win this round, none of that matters!

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t celebrate too soon. We still don¡¯t know whether this kid can survive or not!¡±

    The cavern extended off in all directions like a huge echo chamber. The resonant singing, the noise from the battle, and the disorderly magnetic field awakened all of the earth fiend beasts in the mountain, luring them over.

    With each passing moment, earth fiend beasts surged in from every entrance, like the furious current, turning the cavern into a colossal arena. Even a moment of carelessness would cost him his life.

    On top of that, the strongest and most terrifying ¡°beast king¡± in the lair had not been destroyed yet.

    Boom!

    Boulders shot through the air, even crushing a few small earth fiend beasts.

    Li Qingshan gazed out, only to see the earth fiend beast that the strange rock had transformed into emerge from the rubble, virtually unscathed. It completely extended its limbs and became even larger, trudging towards him with heavy steps. Each step made the cavern shake.

    It suddenly stopped and shook its head. With a hiss, electricity surged in its mouth, charging up for an attack!

    Even without the spirit turtle¡¯s senses, it made Li Qingshan shiver. With a body slam, he smashed apart the earth fiend beast in front of him. He did not even bother with collecting the magnetic ferrum, running along the walls furiously as he tried to make his way over to the beast king¡¯s back.

    The beast king swivelled its head slowly. The electricity became even brighter in its mouth before it abruptly launched the attack.

    A flash of white light filled his eyes, leaving the cavern bright like daytime.

    Li Qingshan leapt up and was immediately slammed against the wall by a great force.

    Boom! The wall cracked and collapsed, forming a great hole. All the magnetic ferrum he had gathered after so much difficulty scattered on the ground.

    He lay in the hole with his organs in pain. His entire body was numb and immobilised. He could even smell the scent of roasted meat.

    Only after a seemingly very long time did he hear the deafening boom. With his blurry eyes, he could still make out the twisted trajectory of the electricity in the air.

    He should have been able to dodge the attack with that leap of his, but the electricity had suddenly twisted as if it had locked onto him, slamming into him viciously.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡¯

    Le Tian cried out painfully as if he was the one who had suffered that blow. Only extremely powerful earth fiend beasts were capable of that. Even if he endured a strike like that, it would be quite painful.

    Ruan Yaozhu completely paled in horror, subconsciously biting down on her lip.

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°The earth fiend beasts¡¯ sense of hearing is not actually a sense of hearing. It¡¯s closer to the very nature of hearing. They¡¯re extremely sensitive to vibrations, and what they truly use to lock onto prey are magnetic fields! In such a narrow space, it¡¯s almost impossible to dodge the electricity attack from the great earth fiend beast. It¡¯s useless no matter how fast his reflexes are. He¡¯s dead for sure!¡±

    The beasts surged over like the tide, lunging towards the immobilised Li Qingshan. The beast king began to amass electricity in its mouth again.

    ¡°Make the sky and sea gather strength for me¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan stood up slowly. He lost some control over his tongue, so his singing became rather strange.

    The boundless earth was with him. The endless power surged in through every pore of his body. It was the only remaining innate ability of his, the Strength of the Earth!

    In such a deep place in the mountain, not only was it unaffected by the magnetic fields, but it even became stronger and more sensitive. This was the exact ability he had used to sense the location of the magnetic ferrum in the bodies of each earth fiend beast, which was why he could kill them with a single strike.

    The deep tranquillity surrounded him like he was in his mother¡¯s embrace. There was no fear at all. He was the child of the earth.

    Once again, he leapt up energetically and smashed through the tide of beasts!

    ¡°To achieve greatness, to advance for the sake of my dreams!¡±

    He stepped over the earth fiend beasts and lunged towards the beast king¡¯s hideous mouth, throwing himself into the surging electricity.

    Boom!

    Electricity exploded, even leaving the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing white.

    The direct disciples all widened their eyes. By the time the white light had slowly faded away, all they saw was the terrifying beast king standing in the same position as before, launching the attack. It did not budge at all, but Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen.

    Ruan Yaozhu asked with a trembling voice, ¡°I- is he still alive?¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Look!¡±

    A charred figure emerged from the colossal mouth of the beast king, holding a huge piece of magnetic ferrum that shone in the darkness.

    Li Qingshan grinned, revealing his snowy-white teeth. He overlooked the beasts.

    ¡°Since I am a man, I should strive to better myself!¡±

 Chapter 1357

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1357 ¨C Casting a Formation

    Le Tian cheered and raised his hands high in the air. ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan! Qingshan!¡± He smashed his head into the three-legged golden toad and called out, ¡°The invincible dark horse! The invincible dark horse!¡±

    Croak! The three-legged golden toad swiveled its eyes before closing them again.

    Ruan Yaozhu pressed against her chest. ¡°That¡¯s fantastic!¡± She felt excitement that lingered for a very long time. She wondered whether this was the taste of gambling that her senior brother Le was talking about.

    Le Tian pointed at the other three and smiled. ¡°You three, how¡¯s that?¡±

    That was the smile of a victor of the gamble.

    ¡°Is he really not an asura?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was puzzled. He had faced his fair share of battles, and he had seen existences much more powerful than Li Qingshan before. However, he had only ever witnessed such fervent enthusiasm for battle and boldness to neglect their safety from asura.

    After all, cultivators still prioritised longevity at the end of the day. They would try their best to avoid pointless battles and try to eliminate battles that they had no confidence in winning altogether. They had already achieved a very, very high status, and they had a very, very long lifespan to enjoy. They would never gamble everything that they would possess without good reason, even if the risks were very, very low.

    Their gamble with Le Tian was only a form of social contact between direct disciples so that they could find excitement. Even if they lost, it would merely cost them some Green Jade bookmarks. After all, they would always win some and lose some. As long as they had enough time, they could always make it back.

    Li Qingshan was different. He had ventured into the lair at the centre of the mountain while he was almost completely ignorant of earth fiend beasts, singing at the top of his lungs along the way and declaring war against the beasts at the danger of being killed. There was no cautiousness to speak of. The way he behaved did not resemble a cultivator at all.

    People like that were almost a little perplexing or even hopelessly foolish. Was he not aware that he would lose everything from the slightest accident? All of his efforts so far, his great future prospects, and his own life had all been placed on the gambling table without any concern, waiting for fate to make a choice.

    Unbeknownst to Pi Yangqiu, a situation like this was all too common to Li Qingshan compared to the dangers, difficulties, and situations of life or death he had faced. If he did not possess the courage and resolve to neglect death, he would have been reduced to a pile of bones a long time ago. How could he have made it to where he was right now?

    There were no great future prospects for him to enjoy either, as the path ahead would only be more dangerous. Very soon, he would be venturing into the Demon domain to face Demon God Qiongqi. Compared to that, what were a few earth fiend beasts supposed to be? If he even ran away from this bit of danger, he was better off slitting his throat and dying!

    He had never considered stopping. He had never considered looking back, which was why he gambled everything he had freely, seeing if he had the luck to make it beyond the Nine Heavens! If he died along the way, then he would calmly accept that fate! At the very least, it would not be a result of cowardice and uselessness.

    ¡°Hmph, asura don¡¯t pose around like that!¡±

    Ren Aoyou continued to brood on Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance of a ¡°good boy¡± that he had demonstrated in the beginning, but a smear of praise flashed through his eyes. That was no longer a gaze of watching an insect through a glass cover from high above. Instead, he treated him as a ¡°fellow¡± truly worthy of standing on equal footing.

    He even began to admit inside that he had never seen his true colours and that there was something wrong with his judgement.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan leapt out from the mouth of the huge, motionless beast and became entangled with the other beasts. He ignored his injuries, laughing and singing madly.

    The Strength of the Earth bestowed him with endless power, and as he understood the earth fiend beasts¡¯ methods of attack, it became easier and easier too. The terrifying enemies before him crumbled away like pottery.

    With the mad singing, he was like a black tornado that swept through the cavern, obliterating and shattering everything in his path like he was unstoppable!

    Pi Yangqiu sighed. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t he go to the Asura realm instead? He might even end up being chosen by the heavens! He¡¯d gain the favour of one of the generals from the Asura realm immediately. He¡¯d definitely have a much greater future there than the Human realm!¡±

    Leng Yuan furrowed his brows in thought, which made him seem even more quiet and mysterious.

    Le Tian jokingly said, ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s been drawn by junior sister Ruan¡¯s charms! I¡¯m winning this gamble for sure. If he doesn¡¯t come first, I¡¯ll eat this Map of All-seeing and All-hearing. Hahahaha!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu reddened. ¡°Don¡¯t say that, senior brother. What charms do I have? Anyways, it doesn¡¯t matter how much you win. You¡¯ll be returning it to the three senior brothers regardless.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer sighed. She knew this would happen. She never even considered winning her senior brother¡¯s Green Jade bookmarks.

    ¡°Junior sister, oh junior sister, don¡¯t you know what greed is? I hate people like you when it comes to gambling!¡± Le Tian smiled craftily. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll lose, and this is my gamble with you. Don¡¯t tell me the three of them are shameless enough to ask you to compensate them?¡±

    ¡°Junior sister Ruan, are you looking down on us, or do you want this kid Le Tian to look down on us?¡± Ren Aoyou said in displeasure, ¡°And, grinning little Le, it is a little too early to say that! The gamble is not ending anytime soon!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu pouted and lowered her head silently, which made her seem slightly simple. However, she definitely was not the type of person that could be easily swayed with words.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This Li Qingshan clearly hasn¡¯t made any preparations for the test. He knows very little about earth fiend beasts, and he completely relies on his physique to fend them off. However, just how much strength will he have after a bitter battle with the earth fiend beasts?¡±

    ¡°The two brothers are different. They¡¯re clearly well-prepared, completely looking down on the other Soul Nascence cultivators, so they must have something to rely on. On top of that, they¡¯ve been conserving their energy for an ambush on the unexpected. Senior brother Le, the outcome has yet to be determined!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu spoke with composure, brushing off Le Tian¡¯s remarks. How could he admit defeat before the result of the test was determined? However, after witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s valiance, he no longer held much hope. If the two brothers did not act like idiots and did not provoke this monster Li Qingshan, they would be doing quite well.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright. I¡¯ll make the three of you lose all hope then. Let¡¯s take a look at what these two are doing!¡±

    Le Tian brought the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing to the other end of Magnetic Field mountain with a smile and locked onto the brothers. They were currently guarding a necessary path out of the mountain and busying about. They seemed to be preparing something like a formation enthusiastically.

    However, whether it were techniques, arcane treasures, or formations, they were all useless in Magnetic Field mountain as long as they relied on the power of cultivators. Even if they were located near the exit of the mountain and the influence from the magnetic field had begun to weaken, regular formations were still mostly useless.

    However, when they saw the tools they used to cast the formation, the direct disciples¡¯ eyes all lit up.

    Le Tian said in surprise, ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s actually a thief formation. Haha, the two of them really are prepared.¡± Not only was he unworried, but he even smiled instead. ¡°Not bad. They have a chance. They have a good chance!¡±

    Ren Aoyou and Pi Yangqiu exchanged glances, and their complexions had both recovered. At the very least, it demonstrated that their judgement was not too horrible. The gamble had only just begun!

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows. She never expected the two brothers to be so prepared. They were clearly ready to block the path and rob passing cultivators right from the beginning. The amount of effort they put into this wicked act left her displeased. She could not help but worry for Li Qingshan¡¯s safety again.

    ¡°They might not be bold enough to attack Soul Nascence cultivators.¡±

    Le TIan said, ¡°Maybe not in the beginning, but they definitely will now! This gamble really is getting more and more interesting.¡±

 Chapter 1358

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1358 ¨C Leaving the Mountain

    After who knew how long, the centre of the mountain fell quiet again. Various incomplete statues of earth fiend beasts stood in the darkness in various shapes.

    Li Qingshan sat on the ground, silently contemplating the path of the qilin, as the Qilin Transformation showed signs of regression after the battle.

    Do you have to be so fussy? The stuff I killed can¡¯t even be called living creatures!

    He realised more and more that the path of the qilin really was not as simple as he first imagined it to be, where his cultivation would skyrocket as long as he behaved like a good person and did some good things.

    The Qilin, With its Hovering Steps, Sympathises With the Living. However, even when he killed a peach tree to save a group of beggars, that was defying the path of the qilin, as human lives were not more noble than plants. Even if he did not have to sacrifice any lives, the people he saved would definitely end up devouring the life of others.

    The so-called concept of doing good and accumulating virtue was just the good and virtue of humans.

    Perhaps what he truly needed to achieve was to obey the path of nature, to forget about right and wrong, good and bad, as he tread through the air and overlooked all the living creatures.

    As it turned out, the so-called path of benevolence was actually so ¡°heartless¡±.

    In the darkness, he suddenly opened his eyes and estimated the time. Roughly a day and a half had passed. He had to leave the mountain and hand over all the magnetic ferrum he had obtained within the three day limit.

    Gazing out, the large cavern was littered with glistening magnetic ferrum. The battle had paid off reasonably well.

    However, he had lost the basket to carry the magnetic ferrum, and it was not easy to take all this magnetic ferrum with him. He strolled through the cavern and suddenly arrived before the statue of the largest earth fiend beast again. He split open its stomach and pulled out a highly-pure piece of black iron ore.

    After a series of rubbing and kneading, he stretched it into several long rods and used them to weave an enormous basket. He did an extremely detailed job as well, so it did not seem crude at all.

    He put it on his back happily and began picking up the pieces of magnetic ferrum, tossing them inside, which led to a series of clangs.

    After collecting all the magnetic ferrum scattered on the ground, he began to dig through the cavern, doing his best to gather a little more magnetic ferrum to pave a firm foundation for his developments in the Myriad sect.

    By the time two days had elapsed, his metal basket was already filled to the brim. Only then did he pick it up and trudge off with heavy steps, making his way out of the mountain with the joy of a bountiful harvest.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Elder brother, it¡¯s a big harvest this time!¡±

    The fair-skinned gentleman smiled as he tossed a piece of magnetic ferrum into the basket beside him, but it was caught mid-air and tossed into another basket. The dark-skinned fiend said indifferently, ¡°This should be my piece!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I forgot. Hahahaha, sorry about that. We don¡¯t have to bicker about these small details as brothers.¡±

    They had not dug up a single piece of magnetic ferrum, yet their baskets were almost full.

    The dark-skinned fiend scrunched up his eyebrows. ¡°Until now, not a single one of the three Soul Nascence cultivators have appeared.¡±

    ¡°They have to pass through here if they want to leave the mountain. The three-day deadline is coming up. They¡¯ll appear sooner or later.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried they¡¯re making trouble inside. Some of these people don¡¯t seem to be willing to pay the toll.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, with this Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend, they¡¯re not our opponent no matter what they¡¯re capable of. However, if they¡¯re sensible, there¡¯s no need for us to develop too deep of a feud with them. Letting them pass through is fine.¡±

    They were relaxed like they were on a holiday, but they were unaware that a pair of eyes were currently watching them through the stone walls.

    It was the female Soul Nascence cultivator. She had tied up her long hair. Dressed in leather clothes, she seemed very experienced and ready. Her eyes were particularly bright.

    Through some kind of method, she could actually overcome the influence of the magnetic field and directly peer through the rocks. Of course, she also used this to mine a great quantity of magnetic ferrum, such that over half of her basket was filled.

    Zhu Yingcai asked nervously, ¡°Senior Su Tong, how is it? Are they still there?¡±

    Su Tong withdrew her gaze. ¡°They¡¯re still there.¡±

    It led to a series of sighs in the cavern, as well as furious cursing. ¡°These two bastards are really as greedy as they can get! They¡¯ve already stolen so much magnetic ferrum, and they¡¯re still going?¡±

    One or two hundred people gathered there. The various sounds converged together, making it noisy like a market.

    Someone warned them. ¡°All of you, be a little more quiet, or you might draw over earth fiend beasts!¡±

    Someone immediately replied in disdain, ¡°You coward! What earth fiend beasts? It¡¯s all just a lie!¡±

    Su Tong blinked her eyes. She recalled the singing she had heard the day before yesterday when she ventured deeper into Magnetic Field mountain. The singing had originated from the centre of the mountain that was even further down beneath her feet. Back then, it had left her surprised. She never imagined someone would actually be bold enough to venture deeply into Magnetic Field mountain and sing loudly during the process. They were basically crazy.

    However, the singing never stopped, and the disturbance instead became greater and greater, which left her certain it was one of the Soul Nascence cultivators. The two bandit brothers had made their preparations here a long time ago, while the old daoist priest¡¯s voice could not be so youthful. As such, it had to be him. A handsome, gentle face appeared in her head, which just left her with a good impression.

    Hopefully, he hasn¡¯t been killed by the earth fiend beasts. He¡¯s probably the reason why basically no one has encountered any earth fiend beasts.

    The test became surprisingly simple as a result. Even the conflict between others had decreased drastically. Without the threat of earth fiend beasts, they could venture into the mountains to mine more magnetic ferrum, so they were no longer forced to turn against each other.

    Li Qingshan had basically shouldered all of the difficulty of this test by himself. If it were not for the two brothers blocking the way, many people would have passed the test.

    Zhu Yingcai fell back on his bottom and sighed glumly. ¡°What do we do? We can¡¯t leave here. If only all Soul Nascence cultivators were like senior Su Tong!¡±

    The cultivators all pleaded with her. ¡°Senior Su Tong, you have to help us!¡±

    Su Tong sneered in contempt inside, You bunch of fools, why should I help you? This move taken by the two bandit brothers is far too vicious. Even I¡¯m not their opponent, so why would I still care about you? If it weren¡¯t for the fact that it would affect my reputation in the Myriad sect, I would have tricked you out of your magnetic ferrum a long time ago and found another way out of here.

    Sigh, who can help the fact that I¡¯m a female cultivator? I¡¯ll definitely end up joining the faction belonging to the first senior sister, Chao Tianjiao, as soon as I join the Myriad sect. The first senior sister¡¯s faction of female cultivators has always emphasised solidarity and friendship. If I give them the bad impression that I¡¯m very scheming and cunning, that¡¯ll be horrible. Male cultivators are simply better. They can fight and kill, and it¡¯s nothing even if they do something bad. They might even be appreciated for something like that. Sigh, it¡¯s just tough being a woman!

    Right as she felt conflicted, heavy footsteps rang out from the depths of the cave.

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    It grew closer and closer too, so the cultivators immediately fell silent. Only an earth fiend beast was large enough to produce footsteps like that. They had nowhere to flee. If they travelled forwards, they would be running head-first into the trap set by the two brothers. They were truly stuck between a rock and a hard place now.

    Zhu Yingcai climbed to his feet again and asked anxiously, ¡°Senior, senior! What do we do?¡±

    Su Tong¡¯s eyes shone brightly as she peered through the rocks. Then she suddenly widened her eyes as if she had just seen something unbelievable. ¡°How¡­ how is that possible?¡±

    Before long, everyone widened their eyes, all in disbelief. They saw Li Qingshan trudging over with heavy steps.

 Chapter 1359

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1359 ¨C Choice

    Li Qingshan had his head lowered and his back bent down low. His defined muscles flowed like water. The metal basket on his back was several times larger than the baskets distributed by the Myriad sect, so he seemed like a huge snail, crawling along slowly.

    However, that was merely an illusion. He covered three metres with each step, planting his bare foot in the ground deeply before raising it swiftly again, leaving behind a trail of deep footprints.

    The lustre of the magnetic ferrum passed through the cracks in the metal basket; it was as dazzling as fireflies in the darkness.

    How has he gathered so much magnetic ferrum, and the quality is so high too!?

    Su Tong felt like she was already cheating in this test, yet she still could not compare to the two shameless brothers. She struggled to imagine how he had achieved this.

    Suddenly, she recalled the singing and booms from the centre of the mountain. A thought rose up in her head, Surely not! Don¡¯t tell me he gathered all this magnetic ferrum through killing earth fiend beasts?

    She approached him with a smile and bowed gracefully. ¡°Please hold on, fellow!¡±

    Under everyone¡¯s gazes of reverence, Li Qingshan slowed down, but he did not stop. ¡°What is it, fellow?¡±

    Su Tong said solemnly, ¡°Be careful, fellow. There are wicked people blocking the path up ahead. Do you still remember those two Soul Nascence cultivators, the pretty face and the dark shorty? Turns out they¡¯re brothers. They¡¯ve cast down the Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend to specially rob passing cultivators. Many people have already suffered at their hands.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°The Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend! There¡¯s a formation like that?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, the effect of the formation has always been identical to the magnetic fields. It can greatly weaken the enemies that set foot in there. The brothers really have racked their brains in this regard. They¡¯re using this formation to fend off the influence from the magnetic field. As long as they remain within the vicinity of the formation, they have basically recovered their full strength. Probably no one in the mountain is their opponent.¡±

    Su Tong was worried. She wanted to convince Li Qingshan to form an alliance with her. If she had guessed correctly, then he should be overwhelmingly powerful. A single, powerful ally would always be more useful than a bunch of trash.

    Zhu Yingcai felt rather mixed inside, but he still stood forward to vent his grievances. ¡°Senior, the two of them are far too wicked. They¡¯ve taken all the magnetic ferrum everyone has collected after so much difficulty. They¡¯re no different from the mountain bandits. You have to stand up for us!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at him indifferently. ¡°Since the rules permit that, then there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be leaving first.¡± He sped up again and continued on his way, deciding to follow the path of the qilin and keep to himself.

    ¡°Hey, fellow! Fellow!¡± Su Tong stamped her foot and caught up quickly.

    Outside Magnetic Field mountain.

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows slightly. This was rather different from how Li Qingshan behaved in Deer city. Was human nature really that complicated and unpredictable?

    The nine-coloured deer panicked much more inside, Li Qingshan you bastard, where¡¯s your sense of justice when you fed those beggars? Where¡¯s your courage that even left you undaunted by the Myriad sect?

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°How¡¯s that, junior sister Ruan? He¡¯s not as kind-hearted as you imagined him to be! Human nature is unpredictable. It¡¯ll be difficult to decide on this gamble between good and wicked! Since he neither does evil nor does good, let¡¯s just call it a draw.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu persisted. ¡°I believe in him.¡±

    Le Tian licked his thin lips. ¡°I really am eager to see the final outcome!¡±

    Ren Aoyou and Pi Yangqiu secretly clenched their fists too.

    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, just leave a piece for me so that I pass!¡±

    A middle-aged man knelt on the ground and pleaded with the brothers with snot and tears across his face. He had arrived here from a different cave, walking head-first into the trap. He had been robbed of all of his magnetic ferrum.

    The fair-skinned smiled. ¡°Big brother, what do you think? Should we give him a piece? I feel so bad when I see him cry.¡±

    The dark-skinned fiend said, ¡°Little brother, since when did you become so soft-hearted?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, I have some human compassion too.¡±

    ¡°That sure is strange.¡±

    They were like cats that had caught a mouse, playing and teasing it leisurely as a diversion from boredom.

    When the heavy footsteps appeared, they both widened their eyes, gazing at the incoming Li Qingshan in the distance in disbelief.

    The fair-skinned gentleman murmured, ¡°Surely not!¡±

    The dark-skinned fiend immediately became wary. Dangerous, cold light flashed through his eyes.

    However, Li Qingshan did not glance at them. Even the rhythm of his footsteps had not changed, trudging over step by step. He entered the Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend and continued on his way with his head buried deep as if he saw nothing at all. However, he thought inside, If they proactively make trouble, I naturally have to defend myself. That doesn¡¯t defy the path of the qilin!

    The two brothers exchanged glances rapidly. They did not plan on making an enemy out of any of the Soul Nascence cultivators, but the amount of magnetic ferrum in the metal basket basically guaranteed him first place. Even if they combined all the magnetic ferrum they had robbed, they came nowhere close. Their place was completely ruined.

    However, they were not bold enough to strike rashly either. He definitely was a piece of work to be able to obtain so much magnetic ferrum. Just the weight of the magnetic ferrum on his back and his tough physique that allowed him to advance steadily made him a difficult opponent to deal with.

    Most importantly, the man seemed to give off an invisible bearing, such that they refused to oppose him without good reason.

    Do we do it or not!?

    In an instant, Li Qingshan arrived right before them. A battle was on the verge of erupting.

    For a moment, the middle-aged man forgot about begging and pleading. He raised his head and stared at Li Qingshan in a daze. Behind, the cultivators led by Su Tong were extremely nervous too. Even the direct disciples were fixated on the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing.

    At that moment, all the gazes gathered on Li Qingshan. The outcome of this test and the result of the gamble would all be determined at this moment!

    However, just like that, Li Qingshan brushed past the two brothers under everyone¡¯s gazes, continuing forwards and gradually travelling away.

    Su Tong pouted. A series of glum sighs rang out from behind her. The cultivators that wanted to slip past them during the chaos were all greatly disappointed.

    The true disciples all responded differently too.

    Le Tian smiled complacently. At the very least, he had won one of his gambles and drawn the other. He had still made a killing.

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed inside, but it had nothing to do with the outcome of the gamble. Sigh, that¡¯s the smartest decision. So be it. How can I ask others to be the same as me? Just wielding the power he possesses appropriately without doing evil is praiseworthy behaviour. However, she struggled to hide the disappointment in her eyes.

    Ren Aoyou and Pi Yangqiu could not help but roar at the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing, ¡°You two pieces of trash, get him!¡±

    The expressions of the brothers changed as if they were communicating through their soul senses, but they allowed the footsteps to gradually travel off into the distance because they were torn between the choices.

    Li Qingshan raised his head, and a smear of light appeared before his eyes. The entrance was already in sight. He would definitely place first in the test this time, but he felt rather agitated inside, like something itching on his back, like a fishbone stuck in his throat.

    The miserable pleas of the middle-aged man rang out again. Suddenly, he stopped, and the metal basket on his back struck the ground heavily, kicking up a cloud of dust. He stood tall and straight in the light, turning around and pointing at the two brothers.

    ¡°Oi, you two, give the magnetic ferrum back to him!¡±

    Fuck the path of the qilin. I¡¯ll show you how I ¡°win people over by virtue¡± today.

 Chapter 1360

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1360 ¨C A Vicious Beating

    The brothers exchanged glances and turned around together, gazing at Li Qingshan in hostility.

    ¡°Elder brother, are my ears deceiving me?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not.¡±

    ¡°Is there something wrong with his head?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Haha, he really is seeking his own doom!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±

    For a moment, killing intent surged.

    Outside Magnetic Field mountain, Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s eyes lit up again, filled with delight. She looked at Le Tian with a smile as if she was saying, You see, I wasn¡¯t wrong.

    Ren Aoyou smiled. ¡°Junior brother Le, you¡¯ve already lost one of these two gambles.¡±

    By now, goodness and wickedness had been determined. Unless their sense of morality was twisted and they were being irrational, no one could say that was not an act of goodness. Everyone present possessed status. They obviously would not do something like that for a gamble.

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°And you¡¯ll be losing the second gamble very soon. Two Soul Nascence cultivators aren¡¯t easy to deal with.¡±

    Le Tian scratched his head. ¡°It makes no sense. Why¡¯s this kid gone mad again?¡±

    ¡°This is being ready to help others for a just cause. How can you call that going mad?¡± Ruan Yaozhu became slightly worried for Li Qingshan again. ¡°Senior brother Le, we should head over to the other side of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°No hurry. He¡¯s not going to die any time soon. Even if he does die, he deserves it. Being a good person comes with a price!¡±

    Le Tian¡¯s words led to more displeasure from Ruan Yaozhu. She sighed. ¡°Yeah, you often have to pay a price for being a good person. Hopefully, you can be safe and sound.¡±

    Li Qingshan did call himself the hero king, but it really was not an act of justice this time. He had actually gone mad, as he was in a very bad mood right now. The Qilin Transformation was far too hard to please. This did not work, that did not work. It was even more difficult to handle than the Phoenix Transformation back then.

    Otherwise, he would have never bothered sticking his nose in the business of others. Cultivators were not those small beggars on the streets. If they ventured outside and took risks, then they had to be prepared to be killed, let alone just being robbed. That crybaby was not worth him lending a hand either.

    It was all because he felt pent up inside. The two brothers became a ready target for him to vent on. He walked over without saying a word.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    The dark-skinned fiend drew a heavy, black dragon-headed cane from behind him. Suddenly, it lit up with scarlet light, turning the dark cavern bright-red. Within the deep dragon¡¯s cry, it sprayed out with roaring flames that surged towards Li Qingshan.

    The fair-skinned gentleman swung his arm, and a folding fan fell out of his sleeve. He opened it with a swish. The profound glyphs on there all lit up, and he swung it violently. Fierce winds rose up, feeding the fire and sweeping up the flames into a fire tornado that filled the entire cavern, whistling over.

    The moment the two of them struck, they would combine their full strength together.

    There was nowhere for Li Qingshan to dodge. He was swallowed by the fire tornado instantly.

    The two brothers smiled coldly. You¡¯re really asking to die. In Magnetic Field mountain, you don¡¯t even have the most basic protection from true qi. You¡¯ll be turned into a roast pig instantly. Even your soul nascence can¡¯t escape!

    Su Tong originally wanted to leave the mountain during the chaos, but she was forced back by the heat waves. The cultivators behind her were even worse off, basically scrambling away with their hair singed. Even the rocks in the cave turned red from the heat, melting into lava.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible. Even without the influence from Magnetic Field mountain, the cultivators who¡¯ve cast down the formation possess an absolute geographic advantage. Coupled with their advantage in numbers, it¡¯s impossible for Li Qingshan to win. He¡¯s probably dead already!¡±

    The flames turned the Map of All-seeing and All-hearing red. They could not see what was going on in the mountain.

    Ruan Yaozhu immediately became nervous. Would good people really end up unrewarded?

    Ren Aoyou and Pi Yangqiu instead relaxed. With Li Qingshan¡¯s death, Le Tian¡¯s loss was certain, but they also felt a tinge of pity and doubt. A man like that would actually perish in a place like this? However, they saw Le Tian standing to one side with the same smile as before.

    ¡°Oi, Le Tian, your dark horse is almost out of the game!¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be like that. I¡¯m bold enough to bet that he definitely won¡¯t die here!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise, ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because certain people are always able to win gamble after gamble, such as me. Do you think this is all luck?¡±

    ¡°Should be enough, big brother!¡± The fair-skinned gentleman swung his fan vigorously.

    ¡°Keep burning him!¡± The dark-skinned fiend powered the dragon-headed cane as hard as he could. For some reason, he felt rather uneasy inside.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably been reduced to ash already¡­ Ah!!¡±

    As soon as the fair-skinned gentleman showed a slight smile, he suddenly paled in fright.

    With a bellow, Li Qingshan leapt out from the wind and flames. He was bright red from the heat, but he was unscathed. His strong and muscly body seemed to be forged from bronze. He pushed down the fair-skinned gentleman like a scarlet tiger of flames.

    ¡°Vortex Protection!¡±

    As soon as the fair-skinned gentleman yelled out those two words, he ate a punch to the face. If it were not for the vortex that weakened the attack, his head would have been punched in already, but even with that, he was frightened out of his wits.

    Li Qingshan was about to follow up with a second punch when a whistle rang out from behind his head. He extended his hand and caught the dragon-headed cane without even looking back, tugging it forcefully. ¡°Get over here!¡±

    The dark-skinned fiend lost control and stumbled forwards. Li Qingshan grabbed his throat firmly, leaving his face filled with shock.

    The fair-skinned gentleman unleashed his powers urgently, but before he could use a single technique, he suffered a kick to the stomach. It made his organs heave and surge, almost even making him vomit up gall.

    The dark-skinned fiend was about to power the dragon-headed cane in a counterattack when he was smashed over the head, leaving him dizzy and seeing stars.

    Li Qingshan punched and kicked, basically like he was beating up a sand bag. He viciously beat up whoever that tried to resist, giving them a thorough thrashing.

    ¡°Of all the things you do, you rob people! Huh? Who¡¯s the one with something wrong with his head? Who¡¯s seeking their own doom?¡±

    He beat up the brothers until they howled out painfully, actually as powerless as mortals.

    ¡°Spare me, fellow! Spare me!¡±

    The fair-skinned young man called out again and again. Of course, by now, his face was already swollen, with a great big handprint stretched over his cheek. Li Qingshan sure was vicious, giving the pretty face special treatment.

    The dark-skinned fiend had a little more backbone in comparison. He asked in surprise, ¡°H- how¡¯re you fine!?¡±

    ¡°You still ask?¡±

    With a swing of his hand, he gave him another smack with the cane. They were already close to the exit of the mountain, so the influence on the small world from the magnetic field was no longer as powerful.

    If regular Soul Nascence cultivators endured a strike like that under these circumstances, it would obviously be certain death, but he still possessed a bloodline of the demonic and divine after all. The tiger demon controlled wind, while the phoenix controlled fire, so his resistance was out of this world. He simply charged over and took them on forcefully. Once he got close, the two brothers were not even as great as earth fiend beasts. After all, at least earth fiend beasts did not know pain and did not have any vital points, much less be frightened out of their wits.

    It was not because they were cowards. Instead, it was because even Soul Nascence cultivators could not escape once their bodies were destroyed in Magnetic Field mountain. That would only lead to death.

    As a result, Li Qingshan stopped restraining them in any particular way towards the end. After realising that Li Qingshan had no intentions of killing them, they just lay on the ground and endured the beating, afraid that any resistance they showed would instead incite Li Qingshan¡¯s murderousness.

    Li Qingshan did not want to kill anyone, but he was a very vengeful person, so how could he let them off so easily. He grabbed one of them in each hand and smashed them around madly like a child throwing a tantrum at some toys.

    As he beat them, he asked, ¡°I am winning you over by virtue. Let me ask you, have you been won over?¡±

    ¡°I beg you, stop beating us. You¡¯ve won us over. You¡¯ve won us over, alright?¡±

    The spectators were all dumbfounded. The two brothers that had become so swollen with arrogance were being beaten up in their own Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend, either howling out or begging for mercy.

    If it were not for the red-hot rocks that still demonstrated the power of the fire tornado from earlier, they basically wondered whether these two brothers were fake Soul Nascence cultivators or not.

    Su Tong blinked her eyes. In other words, he really had ventured into the centre of the mountain and collected all the magnetic ferrum by killing earth fiend beasts. They were all at the third heavenly tribulation, so why was the difference so great?

    Le Tian clapped his hands. ¡°What¡¯d I say? What¡¯d I say?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°Just where did this kid emerge from?! Even our first senior brother back then would not be able to remain unscatched under this situation with the same cultivation!¡±

    Ren Aoyou furrowed his brows firmly before suddenly smiling and shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯ve lost this round! But at least I¡¯ve helped junior sister Ruan win a round!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t¡­¡±

    Ren Aoyou swung his hand. ¡°Say no more. If I said you¡¯ve won, then you¡¯ve won.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Junior sister Ruan, just accept it. It¡¯s better for you to win than this kid Le Tian to win. Let¡¯s see just how he¡¯ll brag in the future. When it comes to understanding people, you are still superior at the end of the day!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you can stop with the modesty!¡± Leng Yuan suddenly said, ¡°The one I chose hasn¡¯t even taken action yet!¡±

 Chapter 1361

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1361 ¨C Burned By Fire

    ¡°The one you chose?¡± Le Tian laughed. ¡°You think just that old daoist priest can win against my ultimate dark horse?¡±

    Ren Aoyou and Pi Yangqiu both smiled doubtfully.

    Over the past three days, they had also paid some attention to the old daoist priest. He had stuck to mining, so he was even worse off than the female cultivator called Su Tong. It really did not seem likely for him to come first. They all dismissed it as an error in judgement by Leng Yuan, and they stopped paying attention to him.

    Leng Yuan said, ¡°If you could tell what cultivation method he practises, you wouldn¡¯t be saying that.¡±

    Li Qingshan vented to his heart¡¯s content and tossed the two brothers that he had beaten until they were half dead aside. Then he took their arcane treasures without holding back at all. He grabbed their two baskets of stolen magnetic ferrum too and made his way towards the exit.

    ¡°Please hold on, fellow!¡± Li Qingshan turned around, only to see a sagely old daoist priest, brimming with vigour, walking out from a different cave. He furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°What?¡±

    The old daoist priest said very politely, ¡°Fellow, could you please leave these magnetic ferrum behind?¡±

    Li Qingshan arched an eyebrow and lifted up the two baskets of magnetic ferrum in his hands. ¡°You mean these?¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. That one over there too!¡± The old daoist priest pointed at the metal basket in the distance.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and sighed. ¡°That¡¯ll be difficult, difficult, difficult, I say!¡±

    ¡°Fellow, you¡¯ve said difficult three times consecutively. Are you so attached to these three baskets of magnetic ferrum that you can¡¯t give them up? This humble daoist priest is not an unreasonable person. I¡¯ll give you my basket in exchange!¡±

    The old daoist priest placed down his basket. It was only half full, and the quality of the magnetic ferrum was nothing impressive either.

    ¡°It¡¯s just some dumb rocks, so there¡¯s nothing to be attached to.¡±

    ¡°Then why not?¡±

    ¡°The world is full of bastards like you. I want to be a good person, but it¡¯s just too fucking hard!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s roar echoed through the caves, filled with complaints towards this cruel world, as well as a hint of killing intent that he struggled to repress.

    The old daoist priest¡¯s face changed slightly. He began to smile. ¡°Fellow, if you don¡¯t want to live in this world, I can help you with that!¡±

    Cold light flashed through his eyes as his tall, skinny figure suddenly swelled up. Rippling muscles filled his large daoist robes until they were almost about to tear. He turned into a muscle man instantly. Even his face became twisted, casually punching the wall beside him.

    The wall immediately sunk in to form a great hole. A rumble rang through the entire cave system.

    ¡°The cultivation method that this humble daoist priest practises is called the Method of Essence-seizing, Qi-converting, and Placenta-hiding. I can hide away all of my vitality and nourish my soul nascence like a placenta, but when I need to, I can also convert all the power within my soul nascence into vitality, such that my body becomes indestructible while possessing endless strength. Have you ever heard about it before, fellow?¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s this cultivation method. Isn¡¯t it a demonic art?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows. The Method of Essence-seizing, Qi-converting, and Placenta-hiding definitely was not as simple as hiding away vitality. It could also seize the essence blood of others, converting it into placenta to nourish the golden core or soul nascence. She had even heard about certain people that specially used infants less than a year old for this cultivation method, as not only were they easy to refine, but they also possessed innate spiritual qi. It was extremely brutal and vicious.

    Le Tian said in praise, ¡°Impressive judgement, senior brother Leng! This cultivation method is about hiding away your vitality. It¡¯s even fooled us. Junior sister Ruan, these independent cultivators from small sects aren¡¯t like us who can search through the Myriad Heavenly Tomes of our Myriad sect for a cultivation method, so they¡¯re really not that selective with their cultivation methods.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said nothing. The old daoist priest did not just practise a demonic art. There was even a great issue with his moral alignment and disposition, such that he was even more bold and confident when it came to robbing others than the two brothers. He acted as if there was nothing wrong with what he was doing at all. However, the Myriad sect emphasised embracing all kinds of cultivators. They had never been particularly strict on the disciples they accepted, so this was not something she could change.

    But for some reason, she no longer worried about Li Qingshan. Instead, she felt strangely confident. She was certain that Li Qingshan could teach him a vicious lesson.

    Having been provoked again and again, Li Qingshan was almost brimming with killing intent. He silently circulated the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity and licked his slightly-dry lips. He asked the two brothers playing dead on the ground, ¡°You want your toys back or not?¡±

    The two brothers opened their eyes and nodded. They had already suffered a huge loss by losing the magnetic ferrum. If they lost their arcane treasures too, then they would basically be going broke.

    ¡°Then finish off that muscly old daoist for me!¡± Li Qingshan tossed the fan and cane back to them. The two shitty arcane treasures were not enough to interest him. He was afraid that if he kept fighting, he would lose control over his killing intent, and that would really ruin the path of the qilin. He made his way over to a rock on the side and sat down. ¡°Hurry up!¡±

    The two brothers grabbed their arcane treasures and leapt up. They had suffered a tragic beating, but Li Qingshan had held back, so their lives were not threatened. To Soul Nascence cultivators, the wounds of their body were not a big deal as long as their soul nascent were untouched.

    With his swollen face, the fair-skinned gentleman rubbed his hands and sucked up to Li Qingshan. ¡°Fellow- no, senior! Could you demonstrate your greatness as the bigger person and spare the two of us, as well as return the magnetic ferrum to us? We¡¯re willing to serve you like¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan simply shut his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m counting to three!¡±

    The two brothers shivered inside. ¡°You old daoist over there, why don¡¯t you get over here and die!?¡±

    The muscly old daoist took a step back. He never expected Li Qingshan to do something like that. All of a sudden, he was facing three Soul Nascence cultivators and the Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend was still around. He immediately realised the situation was quite disadvantageous.

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll finish off the two of you first then!¡±

    When the muscly old daoist recalled the brothers¡¯ miserable state from Li Qingshan¡¯s vicious beating, he instead made up his mind. He crushed the rocks under his feet and strode over, lunging straight towards them.

    The two brothers swung the cane and waved the fan. Flames surged, and winds whistled. The winds fed the flames, and the flames supported the winds, repeating the same trick. Another fire tornado shot towards the muscly old daoist.

    The muscly old daoist was located in a spacious cave, unlike Li Qingshan who had been stuck in a narrow tunnel before. He had ample space to dodge, as well as many stone columns to shield himself, but he recalled what he saw earlier.

    Li Qingshan had charged out of the sea of flames unscathed, which left him certain that the power of techniques had greatly diminished within Magnetic Field mountain. His current physique was definitely no less tough than Li Qingshan¡¯s, so it made no sense that he could not achieve what Li Qingshan could. As long as he got up close, the two brothers would be completely at his whim. As a result, he held his breath and charged into the sea of fire without hesitation!

    The two brothers were startled. It made them recall the situation from before. They became rather uncertain, afraid that he would also rush over and give them a fierce beating. Right as they worried, they heard the muscly old daoist¡¯s miserable cries.

    The muscly old daoist began rolling around on the ground from the heat. His tight robes and all of his hair had been burnt to a crisp. The fierce wind rained down like countless sharp blades, subjecting him to slow slicing. No, it was even more horrific than slow slicing.

    His physique was tough, but he clearly did not have bloodlines like the phoenix or the tiger demon, much less the willpower to charge through the sea of fire despite the torture.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and took a glance. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me his brain is filled with muscle too? Just because I can do it doesn¡¯t mean you can!¡±

    The two brothers immediately relaxed and powered the wind and flames even harder. They condensed a fire snake that danced around furiously, coiling around the muscly old daoist firmly, giving him no chance to break free. As they listened to his howls, their faces were filled with sadistic pleasure, clearly venting their feelings too.

    Even the direct disciples had never imagined that this battle that was supposed to be a struggle of life and death would actually conclude in such a hilarious way.

    With victory within his grasp, Le Tian smiled widely. ¡°Senior brother Leng, I must confess that I admire the sharpness of your judgement. This old daoist priest is a wicked fellow. Unfortunately, he¡¯s not particularly clever. At the end of the day, my dark horse is still a little smarter!¡±

    Leng Yuan seemed to grow even colder. Originally, with the old daoist¡¯s Method of Essence-seizing, Qi-converting, and Placenta-hiding, just standing in the distance and hurling rocks would guarantee him an easy victory over the brothers, and he might have been Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent too. However, he never expected him to be so stupid that he would try and take on the techniques from two Soul Nascence cultivators with his body alone, even without any true qi. He was an absolute idiot.

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°Senior brother Le, congratulations! You¡¯ve finally won a match.¡±

    Le Tian¡¯s smile eased up slightly. ¡°At least I haven¡¯t lost. I never expected junior sister Ruan to be the biggest winner this time. Sure enough, beginner¡¯s luck!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said seriously, ¡°Senior brother Le, I¡¯m not trying to win against you. I just want you to know that human nature is not as wicked as you think it is.¡±

    Le Tian raised his hands in forfeit. ¡°Alright, alright. The winner takes all. Anything that the victor says is right!¡±

    The two brothers burned the muscly old daoist until he was charred-black and half dead. His muscles began to shrink again, and the smell of roast meat permeated the cave.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, spare his life. You can take his magnetic ferrum.¡±

    The eyes of the two brothers lit up as they thanked him profusely.

    The fair-skinned gentleman asked cautiously, ¡°Fellow, the Magnetic Field Formation of the Earth Fiend didn¡¯t come easily. Why don¡¯t you guard this place with us for a little longer? We¡¯re willing to split half of everything we get with you.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at him indifferently, ¡°Why would I give half to you?¡±

    The fair-skinned gentleman said awkwardly, ¡°Fair enough, fair enough.¡±

    At this moment, Su Tong walked up and praised him highly. ¡°Fellow, you are endowed with courage and wit, and your cultivation is impressive. It¡¯s no wonder you¡¯re not afraid of danger. You have my admiration!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It¡¯s just a trifle, nothing worth mentioning.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s just a trifle to you, fellow, but to them, it¡¯s a major matter of life and death!¡±

    Su Tong waved her hand towards her back. The cultivators were still submerged in the horrific sight of incinerating someone alive. They all returned to their senses and thanked Li Qingshan, carefully making their way around the charred body.

    Zhu Yingcai hid in the crowd. He felt a great mix of emotion as Li Qingshan had not noticed his existence at all.

    Li Qingshan picked up the metal basket again, carrying a basket of magnetic ferrum in each hand as he made his way out of the mountain. With a pretty female cultivator by his side and over a hundred cultivators tailing behind him, he felt quite like an inspecting leader.

    He left behind the two brothers who guarded the half-full basket of magnetic ferrum as they eyed each other. Both of them became wary. Li Qingshan would obviously place first in the test this time, while Su Tong would be second place. Now, all that remained was third place.

    ¡°Big brother, it¡¯s just the position of an attendant. With our cultivation, just how difficult can it be to go from a servant to an attendant? Let¡¯s not let something like this ruin our relationship.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right, younger brother, so just let your big brother have it this time!¡± The dark-skinned fiend grabbed the basket.

    The fair-skinned gentleman grabbed the other end firmly. The basket was hoisted up into the air. ¡°Big brother, you can¡¯t do that. It¡¯s always been the elder brother who lets his younger brother have the good stuff. Since when has it been the other way round?¡±

    ¡°You need to show some respect for seniority!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll split it fairly.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    As the brothers bickered, Li Qingshan had almost made his way out of the caves. The light before him became brighter and brighter as the moist sea wind flowed into the caves, bringing a slight, salty smell.

    After making his way out of the pitch-black caves and arriving beneath the resplendent sun, an azure ocean unfurled before him. However, the seawater near the shore was black. Magnetic Field mountain was like a black dragon diving into the ocean. Three large ships docked quietly in the black water.

 Chapter 1362

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1362 ¨C Another Gamble

    The huge three-legged golden toad sat on the beach, glistening under the sunlight and immediately drawing over everyone¡¯s attention.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes wide and saw a familiar figure, the ¡°princess emeritus¡± sitting sideways on the nine-coloured deer¡¯s back. She looked back at him and nodded with a smile. She seemed to be in a very good mood.

    Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s specially come for me? Sure enough, my charms are irresistible!

    Li Qingshan thought in a very narcissistic manner. He recalled the feeling of being watched and quickly reflected on everything he had done in Magnetic Field mountain. He felt like he had not done anything tyrannical that completely defied standard morals, which gave him some relief. He had been praised as a good person by her after all. Even for him, he refused to let down those who had a good impression of him.

    Apart from her and Le Tian, there were three other men he was unfamiliar with. Looking at their demeanor, they must have all been Human Sovereign direct disciples too. He did not understand how a measly entrance test had managed to draw over so many ¡°important figures¡±. On top of that, their gazes were basically all gathered on him. That definitely was not a false impression.

    Su Tong¡¯s eyes were filled with surprise as she looked at him. She thought, Don¡¯t tell me these direct disciples have all come for him? She could not help but pull a little further away from him, slowing her steps.

    This was a huge misunderstanding. Li Qingshan had been the central figure to both gambles, and he had also won much appreciation from the direct disciples with his extraordinary performance, so the gazes of the gamblers obviously seemed to be deep with other intentions.

    With Li Qingshan in the lead, the group of people winded over to the beach, arriving before the three-legged golden toad again.

    ¡°Congratulations on passing the entrance test and becoming members of our Myriad sect, everyone!¡± Le Tian stood high up on the three-legged golden toad¡¯s back and spread his arms with a smile. ¡°Now, please place the magnetic ferrum you¡¯ve collected in the three-legged golden toad¡¯s mouth.¡±

    With a thunderous croak, the toad opened its mouth.

    Li Qingshan made his way over first, tipping all three baskets of magnetic ferrum into the three-legged golden toad¡¯s mouth.

    Su Tong followed close behind, only to see Li Qingshan place down his baskets, approach the direct disciples, and ask, ¡°Why have you come?¡± Her heart could not help but jerk, becoming even more certain in her speculation. If it were not for the fact that he knew people in the Myriad sect, how could he treat them like that? They were all Human Sovereigns that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation after all!

    Unbeknownst to her, Li Qingshan¡¯s personality was just like that. Even when he faced Demon God Qiongqi, he refused to bow down and submit.

    The direct disciples were not surprised by this. Regardless of whether this kid was good or wicked, he definitely was not a coward. In particular, the appreciation in Ren Aoyou¡¯s eyes became a little heavier.

    ¡°I was a little worried about you.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. Her tone was natural and mild, yet also seemingly slightly shy. She had not expected him to directly walk over and talk with her either.

    Li Qingshan was touched. Even with all the difficulties in the world and all the wicked people scattered around, there would always be people like her with a heart of gold. He said earnestly, ¡°Thank you!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head gently. ¡°I just came to take a look.¡±

    It was completely impossible to tell that this was a conversation between cultivators that differed by two major realms. Instead, it was exactly because they felt like equals that Li Qingshan felt particularly touched. He thought, Perhaps someone like her should practise the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity instead.

    ¡°I¡¯ll pay you back once I get my bookmarks!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer felt extremely complacent inside. She could not help herself anymore, saying with great generosity, ¡°No need, kid. You can just treat the Green Jade bookmark as a gift from us.¡± Now, she found Li Qingshan particularly pleasing to the eye too. They had made a fortune with that gamble. As for a single Green Jade bookmark, that was just cheap change now, not enough to garner her interest.

    Ruan Yaozhu patted the nine-coloured deer and grumbled, ¡°Jiu¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll definitely return it.¡± Li Qingshan looked towards Le Tian. ¡°Senior brother Le Tian, may I ask when I can collect my bookmarks?¡±

    ¡°Since it¡¯s a debt you owe to junior sister Ruan, I¡¯ll pay you right now.¡±

    Le Tian calculated the sum and took out three Green Jade bookmarks, seven White Silver bookmarks, and a pile of Yellow Bronze and Black Wood bookmarks.

    ¡°Just three?¡± Li Qingshan said in surprise.

    He had truly worked his ass off inside Magnetic Field mountain to collect all that magnetic ferrum, only to get two Green Jade bookmarks in the end. That was just a little far too little. Surely Le Tian was not ripping him off?

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°What were you thinking?¡±

    Ren Aoyou said, ¡°Kid, Green Jade bookmarks are the most precious bookmarks in the Myriad sect. Do you think it¡¯s that easy to obtain them?¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan realise the value of Green Jade bookmarks. He glanced at Ruan Yaozhu deeply and thought inside, Oh no! I said I would win people over by virtue, but I didn¡¯t even succeed a single time this time. It all fucking ended up with me fighting. Instead, I¡¯m almost going to be won over by virtue by someone else right now.

    Ruan Yaozhu shifted her gaze to avoid his shining eyes. She gently extended her hand. ¡°Alright, return it then!¡±

    Li Qingshan placed the Green Jade bookmark in her palm and said solemnly, ¡°You are a good person.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, where are you from?¡± Leng Yuan suddenly asked. He was stern, ready to judge him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart tightened. This was the last question he wanted to answer. He smiled. ¡°A very, very distant place. May I ask for your name, fellow?¡±

    ¡°Leng Yuan. I¡¯m responsible for the safety and security of the Myriad sect. Please answer the question truthfully. If you¡¯re afraid to answer it, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re hiding ulterior motives?¡± Leng Yuan¡¯s gaze became even colder, like an icy abyss.

    Li Qingshan also replied sternly, ¡°Sorry, but this is a matter of my privacy. Once I understand the rules of the Myriad sect, I will cooperate with you to the best of my ability according to the rules.¡±

    Even the nine provinces had a treasure that could detect lies like the xiezhi¡¯s horn, so the Human realm probably had plenty of methods for that. On top of that, lies would always come with holes, which would take even more lies in the end to patch them up. As a result, unless he had no other choice, he refused to lie.

    Leng Yuan was taken aback as if he had never expected him to decline to answer his question in such an elegant way.

    Ruan Yaozhu and Pi Yangqiu both smiled, while Ren Aoyou laughed aloud. ¡°Leng Yuan, you¡¯ve found an opponent this time. Kid, I admire you more and more!¡±

    Leng Yuan said, ¡°I have my eye on you.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded with a smile and stopped talking to Ruan Yaozhu, turning around and returning to the crowd. Su Tong and the other cultivators¡¯ gazes towards him were almost filled with worship. Just how prominent and important were direct disciples after all?

    At this moment, the two brothers emerged from the mountain too. Seeing this, they immediately gave up on the thought of revenge. Instead, they were slightly worried whether Li Qingshan would hold onto a grievance against them.

    Very soon, everyone¡¯s magnetic ferrum ended up in the mouth of the three-legged golden toad, and Le Tian announced the results of the test.

    ¡°First place, Li Qingshan. Second place, Su Tong. Third place, Nie Xiuwu.¡±

    Nie Xiuwu was the fair-skinned gentleman among the brothers. Originally, he had handed up exactly the same amount of magnetic ferrum as the dark-skinned fiend, but in the end, he fished out a grape-sized piece of magnetic ferrum from his sleeve and surpassed his elder brother, Nie Xiuwen, which immediately made his face darken a little more. If it were not for the presence of the direct disciples, he almost would have attacked him on the spot.

    TL: The names of the brothers is an oxymoron. The fair-skinned gentleman is called Nie Xiuwu, while the dark-skinned fiend is called Nie Xiuwen. ¡°Wu¡± refers to martial might, while ¡°wen¡± refers to scholarly knowledge. This disparity is often drawn during an assembly of the Chinese court, with military generals and scholarly officials, while the ¡°ideal¡± Chinese leader is said to possess both characteristics, both the courage and might of a military general, as well as the wit and talent of a scholarly official. In this case, the dark-skinned fiend is supposed to be a representation of brute force (and thus might), while the fair-skinned gentleman is supposed to be a representation of scholarly elegance. However, their names contradict this.

    Pi Yangqiu said to Ren Aoyou, ¡°What¡¯d I say?¡±

    Ren Aoyou sneered. ¡°Did you win?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°At least I¡¯ve won against you! Apart from the result, victories are very important to a gambler too.¡±

    Everyone boarded the ship, but Li Qingshan was stopped by Le Tian. ¡°Congratulations, junior brother Li. You¡¯re a formal disciple right from the moment you joined.¡± He smiled away like an old fox staring at a plump rooster.

    Li Qingshan could clearly sense his ill intentions, so he simply spoke his mind, ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to tell me, senior brother?¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Junior brother, you really are straight to the point! I¡¯m a person that doesn¡¯t have a lot of interests. I just like to gamble. In particular, I¡¯ve taken a liking to your gambling nature, so I want to have a gamle with you!¡±

    As if they had anticipated this already, Ren Aoyou and the other two were all intrigued.

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows. ¡°Senior brother Le!¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Junior sister, you can criticise me for turning the entrance test into a gamble, but this is a private gamble between me and junior brother Li. It¡¯s got nothing to do with you.¡±

    RuanYaozhu could only look at Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan could not bring himself to let her down, but he was far too curious about the details of the gamble.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯ve never been one for gambling! But since it¡¯s senior brother Le, I ought to show some respect, don¡¯t I? May I ask you what you would like to gamble on?¡±

    Le Tian smiled even more widely. ¡°You¡¯re not far from becoming an inner disciple now, and if you take one step further, you¡¯ll be a direct disciple. Why don¡¯t we gamble on when you¡¯ll become a direct disciple?¡±

    ¡°Oh? How long do you think I¡¯ll take to become a direct disciple, senior brother Le?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s difficult to say. It might be very soon, or it might be never. This is where the joys lie in gambling.¡±

 Chapter 1363

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1363 ¨C An Extravagant Gamble

    A mask-like smile hung on Le Tian¡¯s face, tempting him patiently like the boss of a casino.

    The ¡°innocent and pure¡± Li Qingshan who was as delicate and pretty as a young man served as the standard, ignorant youth in the story, embarking on a path of no return. He even blinked his eyes seriously.

    ¡°Senior brother Le, since it¡¯s a gamble, you need to give me an idea at least, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s go with a decade then!¡±

    When he mentioned that, Li Qingshan was not particularly fazed, but the direct disciples all responded differently.

    Ruan Yaozhu became mildly angered. ¡°Senior brother Le, I can¡¯t just turn a blind eye if you want to abuse him like this!¡±

    Others might not have known, but she knew very well as a direct disciple just how difficult it was to become a direct disciple in the Myriad sect.

    Logically speaking, as long as they made sufficient contributions, they could slowly make their way up to direct disciple even if their cultivation was insufficient. However, it was very difficult to make contributions unless they underwent the fifth heavenly tribulation and became Human Sovereigns. The contribution made by Human Sovereigns casually completing a mission or two could surpass everything that a Soul Nascence cultivator did over the span of a decade.

    That was unless Li Qingshan was close to the fifth heavenly tribulation in the first place, but he was only at the third heavenly tribulation right now. He was dreaming if he thought he could become a Human Sovereign within a decade.

    Ren Aoyou also smiled. ¡°Oi, Le Tian, you¡¯ve gone a little too far with that. That¡¯s not like you.¡±

    Le Tian was infamous for his penchant for gambling, and he won most of his gambles too. The reason why others were still willing to gamble against him was because his bets were always very fair. He would never use underhanded tricks. Even if the loser was unconvinced, they would try and find a way to redeem themselves instead of avoiding any further gambles against him. Taking advantage of Li Qingshan¡¯s lack of understanding of the Myriad sect and coming up with a completely unfair gamble definitely was not something he would usually do.

    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding.¡± Le Tian rubbed his head. ¡°For some reason, I don¡¯t feel safe at all even with a decade.¡±

    ¡°You have far too high of an opinion of me, senior brother. Please forgive me over the fact that I can¡¯t accept a gamble like that.¡±

    Li Qingshan replied seriously as if he was rather unconcerned, but he rejoiced inside. He had already begun contemplating whether to accept the gamble or not earlier. He did not understand the rules and customs of the Myriad sect, but he was aware that so-called direct disciples had just undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation!

    He really had no confidence at all that he could undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation within a decade.

    Right now, he was only half a step away from the fourth heavenly tribulation. Once he faced it and reached the fifth layer with the Ape Demon Transformation, then the transformations of the ox, tiger, turtle, and phoenix would immediately return to the fifth layer too. By then, the fifth heavenly tribulation would probably be close.

    ¡°Alright, alright. That was just a joke.¡± Le Tian said in a hurry, ¡°We¡¯ll go with five decades then. With your talent, you should be very confident with five decades!¡±

    However, most Soul Nascence cultivators could not face the fifth heavenly tribulation even with five centuries. They might not even face the fourth heavenly tribulation. They would be stuck at the bottleneck until the end of their lives, or they would be directly reduced to ash by the tribulation lightning. However, with Li Qingshan¡¯s performance in Magnetic Field mountain, a time limit like that could be regarded as fair.

    Li Qingshan was absolutely certain that given the current situation, if he still could not face the fifth heavenly tribulation after five decades, he was better off finding a piece of tofu and killing himself with that. If he could not even achieve such a thing, why bother with the Nine Heavens at all? Why bother with facing Qiongqi?

    However, he made sure to appear very doubtful as if he was thoroughly considering this proposal. He bowed. ¡°Sorry, senior brother Le, but I still don¡¯t think this gamble is very good!¡±

    As he said that, he made his way towards the ship. Ruan Yaozhu smiled. Not all men were like Le Tian.

    Le Tian was rather surprised. With his understanding of Li Qingshan, he would have agreed to the gamble no matter what with how long five decades were, yet he actually refused!

    With a flash, he blocked Li Qingshan¡¯s path and studied him closely.

    ¡°What do you want then? Do you want more time? After all, five decades is a very long time even to people like us. If the progression of the gamble is too slow, it¡¯ll be very boring. I can increase the odds instead!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°But I have nothing to wager!¡±

    Le Tian said immediately, ¡°I can lend it to you!¡± Which casino boss did not deal in lending money?

    Li Qingshan let out another sigh. ¡°Sigh, just how long are several decades? I can¡¯t afford the rolling interest.¡±

    ¡°Kid, so you want me to lend it to you for free? If you die in a heavenly tribulation, who am I supposed to find to get my money back?¡±

    ¡°Y¡¯know, gambling always comes with some risk. There¡¯s something senior brother Le said that I agree with very much. A gamble that goes on for too long is unavoidably boring. I don¡¯t want any higher odds either, as I¡¯ll be taking advantage of you. How about this?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Thirty years, one to one odds!¡±

    All of a sudden, he had almost cut the time limit of five decades in half. This confidence, or perhaps arrogance, of his made the direct disciples all glance at him. Going from a formal disciple to a direct disciple in three measly decades had probably never occurred throughout the history of the Myriad sect.

    In comparison, it was instead easier to go from Soul Nascence to Yang Soul, but even geniuses of startling talent required the support of a tremendous amount of resources, coupled with constant arduous cultivation, to even have a chance. During this process, they definitely would not have the time or energy to complete sect missions.

    Ruan Yaozhu wanted to speak up and convince Li Qingshan out of it, but gazing at how high-spirited he was, she recalled everything that happened in Magnetic Field mountain. As such, she bit her lip and remained silent, shaking her head gently.

    Ren Aoyou smiled. ¡°Kid, I personally thought I was crazy enough, but I didn¡¯t expect you to be even crazier than me! Do you know just how great the risks involved are?¡±

    Li Qingshan also smiled. ¡°Even if I lose, at least it won¡¯t cost me my life, so you can¡¯t really call that a risk. Getting my hands on some resources prematurely is always good for cultivation, right? Of course, that¡¯s only if senior brother Le is willing to lend it to me.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu could not help but clap his hands. ¡°Nice!¡±

    With that, he had instead struck back at Le Tian. If Le Tian was only willing to lend him a very small amount of Green Jade bookmarks, then it would be absolutely nothing to a person like Li Qingshan in a few decades¡¯ time. If he lent too much, then he could convert it into a tremendous amount of resources immediately to accelerate his cultivation. Even if he lost in the end, it was not truly a loss.

    On top of that, Le Tian was at an absolute advantage right now, so if he refused to go forward with the gamble, he would be humiliating himself. As a result, he had to lend him the bookmarks no matter what now.

    Le Tian smiled even wider. His eyes that had turned into slits flashed sharply. ¡°How much would you like to bet?¡±

    Sure enough, this kid is a gambler that I¡¯ve settled on. Before he knew it, the gamble had already begun. Now, he had to regain the upper hand, so he had to push the wager involved to a terrifying level. He had to overwhelm him mentally so that he wavered.

    This was the most common and most useful trick in gambling, and as a Human Sovereign, he possessed a definite advantage in this aspect.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°How much are you willing to lend me?¡±

    With that, even the cold and composed Leng Yuan changed in expression. He realised this joke-like gamble might just turn out to be alarmingly extravagant.

    Le Tian had not expected this either. Originally, he only wanted to win a gamble against Li Qingshan because he had lost one because of him. He never expected Li Qingshan to turn the tides against him.

    The delicate, handsome man before him was no longer a small gambling chip that served in their games, but a gambler that stood on the other side of the table. He stood on equal footing to him or even gazed at him from above.

    How much you¡¯re bold enough to lend to me is how much I¡¯m willing to gamble with you. Come, let¡¯s test how bold you are!

    ¡°Interesting. Very interesting!¡±

    Le Tian laughed aloud, even beginning to dance around a bit. He was ecstatic.

    Li Qingshan stood with his arms crossed. Le Tian suddenly pressed up close with his face and extended a finger. ¡°A thousand!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was stunned. She had basically won against all four of them in her gamble of goodness and wickedness, yet the Green Jade bookmarks she had won did not come close to a thousand. Even to direct disciples, a Green Jade bookmark was very precious, let alone to a Soul Nascence cultivator like Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand. ¡°Hand it over!¡±

    ¡°If you lose, it¡¯ll be two thousand. You¡¯ll have to pay me on the spot, or¡­¡± Le Tian raised a finger and swept it across his neck gently. ¡°No one owes me gambling debts!¡±

    Li Qingshan gave him a toothy grin. ¡°If I can¡¯t pay you back, I¡¯ll put my life in your hands!¡±

    It would just stop itching when there were too many mosquitos. He would just stop worrying if there were too many debts.

    Two thousand Green Jade bookmarks might have been a terrifying sum to others, but Li Qingshan still found it insufficient. It was not because he was actually brimming with confidence, that he believed he could become a direct disciple of the Myriad sect within thirty years. Even now, he knew very little about the rules of the Myriad sect.

    However, according to R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s estimates, his agreement of five centuries with Demon God Qiongqi was bound by approximately the same time limit in the Human realm.

    If he managed to deal with Demon God Qiongqi, then even if he lost this gamble, that was nothing for him to worry about. If Demon God Qiongqi managed to deal with him, then what was a senior brother Le Tian supposed to be? If you¡¯re so capable, come and find me on Qingqi mountain for my debts, bastard!

    Heh, probably even the master of the Myriad sect was not capable of that. It was possible to say that this gamble had given him great assistance in his agreement with Demon God Qiongqi. It was truly all upsides and no downsides.

    This was not a matter of Le Tian being a fool and Li Qingshan being clever. No one would have thought a measly Soul Nascence cultivator would actually be connected to a Demon God, even shouldering a gamble that he basically had no chances of winning.

    In summary, people should still hold lofty aspirations. Even if it would bring great problems, small problems would stop being problems when you have a big problem. If you could deal with the big problem, then the small problem would be absolutely nothing. If the big problem got the better of you, then the small problem would become nothing too.

    Le Tian patted the three-legged golden toad, and it spat out a thousand Green Jade bookmarks, which he handed over to Li Qingshan personally. Li Qingshan counted the Green Jade talismans happily as if he had already won the gamble and was currently checking his winnings.

    Suddenly, he felt a little uncertain. As a gambler, he understood exactly how terrifying that feeling was, but it also left him excited. Gambles that could not make him feel that way could not be regarded as gambles at all. They would merely be boring games!

    Li Qingshan counted through the bookmarks carefully twice before asking Ruan Yaozhu to check through them for him to see if there were any ¡°counterfeits¡±. Only afterwards did he place the Green Jade bookmarks in his sumeru ring happily.

    ¡°Joys without worry, oh knowing fate. Gambling on the outcome, oh a struggle against death!¡±

    Le Tian sung aloud and returned to the three-legged golden toad¡¯s back. With a croak, the golden toad leapt into the ocean.

    ¡°Hahaha, kid, hopefully you can win!¡¯ Ren Aoyou laughed loudly before flying off.

    ¡°You¡¯re on your own.¡± Leng Yuan warned him before leaving as well.

    Pi Yangqiu went up and patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder. ¡°We will see each other again.¡±

    In the blink of an eye, only Li Qingshan and Ruan Yaozhu remained on the beach, as well as the nine-coloured deer.

    Ruan Yaozhu scolded him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have gambled!¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve already gambled.¡±

    ¡°Oh men!¡± Ruan Yaozhu sighed. ¡°It¡¯ll take a good while before you get to the Myriad sect on the ship, so I¡¯ll take you with me!¡±

 Chapter 1364

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1364 ¨C Myriad

    Li Qingshan could not help but look at the only ¡°mount¡± present. If he could ride her with her, it would be quite nice.

    The nine-coloured deer flew into a rage, swinging her head around like she was trying to butt him. ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not particularly interested in riding her, but now that he heard that, he instead became interested. However, it was obviously impossible now. After all, her cultivation was still higher than his. If they actually began fighting, he might not even be her opponent. He had to get permission from her master first before he did anything like that too.

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way and directly fly over with you. It¡¯ll be slightly faster than taking the ships.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, then!¡± Li Qingshan cupped his fist before smiling. ¡°I originally had a mount too. Unfortunately, I left in a hurry, so I couldn¡¯t bring him with me.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer held her head high. ¡°I wonder what kind of wild beast it is.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not a wild beast. It¡¯s an avian, a phoenix.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer blanked out before laughing aloud without any concern for her image. If she were in human form, perhaps she would be rolling around on the ground, clutching her stomach. ¡°A phoenix. Hahahaha, kid, you sure know how to boast!¡±

    As the king of birds and the lord of avians, the phoenix¡¯s bloodline was obviously much more sacred and noble than the nine-coloured deer¡¯s, but that species of birds had always been renowned for their nobleness and pureness. Even immortals might not be able to turn them into a mount, let alone a measly Soul Nascence cultivator, and a stinky man at that!

    Li Qingshan sighed with a smile. ¡°I originally had an ox too, but I lost it.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu suddenly noticed that while he did smile when he said that, his gaze was rather strange. It seemed to be filled with sighs yet also filled with hope.

    By now, the ships had already set off. She said, ¡°We should go too!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer leapt up and arrived mid-air. She sneered. ¡°Li Qingshan, I hope I can see your phoenix mount soon so that you can show me just which phoenix is blind enough to do something like that.¡±

    Li Qingshan followed close behind and smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll see in the future.¡±

    ¡°Achoo!¡± In a certain corner of the trichiliocosm, a particular, blind phoenix sneezed viciously again.

    Flying over the vast ocean, the curtain of night descended. The stars shimmered as the moon hung in the sky like a hook, illuminating the pure-white clouds.

    Li Qingshan originally wanted to ask Ruan Yaozhu a little bit about the Myriad sect, but he discovered that he was unable to get anything in at all. She criticised him for gambling with Le Tian, and she divided this topic into two main points, Le Tian and gambling. She first went into the various dangers that were involved in gambling and gave a list of vivid examples before going on about Le Tian¡¯s reputation in the Myriad sect and how he was skilled in gambling. In the end, she merged these two points together, telling him once again to not gamble, especially with Le Tian.

    Throughout the entire process, her arguments were air-tight, and her examples were distinct. She spoke patiently and with great sincerity. Probably even old gamblers of several decades would repent of their actions and change their ways after listening to her. Only now did Li Qingshan realise she was actually so talkative despite how quiet and simple she originally seemed. He gazed at her face in interest.

    ¡°Are you listening or not?¡± Ruan Yaozhu said unhappily. Clearly, not only was she not simple, but she was even extremely clever and sharp.

    Li Qingshan said in a hurry, ¡°Of course, I am. Do you want me to recite it to you?¡±

    ¡°Forget about it,¡± Ruan Yaozhu said in exasperation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t be angry. There are many detriments to gambling, but didn¡¯t you win a match this time? And you had done so at no risk at all!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu did not hide the gamble between Le Tian and the others. She did not even hide the fact that she had won a great sum of Green Jade bookmarks in the end. She attempted to rouse disgust for gambling in Li Qingshan. However, out of gratitude for her trust and sincerity, he did not become angry over the fact that he had been used as a tool for gambling. He had helped her win a match after all, or wouldn¡¯t that guy Le Tian be all complacent right now?

    Ruan Yaozhu said seriously, ¡°The outcome of gambling isn¡¯t about the consequences of winning or losing a match. If you win, you¡¯ll continue to gamble until you lose everything you¡¯ve won. The path of cultivation is about steady accumulation over time. This thought to take shortcuts is almost no different from a heretic path. It will affect your overall cultivation in the end.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡± Li Qingshan could not help but admire her insight. ¡°However, living in the world, there are always times when you have to gamble. Sometimes, you can¡¯t even advance if you don¡¯t gamble, so let alone losing everything you¡¯ve won, even losing your life is fine. You were once honoured as a princess, adored by all, before joining a large sect like the Myriad sect. You even reached the fifth heavenly tribulation in such a short time and became a true disciple. Not everyone in the world has the same fortune and talent as you.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu fell silent for a moment before sighing. ¡°You¡¯re right. I am more fortunate than most people. I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been through, but you¡¯ve already made it here today. You¡¯ll be joining the Myriad sect as a formal disciple soon as well, with a very good chance at becoming a direct disciple. Are you still unable to loosen up? Must you gamble?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled instead. ¡°If you know how I made it to where I am today, you would not be advising me to loosen up. However, there is something you¡¯re right about. Once the gambling starts, there¡¯s no end to it. If I can¡¯t win to the very end, then I¡¯ll happily lose everything!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said in sympathy, ¡°Don¡¯t you find living like this tiring?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It is tiring, but it¡¯s also interesting.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu blinked her eyes. She wanted to say something, but she faltered. In the end, she still ended up telling him, ¡°You¡¯re a good person. I hope you can win to the very end.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you for your blessing.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re almost at the Myriad sect.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer leapt through the clouds, and Li Qingshan descended after her. The landscape before his eyes suddenly lit up. On the distant surface of the ocean, a bundle of bright flames burned away, illuminating the dark night that was shrouded by clouds like a mirage.

    As they rapidly approached the bundle of flames, the nine-coloured deer descended until she was virtually galloping over the surface of the ocean, stepping on the waves and shooting over the sea quickly.

    Li Qingshan gradually made out the bundle of flames¡¯ true appearance, but it also made him doubt his eyes a little, as that was not a misty, serene island for immortals, but a glorious city.

    Skyscrapers rose up from the ground, except they were covered with fancy carvings and features. There were hanging gardens and foliage everywhere, like a classical garden stretched over three dimensions.

    The skyscrapers were linked by bridges as rivers twisted beneath them. The lakes were connected in an unbroken chain like a pearl necklace. Suddenly, it turned into a waterfall that fell several hundred metres like the flight of a jade dragon. The crashing water could be heard dozens of kilometres away. It was grander and more unbelievable than any of the cities he had seen in his past life.

    On the top of the mountain in the centre of the island stood a building several thousand metres tall, standing in the imposing landscape yet also seemingly drifting off. Its tip had vanished into the cloud layer. All the other structures gathered around it like the stars to the moon.

    Ruan Yaozhu introduced it rather proudly. ¡°How¡¯s this? A little unexpected, isn¡¯t it? The building is the Myriad sect¡¯s most important holy land, the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Be sure to visit there frequently in the future. I wonder which heavenly tome you¡¯ll choose.¡±

 Chapter 1365

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1365 ¨C Curse or Blessing

    Fine drizzle fell from the thick, dark clouds, leaving the air more moist and cooler than before. The dense spiritual qi was refreshing, such that even breathing became much smoother.

    The nine-coloured deer slowed down, clip-clopping on the mighty stone bridge that stretched several metres long and was several hundred metres wide. They arrived beneath Myriad city. The great waterfall parted around the stone bridge, vanishing into the deep valley.

    Perhaps because it was already late, no one was present on the stone bridge. Gazing at the glorious city in the distance, the crashing sounds of the waterfall instead gave off a sense of tranquillity.

    Li Qingshan was not familiar with any Aura Observation techniques, but even he could see the condensation of aura, reaching high into the sky.

    This was not a city of mortals, but a holy land where cultivators gathered.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just bring you here. You¡¯re familiar with the process that comes next. Once you become a formal disciple, you can come and visit my Hundred Herbs garden. I might have a job for you.¡±

    ¡°Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded to express he had taken note of it. He watched Ruan Yaozhu travel off into the distance, entering Myriad city alone.

    The layout of the city was extremely complicated, twisting and turning like a maze. Sometimes, he passed through corridors and gardens, and at other times, he climbed up stairs and made his way under bridges. He was unable to fly either. Li Qingshan completely relied on the spirit turtle¡¯s deductive abilities to find the path leading towards the skyscraper.

    ALong the way, he encountered several patrolling guards. Li Qingshan suspected them to all be Leng Yuan¡¯s subordinates, so he avoided them carefully, just in case it would lead to unnecessary trouble.

    He was not trying to enter the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. He still did not possess that right. Only proper disciples had the right to enter the holy land of the Myriad sect. Formal disciples just happened to make the cut.

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan, the person who placed first in the entrance test. Why are you here so early?¡±

    In the quiet, spacious hall, the cultivator responsible for receiving the new disciples was just as unwelcoming. Clearly, Li Qingshan¡¯s sudden arrival had derailed some kind of arrangement he had in mind. Only after confirming Li Qingshan¡¯s name did he warm up to him.

    There were many formal disciples in the Myriad sect, but they all had some status. Even when they encountered direct disciples, they would refer to them as senior brother or senior sister. The status of the cultivator here was a formal disciple in the Myriad sect too.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Senior brother Le Tian wanted to gamble with me, so he urged me to be fast.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡± The male cultivator smiled slightly with that. He even seemed to be rather sympathetic. ¡°You haven¡¯t even joined the sect formally yet, and you¡¯re already gambling with senior brother Le. You sure are bold.¡±

    He did not even ask what they were gambling on as if he was already certain Li Qingshan would lose. Speaking of which, he was only a measly Soul Nascence cultivator, so how big could the gamble get? He was simply being toyed with by senior brother Le Tian.

    Instead, he told him about a great deal of interesting events involving Le Tian, as well as his thrilling and exciting gambles. It basically all ended in Le Tian¡¯s victory. Some of his opponents had even been Human Immortals and Ghost Immortals. Even Li Qingshan was more than familiar with one of the gambler¡¯s names, leaving him absolutely astounded.

    ¡°It¡¯s said that senior brother Le Tian had reached the end of his lifespan already, but when he set off for the yellow springs, he gambled with one of the Hell Guards, Ox-headed A¡¯pang and won three centuries of life.¡±

    ¡°Ox-headed A¡¯pang? Ox-head and Horse-face!¡±

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. That name was far too familiar to him.

    ¡°Haha, at least you¡¯ve heard of him before. Looks like you haven¡¯t exactly spent your entire life under a rock. Oh well, there¡¯s nothing you can do about it. The renown of us cultivators among mortals just isn¡¯t as prominent as the gods of the underworld.¡±

    ¡°Black and White Impermanence, Ox-head and Horse-face, the Ten Courts of Yanluo¡­¡±

    TL: These are all names from Chinese folklore regarding the afterlife. You can read more about Ox-head and Horse-face here, Black and White Impermanence here and the Ten Courts of Yanluo here.

    Li Qingshan muttered the names of these renowned figures as his heart thumped away. In a daze, he realised he had truly set foot in a world of immortals and buddhas. He was still very far away from beyond the Nine Heavens, but he was clearly getting closer. These renowned figures were already within arm¡¯s reach to him. Perhaps he might encounter one very soon.

    ¡°Look at you. Don¡¯t tell me you ascended from a lower world?¡± the cultivator said as he began his job in an orderly manner, sometimes burying his face in the documents and writing away and sometimes passing them to Li Qingshan for him to fill himself.

    Li Qingshan had far too many secrets on him, so with certain places, he could only be vague, or he would downright leave them blank. Originally, he thought it would cause problems, but he discovered that the cultivator did not even look at it.

    ¡°Hehe, you don¡¯t need to be surprised. This isn¡¯t for me. You can just fill it in however you want. If you don¡¯t want to fill it in, you can leave it blank too.¡±

    ¡°Then who¡¯s it for? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s just to be archived?¡±

    ¡°Once the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance checks through them, these documents will be directly destroyed. Everything regarding you will obviously be retained in the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s sea of consciousness.¡±

    ¡°The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance is?¡±

    Li Qingshan was a little surprised. Didn¡¯t this Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance have anything better to do? According to his observations, there were at least several hundred thousand people in Myriad city.

    ¡°You really know nothing about the Myriad sect, don¡¯t you? You don¡¯t even know about the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance!¡±

    ¡°This is my first time here, so I hope you can elaborate, senior brother.¡± Li Qingshan passed over a Yellow Bronze bookmark.

    The cultivator glanced at the Yellow Bronze bookmark before glancing at him. He smiled. ¡°You really did come first, didn¡¯t you? You sure are generous. Though, you can forget about it this time. It wasn¡¯t easy for you to dig up all that magnetic ferrum. Save it for bribing those guys from the guys from the Department of Heavenly Dwellings!¡±

    ¡°Thank you then, senior brother.¡± Li Qingshan sighed inside. Sure enough, there were still good people around.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing impressive anyway. If you want to know, I¡¯ll just tell you. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance is an immortal that¡¯s undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, our grand sect master¡¯s mount. He possesses an extremely high status in our sect, standing on equal footing with the two sect masters. He can be described as the sect master behind the scenes. He spends all of his time in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Once you get there, you¡¯ll see him.¡±

    ¡°But you need to be careful. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance is a natural divinity. His knowledge is immense like the ocean, unmatched in the sect. He knows most things in the world. He¡¯s startlingly talented and most skilled in divination and prophecies, so he can avert bad fortune while welcoming the good. There might be some truth or lies in this information that you provided. I can¡¯t tell, nor do I really care. However, it will be as clear as day in the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s eyes.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought of something and asked, ¡°May I ask what species the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance is?¡±

    ¡°A spirit turtle.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, Sure enough, I¡¯ve encountered one of my own.

    This was not a particularly great coincidence. There had never been a lot of species that were natural divinities, with even fewer that were numerous such that they formed groups. For example, while the bloodlines of three-legged golden toads and nine-coloured deer were not on par with the phoenix or the spirit turtle, they were instead even more rare, yet he still encountered them after arriving in the Human realm.

    He felt no joy from encountering a ¡°clansmen¡± at all. Instead, he felt slightly worried. He struggled to estimate just how prophetic a spirit turtle with a complete bloodline that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation would be. This spirit turtle seemed to be extremely knowledgeable too, with a master that possessed the cultivation of True Immortal.

    The ambiguity in the documents would probably be seen through with a single glance. Even from the blanks, he would be able to calculate a lot of information, but changing it now would be far too obvious. On top of that, when he met him in person, he would still be unable to hide whatever he tried to hide.

    This was probably the greatest danger he had encountered so far after arriving in the Human realm. Once something went wrong, he would stand no chance at all. It was far more terrifying than the earth fiend beasts he had encountered in Magnetic Field mountain.

    Perhaps from the moment he set foot in Myriad city, that Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had already been watching him.

    However, this was also a great opportunity for him to find the way to Ruin¡¯s End. This Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance definitely knew how to enter Ruin¡¯s End. He might have even been familiar with that ¡°prisoner of Ruin¡¯s End¡±.

    Whether it was a curse or a blessing, even he who possessed the bloodline of the spirit turtle struggled to tell what this was, let alone averting bad fortune while welcoming the good.

 Chapter 1366

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1366 ¨C Spirit Turtle

    However, just as Ruan Yaozhu had said, once the gamble began, it would never end until he won to the very end or he lost his life. He could choose what he gambled. The only thing he could not choose was to not gamble.

    When he left the quiet hall, drizzle continued to drift through the air. The towering Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes loomed over him nearby.

    The only thing he had gained so far was a tiny badge. It was shaped like a cloud, detailing everything about him, whether it was his identity, status, or contribution. With this badge, he could freely enter many places in the Myriad sect and collect the benefits that came with the identity of a formal disciple.

    He clutched the badge firmly and made his way towards the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    He hoped what the cultivator from earlier had said was true, ¡°Junior brother Li, you don¡¯t have to worry too much. Apart from matters regarding the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance rarely interferes with sect matters. Even if you¡¯re a great fiend who¡¯s committed heinous crimes, the spirit reverend might not look at you a second time. Though, you don¡¯t seem like you are.¡±

    Back then, Li Qingshan answered with a smile, ¡°If a great fiend can be identified so easily, then he¡¯s not a great fiend.¡±

    He could only hope that his harmless appearance would fool the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. That way, they could get along in peace, even if he could not get any information about entering Ruin¡¯s End from him.

    After climbing up several hundred stairs and making his way through the entrance, the badge on his chest lit up gently, and the invisible barrier opened to him.

    ¡°Probably all the books in the world are here!¡±

    That was the remark from the bottom of his heart as soon as he entered the pavilion. Just the bottom layer had millions or tens of millions of books, piling up like mountains, dazzling his eyes. Before he could even look closely, an elegant, female cultivator came up to receive him. ¡°May I ask if you are Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°I am. May I ask who you are?¡± Li Qingshan noticed the badge on her chest was slightly different from his. She was an inner disciple.

    ¡°The spirit reverend has been waiting for you. He¡¯s specially instructed me to bring you up.¡±

    The female cultivator studied Li Qingshan with a strange gaze. Among all the years she had worked in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, she had never seen a face like that before, or she definitely would have had an impression. In other words, he had to be a new disciple, yet the spirit reverend actually asked to see him in person. It made her wonder about his origins.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart lurched. He really did have to prepare for the worst. Sure enough, that old turtle had noticed him, but there was no turning back now. He composed himself and clasped his hands. ¡°Please lead the way, senior sister.¡±

    They climbed up the spiral staircase. When they arrived on the sixth floor, Li Qingshan¡¯s identity as a formal disciple was no longer sufficient, but the invisible barriers still opened for him before silently closing behind him again.

    Once the worst-case scenario occurred, it was impossible for him to retreat. Even without the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, a Daemon Immortal could probably crush him as easily as an ant if he wanted to deal with him.

    Along the way up, he was not in the mood to appreciate the various sights of grandeur in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. He circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as hard as he could, constantly repeating his calculations for the future, but he found nothing, like an insect running into a piece of glass repeatedly.

    After several attempts, he gave up. In the past, when he had only gained a basic grasp over the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, it even failed before the divination of a grandmaster of the school of Yin and Yang, let alone the fact that he was facing a true spirit turtle right now. A barrier of fate he cast down with his cultivation at the sixth heavenly tribulation was not something Li Qingshan could currently overcome.

    Before the outcome was determined, fate was unknown. However, he wondered whether this Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could see through the truth of fate.

    Li Qingshan originally thought he had to make his way to the top floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, but he never expected to only arrive on the sixteenth floor. The female cultivator leading him entered the floor, making her way into the depths of the bookshelves.

    She continued until she arrived before a ¡°fortress¡± piled from books between two bookshelves, bowing politely. ¡°Spirit reverend, I¡¯ve brought the person.¡±

    ¡°Good. You can leave now.¡±

    A serene, indifferent voice rang out from behind the books. The badge on the female cultivator¡¯s chest lit up, and she smiled. Li Qingshan knew she had already collected her contribution. It was just a trifle like leading the way, but she had clearly made a contribution to the sect by serving this sect master behind the scenes.

    The female cultivator turned around and took her leave, glancing at Li Qingshan deeply again before vanishing into the mountains of books.

    Li Qingshan did not start the conversation. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance remained silent too.

    Within the silence, there was only the sound of rapidly turning pages. Swish! Swish! It was like leaves falling in the autumn wind, letting out a rustle.

    If it were not for the sound of turning pages, Li Qingshan almost would have doubted whether there was anyone behind the books at all, as he was unable to sense any aura at all. He understood this was a special characteristic of spirit turtles, so he waited silently with great patience.

    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s another thousand books.¡±

    Swish! The books that piled up like a mountain fluttered away like startled butterflies. Some brushed past Li Qingshan¡¯s face, stirring up his long, black hair. He stared into the depths of the books without budging.

    By the time all the books had returned to their respective shelves, Li Qingshan saw an old man in black standing near him. There was nothing peculiar about his appearance. As a matter of fact, it was very easy to neglect him. Only his eyes were silent and deep, staring at Li Qingshan, which made him feel like he was in the depths of the ocean. He was currently staring into the face of fate itself, unable to hide any of his secrets.

    Li Qingshan was very familiar with eyes like that. That was the gaze of a spirit turtle. The moment he met his eyes, Li Qingshan understood something. The lies he had told earlier were meaningless.

    He bowed. ¡°Greetings, senior Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°You possess the bloodline of my species.¡± That was not a question, but a statement of fact.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°You recently ascended from a lower world.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why have you come to the Myriad sect?¡±

    ¡°For cultivation.¡±

    ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°To find a way into Ruin¡¯s End.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°For cultivation.¡±

    ¡°What else!?¡±

    Their conversation unfolded rapidly before coming to a sudden halt at this moment. After a pause, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t answer that.¡±

    The Spirit Turtle of Ocean Returnance was unsurprised. ¡°Li Qingshan, I am unable to see the entirety of your life and fate, but this is not a result of your ability.¡±

    There was nothing Li Qingshan could say in reply. Was it because he was a transmigrator? Or was it because he had already become involved in a tremendous struggle that affected many figures beyond the Nine Heavens? Of course, this old turtle would not be able to see it all.

    ¡°However, being unable to see it is most troublesome. I can sense the shadow of disaster from you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Curses and blessings come hand in hand.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was unfazed. He said coldly, ¡°Leave behind your badge and leave this place! Do not return ever again. Treat it as if you have never been here at all.¡±

    Were all his struggles in the Human realm so far, everything he had obtained, just for nothing? Did he have to leave here and start over again?

 Chapter 1367

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1367 ¨C Forced to Stay

    Regular Soul Nascence cultivators probably would have fled immediately when they received a warning like that from a Daemon Immortal, never to look back again.

    However, Li Qingshan mocked him loudly. ¡°You truly are a spirit turtle! How cowardly and overcautious!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance did not become angered. He stared at him with his deep, indifferent gaze, like Li Qingshan was facing the entirety of Ruin¡¯s End. It was more terrifying and repressive than any aura.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile faded. ¡°I can leave, but I have a question that I hope you can answer honestly, senior.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°Ask me!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward and met the cold, silent gaze. He questioned, ¡°Why don¡¯t you just kill me?¡±

    After a moment of silence, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°Just like you said, spirit turtles are all cowardly and overcautious.¡±

    There was such a great disparity in their cultivation, yet he still could not see through his past, present, and future. That could only mean there were many factors beyond his control at work. Coupled with the shadow of disaster, the implications were far and wide. He was only a measly Soul Nascence cultivator. Even if he threw his life at him, it would be nothing. Why would he sense disaster?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then you¡¯re not afraid I¡¯ll kill you?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s silent eyes rippled. It was basically an ant provoking a colossal dragon. It was completely unreasonable.

    There were no intentions of provocation from Li Qingshan¡¯s expression at all. Instead, it was calm and indifferent, just like the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. The blood of the spirit turtle flowed through his body silently.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a foolish threat. With your intelligence, you should be able to tell what kind of person I am. I¡¯ve come to the Myriad sect to cultivate after going through so many hardships and difficulties, yet I¡¯ve been turned away at the door rudely. How can I not feel resentment? If I succeed with my ambitions in the future and rise up, how will you deal with me, senior? I felt no ill will towards the Myriad sect, yet today, I will be developing ill will for no good reason. Please consider whether this is a curse or a blessing closely, senior.¡±

    He spoke extremely sincerely, but it only resembled a naked threat, and the person he was talking to could obliterate him on a whim.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said indifferently, ¡°You really do possess the bloodline of my species. You understand our disposition extremely well. But do you really think I don¡¯t have the courage to kill you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°If senior really plans on turning me away at the door, then you might as well finish me off. At the very least, it¡¯ll save you the troubles that are in front of you.¡±

    The two of them clearly had their daggers drawn, on the verge of a struggle to the death, yet they spoke like none of it was relevant.

    ¡°The troubles that are in front of me?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°What about the troubles that aren¡¯t in front of me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you kill me, senior.¡±

    If it had been a Human Immortal instead, Li Qingshan never would have said something like that. Perhaps they would get carried away in the moment and kill him or use some other technique to search his soul. However, as he possessed the bloodline of the spirit turtle, he had accurately grasped the calm, cautious personality of spirit turtles.

    Since this Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had his fears, he would not kill him no matter what. This gamble seemed extremely dangerous, but he actually had an extremely good chance. It could even be described as a guaranteed victory. Even the worst outcome was keeping the status quo and being expelled from the Myriad sect. He had not relied purely on luck to make it to where he was today.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°Then what do you suggest?¡±

    ¡°Nurturing a flower is better than nurturing a thorn. Building good will is better than accumulating ill will. I am definitely not someone who bites the hand that feeds me. Even if I cause any disasters, I will handle it myself. It will have nothing to do with the Myriad sect. Perhaps one day, the Myriad sect might even need my care. Even if it¡¯s just for the sake of bringing in good fortunes and avoiding disasters, why not keep me under your watch so that everything is within your control? If I harm the Myriad sect one day and senior thinks it¡¯s better to kill me than keep me around, then senior can do so whenever.¡±

    If someone else had heard that, they basically would have laughed their teeth out. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance smiled as well.

    ¡°My master resides beyond the Nine Heavens, managing the study of emperor Haotian, having transcended the six realms, no longer bound by the five elements. He has also once attended the buddha¡¯s Ullambana, as well as listened to the progenitor of daoism¡¯s attainments of the supreme. Even when he encounters the eighteen arhats, he only has to clasp his hands, standing on equal footing to the Ten Courts of Yanluo. He mingles among immortals, yet you actually say you will take care of the Myriad sect. How absurd!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Even immortals started off as people, so who knows what might happen in the future? Speaking of which, the only reason why the ocean can grow so large is because it accepts everything that flows into it. With how impressive the Myriad sect is, aren¡¯t you no different, still accepting disciples from everywhere? I might not be that talented, but I still can contribute a little.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance sank into his thoughts. Even with his calculations, he seemed to struggle to make a decision. This kid¡¯s cultivation was not particularly high, but he seemed to be connected to many important things, which made him wonder whose pawn he was. Before the advantages and disadvantages had been clearly unveiled, he definitely could not act rashly. However, it was exactly because of the significance of this that he did not want him to remain here. Otherwise, even if a Demon Sovereign joined the Myriad sect, it would not be that troublesome.

    Whether it were calculations or his prophecies, it was simply impossible to predict everything in the world. Otherwise, spirit turtles would not have to hide away in the depths of the ocean. At a time like this, he needed to be cautious.

    ¡°Alright, you can stay.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s peaceful expression gradually melted away, revealing a smile. Indescribable joy swelled up in his heart. In this clash against a Daemon Immortal, he had won another round. He understood just how difficult it was to change a spirit turtle¡¯s mind. No matter how confident he was, he had to risk his life for it. Now, he had succeeded, taking another step forward.

    Having the time of his life contending against the heavens, the earth, and humanity.

    The words of great men were right!

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suddenly asked, ¡°What cultivation method do you practise?¡±

    This was another crucial problem. Li Qingshan obviously could not divulge the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, so he said calmly, ¡°The Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Destruction, which is also called the Sovereign¡¯s Limit of World Prosperity. I¡¯m willing to offer them up to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.¡±

    ¡°Hand it over then!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Li Qingshan recorded the cultivation method in a jade slip and handed it up with both hands.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance only seemed to glance through them quickly before looking at Li Qingshan deeply. ¡°A very interesting cultivation method. It¡¯s given me some inspiration. I can complete another heavenly tome now.¡±

    The badge on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest flashed gently, having earned a sizable amount of contribution. Afterwards, he earned a sizable sum of bookmarks too. He understood this was the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s most important job in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, gathering various cultivation methods and constantly adding to the Myriad Heavenly Tomes.

    He could not help but rejoice inside. He knew many cultivation methods, and there was an entire world behind him too. If he could offer up all of those cultivation methods, wouldn¡¯t he reach direct disciple in just a few minutes? He immediately took out the Demon Suppression Statuary and the Battle Demon Statuary as well, offering them up.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced at them and said, ¡°The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes has already gathered all the cultivation methods of the Battle Demon clan. The Demon Suppression Statuary is a little interesting, but it¡¯s not of much value.¡±

    This time, Li Qingshan only received a few Black Wood bookmarks, and the contribution was simply pitiful. He was better off just digging up some magnetic ferrum.

    Who knew how many years this Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had stood here for. They had a True Immortal grand sect master up above, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance constantly calculating and deducing here, and past disciples collecting and offering up cultivation methods below. Regular cultivation methods and books no longer possessed much value. They had to be peculiar in a certain way or downright be extremely powerful and ingenious cultivation methods.

    The Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction had always been a powerful cultivation method, culminated from the destruction of a world. It was only worth a little more when it contrasted against its original version, the Sovereign Limit Record of World Prosperity.

    Li Qingshan could not help but become slightly disappointed. Sure enough, this won¡¯t be enough.

 Chapter 1368

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1368 ¨C The Heavenly Tome of Liberty

    ¡°Senior, may I ask which floor must I go to to view the heavenly tomes? And what price would I have to pay?¡±

    Li Qingshan had already decided on strengthening his human cultivation as an important step to increasing his strength, and the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes possessed exactly what he needed.

    ¡°Heavenly tomes must be exchanged for using bookmarks. Do you have any?¡±

    ¡°Thanks to senior brother Le¡¯s generosity I do, as he¡¯s lent me quite a lot of Green Jade bookmarks.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. As it seemed, this old turtle did not know about everything. Even with divination, he was not all-knowing.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance shut his eyes for a moment before opening them again, shining brightly. ¡°I see. What a great gambling nature. What extravagance. I have a heavenly tome here for you then.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What heavenly tome?¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Tome of Liberty.¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Tome of Liberty!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. According to R¨¡hu Xiaoming, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction and the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity possessed a certain will and path that corresponded with the lord of the m¨¡ra, Mahe?vara. It matched up with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty too.

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. The cultivation methods you offered up gave me some inspiration to complete this heavenly tome.

    ¡°Then could you introduce the details of the heavenly tome, such as the cultivation I can attain with it?¡± Li Qingshan asked with humility.

    He had developed great admiration towards this Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. In that short while, he had basically comprehended the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity and the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction, and he had used them to complete the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. His calculating powers were monstrous.

    Throughout all these years, he had only been practising the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction. Even practising two cultivation methods at the same time was extremely difficult, let alone merging them together, yet right now, there was an even stronger and even more complete cultivation lying right before him. He could not help but feel like he had made the correct decision by coming to the Myriad sect.

    ¡°Your cultivation method is known as the ¡®Sovereign¡¯s Limit¡¯, while this heavenly tome is known as the ¡®Immortal¡¯s Limit¡¯. You can reach the limits of Human Immortal with it. I can¡¯t calculate any further than that, but there¡¯s definitely far more room for development in the future. The lord of the m¨¡ra, Mahe?vara, dwells at the peak of the Desire realm. Due to his great liberty, he¡¯s known as the lord of the trichiliocosm, both good and wicked, both a god and a demon. He is a being of birth and destruction, thus attaining great liberty.¡±

    ¡°With this Heavenly Tome of Liberty alone, you naturally can¡¯t attain ¡®great liberty¡¯. More accurately, it¡¯ll just be ¡®minor liberty¡¯ at most, but even that is extremely rare. The path of Mahe?vara is not only his path, but also one of the three thousand paths. Since it matches with your disposition and it¡¯s compatible with your current cultivation, there¡¯s no point for you to give up on everything you¡¯ve attained so far. Would you like it?¡±

    Li Qingshan said without hesitation, ¡°Of course, I do!¡±

    ¡°Give me eight hundred and fifty Green Jade bookmarks.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s that expensive!?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. This was clearly daylight robbery! The bookmarks he had obtained from offering up the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction and Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity could not even round the price down to the nearest hundred. Surely this old turtle is not fooling with me!

    ¡°A cultivation method is the foundation of cultivation. Do you think cultivation methods come easily?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, fair enough. Eight hundred and fifty it is then!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about his Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and Xiao An¡¯s Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, which made him admit that. Originally, a powerful and suitable cultivation method could only be obtained through sheer luck. Now that he could directly exchange for one, it could be considered as a blessing.

    Probably everyone in the Myriad sect knew about the prices of heavenly tomes. With the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance watching the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, he probably would not be ripped off in a place like this, so he simply handed over eight hundred and fifty Green Jade bookmarks obediently.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance accepted the bookmarks casually and gave him a jade slip.

    Li Qingshan browsed through it slightly, only to find it indescribably deep and profound. He tried to comprehend it further and images immediately began to flash through his eyes; sometimes the vast sea of stars and other times blood and corpses strewn everywhere; sometimes the terrors and horrors of a world¡¯s destruction and other times the vigour and energy of saving the world¡­

    Then the images condensed into supernatural figures, either gentle or terrifying, either dancing around or beastial. For a moment, it was like a riotous reverie of demons, making his mind stir and tempting him to dance along. An unmatched sensation of delight rapidly spread through his chest, almost bursting out of his body and rushing beyond the heavens until it filled the entire universe.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance silently observed Li Qingshan. He did not warn him about how dangerous it was to casually browse the entire Heavenly Tome of Liberty with his current cultivation.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty was probably the most dangerous and unpredictable heavenly tome that was most prone to cultivation deviation out of the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. It was filled with contradictions and disputes, chaos and impermanence. If he remained careful and prudent, cautious like he was hesitating, he would struggle to attain the will of ¡°liberty¡±. However, if he let himself be washed away by the great joy and laughter, dancing to its tune, he would definitely fall into madness and confusion.

    Even he had taken significant time before he managed to complete the calculations, but it was only in a rudimentary form. The path that belonged to the lord of the m¨¡ra, Mahe?vara, could not be trodden by any simple person.

    However, from the moment Li Qingshan began cultivating, the struggle between the demonic and the divine in his heart had never stopped. The tiger demon¡¯s frenzy left him bloodthirsty and battle-hungry, and he loved the ape demon¡¯s ability to do whatever it wanted, yet none of it could destroy the qilin¡¯s bit of benevolence at the end of the day.

    The various demonic thoughts and the many divine natures constantly struggled together, tugging at one another.

    He was once known as the hero king, using novels to spread martial arts in an attempt to achieve true equality. He had once possessed benevolent thoughts, wanting to save all the living creatures in the world, but he had also gone as far as to destroy an entire world for the sake of contending against a powerful enemy.

    He had never been ensnared by the contradictions. He stayed true to himself, without any regrets or resentment. From a certain perspective, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty was basically made to fit him. At the very least, he would not suffer from cultivation deviation that easily.

    He removed his soul sense from the jade slip as if he was not attached to that sense of liberty and delight at all. He clasped his hands. ¡°Thank you for your guidance, senior. This cultivation truly is extremely wondrous. I will comprehend and practise it properly so that I can make it to new heights!¡±

    He could not help but rejoice in his gamble with Le Tian. Otherwise, who knew how many years he would have to spend working for the Myriad sect before he could obtain this Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Time was far too important to him. The benefits of the gamble had already begun to show itself.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance thought, Sure enough, the warning was unneeded. This kid¡¯s will is so staunch and unyielding that he cannot be treated as a regular person. He is an outstanding genius! If he doesn¡¯t die along the way, he¡¯ll definitely achieve great things. He¡¯ll be far more than just a direct disciple of the Myriad sect. Though, I wonder whether he¡¯ll be a curse or a blessing to the Myriad sect. I need to continue observing him!

    He waved his hand in an unconcerned manner. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, you can go! Don¡¯t get in the way of my reading.¡± He turned around and left.

    Li Qingshan had achieved his objective of remaining in the Myriad sect, and he had obtained an extremely important heavenly tome too. He should have been completely satisfied, yet he felt lost as if he had missed something important.

    From the corner of his eyes, he saw the bookshelves that stood several metres tall, connecting with the ceiling. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration. He recalled the books that had flooded his face like thousands of butterflies earlier. Through his exceptional memory, he found the books one by one on the shelves and noticed something surprising.

    Most of the books were not cultivation methods, but various tales, writings, records, and rumours. They were all stories.

    He yelled out before the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance completely disappeared, ¡°Hold on!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance looked back with his hands on his back. His body did not move at all as his head almost swivelled all the way round. ¡°What else?¡±

    ¡°Senior, you like novels?¡±

 Chapter 1369

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1369 ¨C Offering Up Books

    ¡°What about it?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance gazed at him in confusion. Because the two sect masters of the Myriad sect regularly ventured to beyond the Nine Heavens to follow the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, only he remained in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes all year round. He did so to protect the sect from any intruding enemies and to complete the Myriad Heavenly Tomes so that he could accumulate knowledge and use for cultivation.

    He had always prefered peace and quiet, so this job was extremely suited for him. His primary source of entertainment was reading too. Only the various novels and interesting stories from books of all sorts could survive the erosion of thousands of years, allowing him to maintain his interest. As for other books, whether they were exceptional poems or extraordinary discourses, they were not worth reading at all. With his intelligence and knowledge, he had surpassed most of those authors already.

    Everyone in the sect knew about this hobby, so disciples would regularly collect stories and offer them up to him in exchange for some contribution and bookmarks to satisfy this small interest of his. In essence, the colossal Myriad sect basically existed to serve a very small number of people, like the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, and the two sect masters.

    Li Qingshan said excitedly, ¡°I¡¯m a novelist!¡±

    ¡°Heh, now that¡¯s unusual!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s lips curled slightly. He had probably smiled more today than in a usual year.

    ¡°Really.¡±

    Li Qingshan originally wanted to say he had written novels before, but in hindsight, he had basically plagiarised them all before passing them to Xiao An to spice up the details, so they had absolutely nothing to do with him. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would probably see through that the moment he said it, so he could not bring himself to tell a lie like that.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance looked at him indifferently. His expression was filled with contempt. Even when Li Qingshan ¡°provoked¡± him earlier, the contempt was not this heavy.

    ¡°Heh, you really are wet behind the ears, aren¡¯t you? Just go back to what you were doing before!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance waved his hand like he was shooing away a fly. If Li Qingshan said he could become a True Immortal, he might have believed it a little. As for being some novelist, he could save it! Even with his eyes shut, he could tell how much literary talent he had in him.

    ¡°I said I would serve the Myriad sect. You¡¯re right here, senior, so why would I try and attempt something beyond my reach? Are there any bookmarks or contribution if I offer up a novel?¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance like he was looking at a treasure trove of bookmarks, oh of course, as well as a tremendous amount of contribution.

    ¡°If it¡¯s interesting and worth a read, then there¡¯ll naturally be bookmarks and contribution, even more than regular cultivation methods and manuals.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance clearly did not think Li Qingshan could produce anything readable.

    ¡°Alright, I understand. Please lend me the jade slip again, senior.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly. ¡°I want to offer up a book.¡±

    The jade slip soared through the air along an arc and ended up in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. He immediately shut his eyes and began recording a novel in there. A while later, he returned the jade slip to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    ¡°The Legend of the White Ape King. Did you write this?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance furrowed his brows and became slightly surprised. With the nimbleness of his soul sense, he had read over a hundred thousand characters in the blink of an eye.

    ¡°I did. What do you think, senior?¡±

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s only original creation, and he had put quite a lot of effort into it.

    ¡°The language is shallow, the characterisation is rigid, and there¡¯s a bunch of random, low level martial arts mixed in. It¡¯s both long and foul!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance read another several hundred thousand characters and gave him a string of criticism.

    Li Qingshan knew he was not made for this. The entire reason why he had written the Legend of the White Ape King in the first place was to use the random, low level martial arts to gather readers. There were not a lot of people in the original small world who would criticise the contents, but receiving feedback like that still left him a little discontent.

    At this moment, the badge on his chest lit up slightly, and a few Black Wood bookmarks were thrown his way. He grabbed them and gazed at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in surprise.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said indifferently, ¡°But there are also some areas worthy of notice. It attempts to achieve harmony throughout the world, where all are equal. It possesses quite the compassion and spirit. There¡¯s still some length to it after all, so it¡¯s worth a few Black Wood bookmarks and a few points of contribution. Alright. I¡¯ll be accepting this book.¡±

    It felt a little like he was simply trying to send away a beggar disturbing him, but Li Qingshan was still extremely happy. ¡°Thank you, senior!¡±

    This was still one of his own creations after all. It had taken him great effort, so being able to sell it for something was better than it being worthless. This was not just a few Black Wood bookmarks and a few points of contribution either, but a door of opportunity open to him.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was about to leave when Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t go, senior. I have more with me!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Li Qingshan offered up another book, but it was no longer written by him.

    In the World of the Five Continents, their god appeared in person, scouring the world.

    The hundred schools of thought had always prevailed in the nine provinces. The school of Novels had never been particularly prosperous, but they still had a very long history. Over such a long period of selection, there were still many classics and famous works that remained.

    As Li Qingshan spoke with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, he used his will as the god of the world to collect these books, recording them in the jade slip through his main body.

    The World of the Five Continents and the Human realm were separated by an invisible boundary. It was only possible to connect the two through the Heaven Climbing Vine. Otherwise, it would be impossible to bring even a grain of sand between the worlds. However, his main body and his clone shared the same knowledge and memories, so this was sufficient.

    ¡°Yeah, this is a little interesting, and the language is much more coherent and eloquent¡­¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance nodded in satisfaction. He even slowed down his reading speed like he was trying to savour it. However, he still finished it in a single moment.

    The badge on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest lit up again, and he obtained a few Yellow Bronze bookmarks this time. It was not particularly precious, but it was an extremely good start. He seemed to be able to see Le Tian¡¯s unlucky figure from losing the gamble already. He immediately offered up another book.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced at him and became interested. He downright gave Li Qingshan another jade slip so that he could continue recording without interrupting his reading. Actually, he rarely ever had the opportunity where he could read so many quality novels endlessly.

    As he was quite difficult to impress, the novels gathered by regular disciples struggled to interest him, so the rewards were not particularly high. While these rewards would mean something to readers, attendants, and servants, they did not even possess the right to enter the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Even if they could offer up some books through the Book Collection department, their area of activity was very narrow, and their ability to find books was restricted as well.

    As for formal and inner disciples, these rewards normally would not interest them. If they had the time to do this, they were better off doing something else, and they would gather much more contribution and bookmarks. Direct disciples went even more without saying.

    Due to these various reasons, coupled with the fact that he read far too quickly, he normally just reread some old books.

    He was aware that Li Qingshan definitely was not the author of these books. He had probably guessed that Li Qingshan had brought them over from another world. These books had been accumulated over time in a different world, which was the only reason why there was such quantity and quality.

    But according to the cultivation method he had offered up, it was very likely that the world he came from was already approaching its end or even destroyed already. In short, there were books to read, so he no longer cared about those small details. He gathered his focus and read through them one by one, even urging him on. ¡°Faster, faster.¡±

 Chapter 1370

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1370 ¨C Rising Up

    ¡°Coming, coming!¡±

    For the first time in his life, Li Qingshan discovered just how tiring it was to record things in jade slips. He had to maintain his focus at all times, so his soul sense could not relax at all. It was like holding onto something that was not particularly heavy. In the beginning, it was nothing, but as time went on, it would become uncomfortable or even painful. He completely relied on the Spirit Turtle Transformation to hold on.

    The most important part of this were the flashes from the badge on his chest and the bookmarks. There were not a lot of them with each book, just a few Black Wood bookmarks and Yellow Bronze bookmarks, without a single White Silver bookmark to be seen, let alone any Green jade bookmarks.

    However, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance simply read fast enough, so he accumulated a great pile in a short while. His contribution constantly climbed higher too.

    Towards the end, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance found it too troublesome, so he asked, ¡°How much more do you have?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered, ¡°As much as you want!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance directly gave him a great sum of points and ten Green jade bookmarks. He said, ¡°If there¡¯s enough, I¡¯ll reward you additionally. If there¡¯s not enough, then you¡¯re lying to your seniors. Not only will you have to pay it back, but you will even be severely punished too!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯ll be plenty!¡± Li Qingshan agreed happily, but upon some further thought, he was also a little wary. ¡°I respect you as my senior, so you better not rip me off!¡±

    The value behind each book was different. It was completely decided by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. If it were originally worth Yellow Bronze bookmarks but he received Black Wood bookmarks instead, there was nothing Li Qingshan could do about that.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said in displeasure, ¡°Damned brat, you¡¯re arrogant and conceited yourself, yet you look down on others! I am a lover of books! Even if it¡¯s just for the sake of their authors, I wouldn¡¯t undermine their value over these petty profits. I¡¯ll take whatever you have, so just bring it!¡±

    ¡°Alrighty!¡±

    In the blink of an eye, the sky lit up. An entire night had passed.

    The boundless ocean held the Myriad sect as the red flow of the rising sun embraced the sky.

    Below the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, to its eastern foundation, was a stone wall that stood over thirty metres tall. There was a great square in front of the wall.

    The wall was smooth and glossy, with the two words ¡°Myriad Rankings¡± carved at the very top. As the red sun rose into the sky above the eastern ocean, the sunlight gradually illuminated the wall, displaying a series of names.

    These names trailed down line by line. The names at the very top were a deep violet before gradually fading in colour. Twenty rankings down, it became a bluish-green before fading again over several hundred names. Towards the very bottom, it was golden yellow with several thousand people.

    It was divided into three levels like a pyramid, representing the direct disciples, inner disciples, and formal disciples of the Myriad sect. Le Tian¡¯s name was a deep violet like the afterglow of the sun moments before it completely vanished, ranked eighth from the very top. It represented his tremendous status in the Myriad sect.

    Seniority in the Myriad sect did not depend on cultivation or when they joined the sect. It completely depended on these rankings.

    It had been less than a day since Li Qingshan joined the sect. Even when he had contributed a lot of magnetic ferrum during the entrance test, leaving him quite close to inner disciple, he still sat at the bottom of this ranking obediently. His faint yellow name had almost vanished in the sunlight, with several thousand names separating him from the green, middle level.

    Once again, it was evidence that the words from a boss of a casino could not be trusted. If becoming an inner disciple was that easy, why were there several thousand people struggling here? Why were there only a handful of direct disciples?

    However, his name only remained at the bottom of the rankings for a very short amount of time, or more accurately, just an instant. He immediately climbed up by several hundred rankings, which was quite a dazzling sight. Several hundred names shifted down by one ranking at the same time.

    People flowed to and from the square. It was extremely busy. There were many people standing below, gazing at the stone wall. This sight immediately attracted the attention of many, making them gasp in surprise. Immediately, the entire square was alarmed, unsure what was happening. They all followed the gazes and looked at the stone wall, noticing a faint, yellow name on there.

    ¡°Li Qingshan? Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never heard of someone like that among the readers. He¡¯s probably new. Didn¡¯t the entrance test just occur recently?¡±

    ¡°They just finished the testing, and the ships to receive them have just docked here. Look at the people in front of the stone wall. Aren¡¯t they the new people? They¡¯re still touring the place with the guide, so how can he obtain so much contribution all of a sudden? It must be some reader who struck it lucky. How can you remember the several tens of thousand readers in the sect?¡±

    ¡°Maybe! Look, he¡¯s still climbing higher! Sigh, his seniority grows so quickly. Just earlier, I was his senior brother, but I¡¯ve become his junior brother now! Just how lucky did he get to obtain so much contribution without stopping?¡±

    After using up all the contribution from an entire night, Li Qingshan¡¯s name no longer climbed that quickly anymore, but it continued to move upwards at a slow but visible and steady pace, surpassing senior brothers after senior brothers and gaining junior brothers after junior brothers. It left everyone dumbfounded.

    The brothers Nie Xiuwen and Nie Xiuwu stood side-by-side in front of the stone wall. As the younger brother Nie Xiuwu was fair-skinned, the marks from Li Qingshan¡¯s vicious beating had yet to completely fade away. It was not so obvious with the elder brother, Nie Xiuwen, due to his complexion.

    After quite a struggle with each other, they actually did not abandon each other. After a night of sailing, they had instead reconciled, back to how they were before, watching out for each other.

    As conventions dictated, the disciple responsible for receiving them took them on a tour around Myriad city. The square was the first stop, primarily to show them the Myriad rankings so that they could understand their identities and statuses in the sect, as well as to give them some motivation.

    Due to their higher cultivations, the brothers stood at the front of the crowd. Gazing up at the name, their jaws could not help but drop. As the name climbed higher, they raised their heads higher, and their jaws dropped even more.

    ¡°Big brother, is it that Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Who else could it be? Sigh, we deserved our defeat at his hand.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re from the same group, so do you know anything about this junior brother Li¡¯s origins?¡±

    The disciple responsible for receiving them was the same one that Li Qingshan had met the night before. He felt absolutely astonished as well. Where in the world did he go last night? How did he accumulate so much contribution overnight? If this continues, even I¡¯ll have to call him senior brother when I see him before long.

    The two brothers glanced at each other. They had heard about the bold gamble too. After all, they were Soul Nascence cultivators, and Le Tian and Li Qingshan had not intentionally stifled their voices either. However, they decided to stay quiet about it. Let alone Le Tian, just Li Qingshan alone was a person they could not afford to offend.

    ¡°Senior brother, we¡¯re not too sure either.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, then don¡¯t. Just don¡¯t try and brush me aside. I¡¯m still your senior brother after all!¡±

    The guiding disciple was quite displeased, but it was not like he could force them to do anything. The two of them were a servant and an attendant, but with their cultivation, becoming formal disciples was only a matter of time.

    Su Tong possessed a special ability in this aspect, and she had heard them loudly and clearly yesterday too. She suspected that senior sister Ruan had helped him out. Sigh, a large tree really is good for shade and shelter. I better find one for myself soon too!

    Among the faces of admiration in the crowd behind, a hint of resentment flashed through the eyes of a ¡°monk¡±. His head was bald, but he was dressed in the robes of a daoist priest. He was the muscly old daoist that had been charred.

    Due to Li Qingshan¡¯s mercy, he had managed to preserve his life. He had basically climbed out of Magnetic Field mountain, without a single magnetic ferrum on him. He had only passed the test due to Le Tian¡¯s promise to Ruan Yaozhu.

    His physique was tough, and he was filled with vitality, so his appearance recovered even faster than the two brothers, but not a single strand of hair managed to regrow. His internal injuries were extremely severe too, not only regressing in cultivation, but even affecting his lifespan. He utterly hated Li Qingshan. Because he was afraid the two brothers would come after him secretly, he hid within the crowd, but people constantly glanced his way too, leaving him absolutely embarrassed and fuming!

    He watched his enemy climb higher and higher, while he had to start as a servant, piling hatred onto his hatred inside. His body felt like it was being sliced at by blades and burned at by fire, triggering the injuries in his body and making his face darkened and redden.

    The two brothers seemed to sense him and looked back, only to see a bald head gradually back away from the crowd. They sneered. ¡°Our combination of wind and fire isn¡¯t something you can just withstand like that. Now, residual winds carve away at your bones, fire poison attacks your organs, and you even have an inner demon? This kid can probably forget about undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation in his lifetime!¡±

    The muscly old daoist silently backed out of the crowd and stopped a passerby. ¡°May I ask where I can see senior brother Le Tian?¡±

    ¡°You must be new! What¡¯re you asking that for?¡±

    ¡°I have something to report to senior brother Le Tian.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s probably at the Fate Perturbing casino right now!¡±

 Chapter 1371

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1371 ¨C Fate Perturbing

    Unlike regular sects, Myriad city was not a place of cultivation sealed off from the rest of the world. Instead, it was open to all cultivators. Cultivators could freely trade, rest, and entertain themselves here.

    The majority of the sect¡¯s several hundred thousand servants and attendants served them. As a result, an array of facilities arose with demand. There were chess houses, markets, restaurants, tea houses, and even brothels. As long as they wanted it and had sufficient bookmarks, they could purchase it all here. It was truly all-encompassing.

    Among the various facilities, the most famous one was the Fate Perturbing casino, a place of gambling that Le Tian personally presided over.

    Cultivators had far too many ways to cheat, but it was always possible to guard against them. However, techniques of prophecy and divination could not be stopped, so they specially cast down formations that perturbed fate, which was why it was called Fate Perturbing.

    The old daoist priest arrived at the entrance of the Fate Perturbing casino very soon. The vermillion arch stood tall as people flowed to and fro below. To the left was a golden toad completely forged from gold, while to the right was a pixiu carved from white jade. There was even a stone tablet with an engraving.

    Gambling can change fate¡ªLe Tian

    This was probably also one of the origins of the name of the place.

    People bustled under the archway. There were many structures in the city that servants were forbidden from entering, but the Fate Perturbing casino was the only exception. Regardless of status, anyone could come and try their luck.

    With the opportunity right before him, the old daoist priest instead became rather nervous. He paced around beneath the archway.

    However, he did not just come to get his revenge against Li Qingshan. He wanted to establish a tie with Le Tian so that he could gain a footing in the sect. That would allow him to work against Li Qingshan well into the future. Otherwise, just Ruan Yaozhu alone was enough for him to give up on all thoughts like that.

    As a result, he made up his mind and dove into the place.

    On the highest floor of the Fate Perturbing casino, the radiant sunlight filled the entire room. Le Tian sat on a golden rattan chair. The golden goblet in his hand glistened brightly, even turning the rich alcohol golden.

    He could overlook most structures in the city from here. Le Tian sipped the alcohol as he gazed at a certain part of the city in thought.

    A female cultivator knocked on the door and walked in. Her golden dress dragged on the ground. She was adorned with a golden hairpin, golden earrings, golden bangles and various other golden accessories, but it did not seem drab on her at all. Instead, it made her seem particularly noble and beautiful, like the queen of a country. Instead, Le Tian, who sat back in the chair, seemed more like the tasteless son of someone who had made a great fortune overnight.

    The female cultivator was careful, stepping lightly like a cat. She whispered into his ear, ¡°Senior brother, there¡¯s a servant who resembles both a daoist priest and a buddhist monk that¡¯s trying to visit you. He said he wants to thank you for your kindness. I saw that he¡¯s a Soul Nascence cultivator, which is why I came to report this to you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see him!¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Seeing how Le Tian had no intentions of saying anything more, the female cultivator backed out of the room with no other choice.

    A cultivator immediately went up to her and asked politely, ¡°Senior sister Jin, what did senior brother Le say?¡±

    She had already recovered her queen-like demeanor. Her eyes were filled with malice. ¡°Tell him to piss off!¡±

    The order was passed down the chain of command. When it reached the very bottom, it had already turned into, ¡°Beat the bald ass until he leaves!¡±

    ¡°S- senior brother, he might just be a servant, but he¡¯s still a Soul Nascence cultivator. We¡¯re all just at Foundation Establishment, so how are we supposed to beat him?¡±

    ¡°So what if he¡¯s a Soul Nascence cultivator? This is the Fate Perturbing casino! You¡¯re all attendants, so don¡¯t tell me a servant like him will actually hit you back? How unfortunate of me, getting scolded by the foreman. It¡¯s like what they say, you¡¯re bound to lose if you¡¯re up against a baldy!¡±

    As a result, the old daoist priest suffered a beating and was thrown out viciously in the eyes of the public. He did not suffer any wounds due to his physique, but it did leave him feeling resentful, which made him cough up a few mouthfuls of blood viciously, worsening his internal injuries.

    ¡°Le Tian, why didn¡¯t you keep him around?¡±

    The three-legged golden toad turned into the figure of a young man with golden hair and golden eyes, lying lazily next to the hot spring. He raised a bar of gold high into the air before extending his tongue and pulling it into his mouth, chewing away as he said through his full mouth.

    ¡°He¡¯s just a piece of trash.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still a Soul Nascence cultivator. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re angry? That Li Qingshan sure is impressive. He¡¯s almost made you lose twice consecutively.¡±

    The three-legged golden toad followed Le Tian¡¯s gaze and glanced out. He was looking at the great square where the Myriad rankings stood. He saw everything clearly, including Li Qingshan¡¯s name.

    ¡°A piece of trash is not worth gambling on, not even a Black Wood bookmark. Does Leng Yuan really think he¡¯s the only one who noticed his Method of Essence-seizing, Qi-converting, and Placenta-hiding? The most important part of gambling is a daring spirit. These lowlifes that treat cowardice as cautiousness and underhandedness as intelligence will only lower my chances at winning. Li Qingshan was summoned over the moment he set foot in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. He must have been offering up random books and a lot of them too. There¡¯s nothing strange about that. After all, it¡¯s very likely that he ascended from a lower world. Soul Nascence cultivators of the Human realm don¡¯t have that kind of daring spirit.¡±

    Le Tian was completely unworried. His speculation was almost identical to the current situation.

    With a thump, the three-legged golden toad swallowed all of the gold. ¡°He doesn¡¯t really seem like someone who likes to read.¡±

    The alcohol in the golden goblet rippled. Le Tian said, ¡°Which is why he¡¯ll be coming out very soon.¡±

    However, Li Qingshan remained in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes for a total of six days and seven nights before emerging.

    During those six days, his ranking advanced steadily on a constant rise. It had already become much slower towards the end, as he no longer had a lot of books that were truly worth from the World of the Five Continents, and his rate of recording them into the jade slip became slower and slower too. However, he continued to climb higher at a steady pace, without pausing for a single moment. He surpassed another thousand people before finally stopping, actually becoming a small sensation in the Myriad sect.

    However, Li Qingshan felt absolutely horrible right now. He felt like his head was about to split open. The toll on his soul sense from rapidly recording into the jade slips was a small issue. Most importantly, there were several thousand books mixed together in his head, yet he could recall every single figure and every conversation. It was all vivid, like dreams. Even when he gazed at the city right before him, it felt surreal. He understood exactly why the Clam King of Mirage Sea had gone crazy now.

    ¡°Oi, kid, you¡¯ve finally come out!¡±

    A familiar voice rang out, and Li Qingshan immediately saw the nine-coloured deer, as well as Ruan Yaozhu who was dressed in a fresh, light-green dress. He immediately felt much better inside.

    ¡°Miss Ruan, it is an honour for this humble scholar to see you again¡­ ptui, I¡¯m almost going crazy. Fellow Ruan, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve already joined the sect, so you should call me senior sister.¡± Ruan Yaozhu smiled. She stood with the rising sun behind her as the strands of hair near her ears bobbed up and down in the wind.

    Li Qingshan sincerely called her senior sister, ¡°Senior sister, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been waiting here for me?¡±

    ¡°You never came to the Hundred Herbs garden. I heard you were summoned by the spirit reverend, but you never emerged even after several days. Are you fine?¡± Ruan Yaozhu asked in concern.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait then.¡± Li Qingshan was touched. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just offered up some books to the spirit reverend for some contribution and bookmarks.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve already become famous in the Myriad sect. Senior brother Le has almost been frightened out of his wits by you. Hmph, this is what he gets for gambling!¡± She even glanced in the direction of the Fate Perturbing casino.

    Li Qingshan laughed loudly. ¡°With senior brother Le¡¯s wealth and success, he¡¯s got plenty of avenues to make money, so why would he care about some cheap change?¡±

    In the Fate Perturbing casino, Le Tian truly produced a sigh of relief. If Li Qingshan continued to rise up at that rate, becoming a direct disciple in three decades really would not be anything difficult.

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that the books you can offer up are still limited at the end of the day, or you¡¯d definitely win. Why don¡¯t you come to my Hundred Herbs garden for some work instead? You won¡¯t earn contribution as quickly, but it¡¯ll be a stable source of income.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled mysteriously. ¡°Not necessarily. It¡¯s just as they say. Life is limited, but books are not!¡±

    Le Tian became nervous again.

 Chapter 1372

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1372 ¨C The Hundred Herbs Garden

    When Ruan Yaozhu saw the smile, it was in the rising sun, filled with a sense of vigour, which made her smile as well.

    The entrance of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was not as noisy or busy as the Heaven Perturbing casino, but it was still a place where people came and went. On top of that, they were all formal and inner disciples too. When they saw how they smiled at each other, it threw them all into a reverie of thoughts.

    Ruan Yaozhu had originally been waiting for Li Qingshan in a sheltered spot. Now, all the disciples saw her and came up to greet her. ¡°Senior sister Ruan!¡± However, they all thought inside, Who¡¯s this man? Why is he so close with senior sister Ruan?

    Perhaps due to Li Qingshan¡¯s presence, Ruan Yaozhu seemed slightly unnatural. ¡°Junior brother Li, let¡¯s go to the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan immediately noticed the puzzled gazes from the people around him, as well as their undisguisable envy.

    Li Qingshan followed the nine-coloured deer out of Myriad city, arriving on a small island five hundred kilometres away.

    The island was lush with vegetation, forming a deep, green colour. Birds circled through the air. It brimmed with life. Sure enough, it was a wonderful place.

    However, Li Qingshan could not see any proper spiritual or immortal herbs no matter how he looked around. ¡°Is this the Hundred Herbs garden?¡±

    ¡°Not yet!¡±

    As Ruan Yaozhu said that, the nine-coloured deer had already descended from above, landing on the tiny island.

    Li Qingshan immediately sensed how extraordinary the tiny island was. The spiritual qi was abnormally dense, almost on par with Si Long¡¯s dwelling. There were many formations cast down on the island, all invisible, like a tight encirclement. The security was definitely no less tight than Myriad city. If it were not for Ruan Yaozhu leading the way, he could forget about setting foot here.

    ¡°Kid, you sure are fortunate. We¡¯re only doing this because you helped us win so many bookmarks!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer slowed down and followed a small path through the forest, arriving before a picturesque scene.

    On top of the deep, green grass stood an archway woven from vines and other plants. There were even flowers blooming on the archway. Under the morning sun, it was like a world from a fairytale.

    With a leap, the nine-coloured deer vanished into the archway. The entrance rippled with light like a rainbow.

    Li Qingshan seemed to understand what was going on. He stepped through the archway.

    Immediately, an exceptional world unfurled before his eyes. This was a hidden abode.

    The place was not particularly large, less than five hundred kilometres across, but there were overlapping mountains, valleys and rocks, as well as deserts, tundras, swamps, and lakes. However, it did not seem cluttered or messy at all. It merged together naturally, like it was a painting, like it had been condensed from an entire world.

    Li Qingshan had seen his fair share of sights. As the god of a world, there was nothing surprising about that. However, this land of five hundred kilometres was filled with countless exotic herbs, either competing against one another under the charming sunlight or hiding away silently in the deep valleys.

    He did not know how to appraise herbs, but even he could tell their value with great ease. The spiritual qi here was unimaginably dense, even well beyond Si Long¡¯s dwelling, and Si Long¡¯s dwelling was only so large too.

    He immediately understood why the security on the island was so strict, as well as why those people were envious of him. This place was probably even more important than the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes in the Myriad sect.

    The worst possible situation that could occur to the heavenly tomes was getting stolen, but that would not exactly be a loss. Probably everything within the pavilion was stored within the old turtle¡¯s mind, so it would be nothing even if the entire place went up in flames.

    However, if this place were robbed or destroyed, probably even a hundred thousand years would not be enough to restore everything.

    Apart from direct disciples, who could possess a dwelling like Si Long¡¯s? Ruan Yaozhu said she wanted to help him find a stable job. What he gained was clearly not just stability.

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Welcome to the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    ¡°I really don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. He had recently obtained the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so he was in need of tremendous amounts of spiritual qi. The environment here was basically built for the Qilin Transformation too.

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so polite. You can pay me back by working hard!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like she had become much more lively ever since she arrived in the Hundred Herbs garden. He smiled. ¡°Alright, tell me what I need to do.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. I can tell you¡¯re exhausted, so why don¡¯t you take a break first? Oh right, you¡¯ve already obtained a heavenly tome from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu asked curiously, ¡°What heavenly tome is it? If you don¡¯t want to tell me, that¡¯s fine. I practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in praise, ¡°The dao follows nature. Sounds very powerful.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near that powerful. According to the spirit reverend, the heavenly tome should be called the Heavenly Tome of Minor Nature. It¡¯s still very far away from the true dao! However, it is good for taking care of plants, so I was arranged to watch over the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°What a coincidence then. My heavenly tome is only a single word off yours. I received a similar comment too.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu became very curious. She could not bother with being gentle and considerate anymore, urging him. ¡°Tell me what heavenly tome you practise! I¡¯ve even told you mine already.¡±

    At her cultivation, cultivation methods were no longer just cultivation methods, but a proper path. Every single heavenly tome was a path, virtually representing everything in a cultivator¡ªtheir thoughts, their powers, their disposition, and so on.

    ¡°Senior sister, I practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, or should I call it the Heavenly Tome of Minor Liberty.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu thought of something. Surely there really was that bit of destiny between them? She blinked her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a heavenly tome like that. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re lying to me?¡±

    Li Qingshan patted his chest and said in guarantee, ¡°I¡¯ll never lie to you.¡±

    ¡°I hope you can stick to your word then.¡± Ruan Yaozhu gazed at him and smiled, which instead made Li Qingshan feel a little guilty inside. He thought, Hopefully.

    Ruan Yaozhu explained in a very serious manner, ¡°The Heavenly Tome of Liberty. It must be connected to Mahe?vara. I wonder how effective it is. It must be very different from my Heavenly Tone of Nature. It¡¯s only a single word off. There are many heavenly tomes that the spirit reverend has commented on like that.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°How can it be ineffective? This heavenly tome cost me a grand total of eight hundred and fifty Green Jade bookmarks. If it weren¡¯t for senior brother Le Tian¡¯s financial aid, who knows how long it would have taken before I could obtain it.¡±

    ¡°Then you really have to thank senior brother Le. However, I really don¡¯t know how you¡¯re going to win this gamble.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed before saying seriously, ¡°If you need Greed Jade bookmarks, I can lend them to you, but there are set rules for work and contribution. I can give you a little more bookmarks as compensation, but the contribution you earn is connected to the rules of the entire Myriad sect. If you have a large contribution, then it¡¯s a large contribution. If it¡¯s small, then it¡¯s small. If you¡¯ve made a contribution, then you¡¯ve made a contribution. Regardless of who it is, I won¡¯t show any favouritism.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on me. I, Li Qingshan, am not a deadbeat who sponges off his woman. You don¡¯t have to worry about me too much either. I have an ingenious plan in mind. I¡¯ll definitely make Le Tian lose his Green Jade bookmarks!¡±

    ¡°What sponging off women? Who¡¯s worried about you!?¡±

 Chapter 1373

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1373 ¨C Thoughts

    Ruan Yaozhu fumed. It was far too obvious that Li Qingshan was teasing her. No matter how good-tempered she was, she could not allow that. If it were not for his clear and pure eyes, without any impure thoughts, she would have chased him out of the Hundred Herbs garden immediately.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He was completely unconcerned. He was no longer that Li Qingshan wet behind the years who fell in love as soon as he saw a beauty. He did not develop a romantic interest towards her. He was merely joking. He had always been good at mocking and possessed a mouth that spewed foul words. Right now, he was complacent, nowhere self-conscious enough to hold back a little.

    Suddenly, his chest ached, and he had been launched into the air. The nine-coloured deer had butted him away.

    Li Qingshan made a flip and stood in the air, rubbing his chest. He did not become angered. He asked, ¡°Why did you butt me?¡±

    He actually had no chance to dodge at all. Sure enough, she had already undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    The nine-coloured deer was surprised as well. Originally, she wanted to teach him a small lesson, yet he was unscathed. His physique truly was tough. She raised her antlers proudly. ¡°Hmph, nothing good can come out of a foul person!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°Junior brother Li, you cannot talk so brashly in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his head. ¡°Understood.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu could not bring herself to scold him any further. She thought, He has no impure thoughts. I¡¯ve been overthinking instead. She pointed out to him. ¡°Do you see that hill?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. The hill was not particularly large, which made him think of Crouching Ox hill. It happened to be at the centre of the Hundred Herbs garden, and there were not a lot of shrubs there. Instead, there was a towering tree. The leaves were a faint, golden colour as if they were adorned with gold. He could tell with a single glance that it was anything but ordinary.

    He could not help but ask, ¡°What is that tree?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. It can calm the mind and give inspiration. It¡¯s most beneficial to cultivation. It¡¯s often where I take a small rest, so go and rest under that tree.¡± When Ruan Yaozhu reached there, she felt slightly strange inside too.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not really appropriate, is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan was not a dimwit at the end of the day. That was a place akin to her bedroom. If they really were alone here, then so be it, but there were many cultivators working throughout the Hundred Herbs garden. Ever since they came here, it had already earned them many gazes. Ruan Yaozhu had shown him great kindness before, so he refused to damage her reputation.

    Ruan Yaozhu grumbled again, ¡°What¡¯s inappropriate about that? Whenever I have seniors or juniors visiting, I receive them all there.¡± However, then she felt like she had said too much, like she was trying to cover up something. ¡°I¡¯m going to go take a look around. If you don¡¯t want to go there, so be it.¡± She rode off on the nine-coloured deer.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and made his way up the hill, arriving beneath the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. He saw how the thick body of the tree was composed of multiple trunks woven together like a banyan tree.

    There was a bamboo mat under the tree, with a small tea table and a tea set. The bamboo mat was verdant-green like it was new. The tea table was deep red, while the tea set was patterned like shattered ice. It was extremely simple and elegant.

    The thin shade of the tree glimmered with a faint golden colour, swaying with the breeze and shining with specks of gold.

    Li Qingshan arrived beneath the tree and immediately felt his mind clear up. His head no longer hurt and even his soul sense became sharper. He simply sat down there carelessly.

    He was not in a hurry to cultivate. He reflected on his various experiences ever since he arrived in the Human realm and gradually felt tired, letting out a great yawn. Suddenly, he smiled. It had been a very long time since he felt this sensation, so he downright lay down on the cool, bamboo mat before drifting off into his dreams.

    Ruan Yaozhu took a look around the Hundred Herbs garden and handled some miscellaneous chores, but she felt slightly uneasy.

    ¡°Sigh, he¡¯s actually sleeping. Geez.¡± The nine-coloured deer glanced back at the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. ¡°Piece of wood, oh piece of wood, you¡¯re opening the door to let someone bad in!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say he¡¯s been a good person his entire life, and he can¡¯t even bring himself to step on an ant?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem! Regardless of whether he¡¯s a good person or not, he¡¯s still a man at the end of the day. You can tell with a single glance that he¡¯s plenty experienced with women and is a lady-killer at that. You need to be wary of him in the future, just in case you suffer from the tribulation of attachment!

    Ruan Yaozhu reddened. ¡°What are you saying? I just don¡¯t wish to see him lose to senior brother Le Tian. That¡¯s two thousand Green Jade bookmarks after all. How can he afford to lose that?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer yelled out, ¡°This is terrifying! You¡¯ve known Le Tian for more than a millennia, yet you only met this kid less than ten days ago. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve been bewitched? Does this kid have the bloodline of the nine-tailed fox?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was mildly surprised. Everything had occurred so smoothly that she did not even think about the reasons properly. Perhaps she had been touched by the compassion of the qilin, perhaps she refused to watch a good person become doomed, or perhaps she was venting against Le Tian who never listened to her even after a thousand years of convincing.

    She truly struggled to identify the exact reason. They all placed a role to a certain degree, but there was no need for her to think too much about it either.

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er, thank you for your reminder, but I whole-heartedly devote myself to cultivation, so how can I fall into the web of attachments? If junior brother Li really is thinking of something else, please expel him from the Hundred Herbs garden for me. If he isn¡¯t thinking of anything else, am I really that unreserved?¡±

    ¡°Alright, I will keep an eye on him for you! Hehe, with our piece of wood¡¯s morales and beauty, I refuse to believe he won¡¯t be interested.¡±

    ¡°Beat him!¡±

    Li Qingshan slept very soundly, completely unaware that he was already in someone¡¯s crosshairs. Even if he knew, he would not care. He had just entered the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and was about to face Demon God Qiongqi. He was in high spirits with great morale, so why would he think about women right now? On top of that, with how nice she had been to him, how could he think about sleeping with her and ruining her cultivation? That would not be befitting of his principles of always repaying his debts.

    He was asleep, but he maintained a sliver of clarity which entered the World of the Five Continents¡­

    Gazing down from the perspective of the god of the world, the boundless ocean, the many continents, and the humans, ghosts, daemons, and demons unfurled before his eyes like a grand painting. It was not as delicate as the Hundred Herbs garden, but it was his world.

    The crux to winning the gamble was here!

    Li Qingshan understood his capacity. He called himself a novelist, but he did not possess the talent to write novels, and just how many novels could he copy at the end of the day? This was not a permanent solution to the problem.

    However, books were still written by people. He did not possess the talent, but that did not mean others did not. The population in the World of the Five Continents spanned into the billions, and there was such a great temporal difference with the Human realm too.

    It was completely possible for him to gather as many people as he wanted to write, and that would result in something. Even if only a hundredth, or even a thousandth, of them managed to produce something decent, it meant an endless source of contribution and bookmarks.

    Even if Le Tian tried to take everything into account, he never would have expected him to possess an entire world, especially one where he could visit with his will freely.

    The world itself could not directly provide him with any cultivation resources, but as long as he used it correctly, its value was beyond imagination. This was perhaps what Si Long was trying to do but failed.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance used the system and rules of the entire Myriad sect to satisfy a small pastime of his, while Li Qingshan could use his identity as the god of the world to make the entire world supplement his cultivation. This was the power and influence of cultivators.

    Winning this small gamble was just something he would do in the passing. He did not truly take it seriously. He still had a long time before three decades were up. If worst comes to worst, he could just run away from the debt. His priority right now was to obtain a proper dwelling.

    Ruan Yaozhu was a kind owner, but no matter how great the Hundred Herbs garden was and how wondrous the bodhi tree was, he would still be depending on her at the end of the day. It was not a place where he would remain for long.

 Chapter 1374

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1374 ¨C Comprehension

    However, while that was a nice thought, he still needed further consideration before he decided exactly how he went about it. Surely he could not directly descend from the sky and just rally everyone to write novels, right? There had to be someone responsible for organising the people and spreading the news so that they could build a proper system and ensure normal operation.

    With a thought, he had already found a suitable choice, and he soon descended into a courtyard.

    Under the great apricot tree, moonlight flowed like water as the shadows rustled.

    The King of Southern Yue in the past, Qian Lingzhi, was playing a game of chess. The Kingdom of Southern Yue no longer existed. He had already become the Human King of the new continent.

    On the other side of the chessboard was a banyan tree bonsai. Its roots and trunk were twisted, filled with strength and sturdiness. The aerial roots formed something that resembled a hand, clutching a black chess piece that slammed down on the board.

    Qian Lingzhi sighed. ¡°Despite such a great disaster, not only has your skill at chess not regressed, but it¡¯s even improved.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said without holding back, ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve been playing terribly!¡±

    Qian Lingzhi sighed with a smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t talk like that in the past.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°The past is the past. The present is the present. Let¡¯s go for another match!¡±

    Qian Lingzhi suddenly turned his head, only to see a figure fade into existence within the moonlight, turning into Li Qingshan who clasped his hands. ¡°Fellows, long time no see.¡±

    Qian Lingzhi stood up in a hurry to receive him, casually brushing the chessboard aside. He jokingly said, ¡°Welcome, great god. How may I be of service?¡±

    ¡°I do have something that I need your help with. Let me take my time and tell you.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan told him about the matters regarding the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in the Myriad sect. He did not even hide his gamble with Le Tian.

    Qian Lingzhi said, ¡°I never expected the Human realm to be so dangerous. You have nothing to worry about, fellow. Leave this to me. I¡¯ll make sure that person called Le Tian doesn¡¯t get too complacent with himself.¡±

    The Great Banyan Tree King said, ¡°I¡¯m free, and I¡¯ve been looking for something to do, so let me lend you a hand too!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry if that¡¯s the case.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. One of them was part of nobility, while the other was the king of daemons. They were both skilled at organising work, so everything would become simpler if he left it up to the two of them.

    ¡°Thank you. Once this is complete, I¡¯ll definitely reward you for your contributions. I can¡¯t let you toil about for nothing!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a mere trifle. You don¡¯t have to thank me. However, I do have something that I¡¯ve been wondering about. When will the World of the Five Continents grow larger?¡±

    Qian Lingzhi was close to the fourth heavenly tribulation as well. This was without a doubt the matter he was most concerned with.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and sensed around. He saw a gradually-expanding star in outer space. The space-devouring beast had already travelled a very, very long distance now. He opened his eyes again and said, ¡°Soon.¡±

    That also meant he had to remove the Heaven Climbing Vine from the Human realm before Navy Li¡¯l Fatty reached the new world, but if he did that, Xiao An and the others would be in a dangerous situation. Their path of retreat would be severed. As a result, he had to find a new dwelling and bring them over before then.

    Qian Lingzhi said, ¡°Then I don¡¯t have to worry. The nine provinces already possess the school of Novels, so I already have a starting point. However, it¡¯ll still take some time to draw up and plan out.¡±

    ¡°Yep. Time passes very quickly in the Human realm, so I can afford to wait. I was originally from the school of Novels, or I never would have thought of this. If you need anything, just let me know!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You won¡¯t be disappointed.¡±

    Li Qingshan gave them some more instructions on how to handle and operate the entire matter before bidding farewell and leaving.

    As Qian Lingzhi sank into his thoughts, the Great Banyan Tree King had already returned the messy chessboard to its original state. ¡°Your turn.¡±

    Qian Lingzhi felt helpless. He shook his head. ¡°Tree king, oh tree king, you weren¡¯t like this before. It¡¯s almost as if you¡¯re a completely different tree now.¡±

    ¡°Hurry up. Once I beat you, let¡¯s get to work with this.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan woke up slowly beneath the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree and stretched his arms. The cool breeze was gentle, making the golden leaves rustle. Ruan Yaozhu was nowhere to be seen. He did not sit up. Instead, he rested his head on his arms and crossed one leg over the other, placing the jade slip that recorded the Heavenly Tome of Liberty on his forehead. He just began comprehending like that.

    Perhaps because it was truly compatible with his disposition, the comprehension process was extremely smooth. The cultivation method was deep, extensive, and absolutely ingenious, but it could not stop him. He had the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine as a foundation. The deductive abilities of the Spirit Turtle Transformation and the Ape Demon Transformation¡¯s liking to do whatever it wanted became powerful sources of assistance before he knew it.

    Two types of light appeared on his body at the same time. At first, they conflicted and restricted one another before gradually merging together, forming an unpredictable glow that enveloped Li Qingshan, reflecting his expression. Sometimes, it was twisted and terrifying like a vicious demon¡¯s, and at other times, it was soft and gentle like a woman¡¯s. Toward the end, the two faces gradually merged together, and the light was absorbed into his dantian.

    He had just comprehended twenty or thirty percent of it, and he had unified the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity and the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction, combining the concepts of birth and death, prosperity and decline. Then he converted it into the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    Li Qingshan suddenly opened his eyes and gazed at the sunlight that flickered between the golden canopy. He said to himself, ¡°Only the saviour of the world possesses the right to destroy the world. Only the destroyer of the world possesses the ability to save the world.¡±

    With a rumble, the light consolidated.

    A half-transparent infant appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s dantian, which bore great resemblance to him. That was the Soul Nascence which all great cultivators possessed.

    Originally, he thought he could no longer condense a soul nascence after entering the demonic path, but he never expected the Heavenly Tome of Liberty to be so impressive, actually able to reverse his demon heart and recondense a soul nascence. It truly was a feat that the lord of the demons, Mahe?vara, was capable of.

    The path of great liberty was not simply a demonic path. It had surpassed the regular concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, paving a path that all people strived towards.

    The buddha had said that all people could become buddhas, but that also meant all people could become demons.

    What all people were after was liberty. They wanted to let their hearts and desires run free so that they could do whatever they wanted. Humans were probably closer to demons than buddhas. Could he say that Mahe?vara understood people better than the buddha?

    The various demonic thoughts all sprouted from the heart. A single thought was all that separated them from becoming demons that haunted people.

    When mortals wanted to accomplish something, they needed to be careful. They had to show humility, self-awareness, and self-restraint. Once they made the wrong step, then their entire life would go to waste. It might even cost them their lives.

    It went even more without saying when it came to something as significant as cultivation. Their bodies contained terrifying powers, and thousands of thoughts flew through their heads with each moment. As such, how could they dare to be free and act as they pleased? If they acted on all of their thoughts, they would suffer from cultivation deviation, which would lead to eternal damnation from the slightest carelessness. They would not even be able to enter sa?s¨¡ra. As a result, this was both a path that everyone yearned for, yet it was also even more difficult than buddhist cultivation that was riddled with precepts. Very few people could walk a path like this.

    Li Qingshan rubbed his belly. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m pregnant! Haha! He could not help but laugh complacently as the thought of this ¡°ingenious¡± comparison.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already comprehended the Heavenly Tome of Liberty!¡±

    Sensing the disturbance, Ruan Yaozhu came over to take a look. She was astonished.

    The Myriad Heavenly Tomes were all extremely profound. Back then, she had taken several years to comprehend the Heavenly Tome of Nature, and that was already very fast. He had only snoozed under the tree. A short moment after waking up, he converted his cultivation into the heavenly tome. Was he perhaps some rare genius of cultivation?

    This was not just due to Li Qingshan¡¯s foundation from the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction and the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity and the great support from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. It was not just due to his compatibility with the cultivation method either.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty was filled with difficulties and dangers, but it did come with one benefit, which was speed. It was so fast that it could leave the cultivator afraid, so fast that he could lose control at any moment and suffer from cultivation deviation.

    Li Qingshan got up on his feet. ¡°Senior sister, I can start working now.¡±

 Chapter 1375

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1375 ¨C Dormancy

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°Junior brother, do you know clone techniques?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ know a little bit about them!¡±

    ¡°Here, take this Fractal Shadow technique and comprehend it. With your talent and cultivation, you should be able to grasp it very quickly.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°This Fractal Shadow technique costs Green Jade bookmarks in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and accepted it happily, shutting his eyes and comprehending it.

    Ruan Yaozhu gazed at him with quite a bit of interest. She never expected him to begin comprehending it on the stop. The Fractal Shadow technique was only a technique, but it could not be mastered that easily by a greenhorn.

    A while later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes. His soul nascence flashed, and a faint figure appeared from his body, seeming like an inflated shadow.

    Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise, ¡°You really didn¡¯t know any clone techniques before?¡±

    ¡°I knew a bit. I knew a bit.¡±

    Li Qingshan brushed aside her question ambiguously. The Watermirror¡¯s Image might not have been a technique. It was an innate ability instead, but the Fractal Shadow technique came nowhere close to it.

    This clone sure is weak. It probably won¡¯t be capable of any proper work. I¡¯d be better without it!

    He sensed it slightly. The shadow clone could not travel too far away from him, and it was extremely weak as well, possessing less than a hundredth of his strength. That made sense as well. No matter how wondrous the techniques of the Myriad sect were, this was the Human realm after all. All techniques were restricted by the laws of the world.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know, but the work in the Hundred Herbs garden does not require any great strength. Instead, it requires extremely delicate teamwork.¡± Ruan Yaozhu smiled. As she said that, she took out another jade slip. ¡°These are some of my notes and experiences that I¡¯ve recorded. You¡¯ll understand once you read it.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer sighed. ¡°Sigh, softwood, you sure are generous! Kid, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that you helped us win that gamble, we¡¯d never show you this jade slip for free.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Every single spiritual herb has different characteristics, giving off different spiritual qi. They influence one another, and they might even restrict or devour each other. It involves the interaction of the five elements and the cycle of yin and yang. It requires deep knowledge of the laws involved and constant attention to the bigger picture to do this job well.¡±

    Li Qingshan browsed through it slightly and understood. The spiritual qi in the Hundred Herbs garden was dense, but the spiritual herbs planted here were far too dense after all. Green Dragon bamboo feared metal the most, yet Razortooth grass required metal scraps as fertiliser. The Golden-leaved Bodhi tree beside him has a root system that filled the entire hill, so no plants could grow there. Certain other plants could not stand human presence, so clones had to be used.

    ¡°There are also many plants that are dangerous even to cultivators. If you¡¯re not careful, you might be poisoned, or you might even face life-threatening danger. How many clones can you produce? That¡¯ll determine your efficiency when it comes to this job, as well as your remuneration.¡±

    Seeing how he had comprehended the Fractal Shadow technique so quickly, she wanted to see what he was capable of.

    ¡°Let me try!¡±

    Li Qingshan became interested as well. He shut his eyes again and powered his soul nascence. His mind split into two, then four, then eight, multiplying like that as he unleashed the Fractal Shadow technique.

    As a result, Ruan Yaozhu saw a series of shadows walk out from Li Qingshan. Before long, figures filled the tree shade, actually exceeding a hundred. It left her surprised. Regular Soul Nascence cultivators could only produce around a dozen, or maybe twenty clones, and that was already a lot.

    She thought, Mahe?vara has always been renowned for his transformations and changes. Don¡¯t tell me the Heavenly Tome of Liberty has a special effect on this technique?

    ¡°Senior sister, are these clones enough?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not find it particularly impressive himself. All of these clones were absolute weaklings. Even combined, they were not as powerful as a mirror clone. They could only be used for farmwork.

    ¡°You obviously cannot have enough clones. The more clones you have, the more spiritual herbs you can take care of. However, are you able to control so many clones?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem!¡±

    With a thought, all of the shadow clones began to move, assembling into a neat formation at first like an army. Afterwards, they assumed gymnastic formations, poking into the depths of the foliage before scattered again with a great whoosh, forming a great crowd.

    Ruan Yaozhu originally thought he could not control all of them, only to see that some of the clones were hunched over like old men, while others held their heads high like generals. They imitated the various stages of life and had great fun. She could not help but lament over the vastness of the world, over the fact that there really were a lot of startling geniuses.

    However, Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯ve only just gained a basic grasp over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, and my understanding of this technique isn¡¯t particularly deep either. Otherwise, I could produce even more clones.¡± The Spirit Turtle Transformation had been suppressed to the fourth layer as well, or the number of the clones and his control over the clones would reach a whole different level.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get the tools for you!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head, no longer doubting whether he had the ability to handle this job properly. Even she did not possess such an ability when she was at the same cultivation in the past. It was basically like the heavens had sent him to take care of the Hundred Herbs garden for her.

    They arrived in a valley. Many large warehouses stood there.

    Along the way, Ruan Yaozhu rode at the front with Li Qingshan behind, followed by over a hundred clones. It was like a parade, earning him many glances.

    Ruan Yaozhu thought about it before opening a warehouse. It was not filled with farm tools like ploughs and scissors, but neat rows of puppets, both large and small, both metal and wooden. They all varied in appearances. Some special spiritual herbs could not even be approached with clones. They required special puppets to tend to.

    ¡°Can you split up your soul sense and control some puppets too?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s difficult about that?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. His soul sense immediately scattered and half of all the puppets in the warehouse began to move. However, their movements were rather rigid. He could not control them as freely as his clones.

    That already left Ruan Yaozhu dumbfounded. She said in a hurry, ¡°Alright, alright. We won¡¯t be needing that much. I know what level your skill is at now. I can arrange some work for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. This was also his limit, but he felt a little dissatisfied inside. It gave him a hollow feeling like he could only use at most forty or fifty percent of his full strength. He had only just gained a basic grasp over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity, or not even that, forcing the other transformations to be suppressed by an entire layer.

    Most importantly, he had not undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. He was clearly only a step away, but he was stuck there.

    However, he was not in a hurry. He could already see a ray of light. The Hundred Herbs garden was extremely suited for the Qilin Transformation, while the Heavenly Tome of Liberty matched his personality very well. If he made a breakthrough with either of them, he would undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation.

    Once he took that step, everything would open up to him. His cultivation would grow with leaps.

    He had already reached the final period of dormancy. The ray of light shone from the crack of the door that led to the Nine Heavens. When everything opened up to him, there would definitely be a storm of lightning.

    When he considered the fact that perhaps he might not be able to stay in such a beautiful garden anymore and enjoy such a peaceful and quiet time again, even he sighed a little.

    ¡°Senior sister!¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°I will remember your kindness.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly, which made Ruan Yaozhu blank her. His gaze was filled with a cherishing sentiment, yet it had nothing to do with love, which made her feel strange. He was right before her eyes, yet he felt like he was beyond her reach. It felt as if he could fly away at any moment.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be paying me back as long as you work hard.¡±

 Chapter 1376

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1376 ¨C Man and Woman

    ¡°Definitely!¡±

    The two of them smiled at one another. In the Hundred Herbs garden shining with the beauty of spring, they possessed a mutual understanding of each other.

    As people of cultivation, they could help and assist each other as strangers, but they did not have to be overly attached to one another. They were better off letting each other be than dragging each other down in times of need.

    ¡°Senior sister Ruan, who¡¯s this?¡±

    A voice broke the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. The two of them looked over together, and a man drifted over. His long, black hair was held together by a clasp as his sky-blue robes swayed in the wind. He even held a book of poems in his right hand, such that he seemed like a handsome, elegant scholar.

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s smile immediately vanished. She turned as expressionless as she usually was. ¡°Junior brother Shen, this is junior brother Li Qingshan. He¡¯s joined the Myriad sect recently and will be working in the Hundred Herbs garden in the future.¡±

    ¡°Oh, nice to meet you then!¡± Shen Yushu looked over and glanced past the badge on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, followed by all the shadow clones beside him. ¡°You¡¯re already a formal disciple despite just joining the sect, so you must have come first in the entrance test! Junior brother Li¡¯s cultivation is truly extraordinary. It¡¯s no wonder you have the good graces of senior sister Ruan.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately sensed a strange hint of hostility. It was purely due to the instincts of male creatures. He thought, Looks like no matter how great your cultivation is, humans just can¡¯t surpass their animalistic instincts!

    Eating and drinking are the desires of humans. Even immortals must eat pills and absorb spiritual qi. Looks like ingestion is something they cannot do without, while the feelings between a man and a woman are no different. This guy is clearly Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s wooer.

    However, Ruan Yaozhu clearly did not need any people to woo her. He had no intentions of becoming one of her wooers either. Otherwise, it really would be quite awkward with how well she treated him.

    He directly clasped his hands. ¡°And may I ask for senior brother Shen¡¯s full name?¡±

    ¡°Shen Yushu.¡±

    Shen Yushu bowed slightly, demonstrating great politeness. However, that was the courtesy someone superior showed to someone inferior. It was the modesty that a gentleman of nobility showed to a common farmer. He bore the badge which represented his identity as an inner disciple on his chest, shining brightly under the sun.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. Even though he had no interest in Ruan Yaozhu, it did set off his competitiveness. Then he thought, Whatever. If I¡¯m always that competitive, when am I going to make any progress with the Qiling Transformation? It¡¯s not like Ruan Yaozhu has any interest in him, so why should I get jealous for nothing?

    In other words, if Ruan Yaozhu really was interested in Shen Yushu, even just that tiny bit, he probably would have done something about it.

    He smiled widely. ¡°A fine name! Senior brother Shen, this is my first time here, so I do hope you can take good care of me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. I¡¯ve been handling all the miscellaneous affairs of the Hundred Herbs garden, and in the blink of an eye, it¡¯s already been a century. If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand, feel free to ask me. I¡¯ll definitely make it as clear as I can to you.¡±

    Shen Yushu said very generously before grumbling to Ruan Yaozhu, ¡°Senior sister, why have you come to such a cluttered place? Just leave these small matters to me.¡±

    ¡°Junior brother Li will handle everything within five kilometres of the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. I¡¯m going to go cultivate.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu only left them with that instruction before the nine-coloured deer bounded off with a kick of its hoof, leaving behind Li Qingshan and Shen Yushu staring at each other.

    With Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s departure, Shen Yushu immediately became a little more reserved. ¡°Junior brother Li, have you done something like this before? This job is not as simple as you think it is.¡±

    You really want to know what I¡¯m thinking?

    Li Qingshan brought out the phoenix¡¯s demeanour, becoming even more reserved than him. ¡°I haven¡¯t!¡±

    Immediately, the two men were like peacocks with open tail feathers, competing against one another to see who was better.

    Shen Yushu furrowed his brows by an undetectable amount. The hierarchy in the Myriad sect was clearly outlined. If this was somewhere else, he could even downright find an excuse to punish a formal disciple that had just joined the sect, but this was Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s Hundred Herbs garden.

    ¡°Junior brother Li, the Hundred Herbs garden is the foundation of the Myriad sect. Every single leaf and petal here has been planted and grown from senior sister Ruan¡¯s efforts. If you mishandle the task and do a poor job, the consequences are unthinkable. There have been some careless disciples that not only failed to gain any benefits from the Hundred Herbs garden, but instead had much of their contribution and bookmarks deducted as a penalty. Some of them have even been punished, directly expelled from the Myriad sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry senior brother. I¡¯ll take my time and work things out.¡±

    Shen Yushu began to laugh. ¡°Alright then. You can take your time and work things out then!¡± He turned around and left gracefully. He thought, Hmph, biting off more than you can chew, you ruffian who has no understanding of hierarchy. You have no idea how delicate and complicated the work in the Hundred Herbs garden is. Once you make a mistake, I¡¯d like to see how you explain yourself. Senior sister Ruan can¡¯t blame me for not warning you either.

    Li Qingshan stood where he was and thought about it before shaking his head with a smile. He did not take it seriously. He began to search through the warehouse for tools and fertiliser.

    There were several dozen plants and herbs around five kilometres of the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. They all possessed different characteristics and required different types of care. However, with the jade slip that Ruan Yaozhu had provided him with, coupled with the great analytical and deductive abilities of the spirit turtle, it was nothing difficult.

    In a lake within the depths of the Hundred Herbs garden was a serene dwelling.

    Ruan Yaozhu sat on the stone bed and sighed. ¡°Junior brother Shen is crossing the line more and more now.¡±

    She knew exactly what Shen Yushu was thinking. He had just spent the century hiding his thoughts carefully, and he worked extremely hard, so she could not dismiss him over a mere thought of his. However, as his cultivation climbed higher and higher with the recent years, gradually approaching the fifth heavenly tribulation, he virtually became the head caretaker of the Hundred Herbs garden, and this thought of his began to manifest itself, which left her a little displeased.

    Nearby, a hanging basket woven from green vines rocked back and forth. A pair of slender legs drooped out of them. The snowy-white skin possessed a gorgeous, fleeting pattern as she swung her calves around quickly and gently.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do. Who can help the fact that he also practises the Heavenly Tome of Nature. He can save you a lot of trouble so that you can focus on cultivation, so you¡¯ll just have to turn a blind eye to it! Hehe, who can help the fact that you¡¯re just so charming?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was rather perplexed. ¡°Then why are you so strict with him?¡±

    Regardless of the time they had known each other, their identities, their cultivations, or even their thoughts and sincerity, Li Qingshan came nowhere close to Shen Yushu.

    The basket suddenly stopped, and a young lady leapt out. She was completely unclothed. Her snowy-body seemed to be shrouded in rainbow mist, while her beautiful face was embedded with a pair of gentle, moist deer eyes. She stared at Ruan Yaozhu. ¡°That¡¯s not called being strict. He¡¯s very dangerous. Trust me, keep your distance from him! No one who walks the same path as Mahe?vara can be a good person.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu behaved like she had not heard her at all. She held her chin. ¡°If junior brother Li can undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, he might be capable of replacing junior brother Shen with his bloodline of the qilin. He¡¯s getting a little too annoying now.¡±

    ¡°Look at you! What did I say?¡± The nine-coloured lady leaned against her arm. She seemed as helpless as watching her dear daughter becoming enamoured by a bad boy. She planted her hands on her hips and said righteously, ¡°If that kid dares to develop even the slightest feeling towards you, chase him out of the Hundred Herbs garden immediately! There¡¯s no room for discussion!¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Could you put on some clothes?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡±

    Li Qingshan was in no hurry to begin working. Instead, he strolled through the wilderness, sniffing a flower at some times and touching a tree at others. He was like a tiger patrolling his territory, leaving behind his smell everywhere.

    Now that he was experiencing it in person, he only gained a deeper understanding of how extraordinary the Hundred Herbs garden was.

    Every single exotic herb and plant had its own environment to live in, yet they all gathered in the ¡°tiny¡± Hundred Herbs garden, flourishing and growing together. Upon closer thought, that was basically unbelievable.

    The Hundred Herbs garden was basically like a complete organism, yet it was also like the crystallisation of all of nature. It was extremely perfect and delicate.

    Just who exactly designed all of this? Was it the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance that was skilled in calculations, the two mysterious sect masters, or the Elder of Heavenly Tomes beyond the Nine Heavens?

    Shen Yushu gazed over from afar and thought he still had no idea what to do. You fool, let¡¯s see what you do now. Just come and beg me already!

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan arrived before a bush of Razorteeth grass. The slender, bone-white blades of grass truly were razor-sharp like teeth. It was dense and slender like a forest, even giving off an exotic smell. It was not the refreshing fragrance of flowers. Instead, it made him think of the taste of the human heart. It was thick and enticing, making him get a little closer.

    Shen Yushu sneered inside, Idiot, the Razortooth grass feeds off flesh and blood. Once you get close, it¡¯ll suddenly extend and attack you. This Razortooth grass has already been growing for several tens of thousand years. If you approach it rashly, even Golden Core cultivators will face life-threatening danger. You¡¯re bound to suffer when you bite off more than you can chew!

    The Razortooth grass suddenly began to grow furiously, reaching over thirty metres long and lunging towards Li Qingshan.

    However, the Razortooth grass wrapped around Li Qingshan gently, without any sharpness to be seen. Li Qingshan waved his hand, and it slowly shrunk back again, turning back to normal.

    Shen Yushu was stunned. What¡¯s going on?

    Li Qingshan silently circulated the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity. This really was a job very suited for him.

 Chapter 1377

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1377 ¨C Great Path

    At that moment, the entire world changed.

    In his eyes, those flowers and grasses were originally all the same. Some of them were only slightly larger. Some were a little redder, while others were a little greener.

    Yet now, even when they were the same variety, there was a distinct difference due to their age, maturity, and shade of their petals. They were like faces of people¡ªeven if it was just a nose and two eyes, it was still a thousand different faces for a thousand different people. It was impossible to mix them up. He could even tell their ¡°personalities¡± from these faces, as well as everything they had been through.

    This was no longer a lonely wilderness, but a raucous community of people. The Razortooth grass bush before him was like a group of bloodthirsty soldiers, desiring the nourishment of flesh and blood, except they desired metallic dust even more right now to maintain their weapons.

    The Black Fir tree nearby was like an old man that had left the polar climate for the tropics, irritated by the heat of this place. On the other hand, the Three-leaved Flame flowers that were bright and beautiful like young women were the exact opposite. They found this place to be too cold.

    He did not have to observe carefully, nor did he have to make judgments according to the information provided to him. As Li Qingshan walked past them, he could hear their various complaints and requests.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°How troublesome!¡±

    He strolled around with his hands behind his back before returning to the hill and sitting down beneath the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree.

    Shen Yushu smiled inside. How¡¯s that? You don¡¯t even know where to start, do you?

    At the same time, Ruan Yaozhu was observing him as well. She could not help but become rather worried about whether he could handle this job or not.

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This kid¡¯s got the bloodline of the qilin, and you¡¯ve given him the jade slip. With all those clones, how could he do a poor job? That kid Shen Yushu is going to be disappointed.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Oh, the qilin! I¡¯ve never seen one myself. I heard all living creatures are close with it, particularly beasts, with deer in particular¡­¡±

    ¡°S- so what? The exact reason why we develop intelligence is to surpass our instincts!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu touched her lips and smiled. ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re intentionally harsh on him, to balance out this instinct?¡±

    ¡°Like I need you to care!¡±

    After checking on the situation of his ¡°people¡±, he did not get to work immediately. Instead, he continued to comprehend the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, absorbing the spiritual qi of the world. The Soul Nascence in his body gradually consolidated, bearing greater and greater resemblance to him.

    With a thought, his Soul Nascence flew out, plunging into the small world within his body.

    At that instant, it was like the world had been reformed. The world condensed from earth, fire, wind, and water originally only had unfeeling grass, yet now, it had gained a ¡°small person¡±. He opened his clear eyes and gazed at the sky, meeting Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He also saw himself at the same time.

    From that moment onwards, the world finally had meaning.

    This change had surprised Li Qingshan slightly as well. He immediately circulated the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. With the world as a cradle and the heavens and earth as an incubation chamber, he began to nurture and train this ¡°small person¡±.

    There was sunlight and rain, as well as frost and snow. The small person experienced both bitterness and happiness, thinking about danger while living in peace and finding joys within the hardships.

    He grew up in the small world alone, crawling around everywhere until he gradually grew up. Then he tottered around and learned how to walk, growing day by day. With each passing moment, he changed in a different way.

    Li Qingshan circulated the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and the Heavenly Tome of Liberty at the same time. The two cultivation systems that were originally completely different began to demonstrate startling compatibility. He used the small world to temper and nourish his soul nascence, all the while paying back the small world through his soul nascence. They constantly supplemented one another.

    In particular, the benefits that the newly-formed soul nascence received was far too great.

    The small world had always been an existence that completely surpassed Li Qingshan¡¯s current cultivation, possessing extraordinary power. Right now, he was basically using everything he had achieved with the Nine Transformation of the Demonic and Divine to support the cultivation of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Coupled with the dense and abundant spiritual qi inside the Hundred Herbs garden, his soul nascence grew at a tremendous pace.

    Originally, no matter how powerful the soul nascence became, it would remain as an infant, uncertain and pure like a newborn, curled up in its mother¡¯s womb. Only when it underwent the fourth heavenly tribulation, going from a soul nascence to a soul, would it intrinsically change.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s soul nascence was actually growing up, turning into a child around three or four years of age, perhaps due to the influence from the various transformations of the demonic and divine, or perhaps the Heavenly Tome of Liberty was simply different in the first place.

    The child¡¯s expression changed, like it was enveloped in a layer of mist, just standing there on the ground. It seemed as if he had been standing there since time immemorial, recording all the emotions of humans.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty did not come with any techniques. It was purely a ¡°path¡±.

    This path was different from ordinary paths of cultivation. It was neither about cleansing the heart of desires, nor establishing control over the emotions. Instead, it placed great emphasis on emotions and desires. Compared to the feelings of mortals, it led to love that was much deeper, hatred that was much wilder, fury that was much more intense, sorrow that was much more painful¡­

    Love led to life and hatred led to death. In a fit of fury, he could destroy worlds. In a wave of sorrow, he could weep with the entire world.

    It was exactly because buddhism understood the concept of impermanence that it pursued rendering everything to emptiness. It was because they saw how the world was on fire, how it was like a sea of bitterness, that they transcended mortality, reached the other shore and brought salvation to all. If someone denied the other shore and willingly danced in the depths of the flames, the sea of bitterness, then that was a demonic path.

    If someone managed to comprehend impermanence, but they did not pursue transcendence, did not develop benevolence, and did not try to bring salvation to all, instead becoming the embodiment of impermanence, mocking the people and pursuing great liberty for themselves, then they would be a heavenly demon, a m¨¡ra.

    The path of the heavenly demon was the path of impermanence.

    After realising that, the soul nascence grew a little larger yet again, becoming around seven or eight years old. It became even more consolidated.

    Before he knew it, he had already become completely submerged in cultivation, losing track of time. Forty-nine days passed in the blink of an eye.

    As a result, no one took care of the ¡°field of responsibility¡± that Ruan Yaozhu had allocated to him. The Hundred Herbs garden was rich with spiritual qi, possessing a natural cycle of itself. The exotic herbs possessed great vitality as well. As such, they would not die, but it was unavoidable for them to sag and wither.

    It had to be noted that if the growth rate of the spiritual herbs slowed down even slightly, it would become a tremendous loss, let alone a situation like this.

    Shen Yushu had visited Ruan Yaozhu several times to report this in an attempt to chase Li Qingshan out of the Hundred Herbs garden, but Ruan Yaozhu refused to see him, stating secluded cultivation as the reason.

    The cultivators working in the Hundred Herbs garden all began discussing this. The serene and harmonious atmosphere had been affected as a result. Some people even became furious as Shen Yushu fanned them on.

    All of them could only cultivate for a short while and enjoy some benefits of the Hundred Herbs garden once they had completed their laborious duties. If they wanted to spend a period of time focused on cultivation, they had to ask someone to take care of the plants in their place, and they would have to return the favour in the future. Just who was allowed to simply sit under the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree for several dozen days and do no work at all?

    They planned on submitting a joint request after Ruan Yaozhu had emerged to chase away the ¡°pest¡± Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan was unaware that he had already become the centre of criticism. Even if he knew, he would not care. To him, this was only ample preparation for the work to come.

    As his soul nascence stabilised, he understood the path of the Heavenly Tone of Liberty. Since it was one of the myriad paths, then it came with an endless number of techniques.

    The techniques derived from the path of liberty even included bewitching techniques, enchanting techniques, escape techniques, transformation techniques, and so on. All of these techniques had an extremely strong effect when he learnt how to use them.

    The Fractal Shadow technique happened to be one of the techniques he was most skilled at. Coupled with the increase in his cultivation, he produced an array of figures beside him. They were no longer blurry humans either. Not only were they completely tangible, but their appearances were clearly defined too, bearing great resemblance to his main body. Their movements were sharp and nimble, far beyond what mortals could achieve.

    The demon was born from the heart, not from anything else. With a single thought, he could conjure a myriad of things.

 Chapter 1378

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1378 ¨C Threat

    In the centre of the Hundred Herbs garden, the mountains surrounded a small village. The buildings and pavilions were all of an extremely elegant design, and the small bridge and flowing water added to the scenery. It was better described as a great big manor than a village.

    This was where the cultivators of the Hundred Herbs garden rested and interacted with one another. Normally, they were all responsible for tending to the garden. During their leisure, they would gather here.

    Beneath the pavilion, Shen Yushu stood by the water as a series of discussions rang out from behind him.

    ¡°Who is this Li Qingshan exactly? Why does senior sister Ruan play favourites with him so much?¡±

    ¡°What are you saying? Senior sister has always been very fair and impartial. How can she play favourites?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s a descendant of White Deer country?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who he is. He¡¯s gone too far. He still has to do his job before he cultivates. When I passed by the other die, those Three-leaved Flame flowers were almost about to wilt! This can¡¯t continue. We have to put forward a request together and chase this kid away. This is for the sake of the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    Without any exception, all of them were formal disciples. Otherwise, they had no right to talk about another formal disciple.

    They all burned with rage and requested Shen Yushu to lead them and chase Li Qingshan out of the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Shen Yushu curled the corner of his lips slightly and turned around. ¡°Please calm down, junior brothers and sisters. You¡¯ve all witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s actions. He might not have done that intentionally either. I¡¯m sure senior sister Ruan will give us all an explanation. Not everyone is suited to work in the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Shen, you¡¯re far too forgiving! He must be doing this on purpose!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Shen, you¡¯re far too gentlemanly. Unfortunately, you¡¯re overestimating what a scoundrel is capable of.¡±

    ¡°Senior sister Ruan is currently in secluded cultivation. Who knows when she¡¯ll emerge, so we can¡¯t just let this kid ruin the Hundred Herbs garden. Without senior sister Ruan, you¡¯re in charge of the Hundred Herbs garden, senior brother! Why don¡¯t we work together right now and throw him out of the Hundred Herbs garden?¡±

    Shen Yushu waved his hand. ¡°Thank you for your support, junior brothers and sisters, but all I¡¯ve done is stay in the Hundred Herbs garden a little longer than you. How can I go over senior sister Ruan¡¯s head and do something like that?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, please don¡¯t decline this. This is all for the sake of the Hundred Herbs garden! Once senior sister Ruan emerges, we¡¯ll just own up to this and ask for punishment together!¡±

    Shen Yushu declined again. ¡°Fighting is forbidden in the Hundred Herbs garden. If he resists and harms the plants, what am I supposed to do?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, you¡¯re giving his kid far too much credit. If he even dares to fight back, that¡¯ll be his fault. Speaking of which, with senior brother¡¯s cultivation, it¡¯s a piece of cake to deal with a lucky bastard who just joined the sect. Why would it take any fighting at all?¡±

    After quite a moment of thought, Shen Yushu sighed. ¡°Alright then!¡± He bowed three times towards the east. ¡°I am duty bound, so please forgive me, senior sister. If there is anything inappropriate about this, please give an indication.¡±

    He waited for a good while, but there was no reply.

    Shen Yushu smiled inside. This kid¡¯s actions have probably infuriated her as well. She¡¯s always cherished every single grass and herb in the Hundred Herbs garden, but she¡¯s bound to her image, so she can¡¯t lose her temper. Perhaps chasing this kid out is exactly what she wants.

    He swung his arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Please serve as my witness, junior brothers and sisters!¡±

    They rode off on clouds, travelling towards the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. Under the rain in the setting sun, the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree continued to glisten brightly. They saw many figures moving around between the plants beneath the hill as if they were busying about.

    ¡°Hmm? So many people?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re all clones?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t even tell the difference between clones and people? Speaking of which, where are all these clones from?¡±

    Shen Yushu furrowed his brows. Did somebody come to help him? But that did not seem particularly likely. In the Hundred Herbs garden, even formal disciples dared not disobey him, let alone those readers and attendants. When he got a little closer, he suddenly widened his eyes.

    The figures were actually all clones! However, they resembled true people far too much. Even their facial features were clearly defined. They shuffled between the trees as they worked, some sprinkling manure and others watering the plants. They divided up the work and worked together with great coordination.

    Apart from the clones, there were actually around a dozen puppets too. A scarlet puppet sprayed fire from its mouth, ¡°watering¡± a bush of Three-leaved Flame flowers. The petals spread out in the flames with absolutely no signs of wilting. The other puppets served various functions too, moving around like they were alive.

    The cultivators behind him were amazed. ¡°They really are clones! How does he have so many clones!?¡±

    ¡°And so many puppets too! That takes a tremendous toll on his soul sense, yet he can actually control them like this! How does he do it?¡±

    ¡°What exactly is his cultivation? Is he really a Soul Nascence cultivator? If he undergoes the fourth heavenly tribulation, wouldn¡¯t he have even more clones?¡±

    ¡°And look at the work they¡¯ve done! It¡¯s so meticulous! They¡¯re basically like veterans among veterans! No matter how you look at this, he¡¯s clearly had experience in the past!¡±

    For a moment, everyone¡¯s anger and displeasure turned into strange bewilderment.

    Shen Yushu furrowed his brows firmly. Suddenly, he felt greatly threatened. This was no longer just a matter of pride. It affected his status in the Hundred Herbs garden too.

    Over the years, many inner disciples had worked in the Hundred Herbs garden as well, but he had always managed to squeeze them out. He had the advantage of the Heavenly Tome of Nature, so even others of the same cultivation probably could not contend against him. In the end, they discovered that they could not get that many benefits from here, so they were better off doing something else.

    The contribution and bookmarks provided by the Hundred Herbs garden was always limited. The Myriad sect distributed it, and Ruan Yaozhu would allocate it according to their work as the ¡°master of the Hundred Herbs garden¡±.

    Shen Yushu had obtained a tremendous amount of benefits over the years, which was why he could increase his cultivation so quickly, such that he approached the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    If he only held some thoughts and feelings towards Ruan Yaozhu, then it did not matter in the very end whether they bore fruit or not. However, these resources were his lifeblood that he could never give up. It was directly connected to his path of cultivation. He could not allow anyone to threaten that.

    With a rumble, lightning flashed in the clouds, pressing down from the sky that was not particularly large.

    Shen Yushu bellowed out, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Currently, Li Qingshan laid on the bamboo mat leisurely, resting his head on his arms. When he heard that, he did not get up. He said lazily, ¡°How may I help you?¡±

    Shen Yushu drifted over and approached him. He was no longer his modest, self-disciplined, gentlemanly-self. He said harshly with a twisted expression, ¡°Do you know your crimes?¡±

    ¡°What crimes have I committed?¡±

    ¡°Over the past few days, you¡¯ve neglected your duty and slacked off. Is that not a crime?¡±

    The area beneath the hill was filled with busy clones, so it really was quite strange for him to say something like that. The group of people knew Shen Yushu truly would be falling out with him this time, so they all remained quiet.

    If Li Qingshan was still slacking off, or he had done an atrocious job, it was very possible for Shen Yushu to let him go this time if he was willing to yield submissively. However, the situation now basically seemed like he was determined to chase him out of the Hundred Herbs garden!

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Are you blind?¡± Sigh, this mouth of mine, why are you so disobedient?

    The group of people were startled. The Myriad sect possessed a clear division of hierarchy. Even when they possessed the same cultivation, formal disciples had to bow when they saw inner disciples, let alone when his cultivation was an entire major realm lower. They never expected Li Qingshan to be so wild and daring, insulting him the moment he spoke!

    Shen Yushu¡¯s face changed as he held back his anger. He had gone a little too far with this. He had to handle it perfectly. He said coldly, ¡°You¡¯ve only just begun working diligently. Isn¡¯t that a little too late?¡±

    Li Qingshan dug into his ear with a finger before taking it out and blowing it gently. ¡°Fuck¡¯s it got to do with you?¡± Sigh, whatever. So be it! As long as it¡¯s happy.

    Shen Yushu lost his patience. He roared furiously, ¡°How dare you! How dare a formal disciple like you disrespect an inner disciple, not only neglecting your duty, but defying your superior as well. Originally, I just wanted to expel you from the Hundred Herbs garden. Now, I really have to escort you to the Department of Law and Punishment for judgement!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t go to the Department of Law and Punishment.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Leng Yuan found him displeasing to the eye, so wouldn¡¯t he be basically delivering himself to him like this?

    ¡°That¡¯s not up to you to decide!¡±

    Shen Yushu produced a Nine-section Bamboo staff and thrust it towards Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead with lightning speed.

    Li Qingshan stood up lazily and reached out casually, and the Nine-section Bamboo staff ended up in his hand. With a great thrust, it shot back even faster than when it arrived, striking Shen Yushu in the chest and sending him flying off the hill. The sounds of bone cracking rang out softly.

    Shen Yushu widened his eyes, filled with disbelief. Originally, he thought he could take down Li Qingshan with ease given his higher cultivation. He never expected a result like this.

    Only now did the cultivators realise what had happened. They were all dumbfounded. ¡°The one who flew out¡­ was senior brother Shen? How¡¯s that possible? There¡¯s an entire realm of cultivation separating them. How has the situation been reversed?¡±

    Some people even noticed that the hundred or so clones and the dozen or so puppets continued to work in an orderly manner without being affected at all.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He did not find this to be anything he should be proud of. Even with what Si Long is capable of, didn¡¯t he still suffer a disastrous defeat at my hand? Where¡¯d a fourth heavenly tribulation inner disciple like you find the confidence to confront me?

 Chapter 1379

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1379 ¨C Objection

    Below the Golden-leaved Bodhi Tree, Li Qingshan stood tall, peering over everyone.

    After another period of cultivation, he had completely adjusted to the laws of the Human realm. He still faced restraint, but strength was still strength.

    Human cultivators had never been renowned for the toughness of their physiques. If Shen Yushu used techniques against him from afar, then perhaps he could still stand a chance, but he actually approached him to beat him with a bamboo stick. Coupled with how he was taking Li Qingshan lightly, he had basically been asking for this.

    Everyone within ten paces of him was his enemy!

    Even Si Long with the body of a true dragon did not dare to underestimate him in the slightest, let alone a damned gardener with a frail body, without any expertise in battle, who practised the Heavenly Tome of Nature!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, h- how dare you attack your senior!¡±

    Shen Yushu rose up into the air and pointed at Li Qingshan. Blood oozed out from the corner of his lips. He shone with green light, and in the blink of an eye, he had completely healed from his wounds, except his face was still red due to his humiliation and fury.

    ¡°Who do you think you are? You really think you¡¯re worthy of being my senior? If this weren¡¯t the Hundred Herbs garden, you¡¯d be a dead man already. Piss off, before I get angry!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand impatiently like he was shooing away a fly.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright! I¡¯ll help the Hundred Herbs garden and the Myriad sect clean up its mess today! Yin Soul projection!¡± Shen Yushu bellowed out.

    A jade-green figure appeared from behind him. It was identical in appearance, but it gave off a feeling that was slightly lighter and more fleeting. Converting their soul nascences into tangible souls was the first step on the path to immortality for human cultivators. An intrinsic difference existed between them and Soul Nascence cultivators.

    He splayed out his arms; green light flowed and condensed. Immediately, winds began to surge through the surroundings as it illuminated the falling night rain. His green robes fluttered. It was as clear as day that he was about to cast a technique of startling power.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking for this!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He felt the Nine-section Bamboo staff tremble away in his hand, trying to break free. He could tell it was an impressive arcane treasure, except it was not a weapon that was up to standard. At the very least, it was not created for fighting and killing. It was more like a tool.

    He grabbed the two ends and began to bend it forcefully. The Nine-section Bamboo staff immediately curved like a body. It did not actually snap, but it did groan under the force.

    ¡°What are you trying to do? Stop immediately! If you dare to destroy my arcane treasure, I¡¯ll never spare you.¡±

    Shen Yushu¡¯s expression changed drastically. The Nine-section Bamboo staff was his lifebound arcane treasure. Not only had he obtained it after a tremendous amount of difficulty, exchanging it for a large number of Green Jade bookmarks, but he carried it with him all the time, having refined it over many years. The Nine-section Bamboo staff even played a minor role in why he had managed to do so well in the Hundred Herbs garden. If it were broken, not only was it a loss of bookmarks which he had earned through great effort, but his Yin Soul would be damaged too. It might even affect his cultivation.

    ¡°The path of survival has always been a life-or-death struggle, where you must stop at nothing, whether it be butchering cities or destroying countries. You don¡¯t even think for your own life, yet you think for a staff? If you don¡¯t have the determination to gamble your life, don¡¯t stir up conflict on a whim!¡± Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He ignored him and continued to bend it.

    ¡°Sigh, junior brother Li, you can stop now!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu walked out from behind the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree. When she passed by Li Qingshan, she casually grabbed the Nine-section Bamboo staff and tossed it back to Shen Yushu.

    As if he had just encountered his saviour, Shen Yushu said, ¡°Senior sister, you¡¯ve witnessed everything. He¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more. I witnessed it all.¡± Ruan Yaozhu did not look at him, but she directly interrupted him. She said with a tone that could not be disobeyed, ¡°Scatter, all of you!¡±

    Shen Yushu felt very aggrieved. ¡°But senior sister, this kid slacked off from work and even disrespected and attacked his superiors. How can someone like that remain in the Hundred Herbs garden?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu ignored him. She only said to the formal disciples, ¡°I hire you to work in the Hundred Herbs garden. I don¡¯t hire you to ensure that everything is fair. Please handle your work. If something like this happens again, leave the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    ¡°Yes, senior sister!¡±

    Everyone answered her loudly. They refused to disobey her. A job as safe and steady as this, that was also beneficial to cultivation, was rare even across the entire Myriad sect, so who would want to be expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden? Speaking of which, after witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s performance, their feelings of discontent had melted away too. It proved that Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s judgement had indeed been correct.

    Even if they refused to admit this, he was worth several of them with the abilities he had shown. Shen Yushu¡¯s intentions were slightly questionable too.

    Only Shen Yushu¡¯s expression changed with uncertainty as he stood in silence like he was unhappy with this.

    Only now did Ruan Yaozhu glance over. Shen Yushu descended from above. He lowered his head and clasped his hands. ¡°Yes, senior sister!¡±

    Li Qingshan peered over Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s shoulder, only to see many people with their heads lowered. She definitely was not a shrewd or mighty figure. Instead, it was the opposite. Most of the time, she seemed too gentle and too simple-minded, but right now, she actually gave off a bearing of dominance and authority.

    After all, it all came down to cultivation at the end of the day in the cultivation community. Human Sovereigns simply stood higher. Modest and kind sovereigns were still sovereigns.

    Ruan Yaozhu waved her hand, and everyone dispersed.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Thanks!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu turned around, looking at him with pursed lips.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°You¡¯re angry? Sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have spent so many days cultivating. I never thought I would end up taking so long in the beginning either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡±

    ¡°Oh, then you¡¯re blaming me for hitting Shen Yushu. But that¡¯s because he attacked me first.¡± Li Qingshan raised his hands. ¡°But I¡¯m still sorry about that. I shouldn¡¯t have stirred up trouble in your territory.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that either. Junior brother Shen has selfish motives of his own, which is why he made trouble for you. Even if you did not fight back, I wouldn¡¯t have let him harm you!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. ¡°Then why?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu repeated it word for word. ¡°The path of survival has always been a life-or-death struggle, where you must stop at nothing, whether it be butchering cities or destroying countries!¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan understand the reason why she was unhappy with him was actually because of that. He thought, Women sure are troublesome! But who can help the fact that this woman has just been so nice to me?

    All he could do was lay out his hands. ¡°It¡¯s just for say, but that is the reality!¡±

    ¡°You practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so you want to walk the path of great liberty. I can understand that.¡± Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°But I don¡¯t wish to see you become someone who will stop at nothing, or I will hate you!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. He did not back down, staring straight into her eyes. ¡°What if that¡¯s the kind of person I am? What if that wasn¡¯t just for say, and I¡¯ve done that before? I¡¯ve told you a long time ago that not everyone is as fortunate as you. Not everyone can live honestly in a place like this. Do you know how many battles to the death I¡¯ve faced to be able to stand here before you? I don¡¯t wish to deceive you. If you hate someone like me, then you¡¯re welcome to expel me from the Hundred Herbs garden, but I will still do everything I can to pay back your kindness!¡±

    He could apologise for any reason as long as the person was worthy of him treating them gently. However, because his path existed, he had to guard it vehemently. No matter how it was, as long as they questioned his path, he had to refuse them with words and stop them with his actions. As a result, he would raise his fists.

    They were inches apart, such that they could smell each other. Ruan Yaozhu took half a step back and let out a great sigh. ¡°Isn¡¯t standing here enough?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Li Qingshan smiled, easing up the solemn atmosphere. ¡°I want to stand on equal footing with you at the very least or have you call me senior brother.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu grumbled, ¡°Keep dreaming.¡± Then she said seriously, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve been through, but I will try my best to persuade you to do good. Even if it¡¯ll leave you in a bad mood, I¡¯ll still say it, as I believe you don¡¯t want to become a bad person.¡±

    And that happened to be her path.

 Chapter 1380

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1380 ¨C Enlightenment

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised and began laughing aloud, which echoed through the night rain. He felt extremely lively inside. He had set off for beyond the Nine Heavens not just for the sake of a promise, but also so that he could encounter an adorable woman like her.

    ¡°I am willing to pay great heed to senior sister¡¯s teachings.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°Stop laughing. There¡¯ll be plenty of times to come when you¡¯ll be annoyed.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°The most fortunate thing that has happened to me since I came to the Human realm was meeting you. Even if it¡¯s a little annoying, I can only put up with it.¡±

    ¡°Same here.¡± Ruan Yaozhu could not help but shift her eyes away from his shining gaze, looking at the clones and puppets busying about in the surroundings. ¡°Perhaps I should give you some more work.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°You are most welcome to!¡¯

    As a result, his ¡°field of responsibility¡± went from five kilometres across to twenty-five kilometres across, growing to twenty-five times the size before all of a sudden. He never faced any more harassment either.

    He did not disappoint Ruan Yaozhu. Through the powerful deductive abilities of the Spirit Turtle Transformation and the sharp senses of the Qilin Transformation, the many shadow clones produced from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty worked day and night, not only completing the basic tasks, but also doing everything that they could to unlock the vitality in all of the plants. As such, they flourished vigorously.

    Over a month passed just like that. The Hundred Herbs garden entered the season of winter.

    When the first snow fell, the light snow drifted through the air and covered the land. Ruan Yaozhu rode over on her deer.

    Li Qingshan was currently cultivating arduously under the Golden-leaved Bodhi tree, such that he basically lost track of time completely. It felt like yesterday when they met last time, so in the blink of an eye, he saw Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s smile again.

    Ruan Yaozhu looked around and smiled in satisfaction. ¡°You¡¯ve done very well.¡±

    When she said that, she bent her slender finger and flicked it.

    The badge on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest lit up. He checked it with his soul sense and was slightly surprised. ¡°So much!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Originally, your remuneration was supposed to be half contribution and half bookmarks, but I¡¯ve made the decision for you to give you all contribution. I¡¯ve given you an extra bonus too.¡±

    ¡°Is this allowed by the rules? I can¡¯t have that kid Le Tian finding faults in this and saying that I cheated.¡±

    During the month or so in the Human realm, over a year had already passed in the World of the Five Continents. Under the efforts of Qian Lingzhi and the Great Banyan Tree King, the city of novelists was on the rise. It had already kicked off a wave of popularity across the world, such that countless people devoted themselves to his profession. It would bear fruit very soon, and then he would be able to cheat openly.

    ¡°What that kid Le Tian? He¡¯s your senior brother. When you see me, you have to greet me by calling me senior sister, do you understand?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu scolded him, but she did not possess any authoritative bearing usually, so she seemed just as gentle and meek as before.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°As they say, there is no kinship when it comes to contests, let alone senior and junior brothers.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head helplessly. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry. It¡¯s common practice in the sect to convert bookmarks into contribution. There won¡¯t be any issues.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re losing out.¡±

    ¡°The better the Hundred Herbs garden operates, the more spiritual herbs it can offer up to the sect. The contribution and bookmarks I¡¯ll receive from the Myriad sect will increase, so how will I lose out?¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at the nine-coloured deer curiously. He was curious about how she did not butt in today.

    The nine-coloured deer raised her head high and shut her eyes. That day, she had been berated by Ruan Yaozhu, so she decided to never talk to Li Qingshan again. However, because of how different Ruan Yaozhu was when she returned to the dwelling last time, she still had to keep an eye on him for the sake of her master.

    Ruan Yaozhu said in marvel, ¡°The Heavenly Tome of Liberty sure is wondrous. You can actually cultivate while sustaining so many clones.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing worthy of notice.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. Over this period of time, he had basically been making rapid progress with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. His soul nascence became even more consolidated, and he had comprehended the Fractal Shadow technique further too, which was why there were so many shadow clones.

    However, the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity did not set off like he had been expecting. It was still stuck at a bottleneck, unable to free itself from it. If this continued, then he would face the heavenly tribulation before the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity even reached the first layer.

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll leave everywhere within fifty kilometres to you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°You don¡¯t want me to work and cultivate at the same time?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head with a smile.

    Li Qingshan said in thought, ¡°Just give me some more time! Once I undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll have even more clones. It won¡¯t be an issue by then.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head again. ¡°Nope!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. ¡°Then I can only decline. It¡¯s such a large place, so I definitely won¡¯t be able to take care of it properly. I¡¯ll end up putting off my cultivation and my work.¡±

    Seeing how confused and defensive he was, Ruan Yaozhu felt very interested. ¡°You¡¯re in too much of a hurry.¡±

    ¡°What am I in a hurry for?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re in a hurry to accumulate contribution so that you can win the bet. You¡¯re in a hurry to cultivate and increase your cultivation. It feels like something is pressing you, such that it¡¯s even worse than losing the gamble.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that how it¡¯s supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but you should have heard of ¡®more haste is less speed¡¯ as well!¡±

    ¡°All I know is ¡®ten millennia is too long. All I can do is seize every moment¡¯!¡±

    ¡°You, oh you! Do you know why I just let you be when you neglected these precious plants and focused on cultivation? Do you know why the Hundred Herbs garden has seasons?¡±

    These two questions seemed simple, but upon thinking about them, Li Qingshan was actually unable to answer.

    Even if Ruan Yaozhu played favourites with him, she could wake him from cultivation or arrange for others to take care of his plants. Most of the plants liked summer. Once winter came, they all stopped growing. With the wondrous techniques of the Myriad sect, they were completely capable of maintaining summer in this region. Winter did not seem to be particularly necessary.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me the Hundred Herbs garden isn¡¯t for nurturing the exotic plants and providing resources to the sect? There¡¯s some other motive involved?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu extended her hand and caught a translucent snowflake. She said with a smile, ¡°You can say that, but don¡¯t think that.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Senior sister, just stop making me beat around the bush.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll just become annoyed by my preaching.¡±

    ¡°I will pay great heed to senior sister¡¯s teachings.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer suddenly coughed loudly.

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°You possess the bloodline of the qilin. You can sense the hearts of the plants and understand their requests at all times. You have pushed the watering and fertilising process to the limits, controlling it down to the tiniest portion.¡±

    ¡°Is there something wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°All creatures living in this world must face hardships and difficulties in order to grow and thrive. They need sunlight, rain and dew, but they also need ice, snow and drought. These plants may have a spiritual nature about them, but they know nothing more than their instincts. Speaking of which, even when it comes to the paragons of creatures, humans, if you give them whatever they want all the time, what will they turn into?¡±

    ¡°Heh, great fatties at the very least.¡±

    ¡°When you just let them be and focused on cultivation, the plants did wilt a little, but in order to obtain nutrients, their roots have reached deeper into the ground. I did not find that to be anything inappropriate, so I let you be. Instead, I¡¯m worried that you¡¯ll take care of them far too meticulously, which is why I increased your workload. I never expected you to still be able to keep up with this.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that working too hard would be an issue.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu comforted him with a smile. ¡°If it were others, I¡¯d advise them to take care of these plants carefully, as no matter how careful they are, they can¡¯t reach your level. However, you can do better. Cultivation is no different. Advancing valiantly is good, but there¡¯s no need to be in such a hurry.¡±

    ¡°More haste is less speed. If you¡¯re in too much of a hurry for success, doing your all for everything, it¡¯ll instead leave you further away from your goal. In more practical terms, even if it¡¯s just to collect their fruits, leaves, and flowers to refine pills, they only have their greatest effect when they grow slowly. Just let nature take its course!¡±

    Li Qingshan had a flash of inspiration, like the first ray of light that pierced the dark night. He murmured, ¡°Let nature take its course, let nature take its course¡­ I understand now!¡±

    He finally understood why his Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity had always stagnated. As it turned out, it was not because he was too ¡°wicked¡±, but because he was in too much of a hurry.

    All this time, he had paraded the concept of advancing valiantly, facing the dangers fearlessly and pushing forwards constantly. This spirit had merged with his blood a long time ago, becoming an instinct.

    The bottleneck with the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of longevity originated from this belief. However, the Qilin Transformation was different from the other transformations. It was not that he was not trying hard enough. Instead, he was trying too hard and spending too much effort on it.

    If the exotic plants and flowers in the Hundred Herbs garden were to share a certain characteristic, then that would be their painfully slow growth rate. Some spiritual trees could even go for over a decade without changing in appearance.

    However, he was far too impatient. As a result, he did good only to conform to the path of the qilin. He cultivated arduously without rest, tempted to devote all of his efforts to it.

    It was like planting a seed that never sprouted, so he watered it often and added fertiliser often, even tempted to dig it up and take a look to see whether there was something wrong with the seed. The end result would obviously go against his wishes. There was nothing wrong with the seed. He was the problem.

    He had once heard a story. There was a hunchback by the surname of Guo who was extremely skilled at growing trees. The ones he planted always lived, and they would thrive extremely well too. No one could understand how he did it. When someone asked him, he said, ¡°I can¡¯t make trees grow faster or live longer. I only abide by the nature of the tree, to let the root system spread, to make the tree grow more firmly and so on.¡±

    Once it took root properly, he no longer had to care too much about it. The tree was free to grow naturally. Others either were far too casual and neglectful, or they were far too concerned about it, checking it in the morning and touching it at night, even shaking it about to see whether it was rooted properly and prodding the bark to see whether the tree was wilting. Instead, they killed the tree.

    The Qilin, with its Hovering Steps, Sympathises with the Living. Originally, as long as he had a heart of benevolence and compassion, he could establish the foundation of the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity. However, he could never remain as a good person. He was bound to become conflicted, so the more he tried to conform to the path of the qilin, the further away he was from the path of the qilin.

    The very nature of the qilin¡¯s path was not paramount benevolence and compassion, but letting nature take its course. It was like the growth of plants, wilting and blooming with each passing year.

    As long as he never completely abandoned this heart of benevolence, the Qilin Transformation would grow like a tree. His killing intent and wicked thoughts were all just wind and frost it was supposed to encounter. It was impossible to avoid it, and he needed it too.

    If his guesses were correct, then even if progress would be very slow, the Qilin Transformation should have been the last transformation he had to worry about among the various transformations of the demonic and divine.

 Chapter 1381

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1381 ¨C Tribulation of Fate

    Ruan Yaozhu tilted her head slightly and gazed at Li Qingshan in interest. She wondered why what she had said had led to such an intense response from him.

    Her preachings were not particularly popular. Other direct disciples all had paths of their own, so they would not listen to her at all. Even if she nagged a gambler like Le Tian for another thousand years, it would be useless. While formal and inner disciples all did listen to her, they feared her status. They did so to please her, but they disagreed with her inside.

    That was why she said at the start that there would be plenty of times to come when Li Qingshan would be annoyed, but she never expected it to be so effective. She could not help but become slightly complacent, fiddling with her hair subconsciously.

    The nine-coloured deer understood her best, so she became extremely wary. Oh no, this kid is far too good at this! Softwood is buying his act! Bastard, you were so staunch just earlier, and in the blink of an eye, you act like you¡¯ve been enlightened. Why do I feel like this advice is not particularly useful? Yeah, he must be acting.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and exhaled. His entire body seemed to relax, and the speed at which he circulated the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity slowed down too, except it was much more natural and gentle, like flowers and trees that had been refreshed after rain.

    The obvious change in demeanour left even the nine-coloured deer amazed. She exclaimed inside, This acting is just a little too good! Then she looked at Ruan Yaozhu whose smile became even wider. The way she looked at him was as gentle as the spring breeze.

    Just like how all men wanted to save at least one woman that had become lost in life, women all had the wish to tame a ¡°wild beast¡±. Young, gentle men could only serve as second choices at most. Overbearing CEOs would always be at the top of the list.

    As an unruly, wild beast, Li Qingshan had unwittingly conformed with her thoughts, such that her impression of him grew extremely favourably. On the other hand, he did not feel anything special. Persisting with his path was not necessarily always about getting his way blindly.

    If Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s suggestions could make him care for more plants, obtain more contribution, and increase his cultivation, yet he still decided to stick with his own ways, that would not be perseverance, but stupidity.

    However, due to the special characteristics of the Qilin Transformation, he obviously could not achieve enlightenment overnight and rise up on the spot. However, he was certain that after wandering around for all this time, he had already found the correct path.

    He opened his eyes again, clasped his hands, and bowed. ¡°Thank you for your guidance, senior sister. Your advice just then was worth even more than another heavenly tome to me.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu accepted his gratitude calmly. She smiled so wide that her eyes squinted together. ¡°No matter how impressive you are, when it comes to planting and growing flowers and shrubs, I still know a little more than you. You finally understand that now!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer thought, Oh no, he¡¯s actually managed to get softwood to talk with such little humility. She must feel extremely complacent. This kid really does practise the path of the m¨¡ra.

    ¡°I should have asked you for advice the first time I met you!¡±

    Li Qingshan lamented. That way, he could have saved two or three months. Perhaps he would have undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation already.

    ¡°Look at you, you¡¯re in a hurry again! Weren¡¯t you worrying that I would do something to you when you first met me? How were you supposed to ask me for advice? I didn¡¯t know who you were either, so why would I babble on with you? Everything was nature taking its course, which is why you had your enlightenment today¡­¡±

    ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. The Qilin Transformation¡¯s aspect of letting nature take its course was indeed his greatest blindspot, as he had always relied on the ox demon¡¯s stubbornness and persistence, the tiger demon¡¯s violence and battle-hungriness, and the ape demon¡¯s desire to do as it pleased to make it to today.

    There was also the phoenix soaring in the heavens with its noble heart of refusing to fall into mediocrity. While the spirit turtle did prefer peace and quiet, thousands of thoughts flashed through its head with each passing moment, such that it would still rack its brains at the end of the day. All of this was for the sake of becoming faster and stronger. He devoted himself to changing his fate, so how could he slow down? He could not let nature take its course.

    If it were not for Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s inspiration, it might have taken him a very long time before he would realise this. Coupled with the help she had constantly given him, he truly felt extremely grateful.

    ¡°And, while I am more fortunate than most people, it hasn¡¯t been smooth sailing. When I faced the first heavenly tribulation, I almost died¡­¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. The first heavenly tribulation should have been the easiest, yet something still went wrong even with her talent.

    ¡°Back then, I was only a servant. I knew nothing at all. All I wanted to do was go home¡­¡±

    ¡°Haha, that¡¯s intriguing!¡±

    Only now did Li Qingshan learn that she had been brought to the Myriad sect against her will, taken away from her home and parents, going from a princess to a servant all of a sudden. It really was a mystery whether she was fortunate or misfortune.

    She had a meek personality, but she also liked minding the business of others, so she had truly faced a lot of grievances. Her peers treated her as naive and ignorant, even turning against her over petty profits. All of these matters haunted her, filling her with pain. In order to go home, she faced the heavenly tribulation in a hurry, so she failed and almost lost her life.

    Every single Human Sovereign had a legend of their own. It would never truly be smooth sailing, where luck could explain everything. Even at their current cultivation, they still faced many hardships.

    The snow fell harder and harder, covering the bodhi tree.

    In their joy, their conversation and smiles became clearer and warmer. A happy atmosphere filled the area beneath the tree.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s time for us to go back!¡±

    With several of her coughs ignored, the nine-coloured deer finally could not help but interrupt them. Addressing her as ¡°master¡± was a very stern reminder.

    Only now did Ruan Yaozhu return to her senses, which made her blush slightly. She just said softly, ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± She left in a hurry.

    Li Qingshan watched as her figure vanished into the great snow. He felt a little like he still had not had enough, even a little despondent. He stood there for a while longer and reached into his chest, pulling out a gourd of alcohol to take a few sips. Then he cast this thought out of his head. He still had a lot of work to do!

    A range of fifty kilometres was a very large place. He wondered whether the shadow clones could reach that far. He needed to make further progress with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and the Fractal Shadow technique, so he needed to think carefully about how he would handle this.

    ¡°Letting nature take its course¡± definitely was not doing nothing and thinking about nothing, but the principle of abiding by nature. Although more haste was less speed, it was even worse to stand where he was without moving. He had to find the perfect balance.

    If he managed this region properly, it would be an extremely stable source of contribution. As his cultivation increased, he might not have to resort to cheating with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance anymore.

    In the distant dwelling, the nine-coloured deer who had transformed into a young girl grabbed Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s thin shoulders firmly and shook them forcefully. ¡°You have to chase him out! You have to chase him out! Do you hear me or not?¡±

    ¡°But he¡¯s done nothing at all?¡± Ruan Yaozhu just allowed her to shake her about helplessly. ¡°Jiu¡¯er, I beg you, stop shaking me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what makes him terrifying! You really should have seen your expression just then.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said with some embarrassment, ¡°You¡¯re just not happy with the fact that he constantly calls me more fortunate than others.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°He¡¯s not the only one who feels like that. What am I explaining this to you for? Trust me, this is your tribulation of fate!¡±

    No matter how Li Qingshan racked his brains, he never would have thought he would receive such an evaluation, but even if he heard that, he probably would not find anything wrong with it. It was not like he had not done that before. Just recently, he had become an embodiment of a tribulation of fate, dragging Si Long down from his throne.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to him and make him leave the Hundred Herbs garden immediately!¡±

 Chapter 1382

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1382 ¨C To Go or to Stay

    With a gentle leap, she turned into a white deer and rushed towards the entrance of the dwelling.

    ¡°I won¡¯t allow it!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu suddenly raised her hand. Green vines danced madly, weaving together and sealing off the entrance. Leaves and flowers spread and bloomed furiously.

    The nine-coloured deer raised her head. ¡°Do you know just how many years it¡¯s been since you¡¯ve lost your temper like this? Softwood, is this your letting nature take its course?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s expression changed slightly. The matters in the world would never turn out as a person wished. She had already grown accustomed to the greed and danger of human nature. Although she continued to nag everyone and stick her nose in the business of others, she had given up on changing anyone a long time ago. She would rather just retreat to the Hundred Herbs garden and let everything go with the flow. If Le Tian wanted to gamble, then he could go gamble. If the White Deer country was supposed to be destroyed, then it would be destroyed!

    However, Li Qingshan could be changed. Even though he persevered with his path, he was not slow-witted and absolutely stubborn. He had faced tremendous difficulties to make it here, but he still retained his kindheartedness. He could finally find some peace in the Hundred Herbs garden, so how could she just turn her back on him?

    She did not feel like this was some feeling of love. However, as soon as she imagined his stunned and disappointed expression, she could not bear to see that. She could not allow something like this to happen.

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er, this is my matter.¡±

    ¡°Ruan Yaozhu! How dare you say that! You¡¯re driving me crazy. If you¡¯re so capable, then keep stopping me. I¡¯m not going to stop until I chase that kid out of the Hundred herbs garden.¡± The nine-coloured deer waved her magnificent horns. The flowers wilted, the leaves fell, and the vines collapsed.

    ¡°Alright, stop being angry.¡± Ruan Yaozhu walked over and stroked her neck softly. She comforted her gently. ¡°I know you¡¯re doing this for me. If this becomes a tribulation of fate, that¡¯s because my will was not firm enough. You can¡¯t blame anyone else.¡± She twirled around where she was, making her green dress fly. She smiled. ¡°Am I really so timid and easily-exploited that you can¡¯t trust me?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer came up with an idea. ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a bet?¡±

    ¡°There seems to be an awfully lot of bets recently. You know I don¡¯t gamble,¡± Ruan Yaozhu said helplessly, ¡°Alright then. What do you want to bet on?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°We¡¯ll bet on whether that kid will leave the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan was currently in an extremely good mood. After understanding the path of the qilin, he had overcome the bottleneck all of a sudden. Now, it was enough as long as he just proceeded accordingly. At the same time, he made preparations to take care of this ¡°field of responsibility¡± of his that spanned fifty kilometres.

    With a familiar cough, the nine-coloured deer approached him slowly through the wind and snow.

    ¡°Oh, why have you come again? Where¡¯s senior sister Ruan?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said reservedly, ¡°She¡¯s cultivating in the dwelling. I came here secretly. There¡¯s something I want to say to you.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Li Qingshan studied her. Surely he had not caught her eye? However, he did wonder how she looked in human form.

    That glance of his aggravated the nine-coloured deer. ¡°I hope you can keep your distance from her!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, What a familiar conversation. I feel like I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before. He smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it distant enough right now?¡±

    ¡°I hope you can leave the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan asked curiously. Just earlier, he was getting along with Ruan Yaozhu. This damned deer had always found him unpleasant to look at.

    ¡°Because you¡¯ve disturbed the order of the Hundred Herbs garden. You¡¯re not a good influence.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not fair at all for you to say that. They were clearly the ones who came to make trouble for me. Also, once I undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll obviously set up a new order in this place.¡±

    Li Qingshan said confidently, which convinced the nine-coloured deer, but she purposefully sneered. ¡°A new order? What a boast!¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms. ¡°When I undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll have ten times as many clones, and I¡¯ll understand the path of nature even better. By then, you can chase out that kid Shen Yushu.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer found it rather difficult to counter his words. If others said something like that, she could treat it as arrogance, but he really did seem to be capable of doing so. She said impatiently, ¡°Let¡¯s just say this. I don¡¯t wish for her to become too close with any men.¡±

    Surprised, Li Qingshan took half a step back. ¡°You have that kind of relationship?¡±

    Surely not everyone had a gay side to them, right? He recalled what Ruan Yaozhu had said. When she was at the lowest point in her life, it was all thanks to the nine-coloured deer¡¯s support. After thinking that, it no longer seemed particularly strange. However, it was just such a pity.

    As soon as he said those words, his foot ached violently. A deer hoof crushed down on his foot viciously. The nine-coloured deer ground her teeth. ¡°What the hell are you saying!?¡±

    A gentle laugh rang out from the Hundred Herbs dwelling. Ruan Yaozhu laughed over how the nine-coloured deer suffered in her conversation with Li Qingshan, but she also felt touched. She did all of this for the sake of her. They had accompanied each other for a millennium, sharing joys and sorrows, going through thick and thin together. They were even closer than ¡°that kind of relationship¡±.

    Li Qingshan glanced at his foot and shrugged. ¡°I was wondering! I¡¯m clearly doing a good job and helping out senior sister Ruan, so why do you suddenly want me to leave? Is this what you want, or what senior sister Ruan wants?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer lifted her hoof slowly. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come clean. Yaozhu doesn¡¯t know about this. This is what I want.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in annoyance, ¡°Just why do you dislike me? I have a bit of the qilin¡¯s bloodline after all, and I helped you win a great sum of Green Jade bookmarks. Even if you don¡¯t want to befriend me, you don¡¯t have to oppose me like this!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. You¡¯re very impressive. I don¡¯t dislike you. Just from the fact that you helped us win a lot of Green Jade bookmarks, I should go easy on you. However, Yaozhu is currently at a critical juncture in order to become a Human Immortal. I hope that no one and nothing will disturb her and make her lose focus.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s very gentle to everyone. It¡¯s exactly because you¡¯re very good that she¡¯s particularly gentle to you. I don¡¯t think anything will happen between the two of you, but even if there¡¯s a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I¡¯d still want to avoid it. Do you understand me? How about this? I¡¯m not going to chase you away with nothing. If you¡¯re willing to leave, I¡¯ll give you a hundred Green Jade bookmarks. Treat it as compensation.¡±

    Li Qingshan fell silent for a good while, pacing around the tree with his hands behind his back a few times. Suddenly, he said, ¡°You¡¯re very right. I need to leave, but I don¡¯t want the bookmarks. You don¡¯t owe me anything, so you don¡¯t have to compensate me.¡±

    Otherwise, this situation would be far too familiar. It was basically going along the beat of ¡°I¡¯ll give you a million dollars if you leave my daughter¡±.

    ¡°So you¡¯re agreeing?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer was surprised. Originally, she thought he would ask to see Ruan Yaozhu again at the very least. She never expected him to agree to it so happily.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go put in my notice with senior sister Ruan right now- no, it¡¯s best if I don¡¯t see her again. I¡¯ll write up a notice, and you can take it to her!¡± Li Qingshan said that as he began looking for paper and a brush. He actually did not hesitate for even a second.

    The nine-coloured deer blinked her eyes in confusion. Everything happened far too smoothly, such that it felt surreal.

    Why? Why? This kid is clearly as stubborn and conceited as you can get. He¡¯s definitely not someone whose mind can be changed by words. He clearly didn¡¯t agree to it either because he fears me. He doesn¡¯t even take Le Tian seriously, and he said he wanted to become softwood¡¯s senior brother. He even turned the Green Jade bookmarks down bluntly. Why in the world is he doing this? Oh no, if this is the case, then wouldn¡¯t I have lost the bet?

 Chapter 1383

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1383 ¨C Confidence

    Her bet with Ruan Yaozhu was about whether she could persuade him to leave the Hundred Herbs garden. If she could not, then that meant he possessed the same thoughts as Shen Yushu. He had simply hidden them better. However, that would also make him much more dangerous than Shen Yushu. Even if it was only to be safe, they had to get rid of him.

    In other words, if he was willing to leave, he could instead stay. If he refused to leave, then he had to be expelled.

    Unable to win against her, Ruan Yaozhu could only agree, or once she began throwing a tantrum, Li Qingshan definitely would not be staying here.

    Now that she heard how he had agreed to leave so happily, she smiled even more brightly, but she also felt a little strange. With just a few strokes of the brush, Li Qingshan had completed his notice of resignation and immediately began handing off his work. He basically seemed like he was fleeing.

    Then she became rather despondent. Was he really not reluctant to leave at all?

    The nine-coloured deer checked through the notice. There was no resentment at all. Instead, he said that something had suddenly come up and he had to leave the Hundred Herbs garden, asking for Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s forgiveness with great sincerity. She basically could not find any problems with it at all.

    ¡°This¡­ you don¡¯t need to leave in such a hurry, right?¡±

    Suddenly, she discovered she had done something foolish. If she wanted to chase Li Qingshan away, she had to convince Li Qingshan to stay. It left her so conflicted that she basically wanted to throw her head against a tree.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll leave immediately.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer tested him with great reluctance. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to see her again and bid farewell to her in person? She might persuade you to stay.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a great sigh and waved his hand. ¡°No, definitely not. I¡¯ll probably never see her again in the future.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was gloomy. She felt rather wronged inside. ¡°Even if you actually can¡¯t stay in the Hundred Herbs garden, I¡¯ve never mistreated you before, so why must you say something so harsh, breaking off our friendship like this?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer beamed inside. She thought she had succeeded. As long as she made Yaozhu hate him, then that would be enough. The gamble would become secondary. She feigned a sigh. ¡°So you really are unhappy, but that¡¯s perfectly normal. You just settled down and gained such a fine place of cultivation, and you¡¯re forced to leave. Anyone would be unhappy over something like that. Shen Yushu practises the Heavenly Tome of Nature. He¡¯s worked for over a century in the Hundred Herbs garden, and he¡¯s been of great help to Yaozhu. But don¡¯t you worry, I will ask him to leave in the future as well!¡±

    She purposefully brought up Shen Yushu to provoke a response from Li Qingshan. She thought, Heh, it¡¯s time for you to make a mess, kid. Using him to provoke you still works best. He can stay, yet you have to leave. I ask you whether you¡¯re content with that. If you¡¯re not, then why don¡¯t you just stay behind then!

    ¡°So Shen Yushu also practises the Heavenly Tome of Nature. No wonder his aura bears some resemblance to senior sister Ruan¡¯s. Though, I feel like it¡¯s best if he remains in the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer was basically doubting her ears. Was this still the same Li Qingshan who had taught Shen Yushu a lesson over the slightest disagreement?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m not that narrow-minded. It goes even more without saying when it comes to senior sister Ruan. Instead, I have to thank you.¡±

    ¡°Thank me for what?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for reminding me. Otherwise, I would have affected senior sister Ruan¡¯s cultivation, and that would fill me with regret.¡±

    Even the nine-coloured deer was a little moved. ¡°Then why do you want Shen Yushu to stay behind?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve made some miscalculations on the chances. That guy Shen Yushu doesn¡¯t even have a one-in-a-million chance of posing a danger to senior sister Ruan. The Hundred Herbs garden still has to be managed properly, so you¡¯re better off just keeping him around.¡±

    ¡°As for me, there¡¯s far more than a one-in-ten-thousand chance for me to pose a danger to her!¡± Li Qingshan flicked his fringe and sighed. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t have any ulterior motives, being just too charming is also a crime!¡±

    With a great thump, coupled with the sounds of bones cracking, the ground cracked and sank.

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°What¡¯re you stomping on me again for?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I couldn¡¯t help it!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer squeezed out those words from between her teeth. She had never seen someone so shameless before. Just where did his foolish confidence come from?

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu laughed so hard that she trembled all over. What was he on about?

    Li Qingshan waved his hand. ¡°Move your hoof. I¡¯m leaving!¡±

    ¡°You could not go.¡± The nine-coloured deer ground her teeth. Against someone as deranged as him, she had no chances at winning the bet.

    ¡°I need to go!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly and forcefully pulled his foot out.

    He had always been someone who repaid his debts, whether it was the kindness of a meal or the grievance of a glare, while the kindness that Ruan Yaozhu had shown him was far more than a meal. He was quite a loose person, but if others showed him kindness, he definitely could not obstruct their cultivation. Those were his principles.

    ¡°Go, go, go then! Please get out of here then!¡± The nine-coloured deer turned her head away. She felt like he had almost driven her insane.

    ¡°Alright. Jiu¡¯er, you¡¯ve lost, so stop being so ill-tempered.¡± Ruan Yaozhu appeared beneath the tree and explained everything. She apologised. ¡°Sorry. We¡¯ve used you for another gamble. Jiu¡¯er was worrying about me too much. She was too careful. All I could do was prove to her that you aren¡¯t that kind of person.¡±

    ¡°No, she¡¯s right. This is my problem.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Senior sister Ruan, I will never forget about the kindness you¡¯ve shown me, no matter how the world changes. I will definitely pay you back in the future!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled wryly. ¡°Please stay! I definitely won¡¯t develop any improper thoughts towards you.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ruan Yaozhu found it both hilarious and exasperating.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Then I don¡¯t have to worry!¡± However, he was still a little worried. ¡°If you want me to leave some day, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t say that. I hope you don¡¯t say something like you¡¯ll never see me again in the future either. It makes me sad,¡± Ruan Yaozhu said sincerely.

    Although his ¡°blind confidence¡± did make the entire matter extremely strange, his intentions definitely were not fake. He would rather leave a treasured land of cultivation like the Hundred Herbs garden regardless of his gamble with Le Tian than even pose the slightest threat to her.

    ¡°Sigh, actually I feel quite sad inside too. So be it. Even if I stay in the Hundred Herbs garden, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t visit me too often!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll visit you whenever I want. Is this my territory or your territory?¡± Ruan Yaozhu grumbled loudly.

    She understood how Jiu¡¯er felt. The things he said were simply infuriating, acting as if she would lose all restraint and pledge herself to him if she just visited him a few times too many times.

    ¡°This is for your sake. I actually have a lot of women¡­¡±

    ¡°If you continue with this, I¡¯m really going to get angry.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu interrupted him and squinted her eyes. She still had some pride after all. Perhaps she was not clustered around by people as she grew up, but she had never been treated like this. In the past, when she was betrayed by her peers, that was mostly out of envy. Even among the direct disciples, there were plenty of people willing to become her cultivation partner, so Li Qingshan was getting a little too ahead of himself.

    ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯m going to cultivate now.¡± Li Qingshan indirectly indicated for her to leave. His gaze basically made him look like he was looking at an ignorant little girl. All that was missing was a head rub and telling her, ¡°You should go home!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu could sense there was something wrong with the atmosphere, so she just wanted to leave, but if she just left like this, it felt a little unnatural, basically adding to the atmosphere. She glanced at Jiu¡¯er in a grumbling manner.

    Heavens. Sigh, I finally understand what they mean by there¡¯s no escape. You two madmen, you¡¯re on your own!

    The nine-coloured deer could not watch on anymore. She let out a glum sigh. Not only had she failed to achieve her objective, but she had even given them a push. She galloped off into the wind and snow with both sorrow and anger.

 Chapter 1384

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1384 ¨C A Lonely Journey

    The snow fell again and again until the bodhi tree was covered in frost. Its golden leaves did not fall, shimmering through the snow.

    The metal gourd was raised high into the air and tilted upside down before getting shaken a few times vigorously, letting the last droplet of alcohol trickle out helplessly.

    Li Qingshan smacked his lips forcefully. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s almost the new year.¡±

    As they said, there was no concept of time when it came to cultivation. The passage of time to cultivators was measured in centuries and millennia. The year-long plans of mortals did not seem to hold much meaning to them.

    However, since he had once been a mortal, he was not completely without any sentiment, especially when he was alone in the world, all by himself, drifting from place to place.

    Time shot past like an arrow. Before long, they had reached deep winter.

    Everything stopped growing, and the work lessened. Everyone gathered in the small town to celebrate. Due to the Hundred Herbs garden, they noticed the changing of seasons much more sharply than any regular cultivator.

    The sounds of joy and laughter drifted through the mountains, arriving with the cold winds alongside the fragrance of food.

    Li Qingshan could not help but take in a deep breath. Of course, no one had invited him. Apart from Shen Yushu, he basically had not even spoken to them before. He preferred peace and quiet. However, ever since the nine-coloured deer came to test him, Ruan Yaozhu had not visited him again. As it seemed, she had made the clever decision of accepting his suggestion.

    He did not regret that, but he could not help but feel some pity. He had to admit that he still liked her very much. If it were not for his ambition beyond the Nine Heavens, spending his life with her in the Hundred Herbs garden did not seem to be a bad choice, but why did it have to be her?

    He advanced forwards regardless of the cost. He had already let down far too many women.

    Shaking his head, he sent his consciousness into the World of the Five Continents. It was the middle of winter in the Human realm, but it was the season of harvest there, a golden autumn.

    On the flat, fertile land stood a mighty city. Its layout bore some resemblance to Myriad city. In particular, the buildings in the city were basically identical to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, except it was several times smaller in scale.

    This was the Cloudwisp city tha Li Qingshan had personally created with his great powers as the god of the world for the sake of his great plan.

    Yes, the name originated from the Cloudwisp association of the past, and Liu Chuanfeng had become the lord of Cloudwisp city.

    In the past, the hundred schools of thought all possessed their own ¡°holy lands¡±, such as the Spirit K?etra temple for the school of Buddhism, the imperial medical college for the school of Medicine, and the imperial college for the school of Confucianism. Only the school of Novels was without one.

    Now, due to the prosperity and development brought on by Li Qingshan as a disciple of the school of Novels, they finally had one too. Unlike the various holy lands of the other schools, it was not a place unique to cultivators. Most of the city was composed of mortals without any powers at all.

    That was because the geographic location Li Qingshan had chosen was far too great. All of a sudden, it had become an important hub of traffic on the continent. Countless people of the jianghu and merchants travelled to and from this place. There were also countless despondent people who put everything they had experienced and everything they had thought into words in an attempt to make a career out of it.

    During the first year, under Qian Lingzhi¡¯s advice, the lord of Cloudwisp city, Liu Chuanfeng, splurged like money was worthless. He paid gold and silver without any regard, regardless of the quality of the novels in hopes of drawing even more people over. Only towards the end did he begin to control the quality, but the barrier of entry was still extremely low.

    And the reality proved that as long as there were sufficient benefits, humans would always be overcome with unimaginably great motivation. In just a few years, the ¡°fake Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes¡± had already accumulated over ten thousand novels. After a close selection, there were almost a hundred remaining.

    Li Qingshan glanced through them and recorded them all in a jade slip. He stood up and smiled. ¡°Time to go and get some alcohol!¡¯

    With a long path ahead of him, he should not lament that it was a lonely journey. There would be a day when the world learnt who stood at the top.

    The town surrounded by the mountains was noisy as people celebrated and had a good time. It was as busy as it could get.

    Everyone had a few drinks. Shen Yushu sat high above and everyone flattered him, but his face was gloomy. There was not any joy at all.

    Ruan Yaozhu had not accepted his invitation, while that damned Li Qingshan was constantly expanding his territory. In two or three short months, it had already reached fifty kilometres across. Even worse, he managed to take perfect care of the thousand or so exotic plants in that area, not only proving himself, but also proving Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s sharp judgement.

    The good graces that Ruan Yaozhu showed Li Qingshan were basically at an extraordinary level. The implications made him shiver.

    Ruan Yaozhu was clearly very dissatisfied with him already. If Li Qingshan underwent the fourth heavenly tribulation some day and obtained even greater power with even more clones, then he would be out of this place immediately, just like the failures he had chased out himself.

    At the very least, those failures had other choices, but to him, there was no other place more suited for cultivation than the Hundred Herbs garden. If that happened, his dream of undergoing the fifth heavenly tribulation and becoming a direct disciple would be delayed indefinitely, while becoming a cultivation partner with Ruan Yaozhu would become nothing more than a pipe dream.

    He could not help but become slightly regretful. Perhaps he should not have been so direct. He should have waited until he became a direct disciple before he made any attempts. However, if it were not for obtaining her assistance, why did he go to such great lengths, getting closer and closer to her at the risk of offending her?

    He had been far too confident. He thought with the Heavenly Tome of Nature alone, no one could replace him. Otherwise, he never would have found the courage to take things further and further either. However, he never expected that someone who practised a different heavenly tome could also take his place.

    Dammit!

    A vicious light flashed through his eyes. The cup in his hand cracked open. Danger constantly pressed closer, yet he could only sit there, incapable of doing anything. This was the Hundred Herbs garden. Everything was within her control, so he could not try anything here.

    She seemed to be looking down on him from above. It was her usual gentleness and simple-mindedness that gave him a false impression, that made him think they were very close. Only now did he suddenly discover how great of a gulf existed between inner disciples and direct disciples.

    Once he was expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden, not only would it drastically affect his cultivation, but it would lead to countless questions as well, or even oppression, as her prestige in the Myriad sect was far too great. Opposing her was basically equivalent to tattooing the words ¡°bad person¡± on his face.

    Right when he was overwhelmed by the potential consequences, a cultivator silently arrived behind Shen Yushu and communicated with his soul sense, ¡°Senior brother Shen, that kid has left the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    ¡°Good! Very good!¡±

    Shen Yushu tilted his head back and drank all of the alcohol before tossing the cup aside, shooting off into the air.

    Everyone exchanged glances. They had no idea what had just happened.

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows slightly. ¡°Shen Yushu is going too far.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer had turned into human form, laying in the basket as she kicked her delicate legs around. She said lazily, ¡°He¡¯s afraid of being expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden. He wants to stake it all on this.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed. ¡°He¡¯s worked in the Hundred Herbs garden for all these years. Even if he hasn¡¯t done anything of merit, he¡¯s still put in the hard work. As long as he restrains himself a little and works seriously, why would I be so heartless?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, the two of you might both practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature, but your directions are completely different. You see the growth of living things. You see the heaven caring for every living thing, nurturing them all through compassion and benevolence. That is the view of a king. It has taken him innumerable trials and hardships to reach where he is, so what he sees is the contention of living things. That¡¯s why he desperately squeezes out everyone who threatens him, even wanting to obtain more sunlight, rain, and dew from you. That is the view of a common person.¡±

    ¡°However, cultivation methods are still inanimate at the end of the day. Only people are alive. People like us have surpassed the so-called notion of kings and common people that mortals held a long time ago! Junior brother Li isn¡¯t born a noble, but the ambitions, determination, and resolve he possesses even surpasses me.¡±

    ¡°That kid is a strange one. I¡¯m begging you, stop praising him. From Shen Yushu¡¯s perspective alone, of course, you should expel him from the Hundred Herbs garden. No matter how benevolent and virtuous kings are, the common people will still be sceptical. Speaking of which, who could tolerate people who affect their cultivation around them? You¡¯ve always been far too easy-going. You should have put him in his place a long time ago. But that¡¯s fine too. At least he won¡¯t actually get in your way. He¡¯s much safer than that kid.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m going to stop him.¡±

    ¡°But he hasn¡¯t done anything yet. Tsk, have you finally learnt how to oppress others with your identity as a direct disciple?¡± the nine-coloured deer jokingly said.

    ¡°I should warn junior brother Li at the very least.¡±

    ¡°You want to see him?¡±

    ¡°Who said that?¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to see him, then save it! How can someone who¡¯s bold enough to gamble against Le Tian be afraid of another person staking it all on this? In his words, if you don¡¯t have the determination to gamble your life, don¡¯t stir up conflict on a whim.¡±

 Chapter 1385

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1385 ¨C Devouring a Star

    A rare glint of cold light flashed through her deer eyes. There was both dissuasion and warning.

    Ruan Yaozhu could only say, ¡°Alright then, I won¡¯t go out. However, I want to ask first senior sister to keep an eye out for them. They¡¯re both from my Hundred Herbs garden, so how can I just ignore what happens?¡±

    Even if Li Qingshan was skilled in battle, the Myriad sect was a place that stressed seniority. If he began fighting against an inner disciple in Myriad city, he would probably suffer in the process. She blamed herself for being too lax with Shen Yushu all this time, such that he actually wanted to try something that a scoundrel would do and harm a good person. She definitely would not simply turn a blind eye to it.

    ¡°First senior sister!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer¡¯s expression was strange. She could understand Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s thoughts, but getting that person involved would lead to trouble even if there was not any trouble in the beginning.

    Ruan Yaozhu also found this a little inappropriate, but she persisted. ¡°Just treat junior brother Li as a junior sister Li. I¡¯m still going to do this.¡±

    Seeing how determined she was, the nine-coloured deer knew it was useless for her to say anything else. ¡°Alright then, alright then. Whatever you want!¡± She thought, This works too. That one¡¯s far more powerful than I am and she has ¡®that kind of relationship¡¯ with Ruan Yaozhu. Once she feels this kid is a threat, she¡¯ll never just ignore it. She won¡¯t care what you think, softwood.

    It also snowed over the ocean. With the billowing cold winds that danced from all directions, Li Qingshan whistled through the chaotic skies.

    Shen Yushu tailed far behind him. His face was a little twisted, possessing none of its usual gentleness. He was like a predator stalking his prey, tempted to kill Li Qingshan here and now over the ocean.

    However, he forcefully held back that temptation. They were both disciples of the Myriad sect. Killing other disciples was a great taboo of the sect. If he killed Li Qingshan, he would face punishment. As for whether he was Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent at all, he had not even considered that.

    Hmph, it¡¯s all because I was too careless that day that I fell for his tricks. I couldn¡¯t even unleash everything I was capable of. If I used my full strength right from the beginning, unleashing my Yin Soul and my techniques, how would a Soul Nascence cultivator like him stand a chance? It¡¯s all because that bitch Ruan Yaozhu appeared at that exact moment, which left me humiliated all for nothing!

    He was filled with resentment, but he completely disregarded how Ruan Yaozhu had helped him retrieve his lifebound arcane treasure, the Nine-section Bamboo staff, as well as all the kindness she had shown him over the years.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan stopped and stood above the ocean where the winds whistled.

    Have I been discovered?

    Shen Yushu shivered inside and stopped in a hurry as well. He felt a slight hint of fear. Working in the Hundred Herbs garden, it had already been over a century since he had a fight with anyone.

    That¡¯s impossible! I practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature, which is most skilled in hiding my aura. It¡¯s impossible for him to discover me. Even if he¡¯s discovered me, what can he do to me?

    Li Qingshan truly had not discovered him. Even if he had, he would not have cared. He was just a wretched person, nothing worthy of notice.

    What made him stop was a dazzling star in the boundless outer space, a brand-new world.

    He had two mirror clones, one serving as the god of the World of the Five Continents and the other accompanying the space-devouring beast as it flew through outer space towards a new world. He had been waiting this entire time.

    After a lengthy journey, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty had finally arrived before the star. Without his orders, it was unable to overcome its instincts and devour its ¡°own kind¡±. It could only get as close as possible.

    Li Qingshan emerged from its gaping mouth and peered out. He could clearly see the land and ocean beneath the cotton-like clouds.

    The world was much smaller than the World of the Five Continents, but it was larger than the original small world. It was probably a world that could contain first heavenly tribulation existences. Devouring it could not make the World of the Five Continents evolve immediately, but it would become much larger, which would provide confidence to all the cultivators of the World of the Five Continents.

    He did not order Navy Li¡¯l Fatty to do this immediately. The new world also had billions of lives that had to pass through the Heaven Climbing Vine. However, he only had a single Heaven Climbing Vine that had been connected to the Human realm the entire time. If something unexpected happened, it could serve as a path of retreat for Xiao An and everyone else.

    Stroking his chin and thinking for a good moment, he decided to draw the Heaven Climbing Vine from the Human realm and devour the new world first.

    Such a long time had passed, yet the Myriad sect had done nothing. After all, it was not like Si Long was dead. Even if he had a life lamp in the sect, it definitely would not be extinguished. The new world was not particularly large, so it probably would not take too long before it was completely connected.

    When he connected the World of the Five Continents with Navy Li¡¯l Fatty through the Heaven Climbing Vine, he immediately got to work, devouring the new world.

    In the new world, everyone looked up at the sky.

    Ever since last month, a huge, navy star had appeared in the night sky. As it rapidly grew larger, it became visible during daytime as well. Now, it had finally filled the entire sky, which gave everyone the impression that the skies were always clear. However, the sun, moon, and stars were gone now.

    The apocalyptic fear had lingered for far too long, instead leading to a strange peace. All they could do was accept the arrangements of fate now. No one could forget this sight. A black crack appeared in the air, suddenly enveloping the entirety of the sky.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. If only he possessed power like this in the Human realm. He smiled and continued onwards.

    Arriving in Myriad city, he directly made his way to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and entered the place. The female cultivator who had shown him the way last time was waiting there once again. ¡°Senior brother Li, the spirit reverend has told me to take you up.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. ¡°Senior brother?¡±

    ¡°Senior brother, you have been rising up the Myriad rankings. Your ranking already surpassed mine.¡±

    The female cultivator smiled warmly and spoke softly, basically completely different from last time. When she first joined the sect, she was only a servant. It took her several centuries before she reached Soul Nascence and became a formal disciple, earning herself a job in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    On the other hand, not only did this ¡°senior brother Li¡± before her join the Myriad sect as a formal disciple, but he had even risen up almost a thousand rankings on the Myriad rankings in such a short time. He had even been summoned by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance twice. He would probably become an inner disciple soon, so of course, she had to take special care of him.

    ¡°The Myriad rankings?¡± Li Qingshan really had not heard of that before.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know, senior brother? Fair enough, you¡¯ve only joined the sect recently. You¡¯re truly a genius¡­¡±

    The female cultivator walked with him and explained along the way with great enthusiasm.

    Only when he heard her explanation did Li Qingshan learn that the Myriad sect was actually such a wondrous place. He definitely had to go and take a look later. Hehe, wouldn¡¯t my ranking climb even higher once I offer up books this time?

    He did not enter the city this time just to offer up books. As a formal disciple, he could claim many benefits too, such as dwellings, arcane treasures, mounts, and so on.

    Last time, he had been taken to the Hundred Herbs garden by Ruan Yaozhu the moment he emerged from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, so he never got the opportunity to claim them. Even if he had no use for the arcane treasures and mouths, he could exchange them for bookmarks.

    However, a dwelling was definitely necessary. He could not leave Xiao An and the others in a place of danger for all this time. However, when he thought about it, the free dwellings from the Myriad sect probably would not be anything impressive either. He wanted a great mansion on par with the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling, not some random ¡°affordable housing¡±.

    However, it did make him wonder about the house prices.

    But regardless, with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance around to pay for everything, he could afford it no matter how pricey it was.

 Chapter 1386

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1386 ¨C Lin Xuan

    ¡°What! The quality is too poor!? Take another look!¡± Li Qingshan clutched a handful of Yellow Bronze bookmarks and said to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, refusing to accept this. He had gone to such great lengths only for so little. This was vastly different from what he had been imagining.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced through the jade slip again and actually took a Black Wood bookmark back from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand.

    Li Qingshan was furious. All of these bookmarks combined don¡¯t even amount to a single Green Jade bookmark! You damned turtle, they¡¯re still novels! You¡¯re just ripping me off here!

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suddenly asked, ¡°Where did you obtain these books?¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. Lying in front of this damned turtle was pointless, so he downright refused to answer him.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t be discontent. The books you¡¯ve brought this time are much worse in quality compared to last time. I never misjudge the value of books.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m wrong.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it and was forced to admit that. The books he had brought last time were all classics that remained after thousands of years of elimination, while this time was merely the creations of a group of people after money in just a few years. It had gone through a selection process, but the quality obviously could not be compared to last time.

    Sure enough, this shortcut was not that easy to take!

    So be it then. He had to find a different path now!

    Right when he was about to bid farewell and leave, never to return again, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance passed another Green Jade bookmark to Li Qingshan.

    What was this supposed to be? The carrot after the stick?

    Li Qingshan asked in surprise, ¡°Is this for consolation?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°This is a down payment.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the books are bad?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said with a slight smile, ¡°It¡¯s bad this time doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll be bad next time. I¡¯ve left some feedback in the jade slip. You can take it back and study it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be better in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. It was not like these books were written by him, so what was there to study?

    Suddenly, he discovered that this matter possessed a great flaw right from the beginning. Novels were fictional, but they were based on reality.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could calculate the existence of a lot of information from a few simple words. From how he smiled slightly, it was as if he had found everything. These novels might have exposed many things unintentionally.

    So-called shortcuts were mostly treacherous routes, where the slightest carelessness could make people plunge into valleys, smashing their bodies to pieces.

    What a miscalculation! Li Qingshan resolutely returned the Green Jade bookmark to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have any left.¡±

    However, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had already turned around and left. ¡°What¡¯s been done has been done. If you don¡¯t bring more books that are even better, that¡¯ll be deceiving your superiors. You will be severely punished!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt pained. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance basically meant, It¡¯s already too late for regret. You¡¯re already waist-deep in this now. If you can¡¯t leave me satisfied, don¡¯t even think you can get out of this unscathed.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suddenly stopped. ¡°Want to know the secrets to longevity?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Yeah.¡±

    ¡°Mind your own business.¡±

    Li Qingshan emerged from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes with furrowed brows. Sucking in the cold air, his eyebrows eased up. He no longer cared about regret, as he had no other choice. From the moment he refused to leave the Myriad sect, he had begun taking on a risk. He was forced to go down this treacherous route.

    Letting the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance learn a little more about his situation was not necessarily bad. It would reduce some of his suspicion at the very least. People were always a little more inviting to the things they understood and could control. He could see that very clearly from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s attitude towards him today.

    He truly did not possess any ill intentions towards the Myriad sect either. He had come here to cultivate. Everything he did was to the benefit of the Myriad sect¡¯s developments. He believed that it was exactly because the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had taken this all into account that he minded his own business.

    Even in the worst-case scenario, where his battle against Si Long was exposed in the future, that would only be a matter from before he joined the Myriad sect. It could not be regarded as conflict between fellow disciples. He did not kill Si Long in the very end either. It was simply a feud between them due to competing interests.

    He was certain that when that day truly arrived, he would already be a direct disciple, and the Myriad sect would not bother to deal with a current direct disciple for one that had fallen into the Demon domain.

    In short, he was still quite lucky.

    And just as the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had said, ¡°It¡¯s bad this time doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯ll be bad next time.¡±

    Cloudwisp city had only been built. Everyone was still in its early stages. Since even an ¡°experienced reader¡± like the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was willing to believe it would be better next time, he had no reason to doubt that. He could continue down this shortcut.

    Standing on the platform and gazing out, Myriad city shimmered in the gleaming snow. There were lanterns and streamers everywhere. It was in a festive mood.

    The faint smell of alcohol permeated the chilly wind, feeding his appetite. He followed the fragrance and found a restaurant. He tried their various offerings first before choosing the best one and using all the bookmarks he had gained from offering books this time to fill up the metal gourd. He took a few great sips and warmth flowed through his belly. He immediately cheered up.

    He recalled the Myriad rankings that the female cultivator had mentioned, so he set out for it out of curiosity.

    People bustled around on the square. The sounds of conversations and hawking rose and fell. It was quite the commotion.

    Within the flowing tide of people, Li Qingshan stood in front of the Myriad rankings without budging. He ignored the noise and stared straight at the very top of the Myriad rankings. The warmth in his belly gradually cooled off as a sense of danger rose through him.

    Ranked first was Lin Xuan!

    Or in other words, Chu Tian.

    As it turned out, he was the first senior brother of the Myriad sect!

    At that moment, the matters of the past whistled past his eyes. Many doubts he had before were now answered.

    Chu Tian was the reincarnation of the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, Lin Xuan. This was where his unparalleled talent came from. After all, he had once been a Human Sovereign in his past life. He was not truly a Reincarnated Celestial, but even from the Deva realm, there were not a lot of celestials or deva that could match him.

    The Heaven Climbing Vine in Qian Rongzhi¡¯s possession must have been from him too. Back then, he was still the foolish Chu Tian. It was probably because she had pretended to be Lin Xuan that she could earn so much trust from Si Long and succeed in her counterattack in the end.

    Only when he arrived in the Myriad sect did he learn just how precious a heavenly tome was. That was a supreme cultivation method that could be practised until Human Immortal. Lin Xuan could actually give the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace to Ru Xin casually to thank her. Just how astonishingly wealthy was he?

    However, that led to even more questions. Why had Lin Xuan reincarnated?

    First of all, it definitely was not for the sake of cooperating with Si Long¡¯s plan, as he found Si Long¡¯s name on the Myriad rankings as well. He happened to be ranked last among the direct disciples. Why would the strongest cooperate with the weakest, much less make such a great sacrifice?

    The measly nine provinces¡¯ worth was nowhere near Lin Xuan giving up everything, let alone the fact that Si Long was determined to claim the nine provinces for himself. It was impossible for Lin Xuan to get a piece of it.

    And to the Myriad sect, exchanging a direct disciple for a blessed land of cultivation was a horrible deal too, let alone their first senior brother.

    As a result, there was only one explanation. Lin Xuan had reached the end of his life and was forced to enter rebirth.

    If Le Tian could gamble against Ox-headed A¡¯pang, then with Lin Xuan¡¯s identity and cultivation, he was obviously capable of pulling some strings too. As a result, he was successfully reborn in the World of the Nine Provinces, and he had even brought a Heavenly Climbing Vine with him. Even if he were reborn as a dog, he could quickly turn into a daemon.

    As for why he had not chosen to be reborn in the Human realm, there were several reasons for that. The Human realm was far too vast, so it was difficult to find him. Even if he could be found easily, it was not like the Myriad sect did not have any enemies. At the same time, low-level cultivators in the Human realm were simply too weak. There was basically no guarantee over their safety.

    The World of the Nine Provinces was different. With Chu Tian¡¯s talent and the Heaven Climbing Vine¡¯s assistance, he would stand out very quickly. He had the basic ability to protect himself, and the system of the Academy of the Hundred Schools was basically made for him.

    Lin Xuan and Si Long were closely connected. Si Long must have received quite a lot of help from this ¡°first senior brother¡± to be able to become a Human Sovereign so quickly. Lin Xuan must have begun preparing from that moment onwards too. Through this relationship, Si Long could serve as his guide, assisting him in recovering his memories and cultivation as quickly as possible so that he could return to the Myriad sect.

    Unfortunately, fate had other plans in mind. Before his memories and cultivation had even recovered, the venomous snake, Qian Rongzhi, had bitten him viciously, almost costing him his life.

    Although it was a blessing in disguise, allowing him to recover some memories, he knew just from what the Great Banyan Tree King had gone through that the memories definitely were incomplete. It was impossible for the soul of a heavily-wounded Foundation Establishment cultivator to contain all the memories of a Human Sovereign.

    Every single heavenly tome possessed a colossal amount of cultivation. For the sake of reincarnating and cultivating again from scratch, he had probably prepared more than a single heavenly tome. Coupled with the vast amount of experience regarding cultivation, the space left for other memories was even more limited.

    Under these unexpected circumstances, even if he changed his name back, Lin Xuan was no longer Lin Xuan. Even that bearing of his was all fake. He was still that Chu Tian inside, and he had failed this trial of life or death in the end.

 Chapter 1387

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1387 ¨C Black Dragon

    That was not good news to Li Qingshan at all. It meant the addition of many more unpredictable variables.

    If it were only Si Long, as long as his life lamp was not extinguished, then no one would be perplexed even if he never showed himself for quite a few years. That was simply the lifestyle of cultivators. However, if it involved the first senior brother of the Myriad sect who was reincarnating and recultivating from scratch, that would be difficult to say.

    Who knew how many friends and enemies he had in the Myriad sect. Who knew how many people were keeping a close eye on the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling. Perhaps even the two sect masters of the Myriad sect paid special attention to this.

    Xiao An and the others have remained in the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling the entire time. It¡¯s beneficial to their cultivation, but it¡¯s far too dangerous. I need to find them a different place as soon as possible, even if it¡¯s a little worse. Li Qingshan made up his mind. However, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty still needed a little more time to devour the world. If he removed the Heaven Climbing Vine now, who knew how many people would die as a result.

    Nothing has gone wrong in such a long time, so surely there won¡¯t be such a great coincidence!

    Li Qingshan suppressed his hint of uneasiness and continued with his original plan, visiting the Spiritual Beast garden to collect a mount. However, there had once been a master of the school of Mohism that said, ¡°Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.¡±

    Nine thousand kilometres north of Myriad city.

    The fierce winds howled as the waves surged furiously, slamming against the black cliff again and again.

    The blizzard danced wildly, whistling past the cliff.

    A black stone tablet stood on the cliff, overlooking the surging seas. It was engraved with two lively words, Xuanming Dwelling!

    If Li Qingshan were here, he definitely would have noticed at first glance that it was the handiwork of the same person who wrote the words Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling.

    Behind the stone tablet was a mountain. The mountain towered into the sky, directly plunging into the clouds like it was connected with the heavens.

    The mountain was without a peak, only a deep abyss. It was several dozen kilometres across like a lone, black eye embedded in the sea of clouds, peering at the sky.

    The abyss seemed bottomless. It was so dark that even light could not illuminate it.

    A fortunate snowflake was swept up by the fierce winds, sent into the cloud layer. Unfortunately, it then fell into the abyss.

    It was translucent and hexagonal in shape, like a fairy that had left the group, hesitating and pacing around, drifting about gently.

    After drifting for who knew how long, it finally landed at the bottom of the abyss, producing a faint ripple on the silent, black and transparent surface of the lake. It melded away with its translucency and hexagonal shape.

    The ripple had dissipated rapidly, but the surface of the lake gradually began to shake.

    ¡°It¡¯s about time. Lin Xuan, have you failed?¡±

    A deep, heavy voice murmured. A pair of dragon eyes suddenly opened in the black lake water.

    The pitch-black body coiled beneath the water began to move. The black scales rippled like water as the claws unfolded, gripping the jagged rocks and propping up its huge body. It raised its head and let out a roar at the sky.

    Boom!

    It was like a volcano that had lain dormant for several thousand years abruptly awakening again. However, what surged forth was not magma and flames, but thousands of tonnes of water. A furious dragon burst out from the surging flames, and only then did the mighty dragon cry become audible, scattering all the clouds within five hundred kilometres.

    The rolling waves that surged out turned back into water vapour, surrounding a golden-eyed black dragon as it soared off. It had headed off in the direction of the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling.

    Through the transparent crystal wall, Li Qingshan stared at a strange roe with a pair of wings. It ¡°flew¡± around in the water, producing a series of splashes. It seemed to possess some wondrous power. The sign on the side introduced what it was.

    Luo fish roe¡ªAdult luo fish possess the body of a fish, the wings of a bird, and the voice of mandarin ducks. They can fly and swim, regularly causing floods. They are rumoured to be connected to the kunpeng in bloodline, but this has never been proven. Price: seven Yellow Bronze bookmarks, buy two get one free.

    ¡°I could give this to Yanying and see what she can do with it,¡± Li Qingshan said with interest before he continued onwards.

    He arrived before a metal cage. A great brown bear was locked up inside with its eyes closed as if it was sleeping. It even embraced a log in its arms.

    However, the sign beside it indicated that it was a pi bear cub. It was perhaps better described as it could not even open its eyes yet instead of sleeping. It was much more expensive than those luo fish roe.

    The little pi bear rolled over in its sleep, and the log in its arms was crushed to pieces.

    ¡°Hmm? Even a cub is this violent. I wonder how vicious it¡¯ll become when it grows older. No wonder they use a cage with such thick bars!¡±

    Li Qingshan continued onwards.

    Metal-eating beast¡ªAlso known as black and white bears, they eat metal and prefer bamboo. They are intelligent. Notice: Non-cubs can be tamed as well.

    ¡°Oh, this one¡¯s good, this one¡¯s good!¡±

    Li Qingshan was like a child who had visited the zoo for the first time. He was so excited that he was basically about to jump around and clap his hands.

    The Spiritual Beast garden was far too fascinating. It bore some resemblance to the Hundred Herbs garden as they were both blessed lands of cultivation. It was like a natural reserve, supporting various kinds of exotic beasts, free for people to choose. Whether they flew in the sky, ran along the ground, or swam in water, they were all available. There were even some beasts capable of all three.

    He had only heard about many of them from legends. He had not even heard about the others.

    ¡°Senior brother, have you chosen? This metal-eating beast has been captured from the Daemonic Beast realm by senior brother Ma of our Spiritual Beast garden after quite some difficulty. It¡¯s very easy to raise. Just feeding it metal and bamboo is enough. If you want to raise a pi bear instead, you¡¯ll need to buy several thousand kilograms of meat a month at the very least. That¡¯s not a small sum. Metal-eating beasts are bears as well. When they get angry, they¡¯re no different from pi bears! It¡¯s said that they even have some humanity about them and can even control their souls. Look at its eyes¡­¡±

    The female attendant responsible for receiving him introduced extremely enthusiastically. She had been following Li Qingshan the entire time. He had almost strolled through the entire Spiritual Beast garden, yet she showed no irritation at all.

    Li Qingshan followed her finger and gazed at the two black eye circles and the metal-eating beast looked over at him too. Perhaps due to the bloodline of the qilin, it seemed very close and attached to him, which filled him with the strange, intense urge to buy one and raise one. However, he was choosing a mount here, not a pet, so it was best if he saved the bookmarks.

    As a result, he shook his head. ¡°Nevermind. I think you should just convert it into bookmarks instead! I prefer walking with my own two feet.¡±

    The female attendant said, ¡°Senior brother, you can¡¯t say that. So-called ¡®mounts¡¯ are only a saying. Which cultivator isn¡¯t capable of flight? Why must we ride an animal? Not only are mounts closely connected with cultivators, companions that go through thick and thin together, there¡¯s one particular benefit that I must mention. They can greatly lengthen the lifespans of cultivators.¡±

    ¡°How come?¡±

    ¡°Humans are the paragon of creatures. Unfortunately, their lifespans are too short. They don¡¯t possess the same lifespan as daemons, which can easily live for more than ten thousand years. As a result, they make up for this shortcoming by raising a daemonic beast and establishing a contract to lengthen their lifespans. Do you know senior brother Le Tian from the Fate Perturbing casino?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Yeah, except I heard he gambled against Ox-headed A¡¯pang on his way to the afterlife.¡±

    The female attendant smiled mysteriously. ¡°That¡¯s only a rumour. Ox-headed A¡¯pang isn¡¯t that easy to fool. Have you seen his three-legged golden toad?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded.

    ¡°Three-legged golden toads are most skilled in techniques for prolonging life. Senior brother Le Tian probably only bought some time with Ox-headed A¡¯pang. In the end, he still relied on the three-legged golden toad to pull him back.¡±

    Li Qingshan possessed various bloodlines of divine and demonic beasts, so his lifespan was very long. He had never considered this issue before. On top of that, lifespan did not possess much meaning to him. If he could not make it to beyond the Nine Heavens before the deadline, then brother ox¡¯s enemies probably would not spare him either as a remnant.

    However, he could still sense how important lifespans were to human cultivators. Regular Soul Nascence cultivators only had a lifespan of a thousand years, which came nowhere close to Daemon Kings of the same cultivation.

    Glancing at the blank-faced metal-eating beast, he sighed. ¡°Sigh, these daemonic beasts sure are pitiful, being used by people like this.¡±

    The female attendant widened her eyes. ¡°Senior brother, you can¡¯t say that! Everyone in the Spiritual Beast garden has lots of love. No matter how intelligent the daemonic beasts are, they¡¯re still daemonic beasts at the end of the day. They cannot be compared to humans. If they were to remain in the Daemonic Beast realm, only a hundredth of ten thousand luo fish roe can hatch, and only a single one will be able to produce more roe. On top of that, after much selection, escaping from predators, that adult luo fish has an almost negligible chance at becoming a daemon, so what¡¯s the point of possessing such a long lifespan?¡±

    ¡°Humans are paragons of creatures. Not only do we provide them with a better environment, taking care of their diet and daily life, but we can even awaken their intelligence and teach them how to cultivate, letting them set off on the path of cultivation as well. Only through cultivation do they develop such a lifespan. We basically treat them even better than our fathers! They only have to carry us around a little and share a bit of their lifespan with us. Isn¡¯t that fair?¡±

    Spurt!

    Li Qingshan could not help but burst out laughing. This female attendant sure was interesting. On top of that, when he thought of how mighty the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance and the nine-coloured deer were, he probably had no right to pity these daemonic beasts as someone who was beneath both a deer and a turtle.

    Even as people, they could not avoid being ¡°ridden¡± if they lived in this world, and they would be ridden for nothing. They would be willing to risk their lives for you over some cheap change. Compared to that, they were better off being mounts and living happily.

    It made him think of how that bastard Si Long wanted him to serve as his mount back then. That had truly left him fuming, but in hindsight, it was not completely an insult. Instead, it was kind of like increasing his status. However, he had no interest in standing above all others, only second in command to someone else. However, if it was Ruan Yaozhu instead¡­ cough cough!

    ¡°Oh, sorry. I understand now. However, please still convert it into bookmarks. I already have a mount.¡±

    The female attendant was flattered. She never expected him to apologise to her, which made her blush. She asked shyly, ¡°Senior brother, what¡¯s your mount? Our Spiritual Beast garden can also provide you with various carefully-prepared feed. It¡¯s not particularly expensive. There are set meals here. Feeding your mount is quite an area of intrigue. If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand, I can help you take a look.¡±

    The primary business of the Spirit Beast garden was not selling spiritual beasts, but to provide various kinds of service. They were not afraid that Li Qingshan would not buy a mount. They were only afraid he would not have one.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a phoenix.¡±

    Li Qingshan brought up Li Fengyuan again to brush aside the question. It made him wonder when he should bring him up to the Human realm to show off a little. He did not allow others to ascend because he did not trust them. As the weakest of the fourth heavenly kings, the Meat-stewing Heavenly King, he was obviously not among them.

    Li Fengyuan was close to the fourth heavenly tribulation too, so he would definitely serve as a great assistance. Making him pretend to be his mount was a good idea too. He would not bother to ride him. Even if he rode him every now and then, it was perfectly justifiable for a son to carry his father on his back.

    ¡°P- phoenix!?¡± The female cultivator was stunned. If three-legged golden toads were only skilled in prolonging life, then phoenix could undergo Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. They possessed eternal life and were undying. The help they could provide to cultivators was far too great, not to mention the other benefits. However, phoenixs were reserved and proud in nature, so how could one serve as his mount? ¡°Senior brother, you¡¯re not joking, are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m not! Is there anything here for feeding phoenixes? Actually, forget about that. He likes to drink alcohol and eat meat.¡±

    ¡°Drink alcohol and eat meat!¡± The female cultivator had already become certain that Li Qingshan was boasting, but she could not expose him either, so she smiled. ¡°Please do bring him to our Spiritual Beast garden for a show in the future. I¡¯ve seen senior brother Lin Xuan¡¯s golden-eyed black dragon once before, but I haven¡¯t seen a phoenix before!¡±

    Sigh, this senior brother is so polite and friendly. It¡¯s just a pity that he likes to boast.

    ¡°No problem, no problem.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. The sense of uneasiness he had suppressed suddenly cleared up.

    Golden-eyed black dragon!

 Chapter 1388

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1388 ¨C Heavenly Tribulation

    ¡°Si Long! Si Long! Get out here!¡±

    With the dragon cries, a cloud descended from above, enveloping the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling. Dragon scales surged through there as claws and horns faded in and out. Abruptly, a huge dragon head poked out.

    Suddenly, Xiao An opened her eyes. They were clear and empty, without the slightest ripple. She looked towards R¨¡hu Xiaoming and Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying sighed. ¡°Sure enough, we are simply unable to avoid trouble. Qingshan has just taken the Heaven Climbing Vine away, so we really are unfortunate. Surely something hasn¡¯t gone wrong on his end¡­¡±

    Xiao An said impassively, ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°There have never been any tribulations of fate that you can get by with running away. Regardless of whether anything has gone wrong on his end, this is our problem now.¡± He shut his eyes and sensed around. ¡°A fifth heavenly tribulation true dragon. It¡¯ll be quite the opponent.¡±

    Gu Yanying stood up. ¡°Let me go and test him out.¡±

    The arrival of the true dragon was like a mountain crushing down over them. It had left them without a path of retreat, where they hung on by a thread, yet the three of them did not even panic, much less feel fear or worry.

    The golden-eyed black dragon roared furiously, ¡°If you still don¡¯t come out, I¡¯ll destroy your dwelling immediately.¡±

    Rumble! Lightning weaved through the clouds, flashing without extinguishing.

    ¡°Please calm down, senior.¡± Gu Yanying emerged from the dwelling and arrived at the top of the mountain. She bowed calmly first and asked, ¡°May I ask why you are looking for my sovereign?¡±

    ¡°Who are you?¡± The golden-eyed black dragon lowered his head and stared at Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying replied in a way that was neither particularly humble nor prideful. ¡°I am my sovereign Si Long¡¯s subject. I have been sent here to watch over the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling.¡±

    The golden-eyed black dragon thought, Since she¡¯s not a disciple of the Myriad sect, she must have come up from below. In other words, the Heaven Climbing Vine has already made a connection successfully. It made him relax slightly. Originally, he could clearly sense everything that happened to Lin Xuan, including his safety, but ever since he reincarnated, even the life lamp he left in the sect had been extinguished. All connections had been severed, preventing him from sensing anything more.

    ¡°Where is Si Long?¡±

    Gu Yanying hesitated. ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s still in the nine provinces?¡±

    Gu Yanying was still uncertain about the golden-eyed black dragon¡¯s identity, but since he was familiar with Si Long and he had not directly attacked the dwelling, it was obviously possible to talk with him. ¡°Since senior knows already, then I¡¯ll be frank. My sovereign is indeed still in the nine provinces.¡±

    ¡°When does he return?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, sigh!¡± Gu Yanying appeared worried and let out a sigh.

    ¡°What are you sighing for?¡±

    ¡°The nine provinces have been riddled with misfortune. First, we were invaded by the Demon¡¯s domain before being attacked by the Hungry Ghost realm. I wonder how it is doing now.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± the golden-eyed black dragon roared furiously. Thousands of bolts of lightning flashed, like the world was about to collapse.

    Even with the formation between them, Gu Yanying felt frightened. She folded her arms and bowed deeply. ¡°Every single word I have uttered is the truth. I would never try to deceive you, senior. Please verify what I have said!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re quite bold. Go and find Si Long right now. Make him come and see me immediately.¡±

    The golden-eyed black dragon had only made a feint, but she remained surprisingly composed, which made him feel a little embarrassed. He also felt a hint of worry. Were the composure and quality of character of all cultivators from the World of the Nine Provinces this impressive? That would be far too shocking. There was something abnormal about this.

    Gu Yanying said with difficulty, ¡°But my sovereign has told me to watch the dwelling and cultivate in the meantime¡­¡±

    ¡°No buts. I¡¯ll give you three days. If he doesn¡¯t return in three days, I¡¯ll force my way into the dwelling and kill all of you!¡±

    The golden-eyed black dragon radiated with murderousness. It was not a lie. If Lin Xuan and Si Long had already met up yet Si Long was afraid to see him, then the issue must have arisen with Si Long. He had to get to the bottom of it.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Gu Yanying returned to the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling. ¡°Prepare for fight or flight!¡±

    ¡°Fighting will lead to certain death, while we can¡¯t get away either. Now this is a familiar feeling.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°During this time, we¡¯ve all been wondering whether there was something wrong with the world. We only have a single choice left.¡±

    The three of them exchanged glances and said at the same time, ¡°Face the tribulation!¡±

    The three of them had all reached the verge of the fourth heavenly tribulation, and they did not have multiple considerations like Li Qingshan. However, because they were in a precarious situation, they refused to make any large commotions, which is why they bid their time. After this period of cultivation, they had already grown accustomed to the laws of the Human realm. They could face the tribulation at any time now.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Together?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Together.¡±

    Once the heavenly tribulation descended upon them, it would definitely alarm the dragon outside. Perhaps he would immediately attack the dwelling, so there was no point in hiding anymore.

    The golden-eyed black dragon was in thought when he suddenly heard the sound of a special thunder. It was very soft, but it was vastly different from the thunder he produced. It contained a hint of the might of the heavens.

    Gazing out, tribulation clouds gathered from all directions, rising up like an ambush from all sides and bearing witness to the vast might of the heavens!

    ¡°Tribulation thunder?¡± The golden-eyed black dragon immediately noticed that something was amiss. Why was she facing the tribulation as soon as he had arrived? She clearly only needed Si Long to come out and explain himself, and that would be enough. Something very unexpected must have happened. He roared furiously, ¡°Ants, how dare you trick me! Originally, getting through this Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling would take some work, but today, I can use the heavenly tribulation to flatten this place!¡±

    Immediately, the colossal dragon danced through the air. The winds and thunder surged, shaking up the world.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan emerged from the Spiritual Beast garden, but he felt a little uneasy. In this world, when it came to who was closest to Lin Xuan, it would definitely be that golden-eyed black dragon. It was impossible for him to rush back to the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling and check what was going on either. He could work hard and serve as the pioneer, but that was all he could do. Fortunately, they were all capable of taking charge.

    Hopefully, they¡¯re fine!

    Li Qingshan picked up the metal gourd and took a few sips. Suddenly, he felt like he was being watched. He turned around, except there was no one around. However, the feeling of being watched did not vanish. Instead, it grew more intense.

    Shen Yushu held his breath, hiding behind a tree. Has he discovered me? Impossible, how did he discover- Why am I hiding? He had followed Li Qingshan into Myriad city the entire way, spying on Li Qingshan while thinking of a way to deal with him. He stopped outside the Spiritual Beast garden.

    If I directly provoke him and if he dares to touch me, then I don¡¯t need to hide. He¡¯ll be attacking someone above him, and he¡¯s bound to be punished. No, it¡¯ll be too embarrassing if news of this makes it out.

    At this very moment, he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s footsteps grow closer, which made him tense up. He felt strangely alarmed.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and opened his eyes, only to see a rabbit crouching quietly on the tree. It had black fur and two long, pointy ears. It stared straight at him, or perhaps more accurately, the metal gourd in his hand, with its fiery-red eyes.

    Rabbits can climb up trees?

    This was supposed to be something worthy of surprise, but after a stroll in the Spiritual Beast garden, he would not be surprised even if a sow ended up on a tree. He stroked his chin and said in thought, ¡°It¡¯s probably escaped from the Spiritual Beast garden! No matter how nice it is as a mount, they still desire freedom at the end of the day!¡±

    The black rabbit actually nodded.

    ¡°Hmm? You can even understand humans? You really have escaped from the Spiritual Beast garden.¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed its gaze and raised the metal gourd in his hand. He asked with a smile, ¡°You want some?¡±

    Rabbits can drink? Of course, after a stroll in the Hundred Beasts garden, this was not particularly surprising to him anymore either.

    With a swish, the black rabbit leapt down the tree with alarming speed, clutching the metal gourd and drinking away.

    Li Qingshan noticed its paws possessed sharp claws. Of course, that was not worthy of surprise either. However, it was quite interesting to watch a rabbit drink alcohol.

    ¡°Tsktsk, you still haven¡¯t had enough? Your little belly is bigger than it looks.¡±

    However, he was unable to smile anymore very soon. When he picked up the metal gourd, he could sense that it was empty.

    Err, a single rabbit can drink so much alcohol. That doesn¡¯t seem particularly surprising either¡­ my ass!

    Li Qingshan grabbed the rabbit by the ears and lifted it up. ¡°You bastard, give me back my alcohol!¡±

    The black rabbit stared at him with its fiery-red eyes. It scratched its belly with its front paws and let out a lazy belch.

    Li Qingshan was furious, raising his fist violently.

    At this moment, the female attendant who had shown him the way exited the Spiritual Beast garden. She wanted to see Li Qingshan off as she found this boasting senior brother to be quite interesting. He had a high cultivation, a good temper, and in particular, he was handsome too¡­ Suddenly, she spotted this and became stunned.

    ¡°Err¡­ I¡¯m just scaring it¡­¡± Li Qingshan said awkwardly.

    An adult man harassing a little rabbit was a little too unbefitting of his status, or in the words of their Spiritual Beast garden, he was without love.

    The female attendant said nothing at all, immediately backing into the Spiritual Beast garden again.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh at the sky. Had it been easy to earn the bookmarks? He had managed to accumulate some books to offer up to the old turtle after quite some difficulty, only for it all to vanish. That was equivalent to everything that he had earned from waiting all this time ending up in the belly of this damned rabbit.

    He said viciously, ¡°You¡¯ve drunk my alcohol, so I¡¯ll never spare you. Tell me, do you prefer being deep-fried or steamed?¡±

    The black rabbit did not seem to understand humans again, grooming its fur like no one else was around.

    The female attendant retreated back to the Spiritual Beast garden and covered her mouth. ¡°I- isn¡¯t that first senior sister¡¯s black-furred hou?¡±

    TL: A hou in this context corresponds to a denglong in Chinese mythology. They are technically a son of the dragon and don¡¯t actually look like rabbits, but this isn¡¯t too important to the story.

    In a certain place within Myriad city, a woman smiled. ¡°Li Qingshan. Sure enough, you¡¯re an interesting guy. No wonder Bamboo cares about you so much, actually making a request with me over a stinky man. Hehe, oh I¡¯ll take good care of him. If there are any problems, I¡¯ll personally eliminate a threat like this.¡±

    TL: The woman refers to Ruan Yaozhu as bamboo. Ruan Yaozhu has several nicknames, if you haven¡¯t noticed. The nine-coloured deer calls her a piece of wood or softwood because the feeling she usually gives off is simple and innocent, like a piece of wood. Her surname, ¡°Ruan¡±, shares the same pronunciation as ¡°soft¡± in Chinese, hence Softwood. At the same time, the last character in her name, ¡°Zhu¡±, means bamboo, which is where her nickname of bamboo comes from.

 Chapter 1389

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1389 ¨C Repairing the Weapon

    Li Qingshan shivered and suddenly gazed in the direction of the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling. He furrowed his brows and thought, Don¡¯t tell me something has actually happened? Surely we¡¯re not this unfortunate!

    He felt an urge to draw back the Heaven Climbing Vine, but he held back in the end. He was still not cruel enough to disregard the lives of millions over this slight sense of danger. Otherwise, it would have been completely impossible for him to practise the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity.

    He was busy with his thoughts and failed to notice the eyes of the black rabbit in his eyes were growing redder and redder. Its almost non-existent aura became even more withdrawn, like a great big swirl. A terrifying eruption would follow once it withdrew to the limit.

    ¡°Heh, my rabbit sure has a terrifying temper, especially after drinking. Looks like I don¡¯t have to do anything.¡±

    In a certain place within Myriad city, blood and fire flashed through the eyes of a certain first senior sister. She whispered, ¡°Oi, rabbit, you better not destroy the city too much, or I¡¯ll have to deduct it from your drinking money!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. What was lost was already lost. There was no point in fuming over a rabbit. That would only make him seem petty.

    ¡°Look at you, you don¡¯t even have any meat on you. You won¡¯t even amount to a bite. Since I invited you to a drink, I can only call that my bad luck. You should go!¡±

    As soon as he tossed the black rabbit on the ground, it leapt back with a swish, crouching rudely on his head. The redness in its eyes faded slightly.

    ¡°Heh, you sure know how to take advantage of things. Get down here!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached out for it. The black rabbit leapt around on his head, making him miss every single time before landing firmly on his head.

    ¡°Hmm? You really are a spiritual beast after all!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He had not gotten serious, but it could actually dodge his hands, which was very impressive in general. He developed some admiration.

    ¡°So be it, so be it. We¡¯ve drunk from the same gourd, so we¡¯re technically drinking buddies. If you stay in Myriad city and get captured by the Spiritual Beast garden again, you¡¯ll end up as a mount for someone. Hmph, what shitty love? Letting the beasts run free without any tethers is what you call great liberty and great joy. Even if you are hunted down and eaten, that¡¯s still a life worth living. Since you want freedom and liberty, then I¡¯ll do my job as a good person all the way and take you away from here!¡±

    When he reached out again, sure enough, it stopped jumping around, letting him grab it. It blinked its red eyes, which had recovered their original hue.

    He placed it in his large, wide sleeve and strode off. Little did he know that he had been in extremely great danger just then. Facing a Daemon Sovereign black-furred heaven-gazing hou was no easier than facing a golden-eyed black dragon.

    The woman refused to accept this. ¡°Hmph, what kind of temper is that? When I touch your ears, you throw a horrible tantrum, yet you¡¯ve been bought over just by being referred to as a drinking buddy?¡± She took out a red gourd that was more than ten times the size of Li Qingshan¡¯s metal gourd and drank away heartily. She exhaled in satisfaction and wiped her mouth. ¡°Though, it does seem a little inappropriate to turn your drinking buddy into a dish!¡±

    Soon after Li Qingshan had left, Shen Yushu slowly emerged from behind the tree. He sneered. ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯re audacious. How dare you steal a spiritual beast from the Spiritual Beast garden. You¡¯ve only just joined the sect, and you¡¯ve revealed your true colours as a thief. Senior sister Ruan has gotta be blind to use someone like you.¡±

    He circulated the Heavenly Tome of Nature, and his aura blended into the surroundings. From afar, he saw Li Qingshan arrive before the Spiritual Treasure workshop. As he vanished inside, he already realised what he was doing. He was claiming the various benefits that came with being a formal disciple.

    He went to the Spiritual Beast garden for a mount first before going to the Spiritual Treasure workshop for an arcane treasure. The Department of Heavenly Dwellings must be next!

    He immediately came up with a plan. Even without taking action personally, he could make Li Qingshan suffer. Coupled with the fact that he had stolen a spiritual beast from the Spiritual Beast garden, he could forget about remaining in the Hundred Herbs garden. Even Ruan Yaozhu would have nothing to say.

    Li Qingshan arrived in the Spiritual Treasure workshop, but it was not just to claim his benefits.

    Like before, he looked through everything first. The Spiritual Treasure workshop was like a museum. Various kinds of arcane treasures and weapons were exhibited in display cases, and the signs beside them offered a simple introduction.

    There were plenty of powerful arcane treasures among them, but the benefits he could claim as a formal disciple were only on the same level or worse than regular arcane treasures from the nine provinces. However, they were free anyway, so it was not like he could be picky. Even with the stronger arcane treasures, he did not really care about that. As a practitioner of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, he never really relied on external objects, so he directly converted them into bookmarks and pocketed them.

    ¡°Can you repair weapons?¡±

    The attendant smiled. ¡°Of course. May I ask what weapon you would like repaired, senior brother?¡±

    Li Qingshan casually drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, and a sharp aura filled the hall, making the attendant¡¯s hairs stand on end. However, he took a step closer as his eyes shone brightly like he had just seen something wonderful.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually an asura armament! Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s a weapon spirit as well?¡±

    The blade was covered in cracks, but that only gave off a violent aura like it had gone through countless battles.

    It immediately drew over everyone¡¯s gazes in the surroundings. Asura armaments did not come with as many functions as human arcane treasures, but they had always been renowned for their toughness and sharpness. Just how intense of a battle had he gone through for it to become so damaged?

    Li Qingshan asked with concern, ¡°Can you repair it?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that is the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End?¡±

    A square-faced male cultivator with flaring ears and a booming voice strode over. The badge on his chest indicated that he was an inner disciple.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°It is. How did you know that, senior brother?¡±

    ¡°I can basically recite all the weapons in the Armoury of War and Chaos of the Asura realm backwards. I knew the answer already, but I still had to ask. Is it for sale?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not for sale.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head.

    ¡°Sure enough. Kid, you¡¯re just a Soul Nascence cultivator, yet you can actually obtain the recognition of an asura armament spirit. That¡¯s not an easy feat. With how damaged it is, we¡¯ll definitely need an Asura Altar of Armaments to repair it. It won¡¯t be cheap.¡±

    ¡°How many bookmarks?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make it a round number. Eight Green Jade bookmarks.¡±

    Li Qingshan said without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯ll repair it!¡±

    Sure enough, the Asura Altar of Armaments were wondrous. Li Qingshan only waited for half a day before receiving a brand-new Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    The blade thrummed. The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said, ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve finally entered the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. You didn¡¯t actually go to the Asura realm. How disappointing of you!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll definitely go in the future!¡±

    ¡°Talk is just talk. You better just stick to your word! Also¡­ thanks.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±

    A certain first senior sister smiled. ¡°Interesting. He¡¯s been recognised by an asura armament spirit. No wonder Shen Yushu isn¡¯t his opponent. With just that blade in hand, he can probably challenge most inner disciples!¡±

    She touched her waist. A similar huge, blood-red blade hung there. She was extremely certain that anyone who could earn the recognition of an asura armament spirit could never be useless.

    ¡°Then why does he remain in the Hundred Herbs garden? With such a powerful weapon, isn¡¯t it better for him to go out, adventure around, and fight? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s actually after my Bamboo? Alright then, for the sake of the asura armament spirit, that¡¯s another reason why I shouldn¡¯t eliminate you. I just need another nine hundred and ninety eight more!¡±

    At the same time, the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling had already transformed into a sea of lightning. The violet tribulation lightning illuminated the surroundings.

 Chapter 1390

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1390 ¨C The Peng Flies

    A black dragon tossed and turned within the sea of lightning, draped in electricity. He was so blinding that it was impossible to stare at him directly.

    How can the fourth heavenly tribulation possess such power?

    The golden-eyed black dragon felt startled. Under his efforts, the tribulation lightning became even more violent and turbulent. From time to time, a bolt or two would strike against his scales, and it actually caused a bit of pain. As a result, he gradually retreated from the centre of the lightning.

    Hmph, ignorant lowly being, actually undergoing the heavenly tribulation right in front of me. They¡¯re asking to die. It¡¯s just a pity that they¡¯ll definitely be reduced to ash in the tribulation lightning. I won¡¯t be able to learn exactly what happened down there.

    Xiao An draped the Trisepultural Robes over herself, which fluttered violently in the lightning, gradually becoming tattered. She brought her palms together and flicked through the Skull Prayer Beads, chanting away. Her skin and flesh were ripped away by the lightning, revealing pale-white bones.

    Gu Yanying unfurled her wings and wrapped them around herself, like a bird in winter, silently enduring the harsh cold.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming remained the most composed, holding his chest up high and allowing the lightning to strike him. With his undying body as an asura and the bloodline of the R¨¡hu clan, he faced the surging lightning with his head held high, laughing. ¡°How satisfying!¡±

    None of them were regular Daemon Kings or Soul Nascence cultivators. Their cultivations were so consolidated and they were so powerful that they did not fear the lightning strikes at all.

    Suddenly, a sword of lightning condensed in the air, slashing towards the weakest of the three, Gu Yanying, with a chain of electricity.

    Gu Yanying shivered inside. She could sense that the power behind the sword of lightning surpassed a thousand bolts of tribulation lightning, but she had never heard of something like this when facing the fourth heavenly tribulation. Sure enough, facing the heavenly tribulation with these two monsters was particularly entertaining.

    Heavenly tribulations were paramount laws. After being locked onto by the will of the heavens, it was impossible to dodge. All she could do was prepare to take it on forcefully.

    There was a white flash. Xiao An appeared in front of her, gripping the Buddha Slaying sword firmly with her bony hands and receiving the sword of lightning.

    Boom!

    The sword of lightning was knocked back, and the Trisepultural Robes were almost reduced to ash. Xiao An took a step back and dropped down on one knee. The Buddha Slaying sword was covered in cracks as her bones trembled away. Even the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone in her eye sockets had dimmed drastically.

    ¡°Why?¡± Gu Yanying was surprised. She never expected Xiao An to block the strike for her.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Conserve your strength.¡±

    Gu Yanying nodded sternly. They were not just facing the lightning tribulation, but the leering true dragon outside too. When they had emerged from the heavenly tribulation, they would make a big advance with their cultivations, but that would also be when they were most feeble. They definitely could not become entangled with the dragon.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming became slightly sterner too. ¡°Armaments of tribulation lightning! That¡¯s quite a lot of respect for us!¡±

    Armaments of tribulation lightning often only appeared during the sixth heavenly tribulation, specially to stop mortals from becoming immortals. They condensed a single armament from thousands of bolts of tribulation lightning to cut down all that defied the heavens. They were only facing the fourth heavenly tribulation right now, yet it actually appeared. Even if it was only one, it was far too terrifying.

    After Xiao An blocked it, the sword of lightning only dimmed slightly. It returned to the surging sea of lightning and immediately recovered its original resplendence, even glowing brighter than before.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Leave it to me!¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°You conserve your strength too.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming immediately understood her intentions. He smiled. ¡°You truly are a successor of white bone, to be able to remain so calm at a time like this. You¡¯re basically completely immune to emotions! Though, can you stop it?¡±

    ¡°If I can¡¯t stop it, then I die.¡±

    The Soul Stirring Bell rang out urgently. The sound waves seemed to materialise, dispersing the whistling lightning. She raised her sword and received the sword of tribulation lightning again.

    Boom!

    Thousands of bolts of lightning shot out from the mountain, reflecting in a pair of golden eyes. A smear of surprise flashed past.

    Can she actually survive the heavenly tribulation? But that would be for the best. It¡¯ll be perfect for capturing her and interrogating her. If I had known earlier, I shouldn¡¯t have intensified the heavenly tribulation. Sigh, I¡¯ve slept for far too long this time. I haven¡¯t woken up completely. My head is still a little sluggish.

    Lightning shot out again and again as thunder rumbled.

    Before they knew it, the lightning gradually dimmed; the thunder gradually became muffled, but it persisted.

    I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually survive it!

    The golden-eyed black dragon glided over, gazing at the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling below.

    ¡°Now!¡±

    Suddenly, a strange bird¡¯s cry rose up from the mountain, like a hawk¡¯s cry, yet also like a phoenix¡¯s cry. It filled the air and echoed through the clouds.

    The great peng spread its dark-azure wings like clouds that draped down from the sky. With a great flap, she took off!

    Kunpeng!

    The golden-eyed black dragon was startled. If true dragons were to possess a natural predator, then that would be kunpengs.

    When kuns wandered the ocean, they fed off dragons. Once they transformed into pengs, they would capture them like how hawks captured snakes. Once they caught the attention of a kunpeng, then it would almost be certain death. As a result, the Dragon clan had an unwritten rule. Whenever they encountered any young kunpengs, they would always hunt it down and kill it.

    However, it was exactly this rule that brought the Dragon clan a terrifying nightmare.

    A certain kunpeng reached the apex of daemons, becoming a Great Sage. He was known as ¡°Heaven-stirring¡±. He specially wandered through the oceans and hunted down true dragons, continuing until all of them dove deep into the trenches. Not a single one dared to wander the oceans and soar in the skies anymore. Only then did he stop. He left behind a message. ¡°For each kunpeng slain by dragons, I will kill five hundred.¡±

    Even the Dragon clan that was very good at reproducing, possessing a great number of members, sustained tremendous losses. He had never seen it with his own eyes, but it was rumoured that the Heaven-stirring Great Sage¡¯s feathers were that dark-azure colour.

    He could not help but hesitate at this sight, but he soon remembered that the Heaven-stirring Great Sage¡¯s days of savagery were past him. She might have been his successor, so that was even less reason to spare her.

    ¡°You want to leave!?¡±

    With a great bellow, the dragon shot through the air, charging straight after the kunpeng.

    Xiao An sat on the back of the kunpeng. The Trisepultural Robes were in tatters, revealing her similarly-damaged white bones. However, the white bones flowed with an unprecedented lustre. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone in her eye sockets were feeble, but they became even more consolidated than before. A huge dragon¡¯s head filled her eyes.

    ¡°My turn.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming took a step forward and stared at the golden-eyed black dragon with his blood-red eyes.

    If the kunpeng wanted to fly higher, there had to be someone to provide cover and stop the golden-eyed black dragon. Otherwise, she would run out of energy before long.

    He was the best choice for this, which was why Xiao An had made him conserve his strength. Even though this was the best decision, it was a cruel and heartless one too. This was almost certain death. Even as a son of an asura god, he stood absolutely no chance at victory when he faced a Daemon Sovereign true dragon in his current state.

    He had no complaints about this. She had almost been smashed to pieces in order to stop the sword of tribulation lightning. What truly made him feel discontent was hiding behind a woman. Now that it was finally time for him to take action, he could not help but become quite eager. As for the consequences, that needed no further consideration. It was just like what she had said, ¡°If I can¡¯t stop it, I die.¡±

    It was just that simple.

    ¡°If I die, get him to butcher this damned worm for me.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming leapt into the fierce winds, throwing himself at the golden-eyed black dragon.

    ¡°Lowly being, you¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    The golden-eyed black dragon unleashed his dragon breath. The coldness was bone-chilling, freezing up the air. R¨¡hu Xiaoming was frozen stiff mid-air. In the golden-eyed black dragon¡¯s eyes, he was already a dead man, so he did not even spare a second glance at him, directly running into him.

    ¡°Who did you say¡­ is a lowly being!?¡±

    The surroundings darkened as R¨¡hu Xiaoming jolted free from the ice. A terrifying, black giant appeared in the endless darkness, punching the dragon¡¯s head.

    The golden-eyed black dragon was taken off-guard and he lost his momentum, rolling a few times in the air before stopping. He stared at R¨¡hu Xiaoming in disbelief.

 Chapter 1391

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1391 ¨C Mere Scoundrel

    The Department of Heavenly Dwellings was a grand place with towering buildings, but it was not a blessed land of cultivation.

    Climbing up the steps, Li Qingshan stated his name and intentions. The attendant in black glanced at him, and his smile eased up slightly, bringing him in front of a room. ¡°Senior brother Wang is currently busy, so please wait here for a moment!¡±

    That wait lasted for most of the day. Only he stood in the empty corridor. It did not seem busy at all. Instead, it was very quiet.

    However, he was in no rush either. He tidied through his thoughts regarding cultivation before taking out the black rabbit from his sleeve to play around with it. Unfortunately, it was not particularly cooperative. When he agitated it, it even bit his hand viciously.

    Rip! Li Qingshan gasped. His hand was covered in blood with a bone-deep wound, which left him surprised.

    Exactly how powerful his physique was went without saying. He was endowed with a powerful innate ability like the Ox Demon Forges its Hide too, so he finally noticed that maybe something was off. Just what breed was this rabbit?

    Right when he was about to take a proper look, a man¡¯s cold voice rang out from behind the door, ¡°Is anyone still there?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Li Qingshan could not bother with bickering with a rabbit. He would be releasing it once he left the city anyway, so who cared what breed it was.

    ¡°Come in.¡±

    Li Qingshan entered through the door. The arrangements of the large room were quite tasteful. A calligraphy that read ¡°An Absolute Difficulty¡± hung on the wall.

    A slightly-chubby man with a round face sat in front of a tea table, sipping on some tea. He glanced over. ¡°Are you Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°I am.¡±

    Li Qingshan was displeased. How¡¯s this damned fatty busy? Even if the concept of time to cultivators is different from regular people, wasn¡¯t that just too long. The quality of service from the Department of Heavenly Dwellings comes nowhere close to the Spiritual Beast garden and the Spiritual Treasure workshop. No wonder the senior brother who received me back then told me to save my bookmarks for bribing the people here.

    ¡°Have some respect. I¡¯m your senior brother!¡± Senior brother Wang¡¯s face sank.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. This damned fatty was just like him, a formal disciple, so what was he being arrogant for?

    However, when he thought of Xiao An and the others in the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling, he remembered he was in desperate need of a dwelling right now, so he decided to let this slide. ¡°Senior brother Wang, I¡¯ve come to collect my dwelling¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait a moment! Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m busy?¡±

    He was interrupted by this fair, plump man before he could even finish, who took another slow sip of his tea.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. He was clearly making things difficult intentionally, but he had not offended him before! Even if it was for the sake of a bribery, there was no need for him to be so obnoxious!

    ¡°Ah, I see. You¡¯re busy eating shit.¡±

    The tea sprayed out of senior brother Wang¡¯s mouth. He flew into a rage. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll make you eat shit!¡± Li Qingshan lamented over his bad luck and turned around to leave. He wondered whether there were any systems for filing complaints in Myriad city.

    ¡°How dare you openly insult a senior brother! I¡¯ll teach you a lesson today!¡±

    Senior brother Wang sneered. Everything was going according to plan.

    Just recently, Shen Yushu visited him and came up with a plan to have him make things difficult for Li Qingshan. As long as he was infuriated and an intense conflict occurred between the two of them, they could get an officer from the Department of Law and Punishment involved.

    This place belonged to the Department of Heavenly Dwellings. As an inner disciple and the head caretaker of the Hundred Herbs garden, Shen Yushu had an extremely vast network. As long as Li Qingshan entered the Department of Law and Punishment, there would be plenty of ways to deal with him.

    Senior brother Wang slapped towards Li Qingshan viciously. He felt extremely delighted inside. Shen Yushu had promised him a ten-thousand-year-old lingzhi ganoderma once he completed the task.

    Hmph, a new formal disciple that¡¯s actually bold enough to offend an inner disciple? You have no idea what you¡¯re doing. Even if there was nothing in return, I¡¯d still teach you the rules of respecting your seniors. There¡¯ll be plenty of fun awaiting you once you get to the Department of Law and Punishment.

    Li Qingshan became even more certain about his guess. He even had an inkling about who was behind all of this. He only had a total of two enemies in the Myriad sect, Le Tian and Shen Yushu. Right now, his gamble with Le Tian had only just begun, so there was no reason for him to pull anything under-handed, so it must have been that mere scoundrel Shen Yushu.

    Without even looking back, he casually grabbed the fair, chubby incoming hand. With a twist of his body, he pressed down on his head gently.

    Clatter! Before senior brother Wang could even respond, his head had been pressed against the tea table, disturbing the tea set and splashing his head with tea. He was alarmed. How was this possible? They were clearly both Soul Nascence cultivators, so why were they so different?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Tell me, who told you to mess with me?¡±

    Senior brother Wang said, ¡°Li Qingshan, how dare you disrespect and lay your hands on your senior brother!! I will take you to the Department of Law and Punishment!¡±

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°So that¡¯s what you had in mind. Let me ask you again. Who is it?¡±

    Unable to break free, senior brother Wang cursed aloud, wanting to alarm the people outside.

    Li Qingshan had been ill at ease the entire time. Right now, he was furious enough to do anything, so he sneered again and said, ¡°You¡¯re not telling me, are you? Senior brother Wang, please have some tea and calm down!¡±

    He grabbed a cup and shoved it into his mouth, followed by a second, a third¡­ Once he was done with all the tea cups, he moved onto the various utensils, such as the small cups and the wooden tongs. In the end, only a small tea cup remained on the table, which was also crushed and shoved in forcefully.

    The black rabbit had leapt out of his sleeve before he knew it. Its ruby-like eyes watched this unfold, glistening with bright, red light.

    A certain first senior sister smiled. ¡°Heh, how satisfying, but just which part of such a violent guy like him caught the eye of Yaozhu?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Senior brother Wang, have you finished with your business now? It¡¯s time for you to say who. If you still don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll invite you to have a taste of every single object in this room.¡±

    Senior brother Wang bled from the mouth as he glared at Li Qingshan with bloodshot eyes. He slurred, ¡°Li Qingshan, if you think you¡¯re so capable, why don¡¯t you kill me? I will definitely butcher you!¡±

    ¡°Alright, you have some backbone. I admire that!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and brought his head over to the calligraphy. ¡°Oh, an absolute difficulty. Did you write this? Nice calligraphy. It must taste quite nice too.¡± He licked his lips. ¡°You look quite tasty too. You¡¯re a little fatty, but you¡¯ll go well with some alcohol.¡±

    A while later, the attendant in black who brought Li Qingshan here arrived outside in a hurry. He knocked on the door a few times and called for senior brother Wang, but he heard no reply, only a strange ¡°mmph, mmph¡± sound. Making up his mind, he entered through the door and what he saw left him astounded.

    Li Qingshan grabbed senior brother Wang¡¯s neck in one hand and the calligraphy scroll in the other, trying to force down the random assortment of objects into his mouth.

    Senior brother Wang¡¯s face was strewn with tears and filled with fear. He communicated with his soul sense, ¡°Save me¡­ Go get help!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced over, and the attendant in black staggered backwards before falling on his bottom. He trembled as he said, ¡°S- senior brother Li, senior brother Pi has asked me to fetch you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Senior brother Pi¡­ Pi Yangqiu?¡±

    ¡°Y- yes.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over right now.¡± Having vented his feelings, Li Qingshan felt much better. He took the black rabbit with him and left senior brother Wang where he was.

    The attendant in black glanced at Li Qingshan fearfully. ¡°Senior brother Wang, erm¡­ senior brother Pi wants you to piss off from the Department of Heavenly Dwellings so that you stop making a fool of yourself here.¡±

    Senior brother Wang gasped for air on the ground. When he heard that, his face changed drastically. The vicious lesson that Li Qingshan had taught him only caused some flesh wounds. He seemed miserable, but he could recover from it very quickly. Being expelled from the Department of Heavenly Dwellings was truly what hurt.

    ¡°Shen Yushu, you¡¯ve screwed me over good!¡±

 Chapter 1392

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1392 ¨C Horrible News

    The top of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings was littered with pavilions, small bridges, and streams. It was like a great big garden.

    Pi Yangqiu sat among the lush vegetation and overlooked Myriad city leisurely.

    Li Qingshan went up to greet him. Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Junior brother Li, it¡¯s been a while.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised before clasping his hands. ¡°I got carried away in the moment, so I¡¯ve gone a little too far. Please forgive me, senior brother.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu waved his hand. ¡°How can a proper man suffer at the hands of a mere scoundrel? If these guys just ask for bribes usually, then so be it, but they¡¯re actually learning how to secretly work for others now. They¡¯re really going too far.¡±

    Li Qingshan and Pi Yangqiu had only seen each other once, so Li Qingshan never expected him to be so reasonable. He thought, Sure enough, the boss is always easy to deal with, while the subordinates are difficult.

    ¡°How is it? Is staying in the Hundred Herbs garden comfortable?¡±

    ¡°Senior sister Ruan has been very nice to me.¡±

    ¡°Of course. If she¡¯s not, then you wouldn¡¯t be in this kind of trouble.¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. ¡°So it is Shen Yushu!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just a mere scoundrel. He¡¯s not worth mentioning. There¡¯s probably still some trouble ahead of you. Do you need any of my help?¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Senior brother, why are you showing so much care for me?¡±

    ¡°Do you know how many formal and inner disciples there are among the Myriad sect?¡±

    ¡°A lot, probably around a few thousand!¡±

    ¡°Among them, you are the one with the greatest chance to become a direct disciple. Speaking of which¡­¡± Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t want a trifle like this to affect you and leave Le Tian feeling a little too complacent!¡±

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°Fair enough.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was slightly surprised. ¡°Hah. Kid, you aren¡¯t humble at all!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Since that¡¯s the truth, why act like it¡¯s not? I trust your judgement, senior brother. However, Shen Yushu is a member of the Hundred Herbs garden after all, so I don¡¯t need to bother you for now, senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Alright, fair enough.¡± Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°My judgement is obviously not too bad. Le Tian wouldn¡¯t casually give a thousand Green Jade bookmarks to any person either. You¡¯ve already seen the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance and chosen a heavenly tome, right?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve already begun practising it. It¡¯s called the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, so it really is that heavenly tome.¡± Pi Yangqiu brought his hands together and sighed. ¡°The lord of the m¨¡ra Mahe?vara¡¯s path is it?¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m very curious about why the spirit reverend summoned you.¡±

    ¡°That¡­ can I not answer that?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Yeah, that works too. I will choose a good dwelling for you, or perhaps¡­ a very bad one.¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    ¡°Hah, I¡¯m just kidding, but I¡¯m just too curious. You¡¯ve basically left me racking my brains. The spirit reverend has always submerged himself in books. He dislikes secular affairs. Even for direct disciples like me, we¡¯re rarely summoned by him. Some of us have never even been summoned by him before. You¡¯ve only just joined the sect, and your cultivation isn¡¯t particularly high either, so just which part of you is worthy of notice?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu circled around Li Qingshan as if he was trying to peer into his heart. He and the other direct disciples found him worthy of notice because of his performance in Magnetic Field mountain, as well as his chances to become a direct disciple. However, that alone was not enough for him to be summoned by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Even if he became a direct disciple, the spirit reverend might not necessarily want to see him.

    Li Qingshan thought, This senior brother Pi is probably on good graces with me because of this!

    He thought about it and said, ¡°I can tell you, but the dwelling¡­¡±

    Pi Yangqiu patted his chest. ¡°Leave it to me!¡±

    The black rabbit in his sleeve, as well as a certain first senior sister, both pricked up with their ears. With the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s status in the Myriad sect, even if he was a shut-in to the bones, everything he did was enough to raise the attention of direct disciples.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°The spirit reverend wanted me to leave the Myriad sect.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was stunned. The black rabbit blinked its eyes, while the certain first senior sister took a gulp of alcohol slowly. She was extremely curious.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Not too sure. I think he feels like I am a threat to the Myriad sect!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu gulped. ¡°A threat?¡±

    He basically suspected Li Qingshan was lying, except even lies would not be so preposterous. It was exactly because it was far too absurd that it was somewhat believable. However, just how great of an entity was the Myriad sect? How could it be threatened by a mere Soul Nascence cultivator? However, he did not dare to question the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s judgement either.

    Throughout the entire Myriad sect, apart from the mysterious Elder of Heavenly Tomes, no one could match him when it came to divination and calculations.

    ¡°Then how did you stay?¡±

    ¡°Since I¡¯m a threat, of course, you have to keep me under your watch to feel a little safer!¡±

    Li Qingshan was a little ambiguous. After all, the true details of their conversation that day was simply too shocking. If it were not for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s absolute rationality, it basically sounded like a threat¡ªIf you don¡¯t let me stay, I¡¯ll definitely come back for revenge in the future!

    Pi Yangqiu could tell he had blurred some details, so he gazed at Li Qingshan with deep meaning. Whether he had been viewed as a threat by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance or he had managed to persuade the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance into changing his mind, both were unbelievable.

    What exactly were his origins and what kind of a future lay ahead of him?

    ¡°I understand. I know how to choose now.¡±

    ¡°Choose what?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Which side to bet on, of course! Your gamble with Le Tian had already spread among the direct disciples. Le Tian has set up a new gamble and pulled a lot of people into it. I¡¯m one of them.¡± He patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder seriously. ¡°That¡¯s going to be a big wager. Don¡¯t disappoint me!¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. He cursed Le Tian inside. ¡°So I¡¯m still the dark horse!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°Since I¡¯m gambling on you, that means I believe you¡¯ll become a direct disciple and stand beside me, so how have I treated you as just a dark horse? Even dark horses are better than inferior horses that no one cares about or wild dogs on the streets. And don¡¯t worry, I will help you.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Like choosing a very fine dwelling within the range permitted by the rules of the Myriad sect, like the risks and opportunities in the Heavenly Tome of Liberty that you currently practise¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What risks? What opportunities?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the first one to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so the risks go without saying. However, if you manage to pave a risky path and record your experiences and the lessons you¡¯ve learnt from cultivation before offering them up to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, you¡¯ll earn quite a lot of contribution and bookmarks. That is where the opportunity lies.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your advice, senior brother.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. To the Myriad sect and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, he was the ¡°first experiment¡± for a heavenly tome. He possessed very high experimental value, and they might even be able to complete the Heavenly Tome of Liberty through his experiences. Future cultivators could learn from him, and they might even specially pay a sum of bookmarks to buy studying resources!

    As it seemed, being treated as a dark horse did not come without benefits. However, the issue was¡­

    ¡°Senior brother, are there a lot of people wagering that I¡¯d lose?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Pi Yangqiu smiled.

    If he had not personally obtained direct information regarding the bet, he would be crazy to bet on him. Even after witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s performance in Magnetic Field mountain, he needed repeated confirmation before he was bold enough to place this bet.

    Then Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Then¡­ will they target me like Shen Yushu?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said seriously, ¡°Junior brother Li, what kind of people do you think we direct disciples are?¡±

    The moment Li Qingshan relaxed, he heard him continue, ¡°If even any casual direct disciple decides to work against you, not even seriously, even a hundred Shen Yushus come nowhere close, let alone an entire group of direct disciples.¡±

    Li Qingshan felt pained.

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to be afraid. I will protect you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I¡¯m just afraid you¡¯ll be outnumbered, senior brother.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulders enthusiastically. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They all think you¡¯re going to lose right now, so they won¡¯t be in such a hurry to take action. We¡¯ll take them by surprise!¡±

    Li Qingshan was even more speechless now. Depending on the enemy to be careless had never been particularly reliable in the first place.

    ¡°Senior brother, something¡¯s happened!¡±

    At this moment, an inner disciple rushed in. He glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise before bowing towards Pi Yangqiu.

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Senior Ao Xuan has attacked the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed as his eyes suddenly narrowed. Had the worst really happened?

    Pi Yangqiu glanced past Li Qingshan¡¯s face, but he was not surprised. ¡°Sure enough, that damned dragon has run out of patience. Hehe, our first senior brother Lin is not returning anymore. His Xuanming dwelling will be returned to the Myriad sect now!¡±

    ¡°Did senior brother Lin fail?¡±

    ¡°If reincarnating and cultivating again from scratch was that easy, the world would be filled with immortals. The intangible will of the heavens has numerous trials and tribulations to shatter a foolish thought like that.¡± Pi Yangqiu seemed to show disdain and lament at the same time.

    Li Qingshan had already calmed down, even calmer than usual. He asked, ¡°Senior brother Pi, if you reclaim the Xuanming dwelling, can I buy it?¡±

 Chapter 1393

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1393 ¨C Dwelling

    ¡°You want to purchase the Xuanming dwelling?¡± Pi Yangqiu raised his eyebrows and studied Li Qingshan with quite a bit of interest.

    ¡°It sounds like a very good dwelling.¡± Li Qingshan smiled as well.

    Pi Yangqiu said with a slight smile, ¡°Yeah. How could the first senior brother¡¯s dwelling be bad? Not only is it rich with spiritual qi and beautiful in scenery, but it even comes with everything that the first senior brother has accumulated throughout his life and a true dragon for a mount.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then it probably costs a lot of bookmarks!¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. Not only is this dwelling beautiful, but it¡¯s even cheap too.¡±

    ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu¡¯s smile vanished. ¡°Would you like to go dragon-slaying?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged and gave no reply.

    The Xuanming dwelling was basically like a giant dragon¡¯s den from those knight stories, but his objective was neither the princess nor the treasure.

    He thought, If you even touch a hair on them, I¡¯ll definitely butcher you!

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°What a junior filled with youthful vigour. You make me feel that time is tight and I need to hurry up and cultivate. Let¡¯s cut to the chase. Here are some suitable dwellings. Take a pick!¡±

    ¡°Please convert it into bookmarks for me first, senior brother!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it. If anything unexpected happened, he definitely had to obtain the right to go dragon-slaying.

    Pi Yangqiu said in surprise, ¡°What, you¡¯re actually thinking of buying the Xuanming dwelling? It may be cheap, but it¡¯s not something you can afford right now.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it and had a stroke of inspiration. ¡°I can pay in instalments.¡±

    ¡°Instal¡­ments?¡± Pi Yangqiu furrowed his brows and immediately understood the meaning of that. He looked at Li Qingshan in a rather strange way.

    ¡°Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me the Department of Heavenly Dwellings doesn¡¯t offer this? I can pay a deposit and then pay off my debt either monthly or yearly, over fifty years for example! If I can pay it, then not only will the Department of Heavenly Dwellings sell the dwelling, but you¡¯ll even earn some interest as well. If I can¡¯t pay it, then you can take back the dwelling. It¡¯s not like the dwelling can grow legs and run away. It¡¯s a guaranteed profit.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu stroked his chin in thought. ¡°That¡¯s a very interesting idea. It reminds me of Le Tian¡­ Did you think of this?¡±

    To him, Li Qingshan still seemed like he belonged to the group of fighters who advanced valiantly, no different from the fake first senior sister and first senior brother right now. Although advancing head-first made it easy for them to stumble and break, they could tear through everything before they encountered an obstacle that actually made them stumble and break. He really did not seem like the kind of person to come up with an idea like this.

    Li Qingshan continued, ¡°If you manage to popularise it, a lot of cultivators will be able to buy dwellings, and they¡¯ll sell faster. The price will increase as well. You can turn them all into mortgage slaves, no, dwelling slaves! By then, who would still be bold enough to defy the Department of Heavenly Dwellings?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Dwelling slave? That sounds horrible! But I like what you said at the end. If it¡¯s just you, the Department of Heavenly Dwellings can cover that, but if you want to offer it to the entire Myriad sect, you¡¯ll need a tremendous amount of bookmarks as a foundation. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t possess the right of property for the Myriad sect. I¡¯d need that guy, Le Tian¡¯s, cooperation. Why don¡¯t we pay a visit to him together?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, No wonder Le Tian could lend a thousand Green Jade bookmarks on a whim and set up a gamble of thirty years. However, it did also make him say, ¡°The Myriad sect has actually handed their right of property to a gambler. That¡¯s a little¡­¡±

    ¡°Too crazy, right? A lot of direct disciples think that too, but this is the conclusion that the spirit reverend reached personally. It¡¯s probably because bookmarks are merely a representation of resources to us, while resources are just tools for cultivation. Only Le Tian would be so interested in gathering bookmarks.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately found that to be extremely reasonable, as the notion of greed and avarice commonplace among regular people had instead become extremely rare among cultivators of their realm. It was enough as long as the resources they received were enough for cultivation. If Le Tian were not such a gambler, he probably would not be interested in such a thing either.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not like you pure and noble direct disciples. The more resources there are, the better it is for me. The Xuanming dwelling is a fantastic opportunity.¡±

    ¡°But senior brother Pi, I¡¯m not friends with Le Tian.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu remarked with intrigue, ¡°You¡¯re the only formal disciple who can say that so calmly. But don¡¯t worry. He respects fellow gamblers even more than friends. If it¡¯s you, he¡¯ll definitely cover this sum of bookmarks.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Do you know what he likes most apart from gambling?¡±

    ¡°Usury.¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. It really did make so much sense for the boss of a casino to offer high-interest loans that it left him speechless

    ¡°You¡¯ve taken a thousand bookmarks from him for nothing last time. He must be very discontent about this. Now that an opportunity will present itself, he definitely won¡¯t let it slip by. And, this is another wild gamble too!¡¯

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu gazed at Li Qingshan like he had no idea what to think of him. He said earnestly, ¡°Junior brother, it¡¯s very likely that you will obtain nothing from the Xuanming dwelling.¡±

    ¡°And you still let me gamble, senior brother Pi? Didn¡¯t you say you would protect me?¡±

    ¡°If you can take the Xuanming dwelling, then your chances at winning will increase dramatically and so will mine. If you can¡¯t, then you¡¯ll just be stuck with a terrifying debt, that¡¯s all.¡± Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will help you push this debt thirty years into the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood now. If he failed to take the Xuanming dwelling, then he would have to pay Le Tian a great sum of bookmarks even if he became a direct disciples within the next three decades. Perhaps it would be even more than two thousand bookmarks. As a result, it was very likely for Le Tian to accept this proposition.

    Meanwhile, Pi Yangqiu was guaranteed a profit. He would be taking the dwelling back anyway if he could not pay the mortgage, so he would lose nothing at all. However, it did increase his chances at winning against the other direct disciples for free.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you mad, junior brother Li?¡± Pi Yangqiu said in surprise. It was rare of him to ask something like that so directly.

    ¡°Why would I be mad, senior brother Pi?¡±

    Thirty years later? Heh! Usury? Heh!

    Pi Yangqiu said in praise, ¡°Alright, I like this part of you. Calling me senior brother Pi makes us seem too distant. You can just call me Pipi from now onwards.¡±

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡°Pi¡­ pi¡­¡±

    Pi Yangqiu laughed. ¡°Just kidding.¡±

    He grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. With a turn, he arrived below the archway in front of the Fate Perturbing casino.

    The inner disciple who had reported to Pi Yangqiu that still remained there stood in shock. He murmured, ¡°Just who is Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Ao Xuan turned his head slowly, gazing at R¨¡hu Xiaoming in the endless darkness.

    ¡°A R¨¡hu!? Who are you?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said proudly, ¡°You are not worthy enough of learning my name!¡±

    ¡°Alright, very good then! It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve felt such pain. I will make you understand that this isn¡¯t the Asura realm!¡±

    Ao Xuan¡¯s body pulled together, turning into a valiant man. He had a striking appearance with golden eyes and black clothes. He touched his cheek gently.

    Two beams of dazzling, golden light shot out from his eyes, meeting R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes of endless darkness.

    The light and darkness collided and wove together. The air twisted and ruptured, producing a string of explosions. Winds surged out like waves.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s hair fluttered in the air. He spread his arms to embrace the darkness.

    At almost the same moment, the golden-eyed black dragon shot over with a trail of golden light, throwing a punch.

    Gu Yanying spread her wings, soaring between the endless sky and earth of the Human realm. There was no longer any need for her to adhere to the narrowness of the nine provinces. The delightful sense of freedom overwhelmed all of her fears and worries as everything gazed up at her. Suddenly, she looked back, only to see darkness enveloping the two of them.

    An indescribable sense of loftiness abruptly filled her mind, Damned dragon, if you dare to kill him, I¡¯ll definitely butcher five hundred true dragons, with you included!

    The message was like an arrow, piercing the space and darkness and landing in Ao Xuan¡¯s sea of consciousness, which made his face change slightly.

    Xiao An blinked her eyes and looked at Gu Yanying in a strange manner.

    Gu Yanying blushed and smiled. ¡°What, are only men allowed to act brave, and I¡¯m not?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°You are.¡±

    Gu Yanying gazed into the distant sky without looking back again. Since she was a kunpeng, why did she need Li Qingshan to do anything?

    After who knew how long, several streaks of light emerged from the darkness, having been ripped apart by the golden dragon claws. It fell down from the air, merging with the night.

    Ao Xuan stood in the starry sky. His black clothes were rather tattered as he spat out a dragon tooth with a frown, clutching it firmly in his hand. The other had turned into a vicious dragon claw that grasped R¨¡hu Xiaoming. He peered into the distance that the kunpeng had vanished in for quite some time, thinking about something. A while later, he flew down.

    Boom! The stone gate shattered into pieces. Ao Xuan pulled his fist back and barged into the Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling. He looked around silently. There was no one else inside, and the altar had already been smashed to pieces by the heavenly tribulation. There was no Heaven Climbing Vine in sight either.

    Why would a R¨¡hu appear in the nine provinces? And together with the successor of the Heaven-stirring Great Sage? And that delicate set of white bones on the kunpeng¡¯s back, was that a successor of the White Bone Bodhisattva?

    The various clues made him catch the scent of something that made him tremble. Was there another upheaval coming? No, surely not. The Great Sages had all been suppressed¡­

    He refused to think any further than that. Even gazing at the R¨¡hu in his hand, he felt a little troubled.

    ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll go back to the dwelling first. I¡¯ll be a fool if the Department of Heavenly Dwellings uses this opportunity to take back the dwelling. The Xuanming dwelling belongs to me. No one can take it away from me!¡±

 Chapter 1394

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1394 ¨C Got Guts

    ¡°How does this kid need my care? Even if I want to deal with him, I¡¯d be in some trouble!¡±

    A certain first senior sister murmured in discontent. The kid who the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had summoned twice and two direct disciples viewed with particular importance was actually a fellow gambler of that kid Le Tian as well!

    If she were to finish him off, Le Tian would probably be the first one to object. If Li Qingshan were done for, who would be paying for his debts? That would be equivalent to losing a thousand Green Jade bookmarks for nothing.

    Not to mention the fact that Ruan Yaozhu would never forgive her for at least a century, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would find out she had harmed a fellow disciple, and Pi Yangqiu could definitely pull that damned fake first senior brother into the mess. Even if she was the proper first senior sister through and through who stood by every single word she said, she could not go that far.

    A measly Soul Nascence cultivator without any background had already become involved with so many people before he knew it. He, who had only just joined the Myriad sect recently, seemed to be in the centre of danger, yet no one could actually touch him. Something like that truly had not happened before.

    Was it luck? No, it was the result of risking his life. She was not unfamiliar with this path. As long as the difficulties were not enough to dull her edge, she could cut through everything and advance valiantly!

    She extended her arm and stretched out her body that was as strong and nimble as a panther¡¯s, moaning softly, ¡°Ahh, I sure want to kill right now. Watching someone get killed is fine too. Of course, it¡¯s the best if someone tries to kill me. Ah, I know!¡±

    Springing to her feet, she made her way towards the door gracefully and kicked it open. Sunlight poured in.

    Under the blood-red sky, she stood on the tall balcony. Beneath her feet was a precipitous cliff. Before her was a large, spacious arena. Countless people clashed and struggled for their lives. The glow from arcane treasures and the light from techniques rose and fell.

    However, it left her bored. The primary purpose of this place was for training, not for killing. If someone died, it would be her responsibility. The Myriad sect was not a demonic sect that trained their disciples by pitting them against one another after all.

    However, there was one exception¡ªduels. When the disputes between fellow disciples had reached the point beyond return, forcefully suppressing it would instead take even more effort, so they would settle it through the most primitive method possible.

    Her expression coldened slightly. ¡°Li Qingshan, at this point, I really do have to take the threat you pose to Yaozhu seriously!¡±

    At the same time, in the Fate Perturbing casino.

    When Pi Yangqiu stated his intentions, Le Tian shut his eyes and swished his cup of alcohol around gently in thought.

    Li Qingshan took a whiff and picked up the delicate, golden alcohol jug on the table like he did not care at all, pouring himself a cup and drinking it all in a single gulp. Surprise and joy flashed through his eyes. The alcohol was much better than what he had bought. It was all because of that damned rabbit that he had not drank to his heart¡¯s content, only having a tiny bit.

    What followed was another cup, a second cup, a third cup¡­

    The volume of the jug was definitely no smaller than his metal gourd. Unfortunately, it was only a buffet. He could not take any of it away with him, so all he could do was make use of every moment to have a bit more.

    The golden-haired beauty standing behind Le Tian could not help but glare at Li Qingshan. A formal disciple like him was actually so disrespectful. If he had not been brought here by Pi Yangqiu, she would have tossed him out immediately.

    Like no one else was around, Li Qingshan submerged himself in the alcohol.

    Le Tian opened his right eye by a crack and glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°You mean you want to borrow another sum of money from me so that you purchase the Xuanming dwelling, which will speed up your cultivation?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his cup for a toast. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I might just get eaten by the dragon. That way, you¡¯ll win even without fighting.¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Then who will pay back my debt?¡±

    Li Qingshan laid out his hands and shrugged like he was clueless.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll win against you, but I¡¯ll still lose a thousand Green Jade bookmarks.¡±

    Li Qingshan gulped down his mouthful of alcohol. ¡°Then it¡¯s my fault?¡±

    Even Le Tian was left exasperated. He basically regretted setting up that gamble with this kid! If he wanted to win two thousand Green Jade bookmarks, he had to guarantee he had the basic ability to pay it back at the very least. In other words, he instead had to protect him from being finished off by someone else.

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°If Ao Xuan wants to claim the Xuanming dwelling, he definitely can¡¯t kill a disciple of the Myriad sect. I¡¯ve never heard of him having any interest in human flesh either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s worth a try.¡±

    Le Tian stopped smiling. This did not just affect the outcome of a gamble or two. It was something significant that influenced the entire Myriad sect.

    Pi Yangqiu raised his cup. ¡°Then let me have a talk with the people beneath me!¡±

    Le Tian glanced at his empty cup and sighed. ¡°Hey, fill me up!¡±

    Having just gotten a free fill, Li Qingshan filled him up in a hurry. ¡°Hehe, your alcohol is quite nice!¡±

    He filled his own cup too and brought it to a toast with his two senior brothers. Right when he was about to drink it all, his left hand suddenly shook, and it almost spilled. Something had bitten his wrist viciously. Even without thinking, it must have been that damned rabbit!

    However, Li Qingshan was currently in a very good mood, not just because he had received his ¡°mortgage¡±, but also because Xiao An and the others did not seem to be in any life-threatening danger. Otherwise, with how closely connected they were and their fates linked, he definitely would have experienced a strong response if something happened. Since he sensed nothing, then they had dealt with the problem, which brought him great relief.

    ¡°Whatever. Considering the fact that you¡¯re my drinking buddy, I¡¯ll invite you to another cup. Just one cup! This isn¡¯t my alcohol after all.¡±

    Li Qingshan communicated with his soul sense as he shoved his cup into his sleeve. Sure enough, it was drained instantly.

    ¡°Enough. You should be satisfied now, right? If you keep making trouble, I¡¯m not going to spare you. I¡¯ll skin you alive.¡±

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu exchanged glances. They had no idea what he was up to.

    Li Qingshan poured himself another cup. Right when he was about to bring it to his mouth, he felt his wrist ache again, and it was even worse than last time. The alcohol splashed all over his face.

    The corner of his eyes twitched. He had finally reached the end of his rope, wrenching the black rabbit out from his sleeve and saying furiously, ¡°Have you had enough!?¡±

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu were both surprised. They doubted their eyes. The three-legged golden toad laying in the corner of the room subconsciously shrank back.

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°Junior brother, this is!?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve made a fool of myself. I found him on the side of the road. I planned on taking him back to go with my alcohol¡­¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, the rabbit kicked him in the face.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan smashed through the wall, sailed over Myriad city, and flew off into the distance. When he fell, he smashed through several buildings before landing on the ground heavily.

    The black rabbit caught the falling jug and leapt onto the table gently, directly drinking from the spout and draining all the alcohol, basically completely ignoring the two direct disciples.

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu no longer had any doubts now, but they felt even more puzzled. ¡°Why is first senior sister¡¯s black-furred hou in this kid¡¯s sleeve!?¡±

    With a fierce gust of wind, Li Qingshan flew over and returned to the room. He pointed at the rabbit and yelled, ¡°What the hell are you!?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°About that, junior brother. This is first senior sister¡¯s black-furred heaven-gazing hou!¡±

    ¡°What shitty first senior sister!?¡±

    Le Tian was shocked as well. He gave Li Qingshan an earnest thumbs-up. ¡°The one behind you.¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan looked back. Before he knew it, a woman was actually standing behind him. Before he could even realise what was going on, she grabbed his collar and pulled him up close. She sneered and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you say that again if you have the guts?¡±

 Chapter 1395

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1395 ¨C Drawing the Blade

    A terrifying aura swallowed him like turbulent waves. That was not just power, but bloody murderousness as well. He was like a rowboat in a storm, without any power to resist.

    Li Qingshan gazed at this wild woman who had appeared out of nowhere and instead became stunned. His distant memories whistled back to him with that familiar name and that woman he had once wanted to wed.

    Chao Tianjiao thought he had been frightened out of his wits, so she thought in disdain, Hmph, I just demonstrated my aura slightly. Is this all you¡¯re capable of? All these stinky men only know how to pose around. When they actually face trouble, none of them have any proper spine in them.

    No, she¡¯s different. She¡¯s just a little similar in bearing.

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. Since he had already made it to today, if he took a step back, then he would be letting down all those sincere feelings for nothing.

    Under Chao Tianjiao¡¯s surprised gaze, he grinned and stressed every single word as he said, ¡°What¡­ kind¡­ of¡­ dog¡­¡±

    The atmosphere that had eased up suddenly tensed up again. With every word that he spat out, Chao Tianjiao¡¯s aura pulled higher in an unbelievable manner.

    Le Tian interrupted them and covered Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth. ¡°Senior sister, what brings you here?¡± He shot a glance at Li Qingshan. Keep quiet, or you¡¯re going to die.

    Chao Tianjiao roared furiously, ¡°Move your hand. Let him finish!¡±

    With a swivel of his eyes, Pi Yangqiu thought of something and smiled. ¡°Senior sister, how are you going to face junior sister Ruan if you do this?¡±

    The black-furred hou would not appear in Li Qingshan¡¯s sleeve randomly. It had definitely been impelled by Chao Tianjiao, while throughout the entire Myriad sect, there were only a handful of people who could make a request with her. Ruan Yaozhu happened to be one of them.

    When she heard that, Chao Tianjiao sucked in a deep breath and slowly let go of Li Qingshan¡¯s collar.

    ¡°Kid, I¡¯ve arranged a duel for you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s with you? Then I decline.¡± Li Qingshan fixed his collar impassively.

    ¡°Hmph, coward.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands seriously and said, ¡°Senior sister, with your unparalleled sentiments and unmatched fierceness, you are no less than a man, no, even greater than men. You are my idol. When I get back, I¡¯ll find a Foundation Establishment cultivator. I will give him a vicious beating so that he can get a taste of the first senior sister of the Myriad sect¡¯s mighty demeanour.¡±

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu could not help but smile at that response.

    Chao Tianjiao widened her eyes and took a step forward, about to lose her temper. Suddenly, there was a black flash, and the ¡°black rabbit¡± landed on her head. Its triangular mouth twitched as if it was saying something.

    Chao Tianjiao held back her anger. ¡°Li Qingshan, Shen Yushu is waiting for you in the Xuanwu arena right now. He wants a battle to the death against you. Do you have the courage to come?¡±

    This battle was very unfair too. An entire realm of cultivation separated them, so she thought he would decline this as well, but Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°He still has the courage to come?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao choked up. Was that something a Soul Nascence cultivator was supposed to say when they faced a Yin Soul cultivator?

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head over right now then!¡±

    You¡¯re just relying on an asura armament. You¡¯ll find out what¡¯s what later.

    With a boom, she flew off, disappearing just as suddenly as when she first arrived.

    Li Qingshan asked in wonder, ¡°Is this the first senior sister of the Myriad sect?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu sighed. ¡°Yes and no.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a first senior brother or a first senior sister, the Myriad sect only ever has one. They stand above all other disciples, where even direct disciples have to obey them. Because the two sect masters regularly roam the Nine Heavens with the grand sect master and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance never bothers with the usual matters, the first senior brother or the first senior sister actually serves as the sect master most of the time. They are elected by all the disciples in the sect once every century. They are also known as the greatest disciple.¡±

    ¡°So it was senior brother Lin Xuan for this generation!¡±

    Li Qingshan understood the situation now. To the two Human Immortal sect masters, their cultivations definitely took priority. They would not waste time dealing with these regular affairs. The entire Myriad sect was an autocracy centred around direct disciples, so they required someone to watch over them. However, even if the first senior brother or sister was in charge, their cultivation was limited. Of course, they did not possess the same authority as sect masters, and they would go through an election process each century.

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°That¡¯s right. However, senior brother Lin Xuan underwent reincarnation. The century hasn¡¯t elapsed yet, so the spot is still open. So far, there are two direct disciples with the greatest chance at inheriting this position. There¡¯s basically no other direct disciples that can contend against them, so they¡¯re referred to as first senior brother and first senior sister right now.¡±

    ¡°They seem pretty impressive.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s just say this. In a direct confrontation, there are no direct disciples that are their opponent.¡±

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°You might as well say that if they worked together, even if you combined all the other direct disciples, they would not be their opponent. Of course, they would never work together.¡±

    Li Qingshan was shocked as well. It was no wonder why he felt so pressured. That was a Human Sovereign among Human Sovereigns, not someone like Si Long who barely squeezed into their ranks.

    ¡°Just how did I offend her?¡±

    ¡°Probably because junior sister Ruan Yaozhu asked her to take care of you. She personally brought junior sister Ruan to the Myriad sect¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan understood immediately. He sighed. ¡°Then I can¡¯t blame anyone else. It really is all because I¡¯m just too charming!¡±

    ¡°Err¡­¡±

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have any concern for your life, nor do you have a sense of shame. You have a bright future ahead of you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡±

    ¡°That Shen Yushu has converted his soul nascence into a proper soul a long time ago. He¡¯s only a step away from the fifth heavenly tribulation, one of the disciples in the sect with the greatest hopes of becoming a direct disciples. You probably won¡¯t be his opponent. I¡¯m really worried about my gamble, so you should just forfeit!¡±

    That was the most natural judgement to make in the cultivation community. Even with a difference in their cultivation method and whether they were skilled at battle or not, an entire realm of cultivation still separated the two. That was a colossal gulf that was very difficult to make up for. And as their cultivations advanced, the gulf between realms would grow wider. Even after witnessing Li Qingshan¡¯s performance in Magnetic Field mountain, he basically did not have any hopes.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You wanna gamble on that?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll bet that you win.¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    ¡°Hehe, you are my dark horse after all!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Shen Yushu stood within a swamp, still in some disbelief over his luck. This was basically the place most suited to the techniques of the Heavenly Tome of Nature in the Xuanwu arena, and he could kill his enemies honourably here.

    Killing intent flashed through his eyes as he gazed at Li Qingshan in the distance.

    He did not know why the first senior sister had made this arrangement, but he definitely would not let this opportunity slip by. Standing so far away, that kid would never have the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on him again. He would use his full strength right from the beginning and kill him with the plants.

    Chao Tianjiao, Pi Yangqiu, and Le Tian spectated from the cliff in the distance.

    Le Tian smiled and said something to Chao Tianjiao. Chao Tianjiao agreed without batting an eye, beginning a new gamble.

    Pi Yangqiu hesitated on the side and ended up deciding against provoking this tigress. It would not not be fun once she began feuding with him.

    Li Qingshan was relaxed. Suddenly, he looked at the cliff and asked loudly, ¡°Do you all know what the strong is?¡±

    He referred to all of them, but he was only looking at Chao Tianjiao. Chao Tianjiao sneered and asked, ¡°What is the strong?¡±

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and pointed it at Chao Tianjiao in the distance. He smiled and said, ¡°When the strong lose their temper, they draw their blades at the stronger. When the weak lose their temper, they draw their blades at the weaker!¡±

 Chapter 1396

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1396 ¨C Duel

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes lit up. She murmured, ¡°When the strong lose their temper, they draw their blades at the stronger. When the weak lose their temper, they draw their blades at the weaker¡­ Well said! Now lower your blade!¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Li Qingshan was taken aback.

    Chao Tianjiao sneered. ¡°You want to use a weapon like that in a conflict between fellow disciples? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re planning on killing him?¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°But you said that this is a battle to the death.¡±

    ¡°Have I?¡± Chao Tianjiao looked around at Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu beside her. They both chimed in cooperatively, ¡°You haven¡¯t.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao placed her foot on the railing and leaned over. ¡°Kid, this is my territory. I set the rules!¡± Let¡¯s see if you¡¯re still so arrogant when you have nothing to rely on!

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Li Qingshan stowed the blade away and turned towards Shen Yushu before asking loudly again, ¡°Do you all know what the strong is?¡±

    Shen Yushu felt some pity inside. He could not kill Li Qingshan here. However, as soon as he remembered how killing Li Qingshan would definitely infuriate Ruan Yaozhu, he no longer found such a pressing need to do so anymore. Once he became a direct disciple, a formal disciple would be completely at his whim anyway.

    He sneered and said, ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t get too cocky. The loser will leave the Hundred Herbs garden forever.¡±

    Li Qingshan completely ignored him, raising his right arm without looking back and clenching his fist. ¡°When the strong lose their temper, they raise their fists at the stronger. When the weak lose their temper, they raise their fists at the weaker!¡±

    Le Tian grinned, while Pi Yangqiu looked up. His lips also curled slightly.

    Chao Tianjiao berated him furiously. ¡°Have you had enough!?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t even be able to use my hands later. But that¡¯s fine too. Against the likes of him, I¡¯ll headbutt him to death even if I can¡¯t use my hands or legs!¡±

    Shen Yushu ground his teeth. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡± He pointed at the ground and made a gesture. ¡°Woodland Imprisonment!¡±

    Towering trees rose up from the ground, bending and curling like dragons and snakes, surrounding Shen Yushu. The grey bark shone with a metallic lustre, like an impregnable fortress of metal. It continued to grow, becoming extremely thick and sturdy, standing on the swamp.

    This was originally a technique for trapping the enemy, yet he had used it to protect himself. With his experience of failure, he had to make sure that nothing could go wrong this time, such that he gave him no openings at all. He would turn himself untouchable first.

    If anyone wanted to reach him, they had to destroy this fortress of metal first, while he could continue to make the trees grow.

    Even Human Sovereigns with Yang Souls would need to expend quite a bit of effort when they could not use arcane treasures.

    ¡°This Shen Yushu is a coward!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao furrowed her brows. Even against a Soul Nascence cultivator, he was so timid and cautious that even she felt embarrassed. It formed a clear contrast against Li Qingshan¡¯s arrogance. However, she also stopped worrying, dismissing that slight feeling of uneasiness.

    ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s going to be difficult now!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu sighed. If he had the asura armament, then the situation would be slightly better. Even he could not think of a way for Li Qingshan to penetrate Shen Yushu¡¯s defences right now.

    He glanced at Le Tian. ¡°I really don¡¯t know where you find the confidence to gamble against me.¡±

    Le Tian stared straight at Li Qingshan. His eyes shone brightly. ¡°I have no confidence. I only believe in him. Come, my dark horse. Show me how you win!¡±

    To her great dismay, Chao Tianjiao discovered that she felt slightly uncertain once again inside, Don¡¯t tell me he can actually win? No, that¡¯s completely impossible. Even I cannot overcome a situation like this if I were in his shoes.

    Ruan Yaozhu practised the Heavenly Tome of Nature too, so she understood it extremely well. From a certain perspective, this heavenly tome actually suppressed fighters who possessed tough physiques like them. The vegetation it produced could grow endlessly, possessing the endless power of nature. It definitely was not just a fixed defence, but a natural trap that could be used on the offence. If Li Qingshan wanted to approach Shen Yushu, he would instead be walking into the trap, guaranteeing his defeat.

    As a result, Li Qingshan simply stood where he was with his arms crossed. He sneered. ¡°So you¡¯re this afraid of me? I¡¯ll let you take three moves first then. Let¡¯s say that¡¯s the first. You¡¯re welcome to try a little harder!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao furrowed her brows, Just what is he trying to do? Why isn¡¯t he making an attempt at a slim victory considering the fact that the defence isn¡¯t completely sturdy just yet and saying something like letting him take three moves first? Does he really want to lose?

    If it were an actual battle to the death, a method of defence like that was extremely foolish. Li Qingshan would be fine as long as he ignored him, and Shen Yushu would actually become imprisoned in a forest.

    However, this was a duel, and the arena was only this swamp. The most terrifying part about the Heavenly Tome of Nature was that as long as there was ample time to cast techniques and spur on the plants, it would become stronger and stronger. It was capable of a myriad of different things too.

    ¡°Then let me take those moves!¡±

    Shen Yushu sneered. Sure enough, he continued to strengthen his defences. He spent fifteen whole minutes on it, and the fortress of metal had grown to several times its size from before, occupying a tenth of the swamp. And sure enough, Li Qingshan simply remained where he was and watched on without even batting an eye.

    A duel like that was extremely rare even in the Xuanwu area. Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°Hmph, one¡¯s a coward and the other¡¯s a fool!¡±

    Shen Yushu finished his preparations and cut to the chase. He bellowed out, ¡°Yin Soul projection!¡±

    His Yin Soul rose up into the air, staring at Li Qingshan with its jade-green eyes. It spread its arms and slowly raised them.

    The calm surface of the swamp suddenly began to surge. Huge trees churned and grew from the mud, like hundreds of wriggling snakes, filling the entire swamp. He was determined to give Li Qingshan no opportunity at all, to crush him with his cultivation at Yin Soul. He unleashed the strongest aspect of the Heavenly Tome of Nature. He wanted to push Li Qingshan into dire straits step by step while appreciating the despair on his face.

    However, to his disappointment, Li Qingshan was unfazed. ¡°Second move.¡±

    ¡°Alright, very good!¡±

    Shen Yushu laughed out of anger and continued to power the Heavenly Tome of Nature, raising trees one after another. In a short while, the swamp had turned into a forest as if it had already grown there for tens of thousand years. The criss-crossing branches sealed off the sky.

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to watch anymore. It¡¯s his loss! Tsk, and I had thought he was capable of something. Turns out it was all just an act!¡±

    Le Tian slammed the railing and called out fervently, ¡°No, my dark horse doesn¡¯t lose!¡±

    Shen Yushu roared furiously, ¡°Go die!¡±

    His Yin Soul shone with blinding green light, unleashing all of his resentment and fury instantly. The endless forest tilted towards Li Qingshan at the same time like tsunamis from all directions, swallowing him instantly like a great net that had suddenly tightened. They wrapped together firmly layer after layer. The tremendous force behind them made his body creak. If it were not for his physique of the demonic and divine, he would have been crushed to a pulp instantly.

    Li Qingshan cried out frantically, ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t hold on for any longer!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was unable to watch this, turning her head away. Even when she won the gamble, she did not feel happy. This is far too shameful. How can there be such a shameless man? When she recalled the slight feeling of uneasiness she experienced earlier, she felt even more humiliated. She had actually almost been fooled by a bastard like this. I really do want to butcher him! But whatever, I¡¯ll just let this serve as a lesson to him! There¡¯s no need to anger Bamboo over a piece of trash like him.

    She was just about to interfere and save him from there.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice, filled with laughter, rang out from the trees. It was a little deep. ¡°Just kidding. That¡¯s the third move. It¡¯s my turn now!¡±

 Chapter 1397

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1397 ¨C A Hidden Twist

    However, Li Qingshan was not Shen Yushu¡¯s opponent. Even he knew that himself.

    If it were a bloody slaughter in the wilderness devoid of any people, he would definitely be the one who survived in the end, but in the Xuanwu arena, all of his advantages had been stripped away one by one.

    First of all, under the watch of the three direct disciples, he could not use any innate abilities. This was the Human realm, not the Daemonic Beast realm. Daemons could only exist as mounts. Even the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was no exception. There was no room for him to manoeuvre about here either, so most of his battle experience had become useless.

    Secondly, Shen Yushu had learnt his lesson and came with ample preparation this time. He was unable to catch him off-guard again. Trying to rip through that ¡°fortress of metal¡± woven from great trees with just his physique was completely impossible. The Qilin Transformation allowed him to control plants to a certain degree, but that definitely did not include the enemy¡¯s techniques. At least, he was not capable of something like that right now.

    Last of all, that woman Chao Tianjiao was truly someone well-versed in battle. Taking away his Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was basically like pulling the rug from under him. She had pulled out his final tooth, forcing him into an extremely awkward position.

    If he could still defeat a Yin Soul cultivator who was about to undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation so easily with so many disadvantages, then there would be no so-called difference between cultivation realms in the cultivation community.

    Yes, Chao Tianjiao had guessed correctly. His so-called ¡°letting you take three moves first¡± was merely an act.

    Trying to reason with her was useless. As she had said, this was her territory. She could oppress him and harass him, and what could he do? Panic? Resent her? Quit joking. The fear and fury would only make his defeat come swifter and more miserably.

    As a result, he was better off deceiving the opponent first and buying time before coming up with a counterplan!

    He had a flash of inspiration. Apart from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, I think I have the Heavenly Tome of Liberty as well!

    When Shen Yushu yelled out ¡°Yin Soul projection¡±, he also uttered, ¡°Soul nascence projection!¡±

    When Shen Yushu¡¯s Yin Soul took to the air, the lively ¡°little Li Qingshan¡± dove into the ground beneath his feet.

    When Li Qingshan said ¡°it¡¯s my turn now¡±, it dived head first into Shen Yushu¡¯s body. Shen Yushu was determined, powering the trees as hard as he could as he tried to crush Li Qingshan to death. Even if I can¡¯t kill you, I¡¯ll destroy your body and leave you with a soul nascence. That is also enough!

    With a great rumble, the colossal trees shook violently; their leaves all wilted and fell.

    The destructive power within the soul nascence directly reduced his body of flesh that was not particularly powerful to dust.

    ¡°What did you do!?¡±

    Shen Yushu¡¯s expression changed drastically. At that moment, he felt like the world was collapsing around him. He lost control over everything as a myriad of emotions surged forth without any restraint. Even his Yin Soul twisted with it.

    Chao Tianjiao widened her eyes, also slightly stunned.

    Pi Yangqiu was surprised. ¡°Shen Yushu¡¯s body has been destroyed¡­ but how did he do it?¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Heh, my dark horse is capable of anything and everything!¡±

    ¡°You need to protect your body properly!¡± Li Qingshan used this opportunity to escape from between the trees, digging into his ear with his little finger. ¡°Soul nascences sure are convenient. It even saved me from using my fists.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. How can he still control his body after projecting his soul nascence!?¡±

    Soul nascences were extremely delicate. There were no Soul Nascence cultivators who would project their soul nascences without good reason, and after projecting it, they would lose control over their bodies. The even more unbelievable aspect was that Shen Yushu¡¯s Woodland Imprisonment was not just a sturdy forest, but a barrier akin to a formation too. Even Yin Souls could not move through it easily, let alone a mere soul nascence.

    Pi Yangqiu said in thought, ¡°He¡¯s the first one to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so there must be wonders that even we don¡¯t know of!¡± However, he also had some doubts. Every single heavenly tome was profound and wondrous, but he was only a Soul Nascence cultivator!

    However, Li Qingshan was not an ordinary Soul Nascence cultivator at all. Even if his soul nascence were destroyed, he could still run and jump about.

    As someone who practised the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, he was particularly good at movement and escape techniques, so not only did the trees fail to pose as an obstacle, but they had instead become a medium for his soul nascence to use wood movement techniques on. He simply followed it and ended up reaching Shen Yushu.

    He had not actually learnt any specific movement or escape techniques either. Everything was almost his natural instincts. This was the result of his soul nascence being refined by the small world in his body. Because the Qilin Transformation was currently his shortcoming, his ability to move through wood was not particularly powerful. It had taken him quite some time to pass through the woodland. If it had been water or earth instead, he probably would have reached him instantly.

    So he intentionally aggravated Shen Yushu and made him project his Yin Soul. What a crafty kid!

    A hint of adoration clashed through Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes. This was basically a great gamble where he staked everything on it, willingly casting himself into dire straits, yet he could actually remain so composed. His courage truly was something else.

    Actually, she had still underestimated Li Qingshan. Even if Shen Yushu had not projected his Yin Soul, Li Qingshan could still send his soul nascence over to directly blow up. However, that would result in significant losses for him too. It was best if he did not do something like that unless he had no other choice.

    Shen Yushu¡¯s Yin Soul flew back to the centre of the fortress of metal. It was empty there, without a single droplet of blood. He immediately became dejected and even his Yin Soul dimmed as a result. The destruction of their body was a great loss to a cultivator, and the consequences were more severe the lower their cultivation was.

    He was currently in a critical period where he prepared for the fifth heavenly tribulation. It was all over now. He had to waste over a century at the very least before he could make up for this, and by then, he might have missed his opportunity.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    Shen Yushu roared hysterically and furiously. His Yin Soul erupted with light. Twisted by his emotions, his voice and his appearance had almost become inhuman.

    The trees danced furiously, surging towards Li Qingshan like turbulent waves.

    Li Qingshan also felt a little troubled now. Perhaps there was nothing terrifying about a hysterical enemy, but they were very troublesome. Completely destroying Shen Yushu¡¯s Yin Soul was not that easy, and he had to take Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s feelings into consideration. She probably would not want to see him kill anyone, especially when it was a fellow disciple that he was familiar with.

    At this moment, a figure brushed past him. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End flew up, landing in the person¡¯s hand.

    With a flash, the blade sliced through the trees, sending splinters flying everywhere like a snowstorm.

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the snowstorm. He could sense the slashes whistle past him. Every single attack was not something he could fend off.

    ¡°Enough, the outcome has been determined!¡± The surroundings immediately fell quiet again.

    Li Qingshan gazed at Chao Tianjiao¡¯s proud and straight figure. This was the power of the first senior sister of the Myriad sect!

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s gaze was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head. Shen Yushu¡¯s frenzied and twisted Yin Soul recovered a hint of clarity. He said reluctantly, ¡°First senior sister, I haven¡¯t lost yet!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°According to the rules of the duel, it¡¯s your loss if your body is destroyed. You better gather your focus and suppress your emotions unless you want to become a ghost.¡±

    She turned around and passed the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End to Li Qingshan. ¡°You¡¯ve won. Nice blade!¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t belong in the Hundred Herbs garden. I will find more suitable work for you which will guarantee you even more contribution and bookmarks. In short, I¡¯ll watch over you.¡± Li Qingshan was just about to answer when she interrupted him. ¡°Be aware, this isn¡¯t a suggestion!¡±

 Chapter 1398

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1398 ¨C Madman

    ¡°I know. I decline.¡±

    Li Qingshan recovered from his shock very quickly. There were plenty more spectacles for him to face in the future, so how could he be stunned by a mere display of tricks like this? He gazed at his hand, opening his fingers before closing them firmly again. He was still contemplating the wonders of projecting his soul nascence.

    In the past, his human cultivation method was merely a way for him to hide his identity. At most, it was icing to the cake. This seemed to be the first time when it had actually played a decisive role.

    Shen Yushu¡¯s tactic was very dumb and foolish, but he really did come close to being untouchable. Even if Li Qingshan unleashed all of his innate abilities, he might not be able to crack open his turtle shell, yet he could do that very easily with his soul nascence. This was only one of the initial functions that came with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. If it continued to develop like this, it would definitely be no weaker than any transformation of the demonic and divine.

    Chao Tianjiao questioned, ¡°Why?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled. ¡°Probably because I¡¯ve grown weary of fighting.¡±

    His delicate appearance really did make seem a little harmless, but none of the direct disciples present would believe that kind of lie. They could clearly see fire burning in this man¡¯s heart, basically arriving in this world for the sake of fighting. He should have become an asura, but he had accidentally ended up in the Human realm.

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°I¡¯m very suspicious about your intentions.¡±

    ¡°I know and I understand, but I won¡¯t be at your beck and call just because you¡¯re suspicious of me. First senior sister, you don¡¯t seem like a person who likes to bicker. You¡¯re just unable to do anything to me because we¡¯re fellow disciples. Actually, I¡¯ve found you very irritating as well, yet I¡¯m also powerless over you. Why don¡¯t we strike a deal? In thirty years¡¯ time, we¡¯ll hold a duel here?¡±

    Li Qingshan said slowly without coming off as particularly arrogant or humble, but his words made even the expressions of the direct disciples present change.

    There was astoundment¡­ shock¡­ and intrigue!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s gamble with Le Tian to become a direct disciple in three decades was already unbelievable enough. On top of that, Le Tian had told him a moment before that Chao Tianjiao could basically hold her own against eight or ten direct disciples at the same time.

    Chao Tianjiao studied Li Qingshan. She did not become angry, gazing at him like he was some kind of exotic creature. ¡°I know you¡¯re arrogant, but your arrogance still takes me by surprise. You want to duel with me?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t have to be you. You can bring that rabbit along too.¡± Li Qingshan pointed at the black-furred hou crouching on the cliff in the distance. ¡°You better bring that rabbit along!¡±

    The ¡°black rabbit¡± suddenly perked up with its ears as its ruby-like eyes glistened.

    ¡°Huh? Kid, are you mad?¡± Chao Tianjiao had no idea how to respond. She looked at Li Qingshan like she was looking at an idiot.

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu felt the same. They knew he was bold, but they never expected him to be so bold. If they had found out that Li Qingshan had ¡°threatened¡± the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes that day, they probably would not be so surprised anymore.

    Li Qingshan suddenly took a step forward and asked with a smile, ¡°Are you bold enough to accept?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s face sank. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m not bold enough to kill you?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his right hand and asked again, ¡°A duel to the death. Are you bold enough to accept that?¡±

    Clap! Chao Tianjiao struck his right hand furiously, basically forming an agreement before turning around and leaving.

    ¡°Get out of here right now, immediately!¡±

    As he walked out of the Xuanwu arena and returned to Myriad city, Li Qingshan gazed at the brilliant sunlight and smiled victoriously.

    Chao Tianjiao was completely different from a mere scoundrel like Shen Yushu. Even the slightest ill will could cause him colossal problems. To her, that might have just been something she did on a whim, or perhaps because she felt slightly unhappy inside, like a child playing with an ant.

    Unfortunately, he was the ant, and he had absolutely no counterplan at all right now. If he did not want to be toyed with, then all he could do was bite her finger viciously, using such an intense method to prevent her from doing anything against him for the time being.

    Le Tian won another round, but there was no joy on his face to be seen. He said solemnly, ¡°I must admit that I admire your courage, but you will die a horrible death. In the Myriad sect, there are only people that she cannot kill. There is no one she dares not kill!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Senior brother, your concern for me truly leaves me touched!¡±

    ¡°You bastard, if you die, who¡¯s going to pay off your gambling debts for you?¡± Le Tian clutched his head and roared furiously, ¡°Dammit, I¡¯ve been strung along by you!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu sighed. ¡°Junior brother, even if you become a direct disciple, she might not spare you because of that.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Why would I need anyone to spare me? Don¡¯t worry, senior brothers. I¡¯ll win against senior brother Le Tian, and then I¡¯ll win against this first senior sister. I might even become the actual first senior brother of the Myriad sect as well! As a result, I¡¯ll have to trouble you with the matter of the dwelling. I¡¯ll be bidding farewell for now.¡±

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu exchanged glances. ¡°Where do you get your confidence from?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I just know how to boast.¡± Li Qingshan leaned his head against his hands and walked off leisurely. ¡°If I can¡¯t live with dignity, then I¡¯ll die with dignity.¡±

    Other cultivators all pursued longevity, yet he simply had to seek death. If a person was not even afraid of death, then what boasts could they make? As a man, failure stopped mattering as long as he tried his hardest and fought to the last moment of his life. It was just being destroyed after that, that¡¯s all.

    Pi Yangqiu and Le Tian watched as Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanished into the layered streets of Myriad city.

    Le Tian suddenly asked, ¡°Will I lose?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled in surprise. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the thing that gamblers fear the most is having their confidence waver, where no one knows the arrangements of fate until the last second?¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°But the damned fate always creates dark horses after dark horses out of thin air. I hate dark horses, but this is also where the joy in gambling lies.¡±

    In the Xuanwu arena, Chao Tianjiao muttered to herself, ¡°Rabbit, I really feel an urge to kill him right now and here.¡±

    The black rabbit nodded in agreement.

    Chao Tianjiao smiled furiously. ¡°Am I that kind of person?¡±

    The black rabbit nodded again in agreement.

    ¡°Alright, leave the city right now and finish him off. Destroy his corpse and cover up any traces of it!¡±

    The black rabbit glanced at her in disdain and turned its head away as if it was saying, I¡¯m not that kind of person.

    Chao Tianjiao smiled. ¡°Then we¡¯ll wait and see! Thirty years will pass very quickly. By then, I¡¯ll be the true first senior sister of the Myriad sect. I¡¯ll turn him into a joke first, and then I¡¯ll turn him into a dead joke.¡±

    She stretched her body and twisted her head. ¡°Alright, the holiday ends here! Time to get back to work. I wonder if I can butcher a few Demon Sovereigns this time. I really need to vent my anger properly. You probably want to roar and yell out too!¡±

    The black rabbit licked its lips in an extremely human-like manner and nodded.

    Li Qingshan successfully returned to the Hundred Herbs garden. Ruan Yaozhu was currently pacing around under the bodhi tree, and she became relieved when she saw him. She said seriously, ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    As a result, there was no need to say anything more, no matter how much she had prepared beforehand. Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°I¡¯ve brought some dishes to go with the alcohol.¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted up his empty alcohol gourd and smiled wryly. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have any alcohol.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll go buy some.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already had enough in the city.

    As a result, Ruan Yaozhu made tea, and the two of them sat together, admiring the snowy landscape. They did not say much, sipping the tea in silence with a sense of understanding. It left the nine-coloured deer in the Hundred Herbs dwelling fuming, but she was also powerless to do anything.

    Li Qingshan suddenly placed down his tea cup. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Shen Yushu.¡± This still had to be brought up at the end of the day.

    ¡°Sigh, he only has himself to blame. It has nothing to do with you.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! When spring comes, I will face the fourth heavenly tribulation, and I should be able to handle the work.¡±

    ¡°Spring is almost here.¡±

    ¡°Soon then.¡±

 Chapter 1399

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1399 ¨C Us

    When the first shoot burst through the accumulated snow, the frozen river rumbled and cracked. Drizzle fell through the golden-leaved bodhi tree, wetting Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. He opened his eyes. The Hundred Herbs garden was already a sight of spring. Having endured the harsh winter, the plants all grew and rustled eagerly.

    The earth began to bud. Everything began to move.

    When everything entered his eyes, he smiled gently. The small world in his body was also a sight of spring.

    Naturally, without any coercion, the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity had reached the first layer.

    The small world shook and rumbled like the river, and the speed at which it circulated gradually accelerated.

    Li Qingshan stood up. Time was already ripe. It was time for him to take another step forward again. He clasped his hands from afar in the direction of the Hundred Herbs garden. ¡°Senior sister, I¡¯m going to go and face the heavenly tribulation.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s gentle voice rang out in his ears, ¡°You can stay here.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ll probably cause a very great disturbance. It¡¯ll be better if I do it outside. It won¡¯t be good if I harm the plants.¡±

    ¡°Alright then. Be careful.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be back very soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan left the Hundred Herbs garden, as well as the island that it stood on, moving off into the horizon. When he flew far enough, a pair of glorious phoenix wings suddenly unfurled. With a great flap, the fierce winds produced great waves on the ocean as he whistled by.

    When he could vaguely make out the thunder, he stopped. The tribulation clouds amassed over his head.

    ¡°Want to destroy me? Come then!¡±

    He smiled flagrantly and spread his wings and arms at the sky.

    Boom!

    Lightning rained down on the ocean that reflected its glow, filling the ocean and the sky. The lightning swallowed all of the shadows, only leaving behind his pitch-black abyss-like figure, which instead became clearer in the light. He soon began to swell, twist, and expand¡­

    Boom!

    Like two columns plunging down from the sky, a pair of iron hooves landed on the bottom of the ocean, crushing the sand and mud that had sedimented over thousands of years. The ocean water surged and became muddy, but it could only reach up to his knees. A tiger tail swept past the surface of the ocean. Boom! It produced a colossal wave that swept off into the distance behind him as a tsunami.

    The phoenix wings became even more glorious and unbelievable, condensing all the splendour in the world as if they blazed away- no, they were actually burning away. The flames originated from the depths of his heart.

    Standing between the ocean and the sky, he raised his head to face the heavenly tribulation. The ox horns on his head were curved like crescent moons. He was like an infuriated bull with only a small red cloth before his eyes. The red cloth in his eyes was the surging tribulation clouds and the endless sky.

    The stalemate only lasted for a split second. Perhaps even the split second was an illusion.

    Roar!

    He growled at the sky. He was both human and inhuman, both beast-like and unbeast-like, chaotic yet holy, heavy yet lofty. With a furious punch, he sent it towards the heavens!

    ¡­¡­

    In the blood-red sky, meteors fell like rain. A child revealed a naive, evil smile as his mother rubbed his head in approval, which left the child even more complacent. However, every single star behind him was howling in pain. The sky was red like it was bleeding.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming jerked awake from the nightmare and blinked his eyes. He could sense that he was immobilised. He had been completely frozen in black ice, such that only his face was exposed outside.

    Ao Xuan was coiled up near the black ice. His huge dragon head pressed closer. He asked sternly, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Who am I?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming muttered.

    ¡°You better not play any tricks with me, or I will make you taste the pain of hell. That will only make it very awkward for both of us.¡±

    ¡°Using torture on an asura.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled.

    ¡°You probably haven¡¯t been to the depths of hell before. Once you get there, you¡¯ll know how fortunate it is to just be cut down by a swing of a sword.¡± Ao Xuan bared his fangs, making them shine.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been to the depths of hell?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming could roughly guess the details now.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Ao Xuan roared angrily. ¡°Kid, I¡¯m the one questioning you right now! Your undying body as an asura is perfect for the tortures of pain. By then, you¡¯ll understand what true pain is.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming raised his eyebrows. ¡°It¡¯s even more painful than being incinerated by your own karma?¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Ao Xuan paused. The legendary pain of being incinerated by karma could even faze those great existences that possessed unfathomable might, but he soon responded, ¡°You¡¯re lying! If you were incinerated by your karma, how can you still be alive?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered. ¡°Four-legged snake, haven¡¯t you heard that as long as the fighting spirit of an asura never extinguishes, they¡¯ll never die?¡±

    ¡°Stop putting up a front. Being incinerated by the flames of karma is certain death. Even if you are a R¨¡hu, it¡¯ll be the same.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid of revenge from the R¨¡hu clan?¡±

    Ao Xuan sneered. ¡°The R¨¡hu clan has already declined. Speaking of which, asura still can¡¯t stick their noses in the Human realm. What do I have to fear?¡±

    ¡°Are you afraid of that little bird that flew away? The one that looked a little like a kunpeng.¡±

    Ao Xuan was furious. ¡°Shut your mouth. Even the Heaven-stirring Great Sage could not escape the fate of being suppressed, let alone a little birdbrain like that!¡± Suddenly, he calmed down. ¡°You¡¯re trying to infuriate me. Alright then, let¡¯s see just how long you can continue being stubborn then.¡±

    The black ice slowly invaded R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s body. With every passing moment, countless sharp, minuscule icicles pierced his flesh. It was even more miserable than a death by slow slicing.

    ¡°Tell me, who are you?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re afraid of the secrets that I carry. You¡¯re afraid it¡¯ll get you killed. However, that guy is not afraid. Whether you¡¯re a dragon or something else, he¡¯ll still come to skin you alive and slice you to pieces. He won¡¯t even hesitate, much less ask any questions. They¡¯re probably not afraid either, and they¡¯ll probably all like the taste of your flesh very much¡­¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming endured the ¡°slight¡± pain and continued to ramble. He could abruptly understand Li Qingshan¡¯s mouthiness a little. Words were indeed a fine choice for a weapon, especially under these circumstances.

    ¡°Who are they?¡± The giant dragon growled angrily.

    ¡°They? They¡¯re a bunch of very interesting folk. I promise you that you¡¯ll see them again.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The vast expanse of desert was littered with exposed, scarlet rock and yellow mounds of earth. The light from the noon sun was scorching, twisting and making the hot air pulse. A figure walked over from afar. Her soft, smooth feet stepped over the sharp rocks that failed to stop her advance at all. The tattered kasaya inscribed with black scriptures danced in the hot winds. She advanced firmly like an ascetic monk.

    ¡°Xiao An, I think we should conceal ourselves first and try our hardest to increase our cultivation.¡±

    With a gust of hot wind, Gu Yanying blocked her path. After undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation, a brand-new world had opened up to them. This was the optimal moment for them to increase their cultivation and grow in strength. She could feel that she was growing stronger with each moment, getting closer to the kunpeng.

    ¡°I think we should reunite with Li Qingshan and tell him what happened.¡± Xiao An made her way around her impassively. Her voice was completely devoid of any emotions.

    ¡°How do you know where he is? As well as the situation in the Myriad sect?¡±

    ¡°I know he¡¯s still alive.¡± And that was enough.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t live anymore without him?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Xiao An made her reply without the slightest hesitation.

    Gu Yanying watched her travel off into the distance. ¡°You¡¯re just going to walk to him like this?¡±

    ¡°What can I do about the fact that I have no wings?¡±

    Gu Yanying laid out her hands and sighed helplessly. ¡°Alright then, first young miss. As you wish, get on my back!¡±

    A smile flashed past Xiao An¡¯s lips, and she turned around silently, making her way over.

    Dust and the sound of horse hooves rose up in the distance. Gu Yanying said, ¡®Someone is coming.¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°Wait.¡±

 Chapter 1400

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1400 ¨C Daemon

    The sound of the horse hooves pulled closer, kicking up dust. A group of whistling horse bandits surrounded them, ogling at them in amazement.

    Gu Yanying smiled brightly at them and immediately left a few horse bandits in a daze, falling from their horses. They cursed furiously and madly. She maintained her smile and asked Xiao An softly, ¡°Have you changed your mind?¡±

    At this moment, a bare-chested young man covered in tattoos rode over. He loomed over them from his horse and said, ¡°Ladies, where are you headed? Need me to take you there?¡±

    Xiao An pursed her lips and said to Gu Yanying, ¡°I think what you said is reasonable, but the kunpeng is far too eye-catching, so why don¡¯t we strike a compromise instead?¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled in thought. ¡°Strike a compromise?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll get there by walking.¡±

    A horse bandit drew his curved blade and roared, ¡°Oi, lassies, our boss is talking to you!¡±

    Gu Yanying rolled her eyes. ¡°You mean getting there by eating!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s basically the same.¡±

    Xiao An smiled, and the leader of the horse bandits immediately became stunned. The noisy bandits all fell silent, staring at her in a daze. Only the sound of the rustling wind remained. They felt like even dying was worth it as long as they could earn a smile from her.

    Gu Yanying acted like she was discontent. ¡°Oi, isn¡¯t this a little far too exaggerated? I can¡¯t accept this.¡±

    Xiao An swept out with her finger, and the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out silently, turning the scarlet-yellow desert pale-white. The horse bandits and the horses were all set alight, merging with the pale-white flames. Their saddles and clothes became littered across the ground. Only the leader of the horse bandits remained, who paled in fright. ¡°D- daemon!¡±

    He urged the fine steed behind him desperately, but the horse seemed to be stunned. It did not even budge.

    Xiao An pointed out, and all of the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone gathered on him, stripping away his flesh and only leaving behind his white bones. Flames lit up in his eye sockets and sharp claws, teeth, and horns grew out on him. He turned into a Skeleton Demon.

    When she underwent the tribulation, all of her white bone artifacts had been severely damaged while contending against the armament of tribulation lightning. In particular, not a single Skull Prayer Bead remained now, so her battle prowess was severely affected.

    But that was fine too. It was perfect because she could directly refine higher quality Skeleton Demons.

    Opening her right hand and clutching it firmly, the Skeleton Demons on the back of the horse suddenly shrank, turning into the size of a fist. It shot off across the desert, serving as a scout.

    She gently caressed the stunned horse, reconstructing its flesh and blood. Two dim wisps of flames burned in the depths of its eyes as it knelt down in a docile manner.

    By now, Gu Yanying had already destroyed all the evidence. She used the hot winds of hell to pulverise all of the horse bandits¡¯ belongings, which scattered in the wind.

    ¡°Very good. We can cultivate on the horse. It will be fine as long as it¡¯s not too rocky.¡±

    A while later, the two of them rode the horse together as it galloped through the endless desert. The hooves kicked up dust as it ran along without any sense of exhaustion, yet it was extremely steady at the same time, setting off for the Myriad sect over a hundred thousand kilometres away.

    ¡­¡­

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu was distracted. The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Go if you want to go!¡±

    With her thoughts guessed, Ruan Yaozhu blushed slightly. ¡°Where am I going?¡±

    ¡°I pity that Li Qingshan. He has no friends, all on his own in the world. He doesn¡¯t even have someone watching over him when he undergoes the heavenly tribulation. If he fails the tribulation, he¡¯ll definitely die to the lightning!¡± She repeated it viciously. ¡°Die to the lightning!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu became tense. ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. With his willpower and cultivation, how can he fail the tribulation¡­¡±

    As she said that, even she became a little uncertain, as lightning tribulations had always been immeasurable. Sometimes, the tribulation lightning would instead be more intense with higher cultivations. Having someone powerful watch over them could ensure that the cultivator would not be affected by any external elements, and they could also increase the chances of the cultivator¡¯s survival if they failed the tribulation.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go take a look?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t get annoyed if I can¡¯t see him!¡± the nine-coloured deer said with great irritation.

    ¡°Alright then. You can watch over the house then.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu directly projected her Yang Soul. She was surrounded in a verdant glow. Her clothes and jade-green waistband drifted through the air, and her dark hair was held together by an ornament. She was like a fairy.

    She left the Hundred Herbs garden in a hurry. Her surroundings were filled by the vast ocean. Where was she supposed to find Li Qingshan?

    With a thought, her Yang Soul scattered with green light. Under the glow, all of the plants on the island flourished, producing specks of green light that gathered towards her like fireflies, telling her about everything that happened on the island. As a result, she determined the direction Li Qingshan had left in and flew away as a streak of green light, moving with lightning speed.

    In a short while, she heard the soft rumbling of thunder and instead wavered a little. He doesn¡¯t need me to watch over him. It might be a little inappropriate that I¡¯ve just rushed over here without any warning. I might even distract him.

    She also felt slightly embarrassed as if she was a little overly concerned about him. It came out of her good intentions, but it would be bad if anyone ended up misunderstanding them, even if there was no one else around here.

    Why don¡¯t I head over there secretly and watch over him like that? If he succeeds, then I¡¯ll secretly leave as well. Wouldn¡¯t that be for the best?

    As a result, she made up her mind, and her figure immediately faded away, hiding into the surroundings. Her aura had completely blended with nature as well, leaving no trace behind. Those who practised the Heavenly Tome of Nature were extremely skilled at hiding themselves, and she was a Yang Soul right now, so even other Yang Soul cultivators would struggle to notice her. It did not even affect her movements. She only flew at a lower altitude, and she approached the place where the tribulation was happening very quickly.

    Hmm? Why is the fourth heavenly tribulation so intense?

    The sight before her left her extremely surprised. The ocean surged violently with waves. This region of the sea was not particularly deep, but it was completely upheaved. The violent lightning rained down wave after wave from the tribulation clouds above her head, completely surpassing what she imagined the fourth heavenly tribulation would be like.

    When she got even closer, she became even more shocked, as she could clearly see the figure of a sword flying around in the tribulation clouds.

    ¡°Is that¡­ an armament of tribulation lightning!? How can there be armaments of tribulation lightning in the fourth heavenly tribulation?¡± Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise.

    Even when she faced the fifth heavenly tribulation, an armament of tribulation lightning had not appeared. Their first senior sister had faced a hammer condensed from tribulation lightning, almost left half-dead by a strike of it, but this was only the fourth heavenly tribulation!

    If the fourth heavenly tribulation that regular people faced was just a routine test, then the fourth heavenly tribulation before her eyes right now was basically like the wrath of the heavens, attempting to eradicate his very existence. The fourth heavenly tribulation she had faced back then was basically meek in comparison, like the heavens had been going easy on her. This was another great advantage that came with practising the Heavenly Tome of Nature. It was relatively easier when it came to the tribulations.

    He¡¯ll be fine, right?

    She could not help but become worried or even slightly afraid. She accelerated and quickly approached the centre of the tribulation clouds. When she made her way over a great wave, she suddenly widened her eyes.

    Boom!

    The lightning illuminated the sky and sea, shining on a figure that stood as tall as a mountain. It roared away furiously, contending against the heavens.

    Is that.. some kind of technique?

    She felt slightly uneasy, so she got a little closer. She continued until she could not get any closer, as it would draw the heavenly lightning to her. She was already so close that she needed to look up to see the imposing figure, leaving her in disbelief. However, everything before her eyes told her a simple truth.

    Qingshan, so you¡¯re actually¡­ a daemon!

 Chapter 1401

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1401 ¨C Demon Nascence

    Li Qingshan completely focused on contending with the heavenly tribulation, disregarding everything else. His scarlet eyes were fixed on the sword of lightning that shot between the dark clouds. With his knowledge, he was unable to identify what it was, but his instincts told him it was a great threat.

    The explosive lightning wove and spread between the sky and sea. Even the thinnest arcs were thick like beams. The lightning erupted together, completely illuminating the waves and the bottom of the ocean with its blinding light, producing an extremely wonderful scene. At the very centre of the lightning was Li Qingshan.

    Rumble!

    The deafening boom shattered the ocean, which instead gave off the false impression of momentary silence. The surging, steaming mist was dazzlingly white, swelling around Li Qingshan¡¯s figure as he contended against the heavenly tribulation and blurring the boundary between the demonic and the divine.

    In a daze, Ruan Yaozhu seemed to see him seated high above the clouds, controlling the lightning itself with the might of gods.

    Who are you exactly? Or should I say, what are you exactly?

    Li Qingshan¡¯s physique of the demonic and divine did not seem capable of enduring such terrifying might of the heavens, making him stagger. He dropped down on one knee and lowered his proud head.

    However, the light sword shot over immediately, slashing towards his head.

    Roar!

    Li Qingshan raised his head and let out a furious growl. It was fierce and frenzied.

    The waves rose; the winds surged. With the tiger¡¯s roar, the world moved!

    The tiger¡¯s roar forcefully halted the incoming sword of lightning. It grew even brighter, refusing to stop until it slashed down on Li Qingshan¡¯s head. Meanwhile, new lightning gathered in the tribulation clouds that blotted out the sky, even raining down with hundreds of flashing balls of lightning.

    Ruan Yaozhu immediately tensed up. For a moment, she no longer cared about Li Qingshan¡¯s race or identity, ready to interfere at any moment. She had come here to watch over him, so she would deal with everything once the heavenly tribulation was over. Otherwise, if he died here, what was the point of all that? However, she truly wondered whether she could save him in such a precarious situation.

    Lock!

    Li Qingshan extended his ape arms and opened his left hand, casting the Ape Demon Locks the Space and freezing the sword of lightning mid-air. Then he threw a punch; the air cracked open. The sword of lightning was sent flying.

    Due to the knockback, he fell backwards, so he twisted around and threw himself at the ocean, turning into a huge turtle.

    The tribulation lightning constantly bombarded the turtle shell, but it seemed to strike a mirror, rebounding back brilliantly.

    His endless array of abilities left Ruan Yaozhu stunned. Were regular daemons that powerful? It was no wonder that he did not fear Shen Yushu at all. If it were a fair battle to the death, how could Shen Yushu be his opponent? However, it did seem like he did not need her help right now.

    Within the turtle shell, Li Qingshan grinned. Sometimes, shrinking up inside a shell was quite nice.

    However, a bolt of lightning darted between the sky and sea, leaving behind a complicated and profound blur. The sword of lightning basically absorbed all of the rebounded lightning, becoming even larger and brighter. Its shape had become clearer and sharper too.

    Li Qingshan thought, Sure enough, the mighty heavenly tribulation that tests all cultivators can¡¯t be conquered so easily. However, he was still very relaxed. If the greatest threat from this tribulation was only the lightning sword, that would not be enough to kill him.

    At this moment, the soul nascence in his body budged and smiled wickedly. That was both Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance and Li Qingshan¡¯s smile, but it seemed to contain all of the malice in his heart.

    Something suddenly interfered with the operation of the small world. The endless demonic thoughts surged forth.

    Distracted, there was a flash of lightning; the lightning sword cut off head, which fell into the ocean. In the air, he cursed, ¡°What the fuck!?¡±

    Boom! His head produced a great wave when it slammed against the ocean surface before sinking into the water.

    Li Qingshan could still move his body, so he extended his arms to catch it in a hurry. The lightning flashed urgently and criss-crossed the surroundings, severing his arms as well. They also landed in the ocean with a boom. His sturdy body split apart like a rockslide, falling into the ocean piece by piece.

    Qingshan!

    Ruan Yaozhu widened her eyes. He had clearly been in complete control the moment earlier, yet he had been carved to pieces in the next. The abrupt twist in the situation was difficult to accept. Had he just died here? But the tribulation lightning did not stop.

    With a flash of lightning, she actually saw another Li Qingshan standing in the air. His body was half-transparent, his long hair was scattered, and his black clothes drifted through the air. His eyes shone with a wicked, red light as he grinned viciously, revealing his mouth full of sharp teeth.

    The tribulation lightning also treated him as a target. His figure hovered about, fading in and out, unleashing some kind of ingenious movement technique almost instinctively and manoeuvring through the lightning. Even the sword of lightning was unable to lock onto him so easily.

    What is that?

    Ruan Yaozhu was very uncertain. She had never heard of such a strange and wicked soul nascence before. It was basically like the legendary ¡°devaputra-m¨¡ra¡±. However, the devaputra-m¨¡ra only appeared when cultivators became immortals or gods. When that happened, the inner demons would flare and the five skandhas, the five forms of attachment, would blaze, opening the body, which would lead to the arrival of the devaputra-m¨¡ra. They would unleash their endless demonic arts to obstruct them from attaining enlightenment, an existence even more dangerous than tribulation lightning.

    Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s a skandha-m¨¡ra?

    For the sake of the sixth heavenly tribulation, she had investigated this thoroughly before. When the Yang Soul became an Origin Soul, the inner demons would be internalised, making their thoughts surge, but intrinsically, they were still a type of inner demons. They completely depended on the cultivator themselves and took no tangible form, definitely unlike now.

    However, neither the skandha-m¨¡ra nor the devaputra-m¨¡ra were things that cultivators that had not attained immortality yet were supposed to face. Otherwise, no one could become an immortal. It was rumoured that all devaputra-m¨¡ra were embodiments of Mahe?vara. If it was for a measly Soul Nascence cultivator, it basically made no sense at all. Death was certain.

    ¡°Mahe?vara¡­ the Heavenly Tome of Liberty¡­ don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s his soul nascence?¡±

    The demon nascence gazed at the surging ocean and sneered. ¡°Stop playing dead. I know you¡¯re still alive. Get out here!¡±

    He¡¯s still alive! Ruan Yaozhu beamed with joy inside, but she also became filled with doubt. She gazed at the demon nascence in the air. Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s actually his true form?

    A phoenix¡¯s cry pierced the air, and the ocean was dyed a magnificent colour as if it was burning.

    A phoenix spread its wings and burst out of the ocean, taking to the air.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the demon nascence in intrigue. That message earlier felt like he was muttering to himself, yet he was also unable to control it, like he was talking in his sleep. The sensation was far too strange. He never knew that practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty could produce such a freakish thing, a wicked, frenzied mirror clone that contained a consciousness of its own?

    ¡°You¡¯re a fucking thing!¡± the demon nascence cursed loudly and flew over.

    Li Qingshan tried to grab it, but the soul nascence merged with his hand. Soon afterwards, the lightning sword filled his face, and the small world suddenly became sluggish again.

    This time, Li Qingshan was prepared. He beat his wings and turned around, brushing past the lightning, but it still left behind a horrific slash, extending from his right shoulder to his left waist. It gave off a burnt smell. Even the phoenix¡¯s powerful vitality could not heal it.

    The demon nascence laughed aloud. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely miserable. This is all you¡¯re capable of, and you still want to go beyond the Nine Heavens? You¡¯re better off just dying here.¡±

    The laughter and tone was basically identical to Li Qingshan. It was even more Li Qingshan than Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Detonate, soul nascenec!¡± Without any regard for his wounds, he made up his mind and directly chose to blow up his soul nascence.

    However, nothing happened to the demon nascence at all. It sneered. ¡°If I don¡¯t watch you die, I won¡¯t die!¡±

 Chapter 1402

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1402 ¨C Weak

    Rumble!

    With a background of drooping clouds and interweaving lightning, Li Qingshan and the demon nascence stood in a stalemate mid-air like they were facing a twisted mirror. Due to the physique of the demonic and divine, the demon nascence on the other side instead seemed more like Li Qingshan, and his words sounded more like mutterings to himself.

    Before he could refute him, there was a flash of lightning behind him, and the lightning sword pierced from the ocean to the clouds.

    Within the violent boom, Li Qingshan flapped his wings and dodged miserably. Feathers scattered in the air as he gained another horrific wound.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The blazing sword of lightning darted back and forth, leaving behind a series of criss-crossing flashes and slicing everything in the surroundings to pieces.

    Li Qingshan was sealed within, unable to put up any resistance at all. The small world constantly circulated at different speeds, leaving his daemon qi chaotic and beyond his control. It all sank into chaos under the demon nascence¡¯s influence.

    He felt like his body had been extended, where a drifting limb grew out from the other end. The senses of that limb reached him even faster than anything else, so fast that he could not respond mentally and his body would be drawn along. He was completely unable to control it either.

    It was basically a voodoo doll that could move around freely made for him, constantly cursing him.

    In a split second, the sword slashed across his body and exposed his white bones. His right arm was cut off near the elbow, and the opening on his waist exposed his spine. He knelt down on one knee, allowing the furious seawater to swallow his chest. Even more unfortunately, his wings had been completely torn apart by the lightning, so he could not dodge the incoming attacks anymore. The situation rapidly worsened and death drew closer.

    The demon nascence sneered coldly. ¡°Look at you. What beyond the Nine Heavens? Just the mere fourth heavenly tribulation is enough to kill you? Why don¡¯t you just kneel down and accept your fate?¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Li Qingshan roared furiously.

    ¡°Hah, with the predicament you¡¯re in, you can¡¯t even stay alive, so do you really think you can do anything to me?¡±

    The lightning sword gathered the lightning and constantly attacked Li Qingshan. The demon nascence did not even have to dodge the lightning anymore, just standing there with its hands on its hips and its nose pointed at the sky. It seemed as arrogant as it could get.

    Ruan Yaozhu was unable to understand what was going on. Even a skandha-m¨¡ra would use the five skandhas or form, sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness to disturb the cultivator. It would neither be tangible nor conscious, much less be able to curse the cultivator like this. On top of that, the demon nascence was basically identical to Li Qingshan from a certain perspective.

    Boom! Li Qingshan endured another strike to the back. If he had not used the spirit turtle¡¯s innate ability in time, he basically would have been split into two. However, the great force of the strike still slammed him against the ocean.

    How can this happen? It must be that shitty turtle, that Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, screwing me over! There¡¯s something wrong with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty he¡¯s given me!

    ¡°Nice!¡± The demon nascence¡¯s voice reached Li Qingshan through the deep, rippling water clearly. ¡°Li Qingshan, you don¡¯t want me to talk? Then that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯ll do. You¡¯re just a measly mortal who happened upon a shitty cultivation method through good luck, and you¡¯ve started getting ahead of yourself. Do you actually think you can defeat Demon God Qiongqi and reach beyond the Nine Heavens?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows slightly. There was nothing strange about cultivators of the Human realm setting beyond the Nine Heavens as their goal, but what was this about Demon God Qiongqi? How could a mere Soul Nascence cultivator become involved with a monster like that?

    ¡°Tsktsk, you abandoned your wife and wantonly slaughtered the innocent, yet you¡¯re still bold enough to talk about some Nine Heavens again and again? Even I feel embarrassed for you. Fortunately though, you won¡¯t be able to reach it. Even if you do, you¡¯ll just be an embarrassment! You¡¯re better off dying here. At least that¡¯ll save quite a lot of trouble.¡±

    The demon nascence¡¯s sneers echoed and overlapped with the thunder, completely unaffected by the booms.

    Li Qingshan was absolutely furious. He finally understood how the opponents he had mocked in the past felt now. He was tempted to rip this damned thing to pieces. However, the more furious he became, the more vicious the demon nascence¡¯s words were. The endless curses were like arrows that pierced his heart, even more unbearable than the tribulation lightning.

    As a result, he simply sealed off his ears and eyes so that he did not have to hear or see it. However, the words only became clearer as if¡­ as if they came from the bottom of his heart.

    He came to a realisation and immediately understood that he was wrong. The damned thing was neither wicked nor was it conscious, as that was his own voice.

    He struggled to climb to his feet. The lightning sword hung high in the air, crackling with light. Suddenly, it pierced the sky and the sea, pinning him firmly to the depths of the ocean.

    The sea water erupted, sending waves hurtling in all directions.

    The demon nascence extended two fingers. That was a sign that signified victory from Li Qingshan¡¯s past life. It smiled. ¡°That¡¯s two times. There¡¯s still¡­ one last time!¡±

    When Li Qingshan rebirthed again and slowly climbed out of the ocean, he thought, And what did I think it was? So it¡¯s just a mixture of distracting thoughts! The greatest enemy is yourself? Pah, how tacky!

    ¡°So you¡¯ve finally discovered it, fool! But it¡¯s already too late!¡±

    The demon nascence pointed a finger at the sky. The lightning sword had lost its target, so it hovered about its head, slowly spinning and absorbing the lightning without firing, recovering its glow. Nearby, the tribulation clouds amassed above Li Qingshan¡¯s head. As the lightning shot by, it vaguely assumed the form of a blade.

    A second armament of tribulation lightning!

    Ruan Yaozhu was dumbfounded. Was this really the fourth heavenly tribulation? Li Qingshan had basically committed sins against the heavens. There were his inner demons running amok inside and armaments of tribulation lightning outside. Even Yin Soul cultivators would probably be doomed given the circumstances.

    ¡°You¡¯re the fool. If I hadn¡¯t discovered it, how would you have discovered it? Whatever, it¡¯s far too foolish to argue with myself.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. His greatest dissenter on the path to beyond the Nine Heavens was himself.

    Fear, doubt, guilt, powerlessness, fury¡­ day and night, those emotions blazed away like fire, without any end. However, his great willpower normally suppressed these distracting thoughts.

    However, at this critical juncture of the fourth heavenly tribulation, not only was he going from Daemon King to Daemon Emperor, but his soul nascence was turning into a proper soul too.

    Soul nascences cultivated from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty were unique, and the Yin Souls it produced was almost like a yin demon, a skandha-m¨¡ra. It was even more skilled in various mysterious and unpredictable techniques like bewitchment, infiltration, and invisibility. It could easily crush other cultivators of the same realm that were not skilled in combat or possessed weak wills like Shen Yushu.

    However, the price was that it was extremely easy to suffer from cultivation deviation, like right now.

    And this was not a coincidence, but something that was bound to happen.

    If practising the Heavenly Tome of Nature was following the path of nature and could lower the difficulties of tribulations, then the effect of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty was the exact opposite. It made the cultivator prematurely experience what was called the five skandhas ablaze and inner demons attacking.

    The demon nascence said, ¡°You¡¯re done for.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re also done for.¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the lightning blade that was gradually taking shape and murmured to himself, ¡°I didn¡¯t even notice this if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it¡­ Are you trying to destroy yourself?¡±

    The soul nascence was the rudimentary form of a yin demon. Everything it said was his own thoughts, akin to the uncontrollable negative emotions of a mortal.

    The various thoughts all turned into reality; the various emotions were all exposed. The deepest thought and the most terrifying emotion was the urge to destroy himself. As a result, the demon nascence opposed him and wanted nothing short of his destruction.

    Only by completely denying his own existence and reducing everything to nothingness could he completely let go of such a heavy burden, no longer needing to continue down this difficult path.

    It was laughable. Was the path to the Nine Heavens merely seeking for his own death?

    The demon nascence said blankly, ¡°This is your fate, as well as mine¡­¡±

    With a rumble, the lightning blade took shape, and the lightning sword whistled down. The killing intent from the world was gathered in this blade and sword. Just who could stop them?

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°Fuck fate. You¡¯re just weak.¡±

 Chapter 1403

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1403 ¨C Fate

    The two armaments of tribulation lightning gathered the sky full of lightning and the surroundings actually fell silent instantly, only leaving behind the whooshing sounds of the wind and waves.

    Ruan Yaozhu watched silently. She also felt slightly powerless. No one could survive a situation like this, even if it was him. The outcome of a pincer attack from armaments of tribulation lightning would definitely be obliteration and annihilation. She was unable to save him either.

    She could not help but become lost. Have I travelled all the way here just to see how he dies?

    Li Qingshan seemed to be completely unaware of the situation he was in, staring at the demon nascence in the air and mocking that weak version of himself. His expression was extremely similar to the demon nascence¡¯s from earlier. When he smiled like that, the expression of the demon nascence gradually grew blank, repeating the same, simple phrase over and over again. ¡°You¡¯re going to die¡­ you¡¯re going to die¡­¡±

    It was like a broken voodoo doll, never forgetting about the curse it had been engraved with.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to die.¡± Li Qingshan murmured, ¡°If I wasn¡¯t going to die, why would I have taken this path in the first place?¡±

    The insects of summer knew no concept of ice, just like how a short lifespan was no match for the long. Mortals had a century as their lifespan, while it was rare even for cultivators to live past a thousand years. As for more than ten thousand years, that was something that even cultivators could only dream of.

    But in this vast world, what were centuries and millennia supposed to be? Who could escape death? That was the deepest fear and the most ancient curse on all living creatures.

    Li Qingshan had once died before, so he understood this fear better than anyone else. After all, he had once spent a life in mediocrity too, haggling over measly profits and filled with weariness. Only when the moment that death suddenly descended upon him did he realise it. So I can¡¯t live forever!

    He did not hate the ever-changing nature of the world, nor did he regret the transience of life. All he feared was in his life, there was a single day where he had not managed to live to his heart¡¯s content. It was exactly this fear that gave him the unstoppable courage he possessed in this life.

    Since even drifting mindlessly won¡¯t prolong my life, why not live heartily? Since I am fated to die, why not die a worthy death?

    He placed his right fist on his chest. His heart thumped away. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get what you want one day, but not today, not here!¡±

    Boom!

    The sword and blade merged together, descending from above. The countless bolts of lightning linked the two of them together. When they first began to fall, they were very slow, which made them seem extremely heavy. They locked firmly onto Li Qingshan¡¯s body and mind, heart and soul, such that there was no chance to dodge anymore, just like the unstoppable fate- No, this was the unstoppable fate!

    In the flashing lightning, the demon nascence roared, ¡°Die! Die!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. Not only had he lost control over the small world in his body, but even his body had escaped his grasp slightly. He clenched both hands and arched up his back, rippling with muscles as something that resembled a deep growl rang out from the depths of the earth.

    He powered the small world as hard as he could, earth, fire, wind, water, and space; the ox, tiger, turtle, phoenix, and ape. The small world began to revolve, moving faster and faster.

    The blade and sword of lightning accelerated too. Ruan Yaozhu could not help but widen her eyes.

    ¡°The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud!¡±

    Suddenly, the ox demon¡¯s figure appeared behind him, butting its horns at an invisible enemy. He took a step forward, like a puppet that had broken free from a string, taking root in the ground.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, Foreboding Fate!¡±

    Taking another step, the surging ocean became mirror-smooth, reflecting the sword and blade of lightning shining in the tribulation clouds, as well as his unmoving body and a pair of scarlet eyes.

    ¡°The Tiger Demon Forges its Bones, with a Frenzied Heart!¡±

    He threw his fists violently; the strings attached to his arms collapsed. He let out a roar at the sky, and his voice held back the clouds, making murderousness whistle like the winds.

    ¡°The Phoenix Undergoes Nirvana Rebirth, with an Undying Heart!¡±

    He spread his wings, reflecting beautifully on the ocean, flapping away as if he was trying to fly.

    At the same time, the small world reached its limit in circulation, such that it approached collapse. However, it continued to accelerate, preferring to be destroyed than become restrained.

    The demon nascence¡¯s voice became even sharper and faster, ¡°Die, die, die¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled brightly. The small world exploded violently; the demon nascence¡¯s voice came to a halt, having broken free from the final shackle. Blinding light erupted from his body, contending against the sword and blade of lightning in the sky.

    He leapt up as hard as he could and flapped his wings, taking to the skies!

    The sword and blade of lightning spun rapidly, falling down like a blazing meteor with a long arc as a tail!

    ¡°The Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void!¡±

    The figure of the ape demon appeared. Li Qingshan¡¯s arms abruptly extended, shooting straight towards the sword and blade like he was trying to grasp fate.

    Gorgeous light erupted the moment he collided with fate, reflecting on the tranquil ocean. The splendid colours left even Ruan Yaozhu dazzled as a rumble that had surpassed her senses of hearing shook up her Yang Soul. In a daze, she felt like she was no longer in a mortal world anymore.

    After just a split second of stalemate, Li Qingshan was crushed viciously, falling towards the endless ocean. The light he gave off had dimmed, and his eyes had been melted away by the lightning, only leaving behind a pair of holes. The phoenix wings disintegrated, filling the air with feathers. His organs, flesh, and bones had already begun to melt in the light he gave off when he ignited himself.

    However, he felt no pain or fear, only the joy of living, which turned into a furious, hysterical howl, firmly contending against fate. Even when his tongue had melted away in the light, the howl continued, remaining unfazed.

    At this moment, the soul nascence returned to his body again, casting itself into the chaotic world that resembled an exploded furnace.

    He laughed madly, pressing against the blade and sword, lifting up fate and rushing up into the air.

    The sharp edges of the weapons met the palm of his hands, piercing his arms instantly and making them disintegrate inch by inch!

    He could clearly feel that as long as the two weapons met within his body, then that would be complete destruction. Even the phoenix¡¯s nirv¨¡?a could not save him.

    Under the threat of fear and death, his will to live had instead become even clearer and firmer than ever before.

    ¡°The Qilin, with its Hovering Steps, Sympathises with the Living!¡±

    Green light spread through his arms, wrapping around the violet sword and blade of lightning. It only lasted for a moment, but he slammed his arms together, and the weapons inside them collided violently. At the same time, he erupted with all the power his body contained.

    Boom!

    The sky and sea was completely illuminated, scattering the sky full of tribulation clouds and peeling away the sea water layer by layer, exposing the dry, cracked seabed. The footsteps he left behind were clearly visible, but his figure had already melded into the boundless light.

    Ruan Yaozhu appeared and subconsciously brought her hand over her eyes, basically forgetting that she was currently a Yang Soul. Under the glow of the light, she was forced to retreat. That power was enough to destroy her Yang Soul.

    After who knew how long, she returned to her senses and lowered her hand. The light had already vanished and the dark night flooded over. There was not a single cloud in sight, exposing a sky full of stars. The wind and waves were calm as if nothing had happened at all.

    Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s already¡­

    Her Yang Soul immediately flew over to where Li Qingshan faced the tribulation. It was empty there, with the figure who had just contended against fate nowhere to be seen. She could not help but call out gently, ¡°Qingshan.¡± as if she was afraid of disturbing someone.

    There was no reply. She felt a strange sense of distress, so saddened that she was almost about to shed tears.

    ¡°Who¡¯s calling for me?¡±

    ¡°Fantastic, you¡¯re still alive!¡± Ruan Yaozhu was very surprised and overjoyed. She saw Li Qingshan floating up to the surface of the ocean.

    ¡°Senior sister Ruan! Why are you here?¡±

    Li Qingshan lay on the surface of the ocean with his limbs splayed out. He could not even move a finger now. Ruan Yaozhu appeared in his view right above him, and she seemed quite disgruntled. ¡°You owe me an explanation!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed dryly. ¡°Erm¡­ would you like a new mount?¡±

 Chapter 1404

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1404 ¨C Mount

    With a splash, Li Qingshan was pulled out of the sea. Ruan Yaozhu grabbed him by the collar firmly. ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He had never expected there was such a side to her. It was probably because she was a Yang Soul right now. Without the restraints of her body, her emotions were beyond control too. This was probably a major reason why his soul nascence had suddenly demonified too.

    However, when he thought about that, he still felt like it was the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance who had screwed him over.

    If he did not practise the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, the dangers this time would be a hundred times worse. His soul nascence would not just turn into a demon nascence and oppose him. Instead, he would demonify himself and completely lose control, as the soul nascence was the condensation of power and will to a regular Soul Nascence cultivator. Losing the soul nascence meant losing everything.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty that no one had practised before was far too dangerous. He did not have an easy time as a lab rat. It was very difficult to say if the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had any malicious intentions at all, but fortunately, he was no regular lab rat.

    As he drifted off in his thoughts, his body suddenly tightened. The jade-green waistband behind Ruan Yaozhu wrapped around him firmly like a snake.

    Li Qingshan felt wronged. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with me?¡±

    ¡°What are your intentions for infiltrating the Myriad sect? Just what have I done to let you down? Why have you lied to me?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s voice trembled. Who knew whether it was out of fury or sadness, or perhaps it was a combination of both.

    ¡°No one else believed you. Even Jiu¡¯er told me to keep my distance from you. Because of you, I even lost my temper with first senior sister. You actually¡­ actually¡­¡±

    ¡°Calm down! Calm down!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not possess any strength to resist right now, but he was not afraid at all as he faced this infuriated Yang Soul cultivator. Instead, he felt strangely touched.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s eyes shone with green light as her hair danced through the air. Her voice was filled with an inhuman sense of authority, echoing between the sky and sea. The feeling she gave off actually made Li Qingshan feel like he was facing the heavenly tribulations again. Even as someone unskilled with fighting and killing, she was still a Yang Soul cultivator after all, and did practising the Heavenly Tome of Nature really make her unskilled at fighting and killing?

    ¡°Oh¡­ then kill me!¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes. He felt the aura grow stronger and stronger, almost swallowing him. That was not a murderousness of the living, but the indifference and mercilessness of nature as if all life was worthless. However, he could clearly sense the fury inside, the fury that did not belong there.

    Sure enough, a while later, his entire body loosened, and the waistband slackened around him.

    The glow she gave off gradually vanished. She turned around and said with her back to him, ¡°You should go!¡±

    Li Qingshan admired her slender and beautiful figure and smiled. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be returning to the Myriad sect first.¡±

    ¡°Daemons can¡¯t stay in the Myriad sect. I¡¯m not going to hide this for you.¡± Ruan Yaozhu raised her head proudly.

    Li Qingshan thought about it. ¡°Not even as a mount?¡±

    ¡°Piss off!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not dare to joke around anymore. Even rabbits could bite people when they ran out of patience, not to mention the fact that a ¡°rabbit¡± had kicked him viciously recently. However, after this period of consideration, he had already come up with a perfect excuse. ¡°Senior sister Ruan, please stop being angry. I¡¯m not a daemon, nor have I ever lied to you.¡±

    ¡°You still have the courage to claim that? Do you really think I won¡¯t kill you?¡± Ruan Yaozhu ground her teeth.

    ¡°I heard the Myriad sect possesses a Heavenly Tome of True Dragon, where cultivators can activate their bloodline of the true dragon and become a true dragon. Don¡¯t tell me they count as daemons too?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different. Don¡¯t tell me you also turned into like that through cultivation?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Have you ever seen such a freakish daemon before?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu thought about it. No matter how she looked at it, he just seemed like a great big daemon with his appearance and aura, but when she thought about it closely, his bloodlines were a little too mixed.

    Li Qingshan made his way around her and stared straight into his eyes. He said with utmost sincerity, ¡°I was originally a regular human. Do you believe me?¡±

    That truly was not a lie.

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed. ¡°Alright then, I believe you. I have been wrong about this part.¡±

    There were many cultivators of various origins that had come to the Myriad sect to cultivate. The Myriad Heavenly Tomes were all-encompassing as well, coming in a myriad different forms and shapes. He truly could not be blamed for his cultivation method.

    However, she added, ¡°But you lied to me. I won¡¯t forgive you. You should leave the Hundred herbs garden!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Without me, do you plan on asking Shen Yushu to return? He probably doesn¡¯t have a job right now.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu balled her fists. ¡°You¡¯re trying to threaten me as well. I have arms and legs. I don¡¯t need others to help me out.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but smile. Right now, she was basically like a little girl throwing a tantrum. He laid out his hands and shrugged. ¡°But I haven¡¯t lied to you! This cultivation method has always been my greatest secret. Someone extremely important to me passed it to me. Even when the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance asked for it, I didn¡¯t give it to him.¡±

    ¡°The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance also knows?¡± Ruan Yaozhu was dubious of that.

    ¡°How can he not know? If he didn¡¯t know, why did he summon me to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes as soon as I joined the sect and try to chase me away? Why would I have received a heavenly tome like this from him too? He basically wants me to die.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He was quite resentful about this. Originally, he was supposed to survive the fourth heavenly tribulation with ease, yet it had almost cost him his life in the end.

    Ruan Yaozhu said curiously, ¡°You¡¯re lying. Since the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance wants to chase you away, how can you still stay behind?¡±

    ¡°Obviously because of my exceptional charms. Don¡¯t look at me that way¡­¡±

    Under the sky full of stars, Li Qingshan explained everything as Ruan Yaozhu listened along silently. His encounter had been far too bizarre. Not only had he managed to persuade the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, but the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had even ¡°plotted¡± against him.

    ¡°Actually, you can¡¯t call that plotting against me. This is truly the cultivation method most suited for me. I stayed behind because I guaranteed to him that I definitely possess no ill intentions towards the Myriad sect. You know that he can distinguish sincerity from lies. Can you?¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly asked with shining eyes.

    ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°I still have a lot of things that I can¡¯t tell you, but I can promise you that I definitely possess no ill intentions towards you. It¡¯s the opposite actually. I hope you stay well, and I want to help you. If you face danger, I¡¯ll protect you even if I have to sacrifice my life.¡±

    Li Qingshan pressed down on his chest. His expression was filled with sincerity. He had not told a single lie. An extremely kind woman that had shown him kindness and was sincerely concerned for him was truly worth sacrificing his life to protect.

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s eyes rippled. She was slightly touched. ¡°You¡­ I¡­¡±

    If someone else had heard that, they would probably find it laughable. Even after the heavenly tribulation, you¡¯re just a Yin Soul cultivator, yet you say you want to protect a Yang Soul cultivator. You¡¯re basically overestimating yourself.

    However, she could not help but recall his conversation with the demon nascence and his valiant figure as he contended against the blade and sword of lightning. She was unable to doubt a single word he had said.

    Li Qingshan grinned and balled his fists in front of his chest. His eyes shone as he leaned forwards. ¡°As a result, I beg you to let me stay in the Hundred Herbs garden! If you really can¡¯t do that, I can be a mount too. I can transform into anything. Do you like the phoenix or the spirit turtle, or the ox or the tiger? A monkey doesn¡¯t seem particularly appropriate¡­¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu took a step back and blushed slightly. ¡°Stop with the nonsense!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. ¡°I¡¯m serious.¡±

    With a flash of green, Ruan Yaozhu flew away like she was escaping, leaving behind a single message. ¡°You can stay here if you¡¯d like!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, making his body jolt. Every single muscle in his body spasmed. ¡°Ah, it hurts!¡±

    With a plop, he fell head-first into the ocean.

 Chapter 1405

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1405 ¨C New Life

    The sea water ebbed gently. Li Qingshan gazed at the sky and lay on the surface of the ocean quietly. All of the tribulation clouds had dispersed, and the sky full of stars seemed to be within arm¡¯s reach. Enduring the pain, he extended his hand as hard as he could at the sky like he was trying to grab one of the stars¡­

    In the Hundred Herbs garden, Ruan Yaozhu returned to her body. The expression on her fair and gentle face changed, like a spring breeze over the surface of a lake, like she was in thought. Even though he had convinced her, the change was still there, like a knot in her heart.

    The nine-coloured deer laid in the basket lazily. ¡°Has he died?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu wanted to smile, but she was unable to. She shook her head.

    ¡°Sigh, I knew it!¡±

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er¡­ what kind of person do you think he is?¡± Ruan Yaozhu faltered.

    ¡°What happened?¡± The nine-coloured deer sat up like she had just jerked away. The speckled patterns across her chest shimmered as the basket swayed.

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head again and said rather tiredly, ¡°Nothing.¡±

    Very soon, Li Qingshan returned from the ocean. His entire body still ached painfully, but a new journey had already begun, so he set of eagerly.

    Under the golden-leaved bodhi tree, he patted the trunk with a sense of both unfamiliarity and closeness. He turned around and gazed out.

    The sun rose up in the east, giving off a burning glow and dyeing his eyes and hair red as if he had turned into Daemon King Northmoon, no, Daemon Emperor Northmoon.

    He smiled. The entire Hundred Herbs garden demonstrated a sight he had never seen before right in front of his eyes.

    Within this space of just several hundred kilometres, earth, fire, wind, and water revolved. Four kinds of heavy colours lurked in the depths of this landscape painting, constantly changing and merging together.

    It was the start of spring. Overall, the brimming vigour that the plants all gave off as they grew could not match the hue of these four colours, but it was still exceptionally beautiful. Through the scenery, it could pull him into the painting.

    The newly-born qilin opened its eyes and stared at everything with its gentle gaze, whether it was the small world, the Hundred Herbs garden, or the entire world. Finally, it started taking care of itself.

    Spring was the busiest season in the Hundred Herbs garden. Li Qingshan clenched his fists. ¡°Time to get to work!¡±

    He completely discarded the thoughts of pain. He strolled around the golden-leaved bodhi tree idly with his arms behind his back. With each step he took, he left behind an afterimage. It was identical to himself, down to even the wrinkles in his skin, like the scene had suddenly been frozen. However, the afterimage immediately materialised and sprung alive.

    Even the expression was identical to Li Qingshan¡¯s, scratching his head impatiently as if he did not really want to work. However, he still picked up a farm tool and strode off from the hill.

    Li Qingshan circled around the tree ten times, and a hundred clones made their way down the mountain. Suddenly, he stopped. ¡°It¡¯s enough.¡± He clasped his hands in the direction of the Hundred Herbs dwelling. ¡°Senior sister, I¡¯m going to be upholding my promise.¡±

    This should have been a request, but when he said that, it felt like she was forced to accept it whether she wanted to or not, even if he had no intentions of coming off as condescending, even if he had no right to be condescending.

    The red sun rose gradually, making his shadow move. A while later, Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s voice rang through the entire Hundred Herbs garden.

    ¡°From today onwards, Li Qingshan will be responsible for the regular affairs of the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    The cultivators busying about in the Hundred Herbs garden looked at one another in surprise. They all stopped working and began discussing among themselves.

    ¡°Is he replacing senior brother Shen?¡±

    ¡°Just how important and complicated is senior brother Shen¡¯s work? How can she leave it up to a Soul Nascence cultivator? Senior sister Ruan is just a little¡­¡±

    ¡°Sigh, even senior brother Shen lost, his body destroyed, so you should just save it!¡±

    ¡°I heard the kid comes from quite a background and has connections above. He¡¯s valued by so many direct disciples¡­¡±

    As they spoke, Li Qingshan¡¯s figure suddenly appeared in the surroundings, whistling away leisurely with a plough and walking over steadily. He got close and called out, ¡°All of you, get to work!¡±

    Everyone looked at each other, none of them replying. They all were slightly discontent with this. Even when Shen Yushu was around, he did not order them around like this. Do you really think a formal disciple like you can order us around just because you have senior sister Ruan backing you up? If we go on strike together, let¡¯s see how you face her.

    At this moment, a female cultivator saw another familiar figure walking over from the corner of her eye. She could not help but become surprised. ¡°L- look over here.¡±

    Another Li Qingshan walked over. If it were not for the fact that he carried a different tool on his shoulder, it basically would have been impossible to disguise them. He yelled at them again, ¡°Get to work.¡± He even added, ¡°Stop crowding around there and talking rubbish, or I¡¯ll¡­¡± He waved his fist at them fiercely.

    In just a short while, over a dozen Li Qingshan walked past. Some of them were a little more amiable, while others completely looked down on them, except they basically all lectured them a little.

    ¡°T- those are¡­ clones?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s all just measly tricks, an attempt to scare us!¡±

    An old cultivator stroked his peppered beard impatiently and swung his arms backwards, rising up in the air like a crane. He gazed down from above and everything unfurled before his eyes.

    His expression hardened. All he saw was Li Qingshan¡¯s figure everywhere, handling various different tasks with flexible and powerful movements. He was completely unable to distinguish which ones were real and which ones were fake. Some of them even used some techniques to water the plants and add fertiliser.

    On top of that, even more Li Qingshans walked out from under the golden-leaved bodhi tree. He gulped and descended slowly. Under the gazes of the other cultivators he said, ¡°Stop talking and get to work!¡±

    Under the golden-leaved bodhi tree, Li Qingshan absorbed the thick spiritual qi and slowly recovered his strength. The pain from his body and soul did not just come from his injuries. It was also because he had reached a whole new level.

    Everything that he initially believed to be perfect had all been upheaved again; he had an even better blueprint now, like he had undergone an even deeper rebirth.

    The Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine obviously went without saying. The Heavenly Tome of Liberty was no different.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance might have been under the suspicion of screwing him over, basically screwing him over to his death, but the Heavenly Tome of Liberty truly did suit him extremely well. Not only was it compatible with his disposition and cultivation, but it matched his gambling nature too.

    He gambled with his life. Now that he had won the gamble, the winnings were particularly plentiful.

    The Yin Soul condensed from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, or more accurately, the Yin Demon, basically possessing an endless array of functions. Even he did not have enough time to enjoy all of the fruits from breaking through. However, if he fought Shen Yushu again, he would not even need to lift a finger. Just the Yin Demon would be enough to toy him to death. The demon nascence alone could hide in space and dodge the tribulation lightning. Even if the primary target of the tribulation lightning was not it, what kind of movement techniques were that?

    The clones he produced completely overturned his understanding of clones too. It had become extremely simple. Now, every single thought of his could turn into a clone, independent of one another yet also all linked together, under his control yet also able to move about freely.

    With an endless number of thoughts came an endless number of clones. It would only be limited by his soul sense and power. However, with the support of the new small world, he was completely capable of producing an atrocious number of clones. Taking care of the Hundred Herbs garden would not be difficult at all.

    However, the slightly awkward part about all of this was that many of his clones laid down and began resting after arriving in the fields, crossing one leg over the other and admiring the sky. There was nothing he could do about it. Everything had upsides and downsides. These thought clones bore a slight resemblance to the demon nascence that had broken free from his control. He did not have to control every single movement of every single clone in such a tireless manner, which was why he could surpass the limitation of numbers.

    If the thought in his head when he produced a clone was, ¡°Wow, the sky is so blue and the grass is so green. I might as well just lay down and rest a little¡±, then the thought clone would not be particularly enthusiastic when it came to work.

    As a result, Li Qingshan was forced to destroy all of these lazy ¡°thoughts¡±. He circled around the tree faster and constantly uttered ¡°work hard¡±, producing even more thought clones that were enthusiastic to work.

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu and the nine-coloured deer saw this. The nine-coloured deer said in surprise, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Heavenly Tome of Liberty a little too powerful? He can fight, he can flee, and he can work. This kid is far too lucky!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°If you knew about his situation when he faced the tribulation, you wouldn¡¯t find it lucky anymore.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, what happened? I asked you, and you didn¡¯t tell me. Are we even sisters still?¡±

    ¡°His soul nascence demonified and wanted to destroy him.¡± Even without the armaments of tribulation lightning, the demon nascence was enough to kill most cultivators.

    ¡°Ah, then how did he survive?¡± The nine-coloured deer became even more curious. Ruan Yaozhu seemed to have changed slightly ever since she returned.

    Ruan Yaozhu brushed aside the question. ¡°Anyway, he found his true self and survived!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer was suspicious. ¡°Are you hiding something from me?¡±

 Chapter 1406

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1406 ¨C Haunt

    ¡°H- how¡¯s that possible?¡± Ruan Yaozhu stumbled with her words. Under the nine-coloured deer¡¯s pressing gaze, she suddenly changed the topic and smiled. ¡°At this rate, we won¡¯t need any other cultivators. Just he will be enough.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± The nine-coloured deer objected immediately.

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°No means no!¡± A man and woman alone together was far too terrifying.

    ¡°Then forget about it.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu did not persist with it. She touched her hair pin and sighed slightly, feeling a little apologetic. There was nothing they could not tell each other, but this had to do with his greatest secret, so she could not bring it up without good reason.

    The nine-coloured deer thought, Piece of wood, oh piece of wood, when you lie, you can¡¯t even fool a stranger! Dammit, something must have happened. It¡¯s all that damned Li Qingshan! I won¡¯t give up. I¡¯ll definitely chase him away from here.

    At this moment, they suddenly heard Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter, flagrant and filled with a sense of heartiness.

    ¡­¡­

    When Li Qingshan completely took over the Hundred Herbs garden, he ensured everything ran smoothly very soon and sat down under the golden-leaved bodhi tree again, silently sensing his new powers.

    The new small world was still in a rudimentary form, like a chick just hatched from an egg. Most of it was still a chaotic haze, slowly circulating and culminating into new laws. It still needed a lot of time before it truly took shape. His body was extremely feeble too, nowhere close to when he could spread his wings and soar, so he was unable to measure how powerful he had become.

    However, he was certain that he must have become extremely powerful! That was because right now, he was already very powerful.

    With this power, whether it was taking over the Xuanming dwelling or confronting Chao Tianjiao, it all gave him a little more confidence. Even Demon God Qiongqi did not seem so far away anymore.

    He would be facing these enemies one by one in the end before defeating them!

    The best part was he had finally broken through the bottleneck with the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity. Like the other transformations, the first layer was actually still very weak. All it did was give him another innate ability, but that was merely the beginning. Once the Qilin Transformation reached the fifth layer, his other suppressed transformations would completely recover immediately.

    Only then would the new small world completely stabilise and take shape. He basically could not imagine how much his cultivation would increase by and how great his power would become when that moment arrived.

    To others, after surviving the fourth heavenly tribulation after so much difficulty, what came next was a lengthy transition period. They needed a very, very long period of accumulation before they had the chance to face the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    This could last a century, five centuries, a millennium, or even a lifetime.

    But to him, this was an opportunity to rise up!

    There might still be a wall up ahead, but he had grown a pair of wings, allowing him to fly over it with ease. It was completely possible for him to undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation within the next three decades.

    That was because he had suppressed himself as a Daemon King for far, far too long. Originally, he could have faced the fourth heavenly tribulation many years ago, but due to various reasons, he stopped there.

    He did not halt and stop advancing. Instead, he constantly made efforts to advance, constantly building up power, such that he suppressed his overall strength by an entire level. In the Human realm, he also found a new source of power, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    This might have played a big reason in the appearance of the two armaments of tribulation lightning. It was as if even the heavens could not permit the existence of a monster like him, wanting to kill him before he grew up.

    However, he still managed to hold off the will of the heavens, surviving the long, dark night and seeing a ray of hope.

    Until enough heroes have grown in the bronze cradle¡­

    This was not a long, steady period of transition, but an explosive period of rapid growth!

    The next target was the fifth layer of the qilin, the fifth layer of the ape demon, and initial mastery over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. As long as he achieved these three goals, what was difficult about the fifth heavenly tribulation? What was troublesome about Daemon and Human Sovereigns? Direct disciples would be at his whim!

    What true dragon Ao Xuan? You won¡¯t even have the right to be my mount. What first senior sister Chao Tianjiao? Though, her figure is quite nice, so I can consider her as a mount. And that damned rabbit, drinking my alcohol and kicking me in the face. Unforgivable.

    I¡¯ll crush you all one by one and then face Qiongqi in the Demon domain. How great would that be?

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed madly. The bodhi tree shook and trembled as his voice echoed through the entire Hundred Herbs garden.

    The cultivators all remarked, ¡°A small man intoxicated by success! He¡¯s just replaced Shen Yushu, so there¡¯s no need to be so complacent!¡±

    No one could understand his thoughts, just like how a finch struggled to understand the aspirations of a swan.

    No, perhaps there was someone.

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu recalled the conversation between Li Qingshan and the demon nascence that occurred in the turbulent ocean.

    ¡­Do you actually think you can defeat Demon God Qiongqi and reach beyond the Nine Heavens?

    She thought of that again and again. Was the Demon God Qiongqi that the demon nascence referred to actually one of the twelve Demon Gods of the Demon domain?

    How can a mere Soul Nascence cultivator become involved with something like that? Even the grand sect master of the Myriad sect, the legendary Elder of Heavenly Tomes, might not necessarily be Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s opponent¡­

    Thinking up to there, she shook her head. No, the great sect master is a True Immortal, but his occupation is not fighting, so he¡¯s definitely not Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s opponent! Even the Zhenwu Emperor might not be able to slay the twelve Demon Gods, yet a mere Soul Nascence cultivator actually wants to confront one? That¡¯s basically absurd.

    However, it was exactly this absurd answer that explained everything.

    Why he advanced so urgently, madly embracing extravagant gambles again and again like he did not care about losing, why he would not back down even when he faced true disciples, even bold enough to challenge them to a duel. His courage and resolve was startling.

    That was because even more powerful enemies and an even more terrifying fate awaited him.

    It was exactly because of that that such a strange demon nascence had appeared.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty definitely was not a trap from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, or there was absolutely no need for him to go this far. On top of that, the birth of a new heavenly tome was a major event that alarmed the entire Myriad sect. The Heavenly Tome of Liberty had been added to the ranks of the Myriad Heavenly Tomes a long time ago, free for disciples to choose from.

    Then there was only one explanation. Soul nascences cultivated by the Heavenly Tome of Liberty were easier to lose control. As a matter of fact, losing control might have even been guaranteed when facing the heavenly tribulation, but it definitely would not go as far as to want to destroy itself. Otherwise, just blowing up the soul nascence alone was enough to kill most people. Li Qingshan¡¯s demon nascence had not directly blown itself up exactly because it wanted to kill him.

    That did make sense. Basically all cultivators that made it that far had a very long lifespan ahead of them, so why would they still have a haunt like that? At most, they would be disturbed by their demonic thoughts. It would be very dangerous, but it definitely was not enough to make death a guarantee.

    He clearly possessed extremely great talent and extraordinary bloodlines. It was even very likely for him to live longer than her, yet his greatest haunt was actually wanting to destroy himself. Wasn¡¯t that both absolutely laughable and sorrowful?

    She finally understood why he advanced forwards without any regard. The heavens had given him a fate of certain death!

    And that would probably happen in a only few decades. Just how short was that to cultivators like them? If she had encountered such an absurd matter, she would probably also be laden with worries and burdened with great pressure.

    When she heard the mad laughter, it instead made her feel a deep sense of sadness, just like how when the will of the heavens toyed with people, it led heroes to the end of their paths.

    She could not help but look up. The sunlight poured in diagonally from above, cladding her in a hazy glow.

    In the Hundred Herbs garden, there was a man and a woman, one in sorrow and one in joy.

    Even if people could not communicate their emotions, they could still resonate.

    However, it was a mystery just who had become whose haunt.

 Chapter 1407

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1407 ¨C New Ability

    Demonic thoughts were the resources for practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty

    Li Qingshan happened to be heavy with demonic thoughts, far more than any regular person. This was originally a major side effect of practising the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. In the very beginning, he even needed the spirit turtle to constantly suppress it, or he would lose control.

    As his cultivation increased and with the formation of the small world, he had not been caring so much about the balance between the demonic and divine. However, the demonic thoughts still remained, and they blazed even more than in the past. Right now, as there were no transformations close to breaking through, he began practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty first instead.

    Even if the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was actually screwing him over, he could only continue onwards and throw himself into the belly of the beast fearlessly since he had taken this step.

    Sitting with his legs crossed, he peered into his body. Within the chaotic world, the Yin Demon also sat with its legs crossed, assuming the same posture as him, down to the smallest of details. However, its face was unclear, hazy like it was shrouded by a layer of thin mist.

    With a thought, killing intent rose up from Li Qingshan.

    A great burst of wind blew away the thin mist, revealing a furious expression that was twisted like a tiger¡¯s. Its eyebrows were firmly furrowed, its teeth protruded from its mouth, and it radiated with murderousness, like it was about to swallow someone whole.

    With another thought, his mentality became steady and unyielding. The expression of the Yin Demon changed as well, pursing its lips firmly, such that it seemed both unreasonable and stubborn.

    Suddenly, he smiled, and the Yin Demon began scratching its face and glancing around, restless and uneasy. It was like a monkey trapped in a cage, wanting to break free and enjoy freedom.

    He circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty as he allowed the demonic thoughts to rampage through his head. The Yin Demon¡¯s expression changed, sometimes greedy and lustful, sometimes bloodthirsty and murderous, together with fear, fury, resentment¡­

    The Yin Demon gradually became more consolidated as it drew power from the chaotic world, wisp by wisp.

    Suddenly, as if it had passed a certain critical point, the Yin Demon began to swell rapidly. Its figure twisted, growing with ox horns, tiger claws, and ape arms. It was neither human nor daemon, instead resembling the ¡°demonification¡± of demonfolk more.

    Roar! The Yin Demon roared furiously and hysterically at the sky, shaking up the entire chaotic world as if it wanted to overthrow the ruler who watched over from above, Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan stopped circulating the Heavenly Tome of Liberty in a hurry, but the Yin Demon actually continued to grow uncontrollably, even circulating the Heavenly Tome of Liberty by itself. Even the three demonic transformations showed signs of losing control.

    As if he had returned to when he faced the tribulation, his body became numb and stiff. Li Qingshan grinned. I¡¯ve gone too far this time!

    Practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty was very easy to him, but there was a price¡ª it was extremely dangerous. He could suffer from cultivation deviation from the slightest carelessness. There was nothing that cultivators feared more than that. Only he was bold enough to do something like this, but those who played with fire would always end up burnt.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    The figure of the spirit turtle appeared, shining with clear light and crashing down viciously on the Yin Demon.

    Boom! Even the Yin Demon was unable to withstand the spirit turtle¡¯s suppression, twisting and changing shape like putty, crushed to a pulp.

    Li Qingshan still did not feel safe. He circulated the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a as well. A phoenix¡¯s cry rang through his sea of consciousness. The phoenix flew over, standing on the spirit turtle¡¯s back.

    Little fella, you really think I can¡¯t place you under my control?

    Just as Li Qingshan felt proud of himself, he discovered the Yin Demon was infecting the spirit turtle sliver by sliver. The clear light gradually faded away.

    The chaotic world swelled and shrank, becoming very unstable. Once this power lost control, he would be completely destroyed inside out. Even rebirthing would be impossible.

    Err¡­

    If something like inner demons could be dealt with so easily, if cultivation deviation could be suppressed so easily, then they would not be viewed as mortal enemies by all cultivators.

    All demonic thoughts originated from his heart. It was not the invasion of foreign enemies, but internal strife in the imperial court. Even the imperial guards were unreliable, even turning against him. Thoughts had never been something that could be contained and suppressed.

    Li Qingshan could not help but get serious, but he did not panic at all. What dangerous and urgent situations had he not seen so far? The more dangerous it was, the more motivated he became. Plenty of sparks of inspiration appeared too.

    Using force doesn¡¯t seem to work, so let¡¯s try this instead!

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and great winds whistled past the hill, making the golden leaves rustle. His expression became gentle and peaceful. A qilin slowly emerged from the chaos in the chaotic world.

    By now, the Yin Demon had already devoured the entire spirit turtle. Even the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression that was best at suppression was useless, yet he chose to use the weakest Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity at a time like this.

    He thought, The Qilin¡¯s ability, Cycle of Life and Growth.

    There were no startling disturbances. There were no resplendent lights or shocking sounds, only the rustling of wind. A golden leaf drifted down, circling around him before floating off, followed by another leaf.

    Ruan Yaozhu was observing him. She became nervous as soon as his presence became disorderly, like he was suffering from cultivation deviation.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Even during autumn, the golden-leaved bodhi tree rarely sheds leaves!¡±

    There was originally a green expanse beside Li Qingshan, but it rapidly withered away now. In the blink of an eye, the withered yellow colour spread across the entire hill as if autumn had arrived.

    Rustle! Countless golden leaves drifted away with the wind, like golden butterflies fluttering freely in the sunlight.

    The nine-coloured deer called out, ¡°Hey, piece of wood, he¡¯s using some kind of wicked technique to drain the vitality of the plants around him. Stop him!¡±

    The yellow colour had already reached the bottom of the hill, spreading towards the precious spiritual herbs.

    However, Ruan Yaozhu did not budge. ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see for now!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer gazed at her in disbelief. Every single flower and blade of grass in the Hundred Herbs garden was precious to her, not just for the bookmarks and contribution from the Myriad sect, but also because she had poured her heart and soul into them. Even when she offered up spiritual herbs to the Myriad sect, she refused to uproot them unless she had no other choice. How could she just watch a bastard wantonly destroy everything that was precious to her selfishly?

    The withered yellow colour had spread, and the spiritual herbs began to wilt as well. She could no longer wait any longer. ¡°You might not care, but I care!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go!¡± Ruan Yaozhu ordered.

    ¡°That damned bastard, just what did he do to you!?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said helplessly, ¡°What are you thinking? He might be suffering from cultivation deviation. He¡¯s reached a critical moment, so he¡¯s unable to control this either. I will make him compensate for all the losses.¡± Meanwhile she wondered whether she should lend him a hand.

    The nine-coloured deer paled in fright. ¡°Cultivation deviation!? Move him out of the Hundred Herbs garden quickly!¡± If he blew up, who knew how many exotic herbs he would destroy.

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head firmly. ¡°He¡¯ll be fine.¡± He could even make it through a situation as dangerous as before after all.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had used this ability too. Was the first ability of the Qilin Transformation actually a wicked art for devouring life?

    No, of course not.

    He held a fallen leaf and exhaled gently.

    At that moment, the golden-leaved bodhi tree began to sprout. The withered yellow colour was replaced by a fresh green. The plants and trees became even more lush, almost swallowing him whole. The wilting flowers bloomed once more too.

 Chapter 1408 - Great Man of Virtue

    In~ out~ in~ out~

    The plants grew lushly before wilting again in the blink of an eye, just like a poem: The wild grasses on the plains wilt and flourish with each passing year.

    Whenever he breathed in and out, they seemed to go through this process.

    The cycle of life and death, the alternation between wilting and flourishing.

    The two colours of fresh green and withered yellow constantly spread out beside him. Every single plant became even more lush, even surpassing their original state, gathering the spiritual qi in the Hundred Herbs garden. They were unbelievably exuberant.

    Even the spiritual herbs became brimming with vigour. The golden-leaved bodhi tree behind him had changed its leaves, spreading its branches and thriving and growing towards the sky.

    ¡°This is¡­ the qilin!?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer was stunned. It was rumoured that wherever the qilin went, the plants would become extraordinarily lush. Even when it landed in a desert, the place would turn into an oasis very quickly. If it inhabited an area over long periods of time, then the regular plants could even be converted into spiritual herbs. It was the symbol of life. However, he clearly only possessed a shred of the qilin¡¯s bloodline, so how could he cause a phenomenon like this?

    Ruan Yaozhu stopped worrying and smiled. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve found the right person to take care of the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    The qilin was an extremely rare beast of compassion and benevolence. The past masters of the Hundred Herbs garden all wanted one in the Hundred Herbs garden. What they wanted even more was a qilin to themselves. That was the mount most suited to cultivators of the Heavenly Tome of Nature. They could sense the path of nature from the qilin.

    Suddenly, she recalled his joke and could not help but redden, glancing at the nine-coloured deer. She was still very satisfied with this ¡°mount¡±.

    ¡°H- he¡¯s definitely a curse!¡± the nine-coloured deer cried out.

    Just earlier, she had been thinking about how she should chase him out of the Hundred Herbs garden. Now, he had given her another reason why he definitely could not leave the Hundred Herbs garden. The heavens were basically unreasonable to her.

    Li Qingshan inhaled and exhaled the vigour in the surroundings. Qilins never harmed even a blade of grass. They only fed off it.

    The Yin Demon gradually withered and shrank like a plant. He allowed the demonic thoughts to flow through his heart freely, neither suppressing them nor becoming lost in them. That was just the instincts that all creatures in the world possessed. Even the idea of destroying himself was merely a part of the cycle of nature, so why did he have to care about feeling uneasy and being in a hurry to destroy himself?

    The qilin was a beast of benevolence and compassion, not because it was born without any wicked thoughts, but because it could not be moved by them.

    It nurtured all the living things in the world, yet it did not compete with them. It supported them without trying to possess them, it did so without thinking it was superior to them and it aided them without trying to control them. That was called virtue.

    TL: This is from chapter 10 of the Dao De Jing.

    This was the Qilin Transformation¡¯s first ability, Cycle of Life and Growth.

    Just as he had expected, the innate ability had no power in battle at all. As a battle fanatic, he should not have cared too much about this ability, but now, this ability seemed to be extremely suited to his job in the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Even though he had no interest in tending to plants, it was an additional resource available to him apart from spiritual qi. He could absorb the brimming vigour in the surroundings to nurture his body and mind, which was greatly beneficial to his cultivation.

    Most importantly, he did not seem to have to worry too much about cultivation deviation anymore. The ability¡¯s effects on inner demons was basically astoundingly good.

    In a short moment, the Yin Demon had already calmed down. It even smiled peacefully and gently, as if it had instantly changed its ways and achieved enlightenment.

    All in the world has a concept of beauty. Herein lies ugliness. All recognize a concept of good. Herein lies evil.

    TL: This is from chapter 2 of the Dao De Jing.

    The good and the wicked were both thoughts. They were chosen by the mind, which led to the distinction of buddhas and demons. No matter how great your spiritual achievements were, your demons were always stronger. No matter how powerful the spirit turtle was, it could only suppress it. The only way out was to let go and use the path of nature to mediate it.

    Understanding this, Li Qingshan could not help but say in praise, ¡°Wondrous, truly wondrous!¡±

    However, to a warrior, any power could be converted into battle prowess. He could play around with the path of nature every now and then, but the part that mattered still came down to one word¡ªfight! If he could not fight and defeat powerful opponents, then it was all nonsense.

    He immediately had a way to convert it into battle prowess. With a chuckle, he circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty again.

    Obsessive thoughts, malicious thoughts, obscene thoughts, wicked thoughts, demonic thoughts¡­ He had plenty of bad stuff like them. Since they were beneficial to practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, he roused them all.

    Without any surprise, he ¡°successfully¡± suffered from cultivation deviation again very soon. The Yin Demon became even more twisted and vicious.

    ¡°Endless Cycle of Life and Growth.¡±

    He was already prepared, immediately using his ability to subjugate the Yin Demon.

    When the Yin Demon settled down, Li Qingshan went again. The Heavenly Tome of Liberty always possessed the advantage of advancing very quickly. Through this use of ¡°extreme sports¡±, his cultivation obviously advanced drastically.

    Originally, it was like skating around on thin ice, like crossing a valley on a tightrope, but now, it had become running along the ground, with a clear, wide path right in front of him. This was the wondrous use of abilities. They could either subdue external demons, or they could subdue inner demons. In short, they definitely would not be useless.

    The small world was still a place of chaos. The Yin Demon had already been completely subdued by him, such that he could control it freely now.

    If he could constantly repeat the cycle, Li Qingshan could even cast aside the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and reach Human Sovereign through the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    Unfortunately, demonic thoughts were actually consumables. He discovered very soon that he could not develop even a hint of a demonic thought anymore. Those emotions of greed, lust, and the desire to destroy himself had all vanished.

    It was not difficult for someone to do something bad in their lives, but could they constantly do bad things for their entire lives?

    Li Qingshan exhaled and felt exhausted, except his mind was extremely peaceful and harmonious. He found the world to be so wonderful, the living creatures to be so adorable, and his desires to be so insignificant. He basically had the urge to become a monk at this point.

    Ah, speaking of monks, I wonder how Unraging is doing? It¡¯s been so long since I saw Xiao An, Xiaoming, and Yanying. I really do miss them. Hopefully, they¡¯re safe and sound.

    The ¡°great man of virtue¡± Li Qingshan leaned on his arm and thought gently like that.

    Before long, he used his thoughts to produce new clones to replace his old ones. Every single one of them beamed with smiles, treating all the cultivators in the Hundred Treasures garden as gently as a day in spring. They ran around doing great deeds and never claimed credit for their work, leaving everyone very touched by his actions.

    With how sincere his gaze was and how gentle his smile was, no one could say he was posing around. Even the stubborn ones were touched by his sincerity, wholeheartedly believing in him now.

    No matter how they looked at him, he was better than Shen Yushu. When some of the female cultivators saw his smile, they basically became skittish like a fawn inside.

    Only at that moment did Li Qingshan truly realise the concept of ¡°winning people over by virtue¡±. The only pity was even the last few ungrateful bastards had been won over by him, greeting him with ¡°senior brother¡± as soon as they saw him, preventing him from developing any demonic thoughts.

    It was not like he could destroy Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s place and intentionally cause problems in the Hundred Treasures garden. Instead, he regularly used the qilin¡¯s ability to help the plants grow.

    The Hundred Herbs garden achieved unparalleled harmony, one for all, all of one. Everything was peaceful and stable.

    One day, during his nap at noon, he suddenly shivered and woke up in worry. If this continues, wouldn¡¯t I become a good person!?

    But in the blink of an eye, the worry melded away in the noon sun, turning into a bright smile.

    But during the past few days, he did not see Ruan Yaozhu again. Is she still angry with me? But there¡¯s nothing I can do about it.

    At this moment, the nine-coloured deer flew over and landed in front of Li Qingshan. She glanced up and down, left and right, studying him closely. She never imagined that Li Qingshan would change in such a thorough manner. In the beginning, she thought it was all an act, but after all this time, he actually showed no openings at all.

    It was all thanks to his hard work that Ruan Yaozhu could completely relax and cultivate peacefully in the dwelling. She used this opportunity to come out and have a conversation with this man.

    Li Qingshan praised her. ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful!¡± She was indeed an extremely elegant creature, and she seemed to fit the aesthetics of the qilin extremely well.

    Those four words halted everything that the nine-coloured deer had prepared to say. All of her hairs stood on end. The feeling was so strange, yet his gaze just happened to be so sincere. It actually left her feeling happy for some reason, even a little enchanted.

    She thought, Oh no, this kid knows some wicked techniques! I can¡¯t fall for his tricks!

    That obviously was not some wicked technique. Instead, it was primarily due to the attraction of all living creatures towards the qilin, particularly with her that was extremely close and attached to life. The Yin Demon had played a role unintentionally too, bewitching her slightly.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I have something to say to you!¡±

    ¡°Can I touch your fur?¡± There was not the slightest wicked thought in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He was like a body artist, only with the purest appreciation of beauty.

    ¡°You can go and die!¡± The nine-coloured deer roared furiously, and Li Qingshan was sent flying by the antlers that were beautiful like coral. His eyes narrowed as his battle instincts awakened immediately. His fury burned like fire as his murderousness blew like wind!

    Hmm? This seems like a good opportunity to build up demonic thoughts. Perfect timing!

    As a result, he spread his arms and walked towards the nine-coloured deer with his chest held high. ¡°Come then, as long as it makes you happy!¡±

 Chapter 1409

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1409 ¨C Improvement

    ¡°Hah? You want to try that on me? I¡¯ll teach you a lesson today then! I¡¯ll have you know that suffering to win my trust doesn¡¯t work!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer sneered and raised her front legs, kicking Li Qingshan viciously in the head.

    With a thump, Li Qingshan was sent flying again, this time with a bright-red hoof print on his forehead that was slightly sunken in. It even oozed with blood. A strike from a Daemon Sovereign could not be shrugged off so easily.

    However, the part he found unbearable was the fact that he remembered the humiliation from being sent flying by the rabbit¡¯s kick. Why do these fucking mounts always like to kick the face!?

    Though, this is it! This exhilarating feeling leaves me filled with power. This is me, Li Qingshan! I¡¯m not a good person! Hahahaha!

    As a result, he made his way back up the tall hill with a smile, not just to gather demonic thoughts, but also to recover his sense of self.

    ¡°Come! No matter how you trod on me, I won¡¯t fight back!¡±

    Bang! Before Li Qingshan could even finish what he was saying, he was sent flying by a slender leg.

    The nine-coloured deer had assumed her human form. She was draped in a nine-coloured, speckled cloak, clenching both hands and eager to beat him up. ¡°You asked for this yourself! You better not run off to your parents next!¡±

    However, before she could finish what she was saying, there was a swish, and Li Qingshan stood in front of her again. He smiled away just like before as two specks of fire seemed to light up in his eyes. ¡°Then that¡¯ll depend on how capable you are.¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± The nine-coloured deer said nothing more and punched Li Qingshan in the face.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head turned to one side before he slowly corrected it. ¡°Why¡¯d you become so weak? Are you not used to your human form?¡±

    Immediately, the nine-coloured deer turned into a series of colourful streaks, bombarding him with an array of attacks. Even more impressively, every single punch and kick was extremely elegant, like a dance, pleasing to the eye.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s feet were firmly rooted to the ground as he stood within the barrage without budging, having become one with the earth. He even constantly commented, ¡°That¡¯s a good punch. That¡¯s not a bad kick either! It¡¯s very beautiful, but you haven¡¯t really fought before, have you?¡± He really did seem like he was admiring a dance.

    ¡°Shut up!¡± The nine-coloured deer ground her teeth.

    However, Li Qingshan could clearly sense that while she was furious, she possessed no killing intent. She did not even have the determination to harm others, clearly not skilled in combat. If it had been a certain black rabbit instead, he would be fortunate if he had his life intact, so why would he still have the courage to simply stand there and take a beating? This was probably just the difference of races!

    The black-furred hou did not even care about destroying Myriad city, yet the nine-coloured deer had to restrain her power constantly in the Hundred Herbs garden. She could not allow any disturbance she created to harm the plants.

    Of course, she was still enough to crush any regular Daemon Emperor, but to Li Qingshan, it merely seemed a little showy and impractical. As a result, while he seemed to take a vicious beating, most of it consisted of scratches. Even if the injuries were a little deeper, he could make a complete recovery in a short while with his recovery rate.

    The nine-coloured deer suddenly stopped and glared at him furiously, panting away slightly.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You¡¯re out of energy?¡±

    ¡°You madman!¡± The nine-coloured deer balled her fists, refusing to accept this. Nine-coloured light gathered in her eyes. That was the glow of an innate ability. ¡°Kid, if you take this on, you will die. If you think you¡¯re capable, try not to dodge!¡±

    Li Qingshan sensed danger, but he did not care at all. Instead, he spread his arms. ¡°Alright, come at me. What doesn¡¯t kill me makes me stronger!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer¡¯s innate ability was on the brink of firing when Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s stern voice suddenly rang out from the air, ¡°Jiu¡¯er, come back!¡±

    ¡°You screwed me over!¡± The nine-coloured deer¡¯s face changed. ¡°You despicable scoundrel!¡±

    ¡°Hey, you¡¯re the one who¡¯s been beating me up the entire time!¡± Li Qingshan objected. Even if he only stood there and took a beating, he could be regarded as despicable. Those opponents of his had been far too noble in the past.

    ¡°I won¡¯t spare you!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer shot a glare at him and turned around. With a leap, she turned into a white deer and galloped off towards the Hundred Herbs dwelling.

    Li Qingshan felt aggrieved, adding another name to the blacklist in his mind. This damned deer has been working against me right from the beginning. If I get the opportunity, I¡¯ll never spare her. I wonder how venison hotpot tastes. Though, her human form is beautiful enough for me to foam at the mouth. I¡¯ll do that first, and then I¡¯ll¡­

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

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    Demonic thoughts sprang forth from his heart; he circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty rapidly. Set off by the demonic thoughts, the Yin Demon lost control once again, only to be subdued by his innate ability.

    As the Endless Cycle of Life and Growth circulated, his wounds rapidly recovered. Not only did the innate ability come with powerful regenerative properties, it could rapidly wear away his mental fatigue, which left Li Qingshan more and more satisfied.

    A while later, his mind returned to peace, no longer with any anger or hatred. He had become a great man of virtue who won others over by virtue once again.

    From that, he understood just how unfounded of a notion it was to ¡°eliminate demonic thoughts¡±.

    If a person could not feel fear, they would not avoid danger. If they had no anger, then they would not protect themselves. That was why they said even the buddha had a temper, making the lion¡¯s furious roar. Whether it was to protect the dharma or to spread the dharma, it was still winning people over by force at the end of the day.

    With that thought, the Yin Demon surged.

    The hazy mist on its face dispersed, revealing its true appearance. It was not actually Li Qingshan¡¯s current appearance, but the young man from Crouching ox village. His face was a little defined, neither handsome nor ugly. He was only a regular farmer boy, just like the countless other mortals.

    The wear of time had managed to leave many marks of joys and sorrows on his face, but he also possessed all the desires and fears that a mortal possessed. That was his true disposition. Without his true disposition, there was no such thing as so-called great liberty.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty advanced further. His cultivation had completely stabilised, approaching initial mastery.

    Sensing the rapid increase in his strength, Li Qingshan could not help but smile. He had not suffered the beating for nothing. However, if he wanted to take a step further, these small scuffles would not be enough.

    The nine-coloured deer did not count as an enemy to him at all. No matter how heavy-handed she was, she could not rouse any killing intent from him.

    Only by training and comprehending in a wider space could he develop even stronger demonic thoughts, allowing him to succeed with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and witness the true path of liberty.

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu grumbled unhappily, ¡°Jiu¡¯er, I just entered secluded cultivation for a short while and what did you do?¡±

    ¡°He told me to hit him.¡± The nine-coloured deer was dejected and aggrieved, like a primary school student being scolded by the teacher.

    ¡°And does that make you right?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu raised her voice slightly. No matter how she looked at it, the nine-coloured deer had been giving Li Qingshan an overwhelming beating. He had not even fought back, and he definitely did not possess the ability to fight back. She even began to doubt whether she was his opponent in a struggle to the death or not.

    Everything he had done in the Hundred Herbs garden over the past few days had left her feeling quite touched. Regardless of his past, he possessed a heart to do good. He was truly working hard, yet he was immediately harassed for that, and that had happened in her Hundred Herbs garden, with the nine-coloured deer behind it all.

    Ruan Yaozhu grabbed her shoulders gently. ¡°I know you¡¯re doing this for my sake. I¡¯ll just do my best to not see him. Promise me, don¡¯t make any more trouble, alright?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Li Qingshan completed his first phase of cultivation and temporarily set the Heavenly Tome of Liberty aside, switching over to the Qilin¡¯s Path of Longevity. There were no shortcuts to take. All he could do was take it step by step and let nature take its course.

    He circulated the Endless Cycle of Life and Growth and constantly inhaled and exhaled. The vitality flowed about; the plants flourished and wilted, both nourishing him as well as the spiritual herbs growing in the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Ruan Yaozhu obviously did not let his hard work go to waste, increasing his contribution.

    On the Myriad rankings, his ranking pulled higher, advancing towards inner disciple at an unstoppable rate.

 Chapter 1410

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1410 ¨C The Dangerous Path

    In outer space, Navy Li¡¯l Fatty swallowed the last mountain. The Heaven Climbing Vine was like a long, twisted intestine, delivering all the living creatures to the World of the Five Continents.

    Everything else was directly digested. The World of the Five Continents¡¯ mass swelled further. The oceans became more vast as the continents spread off into the horizon.

    It was still not enough to reach a higher level, but that was merely a matter of time, as the space-devouring beast had already set off on a new journey. Suddenly, it vanished from there, advancing towards another star.

    Li Qingshan pulled back the Heaven Climbing Vine, but there was nowhere to attach it to. The Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling had already been breached, and the altar was probably destroyed, completely losing the anchor point.

    If he had his own dwelling, he could build a new altar and connect the World of the Five Continents with the Human realm. That way, he could use the World of the Five Continents for cultivation. There were many people he trusted that could come to the Human realm and lend him assistance.

    He had no idea when Pi Yangqiu would help him get the Xuanming dwelling. The concept of time had always been very slow to cultivators, so all he could do was wait patiently.

    He could not help but think that if the World of the Five Continents continued to swell like this, perhaps it would become an unbelievably tremendous object one day, even rivalling the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    As the god of the world, all the living creatures there were his allies, so could he nurture and support them?

    Under the dancing shadows of the tree, a gentle breeze blew over.

    Li Qingshan looked out, only to see a young cultivator making his way up the hill and reporting politely, ¡°Senior brother, I¡¯ve just returned from Myriad city. Senior brother Pi of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings has told me to pass on a message to you. The thing you want has already been prepared. If you have the time, go to the Department of Heavenly Dwellings to collect it!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Quite efficient! With his current cultivation, perhaps he could consider challenging that true dragon called Ao Xuan.

    He thanked the young cultivator and stood up. It was time for him to visit Myriad city again!

    His Yin Demon sank into the hill to maintain all his thought clones as he left the Hundred Herbs garden and flew towards the ocean.

    On the nineteenth floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was reading. He raised his head and glanced past Li Qingshan.

    His gaze that was as deep as a sea abyss still made him tremble; it felt like he could see through everything. However, Li Qingshan had already become much more composed. He understood that this was only an illusion. His fate was not something that this old turtle could see through.

    He offered up a jade slip. ¡°Please examine it, spirit reverend!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance accepted the jade slip and began looking through it. He was clearly much more serious than last time.

    Li Qingshan waited patiently. He felt very confident. While offering up books last time had ended in failure, he did not become defeated. Instead, he pulled himself together and tried harder. He increased the rewards to everyone involved, particularly with those novelists. Even when they had only earned him a single Black Wood bookmark, he still rewarded them heavily.

    It was not like it cost him anything as the god of the world. It was merely a matter of putting up plentiful rewards. The effects had not disappointed him either. Novelists surged forth like bamboo shoots in spring after rain. The creative craze reached a new height.

    This time, he brought even more novels for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    Before long, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance passed the jade slip back to Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan asked with a smile, ¡°How is it?¡±

    ¡°A little better.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance swung his hand, and the badge on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest lit up. He had earned some contribution, ten times as much as last time. This time, he did not give him any Black Wood bookmarks to ¡°insult¡± Li Qingshan, completely rewarding him with contribution.

    On the Myriad ranking, Li Qingshan¡¯s name jumped higher yet again. He was already close to inner disciple now, earning him a lot of attention.

    ¡°Better in what way?¡± Li Qingshan asked closely. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced at him and gave some casual criticism.

    Li Qingshan memorised every single word, planning on repeating it to the novelists in the World of the Five Continents. He could not help but admit that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was quite tasteful. His criticism was concise and to the point, and as long as he understood his tastes, he could bring even more novels of even greater value. He had an entire world serving him, so how could failure be possible?

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance then extended his hand. ¡°You can hand it over!¡±

    ¡°Heh, I really can¡¯t hide anything from you!¡± Li Qingshan took out another jade slip. ¡°Inside records some of my experiences regarding the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Please take a close look, spirit reverend.¡±

    These were his three great avenues of earning contribution.

    First, working in the Hundred Herbs garden. His income from this avenue was the biggest as well as the most stable.

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    Secondly, offering up books. His earnings were still very little right now, but it was something he could look forward to in the future.

    Lastly, his experiences from practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. This was all thanks to Pi Yangqiu¡¯s suggestion.

    After all, the Myriad Heavenly Tomes were still the crux of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Novels were only a hobby to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, but the heavenly tomes had to do with cultivation. The difference in importance went without saying. As the first adopter of the cultivation method, the benefits that came with it definitely could not be disappointing.

    Sure enough, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance became much more serious. He checked through the jade slip; his gaze wavered, like he was thinking and calculating. After a very long period of time, he said, ¡°Well done!¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan¡¯s badge lit up with blinding light.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s name shot up on the Myriad rankings, suddenly squeezing into the top ten formal disciples. Now, he was ranked seventh, only inches away from becoming an inner disciple.

    In the Myriad sect, the ranking was status. With his ranking increased twice in such a short amount of time, he immediately attracted the attention of everyone that was on the square.

    Ever since Li Qingshan underwent the fourth heavenly tribulation and managed the Hundred Herbs garden with all his thought clones, his name had risen up extremely quickly, basically advancing with every single day like a new star on a meteoric rise. With the two increases, there were no longer any doubts that he would become an inner disciple very soon. Perhaps it would lead to far more than that too.

    Among the gazes, many of them were hostile, and that was not just out of envy.

    A gamble had already spread among the direct disciples. Le Tian was much more efficient than Pi Yangqiu.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you, spirit reverend.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°This Heavenly Tome of Liberty really is dangerous. You haven¡¯t had it easy to undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation.¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­¡± Li Qingshan was speechless. ¡°You don¡¯t need to come clean in such a direct way, do you?¡±

    ¡°I can stay quiet, but is that not what you think? Every single heavenly tome is a path. I will pick the most suitable person to pave it. However, what I¡¯ve produced is only a map. It¡¯s extremely detailed, but it has its limitations. If you can¡¯t pave this path, then I can¡¯t anticipate everything either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the truth.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Because I couldn¡¯t find any problems either.¡±

    ¡°With you serving as an example, the people in the future can avoid a lot of unnecessary bends and traps. I can amend the Heavenly Tome of Liberty as well. This is a result of your hard work. You haven¡¯t let down the promise you gave me that day.¡±

    ¡°Can you amend my Heavenly Tome of Liberty in the process too?¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed inside, You damned turtle, so I really am a lab rat! The Heavenly Tome of Liberty I practise right now is probably a shoddy version, which is why it¡¯s so dangerous.

    ¡°You? You don¡¯t need it.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced at Li Qingshan.

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    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me I need to pay bookmarks for this as well?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. Even a lab rat would be rewarded with food!

    ¡°There¡¯s no doubt that not only is the Heavenly Tome of Liberty you practise right now without any issues, but it¡¯s even the most perfect version too.¡±

    Li Qingshan questioned, ¡°You aren¡¯t trying to deceive me, are you? If it¡¯s perfect, why does it need to be amended?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°The so-called concept of perfect has always been a form of extreme, and this heavenly tome is an extreme path as well. Do you understand?¡±

    Li Qingshan said in thought, ¡°Only by being extreme can it be perfect.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Amending it would make it no longer extreme. Regular disciples will be able to comprehend and practise it as well, limiting the risks of death as much as possible. It is like two different paths to the top of the mountain. One is dangerous, but fast, while the other is steady, but slow. The former is closer to the true nature of this path, but with your talent, as long as you are willing to slow down, you will definitely make it to the top of the mountain. If you want me to, I can amend it for you?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your guidance, spirit reverend, but that won¡¯t be necessary. If I don¡¯t take this path, I have no path to take.¡±

    As a result, he could only continue as the lab rat, but he had an ability to suppress the Yin Demon, so he did not have to decrease any risks. Of course, the faster his cultivation speed was, the better it was. The closer it was to its true nature, the better it was.

    ¡°Which is why I said you don¡¯t need it.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance vanished within the bookshelves with his hands behind his back.

    After a moment of thought, Li Qingshan arrived on the ground floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, probably because he was enthusiastically welcomed by that worker whenever the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance saw him.

    ¡°Senior brother, do you need any books? I can go and fetch them for you!¡¯

    Li Qingshan shrugged, ¡°Give me all of them.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I want to read all the books here.¡±

 Chapter 1411

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1411 ¨C Inner Disciple

    The cultivators were all dumbfounded. Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Just kidding. I¡¯m not the spirit reverend.¡±

    Everyone laughed aloud. In the Myriad sect, only the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance possessed that kind of ability.

    ¡°Please continue with what you were doing. I¡¯ve left in too much of a hurry every single time. I want to take a proper look around here this time.¡±

    He declined a certain female cultivator¡¯s intentions to guide him around and strolled through the forest of bookshelves alone. His finger swept past the spines of the books gently. He did not take out a single book, as if he really was just looking around.

    However, no one noticed the slight glow from the tip of his finger, as well as the jade slip in his other hand.

    Searching, collecting, recording¡­ He did not let a single book slip past him.

    With his identity as a formal disciple, he could read all the books on this floor without paying any bookmarks.

    Only a small portion had to do with cultivation and the level was limited, so they were not of much help to him. The rest were a miscellaneous mix of novels, stories, and books on culture and geography, which would instead widen his horizons.

    However, every single book here had been chosen by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Even when they were extremely low-level cultivation methods, they were ingenious and concise, encompassing all categories possible. It was a part of the Myriad sect¡¯s heritage that had been built up over countless years. There was not a single sect in the trichiliocosm that could rival it.

    It was enough to give the cultivation community of the World of the Five Continents an extremely firm foundation. Even those novels and stories could be given to the novelists to increase their writing standards. That way, he could earn a little more bookmarks and contribution next time.

    Of course, there was the most important part¡ªall of this was free. As his status increased, even more free books would become available to him, enough for him to create an extremely complete cultivation system in the World of the Five Continents. He could completely destroy the monopoly that sects and clans possessed. All living creatures would be able to find their own paths.

    In the past, his motto had been, ¡°Martial arts for everyone.¡± Now, it had become, ¡°Cultivation for everyone.¡±

    Even he was unable to imagine what kind of world that would be like. In short, it would definitely be very interesting. He could not help but grin. Just that reason was enough.

    The only issue now was would the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance stop him?

    As someone who also possessed the bloodline of the spirit turtle, he could imagine that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was currently looking at him, carrying out extremely complicated calculations and deductions in an attempt to analyse the consequences involved and predict the effects in the future.

    Time trickled by. Li Qingshan made his way past over a hundred bookshelves. He recorded several tens of thousand books in the jade slip, but no one came to stop him.

    He smiled. This was probably the limitation of spirit turtles. Something like fate could not be calculated or predicted at the end of the day, which was why it was always safer for them to hide in Ruin¡¯s End.

    When Li Qingshan emerged from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, several days had already passed. He felt like his head was splitting open as stars spun around his head.

    He shook his head forcefully. He had still ended up underestimating the amount of knowledge within the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Senior brother Pi was probably running out of patience with him, so he made his way towards the Department of Heavenly Dwellings.

    In the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance watched his figure and felt a little perturbed. As the master of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, he obviously noticed everything that Li Qingshan did. There was nothing strange about that. As someone who possessed the bloodline of the spirit turtle, he would almost instinctively gather all the information within his grasp before storing and analysing it.

    What truly perturbed him was when he tried to predict the effects of his actions, his predictions would collapse as soon as he tried to calculate it every single time. It was not because it was not too complicated¡ªhe could not even analyse the complexity yet¡ªbut because it was far too tremendous.

    Many years ago, when he roamed through the ocean, a colossal shadow had swum past beneath him. Only after a very long time did he realise it was a kun. Back then, he did not feel shocked. Instead, he was unable to comprehend it. His thoughts had come to a standstill.

    It was no different right now. They were only some miscellaneous books of an extremely low level, so how could they produce such a great effect?

    As a result, just like last time, he chose to remain exactly where he was, without moving, waiting for fate to reveal the truth.

    On the highest floor of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings, Pi Yangqiu grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar. ¡°Kid, how dare you make me wait so long!?¡± A mighty direct disciple like him was summoning a formal disciple to give him tremendous benefits, yet he had ended up waiting for so many days. It was a little too disrespectful.

    ¡°Forgive me, senior brother! The spirit reverend insisted on discussing the Heavenly Tome of Liberty with me. I couldn¡¯t get away either!¡±

    ¡°You really think you can scare me with the spirit reverend? Do you really think I don¡¯t know what you were doing in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes?¡± Pi Yangqiu said furiously.

    Li Qingshan had spent his time strolling through the bottom floors of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Who knew how many people had seen him, so how could he escape his monitoring?

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m just giving you a way out of this situation, letting you feel a little better inside.¡±

    Even Pi Yangqiu felt a little powerless over him. A person who dared to confront the angered first senior sister definitely could not be frightened by him, let alone the fact that he had already undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. He was definitely even more fearless now. His anger suddenly vanished.

    ¡°Junior brother Li, I currently have a piece of good news and a piece of bad news for you. Which one would you like to hear first?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his hand. ¡°I know, senior brother. The good news is you managed to get the Xuanming dwelling. The bad news is I have a dragon I need to face.¡±

    ¡°You can see that from a mile away. You can¡¯t call that a ¡®surprise¡¯!¡± Pi Yangqiu stressed the words ¡®surprise¡¯ without any good intentions.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°I love surprises. So what¡¯s the good news?¡±

    ¡°Congratulations on becoming an inner disciple.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder, and the badge on his chest suddenly lit up, shining even brighter than when he offered up his cultivation experiences with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    On the Myriad rankings, Li Qingshan¡¯s name abruptly broke through the limits of formal disciples, immediately becoming an inner disciple of the Myriad sect. It left everyone below tongue-tied.

    Li Qingshan was stunned as well. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Because of your wonderful suggestion, this is the reward that the Department of Heavenly Dwellings has given to you.¡±

    ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t cheating, right?¡± Li Qingshan sensed that something was amiss. His so-called wonderful suggestion was only a few words, and the size of his merit was highly variable. It probably was not worth such a large sum of contribution.

    ¡°Yes and no.¡±

    ¡°Please take it back then, senior brother! I don¡¯t need to cheat, and I can still become a direct disciple. Why must you make me liable?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because you¡¯ll definitely become a direct disciple that I have to give you this contribution. Otherwise, do you really think the Department of Heavenly Dwellings is a charity organisation?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Li Qingshan felt even more surprised.

    Pi Yangqiu stifled his voice and pulled him in by the shoulder. ¡°Tell me first, has junior sister Ruan been helping you to cheat?¡±

    ¡°Of course not!¡± Li Qingshan denied it firmly. He had truly made great contributions to the Hundred Herbs garden, and Ruan Yaozhu really was quite inflexible when it came to this aspect.

    Pi Yangqiu stared at Li Qingshan for quite a while. ¡°I trust junior sister Ruan¡¯s character. She¡¯s not the kind to defy her own principles for the sake of a pretty face, but that¡¯s probably not what others think.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s the pretty face?¡± Li Qingshan was very discontent. ¡°And who are the others?¡±

    ¡°The other direct disciples. The people standing on the other side of the gambling table. With the rate at which you gather contribution, becoming a direct disciple in thirty years definitely won¡¯t be a problem. Even worse, you¡¯re in a place like the Hundred Herbs garden, so you¡¯re basically in no danger of dying.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood now. ¡°So they will come for me? Aren¡¯t these direct disciples a little too crooked?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu shook his head. ¡°Who can help the fact that you cheated?¡±

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    ¡°When did I cheat? Anyone is welcome to inspect the work I do in the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°I¡¯m referring to just then.¡±

    ¡°Pi Yangqiu, you¡¯ve screwed me over!¡± Li Qingshan said furiously as he pointed at Pi Yangqiu¡¯s face.

    Pi Yangqiu moved his finger aside gently. ¡°Please watch yourself. Even if you¡¯ve become an inner disciple, I¡¯m still your senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you gambling that I¡¯ll win? Why are you screwing me over?¡±

    ¡°The issue with this is not whether you¡¯ve actually cheated or not. It¡¯s enough as long as they think you¡¯ve cheated. No one will admit defeat willingly, especially when the gamble has just begun. That¡¯s basically like a slap in the face. However, they won¡¯t inspect your work in the Hundred Herbs garden, nor will they question whether you deserve the contribution that I just gave you. If they do that, that¡¯s completely offending me and junior sister Ruan. Instead, they¡¯ll come directly for you!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu prodded Li Qingshan in the chest heavily.

    ¡°As a result, you need to take them by surprise and become an inner disciple quickly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯s far too easy for a direct disciple to deal with a formal disciple. They don¡¯t even need to come up with an excuse for that. Not all direct disciples respect the gamble like Le Tian or are as direct as Chao Tianjiao. There are also a lot of bad people like me.¡± Pi Yangqiu patted his chest without the slightest sense of shame.

    This novel is _hosted_ by hosted novel.

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°And they need to be more careful with inner disciples instead?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they need an excuse, any excuse.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the difference then!?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s a big difference, as well as no difference. Just like Le Tian said, you can never walk away from the gambling table with everything easily, so the bad news is they¡¯ve probably been infuriated by me now. As soon as you set foot out of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings, you will encounter a lot of trouble. I hope you are mentally prepared.¡± Pi Yangqiu straightened out Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes and shoved an item into his hand.

    ¡°This is?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He had already guessed what it was.

 Chapter 1412

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1412 ¨C Conscripted

    The item was shaped like the eight trigrams, made of neither metal nor wood, icy-cold to the touch.

    The centre was embedded with a black gemstone, pitch-black in colour. When he gazed at it, he felt like even his soul was about to be sucked away.

    It did not possess any great power, but its structure was very complicated and delicate. Even the spirit turtle was unable to deduce the entire thing in a short amount of time. Instead, it emanated a bizarre sense of beauty.

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°This is the main formation disc of the Xuanming dwelling.¡±

    Li Qingshan pulled his gaze away from the black gemstone and asked, ¡°I can control the formation and overwhelm that true dragon Ao Xuan?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°Of course¡­ that¡¯s impossible. After all, he¡¯s the true master of the Xuanming dwelling.¡±

    ¡°Tsk, the Department of Heavenly Dwellings is useless!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was not angered. He said earnestly, ¡°This is just a key to help you open the front door, but you can¡¯t use it to stab people!¡±

    ¡°Alright. Thanks for this, senior brother!¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands and stowed the ¡°key¡± away. He had been expecting this too, so he was not particularly disappointed.

    ¡°Are you really planning to resolve this through force?¡± Pi Yangqiu said in surprise.

    Against a fifth heavenly tribulation true dragon, most people could only come up with a few ingenious plans. Directly confronting him was a horrible plan that they would not even consider.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation first, or try your best to negotiate with him!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not as smooth-tongued as you, senior brother. Instead, it¡¯s very easy for me to anger others.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the exact part that I admire about you. I have one last reminder for you. No one can help you with this, whether it¡¯s me or junior sister Ruan Yaozhu. You¡¯re on your own!¡± Pi Yangqiu said sincerely.

    At this moment, an attendant in black walked in and reported, ¡°The Department of Military Provisions has sent an officer. He says he¡¯s looking for Li Qingshan.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu furrowed his brows. ¡°That kid Ge Xing really shows me no respect at all! Let him in!¡±

    ¡°Ge Xing!¡± Li Qingshan muttered. He had seen that name on the Myriad ranking before, taking eighteenth place.

    In a short while, an officer dressed in military attire with a stern expression walked in. He bowed towards Pi Yangqiu first. ¡°Senior brother Pi, I¡¯ve come under the master of military provisions senior brother Ge¡¯s orders to enlist Li Qingshan.¡±

    As he said that, he took out a piece of paper and passed it to Li Qingshan. Under the huge title of enlistment, there were a few lines of simple, illegible words. Li Qingshan only managed to recognise his name. The person who wrote the letter seemed to be in a great hurry, and he did not write it seriously at all, perhaps even feeling a little angry when he did. Below was the seal of the Department of Military Provisions.

    Li Qingshan looked up at Pi Yangqiu. ¡°Is senior brother Ge one of the gamblers?¡±

    ¡°He is, and he¡¯s the stingiest of them all. He¡¯s infamous for being a miser. He¡¯ll even haggle over a single Black Wood bookmark.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu spoke ill of Ge Xing in a seemingly fearful manner, making the corner of the officer¡¯s eye twitch.

    Then Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What does the Department of Military Provisions do? Why are they enlisting me?¡±

    ¡°The Human realm is connected with the many worlds, so there are a lot of conflicts, especially from invasion attempts of the Demon domain all year round. All major sects need to organise people and participate in the battle. The Department of Military Provisions is responsible for enlisting cultivators and preparing military provisions to be sent onto the battlefield.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately recalled the books he had read in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes recently. A majority of them described the war that had lasted until now since the beginning of sa?s¨¡ra.

    If a world were a country, then the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were like six powerful countries. Coupled with the Demon domain, it was a struggle between seven powerful states.

    The most renowned was the historical grievances between the Asura realm and the Heaven realm. From the moment they were born, they began warring against one another. The Heaven realm had the thirty-three heavens, or the Tr¨¡yastri??a, led by ?akra, where the Asura realm suffered mostly defeats. However, as soon as the opportunity arose, they would raise their weapons at heaven.

    The Ten Courts of Yanluo, the Four Great Adjudicators, and the Ten Hell Guards of the Hell realm had always devoted themselves to suppressing the Hungry Ghost realm, bringing the dead back into the cycle of sa?s¨¡ra, allowing none of the dead from the various worlds to slip past.

    While the Hungry Ghost realm stood no chance against the Hell realm, they rapidly devoured the trichiliocosm and continued to expand through their extraordinary will of the world. Often, they would attack the other worlds indiscriminately in an attempt to turn all of the living into the dead.

    The Daemonic Beast realm was a primitive and wild place. Even though it constantly produced powerful existences, it was extremely chaotic. It was the one that least resembled a country. However, apart from the Hungry Ghost realm, it had no other enemy states.

    The Human realm resided between order and chaos. Overall, it was not weak, but it neither possessed the strict and impartial order of the Heaven realm and Hell realm, nor was it fanned on by the intense will of the world like the Hungry Ghost realm and the Asura realm. The overt and covert conflicts between sects were even more intense than the Daemonic Beast realm, yet it also opposed all the other worlds at the same time.

    Countless sects and cultivators, due to their own demands, would go to the Daemonic Beast realm to hunt daemonic beasts and collect mounts, go to the Hungry Ghost realm to raid tombs for treasure and enslave undead, or infiltrate the Heaven realm and the Asura realm to steal precious weapons and valuables. They even directly captured deva and asura, using their flesh, blood, and souls to cultivate, refine pills, and forge artifacts.

    Without any heed for moral alignment, countless cultivators went to the Hell realm to break prisoners out purely because they were powerful, for the sake of various emotional reasons, leading to the most plentiful of bizarre stories. It left Li Qingshan with a very deep impression.

    This obviously led to a very severe issue of boundaries. Deva, asura, and even daemons and undead could enter the Human realm freely, but they killed all intruding humans that resisted. In particular, the security in the Hell realm was the strictest.

    This was not a particularly large problem either, as the Human realm also worked with the other worlds. Whether it were daemons or undead, there were no eternal enemies, only eternal benefits.

    Small skirmishes continued endlessly, but rarely would they develop into a war between nations. The worlds all hated humans, but none of them treated the Human realm as an enemy state. Even the most invasive Hungry Ghost realm did not pose too great of a threat to the Human realm due to the suppression of the Hell realm.

    However, wicked people would have their own kind to deal with, which was the Demon domain that stood independent from the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Fanned on by the wicked, chaotic will of the world, the twelve Demon Gods led the demonfolk army and colluded with various demonic sects, constantly invading the Human realm.

    The orthodox sects of the Human realm were forced to band together and suppress these ¡°wicked existences¡± internally while guarding against the Demon domain externally. With how established the Myriad sect was, they possessed a large number of cultivators, so they had always served as one of the primary forces.

    Under these circumstances, the Department of Military Provisions possessed extremely great authority. When the need arose, they could conscript disciples into the army, and the so-called times when the need arose was when the master of military provisions thought there was the need. That also happened to be direct disciple Ge Xing.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, military orders are absolute. Those who defy them will be executed. Please report to the Department of Military Provisions with me immediately!¡± the officer said impassively.

    ¡°I¡¯m an inner disciple. Can he execute me just because he wants to?¡± Li Qingshan said proudly, glancing at Pi Yangqiu.

    Pi Yangqiu smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. If senior brother Ge wants to forcibly enlist an inner disciple, it¡¯s probably not going to be that easy.¡±

    Seeing how Pi Yangqiu had spoken up, the officer eased up slightly. He lowered his head and clasped his hands. ¡°I am acting under orders. If junior brother defies the military orders, I¡¯ll return right now and report back to the Department of Military Provisions.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked Pi Yangqiu, ¡°What do I do? Do I go or not?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu touched his nose. ¡°Military orders cannot be openly defied. You still need to pay a visit to the Department of Military Provisions, but you can¡¯t just go like this. Ask for help from your senior sister Ruan. You belong to the Hundred Herbs garden, and you¡¯ve made such a great contribution to the Hundred Herbs garden. As such, she¡¯s duty-bound to step forward for you.¡±

    ¡°What about you?¡±

    ¡°I manipulate everything from behind the scenes.¡±

    At the same time, Xiao An stood on the arched bridge, between the waterfall, gazing at the two large words over the city gates¡ªMyriad City.

 Chapter 1413

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1413 ¨C Feeling

    ¡°Is Li Qingshan in this city?¡± Gu Yanying swept around with her sharp, hawk-like eyes and asked through her soul sense.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An nodded and made her way into the city.

    The two of them were both dressed in long, white robes with golden embroidery. They had white cloth wrapped around their faces. The hem of their clothes dragged along the ground behind them, giving off the charms of the desert. However, the last thing that the cultivation community lacked were strange people, so they did not stand out amongst the passersby.

    Gu Yanying admired the scenery of the city gracefully. The rivers and streets that crisscrossed together and the delicate balconies and gardens scattered around made it far more than just a new sight with each step. Instead, it was a hundred new sights with each step. It was a prosperous city, but it definitely did not possess any of the vulgarity of human society like regular cities. Every single person here was a cultivator, and nothing they did resembled a mortal.

    She could not help but sigh in amazement. ¡°This sure is a fine place! We were stuck in the dwelling and almost lost our lives. Who knows how easy he¡¯s had it here. He might have met quite a few women too. Tsk, if I had known earlier, I should have served as a scout too.¡±

    Xiao An said nothing, continuing along with fixed strides, stepping over the cobblestone path. She crossed a bridge and turned into a small alleyway before entering another major street. The speckled sunlight that poured in between the buildings flowed quietly on her white robes.

    Having spent all these days together, Gu Yanying had already grown accustomed to her behaviour. ¡°His current situation is still unknown, so it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t go and unite with him rashly. Once we find him, let¡¯s observe him for a while first. It would be best if he comes and finds us.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Xiao An agreed and continued onwards. A while later, Gu Yanying became doubtful. ¡°First young miss, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m doubting your feeling, but while the path we take is different, we¡¯ve been going in circles since just then.¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°We are going in circles.¡±

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°Where is he?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡­

    For once, Xiao An proactively explained, ¡°There are too many cultivators gathered here and many formations in the way, so I can¡¯t pinpoint Qingshan¡¯s exact location. Your eyes are sharper, so look around carefully!¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡± Gu Yanying covered her forehead and shook her head in a powerless manner. ¡°I¡¯ll use my ¡®sharp¡¯ eyes to look around carefully.¡± She extended a pair of fingers and pointed them at her eyes, turning her wrist around as if she was looking around.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Be a little more serious.¡±

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes narrowed; her vision passed through many buildings and formations, sweeping past the gurgling river like a hawk. It crossed through the layered shacks and passed through the cracks between buildings.

    Suddenly, her eyes lit up. ¡°I see h-¡±

    Xiao An said immediately, ¡°Take me there!¡±

    Xiao An followed Gu Yanying and moved through the streets quietly and swiftly, like a pair of ghosts roaming during daytime. They arrived on the square under the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes very soon.

    Xiao An looked around in a slightly urgent manner, but she did not see Li Qingshan. ¡°Where is he?¡±

    Gu Yanying pointed at the Myriad rankings with a smile. ¡°¡­-is name.¡±

    A hint of annoyance flashed through Xiao An¡¯s eyes before staring at Gu Yanying impassively.

    Whistle~ Gu Yanying whistled awkwardly and refused to face her. ¡°At least it¡¯s better than going around in circles in the city.¡±

    Xiao An looked away, looking at Li Qingshan¡¯s name on the Myriad rankings again.

    Gu Yanying patted her on the shoulder. ¡°We¡¯re already very close. The fact that his ranking is so high means he¡¯s doing quite well. With the kind of person he is, he¡¯ll definitely make some trouble. He¡¯s not the kind to remain unknown. We¡¯ll know where he is just by asking around.¡±

    As a result, she narrowed her eyes slightly and looked around instead of listening. The noise on the square turned into thousands of words that entered her gaze, which even included some ¡°crude¡± mental conversations between a few low level cultivators.

    In a single moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s name actually appeared over a hundred times, and that did not even include the tremendous amount of communication through soul sense she could not capture.

    Gu Yanying smiled. ¡°I knew it!¡±

    The Myriad rankings was something important that all disciples paid attention to. It directly dictated their status. Becoming an inner disciple so suddenly, Li Qingshan had already caused an extremely great response in Myriad city. In particular, the square had basically become a place of rumours about him.

    ¡°Did you hear about it? The Department of Military Provisions has sent someone to enlist that Li person!¡±

    ¡°How couldn¡¯t I have heard of it? Do you really think you¡¯re the only one who¡¯s well-informed?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, that Li person is in trouble this time. How satisfying. He¡¯s clearly been currying favour with the direct disciples. Does the Myriad sect even have rules left? He thinks he can get away with tending to plants in the Hundred Herbs garden, so they¡¯ll force him onto the battlefield.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not just senior brother Ge. I heard a lot of other seniors are unhappy with him too. Probably even senior sister Ruan can¡¯t shield him this time!¡±

    Rumours always spread extremely quickly, and it was a hundred times faster when it came to cultivators.

    People who achieved success overnight were always the easiest to incur jealousy and discontent. It had been an extremely short time since Li Qingshan joined the sect, yet he had already made a leap that many disciples could never achieve in their lives.

    ¡°He seems to be in some trouble, but there¡¯s nothing strange about that.¡±

    ¡°Bird woman, we¡¯re going to the Department of Military Provisions.¡± Xiao An merged with the flowing people quickly.

    ¡°Bird woman!¡± Gu Yanying was taken aback before letting out a laugh, following along closely.

    ¡­¡­

    The Department of Military Provisions was located in the north-western corner of Myriad city. It was shaped like a large, military camp, not only possessing its own independent system of formations, but also with disciples patrolling and standing on guard. The camp was filled with cultivators that gave off a sense of bleakness, vastly different from the overall style of Myriad city. Crude, primitive halls of black stone stood in an arrangement that possessed no aesthetic appeal at all.

    The officer led the way. Wherever he went, others would stop and bow to him. From time to time, he would encounter another officer or two of the same rank, who simply nodded at him.

    Li Qingshan followed behind the officer silently. Suddenly, he became slightly excited, not because he had been influenced by the atmosphere here, nor because he was worried about whether he would be dispatched as a part of the fresh troops. Instead, it was a different feeling, both familiar and warm.

    However, just like how the atmosphere of the Department of Military Provisions did not match Myriad city, his current bearing did not match this place either. Apart from servants and attendants, most of the people here were cultivators who had returned from the battlefield to rest. Every single one of them was well-experienced and possessed a natural sense of pride.

    Due to the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity, Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance was as delicate and handsome as a young man¡¯s, and also because of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, all of his demonic thoughts had been depleted.

    Right now, he basically gave off an air of friendliness and seemed harmless. He also abided by the path of nature constantly, so he did not demonstrate his cultivation. His bearing was basically incompatible with this place, like a little lamb in the middle of a pack of wolves.

    As a result, none of these people looked at him particularly kindly. Most of them bore some contempt and disdain, even a little aggression.

    Li Qingshan only smiled and ignored it. These people did reek a little bit of blood, and their faces were very vicious, but they were clearly just some Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators. There were not even a lot of Soul Nascence cultivators here. If they could kill with gazes, what was the point of cultivation? He could even smash the arrogant prick in front of him to a pulp within three moves. From this distance, just a single punch would be enough.

    He specially searched for the reason for his excitement, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked around. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me?¡±

    A chill ran down the officer¡¯s spine, which made him glance backwards doubtfully. Li Qingshan was currently looking around for something. Was it perhaps a false impression? He called out unhappily, ¡°Stop looking around! Get going!¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and became slightly irritated, no longer looking around. His eyes stayed fixed on the officer¡¯s back. However, he clearly had a feeling that they were nearby.

    The officer stiffened. No, it was not a false impression! The coldness reached the depths of his bones at that instant. Even in the bustling military camp, he felt no safety at all. He felt like a vicious tiger was tailing him, readying to tear him to pieces at any time. He did not dare to stop or look back, walking along stiffly like a machine.

    A tall tower of black stone stood in the centre of the military camp. A short, burly man with a square face and large ears stood with his arms crossed at the top. He was the person in charge of this camp, the master of military provisions, Ge Xing.

    He looked down from above at Li Qingshan in the distance and asked softly, ¡°How is he?¡±

    Beside him stood a graceful woman with a tall, straight posture. She said in disdain, ¡°Nothing impressive? He¡¯s just lucky. Look at him, isn¡¯t he very obedient now?¡±

    It was true. In the eyes of others, Li Qingshan stayed right behind the officer, keeping his eyes to himself and following him blindly. He was as obedient as he could get. However, unbeknownst to them, the officer was soaked in sweat. Every single step he took was extremely difficult, like he would be killed immediately if he even paused for a moment, walking away like he was possessed.

    Ge Xing laughed aloud. His voice boomed out, ¡°A lucky kid who defeated a Yin Soul cultivator as a Soul Nascence cultivator? A lucky kid that Le Tian views as a dark horse? A lucky kid who¡¯s bold enough to openly provoke the first senior sister!¡±

    The woman was left speechless before grumbling unhappily, ¡°If he didn¡¯t cheat, how could he become an inner disciple so quickly?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just jealous,¡± Ge Xing said impassively, ¡°When you joined the sect that year, you also placed first. After so much time and effort, you finally became a direct disciple, standing right behind me. Yet, he obtained everything so easily, even with several direct disciples showing him such special care, even treating him as an equal. You don¡¯t find that fair, do you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The woman lowered her head.

    Ge Xing growled, ¡°Even I don¡¯t fucking find it fair. If I saw him for myself, I would have never taken part in this gamble. Sigh, it¡¯s not your fault that you couldn¡¯t tell. You just can¡¯t apply normal logic to some people. We¡¯ve all fallen for that bastard Le Tian¡¯s trick this time. He messed up, so he wants to pull us down instead to make up for his loss.¡±

    ¡°This Li Qingshan has already undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, and he practises the Heavenly Tome of Liberty that no one has practised before. Coupled with that huge sum of contribution, it¡¯s only a matter of time before he became an inner disciple. Junior sister Ruan is not the kind of person to help others cheat. Pi Yangqiu is worried that I¡¯d move against him, so he¡¯s made this risky move like a scoundrel.¡±

    ¡°However, it is a good move. I¡¯m not some gentleman either. I¡¯m not going to just go down like this. However, I¡¯m already beginning to wonder whether sending him onto the battlefield is the correct decision or not.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother!¡± The woman was surprised. ¡°Why? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re afraid he¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth. He¡¯s not even a direct disciple right now, and even if he does become one in the future, I¡¯m not going to be afraid of him. Look at your junior brother Liu.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? His expression seems a little unnatural. He¡¯s not greeting anyone either. What¡¯s happened?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, nothing much. He¡¯s just been frightened out of his wits.¡±

    ¡°Frightened out of his wits!?¡±

 Chapter 1414

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1414 ¨C Gazing into the Distance

    The woman was surprised and puzzled. Junior brother Liu had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation a long time ago, and he was experienced on the battlefield. He was far more powerful than Li Qingshan. On top of that, this was the Department of Military Provisions, and senior brother Ge was watching right from above. Was that Li Qingshan supposed to commit murder or something?

    Ge Xing sighed and shut his eyes. ¡°Once he enters the battlefield, he¡¯ll probably earn contribution no slower than if he were in the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    The Human realm organised cultivators to fend off demonfolk, and they obviously did not work for free. Instead, they had been promised heavy rewards to gather as many soldiers as possible. Many independent cultivators entered the bloody battlefield through Myriad city to forge a future for themselves. This was also one of the major responsibilities of the Department of Military Provisions.

    As they talked, the officer had finally brought Li Qingshan beneath the tall tower. His heart drummed away. Right in front of him was the firmly-shut door. If he continued any further, he would walk right into it.

    If he stopped, the consequences would be unfathomable, and his fate would become unknown. Like a fugitive pressed into dire straits, his fear suddenly turned into anger, powering his Yin Soul for a desperate counterattack.

    Li Qingshan suddenly stopped, and the chilling killing intent vanished.

    The officer reeled as if he had just thrown a punch and missed. There was nowhere for him to release his strength, so it shook up his organs and made him pour with sweat. His mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood as he abruptly turned around. ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Who¡¯s gone too far?¡±

    His eyes that hid smiles made the officer shiver inside. His fury had been extinguished instantly. It was all just a joke. If that man actually wanted to kill him, he would probably stand no chance at all.

    He wiped away the blood that seeped out from the corner of his lips. ¡°So be it. Let¡¯s just say I deserved this, and I¡¯ve finally learnt why it¡¯s better to see someone face-to-face than assume off reputation. The master of military provisions, senior brother Ge, is inside the tower. Please proceed inside!¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands and made his way over, pushing open the black stone door casually. Before he could even make out the interior of the tower, a short, stocky man received him with a face full of smiles.

    Li Qingshan raised his guard and took half a step back instinctively. Right when he was about to assume a defensive position, the person had already grabbed his right hand. ¡°Senior brother Ge!?¡±

    Ge Xing patted Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. ¡°Welcome, welcome, junior brother Li!¡±

    The woman behind him was bewildered. Ge Xing had never been so enthusiastic towards her before. The person that she believed to just be lucky would soon receive the special attention of another direct disciple, even treated as an equal, and it would be her superior too.

    Li Qingshan did not pull his hand back. Instead, he grabbed Ge Xing¡¯s hand with his other hand and shook it forcefully. ¡°Senior brother, I¡¯ve made you wait!¡±

    It was as if he was very willing to cooperate.

    Ge Xing was slightly surprised, but he also seemed to understand what was going on. ¡°Junior brother Li, do you know why I¡¯ve summoned you here?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it and said, ¡°To conscript me by force and to ruin my cultivation.¡±

    Ge Xing¡¯s smile hardened. He never expected him to be so direct. He let go of his hand and said, ¡°Alright, you¡¯re a straightforward person! We¡¯ve never had any grievances, so there was originally no reason for me to do this.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°I understand. I¡¯m just a pawn and others want to take me. There¡¯s never been any reason to speak of in the first place.¡±

    Ge Xing said sternly, ¡°If you don¡¯t die, you¡¯ll definitely be able to stand among us.¡±

    Li Qingshan also became serious. ¡°Thank you for your kind words, senior brother. I¡¯ll definitely work hard on striving ahead. Why don¡¯t you just let me go this time? I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future!¡±

    ¡°What if I decline?¡±

    Even though Ge Xing admired Li Qingshan a little, showing him great respect by personally venturing down the tower to receive him, that was only an attempt to avoid any personal feuds with him. It was a result of his calculation of the consequences. This was merely a gamble, and he was not the only one involved, so there really was no reason for him to stand forward and incur resentment.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not just going to go down without a fight either.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t hate me?¡± Ge Xing said in intrigue. Li Qingshan did not seem to hate him at all, and it definitely could not be faked, or he would have sensed it.

    ¡°Just like what you¡¯ve said, we¡¯ve never had any grievances, senior brother. It¡¯s all because of a gamble. Accepting the benefits comes hand in hand with enduring the consequences, so why speak of hatred?¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands again, coming off as neither arrogant nor humble. ¡°I just hope that you don¡¯t kill me ruthlessly when you have the upper hand, senior brother.¡±

    All of this was only the aftermath from taking a thousand Green Jade bookmarks from Le Tian. It was a part of the gamble. If he wanted to take the dangerous path, then he had to accept it. Ge Xing had no interest in developing any feuds with him, so why would he go out of his way to feud with a direct disciple? If he acted all resentful, he would basically be forcing Ge Xing into opposing him relentlessly.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Excitement and praise flashed past Ge Xing¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one involved in this gamble, or I¡¯d really like to let you go this time.¡±

    ¡°But senior brother Pi said you¡¯re a miser as stingy as they come, where you refuse to even lose a single Black Wood bookmark.¡± Li Qingshan did not believe him at all, exposing the one behind it all without any hesitation.

    ¡°That bastard!¡± Ge Xing became slightly awkward. ¡°This is a part of my responsibilities. It requires careful and meticulous calculations down to the smallest of details.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, if it requires careful and meticulous calculations down to the smallest of details, you shouldn¡¯t gamble then! Senior brother, you better not take it too far and make it too difficult for me, or you might not see me again.¡±

    ¡°You have nothing to worry about. The Myriad sect is not a demonic sect. We won¡¯t go as far as to kill and harm fellow disciples. Once you enter the battlefield, you¡¯ll be beyond my control anyway. With your abilities, the contributions you earn on the battlefield won¡¯t be any less than the Hundred Herbs garden. As long as you¡¯re capable of this and you become a direct disciple, we¡¯ll admit defeat willingly.¡±

    Ge Xing patted his chest in a hearty manner, except he thought inside, Damned brat, once you¡¯re under Chao Tianjiao¡¯s command, how she dispatches you won¡¯t be my fault!

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan thought, Who the hell would believe you? Only a dumb cunt would enter the battlefield. This isn¡¯t really worthy of bearing a grudge over, but if the opportunity arises in the future, you better not blame me if I make a fool out of you. Why isn¡¯t senior sister Ruan here yet?

    The two men feigned their appreciation for each other as they schemed away inside, leaving the female officer on the side rather stunned. These two hypocritical men.

    On a bridge that spanned between two tall buildings, Gu Yanying glanced far in the direction of the Department of Military Provisions before immediately looking away again. ¡°I think I see him; it is in the flesh this time! There¡¯s a Yang Soul cultivator right in front of him, so I¡¯m afraid to stare.¡±

    ¡°Is he in danger?¡± Xiao An rubbed her wrist. There was a new string of Skull Prayer Beads there.

    Gu Yanying understood she would immediately prepare for battle if she said there was danger, regardless of where she was, regardless of whether there was a Daemon Immortal watching over this place or not.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s still very safe, at least for now. He¡¯s probably sensed us too. Let¡¯s wait and see! He knows a woman called Ruan Yaozhu here who¡¯s also a Human Sovereign. I think she¡¯ll come and help him.¡±

    At this moment, a nine-coloured streak of light shot over the bridge.

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An suddenly looked back. Ruan Yaozhu sensed them and met their gaze, nodding to give them her regards. The white robes hid their figures and appearances, but she still seemed to be able to tell that they were two extremely beautiful women.

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An basically recognised the woman instantly too. They exchanged glances. ¡°Ruan Yaozhu!¡±

    Flying was forbidden in Myriad city, and this happened to be a necessary path leading towards the Department of Military Provisions.

    Ruan Yaozhu rode the nine-coloured deer, arriving at the entrance of the Department of Military Provisions instantly. Without notifying the guards about her arrival, she directly made her way in, arriving beneath the black tower. She ignored Li Qingshan and denounced Ge Xing directly, ¡°Senior brother Ge, you¡¯ve gone too far this time!¡±

    That¡¯s an awful amount of respect you¡¯re getting, having a direct disciple come in person for you! Ge Xing glanced at Li Qingshan and received Ruan Yaozhu. ¡°Long time no see, junior sister Ruan. I know you treasure this kid very much, but this is not something you can stop. You should just save your time and give up now!¡±

 Chapter 1415

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1415 ¨C Li Liehuo

    Ruan Yaozhu berated him righteously. ¡°Not only do you all gather around to gamble, but you even go as far as to break the rules of the Myriad sect for the sake of a gamble, abusing the authority you possess. Is this something that we direct disciples should be doing?¡±

    Ge Xing raised both hands and leaned backwards. ¡°Err, junior sister, if you want to blame someone, blame Le Tian! This is all his horrible idea. There¡¯s Pi Yangqiu as well. Those two old gamblers came up with a scheme to screw us over. We can¡¯t just stand by and get ripped off without fighting back.¡±

    He was in a weaker position, but he refused to concede. This had to do with a huge sum of Green Jade bookmarks, and there were so many other direct disciples standing behind him. He could not concede, nor was there the need to concede.

    If Li Qingshan were a female cultivator and belonged to the first senior sister¡¯s faction, then they could only pray that he would die from cultivation deviation. This conscription order would never take effect. However, of all the people to offend, this kid had severely offended Chao Tianjiao. They did not even have to try anything underhanded, so why would they let him go?

    Then he pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°And this kid got a thousand Green Jade bookmarks from Le Tian, redeeming a heavenly tome right from the beginning. He¡¯s gotten such a huge advantage, so how can there be no consequences at all?¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky as if he could see the flow of fate. Curses and blessings came hand in hand. Everything he had been through since arriving in the Myriad sect mingled together, such that it was difficult to distinguish whether it was a curse or a blessing.

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed gently and glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°I still must request you to take that back, senior brother. He¡¯s very important to the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    Ge Xing said, ¡°That might be beyond my power. You¡¯re welcome to use that Shen Yushu from before again. He should be very willing to return to the Hundred Herbs garden.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu raised her head. ¡°Then we can only talk about this in the Direct Disciple hall.¡±

    Normally, the Myriad sect was self-administered by direct disciples, so the Direct Disciple hall was the most critical facility in place. Once any major matters arose, or if there were any disputes between direct disciples, they would go into the Direct Disciple hall for discussion with all the direct disciples before coming to a final verdict.

    It prevented all direct clashes. Internal struggles were definitely forbidden between direct disciples, even when it came to public duels. That was the most important rule of the Myriad sect. From a certain perspective, Le Tian¡¯s gamble gave the direct disciples an opportunity to contend with one another.

    ¡°Is this really worth it, junior sister?¡± Ge Xing asked. She would be confronting them over an inner disciple, even if he had the talent to become a direct disciple.

    ¡°You are getting in the way of the interests of my Hundred Herbs garden, so of course, I have to hold my ground.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless. You won¡¯t win even if you take this matter to the Direct Disciple hall.¡± They possessed an absolute advantage in numbers. Even if Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu stood forward, it would be very difficult to change the situation.

    ¡°You¡¯ll only know when you try.¡± Ruan Yaozhu signalled Li Qingshan. ¡°Let¡¯s return to the Hundred Herbs garden for now.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Li Qingshan knew he owed her very much, so he could not be bothered with putting up a show to turn her down. He was certain that he would pay her back for everything she had done with his own two hands.

    Suddenly, he stopped and looked back at a black stone hall nearby.

    A violent aura rose up and murderousness gathered like a billowy beacon of smoke, rising into the sky. It was flashy and flagrant, without any attempts to disguise it, like a primordial beast climbing out from a live volcano. He could clearly sense a hint of scorching heat!

    On the huge and simple formation, a large foot extended out from the scorching, twisted gate of light.

    ¡°It¡¯s the teleportation hall!¡± the female officer said. Her eyes lit up with admiration. ¡°He¡¯s returned.¡±

    Ge Xing said in surprise, ¡°Why¡¯s he early this time?¡±

    The Department of Military Provisions fell silent for a moment before erupting with cheers. ¡°It¡¯s first senior brother! First senior brother has returned!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt very uncomfortable when he heard that phrase. Basically all of them would work against him by nature. Even that fool Chu Tian had actually been the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, so how was he supposed to explain that? Meanwhile, when he finally became a first senior brother himself, he only had a single junior brother, and he was expelled very soon afterwards.

    Just recently, he had met a first senior sister, and she had already caused him countless problems. Now that he had run into a first senior brother, he was better off simply leaving first!

    Li Qingshan was about to leave when Ge Xing¡¯s expression suddenly changed. He said to Li Qingshan in surprise, ¡°Junior brother Li, first senior brother is summoning you. First senior brother leads an army and returns to rest at regular intervals. He¡¯s suddenly returned along this time probably because of you.¡±

    The female officer basically found that to be unbelievable. She became filled with envy yet again. Just why did this kid deserve so much respect and special treatment?

    However, Li Qingshan felt even more uncomfortable. He experienced an ill omen like trouble was waiting to happen.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°I¡¯m sure senior brother Li will ensure everything remains fair.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Li!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately recalled that the name underneath Lin Xuan¡¯s did indeed have the surname Li. Back then, he was not particularly fazed by it. There were plenty of people who shared the same surnames, and ¡°Li¡± was not a particularly rare surname either, but now, he felt a little pained.

    Arriving at the teleportation hall, he immediately saw the first senior brother, Li Liehuo.

    Perhaps it was better said that they could not shift their gaze away from where he stood. There was a group of cultivators staring at him right now.

    His appearance was simple and dignified, like a statue of a god carved in the ancient times. His long hair resembled fire, rising and curling about.

    Under his scarlet armour, he was covered in muscles, but it definitely did not seem excessive. Instead, it was filled with an explosive sense of strength. He carried a huge blade on his back as he stood on the formation with his arms crossed before his chest. The scorching, twisted teleportation gate behind him illuminated his figure, making him seem even taller and larger.

    As soon as Li Qingshan entered the hall, a pair of fiery-red eyes became fixed on him, intensifying the scorching sensation. He felt like he would be burned to ash if it were not for the phoenix¡¯s bloodline. He stared back at him without any signs of weakness and reached a conclusion with a single glance.

    I hate this guy!

    ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan?¡± Li Liehuo asked with a smile.

    With his smile, his simple face immediately became lively, while his dignified appearance became fervent, naturally giving people a good impression of him.

    ¡°I am.¡± Li Qingshan nodded, but he found him even more annoying.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard all about you. I¡¯m certain you¡¯re capable of making contributions to the battlefield, but this should be what you want, not something you are forced into doing because of others!¡± Li Liehuo glanced at Ge Xing. Ge Xing smiled awkwardly and shrank back a little.

    Ruan Yaozhu beamed with joy. ¡°Sure enough, senior brother is a reasonable and sensible man.¡±

    Li Liehuo teased her. ¡°Little Yaozhu, how do I compare to your senior sister Chao?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Obviously not as great.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, making his voice boom through the hall.

    ¡°But the junior brother Li beside you wants to challenge your senior sister Chao.¡±

    ¡°I am deeply grateful for your generosity and righteousness, senior brother.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. Had he specially come back to serve as a ¡°saviour¡±? But they clearly did not know each other. Was it because he had conflict with Chao Tianjiao that he especially admired him?

    ¡°I am neither generous nor righteous, nor have I especially come to help you.¡± Li Liehuo suddenly cut to the chase. ¡°Kid, hand over the formation disc to the Xuanming dwelling, and you can return to the Hundred Herbs garden to cultivate in peace.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. I knew it!

    ¡°What, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have a dwelling, senior brother?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re still unworthy of it. You can stop with your slick opportunism too!¡±

    Li Liehuo¡¯s expression became a little sterner, and the violent aura that resembled a primordial beast flooded over once more.

 Chapter 1416

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1416 ¨C A Punch

    This is a good opportunity, Qingshan! Give up on the gamble! Cultivate in the Hundred Herbs garden peacefully and slowly build up contribution. With your talent for cultivation and that mysterious legacy, you can definitely become a direct disciple. Definitely! Ruan Yaozhu thought silently.

    Despite her thoughts, she knew what he would choose in the end. Just by glancing at him, she knew that he had not even considered this suggestion.

    Li Qingshan was completely tense as if he was under huge pressure. He deeply experienced the difference between him and a Human Sovereign. This powerhouse among Human Sovereigns was on a completely different level from that last placer Si Long. The difference was so great that he stood no chance, just like when that officer faced him earlier!

    However, he did not take a single step back, meeting his gaze proudly like all the powerful enemies he had faced in the past.

    He grinned and asked with emphasis, ¡°If I¡¯m not worthy¡­ then who is!?¡±

    His blood boiled through his body as he put on a full display, standing up to Li Liehuo¡¯s aura.

    The cultivators in the surroundings were all astounded. He was basically tired of living to talk to the first senior brother like that!

    Even Ge Xing praised him silently. This kid is born with courage, but not only have you wasted such a fantastic opportunity with that, but you¡¯ve even forced yourself into dire straits.

    Originally, under Li Liehuo¡¯s orders, he could have cancelled this gamble, and even Le Tian would be powerless to stop it. The direct disciples would have no more reasons to target him either. They might have even looked at him with a little more respect!

    However, not only did he refuse this, but he even questioned Li Liehuo. Just like that, neither of the two armies that the Myriad sect sent into the Demon domain to wage war were safe for him anymore.

    The two armies happened to be the Raging Flames army led by Li Liehuo and the Xuanwu army led by Chao Tianjiao.

    Sigh, that¡¯s expected. If he¡¯s not this kind of a person, why would he have taken part in the gamble in the first place?

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Li Liehuo raised his thick eyebrows that resembled fire, staring at Li Qingshan with a scorching gaze as if he never expected to be questioned.

    In a single moment, heat waves visible to the naked eye began to dance, flooding towards Li Qingshan, filled with the murderousness developed from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield between humans and demons.

    Whoosh! The heat wrapped around him, entering his every pore. Even with the bloodline of the phoenix, he found it hot and unbearable, like he was stuck in the eight hot hells, where even his Yin Demon was about to melt. However, the people in the surroundings experienced no heat at all. Li Liehuo, who seemed extremely unruly, had already achieved the apex of control over his powers.

    Li Liehuo took a step forward and gave off an illusion. It seemed as if his figure swelled and rose up indefinitely like flames, rushing out of the teleportation hall and into the sky. His voice boomed mightily, ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more opportunity. Give up what doesn¡¯t belong to you!¡±

    Compared to him, Li Qingshan only seemed even more insignificant like an ant. However, he took another step forward and bellowed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t belong to me? Belongs to who then!?¡±

    The hall became deathly silent. The cultivators stared at Li Qingshan blankly. He¡¯s definitely mad! However, they also noticed a strange sense of loftiness from him, no less than the first senior brother¡¯s.

    The female officer beside Ge Xing finally understood what he had said. If it had been her instead, she probably would have collapsed on the ground already.

    The disturbance alarmed the entire city.

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes narrowed; she clutched her wrist firmly. ¡°He¡¯s in danger!¡±

    ¡°How do you know¡­ alright then. Apart from him, who else can do something like that? The enemy is probably a late Yang Soul cultivator, even perhaps close to the peak. On top of that, their power and personality leaves them extremely skilled at fighting. We have no chance at winning at all, so¡­¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°If there¡¯s any danger, you leave with him. I¡¯ll cover you.¡±

    ¡°Just what¡¯s so great about him?¡± Gu Yanying sighed with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry for now. That Ruan Yaozhu from earlier is right beside him. She probably won¡¯t just stand by¡­¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head and clutched her wrist even more firmly. The prayer beads rubbed and clashed together, making them creak.

    Gu Yanying was slightly surprised. ¡°Sorry.¡±

    Even the badge on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest gradually began to melt. Ruan Yaozhu rode over on the reluctant nine-coloured deer and arrived before him, blocking Li Liehuo¡¯s scorching, violent aura.

    ¡°Senior brother, aren¡¯t you just harassing him at this rate, just because you¡¯re stronger?¡±

    Li Liehuo directly ignored Ruan Yaozhu, staring at Li Qingshan like a vicious beast. ¡°Is this who you¡¯re relying on?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question, senior brother. If I¡¯m not worthy, who¡¯s worthy? If it doesn¡¯t belong to me, who does it belong to then? Is it you?¡±

    ¡°Do you really think I won¡¯t kill you?¡± Li Liehuo said furiously. Even Ruan Yaozhu felt a little hot. The nine-coloured deer¡¯s coral-like antlers gave off a nine-coloured glow, fending off the heat desperately.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard something like that just recently.¡±

    ¡°Was it Chao Tianjiao? The things she might care about doesn¡¯t mean I might care about. If I want to kill you, no one can protect you today!¡± Li Liehuo directly made his way down from the altar.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need anyone¡¯s protection.¡± Li Qingshan made his way around Ruan Yaozhu and asked with a sneer, ¡°Heh, I wonder how many moves you need to kill me with your cultivation, first senior brother?¡±

    ¡°Do you want to try it?¡± Li Liehuo asked harshly.

    ¡°I want to try it!¡± Li Qingshan grinned viciously.

    ¡°A punch! If you can withstand a punch from me. I¡¯ll spare your life!¡±

    ¡°If you can¡¯t kill me with a punch, then you better write your ¡®Li¡¯ backwards. I¡¯m embarrassed to share the same¡­¡±

    Before he could say ¡°surname¡±, Li Liehuo¡¯s fist erupted like a volcano, slamming against Li Qingshan¡¯s body violently.

    In reality, that was all there was to the power behind a volcanic eruption. A volcanic eruption might even pale in comparison to that.

    Even though Li Qingshan had already gathered all of his focus, it was still too fast for him to respond. Even when he had already gathered all of his strength, he only lasted for a split second. Li Liehuo sent all of his power into his body, erupting like a volcano within him.

    Boom!

    Li Qingshan slammed through the black stone tower and was thrown into the horizon.

    ¡°Li Liehuo!¡± Ruan Yaozhu glared at Li Liehuo. Everything had happened far too quickly. She never expected him to actually strike without any hesitation at all.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s not dead. I¡¯m just teaching him a lesson.¡±

    As if his anger had vanished, Li Liehuo glanced at his fist. He was indeed out to kill, and he had not held back with his punch. Even weaker Demon Sovereigns might not have been able to endure it, but his aura did not actually vanish.

    He sure was a strange kid. If he had enough time to grow and reach the position of direct disciple, he could definitely found an army under his own name, and he might even be able to contend for the position of first senior brother. However, he would have to survive first. Even if he managed to survive after a punch from him, he would be heavily injured.

    ¡°Heal him up. I¡¯ll be waiting for him on the battlefield!¡±

    He glanced at Ruan Yaozhu and Ge Xing and stepped into the teleportation formation again, vanishing with the twisted gate of light.

    Ruan Yaozhu patted the nine-coloured deer and rushed off in the direction where Li Qingshan had fallen.

    ¡°What¡¯re you all gathering here for? Scatter, scattered!¡±

    Ge Xing waved his hand unhappily. This gamble would be his win, but he was unable to cheer up. Fearless warriors received respect wherever they went, especially when it was in the army barracks, yet he would be dying pointless over a gamble now.

    However, he felt like he was being watched earlier. Was that merely an illusion?

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An had already vanished from the bridge where they could see the Department of Military Provisions in the distance.

 Chapter 1417

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1417 ¨C Reunion

    The winds whistled past his ears as Myriad city rapidly receded into the distance. A great, gaping hole appeared in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, surging out with raging flames. His ribs had completely shattered, such that it was possible to make out his spine and his thumping, undying heart.

    He gazed at the blue sky and watched the white clouds pass by, except he felt extraordinarily calm inside.

    Whether it was Li Liehuo or Chao Tianjiao, they were only small obstacles in the path before him. He did not view them as powerful enemies. They were even positioned below the true dragon in the Xuanming dwelling, Ao Xuan.

    Since it was impossible for him to hand over the formation disc to the Xuanming dwelling, then they could only fall out. He said he did not have Chao Tianjiao¡¯s qualms, but it was actually the same. When he asked him how many moves it would take to kill him, he could not answer a hundred or two, right? As a result, it seemed dangerous, but it was actually very safe.

    Of course, Li Liehuo¡¯s strength was indisputable. The power behind the punch was extraordinarily great, so great that it had almost turned him back into a phoenix embryo. However, that was also because he had not used any innate abilities, or even taking on a few strikes like that would not be a problem. Meanwhile, the true dragon Ao Xuan probably possessed the same level of strength.

    For now, perhaps he stood no chance, but once the Ape Demon Transformation reached the fifth layer and he recovered his full strength, he would possess complete confidence.

    Boom!

    The waves surged and splashed. He plunged into the depths of the ocean while the scorching flames that sprayed out from his chest directly vapourised the seawater, making it rise and churn.

    Li Qingshan grinned. This grievance of a punch would definitely be paid back plentifully!

    With a leap, he swam towards the surface of the ocean. As soon as his head poked out of the water, a hand extended towards him.

    Under the blue sky, Gu Yanying¡¯s smile was hidden under the face cloth, only revealing her eyes. ¡°Little bro Qingshan, long time no see.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and grabbed her hand, pressing against the surface of the ocean and leaping out.

    With a white flash, Xiao An threw herself into his arms.

    Li Qingshan smiled gently and rubbed her head forcefully. ¡°I knew you were nearby.¡± However, he did not see R¨¡hu Xiaoming, so he frowned slightly. ¡°Where¡¯s Xiaoming?¡±

    Xiao An said, ¡°In order to cover for our escape, he was captured by that dragon.¡±

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s fine. We¡¯ll be able to save him very soon.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately discarded his original plan. He decided to save R¨¡hu Xiaoming and take the Xuanming dwelling before he was sent off to the army, before his strength had recovered. This way, he could show that damned Li Liehuo whether he was worthy of not!

    I¡¯m not alone right now.

    At this moment, Ruan Yaozhu rode over on her deer, stopping on the surface of the ocean in the distance. She was surprised. She clearly recognised them.

    Li Qingshan let go of Xiao An and clasped his hands at the distance. ¡°Senior sister Ruan, thank you for earlier.

    Ruan Yaozhu faltered as the nine-coloured deer asked, ¡°Kid, who are they?¡±

    Li Qingshan said calmly, ¡°Family and companions.¡±

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    Ruan Yaozhu nodded with a smile. ¡°I see. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An exchanged glances, removing their face clothes. ¡°Nice to meet you too, senior sister Ruan.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. Seeing how he had no intentions to introduce them any further, she was about to leave, but she still ended up asking, ¡°Are your wounds already?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. You know, my body is always in fantastic shape.¡± Li Qingshan patted his chest. His injuries had already begun to heal.

    ¡°Sigh, you shouldn¡¯t have confronted him directly.¡±

    ¡°You know the kind of person I am. Instead of putting up with him with pent-up anger, I¡¯m better off just taking a punch. That¡¯s much more satisfying.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu scanned past the three of them as if she had eased up slightly, but she also felt strangely disappointed. ¡°I¡¯m going back to the Hundred Herbs garden.¡± She rode away on the deer.

    The calm surface of the ocean reflected the blue skies and white clouds. With a white deer and a woman, her dress drifted about, making her seem rather lonely.

    Li Qingshan suddenly said, ¡°Senior sister, I have an unreasonable request I¡¯d like to make.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu turned around. Her expression was just as gentle as usual, but she seemed slightly more distant. ¡°Junior brother, I might not be able to help you this time.¡±

    ¡°I still haven¡¯t told you what it is¡­¡±

    ¡°Tell me then.¡±

    ¡°I want you to buy some time for me.¡±

    Li Qingshan requested. He could not rush over to the Xuanming dwelling and face the dragon Ao Xuan in a battle to the death right now. He needed some time for preparation. Since that enlistment order would be contested in the Direct Disciple hall, it had to go through a process, which would likely take a lot of time. That was the opportunity.

    Ruan Yaozhu could not help but glance at Gu Yanying and Xiao An again. Was he going to spend some time with them before he left?

    Gu Yanying smiled silently, while Xiao An remained impassive.

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Hey kid, learn to be content. We¡¯ve already helped you enough. You¡¯ve used up this bit of favour a long time ago!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That¡¯s why I said it¡¯s an unreasonable request, but this really is very important to me. I want to obtain the Xuanming dwelling, so I need to prepare¡­¡±

    ¡°But I can¡¯t help you with that!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu interrupted him. As a direct disciple, it was impossible for her to help him confront the current first senior brother¡¯s mount, even when the first senior brother had already passed away and reincarnated. As if she felt her response was a little too intense, she stroked the hair on the side of her face.

    ¡°Even if I want to help you, I¡¯m not Ao Xuan¡¯s opponent. I¡¯m not well-versed in battle.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m obviously aware of that. I don¡¯t want to make things difficult for you. I just want a bit of time. If you really can¡¯t, that¡¯s fine too.¡± Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Perhaps that Ao Xuan would start begging to be my mount when he sees me. I¡¯ll ride a true dragon onto the battlefield then. I¡¯d like to see how Li Liehuo responds then!¡±

    The joke made Ruan Yaozhu squeeze out a smile. He definitely would be challenging Ao Xuan together with these two women, as they were his family and his companions. He had never considered asking her to help him out with anything big, much less make things difficult for her. She was only a senior sister to him.

    That was the reality too. The two of them had not even been perturbed when they heard that, even if they would go through fire and water with him, challenging undefeatable enemies. Meanwhile, she was even trying to shirk away this small request of his.

    Originally, she wanted to persuade him out of rushing over to the Xuanming dwelling. After all, Ao Xuan was not that easy to deal with, but she was unable to utter a single word when she tried. All she could do was nod. ¡°I understand. I will contest the enlistment order in the Direct Disciple hall, which will buy you around ten to fifteen days. Y- you¡¯re on your own now!¡±

    He watched Ruan Yaozhu vanish into the horizon and Gu Yanying jokingly said, ¡°Stop looking. She¡¯s already out of sight. You¡¯ve only joined the Myriad sect for so long, so I really have no idea what to say. Though, you better not blame us for getting in the way of your relationship with her.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in doubt, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you did this on purpose!¡±

    ¡°You sure are ungrateful. Look at you, you were sent flying by a punch and left half dead. We rushed over to save you¡­¡±

    She left Li Qingshan feeling a little embarrassed for what he had just said. Then Gu Yanying cut to the chase. ¡°That¡¯s right, we did it on purpose.¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes before smiling freely. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is quite good too.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s very good, but not as good as me,¡± Xiao An said seriously.

    She did not care about how many women were beside him. All she cared about was whether she could be standing beside him when he was in danger.

    Li Qingshan scooped her up again and laughed. ¡°Of course! My Xiao An is the best in the world!¡±

    Xiao An¡¯s laughter rang out like silver chimes. Her smile was sweet and innocent.

    ¡°The two of you¡­¡± Gu Yanying shook her head in dismay. How were they two powerful cultivators?

    ¡°Haha, if you¡¯re jealous, I can give you a hug too.¡± Li Qingshan extended his hand and shot towards her.

    ¡°Save it.¡± With a flash, she arrived behind him. ¡°So what do you think? How do we deal with that dragon?¡±

    ¡°Do you even need to ask? I¡¯m best at something like that!¡± Cold light flashed through Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

 Chapter 1418

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1418 ¨C Planning and Preparing

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin in thought. ¡°Our priority right now is to verify Xiaoming¡¯s safety and hopefully save him. The dwelling comes second.¡±

    Gu Yanying said in thought, ¡°Lin Xuan is the first senior brother of the Myriad sect. It probably won¡¯t be that easy to get inside his dwelling.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I¡¯ve already obtained the formation disc to the Xuanming dwelling.¡± Li Qingshan smiled complacently and pointed at the wound on his chest. ¡°I took on this punch for that.¡±

    On top of that, he still had a trump card¡ªthe Yin Demon. With those two conditions met, it was not impossible for him to infiltrate the Xuanming dwelling.

    ¡°Truly something that Li Qingshan would do.¡± Gu Yanying praised and asked, ¡°Can it control the protective formation?¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t. It¡¯s just a key.¡± Li Qingshan also found that a little regretful, or everything would be much easier.

    ¡°Then can¡¯t you just change the lock?¡± Xiao An looked at Gu Yanying.

    Gu Yanying¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s right. The dragon doesn¡¯t seem to be particularly clever. We can try and lure him out. If you use that opportunity to gain control over the dwelling, we¡¯ll reverse the geographic advantage and become almost untouchable.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°You want to lure the snake away from its den? That¡¯s a fifth heavenly tribulation true dragon after all!¡¯

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He can¡¯t catch me that easily.¡±

    Gu Yanying was confident. In the furious lightning of the fourth heavenly tribulation, she had already completely merged with Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather. She was no longer a human or a hawk anymore, gradually morphing into a true kunpeng. That was enough to make up for the difference in cultivation.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to be faster than that dragon. When you take the Xuanming dwelling by force, he¡¯ll definitely sense it and rush back to defend the dwelling. I can hold him off for a little longer and buy you some time.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Can you stop him? Hopefully, we don¡¯t end up losing another one before the other one¡¯s even freed yet.¡±

    Xiao An only smiled silently. The fourth heavenly tribulation had been of great importance to her too. She had already reached the fourth layer of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty, attaining the fruit of Srot¨¡panna of the four fruits of attainments of buddhism. She had condensed a treasured body of white bone.

    Her joints were all condensing into white bone ?ar¨©ra, opening the chakras throughout her body of form. At the same time, she had reforged her various treasures of white bone. It had used up everything she had built up so far, but her strength had advanced by quite a large step.

    ¡°Very well then.¡± Li Qingshan eased up. ¡°Fortunately, I haven¡¯t been idling around.¡± With their assistance, he became a little more confident.

    After another discussion with them, he made them leave this place and find somewhere to cultivate while he returned to Myriad city.

    Along the way, everyone constantly glanced at him. The gamble of thirty years among the direct disciples and his challenge to Chao Tianjiao in three decades¡¯ time had already made Li Qingshan¡¯s name ring through the Myriad sect, and Li Liehuo¡¯s punch had completely propelled him to fame.

    An inner disciple had actually managed to offend the first senior brother and the first senior sister of the Myriad sect simultaneously. They were people that even direct disciples had to lower their heads towards out of respect, yet they just happened to run into a stubborn one.

    In the Fate Perturbing casino.

    ¡°Kid, I really don¡¯t know if I should call you crazy or if I should praise your courage!¡±

    Le Tian played around with dice as he paced around, studying Li Qingshan closely as he sneered away.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Both are fine.¡±

    ¡°Have you come to find me to tell me to collect your corpse?¡± Le Tian bellowed.

    This dark horse was about to become a dead horse. His wager of a thousand Green Jade bookmarks and his debt of a thousand Green Jade bookmarks, two thousand in total, was about to all go down the drain. Even he felt extremely pained over that.

    Pi Yangqiu had probably heard the news, so he rushed over in a hurry. He began to complain the moment he arrived. ¡°Look at you, junior brother. It¡¯s not like the dwelling belonged to you in the first place. You can¡¯t take it in such a short amount of time either, so you might as well have given it to the first senior brother and saved yourself from an endless amount of trouble. Now, not only have you forced yourself into a dead end, but he¡¯ll definitely blame me too.¡±

    ¡°Do you really think I can get out of this too?¡± Le Tian sighed. ¡°I was wrong. I should have never gambled against you right from the start.¡±

    This gamble left him extremely depressed. Regardless of the outcome, it would all be for nothing, and he would be forcefully tied together with this kid. Originally, if he just cultivated in the Myriad sect, how could there have been so many dangers? Yet, this kid was far too good at finding ways to die. He was basically unstoppable.

    Suddenly, he flew into a rage and grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s neck. ¡°Give me back my Green Jade bookmarks!¡±

    Faced with the complaints and fury of two direct disciples, others definitely would have been shaking with fear, yet Li Qingshan began to laugh.

    Pi Yangqiu was slightly surprised, while Le Tian¡¯s eyes were filled with interest as if his anger was merely an act.

    ¡°Senior brothers, it¡¯s pitiful that you¡¯re acting like this. I have a plan that can guarantee you the Green Jade bookmarks you deserve.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said in surprise, ¡°Even we don¡¯t have any ideas, yet you do?¡±

    Li Qingshan shot him a glance. ¡°Let go!¡±

    Le Tian let go and said, ¡°Interesting.¡±

    Li Qingshan fixed his collar. ¡°Tell me, how many Green Jade bookmarks do you think the items that first senior brother Lin left in the Xuanming dwelling are worth?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°That¡¯s difficult to estimate.¡±

    ¡°Is it enough to pay off all the gambling debts?¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡± Le Tian had already guessed Li Qingshan¡¯s plan and became excited. Sure enough, it was extremely interesting. The gamble was gradually becoming even wilder.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I plan on obtaining the Xuanming dwelling before I¡¯m transferred. That way, if I die on the battlefield, not only can I pay off my debts to senior brother Le, but you can count the amount you lost on me too, senior brother Pi. How¡¯s that?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said, ¡°Junior brother, it¡¯s impossible for us to go after Ao Xuan.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I haven¡¯t told you to do anything yet.¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°Then what do you want?¡±

    ¡°When senior sister Ruan contests the enlistment order in the Direct Disciple hall, please help her out and buy me some time. Also, lend me another two thousand Green Jade bookmarks, a thousand each! That¡¯s very fair, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was stunned. He said seriously, ¡°You really are crazy.¡±

    If another two thousand Green Jade bookmarks were added to the mix, then the gamble would reach an unbelievable level. Coupled with the wagers from the other direct disciples like Ge Xing, the total sum involved would be approaching a tremendous ten thousand Green Jade bookmarks. For regular small sects, even their savings from ten thousand years would not come close to such a sum.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°No, this is called doubling down! I only have a single question for you right now. Are you going to gamble or not?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu said in doubt, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not going to run off with this sum, are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan stared straight at him. His gaze was clear and sharp.

    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve misspoken.¡±

    Le Tian played around with his dice. ¡°If we don¡¯t, are you still going to go after the Xuanming dwelling?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I have to. Before I enter the battlefield, I need to settle this.¡±

    Le Tian licked his lips and tossed out a thousand Green Jade bookmarks. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make this gamble.¡±

    In order to break free from this web of his own spinning, he constantly increased his wage, continuing until he was knee deep and seeing red. It was not a gamble if it did not turn people¡¯s faces red, make their hearts beat, and their blood vessels dilate.

    Li Qingshan looked at Pi Yangqiu. ¡°What about you, senior brother Pi?¡±

    Pi Yangqiu remained silent for quite a while before letting out a sigh. ¡°We¡¯ve already come so far, so what else can I say? Three decades is too long. I want to see the outcome immediately.¡±

    He was bold enough to gamble with his life probably because there was something he could depend on! The chance to turn everything around had suddenly appeared in this gamble that was supposed to be certain defeat, and they could even see the outcome immediately. As gamblers, how could they just accept defeat willingly?

    Li Qingshan accepted another one thousand Green Jade bookmarks and left the Fate Perturbing casino after bidding farewell to them, directly making his way to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu stared outside the window, watching Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanish into the criss-crossing streets.

    Pi Yangqiu could not help but ask, ¡°Hey, we haven¡¯t gambled on the wrong side, have we?¡±

    Le Tian said, ¡°If it isn¡¯t the final moments, who knows? Don¡¯t you find this feeling to be wonderful?¡±

    ¡°After this gamble, I¡¯m giving up gambling.¡±

    As soon as Li Qingshan set foot in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance immediately summoned him. Sure enough, he knew everything.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared what you want. The price is two thousand two hundred Green Jade bookmarks.¡±

    That just happened to be everything that Li Qingshan possessed right now.

    Li Qingshan smiled and said nothing more, checking through the items. These items consisted of:

    The formation scroll of the Xuanming formation. It was extremely complicated and profound, which could save him time from all the calculations, allowing him to gain control over the Xuanming dwelling as quickly as possible.

    The Divine Movement of the Five Elements and the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique. The former emphasised rapid movement while being able to pass through everything, while the latter emphasised flexible infiltration without being discovered. When used together, they were complementary. They were basically what he was relying on to infiltrate the Xuanming dwelling.

    Records of all the battles of first senior brother Lin Xuan. As his mount, the true dragon Ao Xuan definitely possessed an extremely important role in them. His abilities, techniques, and battle style would all be recorded. He could even calculate what kind of personality he had.

    Last of all, there was the Secret Scroll of Inner Demons. It contained the most mysterious and unfathomable secret techniques to do with inner demons. By practising it, it was possible to both guard against inner demons while inciting the inner demons of enemies.

    All of those items only took up a very small space. The largest part of it all were the teachings of the various schools and sects deemed as ¡°lesser paths¡± or ¡°heretic¡± by buddhism that worshipped Mahe?vara.

    His ideology was extraordinarily deep yet strange and indescribable. It covered a myriad of different aspects, yet it contradicted itself.

    It included many different techniques, which were definitely unlike regular techniques. It covered everything, from bewitchment and movement to transformation and destruction and so on.

    For example, it covered the dual cultivation methods of the ?¨¡kta? school, the alchemy techniques of the Rase?vara school, the path of strange deeds of the Pa?upati school, and the live offering ceremonies summoning gods into the body of the Siddh¨¡nta school. The practices reached beyond even the wildest of imaginations.

    If he could completely master them all, not only would it be greatly beneficial to cultivation, but he would even be able to unleash extraordinary power from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty too.

    Li Qingshan tossed out all of his Green Jade bookmarks without any hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll take it all!¡± Then he asked, ¡°Why are you helping me?¡±

    ¡°This is a part of my duty.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance walked away without even looking back.

    A kunpeng that had inherited a feather of Heaven-stirring and a successor of the White Bone Bodhisattva. None of this could escape his eyes. Even if he could find nothing through divination, some things were still gradually clearing up, providing him with startling information.

    He was neither bold enough to oppose him, nor did he have the courage to befriend him. Even a single wrong step meant eternal damnation. He was just a mere spirit turtle. He was unable to deal with any of the consequences. All he could do was wait and see, adjust with the situation, continue to observe, and gather more information. After all that, he would make his judgement.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. ¡°Thanks!¡±

 Chapter 1419

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1419 ¨C A Mark

    Li Qingshan made his way down the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes in satisfaction. The workers that had once been extremely enthusiastic towards him now avoided him like the plague, only finding the courage to discuss quietly after he was long gone. However, with how sharp his ears were, he heard every single word. Basically all of them treated him as someone who was about to die.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He did not blame them for their snobbiness. Apart from direct disciples like Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu, there was probably no one left in the Myriad sect who was still bold enough to have any contact with him.

    However, he discovered he was wrong as soon as he emerged from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. A male cultivator stood at the entrance, staring straight at him as soon as he emerged, like he had been waiting there specially for him.

    Li Qingshan felt a little puzzled, as the appearance and stature of the cultivator was abnormally ordinary. It was not the kind of ordinary where he would not be recognised if he was in a group of people, but the kind of ordinary where his appearance and stature was the average of everyone in the group, a kind of ordinary devoid of all special characteristics. Actually, at a closer glance, he even seemed quite handsome.

    The badge on his chest indicated he was an inner disciple. However, a Yin Soul cultivator without any special characteristics like this instead made him seem particularly strange. On top of that, he seemed to be looking at him in great resentment.

    Li Qingshan stopped. ¡°The fuck you looking at?¡± Unfortunately, the person¡¯s reply was not, ¡°You got a problem with that?¡±, which left him slightly disappointed.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, to think you would have a day like today!¡± The ordinary face twisted into a rather familiar expression of resentment, and the fluctuations in his voice were rather familiar too.

    Li Qingshan experienced a flash of thought. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, let me think¡­ You¡¯re Shen Yushu!¡± Haha, how have you ended up like this? You¡¯re much uglier compared to before.¡±

    As if Li Qingshan had hit him where it hurt, Shen Yushu¡¯s face became even more twisted. ¡°Li Qingshan, you destroyed my body! I¡¯ll never forgive you!¡±

    He had not obtained this body through possession. A Yin Soul was extremely unstable, so he did not have much time at all to find someone suitable to possess. Even if he were fortunate enough to find one, not only was it unethical, but it would lead to sizable side effects too.

    This was a body bug specially nurtured by the Spiritual Beast garden in the Myriad sect. Normally, they were shaped like bugs, but as long as a secret technique was used on them, they would assume a human shape very quickly. Their skeletal structure and blood vessels were no different from a mortal¡¯s, except they were born without souls. They were specially nurtured for cultivators to possess when their bodies were destroyed.

    However, body bugs only differed by genders. When it came to anything else, it was as ordinary as it could be. They possessed no special abilities, nor did they have any flaws, so they met the requirements of most cultivators.

    ¡°Never forgive me?¡± Li Qingshan stood with his hands on his hips. ¡°Come and bite me then!¡±

    Shen Yushu had never been Li Qingshan¡¯s opponent. Coupled with the fact that he had yet to adjust to his new body and Li Qingshan had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation now, he stood even less of a chance. He sneered. ¡°Hmph, you won¡¯t be able to stay cocky for long. I¡¯ll wait for the news of your death in the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    Before he had finished what he was saying, a huge hand reached over as if it was going to wrap around him. When he returned to his senses, Li Qingshan had already grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air.

    Li Qingshan pulled him up close, turned his ear towards him, and asked, ¡°What did you say? Could you repeat yourself?¡±

    Shen Yushu became extremely shocked. The half of Li Qingshan¡¯s face towards him suddenly became as vicious as a beast¡¯s in his eyes, shining with a scarlet, bloodthirsty light. How could he still manage to say anything? He became filled with regret. He should not have come to taunt him. He was going to die for sure anyway. Otherwise, if he decided to go crazy before he died and dragged him down for nothing, would he not just die for nothing?

    The disturbance attracted quite a lot of attention, but no one dared to interfere. There had never been a lot of people who could interfere between the disputes of two inner disciples, let alone the fact that one of them was Li Qingshan right now.

    Li Qingshan said in disdain, ¡°You¡¯re just a mere scoundrel!¡± He studied him up and down. ¡°Hopefully, you can still be of some use.¡± He simply set him down, turned around, and left.

    Shen Yushu stumbled backwards; his legs gave way, and he fell back on his bottom.

    The watching cultivators could not help but sneer inside, They¡¯re both inner disciples, yet isn¡¯t the difference a little too big? That Li Qingshan might be arrogant, but he still has confronted first senior brother and first senior sister directly. He really is worthy of his reputation.

    Li Qingshan returned to the Hundred Herbs garden to take back in the Yin Demon, as he planned on grasping the path of great liberty and practising the various techniques. He also wanted to see Ruan Yaozhu again so that he could get an accurate estimate of how much time he had left from her.

    Under the golden-leaved bodhi tree, the Yin Demon flew into his body, and the thought clones all vanished. He gazed at the mountains and rivers in the depths of the Hundred Herbs garden. Originally, he thought he had found a peaceful place for cultivation, but there was far too much trouble waiting for him, so he was unable to remain there for long.

    Ruan Yaozhu came to the hill alone. ¡°I¡¯ve already submitted a request to the Direct Disciple hall. Senior brother Le and senior brother Pi will assist me. However, Ge Xing and the others will do what they can as well, so we can only buy you a month at most.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands and bowed. ¡°I¡¯ll be troubling you, senior sister.¡±

    Before he knew it, they had already become much more distant, which made him a little melancholic inside, but he did not feel any regret. Since they were not people of the same path, there was no point in trying to cling together and repeat a mistake of the past. This was how he would be paying her back.

    Ruan Yaozhu lowered her head and said nothing, turning back to how simple-minded and quiet she seemed when they first met.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Oh right, I just saw Shen Yushu again. He¡¯s changed very much.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu looked up, casting a questioning gaze at him.

    Li Qingshan patted the tree trunk. ¡°Originally, I wanted to work hard to pay you back, but with this, I might never have the opportunity to cultivate under this tree again. You still need someone to handle the matters of the Hundred Herbs garden. He¡¯s the best choice.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows. She was slightly unhappy.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll never forget about the kindness you¡¯ve shown me. I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future.¡±

    A hint of anger flashed across Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s face, but she still forcefully composed herself. She said indifferently, ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m leaving then.¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, Ruan Yaozhu had already drifted away.

    Li Qingshan sighed with a smile and left the Hundred Herbs garden in the opposite direction. He saw a figure flying over from the surface of the ocean. Even when he hid his aura as much as possible, how could he hide from his senses? He was Shen Yushu.

    Heh, he sure knows how to pick the time!

    He wanted to teach him another lesson, but with some further thought, he decided against something as pointless as that.

    That was fine too. The Hundred Herbs garden would turn back to how it was before very soon, like he had never visited the place before.

    Shen Yushu noticed Li Qingshan from afar and suddenly stopped, only to see Li Qingshan rising up in the air and whistling away. Only after hesitating for a good moment did he continue onwards, arriving above the shore of the island and tidying up his clothes.

    Gazing at the extremely familiar sight, he was filled with confidence. I, Shen Yushu, have returned! Originally, he wanted to wait for Ruan Yaozhu to receive him in person, but he simply did not have the patience for that. He was in a rush to fill in this job. It was far too important to him.

    Ruan Yaozhu, oh Ruan Yaozhu, who else can you still use without Li Qingshan? Don¡¯t you still have to rely on me at the end of the day? You must regret it very much right now!

    In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu meditated peacefully. Flowers bloomed beside her, filling the dwelling with fragrance.

    However, the nine-coloured deer knew this was a sign that she felt anything but peaceful inside, and her powers were leaking. She had finally chased away that damned Li Qingshan, but his existence had left a mark. Hopefully, it would fade away with time!

    She said carefully, ¡°Yaozhu, that Shen Yushu wants to come in.¡±

    ¡°Tell him to piss off!¡±

 Chapter 1420

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1420 ¨C Poisonous Fire

    The sky was empty; the sea was vast. Li Qingshan flew over the ocean. He had less than a month. That was far too tight, basically impossible to make ample preparations.

    If he had a few years to cultivate slowly, to reach the fifth layer with the Ape Demon Transformation, to recover his full strength before running through the methods of the various schools that worshipped Mahe?vara, his strength would definitely skyrocket. Just a measly true dragon at the fifth heavenly tribulation would be nothing difficult to deal with.

    And after reaching Daemon Emperor, it should have led to another five new innate abilities as well, but now, that did not happen for an array of reasons. It was innate, but even birds needed a process before they learnt how to fly. If he comprehended them slowly, it was not like he would not be able to comprehend them, but it was still that problem. He did not have enough time.

    He would be doing quite well if he could comprehend an innate ability or two in a month¡¯s time, but it was almost impossible to use them freely. On top of that, the exact effects of the new innate abilities were still unknown.

    Perhaps he would go to such great lengths to comprehend it, only for it to be completely useless for fighting Ao Xuan. That would be nothing strange at all. Not every single innate ability that he had completely comprehended so far would be used in every battle. As a result, he was better off spending time practising the techniques related to the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. At the very least, he had a clear goal in mind.

    That was how fate worked. It would never wait until you had made all your preparations. Instead, it would smack you over the head painfully at all times.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and dismissed these random thoughts, gathering all of his attention on the current matter at hand. He contemplated how to unleash their fullest potential so that he could get through this crisis.

    He looked through the records regarding the first senior brother Lin Xuan¡¯s battles first. There were no images, only words, but Lin Xuan¡¯s power from the past still managed to surge forth from the words. He was truly worthy of being described as invincible and ever successful. People could only look up to him.

    With the Heavenly Tome of True Dragon in hand, he unleashed its powers in a myriad of ways, killing countless powerful enemies on the battlefield.

    Not only was he powerful, but he was even quite a talented leader too. He was wise and decisive, able to win people over to his side. He could freely command the armies from beyond the Myriad sect too. He was basically completely different from the Lin Xuan that Li Qingshan knew, let alone that clown Chu Tian.

    Perhaps it was exaggerated, but it definitely was not groundless. At the very least, he was much more worthy of the title of first senior brother compared to Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao.

    However, fate was merciless. If he could not become an immortal, once his lifespan elapsed, it was useless even if he spent his life committing heroic deeds. Even after reincarnating, he would not be the same anymore.

    And behind all of the matters regarding Lin Xuan was Ao Xuan¡¯s shadow. He even had the glorious battle record of holding off five Demon Sovereigns alone before. It was a bitter battle, and he was saved in the end by Lin Xuan and others, but Li Qingshan also became sterner after reading that.

    At the very least, that true dragon was still a powerful opponent that he could not defeat right now. The aura of death grew heavier as the battle spirit within him blazed like fire.

    Even he himself had not realised that he had subconsciously pursed his lips and flared his nostrils, coming off as stubborn and tenacious as an ox.

    At this moment, a green, verdant island appeared on the horizon. It happened to be located five thousand kilometres from both Myriad city and the Xuanming dwelling.

    Li Qingshan descended from above and cut right to the chase, sharing the information he had found with Gu Yanying and Xiao An.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have a lot of time, fifteen days at most. By then, I¡¯ll try to find Xiaoming, and then we¡¯ll prepare for a battle to the death with Ao Xuan!¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Understood.¡± Xiao An nodded silently.

    As a result, Li Qingshan said nothing more, turning around and making his way into the depths of the island. He immediately began to cultivate, starting off with the Divine Movement of the Five Elements.

    In the depths of the thick forest, a huge tree blocked the path. Who knew how many years it had been growing there, and its circumference was probably as long as over a dozen people holding hands with their arms outstretched. It almost resembled a wall.

    Li Qingshan directly walked over, walking into the wooden wall silently. The small world that was still half-chaotic in his body shrank and swelled with each breath of his, constantly circulating.

    With success in one technique came success in all techniques.

    If regular cultivators wanted to achieve an initial mastery of the Divine Movement of the Five Elements, it would take years at the very least.

    However, moving through wood was no longer anything difficult, as he had reached the first layer of the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity.

    Just like that, he made his way through the forest, passing through tree after tree until a great mountain blocked his path.

    He smiled. With a leap, he dove into the rock like a fish slipping into water, immediately lighting up with a specific glow, navigating his way through the mountain. Only that could be regarded as a true movement technique. Not only was it unopposed, but it could even make use of the terrain to move faster. Moving through earth was basically as easy as breathing to him.

    There was quite a lot of ore in the mountain, which posed a slightly bigger obstruction than the rocks, but it was not much of an issue either. He made his way into the depths of the mountain with the movement technique and suddenly plunged downwards. The heat gradually rose up; an endless sea of fire abruptly filled his face.

    Li Qingshan thought, Oh, so this is a dormant volcano!

    The underground magnetic field interfered with techniques, so the light around him flickered. The Divine Movement of the Five Elements sometimes stopped working, which made the sea of fire swallow him immediately.

    Among the movement techniques of the five elements, practising moving through fire was the most dangerous. Moving through earth was only a matter of being buried alive and moving through water was only drowning. Neither was lethal to cultivators. However, being burned by fire was not that comfortable. Normally, they would all begin by practising in a cauldron. They would have friends watch over them so that they could stop the fire at any time. Even with that, it was extremely easy to be injured or even lose their lives.

    It was basically unheard of to begin cultivating in the flames of the earth like Li Qingshan.

    Not only were there severe fire toxins here, but there was the influence of the underground magnetic field as well. The magma was not purely fire either, so it required mastery over earth movement and metal movement. The slightest mistake could lead to unthinkable consequences.

    It was probably because Li Qingshan had already grown accustomed to balancing various powers a long time ago that he could maintain the movement technique under the influence of the magnetic field, moving through earth unobstructed and traversing through fire unharmed. He moved about freely.

    At this moment, he suddenly encountered an earth bubble that ruptured violently. The magma surged, and the magnetic field was thrown into chaos.

    The movement technique was immediately disabled, and his chest heated up. His wound that had already closed ruptured again, and blood and fire surged out like a volcanic eruption. That was the residual power from Li Liehuo¡¯s punch.

    Li Qingshan was covered in scorch wounds. If it were not for the phoenix¡¯s bloodline, he would have found it unbearably hot. The turbulent magma rushed in from all directions.

    Even though he possessed experience with moving through earthen flames and he had done so with just his body, this was the Human realm. Everything in the surroundings told him a simple fact.

    You aren¡¯t that strong here!

    HIs reckless behaviour when he rampaged through the nine provinces in the past seemed to become a distant dream. Just like when he had first arrived in the small world, the concept of ¡°invincibility¡± was only an immature game between children.

    Is this it? Is this it? Li Qingshan asked himself.

    He gritted his teeth and silently focused on every area of pain from his body. His various emotions after arriving in the Human realm filled his mind. He had been treated as a pawn, an object for gambling, freely insulted and ordered around, forced into dire straits step by step. Even after casting aside the notion of death, it took him everything to preserve his dignity, and he was still left with a hole in his chest.

    He clenched his fists and let out a hysterical roar, casting himself into the depths of the earth fire.

    Boom. The mountain shook, and the ground rumbled.

    Xiao An suddenly looked back. ¡®Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 1421

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1421 ¨C Summoning a God

    Clang!

    The bell rang out loudly and shone brightly. The towering doors to the Direct Disciple hall opened slowly.

    By a column on the side of the entrance, Pi Yangqiu¡¯s eyes swivelled about as he observed the surroundings. ¡°Is junior sister Ruan going to come or not?¡±

    Le Tian leaned against the column. ¡°Who knows?¡±

    ¡°If she doesn¡¯t, that kid is done for.¡±

    ¡°He might have fled already.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t he dare!¡±

    Several unfamiliar direct disciples stood on the other side of the entrance, either dressed elegantly and standing out like pine trees or dressed loosely with swords, graceful like the wind. They all possessed extraordinary bearings. Ge Xing was among them.

    Apart from him, the others were all a little irritated. This small issue that could have been resolved easily had actually developed into a confrontation in the Direct Disciple hall.

    By the time the door had completely opened, a female cultivator walked out. Her violet dress dragged along the ground; her hair was beautiful like clouds. She was dignified, yet she smiled, giving off a bearing that was noble yet friendly. She was also a direct disciple. She stood with her hands on her hips and asked, ¡°What¡¯re you all standing outside foolishly for?¡±

    ¡°Third senior sister, junior sister Ruan isn¡¯t here yet.¡±

    Ge Xing explained in a hurry. This ¡°third senior sister¡± Dai Mengfan placed behind Chao Tianjiao on the Myriad rankings. Regardless of who became the first senior brother or sister in the end, she would still be the third senior sister. She was currently in charge of the Direct Disciple hall, presiding over all matters that were to be discussed.

    The thing that Ruan Yaozhu wanted to contest in the Direct Disciple hall was Ge Xing¡¯s enlistment order. The others had only come along to voice their approval or disapproval. Only the two of them could not be missing.

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t she been here all this time?¡± Dai Mengfan smiled and extended a finger towards the bottom of the white jade steps.

    Cling!

    There was a ripple of nine-coloured light, and a person and a deer appeared. The deer hooves clopped against the jade steps gently and arrived at the door. Ruan Yaozhu landed on the ground gently and lowered her head. ¡°Senior sister.¡±

    Everyone was speechless. There were so many direct disciples here, yet no one managed to notice her.

    Ge Xing said sternly, ¡°Junior sister Ruan, your concealment techniques are truly wondrous. Did you only show yourself now because you didn¡¯t want to see us earlier?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu had never been particularly good at speaking, so she seemed even more simple-minded now.

    Pi Yangqiu arrived beside her with a flash and smiled at her. ¡°If I were capable of something like that, I¡¯d probably remain hidden even now because I don¡¯t want to see you.¡±

    ¡°Then you better hide away forever, so I don¡¯t see you.¡±

    Le Tian walked over with a chuckle and joined the conversation. ¡°Hello, senior and junior brothers.¡±

    Ge Xing snorted coldly. He had nothing good to say to the person behind the entire scheme that screwed him over.

    When they confronted each other, it was not daggers drawn, but they did not show each other any politeness either.

    ¡°You can stop now. If you have something to say, come on in!¡± Dai Mengfan brought her arm around Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s shoulders and made her way into the Direct Disciple hall. She communicated, ¡°Piece of wood, oh piece of wood. You can¡¯t blame me for not helping you out this time. The kid has been far too arrogant.¡±

    The direct disciples trailed in, and the doors closed slowly again. Ruan Yaozhu glanced backwards. The skies were clear, without a single cloud in sight. She prayed inside, No matter what, I hope you can be fine!

    Boom!

    With a rumble, the island rocked.

    The volcano that had lain dormant for who knew how many years erupted, spraying out with black smoke, shattered rocks, and fire. Looking down from above, it seemed like a lit torch.

    With a swish, a five-coloured ball of divine light rose up from the thick smoke and flames, rapidly circling around the rising mushroom clouds before diving into the vast ocean.

    As soon as it landed in the ocean, the five-coloured ball of divine light changed immediately, turning into a ball that was primarily blue. Not a single ripple or splash appeared on the surface of the ocean.

    It shot past a large sea turtle that swam slowly, and the five-coloured ball of divine light suddenly descended again, diving into the depths of the ocean and moving through the thick earth. Its colour changed once again.

    From fire to water, from water to earth¡­ the ball of light moved rapidly, without any obstruction.

    Li Qingshan was inside the five-coloured ball of divine light. He was overjoyed. After several days of consecutive cultivation, he had finally achieved this five-coloured ball of divine light. That was a symbol of achieving initial mastery over the Divine Movement of the Five Elements. Henceforth, he could move through water without drowning, fire without burning, and metal, earth, and wood would no longer pose an obstruction to him.

    The only downside was it stood out a little too much.

    Time was tight. He could not pause for even a second. He immediately began to practise the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique. The Divine Movement of the Five Elements had the support of the small world, which was why he could reach this state so quickly. The Illusionary Demon Movement Technique probably would not be that easy.

    Sure enough, several days later, the progress with Illusionary Demon Movement Technique was very slow. Even when Li Qingshan pushed it to the limit, his figure only became blurred, let alone when he used the Divine Movement of the Five Elements at the same time. At this rate, he definitely would not make it in time.

    He furrowed his brows, and he came up with an idea. He arrived at the base of the volcano and found a smooth rock face, getting to work with carving. Before long, a statue that was extremely twisted, strange, and ugly was carved out from the rock.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t really seem like it!¡± Li Qingshan took a few steps back and studied it closely, muttering to himself.

    There was a gust of wind, and Gu Yanying appeared before the rock face. ¡°What the hell is this?¡±

    ¡°Mahe?vara,¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    ¡°How does it even look like him?¡± Gu Yanying widened her eyes. ¡°What¡¯re you carving this for?¡±

    ¡°To summon a god,¡± Li Qingshan brought his palms together and said with a face of devotion.

    Gu Yanying brought her hand over his forehead. ¡°You¡¯re not crazy, are you?¡±

    ¡°Go away. Don¡¯t get in the way of my cultivation.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook off her hand. If the Divine Movement of the Five Elements was based on the small world, then the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique was based on the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. If he wanted to succeed with the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique quickly, then he had to make quick progress with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. He had to advance by a level at the very least.

    However, that was an even more difficult task, but there was a shortcut¡ªSiddh¨¡nta school¡¯s God Advent technique, or in Li Qingshan¡¯s language, the great technique of summoning a god into the body.

    There were many examples of this in the records of the Siddh¨¡nta school¡ªa person on the verge of death from sickness suddenly recovering, a mortal suddenly becoming imbued with divine strength, a fool suddenly coming to his senses one day, and so on. It was basically quick, convenient, easy, and brainless.

    The chances of success seemed a little small, and the records were probably unreliable, but he still had to give it a try. Perhaps it would end up working!

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    With this thought that was the antithesis of devotion, Li Qingshan began to chant the scriptures to the statue.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t summoning a god usually require kneeling and bowing?¡± Gu Yanying saw how he stood there as straight as a stick, bearing absolutely no resemblance to a follower.

    ¡°If you want to kneel, you can kneel. Be quiet. Go catch a fish for me.¡± Before Li Qingshan had even finished what he was saying, Gu Yanying returned with a flash, holding a large, colourful fish that leapt around in her hand. ¡°This kind of fish?¡±

    Bang! Li Qingshan stomped down with his right foot, and a small, circular altar rose up in front of the statue. He made Gu Yanying throw the fish onto it before beginning to pray. ¡°Mahe?vara, oh Mahe?vara, I¡¯m not your follower, but we¡¯re still people of the same path. C¡¯mon, just make do with the fish and give me some benefits.¡±

    Gu Yanying shook her head in speechlessness. Let alone summoning a god, even fooling with ghosts normally required a little more seriousness. ¡°You¡¯re not going to face divine retribution for something like this, are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan focused on chanting the scripture. Every single word seemed to be filled with a strange liveliness like notes. In a daze, the statue began to dance. Its movements were graceful yet filled with a sense of power.

 Chapter 1422

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1422 ¨C Descent

    Gu Yanying could not help but become serious too. Perhaps it could actually work?

    But a while later, apart from the large fish that continued to flop around stubbornly, nothing changed.

    Li Qingshan stopped chanting, and the illusion immediately vanished. The statue in the nook was just as ugly before, standing there without budging. It had not been dancing at all.

    He ground his teeth. ¡°I knew it would be fucking useless!¡± He could not help but admit just how foolish his blind desperation had been.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what you said earlier.¡± Gu Yanying smiled, but she could not help but ease up as well. If he actually managed to summon a god into his body with his personality, the consequences would have been unfathomable.

    ¡°Alright, alright, get out of here!¡± Li Qinghan turned around to leave, giving up on this hopeful dream of his. If he could not use the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique, then he could only stick with a regular invisibility technique and make do.

    The surroundings became extremely dim. The smoke and ash from the volcano blotted out half the sky, and orangey-yellow firelight seeped out from the burnt earth due to the magma. The rivers were dyed yellow too. The paradise-like island had now turned into something akin to a lair filled with demons.

    Rumble! A streak of lightning illuminated the sky, kicking up a great gust of black wind. Rain began to pour down.

    The deep nook in the stone wall became even darker. Only a blurry outline of the statue of Mahe?vara remained. There was no ugliness left, only might and authority.

    Gu Yanying suddenly discovered that Li Qingshan¡¯s carving skills were not actually that bad. The statue in the nook actually bore great charm. He just never bothered with working carefully and polishing out the details. Probably even he had never thought he would succeed too!

    ¡°If asking for help from gods and buddhas worked, what¡¯s the point of cultivating?¡±

    He smiled and was about to turn around when the eyes of the statue of Mahe?vara abruptly lit up as if it had come alive, staring deeply at Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    The sky became even darker. Winds and clouds surged, rain poured down, and the mountain and trees resembled great waves.

    With a crack of lightning, the colourful, large fish on the altar was immediately reduced to ash as if the god that dwelled at the top of the trichiliocosm had accepted this laughable offering.

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°Be careful!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qingshan sensed that something was amiss. He turned around, met the eyes of the statue, and stiffened.

    The volcano and the island, the forest, the wind and the rain, all vanished.

    In a daze, he was standing in front of a towering altar that seemed to be carved out from an entire mountain. There was a great crowd of people below, varying in attires and appearances. There were both men and women, young and old, rich and poor. Gazing out, it reached as far as the eye could see. It seemed as if all the people in the world had gathered here, all kneeling and bowing towards him.

    No, not towards him!

    On the altar at the top of the mountain stood a statue of a god even mightier than a mountain, glancing down at him from above and asking softly, ¡°Why do you not kneel?¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately began to fear, like when he had made a great mistake and was caught by his parents during his previous life. He lowered his head in a hurry, but he was still slightly reluctant to accept all of this inside.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Gu Yanying saw how Li Qingshan had abruptly blanked out, standing in front of the statue of Mahe?vara in a dejected manner. ¡°Oh no, this kid is messing around and has done something again!¡±

    She flew over to grab him, wanting to take him away, but he refused to budge as if his feet were connected to the ground. Having received the legacy of Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather, she was extremely fast, but she came nowhere close to Li Qingshan in terms of strength.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± From the top of the mountain, the divine statue let out a questioning, nasal interjection like it was rather puzzled, but it was not angry.

    Li Qingshan raised his hands and suddenly discovered that he had shrunk. All of his powers, whether demonic or divine, had vanished, just standing there as a mortal, in the form of a feeble, powerless child. He began to panic as his legs trembled slightly.

    However, everyone beneath the mountain had been angered.

    ¡°Kneel!¡±

    The sea of people, the billions of lives, roared furiously together, shaking the world.

    An invisible force weighed down on him. Even when he possessed the power of the demonic and divine, he would have struggled to contend against it.

    Rumble!

    In the lightning and rain, Li Qingshan stumbled, falling forwards like a tipping mountain.

    Right when his knees were about to touch the ground, his arms turned into hooves and horns grew out from his head, turning into a strong, black ox. His eyes turned red from anger, and with a moo, he kicked off his bent hind legs, smashing the altar apart with his front hooves and rushing towards the nook.

    Bang! He ran head-first into the statue of Mahe?vara.

    Crack! A fracture reached through the entire mountain from the base.

    The volcano erupted violently again and lava poured down. The mist from the vapourised rain churned together with the rising black smoke and ash as lightning flashed between. It was all a bizarre sight.

    Xiao An rushed over, only to see Li Qingshan laying on the ground in the form of a black ox, gasping for air. Gu Yanying patted the ox¡¯s back. ¡°Are you fine?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head, feeling extremely exhausted. Xiao An crouched down and stroked the ox¡¯s head gently.

    ¡°Did Mahe?vara really descend?¡± Gu Yanying asked.

    Did an ugly, crude statue and the half-assed chanting of a scripture really summon a god like that? Oh right, there was a fish as well.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Earlier, right when he fell over, he raised his head and caught a glance. The towering statue at the top of the mountain actually had his appearance, which made him wonder whether it was the Yin Demon at work again. However, there seemed to be some other force at work, or it made no sense for it to abruptly act up.

    By now, the scalding lava had quickly flowed over. He saw from the corner of the eye that the face of Mahe?vara¡¯s statue was gradually swallowed by the lava.

    Gu Yanying waved her hand, and the winds brought over the rain, putting out all of the lava. She smiled. ¡°I heard Mahe?vara¡¯s mount is a great white ox. With how sturdy you are, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s taken a fancy to you and wants you as a mount too? That¡¯s a fine thought. Let alone a mere true dragon, but even Demon God Qiongqi would be powerless over you.¡±

    _ Support us at h+sted novel _

    Xiao An also said, ¡°The various schools and sects among the heretic lesser paths that worship Mahe?vara all have a similar saying. On the back of every single ox is an embodiment of Mahe?vara, taking him around to wander the land.¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like his back had actually become slightly heavier, which made him shiver. He reverted to human form in a hurry and stood up, moving around his back as if he was trying to shake off the embodiment of Mahe?vara.

    However, he did not actually believe in that saying. At the very least, there was a certain ox that definitely did not have something like Mahe?vara on his back.

    He knew about these legends and stories in much finer detail than them. Many cults nurtured and worshipped sacred cows and oxen. Under certain circumstances when they had to destroy statues of gods, they could not smash them with their hands. Instead, they used calves to trample them, as the devoted followers believed Mahe?vara would not mind being trampled by his beloved animal.

    It also made him think about the statue of Mahe?vara that he had smashed earlier. Li Qingshan shook his head and cast these absurd thoughts out of his mind. He had truly bitten off more than he could chew this time, not only gaining no benefits, but almost suffering from cultivation deviation. He could not help but sigh.

    ¡°Xiao An, you need to stay down-to-earth no matter what you do as a person. You can¡¯t embark on a wicked path!¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯re not people!¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­¡±

    Gu Yanying comforted him. ¡°Qingshan, you don¡¯t need to be in such a hurry. At most, we¡¯ll just take it slowly for now. We can just face Ao Xuan once your strength completely recovers.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Li Qingshan casually circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and discovered there actually was a breakthrough before he knew it, and the effects had been quite substantial. Regardless of the reason, at least it had proven his great technique of summoning a god into the body was effective. He immediately became filled with enthusiasm. ¡°No, I require even more sacrifices and even better statues.¡±

    Gu Yanying said, ¡°You¡­¡±

    Xiao An only smiled.

 Chapter 1423

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1423 ¨C The Back of an Ox

    Li Qingshan began to follow the process of the Siddh¨¡nta school¡¯s offerings to Mahe?vara seriously, chanting the scriptures with greater concentration. Xiao An even provided a group of Skeleton Demons to him, standing around on the side in white robes as attendants to the ceremony. The reality of the situation demonstrated that it was actually effective. As a result, they formed a group of skeleton attendants that paid tribute to the ceremony every single time.

    The statues he carved became even more majestic, the offerings he provided became even more plentiful, and the image in the illusions became even more vivid.

    The howling of the people and the pressure of the god all seemed real, constantly testing his willpower and courage. Afterwards, right when he was about to give in, he would turn into a rampaging ox, trampling the altar, destroying the statue, and halting the ceremony.

    It was an extremely strange sight. Within a crowd of frightening skeletons, a certain man of absolute devotion would pray to a statue for a while before seizing up on the spot, only to suddenly turn into an ox and smash the statue to pieces. Afterwards, he would collapse on the ground and gasp for air.

    During the process of the ceremonies, Li Qingshan became more and more exhausted. Every single time was like a bitter battle, sapping all of his energy, except he had only chanted for a short while.

    As for how his energy had simply vanished like that, that was still a mystery. It was as if the true offering was not the random catches from the ocean, but himself.

    The grace of a god was boundless, but the wrath of a god was hellish.

    Mahe?vara had always been unpredictable. Perhaps only a single whim separated fortune and misfortune.

    But at the very least, he was still fortunate right now. His comprehension of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty grew with each day.

    Of course, the process was not as simple as offering up some seafood and a god would give him some power. Mahe?vara probably did not like seafood that much. With each offering, he personally came into contact with the path of great liberty in an extremely dangerous manner, like he was staring into light that was enough to blind him to seek inspiration.

    However, inspiration could not replace cultivation, so comprehension was merely comprehension. His cultivation did not soar. He would only encounter slightly fewer bottlenecks in his future cultivation, and he would be able to wield his power with greater flexibility.

    But that was enough for him. The path was the source of power, while techniques and abilities were simply ways of using the power.

    No matter how wondrous the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique was, it was just a technique. As Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehension of the path of great liberty deepened, he constantly advanced faster, truly making tremendous progress in a single day. He could achieve an initial mastery over it before long.

    ¡°Qingshan, it¡¯s about time.¡± Gu Yanying reminded him.

    Li Qingshan had unleashed the Divine Movement of the Five Elements and Illusionary Demon Movement Technique at the same time, turning into a ball of five-coloured light first. After that, he gradually vanished into thin air.

    ¡°Can you see me?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Gu Yanying shrugged and pointed at her eyes. Those had originally been the sharp eyes of a hawk. After merging with Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather, she already possessed some of the kunpeng¡¯s powers, so she could clearly see Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan then looked towards Xiao An.

    Xiao An blinked her eyes and looked around. ¡°Huh? Where are you?¡± Her clear eyes vividly reflected Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance.

    ¡°Alright, alright. You win.¡± Li Qingshan revealed himself again.

    It was not that the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique was unreliable; instead, they were far too impressive.

    Gu Yanying went without saying, while the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty she practised had always been capable of seeing through illusions. Ever since she attained the fruit of Srot¨¡panna, illusions were basically useless on her unless it was from someone whose cultivation far surpassed her. Even a fox of Green Hills, Su Mirao, had suffered at her hand before.

    ¡°That Ao Xuan is called a ¡®golden-eyed black dragon¡¯. Since you can see me, he probably can too. Sigh, I just have too little time.¡± Li Qingshan stroked his chin in thought before suddenly making up his mind. ¡°I¡¯ll make one more offering.¡±

    ¡°Are you certain?¡± Gu Yanying asked. When he completed the previous offering, Li Qingshan spent a good while on the ground before climbing to his feet, and he was even a little delirious. Xiao An also became worried, but she did not try to persuade him out of it.

    ¡°Yanying, go catch a fish for me, the bigger the better. Xiao An, prepare the offering squad of white bone.¡± Li Qingshan gazed into the distant north and smiled. ¡°That kid has a short temper as well, so we can¡¯t make him wait too long.¡±

    Since they had agreed on venturing down the same path, to fight alongside one another, then they had to watch out for each other and help each other out.

    As a result, he drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End slowly. The gleam flowed like water; the patterns resembled flowers. He gazed at the volcano that had cooled down in the distance, leaping up and swinging down.

    With a flurry of figures, his blade criss-crossed, cutting through the rock.

    Rumble. Boulders were sliced off, kicking up dust as they rolled down.

    A while later, he returned to the foot of the mountain. He calmed his mind and stood with his blade in hand.

    The dust slowly cleared, and a blurry outline of the volcano gradually appeared, bearing some resemblance to Mahe?vara. His expression was peaceful; he sat with his legs crossed, gazing over the ocean. In a daze, it overlapped with what he saw in the illusions.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath, preparing for one last offering before the battle. Stomping down with his right foot, a huge altar three hundred metres across rose up slowly. It was no longer just a circular disk of earth. It was engraved with all the inscriptions and glyphs required by the Siddh¨¡nta school when making an offering.

    Whoosh! The sudden gust of wind dissipated all the clouds in the sky. An azure cloud loomed over instead, casting a shadow that enveloped the entire island. The resplendent sunlight outlined the shape of a huge bird that carried a giant whale in its claws, tossing it onto the altar.

    Boom!

    The ground shook. Li Qingshan brought his hands together, beginning the final offering.

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An watched closely from one side.

    The man and god confronted one another. Magma surged within the mountain, pouring out of every crack like blood from wounds. The mountain abruptly sprang alive, staring straight at Li Qingshan with a lightning-like gaze.

    The inscriptions on the altar flashed; a ray of light shot into the air. The whale turned to ash, exposing its jagged, white bones.

    Li Qingshan entered the illusion again, but he did not see the god on the mountain top. The mountain beneath his feet had become a lot smaller as well. He was standing at the top of the mountain.

    The people all howled, not cursing furiously, but prostrating themselves, bending over deeply and bowing towards him with great respect. In a daze, he discovered that he was the god. A sense of great joy flooded his heart, and he could not help but spread his arms and yell out.

    ¡°I am Mahe?vara!¡±

    All the people looked up. There were all sorts of people, male and female, old and young, but they all resembled Li Qingshan himself filled with reverence.

    Li Qingshan shuddered in fright. The ground beneath his feet gave way, falling into a bottomless abyss. Laughter rolled in from all sides.

    ¡°Qingshan, Qingshan!¡± A familiar and worried voice called out his name. He slowly opened his eyes, only to discover that his head was in splitting pain and his body was in agony. He was surrounded by rubble and flowing lava. ¡°Xiao An? What happened to me?¡±

    ¡°You yelled out ¡®I am Mahe?vara¡¯ before throwing yourself head-first into the volcano. Afterwards, the mountain collapsed, and it ended up like this.¡±

    ¡°Really? Then did it work or not?¡± Li Qingshan murmured. The fright and the feeling of falling was still strong and vivid even now, which left him feeling uneasy.

    Gu Yanying suddenly said, ¡°Qingshan, your back!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned his head to take a look, but he could not see it, so he produced a Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell as a mirror, only to see the image of Mahe?vara on his back. It was blurry but endowed with divine bearing, sitting with his legs crossed and smiling. It did not resemble a tattoo, but a birthmark.

    Mahe?vara sat on the back of the ox, roaming the land¡­

 Chapter 1424

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1424 ¨C Infiltration

    Li Qingshan scrunched up his face and reached over viciously, tearing apart his flesh and sending blood everywhere, twisting apart the image. When his wound closed up, the image returned to its previous state as well.

    He said sternly, ¡°Xiao An, use fire!¡±

    Xiao An hesitated for a moment before spreading her fingers and pressing her hand against Li Qingshan¡¯s back. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone surged out and ate away at his flesh, only stopping after it had stripped away all the skin from his back.

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed, using the qilin¡¯s ability, the Cycle of Life and Growth. After a while, the flesh regrew, and the image reappeared with it. It seemed even more vivid now.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows firmly. He had been going on about some ¡°great technique of summoning a god into the body¡±, only to actually summon the god ¡°onto¡± his body. It truly was more difficult to get rid of a god than getting help from one.

    Xiao An asked in concern, ¡°Do you feel uncomfortable in any way?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Apart from feeling unhappy about this, he did not feel uncomfortable. However, the path of cultivation was about absolute control over the mind and the body. Now that he had gained a thing like that on his back randomly, it probably was not some good sign¡­ And most importantly, he still had no idea whether it was an accident or a process he had to go through as a practitioner of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. As the first person to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, there were far too many unknown factors.

    Gu Yanying reminded him. ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±

    Rain poured down violently; the winds whistled wildly. The seas surged as waves rose and fell like mountains.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind. Let¡¯s not worry about this for now. There¡¯s something else to do! He pacified his anger and gazed at the sky, praying quietly, ¡°Mahe?vara, oh Mahe?vara, if you can actually hear me, please lend me a hand. I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future.¡±

    The image did not respond. He had no idea whether Mahe?vara had received his message or not.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go scout out the Xuanming dwelling right now. Be ready to help out at any time.¡±

    Li Qingshan sat with his legs crossed and projected his Yin Demon, using the Divine Movement of the Five Elements and then the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique to hide the five-coloured glow. His Yin Soul gradually vanished, becoming invisible.

    Gu Yanying and Xiao An nodded together. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    Yin Souls had always been ungraspable and good at hiding, while a Yin Demon refined from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty was even more so. However, he did not know whether this was actually due to divine assistance or because his comprehension had deepened.

    Li Qingshan discarded these random thoughts. The Yin Demon vanished into the rainy night with the wind, drifting towards the Xuanming dwelling.

    ¡­¡­

    The Xuanming dwelling reached the bottom of the ocean. Ao Xuan coiled up inside there and sank into his thoughts.

    He had no idea what had happened to Lin Xuan in the nine provinces that prevented his return, so he could only make a decision himself. The Myriad sect was definitely out to take back the Xuanming dwelling, but the sect had no first senior brother, so they were in a state of disunity. Even after they had elected a new first senior brother, they might not be enough to deal with him.

    There were only four people that truly possessed the power to expel him. The grand sect master was a True Immortal of the Nine Heavens, so it was almost impossible for him to appear in person, so he was out of the picture. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance basically never left the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, while the two sect masters wandered beyond the Nine Heavens, so they would not bother with a ¡°trifle¡± like this. Just with the fact that they knew each other for quite some time, they probably would not bother with this.

    He was free to occupy the dwelling and continue cultivating. Once he underwent the sixth heavenly tribulation, the world was there for him to roam. Perhaps he could also stick around as a ¡°spirit reverend¡±. However, as soon as he recalled what had happened recently, he felt a little uneasy, casting a haze on his mind.

    He had interrogated the R¨¡hu asura, but he did not find anything useful. There was nothing surprising about that. Even regular asura were difficult to deal with, let alone a R¨¡hu.

    If he wanted to bring a quick end to this entire matter, then he would have to kill him, but he soon thought of the threat that the kunpeng had left behind. Coupled with how valiant and fearless the R¨¡hu was, perhaps he was capable of rebirthing in the Asura realm somehow.

    With his bloodline, even undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation was not impossible. Coupled with the status of the R¨¡hu clan among asura, perhaps he would send people for revenge even before too long. The assassins of the Asura realm were renowned throughout the six realms, which would truly result in endless problems. He could not help but feel extremely troubled, so all he could do was trap him in the prison of ice for now.

    Logically, he should have gotten to the bottom of this no matter what, but he felt like he had been sucked into something much greater than him, making him feel a little uneasy.

    Ten thousand kilometres away, the winds and rain whistled gloomily. However, the breeze was gentle and the moonlight was clear near the Xuanming dwelling.

    In the depths of the ocean where the gentle breeze and clear moonlight could not reach, the Yin Demon moved along silently, stopping a very long distance away from the shore. He could vaguely make out a criss-crossing network, completely enveloping the Xuanming dwelling and constantly changing with time.

    According to the indications of the formation scroll, there were a total of nine layers to the Xuanming formation. Each layer was well-connected and interlinked, reaching from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the clouds. If he could not take out the core in a single stroke, then he could forget about venturing any further, as he would become caught in the formation and face attacks from both inside and out, leaving him dead.

    If Ao Xuan discovered him, he would not have to personally do anything at all. He only needed a single thought to crush the Yin Demon.

    Li Qingshan took out the Xuanming formation disc, but he did not dare to be careless.

    This was basically the only thing he relied on to deal with Ao Xuan. If his Yin Demon were destroyed, he could refine it again, but if he lost the formation disc, who knew when he could save Xiaoming.

    He circled around the outermost layer of the Xuanming formation and constantly analysed it, as possessing a scroll of the formation did not ensure absolute success as the formation operated. Only when he found the most vulnerable opening of the formation did he make his way in silently. However, the further in he travelled, the more complicated and profound the formation became.

    He had to maintain the Divine Movement of the Five Elements and the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique at the same time, so the mental toll went without saying. At the same time, the closer he was to the Xuanming dwelling, the closer he was to Ao Xuan. Even with the formation disc and formation scroll, it was like walking on a tightrope.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts only became deeper and clearer in situations like that. Even if the matter was extremely important and it was extremely dangerous, he did not feel any nervousness or fear at all. He entered the earth from the ocean, going from water movement to earth movement. He made his way over with great expertise.

    Finally, he approached the Xuanming dwelling. The entire mountain was basically oozing with spiritual qi, where any rock he found on the ground was a high grade spiritual stone. Xuanming qi seeped out from this place too, basically turning the soil into ice. It was a hundred times tougher than steel.

    Li Qingshan experimented a little. Even the earth movement he was most skilled in became extraordinarily slow. He would probably run out of energy before he even found Xiaoming, ending up crushed in the mountain.

    He could not help but back out and stick with his original plan, searching through the entire mountain. Finally, he found a natural crack in the mountain, except it was so small that even an ant could not crawl through. He still had to use his movement technique.

    Fortunately, he was very well-prepared. He carefully took out the piece of Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens. That was the most valuable treasure in his possession right now, so if he lost it, it really would be an absolute loss. He was also like a gambler on a path of no return, staking everything that he possessed on this.

    Using the power of the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, he slowly expanded the crack until it was as wide as a little finger. His Yin Soul seeped in like water.

    The Xuanming dwelling was not built with cells to hold prisoners, so Ao Xuan sealed R¨¡hu Xiaoming in ice and casually placed him in a stone room, out of sight so that he could not be annoyed by his presence. He probably never expected someone to actually be able to infiltrate this place.

    With a gentle crack, the unnoticeable hairline fracture on the top of the stone room opened slightly, like it was widened from the cold in the most natural manner possible. With a chilly gust of wind, Li Qingshan arrived before the ice silently.

    At this moment, Ao Xuan opened one eye as if he had sensed something.

 Chapter 1425

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1425 ¨C Provocation

    Coldness filled the place, leaving the ice rigid.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming stood with his eyes firmly shut, like he was asleep.

    Li Qingshan approached the ice. As soon as the tips of his fingers came into contact with the surface, a chilling coldness filled his Yin Soul, making him pull his hand back in a hurry. He communicated, ¡°Xiaoming! Xiaoming!¡±

    However, even soul sense could not penetrate this sturdy prison of ice. If he destroyed it by force, he would definitely alarm Ao Xuan.

    With a thought, he took two steps back and stared straight at R¨¡hu Xiaoming in the ice. He brought his index and middle fingers together on his right hand and pressed them against his forehead before swiping downwards. A demonic thought shot out from his forehead, through the ice and into R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s forehead.

    At that moment, the surrounding scenery twisted and changed, receding rapidly. A blood-red land unfurled as galaxies stretched through the sky.

    Li Qingshan beamed inside, I¡¯m in!

    This was the most basic technique from the Secret Scroll of Inner Demons. Normally, it was not particularly useful. Controlling inner demons was about being unpredictable and catching the enemy off-guard. Posing around in front of the enemy was simply foolish, but it was extraordinarily effective at a time like this.

    ¡°This should be Xiaoming¡¯s sea of consciousness, but where is he?¡±

    Li Qingshan cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out, ¡°Xiaoming!¡±

    His voice echoed through the vast land. As soon as he called out, a familiar voice rang out from behind him, ¡°Turn around!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around. A boy stood on top of a huge boulder with a slingshot drawn, pointing it at him.

    When he turned around, a pellet whistled past his face. Li Qingshan was unfazed. He asked, ¡°Why have you turned small again?¡±

    ¡°You idiot, this is my sea of consciousness. How did you get in here?¡±

    If it were not for the fact that R¨¡hu Xiaoming possessed great confidence in his mental disposition, he basically would have suspected he had developed demonic thoughts because he was in dire straits.

    Yeah, that was basically the case anyway.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯ve come so far to save you, and you call me an idiot as soon as you see me. That¡¯s not really nice, is it?¡±

    ¡°What a joke. You want to save me?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said proudly.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched. In consideration of the fact that he covered Xiao An¡¯s escape, he put up with it this time. ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ve come because I need your help. You happy now?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming nodded in satisfaction and lowered his slingshot. He sat down. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Tell me, what do you need my help with?¡±

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°Great god Xiaoming, please help me butcher Ao Xuan.¡±

    ¡°About that¡­ I can¡¯t help you.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming dug at his ear.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Hah, then stop boasting. Just stay put here for now!¡±

    ¡°When the time comes, I will lend you a hand.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming clenched his fist. That damned dragon thought he could seal him here, but he did not understand the true powers of the R¨¡hu clan. Even in outer space, he could gather energy. Even if it was much slower, he would constantly grow stronger as long as he was still alive.

    ¡°What time are you referring to?¡±

    ¡°When you have the power to attack the dwelling!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said sternly.

    According to his estimates, he had to undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation at the very least, and only then did they have a chance if they worked together from inside and out.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Then it¡¯s time already!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming was surprised. ¡°Don¡¯t act carelessly.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already obtained the formation disc of this dwelling¡­¡±

    In the deep abyss, Ao Xuan opened both eyes. Suddenly, he began to move, making his way through a pitch-black tunnel and arriving before the room in the blink of an eye.

    With a boom, the stone door opened up, and a huge dragon head poked in with shining eyes.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was still sealed in ice. The dim, spacious room was completely silent. Li Qingshan¡¯s figure had already vanished.

    Two beams of golden light shot from Ao Xuan¡¯s eyes. He scanned the surroundings, but he did not find anything. He muttered to himself, ¡°Was it just a false impression?¡±

    Earlier, he had clearly sensed someone had intruded upon this place, but he did not find it particularly likely now that he thought about it. Passing through the nine layers of the Xuanming formation and the frozen earth while evading his six senses was basically impossible. Not a single direct disciple of the Myriad sect could accomplish that, and it was even less likely for it to be anyone else. This was the territory of the Myriad sect after all.

    He laughed at how paranoid he had become recently, turning around and returning to the abyss.

    As someone who spent most of his time sleeping in the Xuanming dwelling, he still did not know that the Myriad sect had gained a new heavenly tome, and the first person to practise this heavenly tome had even obtained the formation disc to the Xuanming dwelling, becoming its legal owner.

    Within the ice, R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s lips curled slightly. Specks of power gathered towards him from the depths of space.

    Ao Xuan returned to the abyss. Right when he was about to catch a nap, a voice as sharp as a sword pierced the place, ¡°Ao Xuan, get your ass out here!¡±

    A kunpeng circled through the sky. With a flap, great winds whistled. Huge waves rose up into the air, slamming against the frozen earth and shattering it instantly, turning into a sky full of ice fragments.

    Ao Xuan flew into a rage. With the furious waves, he rose into the air, glaring at the kunpeng. ¡°It¡¯s you! I don¡¯t come for you, and you come to me instead to die!¡±

    Gu Yanying called out, ¡°Hand him over, and I¡¯ll spare your life. Otherwise, I¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    Ao Xuan laughed in response. ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you spare my life!¡± His eyes suddenly lit up with two beams of golden light, rising up into the air.

    Gu Yanying dodged in a hurry. In the blink of an eye, Ao Xuan had already charged over.

    This time, Ao Xuan was not so swift anymore. He even seemed a little slow, such that it was possible to make out the flow of each scale. Unfortunately, she was limited by her abilities. Her speed could not keep up with her eyes.

    As a result, she took to the skies without any hesitation, flying away.

    Ao Xuan settled down, but he also became suspicious. She¡¯s only just undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, so why does she have the courage to visit here in such a bold manner? That successor of white bone is nowhere to be seen either. Don¡¯t tell me this is some kind of scheme?

    Even if those that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation were not skilled in divination, they were still sensitive to the plans of intangible fate, let alone a divine creature, a dragon, like him. As a result, he pursued her for a few hundred kilometres before turning back. He planned on giving this matter some further thought before deciding to do anything.

    However, right when he returned to his dwelling, Gu Yanying rushed over again, raising a ruckus behind him. ¡°What a four-legged snake! You¡¯ve been frightened into hiding in your dwelling again, haven¡¯t you? But that¡¯s nothing surprising. My race has always preyed on dragons. It is a perfect example of the fact that everything has a natural enemy. I¡¯d be surprised if you weren¡¯t afraid of me!¡±

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An hid in the distance, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, not bad. She has a bit of my skill. Of course, nowhere close though.¡±

    Gu Yanying felt elated inside. It really was fantastic to be a kunpeng. Ao Xuan¡¯s cultivation was well beyond hers, yet she could still provoke him with ease. It was no wonder that Li Qingshan loved doing such things.

    ¡°Sigh, if you¡¯re afraid, then release him. You better not wait until I skin you alive¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be tearing you to pieces today!¡±

    Veins bulged on Ao Xuan¡¯s forehead. He no longer cared about whether this was some scheme or plan, turning into a streak of black and shooting off into the air. He moved even faster than the kunpeng.

    In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished into the horizon.

    ¡°Good opportunity!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned into a streak of five-coloured light and dove into the ocean, rapidly approaching the Xuanming dwelling. He found the vulnerable opening of the Xuanming formation with ease and passed through all nine layers of the formation without any need to cover his tracks anymore. He arrived at the foot of the mountain and found the natural fracture.

    The fracture was narrow, but he was not just a Yin Demon this time either. Clenching the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly, he unleashed the abilities of the ox demon and punched out.

    With a rumble, the mountain shook, and the fracture opened up slowly like a door. He entered it with a flash.

 Chapter 1426

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1426 ¨C Cracking it Open

    ¡°Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!¡±

    Li Qingshan tapped the ice with his knuckle three times, completely unafraid of the coldness. Compared to his main body, his Yin Demon was far too feeble.

    With a crack, fractures spread quickly, and the ice shattered loudly.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming burst out of the ice. Standing within the pieces, he had no idea what to say.

    Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulder and smiled. ¡°No need to thank me.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shook away his hand rudely. ¡°Hmph, even without you, I still could have broken free.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true. How can the likes of us remain trapped in the hands of insects for long?¡± Li Qingshan passed his cosmic pouch and slingshot over. ¡°There¡¯s still a long road ahead, so lend me your help again!¡±

    ¡°No problem!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. He raised his right arm into the air and balled his fist. Endless darkness enveloped the stone room, gushing towards him like it was tangible and dispersing all of the icicles in his body.

    Within the strange sound of growing bones, his body extended. His torso became wider and more rigid as his arms lengthened and became filled with power. He was like a perfect creation of nature, born to kill.

    His eyebrows were straight and sharp, his gaze was like an ominous god¡¯s, giving off a sense of malice. His handsome face immediately became viciously twisted, yet it also gave off the hint of a divine nature. It seemed like he possessed the boundless might to cut down all the obstacles in his path.

    The fourth heavenly tribulation was the first fruit of attainment for buddhism and the roots and shoots of immortality, but to him, someone that was already a god, it was the first step to completely recovering his strength. He began to demonstrate the bearing of a god again.

    Moving about a little, he muttered to himself, ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s still a long road ahead. How can I idle here for too long?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, over five thousand kilometres away, an azure cloud and a dark cloud shot through the sky.

    The peng¡¯s feathers were like clouds, coloured like the azure sky. With a gentle flap, the atmospheric winds surged, sending her hundreds of kilometres away.

    This was the first time Gu Yanying had extended her wings to the limit ever since the tribulation. She soared over the ocean, gazing down with the sky behind her. There was only the ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see. Without any restraint, she felt extremely free, both physically and mentally, almost forgetting about the fact that she was currently being chased down.

    However, the dragon swam like lightning, shooting through the air as he gathered the cloud and mists, moving even faster than her.

    Gu Yanying glanced back. Ao Xuan rapidly drew closer.

    So I still underestimated his strength. Kunpengs can wield the atmospheric winds, but true dragons can gather clouds, such that the longer they fly, the thicker the clouds become and the faster they move. At this rate, I¡¯ll probably be caught in just a while, which will be horrible to Qingshan¡¯s plan.

    However, she had only recently undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, while Ao Xuan was already approaching the sixth heavenly tribulation. She was more than a major realm of cultivation away from him. The kunpeng¡¯s natural abilities were already extraordinary enough that she could maintain such a great distance.

    ¡°You bitch, stop right there!¡± Ao Xuan cursed loudly.

    His eyes shone with golden light, but before it could even reach the kunpeng, the light dimmed. She flew far too quickly. It was impossible for techniques to catch her.

    Heh, this dragon doesn¡¯t seem to be particularly clever. I¡¯ll toy with him!

    Gu Yanying suddenly flapped her expansive winds at the same time, making fierce winds surged. Using the gales, her colossal body turned around dexterously. With the sky above and the ocean below, she brushed past Ao Xuan.

    Ao Xuan raised his head in surprise before sneering. ¡°Puny tricks!¡± He twisted his body and turned with even more agility than Gu Yanying, instead pulling closer.

    Gu Yanying smiled and abruptly flapped her wings again. The gales whistled, and the two gusts of wind collided, forming a swirl in the air.

    Caught off-guard in his turn, Ao Xuan was immediately sucked inside. He was unscathed, but it did make a lot of the clouds around him disperse, so he immediately moved much slower. He cursed, ¡°You underhanded bitch!¡±

    Gu Yanying soared away with a laugh. ¡°Thank you for your praise!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan looked up under the daylight. The deep hole carved the sky into a circle. Beneath his feet was a lake, and it directly connected with the ocean. The fierce waves created by Ao Xuan had yet to settle.

    This was the centre of the entire Xuanming dwelling¡ªas indicated by the formation scroll¡ªas well as the core of the Xuanming formation. However, it was empty as far as the eye could see, without any signs of any critical points.

    This was another wondrous aspect of the Xuanming dwelling to guard against the most extreme of situations. The core was hidden away carefully for situations like the current one, where an enemy infiltrated the place and might want to destroy the formation from within. It could not even be found, so of course, it could not be destroyed.

    It was like a secret room that only the owner could open. Even if others guessed its location, they could not enter the place.

    Li Qingshan was well-prepared. Without any hesitation, he powered the Xuanming formation disc, producing ripples of light.

    In an instant, the empty cavern became filled with thousands of beams of light and countless profound inscriptions, gathering in from all directions and condensing into a ball of resplendent light, reflecting in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    There were a total of nine layers to the ball of light, constantly revolving around slowly and pulling the beams of light and inscriptions along with it, controlling the entire Xuanming formation.

    This is it!

    Li Qingshan beamed with joy. With that, destroying the formation would no longer be anything difficult, but that was not his intention. Instead, he was trying to become the new owner of this place.

    He had finally reached the most critical moments. The ball of light was like an extremely complicated treasure chest.

    He possessed the key and understood the structure inside, but if he wanted to obtain the treasure inside, he had to crack the code that the original owner had left behind. Using force would only destroy the treasure chest and the treasure together.

    By then, all of his efforts would go to waste when Ao Xuan returned. He could cast down a new protective formation, and Li Qingshan would lose the Xuanming dwelling completely, becoming saddled with a great debt for nothing. Once he was capable of breaching the formation by force and defeating Ao Xuan, he probably would not need the dwelling anymore.

    This was the only chance!

    That was why he had not been in a hurry to do anything. He simply stared at the core of the formation; his expression became calm and emotionless. His gaze sank like the deep ocean as if he was not in enemy headquarters, like none of this had anything to do with him.

    With the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he turned into a great turtle and sank into the lake slowly.

    Immediately, the billowing waves settled. The surface became as smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting the ball of light as well as the beams of light and inscriptions.

    Start calculating.

    The ball of light in the water gradually began to revolve faster. The beams of light wove together as the inscriptions flashed, constantly changing with each passing second. It formed a clear contrast with the slow-spinning ball of light above.

    The so-called ¡°code¡± definitely was not just the matter of a few numbers. Instead, he needed to understand the way the entire formation operated and find the imprint that the original owner had left in the depths of the core.

    If he could not erase this imprint fast enough, Ao Xuan would sense it, and he could alter the way the formation operated instantly even if he was thousands of kilometres away, resetting the code. By then, all of his efforts would go to waste.

    Time trickled by. A prayer bead leapt out from Li Qingshan¡¯s clothes, turning into a skull that called out, ¡°Qingshan, she can¡¯t hold on for much longer!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly reverted to human form and leapt out of the water, unleashing the Ape Demon Extends its Arm as he grabbed the ball of light in the air.

    ¡°The Ape Demon Locks the Space!¡±

 Chapter 1427

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1427 ¨C Agitating

    It took effect as he said the name of the ability. The spinning ball of light abruptly halted, locked in the middle of space. Soon afterwards, the ape hand grabbed it.

    The Xuanming formation that enveloped several dozen kilometres continued to operate from inertia. The beams of light and inscriptions flashed about.

    Twisted by the two powers, the ball of light shone blindingly. A column of light rushed into the sky from the mountains, dispersing the clouds. It was visible from thousands of kilometres away.

    Ao Xuan suddenly sensed it and looked back. ¡°Who¡¯s infiltrated my dwelling!?¡±

    In the sky, Gu Yanying looked back and smiled. ¡°Ao Xuan, you¡¯ve fallen for my trick. You¡¯ve been lured away.¡±

    Ao Xuan sneered. ¡°Is this your little trick? Leading me away so that you can infiltrate the dwelling to save him? How foolish! I¡¯ll capture all three of you and see just what you have to rely on. Xuanming formation, suppress them all!¡±

    The ball of light began to spin, ripping through the locked space and becoming even more blinding.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt like his surroundings were collapsing in on him.

    The Xuanming formation had been completely activated, defending outwardly and suppressing inwardly to destroy all intruders. If he took even half a step back at a time like this and allowed Ao Xuan to control the formation, simply escaping would become difficult.

    He sneered. His eyes shone brightly as he threw himself into the light like a moth to a flame.

    The depths of the ball of light was the energy core to the entire formation. The beams of light and inscriptions criss-crossed and gathered together, tearing into his body like they were tangible, like he had been sentenced to slow slicing. However, he was completely unfazed. His heart was as deep as the ocean, calmly cracking open all of the obstacles.

    The Yin Demon had only budged slightly before being casually suppressed by him. In the midst of battle, his heart was forged like steel, without any impure thoughts or perturbations. This was his gift.

    ¡°I found it!¡±

    His eyes narrowed. The very depths of the ball of light was imprinted with the image of a black dragon. That was the only thing that existed in the formation beyond the laws and inscriptions. I was the imprint that Ao Xuan had left behind as the owner of the Xuanming dwelling. As long as he erased it, the entire formation would reset, becoming ownerless once more.

    With a great howl, he clenched his fist that had been stripped of flesh forcefully. His bones clashed together as he slammed against the image with a punch.

    Ao Xuan was extremely confident. He disregarded what was happening in the dwelling and continued to chase after Gu Yanying. Right when he was about to catch her, his expression suddenly changed, and he cried out, ¡°How¡¯s that possible!?¡±

    The punch destroyed everything. The image shattered, and its aura dispersed. The formation abruptly came to a halt, dimming in glow and shutting down.

    Li Qingshan was thrown out of the ball of light, landing in the agitated lake water.

    Boom! Great waves rushed out of the abyss like the eruption of a volcano.

    He plunged into the depths of the abyss, reaching where the colossal dragon slept. Most of his body had been stripped of flesh, revealing his white bones. His eyes were firmly shut while his lips were pursed, like he was unconscious.

    ¡°Ao Xuan, the dwelling is no longer yours. What else do you have to say?¡±

    Gu Yanying spoke up to provoke Ao Xuan as she calculated that she would turn around and fly back to the Xuanming dwelling. She had to reunite with them if this bastard continued to chase her furiously. After all, only then would she stand a chance.

    Ao Xuan¡¯s thoughts were rather chaotic. If his dwelling had been breached by force, perhaps that would have been easier to accept. However, if the formation was destroyed, the formation disc in his possession would have shattered at the same time, but it was in perfect condition right now.

    Then there was only one possibility¡ªthey possessed a formation disc to the Xuanming dwelling as well. Not only had they snuck into the dwelling to save the asura, but they had even gained control over the formation in an attempt to become the owner of the place.

    All of the dwellings were the Myriad sect¡¯s property, which was why he had handed his formation disc to the sect before he reincarnated. The formation disc definitely could not end up in the hands of others.

    ¡°The Myriad sect! It¡¯s a disciple of the Myriad sect!¡±

    Otherwise, if it had been an outsider, it would have been useless even if they occupied the dwelling. There was an explanation to everything. This had been a scheme right from the beginning.

    Ao Xuan shot a vicious glance at Gu Yanying before turning around and flying back towards the Xuanming dwelling.

    Gu Yanying wanted to chase after him and buy some more time, but she felt numb and out of power. Her wings that were originally as light as clouds had suddenly become extremely heavy. She had run out of energy a long time ago, but she actually failed to sense it during the intense flight.

    Circling a few times through the air, she was forced to land in the ocean. Her hawk feathers that were originally white had all been dyed a dark azure now, having merged with Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather completely. However, after coming into contact with the sea water, her feathers suddenly whistled away as wind.

    She shivered inside and flapped her wings in a hurry, wanting to rise up, but her wings had become clumsy and powerless due to the loss of feathers. She stirred up even more splashes, and her wings became soaked, completely turning into wind that blew the water away.

    With a thunk, her colossal body fell into the ocean, turning into a dark azure fish.

    A kun.

    Gu Yanying swept her tail clumsily. With a splash, a wave rose into the air.

    Kunpengs had to assume the form of a kun first, diving into the ocean and waiting for the winds before turning into a peng, soaring through the air and ushering the clouds.

    Regular birds only had to fly a few metres, stopping once they reached a tree, so they obviously did not have to go through this process. When hawks tried to fly, they had to embrace the danger of plunging down cliffs and being smashed to pieces, let alone kunpeng.

    Gu Yanying had first been a hawk, gradually turning into a kunpeng after obtaining Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather, so she could spread her wings first and assume the form of a peng slightly, but that still was not a true kunpeng. Only when she faced the fourth heavenly tribulation and unleashed this power to its limit did it merge with her bloodline and soul completely. She plunged into the ocean out of exhaustion, assuming the form of a kun!

    ¡°Sigh, why now of all times?¡± Gu Yanying had no idea how she should feel about this. She said to a Skull Prayer Bead helplessly, ¡°I¡¯ve encountered an accident. I probably won¡¯t be able to make it back in time to help out.¡±

    Afterwards, she mustered all of her strength and swung her tail. With a great leap, she produced a great splash before landing back in the ocean with a boom. She swam off in the direction of the Xuanming dwelling.

    Xiao An nodded. A white kasaya and a long, blood-red banner began to dance.

    At that instant, a thick, red colour spread out from under her feet, dyeing the waves and turning it into a sea of blood. All of the creatures in the water perished.

    Then she slowly drew the Buddha Slaying sword. Her form of white bone overlapped with her great beauty vaguely, making the red mole on her forehead stand out. Right behind her was the Xuanming dwelling. Retreating was definitely not a concept in this battle.

    Between the sea and sky, the dragon returned to its den, piercing through the air.

    The sword swept past in front of her gently. The sea of blood reached for the skies, intercepting the dragon¡¯s path. Countless skeletons burst out of the bloody wave, swimming towards Ao Xuan.

    With a swing of her left hand, the Skull Prayer Beads flew out with swishes.

    Only then did she raise her head and look over. Her clear eyes burned with fire.

    Ao Xuan was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Then who was the person in the dwelling right now? Not only had they obtained the formation disc to the Xuanming dwelling, but they had even managed to make their way in so quickly before disabling the Xuanming dwelling and erasing his imprint.

    The mountains and ocean that he was originally most familiar with had now become contaminated and swallowed by the sea of blood, like some unknown monster was lurking inside.

    The Skull Prayer Bead in Li Qingshan¡¯s possession had been ground to pieces long ago when he cast himself into the ball of light.

    It was deathly silent in the abyss.

    A voice urged him. ¡°Wake up! Now is still not the time to sleep!¡±

    With a flash of scarlet light, Li Qingshan opened his eyes. He noticed that the voice had come from the Yin Demon making trouble at the bottom of his heart.

    With a great roar, he rose up with his damaged body and kicked down with his feet. The earth cracked, the mountains shook, and the dragon¡¯s pool collapsed.

    Like an arrow, he pierced through the turbulent waves and shot into the air from the bottom of the abyss.

 Chapter 1428

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1428 ¨C Subduing the Dragon

    Hearing the roar, Ao Xuan¡¯s hurt lurched, feeling afraid for some reason. He bellowed out viciously, ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The dragon¡¯s cry was like a mountain-splitting axe, parting the turbulent sea of blood and producing a long, gloomy valley. The dragon moved through it.

    Suddenly, with the shrill cries of wind, fifty-four skulls encircled him from all directions with strange cackles. Their eye sockets burned with fire, establishing the Skeleton Demon Formation to block Ao Xuan¡¯s path.

    Xiao An swung the Blood Sea Banner. Countless skeleton monsters burst out, swarming towards Ao Xuan like ambushing troops. They completely surrounded him.

    ¡°Kill.¡±

    Under Ao Xuan¡¯s furious cry, the ¡°great valley¡± abruptly collapsed, swallowing him.

    How long can I stop him for? Fifteen minutes? Xiao An thought as two specks of golden light flashed in the sea of blood. She raised her guard and dodged.

    Whoosh!

    Two beams of golden light pierced through the sea of blood, brushing past her and shooting past the rocks and frozen earth in the distance, reducing it to dust immediately.

    Boom!

    As the sea of blood surged, Ao Xuan took to the skies, clutching a skull in each claw and crushing them viciously as he burst out of the formation. His eyes shone with golden light. Wherever he looked, the undead monsters were all vapourised.

    ¡°Before a true dragon, you still dare to play with water?¡±

    With a flash, a huge dragon head had arrived before Xiao An before he had even finished what he was saying. His teeth were like swords, biting down viciously.

    Xiao An swung her sword at the teeth. With a clang, sparks flew.

    The huge dragon shot over the sea of blood, flying towards the Xuanming dwelling. A tooth was broken off, falling into the ocean.

    The golden, icy-cold eyes glanced down. Xiao An was caught in the dragon¡¯s mouth, hanging on bitterly. She had dislodged a tooth, but there were thousands more. Even when she had attained the fruit of Srot¨¡panna and set off on the path of buddhahood, she still could not fend off the biting force of a fifth heavenly tribulation true dragon.

    ¡°Hmph, and I was thinking you were capable of something special. How foolish!¡±

    Ao Xuan was just about to crush her to pieces when the Trisepultural Robes on Xiao An rose up, swelling in the air and enveloping around him like a great big wrapper.

    Devoid of any expressions, her dark hair drifted through the air as her red lips opened and closed, chanting the blasphemous scripture rapidly. Black lines flowed past the robes as the Soul Stirring Bell on her waist chimed away.

    Ao Xuan immediately felt mentally perturbed. He tossed and turned in the air, swinging his claws in an attempt to tear apart the Trisepultural Robes.

    However, the Trisepultural Robes refused to stay put, swelling and shrinking with his movements. In a desperate flurry, he was actually unable to break free.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    With a crack, the dragon teeth gnashed together.

    During that critical moment, Xiao An took advantage of the moment when the teeth loosened slightly to escape from his mouth. Her left arm was basically crushed at the base, suddenly turning into surging white flames and exploding in the dragon¡¯s mouth.

    Ao Xuan¡¯s furious roar whistled out, and the sound of the bell halted. Even though he was basically unscathed, he had already become extremely furious after being stopped time and time again. His eyes shone brightly as he swelled up. With a rip, he tore apart the Trisepultural Robes like silk.

    The white bone artifacts were all damaged or destroyed. With just the Buddha Slaying sword in her hand, she did not have any opportunity to pierce his scales at all. She probably could not last any longer. It was even possible for him to completely neglect her and directly make his way into the Xuanming dwelling.

    However, she did not hesitate at all as she flew towards the huge dragon. Ao Xuan gazed over viciously, and a pair of golden stars twinkled. She had already become swallowed by the golden light.

    At that instant, her flesh vapourised, revealing her shiny bones, which also began to soften as if they could melt away at any moment. However, the flames in her eyes remained as firm as always. She uttered softly, ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    At this moment, a bellow rang out, ¡°Ao Xuan!¡±

    The rather familiar voice made Ao Xuan look over. R¨¡hu Xiaoming stood atop a mountain with his slingshot drawn to the limit. His eyes reflected a black sun and a moon as endless darkness swallowed all of the light.

    Ao Xuan¡¯s left eye ached, and one of the beams of golden light abruptly vanished. He had been blinded in one eye. The remaining beam had been soon swallowed by the darkness as well.

    An invisible pulling force grabbed Xiao An and brought her back into the Xuanming dwelling. She landed in Li Qingshan¡¯s arms. Gazing at how miserable she was, he could not help but become furious. He said coldly, ¡°Xiaoming, draw him in!¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, R¨¡hu Xiaoming had been beaten into the abyss as well, slamming against a wall and almost smashed to pieces. He pointed upwards. ¡°Coming!¡±

    The daylight dimmed, and a dragon¡¯s head poked into the cavern. His dragon claws dug deeply into the rock as he met Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet eyes with his remaining eye.

    Ao Xuan¡¯s power made him almost invincible. Only R¨¡hu Xiaoming could truly harm him, but that only enraged him completely. Murderousness swarmed over like dark clouds. He originally wanted to lunge over immediately and kill them all, but he saw Li Qingshan extend his right arm, reaching into a bright ball of light beside him. The core of the formation was so condensed that it seemed physical.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    The deep, hoarse voice was filled with blazing killing intent. His colossal body slithered into the dwelling like a snake.

    Li Qingshan kissed Xiao An on the forehead gently and let go of her. He faced Ao Xuan alone and declared loudly, ¡°The owner of this place!¡±

    Ao Xuan said angrily, ¡°Let go of your dirty hand! I¡¯m the owner of this place!¡±

    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re just the watchdog, yet you dare to claim you¡¯re the owner?¡±

    ¡°What did you say!?¡± Ao Xuan¡¯s expression became even more twisted.

    ¡°Oh, sorry about that. Comparing you to a dog would be an insult to dogs.¡±

    Ao Xuan suddenly lunged down. In the blink of an eye, the sharp teeth arrived just inches away.

    As Li Qingshan drew his hand back from the ball of light, the ball of light began to spread as well. The entire process unfolded so quickly that time seemed to have frozen. The criss-crossing light and inscriptions vanished with the nine layers of the formation once more, except there was the imprint of an ox¡¯s head that belonged to him in the depths of the core.

    The Xuanming formation activated again. The flow of time returned to normal.

    However, Ao Xuan was stuck in the middle of the air. He was no longer the owner of this place. Instead, he was a thief who had forced his way in and had been caught in the act by the owner.

    As the Xuanming formation scroll had described it, ¡°The Xuanming formation is extremely powerful. Even against Human Immortals, it can stop them momentarily.¡± And he was only facing a fifth heavenly tribulation Daemon Sovereign right now.

    Suddenly, a foul gust of air filled his face. Ao Xuan abruptly broke free from his restraints and bit at Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Since he was still bold enough to force his way in, he had already anticipated the worst possible situation, or he would not have hurled himself into trouble willingly. He managed to tell with a single glance that Li Qingshan was only a Yin Soul cultivator. He had just gained control over the Xuanming formation, so he definitely could not control it as he pleased.

    With his power and his understanding of the Xuanming formation, it was completely possible for him to break free by force and kill Li Qingshan on the spot. The Xuanming formation would obviously return to him by then. Even though he was a disciple of the Myriad sect, Ao Xuan could not care so much anymore.

    Li Qingshan sneered, which exposed his teeth. He threw a punch at Ao Xuan¡¯s face.

    The dragon¡¯s head turned sharply, and a large part of his cheek sank in. A force of tremors spread from head to tail, basically making him tremble uncontrollably.

    Ao Xuan¡¯s remaining eye was filled with disbelief. ¡°How is this possible!?¡± He was clearly just a Yin Soul cultivator. Even a Demon Sovereign could not injure him so heavily from a single strike.

    When he looked at Li Qingshan again, he was no longer in human form. Ox horns grew from his head and his feet turned into hooves, transforming into the half-man, half-ox ox demon. Beneath his black skin, his muscles rose and fell like mountains and rivers, filled with endless strength.

    The Ox Demon Transformation!

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist firmly. The space seemed to twist and collapse inwards, such that the fist seemed enormous, filling Ao Xuan¡¯s vision like a huge mountain.

    Yes, that was a mountain. Li Qingshan clenched the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens firmly and pushed the Ox Demon Transformation to the limit.

    Another uppercut!

    The Ox Demon Transformation had never been renowned for its speed. The punch was extremely slow in Ao Xuan¡¯s eyes, and he normally would have been able to dodge it. However, he was currently suppressed by the Xuanming formation, and the punch possessed a powerful suction, so he could not evade it.

    Bang!

    The punch landed on Ao Xuan¡¯s chin and several dozen teeth flew out. His head was lifted high up, pulling the rest of his body along with him. He almost flew out of the cavern.

    ¡°That¡¯s called the Rising Dragon uppercut!¡±

    When the dragon¡¯s belly was exposed before him, Li Qingshan sank down and threw another straight punch!

    There was nothing special about the punch at all. It was absolutely ordinary, without any fancy tricks. Even mortals who knew a little bit of martial arts could throw a punch like that with ease.

    However, Ao Xuan was thrown heavily against the wall by it. His scales shattered; his organs surged. The mountain shook and rubble fell down like rain.

    There was now a hint of fear within Ao Xuan¡¯s furious roars. He wanted to launch a desperate counterattack, but the powerful force of tremors had filled his entire body, such that he could not muster any strength. On top of that, the weaker he became, the stronger the suppression from the Xuanming dwelling became. All he could do was watch helplessly as Li Qingshan threw punch after punch.

    Crack! His bones shattered, and his scales fell.

    Heavens, how can there be a monster like this in the world? Hold on, an ox? Kunpeng, the Heaven-stirring Great Sage, Ox! Don¡¯t tell me?

    Li Qingshan raised his ox hoof high up and stepped down on the dragon¡¯s head.

    He crossed his arms and raised them into the air. Tiny cracks actually appeared in space.

    The punch seemed like the upheaval of earth, the falling of mountains. It possessed the power to crush everything.

    ¡°Go to hell!¡±

    Ao Xuan suddenly called out, ¡°I yield! Spare me!¡±

    Li Qingshan hesitated for a moment before slamming down with the punch.

    Boom! Ao Xuan¡¯s eyes bulged while blood sprayed from his mouth. The sounds of his skull cracking rang out as he plunged into the abyss.

    Li Qingshan raised his right hand and used the Force Field of the Earth, pulling Ao Xuan back again. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Ao Xuan said feebly, ¡°I- I yield¡­¡±

    He was heavily injured and firmly suppressed by the Xuanming dwelling, so he no longer possessed any power to resist. If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan had held back some strength in the final moments of that punch, perhaps he would have been crushed to death in his own den already.

    Li Qingshan remarked in wonder, ¡°Are the dragons of the Human realm really so spineless? Even the Dragon King of Ink Sea, a dragon king from a painting, has much more backbone than this bastard.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s probably due to the Five Absolutes Immortal!¡± Xiao An was gathering the scattered scales, teeth, and blood and setting them alight to heal her damaged bones.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡±

    ¡°You can kill me, but you can¡¯t insult me. If you don¡¯t accept my surrender, then kill me!¡± Ao Xuan shut his eye resolutely, except he kept a crack open so that he could still see.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming crossed his arms and said, ¡°Little dragon, looks like you¡¯ve already realised something, but are you aware that there will be no turning back if you surrender to him, where the world will be your enemy? It will lead to even more trouble for you in the future, and you¡¯ll probably still be doomed.¡±

 Chapter 1429

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1429 ¨C Splitting the Loot

    ¡°Hmm? Am I really that awesome?¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his arm around complacently. Originally, he only wanted to hear Ao Xuan¡¯s last words. He had no intentions of keeping him around for any future problems. The difference in strength was too large. He had only managed to subdue him today through the suppression of the Xuanming dwelling and by taking him by surprise.

    And despite that, he constantly maintained the Ox Demon Transformation so that he could launch a punch at any time. If he were careless and let the dragon slip away, then even regret would be too late. However, from what R¨¡hu Xiaoming implied, perhaps it was actually possible to tame Ao Xuan.

    He asked Xiaoming with a smile, ¡°Heh, aren¡¯t you afraid of being doomed?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m following you. Our paths just happen to coincide,¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said proudly.

    However, he understood very well that there was no turning back the moment he began fighting beside Li Qingshan. It definitely would not be as simple as returning to the Asura realm and getting his revenge, let alone the fact that he did not want to turn back. As a battle-hungry son of an asura god, he really would be filled with regret if he missed out on a great battle in the world.

    ¡°I already have a clue about your origins. Sigh, if this is fate, what can I do?¡± Ao Xuan said in an aggrieved manner, confirming that he was in deep trouble. It seemed as if he was actually surrendering and yielding to them.

    Li Qingshan grabbed a dragon horn and raised his fist. ¡°I still don¡¯t find this bastard reliable. Why don¡¯t I just kill him and give Xiao An some nourishment?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah!¡± Xiao An nodded. The taste of the dragon blood and scales had been wonderful.

    ¡°Spare me! Spare me! I¡¯m definitely reliable! I¡¯m definitely reliable!¡± Ao Xuan begged in a hurry, completely tossing aside his last bit of pride. From a certain perspective, he was quite ¡°flexible¡±.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have an idea.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°Little dragon, do you want to become my mount?¡±

    Ao Xuan sucked up to him. ¡°I am, I am. It¡¯s this little dragon¡¯s dream to be a mount for a god like you.¡±

    ¡°Be careful, he might just turn against you.¡± Li Qingshan warned him. If he could tame Ao Xuan, the benefits were obviously much greater than simply butchering him here, but they were not as powerful as Ao Xuan right now even when they combined their strength. Once he found the opportunity to turn against them, this would be as foolish of a decision as it could be.

    ¡°Very well. Don¡¯t resist.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming walked over with a sneer. He cut open the palm of his right hand and pressed it against the dragon¡¯s head.

    At that moment, the darkness and the smell of blood spread out simultaneously, enveloping Ao Xuan.

    Ao Xuan immediately began to struggle. His colossal body stirred up the lake, making waves rage for a good moment.

    He just happened to be in search of an opportunity to turn against them. Becoming a mount was perfect. It was completely impossible for the weak to control the strong, whether it was through arcane treasures or techniques. All of them had their weaknesses and vulnerabilities.

    However, he had forgotten one thing. He was not up against a regular cultivator, but an asura of the R¨¡hu clan. They possessed a set of methods to subdue mounts passed down from ancient times, and the one with the greatest controlling power was the Blood Pact of Darkness. Sprinkled by the purest of divine blood, their powers would become linked, and their bloodlines would become one.

    Li Qingshan planted his foot down on the dragon¡¯s head viciously. ¡°What, you¡¯re still trying to resist?¡±

    Ao Xuan resisted R¨¡hu Xiaoming desperately, rejecting all of the divine blood. His expression became twisted again. ¡°There¡¯s something you have to tell me, or I¡¯d rather die than yield!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Did you kill Lin Xuan?¡± Ao Xuan questioned. This was purely a question out of instincts. He did not feel like he should have died so easily, unless he encountered unpredictably powerful enemies like the ones right before him.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An exchanged a glance. Chu Tian had been finished off by Qian Rongzhi because of the heavy wounds he had sustained in his conflict with Li Qingshan, while Lin Xuan had been finished off by Qian Rongzhi because Xiao An had divulged his secret. Of course, the latter was purely a guess. They really could not deny all connections to his death.

    Afterwards, they shook their heads together. ¡°Definitely not.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ao Xuan was doubtful.

    Li Qingshan swore seriously, ¡°If I killed him, then may the heavens condemn me to a horrible death!¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Ao Xuan shut his eyes and finally yielded, allowing the divine blood to merge with his body. His dragon blood felt like surging lava. He knew that this was R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s revenge, but all he could do was lower his head and endure it.

    A while later, Ao Xuan opened his eyes again. Under the effects of the divine blood of the R¨¡hu, his blinded eye had completely healed, glistening with golden light. They each reflected a black sun and moon, while his scales had become much darker.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming took a few steps back. He was pale, which made him seem extremely feeble.

    ¡°Ao Xuan, our grievances are settled. Since you¡¯ve accepted me as your master, I won¡¯t mistreat you. However, if you do betray me, you¡¯ll definitely be burned by the flames of karma!¡±

    Ao Xuan lowered his head. ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    With that, the great battle came to an end. Ao Xuan was no longer capable of stirring up any more trouble either.

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin. ¡°Now that I think about it, I have a mount too! It¡¯s time to get him to come up as well so that the four heavenly kings reunite! Hmm? Where¡¯s our Lookout Heavenly King?¡±

    The ocean currents were against her, so Gu Yanying had a difficult time as a fish, floating through the vast ocean.

    ¡°How slow!¡±

    Her voice was like a whale song.

    By the time she had completed her lengthy journey and returned to the Xuanming dwelling, Li Qingshan had already begun searching through the spoils under the lead of the traitor Ao Xuan.

    The owner of the Xuanming dwelling really had spent many years as the first senior brother of the Myriad sect. He was far wealthier than Si Long.

    There were a total of twelve heavenly tomes, the Heavenly Tome of True Dragon, the Heavenly Tome of Violet Manor, the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace, and so on. It was merely a small part of the Myriad Heavenly Tomes, but it covered various directions of cultivation, like how the Heavenly Tome of True Dragon focused on the body, while the Heavenly Tome of Cloud Furnace focused on alchemy.

    They were probably prepared for the sake of reincarnation. They were mostly useless to him, but any single heavenly tome was enough to found a major sect in the World of the Five Continents. If he gathered them, he could establish a small Myriad sect there, which was extremely compatible with his great plan of making everyone cultivate.

    When he thought about buying these heavenly tomes from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, it probably would have cost almost ten thousand Green Jade bookmarks. He felt like he had made a killing.

    ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of arcane treasures. He practised the Heavenly Tome of True Dragon, so he didn¡¯t place much emphasis on foreign objects. Most of them were handed out as rewards, so only a few remain, which he took out to admire or play around with every now and then.¡± Ao Xuan introduced the items.

    Li Qingshan did not really care either. He rarely used arcane treasures too. However, he just found it to be quite a pity, blaming Lin Xuan for being far too generous. However, when he saw the arcane treasures, over a dozen of them, his feeling of pity vanished.

    The workmanship of the arcane treasures and the power that they contained was well beyond what any arcane treasures of the nine provinces could match.

    One of them was a small porcelain dish covered in surface cracks, which was enough to hold an entire lake full of water. In battle, he only needed to tip it slightly, and it could drown an army of a hundred thousand.

    The arcane treasures of the Human realm also had different tiers, roughly broken up into the four tiers of heaven, earth, xuan, and huang, basically corresponding to the supreme grade, high grade, mid grade, and low grade of the arcane artifacts and spiritual artifacts of the nine provinces. The arcane treasures of the nine provinces could only be considered as low grade at best in the Human realm. Only the extremely powerful ones could be considered as huang tier arcane treasures.

    But of course, the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and the Immortal Relinquished sword did not belong to that category, as they were not products of the nine provinces.

    The Xuanming formation opened up as the Lookout Heavenly King Gu Yanying swam in through the bottom of the cave. She gradually shrank, assuming human form again and joining the group that split the loot. ¡°I want this one!¡± She casually grabbed the small porcelain dish and drank it all, letting out a burp and rubbing her lips. ¡°I¡¯m dying from thirst!¡±

    Xiao An tilted her head. ¡°Fish lips.¡±

 Chapter 1430

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1430 ¨C Returning to the City

    ¡°You damn skeleton monster!¡± Gu Yanying pointed at the dish. ¡°If there were still water inside, I¡¯d definitely splash it all at you!¡± However, there was a gentle smile on her face. At least the battle had not been for nothing.

    Li Qingshan picked up the arcane treasures and fiddled through them one by one. He asked, ¡°Does anyone else want any?¡±

    Xiao An obviously had no use for them.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in disdain, ¡°It¡¯s all just scrap metal!¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll hang onto them.¡±

    Just like Lin Xuan in the past, Li Qingshan did not have much use for these arcane treasures. There were no arcane treasures as powerful as a punch of his. Even if he used one, he preferred a simple and direct weapon like the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    However, he was still extremely satisfied. These arcane treasures alone were enough to make up for the price of the Xuanming dwelling. They were a part of the collection that first senior brother Lin had built up over his lifetime after all.

    Li Qingshan patted Ao Xuan on the shoulder. ¡°What other good stuff have you got? Hand it all over!¡±

    Ao Xuan said, ¡°There¡¯s none left.¡±

    Li Qingshan said with suspicion, ¡°Really? You better not be hiding it from me!¡± He tried searching around the Xuanming dwelling, but there were no secret rooms. Ao Xuan did not have a single sumeru ring on him either, but he had a feeling that Lin Xuan¡¯s wealth should have been far more than this.

    Ao Xuan said, ¡°There¡¯s really none left.¡±

    ¡°Look into my eyes!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming called out, ¡°And answer him!¡±

    Ao Xuan shivered. He met R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes and an uncontrollable power surged out from his bloodline. His lips trembled, but he was unable to say a single word.

    ¡°Give up!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°You can¡¯t lie to me!¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist. ¡°I don¡¯t mind turning you into a part of the spoils!¡±

    Xiao An licked her lips. Gu Yanying stood lazily with her arms crossed, acting like she was watching a joke.

    Ao Xian felt particularly aggrieved, but there was nothing he could do. He could only let out a great sigh. ¡°Come with me.¡±

    They arrived at the bottom of the abyss. Ao Xuan waved his hand, and the currents swirled, forming a great whirlpool. The whirlpool was pitch-black and deep, extending off to somewhere unknown.

    ¡°A blessed land!¡±

    Li Qingshan halted with interest. A Yang Soul cultivator obviously should have been capable of something like this. He did not enter in a hurry, instead using his innate ability to produce a mirror clone. He sent the mirror clone into the whirlpool instead.

    His caution completely severed Ao Xuan¡¯s final hopes. Originally, he thought about how he might still stand a chance, as he would not face the suppression from the Xuanming dwelling in the blessed land.

    Li Qingshan arrived in the blessed land. A colossal dragon head suddenly appeared right before him. He shivered inside, Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s a trap?

    However, the dragon did not budge at all. Its eyes were firmly shut. As it turned out, it was just a dead dragon.

    He immediately understood after some thought. ¡°This is the corpse that Lin Xuan left behind. He sealed it in ice when he reincarnated. It¡¯s perfect for nourishing Xiao An!¡±

    Gazing out, the size of the blessed land was nowhere near as large as the Hundred Herbs garden, but the spiritual qi was extremely dense, even more so than the Hundred Herbs garden. It was probably where Lin Xuan cultivated in seclusion.

    Now that Lin Xuan was already dead, only the dragon corpse remained, curled up in the centre while giving off bone-chilling coldness.

    Li Qingshan could not help but become rather speechless at the thought of this.

    Ao Xuan then said, ¡°There¡¯s a jade box in the dragon¡¯s mouth and a dragon pearl in its belly. You can take it all.¡±

    Li Qingshan pried open the dragon¡¯s mouth. Sure enough, there was a box carved delicately from jade with cloud patterns. Opening it up, his face lit up from the green glow, and he widened his eyes. The entire box was filled with Green Jade bookmarks, amounting to over ten thousand.

    Li Qingshan discarded all of his feelings of speechlessness. He began laughing aloud.

    Now that made more sense. Recovering his strength would require a tremendous amount of resources, so how could Lin Xuan be unprepared? Even Si Long possessed a few Green Jade bookmarks, so how could first senior brother Lin have nothing at all? With this sum, did he still have to worry about his debts?

    Then he dove into the dragon¡¯s belly and fished out the dragon pearl. It was clear and deep like the ocean, yet also dull and dim, like it was covered in dust. However, he could clearly sense the tremendous power hidden within.

    ¡°This one belongs to me.¡± Li Qingshan could vaguely sense that the dragon pearl was of great use to him, so he stowed it away carefully.

    ¡°All of you, get up here. I have something to say!¡±

    Everyone followed Li Qingshan out of the abyss again. Daylight rippled in from above.

    Li Qingshan stood on a protruding stone platform and raised his arms. He announced loudly, ¡°Friends, comrades, from today onwards, this is our home base in the Human realm!¡±

    Clap, clap, clap, clap! There was the sound of applause, but unfortunately, Xiao An was the only one who responded.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°What¡¯re you saying that for?¡±

    Li Qingshan said it like it was common sense, ¡°To commend your efforts, of course!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan patted his chest. ¡°First of all, we would like to thank me for my wise leadership!¡±

    Gu Yanying immediately raised her hand. ¡°I¡¯m off to cultivate!¡± She turned into a great peng and leapt back into the abyss.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shook his head in dismay and left quietly.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m still not done yet! I¡¯m going to commend you next¡­¡±

    ¡°Is there me?¡± Xiao An blinked her eyes.

    ¡°Of course!¡± Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°So be it. They¡¯re the ones missing out. I¡¯ll just praise you!¡± He properly sang praises about every single part of Xiao An.

    In the empty cavern, above the rippling water, only his voice drifted and echoed around, coupled with her chime-like smile. From time to time, she would add, ¡°What else is there?¡± She cooperated with him perfectly.

    Gu Yanying thought helplessly, Just who has misguided who?

    However, after so many twists and turns, she could finally relax properly. This was an extraordinary place for cultivation, much better than Si Long¡¯s Dragon¡¯s Pool dwelling and much safer too. It was directly connected to the ocean as well, so it was extremely suitable for her cultivation.

    As a result, she shut her eyes to recover her strength. She dreamt of the day when she transformed from a kun to a peng, when she could take to the skies.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had already begun cultivating. After undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation, he had been captured by Ao Xuan before he could even recover his strength. Now, he was finally free to give it his all. To him, bottlenecks basically did not exist, so he would always become stronger with each passing moment.

    Before long, Xiao An arrived in the abyss and landed on Gu Yanying¡¯s colossal figure gently. Then she entered the blessed land and faced the colossal dragon corpse.

    Many of her white bone treasures had been destroyed and required repair, but directly turning the dragon corpse into the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone was a little wasteful.

    After some thought, she made up her mind. She cast out the Trisepultural Robes, which wrapped around the giant corpse. She began chanting the blasphemous scripture.

    ¡°Qingshan is about to enter the battlefield in the Demon domain. This will be his greatest source of assistance!¡±

    In the Direct Disciple hall in Myriad city.

    On the tall podium, Dai Mengfan boredly watched Ruan Yaozhu and Ge Xing reason against one another.

    This was already the third debate. The previous two times had ended in Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s defeat. Ge Xing did not have to argue about anything at all. Just his advantage in numbers crushed her. However, she still refused to give up, even when no one was listening anymore.

    In order to prevent direct conflicts between direct disciples, the Myriad sect had established an extremely complicated process of discussion, such that both parties would be left satisfied with the outcome. However, the cultivation community was not a place where reason worked.

    Ge Xing could not help but say, ¡°Junior sister Ruan, why are you going to such great lengths?¡±

    ¡°Right is right, wrong is wrong.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu suddenly stopped talking. Was it really like before, where she was just debating over what was right and wrong, without any selfish motives? Yeah, why go to such great lengths?

    The Direct Disciple hall fell quiet. Dai Mengfan furrowed her brows and gazed outside. ¡°Who dares to intrude upon my Direct Disciple hall?¡±

    ¡°I am Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 1431

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1431 ¨C In the Hall

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    The bored direct disciples immediately sat up straight. The reason for them wasting so much time was outside right now.

    Ever since he had been sent flying by a punch from Li Liehuo, it was as if he had vapourised. No one knew where he had gone. Some even suspected he had already fled. They never expected him to suddenly appear outside the Direct Disciple hall.

    Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu exchanged glances. There was the same question in their eyes. Did he succeed?

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s heart tightened before she let out a sigh of relief. She found him despicable, but she still wanted to see him return safely.

    Ge Xing furrowed his brows and clasped his hands. ¡°Regular disciples aren¡¯t permitted in the Direct Disciple hall, but since he¡¯s directly involved in all of this, you might as well let him in and see what he has to say, third senior sister.¡±

    The other direct disciples obviously would not object, except Dai Mengfan¡¯s face was filled with surprise, like she had just witnessed something unbelievable. Apart from her, the other direct disciples could not see what was going on outside.

    That only left the direct disciples even more curious. Most of them had not seen Li Qingshan before, but even if he were a three-headed, eight-legged freak, there was no reason for their third senior sister to respond like that!

    Dai Mengfan waved her hand. ¡°Open the doors!¡±

    Li Qingshan happened to be looking down, instructing with his soul sense. ¡°Look a little elegant later. I¡¯m going to take you to show off!¡±

    A voice replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Am I supposed to embarrass my first father?¡±

    The door to the Direct Disciple hall swung open, and Li Qingshan climbed up the steps. He moved calmly and made his way past the door, looking around at the direct disciples in the surroundings. All he saw was a similar expression on all of their faces, which made him smile. He clasped his hands. ¡°Greetings, senior brothers and sisters!¡±

    All of their eyes were glued to Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. A phoenix stood there, where his magnificent tail feathers that resembled flames almost touched the ground, yet he did not even look at them. No matter how powerful or extraordinary they were, he simply tidied his feathers like no one else was around, demonstrating his reservedness and pride, yet he also seemed so natural at the same time.

    Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction inside. This kid gets me. He¡¯s already picked up some of my legacy!

    The phoenix was obviously Li Fengyuan. After occupying the Xuanming dwelling, Li Qingshan immediately connected the World of the Five Continents with the Human realm through the Heaven Climbing Vine, summoning Li Fengyuan over. It obviously was not for the sake of posing around either. Li Fengyuan¡¯s cultivation was already nearing the fourth heavenly tribulation. He needed a much vaster place to spread his wings, and he was the Meat-stewing Heavenly King after all.

    Haha, definitely not, definitely not. I come nowhere close to first father.

    As the two of them flattered each other, the direct disciples all understood why Dai Mengfan was so surprised.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a phoenix!? That kid is Li Qingshan!?¡±

    Not only did Li Fengyuan maintain his ¡°elegance¡±, but Li Qingshan also seemed very modest as well. His facial features were delicate and gentle like a youth¡¯s, giving off a good impression from the first glance. They struggled to connect him with the rebel who challenged the first senior brother and first senior sister of the Myriad sect successfully less than a year after joining the sect.

    As for a phoenix, that was basically the rarest and most precious mount in the world.

    Even first senior brother Lin Xuan¡¯s mount had only been a dragon. The dragon clan seemed extremely proud, but they were actually highly ¡°flexible¡±. Perhaps through temptation or through force, it definitely was not delusional to obtain a true dragon as a mount.

    However, the reservedness and pride of a phoenix reached deep into its bones. It refused to roost unless it was a wutong tree, it refused to feed unless it was the fruit of bamboo, and it refused to drink unless it was from a sweet spring. Even when subdued by force, it would rather die than yield.

    There had always been fewer phoenixes than dragons. Normally speaking, while dragons were more skilled in battle, what cultivators truly required had never been strength, but longevity. As long as their lifespans were long enough, they would always have power, and it would be true power that belonged to them.

    A phoenix was a mount that could lengthen the lifespan of a cultivator the most.

    Li Qingshan smiled towards Ruan Yaozhu. ¡°Senior sister, I wasn¡¯t lying to you!¡±

    Before Ruan Yaozhu could say anything, the nine-coloured deer sighed in amazement. ¡°A phoenix as a mount. It¡¯s actually true!¡±

    Of course, Li Qingshan neither wanted to ride anyone nor be ridden, unless under a specific situation. He had purely brought Li Fengyuan along to show off, and as it seemed, it was quite effective.

    Thunk, thunk, thunk!

    Dai Mengfan knocked the table. ¡°Li Qingshan, since you¡¯re here, do you have any objections to the discussion this time?¡±

    ¡°Junior brother Li, if there¡¯s anything you¡¯re unhappy about, you¡¯re welcome to mention it. I¡¯ll definitely consider it!¡± Ge Xing patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder warmly. ¡°Military orders are absolute. They cannot be changed. However, the law isn¡¯t completely rigid. It is possible to give you some time.¡±

    The direct disciples looked at one another. You¡¯re clearly the one who personally ordered for this kid¡¯s conscription, so why¡¯re you acting as a good person today? However, little did they know that Li Qingshan had earned Ge Xing¡¯s respect the moment he saw him, and Ge Xing wanted to go out of his way to settle their grievances.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan had directly confronted Li Liehuo. That courage was even less reason to underestimate him. Now that he had suddenly produced a phoenix, his future was basically limitless. Even if he lost a few gambles, so what? As long as he did not die along the way, he had plenty of time to turn things around.

    He managed to endure a full-powered punch from Li Liehuo as soon as he had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, so he did not seem like he would just croak without reason. He had to be an utter fool to make an enemy out of someone like that over a few hundred Green Jade bookmarks.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Thank you, senior brother Ge. I have no objections to the discussion this time. However, a few extra days would always be best!¡±

    ¡°No problem, no problem!¡± Ge Xing agreed happily.

    The atmosphere in the Direct Disciple hall immediately became strange. The intense dispute had instead eased up with the arrival of the person involved. The other direct disciples studied Li Qingshan and became a little more careful. He had actually managed to tame a phoenix into becoming his mount. The Myriad sect would probably gain another direct disciple very soon.

    Li Qingshan met Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s eyes. Li Qingshan had an undefeated record when it came to stare outs, but who knew what Ruan Yaozhu was thinking. She stubbornly refused to shift her gaze.

    Dai Mengfan thought, Don¡¯t tell me she has actually let her mortal emotions overcome her? Originally, she found that absolutely impossible, but after seeing Li Qingshan for herself, she suddenly found that to be nothing strange at all.

    Pi Yangqiu and Le Tian made their way over and asked eagerly, ¡°Did you succeed?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded with a smile. ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Pi Yangqiu was still in some disbelief. Just how much time had passed, and he had managed to take down the Xuanming dwelling?

    Li Qingshan took out a jade box and grabbed a handful of Green Jade bookmarks. ¡°This is for the price of the Xuanming dwelling, as well as the bookmarks that I owe you.¡± Then he grabbed a handful for Le Tian. ¡°This is yours.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu and Le Tian gazed at the bookmarks in their hands. Their expressions changed, and they began laughing aloud.

    The direct disciples were all stunned. It was not that they were easily impressed, but several hundred Green Jade bookmarks was already a large sum. An exchange of several thousand Green jade bookmarks was extremely rare even among the various departments of the Myriad sect.

    And this was just private dealing. Since when did an inner disciple become even more extravagant than them?

    Lin Xuan had been stuck at the peak of Human Sovereign for many years and spent a long time as the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, so regular disciples obviously came nowhere close to his status. His cultivation had halted as well, so he basically consumed and used up nothing. Coupled with all those years of preparation for his reincarnation, that was the reason why he had accumulated over ten thousand Green Jade bookmarks.

    Li Qingshan had only managed to obtain all this after great difficulty due to his helpful allies and everything he was capable of. Otherwise, even if Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao worked together to take down the Xuanming dwelling, they could not stop Ao Xuan from fleeing with everything. They probably would not be able to breach the place anyway.

    Le Tian brought his arm around Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Junior brother, why don¡¯t we just call off our gamble with this?¡±

    On the podium, Dai Mengfan shook her head. This was probably unprecedented, an inner disciple stunning a group of direct disciples in the Direct Disciple hall and direct disciples treating an inner disciple with such closeness. Even if news of this made it outside, probably no one would believe it.

    On top of that, Le Tian always had quite a high opinion of himself. Even when it came to the other direct disciples, he did not necessarily respect them all, or why would he have fooled all the ones seated here like monkeys? He was basically treating Li Qingshan as an equal right now.

    ¡°Forget about it!¡± However, Li Qingshan declined bluntly. ¡°Once the thirty years are over, I¡¯ll obviously be paying you a thousand Green Jade bookmarks if I lose!¡±

    ¡°Heh, you sure know how to make me look bad!¡±

    Li Qingshan shut the jade box and looked towards Ruan Yaozhu, passing the entire box towards her.

    Immediately, all of the direct disciples were drawn to the jade box. There were at least two thousand Green Jade bookmarks in there.

    ¡°This¡­ surely not! Are Green Jade bookmarks really worthless to this kid?¡±

    For the sake of their wagers of a few hundred Green Jade bookmarks, they had spent so many days haggling here, yet they gained nothing at all. Instead, their wagers were in even greater danger now.

    However, under Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s blank gaze, the jade box suddenly vanished, having been stowed away in a sumeru ring. Li Qingshan gave a stretch and laughed. ¡°I better hang onto it actually!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu snorted gently and looked away.

    ¡°But to thank the two senior brothers¡¯ support, please choose one each!¡±

    Li Qingshan took out the arcane treasures that Lin Xuan had collected and displayed them mid-air.

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°I wonder just how many people are longing for these few items.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was tempted, but he still ended up saying, ¡°I¡¯ve made no real contribution. You¡¯ve earned all of this yourself, so you don¡¯t have to give us any.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite, senior brothers. I always repay my debts. Since I¡¯ve already offered it to you, how can I rescind it?¡±

    This was not a matter of Li Qingshan¡¯s generosity. Arcane treasures had always been foreign objects. While they were precious, could they increase his chances against Qiongqi at all? In the past, when he first began cultivating, even a few taels of silver had been very important, but looking at it now, it was nothing. As long as he continued onwards, it would all turn out the same. If he stopped where he was, then what was the point of keeping it anyway? So he could take them with him to the grave?

    That was what gave him confidence. There were great horrors in life and in death, but as long as he stood strong, there would be great courage as well.

    Since these external objects were useless to him, why couldn¡¯t he part with them?

    ¡°Then I won¡¯t be holding back.¡±

    ¡°If you lose, you can just forget about the debt.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu and Le Tian each chose an arcane treasure.

    ¡°A gamble is a gamble. That will not be necessary.¡±

    A direct disciple abruptly stood up and pointed at an arcane treasure. ¡°Junior brother Li, t- that Nine Dragons seal, I¡¯ll buy it! Give me a price!¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could answer him, Le Tian smiled and said, ¡°Junior brother, if the remaining arcane treasures are useless to you, let me auction them off! After all, they are from first senior brother¡¯s collection. They¡¯re quite the memento!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you with this, senior brother.¡±

    The direct disciple sat back down helplessly. Now that the Nine Dragons seal had ended up in Le Tian¡¯s hands, its price would probably double or triple.

 Chapter 1432

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1432 ¨C The Winds Rise

    ¡°Since no one has any objections, the debate ends here. Li Qingshan will join the army as soon as possible!¡±

    Dai Mengfan swung her hand, and all the doors and windows suddenly opened up. Sunlight poured in silently, exposing the dust floating through the air.

    The Direct Disciple hall was silent. The direct disciples all had various different expressions, like they had yet to recover from their shock.

    An inner disciple had actually achieved what they could not, claiming the first senior brother¡¯s Xuanming dwelling and inheriting everything inside. How was that possible? How did he do it? Since when did Ao Xuan become so agreeable?

    They were unable to believe or understand it, but this was the reality. The only logical explanation was he had obtained help from elsewhere, and it was extraordinary help too. However, this was the territory of the Myriad sect, so the greatest suspect was the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes!

    It was said that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would meet with him whenever he visited the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. That was without a doubt the most concrete evidence. That had to be it. The kid must have been connected to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. It was no wonder why he had the courage to act so arrogantly as soon as he joined the sect.

    When they thought of that, they instead felt slightly better inside. When they looked at Li Qingshan again, they immediately found him to be a little mysterious. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance never left that place and never had any contact with regular people, so just what was his background?

    ¡°Junior brother, I¡¯ll give you another month to prepare. That¡¯s my limit.¡± Ge Xing patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder. ¡°Sigh, if it weren¡¯t for the circumstances, I really can¡¯t bear to see a man of talent like you joining the battlefield!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Thank you, senior brother. A month is enough.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu rode away on her deer, leaving the Direct Disciple hall alone. She possessed quite the grace of just completing what she was tasked with, without sticking around to claim credit for everything.

    After walking for a while, she turned around and asked, ¡°What are you following me for?¡±

    Li Qingshan followed her in the distance. ¡°About this¡­ there¡¯s something else I¡¯d like your help with.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Hey kid, you better not take this too far! Do you know just how irritating you are? Unless you hand us the jade box¡­ ouch!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smacked her over the head in exasperation. She grumbled loudly, ¡°Even Le Tian and Pi Yangqiu were compensated for what they did, yet we¡¯re the only ones who busied about for nothing. How is that fair?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu ignored her. She said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Talk!¡±

    We are hosted novel, find us on google.

    ¡°I really can¡¯t find anyone else that I can rely on for this.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and pointed at Li Fengyuan on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m going to be joining the battlefield soon. Could you take care of him for me?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re not taking him with you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous, so why¡¯d I bring him with me?¡±

    ¡°I want to go too!¡± Li Fengyuan flapped his wings unhappily.

    ¡°Be quiet. Why don¡¯t you undergo the fourth heavenly tribulation first? You better not drag me down!¡± Li Qingshan said bluntly.

    The coldness and loneliness of the Xuanming dwelling was not suited for a phoenix. The Hundred Herbs garden was the best choice.

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Li Fengyuan became dispirited. He had only just arrived in the Human realm. He had not even adjusted to the laws of the world yet!

    ¡°Alright.¡± Ruan Yaozhu kept talking to a minimum, but she still ended up agreeing to the request.

    There was no one else around in the alleyway, so it was quiet. The purple vines crept across the wall, blooming brightly.

    Li Qingshan gazed at her. He wanted to say something, but he faltered.

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°What else?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°When it comes to someone like me, it¡¯s always about ensuring debts are completely settled, whether it¡¯s debts of gratitude or grievances, as they¡¯re both a burden. Whether it¡¯s payback or repaying kindness, it¡¯s all for the sake of relieving this burden.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°So your benefactors and your enemies are no different to you, right?¡±

    ¡°Hah, of course not! My benefactors are all living well, while my enemies are basically all dead. It¡¯s just that if I become burdened with too many things, I won¡¯t be able to make it far.¡±

    Even if a person possessed the strength to uproot mountains, they could still collapse under the strain of countless emotions that were fine like dust. That was why he still stuck to certain principles, whether it was cutting down the enemy or repaying kindness tenfold. Only like that could he continue moving on with ease. If he could not continue any further one day and collapsed on the road, he did not want to be laughed at, nor did he want anyone to shed tears for him.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°So you might as well accept it!¡± Li Qingshan took out the jade box. A tremendous sum that could even tempt Human Sovereigns lay inside, yet he was basically all too eager to give it away right now.

    Ruan Yaozhu hesitated slightly, and the nine-coloured deer held back her urge to speak up. A while later, she sighed gently. ¡°Bring it over!¡±

    Li Qingshan indicated for Li Fengyuan to grab the jade box and bring it over to Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s hand. Afterwards, he just perched boldly on the deer¡¯s antlers.

    The nine-coloured deer glanced at him. She was overjoyed right now, so she did not bicker over a trifle like that. Hmph, only because you¡¯re a phoenix!

    As if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders, Li Qingshan clasped his hands and turned around with ease, off to make preparations for the upcoming battle.

    Ruan Yaozhu held onto the jade box and gazed at his figure. She wondered whether he would turn around to look at her, which would put her in a different mood. However, he did not. He vanished at the end of the alleyway.

    She suddenly became rather despondent. ¡°Jiu¡¯er, the path of cultivation sure is lonely!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a natural cultivator, a steel-hearted bastard.¡±

    Li Fengyuan objected to that, ¡°Who says?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled gently and asked, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°My name is Li Fengyuan.¡±

    ¡°Li! Did you take his surname?¡± Ruan Yaozhu asked curiously.

    ¡°Of course! He¡¯s my first father!¡± Li Fengyuan said proudly.

    ¡°Father!¡± Ruan Yaozhu laughed out of surprise.

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, in the towering Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance took all of this in, including the thoughts of everyone in the Direct Disciple hall. He watched him leave Myriad city and vanish into the ocean. Various sentiments weighed in his heart.

    He was not heartless or ungrateful, much less without any desire, yet he was capable of picking up and letting go of matters without letting it weigh him down. A disposition like that was truly rare. It was no wonder why he had been chosen.

    The winds rose as breezes over grasslands, ending between the ranks of grass. From the deep mountains and marshes, dragons and snakes sprang forth. Heroes emerged from the ranks of grass.

    Upheaval was imminent and threats of death would be unavoidable, as the Seven Great Sages would never admit defeat, nor could anyone completely destroy them. So-called suppression was just a temporary ceasefire. Even the gods and buddhas of the nine heavens were probably aware of that.

    This child is probably the root of upheaval. It¡¯s time to contact master!

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance arrived on the highest floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. A while later, the Myriad formation that enveloped the city abruptly halted. All of the spiritual qi gathered towards the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. The pearl on the ceiling began to shine even brighter than the sun. A streak of light rushed into the air, penetrating the barriers of sa?s¨¡ra and conveying a message to beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Everyone in the city looked up in surprise.

    No one could see this. They all had no idea what was happening. Only the direct disciples understood that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was sending a message to the two sect masters as well as the grand sect master. Because the laws of sa?s¨¡ra were far too powerful, even the immortals that had ¡°leapt out of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, no longer residing within the five elements¡± would be affected.

    However, this was even more surprising, as this would only occur in times of crisis, like when they could not hold off invading enemies. However, it had already been several tens of thousand years since such chaotic times. It was basically impossible for the Myriad sect to be attacked again. However, just what else was there that could rival the sect being under attack in terms of importance?

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance gazed at the sky. I¡¯ll let master make the decision about whether to sell out this kid or not.

    However, that would come at the risk of personal death and destruction of the sect. The seven of them were also renowned for their gratitude and vengefulness!

 Chapter 1433

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1433 ¨C Black Cloud

    A month later, Li Qingshan arrived in the Department of Military Provisions again. Ge Xing personally received him, bringing him to the teleportation hall. He glanced at the basket on his back in surprise and asked politely, ¡°Junior brother, what have you brought with you?¡±

    ¡°Treasure.¡± Li Qingshan smiled brightly.

    Ge Xing became even more curious as a result. Just what could be referred to as ¡°treasure¡± by him, yet could not be stored in a sumeru ring? However, he did not try to get to the root of the matter, showing him the respect of an equal. He raised his hand, and the teleportation formation lit up. A gate condensed from light slowly opened.

    ¡°May you achieve swift victories in battle and be ever-successful!¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded and stepped through the gate of light.

    Ge Xing stroked his chin. Now that he had headed over, it would probably be another fierce struggle. He suddenly shook his head. If it had been someone else that entered the dangerous battlefield of the Demon domain after antagonising the two of them, just staying alive would be almost impossible. It would not be a struggle at all.

    However, he was unable to find even a hint of fear from him. Instead, there was only brimming interest as if he was about to join in a fascinating game, such that even now, he did not think he would end up at the whim of others.

    When Li Qingshan emerged from the teleportation gate, he was already billions of kilometres away.

    The clouds in the sky were gloomy and sunken like they were within arm¡¯s reach. Great flakes of snow drifted through the air. Gazing out, under the dark sky, the snow seemed black. The chilly air was filled with the faint smell of blood. With a deep breath, it was refreshing.

    ¡°Li Qingshan?¡± a guard with a metal halberd asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°The army captain orders you to report to the Scorching Fire hall immediately!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    ¡°Come with me!¡± The guard turned around and walked off.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and followed behind him. Was that bastard Li Liehuo really so impatient that he wanted to deal with him immediately?

    Gazing out, the mountains rose and fell while the river stretched off into the horizon.

    Black Cloud city was built on the top of a mountain. Military barracks stretched on endlessly, and it was heavily guarded. The two sect masters of the Myriad sect had personally modified the terrain within several hundred kilometres of the place, establishing the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder. That was where its name came from. It was a crucial stronghold for holding off the invading demonfolk, and it had never fallen since its establishment.

    Two armies under the Myriad sect¡¯s command were stationed here, the Scorching Fire army and the Xuanwu army. Their respective captains were the first senior brother Li Liehuo and the first senior sister Chao Tianjiao. There were also the eighty-six armies enlisted from the major countries within the vicinity of the Myriad sect, forming a grand stronghold of a million strong.

    Just like White Deer country that Ruan Yaozhu originated from, all the countries had the shadows of direct disciples behind them, serving them to their benefit. The more people they sent into battle, the more contribution and bookmarks they could receive. If it were not for Ruan Yaozhu, a tiny country with an incompetent lord like White Deer country would have been annexed by its neighbours a long time ago.

    This was not a clash between cultivators or sects, but a war between two worlds. No one could remain uninvolved.

    The Demon domain basically used every single demonfolk as a soldier. A technique from a Human Sovereign could kill hundreds and thousands of them with ease, but perhaps it would reveal an opening to a Demon Sovereign, which would make the difference between life and death.

    On top of that, they could convert quantity into quality. An army formation was enough to shake even the sturdiest of formations. The remains of deceased demonfolk would contaminate the earth, and their demon qi would shroud the skies. If it was not dealt with appropriately, it would corrupt the land and turn it into demonic soil.

    That was how the Demon domain constantly expanded its territory through the use of demonfolk remains. Even Demon Emperors and Demon Sovereigns did not hold back with that. Perhaps it was better to say that Demon Emperors and Demon Sovereigns were the lucky ones that had been chosen through constant elimination in this brutal environment.

    It was completely impossible for the Human realm to contend against them with just a group of cultivators, so they were forced to borrow the strength of mortals.

    The million-strong army did not only recruit any able-bodied person either. Instead, it came with a strict selection criteria. They chose the elite among the elite from the billions of people available to them. Everyone possessed powerful martial arts and had gone through the strictest of training. If that was not the case, they stood no chance against demonfolk in battle.

    Before Li Qingshan had set off, he had gathered all of the relative information, particularly regarding the two captains, Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao. Their authority in Black Cloud city was unbelievably great.

    Military orders were paramount. It did not need reason, nor was it reasonable. It was whatever they said. Even if they were clearly sending him to his death, he had to go, or that would be defying military orders and he would be sent back to the Myriad sect immediately to be punished. He might even get executed on the spot. A situation like that was extremely disadvantageous to him.

    The only thing that brought him relief was the two of them rarely remained in the city together. At the very least, one of them would be watching over the city while the other one would either be out attacking demonfolk or returning to the Myriad sect to rest. Otherwise, he would probably end up facing both of them at the same time.

    Thinking up to there, Li Qingshan grinned. He had already arrived before the Scorching Fire hall, a hall of grey rock that was sharp like a sword.

    ¡°Captain, I have brought Li Qingshan here!¡± The soldier knelt down on one knee.

    ¡°Let him in!¡± Li Liehuo¡¯s dignified voice rang out from inside.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip and made his way in. Immediately, he felt over a dozen hostile gazes land on him.

    Li Liehuo sat high above. A huge map hung behind him. Clouds constantly drifted through it, making it change, such that it constantly displayed the situation within a thousand kilometres. However, there was a great region of black above, like it had been hidden by something.

    The generals stood to the left and right, either pressing down on their weapons or standing with their arms crossed. All of them radiated with murderousness. None of them could be trifled with

    Li Qingshan stopped in the centre boldly. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±

    ¡°How bold of you!¡± A large, bearded man in armour gripped his sword firmly. He widened his eyes and bellowed thunderously.

    Li Qingshan bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you for your praise.¡±

    The bearded man took a step forward. Li Liehuo waved his hand and squinted his eyes, asking, ¡°I heard you¡¯ve taken the Xuanming dwelling already?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Li Qingshan carefully observed Li Liehuo¡¯s expression, and to his satisfaction, he found a smear of anger.

    ¡°Impressive!¡± Li Liehuo ground his teeth. When he received this news that day, he was in disbelief as well. A Yin Soul cultivator, an inner disciple, had actually achieved what he could not. He suspected Li Qingshan had established some kind of deal with Ao Xuan, but if that were the case, Ao Xuan would have never given him everything he possessed.

    The reason for his success left him puzzled. As for the only possibility, he did not even bring himself to consider it, which was Li Qingshan completely subduing Ao Xuan through force.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s just a pity that you¡¯re not in the Myriad sect, senior brother. Senior brother Le is holding an auction for me. There might be arcane treasures you¡¯re interested in!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled widely. Since they had already fallen out, there was no need to pose around. If he was willing to stand down submissively, perhaps he would have spared him, but compared to that, he was better off just defecting to the Demon domain and joining Demon God Qiongqi. Then he could return with an army of demonfolk to destroy Black Cloud city.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    Li Liehuo suddenly began laughing aloud. His voice reverberated through the room as waves of heat radiated from him, immediately purging the coldness.

    ¡°Very good! Impressive courage! Impressive ability! I have a mission for you right now. Are you bold enough to accept it?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Li Qingshan said calmly. If it was a blessing, then it was not a curse. If it was a curse, then it would be unavoidable. Since he was bold enough to come, he should have been expecting this a long time ago.

    ¡°There is no jesting in war! Li Qingshan, prepare for your orders!¡± Li Liehuo¡¯s eyes lit up like embers in coals. He pointed at the dark region on the map behind him and said, ¡°I want you to project your Yin Soul and investigate the situation here!¡±

    The order was extremely dangerous. The most critical part of projecting out a Yin Soul was to take care of the body properly. In this environment filled with hostility, which cultivator would just leave their body behind? If Li Qingshan refused, then that would be defying orders, and he would definitely be humiliated.

    Neither accepting or denying the order would work out. Accepting the order would be a blow to his disposition, a direct setback to his constant valiant advance. His cultivation would definitely be severely affected. However, if he defied the order, it would lead to even more trouble. Talking back to a senior brother in the Myriad sect and making trouble in the army were two completely different matters.

    Here, Li Liehuo represented the order and law of the army, as well as the entire Human realm¡¯s efforts against the Demon domain. Before such a great cause, he had to stand down no matter how great he was. If he were to resist even in the slightest, he would be a traitor.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the order without any hesitation. Even if he projected his Yin Soul, he would not be leaving behind an empty husk. No matter what was there, his Yin Soul would only be destroyed at most. He could still recover from that if he had a bit of time.

    He was certain Li Liehuo would never make an attempt to destroy his body either. With this bastard¡¯s personality and path of cultivation, even if he wanted to mess with him, he would do so openly. He would not use these underhanded tactics.

    But of course, if it were not for this confidence, he would have never been able to accept this order either. That was the bottom line of all cultivators. It was a so-called counterplan.

    Li Liehuo was very surprised. He had never expected him to agree so happily.

 Chapter 1434

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1434 ¨C Together

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯m off to prepare, senior brother!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands and was about to leave.

    Li Liehuo suddenly asked, ¡°What are you carrying on your back?¡±

    All of the cultivators had been wondering about that. The basket was woven from regular rattan, so it definitely was not some kind of weapon or arcane treasure. If it were an item, couldn¡¯t he place it in his sumeru ring? Yet they were unable to detect any living aura from it.

    ¡°Treasure,¡± Li Qingshan answered just like before.

    Li Liehuo was not as agreeable as Ge Xing. ¡°Open it and show us!¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Is this also a military order?¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Li Liehuo said bluntly.

    Li Qingshan placed down the basket and opened it slowly. All of the gazes gathered over, but all they saw was a skeleton curled up within the basket, which left them disappointed. What kind of a treasure was this?

    That was indeed Li Qingshan¡¯s treasure, as well as the only person he would carry on his back willingly.

    Since he was bold enough to come, he had already prepared for the worst, which was downright falling out with Li Liehuo. Whether he was the army captain or the first senior brother, blood would splash five paces away under the rage of a common person. He was prepared to reveal his true form as a daemon. Whether it was the army of a million or the Myriad sect, all of it would be useless. A split second was enough to determine life and death. She could deal that lethal strike in that time.

    However, since Li Liehuo had only given him a dangerous and difficult mission to make things hard for him, there was no need for him to act in such a hurry. A mission that was extremely dangerous to others could only be considered as easy as cake to him. Moreover, the fastest way to earn contribution and become a direct disciple was to make contributions in the army.

    In order to encourage disciples to participate in the war, the Myriad sect had offered an extremely great reward, especially when it came to the contribution. It was something that no one could write off.

    That was why Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao who strived towards the position of first senior were active on the battlefield, completely shaking off the third senior sister Dai Mengfan. She did not even have the right to contend with them. In the past, Lin Xuan had led several expeditions in the Demon domain too, killing multiple Demon Sovereigns in battle, which allowed him to become the first senior brother.

    The direct disciples were afraid that Li Qingshan was progressing too quickly in the Hundred Herbs garden, so they had forced him onto the Demon domain battlefield. It was basically like setting a tiger free. Let alone becoming a direct disciple, even ending up as the first senior brother might not be impossible. By then, it would be quite interesting to see how Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao, these two haughty, half-assed first seniors, would respond.

    Li Liehuo felt irritated, but there was nothing he could say. He could always find an excuse to make things difficult for Li Qingshan out of malice, but that went against his personality and his path. He was someone who wanted to become the first senior brother of the Myriad sect. He could kill people with his fists and overwhelm people with his influence, but he could not be too dirty.

    Li Qingshan put the basket on his back again and left through the door under everyone¡¯s watch.

    ¡°Senior brother!¡± The bearded man stepped forward, and his armour clinked. ¡°This kid is far too rude. I¡¯ll go butcher him right now!¡±

    ¡°Our Myriad sect is not a demonic sect. That¡¯s not something we do. Since he accepts my orders, leave him be!¡±

    As for destroying Li Qingshan¡¯s body while his Yin Soul had been projected, he had not even considered that. Against an enemy that possessed lower status and lower cultivation than him, if he still had to take advantage of his disadvantageous situation to deal an underhanded strike, then there was no point in practising his Heavenly Tome of Scorching Fire anymore. There was no need for him to become the first senior brother either.

    The Demon domain rapidly spread through the trichiliocosm. Their conflicts with the Human realm were becoming much more frequent and much more intense. Even Demon Sovereigns and Human Sovereigns struggled to move about freely, where they were in danger of dying once they entered battle.

    The laws of the world from the Human realm and the Demon domain overlapped and were chaotic at the boundaries, which led to further suppression of a cultivator¡¯s strength and techniques. There was nothing strange even when powerful cultivators died to the hands of regular demonfolk.

    The bearded man spat, ¡°Ptui. This kid has only just arrived. He¡¯s seen nothing. He doesn¡¯t even know what a war is. I¡¯d like to see just how long he can strut around like that for.¡±

    Everyone agreed with that and cursed away.

    ¡°That kid is like a girl. He better not faint when he sees dead people strewn everywhere!¡±

    ¡°He just got a little lucky. When I ripped apart a Demon Emperor with my bare hands, who knew where he was, sucking on his mother¡¯s teat¡­¡±

    ¡°You only managed to tear a Demon Emperor apart with your bare hands because of my Mountain Splitter!¡±

    As they went on, it devolved into a boast of military achievements. It was unavoidable. When these people gathered together and had no official business, this was basically guaranteed. If they could hold it in, it would be an extraordinary demonstration of self-control already.

    They were all experienced on the battlefield, having killed their way through corpse mountains and seas of blood. They possessed a natural sense of superiority towards regular cultivators. Even if we have the same cultivation. I can kill you with ease, so of course, I¡¯ll look down on you.

    On top of that, Li Qingshan had only joined the Myriad sect recently before becoming an inner disciple, occupying the Xuanming dwelling and obtaining the tremendous amount of resources that Lin Xuan had left behind. Who knew how many dangers they had been through to reach where they were, yet they never had a dwelling that was up to standard, nor did they ever have enough resources, so how could they not feel envious?

    Li Qingshan emerged from the Scorching Fire hall. The snow fell like before, and the mountains were unchanged. The voices from behind him were like the buzzing of flies. He grinned and forgot about these ¡°people of success¡±.

    As for the other aspects, Li Liehuo had still given him the treatment he deserved as an inner disciple. He was allocated a towering, grey, stone tower that could overlook all of Black Cloud city as his place of cultivation.

    Black Cloud city had several towers like this, extending towards the sky like grey swords, wrapping around the mountain peak¡ªa strangely-shaped metal tower that poked into the clouds. That was the core to the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder¡ªthe Lightning Rod tower.

    His tower was endowed with the most basic formation, but its primary function was to gather spiritual qi. As a foundation point of the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder, it possessed a certain level of defence, but it primarily just kept the cold out.

    Li Qingshan made his way to the top of the tower. The wind and snow howled outside, yet it was warm like spring inside. However, it was completely empty. Everyone who could stay in this tower possessed sumeru rings, and they would bring things with them.

    Li Qingshan had prepared a little as well. At the very least, he had ample meat and alcohol. However, he was not in a hurry to arrange the room. Instead, he placed down his basket first and bent down to open it again.

    A pair of straight, snowy-white arms extended out, wrapping around his neck. The empty eye sockets turned into limpid eyes, while the white teeth became covered up by red lips, smiling away gently. Her body spread out like a wutong tree as skin covered the white bones, having turned into a great beauty already.

    ¡°We can kill that Li Liehuo.¡±

    In a direct confrontation, even when they worked together, the odds would be against them. That was completely impossible in Black Cloud city too. As the captain of an army, Li Liehuo could control the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder.

    However, it would be completely different in a struggle to the death. Li Qingshan only needed to unleash the Force Field of the Earth through the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens and immobilise Li Liehuo for an instant, and Xiao An would be able to launch her strike. By then, Li Liehuo would probably be dead. He would not even be able to respond in time. The Buddha Slaying sword was not a weapon that he could simply shrug off.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Of course. Who can¡¯t we kill? However, now is still not the time, so leave him be. I¡¯ll be paying a visit to the Demon domain sooner or later, so it¡¯s a perfect opportunity for me to investigate the situation. At the very least, I need to know how to get to Qingqi mountain!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Xiao An embraced him firmly.

    Li Qingshan could sense her mood. After going through many difficulties and several partings, the two of them were together again.

    No matter how dangerous the path ahead was, as long as he was with her, it would be like home.

    In the Scorching Fire hall, everyone was dismissed, only leaving behind Li Liehuo. Suddenly, he felt a chill, and his hairs stood on end. He looked back at the black shadow on the map and wondered, Don¡¯t tell me the Demon domain is launching another large-scale invasion?

 Chapter 1435

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1435 ¨C Pure Land

    Li Qingshan projected out his Yin Soul and dove into the ground, passing through the mountains and landing on the snowy-white tundra gently. It was truly an icebound land filled with snow as far as he could see. There was no end to it, which gave him a sense of insignificance. Even with all of his abilities, he was like a splash in the ocean compared to the world.

    Thinking up to there, he began to sing loudly, ¡°Snow-clad mountains like silver snakes dancing through them, putting a challenge in with the heavens!¡±

    Clap, clap, clap!

    A series of applause suddenly rang out, surprising Li Qingshan. He did not sense any aura at all. ¡°Who is it!?¡±

    A woman made her way over from a snowy hill nearby. She was dressed in black armour and carried a long, asura blade¡ªcold and sharp. In this world of white, her black clothes were particularly dazzling, yet she happened to have a ¡°black rabbit¡± sitting on her shoulder. She was the first senior sister, Chao Tianjiao.

    As if she had just been through a bloody slaughter, her presence was much more powerful than back then in the Myriad sect, yet Li Qingshan had failed to notice her despite being so close. The intense contrast was very difficult to adjust to.

    ¡°What a ¡®putting a challenge in with the heavens¡¯, but I think it¡¯s more like a tiger having left his place of safety, now harassed by a dog!¡±

    ¡°Have you been especially waiting for me here, senior sister?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. Chao Tianjiao really did have a grudge with Li Liehuo. She would rather acknowledge him as a tiger just so she could degrade Li Liehuo as a dog.

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that I¡¯ve come to kill you?¡± Chao Tianjiao smiled murderously, gently sweeping her fringe.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you plan on taking advantage of me while I¡¯m vulnerable?¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re on your own. You better not die so easily. We still have a duel to the death in thirty years¡¯ time!¡±

    The cold snort shook up Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul. The words ¡°you¡¯re on your own¡± still echoed through the tundra, but she had already shot over his head, vanishing into the mountains.

    Li Qingshan did not dare to be careless. He had not undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation after all. Compared to Human Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns, there was still a gap in strength, especially when he was just a Yin Soul. He basically could not offer any resistance at all.

    His Yin Soul was a Yin Demon in nature and could be refined against if it was destroyed, but that was equivalent to losing all of his progress with a transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. It would take a lot of time and energy to recover, so it would be best if he avoided any losses.

    As a result, he used the Divine Movement of the Five Elements and the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique, turning invisible and making his way in secretively.

    A while later, an invisible power appeared out of thin air and ¡°weighed¡± down on Li Qingshan¡¯s body, almost interrupting his movement technique. He had been prepared for this, so he knew it was not some technique from any enemies.

    This is the boundary between the Human realm and the Demon domain. The laws of the world are overlapped and chaotic, not only limiting the power of techniques, but even making them difficult to control too! It really is quite troublesome!

    If it was only limiting the power, then all he had to do was adjust. The issue was the ¡°chaos¡±. For example, a technique could vary in power depending on where and when it was cast. The power behind a punch differed drastically as well. Sometimes, it could be too much and cost him his balance, yet it was also possible to be too little and pose no threat at all.

    The stronger the physique and the higher the cultivation, the more obvious it was.

    In particular, movement techniques that needed to be maintained or cast repetitively were most affected, so Li Qingshan was forced to carefully adjust. However, he discovered very soon that the laws of the Demon domain did not seem to reject him. This situation was very different from the records.

    It was extremely dangerous for a cultivator to enter the Demon domain, not just because the demonfolk and demonic beasts were diabolical, but because they faced the rejection of the laws of the Demon domain as well. Under these circumstances, they could not even rival demonfolk of similar cultivation. As time went on, it was even possible to develop inner demons and suffer from cultivation deviation.

    If regular soldiers were contaminated with demon qi, they would be gradually converted into demonfolk, so even armies struggled to advance too deeply. That left cultivators even more helpless, forced to face the endless demonfolk army with a small minority of people, so the situation was obviously extremely dangerous.

    However, Li Qingshan did not experience any rejection from the Demon domain. He had no idea why either. It was probably related to the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Was the Yin Demon a demonfolk as well?

    His inner demons did become rather restless. His various emotions and desires intensified, but they were all resources for practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so it was instead joyous news.

    As a result, he only needed to adjust to the strange laws of the world here¡ªthat was enough. If he passed through the boundary and entered the Demon domain, perhaps it would be a form of release instead.

    Heh, I¡¯ve really made the correct decision to come this time! Hmm? What¡¯s that?

    There was a flash of light on the horizon. A while later, there was another flash. It was slow and steady.

    Li Qingshan thought of a good idea. He held his breath and gathered his focus, approaching the light slowly. All he saw was a monk walking through the snowy tundra with bare feet in the wind. His red face was filled with devotion as he chanted ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha¡±, bowing with every three steps and prostrating on the ground. A halo of buddhist light surged from behind his head, shooting through the surroundings rapidly and dispersing the demon qi slightly. The laws of the world from the Human realm gained a slight upper hand over the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan understood what was going on. So it¡¯s a monk of the pure land school, and one who has attained the second fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi too!

    The Demon domain was different from the Hungry Ghost realm. It did not expand through its own powers but through the accumulation of power and remains of several generations of demonfolk. If land contaminated by demon qi was not handled appropriately, the Demon domain would expand and the laws of the world would extend. If it reached Black Wind city, then it was only a matter of time before the city fell.

    Find the original at h*sted novel.

    As a result, there was a monk from the Pure Land temple in every city responsible for purifying the land. Black Wind city had one, and it was even a sizable Pure Land temple. The people who watched over the temples as abbots were usually monks that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation and attained the second fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi. Their status was equal to the army captains or even higher. The one right in front of him was clearly one.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him from afar and felt like monks were unlucky, so he wanted to continue on his way. Suddenly, a streak of light struck his body. It was not harmful, but it did make his back heat up. Killing intent erupted in his heart, tempting him to butcher this monk.

    He was surprised. What was going on? Even when he faced Chao Tianjiao earlier, he did not feel that, let alone a monk he had no grievances with. He probably stood no chance either!

    The monk currently prostrated on the ground. He sensed something and abruptly raised his hand, calling out, ¡°Which demon is spying on me? Show yourself immediately!¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered; his movement technique collapsed, revealing his figure. The sense of malice grew heavier.

    The monk¡¯s face was sunken. He brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name loudly, ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha!¡±

    Li Qingshan was very tempted to ask him, Is this really all you monks do? The towering figure of a buddha appeared behind the monk, sitting high up on glowing clouds and gazing down on him compassionately.

    Li Qingshan could not help but recall the feeling he had when he faced the great buddha from the Chan Monastery of Deva-N¨¡ga many years ago. His entire body grew numb, becoming powerless. He felt the urge to drop to his knees and prostrate on the ground.

    His back grew even hotter, scorching like fire. He was filled with killing intent. A thought flashed through his head, Damn it, this is probably still because of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Sure enough, nothing good can come out of monks!

    At the same time, in Black Cloud city, the image of Mahe?vara on Li Qingshan¡¯s back grew clearer.

 Chapter 1436

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1436 ¨C Black Sun

    The abbot of the Pure Land temple in Black Wind city was the Upraised Light monk. He was referred to respectfully as the Upraised Light master or the Upraised Light abbot. He was currently taking advantage of the harsh winter to use the methods of the pure land school to purify the land contaminated by demonfolk when he suddenly felt a hint of killing intent. Looking up, he saw a pitch-black face of wrath, which made him shiver inside.

    During the process of purifying the land, it was all too common for demonfolk to ambush, sneak up on, or surround him, but this face was different from all the demonfolk he had seen in the past.

    It was filled with anger and killing intent, but¡­ it was not wicked!?

    The feeling was basically bizarre. Demonfolk were born wicked. There was no dispute about that. They were capable of anything, no matter how heartless it was, and they viewed monks with utter hatred. Perhaps there were many bad people among monks, but there definitely would not be a single good person among demonfolk.

    However, his eyes were different. Ever since he underwent the fifth heavenly tribulation and attained the fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi, he had achieved complete mastery over the Heavenly Eye knowledge, and he could easily see through truth, lies, and intentions. He used it instinctively now, yet he was actually making an error in judgement!

    He must have been making an error in judgement!

    He was at the boundary of the Demon domain, so he could not bother with all of this anymore. Chanting the buddha¡¯s name loudly, he launched a Buddha¡¯s Palm Subdues the Demon towards the demonfolk.

    The huge, golden palm blotted out the sky and filled Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. Hymns and chanting flooded in from the surroundings as all the snowflakes in the air collapsed.

    Li Qingshan was immobilised, like a mouse that had met its natural predator. Anger rose up inside him. This monk is trying to kill me without even trying to understand what¡¯s going on! He really deserves to die!

    He immediately lost control over the killing intent. The Yin Demon swelled up. Its teeth protruded from its mouth as its face twisted in anger with the upper half of its body bare. It no longer bore any resemblance to Li Qingshan, resembling the image of Mahe?vara instead. Its arms rippled with muscle as it punched out at the palm!

    Boom!

    The earth quaked; the frozen earth shattered.

    The palm gradually faded away, leaving behind a huge handprint in the ground.

    The Upraised Light looked over with a frown. Two red specks had appeared on his palm, while the demon was already gone. It had stopped him momentarily and fled during that time.

    It probably was not a Demon Sovereign, but could a Demon Emperor block a palm strike of his? Its appearance earlier was far too familiar too. It seemed to be the terrifying form of the lord of the Desire realm.

    He was a demon among demons, but he was also a god of buddhism. Even the twelve Demon Gods paled in comparison to him. There was no reason for his disciples and grand disciples to fall so low that they ended up in the Demon domain. If a demonfolk managed to inherit his will, they definitely would be a figure of some renown. The Human realm had probably gained another powerful enemy.

    He used the Heavenly Eye knowledge and gazed off into the distance, but his gaze was unable to penetrate the dark Demon domain looming with demon qi. He was very tempted to nip him in the bud, but he was also afraid it was a trap, so he simply gave up on it after some thought.

    A while later, the sky in the Demon domain began to churn as if it verified his thoughts. An indomitable black figure suddenly appeared, leaving him shocked. Was it one of the Heretic Gods? But it felt unlikely, or there was no need to try and lure him in at all. They could just make their way over and destroy him. The terrifying power of Heretic Gods could only be rivalled by Human Immortals.

    The moment the black figure appeared, he had already used the Divine Foot knowledge and rapidly retreated back to Black Cloud city, but he was still shaken inside.

    The Yin Demon moved through underground rapidly, making its way in the direction of the Demon domain. By now, it had already recovered its original appearance. There was a golden palmprint on Li Qingshan¡¯s chest, having been heavily injured. The palm strike had almost dispersed his Yin Demon, but it did allow him to come to his senses immediately. All of the anger and killing intent in him vanished. He only felt puzzled. What had happened just then?

    A certain external force was influencing his mind. Taking the shortcut came with a price. The divine image on his back was still a problem at the end of the day. He had to find a way to deal with it!

    At this moment, he felt his entire body lighten. He had passed through the boundary and formally entered the Demon domain.

    After all his battles with demonfolk, this was the first time he had personally entered the Demon domain, but he did not even have the time to admire the scenery.

    The black sun in the sky abruptly lit up, shining on Li Qingshan through the thick clouds and demon qi.

    The surroundings immediately responded. The gushing demon qi gathered towards Li Qingshan, forming a great swirl.

    At the centre of the swirl, demonic thoughts sprang forth in his mind, but he also felt extremely elated, like the world was with him and all prostrated towards him. The Heavenly Tome of Liberty began to circulate uncontrollably.

    Li Qingshan was familiar with this feeling. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve become a chosen child of the Demon domain?

    He had never expected this, but it also made perfect sense. He had always possessed a heavy demonic nature, and he practised the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so there was nothing strange about being favoured by the heavens.

    However, he had never considered grouping himself with demonfolk. Who knew how many demonfolk he had butchered, and he even viewed Demon God Qiongqi as a great enemy. The Demon domain should have hated him, so why did it favour him instead?

    However, the Demon domain¡¯s will seemed to be chaotic beyond all expectations.

    The fierce winds whistled, kicking up the sand and stones. The Yin Demon swelled up uncontrollably and limitless power surged into his body. The golden palmprint on his chest was soon swallowed by the darkness.

    With a wave of his hand, the sky full of wind and snow dispersed, revealing the black sun.

    Ever since he had arrived in the Human realm, it had been a very long time since he experienced such power.

    Thirty metres, three hundred metres, three thousand metres. His body continued to swell, but it was not ugly and twisted. A black sun hung over his head, mighty like a god. He had once experienced this feeling and appearance in the dream when he made his final offering to Mahe?vara. Now, the dream came true, as if it was even possible for him to directly undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation. If this continued, perhaps he could become a Demon Sovereign or maybe even more than that!

    There just happened to be no one around, and it was the dead of winter. Unless the army had marched over here and begun a new round of battle, there would be no demonfolk idling here. They would only be asking to die if they did that.

    As a result, while Li Qingshan had made a very great disturbance, he only had a single spectator, the Upraising Light abbot, and he had only caught a quick glance before retreating.

    But at this moment, a streak of black light shot out from the centre of the black sun, piercing the top of the Yin Demon¡¯s head and gathering in his chest, condensing into a miniature black sun strand by strand, inch by inch. That was a demon heart, something that Li Qingshan had once abandoned.

    This was a sight that the entire Demon domain looked towards, including the twelve paramount Demon Gods. Four words rang through their minds at the same time, The Black Sun Demon Heart!

    It was originally just a legend¡ªThe black sun would fall in the heart of the demon among demons, and the thirteenth Demon God would awaken, conquering the Demon domain and becoming its ruler¡­

    The legend was simply absurd, such that no one believed it. First of all, it was impossible for the black sun to fall. It was only a projection from beyond the Nine Heavens. There was only one demon among demons too, and how could there be a thirteenth Demon God? No one really had any interest in the position of the lord of the Demon domain anyway.

    But at this moment, the legend seemed to come true, and it really was connected to the demon among demons.

    Only on Qingqi mountain did Demon God Qiongqi smile. ¡°Is it that kid? He sure has made me wait! It¡¯s no wonder that the Blood Oath of the Nether River managed to get established. He¡¯s actually capable of putting up a fight! Come then! Let me take your Black Sun Demon Heart and become the ruler of the Demon domain!¡±

    In the wind, Li Qingshan seemed to hear a vague calling, ¡°Come, my beloved son, my proud son. I have waited long enough for you¡­¡± It seemed to originate from the black sun in his heart and in the sky.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Li Qingshan raised his head and asked.

    ¡°Go, my beloved son, my proud son! Go and become the ruler!¡± The wind urged in his ear.

    ¡°Fucking hell, are you done yet? Fuck being your beloved son, I¡¯m your daddy!¡±

    Li Qingshan was furious. He utterly hated being imbued with another person¡¯s will against his will. Mahe?vara had caused him enough irritation, and now, there was some strange will of the heavens as well.

    He plunged his hands into his chest and tugged forcefully, ripping it out violently! He dug out the black sun and stomped it under his feet viciously.

    ¡°My fate lies with me, not with the heavens!¡±

 Chapter 1437

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1437 ¨C Demon Sovereign

    The Yin Demon that was mighty like a god rapidly shrank like it had deflated. The black sun under his feet stopped glowing and rolled past Li Qingshan who had returned to normal.

    The Yin Demon fell on the ground, almost on the verge of collapsing, but his gaze was still proud. He grabbed the demon heart that resembled black glass marble and wanted to throw it far away, but he still decided to keep it after some thought.

    This item was condensed with a terrifying amount of power. Even the dragon pearl he had obtained from Lin Xuan¡¯s corpse came nowhere close.

    And the greatest difference was as long as he wanted to, he could merge with the power at any time and become a Demon Sovereign at the very least.

    Basically no one could resist the temptation of absolute power. It did not require any effort, and he could easily change everything. As long as he let his guard down for a split second, he could kill his way back to Black Cloud city, killing that glowing monk first before blasting that annoying Li Liehuo to pieces, and then fucking the arrogant Chao Tianjiao as many times as he wanted to.

    Demon God Qiongqi was still a threat, but as long as he accepted this power, the sixth and seventh heavenly tribulations would all be within his reach, so what was there still to fear?

    All of his desires could be satisfied, and all of his fears would be resolved. Just who could resist something as great as that?

    However, Li Qingshan basically did not even budge. Without any hesitation, he used everything he had to dig out the demon heart.

    That was because many years ago, someone had given him a similar choice. Back then, he had nothing at all. He only needed to nod, and he would obtain the entirety of the nine provinces, yet he chose to set off on his own path in the end, a path that was extraordinarily dangerous but also extraordinarily fascinating. From that moment onwards, he never hesitated over such choices again. This was a part of his pride.

    ¡°I will come and take whatever I want myself.¡±

    He climbed up and continued onwards against the wind and snow.

    At the same time, in Black Wind city.

    Green vines climbed over the tall, cold stone tower, blooming with flowers, which attracted a lot of attention. They all gestured at it and discussed away.

    Li Liehuo gazed up and snorted coldly. The kid is not leaving the city for the mission and stirring up some other fuss instead.

    That was the effects of Li Qingshan using the qilin¡¯s ability, the Cycle of Life and Growth, at a critical moment, using the path to nature to pacify the restless inner demons.

    It was even more lush within the tower that was as warm as spring, blooming with flowers and verdant plants.

    Xiao An asked in concern, ¡°Qingshan?¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and explained what had happened.

    ¡°Qingshan, you must not accept it, or it¡¯s very likely for your Yin Demon to completely break free from your control and run wild, becoming a great monster that¡¯s merged with the divine will of Mahe?vara, your memories and thoughts, and the will of the Demon domain. Not only is there no benefit to you, but it¡¯s very likely for it to affect you instead.¡±

    Li Qingshan sat between the lush plants and smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that foolish.¡± He plucked an unknown red flower and placed it behind Xiao An¡¯s ear. ¡°I will always be the same Li Qingshan in your eyes.¡±

    Xiao An lowered her head like she was embarrassed. She said gently, ¡°As long as you¡¯re yourself.¡±

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t have you watching over me, I¡¯d probably be extremely brutal and vicious right now.¡±

    In the beginning, he just wanted to serve as a good role model for her and not raise her incorrectly, but it seemed to be useless in the end. Instead, he had benefited from contact with her.

    ¡­¡­

    Under the glow of the black sun, the vast tundra was interrupted by a great mountain. The winds whistled between the valley. A fortress stood there, opposing Black Cloud city in the distance.

    Compared to the exquisite design of Black Cloud city, this place seemed extremely crude and simple. The entire place was littered with corpses and blood trickled away like streams. Howls rose and fell, constantly echoing through the valley.

    Terrifying slashes criss-crossed basically every corner of the fortress.

    Just recently, a woman had barged into the fortress with a black-furred hou, carrying out a massacre.

    Demonfolk were usually the ones on the offence, and this place was located deep within the Demon domain, so they did not place much emphasis on defence. They obviously did not have a protective formation like the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder. There was an army stationed here, but mobilising it required time.

    They were completely unable to respond to the sudden attack. The Demon Sovereign watching this place had been split in half in a single stroke.

    ¡°Trash, you¡¯re all trash!¡±

    A huge, vicious beast covered in wounds roared as it crushed countless demonfolk that were unable to dodge under its feet.

    A while later, it transformed into an ugly, twisted man who gasped for air. An extremely eye-catching wound ran down his forehead, reaching his crotch. His eyes were still filled with fear. If he had not been in the Demon domain, but in the battlefield up ahead or beneath Black Cloud city, he would have died already.

    Fortunately, he had demonified immediately, using his colossal, tenacious physique to endure the damage and buy time, lasting until the woman ran out of momentum and proactively retreated. That was the only reason why he had survived.

    However, he had still almost been forced into demonifying completely, turning into a demonic beast. It took a while of killing and venting before he managed to pacify his violent demon heart slightly.

    He ground his teeth. ¡°Chao Tianjiao.¡±

    Thousands of tortures and countless scenes of abuse flashed through his head, igniting a ruthless desire. However, his imperial palace had already been reduced to ruins, and most of the female demons he enjoyed had been crushed in there.

    With a swivel of his black eyes, he casually grabbed a female demonic beast and threw himself on it.

    The demonic beast struggled and wailed as bolder demonfolk gathered over to cheer him on, praising his masculinity. Before long, they had formed a sizable audience, and their voices rose and fell, echoing through the valley and drowning out the howls. They actually recovered some of their morale.

    The bizarreness of the Demon domain and the twistedness of demonfolk would always be unimaginable.

    At this moment, the black sun in the sky abruptly lit up, shooting a streak of black light towards the tundra in the distance. It did not last for very long.

    Everyone and everything raised their heads. Even though not all of them had heard about the legend of the Black Sun Demon Heart, they were all dazed. They felt a strong urge to go to where the light had fallen.

    That applied to the Demon Sovereign who was going at the demonic beast in particular. He had heard of the legend of the Black Sun Demon heart before. He was extremely tempted.

    Those that were chosen by the heavens in the Demon domain were known as demonic seeds. The birth of every demonic seed would lead to a slaughter among the demonfolk nearby, and the Black Sun Demon Heart was enough to drive the entire Demon domain into a frenzy.

    There was another interpretation to the demon among demons, which was the demonic seed among demonic seeds. Anyone who devoured the demonic seed would become the thirteenth Demon God, or even the ruler of the Demon domain, the king among Demon Gods.

    This was a heaven-sent opportunity. There were no other Demon Sovereigns closer than him. Even if it was possible to see the phenomenon from elsewhere in the Demon domain, it would be difficult to locate where the black sun had fallen. Was this his moment?

    If it were not for the fear left behind by Chao Tianjiao¡¯s attack at work, he probably would have rushed over uncontrollably already.

    Right when he was about to give into his urges, a cold, dignified voice rang out.

    ¡°Tu Wancheng!¡±

    A black, rhombus-shaped crystal rose up in the ruins slowly, hovering in the valley. It reflected a pale-white face without any features.

    ¡°Faceless Heretic God, what are your orders?¡±

    The Demon Sovereign immediately became humble, sucking up to him like he was the lowliest demonfolk.

    The Faceless Heretic God completely ignored the fortress that was in ruins. He only asked a single question, ¡°Did you see it?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Demon Sovereign shivered.

    ¡°Clean this place up. Don¡¯t let any news of this leak out. As for you, don¡¯t act carelessly.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Demon Sovereign was covered in cold sweat. He understood what tidying this place up meant. In order to stop any news of this from leaking out, all of the demonfolk that had witnessed the position where the black sun fell had to die.

    There was an army of two hundred thousand demonfolk stationed here, including several Demon Emperors and several dozen Demon Kings. They were also like colossal beasts. Chao Tianjiao¡¯s risky sneak attack this time was primarily to assassinate the Demon Sovereign Tu Wancheng, so the damage she had actually caused was very little.

    But now, because of that order, all of them had to die, and it had to be the commander that carried out this execution.

    The expressions of the Demon Emperors changed drastically. They powered their demon hearts and fled as quickly as they could. All of the Demon Kings demonified and made use of the chaos to flee. Most of them fled in the direction of the black sun.

    Before Tu Wancheng could do anything, the demon hearts of all the Demon Emperors and Demon Kings exploded together.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom¡­ Like a series of claps of thunder, it directly claimed the lives of over ten thousand demonfolk. Large chunks of the valley collapsed, reducing the entire fortress to ruins.

    The Faceless Heretic God said with ease, ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you. Think things through. Don¡¯t act carelessly.¡±

    Tu Wancheng shivered all over. He understood the reason why he had not been cleansed as well was definitely not because he was a Demon Sovereign, but because he was experienced in this war zone. In particular, he understood the situation of Black Cloud city.

    Then he felt excited. Black Cloud city would be done for this time, and perhaps he really would have an opportunity to make his fantasies come true, to capture that bitch Chao Tianjiao and make her suffer a fate worse than death.

    Thinking up to there, Tu Wancheng turned back into a colossal beast, and the howls began to ring out once more.

    The Faceless Heretic God watched all of this silently.

 Chapter 1438

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1438 ¨C Man and Woman

    ¡°Slut! Bitch! Whore!¡± A furious man cursed with the most vicious words he could find.

    ¡°My small fool.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was gentle and doting, like she was gently stroking the man¡¯s cheek. ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking? I am the worm in your belly. You want to cross through the boundary of the Demon domain and return to the Human realm, hopefully through that Black Cloud city. With that, perhaps you can directly return to the Myriad sect.¡±

    ¡°Let me return, or I¡¯ll make you perish with me!¡± The man¡¯s voice turned cold all of a sudden. This was definitely not just a threat.

    ¡°Alright, alright, alright! If you want to go back, then go back! We¡¯re joined together and inseparable. Am I still supposed to make things difficult for you?¡± the woman said obediently before she continued, ¡°I can kill a few Myriad sect disciples in the meantime, so you¡¯ll finally give up on that thought.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll never let you succeed!¡± The man¡¯s voice was firm, but there was a hint of fear.

    ¡°Do you think you can stop me?¡±

    ¡°Slut! Bitch! Whore!¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha! Huhuhuhu! Hehehehe!¡±

    On the black wasteland buffeted by winds, a figure slowly appeared on the horizon. The ragged cloaks woven from coarse cloth danced madly in the wind with only half a face exposed under their hat, constantly muttering to themselves with two different voices and two different expressions, one woman and one man.

    Just like playing chess against himself, all plans and schemes would constantly compound against each other, continuing until it formed a dead knot, descending into complete chaos, turning into hysterical swearing.

    The man was furious. The woman took pleasure in all of this.

    I definitely, definitely have to separate from her, even if it¡¯s just a Yang Soul, even if I leave this body of a dragon to this bitch!

    The man¡¯s thoughts made him seem like a husband who had been almost driven mad by his wife, wanting a divorce even if he was left with nothing. Even his thoughts of revenge had basically been worn away.

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape, you can¡¯t escape, you can¡¯t escape¡­¡±

    The woman repeated again and again, like a resentful wife, enjoying the revenge to her heart¡¯s content, finding unprecedented delight.

    This was not just for the sake of power. The man had once proposed countless methods of compromise that would be beneficial to both of them, and there really had not been any schemes either. After all, they could not deceive each other. An extremely great risk existed in this twisted state, even to her.

    However, she could not even bring herself to agree just to fool with him. This was the only guest in her hell, so how could she let him go? Even if they perished together.

    They suddenly stopped and raised their heads, revealing a handsome, androgynous face. A rhombus was embedded in their forehead, shining with seven colours and reflecting the streak of black light that descended from the sky and vanished into the horizon.

    ¡°That seems¡­ to be in the direction of Black Cloud city!¡± The man was extremely shocked. He seemed to have heard of a legend similar to this in one of the demonfolk settlements.

    ¡°Will she be there?¡± the woman murmured. Perhaps that was the true reason why she allowed him to move off in the direction of Black Wind city.

    ¡°You bitch, do you want to die that badly?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, if I die, you won¡¯t be able to live either.¡±

    And another argument followed.

    Hanging from their waist was the Immortal Relinquished sword that had witnessed all of this. Never had he felt so normal before.

    He could not help but miss its past master slightly, even when she had abandoned him as well. However, he did not blame her at all, as he knew she had not done so out of disgust, but purely because it was a logical decision to make.

    However, leaving him with a madman like this was still her fault.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan was still unaware of just how great of a disturbance he had caused. He had studied a lot of information in the past, so he knew there were many demonic seeds in the Demon domain, but most of them perished as soon as they were born. He fiddled around with the black glass marble again before placing it in his sumeru ring.

    ¡°It¡¯s no wonder why demonfolk would fight madly over something like this. The benefits are far too great. Heh, I won¡¯t let anyone steal this Black Sun Demon Heart! This is perfect. I¡¯ll kill whatever that comes my way and feed them to Xiao An.¡±

    He was completely ignorant about the legend of the Demon domain, but he still ended up calling it the Black Sun according to the phenomenon when the demon heart condensed, or perhaps it was due to the intangible will of the heavens. However, he never expected the entire expanse of the Demon domain to witness the fall of the black sun and that the demonfolk that wanted the Black Sun Demon Heart even included the twelve Demon Gods.

    One of the reasons why the Demon Gods did not make their way over immediately was to fend off the Desireless Heavenly palace, so they could not act recklessly. More importantly, they were afraid of internal strife. Their chaotic and wicked natures made it very difficult for them to come to an agreement. They had only resorted to an alliance under their mutual interests and threats.

    If they truly believed the Black Sun Demon Heart could allow them to become the lord of the Demon domain, then they would be no different from the regular demonfolk that fought over demonic seeds. An extremely horrific struggle would definitely erupt, and the entire Demon domain would fracture.

    If the Desireless Heavenly Palace launched a full-scale assault then, they would have to regurgitate everything they had swallowed. They would not recover even in ten thousand years. Once the Demon domain shrank in overall size, it would not be able to sustain twelve Demon Gods anymore. Someone would have to go.

    After all, a legend was just a legend. There were many, many legends in the Demon domain. Even if a small fraction of them came true every now and then, it was not worth forsaking the bigger picture. They would even have to risk their lives in the process, so it was far too foolish.

    However, if they could get their hands on it secretly somehow, they would never let the opportunity slip by. The Demon domain only needed to shift its expanding momentum in a different direction. Regardless of whether they could find the Black Sun Demon Heart, they needed to eliminate Black Cloud city anyway, so it was merely bringing their plans forward a little.

    Secretly, several dozen Demon Sovereigns and an army of millions had been mobilised.

    Right before a storm, it would always be unusually calm.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul roamed through the Demon domain easily. Perhaps because he had rejected the Black Sun Demon Heart, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty circulated even more smoothly. It was not a direct conversion into power, but the path ahead of him had become clearer.

    As it seemed, this heavenly tome was truly suited for him. He basically encountered no bottlenecks as he practised it.

    However, it was not completely devoid of downsides either. The figure of Mahe?vara on his back had become even more life-like and vivid. He wondered whether it would actually turn into a moving image at this rate. He traversed through the tundra as he contemplated how he would deal with this problem. He could not help but think of the glowing monk from the pure land school.

    He asked Xiao An, ¡°The figure of Mahe?vara seemed to have a very violent response to that monk¡¯s techniques. I wonder why. Mahe?vara was subdued by the buddha. Can I borrow his power as well to use the buddha to subdue the demon?¡±

    Xiao An nodded. ¡°It¡¯s worth a try. The method of cultivation of the Pure Land sect is to utter the buddha¡¯s name. They hope to venture to the western pure land Sukh¨¡vat¨© after death, which is why they¡¯re called the Pure Land sect. They use chanting as their inner driving force and the power of belief of the buddha as the external driving force, complementing each other and extending to the pure land¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°Can you put it in simpler terms?¡±

    Xiao An smiled. ¡°The buddha swore a compassionate vow to bring salvation to all living things through the buddhist dharma. That wasn¡¯t just for say. Even for common people, as long as they sincerely chant the buddha¡¯s name, they can avoid the cycle of rebirth and end up in the western pure land of bliss. That is probably the teachings of the Pure Land sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan expressed his doubt, ¡°Is the western pure land Sukh¨¡vat¨© really that great?¡± He was suspicious about everything that came too easily. There was no free lunch. The only thing that would fall into your lap was a mess.

    Xiao An smiled. ¡°Ascetics are forbidden from lying. Do you really think the buddha lies? The promise of paradise is definitely not an empty one.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°If you can find paradise just by uttering a few words, then why would you still go to such great lengths to cultivate? Even the schools of chan require understanding your true self, while the schools of esoteric buddhism require constant rebirth, which cannot be achieved without great wisdom and great willpower. None of them have it as easy as the Pure Land sect, where they can become buddhas even without hard work!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the exact reason why the Pure Land sect is the greatest sect of buddhism in the world. Their followers surpass all other schools and sects, and their abilities and techniques don¡¯t pale in comparison either. They¡¯re most skilled in borrowing power from the buddha, which possesses wonders that other sects aren¡¯t capable of.¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. The buddha has prepared everything for you. You just need to strike the pose. Of course, kneeling will be necessary as well. Though, just kneeling definitely won¡¯t be enough to undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation and attain the fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi. Even at minimum, you gotta know a good few forms, maybe some fancy ways to bow and kneel as well.

    It was no wonder Mahe?vara hated the Pure Land sect so much. They were a group of mindless bastards, so they were very worth testing. What he loathed was what he feared, and the enemy of an enemy was a friend. Once he returned, he could pay a visit to the Pure Land sect and get rid of the image of Mahe?vara.

    As someone who practised the path of great liberty, he utterly hated someone strutting around on his back.

 Chapter 1439

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1439 ¨C Questions

    ¡°Even if you only benefit me, I don¡¯t want you!¡±

    The Yin Demon continued patrolling along the tundra. If he had to be honest, this job was actually quite boring. It had been so long, and he had not even seen a proper demonic beast, let alone a demonfolk. It was not nervous or exciting at all.

    Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯ve all curled up because it¡¯s cold?

    He had rejected the Black Sun Demon heart, but as someone who almost became a demonic seed, the Demon domain did not reject him at all. Instead, it allowed him to use the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique with greater ease. He had an even better time than in the Human realm.

    Speaking of which, the only trouble he had encountered since he left the stronghold was from his own people. He did not encounter any attacks from demonfolk. Instead, he had been threatened by his own people, suffering a palm strike for nothing.

    And those three bastards happened to be three prominent figures with the strongest cultivations in Black Cloud city. Sure enough, the greatest enemy is always lurking behind me! It¡¯s all thanks to the fact that I have a sense of loyalty. If it had been someone else, they would have joined the enemy a long time ago!

    But this is far too boring. Have I really just been sent on an errand? I better find a way to catch a demonfolk and ask for directions to Qingqin mountain! According to the reports, the demonfolk have a fortress as well which stands facing Black Cloud city in the distance. Why don¡¯t I go there and take a look? Just one glance will do.

    Li Liehuo had never asked him to investigate there, as that was no different from sending him to his death. At the very least, that was true with regular Yin Soul cultivators.

    Even to him, this was very dangerous. A fortress watched by a Demon Sovereign was no less dangerous than Ao Xuan inside the Xuanming dwelling, and he had no allies this time. His main body was not around either. Once he was exposed, his Yin Soul would definitely be destroyed.

    However, he had always been the kind of person who would only be content if he was staring death in its face. He still arrived before the fortress standing in the valley of the ice mountain.

    In the wind and snow, he could vaguely make out three large, crimson words, Cold Blood Pass.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. ¡°What a chuuni-ass name!¡± However, according to the culture and practices of the Demon domain, being called ¡°cold-blooded¡± should have been a praise, just like being called despicable and shameless or heartless and cruel, so there was nothing strange about it.

    However, what piqued his curiosity was the fact that the city walls were empty. Only the great banners swayed in the wind. The fortress was empty.

    The city walls don¡¯t even have anyone standing guard. Is the military discipline of demonfolk really that bad? But even with that, there should be an army of two hundred thousand here at the very least, so why is there no sound at all? Aren¡¯t they just too disciplined at the same time?

    He tried approaching the place silently. Arriving below the pass, he still did not sense any formations standing in his way. Just a stone fortress alone was completely insufficient to stop him. He basically suspected this to be a trap, where soldiers would spring forth with battle cries the moment he set foot in there.

    However, that was simply absurd, so he still ended up passing through there bravely and entering the fortress. Yet, the sight before him left him astounded. Even an ambush from all directions could not leave him so surprised.

    The collapsed structures and crumbled rock formed a huge expanse of ruins as if a vicious beast had rampaged through the place. The corpses of demonfolk filled the entire valley. Not even the great winds could disperse the reeking of blood. In particular, there were several large pits filled with incomplete remains of demonfolk. Their blood froze into icy puddles.

    The glassy eyes stared at him, and the faces were twisted with hatred and fear. It was basically a living hell.

    ¡°This is just far too exciting!¡±

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips with brimming interest and carefully made his way forwards. However, even after a good while, he did not encounter anything alive.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is all done by that woman Chao Tianjiao? It¡¯ll be far too awesome if it was!¡±

    Li Qingshan never imagined this had all happened because of him. Instead, he thought of Chao Tianjiao who radiated with murderousness. However, could she really breach a demonfolk stronghold alone and butcher the entire place too?

    No, that was completely impossible! If the Human Sovereigns of the Human realm all possessed such vicious power, they would have sent the demonfolk running back to their granny¡¯s homes.

    In reality, after completing his task of cleaning up, the Demon Sovereign Tu Wancheng immediately returned to the depths of the Demon domain under the watch of the Faceless Heretic God to await further orders. As a result, he just left behind an empty fortress. It was not like humans could occupy the place anyway.

    Li Qingshan had no idea why this had happened. However, he determined a few things based on his instincts. ¡°Something big must have happened. It¡¯s probably connected to that woman Chao Tianjiao!¡± He developed a little more admiration towards her. ¡°Even for me, I gotta say I¡¯m speechless that you¡¯ve created such a great scene.¡±

    He had not captured any demonfolk to ask for directions, but he had already made an absolute killing. He took out his sumeru ring and collected over a hundred thousand corpses effortlessly, bringing them back for Xiao An to incinerate. There were many fine sets of armour and weapons too. All of them had their uses.

    As a result, he left the Cold Blood pass fully loaded and returned to Black Cloud city.

    ¡­¡­

    Black Cloud city, the Scorching Fire hall.

    The Scorching Fire army was holding their monthly meeting. Li Liehuo asked the bearded man with a smile, ¡°Old Hu, how are the preparations for the army-wide martial arts competition going?¡±

    Hu Zhigang patted his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, first senior brother. I¡¯ve told the brothers to train harder. This time, we¡¯ll definitely own those girls from the Xuanwu army!¡¯

    Everyone laughed aloud. A warm and enthusiastic atmosphere enveloped the hall.

    Someone asked, ¡°Has that Li person left the city yet?¡±

    Hu Zhigang sneered. ¡°Probably not. Just yesterday, I saw him gardening outside the tower. That kid probably still thinks this is the Hundred Herbs garden!¡±

    It led to another roar of laughter, and they all chimed in.

    ¡°I really wonder what he¡¯s thinking when he¡¯s growing flowers in Black Cloud city!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s afraid, so of course, he has to find a way to cope and comfort his emotions.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s such a coward, and he still struts around first senior brother! He¡¯s better off running back to his mother!¡±

    Li Liehuo said to a minor officer at the entrance, ¡°If he still doesn¡¯t set off, send someone to urge him along. He better not say that I didn¡¯t warn him when he gets punished for his delays!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll go to urge him right now. Hehe, I¡¯ll check out his garden in the meantime too.¡± The minor officer immediately stood up and left, but he returned again before long. He had quite a strange expression.

    Li Liehuo asked, ¡°Why have you returned so quickly?¡±

    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know how to explain it!¡±

    Hu Zhigang said impatiently, ¡°Stop dawdling. Has he left the city already, or is he afraid to see you?¡±

    ¡°He said he¡¯s already completed first senior brother¡¯s mission and has something to report. He¡¯ll be coming here very soon!¡±

    The Scorching Fire hall was thrown into an uproar. Everyone glanced at one another. In such a short time, how could he have checked through such a large region?

    Hu Zhigang even cursed aloud as he said, ¡°That bastard is actually treating military orders as a game and toying with us! Damn him!¡±

    Li Liehuo sneered. ¡°What a joke!¡± The hall immediately fell silent.

    ¡°Have him report back immediately! I¡¯d like to see just what he has to report!¡±

    Li Liehuo¡¯s voice was murderous. He had actually carried out his military order just for show, like it was of no importance at all. Even if they had no feud, he would not spare him.

    ¡°No need. I¡¯m right here!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from outside the hall.

    Li Liehuo called out, ¡°Get your ass in here!¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan simply strode in.

    ¡°What do you have to report?¡± Li Liehuo held back his anger as his eyes shone, like he was ready to eat him alive. ¡°Think about what you¡¯re going to say. Making false reports is a crime punishable by death!¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged and dug at his ear before looking up and scratching his head, like he was trying to find the words.

    The hall became so quiet that it was possible to hear a pin drop. Everyone stared at him, only to hear him say, ¡°The two or three hundred thousand demonfolk in Cold Blood pass are all dead.¡±

    ¡°You motherfucker!¡± Li Liehuo flew into a rage, kicking the stone table before him, which smashed towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan shattered the stone table with a punch and pieces shot through the hall. The officers there all possessed reasonably high cultivations, but it contained the power of a furious strike from Li Liehuo, coupled with the power of tremors that Li Qingshan had released silently, so a series of painful cries rang out. Basically everyone was injured, and even the lucky ones ended up dishevelled.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile. He took a step forward and said righteously, ¡°Why are you hitting me? Do you really think you¡¯re so impressive just because you¡¯re the captain? Are you allowed to hit people whenever you want just because you¡¯re the captain?¡±

    His three questions were like claps of thunder. The entire Black Cloud city heard it loud and clear.

    In the Xuanhu hall, Chao Tianjiao was holding a meeting too. The officers were all shocked by that, gazing at their captain together.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression changed, and she began to laugh. ¡°It¡¯s that kid!¡±

    Originally, she was angered over the fact that Ge Xing had not sent Li Qingshan to her Xuanwu army, but now, she suddenly felt rather fortunate. Given the kind of person that kid was, it would be strange if he did not stir up a mess!

    In the Pure Land temple, the Upraised Light abbot was currently holding the morning chanting ceremony. He was also stunned by the three questions. The two captains in the city were both violent-tempered people who could kill without batting an eye.

    ¡°Just who¡¯s so bold to say something like that?¡±

 Chapter 1440

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1440 ¨C Joke

    The dazzling firelight poured out every single window of the Scorching Fire hall like a torch, illuminating the black clouds, melting the flying snow, and attracting the attention of countless soldiers.

    ¡°I will burn you to ash!¡±

    Li Liehuo ground his teeth. His eyes glowed like cinders and scorching flames surged out from his every pore, twisting the air like he had become a god of fire as he approached Li Qingshan step by step.

    Li Qingshan raised his head slightly and smiled. ¡°What if I¡¯m telling the truth?¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll let you be the captain!¡±

    Within the furious bellow that resembled a fire dragon¡¯s roar, Li Liehuo lunged over. Only sixty metres separated them, but he immediately accelerated into a blazing meteor, about to destroy Li Qingshan completely.

    Swoosh!

    With a wave of his hand, a great flag whistled out. He grabbed the pole that was as thick as a column. The black flag rippled in the heat waves, displaying the word that was written on there¡ªmassacre!

    Li Liehuo suddenly came to a halt. He widened his eyes and stared at the flag. Clearly, this was not the first time he had seen it. That was the main flag to the central army led by the commander of Cold Blood pass, Tu Wancheng!

    TL: Tu Wancheng means to massacre a myriad of cities. Massacre is essentially Tu Wancheng¡¯s surname.

    Who knew how much blood and dead souls had been used to refine the flag, and who knew how many battles it had gone through. Even though it had been sliced in half along the pole, the brutal army qi of slaughter still lingered on it. It definitely could not be a fake.

    ¡°This is impossible!¡±

    ¡°Calm down, or you¡¯re going to burn it, and I¡¯ll be left with no evidence.¡±

    Li Qingshan blew out some of the sparks on the flag. He had casually found this in the vast expanse of ruins. He could sense the exceptional aura inside, so he brought it back with him.

    Li Liehuo snatched over the flag and studied it with his scorching gaze. He noticed the smooth cut on the pole, and his eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Xuanwu blade aura! Hah, Chao Tianjiao gave this to you, didn¡¯t she? So you could fool me! But she didn¡¯t expect you to be foolish enough to tell a lie like this!¡±

    ¡°Heh, someone seems to have mentioned my name!¡±

    When Chao Tianjiao¡¯s voice had just reached this place from the Xuanwu hall, she had already arrived in front of the Scorching Fire hall.

    ¡°Chao Tianjiao, this is your handiwork!¡± Li Liehuo tossed the flag to her.

    Chao Tianjiao casually caught the flag and glanced at it. ¡°The pole was indeed cut by me, but I didn¡¯t give it to him. Kid, you went to Cold Blood pass as well? You¡¯re quite bold!¡±

    Li Liehuo furrowed his brows. Chao Tianjiao was not a person who would tell a lie like that. In other words, the kid had actually visited Cold Blood pass.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you actually managed to retrieve this broken flag from an army of hundreds of thousands. You are a warrior. However, you¡¯ve made false reports, so there¡¯ll still be punishment!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao smiled. ¡°Kid, what false report did you make?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t make any false reports. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s making false reports.¡± Li Qingshan did not hold back at all with the other captain. Before Chao Tianjiao could argue back at him, he said indifferently, ¡°The army of two or three hundred thousand demonfolk in Cold Blood pass have all died.¡±

    ¡°Huh!? What the hell are you on about?¡± Chao Tianjiao widened her eyes and grabbed Li Qingshan by the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve just been there. I did hack that Tu Wancheng a few dozen times, and I did butcher a few thousand demonfolk, but that guy¡¯s regeneration is simply alarming once he demonifies. He¡¯s clearly still alive. Even if the army just stands there and allows me to kill them, I¡¯ll run out of energy eventually, so your lie is just a little too absurd!¡±

    Li Liehuo grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar and pulled him up to his face. He said murderously, ¡°What else do you have to say?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and asked again, ¡°What if I¡¯m telling the truth?¡±

    Li Liehuo said, ¡°What if you¡¯re lying?¡±

    One burned away furiously like fire, while the other remained cool and staunch, like a mountain. As they confronted each other, everyone held their breaths. Even the officers of the Scorching Fire army began to admire Li Qingshan¡¯s courage a little. When the captain lost his temper with them, they would not even be able to utter a word.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I die!¡±

    Li Liehuo laughed out of anger. ¡°Impressive, very impressive! If you¡¯re telling the truth, I¡¯ll let you take my position as captain. Beardy, go and invite the Upraised Light master!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± As soon as Hu Zhigang was about to carry out the order, a buddhist chant rang out from outside.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ve come!¡±

    The Upraised Light master walked in slowly. He was not glowing with light this time, which allowed Li Qingshan to see him properly. His eyebrows and beard were all white, bright like silver threads. He had a healthy complexion and a friendly appearance. He basically matched up to all the standard descriptions of a buddhist master.

    The Upraised Light abbot found Li Qingshan strangely familiar, but he was unable to recall where he had seen him before.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Master, we meet again.¡±

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    ¡°You are?¡± The Upraised Light master basically wondered whether there was something wrong with his Heavenly Eye knowledge. Was he so forgetful even when it came to people now?

    ¡°I just suffered a palm strike from you. Have you forgotten so quickly?¡± Li Qingshan patted his chest.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± The Upraised Light master abruptly recalled the demon he had encountered recently. ¡°So you¡¯re not demonfolk!¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I just happen to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so my Yin Soul is a little special, which has led to misunderstandings.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, I see! The Heavenly Tome of Liberty! The Myriad Heavenly Tomes truly are all-inclusive!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot sighed and studied Li Qingshan, like he did not find him particularly trustworthy, yet he also found him to be rather close. That was basically buddhism¡¯s general impression of Mahe?vara.

    ¡°So what¡¯s going on here?¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could answer him, Li Liehuo interrupted and said, ¡°Master, your Heavenly Eye knowledge and Heavenly Ear knowledge can distinguish the truth from lies. You have always been responsible for verifying military merit in Black Cloud city. We would like you to listen to something now. It has to do with verifying military merit. We want to see whether it¡¯s true or not.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot said, ¡°Since it has to do with verifying military merit, then I am duty-bound. May I ask what it is?¡±

    Li Liehuo glared at Li Qingshan. ¡°Are you bold enough to repeat what you just said?¡±

    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I? However, while I am of lowly status, unlike some army captain or local despot like you, I can¡¯t just be accused of something I haven¡¯t done like this. Let¡¯s just verify this one more time. Let me ask you again in front of senior sister Chao, the Upraised Light master, and everyone else. Li Liehuo, what if I¡¯m telling the truth?¡±

    Li Liehuo furrowed his brows. He possessed a violent temper, but he was not a fool. Li Qingshan¡¯s confident demeanour made him waver slightly. Was it really like how he had described it to be? Was there a slight possibility that what he described had happened? After all, strange things happened on the battlefield all the time.

    Perhaps there was a Human Immortal passing by and massacred Cold Blood pass in the passing? No, that was impossible. The time and energy of Human Immortals was precious. Even if they moved, it would be for the bigger picture. They would not kill purely for the sake of killing.

    And the Myriad sect was responsible for this area of the battlefield. Even if they needed assistance from Human Immortals, it would definitely be the two sect masters and Chao Tianjiao and he would have learnt about it.

    After eliminating all the possibilities, he confirmed that Li Qingshan was only putting up a bravado. Given the kind of person he was, how could he just stand down?

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll answer you one last time as well. If you¡¯re telling the truth, I¡¯ll let you be the captain!¡±

    He stressed each word, like the strikes of a hammer.

    ¡°If you¡¯re lying, don¡¯t make me dirty my hands. You can take your own life!¡±

    The atmosphere became as cold as ice, yet also scorching like fire. Murderousness was basically surging.

    Li Qingshan smiled. He turned towards the Upraised Light master and said calmly, ¡°The army of two or three hundred thousand demonfolk in Cold Blood pass have all died.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    The Upraised Light master was similarly surprised. Anyone who heard that would find it absurd. They would all be certain it was a lie.

    However, what he found to be even more absurd was that his Heavenly Eye knowledge and Heavenly Ear knowledge were unable to detect any lies at all. It was basically like he had stated the sun was round. There was no room for doubt.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡± He was afraid of being careless, so he placed his hands together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name. He shone brightly, standing in a solemn demeanour like he was the buddha. ¡°Please repeat it, fellow!¡±

    Li Qingshan repeated it.

    The light gradually faded. The Upraised Light master remained silent as his expression became rather troubled. Li Liehuo¡¯s heart skipped a beat. He held back the urge to press him for an answer.

    Li Qingshan smiled mysteriously. Chao Tianjiao blinked her eyes and felt there was definitely something else going on here. None of this was any of her trouble anyway. She was happy to see either one of them die here.

    ¡°Cough, cough. An ascetic is forbidden from lying. Please tell us the truth, master.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s lips trembled. ¡°I- it¡¯s true!¡±

    With that, everyone¡¯s expressions changed. The hall fell silent.

    Only Li Qingshan burst into laughter. His gentle laughter gradually turned into great laughter, mad laughter, continuing until he spread his arms and raised his head. ¡°The heavens be watching over me! I¡¯ve become the captain! Hahahaha!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes shone brightly as she thought, Alright you, Li Qingshan! You¡¯ve gone too far with the joke now!

 Chapter 1441

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1441 ¨C Counterattack

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mad laughter made Li Liehuo erupt into flames again, tempted to burn him to ash then and there.

    Chao Tianjiao took half a step forward and blocked the waves of heat for Li Qingshan, gazing at Li Liehuo with a smile.

    Li Liehuo suddenly calmed down. He thought, Why can this kid anger me so easily?

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s mockery at full strength, he had yet to meet a person who was immune to it. It was truly the greatest innate ability.

    Li Liehuo said to the Upraised Light abbot, ¡°Master, please forgive me for saying this, but this kid has definitely used some sort of trick.¡±

    The officers of the Scorching Fire army all agreed. ¡°Yeah, there has to be a trick! This kid is a crook!¡±

    Li Qingshan curled his lip in disdain. They really would never give up until they were staring despair in the face.

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Upraised Light abbot was certain he had been correct. He had already connected with the western paradise Sukh¨¡vat¨© and borrowed the power of the buddha. Despite all that, he was still unable to detect any lies, so the only answer was Li Qingshan was telling the truth.

    Li Liehuo recovered some confidence. At the very least, there had yet to be any direct evidence so far that proved Li Qingshan¡¯s words.

    ¡°He practises the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, a heavenly tome that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance has produced recently. He walks the path of Mahe?vara, so he¡¯s probably capable of many strange and unexpected techniques.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot was not particularly convinced by that. No matter what Li Qingshan was capable of, it was still based on his cultivation, so it was not very likely for him to deceive someone like him at the fifth heavenly tribulation. However, given the importance of the matter, he could only sigh and say, ¡°¡­ perhaps!¡±

    Li Liehuo loosened up inside. As long as the Upraised Light abbot took back what he said, then there would still be room for manoeuvre. He said proudly, ¡°Li Qingshan, do you think you can take my position as captain through your schemes? You¡¯re dreaming. I¡¯ll send someone over to Cold Blood pass right now to check!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°You¡¯ll send someone over? Doesn¡¯t that mean I¡¯m dead for sure then?¡±

    Li Liehuo sneered. ¡°What other tricks are you capable of?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao made a suggestion. ¡°Why don¡¯t I pay a visit instead?¡±

    Li Qingshan and Li Liehuo glanced at her at the same time. Neither of them followed her up.

    Chao Tianjiao fumed. ¡°Oi, what¡¯s the meaning of this? You don¡¯t trust me?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t trust you.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao ground her teeth. These two damned men.

    The Upraised Light abbot sighed. ¡°Given the significance of the matter, why don¡¯t I pay a visit instead?¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary!¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand and made his way out. ¡°Please come with me. I have other evidence. Sigh, I didn¡¯t want to make it so troublesome originally.¡±

    In front of the Scorching Fire hall was an empty training ground. Basically all the officers of the Scorching Fire army and Xuanwu army had gathered there now. Even a few monks from the Pure Land temple had come to watch.

    They formed a total of three groups, led by three different people. Those were the three factions within Black Cloud city.

    Li Liehuo stood with his arms crossed and face stern.

    The Upraised Light abbot uttered the buddha¡¯s name, never neglecting his cultivation.

    Chao Tianjiao stood boldly with her hands on her hips, waiting for someone¡¯s misfortune to arrive.

    All of their eyes were locked onto Li Qingshan who made his way into the centre of the training grounds. He stopped in the glistening white snow and smiled before rising up into the air and opening his sumeru ring.

    At that instant, countless corpses poured down from above like a storm, hitting the ground heavily. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Everyone was dumbstruck. In the blink of an eye, a mountain of corpses piled up on the training grounds. The heavy reeking of blood filled their mouths and noses.

    The pile formed from the corpse of two to three hundred thousand demonfolk was a particularly imposing sight. Even when everyone present was well-versed with the battlefield, they still felt pressured, forced to take half a step back.

    Li Qingshan simply stood on the top of the corpse mountain and laughed. ¡°Li Liehuo, is there anything else you want to say?¡±

    There was no reply. Li Liehuo, Chao Tianjiao, and the Upraised Light abbot had already arrived before the corpse mountain to inspect it.

    Li Liehuo became more and more stern. These demonfolk were indeed part of the army stationed at Cold Blood pass. Whether it was their armour, weapons, or aura, all of it matched.

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s eyes lit up, and he scanned around. ¡°They¡¯ve all died recently, and by the look of things, they haven¡¯t died to the hands of humans.¡± For some reason, it reminded him of the scene he had seen at the boundary of the two worlds, the colossal demonic figure that stood on the horizon.

    Chao Tianjiao touched her chin, also puzzled. These demonfolk all seemed to have been killed by Tu Wancheng after he demonified.

    Li Liehuo noticed this as well. He looked over and said furiously, ¡°Chao Tianjiao, you¡¯ve screwed me over!¡±

    That was basically the most logical explanation. Under Chao Tianjiao¡¯s threat, Tu Wancheng had turned into a demonic beast and slaughtered Cold Blood pass.

    Chao Tianjiao rolled her eyes. ¡°How have I screwed you over? When I left, Tu Wancheng was still alive and kicking. He didn¡¯t turn into a demonic beast.¡±

    ¡°Mighty be senior sister!¡± The officers of the Xuanwu army cheered.

    Li Liehuo said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so under-handed!¡±

    ¡°Say that again.¡± Chao Tianjiao squinted her eyes.

    The two captains were on the verge of fighting. Li Qingshan watched from the top of the mountain as he thought inside, Fight! Fight! Fight! If you kill each other, that¡¯s less trouble for me!

    The Upraised Light abbot said, ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Please calm down. There are a lot of doubtful points involved. Did Tu Wancheng really kill so many demonfolk alone? These wounds don¡¯t resemble anything left behind by a frenzied demonic beast either.¡±

    Li Liehuo sank into his thoughts as well. Demonic beasts were bloodthirsty and frenzied, but they would not kill without any reason like this. On top of that, demonic beasts lacked rationality, so they were even easier to deal with than demonfolk. Let alone a demonic beast, it was impossible even for Demon Sovereign Tu Wancheng to massacre an elite army of demonfolk like this.

    Similarly, Chao Tianjiao did not have that ability either. Otherwise, with the merit she would have achieved with this, it would basically guarantee her the position of first senior sister. Why would she still be scheming against him?

    Chao Tianjiao split open the pile of corpses with a swing of her blade. ¡°That¡¯s strange. There are no Demon Kings or Demon Emperors in here, not even a finger!¡±

    On the top of the mountain, Li Qingshan dodged the black aura in a hurry and waved his fist. ¡°Oi, be careful!¡±

    Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on him once again. They wanted to understand exactly what was going on.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°What¡¯re you looking at me for? I just happened to come across it, yet someone refused to believe me. What else could I do?¡±

    Li Liehuo¡¯s chest heaved as he clenched his hands. He seemed like he wanted to swallow Li Qingshan whole.

    Suddenly, he shut his eyes and pacified his anger. He clasped his hands at Li Qingshan. ¡°Junior brother Li, I¡¯ve been wrong! You ventured deep within the Demon domain and discovered this upheaval of Cold Blood pass in time, not only completing the mission, but even making a great contribution to the sect as well. I will resign from the position of captain and recommend you to take over.¡±

    The officers of the Scorching Fire army all paled in fright. ¡°Senior brother, you mustn¡¯t do that!¡±

    The Upraised Light monk urged him in a hurry. ¡°Fellow Li, this is an extremely important matter, so please reconsider!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao also felt like everything had gotten a little out of hand. The loss of two to three hundred thousand demonfolk was absolutely nothing to the Demon domain. There would definitely be more battles in the coming year, and they would still require the combined efforts of both armies to hold them off.

    She furrowed her brows and said, ¡°Li Liehuo, this is a battlefield, not a place for you to play games. Just let that kid punch you a few times to make up for the punch you hit him with, and that¡¯ll be that.¡±

    ¡°I have already made up my mind. There is no need to say anything else!¡± Li Liehuo said firmly.

    For the sake of practising the Heavenly Tome of Scorching Fire, he had specially changed his name to Li Liehuo in the past just so he could realise the true essence, so his will could burn like fire. If he was wrong, then he was wrong. If he was right, then he was right! Making him bicker or deny this, or stoop to a compromise, was all impossible.

    Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. He never expected him to admit his mistake so easily either. He clapped and smiled. ¡°Li Liehuo, that¡¯s a clever scheme.¡±

    ¡°What scheme?¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt down from the corpse mountain. ¡°I¡¯m just an inner disciple. I don¡¯t have the right to serve as the captain of an army. When you put in your resignation with the sect, the sect may not necessarily allow it. At the end of the day, you¡¯ll still be the captain!¡±

    ¡°You better not take it too far with these accusations! Since I¡¯m resigning, I definitely won¡¯t be regretting it.¡±

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve been taking it too far? Who was the one who forced me to hand over the Xuanming dwelling? Who was the one who punched me the moment we saw each other? Upraised Light master, I¡¯m not talking about you. Who was the one who tried to overwhelm me right from the beginning?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s three questions were very dignified. From beginning to end, he had never proactively provoked Li Liehuo. However, since he had gotten his way now, if he still bickered over these small matters, refusing to let them go, then he would seem a little petty.

    ¡°Senior brother Li, I don¡¯t want your Scorching Fire army, nor do I have any interest in it. Just keep it for yourself! If I want to be an army captain, I¡¯ll form one myself once I become a direct disciple. When you threw that punch, you did it right in my face, so I¡¯ll be throwing that punch back right in your face too!¡±

    Li Liehuo gazed at him deeply as if this was the first time he had met him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting!¡±

    Li Liehuo led his officers away, and Li Qingshan stowed the corpses away.

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°Kid, given the situation, it¡¯s no longer suitable for you to remain in the Scorching Fire army. I¡¯ll transfer you to the Xuanwu army. No one should object to that.¡±

    Li Qingshan gasped. ¡°You¡¯re not out to screw with me, are you?¡±

    ¡°Of course not.¡± Chao Tianjiao brought her arm around his shoulder. She was definitely up to no good.

 Chapter 1442

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1442 ¨C Great Gift

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat as if he had been through this before. He grabbed Chao Tianjiao¡¯s wrist and moved it away gently.

    ¡°Senior sister, please don¡¯t place your hand on the shoulders of others so casually.¡±

    Seeing how he was fazed, Chao Tianjiao mocked him ruthlessly. ¡°What, you¡¯re shy?¡±

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°My heart only belongs to Yaozhu, so please just give up, senior sister!¡±

    At this moment, the officers of the Xuanwu army still lingered on the training grounds. When they heard that, they truly developed admiration from the bottom of their hearts towards Li Qingshan. Just how violent was the temper of their captain? He had just offended senior brother Li to the death. Then, without even batting an eye, he said something like that to the first senior sister. They had never seen someone who knew how to die better than him.

    Chao Tianjiao gripped Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder firmly and ground her teeth. ¡°You sure know how to dream!¡±

    Even when it came to regular Demon Sovereigns, she would have crushed their shoulders, but she felt a strange, tensile sensation from the tips of her fingers. She was actually unable to pierce his skin.

    Just what kind of fortuitous encounter did this kid have? How is his physique so tough?

    Li Qingshan secretly used the Ox Demon Forges it Hide, and the skin on his shoulder became dark hide. He said without any emotional reaction, ¡°Ah, it hurts! Please spare me, first senior sister!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao let go as she fumed. ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky, kid. The army-wide martial arts competition is coming up. I¡¯ll be sending you up first. I¡¯ve prepared a small gift for you!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I definitely won¡¯t miss out on that!¡±

    Li Qingshan swung his hand and turned away from Chao Tianjiao, about to return to his tower.

    Find the original at *hosted* novel.

    The Upraised Light abbot suddenly stood in his way. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Please give me a moment, fellow.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, master?¡± Li Qingshan brought his palms together and bowed.

    The Upraised Light abbot recalled the colossal, demonic figure that had appeared at the boundary of the Demon domain. He felt uneasy about it, so he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan walked the path of Mahe?vara. Mahe?vara was closely connected to buddhism, but he was no different from a demonic path, so Li Qingshan required special attention.

    ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve made a great contribution against the demons. You¡¯ll definitely obtain a sizeable amount of contribution from the Myriad sect. You¡¯ll need to come to the Pure Land temple to make a written statement. It¡¯ll be convenient for me to report it to the Desireless Heavenly palace as well.¡±

    Li Qingshan just happened to be looking for help from this monk, so he smiled. ¡°I see, then I¡¯ll come with you, master.¡±

    The Pure Land temple seemed to be enveloped in a warm glow. The snow turned to rain before it even reached the ground, nourishing the grass on the ground. It was like spring there.

    However, Li Qingshan stopped and furrowed his brows subconsciously. For some reason, he simply loathed this place.

    The Upraised Light abbot did not seem to notice his reaction. He raised his hand. ¡°Please come in, fellow!¡±

    ¡°It truly is a pure land of buddhism.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and made his way through the gate.

    At that instant, a tranquil and invisible power seeped into his skin like spring rain, nourishing his mind. The thumping of wooden fish and the sounds of chanting rang out from afar. If a mortal had arrived here instead, they would probably be overcome with the urge to leave the ruckus of secular life and convert to buddhism immediately.

    However, he detested it even more. His demonic thoughts were constantly nourished as his back began to burn again, immediately rejecting the tranquil, invisible power. The thumping of wooden fish and the sounds of chanting were like countless mosquitos and flies buzzing right by his ear. All he could hear was the same thing being uttered again and again, amit¨¡bha.

    ¡°Fellow, you don¡¯t seem to like this place very much?¡± the Upraised Light abbot looked back and asked.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s very good here.¡± Li Qingshan held back his restlessness and squeezed out a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve really made the right decision in coming today!¡± He had to get rid of the image of Mahe?vara as soon as possible.

    He arrived in the grand hall. The great buddha gazed down, overlooking all the living things calmly, yet it also seemed as if it had not seen anything at all.

    Li Qingshan felt agitated inside and lowered his head slightly. He was tempted to smash the great buddha to pieces with a single punch and then butcher all the chanting monks.

    Sucking in a deep breath, he finally sat down on a cushion before the buddha.

    The Upraised Light abbot sat on the other side of the table and pushed a log of merits over. ¡°Please write it down, fellow!¡±

    Li Qingshan picked up the brush and wrote, ¡°Under orders, Li Qingshan scouted the Demon domain and discovered that Cold Blood pass had been massacred, reduced to an empty fortress.¡±

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    He was just about to place down his brush when the Upraised Light abbot said, ¡°If you have made any other contributions, you can write it down as well, such as any demonfolk you¡¯ve killed or anything else you¡¯ve discovered. It¡¯ll all be converted to contribution in the Myriad sect.¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head in response. ¡°Do demonfolk I¡¯ve killed in the past count too?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°They do.¡±

    In order to fend off the Demon domain, not only had the Human realm united all the major sects, but they even tried all sorts of ways to encourage smaller sects and independent cultivators to participate in the battle too. Any cultivator who had experience fighting demonfolk were valuable talents, so of course, they would not mind offering up this bit of benefit to them.

    ¡°Hah, there¡¯s actually something as great as this? I¡¯ve killed quite a lot of demonfolk in the past!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. This really was unexpected. Back then in the nine provinces, he had gone through many struggles to the death against demonfolk. Countless demonfolk had died to his hands. When he was scouting earlier, he actually had not encountered a single one.

    Something like this was far too rare. Of course, the cultivators of the Human realm would not be bored enough to run onto the battlefield for nothing, while among the trichiliocosm, it required a world that had been invaded by the Demon domain, but had not been devoured by the Demon domain, coupled with a cultivator who had ended up ascending successfully¡­

    Every single event had a very slim chance of occurring. Even Si Long, who had also been born in the nine provinces, had not gone through something like that. If it had been a regular Soul Nascence cultivator, it would have been quite a feat for them to kill a Demon King or two, and it would be very likely for them to die. They would not be fortunate enough to claim this merit.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Any demonfolk you¡¯ve killed is merit and contribution.¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°But I don¡¯t really remember the exact number.¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. As long as you make an honest report and it¡¯s not too different from the actual number, it¡¯ll be fine. We are seated right before the buddha. The buddha will bear witness on your behalf.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Li Qingshan thought about it and began writing. After filling in the log of merits, he pushed it back over to the Upraised Light abbot. ¡°That¡¯s all!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot saw the number and was stunned.

    Li Qingshan smiled silently. He had killed his fair share of Demon Kings, Demon Commanders, and so on, which was far more than the army stationed at Cold Blood pass.

    If that all counted and was converted to contribution in the Myriad sect, he would basically be on a meteoric rise. He even thought about how the World of the Five Continents probably should have produced many demonfolk and demonic beasts by now. If he went back and butchered them all, would he still be far away from direct disciple?

    The group of direct disciples probably never imagined even in their wildest dreams that they had given him a great gift as soon as he was sent onto the battlefield in the Demon domain.

    The Upraised Light abbot gazed at the log of merits before looking at Li Qingshan. This was the Pure Land temple, right in front of the buddha. Even when it came to cultivators with the same cultivation as him, the fifth heavenly tribulation, they could not lie without being detected.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. I never thought that you had made such a great contribution! I must apologise for failing to recognise this!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem at all. You¡¯re too kind, master. If you hadn¡¯t reminded me, I wouldn¡¯t even know that I¡¯ve made such a great contribution.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot asked closely, ¡°May I ask where you killed so many demonfolk?¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­¡± Li Qingshan thought about it. ¡°Not in the Human realm anyway.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the Demon domain?¡± The Upraised Light abbot leaned forward as his eyes shone.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°What are you thinking, master? Don¡¯t tell me you suspect me to be a spy from the Demon domain?¡±

    ¡°Are you not?¡±

 Chapter 1443

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1443 ¨C The Buddha

    Before he realised, the chanting stopped. All of the monks¡¯ faces darkened.

    The grey smoke that curled up from the censer spread through the grand hall. The great buddha peered down from above like it was hiding something, smiling gently.

    Li Qingshan immediately experienced tremendous pressure. His violent demonic thoughts could not be repressed anymore. His back burned like fire as his face twisted in anger. He leaned forwards as if he was about to throw himself at the Upraised Light abbot.

    His forehead almost pressed against the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s bald head when he suddenly powered the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression, halting everything. He forced out word by word. ¡°Of course not!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot basically wanted to counter with, ¡°If you aren¡¯t, then who is?¡± It took him quite some willpower to endure the incoming murderousness without dodging. Even a Demon Sovereign could only give off so much pressure, and this was in the Pure Land temple, right at the foot of the buddha. His demonic nature was actually so heavy.

    However, Li Qingshan did not lie, and the Upraised Light Abbot was forced to admit this too. He straightened himself out and brought his palms together. ¡°Amit¨¡bha. I¡¯ve accused you wrongly. However, with your behaviour right now, just how far away are you from becoming a demon?¡±

    Throughout history, countless cultivators had fallen into the demonic path, especially near the boundary of the Demon domain. Even those with significant willpower would be constantly eroded away.

    ¡°I¡¯d advise you to leave Black Cloud city and return to the Myriad sect, fellow!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. Even if Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao let him go so easily, he did not really want to return right now. He had only been here for a few days, and the benefits he had received so far were basically countless. There had been the armour, weapons, and corpses of hundreds of thousand demonfolk, a tremendous amount of merit and contribution, and success at getting back at Li Liehuo. If he had remained in the Myriad sect, would any of this have happened?

    As a result, he smiled, even though it only made him seem even more twisted and vicious in the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s not my fault.¡±

    ¡°Then whose fault is it?¡± The Upraised Light abbot countered.

    ¡°Please take a look, master.¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and rolled down his robes, revealing a vivid image of Mahe?vara that was deeply embedded in his wide back like he had been born with it.

    ¡°This is!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot was surprised. He could clearly sense the demonic nature within. It definitely was not just a tattoo or image, but an imprint that could truly connect with Mahe?vara.

    ¡°I am the first to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. I cannot work off the experiences of those who have come before me, so I could only feel my way around myself. In order to expedite my cultivation, I tried the methods of offering from the Siddh¨¡nta school, but I never expected to be stuck with an image of Mahe?vara. My cultivation has increased drastically, but it has also left me with an unstable mental state. Even when I peel off my skin, I cannot remove it.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not tell a single lie with that.

    The Upraised Light abbot came to a realisation. ¡°I see! I see!¡±

    Just like that, it was no longer strange that Li Qingshan would often give off a sense of hostility for no reason. Everyone knew about the lord of the trichiliocosm¡¯s loathing for the pure land school. The cultivators of the pure land school were most vulnerable to the disturbance of demons when they faced tribulations. Basically an endless number of kle?a-m¨¡ra and skandha-m¨¡ra would spring forth. Even devaputra-m¨¡ra would arrive in person to obstruct them from attaining the fruit of Arhat.

    Meanwhile, the ones that spent the most effort in repressing the heretic paths were the pure land school.

    These two paths basically could not coexist with one another.

    When Mahe?vara converted to buddhism, that was because he respected the buddha¡¯s power and wisdom. He was not after a life of bliss and enjoyment like what regular people believed. Instead, he stressed asceticism, often cultivating arduously on a snowy mountain. He was the protector of all ascetic monks.

    However, the pure land school advocated for Mah¨¡y¨¡na that could bring salvation to all, accepting followers far and wide, founding a land of buddhism and reincarnating in the pure land. Even the chan sect that pursued self-actualisation and schools that stressed esoteric studies and secrets like esoteric buddhism and Vajray¨¡na were heavily affected.

    They wrote off all other methods of cultivation as H¨©nay¨¡na, lesser paths of cultivation, which included Mahe?vara¡¯s lesser path. Heresy would always be more despicable than other religions. As a result, Mahe?vara was both a god and a demon.

    ¡°I¡¯ve just arrived in Black Cloud city, so it¡¯s impossible for me to return to the Myriad sect, or wouldn¡¯t I be a coward? But you don¡¯t have to worry, master. I will keep my distance when I see you again in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not want to owe this monk a favour, so he did not make the request. However, he had a feeling that as long as he showed him the image of Mahe?vara, the Upraised Light abbot would definitely do something about it. That was because loathing would always be mutual. Since Mahe?vara loathed the pure land school so much, then the pure land school must loath Mahe?vara as well.

    Just as he had expected, the Upraised Light abbot thought, The Heavenly Tome of Liberty? The Myriad sect really has gone too far. If this child continues like this, he¡¯ll either end up as a demonfolk or fall into Mahe?vara¡¯s lesser path. The latter is even worse than the former. But I can tell that he¡¯s unhappy with this situation as well, so I can give him some guidance. Since the buddha could subdue Mahe?vara, then I¡¯ll subdue this demonic image of him!

    As a result, he said, ¡°I can try and erase the image of Mahe?vara. Would you like that, fellow?¡±

    He had already made up his mind. Even if Li Qingshan objected, he would still go ahead with it.

    Li Qngshan beamed with joy inside. He knew that any lies he told would be seen through before this monk, so he did not bother with posing around. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you, master.¡±

    Since both sides were willing, then the matter was simple. The Upraised Light abbot ordered others to remove the table before ringing the bell and gathering all the monks in the temple. He made Li Qingshan sit in the very centre of the grand hall, while he sat behind Li Qingshan. Several hundred monks huddled around them.

    ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Please go ahead, master!¡±

    The chanting began to rise and fall, ringing through the grand hall with the playing of various arcane artifacts like golden bowls and wooden fish. ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha, Namo Amit¨¡bha, Namo Amit¨¡bha¡­¡±

    It left Li Qingshan feeling like his head was about to explode. His back scorched as the demonic image of Mahe?vara glared away furiously, seeming like it was about to spring alive.

    ¡°Heh, it really is effective!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and looked down, assuming a solemn demeanour. A golden halo rose up from behind his head, leaving him dignified in appearance and bearing some resemblance to the great buddha.

    Find the original at *hosted* novel.

    ¡°Na- Mo- A- Mi- T¨¡- Bha! O?- Ma- ?i- Pad- Me H¨±?!¡±

    As he spat out the twelve words slowly, each word possessed extraordinary power, like the roar of a tiger. It left the entire grand hall shaking gently. When he spat out the last word, he slammed his palm into Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    Bang!

    Li Qingshan felt a sickly sweet sensation rise up in his throat, almost coughing up blood. His organs felt like they were about to rupture. He thought, This bald ass sure is vicious. Is he trying to kill me?

    The only thing that existed in the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s eyes was the demonic image of Mahe?vara. If he could not destroy it, then he would have to destroy the bearer of this demonic image who was currently on the path of great liberty, Li Qingshan. While he was an inner disciple of the Myriad sect and the Upraised Light abbot was forbidden from killing him, he only needed to heavily injure him and prevent him from making any more progress with his cultivation. At the very least, that would stop the spread of the Heavenly Tome of Liberty in the Myriad sect.

    These two paths cannot coexist, so do not blame me!

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and endured it. The toughness of his physique surprised the Upraised Light abbot. He soon composed himself and unleashed all of his power. He erupted with light, like a sun that had fallen in the grand hall. The great buddha dazzled in the light.

    His palm actually sank into Li Qingshan¡¯s back inch by inch, pressing into Mahe?vara¡¯s belly.

    ¡°The world is like a dwelling of fire, where all life suffers. The pure land of bliss can bring salvation to all.¡±

    Within the devoted chanting, the monks seemed to see a half-transparent great buddha make its way down from its lotus seat, stepping over the Upraised Light abbot and planting its foot on Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    Li Qingshan felt a rumble in his head, like it had exploded. His sea of consciousness surged violently. Only a great buddha stood within there, overlooking him like it was hiding something, smiling gently.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty circulated uncontrollably, and Li Qingshan almost fought back instinctively. The image of Mahe?vara actually began to move, swinging his arms and wanting to fight back out of anger.

    However, this power was just so mighty, and the will was just so firm. Above and below the skies, he stood supreme, unable to be shaken. Li Qingshan could not even lift a finger. All he could do was prostrate himself and convert.

    He could not help but develop a hint of regret. Surely he had not taken things too far this time!

    In the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s eyes, the image of Mahe?vara gradually blurred and twisted. A smile formed on his lips.

    Suddenly, a will filled with great destruction and great annihilation descended from above, penetrating the top of Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    The image of Mahe?vara on his back opened its third eye and produced a stream of black divine flames, striking the Upraised Light abbot in the forehead.

    ¡°Argh!¡± The Upraised Light abbot cried out painfully and collapsed forwards.

    Li Qingshan fell forwards as well. The figure of Mahe?vara on his back had vanished, like all of its power had been ejected with the streak of black divine flames. What replaced it was the image of a golden buddha.

    For a moment, all of the light and manifestations of divinities vanished. The grand hall was deathly silent.

 Chapter 1444

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1444 ¨C Source of Misfortune

    ¡°Urgh¡­¡±

    After who knew how long, Li Qingshan¡¯s finger twitched. Every inch of his body felt like it had been torn to shreds before being forcefully assembled again, only to be thrown into lava. Even the slightest movement came with agony.

    However, compared to the damage to his soul sense, that was nothing at all.

    A great buddha stood in his sea of consciousness, standing on top of the Yin Demon that had almost been destroyed.

    He had never liked Mahe?vara as much as right now, as the image left behind by him normally did not affect him at all.

    However, the great buddha required him to prostrate constantly, asking him for mercy.

    He did not dare to loosen his willpower even by the slightest, or he would be ¡°converted¡±. That would lead to terrifying, irreversible consequences. Even Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth would be useless.

    With a stagger, he climbed up from the ground and glanced at the Upraised Light abbot, only to see him with his eyes firmly shut and his face filled with pain. A small hole had been burned into his forehead, rising up with a wisp of black smoke.

    Even if Mahe?vara stood no chance against the buddha, that did not mean some random monk could destroy an image of him.

    Fuck his ancestors. This bald ass had nothing good in mind for me. Sure enough, if they aren¡¯t bald, they aren¡¯t vicious, and if they aren¡¯t vicious, they aren¡¯t bald. No, I gotta get out of here!

    Li Qingshan endured the maddening pain and staggered out of the grand hall.

    ¡°Abbot! Abbot!¡±

    A series of cries rang out in the grand hall. The monks all huddled over.

    A warrior monk with a shoulder exposed and a booming voice who stood like a tower blocked Li Qingshan¡¯s path. ¡°You cannot leave!¡±

    He had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation and attained the fruit of Srot¨¡panna. He was a protector monk of the Pure Land temple. The other protector monks responded as well, surrounding Li Qingshan in the grand hall with staves, poles, and tonsure blades.

    Normally, Li Qingshan only needed a single hand to kill them, but right now, even a young acolyte could knock him over with a gentle punch.

    He had once been called a tiger having left his place of safety, now harassed by a dog. Now, it had actually come true.

    Li Qingshan was extremely furious, glaring with his eyes. ¡°Who dares to stop me?¡±

    His voice was deep and hoarse, while his eyes were scarlet-red like blood.

    The monks trembled and backed away. The cowardly ones even fell back on their bottoms, scrambling out of his way.

    In particular, the protector monk at the front blanked out. In a daze, he felt like he was not in the grand hall, but within a gloomy, mountainous forest, facing an injured, frenzied tiger alone as a mortal.

    Fear immediately gripped him. By the time he returned to his senses, he had already moved out of the way, and no one else dared to stop him. He watched Li Qingshan stagger out of the place, his back hunched over and his feet heavy. It was as if every single step took all of his strength. However, no one dared to do anything to him.

    The great buddha remained seated on the lotus like before as if it was hiding something, watching Li Qingshan leave with a gentle smile.

    Li Qingshan finally left the Pure Land temple. The great flakes of snow drifted right past his face, dyed red by the blood in his eyes. The world was chaotic and hazy. His mind loosened up, and with a thump, he collapsed heavily on the ground, throwing snow into the air.

    ¡°Xiao An¡­¡±

    In the grey stone tower, Xiao An currently sat with her legs crossed, cultivating with her eyes closed. Suddenly, she felt uneasy, and she opened her eyes. ¡°Qingshan is in danger!¡±

    She made her way down the tower in a hurry and opened the door. Li Qingshan lay on the ground outside, covered in mud. He had left behind a long trail in the snow.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± She cried out and pulled him into her arms, carrying him to the top of the tower.

    Li Qingshan spat out three words with an extremely feeble yet determined voice, ¡°Slay the buddha!¡±

    Xiao An shivered inside. She had noticed the image of the golden buddha on his back a long time ago. She drew the Buddha Slaying sword and hesitated slightly before reversing her grip and suddenly stabbing down.

    The image of the buddha shone with golden light, but it shattered under the shiny white edge of the sword. The sword penetrated the buddha¡¯s chest, but it also plunged deeply into Li Qingshan¡¯s back.

    There was a rumble in Li Qingshan¡¯s sea of consciousness. The great buddha collapsed, and then his sea of consciousness shattered.

    The moment the buddha on his back vanished, blood poured out of his body, and his bones were pulverised. His organs were crushed to pulp.

    Xiao An threw aside the Buddha Slaying sword in a hurry, wanting to pick Li Qingshan up, but he just collapsed between her arms. His aura had completely vanished. She stiffened and was left dumbfounded. Her heart directly sank.

    Only after who knew how long did a feeble phoenix cry ring out. The blood, flesh, and bones all turned to flames, but it was still extremely feeble. It assembled together after great difficulty, assuming the form of a human.

    Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth!

    In the endless darkness, Li Qingshan felt that his cheeks were rather moist. He opened his eyes, only to see Xiao An weeping as she gazed at him. Her tears ran down and dripped on him.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Xiao An threw herself over and embraced him firmly. He smiled quietly and rubbed her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine.¡± For some reason, he felt his nose burn slightly. It really had been a close call this time. He had never thought that the person who would almost claim his life would not be Li Liehuo or Chao Tianjiao, but a monk that he had no grievances with.

    However, the bald ass probably did not have it easy either. It had been equivalent to two prominent figures of buddhism clashing through their bodies, and they had both been punished for destroying their respective images. Fortunately, he still had the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. The bald ass probably was not so fortunate.

    ¡°Heh, I sure have been miserable this time!¡±

    Even when he thought about it now, it still gave him shivers. However, at least he had finally erased those random images of gods and buddhas from his back, so he also felt extremely elated inside. At this moment, exhaustion surged forth like the tide. He yawned and murmured, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep.¡±

    Xiao An picked him up horizontally and placed him down on the soft bed, still embracing him.

    Oh you¡­ Li Qingshan murmured inside and sank into a slumber.

    The incident in the Pure Land temple spread through the entire city very soon. In particular, the news that a hole had been created in the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s head and the fact that he was still unconscious shook up the entire city.

    In the Scorching Fire hall, Li Liehuo listened seriously to a monk as he described everything that happened in the Pure Land temple.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    The monk complained tearfully, ¡°The abbot suspected Li Qingshan to be a spy from the Demon domain, which was why he suffered from something like this. You have to stand up for us, senior brother. Please capture Li Qingshan immediately!¡±

    Li Liehuo said nothing as he thought, A spy from the Demon domain? Are there really spies this cocky in the world? And even if he is one, he definitely would not be the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s opponent in the Pure Land temple. How is Li Qingshan capable of something like this, even after receiving a palm strike from the Upraised Light abbot defencelessly? There must be something else involved.

    Regardless, Li Qingshan was still a disciple of the Myriad sect at the end of the day. It was not up to outsiders to interfere with this.

    ¡°I understand. You can return to the temple first. I¡¯ll get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.¡±

    Hu Zhigang cursed. ¡°This kid sure is a source of misfortune!¡±

    Li Liehuo furrowed his brows. ¡°Don¡¯t utter nonsense!¡±

    ¡°First senior brother, how is that nonsense? There¡¯s definitely something wrong with this kid!¡± Everyone agreed with that.

    At the same time, in the Xuanwu hall, Chao Tianjiao listened to the description from another monk. A similar thought flashed through her head.

    It¡¯s only been a few days since this kid has come to Black Cloud city. First, he pays a visit to the Demon domain, and all the demonfolk stationed at Cold Blood pass are dead. Then he returns to the Scorching Fire hall to report about this and basically embarrasses all of the officers of the Scorching Fire army, making a fool out of their captain. Afterwards, he pays a visit to the Pure Land temple, and the Upraised Monk abbot collapses immediately. It¡¯s almost as if something supernatural is at work! Now he¡¯s joined the Xuanwu army¡­

    Surely I¡¯m not next!

    Chao Tianjiao, who never feared anything, shivered as well. She suddenly became slightly regretful.

 Chapter 1445

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1445 ¨C Benefits

    Li Qingshan slept for eight days and seven nights before waking up, but he still felt pain and powerlessness. He was lethargic as well. It had been a very long time since he had suffered such heavy wounds!

    Or perhaps it was better described as him having never suffered such terrifying damage before. Before, even when he had been smashed to pieces, he could make a complete recovery with a rebirth, but this time, he had almost just died before the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth kicked in. Even after a long slumber, he had not recovered. He gained a deep understanding of the existence of gods and buddhas and the danger involved as well.

    If he were a normal person, he would probably want to keep his distance now, but he felt an urge instead. Even just a glance was so exciting. If he were standing right before them in person, he wondered what it would feel like.

    That day would not be too far away. He would experience some close contact with Demon God Qiongqi very soon.

    Time waited for no one. He had to make his preparations, venture to the depths of the Demon domain, and arrive before Qingqi mountain.

    But right now, he had to pay a visit to the Xuanwu hall and meet with the first senior sister Chao Tianjiao.

    Because the Upraised Light abbot was still unconscious, it had already caused a great shock in Black Cloud city. If it were not for the strict military law within the army, the warrior monks of the Pure Land temple would have dismantled the stone tower already.

    ¡°Hmph, he got what he deserved!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt no sympathy for him at all. If it were not for Xiao An, he either would be completely dead right now or even worse off than being dead.

    Xiao An nodded in agreement.

    Li Qingshan pinched her cheek with a smile. ¡°It really is all thanks to you!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the Buddha Slaying sword.¡± Xiao An dodged his hand and took out the Buddha Slaying sword. After slaying the image of the great buddha, the edge shone even brighter and more smoothly, yet it gave Li Qingshan a feeling that it was extraordinarily sharp.

    Xiao An had benefited tremendously from coming to Black Cloud city. Not only did she obtain the corpses of several hundred thousand demonfolk as resources, but she had further strengthened the Buddha Slaying sword from slaying the image of the buddha too. On top of that, she had gained a deeper comprehension of the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty from the process. She could feel that she was nearing a breakthrough.

    Li Qingshan passed the sumeru ring with the demonfolk corpses to her and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll go out for a stroll. You can just stay here and cultivate! According to the current situation, the battles in the future will be even more intense. I won¡¯t be able to go without you.¡±

    Xiao An nodded sternly, like she was accepting an important mission.

    Li Qingshan smiled and lowered his head, about to kiss her on the forehead and leave.

    Suddenly, she raised her head, gazing at Li Qingshan with her clear eyes.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. Abruptly, he noticed she really had grown up a lot. Her skin was still as soft and tender as before, fair but not ghostly pale. She was even slightly rounded now, and the red mole on her forehead gave off a solemn beauty of its own.

    She was not some goddess that had descended in the mortal realm. Instead, she was the exact opposite. She had a fleeting appearance, like she had brushed away the dust of mortality and was about to transcend.

    Despite all the beauties he had seen in the world, none surpassed her. By heavenly beauty and fragrance, it was just referring to her.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head and kissed her gently on the lips. He smiled. ¡°Are you happy now?¡±

    Xiao An touched her lips. She sank into her thoughts.

    ¡°This little girl sure knows how to make trouble!¡± Li Qingshan laughed as he made his way down the tower.

    Xiao An bit her lip and fumed. ¡°What was that supposed to be?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan arrived in the Xuanwu hall. It was empty with only Chao Tianjiao there. She stood with her back to him, on a terrace in the air, as if she was gazing at the Demon domain in the distance.

    Even when Li Qingshan clasped his hands and said, ¡°Senior sister, I¡¯m here.¡± she behaved like she had not heard anything.

    Li Qingshan thought, This woman is messing with me again! He just said nothing more and began admiring her figure. He could not help but confess that her figure was wonderful. Standing in the snow and wind, even with her back to him, she seemed valiant.

    Her legs were long and slender, while her waist was supple and powerful. As for buttocks¡­ heh, check out that ass. She was truly the first senior sister!¡±

    Li Qingshan licked his lips and ogled away.

    Crack! The stone railing in Chao Tianjiao¡¯s hand fractured. ¡°If you take another glance, I¡¯ll dig out your eyes!¡±

    Li Qingshan knew she was not bluffing. He could even guess that she was actually tempted to do something like that. Taking his current feeble state into consideration, he looked away and smiled. ¡°Senior sister, why are you looking for me?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao looked back. ¡°Do you know what will happen to you if Upraised Light does not awaken?¡±

    ¡°He will awaken.¡±

    Li Qingshan was not worried at all. As one of the people involved, he believed the Upraised Light abbot would not die. After all, he was a fifth heavenly tribulation monk who had attained two fruits of buddhism, and he was in his own territory as well. Most importantly, as one of the buddha¡¯s most devoted lackeys¡­

    Li Qingshan pointed above. ¡°The buddha is watching over him!¡±

    ¡°Hah! That¡¯s not a bad reason.¡± Chao Tianjiao returned to her senses and studied Li Qingshan with interest. ¡°Then who¡¯s watching over you?¡± Right now, the Upraised Light abbot was still unconscious, while he seemed like he was completely fine.

    Li Qingshan said proudly, ¡°I¡¯ve always been watching over myself.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao mocked him. ¡°I heard you crawled back.¡±

    The wind and snow that day was intense, but someone still ended up seeing him. Spread by the officers of the Scorching Fire army, he became a laughing stock in the army very soon.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°There are also times when I¡¯m not enough.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was surprised inside. She had always thought he was merely an arrogant ruffian. Even when it came to a regular soldier, they would view something like that as a great disgrace, so she never expected him to admit it so easily. Instead, it made her develop a hint of admiration towards him. If he did not possess lofty aspirations and great willpower, he would not possess such broad-mindedness.

    In her knowledge, Li Liehuo did not laugh when he heard about this. Instead, he grew sterner.

    It¡¯s a pity that he joined the sect so late, or perhaps he really might be able to contend for the position of first senior brother with us.

    Of course, she would never say something like that openly. She said sternly, ¡°Tell me about what you encountered in Cold Blood pass the other day again.¡±

    Eerie affairs always left her slightly uneasy. The internal conflict and grievances were all small matters. The war to hold off the Demon domain was what truly took priority over everything else.

    During the endless war across the years, Demon Sovereigns fell frequently, but many Human Sovereigns had died in the process as well. They would not show any mercy just because you were a direct disciple or a first senior sister. They would only be even more vicious and brutal.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan nodded. He also understood the importance of matters. His main enemy was Demon God Qiongqi, not Chao Tianjiao or Li Liehuo. Even if he was not afraid of fighting back against Li Liehuo, it was only because an opportunity had presented itself. He would never waste time setting up some kind of trap. Blindly wallowing in these grievances was a path that led to death.

    He furrowed his brows and sank into his thoughts for a while before saying, ¡°The situation was complicated, so it¡¯s difficult to describe. I¡¯ve only just arrived here, so I don¡¯t know what you want to know either. If you trust me enough, then I can show it to you yourself!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao crossed her arms. ¡°Is this a method of Mahe?vara?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not that great. It¡¯s only the method of a demon.¡±

    ¡°Come then.¡± Chao Tianjiao opened her mind.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and projected out with his Yin Soul, diving into Chao Tianjiao¡¯s body.

    At that moment, the sight before Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes changed. Standing beneath Cold Blood pass, the winds whistled as the snow drifted through the air. Even the reeking of blood in the air was sharp to her senses. She could not help but praise him. ¡°Truly impressive!¡±

    Being able to pull her into an illusion so quickly, even when she had opened her mind to him, was quite impressive.

    Li Qingshan just stood right by her, but he was half-transparent as if he could disperse at any moment.

    After being suppressed by the great buddha, his Yin Soul had suffered severe damage. Even now, it had yet to make a complete recovery, and after losing the image of Mahe?vara, his various techniques like the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique had been drastically affected. They had become far weaker.

    However, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty had reached a whole new realm. The Yin Demon became even closer to a Yin Soul. He no longer had to worry about losing control. It had become much more ¡°liberal¡±.

    When he made offerings to Mahe?vara, that was because he had no other choice. Worshipping gods and buddhas was still a wrong path. Now, he had finally returned to the proper path.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go in and take a look!¡±

    At the same time, the Upraised Light abbot strolled around slowly. The climate was warm as the breeze brushed past his face. A gentle, buddhist glow filled the air. The ground was level, allowing him to see as far as he wanted. There were neither towering mountains nor bottomless chasms.

    Black flames that could destroy everything burned on his body, but there was no pain or fear on his face. Instead, he smiled calmly, like he was a wanderer that had finally returned home. His gaze was enchanted and devoted.

    Suddenly, like falling flowers, rain descended from above and landed on him. The flames were immediately suppressed before being extinguished very soon.

    He immediately knelt down and brought his palms together. He was rather excited. ¡°Is the buddha calling me to enter Sukh¨¡vat¨©?¡±

    Afterwards, he woke up. Even the hole in his forehead had healed. He came to a slight understanding. He still had not completed his duty yet. He had to continue with it.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Compared to converting a myriad common people, he was better off converting just this one person.

 Chapter 1446

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1446 ¨C Ring

    Li Qingshan shuddered for some reason inside. The illusion collapsed, and his Yin Soul broke free. It was transparent and extremely feeble, returning to his body in a hurry.

    Chao Tianjiao felt her eyes blur, and she returned to the Xuanwu hall again. Glancing at his complexion, she smiled. ¡°Your wounds are quite heavy.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed dryly. ¡°Thank you for your concern, senior sister.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about whether you can accept that gift of mine during the army-wide martial arts competition that¡¯s being held soon.¡± Chao Tianjiao looked at Li Qingshan like she wanted him to beg her to spare him.

    Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°I want to fight ten.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you sure know how to talk tough. When you make a fool of yourself later, you better not blame me.¡±

    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, then I¡¯m leaving.¡±

    Li Qingshan was talking tough. Given his current state, he could not recover unless he had a month, but he would never suck up to Chao Tianjiao and beg for mercy.

    Chao Tianjiao waved her hand and Li Qingshan turned around to leave. Right when he was about to leave through the door, he suddenly heard her say, ¡°Get ready to face a frenzied Demon Emperor. That will be the opening act to the army-wide martial arts competition. Only victory is permitted, or I¡¯ll never spare you.¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced back at her and nodded. ¡°Thanks.¡±

    By a frenzied Demon Emperor, that was probably a demonic beast. As long as he understood the enemy and understood his own capacity, he could win all of his battles. If he knew what his opponent was, he could make many arrangements beforehand. Actually, he already had some ideas right now.

    After leaving, Chao Tianjiao shook her head. Damned brat. Even after being injured, you¡¯re still so stubborn. This time, I¡¯m basically showing you mercy already. This is for the sake that you let me see what happened at Cold Blood pass.

    Thinking up to there, she became rather stern. The situation at Cold Blood pass was very eerie. It definitely was not as simple as Tu Wancheng losing control and becoming a demonic beast. Instead, it was a massacre with a purpose. All of the Demon Emperors and Demon Kings had been eliminated first.

    But just what was this all for?

    Chao Tianjiao gazed at the sky. All she saw were the black clouds pressing down and the hazy snow.

    Li Qingshan left the Xuanwu hall and did not return to the stone tower directly. Xiao An was probably focusing on cultivation, while he was unable to cultivate right now given his current state, so he simply strolled through the city.

    With how leisurely he seemed, he was quite jarring compared to the street full of soldiers that hurried along sternly. Quite a few people actually recognised him, but they were all hostile. No one came up to greet him.

    If it were not for Li Qingshan¡¯s identity and strength, probably a great group of them would have come over to make trouble already.

    Not only had Li Qingshan completely offended Li Liehuo, but he had almost humiliated the entire Scorching Fire army. His feud with Chao Tianjiao had offended the Xuanwu army as well.

    Actually, if that was all, it was not enough for regular soldiers to be so hostile to him. Instead, it could earn him a lot of respect. After all, the strong were respected in the army.

    However, he had also left the Upraised Light abbot unconscious recently, turning him into a criminal in the eyes of all the soldiers.

    Not only was the Upraised Light abbot responsible for purifying the demonic land and recording their contributions, but he also cleansed the demon qi off soldiers that fought in the Demon domain. Otherwise, it would be very easy for them to suffer from cultivation deviation or even become demonfolk.

    He upheld the belief of the pure land school that all were equal, so he was easy-going and friendly. He possessed an extremely great reputation in Black Cloud city. Who knew how many people had been graced by him, and the soldiers of the lower levels were particularly protective about him.

    As a result, Li Qingshan became notorious because an inner disciple like him had gained the position of a general as soon as he joined the army. As a result, he earned himself another wonderful nickname, which was the crawling general.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ears were far too sharp. He would always be able to catch the countless murmurs, yet none of them was anything positive about him. Even with his broad-mindedness, it left him irritated.

    Suddenly, he heard the sound of cries and fighting, as well as cheers and curses, which immediately washed away these murmurs.

    Out of curiosity, he made his way around a building and arrived on some drilling grounds.

    All he saw was a black mass of people surging around, totalling two or three thousand. They gathered around the ring in the centre of the drilling grounds and cheered and shouted away.

    There were currently two soldiers locked in combat on there. One was dressed in light armour, wielding a spear, while the other was clad in heavy armour with a blade and shield.

    They were both low-level soldiers that had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation, but they radiated with battle intent and murderousness. Whenever they clashed, it would lead to a wave of cheers.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Li Qingshan stopped a young soldier who watched on from the outskirts.

    The young soldier¡¯s eyes were glued to the ring. He said without even looking back, ¡°Kid, you must be new. You don¡¯t even know about this? This is the army-wide martial arts competition.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in surprise, ¡°Isn¡¯t there still half a month before the army-wide martial arts competition begins?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you really know nothing at all. The army-wide martial arts competition begins as soon as we reach winter.¡±

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin and guessed that this was probably the preliminaries, while the finals were half a month later.

    He had guessed correctly because as soon as they reached winter, the wind and snow became sharp and biting. The cold was harsh. The army would not be able to advance. Apart from small-scale scouting and assassination attempts, they were basically all in a state of ceasefire.

    An army that was a million strong huddled up in the barracks of Black Cloud city. They were a group of vigorous, aggressive, bloodthirsty men, so if they did not have something to do, they would definitely stir up trouble. As a result, they held the army-wide martial arts competition whenever they reached winter.

    In order to prompt them on, not only did they offer a large number of rewards, but it even directly determined their position in the army too.

    Even soldiers of the lowest rank could make an appearance in the ¡°finals¡± that Li Qingshan would be participating in if they placed well. That was not just a form of honour. If they could catch the attention of a certain officer, they could be directly promoted or chosen as a personal guard, obtaining a cultivation method and formally setting off on the path of cultivation.

    Many lucky people like that would appear every year.

    The winters here were particularly long, so they actually only spent half their time fighting demonfolk and the other half holding the army-wide martial arts competition. They were the two most important paths to promotion in the army. The latter would also lead to deaths often, but it was still safer than fighting against demonfolk, so of course, the entire army was enthusiastic about it.

    Even the losers could have a few gambles if they believed in their own eyes and luck. The soldiers that hurried along sternly in the streets did not come to watch the competition. They were competing.

    At this moment, the cheers surged like waves, filling the air.

    On the ring, the soldier with the spear caught an opening and thrust his weapon into a crack in his opponent¡¯s armour, on his waist.

    The young soldier was bright red from excitement. He could win quite a lot from this one round.

    However, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°He¡¯s lost.¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, the soldier with the blade and shield cast aside his blade decisively and grabbed the spear. Disregarding his injuries, he suddenly rushed forward with a shield slam. With a thunk, he knocked his opponent out of the ring.

    The cheers immediately died down, only to be replaced by new cheers in the blink of an eye like it was endless.

    The young soldier stamped his foot and cursed. Only now did he turn around. He was surprised. ¡°Hmm? Why do I find you so familiar? Ah, you¡¯re the craw-¡±

    ¡°Craw what?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitched. The young soldier corrected himself in a hurry, ¡°G- general.¡±

    No matter how poor Li Qingshan¡¯s reputation was, he still was not someone a low-level soldier could openly insult. However, all it sounded like was he had saved the ¡°-ling¡± part.

    Li Qingshan was furious. My discretion is not a reason for you to walk all over me. He knocked out the young soldier with a knifehand strike and tossed him out. He casually took the metal helmet from his arms and made his way towards the centre of the drilling grounds.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    ¡°Grandsonny, what¡¯re you pushing and shoving for?¡± ¡°Get your ass back there!¡±

    With the shouts and curses, he squeezed through the crowd and directly arrived below the ring. The soldier who had just won had made his way down to tend to his wounds, so there was no one on there. He leapt onto the ring and under everyone¡¯s watch, he pumped his arm and shouted out.

    ¡°Long live Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 1447

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1447 ¨C Group Beating

    That shout drowned out all the ruckus on the drilling grounds, and it was filled with a sense of pride.

    Everyone was taken aback. Opposing the crawling general Li Qingshan had already become the common view in the army, so just where did this puny soldier come from to say something so controversial.

    Li Qingshan wore the metal helmet that covered half of his face. That was the equipment that every soldier of the lowest level possessed. No one had imagined that a mighty general would actually disguise himself as a mere soldier and cheer himself on publicly.

    This was quite close to the Xuanwu hall. Chao Tianjiao¡¯s ears were sharp, so she arrived at the window and took a look. She recognised Li Qingshan in a single glance and sighed while shaking her head. ¡°This kid is far too unreliable.¡±

    Just earlier, she thought he had an extraordinary breadth of mind. Now, he had personally gone up to challenge them. That was basically as petty as he could be. However, for some reason, she also felt like that was simply how he was supposed to behave. Her lips curled into a smile, and she began to watch with brimming interest.

    A series of furious curses erupted from below the ring, ¡°Get down here! Get down here!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced around arrogantly and raised his thumb before giving them a thumbs-down. ¡°Trash.¡±

    He immediately angered all of the soldiers. Some of them reached for the nearest rock and threw it at him. The ones that had not thrown any had only done so because they were unable to find any rocks near them.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

    For a moment, the air became filled with rocks that rained down on the ring. Li Qingshan ducked and weaved. He seemed very sluggish, but he happened to dodge all of the rocks.

    This was a drilling ground after all, so the soldiers could not find any more rocks to throw very soon, while the ring was covered in rocks.

    Li Qingshan lifted up a great pile and called out, ¡°Here, take it back!¡±

    He threw them one by one. Even when he had not used much strength, the people below were all squeezed together in such a tight spot, so how could they dodge? For a moment, the air was filled with a series of painful cries.¡±

    ¡°Be careful!¡± All of you, move out of my way! Ouch! My head!¡± ¡°Fucking hell, who stepped on my foot?¡±

    Among the several thousand people below the ring, not a lot of them had actually been pelted by rocks, but in order to dodge, they pushed and shoved at each other, which led to even greater chaos. They were reduced to a confused disorder.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t even used any strength, and you¡¯ve collapsed!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood on the ring and laughed aloud. Everyone glared at him and cursed away furiously. The soldiers below were ready to have a go, to come up and beat him up, but they all looked at the tower to the side of the drilling grounds.

    The colonel responsible for overwatching the competition stood up and pointed at Li Qingshan. He said fiercely, ¡°Which squad and brigade do you belong to? How dare you make trouble on the drilling grounds. Are you aware that it is a crime punishable by death?¡±

    In Black Cloud city, the ones beneath the two captains were the generals. They were all positions held by inner disciples of the Myriad sect, commanding the various battalions. After them were the commandants that led the various regiments, posts all held by formal disciples. They were the high-ranking members of the army, forming its core.

    After them came the colonels, lieutenants, squadron leaders, ten-man squad leaders, and five-man squad leaders.

    Colonels were the leaders among the middle-ranking officers. They were as close to the high-ranking officers as they could get, and it was a position only held by Golden Core cultivators that had undergone the second heavenly tribulation. As a result, ranging from generals to colonels, they were all known as important officers of the army. They possessed great status.

    This colonel was obviously no exception either. He was a Golden Core cultivator. In the Myriad sect, he was merely a reader. He could not even be considered as a proper disciple, but in the army, he was a significant figure whose orders were paramount. Normally, a mere glare from him was enough for rowdy soldiers to shiver and dodge his gaze. With him around, no matter how agitated the soldiers became, they still did not dare to charge up the ring.

    However, Li Qingshan did not care about that at all. He placed his hand on his hips and lifted his head. ¡°And which squad and brigade do you belong to? What¡¯s your name? How dare you talk to me like that. Are you aware that it is a crime punishable by death?¡±

    He used the great mocking technique successfully once more; it was highly effective.

    The colonel flew into a rage. ¡°Take him down!¡±

    A burly soldier immediately charged up the ring. He was clad in armour and equipped with weapons, clearly one of the competitors. Since he could make it so far, he could be considered as a brave warrior in the army. ¡°I am from the Scorching Fire army, the Scarlet Flame regiment, Zhang¡­¡±

    ¡°Get out of here!¡± Li Qingshan picked him.

    It led to another series of curses from below the ring, erupting with remarks like ¡°despicable scoundrel¡±, ¡°sneaky bastard¡±, ¡°that¡¯s a surprise attack¡±, and so on.

    ¡°You bunch of trash, listen up!¡± Li Qingshan clasped his fist and assumed a pose of absolute reverence. ¡°Great general Li Qingshan is mighty and domineering, loyal and righteous, handsome and graceful. He only ever wins others over by virtue¡­¡±

    With that, he praised himself to the ends of the earth, like he was the greatest person in the world, leaving no aspect untouched.

    As she listened to it, Chao Tianjiao furrowed her brows, grinned and ground her teeth¡­ before bursting into laughter in the end.

    The soldiers were all furious from that. Originally, they still thought Li Qingshan was not that bad, but now, they were certain about it.

    After praising himself, Li Qingshan swung his fist. ¡°If anyone is still unconvinced, get up here, and I¡¯ll beat you until you¡¯re convinced.¡±

    The overseeing colonel¡¯s forehead bulged with veins. He was unable to stand this anymore. ¡°Fucking hell, beat him up!¡±

    Everyone answered the order and surged towards Li Qingshan as a black mass like the tide; they burned with rage.

    ¡°Hehe, come at me!¡±

    Li Qingshan punched and kicked, knocking them down as they came, no matter how many of them there were.

    As soon as the soldiers reached five steps from him, they were sent flying, soaring over everyone¡¯s heads and returning to the tide of people.

    Even with his feeble state, Li Qingshan could not be touched by these soldiers. In his eyes, they all just seemed like they were stepping forward for him to beat up. In the beginning, he still had to consider what moves to take, like how he should throw his punch and where he should direct his kick, but towards the end, he simply whirled his hands and feet blindly and went at it.

    With the innate ability, the Strength of the Earth, as well as his proactive efforts to hold back, he had come to vent, not to kill. As a result, he did not have to worry about overexerting himself. He just did whatever that satisfied him.

    The colonel gradually realised that something was amiss. This puny soldier was a little too strong. In a short while, he had already sent several hundred people flying, and he was still brimming with energy without any signs of weakness. On top of that, none of the people he sent flying died or became heavily injured. Some of them even climbed up and charged towards the ring again. Clearly, he was holding back.

    Even a Golden Core cultivator like him could not last against an encirclement of so many soldiers if he was empty-handed and unable to fly or kill, let alone fend them off with such ease.

    These soldiers were not ordinary mountain bandits, but experienced soldiers. They were far stronger than regular Qi Practitioners and possessed discipline. They knew how to organise themselves and work together to advance and retreat. Many of them were already using their weapons. They just had not assumed any military formations. Otherwise, even if a Golden Core cultivator became caught in it, they would be sliced to pieces, unable to escape.

    A lieutenant asked softly, ¡°Colonel, do you think he¡¯s Li-¡±

    ¡°Shh, report this to the captain immediately.¡± The colonel began having second thoughts. If it really was that bastard, he would be far more than what a measly colonel like him could handle. If he decided to beat him up as well, there would be nothing he could say.

    ¡°Who do I report to?¡±

    ¡°Both.¡±

    There were many people in the drilling grounds who considered this. These soldiers were only weak in strength, not fools. Very soon, many of them guessed Li Qingshan¡¯s identity. The disturbance here was far too great, so it had alarmed the entire city a long time ago. People rushed about and informed each other.

    ¡°The crawling general is beating up people!¡±

 Chapter 1448

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1448 ¨C Military Might

    Good news went on crutches, while bad news always flew apace.

    Everyone in Black Cloud city had heard about the crawling general. He was basically the most famous person beneath Human Sovereign.

    At this moment, all one hundred and eight drilling grounds of Black Cloud city were holding their preliminaries. The actions of the soldiers were basically unrestricted.

    Through the several hundred military camps in the surroundings and the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder, they were completely unafraid of any sneak attacks from the Demon domain. If Demon Sovereigns dared to leave their army and venture here alone, all of them would die here, even if there were ten of them.

    As a result, as soon as this news spread, everyone felt like they had to come and take a look. Last time, they had missed out on how the crawling general had piled several hundred thousand corpses of demonfolk on the drilling grounds as a gamble with Li Liehuo, which many people regretted.

    Particularly with the drilling grounds nearby, the people in the ring were still competing when the spectators had all vanished already. To the side of the drilling grounds, the colonel and the lieutenants had all disappeared as well.

    The two people in the ring glanced at each other and decided to strike up a truce. ¡°Brother, let¡¯s go and take a look as well! There¡¯s no colonel here to preside over the match, so even if we fight, it¡¯s for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Sure, brother! Please!¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you head down first?¡±

    ¡°Why should I head down first?¡±

    The shouts and cries grew louder and louder. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll head down together.¡±

    ¡°Alright! One, two, three.¡±

    On the turret by the drilling grounds, the overseeing colonel became absolutely flustered as he saw how everything got more and more out of hand. Every minute felt like an eternity. Finally, the lieutenant reported back. He asked in a hurry, ¡°What did the first senior brother say?¡±

    ¡°The first senior brother said to let him fight!¡±

    ¡°What about the first senior sister? What did she say?¡±

    ¡°First senior sister i- is watching right from her window.¡± And she seemed to be very happy too.

    ¡°What?¡± The colonel only realised that after a moment of surprise. He gazed in the direction of the Xuanwu hall and made out Chao Tianjiao¡¯s vague figure. He clasped his hands and bowed in a hurry.

    When he looked at the drilling grounds again, the crowd had already swallowed the ring. Li Qingshan stood among thousands of people like a wall, allowing the waves to slam against him while not budging at all. He calmly fended off all incoming opponents.

    As he watched the people surge over from all sides and the cries of, ¡°The crawling general is beating up people!¡± echo through the streets, he found it both exasperating and hilarious, so he just removed his helmet and tossed it away. He called out, ¡°The crawling general is right here! Who dares to face me!?¡±

    The drilling grounds fell silently, and the surges halted as well. The fists and weapons from the soldiers right in front of him paused mid-air. They all looked at one another.

    Even if he was the crawling general, he was still a general. His status completely surpassed any regular solder¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°What, you¡¯re only bold enough to harass regular soldiers, and you become cowards as soon as you face a general?¡±

    Everyone was furious, grinding their teeth angrily. Within the chaotic army, someone called out, ¡°Kill him!¡±

    That set off a chain reaction. Everyone shouted out in reply, and they swarmed towards him like a rockslide.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    Courage was the soul of the army and honour was the spirit. They could be sent to their deaths, but they could not be labelled as cowards. Earlier, when they refused to act recklessly, it was not because they were afraid of how powerful Li Qingshan was. They were worried about his identity as a general.

    The military law was strict, and the divisions in ranks could not be violated without proper reason. However, he had gone too far with that!

    The training they had received had never been about how to run away from danger, but how to fight to the death without retreating, using their own bodies to encircle Demon Kings and Demon Emperors to create an opportunity for their superiors. There had even been Demon Sovereigns that perished at the hands of low-level soldiers before, even though it was at the cost of losing their own Human Sovereign and basically being annihilated.

    Let alone the fact that Li Qingshan was only a Yin Soul cultivator, they were bold enough to put up a fight even if it was a Human Sovereign or Demon Sovereign.

    Li Qingshan felt his pressure suddenly increase, which made his expression change slightly.

    This intense resolve. Is this the war in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra?

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    And most of them were not equipped with armour or weapons, nor did they have any superiors to organise the formations and army banners or war drums to gather their army qi.

    If they were clad in armour with weapons, assembling military formations and gathering army qi, just how mighty would they be? He could not help but develop a little more respect for these regular soldiers.

    And the true battlefield was located at the boundary of the two worlds. Cultivators would be heavily affected, so there was nothing strange about dying to their hands.

    When I join the battlefield in the future, I definitely cannot be careless!

    With their momentum established, every single soldier felt fearless as their strength multiplied, charging towards Li Qingshan without any regard. The ones at the front threw themselves over, and the ones at the back followed closely, without any fear of death. The fresh troops from other drilling grounds arrived in an endless flow too, such that they gradually reached within five steps of Li Qingshan.

    Originally, each battalion had a system of their own. In particular, the Scorching Fire armies and Xuanwu armies were completely different, constantly competing against one another. Now that they heard their opponent was the crawling general Li Qingshan and he had said such angering things as well, they actually just disregarded the system and began working together.

    Chao Tianjiao smiled gently. ¡°The unity of Black Cloud city will be completely up to you.¡±

    ¡°Colonel, how bold of you!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, does that bastard really think he¡¯s unstoppable?¡±

    The overseeing colonel crouched in one corner of the drilling grounds as his lieutenants crowded around him, all expressing their admiration. The first shout that had rallied everyone had come from him. In order to avoid Li Qingshan bearing grudges against him, he had specially made a tactical transfer here.

    He guessed what the two captains were thinking, in particular, what the first senior brother Li Liehuo was thinking, as he belonged to the Scorching Fire army. The captain must have hated Li Qingshan to the bones, and he would definitely want to teach this bastard a lesson. As such, this could no longer be regarded as ganging up on a general anymore.

    ¡°He actually wants to hold off an army alone? Sure enough, he hasn¡¯t witnessed the battlefield before.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity that we¡¯re unprepared and we can¡¯t form military formations, or we¡¯ll give him more trouble than he bargained for.¡±

    The overseeing colonel struck the ground and stood up. ¡°Fuck him. Go contact the five-man squad leaders, the ten-man squad leaders, and the squadron leaders. Get them to assemble the formations! If we don¡¯t show him some of our power today, he won¡¯t even know what military might is! He walked over this time, so I¡¯ll make him crawl back again!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The lieutenants accepted the order.

    In just a short while, the soldiers began assembling the most rudimentary military formation. They were no longer in a state of chaotic disunity anymore.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    From above, it was possible to see various groups take shape. Groups of five formed five-man squads, groups of ten formed ten-man squads, eventually establishing hundred-men squadrons. They were like individual cells, rapidly assembling into muscles and bones until they turned into a colossal beast of war.

    As soon as the military formation took shape, the army qi began to condense rapidly.

    The pressure that Li Qingshan was under grew heavier and heavier. There were many soldiers before, but only so many could squeeze in front of him. No matter how furious and hurried the people behind them were, they could only watch.

    It was different now. The people squeezed in front of him had lessened instead. They had pulled away from him, coordinating and supporting one another. If that was all, then so be it, but when the rolling army qi gathered on them, they were no longer fighting alone. The army was with them.

    On the other hand, the air seemed to grow thick for Li Qingshan, such that his movements became sluggish. Although he could still send them flying one by one, the effort it took had increased by more than ten fold. Gradually, he could not just whirl his arms and legs anymore.

    Within the deafening war cry, the army pressed closer to Li Qingshan, four steps, three steps, two steps, one step¡­

    ¡°Press down on him!¡±

    The soldiers lunged over. Some grabbed his legs, some clung onto his waist, while others gripped his arms. Immediately, they formed a small mountain, crushing Li Qingshan firmly down below.

    ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± The soldiers cheered. Laughter rang out from within the small mountain.

    ¡°Interesting. How interesting!¡±

 Chapter 1449

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1449 ¨C Falling into Formation

    The laughter was extremely elated. Buried within the crowd, it instead ignited Li Qingshan¡¯s battle spirit. He felt his weakness vanish slightly. Hehe, others recover by resting. I recover by fighting!

    ¡°Hah!¡± With an explosive bellow, Li Qingshan raised his arms, and the pile of people collapsed.

    ¡°Ahh!¡± Several hundred soldiers were sent flying, such that only Li Qingshan was left on the ring again.

    His black hair drifted through the snowy winds as he smiled flagrantly, giving off a sense of childish stubbornness at the same time. His eyes shone as he glanced down the ring in interest. If earlier was only venting in the heat of the moment, then now was as if he had just found an interesting toy.

    Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! The soldiers all fell on the ground. Everyone was shocked. They never expected him to be so powerful.

    There were far more than several hundred people weighing on Li Qingshan earlier. There was the army qi condensed by the entire army, which he destroyed with ease. The morale of the army immediately wavered.

    Someone called out, ¡°Don¡¯t panic! He¡¯s just one person!¡±

    Li Qingshan followed the voice and looked over. He immediately recognised him to be the overseeing colonel from earlier.

    They truly were an experienced army of elites. Their morale stabilised very soon, and the army qi condensed together once more. Twenty to thirty thousand people had already gathered on this tiny drilling ground. The surrounding barracks, streets, walls, and trees were all filled with people too. There were almost a hundred thousand people there, constantly providing fresh troops.

    ¡°Very good! I can have a little more fun like this!¡± Li Qingshan licked his lips and smiled. ¡°Just one person?¡±

    With a flash, black figures layered together, all turning into Li Qingshan. They were his thought clones, amounting to over a hundred.

    The clones either advanced or retreated, remaining by Li Qingshan¡¯s side. In the blink of an eye, they established a military formation.

    ¡°Military formations? I know them too!¡±

    Li Qingshan had done a lot of homework, and military formations happened to be a part of it. They were not some secret either. Military formations were clexible, but they still came nowhere close to the complexity of regular formations. It placed emphasis on the training and various forms of coordination between the soldiers. The better trained they were and the better they coordinated together, the more stabilised their morale would be and the more consolidated their army qi would be.

    And what could coordinate better than clones?

    As the military formation took shape, it was only assembled from a hundred people, yet it seemed like an entire army, confronting the soldiers.

    Chao Tianjiao raised her eyebrows slightly. ¡°A clone formation!¡±

    This move was not an original creation by Li Qingshan. Any cultivator who was skilled with clone techniques would consider how to organise weaker clones against a powerful enemy. Clone formations were the simplest and most convenient choice.

    However, these cultivators would always discover in the very end that while this move seemed very powerful, there were actually many limitations.

    First of all, the number of clones was limited, so the scale of the military formation they could establish was limited as well. It would take tremendous energy and power to control and maintain them, so perhaps they were better off casting some other technique.

    Secondly, it was not suited for individual clashes. Military formations were powerful, but they moved slowly and had a limited range of attack. Unless it was a direct confrontation, the enemy only needed to keep their distance and the military formation would collapse by itself. Even using it to defend would only provide temporary relief and make things worse later on.

    As a result, this move was not too common, but it was extremely suited for Li Qingshan right now. He ordered, ¡°Charge!¡± Finally, he had experienced how it felt to be a great general. As the commander, he charged in the front, rushing into the army of thousands with his group of a hundred.

    Immediately, like he was unstoppable, countless opponents were thrown into the air with surprised cries wherever he reached.

    Like a sharp plough digging through the ground deeply, the loose, opposing military formation was unable to stop his charge at all. Most importantly, they had no commander. Their strongest member was only the colonel, whose strength came nowhere close to his.

    In other words, they did not have a general unifying them. The general served as the courage of the army. Without a general watching over the army, they were like a wild beast without any claws or teeth. No matter how large they were, the power they could unleash was extremely limited.

    Before the overseeing colonel could even return to his senses, Li Qingshan had arrived before him, directly trampling over him. He lay on the ground on his last breath, covered with footprints.

    Chao Tianjiao watched as Li Qingshan rampaged through the drilling ground as she sighed inside. If this were a battlefield, this would have devolved into a one-sided slaughter already. There are many reasons why they¡¯re weaker, such as the lack of a main commander and the absence of armour and weapons, but this kid clearly hasn¡¯t been using his full strength either. He¡¯s in a weakened state too.¡±

    With his robust physique and that wondrous Yin Soul, he can both confront enemies directly and launch sneak attacks. If it weren¡¯t for all his feuds, he¡¯d definitely be a great support. He will definitely make great contributions in future battles. As long as he does not die along the way, what¡¯s so difficult about becoming a direct disciple?

    When she thought about the duel they had agreed on in thirty years¡¯ time, she smiled gently. ¡°Kid, even I want to nip you in the bud!¡±

    Of course, that was only a joke. Neither she nor Li Liehuo possessed an objective like that. Suppressing their juniors to maintain their own status was an extreme form of foolishness and weakness. It would only wear down their own will powers.

    They all advanced with absolute confidence. Even if they wanted to kill Li Qingshan, it was only for revenge, or purely for the sake of venting, not because of a despicable motivation like that.

    ¡°Though, I can¡¯t let him continue like this, or their morale will be crushed.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was just about to interfere when she saw a monk rush over to the drilling grounds. He announced loudly, ¡°Under the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s orders, general Li Qingshan is invited to visit the Pure Land temple!¡±

    His voice boomed loudly. All of the soldiers shuddered as a result, both surprised and overjoyed. ¡°The abbot is awake!?¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside as well. He was still shaken from his recent experience in the Pure Land temple.

    On top of that, the monk who had come was the same warrior monk who tried to block his path that day. He said Li Qingshan was ¡°invited¡±, but his face was filled with anger. He had been repelled by Li Qingshan by a single statement, which he viewed as a great humiliation.

    If it were not for the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s orders, perhaps he would want to challenge Li Qingshan right now and settle things for good.

    Li Qingshan dispersed his clones and leapt down. He asked with a smile, ¡°So it¡¯s you! What¡¯s the Upraised Light abbot calling me over for again?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t know!¡± the protector monk said coldly.

    ¡°Anyway, it can¡¯t be anything good!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged.

    ¡°What did you say? Say that again!¡± The protector monk was furious.

    ¡°Anyway, it can¡¯t be anything good. There, I said it again. If you¡¯re so capable, come and beat me up!¡±

    The protector monk clenched his fist that was the size of a bowl as his muscles rippled and bulged with veins. However, the Upraised Light monk had specially instructed him to not fight before he had come, so he suppressed his anger and bellowed, ¡°Are you coming or not?¡±

    ¡°I am. Why wouldn¡¯t I go?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt his strength recover a little. Perhaps he could avoid him this time, but it was not like he could avoid him forever. They resided in the same city, so was he supposed to avoid him at all costs? The monk definitely suffered wounds worse than him anyway, so he probably could not do anything to him any time soon.

    And he was already prepared this time. A Skull Prayer Bead was hidden in his clothes. Xiao An had forced him to take it along with him. He would not just endure a palm strike for nothing this time either.

    Leaving behind an entire drilling ground full of injured soldiers, Li Qingshan left calmly under the gazes of a hundred thousand soldiers. He arrived at the Pure Land temple again.

 Chapter 1450

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1450 ¨C As the Buddha Says

    Li Qingshan exhaled and gathered his focus, preparing for battle as he stepped into the Pure Land temple.

    Making his way around the grand hall, the path winded through a dim, beautiful forest. The Upraised Light abbot personally received him outside the meditation room. Li Qingshan was astounded, as the Upraised Light abbot actually seemed even more revitalised than him. Not only did he have a healthy glow and shining eyes, his white eyebrows had turned black, while his white beard had vanished. Even many of his wrinkles had disappeared from his face. He had basically received a new lease of life, radiating with energy.

    He had clearly suffered such heavy wounds. Wasn¡¯t the Pure Land temple a little too awesome? Was the buddha supposed to be his dad?

    The Upraised Light abbot smiled. ¡°Fellow, you shouldn¡¯t slander the buddha like that.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. His delight from fighting the army was gone. He stood no chance against an Upraised Light abbot like this. Not only had he become much younger, but his vigour had reached an entirely new level. His eyes could basically see through his thoughts.

    He brought his palms together and bowed before raising his head and staring at him closely. ¡°Abbot, why have you called me over?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot glanced at him and sighed. ¡°Sure enough, you haven¡¯t changed.¡±

    When he heard that, anger welled up inside Li Qingshan. You screwed me over so badly, bald ass, and you still say something like that!

    ¡°Please calm down, fellow. That was the only way to remove the image of Mahe?vara. Of course, I did hide some information intentionally, so Amit¨¡bha, I have sinned. Please forgive me, fellow. The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and bowed in apology.

    Li Qingshan moved aside, avoiding the bow. Just what was wrong with this monk? Was he up to some new scheme again?

    ¡°I was the one who thought I was clever, worshipping other gods carelessly, so I can¡¯t blame anyone else. You¡¯ve both assisted me and harmed me, so we don¡¯t owe each other anything!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot smiled. ¡°You think I¡¯m out to harm you again?¡±

    Li Qingshan said rudely, ¡°You¡¯re not up to anything good anyway!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot suddenly became serious. ¡°I called you over to ask you a question. Are you willing to convert to buddhism?¡±

    So sudden! Li Qingshan took a step back and cried out, ¡°I knew it would be nothing good!¡± He was better off being killed than being converted into believing some shitty god or buddha.

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered me.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, but I must decline. Can I go now? I must warn you that you better not stop me from leaving. I am a disciple of the Myriad sect.¡±

    ¡°Haha, of course not. Converting to buddhism is something you do out of your free will. You can¡¯t press an ox¡¯s head into the water because it refuses to drink.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately became suspicious. Just a few days ago, his head had almost been pressed down until it broke.

    The Upraised Light abbot felt slightly awkward, so he explained. ¡°Back then, I still treated you as half an enemy, so¡­¡±

    ¡°What difference is there now?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot said seriously, ¡°Now I know you have a destiny with the buddha!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I am more than familiar with that saying.¡±

    ¡°You might not believe me, but I received a sign from the buddha when I was unconscious.¡± The Upraised Light abbot raised his finger and pointed upwards.

    Li Qingshan was absolutely shocked. This was not like cultists going on about some end of the world from his past life. It was completely possible for it to be true. If it were true, then it really would be the end of the world.

    He asked carefully, ¡°So the buddha paid a visit in person?¡±

    ¡°How could he?¡± The Upraised Light abbot laughed.

    ¡°The buddha spoke with you?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± The Upraised Light abbot shook his head.

    ¡°The buddha told you my name?¡±

    ¡°He didn¡¯t do that either.¡±

    ¡°Then what kind of sign is that!?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s worries vanished. The bald ass is deceiving me.

    However, the Upraised Light abbot became enchanted. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why it¡¯s called a sign. Can the likes of us witness the true appearance of the buddha? Can the likes of us receive the direct message of the buddha?¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. Fanatics were simply disgusting. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you were dreaming!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s exactly because it¡¯s similar to dreaming that it¡¯s called a sign in a dream.¡±

    ¡°The path of great liberty cannot coexist with Mah¨¡y¨¡na buddhism, so please continue dreaming! I¡¯m taking my leave.¡± Li Qingshan clasped his hands and was about to leave.

    ¡°Hold on, the sign I received was not just from the dream. It¡¯s from you too.¡± The Upraised Light abbot abruptly pointed towards Li Qingshan with his finger that he was pointing upwards with.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside and felt completely uncomfortable. He could not help but check himself. ¡°What¡¯s on me?¡±

    ¡°You have a heart of benevolence.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Who knows how many wicked deeds I¡¯ve done in my life. I beat up over ten thousand people just now.¡±

    ¡°Yet not a single one of them is injured beyond recovery.¡±

    The drilling ground was covered with soldiers. The army doctors moved around and tended to their wounds. They discovered that most of them had only suffered light wounds. At most, it was a few broken bones. With the medical treatment of the cultivation community, they recovered very quickly.

    Of course, Li Qingshan had held back, or he probably would have blasted them to pieces with a punch of his. He would have left the drilling grounds flowing with blood. However, Chao Tianjiao would definitely end up stopping him, so he could not play to his heart¡¯s content. In the end, he would even break the military law and give Li Liehuo an edge over him.

    He was not trying to play some good guy. He said calmly, ¡°I just had qualms.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot asked closely, ¡°If you didn¡¯t have these qualms, would you have held a massacre?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. He shook his head. ¡°Of course not. They only spoke ill of me behind my back. There¡¯s no need for me to kill them!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot said in delight, ¡°In your eyes, they¡¯re still people.¡± Then a hint of sympathy appeared in his eyes. ¡°Yet in the eyes of many cultivators, they¡¯re no longer people. Let alone cultivators, but even to many ruling figures among mortals, they¡¯re not people.¡±

    ¡°Heh, a heart of benevolence.¡± Li Qingshan fell silent for a while. ¡°Then do you know just how many innocent people I¡¯ve killed? If the need arises, I¡¯ll still kill them.¡± For some reason, he found it rather saddening and ironic. If he had a heart of benevolence, then wouldn¡¯t a certain head of state basically be a living buddha?

    ¡°The buddha has said, set down the butcher¡¯s blade and achieve buddhahood.¡±

    Li Qingshan became filled with even more scorn. ¡°So you can call that enlightenment through murder? Good people can¡¯t become buddhas, while bad people can. Oh, I understand now. The ones with the butcher¡¯s blade are still strong enough after all. As long as they¡¯re willing to convert to buddhism, they¡¯ll immediately become powerful lackeys that can work for buddhism. Of course, they¡¯re more useful than those weak, vulnerable good people. Looks like I need to kill a little more in the future.¡±

    Reaching there, his face had already become filled with contempt. He completely disregarded the fact that this was the Pure Land temple and he was facing a monk who had attained two fruits of buddhism that was stronger than him.

    ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± The Upraised Light abbot shook his head. ¡°The so-called goodness of regular people is mostly just because of weakness. It cannot stand any test. If you give them power beyond their control, they will act as they please, also becoming butchers and great demons. Even without power, they will blame everyone and everything but not themselves, refusing to admit their mistakes. That¡¯s why it¡¯s difficult to bring salvation to everyone.¡±

    ¡°Cultivators and people of superior status have always started off as mortals. You must have seen many of their faces and heard many of their sayings, either viewing mortals as ants where no matter how they trampled or destroyed them, it was not a crime, or viewing the common people as lambs that were born to be oppressed. Not only do their butcher¡¯s blade take the lives of others, but it¡¯s even destroyed their benevolence as well. Everything they do is only for the sake of their own peace of mind.¡±

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    Suddenly, he asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Why must you make yourself suffer?¡±

    Li Qingshan remained silent.

    ¡°You have the butcher¡¯s blade in hand and benevolence in your heart. The more you kill, the more you suffer inside. You would rather endure this suffering than let go of your benevolence, your view that all are equal. If someone like that is willing to cast aside the butcher¡¯s blade, they will definitely embrace benevolence, never to be swayed by anything again. That is why the buddha has said, set down the butcher¡¯s blade and achieve buddhahood.¡±

 Chapter 1451

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1451 ¨C Difficult to Convert

    The wind rustled as the sky was dim and hazy. The morning bells and evening drums loomed in the surroundings. The ancient temple stood silently.

    The buddha statues everywhere were like a silent audience, almost as if they were waiting for his reply.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. He opened his hands. They seemed to be covered with blood and filth, wrapped in the lives he had claimed.

    Leaving the mountain hamlet, entering the jianghu, battling through the nine provinces. From the five continents to the Human realm, he had fought for a century, killing countless in the process.

    He had once been sliced to shreds and smashed to pieces. He never went a day without trouble, without worries, like he was trekking on thin ice, like he was crossing ravines, where any carelessness could claim his life. Even today, he was still hanging on by a thread.

    Mortals probably would have paled in fright already. They would rather spend their lives content as wealthy people.

    The Upraised Light abbot was filled with confidence. Even if this was not enough to completely persuade Li Qingshan, it could make him reflect. He only needed some further guidance in the future, and he would definitely convert to buddhism.

    But at this moment, the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a strange smile. The smile spread and turned into a great laughter, booming through the ancient temple and startling the birds.

    ¡°Fellow, why do you laugh?¡±

    ¡°Too weak.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing that you¡¯re all too weak. You¡¯re basically no different from the people who view all others as ants.¡±

    ¡°Why do you say that, fellow?¡± The Upraised Light abbot furrowed his brows.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Because you are unable to endure the pain within you, so you cast aside your kindness, so you set down the butcher¡¯s blade. All of it is just twisting your original self. What other difference is there?¡±

    ¡°One is doing evil. The other is doing good. How is there not any difference?¡±

    ¡°To me, there is no difference!¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his hands and raised his head. His expression changed¡ªstubborn, fierce, foolish¡ªlike an ox, like a tiger, like an ape. With all the trials he had been through, he had stopped being that ignorant, lost youth from the mountain hamlet a long time ago.

    The Upraised Light abbot suddenly discovered just how difficult his mission was. This child¡¯s mind is firm like steel. He probably cannot be persuaded with words. However, he also developed some further appreciation. To be able to realise his true self and stay true to it so firmly was already exceptional talent in the school of chan. Unfortunately, he did not practise Mah¨¡y¨¡na buddhism.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, that would be erroneous, fellow! It is as if you are a monarch among men, as wealthy as the land, yet you just choose to drift about homelessly and live the life of a beggar. That is not strength but instead foolishness. As long as you set aside your stubbornness, all suffering will vanish, and you will reincarnate in Sukh¨¡vat¨©.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°With a heart of benevolence, I fend off my demonic thoughts inside. With a butcher¡¯s blade in hand, I cut down powerful foes outside. Is that not delightful? Why must I go to Sukh¨¡vat¨©?¡±

    ¡°With the way you act, the world will not permit your existence at the end of the day!¡± The Upraised Light abbot furrowed his brows. A hint of anger flashed through his eyes.

    ¡°Heh, you mean buddhism will not permit my existence!¡±

    Li Qingshan had a vague feeling that compared to the school of vinaya, the school of chan, and esoteric buddhism, the ideology of the pure land school seemed the gentlest and most liberal, advocating the idea that all were equal and everyone could attain buddhahood, but it also happened to be the harshest and most radical.

    The school of vinaya was stringent on itself, the school of chan was too aloof, while esoteric buddhism was self-evident, so there was no need for any further explanation. In order to achieve its great goal of bringing salvation to all and establishing a land of buddhism, the pure land school viewed all dissidents as enemies. If they could not be converted, then they would ¡°win them over by virtue¡± just like how he did. Even if they refused to yield, they would beat them until they yielded.

    It was definitely not a coincidence that they appeared on the battlefields of the Demon domain, while the White Bone Bodhisattva who created the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was probably from the pure land school. If they discovered Xiao An, then the consequences would be unthinkable.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡± The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and avoided what he had said. ¡°The buddha Tath¨¡gata also performed the lion¡¯s roar. Even if the wicked and the demons have a moment of complacency, they will not be able to escape the flames of karma.¡±

    Li Qingshan had never been one to be threatened. ¡°Those who kill will be killed themselves. Since I kill, then I am prepared to be killed. I do not seek bliss, nor do I seek eternal life. How will you convert me, monk?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot remained silent. Li Qingshan clasped his hands and bade farewell.

    A while later, the Upraised Light abbot sighed. ¡°He¡¯s a difficult one to convert, a difficult one!¡±

    Li Qingshan left the temple, and his mind cleared up. He cursed, ¡°That bald ass is screwing me over again!¡±

    Before he knew it, he had actually been mentally affected. If it were not for his rigid will, perhaps he really would have wavered.

    There was nothing strange about that. Let alone an ancient temple like the Pure Land temple that was watched by a monk who had attained two fruits of buddhism, even regular temples would intentionally create a certain atmosphere to influence those common people.

    Speaking of which, this was definitely a demonic method to use, but it would be useless even if he went back and questioned the Upraised Light abbot. That was just how the teachings of Mah¨¡y¨¡na buddhism worked.

    The Lotus S¨±tra had a parable of three carts to enlightenment. It described a house on fire with children playing inside. In order to save them, the buddha told them that there was a fancy cart outside. The children ran out to take a look, but there was no fancy cart at all. However, there was a great cart pulled by a white ox, so they were still very happy.

    The burning house symbolised the abode of fire, the children symbolised all sentient beings, and the great cart pulled by a white ox was Mah¨¡y¨¡na buddhism. It praised the absolute kindness in the buddha¡¯s heart, such that he guided the people. The monks below basically copied whatever they saw. As long as it assisted them in spreading the religion, facts like how monks did not lie all became nonsense.

    Of course, those who had been converted would definitely be filled with gratitude. They would not think they had been lied to.

    However, if the children went out and took a look before leaping up and cursing, ¡°Bald ass, you lied to us! You promised us a fancy cart!¡± they would probably be slapped across the face and berated. ¡°You¡¯re the only one that¡¯s fucking complaining!¡±

    Li Qingshan touched his cheek. ¡°I better keep my distance from these guys in the future!¡±

    He had made a mess out of the army-wide martial arts competition, but no one came to create any trouble for him.

    ¡°Even if I go back now, I have nothing to do. They probably think I¡¯m long gone, but I¡¯m going to hit them by surprise again!¡±

    However, he had just swept through the drilling grounds. There was no point in going back, so he decided to split up.

    He made his way into an alleyway and took out sets of armour from his sumeru ring. This was all for his clone formation plan that he had thought of before he came. He had specially purchased them from the Department of Military Provisions. They were all the standard issue gear within the army.

    Very soon, Li Qingshan after Li Qingshan walked out from the alleyway and dispersed in Black Cloud city. He wanted to see just who still dared to talk ill of him.

    In a small restaurant, a few soldiers happened to be fervently discussing how the crawling general Li Qingshan had made a mess out of the drilling grounds. Right when they were enthralled by the conversation, a soldier rushed in and yelled, ¡°Long live Li Qingshan!¡± He gave them a thorough beating and polished off all of their alcohol in the process.

    As Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation gradually recovered, his thought clones multiplied as well. There really were quite a lot of them who talked behind his back. Over a hundred of these incidents would happen everyday, and the entire city was filled with Li Qingshans making trouble.

    Chao Tianjiao was left completely speechless by him. The various generals asked for him to be severely punished, but it was a little out of place, which left them very embarrassed.

    However, trying to silence the people was even more dangerous than natural disasters. Li Qingshan¡¯s shameless actions were beaten back by the soldiers very soon. Many people specially went on the streets and cursed him loudly, clashing with his clones and even coordinating various ambushes and sneak attacks.

    Sometimes, as soon as he rushed out, he would be surrounded by several dozen soldiers clad in armour and standing in formation. What followed would be a chaotic battle. However, as long as colonels and lieutenants did not interfere, his main body would not do anything either. After all, the number of clones he had was limited. Sometimes, a clone or two would be finished off before he could even provide support, making him lose a set for armour.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed by these puny losses. He did not feel embarrassed when the soldiers defeated him. Instead, he had a lot of fun.

    Before he knew it, the Ape Demon Transformation began showing signs of change.

 Chapter 1452

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1452 ¨C Competition

    The great snow drifted; the fierce winds whistled. Li Qingshan stood on the top of the grey stone tower alone with his arms crossed. His eyes shone as the corner of his eyes curled up like a monkey.

    The mantra of the Ape Demon Transformation was the Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void, and its fundamental power was space. This was not void, but only ¡°space¡± could contain earth, fire, wind, and water and form a world.

    The ox, tiger, turtle, and phoenix each took their positions. The qilin, with its hovering steps, allowed the plants to prosper.

    The importance of the Ape Demon¡¯s Method of Moon Scooping went without saying, especially now, when the Ape Demon Transformation halted at the fourth heavenly layer.

    Because there was not enough ¡°space¡±, the other transformations were unable to progress. Apart from the Qilin Transformation that still had room for growth, he could not even unleash the original power of the other transformations.

    The small world was still in a rudimentary form.

    Once the Ape Demon Transformation broke free from this shackle and reached the fifth layer, not only would all of the repressed transformations recover, but it would also mean a brand-new small world would take shape, no longer constrained by the Ape Demon Transformation.

    His various innate abilities would recover as well, and they would grow far more than ten fold in strength.

    And that was nothing. The Ox Demon Transformation, the Tiger Demon Transformation, and so on that had been lying in dormancy would easily break through to the sixth layer. Coupled with the new innate abilities he would comprehend, his strength would grow tremendous yet again.

    By then, the kind of power he possessed was even beyond his own imaginations.

    As a result, with a stroke of inspiration, he made another breakthrough with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and comprehended a new move.

    ¡°Err¡­¡± Li Qingshan tilted his head in thought for a good while. This Ape Demon Transformation is just a little too unreliable!

    From a certain perspective, the Ape Demon Transformation was even more difficult to please than the Qilin Transformation. He could not make any progress through it or through force. It completely depended on its mood.

    If he behaved like an unchangeable fool with the moon on his mind, then he could advance triumphantly without any effort. Otherwise, even if he racked his brain and spent all his time meditating, it would be useless.

    But fortunately, my nature is fantastic. I better eat some snow to calm down!

    Li Qingshan crouched down and made a snowball. With a crack, he took a bite, and the snow squeaked away between his teeth.

    As if someone had been disturbed, the window to the tower suddenly opened, and Hu Zhigang stuck his head out. He bellowed, ¡°Li Qingshan, get your ass down!¡±

    There were a lot of tall, stone towers like this in Black Cloud city, which served as the residences of the high-ranking officers. Clearly, his tower was not the only one.

    ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡± Li Qingshan glanced at Hu Zhigang before grabbing another clump of snow and rolling it together. He rolled it into a strip before coiling it up. ¡°Look, what¡¯s this?¡±

    Hu Zhigang widened his eyes, thinking that he was hinting at something. ¡°A snake?¡±

    ¡°You idiot, it¡¯s poo! Eat shit!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s arm suddenly lengthened, and the ¡°poo¡± slammed into Hu Zhigang¡¯s face. He leapt over to another tower in the meantime as his laughter rang out from the distance.

    Hu Zhigang fell back. His face reddened and melted the snow as blood poured out of his nose. A snowball made by Li Qingshan was obviously even harder than a rock.

    However, he did not chase after him for revenge. Instead, he trembled slightly.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    In the eyes of others, it was only a mischievous slap to the face, but was he really cooperative enough to play the fool? The slap to the face felt like an avalanche to him, flooding the surroundings and filling his eyes. He could neither defend against it nor dodge it.

    At that moment, he basically thought he would be killed by that slap, yet it only led to a nosebleed in the end. He even felt like he had just survived narrowly.

    ¡°I- is this kid¡­ really this powerful?¡±

    He struggled to accept it. He was a figure of some renown in Black Cloud city, yet he was actually so feeble against him.

    What he struggled to accept the most was this kid came nowhere close to the image of the strong in his mind. Just which person of great power would roll snow into the shape of a doodoo and throw it at someone¡¯s face?

    The Ape Demon Transformation¡¯s breakthrough was merely a matter of time now.

    Li Qingshan pressed down on his forehead. ¡°This should be the strongest move from the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, no, the path of great liberty! It doesn¡¯t feel like something I should be able to comprehend right now.¡±

    He could not help but glance in the direction of the Pure Land temple. He had lost the image of Mahe?vara, which weakened many of his techniques, but this move alone could make up for it all.

    Heh, whatever. The martial arts competition is tomorrow. I can test it out there!

    The sun and moon interchanged among the black clouds. The world dimmed before brightening up again.

    Li Qingshan gazed beyond the city. A great, meandering valley lay there, like a huge dragon brandishing its teeth and claws as it moved through the mountains. Suddenly, it widened beneath Black Cloud city, which resembled the dragon¡¯s head.

    That was the only path available if they wanted to attack Black Cloud city. Countless bloody battles had occurred there before. This area had not taken shape naturally. Instead, it was the result of war.

    The two sides of the great valley were littered with jagged rocks, forming steps. It was a natural stand for spectators. The martial arts arena was located here, which was also the result of a convention that had been maintained across many years.

    By now, the million-strong army had all gathered here. The wilderness was filled with people, yet they remained in a neat order. The Scorching Fire army and the Xuanwu army each took one side of the valley.

    Chao Tianjiao called out, ¡°Li Qingshan, get over here!¡±

    Her voice echoed through the valley, which led to a disturbance among the soldiers. All they heard was a single reply. ¡°Coming!¡± Everyone looked at the sky together, and a black figure descended from above. With a thump, rocks were thrown into the air, and the figure landed in the centre of the valley.

    A whistle rang out from somewhere, and laughter spread out like a wave, rumbling and echoing through the valley.

    However, the atmosphere was rather different. Someone called out, ¡°Crawling general, come and beat me up!¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at the crowd. ¡°I see you! Just you wait!¡±

    It led to another roar of laughter, but the laughter was no longer filled with mockery or malice. It was more like scoffing at an old friend, just like how friendships were built off disputes. His power to defeat an army of ten thousand, his spirit to acknowledge his defeat, his kindness to not be too heavy-handed, and even his arrogant, potent demeanour had won everyone over.

    Most importantly, he did not treat them like ants, nor did he try to befriend them by being fake.

    Li Qingshan laughed as well. It reminded him of the times when he led the asura army in the World of the Five Continents.

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo glanced at each other from across the valley, both surprised, even in some disbelief. He had actually won over the army in such a short time. Was it because the Upraised Light abbot had awakened?

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and muttered, feeling great pity. He possessed the power to win other people over. If he could convert to buddhism, he would definitely bring great glory to the religion.

    When it came to winning people over by virtue, it definitely was not a lie.

    Chao Tianjiao interrupted them. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist. ¡°Do you even need to ask? I¡¯ve already run out of patience.¡±

    ¡°Very soon!¡± Chao Tianjiao smiled. With a wave of her hand, a golden talisman returned to her.

    Li Qingshan heard a roar from the depths of the valley as a foul smell filled his nose in the cold wind. The ground shook, and a vicious demonic beast rushed out. It resembled both a horse and a wolf. Its colossal figure was strange and twisted, while its blood-red eyes were frenzied and bloodthirsty. It noticed the lonely Li Qingshan standing at the centre of the valley at first glance.

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°I hereby announce that the army-wide martial arts competition formally begins! The first battle will be Li Qingshan against the Demon Emperor beast!¡±

 Chapter 1453

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1453 ¨C Divine Fire

    Li Qingshan gazed at the ground without budging. A million pairs of eyes wandered between him and the demonic beast. They were amazed by the size and viciousness of the demonic beast, secretly anxious for Li Qingshan.

    Even the generals did not possess absolute confidence in being able to defeat a demonic beast like this.

    Demonic beasts possessed no intelligence, but they were particularly violent. In this valley where there was not a lot of room to move and manoeuvre about, he was forced to confront it directly.

    Under the eyes of the public, not only did he have to win this match, but he had to win it beautifully to raise their morale and strengthen their might. Even a step taken in retreat would be a sign of disgrace.

    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t he rushed over yet? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s afraid? No, that¡¯s impossible. This kid isn¡¯t even afraid of the two captains.¡±

    Only Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao did not even glance at the demonic beast. Their eyes remained on Li Qingshan. Neither of them wondered whether he could win this match, but just how would he win?

    In hindsight, despite all of their conflict, they had never witnessed his full strength. That was quite a strange matter.

    In order to test Li Qingshan¡¯s strength, Chao Tianjiao had chosen this demonic beast after careful selection. It was powerful even among Demon Emperors.

    ¡°Come! Show me what you¡¯re capable of, kid!¡±

    In an instant, a colossal shadow enveloped Li Qingshan. Foul air filled his face, making his black hair drift through the air.

    Li Qingshan raised his head slightly and was met with a huge mouth filled with jagged teeth that resembled an abyss.

    He raised his right hand and swept down with it casually from his forehead to between his brows.

    Abruptly, a vertical eye opened up. It was dark and deep, trembling and leaping about like fire, gazing straight at the demonic beast.

    The demonic beast trembled, and the frenzy and bloodthirstiness in its eyes actually became replaced by fear. It tried its hardest to halt its colossal body, wanting to leave this terrifying man and that terrifying eye in particular as far away as possible.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    However, it was already too late. A stream of black fire shot out.

    Before the demonic beast could even howl out, its colossal body collapsed and was reduced to dust, blowing past Li Qingshan¡¯s body in the wind.

    The valley was deathly silent. Only the wind whistled.

    Even Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao became shocked, while the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s response was particularly violent. Recently, he had almost died to the same move. The difference in power was very great, but they were the same in nature.

    ¡°Divine Fire of World Destruction!¡±

    Had his comprehension of the path of great liberty become so great already?

    The vertical eye vanished. Li Qingshan looked at Chao Tianjiao and smiled. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao became rather stern. That move was already enough to threaten her. Perhaps they really should have left him in Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s Hundred Herbs garden, tending to the plants.

    Li Liehuo practised the Heavenly Tome of Scorching Fire and named himself scorching fire, so he sensed it even more deeply. He shut his eyes and comprehended it silently. This kind of fire¡­

    As for the generals, they went even more without saying. In particular, the ones who had openly offended Li Qingshan before felt chills run down their spine. They were overcome with lingering fear.

    Just which year did they go without a fierce struggle in the opening battle of the army-wide martial arts competition? Some of them had even ended in defeat before, but nothing like this had ever happened. A powerful demonic beast that a Demon Emperor had transformed into had actually been slain instantly. Many of them had yet to even understand what had happened.

    However, he did indeed achieve the objective of raising morale.

    ¡°Valiant be the general!¡±

    Someone suddenly called out loudly. In the blink of an eye, cheers rose like tsunamis and filled the air, echoing through the mountains.

    Li Qingshan spread his arms with a smile and accepted the cheers. He felt very elated inside too, not just because he had defeated the stupid demonic beast, but also because his human cultivation method had finally produced a powerful technique that could rival his innate abilities.

    The move would completely deplete his Yin Soul¡¯s power, but this was only the beginning. There would be one day when the Divine Fire of World Destruction produced from the vertical eye would burn true enemies.

    Still not fully content, Li Qingshan asked loudly, ¡°Who else?¡±

    The cheers gradually died down. No one answered.

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°You can go now.¡±

    ¡°I said I wanted to fight ten.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I know a lot of people are unhappy with me. What, all you know how to do is flap your gums? Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯ll just avoid using this move on you.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao sneered. ¡°More like you only know how to use this move!¡± Following her shock, she recovered a little. The strike was powerful, but it definitely came at a great cost as well. With Li Qingshan¡¯s current cultivation, it was completely impossible for him to use it repeatedly.

    ¡°So what? There¡¯s still no one anyway.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not hide it. The small world was the true source of his power. As his Yin Soul curled up in the small world, its power had already begun to replenish rapidly.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. Allow this lowly monk to bear witness to the crawling general¡¯s great moves then!¡±

    The protector monk¡¯s voice boomed loudly as he descended from above. The upper half of his body was bare, covered in muscles that shone with faint, golden light, like a guardian king from the temple.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± The protector monk let out an explosive bellow. His voice was thunderous, producing a golden ripple. The air by Li Qingshan and the sand beneath his feet was swept away and lifted into the air.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s ears droned. His eyes flashed as the protector monk lunged over suddenly like a maddened tiger. His large hands pierced the sand and wind, gripping his shoulders firmly.

    Li Qingshan experienced a pressure, like he had encountered his natural predator. He looked over the protector monk¡¯s head, only to see an arhat take shape behind his body. It had a full beard and was bare-chested, riding a vicious tiger.

    The pure land school was skilled in borrowing the strength of buddhas and gods instead of using their own power. This was the deity that the protector monk worshipped, endowing him with endless strength. No one had ever managed to stop him.

    ¡°The Arhat Subdues the Tiger!¡±

    The protector monk exerted his strength, but Li Qingshan refused to budge. Instead, he smiled even wider. There was no better example of trying to show off before a master than this.

    The protector monk¡¯s expression changed. He felt like he was trying to shake a mountain. Let alone a contest of strength, even his determination had been shaken.

    ¡°The Tiger Subdues the Arhat!¡±

    Li Qingshan extended his arms and wrapped them around the protector monk¡¯s waist. Pulling them in, he had already lifted him up from the ground.

    The protector monk¡¯s face reddened. He felt like his waist was about to snap. His bones creaked, and his vision blurred. The Tiger Taming Arhat behind him had vanished as well.

    ¡°You want to compete against me with strength? You aren¡¯t up to standard yet!¡±

    With a belly-to-back suplex, Li Qingshan planted the protector monk upside down in the ground.

    It was still one move!

    And everyone had seen this move clearly. There were not any particularly fancy tricks. Instead, he had let his opponent strike first before crushing him with absolute strength. He shocked the crowd once more.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Next!¡±

    ¡°Let me, old Hu, test you!¡±

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    Hu Zhigang leapt out. Having no chance at defeating him was one matter. Being too frightened to fight was another matter. Once he developed fear, it would definitely affect his cultivation.

    However, he maintained an extremely great distance from Li Qingshan. He thought, This kid¡¯s physique is so tough, so close combat with him is basically asking to die. I¡¯ll project out my Yin Soul and test him with my techniques!

    But when he gazed out, Li Qingshan had already vanished. He shivered inside and widened his eyes. Finally, he saw a blurry figure that had already reached ten steps away from him.

    He was shocked. How could Li Qingshan still project out his Yin Soul? He drew his blade in a hurry and prepared to attack in the place of defending, but he felt his waist tighten. I¡¯m done for!

    Thunk. Li Qingshan used another belly-to-back suplex. The Illusionary Demon Movement Technique had been weakened, but it was still not a problem to harass opponents like this.

    ¡°Next.¡±

 Chapter 1454

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1454 ¨C Champion

    The sun rose up into the air, and it shone into the valley. The white snow and icy cliff glistened as a result.

    Li Qingshan planted another person upside down, and the cheers surged like waves. The soldiers no longer cared about anything else. All they saw was bare strength.The generals came up with various methods to overwhelm him, even trying to crush him through switching in and out of battle, but he would always overcome them by force, growing stronger as he fought instead.

    ¡°Who else?¡±

    Li Qingshan brushed off the dust from his hands, and his feeling of exhaustion vanished. The ape demon budged, nearing the boundary.

    However, no one answered him anymore. He had basically beaten up all of the generals. The remaining female generals of the Xuanwu army had never joined in because they thought it was very embarrassing if Li Qingshan planted them in the ground upside down. Now, they simply gave up.

    They discussed, ¡°No wonder he¡¯s so bold! So it¡¯s backed by his ability! That strength is enough for him to overwhelm all the inner disciples of the Myriad sect!¡±

    ¡°I heard he just underwent the fourth heavenly tribulation recently!¡±

    ¡°Impressive, truly impressive.¡±

    ¡°What, he¡¯s caught your fancy, old granny?¡±

    ¡°Heh, I basically want to take a bite out of him right now.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao glanced past them, and they all fell silent, smiling at one another.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you can go now.¡±

    Li Qingshan asked with a smile, ¡°Am I the champion?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re the champion.¡±

    A champion possessed unmatched valour. He stood supreme among the generals, so of course, he was the undisputed champion.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan leapt up, flying towards Chao Tianjiao.

    Chao Tianjiao furrowed her brows and clenched her fist, but he flew past her, arriving before the female generals behind her. He smiled. ¡°So who wants to take a bite out of me?¡±

    How could the female generals answer him? Chao Tianjiao radiated with murderousness as she ground her teeth. She stressed each word as she said, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. With a leap, he vanished into Black Cloud city.

    ¡­¡­

    The army-wide military competition finally came to an end. No one in Black Cloud city dared to underestimate this ¡°crawling general¡± anymore, and as the champion, Li Qingshan obviously received a sum of contribution.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s name rose up the Myriad rankings once again, reaching the middle ranks of the inner disciples, which led to another round of sighs of amazement on the square. He was like a rising new star. No one could stop him.

    The Fate Perturbing casino.

    Le Tian peered into the distance through the floor-to-ceiling window and remarked, ¡°Dark, how dark! Even their faces have probably darkened.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu raised his cup and smiled. ¡°I really want to see their expressions right now. Even first senior sister and first senior brother are powerless over him. I¡¯m absolutely amazed.¡±

    The Department of Military Provisions.

    The direct disciples that had sent Li Qingshan onto the battlefield gathered together. Their complexions did not seem particularly well.

    Ge Xing laid out his hands. ¡°You tell me to do something, but what can I do? If even the two of them are powerless over him, who can still do anything to him? We better consider how we¡¯re supposed to get along in the future if he does become a direct disciple instead!¡±

    The direct disciples looked at one another. They all felt a little pained.

    The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance constantly kept an eye out for any news regarding Li Qingshan. Every bit of ruckus he created seemed to be unexpected, yet it also seemed to make perfect sense. He was connected to the sages, so if he did not make a ruckus, that would be strange instead!

    He constantly contemplated the reply that the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had sent from beyond the Nine Heavens. It was three simple words¡ªWait and see.

    He spent a good time calculating, but he was unable to find the meaning behind these three words, so he stuck with what they meant literally and waited and saw.

    Master manages the imperial study for the heavenly emperor. His senses are sharp, and his knowledge is broad, well beyond anything that a spirit immortal like me can match. So be it. Overthinking brings no benefit. I¡¯ll just do as he says.

    No matter how many books he read, it could not make up for the difference in cultivation and status.

    Though, now that the kid¡¯s entered the battlefield, there¡¯s no one to deliver books to me anymore.

    The Hundred Herbs garden was still a sight of spring with its gentle breezes, idyllic as always.

    A golden-red phoenix stood high on the golden-leaved bodhi tree and sang loudly. Flocks of birds and avians flew about with his clear, gentle singing.

    He had already undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. Through his extraordinary talent and consolidation, the entire process had basically been devoid of danger. After that, he took up the job that Li Qingshan had left behind. He was not familiar with any clone techniques, but as the old saying went, all birds paid homage to the phoenix.

    He possessed the natural ability to order avians around and had specially purchased some birds from the Spiritual Beast garden. Through his experiences as the king of the featherfolk, he commanded them with ease.

    He played a role in Li Qingshan¡¯s climb up the Myriad rankings too.

    Ruan Yaozhu saw this and teasingly said, ¡°Jiu¡¯er, he¡¯s far more useful than you.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Hmph, why don¡¯t you get a new mount then?¡±

    Speaking of mounts, Ruan Yaozhu recalled Li Qingshan again for some reason. She reddened slightly and sighed inside. That¡¯s where he truly belongs! Hopefully, first senior sister and he can set aside their feud.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s face seemed to have frosted over, which made the temperature in the room plummet.

    ¡°F- first senior sister, what brings you here?¡± A woman¡¯s voice rang out from the bed. It was the female general who had said she wanted to take a bite out of Li Qingshan during the army-wide martial arts competition.

    After the martial arts competition concluded, Li Qingshan continued strolling through the city, looking for an opportunity to break through to the fifth layer of the ape demon. However, no one challenged him anymore. He could not get his way by force with something like this either, so he could only give up.

    However, it had not been completely fruitless. As someone who possessed all the charms that a woman could look for, great officer Li found several female companions.

    ¡°Sigh, what is it now?¡± Li Qingshan opened his eyes and rolled over lazily. The blanket slipped off him, revealing his robust body that was completely naked.

    ¡°Come with me. There¡¯s a mission.¡± Chao Tianjiao behaved like she had seen nothing at all, turning around to leave.

    Li Qingshan immediately got up, following her out after draping a set of clothes on. He was not reluctant to leave the female companion behind him at all.

    The female general laughed. ¡°Kid, be sure to come back when you have time.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    In the Xuanwu hall, Chao Tianjiao cut to the chase. ¡°I want you to scout out Cold Blood pass again.¡±

    ¡°And I had thought it was something big. Can¡¯t you just send someone to let me know for something so insignificant? You didn¡¯t have to come in person. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s just so you could get a glance?¡± Li Qingshan stretched his neck and turned his head.

    The image of Mahe?vara had been erased, but after a period of recuperation and rest, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique had progressed again. He had not just spent his time with women during this period.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come with you. Cover me with your Yin Soul,¡± Chao Tianjiao said seriously.

    Winter was almost over, and a new round of battle would begin. However, the incident in Cold Blood pass left her rather uneasy, so she had to get to the bottom of it. This was her responsibility as a captain. It went beyond her personal grievances.

    She could conceal her aura, but she was not skilled at moving in stealth. Once the demonfolk were wary, it was very easy for her to be exposed. When Li Qingshan demonstrated the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique during the martial arts competition, she had already decided on this.

    Li Qingshan also became serious. He tried to persuade her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re trying to carry out another assassination! The demonfolk aren¡¯t stupid. You created such a great mess last time, so how can they be unprepared now?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not an assassiantion. It¡¯s just scouting.¡± For once, Chao Tianjiao explained her plans to him.

    ¡°If it¡¯s just scouting, isn¡¯t sending me enough?¡±

    ¡°If the need arises, assassinations are possible too.¡± Chao Tianjiao pressed down on his shoulder and smiled brightly.

    Li Qingshan felt pain from his shoulders. He sighed. ¡°Can I decline?¡± He just felt like nothing good could come out of being with her.

    ¡°Military orders are absolute!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

 Chapter 1455

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1455 ¨C Venturing Deep

    Li Qingshan returned to the stone tower. Xiao An was still cultivating. In the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone that bloomed and wilted like lotuses, she was sometimes a great beauty and sometimes a set of eerie white bones.

    His gaze was tender and completely unfazed by that. After staring at her for a while, he quietly made his way back down stairs, sitting down and leaving behind his body.

    The Yin Soul drifted out, reuniting with Chao Tianjiao in the Xuanwu hall.

    ¡°Come!¡± Chao Tianjiao spread her arms and opened her mind. With a lunge, Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul merged with her.

    ¡°How do you feel?¡± Chao Tianjiao moved her arms about. She felt like she had equipped a strange armour.

    ¡°Nice figure,¡± Li Qingshan said jokingly.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression changed. Her Yang Soul shone bright and sharply. Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul felt like it was being sliced by blades.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a joke. Calm down, calm down.¡±

    He had embedded her with his Yin Soul, but it was only equivalent to an outer garment. He did not actually make contact with her, and she had projected out her Yang Soul too. However, both her inner garments and outer garments were a perfect fit, so it did outline her figure. The praise had come from the bottom of his heart, except she did not seem to appreciate it.

    ¡°I can tolerate you usually, but I cannot permit any jokes on the battlefield, or you will face the iron fist of military law.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was stern. Actually, she knew what kind of person he was a long time ago, so she was not truly angered. She only did this to put him in his place, as well as to test him slightly in preparation for their upcoming trip to the Demon domain.

    She practised the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu and walked the path of xuanwu; this was the path of the Zhenwu Emperor, the Demon Purging Grandmaster of the Nine Heavens who currently managed the warfare against the Demon domain.

    Her Yang Soul had been condensed from the biting-cold aura of bleakness from the seven stars of the north. She possessed an extremely heavy aura of slaughter, where regular Yin Souls would become injured just from approaching her, let alone embedding on her.

    He could endure her aura, which also meant she could move around with even greater freedom. She could use some techniques without worry, which was something worth rejoicing.

    ¡°Alright, you¡¯re in control. I¡¯m just an invisibility cloak.¡± Li Qingshan sighed and added another entry to his mental list. He wondered how he would get his revenge. Of course, there were some very sexual and violent scenes that flashed through his head too.

    ¡°As long as you understand.¡± Chao Tianjiao smiled brightly and leapt down the cliff behind her. The rock face protruded and sank in as the winds whistled by their ears.

    She completely ignored Li Qingshan¡¯s complaints, gradually unleashing the power of her Yang Soul and shining away like a star.

    ¡°The Roof star!¡±

    The seven stars in her Yang Soul glimmered. One of them was particularly bright.

    Specks of light condensed into wings and tail feathers that resembled scissors. She was like a silver swallow, shooting through the sky just before dawn, flying towards the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan understood her powers a little more. So this is the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu. In a direct confrontation, I stand no chance against her. I won¡¯t even be able to block a strike. I¡¯ll only be able to endure it powerlessly.

    Even if he had the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, it would be useless. No matter how powerful his fist was, it was pointless if he could not hit the enemy. Maybe he could if he trapped her firmly with a formation like what he did with Ao Xuan, but that could not be called a direct confrontation.

    He had been too ambitious. He had only undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation recently, yet he was comparing himself to a peak fifth heavenly tribulation cultivator. She was even the kind that was skilled in battle. Of course, his strength was insufficient.

    Whatever. I¡¯ll just observe closely for now and make preparations for the duel in the future.

    Chao Tianjiao had guessed all of his thoughts, so she intentionally made him realise the difference between them to cut down his confidence. With the path they walked, the last thing they lacked was confidence.

    Just like that, the feuding senior sister and junior brother who constantly clashed flew over the mountains and the tundra and arrived at the boundary between the two worlds.

    She halted her technique and descended from above, concealing her aura. She said without any politeness at all, ¡°Hurry up, kid. Don¡¯t drag my feet!¡±

    Which foot am I dragging, huh? What are you, a dog? Li Qingshan was furious. He unleashed the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique, and a cluster of light flowed and rippled, gradually concealing her figure.

    ¡°If you continue to use some other random technique, I¡¯m not going to be able to hide you.¡±

    ¡°Be quiet!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao kicked down gently and shot off without raising a speck of dust. She was not slow at all.

    ¡°Hmm? Why don¡¯t I sense the rejection from the Demon domain?¡±

    That had always been the most terrifying enemy to human cultivators, yet it seemed to have suddenly vanished.

    She sensed closely and discovered the invisible, repulsive force was still present, and it grew stronger and stronger as she ventured deeper into the Demon domain. However, it simply flowed past her like water.

    Li Qingshan said nothing and stuck with serving as her invisibility cloak. He thought, Hmph, it¡¯s not just no repulsion! You have no idea how welcoming the Demon domain had been the last time I visited! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that I¡¯m benevolent at heart, I would have taken Black Cloud city already and fucked you a hundred times by now.

    ¡°Hey kid, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re actually a spy sent by the Demon domain!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao seemed to sense some kind of malice from him, so she stopped and developed doubts.

    ¡°Hehe, Qiongqi has told me to tell you that as long as you surrender to the Demon domain¡­¡±

    Chao Tianjiao laughed. ¡°Qiongqi! You sure are bold enough to say his name.¡± Qiongqi was a true god. In terms of battle prowess, he probably even surpassed the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. He was far too distant to a Yang Soul cultivator like her, let alone a mere Yin Soul cultivator.

    She sneered and said, ¡°Then who are you to Qiongqi?¡±

    ¡°Qiongqi is my mount.¡± Li Qingshan boasted. If he could win that gamble, then he could indeed subdue Qiongqi according to the Blood Oath of the Nether River.

    ¡°Kid, you sure know how to joke.¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s lips curled, and she no longer had any doubts. There were no demonfolk that dared to speak ill of a Demon God like this.

    ¡°¡­ as long as you surrender to the Demon domain, I can guarantee you a life of wealth and prosperity! Quit dreaming, you traitor! Don¡¯t shoot, captain¡­¡±

    TL: Li Qingshan should be playing out a skit right now.

    ¡°Can you shut up?¡± Chao Tianjiao ran out of patience with him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t!¡±

    Li Qingshan had no fears. After all, he had secure backing because they had already entered the Demon domain by now.

    Chao Tianjiao stopped to sense around again and discovered that sure enough, she did not face any repulsion, which gave her confidence. With that, the chances of being exposed had greatly diminished. Out of joy, she ignored the cross-talk skit he acted out.

    ¡°Heh, kid, you¡¯re quite capable!¡±

    Li Qingshan became bored and stopped messing around. ¡°You best be careful. It¡¯s fine if you die, but I don¡¯t want my Yin Soul buried with you.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Chao Tianjiao answered as her footsteps became firmer, gradually approaching Cold Blood pass.

    The broken flags drifted under the black sun, which made the place seem even more bleak.

    Li Qingshan and Chao Tianjiao had both seen this before. One of them had seen it with his own eyes, while the other saw it in an illusion.

    Cold Blood pass was completely devoid of any signs of life. Even the smell of blood had completely dispersed. There was only the bleak coldness. Suddenly, gentle snow began to drift through the air again.

    ¡°Do you want to go in and take a look?¡±

    For once, Chao Tianjiao asked for Li Qingshan¡¯s opinion. They were about to enter a zone of danger, so if they could not reach an agreement on this, it would be extremely dangerous.

    However, Li Qingshan felt slightly uneasy. His main body in the distant stone tower immediately began to divine the consequences through the Spirit Turtle Transformation.

    ¡°It¡¯s best if we don¡¯t. I feel that something is amiss. Something this major has happened, so how can the Demon domain not make a response? They¡¯ve left an empty fortress here, so if it¡¯s a trap¡­¡±

    ¡°What, you afraid?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao smiled. She had been through countless battles before. She was someone who had infiltrated armies alone to assassinate Demon Sovereigns.

    When it came to the fate of two or three hundred thousand demonfolk, it was not exactly that major of a matter. If it were not for the puzzling circumstances involved, she would have never bothered with investigating this personally.

    ¡°I still don¡¯t want you to die to the hands of others just yet.¡±

    The results of the divination were extremely blurred and limited. Of course, there were many reasons for that, and the main one was he was not afraid at all. Nothing was a major matter apart from death. Even if his Yin Soul was destroyed, it would only take a toll on his strength. He would not be in any life-threatening danger at all. The spirit turtle was completely unable to tell whether this was a threat on his life or not.

    As for killing with a borrowed blade, he had not even considered it. This was basically the similarity that he, Li Liehuo, and Chao Tianjiao all agreed on.

    ¡°This kid! You make me seem stingy instead now.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao realised something. She knew he definitely did not discourage her because of his own fears or cowardice. She smiled. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    ¡°But since we¡¯re here already, how can we go back? We have to go in and take a look no matter what. Even if it¡¯s an ambush, there¡¯ll just be three or five Demon Sovereigns at most. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll guarantee that you won¡¯t die.¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan instead became even more reluctant for her to take this risk. It had not been easy for him to reach this current level with his Yin Soul either. Who knew just how troublesome it would be to condense and train up a new one.

    ¡°I think I better just¡­¡±

    ¡°This is a military order!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

 Chapter 1456

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1456 ¨C Caught in an Ambush

    Chao Tianjiao had her reasons. Since she joined the army, she had been through thousands of battles. She had claimed the lives of far more than two or three hundred thousand demonfolk with her own hands. She only laughed at how Li Qingshan had not experienced this before, which was why he was so cautious.

    After all, even during the most intense times, Cold Blood pass would only be stationed with three or five Demon Sovereigns, and they would still be unable to take down Black Cloud city. If they received any more Demon Sovereigns, it would be useless and affect the other battlefields instead.

    And right now, she had Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul wrapped around her, fending off the laws of the Demon domain and dealing with her greatest problem. She had snuck her way over here secretly too, so even if there were a couple of Demon Sovereigns, she was confident enough about slipping away.

    Chao Tianjiao scaled the gates silently and gazed out. It was still in ruins, identical to the scene that Li Qingshan had produced in his illusion the other day.

    Li Qingshan only became even more suspicious. He added, ¡°You said you wanted to take a look. You¡¯ve taken one now, so let¡¯s go back!¡±

    ¡°Be quiet.¡± Chao Tianjiao drifted down like a feather.

    Li Qingshan choked up his words and fumed inside. Since he could not change her mind, then he would simply let her go, just in case he made a fool of himself.

    Fucking hell, you just can¡¯t change the minds of people asking to die!

    As soon as Chao Tianjiao landed on the ground, she stepped on a red line that had appeared out of nowhere.

    The red line was crimson like blood and was not actually tangible. It began to shake gently.

    Immediately, thousands of red lines appeared in the air, criss-crossing together and triggering the entire fortress.

    Rumble. The ruins shook and twelve stone pillars rose up from the ground. Each stone pillar was inscribed with the totem of a Demon God.

    Atop the twelve pillars stood twelve Demon Sovereigns, either sneering away viciously or standing impassively, gazing down on Chao Tianjiao in the formation.

    Demon qi surged, filling the surroundings and welling up in the fortress.

    Li Qingshan had seen these red lines recently. They were the threads that composed the formation. He had actually seen this formation before as well. ¡°The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao ground her teeth and cursed furiously inside. ¡°And you still say you¡¯re not a spy, Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Spy your fucking head!¡± Li Qingshan became livid as well. ¡°I advised you again and again. You didn¡¯t listen, and now, you blame me. Come, come, come! Show me how you¡¯re supposed to survive now!¡±

    Caught in an ambush, she had powerful enemies around her and doubts inside her. The situation was extremely dangerous.

    With a clang, Chao Tianjiao drew her blade. In an instant, she had already recovered her cool. She recalled Li Qingshan¡¯s various actions. Since when was there a spy as cocky and arrogant as him? She said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve accused you wrongly. If you¡¯re not a spy, then get ready to fight to the death with me!¡±

    Seeing how forgiving she was, Li Qingshan was left temporarily speechless. It was not like he could say, ¡°Even if you die, I won¡¯t!¡±

    Finally, he let out a sigh. ¡°Sigh, why did you bother with this at all?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°I am tasked with a heavy responsibility, so I have to come. Though, I did end up dragging you down with me. The twelve Demon Sovereigns definitely have not just gathered here to ambush me. They¡¯ve definitely come for Black Cloud city as well. When my life lamp goes out, at least it¡¯ll be a warning to the sect.¡±

    ¡°Bitch, do you still recognise me?¡± Tu Wancheng sneered in absolute delight.

    ¡°Tu Wancheng, you actually survived my strike! Are you bold enough to face me in battle again?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao pointed her blade at Tu Wancheng. Caught in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, she was already in dire straits. If she could kill a Demon Sovereign, then perhaps she still had a slim chance at surviving. At the very least, she would have taken one down with her.

    She directed her blade towards him and radiated with murderousness. Tu Wancheng¡¯s face twisted. That blade truly caused him fear.

    The other Demon Sovereigns seemed to be enjoying this. They were not in a hurry to strike.

    Tu Wancheng obviously would not fall for that. He was about to insult Chao Tianjiao with some foul, dirty language.

    A Demon Sovereign that resembled an old man waved his hand, and Tu Wancheng immediately shut his mouth.

    The old man said earnestly, ¡°Fellow Chao, if you are willing to join the Demon domain, you¡¯ll be able to get out of here alive. Not only will you become a Demon Sovereign, standing on equal footing with us, but you¡¯ll make a great contribution if you help us take down Black Cloud city too. Not only will you be blessed by the will of the heavens, but you will be rewarded by the gods as well. Perhaps you might break through the sixth heavenly tribulation and become a half-god.¡±

    The old man¡¯s voice was deep and hoarse, yet it possessed a strange charm, able to resonate in the depths of their hearts. He basically seemed even more friendly and amicable than the Upraised Light abbot, which made him seem extremely convincing.

    Li Qingshan and Chao Tianjiao immediately understood. So they were actually after that!

    Even if the twelve Demon Sovereigns worked together, they would struggle to breach the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder, let alone the fact that the teleportation formation was connected to the Myriad sect, so they could summon over ten direct disciples at any moment for assistance.

    If they could make the first senior sister operate from the inside, then destroying the two formations would instead be a piece of cake. If the twelve Demon Sovereigns then struck after that, the million-strong army would be completely up to their whim.

    Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°This is what you call karma! Retribution is a bitch! You said I¡¯m a spy of the Demon domain, and now, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Meanwhile, he tried his best to block out the voice.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s mind cleared up. She was not annoyed by him. Instead, she became puzzled. Even at a time like this, he¡¯s still in the mood to joke. What a bold spirit.

    She was not determined to die here in battle either. She acted like she considered their suggestion and said to the old man, ¡°I¡¯m very familiar with the nature of demonfolk. Even if there are no benefits, you¡¯ll still stab each other in the back. How can I trust you?¡±

    The old man laughed. ¡°Fellow, do you think I¡¯m trash like them? If you don¡¯t believe me, I can swear a Blood Oath of the Nether River.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao faked a sigh. ¡°I am greatly indebted to my sect, so how can I turn against them?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, At least this woman is not a bonehead. She still knows how to buy time. It¡¯s just a pity that her acting is far too exaggerated.

    With the path they walked, if they just charged over and threw their lives at any danger they encountered without any regard, then even a hundred of them would not be enough for them to reach where they currently were.

    The old man did not seem to notice Chao Tianjiao¡¯s attempt at buying time. He shook his head with a smile. ¡°Fellow, you¡¯ve been blinded by the mere appearance of things!¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. Is this old guy really not a monk in disguise?

    TL: The phrase that the old man said here, ¡°blinded by the mere appearance of things¡±, is a buddhist term in the Chinese raws.

    ¡°Then may I ask how I¡¯ve been blinded by the mere appearance of things?¡± Chao Tianjiao sheathed her blade and listened quietly.

    ¡°The likes of us have long departed from our ties to people and objects. We are only in pursuit of greater enlightenment. You are indebted to your sect, but your sect is also indebted to you, so you don¡¯t owe each other anything. And compared to the great path of cultivation, why must you care about these trifles?¡±

    ¡°You raise a good point, fellow. Allow me to consider it.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao lowered her head and said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Kid, stay quiet. I know you have plenty of horrible plans, so think of something!¡±

    ¡°What can I think of? Why don¡¯t we just surrender instead?¡±

    ¡°If you surrender, I¡¯ll kill you first!¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression changed as if she was deeply conflicted. Her acting became much more realistic.

    At the same time, the Demon Sovereigns communicated between themselves too.

    ¡°Sir Ying Zhe, will this woman really pledge allegiance to the Demon domain?¡±

    ¡°Of course not,¡± the old man replied indifferently.

    Tu Wancheng was impatient. ¡°Then why waste words on her? Why don¡¯t we¡­¡±

    ¡°If she dies, her life lamp will be extinguished, and the Myriad sect will be on guard. Will you take responsibility?¡±

    Tu Wancheng was shut up immediately. The old man said patiently, ¡°As a result, leave her with a chance at survival. Don¡¯t let her develop the determination to throw her life away. She might not join us now, but that doesn¡¯t mean she won¡¯t in the future, hehe.¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns were all unruly and defiant figures. They were no weaker than the old man either, yet they actually could not find any reason to defy him.

    ¡°Truly a member of Demon God Hundun¡¯s lineage!¡±

 Chapter 1457

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1457 ¨C Demonic Egg

    He who was Hundun had eyes but could not see, had ears but could not hear, incapable of differentiating or discriminating. That was both disorder and chaos.

    Demon God Hundun was almost an embodiment of the will of the Demon domain, as well as the strongest Demon God. However, due to his chaotic nature, not only was he senseless and incapable of differentiating between things, but his thoughts from the moment before would change with the next. He was incapable of any long-term planning, nor could he effectively assemble allies, so he was instead the weakest in terms of overall strength.

    He was like a demonic beast among Demon Gods, a terrifying Demon God beast.

    However, his strength was indisputable, and demonfolk from the Hundun lineage were all natural demonic seeds. There was an extremely small number of them, but they were all exceptionally powerful, as well as strange and unpredictable.

    As a result, despite all being Demon Sovereigns, the old man known as Ying Zhe served as their undisputed leader. They did not even have the courage to speak up to him.

    Even to the Demon domain, Demon Sovereigns were a precious resource. They were forbidden from killing one another without good reason. Otherwise, even the victor would face harsh punishment.

    Only the Hundun lineage was not constrained by this, or perhaps it was better said that the constraints were useless, as chaos was their nature.

    No matter how wise and brilliant this ¡°sir Ying Zhe¡± seemed, his nature would belong to chaos at the end of the day, so it would not be strange if he attacked them without any reason, much less face any punishment. He was like a mad dog, unafraid of anybody.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s eyes swivelled in different directions like a chameleon, taking in the expressions of all the Demon Sovereigns. The corner of his lips raised his cheeks high up, almost reaching his ears. His friendly, amicable appearance immediately became eerie and twisted.

    All of the Demon Sovereigns lowered their heads, afraid to make eye contact with him.

    ¡°As I command, activate the formation.¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns did not dare to waste any time. The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was immediately activated, and the twelve stone pillars lit up one by one. The surging demon qi blotted out the sky, crushing down layer after layer.

    Chao Tianjiao gazed out. She could no longer see the Demon Sovereigns anymore. Only the twelve Demon Gods stared down on her silently, like they had been there for eternity. Meanwhile, she became as insignificant as an ant. Any of the Demon Gods only needed to extend a finger to crush her to pieces.

    ¡°Zhenwu Purges the Demons, the Seven Stars as One! The Divine Turtle as Armour, the Black Snake as Arms!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao stood stern and fearlessly, drawing her blade from her sheathe. The seven stars in her Yang Soul shone, and she erupted with light, like a goddess of war.

    Li Qingshan only felt like his Yin Soul was almost about to be sliced to pieces. He said furiously, ¡°Are you trying to kill me?¡± Isn¡¯t this old guy trying to recruit you? Why¡¯s he turning against you without even batting an eye?

    ¡°Be quiet!¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s voice was icy-cold and harsh, devoid of any human emotions. There was only the fierce aura of slaughter.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s expression changed. Across the boundless Demon domain and the billions of demonfolk, there were none that did not hate or fear the Zhenwu Emperor, even when it came to the Hundun lineage.

    ¡°You actually practise the path of xuanwu as well! That¡¯s even less reason to spare you! Descend, Hundun!¡±

    At that instant, eleven of the pillars dimmed. All of the light gathered in the pillar under Ying Zhe¡¯s feet. The totem of Demon God Hundun suddenly began to move.

    Its large, round head was devoid of any facial features. Four thick, stubby limbs protruded from its colossal body while its skin was pink like an infant¡¯s, except it was covered in veins and creases. It was both ugly and foolish.

    It crawled around the stone pillar cluelessly before extending its head towards Chao Tianjiao and Li Qingshan. Suddenly, a huge, abyss-like mouth cracked open, emitting a voice that resembled an infant¡¯s cry, yet also hundreds of times sharper. It leapt off the stone pillar and lunged over.

    ¡°Slice!¡± Chao Tianjiao advanced instead of retreating, swinging her blade to receive it.

    She channelled all the power and will she had developed through her life-long cultivation into the biting-cold xuanwu blade aura. Even when Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul was on the verge of shattering, he could not help but praise it. ¡°Nice! But that¡¯s completely useless.¡±

    ¡°Demon God Hundun¡± swallowed her in a single gulp. Its mouth immediately closed, and everything returned to silence.

    Twelve Demon Sovereigns had worked together to cast the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, and they were located in the Demon domain as well. That was already an overwhelming power. All attempts at resistance would be pointless. Even if she risked her life, she could not even touch a hair on them.

    The Demon Sovereigns looked at one another. Didn¡¯t he just say to not kill her? Why had he changed his mind in the blink of an eye? However, no one dared to ask him. The Hundun lineage was a gathering of madmen in the first place.

    Ying Zhe stood with his arms behind his back, turning back into the amicable old man. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, fellows. She will return very soon.¡±

    He pointed at the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous and ¡°Demon God Hundun¡¯s¡± colossal body rapidly shrank and consolidated. Demon qi gathered together, sticky like pitch, condensing into a black and red egg.

    ¡°This is¡­ the demonic embryo of chaos!¡± a Demon Sovereign cried out.

    ¡°At least someone knows.¡± Ying Zhe nodded. ¡°She practises the path of xuanwu, so she will never yield. However, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s¡­¡± He paused there and pointed at the sky. All of the Demon Sovereigns understood what he was talking about. He was referring to the Zhenwu Emperor.

    He continued, ¡°In the demonic embryo of chaos, all thoughts will be twisted and reduced to chaos. If she doesn¡¯t even have anything left, what is there to hold onto? What willpower? What persistence? What belief? All of it is nothing. Tu Wancheng, don¡¯t you want revenge? When she emerges again, perhaps she¡¯ll have turned into a whore.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Tu Wancheng was overjoyed. In the past, even if Chao Tianjiao died in battle, he could forget about laying a finger on her. The way he vented was just fucking a few demonic beasts to death too. Now that he suddenly saw hope, that part of him immediately stiffened.

    ¡°As long as you¡¯re not afraid that she¡¯ll suddenly make an attempt on your life in bed.¡±

    Tu Wancheng shivered all over, and that part of him softened again. The Demon Sovereigns all laughed.

    ¡°Old Tu, feel free to go about it. We¡¯ll watch over you on the side.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you.¡± Tu Wancheng clasped his hands modestly. ¡°We can all get our fair share and take turns to fuck this bitch. We can¡¯t let any brother miss out.¡±

    ¡°You bunch of fools!¡± Ying Zhe suddenly cursed aloud. ¡°What are you waiting for? Go and prepare the surprise attack on Black Cloud city! Laughing away like a herd of stupid pigs!¡±

    The laughter came to a halt. The Demon Sovereigns were irritated, but they had nothing to say. They could only keep their distance from this madman.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s anger vanished as quickly as it came. In the blink of an eye, he gazed at the demonic egg of chaos in the centre of the formation tenderly again.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    ¡°A cultivator who practises the path of xuanwu only to be returned to chaos and be reduced to a demonfolk in the end. This is an absolute slap in the face to the Desireless Heavenly Palace! Hehehehe!¡±

    In the demonic embryo of chaos, demonic thoughts and twisted chaos surged over like the flood.

    Chao Tianjiao swung her blade a few times and was swallowed by the endless chaos in the blink of an eye. She did not dare to waste any more of her strength.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°That old guy is trying to turn you into a demonfolk.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± Chao Tianjiao said impassively.

    ¡°What do you do now?¡±

    ¡°I die.¡± Chao Tianjiao did not even feel a hint of fear. Instead, it sounded a little like liberation.

    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, we still have our agreement in thirty years¡¯ time. If you die, who am I supposed to get my revenge on?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt very aggrieved, very wronged, and very unwilling to accept this. If she died, his Yin Soul definitely could not survive either.

    He could not help but recall that afternoon many years ago when he practised the Innate Method of Practising Qi, followed by the Gui Water Method of Condensing Qi, the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, the Demon Suppression Statuary, the Battle Demon Statuary, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Prosperity, and finally, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    Qi Practitioner, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Soul Nascence, Yin Soul¡­ he had gone through all of the suffering and hardships tirelessly to raise it to its current state, and now, just because of a stupid woman, it would be gone just because she said so.

    ¡°You!¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression finally changed. ¡°Is there something wrong with your head?¡±

 Chapter 1458

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1458 ¨C Internal Strife

    ¡°You¡¯re the one with something wrong with your head!

    Chao Tianjiao simply shut her eyes and stopped acknowledging him. She gathered her focus and circulated the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu, using her cold and harsh determination to fend off the invading demonic thoughts. Even in these dire straits, she did not waver in the slightest.

    Her extraordinary willpower earned Li Qingshan¡¯s admiration. Even when he faced death, he often experienced great terror, but that would often set off his will to live, allowing him to defeat his enemies through his courage and resolve.

    However, she did not seem to be afraid at all. Was this really just a result of everything she had been through on the battlefield?

    However, while she could give up her life, he could not give up his Yin Soul. He asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other ideas? Like asking for help from the Myriad sect?¡±

    His original body remained in Black Cloud city, so he could ask for help. At a time like this, he was even willing to expose this secret.

    What was strange was she did not even consider this. Was she incapable of this, or did she refuse to do this?

    ¡°Ask for help?¡± Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°If a Demon Sovereign was trapped in Black Cloud city, would the Demon domain provide help?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it and sighed. ¡°Of course not.¡±

    At the end of the day, he had still overestimated her status as the first senior sister.

    Even if the Myriad sect gathered all of their direct disciples, they would not necessarily be able to breach the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, and half of them would die here at the very least. Trapped in the formation, she would definitely die as well.

    That was unless the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance or the two sect masters stood forward, but the higher their cultivations were, the stronger the repulsion from the laws of the Demon domain was. On top of that, with such a large plan being carried out, the Demon domain probably had cards up their sleeves as well. Even Human Immortals might not necessarily give them an advantage.

    The only thing he could be certain about was she would still be dying.

    The Demon Sovereigns were not idiotic villains who had too much to monologue about. Once they detected something amiss, they would definitely activate the formation and kill her first.

    That was why the Myriad sect would never venture deep into the Demon domain and start a war under such disadvantageous circumstances even if they found out she was trapped here.

    This was the brutality of war. Even the glorious and triumphant first senior sister in the sect would be abandoned like everyone else.

    However, he refused to give up so easily. He drew all of the surging demon qi and demonic thoughts into his Yin Soul and began circulating the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    From a certain perspective, the demonic egg of chaos was a good place to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. In order to demonify the first senior sister of the Myriad sect, the Demon Sovereigns had made a tremendous investment in this. There were all sorts of resources available.

    Even with the various kinds of twisted chaos, the path of great liberty was filled with impermanence and change, so it was not afraid of that at all. His current comprehension happened to exceed his cultivation as well, so it was perfect for him to swallow all of these resources.

    Chao Tianjiao opened her eyes. Her mind settled. She was also surprised. This kid really has something up his sleeve. He can actually devour demon qi and use the resources of the Demon domain to cultivate! If he doesn¡¯t die here, he¡¯ll definitely achieve great things in the war against the Demon domain. It¡¯s all thanks to the fact that he can still persist with cultivation that he¡¯s helped me block the demonic thoughts. Instead, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s dragged him down.

    Without any regard, Li Qingshan circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty almost in a frenzy, refining the demon qi and demonic thoughts.

    Compared to Chao Tianjiao¡¯s calmness, his behaviour was almost deranged. The Yin Soul¡¯s face constantly twisted and changed, from fury to fear, then to greed¡­ However, he was growing stronger bit by bit.

    It was the struggle of a caged beast!

    Normally, he would still worry about his Yin Soul losing control and flying into a rampage, so he would not dare to act so recklessly. Now, he no longer had any considerations at all. It was almost impossible for him to take back this Yin Soul anyway, so if it lost control, then it lost control. He completely treated it as a cultivation experience for him to learn from.

    Even if he refined his Yin Soul into a Yang Soul¡ªwhich was basically impossible¡ªit would be impossible for him to break free from the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Only if his Yin Soul completely demonified and broke free from his body would the Demon Sovereigns perhaps worry about him as ¡°one of their kind¡±.

    However, that was the most unacceptable result. He would rather blow up his Yin Soul than let that happen. He had already prepared himself for that too.

    However, perhaps because he had comprehended the path of great liberty a little too well, or perhaps this mentality was perfect for practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, he encountered no signs of losing control at all even after cultivating for so long.

    Right when it was absolutely meaningless, he instead made drastic progress, advancing along smoothly. It was far too ironic.

    ¡°Dammit!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao thought he had finally learnt the emotion of fear. She sneered. ¡°If you behaved a little, you¡¯d still be watering plants and tending to crops in the Hundred Herbs garden. You wouldn¡¯t have ended up like this.¡±

    Li Qingshan flew into a fury. ¡°And you still mention it!¡±

    Why would Chao Tianjiao fear him? ¡°Hah, I¡¯m about to die, so am I supposed to be afraid of teasing you? You want revenge on me? I still have debts to settle with you! Back then, you just managed to hold me at bay with words! There¡¯s no need to wait thirty years. You can go die right now!¡±

    ¡°Alright, very well!¡± Li Qingshan laughed out of anger and malice bloomed in him. ¡°I¡¯ll make you die an absolutely horrible death!¡±

    He continued to cultivate as he drew a wisp of scorching will from the chaotic, twisted demonic thoughts, sending it into her body.

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Chao Tianjiao sneered. ¡°Is this it?¡±

    She did not even have to try and guard her mind. She had severed that part of her body a long time ago, ending any possibilities of lust.

    Her Yang Soul had been condensed from the biting-cold aura of bleakness from the seven stars of the north. It was frigid and harsh, able to suppress all demonic thoughts naturally.

    ¡°I see now!¡±

    Li Qingshan abruptly understood why Li Liehuo and her were so powerful, far more than Si Long who was also a Human Sovereign.

    The more pure and more extreme the power was, the faster they would advance and the more lethal it would be.

    The Heavenly Tome of Scorching Fire was as such. The Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu was as such too.

    However, the price was once they reached a certain realm, their path would become more and more narrow, until it turned into a bottleneck that they struggled to overcome.

    The synonym to pure was extreme.

    Even more terrifyingly, this pure power had turned around to corrode their minds.

    Just from a slight provocation from him, Li Liehuo would go as far as to break the sect rules to kill him. Was he just born with a violent temper, or had he been devoured and assimilated by the scorching fire?

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s ability to remain fearless in dire straits probably was not a demonstration of her courage either. True courage manifested when overcoming fear. It was not as simple as fearing nothing at all.

    In the past, Gong Yuan had taken a similar path. Not only did she treat everyone cruelly, but even she herself had almost been devoured by the power of Ruin¡¯s End in the end.

    They pursued power in order to carry out and live up to their wills. If they were abducted by power instead, they would not be far from cultivation deviation.

    The first senior brother and first senior sister who were ever-glorious on the surface were actually being constantly twisted by power, forced to use extraordinary willpower to control this great and pure power.

    As a result, they were forced to rampage on the battlefield, using slaughter to pacify their restlessness. However, the more they used it, the sooner the power would backlash.

    If they could not break through the sixth heavenly tribulation and reach Human Immortal, they would never go out peacefully. They would either erupt into flames or flash and die out as light.

    ¡°The three of us really do have some similarities. Since we want more, then we¡¯re burdened with more too. It¡¯s very fair. However, if you really think you can resist it through willpower alone, then you¡¯d be absolutely wrong! At the end of the day, you¡¯re still human! Erm, woman.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed madly as he set off even large flames, scorching away at her icy-cold willpower.

    With a great demon like him helping out, the demonic egg of chaos finally began to serve its function.

 Chapter 1459

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1459 ¨C Persuasion

    Gentle snow drifted through the air. The twelve stone pillars plunged straight into the demonic clouds. In the centre hovered a large demonic egg of chaos, pulsing away like a heart.

    Chao Tianjiao completely disregarded Li Qingshan¡¯s petty tricks; she was like a eunuch, completely immune to the temptations of lust. She was just waiting for him to fail so that she could mock him viciously.

    The surroundings were all chaos, like a boundless world, but she was truly trapped in this narrow space at the same time.

    The two drastically-different experiences did not cause any sensations of conflict. It was as if she had experienced it somewhere before.

    At this moment, a strange warmth welled up in her heart. The sensation that she had not experienced in a very long time made her heart thump suddenly.

    She felt disbelief. Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s true¡­ this kid is definitely a spy from the Demon domain. He is one even if he isn¡¯t!

    She was just about to rebuke Li Qingshan or downright finish him off.

    With a thump, her heart beat.

    She abruptly remembered. This was the sensation of being in her mother¡¯s womb!

    Crack!

    It was like the rupturing ice lake, seeping forth with the warm water of spring, rippling and spreading.

    Her memories were like a flood that breached a dam. They could not be stopped anymore.

    She had once been a little girl as well¡­

    Li Qingshan saw the valiant outline of her face suddenly soften up. Her expression even became rather lost and illusionary, like she had become someone else altogether. Even someone extremely familiar with her could fail to recognise her.

    This was not the expression of someone being lost in lust. Instead, she was like a regular person, reflecting on her life on the verge of death.

    ¡°Now that¡¯s¡­ more human!¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather speechless. All of a sudden, he found that while these demonfolk were wicked and twisted, they seemed more human from a certain perspective. Even if they were the ugliest side of human nature, it was still human nature at the end of the day.

    Meanwhile, her will was the exact opposite. It was more like the cold light of stars, magnificent but not human.

    With a thought, he poured even more demonic thoughts into her¡ªfear, pain, sorrow¡­

    She furrowed her brows and remembered how she had once tripped over a door railing when she was three, making her burst into tears, not because of the pain, but because she had dirtied her new clothes. That was a great red jacket that was extremely warm to wear. Her granny picked her up in a hurry and even kicked the door railing a few times, gently coaxing her. She had been extremely warm and gentle as well.

    However, the warmth made her shiver. She remembered how she had advanced along in the cold alone for all this time.

    No matter how cold it was, she would never stop, abandoning all warmth and blindly chasing after the illusionary, cold stars of night.

    Only like that would the cold be relatively more bearable. Once she stopped, she would lose everything.

    But at this moment, coldness surged forth as well, basically making her tremble all over.

    However, since she was already in dire straits, she could finally stop and get some rest.

    With that, the glow of the stars dimmed. She stopped resisting the infiltrating demonic thoughts, even proactively welcoming it. Even when it brought her pain, she could not help but awaken these warm memories one by one.

    The warmth and coldness that had accumulated over an entire millennia constantly merged together and reflected each other, gradually shaking her willpower.

    Her expression changed, sometimes sorrowful and sometimes joyful, sometimes worried and sometimes fearful. She was filled with human emotions, and she seemed rather feeble as well.

    Li Qingshan discovered that she really was an extremely beautiful woman. He could not help but admire the methods of the Demon domain a little.

    The reason why she would not surrender was not because of some debt, but because the path she walked could not allow for any weakness or wavering, or she would suffer from cultivation deviation and be destroyed by her own powers.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    And they actually had a way to undo this dead knot, to shake her will from her core and twist her beliefs, all the while without making her suffer from cultivation deviation.

    From a certain perspective, it even paved a new path for her.

    Li Qingshan thought, At this rate, she might actually choose to join the Demon domain and become a Demon Sovereign. What am I supposed to do if I stop her? Sigh, if she becomes a Demon Sovereign, what benefit will that bring me? I¡¯ll probably be affected by the demonic thoughts as well.

    He circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty again, blocking out all the demonic thoughts for her.

    Chao Tianjiao opened her eyes. Her cheeks were red, and she was still a little lost. Suddenly, she realised something and said with great sincerity, ¡°Thank you.¡± If it were not for him, she probably really would have demonified.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. You¡¯re not completely unfeeling either!¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Chao Tianjiao said glumly, ¡°I really want to keep living!¡±

    An unprecedented desire for survival surged forth from her scorching heart, and an even deeper pain welled up as well, which made her clench her fist. It was not just now. She had fallen into dire straits a long time ago. She knew her chances were slim, almost non-existent, yet she was forced to continue down this path at the same time.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Are you going to surrender to the Demon domain?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s gaze gradually became determined again, but she was no longer influenced by her power. Instead, that was a decision she had made with her own free will.

    ¡°Let¡¯s die together!¡±

    The Yang Soul lit up with the cold light of stars again. She no longer tried to buy any more time, or her desire to live would crush everything else.

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    ¡°You afraid? That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m a little afraid as well. Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t hurt,¡± Chao Tianjiao spoke like she was comforting a child as the Yang Soul¡¯s glow became scorching.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Do you want to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation?¡±

    ¡°You have a way?¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes shone.

    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s very dangerous.¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Chao Tianjiao instead became a little more convinced.

    Li Qingshan spat out two words slowly, ¡°Dual cultivation.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was taken aback. She sneered. ¡°You¡¯re not trying to deceive me, are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°Of course not.¡± Of course, I¡¯m toying with you.

    In the past, Chao Tianjiao probably would have killed him on the spot without batting an eye. Even at a time like this, this shitty man is trying to take advantage of my situation. However, prompted by her will to live, she decided to hear him out before killing him on the spot.

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°You walk the path of xuanwu. Your power is too pure and too extreme, gradually eating away at your mind and turning you into a slave to power. Of course, you don¡¯t have the right to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation and become a Human Immortal.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao nodded. She had reached the peak of the fifth heavenly tribulation a long time ago. There was nothing impressive about that either. As long as no accidents happened, all Human Sovereigns would eventually reach that stage. However, most of them would be stuck at this stage forever, unable to overcome the barrier to immortality.

    That was because Human Sovereign was the limit for cultivators, forced to wield unprecedentedly tremendous power as ¡°mortals¡±, which would definitely lead to all kinds of problems and trials.

    Seeing how she had taken the bait, Li Qingshan continued to persuade her. ¡°Meanwhile, I practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, and I walk the path of Mahe?vara. Sects and schools that worship Mahe?vara have been labelled as lesser, heretical paths, and among them is one called the ?¨¡kta? school. They are most skilled in dual cultivation methods. Perhaps we can try and use dual cultivation to help you control that power and wear away its edge.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao sank into her thoughts as if she was rather tempted. In this demonic egg of chaos, she could indeed see that possibility.

 Chapter 1460

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1460 ¨C Method

    Li Qingshan added, ¡°I once had a dual cultivation partner whose situation was very similar to yours. She cultivated using the power of Ruin¡¯s End and had almost been devoured by it. In the end, she successfully placed it under her control through dual cultivation with me, setting her on the path to the peak of her life.¡±

    He did not tell a single lie in what he said, but he had not been completely honest either.

    For example, the reason why he could help Gong Yuan suppress the power of Ruin¡¯s End was because of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression. The two of them were natural cultivation partners. While half of the xuanwu was a tortoise, the spirit turtle probably did not work.

    He was completely clueless about the effects of the dual cultivation methods of the ?¨¡kta? school or whether they worked at all.

    Just recently, he had borrowed the methods of the Siddh¨¡nta school to make offerings to Mahe?vara, and it had almost cost him his life several times.

    Chao Tianjiao mocked him out of habit. ¡°Someone like you had a cultivation partner before?¡±

    ¡°Heh.¡± Li Qingshan was like the demon who tempted the loyal holy maiden. He was filled with malice. He struck out one last time. ¡°With your cultivation, once you take just another step forward, it¡¯ll definitely lead to the sixth heavenly tribulation. Even if you can¡¯t survive it in the end, it¡¯s better than dying here like this!¡±

    After a moment of thought, Chao Tianjiao suddenly swung her hand as if she had slashed out with her blade.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll trust you this one time!¡±

    ¡°Heh, when have I ever disappointed you, senior sister?¡±

    In Black Cloud city, at the bottom of the stone tower, an innocent yet wicked smile stretched across Li Qingshan¡¯s face, like a child who had successfully fooled an adult and carried out his prank.

    ¡°What do I do?¡±

    ¡°Just listen to my command. First of all, please open your mind. Of course, I¡¯ll also need you to¡­¡±

    Chao Tianjiao suddenly felt rather embarrassed. In this demonic egg of chaos, her will had been shaken a long time ago.

    However, she was not one to hesitate. Since she had made up her mind, she definitely would not waste any time, cooperating with him compliantly.

    At that instant, a cool sensation slid past her skin, from her cheeks to her neck, then from her chest to her belly¡­ It greedily caressed every inch of her body, giving her goosebumps.

    She tensed up all over and shut her eyes as her cheeks turned red, biting her lip unconsciously as she continued to act like she did not care. However, she sighed inside, How have I ended up like this? Is it really my turn to be unlucky? This source of misfortune!

    Li Qingshan successfully went from an outer garment to an inner garment, and she had cooperated compliantly throughout the entire process, so he immediately felt the delight of revenge. He fanned on even more flames of lust as he invaded her body freely.

    Chao Tianjiao turned even more red. She gritted her teeth. ¡°Kid, are you satisfied now?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s still nowhere near enough! Senior sister, please relax and open your mind.¡± He was no longer satisfied with just being an inner garment.

    ¡°If I demonify, I¡¯ll definitely kill you!¡± Her voice trembled slightly, so her threat seemed to bear no power at all. As he had said, she opened her mind completely to him.

    There was already an opening to her mind, so Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul immediately infiltrated her. He smiled. ¡°As you wish.¡±

    Her eyes blanked out, and she even lost the sensation over her body. Everything about her was laid bare right in front of him, without any secrets to hide. That was far more invasive than what her body had gone through.

    Just recently, she had once used his illusions to see the situation of Cold Blood pass. However, that was at most equivalent to him standing with a wall between them, weaving some lies to her. She could chase him away at any moment. Now, she had basically opened the main door to him, allowing him to stride in as he pleased; he could even turn the entire situation around.

    ¡°Let¡¯s begin!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out in her ears, yet it also seemed to originate from the depths of her heart.

    In a daze, the scene before her eyes changed. The icy-cold fortress, the brutal battlefield, and the riotous profusion of snowflakes all vanished.

    A small river gurgled past her eyes, rippling under the proud sun. The warm breeze was intoxicating as the poplar and willow trees swayed gently. It was the height of spring when the climate was most pleasant. The surroundings were spacious and quiet, only with the twittering of a few birds.

    She took off her shoes and socks gently, dipping her feet in the clear river. A few small fish flickered about. It was so pleasant that she forgot about everything.

    ¡°Tianjiao.¡± A gentle voice rang out from behind her. She suddenly looked back, and her handsome lover made his way over here through the trees.

    With a splash, she pulled back her feet in a hurry. The water rippled, but she ended up losing her balance and falling backwards.

    ¡°Be careful.¡± A large hand caught her waist. Their eyes met, and they caught each other¡¯s scent, which enchanted them. Another large hand grabbed her foot. The ticklish sensation like electricity shot up from her foot into her heart.

    With a whimper, she collapsed on the grass beside the river, merging with the spring breeze and flowing water.

    L Qingshan began comprehending the method of dual cultivation.

    The ?¨¡kta? school was not some stray path, but a mainstay of Mahe?vara¡¯s path. Their records and works even surpassed other schools like the Siddh¨¡nta school and the Rase?vara school.

    The ?¨¡kta? school did not worship Mahe?vara himself, but the god Li?ga.

    The so-called ¡°Li?ga¡± was actually just Mahe?vara¡¯s thingy. It symbolised fertility and prosperity, representing the power of creation and rebirth.

    In the eyes of regular followers, that was the most important form of Mahe?vara. As for his appearance where he waved his six arms about, opening his third eye and spraying out Divine Fire of World Destruction, that was just a special form. Very few people worshipped that.

    After all, fertility and prosperity was what people normally wanted, as well as what everyone wanted to see, while great destruction and great annihilation would definitely be fleeting, as it brought fear. Gods wanted their followers to respect and fear them, but respect did come first after all.

    Li Qingshan focused on comprehending the ?¨¡kta? school¡¯s methods of dual cultivation. Even this spring dream became secondary. When it came to his pranks, they had never lacked seriousness.

    He was forced to be serious as well. Chao Tianjiao¡¯s Yang Soul was far too powerful, hundreds of times greater than his Yin Soul. On top of that, the harsh aura it contained was overwhelmingly heavy.

    If he could not enter a perfect state of dual cultivation soon, then it would rapidly tear apart his Yin Soul even if she was willing to open her mind cooperatively. If she put up even the slightest resistance, his Yin Soul would be finished.

    And in just a short while, a good part of his Yin Soul had been worn away, yet in the illusion, he had only begun to take off her clothes.

    Under a situation like this, how could he still enjoy himself? Before he had even done anything, his Yin Soul would have been reduced to nothing. It was basically even more miserable than impotence. His prank had failed and had instead dealt him a heavy blow.

    However, he also gained a gradual understanding. In other words, my process of practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty has been a little abnormal.

    Birth and annihilation, creation and destruction, were always two sides of the same coin. They were integral to one another.

    But normally, one would still come before the other. There would definitely be creation first before destruction, birth before annihilation.

    In particular, to living creatures, not only was the former more important, but it was easier to understand too.

    However, he happened to have started off with great destruction and great annihilation, and he had comprehended the path of great liberty¡¯s strongest technique in battle so quickly, the Divine Fire of World Destruction.

    Upon closer thought, that made no sense at all. Before he could even crawl or run, he already knew how to fly. Flying felt wonderful, but something simply seemed to be missing.

 Chapter 1461

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1461 ¨C The Fifth Layer of the Ape Demon

    According to the way he had practised it, the Heavenly Tome of Liberty was not a cultivation method at all. How were regular people supposed to comprehend the spirit of great destruction and great annihilation?

    He had first gone from the Demon Suppression Statuary to the Battle Demon Statuary before obtaining a cultivation method that had been created at the end of a world like the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction. That alone involved a tremendous amount of luck.

    During this process, he had personally witnessed the remains of the world before destroying the nine provinces as well as a world with his own hands.

    Only then did he comprehend what great destruction and great annihilation was. When he began practising the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, he obviously went down a path like this, continuing until he comprehended a move as devastating and brutal as the Divine Fire of World Destruction. Even now, he had yet to witness the limits of its destructive power.

    He had always faced tremendous pressure to survive, so there was nothing strange about him embarking on a path like this.

    However, for regular cultivators, or even significantly talented Reincarnated Celestials, they would never destroy a world for the sake of cultivation. They would only start off from the beginning obediently.

    For example, they would find a woman to dual cultivate with and experience the joys of procreation and the meaning of the great harmony of life.

    That was the most ¡°normal¡± way of cultivation. He had gotten everything the wrong way round.

    I see! I see! So I¡¯ve been doing everything backwards the entire time!

    Coming to an understanding, Li Qingshan began to laugh aloud.

    In the illusion, all Chao Tianjiao saw was her ¡°lover¡± smile away delightfully. She grumbled, ¡°What are you smiling for?¡±

    Li Qingshan only smiled. A third of his Yin Soul had already vanished. The illusion was already on the verge of collapsing and shattering.

    He circulated the Spirit Turtle Transformation as hard as he could to find the other possibility that existed in the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    No wonder my soul nascence lost control when I underwent the fourth heavenly tribulation, determined to destroy me. If I were a regular cultivator, the soul nascence would have just blown itself up! Why would I even still bother with cultivation? It¡¯s not like the old turtle comprehended the Heavenly Tome of Liberty to screw over the disciples of his own sect. There must be a simpler path available.

    I comprehended the Cycle of Life and Growth from the Qilin Transformation, which just happens to restrain the rampaging Yin Soul. Looks like this isn¡¯t a coincidence. From birth to annihilation, from creation to destruction. That is the normal path of cultivation for the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.

    This was the consequence of serving as the test subject of a new cultivation method with no one to scout things out ahead of him. However, it was still not too late for him to realise what was going on. It could even be considered as perfect timing.

    This path was simply too easy to him.

    He had once created the World of the Five Continents that was even vaster than the World of the Nine Provinces with his own bare hands. He had once comprehended the true meaning of the endless cycle of life and growth from the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity. Most importantly, he himself possessed the great desire to procreate and multiply. Otherwise, he would not try and ¡°mess¡± with Chao Tianjiao at a time like this when he would die for sure.

    Comprehending procreation and creation would always be much easier than destruction and annihilation.

    Chao Tianjiao shut her eyes firmly as the seven stars in her Yang Soul shone away. The illusion was about to collapse.

    She furrowed her brows as she vaguely found her ¡°lover¡± to be rather familiar, even a little loathsome.

    Right when she was about to awaken from her dream, the spirit turtle completed its calculations!

    Li Qingshan leaned over and kissed her delicate, red lips that resembled a rose, abruptly reversing the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. The Yin Soul that was originally filled with the will of destruction and annihilation changed altogether.

    At the end of destruction and annihilation, life prospered, like the tiny blades of grass and the flowers that bloomed and sprouted after the flames razed the ground.

    His gaze towards Chao Tianjiao was filled with love and gentleness, like the river that meandered through the land, nourishing the creatures on its banks.

    Suddenly, she found her ¡°lover¡± to be exceptionally charming, which enchanted her even more. The feeling of familiarity did not vanish. Instead, it became much more intense, making her believe that their union right now had been fated in their past life.

    The method of dual cultivation began to circulate, and the Yin Soul was no longer worn down by the Yang Soul. Instead, it was nourished slightly. The illusion immediately stabilised.

    ¡°Tianjiao.¡± He removed her final piece of clothing. He was so solemn that he was almost sincere, like this was no longer a prank.

    She also looked at him with a smile. Her body glowed dimly in the light of spring, like a goddess, pulling him into her arms proactively.

    With a moan, they finally merged together, like the first man and woman in the world releasing their most primitive feelings of love.

    The Yin Soul and Yang Soul entangled together, completely becoming one.

    Even more wondrously, Li Qingshan, who was the male, happened to be the Yin Soul, while Chao Tianjiao, as the female, was the Yang Soul.

    At the limits of yin was yang and at the limits of yang was yin. Yin and yang revolved, constraining one another and feeding one another, truly reaching the great harmony of life.

    It was as if the dream would never end.

    He only felt extremely elated, even if it would be nothing after the dream, even if they parted in life and death, even if they turned against each other afterwards. As long as he felt satisfied right now, that was enough.

    In the stone tower, a black ape¡¯s tail extended out from Li Qingshan¡¯s back. ¡°Eeek-aak-eek!¡±

    With a rumble, the Ape Demon Transformation broke through the fifth layer!

    The small world swelled and expanded, changing in quality and becoming brand-new. All of the transformations that had been suppressed for all this time returned to their original cultivations.

    The fifth layer of the ox demon! The fifth layer of the tiger demon! The fifth layer of the phoenix! The fifth layer of the spirit turtle!

    Power surged forth, both new and old, rampaging through the small world.

    Within the furious clashes of the demonic and divine, they reached a new balance that was soon broken again, continuing until they formed a stable system. All of the power began to condense.

    His cultivation rapidly climbed!

    ¡°Eeek-aak!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt to his feet and somersaulted. With each drastic advance in his cultivation, he somersaulted. He made a total of three hundred and twenty one in the end.

    In his delight, he did not forget about his great benefactor, Chao Tianjiao.

    The dream constantly changed, and they constantly encountered one another, loved one another and united together in different places under different identities. She had completely forgotten her original appearance by now.

    He ruled over the dream, converting yin to yang, using gentleness to overwhelm brute force, constantly wearing away the overly-sharp edge in her Yang Soul. Her power that was already extremely pure became even more pure, but it was no longer as harsh and cold as before, no longer so difficult to control.

    That was what he had promised. Now, he had achieved it.

    By absorbing the power in her Yang Soul as well as the nourishment from the demonic egg of chaos, his Yin Soul¡¯s cultivation constantly grew as well. The realm of Yang Soul was already in sight.

    As long as he wanted to, he could pull her into a deeper dream and advance his cultivation further.

    The path of dual cultivation never departed from two concepts, which was harvesting yin to replenish yang and harvesting yang to replenish yin.

    However, he did not do that. Instead, he made the dream become shallower and shallower, so it became closer and closer to reality. Eventually, it could not become any more shallow. They returned to the river bank with poplars and willows.

    She recalled everything about her and blanked out for a moment. In such a short period of time, she had gone through countless lives, experiencing joy she had never experienced before. She had become as familiar as she could be with Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance too.

    In the shallow dream, they were still entangled together with their hearts open to one another.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression changed. There was embarrassment, anger, confusion, and a hint of reluctance.

    ¡°Senior sister.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled at her. Perhaps it was just because he wanted to see her expression right now, or perhaps it was because he wanted her to survive!

 Chapter 1462

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1462 ¨C Saint of Love

    Who knew? Since he put on an act, he would keep it up to the very end.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression drifted with uncertainty. ¡°Did you know this, first senior sister? You caught my eye the first time I saw you. There was once a woman I wanted to marry. She was not as powerful or dazzling as you. She was not even as beautiful as you, yet in the end, I let her down.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao felt strangely bitter. She could not help but ask, ¡°So I¡¯m her replacement?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. I don¡¯t want any replacements, nor do I want to let anyone else down.¡± Li Qingshan seemed lonely. ¡°As a result, even when I was interested in you, I refused to get close to you. However, I couldn¡¯t bear to be looked down upon by the woman I liked, which was why I bickered with you. Please don¡¯t blame me.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao grabbed him by the throat and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll believe your lies?¡± Then she let go again in dejection. ¡°Sigh, we¡¯re both going to die soon anyway. You¡¯ve taken advantage of me, so let¡¯s just say it¡¯s my bad luck. You can stop with the nonsense here. Be content. You sure are shameless!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and cheered up. ¡°Yeah, I think something is still lacking. You still don¡¯t have enough resources. After all, you¡¯re trying to traverse the boundary between mortality and immortality.¡± He poured all the power he had built up in his Yin Soul into her Yang Soul.

    Harvesting yin to replenish yang and harvesting yang to replenish yin were eternal concepts of dual cultivation, but it often came with force, deception, and temptation. It would lead to unavoidable hatred and sins too, so attempting this shortcut would often lead to damnation, which was why it was viewed as a wicked path.

    There was only one exception¡ªwhen one side sacrificed themselves unconditionally, giving up their life and their power to the other willingly.

    Like right now!

    Chao Tianjiao shuddered inside. She was in disbelief. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Keeping my promise.¡± The power in his Yin Soul rapidly flowed away, and his figure gradually blurred.

    The poplars and willows on the river bank and the glowing light of spring all became surreal. The dream began to collapse.

    At this very moment, the power within his Yin Soul was a power of rebirth.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s heart ached. She said furiously, ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity!¡± She tried to reject Li Qingshan¡¯s power, but she failed. She had stopped being in charge of the dream a long time ago.

    ¡°It¡¯s not pity. If only one of us can survive, I hope it is you.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled as he extended his half-transparent hand and touched her face gently, just like what happened in the deepest dream.

    ¡°Live and forget me¡­¡±

    Chao Tianjiao extended her hand, but she grabbed nothing. The dream collapsed completely, and she returned to the chaos. New power welled up in her body, but she felt like her heart had been torn to pieces. The dreams echoed through her head endlessly.

    ¡°Qingshan¡­¡±

    With a boom, yin and yang merged as one, and the Origin Soul had been condensed.

    The seven stars lined up, turning into the form of a turtle and a snake. They shined brightly, illuminating a true path of xuanwu, soaring through the abyss and reaching the realm of Human Immortal.

    This was where the path of mortals and the path of immortals separated.

    That was originally a new life that she had been anticipating for all this time, but she simply stood where she was blankly. She had witnessed wars and grown accustomed to death, yet only now did she suddenly understand what a parting in life and death meant.

    Boom!

    A clap of thunder rumbled through the demonic egg of chaos as if it was urging her.

    She pressed down on her chest. Her heart thumped away, like she had been reborn. She had lost much of her harshness and gained a hint of tenderness.

    Pulling herself together with her valiant bearing, her gaze became determined again, setting down this path resolutely and confronting the heavenly tribulation.

    ¡°I will leave, but I definitely won¡¯t forget you!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Pft¡­ hahahaha!¡±

    Find the original at *hosted* novel.

    At the bottom of the stone tower, Li Qingshan keeled over as he rolled around on the ground in laughter. He had even begun crying from laughter. His prank had succeeded, so of course, he had to laugh to his heart¡¯s content.

    ¡°Chao Tianjiao, oh Chao Tianjiao, no matter how crafty you are, I still got you! My acting has been thoroughly tested, so forget about seeing through it! Hahahaha!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan?¡± Noticing the disturbance, Xiao An made her way down from upstairs. She was puzzled. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°Let me tell you¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan told her about everything that happened, like how they infiltrated Cold Blood pass and how they were ambushed, but he refused to mention how he had misled Chao Tianjiao. Anyway, he just said it was a moment of life or death, and she had suggested it herself. As for the part regarding the dual cultivation, it was not particularly child-friendly, so he saved a lot of the details.

    As for the confession of true love in the end, that was truly a masterpiece, something that should be written up and framed.

    ¡°You must have deceived her!¡± Xiao An only took a single glance at his expression and basically guessed what had happened.

    ¡°How could I? I¡¯m basically a saint of love. I¡¯ve sacrificed myself to help her achieve what she wanted.¡±

    ¡°Were you serious?¡± Xiao An curled her lip.

    ¡°How could I have been? My Yin Soul was beyond saving anyway. I comprehended how to cultivate, so I might as well help her achieve her goal. Though, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be able to survive.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Not to mention the fact that he had not undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation, but even if he did, it was impossible for him to destroy the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Who knew how deep their scheme ran.

    ¡°Then, do you hope that she can survive?¡±

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    ¡°Yeah.¡± A day as partners, a hundred days of attachment. They had spent far more than just ¡°a day¡± between them, so he still had some feelings of attachment to her.

    Perhaps he simply wanted to see her expression back then, or perhaps he wanted her to survive. Who knew?

    ¡°You¡¯ve lied to her like this. She¡¯ll never spare you.¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered. When she was only a Human Sovereign, she was already such a difficult opponent. If she became a Human Immortal¡­

    ¡°Haha, how can you make it past the sixth heavenly tribulation, the gulf between mortality and immortality, so easily? She¡¯s probably been cleaved to death by lightning already, or she¡¯s suffered from cultivation deviation, or she¡¯s been killed by the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.¡±

    In Cold Blood pass, the surroundings responded. Thunder rumbled, and great flakes of snow flew.

    Yin Zhe¡¯s expression changed. ¡°The sixth heavenly tribulation!¡±

    The other Demon Sovereigns all rushed back too. ¡°She¡¯s triggered the sixth heavenly tribulation? How can that be possible!¡±

    They were all stuck at the same realm. They understood just how difficult this stage was. It was no longer an issue of whether they could undergo the tribulation successfully. Instead, they were completely incapable of overcoming the bottleneck and triggering the heavenly tribulation.

    When Demon Sovereigns took one step further, they would gain the nature of a god, becoming half-gods known as Heretic Gods. They would stand above billions of demonfolk, only below the twelve Demon Gods. Even the twelve Demon Gods would try to rope them in. In the chaotic and brutal Demon domain, they could finally find some peace. It was the realm that all Demon Sovereigns dreamt of.

    Chao Tianjiao had actually triggered the heavenly tribulation in the Demon domain while she was trapped in the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. It was truly unexpected.

    ¡°She probably has an Origin Soul pill. Hmph, she¡¯ll never succeed with how hasty she is! If I had the Origin Soul pill¡­ even if I give it to you, you won¡¯t be bold enough to ingest it!¡±

    Ying Zhe¡¯s face sank. He bellowed out furiously, ¡°Shut up, all of you! Activate the formation immediately and kill her!¡±

    Even if her chances of successfully undergoing the tribulation were almost non-existent, if she actually managed to succeed, then not only would their ambush fail, but Black Cloud city would gain an additional Human Immortal instead. It would even be one that practised the path of xuanwu. Probably even the Demon Gods would be left furious, and their lives would be in danger.

 Chapter 1463

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1463 ¨C Tianjiao

    The surging demonic clouds flashed with light, growing brighter and brighter, louder and louder.

    The glorious might of the heavens smashed through obstacles, crushing down from above.

    The twelve Demon Sovereigns returned to their places on the stone pillars. All of them were stern, no longer as relaxed or casual as when they ambushed Chao Tianjiao. If they were sucked into the heavenly tribulation, their lives would be in danger.

    They powered their demon hearts and made their demon qi surge. They chanted away, singing praises for the twelve Demon Gods and their ¡°great deeds¡±.

    The power of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was completely unleashed, making it circulate furiously.

    ¡°Chaos¡ªDestroy!¡± Ying Zhe suddenly stamped his foot and pointed into the formation. The demonic egg of chaos shrank in response as if it was trying to forcefully crush Chao Tianjiao.

    The claps of thunder grew closer as if it was weighing down above them. He had run out of patience, stamping his foot again and again as he called out urgently, ¡°Destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy, destroy¡­¡±

    The demonic egg of chaos rapidly shrank, becoming smaller and smaller until it was only the size of a water tank. However, it had condensed all the power from the twelve Demon Sovereigns and the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. It could even crush a mountain to pieces.

    ¡°Die!¡± As soon as a hint of relief appeared on Ying Zhe¡¯s face, a blade abruptly pierced the demonic egg of chaos. Chao Tianjiao¡¯s voice rang out, ¡°Come, lightning!¡±

    The blinding lightning rained down from above.

    The scorching light illuminated the entire valley. The twelve Demon Sovereigns were all shocked.

    The pass collapsed; the ground shook. The pillars swayed about as the Demon Sovereigns struggled to maintain their footing, gazing towards Ying Zhe.

    Even if the twelve Demon Sovereigns worked together and used the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, they could not contend against this glorious might of the heavens.

    Sometimes, manpower would be insufficient, but the might of the heavens would always be limitless.

    All the lightning gathered on the tip of the blade, penetrating deep into the demonic egg of chaos along the edge.

    ¡°Fall!¡±

    With a swing of her blade, the lightning flashed, and Chao Tianjiao cut through the demonic egg of chaos, leaping out. She was as valiant as a god.

    With another slash, she cut through the formation and moved up against the light, like a fish transforming into a dragon.

    The Demon Sovereigns gazed up at her blinding figure and were left temporarily speechless. She had already begun to demonstrate the demeanour of a Human Immortal. Once she truly crossed that boundary, even they could only look up to her as Demon Sovereigns.

    Tu Wancheng trembled uncontrollably. If she became a Human Immortal, another slash from her would be guaranteed death.

    ¡°Sir Ying Zhe, we cannot let this bitch undergo the heavenly tribulation!¡±

    Ying Zhe wove his fingers together. His expression was extremely twisted. He said viciously, ¡°Lower the formation and conserve your strength.¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns immediately dispersed, and the stone pillars sank back into the ground. The heavenly tribulations had no regard for the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. If it became an obstacle, it would all be obliterated.

    ¡°She definitely won¡¯t succeed. She definitely won¡¯t succeed.¡± Ying Zhe muttered to himself as if he was trying to comfort himself. ¡°This is the Demon domain. She¡¯s completely unprepared, so how can she succeed?¡±

    The other Demon Sovereigns fell silent and gazed up. Even to them, the sixth heavenly tribulation was an extremely rare sight. Perhaps they could comprehend something from it. However, just like Ying Zhe, they did not believe she could undergo the heavenly tribulation successfully, yet they were still filled with worries.

    Tu Wancheng could not help but cry out, ¡°Should we move a little further away?¡±

    ¡°You coward!¡± Ying Zhe flew into a fury. ¡°Even if she succeeds, she¡¯ll be extremely feeble. We still have the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, so it¡¯s perfect for killing her then and there.¡±

    A vicious expression flashed across Tu Wancheng¡¯s face. ¡°If this bitch really becomes a Human Immortal, no matter how feeble she becomes, how can a formation trap her?¡±

    Ying Zhe instead calmed down all of a sudden. He became as calm as dying embers. ¡°I have my ways.¡±

    ¡°Other ways¡­¡± Tu Wancheng suddenly remembered that and immediately lowered his head. He did not dare to say anything at all. Meanwhile, he sneered inside. You old bastard, if this bitch succeeds with the tribulation, there¡¯ll be plenty of suffering waiting for you.

    In the blinding light, several armaments of tribulation lightning whistled about, constantly bombarding Chao Tianjiao.

    She had reached the peak of Human Sovereign a long time ago, and she had obtained all of the power in Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul too, which gave her even more assistance.

    Now, it was a counterattack with her back against the wall. She powered the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu as hard as she could. The seven stars flickered and turned into a tortoise and a snake. The unparalleled power of xuanwu was no weaker than the lightning.

    She had never been able to circulate her power so freely before, condensing it all in her blade and swinging it about freely. It turned into strands of xuanwu blade aura, matching the armaments of tribulation lightning evenly.

    This is all thanks to him.

    Chao Tianjiao thought of Li Qingshan again, as well as the countless days and nights in the dream. What left her with the deepest impression was not the moments they spent entwined together, but the scenes of love he had set up.

    In one dream, they were both located on a grand ship. She was the young miss of a wealthy family who had been forced to marry an heir to a fortune that she disliked. Meanwhile, he was merely a poor young artist who took the bottom cabin, yet he had saved her from despair.

    She could still clearly remember how he held her at the stern of the ship, like they were flying over the ocean, and how he yelled out, ¡°I¡¯m the king of the world!¡±

    At that moment, many emotions flooded her mind. An armament of tribulation lightning shot past, almost cutting off her blade-wielding arm.

    She shivered and discovered her power showed signs of losing control again. She immediately returned to her senses. ¡°Skandha-m¨¡ra!¡±

    This was a guaranteed obstacle in the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    If cultivators wanted to go from mortals to immortals, they would definitely face the attacks of m¨¡ra, obstructing them from immortality.

    There were a total of four kinds of m¨¡ra, which were the skandha-m¨¡ra, the kle?a-m¨¡ra, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra, and the devaputra-m¨¡ra.

    When Li Qingshan¡¯s soul nascence lost control, it had been mistaken by Ruan Yaozhu as a skandha-m¨¡ra, but that was not actually an encounter that regular cultivators experienced. Otherwise, most cultivators would perish before they even reached the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    Even the weakest of them all, the skandha-m¨¡ra, was an extremely terrifying haunt. As for the strongest devaputra-m¨¡ra, only gods and immortals would receive such treatment. It was a personal embodiment of Mahe?vara himself, preventing them from achieving enlightenment.

    As for Mahe?vara personally taking action, only the buddha had encountered something like that according to the legends.

    The five skandha were form, sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness. ¡°Form¡± was the basis of it all, which referred to the body. The mind and form merged together to form the body of form and thus sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness bloomed.

    The five skandha ablaze was one of the eight sufferings of life. As for the seven other sufferings, ¡°life¡±, ¡°old age¡±, ¡°sickness¡±, ¡°parting with the loved¡±, ¡°union with the hated¡±, and ¡°inability to obtain what is wanted¡±, they were all born from the five skandha.

    The skandha-m¨¡ra was an internal demon. It took shape based on the body of form and thus inner demons sprang forth.

    Originally, she practised the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu. She was extremely harsh and cold like the stars. She did not even care about this ¡°body of form¡±, so she had no so-called inner demons.

    However, while the dual cultivation had opened the gates to Human Immortal, it had also given her the corresponding forms, sensations, perceptions, mental activities, and consciousnesses. The five skandha blazed, and she struggled to control herself.

    For a moment, illusions bloomed before her eyes, leaving her uneasy. Signs of danger immediately sprang forth from everywhere.

    If she did not practise the path of xuanwu, she would have been sliced to pieces by the armaments of tribulation lightning already. Following the path of xuanwu, the seven stars were unwavering, and her nature was harsh and cold. She possessed the will of purging demons, which made everything easier to control when coupled with the refinement from dual cultivation.

    ¡°Zhenwu Purges the Demons, the Seven Stars as One! The Divine Turtle as Armour, the Black Snake as Arms!¡±

    She was stern, circulating the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu as she visualised the divine image of the Zhenwu Emperor, holding the skandha-m¨¡ra at bay. She had become much slower, which led to many injuries, but at least she controlled the situation. The illusions vanished from before her eyes.

    However, at this exact moment, her breathing halted, and her eyes widened. She saw Li Qingshan standing in the middle of the lightning with his back towards her.

    ¡°Y- you¡¯re still alive!¡±

 Chapter 1464

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1464 ¨C Afflictions

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back and smiled, just like in the dreams.

    The thundering lightning was unable to harm him at all. It was as if he had specially come to save her, just like in the dreams.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s heart ached. She shook her head. No, this is impossible. His Yin Soul has already been destroyed. He¡¯s completely dead. Even if he¡¯s still alive, it¡¯s impossible for him to just stand in the tribulation lightning unharmed.

    Don¡¯t tell me¡­ A thought flashed through her head, and her heart directly sank. Kle?a-m¨¡ra!

    Kle?a-m¨¡ra, or a demon of afflictions, as the name suggested, was afflictions. Living in the world, people had seven emotions and six desires. They possessed greed, hatred, ignorance, and jealousy, which were all afflictions.

    If the skandha-m¨¡ra was just a result of inner demons, purely an internal demon, then kle?a-m¨¡ra was a result of both internal and external factors, arising from within and materialising externally.

    In other words, kle?a-m¨¡ra were demons under Mahe?vara that possessed wills of their own, specially to get in the way of cultivators as they faced the tribulation.

    The former was only a split personality at most. As long as their temperaments and cultivations were powerful enough, they could suppress it. However, the latter was having a scoundrel making trouble, and this scoundrel was immune to weapons and techniques. Even if the minds of cultivators were without openings, it would create openings.

    As a result, it was far more dangerous than skandha-m¨¡ra.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s seven emotions and six desires all existed because of Li Qingshan, and her greed, hatred, ignorance, and jealousy also arose because of him. As a result, the kle?a-m¨¡ra was influenced by these factors, obviously taking the form of Li Qingshan.

    Even if the kle?a-m¨¡ra only stood there without doing anything, it already caused her tremendous pressure.

    ¡°The records in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes are true. Practising the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu will lead to kle?a-m¨¡ra during the sixth heavenly tribulation!¡±

    Because of differing cultivation methods and personal strength, the heavenly tribulations encountered varied drastically from one another as well. In short, it would always be more powerful than the cultivator, no matter how powerful the cultivator was.

    No matter how powerful Li Qingshan was, no matter how hardy he was with the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth, he had still almost been slain by the armaments of tribulation lightning. Meanwhile, there were no reports that the Heavenly Tome of Nature that Ruan Yaozhu practised would lead to kle?a-m¨¡ra during the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    Perhaps it was because practitioners of the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu had cold personalities and could not be easily shaken by skandha-m¨¡ra, or perhaps Mahe?vara who was known as the lord of the m¨¡ra was very dissatisfied with the Demon Purging Grandmaster of Zhenwu who had ¡°Demon Purging¡± in his name.

    As a result, in order to increase the difficulty, there was the kle?a-m¨¡ra.

    Fortunately, it was just one. The legends said that when ascending to immortality, three thousand afflictions would spring forth as obstacles.

    However, the one kle?a-m¨¡ra had already made it nightmarishly difficult.

    The thunder rumbled, ringing through the world.

    The skandha-m¨¡ra continued to stir as the armaments of tribulation lightning grew stronger and stronger. The might of the tribulation continued to climb.

    Once the kle?a-m¨¡ra struck, that would be when she perished.

    In dire straits, she furrowed her brows firmly and raised her blade high in the air. ¡°I have no other choice! I have to liberate myself through arms!¡±

    Destroying the body using a weapon was known as ¡°liberation through arms¡±, while destroying the body with fire was known as ¡°liberation through fire¡±.

    They were many other similar methods, like ¡°liberation through water¡±, ¡°liberation through earth¡±, ¡°liberation through sword¡±, and ¡°liberation through staff¡±. There were as many methods of liberation as methods of suicide. They all fell under the category of ¡°corpse liberation¡±.

    There was only one objective behind this, which was to cast aside the ¡°body of form¡±. Not only would it deal with the issues of the five skandha set ablaze, but her emotions and desires would drastically diminish, weakening the affiliations and kle?a.

    Living in the world, the many sources of pain and affiliations arose from the vile skin-bag¡ªthe body.

    Only death awaited any mortal that lost the vile skin-bag. They would have to undergo reincarnation obediently and collect a new vile skin-bag.

    Even to cultivators, this vile skin-bag was an extremely important tool. It was equivalent to a small vessel. Before the vessel had docked at shore, it was extremely difficult to not drown without it, let alone continuing with cultivation.

    Only when they refined an Origin Soul could they break free from the body and live independently. That was equivalent to developing the ability to breathe underwater. No matter what they did, they would not drown to death.

    As a result, when the situation during the tribulation became too dangerous, such as when the body had sustained wounds that were too severe or when the five skandha blazed beyond control, many cultivators would downright discard their bodies.

    If they succeeded with the tribulation, they would not be Human Immortals, only Corpse Liberated Immortals, but they were still immortals. Both their lifespans and strength would far surpass Human Sovereigns, which was countless times better than dying.

    With no other choice, Chao Tianjiao decided to undergo corpse liberation.

    But at this moment, she saw Li Qingshan again. She knew that was only the kle?a-m¨¡ra, but she still could not help but shudder inside.

    ¡°If I do this, wouldn¡¯t I just return to my own path, and all of his sacrifices would be in vain? Even if I survive somehow, my personality will only become colder and harsher. I definitely won¡¯t remember him anymore.¡±

    Thinking up to there, Chao Tianjiao made up her mind. So be it! Since I said I would not forget him, I definitely won¡¯t forget him! At most, it¡¯s just dying. I can just die a lover¡¯s death with him!

    With a swing of her blade, she cut through the lightning and called out, ¡°Come, lightning!¡±

    Setting aside the thought of death, she engaged the armaments of tribulation lightning with courage and determination.

    At that moment, great delight flooded her heart. She experienced a sense of courage and excitement she had not experienced in a very long time.

    Those who were truly courageous were not without fear. Instead, they could defeat fear and advance resolutely.

    At that moment, her newly-formed Origin Soul stabilised, and power became available to her.

    The path of cultivation was never only a clash of strength. It was also a contention of wills.

    Trying to eliminate her fears and hesitation to become ¡°courageous¡±, trying to cast aside her emotions and desires to become ¡°determined¡±, was all the act of a coward. It was like a deserter of the battlefield.

    A cultivator like that would either become a slave to the power of others, or a slave to their own power.

    She gazed at the kle?a-m¨¡ra, and her lips curled into a smile. She said quietly, ¡°Thanks, kid! Come now!¡±

    Even if she died, she definitely would not regret it.

    However, for some reason, the kle?a-m¨¡ra was instead slightly hesitant. It never brought her death.

    Was it because it had transformed into Li Qingshan that it had also become a ¡°saint of love¡±, reluctant to sully a flower?

    However, she instead heard the kle?a-m¨¡ra mutter, ¡°That¡¯s strange¡­ why does this woman¡­ possess the aura of the lord?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao realised what was going on. She almost wanted to laugh aloud.

    Li Qingshan practised the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. The exact path he walked was Mahe?vara¡¯s.

    Different paths received different treatment. The path of xuanwu faced additional opposition, while the path of nature received no opposition, nor any special treatment. His path of great liberty just happened to earn him special treatment in a place like this.

    This could be explained as some sort of favouritism. It could also be explained by the fact that cultivators who practised the path of great liberty usually faced more tests; as their usual performance was exceptional, they received bonus marks in the final exam.

    Through dual cultivation, Li Qingshan truly witnessed the path of great liberty. When it came to annihilation, he had achieved the Divine Fire of World Destruction. When it came to creation, he had sacrificed himself to save Chao Tianjiao.

    When he gave his Yin Soul to Chao Tianjiao, his aura lingered on her body, which was also the aura of Mahe?vara. The kle?a-m¨¡ra obviously developed qualms as a result.

    And these qualms were not just respect towards its ¡°great leader¡±, but also worries for its own safety.

    Kle?a-m¨¡ra were an extremely special existence. They were neither human or daemon, neither god nor ghost. They did not even fear heavenly tribulations.

    No matter how powerful Chao Tianjiao¡¯s xuanwu blade aura was, she would struggle to slay it.

    However, if Li Qingshan had been undergoing the tribulation here instead with his Yang Soul refined into a Origin Soul, not only would the kle?a-m¨¡ra be completely incapable of shaking him, but it would instead be twisted by his will. If it dared to make a ruckus, a blast of the Divine Fire of World Destruction would be enough to reduce it to ashes.

    Even m¨¡ra feared death. It was just that very few things could threaten them, which was why they seemed fearless and reckless. Once they encountered a power that could overwhelm them, they would instead become particularly cautious.

 Chapter 1465

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1465 ¨C Faceless

    That was not all the protection Li Qingshan had granted her.

    Strange. She¡¯s not a demonfolk, so why doesn¡¯t she face the rejection from the laws of the Demon domain? She might have used some strange technique or arcane treasure when she infiltrated Cold Blood pass, but it should be useless when she¡¯s facing the tribulation.

    Ying Zhe was very puzzled. According to his estimates, it was certain death for Chao Tianjiao.

    The laws of the world would not give her a free pass just because she was facing the heavenly tribulation. If she had to fend off the tribulation lightning externally, suppress the inner demons internally while facing rejection and pressure from the laws of the world, it was like facing a powerful foe while chained up. Even if she faced the tribulation a hundred times, there would not be a single time when she succeeded.

    This was without a doubt still a blessing from Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul.

    Chao Tianjiao recalled his voice and expression again, and she became even more determined, no longer sparing a glance at the kle?a-m¨¡ra. She completely ignored its existence.

    The kle?a-m¨¡ra was like the tiger from the Chinese fable, the Tiger and the Donkey. It only needed to lunge over, and it could gut the donkey and have a feast, but because it had never seen such a strange animal before, it seemed very frightening, so it did not dare to act rashly.

    After all, this was the path of the Demon Purging Grandmaster of Zhenwu. The path of xuanwu itself possessed a certain level of deterrence towards demons. It was not just a front.

    The thunder rumbled away and time flew. Chao Tianjiao finally reached the moment when the donkey exhausted its tricks. In particular, the aura left behind by Li Qingshan¡¯s Yin Soul was gradually dispersing.

    The invisible laws of the Demon domain enveloped her layer by layer like a spider web. In the beginning, it was still very gentle and very faint, but it rapidly intensified. The kle?a-m¨¡ra wrinkled its nose as if it identified her aura. It became more and more restless, attempting to approach her.

    However, she smiled brightly. She had already bought enough time.

    Her Origin Soul had already consolidated completely. It could be called a Xuanwu Origin Soul.

    Her body was still around, having become even stronger after being forged by the tribulation lightning.

    She had stayed true to herself, without relinquishing her emotions and desires or forgetting him.

    ¡°Severing the tribulation!¡±

    With a slash, she cut through an armament of tribulation lightning, which turned into countless arcs, dispersing without taking shape again.

    With that as a turning point, she was invincible with her blade in hand. The sixth heavenly tribulation was already approaching its end.

    ¡°Demon Purging!¡±

    She swung her blade again, towards the kle?a-m¨¡ra this time. She did not use the blade¡¯s edge, but the harsh, indestructible intent of xuanwu.

    The kle?a-m¨¡ra only found the edge to be chilling, forcing it to dodge. It was knocked away.

    The xuanwu blade aura shone coldly. She was like a goddess of war, standing in the air.

    ¡°Ying Zhe, stop wasting anymore time! If this bitch escapes, you won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences!¡± Tu Wancheng said that both out of worry and also to mock.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s heart sank, and he no longer hesitated. He took out an icy-blue, rhombus-shaped crystal from his sleeve and bowed down deeply on the ground.

    ¡°Welcoming the Faceless Heretic God!¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns all bowed down as well. They called out together, ¡°Welcoming the Faceless Heretic God!¡±

    The rhombus crystal hovered in the air and gradually climbed higher, shining brighter and brighter. It shattered loudly, and the dazzling light condensed into a teleportation gate that opened slowly.

    A ¡°person¡± of regular stature, attire, and bearing, without anything extraordinary, emerged. Even his gender was blurred. If he were tossed into a crowd of people, he would not be able to attract any attention at all.

    The only abnormal part was his pale face¡ªdevoid of eyes, ears, a mouth, and a nose. It did not have any facial expressions either, which created a sense of dread.

    A voice that also was not special in any way or form rang out from somewhere, ¡°Why so soon?¡±

    As a Heretic God only second to the twelve Demon Gods, he was tasked with important duties. He had to cultivate as well, so time was extremely precious to him.

    Even with this assault on Black Cloud city, he planned on only showing up in the final moments to give the final word after the Demon Sovereigns had made all the preparations and fought to the very end. He did not expect Ying Zhe to use the teleportation crystal so soon.

    Ying Zhe lowered his head deeply and was just about to explain. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s-¡±

    ¡°You bunch of trash!¡±

    The Faceless Heretic God had realised what was going on a long time ago. He might not have possessed any facial features, but he was not blind or deaf. Even a blind man or a deaf man could sense such bright lightning and such loud thunder.

    The might he suddenly erupted with pressed down on the Demon Sovereigns, such that they could not raise their heads. They all called out, ¡°Please punish us, sir!¡±

    This was the might of a god, even if he was only a half-god.

    Tu Wancheng was filled with twisted joy. You old bastard, you actually angered the Faceless Heretic God. Let¡¯s see how you deal with this now. And Chao Tianjiao, you bitch, do you really think you¡¯re safe just by undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation? Let¡¯s see how you die!

    The Faceless Heretic God reached towards Ying Zhe¡¯s head. Ying Zhe abruptly cried out sharply, ¡°Congratulations, sir! Felicitations, sir!¡±

    ¡°What am I supposed to be celebrating?¡± the Faceless Heretic God asked. He did not have any facial features, but his face wriggled about like it was making an expression.

    Ying Zhe raised his head and sucked up to him. ¡°Congratulations on slaying an enemy Human Immortal!¡±

    The Faceless Heretic God was taken aback. His hand paused mid-air, and he realised what was going on. He patted Ying Zhe on the head. ¡°It truly is a grand occasion. You¡¯ve done very well. All rise!¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns looked at one another, while Ying Zhe behaved like he had just been spared. He shot a vicious glance at Tu Wancheng.

    ¡°Yeah, and she practises the path of xuanwu!¡±

    The Faceless Heretic God ¡°gazed¡± at Chao Tianjiao in the air. If he had eyes, they would definitely be sparkling. If he had a mouth, he would definitely be drooling right now.

    In the war against the Human realm, anyone who slew an opposing Human Immortal would have made a great contribution. Not only would they receive a colossal amount of resources even to him, but they would receive the good graces of the will of the heavens.

    However, contributions were not easily made. Since they were ¡°immortals¡±, they were extremely difficult to kill. Even Demon Gods may not necessarily be able to take them down, as it was not just a matter of life-preserving measures once they reached the heights they were at.

    The entire Desireless Heavenly Palace led by the Demon Purging Grandmaster of Zhenwu would be protecting them, so they could not be infringed upon so easily.

    If Human Sovereigns were still pieces on the chessboard, relatively stronger pieces like rooks, bishops, and knights, then even if Human Immortals were not the chess players, they were the king at the very least. They were protected by all the other pieces. If they lost the king, that would be losing the entire game of chess, and that often meant millions of soldiers and thousands of kilometres of land.

    Killing a Human Immortal, and one from the Zhenwu Emperor¡¯s lineage, would result in contribution no less than taking down Black Cloud city or even more than that. This had essentially fallen into his lap, so how could the Faceless Heretic God remain angry?

    The origins of the Human Immortal were rather awkward, but the will of the Demon domain would not care about this. If she was slain, then she was slain. The Demon Gods probably would not care about this either, as a Human Immortal was a Human Immortal.

    Once she succeeds with the tribulation and ascends to the state of a Human Immortal, that¡¯ll also be her most feeble moment. I¡¯ll only need a gentle strike to kill her. In the Human realm, perhaps she still has a chance to escape with her Origin Soul, but she¡¯s completely at my whim in the Demon domain!

    The Faceless Heretic God was determined to kill a Human Immortal here and now to render a meritorious service. He had no interest in capturing her alive at all. His face wriggled with an eerie, terrifying expression as a pale hand reached towards Chao Tianjiao. It extended and expanded mid-air, turning into a sharp claw, like it was trying to rip apart the entire sky.

    Boom!

    The final bolt of tribulation lightning shattered under Chao Tianjiao¡¯s blade. She eased up inside, and the xuanwu blade aura dispersed from her blade. Her weapon then crumbled and collapsed, reduced to ash.

    She felt exhausted, unable to muster any strength anymore. She had directed all of her focus towards the heavenly tribulation the entire time, such that she did not even notice the Faceless Heretic God¡¯s arrival.

    The Faceless Heretic God¡¯s face wriggled into a smile. He suddenly reached down with his pale-white claw. ¡°Die!¡±

 Chapter 1466

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1466 ¨C Sword of Zhenwu

    Black Cloud city was silent. White snow drifted through the air. Many soldiers idled on the streets, still discussing the army-wide military competition that had just concluded recently.

    Normally, the battles would have started already. The lengthy ranks of soldiers would collide like gnashing teeth as the opposing armies tore at one another, using their hot-bloodedness to melt the remaining snow and ice. The city would be in full swing, constantly fighting, resting and then fighting again, either reduced to white bones or achieving success with their own two hands, paving the great path of cultivation for them.

    Perhaps there was fear, but there was even more eagerness. However, it was surprisingly disappointing today. Not a single demonfolk had appeared, even until now.

    Everyone guessed that it was probably related to the fact that Cold Blood pass had been massacred and the Demon domain had not replenished their troops yet. It was impossible for them to kill their way into the Demon domain, so all they could do was wait.

    As a result, only the Pure Land sect continued to work. The Upraised Light abbot even set aside the matter of cultivation, using this opportunity to purify demonic souls and shrink the Demon domain¡¯s territory. He did not have any time to convert Li Qingshan either.

    In this peaceful atmosphere, the captain of the Scorching Fire army, ¡°first senior brother¡± Li Liehuo became more and more restless and uneasy. He needed to make the flames burn, to kill to his heart¡¯s content, or it would be painful.

    The patterns of flames flowed under his well-defined muscles like raging magma, lighting up and dimming with his breathing. His veins popped, and his muscles bulged.

    No one imagined that the thing which the first senior brother who had a personality like fire had to do the most was actually exercise restraint, constantly exercising restraint, either erupting in restraint or smothering out in restraint. He constantly tasted the sensation of smothering out, which was being reduced to a pile of ashes.

    If he relinquished his cultivation, his personality would probably be even more sedated than an old monk who spent most of his time meditating.

    But recently, due to a certain person, it became even more difficult to exercise restraint.

    ¡°Li- Qing- Shan!¡±

    The firelight immediately brightened as he clenched his fist firmly, suppressing the rage within him. His remaining sliver of rational thought told him this was probably his fated tribulation.

    The true essence of fire was to rise. He had reached the peak of Human Sovereign a long time ago. If he could not continue to rise up, it would begin turning on him.

    If he could not exercise restraint anymore and he killed that kid without any regard, the pressure from the sect would be easy to deal with, but that would mean losing control, and death would not be far. However, if he had to exercise restraint, he truly found it unbearable.

    He gritted his teeth in utter anger, making tears of blood flow, only for them to vapourise instantly.

    Power was also torment.

    However, he believed that if he could make it past this, he would have an opportunity to progress further. This kind of rage was the exact thing required as a medium for the path of scorching fire, not gradually burning away his rationality in the mild flames and using up all the resources.

    A fated tribulation was also an opportunity.

    In the stone tower, Li Qingshan still had no idea that he had left someone so furious that they began crying. He was just a fuse, but even if Li Liehuo rushed over right now to kill him, he was no longer feeble.

    A brand-new small world had already consolidated and taken shape. The ox, tiger, turtle, and phoenix all stretched out completely. Earth, fire, wind, and water all took their respective positions.

    Having come so far, the issue of balance between the demonic and divine had finally been resolved completely. He was free to practise whatever he wanted and free to reach whichever layer he wanted, like he had freed from his shackles. From here on out, the world was his oyster.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    If this was still not enough to crush Li Liehuo in a direct confrontation, then he would break through the fifth heavenly tribulation. That was already within his arm¡¯s reach. If it were not for the loss of the Yin Soul, he only had to refine it into a Yang Soul in the process, and he would immediately break through.

    But that was fine too. His foundations were based on the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, not the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Once he reached the sixth layer with the ox, the tiger, the turtle, and the phoenix, he refused to believe he would not trigger the tribulation.

    ¡°Ahh. After being repressed for so long, I can finally stretch out a little! Sigh!¡±

    In his delight, he let out another sigh. Chao Tianjiao had not returned yet. If she had succeeded with the tribulation, she should have killed her way back here already. With that woman¡¯s personality, it was impossible for her to not come here and ¡°catch up¡± with him. He had already come up with a set of excuses in his head.

    Since she did not return, she was probably done for already, but he still had a sliver of hope. If she fell in battle and her life lamp went out, it was impossible for the Myriad sect to stay silent. However, it was also possible for them to lock down the news, just in case it swayed the morale of the army.

    Had he ventured too deeply into the game? Thinking too much brought no benefits, so he discarded all of his thoughts and stood up, notifying Xiao An. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a walk. I¡¯ll find a good place to cultivate and undergo the tribulation!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Xiao An smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll watch over you.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling ma¡¯am Xiao An.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Chao Tianjiao suddenly looked back, only to see the pale-white colour sealing off the sky.

    She had just scaled an impossible cliff, escaping death by the skin of her teeth, only to be beaten back into the abyss, thrown into danger again.

    She furrowed her brows and closed her eyes. A thought flashed through her head, Am I simply unable to avoid death?

    Then she opened her eyes again. Her eyebrows were straight like blades as she smiled brightly, welcoming the pale-white situation of hopelessness and slashing out with her fingers like a blade!

    ¡°Wicked demon, your arrogance ends here!¡±

    In the sky, a bellow rang out thunderously.

    With a flash, blood sprayed everywhere. The pale-white claw had been severed along the wrist.

    The Faceless Heretic God was in pain, pulling his hand back quickly, but the only thing he recovered was a severed arm. His face wriggled intensely as he said hoarsely, ¡°The Sword of Zhenwu!¡±

    A divine general in golden armour descended from above, glowing brilliantly. The cape behind him danced furiously like a flag in the wind.

    He held a black sword sheath with both hands, coiled with turtles and snakes and aligned with seven stars. The aura of harshness it gave off swept through the surroundings.

    The twelve Demon Sovereigns trembled. Even Ying Zhe¡¯s teeth chattered despite how chaotic and wicked he was, like he faced immense danger. If it were not for the Faceless Heretic God, he might have fled already.

    The light circled around and returned to the sheath. The aura of harshness vanished with it.

    Having escaped death, Chao Tianjiao blinked her eyes. ¡°A Divine General of the Six Jia?¡±

    The divine general in golden armour smiled and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s me. I am the Jiazi God, Wang Wenqing. I carry the Sword of Zhenwu, so forgive me for being unable to bow. Under the Xuantian Emperor¡¯s orders, I¡¯ve specially come to invite you to the Desireless Heavenly Palace, fellow.¡±

    The Xuantian Emperor was the Zhenwu Emperor. It was one of his titles of respect.

    Chao Tianjiao glanced down. The pale-white claw had yet to hit the ground, but it had already stiffened and turned a deathly grey. The Faceless Heretic God led the twelve Demon Sovereigns, but he was actually afraid to take a step closer to her.

    The Divine General of Jiazi, Wang Wenqing, possessed slender eyes and eyebrows. His complexion was fair, and he was at ease. He did not look like a divine general who waged war in the Demon domain but a scholar who recited poems in his courtyard. He did not take the Faceless Heretic God or the twelve Demon Sovereigns seriously at all.

    She bowed. ¡°Thank you for saving my life, fellow!¡± However, she could not help but look at the sword in his arms. She felt a sense of closeness, yet also some respect, like she was facing a strict father.

    The Six Ding and the Six Jia were renowned throughout the world. They were the personal guards and divine generals of the Zhenwu Emperor, but their main duty was not to face the Demon domain. Normally, they were summoned by various daoist priests to subdue daemons and purge demons with great force, so everyone knew about them.

    However, while the God of Jiazi was the leader of the Six Jia, he was not enough to deter a Heretic God. The greater his cultivation was, the greater the restraints he faced from the laws were too. In the Demon domain, if the Faceless Heretic God ordered the twelve Demon Sovereigns to cast the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, he could put up a fight even if a few more Human Immortals arrived.

    What they truly feared was the Sword of Zhenwu in his hands, the Zhenwu Emperor¡¯s personal sword.

    Chao Tianjiao was amazed inside, Just a single slash actually possesses such power!

 Chapter 1467

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1467 ¨C The Sixth Layer of the Ox Demon

    At the same time, Wang Wenqing studied Chao Tianjiao. He noticed how her aura was subdued, and the seven stars were hidden away, having achieved the true essence of xuanwu. She was exceptional, which made him praise her inside.

    Impressive aura. She really does walk the emperor¡¯s path! Who knows how many years it¡¯s been since someone refined a Xuanwu Origin Soul, and even more impressively, she hasn¡¯t undergone corpse liberation. She retains her body, so she has a chance of climbing even higher. It¡¯s no wonder the emperor granted me the Sword of Zhenwu so that I could provide assistance. She¡¯s only just become a Human Immortal, but her future prospects are limitless. I cannot underestimate her.

    As a result, he smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be arrogant for one and call you junior sister. This is not a good place, where the demonic flames blaze. We should not remain here.¡±

    ¡°Please give me a moment, senior brother!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao clasped her hands before looking back, glancing past the Faceless Heretic God and the twelve Demon Sovereigns like her gaze was a bolt of lightning. The harshness in her expression was on full display. She pointed at the sky and swore, ¡°I will never forget what happened today. I will slay you all!¡±

    The expressions of the twelve Demon Sovereigns all changed, while the Faceless Heretic God was emotionless.

    An oath from a Human Immortal was not just for say. Instead, it would involve a great entanglement of karma.

    Wang Wenqing smiled wryly. ¡°Sigh, junior sister. Even after you¡¯ve become a Human Immortal, you¡¯re still so harsh and unforgiving. However, that¡¯s not a flaw in the Desireless Heavenly Palace.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m done, senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Wang Wenqing patted her on the shoulder. The two of them turned into a streak of light and shot off.

    The tribulation clouds dispersed in the air, such that the sky became clear as far as the eye could see. Stars speckled across the firmament. A dim moon hung high above.

    Cold Blood pass had already been in ruins. Now, it was even more destroyed. Even most of the walls had collapsed.

    Tu Wancheng trembled as he cursed under his breath, ¡°Bitch, bitch¡­¡± However, he completely lacked his original confidence.

    Unless he deserted the battlefield and fled to the depths of the Demon domain right now, who knew when he would receive another slash, and that would be certain death.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s face twisted. Not only had the ambush resulted in a great defeat, they had ¡°helped¡± a Human Immortal spring into existence too.

    In the deathly silence, the Faceless Heretic God finally spoke, ¡°Attack the city and take the city, or all of you will die!¡±

    The twelve Demon Gods answered together, ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    An order flew out of the valley, reaching deep within the Demon domain.

    Along with the desolate, shrill sound of a horn, the flames of war rose up!

    Armies gathered one by one. Their army qi was so consolidated that it seemed like clouds, and the Demon Generals and Demon Commanders were countless. There were plenty of Demon Kings and Demon Emperors too, riding on colossal demonic beasts as they escorted the cold instruments of war towards Cold Blood pass.

    The bright moon illuminated the mountains.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An left Black Cloud city secretly, following the meandering boundary and arriving in a towering, deserted mountain range.

    This was the ¡°treasured land¡± he had chosen after careful consideration. It happened to be located between Black Cloud city and another city. It was a region where their defences were the weakest, so he did not have to worry about being discovered. At the same time, he could also observe the main battlefield of the Demon domain.

    Just as Chao Tianjiao had concluded, twelve Demon Sovereigns had gathered in Cold Blood pass, so they must have been up to something big. Even if their attempt at trying to convert her had failed, they probably would not stop there.

    And regardless of whether she could retreat safely or not, he did not want to be a deserter. That was a crime punishable by death in the army, and Li Liehuo would definitely use this to make things difficult for him. Everything he had achieved in the Myriad sect would be reduced to nothing as well.

    Not only did he have no plans on avoiding the direct battle, but he even wanted to go at it properly, to earn enough contribution to become a direct disciple. By then, he would not be tied down by anything.

    If he wanted to advance, he could form his own army and lead it as its captain. If he wanted to retreat, he could return to the Myriad sect rightfully and prepare for the trip to Ruin¡¯s End. He could do both too and maybe even contend against Li Liehuo for the position of first senior brother.

    Li Qingshan silently prayed, Let me kill a few extra Demon Sovereigns and steal the position of first senior brother from that fire dude. That¡¯ll basically be getting revenge for you, and your deceased soul will be able to rest easy. Though¡­ Being killed by tribulation lightning was being reduced to dust. That was as dead as a person could be, so he shook his head. You don¡¯t have a deceased soul remaining.

    He was rather sentimental about this, but his strength was limited. He was not being heartless. They were not particularly familiar with one another in the first place. They even had a hostile relationship. The only reason they ended up in a situation like that was due to her stubborn decisions. In the end, he even sacrificed his Yin Soul to assist her, so he had basically done everything that he could.

    If she can survive, that¡¯s for the best. If she can¡¯t, then blame me?

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, Chao Tianjiao felt an impulse, and her expression changed.

    Wang Wenqing asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, junior sister?¡±

    ¡°Someone seems to be talking ill of me.¡± Chao Tianjiao clenched her fist and said furiously, ¡°It must be those damned demonfolk!¡±

    Wang Wenqing smiled. ¡°After becoming a Human Immortal, you already have a foot planted in the path of immortality. Your senses have become much sharper. However, unless it¡¯s someone or something that matters to you, you shouldn¡¯t sense anything. If you can sense whenever someone talks ill of you, wouldn¡¯t you be bothered to death?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡± Chao Tianjiao murmured, ¡°Someone or something that matters to me¡­¡±

    Wang Wenqing suddenly became serious. ¡°Please don¡¯t be distracted by anything else, junior sister. Up ahead is the Desireless Heavenly Palace. That is the most important matter at hand.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    With an earth-shaking moo, Li Qingshan turned into the ox demon, standing indomitably and punching the mountain in front of him.

    Boom!

    The mountain rumbled and cracks ran through the entire rock, like a giant that trembled before his divine might.

    He did not use the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens. He had completely achieved it through his great strength of the ox demon. Even though he had yet to reach the same level as he did in the nine provinces where he could shatter a mountain with a punch, it was still quite impressive.

    ¡°The Ox Demon Butts its Horns!¡±

    Then he lowered his head and charged ahead with his horns before abruptly kicking off his hooves.

    Boom!

    Under the moonlight, Xiao An stood gently, gazing at the ox with a smile as it threw itself at the mountain like it had gone mad. Suddenly, half of the mountain collapsed, crushing him underneath.

    ¡°Hehe, how stupid.¡±

    Li Qingshan was crushed under thousands of tonnes of rock. If his physique were a little weaker, he would have been crushed to death, but he felt like he felt as safe and comfortable as returning to his mother¡¯s embrace

    The Ox Demon Transformation was the first transformation he had practised, as well as his foundations for the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. Whether it was its defences, endurance, or destructive power, it was completely flawless. Combined with something like the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens, it was basically exceptionally powerful.

    The Ox Demon Transformation stressed accumulation. He had already reached the fifth layer many years ago, so he had already accumulated as much as he possibly could.

    As for comprehension?

    Along the way, he had encountered countless powerful foes and endless setbacks. If it were not for his stubbornness, how could he have forged his way to today?

    If the Ape Demon Transformation was extremely compatible with his nature, without any proper bottlenecks, then the Ox Demon Transformation did not need any compatibility at all. He was a raging ox in the first place. He did not care about what difficulties stood before him. If they could not be resolved by a punch, then he would throw his head at it and smash a way out.

    He did not believe in the heavens, only treading on the thick earth, leaving behind a footprint with each step.

    ¡°Let¡¯s take another step forward!¡±

    The sixth layer of the Ox Demon Transformation broken through!

    Endless power surged up from the earth, filling his body.

    However, he felt very calm. He had merely taken another step forward in a lengthy journey.

    In the small world, the earth became even vaster and sturdier, embracing everything, both glory and pain.

    The path ahead of him was long, but the Nine Heavens were not far. He rose up slowly, shaking off the rock and soil before he gazed at the starry sky.

    ¡°Brother ox, are you well beyond the Nine Heavens?¡±

 Chapter 1468

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1468 ¨C Lasting Feud

    In this desolate land, an invisible dragon glided over the mountains, passing through the boundary between the Human realm and the Demon domain. The colourful figure twisted and revealed half a claw before vanishing very soon again.

    The moment he entered the Human realm, he felt strangely despondent. That was how it felt to lose protection. The laws of the Human realm did not suppress demonfolk, but perhaps because he, or she, was a chosen child of the Demon domain, leaving the Demon domain meant losing this blessing, so they obviously experienced much more than regular demonfolk when leaving.

    ¡°You¡¯re already a demonfolk, right down to every hair. You can¡¯t change that anymore. What do you think the Myriad sect will do to you? Kill you on the spot? Skin you alive? Or send you into rebirth after using you? That¡¯s probably the most benevolent end they can give to you.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi continued to mock him, but Si Long became calm. ¡°You can no longer stop me.¡±

    Leaving the Demon domain had a much greater influence on her than him, as only she was technically blessed by the Demon domain.

    Most importantly, he was already prepared to die. He could no longer be threatened by her.

    He had come to realise something. If he remained in the Demon domain and continued to fall, he would definitely be the one who was devoured in the end. In this contest of will powers, she was virtually untouchable.

    It was like a regular person and a madman being locked up together. If the regular person could not kill the madman, then the regular person would definitely end up mad as well. The madman would not end up normal.

    In reality, he could already sense he was on the verge of going mad. His will wandered around the verge of losing control. Even if he faced insurmountable dangers right now, he had to make an attempt, as that kind of outcome was even more miserable than ending up in the afterlife.

    She smiled gently. ¡°Don¡¯t blame me when you go crazy.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll perish together!¡±

    There was a rumble in the distance, which startled him. An earthquake? Rockslide? No, that¡¯s the sound of a violet collision. It sounds more like powerful cultivators practising their techniques. This should be the most thinly-guarded region of Black Cloud city¡¯s frontlines, so why are there cultivators here?

    Then he thought, If I can encounter a disciple of the Myriad sect, hopefully a direct disciple, then I can explain everything. That¡¯s better than risking a visit to Black Cloud city.

    As a result, he made up his mind and moved off in the direction of the rumbles. Strangely enough, she did not mock him this time, lurking quietly instead.

    Making his way over a valley, his eyes narrowed. He saw an extremely familiar white figure on the top of a mountain nearby.

    He paused, and her mad laughter rang out in his head. That was simply how fate worked. It was truly laughable

    Surging daemon qi appeared from up ahead. It was extremely familiar. He made his way around another mountain in a hurry. A mountainous figure stood among the mountains, holding its huge head of an ox up high, gazing at the starry sky.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    It could not be wrong! Even if he were reduced to dust, he would never forget this great foe who had forced him into the Demon domain!

    When enemies met, it would be particularly fierce.

    Kill!

    Right when he was about to launch a sneak attack, his figure was exposed. The seven-coloured light twisted, and a colourful dragon appeared between the mountains.

    Li Qingshan and Xiao An gazed over together.

    You bitch! He cursed again inside. However, this was the Human realm, so the disruption she could cause was limited. As such, he directly approached Li Qingshan and coldly asked, ¡°Li Qingshan, do you still remember me?¡±

    Li Qingshan was startled as well. Such a large dragon had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and he had not discovered it even when it was so close. It definitely did not come in peace. Coupled with the abrupt question, he was even more puzzled. ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡±

    ¡°Seems like¡­ Si Long.¡± Xiao An tilted her head, and the Skull Prayer Beads rolled out of her hands.

    ¡°Si Long!¡± Li Qingshan realised who he was. ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡±

    It left him even more surprised. The two of them had been separated in different worlds, and they had each left a world, arriving in the Human realm. Given the size of the world, they actually encountered each other again in the wilderness, which sure was unfortunate. Sure enough, the ¡°union with the hated¡± from buddhism was not without reason.

    However, he was no longer the same Li Qingshan as before.Back then, he was only at the peak of the third heavenly tribulation, while now, he had already undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation, preparing for the fifth. He also had Xiao An by his side, so while he was surprised, he was not afraid. His fighting spirit blazed.

    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯ve defected to the Demon domain and are planning to launch a sneak attack on Black Cloud city from behind?¡±

    Si Long became filled with even more hatred. He glanced at the collapsed mountain and Xiao An above and asked coldly, ¡°Why are you here?¡±

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. A smile stretched across his face as he laughed uncontrollably. His laughter echoed through the mountains as if he had just heard a hilarious joke.

    Si Long¡¯s face twisted viciously as a growl rumbled in his throat. If this were the past, he would have rushed over to tear him apart right now. However, after falling into the Demon domain, he learnt to be patient. On top of that, there was a hint of fear in his heart that he refused to admit.

    What I need the most right now is news of the Human realm. Why don¡¯t I goad him into talking before getting revenge? That¡¯ll give me some more confidence too.

    Li Qingshan laughed away, but he rapidly thought of any counter plans at the same time.

    In a single moment, he made up his mind. He had to keep Si Long here. Otherwise, if this bastard made it back to the Myriad sect and snitched on him, then the joke would have gotten out of hand.

    Not only did he almost cause the death of a direct disciple of the Myriad sect, but he had even turned him into a scapegoat for the ¡°previous first senior brother¡± Lin Xuan¡¯s death. If Chao Tianjiao really died in Cold Blood pass, then he would be connected to the first senior sister¡¯s death too.

    He had utterly angered the ¡°current first senior brother¡± Li Liehuo as well, so his days as an inner disciple would basically be over. He could save his plans and just gather his belongings and get out of here! Even R¨¡hu Xiaoming and Gu Yanying who were cultivating in the Xuanming dwelling would be affected.

    Thinking like that, he found this to be extremely troublesome. I have the ability to put up a fight, but killing him is almost impossible. He is a Human Sovereign¡ªno, a Demon Sovereign¡ªafter all, and he belongs to the Dragon clan. His physique is tough, and the Demon domain is close. Fortunately, this bastard won¡¯t be entering Black Cloud city any time soon with his demon qi. Whatever, I have to try at least. Let me mock him first!

    Li Qingshan stopped laughing and patted his chest. ¡°I am an inner disciple of the Myriad sect, so of course, I have a duty to guard the land. There¡¯s nothing strange about me appearing here.¡±

    Si Long¡¯s breathing halted. He widened his eyes in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ an inner disciple¡­ of the Myriad sect?¡±

    Anger immediately surged forth, and Qian Rongzhi¡¯s mocking laughter echoed through his head again, filled with sharp sneers. ¡°Oh my, how interesting. The mighty direct disciple has become a demonfolk, while the wretched daemon has become an inner disciple.¡±

    ¡°What, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Li Qingshan shook his head and produced his badge from the Myriad sect. ¡°Look at this! Hah!¡± He could not help but laugh again. Fate was truly bizarre sometimes.

    ¡°Sigh, if you hadn¡¯t betrayed the sect and joined the Demon domain, I¡¯d have to call you senior brother! But you better listen up now. I¡¯ll never let any damned demonfolk approach Black Cloud city. If you¡¯re sensible, piss off back to the Demon domain. Don¡¯t let me see you again. If you¡¯re sick of living, hehe!¡± He clenched his fist. ¡°I¡¯ll crush you again!¡±

    Something seemed to snap in Si Long¡¯s head. His demonic blood surged as he lunged over with a furious roar!

 Chapter 1469

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1469 ¨C Ox Demon

    Li Qingshan grinned. That move of mine works every time. If you throw yourself at me, aren¡¯t you just asking to die?

    With a moo, he threw a punch. In the state of the Ox Demon Transformation, he did not have to unleash it himself. His fists automatically possessed the power of tremors. In the past, even Ao Xuan had almost been punched to death by him.

    However, his punch actually missed, and the left side of his neck ached.

    When the fist rushed over, a ruthless and crafty light shone through Si Long¡¯s eyes. His colossal figure suddenly shrank to a fraction of its original size, like a thin, colourful ribbon, weaving around Li Qingshan¡¯s arm and biting down viciously on his neck.

    He was no longer the same Si Long as before who still cared about his image as a monarch. He had completely become a venomous dragon a long time ago. The strongest part of him was not his techniques that could make the clouds surge but the venom in his teeth. Even Demon Sovereigns would be heavily injured by a bite from him.

    ¡°You sure have become much more underhanded.¡± Li Qingshan pressed down on his neck and furrowed his brows. He experienced the familiar pain of hell.

    Si Long roared, ¡°Do you still remember how you screwed me over underhandedly back then!?¡±

    Not only could his venom reach deep within the bones and destroy the body, but it also possessed an aura of resentment, able to corrode away souls.

    As a result, not only did he not charge forwards after winning this clash, he instead pulled far away, waiting for the venom to kick in. He wanted to hear Li Qingshan¡¯s painful howls.

    From the corner of his eye, Xiao An had vanished at a certain time from the top of the mountain. He failed to grasp her aura either.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    Li Qingshan smiled simply. ¡°Fortunately, I just broke through, or you really would¡¯ve gotten me.¡±

    The colourful toxins rapidly spread from his neck, but under the Ox Demon Transformation, all of the ox demon¡¯s innate abilities were active even without any effort, including the Ox Demon Forges it Hide. Si Long¡¯s teeth were sharp, but they failed to penetrate the thick and sturdy hide.

    However, it was still an issue that could worsen, so with a casual grab, he ripped off the entire piece of corrupted hide. His wound closed up at a visible rate.

    He maintained the same, simple smile as he gazed at Si Long peacefully with his round ox eyes. ¡°Again.¡±

    Si Long let out a cry and sprayed out seven-coloured miasma, turning into clouds of poison that filled the entire place. It immediately swallowed Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal figure. He threw himself into the poisonous cloud, hiding away his aura.

    Dragons were capable of rising and hiding. When large, they could create clouds, and when small, they could hide within a mustard seed.

    This was something he had always been capable of. Even without Qian Rongzhi¡¯s cooperation, he could use it with ease.

    ¡°Back then in the nine provinces, I was stuck in shallow waters, which was why I lost to you. I¡¯ll make you¡­¡±

    An invisible force abruptly expanded, dispersing the miasma and exposing Si Long. His movements became sluggish as well.

    ¡°Heh, an opening!¡±

    A large hand loomed down from above, swatting towards him like he was brushing aside a fly. With a moo, he smashed into the mountain.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s surroundings were clear. There was not even a grain of dust. This was one of the ox demon¡¯s innate abilities, the Force Field of the Earth.

    He felt a slight sense of pity. With the Force Field of the Earth at full strength, that palm strike did not possess any power of tremors, so it was nowhere near enough to heavily injure Si Long. He had only gotten him back for the bite before.

    Speed was not the ox demon¡¯s forte. He did not chase after him either, standing between the mountains under the starry sky.

    He clearly did not possess any advantage, yet he possessed a composure as if everything was within his grasp, like an old man looking at a young man messing around. He asked with a smile, ¡°Again?¡±

    Boom!

    The mountain cracked, and rocks shot off in all directions. A furious dragon rose up into the air, overlooking Li Qingshan, but his aura was only evenly matched with Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    He felt a deep sense of fear. Just how long had it been since the battle in the nine provinces? He had already grown to such a level. If he could not kill him in this battle, then he probably would not have any more opportunities in the future.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re powerless against me, why don¡¯t you piss off back to the Demon domain? Out of the two captains of Black Cloud city, Li Liehuo is my brother, while Chao Tianjiao is my woman. If you really have the courage to face death, I¡¯ll have them activate the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder immediately and reduce you to ashes!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was deep and honest, spouting lies without even batting an eye.

    ¡°Li Liehuo! Chao Tianjiao! You sure know how to talk nonsense!¡±

    The two of them were already some of the best of the best among the direct disciples when Si Long joined the Myriad sect. He did not believe Li Qingshan¡¯s words, but it did give him some doubt. ¡°Doubt¡± was a basic quality that was vital in the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan used this opportunity to fish out an item. It was an extremely ordinary clump of earth. It did not possess any spiritual qi at all, only the size of a fist. It was like a grain of sand in his colossal hand.

    If he just left it on the ground, probably no cultivator would notice it, much less pick it up. However, this was a piece of Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens that a large world had condensed.

    Regardless of which world it ended up in, it would be absorbed very quickly. It would only reappear when the world was destroyed. If anyone wanted a piece, they would have to cross through outer space and personally destroy a large world before sifting through billions of tonnes of earth while fending off countless space-devouring beasts. Even True Immortals and Demon Gods were not capable of something like that.

    To Li Qingshan, it was more powerful than any arcane treasure, but it was still a foreign object at the end of the day.

    ¡°It¡¯s time!¡±

    He opened his great mouth, revealing two neat rows of blocky teeth. He swallowed it without any hesitation.

    The Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens slid down his throat, but it did not end up in his stomach. Instead, it entered the small world, sinking deeply into the earth.

    At that instant, the earth rocked violently and expanded further.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s sixth layer of the ox demon began to strengthen once again despite having just broken through. Endless power surged forth from the small world. His body swelled, and his muscles bulged. His horns grew longer, and his hide grew tougher.

    Clenching his fists and spreading his arms, he mooed at the sky. The earth beneath his feet shook to dust. A few mountains around him collapsed.

    In Black Cloud city, Li Liehuo suddenly opened his eyes. He felt a slight tremor from the ground and murmured, ¡°An earthquake?¡±

    Si Long was frightened, which made his aura weaken yet again. His determination to kill Li Qingshan here and now had already begun to sway. Subconsciously, he flew a little higher, so he could be further away from the ground.

    Ever since he became a venomous dragon, his best method of attack was sneaking over silently and biting the enemy¡¯s vital point viciously, injecting them with venom. However, this had failed right from the beginning because of Qian Rongzhi. Then he wanted to crush him in an open confrontation, but he discovered that Li Qingshan was far stronger than before.

    For a moment, he hesitated over whether to continue fighting, venture to Black Cloud city, or downright return to the Demon domain.

    ¡°Delicious!¡±

    Li Qingshan licked his lips. From here on out, the Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens would no longer be a foreign object, but a part of his strength of the ox demon. With that, the seventh layer of the ox demon was near. It was a pity that he did not have enough Swelling Earth of the Nine Heavens. Otherwise, with a single gulp, even reaching the ninth layer of the ox demon was possible.

    By then, let alone a measly Si Long, even Li Liehuo would not be able to withstand a gentle punch from him.

    The tremors settled, and there was not a single mountain standing within a hundred kilometres. The mountains had been reduced to a desert.

    Li Qingshan stood within the sand and gazed at the venomous dragon in the air, extending his hand over.

    ¡°Get down here!¡±

    An invisible force gripped Si Long, dragging him out of the air and towards the ground.

 Chapter 1470

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1470 ¨C Tiger Demon

    Under the stars, a great ox and a colossal dragon struggled against one another from a distance.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes as jets of white air rushed out of his nostrils. He droned, ¡°Come and fight me, bastard!¡±

    Si Long expanded to the limit, waving his claws and teeth around while spraying out more miasma, forming a poisonous cloud around him. He climbed up the sky desperately, but he was still being dragged down inch by inch.

    Li Qingshan let out an interjection of surprise. His hooves were also being lifted inch by inch, which immediately reminded him of an extremely deep principle from his previous life. ¡°For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.¡±

    After becoming a dragon, Si Long¡¯s physique had always been exceptionally powerful, and it had been further strengthened after being reborn in the Demon domain. Li Qingshan¡¯s Force Field of the Earth was powerful, but it was not his own strength after all.

    If this continued, they would not be colliding mid-air. The Strength of the Earth had constantly been playing a great role in why Li Qingshan could match him. Once his hooves left the ground, it would weaken, and he would definitely lose control over Si Long.

    However, he was not fighting alone.

    The sound of bells pierced the night sky like a strand of cold silk.

    Si Long shuddered inside. Xiao An suddenly rushed out of the colourful clouds, appearing directly over his head. The Buddha Slaying sword drifted down as a slash without any aura at all.

    The threat of death immediately filled his mind. Qian Rongzhi murmured, ¡°Die!¡±

    ¡°Never!¡±

    Without any hesitation, Si Long rushed towards Li Qingshan. Under the Force Field of the Earth. He arrived before Li Qingshan immediately, abruptly turning into human form. A twisted flash illuminated Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    As if he had been anticipating this the entire time, Li Qingshan turned his head, and his curved horn thrusted towards Si Long like a sharp blade. It seemed clumsy, but it seemed ungraspable at the same time. All of his power was condensed at the tip of the horn.

    The Ox Demon Butts its Horns! Li Qingshan also called this move, ¡°Fuck your lungs!¡±

    Si Long¡¯s eyes narrowed. After transforming into the ox demon, Li Qingshan¡¯s reactions had always appeared slow. He never expected him to still be able to launch a counterattack like that when it truly mattered.

    All of his hairs stood on end, and the threat of danger deepened. Xiao An¡¯s sword continued to press closer silently. If he received Li Qingshan¡¯s blow forcefully, he would struggle to block the sword.

    In that critical moment, he merged with the sword. The trajectory suddenly twisted, brushing past the ox horn and producing a series of sparks. He fled into the distance without any hesitation.

    Li Qingshan found it to be quite a pity. If it were not for the fact that his feet had almost left the ground, preventing him from using all of his strength, he would have left Si Long half-dead with that headbutt.

    He immediately reached towards the flash of light, wanting to use the Force Field of Earth on it, but the sword constantly twisted about, such that he struggled to lock on. He could expand the range of the force field and lock onto him roughly, but it definitely would not be powerful enough. The sword was flying away horizontally too, so he could not pull it down like before, which made his power decrease yet again. Probably a few seconds was all that it would take for Si Long to escape for good.

    Thinking about it, he ended up lowering his hand. That was a Demon Sovereign after all. He could put up a fight, but killing him was truly difficult.

    Xiao An landed on his head gently. Li Qingshan stroked his horn. ¡°Heh, fortunately, this part of me is stiff enough!¡±

    Xiao An pouted. ¡°Sex fiend.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m talking about my horn! What would a kid like you know?¡±

    Li Qingshan steadily made his way towards the direction that the sword had fled.

    Boom! Boom!Boom!

    With his heavy footsteps, he arrived at the top of a mountain. Up ahead was not Black Cloud city, but the Demon domain.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Be careful. I¡¯ll stand by for now and strike later.¡±

    ¡°Since I¡¯m not content with this, then I¡¯ll have to pay!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. If Si Long fled towards Black Cloud city, then there was nothing he could do. However, if he went to the Demon domain, then they would confront each other again.

    Li Qingshan seemed to gain the upper hand in their clashes earlier, but he was actually a little powerless over Si Long. Instead, if he could not endure Si Long¡¯s attacks, he would struggle to escape his pursuit.

    Si Long obviously was not content with just this, wanting to fight again. If he won, he could personally achieve revenge and clear all the obstacles preventing him from returning to the Myriad sect. If he were defeated, he could still flee at any moment he wanted. He was basically untouchable.

    However, how could it all be that simple?

    Xiao An drifted away and vanished again.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure gradually shrank. He arched his back and his footsteps became lighter, but his aura of malice also intensified. His eyes turned scarlet-red like fire as if he viewed all living creatures as prey. He gave off a stunning charm.

    A white beard sprouted near his mouth, and his slight smile had already become filled with razor-sharp teeth. Black stripes spread over his body, forming the Chinese character ¡°Íõ¡± on his forehead.

    In an instant, he had gone from the Ox Demon Transformation to the tiger demon. He was dignified and imposing, drawing a huge blade in one stroke.

    Roar!

    His cry shook up the mountains. The wings of wind condensed behind him, suddenly unfurling to the limit and taking to the skies. He whistled through the air. With a whoosh, he rushed through the white clouds, lunging towards Si Long with killing intent.

    When it came to flying longer distances, the phoenix obviously was more graceful and had an easier time, but in terms of explosive speed, the tiger demon possessed an absolute advantage.

    Life and death came down to a single moment. It was a struggle over who was more vicious faster. ¡°Giving wings to a tiger¡± was not just for say.

    Si Long paused at the boundary between the Human realm and the Demon domain. This was where the laws of the world were most intense. Even he could feel his powers greatly suppressed.

    This kind of suppression did not just affect his physique or powers. Even his venom had become less potent. All extraordinary powers had been weakened from their very foundations. Instead, mortals were least affected here.

    Many wounds normally of no concern could become fatal here. This was why cultivators would become extremely careful when their armies clashed at the boundary. Most Human Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns perished in a region like this.

    But compared to the Human realm, he possessed a tremendous advantage here, as he was blessed by the heavens of the Demon domain. At the same time, it was still very difficult for that bitch to make trouble for him. If Li Qingshan faced repulsion from the laws of the Demon domain, it would be even better.

    Abruptly, he looked back and met a pair of tiger eyes, which made him shudder inside.

    The Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye¡ªone of the tiger demon¡¯s innate abilities.

    Legends said that the eyes of a tiger possessed hypnotic properties, able to immobilise prey. The tiger demon did indeed have that ability. It could turn vulnerable ghosts into haunts, which would serve it as slaves.

    Transforming into the tiger demon, every single glance from Li Qingshan possessed that ability. If he encountered any opponents with weaker wills in his battles, they might even be limited to just seventy percent of their strength. Even those with sturdy wills would be affected, weakening their auras from being viciously suppressed by the killing intent. They could end up dying in the tiger¡¯s mouth from the slightest carelessness.

    Li Qingshan descended from above and rushed into the boundary. The wings of wind immediately became much smaller, and he slowed down. His eyes did not seem so terrifying anymore either.

    Si Long eased up inside. He sneered and tightened his grip around his sword.

    ¡°Frenzy of the Tiger Demon!¡±

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    Li Qingshan grinned viciously. He suddenly kicked off the ground, and the wings of wind behind him expanded. The gales whistled; he actually accelerated in an unbelievable fashion, breaking through the restraints from the laws of the world and arriving right before Si Long.

    His eyes shone frighteningly as he bellowed out, ¡°Tiger!¡±

    The surroundings shook as his murderousness erupted, slashing down!

    Si Long¡¯s vision darkened. His sword-wielding hand trembled, like he was in dire straits.

 Chapter 1471

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1471 ¨C Myriad Flowers

    There was no nonsense. There were no probing attempts. From the moment he struck, Li Qingshan was out to kill!

    He was like a hungry tiger hunting for prey. With a glare, a roar, and a pounce, he unleashed all four innate abilities as one.

    In that critical moment, Si Long¡¯s expression changed. His gaze resembled a dragon¡¯s as his sword-wielding hand suddenly stabilised, unleashing a flurry of shadows.

    Clang! The sword and blade collided.

    Si Long received the strike forcefully. He leaned backwards as the ground beneath him collapsed, spreading into the distance.

    With the clash, the flying sparks illuminated two twisted faces. Killing intent, fury, and hatred clashed violently in that instant. The tiger eyes locked onto the dragon eyes as the blade pressed down viciously. A trickle of blood flowed down from the top of Si Long¡¯s head. Fierce gales swepts in from all directions and slashed against his body, producing a series of metallic screeches. His dragon scales were like heavy armour, blocking the blades firmly.

    The moment the force behind the blade ran out, he knocked it away viciously like a spring that had been compressed to the limit. His sword swept past Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes who was completely exposed.

    Bang! Li Qingshan was knocked away, hurtling through the air. A colourful, deep handprint appeared on his chest, together with intense pain.

    Si Long was dishevelled, leaning against his sword and gasping for air. The blood flowed from his forehead to the corner of his lips. He felt lingering fear. If he had taken even half a step back just then, he would have been done for.

    ¡°Nice!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed the flesh on his chest and ripped it off viciously. Hot blood scattered on the frozen earth. His battle spirit burned like fire as he strode towards Si Long.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already lost.¡± Si Long growled as a cruel smile formed on his lips.

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud, but there was no sound. In the silence, there were only the sounds of wind and blades.

    Si Long received him with a sneer.

    Under the cold watch of the stars, they were like regular soldiers, approaching one another step by step.

    Ten steps!

    The winds whistled; the murderousness surged. The tiger¡¯s roar and the dragon¡¯s cry hung in the air vaguely.

    Li Qingshan did not strike. Si Long did not strike either.

    Five steps!

    The gales howled; the murderousness blazed. The tiger¡¯s roar and the dragon¡¯s cry rumbled like war dragons.

    Li Qingshan did not strike. Si Long did not strike either.

    Three steps!

    The gusts were ripping while the murderousness was shattering. The tiger¡¯s roar and the dragon¡¯s cry surged and overlapped, filling the skies!

    Light and force erupted, sweeping off in all directions. Everyone was swallowed by the blade flashes and sword qi.

    Swing! Swing! Swing!

    Like a tiger and his blade like the wind, he swung away madly, to his heart¡¯s content like drinking spirits, completely casting aside the notion of death!

    However, Xiao An lurking to one side was worried. Si Long¡¯s swordsmanship was exceptional. The sword twisted unpredictably like a dragon through the air. When it fended off the blade aura, it would continue to manoeuvre about, leaving slash after slash on Li Qingshan from unbelievable angles. Coupled with his dragon scale armour, he could both attack and defend.

    Li Qingshan could only attack without defending to gain the upper hand, but his wounds became heavier and heavier. He was basically bathing in his own blood.

    Xiao An gripped the Buddha Slaying sword firmly. If this continues, he¡¯ll¡­

    When under the Tiger Demon Transformation, he could not use other innate abilities, including the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a. Once he fell in battle, that would be death.

    Boom! Dust rose into the air like smoke. Their figures separated before crossing. One of them collapsed.

    Si Long stood proudly. There were a few slashes on him, having cut through his dragon scales. He looked back and sneered cruelly.

    Li Qingshan leaned against his blade with one knee on the ground, covered in blood that scattered on the ground. If he were smart, he would cease the Tiger Demon Transformation right now. At least that would give him a few additional lives. However, he did not do that. He coughed up blood and smiled. ¡°Satisfying!¡±

    If he gave up his courage and resolve just because of a Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, he was better off without it. If he backed down because he was afraid of dying, then he was better off just embracing death.

    Before he knew it, the wind stopped.

    Si Long adjusted his aura and turned around, gazing at his figure. He was clearly so weak, yet he made him feel such deep fear. Without any hesitation, he rushed over with a flash and slashed down!

    Xiao An bit her lip and shut her eyes. ¡°Get up!¡±

    The winds rose!

    Li Qingshan grabbed the sword without even looking back. His blood flowed down the edge.

    Si Long¡¯s expression changed. His aura that had diminished completely actually began to rise again. ¡°How is this possible!?¡±

    The great gales rose! They became a storm in an instant, tearing apart the smoke in the air and lifting up sand and rocks, dimming the surroundings.

    The wings of wind extended gently. With each flap, the storm became more intense.

    Li Qingshan was the eye of the storm!

    Si Long¡¯s face twisted viciously as he poured all of his strength into the sword. ¡°Die!¡±

    The sword shot past, but it missed. Li Qingshan had vanished, only leaving the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End planted in the ground.

    Hmph, he¡¯s fled? Si Long felt more and more uneasy inside.

    The blade thrummed, drawing itself out of the ground and shooting into the sky, landing in a large hand.

    Si Long looked up sharply. His gaze pierced the wind and sand. Li Qingshan currently hovered above him, gazing down on him with his scarlet eyes. The wings of wind on his back merged with the storm.

    Li Qingshan nodded towards Xiao An nearby, thanking her for her trust and support, for not interfering simply because he was in danger. He understood just how difficult it had been for her.

    He listened to the winds quietly. ¡°This is¡­ the sixth layer of the tiger demon.¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower who had fallen silent for quite some time now suddenly said, ¡°Kid, your bladesmanship is still too soft! You actually made me lose to a shitty sword.¡±

    ¡°Listen to my roar.¡± A smile stretched across Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End, and the storm moved with it.

    At that moment, he seemed to have turned into a god of wind, descending from above with the might of the world.

    Si Long was stern. He began wielding the Immortal Relinquished sword slowly. The strands of sharp light condensed without dispersing, concealing their killing intent. The three thousand moves from the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth constructed a sword formation, fending off the god of wind.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    ¡°Sword Collection of Heaven and Earth, the Three Thousand Arrays!¡±

    ¡°Hundred Flowers!¡±

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End guided the storm. The flashes it left behind were like the bloom of a hundred flowers, where the hilt was the stalk, the blade was the sepals, and the winds were the petals, blooming away gorgeously!

    The sword formation fell! The three thousand streaks of sword qi was completely swallowed by the wind flower.

    However, Si Long was unscathed. He sneered. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    Li Qingshan spat out two words slowly, which made his expression change drastically. ¡°Thousand Flowers!¡±

    In his hand, the metal flower bloomed to its heart¡¯s content once again.

    The earth was stripped away layer by layer, only leaving Si Long in the centre as he desperately swung his sword to fend off the attacks. His face was twisted in a frenzy.

    Clang!

    The Immortal Relinquished sword was knocked out of his hand, covered in fine slashes. His dragon scales shattered and dispersed, scraped away by the wind flower.

    Si Long was shocked, feeling as if he was in a nightmare. However, he heard another two words. ¡°Myriad Flowers!¡±

    His aura collapsed immediately, and a bloody mist erupted from his body. He turned into a streak of colourful light, fleeing towards the Demon domain without any regard.

    The movement technique that he had gone so far to cast with his essence blood and vitality was as fast as lightning, but the flower bloomed and wilted, layer after layer, like it was endless. It stripped away the glow around Si Long layer by layer, forcefully destroying his technique and exposing him again. A shadow loomed over from above.

    Li Qinghan blocked his path. His expression was vicious and frenzied, but his scarlet eyes were particularly clear, reflecting Si Long¡¯s twisted face.

    Under the gaze, he felt fear. He trembled away, unable to move.

    The Myriad Flowers wilted away completely, and the flashes subsided. All that remained in the world was a Frenzy Flower Blade of Paths¡¯ End, stabbed into his chest, reaching all the way up to his hilt.

    The blade poked out from his chest. The unspent force ripped through the ground, turning into a great gust of wind and leaving behind a deep gully.

    The storm died down abruptly.

 Chapter 1472

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1472 ¨C Survived By

    Si Long was on his last breath. He murmured, ¡°Why?¡±

    Many questions lingered on his mind. He had considered failure, but he had never considered defeat. The difference in their strength clearly was not that great. He even possessed an upper hand. But why did Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation suddenly skyrocket? Why did he hold back with the last strike?

    Li Qingshan grinned. His smile triggered all of his wounds across his body, which erupted with a hot cloud of bloody mist. Blood spurted out of every wound vigorously. He swayed about and fell backwards, caught by Xiao An. His state was basically even worse than Si Long¡¯s.

    That was his answer.

    After breaking through to the sixth layer of the tiger demon, not only did his cultivation advance significantly, but all of the tiger demon¡¯s abilities had strengthened as well. However, the tiger demon was not the phoenix. It did not have the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a. An increase in cultivation was not like levelling up in a game either, where glowing in a column of light came with a full heal.

    The Frenzy of the Tiger Demon had always been blood for blood, a life for a life, mortal wounds to the enemy at the cost of severe ones to himself.

    This was the consequence of forcefully suppressing all of his wounds and increasing his battle prowess without any regard. What followed the imposing figure that resembled a god of wind was a ruined body on the brink of collapse.

    In particular, with the last move, Myriad Flowers, his organs had ruptured and his blood vessels had shattered. He completely relied on his tiger bones to remain standing, which were also riddled with cracks, on the verge of shattering.

    It was a struggle of life or death, so why would he hold back? The last strike should not have any unspent force. All of the power should have erupted in Si Long¡¯s body, tearing him to shreds.

    Actually, it was because he could not hold on for any longer in the end that this happened.

    ¡°You-¡± Si Long immediately understood what had happened. A strong sense of regret ate away at his heart. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t fled¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan lay in Xiao An¡¯s arms feebly. The tiger stripes slowly faded away, and his scarlet eyes turned black again. He disagreed with a smile. ¡°There are no ifs. You definitely would have fled¡­¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Si Long stood there without budging as if he was clinging onto his last bit of pride.

    ¡°Because your fury and hatred is all fake.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was hoarse. His life rapidly leaked away. If he could not turn back to normal within time and activate the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, he would still end up dead.

    Xiao An bit the tip of her finger. Her blood condensed into a red bean, falling into his mouth with the purest of life force. His complexion immediately became much better.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Si Long glared at him furiously. His face was terrifying.

    ¡°¡®Even if you are the sun, I will perish with you.¡¯ Do you understand that kind of feeling?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s stripes faded away, finally turning back into human form completely. His tiger bones immediately shattered, and his blood began to burn, turning into scarlet flames.

    Under the endless stars, on the boundless plains, he turned into a ball of wildfire.

    Si Long¡¯s expression changed in the firelight. He murmured, ¡°Even if you are the sun, I will perish with you¡­ Even if you are the sun, I will perish with you¡­¡±

    With a phoenix cry, Li Qingshan rebirthed in the flames, but he still felt feeble all over. He tried testing his strength by clenching his hands and thought, Is it because we¡¯re at the boundary between worlds? Even the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a has been suppressed. If this was beyond the Nine Heavens, the impact definitely would be even greater. Even a few extra lives would not be enough by then!

    Si Long understood the meaning of those words very soon. He said coldly, ¡°That is but the words of a common man, a ruffian!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°With the rage of a common man, blood splashes five steps away. As the lofty emperor of Great Xia, you¡¯ve probably long forgotten what it feels like to throw your life away.¡±

    ¡°Why should I throw my life away? I don¡¯t need to throw my life away!¡±

    Si Long shut his eyes and recalled the past, how he swept through the world with a hawk and a wolf before conquering the nine provinces.

    He relied on a cultivation method from the Human realm. With his great cultivation and corresponding knowledge and wit, he was always untouchable. He did not have to throw his life at anybody. Everything was within his grasp all the time.

    ¡°That is why I say your fury and hatred is all fake. To you, preserving your life is always the priority.¡±

    With the wrath of the son of heaven, blood flowed across the land. The blood of other people.

    Si Long was untouchable, but was Li Qingshan any different? He had just personally severed his own path of retreat, choosing to turn it into a do-or-die situation.

    Si Long did not lose this battle in strength or wit, but determination.

    Of course, there was nothing strange about Si Long¡¯s behaviour. To regular cultivators, self-preservation was always the priority, let alone a Human Sovereign who had made it to the peak of mortality like him. He already possessed an extremely lengthy lifespan, enough for him to enjoy all the pleasures life had to offer.

    Those who were well off avoided all risks, let alone throwing their lives at someone else.

    ¡°I¡­ see¡­ Is this¡­ my end¡­ Hehe¡­ Hahaha¡­ Cough cough¡­¡±

    Si Long laughed miserably as his body shook violently. He seemed slightly relieved, yet also unwilling to accept this.

    Xiao An stood with her sword. If he wanted to detonate his demon heart, she would kill him in a single stroke.

    However, he did not do that. He laughed away without stopping like a madman, mixed in with the sharp laughter of a woman. At this boundary between the Human realm and the Demon domain, he completely sank into the Demon domain, falling into madness.

    As such, Xiao An did not strike. She tilted her head. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

    The laughter gradually subsided, turning into the voice of a woman. The rhombus crystal embedded in Si Long¡¯s forehead turned into a woman¡¯s appearance, bearing some resemblance to Qian Rongzhi, but also a little frostier than before.

    His body trembled away and twisted violently, turning into the figure of a woman. Demon qi gushed out, and her bloody skin recovered. She was pale like paper and enchanting like a snake. As the chosen child of heaven in the Demon domain, she seemed to be in even greater graces now.

    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. ¡°You¡¯ve devoured Si Long!¡±

    He could easily imagine that she was like a malignant tumour living in Si Long¡¯s body, constantly changing and multiplying until she completely devoured Si Long¡¯s collapsed will.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°Si Long stopped existing a long time ago. All that remained was an obsession. He just refused to admit it. Or in other words, I am Si Long.¡±

    This was not possession. As a person chosen by the heavens, under the chaotic, wicked will of the Demon domain, their souls had actually merged together a long time ago. Their memories were connected, and their thought processes were linked. They were more like two split personalities struggling against one another.

    If Si Long won, he could eliminate the personality called ¡°Qian Rongzhi¡± and act like he had possessed her successfully, or as if nothing had happened at all. However, it was impossible for him to win. The laws of the world were invisible and intangible, but they were everywhere. Qian Rongzhi had already become a representative of the will of the Demon domain. No thoughts of defiance were allowed.

    Si Long understood this, which was why he tried to leave the Demon domain regardless of the price, yet he happened to run into Li Qingshan at a time like this. That was his fated tribulation and perhaps the intangible will of the heavens at work too.

    Li Qingshan drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End and sneered. ¡°In other words, it¡¯s best if I kill you.¡±

    He loathed Qian Rongzhi even more than Si Long, such that he even developed the thought of nipping her in the bud as soon as possible. If she were in charge of the battle earlier, then it was very likely for her to try and perish with him. Instead, he would have to find a way to escape, not throw his life away at a madwoman.

    As it was commonly said, the meek feared the tough, the tough feared the unruly, the unruly feared the desperate, and the desperate feared the shameless. This woman was both desperate and shameless, so she truly was a troublesome person.

    However, Qian Rongzhi ended up asking, ¡°Is the Black Sun Demon Heart with you?¡±

 Chapter 1473

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1473 ¨C Rebirth

    She examined herself with some intrigue, completely ignoring Li Qingshan¡¯s threat.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll cut you down with a single stroke?¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and gazed at her slender figure without any interest at all. Meanwhile, he pondered inside, What¡¯s the Black Sun Demon heart? Don¡¯t tell me¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for all these years after all.¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°I have never harmed you.¡±

    ¡°Which is the only reason why you¡¯re still alive.¡±

    ¡°Those mere schemes of mine aren¡¯t even up to standard. If I didn¡¯t have you, or¡­¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled at Xiao An gently. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to make it today.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s appearance had thrown the nine provinces into a complete upheaval. He had even brought the world to its end, which allowed her to ride along and rise up as well. Otherwise, no matter how resourceful and cunning she was, it was useless. By the time Si Long descended as the lord of the world, nothing would be able to fool him, and the only thing awaiting her would be death.

    XIao An nodded, while Li Qingshan folded his hands and said in thought, In other words, you plan on paying me back!¡¯

    Qian Rongzhi made her way over in a charming manner and prodded Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. ¡°Without me, you might not have been able to defeat Si Long, whether it was in the nine provinces or just then.¡±

    Swish! Li Qingshan slashed out with his blade, but she had already pulled her hand back. She said softly, ¡°So we don¡¯t owe each other anything.¡± She pretended to cheer, ¡°A new world! A new life! Why don¡¯t we start over?¡±

    ¡°Start over?¡± Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. He disliked that saying.

    ¡°Just like in the nine provinces. Back then, there were plenty of times when we conspired together. What a wonderful time it was. There¡¯s a very deep destiny between us.¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s expressions were exaggerated, a little like Si Long¡¯s pretentiousness.

    Her expression, bearing, and thought process was as if she had just broken out of a fixed situation. She also possessed a sense of composure from being blessed by the heavens. She was no longer merely a venomous snake that lurked in the darkness, but a great python that could dive and surge, swallowing the clouds. She could coil up in peace now.

    The furrow in Li Qingshan¡¯s brows deepened.

    ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand. I don¡¯t mean that kind of destiny. You¡¯re not suited for me. I already have a little dragon.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi hugged herself. Her arms were like white snakes, tightening around her inch by inch. Her fingers locked together behind her back as she smiled away sweetly.

    It gave Li Qingshan goosebumps. Was that a form of narcissism? Only those with something wrong with their heads would find her normal.

    He gazed at Xiao An, wanting to ask her, ¡°Why don¡¯t I just butcher her here and now instead?¡± Oi, Xiao An, what¡¯s that supposed to mean? Why do you seem unworried?

    ¡°Cough. What¡¯s the Black Sun Demon Heart?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a legend of the Demon domain¡­¡± Qian Rongzhi explained slowly, telling him about what she had seen and heard in the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan was astounded. ¡°So what happened in Cold Blood pass really was my fault!¡±

    Originally, he had always thought it was because Chao Tianjiao had been far too prominent and had been asking for it, but he never expected it was actually his fault. The disturbance must have attracted the twelve Demon Sovereigns, who wanted to take down Black Cloud city in the process.

    ¡°So it really is in your hands.¡± Qian Rongzhi licked her lips greedily.

    Li Qingshan said after a moment of thought, ¡°I want to go to Qingqi mountain.¡±

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    ¡°Understood.¡± With a wave of her hand, the Immortal Relinquished sword flew up from the ground and entered her hand. ¡°How do I contact you?¡±

    Xiao An flicked out a Skull Prayer Bead. She caught it in her hand, and a layer of dense scales appeared on her white skin, shimmering away with many colours. Her figure gradually blurred before vanishing.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    Li Qingshan stretched and yawned before making his way towards the Human realm.

    He was extremely satisfied with the outcome of this battle. He had broken through to the sixth layer of the tiger demon, allowing his battle prowess to skyrocket, and he had dealt with Si Long, a lurking source of problems. He no longer had to worry about any sudden or unexpected attempts on his life. Last of all, he had understood the legend regarding the Black Sun Demon Heart. It was best if he did not take that thing out ever again.

    If Qian Rongzhi could locate Qingqi mountain as well, then it would be even better.

    But unfortunately, just a scouting mission clearly was not worth a reward like that. She should have been aware of it too. It was only worth it if she could directly assist him with defeating Qiongqi.

    He did not have to worry about her suddenly turning against him either. After hearing about the legend of the Black Sun Demon Heart, there were not a lot of people who could resist the urge to go on a meteoric rise.

    His opponent was a Demon God after all. If the situation was disadvantageous to him later on, swallowing the Black Sun Demon Heart would be his final choice.

    But right now, he had to break through the sixth layer of the phoenix and the spirit turtle before facing the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    By then, even Human Immortals and Heretic Gods could forget about completely overpowering him.

    In the dust and wind, a red sun and a black sun rose up together.

    Qian Rongzhi watched their figures vanish into the horizon, turning towards the Demon domain. The pain, humiliation, chaos, and twistedness of the past had all been buried deep in her heart, leaving her demon heart crystal-clear.

    Before she knew it, all of the venomous snakes had vanished. She no longer had to endure that hellish torture. As she completely merged with Si Long, she gained complete control over her cultivation as a Demon Sovereign, and the Illustrations of Naraka had reached great completion. She had turned into a true ¡°hell snake of pain¡±, crawling towards her own fate step by step.

    ¡­¡­

    Li Qingshan returned to the mountains again, preparing to break through to the sixth layer of the phoenix.

    He rarely ever used the Phoenix Transformation. Apart from feeling that his life force had become extremely vigorous, it did not seem to bring any other benefits. No wait, there was one benefit. He would be beaming and his handsomeness would rise straight up. He would possess a natural bearing of nobility and restraint, or in other words, fully sick.

    However, if he faced Si Long like that, he would only be a punching bag. He definitely could not afford to look more handsome.

    A major reason for the insufficient strength was because the abilities of the Phoenix Transformation were far too singular. There was only the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, and the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a.

    Of course, this was a wonderful ability of rebirth, but it was a little useless. If the enemy was not powerful, what the fuck was the point of rebirth? If the enemy was too powerful, what the fuck was the point of rebirth? No matter how he rebirthed, he would just be crushed as an egg in the end.

    The phoenix¡¯s lifespan was definitely the longest among all the transformations. That was basically what all living creatures wished for, but that just happened to be the most useless to him. Speaking of which, the spirit turtle¡¯s lifespan was not short either!

    ¡°When I use the Ox Demon Transformation and the Tiger Demon Transformation, the innate abilities all become extremely powerful, but what¡¯s the point of the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a becoming stronger? Don¡¯t tell me I can rebirth faster?¡±

    Xiao An suddenly asked, ¡°Qingshan, why don¡¯t you try and use the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a proactively?¡±

    ¡°Proactively?¡±

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts. He had never considered this in the past. He had never stopped fighting and killing, so how could he afford to be so wasteful? However, he already possessed some capacity for self-preservation now. Even Demon Sovereigns were powerless over him. Was a Heretic God supposed to come for him?

    ¡°Real phoenixes probably don¡¯t rebirth only when they¡¯ve been killed.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Then let me try! Though, I need to make some preparations first.¡±

    He wandered through the mountains and finally found a dormant volcano that had stopped erupting for who knew how many years. He descended from above and threw a punch.

    The crater burst open, and black smoke rose into the air. Lava and scorching flames surged out.

    With a flash of the wings of wind, he blew away all of the ash. He let out a phoenix¡¯s cry and turned into a phoenix, casting himself into the flames.

    ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a!¡±

 Chapter 1474

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1474 ¨C Difference

    As Li Qingshan began a new round of cultivation, Qian Rongzhi took a detour. She gazed at Cold Blood pass from afar.

    The dark clouds of war amassed in the air. Even from fifty kilometres away, she could smell the foulness of demonic beasts and hear the roars of demonfolk.

    She had once considered helping him out, killing a few Demon Sovereigns and earning sufficient ¡°merit¡± to exchange for the Black Sun Demon Heart. She had merged with all of Si Long memories, so she guessed he was probably in dire need of increasing his status in the Myriad sect. Killing enemies on the battlefield was the fastest way.

    However, after completely devouring Si Long, she gave up on that thought, not because she was worried there were Heretic Gods or Demon Gods secretly watching, but because she was completely incapable of controlling the Black Sun Demon Heart. Obtaining it rashly would only lead to her death.

    Legends came true through a ¡°person of legends¡±, not just by obtaining an ¡°item of legends¡±.

    Even if a beggar was dressed in dragon robes, they would not become a monarch. They would only be carved to pieces.

    The twelve Demon Gods clearly understood this as well. Otherwise, if simply obtaining the Black Sun Demon Heart meant they could become the king of Demon Gods, they would have rushed over here without any regard a long time ago and swept through the entire region several hundred times. They would not have only sent an army to attack the city.

    By now, she had already become certain that Li Qingshan was the person of legends.

    When they met this time, he seemed to have changed very much compared to the past, yet he also seemed like he had not changed at all. It made her feel fear.

    Yes, fear. This was neither an influence from Si Long¡¯s lingering emotions, or due to the threat of death. Instead, it was a form of instinct.

    Many years ago, she had begun to fear him. Even during her maddest moments, she did not dare to extend her venomous teeth towards him. She happened to be submerged in pain back then, so she was completely incapable of understanding the origins of this fear. She could only sense it vaguely.

    When she finally broke free from her shackles and was able to observe him from the perspective of the emperor of Great Xia, from the perspective of a Human Sovereign of the Human realm, from the perspective of someone chosen by the Demon domain, she understood that the Black Sun Demon Heart definitely descend for him.

    This was not because of power. Let alone Demon Gods and Heretic Gods, there were plenty of people stronger than him even among Demon Sovereigns.

    Instead, it was because he was truly a ¡°monster¡±. The chaos and destruction he could create had far surpassed what any ¡°wicked person¡± could achieve. He stood at the apex of wickedness.

    Even he himself had not realised that. Perhaps he thought it was still ¡°justice and righteousness¡± or ¡°winning people over by virtue¡±! However, when he destroyed worlds and brought on extinction, he definitely would not be soft-hearted, even if he was not intrinsically wicked.

    The monster called fear was not something to be ashamed about. All those enemies who had been defeated by him had made the same mistake. They mistook him to be the same as them, a regular person.

    How laughable. A regular person who was merciful and sympathetic yet also brutal and cruel, a regular person who did not pursue longevity or enlightenment, a regular person who looked down upon demons, let alone believe in gods and buddhas.

    That was clearly a person of utter wickedness, having reached the limits of chaos. Even the twelve Demon Gods had to bow down candidly before him.

    If the Demon domain was a wicked, deranged mother, then what she required was not some chosen child of the heavens, but a husband who could tower over her. Even if he was fated to reject her and look down on her with scorn, completely uninterested in the power she could grant him, she would still embrace this person without any regard, offering up the Black Sun Demon Heart.

    Not a lot of people would believe a conclusion like that. The reason why she could understand this was not just because of all the years they spent knowing each other, but also because of Xiao An¡¯s existence.

    Even if she felt envious and reluctant to accept this, she still had to admit that only this ¡°monster¡± could provide Xiao An what she needed. Only he could accept her ¡°wickedness¡± so easily and give her all ¡°kindness¡±, further giving meaning to her and completely developing her ¡°wickedness¡±.

    That was because he was even more wicked, so it made perfect sense for Xiao An to be his follower.

    Meanwhile, she had always been loathed by him, so she did not become his follower. She had just been attracted to Xiao An, but in reality, she always kept pace with him. Now, she would even be helping him deal with a Demon God. This definitely was not a coincidence but the compatibility in their paths.

    This was a bond of allegiance firmer than any solemn vow, a destiny deeper than any regretless passion. That was called cultivators of the same path, fellows.

    As a result, she had also guessed that Li Qingshan definitely did not accept the Black Sun Demon Heart, as if he accepted it so easily, he would not be the person that the Demon domain was looking for.

    This was what made the will of the Demon domain twisted and chaotic. It could not obtain what it wanted, and it did not want what it could obtain. It murdered those who resisted and assmiliated with those who yielded.

    If those demonfolk in pursuit of power tried to take the Black Sun Demon Heart for themselves, they would either be murdered or assimilated into a part of the Demon domain, losing their free wills. There was not even the tiniest chance of success, as that was going against the heavens.

    As a result, her true objective was not to obtain the Black Sun Demon Heart at all. That was not something she could devour. Not even the twelve Demon Gods were capable of devouring it.

    Instead, she tried to find ways to completely carry out the Demon domain¡¯s will, so he devoured the Black Sun Demon Heart, so she could fulfill this legend of the king of Demon Gods.

    However, she could not oppose him either and scheme against him, just in case he decided to start with her once everything was accomplished.

    She had to be a loyal guide, a patient and persuasive matchmaker to facilitate this marriage. It was even more troublesome than directly confronting Demon God Qiongqi.

    However, the Demon domain would assist her. When she realised everything and made up her mind, her demon heart immediately shone with resplendent light. She immediately felt like she had been formally appointed.

    Her status of being ¡°chosen by the heavens¡± climbed to a new level, almost reaching the level of Heretic Gods. This was her reward for abiding to the will of the heavens, as well as evidence towards the conclusion she had drawn.

    Fortunately, she had not become blinded by greed. Otherwise, if she tried to obtain the Black Sun Demon Heart, she probably would not even know how she died. She smiled. ¡°I am still too kind after all.¡±

    However, the greatest reward was not this but a burning world.

    ¡°I hope you like it¡­ Hehehehe¡­¡±

    Flames burst out from the ground, dyeing the gloomy, cloudy sky a mottled orangey-red like it was burning.

    A magnificent phoenix roosted within the flames.

    A heart thumped away vigorously!

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had used the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a under the Phoenix Transformation.

    An unprecedented sensation surged forth like the lava. His blood flowed endlessly like a river of fire, cycling through his body before returning to his heart.

    The nirv¨¡?a in the past was always a rapid rebirth to either block or deal a lethal blow to the enemy.

    But this time, he observed the entire process calmly. His feathers melded away in the flames. Only the heart of the phoenix became even brighter.

    He did not feel anxious inside at all. Instead, his heart felt light and satisfied. All of his pain and worries were cleaned in the flames. This was an emotion vastly different from the ape demon¡¯s ravishing joy. Instead, it was filled with a feeling of compassion for all sentient beings, lamenting over how they could not experience this.

    If all people in the world could experience this sensation, even for a split second, they could transcend all of their worries.

    This was like the first time he had understood the phoenix¡¯s noble heart. That definitely was not like the spirit turtle, detached from the world, avoiding all ties of karma.

    The qilin was a beast of benevolence, but its benevolence was towards all of the living. Plants were living and demonfolk were living too. Good, bad, kindness, or wickedness played no role. It followed the path of nature, viewing life and death as breathing, so it did not feel this kind of lament instead.

    As long as all of the living in the world could continue to multiply and thrive, nothing else mattered. Universal love was also a form of heartlessness.

    Only the phoenix of eternal life could comprehend the pain of living creatures. It seemed noble and aloof, but it instead possessed compassion.

    This is probably the so-called heart of benevolence!

    He was the same Li Qingshan, yet what the Upraised Light abbot and Qian Rongzhi saw were completely different. One wanted to send him off to the Western Paradise, Sukh¨¡vat¨©, while the other wanted to tempt him into swallowing the Black Sun Demon Heart so that he became the lord of the Demon domain.

    Fate was unpredictable, vague, and beyond reach. Who knew?

 Chapter 1475

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1475 ¨C In Danger

    The spirit turtle was like a hermit, rather willing to spend its life swimming through mud, detached from worldly ties.

    The qilin was benevolent, wanting all to thrive in an endless cycle of life and growth.

    In short, one feared death, and the other lusted after life.

    Meanwhile, the phoenix was a sage. It possessed a noble character, refusing to perch unless it was a wutong tree, refusing to feed unless it was the fruit of bamboo, refusing to drink unless it was from a sweet spring. It was essentially engraved with the five virtues of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness, basically standing at the apex of virtue from the moment it was born.

    However, it was exactly because of this that it became involved with the deepest karmic ties. Trees that protruded from the forest would be blown down by wind. Those who stood above all others in virtue would definitely be slandered by all.

    The most innocent and most pure were most easily corrupted, while those most upright and outspoken often incurred open criticism. Those of the greatest attainments were fated to have very few colleagues who matched them, while those of great reputation often failed to live up to their reputation.

    As a result, this undying, divine bird was simply unable to live forever at the end of the day.

    Because it understood the pain of living, it did not lust after life. Because it had undergone rebirth countless times, it did not fear death.

    Compared to dragging out an ignoble existence, it was better off casting away itself and going up in flames. This mentality of sacrifice was unique to the phoenix.

    Li Qingshan recited slowly, ¡°Phoenix, oh phoenix, why does your virtue decline with each passing day?¡±

    He spread his wings and began to fly, turning into a ball of spiralling fire, absorbing the raging flames from the ground as a swirl. He even made the lava harden, turning into black rock, before reducing the entire place into a dormant volcano again, only leaving behind a cluster of swirling flames above the crater.

    Xiao An sat casually on a volcanic rock that was red like fire, leaning against her right arm that rested on her knee. She held a string of shiny white prayer beads as she sat with her legs crossed, gazing at the ball of fire in thought.

    The original meaning of nirv¨¡?a was the buddhist concept of ¡°end¡±. Gathering all of their merits and virtues was coming to a full circle, while departing from all afflictions and worries was silence. She wondered what connection it had with the phoenix.

    TL: There are like 5 different words in Chinese that correspond to nirv¨¡?a. In this case, the first ¡°nirv¨¡?a¡± refers to the same nirv¨¡?a in Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, while the second one can be used when a buddhist master passes away. The ¡°coming to a full circle¡± and ¡°silence¡± is an etymological breakdown of the second nirv¨¡?a.

    The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty used the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone to snuff out the living, which was quite similar to the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, but there was no rebirth. The living probably were not too happy about it either.

    The White Bone Bodhisattva obviously viewed this as additional evidence to the shallowness and ignorance of the living creatures, but she could understand this feeling. If Qingshan could not rebirth in nirv¨¡?a, she definitely would not be happy either.

    A clear and elated phoenix cry rang out like torn silk, clear and crisp.

    A magnificent, dazzling phoenix rebirthed in the flames. His blood of a phoenix became even more pure.

    The Phoenix Transformation then broke through to the sixth layer. His cultivation skyrocketed once again, already infinitesimally close to the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    Li Qingshan was overjoyed. So the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a could be used like this too.

    In other words, as long as he had sufficient time and his innate ability had recovered, he could rebirth again in flames, and the Phoenix Transformation would take another step forward. What was so difficult about reaching the ninth layer of the Phoenix¡¯s Scripture of Nirv¨¡?a now?

    However, the downside was he could no longer rebirth if he was killed, and the exact thing he lacked right now was time. How he was actually supposed to make use of it required some careful consideration.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s change the place!¡±

    Then they found a lake in the mountains. It was not large, but it was enough.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. He would break through the sixth layer of the Spirit Turtle here and then face the fifth heavenly tribulation.

    Time flew.

    Warning bells rang in the Direct Disciple hall of the Myriad sect.

    Apart from the small number of direct disciples who were in secluded cultivation or were not near the Myriad sect due to missions, everyone else had been summoned.

    Ruan Yaozhu was no exception either. She gazed at Dai Mengfan in wonder. The other direct disciples were the same. A solemn atmosphere loomed over the place, which left everyone quiet.

    Dai Mengfan cleared her throat. ¡°Junior brother Ge, I think you should break it to them!¡±

    The master of military provisions, Ge Xing, strode onto the stage. ¡°Junior and senior brothers and sisters, I¡¯ll cut to the chase. The Demon domain is about to launch a large-scale attack on Black Cloud city. Senior brother Li Liehuo has sent out an urgent order of enlistment, enlisting all direct disciples to enter battle. The military situation is urgent. We are to hurry to Black Cloud city immediately and discuss the counterplan.¡±

    There was an uproar in the Direct Disciple hall. Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. Only Le Tian continued to smile away, but he did furrow his brows.

    Whenever the Demon domain launched a large-scale invasion, there would always be a sea of blood, and direct disciples would always perish.

    This was not a gamble, but a game of chess. It was not winner takes all. If the enemy was ready to sacrifice Demon Sovereigns, then they better be prepared to give up Human Sovereigns in exchange. At most, they would gain a slight edge, exchanging one for two.

    Dai Mengfan furrowed her brows and asked, ¡°Junior brother Ge, junior sister Ruan is responsible for the matters of the Hundred Herbs garden. Is she enlisted as well?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. We need everyone we can get our hands on. Don¡¯t look at me like that. Once the military provisions are in place, I¡¯ll be entering the battle too.¡±

    ¡°Dammit, what¡¯s Li Liehuo thinking? Have the demonfolk reached the city already?¡±

    ¡°That hasn¡¯t happened yet.¡± Ge Xing faltered.

    Ruan Yaozhu could not help but ask, ¡°What about senior sister Chao?¡±

    Dai Mengfan said, ¡°Yeah! Under a situation like this, don¡¯t you need both captains sending an enlistment order for it to take effect?¡±

    Ge Xing¡¯s expression changed, and he hesitated. ¡°Senior sister Chao¡¯s current whereabouts are unknown. Senior brother Li said it¡¯s likely that she¡¯s fallen into enemy hands, or even fallen as a Demon Sovereign. As a result, he¡¯s already rearranged the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder to prevent her from sneaking in and destroying the formation. This is an absolute secret, so please don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°What! How dare he!¡±

    Find the original at *hosted* novel.

    Before he could even finish, the direct disciples had already exploded into a commotion, drowning out his voice.

    In particular, the female cultivators immediately thought this was a great scheme. The situation became even more chaotic.

    Bang! Dai Mengfan slammed the table. ¡°All of you shut up! With the ruckus you¡¯re making, are there even rules in this place?¡±

    The Direct Disciple hall immediately fell quiet. Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s gentle but determined voice rang out, ¡°Senior sister Chao¡¯s life lamp remains. I don¡¯t believe she¡¯ll fall as a Demon Sovereign. If she¡¯s really lost to the Demon domain, then we need to hurry to Black Cloud city and find a way to save her.¡±

    ¡°Senior brother enlisting us in such a hurry has probably got something to do with this.¡± Ge Xing sighed. If their ¡°first senior sister¡± defected to the enemy¡¯s side, then the consequences were basically unthinkable.

    Dai Mengfan said, ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, junior sister. Let¡¯s go and meet with Li Liehuo right now and get to the bottom of this!¡±

    At this moment, Li Liehuo felt extremely anxious. He paced around in his room.

    The region near Cold Blood pass had already become a forbidden zone. Even he did not dare to enter the Demon domain anymore. However, just from observing the aura in the distance, it was startling enough.

    It was completely impossible to hide the large-scale mobilisation of an army like this. They were no longer clashing with schemes and plans but with power and momentum.

    Search h0sted n0vel for the original.

    Once the Demon Gods made up their minds, it was extremely terrifying.

    Even with an army at his command and walls around him, he could not help but feel powerless before such momentum. He was particularly worried that Chao Tianjiao had become a Demon Sovereign.

    Even if he had decisively rearranged the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder so that she could not sneak in anymore, she still possessed the complete formation scroll of the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder as well as the highest authority. She possessed far too many different ways to destroy the formation. That was why he had summoned all the direct disciples so urgently, just so he could deal with this potential sudden attack.

    Their strength was equal. If she devoted herself to destruction, he would be completely incapable of stopping her. Even with the Upraised Light abbot on the side, it would be useless.

    The black-furred hou had to be placed under control quickly as well, or once Chao Tianjiao returned, she probably only needed a single word for her to immediately turn against him. Fortunately, Huo Hua was watching her, so nothing major could arise any time soon.

    ¡°Liehuo, they¡¯re here!¡±

    A woman with a particularly tall and powerful stature walked in. Her lush, red hair was slightly curled, her face was slightly long, and she had a prominent nose bridge, giving off an exotic charm.

    Even to Li Liehuo, she was an entire head taller, pulling him into her embrace firmly and whispering into his ear, ¡°If the situation is off, I¡¯ll take you to the Daemonic Beast realm. I¡¯d like to see who can stop me.¡±

    ¡°Huo Hua.¡± Li Liehuo eased up slightly and smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t fall in battle here.¡±

    ¡°You said it!¡± Huo Hua patted him on the back and smiled. ¡°When the time comes, you better not blame me for grabbing you and deserting the battlefield, betraying the sect.¡±

 Chapter 1476

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1476 ¨C Offering

    The war drums were thunderous. The gates to the fortress in Cold Blood pass were wide open. The army was mobilised.

    The dark clouds of war amassed in the sky like a monster brandishing its claws and teeth, lunging towards Black Cloud city in the distance.

    Due to the existence of arcane treasures like sumeru rings, the army basically did not have to worry about logistics. The strange part of all this were the several tens of thousand cages that the demonic beasts dragged towards the frontlines.

    At the boundary between the Demon domain and the Human realm, the soldiers dragged out the prisoners one by one, burying them up to their necks such that only their heads remained exposed.

    There were all sorts of prisoners, male and female, old and young. Some sobbed away painfully, some cursed away loudly, and others remained silent. However, none of them begged for mercy. There was no such thing as sympathy in the Demon domain.

    They were buried up to their necks as the army progressed, basically like planting trees, leaving behind a path of howls.

    The territory of the Demon domain burst through the boundary. From above, it was like a huge arrow, plunging towards Black Cloud city.

    These prisoners were all ¡°criminals¡± of the Demon domain. They had either ended up there due to conspiracies, or it was because they were cowardly and useless, or perhaps they were just sacrifices for the war. However, all of them were labelled with a common name¡ªgood people.

    As the demonic earth penetrated the Human realm, just being buried alive was no longer enough.

    The shamans began to construct altars, leading the prisoners on there and torturing them to death under the watch of the soldiers.

    Howls rose and fell, like they were tearing through the sky.

    The shamans were skillful, making the prisoners experience the greatest amount of pain without killing them too quickly. The torture would often last for several days and nights and could only be completed with the assistance of a few apprentices.

    The most brilliant shamans used different machinery and techniques to make the prisoner produce different kinds of howls, giving the spectators an extreme mental experience.

    They were even divided into two different schools of thought, the school of experience and the school of performance.

    The school of experienced believed they should focus on the tortures itself, so they gave these ¡°criminals¡± the greatest experience of pain, instead of performing like a cloud to please these foolish spectators.

    The school of performance believed that there was only one ¡°criminal¡±, yet there were countless spectators, so who took priority was as clear as day. The school of experience was only a group of sadists without any sense of responsibility or duty in their eyes.

    Oh right, there was also the school of methods that invented new tortures and tools. Because they placed too much emphasis on formalities, they were not particularly popular.

    The demonfolk instead enjoyed these sights that could drive people mad with great interest. They were glued to them. Some of them were even enchanted, filled with amazement.

    ¡°Damn, that slice was absolutely perfect! This guy¡¯s voice is not bad either. His howls rise and fall and vary with timbre, tsktsk!¡±

    Suddenly, a demonfolk reported, ¡°Sir shaman, I¡¯ve noticed that Zhou Chu¡¯s gaze constantly shifts away, like he refuses to watch. So he still does have some goodness left in him!¡±

    ¡°Ah, sir shaman, I have no goodness! I have no goodness! I got hungry from watching.¡±

    The shaman glanced at him coldly and threw a burnt hand down from the altar.

    Zhou Chu lunged over and wolfed away. ¡°The flesh of good people is just delicious!¡±

    ¡°How dare you call the flesh of good people delicious! Are you saying that the flesh of us wicked people is disgusting?¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not what I mean.¡±

    ¡°I have a request to make to the shaman. Sacrifice this fake scoundrel to the demonic heavens!¡±

    ¡°Sacrifice him! Sacrifice him! Sacrifice him!¡±

    The demonfolk huddled in closer as they growled with faint smiles. It was very eerie and twisted.

    ¡°Argh!!!¡±

    As a result, another ¡°good person¡± hidden within the group of wicked people had been discovered and eliminated. Their morale surged.

    With a hundred thousand ¡°good people¡± as offerings, the army rapidly pushed closer to Black Cloud city.

    Territory established through this method was only temporary, but as long as they made it to Black Cloud city, the demonfolk would be fighting in their own territory. It would give them a colossal geographic advantage, and they could avoid any enemy sneak attacks while travelling.

    This battle tactic had always been publicly-known. One of the consequences of the constant years of war was everything was clear. All of the tactics and strategies had been used hundreds and thousands of times already. They did not even have to analyse the map. All of the possibilities had already occurred in the past.

    If the Human realm possessed a hundred different methods to deal with this tactic, then the Demon domain possessed a hundred and one tactics as a counterplan. That was why a battle tactic like this remained and was still used.

    Under these various restrictions from reality, the unexpected incidents that occurred on the battlefield were often even rarer than on the chessboard.

    Once war began, there would not be any more room to use any strange tricks or schemes, nor were there heroes that could easily turn the tide of war. All that would remain would be a bloody meat grinder. It would boil down to which side could feed it more flesh and blood.

    Li Liehuo was completely aware of all of this. The defensive system of Black Cloud city was built on the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder and the two armies.

    They established armies so they could organise their flesh and blood better before they fed it to the meat grinder.

    Now that Chao Tianjiao was gone, the Xuanwu army was basically incapacitated.

    It was not just because she was powerful. More importantly, the Xuanwu army had been founded under her name, and she had built up great prestige through countless battles.

    Only with prestige was there unity, and only with unity was there strength. A random direct disciple could not replace her position.

    The situation now was if they could not feed the meat grinder the flesh and blood of mortals, then they could only feed it the flesh and blood of cultivators.

    But which cultivator was willing to do something like that? If regular cultivators refused, the direct disciples could still keep them in check. If the direct disciples refused, who could still force them into making sacrifices? Speaking of which, even he, the ¡°first senior brother¡±, was reluctant to.

    He even began to miss Chao Tianjiao slightly.

    By now, he had reached the Scorching Fire hall.

    The Scorching Fire hall was filled with whispers that gradually quietened with the sound of his footsteps.

    The direct disciples all bowed, ¡°Senior brother!¡±

    Li Liehuo saw them gathered in groups of threes or fives, either standing or sitting. Some leaned against the wall while hugging a sword, while others just sat on the discussion table. Only Ge Xing sat properly. He could not help but furrow his brows, ordering, ¡°Sit down properly!¡±

    Everyone took their seats successively. Even the female disciples who were about to question Li Liehuo had been taken aback by his authority. The direct disciples that had not been to Black Cloud city also noticed how the atmosphere here was completely different from the Direct Disciple hall.

    ¡°The army of the Demon domain has probably set off already. They¡¯re determined to uproot Black Cloud city this time, so the scale of their attack is unprecedented. If we want to protect Black Cloud city, please mentally prepare yourself for half of us here dying.¡±

    ¡°What!? Half of us dying? Senior brother, you¡¯re not joking, are you?¡±

    Find the original at *hosted* novel.

    The direct disciples all responded differently. Some paled in fright, some were in disbelief, while others sank into their thoughts silently. They never expected Li Liehuo to actually be so pessimistic.

    Le Tian played around with a pair of dice in interest. This was a fine opportunity to gamble. They could wager on whether they could protect Black Cloud city or not. However, he did not want to face the wrath of the ¡°first senior brother¡±, so all he could do was add to what Li Liehuo said mentally.

    Even if half of us die, we might not necessarily be able to protect the city. That¡¯s just the largest loss you can mentally accept.

    Pi Yangqiu seemed to read his thoughts. He communicated, ¡°Hehe, this ¡®first senior brother¡¯ is still too inexperienced after all. He¡¯s already overestimated their determination. I think we¡¯ll be done as soon as we lose a third of us. It¡¯s been far too peaceful over the recent years after all. There aren¡¯t a lot of old guys remaining who have been through the large battles.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s afraid of frightening them out of their wits, clearly! Heh, do they really think they can¡¯t die just because they¡¯re Human Sovereigns?¡±

 Chapter 1477

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1477 ¨C Thunder Rumbles

    Dai Mengfan had once been first senior brother Lin Xuan¡¯s junior sister. She had been through the horrific battles before, so she understood their severity. She sat solemnly. ¡°How many Demon Sovereigns are there?¡±

    ¡°There should be twelve.¡± Due to the existence of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, this was basically the convention.

    ¡°Sure enough.¡± Dai Mengfan¡¯s complexion became even worse. She had spent all these years as the third senior sister, refusing to compete for the position of first senior brother or first senior sister, exactly because she did not want to set foot on the battlefield again.

    A charming, rosy-cheeked female cultivator fiddled around with her slender fingers and smiled. ¡°There are more than twelve of us, and we have the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder, so how do these demonfolk even stand a chance against us?¡±

    There were over a dozen direct disciples gathered here. Coupled with their mounts, there were over thirty existences that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation. They had far surpassed twelve Demon Sovereigns.

    As a result, apart from the few people who had been through major battles like Le Tian, Dai Mengfan, and so on, the other direct disciples were all doubtful over what Li Liehuo had said. They even thought he was beating around the bush and just refused to talk about Chao Tianjiao.

    Dai Mengfan asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Tianjiao?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. The greatest possibility is that she¡¯s ended up in the hands of the Demon domain. We have to guard against this.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu could not help but say, ¡°Then we¡­¡±

    Dai Mengfan shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t say anything more, Yaozhu. If Tianjiao really has ended up in the hands of the Demon domain, we can only hope she perishes.¡± If she became a Demon Sovereign, it would be far too terrifying.

    Ruan Yaozhu lowered her head in dejection.

    Then Dai Mengfan asked, ¡°Can we seek reinforcements?¡±

    Li Liehuo answered with a question, ¡°Seek reinforcements from whom?¡±

    Dai Mengfan was unable to answer him. She let out a great sigh.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance never left the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Unless the Myriad sect faced destruction, he would never take action. The two sect masters were both beyond the Nine heavens, following the grand sect master. They had their own duties to handle too.

    The Myriad sect was unlike a traditional sect that was built up from the relationship between master and disciple. Instead, it was managed autonomously by the direct disciples, cooperating and sharing their duties freely. There were basically no restraints on them.

    But as a tradeoff, the greater the authority, the greater the responsibility. There was no such thing as being able to cultivate peacefully when nothing happened yet abandoning their duties when something did.

    Or in other words, defending the region was the Myriad sect¡¯s responsibility. Why would other sects bleed in their place for them?

    As for the Desireless Heavenly Palace, that was even more out of the picture. By mobilising twelve Demon Sovereigns to attack the city, holes would appear in the other war zones. They would only order the local sects to use this opportunity to regain their lost territory, not embark on a lengthy expedition and be led around by the nose by the Demon domain.

    Then Dai Mengfan asked, ¡°Then do we abandon the city? Tianjiao is not around, so the Xuanwu army can¡¯t be used. This situation is just too disadvantageous.¡±

    Li Liehuo said, ¡°I¡¯m aware, but that¡¯s impossible. The military law cannot permit retreat without putting up a battle!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±

    Dai Mengfan smiled wryly. Something like deserting the battlefield would definitely anger the Desireless Heavenly Palace. They would order them to take back Black Cloud city, and that would come at ten times the price. The entire Myriad sect would suffer tremendous losses.

    Currently, they needed to put up a fight until both sides sustained heavy losses. They had to slay a few Demon Sovereigns and force back the demonfolk.

    The Desireless Heavenly Palace would obviously award them for their efforts, supporting the Myriad sect through the form of resources.

    And thus, new direct disciples would appear. They had never been lacking geniuses. It had been no different in the past either.

    This was how she made it to the position of ¡°third senior sister¡±. She was simply afraid she would not be so fortunate this time, and she would not be able to witness the arrival of that day.

    It was not a result of cowardice or ignorance. She had made it so far after so much difficulty. She did not want to risk her life any further.

    The two of them conversed like no one else was around. The rosy-cheeked female cultivator could not help but interrupt them. ¡°Hey, what are you on about? Isn¡¯t it just twelve Demon Sovereigns?¡±

    Dai Mengfan smiled sorrowfully. ¡°You¡¯ll find out very soon, junior sister Ke Xin.¡±

    Wan Jianfeng suddenly stood up and drew his sword from its sheath. He said coldly, ¡°Senior brother and sister, you¡¯ve been far too disappointing. You feed the might of the enemy and weaken the morale of your own people. If the demonfolk want to take Black Cloud city, they¡¯ll have to ask my sword first!¡±

    He practised the Heavenly Tome of Sword Control. He was a sword cultivator, most skilled in battle. He did not believe twelve Demon Sovereigns with a crowd of ragtags could be particularly powerful.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Le Tian slammed the table. He laughed so hard that he swayed back and forth. ¡°I really can¡¯t help it. Who wants to gamble on whether we can defend Black Cloud city or not with me? Oh right, you can increase the odds too and gamble on how many of us will die.¡±

    It immediately earned him the wrath of everyone. They all began to berate him. Before long, the direct disciples had devolved into a dispute, just like in the Direct Disciple hall.

    Pi Yangqiu shook his head. If Lin Xuan was around, they would have reached an agreement a long time ago. Lie Liehuo was not the true ¡°first senior brother¡± after all. He was fine usually, but when it came to moments of life or death like right now, he truly struggled to keep the situation under control. The battle really was becoming more and more pessimistic.

    ¡°Senior brother, I¡¯m skilled with formations, so let me control the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Liehuo said, ¡°I still need someone to lead the Xuanwu army.¡±

    The hall fell quiet. No one answered.

    Even the direct disciples that had not been through major battles still possessed some common sense. Leading the army was leaving the city and facing the enemy on the battlefield, or even leading the charge against the enemy formation.

    Not only would they lose the protection of the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder, but it was even very easy for them to be trapped by the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous as well. Under a situation like that, it was extremely easy to die.

    Le Tian burst out laughing, while Li Liehuo furrowed his eyebrows even further.

    At this moment, Ruan Yaozhu raised her hand firmly with a blank expression.

    Li Liehuo directly ignored her. ¡°Then we have nobody! Very well!¡±

    Rumble!

    The sounds of thunder rang out in the distance.

    ¡°Spring thunder?¡±

    However, when everyone looked over, they could not see any lightning at all.

    ¡°How can regular thunder reach so far? Don¡¯t tell me someone is undergoing a tribulation?¡±

    The slight incident did not draw too much attention until the thunder became louder and louder without any signs of ending. The entire city shook gently.

    ¡°What heavenly tribulation is this?¡±

    The fifth heavenly tribulation!

    Splash! A spirit turtle raised its head from the marsh, gazing at the tribulation clouds that rapidly gathered in the air, surging around like a swirl. Thunder boomed.

    Li Qingshan had broken through to the sixth layer of the spirit turtle very quickly. He did not encounter any bottlenecks or obstacles. All these years of accumulation made it all smooth sailing.

    As his cultivation grew abruptly, it immediately triggered the heavenly tribulation.

    The tribulation clouds grew heavier, and the surroundings became pitch-black. Visibility was at an all-time low. Only the flashing lightning would illuminate the mountains momentarily, like slumbering giants watching the spirit turtle in the marsh.

    Strangely enough, not a single bolt of lightning fell during all this time. The tribulation clouds continued to amass until they hung so low that they almost touched the top of the mountains.

    Armaments of tribulation lightning were gradually taking shape one by one in the centre of the great swirl.

    A blade, a spear, a sword, a halberd, an axe, a battle axe, a hook sword, and a fork condensed without dispersing, sizzling with lightning as they hung over Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    The scale of the heavenly tribulation was so large that it actually matched Chao Tianjiao¡¯s sixth heavenly tribulation.

    At the same time, the skandha-m¨¡ra began to stir in his heart. The demonic thoughts and endless affiliations sprang forth. His five skandha began to blaze.

    It just happened to resemble Black Cloud city. Inside, the people were unconvinced, while they had an army looming outside. They faced trouble both internally and externally on the verge of disaster.

    Li Qingshan assumed the physique of the demonic and divine, standing in the marsh with the mountains, welcoming the tribulation clouds with open arms.

    ¡°Come!¡±

 Chapter 1478

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1478 ¨C To Not Change

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, the world rumbled.

    Armaments of tribulation lightning hovered in the centre of the swirling tribulation clouds, a blade, a spear, a sword, a halberd, an axe, a battle axe, a hook sword, and a fork.

    They actually did not swing down randomly. Instead, they remained in formation, rumbling as they descended slowly.

    The snakes and dragons of lightning crackled away, establishing a natural form of the eight trigrams between the eight armaments of tribulation lightning.

    Even when Chao Tianjiao faced the sixth heavenly tribulation, she did not encounter something like this.

    Li Qingshan felt like he was unable to vent his power properly. His heart was painfully tense. He immediately felt the presence of looming danger.

    Lightning was the wrath of the heavens. Tribulations were the punishment of the heavens.

    To regular cultivators, this was only a test, yet it seemed like he had just committed a sin against heaven.

    The heavens were furious, determined to reduce him to dust.

    Having offended the heavens, he had no one left to pray to.

    So powerful! If I don¡¯t destroy this formation quickly and it arrives, even ten Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a won¡¯t be enough, let alone the fact that I only have one remaining now, and it¡¯s turning into a pitiful egg.

    Li Qingshan was about to use his innate abilities when the scenery around him changed.

    The sky was pitch-black, and the mountains rose and fell. He had turned back into a youth from his physique of the demonic and divine, returning to Crouching Ox village that had been destroyed in the flames of war. He currently lay in the cowshed with a black ox crouching right by him.

    He could not help but mutter, ¡°Brother ox!¡±

    He realised that the situation was terrible. The illusion became more and more realistic. Even the sensation of the hay poking into his skin became as clear as day, such that he could no longer distinguish it as fake.

    I pulled Chao Tianjiao into an illusion so that I could toy with her. Hasn¡¯t retribution come a little too quickly today?

    Xiao An noticed how his gaze had become blank. ¡°It¡¯s the skandha-m¨¡ra!¡±

    If he practised the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, this was not supposed to be a major problem. However, his Yin Soul had been destroyed in Cold Blood pass, so his human cultivation was reduced to zero. As a result, he had to face this crisis.

    The danger of the demon was no less than the tribulation lightning, let alone now.

    Xiao An¡¯s voice pierced through the rumbling thunder, ¡°Qingshan, the five skandha are form, sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness. From the various forms arises the various sensations of joy and suffering, which leads to various perceptions, followed by unruly and irresponsible actions, a blinded consciousness and shrouding your true self. If you want to fend off the skandha-m¨¡ra, you must see through form first and realise that everything before you consists of merely empty illusions.¡±

    A middle-aged farmwife with a somewhat wide waist yelled, ¡°Li Er, get up and get to work!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°In other words, what I¡¯m encountering right now is a ¡®form demon¡¯.¡±

    TL: This is a pun. In this case, the ¡®form demon¡¯ can also refer to lust demons or sexual demons.

    The farmwife said furiously, ¡°Li Er, what the hell are you on about?¡±

    The black ox raised its head, gazing at him quietly.

    ¡°Though, while this is all an illusion, it¡¯s not empty!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly, without any hesitation at all.

    He faced impending doom, yet he had never felt so calm and composed before.

    Yes, nothing he had encountered along the way, including what he experienced in the Clam King of Mirage Sea¡¯s illusions, was empty.

    The youth of the past no longer needed a blade to embolden himself.

    The black ox nodded with a smile, but the farmwife became even more furious. Her curses became even worse, and the illusion became more realistic as well.

    ¡°Though, all this noise sure is annoying. The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was as placid as water. His eyes shone with a clear light, seeing through all of the illusions. He recovered his physique of the demonic and divine and returned to the marsh between the mountains.

    Gazing at the eight descending armaments of tribulation lightning, he smiled brightly. ¡°Isn¡¯t this all just forms as well? Yet people die when they are killed, so what kind of nonsense is that? You¡¯re just trying to deceive yourself.¡±

    Xiao An smiled and no longer said anything more.

    ¡°Hmph, if you won¡¯t face me, then I¡¯ll face you! Rise, winds!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly unfurled a pair of wings of wind. They reached several hundred metres across, slamming towards the eight armaments of tribulation lightning as if they wanted to scatter the tribulation clouds and clear the skies.

    Boom!

    The world rocked; lightning flashed brightly, illuminating the sky. It formed a sea of lightning.

    Among the eight trigrams, zhen was thunder and xun was wind.

    The thirty-second hexagram, thunder and wind, persevering.

    The wind and thunder surged!

    In order to prevent the heavenly tribulation from charging up any further, Li Qingshan proactively received the challenge. The lightning poured down towards him like a flood.

    The marsh beneath him was immediately vapourised, exposing the dry, cracked ground. His iron hooves sank deeply into the earth, giving him a firm footing. Drawing strength from below, he threw a punch at the sky.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    His fist burst through the lightning, slamming the space there heavily. Shockwaves spread out as ripples, shattering the eight trigrams formation constructed by the eight armaments of tribulation lightning. The pressure of imminent doom lightened as a result.

    Even though his imposing figure was still swallowed by the lightning, shaking and numbing his body all over, he had directed most of the lightning into the ground beneath him, so it did not lead to any actual damage.

    Regular tribulation lightning was not enough to kill him. The threat that was truly lethal was still the eight armaments of tribulation lightning!

    Before he could even bring himself to fend them off, the numb sensation abruptly turned into heart-wrenching pain.

    Every inch of his skin, blood vessels, and bones groaned, filling his entire soul. Even the tortures of hell were nothing more than this.

    He gritted his teeth firmly and knelt down on one knee. He felt the impression that he had already been reduced to dust by the tribulation lightning.

    But in the next moment, the pain turned to joy, like he had risen up through the clouds, making his way to paradise. Even if he died now, it was fine.

    Yet in the next moment, he plunged back into the abyssal hell.

    Suffering and pleasure, sorrow and joy constantly replaced one another. He could not help but recall all the matters of pain and the matters of joy he had experienced in his life.

    Whether it was scaling the Ice Sword cliff arduously in the violent wind and snow or the delight and elation from destroying the Ice Sword cliff, all of these emotions flooded through his head. He wanted to laugh aloud and sob away at the same time. It was not an illusion. It was more than an illusion.

    Xiao An said, ¡°If you cannot see through the illusion of form, then you must ¡®perceive¡¯ the various pains and joys.¡±

    ¡°Alright! What¡¯s the point of living if there aren¡¯t tests like this?¡±

    The various sensations could not be suppressed by the spirit turtle, nor did he want to suppress them.

    Li Qingshan cleared all of his thoughts and recalled his experience when he underwent the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a recently.

    If his body was not destroyed, if his heart did not die, then he had to endure all of these sorrows and joys, pains, and pleasures. He went up in flames just because times were tough and the odds were against him, that was viewing escape and evasion as a wise choice. He would be no different from a coward, blaming everyone but himself, placing his faith in others but not himself.

    The surroundings dimmed, and the eight armaments of tribulation lightning all plunged deeply into his body.

    If he had not used the Ox Demon Forges its Hide in the final moments, he would have been carved to pieces with that.

    No matter how he redirected the lightning into the ground, his body continued to crack, but not a single droplet of blood was split. It was all vapourised by the lightning. Among the violent flashes, his tiger bones became visible, shattering bit by bit.

    He did not budge, silently enduring all of this as he drew out the armaments of tribulation lightning one by one, snapping and crushing them. Afterwards, he rose up to fight again.

    Xiao An said, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    His wounds did not close up, leaving behind a series of horrific holes. There was no flesh, blood, or bones in them. He was already heavily injured. However, for some reason, his standing figure became even loftier, like he had merged with the earth. Peering through the depths of the swirl, he gazed at the distant heavens.

    The heavens seemed to be angered by this gaze. It rumbled, letting out a deep and furious roar. The shattered lightning condensed again in the blink of an eye, such that only a giant sword of lightning remained.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. The small world in his body circulated slowly, using the divine transformations to restrain the demonic thoughts inside and using the demonic transformations to fend off the wrath of the heavens outside. He used the various transformations freely, like it was all within his grasp. He was indestructible and unswayable.

    He had the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, just so he would not change.

    Search hosted.novel for the original.

    Xiao An shut her eyes calmly. ¡°He¡¯s won.¡±

 Chapter 1479

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1479 ¨C Absurdity

    Whoosh!

    The winds blew over from the distant mountains, filling the Scorching Fire hall and making the clothes of the direct disciple sway. It eased up the solemn atmosphere.

    ¡°What a strange gust of wind.¡±

    ¡°Who is it exactly?¡±

    ¡°From that direction¡­ it might be a disciple from the Flying Star valley.¡±

    The direct disciples discussed among themselves. All of the officers were currently inside Black Cloud city. It was impossible for them to travel so far away to face the tribulation.

    They did not enlist the inner disciples of the sect for this battle, as they were the seeds for future direct disciples. They would not be of much help to this battle either, so there was no need to ¡°sacrifice¡± them.

    It was possible to say that even if all the direct disciples here perished, just the tremendous amount of resources freed up would be able to produce a few direct disciples.

    ¡°They succeeded?¡±

    ¡°Just what heavenly tribulation was that? Even the fifth heavenly tribulation doesn¡¯t seem to create such a large disturbance.¡±

    ¡°Stop joking. Are you saying that they would choose to face the tribulation of a Human Immortal in the wilderness, right by a battlefield?¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, are they supposed to choose to face the tribulation of a Human Sovereign in the wilderness, right by a battlefield?¡±

    ¡°This¡­ it might also be a demonfolk.¡±

    ¡°A demonfolk has come to the Human realm to face the tribulation? Is there something wrong with their head?¡±

    They argued away, actually unable to guess who the person who faced the tribulation was. However, war was imminent, and no one really tried to sniff out any clues either. They were just using this topic to distract themselves a little.

    Ruan Yaozhu suddenly thought of someone. ¡°Senior brother Li, where¡¯s junior brother Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Junior sister Ruan, won¡¯t you look at what time it is? You¡¯re still thinking about him at a time like this.¡±

    Ke Xin was very irritated. She really had been frightened slightly this time. She had lost her gracefulness and ease from when she first spoke.

    If it were just Li Liehuo, then she could dismiss it as exaggerations to raise attention, but even ¡°old people¡± like Dai Mengfan and Le Tian had begun ¡°exaggerating¡±. The situation might actually be very bad.

    At a time like this, who would still care about an inner disciple? No matter how talented he was, what purpose could he serve now?

    However, Li Liehuo answered the question very seriously, ¡°I¡¯ve received news from the black-furred heaven-gazing hou that he projected out his Yin Soul to scout out Cold Blood pass with junior sister Chao. His current whereabouts are unknown.¡±

    Reaching there, he furrowed his brows and sank into his thoughts. He suddenly said, ¡°No, it¡¯s impossible. He¡¯s only faced the fourth heavenly tribulation recently!¡±

    The direct disciples looked at one another. They all found it absurd. Was Li Liehuo worried that the person undergoing the tribulation was Li Qingshan?

    Wan Jianfeng became even more certain that he had indeed been under too much pressure, clouding his thoughts.

    Ruan Yaozhu bit her lip and lowered her head silently, yet she had a powerful belief that he must have still been alive. Definitely!

    The strange gust of wind left as quickly as it came, and their conversation topic returned to the matters of war. Very soon, they sank into anxiety again.

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°We can¡¯t keep wasting time like this. Please pass orders immediately, senior brother.¡± He glanced at Wan Jianfeng and continued, ¡°There are some matters that just can¡¯t be explained convincingly with words.¡±

    Li Liehuo nodded in agreement. Wan Jianfeng flicked his sword. ¡°Exactly.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive?¡±

    Li Qingshan reverted to human form, laying between the mountains with a smile on his face.

    The great winds had dispersed all the tribulation clouds. The sky was clear as far as the eye could see, seemingly transparent.

    The heavenly tribulation had arrived far too viciously, and the skandha-m¨¡ra was extremely difficult to deal with too. When the ¡°perceptions demon¡± appeared, chaotic thoughts sprang forth in his head, and the various demonic and divine transformations immediately showed signs of fracturing. Fortunately, the small world had completely stabilised, which was the only reason why it did not collapse.

    The ¡°actions demon¡± made him lose control over his body, such that he struggled to control his actions. He had almost been beheaded by the armament of tribulation lightning. Even now, there was still a great gash across his neck, spurting with blood.

    The final ¡°consciousness demon¡± was the most terrifying. It directly twisted his consciousness, making him develop doubts over everything he was certain about. What brother ox? What Nine Heavens? Is it really all that important? Why don¡¯t I just live an easy life instead¡­

    If he really had been swayed, then even if he succeeded with the tribulation, his personality would change drastically. He would no longer be the same Li Qingshan as before.

    It was very likely for him to enter the Demon domain immediately and devour the Black Sun Demon Heart in exchange for even greater power.

    The end result would probably be as Qian Rongzhi had predicted too. Instead, he would not receive the recognition of the Demon domain, and he would face the backlash of the power, dying a horrible death. If the ¡°person of legends¡± could not fulfil the legend, then their fate was probably even worse than a mortal¡¯s.

    Li Qingshan was not aware of this, but he did understand the choice of his path had always been the most important, as well as the most terrifying.

    Once he made a misstep, even if it would lead to temporary glory and ease, he would probably face a miserable outcome in the end.

    It made him wonder whether many cultivators had forever lost the right to become a Human Immortal the moment they succeeded with the heavenly tribulation and became a Human Sovereign.

    Only when their lifespan ran out and they faced death did they truly regret their original decision. That was why it was commonly said that bodhisattvas feared causes, while the living creatures feared consequences.

    But he was fine. After facing the tests of form, sensations, perceptions, and actions earlier, his will had become even firmer, so he made it past this dangerous journey.

    After subduing the skandha-m¨¡ra, he was heavily injured and on the brink of death. He immediately launched a counterattack, using the ape demon¡¯s ability to destroy the colossal sword before raising great winds and dispersing the tribulation clouds.

    Xiao An nodded with a smile. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re still alive!¡± She touched his forehead. ¡°Would you like a rest?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°Maybe not. The demonfolk are almost at Black Cloud city. I don¡¯t think Li Liehuo can hold them off.¡±

    The ground rumbled away as scorching magma spurted out from the cracked ground.

    The battle had destroyed the crust. Without Li Qingshan suppressing the place, it immediately erupted completely.

    Among the mountains, another volcano rose up gradually. Li Qingshan lay right at the mouth of the crater. He smiled. ¡°Perfect.¡±

    He used the last bit of his power to assume the Phoenix Transformation before using the last Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a. The phoenix danced through the flames, turning into a phoenix¡¯s embryo in the end.

    Before long, there was a crack, and a fracture appeared. Li Qingshan in infant form lay quietly inside the egg.

    Xiao An used the Trisepultural Robes as a blanket, wrapping him up layer by layer and holding him gently in her arms.

    ¡°Hey, do you really have to do this?¡± Li Qingshan found this both exasperating and hilarious. It was not like he was an actual infant, but the only sounds he produced were a series of ¡°eeks¡± and ¡°ahs¡±. His arms and legs possessed no power at all, so he could not put up any resistance. All he managed to do was grab a strand of her hair.

    Xiao An smiled so widely that even her eyes squinted together. She kissed him on the face and began to sway about gently. She actually began singing a lullaby.

    Li Qingshan tried his best to shoot a glance at her, but he discovered helplessly that he really did feel sleepiness creep up on him gradually.

    Xiao An pinched his tiny cheek and smiled. ¡°Go to sleep, go to sleep. I¡¯ll take care of you.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. You win.¡± Li Qingshan closed his eyes helplessly and sank into deep dreams very soon.

    The pale-white flames flickered away in Xiao An¡¯s eyes as the scenery over a thousand kilometres away were reflected in them.

    The army from the Demon domain sprawled over several hundred kilometres, crawling along the ground. The vanguard had already ventured deep into the Human realm, while the rear of the army had not even left Cold Blood pass yet. Even without any offerings or sacrifices, they could change the boundary of the two worlds from the auras they gave off.

    Just recently, Li Qingshan had still been cultivating in the marsh, discovering the mobilised demonfolk army through the Profound Light Illuminates All.

    However, he had to focus on cultivation and could not pay constant attention, so he could only cancel the ability. Fortunately, Xiao An was around. She scattered all of her Skull Prayer Beads, all turning into Skeleton Demons that observed the advancing army from afar.

    They had all become extremely small, around the size of a prayer bead. They did not give off any auras either, so they were extremely suited for reconnaissance.

    A skeleton demon raised its head in the grass, only to see a streak of light pierce through the air. Wan Jianfeng rode on his sword and gazed down on the meandering demonfolk army.

    ¡°Hmph, with how thinly spread they are, aren¡¯t they completely at my whim? Li Liehuo is far too timid. I don¡¯t even need to face any Demon Sovereigns. Just with my sword and me, I¡¯ll kill them as they come. The demonfolk can completely forget about expanding their territory to Black Cloud city. If I make such a great contribution, wouldn¡¯t the position of great senior brother be mine? What, are Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao supposed to be the only ones who can claim that position while I¡¯m not allowed?¡±

    He swung down with his sword suddenly, and a streak of light three hundred metres long whistled towards the demonfolk army!

    However, something that left Wan Jianfeng dumbfounded occurred.

    Mid-air, the streak of light suddenly began to shrink drastically. In the blink of an eye, it had been halved.

    Xiao An could tell just from that that this direct disciple probably had not visited the battlefields in the Demon domain before.

    The demonfolk did not march in alone. Instead, they expanded the Demon domain as they advanced.

    In other words, the boundary still existed beyond the army. The laws of the Human realm and the Demon domain overlapped, severely restricting all techniques.

    And after passing through this region, it was essentially entering the Demon domain. The techniques of human cultivators would be weakened once again by the laws of the Demon domain.

    That was not it. The advancing demonfolk army basically could not be regarded as any military formation at all, but they still had a thin layer of army qi. If the attack had not been weakened consecutively before, it was completely incapable of stopping the attack, but it was different now. It shaved down the attack further without any hesitation.

    In the end, only thirty metres of it remained. Landing in the army, it did kill many demonfolk, but it was truly nothing compared to all the soldiers they had sent.

    The shamans immediately collected their weapons and armour before dicing their corpses and directly sprinkling it onto the path of the advancing army. Very soon, it was trampled into a bloody mud, becoming a small interlude in this bloody army. They used the flesh and blood of demonfolk to consolidate the territory.

    Following the attack, the demonfolk army did not even respond. Since the twelve Demon Sovereigns just stood by silently, the Demon Emperors and Demon Kings did not want to attract the attention of a powerful sword cultivator on the battlefield either.

    There was even less reason for the other demonfolk to stand forward. No matter how restrictive the laws of the world were, it was still very easy for Wan Jianfeng to kill them. No one wanted to become a part of the bloody mud trampled over by thousands.

    As a result, the army did not halt at all, just like how a colossal monster would completely fail to sense when it had been bitten by a tiny insect.

    Wan Jianfeng had never encountered something as great as this before, where he could fight as he wished and the enemy would not even make a sound, let alone fight back. However, his sword-wielding hand trembled gently. If he continued like this, how long would it take before he killed these several million demonfolk?

    If the demonfolk army arrived beneath Black Cloud city and cast the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, how were they supposed to deal with that? If they just hid in the city and used techniques, they could only kill some of the weaker demonfolk. It might not even have been enough to kill Demon Kings.

    This powerful Human Sovereign and dauntless sword cultivator had been shocked by the brutality and absurdity of war.

    He could not help but ask himself, If only half of us perish, can we really protect Black Cloud city?

    However, Xiao An sank into her thoughts instead.

 Chapter 1480

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1480 ¨C Taking the Stage

    Li Qingshan suddenly snapped open his eyes from his dreams. His clear, scarlet irises reflected the sky filled with gloomy, low-hanging clouds. He blinked his eyes, and they gradually turned black again. He asked with an unclear, immature voice, ¡°Where are we?¡±

    Xiao An pinched his cheek. ¡°Near Black Cloud city.¡±

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes and waved his fist. ¡°I¡¯m going to get angry!¡±

    Xiao An let go. ¡°Stingy!¡±

    Li Qingshan then asked, ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡±

    ¡°Take a look for yourself!¡±

    Xiao An lifted him high up into the air, and Li Qingshan immediately saw the military camps spread throughout the wilderness. There was actually no end to it. There were garrisons belonging to the demonfolk everywhere.

    The sky was thick with inky clouds, such that he struggled to tell whether they were natural clouds or a result of rising demon qi. It almost made contact with the black clouds that never dispersed over Black Cloud city.

    The demonfolk had clearly pushed their territory to right beneath Black Cloud city, forming a boundary that was difficult to see with the naked eye yet also distinct. Any techniques that entered the region would drastically weaken.

    As a result, the two sides both used primitive tools to attack and defend, like ballista, bows and arrows, catapults, battering rams, and so on.

    The heavy reeking of blood and the booming battle cries had already weakened drastically in the wind, yet they were still so significant.

    From so far away, he experienced a strange sensation. The densely-packed demonfolk climbed towards Black Cloud city like ants as they collapsed under each volley of arrows and each wave of rocks.

    They were clearly destined to die, yet they could not advance, never to retreat. Their flesh and blood formed a muddy swamp very soon.

    This was the most intense siege, as well as the most horrific, swarming battle. With every passing moment, people died in battle, yet no one cared. Even they themselves were seeing red, roaring away until they became hoarse, submerged in an unbelievable fervency.

    It basically felt a little absurd. Li Qingshan shook his head, having understood what was going on already. ¡°The Demon domain is making an offering.¡±

    With each demonfolk that fell in battle, the demonic clouds in the air grew slightly heavier.

    Black Cloud city was built on a mountain, preventing the Demon domain from expanding their territory, but they were clearly making some kind of preparation right now. Compared to the heated battle, the main camp of the Demon domain at the back formed a great contrast of silence, seemingly confronting Black Cloud city that stood in the clouds.

    They were like two colossal beasts that had run into each other head-first. Right now, they were just growling and testing each other out. The true battle was on the verge of erupting.

    Li Qingshan immediately became energetic. He broke free from the blankets and landed on the ground on all fours. He stood up in a tottering manner, standing at the top of the mountain stark-naked as he laughed away with his hands on his hips. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s time for me to take the stage!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re still too young!¡± Xiao An picked him up again, gently flicking his willy.

    ¡°I¡¯ll grow up very soon!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned bright red. He was exasperated. Since when did this girl become so ill-humoured?

    This time, he had used the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a proactively, so he obviously would not remain in this immature state for too long. He would grow up very quickly.

    ¡­¡­

    Boom!

    A boulder sailed through the air, landing heavily in Black Cloud city.

    The Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder had already been activated, but in order to conserve power for the true attack, it did not handle these rocks. There were direct disciples specially responsible for intercepting them, but they only protected some important locations, as several dozen boulders would fly in with each moment. The surrounding mountains had already become much shorter compared to before. They had to conserve their strength as well.

    A building collapsed, sending shrapnel everywhere, but no one was injured. The entire city had been evacuated a long time ago, entering the underground fortress dug into the mountain.

    Having lasted until now, the demonfolk has sustained losses of several tens of thousand, while the humans had only lost a few dozen people. They were all unlucky bastards without any proper strength. They seemed to possess an absolute advantage, but their overall morale was particularly low.

    Any regular soldier only needed to glance down to notice that the demonfolk had flattened the surrounding mountains, erecting a series of stone pillars. The twelve tallest pillars almost pierced the low-hanging clouds.

    Rumours rang amok in the army, saying that the direct disciples were already ready to abandon Black Cloud city while the regular soldiers had nowhere to go. Even low-ranking officers did not necessarily possess the right to use the teleportation formation.

    By the time the city fell, the army of a million strong would go up in flames.

    Waiting for their deaths had always been the most unbearable, especially when they would be dying in such a cowardly manner.

    The Scorching Fire hall.

    Li Liehuo sat at the end of the long table. He crossed his arms and touched his chin. ¡°Who will lead the Xuanwu army?¡±

    If they waited until the twelve Demon Sovereigns had established the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, Black Cloud city would definitely fall when combined with the terrifying force of several million strong. Everyone present was aware of that.

    They had to use this opportunity to venture out of the city and destroy the enemy army while hopefully slaying a Demon Sovereign or two as well. The Demon domain might not necessarily be able to send more Demon Sovereigns to help out, and the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous would collapse on itself.

    The direct disciples all looked towards Wan Jianfeng. His battle prowess was only second to Li Liehuo¡¯s out of everyone present, and he had been determined to charge into battle just earlier.

    After a moment of silence, Wan Jianfeng said, ¡°I¡¯m a swordsman, not a general.¡±

    He definitely was not someone who feared death. Even if he faced a handful of Demon Sovereigns, he would still be bold enough to put up a fight to the death. However, he refused to die pointlessly like the lowliest of demonfolk.

    Ruan Yaozhu raised her hand silently again, but she was ignored by everyone again. Her expression was blank, vehemently refusing to lower her hand, which left everyone feeling rather awkward.

    Dai Mengfan said helplessly, ¡°You piece of wood¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m willing to leave the city for battle with senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, but I¡¯m not willing for you to walk to your death with me.¡±

    ¡°But there are so many people down there. Aren¡¯t they just going to be butchered?¡±

    ¡°Not necessarily. If we retreat when the city falls, they will resent us. They might join the Demon domain and become demonfolk. In order to avoid that¡­¡±

    Li Liehuo halted there and shut his eyes. All of the direct disciples felt chills.

    If an army of a million strong defected to the enemy, just how horrible of an influence would that be? The Desireless Heavenly Palace would definitely fly into a rage. After all, these soldiers were all elites chosen after a highly selective process from the Human realm. They were far greater than any regular demonfolk in terms of quality. Just how many Demon Generals and Demon Commanders would they give birth to, or even Demon Kings and Demon Emperors? As a result, they all had to ¡°fall in battle¡±.

    Ruan Yaozhu paled. ¡°H- how can we¡­¡±

    Li Liehuo glanced past the direct disciples. ¡°Let me ask one last time¡­¡± He stressed each word as he said, ¡°Who will lead the Xuanwu army?¡±

    At this moment, a clear voice rang out from outside, ¡°Let me do it!¡±

    Li Liehuo flew into a rage. He rose to his feet suddenly. ¡°Who¡¯s eavesdropping outside!?¡±

    Wan Jianfeng gripped his sword, while the expressions of the other direct disciples all changed too, rising to their feet.

    This was a discussion of military affairs of highest importance. Even their mounts were forbidden from taking part. If what went on here made it out, the consequences would basically be unimaginable. The reputation of the entire Myriad sect would take a major hit.

    However, Ruan Yaozhu found the voice to be extremely familiar. She blinked her eyes. She was in disbelief.

    The door swung open. A young man strode in, letting out a toothy grin.

    ¡°It¡¯s me, Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 1481

    LGS ¨C Chapter 1481 ¨C It Was Me

    ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu murmured. He had become much younger than before, such that he only seemed fifteen or sixteen.

    Li Qingshan had rushed back to Black Cloud city before he had completely recovered. He smiled towards her. ¡°Senior sister Ruan, long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan! This kid is Li Qingshan?¡± Some of them had seen him before. Others had not, but they had all heard of him before.

    Li Liehuo said sternly, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re not dead!?¡±

    Li Qingshan dug at his ear before blowing gently. ¡°Even if you die, I¡¯m not going to die.¡±

    ¡°You can¡­ go and die!¡±

    Li Liehuo suddenly vanished from where he was. The violet temper he had repressed for all this time erupted, charging towards Li Qingshan as a ball of fire.

    The temperature rapidly rose, and the waves of heat were pressing. The direct disciples all could not help but shield themselves with their powers. They could imagine that even if Li Qingshan survived, he would be heavily injured.

    Ruan Yaozhu cried out. She wanted to assist him, but how could she make it in time?

    With a bang, Li Qingshan raised his hand and blocked Li Liehuo¡¯s punch. He smiled. ¡°¡®First senior brother, you still have such a fiery temper!¡±

    He did not budge. The scorching flames arrived nearby and actually struggled to advance another inch forwards.

    All of the direct disciples were tongue-tied. They wondered whether their eyes were fooling them. A measly inner disciple had actually blocked a furious, direct punch from Li Liehuo, and he seemed so composed while doing so, seeming like he had strength to spare.

    Li Liehuo suddenly raised his head. His expression changed, and he recalled something. He asked in surprise, ¡°It was you?¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it. He had probably created too large of a disturbance when he faced the heavenly tribulation, which had reached here, so he just admitted it calmly. ¡°It was me!¡±

    The Scorching Fire hall fell so silent that it was possible to hear a pin drop. The eyes all gathered on Li Qingshan like they were staring at a monster.

    Even Le Tian was dumbfounded. Good gracious. I noticed this kid was extraordinary a long time ago, a genius, but I didn¡¯t expect him to be so genius. Just how long has it been since he faced the fourth heavenly tribulation?

    Li Qingshan pried away Li Liehuo¡¯s fist gently, and all Li Liehuo experienced was an irresistibly great force, which left him even more shocked and puzzled. Even if he had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation, wasn¡¯t his cultivation a little too terrifying?

    From the corner of his eye, he saw the burn marks on Li Qingshan¡¯s hand, and only then did he ease up. When he returned to his senses, he found this to be even more absurd. Just recently, his cultivation had been well beyond Li Qingshan¡¯s, yet now, he had to carefully confirm whether he could injure him or not.

    Li Qingshan gazed out and asked loudly, ¡°I will lead the Xuanwu army and face the enemy outside the city. Who agrees? Who objects?¡±

    The direct disciples looked at one another. No one answered.

    After a moment of hesitation, Ruan Yaozhu raised her hand. ¡°I agree!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Thanks, senior sister!¡±

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s eyes lit up as well. ¡°I agree as well!¡¯

    Le Tian sighed. ¡°Sigh, you really are a dark horse among dark horses. Thank the heavens that I didn¡¯t set up a new gamble. Alright, count me in!¡±

    Before long, almost half of the direct disciples expressed their agreement, not because they were particularly confident in Li Qingshan, but because they truly had no other choice right now. Now that they saw a sliver of hope and there was no need for them to risk their lives, there was no reason for them to not agree.

    Li Liehuo furrowed his brows and asked, ¡°Are you really not a spy from the Demon domain?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°The first senior brother¡¯s head hasn¡¯t rusted over, has it? If I were a spy from the Demon domain, the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder would have fallen already. If I then cooperated with the large-scale attack from the demonfolk, all of you could forget about leaving here alive. Of course, apart from senior sister Ruan.¡±

    This time, everyone¡¯s expressions changed. They were mighty direct disciples, yet they were actually nothing in his eyes. Even Li Liehuo was not that haughty.

    Ruan Yaozhu reddened. ¡°If you were a spy from the Demon domain, I¡¯d definitely hate you to death!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. He seemed like a young man, but the heartiness he gave off swept away the gloomy and pessimistic atmosphere in the Scorching Fire hall.

    Li Liehuo sank into his thoughts, no longer paying any heed to Li Qingshan¡¯s insults. The issue right now was whether he was willing to enter the battlefield together with this kid. That was essentially entrusting his life to him.

    Strangely enough, he clearly resented Li Qingshan, but it gave him confidence for some reason. He found this bastard more reliable than all of the direct disciples behind him.

    He was not one to dilly-dally. He immediately made up his mind. ¡°Li Qingshan, I am temporarily appointing you as the captain of the Xuanwu army. Gather the troops quickly. At latest, we will be leaving the city to face the demonfolk tomorrow!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at Li Liehuo, also finding his open-mindedness rather admirable. Only by setting aside their past grievances could they pull together as a team. He cupped his fist. ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    He turned around to leave. Like wind and lightning, he left as swiftly as he came. Even the heat in the air had yet to completely disperse, and Ruan Yaozhu was still red.

    Li Liehuo turned around. He did not shut the door, nor did he take his seat again. ¡°We¡¯ll need your efforts as well for tomorrow¡¯s battle. Dai Mengfan, I have orders for you!¡±

    Orders were issued one by one. He had always been the greatest among the direct disciples, and he undertook the most dangerous responsibility too, so who could still refute him?

    After arranging missions for all of the direct disciples, he added, ¡°If anyone dares to retreat in cowardice, do not blame my military law for being ruthless!¡±

    However, when they truly faced death, the others might not necessarily be willing to die in battle apart from a handful of direct disciples like Wan Jianfeng and Ruan Yaozhu. No matter how important the world was, nothing was more important than their own lives.

    At this moment, there was a great rumble, and the entire city rocked. Even the boulders from the catapults did not create such a large disturbance.

    Hu Zhigang rushed in urgently. ¡°C- captain, L- Li Qingshan has destroyed the teleportation hall!¡±

    ¡°What!?¡±

    There was an uproar in the hall. They all rushed over to the window, only to see the place where the teleportation hall originally stood had already been reduced to ruins. A great cloud of dust rose up slowly.

    ¡°Who gave him the courage!? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s actually a spy from the Demon domain, wanting to kill us in one fell swoop? We need to capture him immediately!¡±

    The teleportation formation leading to the Myriad sect was their most important path of retreat. It guaranteed that no matter how horrible the situation became, the direct disciples as well as the high-ranking officers could quickly retreat to the Myriad sect.

    The master of military provisions, Ge Xing, lowered his head with a wry smile. Only he¡¯s bold enough to do something like that. He truly fears nothing. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t completely offend him back then, showing him some basic respect.

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    Li Liehuo smiled undetectably. He waved his hand. ¡°Say nothing more! That was my order!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother?¡± Hu Zhigang raised his head in surprise. When he saw Li Liehuo¡¯s expression, he suddenly understood. ¡°I am willing to go through life and death with senior brother!¡±

    Li Liehuo patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Alright. Gather the officers immediately, no, the entire army!¡±

    Basically the entire mountain had been hollowed out, divided into different regions. They only maintained the structural supports and the natural fortifications the mountain provided them with before reinforcing it with thousand-year iron birch. It was more than enough to hide even an army of a million strong.

    Thump! Thump thump! Thump thump thump thump!

    The war drums rang out thunderously. The officers and soldiers of the Xuanwu army had all been summoned from the various caverns.

    On the large drilling grounds that spanned several thousand metres across, people clustered together and gazed towards a platform. A person stood with his back towards them, wielding a pair of drumsticks and striking a large drum violently, shaking up everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Suddenly, the drums halted, and the echoes lingered.

    Li Qingshan turned around slowly. ¡°I am Li Qingshan.¡±

 Chapter 1482

    Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk¡­

    In the Pure Land temple, the Upraised Light abbot struck the wooden fish hurried as he chanted away constantly. It seemed as if he was praying for blessings yet also redeeming the souls of the dead.

    Suddenly, the sound of the wooden fish came to a halt.

    The monks were surprised. ¡°Abbot?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot raised his hand to silence the monks¡¯ questions. He turned his head and listened closely.

    Crackle. The flickering flames in the fire basket projected Li Qingshan¡¯s figure on the stone wall. It reached the high ceiling, gazing down from above.

    The soldiers murmured among themselves, leading to a buzz in the cavern.

    Everyone in Black Cloud city had heard of him before. Just recently, in the army-wide martial arts competition, he had stood invincible among the millions of soldiers, sweeping aside all of the generals. Now, there was another explanation to the name of ¡°crawling general¡±, which was a habit of beating people until they crawled away from him.

    The officers of the Xuanwu army all rushed over and took the front row. They gazed at Li Qingshan with varying expressions.

    ¡°The city is about to fall!¡± Li Qingshan said sternly. The cavern immediately fell quiet.

    Even the regular soldiers had all realised this vaguely, but no one dared to say it so directly. Spreading rumours and damaging morale was a crime punishable by death. They were five simple words, but they opened the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind.

    The expressions of the officers all changed drastically. They understood the situation better than the soldiers, but normally, they would only comfort them, or once the army descended into chaos, no one would be able to take responsibility for that.

    ¡°Senior brother, please speak carefully¡­¡± A general tried to stop him from continuing.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Li Qingshan glanced over, and the officers fell dead-silent. Basically all of them had suffered a beating at his hand before.

    Li Qingshan pointed outside and said fiercely, ¡°The walls, the formation, are all fucking useless. They¡¯re completely incapable of stopping the demonfolk¡¯s advance!¡±

    Everyone feared that. The cavern immediately began to stir.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He continued, ¡°Those cultivators standing high above might still be able to escape with their lives, or downright just dive into the teleportation hall and run back to the Myriad sect. What are you going to do about it?¡±

    They stirred even more violently, igniting everyone¡¯s fury, like thunder rumbling in the centre of the mountain.

    Someone shouted out, ¡°Are you going to abandon us, general?¡±

    Someone wailed out and pleaded, ¡°Save us, general!¡±

    There were also others that asked themselves, What should we do?

    All of their doubts, fears, anger, and hopes were directed towards Li Qingshan on the platform.

    The tremendous pressure was enough to make the mind of a regular collapse. Even cultivators would falter. The officers below all became restless too. The soldiers beside them looked at that in suspicion.

    ¡°Haha!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan laughed. He laughed extremely delightfully. It turned into roaring laughter, drowning out the stirring that resembled thunder. He pointed down and said firmly, ¡°I can¡¯t save you. All of you will die!¡±

    Afterwards, he vanished from the platform. Everyone had been infuriated. The people surged, shoving and squeezing. Someone shouted out, ¡°It¡¯s a rebellion! A rebellion!¡± Another called out, ¡°Let¡¯s kill our way out!¡±

    But most of it were howls of despair, each wave towering over the last as if they wanted to overturn the entire city. However, they were trapped in the middle of the mountain no matter where they went with no way out.

    This was a cultivation world where gods and buddhas could descend at any moment. All of them understood one thing. They were just mortals. Perhaps they were much stronger than regular people and were capable of some Qi Practitioner techniques, but they were still ants compared to true cultivators.

    Without the lead of a cultivator, just the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder over their heads could reduce them to dust.

    The Upraised Light abbot sighed emotionally. ¡°Suffering to all living creatures!¡±

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    Even with their mighty strength, the officers felt like flimsy boats in the surging sea of people. They grumbled loudly inside. Had this bastard specially come to mock them? But what were they supposed to do? The demonfolk soldiers had arrived right beneath the city. Did they have to suppress this army by force? But once they were suppressed, would there still be a Xuanwu army left in the world?

    Boom!

    With a great rumble, the cavern rocked violently. The booms echoed endlessly and broken rocks scattered down from the ceiling. Everyone looked up in shock, thinking the cavern was about to collapse.

    When they lowered their heads again, they discovered that Li Qingshan had returned to the platform. He announced, ¡°I¡¯ve already smashed the teleportation hall!¡±

    Everyone was stunned.

    Li Qingshan grinned and asked loudly, ¡°Who do you think I am?¡±

    ¡°Everyone will die! You will die, and so will I! Even with the gods and buddhas in the heavens, I refuse to believe they¡¯re actually immune to death. However, we shouldn¡¯t drag out a pointless existence like mice and die in a damned place like this. That¡¯s not a way for men to die!¡± He smiled towards the female generals. ¡°That¡¯s not a way for women to die either.¡±

    ¡°Oh right, I forgot to tell you. I¡¯ve already become the captain of the Xuanwu army. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll be leaving the city to face the demonfolk in a battle to the death! As for that teleportation hall or whatever¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph, I want a battle to the death, so who¡¯ll be fleeing first?¡±

    He glanced past the officers of the Xuanwu army. They were the backbone of the army, important points where the army qi gathered. However, it was exactly because they possessed some status that they probably still clung onto the hopes of being teleported back to the Myriad sect.

    If he could not cut off all means of retreat and completely get rid of this thought, how was he supposed to gather the army together? How could regular soldiers not complain? If he could not actually take any action, was it all for say? As for whether he offended those direct disciples or not, that was the last of his worries.

    ¡°General!¡±

    Pairs of eyes suddenly lit up in the surging sea of people like twinkling stars, all gathering on Li Qingshan.

    They were warriors chosen after careful selection. None of them feared death. What they feared was going out in such a dissatisfying way, without any hope, cast aside like a chess piece.

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    FInally, someone was willing to look at them directly to trust them, to fight alongside them, to die with them. They saw a sliver of hope in despair.

    The cheers went from low to high, growing louder and louder.

    ¡°Li Qingshan! Li Qingshan! Li Qingshan!¡±

    Their morale soared, and their wills united together like a fortress.

    Without any military formation at all, the swelling army qi actually gathered on him, condensing into a giant. It was blurry and indistinct, but it left all of the officers astounded. Even Chao Tianjiao did not possess such charms. Li Qingshan had cast them aside and communicated with all of the soldiers, while the soldiers had cast them aside too, offering up their loyalty.

    Li Qingshan felt his blood boil. The giant condensed from army qi waved its hand at the people below the platform.

    At that instant, cheers rumbled like thunder!

    In the Pure Land temple, the Upraised Light abbot smiled. Only those who truly had the concept of universal equality at heart could obtain the protection of all. However, he furrowed his brows again. There was something he said that made him feel extremely uneasy. ¡°Even with the gods and buddhas in the heavens, I refuse to believe they¡¯re actually immune to death!¡±

    Even mortals would begin to cherish their lives once they possessed a certain level of status. Which cultivator did not pursue longevity? Who didn¡¯t want to become a god or buddha? A mentality like that, thoughts like that, were truly terrifying.

    Li Qingshan smiled and gazed at the ordinary faces below. His thoughts deepened at this moment, I¡¯m just a mortal too. I¡¯m neither a god nor a demon. If I forget about this someday, I¡¯m no longer me.

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    Reaching there, many bottlenecks in his heart suddenly opened up. He felt extremely free and liberated.

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty began to circulate. A new Yin Soul, no, Yang Soul began to condense in the small world.

    He swung his hand. ¡°I will be at the very front in the battle tomorrow. Those who are afraid of dying, just stay right here! Those who are unafraid of dying, fight alongside me!¡±

    The officers lowered their heads and cupped their hands, answering loudly, ¡°We¡¯re willing to fight to the death with the general!¡±

    The army answered as well, ¡°We¡¯re willing to fight to the death with the general!¡±

 Chapter 1483

    The lone city stood tall, the winds and clouds surged, and the night deepened.

    Li Qingshan gazed out, only to see mountains scattered in the distance and military camps extending as far as the eye could see, illuminating the night sky with their campfires.

    The demonfolk seemed to realise something as well and gave up on the suicidal attack on the city. The night had actually never been so peaceful.

    However, the atmosphere had already reached the limits of suspense, like two colossal beasts crouching down, tensing their muscles, ready for a struggle to the death at any moment.

    The five commandants visited Li Qingshan together and pleaded with him. ¡°General, please don¡¯t stand at the front in the battle tomorrow.¡±

    Every single commandant was a Yin Soul cultivator, an inner disciple. They each led an army of a hundred thousand, which made them the Xuanwu army¡¯s backbone. They directly influenced the outcome of the war.

    Li Qingshan looked back and asked, ¡°Do I look like someone who goes back on his word?¡±

    A commandant said, ¡°No. You lead the Xuanwu army, so you should be commanding it from the centre of the army.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve never led an army of several tens of thousand before, nor do I know how to command one. But speaking of which, there¡¯s no need for any complicated battle tactics tomorrow. Just advancing openly will suffice. It¡¯ll be enough as long as I have your cooperation.¡±

    ¡°General, you are the centre of the army¡¯s morale. Even just taking a slight step back will damage the morale of the entire army. If¡­¡±

    ¡°If what?¡±

    ¡°I dare not say it.¡±

    Just fighting and killing on the battlefield was intense enough. They would be venturing into the enemy territory and breaching the enemy formations too, so even Human Sovereigns could not say with absolute confidence that they could preserve themselves. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan did not even have a mount. If he died at the front, then the entire army would collapse like an avalanche. Merely the thought of that brought them shivers.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying. You don¡¯t have to be too close to the front tomorrow. Do whatever you must do.¡±

    The five commandants eased up, but Li Qingshan continued, ¡°However, I¡¯ve already made up my mind. If I even take half a step back tomorrow, I¡¯ll write my surname backwards.¡±

    ¡°General!¡±

    ¡°Say no more! This is a military order!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The five commandants glanced at him deeply with some additional respect. Originally, they were still blaming him for destroying the teleportation hall, severing their path of retreat. Now, they could only admire him.

    They already knew that Li Qingshan had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation. It was only a matter of time before he became a direct disciple. With his startling talent, there was originally no need for him to become involved in this mess at all, yet he still gambled everything resolutely.

    When it came to heroes, this was it.

    ¡°What an impressive spirit!¡± A gentleman emerged from the darkness. ¡°I have something for you.¡±

    ¡°You are?¡± Li Qingshan had seen him recently in the Scorching Fire hall, so he knew he was one of the direct disciples. However, they did not have any contact with each other.

    ¡°The master of the Spiritual Treasure workshop, Lu Boming.¡±

    The bleak sounds of horns whistled through Black Cloud city. The long night passed.

    The sky began to lighten up. The soldiers and generals all equipped their armour and picked up their weapons. The sounds of jangling metal rang out endlessly.

    Squadrons emerged from the centre of the mountain one by one, making their way down. They began to gather.

    A cluster of golden light drew over everyone¡¯s gazes, like the rising sun. However, due to the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder, Black Cloud city never saw any daylight.

    Li Qingshan was clad in golden heavy armour with the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End on his back, standing on the imposing gate tower. Five army banners were planted on his back, rippling in the wind majestically. He stood like a god.

    The heavy armour was a gift from the master of the Spiritual Treasure workshop, Lu Boming. It was said to be a replication of the armour wielded by the Giant Spirit God from beyond the Nine Heavens, so it was called the Giant Spirit God armour. He gave it to him to make up for the fact that he did not have a mount.

    TL: The Giant Spirit God is a deity in Chinese mythology which you can read more about here.

    Li Qingshan already possessed quite a large stature, and he became even taller after equipping the Giant Spirit God armour. He stood three metres tall, and even the giant Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End seemed regular sized in his hands now.

    The armour was engraved with a complicated pattern. A tiger-headed band ran around his waist, while his shoulder plates were the vicious heads of two tigers. The armour wrapped around him firmly.

    However, the Giant Spirit God armour was not originally golden. Li Qingshan had specially requested for the colour change. Lu Boming was originally very unwilling to go forward with it. He severely doubted Li Qingshan¡¯s concepts of aesthetics.

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    Li Qingshan told him, ¡°I need to attract the enemy¡¯s attention as much as possible. It will also let the soldiers see me when I advance.¡±

    Lu Boming found that extremely admirable, which was the only reason why he gilded the armour in gold. Afterwards, he paid a visit to the grand hall in the Pure Land temple and asked the Upraised Light abbot to chant through the night to ¡°imbue it with light¡±, which was why it glistened now.

    It had to be mentioned that the effect was exceptional. After a night of silence, a boulder immediately rose up into the air from the demonfolk camps. It was the size of a house, and it had been further forged with techniques, burning like a meteor as it rushed towards him with a great tail of flames.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes as if he heard the sharp twang of the tension snapping.

    In the next moment, over a thousand meteors rose into the air at the same time, flying towards Black Cloud city.

    The army gathered in the city, so there were soldiers everywhere. If the rocks landed and exploded, who knew how many people would die.

    ¡°Be careful, Qingshan!¡± Ruan Yaozhu cried out, ¡°Senior brother Pi, activate the formation!¡±

    Wan Jianfeng drew his sword and rose up. ¡°Senior and junior brothers and sisters, let¡¯s intercept it.¡±

    Clang! With the sound of clashing armour, Li Qingshan raised his arm, indicating that there was no need for everyone to panic. He turned around and threw a punch at the sky filled with meteors.

    Tremor!

    The incoming meteor shattered, and the loose rock and sparks filled the air. Swish, swish, swish, swish! They struck all the meteors that came after it.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The meteors all erupted with flames, like a grand spectacle of fireworks, turning the morning sky crimson.

    Admiration and hope shone in the eyes of the soldiers. They gazed at his figure beneath the flames and fireworks, waiting for his orders silently.

    The direct disciples glanced at one another. They all found it to be unbelievable. All of them were capable of destroying a meteor, but using the loose rubble to destroy all the remaining meteors required more than technique of absolute precision¡ªcrushing strength was needed as well.

    Dai Mengfan blanked out. She murmured, ¡°First senior brother¡­¡±

    Under that figure, unprecedented confidence rose up in everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Li Qingshan said sternly, ¡°Open the city gates.¡±

    He did not speak loudly, but his order was passed down rapidly.

    ¡°The general¡¯s order, open the city gates!¡±

    ¡°Open the city gates! Open the city gates!¡±

    At that moment, in the mixture of voices, the rising and falling orders echoed through all of Black Cloud city!

    ¡°Ah! Hah!¡± With a bellow in unison, bare-armed warriors began to turn the wheel vigorously. Their muscles rippled as they let out steaming breaths.

    Jangle!

    The iron chains were taut, and the city gates began to open slowly. Like a great dam released, soldiers gathered into floods of metal.

    Rumble!

    The sounds of clashing armour made the earth rumble like thunder.

    Li Qingshan stood on the battlements and leapt down, falling to the bottom of the city. Alone and with heavy steps, he made his way towards the swarming demonic clouds.

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    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The unique sound of his footsteps seemed to possess a wondrous charm. The floods of metal behind him could not help but follow the same rhythm.

    Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

    The footsteps became louder and louder, heavier and heavier, until each step rocked the mountains.

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 Chapter 1484

    The camps of the demonfolk that stretched for dozens of kilometres all shook as a result. The centre was a great hill where eleven totem poles plunged straight into the clouds. They were only missing the last one before the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was complete.

    The method of military formations was based on the will of the people. The will of the people was volatile, so it was good for offence but bad for defence.

    The path of formations was based on geography. Geography was stable, so it was good for defence but bad for offence.

    In order to cast this formation, the twelve Demon Sovereigns had mobilised the army of several million strong, excavating the land day and night and altering the geography within a hundred kilometres of the place.

    They had gone to such great lengths that the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous they had used back then in Cold Blood pass to ambush Chao Tianjiao seemed as crude as it could possibly be.

    Demon Sovereign Ying Zhe gazed at Li Qingshan who strode over in golden armour. He asked, ¡°Tu Wancheng, who¡¯s the person at the front?¡±

    ¡°This- I don¡¯t know.¡± Tu Wancheng hesitated for a moment. He had memorised every single direct disciple of the Myriad sect, but he was unable to match him to any of them.

    Ying Zhe said with certainty, ¡°This person is entering the battle in Chao Tianjiao¡¯s place, so he can¡¯t be without any reputation! He must also be a courageous one among the humans.¡± Then he smiled indifferently. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that this person isn¡¯t familiar with army formations. All he knows is the bravado of ruffians, actually leading the army formation at the front. Tu Wancheng, mobilise the troops and kill him! Black Wind city has fallen!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Tu Wancheng was rather unwilling to follow Ying Zhe¡¯s orders, but he agreed very much with his judgement. If the leader fell in battle, it would be impossible to replace him on the spot. The Xuanwu army would immediately collapse on itself, and all that remained would be a massacre.

    On the battlefield, Li Qingshan refused to take a single step back, advancing alone. Very soon, he entered the boundary region. Not only did the overlapping laws of the world suppress all of his powers, but even the Giant Spirit God armour on him immediately became heavier.

    And at this moment, the entirety of the Xuanwu army had not left the city yet. Once a crowd of people reached an excess of ten thousand, they resembled a sea, let alone an army of five hundred million soldiers. Even if they packed together densely, they would still take up over five kilometres of land.

    The five commandants were all still organising the army as the colonels and lieutenants constantly accepted and passed orders. The squadron leaders, ten-man squad leaders, and five-man squad leaders did their best to cooperate, but they still could not avoid some chaos.

    This was the most dangerous situation. The military formation had not taken shape yet, and the leading commander had already ventured deep into enemy territory. No matter how great his momentum was, he was just a Human Sovereign.

    Whoosh! A great gust of wind rushed over head-on. Li Qingshan raised his head slightly.

    ¡°Kill!¡± Rumble. The earth shook as battle cries filled the air.

    The uniform steps of the Xuanwu army had been disrupted. Li Qingshan gazed out and saw dust surge up ahead as countless heads bobbed up and down, reaching as far as the eye could see. Who knew how many of them there were.

    The army qi condensed and murderousness filled the sky, like the world was collapsing around him. It gave Li Qingshan unprecedented pressure. He realised he was also facing a giant beast of war, and it was over ten times larger than him, currently swinging its claw at him!

    The officers paled in fright and ordered, ¡°Protect the general!¡±

    Even without their orders, the soldiers at the very front had already sped up, using their bodies to form a shield to block the demonfolk army with the determination to die.

    Dai Mengfan was responsible for ordering the direct disciples. ¡°Protect him no matter what. If anyone shies away from the battle, I¡¯ll skin them alive!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s footsteps halted slightly.

    The thrums of bowstrings sounded out, immediately drowning out the battle cries.

    A great volley of arrows was launched, making the sky dim. It was like a black cloud that had risen suddenly, enveloping the place like a blanket.

    The several hundred ¡°meteors¡± among them actually became inconspicuous in comparison.

    But this time, it all sailed over Li Qingshan. Their target was the Xuanwu army behind him.

    ¡°Soldiers, maintain the formation! Do not waste your efforts!¡± Li Qingshan ordered, ¡°Direct disciples, protect the army for me!¡±

    He gripped the hilt of his blade slowly and bent over slightly. With a boom, sand began to fly from his feet as he abruptly accelerated.

    He actually broke free from the army proactively, charging towards the demonfolk army alone.

    All of the direct disciples were stunned, gazing at Dai Mengfan.

    Dai Mengfan was taken aback as well. She gritted her teeth. ¡°Protect the army!¡±

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    Ruan Yaozhu rode on a white deer and stepped into the air. With a wave of her hand, the countless arrows sprouted. Some of them even bloomed with flowers. Their speed immediately dropped, falling in the army without much power remaining. It was stopped by the soldiers¡¯ armour.

    ¡°Impressive, junior sister!¡± Le Tian praised. The three-legged golden toad under his feet expanded, and its belly swelled up, almost turning into a ball. With a thunderous croak, it blew away a large part of the ¡°dark cloud¡± in the air.

    Resplendent techniques sailed through the air, purging the endless waves of arrows.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The sword pierced through several dozen meteors at once.

    Wan Jianfeng stopped. He also had to catch his breath slightly. When it came to duelling, even ten thousand meteors would not be enough to touch a hair on him, but war was completely different. He had to keep his depleted powers in check.

    Sweeping aside an entire army with just a man and a sword was anything but easy. Fortunately, they had so many direct disciples working together, which was why they could hold off the attack.

    However, all of their attention was gathered at the front of the army, on the lone figure who led the charge. They thought of the same thing, Junior brother Li possesses extraordinary talent and strength, but he¡¯s far too brash!

    The sounds of wind grew louder and louder as the battle cries became deafening. Even the twisted faces of the demonfolk at the front became clearly visible.

    Under the golden helmet, Li Qingshan smiled. He stomped down, and the earth cracked. He rose into the air.

    Everyone raised their heads. Their hearts sat in their throats.

    Li Qingshan rose higher and higher, rushing through a volley of arrows and smashing apart a meteor.

    In the blink of an eye, he had even climbed higher than the almost-complete Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    He continued to rise, passing through the cloud layer in the next moment. The sea of clouds spanned as far as the eye could see below his feet as the sun shone brightly.

    ¡°Reckless!¡± Ying Zhe shook his head in disdain. He smiled towards the Demon Sovereign., ¡°Surely he hasn¡¯t escaped, has he? If he has, that¡¯ll actually be quite clever of him!¡±

    The moment he reached the very top, Li Qingshan drew the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End with a clang and began to descend.

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    Boom!

    He smashed through the sea of clouds instantly, leaving behind a gaping hole. Sunlight illuminated the land, enveloping the demonfolk army. The demonfolk could not help but squint their eyes.

    Under the sunlight, his golden armour glistened even more brightly, rapidly plummeting towards the demonfolk army like a sun.

    The demonfolk refused to back down. Their surging army qi condensed into a vicious beast, swinging its claws at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan swung his blade, and a blade aura whistled out three hundred metres away, slashing into the beast deeply.

    However, the beast condensed from army qi did not possess any flesh or blood. It was completely immune to damage like that. Instead, it reached Li Qingshan with its claws.

    ¡°Myriad Flowers!¡±

    Blade aura began to bloom again like flowers. The flashes erupted hundreds and thousands of times, tearing apart and swallowing the vicious beast instantly.

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    Boom! The earth quaked as Li Qingshan landed in the centre of the army. The leading Demon Emperor had been squashed to a pulp together with his mount. A wave of earth swept out in all directions, throwing countless demonfolk into the air.

    Ying Zhe was speechless, and the Demon Sovereigns were dumbfounded. Even with the strength of their physiques, they would end up heavily injured if they smashed into the ground like that in the boundary.

    The direct disciples all widened their eyes. Wan Jianfeng said with difficulty, ¡°What kind of monster is that?¡±

    In the centre of the colossal pit where the light radiated from, Li Qingshan raised the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End high into the air. ¡°Certain victory!¡±

    Immediately, cheers boomed through the air.

 Chapter 1485

    The Xuanwu army was highly invigorated. Even the direct disciples felt motivated.

    Li Qingshan directly pointed his blade at the demonfolk camp and asked loudly, ¡°Are there any Demon Sovereigns bold enough to face me in battle?¡±

    As if they had been overwhelmed by his aura, not a single demonfolk among the army of several million strong spoke.

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s eyes lit up while Wan Jianfeng secretly gripped his sword firmly. However, they all behaved like nothing had happened, continuing to bury their heads in fending off the endless arrows and meteors.

    Only if they could lure one out.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s expression changed. He smiled, ¡°Interesting. It truly is the Myriad sect after all, hiding someone like him. Tu Wancheng, ignore his provocations just in case you get cut down.¡±

    Yet on the other side, he powered his demon heart as hard as possible, accelerating the construction of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    Rumble. The final totem pole erupted from the ground, rising up into the air slowly.

    ¡°No matter what he¡¯s capable of, as long as the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous doesn¡¯t fall, we¡¯re essentially untouchable.¡±

    Tu Wancheng snorted inside, Of course I understand that. Do I still need you to tell me?

    Just recently, he had almost been cut down by Chao Tianjiao. Now that he faced so many direct disciples ready to tear out his throat, they would definitely charge over without any regard and encircle him if he set foot out there.

    He smiled viciously. There were plenty of sacrifices anyway, so why did a mighty Demon Sovereign have to take any risks? He ordered sternly, ¡°Continue the attacks. Don¡¯t stop, or I¡¯ll eat you alive!¡±

    Who dared to defy the order of a Demon Sovereign?

    Immediately, dust began to rise up from the ground and the battle cries rang out again.

    Regiments after regiments of demonfolk were dispatched, charging towards Li Qingshan. Even the demonfolk soldiers that had been dispersed around the edge of the pit rushed over with hysterical roars.

    The demonic cloud closed up again, blotting out all sunlight. The sky dimmed again. Compared to the thick demonic cloud, a single hole was nothing.

    Li Qingshan felt some pity. Just as Li Liehuo had said, as long as they could kill one Demon Sovereign and ruin the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, they would have won half the battle. Otherwise, even if they killed a million demonfolk, they would not necessarily be able to win.

    Unfortunately, every single Demon Sovereign here was extremely crafty and completely shameless. Goading them was completely useless.

    ¡°Die!¡± A demonfolk roared as he charged towards him, thrusting his spear into his back viciously.

    Li Qingshan did not even look back. With a casual swing, there was a rush of wind and his blade sliced past gently.

    The speartip broke, a head flew into the air and blood sprayed everywhere!

    The wind rushed past and all the demonfolk within thirty metres had either been beheaded or bisected. Blood spurted from their necks and organs rolled out of their bodies, all collapsing on the ground and rolling into the pit. Demon blood flowed freely.

    Some of the ¡°luckier¡± ones just happened to be bisected and would not die any time soon as demonfolk possessed tenacious vitality. They let out miserable howls, immediately turning the horrific battlefield into a living hell.

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows, shifting her gaze away from it.

    Dai Mengfan noticed this and warned her, ¡°Junior sister, these demonfolk deserve to die. It¡¯s either you live or die on the battlefield. You can¡¯t be soft-hearted later on!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ruan Yaozhu answered her, but she could not help but look towards Li Qingshan.

    He stood in the centre of the pit. His face was hidden beneath the golden mask. No one could see his expression. He just swung away with his blade, butchering the demonfolk coldly.

    Severed limbs sailed through the air as blood pooled at his feet, welling up to his ankles in the blink of an eye and dyeing his golden armour red. He was like a god of slaughter from hell, without any mercy or reluctance at all.

    He had no interest in massacres, but he definitely was not soft-hearted either. Since they were enemies, he could kill a hundred thousand or a million of them. If these demonfolk were just willing to walk to their deaths like this wave by wave, that would basically be perfect.

    However, he had a feeling that none of this was that simple.

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    A shadow suddenly loomed over him. Li Qingshan looked up. Several twisted, vicious beasts condensed from army qi lunged towards him.

    Boom!

    Like throwing a vicious punch into a bowl of mince meat, organs, blood, severed limbs and broken bones flew everywhere.

    Ruan Yaozhu cried out, ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    These vicious beasts were extremely powerful. Every single one of them rivalled a Demon Sovereign and because they were condensed from army qi, the restraint they faced from the laws of the world was very little, so that was equivalent to the combined attack of several Demon Sovereigns. Meanwhile, as a cultivator, Li Qingshan was very affected by the boundary region. Under these unforgiving circumstances, even Human Sovereigns were in danger of dying.

    The pit collapsed deeper and his feet sank into the ground. Among the twisted, vicious heads, Li Qingshan parried all attacks with his blade. He thought inside, No problem! I can block them all!

    He swung his blade vigorously, bringing himself forwards and beginning another charge!

    Cold light glimmered as countless blades and spears shot his way. He barged straight through it like a steel chariot. The weapons all snapped, unable to leave a mark on the golden armour.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! It was all the sounds of bone shattering. All of the demonfolk in his path had been sent flying. They could not even let out a howl, dying mid-air.

    He rushed into the demonfolk army, swinging his blade violently and carrying out a massacre.

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    Streaks of cold light shot by and wisps of wind whistled past. Looking down from above, the dense crowds of demonfolk were felled in groups.

    A hundred! A thousand! Ten thousand? None of it mattered! The sea of people surged while the weapons stood like forests, yet it all seemed endless.

    The Demon Emperors leading the army were all hidden deep among the soldiers, controlling the vicious beasts to launch attack after attack like raging waves, kicking up great billows in the sea of people.

    Li Qingshan completely unleashed the Frenzy Flower Blade style, chopping, stabbing, wrenching and slicing away. He blocked the attacks again and again, burying his head in killing the demonfolk.

    These vicious beasts were all condensed from army qi. They could not be killed. Even if he ripped them apart, they would just recondense. He had to kill the leading commander or all of the demonfolk.

    Finding the leading commander in all these soldiers was not easy. He faced the constant disruption from the army qi beasts as well, so he just gave up on that choice.

    However, while a massacre seemed easy and satisfying, there was a colossal problem.

    Every single demonfolk would take up some effort. These demonfolk were all clad in armour and after establishing the military formation, they probably needed some strength as well. It might have only been some, but it was a significant amount upon accumulation. The risk of dying would rapidly multiply.

    There were many Human Sovereigns who became submerged in the slaughter, swallowed by the endless sea of blood. By the time they wanted to pull out, it was already too late. Even a foot soldier was enough to threaten them.

    ¡°What a fool. Let¡¯s see how long he can last for!¡±

    Tu Wancheng laughed madly. Sacrificing a hundred thousand demonfolk for a single Human Sovereign was worth it, let alone the leading commander of the Xuanwu army.

    They were just sacrifices anyway, so it did not matter how many of them died. In the endless expanse of the Demon domain, more would grow and emerge vigorously like wild grass.

    Dai Mengfan could not help but communicate, Junior brother Li, don¡¯t fall for the enemy¡¯s tricks. It¡¯s not worth it to waste all your strength on these lowly demonfolk!¡±

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    Li Qingshan made no reply. He just focused on killing his way through the sea of demons. The power behind each strike of his was not too powerful. It did not even possess any blade aura, just using its sharp edge to kill the enemy.

    However, upon closer attention, it was clear that he did not waist even a sliver of the power behind each attack.

    After undergoing the fifth heavenly tribulation, the Strength of the Earth had become even more powerful. The strength was basically endless. Even all the power he had exhausted in the ¡°Myriad Flowers¡± at the beginning had been recovered.

    When he said ¡°No problem! I can block them all!¡±, that was when he did not exhaust any energy at all.

    When it came to a battle of endurance, who was supposed to be afraid of who? If he continued fighting like this, he could even kill a million demonfolk as long as he did not find it too troublesome.

 Chapter 1486

    Tu Wancheng¡¯s smile gradually stiffened. ¡°Fucking hell, there must be something wrong with his armour!¡±

    Dai Mengdan also said, ¡°Junior brother Lu, the Giant Spirit God armour you forged is actually so¡­¡±

    Lu Boyang shook his head. ¡°It has nothing to do with the Giant Spirit God armour. This is his own power.¡±

    The direct disciples all fell silent. In particular, the disciples who had once gambled that Li Qingshan would not be able to become a direct disciple in three decades felt rather hot in the face.

    ¡°At the end of the day, senior brother Le still has the sharper eyes!¡±

    Le Tian smiled wryly in an undetectable manner. Even he had failed to take notice of his true form back then. He had just treated him as a dark horse that he could gamble on. Looking at it now, if he was a dark horse, what was he supposed to be? An inferior horse?

    He joined the sect at the third heavenly tribulation, undergoing the fourth heavenly tribulation recently before undergoing the fifth heavenly tribulation so rapidly. Just how many people throughout the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm could achieve that?

    Not to mention the fact that he already possesses such great strength after just having undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation. If he reached the peak of the fifth heavenly tribulation, let alone becoming a direct disciple, who else would be more deserving of the position of first senior brother than him?

    ¡°In terms of insight, I only acknowledge that junior sister Ruan¡¯s is better than mine. She¡¯s the one who recruited him.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s face reddened. She murmured, ¡°What are you saying, senior brother? What insight can I have? He¡¯s the one who wanted to come.¡±

    Dai Mengfan said, ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s no wonder he refuses to yield to Tianjiao or Liehuo. How can someone like him dwell beneath someone else? The spirit reverend is able to see through fate. It makes perfect sense why he would give him special notice.¡±

    Wan Jianfeng flicked his sword. ¡°Don¡¯t be so sentimental, everyone. No matter what, he stands on our side, which can¡¯t be a bad thing.¡±

    Dai Mengfan nodded. ¡°Of course. Be careful and conserve your strength.¡± She glanced at the main camp of the demonfolk and said with other meaning, ¡°The battle hasn¡¯t even begun yet!¡±

    Only now did the five hundred thousand soldiers of the Xuanwu army completely leave the city. Under the protection of the direct disciples, they had completed their final steps of organisation.

    The sky was dim. With heavy steps, Li Qingshan left behind a trail of footprints, charging ahead and passing through the surging sea of demonfolk.

    His golden armour had been dyed scarlet red by the constant bloodshed. Only the frenzied blade in his hand emitted a dim, red glow after drinking enough blood. It seemed even more gorgeous and dazzling than before.

    In just a while, over ten thousand demonfolk had already died to his blade, and this number continued to climb. Corpses were strewn across the ground like a mat.

    A blade in hand, he held off the army of millions, killing whoever that stood in his way.

    But under the thick helmet, his pupils remained a sedated, dark colour. There was not even a sign of bloodthirstiness.

    His expression was so calm that it did not resemble a struggle on the battlefield. Compared to a warrior, he better resembled a farmer who was carrying out a harvest.

    A blade flashed past, leaving behind a streak of light. The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End was just too sharp, such that it did not feel like he had cut anything solid, let alone killing enemies from the wind produced from his swings. Just a casual gesture was enough to tear open bodies, felling them in flocks.

    Who said that lives were like ants? Given the current situation, they were not even as great as ants. Ants could still strive for survival, but demonfolk were completely fearless of death, roaring as they charged over wave after wave, only to be felled wave after wave. Life had become insignificant.

    The sight was enough to sober up anyone who bore fantasies about war. Heroes were also butcherers of lives.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower could sense how he felt. She mocked him. ¡°You sure are strange, kid. You find the enemy too weak?¡±

    ¡°A battle like this is not worth me devoting myself into.¡±

    He had sworn to fight the strongest of enemies. He could not find satisfaction in butchering the weak. If he submerged himself in a slaughter like this, that was an insult to the essence of the tiger demon.

    However, a certain feeling did grow stronger and stronger. The battle had only just begun. The army camp stood without budging, like a lurking beast. So far, he had only touched its surface. At most, it felt some pain. The outcome had yet to be determined.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower laughed. ¡°You¡¯re a natural-born asura. No, you¡¯re even more asura than the asura I¡¯ve seen. Use me to your heart¡¯s content!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan swung the blade and advanced, taking another step forward. His strength erupted as his power rapidly recovered.

    He had already crossed through the boundary, setting foot in the Demon domain. The laws of the Demon domain had no effect on him, even assisting him to a certain degree.

    A vicious beast condensed from army qi lunged over, but in his eyes, it immediately became much slower.

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    As a result, he swung the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End. At that instant, time seemed to stop.

    One swing, two swings, three swings¡­ Before the gusts of his swings had even dispersed, more wind surged over, overlapping together.

    In the eyes of others, they only saw him swing the blade countless times in that instant. His blade halted as the gusts of wind whistled past, rushing over as a black whirlwind that swallowed the entire beast.

    Regardless of what it was, whether it was demonfolk, weapons, or armour, they were immediately torn to shreds once they were sucked in, reduced to clouds of blood.

    The whirlwind cleared a path, leaving behind a deep gully in the ground.

    Li Qingshan gazed over. There were no demonfolk blocking his path anymore. He had already killed his way through an army, leaving behind a bloody path strewn with limbs and broken weapons.

    There were still several tens of thousand remaining in the demonfolk army that surrounded him. Even the leading commanders were still alive, but when they saw this, they were all frightened out of their wits. The remaining beasts of army qi twisted and dispersed. Their morale had completely collapsed.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and yelled out, ¡°Li Qingshan be the one who has felled the enemy!¡±

    The cheers erupted like tidal waves. ¡°Mighty be the general!¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°Where be the five commandants?¡±

    The five commandants answered together, ¡°What are your orders, general?¡±

    ¡°Advance with me to clear the remnants!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    With that order, the army of five hundred thousand set off together.

    Their morale blazed like fire as the metallic flood rumbled forwards. However, it also seemed orderly with clear layers. They formed a single entity.

    The several tens of thousand demonfolk remaining on the battlefield had all lost their morale after Li Qingshan destroyed their formation. They basically could not put up any resistance at all. They were crushed viciously.

    The Xuanwu army was like a giant beast of metal, swallowing several thousand demonfolk in a single gulp and chewing them to pieces. The several tens of thousand demonfolk were completely insufficient as a meal.

    A large number of demonfolk began to flee, but they were forced back onto the battlefield by the army behind them. They were completely annihilated very soon.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. What are the demonfolk up to?

    The army followed Li Qingshan¡¯s footsteps and pressed into the Demon domain. Only then did they completely unleash the entire military formation. They were like a metallic fan, while he was the rivet.

    Thousands of eyes, filled with fervency, gazed at his figure.

    Blazing army qi gathered together on Li Qingshan. The five banners on his back rippled violently. A god clad in golden armour that bore quite some resemblance to Li Qingshan rose from his body, standing on the ground and rapidly pulling taller. Even the direct disciples in the air had to look up to take it in completely.

    Dai Mengfan sighed in amazement. ¡°The Xuanwu Army God!¡±

    This was the greatest state of condensed army qi. It was the embodiment of an army and would only manifest under extremely stringent conditions.

    First of all, the army had to be of sufficient scale while maintaining a complete system over a long period of time like the Xuanwu army. Afterwards, their morale had to be high enough, and only then was it possible to condense an army god, but that was only a possibility.

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    As the soul of the army, just obtaining the recognition of the entire army was not enough for the general. It had to be veneration.

    A butcher who viewed life as worthless and killed for pleasure could not obtain true veneration. Only when all the soldiers and officers in the army poured all of their faith and desire for victory into their commander would an army god descend.

    Li Qingshan felt endless power surge through him, even surpassing the Strength of the Earth. Even when it came to Demon Sovereigns, he could flatten them with a swat.

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    ¡°This is¡­ the power of the will of the people!¡±

 Chapter 1487

    The Xuanwu Army God stood on the battlefield, unwavering like a mountain. Millions looked up to it.

    This was the response Li Qingshan had received from the soldiers in return for charging into battle alone, breaching the enemy ranks with just his blade.

    Li Qingshan did not look back, but he could clearly see the regular faces and their scorching gazes. Every single one of them was so ordinary and insignificant, like ants.

    However, Li Qingshan could sense that the power they had bestowed him was far greater than anything he possessed. No, this was the source of his power.

    He had also once been insignificant like them, holding onto the most ordinary wishes of fine alcohol and beauties, desiring battle and victory, making his way to today step by step.

    In what sense was that noble? And in what sense was that lowly?¡±

    He shut his eyes. A belief became firmer.

    They are not ants! I am not an ant either!

    Tu Wancheng called out, ¡°Release the arrows! Release the arrows! Continue hurling rocks! Crush him to death!¡±

    Li Qingshan snapped open his eyes, and the Xuanwu Army God roared at the sky, its voice booming through the clouds like a turbulent wave. It cleared the sky full of arrows and cooled and shattered the meteors. The great gust of wind rushed towards the demonfolk camp, and countless flags were blown down.

    Wu Wancheng paled in fright, staggering backwards several steps.

    The might of his wrath made the surroundings collapse.

    In the Xuanwu army, a soldier began to roar out. His voice was rough and high-spirited, basically pitifully tiny compared to the army god¡¯s roar. But very soon, the soldiers all began to roar, forming a rumbling ocean.

    In another blink of an eye, all five hundred thousand of them roared together, forming an overwhelming commotion.

    The direct disciples were all startled. Some of them blinked their eyes as if they were in disbelief. The regular soldiers that they usually did not even look at had actually erupted with such a powerful aura that even they felt like tiny boats on the raging ocean as Human Sovereigns.

    The army qi burned like fire, weaving a golden cape behind the Xuanwu Army God and condensing into a frenzied blade in its hand inch by inch.

    Far to the other side of the battlefield, the Scorching Fire army was gathering as well. Unlike the Xuanwu army, there were many different kinds of soldiers. Apart from heavy infantry, there was a hundred thousand light cavalry, as well as a large number of light infantry and crossbowmen.

    Unlike Li Qingshan, Li Liehuo rode on a fine, red steed, standing at the front of the army. Gazing at this from afar and hearing the furious roar, who knew what he was thinking.

    Huo Hua was astounded. ¡°This kid has actually made it this far! Probably even Chao Tianjiao could only do this much.¡±

    Li Liehuo nodded. ¡°It is unexpected.¡±

    Huo Hua smiled. ¡°I thought he would ask you to handle the direct confrontation while he would lead a flank from the side. Isn¡¯t he afraid that you¡¯ll flee as soon as you see the situation take a turn for the worse?¡±

    Actually, the two of them basically did not communicate with each other at all, let alone argue. This situation that directly impacted their lives was completely decided by Li Liehuo.

    If they had gone through thick and thin together, then so be it, yet they just happened to be enemies who basically hoped each other would die. They did not suddenly reach each other¡¯s hearts and set aside their past grudges before the battle either. They just led their respective armies and entered the battlefield.

    Li Liehuo said, ¡°He won¡¯t. I won¡¯t either.¡±

    Huo Hua looked back at Li Liehuo. ¡°You men sure are strange!¡±

    ¡°Are we?¡± Li Liehuo gazed at the Xuanwu Army God and said softly, ¡°I¡¯ve already received the challenge!¡±

    He raised his spear high into the air. It began to rage with flames, surging and enveloping the two of them, growing brighter and brighter. Firelight filled the air, lighting up pairs after pairs of eyes. He looked away from the Xuanwu Army God. They also possessed their own army god.

    Tu Wancheng turned around and fled back into the central army, into the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, afraid he would be cut down by the Xuanwu Army God. There were no Demon Sovereigns that mocked him. They were all serious.

    Ying Zhe squinted his eyes, also catching the scent of danger. ¡°We can¡¯t let him continue gathering army qi. Order the shamans to begin the offering to heaven!¡±

    Chanting voices rose up from the surroundings, oppressive and gloomy.

    Shamans began to dance on the altars, like members of ancient civilisations praying for rain. However, what enveloped this place was not the heavens, but the demonic heavens.

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    If they prayed for rain, how could there not be sacrifices? They did not sacrifice livestock, but living demonfolk.

    The ground was strewn with corpses where blood trickled as streams, all a result of Li Qingshan¡¯s massacre. The demonfolk corpses swallowed by the Xuanwu army suddenly began to emit slivers of demon qi.

    The demonic cloud in the sky surged, hanging low and hanging heavily, like a terrifying, unspeakable existence currently savouring the taste of the sacrifices.

    The shamans knelt down on the altar, bringing their heads to the ground and raising their hands high up. They sang wildly, ¡°Demonic heavens, oh demonic heavens! The great demonic heavens, the eternal demonic heavens, the ever-lasting demonic heavens! You are the mother of chaos! You are the source of all wickedness!¡±

    The demonfolk army of several million all prostrated on the ground. The twelve Demon Heavens lowered their heads deeply as well.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and watched on. It seemed rather familiar. When the black sun descended, the demonic heavens had once tried to coronate him, except he refused without hesitation. He stood on the opposing side to the Demon domain right now, so he only felt disgust.

    The demonic heavens seemed to recognise him. The surging demonic clouds hung low as the laws of the world constantly wove together. The indistinguishable whisperings filled with wickedness echoed through his ears endlessly like they were enticing him yet also threatening him.

    With his head lowered, Ying Zhe glanced at him in some surprise. The offering to heaven this time seemed rather special. The will of the demonic heavens had manifested with great intensity. Even with how clever he was, he probably would have never thought that the man who stood within the towering army god was the person of the legends chosen by the demonic heavens.

    The demonic clouds loomed down as if it was trying to press down the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s proud head. Li Qingshan let out a great bellow and slashed at the demonic heavens.

    Immediately, the soft whisperings became a shrill scream. The demonic clouds surged.

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    With a whoosh, rain began to pour down violently.

    It was like the emptying of a river. The black rain formed a curtain, obscuring their gazes and rinsing the ground mercilessly. It formed a flash flood rapidly, spreading towards the Xuanwu army.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s slash, a great gully split open in the ground.

    However, the rain was endless as the demonic clouds continued to surge. The flood rushed into the gully before rapidly filling it.

    The power of the Xuanwu Army God was not limitless. Army qi could help the soldiers block many techniques, but it did not make them immune to drowning.

    This was no longer a feat of man, but a disaster of nature. It was the wrath of the demonic heavens.

    Dai Mengfan ordered the direct disciples to deal with the flood as she glanced back at Black Cloud city. ¡°Junior brother Pi, what are you waiting for?¡±

    Only Pi Yangqiu remained in Black Cloud city out of all of the direct disciples. He was responsible for controlling the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder exactly for this moment.

    The demonfolk had already used this move countless times before, so how could they not possess a counterplan?

    At the top of Black Cloud city, Pi Yangqiu brought his hands over the formation core.

    Rumble. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed.

    Under his control, the black clouds that enveloped Black Cloud city all year round surged towards the Demon domain. He completely unleashed all of the power accumulated in the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder without any regard.

    Immediately, the black clouds and the demonic clouds collided.

    At that instant, lightning spilled forth.

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    The booms shook endlessly, without any gaps in sight. Light and darkness wove together madly like the end of the world.

    In the furious roar of the thunder, the demonic clouds rapidly dissipated, and the storm gradually eased up.

    The clouds dispersed, and sunlight shone brightly, illuminating the metal army into a sea of light.

    Under the clear sky, the Xuanwu Army God began to move. Its cape drifted high into the air as it swung away with its giant blade.

    ¡°Advance!¡±

 Chapter 1488

    The Xuanwu army surged forth like the tide. The clanging of their weapons formed a great clamour, like thunder rolling along the ground.

    In the sky, the various direct disciples followed along, all filled with hope. With such momentum and such a mighty army god, how were the demonfolk supposed to stop them?

    Dai Mengfan became slightly worried. She said seriously, ¡°Fellows, this is very dangerous, so you have to be careful!¡±

    Ke Xin smiled. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much, senior sister. The demonfolk may have an advantage in numbers, but they lack a talented leader who can gather the spirit of the army like junior brother Li. Even if they have military formations, they haven¡¯t achieved the very essence. Their army qi cannot condense into an army god. With this Xuanwu Army God, even breaching the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous is nothing difficult anymore.¡±

    The demonfolk had an army of several million, stretching on for dozens of kilometres, but whether it was Tu Wancheng or the other Demon Sovereigns, none of them possessed the power and prestige to lead the army. Even gathering army qi became an issue, let alone condensing an army god.

    Dai Mengfan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s already quite impressive that junior sister could notice this, given the fact that you¡¯ve never been on the battlefield before. However-¡±

    Le Tian suddenly interrupted them. ¡°We¡¯re almost entering the Demon domain. There¡¯s no need to say anything else, senior sister. When it comes to certain things, hehe, you¡¯ll only really understand it once you¡¯ve experienced it yourself.

    The master of the Spiritual Treasure workshop, Lu Boming, silently took out a tiny, delicate ship from his sleeve. He tossed it into the air, and it expanded, turning into a steel ship that reached three thousand metres in length in the blink of an eye. He threw himself into it.

    Ke Xin grumbled, ¡°Senior brother Lu sure is stingy!¡±

    ¡°Third senior sister was right, so how can¡¯t I listen?¡± Lu Boming smiled. ¡°This Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures is my mount. I never have the opportunity to use it, so it¡¯s perfect for today.¡±

    The Giant Spirit God armour that he had given to Li Qingshan was already a precious item, but it was absolutely nothing compared to this Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures.

    This was a replica of the immortal ships taken by the heavenly soldiers and generals beyond the Nine heavens. Who knew how much effort and resources he had poured into it. Not only was it extremely powerful, but it was almost indestructible as well. Even if the twelve Demon Sovereigns encircled him, he would not be afraid as long as he had it.

    He was certain that he would be the safest in the battle this time. Coupled with the great destructive power of the Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures, he could definitely kill many demonfolk and make an outstanding contribution to the war, so his place on the Myriad rankings would rise up by a few spots.

    As for the Giant Spirit God armour, the sect would compensate him for that after the battle. It might even become a part of his contribution.

    Apart from Ruan Yaozhu who was slightly reluctant, the other direct disciples all took out the arcane treasures they had been saving, eager to have a go and butcher some demonfolk.

    Dai Mengfan furrowed her brows slightly. She stayed quiet. Which direct disciple wasn¡¯t a talented genius? They all possessed their own pride, so saying anything more was pointless anyway. They would understand very soon that the demonfolk were not that easy to deal with.

    Ying Zhe gazed at the approaching Xuanwu Army God as well as the firelight that grew more and more vigorous on the side of his face. There was no fear at all. Instead, he sneered and said, ¡°Black Cloud city has already fallen! Tu Wancheng, are you ready?¡±

    Boom!

    The twelfth totem pole plunged straight into the sky, standing proudly. The vivid image of a Demon God appeared, resembling both a man and a beast. It possessed a large, lone eye with a pair of tusk-like teeth jutting out of its huge mouth, radiating with a vicious and atrocious aura.

    The ground shook gently. The area between the twelve totem poles seemed to become a completely different world. Magnificent demonic light wove together to form a bizarre sight, condensing into the formation core.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous had been established.

    Tu Wancheng climbed onto the totem pole and smiled viciously. ¡°I¡¯ve run out of patience a long time ago!¡±

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous activated!

    The image of the Demon God on the totem pole below Tu Wancheng suddenly blinked its eye and began to move.

    Even Ying Zhe who only bowed his head when the demonic heavens descended suddenly dropped down to his knees, bringing his head to the ground like the shamans. He raised both arms. ¡°Welcoming Demon God Taowu!¡±

    TL: A taowu is another one of the four perils in Chinese mythology, together with qiongqi and hundun. It is characterised as a reckless and stubborn creature.

    The other Demon Sovereigns all knelt down on their respective totem poles, calling out, ¡°Welcoming Demon God Taowu.¡±

    The will of the Demon domain was extremely chaotic. They no longer feared it too much as Demon Sovereigns. However, if they accidentally offended Demon God Taowu, then there would only be death. That one was known for his pride and viciousness.

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    Of course, that was not a true Demon God in person. It was only an embodiment conjured by the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. It did not even possess a wisp of consciousness and only inherited its wicked spirit.

    However, this battle had to do with the legendary descent of the black sun. Who knew whether Demon God Taowu¡¯s consciousness would actually descend or not.

    Demon God Taowu rushed out of the totem pole, opening its lone eye wide and glancing at the Xuanwu Army God that pressed closer. The Xuanwu Army God gazed back coldly too.

    Its proud and vicious spirit had immediately been infuriated. It opened its gaping mouth and let out a great roar. Sound waves visible to the naked eye spread out.

    The Xuanwu Army God¡¯s advance halted slightly, also letting out a furious roar.

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    The rumbles were deafening.

    Ke Xin felt like wooden splinters had been shoved into her ears. Her face changed drastically, and she used her powers in a hurry to fend off the sound.

    By now, the direct disciples had already crossed through the boundary and reached the Demon domain with the Xuanwu Army God. They were suppressed by the laws of the Demon domain, but at least they could unleash the entirety of their Human Sovereign cultivation. Before this embodiment of Demon God Taowu, they actually felt like they stood no chance at all.

    Having been cut down to size, they did not dare to be careless anymore.

    Ke Xin bit her lip gently. ¡°You¡¯re right, senior sister. If it weren¡¯t for the Xuanwu Army God, even if we charge over together, we¡¯d probably struggle to take down the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.¡±

    Before Dai Mengfan could say anything, Le Tian answered, ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick to decide, junior sister. Nothing has even happened yet!¡±

    His eyes squinted together, but the usual, composed smile where everything was within his control was now gone from his face. He fiddled around with a pair of dice urgently in his right hand. He seemed to be trying to peer into the heavenly secrets and calculate the outcome of this gamble or perhaps his fate.

    A demonfolk shaman gazed up and roared furiously, ¡°It¡¯s a Demon God! A Demon God¡¯s descended!¡±

    The demonfolk camp erupted into a commotion. Several million demonfolk gazed at Demon God Taowu. Their eyes were bloodshot, filled with vehement worship. It was completely different from the cautiousness of the Demon Sovereigns.

    The twelve Demon Gods were existences that all demonfolk worshipped. They were paramount existences in their hearts.

    They chanted the Demon God¡¯s name loudly, ¡°Taowu! Taowu! Taowu!¡±

    The phrase did not seem to be a term of reference, but the most wicked curse, where the words themselves possessed terrifying power.

    The chants of the Xuanwu army already resembled a tidal wave, so the chanting of several million demonfolk basically cracked the earth.

    Dai Mengfan shut her eyes, but the nightmares of the past had all come alive again, dancing around before her eyes.

    The expressions of all the direct disciples changed. They could sense something terrifying was unfolding.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. He did not stop his advance, welcoming the gaze from Demon God Taowu¡¯s lone eye as he continued forwards.

    Ying Zhe said, ¡°Summoning the god into the body!¡± The Demon Sovereigns all repeated, ¡°Summoning the god into the body!¡±

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    Demon God Taowu descended from above, landing on Tu Wancheng.

    At that instant, a tremendous amount of army qi surged towards him.

    Demon God Taowu rapidly swelled up, towering over the Xuanwu Army God in the blink of an eye, enough to rival Black Cloud city in the distance¡ªno, to it, Black Cloud city was already within arm¡¯s reach.

    It only bent over slightly. With that, it blotted out the sunlight, casting a colossal shadow.

    Ke Xin blanked out. She murmured, ¡°What is that?¡±

 Chapter 1489

    Li Qingshan suddenly stiffened, like a frog encountering a snake. He could not help but tremble gently as the sense of terror of facing a natural predator sprang forth. Even when he had already prepared himself mentally, he was still in disbelief when he faced the ¡°monster¡± before him.

    In comparison, the embodiment of Qiongqi he had encountered in the past was powerful, but he was still restrained by the laws of the World of the Nine Provinces. The previous demonic heavens were terrifying, but they were twisted and chaotic after all, devoid of any sense of self.

    However, not only did the power of Demon God Taowu before him completely surpass Human Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns, but it even surpassed regular Human Immortals and Heretic Gods too. It was like a Demon God in person, and it was filled with hostility.

    Wan Jianfeng¡¯s hand trembled. He tightened his grip on his sword suddenly. How is my sword supposed to cut through something like that?

    Dai Mengfan opened her eyes. The nightmare had become true, more terrifying than any of the times from the past. It was as if she had returned to her childhood, returning to that little girl who was frightened by the sounds of wind and the dancing tree shadows. She smiled wryly and sighed. ¡°This is why I say¡­ I hate war.¡±

    On the distant other side of the battlefield, Huo Hua gazed at the colossal figure that reached into the air and said to Li Liehuo extremely seriously, ¡°We better escape to the Daemonic Beast realm!¡±

    Li Liehuo remained silent. He gave no answer.

    The air over the battlefield seemed to thicken, turning into twisted swirls, dragging everyone into the abyss.

    Just from appearing, without even doing anything, ¡°Taowu¡± had stunned everyone.

    Normally, Tu Wancheng would be laughing at the top of his lungs already, but right now, a stronger spirit penetrated his mind, filled with a sense of pride and viciousness. It was exactly this spirit that penetrated the entire battlefield too.

    ¡°Taowu¡± turned his neck and opened his gaping mouth. A great, mighty voice boomed through the surroundings.

    ¡°The world has no compassion. All is worthless.¡±

    The several million demonfolk called out together, ¡°The world has no compassion. All is worthless.¡± They were filled with resentment and fury, cursing the heartless world.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± existence immediately became even more consolidated. His body spread out more as his colossal eye swiveled around. His gaze swept across the battlefield like a beam of light.

    Everyone, whether they were regular soldiers or direct disciples, sank deeper into the mud of fear.

    ¡°Taowu¡± then said, ¡°Sages have no compassion. All are ants.¡± Looking down from such a great height, humans really did seem as insignificant as ants, crawling along the ground in a frantic fashion. They were so feeble and so fleeting.

    ¡°Sages have no compassion. All are ants.¡±

    Several hundred demonfolk roared out wildly. They willingly viewed themselves as lowly and insignificant ants, without any fear for death. A wild aura immediately surpassed the Xuanwu army. For those who possessed a will to live, why even set foot on this horrific battlefield?

    In just four short sentences, fifteen short words, ¡°Taowu¡± had turned the situation around.

    The efforts that Li Qingshan and the others had put in from beginning to end only seemed like a joke. What persistence and determination? What all lives are equal? Before absolute power, did that hold any meaning at all?

    When I say you are an ant, you are an ant! You are even if you are not!

    In the end, ¡°Taowu¡± looked towards the Xuanwu Army God. His gaze seemed to pierce the army qi, allowing him to see Li Qingshan alone. ¡°I am uncompassionate!¡±

    The sentence that did not contain any power at all was like a log slammed into his chest. A pure and brutal spirit seemed to crush everything.

    Boom! The Xuanwu Army God twisted and blurred. The army qi began showing signs of dispersing.

    Oh no! Li Qingshan was alarmed inside. The situation was already extremely disadvantageous. He was imbued with such tremendous army qi and still experienced such a great pressure, let alone those direct disciples and regular soldiers.

    They all gazed at the shadow over their heads blankly. They could not even see all of ¡°Taowu¡±. Even the bravest of warriors trembled inside. If it were not for the military formation joining their wills together, ¡°Taowu¡± could send these five hundred thousand people into madness from his spirit alone.

    Li Qingshan understood that if this continued, the army morale would collapse very soon, and the entire army would fall apart. The five hundred thousand soldiers and officers would be completely at their whim, and the enemy had not even launched a proper attack yet.

    .

    Faced with such dire straits, perhaps others would have thought of retreat already, but this sense of repression only ignited Li Qingshan¡¯s stubbornness, granting him even greater fighting spirit. His chest heaved a few times, and he roared furiously, ¡°Advance!¡±

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    The Xuanwu Army God advanced with its head held high, just like when Li Qingshan charged into the demonfolk army alone, swinging its blade towards ¡°Taowu¡±!

    The sound was like thunder, and the blade moved like lightning, ripping through the terrifying shadow cast down by ¡°Taowu¡±. The will of the army shook, gazing towards Li Qingshan, gazing towards their ¡°army god¡±.

    The slash made Tu Wancheng jerk away from his ¡°sweet dream¡±. He recovered from Demon God Taowu¡¯s powerful and brutal spirit, both surprised and furious.

    ¡°Taowu¡± extended his hand and grabbed the blade. There was a sliver of disbelief in the firm and furious voice, ¡°How dare you challenge a god!?¡±

    ¡°Challenge?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to butcher you!¡±

    ¡°Hah, just with you?¡± Tu Wancheng began to laugh.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± other arm shot through the air like a black dragon. The huge, black hand suddenly reached towards the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s head.

    With a bang, space shook.

    The Xuanwu Army God threw a punch at the huge palm, and its legs sank deeply into the ground by who knew how many metres.

    The contrast in their size was like a child to a burly adult, but he was able to put up a struggle.

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not alone!¡± He roared out, ¡°Advance!!¡±

    Before he knew it, the army qi that had almost collapsed actually condensed together again.

    The general was the courage of the army! The soldiers all recovered from their fears and murmured, ¡°General!¡±

    Tu Wancheng said viciously, ¡°I will crush you to pieces!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± suddenly lowered his head and emitted a ring of demonic light from his colossal eye, enveloping the Xuanwu Army God.

    The Xuanwu Army God burned in the demonic light. Its golden armour dimmed as its cape became ragged, reduced to ashes inch by inch.

    The towering figure had been firmly suppressed, without any ability to fight back. The earth arched up behind its feet, forming two small hills, but it still refused to take a step back.

    Huo Hua was dumbfounded. ¡°This kid¡­ is crazy!¡±

    Under ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± gaze, once the Xuanwu Army God collapsed, everyone would have the opportunity to escape. Only Li Qingshan would die for sure.

    However, Li Liehuo began to laugh. He laughed extremely heartily and passed an order.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan¡¯s great bellow rang out from the distance.

    ¡°Advance!!!¡±

    The five commandants shuddered inside and questioned loudly, ¡°Have you forgotten about the oath you swore last night?¡±

    ¡°We would never! We¡¯re willing to fight to the death with the general!¡±

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    ¡°The general¡¯s order! Advance!¡±

    ¡°Advance! Advance! Advance!¡±

    The ordinary faces actually began to give off a glow similar to the ¡°awakening¡± of buddhism, without any worry or fear, completely embracing death.

    The war drums boomed through the air, but the soldiers had instead fallen silent. There was only the clanging of armour, filled with the determination to die. They followed behind Li Qingshan¡¯s footsteps and began advancing towards the unbelievable colossal ¡°Taowu¡±, towards the several million demonfolk!

    Wan Jianfeng felt warmth well up in his chest. He flicked his sword. ¡°Fellows, let¡¯s fight!¡±

 Chapter 1490

    ¡°Let¡¯s lend junior brother Li a hand!¡± Dai Mengfan said with determination, ¡°Kill this monster!¡±

    Originally, the optimal choice was to bypass the ¡°Taowu¡± condensed from army qi and directly slaughter the regular demonfolk, but if no one else helped out under this situation, the Xuanwu Army God would collapse before long.

    She tossed out a gentle, half-transparent cloth that swelled in the air, blotting out the sky in the blink of an eye. The clouds surged within it as magnificent as the burning clouds when the sun set, looming over ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± head.

    The Gauze Cloth of Scorching Clouds was an arcane treasure personally bestowed to her by the sect master. It could envelop a range of several hundred kilometres and was extremely powerful. Once caught, even Demon Sovereigns could not escape.

    Swish! Wan Jianfeng twisted his sword, and a streak of light shot out. He moved ahead of them, slashing at ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± colossal eye.

    The Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures rumbled, firing away with its cannons. Within the sound of scraping and expanding metal, the stern of the ship completely swung open, forming a colossal main cannon that gathered specks of light.

    All of the direct disciples unleashed their full strength, utilising their proudest techniques and strongest arcane treasures to attack ¡°Taowu¡±.

    Lu Boming said firmly, ¡°Fire!¡±

    The Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures suddenly emitted thousands of streaks of light. The main cannon blasted out with a blue column of light, slamming against ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± chest heavily.

    At that moment, dazzling light criss-crossed through the sky. The light collapsed and scattered, swallowing ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± colossal figure and making him lean backwards slightly, letting go of the Xuanwu Army God.

    Only then could Li Qingshan catch his breath, but he felt no joy at all. An even greater sensation of danger surged forth. This is still not enough, nowhere close to being enough!

    Lu Boming stood at the window of the ship, gazing at the rare, imposing sight. He thought, An attack like this can even flatten a mountain, so just how many times can that ¡°fake Taowu¡± endure? I sure was overwhelmed by the Demon God¡¯s spirit and pressure earlier. This is a perfect opportunity for my Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures to make a great contribution to the situation.

    The glorious attacks basically gave all of the direct disciples confidence. It was as if they could see the light of victory.

    At this moment, one of the dice in Le Tian¡¯s hand crumbled to powder. His temples rapidly became a frosty-white. He suddenly opened his eyes. ¡°This is a lost game!¡±

    With a rip, the Gauze Cloth of Scorching Clouds was torn apart. All of the arcane treasures were knocked away or directly destroyed.

    A huge, black hand suddenly extended out from the light, grabbing the Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures in the air.

    Before Lu Boming could even respond, the ship window had been enveloped by darkness. With another ping, it shattered! The hull groaned as it twisted and ruptured, rapidly being crushed.

    Boom! ¡°Taowu¡± had crushed the indestructible Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures, tossing it aside like garbage.

    Lu Boming burst out from the distorted ship. He was covered in blood with his bones exposed. His body was basically on the verge of collapse.

    Dai Mengfan cried out, ¡°Be careful, junior brother Lu!¡±

    The terrifying shadow loomed over him again. Lu Boming raised his head and darkness filled his eyes. It took him quite a while before he recognised that was the shape of a foot. Horror directly filled his heart.

    ¡°No¡­¡±

    Boom!

    The giant foot stomped down, and the ground shook. Fragments of the Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures scattered, and Lu Boming¡¯s aura vanished. Even his Yang Soul had failed to escape.

    With just a grasp and a stomp, the master of the Spiritual Treasure workshop, Lu Boming, had perished!

    The direct disciples were all dumbfounded, unable to believe everything that had happened before their eyes. A mighty Human Sovereign had actually died so easily.

    Light danced about as the dust scattered. ¡°Taowu¡± was virtually unscathed. Tu Wancheng laughed madly. ¡°Insects! You¡¯re all insects!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± huge, lone eye abruptly emitted a beam of dark red light, even thicker than the blast from the main cannon of the Exquisite Ship of Seven Treasures earlier. It pierced through the air and swept through the surroundings.

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    It basically hit all the direct disciples. Their various protective techniques shattered. Only their protective arcane treasures managed to hold off the attack, launching them away violently.

    Only a burly direct disciple that rode a pi bear raised a black, heavy Shield of Solemnity, blocking the blast forcefully.

    Dai Mengfan warned him. ¡°Junior brother Pi, don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew!¡±

    However, it was already too late. ¡°Taowu¡± narrowed his eyes. The dark-red beam of light directly shrank to the size of a bucket, immediately piercing the shield.

    The direct disciple lowered his head slowly. A great hole had appeared in his chest, and even his Yang Soul had been pierced. Right when the bear pi under him let out a miserable groan, the beam of light swept down and split it in half. The human and bear corpses fell out of the air together.

    A second direct disciple had died, together with a Daemon Sovereign mount. Three powerful existences that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation had been butchered like dogs and pigs.

    The direct disciples felt like they were about to go insane, or perhaps they had already gone insane. All of their hopes shattered. The intensity and horrors of war surpassed their imaginations.

    This was not a duel where they had various life-preserving measures available to them, where they could flee with their Yang Soul if they really ran out of choices. This was war. No one was absolutely safe. Even Human Sovereigns could be killed easily. ¡°Taowu¡± only had to gaze at any single one of them earlier, and none of them could say they would definitely be able to survive.

    Fear gripped everyone. Suddenly, there was a flash of golden light. ¡°Taowu¡± lowered his head, only to see the colossal blade in the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s hand piercing his abdomen. The blade qi erupted immediately, and the two clusters of army qi collided violently.

    Within the deafening war drums, the Xuanwu army charged into the demonfolk camp. The demonfolk had mobilised their armies as well to receive the enemy. Unlike the silence of the human soldiers, the demonfolk roared away hoarsely. Their battle cries boomed through the air, engaging the human soldiers.

    With the whistling winds, they rapidly drew closer to one another.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

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    On the uneven land, floods of metal collided. They swung down with their weapons as spears stood like forests and crossbow bolts filled the air. The cold weapons furiously reaped at the flesh.

    Blood dyed the land red very soon. A long, red ¡°line¡± rapidly expanded.

    Every front line was a hunting ground where the teeth of the giant beasts of war collided. No one retreated, whether they were frenzied demonfolk or silent humans. They all plunged their weapons into their enemy as hard as they could before being cut down by enemies that appeared after them.

    The demonfolk had an army of several million, so they possessed an absolute advantage in numbers, and they were particularly fierce and frenzied, basically charging towards the Xuanwu army while asking to be killed.

    However, the Xuanwu army possessed better prowess on the battlefield. Five soldiers formed a group of five, led by a five-man squad leader. Ten soldiers formed a squad of ten, led by a ten-man squad leader. A hundred men formed a squadron, led by a squadron leader.

    Their arrangements were clear and distinct, and they worked together. Under the lead of the commandants, colonels, and lieutenants, they constantly pushed forwards with the determination to die. A shadow swayed in all of their hearts.

    The flood of metal advanced like it was unstoppable, slaughtering and swallowing all the demonfolk they encountered. They were constantly cut down as well. With every passing moment, people fell.

    There was no objective and no end. There was only a single belief, a roar, ¡°Advance!¡±

    In the mad slaughter, their army qi burned like fire. It did not weaken with their deaths in battle. Instead, the Xuanwu Army Qi swelled up even more as its tattered cape fluttered in the air, doing its best to push its giant blade even deeper.

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    A giant, black hand fell down, grabbing the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s head. ¡°Taowu¡± had become even larger than before.

    ¡°An ant trying to shake a tree, a completely futile effort!¡±

    The Xuanwu Army God¡¯s helmet twisted and collapsed in the hand, revealing a cold expression similar to Li Qingshan¡¯s. The drumming of horse hooves became deafening.

    In the distance, the glow of fire filled the air as an army of thousands surged. A knight of scorching fire rode over on a fine steed.

    The Scorching Fire Army God!

 Chapter 1491

    Firelight filled the sky. The flames surged as the army god stood dignified.

    It was impossible to hide such a large-scale mobilising of an army from the Demon Sovereigns. Demonfolk armies had been prepared for them a long time ago.

    The cavalry surged out, drumming across the ground, which left even the maddest demonfolk slightly shocked.

    With a thrum, thousands of bows and crossbows sang out together. The sky lit up as a cloud of fire rose up. That was the result of countless fiery arrows, directly raining down on the demonfolk army. Countless demonfolk howled out and collapsed.

    The cavalry soon arrived, and the Scorching Fire Army God charged at the very front, wielding a long spear of flames. With just a gentle sweep, thousands of demonfolk were reduced to ash. Even the Demon Emperor that led the army had been burned to death.

    The direct disciples suddenly developed a hint of hope. If the two army gods worked together against ¡°Taowu¡±, perhaps they could still put up a battle.

    However, Li Liehuo had absolutely no intentions of making his way over. The hundred thousand cavalry continued onwards, breaching the demonfolk camp. The Scorching Fire Army God directly charged towards the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    Li Qingshan nodded in agreement. This was the optimal choice, as well as the only choice.

    The army god could not travel too far away from the army. They were several dozen kilometres apart, and the terrain was uneven. It seemed like the Scorching Fire Army God could make its way over in an instant, but the regular soldiers were clad in armour, and many demonfolk blocked their path, so how could they rush over so swiftly?

    And even if the two army gods worked together, they probably were not this ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± opponent. Only by destroying the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous could they win the battle.

    That was the greatest function of Li Liehuo¡¯s sudden strike.

    Tu Wancheng sneered. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± abruptly crushed the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s head. The clumps of dispersed army qi spilled out from between his fingers.

    The Xuanwu Army God grunted as if it was roaring furiously. Even when it had lost its head, it still took a step forward and thrust the blade all the way in, turning the hilt as hard as possible, such that it churned up the army qi in ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± belly.

    The surroundings were dim. It was as if they had returned to the battlefield of the ancient times, where supernatural beings bled.

    Dai Mengfan ordered the direct disciples to continue with their attacks, but they all just cast protective techniques in a hurry. Only a small number of them listened to her and continued their assault on ¡°Taowu¡±, but it posed no threat at all.

    In the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, Ying Zhe smiled. ¡°Human cultivators are a bunch of cowards after all. They aren¡¯t even as great as mortals.¡±

    A Demon Sovereign said fearfully, ¡°If they¡¯re all as desperate and suicidal as these mortals, then this battle would be troublesome!¡±

    The Xuanwu Army God continued to advance silently. The flood of metal was completely unobstructed, whether it was demonfolk or army formations, fear or death.

    The firelight in the distance constantly pressed closer. At first glance, the fierce Scorching Fire Army God seemed to have arrived already.

    Murderousness, malice, and determination! Battle intent, fury, and madness!

    They surged forth like waves, rushing into the air and dyeing the sky with a smear of blood-red.

    Ying Zhe ordered, ¡°Tu Wancheng, stop wasting time. End the battle quickly!¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± suddenly looked back and said firmly, ¡°I don¡¯t need you ordering me around!¡±

    Ying Zhe shut his eyes. ¡°If you lose this battle, you know what will be awaiting you.¡± He ground his teeth inside. You piece of shit strutting around with the powers of others, I¡¯ll show you what¡¯s what soon!

    ¡°Taowu¡± looked back at the headless Xuanwu Army God. His gaze pierced the surging army qi at the neck, locking onto Li Qingshan inside. He said, ¡°Die!¡±

    He was nowhere near foolish enough to try and outlast the Xuanwu Army God in terms of army qi. That was something that only occurred when their strength was similar. He clenched his huge, black hand, pouring all of his strength inside. Kicking up a series of black waves, he pierced the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s chest with a punch.

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    The golden armour shattered immediately, and Li Qingshan inside vaguely saw a mass of black shoot towards him, like the envelopment of the shadow of death.

    It was too fast!

    Even when he knew where the attack was coming from, he could not respond in time at all, let alone dodge the punch. Under the pressure of ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± terrifying spirit, even his thoughts became sluggish.

    It was absolute strength, absolute speed, and absolute spirit. With the three combined, even an ordinary strike could kill Human Sovereigns, needing no other fancy tricks.

    Li Qingshan could only gather the surging army qi and obstruct the punch slightly while unleashing the Ox Demon Forges its Hide. His skin darkened.

    In the next moment, agony shot through his body as his bones ruptured. He felt like he had been struck by a mountain.

    With a bang, Li Qingshan flew out from the Xuanwu Army God¡¯s back, soaring towards Black Cloud city.

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    Boom! Boom! Boom! He smashed through three consecutive towers and landed on a drilling ground. The entire drilling ground collapsed, turning into a great pit and directly leading to the caverns below. Li Qingshan disappeared down there, his fate unknown.

    The towers collapsed with a great rumble.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Ruan Yaozhu cried out, but she could not bring herself back to check. No matter how ¡°simpled-minded¡± she was, she could still tell that there would be an ¡°avalanche¡± if she retreated now.

    After having its head crushed, the colossal Xuanwa Army God had its chest pierced as well, ejecting Li Qingshan from inside. The army qi dissipated rapidly, no longer possessing any ability to battle. The direct disciples were forced to face the terrifying ¡°Taowu¡± alone.

    Dai Mengfan gritted her teeth painfully. They were probably going to lose this battle. She wondered how many direct disciples would be able to escape, but the army of a million would probably all perish here.

    ¡°This is your fate for opposing a Demon God!¡±

    Tu Wancheng laughed madly. ¡°Taowu¡± opened his huge mouth and let out a firm laugh. He was extremely confident in the power behind that punch. It was probably even enough to kill his Yang Soul, without any possibility of escaping.

    As for the remaining ¡°Xuanwu army¡±, just a stomp of his could crush a few thousand to death and shake several tens of thousands to death.

    However, these ants held no value in being killed. They only found the courage to advance after being encouraged and deceived. Now that their commander had died in battle, they would collapse very soon. He could leave them to be butchered by regular demonfolk.

    As a result, ¡°Taowu¡± cast his gaze towards the direct disciples again, like he was looking at a herd of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

    Li Liehuo watched as the Xuanwu Army God was defeated. He shivered inside. However, he was still a fair distance away from the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous right now. By the time he had made it to the formation, probably all the direct disciples would have been slain already.

    As a result, he could no longer care too much. The Scorching Fire Army God suddenly tightened its reins on its battle horse. The crimson horse and flames rose into the air, lifting up its front hooves. It tightened its grip around its spear and pulled it backwards, pouring all of its strength inside. The flames around it receded. Only the spear in its hand shone brilliantly and blindingly, making the surroundings dim.

    It threw the spear towards the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous as hard as possible. A streak of scarlet light pierced the air.

    His target was Ying Zhe!

    Out of the eleven Demon Sovereigns, four of them could serve as targets. It made no difference which one he chose. This was the absolute difference in strength. Even if all the Demon Sovereigns of the Demon domain gathered here, none of them could block that spear. However, he noticed the dispute between Ying Zhe and Tu Wancheng. Demonfolk were extremely hateful and vengeful, so perhaps there was a chance for him to land the attack.

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    As long as he killed even one Demon Sovereign, the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous would fall, and ¡°Taowu¡± would cease to exist. The demonfolk would lose their target of worship, and they would not be able to gather army qi anymore.

    The eleven remaining Demon Sovereigns would be completely at the whim of the Scorching Fire Army God by then!

    Ying Zhe narrowed his eyes as the scarlet light blinded him. All of the power behind the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was used to support ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± materialisation, so they were defenceless right now.

    And if it was just him, even if he had noticed the movements of the Scorching Fire Army God a long time ago, it was all the same. He could not escape. All he could do was watch as death arrived.

    The terrors of war were the same to both sides.

 Chapter 1492

    The tip of the scarlet spear was almost transparent as if it had been condensed from flames. It illuminated Ying Zhe¡¯s twisted, fearful face. The surging flames stuck close to the spear, rising up from behind and producing a long tail of red light, still within the Scorching Fire Army God¡¯s hand.

    So what if he was the strongest of the twelve Demon Sovereigns? So what if Demon Sovereigns possessed tough physiques? Before absolute strength, they were as feeble as mortals.

    They only needed an instant to be completely annihilated.

    But in the next moment, the spear of fire froze mid-air, falling into a huge, black hand.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± mountainous figure moved with unbelievable speed, such that it seemed absurd and wrong.

    Almost at the same time, another two direct disciples perished. They had been slain before ¡°Taowu¡± provided assistance.

    He tightened his grip gently, and the spear of fire exploded violently. Waves of heat rolled out pressingly, and Ying Zhe fended them off miserably. His eyebrows and beard were singed off. He knew Tu Wancheng had done this intentionally, so he resented him even more, but he said nothing.

    Li Liehuo¡¯s heart suddenly sank. Tu Wancheng gazed at him and sneered. ¡°Only you and I remain. If you get off your horse and surrender immediately, I might just spare your life.¡±

    He directly dismissed the direct disciples, completely unworthy of any attention.

    However, that definitely was not bravado. From the terrors of consecutive deaths, the direct disciples actually lost the courage to continue their attack on ¡°Taowu¡±. They had been completely overwhelmed.

    Those who were well off avoided all risks. What they possessed was beyond anything that a mortal could possess, so how could they let go of all that so easily? Just holding their ground persistently at a time like this was already very impressive of them.

    Li Liehuo¡¯s expression changed several times before he abruptly began to laugh aloud. Was Li Qingshan¡¯s path supposed to be the real deal, while his was fake? If fire could not burn, then all that would remain would be dirty ash.

    ¡°Huo Hua, are you ready to face death with me?¡±

    ¡°Cut the bullshit! Your path is my path!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Liehuo¡¯s expression became determined. The horse hooves flew as the Scorching Fire Army God erupted forwards, charging towards ¡°Taowu!

    Tu Wancheng laughed madly. ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± spread his arms at the same time, curling his finger in and reaching towards the Scorching Fire Army God.

    The direct disciples all looked towards Dai Mengfan. She thought quickly and ordered, ¡°Fellows, assist me in killing the demonfolk. They don¡¯t have the protection of demon qi. In short, we have to help out senior brother Li!¡±

    If she ordered everyone to assault ¡°Taowu¡± again at a time like this, there would definitely be people who hesitated. Some might even directly defy that order. The situation would completely collapse by then.

    Only through a method like that could they help Li Liehuo slightly, just in hopes that he could last a little longer. If they could kill a million demonfolk, ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± battle prowess would definitely decline, but they also understood how naive of a thought that was.

    It¡¯s impossible for the Scorching Fire Army God to last that long! What are we supposed to do?

    Ke Xin could not help but ease up. The pressure that ¡°Taowu¡± gave her was far too great. She was tempted to leave the battlefield immediately, never to return, but she did not have the courage to be the first one to defy a military order.

    If she became the chief offender, the Myriad sect would never spare her. Perhaps even the Desireless Heavenly Palace would send someone to capture her. By then, even fleeing to the ends of the world was useless. As a result, even if she was reluctant, she could only go ahead with it.

    At this moment, she suddenly sensed an invisible restraint and pressure descend from above. Even the circulation of her powers became sluggish, and the strength of her techniques plummeted as well. Hmm? Why does this seem like another boundary zone? She glanced at the sky. Since when did the sky turn red?

    The ¡°red¡± seeped down from the sky, soaking the air and soil like a thin veil.

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    On the bloody ground, the eyelids on the corpse of a human soldier suddenly twitched. He opened his eyes again. ¡°That¡¯s strange. Didn¡¯t I¡­ die?¡±

    He could not help but touch his neck, only to discover that his wound was currently healing. Before he could remain confused for too long, he seemed to hear another voice urging him in the ear, Go and kill the enemies! Go and battle!

    Before his blood had even cooled, it became even more scorching than before. He remembered the general¡¯s order again¡ªadvance!

    As a result, he grabbed his blade and climbed up again. He felt endless power surge through his body. Gazing out on the corpse-ridden land, the ¡°corpses¡± began to stand up again, slashing at the demonfolk corpses that had just risen beside them and beginning a new round of slaughter.

    ¡°An Asura Field.¡±

    Dai Mengfan felt powerless. Now of all times.

    The layout of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra was not a series of overlapping layers or distributed in parallel. Instead, it was one body that cycled through itself, possessing a structure beyond belief. It was connected with the trichiliocosm as well, which was why it was called ¡°sa?s¨¡ra¡±.

    Every single realm possessed its special characteristics. The Hungry Ghost realm constantly devoured, the Human realm welcomed all, and the Hell realm was the place of return for souls.

    The Asura realm would constantly gather souls that fell in battle throughout the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and trichiliocosm, converting them into asura and adding them to the endless bloody battle.

    The will of the Asura realm loved large-scale, intense battles like this. Whenever a situation like this occurred, Asura Fields would definitely descend, temporarily endowing the warriors that were filled with fighting spirit and killing intent with some special characteristics of asura, such as the undying body of asura.

    The more intense a battle was, the grander its scale was, the larger and stronger the Asura Field would be, such that it even approached the Asura realm itself.

    In this battle, both sides had over five million soldiers fighting in total, and they had all embraced death. The scale and intensity was so great that even throughout the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, it was extremely rare.

    As a result, the Asura Field was particularly grand. Wounds that were supposed to be lethal were now insignificant. They could even regrow limbs and come back from the dead. Their frail bodies as mortals could support them through even more intense battles, constantly killing and being killed. They gathered experience through the intense pain, producing true battle souls through the great terror of life and death.

    Of course, they were not asura yet, nor did they possess truly undying bodies. Even Human Sovereigns struggled to preserve themselves in such an intense battle, let alone mortals. The Asura Field had no concept of friend or enemy either. Both sides benefitted.

    As a result, a large number of warriors would still die in the battle, and the Asura realm would be able to collect these experienced and refined battle souls, converting them into true asura.

    However, this was basically a nightmare to the direct disciples. They had already faced enough repulsion from the Demon domain. Now, with the Asura Field¡¯s arrival, that was equivalent to the merging between the laws of the Asura realm and the Demon domain. It was equivalent to turning the entire battlefield into a boundary.

    The Asura realm only blessed true warriors too. If they did not possess a fighting spirit, even Human Sovereigns would face rejection. Under the rejection of two worlds, some direct disciples could not even use half of their strength.

    Wan Jianfeng only felt both suppression and assistance. While his strength had decreased overall, he had become much more motivated and high-spirited. He formed a seal. ¡°A sword as a myriad!¡±

    Ten thousand swords pierced the air! They immediately nailed over ten thousand demonfolk into the ground.

    Originally, it was extremely efficient for Human Sovereigns to carry out massacres when they used their respective techniques. Working together, there was nothing difficult about killing a million demonfolk.

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    However, they discovered very soon that most of the demonfolk did not actually die after being killed unless their bodies were completely destroyed. They could still crawl along the ground even if they were only left with half of their bodies, roaring away at the sky and gathering army qi for ¡°Taowu¡±.

    Regular demonfolk had always possessed physiques stronger than regular humans. In particular, their regeneration was startling. The Asura Field basically made it even more powerful, turning them all into unkillable cockroaches.

    The direct disciples basically despaired. Just earlier, they were already doomed. Now, they faced even more restraints. By the time ¡°Taowu¡± destroyed the Scorching Fire Army God and rushed over again, they would not even have any hope to escape.

    Ke Xin murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t want to die here¡­¡±

 Chapter 1493

    Everyone was powerless. Even Wan Jianfeng began to hesitate, considering whether to conserve some strength for retreat. The Scorching Fire Army God could not last too long in the hands of ¡°Taowu¡±, erupting with flames under the latter¡¯s punches.

    Suddenly, a slender figure rushed into the enemy ranks. Dai Mengfan was surprised as well. ¡°Yaozhu?¡±

    Riding along on a white deer, Ruan Yaozhu shot over the turbulent battlefield. The nine-coloured deer emitted a glow of nine-colours, repelling the incoming arrows.

    She pursed her lips and held onto an embroidered pouch firmly, such that her knuckles turned white. She looked back at Black Cloud city and made up her mind, grabbing a handful of seeds and sprinkling them on the ground.

    A seed drifted through the air and landed in the mouth of a demonfolk who was looking up with his mouth agape. With a shiver, he swallowed the seed, but there seemed to be no response after that.

    Ru Yaozhu prayed silently. She was not casting a technique, but actually praying. The technique itself had already been embedded in every single seed the moment she cast them out.

    The seed flashed with green light in the demonfolk¡¯s belly!

    The demonfolk collapsed on the ground with a wail, clutching his belly and squirming around. Thistles erupted from his skin, greedily feeding off his blood. It rapidly enveloped and swallowed him completely, turning him into a monster woven by thistles like a sea urchin.

    Every single ¡°tendril¡± danced around madly, entangling the surrounding demonfolk.

    A demonfolk was caught around the neck. The sharp thistles almost ripped his throat out. His eyes bulged as he swung his arms around madly.

    A demonfolk on one side slashed through a thistle with a great yell, but the severed thistle began to squirm even more violently, plunging into the demonfolk¡¯s eyes like a snake.

    Finally, he let out a hysterical howl, but before long, another thistle monster erupted out of his body.

    At the same time, even more strange and wicked plants erupted from the earth.

    Colourful carnivorous flowers bloomed like a great mouth, swallowing a demonfolk with each gulp. Sharp spines that resembled teeth in its mouth chewed away at its prey.

    The snake-like mud vines possessed potent poison in their sap. Just the slightest bit of sap could make the body rot away and disintegrate rapidly like mud. The yellow fluid that flowed out seeped into the ground and turned into fertiliser.

    Even the strongest and wildest demonfolk let out miserable shrieks. Pain was always sobering.

    The demonfolk that had been devoured were left without remains. They could not rebirth even if they were in the Asura realm, let alone the Asura field. Under these tortures, none of the demonfolk could maintain their battle spirit and become asura.

    Ruan Yaozhu liked to collect seeds. She regularly issued missions in the Myriad sect to collect the seeds of all sorts of strange plants.

    These seeds did not just come from the Human realm, but the entire six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm. There was even a portion from the Demon domain.

    For example, the ¡°thistle of pain¡± was originally one of the tortures of hell, called the Thistle hell. After being caught by it, even their souls would struggle to escape, enduring tremendous pain.

    These sharp-toothed carnivorous flowers were native plants of the Demon domain. They were most suited to grow in the soil of the Demon domain, and they primarily fed off demonfolk and demonic beasts.

    And so on and so forth.

    And from the heritage of each past master of the Hundred Herbs garden, coupled with her own efforts, she even possessed seeds of plants from beyond the Nine Heavens.

    However, the area of the Hundred Herbs garden was limited. It was all used to grow ¡°commercial crops¡±. Plants that did not possess any value and were harmless could be planted on the surrounding island. However, there were many plants that could not be grown, especially these ¡°wicked plants¡±.

    However, it was also impossible for her to simply discard them. There was no such thing as intrinsic good or bad when it came to plants.

    As a result, over time, they instead amassed a large number of ¡°wicked plant¡± seeds.

    The direct disciples were all stunned. Despite knowing her for so long, they never imagined there was actually a side like this to her, no matter how meek and gentle she seemed. The expansion and devouring of the plants was far more horrific than the clashes of weapons.

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s expression was blank and unfazed, powering the Heavenly Tome of Nature as she constantly scattered the seeds. As long as she gave the seeds a push so that they sprouted, they would seek out food and grow by themselves.

    The so-called path of nature was not just the wonderful notion of plants sprouting and flourishing. There was also a cruel side to it, a life-or-death struggle for survival as the fittest. Countless lives perished at every single moment, even going extinct.

    This was the most primitive war, spreading their leaves and branches for a part of the sky and sinking their roots into the ground for a part of the earth. The victor thrived while the defeated died, constantly, endlessly.

    Contrary to everyone¡¯s expectations, the arrival of the Asura Field did not suppress her at all. Instead, it strengthened her powers. The Heavenly Tome of Nature had never been a gentle or kind path of cultivation.

    Ke Xin shrank back, feeling some chills. She felt like she had turned into someone different.

    Dai Mengfan made use of this opportunity. ¡°Even girly Yaozhu is working so hard, so what are you all waiting for!?¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± figure became visibly smaller. The efficiency of Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s slaughter could basically rival the entire Xuanwu army.

    In particular, the thistles of pain multiplied extremely quickly. As long as there was sufficient fertiliser, it could grow forever.

    The weapons of demonfolk were powerless against it. Even Demon Emperors and Demon Kings could not completely destroy them. Their powers were suppressed by the interwoven laws of the world too, while the plants were basically unaffected, only further invigorated by the scent of blood on the battlefield.

    The demonfolk stuck in the thistle bushes twisted all over as they shrieked miserably, clearly swaying the army morale and making the army qi disperse.

    By now, she had already ventured deep into the enemy territory. She split the seeds into different varieties and spread them as evenly as possible, or they would compete and turn against one another.

    The nine-coloured deer warned her. ¡°Piece of wood, you¡¯ve lost your cool!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu murmured, ¡°There was originally no need for him to come. He completed his promise to me.¡±

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    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much. That kid clearly wanted to come himself and show off his powers.¡±

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er, my heart hurts.¡± Ruan Yaozhu pressed down on her chest as if a thistle bush was growing inside. In the beginning, she had failed to sense it, but the pain became more and more intense.

    The nine-coloured deer said nothing. She sighed inside, A tribulation of attachments, oh a tribulation of attachments!

    This was not just due to Li Qingshan, but Chao Tianjiao, Lu Boming, and so on as well. The incidents that occurred over the past few days affected her drastically. In the past, she basically had not been involved in any conflict at all, even less than Ke Xin, let alone a war as horrific as this. She even had to defy her own will and kill madly.

    As a result, the nine-coloured deer made up her mind. She had to take her away from here, even if it was through deserting the battlefield.

    At this moment, a large, lone eye gazed over. The brutal spirit that filled the gaze made them stiffen.

    Dai Mengfan cried out, ¡°Be careful, Yaozhu!¡±

    Firelight illuminated the sky. ¡°Taowu¡± had already defeated the Scorching Fire Army God, which filled the air with flames. Li Liehuo¡¯s fate was unknown.

    Tu Wancheng felt something amiss. The decline of his power suddenly accelerated. The Xuanwu army did not collapse as he had expected. Instead, they fought even more vigorously after the Asura Field descended, tearing through the demonfolk army layer by layer.

    It was as if they had not realised their commander was dead. Perhaps they had realised that already, but they were still carrying out his final order¡ªadvance!

    The direct disciples did not scatter and flee either. Instead, they worked together to kill the regular demonfolk. He had wanted them to stay in the beginning anyway. They could continue their massacre, and it would only cost them an extra few hundred thousand demonfolk at most. They were all ants anyway.

    However, never had he heard that the Myriad sect possessed someone as skilled at combat as the woman on the white deer. Her efficiency at killing the demonfolk basically left even him slightly pained.

    ¡°Then you can die!¡±

    The two army gods had fallen. What came next was butchering all these direct disciples.

    Ruan Yaozhu charged at the front. Immediately, a giant hand extended over from the other side of the battlefield, looming over her like a dark cloud.

    Even though he had been weakened slightly, ¡°Taowu¡± was still an existence that surpassed all other creatures on the battlefield. Without the impediment of the army gods, no one could threaten him anymore.

    Not to mention the fact that she had ventured too deeply into the enemy territory alone, even if she was hiding among the direct disciples, no one would be able to help her.

    The nine-coloured deer cried out miserably, ¡°We¡¯re really done for this time!¡± A nine-coloured glow erupted as she went as far as to use her vitality to power her daemon qi. Her movement technique that could originally transport them five hundred kilometres away in an instant now seemed extremely sluggish.

    Under the hand, time seemed to freeze. The sensations of extreme speed and extreme sluggishness wove together, enough to drive people mad.

    Ruan Yaozhu said softly, ¡°Sorry, Jiu¡¯er.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ Yaozhu!?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu pushed off the nine-coloured deer¡¯s back, receiving the cloud-like hand.

    No matter how powerful ¡°Taowu¡± was, killing a Human Sovereign would still take some effort. He could only lock onto one person at a time.

    With the two of them separated, Ruan Yaozhu became the only target. The nine-coloured deer broke free from the mental pressure, immediately turning into a nine-coloured light that shot towards the Human realm.

    Boom!

    The huge hand fell, and the earth quaked, but it missed.

    In that critical moment, Ruan Yaozhu had been gripped by an invisible force, escaping the range of the hand and slipping through the crack of its fingers.

    All of the Human Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns watched as her frail figure flew towards Black Cloud city, directly into the hole that Li Qingshan had produced.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Tu Wancheng furrowed his brows. This was the first time he had failed to kill a Human Sovereign since the battle began. For some reason, he felt slightly uneasy. However, he did not take it too seriously, glancing at the various plants that grew vigorously on the ground.

    With a stomp, countless trees erupted from the ground and shot towards the sky.

    These trees had no branches or leaves. They were tough like metal, and their roots were particularly well-developed. Within a range of fifty kilometres, not a single plant could grow anymore, completely losing contact with the earth. They were cleared aside by the Demon Emperors and Demon Kings very quickly.

    The countless plants fought back instinctively, wrapping around the trees madly, but the trees refused to budge. Having lost the earth and their fertiliser, they gradually wilted.

    But in that short moment, they had already slain several hundreds of thousand demonfolk, none of which rebirthed in the Asura Field.

    Dai Mengfan was filled with pity. If someone could keep ¡°Taowu¡± busy for a little longer, perhaps they really could turn the situation around.

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    She, who did not even seem to be capable of duelling, was actually so suited for the battlefield. If they had known earlier that she was capable of something like that, the entire strategy would have been different. However, probably even she herself was not aware of something like this. The master of the Hundred Herbs garden never entered the battlefield. This time, it was only because the city was about to fall that they had rallied all the direct disciples.

    However, there were no ¡°ifs¡±. It was all too late now. They had lost their two strongest forces, the Xuanwu Army God and the Scorching Fire Army God.

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    ¡°Taowu¡± only needed three seconds to kill a Human Sovereign. In less than half a minute, the direct disciples would collapse, and dealing with the remnants of the Xuanwu army and Scorching Fire army would be even easier than clearing away these plants.

    The outcome was set in stone now!

 Chapter 1494

    Within the deep and dark cavern, only a single beam of light poured in. Li Qingshan lay within the shattered rock with his limbs sprawled out. He saw stars.

    Every inch of his body moaned; every single nerve cried out. Even his soul was heavily injured, unable to even move a finger. It just trembled away extremely quickly. Even his face was rather blurred. He silently digested the power behind that punch.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± strength was far too great. He could basically crush everything.

    He had almost been disabled by that punch. If Tu Wancheng had not been as confident and followed up with a few more punches, he really would have been beaten to death.

    Even to him, there was no such thing as safety in such a large-scale battle, let alone confidence in absolute victory.

    But fortunately, he had grown accustomed to this a long time ago. He wandered on the verge of death time and time again, chasing after hope in despair.

    The fighting spirit in his eyes became even heavier. So what if he had been launched away by a punch? He only needed to climb up and keep going. The soldiers were still fighting a bloody battle up ahead. He had never suspected whether they could carry his order out to the very end.

    He endured the urge to stand up immediately and rush out. He needed to wait for his wounds to recover, so he sought help in the meantime. ¡°Xiao An, if you still don¡¯t come, I¡¯m going to be beaten to death soon.¡±

    A Skull Prayer Bead rolled out from his clothes, turning into a tiny Skeleton Demon. It let out a strange cackle as its teeth clashed, spitting out a stream of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone that formed two words in the air. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡¯

    Li Qingshan smiled. Now that was his true trump card. He had not joined this battle to die.

    The small world circulated even faster. Earth, fire, wind, and water cycled endlessly, rapidly healing him from body to soul.

    At the same time, dim, blue light flickered in his eyes, forming a delicate hexagon like two tiny pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. He used the Profound Light Illuminates All to observe the situation.

    The performance of the direct disciples was even worse than he had expected. Not a single one of them was bold enough to perish with the enemy. Otherwise, with so many Human Sovereigns and Daemon Sovereigns working together, they could definitely threaten ¡°Taowu¡±. Perhaps the sudden attack by the Scorching Fire Army God would have succeeded.

    Yet in the end, they had such a large group of people that could not even unleash half of their strength, just waiting to be slaughtered by ¡°Taowu¡±. They were basically even worse than regular soldiers. This was not due to a difference in strategy or strength. It was completely because they lacked the willpower.

    ¡°Heh, sure enough, the more important you are, the more you cherish your life!¡±

    But at a time like this, it was useless even if they cherished their lives. Once ¡°Taowu¡± was freed up, probably none of them could get away in one piece.

    The path of cultivation had never just been about clashes of power, but struggles of willpower as well, while war had always been the greatest struggle of willpower. Only death awaited the weak.

    ¡°Hmm? Senior sister Ruan!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s performance had surprised him as well. There was an element of being mentally triggered, but the great willpower she had demonstrated and the determination to die in battle made her surpass the other direct disciples. It was not just due to the power of the seeds either. If it had been a different direct disciple, where would they find the courage to venture so deeply into the Demon domain at a time like this?

    ¡°Oh no, she¡¯s probably caught its attention.¡±

    Li Qingshan became serious. How could he simply watch her be killed? He stood up slowly and raised both arms.

    When ¡°Taowu¡± slammed down with his hand, he suddenly spread his arms and unleashed the Force Field of the Earth at the critical moment, pulling her out from hell.

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s response was extremely fast as well. She used the force to fly, directly entering the mountain and diving head-first into his arms. She beamed with joy. ¡°You¡¯re still alive!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You thought I died, senior sister?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu broke free from his embrace and urged him. ¡°You should go quickly!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Where do you want me to go, senior sister?¡±

    ¡°Leave here!¡± Ruan Yaozhu said firmly, ¡°This is still within the range of ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± attacks.¡±

    ¡°Then what about you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a direct disciple of the Myriad sect. My senior sisters and brothers are still fighting, so how can I run away?¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. He was very touched. ¡°But if I go, who¡¯s going to protect you?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu blinked her eyes and gazed at him in a strange way before suddenly kissing him on the cheek gently.

    The nine-coloured deer rushed over and just happened to see this. She cried out inside, This bastard!

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He touched his cheek. ¡°Senior sister, you¡­¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was rather red, but she said very calmly, ¡°Qingshan, you¡¯ve already upheld your duty. You haven¡¯t let down my trust.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer called out, ¡°Li Qingshan, capture her! I¡¯ll just let the two of you be together at most!¡±

    Li Qingshan was always ready to accept good advice at a time like this. He pulled Ruan Yaozhu into his arms and kissed her on her soft lips. Only quite a while later did he let go. ¡°Hah, now that¡¯s how you do it to satisfaction!¡±

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    ¡°You¡¯re shameless! How dare you!?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu turned bright red. She was absolutely furious. She made up her mind that if they wanted to keep her here, she would threaten them with her own life. Thinking up to there, she began to weep silently. No matter what happened, she was going to die.

    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, senior sister!¡± Li Qingshan wiped away her tears for her and said proudly, ¡°We still haven¡¯t lost this battle!¡±

    A bloody path paved from sacrifices spanned from the battlefield right beneath to Black Cloud city, leading into the Demon domain in the distance.

    The Upraised Light abbot currently stood on the path with all the disciples of the Pure Land sect. The battle cries from the battlefield were deafening like it was right beside them, and it was impossible to ignore ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± colossal figure too.

    He glanced over in worry before sitting down on the spot and placing down his wooden fish. The disciples all sat around him, beginning to chant.

    Rings of golden light unfurled as they began to purify this land.

    Their mission was to intercept this path of sacrifice, and the battlefield would no longer belong to the Demon domain. The Demon Sovereigns would lose their geographic advantage, and the situation would change drastically or even be reversed.

    However, this was nowhere near that simple. The war had already gone on for far, far too long. Both sides were more than familiar with the tactics that they could use. How could the demonfolk not prepare a countermeasure for such an obvious opening?

    Before the purifying light could shine for very long, a demonfolk army completely composed of cavalry arrived boldly. There were ten thousand of them, all riding vicious demonic beasts, charging towards the Upraised Light abbot under a Demon King¡¯s lead.

    The Demon King swung his halberd, and the monster condensed from army qi lunged over. ¡°Die, bald ass!¡±

    From above, the group of several hundred monks basically seemed like a futile effort to stop ten thousand demonfolk cavalry.

    The Upraised Light abbot became solemn and struck the wooden fish violently. He paused after each strike, stressing each word, ¡°Na- Mo- A- Mi- T¨¡- Bha!¡±

    A great buddha of golden light rose up behind him, shining with a halo.

    With each word he uttered and each striking of the wooden fish, the monster of army qi sustained heavy damage. After the six words, it immediately collapsed.

    The frenzied demonfolk became confused as pain and regret filled them. They clutched their heads and cast aside their weapons. The demonic beasts directly collapsed on the ground and began whimpering. The Demon King swayed around as well, like he was drunk.

    The great buddha gently picked up the Demon King like plucking a flower, crushing him to pieces.

    The monks cheered. Even when they were in the Demon domain, the Upraised Light abbot did not fear these armies that were not led by Demon Sovereigns. Demon Emperors could still pose some threat, but Demon Kings were basically just coming here to die. However, he became even sterner than before.

    A second demonfolk army followed close behind, also led by a Demon King with only ten thousand demonfolk. They ushered the previous demonfolk forward, killing them immediately if they refused to move.

    The demonfolk rushed over chaotically. In order to protect the abbot, the warrior monks were forced to kill, and the demonic land that had just been purified slightly was corrupted again.

    The great buddha killed the second Demon King, and the demonfolk army began to halt and waver again when the third army arrived, swallowing the monks led by the Upraised Light abbot.

    They posed no threat, but with just three measly Demon Kings and thirty thousand demonfolk, they had completely disrupted the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s plan, keeping a monk who had attained two fruits of buddhism busy.

    At this moment, he also saw how the Xuanwu Army God and Scorching Fire Army God had been defeated one after another by ¡°Taowu¡± in the distance. Meanwhile, they were still stuck in the demonfolk army, unable to break free no matter what they did.

    ¡°Abbot, what do we do?¡±

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    The Upraised Light abbot sighed. Watching as the demonfolk surged over, all sinking into the wicked path with their stubbornness, he felt anger rise up within him. He spat out the six-worded mantra, ¡°O? ma?i padme h¨±?!¡±

    A wrathful expresion flashed across the buddha¡¯s face, and it transformed angrily. The golden clothes receded, rippling with muscle as its skin darkened. Like a fiend, its expression became terrifying and vicious, even more than the demonfolk. Wielding a golden sword with the flames of karma burning behind it, it unleashed its great fury, transforming into a wisdom king.

    With a leap, it entered the demonfolk army, kicking off a massacre!

    It annihilated all demons, killing them until blood flowed and corpses covered the ground, but it still did not stop.

    With the wisdom king paving a path, the Upraised Light abbot stood up and approached the battlefield. ¡°Follow me to rebirth in paradise!¡±

    The monks brought their palms together and said, ¡°Rebirth in paradise, returning to the pure land forever.¡±

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    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s ear twitched. He heard the strange sound of a bell, piercing the noisy battlefield like a silver thread.

    Wisps of pale-white flames spread over from the direction of the Demon domain. As soon as it made contact with the demonfolk corpses, it was like fire encountering oil, burning away even more vigorously. Even the ¡°sacrifices¡± buried in the ground and the demonic blood that seeped into the ground were set alight. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a great fire, burning towards the demonfolk.

    They were incinerated in the flames. There was no pain on their faces, and they instead smiled away in joy and peace. It was an extremely eerie sight, like the ones going to paradise were not the monks but them.

    In the raging flames, the Upraised Light abbot widened his eyes in disbelief. ¡°The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone!¡± Perhaps because he had been illuminated by the fire, he was pale in the face.

    ¡°The White Bone Bodhisattva?¡±

 Chapter 1495

    ¡°Someone is finally fleeing!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± scanned past everyone with his large, lone eye. ¡°Are you going to continue resisting the will of a god?¡±

    The brutal and vicious spirit filled the entire battlefield. No one had the courage to attack him anymore.

    Le Tian had a head full of grey hair now. His appearance had become very elderly. ¡°If this continues, it¡¯ll be far more than just half of us. Is it really a situation of certain death?¡±

    Under the terrifying pressure, Ke Xin finally gave into her urge to shrink back. She communicated, ¡°Senior sister, let¡¯s retreat!¡±

    Before Dai Mengfan could answer her, ¡°Taowu¡± shattered her hopes in a single sentence. ¡°Surrendering is the only way to live, as I¡¯ll kill whoever that flees.¡±

    Tu Wancheng¡¯s wickedness and attentiveness was completely revealed with that. If he began a massacre, he could kill another two or three direct disciples at most. The others could always use the opportunity to slip away, and ¡°Taowu¡± could not chase after them. As a result of both a formation and army qi, he could not travel too far away from the demonfolk camp and the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    But with what he said, the direct disciple who retreated first would definitely die. That had pinned down everyone here, leaving them completely up to his whim.

    This region still technically belonged to the Demon domain. The invisible laws of the world constantly influenced the will of the cultivators. Perhaps it was usually nothing, but it became especially frightening at a time like this. The mental pressure from the Demon God and the great terrors of life and death weighed heavily on everyone¡¯s hearts.

    Ke Xin¡¯s expression changed. She could not fight or flee, which put her in an extremely awkward position. Demonic thoughts immediately sprang forth in her mind. She understood the reason for all of this, yet there was nothing she could do about it. Once her mind swayed, her powers would begin to sway as well.

    With each passing moment, they grew weaker, like they were sinking into a swamp, unable to even put up a struggle. All they could do was watch helplessly as they were swallowed by the grime.

    ¡°I can spare your life as long as you¡¯re willing to accept the blessing of the demonic heavens and fight for the Demon domain from here on out!¡±

    The expressions of the direct disciples changed. That was making them become Demon Sovereigns. If almost all the Human Sovereigns of the Myriad sect defected to the Demon domain together, that would be an utterly shocking scandal.

    Tu Wancheng sneered inside, These foolish cowards. He had never planned on sparing any of them. Instead, he wanted to take them down in one fell swoop and kill them all. By then, he would definitely receive the blessings of the demonic heavens. This was a heaven-sent opportunity for him to break through to Heretic God. If he could not become a Heretic God, then if that woman Chao Tianjiao came looking for him some day in the future, would it not be his death?

    Thinking up to there, he could not help but shiver inside. He only relaxed slightly when he recalled the temporal difference between the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. If she were bold enough to appear right now, he would definitely make her die here and now!

    The sky froze under ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± watch, but the intense battle on the ground continued. The fearless warriors turned into asura, indulging themselves in the slaughter without any notion of exhaustion, fighting as hard as they could.

    The Xuanwu army continued to advance as the flood of metal surged violently.

    The Xuanwu Army God had collapsed already, but the spirit of the army remained. Instead, they could take back the army qi and condense a series of war beasts, devouring all of the demonfolk in their path like they were unstoppable.

    The army qi gathered by the demonfolk was all concentrated on ¡°Taowu¡±. They had more than ten times as much, but they struggled to fend off the flood of metal.

    Before they knew it, all of the direct disciples cast their gazes down towards the ground. If this continued, ¡°Taowu¡± would rapidly weaken. They might even be able to make it to the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous and turn the entire situation around. The powerful Human Sovereigns were forced to place their hopes in these mortals.

    Tu Wancheng glanced over. He had already placed the situation under his control, so it was time for him to clean up these ants. They were measly mortals, and they actually thought they could change the situation? He did not think these cowards had the courage to use this opportunity to flee.

    However, Dai Mengfan communicated silently, ¡°If he strikes to destroy the Xuanwu army, we¡¯ll retreat together. Each to their own!¡±

    He needed no other move. ¡°Taowu¡± raised his huge hand again, swinging it towards the Xuanwu army. However, his lone eye was fixed on the direct disciples, which left them extremely nervous.

    Boom!

    A grey stone tower sailed through the air, right towards ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± head.

    ¡°Taowu¡± struck the tower and sent rock flying everywhere. Dust filled the air, and he staggered half a step back.

    ¡°What?¡± Tu Wancheng¡¯s expression changed, and he raised his guard. Regular Human Sovereigns definitely did not possess such power. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me?¡±

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    Black Cloud city was empty. The tower seemed to rise up by itself before hurling itself over.

    In the pitch-black cavern, there was a flash of red light. A pair of scarlet eyes appeared, like it was hiding a vicious beast.

    A large hand grabbed the edge of the cavern. A figure leapt out, landing in front of Black Cloud city loudly.

    Dai Mengfan said in surprise, ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    Li Qingshan had transformed into the physique of the demonic and divine. He stood three hundred metres tall, but unlike the past, he maintained his human form.

    Apart from the pair of scarlet eyes and flying hair, he possessed no other characteristics of a daemon.

    He extended his left hand. It was a human hand, not the claw of the tiger demon. Even he found it rather strange.

    A wondrous power surged through his body, scorching hot and filled with life, even suppressing the powers of the other transformations.

    An eager voice beckoned him, ¡°Come, come, come!¡± It was like a mother beckoning her wandering child.

    The voice came from the sky!

    He could not help but raise his head. A blood-red swirl suddenly expanded above, rapidly growing larger.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Paths¡¯ End trembled in his hand. The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower asked with a smile, ¡°How does it feel to be an asura?¡±

    ¡°Me? An asura?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve said that you¡¯re a natural warrior. The Asura realm will always have its doors open to you.¡±

    In this Asura Field, true warriors would temporarily gain some special characteristics and powers of asura. The heavier their battle spirit, the firmer their willpower, the more special characteristics they would receive, and the greater their power would become. Even if they fell in battle, their souls would enter the Asura realm and reincarnate as true asura.

    Li Qingshan had basically obtained all the powers and special characteristics of asura. The door to the Asura realm was open to him as well. He could directly enter the Asura realm even without dying in battle, immediately gaining even more strength and becoming blessed as a child of the Asura realm.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I see, but I don¡¯t like to be someone¡¯s son.¡±

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower said excitedly, ¡°Then go conquer the Asura realm and become the king of asura, and then fell heaven! Kid, you have a chance, a very good chance!¡±

    ¡°Fell heaven?¡±

    He too had heard of the grudge between the Asura realm and the Heaven realm. Deva were the final enemies of asura, the ultimate battlefield in this endless war of blood. However, he still was not an asura yet, so he felt mostly indifferent.

    ¡°I¡¯ll cut down this big fella first!¡±

    Once again, he strode towards ¡°Taowu¡±.

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    Tu Wancheng was shocked. Where is he getting the courage from? Even if he had not killed him with that punch, he was close to death. Instead of using the opportunity to flee, how did he find the courage to re-enter the battlefield instead?

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    The blood-red swirl in the sky spun faster and faster. As he moved forwards, he was blessed by the heavens as if he gave off an invisible halo. Everyone¡¯s gazes gathered on him.

    On the other side of the battlefield, the razing fire incinerated all of the flesh, blood, and filth.

    With the general¡¯s return, the flames of war blazed once more!

 Chapter 1496

    Tu Wancheng sneered. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    Everything below Black Cloud city was within ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± range of attack. He abandoned the Xuanwu army and locked onto Li Qingsham mentally. He threw a punch, which resembled the fall of a black mountain.

    ¡°Turning so large only makes you a sitting duck!¡±

    That was not courage, but foolishness. Even when he was imbued with army qi and had transformed into an army god, he was not ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± opponent, let alone now when he did not have any army qi. This punch alone would crush him to pieces. No matter how much he outperformed himself on the spot, he could not make up for this colossal difference in strength.

    Ke Xin bit her lip and thought, No, he can¡¯t win. He¡¯s just sending himself to his death!

    However, Li Qingshan disagreed with that. He pointed his blade to the space behind ¡°Taowu¡± and said, ¡°And this too!¡±

    Tu Wancheng abruptly looked back, only to see the flames raze the distance, incinerating all the sacrifices and the remains, resentment, and howls.

    When the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone incinerated the final soul, the laws of the world were severed.

    The demonic heavens that enveloped the battlefield receded rapidly, only leaving behind the blood-red swirl that spun away endlessly.

    At that instant, all of the demonfolk panicked as if they had lost their protection.

    With the will of the army in disorder, the army qi dispersed.

    The might of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous had decreased significantly as well.

    With the formation¡¯s decline, the Demon God weakened.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± figure immediately shrank. His arm became much shorter as the fist slammed into Li Qingshan¡¯s face.

    The ground shattered and mist-like dust rose up, immediately scattered by the wind.

    His scarlet hair danced madly in the wind. Li Qingshan stepped over the uneven ground and the shockwaves like he was treading on waves. He was unfazed.

    Tu Wancheng panicked inside when he heard Ying Zhe¡¯s message, Don¡¯t panic. You¡¯ve just lost the protection of the demonic heavens. You are still untouchable.

    However, Tu Wancheng became even more uneasy. There was no such thing as ¡°good intentions¡± in the Demon domain. He utterly hated Li Qingshan for destroying everything for him. I need to butcher him immediately!

    He raised his right arm backwards as if it could touch the horizon. His five fingers splayed open like a cloud before suddenly blurring, vanishing, and slamming over.

    The palm strike was undodgeable. Li Qingshan bellowed out, ¡°Where be the officers?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re right here!¡±

    The five commandants had noticed his return a long time ago, as the eleven Demon Sovereigns were all controlling the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, and it was impossible for Tu Wancheng to direct his attention to ¡°minions¡± like them. Unless they were suffering an absolute defeat, regular Demon Emperors could not threaten them at all, so they actually all survived stubbornly up to now. Not a single one of them had died.

    Dai Mengfan suddenly noticed five banners tied to Li Qingshan¡¯s back among his dancing hair. She said with joy, ¡°He actually managed to protect the banners in that situation earlier!¡±

    Actually, this was all thanks to Lu Boming¡¯s Giant Spirit God armour, which helped him block a lot of the damage, or he really would not have the spare strength to protect these banners.

    The wills of people were easily influenced, changing like lightning. The clouds of army qi surged over.

    Within the deafening clashes of metal and the surging earth, Li Qingshan swung his blade to parry, blocking the palm strike forcefully.

    Was it the Xuanwu Army God again? No, this was an Asura War God!

    The army he led right now was no longer human soldiers, but asura warriors. Even though more than half of them had fallen in battle already, those that remained were all experienced elites, battle souls that refused to relent.

    The highly-condensed army qi formed blood-red armour on him instead of directly producing the Xuanwu Army God. It did not collapse at all from ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± attack.

    But as a consequence, it could no longer provide the same protection from all sides like the Xuanwu Army God. Li Qingshan had to endure most of the damage himself.

    Blood oozed out from the corner of his lips as his organs were ruptured. Every single bone in his body trembled like they could break at any time. Even after being weakened, ¡°Taowu¡± was still so powerful that he stood no chance.

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    Tu Wancheng felt disbelief as well.Suddenly, he regretted going after those direct disciples. He should have destroyed the entire Xuanwu army first. No one would have thought that these insignificant ants would play a critical role in influencing the situation.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to butcher you!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head. The helmet twisted under his fingers as his head ached.

    It was the same trick, but this time, he would be crushing Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Under the blood-red swirl, the undying body of asura allowed his wounds to heal rapidly, but he still struggled to rival ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± destruction.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone silently spread over to the battlefield, quietly devouring the remains and the living demonfolk.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± lone eye swivelled around, searching for the master of the flames desperately.

    Actually, Xiao An had arrived on the battlefield a long time ago, well before the war had erupted.

    She currently lay in a river bank left behind by the flash flood earlier, like a white bone that had been buried and exposed by the rain. She used the Skeleton Demons that she had hidden in the surroundings a long time ago to light the blaze.

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    She had to grasp the situation in person and choose the optimal moment to set off a great blaze. She did not give off any aura at all, such that even ¡°Taowu¡± failed to notice her.

    Without the protection of army qi, regular demonfolk stood no chance at all against Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone. Even just catching a spark would immediately turn them into a torch. Even more eerily, when each demonfolk was set alight, they revealed an expression of peace and joy that demonfolk definitely should not have been capable of exhibiting.

    This was not destruction, but liberation.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± figure shrank at a visible rate. As a result, not only did Li Qingshan fend off his attacks, but he even raised his head and unleashed the Tiger Demon¡¯s Killing Roar when ¡°Taowu¡± lowered his head and light gathered in his lone eye.

    Howl! The tiger¡¯s roar shook the world!

    Fierce winds erupted in his face. ¡°Taowu¡± shut his eye and threw his head backwards. Tu Wancheng was utterly furious, but he felt like the situation was getting a little out of hand. He seemed to be becoming rather powerless over Li Qingshan now.

    In the blink of an eye, the tides of war turned.

    The direct disciples were dazzled, having undergone great emotional upheaval. Even Dai Mengfan was confused, uncertain about whether they should fight or retreat. If they were to fight, it did not seem like he needed their help, but if they retreated, who was foolish enough to retreat now?

    The expressions of the Demon Sovereigns changed drastically. ¡°What is this fire?¡±

    Ying Zhe said gloomily, ¡°The White Bone Bodhisattva¡¯s Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone!¡±

    ¡°Bodhisattva!¡±

    All of the Demon Sovereigns paled in fright. At this very moment, these violent, forceful, and even rather chaotic and insane figures were like a group of frightened children.

    They did not understand the true meaning behind that word. They only knew that the White Bone Bodhisattva was an existence that had undergone the eighth heavenly tribulation and stood at the apex of the entire cultivation community. If a bodhisattva came in person, even the twelve Demon Gods would not be able to protect them. They would flee back to the Demon domain first.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not!¡±

    Ying Zhe was greatly frightened when he first saw the fire too, but he calmed down very soon. He discovered that the flames only burned demonfolk and not humans, even when it came to the corpses that were completely dead, letting them either return to the Hell realm or rise up to the Asura realm. That definitely was not something the White Bone Bodhisattva would do. In the eyes of the White Bone Bodhisattva, all were equal, so how could there be a difference between humans and demons?

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    ¡°It¡¯s a successor of white bone!¡±

    The pale-white flames burned through several dozen kilometres of battlefield. The two armies advanced like they were unstoppable, already approaching the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Waves of battle cries filled their faces.

    The Demon Sovereigns¡¯ faces had been dyed pale-white by the flames. If they lost this battle, they would all be paying with their lives.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we can only welcome the arrival of a true Demon God. Hopefully, that trash Tu Wancheng is prepared to receive Demon God Taowu¡¯s will.¡±

    Ying Zhe smiled with a pale expression. He was actually the one in charge of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, the commander of this battle. Tu Wancheng was merely a clown destined to be sacrificed.

 Chapter 1497

    Cling!

    With the sound of bells, souls were stirred.

    The demonfolk that were already in a frenzy became even more chaotic, turning against one another and swinging their blades at everything living before their eyes.

    The Upraised Light abbot abandoned the group of monks and charged onto the battlefield, following where the sound of bells came from. He searched around without any regard like he was possessed.

    ¡°Where?¡±

    The monks from the World of the Nine Provinces had never heard of the White Bone Bodhisattva before. They only sensed the blasphemy instinctively, which was why they viewed her as a buddha nemesis.

    However, as a monk that had attained two fruits of buddhism, that was not the word that the Upraised Light abbot thought of. Instead, he wanted an answer.

    ¡°Bodhisattva, oh bodhisattva! Why, why did you betray the buddha?¡±

    He felt extremely sorrowful inside. His appearance became older as well. He neither dared nor could bring himself to view that one as an enemy.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you swear a great oath to turn the world into a pure land of paradise?¡±

    She was the greatest of the Pure Land sect, carrying the legacy of Mah¨¡y¨¡na, attaining the fruit of Arhat as a bhikkhun¨© and obtaining the personal teachings of the buddha, the Wordless scripture. That had once been the glory of the entirety of buddhism, as well as the Pure Land sect.

    Then she faced the eighth heavenly tribulation. If she succeeded, she would be the first mortal to attain the fruit of bodhisattva since the four great bodhisattvas.

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, the six realms cycled. Throughout buddhism, all watched closely, only to be met with a skeleton of white bones that even swore four cursed oaths: The boundless creatures, I vow to slaughter; the endless afflictions, I vow to fell; the limitless dharma, I vow to destroy; the unsurpassable buddha way, I vow to end.

    The buddha grieved, and buddhism was rocked to the core. The foundations of the Pure Land sect were shaken, such that even now, they had yet to recover. Many eminent monks of the Pure Land sect became lost, such that their cultivations halted.

    Even if his flesh, blood, and soul would be incinerated by the flames, never to be reborn, he still had to ask, What exactly was this all for?

    But when he found the origins of the ringing bell, all he discovered was a tiny Skeleton Demon carrying a bell, cackling away as it hopped from head to head.

    Its head swivelled, and it saw the Upraised Light abbot too. It crouched down on the head of a Demon King that had gone crazy. Its eye sockets burned with two specks of pale flames as it tilted its head at him as if it was asking, What are you looking for?

    ¡°You¡¯re not¡­¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot returned to his senses and also sensed the differences. The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone were under delicate control, only burning the demonfolk and not the humans. That truly was strange. Even for a successor of white bone, it was still far too strange. If that legendary path of white bone had such a great distinction between good and evil, there would be nothing to criticise it for.

    On the chaotic battlefield, between the sounds of the bell that stirred and hypnotised the soul, he brought his palms together and knelt down on the ground. ¡°If you are a successor of white bone, please give me a reason. I will die without regrets.¡±

    ¡°A monk?¡± The Demon King beast¡¯s remaining sliver of sanity was swallowed by fury, lunging towards the Upraised Light abbot. Its mouth was lined with sharp teeth as foul air filled the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s mouth.

    A wisdom king descended from above, lopping off the Demon King beast¡¯s giant head, which rolled over to the Upraised Light abbot. The Skeleton Demon stood on it like a ball and could not bother with cackling anymore. It finally stopped and gazed at the Upraised Light abbot, spitting a stream of Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone at him.

    The Upraised Light abbot dismissed the wisdom king. He neither dodged nor blocked. His gaze was determined. The pale-white flames filled his face. Right when they were about to reach his eyebrows, it formed sixteen words in the air.

    ¡°Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is this form. Form is no other than emptiness, and emptiness is no other than form.¡±

    ¡°The Heart sutra!?¡± The Upraised Light abbot was stunned, but all he saw was that the Skeleton Demon had already bounded away. The sound of bells vanished into the distance, replaced by chaos.

    The Upraised Light abbot furrowed his brows as he sank deeply into his thoughts. The wisdom king watched over him, constantly killing the demonfolk.

    In the half-dry riverbed, a set of white bones were buried in the sand.

    Xiao An thought, I¡¯ll fool this monk for now, just in case he causes trouble. If I burn these mortals, Qingshan definitely won¡¯t be happy. It was not easy to distinguish between mortals and demonfolk, but she did not want to make him feel bad unless she had no other choice.

    With a Skeleton Demon serving as an eye, she carefully controlled the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, gathering at times and dispersing at others, sometimes rising and sometimes falling.

    When they gathered, they were like blooming white lotuses, swallowing relatively stronger existences like Demon Generals and Demon Commanders. When they dispersed, they were like petals drifting through the air, landing on countless demonfolk.

    When they rose into the air, they were like pale-white hands, grabbing the demonic beasts in the sky. When they fell, they sank deeply into the mud, seeping into like water, and even setting the bones buried deep beneath the battlefield alight.

    She constantly paid attention to Li Qingshan¡¯s situation as well.

    With a thunk, brains splattered everywhere. ¡°Taowu¡± used his full strength and crushed Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Tu Wancheng said viciously, ¡°Let¡¯s see how you survive that!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± laughed at the sky. His voice reverberated through the surroundings.

    ¡°Qingshan!¡± Xiao An sat up.

    The expressions of the direct disciples all changed. He had staged such a powerful return, yet he still did not stand a chance against the weakened ¡°Taowu.¡±

    The headless Li Qingshan landed a punch on ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± face, smashing apart his smile.

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    Li Qingshan did not die. Strand by strand and fragment by fragment, his shattered head reassembled. Not a single droplet of blood was spilt, and not a single strand of hair was lost.

    Tu Wancheng¡¯s laughter froze.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower laughed. ¡°You fool, don¡¯t you know what the undying body of asura is?¡±

    Under the blessings of the blood-red swirl, Li Qingshan had almost become a true Asura Sovereign. The so-called ¡°undying body of asura¡± was not limited to revival from death. It was truly an undying body. Let alone having a head smashed in, even if the entire body was smashed in, it could reassemble instantly.

    Only the depletion of power remained an issue. After complete exhaustion, it was still possible to die. However, there was the endless earth right beneath his feet, as well as the ox demon¡¯s ability, the Strength of the Earth.

    With the two combined, it became a true body of undying.

    It was as if the Asura realm was trying to express good will. Come, have a taster first. The Asura realm is where you truly belong.

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me! You can die now!¡± He threw his head against ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± body. With a crack, his skull shattered, but he was unconcerned.

    He had used the Ox Demon Butts its Horns far too often. Only the Tiger Demon Digs out the Heart came close. Even without horns, he was not afraid. He could still butt people with his head, and he could even pour in more power of tremors!

    ¡°Taowu¡± reeled backwards. The infuriated Tu Wancheng unleashed a maddened series of attacks at Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯m going to butcher you! Butcher you!¡±

    Under the storm-like barrage, Li Qingshan¡¯s head was ruptured again. His body collapsed bit by bit, basically reduced to mince meat. ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± lone eye shone with demonic light, splitting him in half.

    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±

    The two halves of Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth laughed away at the same time. He downright abandoned all defence and fought back madly, swinging the frenzied blade around, landing a ¡°Myriad Flowers¡± on ¡°Taowu¡±.

    The wind from the swings flew violently, scarlet like surging flames. Most of the time, he was a monster without a complete figure, and the mad laughter he produced did not resemble the sound that a human could let out either. Instead, it seemed like it originated from the blood-red swirl in the sky, constantly shaking ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± proud, brutal spirit.

    Xiao An laid back down peacefully again.

    Everyone was stunned by the sight. Wan Jianfeng thought, My sword probably can¡¯t cut down someone like that. Then he asked Dai Mengfan, ¡°Senior sister, should we lend a hand?¡±

    Dai Mengfan sighed. ¡°This is no longer something we can interfere in. Let¡¯s keep our distance!¡± Seeing this, it was only a matter of time before Li Qingshan overwhelmed ¡°Taowu¡±. If they went up to help out, not only would they fail to provide any help, but they would be dragged down to their deaths instead. It was not worth it at all.

    The battlefield on the ground was like a raging fire. The morale of the soldiers climbed, constantly advancing. The flood of metal was unstoppable, no longer requiring their assistance.

    They all eased up and smiled in relief. Sure enough, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was still far-sighted. It was all thanks to him, or even if half of everyone here died, they could not necessarily achieve victory- no, it would still be certain defeat.

    ¡°It¡¯s the will of the heavens! The will of the heavens!¡± Le Tian was reinvigorated. His grey hair turned black, and all of his wrinkles vanished. ¡°Senior and junior brothers, are you convinced with your defeat now? You don¡¯t even need to wait thirty years. Once this battle ends, he¡¯s a direct disciple. He might even become the first senior brother!¡±

    Ke Xin praised as well, ¡°Sister Yaozhu truly has sharp eyes!¡± Someone like that could not be measured up to just with the measly realm of Human Sovereigns. Even the previous first senior brother Lin came nowhere close. If she could become his cultivation partner, she would be willing to marry him.

    They had already reached the final moments of the battle. The terrifying shadow seemed to be dispersing.

    But at the same time, the Demon Sovereigns all became startled when they heard what Ying Zhe said.

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    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous could construct an embodiment of a Demon God through the totem poles. Although the construct possessed the spirit and will of the Demon God, it lacked self-consciousness. It had to be controlled by a Demon Sovereign.

    With Tu Wancheng¡¯s strength, it was actually extremely difficult and forced for him to wield such tremendous power. The troops led by every single Demon Sovereign or Human Sovereign were basically around five hundred thousand in number. That was the limit.

    As a result, despite the tremendous power that ¡°Taowu¡± possessed, it had only demonstrated a total of three moves so far, a slap, a stomp, and a glare. It was even simpler and more brainless than a fight between regular people. It had not even unleashed a third of its battle prowess.

    When Ying Zhe said they would summon a true Demon God, that obviously was not a Demon God in person, but summoning the consciousness of a Demon God and pouring it into the embodiment. Immediately, it would erupt with a hundred and twenty percent of battle prowess or even more than that. After all, ¡°mortals¡± like them could not imagine the methods of true gods.

    However, even Demon Sovereigns like them did not wish to see a situation like that. First of all, the Demon God might not necessarily answer the summoning. They were not common servants that obeyed their beck and call. There were countless important matters that required their consideration and management. A ¡°local war¡± like this might not even be worth them splitting their attention. The price for the victory of a battle in a corner of the chessboard might be a disadvantaged position across the entire board.

    Secondly, even if the Demon God answered the summoning, they had to have sacrifices. That would be a Demon Sovereign, so Tu Wancheng, who was currently inside ¡°Taowu¡±. The twelve Demon Gods were all temperamental as well. The consequences of disturbing them without any good reason might not be something they could bear.

    The Demon Sovereigns exchanged glances and thought, This old guy has been planning to summon the consciousness of the Demon God right from the beginning, offering up Tu Wancheng as a sacrifice. Isn¡¯t he afraid the Demon God will direct his wrath towards him? He really is from the Hundun lineage after all! No matter how prudent and far-sighted he seems on the surface, he is still a madman at the core.

    ¡°You¡¯re completely right, fellow Ying Zhe. Tu Wancheng is a piece of trash. We should have sacrificed him a long time ago.¡±

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    Ying Zhe said, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s begin! Everything comes down to this!¡±

    ¡°Everything comes down to this.¡±

    The core to the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous began to flicker.

    Tu Wancheng shivered inside, like he was facing his doom. Suddenly, he looked back. ¡°Ying Zhe, you old dog, don¡¯t you¡­¡±

    A consciousness descended from above and pierced his sea of consciousness, destroying all of his will.

 Chapter 1498

    ¡°Taowu¡± suddenly stiffened. Li Qingshan had grasped Tu Wancheng¡¯s location a long time ago, so the myriad slashes turned into one, plunging straight into ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± body.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    The giant blade tore through the layers of army qi, thrusting straight towards Tu Wancheng.

    Tu Wancheng¡¯s eyes rolled back, and his eyes twisted. His body trembled. Right when the blade was about to reach him, he suddenly split in half. There were two halves of the body, two lone eyes, and two mouths that said a single sentence slowly, ¡°Bunch of¡­ trash!¡±

    The voice was like a piece of wood thrust into their ears. The eleven Demon Sovereigns all felt their heads ache as their expressions changed drastically. They all bowed their heads on the totem poles.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s lips curled up. The offering had already been accepted!

    Li Qingshan pierced ¡°Taowu¡±, but there was no joy on his face at all. When he tried to draw out the blade, a strange force gripped the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End firmly.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower warned him. ¡°Qingshan, something is up!¡±

    ¡°Taowu¡± shrank at a visible rate, but the army qi was not dispersing. Instead, it was condensing.

    With a thud, the ground shook. The remaining million or so demonfolk suddenly threw themselves on the ground and shrivelled up as if they had been sucked dry. Wisps of demon qi gathered towards ¡°Taowu¡±.

    This was no longer just army qi, but all of their vital energies. They had all become offerings, only leaving behind a small number of Demon Emperors and Demon Kings, trembling away.

    The deafening battle cries came to a sudden halt. The soldiers that fought for their lives abruptly lost all of their opponents. The battlefield fell quiet all of a sudden. The intense contrast was like a strike to their chests. It was so agonising that they wanted to cough up blood.

    Ke Xin paled in fright and covered her mouth, heaving away dryly. Terror completely filled her charming face.

    The direct disciples that originally conversed easily had all become sheet-white. They seemed to realise what had happened. They were closer to gods than mortals, so they better understood their horrors.

    Le Tian was in disbelief. ¡°How is this possible? How can a battle like this lead to a Demon God descending with his consciousness?¡±

    It was just a measly Black Cloud city. The Human Sovereigns valued it dearly, but they would abandon it when they needed to. They had never considered seeking help from a Human Immortal, much less have a True Immortal come to save the situation, as it was not worth it at all.

    From the bigger picture perspective, this was only a local battle. The outcome had no sway over the greater situation. From a distance, it was perfectly normal to see the front lines be pushed to and fro.

    Time would fly, and no matter how many people fell in battle, more would always ¡°spring forth¡±. Even if they lost a few Human Sovereigns, it was nothing. Since when did the world lack talented cultivators?

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, perhaps the amount of time elapsed was only enough to play a game of chess. Meanwhile, countless lives would have been birthed and died throughout the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm.

    Why would the chess player leap onto the board to save a mere soldier? They were not exactly cold and heartless, but they really did not have the effort to spare to care.

    Speaking of which, this might have been a move made by the chess player himself. After all, the concept of a gambit was as simple as it could get. What mattered was the overall situation. Whether they were willing to sacrifice the chess pieces did not actually matter at all.

    All chess players would rather obtain victory without sacrificing any chess pieces, but before them sat another chess player. Even they themselves could not control the entire chess game, let alone a measly chess piece.

    However, once the chess player personally took the stage, even if it was merely a finger, the entire situation would undergo an overwhelming change. It was even possible for them to directly take the opposing side¡¯s ¡°king¡±.

    ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± originally-blurry figure suddenly cleared up. His skin was wrinkled, like dead wood, while his torso was tall and straight. It reminded Li Qingshan of the Giant Lumberfolk from the nine provinces.

    The huge, lone eye was filled with colour. It swivelled around in its socket, taking in everything before returning to Li Qingshan in the end. ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. He felt like he was forced to answer, unable to find the courage to not answer. ¡°I- I¡¯m¡­¡±

    By now, ¡°Taowu¡± had shrunken down to the same height as him, but the pressure only increased. The lone eye seemed to gaze down from high up in the heavens, overlooking the living creatures coldly.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower yelled out, ¡°Retreat, Qingshan!¡± This fearless, proud weapon also felt deep fear.

    This was not an illusionary totem but a true god. It was different from the monster that was purely a mass of power from earlier. Even if he had only descended with a wisp of his consciousness, his very nature surpassed all other existences present.

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    With Taowu¡¯s descent, he demonstrated absolute brutality and strength.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ your grandaddy!¡± Li Qingshan planted his foot against Taowu¡¯s chest, wanting to draw out the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    ¡°Heh!¡± Taowu grabbed the blade slowly with his great hand that resembled deadwood.

    Crack! Fractures began to spread. The indestructible armament was as fragile as ice in his hands.

    With a ping, it shattered. The blade was destroyed!

    His other hand extended into Li Qingshan in the meantime. His fingers grew like trees before splitting, before growing again, before splitting again¡­ Black branches pierced and filled every part of Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes and coughed up blood, spraying on Taowu¡¯s chest. He was unable to recover.

    Taowu dragged his ruined body closer and sneered. ¡°Undying body of asura?¡±

    At that instant, the tremendous damage that Li Qingshan had sustained even surpassed all the wounds he had endured since the start of the battle.

    The undying body of asura had its limits too, and Taowu had breached this limit with ease, creating a heavy wound that could not be healed.

    As the battle on the ground came to its conclusion, the blood-red swirl in the sky rapidly shrank. No matter how many demonfolk Xiao An ¡°converted¡±, she was unable to shake its existence.

    Ying Zhe¡¯s smile twisted. ¡°This is a Demon God!¡± It was no longer a difference of strength but a disparity of cultivation.

    Taowu asked again, ¡°Who are you?¡± It was as if he cared very much about the answer to this question.

    He had not descended to win the battle, but for the Black Sun Demon Heart. However, he had not actually come to obtain the Black Sun Demon Heart either. Instead, it was to grasp the opportunity and situation. He had to personally enter the chess board to observe.

    He had obtained this opportunity to observe by overwhelming all the other Demon Gods, and the situation did not disappoint him either. The appearance of a successor of white bone was already a shocking piece of news. However, compared to the man in his hands, that was nothing.

    Through the disintegrating undying body of asura, the weaving of fate had already become so complicated that he was unable to see it clearly anymore. There was a vague tie in there that even caused him dread.

    As a result, he asked again, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips quivered. Taowu got a bit closer. ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s painful¡­¡±

    ¡°Then hurry up and answer.¡± Taowu was already out of patience.

    ¡°¡­ly satisfying!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly plunged the broken blade towards Taowu¡¯s lone eye.

    Taowu¡¯s eye narrowed, and hundreds of black pieces of wood jutted out from Li Qingshan¡¯s arm, completely sealing off all of his movements. He was a mere Human Sovereign, yet he was still bold enough to attack him. That kind of ability was nothing but exceptional.

    The lone eye seemed to see another smear of fate. ¡°You¡¯re the person of legends? No, there¡¯s no need for you to tell me. I will check it myself. The person of legends can¡¯t be killed so easily.¡±

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    If it had been a different Demon God here, perhaps they would continue to observe without trying to kill him, but Taowu was not that kind of coward.

    Suddenly, he understood why the Demon Gods had accepted sending him for observation, as well as the strange smile on Qiongqi¡¯s face.

    Those despicable bastards have even relinquished their final shred of pride after sinking into the Demon domain! Hmph, even if you¡¯re the person of legends, I can still make you perish all the same. Die!

 Chapter 1499

    The direct disciples were all silent. No one dared to step forward and assist him. Even Wan Jianfeng who did not fear death let go of his sword. A fear that surpassed death halted his footsteps.

    It was like facing a bottomless abyss. Even the bravest of warriors would halt before it. It had nothing to do with cowardice. It was completely a matter of instincts, as the abyss could not be conquered. They could not gaze into it for long, or it would lead to the sensation of falling. The abyss also gazed back at them.

    After losing their enemy, the soldiers of the Xuanwu army also sank into confusion. They had finally killed their way through the enemy ranks and arrived before the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, but what were they supposed to do next?

    There were no new orders, just towering stone pillars. There was absolutely nothing that they could do.

    As the blood-red swirl in the sky shrank, the powers bestowed upon them by the Asura realm receded like the tide as well. It filled them with deep exhaustion, such that they could not remain standing under the weight of their armour or even just the weight of their bodies. If it were not for their combined wills, holding on through their stubborn willpower, they probably would have collapsed on the ground like the demonfolk as well.

    The sense of despair spread like a plague. They had already followed the military order, fighting to the very end with their general, but were they still unable to achieve victory?

    The man that they had placed all of their hopes in seemed to have lost the ability to fight back. In the vast sea of people, someone cried out bleakly, ¡°General!¡±

    The hilt of the blade slid out from Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. At that moment, he was just that lonely.

    He still did not give up on the battle, but his arm had been completely twisted already, which came with unprecedentedly excruciating pain.

    It even surpassed the bit of the pain of hell he had experienced in the past. Whenever he thought his pain had reached the limit, the forked wood would split further. Their amount multiplied endlessly, piercing and tearing apart every single bone and blood vessel.

    The undying body of asura seemed to become the source of the pain. Regular people definitely would have gone insane already. Even strong-willed cultivators probably would welcome death with open arms at a time like this.

    There were great terrors between life and death. Li Qingshan was no exception. He was frightened out of his wits. He was in so much pain that he wanted to die.

    Ironically, whenever that happened, the flow of time would always be exceptionally slow, such that he could clearly distinguish every shred of fear and pain. It would also make him grumble, Why do I deserve something like this? It would also make him feel regret. If I had known earlier, I shouldn¡¯t have come. Who the hell cares if these bastards die or not!

    However, whenever those thoughts flashed through his head, he could not help but smile, smiling and laughing at how he was still a mortal at the end of the day.

    However, when that smile appeared on his face, only the corner of his lips twitched slightly.

    Taowu¡¯s eye narrowed. He was rather stunned. He¡¯s smiling?

    Within the scarlet eyes, there was neither hatred nor fury, silently enduring the pain in the abyss of fear. He continued to draw wisps of power from the ground, channelling it into his broken body before using his flesh to crush the pieces of wood and the countless branches.

    Pop¡­ crack¡­ The endless noise sent chills down spines. The direct disciples all widened their eyes as if they were looking at a monster.

    Earlier, when he gave up on defence and launched a furious attack, they had already become extremely shocked. What they felt right now basically could not be put into words.

    Ying Zhe shivered as well. Suddenly, he felt like Tu Wancheng¡¯s failure was not a coincidence. An opponent like this simply could not be defeated by anyone.

    Just who is this kid? He¡¯s basically even more like a Demon Sovereign than Demon Sovereigns. It¡¯s impossible for the Myriad sect to produce a disciple like this. Hold on, d- don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the person of legends chosen by the Demon domain?

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    Li Qingshan continued to put up an ugly struggle. Even if he died here, even if he could not make it beyond the Nine Heavens, he did not want to let this life go to waste. As long as he was still alive, even if he merely had a split second remaining, he would continue onwards.

    A thought flashed through Taowu¡¯s head. It¡¯s far too strange. Perhaps he really is the person of legends? Then he became even more vicious. A dead legend is not a legend!

    ¡°Release him!¡± A furious voice rang out. The pale-white sea of flames incinerated the corpses of the million demonfolk and gathered together on a shiny skeleton in the centre of the sky.

    The flames that were originally silent became turbulent now, like the flames of anger.

    ¡°You¡¯re still bold enough to show yourself?¡± Taowu was rather surprised. Since when did the path of white bone involve so much affection and sentiment?

    Xiao An said nothing. She condensed a pale-white bone claw from the flames and reached towards Taowu viciously.

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    It dyed the surroundings a pale-white. The bone claw had gathered all the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone from the several million demonfolk corpses. It was even larger than Taowu himself. The strike was basically startling.

    ¡°If you had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation, perhaps it might still pose a threat.¡± Taowu was unfazed. With a swing of his hand, the bone claw collapsed, dispersing and turning back into regular Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    Her situation was similar to Tu Wancheng. Xiao An had yet to achieve the fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi, so she struggled to control the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone from several million demonfolk corpses. If she were against a regular Demon Sovereign, then a single strike would have been enough to kill them, but it was rather insufficient against an embodiment of Taowu.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± The flames dispersed. Taowu was just about to kill her in a single strike when he suddenly noticed the several dozen vicious Skeleton Demons charge towards the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, the totem pole that belonged to him.

    As it turned out, she was also aware that she posed no threat to Taowu. The bone claw was merely a distraction. What she was actually after was destroying the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    ¡°An impressive idea. Unfortunately, it¡¯s useless.¡± Taowu pressed down with his hand again, and huge, black logs jutted up into the air, smashing apart every single Skeleton Demon. She dodged again and again, but she was still struck by a log. Her rib cage shattered, and she fell out of the air.

    The Upraised Light abbot had finally found the successor of white bone that he had been searching for desperately, but he was astounded by how furious she was. He gazed at the skeleton in the air before gazing at Li Qingshan. Suddenly, he realised something and stood up. He chanted the six-worded mantra, imbuing himself with the wisdom king. He charged into the air and swung his sword at Taowu. ¡°Demon subduement!¡±

    Taowu squinted his eyes slightly. ¡°Alright, bald ass. You¡¯ve come to die too. You want to go to paradise? I¡¯ll shatter your soul so you never reincarnate!¡±

    He grabbed him in a single stroke to crush him. Right when he waited for his existence to be completely erased, a beam of buddhist light descended from above and enveloped Taowu¡¯s hand, silently reducing it to sand and exposing the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s soul. It shone with a gentle glow.

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    Auspicious clouds surged in the air. The hymns and chanting seemed within arm¡¯s reach, yet also well beyond reach, inspiring the hearts of people.

    Taowu jolted. ¡°The receiving light of the buddha!¡±

    The light of the buddha came from the Western Paradise Sukh¨¡vat¨©. It was the buddha himself welcoming and receiving him, a treatment that no regular monk could enjoy.

    He came to a realisation. He was not the only observer.

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s expression was peaceful. He brought his palms together. ¡°Qingshan, I can only help you up to here. You have a heart of benevolence and a destiny with the buddha. You will definitely achieve extraordinary things.¡± A smear of sorrow then appeared. ¡°Form is no other than emptiness, and emptiness is no other than form. That is not something I do not understand. The world is not a pure land, and many of the living creatures are foolish too, but they are worth our sacrifices. Namo Amit¨¡bha!¡±

 Chapter 1500

    However, Xiao An understood that he was referring to her towards the end. He was probably afraid she would embark on the same path as the White Bone Bodhisattva. However, she never cared about how the living creatures were, let alone sacrificing herself for them. She only cared about one person, and she did not mind sacrificing herself for him.

    However, the light of the buddha that fell down from the land of bliss made her feel strangely nostalgic. Was this all forms of buddhism paying homage to the buddha? The boundless buddhism and their immeasurable powers and methods were like the rivers flowing into the ocean. They were all from the buddha.

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s soul rose up slowly in the light, returning to the land of bliss and gradually vanishing.

    At that instant, the light of the buddha bloomed, illuminating the land. It was vaguely possible to make out a great buddha seated on the top of the auspicious clouds with a faint smile and a hazy expression.

    The Demon Sovereigns howled in pain. Within the sizzling sounds, white smoke rose up from their bodies like they were being melted by acid.

    The formation core wavered, and Taowu¡¯s figure wavered as a result. His body melted like the snow under the scorching sun.

    However, the lone eye remained fixed on the buddha in the sky. He roared out at the sky, ¡°Tath¨¡gata, if you really have benevolence, why do you not save the living creatures of the Demon domain?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up. He had held on arduously exactly for an opportunity like this. He twisted his neck without any hesitation and bit down on Taowu¡¯s wrist.

    With a crack, he bit it to pieces.

    The branching wood within his body was immediately reduced to dust.

    Endless power surged up from the earth, allowing his shattered body to recover rapidly.

    The blood-red swirl remained in the sky. As long as the battle spirit remained, the asura did not die. None of his patience had gone to waste.

    Li Qingshan gritted his teeth and rushed towards the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    Once again, advance!

    The light of the buddha vanished quickly, and the sky turned blue again.

    Under the scorching sun, on the vast earth, a figure ran along furiously. His figure was sturdy like a mountain, his scarlet hair danced like fire, and he breathed like an ox. He was like the legendary Kuafu chasing after the sun.

    Taowu lowered his head and gazed at Li Qingshan as if he remembered something. His gaze almost became pitiful. ¡°For what?¡±

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    Countless black logs erupted from the earth, piercing Li Qingshan¡¯s feet like bushes of sharp grass.

    He immediately lost his balance and fell on the ground, falling into countless bushes, leaving him bloodied. However, he continued to advance, even if he had to crawl along the ground.

    Taowu was about to make his way over when he suddenly looked down again. As it turned out, before he had realised it, crawling vines had grown beneath him, entangling his feet firmly.

    A slender figure stood on the walls of Black Cloud city. Ruan Yaozhu held a bamboo segmented staff and powered the Heavenly Tome of Nature, chanting away. She unleashed all of the powers she had in her to silently give all of her blessing to the miserable figure.

    She pursed her lips and thought of the kiss from earlier. That was a sensation she had never experienced before. Her heart surged, and she struggled to compose herself, such that her emotions even drowned out her instinctive fear for a god.

    ¡°Yaozhu, you should stay here!¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Hmph, you just kissed me, and you¡¯re not going to call me senior sister anymore? Even making my decision for me.

    ¡°If you enter the battlefield, I¡¯ll have to split my focus to protect you. I won¡¯t be able to win even if I could.¡±

    His words were basically infuriating. It was as if she was a useless piece of trash. However, she believed it, as he would definitely protect her, even at the cost of his own life.

    She bit her lip and smiled. ¡°Qingshan, who¡¯s protecting who now?¡±

    Boom! A giant, black log tore through the air, piercing her body.

    ¡°Yaozhu!¡± the nine-colour deer cried out.

    ¡°Looks like Human Sovereigns aren¡¯t all trash!¡± Taowu lifted his feet, tearing apart the wilted vines. He arrived behind Li Qingshan with just a step. The pity in his eyes grew heavier, but he struck even more viciously, out to kill.

    The abyss-like darkness loomed over. Li Qingshan did not look back.

    In the next moment, fire illuminated the darkness. A man and a horse shot over through the air like they were unstoppable, raging with flames.

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    Li Liehuo was still alive!

    He was positioned inside the Scorching Fire Army God, and Huo Hua had endured a lot of the damage for him, so ¡°Taowu¡¯s¡± strike from before was not lethal. Li Liehuo did not receive the same kind of blessing from the Asura realm as Li Qingshan, but even if he was not a son of the heavens, he was a godson of the heavens. His wounds also recovered rapidly.

    However, the situation on the battlefield developed far too quickly. By the time he had roughly recovered, Taowu¡¯s consciousness had descended, overwhelming the entire battlefield.

    Huo Hua tried to dissuade him. ¡°Liehuo, don¡¯t go anymore. You¡¯ve already done all that you can!¡±

    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t!¡±

    Li Liehuo gazed at Li Qingshan who put up a desperate, final struggle in Taowu¡¯s hand. He felt his blood surge. The fire in his heart had never scorched like that before, like a volcano that was about to erupt.

    He had always thought he had been doing best. As it turned out, he had not. Flames were only ever afraid about whether they could burn thoroughly or not. Why would they fear burning out?

    ¡°You¡¯ll die.¡±

    ¡°I know, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up and get on!¡±

    Li Liehuo mounted the horse and gathered the army qi, condensing the army god again.

    With a man like fire and a horse like a dragon, they charged, to fight a god!

    Taowu did not even glance at the incoming spear of fire. With just a swivel, he found Li Liehuo within the thick army qi. A streak of dark light, as thin as a hair, shot out from his eye, piercing his forehead. The flames in his eyes immediately cooled and dimmed. He fell from his horse.

    The Scorching Fire Army God collapsed dramatically. Flames filled the air as heat waves rolled out like the eruption of ten volcanoes. The earth turned to lava.

    In the next moment, Taowu emerged from the sea of flames, unscathed.

    Xiao An stood in his way. Her white bones turned back to great beauty with a red mole on her forehead. The Trisepultural Robes drifted through the air. The light of the buddha from earlier had not injured her at all. Instead, it seemed like she had comprehended something.

    The Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone gathered once more, but it was no longer a vicious bone claw. Instead, it was a hand with slender fingers. The pale-white and smooth hand formed a lotus seal, attacking Taowu.

    ¡°Truly a successor of the White Bone Bodhisattva to possess such great talent for comprehension.¡± Taowu glanced at her before gazing at the figure that continued to struggle forwards. ¡°But is he worth sacrificing your life? As long as I want to, I can immediately destroy you completely.¡±

    Bang!

    He did not block or dodge, withstanding the strike with his chest. It left behind a deep imprint.

    The pale-white hand dispersed, but it also managed to shake him, forcing him to take half a step back. That was the first time he had retreated since he descended.

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    However, he did not withstand that blow for nothing. He extended his hand as he retreated, reaching towards Li Qingshan to end his life!

    Li Qingshan had basically crawled over to the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. A towering stone pillar blocked his path. He felt a chill run down his spine. Pain and fear spread rapidly, eating away at his life.

    He let out a furious roar and extended his arms without any regard, hugging the stone pillar with his life.

    Ying Zhe recovered from the pain of being illuminated by the light of the buddha. Impossible! The totem poles are the foundations of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous, condensed and reconstructed from earth through great powers. Even if all of the direct disciples attacked it at the same time, they can forget about destroying it in a short amount of time.

    Li Qingshan suddenly pushed down with his feet, letting out a roar from the depths of the earth.

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    Rumble! The stone pillar shook violently. The earth surged. With a boom, he uprooted the pillar from the ground!

    Ying Zhe was dumbfounded, and his heart jittered. Is this really just a Human Sovereign? His strength basically rivals the supernatural beings of the primordial times. Hold on¡­ a being of great strength¡­ don¡¯t tell me!

    The formation core twisted, collapsing as rings of demonic light that swept through the battlefield.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous had fallen!

    Li Qingshan lifted up the stone pillar and turned around, swinging it towards Taowu¡¯s head.

 Chapter 1501

    Bang! The totem pole shattered, sending rocks flying everywhere.

    Taowu¡¯s head tilted to one side with his eye wide open.

    Li Qingshan glared at Taowu, gasping heavily, but he emitted no sound, like the magma surging below the earth, keeping it all within his chest.

    Silence, silence, either erupting in silence or dying in silence.

    He took a step forward and whirled the totem pole, slamming down viciously again!

    Taowu staggered backwards, so Li Qingshan advanced again and smashed again!

    Bang! Bang! Bang! The totem pole shattered section by section.

    Li Qingshan advanced, Taowu retreated.

    Whether it were the Human Sovereigns or the Demon Sovereigns, they all behaved like they had received a sobering strike over the head. They jerked awake from their dreams, only to sink into another dream. Gods retreat as well? All while being forced back by a ¡°man¡± too!?

    The blood-red swirl in the sky that shrank gradually suddenly expanded again, producing whistling sounds.

    The Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous collapsed rapidly. The totem poles were like dominoes, falling one by one.

    But at this moment, Li Qingshan stopped. Even with the endless Strength of the Earth and the undying body of asura, he could no longer suppress his wounds anymore. His will had reached its limit.

    His heaving chest abruptly halted. Then he let out a furious roar, like it had been unleashed from the depths of the earth. His blood was the magma, and his shattered bones were the rocks.

    The roar tore through the silence in the surroundings. Those lofty Human Sovereigns and all the cowards felt fear and shock, like they were facing another Demon God. The ordinary soldiers and all the heroes in the world let out a similar roar.

    Taowu¡¯s expression finally changed. At this moment, man overwhelmed god.

    ¡°You really are¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned against the remaining half of the totem pole. Two giants faced one another.

    Taowu was solemn, like he was facing another god, not a Human Sovereign. He asked again, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡± Li Qingshan finally replied.

    Taowu laughed, but it was not out of mockery. He laughed extremely freely, laughing like a mortal.

    ¡°Very well. I¡¯ve remembered that name. We will meet again.¡±

    Li Qingshan was indifferent like a god, spitting out a single word, ¡°Definitely.¡±

    By then, the final totem pole fell slowly, and Taowu¡¯s figure shrank rapidly. He was like a great, black tree, where all of its leaves had fallen and its branches had been cut, leaving behind a lonely trunk and a few protruding offshoots. He was like an arm with all of its fingers severed.

    A voice rang out from within, ¡°Last of all, let me clean up the trash that wastes resources!¡±

    At that instant, several dozen logs erupted out!

    Ke Xin felt like she was facing her doom. Before she could even respond, she felt her chest ache, having been pierced by a log already. She tried to flee with her Yang Soul without any regard, but her Yang Soul had been pinned within the body by the log.

    ¡°No¡­¡±

    The log immediately split again and again. A black branch the thickness of a finger shot out from her beautiful eyes. Her charming face became covered in twigs, such that her expression was frozen. She fell out of the air silently.

    At that instant, six direct disciples perished. Their bodies were destroyed, together with their souls.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and furrowed his brows. He thought of Ruan Yaozhu.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! A few black logs shot past him, but none of them landed on him.

    The only direct disciple that had not been targeted was Li Liehuo.

    He woke up from the darkness and asked in doubt, ¡°Am I still alive?¡±

    If he were slain by a Demon God, his soul should have been destroyed as well. He would not even be able to enter sa?s¨¡ra. However, this neither seemed like the Hell realm nor the Asura realm.

    ¡°You damned bastard!¡± Huo Hua wept in joy, pulling him firmly into her arms.

    Taowu seemed to be in a hurry to kill Li Qingshan, such that he did not unleash his full strength, or perhaps the Scorching Fire Army God had blocked much of the damage. The hair-like strand of dark light only injured his consciousness severely, leaving him unconscious.

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    Li Qingshan opened his eyes. He ignored the beckoning of the Asura realm and turned his back on the cheers of the people, making his way towards Black Cloud city.

    ¡°Quick, use this opportunity to kill him! The battle has ended up like this! If we lose, you know what our fate is!¡±

    Ying Zhe pointed at Li Qingshan¡¯s figure and ordered with a threat, charging over first.

    The Demon Sovereigns looked at one another and knew that Ying Zhe was right. If they lost this battle, they would face severe punishment even as Demon Sovereigns, let alone deserting the battle, which would definitely result in death. They also charged over. Ying Zhe was in the lead anyway. If it did not work out, they could just leave him behind and push all the blame onto him. Dead people could not dispute any accusations.

    With a wave of her hand, the pale-white hand condensed from the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone instead skipped over Ying Zhe in the lead, reaching towards another Demon Sovereign.

    ¡°Why?¡± The Demon Sovereign was startled, only to see Ying Zhe arrive behind Li Qingshan and shatter like a soap bubble. ¡°Ying Zhe, fuck you and your mother!¡±

    He immediately unleashed his demon heart, wanting to demonify and put up one final struggle, but the pale-white hand seemed to possess a power similar to the receiving light of the buddha. It completely suppressed his demonic powers. It closed around him gently and shattered him.

    Ying Zhe appeared fifty kilometres away, fleeing towards the Demon domain desperately. He glanced back. ¡°Bunch of fools!¡±

    That was a man that even a Demon God could not kill, yet they still had the courage to attack him as measly Demon Sovereigns. Let alone being incapable of killing him, even if they actually killed him¡­ He could not help but shiver. He was that existence¡¯s successor. His death alone was enough to throw the Demon domain into turmoil.

    He secretly rejoiced. Fortunately, he had the Bubble of Dreams, which allowed him to escape.

    At this moment, a sinister voice rang out, ¡°Ying Zhe, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°The Faceless Heretic God!¡±

    With Ying Zhe¡¯s flight, Xiao An crushed another Demon Sovereign to death. The eight remaining Demon Sovereigns immediately scattered, but they were intercepted by the remaining direct disciples under Dai Mengfan¡¯s lead, beginning their revenge.

    The sword whistled! The flashes sometimes gathered and sometimes scattered. Wan Jianfeng fought three Demon Sovereigns alone. Returning to the battle style he was accustomed to, he immediately felt like he was back in his element. Through his abilities as a peerless sword cultivator, he survived Taowu¡¯s final strike.

    But for some reason, he felt lost, like he had missed out on something. The battle that usually left him elated immediately seemed like a game compared to the war from earlier. It had become dull.

    He was confused. Have I been wrong? But why exactly do I fight? He glanced at Li Qingshan¡¯s figure again. Why exactly does he fight?

    Li Qingshan bent over to pick up the fallen hilt.

    The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower¡¯s consciousness lingered like a strand of hair in the wind. ¡°Qingshan! What a fascinating¡­ battle¡­ but¡­ this is as¡­ far as I can go¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a good blade!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He did not feel any sadness. This had always been the fate of a warrior, as well as the fate of a weapon. If they could not perish on the battlefield, it was instead a form of pity.

    ¡°If blade spirits also have an afterlife, I hope I can be reborn as an asura so that I can fight alongside you and see just what kind of enemies there are beyond the Nine Heavens!¡± The Blade Spirit of Frenzy Flower suddenly became invigorated again. It was her final moments.

    ¡°Alright, then that¡¯s that!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt some tingles in the nose. He clutched the hilt firmly and tossed it towards the blood-red swirl that gradually closed in the sky.

    The Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End turned into a streak of red light, vanishing with the blood-red swirl.

    At that moment, the power of an asura was drawn from his body. His figure gradually sank, but he still felt like a mountain weighed on his shoulders. Each step was difficult.

    He sucked in a deep breath and continued on his way.

    By now, the direct disciples had already achieved an overwhelming victory. After losing their leader, the Demon Sovereigns immediately fell into disunion. They were in a hurry to escape as well, so they did not put up any proper battle at all.

    Li Qingshan did not even look at the intense battle behind him, staggering towards Black Cloud city. All he saw was Ruan Yaozhu meditating and regulating her breath with the nine-coloured deer supporting her from one side. She had almost recovered from the wound of being pierced by the huge log. There was only a slender, red mark left on her snowy-white skin.

    Seeing Li Qingshan, she cried out in joy, ¡°Junior brother Li!¡±

    Li Qingshan answered before collapsing on the ground.

    ¡°To think that even an embodiment of Demon God Taowu was defeated!¡± With a severed arm, Faceless Demon God fiddled around with Ying Zhe in his remaining hand. His featureless expression bobbed and twisted. ¡°The Black Sun Demon Heart is probably on Li Qingshan. He might be the person of legends. This is a heaven-sent opportunity for me to become a Demon God. I can¡¯t let this slip by!¡±

    Ying Zhe¡¯s head called out, ¡°Spare me, sir!¡± He observed the Faceless Heretic God¡¯s ¡°facial expression¡± and knew there was no way out of this, so he instead began to laugh. ¡°You think just a Heretic God like you can interfere with a calamity like this?¡±

    The Faceless Heretic God crushed Ying Zhe¡¯s head and vanished from where he was, arriving over Black Cloud city in the blink of an eye. He reached towards Li Qingshan.

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    ¡°Qingshan!¡±

    He moved like a bolt of lightning, such that even Xiao An could not respond in time. Even if she did, it was impossible for her to fend off a Heretic God.

    At this moment, seven stars twinkled in the hazy sea of clouds, turning into a blade aura that descended from above. It severed the Faceless Heretic God¡¯s other arm.

    A female war god dressed in silver armour descended from above. She was Chao Tianjiao. Her expression was chilly, and she pointed her blade at the Heretic God, about to get revenge. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Li Qingshan, and her eyes suddenly widened.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!?¡±

 Chapter 1502

    The turbulent waves slammed against the cliff. Myriad city stood proudly on the ocean. As one of the most prosperous and progressive sects of the Human realm, the city bustled with people forever. The distant, intense war seemed to have nothing to do with this cape city.

    Day after day, year after year, even the sorrow of losing half their direct disciples had been washed away by the waves very quickly.

    Just the day before, the entire city was draped in mourning dressed with tears running down their faces. Today, it was beaming once again with delighted smiles.

    This was neither the Heaven realm nor the Hell realm. This was human society. There was no eternal happiness nor unchanging pain.

    The city bustled, welcoming guests from afar. It seemed particularly busy on this day.

    The Fate Perturbing casino was filled to the brim with guests, but Le Tian was not present. Instead, he was in the Direct Disciple hall. The doors and windows were all open, allowing sunlight to flood the place. It was solemn and quiet.

    His appearance had become visibly older. Whether it was the peppered hair near his temples or the spreading wrinkles by the corner of his eyes, he was covered with the signs of decline, but he continued to smile away without any concern. He touched his chin and squinted. ¡°A pity, a pity. I missed out on a fine gamble!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu heard that from beside him and smiled. ¡°Who would take you up on a gamble like that?¡±

    Le Tian pursed his lips and said in disdain, ¡°It was me who didn¡¯t want to gamble. There are plenty of fools who¡¯d gamble on something like that. Though, what¡¯s the point of a gamble where the outcome is guaranteed? Heh, I need to save some of my luck too.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu glanced at him and nodded. ¡°Hope you can win!¡±

    ¡°Hehe, who knows?¡± Le Tian wiggled his index finger and pointed it upwards. ¡°Fate always stands highest!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was just about to say something when Dai Mengfan walked over slowly, taking the stage.

    She held a ritual sceptre and was dressed up formally, such that she was graceful and poised. She left many inner disciples stunned. Normally, they had no right to enter the Direct Disciple hall, and their opportunities to see this master of the Direct Disciple hall were almost non-existent. How could any mortal woman match her beauty?

    Only Shen Yushu stood uneasily in the crowd like he was on pins and needles. He had no interest in her beauty at all. He constantly prayed inside, Not him, not him¡­

    Dai Mengfan stood on the platform and glanced down. Half of the familiar faces had vanished. Even after almost a year, she still could not help but sigh at the thought of that. However, this was not the first time she had seen something like this, so she adjusted herself mentally very quickly.

    New direct disciples would surge forth from the inner disciples very soon. The last thing that the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and trichiliocosm lacked were people. Talented and naturally-endowed figures would emerge in an endless stream.

    But probably from today onwards, no one would be able to match the name on the ritual sceptre anymore.

    She cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯ve just received the news that senior brother Li Liehuo has already decided to enter secluded cultivation for good. He has withdrawn from this election.¡±

    The inner disciples were thrown into an uproar. ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean¡­¡±

    Shen Yushu was ashen. I¡¯m done for¡­

    The inner disciples around him immediately backed away, forming an empty ring. They gazed at him with pity and mocking.

    However, the direct disciples were not surprised. They had been expecting Li Liehuo to enter secluded cultivation for good.

    He had probably benefited tremendously from that battle. Directly facing the embodiment of a true god, even if he collapsed in the next instant, was enough to make him break through mentally and reach a higher realm with the Heavenly Tome of Scorching Fire. Regardless of whether he succeeded or not, it was impossible for him to hold the position of first senior brother anymore.

    No one would have thought that the struggle between scorching fire and xuanwu would actually end like this. The dark horse of liberty that had suddenly arisen out of nowhere made it in front of everyone unbelievably, yet they were convinced by his abilities too.

    He directly faced a true god and defeated him, turning the tides by force. Let alone the Myriad sect, just which other Human Sovereign in the world could achieve that?

    ¡°So!¡± Dai Mengfan paused before she said, ¡°The new first senior brother is Li Qingshan!¡±

    As soon as Dai Mengfan said that, laughter rolled out. ¡°Hahaha, you sure know how to drag it out. You could have just declared my name right at the start!¡±

    Li Qingshan walked in with vigorous strides. He was like a great gust of wind, where the crowd parted for him like wheat being blown to two sides.

    With only a few steps, he made it onto the stage. He gave Dai Mengfan a bear bug before turning towards the direct disciples and inner disciples. He suddenly swung his arm, and the phoenix standing on his shoulder spread his wings and cheered, ¡°First father, you¡¯re the best!¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± Li Qingshan brought his index finger up to Li Fengyuan¡¯s beak and smiled. ¡°I know.¡±

    Li Fengyuan called out, ¡°Long live Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Yeah~¡± Li Qingshan nodded in agreement, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

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    Dai Mengfan shot a vicious glance at him, but she was also astounded. Just how powerful was he? She had actually completely failed to respond to that hug. He had completely forced it on her.

    Though, with a first senior brother like this watching over Black Cloud city, I can keep my distance from the battlefield!

    With the announcement of the final result, Li Qingshan¡¯s name on the Myriad rankings immediately rose to the very top.

    All of the cultivators knew the Myriad sect had a first senior brother again. He would become the actual ruler of the entire Myriad sect, and he would be in control over a tremendous amount of resources, deciding the fate and future of countless people.

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    This result was expected. Before this, his name had already spread through the Myriad sect, as well as the entire Human realm, with the battle in the Demon domain.

    He was a man who defeated a god!

    If it were not for the fact that countless people had witnessed it with their own eyes, no one would believe a story as absurd as that. The stronger the cultivator was, the more they understood just how undefeatable gods were.

    Gods did not only represent power, but wisdom and the law as well!

    Yet, there were still some people who firmly believed that this was a great game of chess played by the Desireless Heavenly Palace. They thought it was Chao Tianjiao who had recently broken through to Human Immortal and become the leader of the Six Ding that ultimately turned the situation around. Li Qingshan was only a figurehead for the public to attract even more cultivators to the Myriad sect so that they could make up for the losses from this battle.

    However, the direct disciples did not believe that, or Li Qingshan would not have become the first senior brother.

    In terms of contribution alone, Li Qingshan had enough to become a direct disciple, but he still could not surpass what other disciples had built up over many years. He was even a fair bit off from Ruan Yaozhu.

    What mattered more was the choice of the direct disciples. With Li Liehuo in secluded cultivation for good, they originally had a chance at competing for the position. However, while the ¡°great senior brother¡± possessed all the authority, he was also tasked with great responsibilities. He had to preside over the war in the Demon domain.

    Even when they knew the Demon domain probably would not try anything new in the near future and Black Cloud city should become extremely peaceful, no one wanted to take that risk after experiencing that battle. The Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder still required a very long time before it was repaired. If they encountered Taowu trying to redeem himself, then that truly would be complete devastation.

    There was only one person who was not under that mental pressure!

    Pi Yangqiu gazed at Li Qingshan who grinned from ear to ear on the platform and murmured in thought, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that kid know fear?¡±

    ¡°I told you a long time ago. He¡¯s a true gambler. He¡¯s born for a gamble!¡± Le Tian gazed at the ceiling and said mysteriously, ¡°Who knows if I¡¯m fortunate enough to see it.¡±

    At this moment, Dai Mengfan made her way off the platform. He had messed with the atmosphere, but the ceremony still had to go on. ¡°Disciples, pay your respects to the first senior brother!¡± She brought her hands together and her sleeves draped down, bowing deeply towards Li Qingshan.

    All of the direct disciples and inner disciples lowered their heads, saying together, ¡°We pay respects to the first senior brother!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped smiling and waved his hand dramatically. ¡°All rise, my subjects!¡±

    The corner of Dai Mengfan¡¯s eye twitched. This¡­

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, junior sister? Is there something wrong?¡±

    Dai Mengfan behaved like she had accepted her fate. ¡°Nothing. You¡¯re the first senior brother. Everything you say counts.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I have high hopes for you. This position will be yours sooner or later.¡±

    ¡°Please keep it for yourself, first senior brother. It¡¯s not something that I can enjoy.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. What do I say again? Oh right!¡± Li Qingshan thought about it. ¡°First of all, I¡¯d like to thank¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh my, who¡¯s this? So mighty and so glorious!¡±

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    Before he knew it, Chao Tianjiao was already sitting on the window sill, stroking the ¡°black rabbit¡± in her arms and gazing at Li Qingshan with ill intentions.

    During the battle in the Demon domain, she repelled the Faceless Heretic God in the end. She listened to Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s description of the battle as she pressed down on her blade. She stared at the unconscious Li Qingshan with a mixed expression for a very long time.

    Chao Tianjiao ground her teeth as she stared at him, which left Ruan Yaozhu terrified, fearing that she would butcher Li Qingshan. She put in a lot of good words for him.

    In the end, Chao Tianjiao left behind a single message and left. ¡°I¡¯ll see once he wakes up!¡± She had already become a Divine General of Six Ding and the leader of the Six Ding, the God of Dingmao. She directly reported to the Zhenwu Emperor, and she was extremely busy usually. There was a very large temporal difference between beyond the Nine Heavens and the Human realm, so the wait lasted almost a year.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside and took a step back. ¡°We can talk things out!¡±

 Chapter 1503

    Chao Tianjiao was exasperated. She originally thought he had died. She really had been slightly saddened by it.

    Yet in the blink of an eye, he appeared before her again, alive and kicking. She immediately understood that he practised some kind of cultivation method where he would not perish with his Yin Soul. In other words, the ¡°last words¡± he told her were all a joke. Since when did she ever suffer such great humiliation?

    She radiated with a harsh coldness that almost seemed tangible. The direct disciples could still withstand it, but the inner disciples were already trembling in the cold with chattering teeth.

    Li Fengyuan shivered and stifled his voice. ¡°First father, who is this woman? She seems kind of powerful!¡±

    She was much more than kind of powerful!

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched. Even in the past, Chao Tianjiao had been very fierce and tough. Now that she had become a Human Immortal, climbing up to the Nine Heavens, who knew how many times more powerful she was now. If they actually fought, he had no confidence at all. Most importantly, he felt a little guilty too. Although he had basically assisted her in achieving her objective back then, he still had taken advantage of her precarious situation after all.

    With that, everyone could tell that the ¡°original first senior sister¡± and the ¡°new first senior brother¡± probably had a feud. She did not come with good intentions today. No one dared to interfere, so they all watched on like they were watching a show.

    Shen Yushu immediately recovered. He was delighted inside. Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan, if you offend me, so be it, but you¡¯ve actually offended a Human Immortal. Senior sister Chao¡¯s status is now equal to the two sect masters¡ªno, it is even slightly higher. She¡¯s the leader of the Six Ding now, a favourite of the Zhenwu Emperor! Not only will you lose your position as first senior brother, but you¡¯ll even be expelled from the sect!

    Ruan Yaozhu furrowed her brows. She was just about to speak up, but she glanced at Chao Tianjiao and then Li Qingshan first. She seemed to realise something, letting out a gentle snort.

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s hear what you have to say.¡± Chao Tianjiao smiled in a cold and charming way, such that it was impossible to stare at her.

    Under the fine thought of burying the hatchet, Li Qingshan immediately recited a poem, ¡°A day as husband and wife, a hundred days of devotion. A hundred days as husband and wife, their love as deep as the ocean.¡± Oh no, the Ape Demon Transformation has progressed again recently. It¡¯s close to breaking through!

    Everyone was dumbfounded. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    Before he could even finish, the blade was brought up to his neck. Chao Tianjiao laughed out of anger. ¡°You sure know how to talk!¡±

    The hairs on Li Qingshan¡¯s neck immediately stood on end, but it instead roused his pride. ¡°Senior sister Chao Tianjiao, I personally believe I¡¯ve done nothing to wrong you. If you¡¯re not happy with it, then kill me and slice me to pieces. Do whatever you want with me. I¡¯m at your whim!¡± He secretly clenched his fist. Hmph, why would I put my fate in the hands of others? If I really run out of options, let¡¯s go then. So what if you¡¯re a Human Immortal?

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you, nor am I going to slice you to pieces. I¡¯m just going to chop you once!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, That¡¯s quite a good deal. He had the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a protecting him. No matter what, it was impossible for Chao Tianjiao to kill him with a single chop, so he might as well just let her chop him and settle this grievance.

    ¡°Alright, then chop away! If I even bat an eye, I¡¯ll take your surname.¡±

    As a result, the blade in Chao Tianjiao¡¯s hands slid down slowly until it extended between Li Qingshan¡¯s legs.

    Li Qingshan shrank backwards. ¡°Hold on, what are you trying to do?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao mocked him. ¡°What, you afraid?¡±

    The Direct Disciple hall was silent. Everyone stared on with their eyes glued. The developments were a little too intriguing!

    ¡°I remember now. We have a bet where we¡¯ll fight each other to the death in thirty years¡¯ time. You can¡¯t touch a hair on me before that.¡±

    Even if Li Qingshan lost his head, he would not bat an eye. However, if he ended up chopped, he would not be called the crawling general anymore, but the eunuch first senior brother. Fucking hell, the words first senior brother sure are unlucky!

    ¡°Did we?¡± Chao Tianjiao sank into her thoughts. When Li Qingshan relaxed slightly, she suddenly struck, sending blood splattering.

    Hiss! The men all could not help but gasp as if they had been chopped instead.

    Meanwhile, Li Qingshan gripped the blade firmly as blood flowed down the edge. If it were not for his speedy responses, that really would have landed. His face darkened, and his veins popped. ¡°You!¡±

    ¡°Sorry about that, my hand slipped!¡± Chao Tianjiao drew back her blade and sheathed it with composure. ¡°Since we have a bet, then I¡¯ll just spare you today.¡± She grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar and pulled him in, announcing proudly, ¡°But from today onwards, you¡¯re my man! You better watch your behaviour and not whore around in the future, or it¡¯ll be much more than a chop.¡±

    ¡°What?¡¯ Li Qingshan was taken aback. That did not seem to be something bad, but something sounded off.

    ¡°Be good and wait for my visits!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao laughed loudly. Her laughter was cold like a river of ice, yet it was also extremely delightful. She soon turned into a streak of silver light and flew off.

    Everyone was dumbfounded, gazing at Li Qingshan with various different expressions like they were looking at a living monster.

    Li Fengyuan widened his eyes in disbelief. Even this works? First father, your powers are unfathomable! I can only look up to the heights where you stand!

    Le Tian spat out six words, ¡°I have nothing left to say!¡±

    Just who in the sect did not know what kind of personality Chao Tianjiao had? She practised such a harsh and resolute cultivation method like the Heavenly Tome of Xuanwu, so no matter what they thought, no one imagined she would actually become a cultivation partner with someone one day. It seemed a little warped, but the cultivation community always revered the strong. Being ¡°visited¡± by a Human Immortal like that could not be regarded as something bad at the end of the day.

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    Shen Yushu was ashen. He was grief-stricken as if his parents had just died. ¡°To think that something like this can actually happen¡­¡±

    As Li Qingshan was still blanked out, Ruan Yaozhu walked over and said impassively, ¡°Congratulations, first senior brother.¡±

    ¡°Yaozhu, you¡­¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu raised her hand. ¡°Please treat first senior sister well. You shouldn¡¯t be unchaste anymore!¡± She turned around and left with that.

    ¡°Me? Unchaste?¡± Li Qingshan pointed at himself. He found it absolutely absurd. He murmured to himself, ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m¡­ clearly¡­ a romantic¡­¡±

    ¡°Congratulations, first senor brother! Felicitations, first senior brother! It¡¯s twice the blessings today! You and first senior sister really do go well together!¡±

    The direct disciples all approached him to congratulate him. No matter what, the position of first senior brother was his, or in other words, he was now the temporary master of the Myriad sect. Even direct disciples had to obey him. He had even become the cultivation partner of a Human Immortal now, which was even more impressive. Coupled with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s signs of support, he was probably the first senior brother with the greatest authority throughout the history of the Myriad sect.

    As it directly impacted their interests, they naturally had to cotton up to him. On top of that, Li Qingshan had truly won everyone over with his performance in the battle within the Demon domain, so they did not feel like they were belittling themselves.

    At this moment, bells and drums rang through the city as banners and decorations unfurled. They began the ceremony, celebrating the birth of a new first senior brother.

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    Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond. All around him were smiles filled with admiration from the bottom of his heart, yet he felt extremely pent-up inside.

    Suddenly, he noticed Shen Yushu silently shrinking back in the crowd. He called out, ¡°Stop right there!¡¯

    Shen Yushu shivered. He turned around. ¡°F- first senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Heh, I even forgot about you. You stood there changing your expression like Chinese opera. You must love watching me make a fool out of myself!¡±

    Shen Yushu knew he was done for, so he decided to be vicious and leave behind a few threats. It was not like Li Qingshan dared to kill him. However, when his words reached his mouth, it became, ¡°I- I would never¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan turned towards Dai Mengfan and asked, ¡°Junior sister Dai, do I have the authority to punish him?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the first senior brother. Everything you say counts.¡±

    Dai Mengfan stuck with the same phrase, glancing at Shen Yushu indifferently. He was merely an inner disciple. He had the chance to become a direct disciple, but he clearly did not have that chance anymore. Who could help the fact that he had offended someone he could not afford to?

    Li Qingshan waved his hand dramatically. ¡°You¡¯ve been fired. Gather your stuff and piss off!¡±

    The direct disciples glanced at one another. Sure enough, Li Qingshan was resolute and meticulous. He had picked up all the tricks all by himself.

    Even as the first senior brother, he could not just ignore the rule of killing fellow disciples. However, if they were not fellow disciples, then if they were killed, they were killed. The cultivation community had never been some nice wonderland.

    The primary responsibility of the first senior brother was to wage war against the Demon domain. Many of the times, it would be military law, not sect rules. As long as he had a proper reason, he could even expel direct disciples. Coupled with his terrifying battle prowess, who stood a chance against him?

    This was the true core to the Myriad sect. At the end of the day, it still came down to the strength to overwhelm everyone, not through elections and democracy.

    Shen Yushu threw himself on the ground with tears strewn across his face. ¡°I¡¯ve been blind. Please spare my life, first senior brother!¡±

    Li Qingshan was perplexed. ¡°It¡¯s not like I said I¡¯d kill you, so what¡¯s this sparing your life about? Oh, you¡¯re afraid I¡¯ll expell you first and then hunt you down? Heh, do you think I¡¯m that kind of lowly scoundrel? If I wanted to kill you, I¡¯d take your life with a punch right now. Junior sister Dai, do I have that kind of authority?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Dai Mengfan was speechless. No matter what, it was difficult to play down the first senior brother killing an inner disciple in front of everyone.

    ¡°I know!¡± Li Qingshan raised his thumb. ¡°I¡¯m the first senior brother, everything I say counts!¡±

    A confident smile stretched across his face, and all the direct disciples shivered inside. He was probably actually capable of something like that. It would be best if they did not butt against him openly in the future!

    ¡°Now piss off! Before I change my mind.¡±

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    Shen Yushu scurried away. He was actually unable to develop any thoughts of revenge.

    Within the sea of cheers in the city, the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes stood tall. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the boundless ocean in the distance.

    Chao Tianjiao stood on the eaves alone. Her eyes were cold like stars as she looked back and asked, ¡°Spirit reverend, just what kind of person is he?¡±

    With how great the temporal difference between beyond the Nine Heavens and the Human realm was, why had she come back now of all times, not earlier or later? Or was it because someone had arranged this? If someone had arranged this, then so be it, but if it really was just a coincidence, it would be far too unbelievable.

    ¡°The will of the heavens have always been perplexing.¡±

 Chapter 1504

    ¡°The will of the heavens? Hah, we¡¯re cultivators.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao laughed. Cultivators all possessed some abilities of divination. After becoming a Human Immortal, even if they were not familiar with this area, they could still sense things vaguely. However, the more that was the case, the more they looked down on the so-called ¡°will of the heavens¡±.

    The reason why mortals worshipped gods was because gods were beyond their reach and could not be fathomed. If they could be reached and fathomed, they were only slightly stronger people at most.

    The will of the heavens was no different.

    Since she already possessed the word ¡°immortal¡± in her title, she had basically witnessed it already. ¡°The so-called will of the heavens is just an assembly of the myriad laws and principles. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re referring to something like the will of a world?¡±

    However, the Human realm did not even have a will of the world.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s expression was distant. ¡°Who knows? Who knows!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao guessed that the old man had probably sunk into another thought, so she shrugged and bade farewell. She took a step; the space pulsed, and she vanished from there.

    Le Tian carried the three-legged golden toad as he made his way towards the Fate Perturbing casino. The three-legged golden toad¡¯s glow was dim and its eyes were half-closed, which made it seem very lethargic.

    It was all thanks to the three-legged golden toad that he was alive. It saved his life during the battle in the Demon domain, blocking Taowu¡¯s final strike, but it had also become heavily injured as a result, unable to extend his lifespan. His lifespan was running out, and his life was coming to an end.

    Li Qingshan caught up with him from behind and patted him on the shoulder. He asked with a brilliant smile, ¡°Hey, Le Tian, when are you dying?¡±

    ¡°First senior brother, I¡¯ll never die!¡± Le Tian was powerless. The damned brat that he had been ordering around just recently had already become so ¡°direct¡± with him.

    ¡°Sigh, didn¡¯t I hear you¡¯re close to dying?¡± Li Qingshan was unable to hide his disappointment.

    ¡°I¡¯m just running out of lifespan. I¡¯m not dying.¡± Le Tian explained patiently.

    ¡°There you go.¡± Li Qingshan disagreed with that. ¡°You make it sound so sophisticated. Isn¡¯t running out of lifespan almost dying?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the first senior brother. Everything you say counts.¡± Le Tian gave up on trying to prevent Li Qingshan from cursing him right in the face.

    ¡°In other words, you¡¯re going to gamble again Ox-head and Horse-face again?¡± Li Qingshan was intrigued. Those were both figures of legends, so how could he not be interested?

    ¡°It¡¯s just Ox-headed A¡¯pang. He¡¯s responsible for my file.¡±

    ¡°File?¡± Li Qingshan became even more curious. The three-legged golden toad opened its eyes that resembled golden beads slowly and glanced at him before closing them again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t heard about the Book of Life and Death before?¡±

    The two of them walked together. The path was empty. Everyone had gone out of their way to avoid them.

    Le Tian explained the details. Only then did Li Qingshan understand that the primary range of responsibilities of the underworld in the Hell realm was not regular people but cultivators.

    That made perfect sense too. Across the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm, who knew how many lives were lost with each passing moment. Even if they only looked at humans, it was an astronomical sum. Coupled with the differences in temporal flow, let alone the ten measly Courts of Yanluo and the ten Hell Guards, even if they had a thousand times the number, it would still be too much to handle.

    If they all had to be recorded in the Book of Life and Death before sending soul collectors to drag them to the underworld to stand trial, it would be even more impossible.

    As a result, regular creatures were just free to lie and die, cycling through the six realms, either rising up to the Heaven realm or falling down to the Hungry Ghost realm. It was completely decided by the laws of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra themselves.

    Everything that the Book of Life and Death recorded were the full names of cultivators. The lower-level cultivators did not even have the right to make it into the book. You could just stay at home and practise some qi or establish a foundation, extending your lifespan by a century, and no one would care.

    Only Golden Core cultivators would have their names recorded in the Book of Life and Death, but as long as their lifespans were not abnormally long, no one would even look at the names, whether man or ghost. If you could last a few thousand extra years without dying, that was completely up to you.

    As for the people that could personally attract the legendary Black and White Impermanence, Ox-head and Horse-face, they were all extremely powerful cultivators, Yang Soul cultivators like Le Tian.

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    At their realm, there were far too many methods to extend their lifespans. There were countless exotic herbs, and pills that could maintain their lives. The golden toad¡¯s methods of prolonging life was merely one of them.

    If a Yang Soul cultivator just stuck with the lazy spirit of pointless life over a good death, they could basically last until the ends of the world.

    The underworld primarily targeted people like that. The Book of Life and Death would automatically calculate the lifespan that they deserved. It was not completely forbidden to extend their lifespans, but it had to abide by the underworld¡¯s basic laws. They forbade a cultivator from existing for eternity.

    Once the time arrived, they would come to collect the soul.

    In order to prevent Human Sovereigns that openly defied the rules by force, they had to send Ghost Immortals and Hell Guards. Otherwise, if the ghost envoys of the underworld began fighting against cultivators of the living world, it would not be a good sight to behold.

    Li Qingshan was amazed. All the stories he was familiar with from his past life actually had an explanation like this behind them. He could not help but think of the Myriad Poison Ancestor who abandoned his body back then in the nine provinces, wanting to roam the world as a soul nascence. The nascences of life, infants, definitely could not survive for long, but ¡°adults¡± probably could.

    In other words, once they reached Yin Soul or Yang Soul, they basically possessed eternal life. There was no need for them to become True Immortals or arhants. There were just ¡°supernatural factors¡± controlling this situation.

    Fair enough. Even a piece of trash like Shen Yushu could reach Yin Soul, even possessing a chance to reach Yang Soul.

    Even if cultivation required very great talent and luck, if they could produce a single Yin Soul cultivator from a million people, it would probably reach terrifying numbers. If their numbers were not controlled, the world would probably be filled with cultivators.

    ¡°Hold on. In other words, my name is in the Book of Life and Death as well?¡±

    ¡°Of course. The legendary Book of Life and Death is a manifestation of the laws of the Hell realm. With your cultivation, your name is obviously in the Book of Life and Death.¡±

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    Le Tian glanced at Li Qingshan in disdain. He might have become the first senior brother, but he was still a clueless bumpkin in the end. However, he squinted his eyes, hiding his disdainful gaze very well.

    Li Qingshan questioned closely, ¡°Then can I remove my name from there?¡±

    Le Tian felt even more disdain for him. It was not like the Book of Life and Death was a physical book. It was not even an arcane treasure. ¡°Of course you can, as long as you twist the laws of the entire Hell realm and break the laws of rebirth in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Hehe, that¡¯s not completely impossible, but if you¡¯re capable of something like that, even the Ten Courts of Yanluo won¡¯t be able to touch you, so why would you still need to edit the Book of Life and Death?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his chin and said in thought, ¡°What if the Ten Courts of Yanluo have a feud with me? Or if I just want to mess with them?¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Le Tian shuddered inside, actually catching the scent of something devastating.

    Suddenly, Le Tian recalled the situation when Li Qingshan faced Taowu on the battlefield in the Demon domain. With his personality, even if he encountered the Ten Courts of Yanluo, he probably would not bow down. He would rather be sent to the bottom of hell, Av¨©ci. Perhaps one day, he would really possess that power¡­

    Smack! Li Qingshan hit him in the back of his head. ¡°Was that the kind of gaze you should look at your first senior brother with?¡±

    Le Tian rubbed his head and frowned. ¡°You were clearly in the wrong first, first senior brother!¡±

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re going to talk back? Let¡¯s hear how I was in the wrong.¡± Li Qingshan clenched his fist. He had yet to forget how Le Tian had originally used him for gambling!

    ¡°Dying was originally a trifle. However, I¡¯m going to be gambling against Ox-headed A¡¯pang. When you ask me when I¡¯m going to die, that¡¯s basically asking me when I¡¯m going to lose.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s reasonable! It really is my fault then. Hehe, I can apologise to you, but when that gamble happens, be sure to call me alone.¡±

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    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I want to see what that ox-headed guy looks like? I might even place a wager on you.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to pay a visit to death¡¯s door!¡± Le Tian warned. To cultivators, especially Human Sovereigns, the last people they probably wanted to see were the Hell Guards. They were not the spiritual beasts from the Spiritual Beast garden but monsters that ate people from the Daemonic Beast realm.

    ¡°I¡¯ll welcome whatever they throw at me with open arms!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. The Hell realm, the ox-headed ghost, and a gamble of life or death must have been very interesting!

 Chapter 1505

    After Le Tian left, Li Qingshan looked back. The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes stood tall, plunging into the clouds.

    He had merely been impelled by his curiosity to see that underworld ox-head. His priority right now was still to prepare for the upcoming visit to Ruin¡¯s End.

    Where exactly was Ruin¡¯s End, and what kind of a place was it?

    As a counterfeit, while he possessed the bloodline of the spirit turtle, he did not have the corresponding legacy. Even his bloodline was not pure enough.

    But wasn¡¯t there a legitimate spirit turtle right here? He would be perfect for asking questions.

    Li Qingshan directly made his way to the highest floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, finding the Spirit Turtle of Ocean Returnance without any obstructions along the way through his special access as the first senior brother.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was the same as before, gazing at him silently like he was hiding something, waiting for him to speak as if he already knew he would come.

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands and said, ¡°May I ask the spirit reverend where Ruin¡¯s End is?¡±

    ¡°You want to go to Ruin¡¯s End?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance shut his eyes.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I do.¡±

    ¡°Give up. You¡¯re not a true spirit turtle!¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance warned him, but he knew he would not give up.

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°It¡¯s not good to be racist.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°This isn¡¯t a matter of discrimination. Many people have gone down to hell and come back, but there has not been a single person who¡¯s entered Ruin¡¯s End and returned.¡±

    ¡°Is it really that scary? I do have some of a spirit turtle¡¯s bloodline after all.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled, but he did not believe the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was lying to him. He was entering Ruin¡¯s End to meet with a ¡°prisoner¡±, a prisoner whose name that even Su Mirao refused to mention, yet he was still trapped in Ruin¡¯s End. The power of Ruin¡¯s End obviously went without saying.

    ¡°Those who ignore the advice of the elderly are bound to suffer.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance shook his head and walked away with his hands behind his back, refusing to talk to him.

    ¡°The elderly also have a saying that suffering builds character.¡± Li Qingshan blocked his path with a flash.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance squinted his eyes and cold light flashed through them. ¡°Kid, do you really think I¡¯m powerless against you just because you¡¯ve become some first senior brother?¡±

    ¡°Pah! In front of Human Immortals and Daemon Immortals, the first senior brother ain¡¯t shit!¡± Li Qingshan stroked his chin and smiled. ¡°Though, you really do seem powerless against me?¡± He huddled up closer. ¡°Heh, what are you fearing?¡±

    After probing him a few times, Li Qingshan had basically confirmed the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would not do anything to him, even after contacting the Elder of Heavenly Tomes beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Since he had already become a Human Sovereign, even if the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance tried something against him, it probably would not be enough to kill him. If they actually began fighting, the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes would definitely be destroyed.

    Just like how those with nothing to lose did not fear those with something to lose, it naturally came with a sense of superiority of the lumpenproletariat.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s eyes shone coldly. He said earnestly, ¡°Since you possess the bloodline of the spirit turtle, how come you don¡¯t understand the principle of being worldly-wise and playing safe?¡±

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What is worldly-wise, and how do I play safe?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°You are but a measly chess piece on the chessboard. That is your greatest fortune.¡±

    ¡°How come?¡±

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    ¡°The more useful a chess piece you are, the more danger you are in. If you become even more useful, you can have your moment of complacency, but you¡¯ll definitely be butchered!¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped grinning, listening with great modesty.

    ¡°The battle of Black Cloud city was only a tiny skirmish in the furthest corner of the entire chessboard, and your body was almost shattered, your soul destroyed. If you venture any deeper and try to influence the overall situation, you¡¯ll be taken immediately!¡±

    Taken! Li Qingshan shuddered inside before smiling again. ¡°These chess players have no respect for the rules at all!¡±

    He understood that the ¡°chessboard¡± was merely a metaphor. If he really agitated the ¡°chess players¡±, they were capable of anything, whether it was stealing chess pieces, flipping the table, or even smashing the chessboard into their opponent¡¯s face!

    As a result, he understood his current status even better, which instead brought him much more peace. Any Demon God could easily erase Black Cloud city from existence if they personally took action. The reason why they did not do that was only because it was not worth it.

    There were plenty of people in the trade that could get them killed, but there was no one in the trade that would take a guaranteed loss.

    If they had a firm grasp over victory on the chessboard, who would be willing to break the rules? Not only would they adhere to it, but they would even force everyone else to play with the same rules too, allowing them to win everything smoothly.

    In other words, at least for now, he did not have to worry about the hand of a god or buddha suddenly appearing above him and crushing him to death. He still did not possess that right. How infuriating!

    ¡°The rules?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance sneered. ¡°The reason why you¡¯re still alive is just because you still can¡¯t change anything yet, so you¡¯re not worth eliminating, only worth observing. With that being the case, you¡¯re better off sticking to the path of inaction, to make use of uselessness and withdraw yourself before you¡¯ve set foot on the true battlefield.¡±

    Li Qingshan lowered his head, sinking into his thoughts.

    ¡°You¡¯re already the first senior brother of the Myriad sect. With your disposition, cultivation, cultivation method, and bloodline, as long as you cultivate peacefully, becoming a Human Immortal is nothing difficult. You even have a good chance at becoming a True Immortal. I know you¡¯ve taken part in many gambles, and you¡¯ve already won it all, so it¡¯s time for you to stop. Why would you let your brilliant future and endless life all go up in flames over this?¡±

    ¡°What¡­¡± Li Qingshan raised his head. ¡°¡­did you mean by the true battlefield?¡±

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    All the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance saw was his glowing eyes. Not only were they devoid of any fear, but they were filled with eagerness. He had said so much, yet that was all this kid had taken in. He could not help but say furiously, ¡°You just can¡¯t teach children!¡± He stormed off.

    Li Qingshan grabbed his sleeve. ¡°Please don¡¯t be irritated, senior. Hear me out.¡±

    ¡°Our paths diverge. There¡¯s nothing to talk about!¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance tried to break free, but Li Qingshan had already grabbed his arm firmly. His current strength was anything but normal, so for a moment, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was powerless over him too.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Among the myriad living creatures, there is nothing more important to them than their own life. The spirit turtles treat preserving their own lives as the utmost priority. It is truly an exceptional decision, but I have once heard of a poem that goes, The divine turtle may enjoy longevity, but there is still a time when death comes. The flying serpent rides on the mists, but there is still a time when it will be reduced to dust. No matter how you preserve your life, it¡¯s impossible to achieve eternal life at the very end. Even for the immortals and buddhas beyond the Nine Heavens, I think they just live slightly longer than mortals.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance furrowed his brows firmly and murmured, ¡°The divine turtle may enjoy longevity, but there is still a time when death comes. The flying snake rides on the mists, but there is still a time when it will be reduced to dust!¡± He squinted his eyes and stared straight at Li Qingshan. ¡°Where did you hear this poem from?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s not the main point!¡±

    Li Qingshan was intrigued. He had only mentioned it casually to show off his knowledge. He never expected the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance to respond with such interest. Was being a novel lover just his cover, and he was actually a poem-lover instead?

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    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced at Li Qingshan deeply. ¡°You actually know so much!¡±

    ¡°What do I know?¡± Li Qingshan was puzzled. He tried reciting a little more of the poem. ¡°The elderly purebred rests in the stables, yet its ambitions race into the horizons. Even when men of soaring aspirations reach old age, they never stop their advance.¡±

    However, it resulted in no response from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. ¡°It¡¯s a fine work, but it¡¯s nothing special.¡± He questioned, ¡°You wrote it?¡±

    Li Qingshan brushed this topic aside awkwardly, no longer dwelling on it. ¡°I mean that while you are wise, you¡¯re not a man!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m not human!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze was calm yet fervent. ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t understand the most sorrowful thing that can happen to a man is being unable to find his battlefield, being unable to find something worthy of dying for!¡¯

 Chapter 1506

    If that valiant general atop the city gates could fall and perish on the battlefield, what regrets were there to speak of even if he could not be conferred nobility? Yet in the end, he became lost, leaving behind everlasting regrets.

    As Li Qingshan had said, the scariest thing was being unable to fight on the battlefield, letting down his promises, as well as letting down himself.

    ¡°As a result, if the spirit reverend is trying to frighten me with a horrible death, that¡¯s just like trying to beat up a dog by throwing meat buns at it. You¡¯ll just feed me. Ah fuck that, you know what I mean. I¡¯m definitely going to Ruin¡¯s End, even if I die!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was slightly moved, but he recovered his abyss-like depth and calmness very soon. ¡°Humans.¡± It was as if he was silently contemplating the meaning of that word.

    He suddenly asked, ¡°Have you heard of God Wa?¡±

    Li Qingshan was puzzled. ¡°A frog god? A toad daemon?¡±

    ¡°Also known as Sovereign Wa.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance stopped worrying slightly. If he knew about N¨¹wa, he definitely would not insult her with something like that. As it seemed, the poem was merely a coincidence. It was probably just an incorrectly-spread rumour!

    TL: The word frog (ÍÜ, w¨¡) and the ¡°wa¡± in N¨¹wa share the same tone in Chinese. As a matter of fact, ¡°frog¡± is the word most commonly used for that tone, so Li Qingshan misheard it as a reference to a frog god. N¨¹wa is the creator of humanity in Chinese mythology. She created teng snakes which are modelled after herself. When Li Qingshan mentions how even they¡¯ll die in the end, he is unintentionally implying that N¨¹wa will die, which is an insult.

    ¡°A toad Daemon Sovereign? Hold on, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re talking about N¨¹wa!¡±

    Li Qingshan was very unhappy. This damned turtle sure knows how to look down on people. You¡¯ve just read a few more shitty books than me. With my cultural attainments, am I supposed to have never even heard of N¨¹wa before?

    ¡°So you do know.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was solemn.

    Li Qingshan was basically furious now. ¡°N¨¹wa mending the heavens. Who doesn¡¯t know that? N¨¹wa even created humanity!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s expression changed, wanting to plug his mouth, but it was already too late.

    Devastation!

    With a great rumble, a bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere, actually piercing the defensive formation around Myriad city and striking an eave on the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, smashing it to pieces and sending it flying.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! It smashed over another dozen eaves. Many of the fragments fell on the square, which threw the celebrating people into a flurry. They were all dumbfounded.

    Everyone looked at the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. What had happened? Were there enemies attacking? But throughout the entire Human realm, just which sect was bold enough to face the wrath of the Myriad sect?

    Li Qingshan was tongue-tied. The might of the bolt of lightning was completely unheard of, and the eave that had been struck first was the one closest to him.

    ¡°This lightning¡­ didn¡¯t come for me, right?¡±

    He gulped and composed himself. ¡°N¨¹wa¡­ created¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s eyes flashed. Despite living for so long, he had never seen someone who tempted death so much.

    ¡°Erm¡­ ahh¡­¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s tongue was frozen. He did not utter the last word. No matter how unreliable and disappointing he was, he could also sense that he seemed to have touched on something major.

    ¡°¡®He¡¯ even told you about something so ancient?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance sighed heavily. ¡°This is the greatest secret of the path of cultivation! You will be punished by the heavens if you mention it recklessly! Fortunately, the will of the heavens is almost non-existent in the Human realm. If we were somewhere else, the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes probably would not be standing anymore!¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered. The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was the centre of the entire Myriad city. In terms of defences, even ten overlapping Formations of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder came nowhere close. If the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes were destroyed, he would probably face death as well.

    Don¡¯t tell me this is a legendary censored phrase? Isn¡¯t censorship like this a little too vicious? Directly destroying the person! Fortunately, I didn¡¯t come up with these random myths and legends when I copied novels back then in the nine provinces.

    Normally, only the ¡°truth¡± needed to be hidden. He moved his tongue around, warming it up again. He stifled his voice and said, ¡°You mean humans didn¡¯t evolve from monkeys?¡± He quickly glanced outside. The sky was clear, without a single cloud in sight. There was no lightning.

    ¡°What kind of nonsense are you on about? Humans were born from the world, so how could they evolve from monkeys? Apes just have the easiest time when it comes to cultivation because they¡¯re closest to human form. All other species will eventually take a human form as long as they cultivate for long enough. That is why humans are the paragon of creatures.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance demonstrated a hint of undisguised disdain. If humans were the paragon of creatures, then what were spirit turtles? What were phoenixes?

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation and slapped his knee. ¡°Are these the mainstream beliefs?¡±

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    ¡°Yes, mainstream.¡±

    ¡°Then are there any other censored phrases? I¡¯m afraid that I¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan was a little frantic, as well as a little angry. He loved rambling nonsense. If he was not allowed to do that, it was basically even more painful than dying. If he just rambled and rambled, only to be suddenly struck by a great bolt of lightning, that would be far too unfortunate.

    ¡°Censored phrases?¡± It took the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance a thought before he understood what he meant. He smiled. ¡°You sure know how to invent words! In my knowledge, that¡¯s the only one. However, there are still some names that you shouldn¡¯t mention carelessly. After all, the gazes of gods are no different from lightning!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have to worry then. But why though?¡±

    Li Qingshan had always possessed this doubt ever since he transmigrated. This world and his previous life possessed all sorts of connections, like the hundred schools of thought, like the nine provinces. As it seemed, the myth of N¨¹wa creating humanity was also true now. He had no idea about the reason. Was this really all just a dream?

    He shook his head. He could probably only get all the answers once he ventured beyond the Nine Heavens and saw brother ox again.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m asking about Ruin¡¯s End. Why are you talking about empress N¨¹wa instead?¡±

    ¡°The ancestor of my race, the primordial spirit turtle, turned into Ruin¡¯s End.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly recalled the full description regarding N¨¹wa mending the heavens that he had heard in his previous life.

    In ancient times, the four pillars crumbled, and the nine provinces shattered. The heavens collapsed, and the earth could no longer bear the burden of life. Flames razed the land unceasingly, and floods continued to flow even through the ocean. Beasts preyed on the people as birds fed off the elderly and feeble. Hence N¨¹wa melted down the colourful rocks to patch the heavens, lopping off the giant ao¡¯s four limbs for the four pillars, slaying the black dragon to provide relief to the Ji province, and controlling the floods through the amassed ash from burning reeds.

    One of the most important steps she had taken was lopping off the giant ao¡¯s four limbs for the four pillars.

    The creature called an ao was a giant turtle! Similar to the black dragon that followed, they both seemed to be antagonistic.

    ¡°In the Battle of Mending the Heavens, the teng serpents were reduced to dust, and the divine turtle was slain. N¨¹wa turned the shell into Ruin¡¯s End and used it to gather all the water across the world. That is the origins of all water flows to Ruin¡¯s End.¡±

    ¡°The Battle of Mending the Heavens!¡± Li Qingshan was entranced. ¡°Against who? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s against that unfortunate primordial spirit turtle! It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s a particularly worthy opponent.¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said after some silence, ¡°This has nothing to do with Ruin¡¯s End.¡±

    Li Qingshan then said in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t spirit turtles most skilled in divination and self-preservation? How did it end up like this? Did it make a miscalculation or something?¡±

    ¡°The primordial spirit turtle is unlike you humans. It was truly born from the world, so its will does not perish. It rejects all foreign entities apart from spirit turtles, especially humans!¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°So I¡¯m walking to my death if I visit Ruin¡¯s End!¡±

    Since the myth of N¨¹wa mending the heavens was true, she was the ¡°great mother god¡± of humanity. No matter how the floods raged, they probably could not even touch a hair on her. She must have done so to save the ¡°people¡±, or in other words, the foolish and kindhearted common people.

    As a result, it made perfect sense for the primordial spirit turtle to be hostile towards humans. They had to take responsibility for this. However, being opposed by an entire world probably would not be too great.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Then can¡¯t I just transform into a spirit turtle?¡± Li Qingshan swung his elbows around, imitating a turtle swimming.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance choked up. ¡°With how despicable and shameless you are, you truly are an elite among humans!¡±

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    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Thank you for your praise!¡±

    ¡°But you are unable to hide your nature as a human before the primordial spirit turtle.¡±

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    ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not. In short, I need to give it a try. Tell me how to get there, or I¡¯ll keep yelling those three words until the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes blows up!¡±

    A vein popped on the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s forehead. Anger rose up inside him. This damned bastard seemed to have been born knowing how to provoke people.

 Chapter 1507

    ¡°Alright. If you want to die so badly, then I¡¯ll give you what you want!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance finally told him the method of entering Ruin¡¯s End, but he made absolutely no mention about surviving within it.

    Li Qingshan stopped acting arrogantly and listened quietly before bowing deeply. ¡°Thank you, spirit reverend!¡± He suddenly smiled. ¡°Are you really capable of leaping out of this great chessboard and running away from everything?¡±

    He did not have much of a friendship with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, so there was no point for him to go to the lengths of persuading him otherwise. If he really wanted to stop him from going to Ruin¡¯s End, why did he tell him the method? Li Qingshan still did not think he could truly threaten a spirit immortal.

    Just who was the one controlling the chess pieces behind the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was left speechless. He replied after a good moment, ¡°The spirit turtles are the historians of the world. Of course, they can¡¯t keep out of all of this.¡±

    ¡°Historians of the world!¡±

    ¡°To write history for the world, to write legends for immortals and buddhas, to search for all unanswered truths, to pass on all forgotten secrets, as well as those secrets that no one will ask about again.¡±

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes, staring at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in surprise. For the first time, he saw something called ¡°pride¡± on that indifferent face.

    ¡°Is this the meaning of the spirit turtles¡¯ existence?¡±

    ¡°Meaning? No, that¡¯s an inferior concept of humans because they¡¯re not creations of nature. As such, they¡¯re not born with meaning, which is why they desperately search for the meaning of life. That¡¯s why you¡¯re not a spirit turtle.¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance pressed down on his chest slowly. ¡°This is our nature.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. Trying to understand and measure these divine creatures of nature from the perspective of humans was simply absurd. Right from the moment they were born, they had inherited certain knowledge and disposition. They would never become lost in their own definition.

    As a result, they did not have to search for something like ¡°meaning¡±, much less make a decision between all of the ¡°meanings¡±. They only needed to follow the track of fate, going from life to death naturally. Of course, there would not be as much struggle and pain.

    Just how fortunate was that? Compared to that, not only were humans puny in strength, but they were virtually mentally disabled too.

    Regular daemons did not possess such powerful bloodlines and legacies, but they were still creations of nature, so they did not have any random, disturbing inner demons. It all came down to preying and fleeing, strength and decline, survival and death.

    Only humans, little monsters moulded from mud by empress N¨¹wa, shoddy figurines created purely out of interest, would be so feeble.

    Li Qingshan bowed deeply again. ¡°Thank you, senior. I¡¯ve become even more certain in my thoughts. No one lives for the sake of living. Empress N¨¹wa did not give humans the meaning of living, perhaps exactly so that we can search for it ourselves.¡±

    He turned around and left.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance watched as Li Qingshan moved away. Right when he was about to descend down the stairs, he suddenly stopped and looked back with a smile. ¡°Oh right, be sure to leave enough length in that annals of the world for me, or you better not blame me for not warning you! Hahaha!¡± With a great chuckle, he made his way down, reciting slowly.

    ¡°All these efforts just for a scripture, to fell all the stars around me. The landscape shattered, erm, how does it go again? Whatever. Who in history has defied death? Might as well live up to history until my final breath!¡±

    TL: There¡¯s a double entendre in this poem. The first line ¡°all these efforts just for a scripture, to fell all the stars around me¡± can also mean ¡°despite all my efforts, the weapons of war fell the stars around me¡±. The second should be what Li Qingshan is trying to say, but the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance interprets it as the first.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance shuddered inside, The weapons of war fell the stars around me!

    He did not recite it with the poem¡¯s original sorrow but with a surging murderousness!

    Buddhism called the oral instructions of the buddha ¡°scriptures¡±, which corresponded to his cultivation method.

    As for ¡°stars¡±, there were only ever two kinds of them. One of them was the trichiliocosm, and the other was the immortals and buddhas beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Perhaps intentionally or otherwise, the poem spelled out his aspirations.

    Time flew. The moon phased in and out.

    Life was like mayflies, while the ocean stood boundlessly.

    From an extremely high point of view, through the thick storm clouds and through the turbulent surface, a speck, a mayfly, swam through the depths slowly.

    However, looking from within the ocean, it was quite shocking to discover that the ¡°mayfly¡± was actually thirty thousand metres long, shaped like a whale with feather patterns. With a sweep of its tail, it abruptly leapt out to the surface, swallowing the lobster Daemon King that was facing the heavenly tribulation on the surface with a single gulp. Then it fell back into the ocean like it was soaring, kicking up a colossal wave.

    The sky full of lightning rained down, but most of it was drawn towards the ¡°human-shaped lightning rod¡± above its head. The rest landed on its colossal body, only leaving behind a faint mark.

    The storm clouds in the sky dispersed very soon.

    The ¡°human-shaped lightning rod¡± asked, ¡°How does it taste?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely delicious.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you save any for me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just a clone. Why do you need to eat?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I get a taste?¡±

    This was the Daemonic Beast realm of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, or pejoratively called the ¡°Animal realm¡±.

    The skies were tall, the seas were vast, the mountains were deep, and the trees were thick. It was the wonderland for all daemonic beasts, a great wonderland where the strong preyed on the weak and the fitter survived. The never-ending hunting and flight, survival and death, formed the ultimate melody¡ªabsolute freedom, where beasts ran unreined.

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    Apart from natural herds and loose alliances, there was no such thing as cities or cultivation sects like in the Human realm.

    It was not just due to the various differences between the species and their lower overall intelligence compared to humans. The great daemons with exceptional intellect leaned towards leading alone too.

    This was the will of the Daemonic Beast realm, following the natural instincts of all.

    If anyone tried to establish some kind of great alliance or great organisation, they would discover very soon that their cultivation had halted and their luck had worsened. Even loose systems for sects like what the Myriad sect had in place were basically too much discipline, well beyond the limits here.

    As a result, there was absolutely no safeguard either. Even Daemon Kings that were about to face a tribulation could only accept their fates once they encountered a powerful predator.

    As a result, many daemons chose to work with humans, becoming mounts and leaving this overly ¡°free¡± environment.

    No matter what, it was impossible for a direct disciple of the Myriad sect to be swallowed in a single gulp by a ¡°monster¡± when they faced the tribulation. That was the advantage of organisations.

    However, there were many human cultivators that turned this around too, willingly accepting the danger of turning into prey to return to wonderful nature.

    Like this ¡°mayfly monster¡±.

    Li Qingshan spread his arms and sucked in a deep breath. The sea spray landed on his face with the ocean wind. ¡°Ah, how wonderful!¡± He patted the great kun below him. ¡°Yanying, do you suddenly feel an urge to mate?¡±

    ¡°Sure! Let¡¯s do it!¡± Gu Yanying swivelled her eyes, hiding back smiles. With a gentle swing of her tail, she dove deep into the ocean.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her mountainous figure and asked, ¡°Could you turn back into human form?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Gu Yanying answered bluntly.

    ¡°Forget about it then.¡± Li Qingshan gave up immediately.

    Gu Yanying asked, ¡°Why exactly did you come?¡±

    ¡°To inspect you and to experience life.¡±

    ¡°So are you done?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°Yeah. Seeing how free you are, I don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    After all these years of cultivation, Gu Yanying underwent the fifth heavenly tribulation as well.

    Her bloodline was half-human and half-daemon, but she always possessed the heart of a hawk, chasing after endless freedom. Especially after she merged with Heaven-stirring¡¯s feather, she completely abandoned her human bloodline, turning into a natural spirit, a kunpeng, similar to the spirit turtle and phoenix.

    That was perhaps the creature most compatible with the Daemonic Beast realm out of all of the species.

    There was no need to search for some meaning. Freedom was fate, and fate was freedom. They lived freely and died freely.

    It even left Li Qingshan rather envious. If his main body arrived in the Daemonic Beast realm, he probably would have become blessed by the heavens too, but he definitely would come nowhere close to her.

    And a fate like that was instead a form of restraint on him.

    After all, the divine and the demonic always collided in the hearts of man.

    Whether it was the stubbornness of the ox demon, the fury of the tiger demon, or the pride of the phoenix, the scheming of the spirit turtle, and the benevolence of the qilin, they were all a form of obstacle to freedom. Only the heart of the ape demon came close to freedom, but it was far too besotted with it.

    He read all the heavenly tomes that the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had to offer, but there was only a Heavenly Tome of Liberty and a Heavenly Tome of Nature, not a Heavenly Tome of Freedom.

    This was basically a case of nature over nurture, something that lacked in nature and could not be made up for with nurture. He yearned for freedom, but not just for the sake of freedom. However, that was fine. It was quite nice to see her obtain freedom.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Hopefully, I can see your valiant figure of rising up to the heavens soon!¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be too far behind you.¡±

    Li Qingshan stretched his arm, and his figure merged with the ocean currents, just like an image in the water.

    The vastness of the oceans here far surpassed the Human realm, but it was still different from Ruin¡¯s End. Ruin¡¯s End was not an ocean. No matter how much of it he experienced, it was useless.

    With a thought, the blood-red sky and the blood-red earth unfolded before his eyes.

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    R¨¡hu Xiaoming held a huge sword he had picked up from the ground, standing in a battlefield strewn with corpses. He looked over and asked the same question, ¡°Why did you come?¡±

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    Li Qingshan said grievingly, ¡°Aren¡¯t any of you going to welcome me? I was the one who helped you set up the teleportation formations after all.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming threw aside the huge sword. ¡°Heh, if your main body was here, I¡¯d definitely give you a proper ¡®welcoming¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Heh, aren¡¯t you afraid that your mum¡¯s going to call you home for dinner?¡±

 Chapter 1508

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s face darkened. His expression became vicious, yet he gave off the dignified aura of a god.

    He was not some so-called ¡°blessed son of the heavens¡±. He was an asura god in the first place, so he basically shared the same breath and fate as the Asura realm.

    Ever since he returned to the Asura realm, his powers grew with each passing day. The only thing he lacked before he returned to his status as a god was time.

    However, gods had bottom lines too. Suddenly, he struck out, and the boulder that Li Qingshan sat on exploded loudly. Dust rushed up into the air.

    ¡°There is no mother or son on the battlefield!¡± His voice was resolute, but also rather tired.

    ¡°That is your inner demon. If you can¡¯t overcome it, you might not have the opportunity to unite with her again on the battlefield.¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out from the dust slowly.

    The first few heavenly tribulations posed no threat to R¨¡hu Xiaoming, but the closer he was to the status of a god, the more dangerous the situation became. Tribulation lightning and demonic haunts had no concepts of old acquaintances. The tests he faced were as great as how powerful he was. Any openings he had inside of him could be used by demons, leading to destructive consequences.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s twisted, vicious expression returned to normal. He showed a hint of sorrow. ¡°That¡¯s also my fate.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought of something. ¡°Oh right, have you heard of N¨¹wa before?¡±

    ¡°N¨¹wa?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming furrowed his brows. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    Li Qingshan gained an even deeper understanding that this really was a great secret. Even a god of the past did not know about N¨¹wa.

    ¡°Then have you heard of the Battle of Mending the Heavens?¡±

    ¡°I have heard of that.¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming pointed at his own head. ¡°In the legacy memories of the R¨¡hu clan, that¡¯s the most ancient battle, but it¡¯s just too long ago. Back then, even the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra did not exist. It¡¯s merely a legend that cannot be verified in any way. If the N¨¹wa you speak of really did exist, where¡¯s she now?¡±

    ¡°What if the legend is true?¡±

    ¡°How do you know?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming said in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re clearly a bumpkin, so how do you know something so ancient? Don¡¯t tell me you made up all of it yourself?¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at his own head. ¡°Legacy memories.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled and crossed his arms. ¡°If I recall correctly, you were just a mortal in the beginning.¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his arms. ¡°How many people in the Asura realm were originally mortals?¡±

    ¡°Apart from the R¨¡hu and the Ket¨², all of them.¡±

    ¡°Then where are the R¨¡hu and the Ket¨² from?¡±

    ¡°This¡­ they should be branches from primordial gods and demons.¡±

    ¡°Then where are primordial gods and demons from?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re born from the world, obviously.¡±

    ¡°Gods and demons are also humans, while humans were not born from the world!¡±

    During the birth of the world, everything was so new that many things had yet to be named. When they were mentioned, it still required gesturing around. These concepts of ¡°gods¡±, ¡°demons¡±, and ¡°humans¡± did not exist at all. It was all interpretations made by later people.

    Probably only the spirit turtles would inherit these ancient memories, and only Ruin¡¯s End could preserve them.

    When N¨¹wa created humanity, she did not use some god or demon as a model. However, when she first made people, she was brimming with interest, carefully moulding them from mud. Afterwards, she found it too troublesome, so she covered a vine in mud and swung it around casually, splattering the ground with mud.

    Those moulded from the mud were the so-called ¡°gods¡±. The mud splatters became the so-called ¡°humans¡±.

    There was no intrinsic difference between the two. Powerful leaders lead their respective tribes to tear through all obstacles on the ground, so they thrived.

    These were all little stories from history he had obtained over the years from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance through offering the novels from the World of the Five Continents. It allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, and his cultivation increased. At this level, knowledge was power.

    ¡°What are you on about?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming raised an eyebrow. He found it absurd. The R¨¡hu clan were natural gods. Even regular asura came nowhere close, so how could they be born with humans?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°This is the historical data recorded by the spirit turtles.¡±

    ¡°Even if what you said is true, where are humans from?¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed a handful of mud with his left hand and moulded a small person. ¡°This is you!¡± He also grabbed a handful of mud with his right hand and swung it around. The ground also became covered in tiny people. He casually grabbed one. ¡°This is me.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming glanced at them. The two tiny people were both extraordinarily ugly. They only possessed a vague humanoid shape, but the tiny person representing him was just slightly more detailed.

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    ¡°You mean that N¨¹wa created¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him in a hurry. ¡°Shut up! Don¡¯t say that so carelessly! You¡¯ll be struck by lightning!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t the story you came up with far too absurd? If you were in the Heaven realm, it¡¯s enough for them to execute you a hundred times over.¡±

    Humans were the paragons of nature and creation, while deva were obviously the people that stood above people, the spirits of spirits. Yet now, he was claiming they were not created by nature, but creations like puppets, even beneath regular beasts and avians. How could the proud deva accept that?

    Li Qingshan said seriously, ¡°Do you know why N¨¹wa died in the memories I¡¯ve inherited?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°To save all the sentient creatures, these lowly, pitiful creations. Heh, and maybe the gods and demons too.¡±

    Li Qingshan crushed the two mudmen together, and they dispersed in the wind. Dust returned to dust, and earth returned to earth.

    This was not something that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had told him, but the conclusion of the Battle of Mending the Heavens from the memories of his previous life.

    ¡°In the blood-red clouds at the horizon was the glorious sun like some fluid orb of gold lapped in a waste of ancient lava. Opposite, the frigid white moon seemed as if it was made of iron. It was hard to say which was setting or which was rising. Utterly spent, N¨¹wa fell back between them, no longer breathing¡­¡±

    This was the account by a certain novelist from his previous life.

    TL: The novelist is Lu Xun, and this is referring to his 1930 work, Mending Heaven. I¡¯ve used the translation by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang from the book Old Tales Retold.

    This was probably something that the primordial spirit turtle never would have been able to predict. No matter how wondrous its calculations were, it could not foresee the ¡°great mother god¡± who thrived with the world willingly sacrificing herself for the tiny figures and puppets she had made from mud, hence unable to avoid her fate of being slain.

    Li Qingshan became rather sorrowful as well. ¡°The mother of humanity sacrificed herself for humanity. Isn¡¯t that ought to be?¡±

    After a period of silence, R¨¡hu Xiaoming clasped his fist and bowed. ¡°I understand!¡± He smiled freely, dispelling the worries on his mind. ¡°From today onwards, N¨¹wa is my mother! As for those pointless shackles, I¡¯ll sever them myself!¡±

    Freed from his mental burden, his aura showed signs of breaking through once again at that instant, which he gently held back.

    Li Qingshan bowed slightly. ¡°It¡¯s something I should do.¡±

    Hehe, through the teachings of the great demon king, heavenly king Xiaoming of the four heavenly kings has finally decided to kill his own mother! What a terrifying story!

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming then said, ¡°Oh right, just so you know, I¡¯m not afraid of being discovered. Gods aren¡¯t omniscient and omnipotent either.¡±

    ¡°But in my knowledge, gods basically all possess the natural ability of prophecy.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not dislike fighting valiantly as a chess piece, but if everything was within the calculations of those gods and buddhas no matter what he did, that would be terrible.

    ¡°Logically, yes, but not in practicality. First of all, the will of people is unpredictable. When the number reaches the billions, it can form a colossal variable. Secondly, how is a god supposed to predict the thoughts of another god?¡±

    ¡°When their thoughts diverge, fate becomes chaotic, yet they can¡¯t neglect each other¡¯s existence either. Even if they¡¯re worlds apart, the greater the divergence, the more chaotic it¡¯ll be. They¡¯ll fall into a mess.¡±

    ¡°I see. I don¡¯t have to worry then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been incinerated by the flames of karma. I¡¯ve already started over again. My bloodline has already been severed from my mother¡¯s, and my fate¡¯s been completely changed. However, the reason why I¡¯m bold enough to return is actually because of you.¡±

    ¡°Me?¡±

    ¡°You should know just how many chaotic and changing fates are tied around you! You were born for a crisis. I suspect that even the buddha does not have complete control over this, yet I am facing the crisis with you now, so who can still grasp my traces?¡±

    ¡°Haha, I see. So I come with an inference signal. Oh right, what kind of crisis?¡±

    ¡°A crisis of death from the world!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

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    ¡°Don¡¯t know, that¡¯s just how it¡¯s always been called.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    ¡°But now that you mentioned the matter of Mending the Heavens, I have some thoughts. Who was the primordial spirit turtle fighting for? And who obscured these parts of history? Where does the lightning that tries to strike you come from?¡±

 Chapter 1509

    Li Qingshan had asked similar questions to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance before, but the old turtle simply refused to answer him no matter what.

    After spending all these years together, there was still some friendship between them, so it was not like Li Qingshan could threaten to destroy the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes again.

    Of course, the primary reason was because even threats would be useless. He would still have to look for the answers to those questions himself at the end of the day.

    ¡°When will you undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation?¡±

    ¡°Very soon.¡±

    After overcoming his mental shackles, R¨¡hu Xiaoming became filled with even greater fighting spirit. He gazed out at the Asura realm. This had once been his territory, his homeland.

    He spread his fingers and reached into the distance before suddenly closing his hand. ¡°I will definitely take back what I¡¯ve lost!¡±

    ¡°Fight on, Xiaoming!¡± Li Qingshan pumped his hand and called out.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming exhaled. Something sounded amiss. ¡°Can you call me Ming?¡± Just how much do you like the word ¡°xiao¡±?

    ¡°Ming? To think you could even come up with something like that. Is this supposed to be some third-rate romance story? Haha!¡± Li Qingshan mocked his tastes openly.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming ground his teeth. ¡°Then call me R¨¡hu Ming!¡±

    ¡°Sure, Xiaoming! See you, Xiaoming!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said nothing more, directly swinging his hand at him.

    With a great boom, the earth split open as a deep gully, but he missed.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure gradually faded away like an image in a mirror. He waved his hand and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not going to play with you anymore. I need to focus on the war too.¡±

    ¡°Let me know if you need help.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. It¡¯s just some small, boring wars. You would probably find them boring too.¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again.

    Under a pale-white, crescent moon, a great mountain stood tall. A lone city towered as if it pierced the sky.

    The war had already lasted most of the night, but the enemies continued to resist stubbornly.

    However, this was not a battlefield of the Demon domain.

    Ever since the battle against Taowu, Black Cloud city had entered an unprecedented state of peace.

    The monks of the Pure Land sect had already pushed the ¡°human pure land¡± right up to Cold Blood pass. There was not a single guard in there.

    If they continued forging ahead, it was completely possible for them to claim Cold Blood pass and replace Black Cloud city with it. However, after a series of considerations, he decided against this idea.

    .

    The Human realm had always been defensive towards the Demon domain. Under such a circumstance, giving up Black Cloud city that was far more crucial and venturing further into the Demon domain was not anything good. After all, it warranted attention, and attention was never good.

    As a result, he ordered the soldiers to destroy Cold Blood pass and the valley behind it in the most thorough way possible, limiting the possibility of attacks from the Demon domain to the greatest extent. Sure enough, the Demon domain had given him what he wanted too. There were many years of peace as if they had completely given up on attacking this region.

    He suspected that Taowu played a role in this, and perhaps Qiongqi too. Before he knew it, he had already formed a feud with two gods, and he was still alive.

    Recently, he often dreamt of a bloody river, meandering through who knew how far. It seemed as if it crossed through time, flowing from the primordial times till now.

    The Nether River was said to be the first river carved out in the world. Its flow demarcated time and formed fate, such that even gods could not turn their backs on oaths sworn to it.

    Whenever he dreamt, he would be slightly closer to it, so close that he could already see the surging waves in the bloody river.

    As a result, he understood that the day he faced Qiongqi was getting closer and closer.

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    The visit to the Demon domain would definitely be happening.

    Many people envied the peace and quiet he enjoyed during his time as the ¡°first senior brother¡±, but little did they know that the war had not changed at all.

    The aura of death filled the land. The deep craving of hunger was like a hole, yet also like fire, making him lick his lips.

    Xiao An passed a tender, glistening arm over. ¡°Want some?¡±

    ¡°I just got questioned earlier whether I need to eat as a clone. My Xiao An is still the considerate one. Sigh, what a hungry Hungry Ghost realm!¡±

    The great winds whistled past his ears as a giant dragon meandered through the sky. That was the dragon corpse left behind by the previous first senior brother, Lin Xuan. After being converted by the Trisepultural Robes, he began to move once more. His golden scales were gilded silvery-white now, glistening under the moonlight like a silver ribbon.

    Li Qingshan held Xiao An in his arms, standing on the dragon¡¯s head between the horns. The night wind filled his face.

    Beneath, the undead soldiers amounted to a million, like mountains and waves, attacking the lone city wave after wave.

    Several dozen Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns gathered in the lone city that was on the brink of falling, frantically discussing a countermeasure. They were originally the rulers of this land. In order to avoid mutual bloodshed, they all occupied a territory of their own.

    Yet now, they were forced to band together to fend off the powerful enemy.

    That was because all the Corpse and Ghost Sovereigns that did not do that in this region either died or surrendered. To them, there was no difference between the two. The latter was even worse as a matter of fact.

    Yet now, they discovered to their surprise that it was useless even if they banded together. The undead army under their command was far greater than the enemy, but they stood no chance at all under the waves of attacks. They were already on the verge of collapse.

    A Corpse Sovereign bellowed, ¡°Impossible. How can low-level undead be so disciplined?¡±

    Unless they were invading other worlds, the Hungry Ghost realm rarely experienced large-scale warfare. Some would occur every now and then, but it was basically just everyone swarming up together. It was almost no different from a gang war.

    The undead were different from the living. They were not suited for battle.

    Corpses moved sluggishly and possessed lower intelligence. Ghosts drifted about with instability and were deranged. They were basically a group of people with either mental or physical disabilities. They only possessed such a strong desire to devour under the urgings of their hunger.

    The Corpse Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns could use corpse and ghost control techniques to turn them into cannon fodder, but they could not organise them into a true army.

    However, the undead that currently attacked the city all followed orders strictly, demonstrating great discipline. Most unbelievably, they could even condense army qi.

    Regular undead armies could also gather their aura to strengthen their leader. It seemed rather similar to army qi, but it was actually yin qi. Suppressing the undeads¡¯ desires to devour one another was already extremely difficult. Uniting their wills and gathering army qi was basically just a pipe dream.

    Yet, something that was supposed to be impossible just happened right before their eyes.

    The mountains of corpses and seas of ghosts marched forwards, rapidly growing closer.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°Tsk. These guys don¡¯t understand the art of war at all!¡±

    His scarlet eyes shone brightly within the darkness, demonic yet also stunning to look at.

    The Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye was one of the tiger demon¡¯s innate abilities. It could stun the foe in battle, but it was basically useless if he encountered any extremely powerful enemies.

    This rather useless innate ability had instead played a wondrous role in the war within the Hungry Ghost realm.

    That was because it could overwhelm the feeble existences, twisting and consolidating their minds such that they completely yielded to the tiger demon, becoming haunts.

    Low-level undead possessed lower intelligence or were deranged, so they were extremely easy to convert into haunts.

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    This was completely different from regular corpse and ghost control techniques. Haunts did not require any effort for him to control. They whole-heartedly served the tiger demon.

    They immediately became the most loyal of soldiers, no longer disabled mentally or physically. They sacrificed themselves for the bigger picture, wholeheartedly serving the tiger.

    Li Qingshan twisted his neck. ¡°Time to give them the final strike!¡±

    A Ghost Sovereign called out, ¡°Don¡¯t you know whose subordinates we are?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re all subordinates of the Unadorned Ghost Immortal, which is why this city is called Unadorned city.¡±

 Chapter 1510

    Li Qingshan shrugged. He did not care.

    Xiao An smiled. He was not a blessed son of heaven in the Hungry Ghost realm. Instead, his luck was terrible here. He was a cursed son of heaven.

    If they had not undertaken meticulous investigation, how was it possible for them to launch such a great assault?

    From the opening of the Gate of Hungry Ghosts, when they first entered this place and developed their forces, they had almost been discovered by passing Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals several times. They faced constant danger.

    Perhaps it was because of the White Bone Bodhisattva, but the greater possibility was the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was competing against the Hungry Ghost realm for food. Being incinerated by the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone was different from being devoured by other undead. They were ¡°converted¡± completely, with nothing left behind.

    Just the frail will of a regular, small world possessed the instincts to maintain its own existence, where the heavenly tribulation of ascension became extremely difficult, let alone the Hungry Ghost realm that was primarily centered around hunger and devouring. It had always been the one eating others. Since when did others eat it?

    As a result, trying to get by in the Hungry Ghost realm truly was difficult. Even when Xiao An had already digested her fruits of the battle from the Demon domain, undergoing the fifth heavenly tribulation, she could not directly confront Ghost and Corpse Immortals.

    And among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, they also had the most sixth heavenly tribulation existences¡ªor in other words, Ghost and Corpse Immortals. They even surpassed the total sum of the other realms.

    The sixth heavenly tribulation was a threshold. Many Human Immortals and Daemon Immortals would choose to embark on the journey leading beyond the Nine heavens in hopes of a greater opportunity at becoming a True Immortal.

    More importantly, whether they were Human Immortals or Daemon Immortals, they were all limited by their lifespans. Their names were listed in the Book of Life and Death. If they could not undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation and become True Immortals, then unfortunately, they still had to pay a visit to the afterlife and reincarnate like everyone else.

    They would receive a certain amount of special treatment, not having to drink from the River of Forgetfulness and relinquish their current memories. It was said that they could even bargain against the Ten Courts of Yanluo and choose their own reincarnation circumstances, whether they were born into the families of noblemen or clans of monarchs, and even their race and gender.

    (Note: The most frequent choice of reincarnation for both humans and daemons are human males.)

    However, recultivating from scratch after reincarnation was destined to be extremely dangerous. The amount of information an infant could hold was limited. It was impossible for them to pour all of their memories inside one, let alone a fetus that had not even taken shape. They had to go through the ¡°confusions of the womb¡±. They were completely incapable of protecting themselves.

    Even as a member of an imperial clan, they stood no chance against a glass of poisonous wine. If they were not careful, they could die in the womb.

    Even if they made many preparations and survived all the dangers, making it through the ¡°confusions of the womb¡±, there was still an issue. Were you still you?

    Li Qingshan had already gained a clear understanding now. The Chu Tian he had met in the past, even the Chu Tian after his memories had been awakened, was not the true Lin Xuan.

    The original first senior brother Lin Xuan¡¯s cultivation was Yang Soul. It was completely impossible for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to contain the memories of his entire life. At most, he would preserve some memory fragments. The primary content was still based around the heavenly tomes.

    He was not a weakened version of Lin Xuan, only a strengthened version of Chu Tian. Eventually, he still ended up walking to his death because he was unable to cast aside his resentment and fury, wanting to redeem himself. Meanwhile, the first senior brother of the Myriad sect who once presided over Black Cloud city and slew Demon Sovereigns definitely was not like that.

    From a certain perspective, you only lived once. If you did not become a True Immortal, then you would be reduced to dust in the end.

    That was why countless Human Immortals and Daemon Immortals would reject rebirth. Then only two paths lay in front of them. The first was to defect to the Demon domain and fall as a Heretic God, while the second was to flee to the Hungry Ghost realm and become a Ghost Immortal or Corpse Immortal.

    They had to twist their own concepts of self to become a Heretic God, and they had to follow the orders of the twelve Demon Gods to wage war in the Human realm against the Desireless Heavenly Palace. If they were not careful, they would be slain by True Immortals, doomed for all of eternity.

    As a result, the Hungry Ghost realm became the best choice, which led to something like this in the very end.

    But to Li Qingshan and Xiao An, that was the greatest advantage of this place. Apart from Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals, they were the apex predators. Regular Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns were completely at their whim. Even if ten of them banded together, they were not their opponent.

    The Hungry Ghost realm was particularly enormous too. No matter how many Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals they had, there could not be one around every single corner. They still ended up ruling over their own territories, remaining within their own ranges of influence.

    At the end of the day, the Hungry Ghost realm only possessed a will, not a consciousness. It could not directly tell a certain Ghost Immortal, ¡°The successor of white bone is currently hiding here. Go and kill her for me!¡± At most, it could suddenly give them the urge to go out and take a look, and it had to provide them with a sufficient reason too.

    There was no such thing as destined fortune or misfortune. It was all a consequence of actions. Whether it was good luck or bad luck, it required certain opportunities and circumstances for it to manifest, with an urge rising internally, leading to actions externally.

    And up until now, Xiao An had yet to use the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, and it was exactly to hold off this circumstance. Otherwise, taking Unadorned city would be much easier. She had to avoid conflicts with any Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals as much as possible. Once everyone found out who she was, then all of her efforts would go to waste.

    But fortunately, she only had to lie down in a pile of bones to seem no different from a regular skeleton. Even Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals would struggle to notice her.

    After a series of detailed ¡°social investigations¡±, Li Qingshan and her possessed an abundant understanding of the Hungry Ghost realm. They made a large number of preparations, which was why they began establishing their base on the Unadorned Ghost Immortal¡¯s territory.

    The old ghost was a great habit. He spent a century sleeping and a century awake.

    To an existence that possessed almost eternal life, time did not hold much meaning at all. Even cultivation did not hold any meaning. No one could become a True Immortal in the Hungry Ghost realm. Perhaps there had been people in the past, but how could the order of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra accept such blasphemy. The immortals and buddhas beyond the Nine Heavens were not that gentle. Such a feat that defied the heavens would definitely result in wrath from the heavens.

    As a result, it all boiled down to a single concept¡ªgetting by.

    Many Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals had the habit of sleeping. They were roughly the same as mortals, recovering and resting through sleep. They reduced their energy consumption to maintain their existence. It was also to avoid going insane within the endless void.

    Only this old ghost had a particularly regular sleeping pattern. The city was called Unadorned city, but the Unadorned Ghost Immortal did not sleep here. He only presided over this place when he was awake.

    As a result, no matter how much of a fuss these Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns kicked up, Li Qingshan was not afraid at all.

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    Xiao An had sent a Skeleton Demon to watch the place where the Unadorned Ghost Immortal slept. If something happened to the situation there, they could hide their tracks in time or retreat to the Human realm.

    A Ghost Sovereign feigned ignorance. ¡°Sir, with how capable at warfare you are, why don¡¯t you wage war in the Asura realm instead? Why must you make things difficult for us?¡± Meanwhile, he communicated to the other Corpse and Ghost Sovereigns. ¡°I¡¯ll buy some time. One of you ring the alarm bell and wake up the Unadorned Immortal!¡±

    The Corpse and Ghost Sovereigns looked at one another. The Unadorned Ghost Immortal hated being woken up while he was sleeping, and whenever the old man woke up, it would be when he was ¡°hungriest¡±.

    ¡°All of the territories are lost. Unadorned city is about to fall too. The old man must be capable of dealing with this!¡±

    The alarm bell was located in the very depths of Unadorned city. It only needed the slightest touch to set off a warning and wake up the Unadorned Ghost Immortal.

    However, they only looked at one another. None of them had any intentions of doing that. They felt like their chances of dying were larger if they did that than letting the city fall, so they were better off scattering when the city fell, fleeing to other places.

    Li Qingshan laughed. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell? I¡¯m recruiting for a great battle right now! Stop wasting time. If any of you were bold enough to wake up that old ghost, you would have done so a long time ago.¡±

    With a leap, he arrived several thousand metres in the air and directly plunged towards Unadorned city.

    Several million undead raised their heads at the same time. The icy army qi brimming with the aura of death gathered on him. His cheeks sank and his lips lost their colour. His skin became pale-white as well with his bones poking out. Only his eyes continued to blaze like scarlet fire.

    Even though it was only a mirror clone, the destructive power he currently possessed was no less than his main body.

    A deathly grey meteor pierced through the formation, landing between the Corpse Sovereign and Ghost Sovereigns and standing up as an Army God of Death.

    Boom!

    A wave of air swept out. Under the gushing fierce winds and death qi, all of the Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns lost their footing. Their faces paled in fright. Since when did they ever witness an existence like him in the Hungry Ghost realm? Let alone attacking him, they did not even have the courage to flee.

    The violent army qi was so powerful that he struggled to control it, rising up around the Army God of Death like fire, except it was deathly grey. The Army God of Death gazed down upon the Ghost Sovereigns and Corpse Sovereigns. ¡°Submit to me, or die! Oh, I forgot, you¡¯re already dead. Hahahaha!¡±

    No one was unable to laugh. They only felt chills run down their spines.

    ¡°You really have no sense of humour. My time is limited. One, two, three!¡±

    The Army God of Death raised its hand slowly.

    ¡°I¡¯ll submit to you, sir!¡± ¡°Me too, I¡¯m willing to wage war everywhere under your command, sir.¡±

    ¡°Very good!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not surprised at all. This was not the first time that something like this had occurred. Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns clearly lacked the virtue of loyalty. To them, ¡°surviving¡± was most important. Heh, how ironic!

    At this moment, the pale dragon flew over, gripping the rock with its sharp claws and coiling around Unadorned city. Xiao An sat on the dragon¡¯s head with the kasaya draped around her, chanting away with her eyes shut.

    The Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns under Li Qingshan¡¯s command gathered over too, sealing off all of their paths of retreat.

    The kasaya on Xiao An drifted through the air like a white bird. It flew towards a Corpse Sovereign and wrapped around him.

    Against opponents of such cultivation, Li Qingshan¡¯s Nightmare Tiger¡¯s Demonic Eye could only stun them temporarily, while Xiao An¡¯s Trisepultural Robes were most accustomed to ¡°converting¡± these dead ghosts.

    That was where his undead army came from. Otherwise, just obtaining the loyalty of the most basic of haunts was pointless. He would not have the different officers to lead them, making it impossible to gather army qi.

    The Corpse Sovereign¡¯s expression was twisted, trying to resist.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him. ¡°You can choose your own dog leash!¡±

    The Corpse Sovereign had no idea what a dog leash was, but under the pressing gaze of the giant, terrifying Army God of Death, how could he put up any resistance? He allowed the kasaya to wrap around him.

    His expression changed, sometimes grinding his teeth and sometimes struggling furiously, but gradually, his expression settled down as if all of his pain had been erased. Even the hunger that tormented him had completely vanished. He became satisfied, peaceful, and comfortable.

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    By the time the kasaya slid off his body, he turned around and gazed at the colleagues that he had always wanted to devour. It was like he was an entirely different person. There was actually a hint of pity on his face. ¡°Trust me, you definitely have to try it.¡±

    Hiss! The Corpse Sovereigns and Ghost Sovereigns all gasped together. They felt unprecedented horror.

    But very soon, their fears all vanished, becoming peaceful, quiet, and pitiful.

    In the end, only a Ghost Sovereign remained. He turned towards Xiao An on the dragon head. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a successor of white bone!?¡±

    Xiao An opened an eye and brought her index finger to her lips. ¡°Shh.¡±

 Chapter 1511

    Unadorned city fell, the sovereigns yielded, and the army marched into the city.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure faded in and out, twisting and changing like a bubble. Imbued with such tremendous army qi, his mirror clone had basically reached its limit.

    He smiled towards Xiao An. The smile was like a moon in the water, rippling and dispersing in the light. He vanished.

    Xiao An draped the Trisepultural Robes on herself again and cast down the formation which she had prepared beforehand. A black shadow draped down. She was not after defence, but disguise.

    After all these years of preparation, it was time to begin a new round of cultivation.

    With a wave of her hand, the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty incinerated the undead. There was no struggle or howls, much less any resistance. Even the sunken faces of zombies seemed to warm up slightly, receiving liberation in the flames.

    A white lotus bloomed in the sea of fire, opening slowly without any fragrance.

    Clap! Li Qingshan closed a book, and his gaze blanked out for a moment. The rows and rows of bookshelves around him extended off into the distance, confirming that he was still inside the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    Everything that occurred in the Daemonic Beast realm, Asura realm, and Hungry Ghost realm was far too dazzling, such that the silent sea of books instead seemed surreal, like he had been submerged in three novels of different styles.

    Like reflections in the water, like a dream.

    Li Qingshan could not help but chuckle to himself. He gave off an aura of quietness as if his youthful hotheadedness had faded away with time, replaced by a faint, bookish vibe, bearing some similarity to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    He placed the book in his hand back on the bookshelf. With that, he had read all the books in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    That was his cultivation.

    Since entering Ruin¡¯s End required the identity of a spirit turtle, he had to strengthen the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as much as possible. If he could reach the ninth layer and assume the Spirit Turtle Transformation perfectly, he believed it was enough to fool the primordial spirit turtle¡¯s will.

    However, there would always be a difference between reality and imagination. He reached the eighth layer with the Spirit Turtle Transformation and became stuck on the verge of the ninth layer. He was unable to budge from there anymore.

    The path of the spirit turtle was not about hard work and effort, but accumulation or even luck.

    He murmured to himself, ¡°Perhaps I haven¡¯t truly carried out the true spirit turtle¡¯s path!¡± However, time waited for no one. No matter what, he had to prepare to enter Ruin¡¯s End.

    An old voice rang out from above his head. ¡°Because you¡¯re still unable to let go of your heart as a human. That is your fatal flaw.¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. ¡°Just how much do spirit turtles like to spy on others? Sigh, how sickening!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance fell silent. Over the years, he had personally witnessed Li Qingshan¡¯s powers grow day by day. By now, he no longer had the confidence to take him down.

    To cultivators, especially to a creation of nature that possessed an extremely long lifespan like him, it really was just the blink of an eye.

    He let out a sigh. ¡°This is probably what makes humans terrifying! This child is born for a crisis. Now, he¡¯s no longer a fledgling. Just who can stop him now?¡±

    Li Qingshan emerged from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. The brilliant sunlight lit up his face. He stretched comfortably and tossed all of the random knowledge and rambling principles from the books to the back of his head.

    A disciple hurried over. ¡°First senior brother, senior brother Le is inviting you over!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up, and his lethargy immediately vanished. Le Tian was finally going to die!

    ¡°Where have I seen you before?¡±

    ¡°First senior brother, you¡¯ve many things to deal with, so it makes sense that you¡¯re forgetful. My brother and I joined the Myriad sect together back then, and we even received a vicious beating from you.¡±

    ¡°I remember now. So it¡¯s you. Time sure flies. I¡¯ll be leaving first. I¡¯ll see you later!¡±

    ¡°Farewell!¡± The disciple watched him sail off into the air, vanishing between the rows upon rows of buildings. Suddenly, he shook his head and made his way down the stone steps slowly, heading towards the Heaven Perturbing casino.

    In a quiet room within the depths of the Heaven Perturbing casino, a bamboo mat was laid out with a table, a single, flickering lamp, and a censer curling with smoke. A twisted word, ¡°gamble¡± was hung on the wall. Apart from that, there was nothing else.

    Le Tian sat there and waited respectfully. He had just showered and changed into fresh clothes, such that even his hair was still rather moist. He sat there peacefully.

    That was until a shadow appeared at the entrance. With a whoosh, he flung open the door and walked in with a gust of wind. He asked, ¡°Is it time?¡±

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    Le Tian nodded. ¡°There¡¯s still an hour. You should sit down and wait for a bit!¡±

    Li Qingshan sensed the special atmosphere within the quiet room, and he became solemn, turning around and closing the door behind him.

    At that instant, many formations were activated, sealing the room. It was only possible to leave the place, not enter.

    Today might be the end of a Human Sovereign, when they fell back to hell and entered rebirth.

    Le Tian continued to wait with his eyes shut.

    However, Li Qingshan did not sit down as Le Tian asked. Instead, he strolled around the room with his hands behind his back. After strolling around for a while, he stopped in front of the only ornament. ¡°What kind of word is this? It looks like a dog wrote it.¡±

    Le Tian¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°I thought you read a lot of books over the years, and you already know everything, first senior brother!¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head. ¡°Hehe, I forget it as soon as I read it. If I have to walk around with so much knowledge and principles, how could I still move?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance seemed like he dwelled at the top of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, but in reality, he carried the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes on his shoulders, which was why he was unable to move, trapped in the pavilion. Li Qingshan would never want a life like that. That was probably the reason why he was just unable to reach the ninth layer of the Spirit Turtle Transformation.

    However, he had not read those books for nothing. He copied them all into the small Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes in the World of the Five Continents.

    In the beginning, he made it such that others had to offer up novels for access, but towards the end, Li Qingshan no longer needed the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s paltry sum of bookmarks, so he gave everyone free access. He turned the World of the Five Continent into a perfect new world where everyone could practise martial arts. Unfortunately, there were still many that remained unconvinced.

    Le Tian smiled. ¡°There are many people throughout the world who read books, but there are very few that understand this principle. Senior brother, you play the fool despite your great wisdom. No ordinary person can match you.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back and smiled. ¡°No matter how much you suck up to me, I¡¯m not going to help you against that ox-head!¡±

    ¡°A gamble is a gamble. Ox-headed A¡¯pang might just be a Hell Guard, a Ghost Immortal, but he represents the order of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. You definitely don¡¯t stand a chance against him.¡±

    ¡°Who set the rules and order of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra?¡± Li Qingshan muttered to himself before suddenly asking, ¡°Oh right, where¡¯s your three-legged golden toad?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s staying in the dwelling. He¡¯s packing his luggage to return to the Daemonic Beast realm.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you sure do treat him like a brother!¡±

    ¡°We trust each other with our lives. It¡¯s not a matter of brotherhood or not. If I end up in rebirth, I¡¯ll rely on him to deliver and guide my next life.¡±

    ¡°Even if you succeed, will you still be you?¡±

    ¡°So what if I will? So what if I won¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°You sure are optimistic.¡±

    ¡°So what if I am? So what if I¡¯m not?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not, then you could put up a fight against the Ox-headed A¡¯pang. If you win, you can run, and if you lose, then your soul will just be destroyed. You don¡¯t even have to go to the lengths of rebirthing anymore.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t win.¡±

    ¡°You only know once you¡¯ve tried!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly. His youthful aspirations had never died down.

    ¡°Well said!¡±

    A deep bellow boomed through the quiet room. A towering gate appeared out of nowhere, passing through the formations and standing in the room. Two large words were inscribed on there¡ªDeath¡¯s Door!

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    With a boom, Death¡¯s Door swung open.The chilly winds swept through the surroundings as the ghostly mist hung gloomily. The single lamp was extinguished, and the incense stopped burning.

    The huge head of an ox poked through the ghostly mist. His eyes shone with red light, directly staring at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan looked around. ¡°Look, none of this has anything to do with me. I was just saying!¡±

    The ox-head droned, ¡°Come in!¡±

    Le Tian was very surprised. The figures of the underworld had always been known for their timeliness. If the King of Hell wanted you dead in the middle of the night, you definitely could not last until dawn. They would neither be late nor early, yet he was surprisingly early by an entire hour this time.

 Chapter 1512

    There¡¯s something strange about this, but he probably hasn¡¯t come for me.

    Le Tian was very aware that he was only a gambling friend for Ox-headed A¡¯pang to kill boredom with. If he did not want to gamble, he could drag him to hell whenever he wanted to.

    The chilly winds brushed past his face. He sensed something, so he asked Li Qingshan again, ¡°Are you certain you want to come?¡±

    ¡°If you lose, I can still leave, right?¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed into Death¡¯s Door, which resembled an abyssal mouth. He became rather hesitant. Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s gaze towards him seemed to be hiding something else. After reaching the eighth layer of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, his senses over the future became much clearer.

    ¡°That¡¯ll depend on just how much lifespan you have remaining in the Book of Life and Death.¡±

    ¡°I still have thousands upon thousands of years.¡±

    With his bloodline of the demonic and divine, Li Qingshan¡¯s lifespan was hundreds and thousands of times longer than regular human cultivators. And even just as a Yang Soul cultivator, he enjoyed quite a lengthy lifespan.

    With a thought, he projected out his Yang Soul and flew into Death¡¯s Door.

    Le Tian was puzzled. This ¡°first senior brother¡± was always determined and courageous, but he definitely did not take risks haphazardly, or he would not be still alive.

    The heavenly secrets were unpredictable. He could not think too much about it. He followed closely behind, projecting out his Yang Soul as well.

    Death¡¯s Door slammed shut loudly and vanished. The ghostly mist dispersed, and the chilly winds vanished. The single lamp was lit once more, and the quiet room remained unchanged.

    The abyss was endless. Li Qingshan moved through the chilly winds and ghostly mists, unable to see even his arms outstretched. Even a Yang Soul could not peer through this darkness.

    At the same time, within his body, inside the small world, the spirit turtle shone with a clear glow, illuminating everything. It was not divination, only illuminating his true self.

    Apart from a strange worry, there was a much stronger sense of anticipation inside him. He did not know what he was anticipating. It must have been something within the doors.

    That was why he decided to check out the Hell realm. Even if that Ox-headed A¡¯pang bore ulterior motives, it was only a matter of losing his Yang Soul.

    At this moment, a speck of hazy, green light appeared before his eyes, flickering and flashing. It was bright like a star yet like a ghostly fire, growing larger and larger, brighter and brighter.

    In the blink of an eye, the darkness gradually receded. Only a meandering path of yellow soil appeared before him, extending through the endless yellow sands, only to vanish in the endless yellow sands again, leading off to somewhere unknown.

    ¡°The Road to the Yellow Springs!¡± Li Qingshan blurted out.

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang sat on the side of the Road to the Yellow Springs. His burly figure was clad in armour and wrapped in pitch-black chains, except the padding under his armour was already in ruins. His sleeves had basically become tatters as well, which made him seem rather bleak.

    He gazed at Li Qingshan with something that resembled a smile on his ox face. It made him seem like he was up to no good, yet it also made him seem extremely friendly.

    Li Qingshan walked up to him and glanced up and down to study him. He thought, What a large ox. Unfortunately, it¡¯s not the one that I lost. Though, it sure is strange. Why does he bear some resemblance?

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang lowered his head as well, staring right at him as if he was trying to see through his Yang Soul. His brows furrowed together firmly as he thought of something. His face twisted as if he bore great anger and resentment.

    But why would Li Qingshan fear him? He stared right back at him.

    Right after Le Tian passed through Death¡¯s Door, he saw the two of them glaring at one another. It was basically spelled across their faces that they were unhappy with each other. The ox face and the human face actually bore a slight resemblance.

    Among the Ten Hell Guards and among the four that were responsible for humans, Ox-head and Horse-face were known for their violent tempers. They were nowhere near as agreeable as Black and White Impermanence. They had absolutely no regard for whether you were a Yin Soul or a Yang Soul. If you refused to submit to them, you would never make it to the end of the Road to the Yellow Springs. They would sentence you for defying a Hell Guard and kill you on the spot before reporting back.

    When I gambled against Ox-headed A¡¯pang, others already thought I was reckless out of my mind. They really should take a look at this.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s expression suddenly calmed down. He said to Le Tian, ¡°We can begin.¡±

    Le Tian walked over slowly and bowed. ¡°Sir A¡¯pang, how would you like to gamble this time?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no need for too much trouble. We¡¯ll go with Big or Small. One round will do.¡±

    TL: Big or small is just gambling on the outcome of a dice roll, whether the numbers sum to a big number or a small number. It¡¯s quite a common casino game.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang waved his hand impatiently like he was trying to shoo away a non-existent fly.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Le Tian rejoiced inside and took out a pair of dice. They were his lifebound arcane artifacts and had been shattered during the battle in the Demon domain. He had gone to great lengths to forge them again, and it took another two whole decades before he refined them.

    Originally, they could only be used for divination and peering into fate. He never imagined that he could directly use them as tools for the gamble. That was extremely advantageous for him. It increased his odds by twenty percent at the very least.

    However, he became even more puzzled. Since when was Ox-headed A¡¯pang so agreeable? During the gamble last time, while Ox-headed A¡¯pang did admire his courage, that was only because he managed to put up a show as he struggled between the boundary of life and death. Ox-headed A¡¯pang did it to joke with him.

    That time, they played pai gow and gambled with lifespan. They gambled for a very, very long time. In the end, it took him a risky move before he managed to pull off a lucky win. He even suspected that Ox-headed A¡¯pang had spared him intentionally.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang suddenly asked Li Qingshan, ¡°Do you want to play?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m just watching. Just watching.¡± Li Qingshan took a step back. I¡¯m not going to get dragged down into this by you so easily.

    ¡°How come you¡¯re allowed to watch?¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang flew into a rage and swung his hand towards Li Qingshan. The ground shook and murderousness surged.

    Le Tian trembled. It was not because he was cowardly, but purely out of instinct.

    Who knew how many Human Sovereigns Ox-headed A¡¯pang had captured in his life. They were no different from livestock in his eyes. If he had to fight or kill them, he would fight or kill them. No matter how valliant you were, you just lost all your courage before him. On top of that, his anger clearly was not fake. Instead, he was truly angered.

    Li Qingshan planted his hands on his hips and craned his neck. ¡°How come I¡¯m not allowed to watch?¡±

    Le Tian gave him a thumbs-up inside. Right when he thought Ox-headed A¡¯pang was about to kill Li Qingshan, he suddenly changed his tone. ¡°Then you roll the dice.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the dealer.¡± Li Qingshan took another three steps back and said righteously, ¡°Gambling is bad.¡±

    None of these supernatural beings were ever up to any good. In the past, he had been screwed over by Qiongqi. Even now, he was still stuck in his plot, soon to confront death in the Demon domain. This ox-headed ghost clearly did not harbour any good intentions towards him, so how could he provide him with any more opportunities to work against him?

    Once coaxed by a candy-seller, now always wary of sweet-talkers.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang widened his eyes until they were perfectly round. His chains and armour rubbed against one another, producing clashing sounds. Sparks shot out. He seemed absolutely livid.

    Le Tian was astounded. Just what the hell was that ¡°gambling is bad¡±? Just who was the one who insisted on coming and watching with great enthusiasm? You better start praying yourself. I¡¯m in a sticky situation myself, so I can¡¯t save you.

    However, the developments took him by surprise yet again. The furious Ox-headed A¡¯pang suddenly calmed down, even nodding. ¡°Alright, then you can watch.¡± He said to Le Tian, ¡°Roll the dice.¡±

    ¡°Let me roll them then.¡±

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    Le Tian was surprised yet again. With his complete set of gambling tools, he already possessed a great advantage. If he rolled the dice as well, then he was free to choose whatever outcome he wanted.

    ¡°Hurry up.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang was very impatient.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Le Tian was filled with mixed emotions. Why did he treat others so differently?

    But in the next moment, he discarded all of his miscellaneous thoughts. He grabbed the dice jar with both hands and began to shake it slowly. He had spent almost a century preparing for this gamble. It had to do with his life, so he had to devote all of his efforts to it.

    All of a sudden, it fell silent on the Road to the Yellow Springs. Within the endless expanse of yellow sand, there was only the sound of dice rolling around in the jar. Ox-headed A¡¯pang shut his eyes as if he was listening closely.

    Le Tian pushed his cultivation to the limit, perturbing the heavenly secrets, controlling fate, and casting shrouds upon shrouds of haze over the tiny dice jar in his hands.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. The aura of Le Tian¡¯s Yang Soul rapidly declined as if it was all sucked into the tiny dice jar.

    As the dice jar was shaken, it left behind a series of afterimages. It actually seemed like an illusion.

    Two dice, a total of twelve faces, overlapped to form endless possibilities. It was no longer possible to see through it.

    He could not help but look towards Ox-headed A¡¯pang and think, Le Tian has poured all of the cultivation he¡¯s accumulated throughout his life into this. If it were the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, perhaps he would have a chance at being seen through. Even if he¡¯s a Hell Guard, a Ghost Immortal, it¡¯s impossible for him to calculate the exact outcome. He needs to try his luck. No, Le Tian will definitely reveal an opening intentionally to lure him into guessing the wrong result. Le Tian already possesses the upper hand in this gamble. How is this ox-headed ghost going to deal with him?

    Right as Li Qingshan thought that, Le Tian prepared a trap delicately. He intentionally left behind an almost-non-existent, indistinct trace in the shrouding mists. As long as he followed this trace, he could see through the mists and easily guess that the two dice would roll six. It was big.

    However, the only issue was would he really believe that result?

    Fate revolved. Everything had an opposite. Big and small were connected.

    Inside there hid another minute possibility, two ones. Small.

    However, it was the same issue. Would he really believe that result?

    Perhaps it was still an illusion. Since he could intentionally reveal an opening, then he could leave behind even more openings and set up even more traps.

    However, this was not the true trap. If Ox-headed A¡¯pang only thought this was a psychological duel, then he would have fallen into the trap completely.

    From a regular person¡¯s perspective, there was a great distinction between these two results. They individually represented the largest and the smallest.

    But from the perspective of divination and fortune-telling, these two results were infinitesimally close or even overlapping.

    Le Tian¡¯s cheeks became sunken, but his lips curled into a smile. Even if the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was here, it was impossible for him to take all the variables into account, much less Ox-headed A¡¯pang.

    In reality, the numbers in the dice jar were neither big nor small, yet both big and small.

    These were not regular dice, but his lifebound arcane treasures. These two dice were in an illogical state where they overlapped.

    At the very least, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could lock onto the outcome and give the dice a certain possibility before relying on his luck to make a guess.

    However, Ox-headed A¡¯pang did not have that ability, so no matter what he chose, it would only lead to the opposite result. In the end, he would even think it was due to his inferior skills that he miscalculated Le Tian¡¯s thoughts.

    Regular people all thought gambling was just about luck, but little did they know that the outcome was determined as soon as the gamble began. It was only a matter of certain victory or certain defeat. That was why ten gambles always resulted in nine losses, where the winner took everything.

    Fate always stood highest. Defying the heavens and changing fate was always a lie. A temporarily lucky break was completely insufficient to influence the overall situation. If he refused to abide by fate, then he had to stand on the same side as fate, to find a chance at survival within the ever-changing, unpredictable secrets of the heavens.

    Even the renowned Ox-headed A¡¯pang was powerless over him because at this moment, with this round, Le Tian was the embodiment of fate.

    This is my win.

    With a thunk, the dice jar struck the ground.

    Le Tian knelt on one knee and gazed at Ox-headed A¡¯pang fearlessly. He pressed down on the dice jar with his right hand and gestured with his left hand. ¡°Please make your choice, sir.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but become nervous. Would it be big or small?

    However, Ox-headed A¡¯pang opened his eyes slowly and glanced at Li Qingshan. He said with a slight smile, ¡°You take a pick first.¡±

    Le Tian was stunned. He shuddered violently, and his confident expression immediately shattered. ¡°This- I-¡±

    .

    ¡°Choose.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang ordered him.

    ¡°I choose big.¡± Le Tian lifted the dice jar suddenly, and the two dice sat still on the yellow soil. Two sixes. Big!

    That was expected. These were his lifebound arcane treasures. He could get whatever result he wanted.

    However, his expression was like he had been slapped across the face viciously right when he was most complacent. He wanted to cry, and he wanted to laugh.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang smiled, revealing a row of neat, shiny, blocky teeth. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s small. I win.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s clearly big!¡± Li Qingshan called out.

    ¡°Look again.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang extended his thick index finger and pressed down on the two dice gently. The two sixes became two ones.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He began to laugh aloud, so hard such that he clutched his belly, almost crying from laughter. ¡°This gamble is just too fucking fascinating! Le Tian, oh Le Tian, regardless of all your schemes and advantages, you¡¯re still just inferior to him! What right do you have to gamble against him? What right do you have to gamble against him? What fate? What heavenly secrets? It¡¯s all jack shit!¡±

    Le Tian knelt on the ground in grief. He was defeated. He was silent.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang said to Li Qingshan happily, ¡°Le Tian, you¡¯ve lost. Come with me then.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s laughter halted. He pointed at Le Tian before pointing at himself, ¡°Me?¡±

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    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m talking about you.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s expression was both simple and sly.

    Le Tian was dumbfounded. The upheavals of life always came too quickly.

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not Le Tian.¡± He was on guard, backing away slowly.

    ¡°Le Tian, with everything that¡¯s happened, you¡¯re still trying to deny this?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang spread his hand with a sneer and reached towards Li Qingshan suddenly.

 Chapter 1513

    ¡°Motherfucker!¡±

    Li Qingshan cursed aloud. His body swayed and flickered, seeming to move off in all directions. He immediately assumed several dozen different poses.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang only grabbed a series of afterimages as the Yang Soul turned into an illusion and slipped out from between his fingers.

    After all, Li Qingshan had not read all those books for nothing. He had completely mastered all the techniques that went with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. Like the Divine Movement of the Five Elements and the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique, he had already merged them all together, reaching a state that it all came to him naturally.

    Dodging the grasp, he immediately fled in the opposite direction of the Road to the Yellow Springs, vanishing into the endless yellow sand in the blink of an eye, without any trace remaining.

    ¡°Hmm? Interesting!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang was slightly surprised. That grab of his seemed nothing special, but who knew how many Yang Souls of Human Sovereigns he had captured with that. No matter what they were capable of, none of them could escape from the palm of his hand.

    Like a dog butcher butchering dogs, they were completely at his mercy no matter how vicious of a hound they were. Oftentimes, before he had even captured them, they had already collapsed on the ground and begun whimpering away. However, that ¡°wild dog¡± today was a little different, not that he was particularly powerful, but because he did not fear him at all.

    He mocked him loudly. ¡°Le Tian, I respected your courage as a Human Sovereign for gambling against me. Why have you become anxious like a lost dog now?¡±

    Le Tian remained seated on the ground, staring at the pair of dice in a daze. He had been completely ignored.

    Li Qingshan did not fall for his goadings, hiding his aura perfectly. He had spent all those years in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, so his patience had reached a level of utter mastery a long time ago.

    However, when he heard Ox-headed A¡¯pang call him Le Tian, it still irritated him.

    Fucking hell, these gods of the afterlife are shameless! That Le Tian bastard seems clever, but he¡¯s actually a fuckwit. Your opponent is a hundred times more powerful than you, so just why would they give you a fair game?

    Le Tian was in a state of mental disarray. The Ox-headed A¡¯pang that he knew definitely was not like this. Instead, he was the exact opposite. He was renowned for upholding his word, or he would have never survived the previous time. Just that grab alone would not be something he could escape from.

    However, even if Ox-headed A¡¯pang was irritated by Li Qingshan¡¯s nonsense, why did he put up with him for so long? Why didn¡¯t he capture him sooner? Why would he need to resort to ruining the gamble and going back on his word intentionally?

    .

    When he tried to divine the reason, the backlash from the chaotic fate almost made his Yang Soul collapse immediately. All he saw was the glimpse of an extremely chaotic vortex. All he was facing were the minor effects.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang did not chase after him. He laughed madly. ¡°There is no place of belonging on the Road to the Yellow Springs. Where can you flee to?¡±

    Hmph, I might not be able to defeat you, but does that mean I can¡¯t escape from you?

    Li Qingshan refused to believe him, but he suddenly noticed that right below his feet was the same meandering Road to the Yellow Springs. When it was narrow, it was as thin as an untravelled path, but when it was wide, it was enough to allow a carriage to pass through. The surface was uneven, amassed with dust. It seemed like a regular earthen path through the country.

    He furrowed his brows and abruptly changed directions, but no matter how he turned and no matter where he flew to, the Road to the Yellow Springs would extend there, and it would always reach off into the distance. It went beyond what he could see as if it had predicted the direction he would choose.

    Suddenly, he raised his head. Ox-headed A¡¯pang just sat ahead of him, waiting for him with a simple smile on his face.

    I¡¯m hallucinating? No, the so-called hallucinations of mortals are just illusions. Weaker ghosts can fool the five senses. I practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and walk the path of Mahe?vara, so how can I be deluded by something like this? Even Ghost Immortals aren¡¯t capable of that!

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang fished out a rugged pouch of alcohol and took a few swigs. He exhaled. ¡°The thousand major roads, the myriad minor paths, all lead to the Yellow Springs.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately realised the situation. ¡°So this Human realm is the Road to the Yellow Springs!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang shook his huge head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re a Human Sovereign or human shit, you¡¯ll all make your way down the Road to the Yellow Springs some day!¡±

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    Li Qingshan appeared and arrived before Ox-headed A¡¯pang again. What trapped him was not Ox-headed A¡¯pang but the Hell realm, as well as the supreme laws that cycled through life and death that permeated the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Even if he underwent another heavenly tribulation, he would not be able to avoid the Road to the Yellow Springs.

    Since he could not escape, then he could only fight!

    ¡°Come then, ox-headed ghost! I¡¯ll test you out!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang gazed down at him. ¡°Le Tian, if you drop down and give me three proper bows right now and call me granddaddy ox three times, I¡¯ll spare your life and let you live for another five centuries!¡±

    Le Tian looked around, basically scratching his head in anxiety. He was tempted to replace Li Qingshan as Le Tian.

    If his lifespan could be extended by five centuries, it would be worth it no matter how many times he bowed his head. Speaking of which, Ox-headed A¡¯pang probably possessed the same seniority as his ancestors. Not everyone¡¯s paths were about forging ahead boldly like Li Liehuo¡¯s and Chao Tianjiao¡¯s. His path was about enjoying life and following the arrangements of fate.

    And after witnessing that great vortex, he knew that if he could not get away today, it definitely would not be as simple as ending up in reincarnation. He would probably be smashed to pieces with his soul obliterated.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang took another sip of alcohol. ¡°I¡¯ll spare whoever that bows to me!¡±

    Le Tian immediately adjusted his posture, throwing his head against the ground three times and crying out granddaddy ox three times. He was only afraid that his movements were not obvious enough and his cries were not loud enough.

    ¡°Piss off now!¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang swung his hand, and Le Tian rolled into a crack on the side of the Road to the Yellow Springs, suddenly jerking awake in the quiet room.

    The single lamp remained, like it had all been a dream.

    Death¡¯s Door, the Road to the Yellow Springs, and Ox-headed A¡¯pang never seemed to have existed. Only the damage to his Yang Soul served as evidence to it all.

    He opened his hand, and a pair of dice lay there quietly. When he bowed his head, he had taken back his lifebound items. They still depicted a pair of blood-red ¡°ones¡±.

    He had escaped death after so much difficulty, but his heart weighed extremely heavily. He murmured, ¡°No wonder¡­ no wonder I couldn¡¯t undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation. I lost this round!¡±

    In his own conceit, he believed he could avoid disaster, embrace good fortune, and do as he pleased with his puny tricks as a fortune teller. He believed he could avoid all the chaos in the world that could not be predicted through gambles after gambles. Yet at the end of the day, it was all a delusion. All his schemes, plots, and plans were trumped by just three bowings of his head.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Your turn now.¡±

    ¡°Hah, how is three enough?¡±

    Li Qingshan abruptly conjured numerous illusions with a thought, splitting into two, then four, then eight¡­

    The Heavenly Tome of Liberty was not actually known for its offensive powers. Even with the Divine Fire of World Destruction he had accidentally comprehended, it was very difficult to threaten a Ghost Immortal as powerful as Ox-headed A¡¯pang.

    But in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, Li Qingshan had read all the books on military tactics and strategies, finally comprehending this ultimate move.

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    To regular cultivators, producing too many clones during battle would instead require them to split their focus. It brought no benefit at all, only detriment. And even if they could establish a military formation, it would still lead to reduced mobility.

    However, this was the Road to the Yellow Springs, a place where he had nowhere else to go. Li Qingshan¡¯s will was refined, and his mind was sturdy. At the same time, these thought clones were all like the weakest of undead as individuals.

    He immediately established a great army. Without any chain of command, they automatically established a military formation. Their minds were united as the tremendous army qi channeled into his Yang Soul. It shone brightly, surging with murderousness that dispersed the yellow sand.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang was slightly fazed too. He stood up. ¡°Kid, aren¡¯t you afraid of the tortures of hell, where you¡¯ll never be reborn?¡±

    ¡°Haha, off to the grave to recruit the former subordinates, raising ten thousand banners on an expedition to slay the king of hell! Remember, your granddaddy¡¯s surname is Li! Kill!¡±

 Chapter 1514

    Li Qingshan transformed into an army god. His body was like a mountain while his head resembled a cliff, towering towards the sky. He hurled a punch.

    Boom!

    The fierce gales rushed out, dispersing the chilly winds and endless sand. The sky revealed a hint of azure blue as an earthen-yellow mushroom cloud rose up slowly.

    As he attained mastery over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, it was no longer weaker than any of his transformations of the demonic and divine.

    However, there was no joy on Li Qingshan¡¯s face at all. With that punch, Ox-headed A¡¯pang crossed his arms in front of him and forcefully blocked it. He did not sway, much less take a single step back. His sleeves and collar danced about in the wind.

    He maintained the same, simple smile as his eyes shone with red light. ¡°This punch has some force!¡±

    How powerful! Li Qingshan shivered inside. Far more powerful than that woman Chao Tianjiao!

    Over the years, he had plenty of contact with Chao Tianjiao. Of course, it was primarily being dragged out of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes for her ¡°visits¡±. Normally, they would begin fighting as soon as they had a dispute, but it would often still end in ¡°rape¡±.

    They were not proper battles, but they were enough for him to estimate her strength. As someone who practised the path of xuanwu and served as the leader of the Six Ding, she was already a powerhouse among Human Immortals, yet she was nowhere near this powerful.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang suddenly knocked away Li Qingshan¡¯s fist and said proudly, ¡°Kid, if you can make me shift my feet, I¡¯ll let you go back!¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, the ground shook. Li Qingshan took a step forward and clenched both fists, raising them high in the air. He swung down like they were hammers. ¡°Am I supposed to believe your lies?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s face darkened, turning vicious. His eyes flashed with red light as a punch rushed forwards.

    Boom!

    The ground cracked and sank by a few metres. Dust filled the air, obscuring the Road to the Yellow Springs.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang remained standing without collapsing, maintaining the same posture as when he threw his punch.

    Instead, Li Qingshan¡¯s arms had been both broken, and his army qi dispersed too. He lost his balance and reeled forwards.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang sneered. ¡°Is this the only move you know?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mountainous figure fell forwards, but his lips formed a sneer.

    In the clouds of dust, there was a sudden flash of black. A vertical eye opened between his eyebrows, locking onto Ox-headed A¡¯pang. A stream of black fire surged out.

    ¡°Divine Fire of World Destruction!¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang was alarmed, immediately swallowed by the black fire.

    In the quiet room, Le Tian recovered from his failure and gazed at Li Qingshan. He murmured to himself, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you this time too. Hopefully, you can survive.¡± He shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°How can that be possible?¡±

    He had investigated Ox-headed A¡¯pang in detail before. His origins were a mystery. It was not as clear as Black and White Impermanence¡¯s.

    The only thing he could be certain about was his strength ranked first among the Ten Hell Guards.

    There was once a Human Sovereign that underwent the sixth heavenly tribulation and became a Human Immortal right when his lifespan ran out, greatly increasing his lifespan as a result. In the end, when Ox-headed A¡¯pang came in a timely fashion to capture him, the new Human Immortal behaved a little complacently after successfully undergoing the tribulation, perhaps because the mental pressure he had been under the entire time was far too great. He treated Ox-headed A¡¯pang as a regular Ghost Immortal and mocked him a little.

    He was slain on the spot by Ox-headed A¡¯pang, such that he even failed to escape with his Origin Soul. Let alone longevity, he could not even enter rebirth.

    Li Qingshan was only a Human Sovereign, and only his Yang Soul had entered the Hell realm, so how could he be Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s opponent?

    The yellow earth melted into surging lava. The power behind the Divine Fire of World Destruction was alarming, but it also took a colossal toll. His thought clones vanished one by one, and his army was immediately reduced to nothing, with just him remaining. He threw himself towards Ox-headed A¡¯pang like he was unstoppable.

    Jangle! Pitch-black chains shot out from the black flames like black dragons, locking around Li Qingshan firmly. Not only was he unable to break free from them, but he could not even use any techniques anymore.

    The black flames dispersed. Ox-headed A¡¯pang stood in the centre of the surging lava. Much of his dark-brown hair and his tattered clothes had been burned, which made him seem rather shabby. But apart from that, he was unscathed.

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    He tugged the metal chains and dragged Li Qingshan who was tied up like a turkey right before him. His eyes shone red with fury and hot air blasted out from his nostrils, like he wanted to skin Li Qingshan alive.

    Li Qingshan glanced at his feet and sneered. ¡°Can I trust your lies?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s expression stiffened. He had already taken a small half-step back with his right foot.

    That was completely a reflex when he faced the Divine Fire of World Destruction. He had not been beaten back. It was just like how mortals would shrink back very naturally when they were faced with flames that raged their way.

    However, since he had taken a step back, then he had taken a step back, regardless of the reason. During that instant earlier, his mind swayed slightly when he faced the terrifying Divine Fire of World Destruction.

    He exhaled deeply and blew out the lava, which solidified back into rock. The vast yellow sands enveloped them again. The road of yellow soil meandered, extending over from the unknown into the unknown.

    He carried Li Qingshan on his back and strode off.

    Li Qingshan mocked him loudly. ¡°What shitty god of the underworld? Is this it? You even licked up what you¡¯ve spat out yourself! Even dogs don¡¯t eat their own shit!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang remained silent, just focusing on travelling.

    Li Qingshan did not care anyway. If it were not for the chains, he would have directly detonated his Yang Soul and blown up in his face. As a result, he continued to mock away. ¡°Why don¡¯t you change your name to Dog-headed A¡¯pang instead? You only bite away at those weaker than you. When you meet someone stronger than you, you tuck your tail between your legs and act pitiful. If I underwent the sixth heavenly tribulation, could you even withstand a punch from me?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang walked faster and faster, without any regard for his direction, like he was wandering around blindly. However, the Road to the Yellow Springs rapidly receded under his feet.

    Li Qingshan thought, This Dog-headed A¡¯pang probably wants to send me to hell for torture. He can¡¯t bring himself to kill me right now. If I don¡¯t curse every single one of his past eighteen ancestors, I¡¯ll never be satisfied!

    As a result, he unleashed everything. ¡°Heh, you don¡¯t look like what you actually are at all! Aren¡¯t you just a dog, scurrying around and biting people everywhere? These chains are chains for chaining you up, aren¡¯t they? Tell me who your master is. The Ten Courts of Yanluo? The immortals and buddhas beyond the Nine Heavens? Hmm? Why aren¡¯t you wearing it around your own neck? Why¡¯re you using them to bind me?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s eyes were scarlet like blood. His chest heaved violently as his breathing became harsh. He was running out of patience.

    ¡°I once knew an ox. Who knows just how much greater he is compared to you! You¡¯re both oxen, so how are you so different?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang suddenly stopped. He began to tremble all over. It was right when Li Qingshan thought he was about to kill him.

    With a plip, a tear fell on the yellow soil, rolling into a muddy pellet. With a series of plips and plops, tears fell endlessly like they had been released from a dam. In the blink of an eye, it formed a muddy, yellow puddle on the ground.

    Li Qingshan was unable to see his face. He was extremely surprised. ¡°Dog-headed A¡¯pang, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang knelt down on the ground slowly and began to sob painfully. He cursed away furiously in a fit of anger and cried out at the top of his lungs, yet it was a mystery what he was cursing at and what he was crying out for. It was as if he had gone mad.

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded. ¡°H- has the quality of my curses evolved to such a level already? It can even give him mad cow disease!¡±

    Before he knew it, the chains around his body slackened. He moved around a little. If he wanted to run, there was no place for him to run on the Road to the Yellow Springs. If he wanted to fight, he clearly was not Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s opponent. For a moment, he actually had no idea what to do.

    He had even cursed to the point where he started crying, so he did feel a little awkward. To think that the emotions of a Hell Guard would actually be so fragile!

    He asked cautiously, ¡°Hey, what are you crying for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the wrong path! It¡¯s the wrong path!¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang wailed sorrowfully and beat his chest, which thumped like a war drum.

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    ¡°But isn¡¯t there only one path here? You regret harassing your granddaddy, no, I mean you regret harassing me. That¡¯s fine. Just let me go back.¡± Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulder and consoled him patiently. If he could preserve his Yang Soul, that would be for the best.

    ¡°No, you must go to hell!¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang suddenly turned towards him. The fur on his face was moist, but his expression was extremely determined.

    ¡°Fucking hell, you obstinate dog-headed ghost. Eat another one of my punches!¡± Li Qingshan threw his punch.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang said sternly, ¡°The ox you spoke of told me to come and guide you!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s fist came to a halt. ¡°Brother ox!?¡±

 Chapter 1515

    In the primordial times, on a chaotic battlefield, a thick-browed, large-eyed youth with a horned helmet held a damaged battle axe. Blood flowed down the edge. Who knew how many lives he had claimed already, yet his eyes were lost.

    With the mighty dragon¡¯s cry, a giant dragon soared through the air, riding on the winds. The huge wings took up half the sky, looming over the entire battlefield. It dove down to swallow him in a single gulp.

    The youth let out a furious roar, raising the battle axe to receive the giant dragon.

    Within the dazzling light, the youth saw a man standing on the dragon who waved his hand gently. The giant dragon immediately closed its wings and mouth.

    The battle axe missed, leaving behind a great crack on the ground, stretching over to a mountain in the distance that collapsed with a great boom.

    The man smiled. ¡°I remember you. You¡¯re call A¡¯pang, right?¡±

    The young man shivered. He found the man far more terrifying than the giant dragon, actually afraid to meet his eyes. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m A¡¯pang!¡±

    ¡°A¡¯pang, you¡¯ve already been defeated. Will you surrender?¡±

    ¡°No, we haven¡¯t been defeated yet!¡±

    At this moment, the youth saw many familiar figures behind the man. He flew into a rage. ¡°You traitors!¡±

    Some of them averted their gazes, and some sighed and tried to persuade him. ¡°A¡¯pang, we¡¯ve been defeated. We should submit.¡± Others were very irritated. ¡°You¡¯re just a nobody. Why should you die for¡­¡± They showed a hint of awkwardness, omitting the name.

    The man who rode the dragon waved his hand, and everyone fell quiet. ¡°If you don¡¯t surrender, then there will only be death. I can tell you¡¯re a fine child. I don¡¯t want to kill you. Do you really want to die?¡±

    The youth lowered his head deeply and trembled even harder. He did not fear those damned traitors, no matter how powerful they were. However, he feared the man who rode the dragon, no matter how gentle his voice was.

    And he feared death. He wanted to continue living, even if it was just another day.

    He lowered the battle axe in his hand.

    As a result, he lived, and he lived a hundred times, a thousand times longer than he had originally anticipated. He even became someone who could decide the fates of others.

    His duties as an officer of the underworld allowed him to avoid many great crises, which was something he felt extremely glad about. However, he was also aware that more importantly, he was just a nobody. He could not change the overall situation. No one needed him to do anything either.

    This was fine. This was fine¡­

    Until one day, a voice said to him, ¡°A¡¯pang, can you help me out?¡±

    The familiar tone and voice seemed to have never been tarnished by the passage of time, calling him over to do something small that was within his abilities.

    He saw a black ox with a broken horn whose eyes were gentle and tired. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re¡­¡±

    ¡°Kid, have you even forgotten about me?¡±

    ¡°Your majesty!¡± He knelt down on the ground. ¡°I would never forget!¡± His heart trembled, perhaps out of excitement and perhaps out of fear.

    ¡°Has hell adopted these rules and customs as well? Get up, I¡¯m not that guy, nor do I need any your majesty or his majesty. I¡¯m just an old guy who¡¯s come to ask for your help.¡±

    He felt terribly ashamed, standing up in a hurry, ¡°Your majesty- what do you need me to do?¡±

    ¡°My fifth brother is with you, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ This¡­ I might not¡­¡±

    He shuddered inside and frantically looked for a way out of this. He was just a measly Hell Guard. He could not afford to become involved, yet he was also afraid that he had declined too bluntly. The person before him only needed a single thought to claim his measly life.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to release my fifth brother. I have a little brother called Li Qingshan. He¡¯ll arrive in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra in the future. I want you to take him and visit my fifth brother.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    He had never heard that name before. He probably was not someone important. After all, he had not spent all these years living for nothing. Whether it was the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra or beyond the Nine Heavens, he had already familiarised himself with all the major figures.

    ¡°He¡¯s a mortal, but in a few years¡¯ time, he should have a reasonable cultivation.¡± The black ox was rather proud.

    He suddenly felt a little unconvinced. He¡¯s just a mere mortal, so what right does he have to be referred to as ¡®little brother¡¯ by him? Bringing people down to hell is my job, so it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. However, as soon as he thought of everything involved, he began to falter again.

    ¡°If it¡¯s too difficult, it¡¯s fine. If it weren¡¯t for my circumstances, I wouldn¡¯t have wanted to disturb you any further either.¡±

    ¡°Y- you know I¡¯m in the Hell realm?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Ox-headed A¡¯pang. Who hasn¡¯t heard of that name? Who doesn¡¯t know who you are?¡±

    The black ox smiled at him, entering a slight trance for a moment as if he had recalled the extremely distant past. Suddenly, he returned to his senses. ¡°Alright, I need to go! Old guys like me just love thinking about the past. I¡¯m very happy that you can continue living. Far too many clansmen that don¡¯t deserve death have already died. It¡¯s time to settle this once and for all.¡±

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    He shuddered inside, We¡¯re of the same race. In the past, I was also his little brother! Yet now, I suspect that he¡¯ll harm me. Before I even knew it, have I also begun to believe those slanders?

    ¡°Just what right does a treacherous traitor like me have to be burdened with such a heavy task? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll sell out this Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Kid, what nonsense are you on? Your path is for you to walk. As long as you don¡¯t let yourself down, that¡¯s enough! Why do you need to take responsibility for me? If you really want to talk about responsibility, it was me who was defeated back then. That guy has already been good enough to you. At least it¡¯s better than sending you to your death. However, you better not divulge this, or I really won¡¯t spare you.¡±

    It was better described as an earnest warning than a threat, afraid that he would make the wrong choice in a moment of poor judgement.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t I a traitor? That had bothered him mentally for all his life.

    On the Road to the Yellow Springs, Li Qingshan grabbed Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s shoulders and shook him forcefully. ¡°Tell me, where is he? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s locked up in the Hell realm? Alright, I¡¯ll go and save him right now!¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang could not help but question him. This kid who was nowhere near as powerful as him could actually come up with such great boasts.

    ¡°You still have to ask how? Old brother A¡¯pang, I didn¡¯t know you were an undercover spy who infiltrated the enemy. I have said many insulting words earlier, so please forgive me.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not suspect this to be some kind of trap by the enemy, as his strength right now truly amounted to nothing. Schemes were completely unnecessary. Just sending over a few Hell Guards was enough to deal with him.

    And right now, this ox seemed friendly no matter how he looked at him. As he gazed at the moist fur on his face, he simply did not have the heart to hurt him any further.

    My great mocking technique is far too powerful. Isn¡¯t this friendly fire? Look at how I¡¯ve wronged him. I need to console him quickly so that I can ask him where brother ox is.

    ¡°You were right. I am a traitorous dog!¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang said indifferently.

    Li Qingshan thought he was still venting, so he felt even more sorry. ¡°How are you one? Look at your thick brows, large eyes, and dignified bearing. You stand head and shoulders above all oxen!¡±

    As a result, Ox-headed A¡¯pang told him about the defeat and surrender from back then, but because there were far too many names he could not mention, he only gave a rough summary.

    Li Qingshan was astounded inside. Never did I think that a thick-browed and large-eyed fellow like you would also be a traitorous revolutionary! Brother ox sure is big-hearted to send a damned traitor to receive me. What if this bastard sells me out?

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang sneered. ¡°Are you still bold enough to go to hell with me?¡±

    ¡°Since he trusts you, then I trust you too. So what if we go to hell?¡±

    ¡°What if I sell you out?¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s our poor judgement. We can¡¯t blame anyone else. Though, you had no other choice than to surrender after being defeated. However, if you dare to betray me, even if brother ox wants me to spare your life, I¡¯ll never spare you!¡±

    Paying back kindness was paying back kindness, while settling grievances was settling grievances. Kindness and grievances were clearly distinct. They had nothing to do with one another.

    When Ox-headed A¡¯pang heard that, he instead began to laugh. This personality. No wonder, no wonder! He stood up and brushed off the dust. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t surrender again this time!

    He gave off a sense of determination. Li Qingshan was very familiar with this aura. That was wagering his life to do something.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang bowed deeply towards him. ¡°Kid, I was testing you earlier, to see whether you had the right to bear such a great responsibility. I¡¯ll apologise to you. Though, I do feel much better after being cursed by you! Your mouth is a little too sharp. You should get your tongue removed in hell!¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his head in embarrassment. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re too kind, you¡¯re too kind!¡±

    The corner of Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s eye twitched. I was praising you?

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! There¡¯s still a long road ahead!¡±

    The Road to the Yellow Springs stretched endlessly. Within the yellow sand, the two of them walked together. As they spoke and laughed, they had already become friends.

    After a series of questions, Li Qingshan learnt that brother ox was not in the Hell realm. He was off to see another Great Sage, one that had been suppressed in the very depths of Av¨©ci. Due to ¡°censorship¡±, it was inappropriate to mention his name.

    He finally stopped worrying. Compared to that unreliable woman Su Mirao, now this was a proper guide.

    After hearing about Ruin¡¯s End, Ox-headed A¡¯pang also guessed which Great Sage it was supposed to be, but for the same reason, his name could not be mentioned either.

    As a result, he took out his alcohol pouch, and the two of them had a hearty drink. They cussed out one another, basically just something to go with the drinking.

    Li Qingshan took advantage of his tipsiness to ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you reluctant to become involved in this mess? Why¡¯d you agree then?¡±

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    ¡°I originally thought that anything was better than dying, even if it was just a horrible life.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang took a vicious swig of alcohol.

    ¡°And now?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang exhaled. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a dog anymore.¡± His eyes burned with flames, the flames of war that had been extinguished for thousands of years.

    This time, if he lost, then he would be perishing in battle.

    There was actually no delight behind dragging out an ignoble existence at all.

 Chapter 1516

    Li Qingshan¡¯s chest heated up. The alcohol seemed to be burning in his belly. After such a lengthy journey, the warrior was approaching the final battlefield!

    ¡°Old brother A¡¯pang, how do we go to the very depths of Av¨©ci?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang asked, ¡°Kid, are you afraid of suffering?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of suffering the most! I¡¯m afraid of pain and death too. What¡¯re you asking that for?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang gazed at him with some surprise. ¡°You sure are honest.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a simple smile. ¡°I don¡¯t really have any upsides. I¡¯m just honest.¡±

    ¡°Alright! Then I¡¯ll take you and infiltrate the eighteenth layer of hell.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang seemed like he was ready to embrace death.

    ¡°Will it be dangerous?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯ll be some risks. After all, the Hell realm has the Ten Courts of Yanluo and the K?itigarbha Bodhisattva. If we accidentally give ourselves away, everything will be over.¡±

    Li Qingshan said in thought, ¡°No, that¡¯s too dangerous. That comes completely down to luck. Is there any other way?¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang gazed at his face. Even after hearing about K?itigarbha, he did not panic at all, only becoming much more cautious. He could not help but admire him. This kid who was afraid of suffering, pain, and death just happened to have a dauntless spirit, advancing valiantly, never to turn around.

    ¡°There is another path, but it¡¯s filled with suffering.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it then.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°I might be afraid of suffering, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t even have the courage to hear it out.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll deliver you to the underworld as Le Tian, and you¡¯ll be able to mingle among the wretched ghosts so that the adjudicator banishes you to the eighteenth layer of hell.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded in thought. The former was without a doubt a shortcut. With Ox-headed A¡¯pang leading the way, he only needed to follow along, and that was enough. However, the latter meant he had to wade through the numerous hells and face the tortures. The pain involved went without saying.

    ¡°So be it. Let¡¯s not go with the shortcut then and embrace the pain like everyone else! Sigh, I originally thought it would be as straightforward and delightful as raising ten thousand banners on an expedition to slay the king of hell. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d still be so punishing!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang laughed. ¡°Raising ten thousand banners on an expedition to slay the king of hell? How can it be that easy? Aren¡¯t you afraid of suffering? Once you enter hell, you¡¯ll basically be wishing you were dead for good. You better not end up spilling everything under the torture, or I might as well risk it with you.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps!¡± Li Qingshan did not hold his ground. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll spill everything, but that¡¯s still the path I¡¯ve chosen at the end of the day. Even if I fail, I can only blame myself for being useless.¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang shuddered inside. The words sounded very depressing, but to him, they resonated even louder than when he said raising ten thousand banners on an expedition to slay the king of hell.

    He blamed neither heaven nor man. He walked his own path and shouldered his own mistakes.

    Suddenly, he understood what that person meant. He was not making him pay back his debt of kindness and walk to his death for so-called loyalty. He just wanted him to choose his own path. That was why he never came to him for help over all these years, no matter how many failures he had been through.

    Otherwise, if that person invited him to join him when he was most powerful, he would not even have the courage to decline. No, not only would he be unable to decline, but he would even forget himself and join fervently, fighting to revive a cause that was already lost, fighting for the sake of delusional hope, even going as far as to perish in battle.

    However, what that person wanted definitely was not a fellow like this. He needed allies that shared the same cause, not measly nobodies who were willing to sacrifice themselves for his cause.

    That was why he had only paid him a visit when he had sunken deep enough in hell, fully experiencing how it was like to be a dog, letting him make a choice again.

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    Suddenly, he recalled the very distant past. He¡¯s never treated me as a nobody!

    At that instant, the man¡¯s looming presence on the back of the dragon, as well as the shadow cast by the dragon wings, abruptly vanished completely. Two trails of hot tears ran down his cheeks.

    Li Qingshan thought, Isn¡¯t this ox head a little too emotional?

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang turned around. He stared straight at Li Qingshan with his teary eyes. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m just a guide. You still have to walk the path yourself. Don¡¯t count on me to help you with anything. I have my own matters to deal with!¡±

    He had to attempt the seventh heavenly tribulation to become a True Immortal. Only then did he have a chance at revenge.

    Actually, after all these years of consolidation and the contribution of countless Human Sovereigns, it had been sufficient a long time ago. He had even lived longer than most True Immortals. However, he did not have the courage to try. He was afraid of being killed by the tribulation lightning, he was afraid of being killed by the demon of death, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra, and he was afraid that he would succeed.

    He had once thought, Since I already have eternal life, why should I take a risk like that? If I really arrive beyond the Nine Heavens and become wrapped up in a crisis of the world, I might end up dying sooner instead.

    He refused to face those familiar faces again, much less join another side, whether it was his leader from the past or that terrifying man. He did not dare to oppose either of them.

    He would rather hide in hell as a measly Hell Guard and avoid the crises like that, thinking of himself as clever.

    Only now did he understand that the reason why he could avoid it all was because the two men allowed him to.

    One used him as a sign post to demonstrate his mercy and generosity, to encourage even more people to surrender. The other respected their past, reluctant to drag him into the waters away and pull him back onto the battlefield.

    That was why he could drag out an ignoble existence. Actually, all of the crises of the world involved devastating battles. Even the Hell realm enjoyed no peace.

    Even several of the Ten Courts of Yanluo had perished, and who knew how many generations of the Ten Hell Guards they had cycled through already, yet a traitor like him had managed to survive.

    Towards the end of the previous crisis, the infamous Intelligent Stone Monkey barged into the underworld, wanting to save his ¡°fifth brother¡±. The Four Great Adjudicators fled a little slowly, and three of them perished under a single sweep of his staff. The monkey patted him on the head. ¡°Heh, I, Old Sun, will spare your life in consideration for this ox head of yours. If you run into me next time, you better not blame me for not showing any mercy!¡±

    That was why he managed to have a lucky escape.

    But just how many more times lucky could he get? The crises of the world became more and more intense as well as more and more frequent. Perhaps next time, he would be sent onto the battlefield, then he really would be a measly nobody. Even if it was just for the sake of preserving his own life, he had to do something.

    Even when it came the damned kid beside him who seemed a little foolish, he had been born for a crisis and possessed an extremely heavy murderous nature. He would never be soft-handed when it came to butchering traitorous dogs.

    He was not some incredibly powerful figure right now, but just how much time had passed since the leader told him that he was still a mortal? In the past, even the Intelligent Stone Monkey was just a shitty rock!

    ¡°If you can¡¯t help me, then you can¡¯t help me. What¡¯re you glaring at me for?¡±

    Li Qingshan scratched his head, becoming even more puzzled by what went on inside Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s head.

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    ¡°C¡¯mon, time waits for no one. We need to set off!¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang realised that he was running out of time. Otherwise, if this kid ended up patting him on the head. ¡°Heh, I¡¯ll spare your life in consideration for this ox head of yours.¡± then he really would be better off just throwing his head against a wall and dying.

    Though, the conversation that was much more possible was. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m kidding with you. Tell me, are you Le Tian? Look at my middle finger. Tell me, is it six? Is it six?¡± He had absolutely no doubts that this kid was capable of something like that. He was much worse than that monkey.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Li Qingshan saw how Ox-headed A¡¯pang had suddenly become hostile, so all he could do was follow along. Then he asked, ¡°How do I get the adjudicator to banish me to the eighteenth layer of hell?¡± He personally believed he had not committed any major sins yet. If he only banished him to the upper layers, then wouldn¡¯t he be going through all that suffering for nothing?

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang droned, ¡°Just act like how you are normally.¡±

    After walking for who knew how long, a greenish-grey stone tablet appeared, planted beside the Road to the Yellow Springs. A single word was scrawled on there, ¡°Underworld.¡±

 Chapter 1517

    Passing by the tablet marker, Li Qingshan immediately heard the splashing of water. The yellow sands before his eyes gradually dispersed. A great river blocked his path, filling the air with misty spray and extending as far as the eye could see.

    The river water shimmered such that its entirety was clear and blue, like a blue band of jade. Gorgeous red flowers bloomed along the river banks, devoid of any leaves and red like blood, like fire, as if they were burning.

    The sky suddenly cleared as well, becoming deep, dark, and blue, without any moon or stars. It seemed particularly distant. He had never seen such a distant sky before. It seemed if it had departed from the living world.

    Yes, this was the place most distant from the living world. Even somewhere as deathly as the Hungry Ghost realm still had some signs of life.

    There was a narrow bridge over the river. Perhaps due to the constant drenching of water, it seemed to be in tatters, but it still led off into the misty spray, vanishing into the distance.

    The blue, clear river, the blood-red flowers, and the deep-blue sky all possessed bright, distinct colours as if they swept away all the dust he had gathered on the way here. It made people want to walk over and make their way onto the bridge, only to suddenly discover a series of vague figures, lining up and stepping onto the bridge one by one like they had abruptly appeared.

    ¡°Big bro A¡¯pang, you¡¯ve arrived first!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and saw a long, white face. Only at a closer glance did it seem like the face of a horse. Behind him was a sorrowful old man. They walked over from the Road to the Yellow Springs that they had just left.

    He came to a realisation. There is only one Road to the Yellow Springs, yet it leads to countless worlds, so there are countless roads. This horse-face is probably the legendary Horse-face. Now, basically both Ox-head and Horse-face are here.

    ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve returned too.¡± Ox-headed A¡¯pang gave him an honest smile. Horse-face glanced at Li Qingshan and stifled his voice. ¡°You were up on your luck this time?¡±

    ¡°It was alright.¡±

    ¡°Big brother, you sure like to enjoy yourself¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I have anything better to do¡­¡±

    Ox-head and Horse-face walked side by side. They jabbered on like true brothers, sometimes erupting with roars of laughter.

    The collectors of souls in their way parted to the two sides, bowing towards them and inviting them to cross the bridge first. Li Qingshan and the old man just followed behind them obediently.

    If it were not for the fact that he had seen Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s tears on the Road to the Yellow Springs, Li Qingshan definitely would have believed that he passed his days in great delight, completely without any need to act up. But looking at it now, it did seem a little fake.

    Li Qingshan glanced around on the bridge and thought, This must be the Bridge of Helplessness! The sighs of the old man beside him grew even more helpless. Sure enough, they sighed about their helplessness on the Bridge of Helplessness.

    TL: The Bridge of Helplessness is a landmark in the Chinese afterlife, similar to the Road to the Yellow Springs. Often when multiple people are killed together, the threat given is ¡°I¡¯ll send you some company on the Road to the Yellow Springs¡±.

    The old man suddenly communicated, ¡°Fellow, what have you prepared?¡±

    ¡°Prepare what?¡± Li Qingshan was confused. ¡°For what?

    ¡°For bribes, of course,¡± the old man said it like it was common sense.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°I¡¯m dead, so why the fuck would I still need bribes?¡±

    Perhaps the mental pulse behind that thought was a little too intense. Horse-face glanced back at him and joked to Ox-headed A¡¯pang, ¡°Big brother, I think you¡¯ve won a little too hard. This kid has got plenty of suffering waiting for him later.¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang chuckled. ¡°There is no kinship when it comes to gambles, even between father and son!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face darkened. He immediately replied, ¡°I was once daddy too!¡±

    Now, it was Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s turn for his face to darken. The old man stared at him with widened eyes and immediately pulled away from him.

    Horse-face was surprised as well. He laughed. ¡°Interesting, how interesting! He really is audacious to the extreme. No wonder he¡¯s bold enough to gamble against you. Looks like he still hasn¡¯t yielded!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang sneered. ¡°There¡¯ll be plenty of moments for him when he yields!¡±

    Horse-face smiled without any good intentions. ¡°Yeah, no matter how heroic and impressive you once were, you¡¯ll be yielding at our place. You¡¯ll have to yield.¡±

    Li Qingshan muttered, ¡°Horses know not what a long face is. Oxen know not what curved horns are.¡±

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    Ox-head and Horse-face¡¯s complexions both darkened. Horse-face said coldly, ¡°What did you say?¡±

    ¡°A proverb.¡± Li Qingshan looked at him like he was uncultured.

    The old man had already retreated ten paces away, gazing at him like he was mad.

    Horse-face glared at Li Qingshan viciously. ¡°Big brother, you might as well just abandon this kid. No, that¡¯ll be letting him off too easily. Send him to adjudicator Lu. That bastard is greedy as hell!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang nodded and said mysteriously, ¡°Of course.¡± If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth never spared him either, he basically would have been praising him for his impressive performance.

    Crossing over the Bridge of Helplessness, they arrived before a tower that stood three hundred metres tall. It was not particularly tall, but when Li Qingshan gazed up, it gave him the impression that it reached up into the heavens, like a spike thrusting into the eerily distant night sky. The straight, smooth wall was inscribed with four large words, Tower of Gazing Home.

    Under the Tower of Gazing Home was a great big ghost with a green face and sharp teeth, standing with a steel fork. On the table beside him were many pastries and refreshments, and in front of him was a red box. Who knew what that was for.

    When he saw Ox-head and Horse-face approaching, he stood up in a hurry and squeezed out a flattering smile on his green, toothy face forcefully. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, commanders. Come take a break!¡±

    Li Qingshan began making his way up the Tower of Gazing Home. With a swish, the steel fork blocked his path, and the large ghost questioned loudly, ¡°Where¡¯s your karma?¡±

    Li Qingshan was stunned. ¡°What karma?¡±

    The large ghost knocked the red box before him impatiently. Only then did Li Qingshan discover the three small, mottled words on there, Box of Karma!

    TL: The donation boxes in front of Chinese temples are inscribed with the same name. He¡¯s asking for donations.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s a thing!?¡±

    ¡°Broke ghost, you don¡¯t have any karma, and you want to enter the Tower of Gazing Home? If you want to go up, hurry up. If you don¡¯t, piss off. Stop blocking the people behind you.¡±

    Li Qingshan could tell that this ghost¡¯s cultivation came nowhere close to his own. He had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation at most, but if he did anything, he would be taken down by Ox-head and Horse-face. Forcing his way in would not work. With a thought, he grabbed the old man behind him and smiled. ¡°Help me out, brother. I left in a hurry today, so I didn¡¯t bring any money with me. I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future!¡±

    The old man found that hilarious. What do you mean by you left in a hurry? Do you really think you can go back again? What future is there!

    Right when he was about to decline mercilessly, he met Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes and dazed out. By the time he recovered, he had already offered up some ¡°karma¡± for him¡ªa piece of supreme grade spiritual jade¡ªwhich let out a clank.

    With his mastery over the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, Li Qingshan could use the various techniques of m¨¡ra for perturbing the mind as he wished. He took advantage of the fact that the old man currently faced his death and was unsettled, and sure enough, it worked immediately.

    Of course, the fact that this amount of ¡°karma¡± was not much played a role as well, or it could not be ignored that easily.

    The large ghost grinned and raised his steel fork in satisfaction, letting Li Qingshan pass through. He made his way up the Tower of Gazing Home without even looking back.

    ¡°Kid, don¡¯t you dare!¡± The old man flew into a rage. He had been quite the demon when he was alive, so since when did he ever suffer a loss like that? He was just about to go up and grab Li Qingshan when the steel fork blocked his path again. The ghost knocked the box. ¡°Karma.¡±

    ¡°That was my karma just then!¡±

    ¡°Karma!¡±

    The large ghost was completely unconcerned about that. Since he could tell one of them was broke and the other was wealthy, which could let him collect two portions of karma, why would he settle on just one? But to his disappointment, the old man did not climb up the Tower of Gazing Home in the end, but it was not like it ended in a loss for him.

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    The old man raised his head viciously, only to see Li Qingshan gazing down at him from the top. He even waved his hand at him and smiled. ¡°Thanks!¡±

    The old man leapt up and cursed aloud. Li Qingshan had already forgotten about him, bringing his hand over his eyes and gazing into the distance.

    Suddenly, his smile vanished.

    What he saw was not Crouching Ox village, but a great city with towering skyscrapers and bustling traffic. That was his home that had once appeared countless times in his dreams, which he had almost forgotten now.

    Was it an illusion?

 Chapter 1518

    Perhaps the Tower of Gazing Home was just a formation with wondrous effects, able to reflect the deepest memories of home within a person. However, no matter how he circulated the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, the scene before his eyes remained vivid, without rippling even in the slightest.

    He looked down the tower again and suddenly noticed a curved, wood bridge extending across a great river. The river was bright blue, but very clear and shallow. The bridge was only thirty metres long, inscribed with a single word, Helplessness.

    The endless misty spray and the long bridge that had taken him quite a while to cross was nowhere to be found.

    At this moment, a collector of souls brought a Yin Soul onto the bridge. They walked very, very slowly.

    On the other end of the bridge was the endless expanse of yellow sand.

    The Hell realm was completely different from the Human realm, Daemonic Beast realm, Asura realm, and even the Hungry Ghost realm. It was eerie, unfathomable, and indescribable.

    The large ghost called out impatiently, ¡°Hey, the one up there, get down here! Time¡¯s up! If you want to keep looking, you gotta pay more karma!¡±

    Li Qingshan made his way down the Tower of Gazing Home blankly, and the old man who had been neglected grabbed him by the collar. ¡°Kid, give me back my jade!¡±

    .

    Li Qingshan brushed him aside. ¡°I¡¯ll give it back to you later.¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang wondered, Don¡¯t tell me this kid got homesick?

    The old man called out, ¡°Sir Horse-face, please help me right this wrong!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you yelling out for? Keep going and keep an eye on your things!¡± Horse-face sneered. ¡°Kid, let¡¯s see how you handle this now!¡±

    Past the Tower of Gazing Home, a teahouse appeared in their way before long. It was not built on the side of the path, but in the middle of the path. The two sides to it were both sheer walls. A long banner was planted in the teahouse, depicting a single word, ¡°Soup¡±.

    An old granny with grey hair and wrinkly skin sat at the entrance. She held a ladle, calling out, ¡°Come and drink soup.¡±

    Granny Meng¡¯s Soup of Forgetfulness!

    Li Qingshan raised his head slightly. Just from the unfortunate location that the teahouse was built was enough for him to know that he probably should not drink the soup. He did not see any boxes of karma, so he relaxed slightly.

    But when he got a little closer, he noticed something strange.

    There were two pots of soup before granny Meng, both bubbling with steam. There were two stacks of bowls, one large and one small. The larger bowls were all chinked and faded, while the small ones were exquisite and shining.

    One of the pots of soup was thick like pitch, giving off the nauseating smell of medicine. Meanwhile, the other pot of soup was clear like water, yet it gave off a slight fragrance.

    Granny Meng used the small, white bowls to serve two bowls of clear soup, passing them to Ox-head and Horse-face. ¡°Old brothers, this is fresh soup I¡¯ve made from a thousand year chicken. Have a taste!¡±

    Horse-face took a sip. ¡°Granny Meng, you¡¯re still that good at cooking, but you are becoming more and more stingy with the ingredients. Let alone a thousand years, I don¡¯t even think it was a hundred years old.¡±

    ¡°Business is difficult. They¡¯ve all been broke as of late!¡± Granny Meng said to Li Qingshan kindly, ¡°Little brother, which one would you like to drink?¡±

    Li Qingshan had already heard Ox-headed A¡¯pang mention it along the way. Not only did Granny Meng¡¯s Soup seal away the past memories, but it even sealed away all of their cultivation as well.

    They might have been Yin Soul and Yang Soul cultivators, but once they drank this soup, they would be no different from mortals. They would not be able to use any of their powers at all.

    Under this state, once they entered rebirth, they would definitely go through the confusions of the womb and lose all of their past memories.

    However, Ox-headed A¡¯pang did not tell him that there was a choice. As a result, he pointed towards the pot of clear soup.

    ¡°You sure know how to choose, little brother. If you drink this bowl of soup, you won¡¯t fall into hell, and you won¡¯t forget your past!¡±

    Granny Meng smiled even more kindly, but she was not in a hurry to serve the soup. Instead, she extended her scrawny hand that resembled a chicken¡¯s foot.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood that the clear soup came at a price, and the price would definitely be significant. This was probably one of the moments where bribes were most crucial.

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    If they drank the clear soup, they could maintain their cultivation. Even if they were sent to hell, they could fend for themselves with their techniques. Even if there was still the confusions of the womb during rebirth, they could maintain and preserve their wills and memories, to be recovered in the future.

    It definitely was not a coincidence that Chu Tian could preserve a part of Lin Xuan¡¯s memories. It was exactly because he drank this bowl of Granny Meng¡¯s Soup that saved him from hell and forgetting the past. Let alone soup, even if it was just a bowl of normal water, it could fetch an astronomical sum.

    This juncture could be described as critical. It was a major event that directly impacted survival. Those ¡°renowned scenic spots¡± like the Tower of Gazing Home definitely came nowhere close, and there was absolutely no choice here. They would be drinking one bowl of soup no matter what.

    Seeing how Li Qingshan failed to produce anything after so long, granny Meng¡¯s face gradually sank. She placed down the small white bowl and picked up the big black bowl, filling it to the brim. ¡°The broke are only allowed to drink this!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, they all say that the good are rewarded and the wicked are punished in hell. I didn¡¯t think it¡¯s actually despising the poor and sucking up to the wealthy!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a bitter sigh and accepted the big, black bowl. The smell became even more pungent, bubbling away. Something that resembled a grub floated to the top. Who knew what disgusting things she had added to it.

    Granny Meng smiled sinisterly. ¡°Don¡¯t look down on this bowl of soup. In terms of the ingredients, it¡¯s far more precious than the other soup! If you drink it, you¡¯ll be sure to face torture and forget the past!¡± She ordered viciously, ¡°Drink it!¡±

    Horse-face sneered. ¡°If you don¡¯t drink it, then we¡¯ll have to force it down your throat.¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang smiled. ¡°Heh, I¡¯ll invite you to a few more bowls, little brother! All on me!¡±

    ¡°How can I let you spend any money, big brother?¡±

    The three faces stared at Li Qingshan, stern, mocking or sneering.

    Originally, Li Qingshan did not find this hell to be particularly terrifying, but he suddenly shivered inside. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll drink it! I¡¯ll drink it!¡±

    He pinched his nose and drank the bowl of thick soup with a twisted expression. Horse-face could not help but laugh. ¡°You just don¡¯t give up until you¡¯re staring despair in the face. It¡¯s too late for regret now.¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang sighed. On the Road to Yellow Springs, if he gave Li Qingshan some treasures so that he could bribe a few people, everything would be much simpler. However, since he had chosen this path, then he had to continue down it like this. Otherwise, why would a ¡°clever person¡± who knew how to bribe others speak out again and again, openly offending others?

    Li Qingshan gulped down the entire bowl of soup. It melded away as soon as it hit his mouth, merging with his Yang Soul sliver by sliver. He immediately felt his body grow numb as he tottered forwards, continuing on his way. His expression was already filled with despair.

    Granny Meng was accustomed to this sight, so she could not bother to give this broke customer a second glance. She went off to receive her next ¡°customer¡±.

    Right when Li Qingshan made his way past the pots, he suddenly raised his foot and kicked over the pot of thick soup.

    With a bang, the pot smashed to pieces against the wall. Soup splattered everywhere.

    Even with her cultivation as a Ghost Immortal, granny Meng was caught off-guard. She cried out, ¡°My soup!¡±

    A pot of the thick soup took many precious ingredients to make, which was why it could achieve the effects of sealing away cultivation, and the preparatory process was extremely difficult.

    Li Qingshan got his revenge and smiled. ¡°Nice soup!¡± He said to the dumbfounded old man, ¡°I¡¯ve paid you back now.¡±

    Granny Meng grabbed his neck viciously with her scrawny hands. She screeched, ¡°Give me back my soup!¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan smiled and patted his belly. ¡°Once I¡¯ve digested it all, I¡¯ll take a piss for you so that you can check just how ugly you are in the reflection!¡±

    Granny Meng was about to go crazy. ¡°I¡¯m going to butcher you!¡±

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    ¡°Sure! C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon, c¡¯mon. Please give me a quick one. You better kill me, or you ain¡¯t shit!¡¯

    Horse-face was left blank for quite a while. He asked Ox-headed A¡¯pang, ¡°Is there something wrong with this kid¡¯s head?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, and he seems to be quite sick too!¡±

    But for some reason, he only wanted to laugh aloud. He felt like he had vented his emotions as well.

    The man was pressed against the ground. He could not put up any resistance, yet he never yielded. Instead, he seemed to give off dazzling light that reached beyond this gloomy hell.

 Chapter 1519

    In the hell realm, King Qinguang ruled over the first court. The hall towered three hundred metres tall, sinister and gloomy inside.

    Two colossal ghosts stood at the entrance, wielding metal chains and forks. They were vicious-looking and frightening.

    In front of the hall was the Mirror of Retribution. It stood three metres tall and fifteen metres wide, hanging towards the east. There was a plaque above that read, ¡°From the heart¡±.

    All deceased souls that arrived here would be forced before the Mirror of Retribution. The Mirror of Retribution was also known as the Mirror of Karma. It could reflect all the sins they had committed in their lives.

    If they had done more good than bad, then the mirror would shine. If they had done more bad than good, then the mirror would become filled with black mist. If their good and bad deeds were balanced, then it would show nothing, neither light nor mist.

    In the world of people, the wicked were always more numerous than the good, and even if they were good people, how could they go an entire life without committing any mistakes? As a result, this saying was also common, ¡°There are no good people before the Mirror of Retribution.¡±

    The first court primarily managed the rewarding of the good and the punishment of the wicked. It was said that depending on the deeds they had committed in their lives, they could reincarnate as humans or be reduced to beasts. It varied from case to case. Those of great sins would be sent to Av¨©ci for punishment.

    However, with how many deceased souls there were, how could King Qinhuang manage these miscellaneous matters as a mighty True Immortal? He would only make arrangements beforehand and personally preside over the court if Human Immortals or Daemon Immortals passed away.

    As a result, the main court remained closed most of the time, establishing the four adjudicators that watched over the four side halls. They were the Office of Reckoning Mirror, the Office of Underworld Law, the Office of Rewarding Good, and the Office of Punishing Wicked.

    With a thump, a figure fell heavily into the Office of Clear Mirror. He was dishevelled and dirtied. Before he could even climb to his feet, a group of vicious ghosts rushed over, some twisting his arms and some tugging at his head, dragging him into the hall, right before the plaque that said, ¡°The mirror of reckoning hangs high¡±.

    A pale-faced judge in deep-red robes with a black gauze cap sat behind a tall table. When he saw this, he furrowed his brows, about to scold them.

    Ox-head, Horse-face, and granny Meng entered the hall together, and the ghost guards immediately fell silent. The pale-faced judge walked out from behind the table. ¡°How may I help you?¡±

    Granny Meng screeched, ¡°This damned brat ruined a pot of my fine soup!¡±

    Horse-face sneered. ¡°He probably still doesn¡¯t know what place this is!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang said sternly, ¡°This person deserves a heavy sentence!¡±

    Adjudicator Lu was surprised as well. Just who was this kid? He had actually angered three Ghost Immortals into making a case against him, and the three of them were basically the most impressive figures of the Hell realm. Their statuses were even greater than his.

    In particular, that Ox-headed A¡¯pang possessed unfathomable strength, and his lifespan was extremely long. Apart from the ten kings of hell, the ten yanluo, everyone who saw him had to call him ¡°big brother ox¡±.

    With a quick thought, he coughed gently. ¡°We still have to bring him before the Mirror of Retribution before any sentencing.¡±

    He had to respect these three figures, but surely he had to extort him a little before that. How could a mighty Ghost Immortal like him just be allocated a job like this? If there were no benefits, what was he doing in the Office of Reckoning Mirror?

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s face sank as he thought, I knew this Lu person was greedy, but I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d actually be so greedy. These judges really are getting worse with each one! In the past, when the Hell realm had just been established, the judges had still been fair and just. Afterwards, they went off to Sukh¨¡vat¨© to cultivate. Who was willing to stay behind in the gloomy and frightening underworld to judge people?

    Adjudicator Lu cried out in an aggrieved manner, ¡°Big brother ox, you¡¯ve been around in the underworld for a very long time. These are all rules, rules! What can I do? Once I deal with this case, I¡¯ll definitely give the three of you a satisfying conclusion.¡±

    The old man who had arrived with Li Qingshan peered deep into the hall. Since Li Qingshan had spilled the pot of thick soup, he also pretended to be broke. He had bribed Horse-face beforehand, so he would not expose him either. Granny Meng was in a hurry for revenge, so she could not bother with him either, which earned him a free bowl of clear soup. It saved him a significant amount of ¡°karma¡±, which was far more valuable than that piece of spiritual jade.

    However, he was not someone to be trifled with when he was still alive. He was renowned for his pettiness. When he saw this, he only sneered away. You foolish kid, don¡¯t even think about getting through this third checkpoint!

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    The Hell realm had a total of three checkpoints that required bribes. The first was the Hell Guard or soul collect who came to take them. If they were not properly bribed, they would face trouble on the Road to the Yellow Springs.

    The second was for that bowl of Granny Meng¡¯s Soup. If they did not purchase the clear soup, everything would fall into shambles, and they would forget their past. They might not even be able to make it through the tortures of hell.

    The third checkpoint was the four adjudicators, as well as the most important checkpoint. Whether they were rewarded for their good or punished for their wickedness was completely up to their whim. It took a sizable sum if they wanted to clear their crimes and escape punishment.

    At this moment, one of the ghost guards outside called out, ¡°Old man, what¡¯re you staring for?¡± He walked over viciously with a staff of water and fire.

    Normally, why would the old man take the puny ghost seriously at all? He could erase him from existence with a single strike. But now, he was forced to obey, shoving another spiritual jade over to him.

    The ghost¡¯s expression changed slightly as if he was smiling, but his face was just as vicious as before. He rubbed his head. ¡°You sure are a clever one. Here, even dragons better stay coiled and even tigers better keep their tails tucked. It¡¯s all useless whether you¡¯re some Yin Soul or Yang Soul. Seeing how obedient you are, I¡¯ll let you in to take a look!¡±

    The old man smiled dryly and followed behind him up to the hall. Apart from the three checkpoints, the various ghost guards and envoys encountered along the way needed bribing too. Otherwise, they could make trouble, and there would be plenty of suffering for him to go through. He cursed Li Qingshan even more inside, Why do I have to be so submissive, yet that kid can act so arrogantly? Let¡¯s see just how you die!

    Adjudicator Lu arrived behind his desk again. A few vicious ghosts were about to drag Li Qingshan over to the Mirror of Retribution when granny Meng mocked him. ¡°Lu, don¡¯t even bother. He¡¯s broke!¡±

    ¡°Broke!¡± Adjudicator Lu was still rather reluctant to accept that. He asked, ¡°Who are you? Do you have any ¡®respect¡¯ for me?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head and smiled. ¡°Dear sonny, you¡¯re going to give some respect to your daddy?¡±

    The hall fell silent. Whether it was the colossal ghost outside the hall or the ghost guards inside, they were all stunned. They had never seen someone who still behaved so rudely and arrogantly within a king of hell¡¯s court.

    Adjudicator Lu was taken aback as well as if he had never imagined someone actually had the courage to speak to him like that. He said furiously, ¡°What did you say? Say it again?¡±

    ¡°Dear grandsonny, you¡¯re going to give some respect to your granddaddy?¡± He fell by another generation.

    Bang! Adjudicator Lu slammed the desk and rose to his feet, flying into a fury. ¡°Drag him off to the third, fifth- no, ninth layer of hell immediately!¡±

    The vicious ghost guards surged over again, some twisting his arms and some grabbing his head, dragging him out of the hall.

    Li Qingshan did not struggle, nor did he erupt with curses. He just glanced deeply at adjudicator Lu before glancing past the four words, ¡°The penetrating mirror hangs high.¡± again. He could not help but smile, which soom turned into roaring laughter. Even when he was dragged outside, his laughter continued to echo in the hall.

    Adjudicator Lu shivered for some reason. ¡°What an improper person. He has no respect for the law at all! Fellows, are you satisfied with this?¡±

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    Granny Meng felt strange inside. She did not feel any delight from victory at all. She ground her teeth. ¡°You should have sent him to the eighteenth layer of hell so that he can never be reborn!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang thought, If only that happened.

    However, it would not be that simple. Apart from the tenth court, King Zhuanlun, the Wheel-turning King, the nine other courts were responsible for two layers of hell each. Even if he was sent to the ninth layer of hell, he had to go through each layer one by one, and each major layer of hell had countless minor hells, which came with endless pain and torment¡ªclimbing up mountains of blades, falling into pots of oil, crossing forests of swords, bitten by wasps, insects and snakes, wading through rivers of pus, fire and ash¡­

    That was where the name Av¨©ci, or endless, came from!

    Kid, hopefully you can last through it all!

 Chapter 1520

    The scarlet-red flames licked a large, black pot. The surrounding walls had all become charred black as a few ghosts fed wood to the flames.

    The pot was a dozen metres wide, basically resembling a small pond. It was filled with thick, yellow oil, bubbling away endlessly.

    At this moment, a large, blue ghost appeared from the pitch-black walls. He lifted a person high into the air and tossed him into the pot viciously.

    With a pop, oil sprayed everywhere. The oil hissed away and surged violently.

    The ghosts around the pot fled in a scramble. One of them accidentally got a droplet of oil on him, and he rolled around on the ground, wailing out like he was in great pain. Even his hunched-over figure became twisted.

    The blue ghost laughed aloud, finding great delight in these howls of pain.

    This was no regular pot of oil, but the first layer of hell¡¯s Minor Hell of Oil Pot. If regular people even got a droplet of oil on them, they could die from the pain.

    But strangely enough, he did not hear any howls from within the oil pot. He looked down, and his smile froze.

    The criminal who raised a fuss in the Office of Reckoning Mirror and publicly insulted the adjudicator was actually¡­ actually doing laps in the pot!?

    When Li Qingshan fell into the oil pot, he was filled with a sense of righteousness. He possessed a dauntless spirit, ready to sacrifice himself for the great cause of revolution. However, as the oil bubbled around him, he did not feel any pain at all.

    Hmm? Have I grown numb to the pain?

    As a result, he just spread his arms and swam a lap in the pot, but sure enough, it still did not hurt. The oily sensation was slightly bothersome, but the warmth and smoothness did bring him some comfort.

    As such, he simply swam away, changing through various different forms like the breaststroke, free style, butterfly, and even the doggy paddle.

    He left the blue ghost stunned, while the little ghosts around the pot were dumbfounded.

    ¡°What¡¯re you standing here for? Get out of the way! Stop blocking my way!¡±

    At this moment, another scarlet ghost arrived from the wall, shoving the blue ghost aside rudely and tossing another person into the oil pot.

    Li Qingshan smiled as soon as he saw him. ¡°You¡¯ve come too!¡±

    He happened to be the old man who had come with him. The old man¡¯s expression changed drastically the moment he hit the oil, trembling all over. Seeing Li Qingshan again, he ground his teeth, which twisted his expression. He really was filled with pain and resentment, utterly hating him.

    Killing intent roused within him, and the pain immediately worsened. He circulated his powers in a hurry to steady his mind, squeezing out a single sentence from between his teeth. ¡°Y- you¡¯ve screwed me over!¡±

    As it turned out, after judging Li Qingshan, the old man was next. He had prepared a bountiful gift beforehand, such that he did not even have to stand before the Mirror of Retribution.

    However, granny Meng was still around. She said after taking a single glance at him, ¡°This one¡¯s broke too!¡±

    He was speechless. How could he tell a furious Ghost Immortal that he had been lying to her earlier?

    As a result, he was dragged off before the Mirror of Retribution and shone upon. He was better off not being shone on. The mirror was clouded with black mist, basically without a speck of light at all. Clearly, he was ridden with sins.

    He had always been an infamous demonic cultivator in his original world. He loved forging arcane treasures from live souls, and he would not even bat an eye when it came to massacring cities and ending countries. He was called the Soul-taking Old Freak. After ascending to the Human realm, he did dial it back slightly, but he definitely was not a good person.

    Adjudicator Lu was in a fit of anger as well, so with a great swing of his brush, he banished him to the tenth layer of hell, even one layer deeper than Li Qingshan. He was troubled, but there was nothing he could say. He had prepared gifts, but he had to keep them to himself now. How could he not hate Li Qingshan given the circumstances he had ended up in?

    ¡°Old man, you sure are unreasonable. How have I screwed you over?¡±

    With some further thought, Li Qingshan guessed the approximate reason and laughed. ¡°You sure have been asking for it!¡± He spread his arms extravagantly and leaned against the side of the oil pot, yelling at the two large ghosts on the walls, ¡°Oi, green and red dumb cunts, what¡¯re you looking at? The oil is too cold!¡±

    The old man turned green. His face twitched.

    The two ghosts were taken aback as well, probably because they had never received a request like that before. They yelled furiously at the ghosts near the fire, ¡°Stoke the flames! I want it on full!¡±

    The small ghosts stoked the flames in a hurry, making the oil pot bubble even more vigorously

    Li Qingshan still did not feel any pain whatsoever. He looked at the old man who trembled all over with a contorted expression. ¡°Tsk, you¡¯re like a fried donut. Does it really hurt? Surely it¡¯s not all an act!¡±

    ¡°I- I curse you- to a horrible death!¡±

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    Li Qingshan laughed aloud. ¡°Aren¡¯t we already suffering from a horrible death?¡±

    The old man was speechless. He loved extracting the souls of enemies for torture, but was there anywhere more torturous than hell?

    Even if I butcher this kid right now, I¡¯ll only be liberating him, and adjudicator Lu will definitely direct his anger towards me instead. I¡¯ll be fortunate if he only increases my punishment by then. If he seals up my cultivation as well, I¡¯ll be completely done for!

    He gazed at Li Qingshan like he wanted to eat him, yet there happened to be absolutely nothing he could do.

    The oil pot became hotter and hotter; the pain grew deeper and deeper.

    When he saw how Li Qingshan began whistling away, relaxed like he was taking a bath, the old man immediately felt the pain intensify by several fold. He almost began crying out uncontrollably. He pointed at Li Qingshan and yelled out to the two large ghosts, ¡°This isn¡¯t fair! How come he¡¯s fine!?¡±

    Li Qingshan rested his head against the side of the pot, gazing at the distant, bizarre, deep-blue night sky. ¡°Could you turn up the heat a bit more? Yeah, this is the perfect temperature.¡± He let out a comfortable moan and sank his head into the oil. He murmured to himself, ¡°Probably because I¡¯m a good person!¡±

    He had once experienced the pain of hell from Gu Yanying, and if he had to be honest, that was extremely unbearable pain, well beyond the limits of what the body could endure.

    Logically speaking, now that he had been sent to hell in person, the pain he experienced should have been much deeper, yet he was fine.

    From the old man¡¯s response, there was nothing wrong with the pot of oil, so there must have been something wrong with him or the sky above his head.

    He recalled the knowledge regarding the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    As the most critical link in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, it was possible to say that there was no sa?s¨¡ra without hell. The laws of the world here seemed to possess some kind of extremely mysterious characteristic.

    Whether it was the Road to the Yellow Springs that led off to countless worlds and countless destinations, the Bridge of Helplessness with a length that was impossible to gauge, or the Tower of Gazing Home that allowed him to see the home of his past life, all of it was unbelievable. Normal logic could not be applied to them.

    He had a vague guess, but even he himself was not certain about it. Am I a good person? Yeah, I¡¯m obviously not a bad person, but¡­

    He shut his eyes as if he had fallen asleep.

    On the battlefield in the Demon domain, he had led the army, slaughtering countless demonfolk and facing a Demon God alone in the very end.

    In the World of the Five Continents, he had spread the knowledge of martial arts, such that there was martial arts for everyone, tearing apart the reign of those sects and clans.

    In the World of the Nine Provinces, he had once destroyed the world and saved everyone¡¯s lives.

    ¡­ am I a good person?

    The large, blue ghost rushed back to the Office of Reckoning Mirror. Adjudicator Lu was currently conversing with the three Ghost Immortals. He said with displeasure, ¡°Why have you only returned now? How¡¯s the kid?¡±

    ¡°Sir, the kid- he- he¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯re you stuttering for? Spit it out!¡±

    ¡°Sir, he¡¯s fallen asleep.¡±

    ¡°Fallen asleep!?¡± Adjudicator Lu doubted his ears. ¡°He¡¯s not pleading for mercy desperately?¡±

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t. H- he doesn¡¯t seem to be in any pain at all.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me?¡± Adjudicator Lu thought of something and gazed at the Mirror of Retribution, as well as the words above, ¡°From the heart¡±!

    Horse-face said sternly, ¡°The kid has got more good than wickedness!¡±

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    The Mirror of Retribution was merely a manifestation of the laws of hell, which made it easier for the kings of hell and the adjudicators to make their judgement. However, even if they were not brought before the mirror, there was still a distinction between the good and the wicked.

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang suddenly recalled the principles which the Hell realm was founded on a long, long time ago. Appearances arose from the heart, and the mirror was forged from the heart. What went around came around, and good and evil would always be paid off.

    His conscience was clear, Heh, how can wretched scoundrels and shameless rascals be chosen by the leader? He felt a little more hope too.

    Granny Meng shrieked, ¡°No, we can¡¯t let him go like this!¡±

    ¡°Scoop him out of the oil pot and send him to a deeper hell!¡± Adjudicator Lu glanced over viciously. ¡°I¡¯ll have him understand what ¡®there are no good people before the Mirror of Retribution¡¯ means!¡±

 Chapter 1521

    As such, the large, blue ghost scooped Li Qingshan out from the oil pot, setting off towards the depths of hell.

    As soon as he emerged from the oil pot, he entered a mountain of blades. Thousands of blades were clustered together, shimmering coldly.

    Seeing this, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°A fine place!¡± Then he let out a deep sigh. It reminded him of the Frenzy Flower Blade of Path¡¯s End.

    ¡°Are you afraid now?¡± The large, blue ghost smiled viciously and shoved Li Qingshan onto the mountain of blades. Afterwards, he widened his eyes. All he saw was Li Qingshan strolling around the top of the mountain leisurely with his hands behind his back. He bore no resemblance to a wretched fiend that had been sent to hell for punishment, instead resembling a travelling tourist. The blades did absolutely nothing to him.

    The blue ghost rushed back again to report this, which left adjudicator Lu even more furious. He slammed the desk. ¡°Piece of trash!¡± He grabbed a tablet and threw it at the blue ghost¡¯s head. ¡°Keep going! There¡¯s no need to report back. If he¡¯s not suffering, just head down further.¡±

    The blue ghost picked up the tablet and returned to the Minor Hell of Blade Mountains. He felt extremely frustrated as well, but how could he resent a mighty adjudicator? He picked up Li Qingshan and set off immediately, saying viciously, ¡°Kid, do you really think you can avoid punishment just because you¡¯ve done some good deeds?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Just as I had suspected. I didn¡¯t expect hell to have some fairness!¡±

    ¡°Fairness?¡± The blue ghost smiled viciously. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know that this is the most unfair place in the world!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at him and saw the mark left behind by the tablet on his face. ¡°Looks like you were unlucky too!¡±

    The blue ghost flew into a rage. ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan strolled through the Hell of Bronze Axes and the Hell of Sword Forests. He was invulnerable to the bronze axes, and the sword forests were harmless to him.

    The Hell of Hunger made him feel full. The Hell of Thirst made him salivate.

    In the Minor Hell of Black Sand, there were only gentle breezes. In the Minor Hell of Excrement, all he saw was clear, flowing water.

    The wasps left him alone, and the snakes refused to disturb him. He did not fear disembowelment and did not worry about having crows feast on his organs.

    In the beginning, the blue ghost¡¯s expression became more and more twisted, but towards the end, he gradually became solemn, demonstrating a hint of respect.

    He had spent all these years in his role in hell and had witnessed countless vicious spirits and fiends. When they were in utter pain, there had even been a fair handful that openly cursed the adjudicators, Hell Guards, or even the kings of hell and K?itigarbha, the bodhisattva of hell. He had never seen such an unfazed prisoner before. It was like he was not making his way towards the depths of hell but entering paradise. From beginning to end, he did not see any resentment or despair.

    Having entered such a deep hell without facing any punishment, he had clearly accumulated tremendous good karma.

    ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±

    Li Qingshan replied like he was showing off, ¡°Is it important?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get too cocky! Even if you have tremendous good karma, do you really think you¡¯re without any sins?¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°My sins are so plentiful that they cannot be listed. Even ten thousand deaths are not enough to redeem me!¡±

    Under his will, the space-devouring beast had devoured countless worlds, leaving countless people homeless and rendering countless species extinct.

    As for the World of the Five Continents, he allowed everyone to practise martial arts and cultivate, but that had instead brought forth several centuries of turmoil. Countless martial arts practitioners and cultivators sprang forth, competing against one another throughout the world. They definitely did not just bring legendary stories with them.

    The blue ghost was taken aback, studying him closely. He felt like he could not read him. If he was a demonic cultivator of heinous deeds, how had he accumulated so much good karma?

    ¡°If that really is true, then you¡¯re done for. If you keep going, as long as you have just a hint of sin, you won¡¯t be able to escape punishment. By then, the deeper your sins are, the greater the pain will be!¡±

    Before he knew it, there was no delight left in his voice, looking forward to his suffering. Instead, he felt rather in awe.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you want?¡±

    ¡°I have no grievances with you, so why would I want that? I just find it to be a pity. Your good karma far outweighs your bad karma. You¡¯re different from those damned demonic cultivators and vicious fiends. You just had to cough up some money, and you¡¯d be fine. Why did you have to do this?¡±

    ¡°Who said there¡¯s no fairness here? Isn¡¯t there fairness in your heart?¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Perhaps I might spare your life in the future, seeing how that¡¯s how you feel!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll spare my life!?¡±

    The blue ghost laughed aloud. With his circumstances, was he still thinking about escaping in hell? But under Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, he gradually stopped laughing. Instead, he found it rather frightening.

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    Li Qingshan urged him. ¡°Cut the crap. Hurry up and lead the way!¡±

    He soon arrived in the sixth layer of hell, in the Minor Hell of Gnawing Ants.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his eyebrows. He began feeling some pain. The pain was not very deep, but it was numbing, itching, and irritating. It made it difficult to sit still.

    For some reason, he recalled his time in Crouching Ox village. It was not some wonderful childhood, but being trapped in the body of a child, constantly abused by his elder brother and sister-in-law in the tiny village. He spent all year round sleeping within the pile of hay in the cowshed, regularly bitten by insects, preventing him from getting a wink of sleep. He felt anxious and unbearable all the time, only able to mutter away to the black ox.

    ¡°Do you finally feel something now?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, it feels absolutely terrible.¡±

    ¡°Then you better enjoy it.¡±

    The blue ghost arrived in one corner and sat down. He had received orders from adjudicator Lu to specially make things difficult for Li Qingshan.

    Originally, he directed all of his anger towards Li Qingshan after being scolded by adjudicator Lu. He was ready to properly vent on him in the depths of hell, but before he knew it, he had changed his mind. He felt like it was enough if he handled this half-mindedly. There was no need for him to remain angry at that Lu person.

    Li Qingshan nodded and shut his eyes, silently enduring the gnawing.

    He knew very well that the test had only just begun! He was already lucky enough to make it through the previous few layers without much difficulty, but his luck had run out now.

    There were no good people before the Mirror of Retribution, and there was no paradise within the Hell realm. If he did not go through all those hardships and suffering, how was he supposed to meet the Great Sage in the depths of hell? How was he supposed to make it beyond the Nine Heavens and see brother ox?

    He suspected that granny Meng¡¯s soup actually had the opposite effect, not to make people forget, but to make people remember, hundreds of times more potent than the Water of Recollection.

    In a daze, he was still in the same pile of hay in the cowshed, talking to the black ox with a broken horn that looked towards him with its moist eyes, silently waiting for him to make his choice.

    To regular Human Sovereigns, their Yang Souls were basically their everything. It was a condensation of their soul, spirit, powers, and cultivation, yet as someone who practised the Nine Transformations of the Demon and Divine, he could simply abandon his Yang Soul before condensing a new one in the small world.

    He still had a choice before him. He could choose not to endure this pain and choose another path.

    He was not without a path of retreat. The World of the Five Continent was his best path of retreat.

    The World of the Five Continents had already grown to an enormous world. Before long, it would be able to sustain existences at the fifth heavenly tribulation. As the god of the world, his lifespan was basically the world¡¯s as long as he fled back there. Even gods and immortals would be powerless over him. He truly had an entire world available to him if he took a step back.

    He had everything, so why did he have to endure this pain in hell?

    At this moment, an ant crawled onto his eyelid, which he suddenly grabbed.

    The blue ghost thought, Is he finally finding it unbearable?

    This was already the sixth layer of hell. Unlike the mountains of blades and the pot of oil in the beginning, the laws involved here were much deeper. There was no longer any need for lesser ghosts to stoke the flames or sharpen the blades. Appearances arose from the heart, and the mirror was formed from the heart. It was completely impossible to avoid or kill these ants. No matter how he struggled, he would be gnawed at.

    Li Qingshan set down the ant gently and opened his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s keep going!¡±

    ¡°What did you say!?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the next layer. There¡¯s not much here!¡±

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    ¡°Is there something wrong with your head!?¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your kind intentions, but let¡¯s keep going!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly with a stubborn expression.

    From the moment he set foot beyond Crouching Ox village, he had decided to never turn around. There was no such thing as a path of retreat, whether it was a village or a world.

    Even if he really ended up in Av¨©ci, never to be reborn, he had no complaints or regrets.

 Chapter 1522

    In the quiet room.

    Le Tian felt extremely troubled. How was he supposed to explain the mysterious circumstances around the first senior brother¡¯s death at his place? Was he supposed to tell others that the first senior brother had been asking for it and he had been dragged off to hell by Ox-headed A¡¯pang?

    Others definitely would think he had used some kind of trick so Li Qingshan served as a substitute for him. He could not afford the accusation of conspiring against the first senior brother. If Chao Tianjiao heard about this, she would never spare him!

    And he had a feeling that once he confessed everything¡ªOx-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s strange behaviour, the vortex of fate he had seen, the terrifying crisis of the world¡ªthen everything would only become much worse.

    He was such a clever person, yet at a time like this, he felt helpless. He had no idea what to do. All he could do was sit and wait while staring at Li Qingshan.

    Before long, he suddenly noticed that the corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched. His brows became furrowed, clearly in pain, as if he was trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up. His body shook gently.

    In the depth of hell, great snow filled the air as the cold pressed against his skin, chilling his bones and making his teeth chatter.

    Countless icy mountains plunged into the air. Frozen clouds filled the sky. Everything was gilded with a frosty bluish-white.

    There was ice as far as the eye could see. It was all bluish-white.

    However, there were countless red figures on the bluish-white glacier, scattered and twisted like coral. He blinked his eyes forcefully to clear the frost on his face, only to discover that they were frozen flames, balls of ¡°dead fire¡±.

    The coldness grew even heavier. His clothes had already been turned to tatters, revealing his sturdy chest. His skin cracked open from the cold, while the blood inside had already frozen, unable to flow out. It was like the dead fire on the glacier, as well as lotus flowers, gorgeously red.

    This was extremely deep in hell. Within the pain that grew heavier and heavier, he gradually forgot how many layers he had been through already. All that remained was numbing endurance.

    The blue ghost hid behind the glacier in the distance, sighing with some pity, ¡°This is it!¡±

    The eight cold hells and the eight hot hells were the grave of countless wicked fiends. When they had grown completely numb, they would be frozen utterly, stopping there forever, until the day that they disintegrated in the cold winds, or were burned to ash by the wildfire.

    He could not help but wish, ¡°Enough, you can just stop here!¡±

    This was hell, a place to give up all hope. Death was already the best outcome.

    However, Li Qingshan just refused to give up hope. He refused to stop, so he continued.

    Standing on the cold, frozen earth with his bare feet, it felt like he was stepping on countless needles. The red lotuses around him bloomed even further and wisps of coldness permeated his body.

    However, that made him feel much more sober. He chose the glacier furthest away from him and strided off.

    The chilly winds froze his eyes, turning them into a pair of misted balls of ice, but his feet never stopped. He could already visualise the icy mountain in his mind. He continued onwards, running through the glaciers.

    He inhaled and exhaled the icy air along the way, feasting on the ice and snow, falling over and climbing back up.

    If he could see, he would have discovered that the icy glacier remained beyond his reach. He was not a single step closer. Perhaps he would not care and he only looked at it because he refused to stop.

    An indescribable feeling welled up within the blue ghost. He asked, ¡°Why?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eardrums had frozen over a long time ago. He could not hear anything, which did save him from the shrill shrieks of the wind. All he could do was swing his powerful arms and extend his robust legs, rushing forwards.

    He strided over the firm, frozen soil and arrived on the frozen surface of a lake. A gust of fierce wind scattered the snow on there. Countless balls of dead fire lay beneath his feet, shimmering with a fiery-red light like coral.

    Suddenly, there was a crack. The surface of the lake fractured, producing a long crevasse.

    He was unable to see or hear, much less use any of his powers. He fell into the crevasse helplessly.

    The frozen, dead fire suddenly sprang alive again, dancing madly like snakes of flames. They warmed up his frozen body, but the temperature continued to climb. Sweat poured from his body like water, until there was no moisture left. His skin was charred inch by inch, dispersing with the rising, hot winds before he even made it to the bottom of the valley.

    The blue ghost watched from afar and completely realised something. He still had not been defeated by the pain. He still had not given up completely. He would not be stopping here.

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    Very soon, he was reborn in his ashes, left trembling within the freezing winds once more. His body began to bloom with red lotuses again. Right before his eyeballs had frozen over, he gazed deeply at the glacier in the very distance, beginning a new round of the journey.

    ¡°First senior brother! First senior brother!¡±

    Le Tian tried to wake up Li Qingshan. Before long, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyelashes trembled and he opened his eyes slowly. Sure enough, he had awakened. Glancing at Le Tian, his eyes were hazy, like he had just returned from another life. He could still see the reflection of the glacier. His lips trembled as he asked, ¡°How long has it been?¡±

    ¡°Three days.¡±

    ¡°Only three days?¡±

    Li Qingshan felt like it had already been many years. He was certain that was not just an illusion that had arisen in the pain, but also the laws of hell at work.

    Not only was his main body unable to remain unaffected, he would even find it more unbearable than that trip in hell, because all the pain he experienced at that instant had been accumulated over several days in hell.

    He was awake, but the nightmare continued. Ice and fire constantly overlapped and replaced one another, freezing his flesh in the biting cold, only to be reduced to ash in the scorching heat.

    It was a constant cycle of endless suffering.

    ¡°First senior brother, you-¡± Le Tian immediately understood what was going on. His Yang Soul was still in hell, going through the tortures.

    Li Qingshan pressed against his knees and helped himself up with difficulty. He knocked away Le Tian¡¯s hand to help him up and made his way out. When he pushed through the door, he turned around, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone else know.¡±

    His gaze was fleeting and his voice was exhausted and feeble. It did not sound threatening at all.

    However, Le Tian experienced a great pressure, like he was facing fate itself. He lowered his head deeply, ¡°As you wish!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched, like he was smiling, ¡°Thanks!¡± He vanished through the door.

    ¡°Huff.¡± Le Tian exhaled deeply and lay down.

    Li Qingshan stumbled back to the Xuanming dwelling. With a thunk, he fell heavily into the water.

    He used the Spirit Turtle Transformation to suppress all of the sensations and only then did he recover a wisp of clarity, No, this won¡¯t last too long. I need to go to Ruin¡¯s End quickly!

    His willpower was extraordinary, but not endless. Once it reached beyond his limit, he would also go crazy, or even die.

    Before then, he had to make a decision as soon as possible. He had to completely severe the connection between his main body and his Yang Soul, or he would definitely collapse.

    The greatest risk lurking behind that was once his Yang Soul broke free from his control, it was possible for it to become completely independent, even opposing his main body, wanting to replace it. By then, that would be a terrifying opponent that basically knew all of his secrets.

    This happened all too common within the cultivation community, which was why refining a second or a third soul nascence and then refining multiple Yin Souls and Yang Souls could drastically increase their cultivations, leaving them invincible especially when it came to battle, but it had always been a forbidden practice, never adopted by the orthodoxy.

    However, Li Qingshan was not concerned. Instead, he felt this was for the best. Perhaps Ruin¡¯s End would be even more dangerous and unpredictable than the Hell realm. If he failed, at least he could maintain a sliver of hope to continue forwards.

    As a result, he activated the formation he had prepared beforehand. At that moment, deep-blue light welled forwards and a vortex appeared on the surface of the water, gradually growing larger and deeper, until it lead to the depths of the ocean, forming a black hole.

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    The water level rapidly fell, all sucked into the hell. It was worth noting that the bottom of the dwelling was connected to the ocean, so the water level was the sea level. Who knew how much water the black hole had sucked away in that instant.

    This was why all water flowed to Ruin¡¯s End!

    Without any hesitation, he cast himself into the vortex. Right before he was swallowed by the hole, he and his Yang Soul that was in hell uttered the same thing.

    .

    ¡°Good luck!¡±

 Chapter 1523

    In the Hungry Ghost realm, Xiao An was currently cultivating in Unadorned city. She snapped her eyes open and suddenly noticed her connection with Li Qingshan had been completely severed. She even lost contact with the Skull Prayer Bead she had given him.

    She immediately stopped cultivating and returned to the Xuanming dwelling. She picked up a broken fragment of a formation and gazed at the rapidly rising water level, which made her immediately understand that Li Qingshan had already set off for Ruin¡¯s End. She could not help but furrow her brows. Something unexpected must have happened, or he would not have left without bidding her farewell.

    Staring at the deep, dark seawater, she crossed her fingers together firmly. ¡°You must return. I will wait for you, no matter how long, until death do us part.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    At that instant, all the pain vanished, together with all the colours and sounds.

    Submerged in the endless, dark water, he did not find it particularly cold, perhaps because of the Spirit Turtle Transformation. Instead, it felt warm, like a wanderer who had faced many hardships in a foreign land returning to the homeland of his dreams.

    ¡°Huff¡­¡±

    Having left the chilling ice and scorching fire of hell, he could not help but exhale deeply as well. The sensation was simply unbearable. If he had a choice, he would not spend a single second in that kind of pain.

    It even made him doubt, Will the ¡°me¡± in hell be able to hang on? A cold thought flashed through his head, If he can hang on, then he¡¯ll live. If he can¡¯t, then he can just die!

    The rationality that had almost vanished within the pain rapidly returned to him. He became calmer than he had ever been before, just like the endless, black water around him.

    He extended his head out from the turtle shell, which resembled both a dragon¡¯s and a tiger¡¯s head. He swivelled around, observing the environment around him, but he was unable to see or hear anything.

    There was no pressure or rejection that he had been expecting. The world formed from the primordial spirit turtle did not seem to possess any hostility towards him, a fake spirit turtle with impure blood.

    The black water wrapped around him gently, which instead felt very safe and comfortable. Compared to the chaos of the Human realm and the pain of the Hell realm, this was basically like heaven.

    This was the homeland of spirit turtles. His bloodline was not pure enough, but after using the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he still came close. Perhaps that Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was just trying to mislead me! But where am I supposed to find that prisoner of Ruin¡¯s End?

    Li Qingshan spread his limbs and waved them gently, diving downwards. Wherever he passed by, the black water passed automatically, such that he encountered no resistance.

    He just dove like that for who knew how long. There was still endless black water around him, without a single speck of dust or lifeform in sight¡­

    He used the Profound Light Illuminates All. As the Spirit Turtle Transformation strengthened, he could easily project scenes from hundreds of kilometres away.

    However, he stopped the ability very soon, as all it revealed was black water. Let alone the innate ability, even his eyes were useless here, as there was absolutely no need to look around.

    At the very least, the vast expanse of outer space was illuminated by countless stars. Each star was a world. There was also the existence of space-devouring beasts. Every single one of them was the rudimentary form of a world. They were slightly frightening, but at least it was not this boring.

    After swimming for who knew how long, he basically began wishing he would encounter some kind of deep sea monster to challenge him to a battle.

    He could not help but come up with a poem. ¡°Ruin¡¯s End, you¡¯re full of water. Qingshan, you¡¯re just four legs!¡±

    He suddenly realised something. Perhaps he was not diving down, but rising up.

    Due to the existence of the earth, all sea abysses, no matter how deep, had a bottom.

    But in Ruin¡¯s End, there was no earth, nor was there a sky. There was neither up nor down.

    The depths of hell and the depths of Ruin¡¯s End, it sounded similar, but they were completely different.

    At the very least, hell is structured with layers. Just heading down is enough. What is supposed to be considered as the ¡®depths¡¯ here?

    Not only was he unable to tell up from down, but he basically could not even find the cardinal directions because there was nothing to refer from. No matter which direction he headed off in, there was only endless black water.

    So what direction was he supposed to advance in?

    He could not help but sink into his thoughts. As he thought away, he yawned and suddenly felt very tired. Perhaps enduring the tortures of hell had taken up far too much willpower, as sleepiness welled up like the tide, swallowing him in the blink of an eye. Even his sturdy turtle shell seemed to feel slightly soft.

    He had never felt so drowsy before, even when he had been reduced to an infant through the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth.

    He shook his head and tried to remain conscious. He could not help but think, Perhaps¡­ I should¡­ sleep a little¡­ just¡­ a little¡­

    He drew his head and his limbs inside the shell. His eyes gradually closed as well, only leaving behind a shell in the black water, neither rising up nor sinking down.

    There seemed to be a voice speaking to him, Child, get some rest. You¡¯re too tired. You¡¯re home now. It¡¯s very safe here. No one can harm you anymore!

    I¡¯m home¡­

    In a daze, he thought of the mist he saw on the Tower of Gazing Home, that distant, surreal hometown and the two familiar faces that aged with each passing day. He could not help but say gently, ¡°Dad, mum, are you well? I miss you.¡±

    He could not help but draw himself even further into the shell. He felt a nostalgic pain that was insignificant compared to any of the tortures of hell, yet it broke through all of his defences easily, like a needle piercing his heart.

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    When he first arrived in this world, he had suffered in pain day and night. He had broken free from it after so much difficulty, and he thought he had forgotten it all already. As it turned out, he did not.

    As a result, it sent him into a daze. What made him weary was not just the tortures of hell, but everything he had been through since arriving in this world.

    With his thoughts, various images flashed across the pieces of the shell on his back like a merry-go-round. Everything flashed before his eyes, replaying quietly in the black water.

    His struggle for survival in his childhood, the fighting and killing of the jianghu during his youth, followed by adulthood and entering the cultivation community, where the fighting grew more intense and evolved into war. In his heart, the demonic and divine clashed together, leaving him without a second to catch his breath.

    Pride, shame, hatred; fury, fear, slaughter.

    Even when he sang with wild joy, his heart was tense. Once the song was over and he had sobered up, he had to rush off to cultivate and fight. He could not stop. Once he stopped, he would feel weary, wanting to rest up, enjoy himself and probably lose the drive forwards.

    However, no matter how far he had advanced, he would only seem to sink even deeper.

    Now, he had already become so powerful. He had become the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, standing above millions. Who knew how many times more powerful he was compared to that skinny, lanky boy from Crouching Ox village, yet not only was he without any opportunity to breathe, he faced numerous hardships as his path grew more dangerous.

    The tortures of hell, the black water of Ruin¡¯s End, the undefeatable foes, the unavoidable blood oath, finding hope in despair, fighting on in dire straits.

    What was the point of all this!?

    Beyond the Nine Heavens?

    Brother ox¡¯s enemy could cut off his horn and imprison the Great Sages. Even if I made it beyond the Nine Heavens and fought alongside him, just how much can I achieve?

    ¡°After all¡­ I¡¯m just a mortal too¡­¡±

    ¡°Whatever, let¡¯s not think about so much. Let¡¯s just get some sleep first! We¡¯ll see after we get some sleep¡­¡±

    At this moment, he seemed to hear a familiar voice, echoing away in his heart, You must return¡­ must return¡­

    A pale-white face appeared on the turtle shell. Her expression was delicate, and she was dressed in silks, only six or seven years old, a child without a home just like him. Even her life had been lost. He had once shed tears for her, swearing to take her back home. Actually, that was because he wanted to go home.

    However, she did not choose to go back. Instead, she gave up everything to continue onwards with him.

    At that instant, her face appeared on every single piece of his shell, both from the past, as well as the present, both white bone and great beauty, all so familiar.

    That was his only family in this world, Xiao An.

    ¡°No¡­ I still can¡¯t sleep. She¡¯s still¡­ waiting for me!¡±

    He lifted his eyelids, which weighed like lead. He did his best to break free from the drowsiness.

    He was overcome with a daunting fear. If he had fallen asleep just then, that slumber would have lasted a century at the very least. It would all be over by then.

    By the time he had woken up, perhaps he would have reached the ninth layer of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, but he would have turned into a pure spirit turtle too. He would no longer have anything like his aspirations beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Even in the tortures of hell, he had never been so feeble. The pain only tempered his willpower, yet the void of Ruin¡¯s End constantly ate away at his willpower.

    It was not exactly hostility, but it was even more terrifying than hostility. No, perhaps this was the deepest hostility.

    The hostility of a world required a certain medium to manifest, just like how the Hungry Ghost realm could only deal with Xiao An through the hands of Ghost Immortals.

    However, Ruin¡¯s End only possessed the silent water and the endless void. There was no medium. The reason why it was so mysterious and terrifying was because Ruin¡¯s End constantly assimilated with all foreign objects within it.

    If he possessed the bloodline of a spirit turtle, perhaps he would be assimilated into a spirit turtle, but if he were some other race, he would only be assimilated into nothingness.

    As he possessed the bloodline of the spirit turtle, the assimilation he encountered was much deeper as well. Exhaustion continued to bombard him as the sensation of nothingness seeped into his bones through the black water.

    He gritted his teeth and unleashed his powers, emitting a ring of resplendent light that spread through the black water silently, which only began to fade a hundred metres away. He hoped the prisoner of Ruin¡¯s End could see it.

    However, in the endless black water, the light was so dim that it did not even come close to a firefly¡¯s glow. It was rapidly swallowed by the darkness again.

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    He spread his limbs and swam forwards. No matter what, he would be advancing.

    Afterwards, he emitted another glow! It was even more dazzling than the last time, but under the backdrop of the darkness, it seemed even fainter for some reason, like a feeble, twinkling star.

    He constantly advanced, flashing again and again. Perhaps it was not so someone could see him, but just so that he could shine to himself in the deepest of darkness, to fend off the void.

    If the world was dark, then he would shine himself. Even if there was no hope left, as long as he saw this ¡°star¡±, he would be able to continue onwards.

    He still could not stop here. He still had to go out to meet with her again. He still had to go beyond the Nine Heavens, to fight alongside brother ox. Even if he died in battle, he would fall like a star!

 Chapter 1524

    ¡°Good luck!¡±

    In the depths of hell, between the glaciers, a blessing severed their final connection, utterly plunging into hell.

    In that instant, much of the pain vanished. His mind broke free from the stalemate of numbness, allowing him to reconsider his current circumstances.

    To regular cultivators, Yang Souls were basically transformed from souls, coupled with everything they had achieved throughout their lives in terms of cultivation.

    Everyone had souls. Through practising qi and cultivation, after successfully establishing a foundation, they could condense it into a golden core, then a soul nascence, followed by a Yin Soul, a Yang Soul, an Origin Soul¡­ until they became a True Immortal.

    Cultivation had always placed more emphasis on the soul than the body. Buddhism even called the body a ¡°vile skinbag¡±.

    If the body were destroyed, the soul could still undergo rebirth. Cultivators with Yin Soul and Yang Souls could even be reborn through possessing the bodies of others. Once they reached the realm of Origin Souls, it was fine even if they did not have a body. Their status would just be lower than Human Immortals. However, if their souls were destroyed, then it would all be over.

    Because Li Qingshan practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, particularly after condensing the small world in his body, it was fine even if his Yang Soul was completely destroyed. His soul would naturally condense in the small world. All of his life experiences were stored in the small world, so he only needed to make another copy of it, and it would be fine.

    The connection between the two of him had been severed, but they possessed the same experiences, emotions, thought processes, and fate, so the ¡°information¡± they possessed was completely identical.

    That was why identity crises would not occur. He was Li Qingshan. It did not matter who was real or fake. It was just an issue of who was stronger.

    I have Ox-headed A¡¯pang as a guide, which was brother ox¡¯s arrangements. At the very least, it¡¯s proof that this path might lead somewhere. I can¡¯t be too sure about Ruin¡¯s End. That nine-tailed fox Su Mirao is basically the worst guide you could ever get. It might even be a dead end!

    So I need to prepare for the worst. If ¡°I¡± don¡¯t return from Ruin¡¯s End, I need to practise the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine from scratch again and continue on my path to beyond the Nine Heavens! No, that¡¯s not even the worst possible situation. ¡°I¡± might be a good-looking, likable fellow, but ¡°I¡± might just commit betrayal. Once that happens, I need to destroy ¡°me¡± myself!

    Constantly destroyed and rebirthed in the ice and fire, his thoughts were just as brutal and resolute as the ice and fire. Even if the enemy in his way was himself, he would cut him down!

    I hope ¡°I¡± won¡¯t disappoint myself!

    Li Qingshan slowed down and continued towards the glacier in the distance. His footsteps became even firmer than before.

    He never invested his hopes in another, even if it was another one of himself. Perhaps his self-destructive will had never vanished completely, just so he could live to his own will.

    The blue ghost gazed over from afar and shivered inside. He felt something indescribable happen to his body. Upon a closer glance, he suddenly discovered in surprise that he was approaching the glacier in the distance. He did not move quickly, but he was approaching it step by step.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡±

    Before he knew it, divergence had already occurred. They were both Li Qingshan, but no longer the same Li Qingshan.

    Different environments had a tremendous impact on people. Ruin¡¯s End and hell were two polar opposites, and even if they were in similar environments, the same divergence would still occur.

    Whether it was a Yin Soul or a Yang Soul, they would be influenced by the body to a certain degree, just like how mortals would be influenced by their various desires.

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    The body was both a shackle and a form of maintenance. It was easiest for ghosts to be twisted, and it was no different for powerful cultivators. If Chao Tianjiao lost her body, she definitely would have been devoured and assimilated by the power of xuanwu. She would have never been able to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    The advantages and disadvantages involved could not be explained so easily, but there was one thing that everyone could be certain about. The stronger the body, the deeper the influence.

    Li Qingshan possessed multiple demonic and divine bloodlines. Every single bloodline possessed a powerful will of its own. Although they formed some kind of balance with one another, they still had an extremely deep influence on his Yang Soul.

    Now, this influence was gradually vanishing, dimming like the setting sun at dusk. When he looked back, it was already night.

    If they practised the same cultivation method and walked the same path, perhaps this divergence could still be amended, but he just happened to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, two vastly different cultivation methods. Even he himself struggled to predict the outcome it would lead to.

    Under this situation, the divergence would grow wider and wider for regular cultivators, and they would definitely fragment, leading to completely different paths.

    Since Li Qingshan had already begun treating himself as an imaginary opponent, preparing for the worst, he obviously did not care about any fragmentation. Instead, he felt very free. He even had the spare effort to admire the magnificent glaciers and gorgeous dead fire.

    He was still unable to use any of his powers, but the glacier in the distance was no longer so distant.

    As he advanced, he thought about the reason for this and came up with a vague guess¡­

    During the two decades he spent in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, he read everything there. In particular, he carried out an in-depth analysis and study of the knowledge regarding the Heavenly Tome of Liberty through the Spirit Turtle Transformation. He had plenty of discussions with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance at the same time.

    The old turtle was still very diligent when it came to matters regarding the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. He was the first person to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so he did not have the experiences of those who came before him to refer to. He had to verify everything himself.

    According to the two turtles¡¯ research, perhaps the Heavenly Tome of Liberty¡¯s path of cultivation was different from the other heavenly tomes, even leading off in the opposite direction. It required abandoning the body when it mattered and proactively choosing corpse liberation, breaking free from this ¡°vile skinbag¡±, or it would be impossible to achieve true ¡°liberation¡±.

    He had reached an extremely high level of comprehension towards the path of great liberation many years ago, even before the battle in the Demon domain.

    However, after recondensing his Yang Soul, he spent many years without making any progress, perhaps exactly because of this.

    However, it was just a theory at the end of the day. There was no cultivator who would proactively abandon his body. It was very easy for them to become deranged and suffer from cultivation deviation once they lost their body.

    Even after the sixth heavenly tribulation, the status of Corpse Liberated Immortals were far lower than Human Immortals. If Chao Tianjiao had failed to preserve her body back then, let alone becoming the leader of the Six Ding, she probably would not have even been able to join the Six Ding.

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    It was even less likely for him to abandon his body. The significance of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine was far greater than the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. He had spent all his time focusing on the Spirit Turtle Transformation too, so he had no spare effort to test out this theory.

    However, life was always unpredictable. His current state was no different from corpse liberation. There was not the slightest connection between his Yang Soul and his body.

    Curses and blessings came hand in hand. This separated journey was also an opportunity.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡± far stronger than me. If ¡°I¡± decide to betray the revolution, I really won¡¯t be ¡°my¡± opponent. But if I can condense an Origin Soul and reach Human Immortal, I¡¯ll be able to fend off ¡°me¡±. Hehe, not bad!

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 Chapter 1525

    In the silent Ruin¡¯s End, Li Qingshan foresaw this ¡°malice¡±. He understood what kind of person he was. That stubbornness and arrogance would probably become even wilder once it was no longer tied down by the body of the demonic and divine.

    He had never understood himself as much as right now.

    In the homeland of spirit turtles, his thought power became exceptionally powerful, reaching an unbelievable level.

    Regular people could only skim the surface of the tremendous amount of information in their memories, like observing the ripples of the ocean surface. Only when they were in deep thought could they dive below the surface and observe a fraction of the memories, and it would be unavoidably limited as well.

    This limit protected humans from mental collapse. If just looking at an apple fall to the ground would bring forth the countless formulae and laws regarding gravity¡ªseveral large books worth of content¡ªtheir brains would go pop.

    As a result, the thought process of humans was more like a torch, constantly shining around in the darkness before using the unclear impressions to assemble a complete picture. It was unavoidable for them to fill in a majority of the details by themselves. The more distant and blurry the memory was, the more surreal and detached from reality it would be.

    Those perfect years of childhood and the long-gone history of the past would constantly be modified by wishful thinking, such that the truth would be submerged in darkness forever.

    And the torch would always struggle to illuminate the person themselves, such that ¡°knowing yourself¡± became almost impossible. It became a profound and abstruse topic of philosophy.

    However, there was no such limit to spirit turtles. They themselves were like a great lightbulb. The range they could illuminate was limited as well, but there was only the unknown darkness, not a false reality. They could constantly reflect on themselves too, such that they remained clear and conscious.

    This was not a so-called ¡°high IQ¡± or the ability to carry out a tremendous amount of calculations within a short time frame like a supercomputer. Instead, it was      a vastly different method of understanding.

    Synchronously, simultaneously, systematically, comprehensively understanding everything.

    When they saw the apple fall to the ground, they did not have to go through any complicated notations or mathematics. They directly constructed the model and structure of gravity in their seas of consciousness, understanding the significance to themselves at the same time.

    When Li Qingshan peered into the entirety of himself, illuminating his entire sea of memories, every single detail was presented before his eyes¡ªdesire, destruction, fear, weakness¡­ He knew everything, the reason behind each emotion, the motivation for each decision.

    With that as a foundation, he did not need any foresight or predictions to reach a simple conclusion.

    If the ¡°me¡± returned from hell, he would definitely judge him. If he were judged as a ¡°traitor¡±, then he would do everything he could to destroy him, just like when he faced off against Demon God Taowu¡¯s clone, where he would go even as far as mutual destruction.

    There would not be any room for negotiation. Only ¡°self-betrayal¡± was unforgivable, and it was very likely for ¡°me¡± to possess that devastating power.

    Losing his Yang Soul was a form of loss to him. It was equivalent to losing a transformation. His overall strength fell, becoming one step further away from the sixth heavenly tribulation again.

    Yet, it was the exact opposite for ¡°me¡±. Having broken free from the restraints of the body of the demonic and divine, he was only a step away from the sixth heavenly tribulation as an ordinary human cultivator.

    Once he underwent the tribulation successfully, he would be a Human Immortal, a Human Immortal who knew all of his secrets, possessing an equally stubborn fighting spirit.

    And by then, no one would be able to help him. He had to face himself alone.

    By now, even he was forced to admit that he was an abnormal ¡°monster¡±, possessing a powerful instinct of self-destruction.

    But so what? He would not yield to anyone, even if it was himself.

    Those who dominate others are strong, but those who overcome themselves have strength. Defeating himself and destroying himself had always been the fate of those with strength.

    If they really betrayed one another and embarked on different paths, then there would only be battle, using survival and destruction to determine whose path was more correct.

    Yes, only ¡°self-betrayal¡± was intolerable.

    He calmly and indifferently made a decision before setting aside all of these matters. That had never been his objective for understanding himself.

    All of this counted on him being able to emerge from Ruin¡¯s End, or there was no point considering any of this.

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    He emitted light, purging the darkness wave by wave. A thought process like that was extremely exhausting. The drowsiness became heavier.

    Ruin¡¯s End was different from outer space. Not only would his powers remain with him, he could easily absorb the endless power of Ruin¡¯s End instead, supporting him for all eternity to swim through Ruin¡¯s End.

    However, the power of Ruin¡¯s End was not purely a resource. It contained a tremendous amount of information and the primordial spirit turtle¡¯s will, which accelerated the assimilation of his consciousness.

    Once the assimilation began, it could not be stopped. Upon reaching a certain level, he would still fall asleep, and he would proactively choose to do so.

    He was in a dilemma!

    However, when he understood himself, he had already found a way to deal with it, or perhaps that was his exact objective.

    During the two decades he spent studying arduously in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, he comprehended another two innate abilities of the spirit turtle.

    One was called Absolute Will. There was nothing special about it. It just completely consolidated his consciousness, such that he would not be affected by any inner demons.

    If the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and the Last Reflection of the Setting Sun were to protect his body, then Absolute Will was to protect his mind, basically living up to the idiom ¡°turtling up in his shell¡± to the very end.

    Unfortunately, this ability was completely useless in Ruin¡¯s End, as this was the spirit turtle¡¯s homeland. The primordial spirit turtle¡¯s will was the true ¡°Absolute Will¡±.

    Even pure-blooded spirit turtles would accept the assimilation. As a fake spirit turtle, casually using any innate abilities of the spirit turtle would only accelerate the assimilation.

    In short, no matter what he did, assimilation was unavoidable, just like water wearing down a rock, changing everything droplet by droplet.

    He did not limit his scope to that. Instead, he considered the innate abilities of the spirit turtle comprehensively and found a way to deal with it.

    First of all, he would use the Watermirror¡¯s Image to create a mirror clone before carrying out a comprehensive self-reflection and making a copy of all of his memories and knowledge, consolidating it through the Absolute Will and storing it in his mirror clone.

    It made him seem like he had projected out his soul. The image of a spirit turtle overlapped with him, copying his movements at every step.

    Afterwards, he would absorb the power of Ruin¡¯s End, recovering his strength and accepting the assimilation at the same time.

    When his main body was about to fall asleep, he would immediately use his mirror clone to merge with his body, waking up himself through the Absolute Will and using his entire lifetime of memories to weave a new consciousness before creating a new mirror clone.

    As long as he repeated this process endlessly, he could avoid assimilation, constantly returning to the same starting point.

    Even though it was equivalent to assimilating countless times in reality.

    Compared to the Absolute Will of his mirror clone, everything that happened to his main body would become so-called ¡°inner demons¡±. After colliding together, smashing and suppressing all of it, it would be assembled again¡­

    That was the only method to avoid assimilating with Ruin¡¯s End that he could come up with.

    Of course, it was impossible for this cycle to continue forever. From the start of the very first cycle, he had anticipated this.

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    Whenever he suppressed his ¡°inner demons¡±, he would lose a portion of his memories in the collision, and it would be destroyed forever, unable to be backed up, unable to be found, lost forever.

    According to the varying depths of the memories, he would forget the most unimportant memories first, such as a third-rate novel he had read in the past or a joke he had made.

    During the two decades he spent in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, he had accumulated enough of these memories to ¡°offer up¡±.

    However, if this continued, his memories would decrease, gradually approaching his most central and most important memories.

    He had to find that prisoner of Ruin¡¯s End before he lost all of his memories, or he would forget everything, including brother ox, including Xiao An, including himself¡­

 Chapter 1526

    In the endless darkness, the flow of time became blurred. A very long time seemed to have passed, yet it only seemed like an instant at the same time.

    However, he could clearly remember that this was the twenty-third time his mirror clone and his main body had merged together.

    HIs mind was in intense pain. When he returned to his ¡°original state¡± again, all of the ¡°incorrect¡± thoughts had been corrected again. Remaining ¡°true to himself¡± turned out to be such a ¡°troubling¡± matter.

    The pain came quickly and receded quickly too. He could vaguely hear the sound of shattering memories. It was crisp like the shattering of thin ice. The fragments merged with the black water.

    However, he did not know what he had forgotten. It was probably something not too important, but he still could not help but tremble.

    Through his knowledge about consciousness, he understood one thing. There was nothing that bore absolutely no importance. Important matters were always composed of a great pile of unimportant matters, just like how there were always the efforts of others behind the legends of heroes.

    He was like a colourful painting whose edges were being seeped by black ink. If this continued, just how long could he maintain his so-called important matters?

    In outer space, he lost his powers, but here, he was losing himself.

    He also found it ironic and darkly humorous. Once he lost a majority of his memories, the Yang Soul in hell would instead be closer to the original meaning behind the name ¡°Li Qingshan¡±.

    What if someone asked who exactly was the real ¡°Li Qingshan¡±?

    The answer was extremely simple. The stronger one was Li Qingshan!

    This was the path of cultivation, a place where power collided, where the clashing of wills never ended. The weak were not worthy of carrying that name. The weak were not worthy of anything.

    He had already swum through Ruin¡¯s End for a very, very long time, but he still did not see anything, whether it was a streak of light or a speck of dust. There was only endless black water.

    But in his head, there was a clear ¡°map¡±, starting from where he had first entered Ruin¡¯s End and constantly following his journey. The path he had travelled was like a swirl, expanding outwards.

    At the same time, he continued to give off light constantly as he used the Profound Light Illuminates All to observe hundreds of kilometres away, so there was a very large gap between his path.

    However, in the boundless Ruin¡¯s End, he was still like a lost firefly, wasting his glow for nothing.

    Though, the light was not just light. It also contained a message, using the deep, black water as a medium where the light was devoured by the darkness to broadcast it even further.

    Mind to Mind¡ªthe second new ability of the Spirit Turtle Transformation.

    This was a long-range communication technique. He could link up with the minds of others from an extreme distance away, allowing him to observe through the Profound Light Illuminates All while conveying messages at the same time.

    Under normal circumstances, it did not seem particularly useful, but it was perfect as a broadcast system right now, constantly emitting a signal in hopes that the prisoner of Ruin¡¯s End would receive it.

    Because overly-complex messages would be lost easily, there were only three words in the message in order to ensure it was transmitted sufficiently far away¡ªWho am I?

    Not only did he simplify the message to the extreme, but the question was even relatively easy to attract attention too. If there were any lurking enemies, he would not expose his objectives so easily either. He would just be treated as a regular spirit turtle in thought.

    Perhaps it was also so that he could constantly remind himself.

    Everything was going according to plan. It possessed the caution of a spirit turtle, but it was still a foolish idea.

    The path before him was hazy. Perhaps he would receive a reply in the next moment. Perhaps he would never receive a reply.

    In the end, he would just be like a frog sitting within the warm water, gradually being boiled alive. Oh right, frogs were not actually that stupid, yet as potentially the most intelligent race in the world, a spirit turtle, he was unable to avoid this fate.

    As a result, he began an endless spiral in the endless black water.

    When his mirror clone and main body merged together the hundred and eighth time, another portion of his memories were lost after the expected pain.

    When his mirror clone and main body merged together the one thousand and eight hundredth time, he could no longer recall a single book from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, including the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. All that remained of it was a name.

    Just how long had passed? A year or two? Or eight or ten?

    He could no longer remember. Originally, it was very easy to calculate. The time to merge together again was basically identical, yet he had even forgotten that now. And, whenever he merged together, he would forget it once, as remembering something like that was completely pointless. Instead, it would only eat away at his willpower.

    Time became a blurry concept.

    Upon the three thousand, five hundred and twenty eighth time, he did not feel like he was spinning anymore. Instead, it felt like the entire Ruin¡¯s End was spinning. The deathly silence was just an illusion. In reality, it was a great whirlpool, spinning away at extreme speeds.

    He was unable to sense it, just like how humans could not sense the spin of the earth. The whirlpool was far too large, and he basically maintained the same relative speed within it, so he did not feel like he was moving.

    He personally believed he was advancing along the ingenious path he had come up, but in reality, he was constantly approaching the centre of the whirlpool.

    Of course, even he himself was not sure if this was a true result of his calculations or a false illusion. With the loss of his memories, everything became ambiguous.

    By the seven thousand, seven hundred and fifty ninth time¡ªwho am I?

    He shut his eyes slowly, reaching the ninth layer of the Spirit Turtle Transformation. Everything was over!

    He had even offered up his name, yet he still received no reply.

    Before despair could even surge forth, it had already begun to recede. He was extremely calm and extremely weary.

    With his last bit of consciousness, he let out one final message before sinking into an eternal slumber.

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    ¡°Who am I?!!!!!¡±

    Suddenly, a voice barged into his sea of consciousness, like an avalanche, like thunder, like a million tigers roaring away furiously at the same time. It jerked him awake, such that he shrank up in his turtle shell uncontrollably.

    The voice continued to echo violently. Even the turtle shell shuddered and reverberated like some sort of musical instrument.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. Ravishing joy filled him. Even though he had basically forgotten why he felt happy, he still felt happy.

    ¡°I¡¯ve found you?¡±

    The silent water surged violently, forming countless swirls and torrents. Every single swirl and every single torrent was hundreds of times larger than him. Even Daemon Sovereigns could be torn apart easily.

    But he was fearless. As the Spirit Turtle Transformation reached utter completion, he had already become a pure-blooded spirit turtle. With each swirl was a marker and each torrent as a path, he accelerated towards the depths of Ruin¡¯s End.

    Suddenly, a towering, uneven figure appeared before his eyes, like a crouching beast, emerging from the endless darkness and fading off into the endless darkness, stretching for thousands of kilometres!

    ¡°It¡¯s a mountain!¡±

    He had never thought that there would be a day when he felt so intrigued by a mountain, as well as so attached to one.

    That was not just because this was Ruin¡¯s End, but also because he had lost all of his memories regarding mountains, including his own name, so this was equivalent to seeing a mountain for the first time in his life.

    He approached it slowly. The mighty voice had originated from this exact mountain. The craggy rocks and towering boulders were already within his reach, but he found nothing else. There were only cliffs apart from the stones.

    He used the Profound Light Illuminates All and scanned the entire mountain range closely. He discovered that there seemed to be a few words carved on the mightiest peak.

    He went up to take a closer look. It turned out to be three large words that stretched thousands of metres across¡ªLion Spirit Ranges!

    The name seemed slightly familiar, but he was unable to recall where it was from. He still did not find anything living either, so he asked loudly, ¡°Where are you?¡±

    A voice a million times louder than his answered, ¡°I¡¯m below your feet!¡±

    Rumble! The black water surged and waves heaved, creating countless currents.

    Li Qingshan unleashed the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell, blocking the soundwave barely. He gazed down and thought of something. ¡°You¡¯re crushed under the mountain?¡±

    He found this setting to be very familiar, so he could not help but look around. Was there supposed to be something like a paper talisman that he was supposed to remove, and then they would set off to the west, where he would go on a meteoric rise in life?

    TL: This is a reference to how the Monkey King Sun Wukong was trapped under a mountain before he was released by Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West.

    However, the voice laughed, making the mountains shake. It answered with a question, ¡°How am I supposed to be crushed by these mountains?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. This was Ruin¡¯s End. Even if there were these mountains, they should have been floating in water, so there was nothing to crush him against. ¡°Then you¡¯re sealed in the mountains?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re on my back.¡±

    ¡°Surely not!¡±

    Li Qingshan was astounded. He pushed the Profound Light Illuminates All to the limit and tried to take in the entire mountain range in a single view. Only then did he realise it very much resembled a crouching, male lion. The mountain he was standing on was the lion¡¯s arched back.

    Having completed the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he was already quite large, yet he was like a flea on the lion¡¯s back.

    Rumble!

    The lion raised its head, making the mountains heave. He let out a great yawn, revealing a pair of fangs that resembled two upside-down mountains. He looked back at him. His brown eyes were like two scorching suns, immediately purging the endless darkness.

    ¡°Little fellow, who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ well, I¡¯m not some little fellow! Can you talk a little softer?¡± Li Qingshan knew what he was facing, yet he did not feel fear. Instead, he felt extremely close to him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t, little fellow.¡± The lion declined without any hesitation.

    Li Qingshan grinned. This damned lion! He¡¯s clearly completely unaware of being a prisoner.

    The lion flicked his ear. ¡°Please watch your thoughts. I can hear them.¡±

    ¡°And who are you?¡± Li Qingshan could vaguely guess the lion¡¯s identity. He had preserved that part of his knowledge.

    ¡°I forgot!¡± The lion announced proudly. ¡°But my first brother once called me a foolish lion, so you can just call me the old fool!¡±

    Li Qingshan rolled his eyes. What was there to be proud of about being called a ¡°foolish lion¡±? Perhaps what was worth being proud about was that ¡°first brother¡±! He probably did not need any additional explanation for that. The existence here should have been able to see everything on him. Though, why did this ¡°old fool¡± sound a little familiar?

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    ¡°Whatever. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, you¡¯re the Mountain-moving Great Sage, the Lion Spirit King!¡±

    The Lion Spirit King glanced at the three large words etched on his back. ¡°Ah yes, that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    So that was why it was etched on his back!

 Chapter 1527

    The Lion Spirit King then said, ¡°Though, little fellow, you still have to call me the old fool. That¡¯s an order.¡±

    The last thing that Li Qingshan listened to were orders. He nodded. ¡°Alright, Lion Spirit King.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s old fool.¡±

    ¡°Not a problem, Lion Spirit King!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s old fool!¡±

    ¡°Lion king.¡±

    ¡°Old fool.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    The endless, silent, black water suddenly became noisy. A large lion and a tiny turtle sized up one another. One stood gloriously, filling the mountains with his might, while the other was impassive and unmoving.

    The great lion did not fly into a rage and smash the tiny turtle to death with a swat. Instead, he persistently corrected his term of reference. Who knew how many rounds they went through.

    Suddenly, he began to laugh aloud. His voice was like a thunderous avalanche, but it was filled with joy. Perhaps he had spent far too much time alone in this prison of black water.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you find this to be very immature?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s immature! Little fellow!¡± The Lion Spirit King stressed each word. He stared at Li Qingshan with his eyes that shone like the sun. ¡°You¡¯re burdened with a Blood Oath of the Nether River. You don¡¯t have much time.¡± He lowered his mountain-like head. ¡°If he tried facing me¡­¡± He smiled complacently. ¡°Thou would definitely face defeat!¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh. With the tremendous difference in their cultivations, it was not strange that he could see this. Though, he was right. The time of the oath was getting closer and closer. He no longer had much time left.

    ¡°Then may I ask how am I supposed to release you from here, foolish mister lion?¡±

    He looked around, continuing to search for something like a paper talisman. He just felt like there was supposed to be one!

    The Lion Spirit King laughed again. ¡°Little fellow, you sure know how to joke!¡±

    ¡°You bastard! Then I¡¯ll leave right now!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate yourself. Of course, the insignificant you doesn¡¯t possess that power. After all, you¡¯re still too young. If you want to open up Ruin¡¯s End, you can only ask for help from my beloved second sister!¡± the Lion Spirit King raised his head and said with absolute respect.

    Li Qingshan was astonished. ¡°Second sister!? The Ocean-upheaving Great Sage, the Serpent Demon King!?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s also your beloved second sister!¡±

    Li Qingshan found it nauseating. ¡°I don¡¯t know her.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been chosen by first brother, so of course, you¡¯re our brother.¡± The Lion Spirit King extended a claw and tapped Li Qingshan¡¯s shell gently.

    It took everything inside Li Qingshan to endure this little demonstration of endearment. He shook his head helplessly. ¡°That¡¯s my honour! Then am I supposed to call you fourth brother?¡±

    ¡°No, call me the old fool.¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Li Qingshan gave up completely. ¡°Then where¡¯s second sister?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Then you can just stay here!¡±

    ¡°But my beloved fifth brother definitely knows. His ears are particularly sharp. He knows everything.¡± The Lion Spirit King¡¯s ears that resembled small mountains twitched, expressing his earnest recognition.

    ¡°The Wind-coursing Great Sage, the Macaque King!¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realization. He understood why brother ox had sent Ox-headed A¡¯pang to bring him to the depths of hell. Given the current situation, all the sages had been suppressed. If he wanted to release them, he had to know where they were at the very least, so the Macaque King was a crucial component in the plan.

    That would all come down to how useful his Yang Soul would be, whether he could reach the depths of hell and meet with that Wind-coursing Great Sage. If his Yang Soul failed, then he would have to make another visit to the underworld.

    But before this, he had to deal with the Blood Oath of the Nether River on him first, so he mentioned his bet with Demon God Qiongqi. The details of the bet was not to defeat Qiongqi but to upheave his Qingqi mountain. He was certain this ¡°Mountain-moving Great Sage¡± right before him had a method.

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    Sure enough, the Lion Spirit King did not disappoint him. ¡°Now that¡¯s easy.¡± He opened his abyss-like mouth and spat out a palm-sized tablet that ended up before Li Qingshan.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± The tablet was simple and crude. It was deeply etched with a simple word, ¡°Fool¡±. It did not give off any special aura. It seemed like it had been carved from a regular piece of rock.

    ¡°The Mountain-moving tablet. This is my lifebound item. With this tablet, even moving mountains to fill oceans won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    Li Qingshan stowed the Mountain-moving tablet away carefully. That was critical to him defeating Qiongqi.

    The Lion Spirit King then said, ¡°Your cultivation is too weak, so you probably can¡¯t unleash much of its powers. I¡¯ll give you another three mountains just in case.¡±

    He shook his body and three mountains immediately flew over from his back, landing before Li Qingshan. They all became the size of fists, resembling three fake mountains. However, they were completely identical to the original mountains in the details.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°What are the names of these three mountains?¡±

    ¡°Wolf Fang mountain, Sky-scraping ridge, and Yellow Cliff edge.¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed Wolf Fang mountain in an attempt to lift it up, but it refused to budge. Who knew how many tonnes it weighed. Let alone the fact that he was in the Spirit Turtle Transformation, even if he was in the Ox Demon Transformation, he probably could not pick it up.

    The Lion Spirit King smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not first brother, so how are you supposed to pick it up with brute force?¡±

    WIth a thought, Li Qingshan waved the Mountain-moving tablet gently, and the three mountains immediately began to levitate. They were as light as three small birds.

    The Lion Spirit King reminded him. ¡°You can only use these three mountains once. Once you¡¯ve used them, they¡¯re not going to turn back.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Li Qingshan nodded. He was just borrowing the Lion Spirit King¡¯s powers, but that already made the entire trip seem worth it. Not only did he have a treasure for dealing with Qiongqi now, he had even gained such a powerful attack.

    The three mountains had all been refined by the Lion Spirit King, so they were not loose and clumsy like regular mountains. Instead, they almost resembled arcane treasures, such that they were one entire entity and could be wielded freely. If he threw it at someone, even Human Immortals would be smashed to pieces if they took one on.

    But when he gazed out, the three mountains were only the smallest pinches of rock on the Lion Spirit King¡¯s back, coupled with the fact that he himself was basically a mountain.

    The Mountain-moving Great Sage truly lived up to his name!

    This was probably all prepared for the sake of the divine battle beyond the Nine Heavens. It was something well beyond his reach right now. However, he had a feeling that that day would not be too far away. That was his foresight as a pure-blooded spirit turtle.

    There would be a day when he possessed power that truly belonged to him and became a true Great Sage! What am I supposed to call myself? The Invincible Great Sage? Whatever, I¡¯ll go back and discuss it with Xiao An. When he thought of Xiao An, he immediately began to miss home. He had already forgotten who he was, but she definitely still knew.

    Before he bade farewell, he asked another question, ¡°Oh right, what number am I supposed to be?¡±

    The Lion Spirit King¡¯s face sank. ¡°You¡¯re the seventh brother.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? I recall that the seventh brother should be the Heaven-rivalling Great¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The Lion Spirit King flew into a rage. ¡°Don¡¯t mention that traitor¡¯s name!¡±

    The roar of a male lion whistled through the mountains. The endless black water surged violently as the entire Ruin¡¯s End shook.

    Li Qingshan was washed away by the water, slamming heavily against a mountain. The mountain collapsed. It was like he was facing a terrifying natural disaster. He was unable to offer up any resistance at all.

    He consoled him quickly. ¡°Calm down! Calm down!¡±

    The Lion Spirit King pacified his rage, but he was still furious. The mountains ground against one another like sharp teeth, rumbling away like thunder. Traitor! Traitor!

    Li Qingshan was filled with mixed emotions. ¡°What exactly happened?¡±

    ¡°Stop asking. I don¡¯t want to talk about it. You should go!¡±

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    The Lion Spirit King suddenly lost all interest. He turned his head away again and laid down on his paw lazily. Even his ears drooped down again.

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts and said nothing more. He had already become a true spirit turtle, so entering and leaving Ruin¡¯s End was no longer anything difficult. The black water produced a whirlpool.

    Right when he was about to disappear into it, the Lion Spirit King said lethargically, ¡°Whatever, you¡¯re the eighth brother.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Goodbye, old fool!¡±

    TL: The mountain-moving old fool is also a Chinese idiom about a relentless spirit. You can read more about that story here, so the Mountain-moving Great Sage is not just a reference to Journey to the West, but also that idiom.

 Chapter 1528

    In the depths of hell, on top of the harsh glaciers.

    A tall, skinny figure followed the craggy ridge of the mountain, making his way towards the top step by step.

    The fierce winds dispersed the accumulated snow. Beneath his feet were gorgeous dead flames, frozen and burning away for eternity.

    Li Qingshan was unshaven, weathered by the frost. He grabbed a clump of ice and snow and chewed away at it in his mouth, swallowing in a single gulp. He exhaled a breath of hot air.

    Even a decade of feasting on snow struggled to cool his burning blood.

    In the distance, the blue ghost gazed at the travelling black figure in this world of ice and snow. ¡°H- how is that possible?¡±

    According to the laws of hell, reality arose from the heart, and the mirror was formed from the heart. All wicked fiends would be trapped for eternity once they ended up here, never to be able to break free.

    That was why Li Qingshan could not approach the glacier, but what was going on now? He was summiting the peak!

    And before he knew it, the dead flames stopped reigniting, remaining sealed by the bluish-white ice in the great glacier.

    ¡°Heh, reality arises from the heart?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile was even colder than the chilly winds. His gaze towards the top of the mountain was even hotter than the dead flames.

    It was all thanks to the laws of hell and the bowl of granny Meng¡¯s soup that his Yang Soul was never truly destroyed as it was forged by ice and fire. He did not even use up a single sliver of his powers, all properly sealed up and maintained.

    Pain was like a great hammer, beating him viciously, not only failing to beat him in, but even unlocking the true power in his heart instead.

    He was like a blade, out of the furnace and into the water, coupled with countless beatings and forging, such that his edge was now on full display!

    Crack, crack! Rumble, rumble!

    Countless cracks appeared on the ice beneath his feet. The dead flames began to budge.

    Li Qingshan did not hesitate at all, continuing onwards with great strides. He said with composure, ¡°I seek great liberty and obtain great liberty. That is the desire of all living creatures. Where is the crime in that?¡±

    As a result, the ice did not collapse. The dead flames did not burn.

    Following the path of great liberty did not require any power or technique at all, yet his aura flooded the glaciers and overwhelmed the hell of flames.

    He was like a blade drawn from its sheath, slicing through the many illusions of reality.

    When he finally made it to the summit, he spat out the thick, black soup with a great hurl. That was granny Meng¡¯s soup that sealed up all of his powers.

    He wiped his mouth without any concern and gazed out. The mountains were bleak and the glaciers stretched into the distance, without any end in sight.

    The sky was within arm¡¯s reach. His mind had never felt more open!

    Suddenly, he recalled that Mahe?vara was a god of asceticism. He spent all year round meditating and cultivating at the top of a great snowy mountain, comprehending the deepest of wisdom and the most terrifying of powers.

    Everything was very fair. If he sought great liberty and great liberation, how could he go without facing all that pain and suffering?

    As a result, he smiled calmly and sat down as well, circulating the Heavenly Tome of Liberty and beginning a round of arduous cultivation.

    The blue ghost had no idea what to do. Clearly, something extremely major was occurring here. He should return and report it to the adjudicator.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense him, glancing at him from afar. There were countless mountains and glaciers between them, but it was still just as unnerving as before.

    As a result, he felt fear and fright, curling up deeply on the ground.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes again. His expression was solemn, tranquil, and at ease. Even though his skin had turned blue from the cold, he gave off an aura of understanding that was clear like glaze. He was like a statue of a god.

    However, the blue ghost felt great shivers and great fear. He had witnessed countless vicious fiends in his lifetime and he had grown accustomed to the cycle of life and death, the tortures and the torments, yet he had never experienced such a great horror before. This was the aura of a god of destruction.

    Day after day, night after day, this continued into eternity.

    Li Qingshan was reduced to an ice sculpture. His figure was blurred, seeming bizarre and twisted under the illumination of the dead flames. The sculpture was also freely carved by the chilly winds, which made it seem even stranger. He became an ancient statue of a god.

    The blue ghost fell asleep at the foot of the glacier, facing nightmares after nightmares. There would always be that shivering gaze in his dreams.

    Suddenly, the rumbling of thunder appeared in the distance. He jerked away from his nightmares and gazed at the sky in confusion.

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    Boom! A bolt of lightning struck the statue! Even in the depths of hell, the heavenly tribulations would still pay a visit like anywhere else.

    The statue shattered, and a dark figure stood up slowly, gradually twisting and spreading his four limbs. It was an extremely strange sight, yet it also seemed to be filled with some kind of strange charm, like a ritual dance.

    The Heretic God awakened.

    Rumble! The heavenly tribulation descended, pouring down with thousands of bolts of lightning.

    The blue ghost extended his neck to watch. He was dumbfounded. All he saw was the lightning weave into a glorious haze behind the ¡°Heretic God¡¯s¡± head.

    The ¡°Heretic God¡¯s¡± movements suddenly froze. He stood with his right leg bent and his left leg extended, his arms raised elegantly. His eyes were half-closed and half-open, condensing both the dynamic and the static, both force and beauty, exhibiting Mahe?vara¡¯s dancing form, Na?ar¨¡ja.

    In the next moment, his arms began to flow like water, leaving behind countless afterimages.

    Bang! He abruptly stomped down with his left foot. All of the ice shattered together, reduced to a roaring sea of fire.

    The lightning cascaded down on him.

    Li Qingshan stood above the sea of fire, suddenly forming a glare and exhibiting Mahe?vara¡¯s fearsome form, Bhairava. A third eye opened up on his forehead, producing a jet of black flames that pierced all the lightning.

    He laughed away madly. Since all of his restraints were already gone, it was time to dance!

    His Yang Soul turned into an Origin Soul, facing the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    He felt unprecedented liberty, freed from the endless pain, dancing within the tribulation lightning and hell flames. There were no such things like skandha-m¨¡ra or kle?a-m¨¡ra to disturb him. He himself was a demon among demons!

    ¡­¡­

    After who knew how long, the sea of fire burnt out, no longer transforming back into glaciers. The echoes of the furious lightning continued to reverberate across the scorched earth that was covered in ashes as he danced around madly.

    Li Qingshan stopped dancing, and the afterimages all vanished. He felt like he still had not had his fill, but he felt extremely feeble, unable to continue dancing. He thought, It¡¯s time to visit that ¡°fifth brother¡±. If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, he should be the Wind-coursing Great Sage, the Macaque King!

    He said to the blue ghost, ¡°Take me to adjudicator Lu!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The blue ghost¡¯s eyes were filled with fervency.

    The newly-born Heretic God gained his first follower.

    Li Qingshan threw himself at the blue ghost, melding into his body.

    Before long, the blue ghost returned to the Office of Reckoning Mirror.

    Adjudicator Lu happened to be presiding over a case. He said impatiently, ¡°Why are you back again? What happened to the kid?¡±

    The blue ghost smiled. ¡°Sir, the kid first cursed at me aloud before giving into the torture and pleading for mercy!¡±

    Adjudicator Lu said in disdain, ¡°Tsk, I knew it! As long as I¡¯m still a judge, he can forget about leaving hell!¡±

    ¡°The kid told me a great secret, just so he could be allowed a quick death!¡±

    ¡°A quick death?¡± Adjudicator Lu smiled viciously. ¡°Send him to the tenth layer of hell!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡°Also, what secret did he tell you?¡± Adjudicator Lu asked.

    Given the circumstances he was in, it must have been something great that he offered up. He might not necessarily be interested in it, but for some reason, he was suddenly overcome with an irrepressible sense of curiosity.

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    ¡°I don¡¯t dare to keep it to myself, but¡­¡± The blue ghost looked around. All of the ghost guards were listening closely.

    Adjudicator Lu curled his hand, and the blue ghost walked up, whispering into his ear.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Adjudicator Lu frowned and leaned over. A black shadow suddenly shot out of the blue ghost¡¯s mouth, diving into adjudicator Lu¡¯s ears and eyes before slowly fading away.

    Adjudicator Lu¡¯s expression became blank. He stiffened up as if he had been left speechless by some great secret. His face suddenly changed drastically, filled with struggle.

    The blue ghost lowered his head and sneered. The ghost guards whispered away among themselves.

 Chapter 1529

    Adjudicator Lu was overcome with a multitude of emotions. Sometimes, he felt miserable, tempted to sob away painfully. Other times, he was overcome with great joy, almost to a point where he danced around.

    His mind spun like a merry-go-round. At one instant, he felt like he had risen beyond the Nine Heavens, achieving enlightenment and true immortality. In the next moment, he felt like he had been sent to the lowest level of hell again, never to be reborn, facing all the tortures there were in the world.

    Suddenly, he realised the situation. Oh no, a demon!

    Before he could even consider how a demon had managed to invade his mind, he had already raised his fear and caution to the limit.

    He understood exactly how terrifying mental demons were, or he would not have been reduced to a Ghost Immortal. Unlike regular enemies, powerful arcane treasures or wondrous techniques were all ineffective.

    Fighting against people was like a war between two kingdoms. It seemed like a mighty disturbance where both sides surged with killing intent, but it was not actually dangerous. With his cultivation, it would be very difficult for his kingdom to be destroyed no matter what kind of defeat he suffered.

    The invasion of a demon was equivalent to a treacherous official appearing in the imperial court. Even if he had an entire army, he would struggle to mobilise it. Once his position was usurped, destruction would only take an instant.

    He immediately guarded his mind, sealing off his heart to resist the invasion. Demons were dangerous, but as long as he preserved his heart, then everything would be fine.

    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m facing a tribulation. I don¡¯t need to fend off any tribulation lightning. As long as I hold my ground firmly, what can you do to me?

    However, the demon was even more mysterious and unpredictable than the ones he had encountered when he faced the tribulations. It did not seem to be in a hurry to ¡°usurp¡± him.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Alright. You defend, so I¡¯ll attack. Let¡¯s go for a farmer¡¯s siege on the city!

    With the convenience of his sneak attack, he originally could have directly taken his heart and usurped him, yet he purposefully raised his attention, allowing adjudicator Lu to raise his guard.

    Only now were his intentions revealed. He used his many powers to incite adjudicator Lu¡¯s demonic thoughts. With each bit of growth, his demonic powers grew slightly as well.

    This was no longer just the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, but the true path of great liberty, as well as the path of the heavenly demon, the path of devaputra-m¨¡ra.

    The demons would always tower over cultivation, no matter how great your attainments were.

    In the blink of an eye, the demonic thoughts began to spread like fire. This was no longer usurping but a revolution.

    The old empire was dead. The new emperor ascended to the throne.

    This was far more difficult than directly ¡°usurping the throne¡±. Just how complicated and unpredictable was the will of the people? So-called ¡°demonic thoughts¡± did not follow an absolute standard. Not all so-called wicked thoughts were demonic thoughts. They required extremely delicate control, as any mistake would result in them being suppressed, resulting in a board-wide loss.

    However, the experiences that came with practising the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine provided Li Qingshan with tremendous assistance. To him, demonic thoughts were internal conflicts that people were unable to mediate¡ªgood and evil, true and false, right and wrong¡­ They were like the yin and yang diagram of daoism, destroying and supporting one another.

    Perhaps normally, they would just lay latent, but once he faced trouble, they would erupt, disturbing what they did arbitrarily.

    It was impossible to eliminate this conflict too. Chao Tianjian¡¯s experiences had proven that upon losing this conflict and losing the heart of a human, they would suffer a backlash from their powers and assimilate with it.

    When N¨¹wa created humanity, humans were born without meaning. This presented them with an opportunity to do everything, but it was also an intrinsic flaw.

    As a result, what mattered was reaching a balance, while so-called ¡°demons¡± in this sense were also ¡°external demons¡±. They broke this balance primarily through two ways.

    One way was to stimulate repressed thoughts¡ªYou want to be a good person? Alright, I¡¯ll have you know just how wicked you are.

    The other was to feed certain thoughts that were already very powerful, making the greedy die for wealth and the lustful die for sex.

    In order to bring forth destruction, it brought forth madness at first. All madness were inner demons at work.

    Hehehehe, just as I had suspected!

    .

    Li Qingshan might have just undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, but he was without a doubt an old, experienced player when it came to this game. The reason why he had chosen this exact way to play was because he could tell that adjudicator Lu¡¯s demonic thoughts were ablaze.

    In particular, there were two thoughts that were particularly intense. One was his desire to become an immortal. The other was his fear of death.

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    Li Qingshan fiddled around in between, triggering them together. The more he wanted to become an immortal, the more he was afraid of dying. The more he was afraid of dying, the more he wanted to become an immortal. The demonic thoughts swelled up like a snowball.

    Hehehehe, how fun!

    He was no regular demon that could be found on the streets, but an authentic successor of devaputra-m¨¡ra. The demonic thoughts unleashed by regular demons were just a chaotic army of farmers. They were very destructive and menacing, but they also ran out of force quickly. Under his command, they turned into an organised and disciplined liberation army.

    Hehehehe! Wait, why am I laughing?

    Very soon, adjudicator Lu lost control. His heart that he guarded diligently became a lone city. All he saw was the flames of war raging around him as banners filled the air. His mind shook. This¡­ I¡­ Impossible¡­

    He wailed out in despair. How can such a terrifying demon exist in the world!?

    With a rumble, the army breached the city. His heart was open!

    The scene before his eyes blurred, and he actually returned to the Office of Reckoning Mirror. However, he had now become the criminal, kneeling in the hall in shackles. A familiar figure sat in the seat that originally belonged to him!

    The long-toothed, vicious-looking ghost guards wielded staves of water and fire, growling, ¡°Justice!¡±

    These ghosts were similar in appearance and all extremely familiar. Suddenly, he remembered and pointed at the ¡°judge¡± behind the desk. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡±

    With a thump, woodblock gavel slammed against the table!

    Li Qingshan was dressed in the great red robes of an official with a silken hat on his head. He leaned over and smiled. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s me!¡±

    Everything was under his control.

    If he directly possessed him, it would take tremendous effort in the intense struggle even if he gained the upper hand and succeeded. He had only just undergone the tribulation, so this was when he was weakest.

    Even if he succeeded, he would only be in a position of power through coercion. He would not be in proper control. It would be impossible to control him without alarming anyone like this. Even if he could kill him, that was not his objective.

    Li Qingshan asked, ¡°Let me ask you, Lu. Do you know your crimes?¡±

    Adjudicator Lu cursed aloud. ¡°You damned demon! Release me right now and I might still spare your life! Otherwise, I¡¯ll send you to the eighteenth layer of hell, where you¡¯ll never be reborn!¡±

    ¡°Hehehehe!¡± The guards that resembled Li Qingshan snickered away as ¡°adjudicator Li¡± dug at his ear with his little finger. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s pay a visit to the eighteenth layer of hell!¡±

    Adjudicator Lu cried out, ¡°What do you have in plan for the eighteenth layer of hell?¡±

    ¡°The fuck¡¯s it got to do with you?¡±

    Adjudicator Lu responded very quickly. He recalled Ox-headed A¡¯pang¡¯s identity and origins, as well as the Great Sage suppressed in Av¨©ci. He trembled all over and immediately began to suck up to him. ¡°Sir, are you perhaps a righteous rebel of the heavens?¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He understood where ¡°rebel of the heavens¡± came from, but what was this ¡°righteous¡± part about?

    Adjudicator Lu confirmed his guess and became even more panicked. ¡°Actually, this judge, I mean, I¡¯m also one!¡±

    Adjudicator Li and the ghost guards were all dumbstruck. They said together, ¡°You¡¯re one too!?¡±

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    Adjudicator Lu said righteously, ¡°The heavenly palace has been unfair. I¡¯ve been wanting to rebel a long time ago. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to come across someone like you. Please give me an opportunity right now. I¡¯m willing to join your side, no, follow you as a retainer, to charge into battle against the heavens together!¡±

    Li Qingshan was basically dumbfounded. He shook his head with a smile. ¡°If our side were filled with bastards like you, then we could forget about rebelling against the heavens! You haven¡¯t answered my question yet! Do you know your crimes?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t want to answer me. I- No, this judge has his ways!¡±

    At this moment, in the actual Office of Reckoning Mirror, the ghost guards just saw adjudicator Lu blank out for a good moment before suddenly sneering away. He began to move again, making his way towards the Mirror of Retribution outside the hall dramatically.

 Chapter 1530

    The captain of the guards asked carefully, ¡°Sir, where are you going?¡±

    ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡± disregarded them, directly arriving before the Mirror of Retribution and shining himself.

    That was basically the end of him. The mirror was filled with black mist, so thick that it was virtually oozing out of the mirror. There was not a single speck of light. It only demonstrated heinous crimes.

    The ghost guards looked at one another, What were they supposed to say?

    Li Qingshan thought, ¡°Even the likes of you are worthy of being a judge?¡±

    Adjudicator Lu pleaded, ¡°Fellow, righteous warrior, sir! You really can¡¯t blame me for this. The rules of the underworld are just like this. I just went with the flow.¡±

    ¡°Hah, then what¡¯s the point of having this mirror around?¡±

    ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡± suddenly threw a punch at the Mirror of Retribution.

    With a thump, the mirror shook and rang. He actually failed to leave a single mark on there, but he did alarm the other courts and offices.

    A dark-faced judge emerged from the Office of Underworld Law and bellowed, ¡°What are you doing!?¡±

    As Li Qingshan possessed him, he also scanned through most of his memories. The eighteenth layer of hell was vastly different from the other seventeen layers. The security there was extremely tight. Even as an adjudicator, he could not even approach the place without proper reason.

    Unless someone was sent there was a wicked fiend, even Ghost Immortals could forget about breaking into the place. Even if there were not the Ten Courts of Yanluo, the K?itigarbha¡¯s primary monastery was located in the underworld.

    He thought, If I had known this earlier, I shouldn¡¯t have put up with all that. But this works too. Time for me to stir up a great mess!

    Seeing how adjudicator Lu refused to answer him, the dark-faced judge arrived before the Mirror of Retribution in a flash and grabbed adjudicator Lu¡¯s shoulder, ¡°What are you still doing here!?¡±

    ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡± looked back and a terrifying smile stretched across his lips. He spat out four words softly, ¡°Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra.¡±

    Boom!

    ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡¯s¡± muscles bulged all over, ripping through his robes. His figure swelled by several metres as his powers erupted like a volcano. A terrifying aura rushed into the air, actually condensing into a black cloud over his head.

    His Origin Soul had basically exploded, on the verge of collapse, but it was maintained by a wondrous power.

    The dark-faced judge suddenly widened his eyes. A fist the size of a sandbag flew towards him, moving like lightning and brutal like fire. He completely failed to respond to it.

    With a thump, he was smashed to pieces, melding away into a few streaks of light that tried to flee.

    ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡± opened his huge mouth and sucked in deeply, swallowing all of it. His belly bulged up and began squirming around uncontrollably, but it settled down very soon.

    ¡°Urp!¡± He let out a belch and licked his lips, ¡°Delicious!¡±

    The two other judges emerged from the Office of Rewarding Good and the Office of Punishing Wicked. When they saw this, a chill ran down their spines.

    ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡± swelled up even further and his aura became even more violent. He did not resemble a Ghost Immortal, but a Human Immortal, or almost even a True Immortal.

    Gazing at the two other judges, he smiled viciously, ¡°Why don¡¯t you shine yourselves in the mirror as well?¡±

    His arms suddenly stretched out, reaching several hundred metres long and grabbing the two judges. He opened his mouth and shoved them in.

    He sucked hard and fierce winds raged between the courts of Yanluo. The ghost guards all rose up, sucked into his huge mouth. Even the colossal ghosts sized like mountains were no exception. Some tried grabbing the pillars of the buildings, but before they could hang on for very long, they ended up in the abyss-like mouth.

    This was an ultimate secret technique of the path of great liberty, Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra!

    It was a manifestation of ultimate destruction and annihilation, igniting all essence instantly. Once it was used, there was absolutely no chance of survival. If he wanted to destroy the enemy, he had to destroy himself first.

    Originally, a move of mutual annihilation like this did not possess much value no matter how powerful it was. After all, it could only be used once in a single lifetime.

    However, if he used the Possession of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra first and captured a ¡°sacrifice¡±, then it could not even cost him a single hair. Heh, it was not like he would run out of people as long as it was not him himself anyway.

    Adjudicator Lu could sense he was facing his doom. He struggled desperately, ¡°What did you do? Release me!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s already too late!¡±

    After an effort, Li Qingshan captured the two other judges and tossed them into the explosive furnace in his body, turning them into fuel for the Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra.

    Suddenly, he reached into his great mouth and fished the blue ghost out from his throat, ¡°You better run! I said I would spare your life!¡±

    The blue ghost knelt down on the ground, ¡°I¡¯m willing to charge into battle alongside with you!¡±

    ¡°This is an order!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡°You should tell others that adjudicator Lu¡¯s suffered from cultivation deviation and gone mad along the way!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The blue ghost shouted out, ¡°Adjudicator Lu¡¯s revolting!¡± He ran away furiously.

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    The area before the courts of Yanluo were now empty, only leaving ¡°adjudicator Lu¡± standing there alone. The dark clouds over his head grew thicker, almost reaching the top of his head. His aura ebbed furious like the tide, completely incapable of withdrawing it, let alone keeping it under control. All he could do was wield it in the crudest fashion possible, but that was enough.

    ¡°Shatter!¡± With a furious bellow, he punched the Mirror of Retribution!

    Cracks spread, covering the mirror. With a clang, fragments flew everywhere.

    With the laws of the world shaken, the entire Hell realm trembled.

    In the depths of the underworld, K?itigarbha opened his eyes slowly.

    Under him, the great white hound¡¯s ears pricked up, ¡°Bodhisattva, they¡¯ve come again!¡±

    K?itigarbha brought his palms together, ¡°Benevolent be the buddha.¡±

    Li Qingshan understood the Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra was just too overwhelming. Even with three Ghost Immortals as fuel, it probably could not last for much longer!

    He turned around and a streak of black smoke rose up into the extremely distant sky, turning and shooting off towards the depths of hell.

    Alarm bells rang out throughout the entire underworld!

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang was alarmed as well, emerging from his dwelling, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    A ghost guard dressed in black rushed over on the black winds with an order tablet in hand, ¡°Commander, adjudicator Lu¡¯s suffered from cultivation deviation and suddenly begun to revolt. He¡¯s killed the other adjudicators. Now, he¡¯s killing guards everywhere and releasing the wicked fiends!¡±

    Ox-headed A¡¯pang widened his eyes. He found this to be very puzzling. Why adjudicator Lu of all people? And how was that Lu person capable of killing the other adjudicators?

    Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s that kid at work? But he¡¯s only been sent to hell for a few years. How is he capable of something like this already?

    However, his gut feeling told him that it had to be Li Qingshan! This diverged from the plan, but that kid never seemed like a person who followed plans anyway.

    This is the person that big brother chose to face the crisis!

    ¡°Which king of hell is currently on duty?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the King of Equality, King Pingdeng. He¡¯s currently gathering the Ten Hell Guards in Fengdu city.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    By now, Li Qingshan had already broken into the seventeenth layer of hell with several tens of thousand wicked fiends gathered around him. Even the weakest of them were Yin Soul cultivators, while Yang Soul cultivators numbered over a thousand.

    Through the memory fragments of the four judges, he released them from the seal from granny Meng¡¯s soup. Using his overwhelming strength, he coerced them to follow him to the depths of hell, devouring countless others that refused to obey him.

    By now, ¡°adjudicator Lu¡± was not human at all anymore. He had turned into a black cloud of several thousand metres tall, surging around wildly with chaotic streams of energy. He only bore a slight resemblance to a humanoid figure.

    A black mountain range blocked his path, stretching off endless into the horizon. That was the Hell realm¡¯s renowned Cakravadaparvata. There was only a single, narrow valley in the centre with an undead army of a million strong stationed right before it. Their aura flooded the entire region, forming a great formation that sealed off the entrance

    He raised his arm of dark clouds. The part that was approximately his head suddenly split open, ¡°Charge!¡±

    ¡°But senior, up ahead is the eighteenth layer of hell!¡± A Yang Soul cultivator cried out.

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly where I want to go, the eighteenth layer of hell!¡±

    The two sunken eye sockets emitted two jets of energy, like lightning that rolled through the depths of the clouds. His voice was like the low growl of thunder, bearing absolutely no resemblance to a human or any other living creature any more. He was a demonic monster through and through.

    ¡°But didn¡¯t you say you would save all of our oppressed and imprisoned fellows, before charging out of here?¡±

    The ghosts shuffled uneasily. Who would revolt for the sake of entering the eighteenth layer of hell? They were better off just remaining in their own hells before.

    Seeing how the army he had gathered through quite an effort was about to disintegrate, Li Qingshan smiled viciously, ¡°You bunch of trash! If you don¡¯t want to serve as cannon fodder, then you can serve as fuel!¡±

    He suddenly lunged towards all the ghosts. Blanketed by the dark cloud, every single part of his thousand-metre-long body split open with a mouth, swallowing all of these fiends.

    At that instant, his powers swelled to a point completely beyond his control. He was on the brink of collapse.

    At this moment, a colourful streak of light shot across the seventeenth layer of hell. In the light was a dignified man in black dragon robes with a flat crown, ¡°Wretched demon, kneel!¡±

    His aura filled the air like the clouds, blanketing down over everything.

    Li Qingshan shivered inside, A True Immortal! I probably won¡¯t even last a single strike against him!

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    He made up his mind and used his last bit of willpower to throw himself at the mountains.

    With a great boom, all of the energy erupted and swallowed a vast majority of the million-strong army of undead. The formation was completely in tatters. Even the impervious mountains shook as a mushroom cloud rose up slowly.

    King Pingdeng stopped and his expression changed several times. He originally thought the wicked fiends were revolting in an attempt to escape from hell, which was why he had been late. He gathered the Ten Hell Guards to surround and intercept them.

    Never did he expect this ¡°monster¡± of unknown origins to do the exact opposite, determined to break into the eighteenth layer of hell. This was clearly extremely abnormal.

    He gazed at the distant sky and seemed to be muttering to himself, ¡°Fellows of the heavens, are you prepared? They¡¯re coming again!¡±

 Chapter 1531

    Propelled by the explosion, Li Qingshan passed through the long, narrow valley in the mountains. Suddenly, his field of vision opened up, except all he saw was the colour white.

    It was not snowy-white or pale-white, nor greyish-white or pure-white. It was purely the literal meaning of the word, white.

    Devoid of all colours, neither heavy nor light; spreading the shade evenly, such that it seemed neither bright nor dark.

    Looking back, he no longer saw the Cakravadaparvata mountains, nor did he see the king of Yanluo. It was as if he had entered a different world, a completely different world from the seventeen layers of hell before this.

    The white sky and the white ground lead to no clear distinction between either. Apart from that, there was nothing else.

    Whether it were the mountains of blades and the oil pots or the glaciers of ice and seas of fire, they were all gone. This basically did not seem like hell.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh. ¡°How fucking white!¡±

    The thought just echoed through his heart. The moment he uttered it, it was gradually diluted and swallowed by the endless ¡°white¡±, such that there was no sound at all.

    ¡°What a strange place!¡±

    Li Qingshan then sensed his own body and discovered another strange matter.

    When the Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra completely lost control, during the final great explosion, he had managed to leave adjudicator Lu¡¯s body prematurely, but the power of the explosion was far too great. His Origin Soul should have sustained very severe damage, and he had indeed felt the pain too.

    However, after entering this white space, all of his wounds vanished as if the endless white had diluted everything. He felt nothing at all.

    Bang! He threw a vicious punch at his right cheek, but he was still unable to feel any pain.

    Just like the voice from his mouth, the power behind the punch vanished the moment it was unleashed.

    His cultivation was unaffected, and he could use his powers freely, but he was completely incapable of harming himself. He was not bold enough to experiment with his life, but probably even the Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra was useless.

    In other words, he could not even commit suicide here.

    ¡°Is this the case?¡±

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin in thought. He grew accustomed to it very quickly. The Hell realm had been extremely strange in the first place, and the closer he got to the depths, the more the laws manifested, which made everything even more bizarre.

    However, just because the laws were manifesting did not mean it was any easier to understand. It was clearly much easier to understand why an apple fell to the ground when it was ripe than all of gravity.

    It was exactly because the appearance of reality had been stripped away that it instead became even more profound and unfathomable, absurd and beyond words.

    With his current cultivation, it was still not enough to completely understand the secrets involved.

    ¡°Where¡¯s ¡®fifth brother¡¯ supposed to be in this white place?¡±

    He brought his hand up over his eyes and looked around before turning into a streak of light and rushing into the white sky. However, as he gazed out from up high, all he saw was the same, unchanging white.

    He was like an insignificant black dot on a huge blank canvas.

    According to his estimates, from his altitude with sufficient light and the lack of any obstacles, coupled with how the background was all ¡°white¡±, he could see one thousand five hundred kilometres away at the very least. With his speed, he could basically search through a region of a million kilometres across in just a few days.

    However, he suddenly thought of the Bridge of Helplessness that seemed short but was long. Was his judgment really reliable?

    Because he had nothing to refer to, he was not even certain how far he could see, whether it was a hundred kilometres or a hundred metres. Perhaps his vision had also been diluted and swallowed by the white, where it was completely impossible to reach that far. He would run around blindly like a headless fly, only to believe that he had covered a very large range.

    He could use techniques freely, but they would dissipate as soon as they left his hand, so he could not use them as a measure of distance.

    But did it actually dissipate? Or was it because he was unable to see nor hear anything beyond this range?

    And he discovered very soon that regardless of what he used, not a sliver of his powers was depleted, even when he had not absorbed any spiritual qi. This world had no spiritual qi to absorb either.

    He did not encounter any enemies, nor did he face any rejection from the world, but he could sense a strange atmosphere he had never encountered before in this world of endless white.

    It even made him, someone who had already embarked on the path of the m¨¡ra, tremble slightly.

    He remained in the air for a while and gradually lost sense of where the ground was. Everything around him was white and absolutely identical.

    As someone who was constantly on the move, he actually felt empty inside. He had lost his sense of direction, unable to gain his bearings.

    But fortunately, there was still the distinction between land and ground here. He ceased his movement technique and fell back towards the grounds.

    He purposefully allowed himself to fall directly onto the ground, but he was completely unscathed, just like before. He did not even feel the impact.

    The white ground felt neither soft nor hard. It could not be described with words at all.

    It was extremely flat as well, without the slightest kink. He lay on the ground and felt around carefully. There was not even a protrusion or pit the size of a grain of sand, yet it did not feel smooth at all either.

    Everything he was accustomed to, all the sensations he was used to, had been taken away, leaving behind absolute blankness.

    He even began to miss the frigid cold of the glaciers and the scorching heat of the sea of fire, as well as the burning fury and ravishing joy within him.

    He tried making some markings on the white ground as points of reference, but his great moves that could split open entire mountains actually failed to leave behind the slightest trace on the ground.

    There was nothing he could do about anything. Even putting his life on the line was not possible.

    ¡°What exactly is this damned place?¡±

    ¡­¡­

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    At the same time, in K?itigarbha¡¯s monastery, the Darkness palace.

    As the saying went, ¡°Invisible to the eye, silent to the ear, that is known as the darkness. The darkness is similar to the Dao, but not the Dao.¡±

    Detailed on the plaques to the left and right. ¡°Enduring and moving like the earth, thinking quietly and deeply like hiding secrets.¡±

    King Pingdeng bowed and asked, ¡°Bodhisattva, why did you not stop that person?¡±

    He did not believe ¡°adjudicator Lu¡± had actually suffered from cultivation deviation and coincidentally broken into the eighteenth layer of hell.

    He glanced at the large, white hound that resembled a lion beneath him. The Hell realm was boundless, but with this divine beast Diting around, it was impossible for him to have not sensed that person.

    TL: The Diting is the mythical creature that serves as the mount of the bodhisattva of deceased souls and the underworld, K?itigarbha. You can read more about it here.

    In the past, when that Intelligent Stone Monkey wreaked havoc in the underworld, he had still been stopped by K?itigarbha. How was he incapable of stopping a mere Ghost Immortal?

    K?itigarbha opened his eyes slowly. He formed a slight smile on his face that bore a green tinge. His expression was mystifying. ¡°No birth nor death, no defilement nor purity, no increase nor decrease.¡±

    King Pingdeng was taken aback before immediately understanding. ¡°He¡¯s a mere Ghost Immortal, yet he¡¯s still bold enough to enter the Formless realm? He¡¯s basically sending himself to his doom. I¡¯ve been overthinking.¡±

    If a regular monk were here, they would definitely be dumbfounded.

    Buddhism called the trichiliocosm the Form realm, which included the Desire realm. At the very top was the Formless realm. This was called the Trailokya or the three realms.

    The Form realm and the Desire realm were not names of geographical regions.

    As the name suggested, the Desire realm was where all the desires gathered, which were possessed by various life forms with humans in particular.

    The Form realm was where all tangible objects with appearances gathered, while the Formless realm was obviously a higher realm that surpassed everything else.

    As a result, most monks believed that the Formless realm did not actually exist and was just a description of a cultivation realm. Even if they entered the western paradise, Sukh¨¡vat¨©, they had to undertake tireless cultivation for the opportunity to reach that realm.

    However, no one ever thought that not only did the Formless realm exist, but it was even the true name of the eighteenth layer of hell.

    A great burden was lifted from king Pingdeng¡¯s shoulders. He bade farewell with satisfaction.

    The wicked fiends that entered the Formless realm would experience true endless hell, Av¨©ci. Even if they thought they flew across an entire world, they would only be running around on the same spot. Even if he remained in there for a hundred million years, he could forget about meeting with that Six-eared Macaque.

    With his life and death out of his own hands, there was endless space and endless time, thus it was the endless hell, Av¨©ci.

    As for the deaths of the four judges, he was completely unfazed. There were plenty of Corpse Liberated Immortals throughout the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Becoming a judge meant an endless lifespan, so who didn¡¯t want a job like that? The Ghost Immortals in the Hungry Ghost realm were common like stray dogs too. In short, they just had to recruit new judges.

    The only thing that could threaten True Immortals like them were ¡°crises of death from the world¡±.

    After king Pingdeng had left, Diting raised his head and asked, ¡°Bodhisattva, will ¡®that person¡¯ be trapped in the Formless realm forever?¡±

    K?itigarbha only said three words, ¡°Comprehend emptiness.¡±

    Diting shivered as if he had recalled a very horrible memory. ¡°Sigh, everything about you is great, apart from the fact that you like to keep others guessing! Of course, I know. As long as he achieves the Four Dhy¨¡na and Eight Sam¨¡patti and sees the truth that emptiness is no other than form, then he can move through the Formless realm unhindered. However, he¡¯s just a Ghost Immortal. He hasn¡¯t even come close to Forging his Soul back into the Void yet! How is he supposed to comprehend emptiness?¡±

    By the Four Dhy¨¡na and Eight Sam¨¡patti, that was also known as the Dhy¨¡na and Sam¨¡patti or meditation. It was the most important method of cultivation for buddhism.

    The four was a subset of the eight, corresponding to the Form realm and the Formless realm. The Form realm was Dhy¨¡na and the Formless realm was Ar¨±pa-jh¨¡nas. They were also known as the four R¨±pa-dhy¨¡na and the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti.

    The four R¨±pa-dhy¨¡na were about comprehending form, while the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti were about comprehending emptiness.

    As mentioned by the Heart Sutra, ¡°Form itself is emptiness, and emptiness itself is form. Form is no other than emptiness, and emptiness is no other than form.¡± It described four different realms of comprehension, as well as four stages to progress through, before reaching the highest realm.

    On the great ice mountain, Li Qingshan comprehended that ¡°reality arose from the heart¡±, seeing through the various forms and appearances of reality and reaching the realm of ¡°form is no other than emptiness¡±, so he was no longer tormented by the various tortures. He achieved great liberty. That was ¡°comprehending form¡±.

    For many eminent monks of great wisdom and willpower, as long as they continued with their cultivation, they could all reach this realm.

    However, even if they underwent the seventh heavenly tribulation and achieved the fruit of Arhat, they would not necessarily be able to take it one step further and comprehend ¡°emptiness is no other than form¡±.

    That was how difficult it was to comprehend emptiness.

    K?itigarbha smiled silently.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°My name is Li Qingshan. I¡¯ve already noticed that I¡¯m actually a character from a comic¡­¡±

    On the endless white land, Li Qingshan hugged his knees and muttered to himself like a broken robot.

    Suddenly, he became furious. ¡°But where¡¯s the background? And the speech bubbles!?¡± This damned place is even worse than a comic!¡±

    His anger came quickly and left quickly. His fury vanished the moment it was set alight. Who knew where it had gone.

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    He had once tried flying around randomly in search of that ¡°fifth brother¡±, but even he himself was aware that there was no difference from remaining exactly where he was. The notion of distance only bore meaning when there was something else to refer to.

    This process lasted for around three years. He did not take a single break in between. It was not like he could feel exhaustion. He just became more and more weary.

    Time possessed no meaning either. Perhaps only an instant had passed since entering the mountains till now.

    He missed the harsh tortures of hell very much. Over a short time frame, those tortures were unbearable, but once time was stretched indefinitely, it would become the most terrifying torment.

    He even began to doubt himself. ¡°Can I leave this place?¡±

 Chapter 1532

    The Formless realm was an empty world without colour, substance, or existence.

    Yet there would also be an instant where he felt himself swell, expanding endlessly, not by thousands or tens of thousands of metres, but by thousands and tens of thousands of kilometres until he filled the entire world.

    If that really was just an instant.

    There would also be an instant where he felt himself turn white¡ªwhite skin, white blood, white eyes¡ªexcept he was unable to sense his own existence.

    If that really was an instant!

    Afterwards, everything would turn back to normal, in an endless cycle, through constant resets.

    Was it an illusion? Perhaps not. Perhaps he really did become that large and that white, breaking through some sort of boundary before returning back to where he was.

    This sensation could not be described with words. It was even emptier than emptiness, even more despairing than despair, even more maddening than madness.

    He had already gone insane countless times, running and screaming madly through the white world, but none of that mattered. Everything returned to how it was.

    This form of eternal life was even more terrifying than death.

    It became more and more difficult for him to gather his thoughts. Countless thoughts entangled together as a mess before gradually dissipating.

    It was said that once a person spent far too much time in a snowy landscape, they would go blind if their eyes struggled to find a focal point for long periods of time. This condition was known as snow blindness.

    The situation he was in was far worse than that. Perhaps it could be called heart blindness.

    If he could not die, then there was no need to strive for survival. If there were no enemies, then why struggle and fight on at all?

    Because certain things in daily life were far too natural, people would end up neglecting their value, just like air.

    When time and space, the two basic concepts to existence, had been suddenly removed, everything that depended on them would gradually collapse, and there would never be an end to this collapse.

    ¡°Heh, is this the so-called Av¨©ci?¡±

    His expression suddenly changed, becoming solemn and seated in a lotus position. He murmured, ¡°Avalokiteshvara, while practicing deeply with the Praj?¨¡p¨¡ramit¨¡, suddenly discovered that all of the five Skandhas are equally empty, and with this realisation he overcame all ill-being¡­¡±

    TL: This is the beginning of the Heart Sutra.

    He began to meditate.

    He did not know that this was the Formless realm, but he did know that he had to find a way to free him from his own thoughts. He could live forever here, but once he became completely blinded, the impact would be irreversible.

    He had to come up with a way to resist nothing!

    The path of the m¨¡ra was independent of buddhism, yet it possessed countless connections to buddhism.

    Through the bitter, ascetic cultivation on the great ice mountain, his achievements with Dhy¨¡na and Sam¨¡patti had already reached the highest possible realm, form is no other than emptiness.

    As a result, he began to peer into himself, observing everything he had seen and heard before he entered the Hell realm again.

    The Hell realm was central to the entire six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Without hell, there was no sa?s¨¡ra. Meanwhile, the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were central to the trichiliocosm, to countless stars.

    All worlds, regardless of size, were connected to the cycle.

    As he rapidly ventured deeper into hell, the laws manifested more and more, but they also became more and more mysterious.

    Or in other words, what he faced right now was not just the laws of the Hell realm, but the central laws to the entirety of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm.

    Whether it was the trichiliocosm or the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, all of it possessed a shared name¡ªthe Form realm.

    The Form realm, central, white, emptiness¡­

    Countless words gathered in his head, turning into a flash of inspiration. Don¡¯t tell me this is the legendary Formless realm?

    Then everything made sense!

    Everything bizarre that occurred in the Hell realm could be explained!

    Such as why the Bridge of Helplessness had suddenly shortened after crossing it.

    This was just the most ordinary phenomenon that occurred in daily life. Unfamiliar paths would always come off as longer, but once it was travelled, it would immediately feel much shorter.

    But in the regular world, the length in reality was always fixed. The only thing that changed was the feeling. Yet here, feelings could influence reality, directly changing the length of the bridge.

    That also explained why there was only a single Road to the Yellow Springs, yet it could lead to countless worlds. The bridge was a certain length to him, yet in the minds of others, it was a different length.

    The bridge was the same bridge and the road was the same road, yet they manifested with completely different ¡°forms¡± or ¡°appearances¡±. Because this was the boundary between the Form realm and the Formless realm, the various rules and laws that belonged to the Form realm were gradually being replaced by the rules and laws of the Formless realm.

    It was just like how humans would demonify after entering the Demon realm. As someone who belonged to the Form realm, he would be converted once he entered the Formless realm. And formlessness was ¡°emptiness¡±.

    That was quite interesting!

    ¡°Form is no other than emptiness¡± was originally just a comprehension and realm. It was not actually too difficult to understand if he really wanted to explain it.

    ¡°Form¡± was a common term for all objects and matters, while the objects and matters were constantly moving and changing.

    It was just like how a living person might be run over by a truck in the blink of an eye, reduced to a splat of flesh. This person would cease to exist, turning into ¡°emptiness¡±.

    If he took it a step further, such that even if it was not that sudden, where this person lived for several decades longer, the end result would still be the same.

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    If he took it even further, this person would still be constantly changing in the several decades he lived. Today and yesterday would be different. Tomorrow and today would be different.

    Time would flow, regardless of day or night. Everything was constantly changing. Form itself was emptiness.

    But ¡°emptiness¡± did not mean ¡°nothing¡± and death did not mean ¡°disappearance¡±. They would only turn into other substances like soil.

    All phenomena bore the mark of emptiness, where there was no birth nor death, no defilement nor purity, no increase nor decrease¡­

    That was why his powers neither grew nor decreased in this Formless realm. He could neither live nor be destroyed.

    It was just like how he could forget about ever finding that ¡°fifth brother¡± if he travelled the Road to the Yellow Springs alone. None of the wicked fiends banished to the Formless realm would ever meet. He had to face everything alone.

    Upon realising this, he did not feel disappointed at all. Instead, he felt extremely excited. He gradually understood this world, breaking through the realm of the four R¨±pa-dhy¨¡na and entering the realm of the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti.

    The first Sam¨¡patti of the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti¡ª¨¡k¨¡?¨¡nanty¨¡yatana Sam¨¡patti, the attainment of Infinite Space.

    At that instant, his body stopped swelling and whitening. With a smile on his face, he meditated in silence.

    Normally, no matter how profound the realm of cultivation and comprehension was, it required power to sustain, or he would just come off as a fool.

    For example, someone slapped you across the face. Instead of properly training yourself, you go off to a monastery to meditate, coming back to spout a bunch of nonsensical buddhist truths at them. It would only earn you another slap across the face.

    That was why emptiness itself was form. Emptiness could not go without form. It had to rely on it.

    The so-called comprehension, the so-called truths, the so-called dharma that could not be converted into power was all like dogshit.

    However, the wondrous part about the Formless realm was that it did not rely on anything. If you really did possess that comprehension, then everything would bend to your will. You could directly kill the enemy with ¡°nonsense¡± on the spot.

    It was also possible to reveal all your crimes on a mirror before producing various genuine tortures.

    It was exactly because of this special characteristic that he could defeat the glaciers of ice and seas of fire through seeing through the various appearances of reality, allowing him to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation in the end.

    However, it was as clear as day that this state was very abnormal. If he could obtain whatever he wanted just from the thought of it, then all fatties would succeed in slimming down and all nerd shut-ins would have started a harem. There would be free lunches every single day.

    Why is the Formless realm so wondrous and so different?

    Li Qingshan sank into a lengthy thought. His consciousness began to gather and condense together again as his messy thoughts became sorted too. He entered the second Sam¨¡patti of the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti¡ªVij?¨¡n¨¡nanty¨¡yatana Sam¨¡patti, the attainment of Infinite Consciousness.

    Issues arose one by one. ¡°Form is no other than emptiness¡± was relatively easy to understand, but what did ¡°emptiness is no other than form¡± mean?

    The primordial spirit turtle had turned into Ruin¡¯s End. What were the origins of the Formless realm then?

    As the central component of the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, the Formless realm was far more important than Ruin¡¯s End.

    The primordial spirit turtle was created by the world. It was already the highest level of existence there could be, so who created the Formless realm? The buddha? N¨¹wa? No, not even they were capable of something like this.

    Then there was only one possibility¡­

    In his lengthy thought, he rediscovered his own existence. His heart was filled with joy, no longer feeling empty anymore.

    The third Sam¨¡patti of the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti¡ª¨¡ki?cany¨¡yatana Sam¨¡patti, the Attainment of Infinite Nothingness.

    The answer was crying out to him. He smiled and said, ¡°Emptiness is no other than form.¡±

    His voice rumbled thunderously, booming through the entire place and breaking the eternal silence.

    ¡°Emptiness is no other than¡ªthe Dao!¡±

    Brilliant light illuminated the entire place, dyeing the unchanging pure-white.

    The myriad paths led off in different directions to the same destination. They were just different names with different objectives.

    Buddhism wanted to bring salvation to all living creatures, so they spoke about form and emptiness, using a heart of impermanence to eliminate the living creatures¡¯ desires and obsessions.

    Daoism pursued liberation, so they spoke about the great path, searching for a path that allowed them to transcend mortality.

    At this moment, what Li Qingshan wanted was liberation, so he abandoned the Four Dhy¨¡na and Eight Sam¨¡patti freely.

    He recited loudly, ¡°The dao presents itself as empty, yet it can never be filled nor emptied. Infinitely deep, the dao appears to be the source of everyone and everything. It is hidden, yet always present. I do not know what produced the Dao, for it seems even older than the concept of God.¡±

    TL: This is chapter 4 of the Dao De Jing.

    This was the answer to everything. The Formless realm was where all the laws throughout the myriad worlds gathered. It was a world of ¡°Dao¡±.

    Whether it was the apple falling to the ground or the orbit of stars, they all followed ¡°Dao¡±.

    Ever so profound, it is the gate of wonders.

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    Only with the Formless realm as the source of everything was there the trichiliocosm of the Form realm. Only with the Form realm was there sentient beings and thus the Desire realm.

    So-called cultivation was moving against the flow, rapidly approaching this source, approaching the Dao.

    He realised this, so he entered the fourth Sam¨¡patti of the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti¡ªNaivasa?j?¨¡n¨¡sa?j?¨¡yatana Sam¨¡patti, the attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception.

    Ps£º ¹éÐæÒÑ¾­¹»ÄÑÃè»æÁË£¬ÕâÎÞÉ«½ç¼òÖ±ÒªÈËÃü¡£Èç¹û¿´²»Ã÷°×£¬ÄÇ²»ÊÇÄãµÄ´í£¬µ«Ò²Çë²»ÒªÅçÎÒ£¬ÎÒÖ»ÊÇÍê³ÉÎÒµÄ³ÐÅµ£¬´øÄãÃÇ¾­ÀúÒ»¸ö¸öÆæÃîÊÀ½ç£¬¶ø²»½ö½öÊÇ»»ÕÅµØÍ¼£¬ÎÒÒ²Ã»µÃÑ¡Ôñ¡£²»¹ý»¹ºÃ£¬½ÓÏÂÀ´¾ÍÃ»ÕâÃ´³éÏóÁË¡£

    Author¡¯s PS: Ruin¡¯s End was already difficult enough to describe. The Formless realm was basically out to end my life. If you don¡¯t understand it, that¡¯s not your fault, but please don¡¯t rage at me. I¡¯m just completing my promise, bringing you wondrous worlds after wondrous worlds, not just changing the map. I don¡¯t have a choice in this either. But fortunately, what comes next won¡¯t be so abstract.

 Chapter 1533

    At that instant, the white sky became filled with criss-crossing light. Some were as thick as rivers and others were as thin as hair, weaving together and reaching the end of his view, like a three-dimensional net enveloping everything.

    The net was not unmoving. Instead, it constantly revolved, yet it also managed to achieve relative stillness in the process. It possessed an indescribable sense of rhythm and beauty.

    The light were manifestations of laws, originating from his imaginations yet also forming reality.

    Li Qingshan stood up and gazed down. The white ground was no different. He seemed to be standing in a colossal, boundless formation.

    That¡¯s right, was the world not a colossal formation?

    The gales blew and the rain cascaded down as the lightning flashed and thunder roared. The rivers raged. All of the phenomena of nature were manifestations as a result of this formation.

    The centre of the formation was ¡°Dao¡±.

    The Dao birthed one, one birthed two, two birthed three, and three birthed the universe, whether it was the myriad paths to enlightenment, the stars and the worlds, the gods, immortals, buddhas or demons.

    Even on earth during his previous life, the vast cosmos was no different.

    People studied the laws and made use of the laws, going from the stone age to the space age, constantly approaching the ultimate set of rules, understanding the laws and becoming rulers of the world.

    They were just overly feeble as individuals, unable to accumulate and store energy, which was the only reason why a Gravity Emperor Newton never appeared, or someone impressive like Immortal Lord Einstein or the Red Light Buddha of Communism, Marx.

    However, this world was different. Individuals could accumulate power and wisdom to become unimaginable existences.

    As such, he understood what Human immortals were and what True Immortals were, as well as the existences higher up, like bodhisattvas, Great Emperors, and Great Sages!

    Daoism split cultivation into four major realms¡ªRefining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Soul, Forging Soul back into the Void, and Merging the Void with the Dao.

    Refining Essence into Qi was straightforward. As he reached the peak of Origin Soul, he approached the limits of Refining Qi into Soul. He became a so-called ¡°Human Immortal¡±.

    He had not completely departed from his mortality yet, but he had already earned the word ¡°immortal¡± in his title. He could finally acknowledge the existence of some of the laws, as well as see the Dao.

    If he wanted to undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation and become a so-called True Immortal, he needed to Forge his Soul back into the Void.

    The void was emptiness; emptiness was the void.

    In other words, he would be approaching the Dao, using the Dao and enlightening to the Dao, so he could obviously achieve eternal life and bend nature to his whim. That was intrinsically different from techniques, as he only needed to ¡°beckon¡± Dao, and Dao would obviously answer his call. It would be just like in the Formless realm, where his will was the law.

    Someone who achieved that would have transcended mortality. Regardless of whether they were human or daemon in the past, once they took that step, they only had one another afterwards. They could understand mortals, but mortals could not understand them.

    However, this still was not the highest realm of cultivation. The eighth heavenly tribulation, Merging the Void with the Dao, was the final goal.

    At that step, it was no longer a matter of using the laws, but directly becoming the embodiment of certain laws, serving as the representatives of a path, such as Mahe?vara¡¯s path of great liberty, such as the Zhenwu Emperor¡¯s path of xuanwu, and so on.

    As long as the Dao remained, they remained. That was why the Great Sages could only be suppressed, not eliminated.

    A small bird only needed to flap its wings to break free from gravity temporarily, yet even if humanity gathered everyone¡¯s power, they could not eliminate gravity. They could only break free from the influence of gravity temporarily through the use of other laws like a bird.

    Merging the Void with the Dao did not mean they became heartless and emotionless, or that would not be merging with the Dao, but assimilating into the Dao. It was just like how he could control the World of the Five Continents through his will the entire time and not become a part of the world¡¯s will.

    As a result, he realised very clearly that he would have to abandon his path of great liberty sooner or later. A path paved by a predecessor was easier to travel on for those who came after, but it also blocked them from taking the final step.

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    Great Sages, bodhisattvas, and Great Emperors were all people who paved a path themselves, which was why they earned the ¡°Great¡± in their titles. The very meaning of bodhisattva was ¡°person of great realization¡±.

    He also understood why the Formless realm served as the last layer of the eighteen layers of hell. Here, all forms and appearances were lost. As such, the things that relied on it, sensation, perception, thought, and consciousness all lost what they relied on, so it was obviously a dream where everything was wrong.

    He also rejoiced over the fact that he was not a true buddhist disciple, or he would have almost never attained the last Sam¨¡patti of the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti, the attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception.

    The meaning of ¡°neither perception¡± was to not think, but not thinking was also thinking, so he would still be unable to let go, to forget. He would obsess and thus cling onto the form. As a result, just ¡°not thinking¡± was not enough. He had to achieve ¡°nor non-perception¡± in order to free his mind and free himself from the notion of form.

    The Four Dhy¨¡na and Eight Sam¨¡patti also lay in the range of ¡°thinking¡±, so they were also forms.

    To a buddhist disciple who whole-heartedly practised buddhism up to their current cultivation, getting them to let go of these teachings was even more difficult than getting a mortal to get over a hundred of their ex-boyfriends or ex-girlfriends. The more determined they were to let go, the more obsessed they would instead become and the less likely it was for them to connect with the Formless realm.

    However, Li Qingshan did not face that obstacle. They were all just tools to him. If they were useful, then he would use them. If they were not, then he would set them aside.

    All buddhist dharma and thus methods to enlightenment were just empty forms. There was no set path to enlightenment.

    Then he felt great pity. He knew that once he left the Formless realm, he would lose everything he comprehended and his realm of comprehension would regress as well.

    There was no other reason for this apart from the fact that he simply possessed insufficient power.

    In the Formless realm, everything was in endless supply. There was neither birth nor death, neither increases nor decreases. It could easily support his realm of comprehension, allowing him to observe the laws as he wished.

    If he were in the Form realm and still tried to maintain this realm of cultivation, then just a single instant of it would drain his lifespan.

    If those eminent monks from his past life went three days without a wink of sleep, or were forced a litre of spirits down their throats, could they still meditate and find inner peace? If they spent all of their lives living in busy and noisy cities, toiling between the jianghu and the temple, could they still meditate and find inner peace?

    The answer was of course not.

    They needed to be free from human desires and passions, demonstrating rigid discipline, living off a simple diet and giving up all the joys of regular people, devoting all of their focus to cultivation. Only then could they maintain progress. If a beauty suddenly threw themselves into their arms during the dead of the night, they probably would not be able to control themselves either.

    That was the limit of humans. A realm of cultivation without the support of power was just a sham. As long as they still possessed the bodies of mortals, they could forget about going on about something like great realisation or great enlightenment.

    At the very least, he received a certain confirmation and answer. He knew what kind of direction to head off in. His efforts had not gone to waste.

    Now, it was time to visit that ¡°fifth brother¡±!

    Li Qingshan suddenly looked back. All of the light vanished. Everything returned to pure-white.

    A stone statue appeared before his eyes. It was a stone monkey with three heads and six arms, crouching on the white ground quietly.

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    The design of the stone monkey was quite peculiar¡ªsix monkey claws covered the eyes, ears, and mouths on the three heads¡ªyet it was not particularly tall, only reaching up to his waist. It even seemed rather funny and adorable.

    However, the feeling it gave off made it seem like a part of the Formless realm. It did not stand out at all.

    Six words jumped out at him in his mind, Merging the Void with the Dao.

    He exhaled and extended his hand, knocking the monkey¡¯s head three times. Thunk, thunk, thunk!

    The stone monkey suddenly moved, lowering the claw over its mouth and grinning. ¡°Wukong, is that you?¡±

 Chapter 1534

    A friendly question swirled through the white space like a gust of wind.

    Li Qingshan suddenly became rather speechless. He was not the person that this one had been waiting for.

    The stone monkey then lowered the claws that blocked his eyes. Two streaks of light shot out from his eyes, illuminating the endless white. He studied Li Qingshan and was greatly disappointed. ¡°So you¡¯re not!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±

    The stone monkey wriggled and stood up, but he still only reached up to Li Qinsghan¡¯s chest. He had a scarlet-red face and brownish-yellow fur, the standard look of a monkey. If he did not possess three heads and six arms, he was basically no different from a wild monkey in the mountains.

    However, perhaps because he had spent far too long in the Formless realm, Li Qingshan felt like he had never seen such a novel and interesting thing before. He basically could not shift his eyes away.

    ¡°Sir, are you perhaps the Wind-coursing Great Sage, the Macaque King?¡±

    The Macaque King extended his long arms and grabbed Li Qingshan by the collar suddenly, dragging him over to his face. He raised his head and bared his teeth. ¡°Who are you, kid? How dare you tap this Great Sage¡¯s head?¡±

    Li Qingshan found this all quite hilarious. If it were not for the fact that he knew who he was, he basically would have felt the urge to stomp this damned monkey to death. ¡°I¡¯m-¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Right when Li Qingshan was about to explain, the Macaque King suddenly interrupted him and brought an arm over his mouth. Afterwards, he lowered the claws over his ears, and his ears twitched. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re Li Qingshan, born in Crouching Ox village of the Clear River prefecture in the nine provinces. Am I correct?¡±

    Li Qingshan could only say, ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, at least you¡¯re honest and not lying to this Great Sage!¡±

    The Macaque King let go in satisfaction and even helped him fix his collar, brushing away the non-existent dust. He reached out with his six arms and his three heads yawned at the same time. He seemed like he had just woken up from a wonderful nap. He did not resemble a prisoner at all.

    ¡°¡­¡± Li Qingshan was speechless. Why would I lie about that?

    The Macaque King placed his six arms on his hips at the same time and then asked arrogantly, ¡°Now let me ask you, what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    The Macaque King interrupted him again. He shook his three heads, and they collided together with a thunk. His three heads and six arms merged back into one head and two arms.

    Only his six ears overlapped together. The tips of the ears trembled at the same time as if he was listening for something. He said with realisation, ¡°Oh, so big bro ox sent you here! I¡¯ve blamed you wrongly then. In other words, you¡¯re the eighth brother?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded silently.

    The Macaque King grabbed him by his hands affectionately. ¡°Eighth brother, why didn¡¯t you tell me? Sigh, I shouldn¡¯t have been so aggressive to you earlier. I must have frightened you!¡± He extended his arm as far as possible and rubbed Li Qingshan¡¯s head to comfort him.

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes and met the Macaque King¡¯s clever, bright eyes. Time seemed to slow down.

    He sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth slowly. ¡°I-¡±

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    Li Qingshan flew into a rage. Are you still going to let me talk? What kind of fool are you supposed to be?

    The Macaque King suddenly vanished before appearing on the top of Li Qingshan¡¯s head out of thin air. He stood tall with his head raised and his tail sticking high up, such that he seemed like a flagpole. He announced proudly, ¡°I am the six-eared macaque, sharp in hearing, skilled in observation, understanding and all-knowing!¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered inside. The six-eared macaque, whatever, I want to stomp this damned monkey to death!

    The Macaque King leapt around gently, avoiding Li Qingshan¡¯s arms as he reached for him. His head suddenly dropped down, and he giggled. ¡°You can call me six-eared bro! Also, you better not speak ill of me in your head! What doesn¡¯t six-eared bro know?¡± After a pause, he continued, ¡°Six-eared bro knows everything!¡±

    Li Qingshan was overcome with a deep sense of helplessness. He suddenly discovered just how hopeless it was to start a revolution with someone like him. He almost lost the attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception in the process.

    ¡°Six-eared bro, you¡¯re so foolish. Does your family know?¡±

    ¡°My family? You mean, first brother, second sister, third brother, fourth brother, little sixth, and old seventh? Oh right, and there¡¯s you now too, eighth brother!¡± The Macaque King counted on his fingers.

    Li Qngshan¡¯s heart softened. He thought of Xiao An and said tenderly, ¡°Six-eared bro, could you¡­¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t. I stand wherever I want to stand! I sit¡­¡± The Macaque King just sat down on Li Qingshan¡¯s head. ¡°wherever I want to sit too!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s feelings of affection immediately vanished. He leapt up and cursed him. ¡°Damned monkey, get your ass down here!¡±

    ¡°Heh, how disrespectful!¡± The Macaque King lost his temper as well. ¡°Say that one more time and I¡¯m going to take a shit!¡±

    ¡°Six-eared bro, surely we can talk this through!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately lost his spine. If others tried to beat him up or kill him, it would instead rouse his fighting spirit, but he really did become rather powerless given the current situation.

    The Macaque King crossed one leg over the other. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡±

    How could Li Qingshan just let the matter be? He thought of something, ¡°Six-eared bro, since you know everything, why did you mistake me for someone else earlier? Like some ¡®Wukong¡¯!¡±

    The Macaque King dodged that topic. ¡°About that¡­ You misheard me. I was asking whether you comprehended emptiness yet. In this Formless realm, how can you not comprehend emptiness? Heh, let¡¯s not talk about this anymore. Big brother has sent you to find me because you have an important mission!¡±

    Li Qingshan also became serious. ¡°What mission?¡±

    ¡°The crisis of the world is imminent, yet big brother is trapped beyond the Nine Heavens. Our priority right now is to free second sister so that she can preside over the entire situation and scoop that stone lion out of the water first!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Second sister! The Ocean-upheaving Great Sage, the Serpent Demon King!?¡± And that stone lion must be the Mountain-moving Great Sage, the Lion Spirit King, in Ruin¡¯s End. He wondered whether his other self had met with him yet.

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    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Where is she?¡±

    The Macaque King did not directly answer him. His six ears perked up, and he listened quietly for quite a good while before spitting out a single word sharply, ¡°Dragonsgrave!¡±

    ¡°What kind of place is Dragonsgrave?¡±

    ¡°The ancestral grave of the Dragon clan. All true dragons go there and wait for their deaths when they sense death approaching.¡± The Macaque King fumed. ¡°Those bastards from the heavenly palace sure are vicious. They actually locked her up in a wretched place like that!¡±

    ¡°How do I reach Dragonsgrave?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s only one way.¡±

    ¡°Become a true dragon.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡±

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts for a while. If he had guessed correctly, the last divine transformation should have been the True Dragon Transformation.

    The true dragon, the phoenix, the qilin, and the spirit turtle corresponded with four legendary spirits. They were natural spirits that already existed since the formation of the universe.

    ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°And then¡­¡± The Macaque King listened closely for a while longer before telling Li Qingshan the locations of the Heaven-stirring Great Sage, the Peng Demon King, and the Soul-controlling Great Sage, the Snub-nosed Moneky King. ¡°As long as you tell this to second sister, it¡¯s enough. You don¡¯t have to worry about the rest.¡±

    If he included brother ox beyond the Nine Heavens, the second sister in Dragonsgrave, and the six-eared bro right here, he knew the location of six of the Great Sages. There was still one missing.

    As a result, Li Qingshan asked without good intentions as if he was in thought, ¡°Then, six-eared bro, what about the last one?¡±

    The Macaque King¡¯s ears perked up. He listened around again before scratching his ears. ¡°This¡­ he has problems at home, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    ¡°But aren¡¯t we his ¡®family¡¯? You¡¯re all trapped, so where¡¯s he?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± The Macaque King was unable to answer that.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he became¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The Macaque King flew into a fury and bared his teeth.

    Li Qingshan was completely unthreatened. Then he asked, ¡°Why were you suppressed originally?¡±

    The Macaque King suddenly widened his eyes, which spun around rapidly. He abruptly let out a strange cry and leapt up. He began to expand, reaching a hundred metres, a thousand metres, ten thousand metres tall¡­ until he filled the entire white space, struggling, roaring, and ready to declare war at the world!

    The Cakravadaparvata mountains rumbled as the entire Hell realm shook violently.

    The Tower of Gazing Home collapsed, the Road to the Yellow Springs was broken, and the River of Forgetfulness flowed in reverse.

    The six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm were all affected, leading to many earthquakes, rockslides, storms, and floods. Great gales uprooted colossal trees and swept up great waves on the ocean.

    King Pingdeng¡¯s expression suddenly changed. As long as they had yet to Merge the Void with the Dao, even True Immortals were not indestructible.

    The Ten Hell Guards exchanged glances, all wanting to retreat. If it were not for King Pingdeng¡¯s presence, they would have scattered a long time ago.

    K?itigarbha sat unfazed, chanting away softly as if he was comforting him yet also suppressing him.

    Li Qingshan stood within the centre of the storm, experiencing the unbelievable power and might. This was no regular monkey after all, but the Wind-coursing Great Sage.

    His cultivation at the sixth heavenly tribulation was completely insignificant. Even just a gentle breeze could erase his existence. Even with how furious the Macaque King was, he did not harm him at all, probably because he acknowledged him as his eighth brother!

    Li Qingshan understood that he was simply too heart-broken.

    A while later, perhaps due to K?itigarbha¡¯s chanting, the Macaque King gradually calmed down. ¡°Don¡¯t ask anything more about it. There are also things that I don¡¯t know!¡± He extended a claw that seemed as vast as a grassland. ¡°Enter my palm. I¡¯ll send you out of here!¡±

    Li Qingshan leapt onto the Macaque King¡¯s palm. ¡°You¡­¡± This time, the Macaque King did not interrupt him, but he had no idea what to say. Even after becoming a Great Sage, would it all still be so painful?

    The Macaque King said, ¡°Qingshan, I will convert everything you¡¯ve comprehended here into a letter of wind. You don¡¯t have to comprehend it all again outside.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Li Qingshan nodded. This was extremely helpful to him. Probably even many True Immortals and arhats never received such great treatment, yet he did not thank him.

    The Macaque King smiled in satisfaction. ¡°You have to believe that we¡¯re different from those guys up in the heavens!¡±

    Li Qingshan knew he was referring to him as well by ¡°we¡±. He nodded. ¡°I believe!¡±

    The Macaque King cheered up again and grinned. ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Then his cheeks swelled up before he blew hard.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt like his body had become weightless. He was hoisted up by a great gust of wind, such that he became a part of the wind.

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    He flew out of this white land immediately, over the Cakravadaparvata mountains, over the Ten Courts of Yanluo. He saw the king of hell that came after him before.

    King Pingdeng seemed to sense him, gazing up, but he did not see him.

    He even saw the large ghost who sold tickets to the Tower of Gazing Home who was currently crushed under the tower, howling out in pain. He could not help but smile. When he looked around again, he had already left the Hell realm, returning to the Human realm.

    In the Formless realm, the Macaque King gradually shrank, conjuring his three heads and six arms again. He covered his eyes, ears, and mouth, not seeing, not listening, and not speaking, yet he wept in dejection. They rolled down his cheeks, turning into stone.

    ¡°Wukong, why?¡±

 Chapter 1535

    Li Qingshan was blown out of the Hell realm by the great gales, and his comprehension immediately began to regress. The Attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception immediately collapsed, followed by the attainment of Infinite Nothingness, the attainment of Infinite Consciousness, the attainment of Infinite Space¡­ It was like he was falling out of the air, losing his balance.

    He forgot what ¡°emptiness is no other than form¡± meant. Only some lingering thoughts remained, which utterly consumed him mentally. His sea of consciousness was in chaos. He could not even maintain the most basic thought.

    In a daze, he sensed that he was lying on the moist earth. The gurgling sound of water rang out beside him as the sunlight filtered through the leaves.

    Everything that occurred in the Hell realm and the Formless realm seemed like a great dream. The pain and determination, the tortures and revenge, all seemed extremely surreal.

    When his thought processes gradually returned to him, the first thought that occurred to him was, Where¡­ am I?

    The great gales left him sore and numb all over. He could not even budge a finger. He tried his best to turn his head and look around. The sun was shining, the water was rippling, and the grass was bright-green. It was a romantic sight of spring.

    The wilderness of the mountains and the banks of the river were once scenes he frequently saw in his youth, yet never did he find them so nostalgic and pleasant.

    ¡°I should have been transported to the Human realm. Sigh, you really don¡¯t know how great living is until you visit hell!¡±

    It was not like he could move, so he just shut his eyes and rested.

    At this moment, there was a rustle in the trees, and Li Qingshan opened his eyes again. He looked over. A great brown bear extended its head out from the bushes.

    Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m going to be eaten by a bear? Sigh, what am I thinking! It¡¯s not like I have any flesh or blood, but speaking of which, do bears even touch people who play dead?

    As he was lost in his thoughts, the great brown bear completely emerged from the woods, standing up straight in front of him. Under the bear¡¯s head was the face of a man. As it turned out, it was a man draped in bear skin.

    Li Qingshan could not help but break into laughter, and the man smiled as well. He said with a strange tone, ¡°And I had thought it was prey. So it¡¯s a person!¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the bow and arrow in his hand and the quiver on his waist. He must have been a hunter of this mountain. However, he seemed extremely bold and valiant with his face painted with colours. It gave him a deep impression. He must have been someone tough who usually roamed through the mountain freely

    Li Qingshan tried his best to move his lips. He said without much clarity, ¡°Old brother, you got any alcohol?¡±

    The man was taken aback. He fished out the wine skin on the back of his waist. ¡°How did you know I had alcohol?¡±

    Li Qingshan licked his lips and smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t look like the type who drinks water.¡±

    ¡°Hah, I do indeed drink alcohol as water!¡± The man took out the wine skin and drank away. The fragrance of the alcohol filled the air.

    Li Qingshan began to drool as he watched him. He urged him. ¡°Don¡¯t finish it all! Save me a few sips!¡± Never had he missed the taste of fine alcohol so much.

    The man studied him. ¡°How are you going to drink it?¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth wide and nodded with difficulty. ¡°Ahhh¡­¡±

    The man had no idea how to respond. He turned the skin, and a stream of translucent liquid flowed out, falling into Li Qingshan¡¯s mouth.

    ¡°This¡­¡± Li Qingshan suddenly widened his eyes. Never had he tried such delicious alcohol before. Even the legendary elixirs of immortals probably came nowhere close. Sigh, the Formless realm was simply tormenting. Even the thought of it made him pity himself.

    The man ignored Li Qingshan¡¯s pleading gaze and stowed the skin away resolutely. ¡°Brother, where are you from? Why are you lying here?¡±

    Li Qingshan smacked his lips. ¡°Old brother, give me a few more sips. Don¡¯t be so stingy. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t pay for it!¡±

    The man laughed. ¡°Learn to be satisfied. I need to save a few sips for myself too.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no other choice. ¡°Alright then! I was blown here by a great gust of wind!¡± The alcohol in his belly turned into streams of warmth, purging the numb sensation from his body. He felt like he had regained his strength. He used his arms and legs to climb up. ¡°Where is this?¡±

    The man rebuked with a smile. ¡°Nonsense. How can there be such a great gust of wind in the world? So great that it can even pick up someone as large as you.¡±

    Li Qingshan moved his arms and legs around. ¡°Heh, let alone someone as large as me, it can even pick up mountains!¡±

    ¡°Heh, you sure know how to boast!¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned. ¡°Of course, it can pick up oxen too!¡± He stopped dwelling on the matter. All he said was, ¡°Thank you for your alcohol. What are you hunting for?¡±

    TL: In Chinese, boasting is known as ¡°blowing (inflating) oxen¡±. The etymology for the phrase is that herdsmen used to exaggerate the number of oxen they had when they talked, so they were essentially boasting. In this case, Li Qingshan is interpreting the word literally as ¡°blowing (picking up) oxen¡±.

    The man suddenly drew his bow and pointed it at Li Qingshan¡¯s face. ¡°Oxen!¡±

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    Li Qingshan leapt in fright and could not help but take a step back. He actually shivered slightly.

    The man stowed his bow and arrow away and laughed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there¡¯s fewer and fewer oxen now. Instead, there¡¯s more and more people who know how to boast.¡±

    Li Qingshan eased up. The coldness vanished. He smiled self-deprecatingly. With the sudden regression of his comprehension, had he lost all of his courage too?

    ¡°You¡¯re alone?¡±

    ¡°No, I have a tribe.¡±

    Li Qingshan jokingly said, ¡°Oh my, to think you¡¯re a chieftain!¡±

    The man raised his arms very gracefully, opening up his chest. He smiled brightly. ¡°And the shaman.¡±

    Li Qingshan found it quite fascinating. ¡°Your tribe must be very large then!¡±

    The man said proudly, ¡°Oh it¡¯s large! Extremely large! Everywhere where the sun shines is my land.¡± He unintentionally gave off a sense of dominance and even shocked Li Qingshan. When he returned to his senses, he smiled inside. What a dominant village chief who thinks so highly of himself. Everywhere where the sun shines is your land? Who do you think you are, the lion king?

    The man suddenly said to Li Qingshan, ¡°How about this, brother? Join my tribe! I¡¯ll bestow you all the land under the sun, with as much fine alcohol and women as you¡¯d like. You don¡¯t have to get blown around by the wind anymore either.¡±

    Li Qingshan was basically smiling from ear to ear inside. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve booked this entire fishpond too!

    TL: Booking out an entire fishpond is a meme to describe people who flaunt their wealth. It originates from a Chinese drama where a character says he wants the entire world to know that he¡¯s booked out this entire fishpond, in an attempt to flaunt his wealth (since wealth-flaunting is quite ingrained in Chinese (mainland) culture).

    ¡°Old brother, if you give me all the land beneath the sun, then where are you staying, chief?¡±

    The man pointed above. ¡°The sky belongs to me.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s very reasonable. Hahaha!¡± Li Qingshan finally could not help but break into laughter. ¡°And you said I was boasting. I¡¯ve never heard a boast as great as that before!¡±

    The man only smiled.

    It took Li Qingshan quite a while before he stopped laughing. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll join!¡±

    The man nodded. He gave off the aura of a king as if he was not some chieftain of some tribe, but the actual lord of the sky.

    Li Qingshan raised his right hand. ¡°Chief, I want to drink alcohol!¡±

    As a result, the man removed his wine skin and tossed it to him. He grabbed it and drank away vigorously, filling his mouth again and again. He exhaled deeply. ¡°Nice alcohol!¡±

    His face was bright-red, and he felt extremely energetic. His body was filled with power. Drunkenness rushed through his head. Then he raised his right hand. ¡°Chief, I strongly ask to become the chief!¡±

    The man shook his head with a smile. ¡°We can¡¯t do that. Only the strongest person can be the chieftain. As for you, you¡¯re still nowhere close!¡±

    ¡°Haha, you need to stop!¡±

    Li Qingshan clutched his belly and rolled around on the ground laughing. He was immediately about to demonstrate his great powers as the successor of the m¨¡ra, a great Human Immortal so that this ¡°dominant village chief¡± could widen his horizons, but with some further thought, he found it to be pointless. He had invited him to a drink out of kind intentions after all. There was no need to frighten him like that.

    ¡°Sure. You¡¯re the chieftain. What you say, counts! Though, I¡¯m going.¡±

    Since his powers had already returned, it was time to continue on his way.

    ¡°There are many tigers and wolves in the mountains. Protect yourself with this!¡± The man did not urge him to stay, tossing out another item in the process.

    Li Qingshan caught it casually, except it was an ancient, bronze sword this time. He drew the sword from its sheath. It did not possess a cold glow nor a sharp glint. It did not even have an edge. There was a sun, moon, and some stars engraved on one side, while the other side was inscribed with mountains, rivers, and trees. Apart from that, it was nothing special.

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    As a result, he casually tossed it back without any interest. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I use blades!¡±

    ¡°This is a keepsake, as well as a bestowment,¡± the man said sternly. At that instant, he actually gave off a feeling that he could not be defied.

    ¡°Alright then. Thanks, chief.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands casually and suddenly rushed into the air. He looked back and asked with a smile, ¡°Chief, what¡¯s the name of our tribe?¡±

    The man smiled just like before. ¡°Youxiong.¡±

 Chapter 1536

    ¡°Youxiong?!¡±

    TL: Youxiong is the name of the tribe which the Yellow Emperor comes from. It is also one of his many names.

    Li Qingshan suddenly jerked awake and sat up. He discovered he was still lying on the moist ground with the rippling, small river beside him. The great gusts of wind blew through the tree branches, making the canopy dance wildly.

    The empty mountains had just received some rain, and the sunlight was dazzling. The trees were refreshing. The air was filled with the smell of plants and soil.

    ¡°Was it a dream?¡±

    He touched something with his right hand. It was the ancient bronze sword, which made him widen his eyes.

    Then he reached into his clothes. The wine skin had already been warmed by his body.

    He looked around, but there was no figure of a bear in the forest. In the tranquil mountains and woods, the atmosphere suddenly became eerie.

    As the successor of the m¨¡ra, the progenitor of toying with people, who exactly could create a dream so easily for him and even leave him convinced that it was real?

    At the very least, it could not be achieved by a regular hunter, and the alcohol and sword were all extremely extraordinary too.

    He removed the stopper again and took a gentle whiff. Spiritual qi rushed through his head. His entire soul had been refined.

    Wherever the fragrance of the alcohol reached, the surrounding vegetation grew vigorously, gradually developing a spiritual nature, becoming spiritual herbs.

    The fish in the river surged, growing at a visible rate. Their black scales faded away, replaced by golden, glimmering light. They immediately developed into daemonic beasts.

    He plugged up the wine skin in a hurry and glanced around in shock. He did not know any fengshui, but after becoming a Human Immortal, he could sense many things even if he did not understand them. The fengshui of this mountain and forest was changing.

    He had eaten many spiritual pills in his life, but they came nowhere close to the alcohol even when combined.

    And this was clearly not some regular wine skin either, similar to a sumeru ring instead. Its capacity was immeasurable.

    The man had given this to him, but because it was far too precious, he actually felt guilty.

    Standing up, he dispersed the carp daemons and catfish daemons that lingered around and grabbed the ancient bronze sword.

    With a clang, he drew the sword from its sheath and raised it up to the sun. He took in all of the sun, moon, and stars, and the mountains, rivers, and trees on the sword, but he was still unable to tell if they were special in any shape or form.

    That in itself was very strange. Let alone a regular bronze sword, even when it came to a powerful arcane artifact, he could tell how the inscriptions were carved and how the formations worked with just a single glance as a Human Immortal.

    In other words, even as a Human Immortal, he had no right to wield this ancient sword. He could not even understand it.

    With a thought, he summoned a wisp of wind that wrapped around him. That was the ¡°letter of wind¡± that the Wind-coursing Great Sage had given to him. It contained all the information he had comprehended in the Formless realm.

    This was not ¡°wind¡± in the regular sense, but the manifestation of a certain kind of law. The law allowed the Wind-coursing Great Sage to bypass the obstructions between the myriad worlds and obtain all the information.

    And it was not just a matter of expressing and recording the information. Whether it were secret schemes or ploys hidden in the mind, it could all be turned into ¡°wind¡± for him to catch, for him to see, for him to hear.

    That was why he was called the Wind-coursing Great Sage. To this Macaque King, there were no secrets in the world.

    In other words, all wondrous cultivation methods and profound comprehensions were available to him.

    He was an embodiment of the laws. Having obtained this letter of wind, that was equivalent to receiving the assistance of this kind of law. He no longer required a lengthy period of cultivation and difficult thought to directly reach the highest realm of the Four Dhy¨¡na and Eight Sam¨¡patti. It was equivalent to going into an exam with the answers.

    Of course, his current powers were still insufficient to sustain that realm of comprehension. However, as long as this letter of wind remained, he could consult it at all times. He could summon or dismiss it on a whim, and it would never be exhausted, free for him to use until he completely returned to the highest realm of the attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception.

    Of course, this could not be sustained by the powers of a Human Immortal. In other words, before he became a True Immortal, there would not be any bottlenecks anymore.

    If I encounter a few more Great Sages and they give me a few more things, wouldn¡¯t I be guarded by multiple laws instantly? I¡¯ll have the force of the world on my side. By then, what¡¯s so difficult about reaching True Immortal?

    Thinking up to there, he took a deep sip of the alcohol. Spiritual qi rushed into his Origin Soul wave after wave, and his powers grew rapidly. He immediately absorbed a wisp of the letter of wind, and this power rapidly diminished. His comprehension immediately began to grow.

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    In his eyes, the ancient bronze sword gradually changed.

    The mountains, rivers, and trees gradually deepened from a simple, flat engraving. It sucked his mind in, immediately crossing over thousands of mountains, lakes, forests, and tundra.

    The sun, moon, and stars hung high above the black land. Day and night interchanged as the stars shifted, demonstrating the most wondrous of patterns.

    The trichiliocosm, the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, all lay within.

    Not a single thing could be put into words. Just how shallow and insufficient was the language of humans? It was completely incapable of describing this mighty world.

    In a single instant, the power rang out and Li Qingshan fell forwards. The ancient bronze sword turned back to how ordinary it seemed before. He continued to clutch the hilt firmly as he trembled away.

    All the weapons and artifacts he had seen and wielded in his entire life were basically like scrap metal compared to this sword. This was not some exaggerated description, but a barely-adequate declaration of reality.

    In reality, a comparison like that was already an insult to this sword. If it possessed a sword spirit or sword soul, it definitely would have split him into two by now.

    It was completely impossible for something like a sword spirit to exist. Even if there was one, it would be an existence akin to the will of the world, and it would exist throughout the entirety of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm.

    With a swing of the sword, the very stars in the sky shifted!

    ¡°I want to switch over to the sword!¡± Li Qingshan was extremely excited. ¡°I want to use the sword!¡±

    A fortuitous encounter like that was no longer just a fluke, but a stroke of luck, no, a godsend! The god of fortune himself had leapt down from the heavens to celebrate with him.

    ¡°Joining this Youxiong tribe sure is nice!¡±

    .

    However, as his excitement gradually settled, he was filled with much greater doubt. Who exactly was the man draped in bear skin? And why did he bestow this endless land to him? Was it a joke or was he serious?

    The mysteries became more and more difficult to understand.

    Li Qingshan had never been one to fret. It was not like becoming stronger could be bad. He stowed away the wine skin and ancient sword and clasped his hands at the distant sky. ¡°Chief, regardless of what you¡¯re after, thank you for your wine and sword! Though¡­¡± He changed the topic and smiled. ¡°When I¡¯m strong enough, I still want to become the chief!¡±

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, the bear skin fell from the man¡¯s shoulders, revealing a set of azure dragon robes. His tasselled crown swayed about as he nodded with a smile. ¡°I await that day.¡±

    A dragon¡¯s head poked out from the sea of clouds, asking, ¡°Why do you not kill him, to nip him in the bud?¡±

    ¡°You feel threatened?¡±

    ¡°He is the chosen one after all.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, if you hadn¡¯t caused his daughter¡¯s death, he probably would have lowered his head to me already.¡±

    The giant dragon shut its eyes. ¡°That was only an accident.¡±

    ¡°There are no accidents.¡±

    The giant dragon was unable to answer that.

    The man patted the dragon and said softly, ¡°You know, I¡¯ve never blamed you, but you can¡¯t commit all kinds of misdeeds behind my back, or I might just cut off your head.¡±

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    The sky dimmed. The sea of clouds surged. The stars lost their glow.

    Only the figure of a man remained high above, his eyes hazy like the heavens.

    The heavens unleashed its killing intent, shifting the very stars in the sky.

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    The dragon lowered its head and spread its wings, riding off into the sky with the man on its back. In the distance was a glorious palace.

 Chapter 1537

    The man on the dragon¡¯s back glanced back, gazing through the heavens¡ªbetween the weaving laws, the six realms cycled slowly, establishing multiple dimensions and worlds through an unimaginable, even incomprehensible, manner.

    The trichiliocosm and the billions upon billions of lives all lay within.

    Who had ever said ¡°¡®the Green province spans fifteen thousand kilometers. The jianghu is only but a corner¡±? If the nine provinces were still around, it was just a speck of sand among the myriad worlds.

    When the frog in the well finally climbed up the slippery walls of the well after tremendous effort and saw the boundless sky of stars, who would have thought that all it strived for in the very beginning was merely a tiny circle of the sky, chasing after a single star?

    With how ignorant it had been, it had once mistaken the entire sky to be that shape, mistaken that there was only one star.

    Now, it no longer knew what shape the sky was. It was no longer able to find the star that belonged to it in the endless sea of stars.

    In a daze, it understood that all it possessed was this well.

    In the Human realm, over the ocean, in the Xuanming dwelling.

    Li Qingshan emerged from the ocean, spreading his limbs and lying quietly on the surface of the water. He gazed at the deep-blue circle and the glimmering specks on there.

    ¡°It looks like a well!¡±

    ¡°But¡­ what¡¯s a ¡®well¡¯? And what are those glimmering specks? Where am I? Who am I?¡±

    He mentioned a string of questions, all of which left him puzzled. He had once read every single book in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, yet at the end of the day, he still knew nothing.

    At this moment, a white, petite figure suddenly appeared, blanking out the moment she saw him. She bit her lip as her eyelashes fluttered.

    As a result, he smiled. ¡°Xiao An, I¡¯m back! Oh right, what¡¯s my name again?¡±

    Xiao An suddenly threw herself into his arms. Ripples of water spread silently. He stroked her long, seaweed like hair and noticed how her cheeks were moist.

    ¡°Hmm? Why are you crying? Haven¡¯t I returned?¡±

    Xiao An asked hoarsely, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I clearly asked you first!¡°¡±

    Xiao An raised her head, gazing at him with her red eyes, saying almost as if she was questioning him, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Her voice rippled across the surface of the water. He was unable to answer her. He rubbed her head. ¡°Alright, I can¡¯t remember. I forgot so much.¡±

    ¡°Your name is Li Qingshan!¡± Xiao An repeated. ¡°Your name is Li Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s quite a nice name!¡± Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction. As expected, a name I gave myself.

    However, Xiao An burst into tears.

    ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t cry!¡± Li Qingshan wiped away her tears frantically, except only more and more appeared. This is strange. She clearly didn¡¯t like to cry this much in my memories! Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve said the wrong thing?

    Xiao An suddenly said, ¡°Qingshan, let¡¯s return to the World of the Five Continents, alright?¡±

    Li Qingshan halted.

    Xiao An said sadly, ¡°If you¡¯ve forgotten everything, what¡¯s the point no matter how powerful you become?¡±

    Li Qingshan fell silent. He looked up again. The dim circle flickered with a few specks of light that he did not know the name of. It was distant and dim, which made him feel lonely, like drifting through the ocean, yet for some reason, it constantly weighed on his mind.

    Yeah, he had forgotten everything, apart from this one person, apart from this one matter.

    He lowered his head again and gazed at her clear eyes. They were so kind and so warm.

    At this moment, everything he persevered in collapsed. As long as she could smile, he was willing to set the world alight, to never look up again.

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    He smiled gently. ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t cry. If this is your wish¡­¡± He shut his eyes and furrowed his brows before opening them again. ¡°Then we¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°No!¡± As if she had been frightened, Xiao An suddenly covered his mouth and shook her head slowly. She smiled. ¡°My wish is to accompany you forever, no matter where you are, until death do us part.¡±

    Li Qingshan abruptly felt his nose burn. His soft spot had been touched. He could not help but shed tears.

    The lone stars in the sky gazed down on the water, at the two of them that embraced each other firmly.

    And who had ever considered just how much the frog missed the well when faced with the endless sky of stars?

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Hah, this kid has lost his memories. What a tasteless trope. You really are a novelist after all!¡±

    Gu Yanying stood gracefully before Li Qingshan like she was facing a little fool. She even waved her hand around in front of him, joking to him. ¡°Then do you still remember me? You even had a crush on me in the past!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming thought of something, but he showed none of it on his face. He patted Li Qingshan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Little Li, I¡¯m your big bro, R¨¡hu Ming!¡±

    ¡°First father, are you still unable to let go of your obsessions?¡± Li Fengyuan sat in the lotus position with a Vairocana crown on his head, dressed in a great red kasaya. He brought his palms together and sighed as he shook his head.

    Li Qingshan looked at Gu Yanying. He could not help himself as his eyes lit up. ¡°Fish lips!¡±

    Gu Yanying squinted her eyes, gazing sharply at Xiao An who was beside Li Qingshan.

    Xiao An was unfazed. She even nodded. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡±

    It had already been some time since Li Qingshan returned. Xiao An told him in detail about the matters that occurred in the past. Coupled with the powerful deductive abilities of the spirit turtle itself, at least he was no longer clueless anymore. He had not recovered his memories, but at least he knew what was going on.

    However, teacher Xiao An seemed to have included some ¡°additional content¡± in the curriculum.

    Gu Yanying burst out laughing. She looked away and introduced herself, ¡°My name is Gu Yanying. It¡¯s not completely a bad thing that you lost your memories.¡±

    ¡°Yanying, please become my woman!¡±

    Gu Yanying smiled away just like before. ¡°I take that back.¡±

    Li Qingshan grinned and shot a glance at R¨¡hu Xiaoming. ¡°Forget about it, Xiaoming! A day as Xiaoming, a lifetime as Xiaoming! Even if you become a god in the future, you¡¯re still Xiaoming! You¡¯re my big bro? And I¡¯m your grandaddy!¡±

    A vein popped out on R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s forehead. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your current situation, I would challenge you to a battle right now!¡±

    In the past few years, he had been constantly waging war in the Asura realm, such that his powers recovered extremely quickly. He had already undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, instead overtaking the Li Qingshan right before him. It was only a matter of time before he recovered his position as a god.

    ¡°Challenge me? Ha! Ha! Ha!¡± Li Qingshan let out three exaggerated laughs. ¡°You think I¡¯m not your opponent anymore just because you¡¯ve undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation?¡± He casually fished out three mountains and swivelled them around in his hand like walnuts.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s eyes narrowed, clearly someone who knew what they were. He recognised the power behind the three mountains, which was beyond what he could necessarily endure. ¡°You met with¡­ him!¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡¯

    ¡°Alright!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming surged with fighting spirit. ¡°It¡¯s my honour to be able to fight alongside them!¡±

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    Li Qingshan was displeased by that. ¡°You don¡¯t feel honoured to fight alongside me?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered. ¡°I don¡¯t!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°Sigh, with how obstinate and unruly you are, you truly are the leader of the four heavenly kings!¡±

    ¡°You think I¡¯ll be satisfied just because you call me the leader of some four heavenly kings?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming rolled his eyes, but he could not help but laugh as well. It was not exactly an honour to fight alongside him, but it had always brought him great delight.

    Last of all, Li Qingshan turned towards Li Fengyuan and furrowed his brows. He turned towards Xiao An. ¡°Who¡¯s this bald ass?¡±

 Chapter 1538

    Li Fengyuan originally sat there, all solemn and serious, but when he heard that, his demeanour immediately collapsed. He said in grief, ¡°First father, I¡¯m Fengyuan! I¡¯m also one of the four heavenly kings! How can you forget about me!?¡±

    ¡°Fengyuan! I think I¡¯ve heard this name somewhere before.¡± Li Qingshan smiled and held his chin. ¡°How did you sneak your way into the ranks of the four heavenly kings?¡±

    Li Fengyuan was immediately left speechless. He was a rare phoenix, a creature of nature whose bloodline existed since ancient times, yet he really was embarrassingly mediocre compared to the three other heavenly kings.

    He said without the slightest confidence, ¡°This- I- I¡¯m your son¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan came to a realisation. ¡°I see!¡± He patted Li Fengyuan on the shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s no wonder, seeing how you have a father like me! You¡¯re so young, and you already know how to bring up your dad for everything. You have a bright future ahead of you. Keep working hard, kid!¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Li Fengyuan clenched his fist firmly, filled with spirit.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t amnesia normally come with a drastic change in personality according to the stories?¡± Gu Yanying tilted her head.

    ¡°He¡¯s probably born shameless!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming looked up at the sky.

    Li Qingshan just ignored them. He extended his hand and knocked the Vairocana crown on Li Fengyuan¡¯s head. ¡°What¡¯s up with your attire?¡±

    A so-called Vairocana crown was actually a Vairocana hat coupled with a Five Buddhas crown. The gold and red Vairocana hat was adorned with pearls and agate, such that it was extremely exquisite in style. The Five Buddhas crown depicted the Five Tath¨¡gatas gilded in gold, each of them solemn in expression. Together, it formed an ornament that only an eminent monk wore. It was not something that any regular monk could possess.

    If Li Qingshan¡¯s memories still remained, he definitely would have recalled a certain story about a journey to retrieve buddhist scriptures.

    Li Fengyuan brought his palms together and lowered his head slightly. ¡°Namo Amit¨¡bha, I have already converted to buddhism!¡±

    Li Qingshan was mildly taken aback. At that instant, Li Fengyuan actually gave off a solemn aura of righteousness.

    Afterwards, he flew into a rage and asked Xiao An, ¡°Which bald ass did this? To even deceive my own son! I¡¯ll go and punch his bald head in right now!¡± Then he said to Li Fengyuan earnestly, ¡°Fengyuan, I understand. It¡¯s not your fault. As the most useless of the four heavenly kings, you¡¯re far too easily influenced!¡±

    He did not show any blame at all. Instead, he was filled with sympathy as if he was trying to say, It¡¯s not your fault that there¡¯s something wrong with your head. It¡¯s all your mother and father¡¯s fault for neglecting you. I didn¡¯t take good care of you as your first father, which is why you ended up like this.

    Li Fengyuan was beyond tears now. His expression suddenly changed again, becoming lost and distant. He sank into his memories. ¡°That day, I just happened to be cultivating under the golden-leaved bodhi tree in the Hundred Herbs garden¡­¡±

    A great gust of wind blew by with a whoosh. The leaves and branches shone gloriously.

    He opened his eyes and looked up. He had a striking appearance as his long hair flowed in the air.

    No matter how foolish he behaved in front of Li Qingshan, he was a noble phoenix at the end of the day. He had once ruled Clouded city in the nine provinces, followed by the otherfolk continent in the World of the Five Continents, earning the respect and recognition of the people, titled as a wise monarch. As the eldest among Li Qingshan¡¯s many children, he had even been jokingly called as ¡°mister crown prince¡± by the monkey children.

    From the moment he was born, he possessed the power that the divine wutong tree had accumulated over ten thousand years for him, coupled with the legacy of the phoenix that existed since the ancient times.

    The legacy was not just a cultivation method, but a tremendous amount of knowledge and memories as well. He struggled to endure all of it when he was first born, but as his cultivation progressed, the knowledge and memories were constantly exposed, becoming a part of his realm of comprehension.

    This was a path of cultivation devoid of any obstacles. It could not even be called cultivation, but a natural process of growth, similar to how cubs grew to adults.

    Well before N¨¹wa created humanity, when the term ¡°cultivation¡± did not even exist, the phoenix was already a lofty divine creature.

    As long as he did not perish, becoming a god was only a matter of time for him, and the last thing he lacked was time. As a phoenix that could constantly rebirth, even the Book of Life and Death had no record of his name.

    From the moment he was born, he transcended the threat of death, possessing everything that a person could dream of, but he still found it insufficient. The four heavenly kings was almost a joke, but he understood exactly what kind of path Li Qingshan took and exactly what awaited him once he failed.

    As a result, for three whole years, he did not take a single step away from the bodhi tree, cultivating arduously day after day.

    Actually, even if he spent every single day enjoying himself, the rate at which his powers grew would far surpass the arduous cultivation of regular people.

    And even if he cultivated arduously, his rate of progress would not be much faster. As a natural divine creature, it was more about natural growth, not nurture and cultivation.

    But under these circumstances, that speed was nowhere near enough.

    Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ll only be able to hide behind, waving the banner and cheering him on, as first father fights to the death at the front? Waiting for him to emerge victoriously or¡­ fall in battle.

    Li Fengyuan furrowed his brows, exhibiting a stubborn expression that resembled Li Qingshan¡¯s.

    He needed power. He needed the power that made him worthy of the title of the four heavenly kings, even if it was just the joke-like Meat-stewing Heavenly King.

    At this moment, the wind suddenly stopped. The birds and insects stopped crying out too. Everything fell silent, except the leaves continued to dance.

    The deep, dignified sound of chanting emerged from the sky, the ground, and the bottom of his heart at the same time. In the beginning, it was as soft as a buzzing mosquito, but it grew louder and louder. In an instant, it was like roaring thunder.

    Sunlight filtered through the golden leaves, suddenly becoming so dazzling that he was unable to stare at it directly.

    Li Fengyuan widened his eyes even further to see. The light wove into a life-like image¡­

    Explaining up to there, he changed the topic and asked, ¡°Guess what I saw.¡±

    Smack! Li Qingshan smacked him over the head impatiently. ¡°Damned brat, don¡¯t make me beat around the bush. Spit it out!¡±

    Li Fengyuan said angrily, ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m not a child anymore. Can you show me some respect?¡±

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    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°In your first father¡¯s eyes, you¡¯re always a child.¡± His face then sank. ¡°If you don¡¯t hurry up, I¡¯ll hang you up and give you a beating!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Li Fengyuan could only confess. ¡°I saw the image of a buddha.¡±

    ¡°The image of a buddha? Surely you weren¡¯t hallucinating? Then what?¡±

    Li Fengyuan laid out his hands and shrugged. ¡°Then I converted to buddhism!¡±

    ¡°Hold on, did I miss a part of this story?¡±

    Li Qingshan grimaced as if he was trying to understand the meaning of this.

    Gu Yanying and R¨¡hu Xiaoming exchanged glances. This was not just the issue of missing a part of the story. It was not like Li Fengyuan was an ignorant, superstitious countryman. Unless he suffered from cultivation deviation, he could not be hallucinating.

    If he really saw the embodiment of a certain god and buddha, then this would be a big deal. Li Fengyuan had clearly skipped over the most important part of the story as well, which made everything seem very suspicious.

    Xiao An furrowed her brows slightly. She had a deep understanding regarding buddhism. Sunlight? An image of a buddha? Mah¨¡vairocana?

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Alright, let me just run through this again. You said you were cultivating, and then you raised your head and saw how the sunlight looked like a buddha, so you just converted to buddhism?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Li Fengyuan nodded.

    Li Qingshan grabbed Li Fengyuan by the collar. ¡°Damned brat, are you fucking with me?¡±

    Li Fengyuan refused to back down. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fucking with you. Bite you, you bastard!¡±

    ¡°You trying to rebel?¡± Li Qingshan raised his fist.

    ¡°The son is beating his dad!¡± Li Fengyuan called out.

    Gu Yanying could not help but smile as well. ¡°Tsk, like father, like son.¡±

    Li Qingshan became even angrier, raising his fist to beat him.

    Li Fengyuan shut his eyes. He seemed solemn and stirring like a vehement martyr, except the fist stopped before his face. He opened his eyes. ¡°First father?¡±

    Li Qingshan let go of his collar and sighed with a smile. ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve sure grown up!¡± He said seriously, ¡°If you want to make your own choice and bear the consequences, you don¡¯t have to walk the same path as me. You don¡¯t owe me anything. Go do whatever you want to do. Remember, you have to live for yourself!¡±

    ¡°I understand!¡± Li Fengyuan directly met Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. ¡°First father, I will never be the most useless one out of the four heavenly kings!¡±

    Li Qingshan patted him on the shoulder and did not ask any further. If one day, he chose to oppose him, then there was nothing for him to say either. Of course, he would receive no mercy either.

    Li Fengyuan smiled. He was aware of that himself.

    In the story that he had never finished, he had indeed given up some extremely important things.

    Eternal life or power? That was a question.

    However, it was not like he was those spirit turtles that would outlive their usefulness. If he could not stay true to himself and live out his will, what was the point of eternal life?

    However, that was all for himself, so there was no need to say anything about it.

    He made his way around Li Qingshan and arrived beneath the golden-leaved bodhi tree again. Meanwhile, Xiao An, Gu Yanying, and R¨¡hu Xiaoming all returned to their respective Hungry Ghost realm, Daemonic Beast realm, and Asura realm for cultivation.

    After completing the Spirit Turtle Transformation, Li Qingshan already neared the sixth heavenly tribulation. As long as another transformation made a breakthrough, he could face the tribulation immediately.

    However, his memory loss was far too severe. He had forgotten everything he had comprehended, which was equivalent to producing several dozen bottlenecks out of thin air. If this continued, let alone taking a step further, his cultivation would even regress. Even the small world would collapse.

    That was why he maintained the Spirit Turtle Transformation the entire time in an attempt to deduce the other transformations, but this clearly was not easy. The other transformations of the demonic and divine were no weaker than the Spirit Turtle Transformation, and they contained utterly different wills.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance sat in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and calculated day and night, yet his Myriad Heavenly Tomes could only nurture a group of Human Sovereigns. Given his own cultivation, that was the limit.

    No matter how great at deducing and calculating he was, the paths were different, and that was that.

    Under this situation, the Spirit Turtle Transformation instead became an obstacle. Each transformation of the demonic and divine was a different path.

    He had gone too far down the path of the spirit turtle, and he even had to start over with the other paths. This was extremely difficult. He progressed with his deductions at turtle speed.

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    There was less than a decade till the promised time of the Blood Oath of the Nether River. He was running out of time, yet all he could do was sit there patiently and take everything slowly.

    Suddenly one day, a black paper crane flew into the Xuanming dwelling. It unfurled slowly and Chao Tianjiao¡¯s voice echoed through the entire cavern. ¡°Li Qingshan, the day of the duel draws near. Are you ready? Hahahaha!¡± Her laughter was filled with undisguised malice.

    After becoming a Human Immortal, harassing Li Qingshan basically became her favourite pastime. The more Li Qingshan resisted, the more delight she derived from it. Towards the end, he downright just played dead and let her do whatever she wanted. He just treated it like he had fucked a dog.

    He admitted it anyway. Back then, he had taken advantage of her, so it was basically retribution. As the old saying went, ¡°A day as husband and wife, a hundred days of devotion.¡± Who knew how many days they had spent together as husband and wife, yet she actually still remembered this bet. She was basically treating him as something beneath human.

    It left Li Qingshan so furious that he ground his teeth. Why don¡¯t I just crush this woman to death with a Wolf Fang mountain?

 Chapter 1539

    Li Qingshan flicked his finger. The paper crane turned to dust, scattering on the black water.

    The fury in his heart was extinguished after burning for merely an instant. The three mountains were for Demon God Qiongqi, not for an argument with a woman.

    His gaze was deep, dark like the black water, ebbing away gently. In just a split second, he calculated all the advantages and disadvantages involved.

    If he had not forgotten everything, perhaps he could still put up a fight. If he challenged a divine general of the Six Ding, he was without a doubt asking to be humiliated.

    As a result, the most optimal choice was to directly forfeit and remove Chao Tianjiao¡¯s opportunity to be cocky. However, that woman would never let him avoid the battle.

    Yeah, ever since he completed the Spirit Turtle Transformation, it was always very easy for him to calm down and consider problems from a purely rational point of view, so pure that it was almost cold.

    Though¡­ he just felt like something was missing¡­

    But¡­ what was it?

    He lowered his head and pressed his hand against his chest. His heartbeat was extremely slow, and his blood seemed to have cooled as well, flowing through the entirety of his body through his veins and bringing forth a strange sensation of quiet and loneliness.

    If he shut his eyes, then he seemed to be still floating through Ruin¡¯s End, where the black water gradually swallowed the warmth and his memories.

    ¡°Who am I?¡±

    In reality, up until now, he had only heard an interesting story, with a main character called Li Qingshan.

    Perhaps due to some embellishment by the narrator, intentionally or otherwise, this ¡°Li Qingshan¡± was both courageous and stubborn. He liked to joke around, but when it mattered, he was very valiant, like he was forever a young man.

    He lowered his head. The black water only reflected the cold face of a grown man.

    In order to not disappoint Xiao An, he tried impersonating this ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, joking around with the heavenly kings.

    ¡°But¡­ who am I?¡±

    Gazing at the circular sky over his head, never did he find it to be so distant, and it seemed to grow more distant with each passing moment. He was currently sinking into the abyss alone, where he would sink into Ruin¡¯s End one day.

    Everything was logical. Losing almost all of his memories was equivalent to going through a rebirth and beginning a new life. How could it all be recovered through a single story, a single novel?

    She must have sensed it the moment she saw him! That was why she cried so painfully. Instead, it was he who realised afterwards, or perhaps he realised nothing.

    To her, most of me is essentially dead. All that remains is my last breath. She wanted to preserve this breath, which is why she wanted to return to the World of the Five Continents!

    Drip. From the craggy stalactites, the water dripped into the black water.

    His gaze rippled gently. For an instant, smiles and sorrows flashed past.

    He ground his teeth; his face became warped, trying his best to stand up, to break free from all the beliefs that the bloodline of the spirit turtle had bestowed upon him, the calm and cool planning, the desire to play safe and stay out of harm¡¯s way.

    He needed to accept the battle. Even if he was asking to be humiliated, he could never admit defeat.

    .

    Otherwise, would he still be Li Qingshan?

    He sucked in a deep breath and let out a great roar. The black water surged, and it echoed through the abyss, reaching into the sky.

    ¡°Let¡¯s fight! Before I sink into the abyss. You have no other choice.¡±

    On the day of the battle, in the Xuanwu arena.

    The direct disciples had arrived a long time ago, chatting to each other in the spectator¡¯s stand on the cliff. Chao Tianjiao had specially invited them over to watch. Even if they had not been invited, how could they miss out on a show like this?

    A person asked with a smile, ¡°Le Tian, why aren¡¯t you setting up a gamble?¡±

    Le Tian shrugged. ¡°Not qualified.¡®¡¯

    Clearly, he was not just referring to himself. The direct disciples all glanced at each other, and no one objected.

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    One of them was the first senior brother, the captain of the army, a vicious figure who directly faced a Demon God. The other was respected even among Human Sovereigns, the leader of the Six Ding, a subordinate of Zhenwu.

    If the weak used the strong for a gamble, they would be biting off more than they could chew even if the strong did not care. If they were killed by a slap, they deserved it as well. Speaking of which, the two fighting today were both relatively vengeful!

    Le Tian crossed his hands behind his head and said lazily, ¡°If I were to set up a gamble, who would you gamble on?¡±

    ¡°Senior sister Chao of course! First senior brother is impressive, but Chao Tianjiao wants to teach him a lesson, so that¡¯s a simple comparison to make!¡±

    ¡°A comparison against what?¡±

    ¡°A mother educating her son!¡±

    ¡°Pft! Hahahaha!¡±

    Everyone roared with laughter. Over the past few years, Chao Tianjiao had truly gone to work with Li Qingshan. The various stories were widespread among the direct disciples.

    Even if he set up a gamble like this, it was pointless. The battle prowess of a Human Immortal was utterly overwhelming. Not a single Human Sovereign stood a chance. If they were to be a little more honest, this was all just a farce.

    Only Le Tian did not smile. He suddenly noticed something, turning around and bowing. ¡°Greetings, first senior brother!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back on another cliff nearby, like a philosopher deep in thought.

    The direct disciples immediately fell silent. ¡°Greetings, first senior brother!¡±

    In particular, the one who made the joke began to panic. ¡°F- first senior brother, when did you arrive?¡±

    ¡°A while ago.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. His eyes were deep and quiet as if he could see through everything. The direct disciples felt like they were facing the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    They immediately recalled every single detail that occurred on the battlefield in the Demon domain and his invincible figure when he challenged the Demon God. Only then did they suddenly realise that the shade of war had never left them. The person right before them was the brightest, most evident mark from that terrifying nightmare. No matter how they joked about him, he never dimmed or faded.

    The scales of victory in their minds immediately began to tilt. Perhaps¡­ first senior brother¡­ really does have a chance?

    Ruan Yaozhu sighed inside, He¡¯s become even more unfathomable. Though, he just seems to have changed so much.

    Li Qingshan looked away from them again and continued to think. Originally, it was not like he could not take a joke, but now, he only seemed even more indifferent. Even when he tried his best to probe around and deduce a favourable outcome, he did not find the slightest chance at all.

    He suddenly raised his head, and a silver star appeared in the clear sky. A comet shot straight over, turning into a female war god clad in silver armour in the air, riding a black-furred heaven-gazing hou. She radiated with a mighty aura, quite a sight to behold.

    ¡°Greetings, senior sister!¡±

    The direct disciples did not dare to make eye contact with her, lowering their heads together. That was a natural pressure brought forth from someone of a completely different realm and status.

    Li Qingshan stared at her quietly. His eyes rippled.

    ¡°Spare the formalities!¡± Chao Tianjiao swung her hand generously and feigned thought. ¡°Hmm? Why do I remember that someone challenged me in the past?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. How could he still remember what happened back then? All he knew was this was a thing.

    Chao Tianjiao continued to provoke him. ¡°Seems to be a guy with the surname Li, called some black mountain or blue mountain. Who is it!? Stand forward if you have guts!¡±

    Li Qingshan remained silent, or perhaps, this question made him think again.

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    ¡°What, you¡¯ve been castrated or something?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao really was quite puzzled. In the past, he would have lost his temper a long time ago, charging over to throw his life at her. Why was he so well-behaved today as if he was someone completely different now? What exactly had happened during this time? Surely he had not actually castrated himself just to stop her from prevailing!

    At this moment, a voice with a tone that was ten times more insulting than Chao Tianjiao¡¯s echoed through the Xuanwu arena. ¡°Bitch, you wanna try it?¡±

    A man strode over through the air. He was bare-chested with his scarlet robes in tatters, rippling like fire and dyeing the sky red. His heavy, violent aura turned into a vicious great wind, disturbing the surroundings.

    ¡°A- another first senior brother!?¡±

 Chapter 1540

    Li Qingshan and Li Qingshan gazed at one another at the same time. They possessed the same figure and appearance, yet no one mistook them for the same person. They were as different as ice and fire.

    They were both completely different from Li Qingshan before he separated into them. The black water of Ruin¡¯s End and the tortures of hell had left a clear mark on both on them, leading to an irreversible divergence.

    Coldness or frenzy, silence or roars, acceptance¡­ or revenge!

    Their eyes met and sparks flew.

    One smiled away viciously as his killing intent flared. The other gripped three mountains silently.

    The atmosphere in the Xuanwu arena suddenly changed as if they had returned to the horrific battlefield in the Demon domain. There was not a single direct disciple who dared to joke about this anymore.

    Chao Tianjiao flew into a fury. ¡°Bastard, who¡¯d you call a bitch? Hold on, Origin Soul!?¡±

    ¡°Heh, yet you¡¯re the one who answered!¡±

    Li Qingshan repressed his killing intent and turned towards Chao Tianjiao. However, he thought inside, That¡¯s not ¡°my¡± gaze. In other words, there¡¯s still going to be a battle!

    But he failed to realise that ever since he returned from hell, his gaze had become much more sunken. His tattered robes danced in the wind, like a demonic tyrant.

    The direct disciples were thrown into an uproar. ¡°Origin Soul!¡±

    It had only been three decades since Li Qingshan joined the sect. He went from a measly Soul Nascence cultivator, a formal disciple, to condensing a Yin Soul and a Yang Soul and becoming the first senior brother of the Myriad sect. To cultivators like them, the time he took was only equivalent to a few secluded cultivations.

    That was already unbelievable enough, yet now, he had actually taken another step forward, undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation. He was basically challenging their understanding of the world. They even felt like their heads were thrown into chaos.

    ¡°Yeah, if he wasn¡¯t an Origin Soul cultivator, how could he possess this aura? How could he contend against senior sister Chao? But how is this possible? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s the reincarnation of an almighty cultivator? Don¡¯t tell me the Human realm also has a person chosen by the heavens?¡±

    Even Chao Tianjiao found this unbelievable. She asked sternly, ¡°Who are you?¡±

    With her level of insight, she immediately recognised the tremendous difference between the two Li Qingshans. She could vaguely guess that Li Qingshan¡¯s Yang Soul had lost control and experienced some kind of opportunity, actually undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation and reaching Origin Soul.

    This was not particularly rare in the cultivation community, but the consequences were often disastrous.

    The question she asked was critical. If the Origin Soul Li Qingshan answered with a different name, then that meant he had completely severed his tie with his original self. In other words, there was the possibility of coexistence.

    However, if his reply was still ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, then a struggle to the death would be unavoidable. The sky did not have two suns. A kingdom did not have two lords. It was impossible for the world to have two Li Qingshans.

    This damned brat, sacrificing your Yin Soul without any hesitation back then to deceive me. Now, you¡¯re finally facing retribution, aren¡¯t you?

    She was rather conflicted. She had no idea whose side to stand on. If she just stood by and watched, the Li Qingshan below would definitely die.

    The Li Qingshan on the ground heard that and murmured to himself, ¡°Who am I?¡±

    However, Li Qingshan in the sky laughed. The question was far too easy to answer. ¡°I¡¯m your granddaddy!¡±

    The corner of Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eye twitched. She suddenly laughed aloud. ¡°Alright, fantastic! Originally, we agreed this time would be a duel to the death, but after ¡®toying¡¯ with you for all these years, I really couldn¡¯t bring myself to kill you. Now, I don¡¯t have to worry.¡±

    She slowly drew a silver blade. The blade shimmered with stars, forming the seven stars of xuanwu. Light flowed like mercury, filled with an aura of coldness and harshness, like the autumn wind blowing away the fallen leaves, wave of cold after wave of cold.

    In the sky, Li Qingshan strolled over with his hands behind his back with composure. ¡°They all say to deal with internal issues before external, but I really won¡¯t be satisfied unless I teach a woman like you a lesson first today!¡±

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    He could clearly recall all the ¡°harassment¡± that occurred over the years, which left him fuming. He knew his other self was observing himself, and he knew Chao Tianjiao was not an opponent he could take down easily. If he could not win against her, then everything would become very troublesome.

    However, he just wanted to show ¡°himself¡± just who the real Li Qingshan was.

    With a cold flash, Chao Tianjiao struck first.

    Li Qingshan was split in half mid-air. He sneered. ¡°Is that it?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see how many times you can be split!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao retorted and swung her blade. Her movements were extremely slow, converting force into flexibility.

    Her blade produced waves after waves of silver haze, clear like moonlight. The light touched everything and embraced everything, overlapping together. In an instant, who knew how many harsh blade aura of xuanwu she had condensed.

    Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. ¡°This woman really hasn¡¯t been wasting her time beyond the Nine Heavens!¡±

    Under everyone¡¯s watch, Li Qingshan was sliced apart layer by layer. Every single slice was so thin that it was transparent, such that they could clearly see his veins and bones, drifting apart gently in the air.

    Chao Tianjiao did not become complacent at all. She was well aware that she had not landed a single strike on him so far. Instead, he had proactively separated his Origin Soul.

    A sneer appeared on the surface of each cut of Li Qingshan, from the smallest cut through the tip of his finger to the largest cut through his chest. They said together, ¡°Impressive bladesmanship, but it seems fucking useless!¡±

    Everyone was dumbfounded by the eerie sight. Even in their worst nightmares, this would never appear.

    ¡°Useless? Then try this!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was solemn. She raised her blade high into the air, and it shimmered with light, condensing on the edge again and again, making it grow brighter and brighter. In the blink of an eye, it became so dazzling that no one could stare at it directly. It turned the entire Xuanwu arena into a world of silver.

    Under the silver glow, all of the cuts seized up, losing their ability to float about.

    Li Qingshan immediately felt like a mountain was weighing on him. The coldness rapidly invaded his Origin Soul as if he had returned to the glaciers of the Hell realm, except the coldness was far more destructive than the tortures of hell.

    No matter how he transformed, it was all useless against this indiscriminate attack. It turned into a pure clash of power.

    Chao Tianjiao was a Human Immortal, while he did not have a body. From a certain perspective, he was just a Ghost Immortal. Not only were his powers restrained, but he did not possess any advantage in terms of strength either.

    If this continued, defeat was only a matter of time.

    All of the cuts reassembled together, but they did not form a human figure, seeming as if he had gotten the order wrong when he panicked. It turned into a ¡°monster¡± where every single component was composed of a person, yet it was also completely non-human.

    And it seemed like in order to assemble it all together in a hurry, every piece grew recklessly, producing countless limbs and body parts. It became even stranger and more eerie, such that it was beyond description.

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    All of the direct disciples received a vicious mental blow. The more they tried to distinguish the parts clearly, the more painful and confused they became. They could not even shift their gazes away. They were drawn to it firmly.

    The indescribable monster possessed countless faces that exhibited countless different expressions¡ªlaughter, fury, fear, mockery, guilt¡­ There were countless fluctuating emotions, such that even they lost control, on the verge of suffering from cultivation deviation.

    Even Chao Tianjiao¡¯s blade trembled slightly. The silver glow dimmed too.

    The indescribable monster possessed countless mouths on its body, producing indescribable sounds at her. Her mind was in a mess.

    Li Qingshan suddenly embraced her gently from behind, whispering into her ear with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I am your inner demon!¡±

 Chapter 1541

    Oh no! Chao Tianjiao¡¯s heart sank. Warmth pervaded her entire back, as if her silver armour no longer remained and her skin pressed against his chest. She said furiously, ¡°You bastard! You underhanded wretch!¡±

    In a direct confrontation, Li Qingshan would never be her opponent. It would be useless even if he unleashed the Divine Fire of World Destruction. The harsh and bleak intent behind the path of zhenwu was extremely effective against demons too.

    However, when they were caught in the ambush in Cold Blood pass, he had assisted her in refining her xuanwu Origin Soul through dual cultivation and sacrificing his Yin Soul. That resulted in an opening, a ¡°back door¡± that only opened up to him.

    Originally, with Li Qingshan¡¯s insufficient strength, even if he infiltrated her through there, only a beating would be waiting for him.

    Now that he had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, at least they stood at the same realm of cultivation, so the situation changed.

    ¡°Hah, and you¡¯re still shameless enough to mention it!¡± Li Qingshan smiled wickedly. ¡°Bitch, do you remember how you treated me all these years?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao said angrily, ¡°If you call me bitch again, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll what?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s hand entered her armour and arrived on her chest.

    ¡°Let go!¡± Chao Tianjiao was both embarrassed and furious. ¡°Not here!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s change the location!¡± Li Qingshan grinned and threw himself on her.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s vision blurred. The Xuanwu arena had vanished. The scene around her was extremely familiar, the small river gurgling and the poplar and willow trees swaying gently. A familiar voice rang out by her ear. ¡°Do you still remember? This is ¡®our¡¯ place!¡±

    This was the illusion where they first cultivated together, but this time, she was clearly aware he had dragged her into the dream, which instead brought her some relief.

    She then sensed that she had no weapon in hand, nor any armour. There was only a thin veil over her body, vaguely outlining her perfect figure, embraced firmly in his arms.

    She slapped at him furiously, but she was feeble. He caught her easily and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s go again for another round of dual cultivation!¡±

    The direct disciples recovered from the chaos. In the air, the indescribable monster had already vanished. All that remained in the sky was Chao Tianjiao, without any expression and her eyes shut like she was asleep.

    They were all shocked. They were aware that Li Qingshan¡¯s attack earlier had not targeted them, and they had only suffered from the side effects. Otherwise, they would have suffered from cultivation deviation already, or even dying from madness.

    ¡°The strength of Human Immortals truly is terrifying! Or perhaps we should say he really is the first senior brother! Regardless of how disadvantageous the situation is, he¡¯s always able to turn the situation around!¡±

    They all looked towards Li Qingshan on the cliff, but they saw no complacency at all. Instead, he was solemn, like he was facing a powerful opponent.

    That was because he had also been affected, and he had sensed the deep malice from his other self.

    Due to the bloodline of the spirit turtle, it naturally suppressed all demonic thoughts, so the impact on him was not particularly great. However, he clearly saw another himself appear behind Chao Tianjiao in human form when the monster vanished, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, I am your inner demon!¡±, except he was looking at him when he said that.

    Gazing at the blue sky, his heart that was as peaceful as an abyss finally rippled. The situation was crushingly disadvantageous to him. That was no regular opponent, but ¡°himself¡± with complete memories. He understood everything about the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, not only extremely skilled in battle, but also possessing terrifying determination and willpower as well.

    Now, his best plan was to retreat back to the Xuanming dwelling. He had already established the Xuanming formation again. It was enough to stop regular Human Immortals.

    However, he just sat there unbudging. A stubbornness that did not belong to a spirit turtle made him remain where he was.

    His eyes shone, and he swung his hand resolutely. Pieces of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell flew over, overlapping and constructing an impervious fortress.

    He was not counting on how effective this line of defence would be. He just did so to avoid any sneak attacks, which would give him enough time to respond. He gripped the three mountains firmly and said sternly, ¡°Time for a battle to the death, Li Qingshan!¡±

    After today, only one person could continue to use this name!

    At his moment, Chao Tianjiao¡¯s aura rapidly declined as if it had been sucked into an invisible black hole.

    In the nightmare, Li Qingshan conquered and seized as he pleased. She did not offer much resistance as if she was completely submerged in the pleasure. She only looked at him strangely every now and then.

    No matter how many threats she unleashed, this duel was not a struggle to the death at the end of the day. They were not some unforgivable mortal enemies either. They were ¡°cultivation partners¡± anyway, so who knew how many times they had done it already. This time, he had just turned the situation around, or in simpler terms, changed the position.

    Otherwise, even if he used the opening, he would have never succeeded so easily. Even if he succeeded, he would have never acted so freely. With Chao Tianjiao¡¯s personality, she would rather have them perish together than be humiliated for nothing.

    Chao Tianjiao suddenly asked, ¡°Are you really going to kill yourself?¡±

    Li Qingshan said in exasperation, ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about. This is my own business!¡±

    ¡°Heh, then which of you am I supposed to recognise?¡±

    ¡°Regardless of who it is, it¡¯s not up for you to recognise me.¡±

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    ¡°How strange. Just what did you go through? You seem to have suffered quite a lot!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao suddenly extended her hand, caressing Li Qingshan¡¯s cheek gently as if she sympathised with him.

    They had gone through all these years of fighting and arguing¡ªof course, primarily her beating him. If she truly felt nothing towards him, why would this opening still remain?

    Now that they were connected, she even felt some sorrow. Only extremely great pain could make a person so powerful.

    ¡°Don¡¯t sympathise with me!¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and grabbed her wrist, pressing her against the ground again. He tried his best to absorb energy through dual cultivation to temporarily make up for the lack of a body. Despite that, he still possessed deep fear and caution.

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re still afraid of losing?¡± Chao Tianjiao found it very puzzling.

    ¡°I will never underestimate myself.¡±

    Li Qingshan possessed a very clear feeling that ¡°he himself¡± must have been in possession of a great weapon that could end his life. It was very likely from Ruin¡¯s End, from another Great Sage.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why not spare yourself? Go separate ways¡­¡± Chao Tianjiao licked her lips, purposefully using a joke to hide her worry. ¡°¡­ I can even change things up. There¡¯s nothing fun about perishing together!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! No matter what, Li Qingshan will always keep living. Otherwise, who¡¯s supposed to continue down the path to the Nine Heavens? That person might not necessarily be me either!¡±

    If it really came down to a point where they needed to perish together, he would not hesitate. If he had to sacrifice himself so he himself could achieve his goals, then he would sacrifice himself!

    Even if he was killed by his own hands, none of it would have been a waste as long as he passed on the precious information from Av¨©ci.

    Keep going! Keep going at all costs!

    Chao Tianjiao was taken aback. ¡°You sure are mad!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and waved his hand. ¡°Farewell, bitch!¡±

    Li Qingshan on the cliff shivered inside, He¡¯s coming!

    The sky suddenly dimmed. A vicious demon god with blue skin, three heads, and six arms stood in the air.

    With the form of a m¨¡ra and a wrathful expression, black aura rose up like fire around him, filled with an unprecedented will of great destruction and great annihilation.

    To destroy the enemy, to destroy the world, to destroy himself!

    A vertical eye suddenly opened up on his forehead. In the next moment, the Divine Fire of World Destruction swallowed the entire cliff, destroying the fortress constructed from the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell.

    Surrounded by the divine flames that destroyed everything, the other Li Qingshan raised the Mountain-moving tablet high into the air!

    The arcane treasure personally bestowed to him by the Mountain-moving Great Sage could contend against Demon Gods. It easily parted the Divine Fire of World Destruction. The three mountains were ready to go.

    In the sky, the Li Qingshan who had transformed into the form of the m¨¡ra narrowed his eyes. He immediately felt life-threatening danger. That¡¯s the treasure that ¡°I¡± obtained from Ruin¡¯s End! Sure enough, it¡¯s powerful!

    Even though he would be the first one to die to it if he did not handle the situation properly, since this was his choice, he no longer cared about the taunting of fate.

    ¡°Come!¡±

    But in the next moment, Li Qingshan lowered the Mountain-moving tablet again, spreading his arms at the sky.

    Li Qingshan was stunned at first before flying into a rage. Never did he think that ¡°he himself¡± would actually give up on resistance and place his fate in the hands of another! Even if that person was himself.

    This coward was unworthy of the name ¡°Li Qingshan¡±, but he would never let this heaven-sent opportunity slip by. He threw himself into that body of the demonic and divine and began possessing it.

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    In the beginning, he still guarded against any scheme from ¡°himself¡± warily, but ¡°he¡± did not resist at all. ¡°He¡± did not even plan to perish together, silently allowing him to take charge of everything.

    Li Qingshan questioned furiously, ¡°Why!?¡±

    Had ¡°he¡± really turned out so horribly from just a visit to Ruin¡¯s End? Was ¡°his¡± will really this feeble?

    ¡°He¡± shut his eyes and everything that happened in the past flashed through his eyes. Apart from the darkness of Ruin¡¯s End, there was only her. From a certain perspective, he was like a newly-born infant. Apart from the residual ¡°memories of his past life¡±, there were only the nights that he had spent with her, those tears and laughter.

    ¡°If I kill you, she will lose Li Qingshan forever.¡±

 Chapter 1542

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside. As the possession inched towards success, he gradually devoured ¡°his¡± memories.

    The memories were very shallow, not a raging torrent, just fragments of broken ice. Every single fragment shared the same deep, dark background, reflecting the same image.

    The Mountain-moving Great Sage that loomed like a mountain in Ruin¡¯s End, the well-like sky within the Xuanwming dwelling, as well as her, crying away like a homeless child.

    The sight stabbed deeply in his heart too, even more painful than the tortures of hell.

    So¡­ ¡°I¡± forgot everything.

    So¡­ ¡°I¡¯m¡± not a coward!

    They had both gone through terrifying hardships, only breaking out after all of their effort, and they were both still scarred.

    Even when he had not lost any memories, the torment of hell and the unforgivable betrayal made him burn with fury and hatred, as well as deep suspicion.

    If even the Great Sages would betray each other, then exactly what awaited him at the end of the path to the Nine Heavens?

    He too was filled with doubt.

    That was, until this moment!

    ¡°He¡± sank into the endless sea of consciousness calmly and quietly, unable to think again, Who exactly am I?

    Even when ¡°he¡± possessed the complete bloodline of the spirit turtle, able to forbode the heavenly secrets and peer into fate, this was the only question that never received an answer.

    Sigh, he just did not understand in the end!

    However, that no longer mattered. Li Qingshan had already returned.

    Suddenly, a voice answered firmly, ¡°You are Li Qingshan!¡±

    A great hand reached over, hoisting ¡°him¡± out of the deep ocean.

    On the surface of the ocean, the two Li Qingshans faced one another, like they were facing a mirror. They possessed the same appearance, but vastly different auras.

    The world spun. The frenzy and silence, the passion and coldness conflicted endlessly, clashing and shining!

    So ¡°I¡± had already completed the Spirit Turtle Transformation, naturally suppressing all demonic thoughts. If ¡°I¡± did not proactively give up, it would have almost been impossible to possess ¡°me¡±. If it came down to a direct confrontation, I who possess all of the memories might even understand better just how terrifying those three mountains are! Heh, have I been spared by ¡°myself¡±?

    Yeah, thinking about it, ¡°he¡± was the main body, while he was only an Origin Soul.

    With the body of the demonic and divine, ¡°he¡± possessed unrivalled potential. If he wanted to turn the tables, perhaps this was the only chance.

    However, he smiled easily. In the next moment, ¡°he¡± sensed the fierce torrent of memories. The past that she had narrated to him were all presented before ¡°his¡± eyes.

    The childhood spent with an ox, the youth spent running around through the world¡­

    The first meeting with her, the farewell with brother ox¡­

    Everything became extremely clear, no longer just a fascinating story, but a vivid life. The emotions hidden inside were so intense that they easily broke down the gate to his heart sealed in ice, turning into an oceanic flow.

    The transformations of the demonic and divine that were forcibly suppressed awakened one by one. The small world frozen inside his body began to revolve again. The world rumbled.

    ¡°He¡± finally found his own name again, furrowing his brows and gazing at him with mixed emotions.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    They now possessed the same memories, closing much of the difference between the two of them.

    However, because the body of the demonic and divine was still intrinsically different from his Origin Soul, a great divergence still existed. It was impossible for them to just merge together so simply.

    That was obviously tremendously beneficial to ¡°him¡±, but to him, not only did he give up on the victory within arm¡¯s reach, but he even strengthened his opponent. Recovering his memories meant recovering his fighting spirit and unruliness.

    ¡°You¡¯re willing to die for her, yet I¡¯m not willing to live because of this.¡±

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    ¡°Heh, aren¡¯t you afraid that once I undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll suppress you immediately and then refine a new Origin Soul?¡±

    The delicate balance only existed because the Origin Soul was a major realm higher than the body. Once their cultivations were the same, ¡°he¡± would possess a crushing advantage. By then, destroying the troublesome Origin Soul was the optimal decision.

    ¡°Your thoughts cannot escape my control.¡± He pointed at his own head.

    ¡°You controlling yourself? We¡¯re fucked in the head!¡± ¡°He¡± mocked himself and gazed into his eyes. ¡°People change!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, people do change, but in Av¨©ci, six-eared bro told me that I had to believe that they¡¯re different from those guys up in the heavens.¡±

    Even upon betrayal, he persisted with his beliefs.

    If he did not even have the courage to believe in himself, then what was the point of the so-called beyond the Nine Heavens?

    He gave back all of his memories without holding back at all, turning around and disappearing from the endless sea of consciousness, returning to the small world.

    He left ¡°him¡± standing alone, recalling everything that happened in hell. ¡°His¡± expression gradually became determined. ¡°I have to believe!¡±

    ¡°He¡± had to believe that there would be a day when ¡°he¡± would reach an agreement with himself again. He believed this day would not be too far away. When he faced dire straits again, matched with an undefeatable opponent, these small divergences would be nothing. Survival and killing the enemy would always be most important.

    They were both aware of this. Compared to destroying one another, this was the only way to erupt with the greatest strength.

    And the last thing that Li Qingshan lacked in his life were dire straits and powerful opponents.

    ¡°Heh, who can help the fact that ¡®we¡¯ chose the same path?¡±

    He shut his eyes and digested his memories.

    The Divine Fire of World Destruction vanished. The terrifying aura to destroy everything dispersed. The direct disciples gazed at one another fearfully, with some still uncertain about what had happened.

    Only Chao Tianjiao was stunned as if she had seen something extremely unbelievable.

    Normally, once a clone lost control, they would either go their own ways or engage in a struggle to the death, even perishing together. She had never heard of them coexisting peacefully in the end.

    This was Li Qingshan¡¯s greatest difference from regular cultivators.

    If they prioritised longevity, then only by diversifying and splitting up could they best avoid the danger of death.

    If they prioritised their own interests, then only by eliminating one another at all costs could they have everything to themselves.

    People were vulnerable to change. Faced with this situation, just how many people were willing to sacrifice themselves, to help themselves, to believe in themselves?

    She sighed with a smile. ¡°This bastard sure is a freak!¡±

    Li Qingshan digested all of his memories and opened his eyes slowly, leaving the state of the Spirit Turtle Transformation.

    He had not taken his Origin Soul back, but all of the transformations of the demonic and divine awakened again. As long as he made a breakthrough in any of them, he would undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    And everything that his Origin Soul had faced in hell, all of its thoughts and comprehensions, would become new resources to him. In particular, the information in the letter of wind from the Wind-coursing Great Sage was so precious that it was no less than the three mountains. All the transformations of the demonic and divine benefitted from it.

    With the journey to the Demon domain already in sight, it was time to take another step for progress!

    But before this, he had to visit Xiao An first and tell her¡­

    The Hungry Ghost realm, Unadorned city.

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    The lone city stood tall. The chilly winds shrieked as the dark clouds refused to let up.

    Xiao An sat with her brows furrowed in worry, too restless to cultivate. He had returned, but he had forgotten who he was. The city continued to stand tall, but its foundations had already been shaken, currently collapsing and declining with each passing day. However, she did not care about any of this. What was the point of cultivating anymore?

    At this moment, a figure descended from above, smiling with his arms spread. ¡°I¡¯ve returned!¡±

    She was taken aback. She wanted to smile, but she could not help the tears that swelled forth. She threw herself into his arms, embracing him firmly.

    Everything lost had returned. It could not be wrong. That was her Li Qingshan!

 Chapter 1543

    A crescent moon illuminated the lone city. Each of them went through a long journey, facing the mountains of blades and the seas of fire from hell, traversing the endless abyss of Ruin¡¯s End, returning home once more.

    They had a thousand words for each other, but none of it needed to be said. They just needed to share a glance, a smile. With that, all of their thoughts and all of their pain would receive solace.

    He no longer needed to sink into thought or roar furiously, setting aside the burden on him and stopping to gaze at the sky.

    On this warm night, he fell asleep peacefully in her lap, sinking into a lighter dream once more.

    Under the pale-white moon, Xiao An caressed his face gently. She gripped a long string of prayer beads and informed the other heavenly kings about the return of the ¡°demon king¡±.

    The Daemonic Beast realm.

    The huge kun moved its wing-like fins fervently, diving towards the deeper ocean. It was riddled with wounds, having just escaped a hunt. The cries of dragons continued to echo in its ears.

    The ocean had always been the territory of the dragon clan. If they had a blacklist of most unwelcome visitors, kunpengs definitely would have ranked first.

    For the sake of cultivation, she was unable to leave the ocean, so she spent much of her time running and hiding. Who knew how many close scrapes with death she had already. She did not seem particularly free at all.

    In this natural world of the survival of the fittest, anything that was not an apex predator had to be prepared to become prey some time, some day. This was the price for ¡°freedom¡±, not something that the weak could endure.

    She paused in a great valley to rest. When she received the news, she smiled. ¡°As long as you¡¯re back!¡±

    A pair of cold eyes suddenly lit up in the depths of the valley. Thousands of tentacles extended out from a crack slowly, without causing any disturbances in the water, enveloping her like a net.

    A new round of hunting began again¡­

    The Asura realm.

    The wind and dust swept the banners as the war drums shook the stars.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was locked in combat, but the situation was extremely disadvantageous. The army under his command was forced into a retreat as the army qi on him rapidly diminished, gradually becoming overwhelmed by the Asura Sovereign inside the Army God.

    The method of cultivation for asura had never been secluded cultivation, but triumphing at the cost of countless lives, becoming an undefeatable god of war through endless wars.

    If they did not challenge the strong, then fighting would all be meaningless. Blindly harassing the weak would instead weaken their battle spirit and make them lose the blessings of the heavens.

    However, challenging the strong was easier said than done. It was basically asking for humiliation.

    In order to keep his identity a secret, he was unable to use any of the powers from the R¨¡hu clan, so it was equivalent to fighting those stronger than him with his hands tied behind his back. As a result, it obviously led to frequent defeats. The only reason why he had not fallen in battle yet was completely due to the blessings of the heavens.

    And this luck had run out.

    Right now, his opponent was an Asura Battle God, which was equivalent to Human Immortals or Heretic Gods. His battle prowess was enough to crush any regular Human Immortal or Heretic God.

    Of course, his opponent never bothered to confront him directly. In the very beginning, he sent envoys to convince him to surrender, wanting to recruit him as one of his own. As an Asura Sovereign who regularly suffered defeat yet never died, he had quite some renown in this region.

    He obviously refused to surrender, so the Asura Battle God cut to the chase, sending Asura Sovereigns under his command to hunt him down.

    As his cultivation recovered, regular Asura Sovereigns no longer posed a challenge to him. Despite several attempts at hunting him down, not only did they fail to succeed, but his army instead grew stronger.

    The Asura Battle God became even more interested in him, personally leading an army to corner him. Coupled with over a dozen Asura Sovereigns that tagged in and out of battle, he was a little overwhelmed. Now, he was heavily surrounded.

    This time, even if he was blessed by the heavens, he would probably struggle to escape. Even when the Asura Battle God never took to the battlefield himself, he possessed blessings from the heavens no less than him, compromising his advantage.

    He either surrendered or died in battle. There was no other choice apart from that.

    Now that he received this news, it was basically hope in the most dire of circumstances.

    ¡°What! He¡¯s recovered his memories? What! His Origin Soul has undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation? Doesn¡¯t that mean he split apart? Whatever, get him over here to fight for me!¡±

    The heavenly kings each had their own battles. No one¡¯s life was smooth sailing. There would always be thistles everywhere as they chased after a sweet dream.

    Origin Soul projection!

    Li Qingshan glanced at his sleeping self and bade farewell to Xiao An with a smile. He left the Hungry Ghost realm, returned to the Xuanming dwelling, and entered the Asura realm. He gazed at the blood-red sky.

    ¡°War! War will never change!¡±

    He set off on a journey once again, rushing off to a distant battlefield.

    ¡­¡­

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    Several hundred kilometres away from Unadorned city was a vast forest. There was not a single leaf on the dead trees. White bones piled up under the trees.

    The forest was deathly silent. Not a single undead dared to set foot there.

    In the very depths of the forest, an inconspicuous burl protruded from an inconspicuous tree. A shiny, white pearl was embedded deep inside, like a white eyeball.

    At a closer glance, it seemed to resemble a skull, and it even seemed to be cackling away.

    That was Xiao An¡¯s Skull Prayer Bead. The reason why she left it there was for surveillance.

    Under the white bones and black soil, deep underground, there was an enormous, gloomy palace.

    Death qi and yin qi mixed together and condensed, like tangible fluid. Let alone the fact that it was buried so deeply underground, even if there was the light of day, visibility would probably be at a minimum.

    It resembled a catacomb, or perhaps it was a catacomb. The entire Hungry Ghost realm was a necropolis assembled from graves like this, burying countless failed cultivators and deceased souls.

    The name of the catacomb was Unadorned palace. It was where the Unadorned Ghost Immortal slumbered.

    While this old ghost was sleeping, Li Qingshan and Xiao An took Unadorned city together. The Ghost Sovereigns and Corpse Sovereigns either died or surrendered, basically taken down in one fell swoop. They all turned into Xiao An¡¯s food.

    As a result, she left a Skull Prayer Bead here to guard against the sudden awakening of this ¡°family of the deceased¡±.

    The old ghost had always spent a century sleeping and a century awake in an extremely predictable manner, and there was still over three decades before he awakened, but it was always better to err on the side of caution. The heavens of the Hungry Ghost realm were quite hostile towards her as a successor of white bone.

    Of course, they were not people to be trifled with either. Once the thirty-odd years really had elapsed, they would ¡°raid the tomb¡± and burn this bastard to ashes even if the old ghost did not come for them.

    A black, stone casket hung upside down in the centre of the underground palace. Beneath it was a great chasm, deep and gloomy as if it led to the underworld.

    This was where underground veins intersected. In a regular world, this would definitely be a renowned mountain or river blessed by spiritual qi, most suited for establishing a dwelling. However, in the Hungry Ghost realm, there was no such thing as spiritual qi, only yin qi and death qi. They constantly gushed out of the chasm, seeping into the stone casket bit by bit.

    On this day, the chasm let out a strange rumble. Rocks jostled as they fell, and the stone casket shook gently.

    Ever since many years ago, or more accurately, from the day Li Qingshan and Xiao An occupied Unadorned city, earthquakes have occurred regularly here.

    It only seemed to be the natural phenomena of the crust moving, having just gathered around this period of time coincidentally.

    Earthquakes by nature had always been a string of events that occurred randomly. Perhaps it was just the shattering of a single rock that affected the entire structure of the plate, leading to a world-shaking earthquake.

    However, the shaking gradually stopped, and the stone casket that swung like a pendulum gradually settled down as well, without budging at all.

    The Unadorned palace itself was an indestructible formation, so it did not fear any earthquakes at all. Even if entire mountains collapsed outside, there would not be too much disturbance in here.

    If a mighty Ghost Immortal¡¯s dwelling collapsed to an earthquake, that would be utterly hilarious. The Unadorned Ghost Immortal slept very heavily, so he obviously could not be awakened by such a small disturbance.

    However, the situation seemed to be slightly different this time around.

    The death qi and yin qi gradually declined, completely vanishing before long.

    The stone casket suddenly opened by a crack!

    A pitch-black figure poked his head out. There were no facial features, just a black shadow. He was the Unadorned Ghost Immortal.

    He let out a wisp of his soul sense, quickly investigating the entire chasm. Soon, he discovered that the trajectory of the underground vein had changed.

    He was visibly surprised. Underground veins were equivalent to the blood vessels of a world. Unlike surface features like mountains and rivers, they changed extremely slowly.

    Because the Hungry Ghost realm was constantly devouring and expanding, it was slightly faster than other worlds, but it would take millions of years at the very least.

    Even when the surface geography was directly altered, it was very difficult to influence the trajectory of underground veins. That required highly precise calculations to achieve.

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    However, the constant earthquakes had subtly changed the trajectory of the underground vein, severing the source of energy to the Unadorned palace.

    Was this a coincidence? His gut told him this was not that simple.

    As a Ghost Immortal, he was already capable of viewing the laws, and over the lengthy passage of time, it became clearer and clearer to him. Peering into fate was as natural as seeing with his eyes and listening with his ears.

    However, his observation this time was far easier than any of his attempts in the past for some reason.

    ¡°Something¡¯s happened to Unadorned city!¡±

 Chapter 1544

    In the Asura realm, the mountains stood like the ocean as the setting sun was like blood.

    The sky that was already red became dyed even further, like it was bleeding. The clouds in the glow of the setting sun seemed to be burning. It was a grand and magnificent sight.

    It was as if daytime never existed, only sunrise and sunset.

    Falling in battle when the sun set and coming back to life when the sun rose. Only the blood-red colour never changed.

    That was a solemn melancholy, a valiant intensity, that those who lived under the blue sky and white clouds could never understand.

    Thump! Thump! Thump!

    The ground rumbled; the mountains shook. A giant advanced with heavy steps, actually carrying a balance that resembled a small mountain on its back.

    White towers and golden domes rose up from the palace. The scattered courtyards and corridors were dyed red by the light of the setting sun, like it was a glorious palace of a god.

    It was more worthy of the name ¡°god¡¯s palace¡± than most palaces in the world too. Compared to those structures built from rock and clay, a living Asura Battle God occupied this place.

    In the depths of a courtyard, a middle-aged man sat back leisurely in a seat, admiring the performance.

    There was only one dancer, dressed in a sari with a veil on her face. A single, pointy, white horn extended from her smooth forehead.

    Her movements were graceful, like a bird flying through the air, a peacock demonstrating its plumes. Her singing was soft and enchanting, silken and intangible, enough to leave people charmed. She turned the entire courtyard into a paradise within the woods.

    The war cries from the distant battlefield were diluted by the singing as well, serving as an insignificant contrast in the background.

    The man¡¯s eyes were half-closed, also enchanted by her performance.

    A robust figure suddenly leapt out of the space there, except he was an Asura Sovereign. He immediately dropped down on one knee and clasped his hands. ¡°Esteemed god, the kid still refuses to surrender!¡±

    The aura of slaughter from the battlefield suddenly disrupted the peace here. The dancer did not stop her performance.

    Nidaum opened his dark-red eyes reluctantly. ¡°Truly a ki?nara. It is a decadent sound, but it is still something difficult to part with!¡±

    Ki?nara were one of the eight legions, renowned for their expertise in singing and dancing. They neither belonged to the Heaven realm nor the Asura realm, but they primarily lived in the Heaven realm. They were known as Music Celestials.

    Often, during the wars between the Heaven realm and Asura realm, they were abducted by the Asura realm as ¡°spoils of war¡±. Their singing was at the limits of amusement in the world. They possessed the title of the Goddesses of Singing.

    Nidaum stroked his thick mustache and asked the Asura Sovereign, ¡°If I offer her as a gift, will he surrender?¡±

    ¡°Esteemed god, I think that kid won¡¯t surrender even if he dies in battle!¡± The Asura Sovereign seemed to recall something, becoming rather shaken, but he also demonstrated undisguised respect.

    ¡°Then she¡¯s useless.¡±

    Nidaum swung his hand casually, and the ki?nara woman¡¯s head fell to the ground. Her headless body continued to dance, and her veiled head continued to sing, becoming even more sorrowful and sentimental, like cuckoos singing for their deceased love.

    The Asura Sovereign immediately began to waver, struggling to control himself. He immediately stirred his fighting spirit and guarded his will. If he listened to singing like that for too long, it would definitely weaken his fighting spirit.

    Nidaum twiddled around with the tip of his mustache. ¡°If you put up a fight, you would have had a chance at survival!¡±

    With her gentle steps, the ki?nara woman lifted up her head elegantly, continuing to sing away.

    ¡°To rather die from singing than in battle. How obstinate.¡±

    Nidaum shook his head in pity. ¡°I¡¯ll check out this ¡®little king Ming¡¯ for myself!¡±

    King Ming¡¯s army, the central tent.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming dismissed his generals, facing a map alone.

    Suddenly, his ears caught something. A sharp whistle approached from the distance, breaking through the army formations in an instant and entering the tent.

    ¡°We finally meet, little king Ming!¡±

    Nidaum was as relaxed as if he was on a stroll, except his gaze was filled with an enthusiasm to subdue R¨¡hu Xiaoming as he stared at his back.

    It was not because he leaned a certain way, but because talents like him were far too rare.

    Even when he could not use the abilities and techniques of the R¨¡hu clan, the talent and strength that R¨¡hu Xiaoming demonstrated was still outstanding.

    In direct combat, he feared no Asura Sovereign. When he commanded the army, he could hold off a mighty Battle God. At the same time, he was skilled in assassination, archery, and various other warfare tactics. That was what flowed in his veins.

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    With how long the war had lasted, all the Asura Sovereigns under Nidaum¡¯s command recognised him too.

    Nidaum understood his value better than anyone else. Battle Gods had to be bathed in blood as well for a chance to become a true Asura War God, and when it came to their opponents, there were only other Battle Gods apart from the Heaven realm.

    If he had a general like him at the back, helping him command the army and gather the army qi, when he faced other Battle Gods, it would increase his chances of victory by thirty percent at the very least.

    This is what the red heavens sent me! Nidaum praised the red sky as his gaze became even more fervent.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming turned around. He had a bristly stubble and a weathered face, but his eyes continued to shine like stars.

    At that instant, he actually gave Nidaum the impression that he was a Battle God who could stand on equal footing with him.

    ¡°Battle God Nidaum, you can call me ¡®Ming¡¯, or ¡®king Ming¡¯.¡±

    .

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had specially dropped the surname R¨¡hu, as well as the ¡°Xiao¡± that Li Qingshan had forced on him, only keeping the ¡°Ming¡±. He made his subordinates call him ¡°king Ming¡±.

    In the blink of an eye, someone had forced the ¡°little¡± back in front of his name, so he was very unhappy.

    ¡°King Ming! Wisdom King! How bold of you! Even I¡¯m not brave enough to call myself that!¡± Nidaum mocked him. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your name, I would have never noticed you so quickly.¡±

    A King of Brilliance, or a Wisdom King, was an extremely celebrated title in the Asura realm.

    After undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation and becoming a true god, asura would go to the Western Paradise, Sukh¨¡vat¨©, and meet with the buddha in Great Thunderclap temple on Vulture peak. Only after a series of tests could they earn the title Wisdom King.

    By ¡°ming¡±, it referred to wisdom and brilliance. By king, it referred to those who reigned above all else.

    The Wisdom Kings manifested with their wraths, protecting the buddhist dharma and frightening off the demons. They represented the solemnity and dignity of buddhism.

    An Asura Sovereign calling himself a Widsom King was equivalent to a Yang Soul cultivator calling himself a True Immortal. It was so arrogant that it was almost beyond belief.

    ¡°How can a sparrow know the aspirations of a swan?¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming answered indifferently. He was just taking back everything that belonged to him. Yeah, Li Qingshan had used that phrase plenty of times when he boasted.

    ¡°Impressive, very impressive. I admire this part of you very much!¡±

    ¡°Why have you come, Battle God? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re preparing to take personal action?¡±

    Nidaum cut straight to the chase. ¡°Yield to me! Your status will only be below mine. I will even let you command the entire army.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming raised an eyebrow as if he had never expected Nidaum to have this in mind.

    He had just returned to the Asura realm. His cultivation was no longer weak anymore, so he really had not encountered anyone who had the right for him to yield to yet.

    If this were in the past, it went even more without saying. As a god of the R¨¡hu clan, all asura were technically his subordinates. He did not spend a lot of time fighting and struggling at the very bottom like a regular asura either.

    Nidaum thought he was tempted. He added to make him waver, ¡°You¡¯re still very young. You need further consolidation and training. Wage war with me and broaden your horizons. It¡¯ll only be a matter of time before you become a Battle God!¡±

    This truly was the best choice to regular Asura Sovereigns, but to R¨¡hu Xiaoming, yielding would definitely weaken his fighting spirit. What he lacked the most was time as well. His mother could be paying attention here at any moment, and as a R¨¡hu, he definitely could not yield to another asura.

    He smiled coldly. ¡°Even without you, I can still become a Battle God!¡±

    Nidaum¡¯s face sank, immediately becoming twisted and hideous. ¡°There are no Battle Gods that will permit a figure like you to rise up so easily. Even if I have to take action personally today, I¡¯ll keep you here!¡±

    ¡°You Battle Gods sure are stingy!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming sneered and shook his head. ¡°Though, I never expected that in the beginning. So be it. You can talk about it with my boss!¡±

    ¡°Boss!?¡± Nidaum furrowed his brows. Was there supposed to be another Battle God behind him? That would make things troublesome. He had to end the battle fast and take him down.

    Right when he was prepared to strike, a man suddenly walked out from a dark corner in the tent, patting his chest. ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s me!¡±

    Nidaum was startled. He actually failed to sense when this person had appeared.

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    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said, ¡°You¡¯re too slow! I had to blabber a bunch of nonsense to buy time.¡±

    ¡°Is that how you speak to your boss?¡±

    ¡°Spare the nonsense. Can you or can you not?¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming questioned. The difference between a mere Origin Soul and a Battle God was not just a little.

    ¡°As a man, there¡¯s nothing I cannot!¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes flashed. He pointed at Nidaum¡¯s face and yelled, ¡°Oi, grandsonny, before you wanted to take my little bro under your wing, did you ask me?¡±

 Chapter 1545

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Nidaum¡¯s expression gradually darkened and twisted, like a statue in a gloomy temple making its way down from the pedestal. He was like a mountain about to fall, pressing towards Li Qingshan.

    Actually, his figure had not changed. All that changed was his aura, rushing into the air and stirring up the clouds.

    The sky suddenly dimmed, pressing heavily against the top of the tent.

    On the battlefield, all of the asura raised their heads¡ªthe Battle God had been angered!

    With the wrath of a Battle God, bodies would fall in the millions and blood would heave as waves.

    The outcome of this battle was no longer up to anyone else.

    Li Qingshan lowered his head. His dark eyes under his thick brows shone brightly as he seemed to smile. ¡°Let¡¯s negotiate. You piss off right now, and I¡¯ll spare your life. How¡¯s that?¡±

    All of R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s worries vanished. Now this was the Li Qingshan he remembered. He could not help but laugh aloud. ¡°Go get him, boss! Bite him to death!¡±

    ¡°You shut up!¡± Li Qingshan shot a glance at him and thought, I sure would like to bite him to death!

    An Asura Battle God could not be compared with the adjudicators of the underworld. While the latter was a part of the system, that was the exact reason why their battle prowess was measly. They were technically just Ghost Immortals. Meanwhile, Battle Gods had forged their paths through blood. With their undying body of asura, they possessed extremely terrifying battle prowess.

    He had launched a sneak attack on adjudicator Lu, and it had taken him quite the effort. Now that it was a direct confrontation, he possessed no advantage at all.

    As a result, he intentionally aggravated Nidaum to shake his will so that he could take advantage of him and set off his inner demons.

    Nidaum was furious, like a volcano about to erupt at any moment, but in the next instant, he calmed down again.

    ¡°You¡¯re not an asura. Who are you?¡±

    It reminded Li Qingshan of the dead fire frozen within the glaciers. He sighed. What perfect willpower! His tactic against adjudicator Lu would probably be useless in this world.

    He turned around and faced R¨¡hu Xiaoming solemnly. ¡°Xiaoming, let¡¯s flee!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming shook his head in speechlessness. I don¡¯t know this person.

    Nidaum smiled. ¡°Little king Ming, is this your so-called ¡®boss¡¯?¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Hold on, we agreed he was a heavenly king!¡±

    ¡°Heavenly king!¡±

    Nidaum¡¯s eyes narrowed as if he had been completely angered. He growled, ¡°What are you supposed to be? A Human Immortal? Ghost Immortal? Corpse Liberated Immortal? The Asura realm is not a place you should have come to. Considering the fact that it hasn¡¯t been easy for you to reach your current cultivation, piss off immediately and I¡¯ll spare your life!¡±

    Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the sky. Compared to Wisdom Kings, the gods of the Heaven realm were known as heavenly kings. They were existences most loathed by asura.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°I just have one last question!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Boom! Lightning tore through the sky, and the tent was ripped to pieces by the fierce wind. A figure shot up into the sky, flying over the entire battlefield and slamming through several consecutive mountains before becoming deeply embedded in a cliff.

    That was the aura belonging to an Asura Battle God, like a slash through the sky.

    A three-headed, six-armed demon god with rippling muscles and blue skin stood like it had been cast from steel. It burned with black flames, resonating with the red sky above, dyeing the land a blackish-red.

    Li Qingshan slowly pulled back his fist, spreading his arms at the sky. He asked with a non-human growl, ¡°Who said I¡¯m not asura?¡±

    The power he had obtained from Chao Tianjiao had never dispersed. Now, it completely erupted.

    The blessings of the heavens descended from above, condensing into the undying body of asura, and it was no weaker than any Asura Battle God. He had always been chosen by the heavens in the Asura realm!

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    He shut his eyes and felt the unprecedented, tremendous power in his body. It was so vast and violent that it was almost beyond his control.

    At this moment, what he had comprehended from the Formless realm came into effect. Wisps of the letter of wind poured into his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and pores, inflating his Origin Soul of great liberty.

    In an instant, he tamed this violent power with the four ¨¡r¨±pyasam¨¡patti, and he opened his eyes. ¡°Kid, watch closely!¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m waiting!¡±

    Stepping on the black flames, Li Qingshan rose up into the air.

    When the battle against himself had fallen apart half way, it had really left him feeling dissatisfied! He could finally continue now! An undefeated Asura Battle God? Now that would be an interesting opponent!

    On the shattered cliff, Nidaum nodded. ¡°I see!¡±

    He was unscathed. There was only the imprint of a fist on his chest, but that rapidly faded away too.

    He licked his bright-red lips, and a smile appeared on his face, like he was listening to the singing of that ki?nara woman, except he was even more enchanted.

    He bowed elegantly towards Li Qingshan in the sky. ¡°Fighting against the weak really does wear down my fighting spirit. It¡¯s something that I¡¯d rather avoid altogether. Sir, since you are so powerful, I don¡¯t have that worry anymore.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve really been thinking too much then!¡± Li Qingshan grabbed a ball of black fire with a smile and threw it casually.

    Boom! The cliff was reduced to dust, which filled the air.

    All the asura on the battlefield were stunned. Another Asura Battle God? Why had this encirclement suddenly evolved into a battle between Battle Gods?

    ¡°King Ming, this is!?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s our Battle God!¡± R¨¡hu Xiaoming ordered, ¡°Regroup and fight on!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±

    The war drums boomed through the land as the horns pierced the air.

    Li Qingshan stared straight at the rolling dust, but his eyes were lost. His gaze seemed to pierce through the dust, over the battlefield, to an extremely distant land.

    He clearly ¡°saw¡± the existence of ¡°laws¡±. After undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation, he was no longer a regular cultivator. He had reached an unbelievable realm of cultivation, where he could truly observe the laws of the world.

    It felt like he had suddenly gained another sensory organ. He could not see any new colours, hear any new sounds, or smell any new smells, but everything he saw, heard, and smelled¡ªall the information he received¡ªwas thousands of times more than before.

    The world never had any colour. It was just fluctuations in light. The world never had any so-called sounds. It was just vibrations of air.

    The range of things that humans could sense was far too narrow, like they were blind and deaf. It was far too easy for a regular person to defeat a blind man. They did not even need to be much stronger than the blind man. It was not about a difference in strength.

    The actual difference was far greater than that. At the very least, a blind person could still roughly understand what it meant to be able to ¡°see¡±. If they spent their entire lives with other blind people, then they would be completely incapable of imagining just how the opponent could grasp all of their movements with such precision and strike their vital points all the time. It would basically be as wondrous and terrifying as being able to see the future.

    This was the seventh sense beyond the sixth senses, which buddhism referred to as M¨¡nas-vij?¨¡na. This was the first time that Li Qingshan had ever used this ability in battle.

    In the instant before, he did not land a strike on Nidaum through speed or strength. Instead, he used the secret techniques of m¨¡ra to disrupt his opponent¡¯s M¨¡nas-vij?¨¡na.

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    However, there was another possible reason. The power behind the punch was far too ¡°faint¡±, not enough to raise the opponent¡¯s attention.

    Under his observations, his opponent¡¯s aura had not weakened at all, even after all this time.

    ¡°He¡¯s coming!¡±

    At this moment, Nidaum emerged from the dust. Black flames scorched away at his body, but he regenerated far faster than the flames could destroy him. He put them out casually.

    ¡°Divine Fire of World Destruction! Heh, so you really aren¡¯t an asura. I have another reason that I must kill you now! Tell me your name! Successor of m¨¡ra!¡±

 Chapter 1546

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡±

    Li Qingshan stood in the burning clouds. He seemed unfazed on the surface, but he was very surprised inside. Even with the power behind the Divine Fire of World Destruction, he was actually unable to even harm this bastard!

    ¡°Nidaum.¡±

    Nidaum placed his right hand over his chest and bowed slightly, also stating his name. His lips curled slightly. ¡°You¡¯re very surprised. Seems like you¡¯ve only undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation recently. You¡¯re not even particularly accustomed to hiding your emotions.¡±

    ¡°Flames are like a weapon. Power does not lie in the weapon itself, but the person wielding it. It¡¯s called the Divine Fire of World Destruction, so of course, only gods can unleash their might. The flames which the lord of the m¨¡ra used to incinerate Tripura is not a trivility like this.¡±

    TL: Tripura.

    Li Qingshan shivered. Under the observations of M¨¡nas-vij?¨¡na, even his thoughts had almost become transparent.

    At that instant, he began to weave his thoughts from scratch again, establishing high walls to obscure them from any prying eyes.

    At this moment, his chest suddenly ached, and he coughed up blood!

    Nidaum stood in the distant horizon, yet he held a bloody heart in his hand, and it continued to thump away.

    ¡°How can you be distracted during a battle?¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s body was unscathed, but his chest felt empty. That was his heart.

    When he placed all of his focus on his mind, he neglected his body, revealing an opening.

    Through his experience of combat in the past, it could not be considered as an opening at all from so far away, yet he was immediately heavily injured.

    Nidaum¡¯s hand directly passed through space, plunging into his chest and snatching away his heart, destroying his other organs in the meantime too.

    Li Qingshan wiped away the blood on the corner of his mouth. ¡°Thank you for the lesson!¡±

    Nidaum casually crushed the heart before opening his bloody hand and extending it towards Li Qingshan. ¡°I will snatch your organs from your body one by one. With your temporary undying body of asura, just how long can you last? Afterwards, I¡¯ll drain your soul, and you¡¯ll die¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan interrupted him, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Run! The further the better, out of the Asura realm if possible. Come back once you¡¯ve completely adjusted to your realm of cultivation and learnt how to fight!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say I had to die?¡±

    ¡°If you die by my hand, he¡¯d rather fall in battle than surrender.¡±

    Nidaum gazed at the ground again. Under R¨¡hu Xiaoming¡¯s command, his heavily-surrounded army had already reignited their morale and begun to fight back. He personally led the army in battle, radiating with valiance. They were outnumbered one to ten, yet no one could blunt their edge.

    His eyes were filled with admiration. He said softly, ¡°I need him!¡±

    Li Qingshan shivered all over and immediately made up his mind. I definitely can¡¯t let this damned homosexual take Xiaoming.

    ¡°Die!¡±

    Wielding the dancing black flames, he charged straight towards Nidaum. He raised his six arms, and the flames condensed into spears that shot forth.

    Swish, swish, swish, swish¡­

    At that instant, countless streaks of black light filled the air, sealing off any and all possible places where Nidaum could dodge towards.

    Nidaum did not try to dodge. He allowed one of the spears of black fire to pierce his chest, but he remained unharmed.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes and discovered that he constantly vanished and reappeared, hiding in space. He moved through the streaks of light so casually that he seemed like he was on a stroll. Suddenly, he realised that he actually seemed immune to all damage.

    Nidaum sneered. He had basically made his response before Li Qingshan even launched his attack.

    In the intense battle, Li Qingshan¡¯s emotions were exposed once again. Clearly, he was still not particularly accustomed to a battle of this level. Once he was distracted, he could not take multiple things into account.

    In the blink of an eye, Li Qingshan arrived before him. His six arms wielded six spears of black fire that were thrust out violently.

    Sure enough, Nidaum vanished again, and all six spears missed.

    ¡°You were better off not making an attempt. When you launch an attack, heh, you¡¯re basically filled with openings!¡±

    Nidaum appeared again, having brushed past Li Qingshan already and taken one of his arms in the process, sending blood splattering. He sensed Li Qingshan¡¯s anger and refusal to just go down like this, savouring it like sweet wine.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head suddenly swivelled by an eerie one hundred and eighty degrees. His smile was just as eerie, like a sneer, yet also with fake anger and refusal mixed in. It was like a contorted mask.

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    Suddenly, a vertical eye opened on his forehead, producing a jet of Divine Fire of World Destruction as thick as a finger. Who knew how many times faster it was compared to the black spears, arriving at Nidaum¡¯s unguarded back in an instant.

    Nidaum could not help but be stunned, but he responded immediately. His figure vanished again, and the jet of black fire vanished as well.

    This time, he only reappeared after ¡°quite a while¡±. At the same time, the black fire pierced his chest.

    It was unavoidable!

    In reality, the black fire had pierced space the same time as Nidaum had entered space. Nidaum fled as it pursued, and after several hundred twists, it finally hit him.

    Of course, in the eyes of others, they only saw a blur. For those with lower cultivations, they might not have even realised he had vanished. They just thought he had been caught off-guard.

    But this time, the wound did not close up. Instead, it expanded and spread.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

    The spears of black fire thrown earlier landed on the ground. Countless plumes of smoke rose into the air, temporarily drowning out the battle cries from the battlefield.

    ¡°You!¡± Nidaum turned around. His face was warped with anger.

    He knew he had been played. Li Qingshan intentionally exposed his emotions, even feigning his anger and refusal in the end, just so he could launch a fatal strike when he lowered his guard for a moment!

    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me no one ever taught you to shut up with all that bullshit when you fight?¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed. A new arm extended from where it was broken, extending six middle fingers at the same time. ¡°Right back at you!¡±

    ¡°How is this possible¡­ why do you know¡­ how are you so proficient!?¡±

    Nidaum gazed at the hole in his chest in disbelief, struggling to accept it. The guy he had toyed around with just earlier had actually adjusted to the method of battle of the sixth heavenly tribulation so quickly.

    From his fake emotions to deceive him, followed up by the pursuit in space, up until his wounds right now, it was as if he had become someone different altogether.

    And he could confirm that Li Qingshan was not playing the fool earlier. Otherwise, the sneak attack in the tent definitely would have ended up worse for him.

    The power of the Divine Fire of World Destruction was far too terrifying. It overwhelmed the undying body of asura even more than he imagined it to.

    ¡°Tsk, it¡¯s absolutely nothing! I don¡¯t need to run, much less out of the Asura realm. I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡± Li Qingshan lowered his six middle fingers. ¡°I gotta thank you for your guidance. It has reminded me that knowledge is power!¡±

    Adjusting to the sixth heavenly tribulation was obviously a very time-consuming task, but in the Formless realm, Li Qingshan had already reached a higher realm of comprehension. That was all stored within six-eared bro¡¯s letter of wind. As long as his strength was up to standard, he could merge with it and use it at any moment.

    Comprehension itself was not strength, but it was the basis of all strength. After the great Einstein discovered the theory of relativity, Oppenheimer discovered, Oh, so you can use it to make nuclear weapons and blow everyone up.

    When it came to fighting, Li Qingshan had always been able to understand things from the slightest inspiration or guidance, without any master to teach him. He discovered his method of using the Divine Fire of World Destruction was far too crude. It was basically like smacking people around with a nuclear bomb, or a dirty bomb at most.

    Most importantly, he discovered that the thing on his forehead was not just an opening for flames, but an actual ¡°eye¡± too!

    As a result, he used it to lock onto Nidaum¡¯s movements through space. He could even ¡°see¡± the ¡°openings¡± that existed on him.

    That was different from a regular ¡°opening¡± where you were punched in the face because you failed to respond in time.

    Instead, it was an ¡°opening¡± in terms of laws, like how a rock possessed many cracks invisible to the naked eye. Normally, even striking it with an axe would be useless, leaving behind a white mark at most.

    However, as long as he found these important cracks, just a gentle tap of a chisel would be enough to break or even shatter the rock.

    The undying body of asura was like a rock. It was not flawless. As long as he found an important vital point, he could deal severe damage or even instant destruction.

    Of course, regular attacks were completely useless. These vital points would rapidly flow with their aura and change with their movements.

    The ¡°divine eye¡± on Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead could see these ¡°vital points¡±.

    But seeing them was nowhere near enough. These vital points were not actual ¡°points¡±. The actual situation was much more complicated than that.

    Not only did he have to find the cracks on the rock, but he even had to follow these cracks and pierce the entire rock as quickly as possible.

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    Meanwhile, these cracks would be constantly changing. Even being off by the slightest would severely diminish the effect.

    Under these circumstances, regular arcane treasures and techniques were useless. No matter how powerful they were, crushing Nidaum to pieces, they could not prevent him from regenerating through the undying body of asura.

    However, the Divine Fire of World Destruction possessed that ability. That was what truly made it terrifying. Theoretically, it could destroy everything, with no limit to its destructive power.

    Li Qingshan fanned his six hands, like he was shooing away a kid. ¡°Run! The further the better, even though I won¡¯t spare you.¡±

    Yeah, I¡¯m just that vengeful!

 Chapter 1547

    The sun sank into the horizon as the sky darkened. An intense battle culminated on the battlefield.

    Millions of asura sprawled out on the vast land, yet it was different from the most basic charge that Li Qingshan had led during the battle in the Demon domain.

    The asura engaged in a violent slaughter in every valley, on every hill, on every plain.

    Some stood on the mountains, wielding bows and raining down with arrows. Some stood at the front of the lines, fully clad in armour and taking land with each step they took. Some moved through the battlefield freely, wielding daggers and taking lives elusively.

    Even when they sustained more wounds than they could count, with broken body parts filling the air, they continued to battle away.

    They were not fighting alone or in bravado. Instead, they coordinated together constantly, such that the army qi gathered and changed, condensing to fend off the enemy and dispersing to gather strength, doing its best to create an advantageous situation.

    No other war in no other world came close to this. Even the old soldiers that spent many years fighting in the Demon domain would not be able to imagine a battle like this.

    It was like two war machines of extreme precision colliding together madly and grinding against one another.

    The principle that an army was like water, without a fixed form, manifested to the extreme here. Within the intensity and fervency lay high levels of rationality.

    Taking advantage of the fact that Nidaum was far too busy right now, R¨¡hu Xiaoming reigned over the battlefield temporarily.

    However, everyone involved, including him, was aware that the outcome of the battle did not come down to what happened here, but what happened in the sky.

    He had been paying attention to the battle in the sky the entire time too. Despite being a god in the past, he was still left amazed by the rate of Li Qingshans progress, as well as the talent he demonstrated in battle.

    He¡¯s basically a natural-born, perfect asura. If he wasn¡¯t born in the Human realm, but the Asura realm, he wouldn¡¯t be much different from now even if he never met that person!

    Logically speaking, confronting a Battle God as an Origin Soul was no different from confronting death itself.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming had still decided to seek help from him purely out of a form of trust. That was not some kind of emotion or tether, but trust from one warrior to another.

    Under the circumstances that their cultivations were identical, Li Qingshan would never be defeated by anyone!

    The glow of the setting sun dimmed as the great winds dispersed the smoke.

    In the dark-red sky, a round moon rose up behind Li Qingshan. His loose, black hair was like a wild beast¡¯s mane. His face was dark from the shadows, but his eyes were like coals, shining brightly. He overlooked the entire battlefield before concentrating on Nidaum.

    Only the divine eye on his forehead remained shut, to rest and recompose!

    Under the pressing gaze of the pair of eyes, Nidaum did not dare to strike carelessly for the moment. What he feared the most was that closed divine eye.

    As he caught his breath, he controlled the Divine Fire of World Destruction in his body, and only then did the hole in his chest begin to heal.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. The great winds whistled, turning into two tornados, sucked into his nostrils. It surged into his newly-regenerated lungs, making his chest heave into the air.

    Then his heart recovered, thumping away like a war drum and delivering blood throughout his body. His strength recovered bit by bit until he returned to his top form.

    Suddenly, he let out a roar at the sky, filled with spirit!

    His long hair danced as his aura rapidly climbed up, burning like fire, spreading like clouds, filling the entire sky and swallowing the entire region like a tiger.

    The battlefield fell silent. Regardless of which side they were on, they all looked up.

    ¡°Come!¡±

    The killing intent and surging murderousness condensed into the form of a tiger, lunging towards Nidaum!

    Nidaum sneered, vanishing into the space there.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He rushed ahead and a hand suddenly protruded out from the space behind him with a series of overlapping afterimages.

    If Li Qingshan had not responded fast enough, he would have lost his heart again.

    ¡°Hmph, you can¡¯t use the same trick against me twice!¡±

    He turned around, raised the flames, condensed the weapons, and swung down¡ªall in a single stroke!

    The six pitch-black blades of divine fire shot towards the hand at the same time, but they only struck a string of blurs.

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s the same with me.¡±

    Nidaum emerged from the space there with a trail of blurs. He moved around randomly against all logic, sometimes sideways and sometimes back and forth, such that it was completely impossible to grasp his movements. He seemed to be strolling leisurely, yet he moved even faster than Li Qingshan, approaching him inch by inch, step by step.

    One of them advanced as the other retreated. They were like a pair of comets with linked tails sailing over the battlefield, landing in a distant marsh.

    Nidaum¡¯s hands did not even seem like they were connected to his arms anymore. They bloomed like lotus flowers, fluttering about like butterflies, shaking off a net of blades woven from the six blades of divine fire.

    Within the clinks and clatters, black fire blazed, but it was unable to touch him at all.

    Li Qingshan was aware of the drastic difference between their physiques. He possessed no chance at victory at all when it came down to close combat. His hands would be snapped and crushed in an instant.

    ¡°Your divine eye must require a very long time to recover after a use! You¡¯ve already used it once earlier. If you can¡¯t end the battle after the second time, then heh!¡±

    Nidaum behaved like victory was within his grasp. He suddenly crushed one of the blades of divine fire and ripped off Li Qingshan¡¯s arm in the process too.

    Boom!

    The comets landed in the marsh. Before the ripples had even spread properly, they already approached the bottom of the lake, leaving Li Qingshan with no more room to retreat!

    ¡°Shut your mouth. You¡¯re not a fucking Saint from Saint Seiya!¡±

    Li Qingshan bellowed furiously. The divine eye opened!

    The world suddenly lost its colour, along with its shapes and even qualities.

    It was as if he had returned to the Formless realm. All he could see were criss-crossing laws of the world. What constantly pressed towards him before his eyes was not some Asura Battle God, but a highly-dense gathering of rapidly-revolving laws.

    So-called cultivators and so-called gods had never been some special group of existences that had ¡°leapt beyond the three realms, no longer bound by the five elements¡±. They were always a part of the laws of the world.

    Whether it was their powers or their lives, it all came from the world.

    Most importantly, these laws themselves were an illusion too.

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    The great Dao took no shape or form. For the sake of understanding of cultivators, for the sake of differentiation for gods, they called it the three thousand Dao.

    All references, all names, and all laws were just bridges to approach the ¡°great Dao¡±.

    ¡°All is formless.¡±

    Li Qingshan sat in the lotus position with his six arms extended, forming different seals. His long, loose hair was tied up behind his head. His eyes reflected the tranquil moonlight and ripples of water, like he had achieved enlightenment right before death. He demonstrated benignity towards the world, manifesting as ?a?kara.

    That was one of the six most important manifestations of Mahe?vara, symbolising sacrifice. It was also known as the Disintegration of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra.

    Before Nidaum¡¯s hands had even reached his body, the undying body of asura turned to ash, only leaving behind the vertical eye.

    He poured all of his powers and all of his hopes into the divine eye.

    At that instant, all of Nidaum¡¯s afterimages vanished. He could not help but raise his head in shock.

    He had no idea what the ¡°Saint from Saint Seiya¡± that Li Qingshan mentioned was, but the threat was clearly much greater than earlier. He felt like he had fallen into a cavern of ice and was on the verge of death.

    He could actually use the observations of M¨¡nas-vij?¨¡na to directly interfere with his movement technique and remove his afterimages.

    Damn it, just what kind of monster have I encountered with this rate of growth!?

    ¡°Be destroyed!¡± Li Qingshan murmured.

    As a result, a black ¡°gaze¡± shot straight towards Nidaum.

    He rapidly retreated, but the ¡°gaze¡± stared at him. He hid into space, but the ¡°gaze¡± continued to stare at him.

    Despite being a Battle God, he was as helpless as a mortal trying to avoid someone¡¯s gaze.

    The black ¡°gaze¡± had already pierced everything. What it would leave behind this time would definitely be much more than a hole.

    ¡°This move truly is terrifying! It really is the Divine Fire of World Destruction that incinerated Tripura after all!¡±

    Nidaum sighed. Suddenly, he equipped, a small, delicate shield, raising his hand and blocking with it.

    Crack! A fracture appeared on the buckler that was as smooth as a mirror.

    Boom!

    Before the ripple could even reach the edges of the marsh, the Divine Fire of World Destruction vapourised the entire place.

    At the bottom of the dry lakebed, Nidaum stood unscathed, mocking Li Qingshan. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡±

    Asura did not use arcane treasures. What they used were the most basic of weapons and armour, which were also known as asura armaments. Perhaps they did not have as many wondrous functions as arcane treasures. Their power often differed with the user, not only incapable of granting strength to the weak instantly, but even devouring their wielder most of the time.

    However, no one doubted the destructive and defensive power of these weapons. The buckler that Nidaum wielded was a true asura armament, an armament of gods.

    The stream of Divine Fire of World Destruction targeted Nidaum¡¯s opening, which was blocked by the shield, so it lost the ability to destroy everything.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. ¡°You motherfucker, that¡¯s far too shameless!¡± You can¡¯t win so you whip out a weapon?

    ¡°Asura armements have always been a part of asura!¡±

    Nidaum said that as he equipped a set of light armour and drew a katar. He was now fully equipped.

    Even without looking, Li Qingshan knew the sword and armour were the strongest of weapons.

    Meanwhile, not only was he empty-handed, but he had even sacrificed his undying body of asura and used up all of the power in his Origin Soul.

    No matter how powerful the Divine Fire of World Destruction was, it was no longer possible for him to land a strike on Nidaum through the shield and armour, while a gentle swing of the katar was enough to split his Origin Soul in half.

    Li Qingshan responded quickly. ¡°We can talk things through!¡±

    ¡°You want to run? It¡¯s already too late! Otherwise, I¡¯ll be the one dying the next time we meet!¡±

    Nidaum had truly been frightened by Li Qingshan¡¯s deviant growth rate a little, while the Divine Fire of World Destruction left him shaking in his boots. If that strike had landed earlier, his undying body of asura might have collapsed instantly.

    If Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°eyesight¡± was a little sharper and his ¡°gaze¡± was a little stronger, it might have even been possible to render rebirth impossible, completely killing him for good.

    If he did not eliminate this latent source of trouble, he would not be able to find any peace!

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t rebirth, or I¡¯ll have to hunt you down until you die.¡±

    He raised his katar and swung down, producing a series of afterimages that were difficult to distinguish. However, it sealed off all of Li Qingshan¡¯s paths of retreat.

    However, Li Qingshan did not choose to flee at a time like this. Instead, he fished out a wine skin from somewhere and took a large swig before fishing out an ancient bronze sword from somewhere.

    With a clang, he drew the sword from its sheath!

    The two swords collided¡ªthe katar broke!

    Nidaum widened his eyes as his mouth hung open. He raised his buckler instinctively to block¡ªthe shield shattered!

    Nidaum looked like he was dreaming. In a daze, he watched as the inconspicuous sword landed on his body¡ªthe armour cracked!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was extremely strange and exaggerated as well. He had only just remembered that he also possessed a weapon. His swordsmanship was a little rusty, but it was enough to serve the purpose at this time.

    Who would have thought that the weapon would cut through asura armaments like they were paper.

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    Blood spurted and Nidaum dropped down to his knees. His throat gurgled as blood surged forward. His life was already over.

    The sword¡¯s destructive power completely exceeded the regenerative power of the undying body of asura, and it did not unleash destruction at a vital point like the Divine Fire of World Destruction. He had been completely and utterly crushed in an open confrontation.

    ¡°W¡­ what¡­ is that sword!?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Who the hell knows?¡± Then he sighed. ¡°Saddam, oh Saddam, I told you already. Stop talking bullshit mid-battle. Stop talking bullshit mid-battle. Why didn¡¯t you just listen? You even have such a shitty name!¡±

    Nidaum wanted to say, My name is not Saddam, but with a great surge of blood, he collapsed on the ground, dying in regret.

 Chapter 1548

    Li Qingshan was surprised as well. He raised the sword and said in praise, ¡°What a fine sword!¡±

    The moonlight was like water as the sky cleared up.

    He turned the sword slowly. The ancient sword was still dull like before, hiding all of its wonders, yet it had just cut through three armaments in a single slash, claiming the life of a Battle God in the process.

    ¡°Hmm, just which god of the Nine Heavens is that man draped in bear skin? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s an old friend of brother ox?¡±

    He prayed towards the sky. Thank you for your protection, great chieftain Youxiong. I¡¯ll definitely pay you back in the future. If it really comes down to it, I just won¡¯t steal your position as chieftain then.

    Afterwards, he threw himself at Nidaum¡¯s corpse, which tottered about as it stood up.

    That was well and truly the corpse of a god. He could not merge with it perfectly, but he had no interest in claiming the body for a fresh start anyway. Most importantly, he still had his body of the demonic and divine. He was just using it for now.

    He touched the slash on the corpse¡¯s chest and gained an even deeper appreciation for the sword¡¯s power.

    Rising up into the air, he shot over the night sky and arrived on the battlefield. He announced, ¡°Little king Ming, your boss has been defeated! Surrender!¡±

    At the same time, he communicated to R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming was surprised at first. Originally, he thought it would already be Li Qingshan¡¯s limit if he managed to draw with Nidaum. Maybe he could repel him at most. He never expected him to kill him on the spot. Just how did he achieve that?

    He exhaled. ¡°Alright then, you win.¡± Later on, he had to get to the bottom of just how many trump cards this kid was hiding.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°When you follow me, you¡¯ll never be disappointed.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah.¡±

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming smiled brightly, also admiring Li Qingshan for his thorough considerations.

    There were a limited number of Battle Gods in the Asura realm. If any random foreigner could defeat Nidaum, it would definitely lead to attention. If he attracted the attention of true gods, then it would be extremely easy for his bloodline and powers to be exposed.

    As a result, it seemed very natural for Li Qingshan to substitute Nidaum. Didn¡¯t it make perfect sense for an Asura Battle God to kill a foreign Ghost Immortal?

    The only issue was that Nidaum would rebirth one day, which would lead to exposure sooner or later.

    However, every bit of time they earned now meant that R¨¡hu Xiaoming could recover a little more, giving them a little more room to maneuver around in.

    As a result, the two armies abandoned the battle and withdrew their troops, gathering together in one location.

    This was commonplace throughout the Asura realm. They were constantly in battle. As long as they did not lose their fighting spirit, they would always be able to rebirth. There were no major grievances either.

    Instead, they developed respect and comradeship for the strong that was once their opponent.

    The most eye-catching person was without a doubt king Ming. Several Asura Sovereigns hurried over immediately to talk to him, expressing that they wanted to spar and learn from each other.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming nodded. He did not say much, just playing along and brushing them aside.

    Even if he could not expose his powers as a R¨¡hu, he possessed a special divine aura, such that the Asura Sovereign that he acknowledged and responded to felt flattered for some reason.

    Seeing how it was the perfect timing, Li Qingshan carried out Nidaum¡¯s ¡°last wish¡± and immediately let R¨¡hu Xiaoming become his number two, leading the entire army in his place.

    R¨¡hu Xiaoming bowed his head sincerely and thanked him.

    Every Battle God had their range of influence. That was an extremely vast expanse of land, covering countless mountains and rivers. He finally had enough room for development with no one to suppress him anymore. This was his opportunity to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation and become a Battle God.

    Li Qingshan was afraid of exposing himself, so he did not have too much contact with Nidaum¡¯s subordinates. He directly announced that they would be holding a celebratory feast, which would be hosted by R¨¡hu Xiaoming.

    Through some of the remaining memories of this body, he arrived in the palace carried by the giant.

    In the depths of the courtyard, the beheaded ki?arna woman continued to sing away sombrely. The singing was fleeting and feeble, like a candle in the wind, about to be blown out at any moment.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her. ¡°What a waste!¡±

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    He grabbed her body with one hand and her head with the other, bringing them together.

    The ki?arna woman¡¯s singing was halted. Her neck was joined again. She could not help but widen her eyes and suck in a deep breath.

    She studied Li Qingshan closely and suddenly said, ¡°You¡¯re not Nidaum.¡±

    Li Qingshan was astonished. He slapped his knee. ¡°So his name wasn¡¯t Saddam!¡± It was no wonder his expression when he died seemed like he had something he wanted to say.

    As such, he just abandoned the corpse. He lifted the ki?arna woman¡¯s pointy chin. ¡°Beauty, your voice sure is nice. Why don¡¯t you keep going?¡±

    The ki?arna woman said, ¡°You¡¯re not an asura either.¡±

    Li Qingshan really became a little curious when he heard that. ¡°How can you tell?¡±

    ¡°There isn¡¯t that much joy in the eyes of asura.¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed freely. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely correct!¡±

    The reason why he refused to become an asura was probably because of this. Apart from fighting and slaughter, there were many joys in life, such as fine wine and fine women.

    ¡°Looks like you¡¯re not an asura either.¡±

    He studied her figure that was slender and graceful like a willow leaf under her green sari. Her skin was as smooth and fair as milk, and it was almost impossible to see her eye whites in her dark eyes that resembled black jade. They constantly gave off a faint sense of sorrow.

    That was not an expression that an asura woman should have possessed.

    ¡°I am princess Qin of the ki?arna. Thank you for saving my life. If you send me back to the Heaven realm, I¡¯ll definitely thank you¡­ ah!¡±

    ¡°Ki?arna? The eight legions.¡±

    Li Qingshan sat down and leaned back comfortably on the seat. The alcohol gradually got to him. He pulled that princess Qin into his arms. ¡°Then I won¡¯t be holding back.¡±

    Very soon, the courtyard became filled with soft, enchanting moans.

    At the same time, in the Hungry Ghost realm.

    After carrying out the most meticulous divination, the Unadorned Ghost Immortal turned into a black shadow. He silently moved through the depths of the ground towards Unadorned city several hundred kilometres away.

    He intentionally avoided the main entrance. He had not discovered the Skull Prayer Bead¡ªthe Skull Prayer Bead had not discovered him either. This was just behaviour that arose from caution developed over countless years. He had also sensed the peculiarity behind this matter too.

    The Hungry Ghost realm was different from the other realms. There were no actual True Immortals or true gods. Ghost Immortals were already the strongest.

    He had an infamous reputation in the Hungry Ghost realm. Even among Ghost Immortals, he could be regarded as powerful. Apart from the Hell Commanders of the Hell realm, no one had any reason to provoke him.

    Even if it was for revenge, destroying a single Unadorned city was pointless. Instead, it would just expose his animosity for nothing.

    As a result, he remained as discreet as possible. He would rather slow down a little so that he could keep his aura completely hidden.

    He still ended up arriving beneath Unadorned city very quickly. Only after a careful observation did he infiltrate the place.

    Having undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, he could observe the laws of the world, developing the M¨¡nas-vij?¨¡na. Even if he was only a Ghost Immortal, he possessed unbelievable power.

    So-called ¡°formations¡± were merely fortresses modeled after the laws.

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    In his eyes, they were basically fences riddled with holes. Coupled with the fact that the city originally belonged to him in the first place, he infiltrated the place easily and silently.

    Meanwhile, Li Qingshan and Xiao An were completely unaware of the approach of the enemy. Not only did the heavens refuse to stand on their side, but it even obscured their senses, such that they would not receive any omen even if it was life-threatening danger.

    Out of pure coincidence, Li Qingshan¡¯s Origin Soul just happened to be in the Asura realm, so not only were they a major realm of cultivation lower, this difference just happened to be the boundary between a cultivator and a god or immortal.

    They did not possess any favourable advantage, and they would be facing a sneak attack.

    A string of shadows climbed up the speckled walls, entering the tower, moving through the darkness and observing them coldly.

 Chapter 1549

    The quiet moonlight scattered on the bed.

    Xiao An raised her head and gazed outside the window as if she had sensed something.

    A crescent moon moved through the dark clouds, rendering the surroundings sometimes bright and sometimes dark.

    Suddenly, a chilly gust of wind surged in, lifting up the curtains and heading right towards her.

    Cling clang clang clang! The Soul Stirring Bell rang urgently, but it sounded very heavy.

    Before anyone had noticed, endless darkness had swallowed the tower like black water, completely limiting visibility. The moon and stars all stopped shining.

    Xiao An¡¯s eyes rippled. With a swing of her hand, the Skull Prayer Beads on her wrist scattered, dispersing into the darkness. At the same time, she drew the Buddha Slaying sword.

    However, when the prayer beads fell into the darkness, they were like stones cast into the ocean. It led to no response at all.

    She was unfazed, much less hesitant. She swung her sword towards the darkness.

    As soon as she raised her sword, it was gripped firmly by the darkness. It gripped her firmly too.

    The darkness devoured all of her flesh and blood madly. In the blink of an eye, her great beauty was reduced to nothing, revealing a white skeleton with pale-white flames burning in its eye sockets.

    ¡°A successor of white bone!?¡±

    The Unadorned Ghost Immortal¡¯s surprised voice rang out from the darkness. He sniggered. ¡°No wonder I would wake up. The heavens are on my side!¡±

    In the past, the havoc that the White Bone Bodhisattva wreaked in the Hungry Ghost realm was far too great. In order to contend with her, even the laws of the world were twisted.

    She even managed to leave a clear mark on the intangible will of the heavens that had no such thing as a memory, which still lingered even now. On the very level of the laws of the world, the entire place strongly rejected the Path of White Bone and Great Beauty.

    If he could abide by the will of the heavens and eliminate a successor of white bone, he would definitely be blessed by the heavens!

    Not only would he become the strongest Ghost Immortal in the Hungry Ghost realm, but he might even have the chance to take that impossible step and undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation, becoming a True Immortal and completely breaking free from this god forsaken place.

    Everything happened in a split second. The darkness seeped into the white bone like ink, spreading rapidly. It did not spare the Li Qingshan in her arms either.

    He jerked awake from his dream. Before he could even understand what was going on, all he felt was the miserable and intense omen of death.

    With no time to think about anything else, he immediately gripped the Mountain-moving tablet firmly and pointed it at the darkness.

    With a thunk, a wave of light erupted, and the tower exploded loudly!

    The darkness had been repelled, vaguely revealing a figure.

    Li Qingshan rose up from the rubble and dust with Xiao An in his arms. The danger had not been eliminated yet.

    The Unadorned Ghost Immortal had placed all of his attention on the legendary successor of white bone, so he did not pay any attention to Li Qingshan originally. As a nobody who had not even undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, he could turn him into a dried corpse with a wave of his hand. However, he never expected Li Qingshan to actually possess an arcane treasure that could land a blow on his Origin Soul. He could tell with a single glance that it was something extraordinary.

    ¡°What a bountiful harvest this time! Hehe, you can¡¯t escape. Stay right here!¡±

    Right when the Unadorned Ghost Immortal was about to take them down, darkness loomed over his head. He raised his head in surprise. A mountain actually flew through the air!

    Faced with death, Li Qingshan simply stayed silent, throwing an entire mountain at the Unadorned Ghost Immortal.

    The mountain was called Yellow Cliff edge. It originally belonged to the Mountain-moving Great Sage, the Lion Spirit King.

    Normally, the Unadorned Ghost Immortal could split apart a mountain like that with a wave of his hand, or he could fly several hundred kilometres away with a single escape technique, even diving straight into the ground.

    However, the origins of the mountain were anything but ordinary. Before it had even landed, it had already squeezed all the air out of his lungs.

    He also possessed M¨¡nas-vij?¨¡na and could observe the laws of the world. At this very moment, he discovered in shock that the mountain was condensed with extremely powerful laws, like a series of shackles, reaching over from all directions and even the depths of space itself to crush him.

    ¡°An innate spiritual treasure!?¡±

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    The Unadorned Ghost Immortal was in disbelief. This is impossible. How can a measly cultivator, someone who isn¡¯t even a Human Immortal, wield something like this!

    By ¡°innate¡±, it was not referring to items forged before the birth of the world. These were not artifacts specially created by some ancestor Hongjun for later generations to strut around with.

    By ¡°innate¡±, it referred to the universe itself, the origins of all things, or in other words, the Dao.

    As described in the Book of Changes, ¡°The extraordinary obey the will of the world, shine with the sun and moon, follow the order of the seasons and abide by the curses and blessings of ghosts and gods. The heavens do not defy the innate, and the postnate abide by the heavens.¡±

    The Mountain-moving Great Sage was one of these ¡°extraordinary¡± people, having reached the supreme realm of Merging the Void with the Dao. Every single mountain he carried on his back was an extension of the Dao, an innate spiritual treasure.

    When postnate arcane treasures wanted to unleash their might, they had to ¡°abide by the heavens¡±. The more they followed the laws of the world, the more powerful they were. The strongest heaven tier arcane treasures could incinerate the skies and boil the oceans.

    However, innate spiritual treasures had no need for that. They themselves were a part of the laws of the world, so they could obviously do as they pleased with ¡°defiance from the heavens¡±. They no longer needed to demonstrate just how powerful they were. It was enough as long as they reached their objective. Creating too great of a scene would instead be a waste of effort.

    At that moment, it was like a personal strike from the Mountain-moving Great Sage, even if it was only the twitch of a small finger.

    The Unadorned Ghost Immortal was unable to offer up any resistance. The ball of black shadows twisted and shrunk as if he struggled desperately to break free, but he was unable to leave the range enveloped by the mountain, located right beneath it the entire time.

    To a Ghost Immortal, the mountain did not fall quickly at all. He tried to destroy the mountain from below, but the entire attempt could be described in three words¡ªa futile effort.

    Gazing at the falling mountain, he was filled with despair. He refused to let all of his cultivation just go up in flames like this.

    ¡°No!!!¡±

    Boom!

    Unadorned city vanished, replaced by a mountain.

    Li Qingshan gulped. ¡°What the hell was that?¡±

    ¡°Should be the Unadorned Ghost Immortal.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s just died like that?¡±

    Li Qingshan still felt some disbelief. Just earlier, he had been forced into dire straits, and in the next instant, the enemy was dead.

    ¡°Seems so.¡±

    Xiao An felt some disbelief as well. She suddenly sensed the Skull Prayer Beads again, which had all been collected by the Unadorned Ghost Immortal. They were crushed under the mountain right now, but they were undamaged. Only the Unadorned Ghost Immortal had been crushed to pieces. He was as dead as he could be.

    She powered the Skull Prayer Beads in a hurry, turning them into Skeleton Demons. With a cackle, they collected the pieces of the Unadorned Ghost Immortal. This was a tremendous supplement to her. She had yet to ¡°eat¡± a Ghost Immortal!

    Li Qingshan gazed at the mountain. In a daze, he saw the Mountain-moving Great Sage¡¯s figure, smiling away at him as if he was asking, Eighth brother, are you satisfied with the effects?

    Then he blinked his eyes. The mountain was still the same mountain. The laws condensed in the mountain dissipated, assimilated into the laws of the Hungry Ghost realm. It turned into a regular mountain.

    However, he was certain that everything he saw earlier was not an illusion!

    The Mountain-moving tablet carried the ¡°old fool¡¯s¡± spirit, which was why it could lock onto the Unadorned Ghost Immortal. Otherwise, with his own strength, he would have never been able to achieve this. This was the difference between cultivations.

    In reality, the Mountain-moving tablet was better described as an emergency rescue phone than an innate spiritual treasure to him. As long as he pressed ¡°dial¡±, the Mountain-moving Great Sage would descend and crush the enemy to death with a finger.

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    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile and said, ¡°Thanks, fifth brother! I¡¯ll definitely find second sister as soon as possible and scoop you out from Ruin¡¯s End!¡±

    He was overcome with a further sense of urgency. Three mountains, three opportunities. Now, only two remained.

    Originally, he planned on saving them all for Qiongqi. Sure enough, plans would always be derailed.

    The path ahead of him would be even more dangerous. He had to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation as quickly as possible and completely merge with his Origin Soul. Only then could he put up a fight.

    He suddenly felt like something was missing. He felt his own body. ¡°Sigh, where did that Origin Soul of mine run off to?¡±

 Chapter 1550

    Only after asking Xiao An did he learn that his Origin Soul had run off to the Asura realm, which made him sigh.

    ¡°That bastard of mine is having a great time in the Asura realm. He probably won¡¯t be returning any time soon.¡±

    He was not worried at all about being killed by ¡°himself¡±. Instead, he felt saddened by this revelation. Part of the ¡°great time¡± in the Asura realm should have been his too, while part of his ¡°great time¡± destroying the Unadorned Ghost Immortal belonged to ¡°him¡± too. Twice as much great time would lead to even more great times¡­

    So be it. Once we merge together in the future, mine will be his and his will be mine. Why make such a great distinction?

    By now, Xiao An had collected the Unadorned Ghost Immortal¡¯s corpse for him, gathering the fragments of his Origin Soul and a great pile of arcane treasures.

    Then they visited the dwelling together. After a close investigation, they understood what had happened.

    ¡°So the underground veins¡¯ shifted slightly, which is why that old ghost suddenly woke up.¡±

    ¡°The will of the heavens, oh the will of the heavens!¡± Li Qingshan sighed with a smile. As it seemed, they had defeated fate once again.

    ¡°But this is fine too. This place is safer than Unadorned city.¡± No one would intrude on a Ghost Immortal¡¯s dwelling for no good reason.

    Blessings came with curses, and curses came with blessings. All it came down to the person. If they were not strong enough, even good news could turn into bad news. If they conquered nature and faced all the trials and tests there were, bad news could turn into good news.

    Having overcome an attempt on her life, the intangible will of the Hungry Ghost realm would be incapable of accumulating enough coincidences within a short period of time.

    This buffer period would be of utmost importance.

    Now that Li Qingshan had returned, she was no longer tied down mentally, and she had gained these resources. If she digested them properly, she could definitely face the sixth heavenly tribulation.

    By then, the Hungry Ghost realm would no longer have any existences that could threaten her. Even if the intangible will of the heavens sent over more Ghost Immortals and Corpse Immortals, there would be nothing terrifying about that.

    She pursed her lips. She could even make use of that and wait for them to come to her, eating them as they came.

    According to Li Qingshan¡¯s vocabulary, it was just like ¡°food delivery¡±.

    Time was pressing. Li Qingshan temporarily bade farewell to Xiao An and returned to the Human realm. In the Xuanming dwelling, he began a new round of secluded cultivation.

    Time flew like an arrow. In just a few months, a phoenix¡¯s cry rushed out from the abyss and into the sky. It was like ripping cloth, resounding through the clouds endlessly.

    The Phoenix Transformation had climbed to a higher layer!

    At that moment, the small world in his body overcame a bottleneck. As it operated and expanded, it reached a new balance.

    Li Qingshan stood on the surface of the water. The pitch-black surface reflected his glorious wings, spreading proudly and waiting quietly¡­ for the heavenly tribulation to descend!

    The sky suddenly darkened.

    The great winds were like the tides, and the dark clouds were like the ocean. The abyss whistled.

    Colossal waves rose and fell, like the entire ocean was tossing and turning. A wave the size of a small mountain rushed into the sky, slamming heavily against the great cliff.

    Boom!

    The startling billow slammed against the shoreline, sending rocks flying and collapsing the cliff.

    Li Qingshan raised his head and watched. Suddenly, he could understand how the Unadorned Ghost Immortal felt as he watched the mountain crush him to death.

    The clouds grew thicker and thicker, weighing heavily on the top of the mountain, like a blanket over the heavens.

    The deep, heavy Xuanming dwelling was like a boat in the storm, swaying with the wind and rain.

    Cracks covered the entire cliff. Large chunks of rock fell into the ocean, leading to even more vigorous torrents.

    The Xuanming formation continued to operate, supporting the entire dwelling, but before the tremendous might of the heavens, it seemed so frail.

    The formation core suddenly flashed a few times before rapidly dimming.

    The sounds of the fierce winds, the sounds of the pouring rain, the sounds of the raging waves, and the sounds of the crumbling mountain flooded in from all directions.

    The only sound that was missing was thunder!

    As a result, this rumbling world seemed terrifyingly quiet.

    This was definitely no ordinary sixth heavenly tribulation!

    With how mighty the heavens were, how could a measly man stand a chance!

    Can I? Li Qingshan questioned himself.

    If he used the thought processes of the spirit turtle, his cultivation was nowhere near consolidated enough. He had progressed far too quickly, which led to an unstable foundation.

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    And, it was very easy to invoke the wrath of heaven, where the heavens triumphed over humanity!

    Clitter clatter! Loose rock fell like rain inside the dwelling.

    Crack! A colossal stalactite snapped off, falling towards Li Qingshan.

    With a boom, it fell into the water, producing a great wave. Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°All these matters, coming too suddenly!¡± Li Qingshan recited proudly, riding the waves. ¡°The world spins and time presses!¡±

    His daemon qi rushed into the air, stirring up the winds and clouds, contending against the heavens!

    ¡°Ten millennia is too long. All I can do is seize every moment!¡±

    A flash of lightning turned the surroundings like daytime, completely illuminated the abyss.

    Boom!

    An extremely deep rumble rang out. It was better described as the beat of a drum than thunder.

    With lightning as the sticks and the heavens as the drum, it struck away!

    The hollow mountain that held on arduously immediately collapsed, like it had collapsed inwards. It swallowed Li Qingshan immediately, making him fall towards the abyss.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s organs were in agony and his bones were close to shattering. Blood swelled up in his throat, dyeing his lips red.

    Never had he faced such terrifying might from the heavens, basically like it was swatting flies. Most sorrowfully, he was that pitiful fly.

    Listening to the anger of the heavens, he licked his lips. His blood surged.

    His wings extended to the limit, and he clenched his fist firmly, throwing a punch up!

    A single person burst out from the rubble, overlooking the ocean and facing the heavens.

    The colossal waves gathered like mountains, like giant hands that wanted to drag him into the depths, yet also trying to hoist him up into the air.

    ¡°The four seas surge and the clouds and waters rage. The five continents tremor and the wind and thunder roars!¡±

    He grinned and laughed aloud, spreading his arms towards the sky.

    ¡°Come!¡±

    So what if I¡¯m a fly? So what if I¡¯m an ant? This is the life I want. This is me, Li Qingshan!

    The sky full of wind and lightning shot towards him, condensing into a colossal axe of lightning that cleaved down right over him!

    There was not even a single bolt of regular lightning. Right from the beginning, it was an armament of tribulation lightning.

    The heavy air, the terrifying forces, and the invisible laws restrained him from all directions. It formed an air-tight barrier, like it was trying to suffocate him.

    Without any regard, he just threw a punch.

    Boom! Space shook, becoming riddled with countless cracks. It knocked the axe of lightning away.

    At this moment, a colossal, black figure appeared in the depths of the ocean. It gave off a disgusting stench.

    Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes. That was a drowned corpse, having swelled up and rotted due to floating in the water for too long, now bloated. Its pale-white skin was bulging with green veins, and its belly seemed like it was about to burst.

    At a closer glance, the corpse¡¯s appearance had become unclear due to the rot, but it did bear some resemblance to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside as great terror overcame him. That was his appearance upon death. As a matter of fact, there was nothing solemn or stirring about it. It was just disgustingly ugly.

    At this moment, armaments of tribulation lightning condensed. Blades, spear, swords, halberds, axes, battle axes, hook swords, forks¡­ all the weapons that could be imagined appeared, all hanging in the sky, pointing towards him.

    Meanwhile, he seemed to be caught in a nightmare, staring at the corpse blankly.

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    Suddenly, the corpse stood up with a roar. It moved with unimaginable agility, leaping into his body!

    His body began to bloat, and his life force rapidly receded. His body gave off a foul stench and began to totter. The world spun around him.

    He powered the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression as hard as he could, suppressing this thought. He suddenly realised. M?tyu-m¨¡ra!

    The m¨¡ra of death, m?tyu-m¨¡ra, was the most terrifying demon beneath devaputra-m¨¡ra. Normally, the sixth heavenly tribulation only came with kle?a-m¨¡ra. Just what kind of sin did he commit to deserve a m?tyu-m¨¡ra?

    This made no sense at all. A m?tyu-m¨¡ra was something for stopping Human Immortals from becoming True Immortals!

 Chapter 1551

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face was swollen, twisted and deathly-grey, basically no different from a corpse. He felt as horrible inside as he looked.

    The path of great liberty was supposed to assure his immunity to any interference from external demons when he faced heavenly tribulations. It should have given him a tremendous advantage.

    Yet when he faced the fourth heavenly tribulations, his inner demons turned on him. His soul nascence turned into a demon nascence, wanting to destroy itself, which had almost screwed him over.

    During the fifth heavenly tribulation, he had lost his Yin Soul, so he did not get to enjoy this benefit. It took him tremendous effort before he defeated the skandha-m¨¡ra.

    Now that he had finally reached the sixth heavenly tribulation, his Origin Soul just rebelled and ran off, having a great time right now at who knows where.

    When he looked at it in hindsight now, he never actually avoided the m¨¡ra a single time. What a shitty life!

    Right now, the m¨¡ra of death had possessed him, furiously devouring his life force.

    He circulated the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Method of Sea Suppression desperately, but he was unable to find anything to suppress. The m¨¡ra of death had completely merged with him.

    ¡°Death has always been something that you are born to face,¡± a cold voice rang out sinisterly, yet it originated from his mind as if it was his own voice.

    ¡°Hold on, have you got this wrong? I¡¯m not a Human Immortal- Death is the fairest thing in the world, whether you¡¯re a beggar or an emperor, an ant or a true dragon.¡±

    He called out inside, only to be interrupted by his own ¡°voice¡± immediately.

    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, captain! I¡¯m one of you! Actually, I¡¯m also a m- Death is unavoidable, whether you¡¯re an unstoppable cultivator or a blessed deva.¡±

    ¡°Motherfucker! You¡¯re talking about celestial decay, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    There were five signs of celestial decay¡ªthe dirtying of clothes, the withering of hair, the sweating of axilla, the stench of the body, the loathing of oneself.

    As long as asura never lost their fighting spirit, they could avoid death. Deva possessed powerful life forces and lengthy lifespans, almost close to eternal life. However, when asura grew weary of fighting, they were not truly undying. When deva used up all of their good karma and approached the end of their lives, the five signs of celestial decay would manifest, signifying the arrival of death.

    In reality, Human Immortals already enjoyed eternal life. They only feared two things, the Book of Life and Death and the demon right here, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra.

    At least with the former, they could escape and negotiate their way out. Even at worst, it would just be reincarnating and starting over from scratch.

    However, the latter was much more terrifying. M¨¡ra of death were unavoidable and could not be bribed. Whether you were a divine general of the heavenly palace or the master of a large sect, once you died, your soul would perish, never to be reborn.

    This was a risk that had to be taken in order to become a True Immortal.

    However, something had gone wrong somewhere. Li Qingshan was nowhere close to that stage, yet he already drew a m¨¡ra of death to him. With his current realm and cultivation, he was completely incapable of fighting back. All he could do was hold on for dear life.

    If it were not for his bloodlines of the demonic and divine that granted him an exceptionally long lifespan, he would have been dead before the lightning even reached him.

    However, if this continued, he would not be able to hold on for very long either. At the same time, under the state of celestial decay, his mind was uneasy and in disarray.

    In a daze, an armament of tribulation lightning shaped like a chain wrapped around firmly. Before he could even respond, several bolts of lightning shot over, carving him to pieces.

    With a rumble, countless criss-crossing streaks darted back and forth, slicing him into bits. Not a single part of him remained complete, not even a finger.

    With a phoenix¡¯s cry, Li Qingshan rebirthed in the flames, but he discovered in despair that the m¨¡ra of death was still firmly adhered to his body. Even calling it a disease would be an understatement.

    He gritted his teeth, flying into a great fury. ¡°Piss off!¡±

    The ¡°voice¡± rang out again, ¡°Death is unavoidable. Rebirth is but a lie.¡±

    ¡°Piss off!¡± Another violent bellow rang out, except it originated from the clouds, like an order from the heavens.

    Within the surging tribulation clouds, the lightning illuminated a person¡¯s face. It was Li Qingshan.

    The m¨¡ra of death shuddered. ¡°Devaputra-m¨¡ra!?¡±

    Under the thick clouds, within the pouring lightning, Li Qingshan gazed at Li Qingshan. They suddenly smiled at one another.

    The m¨¡ra of death said sternly, ¡°So it¡¯s a successor of the devaputra-m¨¡ra. If you were the one facing the tribulation, I¡¯d obviously keep my distance, but he¡¯s not you, so this isn¡¯t for you to decide. And, if what I¡¯m seeing is correct, you originated from his body! If he dies here, you can replace him.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. He is me. I am him. Whether I die or not is not for you to decide!¡±

    Li Qingshan descended from above, and Li Qingshan moved up to receive him. The two Li Qingshans merged together!

    One engaged in a struggle to the death against the m¨¡ra of death, while the other received the sky full of armaments of tribulation lightning.

    A comet suddenly shot through the sky in the small world. A colossal, bloated corpse descended from above. It was the m¨¡ra of death.

    Li Qingshan gripped his throat firmly, throwing a punch at his face!

    The speed of his descent abruptly accelerated. With a rumble, he slammed into the ground, shaking the entire world.

    The m¨¡ra of death roared, ¡°You¡¯ve disrupted the laws of the heavenly tribulation! Master won¡¯t spare you!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your master and the laws you¡¯ve come up with!¡± Li Qingshan planted a foot on the m¨¡ra of death¡¯s head and rained down with fists.

    The small world rumbled away. Countless mountains collapsed.

    The m¨¡ra of death struggled and howled. His body swelled up, reaching ten thousand metres, a hundred thousand meters, a million metres¡­

    Li Qingshan expanded with him, continuing until he filled the entire world.

    The small world came to a halt. At this moment, a huge hammer condensed from lightning slammed down. Li Qingshan used his innate abilities, throwing a punch. The power of tremors in his fist suddenly dispersed and the hammer slammed into the ocean, crushing his body.

    He struck the bottom of the ocean in an instant. The remaining parts of the Xuanming dwelling collapsed and scorching-hot magma surged out from the cracks, producing another great wave.

    Within the rolling magma, Li Qingshan saw countless bolts of lightning rain down as soon as he recovered his vision. His waist tightened, having been caught by that lightning chain again.

    If he could not control the m¨¡ra of death, then only death awaited him.

    The m¨¡ra of death continued to swell, wanting to burst the small world. He smiled sinisterly. ¡°You might be a successor of the devaputra-m¨¡ra, but you¡¯re still too soft!¡±

    ¡°I have a question. Can a m¨¡ra of death die as well?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±

    Li Qingshan plunged his hands into the m¨¡ra of death¡¯s chest and dove in.

    The m¨¡ra of death widened his eyes, and Li Qingshan¡¯s smile appeared on his face. His body convulsed before rapidly shrinking again.

    The small world began to operate again. Li Qingshan let out a furious roar and broke free from the lightning chain. He unfurled his wings of wind, and with a furious beat, he parted the ocean and shook off the encirclement of countless armaments of lightning tribulation. He rushed into the sky and shattered the lightning hammer with a single punch.

    He let out a furious roar and scarlet stripes stretched over him. The tiger¡¯s roar shook up the world¡ªFrenzy of the Tiger Demon!

    During celestial decay, it was all too common for wrath to be incited, falling into a path of wickedness. Using this opportunity, the Tiger Demon Transformation broke through again. Immediately, his blood boiled and murderousness swept out like the wind, scattering the sky full of wind and lightning.

    In the small world, the m¨¡ra of death turned into a ball of twitching flesh, struggling and rolling around. Sometimes, it would grow a pair of arms that gripped its own throat. At other times, it would grow two heads that bit away viciously at one another.

    Li Qingshan seemed to have the upper hand, but the m¨¡ra of death rapidly devoured his lifespan as well. His Origin Soul also began to manifest with the signs of celestial decay. However, he was absolutely confident in being able to drag the m¨¡ra of death down with him.

    They were deeply entangled together, so the celestial decay was unable to distinguish between them. Since death was unavoidable, the m¨¡ra of death would have to die as well.

    The m¨¡ra of death felt shocked and frightened. He never imagined the successor of the devaputra-m¨¡ra to be so crazy, bold enough to go as far as mutual annihilation.

    ¡°Hah, so a m¨¡ra of death is also afraid of dying!¡±

    Li Qingshan completely accepted death, casting the two of them into death¡¯s embrace. The m¨¡ra of death finally gave up. ¡°Release me. You win.¡±

    Smashing through the last armament of tribulation lightning, Li Qingshan¡¯s ruined body fell into the ocean.

    The clouds dispersed, and the winds stopped. The ocean recovered its calmness. A streak of light emerged from between the clouds, illuminating his smiling face.

    His Origin Soul smiled as well. Even when the m¨¡ra of death had almost drained all of his lifespan, leaving him close to death, none of it mattered.

    ¡°Before we¡¯ve reached the Nine Heavens,¡± the two Li Qingshan said together, ¡°I still can¡¯t die yet!¡±

    The two figures merged back together.

 Chapter 1552

    ¡°Heh, haha, hahaha, hahahaha!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed freely, which echoed over the ocean. The waves rose once more in an endless fashion.

    With a rumble of thunder, a streak of light shot through the horizon.

    The laughter continued to echo, and the waves continued to surge, but he was gone.

    The sun set, and the moon rose. The stars twinkled.

    Beyond the sky, a star was suddenly extinguished. The star on the horizon became much brighter.

    The space-devouring beast had never stopped devouring, and the World of the Five Continents constantly expanded, gradually going from an insignificant, dim star to a bright one.

    Perhaps no one else understood the significance behind this. After all, there were countless stars in the sky. The births and deaths of worlds were all a part of the natural phenomenon.

    On the tallest peak of the mountain range, R¨¡hu Xiaoming looked up alone as if he had returned to many years ago, back when he wielded a slingshot and shot down the stars.

    However, he was no longer that person anymore, yet his eyes were filled with reminiscence. That was where he had been incinerated by his karma, as well as the place where he was reborn. It could even be described as his home.

    In the past, there was not much of a difference between the stars in his eyes. He did not need any reason to destroy them either. It was all a game.

    And now¡­ the game began again.

    His targets this time were a few stars that were different.

    The Ket¨²¡­ the deva¡­ the gods and buddhas¡­

    The asura only accepted the strong as their opponents, only laying their hands on those that were exceptional.

    Before that, he had to gain the right to stand amongst them first.

    The rumbling of thunder rang out from the distant horizon. The red sky gazed at him quietly.

    In the palace that originally belonged to Nidaum, ki?nara princess Qin was awoken by the sound of thunder in the distance. She looked around. The curtains draped low. He was already gone.

    Her entire body felt soft and powerless. She curled up her slender, white legs and felt a slight pain, which made her furrow her brows. Gazing at the smear of scarlet red on the bed, she let out a sigh.

    Her sigh was enough to both break the hearts of people and enchant them, such that they would be willing to do anything to remove that frown from her face.

    ¡°Since I¡¯ve exposed myself and he¡¯s taken me, he¡¯ll probably view me as his. I¡¯ll never be able to return to the Heaven realm now.¡±

    Even Battle God Nidaum did not have the courage to claim her without good reason, as once he did, he would no longer be able to bring himself to kill her. By beauties of disaster, it had always been about harming both others and themselves.

    ¡°Why does a beauty sigh?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly appeared by the bed, lifting the curtains and studying her.

    Princess Qin lowered her head and covered her chest with her arms, curling up quietly, but it only made her even more charming.

    Li Qingshan licked his lips. ¡°Put on your clothes. I¡¯m taking you back to the Heaven realm.¡±

    Princess Qin raised her head in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re sending me back?¡±

    ¡°Am I supposed to be lying to you?¡±

    Normally, perhaps Li Qingshan would hesitate for a little longer and have her ¡°thank¡± him properly a few more times, but he had just faced the sixth heavenly tribulation, so he was in high spirits, ready to do something big. He was completely unconcerned with those beauties of disaster and the absolute beauty of the Heaven realm.

    Princess Qin eased up inside, but she also developed some bitterness, so she simply lowered her arms, stood up, and put on her clothes elegantly, without any attempt to hide anything. She glanced at him deeply with her limpid eyes. ¡°You¡¯re even more heartless than Nidaum.¡±

    Li Qingshan just happened to be thinking about how he would carry out a massacre and do as he pleased. He was lost in his fantasies/ ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°What a strange woman.¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged and brought his arm around her waist, vanishing from the palace.

    Over the vast ocean, princess Qin immediately said, ¡°This isn¡¯t the Heaven realm.¡±

    ¡°This is the Human realm.¡±

    It was possible to directly reach the Heaven realm from the Asura realm, but that was a heavily-guarded region riddled with passes. If he handled it badly, he would face attacks from both sides.

    Li Qingshan was not afraid of that, but there was no reason for him to break through them by force. Obviously, being stowaway was still the best.

    The World of the Five Continents was devouring other worlds, which needed the Heaven Climbing Vine. Fortunately, he had made preparations beforehand, specially collecting a fresh shoot for Ruan Yaozhu to nurture for him.

    Flying over the ocean, they arrived in the Hundred Herbs garden that Li Qingshan had not visited in a very long time. Li Fengyuan remained beneath the golden-leaved bodhi tree, meditating away. Even with Li Qingshan¡¯s arrival, he seemed to sense nothing.

    However, Ruan Yaozhu was very delighted by his arrival. She invited him into her dwelling. ¡°First senior brother, who¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°Just like you, some kind of princess.¡±

    ¡°Qin.¡± Princess Qin fumed. How could some princess of a no-name country in the Human realm compare to the ki?nara princess of the Heaven realm? From their bloodline to their status, they were worlds apart.

    ¡°So it¡¯s princess Qin.¡± Ruan Yaozhu looked back and forth between them, guessing at their relationship.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about her.¡± Li Qingshan gestured a few circles near his ear with his index finger, expressing that there was something wrong with the woman¡¯s head.

    ¡°I saw that!¡± Princess Qin said angrily. She had never been one to get emotional so easily, but this man was far too good at angering her.

    Li Qingshan ignored her. He patted Ruan Yaozhu on the shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have to call me first senior brother. I won¡¯t be the first senior brother very soon.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re stepping down?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu was surprised, but she also found it to make perfect sense. With his current cultivation, he could no longer be held down by the position of the first senior brother of the Myriad sect.

    The Myriad sect was only a diving board to him, and they were only chance acquaintances. She just never expected the farewell to come so quickly.

    However, her heart tightened slightly. ¡°Where are you off to? Are you going to the Desireless Heavenly Palace beyond the Nine Heavens, where senior sister Chao is?¡±

    To most Human Immortals, the best path after the sixth heavenly tribulation was to venture beyond the Nine Heavens and somehow earn themselves a post as a divine general. That would save them from worrying about the kings of hell coming for their lives.

    Of course, there were others with certain social connections. People who were invited into the heavens the moment they completed the tribulation like Chao Tianjiao were a minority. It was just because she walked the path of zhenwu, which was why she received special attention from the Zhenwu Emperor.

    Someone who had no connections at all like Li Qingshan could probably only hope that the lord of the m¨¡ra would take on a junior like thim. However, the lord of the m¨¡ra had sent a m¨¡ra of death instead, almost killing him in the process, so he could only give up on that thought.

    Now, the best option available to him was obviously to ask Chao Tianjiao to put in a good word for him in front of the Zhenwu Emperor and check if there were any openings among the Divine Generals of the Six Jia for him to fill in.

    However, he had not come so far on such a rocky road to serve as somebody¡¯s errand boy.

    ¡°Hmph, why would I want to be with that mad woman?¡±

    He would be making his way up, fighting his way up, heading beyond the Nine Heavens properly, not haggling his way up or climbing his way up.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you cultivation partners?¡±

    ¡°Who the hell would want that mad woman as a cultivation partner?¡± Li Qingshan denied that bluntly.

    Princess Qin said coldly, ¡°Do normal women even exist in your eyes?¡±

    ¡°Of course. There¡¯s one right in front of me. Not only is she normal, but she¡¯s even a fine woman too!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled gently towards Ruan Yaozhu. During the years he spent in the Human realm, she had helped him tremendously without ever asking for him to pay her back.

    This ¡°princess of White Deer¡± did not have an enchanting voice or a gorgeous appearance, even seeming extremely clueless some of the time, but she was extremely adorable to him.

    ¡°Thank you for that, senior brother.¡± Ruan Yaozhu reddened, turning redder and redder, such that she was absolutely charming. She said very softly, ¡°Then where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be setting off on a distant journey.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone brightly as if his gaze had already pierced all obstacles, arriving in the distant future, in an unknown, new world.

    Ruan Yaozhu originally wanted to ask him when he would return, or whether he would be returning at all. She suddenly understood something and said in relief, ¡°Good luck.¡±

    ¡°If you have any wishes, tell me. I¡¯m very strong right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his right arm and flexed his muscles.

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the next time you come!¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Under Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s watch, Li Qingshan left the Hundred Herbs garden with princess Qin and the Heaven Climbing Vine.

    Suddenly, Li Fengyuan opened his eyes under the bodhi tree. They were filled with infinite brilliance as if he could peer through everything. He nodded gently and brought his palms together. ¡°Thus have I heard¡­¡±

 Chapter 1553

    In the remnants of the Xuanming dwelling, Li Qingshan planted the Heaven Climbing Vine and conveniently used the abilities of the qilin. A verdant, sturdy vine quickly grew, extending with a series of tendrils that curled upwards like ivy. However, it did not hang off anything at all, rising up above the plants.

    When its tip reached the limits of the sky, who knew how many thousand metres tall, it suddenly pierced through space and continued growing.

    ¡°You can go now.¡± Li Qingshan patted his hands as if he had just finished off a small but annoying task, brushing off some non-existent dust from his hands.

    However, princess Qin refused to budge. She grumbled, ¡°You said you would send me back.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Right up there is the Heaven realm!¡±

    ¡°Who knows? What if it¡¯s the Hungry Ghost realm? Or the Demon domain? And you still glare at me. Even if it¡¯s the Heaven realm, I might fall into the hands of someone wicked again as a feeble woman. I¡¯ll be out of the frying pan, only to end up in the fire.¡±

    As she said that, tears began to trickle down princess Qin¡¯s face.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to part with me, you can just say so.¡±

    Li Qingshan crossed his arms and curled his lip. No matter what, this little girly had a cultivation at the fifth heavenly tribulation. She was not a feeble woman at all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to part with you!¡± Princess Qin held onto Li Qingshan¡¯s arm firmly as if she would burst into tears if he refused to accompany her to the Heaven realm.

    ¡°Sir, if you really refuse, I won¡¯t force you. If I encounter any wicked demons, I swear I would rather die than sleep with another, to protect your honour.¡±

    Protect my honour? Girl, do I know you?

    ¡°Sigh, how troublesome. I¡¯ll accompany you then!¡±

    Actually, Li Qingshan was slightly curious about what kind of place the Heaven realm was as well. Among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, the Heaven realm was the only place he had not been to. With his current cultivation, surely popping in and taking a look would not cause too many problems.

    A smile broke through princess Qin¡¯s tears. ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±

    Li Qingshan brought his arm around her waist again, and they stepped into the Heaven Climbing Vine together, following the twisted tunnel up until they reached the boundary of the Human realm.

    Suddenly, endless cold light bloomed before their eyes. Flowers rained from above and golden lotuses surged forth from the ground, shining gloriously.

    The vague sound of hymns and chanting rang out from the endless light. Even a ki?nara like princess Qin was enchanted by it.

    Looking from the ocean, the Heaven Climbing Vine had been dyed a pure-gold from up to down before shattering and disintegrating inch by inch, scattering as golden powder.

    ¡°This light¡­ I think I¡¯ve seen it before.¡±

    In a daze, he saw N¨¹wa mending the heavens, the qilin running about, the phoenix soaring, the golden clouds of auspiciousness, and the buddha smiling¡­

    ¡°Shatter!¡±

    He gritted his teeth, and the divine eye on his forehead opened up. All of the illusions dispersed.

    The golden light became much dimmer, but it did not disperse. All he saw around him was a flourishing forest, filled with golden-leaved bodhi trees. The ground beneath him was paved with golden tiles. The sun shone above his head, reflecting off the ground, making it glisten.

    ¡°Is this¡­ the Heaven realm?¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped around on the golden tiles and gazed at the sky. For some reason, it gave off a sense of familiarity and belonging.

    In the beginning, he thought he was chosen by the heavens of the Heaven realm, which was why he felt this. After all, he possessed three bloodlines, so there was nothing strange about having the will of the heavens on his side.

    However, upon closer consideration, that did not seem to be all¡­

    ¡°Sir, are we here?¡± Princess Qin rubbed her eyes and asked in a confused manner.

    ¡°Who¡¯re you asking?¡± Li Qingshan said in exasperation.

    For some reason, he could no longer sense the Heaven Climbing Vine anymore, which meant his path of retreat was gone. If it were not for the fact that he sensed no threats or animosity, he basically would have suspected this to be a trap.

    ¡°My mistake.¡±

    Princess Qin smiled apologetically. Her smile was warm and elegant, and the worry between her brows suddenly vanished.

    The two of them strolled through the forest while princess Qin held onto Li Qingshan¡¯s arm. At first glance, they seemed like a pair of lovers on a date here.

    However, Li Qingshan only noticed the peculiarities of this place even more. The profound and wondrous sensation was like the growth of vegetation. There was no discomfort at all. Instead, it was extremely comfortable, leisurely, and carefree, free of any worries.

    This definitely was not the trichiliocosm. It was impossible for a regular world to support the existence of a Daemon God. However, it did not resemble the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra either. The laws of the world were very deeply hidden as well, so deep that they were almost unobservable, like they had been obscured by a certain power. Despite that, he was unable to determine the quality and source of this power.

    Perhaps that meant this world was on a level even higher than the Human realm, Daemonic Beast realm, or so on, or perhaps it was just a special characteristic of the Heaven realm, like the Hell realm.

    ¡°Sir, this doesn¡¯t seem to be the Heaven realm.¡±

    Princess Qin bit her lip as if she was in disbelief. Her eyes were filled with unimaginable joy.

    ¡°Hmm? Are you certain?¡±

    ¡°This seems to be¡­ Sukh¨¡vat¨©.¡±

    Li Qingshan trembled all over as if he had just received a bombshell. ¡°What did you say!?¡±

    ¡°It can¡¯t be wrong. It can¡¯t be wrong. This is the Western Paradise Sukh¨¡vat¨©. Fantastic! Fantastic!¡±

    Princess Qin was so excited that she trembled all over. A gentle breeze blew over, and she let go of Li Qingshan¡¯s arm. With a gentle leap, she flew up, actually soaring and dancing between the bodhi trees. She let out a chime-like laugh, having the time of her life.

    However, Li Qingshan was dumbstruck. He stood there blankly. ¡°I¡¯m in the afterlife!?¡±

    He was alive and kicking just now, so how had he ended up in the afterlife all of a sudden?

    TL: Sometimes, the threat of ¡°sending someone to the afterlife¡± in Chinese literally means sending them to the buddhist paradise, the western pure land.

    Suddenly, he remembered where he had seen the golden light before. He had seen it during the battle of Black Cloud city. The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s stirring sacrifice resulted in a beam of light from the sky, taking away his soul. The light seemed to be called the receiving light of the buddha!

    ¡°Sir, encountering you was the greatest fortune in my life.¡±

    Prinecss Qin returned to his side and bowed elegantly. She was as happy as a little girl. ¡°I¡¯m basically far too fortunate. How does that daoist saying go? Curses and blessings come hand in hand, where one often turns into the other!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not returning to the Heaven realm anymore?¡±

    ¡°The Heaven realm? How can the Heaven realm compare to Sukh¨¡vat¨©?¡±

    The deva all believed in buddhism. Their greatest wish often was not to survive the tribulations and become immortals, but to enter the Western Paradise Sukh¨¡vat¨©.

    As the buddha said, Why is this land called paradise? The people of this land are free from suffering, yet they still have joys, thus it is called paradise.

    By entering Sukh¨¡vat¨©, they were completely freed from the impurities of the world, without any need to suffer from the roots of suffering, freed from the circumstances of celestial decay.

    This pure land was imbued with the buddha¡¯s power of great benevolent belief, free from any wicked demons externally and devoid of suffering internally. They enjoyed endless lifespans, just like the buddha.

    By paradise, it was definitely no exaggeration.

    ¡°Are you certain this is Sukh¨¡vat¨©?¡± However, Li Qingshan refused to believe there was something as great as that in the world.

    Princess Qin smiled. ¡°Listen closely, sir.¡±

    As a result, Li Qingshan listened closely. The wind blew through the golden-leaved bodhi trees, but it did not emit the regular sound of rustling trees. Instead, there was a strange rhythm and a metallic timbre. Combined with the strange bird cries, it formed a wondrous tune, both enchanting and calming.

    As the buddha said, The sounds heard by people of this land all resemble study of the buddha, the dharma, and the sangha.

    ¡°It was the wondrous sound that I heard that made me dance in the air uncontrollably.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps we¡¯ve only accidentally entered a certain holy land of buddhism,¡± Li Qingshan continued to refute her stubbornly, even more certain that he had fallen into a trap.

    Princess Qin smiled and prodded his chest gently with her slender finger. ¡°I was originally quite dissatisfied with you sir, both with how you took my chaste and how you refused to treasure me, but in consideration of the fact that you saved me, I could not help but depend on you, wanting you to become my cultivation partner. That was why I tempted you to enter the Heaven realm, in hopes that you could change your mind. I really did suffer great agonies of the mind.¡±

    ¡°But after arriving in Sukh¨¡vat¨©, I was suddenly freed from my emotions. I felt no more resentment or bitterness. Instead, I was filled with gratitude. I felt like this was a heaven-sent opportunity, so I might as well go with the flow. Why place so much emphasis on what I¡¯ve gained and lost, persisting over this measly affair? I no longer hoped to spend all of our time together, only hoping that you can always be well. If this isn¡¯t Sukh¨¡vat¨©, what other place is so wondrous?¡±

    Li Qingshan looked over with squinted eyes. Princess Qin was filled with sincerity, without any attempt at deception at all. It should have touched him and caused him a sense of guilt, but it only made him feel cold inside.

    He could not help but examine himself. He discovered the ox demon, the tiger demon, the ape demon, and his many demonic thoughts were declining.

    Letting go of his stubbornness, diluting his wrath, and no longer deluding himself. Was that a good thing?

    He could not help but admit that he really did feel very happy and very comfortable. He had basically never felt so at ease in his life, but it also frightened him for some reason.

    With his cultivation as a Daemon God and identity as a successor of the devaputra-m¨¡ra, this world could actually influence his will without him knowing. Apart from the legendary Sukh¨¡vat¨©, what other place could this be?

    Before the buddha¡¯s power of great benevolent belief, what was a measly Daemon God¡¯s beliefs supposed to be?

    Li Qingshan said firmly, ¡°No, I can¡¯t stay here!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± Princess Qin was extremely surprised, almost tempted to ask, Are you stupid?

    ¡°I promised to take you back to the Heaven realm. This isn¡¯t the Heaven realm. And don¡¯t forget, we snuck our way in here. Perhaps someone will be here to chase us away very soon. Who knows, they might not even come peacefully?¡±

    ¡°Sir, you promised me a fancy cart, a pulling cart, yet now, I¡¯ve received a great cart pulled by a white ox instead. I can¡¯t even celebrate enough! Let alone me, even the buddha won¡¯t blame you. You might as well say that is what the buddha has done.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re completely underestimating Sukh¨¡vat¨©, actually comparing it to the Heaven realm. The deva are all proud and self-conceited, reserved, and stingy. Meanwhile, the buddha is benevolent and magnanimous, so why would someone chase us away, much less violently? Those who are not destined can go through thousands of lives without ever setting foot here, while those who are destined can do so in a single step. You¡¯re here means that you¡¯re here. You have the destiny means you have the destiny.¡±

    Princess Qin smiled and sighed, shaking her head. She seemed enchanted, like she had just been enlightened. Her words were filled with a buddhist truth, having drawn a clear line separating herself from those lowly deva already.

    Li Qingshan cringed. The beacon of liberal democracy had basically captured her, and she had even run into it willingly.

    What he was most worried about right now was whether there was a scheme involved, just in case the buddha suddenly appeared and crushed him then and there with his palm.

    ¡°Then, princess Qin, why do you think we¡¯ve been brought here? Has your sincerity touched the buddha?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve never done anything, so why would I be received by the buddha¡¯s light? Sir, do you have a bound duty?¡±

    ¡°Writing novels?¡± He remembered that he was a disciple of the school of Novels, so his bound duty should have been writing novels.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m talking about a bound duty allocated to you by the heavenly palace.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only just undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation recently. I don¡¯t have any connections either, so why would I be given a duty?¡±

    ¡°There you go. I think you¡¯ve been chosen as a sangharama guardian.¡±

    Li Qingshan had heard of that phrase before. So-called sangharama god were both ¡°guardian gods¡± of buddhism, as well as another path and system beyond the heavenly palace. It was a path taken by monks.

    Then he remembered how Mahe?vara was one of the devat¨¤ and could also be classified as a part of buddhism. Devaputra-m¨¡ra were also a form of god.

    And a very, very long time ago, he was once a secular disciple of buddhism.

    Motherfucker, so it really is the study of the buddha, the dharma, the sangha!

    ¡°Sir, you have a destiny with the buddha!¡±

    As a result, he remembered it all. Every single monk he encountered in his life seemed to say that exact phrase.

    He had always treated that phrase as a joke. Even when the Upraised Light abbot tried to convince him otherwise, he could not shake his will.

    Never did he think it would be a prophecy come true, ending up in Sukh¨¡vat¨© and becoming some sangharama guardian when he momentarily dropped his guard.

    ¡°It¡¯s a cursed destiny!¡±

 Chapter 1554

    However, Li Qingshan eased up as well. Since he was a sangharama guardian, a palm probably would not just fall down on him from the sky!

    He was better off prioritising how to get out of this ¡°damned place¡± first!

    The resplendent garden paved from golden tiles was extremely beautiful, but it was devoid of any people. There was only an altar and a few abodes.

    It was not exactly in ruins, but it did give off an indescribable sense of bleakness, which made it seem lonely and empty.

    He glanced at princess Qin. She seemed to be completely unaware, smiling away foolishly in happiness. When she heard how he would be leaving, she became very reluctant to see him go.

    ¡°I¡¯ve completed my promise. If you want to stay, then you can stay!¡±

    Li Qingshan shook her off and left. The moment he stepped out of the garden, there was a sudden gust of sand, such that he almost could not open his eyes.

    The gust of sand passed by. When he looked back, the bodhi trees, the altar, and the abode were gone. The garden had vanished. All that remained was a white, sandy ground.

    Princess Qin stood there blankly. There was not even enough time for her smile to fade away. ¡°What did you do?¡±

    Li Qingshan sank into his thoughts when a streak of light flew over from the horizon, landing before him. It was a golden leaf.

    The golden leaf shimmered, and a dignified but benevolent voice rang out from it, ¡°You must be the new sangharama guardian!¡±

    ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Come with me.¡± The golden leaf flew away, and Li Qingshan followed behind it closely. Immediately, they arrived in a beautifully-adorned hall. On the glistening plate detailed three large words¡ªSangharama God Hall.

    The golden leaf drifted in, landing in a plump hand.

    Li Qingshan looked up. That was a middle-aged man with a solemn expression but an easy-going demeanor. The aura he gave off told Li Qingshan he was a true god.

    ¡°I am the Sangharama God.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not dare to be careless. He clasped his hands and said, ¡°I am Li Qingshan. Greetings, esteemed god.¡±

    The Sangharama God brought his palms together and returned the gesture. He smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not a disciple of buddhism.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately spread his palms and brought them together. ¡°A secular disciple, a secular disciple.¡± With a thought, Li Qingshan decided to stop hiding it. ¡°I practise the path of great liberty.¡±

    Originally, he thought this Sangharama God would discriminate against him as a ¡°successor of the heretic path¡±, hopefully chase him out of this paradise out of anger, but he never expected the Sangharama God to just smile. He did not care at all.

    Li Qingshan was forced to ask, ¡°May I ask what the sangharama guardians do?¡± They must have been like lackeys, running about and purging demons while crying out, ¡°I exterminate you in place of the buddha!¡± If that was the case, he could use that opportunity to slip away.

    However, the Sangharama God left him disappointed. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be in such a hurry. You¡¯ve only just arrived in Sukh¨¡vat¨©. You can take a look around first.¡±

    Li Qingshan made up his mind. ¡°Then may I ask how I can leave?¡±

    ¡°Leave?¡± The Sangharama God was surprised. When regular people arrived in this paradise, every single one of them ravished with joy and thanked everyone around them. He had never met someone in such a hurry to leave.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you. I once swore a Blood Oath of the Nether River¡­¡± Li Qingshan hid nothing, confessing his gamble with Demon God Qiongqi and everything at stake. ¡°¡­ the agreed time is coming up soon. I need to go to the Demon domain and fight that Demon God to the death!¡±

    Towards the end, he gave off a sense of bleak heroism, like he would not be returning from this trip, given the unforgiving circumstances.

    Qingqi mountain was Qiongqi¡¯s home base. He possessed an extremely great geographic advantage there and was a true god too. Even with the Mountain-moving tablet in his possession, he could not necessarily push over Qingqi mountain so easily.

    But now, he was someone with an organisation behind him. Buddhism had so many powerful cultivators, so surely they could not just watch their newly-recruited lackey walk to his death.

    If the Sangharama God was willing to help him and they called along a few more arhats, he could basically just sit by and watch as Qingqi mountain fell if they worked together.

    Heh, with the completion of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, my intelligence sure grows with each passing day!

    ¡°I see. No wonder you were chosen as a sangharama guardian. Despite being so young, you¡¯re bold enough to contend against a Demon God. Impressive, impressive!¡± The Sangharama God patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder in admiration. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to worry. As long as you stay in Sukh¨¡vat¨©, the twelve Demon Gods are powerless over you even if they work together.¡±

    ¡°But I heard the Blood Oath of the Nether River is extremely powerful¡­¡±

    The Sangharama God said proudly, ¡°Don¡¯t forget what this place is. How can a mere oath rival the power of great benevolent belief? You can just stay here in peace!¡±

    Hold this, this wasn¡¯t the plan.

    Li Qingshan finally understood what a ¡°great organisation¡± meant.

    Qiongqi was terrifying, except like the Sangharama God, he was a true god. Who knew how many existences with that cultivation buddhism possessed. Just the arhats numbered at least eighteen, and there were the four great bodhisattvas above them, with the buddha even further up.

    What was the Blood Oath of the Nether River supposed to be? In front of our bossman brother Tath¨¡gata, it ain¡¯t shit. What, you have something to say? C¡¯mon, stick your head over and explain it to brother Tath¨¡gata.

    Li Qingshan was devastated. ¡°Are we supposed to just let Qiongqi continue to strut around like that?¡±

    ¡°You reap what you sow. Once he¡¯s done enough bad, there¡¯ll obviously be something waiting for him. Qingshan, you¡¯ve broken the precept of hatred!¡± He immediately brought his palms together and chanted, ¡°With a thought of hatred, your good karma goes up in flames. With a thought of hatred, open to you are a myriad of problems.¡±

    Even in the end, the Sangharama God never told him how to leave this world, perhaps because he saw through his plan to kill with a borrowed blade, or perhaps because he was worried about him running over and throwing his life at Qiongqi.

    Li Qingshan could not force a true god to change his mind either. He calculated the time. He still had a year and a half, so he could only rely on himself for a way out.

    As a result, he rose up into the air, chose a direction, and shot off.

    In a mere half a day, he gave up.

    Sukh¨¡vat¨© was very similar to Ruin¡¯s End. Not only was it boundless, but it was also beyond the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. There were no such things as boundaries and exits.

    And, it constantly influenced his mentality too.

    Feelings of peace and joy welled forth from the bottom of his heart endlessly like a string.

    Like sunlight melting the snow, it nullified the ox demon¡¯s stubbornness. Like pulling the logs out of the flames, it pacified the tiger demon¡¯s anger. Like clear, illuminating light, it diluted the ape demon¡¯s delusions.

    Compared to happiness, this feeling was better described as relief, letting go of the burden he had always been carrying. He even began to recall the happiness of childhood¡ªthe beautiful landscape of Crouching Ox village and the simplicity and honesty of the villagers. His brother and sister-in-law had once possessed a soft side too. They did not only bring him abuse and insults¡­

    He gritted his teeth and shook his head violently, wanting to chase away these thoughts, but despite being a successor of the m¨¡ra, he was completely helpless.

    These thoughts did not originate from the outside world, but from the bottom of his heart.

    Otherwise, why would he have challenged Black Wind stronghold, why would he have left the money to his brother and sister-in-law, why would he have tried to release brother ox¡­

    Those were all the happy and touching memories in him. However, if this continued, all of the demonic transformations would regress, or perhaps they had already begun regressing. Even the foundations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine would cease to exist.

    ¡°Everyone has a buddhist nature within them. All can attain buddhahood.¡±

    The Sangharama God said to himself quietly. He had noticed the many secrets and feelings that Li Qingshan possessed, but he did not worry about that. Many people who first arrived in Sukh¨¡vat¨© were the same, but in the end, they would all be purified by this pure land, starting afresh.

    Even Mahe?vara had to lower his head before the buddha, so what was a mere successor of the m¨¡ra supposed to be?

    For the first time in his life, Li Qingshan discovered that the thing more powerful than his inner demons was his inner buddha.

 Chapter 1555

    Li Qingshan clutched his head with his eyebrows firmly locked. His body arched up with his back raised high in the air, like an ox putting up a powerful struggle. However, his lips curled up into an eerie smile.

    The demonic transformations all began to regress.

    The Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud!

    If none of the mud existed anymore, why did it persist? If it could enjoy happiness, who would be willing to go through pain!

    This was ¡°paradise¡±, a ¡°pure land¡± devoid of pain.

    He let out a furious roar, and the sky surged. He bared his teeth in utter fury.

    However, his mind immediately calmed down. He had already made his decision¡ªPhoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a!

    Bright-red flames spread and swallowed him, but just that was not enough. As long as those happy and touching memories still existed, he would not be able to resist this ¡°paradise¡±.

    But it was impossible for him to part with them, nor was he willing to part with them. Memories had always been one entity¡ªhappy and ugly, touching and painful. How could he distinguish between them clearly?

    How could he be unaware that Xiao An had killed countless and committed heinous crimes? Yet in his eyes, great beauty and white bone possessed no difference. That was all his Xiao An!

    How was he supposed to part with this memory?

    He let out a great sigh, powering the Spirit Turtle Transformation to suppress it all!

    His eyes suddenly became blank as if he had cleared away all of his memories. They reflected the clear sky before burning to nothing in the fire as well, falling out of the sky.

    Boom! A streak of light flashed by, landing in a field.

    An old couple rushed over. Smoke and flames were ablaze as sparks filled their faces. They were unable to approach it for the time being.

    However, they did not seem to know fear. The old man picked up a pitchfork and paved a path.

    At this moment, they suddenly heard the crying of an infant from up ahead. The circumstances itself were rather strange.

    The old couple shared a glance. They became even more frantic, moving faster.

    They passed through the sorghum stalks in a hurry. The old man¡¯s step fell through, and the old woman grabbed his arm in response, saving him from falling into the charred pit.

    The flames in the pit had not yet completely extinguished. In the centre was half of a broken eggshell with a child laying inside. His skin was pink and wrinkly. He was clutching his fists and kicking his little legs, like he was fighting against some invisible monster. He cried away energetically.

    The old man slid down into the pit slowly and put out the flames, approaching the baby.

    The baby suddenly opened his eyes and stopped crying. His large, scarlet irises clearly reflected everything in the surroundings.

    The old man stopped, afraid to approach him.

    However, the old woman directly made her way around him and picked up the child. She was touched. ¡°Look, old man! It¡¯s a child! The buddha has bestowed us with a child!¡±

    Before they came to Sukh¨¡vat¨©, they spent their entire life as vegetarians and practising buddhists, doing good and accumulating good karma, yet they did not have a child. They were the classic example of good people going unrewarded in the local region. However, they did not bear any grudges, as pious as before, doing good like before. After death, they were brought to Sukh¨¡vat¨©, but they had never given up on this thought. Now, their dream finally came true.

    When the old man heard that, he stopped hesitating, immediately dropping to his knees and uttering the buddha¡¯s name incessantly.

    They brought the child back to their house, feeding him rice porridge. The child happily accepted it all, eating and drinking away with an appetite even larger than an adult¡¯s.

    The old woman smiled happily. ¡°Oh my, fortunately, we¡¯re in the buddha¡¯s land, or we¡¯ll go broke just from trying to feed him.¡±

    The old man slapped his knee. ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll go plant some more pumpkins. They¡¯ll be ready for harvest in a few days. We¡¯ll make pumpkin soup for this kid.¡±

    Sukh¨¡vat¨© was a land where flowers bloomed all year round, in a state of eternal spring. The climate was warm and highly suitable for habitation. There were no harsh winters and summers, and the ground was exceptionally fertile. They did not have to do any additional farmwork at all¡ªjust casually sprinkling some seeds could lead to a bountiful harvest. There was nothing like taxes and levies either.

    Farmwork was no longer a strenuous job where they had their heads lowered and backs bent, facing the ground all day long. Instead, it had become a joy of life. They could plant whatever they wanted to eat, and it would sprout the next day. The plants grew rapidly, blooming and fruiting very soon. Just the sight of it was an indescribable joy. The fragrance of flowers forever permeated the fields.

    They watched the child grow with each passing day¡ªindeed, the child grew with each day and each moment. By the next day, he could already run around, and his appetite only grew larger. After just a few days, the pumpkins they had planted could no longer satiate him completely.

    The old couple were not surprised. In Sukh¨¡vat¨©, children probably grew like the plants too!

    On this day, the child was chomping away on a melon wedge when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He raised his head from the melon peel. ¡°Who am I?¡±

    That left the old couple frantic. Over the past few days, they had spent plenty of time discussing the matter of a name. As a child bestowed to them by the buddha, they had to be careful with the name. It had to possess meaning. They could not just casually name him ¡°second dog¡± or ¡°big fella¡±.

    However, they did not possess much of an education. All the children in their village from their past life possessed names like that. The old man took three hurried puffs of his pipe, but he still had no idea. He exhaled, ¡°Sigh, old woman, why didn¡¯t the buddha give him a name as well?¡±

    The old woman prodded the old man¡¯s head, saying in exasperation, ¡°You old thing, you sure know how to find flaws in your blessings. I can¡¯t rely on you, can I? I¡¯ll go visit the temple and ask for one in a few days.¡±

    However, before those few days had arrived, the child had asked the question himself. The old couple stared at one another speechlessly.

    ¡°Who am I?¡± the child tossed the melon peel aside and said even louder.

    ¡°I got it!¡± The old man slapped his knee. ¡°You¡¯re born from an egg, so you can be Eggborn!¡±

    The old woman glared at the old man furiously, but the old man was completely unfazed. He said complacently, ¡°My surname is Ruan, so you can be Ruan Eggborn.¡±

    The old woman snatched the pipe over and smacked him over the head. ¡°You¡¯re a coward! You¡¯re a coward!¡±

    TL: Ru¨£nd¨¤n, or soft egg, means coward in Chinese. Egg in Chinese is d¨¤n, so the first part of the name sounds like coward.

    The old man fought her off, even arguing back, ¡°I¡¯m not a coward. Why¡¯re you hitting me?¡±

    The child muttered, ¡°Eggborn? I¡¯m called Eggborn.¡± He automatically dropped the ¡°Ruan¡±.

    Suddenly, he smiled happily and bounded up. ¡°I¡¯m Eggborn! I want to eat more melons!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s eaten all the watermelons. What are you waiting for? Go plant some more!¡±

    The old man picked up the melon seeds from the ground and left through the door dejectedly with a plough on his shoulders. ¡°Eggborn¡± followed right behind him, ready to feast on some melons.

    The old man smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a hurry, Eggborn. You¡¯ll need at least ten days before they grow.¡±

    However, ¡°Eggborn¡± refused to give up, following along anyway. The old man patted him on the head and began moving between the fields to plant the seeds.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± crouched on the slope and waited, staring straight at the melon field.

    ¡°What a foolish child!¡± The old man shook his head with a smile, but he suddenly heard ¡°Eggborn¡± mutter away.

    ¡°Grow! Grow! Grow!¡±

    His scarlet eyes gradually turned jade-green, clear like water, verdant like leaves.

    Melon sprouts burst through the earth, growing at a visible rate. They bloomed with yellow flowers and round fruit developed beneath the petals, inflating like balloons. In the next moment, the melons ripened and fell from the vines!

    ¡°Eggborn¡± rushed into the melon fields and grabbed a watermelon even larger than his head, throwing his head into it suddenly. He began to feast again.

    The old man fell back on his bottom. ¡°Oh my gosh! Old woman, come here and take a look at this!¡±

 Chapter 1556

    The sandy pulp of the watermelon was extremely sweet. Perhaps because it had been born in this paradise, the juice oozed with happiness.

    As ¡°Eggborn¡± ate, he could not help but giggle away. He seemed to have never felt so relaxed and happy in his life. Suddenly, his cheek felt a little warm and moist. He wiped it and licked it, yet it was salty and bitter.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    He blinked his eyes. His jade-green eyes were like a foundation as more and more salty, bitter fluid covered his face. It never ended.

    Perhaps because he was not born in this paradise and had been soaked in pain, he could only produce this bitter fluid.

    His chest felt heavy as if something was trying to get out. His little face scrunched up, and he let out a growl that seemed almost non-human.

    Green light spread out as waves, making the plants grow vigorously, entangling together and killing one another.

    Like an ostrich, he buried his head within the melon peel. It finally stopped after quite a while. All of the vegetation withered away.

    He raised his head, revealing another innocent smile.

    The jade-green eyes turned scarlet again.

    The old coupled were both surprised and puzzled. They had no idea what had happened.

    The man called Li Qingshan had used the spirit turtle to suppress and seal away everything while he was at his most feeble during the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, avoiding the regression of his cultivation. He was like a turtle pulling its head into its shell, avoiding the influence of the outside world.

    However, he was well aware that this was only a temporary measure. The spirit turtle was good at defending, but not only was this fragile line of defence vulnerable to the influence of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, but he would even end up questioning himself as well.

    There would be one day when he would have to ask himself, Who am I?

    Yet just then, the Qilin Transformation that had stagnated for quite a long time actually broke through when he was completely unconscious of it. Perhaps this world was suited for practising the Qilin Transformation, or perhaps he had unintentionally conformed to the principle of letting nature take its course.

    In short, his cultivation increased instead of decreasing, but a crack appeared on the fragile turtle shell.

    Those bloody memories filled with slaughter, pain, and despair, even just a hint of them, was not something that ¡°Eggborn¡± could bear with right now.

    Compared to his current comfort and joy, the words ¡°beyond the Nine Heavens¡± were far too heavy and far too obscure.

    Those sealed memories would return one day. By then, would he still be willing to take on this pain again?

    In the blink of an eye, ¡°Eggborn¡± turned a month old. The old couple invited everyone within five kilometres of their place, holding a baby shower on an empty field.

    Of course, Sukh¨¡vat¨© followed all buddhist precepts. They were forbidden from ingesting any meat or alcohol, so they only drank tea and ate fruit.

    However, the atmosphere was just as intoxicating as alcohol. Within the fragrance of flowers, under the warm sun, everyone¡¯s faces beamed. The laughter never stopped.

    They set up a square table in the centre of the field and placed a rattan chair on it. The centre of attention of the celebration, ¡°Eggborn¡±, sat high up on the chair, ensuring that everyone could see him.

    He already seemed eight or nine years old. He wore a tiger hat and tiger shoes with a silver, glistening lock of peace around his neck, yet he was the only one present that was not smiling. His eyes were half-open, dozing off uncontrollably.

    The crack rapidly grew larger, and the memories of the past seeped out endlessly, turning into nightmares.

    Sometimes, he would dream of being forced to work under the scorching sun, leaving him aching all over. Sometimes, he would dream of carrying a corpse, climbing an icy mountain arduously.

    The most terrifying dreams were the ones where he was being hunted down. There were various different enemies, like an ugly, sinister granny, a cold, graceful swordsman, and a vicious, black dragon. Every single time, he would be forced into dire straits before jerking awake from the nightmare.

    As a result, he tried his best to remain awake at all times. When he could not hold on for any longer, he would nap a little.

    Fortunately, when he was awake, he was still relatively happy. He liked this kind of liveliness too.

    The field was jubilous. Even just casually glancing up was enough to see him. He was surrounded by people, forming a great crowd that admired him in surprise.

    Among the many buddhist precepts, breaking the precept of sexual misconduct was far worse than the precept of alcohol consumption. However, sexual desires were always the greatest of desires. They were extremely difficult to overcome.

    But in Sukh¨¡vat¨©, this was not a problem at all. Everyone was free from these desires. Even couples did not sleep together, so there were rarely any newborns.

    In a regular world, if they grew up in just a month, they would probably be treated as a monster, but in Sukh¨¡vat¨©, no one thought that. Everyone¡¯s hearts were filled with kindness, feeling happy for the old couple from the bottom of their hearts. They looked at ¡°Eggborn¡± like he was their own child.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± was influenced by the atmosphere, making him smile as well.

    ¡°Eggborn, show them some of your tricks!¡± old man Ruan called out.

    ¡°Alrighty!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± leapt up in response and performed a somersault, landing firmly on the back of the seat. He stood on one leg and called out, ¡°Grow! Grow! Grow!¡±

    Wheat sprouts burst out of the earth one by one. In the blink of an eye, the empty field turned into a glistening field of wheat.

    Within the gasps, someone said, ¡°It¡¯s absolutely wondrous. He really is a child bestowed by the buddha. Old brother Ruan, you should go to the temple and return the favour.¡±

    Old man Ruan rubbed his head. ¡°This¡­ I haven¡¯t found the time to do that yet!¡±

    ¡°There is no better time than today. You might as well go now. We¡¯ll all come with you!¡±

    Everyone agreed and lifted up the table like it was a sedan chair, jostling off towards the temple.

    This world was scattered with temples. In less than two hours, they arrived before a solemn, unadorned temple surrounded with trees.

    The receiving monk welcomed everyone into the temple before inviting the abbot over.

    Everyone spoke up in a gabble, leaving the abbot surprised as well, even slightly suspicious. Unlike these ¡°bumpkins¡± that only knew how to chant the buddha¡¯s name, he was a proper person of buddhism. Even the ¡°child-delivering Guanyin¡± was an misinterpretation of laypeople, let alone a ¡°child-delivering buddha¡±.

    As a result, he used the Heavenly Eye knowledge and took a careful glance at ¡°Eggborn¡±, which left him surprised. He lifted up his kasaya in a hurry and dropped down to his knees, bowing deeply towards ¡°Eggborn¡±.

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. I did not know about the sangharama guardian¡¯s visit, so please forgive me for failing to welcome you!¡±

    What he saw was no longer a child, but a great, dignified god of golden light.

    No matter how suitable Sukh¨¡vat¨© was for cultivating buddhists, those that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation were still exceptionally rare.

    Sangharama guardians were already formal gods of buddhism. Their official position was not too high, but they already stood among the ranks of gods and buddhas. They were worthy of the worship of followers.

    Even upon rebirth with his memories sealed, his post still existed.

    In Sukh¨¡vat¨©, the status of monks was extremely high. Coupled with how they heard he was a sangharama guardian, everyone bowed in a hurry. Even the old couple could not help but bow.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± leapt into the crowd and helped them up. He widened his eyes and questioned the abbot, ¡°You baldy, what are you on about? Get up, all of you. You can¡¯t bow to me!¡±

    The abbot was surprised inside, Don¡¯t tell me this guardian refuses to expose himself?

    At this moment, a mighty voice rang out from outside the temple, ¡°Amit¨¡bha! Long time no see, general Li.¡±

    A monk with a staff and a bamboo hat in an old kasaya walked into the temple. For some reason, ¡°Eggborn¡± became restless inside. ¡°And who are you? You say I¡¯m some kind of general as well? And some kind of plum general. Why don¡¯t you call me watermelon general?¡±

    TL: Remember that Li Qingshan¡¯s surname can mean plum in certain contexts.

    ¡°This monk is Upraised Light.¡±

 Chapter 1557

    The abbot had only just climbed up when he glanced outside the temple, almost dropping back onto the ground. Amit¨¡bha, what¡¯s going on today? There¡¯s another one!

    As it turned out, the monk outside who called himself Upraised Light seemed nothing special, but under the observations of the Heavenly Eye knowledge, he was clearly a divine monk who had attained the fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi, only a step away from the fruit of Arhat.

    In terms of his status in buddhism, he stood even higher than sangharama guardians. Even within Sukh¨¡vat¨©, they were extremely rare.

    ¡°General, you truly are like someone important, always forgetful! You¡¯ve forgotten about me so      quickly!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot raised his bamboo hat slightly, revealing a young, handsome face. Even if Li Qingshan¡¯s memories were not sealed away, he probably would struggle to recognise him.

    During the battle of Black Cloud city, he sacrificed himself and triggered the receiving light of the buddha. It heavily injured the Demon God¡¯s embodiment, earning Li Qingshan the precious opportunity to catch his breath.

    He was originally an eminent monk of the pure land school, so there was no better place of cultivation than Sukh¨¡vat¨©. He successfully rebuilt his body, and his cultivation climbed higher, having undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation already.

    ¡°I¡¯m not some general, nor do I know you!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± planted his hands on his hips and held his chest high, coming off as rude. However, he felt frantic inside. The monk really did give off a sense of familiarity as if he had seen him in a certain nightmare before.

    That was basically one of his worst dreams, fighting on the battlefield that trickled with blood. Countless people died tragic deaths while the enemy was despairingly powerful.

    He originally thought that as long as he remained awake, he could stay far away from those nightmares.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know me, but I know you.¡±

    ¡°Wretched monk! Damned bald ass! Go away, I don¡¯t want to see you!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± swung his hand furiously, and great trees erupted from the ground, blocking the Upraised Light abbot from entering.

    Everyone was dumbstruck. This was Amit¨¡bha¡¯s Sukh¨¡vat¨©. T-t-this¡­ was basically calling a monk a bald ass right in his face!

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to see me, but I want to see you.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot did not have to use the Heavenly Eye knowledge to see a lofty, valiant sangharama god, which happened to look identical to Li Qingshan. He approached the temple, and the trees automatically parted to the two sides. Everyone stepped aside to form a path for him too.

    He arrived before ¡°Eggborn¡± step by step, observing his expression in the process too. He vaguely guessed that something had happened to his memories.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± gritted his teeth firmly like an infuriated cub, glaring at the Upraised Light abbot. Growing up to be this big, he had yet to encounter any powerful people apart from in his nightmares. It was basically a nightmare come true now.

    But to everyone¡¯s surprise, the Upraised Light abbot suddenly bowed deeply. ¡°I have a request to make!¡±

    There was probably only one person who could help him with this throughout all of Sukh¨¡vat¨© .

    It had to do with that White Bone Bodhisattva, as well as the path and future of the entire pure land school. He had constantly been worrying about this, such that not only did his cultivation halt, but it even gradually regressed.

    Ever since he arrived in Sukh¨¡vat¨©, he finally found some relief, attaining the fruit of Sakrid¨¡g¨¡mi, but he immediately began to search for the answer to this again uncontrollably.

    For what exact reason had she fallen to become the White Bone Bodhisattva?

    ¡°Eggborn¡± was surprised. This was different from the normal nightmares. ¡°Get up! Are you really that certain I¡¯m some general?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot raised his head. He looked over ¡°Eggborn¡± and gazed into the glorious grand hall. Within the curling incense smoke, the golden buddha sat with its eyes half-closed and its lips slightly raised as if it was smiling.

    Namo Amit¨¡bha, if what I seek for is a secret that should not be known, please let light descend upon me to stop me!

    He held his breath as if he was waiting for judgement to arrive, but nothing happened in the end.

    As a result, he said, ¡°Come with me, and you¡¯ll know.¡±

    The scale of the temple was very large, possessing all the halls like the Heavenly King hall and the Arhat hall. They enshrined all kinds of gods and buddhas. The Sangharama God was a guardian god of temples, so there was obviously a Sangharama hall as well.

    It was just a side hall, but it was a towering structure, solemn in bearing. It was spotless. Apart from the Sangharama God that sat in the very centre, there were two rows of several dozen sangharama guardians. Every single one of them was life-like and valiant in bearing.

    There was a brand-new statue at the very end, with scarlet hair and scarlet eyes, holding his chest and head up high in high spirits. The nameplate right next to it was carved with two large words¡ªLi Qingshan.

    Now, throughout all of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, all of the temples that enshrined the Sangharama God had a statue like that. That was why the Upraised Light abbot knew of his arrival and had specially come to find him.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, Li Qingshan¡­¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± stared at the statue blankly. The sealed crack rapidly expanded, and countless memories flashed by. Even if he refused to admit it, he could not deny that it was him!

    He had seen that face many times before, in the nightmares, on the reflections of the blades and swords, in the killing-intent-ridden eyes of the enemy.

    However, utterly different from him, the man did not seem to possess fear.

    That was what he wanted to become!

    ¡°Eggborn¡± suddenly looked back. ¡°If, I say if, I am Li Qingshan, what do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not convenient to talk here in detail. I want you to come with me to a place. Once we get there, you¡¯ll obviously know.¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± was basically about to agree without hesitation. He had a feeling that as long as he went with this monk, he could become ¡°Li Qingshan¡± and completely free himself from these damned nightmares.

    He was just about to speak up when he suddenly saw the old couple outside the Sangharama hall, staring straight at him, hesitating over whether they should enter or not.

    As a result, he lowered his head and stopped looking at the statue. ¡°I can¡¯t go with you. I want to go home.¡±

    He could clearly remember how they always accompanied him whenever he jerked awake from the nightmares, without a single exception.

    The Upraised Light abbot was rather surprised. He sank into his thoughts.

    The night deepened, and the moon hung high in the sky.

    In the melon field, ¡°Eggborn¡± sat on a watermelon the size of calf, gazing at the moon. He did not feel exhausted at all. He constantly reminisced about what had happened during the day, especially the statue called Li Qingshan.

    Was that how I was originally?

    At this moment, he heard a rustle. The old couple walked one behind the other, making their way on the path through the fields.

    He waved his hand. ¡°Grandpa, granny, I¡¯m going to sleep here. You don¡¯t have to urge me all the time!¡±

    The old couple glanced at one another. ¡°Kid, you should go!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± was surprised. ¡°To where?¡±

    ¡°To find the master. Sigh, look at how you have night terrors every single night. We don¡¯t want to see you like this either!¡±

    ¡°We originally thought you were haunted by something, so we even prayed to the buddha to watch over you. We didn¡¯t expect you to be a general under the buddha¡¯s command. Probably the buddha isn¡¯t happy with you slacking off here. Our prayers might have even harmed you instead.¡±

    ¡°Sigh, the buddha has so many great generals, so why can¡¯t he just let you of all people go?¡±

    The old couple talked incessantly. ¡°Eggborn¡± felt his chest heat up, pursing his lips, but he was unable to say a single thing. He leapt off the great watermelon and bowed deeply towards them before running off into the distance.

    The moon was bright, so bright that it seemed like daytime, dragging out his shadow. The Upraised Light abbot waited alone in front of the temple. He was rather melancholic. Was this not the Sukh¨¡vat¨© that he had always yearned for? What else was there for him to question?

 Chapter 1558

    At this moment, all the Upraised Light abbot saw was a tiny figure, who ran over on the lush plains dyed silver by the moonlight.

    He murmured, ¡°And what are you questioning?¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± stopped at the entrance of the temple, leaning against his knees as he sucked in a deep breath. He said with determination, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±

    If his life was destined to be nightmares after nightmares, then he would fight on like Li Qingshan instead of hiding away, afraid to fall asleep like a coward.

    ¡°Hold on!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± then rushed into the temple. He caused a ruckus, alarming all of the monks, before walking out again while dusting off his hands in satisfaction.

    In the Sangaharama hall, the sangharama guardian located at the very end called Li Qingshan was smashed to pieces. It no longer possessed any of its former valiance.

    ¡°Why?¡± The Upraised Light abbot was very surprised as well. Getting worshipped as a god was probably something all cultivators yearned for. Did he have a problem with the fact that he was ranked at the very end?

    ¡°I don¡¯t want people to worship me!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha, only so everyone and everything can be equal? I am ashamed of my inferiority to you.¡± The Upraised Light abbot brought his palms together and sighed with a smile. ¡°But sure enough, only you are capable of this.¡±

    ¡°What is it exactly?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no hurry. We can talk while we walk.¡±

    As a result, they approached the silvery-blue night, vanishing into the vast plains.

    In the messy Sangharama hall, all of the monks became limp. In Sukh¨¡vat¨©, let alone statues of gods enshrined in temples, even just a piece of paper that depicted a god was something that no one possessed the courage to destroy.

    They had basically never heard of such a shocking and blasphemous act before. They had no idea what to do.

    In the tall, deep hall, the Sangharama God and the guardians seemed to be staring at them. The monks all knelt down on the ground, throwing their heads against the ground constantly like they were trying to pound rice, apologising again and again.

    The abbot of the temple was still the calmest. He ordered, ¡°Clean this place up immediately and then tell master Zhu¡¯s carpenters to make another copy identical to the original. Do not divulge this to anyone.¡±

    He arrived in the corner and lifted up the remaining chunk of ¡°Sangharama Guardian Li Qingshan¡¯s¡± head. He bowed deeply. ¡°I¡¯ve failed to protect it, so please forgive me for this, sir. I will definitely have another image of you created as soon as possible.¡±

    The next morning, the Sangharama hall was spotless once more, and a statue that was even newer stood high on the altar. The charming sunlight fell on his body, making him even more high-spirited.

    The monks would come over from time to time to take a look and bow, confirming the statue¡¯s existence.

    The event last night really did seem like a nightmare!

    At the same time, ¡°Eggborn¡± felt like the Upraised Light abbot did not have any malice at all, so he told him about his circumstances.

    ¡°Sure enough, you¡¯ve lost your memories.¡±

    ¡°Did I hit my head?¡± ¡°Eggborn¡± felt around his head with both his hands, but he did not find any lumps.

    ¡°Haha, of course not.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot had vaguely guessed that Li Qingshan had intentionally sealed up his memories to resist the influence of Sukh¨¡vat¨©. With his understanding of that kid, he was definitely capable of something like that.

    ¡°Then how do I recover my memories?¡±

    ¡°About that. That¡¯s easy.¡± The Upraised Light abbot smiled. His young, handsome face seemed like he was hiding ulterior motives. He even patted him on the shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me. I have a request that I¡¯m asking you, so you should be paid back for your efforts.¡±

    As a result, he changed their direction slightly. They passed through a lush forest, but there was not a single wild beast in the forest. They crossed a large river, but there were no fish. They traversed a mountain, but only the cries of birds rose and fell without ever coming to an end, possessing a wondrous rhythm, like it was singing praises about this wonderful world.

    Birds flocked together and separated from time to time. The sound of their wingbeats filled the air. It was basically like a paradise for avians. They also could not help but stop and admire them.

    Arriving at the top of the mountain, overlooking the entire plain, ¡°Eggborn¡± widened his eyes. All he saw were countless structures forming rows upon rows at the foot of the mountain¡ªabodes, towers, canals, halls, springs, temples, squares¡ªextending into the horizon for who knew how many hundred kilometres.

    Even in his past life, he had never seen such a large city. The clear streams and rivers that flowed down from the mountains passed through the entire city, reaching every corner via the canals.

    They followed the river down. The city was filled with the fragrance of flowers and birds sang here as well. There were people everywhere, but they did not idle around. There were still pedlars who called out to the streets and working artisans. However, their faces were all free from hardship and worry.

    The peddlers were not worried about their goods not selling or not selling at the price that they wanted. They did not have any ulterior motives either, sharing them with passersby enthusiastically. Their hawking was more like birds competing at singing, forming quite a sight on the street.

    The artisans completely focused on their crafts, but they did not rely on it to make a living. Instead, they all possessed a zeal from the bottom of their hearts. In any secular world, they would all be legendary masters. The crafts they created were all absolutely exquisite as well, priceless in any regular world, yet now, they were just placed on the side of the road for people to freely choose between them.

    The currency they used was not any precious metals, or metal at all, but bodhi seeds.

    In this world, bodhi trees were everywhere, so bodhi seeds never possessed any value. However, everyone was devoid of greed and wicked thoughts. The bodhi seeds only served as a token. Everyone did their best and took what they needed. If they were told to do nothing, they would instead find it boring.

    Along the way, ¡°Eggborn¡¯s¡± mouth did not idle around. He carried a great deal of food and drinks in his arms. He did not possess even half a bodhi seed, but he had the Upraised Light abbot beside him, so everyone else all thought he was a little acolyte wandering around with his master. They all shoved things into his arms.

    ¡°This¡­ really is¡­¡± He gulped, swallowing the things in his mouth, ¡°¡­ a fine place!¡±

    The ability of the chefs was simply brilliant. There was basically an endless amount of food, from the glistening sweet potato, glutinous rice and black sesame cakes and the dark-yellow thin tofu skins to the sweet and fragrant corn soup. Even until now, he had yet to come across something the same. He basically dined to his heart¡¯s content.

    ¡°Benevolent be the buddha. All the living beings live in suffering. If only the trichiliocosm could be like this!¡± The Upraised Light abbot sighed sincerely with great yearning.

    ¡°Heh, if that actually happens, you won¡¯t have any purpose anymore. The monks can all renounce asceticism and return to the secular world.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot said, ¡°We won¡¯t need monks anymore by then. Perhaps we won¡¯t even need the buddha anymore.¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± blanked out. Right when he was distracted, an old granny walked straight over with her head held high, failing to notice him and running straight into him.

    He was small but very strong. It did not even budge him, but the granny fell heavily to the ground with an ouch.

    He helped up the granny in a hurry. The granny suddenly grabbed his wrist, which made him panic inside. He did not even know why he panicked. He just felt like something terrifying was about to happen.

    The granny said, ¡°Child, are you fine?¡± She felt him up to check on him. ¡°I haven¡¯t hurt you, have I?¡±

    ¡°N- no!¡±

    ¡°Amit¨¡bha. The buddha is watching over us. As long as you¡¯re fine, as long as you¡¯re fine!¡± The granny climbed up to her feet with a twist and shoved a handful of bodhi seeds into his hand. ¡°Go buy some candies with this!¡± Then she paced off again.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± stared at the bodhi seeds in his hand. ¡°Erm¡­ I¡¯ve scammed someone!?¡±

    TL: The joke here is that in China, there are many scams where a person or an old granny lays down by a car (that is not moving) and claims that they were hit or knocked over. If you go up and help them, they basically refuse to get up unless they get paid for their ¡°injuries¡±. In this case, the entire situation has been reversed.

 Chapter 1559

    In a daze, he seemed to recall a world where it was absolutely unwise to help an old granny on the ground, where it was even better to avoid them altogether. Never did he think that running into an old granny would even come with money in this Sukh¨¡vat¨©.

    Compared to that, a world like this really was better!

    That was not all. A group of people gathered around in concern. ¡°Child, are you alright? That old aunty needs to look at where she¡¯s going. Look at how she ran into you! Sigh, I don¡¯t remember how long it¡¯s been since I last saw a child as small as you. How pitiful.¡±

    Not only were the ¡°onlookers¡± caring, but their warmth was basically about to roast him alive.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± felt guilty inside and confessed quickly, ¡°She didn¡¯t run into me. I ran into her!¡±

    The crowd took an even greater liking towards him. ¡°What a great child. Someone has run into you, yet you¡¯re still speaking for her! Yeah, yeah. Come, kid, take some cakes with you!¡±

    Very soon, he was drowning in bodhi seeds. ¡°I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need anything!¡± Only then did he escape from the enthusiastic crowd after quite a difficulty.

    ¡°Strange, strange, oh so strange! A sparrow has trodden an old hen to death! An ant three feet six long, an old grandpa sitting in a cradle.¡±

    He shook his head around as he sang a ballad, following the Upraised Light abbot through the bustling streets. It was a pity that there were no other children around, no one to sing along with him.

    Suddenly, the Upraised Light abbot stopped. ¡°We¡¯ll stay here for the night.¡±

    ¡°Here!?¡±

    This was neither a temple nor an inn, but a great square.

    By now, the sun was setting, and the lanterns on the streets had just been lit. The square bustled with people, making it extremely lively. Many people formed groups, singing and dancing away. It did not seem like a place to stay for the night at all.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, right here.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± leaned against his knees and sat down on some steps, watching the dancing people. The setting sun turned his face as red as an apple as he let out a smile unknowingly. He seemed no different from a regular child.

    The Upraised Light abbot suddenly felt a hint of reluctance and pity. Perhaps he should not have dragged him into this. Perhaps he should not help him recover his memories at all, but to help him keep the past completely sealed.

    Behind the valiance and resolve that belonged to ¡°Li Qingshan¡± was a bleak landscape of corpse and blood, filled with endless sins, yet he also refused to be like a regular cultivator, viewing all living beings as ants. As a result, he would never find peace, forced to shoulder these sins. As a result, he became even more resolved, where it made perfect sense even if he died somewhere one day.

    The Upraised Light abbot recalled what he had said that day in the Pure Land temple of Black Cloud city. It was still as enlightening and significant as before.

    ¡°I¡¯m laughing that you¡¯re all too weak. You¡¯re basically no different from the people who view all others as ants. Because you are unable to endure the pain within you, you cast aside your kindness, so you set down the butcher¡¯s blade. All of it is just twisting your original self. What other difference is there?¡±

    ¡°With a heart of benevolence, I fend off my demonic thoughts inside. With a butcher¡¯s blade in hand, I cut down powerful foes outside. Is that not delightful? Why must I go to Sukh¨¡vat¨©?¡±

    ¡°Those who kill will be killed themselves. Since I kill, then I am prepared to be killed. I do not seek bliss, nor do I seek eternal life. How will you convert me, monk?¡±

    It was not as profound as the buddhist scriptures, but his great determination and great willpower was basically unbelievable.

    At this moment, ¡°Eggborn¡± suddenly leapt up. ¡°I¡¯m going off to dance!¡±

    Those dancers had constantly been teasing him. After having watched for a while, he had learnt most of their moves as well. Finally, he ran out of patience and joined them in the centre.

    Whoosh! It was like adding a scoop of cold water to boiling oil. The atmosphere over the square immediately became scorching-hot like fire.

    A figure arrived before him in a flash. It was actually the old granny that knocked him over earlier. She was exceptionally fit, constantly twirling around.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve come too! You want to compete?¡±

    .

    ¡°Let¡¯s compete! Who¡¯s afraid of who?¡±

    ¡°I am Zhang Su¡¯e!¡±

    ¡°I am Li Dansheng!¡±

    Just like that, an old and a young figure competed against each other in the centre of the square. Everyone gathered around them, adding to the atmosphere with their cheers, except the dancing never stopped.

    Zhang Su¡¯e had devoted herself to this artform for many years. She had paid visits to countless master dancers and danced on countless squares before, developing her ability. Her dancing was rapid and high-spirited, making everyone forget about her age, engrossed by her dancing.

    However, she was left surprised and shocked very soon. The child seemed like he knew how to dance from the moment he was born. Every single movement he made was fluid and flawless. This was no child, but a master dancer! Very soon, she could not keep up with him anymore, accepting her defeat convincingly.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± stood out tremendously, defeating dancers after dancers. The cheers rose and fell like waves. The atmosphere was so fervent that it felt like the air was about to burn.

    He danced away freely, like sudden rain, like whirling winds, like hopping frogs, like fighting tigers. They were not just styles that he had just learned, but many styles buried away in the depths of his memories, like peacock dancing, latin dancing, tap dancing, street dancing¡­

    He became the one and only lead dancer. Everyone followed the steps of his dance.

    The Upraised Light abbot shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°So be it, so be it. What gives a mere Upraised Light the right to help Li Qingshan with choosing his path?¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡¯s¡± eyes were half closed, having forgotten about his surroundings, like he had fallen into a dream. He was filled with great joy that could only be expressed through dancing, but he also felt great fury that could only be vented through dancing. He also felt great sorrow, which he could only calm through dancing.

    Every single emotion turned into a movement, even reaching beyond the square and inciting everyone to make the same movements.

    When the bell rang, a group of armed soldiers wielding weapons approached the square. ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Everyone should head off now!¡±

    Normally, everyone went home when the bell rang, but no one listened to the soldiers¡¯ urging today. Instead, more and more people gathered over from all directions.

    The soldiers made their way through the crowd, straight towards the centre of the square in an attempt to stop the ¡°lead dancer¡±.

    However, he continued to dance away to his heart¡¯s content. A third eye suddenly appeared on his forehead, spraying out divine fire around him that prevented the soldiers from approaching him.

    The figure of a god appeared around him, wearing a crown of fire and holding a small drum and a ball of fire in each hand, also dancing away. Its movements were extremely slow yet filled with a sense of power. It raised its left foot slowly as rings of fire wrapped around its right leg, extending its four arms gently.

    With a clatter, even the soldiers had tossed aside their weapons, dancing along as well. They were enchanted, completely forgetting about their duty.

    ¡°The Dance of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot furrowed his brows, taken slightly by surprise. He had almost forgotten that Li Qingshan practised the path of great liberty. Now, he demonstrated Mahe?vara¡¯s dancing form, and it clearly possessed a hint of divine nature. Even he could not stop him.

    The rings of fire spun away endlessly, signifying the cycle of birth, preservation, and destruction. No one could escape this kind of cycle, just like the people present.

    Even the people that never danced began to dance along enthusiastically, immediately becoming master dancers, except they did seem a little like puppets on strings.

    Unconsciously, he had turned the square into his cultivation grounds, turning everyone into his followers. His Origin Soul rapidly grew.

    The night grew deeper. All of the lanterns throughout the city were extinguished. All that remained was the square.

    The bell rang twelve times, making its final warning.

    The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s expression changed. ¡°It¡¯s here!¡±

 Chapter 1560

    Roar!

    The brutal and violent beast¡¯s howl broke the singing and dancing. A vicious demonic beast that resembled a bear emerged out of nowhere. Its entire body was falling apart, with bone spikes jutting out of its hide. The grim demon qi it gave off temporarily obscured the moonlight, casting a thick, stinking shadow.

    The demonic beast shook its head violently, splattering its sticky saliva all over the ground, which corroded away to form great pits.

    The noise and activity on the square caught its attention. A mad, blood-thirsty light erupted in its eyes. It lunged over with a push of its paws.

    The foul air filled their faces, and ¡°Eggborn¡± jerked awake from the Dance of the Devaputra-m¨¡ra. He immediately spotted the hideous demonic beast. However, when everyone stopped dancing, they were still dazed. They had not completely recovered yet.

    At such a critical moment, the Upraised Light abbot just happened to be gone too.

    He widened his eyes as his heart thumped away. His nightmares had turned real now! If the demonic beast made it onto the square, who knew how many people would die. He made up his mind and rushed straight towards the Demon Sovereign beast.

    Right when they were about to collide, he suddenly noticed that his heart thumped away like a drum not out of fear, but because of irrepressible impulse.

    He came to a realisation. So the reason why the nightmares have been so terrifying is because I¡¯ve been running away from them the entire time!

    The demonic beast swung its paw at him. The air cracked deeply, taking his breath from his lungs.

    At this very moment, there was a crack! Like a shattering river of ice, water surged out from the cracks. Countless memories rushed out, such that he was taken by surprise, unable to distinguish between them for the time being, which left him dazed.

    Boom! The ground cracked to pieces, sinking to form a great pit. He was slammed into the ground by the paw.

    Only then did everyone completely recover. Cries rang out endlessly as they ran all over the place. The soldiers tried to retrieve their weapons in a hurry, but how could they make it in time?

    The shadow rapidly loomed over. Everyone raised their heads in shock. A giant beast descended from above. If that landed, who knew how many people would be crushed to death.

    At that critical moment, all they heard was a yell, ¡°Grow! Grow! Grow!¡± It was a child¡¯s voice, but it was filled with firmness and resolve.

    At this moment, countless thorns burst through the sky, dancing like wild snakes and piercing the demonic beast, wrapping around it firmly mid-air.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± walked on air, emerging from the pit step by step. His long hair danced around even without any wind as he stared at the demonic beast with his jade-green eyes, shining with a stunning light. He also seemed like a wild beast.

    In an alleyway to the side of the square, the Upraised Light abbot let out a silent sigh of relief, lowering the staff in his hand.

    Under the silver moon, the demonic beast let out miserable shrieks, struggling violently. Demonic blood fell like torrential rain, splattering on the people below. Their expressions immediately changed slightly.

    A man fled from the square. The person in front of him moved a little slower, so he immediately shoved him aside viciously. The person behind him directly stepped over the person on the ground, without any sympathy or intention to help.

    Hints of scarlet appeared in ¡°Eggborn¡¯s¡± green eyes. His brows pressed down as he closed his hand abruptly. ¡°Die!¡±

    Even more thorns burst out from the ground, piercing and moving through the Demon Sovereign beast¡¯s body, tearing apart every inch of its flesh. However, the demonic beast¡¯s vitality was extremely tenacious. It actually continued to struggle.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± snorted coldly and charged towards the demonic beast again. He was wrapped in rings of fire, piercing the demonic beast¡¯s colossal body in a single strike and digging out a huge demonic heart.

    The demonic beast immediately stopped struggling as its eyes gradually lost their glint.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± stood on the demonic beast¡¯s head, raising the demonic heart in his hand high into the air.

    Everyone was saved. They stopped where they were and began cheering, but it was filled with a different kind of fervency.

    In the blink of an eye, the square where they sang and danced had turned into a primitive, bloody hunting ground. They, the tribesmen, offered their greatest respects towards the mightiest warrior.

    Everyone forgot about the first precept of buddhism¡ªabstaining from killing!

    ¡°Eggborn¡± smiled proudly and gazed into the distance. There were actually traces of demonic beasts throughout the entire city. Soldiers clad in armour and wielding weapons fought against them.

    These demonic beasts were bloodthirsty and deranged, but most of them were not powerful, while the guards were well-prepared. They worked together well and easily suppressed them. Killing them was just a matter of time.

    Apart from those in the square, most of the residents hid in their homes, so they were unaffected.

    As a result, he did not continue fighting. He descended from the air slowly, and everyone rushed over, lifting him up high into the air and tossing him towards the sky again and again, calling out ¡°Hurray!¡±

    From the corner of his eyes, he spotted the Upraised Light abbot again, who nodded towards him.

    No matter what, this idea was indeed effective. Most of his memories had recovered, and he only needed a few days at most before they completely returned to him.

    However, he felt strangely uneasy, like something was amiss, but he had no time to assemble the memory fragments into a complete picture right now. He was not certain where the issue was.

    The howls of the demonic beasts died down very soon, but the people on the square were imbued with an abnormal emotion, perhaps because they had been doused in demonic blood. They gathered around the demonic beast¡¯s corpse and actually began dancing around again.

    Their dance this time was very different. The men pushed and shoved, while the women began to bicker. It was extremely tense.

    Some men and women downright embraced each other and began feeling each other up, stripping off their clothes. However, because there were more men than women, the distribution was uneven, leading to even more disputes and chaos.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± was young, but he still became a target for the women. He was forced to jump off the demonic beast¡¯s corpse and avoid these crazy women.

    The soldiers were drawn over by the disturbance here. When they saw this, they were all dumbfounded. They had no idea what to do.

    The Upraised Light abbot shook his head, bringing his palms together. ¡°Amit¨¡bha, please pardon my sins.¡±

    If he had taken action personally, the demonic beast would have been destroyed the moment it appeared, and these people would not have been splattered by the demonic blood, avoiding all these sins. However, compared to what he was about to do, these sins were nothing.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± could not help but laugh aloud. He found it all extremely fascinating. If they held these gatherings a few more times, there would be children running around everywhere in a few years¡¯ time.

    Suddenly, sleepiness overcame him, making him yawn. He remembered it had already been a very long time since he last slept, and the memories that constantly surged forth made his head light as well. As a result, he just laid down on the demonic beast¡¯s back and began snoring away. He was no longer worried about any nightmares.

    As for those powerful enemies in the dreams, hmph! I shoudn¡¯t fear them. They should fear me!

    The long night passed, and the sun rose up in the east. The first ray of sunlight landed on the square.

    The demonic beast¡¯s corpse vapourised as black mist, revealing its pale bones very soon, which also rapidly dissipated.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± woke up. He slept soundly, without any dreams at all. He stretched his arm. He had grown significantly bigger, already a teenager now.

    The men and women on the square woke up as well and black mist rose up from their naked bodies too. They looked at one another and let out a yelp.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± grinned and took out the demonic heart again, only to see it dissipate as well. It vanished before long, and everyone on the square had run away too.

    Everything that happened last night felt extremely surreal, like a great dream. This was clearly paradise, so why would there be demonic beasts?

    The Upraised Light abbot walked over. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to set off.¡±

    ¡°To where?¡±

    ¡°N¨¡land¨¡.¡±

 Chapter 1561

    N¨¡land¨¡ was sanskrit. It meant ¡°almsgiving without intermission¡±, which meant ¡°giving the buddhist dharma across all life, never to stop¡±.

    It was also known as ¡°the place where the lotuses bloomed¡±. The lotus signified wisdom and the buddhist nature in buddhist scriptures. Whenever mortals reached this place, they would attain great enlightenment, freeing them from their sources of suffering.

    Because the buddha had once held sermons here before, it had another renowned name¡ªGreat Thunderclap temple. When the buddha gave sermons, it boomed like thunderclaps.

    It was the most grand, most solemn, most glorious, and most sacred temple in all of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, perhaps even the entire universe.

    To the monks of the Pure Land sect, that was the case too, so they bestowed it with all the praises in the world, yet it was still not enough.

    When the Upraised Light abbot mentioned this, he smiled unknowingly. Going to the Great Thunderclap temple in Sukh¨¡vat¨© to see the buddha was the dream of every single monk in the world.

    However, ¡°Eggborn¡± began having second thoughts. As his memories gradually recovered, the name ¡°Great Thunderclap temple¡± sounded familiar for some reason. He felt like it was not some good place.

    By now, they had already crossed the city, currently facing a raging river. The currents were violent as great waves surged. When they gazed out, they were actually unable to see the other side. Even he found the situation to be extremely dangerous.

    ¡°Erm, abbot, I think I don¡¯t want to go anymore.¡±

    His memories and powers would completely recover in a few days¡¯ time anyway. By then, he could look ahead and plan his next step. However, no matter where he went, there was no reason for him to strut around in front of the buddha.

    The Upraised Light abbot smiled. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re afraid?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m kidding. What am I afraid of? Since you¡¯re going to the Great Thunderclap temple and have a request, you¡¯re welcome to ask the buddha. With his boundless powers, he can probably resolve it with just a twitch of his little finger. Why trouble me with it? By the way, trying to goad me doesn¡¯t work.¡±

    ¡°No, even the buddha cannot help me with this. Only you can. Of course, if you really don¡¯t want to go, I can¡¯t force you to.¡± The Upraised Light abbot let out a great sigh. ¡°If I had known earlier, why had I gone to all those lengths last night, breaking so many precepts? I¡¯m truly unforgivable!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± rolled his eyes. ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll pay a visit with you then!¡±

    In order to fool him into helping, this monk sure was able to say anything, like ¡°Even the buddha cannot help me with this. Only you can.¡± Who the hell would believe that?

    He had always placed great emphasis on being a man of his word and a man who returned favours. Even if tremendous danger lay ahead of him, he would try anyway. Speaking of which, since he had been conferred the role of a ¡°sangharama guardian¡±, there was nothing wrong with paying a visit to the great leader.

    With a leap, he rose into the air, but there was a plop and he fell into the water.

    The Upraised Light abbot only just managed to extend his hand. ¡°Hold on!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± had only just arrived above the river when he felt empty beneath him, with absolutely nothing to support him. And falling into the river was not even the worst part. No matter how he struggled, he continued to sink towards the bottom.

    Suddenly, his eyes flickered with deep-blue light, and only then did he stop sinking. He swam back to shore in a hurry and coughed up several mouths of water. He felt like his entire mouth was filled with sand.

    ¡°Pah! Pah! Pah! What the fuck is this river?¡±

    ¡°The River of Flowing Sand. What flows in it are the fifteen hundred kilometres of weakwater. Even gods and immortals cannot fly over it, forced to cross the river like everyone else. It¡¯s said that ¡®Four hundred kilometres of flowing sand wide, fifteen hundred kilometres of weakwater deep. Not even a goosefeather floats, even reed flowers are destined to sink.¡¯ Just the fact that you managed to swim back up here is a miracle.¡±

    TL: The River of Flowing Sand is from Journey to the West, where Sha Wujing (the third disciple) once lived. The origins of weakwater in Chinese mythology comes from rivers of shallow but fast-flowing water, which could not be crossed in boats, only in rafts, so they thought the water was ¡°too weak¡± to hold the boats.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± then cursed viciously under his breath, ¡°The buddha sure has a lot of rules!¡± When he thought about it, it did make sense. Even regular cultivation sects forbade people from flying around without good reason, but he still felt discontent about this.

    The Upraised Light abbot raised his eyebrows and rebuked, ¡°Kid, you better stop with those curses under your breath, or I won¡¯t show you mercy!¡±

    ¡°The only thing under my breath is sand. What¡¯s it got to do with the buddha!¡± He shielded his eyes from the sun and gazed for quite a while. ¡°We better find a ferry crossing then!¡±

    ¡°There aren¡¯t any ferry crossings anymore.¡± The Upraised Light abbot shook his head helplessly.

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve prepared beforehand.¡± The Upraised Light Abbot took out a slightly-transparent turtle shell and tossed it into the weakwater. It immediately became the size of a small boat, and it did not sink. He boarded it first before turning around and saying, ¡°Get on!¡±

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± stroked the turtle shell gently. Apart from the natural patterns on there, there were many profound and crude symbols as well. It gave off a familiar aura.

    ¡°The shell of a spirit turtle. It does not sink in water. It took me quite a lot of difficulty to find this piece.¡±

    ¡°I see!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± came to an understanding. He possessed the perfect bloodline of the spirit turtle, which was why he could swim back ashore. With another leap, his eyes turned deep-blue, and he stood firmly on the surface of the water. He laughed. ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about this?¡± He raced off on the surface of the water.

    The Upraised Light abbot gazed at his figure. ¡°If I had known earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have looked for this turtle shell. Just getting the kid to carry me on his back would have been enough. Yeah, perhaps he was destined for this.¡±

    Crossing the four hundred kilometres of flowing sand and fifteen hundred kilometres of weakwater, they made it to the other side. Gazing out, mist permeated the horizon as a continuous chain. A series of snow mountains sat on the mist, and the tallest one was shaped like a lotus.

    Under the glow of the setting sun, a red sun hovered on top of the ¡°lotus¡±, dyeing the mist and snow mountains a golden-red, which refracted into a myriad of colours, a dazzling phenomenon of nature.

    The ¡°lotus¡± became even more gorgeous as a result. As the light shifted, it seemed to be constantly blooming.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± could not help but stop as well. ¡°So this is¡­¡±

    ¡°The spiritual mountain!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot was solemn. He took off his kasaya and monk robes, lowering himself onto the ground and prostrating towards the spiritual mountain.

    ¡°Stop posing around! Get going!¡±

    However, the Upraised Light abbot stood up, took one step, two step, three steps, and prostrated again.

    ¡°You¡­¡± He suddenly understood. The Upraised Light abbot wanted to prostrate with every three steps until he reached the mountain. ¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t necessary, right? If you do this, when are we going to get there?¡±

    However, the Upraised Light abbot said nothing more, bowing repeatedly and constantly advancing. He ignored everything in the surroundings, such that his eyes were only fixed on the blooming lotus, the glorious snow mountain.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± grimaced and shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely mad!¡±

    They immediately slowed down as a result. They could only approach the spiritual mountain step by step now.

    In the beginning, he had nothing better to do, so he mocked the Upraised Light abbot a little. He received no reply at all, so he simply stopped. Fortunately, the surroundings were filled with strange and exotic flowers and plants. The scenery was wonderful, so he did not find it boring.

    Gradually, it instead led to a strange sensation of respect. This kind of perseverance was still extraordinary after all. And, it was actually immune to his great mocking technique, so it really was something else!

    The Upraised Light abbot did not seem like some stubborn, blind zealot. The buddha who was worthy of his worship like this probably really did possess great might and great benevolence!

    However, he would never bow, not just because he refused to lower his head. To him, if the buddha¡¯s powers really did possess endless might, then he would not have the great benevolence to bring salvation to all. If he really did possess the great benevolence to bring salvation to all, then his powers would not possess endless might.

    Otherwise, this world would have turned into a paradise a long time ago. A deranged woman like Qian Rongzhi would have never been born either.

    Perhaps someone like him would not exist either.

    However, they still moved at a speed faster than his expectations. As they got closer and closer to the spiritual mountain, the Upraised Light abbot became more and more hurried, more and more anxious.

    Appearances arose from the heart. His young, handsome appearance also became stubbly and weathered. His expression also became lost and uneasy as if he was repenting for his sins, yet it was also like he was struggling arduously.

    Sometimes, ¡°Eggborn¡± had a feeling that the monk would tell him in the next moment, ¡°Let¡¯s go back!¡±

    However, he did not end up saying it. He just continued to walk, continued to bow.

    Finally, they arrived at the spiritual mountain.

    The magnificent halls and towers, the blooming lotuses, were right before their eyes. At the end of the steps was a pair of majestic doors, yet they were firmly shut.

    The Upraised Light abbot finally stood up, climbing up the stairs.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± did not dare to fall behind, following along closely. He also felt like respecting the holy land. However, the surroundings were silent.There were no bells and drums, nor any chanting. There was no one to be seen. Upon further thought, regular monks probably did not come here, and the bodhisattvas and arhats probably had no need to spend all day chanting either.

    They arrived before the doors, yet they showed no signs of entering. ¡°Eggborn¡± went up and knocked it for a good while. ¡°Open up! Open up! Where has the entrance guard gone?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to knock anymore! Look up!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot finally spoke. After steeling himself, his gaze became even firmer.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± followed the door crack and looked up. All he saw was a notice stuck in the centre of the doors with six glistening sanskrit words on there.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± clapped his hands together and shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s over. It¡¯s all your fault for walking too slowly. The buddha is out for business.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot had no idea how to respond. ¡°Do you recognise those words?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± He spread his fingers and began counting. ¡°I- have- business- I¡¯m- not- home. Look, six words!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot just smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so good at maths, but who leaves a notice on the door crack?¡± However, much of his solemn and grim mood had been diluted by his jokes.

    ¡°Eggborn¡± was unhappy. ¡°What do you think it says then?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s obviously a seal, with the six syllables of the mantra ¡®O? ma?i padme h¨±?¡¯.¡±

    ¡°What a joke. Who has the courage to seal up the door to the buddha¡¯s home? Hold on, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s personally written by the buddha. Alright, you go and rip that notice off!¡±

 Chapter 1562

    ¡°Eggborn¡± immediately understood what the Upraised Light abbot meant by ¡°Even the buddha cannot help me with this. Only you can.¡± Gazing at the golden notice, a strong sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu overcame him. He felt like he had heard about a situation like this before from somewhere.

    But hold on, this was a notice written by the buddha. As a measly sangharama guardian, if he removed it rashly, wouldn¡¯t he be asking to die?

    The Upraised Light abbot smiled. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. To me, that¡¯s the six-worded mantra, an infallible law, but to you, it¡¯s just a notice that says ¡®I have business. I¡¯m not home¡¯. What¡¯s wrong with peeling it off and taking a look at it?¡±

    However, ¡°Eggborn¡± simply looked up, staring at the sky. The Upraised Light abbot was puzzled. ¡°What are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried about a hand suddenly descending from above and crushing a rebel like you in a single palm strike, dragging me down with you in the process.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that.¡± The Upraised Light abbot sighed. ¡°I¡¯m definitely not rebelling. I¡¯m only in search of an answer. If you don¡¯t want to¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    ¡°Eggborn¡± suddenly agreed to his request. He felt like if the buddha wanted to stop the Upraised Light abbot, there was no need for him to wait until now. Just letting a beam of light rain down on him as a revelation was enough for the monk to give up on persisting.

    As a result, there probably, possibly, would not be any fatal danger.

    He hovered up in the air, arriving before the notice and extending his hand over slowly. He still could not help but hold his breath, feeling nervous inside.

    This was a notice left behind by the buddha after all. Apart from the Great Sages, which daemon, demon, ghost, or monster would not keep their distance away from it? Who knew what kind of powerful ability or technique it was hiding. Perhaps there would not even be the need for the buddha to do anything himself, where whoever peeled it would die.

    However, he would not be conflicted like the Upraised Light abbot. Determination flashed through his eyes as he gripped the notice, ripping it off forcefully.

    The notice drifted down, offering up no resistance at all.

    He widened his eyes, on full guard, but nothing happened at all. Gazing at the notice in his hand, it really did seem like the most ordinary notice. At most, the material it was made of was relatively precious, woven from golden silk.

    At this moment, the doors that had remained shut for who knew how many years opened slightly without producing a single sound.

    Suddenly, the bells and drums on the mountain rang out together like thunder. Rings of golden light were released from the top of the mountain. The lotus flower seemed to be blooming completely.

    The light shot through the sky, illuminating the entire land like aurora. Everyone raised their heads.

    The Great Thunderclap temple that had remained sealed for all this time opened once more!

    On a land that hung beyond the ocean alone, a pair of red eyes suddenly opened. The irises shimmered with golden light.

    ¡°Finally here!¡±

    At this moment, ¡°Eggborn¡± felt like he was being watched. He looked back, but he found nothing.

    The Upraised Light abbot stood blankly before the entrance to the Great Thunderclap temple.

    The glorious, solemn halls and towers seemed to continue to echo the buddha¡¯s voice as he gave sermons. The intense discussion between monks still seemed to linger in the squares and shrines.

    Under the guide of the buddha, everyone silently searched for the deepest of wisdom, enthusiastically pursuing the dharma that could be spread to all before finally developing into the world-renowned Mah¨¡y¨¡na Buddhism.

    That White Bone Bodhisattva had once cultivated and studied here before winning over the monks with her great wisdom and great benevolence, receiving the buddha¡¯s personal guidance. She became the abbot of the Great Thunderclap temple with countless hopes placed on her.

    The Upraised Light abbot entered a trance. Everything was like a dream. But why? Why did it turn out like that? Where exactly did something go wrong? His chest heaved violently as he yelled out inside, taking quite the effort before he managed to calm himself down.

    He had a feeling that all answers lay inside the Great Thunderclap temple!

    Behind him, ¡°Eggborn ¡± wanted to say, Have we created too great of a disturbance?

    But the deed was already done, so there was nothing to fear. He shoved the notice into his clothes and also entered the Great Thunderclap temple. He had visited a treasured mountain, so how could he return empty-handed?

    The Upraised Light abbot made a beeline for the library, but ¡°Eggborn¡± had no interest in the scriptures. He had the Nine Transformation of the Demonic and Divine, so he did not need any cultivation method either, so he just strolled around randomly in the Great Thunderclap temple. He wanted to see if he could find any ¡°souvenirs¡± to take back with him, like ?ar¨©ra. Xiao An probably would have liked that.

    However, this was paradise. No one aged or died, so why would there be ?ar¨©ra?

    As a result, no matter how he walked around, he actually found nothing worth taking.

    The golden tiles? It was not like he was a petty thief. The buddha statues? It was not like he dealt in antiques.

    However, the mountain was extremely rich in spiritual qi, basically flowing around in the form of liquid. Just his breaths purified his marrow and cleared his meridians, softening his tendons and hardening his bones. Probably even beyond the Nine Heavens would be nothing better than this.

    Ever since he entered this Great Thunderclap temple, his body popped all over, and it was extremely itchy. He grew at a visible rate, going from a half-grown teenager to a valiant young man. His hair fell at a length as well.

    ¡°If I had fourth brother¡¯s abilities, I¡¯d take this spiritual mountain away with me. Even if it severs the underground veins and the spiritual qi is no longer so dense, it¡¯s fine for throwing at people too!¡±

    Before he knew it, he had already arrived at the top of the mountain. The grand hall towered loftily. Before the hall was a lotus pond.

    Lotus flowers bloomed in the pond with different colours. There were white lotuses, green lotuses, red lotuses, golden lotuses, blue lotuses¡­

    However, the roots had browned, and the remnants of the fragrance lingered. The leaves had wilted, making it seem rather abandoned. However, it did possess a different kind of tranquil aura, enough to enchant people.

    He sucked in a deep breath. Immediately, a thick fragrance filled his lungs. Then it transformed into a gush of pure air in the blink of an eye, rushing right to the top of his head.

    At this moment, the gate that kept his memories sealed collapsed. All of his memories returned, surging out to him.

    He immediately remembered the reason for all this. ¡°Oh no. I suppressed my memories to avoid assimilating and to prevent the demonic transformations from regressing. Now, suppression is no longer useful. I don¡¯t have any other option either. I need to leave Sukh¨¡vat¨© quickly!¡±

    However, the dense fragrance continued to sway around in his lungs, even drifting from the lotus pond endlessly, seeping in through every pore.

    His face turned beet-red as he tottered about like he was drunk. On top of that, this small worry was absolutely nothing compared to the ease and joy he was feeling inside. In the end, with a plop, he collapsed by the pond and began snoring away.

    Despite being completely unconscious, the Qilin Transformation began to grow again as he inhaled the fragrance, constantly progressing before breaking through.

    His forehead bulged as a pair of tall deer antlers grew out, slanting backwards and opening up. The sides of his tiger-like head had already become covered with hair, and his body that resembled an elk¡¯s was covered in green scales. The tail of an ox swayed around on his back.

    He had actually turned into a legendary qilin.

    He had not reached completion, but he was half way there already.

    Meanwhile, the lotus flowers that were originally rather wilted gradually became full and turgid again under the ushering of his aura. Their fragrance grew heavier.

    By the time he woke up, he would definitely discover one thing, that the feeling of remaining in Sukh¨¡vat¨© was extremely similar to when he swam around in Ruin¡¯s End as a spirit turtle.

    The wondrous sense of belonging, the recognition from the bottom of his heart, did not require any effort from him. It conformed with his disposition naturally. Coupled with the dense and compatible spiritual qi, his cultivation increased naturally, as easily as breathing.

    And, he was faced with the same issue¡ªhis consciousness assimilating with the world. As a result, he sacrificed his memories in Ruin¡¯s End. Here, he was forced to seal up his memories.

    Was this all really just a coincidence?

 Chapter 1563

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan! It¡¯s time for us to go!¡± A stern and weary voice urged him.

    ¡°Hmm? Who is it¡­ calling for who?¡±

    The qilin woke up blearily and quivered suddenly, opening his eyes. ¡°I remember now. I am Li Qingshan!

    The Li of Li Qingshan, the Qing of Li Qingshan, the Shan of Li Qingshan.

    Waking up from his great dream, the memory fragments merged together, all becoming clear.

    Before the towering grand hall, he sucked in a deep breath. The flower fragrance continued to linger, and the lotus flowers bloomed even more gorgeously.

    To his surprise and joy, not only had his powers completely recovered, his cultivation had reached a higher level too.

    The Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity had reached the fourth layer. For the first time in his life, he transformed into a qilin beast.

    Indeed, he had only just realised this change. This was very extraordinary. The fourth layer was no longer very low anymore, yet using the transformations of the demonic and divine still required him to focus.

    Particularly for the first time, so how did he unconsciously transform?

    With a clop, he raised his hoofs and looked around. ¡°Where is this?¡±

    The qilin was not particularly tall, where its shoulders only reached around three metres tall. However, its four hooves levitated, its deer antlers soared, its mane danced, and its green scales glistened, giving off the dignity that belonged to the sovereign of all beasts.

    His tiger-like eyes were instead gentle and indifferent, devoid of joy or sorrow, overlooking the living.

    The Upraised Light abbot gazed at him and also felt amazed. This legendary divine beast was extremely rare, basically extinct already. In Sukh¨¡vat¨©, they could not even find regular beasts, let alone qilins.

    ¡°Oh right, this is the Great Thunderclap temple of Sukh¨¡vat¨©! Oh no, we need to leave now!¡±

    With the return of his memories, it also meant the beginning of assimilation, but this time, he was unable to fend it off anymore.

    The qilin was just about to soar off when he glanced backwards at the lotus pond. The flowers bloomed gloriously, green, violet, red, and white, refreshing but not gaudy, drawing him in deeply.

    With a step, he arrived above the lotus pond and bent down over the green lotus, taking in a deep sniff with his nose.

    At that instant, the green lotus wilted and fell. The petals that resembled green glaze fell into the deep, silent water one by one, stirring up ripples.

    As the green lotus wilted, the spiritual mountain trembled gently, and the light rapidly dispersed.

    ¡°Hold on! This must be-¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot realised what was going on. The lotus pond was the ¡°core¡± of the spiritual mountain. Of course, that was only a metaphor. Everything on the spiritual mountain formed naturally. There was no such thing as a formation or a core.

    The lotuses were not regular lotuses either, nor some kind of exotic herb, but the manifestation of laws.

    This was also a metaphor. The buddha¡¯s metaphors corresponded with a name of this place, ¡°the place where the lotuses bloomed¡±.

    However, since they were laws, how could Li Qingshan cause them to wilt?

    The sixth heavenly tribulation was just Refining Qi into Soul, the final stage of the Origin Soul. They could observe the existence of laws, but they still could not truly make contact with the laws.

    And the laws conformed with one another without contradiction. Let alone a measly sangharama guardian, even if they were true gods and True Immortals of Forging Soul back into the Void, they could not influence these laws unless the paths they took happened to coincide with the laws of the lotuses.

    Li Qingshan was completely submerged in the wondrous fragrance. After sniffing the green lotus, he went to sniff the red lotus.

    ¡°Stop!¡±

    With a whoosh, the Upraised Light abbot assumed a visage of fury, raising his staff and striking viciously towards the back of the qilin.

    In the final moment, the staff stopped mid-air. The Upraised Light abbot¡¯s forehead bulged with veins as he heaved heavily like he was possessed.

    Suddenly, he turned around and glared at the grand hall, crushing the green tiles with a stomp. ¡°What¡¯s the point of this N¨¡land¨¡? What¡¯s the point of this Sukh¨¡vat¨©? You might as well have it all destroyed!¡±

    The hall full of gods and buddhas stood silently and shook gently. The spiritual mountain beneath their feet was shaking.

    The red lotus had wilted, so he sniffed the white lotus. In the blink of an eye, all of the lotuses wilted, and all of the leaves withered away too.

    As a result, the light dispersed completely, and the spiritual mountain shook violently.

    The walls peeled in the imposing halls and towers as they became covered in cracks. Even the vermillion paint on the pillars and the gilded gold on the buddha statues lost their colour.

    Meanwhile, plants grew vigorously, from the top of the mountains to the bottom. The grass poked through the cracks between the tiles, the vines sprawled over the speckled walls, the trees burst through the ceilings of the halls¡­

    In a single moment, the buildings fell into ruins, weeds covered the ground, and trees rose up with shade as if a thousand years had passed.

    As it turned out, the glorious Great Thunderclap temple seemed to be sealed in the long river of time, left behind in the beautiful dream. As the seal was removed, the dream turned to reality, immediately washed away by the flow of time and left in ruins.

    With a clank, the Upraised Light abbot threw aside his staff. He knelt down on the ground and clutched his head, sobbing away painfully.

    His young, handsome appearance was just like the Great Thunderclap temple, becoming much older all of a sudden. Many wrinkles appeared on the sides of his mouth and eyes. Every single wrinkle hid indescribably sorrow.

    A gust of cold wind blew by with snowflakes. The climate that was as warm as spring no longer existed. Only then did they suddenly remember that this was the top of a mountain.

    Great altitudes were cold. The stormy snow was freezing. All of this was natural phenomena.

    He finally found his answer, and only then did he discover that he was unable to handle it.

    Li Qingshan seemed to have drained the spiritual mountain of all of its spiritual qi with a single breath. The Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity actually climbed up higher, reaching the fifth layer.

    The lotuses in the pond had all wilted away, but they all bloomed at the bottom of his heart. Never had his mind been so bright and clear.

    It was different from the spirit turtle, which pushed divination and calculations to the extreme. Instead, it was comprehension and understanding of his own self.

    These lotuses must have been personally ¡°planted¡± by the buddha. They possessed a similar aura to the notice.

    The only question was why could he touch these lotuses?

    ¡°Because I¡¯m a qilin? No, that¡¯s not all.¡±

    As a divine creature of nature, qilins could sense the existence of the Dao from birth. Compared to those naive, clueless living creatures, they basically won right at the beginning, and under the guide of the Dao, they basically had no inner demons or bottlenecks.

    However, they still had to go through the process of cultivation, constantly accumulating power before being able to clearly understand the Dao and further touch the Dao.

    .

    With his current comprehension, he was still incapable of something like that, so there was only one explanation.

    ¡°It¡¯s this world that gave me this power, allowing me to perceive it, allowing me to touch it. The feeling here is extremely similar to Ruin¡¯s End, like returning home.¡±

    The world resonated with all of his actions, overlooking the plants that grew vigorously across the entire mountain.

    ¡°Then there¡¯s only one answer. This isn¡¯t some Sukh¨¡vat¨©, but the homeland of qilins.¡±

    ¡°This must be the world that the primordial qilin turned into.¡±

    And just like the primordial spirit turtle, it was very likely to have fallen in the Battle of Mending Heaven, turning into this paradise afterwards. Buddhism had occupied it, making it become the so-called ¡°Sukh¨¡vat¨©¡±.

    Little did he know that as the lotuses wilted, the paradise sank into chaos. Demonic beasts prowled everywhere in the cities, walking under the light of day.

    ¡°How bold of you two! How dare you remove the seal without permission and destroy the Great Thunderclap temple! Do you know your crimes?¡±

    A furious voice boomed through the sky. The Sangharama God had become even larger than the spiritual mountain, his face darkened and his eyebrows raised furiously. His teeth creaked away like thunder, and he wielded a pair of swordbreaker clubs in his hands.

    Protecting the temples was the most important duty of the Sangharama God, and the Great Thunderclap temple on the spiritual mountain was the priority amongst priorities. However, ever since this place was sealed, he could not visit it as he pleased either.

    As soon as the Great Thunderclap temple was opened, he sensed it and immediately flew over. However, he was obstructed by the weakwater, preventing him from flying over the river. It took him quite the effort before he finally crossed the River of Flowing Sand.

    When he saw the miserable state of the Great Thunderclap temple, he was overcome with wrath, basically as furious as he could get. If it were not for the sake of the Great Thunderclap temple beneath, he would have smashed them to minced meat with a swing of his club.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart lurched. He immediately understood what they meant by the hellish might of a god.

    ¡°Err¡­ we¡¯re in deep trouble now!¡¯

    Could I pass myself off as an innocent, passing, naive, gentle little qilin? Everyone knows the qilin is a beast of utmost benevolence and never does anything bad. Though, if the Sangharama God finds out I¡¯m Li Qingshan, he¡¯ll probably lose his shit!

    The Upraised Light abbot knelt down. ¡°Great god, it¡¯s all my fault. It has nothing to do with Li Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°You-¡± Li Qingshan began coughing up blood.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!?¡± The Sangharama God narrowed his eyes and immediately saw through the qilin¡¯s identity. ¡°So it¡¯s you! It¡¯s actually you!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed dryly. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s me. Long time no see, leader. Look, considering the fact that we¡¯re visiting the same temple, why don¡¯t you just let us go! Actually, we never intended to do this either, right, Upraised Light master?¡±

    The Sangharama God¡¯s wrath suddenly vanished, tossing aside the two swordbreaker clubs, which led to two great thumps.

    Li Qingshan eased up inside. He never thought sucking up to people and exploiting connections would actually work.

    The Sangharama God brought his palms together and bowed towards the sky. ¡°Great teacher, I¡¯ve been useless, having produced a vile spawn like this under my watch. Today, I will lift the precept of taking life and purge him!¡±

 Chapter 1564

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°We¡¯re fucking done now!¡± Then he looked at the Upraised Light abbot, who had already shut his eyes, ready to be executed.

    ¡°You bastard, you brought me to this damned place. You need to take responsibility!¡±

    He could not help but admit that if he did not go and sniff those lotus flowers like someone asking to die, bringing the Great Thunderclap temple to ruins, perhaps the Sangharama God would not be so furious. Perhaps he would let them off with a slight punishment.

    But it was all too late no matter what he said. If apologies worked, what was the point of developing his powers?

    With the fury of a true god, entire mountains would collapse!

    After bowing to Tath¨¡gata, his fair, plump skin had already become as red as lava, while his easygoing face became twisted like a vicious ghost. With a pair of blood-red eyes, his gaze dropped down on them slowly.

    Boom! Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. He felt like a mountain had crushed down on him, making his hooves buckle, almost kneeling down on the ground.

    However, the tiles under his feet did not crack at all, as if it was all just an illusion.

    No, this was not an illusion! He had been overwhelmed in terms of laws.

    After becoming a true god, he was already capable of wielding laws. He did not even need to cast any techniques. Every single movement he made possessed great might and great pressure. Meanwhile, as the guardian god, who knew how many wicked demons and heretics the Sangharama God had slain in the past. The fierceness of his aura ranked towards the top in the entirety of buddhism.

    ¡°Wretched animal, pay with your life!¡±

    The violent bellow was like a sudden clap of thunder, like a lion¡¯s furious roar!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart shuddered, and his organs were displaced. He was devastated as his entire body felt powerless. Blood welled straight up in his mouth.

    The Lion¡¯s Roar¡ªalso known as the Lion¡¯s Roar arts¡ªwas one of the most common techniques of buddhism. Not only were many cultivators capable of it, but even masters of the jianghu who possessed some inner force could use it. That was how common it was.

    However, when a true god used it, it passed through the invisible laws as a medium, and the destructive power was so great that even Li Qingshan¡¯s body of the demonic and divine could not withstand it. If it were not for the fact that his Origin Soul was hidden in the very depths of the small soul, it probably would have burst with that bellow alone.

    Yet, it did not harm a single blade of grass in the Great Thunderclap temple. The Upraised Light abbot who was right beside him only heard a furious roar too.

    Seeing how the qilin tottered about but refused to fall down, the Sangharama God was rather surprised as well. Seeing how the Great Thunderclap temple had been destroyed, he was absolutely furious, directly demonstrating his form of fury for subduing demons. He did not hold back at all. Originally, he thought a measly guardian who had only undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation recently would immediately collapse, but he never expected him to still hold on.

    However, his face sank. He was just prolonging the inevitable!

    ¡°Accept your fate!¡± He spread his arms and reached out.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s vision darkened as if a dark cloud loomed over his head.

    Under the watch of the eyes, the pressure did not decrease, growing heavier instead, like he was trapped in an invisible cage. He was heavily injured as well, so it became even more impossible to offer up any resistance.

    ¡°This is¡­ the difference between¡­ man and god!¡± Between the fingers of a god, even the divine beast qilin was no different from livestock.

    ¡°Is this the origin of the nightmares?¡± The fear, the fury, the despair¡­

    ¡°Heh, it¡¯s the same old formula, the same familiar taste!¡± Together with that fervency as well!

    ¡°Roar!¡± The qilin growled, and the myriad beasts replied.

    At this moment before death, the ox demon, tiger demon, and ape demon that gradually regressed, assimilating with the world, completely recovered. He turned back into that deluded, stubborn, bloodthirsty wild beast!

    Rumble! The Sangharama God closed his fingers.

    At that instant, the qilin¡¯s hooves lifted up in the air, striding through space and breaking out of the invisible prison, leaping out from between the fingers.

    The Sangharama God was slightly surprised. His sure-success grasp had actually missed!

    As the god of sangharama guardians, his duty was focused on fighting. In terms of battle prowess, he even surpassed regular arhats and True Immortals. Coupled with the fact that he was located in a ¡°homeground¡± like Sukh¨¡vat¨©, he should have been able to capture any wicked demon he wanted with a glare, a bellow, and a grasp.

    However, from that instant earlier, the laws of the world pulsed strangely, twisting the laws he wielded.

    Even now, it continued to pulse, both spreading outwards like a ripple and drawing inwards like a vortex.

    At the centre of the ripple and vortex was Li Qingshan!

    Having escaped by the skin of his teeth, Li Qingshan ravished with joy. This was the joy of ¡°life¡±.

    The divine eye opened on his forehead, allowing him to see the changes in the laws of the world as well. As a result, he became even more certain about his guess. This world¡¯s original form was the legendary Qilin Paradise.

    He did not know what buddhism had done to change this place into the so-called ¡°Sukh¨¡vat¨©¡±, but the ¡°source¡± of the world could not be changed so easily.

    The lotuses were manifestations of the ¡°source¡±, having been condensed by the buddha, probably to both protect the Great Thunderclap temple and to suppress them.

    He made the lotuses wilt, both obtaining this ¡°source¡± and releasing this ¡°source¡±, allowing Sukh¨¡vat¨© to return to the Qilin Paradise.

    The world sheltered him. Endless life force was unlocked in his body. His wounds rapidly recovered.

    Chosen by the heavens- No, a ruler! Just like how spirit turtles were the rulers of Ruin¡¯s End.

    This was not the Sangharama God¡¯s homeground, but his homeground. It was nowhere near enough to make up for the difference between them, but it did increase his chances of surviving.

    He did not try to escape from the Great Thunderclap temple. Instead, he leapt into the grand hall.

    This was the largest hall he had seen in his entire life. The ceiling seemed even higher and more distant than the sky, covered in wonderful murals, like heavenly maidens, dragons, and elephants, temples, scriptures, and so on, all drifting within the clouds and mist. A feeling of insignificance overcame him from just raising his head.

    The huge, dignified statues, depicting bodhisattvas, arhats, heavenly kings, wisdom kings¡­ All of the gods of buddhism were here, either with their eyebrows locked in thought, their eyes shut silently, or smiling away brightly. They took on a myriad of forms, like they were all alive.

    Even the Sangharama God could only occupy a seat at the very end. Under the gaze of the divine eye, a streak of light passed through the ceiling, passing into the statues, making its eyes glow as it glared at him.

    Are the gods and buddhas all watching me?

    The thought made him leap in fright, but upon further thought, he had already come so far, so there was nothing scary about it anymore. If his time had come, then his time had come. There was nothing he could do about it.

    Instead, he found it fascinating. He could not help but laugh, like a complacent monkey. To the ape demon, there was nothing that could not be joked about.

    The statue of the Sangharama God suddenly quivered, walking down the altar with its swordbreaker clubs, pressing closer murderously with heavy steps. It wanted to chase him out of the grand hall.

    The heavy pressure remained everywhere, but under the protection of the laws of the world, they were no longer enough to bring him to his knees.

    However, he was well aware that even against a statue, he was no opponent. If a few more of these gods and buddhas could descend, then it would just be wonderful.

    However, perhaps because the Great Thunderclap temple had been sealed by the buddha, severing its connection from the outside world, those statues never moved, only staring at him silently.

    With a tumble, he avoided the vertical sweep of the swordbreaker clubs desperately and turned back into human form. With a swivel of his eyes, he came up with a wonderful idea. He pointed at the Sangharama God statue. ¡°Stop right there! If you continue to attack me, I¡¯ll smash this place to pieces!¡± As he said that, he kicked over a long-browed arhat beside him. With a clank, it produced a great pit in the ground. Its long brows had snapped as well.

    ¡°Stop! Y-y-you get out here!¡± The Sangharama God¡¯s furious roar rolled through the sky, but he was fearful, no longer bold enough to strike recklessly.

    ¡°Hah, I think you should get out of here!¡±

    Li Qingshan grabbed the Sangharama God statue and tossed it outside viciously, conveniently closing the doors in the process.

    By now, he had already arrived in the depths of the grand hall. He gazed at the statue of Tath¨¡gata and smiled.

    Outside, the Sangharama God interrogated the Upraised Light abbot furiously. ¡°Were you the one who brought him here?¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot smiled wryly. ¡°That¡¯s right, it was me.¡±

    ¡°Why did you do this?¡±

    ¡°I was wrong! I was wrong!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot shook his head as he became even older. He did not expect everything to turn out like this either.

    If it was just removing the seal without permission, he could still accept his mistake, but at this point, Li Qingshan could never escape. He could not hide inside forever. He was just delaying the inevitable at most now.

    He let out a great sigh. ¡°Sigh, Qingshan, I¡¯ve harmed you!¡±

    Before he had even finished what he was saying, there was a great rumble and the doors to the grand hall erupted into splinters from a kick. Li Qingshan rushed out, having transformed into his mountainous form of the demonic and divine. He seized a statue of Tath¨¡gata in one hand and grabbed its neck with the other.

    He roared furiously, ¡°Let me go!¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot was dumbstruck.

    Li Qingshan glanced at him. ¡°Ah! I almost forgot about you. Don¡¯t panic, I have a hostage!¡± He roared furiously at the Sangharama God, ¡°Let us go!¡±

    The Sangharama God¡¯s face twisted as his chest heaved away. He became so angry that his entire body shook too. Even all the cultivation he had built up throughout his life was unable to suppress his fury.

    ¡°How dare you, wretched animal!?¡±

 Chapter 1565

    ¡°You wanna see whether I dare to or not?¡± Li Qingshan sneered.

    The Sangharama God shuddered inside. This kid actually felt no reverence at all. The Sangharama God could not help but ask, ¡°Do you understand exactly what this Great Thunderclap temple and this statue of Tath¨¡gata signifies?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced over and answered calmly, ¡°It¡¯s all but a damned temple, a statue of mud.¡±

    The Great Thunderclap temple was indeed in ruins, but compared to its usual solemnity and emptiness, it was covered in trees and shrubs, which instead made it seem like it was teeming with life.

    The brilliant moon hung in the sky, sprinkling with clear light. The bodhisattvas and arhats were covered in vines, sitting quietly in the speckled light as if they also possessed the emotions of mortals.

    Only the statue of Tath¨¡gata under Li Qingshan¡¯s control seemed to smile away, devoid of any joy or sorrow.

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

    He tapped the statue of the buddha. ¡°I¡¯m wrong. It¡¯s not mud, but gold. However, to the likes of us, there is no difference between mud and gold¡­¡±

    ¡°I see, I see¡­¡±

    The Sangharama God¡¯s fury turned into understanding. He was not intentionally slandering buddhism, but speaking his mind.

    This attitude- this attitude was far too familiar!

    Beyond the vast ocean, a pair of scarlet and golden eyes silently watched all of this, rolling around in laughter. ¡°Old codger Tath¨¡gata, to think you would have a day like this! This kid is far too interesting! Fascinating, how fascinating!¡±

    This kid is even more dangerous than the wicked demons of the Demon domain! I can¡¯t let him leave here alive!

    The Sangharama God suddenly made up his mind. He brought his palms together again and bowed towards the air. ¡°Great teacher, please forgive my uselessness, failing to protect the three jewels¡­¡±

    ¡°Hold on! I didn¡¯t actually mean that. You don¡¯t actually have to take it so seriously.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face stiffened. He could already guess what the Sangharama God would say next before launching another strike. You¡¯re the protector god of buddhism, so where¡¯s the faith you promised to show?

    The Upraised Light abbot had no idea how to respond. He sank into his thoughts again. ¡°A damned temple, a statue of mud?¡±

    Before the Sangharama God could throw himself at him, Li Qingshan clutched the buddha statue firmly with both arms and twisted his waist, throwing it forcefully. ¡°Off you go!¡±

    Swish! The statue of Tath¨¡gata shot into the sky, right past the Sangharama God. If he was not watching the entire situation carefully, he basically would have thought the buddha had manifested in person.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan grabbed the Upraised Light abbot and kicked his legs, rising up into the air. As soon as he leapt off the cliff, he unfurled his wings and whistled off.

    The Sangharama God flew up and cupped the buddha statue in his hands. He could not help but let out a sigh of relief. He had already made up his mind about this, but it was still best if the buddha statue remained undamaged.

    His gaze was like lightning, sweeping over coldly. ¡°Wretched animal, your time is up!¡±

    Li Qingshan felt a chill run down his spine. He shivered and looked back.

    The Sangharama God descended from above and returned the buddha statue to the grand hall respectfully. He was in no hurry at all. He could cover this bit of distance in an instant. How could a guardian be faster than a true god? Speaking of which, this was Sukh¨¡vat¨©, so where could he run off to?

    He was a sitting duck within arm¡¯s reach, unable to escape death!

    Li Qingshan was aware of that too. Wickness rose up from the heart and so did fury. He suddenly stopped, turning around to face the spiritual mountain under the cold moon. He wrinkled his nose and widened his eyes, demonstrating the vicious face of a tiger.

    ¡°Wretched animal! Wretched animal! Have you called me that enough yet!?¡±

    Surprise flashed through the Sangharama God¡¯s eyes. This kid surprised him with every passing moment. Under the pressure of his divine might, he actually still had the courage to stop and face him. This courage, this daringness, was not something a sangharama guardian should have possessed.

    It made him even more determined to kill him. If he did not die here today, he would definitely become a huge problem in the future.

    He pointed at Li Qingshan, ¡°So what about it, wretched animal?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll find out!¡±

    Li Qingshan reached into his clothes and grabbed the Mountain-moving tablet, swinging it towards the spiritual mountain.

    At that instant, a huge rumble rang through the world. Under the cold moon, the spiritual mountain actually tipped slowly, falling towards the Sangharama God.

    The Sangharama God was dumbstruck. ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible! That¡¯s completely impossible! How can a mere guardian possess such power?¡±

    ¡°You can pray again now.¡± Li Qingshan sneered, copying the Sangharama God¡¯s voice. ¡°Please forgive my uselessness, even failing to protect the Great Thunderclap temple. Boohoohoo! Hahahaha!¡±

    The Sangharama God just watched as the mountain fell towards him. If he tried to dodge, he could obviously avoid it, except that was the spiritual mountain!

    Protecting this N¨¡land¨¡ temple had once been his first order. Every single tile and brick, blade of grass and tree, carried great wishes and glory. It was not something that an outsider could understand.

    He let out a furious bellow. Not only did he stay put, but he even spread his arms, using his chest to block the tipping mountain forcefully, using all of his divine strength to hold up the spiritual mountain.

    The Upraised Light abbot watched on blankly. Suddenly, tears began to roll down his cheeks uncontrollably. He extended his hand as if he wanted to lend a hand to the Sangharama God!

    Rumble! Under the collision and crushing of the two forces, countless buildings collapsed. The statues and murals shattered to pieces.

    Veins popped on the Sangharama God¡¯s forehead as his muscles rippled, forcefully stopping the spiritual mountain. He tried to straighten it out again, but he destroyed even more buildings.

    He was outraged, grinding his teeth. ¡°Li- Qing- Shan!¡±

    The Lion¡¯s Roar was already filled with a sense of violence and malice now.

    Li Qingshan was blown far away. His bones cracked all over, covered with fractures. He spat out some blood to the side. ¡°Very good. You¡¯ve finally remembered my name!¡± It set off his viciousness even more. ¡°Even if I die here today, I¡¯ll have you know what pain is!¡±

    Earth, fire, wind, and fire, the ox, tiger, qilin, and turtle, the small world revolved at full speed. Li Qingshan poured all of his power into the Mountain-moving tablet before swinging it viciously at the spiritual mountain. ¡°Fall!¡±

    Under the order, the spiritual mountain continued to tip, and the Sangharama God gradually gave way. He widened his eyes in despair. In a daze, he saw a colossal figure behind Li Qingshan, gazing at him with its orangey-yellow, tiger-like eyes.

    ¡°The Mountain-moving Great Sage!¡±

    In the distant land beyond the ocean, the scarlet and golden eyes blinked. ¡°Foolish lion¡­¡± He unconsciously stopped smiling. ¡°Fourth brother¡­¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot could no longer stand it anymore. He called out, ¡°Li Qingshan, stop! Stop right now! If this continues, it¡¯ll all be destroyed! It¡¯ll all be destroyed!¡± He covered his face and wept. Before he knew it, he had already become as old as when Li Qingshan had first met him.

    Li Qingshan released him. ¡°Monk, I¡¯ll hold him off here. You go! Spread the truth that you discovered here and at least we wouldn¡¯t have made our trip in vain!¡±

    He was not sure what the Upraised Light abbot had discovered from the Great Thunderclap temple that had made him waver so much, but in short, it probably was not beneficial to buddhism.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t!¡± The Upraised Light abbot was fearful and uneasy.

    Li Qingshan stared at him. ¡°Then kill me! If you want to protect the spiritual mountain and protect buddhism, that is the easiest way.¡± He was channelling all of his powers into the Mountain-moving tablet right now, so he could not resist at all.

    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± The Upraised Light abbot shook his head.

    ¡°Sigh, why must you make things so difficult for yourself?¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly took a step forward and pressed the Mountain-moving tablet down inch by inch, resolutely contending against a god!

    Under the pressure of the two divine forces, the spiritual mountain gradually fragmented, collapsing with a rumble.

    The Sangharama God roared furiously and refused to give up. He was swallowed by the several million tonnes of earth.

    The spiritual mountain collapsed.

    The great halls, treasured buildings, and bell towers;

    The heavenly maidens, the dragons and elephants, and the scriptures;

    The bodhisattvas, the arhats, and the wisdom kings;

    Dust returned to dust, and earth returned to earth.

 Chapter 1566

    The Upraised Light abbot shut his eyes painfully. ¡°Amit¨¡bha!¡±

    The spiritual mountain collapsed together with several of the snowy mountains in the surroundings. The rumbling lingered in the surroundings as an echo.

    The flap between Li Qingshan¡¯s right thumb and index finger had ruptured, dyeing the Mountain-moving tablet red as it trembled away uncontrollably. He gripped his wrist firmly with his left hand, lowering his right arm slowly and exhaling deeply in satisfaction.

    However, if he could not escape from Sukh¨¡vat¨©, this would be all pointless. The Sangharama God had not sustained any life-threatening injuries. It was only a matter of time before he escaped from the rock and soil.

    Boom!

    Thousands of tonnes of earth was launched into the air. An army suddenly extended out from the ruins, pressing against the ground violently and hoisting out an imposing figure. Millions of tonnes of soil poured down, making the ground rumble.

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s eye twitched before he smiled again. Gods sure were powerful!

    The Sangharama God insisted on holding up the spiritual mountain, so it was equivalent to being openly smacked by the spiritual mountain, yet he actually still possessed such terrifying power.

    Now, he was really out of options. The Mountain-moving tablet could only control all the mountains throughout the world. It was useless on collapsed mountains, as that was already beyond the laws it could control.

    ¡°Monk, I have a question for you. Where do the demonic beasts come from?¡± Li Qingshan suddenly had a stroke of inspiration. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they were welcomed here by the buddha as well?¡±

    In hindsight, the Upraised Light abbot brought him to the city clearly because he knew demonic beasts would appear, wanting to use them to awaken his memories. On top of that, before the demonic beasts appeared, soldiers had already begun dispersing the crowd and sounding alarm bells. They were all accustomed to it, like it was a common occurrence.

    Paths were always connected. If demonic beasts could come, then he could go!

    The sliver of hope illuminated the path before him.

    ¡°This¡­ With each midnight, they appear, but they turn to nothing as soon as the sun shines on them. As for anything else, I¡¯m¡­ not too sure about it.¡±

    The Upraised Light abbot spoke ambiguously, clearly not telling the entire truth. He was hiding something.

    ¡°Midnight. No wonder the bell would ring twelve times.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes lit up and immediately grasped the crucial point. This sliver of hope immediately became even more dazzling.

    Midnight was when yang was born, as well as the moment when yin was heaviest.

    There must have been some kind of hole in the buddha¡¯s modification of the Qilin Paradise, or why would he intentionally let demonic beasts in?

    He was still unaware that due to the wilting of the pond of lotuses, demonic beasts were already prowling through the entirety of Sukh¨¡vat¨©.

    He glanced up at the deep and dark sky. Midnight was close now. There was roughly still two hours.

    The issue right now was how was he supposed to last until then.

    The Sangharama God¡¯s mountainous back had already been lifted up from the ruins. Let alone two hours, even fifteen minutes was enough for the Sangharama God to kill him a hundred times.

    Boom! The Sangharama God¡¯s head extended out from the soil, roaring furiously, ¡°Li Qing-¡±

    A mountain filled his eyes. With a boom, it smashed his head and back into the soil again.

    ¡°Shan.¡± Li Qingshan finished off his sentence for him before lowering the Mountain-moving tablet. If he took on another Lion¡¯s Roar, even if he would only be stunned for an instant, he would be dead.

    The Mountain-moving Great Sage had given him three great mountains. Yellow Cliff edge had crushed the Unadorned Ghost Immortal to death. This was the second mountain, Wolf Fang mountain.

    Unlike the spiritual mountain, the three mountains were all innate spiritual treasures that had been further refined. They possessed the might of laws. Even the Sangharama God was left with a splitting headache when he took on a blow like that. His back cracked as if it had snapped in half. In particular, his fury remained all pent-up inside him, such that the pressure displaced his organs. For a moment, he was unable to muster his strength.

    Amit¨¡bha. Fourth brother is watching over me.¡± Li Qingshan said to the Upraised Light abbot. ¡°Don¡¯t be so close-minded. It¡¯s just a mountain. I¡¯ll just give one back to you.¡±

    And because it landed in the ruins of the spiritual mountain, Wolf Fang mountain basically stood even taller and larger than the spiritual mountain. It would probably become covered in vegetation again before long as snow covered the very top. However, there would not be those miscellaneous, cluttered murals and statues anymore. It would just be all white and clean.

    It was a joke, but the Upraised Light abbot was unable to laugh. He stared blankly at Wolf Fang mountain and suddenly realised something. He murmured, ¡°Mountains come and go. Flowers fall and bloom. Nothing is exempt from formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness.¡±

    Li Qingshan had no idea what he was chanting about. He was desperately trying to come up with a counter plan.

    The first plan was widening the distance between them as much as possible, flying several tens of thousand kilometres in a single breath. However, to a god, distances were nothing. They could shrink the earth beneath their feet, where even the ends of the world were within arm¡¯s reach.

    The second plan was to find a large city and use their residents as hostages to threaten the Sangharama God. However, even if the Sangharama God bought that, he was not willing to stoop that low.

    Perhaps he might as well use that ancient bronze sword of mysterious origins to bring an end to all of this while the Sangharama God was immobilised and finish him off. However, was god-slaying really that easy?

    He came up with several plans before discarding them one by one. He thought long and hard. Perhaps there was only one plan that could work.

    ¡°Monk, it¡¯s time for us to go. Are you coming or not? Actually, forget about it. I probably can¡¯t protect you anyway. The Sangharama God is going to be after me anyway. It won¡¯t be too difficult for you to last until midnight. Let¡¯s just go our own ways!¡±

    ¡°Hold on.¡± The Upraised Light abbot took out a book from his clothes and passed it to Li Qingshan. ¡°If you manage to escape, please give this to the successor of white bone.¡±

    Li Qingshan accepted the book. It was just a thin booklet compiled from a single, uncut, folded paper. There was no name on the cover either. When he pulled it open, there was not a single word inside.

    ¡°What is this book?¡±

    However, the Upraised Light abbot said, ¡°It¡¯s time for me to go.¡± He did not fly away. Instead, he sat in the lotus position mid-air, bringing his palms together. His aged face shone with light, clear and bright. As if he had let go of the tremendous burden, his expression was peaceful, no longer making a single sound again.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He reached over, but the Upraised Light abbot scattered as dust, vanishing off into the wind with the secret he discovered in the Great Thunderclap temple.

    ¡°Sigh, you sure have it easy.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. He had no idea whether to feel happy or sad for him. Wolf Fang mountain in the distance shook violently, ready to fall at any moment.

    He shoved the booklet into his clothes and touched something, which immediately made him think of a classic story. He flew over to Wolf Fang mountain and spat on the cliff.

    ¡°Off you go!¡± With a slick, the notice with the six-syllabled mantra was stuck there.

    The mountain continued to shake violently. Slowly but surely, the notice slid down.

    ¡°Yep, the children¡¯s stories are all a lie!¡±

    Li Qingshan turned around and fled, vanishing off into the horizon as a streak of light.

    In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the weakwater again. He felt his body give way, plummeting immediately, but this was his exact intentions.

    He immediately transformed into a spirit turtle in the water. With a thunk, he dove into the depths of the weakwater and chose a hidden spot. He drew his head and limbs into his shell, erasing his presence and obscuring all signs of fate.

    At the same time, a mirror clone rushed into the air with his aura and fate, crossing the fifteen hundred kilometres of weakwater and flying off into the distance.

    At this moment, there was still well over an hour before midnight.

    This was his only chance at survival, hiding to the very end using his talents as a pure-blooded spirit turtle.

    The ¡°coward¡± did as he pleased.

    TL: The word for coward or cowardice in this case in Chinese is ¡°ËË¡±. It is composed of two other Chinese characters, ¡°´Ó¡± and ¡°ÐÄ¡±. Together, they form a phrase that means ¡°doing as somebody pleased¡±.

 Chapter 1567

    The spirit turtle dove to the bottom of the River of Flowing Sand, blending in with the weakwater, like a rock that had remained buried for a thousand years. There was no aura, no fate, nor joy or sorrow, distanced from the ties of destiny, avoiding all worries of the secular world.

    Li Qingshan seemed to forget about his main body as well, placing all of his focus on his clone.

    The fierce wind whistled past his ears as he rapidly approached the horizon, immediately covering thousands of kilometres of pure land. Whether it was the cities or the wilderness, the forests or the lakes, they all blurred into balls of speckled colour¡ªthe yellow cities, the green wilderness, the dark forests, the blue lakes¡­

    The colours melded and wove together, constantly changing, even leaving him dizzied, but he did not dare to loosen up. He just constantly pushed harder, pushing harder and pushing harder! If the phoenix wings hesitated for an instant, they would be blown to shreds by the incoming wind. Despite that, the interior of the clone gradually disintegrated and collapsed.

    With the completion of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he could pour all of his power into his mirror clone. However, it was impossible for his mirror clone to possess his main body¡¯s reaction speed and toughness, so even if it possessed the power, it could not unleash all of it.

    However, that was enough. It was enough to deceive people. He did not need any reaction speed, nor did he have to hold on for too long. He only needed to flee for an hour.

    The river bed shook. Unless he sensed for it closely, he would have never noticed it.

    Wolf Fang mountain collapsed, and the Sangharama God finally broke free from the watch of the orangey-yellow lion eyes. His armour was tattered and his back was bruised, oozing with blood. He seemed rather roughed up.

    Gazing in the direction that Li Qingshan had fled in, he did not roar or bellow. Instead, he was exceptionally calm, no longer with a condescending mindset that he was purging someone under him. Instead, he viewed him as an equal or even like a great enemy.

    Since the Mountain-moving tablet had appeared, the crisis of the world would be arriving once more!

    Not for those mud and clay statues, not for the Great Thunderclap temple, but for all of buddhism!

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you must die here.¡±

    His gaze was like a bolt of lightning, passing through the horizon and locking onto Li Qingshan thousand of kilometers away. He wielded his swordbreaker clubs in a reverse grip and took a step, having arrived on the banks of the River of Flowing Sand already. Afterwards, he spent a while crossing the river before taking another step and arriving fifteen hundred kilometres away.

    Covering fifteen hundred kilometres with each step, he traversed the mountains and lakes, chasing after Li Qingshan.

    Suddenly, a huge city that stretched for several dozen kilometres appeared on the horizon. It was where his foot would land next.

    He only needed to hold back slightly or change directions to avoid the city, but without any hesitation, he stepped down on the city before vanishing into the horizon again. He left behind a deep footprint that immediately set off a great earthquake. Countless structures collapsed. Wails filled the air as casualties skyrocketed.

    By the time the Sangharama God had taken his eighth step, he had already arrived in front of Li Qingshan, crossing his swordbreaker clubs and launching a startling strike!

    Boom! There was no room for maneuver. The mirror clone burst like a bubble.

    Under the weakwater, Li Qingshan opened his eyes. He felt shocked and terrified. Even if it was my main body, I would have never been able to withstand that strike. Even the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a would have been useless!

    This was the difference between man and god. Once he was found, he was dead.

    Less than fifteen minutes had passed. He still had to last for another hour at the very least.

    The Sangharama God furrowed his brows and closed his eyes. His thoughts flashed past like lightning before he opened his eyes again, grasping a thread-like wisp of fate. ¡°You¡¯re hiding in the water. Yeah, weakwater!¡±

    With a few more steps, he returned to the banks of the River of Flowing Sand. Gazing at the turbid, surging weakwater, his lead vanished there.

    If it were a regular river, he could empty it with a wave of his hand, but this water was no regular water. Even gods and immortals struggled to fly over it. All techniques and abilities were restricted in it too, so it was indeed the optimal place for hiding.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯re the only one with clones?¡±

    The Sangharama God snorted coldly, and his mountainous figure suddenly collapsed, turning into tens of thousands of small Sangharama Gods. They surged into the weakwater together, and the water level immediately rose drastically.

    Since he could not use any abilities, then he would search for him in the most primitive way possible, scouring every inch of the fifteen hundred kilometres of weakwater.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was like the deep ocean, silent and unmoving, neither surprised, furious, nor fearful.

    The water raged on, without ever returning. Time trickled by.

    Fifteen minutes, then another fifteen minutes. Midnight grew closer and closer. Yin prospered as yang declined.

    The darkness grew deeper as if he had returned to Ruin¡¯s End.

    The Sangharama God had searched through most of the river, rapidly approaching where Li Qingshan was hiding.

    At this moment, every passing second seemed so slow and sluggish.

    There were still fifteen minutes!

    The army of Sangharama Gods spread along the riverbed, already five kilometres away.

    Three thousand metres¡­ three hundred metres¡­ thirty metres¡­ three metres¡­

    ¡°I found you!¡±

    The tens of thousands of Sangharama Gods said together, shaking the weakwater and kicking great waves into the air.

    Li Qingshan rose up with his sword, slashing through the turbulent swell.

    The sword qi was cold, killing off almost a thousand small Sangharama Gods, but it was nothing compared to the rest.

    Immediately, all the clones merged together, looking down from the clouds.

    ¡°Hold on, I have something to say!¡± Li Qingshan yelled out, hoping to buy a little more time. Yes, just a little more time was enough.

    However, the reply he received were the crossed, falling swordbreaker clubs.

    Before the startling strike had even landed, the sound of the collided clubs had already shaken up his Origin Soul, leaving him completely open. He basically lost his grip over the ancient bronze sword.

    The invisible, weaving laws of the world sealed off all possibility of dodging.

    Transform into the qilin? There was no time! Drawing the Mountain-moving tablet? There was no time.

    Facing death, even a second was so precious, yet it was beyond reach.

    Even these thoughts could not be processed in time. Only two words leapt out at him. Done for!

    Boom!

    The four hundred kilometres of the River of Flowing Sand, the fifteen hundred kilometres of weakwater, split into two from the strike.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. There was a bang. His heartbeat sounded like rumbling thunder. I¡¯m not done for!?

    Time continued to flow. The water thrown into the air poured down like rain, sprinkling over the empty riverbed.

    His dark eyes reflected a golden-red figure, receiving the falling clubs.

    The Sangharama God¡¯s expression changed, but no matter how much his muscles worked, no matter how furious he was, the clubs refused to budge.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart leapt. ¡°Y- you¡¯re¡­¡±

    Under the Phoenix-feathered Violet-golden Headdress, his golden fur drifted about like dazzling sunlight. He looked back with a smile, as innocent and beautiful as a child¡¯s. His scarlet and golden eyes seemed to peer into his past and present lives.

    ¡°Traitor!!!¡± The Sangharama God¡¯s furious roar shook the world, but within his indignation was a sense of powerlessness.

    The scarlet and golden eyes turned towards the Sangharama God. He pursed his lips and shook off the clubs, picking his ear with his little finger and removing a golden needle. With a swing, it turned into a colossal staff. He pushed it upwards as if he wanted to poke a hole in the sky.

    The Sangharama God¡¯s colossal figure was immediately blown away, off to who knows where.

    Li Qingshan wanted to approach him when midnight arrived. Yin and yang replaced one another. From the extremes of yin birthed yang.

    At that instant, the laws of the entire pure land halted slightly.

    Vaguely, he could sense the surging of demon qi. He could hear the roaring of demonic beasts.

    Throughout the world, countless demonic caverns suddenly opened before rapidly closing again.

    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re the person that old ox chose. You¡¯re even more interesting than I thought you¡¯d be!¡±

    Li Qingshan slightly adjusted to being watched by the scarlet and golden eyes. Only then did he notice that that was the most handsome face he had ever seen. It was not the so-called handsomeness by worldly standard, but a flawless handsomeness of hardness and strength.

    A demonic cavern suddenly opened beneath him. He hesitated over whether to enter it or not. A hand pressed against his chest and pushed him gently.

    ¡°We will meet again.¡±

    ¡°Hold on¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan fell into the demonic cavern, and darkness closed before his eyes. The scarlet and red figure was gone. He was lost in despondence.

    Above the weakwater, the scarlet and golden eyes suddenly gazed up, through the floating clouds, the skies, beyond the stars. He smiled furiously. ¡°Old codger Tath¨¡gata! The crisis is imminent! How much longer can you keep me trapped for?¡±

    Beneath the bodhi tree, the buddha laid on his side, supporting his head with his right arm and holding his left hand open.

    As if he had heard something, he looked down on his palm, meeting with the scarlet and golden eyes.

    The endless stretch of land that was Sukh¨¡vat¨© all lay within the palm of his hand.

    Their eyes met for a while, and he smiled, sitting up. He looked around. Golden tiles covered everywhere as the golden leaves rustled.

    With a gust of wind, they clinked away, producing a wondrous rhythm, coupled with the cries of strange birds. It was calming.

    In the distant age, before the Great Thunderclap temple had been founded, before Mah¨¡y¨¡na Buddhism had been established, this was once where the buddha primarily gave his sermons, Jetavana.

 Chapter 1568

    On a desolate wasteland of the Demon domain, the barren earth was devoid of life. A few dry bushes shivered away in the cold wind. The dark, heavy clouds were like a thick, dirty cloth. Even the rocks did not have it easy, reduced to a pile of sand despite holding on for countless years.

    A figure suddenly rushed through the curtain of clouds, descending from above. Before he even hit the ground, he stopped mid-air.

    Whoosh! Rain poured down violently, all over Li Qingshan¡¯s face. He clenched his fists firmly and overlooked the bleak land cautiously.

    Only after confirming there were no threats did he slowly lower his fists, letting out a deep breath. He relaxed completely and spread his arms at the sky, allowing the rain to douse him. He began laughing aloud.

    His laughter was like rumbling thunder. The pressure from the Sangharama God had been far too great. Coupled with Sukh¨¡vat¨©¡¯s constant attempts to assimilate with him, he remained tense at all times. Now, he had finally escaped.

    Was there anything better than fighting powerful enemies and breaking out of impossible situations?

    Everything flashed right before his eyes. In particular, the scarlet and golden eyes were as clear as an imprint, making his blood boil. He was unable to calm down.

    ¡°Is he a traitor? No, why would a traitor save me? Speaking of which, we¡¯re different from those guys up in the heavens!¡±

    You have to believe! The Wind-coursing Great Sage¡¯s words continued to echo by his ear.

    ¡°But the fact that the Great Sages were all suppressed must have something to do with him, or they would not be so furious and so aggrieved.¡±

    When he said ¡°You have to believe¡±, it was more like he was trying to convince himself.

    ¡°And the Sangharama God called him a traitor too. He¡¯s probably converted to buddhism. What¡¯s all of this about?¡±

    No matter how Li Qingshan thought, he was unable to come up with anything, so he stopped wasting his time. There would be a day when the truth would be revealed anyway.

    If he was a friend, then they could pull together and face the gods and buddhas in the heavens. If he was a foe, then he would fight him to the death and move his position as the eighth brother forwards a little. Regardless of what happened, his transmigration would not have gone to waste.

    ¡°Haha, my great blade is already running out of patience!¡±

    Unfortunately, he did not have a blade right now, only an ancient bronze sword of mysterious origins, and he could not even wield it as he pleased. He felt like there was some kind of scheme at work. If he were to discard it, he was just unable to bring himself to do that. He would be facing Qiongqi soon as well, so possessing a fitting weapon could potentially save his life when it mattered.

    ¡°So be it. I¡¯ll decide once I resolve my bet with Qiongqi and undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation! By then, I should be able to see through the secrets of this sword.¡±

    To regular cultivators, becoming a Human Immortal was already an arduous feat. If they wanted to become a True Immortal, their hopes were extremely slim. Even if they devoted ten millennia to the cause, they could not necessarily succeed.

    The reason why Li Qingshan was so confident was because of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. The higher his cultivation was, the more obvious its wonders became.

    Unlike regular cultivators, his path was not unique or fixed. When others struggled to make progress or even reached a dead end, he only needed to change his path. He did not have to worry about reaching a dead end. He would always be able to make progress.

    His great adventure in Sukh¨¡vat¨© was extremely dangerous, but it allowed the Qilin Transformation to break through several times. If he only focused on meditating and secluded cultivation, who knew how much longer it would take. It all seemed like a coincidence, but in reality, it was because his path was far too rough. There was nowhere where he could not survive.

    Of course, without sufficiently strong willpower, spirit, and courage, he would not be able to bear the burden of all these transformations either.

    ¡°In short, I¡¯m a sick cunt, hahaha!¡±

    In the pouring rain, the young man of the past was already a half-god, yet his youthful spirit and boldness only became even more flagrant.

    ¡°I wonder how that madwoman Rongzhi is doing.¡±

    He shielded his eyes from the rain and gazed off into the distance, only to see an endless stretch of wasteland. The Demon domain was extremely large. If he wanted to find Qingqi mountain, he needed someone to show him the way. Otherwise, if he accidentally ended up running into another Demon God, there probably would not be another Great Sage to save his life.

    The greatest lesson he had learnt from his battle against the Sangharama God was that he still was not any true god¡¯s opponent. If it were not for the Sangharama God¡¯s qualms, refusing to destroy N¨¡land¨¡, he probably would have been captured already or even done for.

    His fantasies were just his fantasies. He still had to maintain a clear understanding over the difference in strength. Willpower, spirit, and courage could be converted into power, but they could not directly replace power.

    As a result, in his battle against Qiongqi, he had to approach it cleverly. Brute force would not work. It would be best if he just snuck his way over to Qingqi and whipped out the Mountain-moving tablet in an instant before pushing down Qingqi mountain in one fell swoop. That would be absolutely fantastic then.

    He fished out a Skull Prayer Bead in an attempt to contact Xiao An so that she could help him locate Qian Rongzhi. However, even after fiddling around with it for a while, the Skull Prayer Bead did not respond, probably because this was the depths of the Demon domain. The Demon domain was not located in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, so the connection was broken.

    However, he was not completely out of ideas either. His eyes turned dark-blue, deep like the darkness.

    At that instant, the storm stopped. The droplets of rain all hovered in the middle of the air, forming a flat hexagon around Li Qingshan.

    With the completion of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, it led to the development of several more innate abilities, which included ones for prophecy and divination.

    The reason why he did not provide them with names was because he had already been internalising these abilities, gradually becoming a form of instinct, like an extension of his arms. There was no clear distinction between them either, where they all intersected and used a component of one another. Using them all came to a single thought.

    .

    For example, the divination he used right now basically used all of his innate abilities.

    It was like how raising a hand required the brain¡¯s control and the heart to provide blood. Even the two legs would be involved in the process. Basically all of his body parts would be used in the process. If he came up with an awesome name for it, like ¡°Qingshan¡¯s Dark Claw¡±, it would be completely useless.

    His head slowly swiveled like a radar, and the hexagon formed from the droplets of rain turned as well. His deep eyes rippled slightly as if he had seen through the endless space and grasped a thread of fate.

    Suddenly, he locked onto a certain direction. ¡°I got it!¡±

    The torrential rain continued to fall, but he had already vanished.

    The sky dimmed very soon. Nights had always been much longer in the Demon domain.

    This was a city shrouded in haze. The streets criss-crossed like webs as rectangular buildings pulled up from the crowd, obscured in the depths of the dark curtain of clouds, impossible to tell how tall they were. It was like a grey forest.

    Round chimneys were littered at different heights, spitting out sharp-smelling, multi-coloured smoke, like the breath of a monster. It merged with the haze and turned into rain.

    Looking up, the rain seemed to be black, falling on the flashing, neon lights on the corner of the streets.

    Li Qingshan blinked his eyes in surprise. For an instant, he felt like he had returned to his former life.

    However, he realised very soon that these were all creations of machinery and magic, not science. The tall buildings were just so that they could contain as many people as possible. It was the most natural choice.

    On top of that, these buildings were all the same shape and colour, which made them seem extremely monotonous and drab. It was truly a concrete jungle. If he stayed here for too long, it was basically capable of driving any regular person mad.

    He had already begun to miss Sukh¨¡vat¨©. It was a beautiful place with gardens, squares, and markets everywhere, and just recently, he had seen the largest city he had ever seen in his life.

    Now, his understanding was once again renewed. Not only did this grey, hazy city cover a huge area, the population it could support surpassed a hundred million.

    Qian Rongzhi was one of them.

 Chapter 1569

    Li Qingshan could not help but furrow his brows. Despite knowing that mad woman for all these years, he never developed any sense of attachment or even familiarity. There was only deep disgust.

    He had been constantly in search of an opportunity to kill her, but she never gave him the reason to do so. Instead, she worked with him multiple times, lending him a hand when he needed it.

    Just like now.

    He needed to find her in this colossal demon city, even with a tremendous number of demonfolk stirring up fate.

    He was forced to slow down, following the vague feeling as he moved between the skyscrapers.

    The streets were mostly empty, and the few pedestrians maintained their distance from one another cautiously.

    Li Qingshan found this quite strange. In the past, all the demonfolk he had seen were on the battlefield, yet now, they seemed no different from regular people. Even the demon qi they gave off assimilated with the demon city, such that they seemed nothing special.

    He stepped through a puddle, and the neon lights flickered. He made his way through the cold rainy night alone, suddenly feeling rather bleak.

    It had already been many years since he felt that emotion, so he could not help but contemplate it closely. He thought of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, that enthusiastic square, and the joyful people. They were so happy that it seemed like a dream.

    Now that they had woken up from the dream, the people walked alone with indifference, guarding against one another.

    This kind of contrast was far too great. He could not help but listen closely, wanting to hear something. He widened his eyes as he tried to search for certain scenes.

    As a result, he heard countless moans, curses, and sobs, lurking in the depths of this concrete jungle. A tragedy unfolded in every window.

    ¡°This damned place!¡±

    Suddenly, he heard the wails and cries of help of a woman, as well as the cruel laughter and excited breathing of a few men. It was nearby.

    His patience was running low. In just this short while, he had already heard enough of these shitty incidents, enough to leave even the most righteous of people numb. However, he was no righteous person.

    However, he seemed to hear something else, so with a few turns, he stopped at the entrance of a dirty little alleyway.

    In the alleyway, a few demonfolk looked back at him. They were all very young, where the oldest was only in his teens, while the youngest seemed like half a child. However, their faces were twisted with malice, brandishing daggers.

    ¡°Piss off! There¡¯s none of your business here!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not budge, and he shut his eyes. That was strange. Despite taking a detour, he felt closer to Qian Rongzhi now.

    The demonfolk were immediately infuriated, gathering around him with all sorts of weapons. ¡°Beat his head in! I want to eat his liver!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes and used the Force Field of the Earth.

    With a splat, the demonfolk collapsed from the weights of their own bodies, reduced to piles of flesh.

    He stood there without moving, closing his eyes again in search of new leads.

    In the depths of the alleyway, a trembling woman walked over. She was as young as the other demonfolk, pretty in appearance and small, only a girl.

    She arrived before Li Qingshan. With a rip, she actually tore off all the clothes on her, sucking up to him. ¡°Sir, how would you like to play?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to play.¡± Li Qingshan felt a little powerless.

    The girl¡¯s expression changed, turning around and fumbling around in the piles of flesh behind her, gathering a few flattened pieces of silver. She took off her own jewelry as well, kneeling down with her hands raised, offering them all to Li Qingshan.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want them!¡± Li Qingshan became even more impatient.

    The woman began to scream, backing away. ¡°No, don¡¯t kill me! I beg you!¡±

    ¡°Why would I kill you?¡± Li Qingshan had no idea how to respond.

    ¡°Then¡­ why?¡±

    The girl was taken aback. In her imaginations, since he was not here for sex or wealth, then there was only taking pleasure in killing others.

    ¡°Because I¡¯m a good person.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. He combed through the leads and continued onwards.

    The girl was stunned. It took her quite a while before she recovered, rushing out of the alleyway and yelling towards his back, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Lei Feng.¡±

    TL: Lei Feng is supposed to be a soldier in the People¡¯s Liberation Army in China, who is widely used in propaganda as a model citizen.

    Li Qingshan vanished into the night without looking back, but he felt a little happier for some reason.

    But before long, he saw the girl again. There was a great group of people around her too, dressed in the same, black uniform. Some of them wielded poles, while others carried chains. They were a fierce-looking bunch, filled with malice.

    The girl pointed towards Li Qingshan excitedly. ¡°Sir Demon General, that¡¯s him. He¡¯s that Lei Feng! He didn¡¯t rape me, nor did he rob me. He didn¡¯t want anything at all! He even said he was a good person!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. His face sank. This woman had snitched on him to the police! Or maybe the urban enforcement, but whatever! Demonfolk would always be demonfolk!

    ¡°Very evil of you, little bitch. You¡¯ve done well by reporting to the authorities. You will be rewarded! We will neither spare a single good person, nor wrongly accuse a single bad person.¡± The Demon General smiled viciously and waved his hand. ¡°Capture him! This kid definitely belongs to the Ming cult!¡±

    Splat! The ground was littered with flesh once more, including the Demon General.

    The girl screamed and collapsed on the ground. In her understanding, Demon Generals were already undefeatably powerful, yet he had ended up suffering the same fate as those scoundrels. Just what kind of a monster was he?

    Li Qingshan walked over step by step. She sat on the ground and did not even bother to beg for mercy, just awaiting death with her eyes shut.

    However, the sound of the footsteps passed by her. Li Qingshan left behind a threat. ¡°If this happens again, I¡¯ll show you how I take two lives with a single corpse.¡±

    It was exactly because he heard the weak heartbeat that he chose to do something about it, but now, he could not help but smile in self-deprecation. All he had saved was a vile spawn. The children of demonfolk would obviously still be demonfolk. Compared to being born in this damned place, they were better off not being born at all.

    Though, what the hell was the Ming cult?

    The girl was dumbfounded, only returning to her senses after quite a good while. She touched her slightly bulging belly, completely unable to understand what that man called Lei Feng was thinking.

    The child in her belly was the seed of a Demon General. It had taken her quite a lot of effort, and it would be able to fetch a great price in the Infant Nurturing hall. She was afraid of ruining this deal, which was why she resisted so desperately. Otherwise, having some fun with some scoundrels was absolutely nothing.

    In short, there must have been some kind of great scheme at work!

    Li Qingshan strolled through the city a few times. He did not interfere with anything more, nor did he find Qian Rongzhi.

    Whenever he felt he was very close to her, it would always suddenly fall through.

    Her location drifted about constantly, sometimes to the east, sometimes to the west. If she was not constantly moving, then there was something stirring up fate that obscured her location.

    He could not help but become puzzled. He was a Human Immortal after all, and he had the complete bloodline of a spirit turtle, so just how did this woman achieve that?

    At this exact moment, he felt an aura rapidly approach him. Looking up, a thin figure flew down from a building. He carried a blade on his back, dressed in black with his face covered. There was a ball of fire sewn on his chest. He landed silently before Li Qingshan, clasped his hand sternly, and asked, ¡°May I ask for your name, sir?¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡±

    The man in black¡¯s eyes twinkled, and he became even more polite. ¡°Our cult leader sends her invitations!¡±

    ¡°The Ming cult?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s expression became rather strange.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± The man in black was filled with pride. He could not help but hold his chest a little higher. He removed his mask. ¡°I am one of the four guardian kings, the Green-winged Bat King. I have come under the orders of the cult leader to receive you.¡±

    The corner of Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes twitched, and he confirmed his suspicions. That bastard of a woman had actually plagiarised from his novel, even if he had plagiarised it too.

    TL: This is the same novel he wrote in the school of Novels like 1000 chapters ago. It¡¯s based on The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Louis Cha. Here is the page for the Ming cult.

    On top of that, the Green-winged Bat King¡¯s behaviour did not resemble a demonfolk¡¯s. His face was very sunken, but there was no sense of malice or wickedness. Instead, there was a sense of fervency and solemnity.

    How strange! He found it strange no matter how he thought about it. Had that mad woman changed? No, that was impossible!

    ¡°Yep. Your cult leader is?¡±

    ¡°The King of Light.¡±

    Immediately, the Green-winged Bat King¡¯s eyes became filled with reverence, as well as light.

 Chapter 1570

    ¡°King of Light!?¡±

    Li Qingshan found it to be absolutely absurd. If that mad woman could be known as the King of Light, then shouldn¡¯t he call himself the buddha? He could not help but sneer a little.

    The Green-winged Bat King gazed at the sky. The rain continued to pour down, and there was not a single star to be seen, no light at all. Even during daytime, the Demon domain had a black sun.

    ¡°Sir, I know you look down on us lowly demonfolk, but there are still countless people who are loyal and upright people among demonfolk. The cult leader once told us, ¡®Light lies in the hearts of all. You are the light of the Demon domain! Even if we all fall in battle, countless more will stand forward in the battle against evil!¡¯¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He was speaking from the bottom of his heart. His sincerity could not be feigned. Let alone the Demon domain, even in a regular world, someone like him was rare. He patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Good on you. Take me to see your cult leader!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi, I¡¯d like to see exactly what you¡¯re trying here.

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The Green-winged Bat King unfurled his cape and took to the air, passing through the rainy night like a bat, approaching the edge of the city.

    The rumbling sound of rain was deafening. The foul water discharged from the city formed a great waterfall that poured into a great marsh, giving off a sharp stench.

    The Green-winged Bat King nodded towards Li Qingshan behind him before rushing into the waterfall.

    Li Qingshan followed closely. At that instant, a huge shadow filled his face and sharp shrieks made the air shake, completely deafening the rumbling waterfall.

    ¡°Bats!¡±

    As it turned out, the black shadow was composed of countless bats. He raised an eyebrow and was about to clean them up

    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t harm them. They¡¯re natural outlooks. Sigh, they were originally demonfolk too. They couldn¡¯t survive on the surface, so they resorted to living in the drains, feeding off garbage, which gradually made them demonify.¡±

    Perhaps that was why he was called the Green-winged Bat King. He possessed a special feeling towards these demonified bats. Just the deterring aura he gave off prevented the bats from attacking them, circling around them restlessly.

    Li Qingshan also noticed that these bats all retained some human characteristics. There were both men and women, old and young, but their faces were twisted and non-human. However, in contrast, the Green-winged Bat King¡¯s empathetic gaze made him intrigued and puzzled.

    Passing through the thick cloud of bats, the view before him suddenly opened up. They appeared in a deep, spacious tunnel, which made him remember the complicated network of underground caves back then in the Green province.

    However, these were all man-made, cut out from rock. The ceiling was over thirty metres tall. If he ignored the foulness and the ugliness of the place, this demon city was extremely grand, far more imposing than any city he had ever seen.

    After entering the underground tunnel, the Green-winged Bat King eased up a lot. He introduced as he led the way, ¡°Sir, this may be the Taotie¡¯s dominion, but Demon God Jiazuo¡¯s disciples and grand disciples presided over the construction of all the demon cities in the Demon domain. They¡¯re most skilled in machinery. When they built the sewerage system, they used the excavated rock to construct the buildings. The cult leader has said that we demonfolk are actually very clever and very diligent. We were just brainwashed and are being used, obscuring our consciences.¡±

    ¡°Yep. That makes sense.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded, but he thought, Isn¡¯t your conscience your demon heart? You instead seem more like you¡¯ve been brainwashed and are being used. Your cult leader must have something else in mind, ready to sell you out at any moment.

    There must have been some kind of great scheme at work!

    ¡°You said this is Taotie¡¯s dominion. In other words, this is Demon God Taotie¡¯s territory. No wonder you haven¡¯t been suppressed.¡±

    He was cautious towards all Demon Gods right now. Let alone Demon Gods themselves, even Heretic Gods were difficult opponents, which left him even more convinced that there was some scheme at work. Qian Rongzhi was a Demon Sovereign, so how was she able to stand up to them?

    ¡°Thank you for your concern, sir. This place has been extended and expanded countless times over the millennia, with sections caving in and abandoned. The layout of the place is complicated. It¡¯s completely become a maze by now. On top of that, Demon God Hundun¡¯s powers permeate this place. Without a guide, even Demon Kings can lose their sense of direction, becoming trapped here and dying in the very end. If the trash on the surface wants to find us, they¡¯ll have to demolish the entire demon city and excavate several dozen kilometres of this place.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood what the power that interfered with his divinations was. On top of that, the further he ventured into the maze, the stronger the power became, but there were still holes that he could make use of.

    ¡°What if you have people that get captured? Such as you.¡±

    Green-winged Bat King said calmly, ¡°I will immediately destroy my demon heart. And, I don¡¯t actually know the main location of the headquarters either.¡±

    The tunnel up ahead suddenly came to an end. It was a dead end that had collapsed due to a cave in. However, a great vermillion gate stood above the wide channel. The paint was speckled, and the door nails were rusted. There was a golden sun inscribed in the middle, except it had also become extremely faded under the wear of time.

    Apart from the stone lions on the two sides of the entrance, there was nothing else in the surroundings. There was just the gate.

    ¡°Sir, we¡¯re here.¡±

    The Green-winged Bat King stood at the entrance, and the eyes of the two stone lions suddenly swivelled over, staring at him.

    With a creak, the vermillion gate opened slowly. Li Qingshan gazed in, but all he saw was a chaotic swirl.

    ¡°Interesting.¡± Li Qingshan rushed ahead of him, stepping over the tall door sill and entering a temple.

    Everything was submerged in the silent darkness. The candles burned silently, offering up balls of light.

    Pairs of eyes gazed over, but they were only cautious, devoid of malice. When the Green-winged Bat King appeared, the balls of light gathered over.

    An old man with a cane asked, ¡°Bat king, is this the guest that the cult leader asked for?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Where is the cult leader?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s in the sacred hall holding a lesson for the children.¡±

    A child tugged the corner of the Green-winged Bat King¡¯s clothes. ¡°Uncle Green-winged, is it still raining outside? What is rain like?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you grow up.¡±

    The Green-winged Bat King rubbed the child¡¯s head, about to talk to Li Qingshan, but he noticed that Li Qingshan had already vanished.

    After entering the temple, Li Qingshan immediately grasped the traces of fate and confirmed Qian Rongzhi¡¯s location.

    Inside the sacred hall, thousands of candles flickered about, reflecting in the eyes of the children.

    A person sat in the gentle candlelight and taught, ¡°You¡¯re all siblings. You need to love one another.¡±

    The voice was obscure, like it came from a distant place. It was impossible to tell whether the speaker was male or female, or their age, but it did possess a strange charm, directly pouring into the minds of the children.

    ¡°Cult leader, my heart feels horrible!¡± A child pressed down on his chest. His demon heart thumped violently, like it was about to rip apart. Two thoughts collided violently inside him.

    However, when a hand grabbed his, the pain immediately vanished. It became very warm.

    ¡°You have to endure, understand?¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll stop here for today. You can go. My guest is here.¡±

    Li Qingshan entered the sacred hall and gazed coldly as the ¡°cult leader¡±. His gaze passed through the veil, but he discovered it was still all chaos behind it, basically impossible to see her true face.

    His eyes narrowed, and the profound light shone. Only then could he see her completely.

    ¡°Qian Rongzhi, what the hell are you up to?¡±

    ¡°Is it just you?¡± Qian Rongzhi seemed to be slightly disappointed. ¡°Alright then. Welcome.¡±

    ¡°Skip the nonsense. Take me to Qingqi mountain immediately!¡±

    Li Qingshan decided to ignore what she was doing now. Perhaps she was just being mad, insisting on making the world her enemy. Even if there was some scheme, the only people she would be harming were demonfolk.

 Chapter 1571

    ¡°Ah, Qingqi mountain! I almost forgot.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi was dressed in a set of white robes, which made her seem very clean and elegant. Her lips curled into a faint smile. Under the clustering of the candles, it added a glow of dusk to her, making her seem gentle and holy.

    At that instant, even Li Qingshan wavered slightly. Had she really changed? Had she discovered the pleasantness of human nature in a damned place like the Demon domain?

    However, he soon dismissed that idea. No, she would never change. Demonfolk would always be demonfolk, while venomous snakes would always be venomous snakes.

    Qian Rongzhi stared at him as well. Her golden, vertical irises shone gently, reflecting a striped tiger, lonely, proud, courageous, and quiet.

    People would be naturally drawn to this charm, but just how many people could see his viciousness? No, when tigers hunted, people would instead be enchanted by their strength and beauty, or even think this was the manifestation of the laws of nature. However, venomous snakes would only be detested and receive disgust, even if it was just a gentle bite.

    The world sure was unfair!

    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Li Qingshan felt very comfortable. Even if he was looked down on or antagonised, it was not as unpleasant as right now.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re not Qiongqi¡¯s opponent.¡± Qian Rongzhi shifted her gaze downwards, sighing in pity.

    ¡°I have my ways. It¡¯s none of your business. Once the deed is done, you¡¯ll have your fair share of benefits.¡±

    Many rounds of this game between the tiger and the snake had already occurred. Never did they develop even a hint of attachment. It had always been a naked transaction of their interests.

    The vicious tiger ripped apart the prey openly, while the venomous snake launched a sneak attack from the dark. Afterwards, they took what they each wanted.

    Qian Rongzhi feigned understanding. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot. You have the Black Sun Demon Heart. As long as you eat that, you¡¯ll immediately overwhelm Qiongqi in terms of laws. Even gods can only make use of the laws after all.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need it!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly. He refused to assimilate with anything, whether it was Sukh¨¡vat¨© or the Demon domain.

    ¡°Have you ever wondered why the demonic heavens chose you?¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a good person, but at least I¡¯m still a person. That is the greatest difference between you and me. Right now, you better set off immediately!¡±

    Li Qingshan leaned forwards, like a vicious tiger lowering its head and baring its fangs.

    As a result, the venomous snake curled up, pulling her head back and raising her head. ¡°Don¡¯t try to intimidate me. Since I¡¯ve promised Xiao An, I will do it. I¡¯ve already ordered the Light Envoy of the Left to handle it, but it¡¯ll take some time. The big bosses of Taotie¡¯s dominion are extremely greedly. Feeding them won¡¯t be easy.¡±

    ¡°Handle what?¡±

    ¡°Customs clearance documents.¡±

    ¡°Customs clearance documents?¡±

    ¡°The central region of the Demon domain is divided into twelve dominions, which are ruled by the twelve Demon Gods. You cannot directly go from one dominion to another. We¡¯re currently located in Taotie¡¯s dominion. If we want to go to Qiongqi¡¯s dominion, we¡¯ll have to go through customs, just like the great vermillion door you entered through when you came in. You need customs clearance documents.¡±

    ¡°Give me a time frame. I¡¯m in a hurry.¡±

    ¡°A month.¡± Qian Rongzhi raised a finger. ¡°Have I ever disappointed you? Heh, without you, I would have never made it here today. I might have died already.¡±

    All schemes needed to be accompanied by power, or they would definitely end up backfiring. She felt very troubled right now. Even if she treated Demon God Qiongqi as prey, she would not feel so worried. The prey this time was the tiger right in front of her.

    She wanted to carry out the Demon domain¡¯s will, such that this chosen man devoured the Black Sun Demon Heart and became the king of Demon Gods.

    How was she supposed to slip in a vicious bite without being torn to pieces in a frenzy by him? After all, she still wanted to live to see how the world would be destroyed.

    She could not help but lip her scarlet lips. She craved destruction. She craved death.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, instinctively feeling a hint of danger. He wanted to look into it further, but it was immediately swallowed by the chaotic vortex around her.

    As a result, he just directly asked, ¡°What exactly is your objective?¡± He released a hint of killing intent. ¡°You should know that I hate it when others try to scheme against me.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi suddenly stood up and asked excitedly, ¡°How do you find this place?¡±

    Before Li Qingshan could answer, she continued, ¡°What is interesting is that every single world possesses many ¡®different ones¡¯.¡±

    She waved her hand and extinguished all the candles. She said mysteriously in the darkness, ¡°Originally, they should have been extinguished like these candles, assimilating into darkness and becoming one with it. It was me who found them, giving them light and sending them to illuminate even more people.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Li Qingshan was unable to understand. Her actions brought her no benefit at all. Not only would she face the repulsion of the will of the Demon domain, if things got out of hand, Heretic Gods or even Demon Gods would not spare her. They would definitely execute her.

    ¡°Hehe, if a person was born in darkness, they would not find darkness to be particularly unbearable. That is, until the day they see light.¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside, recalling the sombre aura of solemnity that the Green-winged Bat King demonstrated.

    ¡°The Demon Domain is like a dark dungeon, both devoid of windows and impossible to break out. Demonfolk slumber here, from birth to death, in ignorance and without aim, smothering to death with each generation. They¡¯re basically¡­ basically¡­ far too fortunate!¡± Qian Rongzhi said softly.

    Her face gradually became twisted, filled with envy and hatred, before suddenly forming an eerie smile.

    She envied that these demonfolk could be born in the Demon domain and hated them for being unable to feel the pain she had experienced. If she had been sold the moment she was born, then she would not have experienced any betrayal from her parents. If everyone faced rape and abuse, there would be no such thing as humiliation and disgrace.

    This was not fair!

    She suddenly waved her hand and lit up all the candles again. They blazed away, casting a frenzied, twisted shadow of a snake on the wall.

    ¡°These damned demonfolk. If you don¡¯t awaken them, how will they experience despair?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡±

    She smiled blankly. ¡°They¡¯re destined to face repulsion and be captured, to witness all the wickedness in the world and hate their own identities as demonfolk. They will be filled with pain and struggle, and they will die in despair in the end, all because I told them that there would always be hope and righteousness would defeat evil. Pft! Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you have no idea just how strange the demonic heavens are! Even if I tortured those foolish children from earlier to death, I would not get much benefit, but now, as long as they live, I receive endless blessings every single day. At this rate, becoming a Heretic God is only a matter of time.¡±

    Li Qingshan completely understood now. The entire Ming cult and all of their followers were living sacrifices she offered up to the demonic heavens. These demonfolk who still had a conscience would definitely go through pain even worse than death because of their conscience.

    Regular demonfolk basically would have never come up with such a vicious idea even if their racked their brains. It was chilling, yet she completely conformed to the twisted will of the Demon domain.

    Fury rose up within him as he squeezed out a threat between his teeth, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I¡¯ll butcher you?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said innocently, ¡°They¡¯re just some damned demonfolk. I guide them on the path to good. Even the buddha won¡¯t blame me. Amit¨¡bha. Amit¨¡bha.¡± She blinked her eyes, ¡°If you don¡¯t like it, then disband the Ming cult and let them go back to being ¡®regular¡¯ demonfolk. What can I do? Who can help the fact that your fists are tougher?¡±

 Chapter 1572

    Qian Rongzhi¡¯s words were like the venomous edge of a blade, aggressive and all up in his face.

    Li Qingshan was silenced by that question. So-called ¡°regular demonfolk¡± were all violent and brutal, capable of any wicked sin. Even when he ran into them, he would cut them down without a thought. However, if he just let them be, Qian Rongzhi would clearly be tormenting these people with great malice, madly mocking their so-called conscience, righteousness, and hope.

    It was a complete dilemma. At the end of the day, the Demon domain was just not a regular world.

    He shut his eyes before opening them again. ¡°Is this your objective?¡±

    ¡°What objective?¡± Qian Rongzhi smiled.

    ¡°Do you really think I care? The pain or happiness of these demonfolk.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps darkness will never recede. Perhaps hope is just a sham. However, as long as someone rises up in resistance, you can¡¯t say there is absolutely no hope. You might as well say despair is truly the sham here!¡±

    By now, the blazing candles had already burned out. Darkness welled forth like the tide.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone in the darkness. ¡°Who said darkness is undefeatable? As long as you have a bit of warmth, a bit of light, even if it¡¯s just a glimmer, you can still illuminate a bit of darkness. You don¡¯t have to wait for the sun!¡±

    Having made it so far, had he never experienced pain, never gone through despair? Did he really possess not even the slightest doubt that he could make it beyond the Nine Heavens?

    Actually, it did not matter if he could not. That was just a guiding star after all.

    His path did not lay in the heavens but beneath his feet. As long as he continued onwards, it was fine even if all he managed was to squeeze an extra step in. Even after a thousand twists and turns, reset to the beginning, he would continue onwards as long as he still possessed a bit of strength.

    Unless he died on the battlefield. However, he would have even less despair like that then. Perhaps it was better described as his wish.

    Truly courageous, stubborn yet valiant, ever tough, persistent, and impervious to humiliation.

    A sense of staunchness and courageous resolve rushed out of the sacred hall and filled the entire temple like it was unstoppable. All of the demonfolk felt strangely invigorated.

    Qian Rongzhi also took a step back. A venomous snake could not block the path that belonged to the king of beasts. Once again, she confirmed that this was the charm of a tiger.

    Li Qingshan turned around and left the sacred hall. ¡°You awakened them. Good on you! I¡¯ll lend you a hand too, but don¡¯t forget, a month!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi stood silently in the darkness, sinking into her thoughts. She smiled dimly

    Li Qingshan strolled through the temple alone. He had his own path to walk. He could not stay here and help these demonfolk with their revolution.

    Just like how brother ox never watched over him constantly, if there was anything he wanted to do, he was supposed to work hard and make sacrifices for it himself. How could he rely on the glow of others?

    However, just like brother ox, he could pass a cultivation method onto them. Not only did the cultivation method have to be powerful, it had to be suited to the environment of the Demon domain.

    Having completed the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he was completely capable of that. His eyes became unfathomably deep, sometimes letting out a slight glow.

    Several days later, in the gathering room of the temple, the bell rang urgently. Clang, clang, clang, clang!

    All of the demonfolk gathered over, both male and female, both young and old. Just like what Qian Rongzhi had said, there was a smear of undisguisable pain and despair on their faces. After all, it was still a minority that managed to turn the pain and despair into fervency and solemnity like the Green-winged Bat King, yet they still faced pain and struggle.

    ¡°Who are you!? How dare you ring the alarm bell!?¡± A dishevelled Demon King roared with a booming voice.

    ¡°Brother lion king, he¡¯s a guest invited by the cult leader. He¡¯s sir Li Qingshan!¡± The Green-winged Bat King hurried over to mediate the situation. ¡°Please forgive us, sir. This brother of mine has always possessed the most violent temper.¡±

    When the Golden-haired Lion King heard the cult leader being mentioned, he immediately fell quiet, but he still looked at Li Qingshan with great displeasure. Since he was a guest, there was even more reason for him to follow the rules.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°I will now bestow you with a cultivation method. The name of this cultivation method is¡­¡± He paused. ¡°The Nine Yang Manual.¡±

    He completely disregarded the demonfolks¡¯ behaviour and began reciting the cultivation method word by word.

    In the beginning, the Golden-furred Lion King did not take it seriously, but his expression gradually changed. Every word and sentence Li Qingshan said seemed to be imprinted in his mind. It did not just contain words, but images, thoughts, and comprehension too. Every piece of information was absolutely wondrous, like a work of nature, leaving him enchanted.

    Li Qingshan powered the Origin Soul of great liberty and used the wondrous arts of the devaputra-m¨¡ra, transferring from heart to heart, pouring it into their minds. Even the children that were completely ignorant about everything could remember it constantly. All they needed to do was constantly comprehend it during cultivation in the future.

    The name of the Nine Yang Manual was plagiarised, but the contents were definitely an original creation.

    He used the Demon Suppression Statuary and the Battle Demon Statuary as a logical starting point before combining them with the cultivation methods he had practised before, like the Arts of the Boundless Ocean, the Sovereign¡¯s Limit Record of World Destruction, and the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, together with the thousand other cultivation methods he had read in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Through refinement, summarisation, and prediction, he created a brand-new cultivation method.

    Like the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, he possessed the complete bloodline of a spirit turtle and a cultivation at the sixth heavenly tribulation. He had also read the entire collection that the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had to offer. He was obviously capable of what the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could achieve.

    And, he possessed the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, a supreme cultivation method from beyond the Nine Heavens, so when he created the Nine Yang Manual, he merged in the unyielding fighting spirit of the tiger demon.

    Just like that, they would no longer be repulsed by the will of the Demon domain, but this was not a compromise out of consideration of the general situation either. As long as they completely carried out this spirit, they would never yield to any authority, whether it was the Demon Gods or the demonic heavens.

    That was why he was not afraid of spreading this cultivation method. Instead, he hoped it could spread far and wide. Even if he could not change the world, he could light enough candles to illuminate the darkness.

    He was not changing them into good people. He was forging them into warriors.

    The cultivation methods he created could not surpass his own cultivation, just like how the Myriad Heavenly Tomes could only be practised to the peak of the fifth heavenly tribulation. Whether they could undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation would come down to their own aptitude and fortunes.

    However, it was like sweet rain in a drought to these demonfolk. It was extremely precious.

    Even in the Human realm, it was almost impossible for a regular person to obtain a heavenly tome. In the brutal Demon domain where the strong preyed on the weak, countless people would sacrifice everything for a low level cultivation method and not even obtain it in the end.

    They even suspected there was some kind of scheme at work before immediately feeling guilt over this thought that belonged to inferior demonfolk.

    The Golden-furred Lion King and the Green-winged Bat King understood the significance of this cultivation method the most. They were both utterly excited and unable to express their feelings with words. Suddenly, they bowed down on the ground at the same time out of gratitude for the cultivation method.

    Ruffle! All of the demonfolk bowed down on the ground with them as if Li Qingshan was the leader of the cult instead.

    Qian Rongzhi watched on from the darkness and murmured silently, ¡°You¡¯re just unable to remain indifferent, nor do you want to remain indifferent. This is where your charms lie, as well as your greatest weakness.¡±

    However, Li Qingshan had a different experience. In the past, brother ox passed a cultivation method onto him. Today, he passed a cultivation method onto others.

    The torch was passed from one hand to another, never to burn out.

    The small world revolved rapidly. The plants grew violently, brimming with life.

    Boom! A new power emerged, infusing his entire body.

    The Qilin Transformation actually broke through again, reaching the sixth layer.

    Hold on, what¡¯s this about?

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes in disbelief. Since when did the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine break through so easily? If it was Sukh¨¡vat¨©, then so be it. That was originally the Qilin Paradise after all, and his cultivation of the Qilin Transformation had not been high.

    However, this was the Demon domain. The Qilin Transformation was one of the divine transformations after all. He would already be fortunate if it did not face any restraint.

    There must have been some scheme at work!

 Chapter 1573

    Li Qingshan completed the transfer before sinking into his thoughts.

    All the transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine started off very easy, but they became more difficult as they progressed. Even the demonic transformations that matched his disposition, like the tiger demon and ape demon, were nowhere close to completion.

    After all, no matter how compatible they were, it was only a part of cultivation. Whether it was external resources and accumulation or internal spirit and comprehension, they all needed to be present.

    Even when it came down to disposition, the Qilin Transformation was the most incompatible with him. It had always been the most difficult transformation to practise, and it had been difficult right from the beginning. Breaking through the first, second, and third layers had taken tremendous effort.

    Back then, it had been so easy with the ox demon and tiger demon, and who knew how much more comprehension and resources he currently possessed compared to then.

    As a result, he was already prepared to go for a prolonged battle until he accidentally entered Sukh¨¡vat¨©. Only then did it begin to advance rapidly.

    That was obviously all thanks to the Qilin Paradise, just like how Ruin¡¯s End was to the spirit turtle. A world had an extremely great influence on a person. It could even be said that the environment determined the person.

    After all, no matter how powerful an individual was, it was nothing compared to the energy that the entire environment possessed. If it was a kind of world with a particularly strong will, it could directly determine how everyone lived.

    If a person was born in the Asura realm but refused to fight and kill, they would be slain no matter how much of genius they were, or they would not be considered a genius at all.

    In the World of the Nine Provinces, Qian Rongzhi¡¯s talent was barely up to standard, yet in the Demon domain, she was a supreme prodigy that appeared once every millennia. As long as she did not die, it was basically guaranteed that she would become a Heretic God.

    At the same time, because he ruled over the will of the World of the Five Continents, the people he was originally acquainted with in the nine provinces all progressed rapidly, such as Yu Zijian, Ru Xin, and Han Qiongzhi. Even if he did not go out of his way to take care of them, his natural emotional leanings would influence everything.

    If he had not paid a visit to Ruin¡¯s End. his Spirit Turtle Transformation would have never reached completion.

    Ruin¡¯s End had not just influenced his disposition and adjusted him into the state that fitted the Spirit Turtle Transformation the most, but it had also provided him with endless resources.

    The price was all of his memories and almost destroying the other transformations, but all of this was worth it. It became more difficult as he went, but the power brought forth was also greater, which moulded his current cultivation.

    As a result, it was not just a matter of disposition and resources, but luck as well.

    In terms of luck, it was invisible and intangible, yet it clearly played a role. If a person could obtain the help of a noble, everything would be smooth sailing. What if they received the blessings and help from an entire world?

    During Qian Rongzhi and Si Long¡¯s struggle, Si Long ran head-first into Li Qingshan right when he was about to escape from the Demon domain. This was definitely not a coincidence.

    The Ming cult was another example. Even if other Demon Sovereigns thought of the same idea, they would never dare to do this, or they would be found and skinned alive.

    However, even Li Qingshan could not divine her fate clearly, so that was basically like cheating compared to regular demonfolk. She did not have to uphold any responsibilities of a Demon Sovereign, yet she received benefits far greater than Demon Sovereigns.

    The Black Sun Demon Heart was stirring.

    This thing that Li Qingshan obtained was far more than just cheating. It was basically ¡°the world has already decided that you will be the Demon God king.¡±

    He felt like he was supposed to recite a poem. ¡°Should there be a chance to benefit my country, I would do it with my life and death; how could I choose to embrace or avoid such a duty just because of my personal weal and woe?¡± However, he simly refused upon further thought. He was the right and proper hero king, so how could he join the Demon domain?

    But why? Why did the Demon domain choose me?

    In the beginning, he thought it was because of the numerous demonic transformations, earning him the blessings of the demonic heavens through the demonic nature within him. However, it no longer seemed that simple now.

    With that thought, he raised his eyebrows, and a vertical eye suddenly opened up on his forehead, peering into the laws of the world. However, he also revealed a wisp of his aura uncontrollably.

    As soon as the Green-winged Bat King and the Golden-furred Lion King had stood up, they almost fell back down again, looking at each other in shock. ¡°H-Heretic God!¡±

    Demon Kings like them were already regarded as ultimate powerhouses in the Demon domain. Demon Emperors and Demon Sovereigns were actually extremely rare.

    In this demon city with a population in the hundreds of millions, there were only around a dozen Demon Sovereigns, one for every ten million demonfolk. There were a few more Demon Emperors, but it was still close to one to a million.

    As for Heretic Gods, they were completely unreachable existences.

    Demon Emperors and Demon Sovereigns were powerful, but they would still die in battle. Heretic Gods were basically favoured by the Demon domain already. They would not die unless they made some tremendous miscalculation, serving as the mainstay of the entire Demon domain.

    The one who ruled over this demon city was a Heretic God.

    The Green-winged Bat King was in disbelief. He murmured, ¡°The cult leader¡¯s guest is actually a Heretic God!¡±

    The Golden-haired Lion King¡¯s eyes shone. ¡°No, we should call him a Human Immortal. If he isn¡¯t an esteemed immortal or god, how can he create a cultivation method like this?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Human Immortal.¡±

    The Green-winged Bat King nodded. He recalled how he had spoken proudly about his views before this Human Immortal, expressing discontent towards his mockery, which left him pouring with sweat. If he were a Heretic God, he definitely would have tortured him to a point where he wished he was dead.

    However, not only did this Human Immortal accept his views, but he even encouraged him, treating him as an equal the entire time. That was just unbelievable. Then with a thought, it occurred to him. Wasn¡¯t this exactly what he wanted? Generosity, uprightness, equality, light.

    The Golden-haired Lion King sighed emotionally. ¡°The cult leader actually managed to find the help of a great immortal who even taught us a cultivation method like this. There are great hopes for our Ming cult!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, great hopes!¡±

    All of the demonfolks¡¯ eyes shone with hope when they heard that, looking up towards Li Qingshan. They felt like if they had someone like him leading them, it was not impossible for them to overthrow the tyrannical rule of this city¡¯s Heretic God. As for the twelve Demon Gods, they still did not even have the courage to think about them.

    Little did they know that the exact target for why Li Qingshan was here was a Demon God.

    Along the way, he never looked back. Before he knew it, he had already made it so far and so high up. It was exactly because of this that he never noticed he had already far surpassed the living creatures, standing among the ranks of gods and immortals.

    Or perhaps he was aware, yet he just had to smash that sangharama guardian statue to pieces, refusing worship from anyone.

    As a result, these demonfolk were destined to be disappointed. His goal this time was not to save these demonfolk with a conscience, but to resolve the Blood Oath of the Nether River. That was his business and his business alone.

    Perhaps he could lend a hand when he saw injustice, but he could forget about bringing salvation to all living beings, freeing them from suffering. He did not come to the Demon domain to be some saviour.

    .

    The Qilin, With its Hovering Steps, Sympathises With the Living.

    However, he did not know what pity was. He neither pitied himself nor others. That was the brutality of the tiger.

    However, many years ago, the young man had once been touched by a child without a home, shedding tears for her. That child¡¯s name was Xiao An.

    That was the only exception.

    Li Qingshan looked around with the demonic eye, peering into how the laws of the Demon domain operated, but he was still unable to understand why. The laws of the world were far too tremendous and far too complicated. He was basically no different from a blind man and an elephant. He was unable to pinpoint the exact reason at all.

    There was only one last thing he could try.

    He transformed into the divine beast qilin. His hooves hovered in the air, his deer antlers sprawled in the air, his mane danced about, and his green scales glistened.

    In the next moment, he suddenly widened his eyes. How is this possible!?

    At that moment, the surging demon qi gathered towards him, and the laws of the world twisted for him. The will of the Demon domain that had always been filled with malice actually welcomed him like a mother welcoming a wandering son home.

    In Qian Rongzhi¡¯s sense, the will of the Demon domain gathered on him as if the demonic heavens itself had descended.

    No, not some blessed son of the heavens. He was the ruler of these heavens!

    However, Li Qingshan felt no delight at all. His scales were dyed black by the demon qi, and the green qilin became a black qilin, with black horns and hooves, a black mane and black scales. His moist, deer eyes became cold and ruthless.

    ¡°The world has no compassion. All is worthless.¡±

    That had once been the chant of millions of demonfolk outside Black Cloud city.

    This black qilin was the very embodiment of it.

    Originally, Li Qingshan did not feel any pity towards these demonfolk, but there was sympathy. Now, even this sympathy had vanished. His cold gaze swept out, like they were all dead.

    With a gentle breath, all the demonfolk in the temple, whether young or old, male or female, weak or strong, slumped down on the ground like chopped logs, dead.

    Only Qian Rongzhi managed to put up some resistance. As a result, the qilin approached her.

    Each step he took pushed deeply into the ground as if he was trying to crush all of the living beings under his feet.

    The temple shook violently. The tremendous network of underground tunnels cracked and collapsed en masse. The entire demon city shook. Millions of demonfolk could sense it, trembling in fear uncontrollably.

    The stronger the existence, the more they could sense this horror.

    This was no divine beast of utmost compassion. It was clearly a monster of utter malice and wickedness.

 Chapter 1574

    Over the grey buildings, in the depths of this concrete jungle, the great Heretic God that ruled over this demon city suddenly stood up. He gazed at the trembling ground under his feet with a frown.

    The demon city was protected by the formation, so such an obvious earthquake had never occurred. Something must have happened underground! Was it the rats in the sewers? But how was that possible? It was impossible for them to possess this kind of power. Even he felt a certain threat from it.

    ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t let them run free anymore. They¡¯re already plump enough. Time to be served on the table! Hmph!¡±

    The black qilin forced Qian Rongzhi into a corner, lowering his head and sniffing her gently.

    Qian Rongzhi tottered about like she was drunk. The aura of her life rapidly departed from her, yet she was completely without fear. Instead, she gazed at the black qilin in a daze. ¡°Interesting!¡±

    As she smiled, her scarlet lips suddenly split open to form a gaping mouth. She transformed into a large, colourful, mottled venomous snake, biting down on the black qilin¡¯s neck. Her four snake teeth pierced the black qilin, injecting all the venom she had accumulated in her life.

    The black qilin let out a roar, overcome with great pain. He shook his head violently. The black qilin and the large venomous snake became locked in a struggle to the death.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! They smashed through several pillars one after another. The temple was on the verge of collapsing.

    The black qilin suddenly stomped down on the venomous snake with his right foot. Blood splattered, splitting it into two!

    Hiss! The snake blood hit the ground and produced poisonous smoke. It landed on the black qilin, except it dripped down like blood, leaving him unscathed.

    Half of the venomous snake¡¯s body hung off the black qilin¡¯s with her life force declining, but she still refused to let go.

    The black qilin opened his mouth that was riddled with jagged teeth and bit down on the venomous snake¡¯s vulnerable point, about to tear her to pieces.

    A sliver of conflict gradually appeared in his pitch-black eyes. Pain enraged him, but it also awakened his original consciousness.

    As if he had awakened from a nightmare, he looked around and emitted two long jets of air from his nostrils.

    The deceased demonfolk all groaned and opened their eyes again, unaware of what had just happened.

    The large venomous snake used this opportunity to connect the two parts of her body back together, turning back into human form and curling up in the dark corner. Her face was pale-white, but she continued to gaze at the black qilin with a smile.

    The black qilin let out a deep growl. His scales receded away, but his eyes were still pitch-black like night, without any eye whites.

    He knelt on one knee and suddenly pressed down on his chest, using the Spirit Turtle Transformation to suppress the frenzied qilin. Only then did his eyes gradually turn back to normal with a balance of black and white, filled with shock.

    The earthquake in the demon city gradually stopped.

    ¡°Cult leader!¡± The two guardian kings gazed at her face in surprise as if it was the first time they had ever met her.

    Qian Rongzhi waved her hand wearily. ¡°Back down!¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The demonfolk did not dare to disobey her, so they all backed down.

    ¡°Are you fine?¡± Qian Rongzhi said softly, ¡°It must hurt very much to be bitten by a snake of suffering.¡± At the same time, she licked her pale-white lips as if she was savouring the taste of that bite.

    ¡°Snake of suffering?¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed his neck. The four marks continued to linger. This pain was even above the tortures of hell, which even gave him chills, but fortunately, he had woken up in time because of this. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

    The Demon domain was also trying to assimilate with him.

    ¡°Suffering, cause, cessation, and path. The four noble truths of buddhism. Xiao An taught me this.¡± Qian Rongzhi explained with a smile before asking curiously, ¡°What happened just then?¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows and pointed at the entrance. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. You can get out of here too!¡±

    ¡°Alright. I will order people to seal up this place so that no one comes to disturb you. I¡¯ll come and find you again once the documents have been prepared.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi walked away with sprightly steps as if she was very happy. She even hummed a tune like she had become someone completely different.

    In the blink of an eye, only Li Qingshan remained in the empty hall.

    He looked around blankly before plonking down on the steps. ¡°How is this possible? No, this is the case. It makes sense like this.¡±

    At that instant, everything became connected.

    In Sukh¨¡vat¨©, that mad night where demonic beasts prowled, the demonic blood that vapourised under the sunlight¡­

    Before the grand hall, the blooming lotuses and the Upraised Light abbot¡¯s questioning and sobbing¡­

    ¡°What¡¯s the point of this N¨¡land¨¡? What¡¯s the point of this Sukh¨¡vat¨©? You might as well have it all destroyed!¡±

    Why was he so heartbroken?

    He did not understand originally. Even if Sukh¨¡vat¨© was originally the Qilin Paradise, that was still a demonstration of the buddha¡¯s great benevolence, great power, and great might. He should have felt proud.

    It all made sense now.

    The Demon domain is also from the Qilin Paradise!

    This was basically challenging common sense. The difference between Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain was far too great. One was a pure land, while the other was a corrupted land.

    However, the truth was laid out right before him. After transforming into the qilin, both Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain responded violently towards him, perhaps different in method but identical in nature.

    Meanwhile, the Black Sun Demon Heart was like the pond of lotuses. They were all manifestations of the laws of the world. The properties they contained were just drastically different.

    It was like someone had used a blade to split the four seasons into two groups. Spring and summer went to the pure land of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, while autumn and winter went to the corrupted land of the Demon domain.

    If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, this is probably the buddha¡¯s handiwork.

    In Sukh¨¡vat¨©, there were eternal bountiful harvests and a limitless supply of food. The people there obviously did not have to toil about, nor did they have any desire to compete against one another.

    However, that was still not enough. If they could not control the population size, then all worlds, no matter how bountiful, would devolve into conflict.

    Not anyone could enter Sukh¨¡vat¨©. Moreover, none of the people possessed any desires. That was how they ensured the quality of life stayed the same.

    Improper thoughts arose when people were content with where they were. That was commonplace. The residents of Sukh¨¡vat¨© were not some cultivators of great resolve and great wisdom. They were just a bunch of people who had done good, so where did their desires go?

    In the beginning, Li Qingshan thought the buddha had used his great powers to influence the world or even brainwash everyone.

    Otherwise, it was not just a matter of desires. Good people would still have greed and envy. Good people could even fall. They were not guaranteed to be impervious. Just being well-fed and well-clothed could not create a paradise like that.

    Only now did he realise that none of that was so simple.

    The original Qilin Paradise was both fertile, yet also not that fertile. Even if there were barren wastelands, it should not have been as barren as the Demon domain.

    The buddha drew out the laws of the world he required to construct the entirety of Sukh¨¡vat¨©. He had not just split the Qilin Paradise into two. They were still connected and still able to influence one another. All of the desires and wicked thoughts sank into the Demon domain.

    The fertile pure land just happened to have very few people, while the barren corrupted land was impelled by desire, leading to rapid procreation of demonfolk. They were unable to sustain themselves, so they sent them out wave by wave, invading and devouring other worlds.

    It was no wonder the Demon domain continued to exist too. It was not because the gods and buddhas were incapable of destroying the Demon domain, but because it had always been a part of the original arrangement.

    He had constructed a world, using the environment to influence people and the laws to mould the people. He had not used his abilities to control people.

    This ingenious idea, this great power, even left this demon city that could sustain over a hundred million demonfolk seeming as unsophisticated as a sandcastle built by a child.

    As such, Li Qingshan could understand what the Upraised Light abbot thought. He had presided over the Pure Land temple in Black Cloud city, watching countless soldiers and demonfolk die on the battlefield. Who knew how many lives of demonfolk his staff had claimed as well, yet at the very end, he discovered that the source of all this was the Sukh¨¡vat¨© that he longed for. It was unavoidable for his faith to collapse, throwing him into disarray.

    Most importantly, the Demon domain could not be destroyed and demonfolk could not be converted. This overturned the pure land school¡¯s beliefs of bringing salvation to all from the very foundations. It was no wonder the White Bone Bodhisattva would burn everything with the Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone.

    The cause of all this lay right here.

 Chapter 1575

    Li Qingshan sat high on top of the stone steps, resting his head against his fist, which rested against his knee as he sank into thought with furrowed brows.

    Yin and yang, good and evil, buddhas and demons. All of it was but an appearance.

    Unwittingly, he demonstrated a form of solemnity, like the gods in shrines and temples. This dark temple was his centre of worship, wrapped in an atmosphere of silence and depth.

    Enduring and unmoving like the earth, thinking quietly and deeply like hiding secrets.

    If any mortals mistakenly stumbled upon this place, their first reaction was to worship, and then to pray.

    Regardless of whether he accepted it or not, he had already become a god. Whether it was a Heretic God, a Human Immortal, or a sangharama guardian, those were all just terms of reference. He was not a True Immortal or a proper god yet, but that was only a step away.

    He took out the Black Sun Demon Heart. It hovered gently in his palm, shining dimly.

    After understanding all this, this object was better described as the heart of the qilin, a sacred heart, than the Black Sun Demon Heart.

    The heart ceased to give off any aura, completely under his control. Even Demon Gods could not grasp its existence anymore, becoming an item that only belonged to him, and it tempted him deeply.

    ¡°Come, my beloved child, my proud child. I¡¯ve already waited long enough. Go become the ruler¡­¡±

    A vague beckoning rang out in the depths of the darkness. This was the lingering consciousness of the primordial qilin. In reality, it was the pulsing of the invisible laws, translated into a blurry, broken sentence through his Origin Soul. It wanted him to devour the Black Sun Demon Heart and take on this duty.

    ¡°¡­Go recover the order of nature!¡±

    ¡°The order of nature?¡±

    Li Qingshan murmured. He caught the scent of blood and slaughter from that, which even made him tremble. He recalled a distant dream. He dreamed of becoming the enemy of thousands, killing until mountains of corpses blotted out the sun and seas of blood swallowed the stars.

    Back then, he was still a young man in the mountains. He still did not know any cultivation methods, having just killed his first person out of drunkenness and anger, paving a path of slaughter, a path to the Nine Heavens.

    That was where everything began.

    Right now, he seemed to have returned to before he had killed someone, standing at the beginning once again, both fearful and confused.

    But this time, brother ox was not there to guide him.

    Was his power insufficient? Or did he require even greater abilities and treasures? No, none of that.

    He wanted power? Easy! All he had to do was devour the Black Sun Demon Heart. What would be so difficult about becoming a true god by then?

    The issue of this was not just the Black Sun Demon heart, but the pond of lotuses in front of the grand hall in N¨¡land¨¡.

    Every lotus was a manifestation of the laws drawn from the Qilin Paradise. The golden lotus represented light, the green lotus represented fertility, the red lotus represented warmth¡­

    Yet in nature, they were just another Black Sun Demon Heart. They were two sides of the same coin.

    If he also devoured the Black Sun Demon Heart in his hand, the two would merge back together. Not only would he rule over the Demon domain, but he would be able to rule over Sukh¨¡vat¨© as well.

    By ¡°recovering the order of nature¡±, that was merging the two worlds back together. That was his duty.

    By then, even if he wanted some peace, the world would push him forwards, and buddhism would never tolerate him.

    All conflicts will be beyond mediation, and the flames of war would burn up to the clouds. War would tear apart the kingdom of heaven, and demon qi would definitely blaspheme the pure land. Even if the buddha descended on him with a palm strike, he would have well and truly deserved it.

    He was not afraid of opposing the gods and buddhas of the heavens, nor was he afraid of falling in battle, but this time, it would be much more than him who would be sacrificed.

    Whether it was those innocent good people of Sukh¨¡vat¨© or the depraved bad people of the Demon domain, they would all moan and wail in pain, mixing together and perishing together.

    Without Li Qingshan, they would all be far better off. He could not help but clench the Black Sun Demon Heart firmly.

    Heh, stop getting lost in your fantasies. Do you really think you¡¯re the saviour of the world? Just who are you able to save?

    Tsk, the hero king? Quit joking. You¡¯re just the culprit of all crimes, source of all wickedness!

    None of this was for saving anyone. It was just to recover the order of nature. That was the will of the primordial qilin.

    However, even with how bloodthirsty and battle hungry the tiger was, it came nowhere close to the qilin¡¯s ruthlessness.

    The world had no compassion. All was worthless. The qilin was of utmost compassion, regarding all as equals.

    He seemed to feel the legendary beast of utmost benevolence currently gazing at him, waiting for his dream to come true so that everything became like how fate dictated it to be.

    At the same time, he also understood why brother ox had originally set down a test like that.

    Perhaps fate was already written, but he still had to choose. Whether he accepted it or denied it lay on a single whim.

    Li Qingshan suddenly raised his head and asked the darkness in the space a question, ¡°Why did the primordial qilin perish?¡±

    The more he comprehended the path of the qilin, the more puzzled he became about this.

    The darkness in the space made no reply.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. The primordial qilin had already perished. Even if its will still existed, it had merged with the entire Qilin Paradise, almost like the will of the world, incapable of any clear, independent thought. All that remained were the reflexes of primitive instinct, incapable of conversing with him like a living creature.

    With some further thought, he spat out five words, ¡°The Battle of Mending Heaven?¡±

    The laws immediately rippled slightly, verifying his thoughts. That was the imprint hidden in the depths of the world¡¯s memories.

    However, if the primordial spirit turtle had stood on the side of the victors for the sake of good fortune, what was the reason for the qilin to do that? With its path, it should have never participated in any battle.

    Perhaps it was also for the sake of maintaining the order of nature. After all, something like the creation of humanity was truly the most destructive culprit to the order of nature, so it was slain in the end by N¨¹wa like the primordial spirit turtle?

    The will of the world obviously could not answer such a complicated question, unless he became the lord of the world and ventured deep into the memories of the world, taking a look for himself.

    Li Qingshan was tempted. He opened his hand again, and the Black Sun Demon Heart hovered up again.

    He was not the lord of the world yet, but he possessed a key, so he opened the divine eye on his forehead and gazed into the Black Sun Demon Heart.

    At that moment, the Black Sun Demon Heart shone with the most resplendent of light. His entire consciousness was sucked inside.

    ¡°¡­domain Demon the of light the are you. All of hearts the in lies light¡­¡±

    He suddenly heard Qian Rongzhi¡¯s voice from behind him. He said impatiently, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to¡­¡±

    He came to a halt half way. He became surprised.

    Qian Rongzhi seemed to be unable to see him, lecturing the demonfolk below the platform, except her words were all over the place and strange. The demonfolk seemed to have appeared out of thin air as well, seeing past him and gazing vehemently at their ¡°King of Light¡±.

    He immediately understood that he had already entered the memories of the world.

    Everything replayed rapidly like a movie. The demonfolk below the platform dispersed before gathering again, all walking backwards. People moved to and fro in the temple at great speeds, leaving behind a string of shadows.

    He witnessed how the temple was constructed and he also witnessed how the interwoven sewerage system shrank inch by inch under the efforts of countless demonfolk. He saw the skyscrapers fall rapidly to the ground. The demon city was reduced to flat land.

    He also saw how demonic beasts became demonfolk and how adults became children.

    Amidst the constant change, the sun and moon rapidly glided through the air. A huge, golden hand suddenly appeared before suddenly vanishing again, leaving behind a red sun that sank in the east.

    After another instant, the red sun rose up from the west, and the barren land had recovered its lushness.

    A warm gust of wind blew over a skeleton. Ants surged up as a black mass, using the remains to assemble a corpse. A pack of wolves even delivered chunks of flesh.

    At that instant, an elk was revived from the dead, standing up from its knees.

    Time receded faster and faster, taking away everything, returning everything, until it reached the origins of everything.

    The clear sky, the endless land, the running beasts¡­ all twisted and contracted towards a certain point, merging together in the very end.

    He suddenly leapt out of this point, except he saw a half-human, half-dragon man, drawing back that fatal bolt of lightning.

    The man overlooked everything, gazed through everything, and grasped everything, like he was the heavens itself, except the sky also shattered under his fury, making the oceans spill and the mountains collapse.

    A divine dragon soared by his side with thousands of colossal dragons behind it. A phoenix unfurled its glorious wings, blotting out most of the sky, proudly ignoring the man¡¯s threat. Its resplendent light forced back the herd of dragons.

    The scene froze here. This was the beginning of the qilin¡¯s world.

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded.

    The scene at the edges began to shatter, except looking through the primordial qilin¡¯s view, it was neither looking at the man that killed it, nor the divine dragon and phoenix.

    There was only a woman in the centre of the scene. She held her head high, and her long hair drifted in the wind, extending upwards as much as she could with her slender body, holding up the shattered heavens with a sky. However, the lower half of her body was a snake¡¯s meandering between the mountains and seas.

    ¡°Empress N¨¹wa.¡±

    A sense of parental attachment arose. Li Qingshan¡¯s heart trembled as if he was gazing at his birth mother. There was no distinction between his past or present life. She had always been so hard-working, gentle, and loving. His tears suddenly blurred his vision.

    When he tried to lock onto her face, the scene had already dimmed. Darkness sweeped over once more, and he had returned to countless years in the future, that empty temple, like another lifetime.

    A sigh lingered and echoed through the darkness. ¡°The qilin has already perished, the phoenix has grown old¡­ The qilin has already perished, the phoenix has grown old¡­¡±

 Chapter 1576

    Li Qingshan woke up from the primordial dream and immediately shut his eyes again. He could still recall the grand scene of the Battle of Mending Heaven vividly.

    The primordial spirit turtle hid within the flows of the ocean, setting off surging floods that swallowed the land and mountains. The dragons followed their leader as the phoenix soared in the sky, confronting one another in the air.

    There was the primordial qilin¡¯s final gaze into the distance as well. Even though it had failed to see her clearly, he would never be able to forget that figure mending the heavens.

    ¡°Empress N¨¹wa.¡±

    Unlike his original guess, the primordial qilin did not oppose her. Instead, it fought for her.

    Paths did not correspond to choices.

    Even upon reaching the supreme realm of Merging the Void with the Dao, or even primordial divine creatures that thrived with the world, they were still sentient creatures. They could not just follow the laws of nature like wind, rain, lightning, and thunder.

    If a divine creature like that really did exist, then it would be no different from not existing.

    The primordial qilin manifested its ¡°existence¡± and did not follow the path of nature it was born with, refusing to stand by and watch. In the end, it died under the lightning.

    ¡°If the heavens had emotions, they too would age!¡±

    An indescribable feeling filled his mind. Once again, he gazed at the Black Sun Demon Heart without budging, like a divine statue that had sat there from the primordial times, into the future.

    The temple was silent, without a single word spoken for a very long time.

    Bang! After who knew how long, a rumble broke the silence, and the door swung open.

    The Green-winged Bat King scrambled in and bowed down before the ¡°divine statue¡±. ¡°Sir, the cult leader has been captured! Please save her!¡±

    However, he immediately spotted the dim sun in the ¡°divine statue¡¯s¡± hand, and he cast all of his thoughts to the back of his mind. His eyes were glued to it, with just a single thought remaining, I must obtain it! I must obtain it! He could not help but make his way over and reach towards it.

    The ¡°divine statue¡± opened his eyes slowly and glanced at him, like a bolt of lightning flashing past.

    The Green-winged Bat King suddenly stopped and dropped back onto his knees again, still struggling uneasily as he gazed at the Black Sun Demon Heart.

    Li Qingshan understood the temptation that the Black Sun Demon Heart posed to demonfolk. Let alone a mere Demon King, even Demon Gods could not resist it.

    He should have never been able to resist either, but he refused to accept this fate. If he sacrificed the lives of countless just so he could become a god, then Li Qingshan would no longer be Li Qingshan. The ¡°hero king¡± would be a complete joke too.

    Even without the Black Sun Demon Heart, he was just as confident that he could become a god, and he would not have to be tied down by fate.

    I won¡¯t be the saviour of the world! He made up his mind and stowed the Black Sun Demon Heart away again. Let Sukh¨¡vat¨© be Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain be the Demon domain!

    He lowered his head and asked the Green-winged Bat King, ¡°What happened?¡±

    The Green-winged Bat King turned back to normal and fumed, ¡°It¡¯s a traitor! The Light Envoy of the Left must have betrayed the cult leader! When he was handing up the customs clearance documents!¡±

    ¡°Is she still alive?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    A miserable, gloomy atmosphere enveloped the grey city, leaving the tall, wet buildings standing rigidly and dark.

    Under the street lamps, the cold rain continued to fall as if it would never stop.

    However, in the very depths of this jungle was actually a fancy parlour with carved railing and jade inlays. The lanterns blazed as the hubbub of people never dispersed, forming a clear contrast with the dim, dispiriting surroundings. It felt surreal.

    Banners hung outside the parlour, depicting the face of a pig smiling from ear to ear.

    At this very moment, the owner of this pig face lifted a cup of alcohol into the air and drank it all in one gulp before demonstrating it was empty, apologising to the guests for his lateness.

    All of the Demon Sovereigns and Demon Emperors in the demon city gathered here. Only Demon Sovereigns had a seat around the great round table, which was already set up with sets of utensils. Meanwhile, the Demon Emperors could only stand and watch. Demon Kings did not even have the right to enter this place.

    The Demon Sovereigns had already waited there for quite some time now, but they did not show the slightest impatience. They even spoke softly and were dressed up all prim and proper, like aristocrats.

    If a regular person accidentally set foot here, they would have never believed their original appearances were actually so frightening and hideous.

    ¡°Welcome, Heretic God!¡± the Demon Sovereigns said together.

    The pig-faced owner was the owner of this ¡°Taotie Parlour¡±, as well as the owner of this demon capital, Heretic God Baitun.

    Baitun was also dressed up properly, except he had an apron on and carried a kitchen knife in his hand like he was a chef. His pink pig face was extremely amicable too, gesturing with both hands gently. ¡°Please sit, please sit. Hmph hmph, there¡¯s no need to be so polite. All of you, be more casual. This is a meal, not a war!¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns all took their seats. They all remained solemn and proper, without loosening up at all. In front of Heretic God Baitun, it was possible for them to get away without punishment even if they lost a battle, but if they were not serious when it came to eating, it would definitely cost them their lives. In the past, there had been a Demon Sovereign who ate with his mouth open and Heretic God Baitun had beheaded him on the spot.

    Meanwhile, the Demon Emperors even held their breaths, afraid to make any noise.

    Heretic God Baitun nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Hmph hmph, today¡¯s banquet is called the banquet of light. All of the dishes are made with one ingredient. This ingredient doesn¡¯t come easily and it¡¯s taken quite some time to prepare, but as long as you taste it, it¡¯ll all be worth it.¡±

    He clapped his hands, and a burly Demon Emperor walked out with a colossal object in his arms, placing it gently beside Heretic God Baitun. There was a black cloth draped above it, hiding what it was.

    Heretic God Baitun laughed with his grunts and lifted the black cloth with a great swish, revealing a huge cross covered with inscriptions. A woman was bound on there, without a single shred of clothing on top, exposing her full breasts and slender waist. However, the lower half of her body had demonified into the figure of a snake, round, slender, and gorgeous in colour, wrapped around the cross.

    The Demon Sovereigns all gasped. This woman was clearly a Demon Sovereign! Had Heretic God Baitun¡¯s appetite lost control, such that he began feasting on Demon Sovereigns? They could not help but worry for their safety.

    Heretic God Baitun said with a smile, ¡°Let me introduce to you the renowned leader of the Ming cult!¡±

    The Demon Sovereigns were thrown into an uproar, immediately understanding the origins of this ¡°banquet of light¡±, except they found it unimaginable. The Demon Emperors beneath them gazed at one another in complete disbelief as well.

    In the recent years, the Ming cult had been stirring up trouble. All of the demonfolk guessed at the cult leader¡¯s identity. They all thought the cult leader came from the outside world, either from the Desireless Heavenly Palace or Sukh¨¡vat¨©, but they never imagined it to be a Demon Sovereign!

    How was this possible? These actions of kindness and righteousness would definitely lead to repulsion from the demonic heavens, but this Demon Sovereign was clearly enveloped in heavy blessings.

    Only Heretic God Baitun had an inkling about her plan, which left him amazed. If he simply let her be, the Demon domain would probably gain another Heretic God before long.

    Under her messy hair, the woman looked up silently. The sight before her flooded into her eyes, moving through her tense nerves before being reduced to nothing in her mind.

    Heretic God Baitun looked back and asked, ¡°Are you?¡±

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°I am.¡±

    ¡°Is there anything you¡¯d like to say?¡±

    ¡°The strong prey on the weak. That¡¯s the law of the world.¡±

    ¡°Good. Very good!¡±

    Heretic God Baitun caressed her face. His hand slid down along her neck, and his desires pulsed as they grew. It was not lust, but appetite.

    ¡°You are the best ingredient I have ever seen. I won¡¯t even let a sliver of you go to waste!¡±

    The knife in Heretic God Baitun¡¯s hand rose and fell. Over a dozen translucent pieces of white flesh that were thin like the wings of insects flew into the air, landing on the plates on the great, round table.

    Qian Rongzhi was completely unscathed, but her skin under her ribs suddenly sank. A strange sensation of pain spread out, making her snake tail coil around the cross firmly, creaking away as a result.

    The knife did not just slice away flesh, but the soul as well.

    ¡°The first dish is Slices of Light. Hmph hmph. It should be eaten raw once it is sliced, so its original taste is preserved.¡±

    Heretic God Baitun introduced complacently and proactively passed a plate to the burly Demon Emperor. ¡°Light Envoy of the Left, you¡¯ve done very well! Have some!¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Heretic God! Thank you, Heretic God!¡±

    The Light Envoy of the Left was both surprised and overjoyed. He glanced at Qian Rongzhi on the cross and placed a piece of the meat in his mouth. He was immediately overcome with joy and pleasure, but in the next moment, his skin colour suddenly changed, becoming colourful and mottled like the snake¡¯s tail.

    ¡°T-there¡¯s poison¡­ urgh¡­¡±

    He gripped his neck firmly with both hands as every muscle in his body twitched, turning into wisps of colourful smoke like venomous snakes, wrapping around and penetrating his body. In the blink of an eye, he was swallowed by the colourful snakes of poisonous smoke.

    The Demon Sovereigns were frightened and leaned backwards, just so they could widen their distance from the meat on the plate.

    Heretic God Baitun waved his hand, dispersing the smoke. He chuckled.

    ¡°Pufferfish is poisonous. If you want to know how it tastes, how can you not take some risks? This ingredient of mine is hundreds, thousands of times more poisonous than pufferfish. It¡¯s not something that anyone can endure. Hmm? What are you all still waiting for?¡±

    He gazed at the Demon Sovereigns with his pig eyes. They suddenly seemed rather sunken under the glorious firelight.

    How could the Demon Sovereigns waste any more time? They circulated their demon qi, prepared to suppress the toxins as they brought a piece of the Slices of Light into their mouths.

    It melted as soon as it hit their tongue!

    At that instant, a delicious taste spread through their mouths. Even the toxins itself became a part of the taste, yet it was beyond the five basic tastes of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. Instead, there was a dense yet pure sense of happiness that stimulated their minds.

    ¡°Mmmm¡­ ahhh¡­¡±

    Heretic God Baitun took a bite as well, and he became extremely intoxicated. He was Demon God Taotie¡¯s head chef. Regular chefs could only mix the five flavours, which was nowhere enough to satisfy a Demon God¡¯s appetite.

    However, he could use joy as sweetness, sorrow as bitterness, anger as spiciness, and envy as sourness¡­ such that a single mouthful possessed all the tastes of human life. And, the taste would come in all shapes and sizes. Every single ingredient was different, so no one could predict it until they ate it.

    ¡°Hmm? Hold on. Why is it sweet? Where¡¯s the fury of being betrayed? Where¡¯s the fear of being killed and eaten?¡±

    Heretic God Baitun furrowed his brows and savoured it closely, but apart from the lithe aftertaste of sweetness, there was nothing else in his mouth. He suddenly looked up, only to see the King of Light with her lips curled, actually laughing away.

    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±

    ¡°Fate. Why now of all times? Hehehehe.¡± Qian Rongzhi found it absolutely fascinating. Her laughter was strange and filled with malice.

    ¡°What fate?¡± Heretic God Baitun felt restless for some reason.

    ¡°You better eat quickly! My invitation.¡± Qian Rongzhi raised her chin. ¡°The tiger is coming.¡±

    Boom!

    A clap of thunder shook the lead clouds, ripping through the sky.

    A pair of scarlet eyes lit up in the darkness, like embers. The tiger moved through the jungle powerfully, arriving before the Taotie parlour with a gentle leap. He curled his lip. ¡°Still not dead yet?¡±

 Chapter 1577

    The wind and rain was dreary as the sounds of thunder rumbled. A great feast was underway in the Taotie parlour.

    ¡°A tiger?¡± Heretic God Baitun furrowed his brows and licked his lips. ¡°Tiger bones for the soup. Hmph hmph, that would be perfect.¡±

    He raised his kitchen knife again. ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin with the second dish!¡±

    The sounds of gulping rang out around the table. The Demon Sovereigns watched eagerly as the knife fell.

    A slice, a slice, and another slice. It was like the torture of slow slicing, but even more brutal¡ªpan-fried, stir-fried, and deep-fried, steamed, simmered, and stewed. The diners chewed, swallowed, and savoured, yet as the ingredient, Qian Rongzhi smiled away as she watched this all unfold.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, eat! The strong prey on the weak. That is the nature of the world, so why hide it and feign your intentions? Who doesn¡¯t eat people? Who doesn¡¯t get eaten? All joys lie in the joy of eating. All pain lies in the pain of being eaten.¡±

    She hissed and whispered away, fanning on the flames and pushing the banquet towards the climax.

    Heretic God Baitun was shocked as well. This woman! This banquet was originally his ceremony of offering to the demonic heavens in exchange for even more blessings, yet right now, the blessing around her grew heavier and heavier, while he, the main offeror, received almost nothing. She had stolen his spot.

    He found her gaze very unbearable as well as if she was looking at a pig head being offered up.

    In a daze, the difference between the diners and the food was blurred as if she was not being eaten, but wolfing away instead. She was the offeror, while they were the offerings.

    A sense of unease grew heavier and heavier. Something seemed amiss! No, impossible, it must be a false impression. This is the depths of the Demon domain, my territory. Unless the Zhenwu Emperor shows up in person, nothing¡­

    Boom!

    The doors swung open, and wind and rain swept through the building, making the flames flicker wildly. They cast a long shadow into the rainy and windy night.

    Heretic God Baitun¡¯s knife-wielding hand trembled slightly. The demons all looked over.

    A man stood at the entrance with his back to the wind and rain. His long hair drifted with the wind, flickering like fire. His thick brows were furrowed together firmly, with a pair of scarlet eyes that resembled embers sitting below.

    In a flash, he glanced past Qian Rongzhi¡¯s figure that had been reduced to just skin and bones, the gluttonous diners, the array of utensils before finally settling on the pig-headed head chef.

    ¡°These damned demonfolk!¡±

    He stepped over the vermillion door sill and strode in. He was so composed that it seemed like he was entering his own home.

    A Demon Sovereign slammed the table and yelled after standing up, ¡°Stop right there! Who are you? How dare you intrude on the Taotie parlour!¡±

    The Demon Emperors immediately gathered over as a black mass. They all thought he was a remnant of the Ming cult. Even their cult leader was being butchered at their whim right now, so only death awaited anyone who came. It was a perfect opportunity for them to demonstrate themselves to the Heretic God.

    The other Demon Sovereigns thought the same. They wiped their mouths leisurely and leaned back against their tall seats.

    ¡°These guys from the Ming cult really know how to die!¡±

    ¡°Perfect, another side dish to change up the tastes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah. This woman¡¯s flesh is getting sweeter and sweeter. It¡¯s a little sickly. Ah, no. Sir, I¡¯m not doubting your culinary ability.¡±

    Heretic God Baitun ignored all of it. He just stared straight at the newcomer. His heart thumped away as an indescribable sense of fear surged through his mind. He did not feel like he was currently located in the Taotie parlour with the lights ablaze, surrounded by a group of powerful subordinates.

    Instead, he felt like he was roaming through the dark jungle alone, having come across the king of beasts on the prowl. These so-called subordinates were merely a flock of noisy crows, while he himself had actually turned into a pig.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. ¡°Sir, the tiger bones you ordered are here. They¡¯re truly delicious.¡± She licked her lips. ¡°Though, I¡¯d much rather find out about how you taste.¡±

    Heretic Baitun tore off his apron and swung his kitchen knife, pointing towards Li Qingshan. ¡°Butcher him! Butcher him!¡±

    Under the power of the Heretic God, the entire Taotie parlour sprung alive. The walls wriggled and oozed with blood, splitting open to form gaping mouths.

    He bellowed viciously, ¡°This is my food hall, my demon capital! Only I eat people! No one! No one can eat even a piece of me!¡±

    With his order, the Demon Emperors rushed over. The Demon Sovereigns did not dare to disobey him either and began to move as well, mostly just to put on an act. From the moment he appeared, the newcomer had not given off any aura that threatened him. They were unable to understand why Heretic God Baitun was so furious, and perhaps even a little panicked?

    The lanterns suddenly dimmed. Pitch-black demon qi gushed out in the narrow space, surging towards Li Qingshan like the tide.

    Li Qingshan suddenly opened his mouth and swallowed all of the demon qi. His chest rose up, turning into a Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar.

    Roar!

    The violent, sharp roar washed away everything.

    The Demon Emperors received the full brunt of the blow. They did not even hear the roar properly before they were pulverised in the attack.

    However, that was only the beginning. It seemed like he was trying to vent all of his conflict and gloominess.

    The expressions of the Demon Sovereigns changed drastically, powering their demon hearts desperately to fend off the attack with demon qi. Some tried demonifying to resist the attack with their tough bodies.

    However, all of their so-called defences were no different from paper. Their tough demon bodies were no different from a splat of minced meat.

    The tiger¡¯s roar tore through everything, pouring into their bodies forcefully and blowing up the demon hearts.

    After breaking through the sixth heavenly tribulation, Li Qingshan¡¯s Qilin Transformation had broken through several layers, so his strength had progressed yet again. Demon Sovereigns had ceased to be his opponent a long time ago.

    However, it still should have been impossible for him to kill them in a single, simple strike. If he were a regular Human Immortal, it was even more impossible for him to do something like that. This was the depths of the Demon domain after all. Just the suppression from the laws of the Demon domain was unbearable.

    However, he was special. Even without devouring the Black Sun Demon Heart, the blood of the qilin continued to flow through his body.

    The demonic heavens constantly beckoned for him. In particular, when he unleashed his abilities and techniques at full strength, he could hear the wind gently call to him, ¡°My proud son, my beloved son¡­¡±

    With just a single strike, he slew all the Demon Emperors and annihilated all the Demon Sovereigns.

    However, none of them were the prey of the tiger. His scarlet eyes remained fixed on Heretic God Baitun the entire time. The tiger¡¯s roar was for him as well. As the roar rang through the air and the demon hearts exploded, he lunged over.

    ¡°How is this possible!? Who are you?¡±

    Heretic God Baitun was basically unable to believe his eyes. Even for him, he could not kill so many Demon Sovereigns in a single strike. However, when he met the scarlet eyes, he seemed to be gripped by a nightmare, leaving him utterly shocked and immobilised.

    The crows had dispersed. The tiger now hunted the pig!

    However, Heretic God Baitun just was not a pig at the end of the day. In the moment of life and death, he swung the kitchen knife right towards him.

    His kitchen knife was no regular arcane treasure, but a spiritual treasure bestowed upon him by Demon God Taotie. Even Human Immortals would avoid clashing with it directly. He thought viciously, You want to use all your strength like this? Watch as I split you in two!

    At this moment, the tiger opened its fangs. An ancient, bronze sword was drawn from its sheath. The sun, moon, and stars, and the mountains, rivers, and trees were all there, spiralling away endlessly.

    Heretic God Baitun shivered inside. Without any hesitation, he stowed his blade away and left, but it was already too late.

    Spurt! With a flash of red, his knife-wielding arm flew into the air.

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, not to mention he was in the enemy¡¯s territory, facing a Heretic God.

    However, even a Heretic God was unable to fend off a full-powered lunge from him.

    With a great boom, the Demon Sovereigns¡¯ demon hearts exploded completely, blowing up the entire building and swallowing several dozen skyscrapers in the surroundings, dispersing the gloomy clouds in the sky.

 Chapter 1578

    The clouds opened, and the moon burst through.

    The moon was particularly large, hanging in the sky like a silver plate, leaving the place even brighter than daytime.

    The demon city shook, and the buildings swayed. The demonfolk all rushed onto the streets, gazing at the moon in shock. This sight truly was rare.

    Li Qingshan stood on the ruins, grasping the ancient bronze sword in a reverse grip in one hand as he clutched a broken arm in the other.

    Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit, not to mention he was facing a Heretic God, even if he just looked like a pig.

    Even a vicious tiger would not dare to be careless with a wild boar from the mountains.

    He did not hold back at all, striking to kill right from the beginning. He understood the power of the ancient bronze sword the best. If Heretic God Baitun had responded just slightly slower, all that remained now would be a pig¡¯s head.

    ¡°Sure enough, Heretic Gods aren¡¯t that easy to kill.¡±

    He casually tossed aside the arm, except Qian Rongzhi caught it conveniently. ¡°Don¡¯t just throw it away. This is a Heretic God¡¯s arm.¡± Afterwards, she took a bite and sweet blood filled her mouth.

    ¡°Apart from the customs clearance documents, is there any other way?¡±

    ¡°There is, but you better deal with this pig first!¡± Qian Rongzhi buried her head in the pork trotter as she pointed at the sky.

    Li Qingshan followed her finger and gazed out. Heretic God Baitun hovered above the moon. His pig face was extremely twisted, gazing at Li Qingshan and the ancient bronze sword in his hand resentfully. His face contorted again and again, unable to disguise his fright.

    ¡°Who exactly are you!?¡±

    Actually, Heretic Gods and Human Immortals were the same. Their strongest aspect was their understanding and usage of laws. Even if they could not control a certain law as they pleased like true god and True Immortals, it was enough to completely separate them from regular cultivators.

    And Heretic Gods in the Demon domain were like Battle Gods in the Asura realm. They received the blessings and protection of the world, so their battle prowess far surpassed Human Immortals. Even the Six Ding, the Six Jia, and the sangharama guardians did not dare to venture deep into the Demon domain alone.

    However, in that instant of the clash, the demonic heavens had abandoned Heretic God Baitun, this proper Heretic God and son by blood, placing all of its blessings on this man of unknown origins, even suppressing his senses against him, where he only noticed the life-threatening danger in the final moment.

    Even with how chaotic and wicked the will of the Demon domain had always been, something like this was simply inconceivable!

    ¡°You¡¯re actually not running,¡± Li Qingshan said in surprise.

    The slash earlier had already determined the outcome of their battle. Even if he failed to cut off that pig head, the severed arm would not be growing back.

    Heretic God Baitun had sensed this as well. In the past, a wound like this would be absolutely nothing. He could even directly control his severed arm, which would be even more powerful than an arcane treasure. Yet right now, he was unable to sense the existence of the severed arm at all, forced to watch helplessly as it was eaten.

    Qian Rongzhi greedily slurped up the flesh on the remaining little finger, praising towards the sky, ¡°This truly is sir Heretic God Baitun¡¯s ¡®hand¡¯iwork. It¡¯s delicious!¡± As she said that, she even burped.

    She was not mocking him. Perhaps because Heretic God Baitun¡¯s flesh had absorbed the essence of nature, it was extremely delicious and possessed a tremendous amount of energy.

    Originally, she had been reduced to skin and bones from the feast, yet after eating the pork arm, she actually plumped up like she had been pumped full of air, becoming a great, fat woman. Her thin waist had become the thickest part of her body, almost two metres across. Even her lower half, the snake body, became round.

    And, the blessings from the demonic heavens became even heavier, confirming that she was the officiator of this sacrifice.

    Heretic God Baitun was absolutely furious. He had accumulated that power through hard work, amounting to at least ten percent of all of his powers, yet it had just been taken away like this. It was all the man and the strange sword¡¯s fault!

    However, when he gazed at the ancient bronze sword, his beady eyes became filled with greed again. As long as he obtained the sword and offered it up to Demon God Taotie, he would definitely be compensated on fold.

    With an idea, he cleared his throat. ¡°Hmph hmph, this is my demon city, so why would I run?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not running, then come and fight!¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted the ancient bronze sword again and also felt rather troubled inside. He had failed to butcher this pig earlier. If the pig suddenly scampered off, devoting himself to playing hide-and-seek with him, killing him really would not be easy. However, if he just let him be, he would probably tail them, leading to countless problems and preventing him from infiltrating Qingqi mountain.

    After all, the higher their cultivation, the more difficult it was to kill them. Even when he possessed an absolute advantage, he could not end them so easily, unless he threw out another mountain, but it would just be for dealing with someone like him. It was not like before when he was faced with the Unadorned Ghost Immortal¡¯s sneak attack, where their cultivation differed by an entire major realm. He really did not find it worth it. He felt like all of his cultivation had been for nothing.

    ¡°Hold on!¡± Heretic God Baitun said confidently, ¡°You¡¯ve come to pledge yourself to the Demon domain, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    In the history of the Demon domain, many Human Immortals had entered the Demon domain to escape from the cycle of rebirth, becoming Heretic Gods. To many cultivators, all living creatures were ants. There was no such thing as good or evil. Everything was for the sake of survival. Survival was everything.

    As a result, Heretic God Baitun thought Li Qingshan was the same. That was the most logical conclusion. Otherwise, there was no reason for him to venture so deeply into the Demon domain. The entire Ming cult and this woman were probably all chess pieces he had cast out, using this special method to obtain the blessings of the demonic heavens so that he could completely become a Heretic God. If that was the case, everything made sense.

    Pigs were not actually stupid. Instead, they were smarter than most animals. However, this ¡°tiger¡± could not be understood with regular logic.

    Li Qingshan thought of an idea too and said without showing anything, ¡°So what if I am?¡±

    ¡°Regardless of your past identity, hmph hmph, you all have to start from scratch in the Demon domain. I am your senior.¡±

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He even wanted to laugh a little. ¡°Just a pig-head like you is my senior?¡±

    Heretic God Baitun said proudly, ¡°I am the greatest Heretic God under Demon God Taotie¡¯s command. Hmph hmph. Sir Taotie could abandon everyone but me. Do you think I have the right to be your senior?¡±

    ¡°Cu the bullshit. You¡¯re not fighting or running, so what do you want?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, do you know just how great of a crime you¡¯ve already committed? I only need to go to the Jinyun Food hall and report you¡­¡± Heretic God Baitun wanted to clasp his hands at the sky, but he realised he was missing an arm, so he lowered his other arm awkwardly. ¡°Sir Taotie would never spare you!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Demon God Taotie!¡± Within his frantic expression was a hint of fear.

    Qian Rongzhi was unable to watch for any longer after a single glance. Their acting was simply horrendous.

    Heretic God Baitun advised him. ¡°As long as you offer up that sword and then hand over that woman, I¡¯ll spare you. I¡¯ll even put in a good word in front of great god Taotie for you, so you¡¯re accepted under the banner of the Jinyun Food hall. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Not the woman!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly. Otherwise, why would he have run all the way here to save her?

    Heretic God Baitun acted like he considered it. ¡°Alright, then just the sword! This isn¡¯t for me. You¡¯ll be offering it up to sir Taotie as a meeting gift.¡±

    Li Qingshan acted like he was conflicted. ¡°Alright then!¡± He offered up the ancient bronze sword with both hands, but he thought, This time, I¡¯ll definitely cut off that pig head!

    .

    Heretic God Baitun descended from the sky slowly. A smear of complacency flashed through his beady eyes as he thought, Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ll use against me without the sword!

    In their eyes, they were already dead men respectively, or more accurately, a dead pig and a dead tiger.

    Qian Rongzhi just shut her eyes, refusing to watch their horrible attempt to outperform each other. Her face was filled with disdain.

 Chapter 1579

    Li Qingshan silently tightened his grip around the ancient bronze sword, ready to launch a lightning-fast strike and end this for good.

    Heretic God Baitun descended slowly. His aura as a Heretic God spread out, blanketing the surroundings and obscuring the moon. The hundred million demonfolk all knelt down on the ground when they sensed this aura.

    This was the dignity of a Heretic God, only second to the twelve Demon Gods, above the lives of billions.

    Qian Rongzhi smiled. In her eyes, he was just a pig, a wild pig that feared the violent tiger and tried his best to bluff. She communicated to Li Qingshan, ¡°End it quickly.¡±

    With a pork bone, she turned around and dove into the underground system. As long as she digested this Heretic God¡¯s power and completed the ritual, offering up a pig head to the demonic heavens, the blessings she received would be enough to pave her path to Heretic God.

    That was unless Li Qingshan fell in battle, and she would have to die with him. However, this was the Demon domain. The demonic heavens probably did not even show as much care towards the twelve Demon Gods as him. This definitely was not some Heretic God¡¯s homeground.

    Heretic God Baitun descended half-way and suddenly stopped. ¡°Toss the sword over.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Why?¡± Li Qingshan furrowed his brows, expressing his confusion.

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. I told you to toss it over, so toss it over! Otherwise, I¡¯m leaving right now and reporting this to Demon God Taotie in the Jinyun Food hall!¡±

    Heretic God Baitun threatened seriously, but he was clearly putting on a front, afraid to get too close to Li Qingshan. If he entered the range of the vicious tiger again, he would probably be losing much more than an arm.

    Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile. ¡°No, I can¡¯t toss it over. This sword is extraordinary. You have to come and retrieve it yourself!¡±

    Heretic God Baitun said furiously, ¡°You think I¡¯m an idiot?¡±

    ¡°Dear gosh, you haven¡¯t checked yourself in the mirror before?¡± Li Qingshan gasped in surprise. This pig face had nothing to do with cleverness no matter how he looked at him.

    Heretic God Baitun¡¯s face contorted as he held back his fury. ¡°I think you¡¯re up to something else. Hmph hmph, are you going to toss it over or not?¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°Young man, you need to give to gain. Hmph hmph, if you can¡¯t even give up a mere sword, how will Demon God Taotie accept you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be feeding it to a dog, no, a pig, and I¡¯ll lose it for good!¡±

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, hmph hmph, then I can only leave.¡±

    Heretic God Baitun acted like he was about to leave. Li Qingshan suddenly said helplessly, ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll give it to you. Catch.¡±

    As he said that, he threw the ancient bronze sword up in the air as hard as he could.

    Heretic God Baitun thought he had succeeded, holding back his great joy. You fool, it¡¯ll be your turn to die soon!

    He spread his fingers and reached towards the incoming ancient bronze sword, except it passed through him. He had clearly caught it, but he caught nothing. His heart fell through as well.

    When he looked at Li Qingshan again, he was still standing where he was, sneering away. ¡°You pig, you have a huge head and a thick neck and you¡¯re trying to pass off as Zhuge Liang?¡±

    TL: Zhuge Liang is a very famous strategist from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

    Under Heretic God Baitun¡¯s gaze, his surroundings rippled.

    Now that all of the innate abilities of the Spirit Turtle Tranformation had melded together, the once-great innate ability, the Watermirror¡¯s Image, became even more powerful, real and fake, fake and real, impossible to distinguish between.

    ¡°Oh no!¡±

    ¡°Eat my sword!¡±

    A bellow rang out from behind Heretic God Baitun which possessed a tiger¡¯s roar, leaving him numb and fear-stricken. A pair of scarlet eyes suddenly lit up in the air, gripping the sheath in one hand and the hilt in the other, drawing out the sword.

    However, he did not see the sword¡¯s edge or flash. Even Li Qingshan¡¯s figure vanished. A wondrous sensation of tranquility overcame him.

    Only the bright moon peered through the clouds, sprinkling down with light that banded together in a single streak, falling on his huge pig head.

    The world hid the sword. The sun, moon, and stars, and the mountains, rivers, and trees, were all swords.

    The name of this sword was the Sword of the Moon.

    With a flash of inspiration, Li Qingshan struck out conveniently, but it naturally conformed with the laws of the Demon domain, or perhaps in other words, the laws of the Demon domain conformed to his will.

    The strike was like a heavenly tribulation, unavoidable and inescapable.

    A sliver of realisation came to him. So this is the true power of this sword! I¡¯m too weak. If it wasn¡¯t for the will of the world¡¯s cooperation, I¡¯d be completely incapable of wielding this sword. I¡¯m basically wielding a legendary weapon as a beating stick. I¡¯ll probably have to reach Merging the Void with the Dao in order to unleash all of its might! Who exactly was the man draped in bear skin?

    At this moment, it did not even seem like he was wielding the sword, but the sword drawing the laws of the world and pushing him on. It did not take any effort from him at all. He even could spare the effort to become lost in his thoughts.

    Even he would struggle to fend off a strike like that. In his eyes, Heretic God Baitun was already a dead pig.

    However, Heretic God Baitun refused to just die here. He let out a shrill squeal, and a pair of long tusks extended out from his mouth. Layers upon layers of black hair sprouted on his back and neck as he charged forwards without any regard.

    The hairs were his strongest defence. Regular arcane treasures would struggle to leave a mark. Even if True Immortals attacked him, they would struggle to kill him if they struck his back.

    However, the moon hung high above with its light pouring down like water, endless, unstoppable, and all-permeating.

    His bristles were shed as they rustled. The moonlight silently penetrated his thick hide, seeming into his bones and soul, filled with deep coldness.

    This sword was the Sword of Supreme Yin.

    Wherever Heretic God Baitun went, the moonlight followed him.

    No matter how grand and extravagant, regular swordsmanship would always encounter moments when it was not enough.

    However, this strike seemed to be endless. The efforts of man could run out at times, but the moon always hung above. Moonlight was endless, so when did it ever run out? The laws of the world constantly revolved, never coming to a halt.

    Everything in the world was for him to use.

    Heretic God Baitun squealed, ¡°You forced me to do this! Come, my slaves! Give me all of your power!¡±

    Under his order, the hundred million demonfolk prostrated on the ground and chanted his name loudly.

    At that instant, hundreds of thousands of columns of red light rose into the air.

    He was also a god, while this was his land. There were thousands of temples throughout the Demon domain that enshrined his statue, accumulating a tremendous amount of power of belief.

    This power did not belong to him himself. From a certain perspective, he was only managing it on Demon God Taotie¡¯s behalf. If he used it and failed to replenish it, he would definitely face punishment. However, now that he faced death, he could no longer care so much anymore, mobilising it all for a battle to the death with Li Qingshan.

    The columns of light surged into his body, making him swell up madly and fending off the moonlight. Even his severed hand condensed again through this power.

    The gathered will of the populace could trump the heavens. Only the will of the people could stand a chance against the laws of the world. It was no different in the Demon domain.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to butcher you!¡±

    So is this the case?

    Li Qingshan had a thought, which was as clear and cool as the moonlight. He suddenly recalled the half-human, half-dragon man from the scene of the Battle of Mending Heaven and understood how he felt.

    The living creatures were all ants. There was nothing pitiable about them. He seemed to coexist with the sun and moon, looking down from an extremely high altitude. The colossal demon city was like an ant nest. Its existence was completely meaningless. Even if he stepped over it, it was nothing.

    With a thought, the moonlight on Heretic God Baitun suddenly dispersed, turning into thousands of strands that rained down on the demon capital.

    Between the skyscrapers, tens of thousand demonfolk gathered on a main street, constantly prostrating and praying. Moonlight swept across the place.

    All of the worshipping demonfolk froze at that moment as if time had stopped.

    In the next moment, they all collapsed on the ground, leading to a series of thuds. Corpses littered the land. They were all dead.

    The moonlight gathered and dispersed. A few strands would be gathered sometimes, freezing those statues in the temples before separating and clearing the foundations of the faith, or in other words, demonfolk.

    Heretic God Baitun was dumbfounded. He trembled. ¡°I-is he going to kill all of these demonfolk?¡±

    Even though he had grown accustomed to slaughter, such a ruthless sight where he just cleaned them up coldly still made him tremble. It made him understand that he was not as vicious as he imagined himself to be.

    He swung his newly-condensed arm, wanting to fight back, but what was he supposed to fight back against? The moon? Or the demonic heavens!

    Li Qingshan vanished, present everywhere once again, moving with the laws.

    At that instant, he was the heavens!

    There were no gods under the heavens.

 Chapter 1580

    In the pitch-black sewerage system, a giant snake curled up as her scales shone with a gorgeous sheen. The blessings from the heavens poured into her like a river that had burst its banks. The giant snake swelled up and shed its scales, such that even the colossal drain was almost not large enough for her.

    The scale of the ritual this time had far surpassed her expectations. It was no longer just limited to the Taotie parlour. The entire demon city became a sacrificial altar, with a hundred million demonfolk as offerings.

    Tsk, I just received a small share of the benefits as the main offeror. If he was willing to become a demonfolk, would becoming a Demon God be difficult at all with the blessings from the demonic heavens I would receive?

    The main offeror was just as the title suggested. They hosted the ritual and dismembered the offerings, praying for protection from the heavens. They were like a junior entertaining a senior, a servant sucking up to their master.

    The son of the heavens, or more commonly known as the son of heaven, was still a son after all. That was why the son of heaven always needed to make offerings to heaven through the ages.

    At this moment, Li Qingshan had truly become the existence of ¡°heaven¡±. He was the one who received all the offerings. He was the one that the entire ritual was devoted to.

    However, his body did not possess a demon heart, so he was not a demonfolk, which made it impossible for him to accept the blessings. All he wanted to do was win this battle with the laws of the world and the sword in his hand.

    Heretic God Baitun continued to struggle, trying all sorts of methods and using various kinds of techniques. All of them possessed tremendous might, enough to move mountains, yet they seemed so useless now. His face was twisted viciously, unable to hide his fear.

    He gazed at the sky and suddenly condensed all of his power in his mouth, shooting a dark-red shockwave at the moon in the sky.

    It was not a random act. He had found the tracks that the laws followed, attempting to intercept the might of this sword.

    And he succeeded. The moonlight dimmed as a result. The moment he demonstrated ravishing joy, the moonlight brightened again.

    It was possible to cut through water, but it would only continue flowing. Even if he could sever rivers, how could he stop the interchange of the moon and the sun, the cycle of the four seasons?

    Li Qingshan even ushered the laws casually. The dark-red shockwave rose to the very top before suddenly turning around and hurtling towards Heretic God Baitun.

    This power originally belonged to him, so under the guide of this connection, it was completely unavoidable. Heretic God Baitun took it to the face.

    With a great boom, he was smashed into the ground. Several hundred buildings were flattened by the resulting shockwave as a mushroom cloud rose up in the city.

    Heretic God Baitun vomited up blood. One of his long tusks had been snapped off.

    It was just like how when people spat at the heavens, the spit would land on their faces in the end.

    Heretic God Baitun despaired. He was like a pig tied to the sacrificial altar. No matter how he struggled and squealed, it was useless. The source of his power, the foundations of his faith, were being rapidly destroyed.

    In a single instant, several tens of million demonfolk had died. Even the losses from the two world wars of Li Qingshan¡¯s past life were only so much.

    And as time flowed and the moon shifted, the number continued to rise.

    Regardless of their age or gender, regardless of their moral alignment, everything occurred under the will of nature, but Li Qingshan was completely unfazed as if they were just a number, just ants.

    He did not have to act like he was punishing the wicked either. There was no so-called fury or hatred. It did not even have anything to do with the qilin¡¯s path of nature. He only wanted to win this battle. That was all.

    Li Qingshan suddenly heard a sound. It was indistinct and ungraspable.

    He remembered what it was. It was a dragon¡¯s cry! It did not come from the outside world, but the depths of his soul, which was where the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine resided.

    Out of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, apart from the unknown transformation, there were a total of four divine transformations and four demonic transformations. He had comprehended three of each, with one remaining for each.

    He had guessed a long time ago what the final divine transformation would be. Unfortunately, he never came across the opportunity to comprehend it.

    ¡°Perhaps now is the time!¡±

    Li Qingshan fished out the dragon pearl he had obtained from Lin Xuan and ingested it. The dragon¡¯s cry immediately became much clearer, but it was still broken, not enough for him to truly comprehend it.

    ¡°What else is missing? Is my comprehension not enough?¡±

    Then he used the letter of wind he had obtained from the Wind-coursing Great Sage to enter the attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception. This state depleted his powers severely. Even a Human Immortal could be drained dry after a short while.

    However, he was currently one with the world. The blessings of the demonic heavens were endless. He was unable to convert it into his own power, such that it would dissipate once he departed from this state, but just like the power of belief, it could all be used.

    At that instant, the laws of the world became extremely clear. How the sun and moon interchanged and how the seasons cycled were all laid out right before his eyes, within arm¡¯s reach.

    He was already near the state of true gods and True Immortals. The only difference was he had not truly grasped the laws of the world. He could only wield them through the ancient bronze sword and the blessings of the demonic heavens.

    Knowledge could not be directly converted into power, but knowledge was the source of all power.

    By now, Heretic God Baitun no longer had much fighting spirit. He erupted with a bloody mist, using the Blood Escape Shift to pierce through space and shift over to the Jinyun Food hall.

    He even left behind a threat. ¡°The Demon God won¡¯t spare you!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan clearly saw how the laws of the world operated when he used the technique. It did not primarily depend on his own power. Instead, it was similar to a remote control from his previous life, where pressing a button would transmit a signal, making the television change channels. People who had never seen TVs before would basically find it absolutely wondrous, completely unable to understand how he managed to do it.

    If the world was a huge television with its internal structure billions of times more complex, then the so-called technique was finding a signal that could respond to it and pressing down gently.

    Li Qingshan extended a finger and interrupted the signal.

    .

    Heretic God Baitun¡¯s figure blurred before clearing up again. The threat he left behind even still echoed in the surroundings, but all that remained in the heart of the person who issued the threat was deep fear.

    At this moment, the hundred million demonfolk were all dead. The temples had all been destroyed.

    All that remained was the final offering.

    Li Qingshan lifted his arms again, and the sky full of moonlight gathered together. The moon was startlingly large as if it was falling out of the sky.

    Heretic God Baitun collapsed. He knelt down and banged his head against the ground. ¡°Spare me, great immortal! Spare me!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the moonlight draped down as a sword¡¯s edge. The pig¡¯s head fell to the ground. The ritual was complete, and the blessings descended.

    Heretic God Baitun died, dying no differently from a regular demonfolk.

    Before the heavens, Heretic Gods were ants too.

    A large snake burst out of the ground and swallowed the head and body in a single gulp. She said to the sky, ¡°Taotie will be here very soon!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not seem to hear her. Having dealt with the trouble, he could finally place all of his focus on himself, concentrating on the dragon¡¯s cry.

    The dragon¡¯s cry was still extremely soft. In the blink of an eye, it rang through the entire small world, and the figure of the dragon appeared, rising and transforming, roaming around in there, except it still was not particularly realistic.

    He desperately tried to capture it, but he always failed.

    Suddenly, he recalled the grand scene of the Battle of Mending Heaven again. He moved his gaze away from empress N¨¹wa, concentrating on the half-human, half-dragon man.

    If empress N¨¹wa was a loving mother, then he was like a strict father. He did not seem to particularly like that child of his, humans, but he loved all members of the Dragon clan.

    I too am an heir of the dragon!

    All of the sensations melded together into a strange feeling before turning into a sentence that he could understand.

    The Divine Dragon Treads the Heavens, Understanding the Fortunes of Nature!

    With that, the final divine transformation suddenly came to him!

    At that instant, the mighty dragon¡¯s cry boomed through the world.

    Li Qingshan had finally comprehended the last divine transformation, the Divine Dragon Transformation.

    Its cultivation method was called the Divine Dragon¡¯s Path of Qian Yuan.

 Chapter 1581

    Li Qingshan¡¯s mind was still fixed on the grand scene of the Battle of Mending Heaven, fixed on the half-human, half-dragon man the entire time. He had already realised who he was.

    ¡°Sage-king Fuxi.¡±

    As the ancient saying went, ¡°Fuxi possessed a body of scales, while N¨¹wa possessed a body of a snake. One was half-human, half-dragon, while the other was half-human, half snake. They were both primordial gods, as well as brother and sister, husband and wife.

    Fuxi was also the father god, as well as the dragon god.

    Chaos was the primordial universe. From the primordial universe birthed the supreme ultimate. From the supreme ultimate birthed the two poles. From the two poles birthed the four symbols. Fuxi drew the eight trigrams, which then produced the sixty-four hexagrams. The book was known as the Classic of Changes.

    Among the sixty-four hexagrams, the first hexagram was the Qian hexagram. Qian was heaven.

    The hexagram was labelled with the words, ¡°Yuan, Xiang, Li, Zhen¡±. That was the basis of all hexagrams.

    ¡°I name it Qian, the founding basis of all things, encompassing the heavens and all existences.¡±

    The birth of Qian¡¯s Yuan and the beginning of all all encompassed the heavenly Dao.

    The Divine Dragon¡¯s Path of Qian Yuan encompassed its true meaning. That was the heavenly path that belonged to Sage-king Fuxi. It was the heavens of all heavens, the gods of all gods. Its very nature far surpassed the demonic heavens.

    Although Li Qingshan was able to kill Heretic God Baitun so easily, it was not because he was powerful enough to crush Heretic Gods. Instead, it was because of the sword in his hand, enforcing punishments on behalf of the heavens¡ªheaven trumped man. So what if you were an existence of creation? So what if you were a sentient being? Before the heavenly Dao, you were all worthless.

    After all, manpower ran out at times, but the laws of nature were constant. They would not change under the rule of a wise king or the tyranny of a despot. As a result, man trumping heaven was very rare. Heaven trumping man was the norm.

    He was aware that it was completely impossible for him to come into contact with the heavenly Dao with his current cultivation, so he obviously could not comprehend the Divine Dragon Transformation.

    Under normal circumstances, he had to undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation and completely grasp a certain law before he could comprehend the Divine Dragon¡¯s Path of Qian Yuan.

    But under these coincidences and circumstances, he sacrificed a hundred million demonfolk, offered up a Heretic God, destroyed a demon city, and destroyed a faith, completing a grand ritual of ¡°offering to heaven¡±, which allowed him to successfully activate the Divine Dragon Transformation.

    And unlike the initial difficulties of the Qilin Transformation, the Divine Dragon Transformation immediately rose up upon awakening in an unstoppable manner, stabilising at the first layer very soon.

    According to his past experiences, the first layers of the transformations were all very weak. However, the Divine Dragon Transformation was an exception. With just this single layer, it actually carried his entire cultivation forwards.

    The dragon¡¯s cry boomed through the small world. A black dragon soared through the air, giving off mist, turning into the heavens. Everything else lay under the heavens.

    The entire small world seemed to find its backbone, such that it became vastly different. In the past, the demonic and divine transformations constantly balanced against one another. Even after reaching a stable state now, he still needed to control them during intense battle.

    If he wanted to unleash his greatest battle prowess, there would often just be two choices, either using a single transformation or concentrating on not breaking the balance.

    However, it was completely different now. Regardless of the situation, he could use the limits of his power, without any need to maintain the balance any further. Even if he only used a single transformation, the other transformations would provide him with powerful support.

    For example, when he used the Tiger Demon Transformation in the past, the small world only maintained a base for him. He still primarily relied on the Tiger Demon Transformation¡¯s powers to fight.

    Yet now, it was like a ruler had appeared, able to unleash the might of his entire country to assist his armies in distant lands. Even if this ruler was still very weak, unable to control everything properly, the country was still far more powerful than any of its autonomous states. It had gone from feudal fiefdoms to a central empire all of a sudden. His battle prowess skyrocketed.

    If I had reached this state before I entered the Taotie parlour, I would have been able to cut off Heretic God Baitun¡¯s pig head in a single slash. It would have spared me all this trouble.

    And, even if he just looked at its own power, the Divine Dragon Transformation was probably the strongest and most extreme transformation of them all.

    The path of heaven was also the path of the dragon.

    The Qian hexagram had a total of six monograms.

    First of the full monogram, the dragon lurks, hiding its talents.

    Second of the full monogram, the dragon delves in the fields.

    Third of the full monogram, toiling away laboriously.

    Fourth of the full monogram, lays in the abyss.

    Fifth of the full monogram, the dragon soars through the sky.

    Highest of the full monogram, soaring too high results in disaster.

    Coupled with the last monogram of the Qian hexagram, the dragon¡¯s head hidden, cycling back around.

    The labels to the monograms were all represented by the dragon, manifesting the cycle of the heavenly Dao.

    The path of heaven was also the path of the dragon, both hard and soft, in utmost strength and utmost prosperity, symbolising the supreme Dao, the supreme laws, the supreme power.

    Li Qingshan had seen dragons in his life. He had slain dragons as well. Only at this moment did he learn that those so-called ¡°dragons¡± were all fakes. They only possessed the appearance of dragons, yet they lacked the spirit of the dragon.

    ¡°Hmph, a genetically modified bunch!¡±

    Unlike other natural divine creatures, the bloodline of the dragon was widespread, just like how there was the story about the nine sons of the dragon. Nine was the largest of numbers, representing a tremendous amount, well beyond measure.

    As a result, these descendants, regardless of what they were originally¡ªhumans, snakes, horses, carps, or mantix shrimps¡ªas long as they activated the dragon¡¯s blood, they could all grow a pair of dragon horns and become covered in dragon scales, leaping over the dragon¡¯s gate and becoming known as a ¡°true dragon¡±.

    Buddhism even had a Dragon Transformation pond. Regardless of its origins, just taking a bath there was enough to produce so-called ¡°dragons¡± en-masse.

    He did not even have to go that far. Just the Heavenly Tome of True Dragon that the Myriad sect possessed was specially for creating the likes of these.

    As the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, Li Qingshan had once gone out of his way to study it, wanting to deduce the Divine Dragon Transformation from it, but he obviously came up with nothing in the end.

    In hindsight, it sure was hilarious. It was like trying to learn how to be an emperor from notes taken by a village chief. Extrapolating from the village chief¡¯s life, the emperor probably used a golden carrying pole instead of a wooden one.

    Originally, he thought the natural divine creatures like the spirit turtle, qilin, and phoenix had all declined, with only the Dragon clan extremely prosperous. As it seemed now, that was not the case at all.

    ¡°The dragon has probably declined as well! Just how many of those dragons eaten by kunpeng are true dragons?¡±

    Dragons should have been sovereigns that ruled over the world, yet when the world split apart, anyone dared to claim the title of emperor, posing as a true dragon.

    Dragons could shrink and expand, could rise and hide. They could be large enough to usher the clouds and exhale mist, small enough to hide within a mustard seed. They could rise up through the cosmos and hide within the raging waves. The entity known as a dragon could be regarded as a hero of the world.

    Among the heroes of the world, there were only two. Out of the figures in the Three Kingdoms, those worthy of the title ¡°dragons¡± were without a doubt Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande, yet neither of them managed to conquer the world. They had just laid in the abyss, failing to soaring through the sky.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s Divine Dragon Transformation had only just reached the first layer, and it already began showing signs of breaking through. It was clearly so powerful, yet practising it was so easy as well.

    With a thought, he came to a realisation, So I began practising this Divine Dragon Transformation many years ago.

    Along the way, his aspirations lay beyond the Nine Heavens. He faced wind and snow, countless difficulties and endless perils, defeating all the powerful enemies.

    The heavens operated firmly and resolutely, so the ruler had to be the same, constantly striving for improvement with endless determination. His journey to the Nine Heavens was the journey of a divine dragon.

    He had conformed to the spirit of the dragon a long time ago. In terms of compatibility to his personality, it far surpassed all other divine transformations, completely on par with the demonic transformations. The reason why he had never comprehended it was because time was not ripe. The dragon had just been lurking, hiding its talents.

    ¡°It¡¯s very deep into spring and dragons change with time. Springtime is like when talents achieve their ambitions, wandering the world unopposed.¡±

    ¡°Second of the full monogram, the dragon delves in the fields. I wonder when the dragon will soar through the sky!¡±

 Chapter 1582

    Li Qingshan sheathed the sword, immediately leaving the state of becoming one with the heavens. Under the glow of the moon, he descended from above, landing on the terrace of a skyscraper.

    ¡°Sure enough, with my own cultivation and comprehension, I still can¡¯t grasp the laws even after comprehending the Divine Dragon Transformation coupled with the blessings of the demonic heavens. I¡¯ll have to undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation and reach Forging Soul back into the Void at the very least.¡±

    ¡°And if I want to reach the ninth layer of the Divine Dragon¡¯s Path of Qian Yuan, even true god and True Immortal are insufficient. I¡¯ll have to undergo the eighth heavenly tribulation and reach the supreme realm of Merging the Void with the Dao. I¡¯ll have to become a Great Sage!¡±

    Thinking up to there, he gazed at the sword in his hand in wonder. The sword was a little too mighty. Let alone regular arcane treasures, even the three mountains that the Mountain-moving Great Sage gave him came nowhere close. Probably only the Mountain-moving tablet could rival it, and he had a feeling that the ancient bronze sword was still slightly stronger.

    ¡°Who exactly is that man draped in bear skin? And what¡¯s the Youxiong tribe about? He even said he would bestow the entire land to me, but who has the right to do that?¡±

    He suddenly raised his head, gazing into the depths of the sky, through the deep, distant demonic heavens, until he reached beyond the Nine Heavens.

    He had once found it difficult to describe the man. Now that he comprehended the Divine Dragon Transformation, he suddenly discovered that the man was not an elusive dragon, but one that soared through the sky.

    ¡°Is he a friend? Or an enemy!¡±

    He shook his head, deciding to not think about this for now. He made his way over to the edge of the building. The rain had already stopped, and the whistling night wind blew over the smell of death.

    The demon city became deathly silent. Corpses piled up in the streets and alleyways, male and female, old and young, strewn around and decaying rapidly.

    A flock of crows appeared from somewhere, blanketing the place as a black mass as they fought over the rotting corpses with caws.

    He suddenly felt like beneath his feet was not a city, but a graveyard. The skyscrapers were like gravestones, standing in solitude and communicating their departure that no one cared about.

    Suddenly, the night wind seemed to blow into his arms. His heart trembled.

    At this instant, he was no longer ¡°the heavens¡±, and these demonfolk were no longer just a ¡°number¡±. At the very least, they were still alive the moment before.

    Various emotions trickled to form a great river, turning into a strange sense of shock that slammed against his mind, even making him waver slightly.

    The heavenly Dao was devoid of emotion, but he was still a man.

    They¡¯re just some demonfolk that deserved to die!

    Did they really deserve to die? Even those demonfolk with kindness? And that female demonfolk pregnant with the child? Did the little demonfolk in her belly deserve to die too?

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, unable to answer these questions. He sucked in a deep breath and tried his best to maintain his composure, discarding all of these thoughts. He turned around and asked, ¡°Where are we going off to?¡±

    A colourful, large snake burst out of the ground at a certain time, coiling around the skyscraper and extending her head to the terrace, flickering her forked tongue with hisses.

    Qian Rongzhi sensed his changes, but she did not comment on it. She only said, ¡°If we can¡¯t make it through customs, then only one path remains¡­¡±

    ¡°Where do you want to go?¡±

    Suddenly, a voice boomed through the sky, dignified, icy-cold, and imposing. Divine might filled the surroundings.

    Caw! The crows took to the skies with a ruffle, furiously circling between the skyscrapers and crying out, but they refused to fly any higher.

    Whoosh! The fierce wind lifted up Li Qingshan¡¯s scarlet hair. All he saw were surging winds and clouds in the sky, blotting out the moon in a single instant and looming over the entire demon city.

    In the depths of the demonic clouds was a vague face. It was devoid of any expressions, like a carving of taotie on a great bronze cauldron, outlining the cold eerie face of a beast through the most simple lines possible. It stared straight at Li Qingshan, which made him recall the sensation when he faced the Sangharama God.

    ¡°Demon God Taotie!¡± Qian Rongzhi immediately shrank back into the ground.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed. He had been expecting this. Under the state of being one with the heavens, he had already understood that running was futile. The entire Taotie¡¯s dominion was Demon God Taotie¡¯s territory. Taotie was the true ¡°heavens¡±. His consciousness was omnipresent, such that he could descend anywhere whenever he wanted. As such, even fleeing thousands of kilometres from here was useless.

    If he wanted to leave, he had to face him. He had to disperse the consciousness that Demon God Taotie descended with, and only then would he have a chance at escaping.

    The only thing worth rejoicing over was that Demon God Taotie had only descended with his consciousness. He had not come in person, or it was basically guaranteed death.

    However, that was also because Demon God Taotie was confident enough. He could overwhelm anything and everything with his consciousness. Even Heretic Gods and Human Immortals would not stand a chance.

    As such, it was still almost certain death.

    At this moment, the face of the beast in the sky suddenly sprang alive. He did not fly into a rage and kill Li Qingshan immediately. Instead, he asked with intrigue, ¡°You did all of this?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Li Qingshan answered honestly.

    Lying to a true god was pointless. However, he did silently move the ancient bronze sword behind him. Fortunately, the divine sword was not particularly eye-catching, seeming just like a regular bronze sword most of the time, without giving off any aura.

    He clenched the hilt firmly in one hand, ready to draw it at any moment and fight Taotie to the death.

    ¡°I must admit that I¡¯m very curious about how you did it.¡±

    A Heretic God and a hundred million demonfolk, where they had even mobilised all of their power of belief before death, yet they had still all died.

    ¡°I killed them!¡± Li Qingshan said firmly. He refused to reveal how he did it.

    ¡°Good. Very good!¡± However, Demon God Taotie seemed to be very satisfied with this answer. ¡°However, you killed my cook. I¡¯m missing a cook now.¡±

    Li Qingshan realised, He¡¯s trying to recruit me. So he also thinks I¡¯ve come to become a Heretic God.

    After all, that was the most logical explanation. Otherwise, why would a Human Immortal run into the territory of a Demon God? Were they looking to die?

    In the chaotic and wicked Demon domain, there was absolutely no such thing as friendship and loyalty. To Demon God Taotie, since he had lost a Heretic God, then filling the spot with a stronger one was enough. It was merely the strong preying on the weak. As for these demonfolk, they were like weeds. He would never run out of them, so he did not care at all.

    ¡°Or, you can become a dish. You have no other choice.¡±

    Taotie¡¯s face descended a little further. The hellish might of a god was unbearable.

    ¡°Of course. I understand.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, My objective is Qingqi mountain. Throwing myself at Taotie is pointless. As long as I can make it past this, the customs clearance documents will all be on me too. Once I deal with Qiongqi, what can you do to me? How do you know who¡¯s going to be who¡¯s dish?

    ¡°Yeah, I can consider accepting, but I don¡¯t really know how to cook.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem. State your origins, hmm, full name.¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan.¡± He could not lie before a true god and hiding his identity was pointless, so he just told the truth.

    ¡°Hold on, Li Qingshan? You¡¯re Li Qingshan? The person chosen by the chief?¡±

    Li Qingshan was surprised. ¡°The chief? You mean brother ox?¡±

    Demon God Taotie immediately confirmed it. He declared, ¡°I am of the Jinyun clan, son of Jiang, descendant of the Flame Emperor. You and I are both part of the Shennong tribe. Haha, kid, I order you to come to the Jinyun Food hall immediately. I¡¯m going to invite you to a feast!¡±

    His voice was filled with joy, completely lacking any of the coldness and sternness of a Demon God. Instead, he seemed more like a loving senior, telling his junior to eat at his house. The beast¡¯s face even revealed an expression that resembled a smile.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s jaw almost dropped. If it were not for the fact that he knew Taotie had no reason to lie to him, he basically would have suspected this was some kind of scheme. He did not know what the hell the Jinyun clan was, but he was all too familiar with the words like the Flame Emperor and the Shennong tribe. It revealed all of the answers.

    As well as who brother ox was.

 Chapter 1583

    The Shennong tribe had the ox as their totemic figure, and everyone knew about the story of Shennong Trying the Hundred Herbs. Because he was skilled in agriculture, he was conferred the title of the divine farmer, Shennong. At the same time, he was skilled in medicine as well.

    TL: Shennong is a mythological Chinese ruler.

    Legends had it that Shennong¡¯s appearance was very strange, an ox but with a human body¡ªLi Qingshan guessed that it was probably because he used oxen as a totemic figure and wore a horned helmet. Apart from his head and four limbs, the rest of his body was transparent, which would blacken upon consuming poisonous herbs, allowing him to know immediately. In the end, because he had tried the hundred herbs, he died from accumulating too much poison.

    Li Qingshan was not some great scholar in his past life, but he was still familiar with these classic stories. Holding back his sense of urgency, he asked the taotie beast face in the sky, ¡°Brother ox is Shennong?¡±

    The taotie beast face laughed aloud. ¡°How¡¯s that possible? Shennong is the first group of people created by empress N¨¹wa, our ancestors. It¡¯s because they knew agriculture and medicine that humanity prospered. Afterwards, they were conferred the position as leaders, beginning the Shennong tribe.¡±

    ¡°The Flame Emperor is the name that belongs to the leader, both the leader of the Shennong tribe, as well as the leader of us humans!¡±

    TL: The Flame Emperor, also known as Yandi, is a contemporary of the Yellow Emperor. You can read more about the mythological figure here.

    ¡°Brother ox is the Flame Emperor. The Flame Emperor is brother ox.¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath, trying his best to digest this information, but at least he was not too far off. He was an ancestor anyway. At this moment, he felt like he had returned to his forefathers, holding his fellow comrades¡¯ hands excitedly. He had finally found his organisation!

    Originally, he thought he belonged to the side of revolutionaries. He never expected them to be the orthodoxy according to what Taotie said. However, if that was the case, who was brother ox¡¯s enemy?¡±

    If the Shennong tribe represented humanity, then was the enemy supposed to be the Dragon clan, a continuation of the situation from the Battle of Mending Heaven? The man draped in bear skin did indeed possess the aura of a true dragon soaring through the sky.

    Or perhaps it was later on, a certain great demon king called Chiyou that existed from the renowned Battle of Zhuolu?

    ¡°Sir Taotie, is our enemy the Dragon clan or Chiyou?¡±

    When he heard the word Chiyou, fury immediately appeared on the taotie beast face, followed by a sigh. ¡°Sigh, you really know nothing at all! There are only a handful of true dragons remaining. The ones out in the public are only worthy of being served up to the table as snacks for the alcohol. As for Chiyou, is my true name supposed to be Taotie?¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly taken aback. ¡°You said your surname is Jiang. As for Taotie, it doesn¡¯t seem like something particularly nice.¡± Similar to names like Taowu and Qiongqi, it seemed more like a title with ill-intent, such as king You, king Li, and king Ling.

    TL: The last three are all examples of despotic rulers in Chinese history.

    Taotie fumed, ¡°¡®Chi¡¯ goes without saying. It¡¯s clearly a reference to the ignorant. The ¡®You¡¯ part is the worst. When Cangjie created the written language, everyone receiving the same amount was known as ¡®equal¡¯, or ¡®jun¡¯, a person receiving the share of two was known as ¡®more¡¯, or ¡®duo¡¯, while a person claiming the share of multiple was known as ¡®you¡¯.¡±

    ¡°A person claiming multiple shares of food?¡± Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. He had witnessed the wickedness that the world had to offer, so for a moment, he failed to understand how despicable that was.

    ¡°You don¡¯t understand. In our Shennong tribe, everyone is equal and everything is open to the public. Only then can we band together and work arduously to open up the mountains and forests. The past leaders even blazed a way through the difficulties, going as far as to sacrifice their own lives, which led to the prosperity of humanity. But all of this was usurped by that damned, damned¡­ bastard!¡±

    The taotie beast face in the sky immediately became ferocious, but he did not end up stating the name in the end as if he had qualms.

    Li Qingshan immediately understood. Chiyou was even worse of a title than Taotie or Qiongqi.

    Unlike the strict social structure of humanity right now, where everyone was divided into hierarchical groups, humanity was still very feeble during that ancient time, so equality to everyone and everything open to the public was the most basic and most sacred principle.

    If the leader of a tribe was not only foolish, but improperly allocating everything, then not only were they unworthy of being a leader, they were basically inhuman. If he translated the words ¡°Chiyou¡± into the language of later people, then that was equivalent to an incompetent ruler devoid of morality, and it was a direct translation too. If a tribe leader used ¡°Chiyou¡± as their title, then they really were heartless.

    But why is Taotie so furious? Hold on, don¡¯t tell me¡­

    He suddenly came across a crazy idea. The legends also depicted Chiyou as being with a head of metal, with a head shaped like an ox and a human body, using oxen as his totemic symbol. During the same age, it was impossible for the Shennong tribe to have two leaders¡­

    The ox totem, the Flame Emperor, the unfair blame, usurping, Chiyou, the enemy from the east¡­

    The earth-shaking Battle of Zhuolu probably was not as great and righteous as the legends depicted it to be.

    Before he knew it, the demonic clouds had dispersed and moonlight poured through.

    Under the sky, at the top of the demon city, a man and a god questioned and answered, just like the Questions to Heaven written by that descendant of the Gaoyang clan. Through who knew how many years of blurry history, their identical bloodline and totemic symbol connected them again, listening to the horn from the ancient times that led to the fated battlefield.

    TL: Questions to Heaven is a reference to a compilation of poems written by Qu Yuan.

    ¡°Come to the Jinyun Food hall. I¡¯ll tell you everything. No one can touch a hair on you there.¡±

    The taotie beast face in the sky became gentle once more, like a senior making a promise to his junior on the battlefield, using his body as a shield and his blood for an oath, for the sake of his tribe, for the sake of his clansmen.

    Li Qingshan was already mostly convinced, but once he entered Demon God Taotie¡¯s dwelling and faced him in the flesh, then he would be a sitting duck, completely at his whim.

    ¡°One last question. Why don¡¯t the other Demon Gods know about me? I¡¯ve seen Taowu and Qiongqi before, and I even have some grievances with Qiongqi.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s the vile spawn of the Shaohao clan. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s from our clan, so he obviously doesn¡¯t know about these secrets. At least he still has common sense to him, not laying a finger on you, or I¡¯d never spare him. Don¡¯t worry, no matter what your grievance is, I¡¯ll help you resolve it.¡±

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief and no longer hesitated. Even if Taotie was an infamous Demon God, if he did not even trust his own clansmen, who was he supposed to trust?

    ¡°Apologies, I killed your¡­¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. ¡°Cook.¡± He could not help but let go of the hilt, lowering the ancient bronze sword hidden behind his back.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a pig I was rearing. He was perfect for you to get some practice. Seeing how powerful you are, I don¡¯t have to worry¡­¡± The taotie beast face suddenly furrowed its brows. ¡°This sword is?¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously told the truth. ¡°A man draped in bear skin gave it to me. He possessed the aura of a true dragon and proclaimed to be some Youxiong.¡±

    ¡°Youxiong tribe¡­ What did he tell you?¡±

    ¡°He said he wanted to confer me the land and even invited me to join his tribe.¡±

    ¡°And you accepted?¡±

    The voice in the sky gradually deepened. The taotie beast face became devoid of any expression again. The receded demonic clouds gathered once more, growing darker and darker.

    ¡°This¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan hesitated and did not answer. He felt like something was amiss. Youxiong? Youxiong! Why did it sound so familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before? Having just heard a great deal of legends regarding ancient tribes and clans, it came to him as a certain kind of inspiration. Even the ancient bronze sword in his hand became more and more familiar.

    Boom! With a clap of thunder, blood rained down from the sky.

    The taotie beast face began to laugh again, laughing so hard that every outline trembled. His hysterical emotions gradually seeped out, filled with grief, hatred, and fury.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re a traitor too!¡±

 Chapter 1584

    The sea-like demonic clouds suddenly began to rage. Blood rain poured, blanketing the land.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s soul shook. When he called him traitor, it seemed to erupt in his mind. The divine might crushed down like it was tangible.

    His vision blurred as the taotie beast face filled his eyes. Its vicious and malicious expression possessed great terror and great might, viciously slamming against his mind. He was like a lamb to the slaughterhouse, unable to offer up any resistance.

    It was just inches away! The corner of his lips with jagged teeth sticking out suddenly split open, reaching up to his earlobes and forming an abyssal mouth. From his behaviour, it seemed more like he was trying to suck him inside than swallow him in a single gulp.

    This sight was just so similar to when he butchered Heretic God Baitun, but this time, he had become the prey.

    In that crucial moment, he drew the sword from its sheath with a clang. The flash illuminated the gloomy clouds, slicing through the suffocating divine might and slashing resolutely towards the abyssal mouth.

    Time seemed to freeze. Li Qingshan did not look at the taotie beast face, but the ancient bronze sword in his hand. The edge repelled the sky full of rain slowly, giving off a strange colour, one side inscribed with mountains, rivers, and trees and the other side inscribed with the sun, moon, and stars. Suddenly, he understood the truth it was hiding.

    The mountains, rivers, and trees represented the earth. The sun, moon, and stars represented the heavens.

    With a sword in time, he was the ruler of both the heavens and the earth. This was the legendary sword of the path of sages, the Sword of Xuanyuan!

    Boom!

    The taotie beast face swallowed half the building in a single gulp, but he earned a slash across its face too. He became even more angered. ¡°Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!¡±

    Li Qingshan rapidly plummeted, smashing through several dozen storeys one after another with a great rumble as if he had received several dozen heavy blows. Afterwards, he smashed into the building¡¯s thick foundations. Only then did he stop falling. He suddenly vomited up blood. His organs had ruptured.

    The residual might spread out beneath him. Even the thick and sturdy foundations were unable to withstand such a colossal impact. The remaining half of the building immediately collapsed, burying him under the rubble.

    In the dark underground, a pair of scarlet eyes shimmered. There were some sighs but also some excitement. I see now!

    If brother ox was the Flame Emperor and had been called the insulting name Chiyou, then the man draped in bear skin should have been the Yellow Emperor. He originally belonged to the Youxiong tribe, which was only known as the Xuanyuan tribe afterwards. It was a branch and transformation of the Shennong tribe.

    After witnessing the magnificent battlefield of the Battle of Mending Heaven recently, he never thought he would be drawn into the aftermath of the Battle of Zhuolu now.

    It was no wonder why Taotie would suddenly fly into a rage. If he had guessed correctly, the exact person who banished him to the Demon domain was the Yellow Emperor.

    In other words, the man draped in bear skin who wielded a bow and arrows, claiming to ¡°hunt oxen¡±, the original owner of this ¡°ancient bronze sword¡±.

    Li Qingshan, the mad ox, had rampaged through the eighteen layers of hell and stirred up quite the disturbance. He even attracted a king of Yanluo over, so of course, it would reach the emperor¡¯s ears.

    As such, he immediately found him, but for some reason, not only did he decide against killing him, he instead invited him to join the Youxiong tribe. He even gave the Sword of Xuanyuan as a keepsake, conferring him the land.

    And he had accepted all of it. Even though he did so unintentionally, he truly did deserve to be called a traitor!

    He smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. I didn¡¯t expect such a handsome fellow like you to become a counter-revolutionary too!¡±

    At the same time, the corpse of a demonfolk flew over, into the abyssal mouth. Millions of demonfolk corpses surged into the sky like the tide, all swallowed by the taotie beast face. The rest of his body grew, including his four limbs.

    With a boom, a huge, black foot fell and crushed a building. A humanoid figure three thousand metres tall stood in the world, wearing a bronze mask on his face. That was the taotie beast face.

    ¡°Get out here!¡±

    A huge claw directly plunged into the depths of the ground, where Li Qingshan was located. It grabbed all of the rubble and crushed it to powder in an instant.

    The moment his fingers closed, Li Qingshan rushed into the air and called out, ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m not a traitor!¡±

    ¡°And you still won¡¯t admit it!?¡±

    Taotie held onto the rock firmly in his hand, swinging his arm and throwing it violently.

    The huge boulder that resembled a miniature mountain immediately crossed terminal velocity, lighting up like a meteor with a long, flaming tail. It hurtled towards Li Qingshan with unbelievable speed.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind, advancing instead of retreating. He used the great strength of the ox demon to throw a punch.

    Boom! The boulder shattered into pieces. Some flew into the air while others shot towards the city, piercing over a dozen buildings and lighting a great fire before tipping and collapsing slowly, filling the air with dust.

    Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the giant nearby. He said calmly, ¡°None of this is as you think it is. If I really was a traitor, why would I come here and walk right into the enemy¡¯s territory?¡±

    He held his hand that had punched through the rock behind him. Even when he gripped it firmly with his other hand, it continued to shake uncontrollably. Inside, his bones had shattered like the boulder.

    After all, this was a Demon God. Even if it was only an embodiment, his power was far greater than his. This tremendous difference could not be made up with just a Sword of Xuanyuan.

    If he could not convince Demon God Taotie today, then there would definitely be an arduous battle.

    ¡°Who knows what you¡¯re scheming?¡±

    Demon God Taotie growled, but he did not continue. Just then, in a daze, the demeanour that Li Qingshan demonstrated made him think of the chief. This was the person chosen by the chief after all.

    However, it might have been a false impression as well. Even if he refused to admit it, that man who banished him here also possessed the same demeanour.

    ¡°Scheme?¡± Li Qingshan laughed and confessed, ¡°That has never been my speciality. How can I get you to trust me? Senior?¡±

    ¡°Set aside the sword and return to the Jinyun Food hall with me, or I¡¯ll crush you to pieces and obliterate your soul!¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t agree to either of those.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. The two of them had already started off with animosity. The reason why Taotie had suddenly become so friendly was all because he viewed him as a clansman. Now that this identity of his was under suspicion, even accused of being a traitor, the friendliness completely vanished.

    Under these circumstances, it was impossible for him to set aside his weapon, subject himself to his whim, and place his life in his hands just to win over Demon God Taotie¡¯s trust.

    ¡°And, I hate it when others threaten me!¡±

    ¡°Then only death awaits you!¡±

    .

    Demon God Taotie swung his arm. Several hundred buildings collapsed behind him as countless pieces of steel were drawn out, twisting and forming a short spear in his hand.

    Raising the short spear, arching his back, and bending his knees slightly, his colossal body actually seemed extremely light. All of his aura and divine might was withdrawn. Even his fury and hatred seemed to vanish.

    Behind the bronze mask, a pair of dark eyes gazed at Li Qingshan quietly. That was his most ancient and most primitive fighting form.

    Li Qingshan could not help but hold his breath, sensing unprecedented danger. The spirit turtle revealed to him the fate of almost certain death, begging him to avoid this battle.

    However, the newly-awakened divine dragon cried away, high-spirited and excited, urging him to go against the flow. The tiger demon had run out of patience a long time ago too, growling in desire of all slaughter, rather willing to be destroyed than to submit.

    As a result, he sucked in a deep breath and pointed the sword at Taotie.

    ¡°Then come!¡±

 Chapter 1585

    Above the demon city, man and god stood in confrontation.

    As soon as Li Qingshan said that, Taotie snorted coldly, and the short spear condensed from a million tonnes of steel suddenly vanished!

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart leapt and came to a halt. A tiny hole appeared as if it had been pierced by something.

    It was murderousness, a wisp of murderousness as thin as a strand of hair.

    The small world immediately became sluggish. The great aura he had just gathered collapsed as well.

    He was startled. I didn¡¯t think murderousness could actually be used like this!

    As the lord of Taotie¡¯s dominion, a true god that grasped laws, even if the power of his embodiment was only on par with Heretic Gods, every single movement he made was coupled with laws, enough to crush any Human Immortal or Heretic God.

    Even before they had truly clashed, Li Qingshan had already lost the upperhand. If he still dared to face him directly, he would be immediately crushed by the incoming spear.

    He could only retreat, flapping his wings of wind, retreating backwards without any regard! However, he was like a cricket stuck on a rope. The murderousness locked onto him firmly, such that he could not break free from it no matter what he tried.

    He could not see the vanished spear, but he could clearly sense that the spear was pressing closer to him along this trajectory like the orbit of a celestial body.

    When it appeared again, that would be his death! Even with the Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a, just how many thrusts could he last? Perhaps a single thrust would deplete several rebirths.

    This is the power of a Demon God. Just an embodiment is so powerful. It¡¯s just¡­ far too fascinating!

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. A dragon¡¯s cry boomed out, pushing the small world along forcefully. He swung the Sword of Xuanyuan in his hand, cutting through the wisp of murderousness and the laws it contained.

    The short spear appeared out of thin air, only inches away. In the beginning, the tip of the spear was like a black eye, staring straight at Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. In the blink of an eye, it turned into an imposing, dark wall, completely impossible to make out its full appearance, crushing over with a rumble.

    All that laid before him was still death. His expression changed, becoming twisted and terrifying, filled with the will of great destruction and great annihilation. Even his skin became indigo.

    He slid his finger down his forehead, and a third eye suddenly opened up. The surging black fire condensed into a single stream, spraying out.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    Li Qingshan did not take a single step back anymore. Instead, he raised his forehead and advanced. The pressing ¡°wall¡± constantly crushed down on him before constantly collapsing, unable to approach him any further.

    This fire had once incinerated the indestructible city of asura, Tripura. Just this spear condensed from regular steel obviously posed no issue.

    ¡°Divine Fire of World Destruction!¡±

    Taotie was slightly surprised. The tip of the spear was soon incinerated, and the black fire continued along the spear. He poured his divine powers into the spear, wanting to extinguish the fire, but his attack had also ended in failure.

    This was not his true weapon after all, or it would not have been damaged so quickly. It would have been enough to crush Li Qingshan.

    Boom!

    The attack might have failed, but its aftermath was still the collapse of countless skyscrapers. Colossal ruins were hurled into the air.

    Li Qingshan stood on one of the ruins. It was the upper part of a building that had been sliced in two, but he did not make use of the momentum to launch a counterattack.

    The Divine Fire of World Destruction was extremely powerful, but it took a tremendous toll as well. Even with the small world as a foundation, he could not last too long.

    Most importantly, he could not deal a lethal blow to Taotie.

    Taotie¡¯s body was far too large. He could destroy an arm or leg, but he would be killed by the attack that followed. Taotie was covered in openings, but he also had no openings.

    And, probably destroying his entire body would be useless. What mattered most was the bronze mask. However, under the gaze of his divine eye, the bronze mask did not have any openings at all. There were not even any possible openings.

    Of course, it was not really devoid of openings. He was just unable to see them.

    ¡°Is this all of your tricks?¡±

    Taotie¡¯s cold voice rang out from behind the bronze mask. Ever since he manifested an embodiment, the mask never revealed any more expressions. ¡°Surrendering now is still not too late.¡±

    ¡°I admit.¡± Li Qingshan confessed. ¡°That I am not your opponent, even if you¡¯re just an embodiment.¡±

    The substantial difference in strength could not be made up with something like spirit or willpower. Even with his full strength, all he managed to do was stop a regular attack.

    When it came to fighting, it was not a battle of techniques, but a battle of the usage of laws. When he killed Heretic God Baitun earlier, the demonic heavens stood on his side, but they now stood on Taotie¡¯s, unless he devoured the Black Sun Demon Heart¡­

    However, as soon as this thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it.

    ¡°As long as you understand. I¡¯m willing to believe that you haven¡¯t betrayed the Flame Emperor, so stop with the futile resistance. Set aside the sword and return to the Jinyun Food hall with me.¡±

    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong. Perhaps I really am the traitor you describe me to be.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. He had joined the Youxiong tribe just to get a sip of alcohol. Since the alcohol was absolutely delicious, then there was nothing for him to regret. If others wanted to judge him, that was their problem.

    He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know some Flame Emperor, nor will I fight for him. The only person I know is brother ox.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the same person.¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯re not. Senior, you and I are different. I have neither a chief, nor am I loyal to anyone. Brother ox once told me to never lower my head to anyone because I have once ridden on his back.¡±

    Taotie jolted inside. An indescribable feeling overcame him. He was also immediately convinced. This is something that the chief would do. This is something that the chief would say. This Li Qingshan is the person chosen by the chief.

    The bronze mask changed in expression too, but everything he had experienced in the past made his heart cool down. He smiled wryly.

    ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll spare you because you¡¯ve said that? We¡¯ve already been through far too many betrayals. Every single time, it¡¯s a guy like you, from that mongrel from the Youxiong tribe, then the stone monkey, and now, you!¡±

    ¡°Which of them wasn¡¯t carrying the chief¡¯s hopes? Which of them hadn¡¯t once received the chief¡¯s graces? Yet you lot are just born ingrates. You only act according to how you feel. You never know what loyalty is.¡±

    Li Qingshan rubbed the back of his head, unable to respond.

    Taotie said firmly, ¡°Once and twice, but not thrice. Compared to placing all of your hopes on a guy like you, you might as well give up on this thought. I¡¯ll ask you one last time. Do you surrender?¡±

    Li Qingshan said with other meaning, ¡°The world has changed you. However, I¡¯m not asking you to spare me. I just wanted to say, apologies! It¡¯s a little underhanded, but this is all I can do now.¡±

    With a gentle kick, the half of the building under his feet shattered to pieces. He had already lunged towards Taotie.

    ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡±

    Taotie was unconvinced. He spread his fingers and swung his hand, which loomed over like a dark cloud.

    The divine eye widened, sweeping across the ¡°dark cloud¡± and finding a point of weakness. The Divine Fire of World Destruction set off as a result, immediately piercing the palm as a black stream. It followed a certain kind of path, dispersing and gathering together, roaming around constantly.

    Boom! Half of Taotie¡¯s arm shattered to pieces and millions of demonfolk corpses fell down, but he did not care at all. Another hand loomed towards Li Qingshan.

    It was already too late for Li Qingshan to destroy it, but he was already close enough to Taotie¡¯s bronze mask. He suddenly drew out the Mountain-moving tablet.

    ¡°Rise, mountain!¡±

    He smashed the last of the three mountains¡ªSky-scraping ridge¡ªinto Taotie¡¯s face viciously.

 Chapter 1586

    Thunk!

    The world shook. Like a great bell had been rung, the sound waves spread out in all directions, dispersing the thick demonic clouds. The bright moon hung in the sky once more.

    Under the moon, Li Qingshan wielded the sword in one hand and the tablet in the other, rising up like a dragon. His clothes ruffled away like a flag as his scarlet hair flew like fire.

    Crack! The bronze mask cracked open. Taotie¡¯s colossal embodiment that was over three thousand metres tall suddenly staggered, tipping backwards.

    He was filled with disbelief. This is¡­ the Mountain-moving Great Sage¡¯s¡­ Mountain-moving tablet!

    In a daze, he saw a proud lion gazing down on him from beyond the Nine Heavens. He was not unfamiliar with his mighty form.

    The Sky-scraping ridge was originally a part of the old fool¡¯s body. One of the myriad laws condensed within suppressed both Taotie¡¯s embodiment and the laws he wielded.

    ¡°I still haven¡¯t lost!¡±

    Taotie bellowed and suddenly took a step back with his right foot. Several buildings collapsed as he forcefully held up his body, suddenly reaching towards the Sky-scraping ridge with his remaining arm.

    The Divine Dragon Treads the Heavens, Understanding the Fortunes of Nature!

    Li Qingshan raised the Sword of Xuanyuan high in the air, pointing it to the moon.

    At that instant, the man and the sword, the sword and the moon, the heavens and the man, all merged together!

    The moon suddenly lit up and became larger as if it was falling out of the sky. The figure of a dragon glided within it.

    In that moment when Taotie was being suppressed by the mountain, Li Qingshan gained the upper hand once again in terms of the laws of the world.

    The moonlight gathered into a single beam, falling down on Taotie¡¯s arm.

    Taotie gripped the Sky-scraping ridge firmly, wanting to push it away from his face, but his arm gradually cracked. The demonfolk corpses fell to the ground.

    Finally, with a moon, he ruptured into pieces. Corpses fell like rain.

    Under the great weight of the Sky-scraping ridge, the bronze mask became twisted and distorted, already riddled with cracks.

    With a thought, the moonlight moved with Li Qingshan¡¯s will, shining on Taotie¡¯s right leg next.

    Boom! The right leg also collapsed, and Taotie fell to the ground head-first.

    Li Qingshan stowed the sword back in the sheath and descended from above. The dragon figure glided through the space, landing on Sky-scraping ridge, touching down gently at the peak.

    Boom! The Sky-scraping ridge shook violently and sank even faster. Finally, it crushed Taotie into the ground in an unstoppable manner.

    Boom! The bronze mask collapsed, and the colossal embodiment disintegrated. Waves of earth surged as dust filled the air. The earthquake destroyed all the structures on the ground, adding another perilous mountain to this region.

    Li Qingshan stood at the top of the mountain, but he did not seem complacent at all.

    The Sky-scraping ridge was the largest and steepest mountain of the three. Originally, he had been saving it for Qiongqi, but now that he used it, that was one less trump card. However, as it was a matter of life or death, he could no longer care so much. What mattered most when pushing over Qingqi mountain was still the Mountain-moving tablet after all. He did not have to use the three mountains.

    What really mattered was he had just defeated an embodiment of Taotie right now. He probably thought he could crush everything with his clone alone, but he never imagined that Li Qingshan would be hiding something like that.

    ¡°Taotie can arrive at any moment in person. I need to leave here quickly. I need to leave Taotie¡¯s dominion!¡±

    Li Qingshan spread his fingers with his palm facing up and raised his hand gently, using the Force Field of the Earth. All of the rubble in the ruins floated up, and a large snake underground floated up too. That was Qian Rongzhi.

    ¡°You lead the way. Let¡¯s go!¡±

    ¡°Alright!¡± Qian Rongzhi immediately turned back into a small snake, shooting over to Li Qingshan with a swish and curling around his wrist. She used her head to indicate the direction.

    Li Qingshan unfurled the wings of wind. With a furious flap, the waves of air swept around, dispersing the dust and taking off.

    In an instant, he arrived hundreds of kilometres away. Looking back, the demon city had already been reduced to ruins, a graveyard.

    This was a divine battle, so it would definitely affect the lives of millions, leading to countless cases of destruction.

    But right now, even his own life was not out of danger, so he could not bother with lamenting over the changes of the ages. Speaking of which, they were just some demonfolk too.

    At the same time, in the Jinyun Food hall.

    A thin figure sat alone before the ox totem. The torches blazed in the surroundings, but they were unable to disperse the thick darkness.

    He wore a mask on his face, which was the taotie beast face. Under the flickering firelight and heavy darkness, he seemed quite hideous and terrifying.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡±

    He slowly removed the mask with his pale-white hands, revealing a face that was similarly pale. His long, thin eyebrows draped down on the two sides. His eyes were filled with gloom and weariness, gazing at the ox totem on the wall.

    He murmured, ¡°Even I¡­ have been changed!¡±

    In the past, he would definitely follow the chief¡¯s will unconditionally, trusting the chief¡¯s decision, yet now, he wanted to kill the person chosen by the chief.

    He covered his face with his hands. The fury, the agony, and the hatred had truly become unbearable.

    Even when the Mountain-moving Great Sage was suppressed in Ruin¡¯s End, he would gradually lose his memories, so how could he remain completely unaffected after being banished to this chaotic and twisted Demon domain?

    ¡°I¡¯ll believe one more time, that the chief isn¡¯t wrong.¡±

    This battle had gone on for just too long, so long that even gods felt pain.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense it. Taotie did not come for him. Perhaps he had been woken up after being hit by the mountain, realising that they were not enemies!

    By now, he had already reached the boundary of Taotie¡¯s dominion according to Qian Rongzhi¡¯s directions.

    He made an attempt, but he discovered that no matter how he accelerated, the horizon remained the same, hanging in the distance. The unending mountains beneath him was the limit that could not be crossed.

    Qian Rongzhi pointed between the mountains. ¡°Go to that valley!¡±

    Li Qingshan followed her instructions and arrived in the valley. Two mountains stood closely together on either side, meeting at the end of the valley.

    In the depths of the valley was a long, slender crack, overlapping together. It was deep and dark, but it was not made of rock. Instead, it was bright-red flesh and blood. It even wriggled about, which repulsed Li Qingshan. However, there were far too many repulsive matters in the Demon domain, so he grew numb to it very soon.

    As a result, he raised his wrist and asked, ¡°I can reach Qiongqi¡¯s dominion if I pass through here?¡±

    The tiny snake on his wrist was icy-cold and slick, flickering its forked tongue. ¡°That¡¯s right, but you better not be careless. This is Heretic God Jiuying¡¯s Blood maze. Be careful about being trapped in there forever.¡±

    ¡°Heretic God Jiuying?¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows in scorn. He had just faced a Demon God, even if that was only an embodiment, so he no longer took Heretic Gods seriously. After comprehending the Divine Dragon Transformation with the Sword of Xuanyuan in hand, which Heretic God could he not kill?

    ¡°Hiss hiss. Don¡¯t lump her with the likes of Heretic God Baitun. Jiuying is also an ancient god. She¡¯s resided in the Demon domain even longer than some of the Demon Gods. She¡¯s also known as the Ghost Mother of Nine Children. She had nine Heretic Gods under her lead, which are all her children. Even Demon Gods have to acknowledge her to a certain degree.¡±

    ¡°However, she¡¯s not loyal to any Demon God. Her dwelling doesn¡¯t belong to any of the twelve dominions either. Instead, it¡¯s a world of its own. It has a total of twelve exits, which connects with the twelve dominions. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Demon domain can only contain twelve Demon Gods, she¡¯d definitely be one.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart sank. Even if she was not a true Demon God, as long as she possessed strength like Taotie¡¯s embodiment, he would be in a tough spot.

    A Ghost Mother of Nine Children that was almost a Demon God, coupled with nine Heretic Gods. Who knew just how dangerous this Blood maze was.

    He hinted at something. ¡°You sure are familiar with this place.¡±

    ¡°Of course. If you couldn¡¯t make it through the customs successfully, the Blood maze is the only path.¡± Qian Rongzhi¡¯s snake eyes swivelled. ¡°Though, as long as you devour that Black Sun Demon Heart, she¡¯s probably not your opponent.¡± Her eerie voice was filled with temptation.

 Chapter 1587

    Qian Rongzhi curled around Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist and flickered her forked tongue. Her timing was extremely precise. Even the unruly tiger had times when it felt weary.

    He had just been through a brutal, close battle, witnessed a ruined city piled with corpses, and learned about the bizarre events of the ancient times.

    During the battle, Li Qingshan obviously fought courageously and fearlessly, completely casting aside the thought of death. Now that he had broken out of the dire straits, he experienced an entirely different feeling.

    When Qian Rongzhi represented the Demon domain and invited him again, he did not decline immediately. Instead, he raised his head. The moon had already sunk in the sky, leaving the demonic heavens deep and distant. He struggled to imagine that there was such a warm and wonderful paradise on the other side of the sky, yet he was forced to stand with demons.

    He had only just escaped from the demon city, yet in the blink of an eye, he was supposed to enter a mysterious and dangerous maze.

    And at the end of the maze another true Demon God awaited him.

    After clashing with Taotie, he gained a deep understanding of the strength of Demon Gods. Even with the Sword of Xuanyuan and the Mountain-moving tablet in hand, he probably could not win.

    If he lost here, he obviously would refuse to submit to Qiongqi. Only dying in battle awaited him.

    He was not particularly afraid of dying, but¡­ was that the end?

    Or in other words¡­ was he truly not afraid of dying?

    Without fear, there was no need for courage. Without pain, there was no need for persistence. Without suffering, there was no need for resolve.

    He was welcome to ask the world just who was willing to be courageous, persistent, and resolute? He was better off saying that the courageous and persistent were all a bunch of unfortunate people.

    He went as far as to butcher all living things, bearing heinous sins. He did not fear whatever danger that laid ahead of him, slaughtering many powerful opponents. Was this all just so he could die?

    Yes, having come so far, I don¡¯t have any choice anymore. I can only devour the Black Sun Demon Heart. I require even greater power. As long as I devour the Black Sun Demon Heart, all of my problems will be resolved, so why refuse? After all, this is the only way for me to survive, to help brother ox.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed with uncertainty. His eyes dimmed and brightened.

    Qian Rongzhi watched on with a smile.

    Li Qingshan took out the Black Sun Demon Heart. Suddenly, his eyes shone, and he drew the sword from its sheath, slashing down heavily!

    The Black Sun Demon Heart was split in two by the Sword of Xuanyuan. With a chink, it shattered into pieces, dispersing with the wind, glimmering like the stars.

    At that instant, the demonic heavens shook. The wind and clouds surged. Qian Rongzhi¡¯s smile vanished as well.

    The fierce winds roared through the valley as if they were furiously questioning his actions.

    Li Qingshan sheathed his sword. His eyes shone, bright like stars. He smiled easily. ¡°Thank you for your reminder.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°I kept this thing around all this time all because I was still hopeful, prepared to use it to turn the tides whenever I encountered a problem that I couldn¡¯t resolve.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how a regular person would think!¡±

    ¡°Yes, but unfortunately, I¡¯m Li Qingshan.¡±

    In the past, when he was still wet behind the ears, he was filled with the spirit of youth, and he did not fear death. He had been bold enough to storm the Black Wind stronghold alone. Yet now, after tasting the fine alcohol, sleeping with beautiful women, and fighting with the strong foes, he had instead lost his courage to face death?

    If he had been so cowardly right from the beginning, the Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor would not have given him the sword and the demonic heavens would not have chosen him. Even brother ox would have just been an old ox missing a horn that he had sold. There would not be today¡¯s Li Qingshan.

    Along the way, he had done some righteous deeds, but at the same time, he had also committed heinous atrocities. Even today, he refused to lower the butcher¡¯s blade, determined to follow his heart and make it to beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Those who killed would be killed. There was nothing to resent over, nothing to escape from. If the time to die had come, then he would die!

    The Nine Heavens were not in the distance, but in his heart. It was that young cowherd who refused to be ordinary¡¯s belief to follow his heart and live out a hearty life.

    Li Qingshan glanced at Qian Rongzhi. ¡°If it¡¯s others, then so be it, but do you not understand this either?¡±

    Behind her mad appearance was brutal and deceitful cunning, but even deeper was even more hysterical madness, a will to make the world burn. It was not just for the sake of greater power or a longer lifespan.

    If the world would explode upon her death, she would probably die immediately. She basically completely disregarded her own interests, purely out to harm others.

    Compared to her, that kind of selfish wickedness was basically oozing with happiness.

    ¡°Unfortunately, the demonic heavens chose you, not me!¡± Qian Rongzhi sighed.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re not Li Qingshan,¡± Li Qingshan said in high spirits.

    ¡°Try and avoid Jiuying as much as possible. You¡¯re probably not her opponent.¡±

    ¡°Cut the nonsense. Who cares if it¡¯s some Jiuying or some nine children. I¡¯ll butcher them as they come!¡±

    Li Qingshan berated as he used the Spirit Turtle Transformation. His bloodline completely turned into the spirit turtle¡¯s and a silent and deep power of Ruin¡¯s End permeated every inch of his organs and body. He no longer gave off a hint of aura anymore. Even his body gradually faded away, becoming transparent and devoid of colour like clear water.

    He raised his right hand and flipped it around as he stared at it, nodding in satisfaction. It was enough to fool the eyes of Heretic Gods. Only the tiny snake on his wrist stood out like a sore thumb, which made him snort coldly in dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Alright¡­ you win¡­¡±

    Qian Rongzhi was unable to respond. She felt like he was even more shameless than her at times. Was this the difference between them?

    As she thought that, she also became transparent like water, blending in perfectly with the environment.

    ¡°We probably won¡¯t be discovered like this. Hmph, I¡¯m not an idiot. Why would I throw my life at every single person I run into?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction and strode over to the end of the valley. He glanced at the deep, distant demonic heavens one last time before silently vanishing into the crack of flesh.

    During this process, his body rippled and changed shape like flowing water too. He did not make contact with the wriggling flesh in the surroundings, avoiding any possibility of exposing himself.

    At the same time, the Origin Soul of great liberty opened the divine eye on his forehead, observing the changes with the laws.

    Even without Qian Rongzhi¡¯s remainder, he was well aware that he really might not be able to defeat Jiuying.

    He was not belittling himself. As his cultivation climbed higher, as he got closer and closer to the realm of Forging Soul back into the Void, he instead understood his limits better.

    The method of battle between gods was completely different from cultivators. The techniques, arcane treasures, and formations were still the same, but what mattered was their control of the laws. In reality, the techniques, arcane treasures, and formations were all just an extension of the laws.

    Whoever grasped the laws, whoever was the god.

    Through the Sword of Xuanyuan, Li Qingshan entered the state of being one with the heavens, butchering Heretic God Baitun like he was butchering a pig. However, once Demon God Taotie descended, even if it was only an embodiment, he was immediately thrown into dire straits.

    The most basic difference was not their strength, but the level of authority they possessed.

    All dwellings possessed a protective formation. As long as they remained in the formation, they could fend off cultivators even stronger than them. However, if their authority over the formation was taken away from them, then they would instead become sitting ducks. The dragon in the Xuanming dwelling had been subdued by him like that.

    The wonders of the Sword of Xuanyuan were it could drastically increase his authority.

    According to his current observations, the Blood maze should have been an existence that lay between a world and a dwelling.

    Jiuying definitely possessed the highest authority there. She could fend off the twelve Demon Gods there, or she would have never been able to maintain its existence.

    Even with the Sword of Xuanyuan in hand, he would probably struggle to defeat her in this aspect. He might even be overwhelmed by her. If it was purely a struggle of strength, then she did not even have to do anything personally. Just her nine children were enough to teach him a lesson.

    After all, if he had not entered the wondrous state of being one with the heavens, Heretic God Baitun was not that easy to kill. And what if there were nine Heretic God Baituns working together? Coupled with a mysterious and unknown ancient Heretic God Jiuying, the situation would be even worse.

    The crack was much deeper and longer than he imagined it to be. Even after advancing for over fifty kilometres, he did not reach the bottom. However, the laws did gradually change, which verified some of Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts. As a result, he became even more cautious.

    After travelling for a good while longer, he came across a round door that was firmly shut.

    In the depths of the flesh on the sides of the door, the criss-crossing purply-red blood vessels outlined a few twisted, yet powerful words¡ªthe Gate of Xuanpin.

 Chapter 1588

    According to the Dao De Jing, ¡°The god of the valley is enduring, known as Xuanpin, the mysterious fertile mother of us all. The Gate of Xuanpin is the source of heaven and earth. Intangible yet ever present, she works tirelessly and inexhaustibly.¡±

    Li Qingshan stopped and stared at the fleshy gate. It contained a certain, strange law, not only separating Taotie¡¯s dominion, but the line between life and death as well, forming a world of its own, yet also as if it was the source of all life.

    He recalled everything he had seen and heard along the way, and a strange feeling welled up inside him. He cleared his throat and directly asked, ¡°What do we do?¡±

    The Gate of Xuanpin was anything but ordinary. Even his Origin Soul of great liberty was unable to penetrate it. If he destroyed it by force, he would definitely alarm Jiuying.

    At a time like this, he obviously had to ask his ¡°guide¡±, Qian Rongzhi. She was both mad and wretched, but she had always been able to come up with some ideas.

    This time, she did not disappoint him. She smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t rush. It always opens for a few days every month. Hehe, isn¡¯t it a little familiar¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, I understand. You can stop there!¡¯

    Li Qingshan immediately interrupted her. The strange feeling inside became even more intense, but he could not be bothered with her nonsense. He just began waiting patiently.

    Perhaps because he had destroyed the Black Sun Demon Heart, which made him drastically lose the favours of the demonic heavens, his luck was horrible this time. He waited for almost a month before the Gate of Xuanpin slowly opened.

    At that instant, dark-red blood gushed out.

    Qian Rongzhi reminded him. ¡°Don¡¯t let it touch you!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately dodged to one side, but he could already tell that the blood was anything but ordinary. It could wash away auras and powers. If regular arcane artifacts even just came in contact with a single droplet, they would probably be immediately reduced to scrap metal. Any techniques he used would disintegrate too.

    Even with his body of the demonic and divine, coupled with the Origin Soul of great liberty, he would probably be reduced to just the body of a mortal, constrained to it without any liberty at all.

    By now, he could no longer afford to let his thoughts wander anymore. He furrowed his brows and murmured, ¡°This definitely is not a power that a Heretic God should possess. It¡¯s the manifestation of some kind of law.¡±

    As a result, he became even more careful, following his instincts to the limit.

    However, as the gate completely opened, the surging blood immediately filled the entire cavern. There was no more room to hide in. In this river of blood, all techniques were useless. It was even impossible to hide into space.

    Without any hesitation, Li Qingshan immediately raised several layers of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell and moved against the current!

    Blood also had an element of water to it, and Ruin¡¯s End was the source of all water. As the ruler of Ruin¡¯s End, spirit turtles possessed a natural level of control and resistance towards all laws and techniques that contained an element of water.

    But even despite that, the impervious Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell was being rapidly eroded away. The layers were washed away.

    The small world operated at full speed, immediately producing thousands of layers of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell. Each layer was only separated by a millimetre. It was as dense as it could be.

    However, under the washing of the foul blood, it still rapidly shrank in size, becoming thinner and thinner.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed, continuing along obstinately. He passed straight through a corridor that was even thinner and suddenly rushed out of the river of blood. His field of vision abruptly opened up.

    But at the same time, the last layer of the Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell dissipated. Blood sprayed towards his back.

    ¡°The Ape Demon Extends its Arm!¡±

    Without even looking back, Li Qingshan¡¯s left arm rapidly expanded, turning into a black ape arm. He opened his huge hand and blocked the blood like he was trying to snatch the moon from the sky.

    However, as soon as the blood touched his palm, all of his auras dissipated. The ape demon¡¯s hand turned back into a regular human hand, even feeling a little powerless and numb. Let alone picking up mountains, he probably could not even lift something that weighed more than a few dozen kilograms anymore.

    And that was only the beginning. The sensation of numbness rapidly spread along his arm, swallowing the entire black ape arm and still showing no signs of stopping.

    This was nothing like potent poison or acid, but some kind of law at work. It was almost like a curse.

    Without any hesitation, Li Qingshan drew his sword and cut off his arm. He even cut off a major part of his shoulder.

    The numbness immediately became tremendous pain, even more than the tortures of hell. It even made him gasp uncontrollably before exhaling deeply.

    ¡°I sure am quite unlucky right now!¡±

    If he did not have the Sword of Xuanyuan, probably even cutting off his arm would not have been helpful. The wound did not close up so quickly either, forcing him to contract his blood vessels to stop the bleeding.

    For the time being, he could forget about regrowing the arm. It was not some fatal wound, but it would definitely affect his prowess in battle.

    Li Qingshan observed his surroundings. It was a rather spacious place, enough to fit several soccer pitches, entirely composed of flesh that constantly wriggled and changed in shape. It gradually opened up and seemed round, but it was not.

    The depths of the flesh shone with a pink lustre. If he shut his eyes and ignored the strange flesh, then the climate and temperature was actually quite delightful.

    However, this place was empty. There was nothing at all. There were neither demonfolk nor demonic beasts. There was not even a single plant.

    ¡°Is this the Blood maze?¡±

    ¡°This is only one of the chambers. The entire Blood maze is composed of countless chambers like this. This place has just been washed, which is why there¡¯s nothing here,¡± Qian Rongzhi raised her head and flickered her forked tongue, looking around.

    Li Qingshan discovered several new doorways as well. They were all firmly shut, but they were not as difficult to pass through as the Gate of Xuanpin.

    ¡°How do I enter Qiongqi¡¯s dominion?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°What? Say that again!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Li Qingshan squinted his eyes, giving off dangerous killing intent.

    Qian Rongzhi explained, ¡°The locations of the chambers constantly change with the wriggling. These paths aren¡¯t all straight lines either. At the same time, all of the chambers have a fixed longevity. Old chambers will gradually be compressed until they vanish, while new chambers will be created. There has never been any markers that never change, nor is there an absolutely correct path. This is why it¡¯s called a maze.¡±

    ¡°You want to trap me in here?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. Who would lock themselves up in the same cage as a tiger? Originally, you were chosen by the Demon domain, deeply blessed by the will of the heavens, so even if you wandered around aimlessly in the maze, you¡¯ll definitely get to where you want to be. But now¡­ it¡¯s difficult to say.¡±

    ¡°You never said that in the beginning.¡±

    ¡°Who would have thought you would shatter the Black Sun Demon Heart on a whim? And if you couldn¡¯t pass through the customs, this is the only path. There¡¯s nothing else I can do either. You¡¯re welcome to return to Taotie¡¯s dominion too. Perhaps once that senior of yours calms down, he¡¯ll be willing to help you pass through.¡±

    ¡°After I just smashed a mountain into his face?¡±

    ¡°Heh, let¡¯s hope you have another mountain then.¡±

    Li Qingshan was very tempted to choke her to death, but he also understood that she was right. Even if she mentioned this all beforehand, he would have still set foot in this Blood maze. He did not regret destroying the Black Sun Demon Heart either, as this was the path he had chosen.

    After shattering the Black Sun Demon Heart, his mind became clear again. The various transformations of the demonic and divine all progressed. In particular, the newly-awakened Divine Dragon Transformation showed signs of breaking though. That was his true foundations.

    ¡°Hmph, when it comes to mazes, I¡¯ve never lost to anyone!¡± Li Qingshan said proudly.

    His Spirit Turtle Transformation had reached completion. Spirit turtles were most skilled in calculating patterns and noticing secrets. How could a measly maze stump him?

    With a swish, he produced several mirror clones that set off on different paths. Now, he could maintain many mirror clones at the same time, and he had the thousands of demonic thought clones from the Origin Soul of great liberty.

    Even if it was through brute force, he would find a path!

 Chapter 1589

    Li Qingshan glanced back at the Gate of Xuanpin before walking off, choosing a path and venturing off into the depths of this Blood maze with determination.

    Every chamber had several doorways. He stopped in every chamber and produced the same amount of clones, venturing off into different chambers.

    Up ahead, he heard the sounds of talking, so Li Qingshan raised his guard and approached them slowly. He entered a new chamber. As he gazed out, there was actually a demonfolk settlement.

    Even though he had already prepared himself mentally, he still widened his eyes, unable to hide his surprise.

    The demon city populated by a hundred million demonfolk he had just seen recently was far greater than any city he had witnessed in his past and present life. It even had a science fiction vibe of postmodernism to it.

    Yet the demonfolk settlement right before him was even more primitive than the primitive tribes of cannibals. There was no proper structure, or more accurately, there was not even a shanty box. Regardless of their age or gender, all of them were unclothed.

    Bare naked, they either walked around or stood, sat around or laid down, atop the flesh.

    Several thousand demonfolk were scattered in the large space in groups of threes and fives. This entire place was covered in fungus, forming bright-red and plump clusters that glistened with light.

    Some of the demonfolk were tasked with collecting them. Actually, that could not be described as a task at all. They shoved them into their mouths as soon as they picked them, filling themselves after just eating a few before laying down lazily, exactly where they were, to rest. That must have been their source of food and moisture.

    There were other demonfolk doing what they loved, panting and grunting and moaning away. The others did not even look at them, feeling neither embarrassed nor tempted. Some of them even found it noisy, curling up in a corner to sleep as they cussed away.

    However, regardless of what they did, whether it was eating, sleeping, or breeding, all of the demonfolk seemed to have a veil draped over their faces. Their expressions were clueless.

    I might be able to find someone to show me the way here.

    With that thought in mind, Li Qingshan chose the demonfolk that seemed the oldest and lunged towards him with his Origin Soul of great liberty.

    The old demonfolk was a bag of bent bones, curled up in a distant corner, sleeping. His body was covered with liver spots, and he gave off a stench. He seemed like he was close to meeting his end. His body stiffened up slightly, but no one noticed it.

    Li Qingshan used a soul-searching technique and easily obtained everything he wanted, but the end result left him disappointed.

    The old demonfolk had lived for a total of eighty-nine years. He spent his life roaming from place to place, having travelled through many of the chambers. He moved wherever the food was, moving onto the next chamber once all the fungus in one chamber was eaten.

    However, in his life, apart from eating, there was only just fucking. Sometimes, due to some random reason, he would fight with the other demonfolk too. He was quite lucky that he had not been beaten to death yet. There was nothing else apart from that.

    Li Qingshan realised what that veil over their faces was now.

    That was the ignorance of not having to think or feel. Their clueless expressions were not something that a human or even a beast should have possessed.

    At the very least, the demonfolk outside still had to fight for the sake of survival, scheming against one another and facing one another. In particular, the demonfolk of the lowest level were forced to fight in wars and invade other worlds. They had to learn how to follow orders, and if they handled it badly, they would be tortured to death.

    An old demonfolk as useless and feeble as him could not live for long at all. Once he was past his prime, he would definitely be eliminated, or even reduced to the food of other demonfolk.

    But in this Blood maze, the demonfolk neither had to participate in the twelve Demon Gods¡¯ wars, nor did they have to face the threat of hunger and cold. The climate here would always be suitable, and the food here would always be abundant. It would even be rather delicious, at least according to them. They had food to eat and something to do every single day, so who knew how easy life was. This place could basically be described as a little Sukh¨¡vat¨© in the Demon domain.

    However, there were still intrinsic differences. Sukh¨¡vat¨© was filled with kind people chosen by the buddha. They had all faced the trials of mortal life and endured the torment of suffering. No matter how fertile the land in Sukh¨¡vat¨© was, it still required some labour and waiting.

    However, the demonfolk in the Blood maze were just migrants among the chambers. They ate wherever they went, slept if they were tired, and did the deed if they felt like it. They were like infants trapped in their mother¡¯s womb from birth to death.

    The Origin Soul of great liberty left the body, and the old demonfolk died silently. Even up until the moment of death, his expression was still so clueless as if he did not understand what ¡°death¡± was and that it was just usual rest.

    They lived like they were floating on empty bliss, and they died like they were resting.

    Of course, no one noticed this either.

    The flesh wriggled, and his hunched body gradually merged with it, vanishing very soon. Afterwards, even more fungus grew. The clusters were all bright-red and eye-catching, glistening with light and flourishing in the environment.

    ¡°And that¡¯s a lifetime!¡± Qian Rongzhi sighed.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt the chills. The flesh in the surroundings wriggled violently and pressed in from all directions, taking his breath away from him. He gripped the hilt of his sword, ready to slash out.

    He suddenly shook his head and discovered that the chamber was still as spacious. The demonfolk lived easily, while those panting and grunting and moaning demonfolk all fell quiet too, loosening up, closing their eyes, and falling asleep.

    There was no dreamland¡ªthey spent their days without thoughts and nights without dreams.

    Li Qingshan fished out an alcohol skin and took a few sips. He exhaled deeply. ¡°This place sure is absolutely terrifying.¡±

    Actually, it was not that he was afraid of death. Instead, he feared a life like this even more, without thought or feeling, without dreams. That was why he had to fight and kill, as well as face the endless painful setbacks, recovering while heavily wounded, reborning in despair.

    ¡°Hiss hiss. I heard that even before birth, people already possess sense and memories. They might not remember it after birth, but it¡¯s actually buried deeply in their seas of consciousness, which is why people will always search for a peaceful and comfortable environment like this. When cultivators undergo the cycle of reincarnation, the thing they most fear is the confusions of the womb, not only because the feeble body of an infant was unable to contain their consciousness, but also perhaps because they would be captivated and enraptured by it.¡±

    ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s some mad nonsense. Are you talking about yourself?¡± Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°Once I leave here, if you don¡¯t want to leave, I can leave you here. Perhaps Jiuying will be willing to accept you as a goddaughter.¡±

    ¡°Daughter? Hehe.¡± Qian Rongzhi sighed with a smile. ¡°These muddle-headed demonfolk are actually more fortunate than many people in the world.

    ¡°Are you saying that not being born is the most fortunate?¡± Li Qingshan disagreed.

    ¡°Yeah, not being born would be the most fortunate.¡± Qian Rongzhi actually nodded and expressed her agreement.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go and die?¡± Li Qingshan countered with a question.

    ¡°Because I want to make the people of the world understand a little more,¡± Qian Rongzhi said like it was common sense. Her cold snake eyes actually gave off a sense of determination and fervency.

    Li Qingshan felt like there was something wrong with his head for trying to communicate with a madwoman. As a result, he said nothing more and continued onwards after splitting up his clones.

    ¡°You should be asking me¡­¡± Qian Rongzhi copied Li Qingshan¡¯s voice and said gruffly, ¡°Oi, bitch, you¡¯re contradicting yourself. In reality, you just want to live, don¡¯t you!?¡±

    Li Qingshan shot a glare at her, but she answered her own question, ¡°And I would answer, hiss hiss, I am self-contradictory. You¡¯re not different.¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly stopped and stressed each word, ¡°If you dare to put me on the same level as you again¡­¡±

    ¡°Forgive me, spare me, sir. I¡¯ll never do it again. Hiss hiss~¡±

 Chapter 1590

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with dealing with her. He was in enemy territory, such that it was a time to go all out and strive ahead valiantly. As for these principles of good and bad, right or wrong, he would save it for when he got out of here alive! What kind of principles mattered to a dead person?

    Qian Rongzhi watched him silently before curling up again and giving up on a certain idea. She sighed inside. Tigers still are tigers at the end of the day!

    Those who advanced valiantly did not necessarily understand and see through everything, but they could pick things up and let go on a whim. They possessed a staunch and fearless confidence.

    She came nowhere close to him in this aspect, which was why she refused to provoke him too much. A tiger could not be provoked. If she really angered him and he swung over with his blade, he would not be listening to any of the reasoning she gave.

    So be it. I¡¯ve already done all that I can to tempt him to devour the Black Sun Demon Heart. Let¡¯s just wait and see what fate has in store!

    Li Qingshan strode ahead, constantly venturing deeper into the Blood maze. Whenever he entered a new chamber, he would encounter more forks in the path. He handled these tense situations calmly, using his techniques and abilities freely.

    His mirror clones and demonic thought clones split again and again, into the hundreds and thousands, crossing through thousands of chambers.

    The demonic thought clones were far too weak, unable to travel too far away from his main body. However, the mirror clones were relatively powerful, so they served as points of support, maintaining the existences of the demonic thought clones.

    Like a tree, where the mirror clones served as the branches and the demonic thought clones served as the leaves, it constantly reached for the vaster and more distant sky.

    Meanwhile, Li Qingshan was obviously the trunk and roots of the tree.

    His eyes constantly twinkled. If they were examined under a microscope, there was a screen of light condensed over his eyes, like the compound eyes of insects, formed from countless hexagons.

    Each hexagon reflected an image, corresponding to the location of each clone and everything they had encountered.

    The Blood maze was like a colossal beehive, while Jiuying was the queen bee hidden within.

    As such, Li Qingshan took a similar form to deal with this. At the same time, he constantly analysed and calculated the structure of the beehive, searching for any way out that existed.

    The demonic thought clones multiplied and became weaker. They had to hide their tracks as well, just in case they were discovered, so they moved extremely slowly. Even a regular person could walk much faster than them, but there was a colossal number of them.

    As time went on, he passed through more and more chambers and gradually gained some knowledge and experience.

    After almost a month, Li Qingshan stopped and exhaled gently. He smiled.

    ¡°What Blood maze? I think there¡¯s nothing impressive about it!¡±

    He had already calculated the entire structure of the Blood maze, as well as the exits that led to the twelve dominions. He even had a rough estimate for the central region where Jiuying occupied. During the past few days, he had always been concentrating on avoiding it.

    The only issue now was distinguishing them. Just which of the twelve exits led to Qiongqi¡¯s dominion?

    Yeah, I can eliminate one, so that¡¯s eleven. If there¡¯s no other way, I¡¯ll have to try them one by one!

    He could dismiss all of his clones now. With the speed at which his main body could move at, it would not take long at all.

    But at this exact moment, the Blood maze violently wriggled. The surging rivers of blood washed through countless chambers. The demonfolk seemed to have learned of this a long time ago, having moved over to the safe chambers. Many of his clones failed to retreat in time, swallowed by the raging rivers of blood.

    Li Qingshan was not surprised. He knew the time for the Gates of Xuanpin to open had arrived again.

    It was not like he needed to carefully wait for the Gate of Xuanpin to leave anymore. He could just slash his way out of here. As long as he left the Blood maze, even Jiuying would be powerless over him.

    Suddenly, the Blood maze began to wriggle violently. All of the spaces shook. The demonfolk in the chambers were thrown around. If the surroundings was not soft flesh, but hard rock, they probably would have all been left bloodied.

    What¡¯s going on? Li Qingshan¡¯s expression suddenly changed drastically. He lost contact over all of his clones at the same time. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve been exposed?

    He immediately gripped the hilt of his sword, preparing for battle, but after waiting for a while, there were no enemies.

    The violent shaking gradually settled down. Li Qingshan let go of the sword, opened his divine eye, and glanced around, which immediately left him shocked. He discovered that even the laws of the world had changed.

    Of course, they had not changed in nature, but their layout was completely different.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. He felt like he was trying to solve a 17¡Á17 rubik¡¯s cube, and after coming close to solving it, someone had stolen it from him and messed it up again. He was immediately overcome with an urge to kill someone.

    What was he supposed to do now? Was he supposed to do it all again?

    However, the Blood maze right now was no longer the same one as before, but a completely new maze. Even his location had probably changed, let alone the twelve exits.

    He needed to split up, explore the paths, analyse and deduce everything again before choosing between the eleven, no, twelve exits before the next time it all changed.

    His chances of success each time was only one in twelve. If he were lucky, then he could succeed within twelve tries. It would take twelve months in total or an entire year.

    However, his luck right now was horrendous. Even a decade might not be enough for him to leave here. He might even be trapped here forever.

    In this Blood maze, Jiuying¡¯s will influenced everything.

    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re trapped here.¡± Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking that this might not be for trapping you,¡± Qian Rongzhi said in thought.

    ¡°Oh? Don¡¯t tell me there are others?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What are you going to do now?¡±

    ¡°¡®Ask¡¯ them to give me a way out!¡±

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and let out a bellow.

    It was like a tiger¡¯s roar, a dragon¡¯s cry! Soundwaves swept out, making the surrounding flesh fluctuate. It spread through all the chambers with lightning speed.

    At that instant, a powerful will gathered on him, forming an almost-tangible pressure.

    It was Jiuying!

    Li Qingshan arched his back slightly and squinted his eyes, which turned scarlet.

    ¡°And if they don¡¯t give you a way out?¡± Qian Rongzhi asked with a smile.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll kill a way out,¡± Li Qingshan said flatly.

    ¡°I also have a small request. Can you let me talk first later?¡±

    ¡°What scheme are you up to now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just testing something. If you die, how am I supposed to live alone?¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Li Qingshan remained exactly where he was, but soon afterwards, nine extraordinarily powerful presences rapidly approached him, rushing into the chamber where he was in instantly.

    .

    The nine Heretic Gods!

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes, but all he saw were nine children. They all wore a red dudou with their hair tied up in upright bunches, waddling around with their small, bare feet. Their eyes were dark and their skin was fair and soft. They did not seem hideous or terrifying at all. Instead, they were particularly delicate and adorable.

    However, the presences they gave off clearly belonged to nine Heretic Gods. Every single one of them was stronger than Heretic God Baitun.

    His heart sank. The nine Heretic Gods definitely were not as simple as nine Heretic Gods working together. Instead, their bloodlines were connected, and they were mentally linked, pouring their powers to form a single entity, sealing off all of his paths of retreat. Even before they had done anything, the pressure already weighed on him like a mountain.

    Nine was a number of limits, containing endless changes and possibilities. When it came to battle, not even twenty Heretic Gods working together could necessarily defeat them.

    It was no wonder that Jiuying could contend with the twelve Demon Gods. With the Blood maze coupled with the nine Heretic God children, she could even challenge true gods.

    ¡°Who are you? You¡¯re looking to die in the Blood maze?¡± The nine Heretic Gods spoke at exactly the same time, questioning with babyish voices.

    Li Qingshan was just about to answer them, ¡°asking¡± them to give him a way out, just in case he had to butcher them all, when he remembered Qian Rongzhi¡¯s request, so he listened to what she had to say.

    Qian Rongzhi slithered down from Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist and turned back into human form, turning into a large, plump woman.

    ¡°We¡¯re here to kill Jiuying!¡±

    Before she had even finished what she was saying, she felt a chill run down her spine. A pair of scarlet eyes watched her coldly. As soon as she said that, there was no more room left for negotiation. Someone had to die.

    ¡°Just by you two!?¡± The nine Heretic Gods laughed as their murderousness surged.

    Qin Rongzhi suddenly opened her mouth and fished out a pig¡¯s head from inside, holding it in her hand and displaying it to the nine Heretic Gods.

    The nine Heretic Gods immediately stopped laughing. They could tell this was a Heretic God¡¯s head.

    ¡°Mother is not a pig.¡±

    ¡°Because your powers originate from her, you¡¯re unable to resist her, which is why you think she is far too powerful. In reality, Jiuying is just a Heretic God too. Just how much more powerful than this pig can she be?¡±

    The nine Heretic Gods looked at one another as if they wavered slightly.

    Qian Rongzhi shoved the pig¡¯s head back into her mouth and smiled. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let us try? There are no consequences on you if we fail. Or are you saying that you¡¯d rather be trapped here, stuck in this state forever?¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood what she was testing.

    In this monotonous, dull world devoid of meaning, even regular people would find it repulsive and boring, let alone powerful Heretic Gods. With their powers, they could do as they pleased in any world.

    The Blood maze constantly changed exactly so that it could trap the nine Heretic Gods, so these children also possessed the desire of matricide.

    Despite witnessing all of the chaos and repulsion of the Demon domain, he had never grown accustomed to this kind of ¡°wickedness¡±.

 Chapter 1591

    The nine Heretic Gods¡¯ eyes flickered as their lips trembled, communicating among themselves about something. Nine pairs of dark, round eyes glanced back and forth from Li Qingshan as if they were judging his capability. They could tell with a single glance that Qian Rongzhi was just a Demon Sovereign. Let alone killing Jiuying, just this pig head was not something she could deal with.

    Li Qingshan stood unfazed.

    Suddenly, the nine Heretic Gods said together again with babyish voices, ¡°Hmph, why would mother fear a one-armed handicap like you? C¡¯mon, brothers and sisters, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s leave it up to mother to teach them a lesson!¡±

    As they said that, they backed away at the same time, except they asked one more question together, ¡°Oh right, you know where she is, right? If you don¡¯t know where she is, hehe!¡±

    Their pink little faces gave off an innocent and naive sense of ruthlessness. It was probably a talent that all demonfolk were endowed with from birth.

    ¡°Brothers and sisters, you have nothing to worry about. Of course, we know.¡± Qian Rongzhi looked back at Li Qingshan and smiled. ¡°Right?¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded silently.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± The nine Heretic Gods left in satisfaction. They left behind one last threat. ¡°If you dare to lie to us, we¡¯ll never spare you. Mother will never spare you either!¡±

    ¡°Alright, they¡¯re gone.¡± Qian Rongzhi turned back into a tiny snake, entwining around Li Qingshan¡¯s wrist. ¡°I decided on that all by myself, so please don¡¯t get angry with me, sir!¡±

    Li Qingshan remained silent for a very long time. He had no hopes in a peaceful negotiation, so he also prepared for a great battle.

    Just from what he had witnessed earlier, the strength of the nine Heretic Gods was even greater than his estimates. If the nine of them coordinated together in the battle too, it would be another difficult, dangerous battle.

    He was unable to blame Qian Rongzhi for her scheme of turning the enemy against themselves. It was equivalent to eliminating twenty Heretic Gods worth of enemies for nothing. Now, all he had to do was deal with Jiuying. With the Sword of Xuanyuan in hand, he could enter the state of ¡°one with the heavens¡± at any moment, so even if the nine Heretic Gods suddenly turned against him, they would not be too much of a threat.

    However, all of this still left him deeply unhappy. Basically all of the wicked deeds in the world played out in the Demon domain at all times. He felt like even his emotions would be drastically affected if he remained in the Demon domain for too long, finding it more and more repulsive and unbearable.

    I¡¯ll kill my way out of this Blood maze as soon as possible, settle the gamble with that bastard Qiongqi at Qingqi mountain, and then leave the Demon domain!

    With that in mind, Li Qingshan began his calculations again. Finding the exit that led to Qiongqi¡¯s dominion among the twelve was relatively difficult. However, there was only a single location for Jiuying. As long as he found it, it was impossible for it to fall through.

    After a series of calculations, he discovered that while the overall structure of the Blood maze had changed drastically, Jiuying¡¯s location should not have changed. It was still in the central region of the Blood maze, controlling everything from there like the queen bee.

    Everything became even simpler. He did not have to detour around looking for a path. Just directly killing his way over was enough.

    Li Qingshan hovered in the air and shut his eyes, slowly turning his body and adjusting his direction precisely.

    Suddenly, he stopped and opened his eyes, raising his only arm and throwing a punch!

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The force of his fist smashed through the walls of flesh. A great path pierced through countless chambers and crushed all the demonfolk blocking its path, extending straight to the very depths of the Blood maze.

    .

    At that instant, the Blood maze was like a colossal beast that had suddenly awakened. The surrounding flesh wriggled violently, pressing towards him. The chamber contracted violently, becoming extremely narrow.

    The invisible laws restrained and pressured him. He suddenly felt like he was burdened with a tremendous weight.

    Pustules protruded from the walls, bursting open with a series of pops. Bloodshot white eyes devoid of irises appeared, all gathering on him with an indescribable gaze.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs stood on end. The invisible gaze seeped through his pores, inciting the most primitive sense of fear. It was the fear that a weak creature felt towards a powerful, unknown creature.

    However, he did not resist this fear. He raised his only arm and gazed at his trembling right hand.

    ¡°Yes, this is fear¡­¡±

    Countless fleshy nodules sprouted on the walls, densely-packed and trypophobic in sight. They immediately turned into countless tendrils, where their sharp tips split open into eight parts, becoming mouths lined with jagged teeth. They let out an extremely sharp shriek that resembled the bawling of infants, tearing towards him.

    All of this was enough to immediately collapse the minds of Human and Demon Sovereigns. Even Heretic Gods would go mad from this, even suffering from cultivation deviation.

    Li Qingshan was deeply affected as well, but he still did not suppress it with the spirit turtle. He allowed this maddening idea to rage through his sea of consciousness.

    ¡°Yes, this is madness¡­¡±

    After arriving in the Demon domain, the gloom, hesitation, and disgust he had accumulated gradually oozed out, forming a hysterical fury¡ªFrenzy of the Tiger Demon!

    The wings of wind suddenly unfurled. He let out a roar as his murderousness surged like the wind!

    At that instant, the malice of the tiger demon reached an unprecedented level.

    Within the fierce wings that had unfurled after merging with the wings of wind, he tore through all of the tendrils and pierced all of the eyes. The chamber he resided in immediately expanded to several times its size. He continued to amass the violent winds, which contained lightning and thunder.

    ¡°Jiuying, I¡¯m coming!¡±

    Li Qingshan stood within the wind and lightning. The storm reached its limit, and he flapped his wings gently.

    With a boom, the chamber ruptured, and the winds and thunder roared together. He charged out of the depths of the Blood maze.

    He sped off straight for the centre, smashing through the obstacles and tearing apart the demonfolk he encountered mercilessly. At this very moment, he felt no pity or hesitation for them. There was only bloodthirstiness and violence.

    Wherever he went, blood flowed everywhere, merging with the flesh and bones, forming a river of blood that gathered and raged as he advanced!

    Boom! The storm smashed through an extremely tough wall and suddenly entered a huge chamber over a hundred times larger than a regular one.

    Whoosh! The river of blood raged down, forming a colossal waterfall that rapidly swallowed the ground.

    Li Qingshan gazed out. In the centre of the chamber was a mountainous mushroom of blood and flesh, similar to the fungus that the demonfolk ate. The very top was shaped like a placenta.

    A half-human, half-snake woman curled up on there. Her dishevelled long hair covered her face as she embraced her slightly-bulging belly, gently humming an ancient ballad.

    The woman seemed to be wrapped in a motherly glow. Her singing was gentle and distant, filled with tenderness. It also seemed to possess a strange kind of power, immediately pacifying the whistling of the storm. Even the malice in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart settled down. For an instant, he even suspected that he had come to the wrong place.

    ¡°Jiuying!?¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Why have you intruded on my palace? And killed my children!?¡±

    The singing came to a halt. The woman turned over slowly. Her beautiful face was filled with resentment.

    Li Qingshan raised his lone arm and threw a punch.

    ¡°Killing needs no reason!¡±

 Chapter 1592

    The force of the fist tore through the air with whites air waves, hurtling towards Jiuying like a mountain.

    Li Qingshan had arrived with fury. Even a Heretic God would not dare to forcefully receive that punch.

    However, a hint of scorn flashed across Jiuying¡¯s face. She gently waved her hand, and the force of the fist was stopped by an invisible barrier, erupting violently. It only managed to stir up a slight ripple on the barrier.

    Jiuying was slightly surprised. Li Qingshan¡¯s strength actually surpassed her expectations, far beyond any regular Heretic God. ¡°But that¡¯s all there is to it.¡±

    The sky full of wind and lightning surged. The violent waves of air swept up the blood, making them surge through the chamber, slamming against the fleshly walls heavily. He stirred up colossal waves, but none of them were able to approach the huge mushroom.

    Without any hesitation, Li Qingshan flapped his wings and swooped down, swinging his fist once more. This time, there was not just the force, but the great strength of the ox demon as well. He crushed down like a mountain, refusing to believe that he could not shatter Jiuying¡¯s defences.

    Jiuying extended her index finger again. ¡°Freeze!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly halted, having been frozen in place. The whistling wind and lightning immediately settled down. Even the wings of wind collapsed and dispersed.

    He gritted his teeth and pushed his great strength of the ox demon to the limit with a deep growl. All of his muscles tensed and popped with veins, but he was still unable to break free from the invisible restraint.

    Jiuying said, ¡°This is all you¡¯re capable of, and you still talk so brazenly before me!¡±

    The Blood maze was her dwelling, her world. Here, she was the only god, constantly in the state of ¡°one with the heavens¡±. The laws abided by her commands, such that just a single ¡°freeze¡± command would possess limitless power. There were no Heretic Gods that could serve as her opponent.

    If she was not capable of something like this, she would have never been able to control the nine Heretic Gods. Everything was within the palm of her hand.

    This was not a matter of strength, but the difference in ¡°authority¡±. As an ancient existence that was infinitesimally close to True God, her knowledge and grasp over the laws far surpassed anything that Li Qingshan who relied on a foreign object and entered the state of ¡°one with the heavens¡± accidentally could come close to.

    Jiuying curled her finger and pulled Li Qingshan a little closer. She sneered viciously. ¡°You don¡¯t need any reasons? But I have plenty of reasons. I will tear you apart inch by inch to avenge my children!¡±

    ¡°Hah, your children are just a bunch of corpses walking around. Is there any difference now that they¡¯re dead? As for those nine vile spawns who wanted to kill their own mother, they well and truly deserved to die.¡± Li Qingshan glanced at her belly in disdain. ¡°And that vile demonfolk spawn in your belly. Why let him into this world to suffer at all? You might as well let me finish him off too!¡±

    Falling for the great mocking technique, Jiuying immediately flew into a fury. ¡°You!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes shone. Now!

    ¡°The Divine Dragon Treads the Heavens, Understanding the Fortunes of Nature!¡±

    With a great bellow, the dragon¡¯s cry erupted, and the sword emerged from its sheath.

    Li Qingshan suddenly broke free from the restraints, merging with the sword. He turned into a grand streak of light of tremendous force, piercing the invisible barrier with a single strike and immediately illuminating Jiuying¡¯s pale face.

    The Sword of Xuanyuan was always capable of increasing his ¡°authority¡±. Not only did the Divine Dragon Transformation gather all the power and laws from the small world, but it also drastically strengthened his control over the Sword of Xuanyuan as well.

    The might of the slash was far greater than when he killed Heretic God Baitun. It was no longer one with the sword, but a divine dragon wielding the sword. Not only could he fend off Jiuying¡¯s authority, but he could even launch a sure-kill strike with the Sword of Xuanyuan¡¯s might!

    The flash of the sword illuminated the chamber, containing the cry of the dragon, becoming the only item within the Blood maze that Jiuying could not control.

    At that critical moment, Jiuying abruptly raised her head and twisted her body, making her long hair drift through the air. The sword whistled past above her cheeks, and her hair drifted into the air. A trickle of blood flowed down from her forehead, but the wound failed to close.

    Her face changed drastically. She cried out involuntarily, ¡°The Sword of Xuanyuan!¡±

    Li Qingshan returned to his previous state with the sword in hand. He said proudly, ¡°You actually recognise this sword!¡± He estimated Jiuying¡¯s strength as he tried to come up with a countermeasure.

    Even when the Sword of Xuanyuan¡¯s power had increased drastically, it was unlike the battle when he slaughtered Heretic God Baitun. The Blood maze was Jiuying¡¯s territory. He could not maintain the state of ¡°one with the heavens¡± for long at all. Every passing moment depleted a tremendous amount of power. With his current small world, he could launch eight strikes at most. Now, only seven remained.

    Seven opportunities, seven chances at survival.

    If he could not claim Jiuying¡¯s head even after those seven strikes, then only death awaited him.

    ¡°So you¡¯re a little mutt from the Youxiong tribe. That¡¯s another reason for me to stop you from leaving here today!¡±

    Jiuying soon recovered her calm. The hatred on her face grew deeper.

    Li Qingshan was unfazed, searching for an opportunity to land an attack, as he thought to himself how Jiuying¡¯s origins truly were strange. She seemed to have been banished with the ancient Demon Gods, which was very much connected to that ¡°Youxiong¡± person.

    If he did not possess the Sword of Xuanyuan, he would have become Demon God Taotie¡¯s esteemed guest already, but there were also many situations where he had relied heavily on this Sword of Xuanyuan. He felt no regret about it. Even if there was some scheme involved, it was still a powerful weapon. Relying on himself was still better than relying on others.

    Jiuying muttered something softly. Her pale face flushed with waves of unnatural red.

    At that instant, all the entrances and exits to the chamber were firmly closed, even including the great hole that Li Qingshan had produced.

    With the raging sound of water, dark-red blood rapidly rose, except it was no longer regular demonic blood. It was similar to the river of blood that Li Qingshan had encountered when he first entered through the Gate of Xuanpin. It possessed the power to wash away auras and powers.

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. Even with his body of the demonic and divine, he had been forced to cut off his own arm to protect himself after coming into contact with the blood, an injury that he had not recovered from even now. Once the blood swallowed the chamber, he would no longer stand a chance.

    Of course, just the chamber alone could not trap him. He was free to kill his way out again with the sword, but he would not be able to leave this Blood maze. He would be faced with a relentless pursuit until it exhausted his last sliver of energy.

    Even the nine Heretic Gods that Qian Rongzhi had managed to get on his side would probably turn against him again once they discovered that he was incapable of killing their mother.

    If he had guessed correctly, the nine Heretic Gods were currently observing the situation here as well.

    In the blink of an eye, the foul blood had already surged up here, enveloping Jiuying. Whether it was physical attacks or techniques, none of them could approach her.

    ¡°The brave emerge triumphantly from a confrontation on a narrow path!¡±

    Li Qingshan laughed and flicked his sword, which thrummed away. ¡°There are no gods watching up above. I have placed all my happiness and sorrow, honour and disgrace, in the sword a long time ago. Those who use the sword die by the sword. Those who live live and those who die die. What is there to regret?¡±

    There was no moon here, so he could not use the Sword of the Moon. Even if there was the moon, he would probably struggle to use it.

    However, he still had himself. No matter how difficult it became, people always had themselves as a companion.

    In his heart, there was a world, as well as all the transformations of the demonic and divine. Each transformation was a path, a law, which could be converted into a sword move!

    ¡°The first sword, the Ox Demon, with its Great Strength, Sinks in the Mud!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately vanished. Even the sword vanished as well, without a single trace.

    In the surroundings, there was only a stubborn will to never submit, as well as the land and mountains that were long gone, condensing into a heavy and thick sword intent.

    Find the original at Hosted Novel.

    The rising foul blood was suddenly pressed down by several metres, becoming even thicker and stickier, almost congealing together.

    Jiuying could not help but lower her head. Her body became ten thousand times heavier. Every single inch of flesh and bone drooped downwards. Even her organs shifted in position, leaving her dizzy and nauseous.

    Even her consciousness was pulled down deeply, to the depths of hell. Originally, she should have been controlling the laws and putting up a fierce struggle, yet a sense of sombreness she was unable to break free from welled up from the bottom of her heart.

    How many tens of thousand years has it been already since I was banished? Haven¡¯t I also been trapped in this maze, never to be liberated? She suddenly shook her head. No, I can¡¯t let him get to me!

    Not only did the strike follow through with the ox demon¡¯s path, but it also possessed Li Qingshan¡¯s comprehension of the path of the devaputra-m¨¡ra. If he wanted to kill, he had to slay the heart!

    At that instant, both Jiuying¡¯s body and mind collapsed under this heavy pressure, however, she forcefully held on through the powerful cultivation she had accumulated over a million years.

    Before the strike had settled, another strike rose up!

    ¡°The second sword, the Tiger Demon Forges its Bones, with a Frenzied Heart!¡±

    The heavy weight suddenly vanished, and the sunken blood suddenly rose into the air, hovering as droplets. Time seemed to stop at that instant.

    Jiuying¡¯s hair drifted in the air, sensing the existence of ¡°wind¡±. Wind whistled into her ears, as well as all of the pores in her body. That was not any old gale, but unstoppable ¡°metal wind¡±, possessing the bleakness of the world.

    The wind awakened even more distant memories. She too had once fought with her life on the line on the battlefield. Even if the end result was banishment, the hot-bloodedness and the high-spiritedness flowed through the veins of every early human.

    She wanted to leap up and receive Li Qingshan in battle without any regard, but her belly moved. She curled up again, shielding her belly with her hands and silently enduring the sweeps of the ¡°metal wind¡±. Blood oozed out from every pore, but it was not enough to destroy her body.

    She was well aware that such a sharp strike could not last for too long!

    ¡°The third sword, the Ape Demon Scoops the Moon, All to Null and Void!¡±

    The wind stopped, and the landscape changed. Everything in the surroundings vanished, becoming an endless blank-white, like the Formless realm.

    Emptiness was no other than form, form was no other than emptiness.

    In a daze, she seemed to see those children who lived like they were floating on empty bliss and died like they were resting, yet described by Li Qingshan as walking corpses. She also saw the nine children that absolutely hated her, cursing her death from within the darkness.

    All of her efforts were reduced to an illusion. Was there still any point to it?

    This sword was nowhere near as dangerous as the prior two swords, but it threw her into disarray, leaving her confused.

    ¡°The fourth sword, the Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas, Foreboding Fate!¡±

    The moment the illusion dispersed, a nightmarish omen descended!

    The sword was the sword of fate. It did not harm her at all, but it did sever her chosen fate as a Heretic God of the Demon domain, the ruler of the Blood maze. It sealed up all of her heavenly blessings.

    ¡°The fifth sword, the Phoenix Undergoes Nirvana Rebirth, with an Undying Heart!¡±

    The phoenix cried out proudly and aloofly, with a noble mind. Its heart of fire burned unceasingly, and the five virtues never declined.

    She rolled and struggled within the fire. The colour was like red lotuses, extremely pure yet extremely hot. Even the surging blood could not put it out at all as if it was the legendary flames of karma.

    Despite feeling great agony, she felt no fury or hatred. Instead, she was filled with guilt and regret as if the enemy was not attacking and abusing her, instead repenting for the sins she had committed.

    ¡°The sixth sword, the Qilin, with its Hovering Steps, Sympathises with the Living!¡±

    The flames were extinguished and darkness enveloped.

    Even though he had lost many blessings due to shattering the Black Sun Demon Heart, the world was still originally a part of the primordial qilin.

    At that instant, a wisp of the Demon domain¡¯s will descended, manifesting as a black qilin that stomped down mercilessly on her body with its hoof.

    The world had no compassion. All was worthless.

    The might of this sword surpassed all of the ones that came before it.

    At that moment, it was not Li Qingshan trying to destroy her, but the demonic heavens.

    These six swords were lightning-fast, basically swung out one after another. The sword moves possessed three demonic transformations and three divine transformations, using the demonic transformations to perturb her and the divine transformations to judge her.

    By the time the black qilin had dispersed, Jiuying was already heavily injured, sprawled out on the ground weakly. All her organs had suffered severe injuries and her bones had all been crushed, unable to offer up any resistance. Even her spirit and will had completely collapsed.

    ¡°It¡¯s time to end it! The last sword, the Divine Dragon Treads the Heavens, Understanding the Fortunes of Nature!¡±

    This sword was not just the sword of the divine dragon. Instead, it led and merged all seven transformations, releasing all of the remaining power in the small world to completely end all vigour in Jiuying.

    With that sword, the dragon soared, the tiger leapt, the qilin flew, the phoenix glided, the ox mooed, and the ape howled!

    At this moment, Jiuying suddenly propped up her body. Her face was covered in blood, and her expression was twisted, raising her hands as if she was struggling for her life, catching the sword.

    ¡°Hmph, a futile struggle before death!

    The sword only paused slightly before grinding her hands, along with her arms, to pieces.

    However, using this pause, she extended her neck and opened her mouth without any regard, biting down on the sword. There was a great screech!

    Li Qingshan was surprised. Compared to the body, the head was a much more lethal vital point, but he did not hesitate much. He had poured all of his strength into this attack, so it was already beyond his control.

    Sword qi rushed through her head and light poured into her body.

    Jiuying could not help but slack her jaw. With a twist, the sword plunged into her chest with its remaining momentum, snuffing out her last bit of vigour.

    Immediately, the surging blood receded. The flesh decayed, and the rotten flesh fell sloppily. The entire Blood maze began to collapse. The demonfolk all panicked. The fungus in their hands rapidly decomposed, giving off a foul stench.

    Li Qingshan had noticed a long time ago that her naked body was linked with the giant mushroom, forming one entity with the entire Blood maze. It could even be said that the entire Blood maze was an extension of her body.

    It immobilised her and granted him the opportunity to use his sword moves, but it basically endowed her with endless strength. She could recover no matter how heavy her wounds were. If he still could not kill her after seven consecutive attacks, the one dead right now would be him.

    But now, the outcome had been determined! He could not help but exhale deeply, slowly withdrawing his remaining power from the Sword of Xuanyuan.

    Jiuying suddenly moved again, actually holding on, refusing to die. She murmured sorrowfully, ¡°Was¡­ I wrong? My children, I only wanted¡­ to protect them, so they lived¡­ well, without any cold or hunger¡­ without being killed¡­ Was I wrong?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing. Who could help the fact that they were demonfolk.

    Suddenly, he heard a faint but vigorous heartbeat. It was filled with life, which left him stunned. This is impossible!?

    He was most familiar with the Sword of Xuanyuan. Jiuying had only gained a sudden spurt of energy right before death. How could her body still contain such vigour?

    Jiuying lowered her head. Her arms had already been sliced to pieces, so she could only caress her belly with a gentle gaze.

    I see now! Li Qingshan suddenly remembered that when the black qilin stomped down, she had arched her back to fend off the hoof, protecting the child in her belly. When she had been burned by the flames and blown by the metal wind, she had been the same too!

    In the end, when she extended her arms and bit the sword, it was also to protect the child in her belly. An indescribable sensation suddenly filled his heart. Something rocked violently.

    Jiuying said on the brink of death, ¡°Please¡­ spare him¡­ He¡¯s still¡­ not a demonfolk!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. With a swing of his sword, he cut through her belly, and the clear bawling of a child rang out. A moist, wrinkly infant laid within the bloody womb of his mother.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had been hit by a bombshell. He suddenly blanked out. The infant was ugly, but he was not a demonfolk, but a regular infant, a human infant.

    The Sword of Xuanyuan slid out from his hand. He extended his trembling hands and picked up the infant from his mother¡¯s womb. His hands were covered in blood, scarlet and eye-catching.

    Jiuying gazed blankly at the infant and began humming the ancient ballad again, gentle and distant, filled with love. It also contained a wondrous power that made the infant stop crying and quieten down.

    At the same time, the laws of the Demon domain operated silently. Invisible demon qi tried to seep into the infant¡¯s body, wanting to endow him with a demon heart and convert him into a true demonfolk.

    ¡°Is that why¡­ you didn¡¯t become a Demon God?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was extremely weary, but he did not receive a reply. The gentle and distant humming had already vanished.

    ¡°Fantastic! That bitch is finally dead! We¡¯re free! What do we do with this person? We kill him of course! I want that sword! No, it¡¯s mine!¡±

    The nine Heretic Gods walked into the collapsed chamber, talking and laughing innocently, but they were also filled with heart-stopping cruelty. They rapidly grew up, bursting through their great red dudous. Their bodies changed with every passing moment, becoming mature, becoming hideous! They pressed towards Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan did not budge as if he did not hear them. He suddenly shook his head. His face was already covered in tears.

    ¡°Look, we¡¯ve scared this kid into crying!¡± A hideous man mocked, leading to a roar of laughter. A seductive woman said, ¡°I¡¯d like to play around with him!¡±

    Li Qingshan held the infant. His scarlet eyes were wide open as he questioned the heavens, ¡°Buddha, even if the demonfolk are all steeped in sins, do demonfolk really deserve to be demonfolk from the moment they¡¯re born!?¡±

    The heavens did not answer him. His voice probably could not reach Sukh¨¡vat¨©. All he saw was a black sun hanging high up.

    ¡°Then come!¡±

    At that instant, the black sun fell. The demon heart condensed, piercing the endless space and immediately arriving before him, swallowed in a single gulp.

    The Snake Demon Swallows the Sun, Incinerating itself to a Crisp.

 Chapter 1593

    His scarlet hair flew. The Black Sun Demon Heart glimmered as it slid down his throat, straight into his belly. Li Qingshan shut his eyes and sucked in a deep breath¡ªthe great winds rose!

    As if he had exhaled a storm, the great winds surged and lashed, blowing apart the chambers and flesh.

    The blood maze collapsed and flesh scattered everywhere, blown to bits by the wind. The surroundings abruptly opened up. The endlessly distant sky appeared over his head.

    The wind still did not stop, reaching up into the heavens. The clouds churned, flowing freely as seas.

    A black sun moved rapidly through the sea of clouds, flickering with light, surging with his emotions.

    The black sun illuminated the vast, bleak land, illuminating the twelve dominions. All of the demonfolk raised their heads.

    The twelve Demon Gods all noticed in surprise at the same time that in the territory beyond their control, in Jiuying¡¯s Blood maze, something was being born.

    And to their disbelief, the eternally chaotic and wicked will of the Demon domain celebrated and urged it on, accelerating the growth of this ¡°thing¡±, even going as far as to draw away part of the laws they controlled.

    In the depths of the Tang valley.

    This was where Demon God Hundun¡¯s dwelling was located. He was publicly acknowledged as the strongest of the twelve Demon Gods. The power he possessed and the laws he controlled were even greater and even more plentiful than the eleven other Demon Gods combined. Originally, he was the existence with the greatest chance at conquering the Demon domain.

    However, it was rumoured that he had completely assimilated with the laws of chaos, sinking into eternal chaos, no longer capable of any rational thought.

    On this day, as part of the laws of chaos were drawn away, he suddenly recovered a moment of clarity. His broken thoughts came to him, The black sun¡­ has descended¡­ the prophecy¡­

    He had forgotten his surname and clan a long time ago, forgetting why he had been banished here, but he still remembered the ancient legend, the prophecy regarding the Black Sun Demon Heart and the Demon Godking.

    So¡­ I¡¯m not the prophesied person¡­

    Afterwards, he sank into complete chaos again, never to recover.

    The Dixi clan of the past had once produced a disappointment, hiding his viciousness behind his righteousness, committing all sorts of atrocities. The world called him Hundun.

    Qingqi mountain.

    Demon God Qiongqi gazed at the flickering black sun and suddenly recalled the oath from many years ago, that insolent brat who would rather die in battle than yield.

    Under the connections of fate from the Blood Oath of the Nether River, he was the first to identify Li Qingshan¡¯s identity. For a moment, countless thoughts whirled through his head as his complexion darkened and brightened. Suddenly, he began laughing flagrantly.

    ¡°It¡¯s actually you! It really is you! You¡¯ve finally come! You¡¯ve made me wait! Fortunately, you haven¡¯t disappointed me. Come, show me just how impressive the prophesied Demon Godking is!¡± His laughter echoed through the surroundings. It had been a long time since he last felt such delight, but it also hid ruthless killing intent.

    The Jinyun Food hall.

    Demon God Taotie was stunned at first, which then turned into an understanding smile, even though the smile was rather wry. ¡°Truly a person chosen by the chief!¡± Regardless of his temperament, they always possessed an unparalleled demeanour!

    His pale face became determined again, putting on the bronze mask again. He gazed at the ox totem on the wall and picked up the short spear. His eyes were filled with resolve.

    ¡°Then one more time, and the last time. I will fight for the Shennong tribe, before I completely change!¡±

    There was Demon God Jiazuo, Demon God Qiangliang, Demon God Taowu¡­ the Demon Gods all watched on with different thoughts, awaiting the moment when the prophecy became true.

    At the same time, the small world in Li Qingshan¡¯s body underwent a startling change. A snake appeared out of nowhere with a black sun in its mouth, slithering through the space. That was the newly-born snake demon.

    The divine dragon immediately took to the skies.

    The dragon and snake competed against one another. When the snake grew by an inch, the dragon grew by an inch as well. When the snake grew by a foot, the dragon grew by foot as well. It was as if they were entangled together in battle, yet also as if they were making peace with their tails joined.

    Li Qingshan immediately recalled the glorious image of the Battle of Mending Heavens again, Fuxi and N¨¹wa, the dragon and the snake.

    The dragon and snake tangled together, gradually merging together, such that it became impossible to distinguish between the two.

    ¡°The splitting of Hongmeng, yin and yang merge as one!¡±

    The small world violently shook, revolved, and changed.

    The four divine transformations and four demonic transformations appeared one by one before vanishing one by one.

    The dragon was yang. The snake was yin.

    The qilin transformed into life. The ape presided over emptiness.

    The ox, phoenix, tiger, and turtle; earth, fire, wind, and water.

    At that instant, the transformations of the demonic and divine merged together as one!

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the storm. He felt like even his body of the demonic and divine was shattering and collapsing.

    The small world expanded endlessly, breaking through the limits of his soul and body, connecting with the entire world.

    The shattered body of the demonic and divine reformed immediately. The small world no longer existed. The world around him was his small world.

    At that instant, he was like the legendary torch dragon. It was day when his eyes opened, night when his eyes closed. His exhaling breath was winter and inhaling breath was summer. His breathing turned into wind and his bellows turned into thunder. His movements and stillness came and went with yin and yang.

    With each breath he took, he became even stronger, proceeding straight down a path, directly to the realm of true gods.

    The nine Heretic Gods suddenly felt alarmed. They could sense that Li Qingshan was going through some kind of alarming transformation. If they allowed this transformation to be completed, only death would await them, so they all charged up together.

    ¡°Kill him!¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes slowly. They were still a pair of scarlet irises, but his eye whites had turned pitch-black.

    Scarlet like fight, black like night, like a star in the night sky, it was known as ¡°Yinghuo¡±, the glowing entrancement.

    Find the original at Hosted Novel.

    TL: Yinghuo is the ancient Chinese name for Mars. It is regarded as an ill omen, a sign before something terrible is about to happen.

    In the distant beyond the Nine Heavens, there were not a lot of stars. Each star was a manifestation of a god or buddha in the heavens, which included the twelve Demon Gods, except they were dim, shrouded in darkness.

    Suddenly, a small, scarlet star peered through the curtain of night, shining with a devilish glow.

    The scarlet star was extremely indistinct and distant, unable to match any of the stars.

    However, from the moment it appeared, the other stars dimmed, overcome with shock and fright.

    ¡°Glowing like firelight, enchanting and hypnotising.¡±

    With the emergence of the daemon star, the world would plunge into upheaval. War and chaos would never end.

    The curtains to the crisis of the world were being pulled open slowly.

    Within the glowing, hypnotising eyes, was it filled with demonic nature, divine nature, or human nature?

    Within Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes, everything lost their colour. The nine Heretic Gods lunged towards him, some going for the Sword of Xuanyuan beside him, some attacking his opening near his severed arm, and even some targeting the infant in his arms.

    Their minds were all linked, and they moved as one, striking with lightning speed and great intensity, but they all halted at that instant.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes swiveled around. He even could spare the effort to observe the expressions on their faces one by one, but there was nothing for him to see. They were all despicable.

    The stump on his shoulder became slightly itchy. Bone protruded out and flesh regrew, immediately sprouting an arm, covered in a layer of thin scales.

    His cultivation of the Qilin Transformation skyrocketed. Before his arm had even completely regrown, he had already reached the ninth layer. He had already received the complete mental legacy of the primordial qilin. Even the power of the Sword of Xuanyuan was unable to prevent the severed arm from regrowing.

    Then he blinked his eyes. Everything recovered their colour again. He extended his new arm.

    One of the Heretic Gods did not even see what had happened when a large hand grabbed him by the face. His face contorted, and he struggled desperately, followed by a bang. His head had been forcefully crushed.

 Chapter 1594

    Li Qingshan casually crushed a Heretic God¡¯s head, but with how powerful the physiques of Heretic Gods were, they could still recover even if they were sliced to pieces, let alone just having their heads crushed. They could only be slain in a single strike by a divine weapon like the Sword of Xuanyuan.

    However, the Heretic God¡¯s headless body tottered around a few times before collapsing on the ground, rotting away like grass.

    The other Heretic Gods all paled in fright and came to a sudden halt. From the consciousness right before death of the Heretic God who had his head crushed, there was a great sense of horror that they had never experienced before. It could not be put into words.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s this feeling¡­ supposed to mean? It¡¯s terrifying! So terrifying!¡±

    The sense of fear rapidly grew and spread through their connected consciousness. No one dared to take another step forward. Instead, they backed away, unable to stop trembling.

    This was the fear of death!

    Unlike other demonfolk, they were born in the Blood maze. They had never experienced the sensation of struggling on the verge of death. They had become Heretic Gods completely under Jiuying¡¯s care, so their lifespans were limitless. Afterwards, they began to resent Jiuying for trapping them here, preventing them from doing as they pleased in the vaster world.

    Even when they possessed great strength that surpassed regular Heretic Gods, they were not even as great as Heretic God Baitun in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes.

    The battles of the cultivation community had never just been a contest of strength, but a clash of wills as well.

    These noble ¡°children of gods¡± of extraordinary status seemed powerful and crafty, but they had essentially spent their entire lives in a warm and soft womb. They were even more foolish and cowardly than the lowliest of demonfolk. As soon as they were faced with a true challenge, they revealed their true colours.

    ¡°Just as you wished, you¡¯ve been released into this world. Welcome, welcome.¡± Li Qingshan said indifferently, ¡°Now, after witnessing the cruelty of the world, you can go die.¡±

    His glowing eyes were no longer fixed on these Heretic Gods. Instead, he gazed off into the distance, in the direction of Qingqi mountain. He did not need any guide any more. He knew anything and everything about the Demon domain. He had clearly received Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s killing intent as well.

    Now that was the enemy he was about to face. Then he raised his head. His true opponent was even further away, beyond the Nine Heavens, in Sukh¨¡vat¨©. Perhaps at this exact moment, they were peering down on him.

    As for the pieces of trash right before him, just swatting them to death was enough.

    With a casual wave of his hand, another Heretic God was smashed to pieces. His organs and bones scattered in the air, and his blood sprayed on the faces of the other Heretic Gods. All of them were stupefied from fright. They all widened their eyes, watching blankly as Li Qingshan approached them.

    A black qilin seemed to appear, bringing destruction as it walked over with hovering steps.

    The Heretic Gods tried to muster their courage, but how could those who had never experienced fear possess something like that? They were bold enough to betray Jiuying only because they knew they would not face any punishment.

    In reality, let alone resisting, they did not even have the courage to flee. They were afraid of becoming Li Qingshan¡¯s prime target.

    The Heretic Gods were filled with regret. They regretted betraying their mother, regretted entering this world. They missed the life they spent in the Blood maze.

    However, all was too late. The terrifying man strode over.

    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t move! I¡¯m ordering you as a Heretic God!¡± A Heretic God howled viciously, but he shrank backwards.

    Bang! Li Qingshan killed him with a swing of his hand, turning towards the next.

    ¡°Sir, I can serve you! I can be useful to you!¡± A Heretic God sucked up to him.

    Bang! Li Qingshan killed him with a swing of his hand, turning towards the next.

    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, don¡¯t kill me! I still don¡¯t want to die!¡± A Heretic God dropped to his knees and pleaded.

    Bang! Li Qingshan killed him with a swing of his hand, turning towards the next.

    One after another, it was basically even easier than swatting flies. At least flies still knew to flee. They just stood where they were, waiting for Li Qingshan to come and kill them. All they knew how to do was blabber some useless nonsense.

    Whenever one of them died, the great horror before death seemed to explode in the hearts of the remaining Heretic Gods like a bomb, such that some of them even fell silent, clutching their heads and laughing away manically, actually frightened into insanity.

    In the blink of an eye, the Heretic Gods littered the ground with their corpses. Only one remained.

    The final survivor curled up on the ground with his burly body. As Li Qingshan pressed closer, he gradually turned back into a child from being a hideous, vicious-looking man. He screamed, ¡°Mummy! I want mummy!¡±

    He seemed like an innocent and pitiful child. Anyone who saw this would have thought Li Qingshan was a mass murderer.

    Find the original at Hosted Novel.

    Li Qingshan stopped and sighed inaudibly. He also felt like he was a mass murderer.

    He raised his right leg and stepped down. With a squelch, he reduced him to mince.

    With that, the nine Heretic Gods were all slain. The Blood maze collapsed.

    Qian Rongzhi witnessed all of this. She was completely enchanted by it. What a wonderful fate! She gazed at Li Qingshan¡¯s lonely figure and licked her lips. This was probably much more painful than when she bit him!

    And during the instant Li Qingshan swallowed the Black Sun Demon Heart, the demonic heavens poured the endless blessings into her body, compensating her for this.

    She had completed her duty, offering up a unique ¡°sacrifice¡±. He would definitely throw the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm into an endless war. When she thought up to there, she could not help but laugh aloud, laughing until she cried.

    Li Qingshan glanced at her deeply and placed the infant in his arms on the ground. ¡°Take care of him.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡±

    Li Qingshan did not answer her, making his way towards Qingqi mountain alone.

    He suddenly remembered the situation when he first met Gu Yanying, recalling the feeling of ¡°falling in love at first sight¡±. Actually, what he truly fell in love with was the grace and freedom, the feeling of being able to fly to his heart¡¯s content. She had probably already gone on a meteoric rise by now, soaring through the skies of the Daemonic Beast realm freely!

    However, fate had given him a path that he had to ¡°take¡±.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±

    He no longer gazed at the sky. He stared at the ground beneath him, walking off step by step.

    Within the great silence, he heard his own heartbeat again.

    The Black Sun Demon Heart thumped away, delivering the endless, oceanic demonic powers into his body.

    His scarlet hair drifted in the wind, immediately becoming several times longer, flickering like fire in the fierce gales.

    His feet sank as if he was carrying something even heavier than a mountain. He arched his back deeply as every inch of his body swelled. However, he gritted his teeth, firmly repressing the violent power in his body. Every muscle in his body possessed explosive power. He could crush mountains with a single finger and sever rivers with a single hair.

    Black runes began to unfold from his chest, growing like vines and spreading like it. They overlapped densely on his chest, forming a profound and eerie image on his back. That was the manifestation of the laws of the Demon domain.

    The runes overlapped even further above it, like giving him a layer of war paint, making him seem inhuman. A pair of stripes draped down from his eyes, like the trails of tears.

    His canines protruded as his horns curved like the moon, just as vicious and hideous as everything else, enough to inspire a sense of repulsion.

    Just as he had guessed, the Black Sun Demon Heart did not just give him power, but the chaos, wickedness, resentment, hatred, and the extremely heavy fate that this demonic land had accumulated over countless years. Right before him awaited endless sins, yet this was the path he had chosen.

    He left behind a deep footprint and continued onwards. Even when tribulation lightning rumbled on the horizon, he did not hesitate at all.

    He advanced blindly, like a stubborn ox, planting each step deeply into the mud, but never stopping.

 Chapter 1595

    Qingqi mountain plunged into the clouds, standing fifty-four thousand metres tall. It was the tallest mountain in the Demon domain, having been pulled up inch by inch to its current height by Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s great divine powers, giving him a vantage point to see into the distance.

    Even when looking up at it from afar, it gave off the impression that it was about to tip over. The mountain was exceptionally grand, which explained the origins of the name.

    Qiongqi liked fun and liveliness, so Qingqi mountain was never quiet. The twelve Heretic Gods under his command all had their dwellings located there, with a colossal demon city at the foot of the mountain, inhabited by hundreds of million demonfolk.

    At this moment, all of the demonfolk were on the streets, prostrating towards the top of the mountain. They squeezed together and chanted away as they constantly stood up and bowed back down. Gazing out, there was only a black mass of heads. They were like ants.

    Qiongqi watched from the terrace at the top of the mountain. The corner of his lips almost reached his ears, like his mouth was about to split open. His smile was wicked and eerie. He spread his arms and the surging power of belief gathered towards him, pushing his great divine strength to an inconceivable height.

    The twelve Heretic Gods gathered behind him, backing another three hundred metres away due to the pressure of the divine strength. They all exchanged glances. They could sense a certain change, but it was not as clear as what those Demon Gods experienced. They did not know why he was going to such great lengths.

    Had the Zhenwu Emperor personally led his gods into the Demon domain? Otherwise, even if True Immortals descended, they would not be bold enough to barge into the Demon domain alone, let alone attacking a Demon God¡¯s dwelling. That was no different than sending themselves to their deaths. Only a ¡°godking¡± like the Zhenwu Emperor was capable of forcing the Demon Gods into such dire straits.

    However, if the Zhenwu Emperor really did come down to the realm of man to slay demons, the twelve Demon Gods should have been working together to establish the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous so that they could fend them off. Why was Qiongqi preparing to face him alone?

    As they felt extremely puzzled, they saw how Qiongqi seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood, so they asked boldly, ¡°Sir, what¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°The black sun really has descended!¡± Demon God Qiongqi announced loudly, but he was not answering the Heretic God behind him. Instead, he was talking to the other Demon Gods. ¡°Are you ready to welcome our king?¡±

    The Demon Gods watched and pondered silently. Apart from Demon God Hundun and Demon God Taotie, the rest were all ready to kill their king. Only a king that could avoid being killed by his subjects was a king. Even Demon God Taotie had once tried to nip him in the bud.

    The strong preyed on the weak. That was the ultimate principle of the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s figure appeared at the end of the horizon.

    Qiongqi became so excited that he leapt up and down and cheered. He was as happy as a child. ¡°Come, come. I¡¯d like to see just how you push over Qingqi mountain!¡±

    The twelve Heretic Gods shivered inside. They had all heard about the prophecy of the Black Sun Demon Heart before. The person was still hundreds of kilometres away, yet they felt like his shadow had extended over, looming over the entirety of Qingqi mountain instantly, taking their breaths away. They could not help but gaze over as if they were looking at the embodiment of the demonic heavens.

    Without any hesitation, they turned into twelve streaks of light and returned to their dwellings. Their dwellings were twelve palaces built around the mountain, forming a Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous that protected Qiongqi¡¯s palace at the very top. At the same time, they sustained the formation around the mountain. Using this place as the foundation and the hundred and eight temples in the demon city, an even larger and vaster formation enveloped the entire city.

    Demon God Qiongqi was the supreme ruler of Qiongqi¡¯s dominion, so he had the heavens on his side. The location that Qingqi mountain occupied provided it with absolute geographic advantage, while the guard and worship of the twelve Heretic Gods and the hundreds of million demonfolk served as the support of the people.

    The three formations merged together, gathering all three possible advantages¡ªheaven, geography, and the will of the people, constructing an impenetrable fortress.

    Within the twelve palaces, the twelve Heretic Gods sat high up on their thrones. They were confident. Even if the figure of legends that possessed the Black Sun Demon Heart would probably die if they ran into them.

    ¡°Hmph, before absolute power, how can a legend come true?¡±

    Li Qingshan finally stopped. The tribulation clouds amassed over his head like an ocean, but strangely enough, not a single bolt of lightning fell. The rumbling thunder rolled through the surroundings, like war chariots crushing other war chariots, giving off an ill omen.

    However, he did not even look at it, not even a glance.

    Right before him was where the enemy ranks stood!

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    He immediately let out a vicious smile. With that, the violent power in his chest could no longer be controlled, rushing through his lungs, rushing through his throat, like a volcanic eruption, turning into a fierce howl.

    Boom!

    The world lost its colour. Only the fierce howl was extremely grand and glorious, crumpling everything that stood before him, whether it was the endless chain of mountains or the lush forests. They were all reduced to pieces.

    The fierce howl immediately crossed several hundred kilometres, slamming violently against the most exterior formation around the demon city. The defensive formation twisted and collapsed at a visible rate, shattering like a soap bubble in just three seconds.

    The buildings and skyscrapers immediately collapsed. Hundreds of million demonfolk were reduced to dust.

    However, the violent energy did not show any signs of weakening, soon slamming into the formation around Qingqi mountain.

    It was like the furious breath of a dragon. It did not target a single point, but breached the place on full scale.

    Even Li Qingshan could not completely control this power. He could only exhale and release it to his heart¡¯s content.

    It did not just contain power, but the fury and hatred accumulated by the Demon domain over countless years. And, as long as he wanted to, he could continue like this forever. The entire Demon domain was his ¡°small world¡±. From a certain perspective, the power was just flowing around inside his body.

    ¡°What¡­ is that?¡±

    The twelve Heretic Gods were dumbfounded. Their eyes were filled with glorious light. The formation around the mountain also collapsed instantly, soon reaching their inferior version of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous.

    So-called formations were only a certain manifestation of the laws of the world. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan was the embodiment of the demonic heavens, so he could negate them from their very foundation.

    The heavens were useless. The geographic advantage was useless. The will of the people was useless.

    ¡°The heavens and earth are useless!¡±

    Li Qingshan took a step forward. The violent energy rushed straight towards Qiongqi at the top of the mountain.

    ¡°Tsk, sure enough, these shitty things can¡¯t stop you!¡±

    Qiongqi¡¯s eyes glowed. With a wave of his hand, a violent energy immediately rushed into the sky.

    All of the demonfolk saw a resplendent star rise up in the sky, glimmering in the night.

    ¡°You still haven¡¯t reached Forging Soul back into the Void. You can¡¯t harm me with just that!¡±

    Li Qingshan could negate formations, but he could not negate a Demon God. Qiongqi had reached Forging Soul back into the Void a long time ago, while the true Demon Godking needed to reach Merging the Void with the Dao to be able to strip him of the laws he controlled.

    At this moment, the tribulation clouds split open with a rumble. A figure of lightning condensed and crackled, turning into human form. He was shaped like a strong man, bare-chested with a pair of wings on his back. His forehead had three eyes and his face was red like a monkey¡¯s. His feet were shaped like the claws of a hawk. He wielded a chisel in the left hand and a hammer in the right.

    ¡°A Lord of Thunder!¡±

    The seventh heavenly tribulation was different from the previous ones. Surviving it meant they were a True Immortal. It meant they became truly undying. If they went beyond the Nine Heavens, they could become a proper god of the heavenly palace.

    When they faced the tribulation, Lords of Thunder would descend, testing them on behalf of the heavenly palace. If they were of the orthodoxy, the lightning would be slightly more tame, but if they were heretics, then the lightning would surge.

    At this moment, the Lord of Thunder gazed down at Li Qingshan on the ground. His face was filled with wrath.

    ¡°It¡¯s finally here!¡±

 Chapter 1596

    Li Qingshan looked up with a smile, like welcoming an old friend. Only by undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation and Forging his Soul back into the Void could he truly face Qiongqi.

    Faced with the killing intent and fury of the Lord of Thunder, he even felt a hint of nostalgia. Along the way, he had seen expressions like that far too many times. At the very least, it meant he could threaten them.

    But in the next moment, the lightning crackled and wove together. The sky turned into a scorching-white, violent pool of lightning. Figures of lightning emerged one after another.

    Each figure was a Lord of Thunder. There were thirty-six of them in total, dressed in the same attire with the same wrath.

    Even Qiongqi was slightly taken aback, laughing aloud. ¡°Nice one. All thirty-six Lords of Thunder of the thunder department have been mobilised. I wonder which god of the thunder department is leading them. Stop hiding yourself. Get your ass out here!¡±

    The heavenly palace had a thunder department, fire department, plague department, and so on. They all possessed different duties. Among them, the thunder department was the most important. They managed the fortunes of the heavens and wielded authority over others, controlling things and people, managing life and death. Not only did they decide whether the countless cultivators could become True Immortals, they were also tasked with the responsibility to wield the heavenly lightning to kill wicked demons.

    There were a total of thirty-six Lords of Thunder, taken from the number of heavenly spirits. When regular Human Immortals faced the tribulation, only a single Lord of Thunder would ever appear, yet Li Qingshan had actually drawn all of them over with his tribulation.

    And according to what Qiongqi said, there was a true god presiding over the situation and commanding them around too, absolutely determined to slay Li Qingshan here.

    Sure enough, as soon as he said that, a god descended from the pool of lightning, wielding a swordbreaker in one hand and a talisman in the other. His expression was bleak and his armour was bright and solemn.

    ¡°I am the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens. Under the edict of the Imperial Jade Empyrean Supreme Emperor of the Golden Abode of Aether and the command of the Nine Heavens Elements-answering Thunderclap Heavenly Lord of All-encompassing Alleviation, I¡¯ve come specially to eliminate the daemon star.¡± He looked down on Li Qingshan. ¡°I¡¯d advise you to surrender immediately and perhaps you might still have a chance at survival. Otherwise, once the heavenly lightning rains down, you¡¯ll definitely be reduced to dust, which is a pity considering your cultivation.¡±

    TL: Yes those are real names in Chinese Daoism.

    He completely ignored Qiongqi¡¯s verbal provocation. The victors did not have to listen to the wails of defeated hounds. Only Li Qingshan made him feel a sliver of fear. Otherwise, he would not have attempted to descend here at all. Just directly slaying him with the heavenly lightning would be enough.

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, the stars twinkled like cold eyes staring at this dim and distant scarlet star.

    Winds swept in from all directions as thunder rumbled in the surroundings. The gods faced him with fury and the demons faced him with disdain. That was the fate that Li Qingshan had chosen.

    However, the smile on his face grew wider. ¡°If you¡¯re the Jade Emperor or heavenly lord you¡¯re talking about, I¡¯ll scooch right over, but if you¡¯re not, I¡¯ll never lower my weapon!¡±

    ¡°Ignorant and stubborn. You bring forth your own destruction.¡± The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ face turned cold. He said furiously, ¡°Fall into formation! Slay the daemon!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the thirty-six Lords of Thunder answered together.

    Boom!

    The pool of lightning surged. The thirty-six Lords of Thunder established the Formation of the Thirty-six Heavenly Spirits. An invisible power immediately loomed over him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s hairs stood on end, not because of anger or fear, but because he had been sucked into a colossal force field of static electricity.

    However, to him right now, being unable to control his body, even just the very end of his hairs, was a very severe problem in itself.

    He was basically the embodiment of the demonic heavens right now. He had turned the entire Demon domain into his small world, yet a certain power had now surpassed his control, influencing him and controlling him instead.

    At that instant, billions of arcs thousands of times thinner than hair coursed through his body and soul constantly. He sustained tremendous damage that he could not resist or avoid at every moment. Even having a thousand arrows piercing his heart or having his body gnawed at by snakes came nowhere close to the pain.

    If he were a regular Human Immortal, he would have been slain instantly, without leaving a single trace behind.

    On Qingqi mountain, Qiongqi was stern. Even he did not have the courage to enter the vicinity of the heavenly tribulation, or it would become even more violent and terrifying. The Thunder Lord General of Nine Heavens definitely would not mind killing a Demon God in the process.

    ¡°Sure enough, the laws representing the heavenly tribulations are higher than the laws of the Demon domain,¡± Li Qingshan thought.

    Originally, these Lords of Thunder were only Human Immortals, equivalent to the Divine Generals of the Six Ding and the Six Jia. Even if they assembled a formation, they were still nothing in their eyes. However, through the seventh heavenly tribulation of unprecedented size, they were all untouchable, possessing abnormally great strength.

    Those who faced the tribulation were forced to accept the test passively. If they could survive it, they would rise up as immortals and gods. If they could not, then they would be smashed to pieces with their souls disintegrated.

    However, was that really the case? Who set up a test like this? And who was it that buried the truth that N¨¹wa created humanity? What gave them the right to judge him!?

    Li Qingshan clenched his fist, punching out towards the lofty gods of the thunder department!

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    The ape demon scooped the moon, piercing through space but ignoring the Lords of Thunder. The fist arrived right before the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens!

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens furrowed his brows. He did not dodge. A halo of light rose up behind his head, shining gently and blocking the punch.

    The light was not just from his divine powers. It was further boosted by the power of belief from millions. As an orthodox god of heaven, he possessed countless temples and statues, receiving worship every single day. The light was basically all-conquering and indestructible.

    ¡°Obliterate!¡±

    The Tremors of the Ox Demon shattered space, shaking it millions of times and obliterating the light, planting the punch on the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ face.

    ¡°General!¡±

    The expressions of the thirty-six Lords of Thunder all changed. Their faces were so ugly that it was as if they had been punched in the face instead. A sight like that was far too shocking to them, such that they basically forgot to work together against Li Qingshan.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯s head was thrown far backwards, immediately leaving him dazed. Who knew how many years it had been since someone last injured him, or perhaps, given his identity, no one ever dared to attack him.

    A stream of blood flowed from his nostril. He touched it, bright-red and eye-catching in his hand. His head continued to shake violently, struggling to find his words for a good moment. ¡°How dare you¡­ How did you¡­¡±

    ¡°So gods can also bleed!¡± Li Qingshan sneered. ¡°Idiot, you¡¯re not in the laws of the heavenly tribulation!¡±

    At their realm, all of their clashes were basically a clash of laws, which was also the so-called ¡°Contention of Dao¡±. Only when they were evenly matched in the laws did it come to regular fighting.

    As the embodiment of the demonic heavens, Li Qingshan possessed paramount authority in the Demon domain, but he was limited by his cultivation, so he struggled to overwhelm a Demon God like Qiongqi. After all, Demon Gods possessed very great authority too, the controllers of the laws of the Demon domain.

    The Lords of Thunder were not particularly powerful in terms of cultivation, no different from Human Immortals most of the time, but their authority was temporarily elevated to a point even higher than Li Qingshan¡¯s through the heavenly tribulation. They were almost undefeatable.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ cultivation far surpassed theirs, but that was also the exact reason why he was not a part of the heavenly tribulation. He had only descended as an individual, and he was not a controller of the laws of the Demon domain like Demon God Qiongqi. Instead, he was suppressed by the laws of the Demon domain, which was why he was immediately made a fool of.

    Once they were overwhelmed in terms of laws, even true gods were not so impressive.

    As for his power? The power that a measly god himself possessed was but a drop in the ocean compared to the vast Demon domain.

    And how could the so-called belief match up to the hatred and fury accumulated by the demonfolk over countless years?

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens returned to his senses and said furiously, ¡°Kill him! Kill him immediately-¡±

    Bang! Before he could even finish, he was punched in the face again.

    ¡°What kind of shitty god of thunder are you supposed to be? C¡¯mon, c¡¯mon, c¡¯mon! I¡¯ll show you how you do it!¡±

    Li Qingshan punched the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens again and again. Under the principle of only ever going for the face during a fight, he directed all of his punches towards his face.

    In just a short while, the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ face swelled up. He was dishevelled and in a horrible state, no longer possessing the same awe-inspiring spirit as before.

    The gods and demons that observed this all felt his pain.

    Qiongqi laughed madly, singing and dancing. ¡°Nicely done! Nicely done!¡±

 Chapter 1597

    If it had been a different Demon God, perhaps they would have feared Li Qingshan¡¯s power and tried to come up with ways to kill him then and there.

    However, Qiongqi would never do that, as he was a hunter of novelty through and through. He loathed all common customs and rules. What good and bad? What nobility and lowliness? If it were not for the fact that that was the view of the mediocre among all the living creatures, then it was just the lies and hypocrisy of divine immortals and buddhas.

    This novel is available on Hosted Novel.

    That was why he had set the Blood Oath of the Nether River with Li Qingshan, even when it was completely unnecessary for him to take any risks as a god.

    Yet right now, something as bizarre as a Daemon God beating up a true god was unfolding right before his eyes, so how could he not laugh in joy? Even if he would be next¡­ perhaps that would be quite a fascinating thing too! Hahahaha!

    In the endless pool of lightning in the air, the thirty-six Lords of Thunder were anxious, constantly striking their golden drums and raising their hammers and chisels. Thousands of bolts of lightning rained down, slamming heavily against Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s skin had already been charred with his scarlet hair reduced to ashes, but he completely ignored it. Only his scarlet eyes continued to glow hypnotically, fixed on the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens as he beat him up viciously.

    Of course, his opponent was still a true god after all. Even under the restraints of the laws of the Demon domain, Li Qingshan would struggle to deal any lethal damage.

    However, the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens felt deep pain. ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far!¡±

    With a great bellow, he suddenly erupted with resplendent sparks. His body rapidly expanded.

    In the blink of an eye, he turned into a colossal god of thunder, descending from above with a rumble.

    His tremendous divine might filled the world. His body was like a mountain, standing over three thousand metres tall, and he continued to grow larger. He was wreathed in scorching lightning as his eyes shone. His eye whites were completely gone, giving off an inhuman sense of divinity. His voice rumbled like the thunder.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, I didn¡¯t want to do this personally, but you¡¯ve asked for it!¡±

    Li Qingshan was completely charred black, and the ground beneath his feet melted under the violent lightning, turning into a surging sea of lava. The waves of heat twisted the air, and the thunder drowned out all other sounds.

    However, as he stood within the mixing fire and lightning, his smile remained the same as before, facing the colossal god of lightning with his head held high. He suddenly shook his body, and his charred skin cracked and peeled off, turning into ash within the heat waves and sparks.

    His newly-grown skin was completely unscathed. It was just wrapped in complicated and criss-crossing black runes, covering his perfect body of the demonic and divine, filled with violent power.

    He stood in the sea of fire as his hair that reached past his waist danced like fire. He was like a phoenix that had just been reborn, as well as an undying king of demons.

    The thirty-six Lords of Thunder were alarmed. Under the constant attacks of their Formation of the Heavenly Spirits, they could even flatten a mountain, yet it actually seemed like they had failed to injure him at all. Even his aura did not weaken, instead becoming even more rowdy and ruthless.

    In reality, Li Qingshan wanted to thank them instead. The power brought by the Black Sun Demon Heart was simply too great, basically trying to shove the entire Demon domain into his body. Fortunately, he had made sufficient progress with the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, externalising the small world in his body, which let him avoid the fate of rupturing and exploding on the spot.

    Despite that, the power was still too violent to control. The negative energies it contained like fury, hatred, and pain constantly ate away at his mind, trying to turn him into a tool for revenge against the gods and buddhas in the heavens, a monster of hatred.

    Li Qingshan obviously refused to accept that. This was the fate he had chosen, but he would never let anything control him.

    On one side was his stubborn and proud willpower and on the other side was the hatred of millions of years from the living creatures of the Demon domain. His internal conflict did not pacify because he had decided to devour the Black Sun Demon Heart, instead burning away even more uneasily.

    With each passing moment, he experienced billions of thoughts¡ªlife and death, hatred and love, the divine and the demonic, ruthlessness and benevolence, revenge and forgiveness¡­ from the distant past until the eternal future.

    Destroying the defences of Qingqi mountain with that roar was only venting slightly, alleviating this sense of uneasiness somewhat. Only when the true god descended and the tribulation lightning rained down did he get a sigh of relief.

    Tribulation lightning could disperse powers and render all techniques and arcane treasures useless. It was the nightmare of the people who faced tribulations, but it was perfect for him. It greatly weakened this violent power, making it easier to control, while the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens served as a true-god-level sitting duck, which allowed him to vent his hatred and anger.

    The world served as a forge, with fortune as its blacksmith. Yin and yang served as the coals, with fortune as the bronze.

    The pain and threats that struck fear into the weak was the best tempering and assistance to him, which was why he did not fear the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ tremendous divine might, instead mocking him. ¡°Great god, have you finally decided to come down yourself? Are you prepared to die here?¡±

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens boomed, ¡°Watch your head!¡±

    Originally, he was only presiding and commanding the battle, remaining beyond the lightning with his grasp over the laws of lightning, without personally involving himself. After a painful beating from Li Qingshan, he had truly been infuriated, entering the battlefield and wanting a face-to-face battle to the death with Li Qingshan.

    The tribulation clouds hung low, right above the colossal god of lightning¡¯s head. They extended and expanded furiously with his descent, enveloping the demonic land in the blink of an eye, but all of the lightning was concentrated in a small region.

    This was no longer a pool of lightning, but a sea of lightning. A dragon¡¯s roar rang out from the depths.

    Suddenly, a dragon¡¯s head poked out from between the clouds, except its tail swayed about hundreds of kilometres away. It was entirely composed of scorching lightning, extending for who knew how many thousand kilometres.

    Li Qingshan became grim as well. Just the vast dragon¡¯s cry left him feeling numb all over, unable to muster his strength. Even the laws of the Demon domain were suppressed viciously.

    Without any doubt, the dragon of lightning was enough to destroy him. Even a single strike was enough to annihilate his soul and bring forth doom.

    ¡°This is¡­ the Heavenly Dragon of Dao!¡±

    From the moment the dragon¡¯s cry rang out, Qiongqi completely erased all of his aura, just in case he became its target, except his smile became even more delighted.

    Armaments of tribulation lightning were nowhere close to the final form of the heavenly tribulations. The Lords of Thunder obviously were not either.

    It was said that when gods attempted to Merge the Void with the Dao and undergo the eighth heavenly tribulation, the ¡°Heavenly Dragon of Dao¡± would descend to test whether a god was worthy of becoming a representative of the Dao.

    During this process, whether they were a god or a True Immortal, all of the laws they controlled would be suppressed.

    This was the final and most lethal test. Even True Immortals and gods did not dare to take this step lightly.

    If they succeeded, then they would become a king among gods, a sage among daemons, but if they failed, they would be exterminated. All signs of existence would be erased. Things like eternal life and endless divine might would all be reduced to a fantasy.

    With the Heavenly Dragon of Dao¡¯s appearance, the thirty-six Lords of Thunder all displayed pain, struggling to control such violent lightning anymore. Just the might of the dragon was unbearable to them.

    The tribulation rapidly evolved with the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ arrival. If this continued, even they would become its target and be annihilated here, but they felt no dissatisfaction at all. When the lord was humiliated, the subjects died. The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens had experienced such a great insult, so they had to avenge him.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens waved his hand. ¡°Back down! Sure enough, this Yinghuo daemon star is anything but an easy opponent. This is not something you can interfere with anymore!¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the thirty-six Lords of Thunder answered together and scattered as lightning. They took one final glance at Li Qingshan. Their fury had already turned to fright. A terrifying thought even lingered in their minds. Was the general going to die here?

    Li Qingshan instead developed some respect for him, as the target that the Heavenly Dragon of Dao was fixated on was not him, but the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens.

    The Heavenly Dragon of Dao had always been an existence to slay gods and immortals, which was why it completely disregarded whether they were gods or not. Even if a god of the thunder department dared to interfere with the order of the heavenly tribulation, they would face punishment.

    If he could not annihilate Li Qingshan and end this heavenly tribulation in time, then the one destroyed by the Heavenly Dragon of Dao would be him.

    With a cry, the world shook and the Heavenly Dragon of Dao descended. Its target was the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens raised his thunder swordbreaker into the air, drawing the Heavenly Dragon of Dao into his body and completely overwhelming the laws of the Demon domain that Li Qingshan controlled instantly. His eyes, nose, mouth, and ears shone with resplendent light.

    ¡°Today, if I can¡¯t kill you here, I will die myself!¡±

    ¡°Alright, then let me help you out!¡±

    The sea of lava beneath Li Qingshan erupted violently!

    The lightning swordbreaker swung down as the fist of fire rose up, colliding and exploding!

 Chapter 1598

    Under the watch of the gods and demons, the lightning and fire surged forth endlessly.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens was wreathed in lightning. He shook violently before regaining his footing, standing in the air. A fire dragon curled around his body, constantly gnawing away at him, but it served him at the same time.

    Meanwhile, Li Qingshan had vanished.

    The Heavenly Dragon of Dao immediately overwhelmed the laws of the Demon domain he controlled before completely tearing him to pieces, almost wiping him from existence.

    Under that situation, all techniques and abilities were useless, including the Nirv¨¡?a Rebirth. The lightning immediately washed over him thousands of times. Even if he was reborn a hundred times, he would be destroyed a hundred times.

    However, the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens showed no joy. Instead, his eyebrows were furrowed together firmly. He was well aware that the daemon star would not die so easily, but he was still greatly surprised by just how difficult he was to deal with.

    The scarlet star in the sky continued to shine. After being erased, Li Qingshan had instead become omnipresent, scattering his specks of consciousness deep into the ground.

    ¡°Hmph, you want to run away from this? You¡¯re dreaming!¡±

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens suddenly dropped down on one knee, wielding the lightning swordbreaker in a reverse grip with both hands and plunging it heavily into the ground.

    Boom!

    The volcano erupted, lightning surged through the air, and lava flowed vigorously. The ground shook like it was about to shatter. Volcanoes rose one after another, flowing with thousands of rivers of fire.

    The sky full of tribulation clouds swirled, illuminated by the lava and fire, such that the sky seemed like it was burning. At the end of the horizon, the fiery clouds and fiery sea merged together, such that the boundary between the sky and the ground could no longer be distinguished.

    The apocalyptic sight even made the spectating gods and demons tremble slightly.

    Demon God Qiongqi was so excited that he shook all over. Was this the prelude to the crisis of the world?

    The colossal god of lightning that the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens had turned into knelt on one knee in the sea of fire. Waves of electricity rushed out through the ground from his giant swordbreaker, eliminating the specks of Li Qingshan¡¯s consciousness in an attempt to completely annihilate him, but even more consciousness rose up from the endless depths.

    However, in the shaking sea of fire, scattered pieces of land that had not been swallowed by the lava or burned by the fire remained.

    As a result, his specks of consciousness rose up from the depths of the ground, turning into seeds that burst through the crust, blooming as sprouts.

    A sprout grew and strengthened at a visible rate, blooming with a small, yellow flower and producing a green fruit in the blink of an eye.

    The flower wilted, and the fruit swelled up like it was inflated with air. Black patterns appeared on its green skin. As it turned out, it was a great watermelon.

    With a crack, the watermelon split open and a small Li Qingshan walked out naked. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush. It¡¯ll always take some time for the glorious flowers to bloom in spring and the fruit to yield in autumn, until the time is right.¡±

    Before he could even finish that, a streak of lightning whistled over, erasing him along with the melon vine.

    But at the same time, even more little Li Qingshans walked out from all sorts of melons like watermelons, winter melons, pumpkins, sponge gourds, and squashes.

    As soon as he clashed with the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens, Li Qingshan knew he could not confront him directly. Without the support of the laws of the Demon domain, the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens could overwhelm him with his divine powers alone. Coupled with the Heavenly Dragon of Dao, it basically was not a battle at all, but a one-sided massacre.

    If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll let you kill me!

    As a result, he scattered his consciousness on the ground. This was not some clone technique. Each flower was one of him and each seed contained all of him, possessing an independent will of its own.

    Bang! A pomegranate exploded and several hundred tiny Li Qingshans leapt out, around the size of pomegranate seeds, enough to ride on ants like they were horses.

    These tiny Li Qingshans did not have time to grow, and they were much weaker than regular clones. That was as clear as day from their size alone.

    In comparison, even when the colossal god of lightning knelt on the ground, he was like an unscalable mountain. The tiny Li Qingshans basically had to look up vertically to barely see the top of the mountain, but they were still proud, raising their voices at the colossal god of lightning. ¡°Come and kill me, dumbass!¡±

    ¡°Smite!¡±

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens roared furiously. Thousands of bolts of lightning swept through the land, killing all of the Li Qingshans and reducing all of the plants to ash.

    But in the blink of an eye, specks of green sprouted again, growing and strengthening, blooming and bearing fruit. Li Qingshans leapt out one by one and challenged the god with their tiny voices.

    Every single one of them only had a lifespan that lasted for a short instant, even more fleeting than mayflies that died in a single day. They flashed like sparks before falling into silence.

    However, there would always be new life born from the earth.

    The wildfire was unable to burn them all, reborn again in the spring breeze.

    The qilin¡¯s path, the cycle of life.

    The colossal god of lightning let out a furious roar. He did not show any mercy at all, carrying out a mad slaughter.

    The nine Heretic Gods were mentally linked. They lost just a few siblings and their wills collapsed, yet at this moment, Li Qingshan went through death billions of times, and it was all his own death. No one could replace him, nor could he avoid this. He just endured it silently, enduring the endless horror and pain, just like this Demon domain, just like this demonic land.

    Death was unavoidable. Pain was unending.

    The newly-born little Li Qingshans gradually stopped raising their voices. They came into existence silently and passed away silently. They did not even look towards the colossal god of lightning, dropping their heads gloomily. Even their expressions had become much more haggard, but their gazes remained just as determined as before. Even if they only lived for an instant, they would die with a flash, illuminating a smear of the darkness with that spark.

    Before he knew it, the colossal god of lightning stopped roaring furiously, only killing away numbly.

    Life and death revolved through the world, between the lightning and the fire. It was clearly extremely clamorous, yet there was a strange silence to it, like a solemn offering to the heavens or a respectful funeral, enough for the world to pale.

    Li Qingshan used himself as the offering, sacrificing his body and soul endlessly to the heavens, while the colossal god of lightning was the main offeror.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens had sealed himself into the coffin, gradually being enveloped by the depths and silence of the earth, while the little Li Qingshans were the mourners.

    The gods and demons all fell silent. Even the spectating Demon God Qiongqi widened his eyes like he had blanked out. He even wavered slightly inside. If even the prelude is so shocking and frightening, do I really want to witness the crisis of the world?

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens suddenly felt a hint of weariness. The Heavenly Dragon of Dao that had been drawn into his body became more and more difficult to control.

    A sensation he had not experienced in a very long time welled up in his heart. He realised this was the approach of death. A long, long time ago, he endured this sensation day and night, but ever since he reached True Immortal, ever since he became a true god, he did not have to face this threat anymore.

    Overlooking the countless Li Qingshans, he suddenly questioned him. ¡°Mad and foolish! Do you have any idea what you¡¯re doing represents?¡±

    The countless Li Qingshans raised their heads and answered calmly, ¡°Chaos, war, death, and destruction. In short, everything that leads to misfortune.¡±

    ¡°No one will benefit from this, not even you.¡±

    ¡°No one will benefit from this, not even me.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re still going to do it.¡±

    ¡°But I¡¯m still going to do it.¡±

    The birth of the ¡°demon king¡± had never been for bringing people good fortune.

    The Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens smiled wryly. ¡°Looks like this holds much greater meaning to you.¡±

    ¡°Meaning?¡± The Li Qingshans looked up at the sky.

    With a boom, the Heavenly Dragon of Dao burst out of his body, returning to the sky.

    The tribulation clouds parted; the bright moon emerged.

    The seventh heavenly tribulation came to an end there.

    Greenery rapidly spread, enveloping the sea of fire and climbing up the colossal god of lightning. He did not move, like a statue, letting out a deep sigh. ¡°A long, long time ago, I too was a mortal!¡±

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, a star suddenly fell. The myriad worlds all saw the flaming tail it left behind.

    At the same time, they saw a scarlet star rise up slowly.

    Its glowing light shone like fire.

 Chapter 1599

    Across the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, all of the cultivators saw the scarlet star that suddenly appeared and a chill ran down their spine instinctively. This ill omen was far too strong. Even those who did not know how to divine at all could sense it vaguely.

    The daemon had emerged. Gods would die. The crisis was already imminent.

    On the bleak demonic earth, the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens¡¯ colossal body had already become covered by green. From afar, he seemed like an ancient stone statue covered in moss.

    Under the glow of the moon, a tiny flower bloomed quietly among the green bushes, producing a wisp of fragrance.

    At that instant, thousands of lovely flowers bloomed, wilted, and fruited together.

    Thousands of Li Qingshans emerged from the fruit. They looked up together, at the star that belonged to him.

    It had only been so long and the youth who wanted to become a star finally made his wish come true.

    Thousands of indescribable emotions surged through his chest. Had all of his effort paid off? Had all of his sacrifices been compensated?

    This probably was not some story about self-improvement. If this entire story was told to that young cowherd of the past, perhaps he would not take this path at all, choosing to become a local despot of the World of the Nine Provinces instead of this.

    Or perhaps he would lose some hesitation and conflict, becoming even more resolute.

    Who knew?

    Li Qingshan smiled brightly. Since he had chosen this path, then he would take on the fate that came with it. What was the point of deliberating over these advantages and disadvantages?

    At this moment, a colossal shadow loomed down, obscuring the moon in the sky.

    Demon God Qiongqi turned into his original form, a winged, vicious demonic beast shaped like a tiger. His eyes shone with red light as he stared at Li Qingshan maliciously.

    ¡°I must say, your performance has left me surprised or even shocked. Even I am a little hesitant over whether I should let this crisis of the world occur. Don¡¯t forget about our gamble. You¡¯re in your weakest state right now. I won¡¯t be showing any mercy.¡±

    Demon God Qiongqi licked his canines. ¡°If I butcher your right now, will I become the great hero who saved the myriad worlds? Hehehehe!¡±

    ¡°Of course. I haven¡¯t forgotten.¡± All of the Li Qingshans shook their heads with a smile. ¡°I just sent a true god on his way and another has leapt out. This path sure is a difficult one! Even after basically becoming a god, I can¡¯t relax.¡±

    Demon God Qiongqi was right. He was indeed in his weakest state right now. He had successfully undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation, but he was also heavily injured. Under the threat of the Heavenly Dragon of Dao, he was basically at the gates of death. He needed a very long time to recuperate.

    Without comprehension, there would be no power, but just possessing comprehension without power was not enough either. Now, all of his consciousness and seeds had bloomed and fruited, standing right there. If they were all destroyed, he would still die.

    ¡°How dare you, Qiongqi! I¡¯ll never spare you!¡± Demon God Taotie¡¯s furious roar shook up the air, ringing over from the distant Taotie¡¯s dominion. He had already made up his mind about entering battle with Li Qingshan.

    Soon afterwards, a few other Demon Gods spoke up, either persuading gently or threatening sternly in an attempt to stop Demon God Qiongqi.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s performance seemed to earn him some recognition. Perhaps the Demon Gods were tired of sinking endless in the Demon domain as well, eager to change everything, even if they had to die in the process.

    ¡°Tsk, is this the charm of the Demon Godking? Look at them, kid. They¡¯re already all too eager to be your dog, except I¡¯m not particularly interested in being anyone¡¯s dog, unlike them.¡±

    Demon God Qiongqi completely ignored them, refusing their persuasions and immune to their threats. He pressed closer as his murderousness grew heavier. His cold killing intent locked onto all of the Li Qingshans present.

    With his twisted personality, constantly on the hunt for novelty, he always wanted to throw everything into chaos, just so he could see what would happen.

    The twelve Demon Gods divided the Demon domain and controlled different laws, so they were completely incapable of threatening one another. That was also the precondition to why they could sit together and discuss major affairs.

    In other words, no one could rush over immediately to save Li Qingshan. He was still a lone army in battle, with an exhausted commander at the lead.

    ¡°I¡¯m very glad that they¡¯re still warriors and they still desire war, that they haven¡¯t fallen completely. As for you, you¡¯ll serve as a fine dog in the future.¡± Li Qingshan casually unleashed some mockery on him.

    ¡°Die!¡± Demon God Qiongqi suddenly lunged over. His wings immediately blotted out the sky as killing intent locked onto all of the Li Qingshans. Thousands of sharp tendrils darted out from his body.

    Li Qingshan fished out a tablet and raised it up towards the sky. It was the Mountain-moving tablet.

    Immediately, the winds surged and the clouds flowed.

    The Mountain-moving Great Sage¡¯s figure appeared in the clouds, letting out a furious lion¡¯s roar. It immediately stunned Demon God Qiongqi, causing him to stiffen up mid-air.

    Not only did it contain the divine might of the Mountain-moving Great Sage, but it also contained the fury of the Demon domain¡¯s will, which was Li Qingshan¡¯s fury. He completely overwhelmed Demon God Qiongqi in terms of laws.

    Of course, that still was not enough. He still required actual, tangible power!

    Li Qingshan suddenly swung the Mountain-moving tablet, pointing it towards Qingqi mountain and producing a command.

    ¡°Come, mountain!¡±

    Qingqi mountain tipped violently, falling heavily on Demon God Qiongqi.

    The ground shook and dust rushed into the air with a series of thunderclaps. Upon listening closely, it was actually the sound of shattering bones.

    Qingqi mountain was obviously no regular mountain. It was Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s lair, which he had constantly pulled higher with his divine powers. In order to prevent the mountain from collapsing under its own weight, he constantly refined it and poured molten metal into all of the cracks. It was almost a mountain of metal by now.

    The mountain was exceptionally grand and imposing, even taller than the three mountains that the Mountain-moving Great Sage had given to him. It was obviously much heavier as well, a hundred times more at the very least, weighing several billion tonnes.

    With that, basically the entirety of Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s body had been crushed to pulp. Most of his body shattered, while his organs were a mess. He sank deeply into the ground. All of his divine powers had been suppressed.

    ¡°As they say, dropping a rock on your own foot.¡± Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°You refined the mountain, so of course, you have to carry it.¡±

    Originally, even when he possessed the Mountain-moving tablet, he would have been able to push over Qingqi mountain at most. He would have never been able to control it so freely, to crush the boss of this place with it.

    However, after devouring the Black Sun Demon Heart and undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation, reaching the realm of Forging Soul back into the Void, he had already become the ruler of the Demon domain both in name and in reality. He was a tyrant of the land that could overwhelm everything. He possessed the greatest authority over all the mountains and rivers¡ªdown to every single blade of grass¡ªin the Demon domain. Even the dwellings of Demon Gods were under his control.

    As such, he possessed the laws and did not have to worry about power.

    ¡°Qiongqi, I¡¯ve already overturned Qingqi mountain. You¡¯ve lost!¡±

    In the space there, the blood-red Nether River flowed and meandered, serving as the ultimate judge over this gamble.

    However, Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s furious roar rang out from beneath the mountain. ¡°No, I still haven¡¯t lost! How can a shitty river restrain me!?¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. The flowing Nether River in space suddenly halted and gradually faded away, like it had never existed before.

    The Blood Oath of the Nether River was hence resolved.

    Li Qingshan immediately realised that Qiongqi must have used some kind of trick when they swore the oath back then, allowing him to escape the punishment of defeat.

    Just like how Ox-headed A¡¯pang educated Le Tian, gambles were meaningless if their strengths were on completely different levels. The strong was always capable of getting around the rules. Chaotic and wicked Demon Gods never had any sincerity to speak of in the first place.

    If he had come under the mindset that he would win as long as he overturned Qingqi mountain, he definitely would have been slapped across the face in the end. However, that was also because he was not strong enough and was unable to come up with any other ideas.

    However, it was completely different now. A mere Nether River had never been able to guarantee the loyalty of a god, so it was fine even if the oath was released.

    Demon God Qiongqi roared fiercely, still refusing to yield. Malice filled the air. He suddenly struggled and the mountain shook, almost thrown aside by him. He actually managed to get his head out, staring straight at Li Qingshan.

    Colossal boulders rolled down onto his head with a rumble. Compared to the size of his head, they were as small as grains of sand.

    ¡°When I break free, that¡¯ll be when you die. I¡¯d like to see if you¡¯re still capable of anything else!¡±

    As he said that, he extended an arm, pressing against the ground heavily. He even propped up the entire Qingqi mountain on his back.

    Qingqi mountain had merged with his divine powers after all. Even if it had been used against him, he still possessed some control over it.

    Li Qingshan smiled and took out another item that glistened with gold. He had ripped that off from the entrance to the Great Thunderclap temple. It was the notice with the mantra ¡®O? ma?i padme h¨±?¡¯ on it.

    He rose up in the air and arrived before Qingqi mountain. With a smack, he slammed it against the mountain.

    Boom!

    The Qingqi mountain that had been hoisted up after so much difficulty seemed to become countless times heavier all of a sudden, smashing back into the ground. Below it, Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s eyes bulged and with a grunt, blood sprayed from his mouth, flowing like a river.

    He was immediately brought close to the brink of death, unable to offer up any resistance anymore. All of his divine powers had been suppressed. The notice basically possessed unlimited power. Even his mind was overtaken by fright, unable to develop any thoughts of resistance.

    ¡°What is that!?¡± Demon God Qiongqi swivelled his head desperately in an attempt to see the top of the mountain.

    ¡°A personal notice from the buddha: Got plenty of ways for this.¡± Li Qingshan answered, but he just found this sight to be slightly familiar.

 Chapter 1600

    When Li Qingshan first obtained the notice, he tried suppressing the Sangharama God with it, but it had been useless. As a guardian god of buddhism, it was completely useless against him. Of course, Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation back then was insufficient too, unable to unleash the power of the notice.

    Now that he had Forged his Soul back into the Void, attaining godhood, he immediately understood its wonders.

    The six-syllabled mantra possessed great wisdom, great benevolence, and great might. It contained the essence of the myriad teachings of buddhism, hiding the Dao. Even if mortals managed to understand it, it could serve many wondrous uses. It could increase wisdom, alleviate disasters and free people from the duality of life and death. All sects of buddhism chanted and recited it.

    Not to mention that this had been personally written by the buddha. It was naturally effective against Demon Gods.

    Qiongqi was basically under three forms of suppression at the same time. The first was the will of the demonic heavens and the laws of the Demon domain from Li Qingshan, the king of Demon Gods and the lord of the Demon domain. The second were the laws represented by the Mountain-moving Great Sage, while the last was the seal personally written by Tath¨¡gata.

    Each form of suppression was more powerful than the last. It was much more useful than some Blood Oath of the Nether River. Even a Demon God could forget about breaking free. If it were not for the fact that the six-syllabled mantra possessed benevolence, without any heart to kill, Qiongqi would have been crushed to death then and there.

    ¡°A personal notice by the buddha!¡±

    Demon God Qiongqi was shocked. He lowered his head, immediately losing his temper. It was no wonder the notice could be so powerful. Even a Demon God like him had been deeply deterred and immobilised. He asked in surprise, ¡°Where did you find it? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re a part of buddhism!?¡±

    Li Qingshan noticed the other Demon Gods. They were also waiting for him to answer quietly and tensely. He could not help but grin and confess. ¡°I obviously ripped it off from the door to the Great Thunderclap temple. I dismantled the temple and pushed over the spiritual mountain, Vulture peak, in the process too.¡±

    He had not done that intentionally back then, but nothing he said was a lie.

    Demon God Qiongi was immediately left speechless. He ogled Li Qingshan. The greatest thing he loved was punishing good and propagating evil and corrupting the concept of right and wrong, yet right now, he suddenly felt like all of the wicked deeds he had committed in his life combined came nowhere close to the claim that Li Qingshan had made.

    Vulture peak and the Great Thunderclap temple! They were both such holy and untouchable places!

    He suddenly remembered how there had been an extremely large earthquake in the Demon domain recently. So he had actually been behind it!

    The pure land and the demonic land were both from the Qilin Paradise. They were the two sides of the coin. If something drastic happened to one, the other would immediately receive a response as well.

    Actually, Vulture peak and the Great Thunderclap temple were both secondary. What really mattered was the pond of lotus flowers. They were the foundations of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, basically equivalent to the Black Sun Demon Heart. Now that Li Qingshan had swallowed both and merged them together, he had basically gained control over the Qilin Paradise. The two worlds would definitely begin to fuse together as well.

    To buddhism, that was equivalent to destroying Sukh¨¡vat¨© and opposing all of the gods and buddhas. A war was already unavoidable.

    The enemies consisted of the gods of the heavens, the four bodhisattvas, and¡­ the buddha himself, Tath¨¡gata.

    Li Qingshan glanced deeply at the glistening notice on the mountain. Jokes were still jokes after all. Compared to Demon God Qiongqi right before him, the buddha who wrote the notice caused him more fear.

    ¡°How exactly do you defeat such an unbelievable existence?¡±

    The sense of fear and danger where a huge, golden hand would suddenly descend from above and crush him to death with a smack did not weaken after becoming a true god. It only became heavier.

    Upon hearing that, the other Demon Gods were deeply shocked too. It was not just Demon God Qiongqi.

    Originally, the ¡°pro-war¡¯ Demon Gods like Taotie, Taowu, and Qiangliang already leaned towards supporting Li Qingshan to take the throne and begin a true war. Now, they basically boiled with battle spirit. Since he would even tip over Vulture peak and dismantle the Great Thunderclap temple, what couldn¡¯t he do?

    The other Demon Gods dismissed their objections as well. They thought, This kid was born for a crisis. He¡¯s a natural disaster that can overwhelm everything. He¡¯s absolutely vicious. If I were to confront him directly, I¡¯d probably die at his hand.

    Demon God Qiongqi asked, ¡°How did you leave Sukh¨¡vat¨©?¡±

    Li Qingshan shrugged and pointed up. ¡°I got people above.¡±

    He turned around and clasped his hands towards the sky. The figure of the lion in the clouds nodded towards him before dispersing in the wind.

    ¡°The seven Great Sages, the Mountain-moving tablet¡­¡± Demon God Qiongqi murmured, ¡°If I had known earlier¡­¡±

    ¡°If you regret it now, why did you do it at all back then?¡±

    ¡°Hehe, the more I know I shouldn¡¯t do it, the more I want to try it!¡±

    At this moment, the cool night wind blew over from the distance, making the flowers and leaves sway together.

    Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath. That was the letter of wind from the Wind-coursing Great Sage. It contained everything he had comprehended in the Formless realm. It had to do with the profound realm of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception.

    In the past, his power was insufficient, completely incapable of sustaining a realm like that. Now, he finally could.

    Whoosh, whoosh!

    The wind grew louder and louder, surging through the world. This world was his small world.

    Having undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation, his cultivation was now Forging Soul back into the Void.

    The void was not nothing, nor emptiness. It was the invisible and intangible, yet also omnipresent and omnipotent laws.

    Only now did he truly become the ruler of the Demon domain. He could freely control this world. With a thought, spiritual qi surged over.

    Immediately, a vine rose up from the ground with a rumble, meandering and extending like a dragon or a snake. It sucked in all of the tiny Li Qingshans and wrapped around Qingqi mountain, blooming with a white flower that finally turned into a violet-golden gourd.

    With a crack, the gourd split open and colourful light burst out in streams.

    Li Qingshan leapt out, sized like a mountain. His eyes shone with a divine glow. He was all-powerful, impervious, and able to bring the elements to his will, all the while blending in with nature. He planted his foot on Qiongqi¡¯s head and rebuked, ¡°You old dog, how dare you deceive me! Do you still remember how haughty you were back then?¡±

    Over all these years, for the sake of this gamble, he had been burdened with so much pressure, yet Qiongqi still dared to pull tricks and escape from the restraints of the Blood Oath of the Nether River, almost getting him for good.

    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, would you be here today?¡± Demon God Qiongqi rolled his eyes.

    ¡°In other words, I should be thanking you?¡± Li Qingshan squinted his eyes murderously. ¡°Since you like tempting death so much, you can go die!¡±

    He swung his hand, drawing the sword and swinging down over his head.

    The Sword of Xuanyuan! Demon God Qiongqi was startled inside. Why does this kid have everything?! If he let the sword slash down, he was done for. He cried out, ¡°Spare me!¡±

    The sword stopped mid-air. Li Qingshan asked, ¡°You fear death. Why should I spare you?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t fear death. I just think that if I die right now, I¡¯ll miss out on a lot of novel sights and events in the future. I can be your mount or your dog, but spare my life. Even killing me after the crisis is fine too.¡±

 Chapter 1601

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows. Qiongqi sure was a strange one. However, since he was willing to submit and he was not doing so with ulterior motives, sparing his life was fine too.

    As a result, he sheathed his sword. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll keep your head on your shoulders for now. If you ever dare to defy me in the future or try any tricks, I¡¯ll be sure for you to see absolutely nothing.¡±

    Now that the crisis of the world was imminent and war was about to erupt, the twelve Demon Gods under his command were of utmost importance as the king of the Demon Gods.

    It was fine for him to butcher one or two of them, as he could get the Heretic Gods underneath to make up for that, but who knew how much time it would take and how many Heretic Gods it would cost in the process.

    He had just experienced the power of the seventh heavenly tribulation. The gods of the thunder department from the heavenly palace would not spare any Heretic God that was trying to become a Demon God. Even if they somehow managed to succeed, their foundations would not be as firm as the original Demon God.

    Whether it was their path, laws, or personality, all of them had to match. He could not just find any old Heretic God to succeed them. For example, a freak like Qiongqi probably was not that easy to find in the Demon domain.

    He was a mighty true god with his head under a person¡¯s foot, yet Qiongqi could still laugh. ¡°Hehe, I¡¯ve already run out of patience!¡±

    ¡°You have avoided death, but you¡¯re still not getting off without a punishment! Just stay down there and reflect on your actions!¡±

    Li Qingshan lifted his foot, about to walk off.

    Qiongqi said in a hurry, ¡°Hold on, how long?¡±

    ¡°Heh, five hundred years.¡±

    Qiongqi rolled his eyes. He had finally witnessed just how vengeful the Demon Godking could be.

    Li Qingshan took a step and vanished, reappearing above where the Blood maze was located. Overlooking the ground littered with rotting flesh, he recalled everything that had happened in the past day alone. It still felt surreal.

    However, this was the centre of the entire Demon domain.

    In order to prepare for war, he needed to summon the twelve Demon Gods for discussing the important affairs, but not right now.

    The strong was respected in the cultivation community and even more so in the Demon domain. Not all of the twelve Demon Gods were willing to acknowledge him as king. Even the ¡°pro-war¡± Demon Gods actually supported the war, not Li Qingshan.

    As a result, his priority right now was still his personal strength. Only by wielding the power that belonged to a true god would he be able to claim the title of king.

    But right now, he was welcome to test it out first.

    Li Qingshan communicated with the twelve Demon Gods and passed the first order¡ªopen the borders.

    The Demon domain was divided into twelve dominions by the twelve Demon Gods, connected by passes that required customs clearance documents to get through. They remained half-closed most of the time.

    They were equivalent to twelve fiefdoms, while the Demon Gods were the kings of these fiefs. All of the demonfolk in their fiefs only worshipped them. They possessed power over the entire dominion.

    They were not friendly neighbours with one another all the time either. Instead, it was filled with conflict and disputes. If it were not for the tremendous pressure from the Desireless Heavenly Palace and the fact that they could invade other worlds together, they probably would have descended into chaotic infighting a long time ago.

    Meanwhile, the Black Sun Demon Heart was equivalent to the imperial seal. Since Li Qingshan wanted to become the ¡°son of heaven¡±, he had to change the situation. He had to make the land all his land and make all the kings his vassals.

    ¡°If we want to go to war, we must be united. Do you have any objections?¡±

    ¡°As you wish!¡±

    Demon God Taotie tidied his clothes in the Jinyun Food hall and bowed towards Li Qingshan from afar before opening his borders.

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    Demon God Qiongqi remained beneath Qingqi mountain, so he obviously did not have any objections. He opened the borders obediently. At the same time, he licked his lips and widened his eyes. Something very interesting would probably happen next. Not all of the Demon Gods were so compliant.

    And how will you deal with it, my king?

    Immediately, centred around the land beneath Li Qingshan, Taotie¡¯s dominion and Qiongqi¡¯s dominion immediately became connected, surging with demon qi and dark clouds that slammed together to form a large swirl.

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the swirl, beginning his rule over the two dominions. From that point onwards, demonfolk no longer required customs clearance documents. They could move between the two dominions freely. They were no longer just Taotie or Qiongqi¡¯s people.

    He did not only receive the land and demonfolk, but the authority, belief, and laws too.

    The demonic heavens was filled with joy, while his heart was filled with joy as well. The two of them resonated, and his control over the laws of the Demon domain advanced.

    However, this was only the beginning. He was still waiting for the other Demon Gods¡¯ response.

    ¡°As you wish.¡±

    Before long, the pro-war Demon Gods all opened their territories as well.

    Li Qingshan had already demonstrated his power and determination to him. They were not fools. They understood why they would go to war.

    It would be different from invading other worlds this time. Their enemies were the gods and buddhas up in the heavens, so the entire Demon domain needed to be unified. Li Qingshan was the only choice here. All of his orders were military orders.

    Unless Li Qingshan made a severe mistake with his orders, or he no longer supported the war, they would all submit to him.

    With the submission of several Demon Gods, the swirl of demonic clouds immediately became several times larger.

    The world was in harmony. The earth rumbled away as mountains rose up, piercing the rotting ruins left behind by the Blood maze.

    The mountains spanned like the ocean. The meandering ridges were like dancing demonic dragons, leaping out from hidden valleys.

    Li Qingshan was the king of the Demon Gods, the leader of the dragons.

    With this terraforming and change of the world, he had truly conquered a place where dragons prowled, upheaving the world in a noble manner.

    Li Qingshan was filled with high spirits. Originally, he only wanted to test the Demon Gods¡¯ alignment, but he had changed his mind now. He no longer needed to be so cautious anymore, drawing his sword from its sheath and pointing it at the sky. ¡°I call to the world. Who refuses to heed to my call?¡±

    The remaining Demon Gods that had not submitted experienced a tremendous pressure at the same time, which angered them. This kid has only just undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation. In terms of age, he doesn¡¯t even come close to a fraction of ours. How dare he pressure us like this!

    They were not shameless like Qiongqi, who did not even get mad when someone stood on his head. They were lofty gods, having been worshipped for who knew how many years by billions of demonfolk. How could they not have any sense of pride?

    To them, Li Qingshan had gone on a meteoric rise through the Black Sun Demon Heart. Whether it was defeating the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens or Demon God Qiongqi, there had been an unconventional element of luck. He had not done so by relying purely on his own strength, so he obviously could not leave them completely convinced.

    None of them had the courage to leap out and oppose Li Qingshan, but they still had the confidence to secretly oppose him. Is this kid really bold enough to turn against seven Demon Gods at the same time?

    They were rather reluctant to declare war against the gods and buddhas. The risk of death was simply too great. It would be best if they could buy a few days. The gods and buddhas of the nine heavens would definitely launch a heavy strike with the emergence of the daemon star Yinghuo. If they waited until the day that Li Qingshan perished, then they could continue being the same Demon Gods as before. They would preserve their dignity as gods and it would reduce the risk, so wasn¡¯t it perfect?

    However, Li Qingshan did not give them the opportunity to buy time at all. Even when he pursed his lips and said nothing, he had clearly expressed his will. If any of you don¡¯t answer me today, I¡¯ll give an answer to you instead! Those who obey me will live and those who defy me will die. What would you prefer?

    The crisis of the world had only just begun to unfold. In the centre of the swirl, an internal struggle within the Demon domain was already culminating.

 Chapter 1602

    The mountains spanned like the ocean, rising and falling like waves. The dragons all peered up.

    Li Qingshan stood in the sky. His emotions fluctuated and surged with the mountains and clouds as the star of Yinghuo drifted between the changing times.

    The daemon star had emerged, a true god had fallen, and Qiongqi had submitted!

    Before anyone could completely digest all this, he had begun a new round of war, demanding that the demons yield.

    ¡°I have not come for peace across the land, but for war across the land.¡±

    He required the strength of the twelve Demon Gods, but if they refused to submit, he would not mind a great purge first. Even if all of the Demon Gods perished and the Demon domain was reduced to ruins, heh, that could even be considered as good news.

    A cold smile formed on his face, and the black runes twisted and changed as a result. His scarlet eyes shone with ruthlessness, and he did not try to hide it, allowing it to dance and blaze like a storm.

    The Demon Gods wavered. His will was completely sincere. He was really willing to destroy the entire Demon domain and make all the rebels perish.

    Originally, their greatest source of confidence was that Li Qingshan did not have the courage to turn his blade towards them so easily. He had to earn their support through democracy. They were all ancient Demon Gods with extremely deep foundations, while Li Qingshan was only a new Demon God born for a crisis. He had only just undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation and did not possess the power to crush them.

    .

    In simpler terms, Li Qingshan¡¯s identity was equivalent to the enemy commander of a coalition army of tribes. When it came down to the important discussions, he still had to discuss it with them. He only possessed slightly larger authority during battle. It was an extremely ancient form of military democracy.

    However, Li Qingshan clearly was not satisfied with that. He wanted to be a dictator, or in other words, directly enter the times of battle, when he would possess paramount authority.

    They stood in confrontation¡­ Li Qingshan¡¯s brutal aura became heavier and heavier. His patience was already close to running out. By the time he waved the Sword of Xuanyuan in his hand, that would be the signal of the beginning of battle. He would not try to recruit them or accept their surrender anymore. He would continue until one side was completely destroyed, until they completely perished.

    ¡°As you wish.¡± Suddenly, he heard a gloomy sigh from the distant north. Another Demon God opened his borders. Sigh, if this is a fated tribulation, how am I supposed to escape from it?

    He did not support declaring war against the gods and buddhas of the Nine Heavens, but once strife spread through the Demon domain, the heavenly palace definitely would not simply sit on the sidelines. For the sake of this crisis of the world, probably even a godking that had undergone the eighth heavenly tribulation and reached Merging the Void with the Dao like the Zhenwu Emperor would directly take part. In the end, even if they managed to defeat Li Qingshan, they would not be able to survive the brutal strike from the gods and buddhas of the Nine Heavens.

    And, they did not think they could defeat the group of pro-war Demon Gods under Li Qingshan¡¯s lead at all as a group of pro-peace Demon Gods. Perhaps they possessed greater power, but compared to those murderous, fanged beasts, they could only be regarded as larger herbivores.

    As a result, he turned around to persuade the other Demon Gods. ¡°Fellows, at a time like this, we should take the bigger picture into consideration!¡±

    The scales had completely tipped. There was no longer any uncertainty about everything that happened next.

    Immediately, all of the Demon Gods yielded to Li Qingshan and offered up the land they ruled. They all said, ¡°As you wish.¡±

    That was apart from Demon God Hundun. He had fallen into eternal chaos a long time ago, completely losing his sense of self.

    The swirl in the sky revolved rapidly. The laws and powers all gathered towards Li Qingshan. The mountains below fluctuated as the entire ground was lifted up, forming a plateau. It was like a crouching beast waking up from the silence of the earth.

    The Black Sun Demon Heart shone brilliantly.

    With that, Li Qingshan had taken the entire Demon domain without spilling any blood. He surpassed every Demon God in both authority and power now.

    Demon God Qiongqi¡¯s praises rang out in his ear, ¡°Congratulations, my king! Congratulations, my king! You¡¯ve become the true king of Demon Gods! You have sharp instincts and a determined will, which will assist you in achieving victory in future battles. Oh right, I no longer pose a threat to you. I would never do something so pointless, so¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan obviously understood what he was saying and smiled. ¡°Very well. Please lend me another hand!¡± Then he pointed the Sword of Xuanyuan towards Hundun¡¯s dominion.

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    Demon God Qiongqi immediately offered up his full support, granting access to all of the laws he controlled. These were the central laws he controlled, ones that even Li Qingshan could not strip from him as the lord of the Demon domain. He could only borrow them.

    The submission of the Demon Gods was not only a formality. This was what mattered most. From that point onwards, Li Qingshan could mobilise the central laws under their control at any time and he could also comprehend them to strengthen the Black Sun Demon Heart and hence gain better control over the Demon domain.

    At the same time, it also allowed him to grasp the weakness of every Demon God, giving him greater ruling power.

    If telling the Demon Gods to open their dominions was only equivalent to offering up their land and submitting to him, then at this moment, the son of heaven lit the beacons, gathered his vassals, and dispatched his armies to punish those who refused to submit.

    ¡°With a swing of the sword, the sky full of clouds disperses. The vassals assemble one after another.¡±

    By now, the Demon Gods no longer had any other choice. They could only take the bigger picture into account, releasing their authority to Li Qingshan and offering up their central laws.

    Li Qingshan seemed to see a mighty landscape painting slowly unfurl before his eyes. It contained the very nature of the Demon domain. That was his gate to the eighth heavenly tribulation and Merging the Void with the Dao.

    However, one part of this painting was dark, sunken in chaos.

    Demon God Hundun was the strongest of the twelve Demon Gods. The power he possessed even surpassed the eleven other Demon Gods combined. He controlled and wielded the strongest laws out of all of the Demon domain¡¯s laws, the laws of chaos.

    He had once been infinitesimally close to the black sun and the very nature of the laws of the Demon domain. He had the opportunity to become the lord of the Demon domain through his own powers. However, it was exactly because of this that his self-consciousness was rapidly eroded away and assimilated by the laws of chaos, until he completely descended into chaos himself.

    He was powerful because he was chaotic, and he was chaotic because he was powerful. That was his fate.

    Over the process of several hundred thousand years, his followers constantly diminished, either killing one another in internal strife or being slaughtered in his chaos. An extremely small number of demonfolk maintained their faith in him.

    The other Demon Gods also used this advantage to gnaw away at Hundun¡¯s dominion. He was the strongest Demon God, but his dominion was instead the smallest out of the twelve.

    However, this final piece of territory was of utmost importance. It directly affected whether the Demon domain could be completely unified. It had to do with the completion of this landscape.

    Li Qingshan gathered his focus. Using his identity as the ruler of the Demon domain and the power of the eleven dominions and eleven Demon Gods, he forcefully breached all passes and swallowed Hundun¡¯s dominion in a single gulp, obtaining the last piece of the puzzle.

    The twelve dominions were completely connected now.

    Li Qingshan widened his eyes. What a glorious landscape painting!

    On one side, it depicted the wicked earth of the Demon domain, and on the other, it showed the pure earth of Sukh¨¡vat¨©. One side was pain and wickedness and the other was happiness and kindness, yet at the same time, they blended together and served as the background of one another. It was unbelievably exquisite.

    If all of this originated from the primordial qilin, then just how powerful was the primordial qilin supposed to be? Probably both the power and laws it possessed was well beyond anything that gods right now could match!

    Then just how powerful was the buddha supposed to be as he had split the entire Qilin Paradise in two?

    He was far too engrossed in it that he even failed to notice that right beneath him, a peak rose up among the mountains above the plateau, plunging into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it became the tallest peak in the Demon domain before continuing to grow.

    A hysterical howl rang out from the depths of the Tang valley. A monster that resembled a tumour twisted about madly.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head suddenly lightened, and he plunged head-first, falling onto the tallest mountain. His mind was a violent mess. Sometimes, he wanted to dance around, and at other times, he wanted to burst into tears.

    It was Demon God Hundun! Even after losing his sense of self, he resisted the annexation instinctively.

    The howl had exceeded any audible range, and it completely ignored the distance as well. Not only did the soundwaves shake, the laws fluctuated as well, directly jolting his soul. Human Immortals and Heretic Gods would immediately plunge into insanity as their consciousness collapsed. Even true immortals would suffer from cultivation deviation upon hearing that.

    ¡°The Spirit Turtle Transformation!¡±

    A spirit turtle appeared behind Li Qingshan, suddenly suppressing his disturbed mind. His eyes became deep like the ocean, rapidly weaving the laws to set up numerous defences so that he could fend off this chaotic howl. His mind immediately felt much clearer.

    However, Demon God Hundun had found where he was. His tumour-like body rapidly expanded and surged, crawling out from the depths of the Tang valley.

    Beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s feet was the tallest peak in the Demon domain, the place closest to Sukh¨¡vat¨©. The depths of the Tang valley where Demon God Hundun was located was the lowest point in the Demon domain, where millions of years of foul miasma had accumulated, which currently surged and rose. Once it spread, it would probably reduce a good majority of the Demon domain into a land of death. At least half of the demonfolk would be exterminated.

    At the same time, the laws of chaos rapidly twisted and tore apart the lines of defence he set up. Once he was locked onto, Demon God Hundun would appear before him in the next moment.

    Everything really would get out of hand by then. Demon God Hundun could no longer be regarded as a true god according to normal logic anymore. Instead, he had become something almost akin to space-devouring beasts. He had become a phenomenon of nature, representing the darkest and most twisted side of the Demon domain.

    Li Qingshan was aware that facing Demon God Hundun right now was basically no different from internal strife. It might even be even more troublesome.

    If the Demon Gods suddenly withdrew all of their laws when he reached the most intense part of the battle, leaving him to face Demon God Hundun alone, he might even be in danger of dying.

    The Demon Gods said nothing, all wanting to see how he would deal with Demon God Hundun. You want our power, so we¡¯ve given you our power. If you can¡¯t win, then you might as well go die, dragged into the depths of the Tang valley by Demon God Hundun, never to be freed again.

    However, against something that lacked a sense of self, Li Qingshan was very experienced.

    At that instant, he completely hid his existence, not only hiding his aura or tricking his senses, but severing all of his ties to Demon God Hundun.

    Of course, completely severing it was impossible. With his powers, he could only sever it for an instant.

    After that instant, Demon God Hundun had already forgotten who Li Qingshan was. He had forgotten all of his fury and hatred as well, slowly dropping back into the depths of the Tang valley.

    All of the Demon Gods were convinced. Demon God Qiongqi exclaimed, ¡°My king, you actually possess intelligence!¡±

    ¡°Do you want to be suppressed for ten thousand years?¡±

 Chapter 1603

    The space-devouring beast called Navy Li¡¯l Fatty swam through the deep, dark outer space, swallowing star after star, world after world.

    It had surpassed all regular creatures in size. So-called primordial beasts were as small as ants when compared to it.

    When it appeared above a world, its navy, half-transparent body would fill the entire sky. Even without looking up, all the creatures there could see it, but no one could see it in its entirety.

    In terms of the energy it possessed, even True Immortals came nowhere close, because the intrinsic nature of space-devouring beasts was that they were not living, but the rudimentary form of a world. They wandered through outer space according to the laws of nature, feeding off the remains of other worlds while producing even more space-devouring beasts.

    After accumulating a certain amount of substance, space-devouring beasts would stop and begin to mould earth, fire, wind, and water until it formed a world in the very end. They went through this again and again to maintain the cycle of life and death among the trichiliocosm.

    When Navy Li¡¯l Fatty was still in its mother¡¯s womb, it was invaded by a foreign being called Li Qingshan, turning around to devour his mother instead, which led to a small problem. However, despite that, it still did not possess any sense of self. All that existed were a series of instincts.

    Demon God Hundun had become a similar existence. He had assimilated into a part of the Demon domain. He was an ¡°it¡± now.

    If he was ignorant of the situation and fought against it rashly by treating it as a regular Demon God, then he was basically asking for trouble. Not only did it possess an extremely terrifying level of energy, but the laws of chaos possessed the ability to twist and collapse other laws too.

    If a True Immortal was bold enough to clash with it directly, they would discover that the laws they controlled would be rendered completely useless, dragged down to the same level as it for an endurance battle of the lowest of powers before being swallowed by the terrifying energy.

    During this process, all techniques would fail. Even escaping would be impossible.

    Perhaps even the Demon Gods did not understand this as well as Li Qingshan. Normally, they only remained in the Demon domain and never left home, so they obviously had no opportunity to wander outer space, much less enter the body of a space-devouring beast.

    Li Qingshan did not even come close to a fraction of their age, but he possessed an exceptionally wide range of experiences. He had once served as a sangharama guardian in Sukh¨¡vat¨© and he had visited all six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. He even had a piece of property in the trichiliocosm that was constantly appreciating in value too. The World of the Five Continents had already become enormous now, far larger than the World of the Nine Provinces from the past.

    As a result, when he ¡°cut his ties¡±, easily avoiding this battle while sending Demon God Hundun back to the depths of the Tang valley, even the Demon Gods were amazed.

    Demon God Qiongqi sang praises. ¡°Mighty be the king! Prevailing be the king! You are courageous and intelligent, the ultimate creation of the most perfect combination of the heavens and earth. From the moment you were born, the entire Demon domain quietly called for your name, Li- Qing- Shan! For if the heavens hath not birthed Li Qingshan, the night of history would have been everlasting! He strives for happiness for other demonfolk! Hurrah! He is the great saviour of demonfolk!¡±

    The Demon Gods all remained silent, feeling deeply embarrassed.

    Li Qingshan directly rolled his eyes. ¡°Shut your mouth!¡±

    Let alone a mighty god, even a cultivator that had undergone the second or third heavenly tribulation probably could not say something like that. Even the thought of it would not cross their heads.

    The worst part of this was when this bastard sucked up to him, there always seemed to be hints of mockery, which left him feeling uncomfortable all over.

    Demon God Qiongqi then began to plead. ¡°Show mercy, my king. Spare me, my king. My body is feeble with old age. I really don¡¯t have the capacity to deal with a mountain. After just being crushed for a while, my ache has begun to ache like crazy. My waist is close to snapping too. Cough, cough, cough, cough, I can¡¯t anymore, I can¡¯t anymore¡­¡±

    As he said that, he even followed up with a string of coughs. His voice sounded much more elderly as well. He acted as if he was not a rebel who had tried to kill Li Qingshan, but an old subject that had served the king in court for many years that had faced unfair treatment.

    Even Li Qingshan had basically given in with how shameless he was. If he continued to suppress Qiongqi, it would be meaningless apart from venting.

    With the unification of the entire Demon domain, along with obtaining the laws central to the eleven Demon Gods, his power and authority had already reached the limit. Qiongqi could no longer threaten him and according to Qiongqi¡¯s shitty personality as a freak, there was no chance of any betrayal.

    He could continue to vent on him, but before he had even raised his hand, Qiongqi would have delivered his face over already. ¡°Please slap me viciously.¡± He basically seemed like he would continue sucking up to him and continue pleading with him as long as he refused to spare him.

    The so-called humiliation and disgrace of regular people held absolutely no meaning to him. Instead, he found it very fascinating and found great joy in it. He was not the type to toy with the weak just because he was stronger, but a persistent hunter of novelty.

    Li Qingshan shook his head and waved his hand at the distance. The notice personally written by the buddha with the six-syllabled mantra was lifted by a breeze, gently drifting down.

    With a boom, the mountain cracked and erupted.

    Qiongqi immediately squirmed free from under the mountain, bowing deeply in Li Qingshan¡¯s direction. ¡°Thank you for your mercy, my king. May the king live for ten millennia! Long live my king!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not be bothered with haggling with him over whether a lifespan of ten millennia was a blessing or a curse.

    With the unification of the demonic land, the Demon domain underwent a drastic change.

    Rumble. The ground shook, and the mountains fluctuated.

    A plateau rose up out of nowhere on the land, so tall that it had already surpassed most other mountains in the Demon domain, shaped like a crouching tiger.

    Mountains stretched like the ocean on the plateau with their ridges curling around like dragons, surrounding a peak that had sprung into existence suddenly.

    The peak plunged right into the clouds, continuing to rise, smashing through the sky like it wanted to poke a hole in the heavens.

    Li Qingshan stood on the peak. Before he knew it, he was already above the clouds. As the swirl of demonic clouds under his feet gradually dispersed, he gazed off into the distance. The wind and mist swirled as thousands of mountains filled his eyes. He could see thousands of kilometres away, like the entire Demon domain was beneath his feet.

    That was indeed the reality too.

    It was truly a land where dragons prowled!

    Unfortunately, no matter how tall a mountain was, it would never be taller than the sky.

    The structure of the demonic land and the pure land was extremely complicated, difficult to be described in words. It was not as simple as the demonic land below and the pure land above. It could not even be described in simple terms of up and down. The metaphor of being two sides of the same painting was only a metaphor too.

    The demonic land and pure land were still one entity in nature, and the exact reason why they could be separated was because they were connected.

    Only like that could the wicked thoughts of Sukh¨¡vat¨© constantly sink down to the Demon domain while sucking away the vigour, leading to the unbelievably fertile land in the end.

    However, that was also why demonic beasts would wreak havoc in Sukh¨¡vat¨©, passing through the tunnels to invade Sukh¨¡vat¨© each midnight, at the height of yin.

    What Li Qingshan wanted to do was to widen the tunnels between the two worlds and completely tear down this boundary so that the two worlds merged back together, where the distinction of the demonic land and the pure land no longer existed.

    This was not for hatred or revenge, but to follow the path of nature, to recover the original Qilin Paradise.

    When that day arrived, there would still be the contention of the strong preying on the weak, the brutality of the survival of the fittest, but there would no longer be any demonfolk that were born guilty. Everyone would be able to choose their own fates once more.

    The unification of the demonic land was but only a beginning. The merging of the two worlds had already begun.

    At this moment, when all of the demonfolk raised their heads, they would discover an almost imperceptible golden lining on the edge of the black sun.

    Li Qingshan could not help but reach over as if he wanted to grasp it in his hand.

    There would be a day when he made the light of the sun shine on this demonic land!

 Chapter 1604

    The Hungry Ghost realm.

    A slender hand extended into the night sky. A scarlet star drifted within the dark clouds, enchanting and illusionary.

    The star was well beyond reach. Finally, she could only draw her hand back to her chest melancholically, having turned to white bone already. She let out a gloomy, soft sigh. ¡°Qingshan.¡±

    When he chased after the sun, there was also someone behind him, chasing after that ray of starlight.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense it, suddenly looking back, but all he heard was the whistling of the mountain winds, blowing from the distant horizon to the ends of the world. The great altitude was very cold. He currently stood at the very top, so there was no longer anyone around.

    No, there was still someone, even if it was someone he did not wish to see.

    Qian Rongzhi bowed slightly and asked politely, ¡°My king, what¡¯s the matter?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. He had conquered the twelve dominions, unified the demonic land, and sworn a great vow to let the sun shine on the demonic land, but that was only the first step in this colossal journey.

    Right now, he had far too many matters to tend to. His arms were completely full.

    First of all, he needed to enter secluded cultivation to comprehend the Dao.

    This was composed of two parts. One was the laws he had comprehended himself through Forging his Soul back into the Void. A majority originated from his own path, primarily the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. It did not have much of a connection to the laws of the Demon domain. In particular, there were still many transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine that he had not reached completion. He needed to use this opportunity to push them to a higher realm.

    Afterwards, he had to use the Black Sun Demon Heart as a foundation and summarise the central laws he had obtained from the eleven Demon Gods to further comprehend the laws of the Demon domain. At the same time, he needed to comprehend the laws of Sukh¨¡vat¨© and peer back into the most ancient memories of the Qilin Paradise.

    During this process, he needed to use the plateau and mountains beneath his feet as a foundation, absorbing tremendous amounts of spiritual qi to sustain the depletion of energy. At the same time, he needed to constantly convert it into his own power. Only then would he truly possess the power of a true god.

    To a god, laws and power was everything. It was what he relied on to rule over the Demon domain.

    After that was the problem of the war that would be occurring within the next century.

    He issued a series of orders for this.

    The first order was to stop all invasion to other worlds, including the Human realm. They would completely switch over to strategic defence to deal with any foreign invasions while gathering their efforts to deal with internal issues of the Demon domain.

    The Demon Gods all expressed their support of this.

    With the emergence of the daemon star of misfortune, the crisis of the world began to unfold and the Demon Godking was born. The Demon domain would definitely be facing the most violent of opposition next.

    The immortals and buddhas of the Nine Heavens would not just sit by and wait for them to develop and strengthen. The Desireless Heavenly Palace had probably been completely mobilised already.

    It probably was not just the Desireless Heavenly Palace either. Instead, all of the heavenly palaces, all of the gods and buddhas beyond the Nine Heavens had begun to prepare for this crisis of the world.

    The Demon domain of the past could only be described as an incurable disease, a slowly-developing benign tumour. It invaded many worlds and had plenty of battles with the Human realm, but compared to the enormous size of the entirety of the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, it could not be considered as a great threat at all. Nothing major would happen even if another ten thousand years passed, let alone threatening beyond the Nine Heavens.

    Now, as Li Qingshan took over the Demon domain, the benign tumour had completely turned into a malignant tumour. When Li Qingshan directly designated annexing Sukh¨¡vat¨© that was of utmost importance to buddhism as his objective, the very nature of the place had changed completely. They had gone from a group of bandits and refugees that simply occupied a place to an army of rebels wanting to usurp the current throne.

    Perhaps his objective only threatened buddhism alone, but Li Qingshan himself possessed extremely deep ties with the seven Great Sages, which was enough to leave all of the gods and immortals restless.

    The seven Great Sages were all suppressed, but they were all supreme existences of Merging the Void with the Dao. As long as the Dao remained, their existence remained.

    Compared to them, the twelve Demon Gods were basically as docile as babies. Once they were released, the world would immediately plunge into chaos. Even gods would find no peace.

    And that would definitely be Li Qingshan¡¯s most important target next. Once his power peaked, he would immediately work towards saving the seven Great Sages, completing his promise of the Nine Heavens with brother ox.

    That was exactly why the immortals and buddhas of the Nine Heavens would do everything they could to kill him. If he were to take a single step out of the Demon domain right now, probably the Zhenwu Emperor would send him off to the afterlife immediately.

    The reason why he could sit here in comfort and think about these things was all thanks to the Demon domain.

    Like regular worlds, the Demon domain also had a limit to what it could contain. It could only let in seventh heavenly tribulation existences of Forging the Soul back into the Void, and it rejected higher existences extremely violently.

    The Demon domain itself possessed sufficient mass and a sufficiently strong will. It could twist and overwhelm the laws of all foreigners, even destroying and corrupting their laws. It could be viewed as a strengthened version of Demon God Hundun.

    That was why while the Demon Gods did not have the courage to leave the Demon domain, they were basically capable of self-preservation. In particular, the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous was extremely powerful. Unlike the so-called formations of cultivators, it used the net of laws woven by the expansive Demon domain. Once activated, it could slay true gods, strengthening the restraint on existences on par with the Zhenwu Emperor.

    That was why the internal structure was the greatest priority of the priorities. Forcing the Demon Gods to submit was actually a risky move. The existence of the twelve Demon Gods implied the existence of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. Demon God Hundun had gone completely mad, but he still served as an important foundation of the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous. The other Demon Gods could coerce him into defending.

    If a Demon God perished, then the entire defence system would have broken, and it would be very likely for Li Qingshan to be executed as the new Demon Godking. Fortunately, the pro-peace Demon Gods were clearly even more willing than him to ¡°take the bigger picture into account¡±.

    Eleven Demon Gods had already submitted now, but he still had to resolve the problem of Demon God Hundun sooner or later. He had to find a way to awaken its consciousness and obtain the part of the central laws in its control. Only then would the Twelve Citadel Demon Formation of the Ominous be capable of launching attacks outwards.

    As a result, he summoned Qian Rongzhi.

    ¡°Do you know why I¡¯ve summoned you here?¡±

    ¡°Demon God Hundun has fallen from its position. You want me to replace it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s correct. Are you willing?¡±

    Normally, no one would be willing. This was not just an issue of the risk involved. Instead, it would definitely lead to a loss of a majority of their sense of self, even assimilating completely, becoming a chaotic and twisted monster that could not be considered as a god anymore.

    ¡°Of course.¡± However, Qian Rongzhi accepted gladly without any hesitation. ¡°But I need to make some preparations.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll need a very long time for the preparations. Go. I¡¯ll support you in spirit.¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand indifferently. He had already become the representative of the Demon domain¡¯s will. His support in spirit meant endless resources and luck. After all these incidents, he no longer possessed much disgust towards Qian Rongzhi at this moment.

    However, Qian Rongzhi did not back away. Instead, she took a step forward and stared at Li Qingshan. ¡°My king, I have a request.¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. A feeling of disgust rose up in him again. Just from his senses, he immediately understood what Qian Rongzhi was planning. Qian Rongzhi wanted the Ming cult to flourish, to spread across the entire Demon domain. She would obviously be the leader of the Ming cult, while the supreme god that the followers worshipped would obviously be him, the great saviour of the demonfolk.

    Afterwards, he would be turned into stone statues after stone statues, enshrined high up on an altar, becoming some kind of twisted representation. Those who followed him would obviously receive many advantages, while those who did not would face severe punishment. And in the future, was he supposed to create another Sukh¨¡vat¨© for his most loyal followers? And a demonic land to send all the blasphemers.

    That would basically be tremendously ironic!

    ¡°I refuse. You¡¯re dismissed now!¡±

    Qian Rongzhi pointed at the black sun in the sky. ¡°My king, I¡¯ve experienced a few things that probably all demonfolk have experienced. Kindness will awaken in the hearts of many. If no one is out there to affirm this kindness, it will remain hidden in the bottom of their hearts, while the minority of people who have awakened will still be hunted down and executed brutally. Who will protect them?¡±

    ¡°If no one leads the demonfolk, this chaos will continue forever. The kind demonfolk will only face even greater pain, as if they are stuck in hell, burdened with sins, killing one another. All these generations of demonfolk will have gone through pointless pain and made pointless sacrifices. Without a stable order, without a loyal army, light will never arrive.¡±

    Qian Rongzhi said with fervour and assurance. The pressure that Li Qingshan gave off became heavier and heavier, such that even breathing became difficult for her, but she still refused to stop.

    Finally, she prostrated on the ground and slammed her forehead heavily against the rock. Blood splattered everywhere and the stone shattered.

    ¡°I implore the king to reconsider!¡±

 Chapter 1605

    Li Qingshan remained silent for a moment before waving his hand and turning to leave.

    The corner of Qian Rongzhi¡¯s lips curled slightly. They were eye-catchingly red. She bowed deeply again. ¡°I will convey the good news. The king¡¯s benevolence will definitely be spread throughout the Demon domain, to be known by all living creatures in the Demon domain. They will be your most loyal and most fanatic of warriors.¡±

    Afterwards, she stood up in satisfaction and made her way down the mountain.

    Li Qingshan raised his head, gazing very, very deeply into the black sun with a gilded, golden edge, overlapping with his pitch-black eyes.

    Finally, there was only him left there.

    Like an ascetic, he sat down on the rocks and sank into a lengthy thought.

    At that instant, the winds and clouds churned and surged.

    The tremendous, endless spiritual qi of the world gathered together on this plateau, this peak, this man.

    The moment Qian Rongzhi had made her way off the plateau, she suddenly looked back, only to see a river of spiritual qi visible to the naked eye form in the air. It flowed with a variety of colours like an aurora, which made her sigh from the bottom of her heart. ¡°What a magnificent sight!¡±

    All the demonfolk within several tens of thousand kilometres of this place could see it as well, enamored by this beauty they had never seen before.

    Waves surged through the river. That was his heaving emotions. From time to time, they would form whirlpools. Those were his surging thoughts.

    Is it worth it?

    As he comprehended the laws of the Demon domain, he saw the future clearly. He saw how his statues were sculpted from rock, gilded in gold and delivered to the decorated halls. He also saw the piousness and fervency of the people, bowing at the feet of the statue, filled with pain and hope.

    However, the only thing I can bring to them is destruction!

    From beginning to end, he only wanted to walk his own path, which was why he refused to establish overly-deep relationships with others.

    Hatred and hostility was a restraint, but those terrifying enemies would only rouse his fighting spirit, making him struggle free from ease and comfort, advancing valiantly, killing resolutely, and brutally destroying all obstructions, standing on the corpses of enemies and laughing to his heart¡¯s content.

    The most difficult to deal with was instead those gentle feelings of goodwill and affection, those people who whole-heartedly treated him well, those people who were willing to do anything for him.

    That was why he refused to call himself a world saviour. Whether it was devouring the Black Sun Demon Heart or being killed by the Thunder Lord General of the Nine Heavens billions of times, those were all paths he had chosen. He did not need anyone to thank him or to compensate him.

    If this really was an offering to heaven, then he would not mind being the lone, proud sacrifice.

    ¡°I place my hopes in the stars, yet no one knows. I swear I will repay my hotbloodedness to the land.¡±

    However, if he could not rally all of the demonfolk, this battle would be unwinnable. Instead, as the two worlds rapidly merged together, it would lead to even greater chaos.

    Right from the get-go, it was no longer just his matter. He was the origin of all sins, the source of all wickedness. He was the demon.

    He sent his mind deep into the Demon domain and the pain and hatred accumulated over countless years by innumerable demonfolk surged forth like the ocean, not desiring salvation, only revenge, even directing their revenge to anyone, only wanting blood and souls.

    ¡°Going out in a blaze is still better than dragging out a depraved existence!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice rang out, cold and resolute, whistling and echoing between the mountains.

    Qian Rongzhi bowed. ¡°Your will is also my fate.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Jetavana.

    A gentle breeze blew past the bodhi tree and all the branches and leaves responded together, producing a metallic ringing that formed a wondrous tune.

    However, the sound today was different from normal. It lacked some of the buddhist truths and contained a little more of the daoist truths.

    The buddha leaned against his hand with his eyes shut. Hearing the sound, he opened his eyes and brought his palms together, bowing to give his regards. He smiled. ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s been a while. How have you been? Are you not practising alchemy and speaking to your students today?¡±

    If someone else heard that, they would definitely be astounded. Just who deserved to be referred to as ¡°teacher¡± by the buddha?

    The one who arrived was a daoist priest. His hair was white, but he had a youthful countenance. He seemed like a sage, yet there was something worldly about him as well. At first glance, he seemed no different from a regular old daoist priest.

    However, the old daoist priest was the founder of daoism, the teacher of the immortals, the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, Taishang Laojun.

    Compared to the spread of the buddhist dharma and buddhism¡¯s attempt to bring salvation to all, he spent most of his time in the Heavenly Palace of Tu?ita comprehending the origins of the universe, the fruits of Dao. Apart from refining a few cauldrons of pills for the heavenly emperor and explaining the fruits of Dao to the immortals every now and then, he never involved himself in other affairs. It had already been several tens of thousand years since he last saw the buddha.

    He was well aware that even if he denied the title of teacher, the buddha would still insist, so he accepted it. He was in the buddha¡¯s abode, so he adjusted to his customs, bringing his palms together and returning the bow.

    ¡°The heavenly emperor witnessed the emergence of the daemon star of misfortune and that the great crisis is imminent. He has gathered the subjects to discuss the matter of subjugating the demons. He had specially sent me to invite the world honoured one.¡±

    The buddha nodded slightly, also accepting the title of the world honoured one. He smiled. ¡°His majesty is probably very cheerful!¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s extremely cheerful. He¡¯s taken out that bear skin again, strolling around in the palace every single day with it on, except that sword is gone from his waist.¡± Taishang Laojun shook his head with a wry smile. He was obviously aware of the whereabouts of the sword.

    The buddha said in surprise, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the same one from Zhuolu back then!¡±

    Taishang Laojun nodded with a long face. ¡°I especially divined this, and it really was that one.¡±

    The two of them laughed together. Their laughter rustled all the leaves on the bodhi tree.

    ¡°He really is attached to it.¡±

    ¡°His majesty has already felt that he triumphed in the past two crises unfairly. He blames you for getting in his way, so he¡¯s specially ordered me to tell you that the will of the heavens are difficult to defy. Once or twice, but not thrice.¡±

    ¡°This was clearly the teacher¡¯s idea.¡±

    ¡°If you refuse, then I won¡¯t either.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do about that. I am also deeply at fault. However, please tell his majesty to not worry. This time, I definitely won¡¯t create any additional problems.¡±

    With their cultivations, even the slightest memory would not fade away with time. Whenever they recalled it, it was no different from when they were in the moment. The emotions they felt from it were millions of times more than what regular people could experience. They could sympathise with the ignorance and baseness of the common people, but the common people were unable to understand their wisdom and pity.

    Of course, whether it was the heavenly emperor or the buddha, they all had matters where their abilities were limited and they were powerless over. The extravagant spirit of ¡°using the world as a chessboard and the living beings as chess pieces¡± was only the absurd fantasies of mortals, like how an emperor would use a golden carrying pole.

    ¡°The heavenly emperor is the descendant of Fuxi after all! The dragon has no regrets.¡±

    Taishang Laojun stood with his hands behind his back, thinking about something. In a daze, his figure seemed to become extremely large, connecting the sky with the ground, having surpassed the Dao, peering down from an unreachable height. However, by the next moment, he truly was just a regular old daoist priest who gave off a sense of worldliness.

    He was extremely ordinary yet extremely great, extremely gentle yet also extremely staunch. He did nothing for anything, yet also anything for nothing. These two polar opposite realms and sensations merged together perfectly on him.

    The buddha said in praise, ¡°The teacher has made progress yet again! If you hadn¡¯t visited me, I would have visited you for some more guidance.¡±

    ¡°There is no end to the Dao. Its profound wonders cannot be described. Unfortunately, you¡¯re only interested in the living creatures. You¡¯re unable to see everything I see. Wisdom to you is only a means at the end of the day. If you could shift your view away from the living creatures and observe this world together with me, the wisdom you will receive will definitely surpass all of this,¡± Taishang Laojun said with great pity.

    ¡°With your wisdom, teacher, you would obviously refuse to tread in the secular world, but I too am a living creature. Lotuses bloom from the sludge of mud. Realities arise from the heart and comprehension is created by the heart. If there were no living creatures, the world would also hold no meaning. As long as you and I can still understand the suffering of living creatures, we can never transcend.¡±

    ¡°I can never win an argument against you.¡±

    ¡°The kind do not argue. Those who argue are not kind. True words are not beautiful. Beautiful words should not be trusted. Being unkind and unbeautiful is just me.¡±

    Beneath their mutual understanding was a difference even thousands of years could not reconcile.

    As they spoke, the crisis of the world forged onwards.

    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C.

    Volume Epilogue¡ªThe Flowers of the Other Side Bloom

    Some of you still might not know, but the upcoming volume is the final volume of Legend of the Great Sage.

    Before any of us realised it, four or five winter breaks had already passed. As a reader, you must have gone through many important turning points in life during this period!

    Starting from the first volume ¡°The Young, Gallant Wanderer¡±, Li Qingshan underwent ¡°Daemonification¡± and Xiao An went ¡°From White Bone to Flesh¡±. They experienced the bizarre adventures in the ¡°Daemon City Underground¡± and Li Qingshan became a failed novelist in ¡°Amok in the Hundred Schools¡±, swearing the oath of till death do us part.

    That was the beginning of this book. You can call it the first part.

    Afterwards, with ¡°Chaos Rising¡±, the Green province plunged into war and Qingshan fought against the current, becoming the ¡°Lord of the Clear River Waters¡±. After a ¡°Dance with the Dead¡±, he gained the ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Nirv¨¡?a¡± before experiencing ¡°A Dream in the Mist Province¡± on the shore of the South sea. He also became lost in outer space before finally staging a return and waging war everywhere, earning the title of the ¡°Supreme Daemon King¡±.

    In the blink of an eye, we¡¯ve already completed a majority of the journey. I called it the end of the first part, or more accurately, the middle part.

    During this process, I¡¯ve truly gone through a storm. Who knows how many tosses and turns I¡¯ve made, spending entire nights without sleep, ravishing with joy upon sudden understanding, crying painfully when lost. I¡¯ve once been sent into the sky by a mountainous wave, mistaking that I had already learnt how to fly, only to be slammed into the depths of the ocean again in the blink of an eye.

    Actually, I expected this right from the beginning. Right from when this book only had a few hundred thousand words, the title of the author¡¯s word for making it onto the front page as a recommended book was ¡°Through this Ocean¡±. After all, I¡¯ve just never been particularly successful in my life. I just didn¡¯t expect it to be so tortuous this time.

    TL: Chapter 244 for the author¡¯s word is titled ¡°Through this Ocean¡±.

    I¡¯ve given up on chasing after success or whatever it is a long time ago. All I want to do is write a novel I like and do my best to write better and better. Even if I can¡¯t become a phenomenal author or make the big bucks, it¡¯s fine. There are so many failures in the world. Someone is bound to lose, so why can¡¯t it be me? Yeah, this is just how I strive for ¡°self-improvement¡±.

    However, even just this small wish, such a straightforward matter, is actually so difficult to come true. Sometimes, I do everything that I can, only to discover that I¡¯m in the same exact place as before. I discard my past self, yet I don¡¯t know where my future self is.

    Many people have told me, ¡°You think too much¡±. However, that¡¯s exactly what I find the greatest joy in life to be in! No matter how painful and tortuous it is, I¡¯ve never regretted it before, as I have once witnessed extremely grand and magnificent scenery and experienced extraordinary emotions.

    Wang Anshi once said, ¡°The wondrous, imposing, precious, unique and extraordinary sights of the world are often hidden in dangerous and remote places that people rarely frequent, so those without aspirations can never reach them.¡± I deeply concur with him, and I believe my job is to share everything I experience with you.

    This is the exact belief I possess as I pass through the storm, raise the sails, and begin the final journey.

    This time, I will reach the other side!

    When Li Qingshan scaled the Heaven Climbing Vine and ascended to the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, kicking off the ¡°Chronicles in the Human realm¡±, he used the thick foundation he accumulated in the World of the Nine Provinces to rapidly rise up as the greatest true disciple of the Myriad sect. Of course, it was not a boring repetition of the Academy of the Hundred Schools, but the bloody battle of Black Cloud city, the spirit of a dragon rising up from his circumstances.

    He comprehended the attainment of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception in Av¨©ci and searched for the answers to everything in the Great Thunderclap temple of Sukh¨¡vat¨© before venturing deep into the Demon domain, slaying a Heretic God, facing Taotie, killing Jiuying, awakening ¡°A Sacred Heart¡± with the solemn and stirring lament!

    The flowers of the other side bloom. The Nine Heavens aren¡¯t far.

    The final volume¡ªUnparalleled.

    Everything has only just begun.

 Chapter 1609

    Unlike the expanse of fertile land on the Central continent, the Daemonic beast continent was covered with precipitous cliffs, mountains, and great swamps. Clouds and mist curled above the mountains and lakes, seeping into the endless sea of trees, leaving it even more verdant than before.

    There was no good or evil here. They only followed the most ancient principle of nature¡ªnatural selection and the survival of the fittest.

    A great river raged between the mountains like a dragon, suddenly taking to the air upon reaching a cliff, plunging straight down as a thousand-metre-long waterfall that filled the air with spray.

    Through the spray and behind the waterfall, there was actually more than what met the eye. A dwelling was hidden there, which was where the spiritual veins of the mountains and river gathered.

    The rumbling sound of the water was blocked outside. The silent dwelling was pitch-black, without any light at all.

    A pair of exceptionally-large, jade-green cat eyes blinked, illuminating all of the darkness.

    ¡°Sigh, the Nine-tailed Fox Empress is beautiful, noble, and powerful, but it is too bad she was up to no good!¡±

    Xuanyue rested her cheeks on her hands with a frown. Through her rather impressive bloodline as an innate spiritual beast and a certain person¡¯s blessings, she had already undergone the third heavenly tribulation. She now seemed like a seventeen or eighteen year old woman.

    .

    During the battle of the Jade palace, she had received a strike from Xiao An before coming back from death through her innate ability, breaking free from the Nine-tailed Fox Empress Su Mirao¡¯s bewitchment and fleeing far away from the Dragon province. Afterwards, the nine provinces were swallowed by the space-devouring beast. A certain person discovered her in the wilderness of the Frost province, so he casually tossed her onto the Daemonic Beast realm.

    She was filled with resentment towards Su Mirao who used her as a meat shield, but she often could not help but miss the magnificent Jade palace where she could live extravagantly. She could not help but sigh again. ¡°Meow¡­¡±

    Suddenly, she clenched her small fist and tried to reinvigorate herself. ¡°As a cat, I still have to rely on myself. Isn¡¯t that right, Big Blacko?¡±

    Before her lay a pair of dolls. One was woven from black cloth with crooked stitchwork, stuffed full with furballs, which seemed like a large, black, standing ox, but it was very plump, basically without a neck. The words ¡°north¡± and ¡°moon¡± were carefully stitched into its horns. That was the Big Blacko that she was referring to.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah! Meowster Xuanyue, you¡¯re the smeowtest!¡± Big Blacko nodded fervently, but his voice came from her mouth, talking to herself with a gruff tone.

    ¡°I¡¯m completely free now. Free! Do you understand what that means?¡±

    Xuanyue was taken away as if she had returned to the Boundless mountains of the distant past, yearning for the distant Dragon province as she taught a certain ¡°country bumpkin daemon¡±.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. What is it? Is it edible?¡± Big Blacko shook his head, expressing his complete cluelessness.

    ¡°Haha, what a fool! Freedom is the best, best thing in the world.¡±

    ¡°And you, Little Whitey. You might have stabbed me, but I don¡¯t blame you. Who can help the fact that you¡¯re so clueless, so clueless.¡±

    The other doll was carved from white wood. She was a small skeleton and even clutched a small, white sword in her hand. Sure enough, she seemed quite clueless. However, while Xuanyue said she did not blame her, she did wrinkle her nose.

    ¡°Ah, another string has burst! Sigh, you nod and shake your head, so it¡¯ll only be strange if it doesn¡¯t burst!¡±

    She fished out a needle and string in a scramble before suddenly checking the time. ¡°Hold on, it seems to be time. Forget about it, Big Blacko. I¡¯ll fix you once I get back. Watch over the home with Little Whitey, I, your master, am off for a feast!¡± She patted the two dolls on the head and tossed aside the needle and string, bounding off gracefully and vanishing.

    Without the support of her daemon qi, Big Blacko immediately fell to the ground, but he suddenly let out a laugh.

    The moon rose up to the centre of the sky, full and round, like a silver disc. It shone with clear, cold light, except it seemed slightly larger than normal.

    Between the mountains, she crouched on a barren, small hill, gazing at the moon. Her irises narrowed like a pair of almonds.

    This was very close to her dwelling. This small hill was not some treasured land for cultivation normally either until when she discovered a secret one day¡­

    As the moon rose up into the sky, the spiritual qi grew denser and denser until it was almost visible. The moonlight seemed to amass in layers on the hill, immediately enveloping the place in a haze. It was particularly conspicuous between the mountains.

    She inhaled the dense spiritual qi as her smiling eyes formed a pair of crescents.

    At this moment, daemon qi rushed into the air, sweeping over from the east.

    Rumble. The mountains swayed, the earth shook, and trees snapped.

    A huge, black bear around the size of a small mountain strode over from between the mountains. The towering trees beneath his feet bent over like grass. He was a Daemon Emperor that had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. His eyes that resembled searchlights shone down on this hill. He was overjoyed inside, This is it! The rumour was true! However, he directly ignored Xuanyue at the top of the hill.

    ¡°Piss off, stinky bear! This is my territory!¡±

    Xuanyue¡¯s tail shot up as her hair stood on end, baring her teeth and growling threateningly. However, before this colossal black bear Daemon Emperor, she clearly did not possess much influence.

    ¡°This is your territory?¡±

    A smear of surprise flashed through the black bear Daemon Emperor¡¯s eyes. He never expected her to stay put without fleeing. He was aware that the mountains and forests within several hundred kilometres of this place belonged to a cat daemon, but he clearly did not take a Daemon King seriously.

    ¡°Haha, from today onwards, everything here belongs to me! If you submit to me, I¡¯ll spare¡­¡±

    He suddenly halted, but it was not because of her. He raised his enormous head and peered into the sky. A series of powerful daemon qi rose up on the horizon, and they all targeted this hill, whistling over through the air.

    One of them was a colossal, black python that could fly and another was a crane whose wings blotted out the sky¡­ They were all renowned daemons of the Daemonic Beast realm, and without any exception, they were all Daemon Emperors. Apart from her, regular Daemon Kings did not even dare to set foot in a thousand kilometres of this place.

    The black bear Daemon Emperor¡¯s heart trembled. Sure enough, trying to claim this empyrean serum isn¡¯t that easy!

    Empyrean serum was a natural phenomenon that only occurred in large worlds with dense spiritual qi.

    During a night of gengshen, the moonlight would condense into thousands of strands of essence of supreme yin, falling from the sky. The benefits were unbelievably great. Even regular plants could turn into daemons upon obtaining it.

    However, the conditions for this empyrean serum to appear were quite stringent. Not only did it require timing, but it also required a certain geography. It needed a magnetic rock that did not attract metal called ¡°emerald autumn rock¡± to trigger a reaction from the world, drawing spiritual qi over and causing empyrean serum to fall.

    The small hill that Xuanyue currently sat on was a pile of emerald autumn rock, and it ¡°just happened¡± to be in her territory.

    However, possessing wealth was always a crime, even when innocent.

    At that instant, the daemons gathered all around here, all gazing at the small hill in interest.

    It had only been recently that the World of the Five Continents evolved to a point where it could sustain existences of the fifth heavenly tribulation. Daemons cultivated far slower than humans, so the Daemonic Beast continent had yet to produce any Daemon Sovereigns.

    Whether it was her foundations, bloodlines, or blessings, Xuanyue was better off than Li Long, yet she had only reached the third heavenly tribulation. It was determined by the method of cultivation of daemons. If she wanted to make drastic progress, she required a colossal fortuitous encounter.

    The empyrean serum was this fortuitous encounter. Whoever obtained it first would become a Daemon Sovereign first and turn the entire Daemonic Beast continent into their hunting ground. All of the daemons would have to bow down to them as well, leaving them as the leader of the myriad daemons.

    As such, all of these Daemon Emperors were determined to obtain the empyrean serum.

    Daemons did not like communication like humans. Coupled with the fact that they already had countless grievances that arose from their struggle over territory, it was even more unlikely for any negotiations to appear. They would only communicate in the most primitive manner. The winner would stay and the losers would piss off.

    However, they were all afraid of someone swooping in and taking advantage of them, so none of them dared to move first. The tremendous daemon qi rubbed and clashed together, constantly conflicting and rising up rapidly.

    The moon rose even higher, glowed even brighter, and grew even larger. The colossal figures of the daemons overlapped, enveloping her tiny figure.

    ¡°Go away, all of you! Big Blacko gave this to meow!¡± Xuanyue called out.

    Pairs of eyes gazed over. She shrunk up, instantly experiencing tremendous pressure, but she immediately stuck her chest forward proudly again.

    The black bear Daemon Emperor shouted, ¡°You little kitty, aren¡¯t you afraid of dying?¡± To think that she would actually raise a fuss in front of a group of Daemon Emperors. Once the battle began, just the consequences would have been enough to claim her life.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re the ones who aren¡¯t afraid of dying. Do you have any idea just how vicious meow Big Blacko is? If I tell you, I¡¯ll frighten you to death! His full name is Northmoon! Hmph, hmph!¡±

    ¡°Northmoon? What¡¯s that? Tell him to get his ass out here. I¡¯ll kill him with a swing of my paw!¡±

    The crane Daemon Emperor suddenly remembered something. He asked in surprise, ¡°Hold on, what is your relationship with Li Qingshan?¡±

    He was originally the Cloud Shadow Crane King of the Ten Daemon Kings of the nine provinces. His cultivation had reached the peak of the third heavenly tribulation a long time ago, but he remained at the realm of Daemon King because of the difficulty of the heavenly tribulation of ascension. With the evolution of the World of the Five Continents, he had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation in the process too, but he never forgot the name of Northmoon.

    The daemons were all frightened. They might not remember or even have heard of Daemon King Northmoon before, but it was impossible for them to not know about Li Qingshan. He was the ruler of the world. Although there had basically been no more news of him ever since he left on the back of a kunpeng, he was still an existence that people revered.

    ¡°He¡¯s my pet! Hehe, are you scared now?¡± Xuanyue said complacently with her hands on her hips.

    The daemons looked at one another and began laughing aloud. Their laughter echoed through the mountains.

    The black bear Daemon Emperor laughed so hard that he almost began to shed tears. ¡°You said Li Qingshan is your pet? Haha, looks like he¡¯s really left this world for good, or how would you still be alive?¡±

    ¡°He hasn¡¯t left. He¡¯s always been here. I can sense it! You don¡¯t know anything at all!¡± Xuanyue was so angry that she even turned red. ¡°Stop laughing!¡±

    At that instant, the laughter completely halted.

    The daemons all widened their eyes. A figure appeared behind her. No one had managed to see where he had appeared from or when he had appeared.

    He stood with a smile, exposing his sharp teeth slightly. His hair and eyes were scarlet, while his horns were curved like the moon, just like the legends.

    This place had always been the territory of the tiger.

    The air seemed to freeze. A strange atmosphere overcame the Daemon Emperors, leaving them all immobilized.

    By now, several dozen metres of light had already accumulated on the hill. It suddenly surged up and made contact with the moonlight in the sky, condensing into an oval-shaped bead of light, falling from the moon. That was the precious empyrean serum, but not a single Daemon Emperor took a step forward.

    Xuanyue blinked her eyes in confusion. Why was her order so effective? ¡°Hmph, do you finally know fear now?¡±

    She caught the empyrean serum with both hands in a hurry. The glow illuminated her face, and she immediately cheered up again.

    The Cloud Shadow Crane King opened his mouth to say something, but Li Qingshan brought his finger over his lips. All of the daemons fell silent. Then he waved his hand gently and the Cloud Shadow Crane King immediately flew away without any hesitation.

    In the blink of an eye, all of the daemons dispersed, leaving even faster than they had arrived. In particular, the black bear Daemon Emperor was not particularly skilled in flight or any escape techniques, so he scrambled away, basically wishing he was missing his forelimbs so he could run a little faster.

    When the vicious tiger descended from the mountain, the beasts fled in all directions.

    ¡°You bunch of fools! You sure run fast! I¡¯ll frighten you all to death! Ahh, so meowch!¡±

    The balls of empyrean serum condensed mid-air with streams of silver light like comets.

    Her figure flickered around, darting about and catching them all, like a cat chasing after fireflies.

    Li Qingshan smiled and pointed at the sky.

    Immediately, a meteor shower fell in the thousands, weaving across the entire night sky. It was magnificent, like a dream.

    ¡°How beautiful!¡± She widened her eyes and became even happier before becoming troubled. How was she supposed to catch all of it!?

    She busied herself for most of the night before returning to her dwelling beneath the waterfall in satisfaction, laying down on a large, soft bed. She picked up ¡°Big Blacko¡± again to talk to him, embracing him firmly in her arms. ¡°Thank you, Big Blacko!¡±

    ¡°Master, you don¡¯t have to thank me. This is all what I am supposed to do.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Thank you still. Ahh, so sleepy. I¡¯ll definitely patch you up tomeowrrow.¡±

    She let out a great big yawn and curled up, drifting off to sleep. She murmured, ¡°Big Blacko, being free is so lonely!¡±

    ¡°Hopefully, this time I can protect you properly, away from all of the wind and snow,¡± Li Qingshan stood by her bed and said silently.

    Xuanyue jerked awake from her sleep. Her ears pricked up. ¡°Big Blacko!?¡±

    The darkness was silent. No one answered.

    The moonlight was clear and bright, gentle like water.

 Chapter 1610

    The mountains stretched like an ocean as the moon shone like frost.

    A large figure followed a meandering mountain ridge alone. To either of his sides was a bottomless chasm. The deep, dark night wind whistled through the valley. One wrong step and he would be smashed to pieces, but he strode away with his eyes shut, even muttering something to himself.

    ¡°As the soul follows a dear friend, you would actually forget that you¡¯re dead already¡­ Rarely do you ever meet a person again, where you can only sigh to your own shadow; born too proud for your own good, you refuse to relent and fit in¡­ Among all those who grieve so painfully throughout history, only Bian He is like you; all of the foolish and virtuous in the world reversed, where be the intelligent Bo Le now? Those who do not cherish talents are not dependable! Tossing and turning, the seas remain hazy, with no place of belonging¡­ Living in this world, all you can do is walk on with your eyes shut, accepting the arrangements of the creator!¡±

    He suddenly opened his eyes and let out a long sigh. ¡°Yeah, how lonely!¡±

    He had arrived in this world in complete confusion, trapped within a mountain hamlet, within the body of a child. No one understood or sympathised with his predicament, incapable of fitting in and blamed for everything he tried. All he had for company was an ox, muttering to the ox, like he was insane. Compared to that, the hunger and cold, the abuse from his brother and sister-in-law, was instead relatively more bearable.

    It was exactly because of an experience like that that he advanced with such determination, never to look back.

    However, today was an exception. He had originally come to this world to let his heart run free so that he could have some fun, but for some reason, it had led to all this melancholy.

    Gazing into the distance alone, the matters of the past could not be looked upon.

    ¡°Why am I also doing something this foolish as someone who never looks back?¡±

    He shook his head, but he also gave up on his stubbornness, allowing his thoughts to run free.

    For a moment, the winds whistled, sweeping through the sky.

    The god willed; the world responded.

    The winds swept up the water and tore through the trees. The entire mountain range began to rock.

    Dark clouds surged and spread, swallowing the moon. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky quietly, landing on his shoulders. In the blink of an eye, snow had already filled the air.

    Various scenes flashed before his eyes, weaving between his past and present life, all so blurry and indistinguishable.

    ¡°Perhaps this is just a huge dream. When I wake up, I¡¯ll be lying in a warm bed.¡± When he first arrived in this world, that thought had occurred to him countless times.

    But now, when he raised his head, there was only snow and wind, a precipitous path through the mountains.

    Wind and snow like this always reminded him of that difficult and despairing climb up Ice Sword cliff. It felt like he had never come back down again, spending the entire time climbing upwards.

    Even when he recovered his human appearance later on and returned to human society¡ªentering Jiaping city, joining the Hawkwolf Guard, killing Zhuo Zhibo, battling the elders of the three mountains¡­ this snowstorm had never stopped.

    The snow fell harder and harder, gradually amassing on his shoulders and swallowing the precipitous path. The mountains all turned white.

    All of the scenes gathered and condensed together. A pair of moist eyes belonging to an ox gazed at him quietly, listening to his mutterings.

    ¡°Brother ox, are you also this lonely?¡±

    At that moment, he suddenly understood that feeling, just like when he gazed at Xuanyue, like when he placed his expectations on Li Long.

    Before he knew it, the broad figure of that man was already within arm¡¯s reach. He only needed to take another step forward. With that, he could pat him on the shoulder and say, ¡°Brother ox, I¡¯m here.¡±

    He spread his arms and embraced the wind and snow, praising, ¡°What heavy snow!¡±

    In his heart was a relentless snowstorm, but in the dreams of others was an unceasing drizzle.

    Outside a small city, the gloomy sky weighed down on the bleak wilderness.

    ¡°Chenglu, hold on. I won¡¯t let you die. I¡¯ll definitely kill the daemon. I¡¯ll save you and everyone else!¡±

    Her delicate face was filled with gloom, but her eyes were as resolute as steel, shining dimly with violet light. She placed her good friend who struggled in pain on the ground gently and removed the hundred treasures pouch from her waist, turning around and approaching the small city enveloped in daemon qi.

    Behind the speckled, earthen wall, all sorts of people lay strewn on the streets and alleyways. Their faces were blank and their eyes were empty, like they were corpses, except their chests clearly heaved as they breathed. From time to time, a black speck would drift through the whites of their eyes.

    A black smoke permeated the air above the city, composed of countless tiny, black insects. It was an extremely rare kind of daemon, a miasma daemon.

    When she entered the city again, the black smoke raised a fuss. ¡°You actually returned? Then you can stay here as my food!¡±

    Everyone stood up, forming a dense crowd, without budging at all. Only their eyes swivelled as she moved, deathly silent and eerie. With the miasma daemon¡¯s order, they all let out hysterical howls, completely ignoring the fact that their vocal chords were ripping as a result. It was even more shrill than the bellow of beasts.

    The city was small, but it still had several tens of thousand residents, so the sound was like an avalanche, enough to frighten cowards to death. It even shook up the low-hanging clouds, making it drizzle.

    The drizzle fell, but she did not move, standing with her head down and gripping her sword firmly. Niu Juxia had once told her that as a person, she had to be decisive. She could not afford to be soft-hearted. She had never forgotten that.

    He had also once said, ¡°Violet is a colour of great respect, while the sword is the lord of all weapons. With the propitious omen of violet qi from the east, a wise monarch sweeps through the world, kills millions, and unites the entire world under them, leading to eternal peace and becoming a figure of great virtue and benevolence.¡±

    As a result, she raised her head, and her eyes shimmered with violet light, radiating with the spirit of a lord.

    ¡°The daemon has controlled everyone in the city. If I want to save her, I need to kill them!¡±

    The sea of people surged forth, but with a sweep of sword qi, several dozen heads flew into the air. Their blood sprayed several metres into the air with wisps of black smoke.

    A few droplets of blood splattered onto her fair face, which stood out dazzlingly. She was unfazed. She had to conserve every bit of her true qi. She could not afford to do something so meaningless.

    The crowd under the miasma daemon¡¯s control did not fear death. They stepped over the headless corpses as their knees popped and crackled, lunging over with a speed that regular people did not possess.

    She rose up and crushed a head with her foot before landing gently on a tiled house by the side of the street.

    The crowd immediately gushed over like the tide. She twisted her body and split several people in half by the waist behind her. Their organs rolled out and their blood sprayed everywhere, causing a few more plum blossoms to bloom on her violet clothes.

    Within the turbulent howls, the roof she stood on was like a lone island as the ¡°tide¡± constantly slammed against it.

    She did not bother with any exquisite swordsmanship. She did not even have the courage to use sword qi, purely relying on the sharpness of the Nine Yang sword to slash about, like it was a woodcutter. Wherever the sword reached, flesh separated and bones broke. Broken limbs filled the air, immediately dyeing her violet clothes red.

    The house under her foot suddenly swayed, making her lose her footing. From the pushing and shoving of countless people, the house was on the brink of collapse. A middle-aged woman behind her used this opportunity to lunge at her.

    Without even looking back, she leaned backwards after bracing herself. A bang followed. With the crackling of broken bones, the woman was knocked away, her organs ruptured and her bones shattered. A wisp of black smoke emerged from her mouth.

    Rumble! The house collapsed and dust filled the air. She had already landed in the alleyway on the side. From the corner of her eye, she took in everything in her surroundings before casually swinging her sword to kill a few more people.

    Kicking off her toes, she flipped over a wall and landed in a small courtyard paved from tiles. She loosened her body and caught her breath slightly.

    By the time the tide of people had pushed over the brick wall and scrambled over, she used the opportunity to kill a few more, retreating to another courtyard before she was completely surrounded.

    She fought and moved through the city, carrying out a massacre by relying on every single house and wall. She made use of every single spare moment available to her to recover her spiritual qi.

    Men, she killed. Women, she killed. Old people, she killed. Children, she killed.

    The small city turned into a slaughterhouse with corpses everywhere and blood flowing freely.

    She was also soaked in blood, but her gaze was bright and clear, without any sympathy, without any hesitation. Her actions were filled with a sense of order and efficiency. She was neither cold and heartless nor was she brutal and bloodthirsty. All of this was for the sake of saving someone, even if the only person she would save in the very end was Hua Chenglu.

    Did she feel sorrow? Did she feel anger? Did she feel fear? Perhaps she did, but something else filled her mind and sword, manifesting a certain nature that had been hidden away extremely deeply.

    This was the exact thing she relied on several years later when she faced the powerful Daemon General that had transformed from a Rock of Slaughter, Strongboulder. It allowed her to remain immune to his innate ability without sinking into a mad massacre, yet it also left her courageous enough to swing her sword at Strongboulder, leaving Li Qingshan amazed.

    She had fallen into a depression for a very long time before that, where others thought she was filled with regret over the slaughter today¡ªof course, she did feel that¡ªbut only she was aware that she was fearing the person she had become today.

    Even Niu Juxia did not know about that.

    Who knew how many lives her sword had claimed already. Several hundred? Several thousand? She only remembered that she had butchered the entire city alone with her sword before finally slaying the miasma daemon. That year, just how old had she been? And just how many people had she killed now?

    Thinking up to there, she suddenly lowered her sword and ignored the surging sea of people, looking up at the sky and smiling. ¡°Niu Juxia, it¡¯s not very nice to barge into someone¡¯s dream without notice.¡±

    Li Qingshan descended from above with his arms folded. ¡°Long time no see, Zijian, or perhaps I should refer to you respectfully as the master of the Sword Collection palace, or perhaps the Violet Clouds Sword Sovereign!¡±

 Chapter 1611

    Yu Zijian¡¯s eyes swivelled. ¡°You better call me the Violet Clouds Sword Sovereign out of respect!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. He never expected her to answer like that, but Yu Zijian was already laughing away. Her laughter was clear and straightforward.

    A ray of sunlight pierced the dark clouds, landing on her. The blood on her gradually faded away. She was still dressed in a set of violet clothes, but she no longer resembled a little girl anymore. It was as if she stood in the spotlight, at the centre of the stage, radiating with confidence and glory. She was indescribably charming, but also too sharp to maintain eye contact with.

    Before he knew it, the rain had stopped. The drizzle was but an old dream of the past. It had ceased to be a mental obstacle to her a long time ago. She had even become more resolute and able to let go than the decisive Li Qingshan who had originally persuaded her to become like this.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh in amazement inside. When he first encountered her unexpectedly on the Island of Cherishing Flowers, she followed Hua Chenglu around like a maidservant, yet now, she already possessed extraordinary charms on par with Gu Yanying of the past. No, not even Gu Yanying from the past could compare to her right now.

    This metamorphosis was like a fish evolving into a dragon.

    As he overlooked the small city strewn with corpses and flowing with blood, he noticed in a daze that she had already become outstanding back then. The spirit of resolve and decisiveness was not something she should have possessed given her age back then. It was not something she could learn from just hearing a few vague and general principles either.

    As it turned out, she was a lurking dragon, hiding her true colours.

    At that moment, many of his memories regarding her became connected. During the entrance examination to the Academy of the Hundred Schools, she used her Pure Yang constitution to earn the good graces of the leader of the school of Daoism, the slovenly daoist priest Zhou Tong. Only Chu Tian¡¯s Five Elements constitution came anywhere close to her, but in terms of disposition, who knew how many times she was stronger compared to him.

    Along the way, she first earned the good graces of the first young miss of the Hua family, Hua Chenglu, before being abducted by the Green Vine mountain and earning the favour of the Green Vine Elder. When she entered the Academy of the Hundred Schools, she immediately became the disciple of the strongest school leader, Zhou Tong, and she was the successor of the Violet Clouds sword that Fu Qingjin had been after the entire time too.

    Li Qingshan had assisted her several times in the process, and it went even more without saying after arriving in the World of the Five Continents. The blessings he had given her were far more than his old fellow townsman, Li Long.

    Despite being a lecher, he had always shown her good graces, yet he had never developed any ulterior motives either. It was as natural as an elder brother caring for a younger sister. He did not ask for any compensation. Her mind remained pure the entire time too as if the concept of love did not exist to her, such that she was not tied down by anything.

    She basically received the assistance of the great figures around her everywhere, turning curses into blessings every single time. In terms of good fortune, probably no one could match her. She seemed to possess a wondrous charm, not only winning over the people, but also receiving the protection of the heavens as well.

    After attaining godhood, Li Qingshan gained control over the laws of both the pure land and the demonic land. He constantly peered back at the most distant memory of the primordial qilin, the ancient landscape painting called the Battle of Mending Heaven, comprehending the things hidden much deeper within it. He already understood the origins of her charm now. He knew what ¡°Pure Yang¡± represented.

    Fuxi and N¨¹wa were the primordial gods created from yin and yang during the splitting of hongmeng. Fuxi was ¡°yang¡±, walking the path of the heavens, allowing the dragons to evolve. N¨¹wa was ¡°yin¡±, walking the path of the earth, moulding it into people.

    The two of them were born together and grew together, yet they also promoted and restrained one another. They were both siblings and husband and wife, loving one another but also destined to have conflict. It was a relationship that could not be described with the concepts of the current age.

    Yang qi was clear and light, while yin qi was turbid and heavy. Yang primarily rose, while yin primarily sank. That was why empress N¨¹wa was destined to be defeated by her staunch and wise husband, forced to sacrifice herself, merge yin and yang together to mend the heavens with her own body.

    As the saying went, yin alone was incapable of creation, while yang alone was incapable of growth. Their existences were mutual, so the sage-king Fuxi soon vanished as well.

    The very nature of Yu Zijian¡¯s Pure Yang constitution was the sage-king Fuxi¡¯s heavenly path. It was also closer to the path of the dragon than any so-called ¡°true dragon¡± he had seen in his life. She severed any sexual desires and refused to stagnate. She was of utmost purity, untouched by dust. She was of utmost staunchness, cutting through everything.

    In hindsight, when she faced the Daemon General that had transformed from a Rock of Slaughter, Strongboulder, just how unbelievable had it been for her to remain unperturbed by the murderousness, wielding her sword to receive him?

    If Si Long possessed that kind of purity, he would have never been bewitched by Su Mirao. If Ao Xuan possessed her staunchness, he would have never yielded to him either.

    Her existence, her fortunes, her disposition, her cultivation¡­ All of the coincidences and opportunities, all of the appearances and manifestations, were a product woven from the laws, an exhibition of the Dao.

    Her path definitely could not be written off as a mere ¡°Violet Clouds Sword Sovereign¡±. She was only showing the tip of the iceberg right now.

    Li Qingshan even caught the whiff of a certain opportunity from this. Why had she appeared by his side? Then he could not help but sigh. ¡°Sigh, you clearly were still a little girl yesterday.¡±

    ¡°I stopped being a little girl a long time ago!¡± Yu Zijian stopped smiling and flicked her sword complacently, which made it hum. It was as if she had just gotten her revenge for being lied to back then. ¡°Hmph, you kept me in the dark for so long back then!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, you¡¯re actually so vengeful.¡± Li Qingshan sighed glumly. Where did the pure, kind, and lovable little girl go?

    ¡°You¡¯re not the only vengeful one in the world,¡± Yu Zijian grinned. ¡°Speaking of which, you taught me all of this.¡±

    ¡°Is that really the case!?¡± Li Qingshan behaved like he was surprised, while Yu Zijian nodded solemnly.

    Their eyes remained locked in stalemate for a while before they began laughing together. Their laughter echoed through the small city and everything gradually blurred, like a moistened painting. The dream receded layer by layer.

    On the Heaven Leaning mountain inside a deep, spacious hall, Yu Zijian knelt on a large yin-yang diagram in the centre. She continued to smile away.

    She wore a head ornament shaped like a dragon¡¯s head, like it was about to take flight. She was dressed in a set of bright-violet clothes befitting of a swordsman with a large, black cape, spread out behind her. It was embroidered with a golden pattern of clouds. She seemed elegant and honourable. She was outstanding and valiant.

    The Violet Clouds sword rested quietly on her legs, ready to answer its master¡¯s call at any moment and slay all enemies.

    Li Qingshan stood right in front of her with his hand on his chin, clicking his tongue in wonder. ¡°This attire¡­¡±

    ¡°How is it? Does it look good?¡± Yu Zijian raised the cloak gracefully with her large sleeves.

    ¡°How drab,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    Yu Zijian immediately lowered her head, like she was deeply hurt. She grumbled, ¡°They made me dress like this. They said this is the only way I can demonstrate the Sword Collection palace¡¯s might.¡±

    ¡°They?¡±

    Yu Zijian began to list with her fingers. ¡°Fu Qingjin, Hua Chengzan, and even someone as slovenly as my master began talking about appearance. I just can¡¯t stand them.¡±

    Li Qingshan came to an understanding. Those two calculating people had been fundamental to the Sword Collection palace¡¯s current glory, while the slovenly daoist priest Zhou Tong had served as the strongest cultivator of the Sword Collection palace for a very long time, at least until she had comprehended the Sword Collection Manual of Heaven and Earth and broken through the third, fourth, and fifth heavenly tribulations in a short century.

    Yu Zijian looked over and shot a glance at Li Qingshan. ¡°Hey, do you have any idea just how much of a problem you¡¯ve made for me?¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed at himself. ¡°Me? Making a problem for you?¡±

    ¡°Then tell me what the north is supposed to be!¡±

    Yu Zijian leapt up and grabbed him by the wrist, leading him out of the hall. She did everything naturally, without any regard for Li Qingshan¡¯s identity as the god of the world.

    Li Qingshan followed her finger and gazed out, peering over the vast ocean. He immediately understood what she meant.

    In the past, he had thrown all of the land corrupted by the Demon domain and the Hungry Ghost realm to the north, which also formed a continent. Originally, it had been cleaned a few times by Xiao An¡¯s Sam¨¡dhi Flames of White Bone, so there were no demonfolk or undead remaining. It had become a bleak land of exile.

    But over the years, because he had made the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes open to the public, countless people set off on the path of cultivation and talented geniuses emerged endlessly. Not all of them were exactly kind figures, so when they got into trouble, they fled to the land of exile. Coupled with the fact that many of the worlds he devoured possessed demonic cultivators of the world, they all went to the continent to start sects of their own.

    It led to nests after nests of demonic cultivators, each ruthless and vicious, capable of anything. They also participated in this race for the world, and they were basically like a pack of hungry wolves. When they were feeble, they would shrink back into their nest and shut their doors to the world. Regular cultivators would struggle to venture deeply into this land teeming with demon qi. Meanwhile, the strong would venture south to steal resources, abduct people, and commit countless sins.

    As a result, this continent was called the Demon continent. It was the most dangerous place in the world, where everyone paled at the mention of it.

    Against all objections, Yu Zijian moved the Sword Collection palace here to serve as the first barrier of the Central continent. She also held a total of three gatherings on the Heaven Leaning mountain; this led to duels, uniting all the sword cultivators of the world to go to war on the Demon continent. Only through countless brutal battles did she finally put these lawless demonic cultivators back in their places.

    She had not achieved her cultivation through secluded cultivation. She had basically killed her way to where she was right now.

    It was public knowledge throughout the world that the master of the Sword Collection palace was beautiful in appearance, agreeable in personality, and ruthless when it came to killing people.

 Chapter 1612

    The Heaven Leaning peak stood alone on the shore like a divine sword, pointing towards the heavens and standing on-guard against the Demon continent on the other side, deterring the demons and frightening off the wicked. Meanwhile, the master of the Sword Collection palace, Yu Zijian, was the spirit of the divine sword.

    At the top of the peak, she asked the intangible will of the heavens why it had created a continent like that, bringing forth so much slaughter and wickedness.

    The will of the heavens was always beyond reach, unable to be questioned! But at this moment, he stood right by her side, grabbed firmly by her.

    ¡°Over there¡­ I see¡­ I never actually sensed it¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed over the ocean at the Demon continent that he had created himself. He immediately understood all of its history and sank into his thoughts.

    Yu Zijian held her breath and stared at him closely, quietly waiting for his response. Suddenly, she felt a tremble from her hand. She was surprised. She could not help but ask, ¡°Are you still alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. At that moment, a thought flashed through his head, as if he saw a ¡°Demon domain¡± he had created with his own hands.

    If he wanted to purify the other continents so their residents could live in peace and harmony, he needed to extract the land corrupted by the Demon domain and the Hungry Ghost realm.

    Yet in the past history of the Demon domain, did that golden hand that took away the sun possess the same good intentions?

    Yes, in order to obtain a pure land of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, he needed to create a corrupted land of the Demon domain first.

    He had intentionally left the continent in the cold bitter north because he did not have any plans for any creatures to live or thrive there.

    Sukh¨¡vat¨© had drained the Demon domain of all of its vitality, rendering the entire place barren. Perhaps that in itself was a form of compassion.

    However, far, far too long had passed, so long that everything deviated from their original intentions. Everything defied their original wishes.

    In the end, many creatures still gathered there, stubbornly taking root with admirable life force, only to become even more brutal and wicked under this harsh environment.

    The Demon continent had become the main base of all demonic cultivators in the world. All the mortals born on the continent possessed certain special characteristics of demonfolk and undead, numb and heartless, filled with tremendous strength. They were called ¡°otherdemons¡± by people. They invaded the other continents, just like how the demonfolk waged war against the trichilicosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    Li Qingshan gazed at the sky and recalled the receiving light of the buddha that had brought him to Sukh¨¡vat¨©. Had it really been a coincidence when it brought him in as a measly sangharama guardian?

    It was completely capable of destroying him, the future king of the Demon Gods, yet it still wanted to show him all of the right and wrong, good and bad there. The time he spent as Eggborn was the happiest and most peaceful time in his life. Everyone lived on happily. ¡°Paradise¡± was not a lie.

    However, when he fell into the Demon domain and held the human child that Jiuying gave birth to, all of the happiness and peace turned to irony. All that remained in him was grief and fury.

    At that moment, he seemed to see the infant grow up and age with each passing day, until his face became covered with age spots, gradually giving off a foul stench, drooling from the mouth, leaving others disgusted.

    Was even his great passionate vow to bring salvation to all unable to stand up to the passage of time?

    The qilin has already perished, the phoenix has grown old¡­ The qilin has already perished, the phoenix has grown old¡­

    He suddenly understood the entirety of its meaning, but he also lost the ability to express it in words.

    Formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness. Birth, old age, illness, death. No one, nothing, was an exception to that. Just how much meaning lay behind everything that he did?

    He could not help but furrow his brows and sink into his thoughts. The silvery-grey ocean ebbed and flowed as the north wind swept over into his face with snow. His expression was as cold and solemn as a statue, looming up to the heavens, beyond reach.

    Yu Zijian could not help but let go of him. She did not find the answer she wanted, but she seemed to see the will of the heavens itself, distant and profound, unable to be described.

    If it was anyone else, they would lose the courage to ask forever, but she gritted her teeth instead and shouted resolutely, ¡°Li Qingshan, stop playing the fool! I will be getting an explanation for all the living creatures in the world today!¡±

    Li Qingshan suddenly snapped back to his senses, gazing at her with shining eyes. He could not help but smile. ¡°I¡¯m just a mortal. Why are you asking me for an explanation?¡±

    Yu Zijian let out a great sigh of relief. In the moment earlier, it had basically been even more terrifying than facing the most dangerous enemy. Her will had almost been consumed, yet she also found a strange sense of familiarity, able to understand the state he was in.

    However, he still preferred the ¡°Niu Juxia¡± right before her.

    She rebuked him. ¡°You lie! You¡¯re clearly the god of the world and the hero king too! You shared all of your cultivation methods to everyone, regardless of who they are, so of course, you have to take responsibility.¡±

    His grand aspiration of martial arts for everyone was not as glorious and correct as it sounded. It changed the world and the fates of countless people, but it also led to countless incidents of chaos and conflict.

    Demonic cultivation methods were often non-standard, placing emphasis on quick success. It was easier to suffer from cultivation deviation, but compared to the temptation of longevity, it could not necessarily be regarded as a price to pay. They cultivated much faster than orthodox cultivation methods and the techniques they used were vicious in nature and extraordinary in power. Orthodox cultivators of the same cultivation often were not the opponents of their demonic counterparts.

    As such, many cultivators turned to the wicked path, specially choosing cultivation methods of this variety from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes so that they could win battles. It was so bad that a few years ago, the demonic path went on a meteoric rise within the World of the Five Continents, greatly surpassing the orthodoxy. It was only until the Sword Collection palace¡¯s forceful rise and Yu Zijian¡¯s great efforts that they gradually fell back into decline.

    Li Qingshan held his chin and sighed. ¡°There¡¯s bad people in the masses?¡±

    ¡°You only found out now?¡±

    Yu Zijian had seen plenty. Just which of the powerful demonic cultivators was not a mortal when they first started off? None of them seemed like bad people, but once they grasped extraordinary power, they immediately became twisted.

    ¡°I almost forgot. I¡¯m not exactly some good person either! Hehe!¡± Li Qingshan began laughing without any sense of shame, patting Yu Zijian on the shoulder gladly. ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯re around. You just have to kill all of those bastard demonic cultivators.¡±

    ¡°You big bastard!¡±

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Li Qingshan basically doubted his ears. Sigh, when I took care of you in the past, you called me Niu Juxia. Now that you¡¯re grown up, you call me a big bastard.

    ¡°You big bastard!¡±

    Yu Zijian furrowed her brows, which added a sense of harshness to her, reflecting her experiences over the years. Let alone demonic cultivators, even her fellow colleagues would become fear-stricken when they saw her like this, afraid to say anything more.

    Over the years, the Sword Collection palace had presided over the orthodoxy and slain countless demonic cultivators, but they had also made numerous sacrifices too. Even cultivators were like this, so the mortals went even more without saying.

    With her current cultivation, she could overwhelm all the demonic cultivators in the world alone with her sword, but this advantageous situation would not last for too long. The demonic cultivators would produce Human Sovereigns sooner or later and rise up again. By then, it would be another battle between the righteous and the wicked, another round of endless slaughter. Who knew how many more innocent lives would be lost, yet he could actually still laugh.

    ¡°Alright then. What do you want me to do?¡±

    Yu Zijian said without hesitation, ¡°Kill all of the demonic cultivators in the world first!¡±

    ¡°Heh, what harshness!¡±

    ¡°Trust me. The orthodoxy has its fair share of hypocritic scoundrels, but there really are no good ones among those demonic cultivators. I¡¯d rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one go. Letting one go means the death of who knows how many tens of thousand people, and it¡¯ll leave everyone in the world thinking that they can get away with their deeds without punishment. It¡¯ll be an everlasting negative influence.¡±

    Yu Zijian¡¯s expression became even harsher. This was the determination that had been forged through countless brutalities. Sometimes, small expressions of benevolence and mercy were even worse than fake benevolence and mercy.

    Li Qingshan had no doubts about that. He had never believed the shitty saying where the people of the orthodoxy were hypocrites, while the people of the demonic path were real men. When hypocrites did things, they still had to take their image into consideration. When these ¡°true men¡± came to butcher cities, they did not show any mercy at all.

    ¡°And then?¡±

    ¡°And then destroy all of these demonic cultivation methods and uproot the foundations of these demonic cultivators. Afterwards, announce it to the world under the name of the hero king so that everyone takes it as a warning. After that, even if there are ones that have managed to slip away, they¡¯ll be relatively easy to ¡®deal with¡¯.¡± Every single sentence she said was filled with a sense of harshness, as well as unchanging determination.

    ¡°Cultivation methods aren¡¯t actually good or wicked.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, what matters is killing all the demonic cultivators and deterring the entire cultivation community under the name of the hero king so that no cultivators dares to try it.¡±

    ¡°But even if you kill all the demonic cultivators in the world, you can¡¯t kill the wickedness within the hearts of all living creatures. They¡¯ll only become even more hypocritical and despicable, labelling all their enemies as demonic cultivators and all opposition as the demonic path.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still better than doing nothing.¡±

    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s an even simpler method.¡±

    ¡°What method?¡±

    ¡°Killing the thought is better than killing the people.¡± Li Qingshan pointed to his head. ¡°You don¡¯t even need to take any direct action. As long as I have the determination, it can directly turn into the will of the world and influence the consciousness of all living creatures, making them embrace good and return to the orthodoxy. What do you think?¡±

    Yu Zijian clapped and smiled. ¡°That would be perfect! Hold on, if you¡¯re capable of that, why didn¡¯t you do so earlier?¡±

    ¡°Would you like to be influenced by me?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Haven¡¯t I always been influenced by you?¡± Yu Zijian gave him a toothy grin. ¡°I trust you.¡±

    Li Qingshan was speechless. Then he said, ¡°What if it wasn¡¯t me?¡±

    Yu Zijian thought about it before shaking her head. ¡°I¡¯d refuse¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan was touched and gladdened. Right when he was about to say something, he heard her continue, ¡°¡­ but I can go and die.¡±

    Her expression was normal. There was no hot-bloodedness and high-spiritedness, or any lament and pity, as if it was common sense.

    ¡°If the people of the world can go without shedding tears, I¡¯m willing to shed tears. If the people of the world can go without making sacrifices, I¡¯m willing to sacrifice myself.¡±

 Chapter 1613

    ¡°Zijian¡­¡±

    For a moment, Li Qingshan had no idea how to answer her. With that, had she exactly changed or not changed?

    She was still kind-hearted, but she was no longer soft-hearted. If killing a person could save ten thousand, she would definitely do so, no matter how innocent that one person was. That was just a price that needed to be paid. Even if that person was herself, she would not hesitate at all. That was also just a ¡°sacrifice¡± that had to be made.

    By ¡°sacrifice¡±, it originally referred to the livestock offered to the heavens, which were pure in colour and physique.

    Throughout history, all accomplishments of greatness came with tremendous sacrifices. If they could not offer up a bountiful sacrifice, how were they supposed to be blessed by the heavens?

    Yu Zijian looked at Li Qingshan with a clear gaze as if she was saying, I¡¯m willing to make all of the sacrifices, so please, will the heavens!

    A feeling of tenderness suddenly rose up in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. He extended his large hand to touch her delicate face gently. There was no sexual desire behind that, comforting her pain that no one could see. He understood exactly what lay behind this determination and resolve.

    Yu Zijian was slightly surprised. She held his hand and shut her eyes, resting her cheek in his palm. She said softly, ¡°How warm, like a ball of fire¡­ Niu Juxia, you¡¯ve really had it difficult!¡±

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s been the case for me too.¡±

    Yu Zijian¡¯s lips curled slightly. ¡°What a pair of fools.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Not bastards?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m one too.¡±

    Within the wind and snow, on the tall peak, two solitary individuals found warmth from one another.

    Yu Zijian murmured, ¡°I know this world is not a pure land. Not everyone I killed deserved to die either. However, as long as I swing my sword an extra time, it should turn out a little better! There are many pitiable people among demonic cultivators too. Even if you kill all of them, there¡¯ll still be people who do evil, but at least it¡¯ll be a bit better!¡±

    ¡°Pure land!¡± Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°Would you like to hear my story? A story about a pure land and a demonic land.¡±

    Yu Zijian nodded.

    ¡°Just recently, erm, a long, long time ago, I visited the pure land of Sukh¨¡vat¨©¡­¡± Li Qingshan gazed at the grey sea. His voice was so calm that it seemed like he was narrating another person¡¯s story, a legend that was created a very, very long time ago.

    Yu Zijian listened along quietly. Her expression changed, sometimes curling her lips into a smile and sometimes furrowing her brows in thought. When she heard how he had swallowed the Black Sun Demon Heart and become the king of Demon Gods, she suddenly embraced him firmly. She felt horrible inside.

    Li Qingshan looked at her with a smile and stroked her head. ¡°Human nature has always been wicked, no different from wild beasts. We want to eat, we want to kill, we want to breed. That is the source of all evil. However, if we don¡¯t have this barbarous nature, how are we supposed to survive in this world? The people in the pure land have even lost the ability to procreate as if they had been frozen at a certain instant of time by the buddha¡¯s great powers and will. They do not need to face any setbacks, directly reaching the very end of the story, where everyone lived happily after.¡±

    ¡°But is that really happiness? Of course, they won¡¯t feel any discontent. All of the pain will sink to the Demon domain, just like how castrated livestock won¡¯t be discontent with their feed, or procreate blindly and create a population too large that leads to a struggle over the limited food. Heh, what a perfect design!¡±

    Yu Zijian was left momentarily lost. It was a world where everyone was happy, yet it had lost all possibilities for the future. It was a world without desire, yet no more babies would be born, only existing within nothingness. That was perhaps just another form of slaughter.

    He did not swallow the Black Sun Demon Heart for the billions of demonfolk, but for the children that had yet to be born and had yet to exist. The majority of demonfolk from this generation were fated to suffer within conflict and fated to die in the flames of war.

    Perhaps a single generation was not enough and it would take two, three¡­ All of the sacrifices were only to pave open a future, a possibility, where the future children could grow up under the sun in a place like the World of the Five Continents and not live on purely for the present in a happy life no different from livestock.

    The past and the future, the kindness and the wickedness, the pain and the happiness¡­ all of their boundaries blurred, merging together as one, cascading down together.

    In her embrace, he seemed to grow larger and larger, growing until he made contact with the sky, overlooking all the living creatures, yet he remained in her embrace.

    ¡°When I was young, I once swore that I would travel through all corners of the world, across the entire universe! I would taste all of the delicacies and drink all of the finest alcohol the world has to offer! I would practise the fiercest abilities, fight the strongest foes, and sleep with the most beautiful women! Only then would this life not be a waste! Hehe, to be honest, it¡¯s no different from wanting to eat, wanting to kill, and wanting to breed, and I wanted to be free too. What a heavy demonic nature! However, without that demonic nature, there would not have been some Niu Juxia either.¡±

    Yu Zijian suddenly began to laugh, laughing away as giddily as a child who had been given candy.

    ¡°What are you laughing about?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve known each other for all these years, but I¡¯ve never heard you say so much. Thank you. This is a very, very nice reward. I don¡¯t find it so difficult anymore. I just knew that Niu Juxia is the best!¡± She buried her head in his chest and rubbed about.

    Li Qingshan was speechless. Just earlier, you called me a big bastard, and now, you say I¡¯m the best.

    ¡°Yeah, so that¡¯s why you refuse to influence the consciousness of mortals and turn this world into another Sukh¨¡vat¨©.¡±

    ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t even know what kind of place Sukh¨¡vat¨© was back then. I just hated being ordered around and controlled by others, so I refused to order around and control others. Do you know why it¡¯s called the World¡¯s society?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°The world is not my world, but the world of everyone in the world! I returned their freedom to them, where they did not have to be born into slavery and face the oppression of those aristocratic clans and sects. Everyone can become the person they want to be through their own efforts. However, what they want to turn this world into should be decided by them. It can be a living paradise and it can be a hell of bitterness.¡±

    ¡°However, no one will be able to make all the sacrifices and pay all the prices for them. At most, I¡¯ve only provided them with a path, but they still have to walk down it on their own two feet. The stories still have to tell themselves. For their children, they can create a better world. There has never been some world saviour, nor do they have to rely on some immortal or emperor.¡±

    ¡°Of course, if the standards of the world really are ¡°wealth be with those who kill and burn, a graveless corpse will road pavers be¡±, then that¡¯s exactly what everyone should do. Everyone should just kill and burn. They might as well kill all the road-pavers too so that no one has any roads left. Perhaps the living creatures have always been unworthy of happiness and peace, only worthy of sinking in the sea of suffering, tearing each other apart like wild beasts. That would also be their fate and their choice.¡±

    Reaching there, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°However, the world is not like that, is it?¡±

    Yu Zijian¡¯s mind was clear. She raised her head. ¡°Human nature tends towards goodness!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, if they lose their barbarous nature, even survival and procreation will become a problem. Their human nature would lose their foundations as well, and they would turn into some kind of indescribable being of emptiness. However, humans just aren¡¯t wild beasts at the end of the day. That¡¯s why no matter how underhanded and vicious those demonic cultivators are, they stand no chance against the sword in your hand, as wild beasts can¡¯t defeat humans.¡±

    She did not just obtain the blessings of the heavens, but the hearts of the people throughout the world too. The so-called conflict between good and evil was also the relentless battle between the demonic and divine in the hearts of people.

    Yu Zijian also smiled. ¡°Even if I fall in battle, there¡¯ll be others who rise up against them.¡±

    Li Qingshan snorted coldly. ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll butcher all the demonic cultivators in the world and make them pay the most horrific price.¡±

    Yu Zijian pouted. ¡°You clearly just said you refused to do that.¡±

    ¡°This is no great god trying to save the world, but the pettiness for revenge of a foolish mortal.¡±

    Yu Zijian lowered her head and thought about it. Suddenly, she raised her head in suspicion. ¡°You didn¡¯t come specially so that you could try and sleep with me, did you?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Li Qingshan slowly pushed her out of his arms. You¡¯ve changed. You¡¯ve really changed. You¡¯re no longer the Yu Zijian of the past.

    Yu Zijian laughed aloud and embraced him firmly again. Her laughter was clear and hearty, echoing far away in the snow and wind.

    ¡°A lot of people are watching!¡± Li Qingshan said powerlessly, ¡°You¡¯re the Violet Clouds Sword Sovereign, the master of the Sword Collection palace after all.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re the hero king.¡± Yu Zijian pressed her chin against his chest and smiled. ¡°What, you¡¯re shy?¡±

    The Sword Collection palace had already become the strongest sword sect in the world. It was far more powerful and prosperous than the Sword Collection sect from the World of the Nine Provinces. In order to fend off the invasions of the Demon continent, the King of Southern Yue of the past and the ¡°human king¡± of the present, Qian Lingzhi, had invested a tremendous amount of resources into the sect too. The sect possessed thousands of sword cultivators.

    When they gazed towards the Demon continent earlier, many people had already begun staring at them. Some of them even bowed towards her from afar. By the time the man actually touched their palace master¡¯s face, they were all dumbfounded, and not only did the palace master not resist, she even leaned into his arms like a little girl, which made all of their eyes widen. They felt like the world was about to end.

    Plop! Plop! A few sword cultivators practising their flight on their swords by the shore fell out of the sky and into the sea.

    ¡°Look at how we¡¯ve frightened them.¡± Li Qingshan could not help but laugh as well. ¡°Just what kind of image do you normally have!?¡±

    ¡°The demonic cultivators are all absolutely vicious, so I have to be a little more vicious than them.¡±

    ¡°Also, I have a piece of good news for you. The pressure you face will plummet very soon. I¡¯m going to conscript all of the demonic cultivators into the Demon domain.¡± Li Qingshan said with ill intentions, ¡°Since they like the demonic path so much, they can just go to the Demon domain.¡±

    ¡°Pft. No wonder you refuse to kill all the demonic cultivators. So you¡¯re using them to fill up the ditches. You¡¯re even more vicious than me. Is this what they mean by wicked people are taken care of by wicked people?¡±

    ¡°Surely they don¡¯t actually believe they don¡¯t have to pay a price at all for running around rampantly! Since they¡¯ve chosen the path of a wild beast, they should be mentally prepared to be eaten by a tiger. Alright, you should let go. I need to go. If you hug me for a little longer, someone is probably going to suffer from cultivation deviation.¡±

    Yu Zijian raised her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the Demon domain too!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not a demonic cultivator.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll fill up the ditches for you. I want to help you pave the roads.¡± Yu Zijian let go of Li Qingshan, solemn in expression and filled with confidence.

    ¡°Actually, sometimes there¡¯s no difference between the two.¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Actually, he would not be controlling these demonic cultivators. It was the exact opposite. He would be strengthening them instead. Demonic cultivators truly were relatively more skilled in battle. If he could produce another Human Immortal or Heretic God or two, then his chances in the war would increase a little more.

    However, success would come at the cost of millions of lives. The others would most likely die in battle. Even Heretic Gods and Human Immortals could not necessarily go without dying. He did not wish for Yu Zijian to embark on a path like this too.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to give us freedom? Then this is my freedom. The path of the sword is a path of slaughter. Without slaughter, how does a sword sharpen its edge? This crisis of the world is exactly a stage for me to perform on, my great opportunity to become a sword immortal. If you¡¯re really thinking for me, please allow me to take part.¡±

    With a clang, she drew her sword. The reflection illuminated her face as she stroked her sword with a smile. ¡°Perhaps you could win but refusing this Violet Clouds sword of mine would end up costing you your victory. Then I¡¯ll have to avenge you as well. How troublesome is that?¡±

    At that moment, she was like a divine sword drawn from its sheath, her sharpness on full display, radiating with high spirits and emanating with valiance. Even Li Qingshan struggled to ignore her. It became even more impossible to turn her down.

    ¡°Niu Juxia, let me lend you a hand this time!¡±

 Chapter 1614

    Li Qingshan suddenly smiled.

    At that moment, the light pierced through the heavy clouds, illuminated the surging waves.

    For a moment, the clouds and mist parted, and the wind and snow dispersed.

    The clouds seemed to be burning, fluctuating between orange, yellow, violet, and red. The wind and snow that had yet to dissipate was dyed golden by the sunlight, like a sky filled with golden rain. It was magnificent.

    This was the deeds of a ¡°god¡±. His ¡°fury¡± was lava and fire, bolting lightning and surging waves. His ¡°sorrow¡± was the howling wind and snow, the heavy clouds that filled the sky. His ¡°laughter¡± was the shining sun, the phenomenon of spring.

    The sword cultivators in the Sword Collection palace all widened their eyes and dropped their mouths, entranced by this wondrous scene. They wondered why the phenomena of nature had changed.

    However, there were also some people who suddenly realised something. They gazed at the man at the top of the mountain as if they were gazing at the heavens itself and murmured, ¡°That must be the hero king! No wonder, no wonder!¡± However, was it no wonder that he could create such natural phenomena, or no wonder that he could hold the master of the Sword Collection palace in his arms?

    Yu Zijian let out a sigh of amazement first, overwhelmed by the unbelievable might of a true god before beginning to laugh as well. She knew he had agreed to her request.

    ¡°Thanks, Niu Juxia!¡±

    Their eyes met, one pair scarlet and one pair violet. They were no longer the same people of the past. They had both followed down their respective paths, striding over piles of corpses and puddles of blood, becoming an eternal god and a powerful sword cultivator.

    But at that moment, the sunlight outlined the sides of their faces, gazing at each other with a smile, like they were the same young man and same young girl as before, having never forgotten their original intentions.

    ¡°However, if you want to lend me a hand, just your cultivation is nowhere near enough! I still have other people to visit, so I¡¯ll stow the sword with you for now!¡± Li Qingshan casually tossed an ancient bronze sword to her and took a step towards the fiery clouds and heaving waves, vanishing between the sky and sea.

    ¡°This is!?¡± Yu Zijian grabbed the ancient bronze sword and immediately sensed its peculiarities. The sword let out a strange tremble that seemed to contain a dragon¡¯s cry, like it was about to turn into a true dragon and fly out of her hand. It required all of her cultivation to grip it firmly, but it also made the Yang Soul in her body surge, trembling and completely losing control.

    Her violet eyes became unfocused. In a daze, she saw the cycle of the sun, moon, and stars. The sword contained the route of the heavens, the will of the true dragon.

    She gripped the hilt firmly with both hands, like she was laying on the back of a dragon, soaring beyond the Nine Heavens, among the sun, moon, and stars. Looking back, the mountains, rivers, and trees were all in view.

    As it turned out, the various dangers she faced in the path of cultivation were only creases of various sizes on the ground. There were no bottlenecks in the world that she could not break through, so there were no more difficulties she could not overcome.

    The heavens operated firmly and resolutely, so the ruler had to be the same, constantly striving for improvement with endless determination.

    ¡°The Sword of Xuanyuan!¡± Yu Zijian immediately realised the name of the sword.

    Li Qingshan was already thousands of kilometres away by now. He suddenly looked back, also in surprise. Even as the god of the world, he did not expect something like this. Thinking about it, he nodded with a smile and no longer doubted that she needed to lend him a hand.

    When that ¡°forceful village chief¡± of the Youxiong tribe gave him the Sword of Xuanyuan back then, he had already undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, a Human Immortal with an Origin Soul, yet even he did not immediately see through the secrets of the sword, only treating it to be a regular bronze sword.

    Only afterwards did he learn the sword¡¯s power, but he still only treated it as a powerful weapon. Only after comprehending the Divine Dragon Transformation could he use it freely and unleash its exceptional powers.

    However, Yu Zijian was only at the fifth heavenly tribulation with a Yang Soul, yet the Sword of Xuanyuan resonated with her the moment it entered her hands. It was truly unbelievable.

    However, he soon understood why with further thought.

    The first reason was her Pure Yang constitution. She walked the path of the qian dragon and possessed the halo of the heavens. Compared to his body of the demonic and divine where the dragon and snake danced together, it was much more pure.

    The second reason was because she was a true sword cultivator, having thoroughly explored the path of the sword over the years. Even her Yang Soul was forged within her sword embryo, vastly different from regular Yang Soul cultivators. On the other hand, he had always used the blade to cut people down. He possessed a deep understanding of the path of the sword, but he did not actually feel any passion towards it, which was why he could toss the Sword of Xuanyuan to her without any hesitation.

    Taking the intangible will of the heavens into consideration, the Sword of Xuanyuan was basically an opportunity prepared specially for her.

    With a swing of the sword, she cut through all of the brambles as if she had suddenly opened all of her bottlenecks and paved a path to the heavens. There was no longer any confusion or hesitation. All she lacked was time and resources.

    And as the god of the world, the lord of the Demon domain, Li Qingshan could pour a tremendous amount of resources into her until she became a sword immortal.

    She had the Pure Yang constitution that was blessed by the heavens, the supreme sword of the heavenly emperor, and the fate-changing king of Demon Gods on her side. She had these three opportunities of unparalleled rarity all gathered together. This was an opportunity that only appeared during the crisis of the world, or the heavenly emperor would not have lost his sword and the king of demons would not have been born.

    ¡°Sure enough, it¡¯s an auspicious phenomenon, a symbol of great status!¡±

    Yu Zijian settled down and drew the sword from its sheath slowly, extending it towards the sky. She praised, ¡°A fine sword!¡±

    The path of the sword had always been rigid and thus easy to snap, sharp and thus easily blunted. They were very vulnerable to dying in battle and their path was fierce and pure, leading to drastic progress in the beginning, except it would become more and more difficult at higher realms. That was why sword immortals had always been rare. There were plenty of True Immortals that used swords as their weapons however.

    Sword immortals were different from regular True Immortals. They were in the business of slaughter and possessed limitless power. Even Demon Gods might not necessarily be her opponent, so was she not a powerful support?

    Just as she had said, the crisis of the world was exactly a stage for sword cultivators to perform on, a great opportunity to become a sword immortal. Heroes always arose in times of chaos.

    This was a tremendous opportunity, and it all originated from her own decision.

    If she did not possess that kind of determination, Li Qingshan would not have handed the Sword of Xuanyuan to her. In order to ensure that she remained safe in the World of the Five Continents, away from the war, he would even unwittingly affect the progress of her cultivation.

    If that happened, Li Qingshan would instead become her greatest restraint as her guardian, turning a blessing into a curse. With the idling of time, the divine sword would become covered in dust and gradually lose its edge. She would probably lose the opportunity to become a sword immortal forever.

    This was truly mortality and immortality determined on a single whim.

    This was the most subtle thought that a person could have. As the buddha said, a single instant had nine hundred cases of life and death. Even gods could not calculate everything. However, this most subtle of thoughts decided the grandest and furthest path, such that a mortal could become a god.

    If brother ox directly bestowed him with power, there would not be the Li Qingsan of today. At most, he would enjoy himself to his heart¡¯s content before being reduced to dust once the crisis of the world arrived.

    Mortals always desired luck and opportunities, but little did they know that their internal thoughts and beliefs were what decided everything. The difficulties and dangers encountered along the path were all for grinding the sword, which was why the past failures and pains were not worth lamenting over.

    People were not free because they were powerful, but powerful because they were free.

    ¡°Good luck to you, Zijian!¡±

    Having visited another past acquaintance, Li Qingshan¡¯s mood became better. All of his gloom had been cleared. He continued onwards according to the path in his memories and the names all sprung alive, like they were right before his eyes.

    Hua Chenglu, Hao Pingyang, great king Milliped, as well as Han Qiongzhi.

 Chapter 1615

    Many years ago, when Li Qingshan had only just become a Hawkwolf guard, he hunted down masters of the unorthodoxy en masse to help Xiao An recover her body. In the end, he took them out in one fell swoop on the Island of Cherishing Flowers.

    That was the same time when he first encountered Hua Chenglu and Yu Zijian.

    As for the little girl who struck resolutely and blasted the Island of Cherishing Flowers with cannons, the impression she had given him was much deeper than Yu Zijian¡¯s. Back then, if she had not held off the West Gate Granny, he really would have been in a bit of danger! Afterwards, they had quite a few incidents together too.

    With Li Qingshan¡¯s personality, he would obviously pay her back. He had given her many blessings over the years. She was not completely without talent either, so her path of cultivation had been rather smooth, having undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation already. Because she liked touring the land, she was often seen as a fairy that had come to the mortal world, so she possessed the nickname of the Hundred Flowers Fairy.

    Of course, there was no need for him to deny it. He really did want to sleep with her a little back then. However, he could be described as a seasoned veteran now. Whether it was the princess of the ki?nara or the asura beauties, what hadn¡¯t he seen before and gotten along with? A little girl like Hua Chenglu was far too young and too simple. He no longer had that thought at all.

    What Yu Zijian said was utter slander. He did not come back this time because he wanted to sleep with anybody. He was the mighty king of the Demon Gods. All that went on in his head were the important matters of the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. The measly relationships between a man and a woman had ceased to be any of his worries.

    Yeah, just a glance of her will be enough. I don¡¯t have to meet with her. Tender and lovely flowers need to be protected. I can¡¯t drag her into this storm as well.

    With that idealistic thought in mind, he narrowed his eyes and saw an island wrapped in fragrance within the depths of the tremendous ocean. It was a place where the flowers bloomed, where the Hundred Flowers Fairy cultivated.

    He was stunned.

    Within a hot spring embraced by flowers, a slender figure faded in and out of the hazy mist. Her black hair draped onto her fair back as her thin waist bobbed within the water, together with her graceful legs. Her extended arms were like flower stems. The renowned Hundred Flowers Fairy was currently bathing.

    If her big bro Hua Chengzan was the standard handsome man, then she was the standard ¡°beautiful woman¡±. She would be too plump if she was just a bit plumper and too thin if she was just a bit thinner, too fair with just a bit of powder, and too red with just a bit of vermillion. Her eyebrows were like feathers of jade, her skin was white like snow, her teeth were like seashells, and her waist was narrow like a roll of silk.

    Sure enough, she was a flawless beauty, and her demeanour and bearing even surpassed the past. If she was only a little flower bud in the past, then she was a flower in glorious bloom right now.

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin and smiled. ¡°The little girl sure has grown big! Yeah, very big.¡±

    He did not plan on meeting with her, but he still could admire her. This was his special privilege as a god. Of course, this was only an admiration of beauty. It was very, very, very pure.

    As such, the mighty Demon God began peeping on a bathing woman and found absolutely no fault in that.

    Just as he gathered his focus and properly ¡°admired¡± her, Hua Chenglu suddenly spoke up, asking, ¡°How is it?¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside, Impossible! She can¡¯t sense this! It¡¯s not like she¡¯s Zijian, who bears the heavenly path of the true dragon. How can she sense my peeping, I mean, admiration?

    He glanced around in bewilderment. Apart from her, there were only the blooming flowers on the island. There was no one else.

    All the cultivators in the World of the Five Continents knew that while the Hundred Flowers Fairy liked touring around, she was quite reserved and proud. Her only true friend was the Violet Clouds Sword Sovereign. She did not even have a single disciple attending to her in her place of cultivation.

    Her eyes were like water as if they rippled away, but she did not look in his direction.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows and thought, Don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s talking to her own reflection? Heh, what a narcissistic little girl.

    However, Hua Chenglu raised her head and said gently, ¡°Big brother Li.¡±

    Li Qingshan shuddered inside again, almost convinced that he had actually been discovered. However, upon a closer look, she was gazing at the sky, leaving her body completely exposed to the air without any attempts to cover up. She did not seem embarrassed at all. That was not how a woman should have reacted when they were being ¡°admired¡±.

    He soon understood what was going on. Sigh, sure enough, my charms are simply exceptional. Even this girl has lost her senses thinking about me, still unable to forget about me. It¡¯s just a pity that you and I are separated as human and god. We just don¡¯t have the destiny!

    Hua Chenglu smiled. ¡°Zijian told me that you came back. You must have come to peep on me.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Li Qingshan suddenly felt like he was the naked one, squeezing out a single word from between his teeth. ¡°Traitor!¡±

    Hua Chenglu extended her graceful body. The water droplets slid down her body, glistening in the sun like dew drops on flower petals. It was still so natural.

    Hmm? Don¡¯t tell me that apart from washing and bathing, she also knows to burn incense and pray?

    Rustle! The flower bush trembled. Li Qingshan moved aside a cluster of bright red camellias and emerged from the depths of the bush. He was at ease, without any signs of awkwardness.

    Hua Chenglu gazed at his figure, and she trembled just like the flower bush. Under his scorching gaze, she wanted to hide back into the water. She raised her hand to cover the blossoms on her chest, but she suddenly sucked in a deep breath and held her chest out proudly again. She spread her arms and circled through the pool gracefully. ¡°How is it?¡±

    She was no longer a naive little girl anymore, but the proud, reserved Hundred Flowers Fairy. However, only before this man could she let go of all of her reservedness and put all of her beauty on full display.

    Li Qingshan nodded with a smile. ¡°A beauty like a flower. You live up to your name.¡± He entered the water step by step, wading over to her.

    Hua Chenglu could not help but hold her breath as she gazed at him.

    Li Qingshan sniffed the special fragrance from her body and used his large hand to touch her moist cheek. ¡°Have you been well over the years?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been very well and very happy. You know. I¡¯ve always wanted to travel around and take a look. Your world really is so big, with so many interesting things going on. I¡¯ll never feel bored here.¡±

    She had not been someone particularly talented originally, nowhere close to her elder brother Hua Chengzan, much less a ¡°deviant¡± like Yu Zijian. In the original World of the Nine Provinces, if they had never met, the limit she would achieve in her life would probably just be Golden Core. She might even struggle to break through the second heavenly layer. It would have been very difficult for her to possess such freedom. She might have even been married off according to arrangements of the clan.

    However, in the World of the Five Continents, she was spoilt by the heavens. She possessed unprecedented freedom, allowing her to wander about without anything tying her down.

    All of this came from him.

    Li Qingshan placed his hands on her shoulder. ¡°Now that is the joys of life. As long as you enjoy it.¡±

    Hua Chenglu sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have talent like Zijian¡¯s. I can¡¯t help you.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a sword. You¡¯re a flower. A sword only has meaning in existing in war and slaughter, while a flower only needs to be admired and protected. I¡¯m only afraid that I can¡¯t protect you.¡± Li Qingshan looked at her gently. If they could both find happiness, there would be a little more meaning to his efforts, even if he never truly possessed her.

    ¡°No. I only need to be admired, not protected.¡± Hua Chenglu shook her head with a smile. ¡°What flower in the world doesn¡¯t wilt one day? All that matters is they have bloomed. Speaking of which, flowers have thorns too.¡±

    Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. Time sure had flown by. Even she could say something like that. This understanding definitely was not an act.

    ¡°A sword¡¯s meaning for existence is war and slaughter. Do you know what a flower¡¯s meaning of existence is?¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡± Li Qingshan brought his arms around her waist.

    Hua Chenglu trembled slightly, and the blossoms on her chest shook as well. Her face reddened, but she continued to smile away sweetly. ¡°Perhaps, it¡¯s to draw over the bees and the butterflies!¡±

    Li Qingshan teased her. ¡°Then which bee or butterfly is so fortunate?¡±

    ¡°The sword fights for you, while the flower blooms for you. If you reach the end of your path, it can also snap for you and wilt for you.¡±

    Li Qingshan was momentarily unable to reply. He had never wished for reciprocation like that. ¡°I might not be able to reciprocate such deep feelings.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to. This isn¡¯t to pay back your kindness either.¡± Hua Chenglu murmured, ¡°There is something that I haven¡¯t experienced before.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Li Qingshan lowered his head and kissed her on her petal-like lips before suddenly remembering what Yu Zijian had said. You didn¡¯t come specially so that you could try and sleep with me, did you? He could not help but laugh at himself. Sure enough, people never changed!

    Even as a god, he had emotions and desires. His personality had never changed. Life was perhaps filled with pain, but there had always been plenty of happiness too. There was no need for him to become too wrapped up in all of it. All he had to do was do his best, gathering flowers while he could.

    Hua Chenglu extended her hand, and the flowers extended and wove to form a ceiling, enveloping the hot spring.

    The flowers clustered together, and the fragrance became heavier.

    The flower had already bloomed.

 Chapter 1616

    Li Qingshan indulged himself on this enchanting island of blooming flowers, savouring the sweet nectar and fragrance to his heart¡¯s content. He temporarily forgot the hardships and weariness of the journey, adding some charming sights to this journey of visiting past acquaintances.

    The young girl of the past had already become a lover in his arms. Her boldness even took him by surprise, which left him lamenting over the unpredictability of human nature.

    He once refused to ever look back, advancing ahead blindly, refusing to be tied down by anything, yet in a daze, he realised that there were certain things that he wanted to end and get rid of, yet he was simply unable to forget about them, always leaving him with sweet memories through certain incidents.

    As such, he understood that everything he had experienced from the Crouching Ox village to the Demon domain was firmly embedded in his memories whether he liked it or not, and it deeply influenced the world. In the end, it reciprocated him through some form or manner, whether it was good or bad, kindness or grievances. This was probably what buddhism meant by karma.

    Today, as he became a true god, the king of demons, he influenced the lives of billions with each passing moment even when he submerged himself in the warmth.

    The black sun shone on the bleak land. The black masses of armies followed the rise and fall of the land, extending off into the horizon.

    With his order, the entire Demon domain began their great retreat. The land they had claimed over millions of years after the sacrifice of countless demonfolk and humans in millions of horrific battles was abandoned without batting an eye. At the same time, the fatigue of the journey and the pain and conflict within their hearts tormented every single demonfolk.

    However, no one complained, as this was the will of the Demon God. They had grown accustomed to serving those superior to them a long time ago. Even Demon Generals could send them off to their deaths in battle on a whim, let alone the king of Demon Gods that even the twelve Demon Gods submitted to. He was basically an unbelievably distant existence.

    However, the atmosphere was different from the past. There was no violent cursing or wild howls. The superior forgot to abuse the inferior and the inferior forgot to flatter up to the superior. They advanced silently through the dust in the air as if they had learnt the meaning of melancholy in a single night.

    Just recently, all of the demonfolk that were unable to stand the pain and torment turned into demonic beasts, running off in a stampede and chasing the sun until their deaths.

    Now, the entire Demon domain was submerged in this melancholic atmosphere.

    The pair of black eyes would peer through the dust and stare at the black sun with a gilded edge from time to time, muttering a name in their minds¡ªLi Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan opened his eyes, waking up from the dream. He returned to the island of sweet memories, in the embrace of a beauty, but his expression was rather melancholic.

    When he influenced the demonfolk, the demonfolk were also influencing him. All actions came with consequences.

    His powers grew with every passing moment, even much faster than when he cultivated. That was the power of belief from billions of demonfolk.

    A single demonfolk was very weak. Compared to a true god like him, they were basically like a droplet and an ocean. However, upon gathering billions of droplets, they were enough to make rivers spill their banks and the oceans overflow.

    In the past, under Black Cloud city, the army qi momentarily gathered from an army of a few hundred thousand had multiplied his powers, giving him the ability to crush everyone at the same realm of cultivation. The number of demonfolk now was several tens of thousand times more, consistently providing him with the power of belief. Just how terrifying of a force was that?

    And this was only merely the beginning. The demonfolk had only just heard of Li Qingshan¡¯s name so far. Qian Rongzhi had yet to do anything either, such as making her Ming cult prosper. He had not even become a faith to the demonfolk yet, but they were already capable of influencing his emotions.

    As the faith deepened, the influence on him would grow deeper and deeper as well, even twisting some of his thoughts and downright swaying his sense of self.

    That was why he refused to be worshipped and refused to be influenced by others. However, from the moment he swallowed the Black Sun Demon Heart, decided to change the Demon domain and influence the billions of demonfolk there, he could no longer refuse the influence of the demonfolk anymore. As the king of the Demon Gods, the lord of the world, he naturally became the subject of worship for the demonfolk whether he liked it or not.

    And if he was not imbued with this power of belief, it would be impossible for him to achieve victory in battle. His opponents were renowned immortals and buddhas, worshipped across the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm. Each and every one of them had amassed the power of belief over who knew how many tens of thousand years. Not only did they grasp the laws, but they also grasped the wills of the people.

    If he was not even willing to pay this small price, how was he supposed to contend against them? Perhaps it was exactly because the seven Great Sages lacked this bit of power of belief that they had been suppressed.

    War was not a game. Even to gods, it was the same. What he had to sacrifice was not just these regular demonfolk as well. As the king of the Demon Gods, he was the most important offering.

    Hua Chenglu touched his furrowed forehead gently with her slender fingers and asked curiously, ¡°Do gods dream too?¡±

    Li Qingshan answered softly, ¡°Gods are the dreams of the living creatures.¡±

    ¡°Dream?¡± Hua Chenglu blinked her eyes, trying her best to understand what he meant.

    Li Qingshan rubbed her head. ¡°It¡¯s time for me to go.¡±

    Hua Chenglu did not try to make him stay. She just smiled. ¡°Take care.¡±

    The flower had already bloomed, so there were no longer any regrets. As for when the admirer of flowers would visit again, that was the admirer of flowers¡¯ problem.

    The traveller left with the sweet memory, continuing onwards with that distant dream¡ªon that pitch-black, rainy night, the young man in a rain cloak stood in an alleyway with a small girl beside him, clasping his hands at the carriage that raced past, bidding farewell to Yu Zijian and Hua Chenglu who were still young girls, vanishing into the pitch-black curtain of rain.

    TL: This is referring to chapter 162.

    And then? Oh right, he faced off against commander Zhuo Zhibo. He was ordered to complete a mission, to investigate a morgue, but in reality, Zhou Zhibo had been trying to use the Zombie Daoist to finish him off. That was the same place where he had encountered the disciples of the school of Mohism lead by Hao Pingyang. Afterwards, they entered the underground cave together and faced the Zombie Daoist, killing off Zhuo Zhibo.

    Out of the mohist disciples, only Hao Pingyang had survived until today. He had been quite talented as well, having undergone the third heavenly tribulation.

    However, Li Qingshan had no plans to enlist him to the Demon domain like he had done with Li Long.

    The Demon domain¡¯s agriculture was not developed, but when it came to machinery, no one world was close. Even beyond the Nine Heavens could not compare to it, let alone the tiny World of the Five Continents.

    Who could help the fact that the Demon domain had a Demon God Jiazuo?

    Legends had it that he was originally a lord in the ancient times. He was fascinated by all sorts of machinery since he was young. Before he had even turned ten, he was capable of carving bamboo and creating birds, which took flight the moment they were completed and spent three days without falling out of the sky. As such, a sage advised him that while wooden birds were exquisite, they brought no benefit to the people, where their practical use was not even as great as an axle carved by an ordinary carpenter. And, as the lord of a country, he should not have spent all his time thinking about machinery, devoting himself to such an unimportant practice.

    However, he did as he pleased and ignored him, continuing to be fascinated by the various machinery and techniques. Afterwards, when he was exiled to the Demon domain, they had instead given him what he wanted, paving a new path for himself that conformed with the Dao, becoming a Demon God.

    If gods ardently loved something, the skill they could achieve was well beyond what mortals could imagine.

    Demon God Jiazuo¡¯s ability to create had even surpassed Li Qingshan¡¯s imaginations. It was well beyond anything that the school of Mohism could come close to. Over the years, he had gathered a large group of Heretic Gods and Demon Sovereigns skilled in this craft as well, which was equivalent to possessing a construction team of his own. He was the best choice for the minister of infrastructure.

    The Demon domain had already been unified. What he needed to do next was to focus on infrastructure. Whether it were water resource facilities, bridges, or roads, he needed to build them all. In this revolution against the heavens, he needed to build first.

    Water resource facilities could increase food production and greatly increase the population of the Demon domain, while roads and transportation could connect the vast Demon domain, such that they could mobilise armies to the front lines at any time.

    Strength came in numbers. People were the foundation of everything. Only with people could there be cultivators, could there be gods and immortals. Even the most ordinary demonfolk could provide a tremendous amount of power of belief and determine the final outcome of this war.

 Chapter 1617

    The World of the Five Continents.

    A man walked along the road.

    It was early morning. The sun had yet to rise and the sky had only just begun to light up. The expansive wilderness stretched as far as the eye could see. The air was fresh and moist, which was refreshing. His footsteps were particularly swift and light, but he would leave behind a deep footprint with each step, filled with courage and confidence. He allowed the dew to moisten his clothes. His expression was as relaxed as if he was walking through his own courtyard.

    This was his world. His name was Li Qingshan.

    After visiting the island where the flowers bloomed, the fragrance continued to linger by his nose. There was nothing more relaxing than the gentle touch of a beautiful woman, let alone the gentle touch of a striking beauty of the world, the champion of a hundred flowers. Even after travelling so far away, he still savoured the aftertaste.

    As he recalled everything that happened the night before and rode on the cool breeze of the morning, he felt almost slightly tipsy.

    He followed tracks left behind by the flow of the river of memory in this journey of returning home¡ªLi Long, Xuanyue, Yu Zijian, Hua Chenglu¡­ which led to many different emotions. There was plenty of loneliness and sentiment involved, but it still left him feeling cheerful at the end of the day.

    In particular, after a romp in the sack, bathing and changing his clothes and a night of sleep at Hua Chenglu¡¯s dwelling, he felt at ease throughout his entire body. Every single bone in him had relaxed.

    Sure enough, I should rest like this before the great battle.

    However, that was also the exact reason why he was not in a hurry to visit the next ¡°acquaintance¡±, instead strolling through the wilderness.

    That acquaintance was far too special. She was a woman that he had almost married¡ªHan Qiongzhi.

    Back then, he had only just begun to take on the world. He possessed some strength, but he still hid it away deeply, yet he happened to earn the affection of her, the first young miss of the Han family, who wanted to be with him without any regard.

    Who knew how many beauties he had encountered in his life, but something like that had only happened this one time. To him, it was not just the love between a man and a woman, but also an extremely special case of gratitude from being appreciated.

    The time he spent with her basically could be described as the most peaceful and quiet part of his life. There were no tragic incidents of love, while writing stories definitely could not be called fascinating either. Despite all of that, it was extremely precious to his life.

    However, he was unable to spend his life peacefully with her like that at the end of the day. Many things happened afterwards too¡ªdeceit, the breaking of promises, and partings. Even when he thought of it now, he still felt ashamed.

    As a result, he refused to see her in this state. He could only face her once the fragrance had dissipated and the aftertaste had vanished.

    He could not help but shake his head. During this journey of returning home, many people behaved in ways that took him by surprise. Sure enough, human nature was the most unpredictable thing out there. Even as a god, he was unable to calculate that.

    At the same time, in the Hundred Flowers dwelling.

    Within the hazy steam, Hua Chenglu extended her body, leaning comfortably on the side of the hot spring. She thought with a smile, Big brother Li, oh big brother Li. You think you¡¯ve taken advantage of me, but little do you know that I¡¯ve used you to make up for my regrets of the past, hehe!

    Throughout the world, who would have thought that the mighty Hundred Flower Fairy had been constantly preoccupied by a man? However, if they discovered the man was Li Qingshan, they definitely would not be surprised.

    However, Li Qingshan had always been a forgetful person. He welcomed the rising sun and strode on forwards. As such, as the sun rose, the aftertaste evaporated like the morning dew.

    He sucked in a deep breath, taking in the last hint of flower fragrance, before suddenly smiling in a self-deprecating manner. He felt like a husband who had just gone out on an affair, who needed to adjust himself mentally and come up with what to say before he entered the door, cleaning up the perfume and the kiss marks.

    Right when he was about to complete the distant journey with a single step and arrive before Han Qiongzhi to give her a surprise, he suddenly heard a strange hum in his head.

    He furrowed his brows in doubt and subconsciously listened carefully. All the sounds within fifty kilometres of him were within his senses, yet he was unable to locate the source of the sound.

    He could even expand his range of control and hear everything that the world had to offer, but the sound was clearly just inches away as if it was right by his ear.

    .

    Then he covered his ears with both hands, blocking off all external sounds, but the hum still did not vanish.

    His face sank as if he realised what it was. He lowered his hands slowly and exhaled gently, gathering his focus to distinguish between the hums. In the end, he gradually managed to tell that it was the product of the sounds from countless people gathered together, whether young or old, male or female. It was just too soft and too chaotic that it sounded like a hum.

    At the same time, he sensed the gathering and growth of power. It was not particularly great, but it was like an unending stream and different from regular spiritual qi.

    Not only was he unable to find any joy, but he had instead become even sterner. He stopped, like he was confronted by an abyss, like he was crossing over thin ice.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this exactly what you want?¡±

    Li Qingshan muttered to himself with a wry smile and shook his head helplessly. His hands drooped beside his body powerlessly, while his expression even seemed slightly saddened.

    Even when he faced the most terrifying of enemies and the countless dire straits that brought him to the brink of death, he had never shown an expression like that.

    This power, this hum, was the so-called ¡°power of belief¡±.

    Everything was happening much faster than he imagined. Perhaps the dream last night was already a warning.

    He was like the ray of light that appeared in the deepest and darkest of nights. Under the name of the Demon Godking, all of the hopes, wishes, and beliefs gathered towards him.

    Droplet by droplet, the streams amassed to form oceans.

    As such, the scarlet star began to shine brighter, gradually surpassing the twelve demon stars assembled around him that represented the twelve Demon Gods.

    In the past, under Black Cloud city, before the two armies, just the army qi momentarily gathered from an army of several hundred thousand could leave him unstoppable, let alone the belief of billions of demonfolk. That would definitely lead to unbelievable divine might.

    But at what cost?

    Li Qingshan probably understood it very well. That was something even more precious than his life, something he would rather die than lose¡ªthe Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, just so he could not change.

    However, he probably still stood no chance against the constant wear of water droplets. He could already foresee that the ¡°belief¡± would influence him more and more, deeper and deeper. This was the path he had chosen. This was the price he had to pay.

    That woman Qian Rongzhi had not even done anything yet.

    Perhaps a single demonfolk¡¯s voice was like a gnat¡¯s wing flaps, but the sound gathered from billions of demonfolk would definitely be thunderous, and it would continue onwards without ever stopping, filled with fear, fury, hatred, mournings¡­ All of the negative emotions, both imaginable and unimaginable.

    Yes, if they were satisfied with life, then why would they pray to gods and buddhas? It was exactly because life could not leave everyone satisfied that the countless living creatures searched for that Sukh¨¡vat¨©, let alone the living creatures of the Demon domain who suffered from pain and torment on the opposite side of Sukh¨¡vat¨©.

    He clenched his hands, holding back the urge to cover his ears. He could sever all of this ¡°ruckus¡± and sever all of this belief.

    However, he needed this power. The enemies beyond the heavens were coming!

    That man who seemed to be an embodiment of the heavens, yet draped himself in bear skin.

    The owner of the huge hand that parted the pure land and the demonic land¡ªthe buddha Tath¨¡gata.

    Neither of them were existences he stood a chance against right now. He needed the power of the living creatures of the Demon domain to even have a chance at a direct confrontation against them.

    He only hoped that when that day arrived, Li Qingshan was still Li Qingshan.

 Chapter 1618

    Above the wilderness, Li Qingshan furrowed his brows firmly and stood still.

    The red sun rose up to the east. Before it could even illuminate the land, there was a gale from the horizon that brought inky clouds, filling the entire sky in the blink of an eye. Rain poured down as the fierce winds swept through the land, like a river in heaven had spilled over, wanting to flood the entire world.

    Without any prior signs at all, the clear morning immediately became as dark as night. He stood in the centre of this dark night, nowhere to run off to, trapped there for good. He simply allowed the winds to rise and the rain to pour down on him as if he was venting the pain within him, yet it was also so oppressive that there was not a single clap of thunder.

    This sense of repression was just like the dark, heavy night, unable to be released no matter what. It was just like the pitch-black storm, pouring down noisily and endlessly.

    Within several hundred kilometres of him, everyone looked up, surprised by the sudden change in the weather. They could also sense the ill omen that it contained. At the same time, their emotions became gloomy and repressed as well, almost unable to catch their breaths. Many regular people had already knelt down on the ground, praying towards the gods and buddhas.

    This was the might of a god, skilled in the wonders of nature, where a slight change of heart could make the wind and clouds change, leaving the living creatures in worship.

    The rain made the rivers swell violently as the winds made the houses sway. The wheat fields were all blown down.

    Li Qingshan sensed something, suddenly hearing several more voices again. Those were prayers filled with fear, praying for the heavens to change their minds, to take back this storm.

    There were hundreds and thousands of villages within several hundred kilometres of him. If this storm lasted for even another hour, who knows how many people would be swallowed by the flood waters.

    ¡°Sigh.¡± Li Qingshan let out a deep sigh and sucked in a deep breath. Immediately, the clouds and rain dispersed. The sky cleared up again.

    As a result, everyone became puzzled and delighted again, cheering around. They all bowed their heads to the ground, laying in prostration.

    However, it was as if he had swallowed all of the clouds and rain with that breath, holding it all in his chest. As such, it still weighed heavily like the dark night as the rain poured unceasingly.

    ¡°The living beings can pray to gods and buddhas. Who are gods supposed to pray to?¡±

    He sighed like that and took a step forward, vanishing from where he was. He tried his best to enter his memories in hopes of sheltering from this rain.

    When Li Qingshan appeared again, an ordinary, small courtyard belonging to a farmer¡¯s family appeared before his eyes. The short twig fences on the two sides were covered in vines, wrapping around a half-exposed, wooden door in the middle. A faded Chinese character that represented fortune was stuck on the door, and a tree of redbuds bloomed brilliantly at the entrance.

    ¡°Why is she in a place like this?¡±

    It was neither a large sect located on a towering mountain close to the heavens like the Sword Collection palace, nor a secret realm between the trees where magnificent flowers bloomed like the Hundred Flowers dwelling.

    Li Qingshan was surprised. He looked around and confirmed that this was only a regular village and not an illusion.

    Han Qiongzhi was a cultivator who had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation after all. Even if she did not have her own sect, she still should have possessed her own dwelling, but this village could not be regarded as any blessed land of cultivation at all.

    Smoke curled through the village as roosters crowed and dogs barked, filled with a sense of worldliness. A wisp of smoke rose up from the small courtyard before him. The smell of food wafted out from the door, along with her smell.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be wrong. She¡¯s here.¡±

    However, the worldliness and how ordinary everything was seemed even more surreal and mystifying than any sect, dwelling, or secret realm, such that it even left him slightly unsettled. That seemed to be the uneasiness of coming home.

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Li Qingshan knocked on the door three times.

    Before he could even finish, the door swung open, and a ball of fiery-red came to welcome him.

    Han Qiongzhi wore a great, red dress, standing upright in the centre of the doorway. Her bright-red lips curled into a smile. She was delighted but not surprised, seeming as if she had been anticipating Li Qingshan¡¯s visit, having spent all this time waiting for him to arrive.

    ¡°You¡¯re here! Why are you so wet? Was it raining?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi gazed at the wet and slightly disheveled Li Qingshan and could not help but glance at the sky. The sun shone brightly with a few faint wisps of clouds hanging in the distance.

    Li Qingshan could not help but smile. He pointed at her right hand. ¡°What are you doing? Are you trying to kill your husband?¡±

    As it turned out, Han Qiongzhi was carrying a bloody kitchen knife. If any regular person ran into her, they would definitely leap in fright.

    Han Qiongzhi rolled her eyes and swung her kitchen knife, saying like it was common sense, ¡°I¡¯m cooking!¡±

    Afterwards, she simply returned to the courtyard and grabbed an old hen from a cage in a corner. In one fell swoop, she cut off the chicken¡¯s head before defeathering it with hot water and cleaning its insides.

    She moved carefully and skillfully, but she did not use any techniques. Even the old hen was not some exotic beast, only a regular old hen that had spent its entire life laying eggs.

    By now, she had already entered the kitchen with the chicken she had butchered. She was basically too busy to tend to Li Qingshan, only telling him, ¡°The wine is on the table. Pour it yourself!¡±

    In the centre of the courtyard was a square table and two benches. A few small dishes and a jug of old wine was already set up on the table.

    The dishes were no delicacies either, seasonal vegetables cooked ordinarily. The wine was no exotic alcohol either, probably just N¨¹¡¯erhong from someone¡¯s cellar, except they could not wait until the day their daughter got married.

    TL: N¨¹¡¯erhong is normally wine brewed when a daughter is born and only taken out and consumed when she is married off.

    Li Qingshan closed the door behind him and took a seat at the table, pouring himself a cup and drinking it in a single gulp. Then he picked up a single peanut and chewed it slowly. As he watched her busy about in the kitchen, his emotions gradually settled down.

    He was like a husband who had finally returned from a distant journey. With the journey over, he could finally sit down in peace and have a slow sip of wine.

    He drank it cup after cup, until the jug was empty, until the alcohol left him slightly tipsy. The wine jar was placed right beside the leg of the table, so he picked it up and filled up the jug again.

    If it were not for his path to the Nine Heavens, this was everything he could have ever wanted!

    Han Qiongzhi heard the clinking and clattering of the cups and bowls in the courtyard. Her eyes began to redden uncontrollably, but she was also too afraid to look back. Her hands moved swiftly, washing and cutting the vegetables, frying, steaming, and boiling the food. Her mind was in a daze, like she was dreamwalking, completely relying on the habit that she had developed after cooking countless times to make these dishes.

    The regrets of some people were their love in their youth, how nothing truly ever occurred between them and the one they loved.

    However, the regrets of others were having never been able to make a meal for him, to spend a day as an ordinary husband and wife.

    Originally, she thought it would never be possible again. Originally, she thought with his personality, he would never look back.

    However, he had returned. His gaze was weary and his expression was almost miserable. That was an expression she had never seen on his face before. The Li Qingshan in her memories had always been that high-spirited young man who had just set off on his journey.

    Her heart ached, but she acted like nothing had happened. She asked without looking back, ¡°What happened? Why have you come back?¡±

    ¡°I came back to take a look,¡± Li Qingshan said inattentively.

    ¡°How have you ended up like this?¡± Han Qiongzhi could not help but ask.

    ¡°Like what?¡± Li Qingshan only wanted to drink quietly. He did not want to talk about the Demon domain and the pure land or the war between the gods anymore.

    ¡°Hmph, absolutely miserable! You probably lost a fight and was chased back here.¡±

    ¡°Hah, what a joke! Right now, across the myriad worlds, who hasn¡¯t heard of your man¡¯s name before¡­¡±

    Right when he was about to brag a little more, the humming that he tried his best to ignore became ear-piercing again, so he immediately lost the mood for that. He waved his hand impatiently. ¡°Make your food. Women should keep their noses out of the business of men.¡±

    Han Qiongzhi suddenly stopped, turning around and glaring at him, except her eyes had already welled up with tears.

    Li Qingshan set down his cup, smiling wryly without making a sound.

 Chapter 1619

    ¡°Who exactly are you!?¡±

    Han Qiongzhi turned around and asked loudly. The Li Qingshan in her memories drooled over alcohol, lusted after sex, was easily angered, liked to mock others, knew pain, knew fear, and knew guilt, but he would never show such a feeble expression.

    Even in the most dire of straits, against undefeatable opponents, he would definitely throw his last punch with a roar, only resting once he died.

    ¡°Yeah, who am I?¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the cup and smiled in a slightly self-deprecating manner. ¡°Probably something like the lord of the Demon domain, the king of Demon Gods!¡±

    That was him in the eyes of the living creatures, a god that carried all of their hopes and wishes. As for Li Qingshan, he was merely a mortal.

    The noise beside his ear hummed and bothered him, making him unable to ignore it anymore. The dark rainstorm in his chest had swallowed everything.

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s question had shaken up all of the peace in this tiny courtyard. Her fiery-red figure seemed to be burning and roaring, so bright that it was impossible to stare directly at her.

    His gaze passed her, following the mottle, earthen walls and climbing up the thatched roof, climbing up the chimney and into the depths of the sky along the wisp of smoke.

    In a daze, the mottled, earthen walls seemed to become towering peaks. The thatching was like blades and spears, while the chimney was like a lone city at the top of a mountain. There was no curling smoke, blue sky, or white clouds. It was clearly dust rushing up into the sky and dark clouds pressing down on the city.

    Crack! A fracture appeared on the cup. Before he knew it, his expression had changed.

    The rooster crows and dog barking in the village all vanished, falling into a terrifying silence.

    Han Qiongzhi widened her eyes, startled. He gave off a dreadful aura. The figure that sat before the square table seemed to be rapidly growing taller and larger, like an exceptionally steep, black mountain, where its sharp peak had already pierced the sky. No matter how hard she tried to gaze up, she was unable to see his full appearance anymore

    He was so tall and distant, well beyond reach. He had already changed. He was no longer the man she was familiar with from before. He had become a god beyond her understanding.

    His pain is probably something I can never understand anymore!

    Han Qiongzhi¡¯s heart throbbed with pain that refused to go away. She could not help but gaze at him blankly. His expression was fleeting and distant, yet it hid terrifying chaos and killing intent, like he was submerged in a bloody, murderous dream.

    She blamed herself for berating him. She clearly just wanted to spend a day with him as an ordinary husband and wife, so talking about the past and drinking a bit was enough. Why couldn¡¯t she give him this momentary peace before sending him on his way to the battlefield where he belonged?

    ¡°Qingshan! Qingshan!¡± An urgent voice woke Li Qingshan up from the dream.

    He blinked his eyes. The earthen wall was still an earthen wall and the thatching was still thatching. This was not a battlefield, but home. The person before him was not the enemy, but his lover.

    Han Qiongzhi shook his shoulders forcefully. There were tears in her eyes, but she bit her lip as if she had made some kind of decision. She said gently, ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s your business. I shouldn¡¯t stick my nose in it. Eat up. Once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll have a hearty drink with you!¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I got distracted.¡± Li Qingshan gathered his focus and smiled. The crack on the cup in his hand closed up again.

    The crows continued to crow and the dogs continued to bark in the village as smoke curled into the air as if nothing had happened at all. However, it was also like they had reached some kind of agreement to not pursue these matters.

    Li Qingshan extended his hand to wipe away the tears on Han Qiongzhi¡¯s face. He smiled. ¡°What are you crying for? Your man still hasn¡¯t died!¡±

    ¡°Hmph, you¡¯d be better off dead!¡± Han Qiongzhi grumbled.

    Something as ominous as that was not any taboo to the two of them.

    Coming from a military family, she had never placed too much emphasis on the concepts of life and death. Even if she heard the news of his death in battle just then, she would not have lost control like that. She would only silently prepare for his revenge. If she succeeded, then she succeeded, but if she did not, then she would die. It was no big deal.

    However, the high-spirited young man who had just set off on his journey had left far too deep of an impression in her heart, leaving her momentarily unable to admit that the gloomy and lonely man right before her was the same person.

    This transformation was simply too unexpected to her. Originally, she thought that by advancing valiantly and making it into the ranks of gods, he should have been even more high-spirited and complacent.

    Just what kind of hardships could turn a man like that into this?

    She held back the urge to ask that and returned to the kitchen, continuing to make food.

    Li Qingshan gazed at her busy figure and let out a silent sigh. He really was not the type of person who liked to groan and grumble. Scars were nothing to be proud of. They were only scars, marks left behind by wounds.

    Of course, they were not exactly a sign of disgrace either. It was just when you showed others scars, those who hated you would only laugh at your weakness and uselessness, finding pleasure in it, while those that loved you would suffer for you, even persuading you to take another path.

    He neither wanted to be mocked, nor did he want to hurt anyone, much less change his path. No matter how much pain and hardships there were, that was all from the path he had chosen. Even if he was smashed to pieces, he had no regrets.

    But at this moment, he had the urge to tell her everything. He refused to let her be disappointed in him, wanting her gentleness and sympathy.

    I¡¯m probably drunk. Li Qingshan thought tipsily. In the past, he felt like she possessed many similarities to Chao Tianjiao, but only now did he discover that they were actually completely different. The biggest difference was probably the fact that she remembered how ¡°Li Qingshan¡± was originally.

    Even after countless dangers and problems, that was still the form he had always wanted to retain. Now, since he had already begun to change, perhaps he owed her an explanation.

    Suddenly, he raised his head and drank all the wine in his cup. ¡°Qiongzhi, would you like to hear my story?¡±

    ¡°Go on! I¡¯m listening!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi paused for a moment before continuing onwards, serving up dishes after dishes.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s voice faltered, like he was having difficulty in finding his words. ¡°You¡­ erm¡­ I made¡­ a choice for the sake of greater power. I originally thought¡­ I originally thought I would never make this kind of choice, even if I died!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi listened closely. She understood a little more, but she also had a few more doubts, except she did not speak up.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never told you how Xiao An and I met, have I?¡± Li Qingshan¡¯s thoughts flew, but he did not begin with his experiences in the Human realm and the Demon domain. Instead, he began at the start of everything.

    Han Qiongzhi nodded.

    ¡°Back then, I was still in Crouching Ox village. I was far weaker than even when I first met you. Yeah, it really was miserable. I toiled every single day with little to eat, even suffering from abuse all the time, but I never actually cried. I even called myself Li Qingshan, which meant ¡®Must you be buried in your place of home? Sufficient are the green mountains overgrown¡¯.¡±

    ¡°I was actually quite stubborn as a person, just like my old ox back then. I was not particularly afraid of dying either¡­ But afterwards, I encountered Xiao An, and I cried. It had nothing to do with me, but I was just saddened, so I cried. At that time, I decided to avenge her no matter what, to help her find her home.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes were bleary as he rambled onwards. He mentioned many matters of the past, mixed in with everything that happened in the Human realm, Sukh¨¡vat¨©, and the Demon domain. He was all over the place, possessing none of his usual straightforward efficiency. Perhaps he really was drunk.

    Many years later, in the depths of the Demon domain, he cried once more, making a decision for a child.

    Perhaps the end of the story had already been decided at the very start. The unchanging him made an unchanging decision.

    No matter how much he yearned for a hawk¡¯s freedom, he was destined to be an ox, forced to bear a great burden.

    ¡°I had to go to Qingqi mountain. I had nowhere else to go¡­¡±

    The sun rose up gradually. Before he knew it, the table was already filled with dishes. Han Qiongzhi sat before Li Qingshan and listened quietly, listening to these bizarre encounters, listening to these matters of the distant past, listening to the painful choices he made again and again. There were several times when she wanted to stand up and embrace him firmly, but she did not budge in the end. Instead, she clenched her fists and bit her lip as if she was also making a painful choice.

    Upon finishing the story, she suddenly picked up the jar of wine and stood up, drinking all of the remaining wine in a single breath before glaring straight at Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes drunkenly. Her expression seemed like she wanted to swallow him whole.

    Li Qingshan was startled as well, looking at her in surprise.

    ¡°I¡¯m different from Xiao An. No matter what Li Qingshan turns into, there¡¯s no difference to her, but the only person I fell in love with was that unchanging Li Qingshan. Even when I know he¡¯s a great bastard and I understand that it¡¯ll lead to nothing. I¡¯m content with it. I¡¯ve never regretted it at all,¡± Han Qiongzhi said boldly.

    Li Qingshan nodded. ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°So leave this world! Go die wherever you want to, but don¡¯t return again. If you need anyone¡¯s power, directly summon them. The Li Qingshan I know never looks back!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at her deeply. She was like a roaring ball of fire, so bright and dazzling that he struggled to stare directly at her, but in the depths of the flames, within her eyes, it was all Li Qingshan¡¯s figure.

    ¡°Everything, as well as me, are shackles to you!¡±

    Han Qiongzhi pointed at the dishes and pointed at herself. Sadness and reluctance flashed through her eyes, but she swung her hand resolutely, knocking over the entire table full of dishes before turning around and saying with her back to him, ¡°You can go now!¡±

    Li Qingshan gazed at the broken plates and scattered dishes on the ground. She had gone to great effort to make each and every one of them with her own hands, but they were basically untouched. It was all wasted.

    Of course, he only needed to budge a finger to turn everything back to how it was, but he did not do that. He only stared at her figure, spending quite a while in a daze before suddenly smiling. ¡°I understand. I¡¯m going.¡±

    Li Qingshan left. He left this world and ended this journey. Since he had chosen this path, he had to continue down it. He could not stop.

    Han Qiongzhi stood in the courtyard without budging. Only her shadow tilted and moved, until the sun sank in the west and stars filled the sky. She just spent the day like that. She suddenly raised her head and gazed at the new, scarlet star, pouring all of her thoughts into it.

    Outside the world, the humming ruckus continued to tail him like his shadow, without ever relenting, but Li Qingshan suddenly heard a familiar voice, a special wish.

    ¡°May the Li Qingshan in her heart never change.¡±

 Chapter 1620

    In the Human realm, a five-sailed ship rose up on the horizon on the ocean, sailing along slowly.

    The sails were blindingly white under the sun, taut and shaking with waves of heat, like a great white bird that carried the ship through the waves and over the ocean.

    At a closer glance, there were many profound glyphs engraved on the railing that glimmered under the sunlight. That was why the sails could adjust automatically without any sailors or helmsman, constantly ensuring the greatest speed while remaining on track.

    The people on the deck were all dressed in daoist robes and possessed striking demeanors, gathering in groups of three and five as they talked and laughed. They even brought many fruits and jerky with them as snacks on this joyful trip, temporarily leaving behind their day-to-day cultivation so that they could enjoy the sun and sea wind to their heart¡¯s content.

    Everything seemed so peaceful. An old man stood at the nose of the ship with his hands behind his back, except he gazed into the horizon with his brows furrowed.

    Hearing his disciple¡¯s laughter and conversations, he sighed inside. Sigh, the daemon star of misfortune, Yinghuo, has emerged. I wonder how much longer this can last. After this crisis, just how many of the disciples behind me can survive?

    Let alone these disciples, even he was nothing compared to the crisis of the world with his bit of cultivation.

    However, he was unable to tell anyone about these thoughts.

    When they set off on this lengthy journey to Myriad city, he had only said to his disciples that he wanted to take them out to see the world, but in reality, he was considering how to get the entire Qingyang temple to join the Myriad sect.

    Following the battle of Black Cloud city, the Myriad sect had sustained severe losses. They had been recruiting disciples far and wide the entire time, welcoming everybody. However, as a master of a sect, he could only qualify as an inner disciple.

    He would rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond, but without a great ship, he probably would not survive this great storm. Once he perished, then everything was over. He would not even be a fish anymore.

    At this moment, he raised his eyebrows and looked back. ¡°Lingxiaozi, go and call your junior sister Miaozhen. We¡¯re almost at the Myriad sect. She can¡¯t afford to miss out on this!¡±

    ¡°Yes, master.¡± A young, handsome daoist priest immediately cupped his fist and accepted the order with a bow of his head. He thought, Master sure does favour junior sister Miaozhen!

    He made his way into the cabin quickly, and the surroundings immediately darkened. He only managed to find his way with the glow from his eyes. As he walked, the laughter and chatter from the deck gradually vanished as well. After taking several dozen steps, it was as if he had entered a tranquil world.

    But that makes sense. She can still cultivate in peace in the cabin at a time like this. Using master¡¯s words, her disposition and temperament is truly made for cultivation. It definitely wasn¡¯t luck that she could undergo the second heavenly tribulation in such a short time. A sense of fervency suddenly overcame him, looking forward to seeing her.

    In a quiet room within the depths of the cabins, a single lamp shone dimly, curling with smoke.

    A female daoist priest sat on a cushion and meditated. Her body swayed gently with the waves, but her eyes were shut, and her expression was relaxed. She was completely unfazed, engrossed in cultivation.

    ¡°Junior sister Miaozhen, we¡¯re almost at the Myriad sect. Master has told me to come and call you,¡± Lingxiaozi¡¯s voice rang out from outside the door.

    ¡°Understood.¡± Yang Miaozhen opened her eyes slowly and said softly, ¡°Thank you, senior brother. I¡¯ll head over soon.¡± Her voice was like the trembling string of a zither, enchanting within the darkness, but indifferent just like her expression. She was like a noble and elegant zither, yet she did not search for anyone who understood her, playing a voice and sound that belonged to her alone.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome, junior sister.¡± Li Xiaozi was slightly disappointed, but he was unable to develop any feeling of discontent towards this junior sister Miaozhen.

    A while later, Yang Miaozhen emerged from the cabin and arrived on the deck. The dazzling sunlight made her squint her eyes slightly. All she saw were her fellow disciples gathered at the front of the ship, gazing in the same direction.

    It was the height of summer, where the proud sun burned like fire. The hot winds filled her face, while the sky and sea was wide and open. She could not help but warm up inside as well. Her mind opened with her horizons.

    The rippling light bobbed and flickered with the seawater, extending to the end of the sea. The water evaporated and left the air hazy. At the end of the sky and sea, between the clouds and the heat waves, floated a magnificent, large city, like a mirage, a mystical settlement.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Myriad sect¡­¡± Yang Miaozhen murmured. Even when she devoted herself to cultivation, where her emotions were impervious to most things, she could not help but become shocked by this sight. She suddenly smiled at herself. If he were here, he would definitely mock her for her limited view!

    Then it turned into confidence. However, I¡¯m no longer the same Yang Miaozhen as the past either!

    When she ascended to the Human realm from the small world, it was like when she went from the cabin to the deck, seeing the vast ocean all of a sudden. Only then did she realise just how insignificant she had been back then, while the invincible ¡°hero king¡± who shook up the world was merely a slightly stronger cultivator. He only seemed so powerful in the small world, but his true cultivation was not even close to her current master¡¯s!

    She could not help but look at the old man at the front of the ship. She clasped her hands and bowed, while the old man smiled and nodded back at her.

    Her master, the Qingyang Master, was a Yin Soul cultivator who had undergone the fourth heavenly tribulation. He founded the Qingyang temple all by himself, but in the Human realm, that was only a small sect.

    Yet, she heard that in the Myriad sect that they were about to reach¡ªthe mystical city at the end of the sky and sea¡ªfourth heavenly tribulation cultivators could only become inner disciples. Only Yang Soul cultivators that had undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation could become direct disciples.

    And that was only the disciples. Further up, there were the Human Immortal sect masters that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, as well as the grand sect master that was a True Immortal.

    True Immortal¡ªthat was an unbelievable existence beyond what she could fathom, but it was also her life goal.

    She wondered whether he was still trapped in the small world¡ªno, with his abilities, he probably had broken free already! Perhaps he had already returned home to the World of the Nine Provinces he spoke of, or perhaps he had ascended to the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Perhaps he might be in the Human realm too! And perhaps she might meet him again some day.

    Though, don¡¯t even think about harassing me like before!

    When Yang Miaozhen gazed into the distance and thought of the past, there were also others staring at her¡ªher appearance without any makeup possessed a sense of allure by itself. Her hair was tied up, revealing her snowy-white neck, while her tall and slender figure made her graceful like a crane.

    However, in her indiferent eyes, there would always be a feeling of gentleness, while her slender figure wrapped in daoist robes gave off a charm of maturity. That was the mark left behind from being a wife and a mother in the past, which was something that many people in the Qingyang temple refused to believe. They were also deeply impacted by it, struggling to imagine just what kind of man she had pledged herself to.

    When she was asked, she only answered indifferently, without hiding anything, only wanting to reduce any potential problems.

    No matter what kind of man he is, he¡¯s already worlds apart from you. He won¡¯t be able to keep up with your footsteps. He¡¯s no longer worthy of you. The one who¡¯ll remain by your side in the future will definitely be me. Lingxiaozi silently made up his mind and made his way over to Yang Miaozhen.

    Yang Miaozhen sighed inside. Some problems would always be unavoidable.

    After all, while the small world was not very large, those who could become the Ten Great Beauties were still at the standard of being the prettiest within several hundred thousand kilometres. Their views were limited, but they did end up developing a certain kind of bearing and confidence.

    Meanwhile, she had managed to remain inside for twenty years without setting a single foot outside, devoting herself to cultivation and enlightenment in a world of thin spiritual qi where martial arts practitioners reigned supreme. Even regular Golden Core cultivators could not match her disposition.

    With the two combined, her charms came forth naturally.

    The ship gradually approached Myriad city, and the mystical city shrouded in mist gradually cleared up, becoming even grander.

    ¡°Junior sister Miaozhen, do you know what the most powerful cultivation method of the Myriad sect is?¡± Lingxiaozi began a conversation with her.

    ¡°It seems to be called the Myriad Heavenly Tomes,¡± Yang Miaozhen said in thought.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. The Myriad Heavenly Tomes contains countless heavenly tomes. Every tome is enough for a person to become a Human Immortal.¡± Lingxiaozi could not help but show admiration as well. The cultivation method he practised right now was nowhere close to any of those heavenly tomes.

    Yang Miaozhen listened intently. She was still someone who paid great concern to matters regarding cultivation. The other disciples gathered over as well.

    Lingxiaozi became even more excited. ¡°However, there¡¯s another saying, that the Myriad Heavenly Tome itself is just one entity. It¡¯s not just the name of the collection of heavenly tomes. It contains all the cultivation methods and paths the world has to offer. All of the heavenly tomes manifested from it. It¡¯s exactly through this Myriad Heavenly Tome that the Myriad sect managed to remain so prosperous even after war.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s said that just recently, the Myriad sect fought the demonfolk in a great battle. The Demon domain sent an army of several million under the lead of twelve Demon Sovereigns and Demon God Taowu¡¯s consciousness descended. The battle was extremely intense. Even half of the Yang Soul direct disciples perished. They were almost annihilated. They completely relied on their first senior brother Li Qingshan to force back Demon God Taowu, which allowed them to save the situation.¡±

    He was not bold enough to compare himself to the first senior brother of the Myriad sect, but he still was a first senior brother after all!

    ¡°What!?¡± Yang Miaozhen widened her eyes. She was stunned.

 Chapter 1621

    Li Qingshan¡ªthis was a name that held far too much significance to Yang Miaozhen.

    He was not just a man, a man who had once conquered and possessed her, or the father to her child. She was a natural cultivator. The lengthy passage of time could wear away everything.

    However, only the heavens knew just how lonely she had been in the small world dominated by martial arts practitioners as a cultivator. She was like a seabird born into a world without any of her own kind, flying towards an indistinct target in the distance alone and stubbornly.

    She had also possessed endless fantasies for the future before as a little girl, yet despite clearly being born a beauty, faced with countless suitors and temptations, she remained unfazed. She had also wished that she could shake up the jianghu as a female hero, not just some Ten Great Beauty, yet she could only remain locked up in the daoist temple despite possessing the talent to become a great martial arts practitioner.

    She gave up everything for it, yet the only thing she could rely on was a vague and ungrounded legend. As she advanced alone through the darkness, even she felt like she could not hold on for much longer. Afterwards, he appeared and told her that the path she had chosen was correct!

    His light illuminated everything.

    Even after all these years, she could still remember her trembling emotions back then, which were even more intense than when he claimed her for the first time. Of course, she was extremely happy back then as well. Even though they had only met recently, she basically did not reject him. Emotions and desires had always been common in people, let alone the fact that it was him.

    Others said she was cold in personality, but he said the path of cultivation was destined to be lonely. She could still remember what he said when they parted, ¡°No matter how indifferent you seem, I know you are a person who values your relationships and your feelings. I¡¯m afraid you still have something you can¡¯t let go of.¡±

    Little did he know that the only relationship she valued in her life was him. There was nothing else she could not let go of either.

    That was why she had to constantly remind herself that Li Qingshan was only a regular cultivator, and his cultivation back then was only around the third heavenly tribulation, a Soul Nascence cultivator. Perhaps he seemed very powerful and very special in the small world, but there were countless others like him in the Human realm, which she could also achieve as long as she continued working hard.

    That was how she had tried to dilute the impression he had left behind.

    However, several decades later, when she suddenly heard his name once again, she suddenly realised at that moment that all of her efforts had been futile. It was like a birthmark she was born with. It was not something that could be washed away with water.

    For a moment, she basically had no idea how to respond.

    Lingxiaozi was taken aback as well. Never had he seen such a lively expression on Yang Miaozhen¡¯s face. She was basically several times more enchanting than any of his memories. If he could spend everyday with her and see that kind of expression all the time, that was a life unlike a god¡¯s, but even better than a god¡¯s. Even whether he could attain enlightenment no longer mattered.

    However, the disciples were all engrossed by the legend. They all discussed together.

    ¡°Even Yang Soul cultivators perished. Are demonfolk really that terrifying?¡±

    ¡°Is Demon God Taowu a True Immortal?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t say! Of course, he¡¯s a True Immortal. All twelve Demon Gods of the Demon domain are True Immortals!¡±

    ¡°Then senior brother, just how is that Li Qingshan so powerful?¡±

    Everything that Lingxiaozi said was far too distant to them. Yang Soul cultivators were already existences beyond their reach, while Demon Gods were even more inconceivable. As for exactly what kind of monster that Li Qingshan who had managed to force back a Demon God was, they basically could not even imagine it.

    The Qingyang Master shook his head and interrupted them. ¡°That Li Qingshan is not just powerful. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s only been several decades since he ascended to the Human realm. In the beginning, he was only at the third heavenly tribulation, but he¡¯s said to have reached the sixth heavenly tribulation already, having been taken to Sukh¨¡vat¨© to serve as a sangharama guardian.¡±

    Clearly, he had closely investigated the situation of the Myriad sect before this. As the leader of the direct disciples, first senior brother Li Qingshan was an existence he could not ignore. However, when he said that, he also furrowed his brows in disbelief, no different from the disciples around him.

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible!?¡±

    The disciples all cried out in an uproar. Even Lingxiaozi was no exception. Clearly, he had only overheard some rumours about Li Qingshan. He did not know the details as well as the Qingyang Master.

    To them, Yang Miaozhen was already a supreme genius to have undergone the second heavenly tribulation in just a few decades, reaching the peak of Golden Core, yet during the same time period, he had consecutively undergone the fourth, fifth, and sixth heavenly tribulations that were even more difficult. It did not seem possible no matter how they thought of it. Their surprise was so intense that they even forgot their respect for their master, unable to hide their doubts over what their master had just said.

    Only Yang Miaozhen was unsurprised. She only found some slight understanding, confirming her judgement¡ªback then in the small world, Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation really was just at the third heavenly tribulation.

    Of course, while there were many people who shared the same name in the world, and ¡°Li Qingshan¡± was not a particularly uncommon name either, she basically had no doubts at all. She was one hundred percent certain that Li Qinsghan was that Li Qingshan. No matter how many Li Qingshans there were in the world, there was no other Li Qingshan who could do something like that apart from that Li Qingshan.

    The hero king who had his fun back then in the small world had continued to the Human realm to have his fun. It did not seem very strange at all.

    That¡¯s just how that man is!

    However, to her fascination, the Qingyang Master also became rather uncertain when faced with his disciples¡¯ doubts. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s always a possibility that he didn¡¯t undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation! He is a Yang Soul cultivator at the very least though, or it would have been impossible for him to become the first senior brother of the Myriad sect.¡±

    She almost wanted to laugh, even though she had no idea why.

    The entire experience was probably like a child who constantly worked hard to surpass his father, until one day, the child gradually grew up and become larger and stronger, only to discover that his father was not as large and strong as he once remembered, even shorter and skinnier than other people, only to suddenly discover that his father¡¯s hidden identity was a billionaire.

    There probably were not a lot of people in the world that had experienced such a strange feeling.

    Yang Miaozhen smiled. The deck suddenly fell silent. All of the disciples stared at her blankly.

    The male disciples glanced at her before immediately shifting their gaze, but they could not help but look over again. It was as if they were faced with an overly dazzling ball of light, one that they could not stare into but also not ignore. Instead, the female disciples were all glued to her. There was no envy, only admiration.

    Lingxiaozi basically could not control himself anymore. His head had begun to spin. He had no idea why she had suddenly smiled like that. Despite knowing her for all this time, he felt like she had never smiled like that before.

    ¡°Miaozhenzi, y- you know that Li Qingshan?¡± Even the Qingyang Master became slightly excited. He was not like his own disciple, blinded by lust. He clearly noticed Yang Miaozhen¡¯s abnormal behaviour.

    ¡°Master, I do.¡± Yang Miaozhen kept talking to a minimum, but she did not lie.

    ¡°Junior sister, you know Li Qingshan?¡± ¡°Surely it¡¯s not just someone else with the same name!¡±

    The disciples were all astonished. No matter how much they respected Yang Miaozhen, they struggled to connect the distant legend with the person right before their eyes.

    ¡°Then¡­ what is your relationship with him?¡±

    The Qingyang Master became more and more excited, basically looking at Yang Miaozhen with even more fervency than how Lingxiaozi looked at her. He wanted to join the Myriad sect, but he also wanted to get his worth. If he could, he wanted a little more resources, giving him the chance to take a step further and undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation. The situation between a direct disciple and an inner disciple, a Yin Soul cultivator and a Yang Soul cultivator, was drastically different.

    If he could use any relationships with the firsts senior brother of the Myriad sect and have Li Qingshan recruit him into the sect, the treatment he would receive would definitely be better than if he joined himself. At the same time, he would have someone to rely on when the crisis arrived. At the very least, he would not be simply cast aside as a sacrificial piece.

    Yang Miaozhen hesitated. She wanted to say that he had once been her husband, but when they parted back then, he had said himself that they were not husband and wife. He was helping her let go, but it had always been something that she had cared very much about.

    She deliberated over her thoughts. ¡°In the small world, I gave birth to a child for him.¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible!¡± Lingxiaozi shuddered in disbelief. ¡°They must just share the same name.¡± He refused to believe it, yet he was also convinced. If it was not a man like that, how could he have stolen her heart?

    However, the Qingyang Master was overjoyed, except he still had some doubts, afraid that they really just shared the same name and he was celebrating over nothing.

    By now, Myriad city had already arrived right before their eyes.

    On the shallow ocean, the imposing statue of a person gradually emerged from the misty water vapour, thick-browed, resolute, and daring in appearance, clad in armour with a blade in his hand as if he was guarding the Myriad sect. It was probably the product of some direct disciple¡¯s attempt to suck up to him. Everyone believed the struggle over the position of first senior brother since Lin Xuan¡¯s passing had now settled, and the Myriad sect was about to welcome another lengthy reign.

    The Qingyang Master pointed at the statue and asked, ¡°Like that?¡±

    Yang Miaozhen stared at the statue. She also seemed to be enamoured, murmuring, ¡°Identical.¡±

    Lingxiaozi was ashen. The last of his fantasies were extinguished.

    Why would the Qingyang Master still care about his first disciple¡¯s feelings? Holding back his excitement, he asked, ¡°My disciple, how did you end up parting?¡± With her legs of unparalleled beauty, why did she have to come to his measly daoist temple to cultivate? If she had joined the Myriad sect right from the beginning, she would have already become a Soul Nascence cultivator at the very least with her talent and Li Qingshan¡¯s care. Surely there were not any ill feelings involved?

    TL: Remember, the Chinese aesthetic of beauty is long, slender legs.

    My disciple? Yang Miaozhen wanted to roll her eyes. The thing that had left her quite disillusioned after arriving in the Human realm was that cultivators were not as free of desires and devoted to enlightenment as the legends said. They probably did not have Li Qingshan¡¯s valiant, unwavering, and resolute spirit either.

    Often, within a group of people, she would instead resemble a cultivator the most, including this master of hers, the master of the Qingyang temple. Most of the time, he did not conduct himself properly, not only possessing a penchant for drinking, but also going out travelling all the time.

    She said like it was common sense, ¡°I wanted to ascend!¡±

    ¡°Was he good to you?¡± the Qingyang Master asked his last probing question.

    ¡°He was very good to me,¡± Yang Miaozhen answered without hesitation.

    ¡°My dear disciple, how do you think I¡¯ve treated you?¡± The Qingyang Master rubbed his hands together, actually revealing a flattering smile towards his own disciple, but no one found it strange. Apart from Lingxiaozi, the other disciples of the Qingyang temple all looked towards Yang Miaozhen in admiration as well as if the statue just then was her.

    Dear disciple? Yang Miaozhen finally could not help but roll her eyes.

    By now, the ship had entered the bay and docked at the wharf. They had arrived at the Myriad sect.

 Chapter 1622

    Yang Miaozhen could only say, ¡°Miaozhen is forever indebted to master.¡±

    The Qingyang Master¡¯s face lit up, and he no longer tried to keep it a secret, finally telling them his objective of this trip¡ªto merge the entire Qingyang temple into the Myriad sect.

    All of the disciples were greatly startled, speaking up to persuade him otherwise.

    Lingxiaozi objected vehemently. He was the first senior brother of the Qingyang temple. Whenever the Qingyang Master was out, he was responsible for the various affairs of the temple, both big and small, truly standing above dozens, only second to one. If the Qingyang temple merged with the Myriad sect, he would only be a formal disciple, belonging to the bottom of the hierarchy of disciples in the Myriad sect.

    Then he glanced at Yang Miaozhen, and his heart ached. If the Qingyang temple really does merge with the Myriad sect, junior sister Miaozhen and that Li Qingshan will continue their relationship, while I¡¯ll have to live at the mercy of him.

    After learning about the Qingyang Master¡¯s plans, Yang Miaozhen¡¯s feelings became rather mixed. After going around in circles, am I still going to return to his side?

    As for the reactions of his disciples, the Qingyang Master had been anticipating it all.

    The Human realm and beyond the Nine Heavens possessed an extremely deep connection. Basically all of the grand sect masters of large sects were True Immortals up in the heavens, so the conflicts between sects was not even as intense as in the trichiliocosm, not only because the sect masters were all acquaintances, but also to avoid any unnecessary internal conflicts so that they could fend off the Demon domain¡¯s expansions.

    The battlefields in the Demon domain were extremely intense, far greater than any regular skirmishes between sects, but the responsibility of holding off the demonfolk basically all lay with the large sects. They did not force middle-sized and smaller sects into battle either. If these sects were not interested in making a contribution and did not proactively take part in the battle, they could completely pass off everything that happened in the distant lands as mere stories.

    Under this situation, the middle-sized and smaller sects of the Human realm, as well as the independent cultivators, truly spent their days in peace.

    Peace had gone on for too long. It would make people forget the looks of war, or even lose the ability to imagine war.

    Even when they constantly mentioned phrases like ¡°the daemon star of misfortune¡± and the ¡°crisis of the world¡±, it did not feel realistic at all. They always felt like there would be stronger people to deal with this problem. The immortals and gods beyond the Nine Heavens would not simply sit still. Even the worst-case scenario to them was just relentless fighting.

    The Qingyang Master said firmly, ¡°I¡¯ve already made up my mind, so say nothing more!¡± Then he sighed and said some other things, such as ¡°You¡¯re all too young, so you have no idea about the crisis of the world¡¯s power¡± and ¡°I¡¯m doing it for your good. You¡¯ll understand in the future.¡±

    The disciples were unable to understand, but they could not defy their master. However, they all felt rather dejected, no longer in the mood for sightseeing like when they first arrived. However, when they left the ship and arrived in Myriad city, the sights there left them reinvigorated.

    People flowed endless through the city. It was so busy that it did not resemble a cultivation sect at all, but a city of mortals.

    However, the city of mortals would never be so grand and majestic. Skyscrapers rose up from the ground, each and every one of them beautifully decorated. Long bridges passed between them like rainbows as graceful cultivators moved around on them.

    The hanging garden balconies were like exquisite flowerpots, blooming with all sorts of exotic flowers and grasses. Among these ornamental buildings and scenery, many cultivators sat together to drink tea and discuss their cultivation.

    Having grown tired of the spacious, expansive sight of the ocean, everything inside Myriad city left them dazzled, too much to take in at once. It made them almost forget the disappointment of the soon-to-be dissolution of their sect.

    But very soon, the disappointment returned, and it was even greater than before. Even Yang Miaozhen felt it¡ªSo there¡¯s nothing special about us.

    The Qingyang temple could not be compared to the Myriad sect, but in the eyes of mortals, they were still transcendent immortals, supreme talents chosen from millions, yet when they gazed out here, there were basically cultivators everywhere. Who knew just how many of them there were. Standing among them, they did not feel special at all. Instead, they looked around in intrigue like a bunch of country bumpkins visiting a city for the first time.

    Lingxiaozi¡¯s shock lingered for a very long time without fading away. He murmured, ¡°Is this the place that that Li Qingshan rules over?¡±

    The Qingyang Master glanced at him and knew this disciple of his struggled to accept it. He said, ¡°The grand sect master of the Myriad sect manages the imperial study of the heavenly emperor, while the two sect masters have followed him to beyond the Nine Heavens. The grand sect master¡¯s mount, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, watches over the Pavilions of Heavenly Tomes and works on developing the Myriad Heavenly Tomes, so he never dabbles in any other affairs.¡±

    ¡°As a result, the various matters of the Myriad sect are split up between the direct disciples, which they discuss and agree on how to handle. As the leader of the direct disciples, Li Qingshan has authority to order all the direct disciples around. At the same time, during the battle of Black Cloud city, he forced back Demon God Taowu¡¯s embodiment, so all of the direct disciples owe him their lives. He possesses extremely great prestige, which is why you can say he rules this place.¡±

    When he mentioned the three sect masters, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, and even Li Qingshan, he clasped his hands at the sky. His voice was filled with reverence when he mentioned them.

    There was a saying that the older they got, the more cowardly they became. In reality, it was the higher their cultivation was, the more experienced they were, and the more they understood the significance behind many matters. As such, he did not find riding coattails through his connections embarrassing at all. Even lofty Yang Soul cultivators and direct disciples had only survived because of Li Qingshan, so what kind of pride was there for him to still cling onto?

    There was nothing that Lingxiaozi could say. He was completely dispirited.

    When stories ceased to be just stories, the storyteller would also lose the calmness they displayed when telling the stories.

    The Qingyang Master patted Lingxiaozi on the shoulder and continued towards the city. Gazing at the many cultivators, he thought, Looks like many people have the same plan in mind as me.

    Through the battle of Black Cloud city, the Myriad sect had lost half of their direct disciples. If it had been some other ordinary sect, they definitely would be greatly weakened. It would take them thousands of years at the very least to recover.

    However, the Myriad sect used the tremendous bestowments from the Desireless Heavenly Palace and their rich resources accumulated in the Hundred Herbs garden to open their doors and recruit en masse. It just happened to coincide with the emergence of the daemon star, so many smaller sects and independent cultivators made the same decision as the Qingyang Master. They ended up gathering a large number of people, such that their prosperity even exceeded before.

    Of course, the root of all this was the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    The Qingyang Master gazed over, only to see a building several thousand metres tall, piercing the clouds and looming over Myriad city imposingly. Despite that, it also seemed like it was about to float away in the wind.

    On the eastern foundations beneath the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was a stone wall several dozen metres across. The wall was flat and smooth, with only two large words engraved on top¡ªMyriad rankings. Under the glow of the sun, it presented several names.

    The name at the very top was Li Qingshan, above all other disciples.

    The Qingyang Master and his disciples gazed up at the stone wall for a while and could not help but become even more cordial towards Yang Miaozhen, constantly calling her senior sister or junior sister. The Qingyang Master stopped calling her Miaozhenzi, basically only ever referring to her as ¡°dear disciple¡± now.

    Yang Miaozhen felt extremely unnatural. She felt like the burden of the entire sect rested on her shoulders, waiting for her to meet with Li Qingshan. However, it was not that she was worried about whether he would consider their past¡ªhe valued his relationships far more than she had ever imagined. Instead, she was worried about how he would tease her when they did meet.

    Only Lingxiaozi stood in the distance silently as if he intentionally maintained his distance from her.

 Chapter 1623

    Right down the middle of Myriad city, there was a lofty hall only second to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes in height, connected to a large expanse of structures on the waist of the mountain, beautifully designed with an extraordinary style. The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes seemed to reach for the skies from below, while these structures seemed to gaze down with dignity.

    If the Myriad sect were a country, a country of cultivators, then Myriad city would be their capital city and these structures would be the centre of government, something similar to the forbidden city or the parliament, responsible for managing all affairs both inside the city and inside the country. It was called the Direct Disciple hall.

    As the name suggested, it was a hall for direct disciples. The Myriad sect was ruled jointly by the direct disciples, so their statuses went without saying. All of the affairs of the sect were handled there, including the disputes between direct disciples, which were all mediated there.

    In the main hall of the Direct Disciple hall, a female cultivator furrowed her brows as she wrote away rapidly.

    She wore a fine, reddish-violet dress, and her sleek, black hair was tied high up on her head, layered like clouds, contrasting against her snowy skin. She was definitely a rare beauty across the entire world, but her expression was also stern and dignified and her bearing was solemn and noble, giving her the aura of an empress.

    The long table before her just happened to lie along the middle of Myriad city as well as the Direct Disciple hall.

    She was the third senior sister in charge of the Direct Disciple hall, Dai Mengfan.

    That was because no matter who became the first senior brother, she would always be the third senior sister, so she was informally regarded as the eternal third senior sister, or perhaps teased by the direct disciples as number three for all eternity.

    If the first senior brother was the lord of the country, controlling the army and waging wars everywhere, then she was the chancellor, dealing with a myriad of matters every single day no matter how important or trivial. All of the internal matters of the sect were handled by her.

    ¡°Senior sister, the Qingyang Master of the Qingyang temple wishes to see you.¡±

    A disciple entered on tiptoes and said gently. Perhaps because there were far too many things to deal with, the third senior sister had become more and more short-tempered as of late, almost as if she was a different person. In the past, she had always been gentle and friendly, easygoing and extremely considerate in everyone¡¯s eyes, yet also possessing a sense of dignity and gravitas, such that no one dared to offend her. Yet now, all of her subordinates acted with utmost caution around her, afraid that the slightest action would set her off.

    ¡°Send him away!¡±

    Sure enough, Dai Mengfan did not even raise her head. Her tone was filled with impatience.

    All of the information about the Qingyang temple flashed through her head with a thought¡ªtheir origins, developments, current situation, and the sect master and primary disciples¡¯ names and cultivations. Everything was within her grasp. She reached a conclusion very soon¡ªWhat shitty Qingyang Master? He¡¯s just an old piece of trash who can¡¯t undergo the fifth heavenly tribulation even if he has three thousand years.

    However, the ¡°Lingxiaozi¡± and ¡°Miaozhenzi¡± under his tutelege were worthy of recruitment. In particular, it was said that Miaozhenzi had ascended from an extremely small world and reached the peak of Golden Core from early Foundation Establishment in a mere few decades.

    Because spiritual qi was very thin in small worlds and ascension was very difficult, her talent, disposition, and fortunes were all extremely outstanding. On top of that, she was a female cultivator too, which was worthy of notice.

    Normally, perhaps she would meet with them, but she was not in the mood anymore.

    Recently, more and more people like that appeared, all refusing to join the Myriad sect properly. They all thought highly of themselves as some master of some shitty temple and believed they deserved special treatment, so they all came here to bug her.

    However, upon considering the image of the Myriad sect, she added, ¡°You go meet with them instead! Be tactful.¡± Special treatment was impossible. The Myriad sect was not lacking inner disciples, much less any so-called geniuses.

    ¡°Yes.¡± the female disciple left with the order.

    However, Dai Mengfan¡¯s eyebrows became even more firmly locked as her gaze drifted about. She wrote away rapidly, but her attention did not seem to be on the document in front of her at all. Instead, she was thinking of something else¡­

    Actually, no matter how busy or difficult the affairs became, it was not too much of a problem for a Yang Soul cultivator to deal with them. Just a single thought from her surpassed three whole days and nights of pondering by so-called wise men among mortals.

    What truly troubled her was actually the same thing as the Qingyang Master. It was the incoming crisis of the world.

    Her position was higher than the Qingyang Master¡¯s. She was closer to the ¡°sky¡±, so she could see many more things¡ªshe had already caught the bloody scent of war, as well as the foul smell of death.

    With her talent and cultivation, she had already possessed the opportunity to become the ¡°first senior sister¡±, but the ¡°lord of the country¡± needed to preside over the battles in the Demon domain. It was exactly for distancing herself from war that she settled on being the ¡°prime minister¡± for all this time. She cherished herself. She cultivated arduously for longevity, not to throw her life at demonfolk.

    However, when it came to certain matters, it was useless no matter how clever she was. Once the crisis of the world arrived, even True Immortals would struggle to protect themselves, let alone a measly Yang Soul cultivator.

    Not to mention the fact that a True Immortal had already perished the moment the daemon star of misfortune, Yinghuo, emerged. Regular cultivators might not have been able to distinguish between the gods and the trichiliocosm, but she could.

    Back then, she watched the star erupt brightly with her own eyes before shooting across the sky and falling to the ground. Under her whirling thoughts, everything regarding it in her memories seemed so slow as if it fell inch by inch.

    And in the pitch-black depths of the sky, a scarlet star suddenly began to shine, which led to an entire night of nightmares for her.

    After that, she changed. Fear, anxiety hung over her head like a catastrophe. Her thoughts were also riddled with troubles that foolish men among mortals were unable to think through with three whole days and nights of pondering. She was like a gambler who owed a colossal debt with the creditor about to visit tomorrow with over a dozen lackeys, yet she was unable to produce a single cent.

    The atmosphere over the entire Myriad sect changed as well. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance closed the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. He stopped reading and stopped meeting with anyone.

    The direct disciples all began to cultivate desperately or gather arcane treasures and weapons for the crisis. More and more middle-sized and smaller sects wanted to merge with the Myriad sect.

    Strangely enough, beyond the Nine Heavens instead fell into silence. The stars all seemed to be stunned by the daemon star of misfortune, monetarily uncertain about how to respond, or perhaps they had a much deeper plan in mind.

    As a result, with Human Immortal as the boundary, the cultivators below all began to worry and seek out paths of survival, like ants right before a storm, desperately climbing up a tree. The gods, immortals, and emperors above instead became completely silent, so much so they refused to pass any orders. Who knew what they were planning with their slight understanding of the scarlet star that appeared in the sky.

    Within this confusion and silence, there seemed to be an invisible string being drawn. The moment it snapped was when everything before her eyes would collapse.

    And, there was a very ill omen that tormented her vaguely, as if something bad was about to happen to her very soon. Even worse, she was unable to verify whether this was just regular fear or if something was actually going to happen.

    All she could do was concentrate on the work before her eyes, clinging onto the hint of sensation of control over fate. Her scribbling right hand left behind a string of afterimages, filling up pages like a printer. Right when she felt like she was about to succeed, the female disciple from earlier entered again and immediately broke her train of thought.

    ¡°What now?¡± There was a hint of irritation in her voice.

    ¡°Third senior sister, the Qingyang Master has a female disciple who says she¡¯s an acquaintance of the first senior brother,¡± the female disciple said shakily.

    Dai Mengfan stopped writing and raised her head. ¡°Really now?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what he said.¡±

    ¡°Send them in¡­ hold on, I better meet with them myself!¡±

 Chapter 1624

    In a side hall beside the Direct Disciple hall, the Qingyang Master and the others were overwhelmed with flattery by Dai Mengfan¡¯s arrival. The aura she gave off basically reduced them to the ranks of vassals immediately, but they were also entirely overjoyed despite their predicament.

    If it were not for the fact that bowing and scraping on the ground was not a custom among cultivators, the disciples from the Qingyang temple basically would have knelt down on the ground and yelled out ¡°Long live Dai Mengfan¡± already like when mortals saw their emperor.

    Lingxiaozi could not help but secretly compare her against Yang Miaozhen, but he was forced to admit that the supreme charms of the master of the Direct Disciple hall had completely overwhelmed junior sister Miaozhen¡¯s glow. That was not an advantage in demeanour and bearing, but an intrinsic difference brought forth by the naked discrepancy in power. When he faced Yang Miaozhen, he was still able to develop some ulterior thoughts, but when he faced Dai Mengfan, he could not even raise his head. His mind blanked out. He did not even have the courage to have any other thoughts about her.

    ¡°Senior¡­¡± The Qingyang Master clasped his hands and bowed in excitement as he lamented over the power behind Li Qingshan¡¯s name. It was actually enough to make the master of the Direct Disciple hall herself meet with them.

    Dai Mengfan basically did not even spare a second glance at him. She raised her right hand slowly, and the Qingyang Master immediately shut up, standing to one side quietly. However, everything seemed so natural, without any sense of rudeness, like a senior signalling at a junior.

    From the moment she entered, Dai Mengfan¡¯s eyes were glued to Yang Miaozhen. She praised inside, What a beauty! She immediately became convinced that she was closely connected to the first senior brother. She signalled her over and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re Yang Miaozhen?¡±

    ¡°You know me, senior?¡± Yang Miaozhen could not help but walk over. She felt flattered as well.

    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve heard much about everyone from the Qingyang temple, especially fellow Qingyang.¡± Dai Mengfan glanced past everyone before looking at Yang Miaozhen again. ¡°Calling me senior would be too distant. Since you want to join the Myriad sect, junior sister, you can just call me senior sister from now onwards.¡±

    Everyone else could not help but sigh enviously, shifting their gaze over to Yang Miaozhen.

    ¡°S- senior sister.¡± Yang Miaozhen¡¯s heart thumped away as her cheeks heated up and turned red. It took all of her effort to maintain her composure and avoid being drawn away by this extraordinarily charming and amiable senior sister Dai.

    ¡°Junior sister, you can be a formal disciple for now so that you can adjust to the environment of the Myriad sect. What do you think about that?¡± Dai Mengfan grabbed Yang Miaozhen¡¯s hands gently and spoke like she was asking for her opinion.

    ¡°This, my cultivation doesn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯ll be that.¡±

    The Myriad sect used personal contribution as a method of ranking, instead of personal cultivation, but normally, only third heavenly tribulation Soul Nascence cultivators could become formal disciples. After all, without that level of cultivation, it was impossible for them to make such a large contribution. However, these rules could be flexibly adjusted by Dai Mengfan. She could make up for the contribution slowly, and she could also make up for the cultivation slowly!

    Since she was the first senior brother¡¯s ¡°acquaintance¡±, then of course, she had to take good care of her as his junior sister, basically doing some good for him too. Perhaps it might even be enough to save her life in the future! If it were not for the fact that she had to consider Chao Tianjiao¡¯s feelings who was beyond the Nine Heavens, she was basically tempted to become the first senior brother¡¯s ¡°acquaintance¡± as well. He had probably become even more reliable now!

    Probably no one in the Myriad sect had ever imagined that their imposing and dignified third senior sister actually had such ¡°vulgar¡± thoughts, but to her, all that mattered was living. Her very objective of cultivation was for longevity. If she could not live on, then everything else was irrelevant. If she was the one who had been trapped in the demonic cocoon of chaos back then in Cold Blood pass, she probably would have fallen as a Demon Sovereign immediately.

    Only the Qingyang Master had suddenly realised that the lofty master of the Direct Disciple hall was no different from him, also doing her best to earn the first senior brother Li Qingshan¡¯s favour.

    The storm was imminent. All of the weak were desperately trying to seek shelter under the wings of the strong. However, in the crisis, just who could be considered as absolutely strong? Perhaps Li Qingshan was one of them.

    Only after making all of the arrangements for Yang Miaozhen did Dai Mengfan welcome everyone else from the Qingyang temple and hold a friendly conversation with the Qingyang Master.

    They did not talk for long, but it was very successful. In only a few words, the Qingyang Master received treatment he was mostly satisfied with, leaving everyone content.

    ¡°All disciples¡­¡±

    At this moment, a voice cold like ice yet also mighty like the oceans rang out from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, spreading outwards from the very top of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and dispersing the waves of clouds, reaching every corner of Myriad city. All of the cultivators there shuddered and listened closely.

    The bustling Myriad city immediately fell silent as if they were acknowledging the true ruler of this city.

    Within the Direct Disciple hall, Dai Mengfan was surprised as well. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had actually spoken, and he was directly talking to everyone in such an outspoken manner. This was definitely unprecedented in the history of the Myriad sect.

    Had the grand sect master from beyond the Nine Heavens passed an order? Or had the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance found something regarding the future fate of the Myriad sect?

    Regardless of that, it was definitely related to the daemon star of misfortune and the crisis of the world!

    ¡°The disciple of the Myriad sect, Li Qingshan, has betrayed the sect and fallen into the demonic path. From this moment onwards, he is expelled from the sect and stripped of all statuses and possessions in the sect¡­¡±

    The details of the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s message was even more shocking than his voice.

    The Direct Disciple hall fell silently. Everyone was stunned.

    Dai Mengfan widened her eyes. A very ill omen basically screamed out in her heart.

    ¡°Dai Mengfan will take over the position of the direct disciple instead and be given the authority over all matters within the sect, whilst continuing as the master of the Direct Disciple hall. She will also lead the Xuanwu army and the Scorching Fire army. That is all.¡±

    The exact thing she feared had happened. Dai Mengfan spat out a single word uncontrollably, ¡°Fuck!¡±

    The nearby Yang Miaozhen glanced at her in disbelief.

    ¡°You wait here.¡±

    Dai Mengfan left that behind and turned into a streak of violet light, flying towards the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    The Qingyang Master had no idea how to respond. He said with difficulty, ¡°What do they mean by that? Miaozhenzi, why would he give up on being the first senior brother and fall into the demonic path instead?¡±

    ¡°Dear disciple¡± turned back into ¡°Miaozhenzi¡± as well, while the disciples of the Qingyang temple could not help but distance themselves from her slightly, emptying out her surroundings. Lingxiaozi hesitated and did not approach her either.

    Before Dai Mengfan left, she told them to wait here, but she clearly was only looking at Yang Miaozhen.

    For some reason, Yang Miaozhen did not feel worried. Instead, she wanted to laugh a little. She murmured to herself, ¡°That man is just like this!¡±

    Very soon, Dai Mengfan returned. Despite being the newly-appointed first senior sister, there was no sign of joy on her face. Instead, her face was completely sunken, yet she was also absolutely dejected like she had just suffered a great defeat. She gazed at Yang Miaozhen uneasily as if she had no idea what to do with her.

    The other disciples of the Qingyang temple could not help but move even further away from her, afraid of being dragged down into this mess.

    The Qingyang Master could only sigh about getting more than he bargained for, but he had already achieved his objective. With Dai Mengfan¡¯s status, she probably would not change her mind on it.

    Lingxiaozi wanted to stand forward, but where was he supposed to find that courage before Dai Mengfan¡¯s terrifying pressure? He just stood there and stared at his toes like a child who had done something wrong.

    Yang Miaozhen instead became more composed. She smiled. ¡°Congratulations, first senior sister.¡±

    Lingxiaozi raised his head and gazed over in surprise. At that moment, even Dai Mengfan was unable to drown out her faint glow anymore. She was even able to contend against her fairly, without losing the upper hand.

 Chapter 1625

    A while earlier, Dai Mengfan barged into the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, but what she saw astounded her.

    The neat bookshelves that were usually cleaned spotless now laid messily on the ground. Millions of books piled up to form a mountain.

    At the top of the mountain, a ray of sunlight poured down, with dust dancing around in the light. An old man in black stood with his head lowered, reading a book. He read page by page as if he was reading very slowly.

    ¡°Greetings, spirit reverend!¡± Dai Mengfan was determined to reject her appointment to first senior sister, but before she could even mention it, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°This is an order.¡±

    ¡°What if I refuse?¡± Dai Mengfan raised her head and glared at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance furiously. She did not want to become some annoying first senior sister and throw her life at the demonfolk.

    ¡°So you plan on betraying the sect as well?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance glanced up at her.

    Under the gaze of his deep, silent eyes, Dai Mengfan¡¯s anger suddenly vanished as if it had been swallowed by icy-cold seawater. She lowered her head and clasped her hands. ¡°I would never.¡±

    She understood very well that if she refused his order here, she probably would not be leaving the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes again.

    In the eyes of the nobodies from the Qingyang temple, she was a figure of great significance, beyond their reach, but in the Myriad sect, even direct disciples were nothing but replaceable and dispensable. As for the entire cultivation community, they were of even less importance.

    She did not have the courage to reject a powerful Human Immortal. She did not even have the courage to flee from the Myriad sect. Now that the crisis of the world was imminent, the Myriad sect was the only thing she could rely on.

    Even when Yang Soul cultivators stood at the apex of all cultivators, they were still just cultivators.

    If they could not become Human Immortals, it would be all for nothing.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance lowered his gaze and said nothing more. He only waved his hand. As a result, she obediently pissed off back to the Direct Disciple hall and became the first senior sister of the Myriad sect.

    Now when she heard the words ¡°first senior sister¡±, a vein popped on Dai Mengfan¡¯s forehead, and her anger suddenly erupted, glaring straight at Yang Miaozhen as if she wanted to eat her.

    In a short while, she seemed to have become a completely different person. Just earlier, she was as enthusiastic and warm as the height of spring, but now, she had become as cold and bitter as the harsh winter. The malicious aura she gave off immediately filled the entire hall, stunning everyone present. They deeply experienced the power and horrors of a Yang Soul cultivator at the very peak.

    Only Yang Miaozhen was unfazed. Within her indifference, she gave off a sense of resolve and staunchness.

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She felt like she saw ¡°that man¡¯s¡± shadow. She could not help but hold back on her aura a little, but the atmosphere only became more serious. ¡°Impressive composure, junior sister!¡±

    ¡°The likes of us never should have possessed so many selfish and unnecessary thoughts.¡±

    Yang Miaozhen glanced past everyone from the Qingyang temple with her hazy eyes. Including the Qingyang Master, no one dared to meet her gaze. In the end, she looked back at Dai Mengfan and smiled. ¡°And, someone has once taught me that the path of cultivation is to advance valiantly without a fear for death.¡±

    ¡°Then do you know what are the consequences of developing ties with the Demon domain in the Human realm?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always focused on cultivation without dabbling in these matters.¡±

    ¡°Considering the fact that you¡¯re quite a talent, I¡¯ll ask you again. What is your relationship with Li Qingshan?¡±

    Yang Miaozhen answered indifferently, ¡°An acquaintance, as well as the father to my child.¡±

    ¡°I have no other choice then.¡± Dai Mengfan shrugged and ordered resolutely, ¡°Take her away!¡±

    However, apart from the people from the Qingyang temple, there were no other disciples of the Myriad sect in the hall. She eyed up the Qingyang Master.

    Sweat trickled down the Qingyang Master¡¯s back. He felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

    Dai Mengfan squinted her eyes slightly. ¡°Are you also on good terms with Li Qingshan?¡±

    ¡°Of course not! Senior sister, of course not!¡± The Qingyang Master shook his head rapidly. ¡°Li Qingshan has betrayed humanity and fallen as a demonfolk. He should be hunted down for everyone. I only wish to tear this damned traitor of humanity to pieces, so how can I be on any terms with him?¡±

    He was well aware that they could massacre entire cities and refine souls in the Human realm, and no one would necessarily care as long as they did not get in the way of other cultivators.

    However, if they became involved with the Demon domain, even if they had only done so under coercion or deception, they would definitely face judgment from the Desireless Heavenly Palace, either ordering major sects to hunt them down or directly sending the divine generals of the Six Ding or the Six Jia into the Human realm, not only killing them for good, but obliterating their souls as well so that they could never be reborn.

    As for those cultivators who fell into the Demon domain, they would be labelled as traitors of humanity, even more despicable than demonfolk themselves. Even if they could not punish the person themselves, everyone that was connected to them would suffer in the process. On the lighter end of the scale, they would have their paths of cultivation severed, while the heavier end involved death, sending them back into rebirth.

    This was why even Dai Mengfan, despite becoming the first senior sister already, tried her best to draw a clear line between her and Li Qingshan.

    Dai Mengfan furrowed her brows. ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Aren¡¯t you a disciple of the Myriad sect?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± The Qingyang Master accepted the order and approached Yang Miaozhen.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡°Clang¡­ clang¡­ clang¡­¡±

    Myriad city sank into deathly silence. No one had managed to recover from their shock yet as if they had all been frozen in place at the same time. Suddenly, the Direct Disciple hall rang its bell and gathered all the direct disciples for a discussion. Everyone else was ushered out.

    Immediately, streaks of light shot across the sky, all landing in the Direct Disciple hall.

    With a whoosh, everyone had been thawed again, and Myriad city immediately seemed to explode. All of the cultivators discussed loudly. Their voices filled the air.

    The first senior brother of the Myriad sect had fallen into the Demon domain. This was basically a tremendous scandal, but also a thrilling event that was completely unheard of. Was this perhaps a premonition of the crisis of the world?

    Within the Direct Disciple hall, the formation was activated, and the doors were firmly shut.

    The direct disciples all took their seats according to their ordering on the Myriad rankings. They all furrowed their brows and sat in silence as if they were still digesting this overly-startling piece of news.

    Dai Mengfan sat seriously at the very front. ¡°Junior brothers and sisters, is there anything you¡¯d like to say?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan couldn¡¯t have fallen into the Demon domain!¡± A soft and gentle voice rang out from a corner, but it was filled with immoveable confidence. ¡°There must be some kind of misunderstanding.¡±

    Dai Mengfan gazed over, only to see a woman in bamboo-green clothes with long, inky-black hair sitting there quietly, except she was rather emotional.

    ¡°Junior sister Ruan, are you saying that the spirit reverend is wrong?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu lowered her head, pinching the corner of her clothes without saying anything.

    Dai Mengfan stood up. ¡°Since no one has anything to say, then listen up!¡±

    ¡°Where is Pi Yangqiu?¡±

    ¡°I am present.¡±

    ¡°Under the spirit reverend¡¯s orders, the Department of Heavenly Dwellings will be taking back the Xuaming dwelling immediately.¡±

    ¡°You want me to breach the formation?¡± Pi Yangqiu furrowed his brows heavily. He had quite the relationship with Li Qingshan. In the past, he had personally handed the formation disc of the Xuanming dwelling to Li Qingshan.

    Dwellings were the lifeblood of cultivators. Not only were they the treasured land they usually cultivated in, it often stored all of their possessions as well, so it would definitely be protected by a great formation, as they could not afford to lose it. How could it just be taken back so easily? He would definitely have to breach the formation. However, something like that was almost equivalent to the searching and confiscation of someone¡¯s home in the mortal world. It would definitely lead to a tremendous grievance, one that could only be settled with death.

    ¡°Along with all the possessions in the dwelling.¡±

    .

    ¡°First senior sister, I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have the ability.¡± Pi Yangqiu absolutely refused to develop a grievance with Li Qingshan. He had probably become a Heretic God already.

    ¡°Are you betraying the sect as well?¡± Dai Mengfan stared into his eyes with a sneer.

    Pi Yangqiu shivered inside and said nothing more.

    The terrifying question made all of the direct disciples widen their eyes. The atmosphere immediately became as solemn as stone, even giving off a hint of bloodiness.

    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be nervous. That¡¯s what the spirit reverend said to me earlier.¡± Dai Mengfan smiled self-deprecatingly. ¡°You¡¯re all welcome to consider whether you want to obey or betray the sect.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu was forced to leave with the order.

    ¡°Where is Leng Yuan?¡±

    ¡°I am present.¡±

    ¡°Under the spirit reverend¡¯s orders, the Department of Law and Punishment is to investigate all disciples in the sect with close relationship with Li Qingshan and order them to draw a clear line between them and Li Qingshan.¡±

    ¡°How do you want them to draw a clear line?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s your problem.¡±

    Leng Yuan accepted the order and backed away.

    ¡°Where is Ruan Yaozhu?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu stood up gracefully and arrived in the centre of the hall. Her expression was still rather lost. ¡°I¡¯m present.¡±

    ¡°That mount of his, the phoenix called Li Fengyuan, is cultivating in your Hundred Herbs garden, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Under the spirit reverend¡¯s orders, the Hundred Herbs garden is to capture Li Fengyuan immediately!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Ruan Yuanzhu lowered her head silently.

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s heart softened. She tried to persuade her gently, ¡°Piece of wood, I¡¯ll give you three days. You better not let Li Fengyuan go! Humans and demons can never coexist. You must draw a clear line between you and him, or even I won¡¯t be able to help you!¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡±

 Chapter 1626

    In the Hundred Herbs garden, beneath the bodhi tree.

    A spirited, handsome young man laid on his side. He propped up his head with his right hand, while his left hand was placed flat before him. The light, soft silken kasaya of ochre yellow glowed down from his body like water. He seemed extremely relaxed and at ease.

    His rosy cheeks gave off an aura of gentleness and peace as if he was sleeping soundly, yet he also seemed as if he was deep in thought, filled with a buddhist aura.

    Suddenly, a breeze filled his face.

    With a rustle, the shadow of the tree danced about, casting golden light everywhere. The entire tree full of golden leaves clashed together, producing a slight, metallic thrum.

    A gentle voice said, ¡°You need to leave here immediately.¡±

    After almost two or three seconds, Li Fengyuan finally opened his eyes as if he had just woken up from an extremely deep dream. He saw Ruan Yaozhu, except his expression was still rather misty, like it was hidden behind some fog.

    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡±

    Before he could respond, a streak of colourful light shot over, landing on the hill gently and turning into a white deer. The deer¡¯s antlers glistened like coral, while her fur shone with mottled colour. She was Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s mount, the nine-coloured deer.

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er, don¡¯t butt in this.¡± Ruan Yaozhu waved her hand and rebuked her gently.

    The nine-coloured deer took a step forward and stood in front of Li Fengyuang. ¡°You piece of wood, you¡¯re the one who shouldn¡¯t so something so foolish! I¡¯ve already heard it. Li Qingshan has already defected to the Demon domain. You¡¯re too deeply involved with him. If you let this kid go now, then you¡¯ll really be in too deep. Even expelling you from the sect would be a light punishment. Your life might even be in danger!¡±

    She turned to Li Fengyuan and said, ¡°Kid, I quite like you, but your father has always acted with absurdity. Given the situation, we can¡¯t help you either.¡±

    Li Fengyuan nodded with a smile. ¡°My father has always been a great bastard. There¡¯s nothing strange about him defecting to the Demon domain.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°No, there must be some kind of misunderstanding! He might not be a good person, but he¡¯ll never take the side of demonfolk. He must have been captured by a Demon God. We need to find a way to save him¡­¡± However, her voice gradually fell off. She understood very well that she was incapable of barging into the Demon domain and saving anybody. However, if she did nothing, how could she find peace?

    The nine-coloured deer widened her eyes as if she was looking at a fool. ¡°I think you¡¯re the one who needs saving. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s judgment can¡¯t be wrong. How can there be any misunderstanding? The Heavenly Tome of Liberty he practises has always been a demonic art. Even back then outside Black Cloud city, he was exchanging secret glances with Demon God Taowu. Now, he¡¯s probably gotten sick of all the rules up in the heavens and run off to the Demon domain as a Heretic God.¡±

    Li Fengyuan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s very possible. He always does whatever he wants.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer nodded in agreement. ¡°I couldn¡¯t normally tell, but you¡¯re quite sensible when you need to be.¡±

    ¡°You too, you too.¡± ¡°You flatter me.¡±

    ¡°Both of you, shut up!¡± Ruan Yaozhu was already in emotional turmoil. She could no longer stand how they chimed in on the same tune anymore. ¡°Li Fengyuan, I expel you from the Hundred Herbs garden right now as the master of the Hundred Herbs garden. You must leave immediately.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t leave.¡± Li Fengyuan shook his head. ¡°If I leave, wouldn¡¯t I be getting you into trouble?

    ¡°I have my plans!¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t go! Ah, let go of me!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer even tried to stop him, so Ruan Yaozhu went up and grabbed her antlers. Tender vines extended out from her green sleeves, trapping her firmly in place.

    Li Fengyuan sat up and extended his arms up forcefully to stretch. ¡°I can¡¯t leave.¡± Then he raised his head as if he had sensed something before he said seriously, ¡°And I won¡¯t be able to leave even if I try to.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer continued to struggle, wanting to butt Ruan Yaozhu with her antlers. Hearing that, Ruan Yaozhu immediately shut her eyes and circulated the Heavenly Tome of Nature.

    Immediately, all of the plants within several dozen kilometres of her became her eyes and ears. She immediately discovered a person lurking in the depths of the ocean near the Hundred Herbs garden. e.4887

    With a thought, she controlled the nearby seagrasses to ensnare the person, so he immediately erupted with sharp sword qi, reducing the seagrass to shred and killing them all.

    ¡°Senior brother Wan!¡± She immediately recognised the sword qi.

    Wan Jianfeng practised the Heavenly Tome of Sword Control. He was the only sword cultivator among the direct disciples, which meant he was extremely skilled in battle. When it came to individual battles, very few of the direct disciples were his opponent.

    Ruan Yaozhu glanced at Li Fengyuan in surprise and thought, Senior brother Wan¡¯s swordsmanship is almost divine. He¡¯s already reached the realm of a hidden edge, such that he himself dulls. Even I failed to sense him, yet he could. Sure enough, he¡¯s a natural spirit!

    She could not help but furrow her brows firmly. If it was only Wan Jianfeng, she could try and keep him busy for a moment, but given the kind of person that senior brother Wan was, he would never be willing to sneak around like this. He must have received orders. She could not help but look in the direction of Myriad city. ¡°Senior sister Dai!¡±

    At the same time, in the Direct Disciple hall.

    The direct disciples all received their orders and dispersed. From this tall building, Dai Mengfan also gazed in the direction of the Hundred Herbs garden, ready to support Wan Jianfeng at any moment. She had known Ruan Yaozhu for many years, so she understood what kind of person she was. She was gentle on the exterior but staunch on the interior, possessing indomitable will. She would probably let Li Fengyuan go.

    That was why she immediately sent Wan Jianfeng to lay in hiding near the Hundred Herbs garden after Ruan Yaozhu had left the Direct Disciple hall so that he could take down Li Fengyuan as soon as he left.

    And, she had already made up her mind. If she could not capture him alive, she would rather have him killed than let him escape.

    She was reluctant to offend Li Qingshan, but Li Qingshan was nowhere to be seen after all. Li Fengyuan was simply too important, far more than Yang Miaozhen.

    The relationships in the cultivation community were different from the secular world. Master and disciple surpassed father and son, fellow disciples were closer than siblings, while cultivation partners surpassed husband and wife.

    Yang Miaozhen was merely Li Qingshan¡¯s lover. Letting her go was not particularly important. As long as she was willing to draw a clear line between her and Li Qingshan, she could even remain in the Myriad sect and continue as a formal disciple.

    However, a mount and a master shared the same lifespan and went through thick and thin together. In terms of their closeness, they even surpassed master and disciple, cultivation partner and cultivation partner. They could almost be viewed as one entity.

    On top of that, he was a phoenix.

    The Demon domain had never been under the jurisdiction of the underworld. If she allowed a phoenix to return to Li Qingshan¡¯s side, that was equivalent to giving him a limitless lifespan. He might become a Demon God one day.

    Now that the daemon star of misfortune had emerged and the crisis of the world was imminent, the war against the Demon domain loomed over all of them. It was the most sensitive and tense moment of the situation. Li Qingshan¡¯s betrayal had already left the Myriad sect in an extremely miserable spot. If something like that happened as well, the Desireless Heavenly Palace would never spare anyone related. By then, it would not just be the matter of a few people. The entire Myriad sect and even the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would face punishment.

    At this moment, a wisp of sword qi flew into the pavilion. Wan Jianfeng sent her a message.

    ¡°First senior sister, junior sister Ruan has already discovered me. Do you want me to take action immediately and capture the phoenix?¡±

    ¡°Keep watching. I¡¯ll give her three days.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Wan Jianfeng was rather reluctant to go forward with all of this, but he did not dare to disobey her given the general situation. He just released countless strands of sword qi like he was venting, slicing apart all the seagrass within several dozen kilometres. He leapt onto a protruding rock and placed his sword on his back, standing with his hands behind him.

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s lips curled into a smile. Suddenly, she did not find that being the first senior sister was all bad.

    These direct disciples were all proud and aloof, especially Wan Jianfeng. He recognised no one. In the past, he did not particularly respect her despite being the third senior sister, but now, he obeyed every single order from her. He was at her beck and call.

    She could not help but look down at her right hand¡ªher skin was fair and her fingers were slender. She closed it gently. This was the taste of authority. It was far sweeter than she had ever imagined!

    Relying on oneself was always better than relying on others. What Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance or Li Qingshan? They were all unreliable. She could only rely on herself.

    Before she knew it, she gained a hint of dominance, glancing in the direction of the Hundred Herbs garden again. She thought, Piece of wood, oh piece of wood, this is all I can do to help you. If you obediently let that Li Fengyuan leave the Hundred Herbs garden, I¡¯ll treat it as you handing him over to junior brother Wan. If you want to be obstinate, don¡¯t blame me for showing no mercy!

 Chapter 1627

    Boom!

    The wave was smashed to pieces, sending splashes everywhere.

    Wan Jianfeng burst out of the ocean and no longer hid his aura, allowing sword qi to rush into the skies, slice through the seas, and execute the clouds. He was like a divine sword placed on Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s slender, fair neck. He did not possess any killing intent, but it was still chilling.

    ¡°Junior sister, I don¡¯t want this either. You shouldn¡¯t only focus on your personal feelings of love and ignore the greater good of the sect. You should make a decision soon. Don¡¯t make me waste time here!¡±

    Immediately, bleak sword intent filled the Hundred Herbs garden, kicking up a shivering gust of wind and making the countless spiritual plants and flowers curl up. The bodhi tree rustled in response.

    Many disciples were currently working in the garden. They suddenly felt like they were about to face a powerful enemy, which made them straighten up and look around, like rabbits on a prairie searching for the traces of wolves.

    ¡°What powerful sword intent!¡± Li Fengyuan said in praise.

    He was the most powerful sword cultivator Li Fengyuan had witnessed in his life. An entire major realm of cultivation separated them. He was not his opponent right now.

    However, he was still unfazed and fearless, which made the nine-coloured deer on the side admire his courage. This kid really is that guy¡¯s son. He¡¯s just as bold and daring as him. e.48e87

    With the sword extended, winds rushed past, making the grasses bend. Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s hair drifted in the air too. She shut her eyes and furrowed her brows, murmuring, ¡°Personal feeling of love, the greater good of the sect.¡±

    The ten words were like a bombshell. It was as if someone had divulged the secrets in her heart in a single sentence, which made her tremble.

    She was unable to deceive herself and say there was absolutely no personal feelings of love involved at all.

    She did not fear Wan Jianfeng¡¯s edge, nor was she fazed by Dai Mengfan¡¯s identity, but she could not neglect the kindness the sect had shown her by nurturing her, the friendship between senior brothers and sisters, and the greater good of punishing the demons and protecting the orthodoxy.

    If Li Qingshan really had defected to the Demon domain, everything she did right now would be assisting the demonfolk, not only bringing disgrace to the countless seniors that had sacrificed themselves on the battlefield in the Demon domain, but also harming who knew how many more people.

    She was different from Dai Mengfan. She was not so absorbed over the concept of living. She could ignore her personal interests, but she could not ignore the greater good.

    She was not afraid of dying, but she was afraid of harming others.

    For a moment, she entered an extremely great conflict inside, which made her let go of the nine-coloured deer.

    The nine-coloured deer prodded her gently with her antlers as an expression of retaliation before telling Li Fengyuan complacently, ¡°Kid, you can¡¯t leave now!¡±

    ¡°I never planned on leaving.¡±

    Li Fengyuan gazed at Ruan Yaozhu seriously, waiting for her to make her decision, but he paid no concern to his own safety. He also had a decision to make¡ªregarding the greater good, regarding trust, regarding sacrifice, regarding Li Qingshan.

    ¡°You, however, can go now.¡± The nine-coloured deer glanced at Ruan Yaozhu and knew it was impossible to make her capture Li Fengyuan, so she could only tell him to leave.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Li Fengyuan immediately stood up. Without any hesitation, he turned into a glorious phoenix and soared off with a cry, but he did not flee, instead receiving Wan Jianfeng in battle.

    At this moment, Ruan Yaozhu suddenly opened her eyes. She had already made up her mind. She raised her hand high in the air and released waves of jade-green light, illuminating the sky and seemingly turning it into jade. Countless profound glyphs and intersecting networks faded into existence, blocking all of the sword qi outside.

    The phoenix rebounded mid-air as well, which made him glance back at her. He was rather shocked too. He was aware that she had already activated the formation and completely sealed up the Hundred Herbs garden. That was equivalent to breaking off from the Myriad sect and confirming her relationship with Li Qingshan, implicating her as well. Even the lightest of punishments would be expulsion.

    ¡°Since I promised that I would protect you, I definitely won¡¯t go back on my word!¡± Ruan Yaozhu gazed at the sky. ¡°And I believe he would never fall as a demonfolk!¡±

    Li Fengyuan suddenly felt rather sorry to see all this, as he understood the origins of the daemon star of misfortune better than anyone else¡ªhe had not just fallen as a demonfolk. He was basically a demon among demons, the source of all trouble!

    Her hopes were bound to fall through.

    ¡°Let me go. You can¡¯t protect me.¡± The phoenix circled in the air and advised her gently. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    The Hundred Herbs garden was not a dwelling¡ªthe master of the Hundred Herbs garden was only the manager, not the owner. The core authority over the formation did not lay in Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s hands. Instead, it was under the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s direct control.

    And it did not matter even if she possessed the core authority. Could a single formation hold off the entire Myriad sect?

    That was unless she used all the plants in the garden as ¡°hostages¡±, leaving the Myriad sect wary and with second thoughts about breaching the formation, as it would completely destroy the garden if they did not. However, she would rather die than do something like that.

    As a result, there would be no change to the outcome. Once the Myriad sect struck, he would still struggle to escape, while she would be dragged down with him for nothing.

    However, Ruan Yaozhu said, ¡°Whether I can protect you or not depends on others, but whether I try to protect you or not is up to me. If I can protect you for a day, that¡¯s a day. If I can protect you for a moment, that¡¯s a moment.¡±

    She was like bamboo¡ªthin and slender but would rather snap than bend.

    At this moment, the nine-coloured deer leaned over and nudged her gently with her head.

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. Do you really think I don¡¯t understand you? I just knew it would turn out like this! Sigh, this is a tribulation of attachments! A tribulation of attachments!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu smiled. ¡°Perhaps it is!¡±

    ¡°So be it. If it wasn¡¯t for him, we all would have died under Black Cloud city already. Let¡¯s just say this is a life for a life! However, if you¡¯re going to tell me to go, I¡¯m really going to get angry!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll never leave each other.¡± Ruan Yaozhu rubbed the nine-coloured deer¡¯s head gently.

    Li Fengyuan sighed in amazement from the bottom of his heart. ¡°My first father might be a huge bastard, but he still has an eye for women!¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu did not respond to that verbally. She pressed down with her hand gently, and Li Fengyuan immediately plummeted towards the ground, landing in a bush of thorns, leaving him crying out in pain.

    Outside the Hundred Herbs garden, Wan Jianfeng dismissed the sword intent and communicated with Dai Mengfan, ¡°What now?¡±

    ¡°Sigh, we have been senior and junior sisters after all, so let¡¯s give her another three days!¡± However, Dai Mengfan summoned another direct disciple and ordered, ¡°Junior brother Ren, go and find that Shen Yushu.¡±

    ¡°Shen Yushu!¡± Ren Aoyou furrowed his brows heavily in complete disdain.

    Shen Yushu was similar to Ruan Yaozhu. They both practised the Heavenly Tome of Nature. Before Li Qingshan arrived in the Myriad sect, he had remained in the Hundred Herbs garden the entire time as the head caretaker. Afterwards, he came into conflict with Li Qingshan and had lost his body during their duel, expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden. After Li Qingshan became the first senior brother, he was completely expelled from the Myriad sect.

    Dai Mengfan had actually specially summoned someone like that. For what?

    Thinking up to there, he suddenly realised something and glanced in the direction of the Hundred Herbs garden. He furrowed his brows even further. ¡°Do we really have to do this?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to ruin our relationship either, but if junior sister Ruan insists on defying orders, how can I leave a traitor in charge of the Hundred Herbs garden?¡±

    ¡°Traitor!?¡± Ren Aoyou was infuriated. He glared at Dai Mengfan. He had always treated Ruan Yaozhu as a younger sister, and Dai Mengfan was clearly even closer to Ruan Yaozhu than he was usually. She actually turned against her so mercilessly.

    ¡°Do you have a better way to refer to her?¡± Dai Mengfan also felt like she had overspoken, but she said in discontent, ¡°Are you going to defy orders as well?¡±

    ¡°I would never.¡±

    Ren Aoyou lowered his head deeply, but before he left, he left behind a cold message. ¡°Hopefully, you can be just as imposing if you face Li Qingshan, first senior sister!¡±

 Chapter 1628

    Dai Mengfan shivered inside.

    The sky was darkening. The red sun had already sunken into the ocean, but the western sky continued to blaze with red.

    Suddenly, she found the sea wind at dusk to be slightly more chilly, which reminded her of the sharp cold winds outside Black Cloud city, the terrifying Demon God, his figure directly facing the Demon God, and the tremendous calls of hundreds of thousand soldiers¡ªLi Qingshan!

    Strangely enough, she had gone through so many hair-raising and heart-stirring moments that day, but it all became a blur. Only this sight was firmly embedded in her mind with deep colours. Perhaps it was better to say that it was exactly because that sight had left far too deep of an impression on her that everything else became blurred.

    ¡°Face Li Qingshan? Don¡¯t kid with me!¡±

    Dai Mengfan shook her head. The reason why she was bold enough to completely follow the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s orders was because she had calculated that it was impossible for Li Qingshan to return to the Human realm. If he did, the Desireless Heavenly Palace would immediately send the Divine Generals of the Six Ding and Six Jia to exterminate him, or they might even directly send a True Immortal.

    Even if Li Qingshan infiltrated Myriad city, there was still the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance watching over the entire place. Coupled with the defensive formation around the sect, even Heretic Gods would struggle to escape with their lives intact.

    The only time when they would meet again would probably be on the battlefield in the Demon domain.

    But according to her understanding, the demonfolk carried out a full-scale retreat, giving up large swathes of territory. Countless monks from the Pure Land sect were mobilised to purify the demonic land, recovering the lost land. With their respective retreat and advance, there would not be any major battles occurring any time soon.

    She had become the first senior sister already anyway, so compared to being constantly filled with fear, she was better off just giving it her all and using her identity to obtain as many resources as possible so that she could reach Human Immortal as soon as possible. By then, when the crisis of the world arrived, she would be capable of preserving her life to a certain extent. Even if she ran into Li Qingshan again, she could protect herself or even fend him off!

    No, forget about that. I better just keep my distance from him!

    The sight of Li Qingshan facing the Demon God crossed her head again, and she immediately dismissed the thought of facing him in battle.

    The statuses of Human Immortals were noble and valued. They could not be compared to Heretic Gods. How could they throw delicate pieces of china at clay tiles? c.4887

    In short, no matter how vicious and ferocious Li Qingshan was, he was like a tiger locked in a cage, incapable of touching a hair on her.

    With that in mind, she gradually relaxed and let out another complacent smile. She sneered.

    ¡°Hmph, so you like being a demonfolk, do you?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    In the Hundred Herbs garden, Li Fengyuan returned to beneath the bodhi tree. Ruan Yaozhu had already left there.

    The red clouds were smothered out, and the sky darkened. The garden was devoid of any human activity. The wind stirred the plants, making them rustle.

    Before she had returned to her dwelling, she expelled all the disciples in the garden, just in case she implicated them too.

    He could tell that these disciples all respected her very much. Many of them knelt down and begged her not to do this. Basically all of them shed tears, like they were parting for good. Others glared at him viciously, filled with hostility.

    She shed tears as well, but whether it was because she was stubborn or because she was foolish, she had never been a person who changed her mind easily.

    Li Fengyuan caressed the coarse trunk of the bodhi tree and could not help but let out a sigh. She was destined to suffer for this choice.

    But in this world, was she the only one who suffered? Just how much pain and suffering was the person that she trusted and placed her hopes in going through?

    ¡°All living creatures suffer!¡±

    The sun set and the stars rose, twinkling away in the sky. Li Fengyuan gazed at the scarlet star on the horizon.

    ¡°First father, since you¡¯ve already made this choice, choosing to burden yourself with the suffering of the living creatures, let me lend you a hand!¡±

    As a result, he shook off his kasaya and crossed his legs under the bodhi tree again, bringing his palms together solemnly.

    He slowly shut his eyes and fog began to curl before his eyes again. He flapped his wings fervently.

    Immediately, he pulled out of the clouds and saw the sun. At the end of the rippling sea of clouds was a range of snowy mountains. The tallest peak was shaped like a lotus.

    ¡°The place where the lotuses bloomed,¡± Li Fengyuan murmured. This was not his first time seeing this, but he felt shocked every time he did.

    The red sun rose up in the east, illuminating the sea of clouds and hanging above the ¡°lotus flower¡±, dyeing the snowy mountain a golden-red like it was a golden lotus.

    The ¡°lotus flower¡± became even more magnificent too. With the shift of the shadows, it seemed to be blooming at every passing moment, releasing a multicoloured glow that formed a thousand beams, extremely resplendent, extremely holy.

    If Li Qingshan saw this, he would not find it unfamiliar at all. That was the ¡°spiritual mountain¡± he had pushed over with his two hands.

    Yet for some reason, it was still standing right now.

    Li Fengyuan flapped his wings and sailed off, leaving behind a long trace in the sea of clouds.

    Arriving above the spiritual mountain, a majestic temple sat at the peak. That was the renowned Great Thunderclap temple of the spiritual mountain.

    Its name was N¨¡land¨¡, which meant ¡°almsgiving without intermission¡±.

    Li Fengyuan had always preferred its original name¡ªgiving the buddhist dharma across all life, never to stop.

    Peering down from the clouds, people moved about in the temple. Many monks walked around, some meditating in thought, some discussing the dharma, and some practising techniques. They all either stayed put or moved about, forming a flourishing scene. There was no sign of bleakness at all.

    Li Fengyuan descended from above and walked between the buildings slowly, sometimes stopping to listen to a passage of a scripture or to admire a mural. Gradually, a peaceful smile appeared on his face.

    However, now that he was much closer, these monks were all dressed differently from regular monks. Basically all of them walked about with bare feet like ascetics, dressed in extremely antiquated clothes. Many of them even had long hair and beards. At the same time, none of the monks noticed Li Fengyuan. Even when they looked towards him, they only saw through him.

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

    Suddenly, heavy footsteps rang out from behind him. A black shadow loomed over him.

    Li Fengyuan did not dodge. A bare-chested warrior attendant with lower robes passed through him. He carried a huge log that required several dozen people to carry, striding towards the grand hall that was currently being constructed nearby.

    It was like an illusion or a dream. This was the distant past, the origins of N¨¡land¨¡.

    Li Fengyuan had constantly submerged himself here over the years¡ªstudying the primitive scriptures, practising the ancient techniques, comprehending and pondering the laws. He found endless inspiration. Most importantly, he personally witnessed the construction of N¨¡land¨¡ on this icy, barren land.

    Every tile and brick, each blade of grass and tree, the great halls, treasured buildings, and bell towers, would all be destroyed by Li Qingshan in the end.

    Li Fengyuan was well aware that the spiritual mountain had already been tipped over and N¨¡land¨¡ had been destroyed, never to be rebuilt again. As a result, he often felt sorrow as he gazed at all of this, like watching how an infant came into this world, how he bawled, how he opened his eyes curiously to study this world, how he ran, played, and studied¡­ except ¡°he¡± was already dead, having been destroyed long before this.

    Everything came and went in a cycle, through formation, existence, disintegration, then emptiness. Whether it was the universe or a speck of dust, nothing was exempt from that.

    So even the undying phoenix has a day when it grows old!

    With that in mind, the scene before him gradually blurred. He suddenly discovered that before he had realised it, his face was already covered with tears.

 Chapter 1629

    In the Hundred Herbs garden, beneath the bodhi tree.

    Deep in his thoughts with his eyes shut, Li Fengyuan¡¯s face suddenly became covered with tears. A hint of sorrow appeared on his handsome face.

    The nine-coloured deer noticed this secretly, and she became slightly reluctant to see this. This kid is still so young after all. Despite his courage and boldness, he¡¯s just not as staunch as his father. Though, according to the age of humans, he¡¯s probably still just a child. Great danger is imminent, so why doesn¡¯t he feel fear?

    At the same time, in the Great Thunderclap temple within his dream, Li Fengyuan touched his cheeks and gazed at the moisture on his fingers in surprise. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this!? Why am I crying?¡±

    He had already experienced this sight and situation countless times in his dreams. The destruction of the Great Thunderclap temple was no longer news to him, yet for some reason, at this exact moment, he found it especially moving.

    He thought about it seriously, and only then did he understand. I¡¯m fearing death!

    A fear for death and a lust for life was nothing but the most common of emotions among all living creatures.

    The spirit turtle may enjoy longevity, but there is still a time when death comes. The divine dragon rides on the mists, but there is still a time when it will be reduced to dust.

    However, the phoenix was an exception. It was not just different from regular living creatures. It was also an exception among all the natural spirits.

    The phoenix would use ¡°nirv¨¡?a¡± to transcend the fate of ¡°disintegration, then emptiness¡±. It possessed an endless lifespan from birth, so it lacked the concept of ¡°death¡±.

    The nine-coloured deer¡¯s comparison was actually wrong. Humans divided their measly few decades of life into several stages and called them infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood¡­

    However, phoenixes could not be categorised like this because their lifespans were ¡°limitless¡±. They were both infants and old people. The endless cycle called ¡°nirv¨¡?a¡±.

    And, Li Fengyuan was far more courageous than the nine-coloudred deer had imagined. The courage and determination he had inherited from Li Qingshan had completely become a part of his spirit a long time ago, and because he did not go through all those fears and worries like Li Qingshan, it was even more pure than Li Qingshan himself.

    At this moment, the reason why he shed his tears was because he experienced the concept of being ¡°limited¡¯ for the first time in his life, which was the concept of ¡°death¡± that regular people spoke of.

    Li Fengyuan gazed down at the tip of his toes. Once he took this step, it would be death. Whether they won or lost, there would only be death.

    Even if Li Qingshan defeated all the powerful foes in the end, claiming the title of the heavenly emperor beyond the Nine Heavens, he would not be able to redeem his life among the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s victory or defeat had yet to be determined in this crisis of the world, but his fate was already fixed.

    If ants dragged out a pointless existence, then was the divine bird, the phoenix, any different?

    Li Fengyuan did not know what the other phoenixes had chosen, but he was Li Qingshan¡¯s son. As a result, he wiped away his tears with a smile and strode onwards with composure, welcoming death calmly.

    With this step, everything before his eyes, whether it was the halls, towers, and pavilions or the monks and guardians, they all turned to dust, green, yellow, red, white, and black, curling and dispersing by his side. This long dream would come to an end one day.

    With this step, he would become the true Meat-stewing Heavenly King. Even though that was just one of Li Qingshan¡¯s jokes, he had never viewed it as a joke. Instead, it was a goal he tried his best to achieve.

    He suddenly had a realisation¡ªa determination¡ªovercome him; this was the first time in his life, as well as the last, that he would shed tears for himself.

    When the dust dispersed, N¨¡land¨¡ was already gone. All that remained before his eyes was a grove, filled with lush, flourishing golden-leaved bodhi trees. The ground beneath him was paved with golden tiles. The sun shone over his head, reflecting off the ground, making it glisten.

    If Li Qingshan were here, he would definitely find it all extremely familiar. That was the same grove that he had seen when he first entered Sukh¨¡vat¨©, identical down to each blade of grass and tree. However, compared to everything else he experienced afterwards, the grove had been far too ordinary, such that it left behind almost no impression.

    However, Li Fengyuan had been expecting this, and he was familiar with the allusions of buddhism. He immediately stated the name of the grove. ¡°Jetavana!¡±

    In the distant age, before the Great Thunderclap temple had been founded, before Mah¨¡y¨¡na Buddhism had been established, this was once where the buddha primarily gave his sermons. It was constructed under the resolve of An¨¡thapi??ada and prince Jeta, which was why it possessed such a name.

    If the Great Thunderclap temple was where buddhism developed and prospered, then this was where everything began.

    Li Fengyuan said loudly, ¡°The world honoured one, I¡¯ve come!¡±

    ¡°Are you aware that by coming, you will definitely be incinerated by the flames of karma and be doomed for eternity?¡± An old, sombre voice rang out, echoing between Jetavana.

    ¡°I am already aware. I have no regrets.¡± Li Fengyuan had come here exactly for those flames.

    ¡°Why have you come?¡±

    Li Fengyuan answered, ¡°To shoulder Li Qingshan¡¯s sins!¡±

    The flames of karma and the lightning of tribulation were all a part of the Dao that operated in the world. Even gods and immortals could not escape from them. The path that Li Qingshan would be walking down would definitely lead to boundless sins. He would be incinerated by the flames of karma. If no one shouldered them for him, he would never be able to achieve victory.

    ¡°What are Li Qingshan¡¯s sins?¡± The voice answered with a question.

    Li Fengyuan was speechless. He never felt like Li Qingshan had committed any sins.

    ¡°Go! If you¡¯re only thinking for your father, you are not a disciple of mine.¡±

    Like a thunderclap, Li Fengyuan suddenly realised something. ¡°I¡¯ve come to shoulder the sins of the living creatures, to face the suffering of the living creatures.¡±

    ¡°What is benevolence? What is compassion? Who are you to the living creatures?¡±

    However, Li Fengyuan was unable to answer again. The difference between the phoenix and the numerous living creatures was like the clouds to mud, but before this, he did not even know what ¡°death¡± was. What did the living creatures have to do with him?

    ¡°If you treat yourself as a god, then the living creatures are ants. If you treat yourself as a master, then the living creatures are servants. Even if you take pleasure in the welfare of the living creatures, even if you have a heart of benevolence, you are not one of us.¡±

    ¡°All living creatures are equal,¡± Li Fengyuan suddenly said, ¡°Is this why you chose first father? Giving him the laws of Sukh¨¡vat¨© and making him become the lord of the Demon domain.¡±

    ¡°It was Li Qingshan who chose to become Li Qingshan. It was Li Qingshan who chose to become the lord of the Demon domain.¡±

    Li Fengyuan smiled. ¡°Yeah, who can make a choice in Li Qingshan¡¯s place? Even if you¡¯re the one honoured by the world. If you really did possess great benevolence and compassion, possessing omnipotence like how they all describe you, why would the trichiliocosm be a sea of suffering?¡± Then he said firmly, ¡°If you have benevolence, then you have no power. If you have power, then you have no benevolence.¡±

    He had converted to buddhism, but when he faced the sovereign of buddhism, a supreme existence among the gods and buddhas, he still talked and laughed freely, without any particular reverence or respect.

    The voice fell silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. ¡°Abilities, no matter how limitless, are unable to defy karma.¡±

    Li Fengyuan asked, ¡°What is karma?¡± He had come for the flames of karma, but he still was not clear on what exactly ¡°karma¡± was. The buddhist scriptures had many sayings about it too, unable to completely agree on what it was.

    ¡°Actions and consequences.¡±

    ¡°Will actions always result in consequences?¡±

    ¡°Actions will always result in consequences.¡±

    ¡°I see. So possessing abilities is karma!¡±

    Li Fengyuan immediately understood and came to a realisation.

    The endless laws, the countless techniques, were all a result of karma, a result of actions and consequences.

    From gathering spiritual qi to circulating power, and then to casting techniques in the path of cultivation, they were only a small portion of actions and consequences. Without any power to circulate, there were no techniques to be cast. Without any spiritual qi to gather, there was no power to circulate.

    The people in the world respected the great might of abilities and techniques, able to shift entire mountains and oceans, but their very nature was no different from the kicks and punches of a mortal, except mortals did not gather spiritual qi but ate food instead.

    Many years ago, the first lesson that Li Qingshan had learnt on the path of cultivation was eating meat.

    That was why abilities, no matter how limitless, were unable to defy karma, as abilities in itself were karma. That was why even the world honoured one could not shoulder all of the karma, unable to become so-called ¡°omnipotent¡±.

    Li Fengyuan had already understood the answers to everything regarding this. ¡°I have not come this time for Li Qingshan or the living creatures, but to shoulder my own actions and consequences. If there was no Li Qingshan, there would not be Li Fengyuan, so Li Qingshan is my action, so I have to shoulder his consequences.¡±

    ¡°Phoenixes are able to transcend life and death, but they cannot transcend this action and consequence, this karma. When it comes to this, a phoenix is no different from a mortal, and a mortal is no different from an ant. All living creatures are equal. I¡­ am a living creature.¡±

    Li Fengyuan only felt enlightened. He no longer had any worries. Even his fear of ¡°death¡± had dissipated. He only found karma to be natural, to follow a logic of its own. The cycling between life and death had always been cycling through the same thing.

    That was why while phoenixes possessed an endless lifespan, he had never heard of a phoenix surviving from the ancient times. They possessed eternal life, but they had to die. Instead, the number of phoenixes diminished. They must have all shouldered their own karma.

    The voice smiled. ¡°Exactly! Come up to me.¡±

    Li Fengyuan relaxed inside. He knew he had passed the test and could continue seeking death, so he made his way into the depths of the grove.

    However, because of the revelation just then, his mind whirled away rapidly. His thoughts ran amok as his emotions soared, unable to calm down. Vaguely, he could sense that this was not that simple. Apart from Li Qingshan, there seemed to be even greater karma regarding himself, except it was as if a gate separated it from him, unable to realise what it was for the time being.

    By the time he had reached the depths of the grove, he finally witnessed the buddha¡¯s true appearance. He did not glisten or possess a round face like the statues in the temples. Instead, his face was sunken, and his nose was curved. He seemed like a regular old monk, just like Jetavana itself, nothing special in appearance.

    And, his drooping lips and curved nose made him seem very unfriendly. If mortals ran into him, they would not even necessarily be willing to give him alms.

    However, Li Fengyuan felt a strange feeling of closeness instead, like they were connected by blood. There was a flash of inspiration through his head, and the gate swung open, immediately understanding everything involved.

    He said in disbelief, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ the primordial phoenix!?¡± b.f488a7

 Chapter 1630

    The black clouds tossed and turned like ink as the fierce winds whistled over the sea. The colossal waves reached for the skies. This stormy sea had basically never settled down before, constantly providing the coldness of the north to the Human realm.

    Among the raging waves, a mountain jutted out from the surface of the ocean, standing above the sea like a giant, holding up the entire cloud cover with a single hand.

    All four sides of the mountain were precipitous cliffs and jagged rocks, which produced strange howls as the wind blew by. It seemed as if thousands of vicious beasts were trying to come alive.

    It was originally an extinct volcano. Having been pulled higher by its past masters, it had already become unbelievably imposing. Its shape was different from any regular mountainous island, and its name had been changed countless times too.

    The Xuanming dwelling¡ªthat was its current name. Its past master was Lin Xuan, and its current master was Li Qingshan, both of who were first senior brothers of the Myriad sect, or more accurately, once were.

    At this moment, a streak of light flew over, shining with blue within the green and absolutely blinding. It did not make any attempts to hide its tracks. When it approached the mountain, it immediately descended from above, stopping right above the surface of the ocean. He was the master of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings from the Myriad sect, Pi Yangqiu, having come under the first senior sister Dai Mengfan¡¯s orders to take back the Xuanming dwelling.

    Pi Yangqiu looked up at the mountain. His face was also overcast.

    Since Li Qingshan has already fallen into the Demon domain, he shouldn¡¯t be bold enough to return to the Human realm. He¡¯s probably abandoned this dwelling. There should be no risk at all in the mission this time.

    However, when he gazed at the huge, black mountain, he could not help but connect it to Li Qingshan.

    Outside Black Cloud city, he led an army of hundreds of thousands against a Demon God.

    No one who had experienced that war could ever forget those sights.

    Back then, Li Qingshan was the same as him, only a Yang Soul cultivator. Now, he had already crossed the threshold of mortals and immortals, becoming a mighty Human Immortal, no, Heretic God. Just how terrifying was he now?

    Damn you, Dai Mengfan! Pi Yangqiu cursed inside.

    That was his guess, but Li Qingshan always exceeded expectations. If he really was in the Xuanming dwelling right now, then breaching the formation was no different from asking to die.

    However, if he did nothing at all, there would be nothing good awaiting him once he returned to the Myriad sect either.

    Caught between a rock and a hard place, Pi Yangqiu bowed all the way down to the ground towards the mountain and called out, ¡°First senior brother, Pi Yangqiu has come to meet you!¡± His greeting was respectful and comprehensive, like a subject seeking an audience with his lord.

    Pi Yangqiu had come up with a plan before he came here. If Li Qingshan really was inside, he would act like nothing had happened and catch up with him before immediately fleeing back to Myriad city and declaring the mission a failure. It was not like anyone could demand him to defeat a Heretic God.

    However, if the demonic nature had taken over Li Qingshan and he no longer acknowledged their past friendship, refusing to let him go easily, then he could only fall into the Demon domain with him.

    However, that was basically the worst-case scenario. Unless he had no other choice, he refused to mingle with demonfolk. It was not because of his moral integrity or that he believed that the wicked should never be forgotten, but because he had never thought the demonfolk could achieve anything. Who would want to join a force that was destined for failure?

    That was unless there was something wrong with their heads! Yeah, there was something wrong with Li Qingshan¡¯s head. He was strong, but there was something wrong with his head. Pi Yangqiu was incredibly certain about it.

    His voice contained his powers, so it boomed through the surroundings, temporarily drowning out the whistling winds.

    He buried his head behind his sleeves, but his ears pricked up, counting his breath and listening quietly.

    However, by the time his voice vanished, after taking ten breaths, there was still only the whistling winds in the surroundings. The Xuanming dwelling was still as deathly silent as ever.

    Pi Yangqiu beamed inside, Sure enough, that kid is no longer in the Human realm.

    However, he still was not bold enough to be careless. He bowed again and said loudly, ¡°First senior brother, I¡¯ve come!¡±

    The bow this time was no longer as deep as the last. He only bent his waist slightly. Li Qingshan had never really cared about etiquette anyway. Even if he was inside there, he probably would not blame him for this.

    The Xuanming dwelling remained silent.

    Pi Yangqiu let out a sigh of relief, basically relaxing completely. He could not help but sneer self-deprecatingly at his wariness, except he straightened himself out and yelled out again, basically making one last probing attempt, ¡°Li Qingshan, I¡¯m coming!¡±

    After finally confirming that Li Qingshan was not around, Pi Yangqiu exhaled in relief and immediately took out a scroll of bamboo slips from his sleeve. He tossed it into the air, and the bamboo slips scattered as twenty-four streaks of green light, turning into twenty-four screens of light that surrounded the Xuanming dwelling. Their glow mixed together to form a single entity despite being scattered.

    He had actually assembled another formation outside the formation, using a formation to breach the formation.

    Dai Mengfan truly had reasons for sending him to breach the formation. As the master of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings, Pi Yangqiu was most skilled in the method of formations. The scroll of bamboo slips was his lifebound artifact, called the Bamboo Slips of Earth Perceiving. It was specially for studying and breaching formations.

    Who knew how many formations he had breached and how many dwellings he had looted in the past through this artifact, which was the only reason why he possessed his current cultivation.

    Pi Yangqiu was already as familiar as he could be with the protective formation of the Xuanming dwelling. In the past, when Li Qingshan tried to breach the formation, he had only succeeded with his assistance. Now, there was no one inside the dwelling to support the formation, so its power had greatly diminished. Coupled with the restraints from the Bamboo Slips of Earth Perceiving, it operated extremely slowly, almost losing all of its defensive powers completely.

    In just half a day¡¯s time, Pi Yangqiu breached the formation successfully. Just earlier, when he worked on getting through the formation, he was nervous, worried that Li Qingshan would rush out at any moment to hunt him down. Now, he had completely relaxed, letting out a delighted smile.

    Retrieving the protective formation was equivalent to retrieving the dwelling. He had already completed his mission. Pi Yangqiu was about to fly off and report back to Dai Mengfan in Myriad city when a thought suddenly came to him, Since no one is in the dwelling, why don¡¯t I go in and take a look? I can relive the old days. Everything is basically within arm¡¯s reach anyway.

    Dwellings were often the foundations of cultivators, storing all of their possessions. Li Qingshan¡¯s origins were mysterious, and he had inherited all of the possessions of the previous first senior brother, Lin Xuan. Afterwards, from the battle of Black Cloud city, he had received a tremendous amount of resources too.

    Pi Yangqiu had committed deeds like this far too many times. It had basically become a habit to him. However, when he raised his head and glanced at the black mountain again, a chill ran through his heart for some reason. The black giant seemed to be staring at him.

    However, the greed in his heart blazed like fire. Hmph, no risk, no reward! Now that the crisis of the world is imminent, it¡¯s time for gathering resources and breaking through the threshold between mortality and immortality. Li Qingshan might be terrifying, but how can I just be frightened by the mere thought of him?

    He immediately made up his mind and flew towards the top of the mountain, entering the Xuanming dwelling from the crater.

    However, looking down from above, the pitch-black, colossal crater seemed like a gaping mouth, swallowing a tiny insect.

    As soon as Pi Yangqiu entered the volcanic crater, all of the sounds of wind and waves around him vanished. Only the pitter-patter of the night rain followed him into the abyss.

    He could not help but slow his descent, but in the endless silence, some voices gradually appeared. It was as if various people were whispering away, both old and young, both male and female, merging all together. It was still as gentle as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, but it was filled with pain and sorrow.

    He suddenly jerked back to his senses. When he listened closely, all of the voices vanished again, returning back to silence as if it was merely an illusion.

    However, when he split his focus, the sounds reappeared in the darkness, seeping into every pore of his body with a sense of coldness.

    He could vaguely feel that something was amiss, but he was unable to pinpoint it. He wanted to back out of the Xuanming dwelling, but the greed in his heart had flared to a point beyond his control. He could only continue to descend down the abyss, like he was caught in a nightmare that he could not wake up from.

    Everything lost control¡­

    In a daze, he had forgotten how long he had fallen for. Pi Yangqiu suddenly heard a voice clearly from the bottom of the abyss.

    ¡°Student Xiaoming, your strength recovers pretty quickly!¡± One of the voices was both deep and sprightly, breaking the silence in the darkness. All of the whispers receded with it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡®Xiaoming¡¯. Call me R¨¡hu Ming. And what¡¯s this ¡®student¡¯ thing all about?¡± Another voice was slightly gruff, filled with a sense of unruliness.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. That¡¯s just the rule we have. You gotta add ¡®student¡¯ in front of ¡®Xiaoming¡¯.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just stop calling me ¡®Xiaoming¡¯?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the boss. Everything I say counts. You¡¯re just a measly Asura Battle God, the Bird-shooting Heavenly King. How can you tell me what to do?¡±

    ¡°Xiaoming¡± fell silent for a moment. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d actually reach where you are today.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think so either.¡±

    Pi Yangqiu widened his eyes. The surrounding darkness receded. Only then did he see two men seated together and drinking away on a boulder at the bottom of the abyss.

    He was extremely familiar with one of the figures. He recognised him. Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Xiaoming¡± fiddled around with the cup in his hand. After a moment of thought, he deliberated and said, ¡°Let me give you a word of advice!¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°If the heavenly emperor requests for your surrender, just surrender!¡±

    ¡°Hah! Is that something an asura will say?¡±

    ¡°This is something that a friend will say.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t think I can win?¡±

    ¡°No one can win¡­ but I believe you can, or at least, you have a chance.¡±

    ¡°Then why should I surrender?¡±

    ¡°With the path you walk, regardless of your final victory or defeat, you will be incinerated by the flames of karma. It¡¯s useless even if you win.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s useless to me, but it¡¯s useful to others. And being incinerated by the flames of karma is not necessarily a bad thing.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Xiaoming, let¡¯s fight!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the boss. Everything you say counts.¡±

    At this moment, Pi Yangqiu recognised Li Qingshan, which left him utterly frightened. He immediately woke up from the nightmare and regained control over his body. However, he saw how the two of them did not sense his existence, so he immediately rose up silently, wanting to back out of the Xuanming dwelling.

    ¡°Xiaoming¡± suddenly raised his head. His pair of eyes were even darker than the deepest darkness from the abyss. Pi Yangqiu felt like he had been thrown into a glacier. He could not even budge a single wisp of his powers, not even his little finger.

    ¡°Actually still bold enough to come in here? I¡¯ll kill him.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t. Keep him alive for now. If his life lamp goes out, the old turtle will become wary. My son is still in their hands after all!¡±

    ¡°Becoming wary is just becoming wary. I¡¯ll go and save Fengyuan immediately and butcher the old turtle in the process. Who¡¯s supposed to stop who?¡±

    ¡°No, I have some other business with the old turtle. Also, it¡¯s inconvenient for you to reveal your identity right now. Go back to the Asura realm and continue with your expeditions. Lend me a hand once you completely recover your divine strength.¡±

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯m off then!¡± R¨¡hu Ming nodded. The water in the abyss surged violently. Now, Pi Yangqiu finally realised that a huge, black dragon was actually curled up there. The boulder that they sat on was its head.

    It revealed a hint of its aura now. It was clearly a Daemon Immortal. e.4887

    D- don¡¯t tell me this is first senior brother¡¯s golden-eyed black dragon!? Pi Yangqiu was absolutely shocked. Among the three of them, one of them was an Asura Battle God, one of them was a Daemon Immortal of the Dragon clan, and the last one was the unfathomable Li Qingshan. What is this place that I¡¯ve broken into?

    Li Qingshan sent R¨¡hu Ming away and waved his hand at Pi Yangqiu. ¡°Junior brother Pi, why were you so polite in the beginning and then so cocky at the end, and why did you breach my formation and intrude on my dwelling?¡±

 Chapter 1631

    The Xuanming dwelling.

    The great wave produced by the black dragon rapidly settled down as if an invisible power flattened the surface of the water.

    All of the sounds vanished. There was no longer a single ripple on the water surface anymore. It was as smooth as a black mirror.

    The bottom of the abyss was connected to the ocean, which was several times larger than the entrance of the cave. A beam of light poured in from above, but it could only illuminate a small part of the water, like a spotlight in the centre of the stage.

    Li Qingshan stood directly in the light, above the black water, smiling towards Pi Yangqiu above.

    Pi Yangqiu clearly saw his own reflection inside the ¡°black mirror¡±. His face was both horrified and twisted. He wanted to flee instinctively, as far as he could go, even if it meant deserting the sect.

    However, anyone with a bit of common sense knew that turning around and fleeing when confronted with a vicious beast would only set off their hunting instincts.

    He tried his best to calm down, forcing himself to meet Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He descended slowly and said, ¡°I¡­ erm¡­ this¡­¡±

    Despite how sharp and clever-tongued he usually was, all he could produce now were broken words.

    He was absolutely terrified!

    This fear had completely exceeded his expectations. Imagining running into Li Qingshan and actually confronting Li Qingshan was vastly different.

    He was like a person who had only ever seen tigers in paintings suddenly encountering a real tiger in the forest one day. The trembling beard, the yellowed teeth, the orangey-red eyes, the bloody aura¡ªeverything was far too realistic, filling up his face, making him lose his breath, leaving him immobilised.

    Pi Yangqiu had already used up all of his courage by descending and facing the tiger. If he knew exactly how he would feel right now earlier, he would have never entered this place even if it killed him.

    ¡°No hurry. Take your time.¡±

    Li Qingshan basically understood what ¡°stunned out of your wits¡± meant now, but he was rather puzzled inside, I¡¯m not that terrifying?

    He personally believed he did not give off any murderousness and even his hostility was lacking. He only wanted to learn about the Myriad sect¡¯s current situation and perhaps recruit Pi Yangqiu in the process. He had no interest in killing him.

    Little did he know that in Pi Yangqiu¡¯s eyes, his pitch-black eyes were as unfathomable as the black water beneath his feet, like thousands of black dragons churning and roaring under the calm surface, desiring slaughter and destruction, where just uttering a single incorrect word would have him eaten, never to be reborn again.

    After undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation, Li Qingshan had already fully reached the realm of immortals and buddhas. He already possessed an intrinsic difference from Yang Soul cultivators like Pi Yangqiu.

    And as the lord of the Demon domain, he possessed the fury and hatred that all the living creatures of the Demon domain had accumulated over countless years¡ªdesiring slaughter, desiring destruction, desiring revenge, revenge against all the living creatures and the gods and buddhas up above.

    This power that came at a cost constantly eroded away at his mind. Even when it was suppressed by the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he still ended up exposing a hint of it.

    In other words, it was not that Li Qingshan possessed hostility towards Pi Yangqiu, but that he possessed hostility towards all of the living creatures. Compared to the influence of the ¡°living¡±, the wills of the ¡°dead¡± was much more intense and turbulent, but it was also simpler and cruder, instead easier to control, so their influence was limited. As a result, even he grew accustomed to it as time went on, forgetting about it.

    One was dripping water, while the other was a flood. The latter was almost insignificant, but it could influence him unconsciously. It could not be resisted. The latter produced a mighty disturbance, but as long as he guided it properly and vented when it was appropriate, he could pacify it.

    People all described the might of gods to be hellish. Under such pressure, how could Pi Yangqiu not be terrified?

    At the same time, he was under the impression that he had attacked the Xuanming dwelling and deeply offended Li Qingshan, so it made perfect sense for Li Qingshan to want to kill him. That was called having a guilty conscience. It made him even more frantic and terrified as a result.

    However, to Li Qingshan right now, a dwelling was nothing. He was supposed to give up on everything in the Human realm anyway. Now, he treated the entire Demon domain as his dwelling, yet the demonic land he gave up with each passing day was worth more than ten thousand Xuanming dwellings.

    In the future, when he raised an army, he would be conquering the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra, making the flames of war burn even beyond the Nine Heavens. He would be taking back much more than just a dwelling.

    Before he knew it, great winds rose and the kun transformed into the peng, rising up into the heavens with the sky on its shoulders, unstoppable and southbound.

    The swallows that once accompanied him were no longer able to understand his current thoughts.

    From the perspective of a cultivator, the loss of a dwelling was a matter of life and death. It was worth fighting a war, worth risking their lives. However, to a god, it was merely bickering over tiny pieces of land. It had lost its meaning.

    Seeing Li Qingshan approach him, Pi Yangqiu thought he wanted to kill him. He no longer dared to stare him in the eyes. He suddenly lurched forwards, throwing himself on the ground. ¡°Spare me, first senior brother! Dai Mengfan forced me to do all this!¡±

    ¡°Dai Mengfan?¡± Li Qingshan heard another familiar name. He had quite a fine impression of this ¡°third senior sister¡±, or perhaps it was better said that he had quite a fine impression of all the good-looking women that did not oppose him. e.4c88b7

    He could not help but curse with a smile, ¡°You bastard, you¡¯re a thief, yet you¡¯re still trying to push the blame onto others! How can Dai Mengfan order you around?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m innocent!¡± Pi Yangqiu wailed out. He blabbed up everything that happened in the Myriad sect, especially Dai Mengfan¡¯s various actions that broke the usual convention. He absolutely hated Dai Mengfan for sending him on a mission that would cost him his life like this.

    In the beginning, Li Qingshan found it quite interesting. He knew Dai Mengfan treasured her life very much and hated war. The position of first senior sister had probably been forced on her by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Her expression back then must have been very fascinating.

    However, when Pi Yangqiu told him about what Ruan Yaozhu had said in the Direct Disciple hall, he could not help but sigh. ¡°Yaozhu, oh Yaozhu!¡±

    Once again, he would be letting her down.

    He soon heard how Dai Mengfan had ordered Ruan Yaozhu to capture Li Fengyuan, and his face sank slightly. He smiled, revealing his teeth. ¡°Does this woman really think I¡¯m powerless against her?¡±

    Seeing how his attempt at shifting the hatred had succeeded, Pi Yangqiu let out a great sigh of relief inside. ¡°Hmph, she thought that the first senior brother wouldn¡¯t be returning after entering the Demon domain. Little does she know that Li Qingshan¡¯s powers are beyond her imagination. First senior brother, I¡¯ll take you to the Hundred Herbs garden right now!¡±

    Li Qingshan shifted his gaze to him. ¡°You also thought I would never return again, right?¡±

    ¡°This¡­¡± Pi Yangqiu was unable to answer him, but he did raise his head silently and glance at Li Qingshan. His eyes swivelled, recovering their usual unpredictability. He gradually recovered from his initial fear and thought, The Desireless Heavenly Palace has set up nets across the entire Human realm. Once Heretic Gods enter the Human realm, they¡¯ll be discovered immediately. How is he avoiding the Desireless Heavenly Palace¡¯s watch?

    He had been silently sensing Li Qingshan¡¯s aura the entire time, which further confirmed a thought of his, The one before me is not Li Qingshan¡¯s main body!

    That was true. Li Qingshan¡¯s main body obviously could not leave the Demon domain, or the ones visiting him would not be the Divine Generals of the Six Ding and Six Jia anymore, but the Zhenwu Emperor himself.

    The one standing here right now was indeed just a clone, and it was only one of his many clones. He had scattered his clones throughout the Human realm to raise an army, preparing to draw all the demonic cultivators throughout the world to the Demon domain.

    War was imminent. He obviously would not do nothing and wait for others to attack him. He had to work towards strengthening himself and weakening the enemy.

    In order to avoid being detected by the Desireless Heavenly Palace, none of his clones possessed a particularly great cultivation. The one here was relatively stronger compared to the rest, but even it was only at the third heavenly tribulation. It was stronger than all Origin Soul cultivators and could rival Yin Soul cultivators, but it was not the opponent of Yang Soul cultivators.

    Gods were not omniscient and omnipotent. An ocean might be vast, but it was still limited. No matter how great the power was, once it was dispersed, it would only form trickling streams.

    Pi Yangqiu had only been frightened by Li Qingshan¡¯s aura, but he seemed to realise this gradually.

    Li Qingshan was just about to ask him, Are you willing to stick with me?

    Pi Yangqiu suddenly leapt back onto his feet from his prostrating posture and shot into the air, flying away without any regard.

    ¡°Err¡­ he fled.¡± Li Qingshan had no idea what to say.

 Chapter 1632

    A light shining with blue within the green rushed out of the Xuanming dwelling and made a sharp turn, flying towards the Myriad sect.

    The great waves crashed down above the ocean as the fierce winds whistled past his ears. Pi Yangqiu was extremely nervous. He glanced back at the Xuanming dwelling that resembled a gaping mouth. But fortunately, the Xuanming dwelling was silent. Li Qingshan did not seem to want to hunt him down, which made him let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯ve made the right gamble!¡±

    Pi Yangqiu realised it was only a clone, and the clone¡¯s cultivation was at least a heavenly tribulation lower than his body. As such, the Li Qingshan in the Xuanming dwelling was a Yang Soul cultivator at most, but the pressure that he emanated was far too great. It was basically like a sky full of dark clouds pressing down on him, making it difficult for him to be completely convinced by his own judgement.

    If he were wrong, then there would only be death. He had even prepared himself to abandon his body and flee with his Yang Soul. Even if he would be forced to reconstruct his body, that was still better than ending up in the Demon domain and becoming some kind of Demon Sovereign!

    Now that he had managed to escape, with the sea wind blowing in his face, he immediately felt like he was unstoppable, like the world was in his reach. He could not help but smile self-deprecatingly. I¡¯ve actually almost been frightened by a single clone! Though, what exactly has he gone through? How has he become so terrifying? Do Heretic Gods all have such great might?

    However, upon further thought, he realised that it was Li Qingshan after all. Even if he became a Heretic God, he would not be any regular Heretic God. Before he could think too much about it, his heart began to surge like the ocean. His priority right now was to return to the Myriad sect and report everything he had seen and experienced in the Xuanming dwelling.

    The Asura Battle God seemed to possess impressive origins, able to leave him immobilised with a single glance. What he saw and heard was even more shocking too. Incinerated by the flames of karma, a request of surrender from the heavenly emperor¡­

    He was astounded and uncertain. What gives a Heretic God the right to be requested to surrender by the heavenly emperor?

    The heavenly emperor was the paramount existence among the myriad worlds, basically equivalent to the embodiment of the heavens. The mortals referred to him as ¡°the old heavens¡±, and even the buddha had to refer to him as ¡°your majesty¡± out of respect.

    Even the grand sect master of the Myriad sect was only his subject in charge of his study. To a Yang Soul cultivator like Pi Yangqiu, his life objective was basically to make it beyond the Nine Heavens and earn the right to call him ¡°your majesty¡±.

    Yet, the two had mentioned someone like him extremely naturally, even giving off a slight sensation that they were opposing him.

    No matter how clever Pi Yangqiu was, he was unable to understand what was going on. A certain answer seemed to be screaming out at him inside, but a membrane also separated him from it, leaving him uneasy and in disbelief.

    Very soon, the Myriad sect appeared over the ocean, and Pi Yangqiu accelerated. He rushed right into the defensive formation of the Myriad sect, and only then did he relax slightly.

    He was skilled with formations, so he understood the might of the ¡°All Encompassing Formation of the Myriad¡± beneath him. No one understood it better than him. Who knew how many times more powerful it was compared to the Formation of Black Clouds and Roaring Thunder around Black Cloud city. A natural spirit that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation presided over it, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Let alone a mere clone, even if Li Qingshan came here in person, he would be walking to his death.

    There were countless disciples in the sect too. They had all the advantages on their side, whether it was the geography or their numbers, so even ten Heretic Gods could forget about breaching the formation.

    With an extremely great sense of safety, Pi Yangqiu entered the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, planning on reporting directly to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    However, even direct disciples could not fly through the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, so he could only climb up the levels one by one. But strangely enough, he was unable to settle down completely inside.

    Step by step, he made it to the top of the pavilion. The rows upon rows of bookshelves stretched on endlessly as the smell of books filled the air. Pi Yangqiu found the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance behind a certain bookshelf. He currently stood with his back to him, his head buried in the book.

    Pi Yangqiu clasped his hands. ¡°Spirit Reverend, I have something to report!¡±

    ¡°Is it regarding Li Qingshan?¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance turned around slowly.

    ¡°It is,¡± Pi Yangqiu answered before suddenly discovering the voice to be so familiar. He raised his head and saw Li Qingshan¡¯s face with a slight smile, which made him stagger backwards in shock. He pointed at him. ¡°L- Li Qingshan! How are you here!?¡±

    ¡°Where else am I supposed to go?¡± Li Qingshan turned around slowly.

    As he turned around, the landscape of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes changed drastically. Darkness rushed in from all sides, swallowing the bookshelves like water. A beam of light pierced the ceiling, falling down from above and illuminating a certain region, like a stage illuminated by a spotlight.

    Li Qingshan stood right in the centre of the stage, together with Pi Yangqiu.

    Pi Yangqiu¡¯s consciousness blurred. He discovered that he was still standing in the Xuanming dwelling, above the water surface that resembled a black mirror. He immediately felt like he had been plunged into ice.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. Pi Yangqiu was far weaker than he imagined him to be, not in terms of strength, but in terms of will.

    A clone was only a clone, but it still did possess the lord of the Demon domain¡¯s will. In terms of strength, his clone was nowhere close to Pi Yangqiu, but in terms of will, Pi Yangqiu basically could not offer up any resistance at all.

    From his greed in the beginning to the fear after running into Li Qingshan, followed by his ecstatic joy from escaping, his emotions fluctuated with so much intensity. As such, how could he not be taken advantage of by his inner demons? At the same time, from beginning to end, he never developed any thought of battle. He was either fearing or thinking about escaping, so how could he stand a chance against Li Qingshan who bore the will of the living creatures of the Demon domain?

    If strength was a country, then will was the ruler and inner demons were the assassins that infiltrated the palace, only revealing their true colours in the very end, making them unpredictable.

    Pi Yangqiu was clearly the lord of a destroyed country. He was easily controlled, so easy that it even became a little boring.

    If it were not for the fact that Li Qingshan was after the Myriad sect and needed Pi Yangqiu to help him breach the formation, he basically did not even want to acknowledge him.

    Though, all help is welcome. A Yang Soul cultivator who¡¯s familiar with formations can be useful.

    Li Qingshan stepped forward. ¡°Pi Yangqiu, I receive you under the lord of the Demon domain!¡± Without any regard for his opinion, he placed his hand on his head.

    Having realised the limited strength of the clone, Pi Yangqiu wanted to put up some more resistance, but when he heard that, he shuddered. ¡°The lord of the Demon domain!¡±

    A thought pierced the membrane, Li Qingshan is not a Heretic God, Li Qingshan is not a Heretic God, Li Qingshan is not a Heretic God¡­

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ the daemon star of misfortune?¡± Everything was clear now. He still struggled to believe it, but it made perfect sense.

    If he was not a true god, how did he possess such pressure? If he was not the daemon star of misfortune, why would the heavenly emperor ask for his surrender? 4887

    Li Qingshan¡¯s pitch-black eyes became extremely deep, like a pair of bottomless chasms. Pi Yangqiu could not help but gaze into them. He felt like his entire mind had been sucked away.

    In the chasm, he heard those whisperings again, both male and female, both young and old, all mixed together. They were still as gentle as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, but they were no longer filled with pain and sorrow. Instead, they were filled with fervent worship.

    Li Qingshan had conquered the twelve demon dominions, stripped the twelve Demon Gods of their paramount status and reduced them to his subordinate gods. He gathered all the faith and beliefs of the living creatures of the Demon domain on him. These voices were their worship towards their supreme ruler.

    In the beginning, it was still as gentle as a mosquito¡¯s buzz, but it turned into loud chanting in the blink of an eye before surging and roaring thunderously in the next instant.

    However, Pi Yangqiu refused to resist. If he resisted, there would only be madness. Just how many people in the world could resist the will of a god? And just how many people were willing to stay true to themselves even if it meant death?

    At that instant, the voices drowned out Pi Yangqiu, becoming a part of his will. When he looked at Li Qingshan again, endless admiration and worship rose up in his heart, willing to lay down his life for him. He immediately prostrated on the ground and cried out, ¡°My king, you are the lord of the Demon domain! You are the only true god!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled faintly. ¡°Of course.¡±

 Chapter 1633

    The Myriad sect.

    Since the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance declared Li Qingshan to be a traitor, it had already been two days. Like a boulder cast into the water, it set off a colossal wave, but it still ended up dying out.

    Legends were just legends. People still had to live. What they cared most about was always themselves. Even if it was only some petty matters, it was more important than the lives and deaths of others.

    The Myriad sect recovered its usual business. Those who gambled gambled, those who drank drank, those who cultivated cultivated, and those who sucked up to their higher-ups sucked up.

    Gradually, Li Qingshan¡¯s name ceased to be taboo. Instead, he became the topic of conversation on the streets.

    In a remote little restaurant.

    ¡°Say, why did that Li Qingshan give up on being the comfortable first senior brother of the Myriad sect and defect to the Demon domain?¡±

    ¡°Now this is something you don¡¯t know. That Li Qingshan was originally a spy sent here by the Demon domain, concealing his true cultivation to steal the secrets of the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. Now that he¡¯s become the first senior brother and obtained many heavenly tomes, it¡¯s obviously time for him to run back to the Demon domain.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s that possible!?¡± ¡°Surely not!¡± ¡°What a joke!¡± ¡°What, is Li Qingshan supposed to be able to hide his cultivation before the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance?¡±

    The listening people nearby were either astounded, half-convinced, or they rebuked his words.

    However, there were a few solemn men in the corner of the restaurant who held the bowls of alcohol in their hands firmly.

    One of them was a dark-skinned man with large ears and a square face. His face immediately darkened slightly when he heard that, about to stand up. The man to his right immediately grabbed his wrist, which made him sway and fall back down on his bottom. He exhaled deeply from his nostrils and just drank away his grievances.

    ¡°Hehe, if Li Qingshan wasn¡¯t hiding his true strength, how was he supposed to go from being an Origin Soul cultivator to a Yang Soul cultivator in such a short amount of time?¡±

    A person smiled, looking at the rest of them like they were ignorant imbeciles. He was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator and still quite far off from the second heavenly tribulation. Despite that, his mannerisms gave off a sense of confidence like everything in the world was under his control.

    ¡°And of all the times these demonfolk could choose, they just chose to launch an invasion when Li Qingshan was there. According to my understanding, half of the direct disciples perished outside Black Cloud city! And that Li Qingshan is extremely despicable and vicious too. As soon as he entered the city, he destroyed the teleportation formation there, basically trapping everyone in the city!¡±

    When he said that, everyone already became mostly convinced. That was the only explanation that made sense with the transition in Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation. Many people had already begun cursing Li Qingshan a horrible death as a traitor of humanity.

    Even the rebuking people in the beginning became much quieter, gently sulking. ¡°How can you say that? It was all thanks to Li Qingshan who repelled Demon God Taowu that Black Cloud city remained standing.¡±

    ¡°Heh, you believe that? A Yang Soul cultivator who¡¯s only just undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation forcing back a Demon God?¡± He sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, Li Qingshan relied on this exact battle to get his position as the first senior brother!¡±

    This rationalisation made so much sense that even if Li Qingshan was here in person, he probably could not rebuke it!

    Everyone could already clearly imagine Li Qingshan¡¯s plan of action in their minds. They were completely convinced that he was a spy sent by the Demon domain. A series of furious curses rang out in the restaurant. Every single one of them were red-faced as they ground their teeth, basically tempted to skin this ¡°damned traitor of humanity¡± alive and slice him to pieces.

    ¡°Fucking bullshit!¡±

    With a sudden bellow, the dark-skinned man with large ears and a square face in the corner of the restaurant crushed his bowl with a crack and threw himself at the blabbering Qi Practitioner.

    The people sitting with him stood up in a hurry, but it was already too late for them to stop him. At the same time, all of them were displeased as well, having no intentions of stopping him.

    Perhaps they were not particularly knowledgeable. Apart from farming the land at home, all they had done in their lives was defend the stronghold.

    However, they were all personal witnesses to the battle of Black Cloud city. They all knew that Li Qingshan did not destroy the teleportation hall to trap everyone in the city, but to force those lofty direct disciples to put their own skin in the game!

    Furthermore, they had witnessed exactly how Li Qingshan had led the soldiers, charging into battle, forcing back wave after wave of demonfolk before fighting the embodiment of a Demon God, being torn to pieces, only resting when he died!

    Not only did they see and hear that, they also experienced it themselves.

    Because at that moment back then, they were fighting alongside Li Qingshan! 4887

    Li Qingshan did not repel the demonfolk army and defend Black Cloud city alone. Instead, he borrowed their power.

    Li Qingshan had told this to them personally after the battle, as they had refused to accept Li Qingshan¡¯s additional reward.

    Yesterday, they had been recalled from the army. They heard countless insults towards Li Qingshan from countless people, calling him ¡°traitor of humanity¡±, ¡°defector¡±, and ¡°spy¡±, but they put up with all of it. After all, they were only the lowest of disciples. They did not even count as disciples, only ¡°attendants¡±. They did not understand exactly what had happened, nor could they make any decisions for the Myriad sect.

    However, as they listened to these people twist the truth and sprout lies, they could no longer put up with it anymore.

    Because that battle was their greatest pride!

    The eloquent Foundation Establishment cultivator just happened to be complacent from his clever reasoning when fierce killing intent assaulted him from behind. He stiffened up, and all of his hairs stood on end. Before he could respond at all, a great force pressed his head down suddenly.

    With a bang, his head smashed through the table, shattering the dishes and sending them flying everywhere. Followed by a thump, he struck the ground heavily, shattering and indenting a good part of it.

    The dark-skinned man refused to let up. His fingers closed together like he was trying to crush his head. His eyes shone red as his face twisted viciously, frightening the people in the surroundings.

    During the battle of Black Cloud city, he had perished three times and was reborn three times. His blazing battle intent had already earned him the blood of asura. Coupled with the rewards from the Desireless Heavenly Palace, the Myriad sect, and Li Qingshan, he had already undergone the first heavenly tribulation and established his foundation.

    The person in his hand was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator, but apart from matches between fellow disciples, he had not experienced any true conflict. Under the intense pressure of murderousness, even his measly combat abilities were gone. He only wriggled and struggled around instinctively.

    ¡°What are you doing? What are you doing!?¡± His voice had become warped and shrill due to fear, like a pig about to be slaughtered. He no longer possessed any of his eloquence from before.

    ¡°Beating your ass!¡± The dark-skinned man lifted his fist and gave him a beating, but he did not use much force, only venting his anger.

    The restaurant erupted with an uproar, followed by cries, ¡°Stop! Stop fighting! How bold of you! Fighting is forbidden in Myriad city!¡± Others called out, ¡°Go and find a patrolling officer!¡±

    Meanwhile, his other companions had already gathered over silently before they all knew it.

    At this moment, a man in black wielding a spade barged into the restaurant, calling out, ¡°All of you, stop!¡±

    ¡°The patrolling officer is here!¡±

    Patrolling officers belonged to the Department of Law and Punishment. They were responsible for the peace inside the city, and they all wore black and wielded spades, not for battle, but to stand out. After all, no one was actually bold enough to break the rules in Myriad city.

    The men all looked at one another and thought, So quickly! Only then did they make their way over together and stop the dark-skinned man.

    The Foundation Establishment cultivator who had been beaten black and blue dove over to the patrolling officer like he was his dad. ¡°Sir, they¡¯re trying to beat me to death! It¡¯s all for that damned traitor of humanity, Li Qingshan! Quick, capture them! They¡¯re all spies of the Demon domain!¡±

    The patrolling officer ignored him. He only gazed at the men and read out a few names, ¡°Dong Dagong, Jiang Xing, Li Xin¡­ senior brother Leng sends his invitations!¡±

    Their hearts sank. ¡°Senior brother Leng¡± was one of the direct disciples. He was Leng Yuan, in charge of the Department of Law and Punishment. It was the Department of Law and Punishment that had recalled them from the army.

    The redness within the eyes of the dark-skinned man called Dong Dagong faded away. He straightened out his expression and said rigidly, ¡°What¡¯s he inviting us for?¡±

    The patrolling officer furrowed his brows and glanced at him deeply. ¡°To draw a clear line between you and Li Qingshan!¡±

 Chapter 1634

    Under the patrolling officer¡¯s lead, Dong Dagong crossed through the streets and alleyways. Strangely enough, they were not headed for the Department of Law and Punishment. Instead, they made their way out.

    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Dong Dagong asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know once you¡¯re there,¡± said the patrolling officer.

    It was dust. The evening lights had only just been lit.

    Dong Dagong looked up. The hazy sky between the buildings had begun to drizzle before he knew it.

    Along the way, they encountered another group, which was also ushered towards outside the city under another patrolling officer¡¯s guide.

    They were not particularly close with one another, but they were still fellow soldiers, so they greeted one another and began to talk and befriend each other.

    When a certain object appeared on the horizon, everyone gazed up. That was a colossal figure, standing with its back to Myriad city, below the hazy clouds.

    It was Li Qingshan¡¯s statue.

    They were all very familiar with this figure. They could not help but think of the Xuanwu Army God, and they were rather roused at heart for some reason.

    As the statue gradually became larger with their approach, they already understood that this was their reason for coming here. They had vaguely guessed something, and they gradually grew serious, all falling silent. They just trudged through the rain in an oppressive atmosphere as if they were mad at one another.

    To draw a clear line with Li Qingshan¡­

    How could the statue of a traitor be allowed to stand outside Myriad city in such a glorious manner?

    What the Myriad sect wanted them to do was already screaming out at them.

    The sky grew darker and darker. More and more lanterns were lit. The rain also became heavier as it fell.

    A disturbance silently unfolded in the city. The flow of people followed the patrolling officers outside the city.

    The bridge outside the city gates was already filled with people, waiting for what would happen next. Their group could only pass through after parting the crowd. The faces around them were all cold but also excited.

    On the harbour square, the master of the Department of Law and Punishment, Leng Yuan, stood high on a huge beast with his hands behind his back. It was shaped like a wolf, but it lacked any fur, instead covered in layers of icicles, giving off a sense of coldness. The drizzle all turned to pellets when it approached it.

    The giant beast lay on the ground. Before its claws were people from the four offices of patrol, enforcement, judgement, and punishment.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s statue towered over the ocean without budging, gazing into the depths, allowing the winds and waves to slam into it. It was completely unaware of everything occurring behind it.

    ¡°Senior brother, Dong Dagong and the others have been brought here. We¡¯ve gathered everyone!¡±

    The patrolling officer bowed towards Leng Yuan, but Leng Yuan ignored him, so he simply returned to the ground that belonged to the office of patrol.

    Around a hundred soldiers stood near the ocean, gazing at Li Qingshan¡¯s statue together. From so close, the greyish-black statue seemed particularly stalwart and valiant. They had once advanced at all costs with this figure in front of them.

    Yet now, behind them was the entire Department of Law and Punishment and behind them were thousands of onlookers.

    They were all people that the Department of Law and Punishment had determined to be connected to Li Qingshan.

    There were countless soldiers in the army that revered Li Qingshan, but the Department of Law and Punishment could not investigate several hundred thousand people.

    These soldiers had all been heavily rewarded by Li Qingshan after the battle of Black Cloud city, so they had basically received his personal graces. At the same time, they were all at least Foundation Establishment cultivators that had undergone the first heavenly tribulation, having reached the basic requirements to join the sect. As such, they were all regarded as disciples of the Myriad sect, even if they were only ¡°attendants¡± and ¡°readers¡± that dwelled at the very bottom of the hierarchy without the title of ¡°disciple¡±.

    Meanwhile, proper disciples like formal disciples and inner disciples could be considered as mainstays of the sect. In the army, they all held important positions like commandants and generals. Even if they were to be investigated, they would be investigated privately and not summoned here like that, ordered to draw a clear line between them and Li Qingshan.

    As for ordinary soldiers with lower cultivations, no matter how fervently they revered Li Qingshan, they were insufficient to change the greater situation. Changing their impression of Li Qingshan was not difficult either. Even those who would rather die than change would be forced to press forwards under the general trend of events, even if their enemy was Li Qingshan.

    Actually, the reason why Li Qingshan rewarded them heavily was not to show them his graces, but only due to the fact that they fought valiantly and died with batting an eye. Many of them had died at least three times during that battle, but after being reborn, they continued to advance behind him.

    ithout them, Li Qingshan would not have won!

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    Leng Yuan ordered.

    A person from the office of enforcement stood forward immediately and said loudly, ¡°You all know that Li Qingshan is a traitor, so I don¡¯t have to say much more. Each of you are under the suspicion of colluding with the Demon domain!¡±

    Wang Junxing was filled with the delight of revenge. When it came to the person who was happiest in the Myriad sect when they heard that Li Qingshan had defected to the Demon domain, it would probably be him, even if Li Qingshan had probably forgotten who he was a long time ago.

    He was originally the officer in charge of allocating dwellings in the Department of Heavenly Dwellings. He had received bribes from the head caretaker of the Hundred Herbs garden, Shen Yushu, to make things difficult for Li Qingshan, but he had been punished by Li Qingshan instead before he ended up getting expelled from the Department of Heavenly Dwellings by Pi Yangqiu. Having lost his easy, good-paying job in the Department of Heavenly Dwellings, he was forced to become a patrolling officer in the Department of Law and Punishment, which he also planned on using to get revenge on Li Qingshan.

    However, when Li Qingshan became the first senior brother, he no longer dared to remain in Myriad city, transferring over to the office of enforcement in a hurry so that he could instead rush around outside apprehending criminals. Even then, he still lived in fear, afraid of the day when Li Qingshan would remember him and make him suffer the same fate as Shen Yushu.

    No one understood what kind of life he led during those days. Now, after much anticipation, he finally lasted until the day when Li Qingshan defected. He basically felt like he had just been spared. He was so delighted that he almost became mad.

    When others were still reluctant to accept this job in consideration of Li Qingshan¡¯s kindness and influence, he asked for it proactively, purely for the sake of venting.

    When they heard that, there was a disturbance among the soldiers. The crime of colluding with the Demon domain was even more severe than deserting in battle. It would only lead to death.

    ¡°However, our Department of Law and Punishment has always been fair and impartial, with senior brother Leng wise and mighty. We will neither spare any bad people nor wrongly punish any good people. Today, your mission is to completely destroy this statue, leaving it without a single trace remaining. And, everyone must take part. If you don¡¯t, hmph, you¡¯re welcome to imagine your own fates!¡±

    The soldiers looked at one another, but none of them wanted to do it.

    Wang Junxing flew into a rage and questioned, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re sympathising with that traitor of humanity and also prepared to defect to the Demon domain?¡± He basically wished these people would all stand by so that the Department of Law and Punishment could kill all of these lackeys of Li Qingshan!

    The soldiers¡¯ faces all sank. They refused to budge. They were all proud and valiant soldiers that had been through countless battles. The more fiercely they were threatened, the more they refused to yield.

    The surrounding people all held their breaths. If this continued, they had no idea what would happen. The accusation that the Department of Law and Punishment had put forward was so heavy that probably all of them would perish here.

    ¡°Commandant Luo, your military rank is the highest here, so be their example!¡± Leng Yuan said suddenly.

    He had never liked Li Qingshan. From beginning to end, that man gave off a sense of unruliness that could not be restrained by rules. However, he had not come here today to kill people. Otherwise, any of the inner disciples under his command could butcher all the people here.

    ¡°Senior brother Leng, I¡­¡± A long-faced man was taken aback, clearly rather reluctant to go ahead with that.

    ¡°Junior brother Luo, how many of your fellow soldiers have fallen on the battlefields in the Demon domain?¡± 4887

    ¡°Countless.¡± Commandant Luo lowered his head.

    ¡°Do you want these fellow soldiers of yours to just die for nothing here?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°When Li Qingshan defected to the Demon domain, he did not think of you. That was the path he chose. You also have to choose your own paths now.¡±

    For once, Leng Yuan betrayed his usual stoicism. It could almost be described as giving patient advice.

    These soldiers did not possess a particularly high cultivation, but they were the backbone to the Xuanwu army. If they perished here, then the morale of the Xuanwu army would definitely be drastically affected, even to a point beyond recovery. It would be greatly detrimental to the sect.

    Commandant Luo lowered his head and contemplated it for a while before sighing. ¡°Thank you for your reminder, senior brother. I understand.¡± He turned around and made his way towards the water, wielding his right hand like a blade and raising it high into the air. Sucking in a deep breath, he swung down heavily.

    A streak of light whistled through the air, slashing against Li Qingshan¡¯s statue. With a rumble, loose rock scattered in the air, falling into the ocean with plips and plops.

    The spectators all cried out together.

    When they looked at Li Qingshan¡¯s statue again, there was already a deep gash.

 Chapter 1635

    The curtain of night gradually fell, and the surroundings sank into deep darkness. There was not a single speck of light to be seen within several thousand kilometres. Myriad city that blazed with lights was like a lone boat in the endless expanse of the ocean.

    The black clouds surged in the night sky. The pattering drizzle fell endlessly.

    The imposing statue over the shallow sea had already turned completely black. The rainwater trickled along the statue¡¯s thick brows, but its eyes remained fixed on the depths of the darkness, ignoring and unaware of everything that happened behind it.

    Commandant Luo blinked his eyes that had been moistened by the cold rain and dazedly gazed at the mark he had left behind. Suddenly, he felt extremely melancholic as if he had lost something extremely important.

    The spectators all felt like they had just witnessed history. Right as everyone thought Li Qingshan had begun his lengthy reign over the Myriad sect, the curtains had fallen in the blink of an eye.

    However, Wang Junxing felt great pity. He was unable to do anything to Li Qingshan, so he could only vent on Li Qingshan¡¯s lackeys, hoping all the people here died horrible deaths.

    Hmph, and I was wondering about just how staunch you lot were. Turns out you¡¯re just a bunch of cowards!

    Leng Yuan continued to stand above. Snowflakes danced around him. An icy smile formed on his cold face, like the freezing lakewater that seeped out between the ice.

    Before the might of the law, just who could defy it?

    Afterwards, without needing to say another word, the soldiers stepped forward one by one, leaving behind their own mark on the black statue¡¯s back.

    The sword qi and blade aura were like bolts of lightning, immediately illuminating everyone¡¯s faces before sinking back into darkness in the next moment.

    Eveyrthing unfolded in silence, like they were holding some kind of ceremony, drawing a clear line between the present and the past.

    Everyone was dispirited and pale, no longer possessing the confidence and morale they possessed when they first arrived. Their hot blood of asura gradually cooled within their blood vessels, becoming cold like the rain, basically to a point where they trembled.

    They had fought to the final moments on the battlefield, but they had never imagined they would bend to this invisible pressure, the strict laws set by those in power.

    Even true asura would lose their undying bodies when they lost their fighting spirit, let alone them.

    The general was the courage of the army!

    That man was no longer here. Meanwhile, they had been stripped from the army, dismantled into individuals, except they were facing an undefeatable enemy yet again.

    Their united determination turned into the helplessness of going with the flow, offering up their pride like lambs to the slaughterhouse.

    Suddenly, they realised they were not courageous warriors bold enough to face a Demon God. Instead, they were cultivators at the bottom of the cultivation community, insignificant figures like ¡°readers¡± or ¡°attendants¡±.

    Who could defy fate?

    In just a while, ¡°Li Qingshan¡± was covered in marks, like he had been sentenced to slow slicing. He tottered about, almost unable to support his own weight any more.

    However, without any prior agreement, all of them refused to deal the final blow, to make it collapse completely.

    ¡°Keep going! Don¡¯t stop!¡± Wang Junxing ordered loudly, ¡°I said that you need to destroy it completely, without a single trace remaining!¡±

    His gaze was like a hungry wolf, searching for the most feeble sheep in the herd. Suddenly, he locked onto one of them. ¡°Hey, you! You better not think I didn¡¯t see it! You¡¯re the only one who hasn¡¯t done anything yet. Everyone must do it, or you¡¯re a lackey of the Demon domain!¡±

    In the crowd, Dong Dagong shuddered. The people around him all looked over indifferently. Very soon, all of their gazes had gathered on him, which immediately made him feel like he was under a mountain of pressure. His fellow soldiers that had originally been so close with him had now become so unfamiliar and distant, only leaving him alone.

    ¡°General¡­¡± 4887

    He raised his head and looked at the black statue. The rain immediately blurred his vision. He only needed to go up and swing his arms gently to liberate himself from this endless pressure.

    But for some reason, he thought of the Xuanwu Army God that gathered everyone¡¯s trust and hopes on the battlefield again, which included his!

    As a result, not only did he refuse to attack the statue, but he even said something particularly puzzling instead, ¡°I¡¯m willing to fight to the death with the general¡­¡±

    It was like a chant yet also like an oath. When they heard that, the indifferent gazes beside him suddenly began to change in a bizarre manner.

    ¡°What did you say?¡± Wang Junxing did not hear him clearly.

    Dong Dagong turned around slowly. A scorching belief filled his heart as his eyes shone with a red glint, glaring at Wang Junxing. ¡°Fuck you!¡±

    ¡°Say that again! I don¡¯t want to kill you. Are you planning on betraying the sect too!?¡±

    That was a question that had once frightened all of the direct disciples, yet as a lowly ¡°attendant¡±, Dong Dagong spat viciously, ¡°So what if I am?¡±

    Leng Yuan furrowed his brows. The situation was spiraling out of control. He immediately interrupted Wang Junxing and advised gently, ¡°Junior brother, Li Qingshan has already abandoned you. Stop being so obstinate.¡±

    Towards the end, his tone had already become threatening. The giant beast under his feet seemed to sense its master¡¯s feelings, suddenly baring its dagger-like teeth, staring viciously at Dong Dagong.

    Dong Dagong grew cold all over. His teeth chattered. A great sense of fear welled up in his heart, almost wanting to bend down and acknowledge his mistake. However, he thought of the battle of Black Cloud city again and that indomitable embodiment of the Demon God butchering these direct disciples like they were dogs. It was countless times more frightening than Leng Yuan, but hadn¡¯t he still been defeated by them in the very end?

    Abruptly, his fear receded as his eyes shone even redder.

    ¡°Fuck you! If it wasn¡¯t for Li Qingshan, you son of a bitch direct disciples would have fled back to the Myriad sect a long time ago! Perhaps Li Qingshan is a traitor of the Myriad sect, but he¡¯s never let me down! Never! Speaking of which, if it wasn¡¯t for Li Qingshan, I wouldn¡¯t even know which direction the Myriad sect faces. I would have died under Black Cloud city a fucking long time ago!¡±

    Dong Dagong swore to his heart¡¯s content. His eyes glowed red like fire. He no longer possessed any fear.

    There had never been any real sense of loyalty between him and the Myriad sect in the first place. Regular soldiers like them were merely farmers enlisted throughout the Human realm to protect the borders. It presented them the opportunity to do good and enter the path of cultivation, but the frontiers they were stationed at were harsh places that lacked cultivation resources. Only a bare handful of them managed to become disciples of the Myriad sect. Most of them were reduced to a skeleton under Black Cloud city.

    Everyone was startled. A measly Foundation Establishment cultivator was actually speaking to a Yang Soul cultivator like that.

    ¡°How dare you!¡± Wang Junxing rebuked fiercely, but he had already lost some of his confidence. He could vaguely see that man¡¯s figure from Dong Dagong, which roused the fear in the depths of his heart.

    Only Leng Yuan was unfazed. The drizzle suddenly turned into flying snow, momentarily freezing the surroundings. Their breaths turned to ice. The giant beast under his feet let out a sharp growl, shaking up the onlookers with murderousness.

    ¡°Dong Dagong, are you aware of the crimes you¡¯ve committed?¡± Leng Yuan asked, stressing each word.

    He also saw that person¡¯s figure from Dong Dagong. A great sense of disgust welled up inside him. Someone like that had to die!

    ¡°I know. It¡¯s just dying, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t died before. Who¡¯re you trying to frighten?¡±

    With a clang, Dong Dagong drew his blade from its sheath and placed it against his own neck. ¡°Li Qingshan gave me this life. Today, I¡¯ll give it back to him!¡±

    His eyes were wide open, forming a furious glare. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around the hilt, gradually using force. The blade sank deeply into his neck. Blood immediately spurted out, dyeing half of his body red.

    He did not let up at all, cutting into his own flesh inch by inch and slicing through his spine through the cracks. In the blink of an eye, he had already cut through most of his thick neck.

    He continued until he completely sliced through his own neck. His right hand grabbed the hair at the top of his head, lifting it up to show everyone before suddenly falling backwards.

    The blood began to spread on the ground as the head rolled over to one side. The red light in his eyes gradually faded away. His expression was horrifying and twisted, but there was no fear at all.

 Chapter 1636

    With the wrath of the son of heaven, corpses fell in the millions as blood flowed across the land.

    With Leng Yuan¡¯s power and status, he was well beyond anything that a mortal king could compare to. Once he unleashed his wrath, snow flew hundreds of kilometres, and even the sea would freeze over. Not only would regular disciples fall deathly silent, even the other direct disciples had to show him some respect.

    Because not only was he a Yang Soul cultivator, but he also represented the dignity of the Myriad sect¡¯s laws. Opposing him was opposing the entire Myriad sect.

    But at this moment, the blood as thick and bright as fire slowly spread across the frost-covered ground, dazzlingly red in the darkness.

    A hexagonal snowflake drifted into it and was immediately dyed red before melting in the blood.

    With the rage of a common man, blood flowed five steps away. They could be destroyed, but they could not be defeated. Even if they stood no chance, they would never yield!

    When the rain turned to snow and the water turned to ice, time seemed to freeze as well.

    No one was able to say anything, whether it was the master of the Department of Law and Punishment who stood high above or the onlookers in the distance. They all sank into silence.

    All they heard was the rustling of snowflakes as they fell, gradually covering the headless corpse.

    But his blood had yet to cool!

    The soldiers gathered around the corpse, standing without budging like statues, like they were mourning in silence, yet it was also like they were thinking in silence.

    Commandant Luo gritted his teeth so hard that they creaked, gazing at the blood with widened eyes. He belonged to different regiments and their military rank differed too, so they were not particularly close with one another. Apart from the few times they met when they were rewarded, they were basically strangers.

    However, that was the blood of a fellow soldier!

    On the battlefield, the blood of fellow soldiers could only be recompensed by the blood of enemies.

    Who said they had nothing to wear? They wore the same armour.

    Yet now, not only was he incapable of avenging him, but he even had to suck up to the people who forced Dong Dagong to his death, which made him feel an intense sensation of humiliation.

    Yes, humiliation!

    Everything that happened today made him feel humiliated! Being doubted by the sect that he had sworn his life to protect was humiliation! Being escorted here by the patrolling officers was humiliation! Being ordered around by the enforcement officers was humiliation! Being watched by a bunch of onlookers like a group of monkeys was humiliation! 4887

    However, his greatest source of humiliation was not from others but from himself. He had actually ended up yielding, swinging out with that blade, unlike Dong Dagong.

    With a crack, his teeth shattered. The pain burned like fire. His entire mouth was filled with the taste of blood, but he seemed to have been brought back to his senses, realising what he had done. The sense of humiliation only grew stronger, and the pain was almost maddening. However, specks of red light lit up in the depths of his eyes, like a pair of sparks.

    Pairs of eyes lit up in the darkness. He was not the only one who felt like that!

    Leng Yuan was taken aback as well. He had nowhere to release his killing intent, as dissatisfying as missing an attack.

    He wanted to kill Dong Dagong because he wanted to punish him according to the law and set an example. Not only would that make Dong Dagong regret his actions, but it would also make all the onlookers understand and fear the might of law, afraid to tread the line.

    However, before the determination to die, his stern laws seemed feeble. If they did not fear death, how could they be threatened by it?

    Leng Yuan gazed deeply at the ruined statue and suddenly understood why he disliked Li Qingshan so much, whether it was when he first joined the sect or after he became the first senior brother. Even when he had technically saved his life outside Black Cloud city, he was unable to develop any good impression of him.

    That was because there were no rules and laws that could restrain that man. He would always try to break free from everything holding him down, and he never feared any punishment either.

    At this moment, he could vaguely sense there was something wrong with the atmosphere. These soldiers had all technically drawn a clear line between themselves and Li Qingshan. He could not coerce them to do anything more. It was time to end it all!

    ¡°Destroy it! Destroy it completely! Without a single trace, or your fate will be the same as his!¡±

    A bellow suddenly rang out from beneath Leng Yuan.

    Wang Junxing gazed at the dazzling, scarlet blood and suddenly felt a deep sense of fear. He glanced at the imposing statue and felt like it was staring at him, making him jerk backwards like he had been shocked by electricity.

    It reminded him of the days when he lived in constant fear like a stray dog, having faced the humiliation of Li Qingshan¡¯s abuse. Indeed, Li Qingshan was no longer here. It was only a statue, so he fiercely ordered the soldiers around. His eyes were completely bloodshot, which made him seem rather hysterical.

    Oh no! Leng Yuan¡¯s heart lurched, basically wanting to freeze Wang Junxing to death.

    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Commandant Luo bellowed furiously. He was filled with pain as if he was looking for an opening to let it all out.

    ¡°What did you say? Do you also want to die!?¡± Wang Junxing provoked him. He did not take a Golden Core cultivator seriously at all.

    However, in the next moment, all the soldiers turned towards him. Their eyes shone red in the darkness.

    Immediately, the army qi gathered as murderousness filled the air. That was not a group of low-level cultivators. It was clearly a vicious beast.

    The giant beast that resembled both a wolf and a dog under Leng Yuan¡¯s feet immediately narrowed its eyes. Its icicles all stood on end as if it had been threatened.

    Wang Junxing was only a Soul Nascence cultivator. He had never been to Black Cloud city, so when had he ever witnessed an assembly like that? He turned pale-white from fright, staggering backwards, except he failed to notice that the water under his feet had already turned to ice. He slipped and fell back on his bottom.

    The soldiers roared with laughter, which was filled with scorn, but they also resented the fact that they had actually been ordered around by a scoundrel like this earlier. They spoke easily as if they had found their pride again, no longer taking anyone seriously, whether it was Wang Junxing, Leng Yuan, or the great Myriad sect.

    ¡°Dagong was right. If it wasn¡¯t for the general, we¡¯d all be dead,¡± a soldier said sternly.

    ¡°Heh, even if we¡¯re alive, no one takes us seriously. Originally, I thought I had become someone of at least some importance, yet in the end, aren¡¯t I still being ordered around like a dog?¡± A soldier sneered.

    ¡°Pah! Wu, are you really saying you don¡¯t know what kind of person you are? Apart from the general, who has ever treated you as an actual person?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah, my fault for actually treating myself as an actual person. That¡¯s definitely something I have to fix! Though, I think the general is at fault too. Don¡¯t glare at me. Heh, if the general also treated us like dogs and allowed us to just perish in Black Cloud city, we wouldn¡¯t be here putting up with this abuse. Sigh, we would have never done something so ungrateful either, something that even a pig would never do!¡±

    ¡°Sigh, who says we¡¯re not? Even if you give a dog a bone, it knows to wag its tail at you without biting you. We¡¯re even less than dogs!¡±

    ¡°So be it. I¡¯ll apologise to the general right now!¡±

    The soldier with the surname Wu stepped forward and arrived before Li Qingshan¡¯s statue again, dropping down on one knee and performing a soldier¡¯s salute. Afterwards, he drew his blade and placed it against his neck.

    Immediately, a head rolled onto the frozen surface of the ocean. The hot blood in his body gushed into the sky before scattering on the ice with the snow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go in such a hurry, old Wu. Wait for me!¡±

    The soldier talking to him just earlier stepped forward quickly and also dropped down on one knee, performing a salute. He drew his blade and cut off his own head impatiently.

    His head fell to the ground and blood sprayed out, dyeing the icy ocean red once more.

    The soldiers followed their steps and stepped forwards just like earlier, but this time, they did not have any objections at all. Instead, they seemed all too eager.

    Before they knew it, a thin layer of snow had already accumulated on the ground as blood flowed freely, swallowing this snowy-white landscape and radiating with warmth, melting every snowflake it encountered.

    Wang Junxing sensed the icy-cold gaze from behind him and turned around frantically. ¡°Senior brother Leng, they¡¯ve gone mad! They¡¯ve all gone mad! Kill them all! Shatter their souls so that they can never be reborn!¡±

 Chapter 1637

    When Wang Junxing said that, he immediately incurred the disgust of everyone present, whether they were cultivators from other sects or fellow disciples of the Myriad sect. Even his colleagues of the office of enforcement furrowed their brows.

    Everyone here was a cultivator. Once their souls were shattered, it meant obliteration, never to be reborn again. It was a fate even more miserable than mortals who perished from sickness and old age. Even during battles with the enemy, they would rarely ever do something so vicious unless they truly had a great feud.

    These soldiers were not the enemy and were also disciples of the Myriad sect. They were Wang Junxing¡¯s junior brothers. Not only had they never done anything to the detriment of the sect, but they spent all year round guarding Black Cloud city, making great contributions.

    The main duties of the first senior brother of the Myriad sect was actually similar to theirs. The glory of the soldiers were the unshakable moral foundations of the Myriad sect, and the soldiers¡¯ staunchness to accept death with open arms made everyone present develop some respect towards them.

    As a result, even when they refused to draw a clear line between them and Li Qingshan and were suspected to be in collusion with the demonfolk, they were not asking too much of them to demonstrate their allegiance. Now, they were even offering up their lives to demonstrate their innocence, which completely removed any possibility of betraying the sect.

    Yet, Wang Junxing actually still wanted to shatter their souls. His words and actions were even more foul than demonfolk.

    Wang Junxing sensed that he was the enemy of everyone and immediately lost his drive. He was frightened out of his wits, except even he himself had no idea what he was frightened about.

    Leng Yuan¡¯s icy-cold heart began to burn with fury at that moment too. He absolutely hated this fool Wang Junxing. He was basically asking the Department of Law and Punishment to be hated.

    If it wasn¡¯t for this fool abusing his position for his personal grievances, provoking them mindlessly, would any of this have happened? I shouldn¡¯t have accepted him into the Department of Law and Punishment back then.

    However, had he ever taken these low-level soldiers seriously? If he had, could Wang Junxing have acted with such aggression and haughtiness in the first place?

    Originally, he thought that they were only a group of ¡°attendants¡± and ¡°readers¡± at the bottom of the hierarchy. Even combined, he only needed a single hand to deal with them. There was no ¡°first senior brother¡± to stand up for them, so how could they defy his will and the rules of the Myriad sect? Giving them an opportunity to distance themselves from the Demon domain could already be considered as special treatment.

    However, the fact that everything had developed so far was already a demonstration of his severe negligence of his role as the master of the Department of Law and Punishment.

    He could not allow this to continue anymore!

    Leng Yuan raised his hand, and his eyes shone coldly. His powers gathered, about to take action.

    ¡°Senior brother Leng, I¡¯ll call you senior brother one last time!¡± Commandant Luo said proudly, ¡°The general saved our lives. He is also one of our fellow officers, so we cannot distance ourselves from him! You have your rules, but we also have our choices.¡±

    He said with great anger, ¡°We spent our lives guarding the city and holding off the demonfolk. We have never doubted the sect. Even if Li Qingshan really came with demonfolk behind his lead, we would never forsake the bigger picture for our personal emotions. We would definitely fight him to the death! I¡¯m sure that the general would not blame us either. I have no regrets in being able to die by his hand.¡±

    He did not have much contact with Li Qingshan, but he had a strange sense of trust in him as if they had known each other for many years.

    He could imagine a situation like that¡ªthey would encounter one another on the battlefield again but as enemies, fighting without resentment until one side fell. If they could perish together, that would be the best! Perhaps one day they could be reborn in the Asura realm, freed from their identities as humans and demons. He would still be willing to wage war with him everywhere and respectfully call him ¡°general¡±.

    But he could not swing his blade at his statue and curse him as a ¡°traitor of humanity¡± as if he did not owe him any debts at all.

    However, all of this, from beginning to end, was only the thoughts of a warrior, neither approved of by Leng Yuan nor understood by Dai Mengfan.

    He let out a great sigh. ¡°But now, since the sect doesn¡¯t believe in us, even viewing us as worthless imbeciles, free for you to order around, then we¡¯ve had enough. If you want to shatter our souls, then we can only oblige, but if you want us to continue serving the Myriad sect¡­¡± He shook his head firmly. ¡°That would be completely impossible!¡±

    With that, he turned towards the icy ocean. His fellow officers were waiting for him.

    What was so frightening about having his soul shattered?

    There was nothing that Leng Yuan could say in response to that. The coldness in his eyes settled, and his powers gradually dispersed. There was instead an additional sliver of confusion in his eyes now and an additional crack in his heart that resembled hard ice, suddenly doubting whether he had made the right decision or not.

    Should he have not enlisted them into the army right from the beginning? Should he have respected their wishes more?

    However, he was only acting in accordance to the law and carrying out the ¡°first senior sister¡± Dai Mengfan¡¯s wishes, making them draw a clear line between themselves and Li Qingshan.

    He wanted them to make a choice, and they had already made a choice. By then, even if he controlled all of them and locked them up, it was meaningless. Commandant Luo had already said that he would be betraying the sect, which was a death crime according to the laws too.

    Of course, it was still not enough to shatter his soul. Normally, even the most severe of punishments for disciples of the sect only involved getting sent back into rebirth.

    That was not leniency, only the appropriateness of the law. If they frequently shattered the souls of their fellow disciples, the sect would have no sense of unity at all. Perhaps demonic sects could be vicious enough to do that, but they were all small sects unworthy of attention.

    As a result, it was rational and as the law dictated. He had no choice. He could only watch powerlessly as these soldiers dyed the ocean red. Despite being a Yang Soul cultivator, he actually felt deeply helpless.

    The final head fell. The harbour was littered with corpses as blood flowed freely on the ocean.

    The wound-ridden, tottering ¡°Li Qingshan¡± continued to stand over the icy ocean, gazing into the depths of the sea.

    All of the spectators felt extremely heavy-hearted. Originally, they only wanted some entertainment, but who would have thought it would end up so tragically? In the blink of an eye, over a hundred fellow disciples had perished. How could they not feel sympathy?

    The people who had never met Li Qingshan became even more puzzled. Just what kind of person is Li Qingshan for them to lay down their lives like this!?

    Leng Yuan gazed at ¡°Li Qingshan¡¯s¡± figure and thought, You originally could have united the sect and faced the crisis together. Why did you fall into the Demon domain?

    At this moment, the blood had crept over the surface of the ice and flowed over to ¡°Li Qingshan¡¯s¡± feet. It seemed to be conscious, sensing it and letting out a rumble inside.

    A fracture ran across his neck. With a great crack, the huge head fell down, falling into the icy-ocean with a boom. A colossal wave several hundred metres high was lifted into the air, filled with ice and snow, sweeping out in all directions.

    Rumble! Like a string of thunder claps, the icy ocean split open. The cracks spread like webs! Colossal icebergs the size of ships bobbed up and down in the wave, letting out ear-splitting sounds from clashing together.

    Everyone could not help but cry out. Wang Junxing suddenly saw ¡°Li Qingshan¡¯s¡± colossal figure lunge towards him, frightening him to a point where he almost lost control of his body. He screamed, ¡°The statue has come alive!¡±

    As it turned out, ¡°Li Qingshan¡¯s¡± ankles had fractured, unable to bear the weight of its body any more. The headless body slowly leaned forwards.

    With a devastating rumble, it fell heavily into the icy ocean, stirring up a colossal wave and completely shattering the ocean surface.

    Identical to how the soldiers had died.

    Everyone was dumbfounded. The neck and the ankles had always been the most fragile part of a statue, but no one believed this was purely a coincidence.

 Chapter 1638

    Chapter 1638 ¨C Reunion

    The Xuanming dwelling.

    Pi Yangqiu had already left under orders, leaving Li Qingshan alone laying on the surface of the water with his arms and legs outstretched.

    From this angle, the Xuanming dwelling was like a deep well. The opening was the circular, grey sky, hanging high above the darkness, yet it also reflected in his pitch-black eyes. The drizzle produced a series of ripples by his ears. His thick, black, long hair also began to bob with the water, spreading out.

    He had already become a god. All statues of him possessed his divine nature. He had basically personally witnessed everything that occurred outside Myriad city. Even now, he had yet to calm down.

    He had never believed he had done anyone a favour, nor did he ever hope for anything in return, just like how he had never hoped for a statue like that to stand outside Myriad city.

    So if it was destroyed, then let it be destroyed! It was not like it mattered. Even when his former soldiers drew their blades and attacked it, he did not feel surprised or furious, but he was unable to avoid some sighs.

    After all, the general trend of time could not be resisted. After all, the will of the heavens could not be defied¡­ In simpler terms, he had never hoped for anyone to be like ¡°Li Qingshan¡±.

    ¡°How conceited!¡± He suddenly began to laugh, filled with scorn towards himself, but also great pleasure. ¡°Why can¡¯t others be like Li Qingshan? What¡¯s so impressive about Li Qingshan anyway?¡±

    Hot-bloodedness surged through him, like magma churning beneath the crust. It was a sense of fervency he had not experienced in a very long time. He seemed to have floated on this black water for far too long, having grown sick of the wails and pleas of the Demon domain¡¯s living creatures.

    As such, he sat up and said gently, ¡°My fellow soldiers, fight alongside me once more!¡±

    The voice emerged from his drooping black hair, only echoing in the dwelling. However, the will of the god would definitely make its way to the Asura realm, recalling his soldiers and officers once more.

    Who said they had nothing to wear? They wore the same armour. Who said they had nothing to wear? They shared the same grievance.

    ¡°I will avenge you very soon!¡±

    Li Qingshan vanished from the Xuanming dwelling. The people who coerced and pressured them would definitely face even greater coercion and pressure. That was the wrath of a god.

    ¡­¡­

    The Hundred Herbs garden.

    The sun rose and fell. The date which Dai Mengfan had designated crept closer. Outside the garden, Wan Jianfeng¡¯s edge grew sharper and sharper, already ready to rush into the garden at any moment to capture Li Fengyuan and perhaps her as well.

    It was currently dusk. The red sun fell, and the moon had just risen.

    The Hundred Herbs garden sank into an unprecedented silence. There were no disciples busying about, only a lonesome figure wandering through the garden.

    Only the plants continued to flourish, unaware of the joys and sorrows that unfolded around them.

    Ruan Yaozhu had already made up her mind, but she still could not help but feel slightly emotional, gradually sensing the coldness within the night wind.

    This was bound to be her final moments in the Hundred Herbs garden. She did not fear death like Dai Mengfan, but perhaps only at times of parting did time feel so short, like a millennia had passed in the blink of an eye.

    So she simply let go of all her thoughts, focusing on giving these plants the last care that she could offer to them.

    The nine-coloured deer accompanied her silently. Her warm, moist eyes were filled with pity. This price was far too heavy for her. It was all because of ¡°that man¡±.

    The nine-coloured deer gazed at the small hill again. Li Fengyuan sat in a lotus position under the bodhi tree once more with an expression of resolve and determination, like an eminent monk about to lay his life down for a just cause, having cast aside the notion of death already.

    Sigh, you sure can let go easily!

    The nine-coloured deer stopped blaming ¡°that man¡±, but she could not help but recall that autumn night many years ago, when she encountered ¡°that man¡± unexpectedly, thinking that it had to be fate.

    In White Deer city, he raised a great ruckus as he led a group of beggars to a restaurant, using a tree full of peach blossoms to exchange for a full meal for them, yet also lamenting over the death of the peach tree in the dead of night.

    Perhaps that was the moment when he caught Yaozhu¡¯s heart, which was why she made an exception and gambled for the first time during the entrance examination, gambling on his goodness and wickedness.

    That time, she had made the right gamble, and she had even made quite the sum. But this time, she was wagering herself, and whether it was right or wrong, it no longer possessed any meaning to her.

    The only punishment for betraying the sect was death.

    Even a gambler like Le Tian would refuse to take part in this gamble where loss was guaranteed, which was why she could not be considered as a true gambler at the end of the day. She only stubbornly believed in ¡°that man¡± like many years ago.

    She believed ¡°that man¡±, while violent-tempered, while resolute, would always possess kindness and benevolence, would not stand with demonfolk.

    Suddenly, Li Fengyuan opened his eyes under the bodhi tree and waved his hand towards the distance.

    The nine-coloured deer looked over in the direction he waved in and could not help but widen her eyes. She used her horns to rub Ruan Yaozhu in a hurry and called out, ¡°Piece of wood, piece of wood!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s head was currently buried between the plants. She could not help but raise her head, but she was also stunned instantly.

    Under the glowing, red light of the setting sun, a tall, large figure strode over.

    In just a few steps, he arrived before her, bearing a familiar smile. He called her ¡°Yaozhu¡± before spreading his arms, pulling her in firmly.

    Everything had happened far too suddenly. She was completely incapable of making any response, but she felt her heart loosen and the tremendous burden lifted from her shoulders. She no longer possessed any strength, but her eyes reddened.

    The nine-coloured deer could not bring herself to separate them either, as she felt like they had just been snatched from the jaws of death. Both of them believed without any reason that as long as this man appeared, all their problems would be resolved in the process.

    The nine-coloured deer raised a ruckus. ¡°Li Qingshan, kid¡­ you¡¯ve finally returned! Are you aware that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance has already declared that you¡¯ve defected to the Demon domain? In order to protect your unlucky son, Yaozhu has even sealed up the Hundred Herbs garden. We¡¯ve almost died because of you!¡±

    Li Qingshan only smiled, but his expression was the same as before and his mannerisms were kind. He did not give off any demonic aura at all. Even the qilin of great compassion and benevolence was no different from this. When he gazed towards Ruan Yaozhu, his eyes were filled with gentleness too.

    ¡°I just knew you wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± Ruan Yaozhu murmured, except her face then reddened, gently trying to break free from Li Qingshan¡¯s embrace.

    As such, Li Qingshan hugged her even more firmly. A smear of lament flashed through his eyes. He should not have made her suffer like this any more.

    Li Fengyuan sighed inside and stood up, studying Li Qingshan carefully.

    Li Qingshan seemed to sense him and also gazed back, studying Li Fengyuan.

    At this moment, the father and son were actually like strangers to one another, but they also seemed like they were verifying something. During the time they spent separated, both of them had undergone overwhelming changes.

    The nine-coloured deer said, ¡°Can the two of you stop sizing each other up? Wan Jianfeng is about to kill his way in here!¡±

    ¡°Junior brother Wan! Heh, he sure is bold to harass our Yaozhu!¡±

    ¡°Senior brother Wan is only acting under orders. Don¡¯t blame him,¡± Ruan Yaozhu said softly. She knew Li Qingshan had an extremely murderous side to him, so she was afraid he would injure Wan Jianfeng and ruin the fact that they were fellow disciples.

    ¡°Under Dai Mengfan¡¯s orders?¡±

    ¡°Senior sister Dai had no other choice either. The spirit reverend forced her to become the first senior sister.¡±

    ¡°In other words, it¡¯s all the old turtle¡¯s fault then!¡±

    ¡°The spirit reverend was only acting under the rules of the sect too. Sigh, he must have grown senile, which is why he divined incorrectly and thought you had fallen into the Demon domain. It¡¯ll be fine as long as you resolve the misunderstanding.¡±

    ¡°You oh you! Still the same as always.¡± Li Qingshan could not help but shake his head, gazing in the direction of the Myriad sect. ¡°I¡¯ll head over now and clear up everything with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance!¡±

 Chapter 1639

    The nine-coloured deer furrowed her brows slightly. She could vaguely feel that there was something off about Li Qingshan¡¯s tone, but when she thought a little more about it, this kid had always possessed quite a temper. He must have been furious after the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had made such accusations. He was definitely off to face that old turtle and clear his name.

    Hehe, with his current cultivation, he¡¯s probably no weaker than that old turtle. The old turtle is probably in a lot of trouble this time!

    However, she also developed some doubts. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance and her were both natural spirits, so she understood how exceptional spirit turtles were much more than humans. Human cultivators required several years of arduous study and practice to learn divination, yet it was an instinct that spirit turtles were born with. It was basically as natural to them as swimming.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance has always been careful and prudent. If he doesn¡¯t have absolute confidence in something so major, he¡¯d never make it known to the public like this and damage the reputation of the Myriad sect for nothing. Why would he make a mistake like that!

    However, when she looked at Ruan Yaozhu again, she leaned against Li Qingshan in his arms. She bore no resemblance to the master of the Hundred Herbs garden anymore. She was clearly a woman who had found someone to rely on. When she heard that, she let out a gentle sigh of relief as she smiled away with her blushed face, having stopped worrying completely. She was certain Li Qingshan would properly explain everything to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance and resolve this colossal misunderstanding. She had even become a little complacent.

    Sigh, you dumb piece of wood. It really is a tribulation of attachments! A tribulation of attachments!

    Given the current circumstances, the nine-coloured deer obviously could not mention her doubts. She could only hope that her deepest and greatest worry would not come true.

    Li Qingshan suddenly changed the topic. ¡°But before that, do you want to hear my story, Yaozhu?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ruan Yaozhu nodded before suddenly yelping out.

    As it turned out, Li Qingshan had lifted her up in his arms and arrived between some flower bushes, sitting down on the ground.

    Ruan Yaozhu was completely embarrassed. She could not help but put up a struggle and call out, ¡°Let go of me, senior brother!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer stomped her foot furiously and thought, Which man would let go of you when you act like that?

    Li Qingshan whispered into Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s ear, ¡°Stop moving around. Let me finish.¡±

    His deep voice seemed to possess a certain charm or power. Sure enough, Ruan Yaozhu stopped struggling, blinking her eyes and gazing up at him.

    This was the perfect combination between the path of the devaputra-m¨¡ra and the power of a god. His words were like the law and everything obeyed it. Every single action he made possessed endless charm. Every word he spoke was as undefiable as a decree, enough to influence any Yang Soul cultivator.

    Of course, it was also because Ruan Yaozhu had absolutely no intention of resisting him right now. She believed in Li Qingshan unconditionally, and she was currently experiencing an upheaval of emotions from reuniting after so long. She was truly in disarray.

    ¡°In the beginning, I did not go to the Demon domain. Instead, I was taken to Sukh¨¡vat¨©, and I was even made a sangharama guardian¡­¡±

    When Li Qingshan began to describe everything he had been through, Ruan Yaozhu gradually forgot about her embarrassment, becoming engrossed in his story. Li Fengyuan and the nine-coloured deer¡¯s ears pricked up uncontrollably too, listening along quietly.

    Sukh¨¡vat¨© had always been a world of wonders, while everything that Li Qingshan experienced in Sukh¨¡vat¨© was even more bizarre and unbelievable.

    Everyone present could sense it. Beneath Li Qingshan¡¯s indifferent voice was an emotion that could not be put into words. At times, he was like a sombre old man describing matters from many years ago, yet at other times he sounded as naive as a child, innocently unaware of the right and the wrong, the good and the evil that the world had to offer.

    When they heard how he went as far as to undergo rebirth and lose all of his memories to resist the influence of Sukh¨¡vat¨©, everyone worried for him, but they also felt like that was something that Li Qingshan would do. When they heard how he was adopted by an old couple and named ¡°Eggborn¡±, everyone smiled, strangely finding the name very fitting.

    Before they knew it, the final ray of light vanished from the sky. The curtain of night descended.

    As the story progressed, ¡°Eggborn¡± finally set off on his journey to the Great Thunderclap temple. Everything was like fate. The audience was engrossed in the story. Even the surrounding trees and shrubs seemed to be listening along.

    Li Qingshan had once been a disciple of the school of Novels, except he could not help but admit that he was not particularly successful in this area. All he had done was copy famous works from his past life, even getting Xiao An to edit it and spruce it up. In simpler words, the stories did not belong to him, but the one right now was the most fascinating story he had told so far, one that completely belonged to him.

    The moon reached its zenith, sprinkling with its silver light.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you doing!?¡±

    There was a sudden shout. The nine-coloured deer stared straight at Li Qingshan furiously, or more accurately, at Li Qingshan¡¯s left hand, which had snuck its way to Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s side.

    Ruan Yaozhu was confused, like she had just woken up from a dream. She was still engrossed in the story¡ªeverything that Li Qingshan went through in the Demon domain was even more bizarre and startling than Sukh¨¡vat¨©. She still wanted to find out whether Li Qingshan had managed to break free from Heretic God Jiuying¡¯s maze and how he would defeat Demon God Qiongqi¡­

    ¡°Sure enough, a spirit of nature! I haven¡¯t even finished my story yet!¡± Li Qingshan shook his head in some pity. ¡°But it¡¯s quite late now. Let¡¯s stop here for today!¡±

    ¡°Jiu¡¯er?¡± Ruan Yaozhu blinked her eyes. She looked at the nine-coloured deer before looking at Li Qingshan again, still unaware of what had happened.

    Before anyone had realised it, Li Fengyuan had shut his eyes again, unwilling to see everything that would occur next.

    Li Qingshan raised his left hand slowly. He held a queen of the night in the centre of his palm. The thin, pure-white petals slowly bloomed in his hand, like he had casually plucked it from somewhere, except none of the shrubs and bushes around him were queens of the night.

    The queen of the night was unlike any regular spiritual herb. Every single one of its petals was of identical size, and the distance between petal to petal was the same down to the very millimetre. It formed a total of three layers with twenty-four petals in each, amounting to seventy-two in total.

    The formation of the Hundred Herbs garden was known as the Seventy-two Pentads formation.

    As mentioned in the classics of history, ¡°Five days form a pentad, three pentads form a solar term, six solar terms form a season, four seasons form a year.¡±

    A year had twenty-four solar terms, which was further divided into seventy-two pentads.The purpose of the Seventy-two Pentads formation was to regulate the climates throughout the Hundred Herbs garden meticulously, allowing the wondrous plants of different natures to flourish together. Those were the origins of its name.

    As the foundation of the Myriad sect, the Hundred Herbs garden¡¯s Seventy-two Pentads formation was far mightier than the Xuanming dwelling¡¯s Xuanming formation. Meanwhile, this queen of the night with seventy-two petals was the core formation disc, as well as the symbol that represented the master of the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Ruan Yaozhu touched the sumeru ring on her finger. Sure enough, the queen of the night was not there. She panicked inside as if a step she took had just fallen through and right beneath her was the abyss.

    She broke free from his embrace and forced out a smile. ¡°Qingshan, stop playing around. I can¡¯t give you that, even if you¡¯re the first senior brother.¡± Her tone was almost pleading. The nine-coloured deer felt like her heart was about to shatter, staring straight at Li Qingshan.

    However, Li Qingshan was unfazed. He stared at the queen of the night in his hand. A wisp of darkness emerged from the pistil, spreading outwards and dyeing the pure-white petals black.

    The Seventy-two Pentads formation was very complicated. Even after becoming a god, this was only a clone after all. He could not refine it without a good while.

    However, apart from the master of the Hundred Herbs garden and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, there was one other person completely familiar with the Seventy-two Pentads formation¡ªthe master of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings, Pi Yangqiu.

    The nine-coloured deer said furiously, ¡°Piece of wood, stop being a fool! He¡¯s trying to steal your Hundred Herbs garden! He¡¯s demonified already!¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed to be directing all of his focus to refining the ¡°queen of the night¡±. He could no longer maintain his disguise anymore, releasing dense demon qi that was even darker than the night, completely blotting out the brilliant moonlight. Even his figure was swallowed by the darkness. His eyes shone with scarlet light.

    Within the depths of the darkness were the painful and sorrowful whisperings of billions of demonfolk. He did not seem to reside between the bushes anymore. Instead, it seemed like he was sitting high above a sea of blood.

    ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t!¡± Ruan Yaozhu shook her head slowly. Tears streamed down her face.

    Li Qingshan looked up at her and sighed as if he was saying, Yaozhu, this is the ending to the story.

    The queen of the night in his hand had been completely dyed black.

 Chapter 1640

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you bastard!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer was enraged. She stomped the ground and bounded forwards, turning into a streak of nine-coloured light. Her coral-like horns shone with dazzling colours too like a rainbow, immediately smashing through the dark demon qi around Li Qingshan.

    The moment Li Qingshan saw the light, he lost his sense of sight. His eyes were completely blinded. He was aware she had already used her innate ability.

    The antlers slammed heavily into his chest. His clone here was only at the third heavenly tribulation. He definitely could not defend against the full-powered attack of a Daemon Sovereign.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes, holding the queen of the night in his left hand and forming a seal with his right hand. The queen of the night flowed as his fingers moved about, extending his hand and gently making contact with the antlers like he knew how everything would unfold. He stated slowly, ¡°On the day of the summer solstice, the deers shed their horns.¡±

    One of the queen of the night¡¯s seventy-two petals flashed. Only then did the countless profound inscriptions on the petals become visible. It truly hid an entire world of wonders in a single flower, clearly not a regular queen of the night.

    The nine-coloured deer shuddered and halted mid-air. The light on her antlers shed layer by layer, and even the nine-coloured glow she gave off rapidly dimmed. She staggered as her front legs dropped to the ground, but she continued to wave her antlers around and use her innate ability, wanting to fight Li Qingshan to the death.

    She said furiously, ¡°I should have killed you the first time I saw you!¡±

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes and sighed gently. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Another petal on the queen of the night in his left hand flashed. ¡°On the day of the commencement of winter, water begins to freeze.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer¡¯s full-powered attack had been blocked, so her struggles now were merely one last futile attempt. He pressed down conveniently and grabbed her antlers. Frost rapidly spread from the centre of his palm, covering the antlers entirely. In the blink of an eye, even her beautiful fur became covered in a layer of a light-blue frost, no longer able to move anymore.

    At this very moment, it was the might of the Seventy-two Pentads formation at work without any doubt. It definitely was not just for tending to the flowers and herbs. It was capable of a myriad of functions, adjusting the climate and abiding to the seasons, deeply conforming to the path of nature, containing the might of the world.

    As a natural spirit, the nine-coloured deer was far stronger than regular Daemon Sovereigns, yet even she had been overwhelmed so easily. Even Human Immortals or Heretic Gods would be in danger of perishing if they broke into the formation rashly.

    If Ruan Yaozhu were fully alert, taking the Hundred Herbs garden would be anything but easy even if Li Qingshan sent his most powerful clone. As long as they kept him busy for a while, he would be surrounded by the Desireless Heavenly Palace and slain, which would be a waste of power.

    The nine-coloured deer had been overwhelmed, but she continued to glare at Li Qingshan. White air exhaled from her nostrils violently. She had never hated someone so much, even when she had been betrayed by the hunter and brought into the imperial palace, starving herself to death.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, has Ruan Yaozhu ever wronged you in any way? When you destroyed the White Deer country, she never blamed you. When you were accused, she argued for you in the Direct Disciple hall. No one believed in you. Only she did, going as far as to break off from the sect. Why are you doing this to her? Why!?¡± When she reached there, tears had already welled up in her eyes uncontrollably. ¡°Yaozhu is just too pitiful!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed inside. The nine-coloured deer¡¯s current words were even more painful than her innate ability earlier. He could not block it, nor could he avoid it.

    Ruan Yaozhu stood there numbly with her head down. She did not attack Li Qingshan with the nine-coloured deer. As the master of the Hundred Herbs garden, she understood the power of the Seventy-two Pentads formation better than anyone else. She was also aware of what Li Qingshan was capable of. The queen of the night was already lost, so all attempts were futile. However, she could not help but murmur, ¡°So I really have only been focusing on my personal feelings of love and ignoring the greater good of the sect¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan stood seriously and asked calmly, ¡°Yaozhu, you practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature, right?¡±

    The tears on Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s faces had yet to dry. She looked over blankly, but when she saw Li Qingshan¡¯s face, she was unable to hide her sorrow.

    A sense of sympathy welled up inside Li Qingshan, but he remained unfazed on the surface. He continued.

    ¡°You¡¯re endowed with talent and great fortune. The path you walk is not inflexible like Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo¡¯s. Presiding over this blessed land, the Hundred Herbs garden, you should have undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation and become a Human Immortal a long time ago, but unfortunately, you never managed to comprehend the path of nature, or more accurately, you only comprehended half of it.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu turned away, completely refusing to talk to Li Qingshan, much less see him again.

    ¡°The heavens take pleasure in the welfare of the living creatures. That¡¯s definitely true, but natural selection, predators hunting prey, all of it is part of the path of nature too. Even these unfeeling plants and trees compete over sunlight, rain, and dew, growing thorns to fend off attacks. This is the wickedness in the heart of the living creatures-¡±

    ¡°Is that the reason why you became a demon?¡± Ruan Yaozhu could not help but interrupt him. ¡°You have wicked thoughts, so you must act on them? Others act wickedly, so you must act wickedly too?¡± She was completely disappointed in him.

    ¡°Goodness and wickedness has never been relevant to the path of nature. You possess great benevolence and kindness within you, which is both your talent, as well as your obstacle.¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°What I am trying to say is that with life, there is death. I will demonstrate the other half of the path of nature to you right now.¡±

    Reaching there, Li Qingshan suddenly exhaled deeply as if he wanted to release all the pent-up emotions inside him.

    The surrounding plants all rustled, and Ruan Yaozhu widened her eyes in fright. The ten-thousand-year Orchid of Light and Dark beside Li Qingshan suddenly went into full bloom, glowing with a dim blue light. Originally, it still required several years of her care before it bloomed like that.

    All of the plants around Li Qingshan, these spiritual plants that often only grew an inch over centuries or millennia, began to grow rapidly at a visible rate. Their branches reached for the skies freely, budding with flowers.

    At that moment, thousands of flowers went into full bloom, contending against one another in the moonlight. The flowers that were originally already blossoming bloomed to an unbelievable degree as if they wanted to demonstrate all of their beauty at that very moment, without holding back on anything.

    Li Qingshan was swallowed by the blooming flowers, but Ruan Yaozhu clearly heard his breathing suddenly halt. Her heartbeat halted with it. She did not fear death, but at that moment, she experienced imminent doom. She cried out, ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±

    Her voice was like the bleeding cries of a cuckoo, filled with a sense of pleading. Who knew how much of her heart she had poured into the Hundred Herbs garden. The plants here were even more important than her life.

    At that instant, the moment when she first met Li Qingshan suddenly crossed her head, that autumn night, that tree of peach blossoms.

    She was filled with grief, but for some reason, she also realised very calmly that this man would not stop for her, just like how he would lament over the peach tree¡¯s death but still choose to make it bloom.

    Li Qingshan then began to inhale. His breath was slow and lengthy, like he wanted to suck in all the air present in the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Immediately, the plants withered and the flowers wilted, like they had suddenly entered late autumn. All the plants within several dozen metres of him yellowed and drooped, shedding to the ground.

    These plants that had flourished to the extreme seemed to lose all of their vitality, but they also exhaled all of their spiritual qi, which gushed into Li Qingshan¡¯s body. The clone¡¯s cultivation immediately erupted, rushing towards the fourth heavenly tribulation. Even his body became much larger!

    These wondrous plants and flowers were all of different elements. If they were used for alchemy, their elements had to be balanced, and it would require a lot of time to regulate the opposites, repeated again and again. After the pills were complete, their attributes had to be taken into account when ingesting to prevent their effects from clashing.

    However, Li Qingshan had removed this entire process, sending these plants from life to death and making them exhale their most primitive and most pure life force, which he converted into his clone¡¯s cultivation.

    His methods were the abilities of the Qilin Transformation.

    He had already obtained the laws central to Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain. Together, they formed the Qilin Paradise that the primordial qilin had turned into. His Qilin Transformation had reached completion a long time ago.

    At that moment, he was the embodiment of the primordial qilin.

    The world had no compassion. Life and death cycled between one another. That was the path of nature that Ruan Yaozhu had never been able to comprehend.

 Chapter 1641

    The Qilin, with its Hovering Steps, Sympathises with the Living.

    Li Qingshan originally never understood the qilin¡¯s path of paramount benevolence. Now, he had comprehended it completely.

    It supported them without trying to possess them, it did so without thinking it was superior to them and it aided them without trying to control them. That was called virtue.

    TL: This is from chapter 10 of the Dao De Jing.

    Nature birthed all of the living creatures, but it did not claim them to be its, placing them under its control, much less ask them for any payback, demanding all living creatures to be loyal to it. Its virtue of benevolence was omnipresent, but also utmost profound, never to be sensed by anyone. It was like everything was supposed to be like that, thus the name ¡°nature¡±.

    Of course, the true qilin would have never turned the life force of the plants and trees into its own power like Li Qingshan. The path that Li Qingshan walked was not the qilin¡¯s path at the end of the day. He only made use of the qilin¡¯s powers and transformations.

    However, even the primordial qilin had been incapable of completely following through with its own path, betraying the nature it had been born with, following Sovereign Wa into the Battle of Mending Heaven and perishing under the lightning of Sovereign Xi.

    At the end of the day, the primordial qilin was also just one of the many living creatures, not the senseless, unfeeling laws.

    However, when it cast one final glance towards the figure that mended the heavens with her very own body, it probably did not regret its choice.

    If the heavens had emotions, they too would age.

    Between his exhale and inhale, life and death cycled, going from the bloom of a hundred flowers to the wilting of trees, from flourishing prosperity to only bleakness in sight.

    With everything that unfolded right now, even a mortal would comprehend something, let alone several cultivators of unparalleled intelligence and talent.

    Under the golden-leaved bodhi tree, Li Fengyuan extended his hand. A fallen leaf drifted into his palm. He looked up as the tree leaves dispersed and rustled away in the wind, spreading on the ground. Only withered branches that jutted towards the night sky sharply were left behind. He could not help but gently caress the coarse bark, having already understood the sorrow involved.

    The nine-coloured deer had been overwhelmed by Li Qingshan, but she still could not help but develop a sense of closeness. The qilin was the chief of all terrestrial beasts, and the nine-coloured deer and the qilin¡¯s bloodlines were particularly close. Witnessing Li Qingshan who had become an embodiment of the primordial qilin demonstrating the path of nature of the cycle of life and death from so close, she immediately felt like she had been enlightened, virtually forgetting that she was opposing Li Qingshan.

    Only Ruan Yaozhu could not help but drop to her knees as she watched the Hundred Herbs garden that she had poured her heart into be destroyed. She pressed her hand against her chest. Her heart was in agony. If it were not for the neutral and mild nature of the Heavenly Tome of Nature, she almost would have suffered from cultivation deviation and lost control over her powers. Why would she still care about some path of nature?

    Li Qingshan sighed inside, but he continued to inhale and exhale the spiritual qi without budging.

    A withered-yellow colour radiated outwards rapidly from him. Wherever it reached, the plants and trees wilted to death.

    The surging spiritual qi was so dense that it had almost become a liquid, flowing with dazzling light and gathering towards him like the rivers to an ocean.

    His figure began to grow, three metres, six metres, nine metres¡­ he instantly towered over all the trees around him.

    The cultivation of his clone grew abruptly. In the blink of an eye, it reached the fifth heavenly tribulation, the realm of Yang Soul cultivators, but it still showed no signs of stopping.

    By then, Li Qingshan had only absorbed all the spiritual qi within three hundred metres of him. There were countless spiritual herbs in that range that could lead to conflict between many cultivators outside, yet compared to the entirety of the Hundred Herbs garden, it was like nothing.

    The Hundred Herbs garden¡¯s terrain was extremely expansive. In order to support plants that required different conditions, it contained mountains, valleys, plains, deserts, lakes, and rivers. There was everything.

    Li Qingshan was the lord of the Demon domain, and he presided over the expansive demonic earth, but at that moment, even he could not help but be amazed by the breadth and depth of the Myriad sect¡¯s foundations and heritage.

    So what if a few direct disciples perished? With this Hundred Herbs garden around, they were free to produce new direct disciples endlessly, which was equivalent to an endless stream of enemies to Li Qingshan right now.

    As a result, he had to uproot the Hundred Herbs garden, and he could use it against the enemy and strengthen this clone. As mentioned in the Art of War, ¡°One cartload of the enemy¡¯s provisions is equivalent to twenty of one¡¯s own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one¡¯s own store.¡±

    Most importantly, this power did not originate from the Demon domain, so it would not be so easily noticed by the people up in the heavens. Only like that would he have a chance to swallow the Myriad sect in one single gulp while the enemy was still unprepared.

    Of course, the Hundred Herbs garden was not that important. The Myriad sect was not that important either. Even as a conservative estimate, the Human realm had over a hundred large sects. Losing one or gaining one would not necessarily influence the overall situation and which of them lacked a place like the Hundred Herbs garden?

    If he could choose, Li Qingshan also did not want to hurt Ruan Yaozhu, but the Myriad sect possessed something that he needed to obtain. This thing would influence the fate of the living creatures in the Demon domain and even the future direction of the war, so he could not allow any of his personal feelings get in his way.

    Very soon, the cultivation of the clone reached its limit¡ªthe sixth heavenly tribulation, the realm of Human Immortals. He had already become the size of a mountain.

    The spiritual qi required for each major realm was thousands of times more than the last, but that was not an issue at all in the Hundred Herbs garden. As a matter of fact, a majority of the garden remained lush.

    However, Li Qingshan did not stop absorbing the spiritual qi. He gazed down at Ruan Yaozhu.

    ¡°Yaozhu.¡±

    He did not speak, but his voice rang out in Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s heart, like the whistling of winds or the shaking of the earth. The only thing it did not resemble was a human¡¯s voice.

    Ruan Yaozhu was completely disheartened, but even she could not help but look over at the sound of the voice, meeting a pair of jade-green eyes. Those were not the eyes of a human.

    By now, Li Qingshan¡¯s face was no longer a human¡¯s either, but something between a lion¡¯s and a human¡¯s. A pair of brown antlers sprouted between his thick, black hair, looming over the top of his head.

    However, he instead seemed less frightening compared to before, giving off a strange sense of divinity, like an ancient statue of a god, forgotten by the people, sitting peacefully on the ground.

    At that instant, Ruan Yaozhu seemed to forget her sorrows too, drawn in by the jade-green eyes.

    As the cultivation of his clone reached its limit, Li Qingshan¡¯s might as a god and the path of the devaputra-m¨¡ra reached the limit. Let alone the fact that Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s mind was in disarray, she would struggle to resist him even if she was in her usual state.

    Their eyes met. Li Qingshan began to pour his Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity from the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and various comprehensions regarding the path of nature he had gained through the merging the laws of Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain into her.

    Imbuement of wisdom.

    Ruan Yaozhu groaned and furrowed her brows. ¡°Stop, Qingshan!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I won¡¯t directly twist your mind. I¡¯ll just show you the true path, which will still require your gradual comprehension in the future.¡±

    Li Qingshan was only giving her a push from behind, forcing her to see the true path of nature.

    Meanwhile, her personal foundations were already sturdy enough. With this helping hand, it was enough for her to step through the boundary of mortality and immortality and reach the realm of Human Immortals.

    By the time Ruan Yaozhu had calmed down slightly, Li Qingshan extended his finger and pressed it against her forehead gently, channeling the spiritual qi into her body.

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head and struggled desperately. She refused to accept this power. Using the plants and flowers of the Hundred Herbs garden as her own resources for cultivation was basically a theft of something entrusted in her care. However, with Li Qingshan¡¯s mountainous divine might, how could she resist? All she could do was shed tears of grievances.

    The nine-coloured deer cried out, ¡°Hold on! You¡¯re killing her!¡±

    However, Li Qingshan ignored her, continuing to absorb spiritual qi while pouring even more spiritual qi into Ruan Yaozhu.

    The spiritual qi required to condense a Yang Soul into an Origin Soul was a lot, but it was still nothing compared to the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Immediately, thick tribulation clouds filled the air as the sound of thunder boomed.

 Chapter 1642

    At this moment, Wan Jianfeng continued to stand guard outside the Hundred Herbs garden, completely unaware of everything happening inside.

    The Hundred Herbs garden already resided in a miniature world of its own, independent from the Human realm. Ruan Yaozhu had activated the Seventy-two Pentads formation too, completely sealing it inside. As such, even tremendous disturbances inside could not be detected so easily.

    The time limit of three days drew near. Wan Jianfeng was aware that it was impossible to breach the Hundred Herbs garden with his powers alone. However, Dai Mengfan must have requested for the central authority over the miniature world from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance already.

    The power of the formation did not originate from itself but from the surrounding terrain. As long as they could control the miniature world, they would be able to nip the entire issue in the bud. There would be no formations that worked. By then, Ruan Yaozhu alone stood no chance against him.

    At this moment, a jade-green streak of light shot over from over the ocean, except it was not Dai Mengfan.

    ¡°Who are you?¡±

    ¡°Greetings, senior brother Wan. I am Shen Yushu.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Thunder rumbled through the Hundred Herbs garden, booming through the earth and resounding through the entire miniature world. Fierce winds swept the land, lifting countless fallen leaves into a wild dance like it was the end of the world.

    The tribulation clouds that surged like ink weighed heavily in the sky, blotting out the stars and moon instantly, leaving it pitch-black. Everything sank into darkness.

    Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating everyone¡¯s faces.

    At that instant, the light and shadows streaked through the landscape, becoming especially evident like a frozen oil painting.

    Li Fengyuan continued to stare at the wilted bodhi tree as if he was completely unaware of everything that unfolded behind him. Who knew what he was thinking.

    Li Qingshan sat still, like the statue of a god.

    The nine-coloured deer peered towards Ruan Yaozhu in worry with her gentle, moist eyes.

    The sixth heavenly tribulation was extremely important to cultivators. This was the step that determined their mortality or immortality, but this step was extremely difficult as well. There were very few cultivators that could make this step successfully.

    It was not just because the tribulation lightning would be particularly intense and armaments of tribulation lightning were guaranteed to appear. When the Yang Soul became an Origin Soul, there would be inner demons at work too, which were what buddhism referred to as skandha-m¨¡ra.

    The armaments of tribulation lightning and the skandha-m¨¡ra, an external opponent and an internal problem, were both extremely terrifying existences.

    When cultivators faced the tribulation, they were confronted with the threat of death, but they were also overcome by the desire for immortality, which itself led to fluctuation in emotions and instability as a consequence.

    And at this moment, Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s mind was in disarray with her five skandha ablaze. The risks involved were much greater, and it might even draw over even more terrifying kle?a-m¨¡ra.

    Once her mind gave way, faced with both internal and external pressures, she would either suffer from cultivation deviation, lose control over her powers, have her soul shattered and explode on the spot, or she would be slain on the spot by the armaments of tribulation lightning.

    The nine-coloured deer thought, Li Qingshan, oh Li Qingshan. Will you only be satisfied once you¡¯ve killed Yaozhu?

    When the tribulation lightning was about to rain down, Ruan Yaozhu only stared at Li Qingshan stubbornly, possessing absolutely no intentions of receiving the tribulation. She refused to accept these ¡°kind intentions¡±, nor did she forgive Li Qingshan for his deceit.

    I stand no chance against your powers, but at least I can lay down my life to make amends.

    Li Qingshan seemed to have anticipated this a long time ago. He grabbed the nine-coloured deer. ¡°If you die, I¡¯ll bury this stupid deer with you!¡±

    ¡°You!¡± Ruan Yaozhu paled in fright. ¡°Release her! You bastard!¡±

    ¡°Save me, Yaozhu!¡± The nine-coloured deer¡¯s face was filled with pain. ¡°I still don¡¯t want to die! Ahhhhh! It hurts!¡± She behaved like she was about to be crushed to death by Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan curled his lip. He had not used any force at all, but he still appreciated her acting. She truly was a natural spirit. It was very spirited.

    Why would daemonic beasts care about the rules of the Human realm? The nine-coloured deer did not care about the Hundred Herbs garden or the Myriad sect either. She was only concerned about Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s safety.

    ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± Ruan Yaozhu glared at Li Qingshan, having truly been angered by him, tempted to just kill him on the spot.

    ¡°You know me. I always do everything I say I would,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    ¡°Then did you do everything you promised me?¡± Ruan Yaozhu only felt like neither death nor life was an option at that point.

    Li Qingshan was unable to answer her. He sighed gently. ¡°Yaozhu, will you trust me one more time?¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but she did not give him an answer. She finally rose up into the sky, flying between the tribulation clouds. ¡°Qingshan, promise me one last thing.¡±

    ¡°Go on.¡±

    ¡°If I fail the tribulation, please spare her.¡±

    ¡°Yaozhu!¡± The nine-coloured deer said tearily, ¡°You definitely won¡¯t fail! We¡¯ll be together forever!¡±

    ¡°Alright. As long as you give it your all, I won¡¯t touch a hair on her regardless of what ends up happening. However, as long as you even consider death, it won¡¯t be able to escape my watch.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t consider death. I want to become a Human Immortal, to exterminate demons and guard the orthodoxy!¡± Ruan Yaozhu ground her teeth.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Li Qingshan smiled. He no longer wanted to distract her anymore, so he released the nine-coloured deer.

    At this moment, the might of the heavenly tribulation peaked, and it all condensed into a single point. The nine-coloured deer cried out, ¡°An armament of tribulation lightning!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not unfamiliar with this sight, but he could not help but sigh. ¡°This is it?¡±

    As it turned out, the ¡°armament of tribulation lightning¡± was a small sword around half a metre long. It clearly possessed tremendous might, but Li Qingshan had never seen such a delicate ¡°armament of tribulation lightning¡± before. He could not help but curse, ¡°Damned heavens, why do I get huge blades and axes when I face the tribulation?¡±

    He had basically witnessed the definition of ¡°the heavens are unfair¡± now, just like the exams he took in his past life. They were the same subjects, yet the difficulties of the exams differed. They were the same mark, yet the schools they could enter were different.

    The nine-coloured deer sneered. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re really going to tell me you don¡¯t know that?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Of course, I know. There are no gods watching over up above. Justice lies within the blade!¡±

    He stared at the tiny sword, and his gaze became extremely deep and distant as if he had realised something.

    In the past, he only treated heavenly tribulations as a phenomenon of nature and went on about some cliches like ¡°obedience is mortality and defiance is immortality.¡±

    However, just who could defy the Dao and nature? Just who could not abide by it?

    Were raging rivers also supposed to be tests from the heavenly Dao to those who crossed the river? Where defiance led to success and obedience meant being washed away, becoming a floating corpse? Perhaps that did make some sense, but that was still just the fantasy that people came up with.

    Since he had already become a god, Forging his Soul back into the Void and comprehending the laws of the world, he discovered many man-made traces within the heavenly tribulation. This probably was not some test from the heavenly Dao at all!

    He found the significance behind the armaments of tribulation lightning to be extremely familiar. That¡¯s right, it bore great resemblance to Sovereign Xi¡¯s lightning. There was a tremendous difference in terms of quality, like a drop compared to an ocean, but they shared the same origins when it came to quality. It truly was filled with the might and dignity of the heavenly Dao because Sovereign Xi was basically the embodiment of the heavenly Dao.

    Since Sovereign Wa had succeeded in mending the heavens, Sovereign Xi had returned to the heavenly Dao too.

    Then who was the one who set down these laws to massacre the cultivators in the world?

    But regardless of who it was, they clearly showed great grace towards the path of nature that Ruan Yaozhu walked, so the might of the heavenly tribulation was much weaker.

    The tiny sword also rampaged through the air, leaving behind blinding traces as it attempted to kill Ruan Yaozhu, but compared to everything that Li Qingshan encountered, it was only like a modest display of what it was truly capable of, like a patient, guiding teacher.

    However, Ruan Yaozhu was still under life-threatening danger, clearly unable to handle the test of the armament of tribulation lightning, and her inner demons began to stir.

 Chapter 1643

    The Hundred Herbs garden was so bright that it seemed like daytime. There were no longer any gaps between the flashes of lightning. It weaved into a gorgeous, dancing net around Ruan Yaozhu, dyeing everything white.

    Rumble!

    The surroundings shook endlessly as the rumbles of thunder merged into one single, unending roar. It was like the wheel of a tremendous carriage was rolling through the sky.

    Li Qingshan looked up with his head raised. No matter how many times he saw it, he still felt shocked by the might of the world.

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s situation was not good. Not only did she have to face the regular tribulation lightning, but she also had to constantly guard against the sudden attacks from the tiny sword, requiring her full attention.

    Her expression constantly changed, sometimes with her eyebrows locked, like she was in great pain, sometimes with a smile on her face, like she had forgotten about her current predicament and was in great joy.

    With a lapse in her focus, the tiny sword shot past her ribs on her right side with a flash, leading to a splash of blood that was immediately vapourised.

    If she had not twisted her body at that critical moment, she basically would have been split into two by that flash. She did not focus on forging her body like Chao Tianjiao, nor did she possess Li Qingshan¡¯s body of the demonic and divine. It would be basically impossible for her to recover if her body was destroyed. Even the best outcome by then was just becoming a Corpse Liberating Immortal.

    Li Qingshan was aware that she currently faced the attacks of the skandha-m¨¡ra.

    The five skandha were form, sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness.

    Form referred to the body of form, which was the source of all inner demons, as well as the source of all humanity.

    ¡°I have great trouble because of my body. If I have no body, what troubles would I have?¡±

    All of the worries and troubles that a person faced originated from the body. It was also through the body that they could experience everything that life could offer, which led to various emotions, which finally resulted in actions.

    And every action made by a person would influence the world around them, leading to certain responses from the world too. This exchange shaped their understanding of everything in the world.

    When the Yang Soul morphed into an Origin Soul, it was like a yolk turning into an embryo. Their body of form would undergo intrinsic changes, which would definitely lead to changes in sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness. Together, that was known as the skandha-m¨¡ra.

    This was her inner demon. No one could help her with it, just like how no one could help her live her life for her.

    Originally, before she faced the tribulation, she definitely would have bathed and lit some incense, calming her mind so that her body and heart became one, adjusting herself into a perfect state devoid of any extreme emotions.

    However, life always came with the unexpected. Ruan Yaozhu just happened to go through an upheaval of emotions, so even maintaining a regular state of mind was wishful thinking. Her mind was in disarray as her five skandha flared.

    As such, she sometimes felt unbearably hot, pouring with sweat and even soaking her dress, yet sometimes she felt bitingly-cold, trembling all over, tempted to cover herself in blankets. At times, she felt like a million ants were crawling all over her body, making it unbearably itchy and leaving her scratching away uncontrollably, while at other times, she felt like she was being sliced away by knives, in enough pain for her to want to die.

    If it was just pain, then that was easier to bear with. Pain would turn to numbness once it became extreme enough. However, often when she felt cold to the extreme, there would be a sudden breeze of warmth, leaving her as comfortable as she could be, such that even her bones felt like they melted away. When she became so parched that her mouth cracked, a cool stream of water would flow through her throat, so soothing that it almost made her moan.

    She was in heaven for one second and hell in the next. The constant changes were what she found to be the most unbearable, leading to a fluctuation in emotions and endless distracting thoughts. How could she still focus on fending off the tribulation lightning like that?

    Just like how sensations arose from forms and perceptions arose from sensations, since she possessed a body, she could not go without sensations. Since she had sensations, she could not go without thinking and perceiving.

    Li Qingshan had once experienced all of this before, so he understood this was not even the most terrifying part. Once actions arose from perceptions, then she would have basically failed the tribulation.

    Just like earlier, when the armament of tribulation lightning attacked her, if her actions were not under her control and she hesitated for a split second, she would have been bisected immediately.

    And once the skandha-m¨¡ra entered the final phase of ¡°consciousness arose from actions¡±, death was guaranteed even without the tribulation lightning.

    That was because the most terrifying of enemies never originated externally, but internally. Once her consciousness fell under the control of her inner demons, she would immediately suffer from cultivation deviation. The powers she had accumulated over thousands of years of cultivation would completely lose control, turning her into a bomb and blasting her out of existence. Let alone becoming a Corpse Liberated Immortal, even reincarnation would no longer be possible.

    The nine-coloured deer stared straight at the sky. She was extremely tense. Seeing Ruan Yaozhu get hurt, she could not help but turn towards Li Qingshan furiously, wanting to unleash some curses, but she was also worried about disturbing Ruan Yaozhu.

    However, Li Qingshan said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s much stronger than you imagine her to be.¡±

    Ruan Yaozhu sensed that her five skandha had flared. She had already reached the verge of the most dangerous situation. However, a thought clearly surfaced in her head, I still can¡¯t die! I still haven¡¯t¡­ heard the ending to the story.

    She could not help but mock herself to be a piece of wood, a fool, but even at this moment, she did not completely lose faith in that man, even though he had already destroyed everything for her.

    As a result, without any more hesitation, she circulated the Heavenly Tome of Nature and projected out her Yang Soul!

    Immediately, green light filled the sky, even drowning out the lightning.

    This was the first time Li Qingshan had seen her Yang Soul. Its appearance was identical to her, but it possessed the additional charm of a fairy.

    Her eyes and hair were both a jade-green with a pair of small, delicate antlers on her forehead. She was unclothed, but she was draped in plants, surrounded by vines and leaves that obscured her graceful figure. She bore great resemblance to the mountain spirit described by Qu Yuan.

    ¡°There seems to be someone passing by the mountain recess. It¡¯s me, draped in vines and wrapped in lichen. Gazing tenderly at how beautiful the smile is, you will envy my graceful figure.¡±

    After projecting her Yang Soul, her body¡¯s expression settled down, sitting down with her legs crossed and her eyes closed, like she was sleeping.

    Above her, the Yang Soul unleashed all of its powers and shone at full glow, naturally possessing a demeanor of purity, standing aloof from the world.

    From a Golden Core to a Soul Nascence, then from Yin Soul to Yang Soul, cultivators forged their souls into their greatest weapon. It was not just a condensation of power, but also a condensation of consciousness.

    Once the Yang Soul left the body, it was immediately isolated from most of the influence from the ¡°body of form¡±, and the flaring skandha-mara settled down too. She was rapidly digesting the spiritual qi that Li Qingshan had channeled into her, turning into an Origin Soul.

    She waved her slender arms covered in leaves and towering trees rose up from the ground, forming a thick enclosure around her. Even when they were reduced to ash by the lightning, new trees rose up to replace them endlessly.

    Li Qingshan smiled. She had already comprehended something from the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity. She had done so even faster than he had in the past.

    As such, Ruan Yaozhu could turn her attention to fending off the tiny sword. She could even spare the effort to glance deeply at Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan understood that if he could not provide her with an explanation, she would definitely exterminate demons and guard the orthodoxy.

    Bamboo was slender, but it would rather snap than bend.

    The nine-coloured deer could not help but let out a sigh of relief, blinking her eyes and even stretching a little. Just the tiny sword alone clearly was not enough to threaten Ruan Yaozhu. Succeeding with the tribulation was only a matter of time now.

    When it came to this, not only did she place no blame on Li Qingshan, but she was even slightly thankful to him.

    After all, if it were not for Li Qingshan, who knew how long it would take before Ruan Yaozhu became a Human Immortal. She was not concerned with the plants in the Hundred Herbs garden like Ruan Yaozhu. If she were free to graze on them, the garden would have become barren a long time ago.

    We¡¯ve fallen out with the Myriad sect anyway, so we¡¯ll go for one last haul and then flee to the Daemonic Beast realm. Hehe, with our talent, who¡¯ll be able to find us? Now that the crisis of the world is imminent, that dumb piece of wood doesn¡¯t know self-preservation at all. She¡¯ll definitely lead the charge for the Myriad sect, so the dangers of dying are just too high.

    With that in mind, this outcome was actually not too bad. Ruan Yaozhu had suffered a lot, but compared to the result of becoming a Human Immortal, it was all nothing.

    Yep, yep. Li Qingshan has played his role as the villain quite well, or that dumb piece of wood would never do this. Though, this kid is a huge source of misfortune, so we better not run into him again for the rest of our lives!

    But at this moment, Li Qingshan raised his eyebrow, having sensed something.

    Under the expanse of tribulation clouds in the darkness, three figures gradually emerged.

    The nine-coloured deer paled in fright. ¡°Kle?a-m¨¡ra!¡±

 Chapter 1644

    And there were three of them!

    The nine-coloured deer had once read through many books with Ruan Yaozhu. She understood the horrors of kle?a-m¨¡ra.

    Kle?a-m¨¡ra were not inner demons. Instead, they were external demons, true demons. They were all subordinates to the one known as the lord of the Form realm, Mahe?vara.

    Every kle?a-m¨¡ra possessed a will of its own. They would proactively get in the way of tribulations for cultivators, and they were eerie and cruel, underhanded and sly, most skilled in taking advantage of a person¡¯s openings.

    These demons were all intangible. They could pass through space freely, not only unafraid of the tribulation lightning, but virtually immune to all techniques too. It was only possible to resist them on a mental level, so they posed an extremely great threat to cultivators.

    Who knew how many cultivators had survived the armaments of tribulation lightning and the skandha-m¨¡ra, only to fall to the kle?a-m¨¡ra and ultimately fail the tribulation, resulting in their deaths.

    Even just one of these damned things was life-threatening, yet three of them had actually shown up at the same time.

    The nine-coloured deer only gazed at the three twisted figures from afar, and she felt extremely disgusted inside as if a dirty, messy piece of cotton had been shoved down her throat. If they threw themselves at Ruan Yaozhu together, the consequences would be unthinkable.

    By now, the three kle?a-m¨¡ra had already emerged from space completely. Their twisted figures consolidated into humanoid forms.

    One locked his brows, so sorrowful that it seemed like it wanted to die. One laughed away, like it had gone insane. The last one was furious, its face twisted viciously from anger.

    They were all identical to Li Qingshan.

    The nine-coloured deer immediately looked towards Li Qingshan. Was he not Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s source of kle?a, affiliations?

    Originally, with the path of nature that Ruan Yaozhu walked, she should not have encountered any kle?a-m¨¡ra. It was all because of him that her five skandha flared. It left her in emotional disarray, drawing over kle?a-m¨¡ra as a result of both internal and external factors.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, look at what you¡¯ve done! What is she supposed to do now?¡±

    Li Qingshan touched his nose. That sure was concrete evidence, beyond anything that he could refute.

    He smiled. ¡°She can only rely on herself when it comes to inner demons, but I have ways around something like this. I¡¯ll just go and say hello and ask them to spare her.¡±

    The nine-coloured deer called out, ¡°Say hello? You sure say that easily! Do you think these kle?a-m¨¡ra are yours?¡±

    The kle?a-m¨¡ra¡¯s eyes were glued to Ruan Yaozhu, filled with greedy eagerness. When cultivators failed their tribulation, they would be able to split up the shattered Origin Soul and feed off it, which would bring great benefit to them.

    Right when they were about to throw themselves at Ruan Yaozhu, they suddenly sensed an extremely familiar aura, containing both great terror as well as great might, which made them shiver. They all looked in the same direction together, and only then did they discover that the ¡°divine statue¡± was actually alive and currently waving at them.

    ¡°Come over here,¡± said Li Qingshan.

    The three kle?a-m¨¡ra that were identical to Li Qingshan originally possessed great sorrow, great joy, and great fury, but at this moment, their faces all blanked out. The voice directly rang out from their hearts, drowning out the rumbling thunder. It possessed an irresistible charm.

    As a result, they drifted down slowly in confusion, arriving before Li Qingshan and staring at him blankly.

    Li Qingshan told them to sit. They were flattered, sitting down in a hurry. They continued to stare at Li Qingshan blankly, like three obedient hounds waiting for their master¡¯s next order. Even their faces blurred, no longer resembling his.

    However, Li Qingshan had stopped paying attention to them. These intangible existences were immune to the harm from all techniques, but from a different perspective, it was instead easier to influence and bewitch them. After all, since they lacked a stable form, it was extremely easy for them to be taken away by the flow.

    That was why a ¡°body of form¡± was so important to cultivators. Once the body was destroyed and they became a Corpse Liberated Immortal, their chances to become a True Immortal were basically severed. All of their afflictions arose from it, but all of their hopes sprang forth from it too.

    ¡°Impressive, Li Qingshan!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer widened her eyes and blurted out. She had read all of those books with Ruan Yaozhu, but she had yet to hear that kle?a-m¨¡ra could instead be controlled.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°It still isn¡¯t over yet!¡±

    In the air, a long rope draped down before anyone had noticed.

    It was a coarse, hemp rope, splotched with blood, dangling around in the wind while remaining unaffected by the tribulation lightning.

    ¡°Ruan Yaozhu¡± hung on the other end of the rope. Her slender neck had almost been broken from how tight it was as her head tilted to one side in an extremely unnatural manner. Her face was purple with her head rolled back and her tongue extended. She did not seem beautiful or charming at all anymore, only terrifying.

    ¡°What is that!?¡±

    The nine-coloured deer paled in fright before catching a whiff of the intense smell of death, which even contained the foulness of urine and faeces from the loss of control over the bowels and bladder when hung to death. It was so disgusting that she wanted to vomit. She refused to admit that it was Ruan Yaozhu, but she also became extremely frantic, like a nightmare had come true.

    ¡°M?tyu-m¨¡ra.¡± Li Qingshan also became a little more serious.

    Whether it was heroes or outstanding talents, they would all be so disgusting and frightening after death.

    Ruan Yaozhu was originally ready to die, to make up for her mistake to the sect by giving up her life. Li Qingshan had basically forced her into undergoing the tribulation. Her desire to live was reignited again after hearing his words, but the m¨¡ra would not let this opening in her heart slip by.

    And Li Qingshan guessed that it was probably related to the three kle?a-m¨¡ra he had placed under his control. Heavenly tribulations always grew stronger when they were up against someone powerful, forbidding any outsider from interfering.

    M?tyu-m¨¡ra were far more difficult to deal with than kle?a-m¨¡ra. According to the normal procedure, Ruan Yaozhu only had a chance of encountering them during the seventh heavenly tribulation.

    In the past, Li Qingshan had almost been brought to his death by this thing, encountering a drowned ¡°Li Qingshan¡± who was just as disgusting and just as frightening.

    In the end, it was all because his Origin Soul that had run off on its own returned, choosing to merge with him and continue down this path of the Nine Heavens, which allowed him to overwhelm the m?tyu-m¨¡ra.

    By now, the heavenly tribulation was already approaching its end. Ruan Yaozhu was only one last step away from succeeding.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give it any opportunity to do anything!¡±

    The nine-coloured deer urged, ¡°Hurry up and say hello to it!¡±

    However, before Li Qingshan could say anything, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra actually spoke first, bowing towards Li Qingshan and saying in a deathly manner, ¡°So a successor of the heavenly lord is present. My apologies, my apologies.¡±

    Li Qingshan said sternly, ¡°Since you know me, why don¡¯t you take a seat?¡±

    The m?tyu-m¨¡ra¡¯s eyes blanked out, but it immediately recovered again. It said sinisterly, ¡°Truly a successor of the heavenly lord! If you were undergoing the tribulation, I¡¯d definitely keep my distance and never make things difficult for you!¡± Then it glanced at the three kle?a-m¨¡ra and warned him. ¡°Since you¡¯re a successor of the heavenly lord, you best not break the heavenly lord¡¯s rules, or you¡¯ll definitely be torn to shreds by demons, never to rest in peace!¡±

    After saying that, it lunged towards Ruan Yaozhu, but it suddenly came to a halt, becoming shocked.

    A vertical eye opened up on Li Qingshan¡¯s forehead, burning with endless black fire. ¡°If Mahe?vara were here, I¡¯d show him some respect, but do you really think the likes of you can threaten me?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve actually achieved the Divine Fire of World Destruction!¡± The m?tyu-m¨¡ra fumed. ¡°If you disturb the laws of the heavenly tribulation, the heavenly lord will never spare you!¡±

    By now, the heavenly tribulation was already ending. Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s Yang Soul had basically completely morphed into an Origin Soul, and the green light she radiated with became extremely dim too. She was currently at her weakest moment. It only needed to touch her to devour her. The temptation was almost irresistible, even when it was faced with the threat of the Divine Fire of World Destruction.

    Li Qingshan thought of an idea and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we make a bet? I¡¯ll open my mind and let you possess me. If you can shake me even by an inch, I won¡¯t interfere with this.¡± His voice possessed both a secretive and wondrous temptation.

    ¡°Alright!¡± The m?tyu-m¨¡ra beamed with joy inside. I¡¯ll devour your Origin Soul first before devouring hers!

    It vanished into thin air, suddenly appearing behind Li Qingshan and throwing itself onto him.

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan opened his mind and did not resist. He only shut his eyes.

    The m?tyu-m¨¡ra first saw endless darkness and heard limitless silence. It had never witnessed such deep darkness before. Gradually, it heard all the strange sounds too¡­

    A while later, Li Qingshan opened his eyes and spat out the m?tyu-m¨¡ra.

    The m?tyu-m¨¡ra¡¯s pitch-black, twisted figure was no longer humanoid. It curled up as a ball on the ground, trembling away as black fluid flowed down its face like it was crying.

    The nine-coloured deer said in surprise, ¡°W- what¡¯s wrong with it?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°It¡¯s very well.¡±

 Chapter 1645

    The Heavenly Eyes showed him the information of the Sacred Shield Scroll which caused Feng Xiao to knit his brows.

    ¡°Bao Bao, be good and stay on Xiao Bai. Big brother is going to bully them!¡± Feng Xiao placed a gentle kiss on Bao Bao¡¯s face which earned him a giggle from her. Then he released the ¡°Spiritual Dance¡± to slowly fall to the ground.

    The effects of the Illusory Shadow and the Magic Sealing Barrier hadn¡¯t disappeared yet. The arrows that filled the sky mostly created misses on him, but he couldn¡¯t avoid them since he was in the air. So as he was falling, three rounds of arrows had taken five thousand HP from him. At the same time, he used all eight support skills of the Magic Warrior Job.

    Feng Xiao landed in front of the gate and countless blades attacked him. He gave a cold laugh and swallowed a Spiritual Wood Pill to heal to full while black energy gathered on his hand.

    Death Hand! This 39% chance of instant death skill with his high luck stat had an over 50% chance of success.

    The warriors and knights didn¡¯t have the same accuracy as the assassins and archers, so almost all of their attacks had missed against Feng Xiao who had the effect of ¡°Illusory Shadow¡±. Feng Xiao used the ¡°Chasing Shadow¡± to move through the crowd, avoiding the countless weapons and arrows. At the same time, he released the Ice Shattering Slash, creating several black damage figures at once.

    Death Hand, the death god¡¯s hand that can bring people in the abyss!

    Although they only took 20% damage, the thunder and shells falling from the sky gave them quite a bit of pressure. What was even more terrifying was that Asura who could easily instantly kill them.

    Black¡­¡­Red¡­¡­Black¡­¡­Black¡­¡­

    The rare black damage number frequently appeared under Asura¡¯s hands, creating a different kind of fear in them. As seconds passed, there weren¡¯t that many people in the twenty meter area in front of the gate. As long as they went in, they would lose their life to that glowing giant sword as shocking black damage figures appeared.

    It was another Earth Destruction Wave and all the people in front of the gate were sent flying. The Death Hand¡¯s fifteen seconds duration had disappeared and Feng Xiao took another Spiritual Wood Pill as a helpless look appeared on his face.

    One person facing a thousand people, as well as protecting a build. Do you think that I¡¯m a god?

    ¡°Xuanyuan Sacred Flames!¡±

    ¡°Even if you have a strong defense, you can¡¯t escape being instantly killed!¡±

    With the appearance of the golden glow, a dazzling ice flower cut down six enemies. At the same time, six screaming souls came out of Asura¡¯s Illusion, hitting these six enemies. With the dual attack of the Ice Shattering Slash and the Deep Soul Break, all six of them were killed without exception.

    Every person killed meant that there was a soul added to Asura¡¯s Illusion. So Feng Xiao didn¡¯t need to worry about the loss of the Deep Soul Break as he kept harvesting the souls with the ice flowers. Every time he used it, he would use the Chasing Shadows to change position, causing countless swords and arrows to hit thin air.

    Every time a group fell, there would be another group that came forward. Everyone gave up on charging the gate and tried to capture the figure that kept changing positions. However, the fate that they received was becoming dizzy and only being able to hit the enemy when they attacked them, but being instantly killed by the enemy.

    Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud¡¯s expression became darker and darker because Asura was much stronger than he imagined. He was able to last under the sea of people this long without dying. Rather, he was losing more and more people. With the powerful attacks of the shells and Asura himself, over two hundred people had been taken out already.

    Every person that died lost a level, as well as dropping one or two pieces of equipment, which meant that the guild¡¯s power was decreasing.

    As the red net gradually dimmed, Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud finally revealed a fierce smile.

    Thirty seconds passed and what Feng Xiao worried about the most came. The Magic Sealing Barrier, Illusory Shadow, and the Xuanyuan Sacred Flames disappeared almost at the same time.

    ¡°Magicians, focus fire for me! Clerics, go in and heal!¡±

    Feng Xiao finally had to use his trump card.

    Asura Eyes!

    Asura Eyes, the Demon Wolf Gang and the Blood Domain Guild that had experienced it described it as falling into an abyss of fear on the forums, but they didn¡¯t attach great importance to it. Rather, they had been laughed at for their cowardliness. Now, they were finally experiencing what was fear, what was hell.

    The two hundred people who were locked all started to tremble as their weapons forze in the air, not daring to resist at all. When one person recovered enough to let out a scream of fear, it was like waking up from a dream as they all threw away their weapons and armour to run. They no longer cared about the guild master¡¯s order or rage, they could only think about running! The further they were from this devil, the better!

    There was a large empty space that appeared in front of Feng Xiao. No one knew what happened and they were so shocked and uncertain that they didn¡¯t dare move forward. Feng Xiao got some time to catch his breath as he recovered his HP, while also relaxing his tense mind a bit.

    ¡°This is the Asura Eyes mentioned on the forum?¡± Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud thought about this for a bit before roaring out in a low voice, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, he no longer has any ultimate skills to use anymore.¡±

    ¡°Hu¡­¡­If I knew about this earlier, I wouldn¡¯t have used that Thunder Soul Burst Scroll.¡± Feng Xiao was panting. His Asura Eye used a lot of spirit power, so if he used it on too many people, he would be very dizzy and even his vision would become a bit fuzzy.

    It was a good thing that the effects of the Sacred Shield Scroll also disappeared.

    The Deep Soul Break kept flying out of the Asura¡¯s Illusion and the double attacks took the lives of the enemies that charged forward. He could only summon eight souls at once, so every time the Asura¡¯s Illusion flickered every second, eight lives would be taken and souls would fly back.

    Countless arrows and spells filled the sky which Feng Xiao gave a bitter laugh to when he saw. With two Chasing Shadows to appear amongst the magicians, he used an Earth Destruction Wave to take care of over ten people. But the gate was still being hit and it was almost in danger.

    ¡°This time¡­¡­can I really not protect the guild Yao¡¯er made?¡± Feng Xiao gave a secret sigh. They definitely couldn¡¯t stop him if he wanted to escape, but if he chose to escape, then he would be going against his original intentions.

    Moreover¡­¡­After he dodged with Chasing Shadow, countless attacks would hit the gate¡­¡­

    He definitely couldn¡¯t let Yao¡¯er¡¯s guild be destroyed!

    Feng Xiao gritted his teeth and quickly came back in front of the gate, blocking all the attacks. At the same time, he went forward step by step, eliminating all the enemies that attacked the gate. His actions made Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud reveal a cold smile as he waved his hand.

    ¡°Take your formations, don¡¯t worry about anything else! Just attack the gate for me!¡±

    With Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud¡¯s orders, everyone from the Heavenly Demon Guild prepared to charge forward without worry. The magicians had a range of ten to fifteen meters and the archers had a range of twenty give meters. With the knights in front, the magicians created a ring ten meters away and the archers created a ring twenty meters away. They all started attacking Feng Xiao in the center and as long as he dodged, the attacks would hit the gate.

    Every one of Bao Bao¡¯s attacks would take care of archers and magicians in a five meters range, but even so, there would be over twenty spells and several dozen arrows falling on Feng Xiao every second. Moreover, whenever there was a gap that was created in the formation, there would be people with the same Job that filled that gap.

    ¡°Xiao Bai, go and save big brother Asura!¡± Bao Bao and Feng Xiao were in a part, so naturally she could see that his HP bar was quickly dropping.

    ¡°No!¡± Feng Xiao gave an order to stop Xiao Bai. If he charged down, Bao Bao would very likely be attacked. With her around three thousand HP, she couldn¡¯t take the attacks of all these people.

    Moreover, once his stubbornness came out, he would never back down. If he wanted to escape, no one could stop him. If he used the Chasing Shadow to dodge, with his quick HP regen, these people couldn¡¯t do anything to him. But he was willing to accept these hits so they couldn¡¯t hit the gate behind him.

    ¡°Big brother Asura, if you don¡¯t listen, Bao Bao will jump down¡­¡­¡±

    Feng Xiao shuddered. He used an Asura Yama Wave and stopped all enemies within a range of twenty meters before using a Dark Soul Eater Slash to recover half of his HP.

    ¡°Bao Bao, you have to be good! I will be fine!¡±

    As soon as his voice fell, there were footsteps and cries that rang out. There was a group that came over that was filled with momentum, not having less than three thousand people.

    Everyone stopped attacking to look at this approaching group with shocked and uncertain gazes.

    ¡°They¡¯re finally here. They weren¡¯t that slow.¡± Feng Xiao let out a sigh of relief. When he went out, he contacted the Maple Leaf Guild. Their guild base was close by and since he gave them the Guild Formation Token, they wouldn¡¯t not help him.

    Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud had a dark and uncertain look as he didn¡¯t know what the other side wanted.

    ¡°So it¡¯s Xiao Lan. Could it be that you¡¯re also interested in going against Asura?¡± Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud revealed a friendly smile, as his expression didn¡¯t change at all.

    Before Maple Leaf Roaring Wave spoke, Awe Inspiring Maple Leaf said, ¡°So it¡¯s brother Feng Yun, this really is surprising. He, he, we definitely don¡¯t want to be enemies with brother Feng Yun, but Yao Dreams of Loving Wind is a good friend of mine and Xiao Lan. We definitely won¡¯t let any accidents happen to her guild. Only, why did you bring so many people to attack such a small guild? Aren¡¯t you afraid of hurting the reputation of the Heavenly Demon Guild?¡±

    Looking at Feng Xiao by the door, Awe Inspiring Maple Leaf understood something, ¡°He, he, I think I understand brother Feng Yun¡¯s intentions. I wonder if brother Feng Yun will give our Maple Leaf Guild some face? We will not interfere with your grudge with Asura, but when it comes to the Loving Wind Pavilion¡­¡­¡±

    Heavenly Demon Wind Cloud waved his hand and gave a frank laugh, ¡°So it¡¯s like this, this time your brother has been rash. Alright, since it¡¯s Xiao Lan and brother Yun¡¯s friend, then they are also my friend. I will immediately leave with my subordinates and won¡¯t have any intentions towards the Loving Wind Pavilion. I have to ask you two to apologize to Yao Dreams of Loving Wind for me.¡±

    Maple Leaf Roaring Waves let out a long sigh before saying with a look of gratitude, ¡°Actually, I really have to thank you. If brother Feng Yun has any requests, we won¡¯t reject it.¡±

    All the nine-coloured deer saw was the three kle?a-m¨¡ra staring at Li Qingshan delusionally, completely unaware of everything that unfolded around them. Meanwhile, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra¡¯s body was twisted in all sorts of ways like it was close to collapsing.

    Isn¡¯t this kid a little too powerful now? Is the Heavenly Tome of Liberty really that impressive? Whatever, we¡¯re going to the Daemonic Beast realm soon anyway, so he can do whatever he wants!

    With the final bolt of tribulation lightning, the tribulation clouds rapidly dispersed. Beams of moonlight poured through the cracks. It was both tranquil and grand.

    Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s Origin Soul took her place in her body, drifting down from the sky. Her sleeves and dress drifted upwards, like a butterfly that had just survived a storm, falling out of the air and landing gently in Li Qingshan¡¯s palm.

    Ruan Yaozhu sensed the scorching warmth from the palm of his hand. She did not decline the spiritual qi that channelled into her body.

    Heh, isn¡¯t he aware that she might just throw her life at him now? Is he really that confident in his story? She¡¯s already become a Human Immortal. She can¡¯t be bewitched so easily anymore.

    Maybe even if he knows she¡¯ll oppose him, he¡¯ll still do that. He¡¯s always been so unreasonable, ignoring what others think and blindly persisting with his own path.

    When the last clap of thunder completely dissipated, the entire world fell quiet. Her mind had never felt so clear before. It seemed as if all of her joys, sorrows, and anger had left her.

    The tribulation clouds scattered completely, and the night sky was clear. The resplendent stars reflected in her eyes.

    Right now, all she wanted to do was lay down quietly for a while. She had already faced the heavenly tribulation, so what came next was an even tougher choice.

    Li Qingshan also gazed at the stars. His humanoid yet unhuman figure was like an ancient statue, except he smiled again, feeling sincere delight for the safety of the woman in his hand.

    The nine-coloured deer could not help but hold her breath, finding this scene to be extremely beautiful. Suddenly, she believed he was filled with kindness towards Ruan Yaozhu before shaking her head again. No, have you forgotten how he just used you to threaten Yaozhu? I must have been bewitched by him!

    At this moment, Li Qingshan continued to tell her his story calmly, like nothing had happened at all.

    The Blood maze¡­ the nine Heretic Gods¡­ the child¡­

    He did not try to bewitch Ruan Yaozhu. As a matter of fact, he tried his best to limit his emotions, just in case he influenced her judgement, telling her about everything he experienced.

    Ruan Yaozhu listened closely and was gradually moved, like a ripple on the calm surface of a lake. She could no longer remain calm anymore. Immediately, all of her sorrows, joys, and anger returned, filling her heart.

    The remaining part of the story was not particularly long. Li Qingshan was done very soon.

    Ruan Yaozhu said nothing for a very long time, except her gaze towards Li Qingshan was already filled with sorrowful gentleness, like a mother gazing at her injured child. For a moment, she completely forgot about the pain and fury of being deceived.

    Li Qingshan smiled wryly. He was not accustomed to this pity and sympathy. Instead, he was accustomed to scorn and hostility, as well as anger and brute force. Perhaps to him, kindness was the most unbearable, but ever since he arrived in the Human realm, she had shown him endless kindness and trust. Just what could he do to pay her back?

    The nine-coloured deer was extremely shocked. ¡°You are¡­ the daemon star of misfortune!¡± However, it suddenly all made sense now. It was no wonder why the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would announce his betrayal without any hesitation! It was no wonder that he was capable of such things!

    Even the distorted kle?a-m¨¡ra on the ground raised its head and looked at Li Qingshan with difficulty as if it was also filled with great shock and realisation.

    At this moment, the scarlet star in the night sky twinkled away brightly.

    ¡°That is why you shouldn¡¯t go to the Daemonic Beast realm. No one can remain unaffected during the crisis of the world. If you are not a friend, then you will only be a foe!¡± Li Qingshan said cautiously.

    Ruan Yaozhu had far too many ties with him. She was forced to make a decision.

    Originally, she did not have the chance to make a decision at all. Sealing off the Hundred Herbs garden was equivalent to betraying the sect. She would definitely be sent back into rebirth.

    That was why Li Qingshan was so determined to make her become a Human Immortal. The identity and status of a Human Immortal was drastically different from regular direct disciples. As long as she was willing to draw a clear line between her and Li Qingshan, the Myriad sect would not punish her too severely.

    And after becoming a Human Immortal, she would be capable of some self-preservation during the crisis of the world, regardless of which side she chose to stand on.

    Of course, when the day where they met on the battlefield truly arrived, he would not show mercy either. Today was for resolving everything, but that was the last situation he wanted to see. Perhaps no one would believe him if he said this, but he actually hated pain very much.

    He had already done everything that he could. All he could do now was wait for her choice.

    Would she be returning to the ¡°orthodoxy¡± or falling as a demon with him!

    Ruan Yaozhu lowered her head in silent thought, but before long, she straightened herself again and faced Li Qingshan. The thoughts of Human Immortals moved at lightning speed. She had already made a decision inside.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, perhaps everything you just said is true.¡± She shook her head gently. ¡°But you just lied to me and destroyed my Hundred Herbs garden, even using Jiu¡¯er¡¯s life to threaten me. I won¡¯t believe you again!¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed gently, unable to hide his disappointment. His heart weighed a little heavier. Would there be a day when he would have to crush this beautiful butterfly with his own hands? Fucking hell! What cruel fate.

    The nine-coloured deer sighed inside as well. Ruan Yaozhu had made the correct decision, but for some reason, she was unable to cheer up.

    Ruan Yaozhu pursed her lips firmly and stared at Li Qingshan before revealing a crafty smile. She tilted her head and said, ¡°We¡¯re even now!¡±

    Li Qingshan was taken aback before bursting into laughter. His hearty laughter resounded through the entire Hundred Herbs garden, filled with undisguised joy.

    ¡°Hold on, don¡¯t celebrate too soon. I won¡¯t just listen to your side of the story. I¡¯ll make my choice once I see it for myself,¡± Ruan Yaozhu said seriously.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Li Qingshan said gently, ¡°Actually, you don¡¯t need to make a decision. This isn¡¯t a benevolent path. It¡¯s destined to be filled with brutality and slaughter. As long as you remain by my side, I will do everything I can to ensure your safety.¡±

    He extended his other hand and swept it through the air gently, like he had cut through the curtain of a movie, splitting open a black demon cavern.

    Ruan Yaozhu shook her head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me that the path of nature has always been filled with brutality and slaughter? How can I run away? Also, not making a choice is also a choice.¡±

    She gazed at Li Qingshan deeply again and bade farewell before calling to the nine-coloured deer, leaping into the demon cavern.

    The nine-coloured deer galloped into the deep demon cavern and called out, ¡°So you¡¯re the source of the crisis of the world. You¡¯re going up against all the gods and buddhas in the heavens. Hey, piece of wood, are we really standing on his side? Though, he seems to be quite nice to you. He does count as a powerful backer-¡±

    She suddenly stopped. Only then did she notice the pain and confusion on Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s face.

    As it turned out, even after becoming a Human Immortal, there were still problems she could not think through. Her decisiveness and grace was all an act, only because she did not want to see him saddened.

 Chapter 1646

    Having just settled a matter, Li Qingshan felt extremely at ease inside. Then he looked at Li Fengyuan and smiled. ¡°Kid, you should go too! The Demon domain is now your dad¡¯s territory. You can be a divine brat now!¡±

    Under the withered bodhi tree, Li Fengyuan shook his head. ¡°First father, I have somewhere else to go. I only stayed here because I wanted to see you again. It¡¯s time for me to bid farewell too.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not ask him where he was going. His attire and aura had already spelled out the path he had to walk.

    ¡°Sigh, don¡¯t you have anything you want to say to me?¡±

    ¡°Originally, I did have quite a lot of things I wanted to say, but after hearing your story¡­¡± Li Fengyuan suddenly let out a sigh. He seemed to be smiling but also a little wry, even joking a little. ¡°Li Qingshan surely is Li Qingshan!¡±

    That left Li Qingshan a little embarrassed. He seemed to have been a little too melancholic and sentimental in the story, making a fool of himself before this kid, so he curled his finger and flicked out.

    With an ouch, Li Fengyuan¡¯s head was thrown back, having been flicked in the head. He rubbed his forehead and fumed at Li Qingshan. ¡°You¡¯ve already become a god, yet you still mess around like this!¡±

    ¡°Your father will always be your father!¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled very complacently. Li Fengyuan glanced at the trembling m?tyu-m¨¡ra and sighed softly inside. He understood what the path that Li Qingshan walked signified much more than Ruan Yaozhu. If it were any other person, they definitely would not be able to smile.

    ¡°First father, it¡¯s time for me to go.¡±

    ¡°Then go! May it all be smooth sailing, and may you never regret your choice.¡± 4887

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    Li Fengyuan brought his palms together and uttered the buddha¡¯s name. A golden beam of holy light descended from above.

    Li Qingshan grew solemn. Even the current him could only look up to the extraordinary power contained within the light.

    Li Fengyuan gazed deeply at Li Qingshan. ¡°First father, the path you walk is filled with pain and despair, but you aren¡¯t alone!¡±

    Bathing in the golden light, even his voice became imposing and beyond reach.

    Li Qingshan seemed to realise something. By the time the light had completely dissipated, he sank into his thoughts for a little longer.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to retrieve that item, but before then, let me deal with the two ¡®flies¡¯ outside first!¡±

    Wan Jianfeng practised the Heavenly Tome of Sword Control. He was the only sword cultivator among the direct disciples, and his battle prowess was only second to Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao. However, if Li Qingshan wanted to kill him, it was basically no different from crushing a fly to death.

    The only issue was sword cultivators were often staunch and unyielding in personality. He probably was not as worldly-wise and slick as Pi Yangqiu, so if he went too far with him, it would be slightly troublesome if he detonated his Yang Soul.

    Once Wan Jianfeng¡¯s life lamp in the Myriad sect was extinguished, the old turtle would definitely raise his guard.

    However, if he only snuck out of here and spared the two of them, he would be unable to accept that.

    Particularly with Shen Yushu. He had cursed him thousands of times outside already, basically calling him all the names available in the world.

    Li Qingshan thought of something and looked at the three kle?a-m¨¡ra and the m?tyu-m¨¡ra seated on the ground below. He could not help but smile, reaching over with his hand.

    ¡°Mahe?vara, oh Mahe?vara. You spent some time on my back in the past, and I¡¯ve also practised your path of liberty. You can say that we¡¯re on rather good terms, so let me borrow your troops today!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Outside the Hundred Herbs garden, Wan Jianfeng stared coldly at Shen Yushu, while Shen Yushu was dispirited, even showing some resentment.

    Just two hours ago, he had sworn to Wan Jianfeng that all he needed was a word to make Ruan Yaozhu open the Hundred Herbs garden and hand over the phoenix. However, despite calling out thousands of times outside, whether it was tactful pleading or solemn threats, basically talking until his jaw ached, he did not receive any reply.

    ¡°Yaozhu, oh Yaozhu. You don¡¯t trust me, and you just have to trust that damned Li Qingshan. You had it coming. When you get sent into rebirth by the Myriad sect, you better not blame me for not trying to help you!¡±

    Shen Yushu could not help but mutter uncontrollably, which Wan Jianfeng found even more contemptible. It was no wonder that Ruan Yaozhu developed no interest at all in this person even after several centuries together, instead falling in love with that Li Qingshan who had appeared out of nowhere. If he were Ruan Yaozhu, he would never want to become a cultivation partner with this bastard either.

    Everyone in the Myriad sect was aware of Shen Yushu¡¯s wild ambitions regarding Ruan Yaozhu. Afterwards, because he tried to fight for her favour against Li Qingshan, his body was destroyed in a duel. Then he was expelled from the Hundred Herbs garden before being expelled from the Myriad sect by Li Qingshan after the latter became the first senior brother. He possessed an irreconcilable grievance with Li Qingshan and even became filled with hatred towards Ruan Yaozhu.

    Wan Jianfeng had devoted his life to the sword, so he never really cared about these relationships and emotions. However, considering how quickly Dai Mengfan had recalled Shen Yushu, their sisterhood sure was laughable.

    However, Shen Yushu did not care about Wan Jianfeng¡¯s opinion. As soon as he mentioned Li Qingshan, his face became viciously twisted. If it were not for Li Qingshan, he would still be the head caretaker of the Hundred Herbs garden, and he probably would have already undergone the fifth heavenly tribulation, becoming a direct disciple of the Myriad sect. By then, he would earn the right to become Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s cultivation partner¡­

    But all of it had been destroyed by Li Qingshan!

    No one knew how he spent the past few years, nor did anyone know how he felt inside when Ren Aoyou found him.

    As a result, as soon as he returned to the Myriad sect, he hurried over to the Hundred Herbs garden eagerly. Compared to persuading Ruan Yaozhu, it was better to say that he had come to show Ruan Yaozhu that he was right!

    Of course, none of this was important. Even if Ruan Yaozhu handed up the phoenix now, she would not remain in charge of the Hundred Herbs garden anymore. That woman would have to pay for her foolishness.

    Meanwhile, he would become the true master of the Hundred Herbs garden!

    ¡°Come in, junior brother Shen!¡±

    At this moment, a familiar voice rang out from the Hundred Herbs garden.

    ¡°Yaozhu!¡± Shen Yushu blanked out from that. His feelings of love buried beneath his resentment immediately surged back up as he hurried through the door woven from vines.

    ¡°Yaozhu, I¡¯m here. As long as you hand over the Hundred Herbs garden, I¡¯ll definitely ask senior sister Dai to show you mercy!¡±

    The centre of the door rippled with a deep, green haze. The Hundred Herbs garden had opened once more.

    The voice then said, ¡°You should come as well, junior brother Wan!¡±

    Wan Jianfeng heard that and could not help but make his way towards the door too. His heart was filled with his wonderful impressions of Ruan Yaozhu. She had always been so kind-hearted and so trustworthy.

    Only when he arrived right in front of the door and watched Shen Yushu vanish through it did he suddenly shiver inside and stop. Hold on, why¡¯s she calling me junior brother!? According to the Myriad rankings, he had always been Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s senior brother.

    A large, black hand suddenly extended out from the door, scooping Wan Jianfeng inside.

    Wan Jianfeng was startled, but before he could respond, the door filled his face. There was a flash, and he had already been dragged into the Hundred Herbs garden.

    Only now did he see that the thing that had dragged him in here was a colossal statue that was neither man nor animal, seemingly seated there since ancient times. A pair of green eyes gazed down from above with a slight smile, and only then did it suddenly seem human.

    ¡°Junior brother Wan, you were so mighty and dignified outside!¡±

 Chapter 1647

    Shen Yushu rushed into the Hundred Herbs garden like he was enchanted, but he did not find any trace of Ruan Yaozhu when he looked around. All he saw was a black shadow blocking his way. ¡°Hmm? Why¡¯s there a mountain here?¡±

    Suddenly, he heard Li Qinghan¡¯s name, and he leapt in fright inside. Looking up, all he saw was Wan Jianfeng in a person¡¯s hand. He cried out, ¡°Senior brother Wan!¡±

    Only now did he seem to realise something. His face turned pale-white, and he lifted his head slowly and stiffly, following the arm that held Wan Jianfeng. With that, he finally saw that the black mountain was actually alive.

    Endless pressure descended from above. Shen Yushu¡¯s knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground.

    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­ you can¡¯t be¡­ impossible¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan only glanced at Shen Yushu. He did not pay much attention to this clown at all.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, how dare you still return!¡±

    Wan Jianfeng tried to struggle, but he was unable to break free from the huge, black hand. His heart sank completely. If the Li Qingshan before him was a clone, then he could still put up a fight, but this Li Qingshan definitely possessed the power of a Human Immortal, no, Heretic God. That was well beyond anything he could stand up to right now. Just the pressure he gave off had almost made him suffocate.

    ¡°If I didn¡¯t come back, you¡¯d be in over your heads. Junior brother Wan, do you want to die, or do you want to live?¡±

    ¡°So what if I want to die? And so what if I want to live?¡±

    ¡°If you want to die, I¡¯ll send you off right now and ensure that you¡¯re as dead as you can be, your soul and body both erased from existence.¡± Li Qingshan closed his fingers around him as his eyes shone with red.

    At that moment, Wan Jianfeng felt like an endless sea of blood had swallowed him. He was unable to breathe.

    ¡°If you want to live, then submit to me! I can assist you in undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation and becoming a Human Immortal!¡±

    At this moment, there was still far more green in the Hundred Herbs garden than the yellow. There was still a tremendous amount of spiritual qi that he could draw from.

    As a Yang Soul cultivator at the very peak, only half a step away from the realm of Human Immortals, Wan Jianfeng could trigger the sixth heavenly tribulation as long as he received some guidance from Li Qingshan. Then he only needed to be filled up with spiritual qi like Ruan Yaozhu.

    ¡°If you really can assist me in undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation, I¡¯ll definitely submit to you.¡± Wan Jianfeng¡¯s eyes lit up as if he was very interested, but he thought inside, As long as I undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation, do you really think the likes of you can still control me?

    Li Qingshan saw through his thoughts in a single glance and laughed. ¡°You think I¡¯m a fool?¡± Suddenly, his smile vanished. ¡°Junior brother Wan, go ahead and do it!¡±

    ¡°Li Qingshan, humans and demons have never been able to coexist. Even if my sword is shattered and I perish, I will never side with demonfolk!¡±

    The sword on Wan Jianfeng¡¯s back emerged from its sheath and thrummed like a dragon, rising up into the air like a sun and making the entire Hundred Herbs garden seem like daytime.

    At the same time, he projected out his Yang Soul and dove into the blinding light, merging with the sword.

    One with the sword! 4887

    Immediately, all of the white light condensed, only leaving behind a hazy layer enveloping the sword.

    Wan Jianfeng was aware that he only had one opportunity to strike, so he unleashed the strongest move he knew, pouring all his heart into the attack.

    The attack consolidated without being unleashed, and his Yang Soul was already very damaged. If he wanted to harm the enemy, he had to harm himself first. The moment when the attack reached its peak would be when the Yang Soul shattered.

    This strike was one that could threaten Heretic Gods!

    By now, Wan Jianfeng no longer hoped to escape. He only hoped to injure Li Qingshan, to live up to his name as a sword cultivator.

    Needle-like light reflected in Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. He felt slightly moved as if he had been deterred by the might of the sword.

    Afterwards, he extended his right hand and lifted two fingers, bringing them together gently mid-air and catching the sword.

    ¡°Nice sword technique with even more impressive determination, but you take too long.¡±

    Most importantly, as they resided within the Seventy-two Pentads formation, Li Qingshan only needed to use a bit of the formation¡¯s power to make Wan Jianfeng¡¯s attack collapse.

    Wan Jianfeng¡¯s ultimate attack crumbled before it was even launched. He felt extremely discontent inside, bellowing, ¡°Li Qingshan, you¡¯re underhanded! I¡¯d rather die than submit to you!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to decide.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes became deep and pitch-black, like a pair of bottomless abysses. Wan Jianfeng felt like his mind had been drawn out from the sword and sucked inside.

    Within the bottomless abysses was endless darkness. Within the endless darkness were countless whisperings, both young and old, male and female, filled with the worship of the greatest intensity, the most fervent of faith.

    In the beginning, these voices were still almost inaudible, but they became a loud ruckus in the blink of an eye and mountainous booms in the next instant.

    That was the belief and faith of all the living creatures of the Demon domain, worshipping their supreme ruler who would free them from the endless sins and limitless suffering¡ªLi Qingshan.

    Wan Jianfeng could not help but develop some worship too, recalling Li Qingshan¡¯s mighty demeanor when he led the army outside Black Cloud city, almost about to prostrate himself towards him too. However, his heart suddenly shuddered, and he roared furiously, ¡°No, I will never worship you!¡±

    The battle outside Black Cloud city had an extremely large impact on Wan Jianfeng. It was not because it was a near brush with death, but because both Li Liehuo and Li Qingshan had demonstrated fighting spirit far greater than his. Even some of the regular soldiers were more determined to die than a great sword cultivator like him, which was basically an absolute insult. It also allowed him to understand why he had never been able to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation. That was why he used the pain to temper himself, to develop this sword technique that embraced death to drag the enemy down with him.

    Wan Jianfeng would rather die than become Li Qingshan¡¯s follower, but he knew that he would be swallowed by the mountainous voices sooner or later if this continued. He immediately made up his mind, ready to blow up his Yang Soul.

    The thoughts of Yang Soul cultivators moved at lightning speed. They only needed a single thought to make all the power stored in their Yang Souls lose control and detonate. It was an artificial form of cultivation deviation that was virtually unstoppable.

    However, Li Qingshan was well-prepared. ¡°What are the three of you waiting for?¡±

    Three black shadows ignored the blinding glow and threw themselves into Wan Jianfeng¡¯s Yang Soul. They were the three kle?a-m¨¡ra that Li Qingshan had tamed.

    Wan Jianfeng¡¯s desire to die immediately dulled, while his desire to live flared like fire.

    If a person was a country, then the will of the people was the ruler. At this moment, faced with the incursion of enemies, the ruler was prepared to fight to the death when three ¡°great loyal subjects¡± suddenly appeared in the imperial court, each and every one of them suggesting surrender. As such, the ruler¡¯s determination was swayed.

    After all, the desire to live was a person¡¯s greatest instinct.

    A while later, the three kle?a-m¨¡ra left Wan Jianfeng¡¯s Yang Soul. They were all haggard and exhausted, like they had spent a lot of effort.

    Li Qingshan had only made them disturb Wan Jianfeng, but he forbade them from killing him, so the power they used up could not be replenished. However, none of them had any complaints. Being able to die for Li Qingshan was the greatest honour.

    Li Qingshan opened his fingers again. Wan Jianfeng separated from his sword, returning to his body. He immediately fell out of the air, holding the sword in both hands in a reverse grip and bowing deeply towards Li Qingshan. He said both fearfully and sincerely, ¡°Please punish me, my king. Earlier, I was ignorant of the bigger picture and the greater cause, which was why I resisted the king.¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed. ¡°If this was the past, I¡¯d definitely grant you death!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the fate I deserve!¡± As Wan Jianfeng said that, he was prepared to commit suicide.

    ¡°So be it.¡± Li Qingshan immediately lost interest in talking with him. He said indifferently, ¡°Wan Jianfeng, not only am I going to alleviate you of your crimes, but I¡¯m even going to help you undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation too.¡±

    Wan Jianfeng was brought to tears out of gratitude. ¡°I am unworthy of the king¡¯s generosity.¡±

 Chapter 1648

    To one side, Shen Yushu was startled by his methods, virtually forgetting about his fear.

    As it turned out, before absolute power, not only was living impossible, but even dying was impossible too.

    Li Qingshan sat on the wilted ground expressionlessly like an actual statue. Who knew what he was thinking as he stared at the unruly great sword cultivator that had now become so modest. He only continued with the Qilin Transformation, absorbing the spiritual qi and focusing on completely refining the Hundred Herbs garden. He refused to leave even a blade of grass for his enemies.

    After gathering some more spiritual qi, he pressed gently against Wan Jianfeng¡¯s forehead, channelling surging spiritual qi and comprehension of the path of the sword into Wan Jianfeng¡¯s Yang Soul.

    Wan Jianfeng shuddered and widened his eyes.

    Immediately, the tribulation clouds began to surge and gather again, rolling with the sound of thunder and obscuring all the stars.

    Li Qingshan gazed into the horizon. The might of the heavenly tribulation this time was far greater than Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s. After all, Wan Jianfeng did not practise the Heavenly Tome of Nature but the Heavenly Tome of Sword Control, so he obviously would not receive any special treatment. The might of the heavenly tribulation did not decrease at all. It only became stronger.

    That was the law of the heavenly tribulations. The greater your battle prowess, the stronger the heavenly tribulation.

    The path of a sword cultivator had always been one that required thorough tempering.

    If Wan Jianfeng perished, then the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would definitely become wary, but Li Qingshan still chose to take this gamble. If he succeeded, he would gain a powerful ally. That was not all that he wanted either.

    Wan Jianfeng bowed deeply towards Li Qingshan and rose up into the air, ready to face the tribulation.

    But at this moment, twisted, dark figures crawled out from space. They were kle?a-m¨¡ra and there were more than just three this time.

    Originally, the benefits of practising the sword was a pure mind and a firm will. They could not easily be shaken by inner demons, so they would not draw over m¨¡ra so easily. However, Wan Jianfeng¡¯s current inner demons were even stronger than Ruan Yaozhu¡¯s.

    This was not due to faith. True faith came from the bottom of the heart, a display of internal emotions. It required thought and understanding. Wan Jianfeng¡¯s faith had been forced onto him.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s actions were no different from a m¨¡ra. As a matter of fact, he was even more forceful and unreasonable than any m¨¡ra.

    When regular m¨¡ra disturbed cultivators, at least they still had to follow a proper procedure, like ¡°sensations arising from form, perceptions arising from sensations¡­¡± Meanwhile, Li Qingshan just used the fervent worship from the countless living creatures of the Demon domain to bypass the entire process, directly overwhelming Wan Jianfeng¡¯s sense of self, making him develop fervent worship towards him, which also led to tremendous inner conflict.

    The inner conflict was also covered up by the fervent worship, as he could never question his god. As such, he would never come to terms with the conflict.

    This was basically a death sentence to any cultivator, severing their path of cultivation. For a sword cultivator, it was basically even worse than that, like his corpse abandoned in the wilderness, reduced from a swordsman to a sword slave.

    If it were not for the fact that his cultivation was so close to the sixth heavenly tribulation, even Li Qingshan could not make his cultivation progress further unless he completely refined him into something like a puppet.

    Wan Jianfeng was like a twisted sword. His internal structure was filled with irreparable cracks. Each crack was an opening and a wound. The scent of blood it gave off would definitely draw over many ¡°sharks¡±.

    However, Li Qingshan rejoiced instead of becoming surprised. This was what he was after. Not only did he want a sword slave that had undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, but he also wanted to subdugate another m?tyu-m¨¡ra.

    Li Qingshan watched the sky as he continued to refine the Hundred Herbs garden, converting the surging spiritual qi into dark-green beads. He stringed them together and hung it on his arm.

    It was as if he had completely forgotten about Shen Yushu. Shen Yushu did his best to circulate the Heavenly Tome of Nature so that his aura blended in perfectly with the surroundings, wanting to be forgotten.

    Boom!

    The first bolt of tribulation lightning fell.

    Immediately, lightning filled the sky, weapons shot about, and demons danced madly.

    With just his sword, Wan Jianfeng faced off against this tremendous might of the heavens. Now that was the spirit that a sword cultivator should have possessed.

    However, before he could raise his sword, his mind was already disturbed. Form, sensations, perceptions, actions, and consciousness, the five skandha flared, giving off a sense of sorrow for some reason. When he drew his sword and looked around, his mind had already become dazed.

    ¡­¡­

    The final bolt of lightning fell, and the moon emerged from the clouds once more.

    Li Qingshan had already converted the entirety of the Hundred Herbs garden into a great string of beads, thirty-six of them in total. They wrapped around his forearm several times, like a string of prayer beads. It made him think of Xiao An, which made him stare at them for a very long time.

    Over a dozen more kle?a-m¨¡ra had appeared in front of him, but he failed to draw over m?tyu-m¨¡ra unfortunately. He wondered whether Mahe?vara had sensed this and refused to lend him any more troops.

    Apart from calling him stingy a few times, there was nothing else that Li Qingshan could do. However, he probably could make do with a single m?tyu-m¨¡ra. It would save him quite a lot of trouble when he attacked the Myriad sect, which was already an unexpected surprise. It was just a pity that after paying at trip to his sea of consciousness, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra had become so haggard and miserable, twisted beyond shape. He needed to deal with this somehow.

    At this moment, Wan Jianfeng descended from above slowly. He glowed dimly, while his eyes were cold and hollow. He seemed extremely feeble.

    Li Qingshan had helped him subjugate all of the kle?a-m¨¡ra, but no one could help him with the skandha-m¨¡ra inside, so his five skandha flared beyond control. In the end, he could only abandon his body to pacify his inner demons, so he could only be considered as a Ghost Immortal now.

    But despite that, his cultivation had still undergone an overwhelming transformation. Even regular Human Immortals were not his opponent. He was not a Heretic God either, so he would not raise attention from beyond the Nine Heavens. He would be an impressive assistant.

    And without the restraint of the body, his sword intent had become even more pure. However, that was it.

    Li Qingshan removed a bead and handed it to him. Wan Jianfeng¡¯s hollow eyes immediately lit up with enthusiasm again, accepting it with tremendous gratitude. He made his way over to one side to meditate and recover.

    ¡°There are still thirty-five.¡±

    Li Qingshan calculated silently before lowering his head and looking at Shen Yushu. Seeing how he was like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, he could not help but laugh.

    ¡°Shen Yushu!¡±

    Shen Yushu¡¯s hairs stood on end, and he planted his head against the ground like he was trying to become a part of the Hundred Herbs garden. Perhaps he could still utter some fierce words when he first entered this place, maybe even embrace death boldly like Wan Jianfeng, but under this constant pressure, his will had completely collapsed already. He was completely swallowed by fear.

    He squawked out like a duck that was held by the throat. ¡°I surrender! I surrender! First senior brother, please spare my life considering we were once senior and junior brothers! I¡¯ll definitely pledge myself to you with utmost loyalty, to work and die for you!¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qingshan said indifferently.

    As if he had just heard the words of the heavens themselves, Shen Yushu felt like he had just been liberated. He banged his head against the ground. ¡°Thank you, first senior brother- no, thank you, master! Thank you, master!¡±

    ¡°I just happen to be in need of you!¡± Li Qingshan flicked his finger gently. ¡°Let me borrow your Yin Soul first!¡±

    With a thunk, Shen Yushu¡¯s chest jolted and projected out with his Yin Soul. Receiving Li Qingshan¡¯s signal, the m?tyu-m¨¡ra immediately lunged over. The Yin Soul that resembled Shen Yushu immediately became covered in wrinkles, rapidly aging.

    ¡°No! Li Qingshan!¡±

    Shen Yushu stared at Li Qingshan in complete despair and hatred, while Li Qingshan simply ignored it.

    The m?tyu-m¨¡ra was like a cicada on a tree, sucking away at Shen Yushu¡¯s will and life and devouring it all in a short while. All that remained was a body, tottering around and falling forwards.

    ¡°Let me borrow your body now!¡±

    Li Qingshan bent over and his mountainous figure was completely sucked into Shen Yushu¡¯s body. He extended his hand and stopped him from falling completely before waving his hand without even looking back. The m?tyu-m¨¡ra led the dozen or so kle?a-m¨¡ra to vanish into the space there, while Wan Jianfeng rose up as a streak of light.

    The Hundred Herbs garden seemed to enter late autumn, completely yellow and wilted, leaving behind a bleak landscape devoid of life. It seemed to live up to the saying from the legend¡ªWherever the daemon star of misfortune went, weapons were raised and nothing was spared.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming, Myriad sect.¡±

 Chapter 1649

    It was the time before dawn. Night was about to come to an end.

    Great mist permeated the ocean. Even the sound of waves seemed exceptionally tranquil.

    The lamps that remained lit throughout the night in Myriad city had now been reduced to balls of orangey-yellow haze by the mist.

    On the cobblestone path moistened by the mist, Li Qingshan advanced through this haze.

    The signs on the sides of the street were all illuminated by all sorts of colours, forming colourful balls of haze within the mist.

    Figures flickered around on the street, no less than daytime. Many voices rang out in the mist, no quieter than daytime either.

    This was a city of cultivators. It was not affected by time or weather. It was truly a city where the sun never set, but no one seemed to notice the approach of the storm.

    Residing within the enemy¡¯s base, Li Qingshan did not feel worried at all. He strolled through the streets and alleyways. He could even spare the effort to buy a flask of alcohol and a few steaming meat buns as breakfast.

    Perhaps at this very moment, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was watching him. He still did not want to expose himself so soon.

    He emptied the flask in a single gulp and exhaled deeply. His belly felt warm, which was very comforting. He liked Shen Yushu¡¯s body. Without much body forging, the alcohol felt a little more intense. 4887

    Speaking of which, despite spending all these years as a disciple of the Myriad sect, Li Qingshan did not get much opportunity to stroll around like this. Now, he strolled around everywhere in the city as if he wanted to use this chance to properly tour the place.

    However, while his pace seemed relaxed and his face seemed slightly tipsy, the depths of his eyes were filled with calmness and sharpness.

    Sure enough, Pi Yangqiu is right. The formation is completely flawless!

    The protective formation of the Myriad sect was commonly referred to as the Myriad formation, but it did not actually possess a proper name. It was just like the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, seeming like it did not exist yet present everywhere. It was wondrous and mysterious, but also very thorough and meticulous.

    As the master of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings, Pi Yangqiu had remained in Myriad city for all these years yet even he had not comprehended everything that the formation was capable of.

    Originally, Li Qingshan thought it was because Pi Yangqiu¡¯s cultivation was insufficient, but now, he could not help but admire the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s methods. He looked up and peered through the thick mist, seeing the glorious outline of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was the centre of the Myriad formation. It was both its strongest component as well as its greatest weak point.

    Originally, as long as he entered the pavilion, he would have a very good opportunity at destroying the formation in a single strike before the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance realised it with the cultivation of this clone.

    However, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had actually sealed up the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes beforehand, plugging the greatest opening. Who knew whether he had sensed it beforehand or it was just an act of caution, or perhaps a combination of both.

    A spirit turtle at the sixth heavenly tribulation and one of the best formations in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. If any aspect was missing, they would stand no chance against Li Qingshan, but together, they became extremely troublesome. This combination could even stop Demon Gods for a moment, while Heretic Gods were basically guaranteed death if they were trapped in there.

    Li Qingshan also did not possess absolute confidence in being able to destroy the formation successfully.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s nothing else I can do!¡±

    Li Qingshan tossed aside the empty flask in his hand and bought another flask of alcohol from a street vendor, making his way towards the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes as he drank. His figure gradually vanished within the colourful haze.

    The sky was gradually brightening up, so the lamps were extinguished one by one. However, the mist only grew heavier. Many figures shuffled around quickly as if something was surging within the mist.

    Li Qingshan arrived beneath the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes on the huge square that spanned several thousand metres. Before him was a stone wall that stood over thirty metres tall. It was the eastern foundation of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, but it also possessed a much more resounding name¡ªthe Myriad rankings.

    Now, apart from the fact that it had become particularly dark as it had been moistened by the mist, it seemed no different from a regular stone wall.

    Some foreign cultivators were currently waiting for the sunrise. When the sunlight shone against the stone wall, it would reveal the names and rankings of all the disciples in the Myriad sect. It was one of the great scenes available in the Myriad sect, called ¡°Illuminating the World¡±.

    The meaning of that was obviously the names on the Myriad rankings would illuminate the world like sunlight in renown.

    This was both a wonderful idea as well as the actual situation. Basically all the cultivators in the Human realm had heard of Li Qingshan¡¯s name now.

    However, he knew even without looking at it that Li Qingshan¡¯s name would never appear on it again. He no longer needed to make the people of the world learn his name through this way either.

    Above the stone wall were white stone steps that were three hundred metres wide and several dozen metres long. At the end of the steps was the eastern gate to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    The gate was firmly shut, but Li Qingshan still planned on testing it. He wanted to see if he could smash it open and force his way into the pavilion before the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance realised it, but he did not hold much hope in that. After all, the one who fell asleep in the fable was not the tortoise.

    He was just about to make his way around the stone wall when he suddenly stopped, raising his eyebrows slightly and looking back.

    A few figures gradually emerged from the mist, appearing above the square. They were all faces that Li Qingshan found familiar. Basically all the direct disciples of the Myriad sect had arrived here, while the one leading them was the first senior sister, Dai Mengfan.

    Figures flickered behind them, all inner disciples of the Myriad sect. They all stood sternly and warily, while some of them were confused, uncertain about what was going on. They had just received the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s order suddenly, saying that the Myriad sect was under attack.

    Only now did Li Qingshan realise that the Myriad formation had already been activated. The mist had stopped being regular mist a long time ago, or he should have noticed much sooner.

    But even until now, he was still unable to sense the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s existence.

    ¡°Shen Yushu, what are you doing here?¡± Dai Mengfan shouted, ¡°What¡¯s happened to the Hundred Herbs garden?¡±

    She had received the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s order and hurried here to face the enemy. Only when she saw it was Shen Yushu did she relax a little, but she also found the entire matter to be strange. Just a measly Shen Yushu was enough to amount to being ¡°under attack? Just what part of a Yin Soul cultivator like him was threatening to the Myriad sect? Even if he was threatening, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could casually suppress him. Why did he assemble all the direct disciples?

    ¡°How did you notice me?¡± Li Qingshan ignored Dai Mengfan and asked the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes loudly.

    He felt like he had done a decent job portraying Shen Yushu when returning to the sect. He had not divulged anything in terms of aura, so it was not very likely for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance to realise it was him, which left him rather curious.

    Yeah, he must have noticed something fishy from the way he walks or something like his microexpressions. With that old turtle¡¯s memories, he might even remember exactly how long Shen Yushu¡¯s strides are. I must have been a few millimetres off today.

    ¡°You drank too much.¡±

    A cold and mighty voice pierced through the surging mist, ringing out from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, but only Li Qingshan and a minority of the direct disciples could hear it.

    ¡°Erm¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at the flask in his hand and became slightly awkward. He had indeed drank quite a lot along the way, around several hundred flasks.

    ¡°Since you¡¯re already exposed, why don¡¯t you back off immediately? Don¡¯t forget about your original promise to me,¡± said the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    ¡°Sigh, everything is always so unpredictable! I don¡¯t want to oppose the Myriad sect either. As long as you hand over an item, I¡¯ll leave immediately. I won¡¯t stay here for a second longer, and I¡¯ll definitely show you mercy if I encounter you again in the future!¡±

    The direct disciples looked at one another. Wasn¡¯t this Shen Yushu talking a little too boldly? He actually said he would show mercy to the spirit reverend. However, the spirit reverend¡¯s behaviour was truly strange as well, like he was intentionally lowering his voice for negotiation, hoping to avoid conflict and also hoping that no one else would hear this.

    ¡°What is it?¡± the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance asked.

    ¡°The Myriad Heavenly Tome!¡± Li Qingshan said sternly.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already obtained seventeen of the thirty-eight Myriad Heavenly Tomes. Are you still not content?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want the thirty-eight. I only want the one. I want the true Myriad Heavenly Tome!¡±

 Chapter 1650

    At the end of the sky and sea, a creamy-white colour lit up in the east. The sun was about to rise up, except the mist grew heavier. The towering Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes shimmered in the surging mist like it was about to tip over at any moment. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance inside remained silent.

    ¡°The Myriad Heavenly Tome!?¡±

    The direct disciples had all heard of this legend before.

    The general understanding was the Myriad Heavenly Tomes was only a way to reference all of the heavenly tomes. All of the heavenly tomes combined formed the Myriad Heavenly Tomes. However, it was rumoured that the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes contained a true Myriad Heavenly Tome. All of the heavenly tomes evolved from the Myriad Heavenly Tome. It was truly all-encompassing, containing all the cultivation methods and paths in the world.

    ¡°That¡¯s just a legend!¡± Dai Mengfan shouted, ¡°You¡¯re not Shen Yushu! Who are you!?¡±

    It sounded off the more she heard. Shen Yushu was merely an inner disciple. He only practised the Heavenly Tome of Nature, so where did the seventeen heavenly tomes come from? Even if he was a direct disciple, it was impossible for him to possess that many heavenly tomes unless he was the first senior brother.

    However, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could not be blabbering nonsense either. She became strangely anxious and fearful. A terrifying thought called out to her.

    ¡°Legend?¡± Li Qingshan shook his head. If he did not practise the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he could not be certain about the Myriad Heavenly Tome¡¯s existence either. However, after completing the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he had already become completely certain that the seventeen heavenly tomes in his possession shared the same origin.

    Actually, he did not really need any other cultivation methods because he possessed the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. The reason why he was determined to obtain the Myriad Heavenly Tome was not for himself, but for the living creatures of the Demon domain.

    As everyone knew, a cultivation method had a tremendous impact on one¡¯s personality. The cultivation methods circulated through the Demon domain were all ruthless and wicked. Even when regular people practised them, they would become filled with malice and wicked thoughts. In the past, only these cultivation methods made it easier to gain the demonic heavens¡¯ blessings.

    But now, Li Qingshan had broken down the barrier between Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain, allowing it to return to being the Qilin Paradise. As a result, demonfolk were no longer born as demonfolk. That was liberating the demonfolk from depravity from birth, but he could not stop them from becoming depraved again through nurture.

    Even when Li Qingshan had already become a god, it was impossible for him to deduce the countless cultivation methods derived from the Dao. That would take too much time, and the exact thing he lacked right now was time. The enemy would not give him too much time.

    As a result, he had to obtain the Myriad Heavenly Tome, regardless of the cost!

    Many years ago, what he treasured were pills and medicines, but now, he cherished crops and vegetables. The value of objects would always change with circumstances. At this very moment, probably even the gods in the Nine Heavens had not realised the special value of the Myriad Heavenly Tome, which was why they gave him the opportunity to launch a sneak attack on the Myriad sect.

    ¡°Hmph, the Myriad formation has already been activated. No matter who you are, you can forget about leaving here alive!¡± Dai Mengfan was angered by his arrogance, so she immediately demonstrated her might as the first senior sister, but she also seemed to be hiding something at the same time.

    Li Qingshan suddenly glanced at Dai Mengfan from the side. ¡°Junior sister Dai, do you really not recognise me?¡±

    That was the side of a regular man¡¯s face, so ordinary that there were no special features at all.

    After having his body destroyed by Li Qingshan, Shen Yushu had always been using a body bug specially nurtured by the Spiritual Beast garden in the Myriad sect. Normally, they were shaped like bugs, but they would take a human shape very soon under the influence of a technique. Their skeletal structure and blood vessels were no different from a mortal¡¯s, except they were born without souls. They were specially provided to be possessed. Their external appearances possessed no special features either.

    However, the relishing expression, the familiar smile¡­ Dai Mengfan¡¯s eyes narrowed. Suddenly, she took a great step back. She said in shock, ¡°You¡¯re Li-¡±

    ¡°Shh!¡± Li Qingshan brought his index finger up to his lips, and Dai Mengfan halted before she could say the last part.

    He was still waiting for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s decision. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance clearly did not want to declare war against him, so there was still a chance of negotiation. If things went out of hand, then he could only fight.

    Dai Mengfan behaved like someone had grabbed her by the neck. She stared at Li Qingshan with widened eyes as all of her hairs stood on end. Her full chest heaved rapidly, gasping for air, like a herbivore that had been frightened. She no longer possessed any of the demeanor of a first senior sister.

    Yes, she was naturally aware that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance presided over the Myriad sect. Even if Li Qingshan came here in person, he would not be able to stir up any mess. However, at that moment, these logical conclusions all became useless. All that remained were the most primitive animal instincts¡ªgasping for air to ensure the intense activity of the body, narrowed eyes to gather focus, and a tense body to make any response before fleeing, fleeing as far as she could!

    Never could she forget the might and dignity of a tiger.

    The other direct disciples all responded as well, either casting techniques, gripping their weapons firmly, or circulating their cultivation methods, immediately assuming a defensive stance. They did not lose their composure like Dai Mengfan, but even the calmest and coolest among them, Leng Yuan, developed a hint of fear.

    Clang! Weapons were drawn from their sheaths.

    Although they saw how all the direct disciples behaved like they were confronting a powerful enemy, the inner disciples at the back still had no idea what had happened. All they could do was raise the weapons in their hands.

    Immediately, the square shimmered with light with weapons drawn. Countless auras rose up, churning up the mist like waves that all slammed against Li Qingshan.

    However, Li Qingshan was unfazed. He smiled. ¡°Junior sister Dai, I heard you undertook drastic changes as soon as you took office, where each and every one of them was targeted towards me.¡±

    ¡°I- I was only acting under orders. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance announced that you had fallen into the Demon domain. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance wanted me to become the first senior sister. I originally declined¡­¡±

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s eyes shimmered with uncertainty, basically unable to meet Li Qingshan¡¯s gaze, like a child who had just committed a great mistake, explaining away in broken sentences. It led to contempt from the other direct disciples. They never expected her to be so cowardly.

    By now, all of the direct disciples had settled down, especially Leng Yuan. As his cultivation method circulated, his mind became as cool as ice, completely eliminating the shred of fear. He logically deduced that it was only one of Li Qingshan¡¯s clones here.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s main body might have undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation already, but the cultivation of his clone was at least one major realm weaker, which meant it was the same as theirs. If they had to face him alone, no one was confident about defeating him, but there was absolutely no reason to fear him in the current situation.

    Leng Yuan said proudly, ¡°Li Qingshan, humans and demons have never been able to coexist. Since you have fallen into the Demon domain, you are no longer the first senior brother of the Myriad sect but our enemy!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile faded away. He said calmly and seriously, ¡°Yes, you are my enemy. Dong Dagong¡¯s blood won¡¯t flow for nothing.¡±

    Dai Mengfan looked at Leng Yuan in great surprise, like she had just witnessed an ignorant child taunting a vicious beast. She was unable to understand why he was still provoking Li Qingshan. Was he really not afraid of dying? Then she sensed the contempt from the other direct disciples and could not help but growl inside, Can you really not sense it? You¡¯ll actually die!

    Apart from Le Tian, she was the direct disciple most skilled in divination in the Myriad sect.

    To her, the air was not filled with white mist but a pitch-black aura of death, pressing against her chest and taking away her breath.

    Even when she faced Demon God Taotie¡¯s embodiment outside Black Cloud city back then, she did not experience such fear. It was as if Li Qingshan could crush them all with a simple twitch of his finger.

    She did not trust her so-called logical judgement. She only trusted her instincts that had developed over many years of cultivation. If the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was not present, she would be begging for mercy from Li Qingshan already, or she would have fled immediately, getting as far away from here as possible.

    No, I shouldn¡¯t have come at all! The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance definitely didn¡¯t summon us here just so that we could watch but to send us to our deaths as pawns!

    At this moment, Dai Mengfan suddenly noticed that apart from Li Liehuo who was in secluded cultivation for good and Wan Jianfeng who faced off against Ruan Yaozhu outside the Hundred Herbs garden, Le Tian was the only direct disciple who had not answered the summon.

    That sly bastard!

 Chapter 1651

    At this moment, the thick mist surged violently, and the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes grew clearer. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s tremendous voice rang out.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, the Myriad Heavenly Tome is the supreme treasure of the Myriad sect. My master has ordered me to protect the Myriad sect. The Myriad Heavenly Tome cannot be handed to an outsider, much less a Demon God!¡±

    His voice was no longer limited to just the square. Instead, it spread through the streets and alleyways of Myriad city, shaking up the ocean.

    ¡°Demon God!?¡±

    Let alone the responses of the other people in the city, just the direct disciples alone had paled in fright, staggering back several steps uncontrollably.

    Only Leng Yuan stood without budging, but a shining ring of ice suddenly rose up around him, rapidly enveloping him and protecting him from all sides. He did not experience any fear thanks to the special characteristics of his cultivation method, but his heart did sink deeply. The giant wolf under him seemed extremely uneasy too with its tail between its legs, wanting to shrink away.

    The corner of Dai Mengfan¡¯s lips twitched. She wanted to say, ¡°I knew it¡±. Suddenly, everything became clear to her. All of the anxiety, restlessness, and uneasiness she had experienced over the past few days received a very precise and detailed explanation¡ªthe nightmare had come true. Instead, she now felt a strange sensation of relief, saying flatly, ¡°If I¡¯ve guessed correctly, he is the daemon star of misfortune.¡±

    At this moment, no one looked down on her anymore. All of them were fixated on the man in the mist.

    ¡°Then I have no other choice.¡± Li Qingshan shrugged. All expressions vanished from the extremely ordinary face, except red light lit up in the depths of his eyes.

    ¡°All disciples, kill Li Qingshan¡¯s clone! Today¡¯s battle determines the fate of the sect. If anyone takes a single step back-¡±

    Before the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could even finish, Li Qingshan had already leapt into the air.

    All of the direct disciples responded immediately like a series of drawn bows, letting loose the ¡°arrows¡± in their hands.

    Leng Yuan was the calmest, as well as the one with the fastest response. Without even budging, three thousand and six hundred beams of cold light emerged from the ring of ice that hovered around him. Each beam of light was a speck of ice even smaller than a snowflake, but each one of them was enough to freeze a whale to death.

    Mid-air, Li Qingshan was basically a sitting duck. He could neither dodge nor block. The beams of cold light pierced his body, immediately covering him in a layer of frost. However, his skin became blood-red like fire, like a steamed crab, and his muscles bulged as his veins popped on his face, making him seem particularly frightening.

    At this moment, the inner disciples behind them all responded as well, unleashing their techniques.

    Wang Junxing was in the group too. His face was twisted beyond human resemblance. When he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s name, he felt like he was facing his doom. He even felt like Li Qingshan had paused on him momentarily when he glanced through the crowd. The significance behind that almost made his blood flow in reverse.

    He was well aware that he had played a great role in Dong Dagong and everyone else¡¯s deaths, and he had always prided himself on this, such that he did not regret it even after being expelled by the Department of Law and Punishment. This was his revenge against Li Qingshan. Only when Li Qingshan stared at him did he feel regret, and never did he regret something so much in his life.

    Who would have thought that Li Qingshan¡¯s revenge would be so vicious?

    As a result, he refused to hold back at all. He bellowed out as he unleashed all of his powers, condensing a huge axe that swung down viciously over Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    Immediately, the light pierced the mist and filled the entire square. The techniques of varying attributes collided, leading to another string of explosions, shining with numerous streams of blinding light.

    Li Qingshan exploded as a ball of bloody mist. Before it could even disperse, it had been vapourised.

    ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± Wang Junxing rejoiced inside, almost wanting to leap up in joy.

    However, the direct disciples looked at one another. They felt like they had won too easily.

    ¡°It¡¯s the Myriad formation!¡± Leng Yuan said suddenly.

    He clearly saw that all the techniques had missed apart from the streams of cold light he produced. Li Qingshan¡¯s body had not been frozen either. Instead, it seemed more like he had suddenly ruptured under a tremendous and invisible pressure.

    The other direct disciples immediately understood what had happened as well. Indeed, this was a battle between Li Qingshan and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. They were only there to assist.

    The crucial aspect was not their techniques, but the Myriad formation that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance controlled. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s usage of the formation had reached levels of wonders. He did not waste a single sliver of power, concentrating all of the might on Li Qingshan such that even they themselves had failed to sense the formation¡¯s operation.

    They all could not help but let out a sigh of relief. Even if Li Qingshan had become a Demon God, his clone was a Heretic God at most, equal to the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in cultivation. He had also foolishly tried to infiltrate the city, ending up in the Myriad formation, so of course, he was not the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s opponent.

    However, Dai Mengfan was grim. The aura of death in the air only grew heavier, and her uneasiness intensified too. She swallowed a Calamity Survival pill. This was a secret treasure she had prepared for the crisis of the world. It could allow her cultivation to multiply several times over for a short period of time, but the price was what cultivators valued the most, lifespan.

    At this moment, the light from the exploding techniques had yet to disperse. All she vaguely made out from the dazzling light was a colossal, black figure. Is that the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes? The figure is moving¡­ It¡¯s not the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes!

    ¡°Be careful!¡±

    Dai Mengfan narrowed her eyes. The flow of time seemed to slow down.

    A huge head extended out from the light slowly, neither human nor beast. The head possessed a pair of colossal antlers, except the patterns on its forehead formed three stripes, resembling neither a deer nor a tiger. Its colossal body that rivalled a hill in size seemed to be under tremendous and invisible pressure. Its back arched up before sinking back down deeply.

    The ¡°monster¡± opened its mouth, revealing a mouth full of jagged teeth. It seemed to be both furious and smiling, suddenly sucking in a deep breath. Its chest heaved up, almost touching the ground.

    The Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar!

    At that moment, Wang Junxing in the crowd became absolutely certain that the ¡°monster¡± was staring at him. However, he seemed to lose his senses. He did not respond at all.

    A direct disciple happened to be standing between him and the ¡°monster¡±, so he was struck by the stream of air.

    The stream of air was only thirty metres across. It was completely transparent but also very discernible. It formed an oval shape as it flew through the air, immediately exploding the moment it struck the direct disciple and turning into countless wind blades and a deafening roar. It dispersed the clouds and mist in the sky like a great storm.

    The direct disciple had already used his life-preserving arcane treasure and cast several techniques to protect his body, but they were all torn apart, whether it was his techniques, arcane treasures, clothes, body¡­

    A half-transparent Yang Soul emerged, but he clutched his ears painfully, letting out a miserable howl. That was merely his gut reaction. It actually did not represent anything. Yang Souls were similar to humans in appearance, but their structure was completely different. They were more like a ball of energy.

    The howl stopped as soon as it began, and the Yang Soul shattered!

    Wan Junxing only felt a gust of wind and bloody gashes appeared on his face and body. He raised his right arm. His right hand was covered in overlapping cuts, such that it fell apart from the slightest movement, scattering on the ground.

    ¡°Li-¡± He wanted to talk, but his tongue was sliced to pieces. He wanted to raise his head, but the world suddenly began to spin. He saw all of the inner disciples around him standing without budging, suddenly falling apart on the spot.

    I¡¯m dead¡­ That was his final thought.

 Chapter 1652

    As a newly-accepted inner disciple of the Myriad sect, the Qingyang Master was also standing in the crowd, but he was still rather proud about his current identity, so he stood relatively further away.

    When he heard Li Qingshan¡¯s name, his heart lurched as well. He never expected to meet him in person so soon too. When he heard the words ¡°Demon God¡±, he could already sense that something was amiss, but apart from casting two protective techniques, he did not have the time to do anything else. He did not possess the courage to desert the battle either. When the other inner disciples launched their attacks, he could only follow along too.

    At this moment, he widened his eyes fearfully, watching in disbelief as the lofty direct disciple was slain on the spot. He also vaguely made out the criss-crossing white lines in the air.

    The white lines passed by like an extremely sharp scythe through a wheat field. The inner disciples in front of him all collapsed.

    He rapidly retreated, immediately moving several dozen metres back. However, the criss-crossing white lines had already arrived before his eyes, enveloping everything and completely undodgeable.

    I¡¯m done for!

    At this moment, the white lines gradually twisted and thickened before suddenly vanishing into the air, replaced by shrill howls.

    As it turned out, each white line was a wind blade. Every wind blade turned into a great gust of wind and formed a true storm together.

    With a bang, his two protective techniques shattered. The Qingyang Master was clearly shooting backwards, but he felt like he had just struck a wall. Blood spurted from his mouth violently, which was blown back into his face as soon as it left his mouth. He was blown away.

    His face was covered in blood and his body wracked with pain, but at that moment, he only felt the joy of surviving.

    Rumble! There was a thunderous boom.

    The storm was no longer tied down in any shape or form. It completely released its energy, blowing away several dozen buildings like it was unstoppable. Tiles and splinters filled the air. The sky suddenly darkened. Several pillars that could only be embraced by several people holding hands were thrown into the air like hay.

    Meanwhile, the Qingyang Master was like a fallen leaf, blown into the sky freely by the wind and taken far away from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. However, when he peered down at Myriad city below, the ruins formed a fan shape around the ¡°monster¡¯s¡± gaping mouth, which left him absolutely astounded.

    Probably only the might of the world can match these abilities! This ¡®monster¡¯ is Miaozhenzi¡¯s husband, Li Qingshan!

    Everything occurred in a split second, so fast that even Yang Soul cultivators almost could not react.

    In the blink of an eye, a direct disciple had perished and almost half of the inner disciples had been massacred. The brutality even stunned the direct disciples.

    Only at that moment did they completely understand what the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was saying. Li Qignshan had already become a Demon God, while the new divine star that had appeared in the air during the recent years was the daemon star of misfortune, Yinghua.

    Dai Mengfan recalled the night when the daemon star first emerged, when a true god perished.

    The crisis of the world is already imminent. He is the daemon star of misfortune!

    However, as the first senior sister of the Myriad sect, she could not leave with the wind like the Qingyang Master. With her lips pursed, she made up her mind and took out a jade seal that glistened with golden light. This was her lifebound arcane treasure. Once it was destroyed, the consequences would be tremendous, but she could not care that much anymore. She tossed the jade seal into the air.

    The jade seal swelled in the wind, turning into the size of a hill in the blink of an eye and crushing down over the ¡°monster¡¯s¡± head.

    Strangely enough, after letting out that terrifying roar, the ¡°monster¡± seemed to be heavily injured as well. He collapsed forwards and caught his body with his hands. The ground immediately cracked and sank.

    With a boom, the jade seal smashed down on his head, which was almost pressed into the ground. However, he did not pay any attention to Dai Mengfan, instead looking back at the Pavilion of Heavenly Clouds and letting out powerful killing intent.

    The bronze bells under the eaves of the Pavilion of Heavenly Clouds were disturbed by the great winds, so they chimed away jarringly.

    By now, the thick mist had dispersed, and the sun emerged in the east. An old man in black stood on the balcony connected to the highest floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, gazing down at Li Qingshan below with his tranquil and deep eyes. He met the scarlet eyes, but he remained unfazed as always.

    No matter what kind of destruction Myriad city faced or if their disciples were butchered, none of it could perturb him. Perhaps it was better to say that everything was within his expectations.

    He spread his arms and his wide sleeves buffeted in the wind. He spread his fingers and cupped both hands. A crystal ball hovered between his curved fingers, which was the formation core of the Myriad formation.

    The colour of the crystal ball was as dark as the depths of the ocean. Only Li Qingshan was vaguely present inside, no matter what shape or form he had taken.

    The Spirit Turtle Suppresses the Seas!

    Li Qingshan definitely was not unfamiliar with this move, but only when he was the target did he truly experience its might. It was as if he was thousands of metres under the ocean, where every inch of his skin endured several thousand tonnes of pressure.

    When regular cultivators pushed formations to their limit, they were only unleashing the power behind the formation itself. Meanwhile, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had merged with the Myriad formation, combining all of his cultivation with it.

    The original functions of the Myriad formation completely exceeded the Seventy-two Pentads formation of the Hundred Herbs garden as well, but the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was extremely aware that these functions were all useless before the clone of a true god. It would only increase his openings. As a result, there were no flashy tricks, no elemental attacks, only suppression from absolute power.

    Li Qingshan required all of his strength to contend against it. Shen Yushu¡¯s body had not been tempered or forged in any way, so it did not even last for a split second under the contest of strength between these two terrifying powers, immediately exploding as a bloody mist.

    Li Qingshan had used the opportunity to kill Wang Junxing and a direct disciple, avenging Dong Dagong and the others somewhat, but he obviously could not contend against the suppression of the Myriad formation when he unleashed his innate ability at full force. Whatever power he put into his attacks was the same amount he would be receiving.

    And if he ignored these direct disciples and focused on destroying the formation, he would definitely face obstruction, which would become the final straw. A clash between absolute power had never permitted any distractions at all. However, given the situation, killing these direct disciples would be quite tedious too.

    The Myriad formation had cut him off from the outside world, so his depleted spiritual qi could not be replenished. Meanwhile, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had an endless supply of spiritual qi given the blessed land that the Myriad sect was founded on. He was basically untouchable.

    As a result, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s intentions in gathering these direct disciples became very clear. They were for him to kill.

    Succeeding with her attack, Dai Mengfan beamed with joy inside and demonstrated her dignity and might as the first senior sister again. She called out, ¡°Don¡¯t stop! Keep attacking! If anyone flees, that¡¯ll be betrayal!¡±

    The direct disciples had begun considering retreating, but right now, they were all reinvigorated too. They felt like Li Qingshan was not exactly undefeatable anymore! For the first time, they felt some admiration towards this ¡°first senior sister¡±.

    Leng Yuan immediately struck out. The ring of ice revolved around his body, functioning as both defence and offence, producing thousands of streaks of cold light. The giant frost wolf under him also opened its mouth and spat out ice flames that filled Li Qingshan¡¯s face, basically as a reply to his tiger¡¯s roar from earlier.

    At this moment, a person sneered among the direct disciples. ¡°If you want to die, go ahead. I¡¯ll be taking my leave first!¡± He immediately turned into a streak of light and made his way out of the city.

    ¡°Pi Yangqiu!!¡±

    Dai Mengfan was both surprised and furious. She rarely ever participated in the military affairs of Black Cloud city, so she was not particularly skilled at giving orders on the battlefield, but she understood the will of the people. In a life-threatening battle like this, if they could not keep deserters in check in time, it would definitely lead to defeat.

    Sure enough, apart from Leng Yuan, the other direct disciples were swayed. They hesitated and did not attack. The morale they had just gathered all bled away.

 Chapter 1653

    The Spirit Turtle¡¯s Profound Shell!

    The cold light and the icy flames arrived before Li Qingshan, only to be blocked by a light-blue screen assembled from hexagons.

    However, under the weight of the hill-sized jade seal, his head did sink a little lower, almost as if he was giving into the burden. The marble under his body cracked and a fracture even ran across the Myriad rankings behind him.

    It was not due to how impressive Dai Mengfan¡¯s attack was, but because he had devoted all of his strength to contend against the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Any additional pressure just made things worse.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s lips curled into a smile. He understood the cowardly nature of these direct disciples all too well. If they all struck together, perhaps they really could assist the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance in heavily injuring him. Pi Yangqiu had fled at the perfect time.

    ¡°You old turtle, I wanna see whether you¡¯ll do something about that or not!¡±

    At this moment, all of the direct disciples shifted their focus to Pi Yangqiu. Watching him fly off into the distance, they were not exactly incapable of intercepting him, but none of them did anything.

    If Pi Yangqiu had fled, then there would definitely be a second and a third¡­ The remaining people would become Li Qingshan¡¯s target, and they would suffer much greater losses. The last one to flee would basically be guaranteed death too.

    No one wanted to be the last one, so the optimal choice would be the second to flee. However, if everyone thought like that, then the final outcome would be defeat.

    Pi Yangqiu moved with lightning speed and was about to fly out of Myriad city when the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suddenly shifted his tranquil gaze, looking away from Li Qingshan for the first time. He turned towards Pi Yangqiu.

    Pi Yangqiu had set up layers upon layers of defences around him earlier when they all attacked Li Qingshan.

    Twenty-four bamboo slips revolved around him, forming three separate layers yet also resonating together, assembling into a formation that shone with layers of light. It was like a fortress. That was his lifebound arcane treasure, the Bamboo Slips of Earth Perceiving.

    Not only could the Bamboo Slips of Earth Perceiving be used to study and breach formations, but it could also replicate most formations in the world. Currently, it replicated a Formation of the Metal City and Ten Palaces. It only possessed a third of its true might, and it only lasted for a limited period of time, but the path of formations had always stressed defence, and the Formation of the Metal City and Ten Palaces was among the best of the best. It had never been breached before whenever Pi Yangqiu faced any opponents in the past.

    However, the moment the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s gaze landed on him, the light shattered, producing a series of cracks. The twenty-four bamboo slips all snapped, and the Formation of the Metal City and Ten Palaces immediately crumbled. His fleeing figure also froze up mid-air.

    Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

    The broken bamboo slips seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, piercing into Pi Yangqiu¡¯s body, vanishing deep into his skin.

    Pi Yangqiu was in agony. He looked back in surprise and met the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s tranquil eyes. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but before he could, his face collapsed inwards. However, not a single droplet of blood was spilt.

    His flesh, his bones, his hair, his clothes¡­ Everything that belonged to him was compressed into a single point.

    His bones snapped as his limbs folded. In the blink of an eye, his body had turned into a ball of flesh that continued to shrink until it became the size of a fist.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance shifted his gaze again, and the invisible force suddenly vanished. The fist-sized ball of flesh began to swell. Before it could completely erupt, it was swallowed by a ball of light.

    Boom!

    With an earth-shaking rumble, another sun seemed to rise up in the sky, except it was thousands of times larger than the sun over the ocean, emitting dazzling light that could blind regular people. That was Pi Yangqiu¡¯s exploding Yang Soul. Just like his body that had been reduced to a fist-sized ball, its internal structure had completely collapsed and been destroyed, turning into pure energy that was being released now.

    Several millennia of cultivation, all annihilated at this instant.

    The direct disciples paled in the light. All of them were dumbfounded, completely giving up on the thought of fleeing.

    Li Qingshan and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had each struck out once, and two Yang Soul cultivators had died miserably. Before absolute power, there were no life-preserving measures.

    By now, they had all understood their roles. Perhaps they were normally lofty direct disciples, Yang Soul cultivators, but right now, they were merely soldiers leading the charge. They could only advance, never to retreat!

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance wanted them to throw their lives at Li Qingshan, so they could only rush over and embrace death, only hoping to earn a chance of survival within the dire straits.

    The crisis of the world had already descended. It had descended right over their heads!

    At the same time, a great rumble rang out from the ground.

    As the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suppressed Pi Yangqiu, Dai Mengfan shivered inside and suddenly leapt backwards, but she was not trying to use this opportunity to flee. Instead, she gritted her teeth and extended her finger like a sword, pointing towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head. ¡°Decreed!¡±

    The jade seal grew in size and became transparent, circulating with profound glyphs. It had already become even heavier than metal, crushing down forcefully like it wanted to smash apart Li Qingshan¡¯s head.

    She knew that Li Qingshan¡¯s counterattack was coming. All of them could die in the next moment.

    Boom! The jade seal shattered into pieces, falling like a rockslide.

    An arm covered in thick, black fur extended over, suddenly expanding in size and reaching towards Leng Yuan.

    The Ape Demon Extends its Arm!

    Li Qingshan followed a strict order for revenge. He killed those in charge first before killing those who assisted them.

    Leng Yuan wanted to retreat, but he was immobilised. He was like an insect trapped in amber, only able to watch as death approached. At a time like this, even he was unable to remain calm anymore. A smear of shock appeared in his eyes.

    Li Qingshan had simply reached out, yet the movement contained the numerous abilities of the ape demon. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was currently busy with something else, so how could Leng Yuan escape?

    Suddenly, the huge wolf dove forwards from under Leng Yuan, opening its mouth full of teeth and howling at the huge, black hand.

    The huge, black hand closed its fingers and the howl turned into a wail.

    Li Qingshan had never expected his attack to miss either. Shattering Dai Mengfan¡¯s jade seal took some time. Meanwhile, the daemon wolf was loyal to its master, helping Leng Yuan block this attack.

    In the past, perhaps he would find this admirable and spare the daemon wolf and give it a quick death, but right now, he only stared at Leng Yuan and closed his fingers slowly. Fur and flesh oozed out from between his fingers.

    The daemon wolf¡¯s wails became even more miserable. It was a Daemon Sovereign, but it could not resist at all in Li Qingshan¡¯s hand. It could not even detonate its daemon core.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!!!¡±

    Leng Yuan was unable to remain calm anymore. His heart burned with endless hatred towards Li Qingshan, tempted to perish together with him. He charged at Li Qingshan without any regard, condensing an ice blade with a wave of his right hand and slashing it furiously towards the black hand.

    ¡°Be careful, junior brother Leng! Don¡¯t fall for his trick!¡± Dai Mengfan called out, but it was already too late.

    By now, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had already suppressed Pi Yangqiu. He looked back over.

    Li Qingshan suddenly felt the pressure on his body increase. His fingers tightened, crushing the daemon wolf to death, and he pinched a bloody daemon core between his thumb and index finger, flicking it out suddenly.

    The daemon core shot out of his hand, and a great hole appeared in Leng Yuan¡¯s chest. It suddenly exploded at the same time as it pierced his body.

    Boom!

    The two explosions rang out together. Pi Yangqiu and Leng Yuan basically perished at the same time.

 Chapter 1654

    The blue sky was clear, without a cloud in sight. The sea surged with waves.

    Myriad city shook and swayed, like a lone boat on the ocean.

    The simultaneous explosion of two Yang Souls lingered without fading. In particular, the great coldness accumulated within Leng Yuan over several thousand years of cultivation had been completely released at that moment, immediately throwing Myriad city into winter. All of the buildings, pavilions, and trees became covered in a layer of frost, turning into a silvery world.

    Who would have thought that Li Qingshan¡¯s counterattack would be so intense!

    He struck out a total of three times, a roar, a grab, and a flick! In the blink of an eye, two direct disciples perished, a Daemon Sovereign lost its life, and several hundred cultivators were buried with them.

    As the leader of the direct disciples, Dai Mengfan hovered in the air. Her violet dress danced in the wind, making her seem like a fairy visiting the domain of humans. Even when her lifebound arcane artifact had been destroyed, the glow she gave off did not weaken at all under the effects of the Calamity Survival pill, instead growing even brighter than before.

    However, her charming face was sheet-white. Down below was the fury of Li Qingshan¡¯s revenge and up above was the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s cold pressure. She did not have the courage to fight or flee, so all she felt was despair.

    But now, no one mocked her cowardice anymore. All of the direct disciples felt chills inside. This was the might of a god. Even if he was only a clone, he could still butcher Yang Soul cultivators like butchering pigs.

    The current situation bore great resemblance to the battle of Black Cloud city. A Demon God¡¯s clone had also appeared back then, annihilating everyone. But this time, there was not a second Li Qingshan to stand up for them. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would never risk his life to confront a Demon God either, instead choosing to watch from the top of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    Under the great shock and impact, no one had any idea what to do. They were all dumbfounded.

    Outside Myriad city, the sweeping winds lifted up the seawater layer by layer, revealing the head of a large, stone statue. It was Li Qingshan¡¯s statue that had been destroyed under Leng Yuan¡¯s personal orders just recently. Its shattered body had already been cleaned up, leaving behind the head that sank into the ocean.

    Now that it was exposed from the water, a gust of cold wind immediately formed a thin layer of ice on it, but its expression seemed to become even more determined and resolute.

    The soldiers had all fallen in battle, leaving behind the general to fight on, but he had already become a ¡°monster¡± in everyone¡¯s eyes, his antlers standing tall and his eyes shining scarlet. He laid beneath the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, wrapped in black demon qi and snorting out hot white air.

    After killing Leng Yuan, the ¡°monster¡± seemed to smile, making it seem even more frightening, almost like a living nightmare. However, no one sensed the melancholy that flashed through its scarlet eyes¡ªslaughter also led to hesitation.

    Only the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was unaffected by the coldness, remaining the same as before with its colourful bricks and tiles, towering over everything. It formed an especially clear contrast with this frosty world.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance stood at the top of the building, his expression indifferent like the clouds and his eyes deep like the ocean. After destroying Pi Yangqiu who deserted and deterring the other direct disciples from trying something similar, he shifted his gaze back onto Li Qingshan.

    His lifespan was calculated in the tens of thousands of years. Even when he had never undergone the seventh heavenly tribulation and become a True Immortal, the power and wisdom he accumulated was already oceanic.

    At this moment, he powered the All-encompassing Formation of the Myriad silently, merging his body with the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Then he merged the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes with Myriad city before finally merging Myriad city with the world.

    If Li Qingshan wanted to defeat him, he had to defeat the world!

    The world was his territory and all of the direct disciples were his chess pieces. As long as they could stop Li Qingshan¡¯s footsteps and block his strongest wave of attacks, he would be undefeatable on this chessboard!

    Actually, what spirit turtles were most skilled at was not divination, but defence.

    As a result, before Li Qingshan could even properly savour the taste of revenge, he experienced the pressure like he was at the bottom of the ocean again.

    He had grown accustomed to this sense of pressure a long time ago. The voices of the living creatures of the Demon domain rang out in his ear again, pleading, sighing, worshipping¡­ Just how many enemies did he have to kill before he could get what he wanted?

    A strange sensation surged through his chest, suddenly letting out a great roar at the sky¡ªThe Tiger Demon Forges its Bones, with a Frenzied Heart!

    The direct disciples were surprised at first, retreating in a hurry. They had all been frightened out of their wits from Li Qingshan¡¯s Tiger Demon¡¯s Fierce Roar earlier, but only after a moment did they realise that the roar was very spirited and intense, but it did not contain much power. It was better described as the growl produced by a wild beast after falling into a trap than an innate ability.

    Li Qingshan seemed to have devoted all of his strength to fending off the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, such that he could not spare any effort to go after anyone else.

    Several direct disciples even let out sighs of relief and relaxed. As it turned out, as long as they did not flee, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would be able to concentrate on suppressing Li Qingshan, and Li Qingshan¡¯s threat to them would greatly diminish. As long as he was unable to kill them in a single strike, they would have plenty of trump cards for staying alive.

    In other words, Pi Yangqiu was at fault for Leng Yuan¡¯s death. They gradually noticed that Pi Yangqiu¡¯s behaviour earlier was strange. He had probably already been recruited by Li Qingshan, defecting to the demonic path when he went to take back the Xuanming dwelling.

    It could only be said that none of the direct disciples were fools. They only required a slight deduction to work out most of the truth. Suddenly, they felt like Li Qingshan was not that terrifying anymore. Instead, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was slightly more scary.

    As a result, they all gave up on the thought of escaping, unleashing their arcane treasures and techniques at Li Qingshan.

    Immediately, the square under the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes turned into a field of weapons, basically swallowing Li Qingshan¡¯s colossal figure. The body condensed from spiritual qi crumbled and collapsed at a visible rate as if he was about to follow Pi Yangqiu¡¯s footsteps.

    Even when they knew they were only chess pieces, they were unable to defy the chess player¡¯s order, following the path that the player had arranged for them to make a charge for the enemy commander.

    Meanwhile, Li Qingshan did not respond at all. He neither dodged nor blocked. Only the roar continued onwards, like he had given up on the battle right before him, just so he could vent a certain emotion.

    The chess pieces became even more invigorated as a result. If they could destroy Li Qingshan¡¯s clone, then it would definitely merit tremendous rewards from the Desireless Heavenly Palace. They would have an opportunity at becoming Human Immortals.

    But strangely enough, the chess player clearly possessed a tremendous advantage, yet he only became sterner. He furrowed his brows firmly. In order to suppress Li Qingshan, he could not spare the effort to perform any divinations either. As Li Qingshan¡¯s body became smaller and smaller, he did not relax at all. Instead, an ominous feeling gradually overtook him.

    Of course, the chess pieces were not all obedient either. Dai Mengfan was an example. She only used a fraction of her strength to attack Li Qingshan, devoting the rest to self-preservation. She hid carefully among the direct disciples, possessing none of the spirit belonging to a first senior sister.

    The other direct disciples all noticed this and were certain she would be harshly punished by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance after the battle, not only losing her position as the first senior sister, but even maybe being expelled from the sect.

    If Dai Mengfan knew what they were thinking, she would definitely cry out, ¡°Please expel me from the sect right now!¡±

    Because at that moment, her divining abilities even surpassed the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. All she saw was a thick, inky aura of death swallowing everyone.

 Chapter 1655

    9-11 minutes 17.11.2022

    Li Qingshan¡¯s roar halted. The remaining echoes were drowned out by the exploding techniques.

    The other direct disciples all eased up inside. The roar did not pose any threat, but they still found it to be slightly disturbing.

    Only Dai Mengfan¡¯s heart tightened. She felt the aura of death in the air grow so thick that it already seemed tangible, making her stomach lurch. She even stopped devoting a fraction of her strength to attacking, spending half of her powers to divine and the other half to prepare to flee.

    Under the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, a sea of fire burned, the fierce winds danced, and the sharp blades raged.

    Li Qingshan stood in the centre of the sea of fire, allowing the blades to slash him and the winds to lash him. His long, black hair swayed wildly in the wind and fire.

    He had already shrunk several dozen times, being only three metres tall. He was no longer half-man, half-beast either. Apart from the curved ox horns and slightly-blue skin, he had basically turned back into human form.

    However, pared to the size of a normal human, he was still at least two or three times wider. His chest was like the city gate and his legs were like pillars, while his arms were basically even thicker than his legs, virtually drooping down to the ground. He was pletely unclothed with only a large string of prayer beads hanging over his shoulder. His muscles rippled like they were about to explode, seemingly forged from metal.

    When you¡¯re just trying to make great content at tinyurl./37k7u89t.

    Before he knew it, the malice on him had pletely dissipated. All of his emotions had settled down, being unmoving and peaceful. Even his face had bee especially broad¡ªthick eyebrows, a wide nose bridge, a large mouth¡ªhe even seemed a little simple-minded.

    However, just by standing there, the feeling he gave off was like a mountain, unshakeable and indestructible. No matter how the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance powered the formation, he was unable to shrink him any further.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll beat you all to death!¡±

    Li Qingshan raised his head. His voice boomed out from his particularly broad chest, which also seemed especially deep and coarse, like a rumble from the depths of the earth. 4887

    With that, he made his way towards a direct disciple.

    Under the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s suppression, his movements became extremely sluggish, but he only needed a single step to emerge from the cluster of attacks and arrive before the direct disciple. He raised his thick arm in the process and threw a punch.

    The direct disciple had yet to realise what had happened when the sky suddenly darkened and a black mountain appeared right before his eyes. Then he took a huge punch to the chest.

    Afterwards, the black mountain vanished again, and the sky cleared up once more. He blinked his eyes. Cracks spread from his chest. Blinding light shone from within the black cracks.

    Boom! His Yang Soul exploded, illuminating the surrounding region.

    Only at that moment did the direct disciples sense an aura of violence and unruliness fill the surroundings.

    The corner of the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s eyes twisted. He gazed deeply at the string of prayer beads around Li Qingshan.

    After throwing the punch, Li Qingshan took his leave immediately. He had already arrived in front of another direct disciple, throwing another punch.

    The direct disciple¡¯s ranking in the Myriad sect was quite high, and he had received a warning beforehand. As such, he had already dropped down on his knees before the punch could reach him.

    Even Li Qingshan was taken aback. Aren¡¯t your reactions a little too fast? However, his punch did not falter.

    The direct disciple did not drop down to the ground to beg for his life. Instead, he held up an object with both hands, an exquisite figure of the Tiger Taming Arhat.

    This was a secret treasure of buddhism he had specially obtained from an ancient temple after the battle of Black Cloud city. It contained a tremendous amount of power of belief, capable of summoning the Tiger Taming Arhat to possess him. It was particularly effective against all wicked and demonic beings in the world.

    He activated the power within the golden figure without any regard. He suddenly erupted with golden light, immediately turning into the Tiger Taming Arhat. With his eyes aglare and his eyebrows scrunched, he raised a golden hoop and smashed it towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head, bellowing out, ¡°Taming the tiger!¡±

    Sure enough, Li Qingshan was forced to change his attack. He opened his hand and caught the ining golden hoop before stomping down on the direct disciple¡¯s face.

    With a crack, the golden figure of the Tiger Taming Arhat split into pieces.

    Boom! His Yang Soul also shattered, dying on the spot.

    Li Qingshan pulled back his large foot and made his way towards the next direct disciple.

    Ren Aoyou also felt his vision darken as if a mountain had appeared in front of him, taking his breath away. With all those examples before him, how could he still be bold enough to directly confront Li Qingshan?

    He spread his arms and directly abandoned his body, projecting out this Yang Soul!

    At that moment, the Yang Soul turned into several thousand Ren Aoyous. Each Ren Aoyou drifted away and moved with the speed of lightning, fleeing off in different directions.

    Ren Aoyou¡¯s escape techniques were known to be the best in Myriad city. Now that he had abandoned his body and only used his Yang Soul, his move, the ¡°Trichiliocosm¡±, was countless times more wondrous. Not only did he produce many clones, but each clone could move through space freely.

    Through this move, even Demon God Taotie¡¯s embodiment outside Black Cloud city back then had failed to harm him.

    ¡°Oh, junior brother Ren!¡±

    Li Qingshan sighed and reached out with his left hand, releasing a great force of suction. Ren Aoyou¡¯s Yang Soul immediately leapt into the palm of his hand. With another punch with his right hand, he ended Ren Aoyou¡¯s life.

    The several thousand Ren Aoyous suddenly stopped at the same time and slowly turned towards Li Qingshan. Their lips trembled as if they wanted to say something, but they turned to thin air before they could even say it.

    Li Qingshan threw his fists and kicked his legs, claiming a life with each step. The sound of exploding Yang Souls shook up Myriad city again and again.

    The direct disciples felt like they were about to go insane. Their faces twisted in fear. None of them were cowards. They had all faced countless dangers and battles that allowed them to stand here today.

    However, what they faced right now could not be considered as a battle at all.

    They seemed to be pigs in a pig sty, ushered to a great gathering and dragged out one by one to be butchered by the butcher. No matter how desperately they resisted and tried to escape, it made no difference.

    All Li Qingshan did was throw his hands and legs. When he encountered those who resisted vehemently, he blocked their attack before stomping them to death. When he encountered those who fled desperately, he would capture them before finishing them off with a punch.

    Some of the direct disciples called out to the spirit reverend for help, but the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was already doing everything that he could. In order to suppress Li Qingshan, he could not even spare the effort to divine. If it were a regular Heretic God instead, they would definitely be immobilised. They might have even been forcefully exhausted to death already.

    However, not only did Li Qingshan endure the pressure, but he even could spare the effort to carry out a massacre. Even though he was suppressed in the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad, unable to replenish the spiritual qi he depleted from the outside world, he did carry a Hundred Herbs garden on his shoulder.

    Each and every bead contained a tremendous amount of spiritual qi.

    It had to be mentioned that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s plan was very successful. Li Qingshan¡¯s sneak attack had ended in failure, while the ¡°spy¡± that he planted, Pi Yangqiu, had failed to achieve anything, forcing him to use the most foolish method to fight his way over punch by punch. He would clear up the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s pawns first, and then he would force his way into the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    At the same time, the direct disciples possessed all sorts of strange and powerful trump cards too, preventing him from killing them in a single punch and requiring some effort from him. Under the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s pressure, every direct disciple he killed would basically use up a bead. If they happened to have their mounts with them, it would be even more troublesome.

    By now, he only had less than twenty beads remaining, but fortunately, not a lot of the direct disciples remained, and all of them had been frightened out of their wits. If it were not for the old turtle watching from above, they would have scattered a long time ago. Even if he attacked the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes right now, they probably would not be bold enough to stop him anymore.

    However, having e so far, he might as well take a few more steps in order to prevent any more accidents!

    The next in line was Dai Mengfan!

 Chapter 1656

    Li Qingshan glanced over and actually failed to find Dai Mengfan. It seemed as if she had already vanished when he turned into the ox demon and began the massacre.

    However, just by sensing around slightly, he noticed that she had not left Myriad city. Instead, she had made her way over to the other side of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, even hiding underground.

    What¡¯s this supposed to be? An ostrich?

    Li Qingshan was puzzled by what she was trying. Even if his senses had been greatly dulled by the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad, it would not be to the point where he could not find her anymore.

    He was puzzled, but he did not stop. He took several steps and threw several punches, killing off all of the remaining direct disciples before going off to find Dai Mengfan.

    Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom¡­ The explosions of Yang Souls rose and fell, forming an endless string.

    The earth shook, the ocean surged, and the storm danced.

    The sky seemed to melt away, turning into a blanket of blinding light, flowing down and swallowing the entire city.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s target was only the direct disciples, but it was everyone¡¯s disaster. No one could remain unaffected. 4887

    A direct disciple tried his best to erase his aura and changed his appearance, attempting to slide away in the crowd and avoid this crisis.

    As such, his Yang Soul exploded in the crowd, immediately swallowing several dozen buildings in the surroundings and hundreds of cultivators. Even when a major portion of their Yang Souls exploded in the air, it was enough to wipe out the low-level cultivators within several kilometres.

    The apocalyptic horror turned into thousands of streaks of light, rising up in Myriad city and fleeing into the surroundings like a flock of startled birds sensing the chill of winter.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance did not divert any attention to these people either. Beneath Yang Soul, they could not pose any threat to Li Qingshan unless they established a military formation. Remaining in the city would only increase the losses for nothing.

    And, he had already achieved his objective, sacrificing all of the direct disciples and depleting Li Qingshan¡¯s spiritual qi to the greatest extent. Now, it was time for a direct confrontation!

    Hmm? There seemed to be someone who refused to sacrifice themselves.

    As the first senior sister of the Myriad sect, the one and only direct disciple remaining, Dai Mengfan continued along her path of survival.

    Early in the morning on this day, before the sky had lit up and before the night had ended. Li Qingshan had only just returned to Myriad city and purchased his first flask of alcohol.

    To the west of the city was a series of greyish-blue buildings. That was where the Department of Law and Punishment stood.

    Imprisoned there, Yang Miaozhen opened her eyes slowly and exhaled gently. She stopped meditating and stood up from the stone bed.

    The security of the Department of Law and Punishment was extremely lax. She only had her cultivation sealed up, preventing her from using techniques, but it did not stop her from cultivation. However, that only gave her a sense of great confidence and arrogance.

    She was already at the peak of Golden Core, only a step away from the third heavenly tribulation. However, did it make a difference even if she underwent the third heavenly tribulation?

    Yang Miaozhen smiled wryly. Even if she underwent the fourth and fifth heavenly tribulations and became a lofty Yang Soul cultivator, she would not be able to escape from this place.

    The underground prison was thirty metres tall, with only an opening at the very top that gradually let in a smear of light. The morning mist surged in from the opening. It was very refreshing and crisp.

    She had once wondered about the various ways she would die¡ªsuffering from cultivation deviation while cultivating, being struck to death by lightning while facing a tribulation, being eaten by a daemon while out picking medicine, or being pierced to death by a flying sword when engaging other cultivators in battle¡­

    In short, they were all regular ways to die for a cultivator. She never thought that the final destination of her path of cultivation would be this prison, about to be formally executed.

    Isn¡¯t this no different from a mortal?

    She loathed this method of dying slightly, but she also felt powerless. All she could do was move her legs and stroll around in the cell like a crane.

    Even with her extraordinary temperament, no one could remain absolutely calm in the face of approaching death that could occur at any moment. She could not help but reflect on her life, the various matters she had experienced, and the various people she had met.

    But strangely enough, the person she thought of the most was not Li Qingshan but Li Guinian, her only son.

    His little face, little hands, and little feet when he was born were all vivid before her eyes, as well as his serious demeanor when he studied daoism with her when he was five years old¡­ She would probably never get to see him again!

    Abruptly, sorrow welled up inside. She could vividly sense the approach of death. She hurried back to the stone bed and continued meditating, doing her best to repress the emotions that welled up inside her. She wanted to die as a cultivator, not as a woman. She hated crying.

    She shut her eyes, and her breathing gradually steadied, entering a state of cultivation very soon. Now that was what she did the most in her life.

    At this moment, a tremendous voice rang out from above.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, the Myriad Heavenly Tome is the supreme treasure of the Myriad sect. My master has ordered me to protect the Myriad sect. The Myriad Heavenly Tome cannot be handed to an outsider, much less a Demon God!¡±

    Yang Miaozhen widened her eyes, doubting what she had heard. She extended her slender, fair neck, doing her best to gaze out of the opening above.

    A while later, the voice rang out clearly again, ¡°All disciples, kill Li Qingshan¡¯s clone! Today¡¯s battle determines the fate of the sect. If anyone takes a single step back-¡±

    After that was a string of explosions from techniques.

    Yang Miaozhen smiled and thought, If he¡¯s here, I might still be able to live! She did not exactly understand what the words ¡°Demon God¡± signified, but she felt trust without any reason, a woman¡¯s trust in a man.

    Of course, there was also the woman¡¯s distrust in a man. Sigh, I just wonder if he still remembers me? Even if he does, he probably doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m locked up here.

    She wanted to call out and get his attention, but she was also worried about distracting him in battle or being someone¡¯s hostage to be used to threaten him.

    For a moment, the sudden changes in her predicament made her emotions surge. She was unable to cultivate any further.

    A while later, a woman appeared before Yang Miaozhen with a flash.

    Even when she stood in the darkness, Yang Miaozhen still recognised her with a single glance.

    Anyone in the world, whether they were a man or a woman, would probably never forget her as long as they saw her once. Not only did she possess unparalleled beauty and a graceful, lithe figure, but she also possessed a noble bearing like a queen and a powerful cultivation that allowed her to overwhelm most.

    ¡°Dai Mengfan!¡± Yang Miaozhen said indifferently, ¡°Have you e to execute me? Or do you want to use me to threaten him?¡±

    ¡°Save me, junior sister!¡± Dai Mengfan took a step forward and grabbed Yang Miaozhen¡¯s hands firmly.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yang Miaozhen was stunned, making her blink her eyes. Only now did she notice that Dai Mengfan seemed slightly different from usual. Her eyes were teary, her hair was messy, and her face was pale-white. She no longer possessed any of the prestige of a ¡°queen¡±. She even seemed a little pitiful.

    Every cultivator had their own path of cultivation, which originated from their different personalities and experiences. Dai Mengfan¡¯s path of cultivation was very simple, which was ¡°to live¡±. Her objective for cultivation in the very beginning was longevity. Even now, that had not changed.

    Everything was for the sake of living. Living was everything!

 Chapter 1657

    Yang Miaozhen wanted to die with dignity as a cultivator, while Dai Mengfan only wanted to live. An extra year was an extra year. An extra day was an extra day.

    As a result, when Li Qingshan unleashed the Ox Demon Transformation and she sensed the aura of death loom over the city like a cloud, she continued to search for a chance at survival.

    And her chance of survival was Yang Miaozhen.

    Yang Miaozhen was well aware that this was all due to Li Qingshan, whether it was being treated as an honoured guest or being reduced to a prisoner, or even being worshipped as a saviour by Dai Mengfan. She wholeheartedly wanted to walk her own path of cultivation, yet she was never able to leave his shadow.

    She sighed gently. ¡°Fellow Dai, he and I have cut ties a long time ago! Right now, I can¡¯t even protect myself, so how can I save you?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t let anger get the best of you, junior sister. Qingshan has always been a person who treasures his ties. He definitely won¡¯t turn his back on you!¡± Dai Mengfan sighed. ¡°You must still be resenting me, but you may not know back then that everything I did was out of coercion from the spirit reverend. I was forced to assume the position of first senior sister. Sigh, you were just too stubborn too. If you were willing to pretend and draw a clear line between you and Qingshan, would I really not take good care of you?¡±

    As soon as she said that, Dai Mengfan suddenly felt a chill right down to her bones. She immediately understood that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was watching her.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance only needed the slightest thought to make her follow Pi Yangqiu¡¯s footsteps.

    They were only inches away, but Yang Miaozhen failed to sense it at all. She only discovered that Dai Mengfan had bee even paler than before, like she was a statue carved from a flawless piece of white jade, which only made her dark eyes and eyebrows bee even more prominent. Even as a woman, she could not help but be enchanted by such beauty.

    Yang Miaozhen was about to speak when a great, deafening boom suddenly rang out from outside the opening. Even the prison that was thirty metres deep shook violently, causing many loose rocks to fall.

    Afterwards, there were booms after booms. Each sound seemed to explode in Dai Mengfan¡¯s heart, making her make a decision immediately.

    With a wave of her left hand, she blocked the falling rocks for Yang Miaozhen. She channelled spiritual qi into Yang Miaozhen with her right hand, helping her unlock the seal on her cultivation.

    Then she removed her sumeru ring and placed it in Yang Miaozhen¡¯s hand, closing her fingers forcefully and gazing deeply into her eyes.

    ¡°Junior sister, I only want you to speak up for me, just once! Regardless of the end result, I¡¯ll never forget your kindness!¡±

    At that moment, a dark shadow appeared behind Dai Mengfan. Cracks immediately crawled across the prison walls, like it was unable to contain his existence and about to rupture.

    ¡°Stop hiding, first senior sister,¡± Li Qingshan said as he raised his fist.

    He had learned about Dai Mengfan¡¯s various heinous acts after being first senior sister from Pi Yangqiu, so of course, he would not show her any mercy.

    Dai Mengfan was particularly alert too. She hid behind Yang Miaozhen the moment Li Qingshan appeared.

    Yang Miaozhen widened her eyes and gazed at Li Qingshan who suddenly appeared. His appearance had changed drastically, but it definitely could not be wrong. For a moment, she was overe with a multitude of emotions, actually unable to think of anything to say.

    Li Qingshan saw Yang Miaozhen as well, which made him smile. His punch froze in the air. He looked past Yang Miaozhen, at Dai Mengfan¡¯s face again, and mocked her. ¡°What, first senior sister, you¡¯re even trying to coerce me?¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, if you want to kill me, I definitely won¡¯t resist, much less touch a hair on junior sister Miaozhen!¡±

    At that critical moment, Dai Mengfan actually emerged from behind Yang Miaozhen slowly. She said with utmost sincerity, ¡°Please give me a chance!¡±

    ¡°What chance!¡±

    ¡°All of the mistakes I made in the past were because of the spirit reverend¡¯s coercion. I want to be a demonfolk now!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of the spirit reverend anymore?¡±

    ¡°I am, but I¡¯m more afraid of you.¡±

    ¡°You sure are honest.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but smile, and his murderousness faded slightly. He came up with a plan with a single thought.

    If he punched down right now, he could definitely kill Dai Mengfan. However, while she claimed that she would not resist, she would definitely do so desperately when the time arrived, which would cost him another bead or two.

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll give you an opportunity. Attack the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes with me!¡±

    If the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could not allow a traitor like her to exist and would suppress her like how he suppressed Pi Yangqiu, that would be equivalent to giving him one more chance to strike at full strength.

    Li Qingshan suddenly understood Dai Mengfan¡¯s plan. The reason why the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance would rather give him the chance to strike at full strength and still crush Pi Yangqiu to death was to stop the direct disciples from dispersing, which would prevent them from wearing him down.

    But now, only Dai Mengfan remained, and she behaved like she had pletely given up on resisting. If the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance crushed her to death as well, not only would he get nothing out of it, but he would even give him a chance to strike at full strength for nothing.

    Of course, if it were Li Qingshan instead, he would rather give the opponent an advantage and still butcher this traitor first! However, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had always been known for his rational thought. He probably would not be so impulsive.

    What a genius!

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh inside. She was able to view the overall situation with such clarity despite such stress and still make a decision like that with the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s pressure.

    ¡°I refuse!¡±

    Dai Mengfan turned down Li Qingshan¡¯s request firmly. She would be insane if she decided to attack the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes with Li Qingshan. That was basically giving the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance a reason to kill her.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s face sank. Dai Mengfan explained in a hurry, ¡°I have to stay here and protect junior sister Miaozhen!¡± Then she tugged Yang Miaozhen¡¯s sleeve, giving her a pleading gaze.

    Despite the situation, Yang Miaozhen only said with difficulty, ¡°Senior sister Dai has been quite nice to me¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright then!¡±

    Li Qingshan decided to do this for Yang Miaozhen¡¯s sake. After all, she was his woman, and she had even been imprisoned because of him.

    At the same time, Dai Mengfan¡¯s cultivation had already reached the peak of Yang Soul. She had a very good chance at undergoing the sixth heavenly tribulation and being a Human Immortal, and she was very talented at administration. She could be regarded as a special kind of genius among cultivators, so it was a pity for her to die here.

    Even if he insisted on killing her, it was a waste of strength, so he was better off saving this energy to destroy the formation.

    Hold on. When he thought like that, perhaps even his own thoughts were a part of her plan.

    It was monly said that those who did not plan for the overall situation would not even succeed with minor plans. Even chess pieces could understand the thoughts of the chess players and make their own decisions.

    Li Qingshan left as quickly as he came, vanishing from the underground prison in the blink of an eye.

    After a moment of silence, a new round of explosions began from the direction of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    I¡¯m alive!

    Dai Mengfan eased up inside and let out a great sigh of relief. She basically wanted to cry from joy. Only now did she realise that her clothes were soaked from cold sweat.

    Not only had she managed to survive under Li Qingshan¡¯s fist, but even the bone-chilling coldness had vanished. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance no longer paid any attention to her. Of course, she had technically bought some time for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance as well.

    Her hand suddenly turned cold. Yang Miaozhen shoved the sumeru ring back into her hand and said indifferently with her head lowered, ¡°I don¡¯t want things that aren¡¯t mine.¡± She did feel slightly disappointed inside. Li Qingshan did not even spare her a second glance.

    What a great child! Dai Mengfan was very touched, finding Yang Miaozhen more and more pleasing to the eye.

    If it were not for Yang Miaozhen, she probably would not even get the opportunity to speak. Even if she had a multitude of plans, she would not be able to break out of the situation. If Li Qingshan bothered with some chatter with every single direct disciple, just how much time would he have to waste? He depleted a tremendous amount of spiritual qi with each passing second to fend off the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s suppression.

    ¡°Miaozhen, would you like to take me on as your master? I can give you regular guidance on your cultivation, and I¡¯m in charge of all of the cultivation methods and resources!¡±

    Yang Miaozhen was quite interested in that.

 Chapter 1658

    The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes continued to tower over the colossal platform it was built on. Its vermillion gates remained firmly shut.

    At this moment, the red sun had only just risen, illuminating the land with its glow. It made the gate even more red, being like blood.

    A large, tall figure suddenly appeared on the platform, approaching the vermillion gates slowly.

    A long shadow extended from under his feet, slowly crawling along the tiles. It seemed particularly broad and mighty, except there were a pair of curved horns at the end.

    With each step taken, the pressure on Li Qingshan grew heavier, causing his muscles to bulge further.

    He had already arrived in the central region of the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad, so its power obviously became mightier.

    In the beginning, his footsteps were still somewhat light, no different from a regular person¡¯s, but towards the end, they gradually grew heavier. When he arrived within thirty metres of the gate, each step left behind a deep footprint.

    Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! The heavy footsteps echoed between the walkways.

    The shadow on the gate suddenly became rather blurred. Li Qingshan looked back. Thick smoke rose up throughout Myriad city.

    Basically all of the structures in the city were built from wood. Countless buildings and pavilions had been set alight by the intense heat released from the exploding Yang Souls. Fierce flames burst forth.

    Normally, any inner disciple could extinguish this fire. Even just a thought from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was enough.

    But now, the disciples had all fled already, and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could no longer spare any effort with anything else.

    Watching Myriad city being burned to the ground, Li Qingshan also felt some pity. He said loudly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you submit to me, fellow? I will definitely do everything I can to assist you in undergoing the seventh heavenly tribulation. With your talents and foundation, you definitely won¡¯t lose out on the title of god! You¡¯ll be able to help the Myriad sect avert a crisis too. If we continue fighting like this, not only will Myriad city go up in flames, but even the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and the billions of books collected in there won¡¯t be spared!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just an ignorant brat who can¡¯t even uphold his word, and you still go on about godhood!? If you want to destroy my Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, why don¡¯t you get through my formation first!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s voice also contained a rare hint of anger. No matter how calm and rational he was, he was still a living creature with emotions. He could neglect the lives of the direct disciples, but the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes and the books it contained was a collection he spent his life building. How could he not be angry when Li Qingshan used that to threaten him?

    Li Qingshan sighed. No matter how forceful and unreasonable he was, he was unable to rebuke the accusation of being unable to uphold his word.

    When he arrived before the gate, great billows of smoke had already formed behind him, blotting out the sky. The vermillion gate was entwined in smoke as his shadow faded in and out.

    The gate stood twenty-seven metres tall, towering over Li Qingshan loftily.

    Li Qingshan looked up. The door was devoid of decoration. There were neither door nails nor hoops, neither couplets nor plaques.

    However, when he stopped, three pitch-black, horizontal lines suddenly appeared in the vermillion paint. Each line was several metres long and heavy in colour, like three door bolts. It also seemed like a giant had wielded a colossal brush and used the gate as his canvas, writing away freely in a single stroke, with enough power to pierce rock!

    However, there happened to be a sense of spaciousness and distance within the brush strokes.

    A long time ago, Li Qingshan probably would have thought this was the Chinese character for three. After all, the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had eight gates, so it made a lot of sense!

    But now, he could tell with a single glance that it was the ¡°qian¡± trigram of the eight trigrams.

    For some reason, he found the penmanship to be rather familiar, but before he could think too much about it, he rushed over and threw his fist to burst right through it!

    The trigram on the vermillion gate suddenly changed. The centre line suddenly split open, turning into the ¡°li¡± trigram.

    Li was fire!

    Before Li Qingshan had even arrived, he felt the waves of heat fill his face, forcing him to squint his eyes slightly. Before him was no longer a vermillion gate but a sea of fire.

    The cries of a dragon resounded out from the sea of fire. A colossal dragon¡¯s head rushed out, heading straight for Li Qingshan!

    With scarlet scales and scarlet horns, its golden eyes were like embers and its beard was like fire. It was pletely condensed from flames. Suddenly, it opened its mouth and scarlet-golden flames surged out from the depths of its throat.

    The scarlet-golden colour was even more blinding than the sun. Before the flames had even emerged, Li Qingshan felt the temperature around him multiply!

    The fire dragon seemed to be conjured from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s wrath, wanting to reduce him to ashes.

    A large, black hand suddenly extended over, grabbing the dragon by the snout and abruptly pressing down.

    Boom! The dragon¡¯s head slammed into the ground, and its mouth was slammed shut too. The scarlet-golden flames rushed out from the two sides, immediately incinerating several dozen pillars and rushing thousands of metres away, dyeing the world a fiery-red.

    The fire dragon roared furiously and struggled violently, wanting to break free from the huge, black hand. It dug deeply into the ground with its claws, leaving behind ditches. At the same time, the intense heat it gave off turned the surrounding ground into lava.

    With scorching pain, Li Qingshan¡¯s left hand was charred. However, he did not even bat an eye, punching down forcefully with his right hand!

    Bang! The wind raised by the punch arrived, and a huge hole erupted in the dragon¡¯s head. The punch had already pierced its head, landing heavily in the sea of fire.

    Boom! The entire Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes shook, and a fist print was firmly embedded in the vermillion gate. Cracks crawled across the entire gate instantly.

    The vermillion gate twisted and changed in shape, tottering as it collapsed. He could even see the interior of the pavilion through the cracks in the door.

    With just another attack, it would fall!

    ¡°Shatter!¡± Li Qingshan bellowed out and threw a punch.

    However, the trigram changed again before his punch arrived!

    The line at the very bottom also split open. The ¡°li¡± trigram turned into the ¡°gan¡± trigram.

    Gan was mountain!

    Immediately, the cracks on the door closed up, and the sea of fire turned into a range of mountains!

    The punch arrived and the mountains collapsed! The mountains tipped backwards and knocked each other over like dominoes.

    At the top of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance stood sternly, powering the formation with everything he had to block Li Qingshan¡¯s punch.

    By now, only twelve beads remained on Li Qingshan, which were no longer enough to hang from his shoulder. He could only wear them on his arm.

    As long as he exhausted these last twelve beads, it would be useless even if Li Qingshan had already bee a true god.

    Without any regard, Li Qingshan stared ahead and punched out again.

    The range of mountains shattered; the gate reappeared, covered in cracks!

    The trigram changed once more, and the gate was repaired!

    Xun was wind!

    The fierce winds whistled, immediately blowing Li Qingshan off his feet and sending him several hundred metres away, far away from the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. He felt like his flesh was being stripped from his bones. The wind wormed into every single pore in his body, leaving him with a splitting headache.

    As the world spun around him, Li Qingshan glanced at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance at the very top and suddenly turned into the tiger demon, unfurling the wings of wind!

    The wings of wind closed around him. After absorbing enough of the winds, they suddenly unfurled again, reaching thousands of metres away. They sliced through the smoke behind him.

    Immediately, Li Qingshan¡¯s gales overwhelmed the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s gusts, sending him back under the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, landing a flying punch on the vermillion gate.

    Bang! The door split open. The ¡°xun¡± trigram had never been renowned for defence. Li Qingshan used the force of the wind and accelerated to the extreme. He was about to rush inside when he dove head-first into a vast ocean.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance controlled the formation and turned the ¡°xun¡± trigram into the ¡°kan¡± trigram.

    Kan was water! It was what spirit turtles were most skilled with.

 Chapter 1659

    Myriad city suddenly fell quiet. Whether it was the dragon cries or wind howls, all of it was gone.

    The sea wind blew and the fire spread through the entire city rapidly. It whooshed away, perhaps from the wind or the fire. Crackling explosions erupted in between, turning into a sea of fire!

    The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes towered above the sea of fire, swaying within the black smoke and waves of heat. It seemed like it could collapse at any moment, yet also as if it would never move.

    The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had eight entrances facing the four cardinal and intercardinal directions, corresponding to the eight trigrams, ¡°qian¡±, ¡°kun¡±, ¡°kan¡±, ¡°li¡±, ¡°yi¡±, ¡°zhen¡±, ¡°gen¡± and ¡°dui¡±.

    By now, three of the gates were already in ruins, about to collapse at any moment. They were the southern, northeastern, and southeastern gates. The knuckle prints on the gates were clearly discernible, corresponding to the three trigrams that the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had used against Li Qingshan. It was as if they would swing wide open from the slightest force, letting him into the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    However, as Li Qingshan was swallowed by the water, the knuckle prints on the gates gradually faded away as the cracks closed up at a visible rate. The southern gate was even close to plete repair.

    The attribute of the south was fire, corresponding to the ¡°li¡± trigram. It was the first gate that Li Qingshan had taken down.

    Just like that, unless Li Qingshan took down all eight gates at the same time and removed all of the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s options, he could forget about breaking into the place.

    But given the current situation, that was clearly impossible! Right when he began taking down the fourth gate, the first gate had almost fully repaired. They were enough to continuously cycle on like this.

    As it turned out, the direct disciples were merely pawns. The All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad was the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s true chessboard. The further Li Qingshan advanced, the more powerful he would find the formation to be.

    And that was under the circumstances when his powers were great with sufficient preparation. If it had been any other Human Immortal, they probably would have been swallowed by the fire dragon already.

    Even with his numerous transformations of the demonic and divine, the spiritual qi was endless, while the beads on him only diminished. Only a handful remained.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, no matter what you¡¯re capable of, you can forget about breaching my formation!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s tremendous, icy-cold voice echoed out from the black water that was just as tremendous and icy-cold.

    Li Qingshan felt like he had returned to Ruin¡¯s End. The depths, the darkness, the coldness, the loneliness. There was no sky or earth. He had swum around in it alone for who knew how long, so long that he almost lost all of his memories.

    But at that moment, he sensed a Ruin¡¯s End that was even more hostile. The piercing coldness made him shiver uncontrollably, while the tremendous pressure felt like it was trying to crush his organs.

    The ¡°kan¡± trigram was a relatively well-balanced trigram. It was not as offensive as the ¡°li¡± trigram or the ¡°zhen¡± trigram, nor was it as defensive as the ¡°kan¡± trigram or the ¡°kun¡± trigram. However, under the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s control, it had definitely bee the sharpest spear as well as the toughest shield!

    Suddenly, another bead on Li Qingshan was exhausted. Only three remain!

    By now, he had already recovered his usual appearance, devilishly handsome and radiating with demon qi. His long, black hair bobbed around in the icy-cold, black water.

    Hearing the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°The path of formations emphasises change and flexibility, while the Myriad formation has only ever demonstrated the pinnacle of that. Fellow, you may be skilled in the methods of ken, but don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve paused on it for too long?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance snorted coldly and said nothing more, pouring his attention into controlling the formation in an attempt to deplete Li Qingshan¡¯s last three beads. However, he failed to notice the black figures that appeared behind him, slowly approaching him.

    These black figures all had blurred faces and were only vaguely humanoid. They were the kle?a-m¨¡ra recruited by Li Qingshan.

    At this moment, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance devoted all of his focus to the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad, pushing its might to an unprecedented level, but it also made him lose his aloof mental state, pletely neglecting what went on around him.

    ¡°Being too stubborn will lead to mental afflictions!¡± Li Qingshan sighed.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance looked back in surprise. All of the kle?a-m¨¡ra lunged towards him!

    Li Qingshan immediately felt the pressure on him plummet, and the black water rippled. His eyes suddenly became as deep as the ocean, bringing his hands together and pushing them forwards. With each inch he covered, it was as if he was pushing away a mountain, slow, heavy, and unshakeable!

    Another bead slowly died out after shining brightly. Only two remained!

    Li Qingshan extended his arms to the limit and bellowed out, ¡°Open!¡±

    A crack appeared between his left and right hands. With a boom, the endless black water parted into two!

    The crack gradually grew larger as a valley opened up in the black water. There was no sky or earth in sight, only endless darkness.

    Li Qingshan continued to stare ahead until the endless darkness faded away and a beam of light appeared before his eyes. He saw the interior of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    The vermillion gate had already parted open, revealing a metre-wide crack.

    Li Qingshan stepped onto the door sill and made his way in.

    Bang! The vermillion gate closed behind him.

    Immediately, the endless black water vanished. All he saw was a mountain piled up from millions of books and scrolls.

    With a wave of his hand, the mountain collapsed, turning into billions of pages that fluttered through the air. It revealed an eight trigrams diagram on the ground with a column of light reaching straight up to the top of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes from the centre.

    Li Qingshan knew that this was the core to the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad. He was just about to make his way over and destroy it.

    ¡°Li Qingshan!¡± The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s voice rang out again, but he had already lost his posure from earlier. His voice was filled with surprise and anger!

    Very clearly, the kle?a-m¨¡ra had disturbed his mental state.

    An oceanic pressure burst forth. Li Qingshan¡¯s body swayed gently, but he said in praise, ¡°Truly a spirit turtle, to be able to suppress demons in such a swift manner!¡±

    He said that as he made his way through the fluttering pages, towards the column of light.

    With each step he took, the pressure on his body grew heavier. It was so close yet crossing over actually exhausted another one of his beads. Only the last one remained!

    He arrived before the column of light. With a thrum, the column of light actually became blinding, and the air became scorchingly-hot too. The fluttering pages in the air were set alight at the same time.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes ached. Everything seemed hazy white, but he could still clearly sense where the column of light was. He tried extending a hand over, but with a hiss, the tip of his finger was vapourised the moment it touched the column of light.

    He could basically imagine that throwing a punch over would only cost him an arm for nothing.

    On the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance pursed his lips firmly as the crystal ball in his hand shone brightly, even more blinding than the sun.

    He powered the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad with all of his strength, gathering all of the spiritual qi in the core of the formation. Only one thought remained in his head. As long as he could hold on for a few moments longer, he could definitely deplete the last of Li Qingshan¡¯s powers.

    In that final moment, Li Qingshan seemed like he was unable to withstand the heat from the column of light either, taking a step back.

    But as he took the step back, he flicked out with the last bead in his hand.

    All of the spiritual qi in the bead was unleashed, erupting with blinding light and immediately vanishing into the white column.

    At that moment, the column swelled a little wider yet again and grew several times brighter, but it had also bee twisted.

    Li Qingshan felt like his face was about to melt away, but the pressure on him gradually vanished.

    With a crack, fractures ran across the crystal ball in the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s hand. He looked back in a daze. A column of white light rushed into the air, having pierced the floors already. The heat it released incinerated all of the books.

    Li Qingshan smiled brightly. ¡°Li Qingshan be the one who destroyed the formation!¡±

 Chapter 1660

    After leaving them, Dai Mengfan brought Yang Miaozhen to a pavilion surrounded by water to watch the battle. Surrounded by smoke and fire, it was only a matter of time before it swallowed the waterside pavilion.

    She obviously did not care about this bit of smoke and fire. She was well aware that what truly decided their fates as master and disciple was the oute of that man¡¯s battle! Indeed, Yang Miaozhen had already agreed to take her as her master.

    A quick look at tinyurl./37k7u89t will leave you more fulfilled.

    When she watched Li Qingshan get blown away by the wind, her heart tensed up as well, but when she saw him kill his way back over to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes with the wings of wind, she let out a sigh of relief again. However, all traces of him soon vanished.

    The eastern gate of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had turned into a mirror-smooth surface of black water, except even the sunlight did not reflect off it as if it absorbed all the light.

    Li Qingshan had vanished in there, with no more signs of him.

    Dai Mengfan¡¯s heart gradually sank again. Her beautiful face flickered under the firelight. She had considered fleeing. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was currently devoting himself to fending off Li Qingshan, so he probably could not spare any effort to deal with her.

    But where would I flee to?

    Li Qingshan and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡ªone was a Demon God¡¯s clone and the other was a powerful spirit immortal. Their clash was extremely intense, and they used their full strength right from the beginning. The oute would be decided in a split second too.

    If Li Qingshan won, then there was no need for her to flee. If Li Qingshan lost, she would not be able to flee.

    She definitely could not be forgiven for deserting the battle this time. If the Desireless Heavenly Palace captured her, she would definitely pay a trip to the Hell realm before her soul was shattered so that she could experience all the tortures available.

    When it really came to that point, she was better off detonating her Yang Soul. However, she also happened to be the type who refused to die, so she would simply stomach all of the pain.

    Sigh, I really would be better off dead than alive by then!

    Dai Mengfan happened to be worried and conflicted when a hand gently held her hand.

    ¡°Master, can he win?¡± Yang Miaozhen noticed how Dai Mengfan¡¯s plexion was horrible and knew this master of hers was extremely afraid of death, so she could not help but give her some fort.

    ¡°What do you think?¡± Dai Mengfan answered with a question.

    ¡°How would I know with my lowly cultivation? However¡­¡±

    ¡°However what?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen him lose!¡±

    That made Dai Mengfan think before smiling. She was just about to say something when she suddenly turned towards the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes again, murmuring, ¡°The gate is open¡­¡±

    Li Qingshan stepped through the gate. A while later, a column of white light burst out of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, piercing the sky such that it was visible from thousands of kilometres away!

    ¡°The formation has been destroyed!¡± Dai Mengfan shuddered inside and clapped her hands together. ¡°Sure enough, that kid is impressive!¡±

    Li Qingshan had won. Her life had basically been preserved. There was no need for her to pay a trip to the Hell realm anymore.

    Then she felt like she had misspoken. From now onwards, Li Qingshan was her protective talisman, so how could she still call him a brat? She turned to Yang Miaozhen and instructed her. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him this!¡±

    Yang Miaozhen held back her smile. ¡°Yes, master.¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, silver light sped through the sky as a skyhorse trod in the air.

    A woman in silver armour currently pressed down on the hilt of her blade, standing valitantly on the top of the carriage. She was the former first senior sister of the Myriad sect and a Divine General of the Six Ding now, Chao Tianjiao.

    Wisps of clouds rose up from the skyhorse¡¯s hooves as its silvery mane drifted in the air, but there were no reins. It did not require driving. Not only was it far more intelligent than most mortals, it had run this route plenty of times already too.

    This was a routine patrol organised by the Desireless Heavenly Palace, demonstrating the Desireless Heavenly Palace¡¯s protection over the Human realm, but there was no practical significance to it.

    Apart from dealing with invasions of demonfolk, the Human realm had always been at peace, nowhere near as chaotic as the Daemonic Beast realm or the Hungry Ghost realm. The Asura realm did fight on endlessly, but that was a special form of stability. As for the Heaven realm and Hell realm, that was under the administration of buddhism, which did not require the patrolling of a divine general from the heavenly palace.

    ¡°Even if something happens down there, you can¡¯t see it from up here!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao peered down as hard as she could. Those mountain ranges that towered into the clouds and extended for thousands of kilometres were only wrinkles in the earth now. The broad and mighty rivers that ran for tens of thousand kilometres were only thin, curved lines. If she had not bee a Human Immortal and developed astonishingly-sharp eyesight, she basically would not be able to distinguish them at all.

    The only sight worthy of mention were the changing clouds. Because the flow of time was faster in the Human realm, the clouds changed at an extremely rapid pace too. Whenever she came out patrolling, she would often be able to witness the growth and death of a storm.

    When she saw that for the first time, she had basically been left shocked beyond words. She realised countless things and her mental cultivation progressed even further.

    But after seeing it for all those times, they were merely clouds now.

    Life in the heavens was much more boring than she imagined. The daemon star of misfortune, Yinghuo, had clearly emerged. The crisis of the world was already imminent, yet there was nothing for her to do despite being a divine general of the heavenly palace, which was truly strange.

    ¡°If I had known earlier, I would have just presided over Black Cloud city instead! Even if all the demonfolk have retreated, I can still bully that kid Li Qingshan! Speaking of which, it¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve shown him some ¡®love¡¯!¡± Chao Tianjiao chuckled.

    Right as she was thinking about paying a visit to the Human realm the next time she had a break, she suddenly saw a beam of white light rise up from the ocean and rush into the sky.

    Now that was not mon. She became serious and gazed over, only to see a wisp of black smoke billowing at the bottom of the white beam, as well as some flickering firelight.

    ¡°That¡­ seems to be¡­ Myriad city!?¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Fifteen hundred kilometres south of Myriad city was a volcanic island, but unlike the Xuanming dwelling, this was an active volcano. It currently rolled with black smoke as lava surged at the crater.

    A man with a simple and dignified appearance sat within the lava. He was the former first senior brother of the Myriad sect, Li Liehuo.

    After the battle of Black Cloud city, he entered secluded cultivation for good, hoping to undergo the sixth heavenly tribulation and make the step that separated immortals from mortals.

    During the morning, he also received the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s order to gather, but he did not answer the call and head to Myriad city.

    He had benefitted quite a lot from the battle of Black Cloud city. He had already emerged from secluded cultivation several months ago, being a Human Immortal. He could no longer be regarded as a direct disciple of the Myriad sect now. He was currently recovering his strength and consolidating his cultivation, so he naturally refused to answer the call.

    However, the Myriad sect was his origins, so he could not help but be somewhat attached to it.

    I wonder what¡¯s happened to the Myriad sect. The spirit reverend would never gather the disciples so spontaneously. Don¡¯t tell me demonfolk have assaulted Black Cloud city again?

    Li Liehuo constantly thought about it and felt slightly uneasy. At this moment, he suddenly sensed a pulse of spiritual qi. It was not particularly intense, but it left him tense for some reason.

    He immediately rushed out of the volcano, taking to the air. He gazed northwards in the air, only to see a thin, white line in the spacious and distant horizon between the sea and sky.

    ¡­¡­

    At the same time, who knew how many cultivators in the Human realm gazed in the direction of the Myriad sect.

    Le Tian was amongst them. As a direct disciple of the Myriad sect, he had also received the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s order to gather.

    However, he did not gather in Myriad city, nor did he remain in his dwelling. Instead, he arrived fifty kilometres away from the city and lay in hiding, waiting to see what would happen.

    A very ill omen loomed over the city with an aura of death everywhere. If he rushed in there blindly, it would probably be certain doom. At the same time, he had also vaguely guessed the origins of this ill omen.

    In the past, he had suffered a tremendous defeat against Ox-headed A¡¯pang in his gamble on the Road to the Yellow Springs, yet he had somehow survived. Ever since then, he saw a wisp of hope.

    Le Tian¡¯s unconcerned smile faded away.

    He said to the three-legged golden toad under his feet, ¡°My dark horse has won again! Now, it¡¯s our turn to take a wager!¡± Then he smiled wryly. ¡°It¡¯s basically like he¡¯s on a roll, winning several dozen high-stakes gambles consecutively! He leaves me both excited and frantic!¡±

 Chapter 1661

    The column of white light gradually shrank until it pletely dispersed, leaving the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes with a burning opening.

    A ray of light fell down from the opening, scattering on Li Qingshan¡¯s devilishly handsome face. He gazed up, but his eyes were a mess, unable to see anything. The scorching white light continued to linger in his head.

    However, after he blinked his eyes, they recovered some of their colour, blurrily making out the tiny portion of the sky in the opening that faded in and out in the black smoke.

    The All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad had already been destroyed. Spiritual qi surged into his body as all of his wounds rapidly healed.

    Before his wounds could pletely heal, Li Qingshan leapt into the sky, rushing out through the opening!

    The black smoke and fire on each floor of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes rushed out of the opening with him, spewing out from the very top and reaching several hundred metres in the air, soaring through the sky like a trapped fire dragon.

    Li Qingshan stood among the black smoke and fire. Beneath his feet were Myriad city that had been reduced to ruins and the burning Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, yet his expression seemed very relaxed. His black hair danced with the heat waves, which made him seem even more demonic.

    ¡°Hand over the Myriad Heavenly Tome and I won¡¯t kill you.¡±

    On the eastern balcony of the highest floor, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s figure shimmered between the smoke, except he seemed much more hunched over, like he had suddenly aged by a thousand years.

    He asked without looking back, ¡°Do you have any idea just how much effort was put into these books? Every single book contained a soul, yet now, they¡¯ve all¡­¡±

    ¡°Hand over the Myriad Heavenly Tome!¡±

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    Li Qingshan glared at him and lunged down like a hungry tiger on the hunt, extending his claw towards the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s back. The sharpness of his claws were on full display.

    The fierce winds he stirred up brought the smoke over as if it had also turned into a vicious beast, lunging for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    Li Qingshan was taken aback. His right hand emerged from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s chest, but he felt like there was nothing, like he had only pierced thin air.

    The black smoke silently dispersed around them with the sparks.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance turned around slowly and pointed at the sky. ¡°You don¡¯t have much time left.¡±

    With that, his body burst like a bubble, pletely vanishing without a trace. The broken crystal in his hands dispersed with the wind too.

    ¡°Watermirror¡¯s Image!¡±

    Li Qingshan was not unfamiliar with this move. Apart from being skilled in controlling water and divination, the clones of spirit turtles were extraordinary too, pletely capable of fooling anyone.

    He also understood what the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was saying. The disturbances here had probably reached the heavens already. Very soon, enemies would descend from above!

    With the strength of his clone, he did not fear any Human Immortals, but he could not stop True Immortals, let alone the Zhenwu Emperor.

    If he was unable to find the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s main body before that, then he could forget about the Myriad Heavenly Tome. He had won this battle, but it would still be a loss.

    And with spirit turtles¡¯ abilities for hiding, Li Qingshan was well aware that even if a True Immortal was here, they would not necessarily be able to calculate the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s exact location.

    However, at least there was one thing he could be certain about. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s body must have been in theMyriad city, or he could not have operated the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad to such a degree.

    Fortunately, Myriad city was not particularly large to him right now.

    Li Qingshan shut his eyes before opening them again.

    Immediately, every single structure and street in Myriad city appeared in his eyes.

    His eyes shimmered gently, turning into thousands of hexagonal crystals. Every hexagon reflected a corner of Myriad city, unaffected by the smoke, fire, and walls. He surveyed every corner of Myriad city, whether it was the most twisted waterway or the most hidden partment.

    This was one of the innate abilities of the Spirit Turtle Transformation, the Profound Light Illuminates All. After pleting the Spirit Turtle Transformation, he had pletely mastered all the innate abilities, such that it was almost like an instinct. He no longer needed to go out of his way to use it.

    But strangely enough, he had basically turned over every stone in Myriad city, yet he still failed to find where the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was hiding.

    Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s invisible? He soon dismissed that thought. Even the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance could not hide every single trace of himself under his search.

    ¡°Qingshan, could you send us to the Demon domain first?¡±

    Dai Mengfan hurried over with Yang Miaozhen. If she did not leave now, she might not be able to leave anymore later. No matter how impressive Li Qingshan was, he could not fend off the Desireless Heavenly Palace with only a clone.

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Li Qingshan did not even look at them. He just nodded. With a wave of his right hand, a black crack appeared in the air. It actually became a miniature demon cavern.

    With a smile on her face, Dai Mengfan immediately performed a curtsey to him before diving head-first into the demon cavern.

    Yang Miaozhen did not follow after her immediately. Instead, she gazed at Li Qingshan with mixed emotions, wanting to say something but faltering.

    Only now did Li Qingshan direct some attention to her. He smiled. ¡°Miaozhen, why aren¡¯t you going? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re resenting your husband for deserting you, or because you¡¯re worried about your husband?¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we¡¯re not husband and wife?¡±

    Perhaps due to all the upheavals she had experienced over the past few days, Yang Miaozhen¡¯s emotions were rather mixed, but she was also unexpectedly calm. When she saw his face, the feeling of being an old couple sprang forth inside her. She was neither particularly thankful of him for his rescue, nor did she possess any of the youthful bashfulness of a woman. She simply wanted to talk with him.

    ¡°Stop with the nonsense. When I say we are, then we are. Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m busy? Just go already! When you get to the Demon domain, take good care of yourself. I¡¯ll e to spoil you very soon!¡±

    Li Qingshan waved his hand impatiently. Yang Miaozhen snorted in response, but she still stepped into the demon cavern obediently.

    She was aware that her ¡°game¡± in the Human realm was over. At the end of the day, she would still be returning to his side, continuing as his consort.

    But fortunately, this man had not changed pared to her memories. He was still the same ¡°hero king¡± who was forceful, murderous, and battle-hungry, yet also friendly, approachable, and even rather moody and sentimental.

    So, it was not all bad!

    Li Qingshan probably would have never dreamt that Yang Miaozhen¡¯s impression of him included ¡°moody and sentimental¡±, or he would definitely fly into a rage and give her a thorough spanking.

    He never imagined that as soon as Yang Miaozhen left, another acquaintance would appear before him, dressed in the same golden necklace and silken robes, adorned with jewels and valuables yet also seeming tasteless to the extreme. He even had an unconcerned smile and a pair of iconic, squinted eyes.

    ¡°Le Tian!¡± Li Qingshan suddenly smiled. ¡°You¡¯re late!¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯m perfectly on time.¡± Le Tian¡¯s unconcerned smile faded away as he stared straight into Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes. ¡°First senior brother, I want to gamble with you!¡±

    ¡°Gamble with me!?¡± Li Qingshan finally began to laugh. ¡°Hah, haven¡¯t you forgotten about your lesson on the Road to the Yellow Springs.¡±

    ¡°I would never forget that.¡±

    ¡°What do you want to gamble on?¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s gamble whether in thirty years¡¯ time I can bee a Human Immortal, or, a Heretic God!¡±

    ¡°Why does this gamble sound familiar?¡± Li Qingshan smiled even wider. In the past, when he first joined the Myriad sect, he had wagered a thousand Green Jade bookmarks against Le Tian to gamble whether he could bee a direct disciple in thirty years¡¯ time. Afterwards, the scope of the gamble increased, drawing in many direct disciples, which led to his enlistment in the army.

    However, he had also benefited very much from the gamble. In particular, the thousand Green Jade bookmarks he obtained as soon as he joined the sect had helped him pave his path in the Human realm.

    ¡°Though¡­¡± Le Tian rubbed his hands. ¡°I am a little tight right now, so I don¡¯t really have enough for the wager!¡±

    ¡°Say no more. I¡¯ll provide you with all the resources you need for cultivation. In thirty years¡¯ time, if you aren¡¯t a Human Immortal, you don¡¯t have to pay me back either. Just kill yourself!¡± Li Qingshan waved his hand and opened another demon cavern. He could never have enough talents, especially these special talents skilled in divination.

    ¡°Not a problem, not a problem.¡± Le Tian¡¯s unconcerned smile returned again as he made his way into the demon cavern. When he stepped into the demon cavern, he suddenly glanced back at Li Qingshan. ¡°First senior brother¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t what you¡¯ve been looking for¡­¡± Le Tian glanced down with a smile. ¡°been in front of you the entire time?¡±

 Chapter 1662

    Li Qingshan immediately came to a realisation and said ¡°I see¡± with deep understanding. He stopped his innate ability and began to overlook the burning city with his ordinary vision.

    With a bang, the air exploded, dispersing the smoke and fire. Li Qingshan had vanished, having risen up, turning into a black speck in the boundless blue sky.

    The terrifying pressure that loomed over Myriad city immediately vanished, only leaving behind a residual might that echoed through the ruins.

    But for some reason, Myriad city actually began to ¡°tremble¡±.

    Rumble. The ruins collapsed; the ocean surged!

    Myriad city was moving as if it had turned into a huge ship, sailing off once more after being run aground for thousands of years.

    Before it could even sail off, the black speck in the sky gradually expanded. In the beginning, it was still like a pebble, but in the blink of an eye, it turned into a meteor, descending from above with a frightening howl and a terrifying pressure!

    Boom!

    In an instant, Li Qingshan¡¯s punch struck Myriad city. All the rock and soil in front of his punch parted layer by layer like air and water. The heaps of earth raised easily snapped apart the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes that blazed away but remained standing.

    However, basically none of the power behind the punch leaked out until it struck the thick, sturdy ¡°crust¡±.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s eyes narrowed. The great strength of the ox demon within the punch surged out violently!

    At that instant, Myriad city was thrown into the air. Each rock and structure was thrown into the sky, while the island that bore everything sank several metres from Li Qingshan¡¯s attack, like it was about to sink into the ocean.

    Boom! The sea surged, throwing colossal waves into the air.

    A miserable howl that resembled a dragon¡¯s cry but also much deeper rang out from the depths of the ocean. A colossal dragon¡¯s head broke through the surface, glaring furiously at Li Qingshan.

    As it turned out, the island that supported Myriad city for thousands of years was the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Li Qingshan¡¯s punch had not struck the crust but his shell.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t used this move in ages! How satisfying!¡±

    This attack where he descended from above was one of his ultimate moves. He never used it without good reason, but when he did, it would always achieve something!

    Even the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s shell that was as tough as ancient glaciers became riddled with cracks from his attack, extending into the depths. This was the final line of defence of a spirit turtle, just like regular turtles.

    Li Qingshan smiled at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. ¡°Hand over the Myriad Heavenly Tome or die.¡±

    Even the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s imperturbable heart trembled uncontrollably. He did not see any smiles in Li Qingshan¡¯s pitch-black eyes. There was only endless pain, despair, madness, hatred¡­ That was no longer Li Qingshan, but the lord of the Demon domain!

    The lord of the Demon domain¡¯s patience had already run out. His killing intent bubbled to the limit. If the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance tried to put up any more resistance, even just in the slightest, he would no longer care about the heavenly tome or the kindness he had once shown him. He would kill him!

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance yielded, drooping his large head and avoiding that pitch-black gaze.

    Even when he knew it was his inner demons at work, making him experience fear and pressure, how was he supposed to stand up to the clone of a god after losing the All-enpassing Formation of the Myriad?

    Rumble! Myriad city fell back onto the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s back, pletely shattering to pieces and filling the air with dust. However, neither the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance nor Li Qingshan paid any attention to such a small disturbance.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s head sank back under the water disheartenedly, shrinking back into his shell. At the same time, he made up his mind to dive into Ruin¡¯s End as soon as Li Qingshan was gone to avoid the crisis of the world.

    Compared to Li Qingshan¡¯s punch, Myriad city was as light as dust. Now, Li Qingshan was pletely focused on the Myriad Heavenly Tome.

    The Myriad Heavenly Tome obviously was not a book. It could not be stored in regular jade slips. It was basically a summary of all the cultivation paths in the world. The information it contained even surpassed all the books in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes bined. It could only be passed on through soul sense.

    Li Qingshan eased up slightly inside, and his killing intent scattered. As long as he obtained that, the living creatures of the Demon domain could restart their paths of cultivation again, no longer forced to practise demonic arts and fall into a path of wickedness.

    His joy at that moment even drowned out the millions of years of pain from living creatures of the Demon domain, like a ray of light shining into the abyss. It was so bright that it was enchanting.

    Far away in another world, at the top of the highest peak in the Demon domain, Li Qingshan¡¯s main body also stopped what he was doing. A smile appeared on his face. That was a true smile, not one of nostalgia, but one of hope for the future.

    At the same time, within the towering temples, millions of followers performed worshipping activities, offering up their most fervent and most sincere faith towards the black statue that stood high above, the man that had brought the golden sun. There were no longer any blood sacrifices and wails in the grand hall anymore, only endless silence and deep sorrow.

    Suddenly, as if warmth had filled the hall, every follower felt a wondrous sensation of joy.

    A quick look at tinyurl./37k7u89t will leave you more fulfilled.

    The Demon domain had never lacked the joy of savagery and the ecstasy of doing as they pleased, but they had never experienced something so wondrous before. It was so warm and peaceful, yet also filled with hope.

    This was a god¡¯s joy!

    Many followers began to shed tears, even weeping lowly, prostrating themselves before the statue.

    God and man, man and god, mutually connected, mutually influenced.

    Li Qingshan experienced these sensations as he continued with his work. Legends had it that the demon among demons, Mahe?vara, spent all of his time cultivating arduously on a great snowy mountain.

    However, the highest peak in the Demon domain under Li Qingshan¡¯s feet had bee a great fiery mountain, constantly spewing forth with lava, fire, and smoke, constantly releasing scorching lightning.

    The living creatures of the Demon domain all saw the golden sun, yet his headquarters as the lord of the Demon domain was instead constantly surrounded by darkness, never to see the light of day.

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh. He felt like he resembled the villain in all those stories more and more, but he did not turn this place into a volcano without reason.

    The underground magnetic field constantly surged forth from the depths of the volcano. He gathered it all before drawing in heavenly lightning from above and the flames of the earth from down below. Then he channelled in the power of faith to further forge it, gradually forming a rudimentary shape, which resembled a spear or lance.

    Li Qingshan was skilled with the blade and his swordsmanship was decent too. He had only ever used the spear when he first began his journey, but today, he seemed to be picking up that skill again.

    At the same time, a streak of silver light shot over Myriad city. Chao Tianjiao rushed over on the skyhorse, gazing at the ruined Myriad city in disbelief. The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes that served as a landmark for the city had been split in half, now burning away.

    ¡°What¡¯s happened!?¡±

    For a moment, Chao Tianjiao was unable to understand just what had happened. However, she did see a figure that was both familiar and unfamiliar standing at the bottom of a colossal pit several hundred metres deep.

    ¡°Qingshan!?¡±

    Li Qingshan was currently focused on accepting the Myriad Heavenly Tome. He split out a wisp of his attention and smiled at Chao Tianjiao in the sky.

    ¡°Tianjiao, long time no see!¡±

    ¡°Qingshan, what¡¯s happened here?¡±

    Perhaps because Li Qingshan¡¯s expression was far too calm, Chao Tianjiao was filled with suspicion, but she still refused to believe he was behind this all.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell, first senior sister? He¡¯s already bee a demon! This is all his handiwork!¡±

    A scorching yet cool and aloof voice rang out. A streak of scarlet light shot over from the south and stopped mid-air, turning into Li Liehuo. Gazing at the ruined Myriad city and Li Qingshan in the pit, his face was also filled with shock and caution.

    ¡°What did you say? You¡¯re saying this kid did it alone? First senior brother, you haven¡¯t had your head broken when you faced the heavenly tribulation, did you?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao pointed at Li Qingshan. She found it absurd. Of course, she did not forget to give a suitable answer to Li Liehuo¡¯s ¡°first senior sister¡± either.

    Even if Li Qingshan had really fallen as a Heretic God¡ªshe had always been slightly worried about this¡ªit was impossible for him to take down Myriad city that was protected by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance!

    Oh right, where has the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance gone? Don¡¯t tell me he refuses to be a mount anymore, so he¡¯s destroyed Myriad city and fled back to the Daemonic Beast realm? That¡¯s the most unlikely possibility, but that also seems like the only possibility.

    Li Qingshan continued to smile, neither refuting nor admitting it.

    Li Liehuo said, ¡°Hmph, desires truly cloud the mind. Don¡¯t you understand yet? He is the daemon star of misfortune!¡±

 Chapter 1663

    Li Liehuo¡¯s ¡°desires truly cloud the mind¡± made Li Qingshan smile as well. He was still submerged in the joys of obtaining the Myriad Heavenly Tome, which made him seem rather gentle and benign. It was as if the violence and slaughter from earlier never existed.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression could not help but soften, recalling the many wonderful times she had spent with Li Qingshan. She subconsciously scolded Li Liehuo, ¡°Stop with your nonsense. Qingshan is the same as you and me. He¡¯s only just undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation, so how can he bee the lord of the Demon domain?¡±

    Very clearly, the news that Chao Tianjiao had access to in the Desireless Heavenly Palace beyond the Nine Heavens was much more than cultivators in the Human realm. She knew that the Demon domain had produced another Demon God, not only earning the recognition of the demonic heavens, but also earning the submission of the twelve Demon Gods. That was the origins of the daemon star of misfortune, Yinghuo.

    However, the true identity of the lord of the Demon domain remained a mystery. Even a divine general like Chao Tianjiao did not know it.

    The gods guarded it closely, like they were evading something, yet also like they were waiting for something.

    Li Liehuo wavered slightly too. He felt like the point that Chao Tianjiao raised was reasonable. If it manifested as an astral phenomenon in the sky, they must have bee a True Immortal, while Li Qingshan had almost been killed by a punch from him just recently, so how could he undergo the seventh heavenly tribulation and bee a True Immortal in such a short time?

    ¡°This¡­ might be my mistake then¡­ No, hold on-¡±

    A smear of conflict suddenly flashed across Li Liehuo¡¯s face, and a ball of fire erupted in his Origin Soul, immediately recovering his clarity. When he looked at Li Qingshan again, that was better described as the Mahe?vara¡¯s legendary form of benignity that enchanted the living creatures, ?a?kara, than actual gentleness.

    He furrowed his brows firmly, tightening his grip around his spear. He raised his guard to the extreme.

    ¡°Wake up, first senior sister! If he isn¡¯t a true god, how can he influence us so easily? If you still refuse to acknowledge the truth, both of us are going to perish here today!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao shivered inside and silently circulated the power of zhenwu. A sense of coldness gradually welled up in her mind. Having bee a Human Immortal, she could already catch a glimpse of the heavenly secrets, except she had been deluded by her emotions and the appearance before her eyes.

    She tightened her grip around her blade and stared straight at Li Qingshan in the pit. Her various experiences after meeting him filled her mind¡ªhis fury and smile, his arrogance and fear, his wretchedness and honesty, together with his transcendent talents and indescribable charm, pouring together to forge the Li Qingshan before her eyes.

    If he was not the daemon star of misfortune, then who was?

    Chao Tianjiao drew her blade and pointed it at Li Qingshan. ¡°You bastard, you¡¯re toying with me again!¡±

    ¡°Haha, alright. You really are Li Liehuo after all!¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but praise him. He was no regular Demon God, but the lord of the Demon domain. The consciousness of the living creatures of the Demon domain constantly influenced him, and he also used it to influence others. He did not have to use any special techniques at all. Every twinkle and smile from him could leave others enchanted. Regular Human Immortals never could have recovered so quickly and made a judgement like that.

    At this moment, he was accepting the Myriad Heavenly Tome from the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance beneath his feet. Not only did it require his full attention, but he could not move either, so he could not fight. As a result, he wanted to buy some time. Otherwise, if the transfer was interrupted, then everything would go to waste. However, his attempt immediately ended in failure.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, if you want to be a Demon God, then so be it, but when has the Myriad sect ever wronged you? You actually¡­ actually¡­¡± Chao Tianjiao gazed at the ruined Myriad sect and sensed the spiritual qi that dispersed in the air. There were many auras she found familiar among them. This was the place where she had grown up.

    ¡°If it were not for the fact that it was so hard to kill me, I would have died by your hands a long time ago. However, I have always been a generous and magnanimous god, so I¡¯ll drop those matters. I even admire your talents. Li Liehuo, if you lay down your weapon and surrender with grace, you¡¯ll still retain your promise of godhood. Tianjiao, don¡¯t be some Divine General of the Six Ding. I¡¯ll support you as a Demon God.¡±

    Li Qingshan invited Chao Tianjiao with a smile. Before he could even finish, Chao Tianjiao had already replied. She did so through the blade.

    A blade aura that resembled a stream of light filled his face, sending a chill through his forehead. At the other end of the blade aura was Chao Tianjiao¡¯s cold face, having turned blue from the glow, like a deity enshrined in a temple.

    With that swing, their ties of the past were severed!

    Li Qingshan had been anticipating this. He was not surprised at all. She was not Ruan Yaozhu.

    The moment Chao Tianjiao struck out, Li Liehuo took action as well. With a boom, he erupted into a meteor, rushing towards Li Qingshan fearlessly.

    When regular Human Immortals learned that they were facing a Demon God, even if it was only a clone, fear would be unavoidable. They would already be regarded as skilled in battle if they could unleash seventy or eighty percent of their strength. However, the two of them only grew stronger when they faced a powerful opponent, unleashing a hundred and twenty percent of their strength.

    The flames roared as the heat waves filled his face. The light shone as the chills ran through his bones. They seemed to be pure fire and light, clearly spending their entire lives opposing one another, yet also coordinating wondrously to the extreme, leaving their lives in each other¡¯s hands. At the same time, they also saw through Li Qingshan¡¯s current situation¡ªhe was only a clone, so his cultivation was similar to theirs. They possessed a slight advantage against his cultivation method, and he seemed to be restrained by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, unable to move.

    Their bined attack had sealed off all places for Li Qingshan to dodge, like it was earth-breaking, immediately forcing him into dire straits, like he had returned to the hell of ice again.

    Li Qingshan felt some pity. The two of them could be killed, but they could not be subdued, which was why everything he said earlier was merely a joke.

    After the joke came killing intent.

    Boom!

    Demon qi rushed into the air, erupting from Li Qingshan. His smile turned into a sneer, while the form of benignity turned to the form of terror.

    The world darkened. Both the light and fire dimmed and became sluggish as if they inched through the darkness. Li Qingshan was clearly so close, yet also beyond reach.

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo both experienced great despair and terror, hearing the whisperings of countless demonfolk.

    However, their minds only became sharper and more determined under this pressure, smashing through the darkness and thrusting their blade and spear deeply into Li Qingshan¡¯s body!

    Li Qingshan was stunned, lowering his head to look at his chest as if he never expected something like this.

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo both rejoiced, about to pletely unleash the power within the edge of the blade and the tip of the spear.

    Two Human Immortals that were skilled in bat were working together against a clone. Not only was the clone immobilised, but they also possessed a natural advantage against its cultivation method too, so all of this seemed to make perfect sense.

    No! The Li Qingshan in their memories definitely was not this easy to deal with.

    Light illuminated the darkness. Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo discovered in surprise that Li Qingshan was still right before their eyes, except their blade and spear had now turned towards one another before they had realised it.

    As the buddha said, ¡°There were ninety instants within a thought and nine hundred births and deaths within a single instant.¡±

    After being a god, Li Qingshan had already achieved great mastery over his various abilities and techniques. He bined the Spirit Turtle Transformation¡¯s Watermirror¡¯s Image with the path of the devaputra-m¨¡ra, able to twist the minds of others in an instant and create an illusion that matched what Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo wanted to see.

    The path that Li Qingshan walked was not the path of the devaputra-m¨¡ra, but the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine.

    It was just a pity that this illusion had been destroyed in the final moment by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance.

    ¡°Tsk!¡± Li Qingshan stomped his foot violently, and the entire turtle island shuddered. He was not just up against two Human Immortals, but a Daemon Immortal too.

 Chapter 1664

    With the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s assistance, Chao Tianjiao actually still had enough strength to twist her blade in the final moments after breaking out of the illusion, slashing towards Li Qingshan¡¯s head. She refused to relent until she had split him in half.

    However, opportunities only lasted for an instant in clashes between the powerful. Why would Li Qingshan give her another opportunity? He reached out and caught Li Liehuo¡¯s spear without even looking back.

    With a hiss, demon qi evaporated. It was as if he had caught a red-hot brand, immediately burning away his skin and flesh. All that remained was a pitch-black hand of bone condensed from demon qi.

    However, Li Qingshan did not care at all, grinning as he thrusted the spear of fire in his hand towards Chao Tianjiao¡¯s throat. Even Li Liehuo was unable to control it.

    Faced with death, Chao Tianjiao¡¯s expression became even chillier, actually showing no intentions of blocking or dodging.

    Boom!

    Fire erupted and a mushroom cloud rose up over the turtle island. Two figures flew out, which were Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo.

    Right when they were about to be launched off the island, Li Liehuo stabilised himself mid-air. His facial features were simple and he burned with fire, like a primitive god of the flames. He glanced at the spear in his hand and saw a pitch-black handprint on it. His lifebound arcane treasure had already been damaged. Then he turned towards Chao Tianjiao and said with a frown, ¡°Are you trying to perish together with him? That¡¯s just a clone!¡±

    If he had not unleashed the power of fire within the spear in the final moments and sent Chao Tianjiao flying, the spear might have killed her.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s silver armour had shattered, and there was a charred part on her throat. She said hoarsely, ¡°He definitely didn¡¯t e for revenge or to vent his anger. He must be up to something big! I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡± She smiled wryly. ¡°But he¡¯s Li Qingshan!¡±

    She had just paid a visit to the boundary between life and death, almost killed by her former lover, yet she actually felt no fear or resentment.

    This woman!

    Li Liehuo was slightly moved as well. He understood what she was saying. In the past, when Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was beneath theirs, they had already found him to be extremely troublesome. Now that he had bee a god, he was basically the most terrifying enemy within their imaginations. If they had a choice, they would rather face the twelve Demon Gods.

    Even if it was only one of his clones here, they could not afford to underestimate him, not to mention the fact that the clone had just flattened the Myriad sect while facing off against the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s Myriad formation. If they were not prepared to die today, not only were they incapable of winning, they probably would not be leaving here alive either. An opportunity like earlier definitely would not appear again.

    Li Liehuo said with difficulty, ¡°First senior sister, I¡¯ve made a mistake this time.¡±

    ¡°Forget about it. First senior brother, I only understand this kid better than you.¡± Chao Tianjiao stared at Li Qingshan in the pit and waved her hand in an unconcerned manner. ¡°Qingshan, thank you for not showing any mercy. Our past relationship was not in vain!¡±

    ¡°No need to thank me. I¡¯ve never viewed you as a regular woman.¡±

    Li Qingshan nodded in acknowledgement. His situation seemed even worse than the two of them. His entire right arm had been blasted apart and a straight gash extended from the top of his head to his forehead. However, he only stretched his arms and his arm regrew. With a deep breath, the gash on his head slowly vanished too.

    ¡°If you have any other moves, go ahead and use them all! Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, I know you can¡¯t accept this and I¡¯m at fault too for breaking my word, so attack away. However, if you interrupt the transfer of the Myriad Heavenly Tome, you better not blame me if I show no mercy!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance shrank up within his huge turtle shell and grunted unhappily, but sure enough, he continued to transfer the Myriad Heavenly Tome.

    He was very aware that a Demon God¡¯s clone was more than enough to crush cultivators of the same cultivation. The reason why Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo were able to threaten Li Qingshan¡ªapart from the fact that their battle prowess surpassed regular Human Immortals¡ªwas because he had devoted most of his concentration to accepting the Myriad Heavenly Tome. His legs could not leave the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s back either.

    If the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance really destroyed everything for Li Qingshan, then he would not have any qualms anymore. Killing him in a fit of rage even while under Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo¡¯s attacks probably would not be an issue. He did not want to take a risk like that.

    And the thing he had been the proudest about in his life was not actually the Myriad Heavenly Tome that cultivators were intrigued in, but the countless books and scrolls he had collected in the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes. Now that the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was destroyed, why would the Myriad Heavenly Tome still mean anything to him?

    ¡°The Myriad Heavenly Tome!?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo exchanged glances. Sure enough, Li Qingshan had e with other motives, but even Chao Tianjiao was unable to understand what significance the Myriad Heavenly Tome bore to a god.

    Below the boundless heavens, above the tremendous ocean, the renowned Myriad city had already been reduced to ruins, and the collapsed Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes continued to burn. Millions of pages fluttered through the air.

    The wind and smoke surged as the demon qi raged. The white sun shimmered between the moving smoke and clouds.

    Li Qingshan gazed up, except he was able to see the gilded edge of the black sun from the Demon domain grow a little wider.

    He stood in the ruins and had mitted massacres wildly, creating such great havoc. Currently, he was under attack, yet he felt extremely calm and peaceful inside. Even the vicious sneer on his face and the killing intent in his eyes seemed a little empty.

    He had achieved what he wanted. He was only winding up everything now. With Sukh¨¡vat¨©¡¯s collapse, there would not be any natural demonfolk. By the time the Myriad Heavenly Tome became widespread, they would no longer be influenced by the circumstances they were born into either.

    Even though all that the living creatures of the Demon domain gained was the heart of a human.

    Who would have thought that just trying to be human would end up with such opposition from the gods and buddhas?

    He had never believed he was particularly kind or benevolent. The so-called ¡°hero king¡± was just about lending a helping hand when he saw injustice. However, he never imagined the standards of the world were so harsh.

    Compared to all of this, what was there to fear about two Human Immortals? So what if he lost the battle right before his eyes?

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo descended from above once again, immediately rushing through the smoke and clouds, approaching Li Qingshan.

    The silver light around Chao Tianjiao flared to the extreme. Even her hair turned silver. Her blade pressed closely to the side of her as she suddenly swung out.

    Of course, it¡¯s impossible for me to lose.

    Li Qingshan was about to raise his hand and block this attack when a smear of deep-blue suddenly appeared in the depths of his eyes. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suddenly transferred a tremendous amount of information into his mind, immediately interrupting all of his thoughts.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance did not dare to stop the transfer of the Myriad Heavenly Tome, but he could increase the transfer speed by several dozen fold.

    With a flash, Chao Tianjiao shot past Li Qingshan. Li Qingshan¡¯s lips moved as if he was trying to say something when his head suddenly flew into the air. Thick, sticky demon qi that resembled ink sprayed from his neck like blood. At the same time, the scarlet-red tip of a spear emerged from his chest.

    Li Liehuo had appeared before Li Qingshan before he knew it. Before his spear could penetrate him pletely, he bellowed out and the terrifying power in the spear erupted.

    Boom! It was as if a volcano had erupted in Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s head praised Chao Tianjiao mid-air. ¡°Nice blade!¡±

 Chapter 1665

    Chao Tianjiao merged with the blade and turned into a streak of silver light, circling over Li Qingshan¡¯s head and making sharp turns in an extremely small range.

    At that instant, Li Qingshan¡¯s head became covered in snowy-white slashes. When it shattered apart and dispersed, it still had a face full of admiration.

    Only when Li Qingshan¡¯s head was pletely destroyed did Chao Tianjiao let out a sigh of relief. Using the power of zhenwu to such an intensity placed her under quite a lot of pressure, but she understood exactly how troublesome Li Qingshan was, so she refused to leave him with any chances.

    Now, we¡¯ll have won this battle as long as Li Liehuo incinerates Li Qingshan¡¯s body.

    That was what she had in mind, but she noticed that there was something wrong with the situation.

    Li Qingshan continued to stand in the pit, unscathed. His hands fumbled around his empty neck as if he was trying to stop the surging black blood, but also as if he just found it to be very intriguing.

    Instead, Li Liehuo behind him had a face of shock as if he had encountered something unbelievable.

    The power that erupted from the spear was enough to blow up a mountain and dry a lake, yet it had pletely vanished now, like it had melted away.

    ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡±

    By now, Li Qingshan had already grasped the new ability of being able to let out a strange laugh without a tongue, just through the neck.

    Suddenly, he ripped through his flesh and tore open his chest. There was a demon cavern in there.

    All of the power from the spear had been directed into the demon cavern. No matter how mighty that attack was, how could Li Liehuo shake the entirety of the Demon domain?

    A furious howl that could not be described in words rang out from the depths of the demon cavern as if it was an answer to the attack.

    Boom!

    An extremely tremendous and chaotic demon qi erupted from the demon cavern in Li Qingshan¡¯s chest. It was even more forceful and violent than the aura from this clone of Li Qingshan, which made it seem like it was hiding a terrifying monster.

    ¡°What is that thing!?¡±

    The howling slammed against Li Liehuo¡¯s Origin Soul, giving him a sense of disgust. All of his powers became rowdy and restless, actually showing signs of losing control.

    He immediately drew out his spear and retreated, except a bloody, sticky tendril had curled around the spear. The spear was instead dragged into the demon cavern.

    How could he abandon his lifebound arcane treasure? The flames around him surged several dozen metres out, immediately incincerating the demon qi of the monster. All of his muscles bulged like they were about to explode as he did everything he could to pull his weapon back.

    However, he sensed that the power behind pulling the spear had been pletely twisted, being directed in all sorts of directions, conflicting and wearing down itself. However, at least the spear had stopped falling into the demon cavern.

    Li Liehuo bellowed out and unleashed the flames in the spear, wanting to burn off the tendril.

    With a hiss, the tendril was rapidly charred, giving off a foul, burned smell. However, before it was pletely charred, a crack suddenly opened up at the tip of the tendril, revealing a yellow eyeball that stared straight at Li Liehuo.

    At that moment, thousands of tendrils swarmed out from the narrow demon cavern, swallowing Li Liehuo.

    The headless Li Qingshan continued to laugh away.

    The other end of the demon cavern in his chest was connected to a certain region of Hundun¡¯s dominion. The black water of the depths of the Tang valley flowed freely there, forming a boundless swamp.

    After unifying the Demon domain, Hundun¡¯s dominion was still the most dangerous and chaotic part of the Demon domain. Even regular Heretic Gods refused to enter there without good reason.

    Li Qingshan had casually drawn a lucky creature from there to deal with Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao.

    He sighed slightly inside. He was very tempted to do what he did before, to face the three of them alone fairly and go for a satisfying battle against Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao, but unfortunately, he was no longer the Li Qingshan of the past.

    When he launched a sneak attack on the Myriad sect, he had not summoned any Heretic Gods to take part because he needed to hide his tracks and prevent the Desireless Heavenly Palace from noticing. Afterwards, he was suppressed by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance with his connection to the outside world severed, so he could not open up a Demon domain. However, he no longer had those worries anymore. He could summon a group of Heretic Gods to dish out a beating to Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo.

    Of course, if a True Immortal suddenly showed up, the group of Heretic Gods probably would not be leaving this place either.

    Heretic Gods were extremely precious resources. He did not want to waste them like this. Coincidentally, some of these Heretic Gods in Hundun¡¯s dominion were a little insane. Keeping them around in the Demon domain was not exactly a good idea either, so they were perfect to serve as cannon fodder.

    ¡°No more of this acting. I¡¯m ing clean. I am the lord of the Demon domain. Though, this thing seems a little too powerful!¡¯

    Li Liehuo could already be regarded as powerful among Human Immortals. After being swallowed by the countless tendrils, he merged with his spear and rampaged about, but all of his attacks and techniques were twisted by the powers of chaos, pletely unable to break free. He did not stand a chance. The ball of fire gradually faded. It was only a matter of time before he was pletely digested.

    All while the majority of the tentacle monster¡¯s body was still inside the Demon cavern!

    Chao Tianjiao did not rush down immediately to save Li Liehuo, instead choosing to observe the monster that Li Qingshan had summoned carefully first¡ªit brought her so much disgust that even the powers of zhenwu could not suppress it.

    After being a divine general of the Desireless Heavenly Palace, she had gained an even deeper understanding of the Demon domain, so she recognised the origins of the monster very soon.

    ¡°A Heretic God of Hundun!?¡±

    She had confirmed one thing. Li Qingshan has indeed bee the lord of the Demon domain!

    The Demon domain had twelve Demon Gods. The strongest and most special one was Demon God Hundun. Once contaminated with the powers of chaos, even Heretic Gods would go insane or even directly perish. However, any that managed to survive would bee extremely powerful and frightening.

    In the expansive battle records of the Desireless Heavenly Palace, the appearance of a Heretic God of Hundun would definitely lead to tremendous casualties. The heavenly palace would even lose several divine generals, while Human Immortals were not their opponent at all. Any cultivators below Human Immortal would suffer from cultivation deviation from the sight of one alone.

    The only good news was even Demon Gods could not enlist Heretic Gods of Hundun freely. These monsters had no sense of rationality whatsoever. They would only wander Hundun¡¯s dominion aimlessly and attack everything that was alive indiscriminately. Apart from Demon God Hundun, they possessed no faith towards the other Demon Gods either. The powers of chaos would twist all teleporting techniques too, so even Demon Gods were unable to use them as exhaustibles.

    However, the Heretic Gods of Hundun recovered by the Desireless Heavenly Palace were not all truly Heretic Gods of Hundun. The Demon domain had some Heretic Gods that proactively meddled with the powers of chaos in hopes of conforming to the demonic heavens for greater power, leaving them half-mad. Some of them would lose control of their powers during battle and go pletely insane.

    However, Li Qingshan could easily summon a Heretic God of Hundun. This required cooperation from the entire Demon domain.

    A monster like that probably isn¡¯t something we can deal with! And just how many more of these monsters can Li Qingshan summon? Chao Tianjiao made a judgment calmly. She no longer held any hopes in defeating Li Qingshan, preparing to retreat. She could only mutter inside, Sorry about this, first senior brother!

    At this moment, Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. Under the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s increased efforts, he had already obtained the entirety of the Myriad Heavenly Tome. He had achieved his objective. After summoning the Heretic God of Hundun, even the old turtle became particularly obedient, sitting still without budging at all like he was actually an island.

    Li Qingshan was just about to talk to Li Liehuo about the matter of submitting again when he suddenly sensed something and raised his head¡ªif he had a head.

    A streak of azure light descended from above, severing the thousands of tendrils.

    ¡°Little bro, please spare this disciple of mine.¡±

 Chapter 1666

    A man in white bearing a tally stick descended from above on an auspicious cloud, cupping his hands gracefully towards Li Qingshan from afar.

    Little bro!?

    Li Qingshan stroked his chin¡ªif he had a chin. He found the term of reference to be extremely intriguing yet also extremely mysterious.

    The asure light stopped. It turned out to be a simple-looking sword with its wonders hidden away internally. The blood of the Heretic God of Hundun filled the air, but even it was unable to corrupt it at all.

    Normally, Li Qingshan would have rushed up already and tried to place the sword under his control, but right now, he did nothing because he noticed that the Heretic God of Hundun¡¯s tendrils immediately withered away and fell to the ground after being cut apart, losing all signs of life.

    There were no Human Immortals capable of that. He was a True Immortal!

    Heavily injured, the Heretic God of Hundun did not shrink back out of fear; instead, it let out a furious howl. Countless nodules appeared where the tendrils were severed, and its body wriggled violently, actually trying to squeeze out of the demon cavern.

    Li Qingshan immediately shut the demon cavern and sent it back to Hundun¡¯s dominion. If a regular Heretic God took on an attack like that, they would probably perish on the spot, but it actually only ended up being heavily injured. He still wanted to use such a capable lackey a few more times!

    As a result, he cupped his hands towards the True Immortal. ¡°With old bro¡¯s abilities, do you even need me to spare anyone?¡±

    ¡°Old bro!¡±

    The man in white smiled as if he was very content with that term of reference. He stroked his beard and was about to speak up when Chao Tianjiao rushed over and grabbed him by the sleeve. ¡°Master, why are you so late? This bastard of a brat has even destroyed Myriad city!¡±

    Li Qingshan thought, Sure enough, the man in white is the legendary Elder of Heavenly Tomes.

    The ancestral hall of the Myriad sect that had already been reduced to ruins once hung the portraits of the great sect master and the two sect masters. After being the first senior brother, Li Qingshan had paid a visit there too. The portrait depicted a drowsy-looking old man catching a snooze with a rock in his arms with two children standing beside him, one carrying a sword and the other bearing a brush.

    Now that Li Qingshan recalled it, the old man in the portrait seemed to glance at him back then. He had pletely failed to notice it, but he no longer had any doubts now.

    The man in white before him was much younger in appearance and properly dressed, but his demeanor and bearing was identical to the painting¡¯s. They were both dressed in ceremonial, white clothes, unadorned in appearance and handsome and striking in expression.

    Each and every one of these True Immortals possessed boundless power, sharing the same longevity as the world. Even turning into a child was nothing strange, let alone just being a few decades younger.

    The only thing that left Li Qingshan puzzled was, Why wasn¡¯t that slash directed at me?

    ¡°Stop with the nonsense, my disciple. This little bro is a little bit of a bastard, but he¡¯s no brat. He¡¯s the honoured guest of the heavenly emperor.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes became slightly stern and tugged his sleeve out of her hand.

    ¡°Heavenly emperor! Honoured guest!?¡±

    Even after arriving at beyond the Nine Heavens, the heavenly emperor was still as distant as the heavens to Chao Tianjiao. She had only ever seen him once from afar. Never did she think that the man she had once ridden on would actually be connected to the heavenly emperor some day.

    She widened her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be senile, master. Why would the heavenly emperor care about someone like him? Not only did he fall as a demonfolk, he even became the lord of the Demon domain¡­¡±

    Earning an opportunity to mock Chao Tianjiao, Li Qingshan immediately regrew his head and laughed. ¡°Tianjiao, haven¡¯t you heard of a mon saying among the people before? If you want a role in the government, be prepared to mit all sorts of crimes, whether it¡¯s murder, arson, or enlisting bandits!¡±

    He was not surprised by this. The man draped in bear skin had personally gifted him the Sword of Xuanyuan and even bestowed all the land beneath the heavens to him, which was why Demon God Taotie had fallen into such a rage, wanting to slay this traitor of the Shennong tribe.

    A quick look at tinyurl./37k7u89t will leave you more fulfilled.

    However, he had doubts about that too. Why didn¡¯t that man cut me down?

    Chao Tianjiao immediately became irritated but also silenced. This matter had to do with the heavenly emperor. Li Qingshan could talk nonsense as the chief criminal, but as a divine general of the heavenly palace, she could not speak recklessly. All she could do was glare at Li Qingshan, except her emotions were rather mixed inside.

    If he was favoured by the heavenly emperor and was made a formal god of the heavenly palace, wouldn¡¯t she have to bow to him when she saw him again in the future?

    However, if she had the choice, she would rather not have him as an enemy.

    Suddenly, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s island-sized body vanished with a great rumble. The ground immediately began to collapse as millions of tonnes of soil fell into the ocean, producing tremendous waves.

    A figure flew over and arrived before the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. ¡°Master, you¡¯ve returned! Sigh, it¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have accepted this wretch. Your city¡­ my books¡­¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance no longer seemed stoic at all. He was basically like a kid who had mitted a huge mistake yet also suffered grievances, finally waiting until the adults in his family came home. He was both ashamed and saddened. As he spoke, his voice actually turned to sobs as he began shedding tears.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes glanced at Li Qingshan. His gaze was as bright as lightning, except the pressure he gave off at that instant made the world dim. Even the tremendous waves were flattened.

    Li Qingshan shifted his gaze silently, acting like nothing had happened. He did not fear the might of True Immortals. He just felt like he did not have reason on his side.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes rubbed the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s head and sighed. ¡°You fool, don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry. Fate is unpredictable, so who knows what would happen? This crisis was bound to unfold on Myriad city. As for your books¡­¡± He smiled with a hint of cunning in his eyes. ¡°Look at what this is.¡±

    He took out a painting scroll from his sleeve and unfurled it. It depicted a Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes.

    Li Qingshan gazed into the painting. Of course, that was not just a painting, but a world of its own. The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes inside was as real as it could be. It was not just a Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes either. Through the windows, there were neat rows of bookshelves. Countless books were stored in there. The sunlight illuminated the pavilion, exposing the drifting dust in the air, like it was a certain quiet and ordinary morning.

    Instead of calling it a perfect replication of the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, it was better to describe it as the Elder of Heavenly Tomes having used some sort of technique to preserve the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes from a certain instant in the long river of time, painting it into the paper.

    Now these are the methods of True Immortals!

    It reminded Li Qingshan of the handiwork of the school of Painting from the Academy of the Hundred Schools in the past, but who knew how many times more wondrous this was. Perhaps only the Five Absolutes Immortal who painted the Dragon King of Ink Sea could rival this.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Hold on, the Five Absolutes Immortal¡­

    He had already bee a god, and he had pleted the Spirit Turtle Transformation. He understood the fate entailed in matters with just the slightest thought, allowing him to sense something for himself. At that moment, he seemed to sense the trembling of the string of fate.

    Right when he was about to ask about this, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes seemed to sense it, and he gazed at him deeply. ¡°Please give me a moment, little bro. Let me handle some internal affairs and save this disciple of mine before having a deep conversation with you.¡±

    As it turned out, Li Liehuo almost could not hold on for much longer after this short while.

    Li Qingshan nodded and said nothing more.

    He could clearly sense that the Myriad sect had already been reduced to nothing, but with this great sect master¡¯s appearance, he had bee the owner of this world, naturally putting everything into order. Meanwhile, he was merely a vile guest. No matter how friendly and polite the owner was, no one could steal his thunder.

    Even if his main body was present, he was not particularly confident that he could defeat him.

    Just how many more opponents like this does the heavens have?

    The tiger within him growled with its head lowered.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes took this into account and praised inside, Sigh, he really is a person chosen by him. Each and every one of them is outstanding! Hehe, I almost forgot, didn¡¯t our majety choose him as well?

    Of course, he could never mention that. He was better off if he forgot about it entirely.

 Chapter 1667

    Li Liehuo currently floated on the surface of the turbulent ocean. His eyebrows were firmly locked, and his eyes were firmly shut. He had clearly achieved the physique of a half-immortal already, yet his lips were cracked and he poured with sweat. His expression warped and changed, sometimes furious and sometimes overjoyed. The flames around him flickered as well, sometimes erupting violently and sometimes dimming to a point where they were almost extinguished.

    As the cause for all of this, the Heretic God of Hundun rampaged through the swamp for a while before sinking back into chaos, wandering around the swamp aimlessly. Even the tendrils that had been severed by the Elder of Heavenly Tomes slowly regenerated.

    This was not just due to its own power, primarily because of the blessings from Hundun¡¯s dominion, but it was still an indication of its strength.

    Li Liehuo was skilled in battle, but he had only undergone the sixth heavenly tribulation after all, so how could he stand a chance? Now that he had been corrupted by the powers of chaos, his mind was a mess and his powers had lost control. He was already on the verge of cultivation deviation.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes conveniently wiped away the remaining tears on the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s face. With a flick, the tears turned into a thin stream of blue light, flying over and landing on Li Liehuo¡¯s forehead.

    Li Liehuo¡¯s expression settled down. His Origin Soul was illuminated by the profound light, and his rationality gained the upper hand again. Only after adjusting his breath for a while did he open his eyes slowly. His dried lips moved slightly. ¡°Li Liehuo thanks the great sect master for saving his life¡­ I¡¯ve failed to protect the sect, so please punish me, great sect master¡­¡±

    Then he experienced some lingering fear. If the great sect master had not helped him out, he basically would have been crippled even if he managed to survive. He might have even accepted Li Qingshan¡¯s offer and fallen as a Heretic God. He could not help but glance at Li Qingshan cautiously again.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said earnestly, ¡°Liehuo, you can call me master just like Tianjiao. Your mental state has yet to stabilise, so don¡¯t let your emotions fluctuate too much.¡±

    ¡°Yes, master!¡± Li Liehuo also felt slightly inspired.

    There were many different divisions among the disciples of the Myriad sect¡ªformal disciple, inner disciple, and direct disciple. However, only when they underwent the sixth heavenly tribulation and became a Human Immortal did they earn the right to call this great sect master their master.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to feel ashamed either. That is not your fault. There¡¯ll be plenty for you to be proud of when you get to the Heavenly Palace of Divine Clouds for facing this little bro and surviving!¡±

    ¡°The Heavenly Palace of Divine Clouds?¡± Li Liehuo¡¯s eyes lit up. That was the Longevity Emperor of the South Pole¡¯s palace.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯ve already entered the Immortal¡¯s Records.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes stroked his beard and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already remended you to the Lord of Fire Virtue, Huode Xingjun, as a divine general of the fire department. He¡¯s an old friend of mine. He¡¯ll definitely take good care of you.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your kindness, master!¡±

    Wasn¡¯t the exact thing that cultivators were after being an immortal? A moment earlier, he was in a critical situation, yet now, his dream had e true. This upheaval even left Li Liehuo emotional, unable to express himself properly. Despite his wounds, he got up and bowed solemnly towards the Elder of Heavenly Tomes.

    Chao Tianjiao smiled. ¡°Congratulations, first senior brother. Congratulations.¡± Half of it was sarcasm and half of it was sincere.

    Li Liehuo did not even bother to acknowledge her, but he suddenly felt a little lost. From the corner of his eye, he saw Li Qingshan standing with his hands behind his back. The lone, proud tiger remained lone and proud as always.

    Li Liehuo was originally a martial arts practitioner in the Human realm. He only knew some methods of practising qi and had basically been enlisted to Black Cloud city as a mortal. After countless brushes with death, he made a military contribution on the Demon domain battlefield. After that, he finally received a true cultivation method.

    Fighting, cultivating, fighting¡­ Step by step, he climbed towards the top, from formal disciple to inner disciple, then from direct disciple¡­ to Human Immortal!

    Just how magnificent and valiant of a life was that? Yet now, he needed to be in someone¡¯s care. Of course, being in someone¡¯s care was not bad, but¡­ something seemed to be lacking.

    Chao Tianjiao immediately knew what he was thinking when she saw Li Liehuo¡¯s expression, as she had once felt the same.

    The heavenly palace had thousands of divine generals, while she was merely one of them. She did practise the path of zhenwu, so she was quite valued by the Desireless Heavenly Palace, directly bypassing the regular divine generals and joining the ranks of the Six Ding and Six Jia, answering straight to the Zhenwu Emperor.

    However, she no longer possessed the sense of domination she once possessed as the first senior sister.

    Probably only when she became a True Immortal would she regain some of her past demeanor. However, there were only several dozen proper gods of the heavenly palace. Just how obscure was her future to bee a True Immortal?

    Out of those who could bee Human Immortals, just who wasn¡¯t endowed with talent? Who wasn¡¯t endowed with fortune? Who wasn¡¯t endowed with exceptional mental will? However, most of them had already reached the end of their path once they made it here.

    After all, not everyone was Li Qingshan.

    However, Chao Tianjiao noticed that Li Qingshan only stood on the surface of the ocean, without budging at all, gazing out at the boundless sea as if he was in a trance. For some reason, there was actually some worry between his eyebrows.

    Hmph, this kid is posing around again!

    The waves on the ocean gradually settled, and Myriad city had pletely vanished. Even the ruins had sunk into the ocean. The colossal waves earlier had swept away all of the remains, only leaving behind the vast expanse of the ocean.

    It was as if Myriad city had never existed.

    Everything that Li Qingshan experienced here was like a dream, like it had never truly occurred.

    From great beauty to white bone, form was also emptiness.

    However, something did end up being preserved.

    The Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes had been lost and regained. The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance held onto the painting scroll, glancing at it again and again. From time to time, he would take out a book from there and read through it, grinning away like a kid. He even seemed to let go of his hatred for Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan smiled. For some reason, he felt a knot in his heart loosen up slightly.

    Spirit turtles were emotionless. He was not even fazed when he forced all the direct disciples of the Myriad sect to their deaths, but he also had people he liked and things he loved. Before that person, he could express his emotions freely, no longer needing to hide everything away in the depths of the ocean.

    As such, the living creatures felt bitterness, as well as happiness.

    Suddenly, he felt a little worried. He also had someone he liked, but that person was in another distant world.

    After being a god, he had already faced many acquaintances and many enemies again, but she was the only one he was rather reluctant to face. Even he himself was unable to understand this feeling.

    Having resolved a major matter, there was nothing that could distract him for the time being, so he began to think of home.

    His home was not the five continents or the Demon domain, but by her side.

    Xiao An.

    Suddenly, a violet aura of slaughter made him jerk back to his senses. Her figure that gradually grew clearer and more consolidated dispersed from his mind like the clouds.

    ¡°I¡¯ve made you wait, little bro.¡±

    Having dealt with his internal affairs, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes arrived before Li Qingshan with a chuckle. His disciples followed close behind, standing to his left and right.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ smile suddenly vanished. He raised the tally stick in his hand and said solemnly, ¡°Under the decree of the heavens, I¡¯ve specially e to invite you to a banquet!¡±

    At that moment, his figure seemed to extend indefinitely like he was the embodiment of the heavens. Even Li Qingshan could not help but look up at him.

    However, before Li Qingshan could respond, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes immediately relaxed again as if he had pleted some kind of mission. He turned around and smiled at his disciples. ¡°The heavenly emperor is holding a banquet in the Lingxiao hall, specially inviting this little brother of the Li family. All of the gods and immortals in the records will be in attendance, and even the four emperors will e in person. Of course, the two of you can¡¯t be absent either, so it¡¯s perfect for you to go up to the heavens with me.¡±

 Chapter 1668

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was talking about the gods, immortals, and emperors, but his expression was no different from an attendant receiving customers. His master had already arranged everything, specially sending an old caretaker to invite the esteemed guests, but it was not like he knew all the customs and manners for aristocratic clans. As such, he only passed on a simple notice to let them know.

    When the heavenly emperor sent out invitations, who dared to be absent?

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo could only answer ¡°yes¡± with their heads lowered.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s gaze towards Li Qingshan became mixed. Let alone them, divine generals, even proper gods of the heavenly palace could not necessarily earn the heavenly emperor¡¯s good graces. The master who had fallen into her lap possessed an extraordinary status in the heavens. Even when the Zhenwu Emperor met him, he had to treat him politely. He was probably one of the close subjects of the heavenly emperor.

    Li Qingshan was no longer the same as them anymore. When he went up to the heavens this time, he only needed to lower his head to the heavenly emperor slightly. If he did that, he would probably earn a status no less than the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯.

    Sigh, power is everything in the cultivation munity. As it turns out, even the heavens aren¡¯t any different. As long as you¡¯re powerful enough, so what if you fall as a demonfolk? Murder, arson, and enlisting bandits¡ªthis kid really does know what he¡¯s on about!

    Li Liehuo sighed, but he struggled to accept this. Just how many of his colleagues had been slaughtered by demonfolk outside Black Cloud city? And how many more fellow disciples had Li Qingshan killed in the city? It was actually all being made a matter of the past now, and he had even bee the heavenly emperor¡¯s honoured guest.

    However, Li Qingshan neither looked at them nor the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the tally stick in the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ hand. ¡°What is this?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ eyes lit up, and he chuckled. ¡°This is a tally stick bestowed by the heavenly emperor.¡±

    A tally stick was a tally wielded by envoys. Regular tally sticks could represent kings and the lords of countries, while this tally stick represented the heavens.

    ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what is it!?¡± Li Qingshan asked again.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t even know what a tally stick is!¡± Chao Tianjiao said impatiently. She thought Li Qingshan was actively trying to stir trouble again.

    Li Qingshan continued to question closely, so she glanced at the tally stick carefully again. However, the tally stick was far too ordinary, even crude. It was just a speckled, yellow bamboo pole, only three metres long, and it was engraved with some extremely simple designs.

    A bronze bear head was embedded at the top of the bamboo pole. It was possible to tell that the craftsman tried his best to make it seem valiant and vicious, but the end result seemed slightly foolish. Under the bronze bear head hung a string of ornamental tufts of hair, but the colours were all different.

    If it were not for the fact that the bamboo pole originated from the heavens and possessed some extraordinary special characteristics intrinsically, any craftsman in the Human realm could make something that was much more exquisite.

    Chao Tianjiao could not help but develop some doubts too. As a tally stick bestowed by the heavenly emperor, wasn¡¯t this a little too crude and simple?

    However, Li Qingshan sensed an aura of slaughter that was even vaster and more intense than the Asura realm. The bear head roared away, wanting to devour the world.

    Every single tuft of hair drooping down from the bamboo pole contained an extremely stubborn and extremely staunch will, lingering even after all these eons.

    Within them seemed to be furious roars and laments, which stirred up Li Qingshan. As a result, he could not help but ask again.

    ¡°Impressive insight, little bro. The hair here has all been taken from the very end of the tails of oxen. Of course, they¡¯re no regular oxen. It¡¯s said that the Shennong tribe is skilled in farming, and their tribesmen often turn into divine oxen of great strength¡­¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes suddenly stopped talking and gazed at Li Qingshan deeply.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s expression changed.

    ¡°The Shennong tribe?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo exchanged glances. They had never heard that name before, but it must not have been some particularly powerful tribe, or they would not have had so many tribesmen slain and made into a tally stick as a demonstration of authority. They had never heard about any sect or organisation renowned for being able to farm the land either.

    However, they could sense that Li Qingshan was actually trembling gently with his head lowered, his face hidden by his hair.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes explained to them sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate the owners of these ox tails. In the current age, probably none of them are any weaker than this little brother Li!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo were both stunned. Li Qingshan had bee a True God after all! They were unable to believe or imagine just how many corpses of gods went into constructing this crude tally stick.

    Just who was capable of something like that? A single answer screamed out!

    ¡°The heavenly emperor.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s voice was hoarse. It seemed like the three words had been uttered by the deep underground. Suddenly, he understood Demon God Taotie¡¯s fury. Suddenly, he recalled brother ox¡¯s tears.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. This tally stick was created personally by the heavenly emperor. He may not be good at carving, but he is skilled at warfare!¡±

    As soon as the Elder of Heavenly Tomes said that, the sky suddenly dimmed. Black clouds amassed out of nowhere, actually resembling tribulation clouds.

    Li Liehuo only felt his breath sucked out of his chest as his Origin Soul curled up violently. That was no Human Immortal. He was clearly an insect, hiding within the bushes, afraid to let out a peep of sound as he listened to the rolling thunder.

    However, Li Qingshan raised his head and stared straight at the heavens, like his eyes were about to split open.

    The black clouds surged. At that instant, it resembled a dragon, lowering its head and meeting his gaze.

    Boom!

    The sky and sea shook. A devastating bolt of lightning fell! The heavens seemed to be infuriated by his attitude.

    The lightning linked the sky with the sea, landing beside the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. It actually split open the sea and exposed the burnt seabed.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes shrank back and bowed with his hands cupped again and again. ¡°Calm down, calm down! I¡¯ve misspoken! I¡¯ve misspoken! Your majesty¡¯s carvings are simple and unadorned, like a work of nature! They deeply conform with the principles of nature and the principles of the world, unlike the showiness of today¡¯s work! It possesses the charms of antiquity!¡±

    As such, the clouds parted and the thunder subsided. The sky became clear, without a single cloud in sight again. Only then did Li Liehuo feel like he could breathe.

    However, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes silently municated to everyone present, ¡°Sigh, his spontaneous wrath can actually be so frightening! Not only does this majesty of ours possess horrible craftsmanship, but he¡¯s even particularly petty too!¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s anger fell through. The heavens did not care about him. This only seemed to be a small joke between the lord and the subject.

    ¡°As a result, not only have I e this time under the decree of the heavens, but I¡¯ve also e for the sake of my own life, little bro. As you¡¯ve said, if you want a role in the government, be prepared to mit all sorts of crimes, whether it¡¯s murder, arson, or enlisting bandits! Now, the order for enlistment has already arrived, so why not respect the will of the heavens?¡±

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    ¡°This isn¡¯t just for you. Have you ever heard that with one man¡¯s enlightenment, his chicken and hound rise to the heavens too? If you bee a proper god of the heavenly palace, the heavenly emperor will permit you to build a heavenly palace, directly answering to the heavenly emperor, on equal footing with the emperors of the four cardinal directions. By then, everyone connected with you will be brought under your wing, to enjoy eternal longevity and fortune.¡±

    ¡°By then, even when I meet you in the heavens, I have to greet you politely and call you ¡®lord¡¯!¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes spoke earnestly and advised patiently. Even Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo were emotionally perturbed by that. They thought that Li Qingshan would only be made a god if he went to the heavens, but they never expected the heavenly emperor to favour him so much that he actually supported him in constructing a heavenly palace of his own and being an emperor!

    Li Qingshan only stared at the sky.

    ¡°All the living creatures in the world will be able to avoid the pain of war too. This will merit limitless virtue.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes waved the tally stick around in his hand. ¡°No matter what I say, you don¡¯t want to be hanging up on here, do you?¡±

    Li Qingshan seemed to calm down. He looked back down and smiled. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll go up to the heavens with you and take a look.¡±

 Chapter 1669

    Li Qingshan¡¯s smile brought chills to Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo. Very clearly, Li Qingshan possessed very deep connections to the Shenning tribe. Not only had the heavenly emperor¡¯s barbaric and savage tally stick and the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ threatening words failed to strike fear into him, but it had instead completely angered him.

    Chao Tianjiao thought, How is this enlistment? This is clearly an invitation to battle. The gods in the heavens are all meticulous and wise, so have none of them tried to understand this kid¡¯s personality even in the slightest? Even if it¡¯s just asking me! Master is being a little strange too.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes in her memory was so graceful and composed. He had never acted with such harshness and severity as today, almost to a point where he seemed a little unnatural.

    Master is a close subject of the heavenly emperor. His unnatural behaviour must be a manifestation of the heavenly emperor¡¯s will. Suddenly, she thought of a possibility, Unless the heavenly emperor doesn¡¯t want to enlist him!

    But why bother with all of this? Invitation for what? Banquet for what? He might as well just directly declare war! And, if the heavenly emperor was reluctant with this, just who could ensure that this enlistment occurs at all?

    The figures of the four emperors appeared in her mind. Among them was her lord, the Zhenwu Emperor.

    In other words, the heavenly emperor and the four emperors actually have a disagreement!?

    At this moment, the Zhenwu Emperor in her head actually glanced at her.

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s heart shuddered, immediately dismissing her thoughts. She did not dare to think about it any further.

    She had heard many secrets today, probably none of which a divine general like her was supposed to know. However, she became even more confident about certain thoughts.

    The Zhenwu Emperor had been paying attention the entire time!

    Of course, there was another possibility that Chao Tianjiao had not deeply considered, which was the heavenly emperor did not take Li Qingshan seriously at all. But interestingly enough, she would rather believe the heavenly emperor and the four emperors had a disagreement.

    This kid seems to have a certain charm, where people always look at him with a high opinion no matter where he goes. Even more detestably, when others view him in such a great light, he thinks they¡¯re looking down on him and is fuming over this!

    Indeed. In Li Qingshan¡¯s story, he had faced quite a lot of opposition in the Myriad sect, used for gambling among the direct disciples first, then the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance tried to persuade him to not join the sect, and he was even targeted by the first senior sister and first senior brother, ushering him from the Hundred Herbs garden to Black Cloud city for him to die.

    But in the eyes of others, he had become the centre of focus the moment he joined the Myriad sect, personally received by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance and treated as equals by several direct disciples. The reason why he faced such opposition was all because he went out looking for trouble.

    Chao Tianjiao had descended to the Human realm plenty of times to harass Li Qingshan after becoming a Divine General of the Six Ding, but had she ever acknowledged anyone else? Actually, as long as he yielded a little, she would not mind being a little gentler with him, but he simply insisted on being unruly and stubborn, working against her. From time to time, he would even call her vulgar names, which left her absolutely furious.

    However, little did Chao Tianjiao know that someone had once said to this kid, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t lower your head to anyone. You have once ridden on my back.¡±

    Perhaps in Li Qingshan¡¯s heart, brother ox had never left, instead holding him high up on his back, which allowed him to strive ahead valiantly until this very day, finally reaching beyond the Nine Heavens.

    If others looked up at him with a high opinion and he looked down on them in response, where would that put brother ox?

    ¡°Since you¡¯re willing to attend the banquet, my mission is complete.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes let out a sigh of relief before completely relaxing. He stowed away the tally stick and with a convenient wave of his hand, a colourful auspicious cloud rose up.

    Li Qingshan allowed the colourful auspicious cloud to pick him up, flying towards beyond the Nine Heavens that was even more distant.

    Chao Tianjiao, Li Liehuo, and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance obviously stood around the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. Chao Tianjiao even signalled to the skyhorse she had brought with her so that it could return to the heavenly palace. The skyhorse let out a whinny and flew off.

    Perhaps for the sake of a solemn appearance, the auspicious cloud flew steadily. By the time the skyhorse was gone, they had not even entered the atmospheric wind layer.

    Li Qingshan was not in a hurry either, rising up with the cloud. The sea gradually grew further away as the sky gradually grew closer. His path to the Nine Heavens was approaching its destination. He looked back at the path he had tread with a multitude of emotions.

    Looking out, what filled his mind was not the palace in the heavens or the heavenly emperor and his gods, but brother ox¡¯s figure from behind. It had once blurred, but now, it had become clear again, like he had never left him.

    I await for you beyond the Nine Heavens, for the time when you stand beside me!

    Before the voice subsided, he answered softly, ¡°Brother ox, I¡¯m here! But before this, let me take a look at just who your enemies are.¡±

    When he said that, the coloured cloud froze and the surroundings fell silent.

    That was different from the pressure of the heavenly emperor. Chao Tianjiao could vaguely sense the operation of the laws and the Dao, including the path of zhenwu she was familiar with.

    Those viewed as enemies by Li Qingshan were currently viewing this place, and he had also incited their hostility.

    At that instant, Li Qingshan¡¯s clone that possessed the cultivation of a Heretic God became covered in cracks, like a stone statue on the verge of shattering.

    He did not move, continuing to gaze up at the sky hopefully.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes suddenly looked up and let out a sigh.

    Everything returned to normal. The colourful clouds continued to rise, entering the atmospheric wind layer. The atmospheric winds whistled, but they were all blocked outside the cloud.

    As they continued to rise, the winds subsided and the sky darkened, becoming an inky-blue.

    Li Qingshan looked down and saw the entirety of the Human realm.

    The mountains were like folds in the earth, while the rivers were like thin threads. White clouds moved fleetingly, dispersing and gathering in the flick of a finger.

    The flow of time had already changed. The Nine Heavens grew closer. The Human realm grew further away.

    The sky gradually went from an inky-blue to black, without any flaws. It reminded Li Qingshan of the days he spent wandering in outer space. However, at least outer space still had the expansive sea of stars. The darkness before his eyes, on the other hand, was so pure that there were no dreams to speak of.

    If this was a journey, then isn¡¯t the final destination of this journey far too ordinary?

    That was what Li Qingshan thought when he discovered a speck of golden light in the centre of the endless darkness.

    The speck of light was so feeble, yet it seemed to be hiding something that could not be put into words. He felt greatly shocked, holding his breath uncontrollably and widening his eyes.

    The golden speck gradually turned larger and brighter. Before Li Qingshan could even recover from his sense of shock, another speck of light appeared in the darkness, a silver one.

    If the golden speck of light brought him intense shock, then the silver speck of light brought him great peace.

    The two drastically-different sensations echoed through his heart, forming extreme conflict yet also extreme harmony.

    Under the piercing glow of the golden and silver light, the Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation began to circulate uncontrollably. Immediately, his body became covered in scales. One of his two eyes turned into a dragon¡¯s eye, while the other turned into a snake¡¯s eyes.

    As a result, he saw the third speck of light, a blue one.

    Just as Li Qingshan tried to make out the blue speck of light, his thoughts came to a halt and he was stunned.

    As the auspicious cloud rapidly drew closer, the golden speck of light had already turned to the size of a mandarin. As it turned out, it was a golden sun.

    The silver speck of light was identical in size, except its glow was slightly fainter. It was a silver moon.

    The blue speck of light was a blue planet, glowing under the shine of the sunlight and moonlight, pausing in the endless darkness.

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    ¡°This is¡­ beyond the Nine Heavens!¡±

 Chapter 1670

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is beyond the Nine Heavens, but we normally call it the Primordial World!¡±

    By ¡°we¡±, he was obviously referring to the gods and buddhas. The other name for beyond the Nine Heavens was the Land of Gods and Buddhas.

    Staring at the Primordial World, Li Liehuo also entered a daze. As one among the best of the best cultivators, who knew how many grand and magnificent sights he had seen in his life, but none of them could compare to what he was seeing right now.

    A spherical world was not particularly unbelievable. What was unbelievable was what he felt inside.

    This feeling was called ¡°realistic¡±!

    Everything he had experienced in the past only seemed like a dream, like a tour through an illusion, spending his entire life chasing after shadows.

    Bob! As if he had heard the sound of a bubble bursting, he woke up from the dream. He finally arrived in the real world.

    Just from that glance, his cultivation had increased evidently. Roaring flames burned in his Origin Soul, gaining a sense of realism, not only completely erasing the remaining influence from the Heretic God of Hundun, but also washing away the tranquility brought on by the spirit turtle¡¯s tears. His mind had never felt so lively and clear before.

    He could not help but recall everything he had experienced just then, especially the moment when the heavenly emperor¡¯s will descended.

    Before this, he did not even have the courage to think about it, because as soon as he did, his head would grow numb, his chest would grow tight, and he would lose his breath. Even his Origin Soul would curl up. If he remained in that state, even his cultivation would regress.

    At this moment, a sudden yet extremely intense sense of humiliation and anger drowned him.

    He asked himself, ¡°Just because it¡¯s facing the heavens, flames can¡¯t rise up anymore?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes took Li Liehuo¡¯s response and changes into account very clearly, and he became slightly content. This child truly is one of the most outstanding disciples of the Myriad sect. He¡¯s already comprehended that while the sky is distant beyond his reach, it¡¯s still something that truly exists, and since it truly exists, it can also be burned by fire. With this realisation, he¡¯s one step closer to Forging his Soul back into the Void, the realm of True Immortals.

    The laws of the heavens surpassed all other laws, but fire was not something that should have stopped burning just because it feared the sky. If Li Liehuo possessed that kind of fear, he would never be able to come into contact with the true path of scorching fire.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes then sighed, as Li Liehuo would never be able to become a True Immortal!

    Over the years, the will of the heavenly emperor became even more brutal, such that even the four emperors did not dare to confront him directly.

    Under the might of the heavens, even the Lord of Fire Virtue¡¯s flames were in constant decline, so how could the tiny embers of Li Liehuo burn freely and conform with the Dao?

    Meanwhile, Chao Tianjiao, who had a similar level of talent and mental disposition to Li Liehuo, had quite a good chance at becoming a True Immortal. However, she would never be able to undergo the eighth heavenly tribulation and Merge the Void with the Dao.

    Their paths determined everything, not just the sights they would see along the way, but the final destination too.

    The casual, small choices made in the beginning would develop into a realistic and tremendous fate. That was the fortune of cultivators.

    However, Li Qingshan was an exception!

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes sighed inside. There probably had never been a cultivator like him who had already become a True Immortal but had yet to set off on a distinct path. Many paths wove around him, changing unpredictably with fate, vague and indistinct.

    He was free to choose the path that conflicted the least with the heavenly emperor and then Merge the Void with the Dao, becoming an emperor.

    Did the one who chose him do this intentionally, giving him the option for betrayal if he wanted to? Or did he believe he would not accept the enlistment? Even the Elder of Heavenly Tomes struggled to fathom the reason despite his wisdom.

    Li Qingshan continued to observe the Primordial World. He never would have thought that after all these difficulties, the final ¡°destination¡± would be like that.

    It was so familiar, yet also so unfamiliar¡­

    He had also once suspected that his so-called ¡°past life¡± was merely one of the worlds in the trichiliocosm, a small world where spiritual qi was far too thin and even Refining Essence into Qi was impossible. However, as his cultivation increased and his knowledge grew, he found the thought to be more and more absurd.

    But at this moment, various doubts filled his mind. If they¡¯re unrelated, why are they so similar? If they are related, why are they so different?

    The Primordial World was very similar to the blue planet from his past life, but the layout of the solar system was completely different, if this could be called a solar system at all.

    First of all, the Primordial World did not revolve around the sun. Instead, the sun revolved around it, like the ancient yet also intuitive geocentric model from his past life.

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    Moreover, upon close observation, he discovered that the sun and the moon were completely identical in size. They did not differ even in the slightest. Only the sun was brighter, which was why it seemed larger.

    Oh right, the moon clearly did not glow because it reflected the sun¡¯s light either. Instead, it could glow by itself. And even if it wanted to reflect the sunlight, it was impossible, as the blue planet between the sun and the moon was several times larger than it.

    It could be perfectly described as hovering at the two ends of the Primordial World, revolving again and again, like they were chasing after one another and hiding away from one another, never to see one another.

    It reminded Li Qingshan of a fairytale from his past life. Grandpa Sun and granny Moon were a very loving couple, and they even gave birth to many children stars. However, grandpa Sun was always busy illuminating the world, so it had been a very long time since he cared for granny Moon and their children stars. As a result, granny Moon decided to leave with her children, never to see grandpa Sun again.

    However, no matter where granny Moon hid, grandpa Sun would always be able to find her. Granny Moon truly was out of ideas about where to hide. Actually, as long as grandpa Sun admitted his fault, she would stop hiding, but grandpa Sun simply refused to admit it. As such, granny Moon came up with a plan and decided to hide into the dark night, as grandpa Sun would never appear in the dark night.

    In his past life, that was only a fairytale, but at this moment, it seemed to be some kind of sign.

    The sun and moon before his eyes definitely were not emotionless celestial bodies, especially the gentle moon. It basically radiated with intimacy and familiarity.

    As the colourful cloud drew closer, Li Qingshan¡¯s revelation grew clearer and brighter.

    Suddenly, he recalled the beginning of the history of the Demon domain, the last thing that the primordial qilin saw before it perished¡ªthe Battle of Mending Heaven!

    In the grand scene of the Battle of Mending Heaven, empress N¨¹wa seemed to look back at him. Li Qingshan blinked his eyes, but all he found in front of him was the gentle, flowing moonlight.

    Li Qingshan could not help but smile, but it was also slightly sad. He thought, Empress N¨¹wa!

    At this moment, the obscure legend had become reality. The legendary mother of humanity was right before his eyes.

    Then he turned to the sun and saw the man who resembled an embodiment of the heavens, wielding the lightning and leading the dragons¡ªFuxi.

    The two main figures of the Battle of Mending Heaven were right before his eyes, or perhaps it was better said that they hung in the sky the entire time, shining with light, such that the living creatures could see them as long as they raised their heads slightly. However, if he never came to beyond the Nine Heavens, he never would have known.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes had been paying attention to Li Qingshan the entire time. He suddenly asked, ¡°Little bro, have you ever been to the heavens?¡±

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 1671

    9-11 minutes 03.12.2022

    The Demon Domain.

    Boom!

    The great volcano erupted violently. Thick smoke filled the air, filled with the crackling of lightning. Several dozen tonnes of rock were hurled into the air, flying several hundred kilometres away. The volcanic ash scattered over the land like a snowstorm, dyeing all of the mountains a pale-white.

    This was already its one hundred and twenty seventh eruption today, but no one was injured by it, as there were no demonfolk bold enough to approach this place. It was not because they feared this harsh environment, but because this was where their god dwelled.

    The colossal volcano had already become the divine mountain of the demonfolk.

    Looking down from extremely high above, it was possible to see countless demonfolk walking around the mountain and prostrating every three steps.

    There were both men and women, young and old, varying in cultivation as well, but most of them were regular demonfolk. Some of them murmured away, some of them remained silent, while some of them danced around like they had gone mad.

    Originally, they worshipped different Demon Gods, so the customs and rituals they followed were different, while the lord of the Demon domain¡¯s customs and rituals had never been established. As such, they used the methods they were familiar with to offer up all of their devotion to the lord of the Demon domain.

    Every time the volcano erupted, the people would explode in cheers, viewing it as a response.

    The black mass of people were like ants, gathering around the mountain that was divine in their eyes, performing meaningless worship all day and night without stopping, even until they perished.

    However, the demonfolk were very happy!

    In the past, if so many demonfolk gathered together, it would definitely be filled with abuse and death, but right now, they advanced under the same faith, even helping one another like they were true siblings. They experienced warmth they had never felt before.

    The warmth brought tears to the eyes of many demonfolk, weeping away and revering their god even more.

    Within the flow of people, an old demonfolk prostrated but never rose again. All signs of life vanished from him. A smile still hung on his ashy face.

    In the past, the surrounding demonfolk would have definitely swarmed over like hungry wolves, feasting on his flesh and fighting over his demon core.

    But now, the other demonfolk only stepped over his body silently until his flesh and bones turned to earth, becoming part of the path. All that remained was a verdant demon core shimmering in the blood-red earth.

    He had already offered up everything he possessed to the god. His everything now belonged to the god.

    In the depths of the divine mountain, within a lake of lava, the god that the demonfolk worshipped laboured away like a regular blacksmith.

    Clang¡ªClang¡ªClang¡ª 4887

    The sound echoed off the cliff faces. Li Qingshan slammed down with his fist like a hammer, having delivered tens of thousand strikes like that already. A scarlet-black spear finally took shape.

    He picked up the spear and studied it before feeling the sharp tip with his finger. Finally, he let out a satisfied smile.

    Suddenly, a violent cough erupted from his chest. He covered his mouth. Blood oozed out from between his fingers.

    This task had clearly caused grave damage to his health, basically falling severely ill like a mortal. If he did not possess the endless support of the Demon domain, perhaps he would have even died here.

    Regular people probably struggled to imagine just what kind of weapon required a god to pay such a great price.

    However, none of this affected Li Qingshan¡¯s good mood right now. He coughed away as he admired his creation.

    Because he used the underground magnetic field as his material, the spear was wrapped in the markings of lightning, but he seemed to have added some other kind of material too, something much darker.

    Afterwards, Li Qingshan used the tip of his nail to engrave a name on the spear.

    When he engraved the name, his face became terrifyingly twisted, filled with hatred and fury.

    That expression remained until he finished carving the entire name. He planted the spear into the rock and exhaled deeply. Only after quite a while did his expression recover, except the hatred had already carved its mark into his face, no longer able to be removed anymore.

    He behaved like nothing had happened. He only took a moment of rest before immediately getting on with forging a second spear.

    He needed to make use of every moment and forge twelve spears as quickly as possible.

    These spears only served one purpose and could only be used once. However, if he wanted to completely control the Demon domain, he needed every single one of them.

    As for the fervent actions of the demonfolk, he completely ignored them. He was certain that Qian Rongzhi would handle everything properly and would not let this precious manpower go to waste.

    He used the heavenly winds and earthen fire to melt another pile of earthen magnetic fields before suddenly stopping what he was doing and gazing at the sky.

    The black cloud surged, without the light of day to be seen.

    However, Li Qingshan saw that moon through the eyes of his mirror clone and sensed its glows. His firmly-furrowed eyebrows gradually relaxed as if he had received his mother¡¯s comforting.

    Perhaps empress N¨¹wa had never perished and is only in a slumber.

    Li Qingshan was not certain either whether this was only a wonderful dream or a secret sign, but he did feel much better.

    However, he did not engross himself in this feeling. Instead, he paid attention to how the Primordial World operated, hoping to gain some kind of inspiration from it that would allow him to further his cultivation.

    A mere True Immortal would definitely stand no chance against any of the emperors. If he wanted to take a look at the sights of beyond the Nine Heavens for himself, then he needed to undergo the eighth heavenly tribulation¡ªMerging the Void with the Dao!

    Otherwise, as long as he took a single step out of the Demon domain, an emperor would immediately butcher him. Probably even the heavenly emperor would not bother to do it himself.

    If he wanted to win this war, he had to free the seven Great Sages. If he could not even leave here, how was he supposed to achieve that?

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    However, just how difficult was Merging the Void with the Dao?

    In the eyes of others, he had been advancing valiantly the entire time, becoming a True Immortal in an extremely short amount of time. However, only he knew the issues he faced. The internal difficulties he faced were almost as severe as his external problems.

    He had become an immortal far too quickly and relied on just too many external factors, which would definitely lead to an unstable foundation and an imbalance of powers.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes thought he had not chosen a distinct path yet, but he actually had chosen already. That was the Qilin Transformation of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, which was also the primordial qilin¡¯s path.

    The reason why it seemed unpredictable, unfathomable, and vague was because he had not abandoned the other transformations of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine and because this path was not one he had chosen proactively.

    If he could choose one of the transformations among the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine to Forge his Soul back into the Void, he definitely would have chosen the Ox Demon Transformation. That was the path most compatible with him, as well as the one that had the smallest influence over the other transformations.

    However, under all these coincidences, he had sniffed the entire pond of lotus flowers in the Great Thunderclap temple of Sukh¨¡vat¨© first before swallowing the Black Sun Demon Heart in the Demon domain, merging with the core laws of the Qilin Paradise and immediately pushing the Qilin Transformation to its highest realm, Forging his Soul back into the Void with ease.

    The Qilin Transformation was originally the transformation he was least accustomed to. The cultivation process was extremely difficult too, but now, it had become his most central transformation.

    This brought on a severe loss in balance, not only suppressing the other transformations of the demonic and divine, but even disturbing his disposition too. If he remained like this, the other transformations would definitely end up regressing, only leaving behind the Qilin Transformation in the end.

    The crisis of the world was already imminent. He who was born for the crisis had actually never been ready. He was like someone who had only just begun practising qi, only to provoke an entire group of Foundation Establishment cultivators, trapped in his own dwelling and unable to leave.

    And the actual situation might have been even worse. The heavenly emperor was truly unfathomable.

 Chapter 1672

    Li Qingshan comprehended the way the Primordial World operated as he reflected on himself¡ªthe small world in his body was like a rainforest shoved into a miniature garden, teeming with life and brimming with greenness, but coming off as rather sickly from the overflow of vegetation. The thick piles of death branches and fallen leaves reeked with a hint of death too.

    Life and death, prosperity and wilting, was the original nature of the path of nature.

    However, not only had the Qilin Transformation completely occupied the central position, but it had even oppressed the other transformations without any regard either.

    Within the rainforest garden, the wind did not blow and the fire did not burn. The wide leaves absorbed all of the flowing water and the roots grew freely, such that even the earth could only drag out a meagre existence.

    And did the rainforest want to be shoved in a miniature garden too?

    As time went on, the Qilin Transformation grew stronger and stronger while the other transformations grew weaker and weaker, almost to a point of regression.

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    To the Qilin, the small world was like a prison, preventing it from following its path. It was eager to break free from all shackles.

    Li Qingshan was forced to restrain this transformation at all times, but it was like opposing the will of the entire Demon domain and Sukh¨¡vat¨©, which was the primordial qilin¡¯s will.

    At the same time, he would be opposing himself. The primordial qilin¡¯s will had already merged with his will a long time ago. Following the path of nature had already become his strongest instinct.

    He had become an immortal, enshrined as a true god. Who knew how many times stronger his cultivation had become, but just how much of himself remained?

    Li Qingshan sighed. If he had relied on his own strength and proactively chosen the Qilin Transformation to Forge his Soul back into the Void, the situation would not be as terrible as right now. The influence from the primordial qilin was simply too great.

    The power that these primordial gods possessed was unbelievable. Even when the primordial spirit turtle had already perished, it could keep the Mountain-moving Great Sage trapped through its subconsciousness alone, even influencing his will. As for Fuxi and N¨¹wa who had claimed their lives, he basically struggled to imagine just what kind of existences they were.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation was nowhere close to the Mountain-moving Great Sage¡¯s, yet he had swallowed the Black Sun Demon Heart, proactively accepting the primordial qilin¡¯s will and power, so it was even more difficult for him to resist this influence.

    ¡°Heh, what a hopeless situation!¡± Li Qingshan laughed self-deprecatingly.

    The only thing he could rely on now, the dwelling by the name of the ¡°Demon domain¡±, was constantly twisting him, granting him power while also making him ill.

    Under this situation, just how feeble were the hopes of rapidly increasing his cultivation?

    That was unless he was willing to completely abandon the other transformations.

    By then, without the shackles from the other transformations of the demonic and divine, he could use the Qilin¡¯s Conventions of Longevity as his foundation, the entire Qilin Paradise as his resource, and the core laws of the Qilin Paradise as his path. With that, Merging the Void with the Dao would no longer be anything difficult.

    That was a tremendous opportunity, an opportunity to become a Great Sage.

    But the only issue was by then, was it Li Qingshan or the primordial qilin that became the Great Sage?

    The primordial qilin had perished, but it had never completely died. Its will permeated the entirety of Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain and right now, the two were merging back together.

    If Li Qingshan abandoned the other transformations of the demonic and divine and only practised the Qilin Transformation, he would probably rapidly merge with the primordial qilin¡¯s will.

    Perhaps at a certain point, the primordial qilin would be reborn.

    Now that would be fun!

    Li Qingshan was not exactly afraid of death, but the primordial qilin walked the path of nature. Why would it care about some brother ox or some heavenly emperor? After that, it would take back all of its scattered power¡ªin other words, Sukh¨¡vat¨© and the Demon domain. Who the hell cared if you were good or bad? All of you had to die!

    Li Qingshan would be committing suicide on the spot and his two oaths would both fall through.

    Hold on, there¡¯s actually this trick too! Li Qingshan suddenly understood something and began laughing. ¡°No wonder they wanted to enlist me and make peace! So they¡¯re afraid of this!¡±

    During the Battle of Mending Heaven, the primordial qilin turned its back on the path of nature and chose to fight for N¨¹wa, slain by Fuxi¡¯s lightning in the end. However, when it died, it did not look towards Fuxi, but N¨¹wa.

    Even from eons away, Li Qingshan could still sense the concern contained within its gaze.

    If the primordial qilin was reborn in Li Qingshan, then the situation would be completely rewritten, not just because of its strength, but also because it was very likely for it to try and awaken N¨¹wa.

    Once N¨¹wa was awoken, all the emperors could only drop to their knees and cry for their mothers, hoping that she would be as compassionate to them as she had been with the humans.

    That was not even the worst part. N¨¹wa and Fuxi were both born from yin and yang, so once N¨¹wa was awoken, Fuxi would probably wake up too. Just like that, the gods and buddhas would not be facing some crisis of the world, but a continuation of the Battle of Mending Heaven!

    What crisis of the world? By then, it would only be a small scuffle. They had fought for so long and not a single existence that had Merged the Void with the Dao had perished.

    Mum and dad will show you what a fight is! All of the gods and buddhas would split into two groups and prepare for war.

    Of course, mum and dad definitely would not be able to kill each other, but these ¡°damned children¡± would cover the ground with their corpses.

    What ¡°Merging the Void with the Dao¡±? What ¡°undying and indestructible¡±¡¯? You better watch whether our mum can finish it all just by twisting off your head!

    Of course, this was all Li Qingshan¡¯s guesses. Any part of it could go wrong in the process, but the question was whether these emperors were willing to take this risk or not.

    The answer was probably no, which was why they chose to enlist him rather than to make war!

    Perhaps in the eyes of the gods and buddhas, Li Qingshan already had a foot in the grave. They needed to get him out of the Demon domain to benefit both parties.

    Li Qingshan obviously wanted to live on and fulfill his oath. If he had another choice, he would not consider this path.

    But now, he finally cheered up, as he had finally found a way to drag the enemy down with him. Once his clone made it to beyond the Nine Heavens, perhaps he could even use this as a bargaining chip and negotiate a little, buying him some more time.

    At the same time, Li Qingshan¡¯s clone was already extremely close to the Primordial World. He gradually made out the green land beneath the white clouds. The sun and moon also grew brighter and brighter, competing against one another yet also coexisting harmoniously.

    The information he received became clearer and clearer, richer and richer too¡­

    All of his comprehensions and cultivation was for the sake of connecting with the nature of the world, yet right now, the true appearance of the world was clearly laid out before him.

    The way the trichiliocosm operates is virtually identical, as they¡¯re all emulating the Primordial World. The small world in me is no different!

    After such a long journey, Li Qingshan finally gained a full appreciation for just how ambitious and great of a creation the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine were!

    So the transformations aren¡¯t equal. Two of the transformations surpass all other transformations, serving as the foundation of all transformations, which are the Divine Dragon Transformation and Snake Demon Transformation I comprehended recently!

    The two transformations were still very weak, only manifesting as two dim halos in the small world. If he did not pay special attention to them, he might have even missed them.

    However, Li Qingshan discovered that the Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation had never been oppressed by the Qilin Transformation. Instead, they oppressed one another and restrained one another.

    No matter how the trees and grass flourished, how could they touch the sun and moon?

    This is the answer to all of my internal problems! Perhaps this is also the answer that ¡°they¡± wanted me to find.

 Chapter 1673

    In the small world, the sun and moon were like Fuxi and N¨¹wa, standing above all the other transformations, with only one another in their eyes.

    The Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation did not represent ordinary dragons and snakes, but the dragon of Fuxi and the snake of N¨¹wa, which was also the sun and moon, yang and yin.

    Yin and yang was the source of all transformations, the source of all laws.

    Buddhism liked to talk about the idea of karma, the idea of actions and consequences, cause and effect. Yin and yang was the cause of everything.

    As a result, none of the transformations were able to influence yin and yang, just like how people could not change the past.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan thought of the Taiji diagram. It was said the ancestor of daoism created it and it was extremely profound, but you could find it all over the streets in his past life.

    Only now did he discover that the Dao was simple. It was not that profound. The answers to many questions had been laid out before his eyes a long time ago. He just never possessed the ability to interpret them.

    At that moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s mind was very clear. If he could grasp the Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation, then he would have grasped the crux of the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine. He could use them to influence the other transformations, which obviously included the Qilin Transformation.

    As a result, Li Qingshan began to circulate the Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation simultaneously. The sun and moon in the small world immediately shone brightly.

    But Li Qingshan then frowned. Just this isn¡¯t enough!

    He visualised the Taiji diagram for a little longer before he abruptly thought of something. He tried controlling the Divine Dragon Transformation according to the cultivation method of the Snake Demon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation according to the cultivation method of the Divine Dragon Transformation.

    This novel is available on bit.ly/3Tfs4P4.

    At that moment, it was as if he had pressed down a secret start button to a colossal and complicated machine.

    Li QIngshan smiled. He had truly comprehended the cultivation methods of the Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation.

    Yin and yang served as the cause of everything, but what if someone continued to ask what created yin and yang?

    Yin served as the ¡°cause¡± of yang and yang served as the ¡°cause¡± of yin.

    So this is the true meaning behind ¡°mending heaven¡±. Empress N¨¹wa could not defeat Fuxi, but she could eliminate the ¡°cause¡± of Fuxi¡¯s existence, which was herself.

    Beyond the Nine Heavens, Li Qingshan gazed up at the moon and prayed. Hopefully, all the humans in the world will know of your grace one day. Hopefully, I can awaken you through my own powers, yeah, under the circumstances of not disturbing him too! If I can ever be reborn, please bless me again! As my mother.

    The moon hung beyond the Nine Heavens, operating quietly and shining silently like it had sensed nothing at all.

    However, Li Qingshan felt strangely content after praying.

    Afterwards, like a serious primary school student, he observed how the true sun and moon beyond the Nine Heavens operated as he deduced the pattern that the moon and sun in his small world followed.

    Hmm?

    Li Qingshan was rather surprised. Originally, he wanted to use the Divine Dragon Transformation and Snake Demon Transformation to restrain the Qilin Transformation, but as the sun and moon circulated, the sun began to rise and the moon began to sink. The small world seemed to enter a state akin to morning.

    Under the morning light, the trees and grasses flourished. Not only did the Qilin Transformation face no restraint, but it became even stronger than before, overwhelming the other transformations even more viciously.

    When the red sun turned white, entering the late morning, the small world basically seemed like it had sprung alive. Every single tree and grass grew wildly, spreading their branches and leaves, covering one another and entwining together, constantly growing taller like they were trying to swallow the sun. They occupied every bit of space and fought over every beam of sunlight wildly.

    Under these circumstances, the other transformations basically could not exist at all apart from the Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation that were completely unaffected. They completely relied on Li Qingshan¡¯s efforts to cling on barely. If this continued, probably even the small world would collapse.

    Li Qingshan made up his mind and mobilised the Divine Dragon Transformation at full strength.

    Immediately, the sun rose to its zenith and filled the world with light.

    The sunlight scorched like fire and pierced like spears, reaching everywhere with its acuteness. The plants that grew wildly all wilted. Their vitality seemed to be exhausted too from all the growth, such that they could not recover without a good moment.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Sure enough!

    The Divine Dragon Transformation and the Snake Demon Transformation could influence all transformations. This influence was neutral in nature. It could be both beneficial and detrimental.

    As the strongest transformation so far, the Qilin Transformation benefitted the most, which was why the plants grew so wildly. But on the other hand, it also suffered from the greatest detriment.

    Yin emerged from the extremes of yang. At this moment, the lurking ¡°snake demon¡± began to unfurl.

    Noon lasted for a good while. The scorching sun left the canopy of the entire rainforest a wilted-yellow.

    When the sun gradually sank into the west, turning into a red setting sun and sending the small world into dusk, the rainforest finally got the opportunity to catch its breath, dyeing the blanket of wilted-yellow back to green through its unending vitality.

    A moon rose into the sky. The moonlight poured down like water, soaking the rainforest.

    As the moon grew higher and higher, the moonlight grew colder and colder. The growth speed of the plants gradually slowed until they finally stopped.

    Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. He also sensed the ox demon, tiger demon, spirit turtle¡­ all let out a sigh of relief too.

    This was the first time the plants in the small world had stopped growing since he became a god. To him right now, it was basically like a miracle.

    After becoming a god, he had once used the Cycle of Life and Growth to smother a true god of the thunder department to death. Only when he became a victim of it as well did he truly understand the terrors of the move.

    By now, he had already grasped the pattern under which the sun and moon operated.

    In the blink of an eye, the moonlight faded away in the small world and morning arrived. Only then did the plants completely recover their vitality, beginning a new round of wild growth, wilting and recovery under the glow of the sun.

    The sun and moon moved faster and faster, while the dense rainforest became a little sparser, exposing a small clearing and a small stream. But instead of calling that suppression, it was better described as following the laws of nature at an even deeper level.

    However, not only did this process take a great toll on the mind, but it also took a great toll on his physical energy too.

    The small world had only experienced a few dozen days and nights, yet all of Li Qingshan¡¯s powers had basically been exhausted.

    The path of cultivation did not just require comprehension, but also resources.

    However, as the lord of the Demon domain, the boundless Demon domain served as his granary of resources.

    The demonfolk worshipping the divine mountain saw wisps of colourful light gather towards the crater of the volcano. This was a manifestation of spiritual qi when it reached a critical density. The denser the spiritual qi, the brighter it became. It turned the sky full of dark clouds into a jade-green colour, transforming it into a sea of light.

    The mighty, frosty volcano was originally all black, devoid of any life. However, as the spiritual qi gathered there, numerous plants emerged from the cracks in the rock. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a furry green mountain.

    It was quite obvious that even if the volcano erupted another ten thousand times, it would not be able to completely end these tiny lives. As long as the great volcano experienced a lapse in its eruptions, they would continue to grow endlessly.

    Confronted with such a miracle, the demonfolk all dropped to the ground. Flattered, they all shed tears of gratitude.

    This was no longer just an answer to them from their god. It was basically their god smiling at them.

    Since time immemorial, the demonic heavens had only ever demonstrated wickedness and brutality, madness and twistedness towards the demonfolk. Since when did it demonstrate such kindness?

    Even the demonfolk that believed in Li Qingshan the most were only bold enough to pray for power and revenge and not kindness like this.

    At that moment, even if Li Qingshan ordered them to attack the Demon Gods they originally worshipped, they would not hesitate at all.

 Chapter 1674

    The light burned in the sky like aurorae.

    In the great volcano, Li Qingshan shut his eyes and raised his head, taking in a deep breath.

    Immediately, the sky full of light gushed into the crater like a tipping ocean.

    Li Qingshan sucked in the surging spiritual qi like a whale. His belly immediately swelled up as if it was about to burst from all the spiritual qi.

    That breath of spiritual qi was enough to turn a mortal into a Human Immortal. Li Qingshan¡¯s almost exhausted powers were immediately replenished, and the circulation of the sun and moon in the small world accelerated once again. Even his mind cleared up.

    Then Li Qingshan extended his hand and pressed down on his belly. It immediately flattened again, except calm, green light continued to glow beneath his skin.

    The spiritual qi from that breath was far too abundant, so abundant to a point where even he struggled to digest all of it slightly as a True Immortal. As such, he used the great strength of the ox demon to forcefully compress the spiritual qi into the small world in his body. It was actually compressed into a solid, forming a crystal that shone with resplendent green light.

    Whoosh¡ª

    Li Qingshan exhaled and immediately began to suck in another deep breath. His belly bulged once more before being flattened again.

    With each breath, a tremendous amount of spiritual qi was channelled into his body, but the sea of light in the sky showed no signs of dimming or growing thinner. Instead, it only became denser and brighter.

    The green glow under his skin grew brighter and brighter until it swallowed him completely, turning him into a pure ball of light. He was like a green planet that had fallen into the volcanic crater.

    The inhales and exhales rang out endlessly. Wherever the green light reached, thousands of plants grew wildly, oozing out from the volcano. Even the lava and sea of fire surged with countless plants, most of which were rapidly swallowed and incinerated by the flames.

    However, there were some plants that actually grew even better in the lava. One of them even bloomed with gorgeous flowers that were as red as blood.

    Even Li Qingshan could not help but glance at it. His eyes shone with resplendent, jade-green light.

    As if it had sensed his grace and encouragement, that variety immediately began to spread, occupying the entire lava pool and turning it into a sea of flowers. It gave off a dense fragrance with the smell of sulphur.

    No!

    In the sea of flowers, Li Qingshan suddenly shook his head and stopped gathering spiritual qi.

    With a spurt, he plunged his right hand into his body like a blade, pulling out a bloody, jade-green crystal.

    The sun and moon had become much brighter in the small world. The Divine Dragon Transformation and Snake Demon Transformation had grown substantially, but the rainforest grew more vigorously too. The Qilin Transformation had become even more lively.

    Two forms of powers that negated one another were completely incapable of recovering balance in the small world.

    Before he knew it, Li Qingshan even felt like he conformed a little more with the Dao. This was an experience that all True Immortals dreamed of, but it was like a curse that hastened his death to him.

    The spiritual qi of the Demon domain was not pure. It contained the aura of the primordial qilin. He was aware of this, but there was no such thing as absolutely pure spiritual qi in the world. The paths of cultivation that demonfolk took came in all shapes and forms too. They were not limited to the primordial qilin¡¯s path of nature.

    However, Li Qingshan did not gather the tremendous amount of spiritual qi through the methods of regular True Immortals, but through his authority as the lord of the world, which was also the world¡¯s ¡°will of the heavens¡±, the primordial qilin¡¯s will. He would unconsciously gather the aura that belonged to the primordial qilin too.

    If he continued cultivating like this, the primordial qilin would probably be reborn before long.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s cultivation had only just begun, yet it encountered an impasse.

    With the shifting divine will, the sea of light in the sky suddenly collapsed, spreading through the mountains and the land like a flood.

    Wherever the light passed by, it was as if the qilin had passed by those places itself. Countless plants burst out from the earth, like a green carpet of plants was being unrolled away from the volcano. In the blink of an eye, it covered the bleak mountains and earth.

    Beyond the mountain, an elder demonfolk madly smashed his head against the ground, towards the divine mountain. He was filled with devotion, but his expression seemed extremely twisted.

    Suddenly, he became stunned. The earth between his hands became covered in lush grass and a few wild flowers bloomed, swaying in the wind.

    Before he knew it, the injuries on his forehead had healed and his blood stopped flowing. Even some of the grey hair on his head had vanished. All of his pain and exhaustion disappeared. He had never felt so peaceful inside.

    He thought he had understood the will of the god, cupping the wild flowers as he murmured, ¡°The god wants me to live¡­¡±

    Just like the flowers that bloomed in the lava, the demonfolk that worshipped the mountain all sensed some kind of ¡°blessing¡±. Not only did their lifespans lengthen and their cultivations increase, but even their dispositions improved.

    Meanwhile, Li Qingshan had not even spared a glance at them.

    He attempted it without using his authority as the lord of the world. He could reduce the influence of the primordial qilin, but the rate at which he gathered spiritual qi was far too slow.

    To a True Immortal, the optimal place of cultivation was the Primordial World. After that was the Human realm or the Daemonic Beast realm, but unless he Merged the Void with the Dao, he could not even set foot outdoors.

    If that¡¯s the case, then only this path remains!

    Li Qingshan sat in the sea of flowers with his long, black hair draped to the ground. His expression was extremely calm, but his pitch-black eyes were filled with determination.

    Gradually, red light lit up in his eyes; the oceanic prayers, worship, venting, and wails rang out in his ears. His heart surged with endless pain, fury, hatred, sorrow¡­

    Apart from the lord of the Demon domain, he possessed another identity, the god of the demonfolk.

    With the construction of the temples and the establishment of the statues, the power of belief from billions of demonfolk constantly gathered towards him.

    At this moment, he was converting all of this power of belief into spiritual qi, sending it into the small world.

    This was probably the purest spiritual qi there was in the world. It conformed to none of the Dao, devoid of any attributes.

    The sun and moon revolved, growing bright and brighter. The plants flourished, but they stopped growing wildly.

    The small world finally began to approach a state of balance.

    Then what was the price?

    Li Qingshan dropped down to his knees and punched the ground.

    Boom!

    The mountains shook and the great volcano erupted with unprecedented intensity. The scorching-hot lava swallowed all of the plants on the mountain. The black plumes reached straight for the sky.

    He ground his bright, white teeth as his eyes shone with fervent red light. He felt the slight urge to abandon the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, venture to beyond the fucking Nine Heavens, and directly turn into the primordial qilin so that he could end all of this.

    Compared to struggling within the mud, he was better off perishing together with them!

    His rational side told him that this was not his true thoughts. The pain and hatred of billions of demonfolk prompted him on and erupted in the bottom of his heart. The demonfolk were willing to perish together with any god, whether it was buddhism or the heavenly palace. They hoped they could destroy everything.

    If he wanted to use the power of belief as a resource, then that would be swallowing all of the pain and hatred of the demonfolk. None of the tortures of hell could compare to it, as no matter how intense the pain was, it could only torment a single person. Meanwhile, cultivation like this was equivalent to shoving the pain of countless people into a single person¡¯s heart.

    That was not something he should have done. There were no gods that would have done that. They would only use the power of belief as a weapon. No one would crush through swords and blades and eat them.

    However, this was his only choice.

    Between the long, black hair, a voice rang out.

    ¡°Hehe, how satisfying!¡±

 Chapter 1675

    8-10 minutes 06.12.2022

    Beyond the Nine Heavens.

    ¡°Little bro, have you ever been to the heavens?¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes asked.

    Li Qingshan shook his head. ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    The colourful, auspicious cloud was like a small boat, carrying them through the endless darkness.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes wanted to ask something else, but he did not end up doing that.

    Li Qingshan stared at the sun and moon with focus, comprehending the pattern that they followed and said nothing more either.

    For a moment, the ¡°small boat¡± sank into silence. The dark stillness slowly emanated over, seeping into all of their pores and making it even more difficult to speak up. It was as if they would be disturbing two primordial gods the moment they said anything. After that, everything would be remoulded, including themselves.

    The sun and moon grew larger and brighter until it reached an unbelievable level. It made the colourful cloud seem even more insignificant, like a speck of dust on the black curtains.

    Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo had never heard of the Battle of Mending Heaven before, and they did not understand the true form of the sun and moon. However, they could clearly feel a powerful and invisible pressure, even grander and more ungraspable than the heavenly emperor¡¯s might.

    Perhaps due to the nature of humans, when Li Liehuo saw Li Qingshan stare into the moon for so long with a strange expression, like he was looking at a living thing or even family, he could not help but observe the moon closely as well.

    In the beginning, the moon was only a moon¡­

    Afterwards, the moon became rather strange¡­

    And after that, Li Liehuo¡¯s bronze skin gradually turned pale-white and transparent like the moonlight¡­

    ¡°Disciple.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes patted Li Liehuo¡¯s back and warned with a smile. ¡°Do not stare into the sun or moon!¡±

    ¡°Huh!?¡±

    Li Liehuo shuddered and suddenly returned to his senses, staggering back by half a step and almost falling back on his bottom. He discovered that in just that short while, the fire in his Origin Soul had already become an ember in the wind. If he stared at it for a little longer, he might have died from staring at the moon.

    But he clearly felt like he had only taken a few extra glances.

    He was soaked in cold sweat as if he had just jerked away from a nightmare. He cursed inside, What kind of damned place is beyond the Nine Heavens!?

    Chao Tianjiao smiled. ¡°First senior brother, if you feel cold, you¡¯re welcome to stare at the sun and warm up a little.¡±

    She clearly knew the rules of the heavens, so she stared at the Primordial World the entire time, using that as an anchor point. She would glance at Li Qingshan from time to time, but she would never directly stare at the sun or moon.

    In her knowledge, even True Immortals faced the risk of dying if they got too close to the sun or the moon.

    As he cultivated, Li Qingshan also smiled.

    The auspicious cloud immediately became lively, except Li Liehuo felt a little depressed. He had gone through several thousand years of cultivation and finally became a Human Immortal, a divine general, yet he could not even look at the moon. Wouldn¡¯t that mean he would not even be able to raise his head once he arrived in the Primordial World?

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes seemed to read his thoughts. He comforted him. ¡°Disciple Liehuo, you can look at them once you get there.¡±

    Li Liehuo was very tempted to ask why, but under his various emotions, he decided against that.

    ¡°Li Liehuo.¡± Li Qingshan stared at the moon and asked without looking back, ¡°Do you know what the moon is?¡±

    Li Liehuo was surprised. He never expected Li Qingshan to strike up a conversation with him. He felt like there was a certain strangeness to Li Qingshan¡¯s question, so he answered with a question, ¡°Isn¡¯t the moon the moon? What else can it be?¡±

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    Li Qingshan turned around and said seriously, ¡°Your mother.¡±

    ¡°Motherfucker! Li Qingshan!

    Li Liehuo flew into a rage. Flames burned in his eyes. He suddenly took a step forward and threw a punch at Li Qingshan¡¯s wretched face.

    He had suffered far too much insult today. He no longer cared whether Li Qingshan was a true god or an honoured guest of the heavenly emperor anymore. He wanted to fight him.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes did not try to stop him either, taking half a step back with a smile.

    Li Qingshan seemed to anticipate Li Liehuo¡¯s actions, so he tilted his head slightly and easily avoided the punch. Then he continued to ask, ¡°Have you ever heard of N¨¹wa creating humanity?¡±

    With that, Li Qingshan held his breath as if he was waiting for something.

    Immediately, a solemn atmosphere began to radiate from him, making Li Liehuo¡¯s punch freeze mid-air. He gazed at Li Qingshan hesitantly, no longer certain whether he was toying with him or not.

    Li Qingshan smiled. Sure enough, the dark night was just as silent as before. No lightning fell.

    This was not merely a joke or an attempt to spread N¨¹wa¡¯s kindness. He was investigating the space here. It was very likely for this place to end up as a battlefield. 4887

    And as he had expected, special ¡°natural phenomena¡± like heavenly tribulations were unable to unleash their might in this space.

    If ¡°lightning¡± was Fuxi¡¯s authority, then the darkness was N¨¹wa¡¯s domain.

    This meant that if he Merged the Void with the Dao in this space, it probably would not trigger the eighth heavenly tribulation. However, being directly exposed to the glow of the sun and moon would probably be even more dangerous than facing the heavenly tribulation.

    That was only his secondary objective. His primary objective was to cast out his greatest gambling chip in this journey¡ª¡±wake up mum¡±.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, stop with the nonsense! Humans are the paragon of creatures. How can they be created by others?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao shouted suddenly, except her large eyes were filled with anticipation. She had heard far too many secrets today, so it was fine if she heard some more. This was not just to satiate her curiosity, but also to accumulate comprehension for cultivation.

    ¡°Tianjiao!¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes shot a glance at her. He became stern the moment he heard N¨¹wa¡¯s name and subconsciously tidied his appearance. He could talk about the decline of the Shennong tribe freely, but he had to maintain some respect for ¡°her¡±.

    Then he said to Li Qingshan earnestly, ¡°Do you really insist so much on opposing us? Just what benefit would you get out of this?¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled. Very good. The opponent had accepted this move of his.

    This was not pointless chatter along the way, but an actual attempt at deterrence.

    Very clearly, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes understood the significance involved as an envoy of the heavenly emperor.

    ¡°Heh, as someone¡¯s child, isn¡¯t it lamentable if you can¡¯t even mention your mother¡¯s name?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced deeply at the Elder of Heavenly Tomes before turning to the others and describing the history of the Battle of Mending Heaven¡­

    Originally, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance spent the entire trip fiddling around with his Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, but now, he had rolled up the painting in a hurry, listening along with his full attention. Blue light flickered in his eyes as he fervently recorded, analysed, and deduced everything¡­

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao were both dumbfounded. The sun and moon were actually living existences, and they were existences even greater than the heavenly emperor! Humanity actually possessed such origins, and they had almost been eradicated!

    Then Li Qingshan explained to Li Liehuo, ¡°The myriad paths are all closely connected to yin and yang. The path you walk approaches extreme yang, so you need to draw in a certain amount of yin for balance. However, if yin flares and yang declines, then your fire will be extinguished. That is why you can¡¯t stare into the moon¡­¡±

    ¡°But if you stare into the sun, you¡¯ll burst into flames with a whoosh. Yin emerges from the extremes of yang. Yeah, once you get to the Primordial World, yin and yang would have melded together, so it wouldn¡¯t matter anymore.¡±

    Not only was Li Liehuo greatly inspired by those words, but even Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes lit up as if she had realised something.

    Li Liehuo asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that my cultivation will progress drastically and I¡¯ll turn into a threat against you?¡±

    ¡°Just you?¡± Li Qingshan laughed rudely and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°You better go cultivate for another ten millennia!¡±

    However, Li Liehuo did not become angered. Instead, he felt a strange sensation. Li Qingshan is still that Li Qingshan!

 Chapter 1676

    In the past, when Li Qingshan first joined the Myriad sect, both his status and cultivation came nowhere close to Li Liehuo, except he refused to accept his great offer¡ªobediently give up on the Xuanming dwelling. He would rather take on a punch from him and almost die.

    Back then, Li Liehuo only thought he was a madman and a reckless fool, someone who would probably end up dead sooner or later.

    Today, the situation had been reversed.

    In terms of status, not only was Li Qingshan the lord of the Demon domain, presiding over the tremendous territory with even the twelve Demon Gods bowing down to him, but he had also become an honoured guest of the heavenly emperor. He had the opportunity to take a step further and establish his own heavenly palace, becoming an emperor himself.

    In terms of cultivation, Li Qingshan had already become a True Immortal, and he was born for the tribulation, which offered him great opportunities. Merging the Void with the Dao was not beyond reach.

    Meanwhile, Li Liehuo was merely a divine general of the heavenly palace. Any random monster that Li Qingshan summoned from the Demon domain could finish off a Human Immortal like him.

    A tremendous difference already existed between their status and cultivation. Faced with a Li Qingshan like that, even Li Liehuo could not help but develop a hint of reverence. He completely relied on his familiarity with him to restrain the growth of this emotion.

    However, Li Qingshan did not seem to realise he had changed like that. What he said today was something he would have said in the past. What he did today was also something he would have done in the past.

    Even when Li Qingshan was enlisted to Black Cloud city, he was still bold enough to openly mock their captain, Li Liehuo, within the headquarters of the Scorching Fire army, even almost making him resign.

    The wretched parts of this kid have never changed!

    Li Liehuo vaguely understood why the soldiers in the army revered him so much. Being able to fight alongside this person is indeed one of the great joys of life!

    The sudden thought even frightened himself, dismissing this crazy idea in a hurry. He was a mighty divine general of the heavenly palace. Why would he abandon such a great future and go off to die with Li Qingshan?

    I have to work hard on cultivation and advance valiantly so that I become an existence that can threaten you! Li Liehuo thought before smiling wryly.

    He wondered whether he was a little lowly in status. The heavenly emperor had not even looked at him, and he felt deeply oppressed and humiliated. Meanwhile, Li Qingshan openly mocked him and he instead felt spirited and invigorated.

    At this moment, the Primordial World had already arrived before their eyes. The white clouds and oceans filled their vision.

    Li Liehuo¡¯s great aspirations that had just taken shape turned into confusion again.

    The world was so vast, yet also so tiny.

    Trapped in a furnace, how could fire burn to its heart¡¯s content?

    Yet as a divine general, probably his greatest hopes were to never appear before Li Qingshan! Otherwise, his ¡°great future¡± would probably end then and there.

    Everyone had their own schemes and calculations, obsessions and struggles. Even after earning the title of ¡°immortal¡±, they were unable to completely break free from them.

    Li Qingshan had no idea that he had set off so many thoughts and emotions in Li Liehuo. He paid close attention to the terrain of the Primordial World, finding it familiar.

    Suddenly, Li Qingshan thought of something and abruptly turned upside down. The Primordial World in his eyes was immediately turned around.

    His eyes lit up as he realised something, but he felt extremely puzzled inside.

    Because¡­

    It¡¯s almost identical!

    The Primordial World was composed of two continents. One of them was almost identical to the land he had lived in in his past life.

    Whether it was the rough outline of the coast or the overall terrain of being raised in the west and flat in the east, it all brought him a very deep impression.

    Perhaps that was merely a coincidence, but the rising and falling mountains, the raging rivers and the expanse of plans regularly matched up with the memories from his past life too. That could not be a coincidence.

    There were even many places that he had visited in his past life.

    However, there were many differences too.

    For example, the ¼¸-shaped river that almost crossed the entire continent was clearly visible even from such an altitude, so who knew how many times wider it actually was.

    Compared to the Primordial World, the land he once lived on was like a shrunken version of it. And, it seemed to still be in the process of taking shape, carelessly excluding many details, such that only a rough outline remained.

    It was like a familiar-looking stranger. It was truly extremely strange.

    There must be an explanation for this! Li Qingshan thought inside.

    At this moment, a head suddenly appeared beside him. He was startled, only to discover that the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had also turned upside down like him to observe the Primordial World.

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao looked at each other. When Li Qingshan stood upside down, they were both puzzled and slightly tempted to try it. After all, they had just heard many secrets from him. Perhaps there was some meaning to standing upside down as well, allowing them to see something different.

    Li Liehuo was even a little worried that standing upside down was required for entering the Primordial World. He was worried about breaking the rules of the heavens and making a fool out of himself for nothing again, earning the mockery of others.

    However, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes was watching right on the side. The kid¡¯s behaviour had always been bizarre, so perhaps he was toying with them again, wanting to damage their prestige and image as divine generals of the heavenly palace.

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    However, they did not expect the Elder of Heavenly Tomes to suddenly stand upside down as well.

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao exchanged glances and immediately made up their minds, standing upside down as well. They furrowed their brows as they closely observed the flipped Primordial World, but they failed to find anything special.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance was focused on deducing the true history of the world, so in a daze, eight legs suddenly appeared beside him. His desire for knowledge impelled him, immediately standing upside down as well.

    As a result, ten legs slowly flew towards the Primordial World on the colourful cloud.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Li Qingshan asked the Elder of Heavenly Tomes.

    ¡°What are you doing, little bro?¡± the Elder of Heavenly Tomes asked back.

    ¡°Observing,¡± Li Qingshan said indifferently. He obviously refused to divulge his origins.

    ¡°Observing what?¡± the Elder of Heavenly Tomes then asked. Li Liehuo and the others all gave him their full attention.

    ¡°The Primordial World obviously, just from a different angle.¡± Li Qingshan raised his hand and dug his ear with his little finger.

    ¡°How about this?¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes formed a seal with his fingers, and the colourful cloud immediately turned around.

    In this wondrous world of darkness, there had never been any concept of up or down.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°Who told you to do something so pointless?¡±

    ¡°Damn you!¡± Chao Tianjiao cursed and immediately stopped standing upside down. This kid was just out to toy with them. Li Liehuo let out a laugh and also stood up straight.

    Only the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance continued to observe with his eyebrows furrowed like he was trying to deduce something.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes supported himself with a hand as he stroked his beard gently. He said mysteriously, ¡°Have you really never been to the heavens, little bro?¡±

    Li Qingshan glanced at him deeply and replied seriously, ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Since you haven¡¯t, then I ought to live up to my role as the host.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes began to introduce while upside down, ¡°It¡¯s said that the Primordial World was originally just a single continent. After experiencing what you called the Battle of Mending Heaven, it was split into four pieces, which were known as the four continents of the east, south, west, and north.¡±

    ¡°They were Uttarakuru of the east, Jambudvipa of the south, Aparagodaniya of the west, and Purvavideha of the north. Afterwards, after many more crises and the lack of the two you spoke about to keep this world together, Jambudvipa of the south and Purvavideha of the north shattered and scattered beyond the heavens, turning into the trichiliocosm and the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. Now, only Uttarakuru of the east and Aparagodaniya of the west remain.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s heart was perturbed. His past and present life merged together, legends and history interwove, and reality and dreams melded together.

    The Primordial World was here.

 Chapter 1677

    The sky gradually lit up. A smear of dark-blue appeared in the endless darkness.

    Li Qingshan adjusted his posture and stood up properly again, gazing at the sky¡ªhe could vaguely see a few stars light up, giving off a dim glow.

    These stars all varied in coloured. Who knew how far away they were. However, Li Qingshan found them to be extremely similar, feeling some kind of strange connection that ignored the distance between them.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes stood up straight as well, raising his hand and pointing at the stars in the sky. ¡°If you¡¯ve never come to the heavens, then you¡¯ve probably never seen these stars either, little bro.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Please elaborate.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes pointed at them one by one and explained, ¡°These stars are called the Hell star, the Human star, the Hungry Ghost star, the Asura star, ah, and the Heaven star and the Daemonic Beast star, but they¡¯ve been blocked by the Primordial World. Together, they¡¯re commonly known as the ¡®six realms of sa?s¨¡ra¡¯.¡±

    Li Qingshan could not help but sigh. He had always thought the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra were extremely special existences. As it turned out, they were no different from the World of the Nine Provinces.

    With this trip to the Nine Heavens, the ¡°sun¡± and ¡°moon¡± he originally believed to be nothing special had now become extremely wondrous, while the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra he originally believed to be extremely wondrous had instead become ordinary.

    However, they brought new questions. Just how could six unrelated worlds be merged into the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra? Why did regular worlds not bear that special characteristic? As a result, he voiced these questions to the Elder of Heavenly Tomes.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes replied with a question, ¡°Do you know what the difference between the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm are?¡±

    Li Qingshan furrowed his brows slightly, struggling to come up with an answer. There were countless differences between the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the trichiliocosm.

    For example, not only were the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra connected to one another, but they were also connected to the trichiliocosm.

    In the Human realm, it was possible to see the stars that represented the trichiliocosm, but it was not possible in the trichiliocosm.

    And, each of the six realms possessed extremely distinct characteristics. Apart from the Human realm and Daemonic Beast realm, finding any similarities between them and the trichiliocosm was quite a difficult task.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°You must have thought of many differences, but those are all just appearances. When it comes to their very nature, there¡¯s only one difference¡­¡±

    Chao Tianjiao urged him. ¡°Master, stop making us beat around the bush and tell us already!¡± It was probably something connected to the ancient times, something that the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had never elaborated on. But now that this trip was approaching its destination, they would probably never get the opportunity to hear it if they did not now.

    This novel is available on bit.ly/3Tfs4P4.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled and gave an answer. ¡°That is, they¡¯re big!¡±

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°Oi, who doesn¡¯t know that? What kind of a difference is that supposed to be?¡±

    ¡°Now this is something you don¡¯t understand, Tianjiao.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes glanced at Li Qingshan. ¡°This little bro must have understood already.¡±

    Li Qingshan was in thought. The Human realm and the Primordial realm were extremely far apart, yet they had reached it so quickly. He did not sense the Elder of Heavenly Tomes use any strange technique either.

    Of course, since even the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra could connect with the trichiliocosm, there was nothing strange about the Primordial World possessing this special characteristic either as the origin of all worlds.

    Perhaps in other words, the Primordial World was the origin of this special characteristic.

    Ever since he became the lord of the Demon domain, he could vaguely sense the existence of other worlds. As long as he wanted to, he could open demon caverns and enter a world that demonfolk had yet to set foot in, triggering a new war.

    Now that he thought about it, demon caverns sure were a mystical thing. They could connect two worlds that were billions of kilometres away from one another. If he were to travel between them in outer space, even with the power of the kunpeng, it would probably take a lot of time and effort.

    No matter how wondrous techniques and abilities were, they could not be unleashed in air. They relied on the laws.

    Demon caverns could be opened so easily because the Demon domain was like the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra. It itself possessed a very deep connection with other worlds.

    The source of this connection was that all worlds were originally one entity. Even when they had shattered and dispersed in the endless space, the connection between them would not be severed.

    Suddenly, he looked towards the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. ¡°You mean the ¡®bigger¡¯ a world is, the closer it is to the Primordial World. Once the similarities reach a certain level, it will lead to a change and exhibit the special characteristic of the Primordial World¡ªconnected with all the worlds!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes nodded in admiration. ¡°Ruin¡¯s End is no different, which is why there exists the saying that all water flows to Ruin¡¯s End.¡± He abruptly changed the topic. ¡°Of course, your Demon domain is large enough too, or how else would demonfolk be able to invade other worlds?¡±

    Li Qingshan ignored the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ mocking remark and further deduced. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for the influence of the true sun and moon, we would have entered the Primordial World the moment we left the Human realm. It would be as easy as entering the Demon domain from the Human realm.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°No, it should be even easier than that.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood what was going on. ¡°The connection is mutual. The connection between the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra and the Primordial World far surpasses their connection with the trichiliocosm. The stars are actually the glow of spiritual qi emitted by a world, while the glow from the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra is all absorbed by the Primordial World, which is why it¡¯s only possible to see them from here.¡±

    At this moment, the stars representing the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra grew even brighter, such that no other stars could rival them.

    A blue star that was extremely easy to miss silently lit up. Li Qingshan immediately guessed that it was Ruin¡¯s End. The Mountain-moving Great Sage was trapped there.

    However, he searched around carefully again, but he did not find the Demon domain or Sukh¨¡vat¨©. Were they blocked by the Primordial World?

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°Stop looking around. The world honoured one split the pure land and the demonic land into two. The spiritual qi mutually destroys one another, so it¡¯s very difficult to distinguish it from the darkness.¡±

    Li Qingshan pursed his lips. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to see it clearly before long.¡±

    ¡°Hah, when that day really comes, the bodhisattvas are probably going to stamp their feet!¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes squinted his eyes in an spiteful manner. ¡°Little bro, you sure aren¡¯t afraid of offending people!¡±

    Listening up to there, Li Liehuo immediately decided that he would draw a line between him and Li Qingshan, forever!

    Chao Tianjiao also studied Li Qingshan. Truly a man who¡¯s caught my eye. Not only is he opposing the emperors, but he even wants to oppose the bodhisattvas. Truly impressive and awesome enough. Hopefully, you don¡¯t die too miserably.

    However, Li Qingshan noticed what he was hinting at and asked, ¡°The world honoured one isn¡¯t worried?¡±

    ¡°Since you know so many matters of the ancient times, you obviously know the world honoured one¡¯s true form, little bro.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes sighed. ¡°If there¡¯s something he refuses to give away, just who can take it away from him?¡±

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao exchanged gazes in shock. Was there also a rift between the buddha and the bodhisattvas?

    Li Qingshan nodded in satisfaction, feigning familiarity with the buddha, even though he had absolutely no idea what the buddha¡¯s true form was.

    Suddenly, he remembered something and asked, ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s still something that I don¡¯t understand. Why are the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra so special?¡±

    ¡°Sa?s¨¡ra has always been a concept of buddhism.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, he sure does like to bring glory to his own religion!¡±

    ¡°Who doesn¡¯t want the world to be as they wish?¡±

 Chapter 1678

    8-11 minutes 10.12.2022

    Li Qingshan silently digested the information here. The most important piece was that the buddha had secretly permitted his actions to happen.

    If that was the case, many things now made sense.

    Back then, he had gone to the Asura realm to help R¨¡hu Xiaoming with waging war. Originally, he was supposed to escort a ki?nara princess back to the Heaven realm, but he ended up becoming a sangharama guardian in Sukh¨¡vat¨© for some odd reason.

    From Li Liehuo¡¯s experiences, it seemed that becoming a divine general was not that easy, not to mention the fact that he was not a buddhist disciple. Despite that, he had actually been directly chosen as a sangharama guardian. The matter was truly quite odd.

    Afterwards, he encountered the Upraised Light abbot, who requested for Li Qingshan to escort him to Great Thunderclap temple. Only then did he accidentally enter the temple and sniff up the pond of lotus flowers in front of the grand hall.

    No, this was no longer granting secret permission. It was basically guidance.

    The buddha had virtually destroyed Sukh¨¡vat¨© through his hands!

    But why?

    Li Qingshan was unable to understand it. Perhaps the buddha really did possess great benevolence and compassion, finally willing to share some of it with the demonfolk?

    It was not just the buddha. Many of the heavenly emperor¡¯s actions reeked with strangeness. If that man draped in bear skin wanted war, why did he not nip him in the bud? Yet if he wanted peace, why did he send that tally stick and provoke him again and again?

    As paramount existences of the current day, their wishes could influence the fate of countless living creatures, whether it be lowly mortals or honoured and respected emperors.

    However, what exactly was their wish?

    As he thought about that, Li Qingshan¡¯s breath was suddenly taken away from him. He subconsciously gasped for air as a deep sense of weakness filled his body. He felt like his body had turned into water and flowed away, yet also as if it had turned into a bubble, on the brink of popping.

    By now, the colourful cloud had completely entered the Primordial World, with a sea of clouds right beneath them.

    The sky was an azure-blue. It was currently daytime. The stars had all faded away, not daring to contend with the sun.

    Li Qingshan glanced at the sky and immediately understood the source of this feeling of weakness. He had never expected it to be so intense.

    Li Liehuo furrowed his brows. He pressed down on his chest and felt the fire in his Origin Soul shrink drastically, but he did not experience any external pressure. He could not help but ask, ¡°Master, this is¡­¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is ¡®mortalification¡¯! We¡¯ve already entered the Primordial World. All abilities and techniques are affected, even if you¡¯ve condensed a Golden Core and forged a Soul Nascence. Apart from a sturdy body and a lengthy lifespan, you¡¯re not much better than a mortal.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes glanced at Li Qingshan and continued, ¡°However, if you want to cultivate, this is the best place too. Even those of mediocre talent can establish a foundation or condense a core here without difficulty as long as they¡¯re somewhat fortunate.¡±

    Find the original at bit.ly/3Tfs4P4.

    Li Liehuo sensed the surroundings slightly and discovered that to be true. The purity and density of the spiritual qi in the Primordial World was well beyond anything that the Human realm could match. He felt like he was cultivating with each breath he took.

    If the Primordial World had not ¡°mortalified¡± all of the wonders, this place should have been a sea of spiritual qi.

    As it turned out, remaining in the Primordial World to cultivate was the correct path!

    However, he felt slightly reluctant, reluctant to return to mediocrity here.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes then said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Your clone technique originates from the spirit turtles. It¡¯s extremely profound, but it¡¯s also an ability at the end of the day. Your main body isn¡¯t around either, so the influence you face won¡¯t be little. Do you need to rest a moment so that you can consolidate your clone before we attend the banquet?¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said slowly, ¡°At the end of the day, a Watermirror¡¯s Image is still an illusion.¡±

    Li Qingshan smiled and was about to answer when his face suddenly changed drastically. His forehead bulged with veins as he curled up like he had been punched in the gut. His large body trembled uncontrollably, while his face became particularly twisted as well. It was as if he was in great pain, yet also as if he was fighting against an invisible enemy.

    Demon qi rampaged about, filled with intense, maddening hatred and killing intent.

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao had spent half of their lives fighting, so their reactions were extremely sensitive. They immediately left the cloud, drawing their blade and spear, looking back in surprise. All they saw was Li Qingshan, who was still talking and smiling leisurely earlier, suddenly becoming a vicious beast that could eat people alive. His thick back arched up in the sky as his long, dark hair rose like black flames. Pale-white teeth extended out from the corner of his lips.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was taken aback too. After a period of close observation, he suddenly realised what was going on and let out a sigh. ¡°Little bro, why must you do this?¡±

    Only when they saw how Li Qingshan had no intentions of harming anyone did Chao Tianjiao and Li Liehuo slowly return to the cloud, enduring the either icy-cold or scorching-hot killing intent that had been triggered.

    Chao Tianjiao asked softly, ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong with him?¡± She had never seen Li Qingshan like this before, almost to a point where she felt sorry for him.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°He is using the belief of demonfolk as resources, so he needs to endure everything that the demonfolk experience.¡±

    ¡°Is he mad!?¡± Chao Tianjiao understood what that meant.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said coldly, ¡°Not yet, but it won¡¯t take long.¡±

    He had read countless books. Examples of this were not actually particularly rare. There were fake deities from low-level worlds or demonic cultivators who were after swift success that attempted this, but without any exceptions, their final fate was insanity.

    Actually, it was not impossible to use the power of belief for cultivation, but it required practising a special cultivation method, followed by numerous steps of refinement, elimination and purification, such that only a tenth or even a hundredth of the original quantity remained.

    Most importantly, they had to selectively choose their followers and carefully nurture them. They could not develop too many negative emotions to guarantee the quality of the power of belief.

    The cultivation process was like a gardener tending to his nursery. It required tremendous effort, and any carelessness could lead to the accidental consumption of ¡°poisonous herbs¡±, regularly facing the danger of cultivation deviation. After all, the minds of people were subtle and came in all forms and shapes. As a result, this cultivation method was ultimately eliminated.

    However, Li Qingshan¡¯s followers were all demonfolk. That was basically consuming poisonous herbs only. It was no different from seeking death.

    However, the determination behind that was also shocking.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance said, ¡°Master, looks like you can¡¯t complete your duty now!¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes shook his head in disagreement. ¡°He might learn to turn back once he¡¯s suffered a little.¡±

    Li Qingshan pointed down and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, ¡°Head¡­ down¡­¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes controlled the cloud. Immediately, they tore through the sea of clouds and arrived in a forest in the south of Uttarakuru. 4887

    Li Qingshan basically rolled off the cloud, barely able to maintain the mirror clone and prevent it from collapsing.

    ¡°Now is still not too late! Accept the enlistment!¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes stood with his arms behind his back. He showed much pity. ¡°If you devour too much belief from demonfolk, you¡¯ll go insane even as a True Immortal.¡±

    Li Qingshan slowly made his way over to the side of a cluster of bamboo. He tapped a bamboo gently and seemed satisfied.

    With a swish, he severed it at the base with his finger before patiently stripping away the branches, only leaving behind a bare bamboo pole.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    ¡°The bamboo here is not bad. They¡¯re perfect for banner poles¡­¡± Li Qingshan grinned towards him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big bro. Seeing how we¡¯re acquainted, I¡¯ll definitely save a good spot for you.¡±

    At that moment, even the Elder of Heavenly Tomes felt a slight chill, like he was facing an injured tiger alone in the flickering jungle. Pain would not make it yield. It would only make it even more violent!

 Chapter 1679

    Li Qingshan raised the bamboo pole in his hand and gazed at the tip in a slight daze. Who knew what he was thinking. He smiled.

    The light and shadows flickered in the forest, landing on his smiling face, actually giving off an indescribable sense of purity.

    It was as if he had comprehended the meaning of life and death through great sorrow and pain, or perhaps he had never needed to go through all those vicissitudes of life and deep thought at all, where simply maintaining his original form was enough.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes could not help but peer at the sky. Your majesty, are you satisfied with an opponent like this?

    He brought his fist up to his mouth and coughed gently. ¡°Little bro, I might not be able to let you get away with this.¡±

    Li Qingshan looked back. ¡°That¡¯s difficult to say!¡± He studied the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ furry head and took quite a liking to it.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that numerous True Immortals have perished in previous crises of the world.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said helplessly, ¡°You and I have no grievances, little bro.¡±

    Li Qingshan thought about it seriously and nodded. ¡°That is true. You may have said a lot of trash today, but you have answered many of my questions as well, so technically, we¡¯re in the clear. However, if we meet again on the battlefield in the future, I won¡¯t be able to show any mercy either.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes complained, ¡°How are we in the clear? The Myriad sect nurtured you, yet you decided to bite the hand that fed you and destroy the Myriad sect. Speaking of which¡­¡± Suddenly, he blinked his eyes craftily. ¡°If I had arrived a moment sooner, would you have been able to obtain the Myriad Heavenly Tome to cleanse your demon brats of their demonic nature?¡±

    When he said that, they were all taken aback.

    ¡°Master!¡± ¡°Master?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao, Li Liehuo and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance were all extremely clever. They immediately realised what had happened.

    It was no wonder the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had arrived at that exact timing, no sooner or later. Right when Li Qingshan had obtained the Myriad Heavenly Tome, he descended from above and assisted them in escaping.

    Li Qingshan lowered the bamboo pole in his hand and blinked his eyes strangely. ¡°Old bro, are you colluding with the enemy? Don¡¯t tell me you want to pledge your allegiance to me? Cough, cough, if you lay down your weapon and surrender with grace, you¡¯ll still retain your promise of god, no, sovereignty!¡±

    He immediately recalled that saying of his, except when he said it to Li Liehuo before, it was merely a joke. Now that he said it to the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, there was a little more sincerity and enthusiasm.

    He was a True Immortal; he was even one whose cultivation and status that other True Immortals struggled to rival. He knew countless secrets too. If he were willing to change sides, wouldn¡¯t that mean he had great hopes behind his great cause of rebellion?

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes shook his head with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m only loyal to the heavenly emperor. If it were your elder brother, perhaps he¡¯d possess some right for me to bow down, but you¡¯re still nowhere near enough, kid.¡±

    Li Qingshan was rather puzzled. The heavenly emperor and the buddha were unfathomable enough, but why was the Elder of Heavenly Tomes so difficult to understand too? Did everyone beyond the Nine Heavens just like screwing each other over?

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said seriously, ¡°Little bro, I know you¡¯re a reasonable person.¡±

    ¡°My surname is Li. Of course, I¡¯m reasonable.¡±

    TL: To possess reason is to have ¡°Àí¡±, or ¡°l¨«¡±. It sounds the same as Li Qingshan¡¯s surname.

    ¡°Then to the Myriad sect, to me, do you think you owe anything?¡± the Elder of Heavenly Tomes asked.

    ¡°I do.¡± Li Qingshan admitted.

    ¡°If you were an emperor, what would you do?¡±

    ¡°If I were an emperor, I¡¯d compensate you with ten Myriad sects.¡± Then Li Qingshan added, ¡°Unfortunately, I can only become a Great Sage, not an emperor.¡±

    He understood extremely well that while he was originally a human, if he wanted to revolt against the heavens, he could only be a daemon.

    Then, he would be a daemon.

    ¡°If you were a Great Sage, what would you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d do everything I can to kill you. At most, I won¡¯t hang you on my banner pole. I¡¯ll burn a few sticks of incense for you too,¡± Li Qingshan swung the bamboo pole and said with some slight pity.

    ¡°What if I don¡¯t oppose you?¡± the Elder of Heavenly Tomes asked.

    Li Qingshan said firmly, ¡°I always keep a clear record of the debts I owe and the debts I am owed. If you don¡¯t oppose me, I definitely won¡¯t oppose you either!¡±

    Only a fool would reject the opportunity to convince an enemy True Immortal into backing down from a single promise. Now this was called gathering all the power that could be gathered.

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    Otherwise, who knew how much difficulty and what price he would have to pay to kill this old bastard.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes shook his head. ¡°Still not enough!¡±

    Li Qingshan patted his chest and said in guarantee, ¡°If you need help with anything, old bro, I¡¯ll definitely lend you a hand!¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯ll be it then.¡± He stretched his arms. ¡°With that, both my private and formal matters are settled.¡± He waved his hand. ¡°You¡¯ve rested up enough too. Grab your pole and let¡¯s go attend the banquet!¡±

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao basically had no idea what was going on from the side. Wasn¡¯t the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ ¡°public matter¡± to enlist Li Qingshan to their side? Yet, not only did Li Qingshan have no intentions of accepting the enlistment, but he even seemed like he wanted to fight to the very end. How was that settled?

    And why would a mighty close subject of the heavenly emperor require a promise from the chief enemy, even going as far as to offer up the entire Myriad sect for this favour?

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance suddenly asked, ¡°Master, will you be entering rebirth again?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Though, you and I are both going this time. I¡¯ve chosen a good place that probably won¡¯t be affected by the crisis. This time, Ruin¡¯s End probably won¡¯t be peaceful either.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was aware that the Mountain-moving Great Sage was imprisoned there.

    Li Qingshan was shocked. Originally, he thought the Elder of Heavenly Tomes only wanted to maintain neutrality so that he would remain untouched no matter who won. He never expected the Elder of Heavenly Tomes to be so ¡°radical¡±.

    By ¡°entering rebirth again¡±, that was basically no different from dying.

    He had never thought that his might was so great that he would actually frighten a True Immortal into committing suicide on the spot.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand me, little bro. I¡¯m not avoiding you, but the Dao.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°Yes, yes, yes. Old bro, you really are a True Immortal! You understand the Dao the best!¡± However, his expression was ¡°I¡¯m fucking awesome¡±!

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said helplessly, ¡°You know about my origins. Have you ever heard of this name before?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°The Five Absolutes Immortal.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s you!¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately recalled the flash of inspiration he had experienced when he first saw the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, reminding him of the legendary figure from the World of the Nine Provinces, the Five Absolutes Immortal. When he ventured around through the nine provinces, he often ran into all sorts of things left behind by the Five Absolutes Immortal, like some Dragon King of Ink Sea or some sword called Deviance. They had all almost ended his life.

    And when he first began cultivating, he had even gathered quite a few pieces of the Cursive Sword Calligraphy!

    Now that he recalled it, the quality of the item was not particularly high, but it had gained brother ox¡¯s recognition, which was simply unbelievable.

    As a result, he asked, ¡°That was your clone?¡± If the Cursive Sword Calligraphy was the work of a True Immortal, then it would make sense.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°Not a clone, but my actual body. Clones don¡¯t work.¡±

    Li Qingshan questioned closely, ¡°To avoid the previous crisis of the world?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes shook his head. ¡°Not that. Back then, the previous crisis of the world had already passed. As I said, it was to avoid the Dao.¡±

    Li Qingshan was confused. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with the Dao?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t the exact thing that all cultivators pursued? They all wanted to Merge the Void with the Dao. That represented endless power, limitless abilities, and an undying existence.

    Li Qingshan¡¯s primary objective right now was to Merge the Void with the Dao as well.

 Chapter 1680

    Li Liehuo and Chao Tianjiao both listened closely.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes took a moment to think before waving his hand and speaking.

    ¡°True Immortals are those who have Forged their Soul back into the Void. There¡¯s no need to elaborate on that, but so-called ¡°back into the void¡± also refers to turning something into the void, turning something that exists into nothingness, becoming the representative of the Dao.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem particularly inappropriate. Please elaborate further, old bro.¡±

    Li Qingshan clasped his hands. His hostility had vanished, replaced by some respect.

    Looking at it now, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had not let him down in any way. Instead, he had told him many secrets and even gifted him the Myriad Heavenly Tome.

    Meanwhile, he had wrecked his sect and killed his disciples. The Elder of Heavenly Tomes did not seem particularly concerned by that, but he was still somewhat in the wrong.

    At the same time, the Five Absolutes Immortal had gained a bit of the halo of an idol in his eyes.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes sighed. ¡°Sigh, the people of the world only praise the good of gods and immortals! Yet, just how vast is the Dao? Just how insignificant is the will of man? Yet the likes of us try to control the Dao with our human wills, which is just as dangerous as a toddler trying to control a tiger. As time goes on, who knows who is controlling who.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately understood what he meant. There was a saying, where man triumphed over the heavens. The Dao was unfeeling and unknowing, so it could be controlled by the will of man. However, just like how water could wear through rock, even extremely tiny influences would form permanent marks with the passage of time.

    Whenever the will of man and the Dao conflicted, it would require the will of man to hold its ground, yet the Dao knew no exhaustion.

    That was called the heavens triumphing over man.

    He practised the Nine Transformations of the Demonic and Divine, so he understood best how a path chosen could influence the will of man. Even without the existence of the primordial qilin, the path of nature would still deeply influence his own nature, wearing away his human will.

    And once the will of man ran out¡­

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes turned to Li Liehuo and asked, ¡°My disciple Liehuo, if your flames never burn what you want it to burn and only burns what it should burn, what would happen?¡±

    Li Liehuo imagined that and said fearfully, ¡°Then¡­ Li Liehuo would cease to exist.¡±

    If the words and actions of a person conformed to how the Dao operated, raising the winds when it should and raining when it should, no more, no less, then even if that person was still alive, they would be no different from dead in the eyes of others.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you don¡¯t possess any emotions, then you would just become a puppet of the Dao.¡±

    Even the primordial qilin did not completely follow the path of nature, choosing to assist empress N¨¹wa. That was the reason why it died, but it was also a manifestation of its will, signifying that it was a living creature and not dead.

    ¡°Master, then what can you do? The True Immortals in the heavens all seem very ordinary. None of them constantly undergo rebirth,¡± Chao Tianjiao asked in a hurry.

    She had received guidance from the Zhenwu Emperor, so she had a decent chance at becoming a True Immortal.

    ¡°There are two ways. One is to Merge the Void with the Dao, to make your will completely conform with the Dao. With that, the conflict between the two is completely eliminated. If the toddler can connect with the tiger mentally, such that they are inseparable, then he can control the tiger as he wishes, except-¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes suddenly stopped.

    ¡°Except what?¡± Li Qingshan seemed to realise what would happen.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes only sighed.

    ¡°Master, what¡¯s the other way?¡± Chao Tianjiao asked. Her path of zhenwu was the Zhenwu Emperor¡¯s source of authority. She could never Merge the Void with the Dao and stand on equal footing with him.

    ¡°This method is much easier¡­¡± Then the Elder of Heavenly Tomes turned to Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan followed up. ¡°Since the will of a single person is not enough to control the Dao, then you gather the will of the populace. Getting the heavenly emperor to confer you godhood is enough.¡±

    He had already experienced that before. After swallowing the power of belief from the demonfolk, the primordial qilin¡¯s influence had drastically weakened. After all, how could the will of millions conform to a single path?

    If they could not endure the corrosion, then they would strengthen themselves. If they could not control the tiger, then they would feed the tiger.

    Chao Tianjiao immediately stopped worrying. If she could Forge her Soul back into the Void, being conferred godhood was nothing particularly difficult.

    Actually, as long as she wanted to, she could erect many statues of herself right now. Who knew how many temples devoted to the Zhenwu Emperor there were scattered throughout the world. As the leader of the Six Ding, she could obviously stand right by his side and accept the worship and offerings from the people.

    But it was public knowledge that the path of cultivation was about concentrating on a single aspect, while the will of the people was tremendous and extremely disorderly. Being influenced too much by the power of belief was not a good thing.

    Chao Tianjiao thought, No wonder the True Immortals in the heavens all have some followers to some extent. I originally thought they wanted to help the world and refused to completely stand aloof from the mortals. So there¡¯s actually a purpose like this. Sure enough, nothing is done without reason!

    ¡°Master, is this called fighting poison with poison?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°You can¡¯t say that, but once you become a True Immortal, you better not copy this little bro and directly use the power of belief as a resource.¡±

    He sighed inside. He had roamed the heavens for many years and witnessed how his fellow immortals had changed. Just gathering the power of belief led to a very deep influence already.

    It was probably unprecedented for someone to directly devour the power of belief for cultivation like Li Qingshan. Even the golden immortals of buddhism that placed great emphasis on their followers would never do that. No one could imagine just how Li Qingshan would turn out in the end.

    ¡°Old bro, why don¡¯t you use this method instead of constantly undergoing rebirth?¡± Li Qingshan had actually guessed the rough answer to the question already.

    ¡°Among the books you offered up to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, there¡¯s this saying¡ªHow can you let purity like moonlight be tainted by the dust of the secular world?¡±

    Back then, Li Qingshan had only recently joined the Myriad sect. In order to quickly gather contribution, he had copied out all of the books he could copy. One of them was the Fisherman¡¯s Father from the Verses of Chu. The author of the text had chosen to cast himself into a river to his death in the end.

    Chao Tianjiao shuddered inside and gazed over. This improper-looking master who never acted seriously would actually rather enter rebirth than accept any faith.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes gazed deeply at Li Qingshan. ¡°I think you understand that kind of mental state, don¡¯t you, little bro?¡±

    Li Qingshan said nothing in response.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°The people make you too human, while the Dao makes you too inhuman. I am only willing to dwell between the two.¡±

    Li Liehuo asked, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you continue cultivating and Merge the Void with the Dao, master?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes pointed at the sky. ¡°The path I walk is the heavenly emperor¡¯s path.¡±

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    The path already possessed its ruler, so he could only become a subject.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you change your path, master? As long as you pave a path different from the heavenly emperor¡¯s path, wouldn¡¯t you be able to Merge the Void with the Dao?¡± Chao Tianjiao asked in confusion.

    She neither had the choice, nor had she reached that stage. However, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had rebirthed before, so what path couldn¡¯t he choose?

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was slightly angered. ¡°Insolent brat, you sure say it easy! Do you think the Dao belongs to you and you can merge with it whenever you want to? Since the creation of all to the present day, there have been an immeasurable number of living creatures. Only around a dozen or two have managed to Merge the Void with the Dao, and probably no less than a hundred True Immortals have perished because of this. Do you want to send me to my death?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao pouted. Master sure doesn¡¯t have much interest for improvement.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes blinked his eyes mischievously. ¡°And if I do that, I won¡¯t be able to undergo rebirth anymore!¡±

 Chapter 1681

    When he said that, even Li Qingshan was stunned. Sir, aren¡¯t you rebirthing for the sake of paving a path?

    ¡°The likes of us devote ourselves to cultivation, but for what exactly?¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes seemed to be asking them, but he also seemed like he was merely talking to himself. His eyes were clouded.

    ¡°To achieve immortality,¡± Chao Tianjiao answered without hesitation.

    ¡°And after that?¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ obviously to do whatever you want!¡± Chao Tianjiao hesitated. Achieving immortality was already a very distant goal to her. There did not seem to be any reason for her to think about what came after that.

    ¡°Except to do what?¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes furrowed his brows as he smiled.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°To be yourself.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes clapped his hands and said in praise, ¡°Exactly! No wonder you were chosen, little bro.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao was unconvinced. ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about that?¡± However, she furrowed her brows slightly and sank into her thoughts.

    Li Liehuo shuddered inside and could not help but ask himself how he was supposed to be himself. Along the way, he had spent his entire time constantly fighting beneath Black Cloud city, rising up step by step in the Myriad sect, like he was climbing up a mountain with only one path up. Everything had been very clear to him, such that he almost did not have to make any choices at all.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s so difficult about that? My disciple Tianjiao, my disciple Liehuo, you¡¯re both natural-born cultivators, possessing great aspirations and advancing along valiantly. Little bro Li goes even more without saying. However, I am just a wastrel without any proper aspirations.¡±

    ¡°How can you say that, master?¡± Chao Tianjiao asked. Her master was indeed rather casual, but no one would connect a renowned True Immortal from the heavens with the word ¡°wastrel¡±.

    ¡°The Five Absolutes Immortal?¡± However, Li Qingshan had vaguely guessed what he meant by ¡°wastrel¡±.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°That¡¯s right. Actually, apart from the path of the sword, the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting were all useless to cultivation, much less suited for combat. They¡¯re only for interest.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°If you reincarnate as an immortal, you can obviously do as you please.¡±

    Beneficial to cultivation and suitable for combat were basically the only standards that cultivators used to judge anything. ¡°Interest¡± definitely was not one of them.

    Only wastrels could participate in cockfighting, race horses, and make poems in their leisure, while regular people had to race around for the sake of their livelihood, unable to loosen up for even a day.

    However, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°When I was still a mortal, the thing I loved most was studying abroad. Sigh, actually, I just used the excuse of studying abroad to travel everywhere. Whether it were renowned mountains and rivers or cities and towns, I¡¯d want to go and check it out as long as I haven¡¯t been there before. I ended up squandering the fortunes left by my parents, becoming renowned for my depravity among the descendants of my clan.¡±

    ¡°But I regretted none of it. I thought this was the only way to live a life worth living. Afterwards, I came across a fortuitous encounter deep in the mountains and set off on this path of cultivation. It¡¯s quite shameful when I mention it, but my colleagues all devoted themselves to cultivation, even spending many years in secluded cultivation, while I viewed secluded cultivation as the greatest source of pain in the world. I didn¡¯t think I had the talent for Foundation Establishment either, so I learnt some flight techniques and began travelling again. Who knew how many times I was scolded by my master. Afterwards, I had a fo-¡±

    ¡°Fortuitous encounter, right!?¡± Li Qingshan had already begun to lose his temper.

    ¡°Sigh, how did you know? I had a fortuitous encounter.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes seemed to turn into a regular old man, sighing away emotionally as he narrated his entire life.

    In summary, he travelled and had a fortuitous encounter, then travelled some more and had more fortuitous encounters¡­

    ¡°Master, what exactly are you trying to say?¡± At the very beginning, Chao Tianjiao had even been rather happy for being praised for possessing great ambitions, but she had lost her temper now as well. In order to reach where they were right now, just who didn¡¯t face countless hardships and difficulties? Yet the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had become a True Immortal through ¡°fortuitous encounters¡± alone.

    It was like a wastrel lamenting, ¡°You¡¯re all so impressive! You know how to work and labour in the fields, and you can put up with hardships. I know nothing at all. All I can do is inherit my family¡¯s bank, silk shop, and the many fertile fields¡­¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°I¡¯m trying to say that I¡¯m just a useless person. I also regularly admire the great determination and aspirations of others, but at the end of the day, I can only be a useless person.¡±

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    Li Qingshan could not help but think of Gu Yanying, which made him feel a hint of envy. He was obviously aware that the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ path of cultivation was nowhere near as easy as he described it to be, but right now, he was like a prisoner draped in shackles, peering through the bars and seeing a free person.

    The desires of the heart became shackles. Only with no yearning in the heart could he be free.

    Li Qingshan became slightly dazed, but he recovered his determination very soon. Even if he was stuck behind bars, wracked with agony, this was the path that Li Qingshan wanted to walk. He would continue until he tore off all of the shackles and broke free from all the restraints!

    This change in him vanished in a flash, but everyone present possessed keen senses. Nothing would escape their eyes.

    Chao Tianjiao sighed inside. This kid sure possesses determination like steel!

    However, Li Liehuo seemed to find some kind of inspiration from that. Flames lit up in the depths of his eyes.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°When I first began travelling, I often rode mules, then I rode the winds, then I controlled the sword, and now, I control the clouds. But to me, they¡¯re actually all the same, while the Dao is just a mule that isn¡¯t very good.¡±

    ¡°Impressive spirit, old bro!¡± Li Qingshan shuddered inside.

    The Dao represented endless power, paramount authority, and undying existence. Even the True Immortals in the heavens only dreamed of it, so who viewed it as a mule?

    Li Liehuo lowered his head and looked at his hands. For the sake of increasing their cultivations, cultivators truly stopped at nothing, like they were mad. For the sake of becoming more compatible with the Heavenly Tome of Scorching Fire, he had changed his name. In the eyes of the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, it was probably as strange as a normal person suddenly changing their names to ¡°Mule Li¡±.

    However, his exact wish was to burn and roar like fire!

    ¡°You flatter me, you flatter me.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes waved his hand in a hurry. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s quite late, so we better attend the banquet!¡±

    By now, the sky had gradually begun to dim. It was already dusk. A magnificent afterglow lit up the horizon.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes summoned the auspicious cloud again and gazed at the blue sky. A few dim specks had lit up. His eyes shone with hope. ¡°During the time we spoke, a few months have already passed in a few worlds. Can you imagine the passing of seasons, just how many joys and sorrows, separations and reunions, have occured?¡±

    At that moment, he seemed to take off his worldly-wise mask, returning to his true self, that wastrel who neglected his duties and liked to travel.

    What demand for surrender? What crisis of the world? That was all part of a boring job. He was like a regular person, in a hurry to complete what was on hand so that he could live the life he wanted to live.

    He wanted to go to some world, enter some restaurant, stand by the rail, gaze at the moon, and have a drink.

    Beyond the Nine Heavens was perhaps the home to gods and buddhas, but it was not his home. His home was in the depths of the sea of stars.

    The heavenly emperor¡¯s path was the true dragon¡¯s path. However, some dragons wanted to soar beyond the Nine Heavens and stand above all else, while other dragons only wanted to lurk in the abyss and roam around freely.

 Chapter 1682

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance looked towards the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. His eyes were filled with reverence.

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°A day in the heavens, a year in the mortal world. If you put it like that, it¡¯s the gods¡¯ loss.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao disagreed. ¡°Even if the flow of time between the large worlds and small worlds is different, you don¡¯t sense anything different no matter where you are, so how can you call that a loss?¡±

    Then she clasped her hands towards the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. ¡°Master, if you want to experience the changing of seasons of mortal life, all you have to do is send a clone over to that world. Why must you head there personally? And I¡¯ve heard that those who were well off avoided all risks, let alone True Immortals?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was an honoured True Immortal, such that even the ten kings of hell had to proactively greet him when they came across him. Even if he entered rebirth again, it would be different from those cultivators captured by the underworld and sent into rebirth against their will. When he underwent rebirth, he would definitely have everything prepared. There was no need for him to go through the confusions of the womb, and he would have ways to protect himself.

    However, no matter how much preparation he made, no matter how powerful his ways to protect himself were, he would definitely come under the risk of dying as long as he was reduced to a mortal. No matter how small the risk was, it was not worth it, as it was completely unnecessary.

    On the side, Li Qingshan had understood what was going on. Now that the crisis was imminent, Chao Tianjiao did not want the Elder of Heavenly Tomes to venture down to a lower world, as that would cost her a powerful ally.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°How would it make no difference?¡± He pointed at Li Qingshan. ¡°At the very least, I can forget about the troublesome matters regarding little bro.¡±

    No matter what, it was impossible for a mortal to contain the entire consciousness of a True Immortal. They needed to give up a majority of their memories, only preserving the most central part of themselves.

    However, that was instead good news to the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. He could cast aside his burdens and weariness, rebuilding himself through his own consciousness, before starting over again.

    Everything would be so novel and intriguing.

    Li Qingshan smiled. ¡°That would be perfect. I also find myself vexing often, so I might as well just forget about it!¡± His stance was the complete opposite of Chao Tianjiao¡¯s. If the Elder of Heavenly Tomes remained in the heavens, he would definitely serve as a powerful enemy.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance interrupted them. ¡°I will make note of it and tell master when the time is right.¡±

    Actually, just using simple words to record the major matters that occurred here did not take much soul sense. And, as a spirit turtle, even a newly-born one, his soul sense would be countless times greater than regular people. The information he could maintain was countless times more.

    And, as his powers rapidly recovered, many of his lost memories could be retrieved through his bloodline legacy.

    Remembering such a terrifying crisis with such a feeble existence in itself was a heavy burden. However, spirit turtles never feared burdens.

    ¡°Alright¡­ hopefully a little later!¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes patted the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance¡¯s shoulder, but he was aware that this was the nature and talent of spirit turtles.

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance answered in agreement with his head lowered, behaving with much loyalty. He made up his mind about telling the Elder of Heavenly Tomes that this world might be done for because it was drawn into the crisis of the world once he underwent the second heavenly tribulation. He could not afford anything later than that!

    The only pity was he could not remain here and personally witness history. He glanced deeply at Li Qingshan. The moment when this kid perished definitely would be incredibly imposing!

    Li Qingshan felt pissed off for some reason, glaring back at the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance until he silently shifted his gaze away.

    ¡°Oh right!¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes slapped his forehead. ¡°I almost forgot this.¡± He took out an object from his sleeve and passed it to Li Qingshan solemnly. ¡°Little bro, hang onto this. You have to place it in the safest spot possible, just in case it gets destroyed or lost.¡±

    In Li Qingshan¡¯s hand was a deep-blue turtle shell. He asked curiously, ¡°What is this?¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°This is the heavenly tome.¡±

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    ¡°Hold on, then what did I obtain?¡±

    ¡°You obtained the Myriad Heavenly Tome.¡±

    Li Qingshan was puzzled. He checked the turtle shell and came to a realisation. ¡°So this is the true heavenly tome!¡±

    The Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance had probably shed the turtle shell. It contained a tremendous amount of information, but they were not cultivation methods or secret techniques, but the entirety of the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ memories¡ªthe rebirths, the journeys, the partings and reunions, the joys and sorrows.

    It was like an overly-detailed journal, carefully recording the taste of each cup of alcohol, the smell of each flower, the emotions of each encounter¡­

    Compared to that, the Myriad Heavenly Tome was insignificant. Even the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes was insignificant.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°This old friend of mine loves reading. I like reading too. Being a reader truly is an extremely wondrous matter. You can explore the worlds and experience the joys and sorrows without setting a single foot out the door, but I¡¯m just never satisfied with that. I always want to try out being the main character.¡±

    Li Qingshan said, ¡°There¡¯s probably more than just one copy of this, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°The heavenly emperor is in possession of a copy?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re not afraid that the heavenly emperor would unleash his wrath?¡± Li Qingshan fiddled around with the turtle shell. He was rather at a loss as for how to respond.

    Very clearly, the Elder of Heavenly Tomes was making a gamble with this. He gambled that Li Qingshan would be able to survive this crisis of the world. This was obviously good news for Li Qingshan.

    However, as a close subject of the heavenly emperor, perhaps there were reasons why he could give the Myriad Heavenly Tome to him, but giving this to him was basically cursing the downfall of the heavenly emperor. Could the heavenly emperor really accept that?

    Or perhaps, would the heavenly emperor die?

    Li Qingshan tried to find an answer from the turtle shell in his hand, through the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ memories, but he discovered that everything regarding the heavenly emperor had been hidden away.

    ¡°He¡¯s the mighty heavenly emperor. How can he be so stingy?¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes laughed, except he glanced at the sky. He discovered that the sky was just as calm as before, just a little darker in colour. Only then did he completely relax, confirming his judgement.

    Li Qingshan pouted. ¡°You sure make me feel flattered with such a high opinion of me, old bro.¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes smiled. ¡°It¡¯s never about the things that happen with certainty, but the one-in-a-million events.¡±

    Li Qingshan also began to laugh out of exasperation. ¡°Then thank you for your blessings, old bro. There are some things that are worth a try even if there¡¯s only a one-in-a-million chance at success!¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was taken aback, suddenly becoming slightly at a loss for words. He wanted to persuade Li Qingshan into accepting the demand for surrender, but when the words reached his mouth, it turned into a sigh.

    Li Qingshan held the turtle shell between his fingers and waved it around. ¡°Though, haven¡¯t you given this to me a little too late?¡± He was already prepared to go on a mocking spree in the Lingxiao hall. He did not believe this clone of his would still be able to return to the Demon domain safely.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said, ¡°It¡¯s not late, it¡¯s not late. You¡¯ll know once you try it.¡±

    Catching the prompt, Li Qingshan shut his eyes and tried to sense for the distant star called the Demon domain. A while later, he opened his eyes and swung his hand. A deep, pitch-black demon cavern opened up.

    At the same time, the black arm of an ape demon was also swung on the other end of the demon cavern.

    As it turned out, the Primordial World possessed an extremely deep connection with all of the worlds and was particularly close with a large world like the Demon domain. It was only due to the obstructions from Fuxi and N¨¹wa¡¯s pure powers of yin and yang that he could not come and go as he pleased like in the six realms of sa?s¨¡ra.

    As the lord of the Demon domain, Li Qingshan could use his paramount authority to greatly strengthen the connection between the two worlds. Then he could use the Ape Demon Transformation to pave a path between them.

    Li Qingshan was about to toss the turtle shell and bamboo pole into the demon cavern when Li Liehuo suddenly asked, ¡°Li Qingshan, you just said that if I yield to you, I¡¯ll retain my promise of godhood. Does that still count?¡±

 Chapter 1683

    ¡°Li Qingshan, you just said that if I yield to you, I¡¯ll retain my promise of godhood. Does that still count?¡±

    Li Liehuo was extremely stern. They were currently under the watch of the heavenly emperor and the other monarchs. The heavenly emperor could launch a bolt of lightning at any moment and finish off a traitorous general like him.

    At that moment, the pressure from the sky peaked, even if the sky seemed exactly the same as before.

    Li Qingshan raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at him in surprise. That had merely been a joke with a mocking tone to it. Even though it was a kind of humour that only he understood, he never thought that Li Liehuo would take it seriously and actually plan on surrendering!

    Since when did something as great as that happen!?

    Sigh, have my charms really reached that level?

    An absolutely beaming smile suddenly appeared on his face. He brought his arm around Li Liehuo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Of course! Liehuo, the Demon domain is currently in need of talents like you. With me watching over you, even Merging the Void with the Dao might be possible, let alone attaining godhood!¡±

    Even the Elder of Heavenly Tomes on the side began to smile uncontrollably at a promise like that. Kid, even you¡¯re nowhere close to Merging the Void with the Dao, yet you¡¯re promising it to others?

    Li Liehuo shifted his shoulder rather uncomfortably, extremely unaccustomed to Li Qingshan¡¯s enthusiasm. Suddenly, he felt like he had boarded a ship that he should not have.

    However, as he stared at Li Qingshan¡¯s smile that beamed so brightly that it almost seemed fake, the pressure in his heart vanished before he knew it.

    When he fought, he was like a supernatural being, but most of the time, he really was not a person that gave off an oppressive aura.

    ¡°C¡¯mon! Liehuo, I¡¯ll send you to the Demon domain right now!¡± Afraid that Li Liehuo would change his mind, Li Qingshan grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him towards a demon cavern, secretly using the strength of the ox demon.

    That was because even he was unable to think of any benefits that Li Liehuo could gain from joining him. His ship of rebellion was one that could capsize at any time!

    Find the original at bit.ly/3Tfs4P4.

    ¡°Hold on¡­¡± Li Liehuo had no idea how to respond to such ¡°good graces¡±. The feeling that he had just joined a hopeless cause grew stronger. He used the power of his Origin Soul to forcefully stabilise himself after quite some difficulty. He bowed deeply towards the Elder of Heavenly Tomes. ¡°Master, I-¡±

    For a moment, he had no idea how to explain himself, giving up on the great future that the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had arranged for him and stubbornly going off with Li Qingshan to die.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes waved his hand. ¡°You fool, there¡¯s no need to pose around. Since you¡¯ve already chosen your path, all you have to do is advance forwards. Even if you perish in the future, don¡¯t regret it!¡±

    ¡°I will never regret it!¡±

    With that, Li Liehuo¡¯s Origin Soul shone brightly. The fire immediately broke free from the invisible restraints, burning and rising suddenly, scorching away hotter than ever before. His cultivation had climbed to a new level too.

    He felt invigorated inside, becoming even more certain about his choice, but he also felt some lingering fear. If he had not managed to take this step, his cultivation would have stagnated there forever, never to progress again.

    The hearts of people were unfathomable, while the heart of the path was subtle. Within those gaps lurked the most terrifying of enemies.

    If he could conquer them, they would serve as support. If he could not, they would become haunts.

    Chao Tianjiao could not help but interrupt them. ¡°Master, there¡¯s something I¡¯m confused about!¡±

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Who exactly are you speaking and recruiting for?¡± Chao Tianjiao¡¯s eyes were filled with doubt.

    ¡°Erm¡­¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes seemed to be stumped. He abruptly laughed aloud and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know either! Whatever. It doesn¡¯t matter who¡¯s fighting who. It¡¯s none of my business.¡±

    Li Liehuo fed the flames and broke free from Li Qingshan¡¯s embrace, making his way towards the demon cavern alone. His mind was as clear as fire. Before he stepped into the demon cavern, he turned around and clasped his fist towards Li Qingshan. ¡°My lord, if you feel like you stand no chance once you meet the heavenly emperor, just accept the demand of enlistment!¡±

    ¡°Lord? That¡¯s not a bad title!¡± Li Qingshan said, ¡°Sigh, didn¡¯t you say you want to rebel with me? Why are you convincing me to surrender instead?¡±

    Li Liehuo smiled. ¡°If you accept the demand for enlistment, I¡¯ll be able to serve as your divine general and help you construct a heavenly palace. Wouldn¡¯t that save me a lot of trouble?¡±

    Li Qingshan patted Li Liehuo¡¯s shoulder with a great smile. ¡°So that¡¯s what you were after! Though, your calculations are probably going to fall through. I¡¯m not really good at anything. All I know is how to rebel. You better not desert me in the midst of battle!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the lord. Everything you say counts.¡± Li Liehuo looked at the sky and said firmly, ¡°If even Li Qingshan yields, then why can¡¯t I yield? If even Li Qingshan doesn¡¯t yield, how can I yield?¡±

    With that, he leapt into the demon cavern.

    ¡°Tianjiao.¡± After sending off Li Liehuo, Li Qingshan maintained the demon cavern and turned towards Chao Tianjiao. He smiled extremely brightly, secretly unleashing his powerful charms. He winked. ¡°Merging the Void with the Dao.¡±

    Chao Tianjiao smiled. ¡°Keep dreaming.¡±

    Li Qingshan immediately stopped smiling and shut the demon cavern. He waved his hand. ¡°C¡¯mon, let¡¯s go to the Lingxiao hall and check out the old heavenly emperor!¡±

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes conjured the colourful auspicious cloud again. They stepped onto it, restarting their journey towards the east.

    It was currently dusk. The entire world was coated in a faint layer of gold, while the eastern sky had already become a dark-blue. The afterglow in the sky resembled burning fire, conjuring a myriad of colours in an extremely gorgeous manner.

    The colourful cloud entered the glowing clouds of the setting sun, immediately becoming an indistinguishable part of it.

    For a moment, Li Qingshan¡¯s vision became clouded. Even with his cultivation, he struggled to see through the clouds here.

    He could not help but sigh inside. Sure enough, everything from beyond the Nine Heavens was extraordinary, possessing a nature of tremendous genuity. Before this kind of reality, all techniques and abilities became no different from illusions.

    ¡°Hey¡­¡±

    At this moment, Li Qingshan suddenly heard someone greet him from behind. Their voice was filled with hesitance.

    Standing on the cloud, Li Qingshan was taken aback. He glanced back at the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, and Chao Tianjiao. It was not their voice; even more strangely, they did not seem to hear it at all. The Elder of Heavenly Tomes even smiled at him, ready to listen to anything that he had to say.

    Was it an illusion?

    Li Qingshan slowly turned around again.

    ¡°Hey.¡± The voice rang out again, much closer this time and much more firmly.

    Li Qingshan abruptly looked back. The Elder of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, and Chao Tianjiao were all puzzled, looking at one another in confusion.

    Chao Tianjiao said, ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you trying now?¡±

    Li Qingshan turned back around doubtfully. He wondered whether there were ghosts beyond the Nine Heavens too.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The voice rang out again, already inches away now. It was filled with surprise and joy.

    Li Qingshan was prepared this time. He basically turned as soon as the voice appeared, but he was immediately dumbfounded.

    The clouds had all vanished. Before his eyes was a wide, straight asphalt road with several advertisements hanging on the two sides. There were even buildings currently under construction in the open country in the distance.

    Li Qingshan stood on the sidewalk. In front of him was a middle-aged man in a white shirt with a pair of black-framed glasses.

    The man parked a shabby electric scooter on the side of the road and made his way towards Li Qingshan. His face shook subconsciously as his face twisted uncontrollably. His expression constantly changed, sometimes filled with surprise and joy, yet also sometimes filled with confusion. It reeked with eeriness within the hilarity.

    Li Qingshan was tongue-tied as he looked around. His expression was rather funny too. He tried his best to observe this illusion¡ªthe hazy sky, the speeding cars, the faded smiles on the advertisements, the numb passersby¡­

    Everything was indistinguishable from reality, like the suburbs of a certain city.

    ¡°W- what the fuck is going on!?¡±

 Chapter 1684

    Li Qingshan seemed to fall into a bizarre dream. In a daze, he had the impression that everything he had experienced since transmigrating was fake, only a product of his daydreams as he waited for the bus on the side of the road. In contrast, everything before his eyes was the actual reality.

    The middle-aged man with black-framed glasses approached him step by step, wanting to say something.

    Whoosh! There was a blaring horn. A cement truck came hurtling over, slamming into the middle-aged man and flying past Li Qingshan.

    Bang! The middle-aged man and the electric scooter were both thrown into the air. The parts of the electric scooter scattered on the ground.

    Li Qingshan was dumbfounded.

    There was the screeching sound of breaks. Soon, the cement truck came to a halt on the side of the road. The door swung open, and the driver scrambled out of the truck with wobbling knees, checking on the victim. Even when he knew that no one could survive something like that, he still clung onto a shred of hope.

    Sure enough, the victim¡¯s head had caved in deeply and his waist had almost snapped apart. He seemed like a bloody, fried dough twist that had just been wrung viciously.

    Li Qingshan went up and stood beside the driver with furrowed brows. He gazed at the scene; the sense of eeriness in his heart grew stronger.

    The driver was pale-white, explaining to Li Qingshan frantically, ¡°I- it was an accident!¡±

    At this moment, the middle-aged man on the ground let out a croak and coughed up a mouthful of blood before crawling towards Li Qingshan, leaving behind a long trail of blood on the asphalt road.

    ¡°Mother of god!¡± The driver was absolutely frightened out of his wits. His knees gave way, falling back on his bottom.

    However, Li Qingshan beamed inside and strode over to welcome him, extending his hand to help up the middle-aged man.

    The middle-aged man grabbed Li Qingshan¡¯s hand and used his own blood to write a single word in Li Qingshan¡¯s palm. Then his eyes rolled back as he keeled over on the spot, more dead than dead.

    ¡°Hey! Hey!¡±

    Li Qingshan still had countless questions he wanted to ask, so how could he let him die? He immediately circulated the Qilin Transformation, channelling a tremendous amount of spiritual qi filled with vitality into his body.

    It contained several innate abilities of the qilin, enough to revive the dead and cover a skeleton in flesh again. Let alone dying from a car crash, even if he had been grounded into minced meat and made into dumplings, he probably could be revived again, perhaps with much more than just one of him.

    However, all of the spiritual qi merely vanished into his body. Nothing happened.

    Li Qingshan was about to try something else when his vision suddenly clouded over. The bloody corpse in his hands actually turned into colourful haze, slipping between his fingers.

    Li Qingshan looked up. The sky, cars, and advertisements in the distance all turned to mist, dispersing and vanishing.

    Li Qingshan was stunned. Through the mist, he could vaguely see the Elder of Heavenly Tomes, the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, and Chao Tianjiao staring at him in surprise.

    ¡°Li Qingshan, what are you trying now?¡±

    Chao Tianjiao¡¯s voice rang out through the mist, becoming rather distorted. Towards the end, it had already become indiscernible.

    The mist vanished again. Afterwards, Li Qingshan saw himself.

    Learning from his lesson before, Li Qingshan immediately stepped forwards and spread his arms, trying to grab ¡°himself¡±.

    However, ¡°he¡± also stepped forwards at the same time, spreading his arms as if he was trying to grab Li Qingshan.

    Li Qingshan immediately realised that there was a mirror right before him. There was a strange crack that ran down its centre. Oh, it was an elevator door.

    He looked around and discovered that he was probably in some kind of luxurious hotel right now.

    The thrumming of the elevator rang out from behind the door.

    Ding!

    This novel is available on bit.ly/3Tfs4P4.

    The elevator door opened slowly. A beautiful young lady dressed in gorgeous clothes stood in the elevator. Her face constantly twitched as her head trembled uncontrollably, giving off a sense of sickliness and strangeness, but her eyes were particularly clear, gazing at Li Qingshan hopefully.

    Li Qingshan immediately confirmed that the young lady was the same person as the middle-aged man from before.

    ¡°Who are you? What is this place?¡±

    The young lady was about to speak when the elevator cable abruptly snapped. None of the safety mechanisms were triggered. The lady fell to the depths of hell with the elevator, except her expression was strangely peaceful as if she had already known she would die.

    With a boom, dust surged up through the elevator well, filling his face.

    Li Qingshan was about to leap down when a hand grabbed his arm. Looking back, the dust had already turned to mist. The Elder of Heavenly Tomes asked from behind the mist, ¡°Little bro, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±

    Li Qingshan opened his mouth. The mist closed around his eyes again, turning into a seaside resort¡­

    After who knew how long, the colourful cloud emerged from the glowing clouds in the air.

    The sun set in the sea; the afterglow stopped burning. The curtain of night had already descended.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes gathered his focus on Li Qingshan, but even he was unable to tell what was happening to him. Had his main body in the Demon domain suffered from cultivation deviation?

    Li Qingshan seemed to jerk awake from the deepest of nightmares, gasping for air. He felt like several days had already passed.

    During these ¡°several days¡±, he had experienced thousands of scenarios and witnessed thousands of people die tragically through bizarre accidents.

    There were both men and women, young and old, but Li Qingshan was very aware that they were all the same person, constantly experiencing death before constantly being reborn again.

    Li Qingshan wanted to save ¡°him¡± and get to the bottom of all of this, but he would also miss his chance narrowly. They were clearly extremely ordinary accidents. Only a hint of his abilities would be enough, or he did not even need to use his abilities at all. Simply a gentle push was enough.

    However, he did not succeed a single time; it was as if ¡°his¡± death was a form of certainty. Regardless of how powerful and wondrous his abilities were, he was unable to stop it or change it.

    For the first few times, ¡°he¡± had still tried to say something, but afterwards, ¡°he¡± gave up, only gazing at Li Qingshan with eyes full of hope, accepting each death peacefully.

    Li Qingshan gazed out. The night sky was clear, covered with stars.

    For a moment, he had trouble discerning between reality and those illusions, feeling as if he did not truly exist here.

    Was it an illusion?

    Suddenly, he looked down at the palm of his hand. All he saw was a bloody ¡°six¡± written there.

    Even the bloody word faded rapidly, vanishing like it had evaporated away, but it had already become deeply engraved in his mind with absolute clarity.

    ¡°Six¡­ six¡­ six¡­ sixth brother? The Soul-controlling Great Sage!¡±

    Li Qingshan mulled over it for a while before suddenly shuddering and coming to a realisation.

    After becoming a god, he had become capable of gazing into the heavenly secrets. He also possessed the complete bloodline of the spirit turtle, so he could deduce many pieces of information from nothing. Since he had already received such an obvious indication, he would never let the correct answer slip past him.

    Without any doubt, the ¡°person¡± who had been killed countless times by accidents was the sixth among the seven Great Sages, the Soul-controlling Great Sage!

 Chapter 1685

    9-11 minutes 17.12.2022

    Li Qingshan closed his fingers together slowly with his eyebrows furrowed. Ever since he set off on this path to the Nine Heavens and arrived in the Primordial World, the lustrous sun and moon and the expansive world filled with him numerous sentiments. However, there was only one experience that gave him the deepest impression without ever changing, like a golden thread weaving through all of his feelings, which was a sense of ¡°reality¡±.

    Looking back from beyond the Nine Heavens, Crouching Ox village was like a dream. What Zombie Daoist? What Dragon King of Ink Sea? They were only monsters from a dream, nothing to worry about once he woke up.

    But at this moment, the sensation of ¡°reality¡± came crumbling down, like someone had kicked him back into the dream.

    That was because in that dream of death within the permeating mist, he felt a sense of reality that was no less than the Primordial World.

    The cars, the highway, the advertisements, the elevator¡­ No matter how ordinary and dull they were, they were all real. To a transmigrator like him, they were even more real than the Primordial World. After all, that was his true homeland. He was not Li Qingshan, nor was he Li Er. Even his surname was not Li¡­

    Find the original at bit.ly/3Tfs4P4.

    Perhaps all of this was due to the Soul-controlling Great Sage, dragging him into an illusion so that he could convey some kind of message, even if he was not particularly successful.

    In the past, he had also been dragged into an illusion unknowingly by the Clam King of Mirage Sea in the South sea. He saw many things from his former life.

    However, Li Qingshan could not help but suspect that even a mighty Great Sage probably did not have that kind of ability!

    After all, he was no longer the same Li Qingshan from back then, but the lord of the Demon domain who had Forged his Soul back into the Void. His cultivation was higher than regular True Immortals and he possessed multiple demonic and divine bloodlines. Both the spirit turtle and the ape demon could easily see through illusions.

    Dragging him into an illusion probably was not difficult, but making it so that he still could not sense anything wrong with it even after he had left it was virtually impossible.

    And, this sixth brother of his also seemed to be trapped like the other Great Sages, trapped in Li Qingshan¡¯s ¡°past life¡±.

    If he did not possess certain bizarre tastes, there was clearly no need for him to create his own illusions to murder himself.

    Li Qingshan had seen his fair share of Great Sages. The Mountain-moving Great Sage was trapped in Ruin¡¯s End that the primordial spirit turtle had turned into, while the Wind-coursing Great Sage was trapped in the lowest level of the Hell realm, Av¨©ci. They were firmly confined and in great pain, but it was nowhere near as horrific.

    At this moment, he recalled his lament again from many years ago, back when he was trapped in the Mirage sea.

    Perhaps this life was merely a dream.

    ¡°Little bro, we¡¯ve reached the heavenly palace,¡± the Elder of Heavenly Tomes suddenly said.

    Li Qingshan looked up. All he saw was a glorious palace at the end of the starry sky and sea of clouds.

    ¡°What exactly did you see just then?¡± the Elder of Heavenly Tomes could not help but ask.

    Anyone who sought knowledge was bound to possess an extremely strong sense of curiosity, and the Elder of Heavenly Tomes was basically the embodiment of this. Li Qingshan¡¯s behaviour just now left him puzzled.

    The emotions that flashed past Li Qingshan¡¯s face during that moment included shock, doubt, confusion¡­ and if the Elder of Heavenly Tomes had seen correctly, a hint of reminiscence.

    After all, even when he directly faced the might of the heavenly emperor, the glow of the sun and the moon, Li Qingshan had not been shaken like that.

    Something extremely unbelievable must have happened, which made him lose his composure to such a degree.

    Li Qingshan laughed and patted the Elder of Heavenly Tomes¡¯ shoulder. ¡°Looks like the Elder of Heavenly Tomes doesn¡¯t know everything either! Old bro, there are also sights in the world that you¡¯ve never seen before!¡±

    If everything was a dream, then he would venture to the depths of the dream!

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes was exasperated, but there was nothing he could do about Li Qingshan. All he could do was control the seven-coloured cloud and fly towards the glorious heavenly palace at the end of the sky of stars.

    The Zhenwu Emperor¡¯s abode was called the Desireless Heavenly Palace, while the Longevity Emperor¡¯s abode was called the Heavenly Palace of Divine Clouds, but this heavenly palace did not have a name. It was simply called the heavenly palace.

    It was a palace of the heavens, the heavenly emperor¡¯s abode, enjoying the embrace and protection of the other heavenly palaces.

    Where it resided was the ¡°centre¡±. Only then did the four other heavenly palaces have their respective positions.

    From here, the heavenly emperor ruled over all of life and the gods and buddhas in the heavens, from the distant past to the obscure future, for all of eternity.

    At that moment, Li Qingshan temporarily cast aside all of his fears and worries and forgot about all of his fury and hatred, gazing at the palace in the clouds purely out of admiration.

    The clouds rose and fell like mountains. The seven-coloured cloud was like a tiny cotton ball, while the people on the clouds were as small as ants.

    With the auspicious cloud¡¯s approach, the heavenly palace seemed even more daunting, like a giant gazing down from the distant sky.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes said to Li Qingshan, ¡°Now you haven¡¯t seen something like this, have you?¡±

    ¡°Heh!¡± Li Qingshan admitted to it calmly and smiled. His eyes shone with a childish light.

    He was like a mountaineer, braving the wind and rain, the thorns and thistles, facing countless hardships and dangers. Now that he finally saw the mountain peak, how could he not feel any joy?

    Even if it was possible for him to die here, he no longer had any regrets.

    The Elder of Heavenly Tomes suddenly thought of the buddha¡¯s Flower Sermon, but it was also slightly different. That was the realisation of the wise, while this was the fearlessness of the bold. However, they were just as innocent and clear, pure and undefiled.

    ¡°Sigh.¡± The Elder of Heavenly Tomes let out a sigh and pointed down. ¡°Look at what that is.¡±

    Li Qingshan¡¯s attention had been completely absorbed by the heavenly palace, such that he failed to notice that there was another heavenly palace on the land directly beneath the heavenly palace.

    Not only was it identical in scale, but even its shape and structure was almost the same. It was similarly magnificent and daunting, towering into the sky.

    However, the heavenly palace on the land was extremely destroyed. Countless buildings had collapsed with bridges broken. Some of the palaces had virtually been flattened, hidden under the glow of the palace in the sky, sinking into the endless darkness.

    If the heavenly palace above the sea of clouds was a glorious giant, then the heavenly palace on the ground was like a giant¡¯s corpse, riddled with wounds.

    Li Qingshan looked closely and discovered that these ¡°wounds¡± also differed¡ªsome seemed like they had been smashed apart by water, while others seemed like they had been cut down by metal¡­

    The position that belonged to the main hall was replaced by a miniature volcano, crushing a large part of the palace to pieces. The rocks were covered in moss and vines.

    Many of the buildings seemed like a large part had vanished into thin air, only leaving behind various spherical holes of differing sizes. The faces of the cuts were exceptionally smooth.

    The most startling part of it all were the cracks that criss-crossed the land, reaching deep into the earth.

    The largest crack spread through the land like a bolt of lightning, tearing apart everything in its path, almost reaching across the ¡°giant¡¯s¡± chest and almost splitting the entire heavenly palace into two.

    If he were to identify the cause of death, then that was probably the lethal wound. 4887

    Li Qingshan could not be any more familiar with that kind of power.

    ¡°Brother ox!¡±

    It was as if a boulder had been thrown into Li Qingshan¡¯s heart. It immediately surged away vigorously. After all these years, he had finally caught up to the tracks he left behind in his advance. The stalwart figure seemed to be right before his eyes.

    See y¡¯all in 2 years¡¯ time.

    Many people say LGS is dropped by the author. This is not true. The author simply writes very slowly. The first chapter for this volume (chapter 1606) was released on March 12, 2017. This chapter (chapter 1685) was released two weeks ago at the time of writing this, October 26, 2022. People see that the novel hasn¡¯t released any chapters for a year or two and assume it¡¯s dropped, but that is just the pace the author writes at.

    The author is clearly approaching the end of the novel as well. I believe he¡¯s written enough author¡¯s words to communicate his devotion to the novel, so I am certain that he will complete the novel sooner or later.

    The bad news is that the previous extended break that the author took was between chapters 1662 and 1663, which went from May 7, 2020 to May 9, 2022, so a break of 2 years. This was the longest break that he took so far, so mentally prepare yourself for a break just as long before the next chapter comes out.